Maybe it’s just January

Three weeks into January and my poker is not going as I had hoped. I have played several sit and go’s and a little bit of cash games and nothing is really going my way. Financially I have not lost a lot of money, only 15% of my bankroll but the bad beats at Full Tilt are starting to get to me. I don’t think that Full Tilt is rigged, nor do I think any reputable site is, but I am certainly going to start playing elsewhere so see if things improve.

I’d say that 25% of my losses are due to playing badly or making mistakes, but that leaves 75% to bad beats, and I can be honest and say that I have suffered my fair share. On one hand, getting the bad beats means that at least I was ahead in the hand and just got unlucky, but on the other hand it’s very frustrating.

January of 2006 was the same way. Things just weren’t going my way on the felt. Once February rolled around things started to improve and I ended up having a very good year. Everyone goes through these periods of ‘rough play’ and I’m no different. I just need to make sure I keep my head on straight and get my money in with the best of it.

The key is to keep moving forward. I know for the most part I’m playing well and making the right decisions, and the cards will break for me in the long run. I just have to stay focused, patient and take advantage of the times where the cards come my way.

Live Game Good, Tournament Bad

I went to the Seneca Niagara Casino on Saturday with a buddy and ended up having a pretty good live game session, and a not so good tournament session.

The tournament was a mid-range buy in with a total of 47 participants. I tried playing a little more of a lowball style early on but never seem to hit any flops. Then I tightened up and waited for premium hands. When they came I got no callers and when I missed it seemed like I was always up against a raise and a re-raise, and I’d be out of position. I was never really in contention with this tournament and was knocked out at the one hour thirty minute mark.

I quickly moved over to my regular game and had an impact immediately. My first hand was AKs and I hit my Ace on the flop. I had a caller all the way so my first pot ended up being a decent one. I spent about nine hours at that table and left with an ROI of 51%. I didn’t get as many Big Bets per hour as I would have liked but that was mostly doe to some tough hands near the end of my session.

Overall, I have to say that I was very happy with my performance in the live game. I was very relaxed and had a very good read on the table. I spent more time thinking about my decisions and I think that went a long way to keeping me out of trouble. I found myself either winning small pots or very large pots and I think that’s the safest way to play low-limit. It seems like with the average sized pots you never really know where you stand in the hand and it’s always vulnerable.

My only regret is not starting later on in the day since the action didn’t start to build until the 8 pm mark or so. The one bonus you get at an American poker room is that the drinks are free so it can be more profitable if your opponents start hitting the sauce.

Woo Hoo

So, I get into the office this morning and plug my iPod into the computer to listen to some podcasts that I downloaded in the morning. I started up the Joe Average podcast and settled in to checking some e-mails and getting down to work.

About 10 minutes into the show they get to a segment that they refer to as "What Would You Do?" This is a weekly segment where Robin (one of the hosts) describes a normally tricky hand and asks the audience to give their opinion on what they would do during a key point in the hand. When she started talking about the hand I remembered that I had submitted my thoughts on the hand. I focused a bit more because I really wanted to see how close I got.

Well, before they announce how the hand was finished, they announce the winner, and as I'm sure your guessing she announced my name! This completely blew me away. I listened to her describe the hand, just as I had guessed and when all was said and done, she lost the hand, but I was still correct with my guess.

It's not a game unless there is a prize and I get to receive a 12 month subscription to All-In magazine. This is a great read that I pickup whenever I see it on the newsstand so getting this subscription is quite the bonus. The 'kicker' in all this was that it was the first entry I have ever submitted for the 'What Would You Do' segment.

Winning this was a great start to my day and I'm sure the feeling is going to last with me for quite a while, hopefully at least until my session on Saturday.

I recommend everyone listening to this outstanding podcast. It's one of the few that I truly look forward to and I'm sure anyone who grabs an episode or two will get hooked. You can get to the show by clicking the following link.

http://www.joeaveragepoker.com/

Thanks again Fred, Charles and especially the Queen of Hearts Robin Farley.

WSOP 2007 Events Schedule

Harrah's has posted the event schedule for this years World Series of Poker. To see the schedule go to www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

You can add all of the events that are scheduled to happen at the World Series of Poker, 2007, by clicking the button. You need to have an account with Google for this to work.

A Little Poker at Lunch

I usually go to a buddies apartment close to work at lunch to play X-Box and eat lunch. It’s better then sitting at our desk, or even the “diner” at work. Well today I forgot my controller so we figured we may as well play some on-line poker. I brought my Mac so I could play at Full-Tilt and he played at Paradise. We each did well in our respective Sit and Go’s. I earned second in a 9 person Turbo tourney and he won his 5 person tourney. Not a bad way to blow through our lunch break.

