TILT!

I just blew my entire Party Poker stack playing Blackjack.
What a tit...I was set on tilt on the poker tables, when I lost arond $60 in ten minutes. Why this set me on tilt I don't know...boredom, tiredness, frustration. I then busted out of the Bloggerment in 9th, fired up a blackjack table and blew $400 in half an hour.
I think I need a break from gambling for a while.

Partying

After struggling to make any headway on Stars I made the switch to Party Poker after cashing out a couple of months back.

The site was offering a $75 bonus which could be cashed out only after racking up 900 standard points within 14 days - no easy feat. They are also offering a 15% re-deposit bonus to run alongside this.

I deposited $200 to add to the $75 and started four-tabling $50 NL. It felt good to be back. The standard of play is a couple of notches below Stars IMO. The site is populated by mainly Canadian, British, German, Dutch, French, Russian and Scandinavian players.

There are a lot of short-stack tighties who deposit $10 bucks, wait for As and push. I've no idea why they bother - if their bankroll is that small they should be building at lower levels. The size of their stacks and their tightness mean that there is very little value calling their big pre-flop raises.

Thankfully there are some clueless newbies to play with thanks to Party's concerted advertising efforts across the continent.

I didn't break the bank but ended two longish sessions up $130. I shall stick with Party for the next couple of weeks; would be nice to get to $5k before the month is up.

Back to winning ways

No big wins but I took down a $3 45-man tourney this afternoon. I was two-tabling $100 NL on Stars when I started to play.
The cash games were pretty even, I lost a medium-sized pot with Ks v 7s when he spiked a 7 on the river but eeked it back.
The SNG was one of those games when everything went for me. I was last with 16 players remaining and got hands when I needed them. I knocked out the third placed player with K4s v his Ks with a flush. He rightly called me donk.
Heads up play took a while, I was up, even then down on chips before I took a stand with 8s v his Ako and I flopped a set.
Then my second pair was good enough to beat his opened ended str8 draw with two overs.
Its good to know I can still win multi-table SNGs...
No other play this week as I'm making an effort with work - its my first week after all!

Losing again and Presto

I'm struggling to get out of second gear on Pokerstars and am feeding the tight little fishes.
Eeked another $20 which is not much really but I played more than 400 hands - I couldn't hit shit.
Here are a couple of Presto hands (55), one which I lost and one which I won...

PokerStars Game #16889215165: Hold'em Pot Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/04/21 - 11:25:27 (ET)
Table 'Telamon III' 9-max Seat #4 is the button

Nine-handed

Seat 1: Bonpapa ($51.15 in chips)
Seat 2: THABANA ($32.30 in chips)
Seat 3: QuanticFive ($70 in chips)
Seat 4: Sfida ($4.85 in chips)
Seat 5: MIConfire ($116.45 in chips)
Seat 6: BlGGIESMALLS ($50.20 in chips)
Seat 7: magic_maniac ($49.25 in chips)
Seat 9: kbeefmeister ($21.65 in chips)
MIConfire: posts small blind $0.25
BlGGIESMALLS: posts big blind $0.50

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to QuanticFive [As Kc]
slythefly: folds
magic_maniac: calls $0.50
kbeefmeister: calls $0.50
Bonpapa: folds
THABANA: folds
QuanticFive: raises $1.50 to $2
Sfida: calls $2
MIConfire: folds
BlGGIESMALLS: folds
magic_maniac: calls $1.50
kbeefmeister: folds

*** FLOP *** [5c Ks Ac]
magic_maniac: checks
QuanticFive: bets $3
Sfida: calls $2.85 and is all-in
magic_maniac: calls $3

*** TURN *** [5c Ks Ac] [6d]
magic_maniac: checks
QuanticFive: bets $8
magic_maniac: raises $8 to $16
QuanticFive: calls $8

*** RIVER *** [5c Ks Ac 6d] [6c]
magic_maniac: bets $20
QuanticFive said, "set?"
QuanticFive: calls $20 (AGAINST A $50 TIGHTEE THIS IS A VERY BAD CALL...)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
magic_maniac: shows [5s 5d] (a full house, Fives full of Sixes)
QuanticFive: mucks hand
magic_maniac collected $70.05 from side pot
Sfida: mucks hand
magic_maniac collected $15.05 from main pot

Five hands later...

