Very Slow

I played on monday, more 9-tabling $50NL and ended up down about a buy-in. I can't remember any key hands, but it was pretty frustrating. I haven't really been enjoying poker that much recently, and I am trying to think of ways to make it a bit more fun.

I've decided that December will be an STT month. I will start by 9-tabling the $6 turbos, and hopefully move up as the month goes on. I'm planning to play 500 in the month.

Until then I have been playing some $25NL 6-max, not really to make any money, but just for a bit of fun. So far it has been going pretty well, and I'm up about $50. So, again, no real movement to the bankroll.

Bankroll ~ $2300

Slow Weekend

I didn't have that much time to play this weekend, but since playing on Stars I am trying to reach SilverStar by the end of the month so I had to squeeze out a bit. On Friday night I got in from the pub and was way to drunk to play poker, but managed to win about $20. Looking over the hands in the morning though, I could've won a bit more.

On Saturday I played for about an hour, but lost about $20. Exciting stuff.

Then yesterday I played another hour and won $35. The only hand I remember is when I got all-in BvB, I had AK and he had A5 for a $50 pot. Nice.

So the bankroll is still about $2300, and I have now earned 500 of the 1500 FPPs needed this month.

Won a bit back

I kept playing a few sessions on FTP, winning $30 in the first one and losing $30 in the second. Pretty exciting stuff. I have found in that past that when I am running really badly it often helps to try a new site, so I thought I would give Stars another go. It means I won't be getting rakeback or getting ironman points, but the ironman rewards are fairly shit anyway, and the Stars FPP are much better.

The session went very well. I only had $380 on there and as my Neteller is bugger I couldn't deposit anymore, so I played 3 $50NL tables and 6 $25NL. The $50NL tables were pretty dull, but I couldn't misson the $25NL ones!

Firstly I got all in with AcJc v KQ v K4 on a Kc-Q-7c flop and hit a club on the river. Then I got all-in with 98 v 56 v AcJc on a 9c-8-7c and hit an 8 on the river. God times. I also managed to pick off a few bluffs and finished up $128.

The bankroll is now just under £2300, so still some way to go to reach this months target!

My worst session ever

I really shouldn't have posted about how well November was going, it's really fucked me up! I earned my 200 points yesterday and was about $30 up and decided to do some other things. Then a bit later I had an hour to kill and sat down at 9 tables.

Within 5 minutes I was $100 down. Firstly I raise AA and get 2 callers. The flop is J-4s-5s. I bet $3 and a blind raises to $14. The other folds. Most people will not play a set this fast, and I push. He calls with 44. Ouch.

After this I was a bit pissed off and called a raise with Ad10d. The flop came Kd-Jd-5. I got all-in against 2 other people, one holding AK and one with KJ, but I couldn't hit. Another $50 gone.

I managed to regain some self-control and continued to play, but soon I lost another $60, $30 on AQ v 10 10 on a Q-10-x flop, and $30 on a flush draw and overs v TP. Bugger.

Now I was pissed off! I closed down FTP and opened up Stars to see if thing would go a bit better. Early on I raised AhKh to $2, and the BB made it $15. This raise doesn't look strong! I pushed and he thought for a bit but called with Kc-5h. I flopped an A, but he hit runner-runner clubs for the nuts. Another $50 gone.

So I lost about $180 in total yesterday. I know that playing $50NL I can easily have days where I lose 4buy-ins, but it still has pissed me off so much! I am now only $58 up for the month! I think I will take a break for a few days, just yping this has made me feel angry and that doesn't seem to be a good mood to play poker in!

Bankroll ~ $2120

Booked a Win

I played last night and was a lot more focused and patient. I got all-in early with AQ v AJ on a A-A-10-8 board, overbetting massive, knowing that he couldn't fold an ace and hoping that he didn't have AK/A10/A8. I then doubled up with 88 v KK on a 8 high flop. Both pretty standard.

After a few more little pots I was up $120, but I had to play for a bit longer to get my 200 points. Then things started to go a bit worse, I played AK very badly and lost $20, and I let a very aggressive player keep betting into my AQ on an A high flop, but he caught his set of 7's on the river.

So overall I ended up $58 and got the required 200 points, so pretty happy in general, and back over $2.3k.

Bad Weekend

Poker has gone pretty badly this weekend. My A Game partner is back in the game, and so on Friday we tried to take down a multi. We played the $11 rebuy on Stars with a top prize of $12k. However, with 180 getting paid, we ended up busting in 186th with AQs v AA. Nasty. We did get very lucky earlier though when we got all-in with J5 v AJ v AA pre-flop and managed to triple up.