My buddies table was more challenging as well because he had to deal with a maniac on his left. It forced him to be more patient and wait for a killer hand. When the dust settled, he had to take the maniac heads-up and finished him off by some strong, aggressive pre-flop raises.

Things were pretty simple at my table. I got good hands when I needed them, played tight to get to the bubble and played aggressive once I got into the money. I have to admit that I did get super lucky when we were three handed. I had AJo and I raised. The short stack went all-in (which he had been doing quite a bit at this point) so I called. I had him covered so I figured this was my shot. He turned over Kings and I know I’m pretty much done. With no Ace on the flop I stopped paying attention until the chips got pushed to me. I ended up rivering a four, giving me a straight and taking the other player out. Yes, I got lucky, but I’m not going to apologize for it. It happens.

To finish it off, I hit a Jack on the flop, bet, was raised and went all-in with my JTs. My opponent flips over Aces and that’s it for me. Second place and I finished the tourney in 30 minutes, nice.

1 for 3 in Sit In Go’s and a Test Drive of Poker Office.

Last night I played in three sit and go’s with mixed results. I earned 3^rd place in one of them, 7^th in the second and 4^th in the last one I played. The most frustrating placement was 4^th, for several reasons.

1. I had connection problems throughout the session which caused me to miss between 8-12 hands. That easily could have made a difference between fourth and third place.
2. The very act of finishing on the bubble is frustrating in itself. To be so close to the money and not being able to make it stings.
3. I suffered a very bad beat, that sucked away my chips faster then Paris Hilton in a dark room with a camcorder. I had jacks and raised. I was re-raised by nine’s and had another caller after with AJo. I went all-in and was called by both players. The AJ caught an Ace on the river. Since I was in the chip lead prior to this hand I still had around 1500 chips. I lost 500 more within a couple hands after losing a race against a short stack. I had sixes, they had AKo and he hit his King on the flop.

All in all there wasn’t much I could do to avoid getting knocked out where I did. The good news is that I was able to use a new piece of poker tracking software called Poker Office. To some this isn’t new at all as it has been around for quite a while. I have to say that I’m very impressed with the features and benefits that the program offers. I’ll offer up a more comprehensive review when I’ve had a chance to play a bit more.

First Impressions - Poker After Dark

I had heard many of my podcasts talking about this show, mostly due to the fact that Shana Hiatt makes her long anticipated return to poker. The first challenge was to actually find a way to watch this show. Since I live in Canada, or maybe because of where I live in Ontario the show wasn't airing on any of the channels to my disposal. I tried going to the website and even though the episodes were available for viewing I wasn't able to see them due to my location. Canada has very strict standards that they make Canadians follow when it comes to accessing television shows from America.

After a few days of frustration I finally found a site that was hosting torrents for the show. I'll have a review shortly regarding that site since it's easily the most kick ass site when it comes to Poker related torrents. I'm surprised that it took me so long to find it, but now that I have I'm sure that I will make good use of it. If I've peaked your curiosity, and you know what a 'torrent' is then feel free to go to www.thepokerbay.org for some terrific downloads.

So, I finally get to watch Poker After Dark and right off the bat there is quite a bit I enjoy about it. The format (a 6 person freeze-out, winner take all tournament) is ideal for TV, and gives viewers a chance to see how these types of tournaments should be played. Since the program takes a week to show just one 6 person sit and go they show a large percentage of hands and so you really get to see how the Pro's play their hands. By comparison, ESPN shows only around 10% or less of the hands during the tables they cover during the World Series of Poker.

The first thing that struck me is how a lot of the pro's were not playing their powerful pairs aggressively pre-flop. This trap-em strategy flies in the face to conventional poker wisdom, and it was nice to see pro's willing to change their style of play. It's also important to remember that all the players at the table were top quality caliber. The return of Shana Hiatt was also nice to see. You could tell that they didn't use her enough at the beginning of the week, and I'm sure in future episodes she will have more features on the show. On a side note, I listened to an interview with Shana and the Rounders Poker show where they were asking about the fact that the show is on late. It's on after Conan on weekdays and a special Directors Cut - wrap up episode is on after Saturday Night Live. She responded to the question by saying "Thank God for Tivo." I just wonder if she's going to get a call from someone at NBC reminding her that NBC makes money off of ads, which Tivo can delete, and therefore maybe she doesn't want to support a device that takes away the revenue that pays her salary. Just a thought...

All-in-all it was a great show to watch and contrary to other poker shows you can learn quite a bit from this one. Whether the show will be successful in the long run only time will tell. There are still some minor quirks to work out but I'm sure they will listen to the Players and the viewers and make the necessary adjustments.

Home Game Organizer - PokerRoom.com

In my quest to find an on-line room that plays Chinese poker I discovered a great program that can be used to organize a home tournament with extreme ease and flexibility. This application is perfect for a person who wants to host a tournament with a minimal amount of fuss and muss.