PokerStars Game #16889289368: Hold'em Pot Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/04/21 - 11:30:12 (ET)
Table 'Telamon III' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: Bonpapa ($51.65 in chips)
Seat 2: THABANA ($32.30 in chips)
Seat 3: QuanticFive ($50 in chips)
Seat 7: slythefly ($49.25 in chips)
Seat 8: magic_maniac ($92.60 in chips)
Seat 9: kbeefmeister ($19.60 in chips)
Bonpapa: posts small blind $0.25
THABANA: posts big blind $0.50
m0rFi: sits out
seems2easy: sits out

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to QuanticFive [5h 5d] - NOW I HAVE PRESTO...
QuanticFive: calls $0.50
slythefly: folds
magic_maniac: folds
kbeefmeister: calls $0.50
Bonpapa: calls $0.25
THABANA: checks

*** FLOP *** [5s 9c 4s]
m0rFi leaves the table
Bonpapa: checks
THABANA: bets $1.50
QuanticFive: calls $1.50
kbeefmeister: folds
Bonpapa: folds

*** TURN *** [5s 9c 4s] [Ah]
THABANA: bets $2.50
QuanticFive: raises $5 to $7.50
THABANA: raises $19.80 to $27.30
QuanticFive: raises $19.80 to $47.10
THABANA: calls $3 and is all-in

*** RIVER *** [5s 9c 4s Ah] [3d]

*** SHOW DOWN ***
THABANA: shows [Ad 9s] (two pair, Aces and Nines)
QuanticFive: shows [5h 5d] (three of a kind, Fives)
QuanticFive collected $62.60 from pot
THABANA said, "ouch"

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $65.60 | Rake $3

Board [5s 9c 4s Ah 3d]
THABANA (big blind) showed [Ad 9s] and lost with two pair, Aces and Nines
QuanticFive showed [5h 5d] and won ($62.60) with three of a kind, Fives

Damp squib

Two hours of four-tabling netted me a loss of $20. I was down $20 inside two minutes, was up as high as $50 in the black but then lost a $120 pot with a full house v quads.
I was ahead until the river with 777 v my foes 444 - he rivered his one-outer to take the pot. I swore loudly.
Its big pots like these that are the difference between a winning night and losing one.
I managed to clay some of my losses back on another table when I flopped a str8 and managed to get some money of a player holding 72o, gotta love 'em.
My roll on Stars is about even today from the winnings from the SNGs...the big pots will come, I can feel it, I'm playing well but not getting the breaks.

On the personal front, I fly to Glasgow with a friend to see some old journalist colleagues. I also discovered that car insurance is way cheaper being in "banking" than in journalism...I'm not really in banking but its the closest I could think of. Little do they know I'm still a massive pisshead and 'my locked garage' is in fact the pavement on a dodgy street in Brixton! (although keep that one to yourselves)

Last Battle of the Planets

Well that sucked. 360 points for a disappointing end.
I kinda felt tilt coming at the end, I was going for wins and coming up short...
Bubbled four times in the 20 games, too many seconds, and too many stupid busts.
Not sure I'll be trying that again - I've wasted too much time playing piddly little stakes for a gain of $50. For the hours I put in that's terrible...

The clowns I was playing...ok, enough.
Gonna play some cash games after supper and MAKE SOME MONEY!

Battle of the Planets (Part V)

After 16 games I am almost exactly in the same position as last week.
330 points and needing a four decent games to break into the top 100. Last week, I had a first and three busts and ended up with 390 points. I need slightly better this time.

I played four tables on Stars $50 tables for a couple of hours last night but pretty much broke even. I was up $30 on one table but down on the others. My flopped set to a horrible player's turned flush was the big losing hand.

Battle of the Planets (Part IV)

I'm having another stab at the Battle of the Planets promo on Stars again.
My 390 points last week saw me end up 262nd, 30 points of 100th place.
I've played five games this morning and made one first place, two second places and a third for 130 points - a much better start than last week so here's hoping...

