Playing Well At Full Tilt, Party, Not So Much

I haven't had much success at Party since receiving my bonus. I was playing a bit out of my bankroll with their Sit and Go's, the SnG's took forever to fill up and even though I was always in contention of cashing the blinds seemed to get up to high late in the SnG. I also played a little Pot Limit Omaha High Low cash games. These usually never went very well. I would build up my stack then suffer a bad beat and that would clear out a lot of hard work. I'm glad I was able to play more at the site, and that it was technically free but now that my bonus has been used up I'm back to playing full time at Full Tilt where I have been playing very well. My success is coming primarily in PLO8 9 and 18 person Sit and Go's. I guess my style of play is more successful in PLO8 tournaments rather then cash games.

No Love at Lunch

Played in two low limit PLO8 SnG's at lunch and busted in 5th during both of them. I was a combination of too tight/weak starting hands throughout most of the first match. I finally get AA2T, suited once and my opponent pushes with QQ44. I go all in and winning this places me in 3rd and almost a lock for the cash. Flop comes 422 and it's all over. Thanks Full Tilt.

Second match saw me with top two pair and a low draw against a made flush on the turn. No help comes on the river and I'm out. I wasn't short-stack at this table but it was heading that way. It was probably also due to a bit of tilt since I knew my chips were going in bad when I called all-in.

I played in two more matches when I got home, one was a 9 person SnG at Party and the final one in bed was a 18 person SnG at Full Tilt. I was out in 5th during the match on Party. I had a nice chip stack about halfway through the match but then lost a great portion of it drawing to a flush and low draw that never came. Three people were knocked out in the first few hands so I figured that the rest of the match would be like that, it wasn't. Play slowed considerably when we got down to 6 handed and the short-stack to my right played very strong to stay in contention. It was all over for me when my nut straight on fourth street turned into a full house for my opponent on the river.

The second match, the 18 person SnG went much better as I cashed and ended up finishing in third. There wasn't much though behind this match. I played my strong hands strong and folded my weak hands and draws.

Overall the day was pretty uneventful. I posted a small profit at Full Tilt and a slightly larger loss at Party.

Lunchtime Poker

I went 1 for 2 in my Turbo 9 person PLO8 Sit and Go's that happened today at lunch. I played uber-type and patient in both matches. I was able to get a couple powerful scooping hands in the second match and took it down while using other players aggression against them.

I posted my first thread about a hand that happened yesterday. Click here to check it out.

#Game No : 6823100677
***** Hand History for Game (?) *****
PL Omaha Hi-Lo $6 USD Buy-in Trny: 38662748 Level: 5 Blinds(200/400) - Tuesday February 26 20:55:52 ET 2008
Table Table 125768 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 3
Seat 5: InsaynePayne ( 14 485 )
Seat 6: mark2004222 ( 1 675 )
Seat 7: Hero ( 3 840 )
Trny: 38662748 Level: 5
Blinds(200/400)

Holecards:
Dealt to Hero [ ]
RAISE Hero , 1,200
CALL InsaynePayne, 1,000
CALL mark2004222, 800

Flop:
[ ]
BET InsaynePayne, 3,600
mark2004222 folds
Hero folds
InsaynePayne does not show cards.
InsaynePayne wins 7,200 chips

Playing Normal Again

I played in two more PLO8 Sit and Go's at Party Poker tonight and earned second place in each of them. I was more patient during these matches and was willing to wait for good hands to play rather then getting my money in bad and hoping to draw out.

In my first match I honesty did not voluntarily put money into the pot for the first 20 hands. THis was a combination of some weak holdings and multiple raises pre-flop. As a result I cashed before ever having to risk a chip! It's not impossible to have that happen during a Sit and Go but it doesn't happen often.

With the second match I was involved in more pots but I still kept things under control. I released drawing hands when I was under too much pressure and things worked out quite well. I only had to play in one all-in hand but I was ahead pre-flop and on the flop, fell behind on the turn and then rivered my flush. The chips I earned in that pot let me coast to the final three.

