Mixing in a lot of MTTs Lately

Date: Sun, Nov 21, 2010

I've been grinding a lot of .25/.50 limit these days, and doing pretty well aside from the occasional day when I get absolutely crushed. (Funny game, it is...)

To balance that out I like to play about as different of a Holdem game as I can find, and I really enjoy big No Limit MTTs. The thrill of the tournament format really gets me and I've had a few big final table cashes this year. I haven't won a large-field tourney yet though, so that's my next goal

Anyway, I'm doing the $200K Double Deuce at Full Tilt this afternoon, and it starts in about 30 minutes. There are about 5,500 players registered right now, and first place is 31K. How nice would that be?

Update: Hendon mob pro Dave Colclough and Scott Fischman are in the field so far. Hope I draw one of them at my table!

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Upset by a Bad Beat? Write About It and Win Prizes!

Date: Tue, Oct 19, 2010

We all suffer bad beats. They can make us curse out our adversaries in the chat box or complain incessantly to our friends and significant others. But have you ever sat down and crafted an interesting story about a bad beat? If this sounds like an interesting concept to you, as it did with me, it could even win you some cool prizes.

Poker Buddy is an add-on, used mostly used mostly for Zynga poker, that uses algorithms to help evaluate your game and improve poker play. They have just launched a contest for players who can write the best bad beat story.

You can go right to the popular Poker Buddy Facebook page and post your story. Feel free to browse around and "like" your favorite. The Poker Buddy staff will eventually select the most creative and intriguing story and the writer will win a fancy poker case filled with 500 chips. Runners up receive a T-shirt or baseball cap.

To get those creative juices flowing, check out their guide to writing a bad beat story. This contest should be a lot of fun. I know I welcome any opportunity to turn a bad beat into something positive, and free prizes is a great way to do it!

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Set up PT3 on New Laptop, Ready to Go

Date: Sun, Oct 17, 2010

I took a major step forward today by finally transferring PokerTracker over to my new laptop. I've had the computer for a few months now, but for whatever reason I thought it would be difficult to transfer everything over. It's really not. Your licensing code is good for two computers so I just re-installed PT3 and PostgreSQL and entered it. I thought I'd have to do something complicated for backing up the database, but I realized it would be super simple to just save all my HH files on a flash drive and manually import them on the new computer. Boom: 15 minutes and I'm set to go.

I'm glad I finally made the switch: the new computer is much better in every way and has a bigger screen. All of my friends in grad school love sleek, small laptops for note taking in class. My priorities are much different: I want to be able to fit 4 tables as comfortably as possible on the screen!

I've logged some decent play this week. I'm still amazed at how easy it is to get a free $25 from Full Tilt's Take 2 promotion. It takes me under 10 minutes each day to get the 5 bonus points needed to qualify.

For the second week running I went out on Friday night and stayed in on Saturday to get ahead of some work which inevitably turns to poker.

This time I ran about even playing baby micro NL. I'm still doing my challenge of building up a winning sample of 15k hand at every level before moving up. I've dabbled in 25NL and even 50NL back in the day, but I wasn't even close to being properly bankrolled and I didn't realize I was submitting myself to a crapshoot.

I keep wanting to post hands, but I suppose I'll spare the heartbreaking tales of 2NL beats and coolers. I'll wait until I move up a little, at least... I'm still doing really well for the month in .25/.50 limit.

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Another Promotion Hooks Me In + New Poker Writing Job!

Date: Sun, Oct 10, 2010

Well, after Full Tilt got me back to playing with a random $100 bonus, they just announced another Take 2 bonus, which I found to be incredibly easy money last time. All you have to do is amass a small amount of points by playing two ring game tables for ten days in a row, which I would probably do anyway. You also get double the full tilt points, although this doesn't matter for rakeback players.

Also, I'm officially back in the game because I just started a new poker writing job. It's for bankrollmanagement.org, a newer site giving tips on how to manage a bankroll playing a variety of poker and casino games. I'll write about 8 articles a month for them, and this, coupled with my renewed regular playing, will result in plenty of new posts on here.

I also just got in contact with a cool new site for poker ebooks, so I'll be reviewing some new ones here too in the coming weeks.

