Stuck In Neutral

Over the last few days I came close to achieving the first goal taking the account up to $198.80c but fell at the first hurdle trying to make the extra 20c needed to reach the $200 mark, I have still been playing the micro limits.

I flopped a straight and a flush draw holding 5d - 7d with the flop coming down 6d-8d-9h, so I had the up and down straight flush draw as well. I checked the flop tight player in late position bets into me with a pot sized bet, I call hoping to get more action on the turn, the 8s comes out, I bet half the pot, tight player calls. The river comes the Kh, I think is a blank I bet the pot and tight player re raises me all in for 3 times the pot? I couldn't make sense of the hand so I ended up calling but I should have listened to my gut saying he had a full house.

Tight player flipped over 9-8 to take down the pot, I steamed a little bit after that hand and after a great run went back down to $183 in the bankroll, still steady though and I have to be grateful that it is a lot higher than when it was only on $39 in January.

I know that when I stick to the game plan I will achieve the $10,000 mark and the ticket to the WSOP!

Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com

Still Playing in the Zone…

Well my good play is still around, mind you I had to warm up a bit for the first 2 hours, I started out playing micro cash games and promptly lost a few buy ins going down to $140, I think it was a combination of being tired from work, trying to hard to make money and a little bit of tilt from a bad beat with my KK getting cracked.

After a bit of composure, I managed to pull myself together, I had a bit of a break chilled out from steaming, maybe I still hadn’t decompressed from work yet or something? Anyway I started playing a couple of $3.40 Sit N Go’s I ended up coming second in 2 of them, I should of won them both but gambled at the wrong times. The stack went back up to $155 and then from there I proceeded back to the cash games short hand tables and went on a good run.

I have now managed to get the bank roll up to $180, just through shear determination and some belligerent play. On one table I must of raised 3 times the blinds about ten times in a row, one of the players was getting so sick of me doing this that when I had AA in the hole and did the standard raise again he popped for a huge raise so I went all in and he instant-called with QQ to no avail I stacked him.

He later on tried to make a move on me and I made another “Sick Call Kenny” by calling him down with K-Q winning the hand with King high! I new he was tilting from the previous hand so I had him read well and he kept away from me for a number of rounds and I stole his blinds with ease after that.

I’m a bit tired now and want to leave the bank roll on a nice round digit, I have a couple days off so will spend some time putting content on the website, and fitting in a few games, I hope I can get the account up to $200 before I go back to work!

Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com

$160 and Climbing

Hey just a quick blog entry before I hit the sack. I've been carry on my steady run on PokerStars playing the micro limits and have got the account up to $160, I am definitely grateful for being determined and staying on focus and I can just smell the $200 goal around the corner!

Its great playing with goals, it keeps me on track and the rewards are starting to show, I have been playing to make a $3.40 buy in to enter a sit N Go. I entered one but was pretty much card dead through and busted out with A-K vs. 9-9 on my final hand.

Cash game has been going well though, I made a real “Sick Call Kenny” Call with 3-3 on the button, Guy in late position raises standard raise I call hoping to hit a set or I’m folding. The guy checks the flop when the board is all ragged, he Minimum bets the turn I got curious then called as I thought he was flush drawing when two clubs showed, and then he bet 5 x the pot on the river? The play seemed so strange that I thought that I must be leading with my bottom pair? So I called and he showed Q-J off suit (No clubs).

He promptly called me a fish then left ha-ha!

Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com

On A Good Run!

I have played my longest session so far, being about 4 hours. I have worked out a system now where I play the micro NL games to build up my bankroll and then invest a buy in or two into a one table Sit N Go $3.40 entry, this builds it up in one hit if I win because the pay out is $15 which is pretty good.

So far it has been working out great with the variance holding well for me, I have been trapping a lot of players by playing straight forward poker, what I have noticed is that most players at these limits hardly ever raise and would prefer to do just Check, Call hands down, this has made it hard to bluff but on the flipside, it means I can value bet my good hands and get paid off on them.

Another tactic I have been employing is that I always bet my sets or trips down instead of check raising, I have noticed that players cannot put you on trips when you bet into the flop and will always try for a re raise either on the flop or the turn, this is great because I can either slow play by calling their raise, checking the next card and inducing them to bluff another bet or minimum re raising them if I put them on the top pair.

Another hand I did this with against an opponent was when I flopped a straight, I had K -9 off suit and called the player in the small blinds raise, I was on the button, the flop came down 10-J-Q rainbow-giving me the straight.

He led out betting the pot, now because he did this I assumed he didn’t have the Broadway straight as I had never seen him play a hand like that. I flat called the flop then re raised him all in on the turn when a blank card came and he instantly called, I never got to see what he had as his hand hit the muck and I raked in a $10 pot.

So far I have been playing a Loose Aggressive style in cash games but a more Tight Aggressive play in the tourneys, out of 3 Sit N Go attempts I won 2 which I’m happy about however my cash game has been up and down, I have been either breaking even or making enough to enter the tourneys.

