The above is what Mary's WLM tag line reads. And thankfully it's still true. Having completed the last 10 games in profit she's generously given me 50% rather than the agreed 40% and is now using our equal shares in a new and longer 15 game stint with me now on 40%.
I got back into playing again recently and played well enough to turn £190 into £250 on BetFair's 25c/50c tables in a little over 3 hours of play. Variance popped it's ugly head up again though and with my AA losing to KTs on a KJrag board where he was happy to get his $90 in, he hit his T on the turn to wipe out a lot of my good work. That, with a poor and probably tilted call with ATs on a T high board into a pre-flop re-raiser with QQ, was enough to again leave me questioning my poker temperament and attitude I bring to the table.
So yesterday I hit the $10 SnGs and played a more patient game - something I've learnt from watchin Mary over the past week or so and something that was made a lot easier by having 3 tables open at once. I'm still generally nowhere near as tight as I probably need to be to achieve the results Mary has but in all honesty, I don't think I could / will ever be. When short stacked I very often think Mary is too tight in the closing levels but I would never suggest she change her ways - she's won far more than I have and I consider her to be a better NLHE player partly due to her superior patience. I try to play as all the training sites / books / pros tell you to - with an M of less than 5, push with any two rag and hopefully 'live' cards and hope for a 60/40 race. It's thanks to this tactic that I was able to bluff my way to two wins from my 4 SnGs last night but also why I bombed out just before the money in the other two. Some you win ... thankfully.
Amatay starts his 6 part-staked games tonight on Party (I think it's Party anyway - I must check).
28th Sunday $300k gtd - $215
28th Sunday 7pm - $109
29th Monday Super - $162
29th Monday 7pm - $109
30th Tuesday Super - $162
30th Tuesday 7pm - $109
GL Fella.
.
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Friday, 26 September 2008
Staking Mair38 / A piece of Amatay
Some of you will have seen this on Mair's Blog or on the RaiseTheRiver Forum ...
For those of you who haven't, RTR have a Staking Section where folk who want staked / have money to stake others can post their requests / proposals. On Tuesday with my Annette winnings safely in my BetFair account, I posted a proposal and Mary (Mair38) almost instantly applied. With a successful staking history with Mary and with her quite frankly 'awesome' recent results, I was obv happy to buy her into 8 x $5.50 SnGs on BetFair - where she's always wanted to have a bankroll.
In these 8 games she ran the $44 investment up to $85.64 with a remarkable three $22.50 wins and two $9 3rd places. So, in the hopes that I can further help her build a very decent bankroll from here, I have withdrawn $30 and re-invested the $27.50 winnings back into a new series of 10 x $5.50 SnGs of which I will receive 40% of all winnings.
I'll prob keep you updated on here but for regular updates on the new set of 10, see here
I've also taken a stake in Amatay from RTR in some higher buy in games. This fish has been runnin good recently on PartyPoker so I'm keen to see what kinda dough he can make for us lot. So far I've calculate that he's sold 27% of himself so with 50% up for grabs, there's plenty more to be got folks. C'mon over and join in the fun!
.
For those of you who haven't, RTR have a Staking Section where folk who want staked / have money to stake others can post their requests / proposals. On Tuesday with my Annette winnings safely in my BetFair account, I posted a proposal and Mary (Mair38) almost instantly applied. With a successful staking history with Mary and with her quite frankly 'awesome' recent results, I was obv happy to buy her into 8 x $5.50 SnGs on BetFair - where she's always wanted to have a bankroll.
In these 8 games she ran the $44 investment up to $85.64 with a remarkable three $22.50 wins and two $9 3rd places. So, in the hopes that I can further help her build a very decent bankroll from here, I have withdrawn $30 and re-invested the $27.50 winnings back into a new series of 10 x $5.50 SnGs of which I will receive 40% of all winnings.
I'll prob keep you updated on here but for regular updates on the new set of 10, see here
I've also taken a stake in Amatay from RTR in some higher buy in games. This fish has been runnin good recently on PartyPoker so I'm keen to see what kinda dough he can make for us lot. So far I've calculate that he's sold 27% of himself so with 50% up for grabs, there's plenty more to be got folks. C'mon over and join in the fun!