Finally, I stayed in on Saturday night and capitalized on two tables filled with extremely drunk players! .25/.50 Limit Full Ring, and there were at least three 80/0 guys and one or two that were about 55/25. I got into some HUGE pots and for the most part came out on top.

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Biggest Break from Poker I've Ever Had. Not Recommended!

Date: Thu, Oct 7, 2010

I must apologize for letting this blog slip into oblivion for way too long.

I started grad school this fall, and in addition to classes I have also been working 20-30 hours a week. I've been extremely busy, and unfortunately there has been little time for poker...

What, then, has gotten me back on track?

Full Tilt's clever promotions, in fact. I saw their offer for a fresh $100 bonus a few weeks ago, so that hooked me back on board and I ended up playing about 15,000 hands. I didn't unlock it all, but it was still a nice addition to my bankroll. I was fortunate enough to run pretty hot, as well.

Poker has definitely been on my mind even in my absence. I've been playing casually from time to time, posting on 2+2 now and then and reading a book or two. I'll certainly be playing, and posting, a lot more again.

I definitely don't recommend taking such an extended break. I almost forgot how to play! Well, I suppose it's like riding a bike...

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Frustrating Night

Date: Thu, Jul 15, 2010

My "Move up through uNL" challenge is going well for the most part, as I haven't encountered any real adversity and am still cruising through 2 NL.

Last night, though, I had a terrible time at the .25/.50 limit tables, which is usually my best game. Everything was getting cracked, my c-bets were always getting raised and aggro players seemed to be stumbling onto the nuts with high frequency.

I didn't get too affected, though; it was only about 70BB or so in an evening. (I four-tabled a session first and lost about 25BB. Then I sat back down at four more tables after taking a break and treaded water for a while before getting absolutely crushed right at the end of my session.)

Oh well, just read a couple of 2+2 threads on variance, tell myself it could be much and move on, right? Not exactly.

I reviewed my sessions in my PT3 database and I was a bit surprised to see that I got involved in some pots that I never should have. Iso-raises pre on tables that were too loose, marginal aggressive play with medium pocket pairs against unknowns, way too eager to call down after being raised heads-up...etc.

I think that all the time spent playing 6-max No Limit games actually affected my play and made me play too wild of a style for full ring. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I played, but I was quite surprised when I looked back at my sessions.

When we get crushed in a particular day, it's very easy to blame variance and report on "cooler after cooler" that unjustly devastated us. But it's a lot harder to take an honest look at our own play and admit we didn't play great, or let a few early losses affect us for the rest of the day.

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Back to the Basics - 2NL, Table Selection

Date: Fri, Jul 9, 2010

I'm excited to do this challenge, but before I can really get down to business I need to buckle down and beat 2NL.

My NL game as a whole certainly has some gaps and I've bounced around at different levels over my career. It'll be nice to say I moved up from the very bottom using proper BRM.

It's only been a couple days, but I'm off to a decent start.


At this point, it's obviously not too exciting. Betting for value, c-betting heads up, you all know the drill. One thing that I'm really trying to work harder on table selection and trying to get notes on as many players as I can.

I've many times fallen into the trap of thinking that table selection is done when you get a seat at your preferred number of tables. Instead, you need to be very aware and identify when things have tightened up or the fish busts out or calms down. Stand up if you think you can find a more profitable situation. I've stayed stubborn in the past but I think I'm getting a little more patient.

Time to play a bunch of SnGs now.

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Announcing My Challenges for the Rest of the Summer

Date: Tue, Jul 6, 2010

I've been messing around with No Limit for some time now at a variety of stakes, but I've decided that if I want to get something out of it, I should set some concrete goals and work my way up. I also need to refocus a bit on my current SnG challenge.

Grinding 2NL is certainly far from glamorous, but I don't think I'm ever going to reach my potential until I consistently beat every step on the ladder.

Since I play .25/.50 Limit as my game of choice and I've been a decent winner, my bankroll is large enough to play 25 NL right now.

But my challenges aren't about building a bankroll; instead, I intend to come to grips with my own level of play and strive to learn and improve. I especially want to improve my NL hand reading ability beyond just VPIP/PFr stats.