A pivotal hand that I played when it was three handed:

Level: 5 Blinds(200/400) - Tuesday, February 26, 20:55:52 ET 2008
Table Table 125768 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 3
Seat 5: InsaynePayne ( 14,485 ) (This player has been super aggressive throughout 3 and 4 handed play)
Seat 6: mark2004222 ( 1,675 )
Seat 7: JonShadow12 ( 3,840 )
Trny: 38662748 Level: 5
Blinds(200/400)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to JonShadow12 [ 4h 2d Ks Kd ]
JonShadow12 raises [1,200] (3 handed I figure I'll pick up the blinds with the raise. If not I still have a reasonable hand to play with and can afford an all-in against the short stack.)
InsaynePayne calls [1,000] (He's called lots of hands, I'm not surprised here.)
mark2004222 calls [800] (This surprises me a bit. He's low in chips so I'm pretty sure my hand may not be very strong now. I have to hit this flop hard to continue.)
** Dealing Flop ** [ 5c, Th, 9c ] (Not the best flop. Lots of hands beat me and I don't have any draws.)
InsaynePayne bets [3,600] (Damn - This puts me all in if I call but that bets smells like a small set or tw0-pair trying to keep anyone from drawing at a low.)
mark2004222 folds (With this fold, mark only has 475 chips left. I can call and probably lose or fold and almost certainly get second place. Based on my hand, my opponene and my remaining chips if I fold I decide to play it safe and fold.)
JonShadow12 folds
InsaynePayne does not show cards.
InsaynePayne wins 7,200 chips (This gives InsaynePayne a lock on the chip lead and eventually the match. At the same time though I cruised into an easy second place when I could have easily been in third with a foolish call.)

I'll take the profit and it's nice that my foolishly bad play didn't continue past 24 hours.

There's No Reason I Should Be This Lucky

Throughout the past couple of days I have ended up breaking even in my PLO8 Sit and Go's. Most have been 9-10 person matches with a couple 18 person matches thrown in for good measure.

Even though I would consider myself to have played very poorly in the past couple of days I still ended up breaking even overall. Once match I won by being extremely lucky. We were getting ready to leave and meet up with friends to go see a movie. I started the Sit and Go nearly an hour and a half before we had to go, and felt that this would be more then enough time. Nearly an hour and a half into the match and we were still 3-handed. With little time to spare I ran upstairs, shaved, brushed my teeth and played poker all at the same time.

By the time we got to heads-up play I was already late and trying to get dressed. I decided to push all my hands to get it over with. Within two hands I had won the entire SnG. My starting hand for the last hand was a 6789, compared to my opponents AAT2. In PLO8 this is the equivalent of Aces being up against 72. When the flop hit I got as lucky as I could have. 69J put me ahead with two pair and then I disconnected. All the money was in by that time so when I reconnected I checked the cashier and sure enough I had won the match. It's not the prettiest way to win things but sometimes, that's what it takes.

Yesterday I played at lunch and at night and ended up being lucky in some matches and playing badly in other ones. I was happy to leave even over the past couple of days and I'm going to be focusing on my patience and starting hand requirements going forward to try to improve on my recent performance.

Several Sit and Go's, a Little Bit of Profit

Throughout the day and night I played in several PLO8 Sit and Go's at PartyPoker and Full Tilt. The earlier SnG's didn't go very well. I can pinpoint the reason though, I played bad. It happens and the important thing is to recognize that it's happening, or happened and then make the necessary improvements.

I was able to tighten up, regain my patience and then earn a profit for the day after a cash and win.

$50 From Party Poker

I always like it when a poker site sends my an offer for some type of bonus. Once you open it you find out that you must play x number of hands, or some other requirement. Even though this is usually not the hardest thing to accomplish I'd rather receive a bonus where you can us it right away and only cash it out if and when you complete the requirements. This is the best way to do bonuses because you will get players jumping right in and if they lose all of the bonus money they won't be upset and chances are the site earns back a great deal more in the rake and entry fee's that this new, loyal customer will contribute.

Well, PartyPoker.com did just that. I received a $50 bonus that I can't remove until I play some poker and a little bit of the on-line casino. Now, I'm not a fan of casino's, especially on-line ones, even though most who know me think I'm a gambler. Even though I don't like it I know I need to play and I'm cool with that since it's free money.