Then on Saturday I had a little time to play. As I didn't have long and I still wanted to earn the 200 Full-Tilt points for the Ironman competition, I decided to 9-table. It was all going pretty well and I was about $100 up until I lost the biggest pot that I have been in for a long time.

I had a stack of $80 and called a min-raise with 99 UTG+1. The button and blinds also called. The flop came 9c-8c-6. UTG bets $2, I make it $10 and the SB check-raises all-in for $80. UTG calls all-in for $20 and I'm not good enough to fold top set. SB shows 7c-5c and UTG shows Ah-7h. So I just need the board to pair! The turn is 6c - paired the board!... but gave SB a straight flush... bugger.

So I actually ended up about $30 on that session, but I was pissed off that it could've been $100 (or $200 if I won that hand).

On Sunday I played a bit more but I was tired and impatient and it was awful. I ended up losing about $100, and it could've been easily avoided. One time a very passive player bet and then re-raised me all-in on a A-10-6 board when I had A6. He only has A10, A6 or a set here, but I called and he had A10. Then I flopped 2 pair with 82o out of the BB on a 8-7-2 and was unable to fold when I was obviously beat. He had 87. Gutted.

I'm not quite sure what the bankroll is on now but It's not great, I guess about $2250. I need to stop tilting and play focused!

On the plus side I now feel comfortable playing 9-tables, and should be earning decent rakeback.

The bad run continues

I played for about an hour and a half last night and lost about $50 - not too much but still very annoying. I did get paid $42 for rakeback for last month though, so again the bankroll hasn't changed much.

It all started so well. An MP player limped and I made it $2.25 on the button with AQ. The BB called and MP re-raised to $9. I find it impossible to respect a limp/re-raise if it does not come from UTG or maybe UTG+1, and thought he was making this play with a lower PP. I therefore potted it for $29, and he pushed. Now I have to call, and I was wrong, he had KK. But I flopped QQ. Nice.

I also got fairly lucky winning a 50-50, getting all-in with AsQs v 85o on a 8s-4s-2 flop, hitting a Q on the river.

Then it went wrong though. I couldn't lay down AA on a 10 high flop, and he obviously showed 10-10. I felt that he could've easily played JJ/QQ the same though, so I wasn't too annoyed at how I played.

I then moved down to $25NL to practice 9-tabling. I found it pretty stressful and lost another $25, so I think I will stick to 6 at the moment.

I feel like a need a break to FTP to get over this downswing, but when I am earning rakeback there and trying to get enough points to get ironman medals, it seems a waste to change, so I will stick around and hope my hands turn around soon. I can't blame luck, as I have actually run very well! This month I am actually up $100 more than I should be according to PokerEV. That makes losing even more annoying, oh well.

Inevitable

After the last post it was pretty obvious that my good run was going to come to an end. I guess I couldn't expect to run at 14BB/100 for the whole month, but I would've liked it to have lasted a little longer!

I played for a couple of hours last night and had a few nasty situations. In one hand I got stacked with KK v AA, but I think I played it pretty well. I played it so that he could've easily stacked off with QQ/JJ there, but oh no, he had the aces. I then lost half a stack with 33 v Q8 on a 3-Q-Q-8-6 when I bet the pot on every street, putting him all-in on the river. I also had to fold QQ after investing about 30BB when it was fairly obvious that I was beat. At this point I was down about $120, and not very happy.

However, I did then hit one nice hand. UTG limped and a fairly TAG player UTG+2 made it $2.25. It folded to me on the button, and I made it $8 with QQ. UTG+2 calls. The flop is 3-9-8. UTG+2 check-calls $10. The turn is a 6. I felt that this player was pretty trappy, and could easily have AA/KK here. a set was unlikely, as he didn't seem quite aggressive enough to raise 99/88 pre-flop UTG+2 with a limper. Anyway, I couldn't afford to give him a free card and so bet $20. He pushed, but with only $13 behind I had to call. Luckily he showed TT, and missed the river.

In the end I only finished down about $45, which could've been a lot worse. After the previous post the night before, I played for about another half an hour and won about $40 so the bankroll hasn't really changed. I just need to get back into winning ways!

I am trying for the ironman thing on FTP at the moment, although I don't really understand it. I opted to go for the medals instead of the freerolls, but I have no idea which is better. I think so far I have 4 days with over 200 points, and 2 more with over 100. I'm not sure how much I will get to play this month, but I expect i should be able to reach Silver status.

That's it really, now about $80 to make until I can move up!