With that in mind, here are my goals:

1.) NL Cash = Move up from 2 NL to 25 NL by the end of the year with at least a 5 BB/100 winrate at each level.

(For 2 NL, 10,000 hands is a big enough sample for my purposes. For 5 NL, I'll need 20,000. 10 NL = 30,000 hands. If I have the 5 BB/100 winrate after I reach those samples, then I'll make the move. If not, I'll stay put and try to turn my luck around.)

2.) NL SnGs = 15% ROI on my first 300 games

3.) Limit Cash = 10,000 hands/week

(At this point, I'm only trying to avoid getting rusty on my "go-to" game while I test my luck with these other challenges.)

I know that these challenges deal with pretty small sample sizes and will involve some amount of luck. I just wanted to set something concrete to keep me focused and hopefully contribute something interesting.

I'll be posting with updates, questionable hands and reflections. I'll continue to review some poker books as I read them, as well.

Hope you'll follow my challenge!

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Frugal Poker Education Today at Borders

Date: Thu, Jul 1, 2010

Today I went out shopping to get a present for a friend's birthday. He's a bit of a bibliophile so I headed out to the local Borders to find something. After a little browsing, I felt a strong pull over to the "Games" section. I had never checked it out to see what type of poker books they might have.

All the best books were on the shelves. I felt like a kid in a candy store as I excitedly browsed 2+2 titles, the Dan Harrington series, Phil Gordon, Matthew Hilger and plenty of other good ones. I guess I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to poker books.

I ended up sitting in a chair reading the whole afternoon, and I think I learned plenty without spending a dime. Don't worry, I didn't forget to pick up the birthday present...

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Minor Unexpected Challenges

Date: Thu, Jul 1, 2010

There are a lot of common problems players encounter when transitioning to No Limit from limit: pot control, implied odds, commitment threshold...etc.

I'm working on these main concepts but it's interesting when something else comes up you never would have expected.

I've always been a little too concerned the current state of my session and the cashier tab, even in limit. I want to see green in my PT3 session tab; a winning day is a successful day.

Even though I know about the long run and I try not to be results oriented, it isn't easy. It's human nature. So many aspects of poker go directly against the way our brains are wired.

Anyway, now that I'm playing NL, I'm finding myself with new ways to obsess and be results oriented. Auto rebuying is one thing I never would have thought would be a problem, but it takes a little getting used to.

Now every time my stack goes below the max buy-in at any particular table, I catch myself crunching the numbers to see how I stand overall. If I'm playing 4-5 tables, this is clearly taking up too much attention, and shouldn't even be a consideration. But a few times this has tempted me to decide against an isolation raise or continuation bet to protect a small win.

I'm at the micros, so it's not like the money matters (I'm in this to learn). But I really need to stay focused on my play, not the results, and forever banish the little part of me that seems to be convinced that you need to be a winner every day.

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Plodding Along, Adjusting to NL

Date: Mon, Jun 28, 2010

I'm still running hot in my SnG challenge and relatively breakeven at the NL cash tables. I miss limit where getting 3!ed preflop is an obligatory call and re-evaluate on flop, not an agonizing, player dependent decision when stacking off enters the equation. I think I was leaking money by making some moves with AK type hands that were fueled by emotion instead of solid reads. So at least I'm getting a little better at that now.

I've also become convinced think the poker gods are trying to make me go back to limit by tempting me into results-orientedness. Today I reasoned my AQo should be mucked facing a nit 3-bet and a call, and, much to my dismay, the board came 2AAA. In my head, I sounded like one of those whining beginners on poker forums lamenting that would've flopped a full house with 75 or some trash. After figuring this out, I put myself on poker time-out briefly and read some 2+2 threads.

My NL transition hasn't been without a few struggles, but that's to be expected. At least I'm just doing it at the micros without any important money at stake. I'm almost to a 10k sample, so I'll be taking a closer look at my stats pretty shortly.

At the same time, I do miss playing limit, so I think I'm going to play some 3-4 table sessions for a couple hours in addition to my NL experiments.