Good stuff PartyPoker, I commend you!

Another Good Night With Omaha Hi/Lo

In following with my plan to play Omaha Hi/Lo only for the next little while I played in three PLO8 Sit and Go's at Full Tilt. My first SnG saw me finish in a painful 4th place. This was after being the short stack for several levels and clawing my way back up several times. I made some mistakes earlier in the session that prevented me fro cruising into the cash, but I also learned from those mistakes.


Me next two SnG's were much more rewarding. I finished in second in the 9 person SnG and then figured I would try out a 18 person SnG. Even though it took a bit longer I was able to win the event thus increasing my overall bankroll by 10%.

I've said it in past entries, Omaha Hi/Lo is a game where you can recognize your mistakes easily and you are ofter rewarded for playing well. I find there is a lot less luck in PLO8 when you compare it to Texas Hold'em.

Another Milestone Reached

When I started the whole turn nothing into something bankroll experiment there were several milestones that would have to be achieved for the experiment to be a success. Here are some of the initial ones:

• Make money (Done when I got 3rd in a free-roll hosted by www.railbirds.com
• Get up to $20. I made this amount with the free-roll cash so I hit two milestones in one shot. Getting up to this amount allowed me to start playing in $1.00 SnG's. With the steep entry fee charged by Full Tilt these aren't a great value but since I made cash from their free-rolls I'm happy to give them a bit more juice than they should be charging.
• Get up to $100. (I just passed this milestone, and then some after a couple very successful days of poker.) This means I can start playing in $5 SnG's. Their value is a bit better a I'll see the number of really weak, crazy players diminish. There will still be plenty at this level but I know it won't be as bad. I've played in two $5 SnG's so far, 4th in the first and 2nd in the second one so I already have a small profit.
• The next step is to make it to $150 since that will allow me to start playing in ring games along with tournaments.

I have also been crushing some lower limit PLO8 (Pot -Limit Omaha High/Low). I played a lot of Limit Omaha High/Low in the past but I found it frustrating since I couldn't push others off hands. With Pot Limit I have the best of both worlds. Lots of cheap flops and I can apply heavy pressure against my opponents and make them pay for their mistakes. Out of the past 4 SnG's I have won 3 and gotten 2nd in the other.

My recent success has slowed in Hold'Em but continues to gather steam in Omaha Hi/Lo. A mixture of bad play and bad luck has seen me not cash in my last few Hold'Em Sit and Go's. I'm going to focus on Omaha and try to see if I can continue to build my bankroll playing a game where I'm doing quite well.

Friendy Games

Last night I played in two $5 friendly Sit and Go's. I was fourth place in the first and third in the second one. It was fun even though I didn't get to cash but I do like playing in those types of matches to experiment with different playing styles. I had a maniac to my left that made things just a little harder than exacted. There were a few hands that I could have played differently but for the most part I felt I did ok. It seemed like when I had the goods I had no callers and when I was semi-bluffing I could have had more callers. It was frustrating but that's part of the game. I should have been more aggressive against the maniac and that is one of the lessons I'll take from the games.

1 For 2 Again

This time I busted out in my NLHE SnG in seventh place and cashed in my H.O.R.S.E. event for 2nd place. There wasn't anything too eventful that happened. No crazy hands. All I had to do was play the cards, play my opponents and the poker gods took care of the rest. Very little profit, but profit none the less, and valuable experience.

It's Just an Ace

I went 1 for 2 in my Sit and Go's tonight at Full Tilt. I got second in my NLHE 9 person table after being completely card dead for the entire tournament. I know people love to blame the whole card dead thing for not doing well but hey, I got second so it's not that I'm using my lack of playable hands as an excuse. I played as well as I think I could have considering the circumstances.

My H.O.R.S.E. event was much different, and shorter. In my first playable hand I was in the Limit Hold'em section of the event. I was dealt TT in late position. It was raised by the UTG +1 player and I made it 3 bets. The small blind calls, UTG+1 caps the betting and I call. The flop comes 385 and the UTG raiser bets out. I raise to isolate and the small blind folds. UTG+1 re-raises and I just call. Another eight peels off on the turn and the UTG player bets out again. I remember feeling that I wasn't playing aggressive enough during limit so I decide to raise. He re-raises and I figure I'm up against a bigger pair or even possibly an A8. I call and know that I'm calling the bet the UTG player makes regardless of the river. The river is an Ace. I call his bet and he reveals A4. He had 7 outs on the turn and caught one after heavy betting from me. Before you think this was a brilliant play by the other player but I assure you, he donked off his chips pretty quickly throughout the SnG.