Good start to November

I know this post is going to jinx it and I will now go on a 20 buy-in downswing, but November has been going pretty well so far! I've only played $50NL full ring on FTP and after only playing for about 4-5 hours so far this month I am up over $280 and about another $30 in rakeback.

I have to get about another $70 until I have made 10 buy-ins at $50, and then I can move up to $100NL. I did use to play $100NL, but it was a long time ago and I didn't play at this level for a long period, and so I am a little worried about moving up. I know that if I lose 2+ buy-ins in a session then I would be pretty pissed off. But I just have to go for it. I might start by playing 3 tables of $50 and 3 of $100 to slowly mix it in.

Having said that I will probably go on a horrible run now and won't get anywhere near moving up. It's always the way, I have a bad spell and think I should give up poker, but this is completely forgotten when I have a winning spell. Then poker seems so easy. Hands like these enforce this...

- UTG+2 posted his BB. It is folded to be on the button and I make it $2.25 with TT. Just UTG+2 calls. The flop is A-4-3. He checks, I try to take it cheaply with $2.20 and he calls. The turn is a T. He check-calls $7.50. The river is another 3. He checks and I push for $38 into the $25 pot. He thinks and calls with A5. +$47.75

- I get AhJh in the BB. MP makes it $1.75 and the SB calls. The SB has $230 and is playing very loosely and seems to be tilting a bit. I have $75 behind and want to get in hands with the SB, and just call. The flop is 2h-6h-2d. SB bets the pot ($5.25) and I call. I want to see what MP does before I commit anymore. MP folds. The turn is a 9h. SB checks, I value bet $15 and he calls. The river is 10h. SB checks. Now on a paired board I could be beat, and the SB is definitely the type of playing who may have called with a 2 out of the SB. But he is also the type of player that could never fold Kh here, so I push for $52. He thinks and thinks, so I know I'm ahead. Finally he calls, and shows... 5h3h! Nice. +$72.30

Well the bankroll is currently at about $2350, so the aim now is to hit my monthly target early and try out some $100NL before the end of the month.

October Update

Here's October's graph. As you can see I had a really awful spell, where I dropped 6 buy-ins in very quick succession, but I think in all honesty that it was my fault. I was playing poorly and started to tilt, and that's not a good combination. According to PokerEV, I should've also won about $115 more in the month, and so I obviously ran fairly badly too.

Overall I played just over 12,000 hands and made 2.8 BB/100. From this it should be obvious that I didn't reach my monthly target of $2200, but with rakeback and some bonuses I did get fairly close. I ended the month on about $2075. I am over $2k! Woohoo!

After the awful swing at 50NL 6-max, I dropped down to $20NL 6-max and made a bit of a killing, making nearly $100 in under 2000 hands. However, when I moved up it continued to frustrate me, with hands like this.

- I raise to $2 UTG and UTG+1 makes it $6. It's folded to me. UTG+1 had been very tight, he had only raised pre-flop once in about 80 hands, and had never 3-bet. I stupidly decided to trap. The flop was 2-3-Q. I check, he bets $10 and I push. He insta-calls with 23s and I don't catch up. Grrr, how the hell does he 3-bet my UTG raise after playing so tight?

Anyway after this, and reading a few other blogs etc, I decided to switch to full ring games. Before going travelling I only played full ring games, and although I ran at about the same BB/100 rate, the variance was wildly reduced. Reduced variance sounded very tempting! Also, you play many less hands, I can easily 6-table, and so actually see more hands per hour.

For rakeback I thought I would give FTP a go. Here's the results...

- very first hand starting back on FTP and playing full-ring and I get 44 in the BB. An MP player makes it $1.50 and only I call. The flop is Q-J-4. I bet out $3, MP makes it $9 and I push. He insta-calls with AA and misses. Full ring was meant to be! +$47.25

There have, however, also been some horrible hands...

- There are 2 limpers and I make it $2.75 on the button with QQ. The SB and both limpers call. The flop is an attractive A-Q-5. It checks to me, I bet $8 and just the SB calls. The turn is a K. I'm not really worried about J10, but a nasty river now could lose me the pot, so I bet big and the SB calls again. The river is a 6 and the SB again checks. I definitely can't put them on J10 now, and so I push. The SB thinks... and calls with KK. -$50.20

Overall though I am enjoying full ring. The decisions seem much easier and I am earning a good amount of rakeback. At the moment I am running at about 8BB/100 but that is over a very small sample.

My target for November is to keep playing $50NL full ring, to play over 10k hands and to get my bankroll to over $2500! Let's hope it happens!