Home games

Just returned from five days in Brno and Prague in the Czech Republic, where I lived for four years between 1997 and 2001.
Quite a few of my mates from back then still live there, mainly Americans for whom returning to the States fills them with dread.
Most are married with kids now, to beautiful Czech wives, and they seem to have all turned into degenerate gamblers...without much skill.
We played a four-handed game for a few hours in a bar in Brno and I cleaned up. Tommy and Danny were down four buy-ins each, and Chris one and a half buy-ins.
Buy-ins were only 200Kc around £7, so I wasn't bankrupting them, but my aggression and downright luck seemed to be serving me v v well.
I was especially lucky against Chris, the only player who knew what he was doing - I rivered my second pair to beat his turned two-pair, and then beat his AQo with AJs when I turned a jack.
In Prague, we played a six-handed cash game with a 400Kc buyin and I trebled my buyin this time. It meant I hardly spent any money while over there!

Online - I received a $90 bonus for my time on Bodog and just won another $60 on Stars, four tabling.

Battle of the Planets (Part III)

Close but no cigar...
The last four games this morning ended with a first and three blanks, leaving me with 390 points and just outside the top 100.
Its not been the most profitable of ways of spending time on the tables but I really enjoyed the challenge.
I also re-loaded $600 into my Stars account so will playing their NL holdem when I get back.

Battle of the Planets (Part II)

My second block of 20 games is definitely going better than my first.
My first attempt ended with me racking up 140 points - good for 3777th!
My second sees me with 340 points after 16 games, a couple more places and I should be in the top 100 at least.



I started off slowly but then went on a run of seven places, two firsts, two seconds and three thirds.
I'll play all four games this morning and that will be my fill of poker for a few days.

Feeling slightly better

I managed to pass out at around 7.30am once the booze had left my system, slept til 1pm, then poker degenerate that I am, reached for the laptop for more punishment.
Its mighty slow going, one-tabling is so much easier and you can get a feel for the players and the ones you can push around.
I'm only on my fourth game, but one first, and two nothings so far. I'm not sure I will manage another block of 20 games at this rate before I fly to Czecho on Saturday. Not working helps tho :)

More misery

Couldn't sleep after a long, boozy session with colleagues on my last day of work so decided to log on at 4.30am.
Bad idea. Dropped 2.5 buyins at the $50 tables. Lost $50 with flopped set v turned nut flush after five minutes and it got worse from there on in.
O well, there's always the morning :)

Calmed down now...

Rant over, calmed down now and starting my very last day as a working journalist!
After today I will be "between jobs" for two weeks and then switch to being a fund analyst.

I have thought about yesterday's play and believe the main reason I played so badly was I was three-tabling.
Three or four-tabling cash games using the mini table view is my prefered way of playing. But with SNG's I was getting mighty confused.
I was concentrating on one table, and had no idea about my foes on others.
Its very different when you get down to four-handed play on three tables, compared to full-ring.
O well, lesson learnt.

The annoying part is I do not think I will manage to get in another block of 20 SNG before I start my new job as I'm visiting mates most of the two weeks I'm off.

I fly to Prague on Saturday for four days. Back for two days and then fly again up to Glasgow for a long weekend.

I'm back in London again on the Monday and start the new job the next day. I've been a hack for seven years so I'm actually quite excited to be starting a new challenge.

Battle of the Planets - tilting style

O deary me, what a horrible session.
After a solid $60 winning session on Bodog cash games I decided to have a sniff around the other sites and spotted the Battle of the Planets promo on Stars.
I won't go into the ins and outs but before I started I thought I was a shoe-in for a prize.
I wasn't. The $3+40c Omaha H/L games have been a recreational way of grinding up money.
I once went on a run of six straight wins and have an ROI of around 30% on them.
However once the tilt starts it rarley goes away for me. My results: played 12, first once, second once, third twice.
By my normal standards this is FUCKING SHIT.
I bubbled four times and feel mighty pissed off. The play is terrible but so was mine.
The last bubble was embarrassingly bad when I called off almost all my stack when another player was all-in.
Even thinking about makes me mad...too pissed off to write or think straight, need a cigarette and then bed :(

