The step up ... and the kick down

Confident enough that I can step up a level in Cash Games to 50c/$1 with my BlueSq Bankroll of $450, I take $90 (20%) onto a table where I'm 2nd biggest stack and sitting behind the Chip Leader. All goes well, I'm focussed, make a few sublime plays and after 20 minutes (the end of my lunch break), I leave the table having doubled up to $180. Sweet!

A Brag post ... ? Not quite! I wish I could have kept it as so, but I really need help from anyone out there on this potentially progress-halting hand;

6 Handed Table with 5 folk in play, I've bought in for $80 and after 30 mins I'm down to around $44. I'm on the BB against two fairly aggressive players. Scotby has shoved regularly enough for me to tab him as a 'RiskTaker' - he has shoved around 5 times in the 50 hands I've seen at this table, but the two occasions he's shown the nuts, he's 1/2 pot bet / slow-played them.

Then this happens;




There was a lengthy pause before he called my bet on the flop but he Insta-Shoves on the Turn. I take the full time allowance before deciding to call, thinking his $43 shove into a $24 pot is purely a play against the shorter stack and 'weaker' player! I call and briefly feel great that I had read his play correctly ... only until he hits his 3 outer on the river!

I realise that this was a very loose call for $35 with 3rd pair but was it a good one? Was it simply a Bad Beat in the end? Did I deserve to lose for being in a pot with a marginal hand? Did I played it badly somewhere, calling or betting when I shouldn't have? Having had almost 30 mins to reflect on it and having typed all this, I'm still not sure that I would have played it differently.

I'm sure you'll see that AGAIN, my chips went in when I was ahead!

2.5 sleeps 'til Paris! :) I MUST be due a reasonable win again soon! Hopefully this weekend and in the APAT Scottish National on 3rd & 4th May. Either / or would do me fine.

Now I know how Mik feels ... !

pfffffffffffffffffffffffffff ...

That and a few choice swear words were all I could say to three beats I've just suffered in the FTOPS Satellite.

They say luck balances itself out and I do recognise that I was very fortunate to get 5th of 30 after I rivered a 3 outer mid-way through, but it doesn't make getting THAT close any easier. I'm not going to blabber on about a bad beat or 3. As painful as it is to miss out on a FTOPS Seat this time, I'm happy I got my chips in with the best of it on ALL THREE occasions and I'm now going to see if I can use the $25 winnings on three $8 SNGs to win more $26 Tokens.



Tonight's BritBlogger was a non-starter really. It started when I was down to the last 6 in above Satellite so I wasn't concentrating fully on it. I was third or fourth out for nil points.

Jim and Mary have cashed in the SHG. As it stands, Jim (who I have 50% share in) is 1650th or so of 2300 left and Mary is around 1600th. Both are guaranteed the dizzy and non-life-changing amount of $22.50!

Stick in you two! (Jim out in 1414th). Get it won Mary!

In with the best of it ... almost always

I sit here having just gone out of a $8 4 man SnG having flopped a Flush in the penultimate hand. With 8d4d I raise the 5xBB bet to 15xBB, get called, get all my chips in on the Turn and get called by his trips only to be beaten by a rivered Full House. And it rings a bell that this has been happening quite a bit recently ... since the SM a fortnight ago in fact.

Unlike RaiseTheRiver's BurnleyMik in last night's seriously tilted rant, I'm not too concerned.

Not including the pre-Paris Home Game at Jim's last Friday (a great night despite only 4 of the 7 of us turning up and where I was imagining hands - long story), I decided to study my recent run of results - all the tourneys I've played since The Sunday Million a fortnight ago. Again, as I've been so busy working, this didn't amount to many; about 3.5 hours on 25c/50c Cash Games on BlueSq and 10 or so SnGs over BlueSq, Stars and FT.

My cash game stats are looking pretty good at around $130 up at 25c/50c (with Bets | Wins columns showing I'm grinding) ;


and my Tourney Record would look OK too if it wasn't for these suck-outs! In these past 10 games, I have won bagel! $0.00!

And I know you're probably now expecting to read a run of bad beats but I ain't gonna do that. I'm just going to share it with you all (I say 'all' as if loads of you actually read this pish! ;) ) that in these past 10 tourneys, I have got my chips in whilst ahead on 7 of my final meaningful hands with the other 3 being 99 v Mair's TT All-In Pre-Flop, TQs on a Q high board v KK on the InsidePoker Freeroll, and QTs as a 28/72 dog with 4 to the flush on a 9 high board against 99. So I fell like I AM well focussed and playing intelligently enough to expect a reasonable profit from tourneys too but this just isn't happening.

I have the BritBloggerment on Stars at 8:30 tonight and a $26 Satellite to FTOPS Event #1 on FT at 7:15. If I do anything in either (or if I get sucked-out on again), you can expect to read about it on here.

L8R!

Sunday Million - AWESOME!

Last night saw me take on 7679 others in the Sunday Million on behalf of our Syndicate (3rd man of 5) and I have to say, I REALLY enjoyed it! It's exactly how I had expected it to be (having railed Munter and Jim in it already) and I did play really well. With Jim, Derek, Alan, Mary and Mik on the rail, I loved every second of it! Thanks Folks!