.
How I stand in 2008 (so far)
I received a PM on the APAT website from Kenny 'THEGUY84' who had been reading this Blog. He made certain assumptions that I was 'in profit' from this year's poker exploits and I was happy to tell him;
In Online Poker / Poker Betting / RTR Staking I'm down for the year (not including the big win obv). Since January '08 I've had some turbulent times (like very recently) but none thankfully that I can't now afford. Online I've deposited £1,221, have withdrawn £1,000 and currently have £110 in play atm for a loss of £111. Given that I only play well above my bankroll and have had some serious brain-dead moments in cash games, I'm not too unhappy at this.
In Live poker, including the trips to Paris, the Edinburgh and Dublin Nationals with APAT, the APAT Regionals and my various home games, I'm down £250. The flights, accommodation, food etc. have come off my bankroll (Julia wouldn't let me take it out the joint bank account ;) ) so it's really not as severe as this.
I've almost always enjoyed spending the £400! Almost always ...
.
In Online Poker / Poker Betting / RTR Staking I'm down for the year (not including the big win obv). Since January '08 I've had some turbulent times (like very recently) but none thankfully that I can't now afford. Online I've deposited £1,221, have withdrawn £1,000 and currently have £110 in play atm for a loss of £111. Given that I only play well above my bankroll and have had some serious brain-dead moments in cash games, I'm not too unhappy at this.
In Live poker, including the trips to Paris, the Edinburgh and Dublin Nationals with APAT, the APAT Regionals and my various home games, I'm down £250. The flights, accommodation, food etc. have come off my bankroll (Julia wouldn't let me take it out the joint bank account ;) ) so it's really not as severe as this.
I've almost always enjoyed spending the £400! Almost always ...
.
Monday, 22 September 2008
Photos from Training Day
As title;
Me and Annette ...
Annette Dealing ...
If I get any more from the guys at BetFair I'll be sure to post them.
.
Me and Annette ...
Annette Dealing ...
If I get any more from the guys at BetFair I'll be sure to post them.
.
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Day at BetFair
Well ...
I started typing this when I returned home but due to some critisisms I have of BetFair I have delayed the publishing of this to make sure I'm not being unfair in all I'm going to say.
I have just arrived home from my day at BetFair offices for the Annette_15 Training day. For those of you who just want to know if it was a profitable trip, I'll start by telling you that I did cash in the $1,000 SnG after cutting a deal with winner Nick when I had 10.5k to his 15.5k - just one hand before I shoved with K4o with an M of 6. I brought home £170 and Nick (given the current exchange rate), took home £230 from the deal and the remaining £150 from the prize pool.
Right from the start and with Matt, Leo and Annette from BetFair all playing with Bounties on their heads, it was clear to see that each of the other 4 guys were gonna be happy to fold their way to the money. I had no intention of doing likewise so stepped it up even from my normal LAG game to something bordering on maniac / suicidal. I was showing T3o and Q6o type hands that I was raising from early positions to try to entice some action but still no one would play back at me. I took an early lead when I took Leo out with JTs UTG after he'd re-raised me pre-flop. The flop came a magical 789 and with 57o (yeah, seriously!) he shoved from the BB. Easy call and an easy bounty of a WSOPE BetFair ChipSet. It begs the question; Did having three players in the game who had nothing to lose ruin / lessen the experience a bit ... ? Somewhat, yes.
I continued to push my stack around and had a healthy lead by the time it got to push-fold poker and my card-dead period. Saif and Alan went out quite shortly after each other and by that time Matt sitting to my left, had started to push over my 3xBB raises forcing me to fold.
I was the best player of the five winners IMO and deserved to take it down but Nick, who took out Annette after she pushed with AQs and he woke up with QQ, and who doubled up through Steve (a Punter's Lounger) when he caught him making a play at the pot with a weak A2o type hand. To finish Steve off, Nick pushed OTT from the SB with K9o I think it was to force me and my 44 out. Only after a lengthy consideration I did reluctantly fold face up - you know that way when you just KNOW you're gonna hit??? And true to form, although folding was clearly the correct play, the 4 came on the turn - even without it I would have had Steve out and Nick crippled!