I never really recovered after that. During the Stud High/Low event I though I was drawing to a scoop hand. I didn't catch my flush for the high and I lost to a better low. Out in seventh but I don't think I would have played either hand any differently.

Grr Full Tilt

I know it isn't Full Tilt, it's random, but damn if it doesn't feel like someone is controlling the cards, seeing how badly they can put someone on tilt.

I'm playing in a 9 person NLHE SnG and it is 4-handed. I'm the short-stack and card dead, not a good combination. Here is the hand that I'm knocked out with:

Seat 2: Sayntin (2,445)
Seat 3: Iam4U (2,505)
Seat 7: wcarro4 (7,110)
Seat 9: JonShadow (1,440)
JonShadow posts the small blind of 120
Sayntin posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to JonShadow [Kh As] (Best hand I've seen in 30 deals.)
Iam4U folds
wcarro4 raises to 480
JonShadow raises to 1,440, and is all in
Sayntin folds
wcarro4 calls 960
JonShadow shows [Kh As]
wcarro4 shows [Qc Jc]
*** FLOP *** [Th 4h Jh] (He hits top pair.)
*** TURN *** [Th 4h Jh] [Ks] (I hit top pair.)
*** RIVER *** [Th 4h Jh Ks] [9s] (He hits a straight on the river!)
JonShadow shows a pair of Kings
wcarro4 shows a straight, King high
wcarro4 wins the pot (3,120) with a straight, King high

This is a very painful way to lose a hand. It's like being given two bad beats in a row. One is usually bad enough but two, that's just cruel.

I take a tiny amount of comfort in the fact that it seems I lose most of my SnG's this way.

The other SnG I played in was once again a H.O.R.S.E 8 person match-up. I made a wheel that allowed me to scoop early on and take a chip lead. From there most of the hands just played themselves. I ended up winning the SnG when all was said and done, and I did get my fair share of luck so I guess it makes up for the NL SnG.

February 12, 2008

A pretty uneventful night on the poker scene. I played in two sit-and-go's at Full Tilt. One was a No Limit Hold'em table with 9 players, the other, an 8 person H.O.R.S.E. match up.

I earned 3rd place in the NLHE SnG. My bust out hand was Kings (mine) versus 72. To be fair I limped in to try to get either of my two remaining overly aggressive opponents to bite and push hard. The flop was unkind and I pushed. Sometimes plays like that work, sometimes they don't.

The H.O.R.S.E. event was much longer, as always considering it is limit and some hands take much more time to play out. We got to three handed play after an hour. I ended up getting 2nd place overall in this Sit and Go. There were a few marginal hands I could have played but overall I was happy with how I played. I was fortunate that a lot of my opponents let me draw to my hand cheaply.

February 11, 2008

I had been planning to do more blogging about my poker playing at the beginning of the year but since a great deal of my writing time had been taken up with another project I found myself not putting any time into my poker blog. That's going to change now, at least for a little while. I may not feel like writing a lot from day to day but I am going to strive to at least put in a few notes after each session.

For the past three years January has historically been my worst. I have never been able to come up with a reason and even looking at my stats I would be hard pressed to come up with any solid reason why I post losing sessions in January. This January fell into that same pattern, but the difference was that my losses in January accounted for less then 1% of my overall bankroll. Needless to say the sting wasn't too great. I'd still like to discover what happens to my game in January that causes this so I can fix it. Since I'm tracking stats a lot more now it may be easier if it happens next year.

