Poker Pains

Cashing out, and getting richer!

2011-03-03T14:09:00.002Z

Ok, for my four followers out there, another update!

On Dec 19th I became a father. Very emotional time and my son Marcel is now nearly three months old. It has been a total game changer in my life and I have very little time for anything else but I'm loving being a dad!

After Marcel was born I decided to cash out a fair chunk of my money, all told I withdrew $1500 from across my FT and Pokerstars accounts, which translated into around £997.

I left $167 in my FT account and just $16 in my Pokerstars account.

I thought that would be it, but no...I am still playing, although only very sporadically.

Basically in my head I was done with poker for a while as fatherhood was intense, especially in the first couple of weeks. But I was sitting at my kitchen table, one tabling a $50 Omaha H/L rush game on FT when I hit trips on a QJ10 flop. (me jj)

After I raising war post flop, I was all in for my $60 and two other over stack foes who held ak.

Turn blank, river 10...so in very short order, I had (just) enough to do some four-tabling on $50 NL again.

I've not played much but my roll now is $580 and it looks like I may be able to grind back high enough to try the $100 NL tables again...so much for quitting.

I really need to update my bankroll data to the right, but need to download software from some of the sites, its been so long since I played them!

2010

2010-11-06T10:12:00.002Z

After nearly a year a post...briefly, I've started playing again.

Four tabling, $100 NL on FullTilt, full ring, my roll on FT is $1802.77 precisely and I'm making around 4BB/100.

I'm enjoying playing again, especially at this level. Even with a $5k roll before I cashed out last year I never felt comfortable at the $100NL tables and out of my depth.

Pokertableratings is helping a lot as I know now who are the good players. I think this is the last level where the odd fish comes to try his luck.

Anyway, the blog will continue, very very sporadically - here are some winning pots for you!

https://www.pokertableratings.com/replayer/index.php?site=fulltilt&id=25028810271&hash=10579969231

https://www.pokertableratings.com/replayer/index.php?site=fulltilt&id=24268216295&hash=9860491962

https://www.pokertableratings.com/replayer/index.php?site=fulltilt&id=24751809004&hash=10322293115

https://www.pokertableratings.com/replayer/index.php?site=fulltilt&id=24268051829&hash=9860320402

Last post of 2009

2009-12-30T10:46:00.002Z

Two more days until 2010...I'm at work, with lots to do but little motivation to do it, hence the post.

I also played a little poker over Christmas!

Four sessions, two or three tabling $100 NL cash games on Full Tilt.
It must have been my first cash games at that level for over a year. Any attentive readers will know I was playing the $100 games a couple of years back but moved back down after I lost some confidence.

Now I don't care as much = more confidence = less folding like a pussy = more dosh!

I just went with my instincts in these sessions and won around $100 the first three times I played, and lost around $15 the last time.

I really enjoyed it, singing when you're winning and all that, but I found the oppposition pretty ordinary. Maybe it was Christmas and people were using the holidays to play a bit but I kept coming across foes that were clearly either playing above their normal levels or just having fun.

Part of the problem with cash game grinds is multi-tabling bots playing 12 tables ABC poker. No bluffs and bluffable but you'll never win that much off them. This time round there were enough one-table numptys to milk.

Can't recall any hands in particular but I'll try to save some hand histories next time I play.

How long will the Christmas players last? No idea...but I'll probably play another session or two around New Year.

A post....at last

2009-12-14T13:58:00.002Z

Well, I have decided to update this blog, which has been dormant since July.

So time for an update...

Well, lifewise 2009 has been dominated by my CFA exams. I failed level 1 in June, pretty badly to be honest, and took it again two weeks ago.
I did a lot better but I don't find out the results until January 27. If I could work on the exam full-time, it shouldn't be a problem. But having a full-time job means I don't really get that much time to study and when I do, I'm knackered.

Pokerwise I have played very very little. I don't think I played more than once between August and December. A SNG here and there, but no long sessions at all.

It is amazing what finishing an exam does to you – before every spare moment I felt guilty about not studying; now I can sit around in my pants watching crap TV guilt free.