It's simple and works the exact way a tournament organizer should. The best part of the application is that it's free. It's nice to see a poker site giving everyone such a valuable and helpful piece of software for no cost, or expecatations.

You can download the software by clicking the following link:

http://pokerroom.com/promos/poker-shop/free-stuff/organizer.html


Fig 1 - This is the start page. Just click Create New Tournament to begin.



Fig 2 - Enter in the name of the tournament and all the details required.



Fig 3 - Enter, delete or change the blind and level settings.



Fig 4 - Save your settings and then click on Start Tournament to be taken to the Tournament screen.



Fig 5 - As the tournament progresses you can reduce the amount of entires and see the main details change dynamically.

It's tough to give a higher recommendation to a program. If you own a computer and you don't have an application like this you should download it and use it. It does something that all software strives to do - it works exactly as expected.

Book Review – The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time

When I think of poker books I like to separate them into two categories: strategy books and story books. Let me just say that The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King is one hell of a great poker story book.

The book chronicles the biggest game of poker ever conceived and all the twists and turns along the way. The story revolves around a rich banker by the name of Andy Beal who arrives in Vegas, takes up poker and searches for the richest game he can find. The story that spans several years is nothing short of remarkable, with fortunes being won and lost during some incredible heads-up poker matches.

Apart from telling the story of Andy Beal and his quest to play in the very biggest games the book also peels back the curtain and gives the readers a glimpse into the poker world that isn’t shown on TV. The author, Michael Craig pulls very few punches when describing some of the events that took place and how the players involved acted when their entire bankroll was on the line.

The main thing I gained from this book is a new-found respect for some of the players mentioned in the book, most notably, Todd Brunson, Ted Forrest, Jennifer Harman, and Howard Lederer. These players, who are well known from what you see on TV, are so much more accomplished when you look at their performances in the high-limit matches during their career.

If you are looking for a great story of poker, and an honest, almost painful view of what the high-stakes of poker is all about, pick this book up. It may not offer you a lot in terms of strategy, but it will sure give you a lot to think and talk about.

The following is a link to amazon to buy the book:

The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King

Starting the New Year off Right

I’m performing a little poker experiment for the start of 2007. In the past, I tended to jump from game to game, playing in different limits and joining the odd tournament to pass the time. I have decided to be much stricter with my bankroll and choice of game for a limited time. For instance, one half of my bankroll has been set aside for on-line play, and the other half is to be used for playing at live venues. Also, I deposited enough money in my full-tilt account to handle playing 30 $10+$1 Single table sit and go’s. Sit and Go tournaments are my favorite since they don’t require a substantial investment in time and because there is a clearly defined winner. So the plan is to play these 30 SnG’s and to see how I end up at the end of it all. My winnings (or losses) will determine if I’m capable of comfortably moving up to the $20 sit and go’s.

I should be able to get through the 30 tournaments by the end of January even though I’m expecting to get done sooner then that. My first SnG was last night and things went very well.

My basic strategy for playing full table SnG’s is as follows:

1. Tight is right for the first few levels. There is no reason to go after the blinds when they are so small. If I’m getting into a pot I’m doing so with only quality hands and I’m putting in large (5X BB or more) raises to force pressure on my opponents.
2. At the mid-point I start getting involved with more speculative hands and I start to steal the blinds more often. My earlier play will allow me to get in cheaply most of the time, and my raises will be respected more often then not.
3. When we are 4-5 handed (only the top 3 get paid) I’ll wait for solid hands and play them very aggressively. Most people won’t want to be eliminated 1 spot away from the money so most of them will fold unless they feel they have quality holdings. Most Sit and Go specialists will try stealing the blinds a lot more at this point but I find that doesn’t work well at lower limit SnG’s.
4. Once I’ve gotten into the money I tend to trap my opponents and wait for them to make a mistake. Most players loosen up at this point that they are happy to get 3^rd place and a little bit of cash. I’m usually always shooting for 1^st place.

This exact strategy was what I implemented last night and it worked out to perfection. This was an uber-type table with very little action so I had to be a bit more patient then normal. Usually against a table as tight as this one I like to raise a lot more but my hand selection and the situations just didn’t seem to be optimal most of the time. When stealing, I like to have a hand that is at least a pair, suited or connected so that way I have a plan B if I’m called or re-raised, but during the mid-point of the tournament this just wasn’t happening.

I coasted into the money (which took over an hour to get to) and got to the point of getting heads up. I will admit that I did get lucky once, catching a 5 outer on the river to win a hand heads up. Everyone gets lucky every once and a while and out of all the hands I got in with this was the only one that I wasn’t the favorite pre and post flop. The Sit and Go was over a few hands later with me walking away with first place and a great start to the new year.