2008 Heads-Up Invitation List Release

The final list of 60 invitations for the NBC Heads Up Championship have just been released:

1. Alexander, Jason
2. Antonius, Patrik
3. Bellande, Jean-Robert
4. Benyamine, David
5. Brown, Chad
6. Brunson, Doyle
7. Brunson, Todd
8. Chan, Johnny
9. Cheadle, Don
10. Clements, Scott
11. Cloutier, T.J.
12. Cunningham, Allen
13. Deeb, Freddy
14. Duke, Annie
15. Dwan, Tom
16. Edler, Bill
17. Elezra, Eli
18. Elizabeth, Shannon
19. Esfandiari, Antonio
20. Farha, Sam
21. Ferguson, Chris
22. Fischman, Scott
23. Forrest, Ted
24. Garrett, Brad
25. Gold, Jamie
26. Gowen, Clonie
27. Greenstein, Barry
28. Grizzle, Sam
29. Hachem, Joe
30. Hansen, Gus
31. Harman, Jennifer
32. Hellmuth, Phil
33. Hershiser, Orel
34. Ivey, Phil
35. Juanda, John
36. Kaplan, Gabe
37. Laak, Phil
38. Lederer, Howard
39. Lindgren, Erick
40. Little, Jonathan
41. Matusow, Mike
42. Mizrachi, Michael
43. Negreanu, Daniel
44. Nguyen, Scotty
45. Pham, David
46. Raymer, Greg
47. Rousso, Vanessa
48. Schneider, Tom
49. Schreiber, Daniel
50. Seed, Huck
51. Seidel, Erik
52. Singer, David
53. Smith, Gavin
54. Tilly, Jennifer
55. Townsend, Brian
56. Tran, J.C.
57. Tran, Kenny
58. Wasicka, Paul
59. Williams, David
60. Yang, Jerry

In total there will be 64 participants with the last four being special event winners.

There are a couple of match-ups that I would love to see.

Jason Alexander vs Brad Garrett - This would probably be the most entertaining match considering the personalities in play.

Patrik Antonius vs Gus Hansen - If you want more women watching and playing poker put these two guys at the table against each other.

Chad Brown vs Vanessa Rousso - Boyfriend against girlfriend. Considering that they were accused of slow-playing each other during a recent tournament it will be nice to see how they
play against each other.

Doyle Brunson vs Todd Brunson - Father against son. Need I say more?

Johnny Chan vs Jamie Gold - The teacher versus the student. Chan has always supported Gold but I'm sure he'll be happy to run him over during this match.

Annie Duke vs Daniel Negreanu - It's no secret that there is bad blood between these two so watching them in a match together would be run. If not Annie, Howard Lederer would also be a good match for Daniel.

Sam Grizzle vs Phil Hellmuth - If there is anyone who will try to strangle Hellmuth it's Grizzle.

Brian Townsend vs Phil Ivey - These two have had some incredible on-line heads-up matches. I believe that this would be the best poker played throughout the event.

Those are my thoughts on it.

Bankroll Management

This has always been a topic were I have found very few people giving concrete advice or numbers to build a solid bankroll foundation. Bankroll management also tends to be what many pros say is the most important factor for a players long-term success.

When considering the numbers for a poker bankroll it is important to separate poker bankrolls into two categories, session bankrolls and overall bankroll.

Session bankroll is the money that you sit down at the table with, and also any extra money you are willing to play with.

Overall bankroll is the total "poker" money that you have available. Under no circumstances should a player ever play with their entire overall bankroll at one time.

So, how much should a player sit down with?

In a limit game, at a casino, I use the following equation to determine my buy-in:

Pre-flop betting limit+flop betting limit+turn betting limit+river betting limit * 10 = optimal buy in. In a $5-$10 game the amount would be as follows:

(5+5+10+10)*(10)=300

Therefore, the correct buy-in for a $5-$10 game is $300.

In a no-limit game I focus more on the size of the big-blind in the game. In a $1-$2 game I would want to be able to buy in with 100 times the big blind. Therefore I would want to buy in for $200. This is the limit for most $1-$2 NL tables. In addition to the initial buy in I want to have half of my original buy-in in reserve to re-buy if necessary.

Therefore, for a $1-$2 NL game I'd bring $300 with me and usually buy in for $200, re-buying if I feel I have the best of it and get a bad beat early on.