So that's the story of the cards ... now onto the trip as a whole ...
We were advised that InsidePoker may request a phone interview with us so I thought it would advantageous to get my thoughts down on screen first so that I don't miss anything.
Starting with the lack of contact from both BetFair / InsidePoker which I'm sure you're fed up reading about now, I and the others remained very unimpressed. And the same could be said for the hassles about the expenses situation that wasted hours of our days leading up to the day we were supposed to be looking forward to.
Please let me reference again how this Prize was advertised both in the magazine and in subsequent emails sent between 3rd and 15th September;
A VIP trip to London
including Travel and Accommodation (residents of UK and ROI only)
personal tuition from Annette
on STT and MTT strategies
in Annette's pre-WSOPE Training Camp
Collection from Novatel to BetFair offices
given a buffet lunch
then we'll play in an exclusive $1,000 SNG
be taken for drinks and meal at 'Fire Station'
and we would be 'well looked after' throughout
Right, I'll start at the start ...
'A VIP trip to London'
Budget Airline and underground (booked myself) and a 10 minute walk (no escort) to Novatel Hotel. I text Estelle from the Underground to ask if she would still be able to meet me at the station. Aparently they were short staffed so I had to make my own way there.
'including travel and accommodation'
BetFair's first email denied us this, then after each of us emailed Alun Bowden of IP, £50 per person was offered, more emails back and forth before my full £150 was eventually OK'd. Hotel couldn't confirm our reservation when we called on the night of 15th as it hadn't been booked until 16th - just 24 hours before.
'personal tuition from Annette'
'on STT and MTT strategies'
Our tuition took the form of a 5 man no-one-goes-out Sit'n'Go with Annette dealing. Our cards would be kept in front of us until each hand was finished and Annette would disect them and comment on our play. As each of the other winners appeared 'scared' to get their chips in - 88 was folded after a flat call, A8s was folded on the button after it had been checked round - it would be fair to say that such tight play didn't make me feel as if I learnt as much as I wanted or expected to.
'in Annette's pre-WSOPE Training Camp'
Erm ... this was a hallway in the BetFair offices
'collection from Novatel to BetFair offices'
A 10 minute walk for the three of us who met in the Hotel lobby with Leo the BetFair rep.
'a buffet lunch'
Laid out was a tray of sandwiches, 6 packs of crisps, a small selection of fruit, a dish of cold chips and some bottles of juice
'playing in an exclusive $1,000 Sit'n'Go'
Some of the guys had expected this to be a $1k Buy-In Event (a winner take all prize of $6k) given that 2nd to 9th places in the Freeroll got a $212 Token into Annette's 20k GTD Tourney. I read it corectly in that it would be a $1k prize but having re-read the adverts, I can see how they got confused. Some were MOST upset hearing this.
'Drinks and meal at Fire Station'
'we'd be well looked after throughout'
Fire Station was closed for refurbishment so 'Pizza Express' was booked. For someone who doesn't eat cheese, this was far from a welcomed change. Not being told about it until 90 seconds before we walked through PE's front door was pretty pish. I had taken the time to research the Fire Station online and knew that finding something without cheese wouldn't be a problem. Not so in a Pizza and Pasta only joint :( In fairness, the pasta dish that I had specially made was very acceptable and within the hour we were there, we each had about two drinks. With all that was going on with WSOPE and in the personal lives of Matt and Leo, they excused themselves from the rest of the night's action and said goodbye at 8:30pm after pointing us in the direction of a pub where we could watch the footy.
Annette herself was very pleasant and exactly as I had expected her to be. If you like her from what you know of her from TV / YouTube / PokerPlayer Mag whatever, it's fair to say that you would like her if you met her. If you're adverse to the various reported outbursts directed at Marc Goodwin, Isabelle Mercier etc., you probably wouldn't. I liked her and it had nothing to do with being invited to her 20th birthday party and being on the same guest list as Phil Hellmuth, Layne Flack, Vicky Coren and Sorel Mizzi - she didn't mess about, took her role as trainer seriously enough in that she didn't suffer the idiotic plays of the BetFair staff lightly; "fuck off if you're not going to take this seriously" she told Matt during training when he decided to donk around. I think we all considered the invite a very kind gesture indeed seeing as we had only 'known her' for about 45 minutes. Unfortunately, as I had already booked my return flight etc., as the hotel was going to cost me £140 for the extra night and as Julia was having a rough Wednesday with HBOS announcing that they'd be axing 40,000 jobs, I quite happily returned home as planned.