Having moved from a tight table when I was 500th of 1800 remaining and where chip stacks were fairly low in relation to the rest of the field, to one with chip stacks averaging around 32k (and with VictorRamdin), I stayed relaxed carefully thinking about each hand.

Then, with AK I raise it up 3xBB from SB and a short-stacked mid-position limper calls. Flop comes ATK (2 diamonds). I check it to him knowing he's gonna push and I call quickly. He flips over AJo (no diamonds) and I do a little dance inside my head. The T on the Turn is a safe and welcome card for me ... the Q on the river however wasn't! The band stops playing in my head, I'm now a short stack at my table but I'm still high enough up the leaderboard to survive into the money.

Unfazed (and happy that I had still made the correct play), I battle on and with my tight table image I manage to pick up some dead money from late positions with marginal holdings.

Then with AQo on SB and with an M of just below 5, I shove my remaining 17k over the UTG player's 4k raise ...



... again, I like the flop ... and the turn ... but the praying to the Poker Gods doesn't work and it's a sick, sick river that puts me out!

My stats show that I wasn't just sitting back playing scared like I thought I might. I'd even go as far as to say I was playing my normal game, but more aggressively at the right times through being more focussed!

You finished in 1474th place (eliminated at hand #16540267964).

189 hands played and saw flop:
- 8 times out of 22 while in small blind (36%)
- 9 times out of 22 while in big blind (41%)
- 17 times out of 145 in other positions (12%)
- a total of 34 times out of 189 (18%)

Pots won at showdown - 3 out of 8 (38%)
Pots won without showdown - 23

You finished in 1474th place - Top 19.2%


This is going to be good for me to compare with my other games and I look forward to doing so. The Sunday Million is well above my own personal Bankroll but it has encouraged me to look into playing more $25 - $50 MTTs. I have two $26 Tourney Tokens and a $75 one on FullTilt waiting to be used. Watch this space ... the GTD Tourneys (usually starting around 7pm GMT) will be getting hit real soon!

I think it's a pity APAT don't offer more higher buy in games. APAT have established themselves as a top-provider of low cost, high quality games both online and live and have succeeded in just that! In the online games the standard can be too 'relaxed' at times with some finding it hard taking a $10 MTT seriously. I really enjoy every APAT tourney - especially the 'OnLive' with it's $150 buy-in - but I think it's a pity that there aren't more $50+ games being offered online. I think we have enough quality players looking for the same and I hope Des et al consider this for Season 3.

So yeah, this week I'll be on FT using my Tourney Token me thinks! Say Hi if you see me!

APAT Regional Final Table

After another great day in Edinburgh, I'm happy to report that I have now made a Final Table in an APAT Regional. Unfortunately though, that was as far as I got. In Seat 2 with 14k, I was sat behind the chip leader on 64k and in front of the 8k short stack but immediately found myself on the 2k Big Blind.

Having folded T2s to a pre-flop raise on the BB, the next hand was folded round to me on the SB. With an M of 4 I pushed with 73o (any two will do!) against the short stacked BB. He insta-called with KQo and hit his Q on the flop. I know myself that, at a 9 player table with top 7 paying £150, I could / maybe should have just folded the 73o too but ...

My final hand was only three hands later when with KTo my pre-flop push was called and checked down by the A high blinds.

I had made a good few plays at pots to reach the final table, one of them was check calling an All-In for all but 200 of my chips against an aggressive Button who constantly raised my BB. With 88, I re-raised him and on a 579 board I checked it over to him. He insta-shoved and I immediately put him on A high. I think for about 1 minute, call and beat his AJo.

I hope to meet / see you all again at the APAT Scottish Amateur Poker Championship on the 3rd & 4th May 2008 if not before.

Royal Flush

I have just had a Royal Flush in a $8 SnG on FullTilt and was paid off in full!

I was quite happy to call his Shove on the flop with top pair and the nut flush draw, but I didn't quite expect this ...



SHWEEEEEEEEET!

Links Added / APAT Regional

I'm hoping, shortly after I post this, to set up links to my Poker Buddies' Blogs ... I eventually found the button to allow me to do so.

I'm quite excited about this weekend from a Poker perspective as I'm planning to be playing in the following;

Friday - RTR League on Virgin
Saturday - APAT Regional in Edinburgh (Qualifier for the Scottish Amateur Poker Championship in May)
Sunday - The RTR BritBlogger and THE SUNDAY MILLION on Stars!

I'm not sure yet though whether I'll be in the Sunday Million this weekend or not. Having not played much poker recently, I'm going to leave it until Sunday afternoon to decide. If I donk out of the other tourneys early or badly (or both), I'll not attempt it if my confidence is low as I know that an aggressive style is needed. If any of the Syndicate are feeling more confident / playing better and 'on a roll', I'll quite happily offer them the chance.

If you're playing in Edinburgh or any other APAT Regional, all the best. I look forward to meeting you in Edinburgh this weekend or at the National in May.