Now, that takes care of the session bankroll amounts. Overall bankroll gets based as a percentage of the figures below. I have adopted the Chris Ferguson theory of bankroll management. His rules are as follows:

* I'll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I'm allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less).
* I won't buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I'm allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1.
* If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me.

I agree with the final point in an on-line environment since you can join a new table at any time. With a brick and mortar casino I would change to an uber-tight playing style to ensure I don't put my profits at risk and continue to play. I would leave though if my playing profits were reduced in half after achieving the 10% mark. For example, I buy into a $1-$2 NL game with $200, with a $6000 overall bankroll, and build it up to $600, therefore reaching the 10% mark. That represents $400 in profits. Since half of that is $200 if my session bankroll gets reduced to $400, while playing wicked tight, I would leave when the blinds came around to me.

These bankroll rules (as well as amazing playing ability) helped Chris turn something into nothing by moving up to a higher limit only when his bankroll was prepared for it. By following these rules and staying disciplined with bankroll management a good player will turn into an top-level player at a consistent and reasonable pace, allowing them the chance to absorb the many differences from one level to another.

So, by taking these numbers into consideration, a player would need an overall bankroll of $6000 to play at an optimal (comfortable) level at a $5-$10 game. It may sound like a lot but it will ensure that the player has gained the experience necessary to play well at those stakes.

This is another reason to start at very low (micro) limit on a on-line site and spend lots of time playing many hands to gain experience. This allows a player to learn how to read hands and situations without risking too much money.

One final note, the overall poker bankroll should always be separate from your personal money. If a player starts mixing the two important life events could be compromised.

WSOP 2008 Schedule

The 2008 WSOP will be held once again in the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The Series will start on May 30th and it will run until July 17th.

I have posted a link on the right to a Google Calendar that I will update with all the event dates, times and details as they become available.

Latest Tournament Results

So far, October has been a very good month for me in playing tournaments, especially non Hold-Em games.

A few days ago I managed my first cash in my freeroll mission. A couple days later I followed it up in a 520 person event by cashing and finishing in 40th place. This was a NLHE event.

Last night, while the in-laws were eating, drinking and being merry during Thanksgiving I was playing in a 1000 person RAZZ Multi Table Tournament. Even though this wasn't for real money the goal was still the same. I found that the competition was very soft and I really learned a lot reading hands and putting pressure on my opponents. After several hours had passed, and my fair share of hands that held up I made my way to the final table, out of 8 players remaining I was in 4th.

When the dust settled and all was said and done I managed to get 3rd place overall in the tournament. The hand that crippled me was when my 8-6 got crushed by my opponents wheel. I felt I played very well, especially against a large, if not strong field.

Nothing keeps a person motivated to play in more tournaments like some strong finishes.

poker

First cash with free account

Today I managed to cash in my first free tournament playing under my "no deposit" account on Full Tilt. The part that I feel the best about is the fact that I was able to get 3rd place out of the 1270 entrants in a game that I have never played before. That game is Pot Limit Omaha Hi. I have played lots of Omaha Hi/Lo but Hi only was still a mystery to me.

In terms of my play I feel that I did well. I know I got really lucky on two hands early on in the tournament but for most of the tournament I have just been playing the hands I feel are solid and hitting strong boards. I played aggressive and I didn't get check raised very often so when that did happen I was very sure that I was beaten. Near the end I also got lucky and hit my flush draw on the river, but we were all in on the flop when I had top pair and, the nut flush draw and a back-door straight draw. Poker can sometimes be about catching draws, and with the number of outs it was a great chance for me to double up at a key moment of the tournament. Once we got to the final two tables I just coasted to the final table without much difficulty. The two hands that knocked me out were basically well played by both of us. My two pair with straight and flush draw was beaten by a set, and my Flush was then beaten by a full house. It was a very good way to go out, compared to a bad beat. I won't be losing sleep about my play tonight.

So now I have some real cash in my account ($20.00) and I've pulled off the first goal in this experiment, get a cash. Goal two, start playing in micro limit cash games. I'll do this if my buy in for that micro limit is less then 5% of my overall bankroll.

The lowest limit is $0.05-$0.10. At that limit, $10 is my buy in for that limit. So, $200 is my bankroll goal before I'll be ready to hit those micro tables with the proper bankroll.