It's now Saturday morning and I haven't received my £170 prize or £150 expenses in my BetFair account yet. All things considered, I suspect I'll be having to badger them for this pretty shortly. And when my BetFair WSOPE chips arrive, I'll give some of yez a shout for a home game to show them and my new skillz off.
I started typing this when I returned home but due to some critisisms I have of BetFair I have delayed the publishing of this to make sure I'm not being unfair in all I'm going to say.
I have just arrived home from my day at BetFair offices for the Annette_15 Training day. For those of you who just want to know if it was a profitable trip, I'll start by telling you that I did cash in the $1,000 SnG after cutting a deal with winner Nick when I had 10.5k to his 15.5k - just one hand before I shoved with K4o with an M of 6. I brought home £170 and Nick (given the current exchange rate), took home £230 from the deal and the remaining £150 from the prize pool.
Right from the start and with Matt, Leo and Annette from BetFair all playing with Bounties on their heads, it was clear to see that each of the other 4 guys were gonna be happy to fold their way to the money. I had no intention of doing likewise so stepped it up even from my normal LAG game to something bordering on maniac / suicidal. I was showing T3o and Q6o type hands that I was raising from early positions to try to entice some action but still no one would play back at me. I took an early lead when I took Leo out with JTs UTG after he'd re-raised me pre-flop. The flop came a magical 789 and with 57o (yeah, seriously!) he shoved from the BB. Easy call and an easy bounty of a WSOPE BetFair ChipSet. It begs the question; Did having three players in the game who had nothing to lose ruin / lessen the experience a bit ... ? Somewhat, yes.
I continued to push my stack around and had a healthy lead by the time it got to push-fold poker and my card-dead period. Saif and Alan went out quite shortly after each other and by that time Matt sitting to my left, had started to push over my 3xBB raises forcing me to fold.
I was the best player of the five winners IMO and deserved to take it down but Nick, who took out Annette after she pushed with AQs and he woke up with QQ, and who doubled up through Steve (a Punter's Lounger) when he caught him making a play at the pot with a weak A2o type hand. To finish Steve off, Nick pushed OTT from the SB with K9o I think it was to force me and my 44 out. Only after a lengthy consideration I did reluctantly fold face up - you know that way when you just KNOW you're gonna hit??? And true to form, although folding was clearly the correct play, the 4 came on the turn - even without it I would have had Steve out and Nick crippled!
So that's the story of the cards ... now onto the trip as a whole ...
We were advised that InsidePoker may request a phone interview with us so I thought it would advantageous to get my thoughts down on screen first so that I don't miss anything.
Starting with the lack of contact from both BetFair / InsidePoker which I'm sure you're fed up reading about now, I and the others remained very unimpressed. And the same could be said for the hassles about the expenses situation that wasted hours of our days leading up to the day we were supposed to be looking forward to.
Please let me reference again how this Prize was advertised both in the magazine and in subsequent emails sent between 3rd and 15th September;
A VIP trip to London
including Travel and Accommodation (residents of UK and ROI only)
personal tuition from Annette
on STT and MTT strategies
in Annette's pre-WSOPE Training Camp
Collection from Novatel to BetFair offices
given a buffet lunch
then we'll play in an exclusive $1,000 SNG
be taken for drinks and meal at 'Fire Station'
and we would be 'well looked after' throughout
Right, I'll start at the start ...
'A VIP trip to London'
Budget Airline and underground (booked myself) and a 10 minute walk (no escort) to Novatel Hotel. I text Estelle from the Underground to ask if she would still be able to meet me at the station. Aparently they were short staffed so I had to make my own way there.