See the image below of my Bankroll now on $150, just $50 away from a level increase; I can feel my game getting better each day because I have made myself accountable with writing this blog.

Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com

Learn To Improve Your Game While You Play

I managed to make some time to play another short session; I still haven’t been playing long sessions due to work and not playing tired as one of my requirements, even though I am playing on the micro stakes building up my bank roll it is very easy to lose focus and drop 4 - 5 buy ins in a setting.

I have still been playing loose aggressive for the first half of my session before tightening up with a bit of a stack, targeting the short stack desperado players. The bank roll is now up to $124.05 and just $76 away from going up a cash level.

To stop the boredom of play and remain on the path of improving my game I have been making sure that I have been listening to audio pod casts from the 2+2 Poker Cast that is part of the 2+2 forum.

A lot of the topics of discussion and people they interview are very advanced online players, and in just a couple of the interviews I have listened too it has made me really think differently about the game.

One of the differences I have noticed is that the great players who consistently win analyze their games after each session to find where they need to improve and adjust.

I highly recommend checking out 2+2 Poker Cast and listening to their broadcasts here is their premier audio debut below.

Multi Tabling or Single Table and Focused?

Over the last couple of sessions I have been working out what the best option is for me when it comes to setting up my games and exactly how many tables I should I play, at one time.

I tried all the way up to 8 tables and couldn’t handle the pace, I mostly play on short tables with only 6 players anyway and they are all turbo tables with less than 30 seconds to make a decision, so 8 tables caused me to time out too much.

The most comfortable for me was either having 3 – 4 tables running together, but is this always a good strategy especially when you are risking 4 times the buy-ins in one session? I personally find that when I am entering a tourney, is that I can only mentally handle at my best 1 at a time. I have entered 3 at once before and cashed in all 3, But I didn’t win any of them. When I enter only one I usually have good focus and make it at least to the top 3 out of (18 - 45 people).

With cash games I find that playing only one table can be a bit boring and I easily lose my focus and start surfing the internet and end up getting more distracted that my mind wanders away from decision making which is very important in poker.

I have still been on the grind hanging in there with the variance of the game, My discipline is holding out good as I have not had the urge to go up to the higher limits just to build the bank roll faster. The account is now on $117.27 and the next target to achieve is $200, once this bank roll target is reached it means I can go up a level to the 2c – 5c tables… Cool!

But for now I just need to make time to play longer sessions and stick with the plan!

Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com

Raise, Raise And Raise Again

Back to the blog again, I was suppose to write about how I went on the PokerStars Sunday 100k Tourney, for some reason PokerStars crashed with an overload and the tourney was cancelled. At least I got a refund in tournament dollars that I can use.

I have only played a couple of short sessions this week and have managed to kick and drag the account up to $108, I have been keeping the discipline of my strategy and it has been working out. The way I have been playing at the low limits is very aggressive when I first buy in, meaning that I raise, raise and then raise again usually 6 times the blind of 12c. What this does is creates a very loose image of me and also loosens up the table, and then when the short stacks start pushing all in I make sure I have a premium hand to call.

A lot of players at the micro limits are either very tight players because they have used all their money up and can only play at that limit, or very loose players and don’t care about a $2 or $5 buy in, you learn which type they are within a short time and can adjust your strategy appropriately.

I also entered 3 sit n go tourneys, bummed out in 2 and then came 2nd out of 18 in a $1.75 tourney winning $8.10 and the best part was that I only used my tournament dollars, I think I will get my points up again and try to win another ticket to the $100k tourney but, deregister from it so I can use the tourney dollars.

I was looking on You Tube yesterday and came across this funny clip on a online poker player “Bill Fillmaff”. You may have heard of him…Absolutely hilarious stuff he does with his wins and bad beats he gets.

Check it out below

Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com

Qualifying Online for Tourneys

I have just finished a short stint of play with some cash games and trying to qualify with the PokerStars Sunday Tournaments that are scheduled. I tried 3 times for the Sunday Millions tournament entering a satellite paying with my frequent player points 375 FPP a pop.

Unfortunately I didn’t qualify this time around and it’s a real bummer because this is the first Monday off I have had in a while and because I live down under in Australia all the US tourneys start Monday Mornings. I did manage to qualify for the Hundred Grand tourney with a first prize of $12k so that should be worth a go.

It only cost 70FPP at a one table tourney and I managed to wipe the floor with everyone, except the heads up guy was pretty persistent, I did frustrate him and grind him out where he called my all in with K-Q suited against his 5 -7 desperation call.

I struggled in the 36 people Sunday Millions qualifiers because I kept getting called down with random hands, I made 9th in my first attempt ended it with 9-9 vs. A-J off suit and in my 2nd go at it I was the first one out when I got A-A in the big blind and re raised a guy in late position who had K-Q off suit who flat called me, caught a Q on the flop and decided to push all in catching his K on the turn…AAARRGGH!

I better get some rest because the tournament starts in 3 hours, Oh yeah! I also got the bank roll back up to $100 so things are looking well. I will get a few hands to talk about when this tourney is over and hope to blog about the juicy cash that I will win!



Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com

Grinding It Out…

Finally I have myself sorted out mentally and have approached the game with more discipline and in control of my bank roll and my emotions. I have stuck with my poker challenge guidelines of only playing at the 1c -2c table, and the last couple of days have been better.

The poker account is looking healthier than it was when it was on $39, but let’s not dwell on that, it is now on $97.28. I have been playing nothing but solid tight aggressive poker, I have minimized my bluffs and have attempted bluffs only when I have a good read on my opponents, I still have not downloaded any software to read percentages and have just done it all on feel.

It’s great playing poker when you are not scared money, the max buy in that I play is $5 and I usually play 3 tables at a time. I find it a lot easier to go all in on these tables as opposed to trying it at the $25 buy in tables.

You still get a lot of funny characters on the micro limits, the desperados with no money left, the young punk kids who keep telling everyone how bad they play, the poker geek who tells everyone what their odds were of hitting such and such a draw and also the ever present fishing calling station %#@$! Players that keeping chasing me down (Great When you have a hand), I do notice that a lot of people over value hands like A-Q and A-K at these levels and also play them incorrectly by calling my all ins (when they haven’t hit a flop) with them instead of pushing all in. Well if it wasn’t for these players I wouldn’t have got the bank roll back up, so I am very grateful that there are players around worst than me!

I just want to focus on improving my game so that when I have the bank roll up I have enough skills to match it with the higher limit players, I want to crack the code in each level I go up in.

All the best!

Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com

Rules Are Meant To Be… Followed!

I have a confession to make; I have already broken my rules that I set up for myself, why? I guess I got impatient with my own personal challenge and went up to the 10c – 25c table hoping to make a quick $100 -$200 in a sitting…Boy was I wrong.

Each buy in was $25 on the table and I bought in on three tables, I started off really well and I thought I could cheat my own rules, No good at all because RULES are meant to be FOLLOWED! I lost two bad beats one was a set of QQ vs. a runner flush and then the other was a cold deck with me having KK vs. AA, gosh this already happened to me in a previous post.

What I didn’t take into account was the variance and the fact that the rules are in place to protect my bank roll from going bust, I went all the way down to $39, luckily I have built it back up to $86, funny that I didn’t want to post on the blog ha-ha… I was trying to make the money back first.

A couple of lessons I have learnt is that you have to have patience, discipline and trust your game play at the right level. I went on tilt when I lost those two hands and almost couldn’t stop myself, I realized I wasn’t playing properly at the 10c – 25c tables (Scared Money), when I went back to the 1c -2c table though, I started killing the tables and built it back up again.

Whether my bank roll goes up or down I will always make sure I share the lessons learnt on this blog right here.

Ok… Time to follow the Rules!

Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com

Conflicting Types of Stats

I did some research last night about my game with some of the data building websites, first I looked at Sharkscope.com to see where I stood with my sit n go tourneys and then I looked at poker crusher™ for my general game as well.

Sharkscope.com was really interesting because it showed all my tourneys that I have ever entered and it showed quite a few for my PokerStars account (Over 1000 Sit N Go tourneys entered) as you can see from the image below of the graph you can see how I started out as a loosing player and then started to win more often or at least cash in the tourneys.

On poker crusher how ever when I check what their assessment is of me I come up as a RED FISH at PokerStars cash games, BOMB at FullTilt cash games and a SHARK at the tourneys which sounds about right I guess. I have been playing a lot more at PokerStars so that must give a clearer picture.

I’m going to sit down and look at these stats more and figure out how to read and understand them properly and figure out how to improve my game from here.

On another note at least I have my PokerStars Account back up to $134 last night, just got to keep pushing forward!

Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com

Plug The Leaks In My Game!

In the last few days I have been playing online at PokerStars with my online challenge. It hasn’t been the best of starts with my bank roll already falling $20 down to $121, mainly because I have been distracting myself with the somethingaboutpoker.com website and getting content on it, that I have been neglecting my own game.

Now I know that I will have to put more of a concentrated effort towards my goals to improve my game. One of the tables I was playing on was full of loose aggressive players and I was one of them, I kept on raising each hand to create a loose image so that when I did get a big hand hopefully I would get paid off on it.

Well by the time I got KK under the gun and then limped/raised the player in late position, he went all in and I called and he ended up winning with AA…Ha-ha, Oh well only 22 – 1 odds I guess,.

Next everyone thought I was steaming, and I was a little bit, but it doesn’t mean that my QQ should get run down by mister J-8 who thought I was full on tilt with my re buy does it?

I know this happens a lot and it is one thing I have to get use to and learn how to overcome the odds in the long run, I spoke to a friend the other day who uses Poker Office ™ Poker Analysis Software and he absolutely swears by it, he has highly recommended it to me and said that it will help plug leaks in my game and find holes in other peoples play.

So I will look more around and consider whether I will buy it or go through a room sign up to get a free copy of it.

Matt
Somethingaboutpoker.com