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Losing Day and Thoughts On My Summer, Other Blogs

Date: Wed, Jun 23, 2010

Had a losing day today at the micro NL cash tables. For the life of me I couldn't take advantage of a 60/5 on my right who kept getting the better of me with baffling postflop lines. You should usually treat min-bet donks like a check, but he was donking out with very weird small amounts that were a little more significant. I saw air a couple of times, others he was trying to get a cheap showdown and one was an "expert" slowplay. I didn't target him specifically but kept finding myself in a pot with him and it seemed to never go my way. A little frustrating.

My strategy was to simply value bet him to death and get out of the way if I don't have the goods, even if his donks looked suspicious. Standard micros protocol: EZ game.

But the next pot I got involved in I lost with KK to his set of nines, and then, of course, he abruptly left the table. Oh well... I should be avoiding personal vendettas at the tables, anyway. It's a surefire way to go on tilt.

My SnG challenge is going a bit better at least, and so far today I've taken first in the only one I've played. Winning hand: my A9 cracks villain's AK. I've inched my way up to a 14% ROI and if I can keep up this rate I'll achieve my goal of 15% over 300 games. I'm running a bit hot, though, so we'll see how it goes.

At this point, I rank my skill in different Holdem games as follows:

1. Limit Cash
2. NL MTT
3. NL SnG
4. NL Cash

It's not even close at the top: I've played way more limit, read more books, posted more strategy.

But as I try to branch out this summer I've been playing my "worst" two games almost exclusively.

It's been a great advantage to be able to read other blogs and learn from others' experiences. Microstakes Bankroll Builder, Holdem Notebook and Just the Facts and other poker blogs have been very helpful for me, especially the hand discussions. I've always read 2+2 but it sometimes makes a big difference to know a little more about the hero... I'll be getting even a bit more involved, and I'll come up with some topics of discussion myself.

Finally, what a ending for the U.S today in the World Cup! I really thought we were done for when Donovan came through. Winning the group is huge as well. Next opponent: Ghana on Saturday. I have a lot of friends in South Africa right now and I can't decide if I'm excited for them or belligerently jealous.

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Back to the Tables After a Short Rest, Refreshed

Date: Tue, Jun 22, 2010

Had my first day of real grinding for the month yesterday and I felt very refreshed. Although I hadn't purposely set out to take a break, it was still nice to honestly think about my play away from the table without being affected by short-term results. In my absence I read threads on 2+2, re-read The Poker Blueprint and browsed through my PT3 database. If poker play and results were married, we would all benefit from a divorce.

Now I'm absolutely itching to play, and it's a very good feeling to have. Sometimes the best thing we can do as learners is to take some away from the game. It helps us really absorb particular concepts and also reminds us why we enjoy playing in the first place.

Anyway, I played relatively well in 5 micro NL SnGs. I cashed in 3 and took second each time. There must have been some sort of higher power that really didn't want me to win a since coin flip heads up. I lost with a 5-1 chip lead in the last one... Oh well. In cash I essentially broke even although I didn't really table select well. I need to put in a little more effort with that.

I'm looking forward to playing later today and shortly I'll be reviewing some books that I've been reading. Also, I'm anxiously awaiting the U.S.-Algeria game tomorrow. Hopefully the refs won't ruin the situation again!

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World Cup Fever + Writing Times + No Limit Focus

Date: Mon, Jun 21, 2010

I haven’t made a post in way too long and I’m afraid World Cup soccer is the reason. I’ve been intently watching every match and by the time I make it to the tables it’s just a SnG here or an hour of cash there. I can’t believe the blown call that denied the U.S. win vs. Slovenia. Still, it was an amazing match.

I was also really busy with a casino writing assignment for a new website. I wrote 8 “bankroll management” articles describing the popular casino games and their house edges. I’m finally working on memorizing the strategy chart for Jacks or Better video poker, which I always enjoy playing when I’m in a casino. Some people don’t know that many video poker variations actually carry a player advantage with perfect play.

Anyway, I’ve just sent in my last articles, so it’s back to the tables. I’ve made this summer my time to get more experience in No Limit. I’ve had a lot of success in Fixed Limit to this point and I want to become more well-rounded. Stay tuned for reports, hands and discussions.

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