'including travel and accommodation'
BetFair's first email denied us this, then after each of us emailed Alun Bowden of IP, £50 per person was offered, more emails back and forth before my full £150 was eventually OK'd. Hotel couldn't confirm our reservation when we called on the night of 15th as it hadn't been booked until 16th - just 24 hours before.
'personal tuition from Annette'
'on STT and MTT strategies'
Our tuition took the form of a 5 man no-one-goes-out Sit'n'Go with Annette dealing. Our cards would be kept in front of us until each hand was finished and Annette would disect them and comment on our play. As each of the other winners appeared 'scared' to get their chips in - 88 was folded after a flat call, A8s was folded on the button after it had been checked round - it would be fair to say that such tight play didn't make me feel as if I learnt as much as I wanted or expected to.
'in Annette's pre-WSOPE Training Camp'
Erm ... this was a hallway in the BetFair offices
'collection from Novatel to BetFair offices'
A 10 minute walk for the three of us who met in the Hotel lobby with Leo the BetFair rep.
'a buffet lunch'
Laid out was a tray of sandwiches, 6 packs of crisps, a small selection of fruit, a dish of cold chips and some bottles of juice
'playing in an exclusive $1,000 Sit'n'Go'
Some of the guys had expected this to be a $1k Buy-In Event (a winner take all prize of $6k) given that 2nd to 9th places in the Freeroll got a $212 Token into Annette's 20k GTD Tourney. I read it corectly in that it would be a $1k prize but having re-read the adverts, I can see how they got confused. Some were MOST upset hearing this.
'Drinks and meal at Fire Station'
'we'd be well looked after throughout'
Fire Station was closed for refurbishment so 'Pizza Express' was booked. For someone who doesn't eat cheese, this was far from a welcomed change. Not being told about it until 90 seconds before we walked through PE's front door was pretty pish. I had taken the time to research the Fire Station online and knew that finding something without cheese wouldn't be a problem. Not so in a Pizza and Pasta only joint :( In fairness, the pasta dish that I had specially made was very acceptable and within the hour we were there, we each had about two drinks. With all that was going on with WSOPE and in the personal lives of Matt and Leo, they excused themselves from the rest of the night's action and said goodbye at 8:30pm after pointing us in the direction of a pub where we could watch the footy.
Annette herself was very pleasant and exactly as I had expected her to be. If you like her from what you know of her from TV / YouTube / PokerPlayer Mag whatever, it's fair to say that you would like her if you met her. If you're adverse to the various reported outbursts directed at Marc Goodwin, Isabelle Mercier etc., you probably wouldn't. I liked her and it had nothing to do with being invited to her 20th birthday party and being on the same guest list as Phil Hellmuth, Layne Flack, Vicky Coren and Sorel Mizzi - she didn't mess about, took her role as trainer seriously enough in that she didn't suffer the idiotic plays of the BetFair staff lightly; "fuck off if you're not going to take this seriously" she told Matt during training when he decided to donk around. I think we all considered the invite a very kind gesture indeed seeing as we had only 'known her' for about 45 minutes. Unfortunately, as I had already booked my return flight etc., as the hotel was going to cost me £140 for the extra night and as Julia was having a rough Wednesday with HBOS announcing that they'd be axing 40,000 jobs, I quite happily returned home as planned.
It's now Saturday morning and I haven't received my £170 prize or £150 expenses in my BetFair account yet. All things considered, I suspect I'll be having to badger them for this pretty shortly. And when my BetFair WSOPE chips arrive, I'll give some of yez a shout for a home game to show them and my new skillz off.
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Tuition from Annette_15
Having won the first of the six InsidePoker Freerolls back on January 10th and the prize of VIP Trip to London and personal Poker Training from Annette Oberstad in the WSOPE Training Camp, I have eventually received the phone calls and emails I've been long awaiting. After much to-ing and fro-ing and general stubbornness regarding my expenses (you can read all about it on RTR Forum here), I've managed to get them to agree to reimburse me for the full £132 flights.