First blogger tourney

I put in a few hours on Sunday and managed to make it to my first blogger tourney, Bloggerment 53.
On the cash side, it was a evens day. I lost a $50 buy-in against a solid player who sucked me in to pushing on the turn.
I called in mid-postion with 57s (spades) three other calls before the SB pot-raised to $2.25, cut-off called.
I stayed in as I had position and had seen the SB make big continuation bets with nothing.
Flop 9,Q,K - all spades - SB led out $3, cut-off called, I raised to $10.
SB called, cut-off folded.
Turn 9h. SB led out $14, around half the pot, I had around $30 left. Looking back I think it was tough to get away here, it was either push or fold, my read was that this was a blocking bet, with the SB holding the ace of spades and a pair of kings.
I pushed, he called and he turned over QQ for a full house.
Later the same, pre-flop aggressor raised again from the SB $3.50, after three callers.
I was in mid-position and made a slightly tilty call with Kh10h. Four callers, pot $15. Flop 8,Q,Q (two hearts).
All checked to the button who bet $3, original raiser and cut-off folded, I flat-called.
Turn 9h. I checked, button bets $8. I was sure here that I was up against trip Qs, but his kicker was key. He flat-called from the button so Q9 was a possibity but raised $8 to $16.
He flat-called and I knew I was ahead. The river was a blank, a low card, I push, he calls and shows QJo.
This recouped all my losses from before and I decided to call it quits.
I also played a $4 180-man SNG where I actually fell asleep half way through, I woke up with 50 left and I was sitting on a 2,000 chip stack and in the bottom five.
I doubled up with Ks in the BB, then again with AJs v QKo, before busting out with four tables left with Qs v As.
The bloggerment was fun, I had been meaning to play one for ages but always forgot.
I outlasted three-qaurters of the field busting out 6th v Zagga, 7s v Qs. I could have got away from this but for some reason felt the need to gamble.
My run w/o a cash in multi-table SNG and tourney is long and barren, I last a long time before I lose my patience and push.
For some reasons tho I can sit for hours in cash games and chip away.
Why this is, I don't know, but I need to do something about it as they have been a good source of income in the past.

That's all for now.

Overbet for value

Readers of Fuel55's blog will now he is running a overbet for value contest up until the WSOP.
You can read about it here
This hand doesn't quite qualify as the overbetter lost - to me! - but I thought it would be fun to include it.
I've also sent it to Fuel; would be cool if he publishes it.
My foe was a big-stacked donkey with a penchant for firing out huge overbets. I thought about his riverbet and couldn't put him on anything that beat me.

BODOG Hand number: 1180464032

HOLE CARDS
QuanticFive calls 50c with [4c 4h]
latinumman raises $0.50c to $1
cringle calls
pokerdr calls
QUanticFive calls

FLOP [As 9h 2h] Pot size $4.25

latinumman checks
cringle checks
pokerdr folds (?!)
QuanticFive checks

TURN [As 9h 2h] [9c] Pot size $4.25

latinumman bets $ 0.50
cringle folds
QuanticFive calls $ 0.50

RIVER [As 9h 2h 9c] [4s] Pot size $5.25

latinumman bets $ 47.00
QuanticFive calls all-in $ 46.75

SHOW DOWN
latinumman shows [3s 5s] a straight, Five high
QuanticFice shows [4c 4h] - a full house, Fours full of nines

QuanticFive wins the pot ($96.75)

OBFV called $46.75 and the pot was $52 = 0.90

A $3.50 night

Another few hundred hands over 90 minutes and another break-even night.
I was hitting but no-one was calling - I hit top set three times, with Ks, Qs, and Js but couldn't get anyone to bite.
I don't think I've seen Bodog playing so tightly. The night before there was a huge fish on one of my tables, who was sending the table wild.

Back with a whimper

I was so tired after five days of hanging with my buddy that I struggled to focus on play last night.
I managed around 300 hands in 2 sessions, both marginal losers.
I also tried Bodog's $2k guaranteed, starting at 9pm UK time as there was 15% overlay as there are on many of Bodog's guaranteed tourneys.
I lost a bunch with Ak v A10 when he flopped top two, then doubled up when I luckily rivered a flush.
However, I crashed out when my flopped nut str8 lost to runner, runner full house.

Will have another go tonight!