So, if anyone is interested, my itinerary reads;
Wednesday 17th September 2008
Flight Glasgow leaving 11am > Heathrow arriving 12:25pm
Tube to Hammersmith where I'll be met by Estelle at Hammersmith Tube Station for the short walk to the BetFair offices.
Whenever I get there 'til 13:30 - An informal buffet lunch
13:30 til 18:00 - "Exclusive tuition for both Single and Multi Table Tournament strategy from the reigning WSOPE Champion herself" and "a Single Table Tournament along with the other five winners" ($1,000 Winner Takes All)
Wed Night - Dinner with Annette (she's been roped into this apparently as it's being billed as a dinner to celebrate her last full day as a teenager).
More drinks and a night out on "a substantial drinks allowance". I'll be quite happy if they want to live it up with the Pros in the WSOPE Lounge if such a place exists
One nights accommodation in the 4 star Novotel Hotel a short walk away.
Thursday 18th September 2008
Flight Heathrow leaving 13:05 to Glasgow arriving 14:35
Wish me luck! And if there's anything anyone would like me to ask / thinks I should ask the Norwegian Millionairess and current WSOPE Champ, feel free to post it on here.
So, if anyone is interested, my itinerary reads;
Wednesday 17th September 2008
Flight Glasgow leaving 11am > Heathrow arriving 12:25pm
Tube to Hammersmith where I'll be met by Estelle at Hammersmith Tube Station for the short walk to the BetFair offices.
Whenever I get there 'til 13:30 - An informal buffet lunch
13:30 til 18:00 - "Exclusive tuition for both Single and Multi Table Tournament strategy from the reigning WSOPE Champion herself" and "a Single Table Tournament along with the other five winners" ($1,000 Winner Takes All)
Wed Night - Dinner with Annette (she's been roped into this apparently as it's being billed as a dinner to celebrate her last full day as a teenager).
More drinks and a night out on "a substantial drinks allowance". I'll be quite happy if they want to live it up with the Pros in the WSOPE Lounge if such a place exists
One nights accommodation in the 4 star Novotel Hotel a short walk away.
Thursday 18th September 2008
Flight Heathrow leaving 13:05 to Glasgow arriving 14:35
Wish me luck! And if there's anything anyone would like me to ask / thinks I should ask the Norwegian Millionairess and current WSOPE Champ, feel free to post it on here.
Monday, 11 August 2008
4 Weeks Worth
pfffffffff ... where do I start ...
It has been a month since this poker blog was updated - sorry. And looking back I see that it was at the start of the $1k to $5k Challenge ... hmmm ... OK, there's lots to tell.
July Wk2 - having ramped my $500 deposit up to $830 in Wk1, my target was set at $1k for end of Wk2. Unfortunately, after some horrendous beats and equally horrendous plays at 50c/$1, I was back down at $500 after just two days and around 6 hours of play. Worse was to come though as I then managed to donk off another $300 over the next two days. With the $200 I had left, I decided that I needed to have a bit of a re-think and took to the tables with a tighter than normal approach to the game, only getting involved in good hands at good times but all that went to pot too and through yet more tough 50/50 type beats over the next two days, I went busto!
Obviously very disappointed, I was glad that I was going on holiday during Wk3 and Wk4. I would welcome the break but would also be working on my game by reading books and mags by the pool.
Wk3 /Wk4 - When on holiday I found a pub poker game running on the Sunday night. After dinner in the restaurant below, I signed up for it - a 20 Euro BuyIn with 1 R/A - and at the first break, with 4 guys from the original 15 out, I had 28k in chips. Without ReBuying or Adding On, I was 14k ahead of the next guy and 17k ahead of 3rd place (a good player from England).
To cut a long story short, English guy got uber-aggressive after the break making it very difficult to play directly behind and soon had a similar stack to me. He then claimed to catch a run of cards and was shoving / committing most of his 20k on almost every hand. He finished 5th and got his entry fee back. I then started to get busy with my shortish stack and managed to steal pots at good times to outlast a Dutch woman but after 30 mins of 3 handed play, I finished 3rd for 60 Euros. A decent profit all things considered.
August Wk1 - I've returned from holiday and before I take to the tables with half of our Challenge bankroll ($200), Derek and I meet up to discuss July's play. From the Cash Game sheets I provide and knowing that we're now SERIOUSLY short stacked, we change the strategy to one that will see us play the $20 Jackpot SnGs on Cardoza.
August Wk2 - I haven't managed to get going in the Jackpot SnGs so drop down to playing the $5 and $10 SnGs when my roll hits the $50 mark. Then with $24 left, I take one last chance at the $20 JSnG and bust out with a busted nut-flush draw leaving my SharkScope looking very poorly indeed ...
I'm now gonna be looking at my game and deciding where I go from here. I have around $75 rakeback coming from RaiseTheRiver but I'm thinking I might just withdraw it and spend it on a new pair of jeans or something. My passion for poker is gradually being sucked out of me and I don't know what I can / will do to get it back. Playing much less is something I'm definitely gonna try ...
Derek's having a rough time of it at the moment too. Despite being fairly steady in our Challenge, he's taken a big hit on the WillHill Cash Games and only come close to cashing in the GTD tourneys. Having been sent a few HHs for his JSnG games, I'd say he's been fairly unlucky not to be showing a profit but his head's not fully in it either.
A poor showing and a sad post. Sorry.
.
It has been a month since this poker blog was updated - sorry. And looking back I see that it was at the start of the $1k to $5k Challenge ... hmmm ... OK, there's lots to tell.
July Wk2 - having ramped my $500 deposit up to $830 in Wk1, my target was set at $1k for end of Wk2. Unfortunately, after some horrendous beats and equally horrendous plays at 50c/$1, I was back down at $500 after just two days and around 6 hours of play. Worse was to come though as I then managed to donk off another $300 over the next two days. With the $200 I had left, I decided that I needed to have a bit of a re-think and took to the tables with a tighter than normal approach to the game, only getting involved in good hands at good times but all that went to pot too and through yet more tough 50/50 type beats over the next two days, I went busto!
Obviously very disappointed, I was glad that I was going on holiday during Wk3 and Wk4. I would welcome the break but would also be working on my game by reading books and mags by the pool.
Wk3 /Wk4 - When on holiday I found a pub poker game running on the Sunday night. After dinner in the restaurant below, I signed up for it - a 20 Euro BuyIn with 1 R/A - and at the first break, with 4 guys from the original 15 out, I had 28k in chips. Without ReBuying or Adding On, I was 14k ahead of the next guy and 17k ahead of 3rd place (a good player from England).
To cut a long story short, English guy got uber-aggressive after the break making it very difficult to play directly behind and soon had a similar stack to me. He then claimed to catch a run of cards and was shoving / committing most of his 20k on almost every hand. He finished 5th and got his entry fee back. I then started to get busy with my shortish stack and managed to steal pots at good times to outlast a Dutch woman but after 30 mins of 3 handed play, I finished 3rd for 60 Euros. A decent profit all things considered.
August Wk1 - I've returned from holiday and before I take to the tables with half of our Challenge bankroll ($200), Derek and I meet up to discuss July's play. From the Cash Game sheets I provide and knowing that we're now SERIOUSLY short stacked, we change the strategy to one that will see us play the $20 Jackpot SnGs on Cardoza.
August Wk2 - I haven't managed to get going in the Jackpot SnGs so drop down to playing the $5 and $10 SnGs when my roll hits the $50 mark. Then with $24 left, I take one last chance at the $20 JSnG and bust out with a busted nut-flush draw leaving my SharkScope looking very poorly indeed ...
I'm now gonna be looking at my game and deciding where I go from here. I have around $75 rakeback coming from RaiseTheRiver but I'm thinking I might just withdraw it and spend it on a new pair of jeans or something. My passion for poker is gradually being sucked out of me and I don't know what I can / will do to get it back. Playing much less is something I'm definitely gonna try ...
Derek's having a rough time of it at the moment too. Despite being fairly steady in our Challenge, he's taken a big hit on the WillHill Cash Games and only come close to cashing in the GTD tourneys. Having been sent a few HHs for his JSnG games, I'd say he's been fairly unlucky not to be showing a profit but his head's not fully in it either.
A poor showing and a sad post. Sorry.
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