So I played two sessions in the past week.

The first was a four-table SNG affair, one $12, one $6.50, one $3 (all 90-man) and a $50 Omaha H/L six-man cash game.

I lost $25 playing Omaha – logging off after ten minutes in a huff – busted out of the two of the three SNGs and winning the $6 for $150ish.

I then played four SNG/tourneys – a $24 + $2 tourney, $12, $6 SNGS (90-man) and a $2 tourney. Four-tabling is too much for me playing tourneys/SNG (cash is manageable) so next time I’ll stick to three.

I went past the hour in each, and at one stage was doing well in three out of the four…but predictably the one I did well in (4th) was the $2 tourney (512 entrants) for a $99 win.

I went mental a bit towards the end – and tried to bully my way to the win at the end. It was working and I had a big chip lead with four to go. But I then busted in two hands to the only other player to play back at me….sigh….should really have taken it down fro $275.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the sessions, which lasted around 3 to 4 hours which is a manageable time for me. The $200 profit was nice as well 

However this is the stuff I write for work…

Goldman Sachs 2010 Summary

GEM/Asia
Positive on Asia – forecasting 36% total return (!) for 2010
Korea, Taiwan, China 40% returns. Capacity utilisation in Asia higher than most believe
GDP growth in 2010 in EM countries 7.3%, 1.9% Developed
Bullish on commodities – due to demand from EM

Credit
Weak GDP, low inflation, low interest rates in developed world will magnify ‘search for yield’ among fixed income assets
Nervous of lower-rated, more cyclical names which could ‘soften disproportionately as prices revert to fundamental value’

Interest Rates
US 10-yr yields to fall back to 3% in 2010, Fed likely to keep rates on hold
Rate rises more likely in Norway, Canada, UK (!), Sweden – where output gap is closing faster than in the major blocs

A yawn-fest I know, but our funds are all first quartile (in the top 25%) for 2009, and I have been promised a decent bonus (hurrah!)

Poker is now definitely a secondary hobby for me, so my goal for 2010 is:

1) Turn my FT bankroll of $470 to $1500.
2) Errr…that’s it.

I know now my strengths, multi SNGs/tournies…so I’ll stick to these.

See ya!

A week of poker

2009-07-26T21:17:00.001Z

I'm about to pick up the missus from Gatwick and have just logged off after another short session.

I ended up using my week of freedom mostly on the piss with mates so didn't play as much as I intended.

Just two session, three tabling multi table SNG and tourneys.

In the first I cashed in one, coming in 300-odd out of 2000 for a very small score.

My bustout hand was AQo versus J9s, I called from the big blind to an obvious bully boy but the hand didn't stand up despite flopping a Q.

Here are a couple of hands - the first when I was caught bluffing half way through. The second was a semi-bluff that worked.

PokerStars Game #30721869028: Tournament #180540393, $8.00+$0.80 Hold'em No Limit - Level IX (75/150) - 2009/07/21 17:31:15 ET
Table '180540393 252' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: QuanticFive (11865 in chips)
Seat 2: omskurDZI (7820 in chips)
Seat 3: aldehuela (10135 in chips)
Seat 4: WjWeng (4341 in chips)
Seat 5: Talerz (19047 in chips)
Seat 6: madamxl (4258 in chips)
Seat 7: superweed (4531 in chips)
Seat 8: VERSEAU91 (9130 in chips)
Seat 9: Swuolzz (6178 in chips)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to QuanticFive [Kh Td]
Talerz: raises 200 to 350
superweed: calls 350
QuanticFive: calls 350
omskurDZI: calls 275

*** FLOP *** [9d 8c 6d]
omskurDZI: checks
Talerz: bets 450
superweed: folds
QuanticFive: calls 450
omskurDZI: folds
*** TURN *** [9d 8c 6d] [Qs]
Talerz: checks
QuanticFive: bets 1200
Talerz: calls 1200
*** RIVER *** [9d 8c 6d Qs] [As]
Talerz: checks
QuanticFive: bets 2400
Talerz: calls 2400
*** SHOW DOWN ***
QuanticFive: shows [Kh Td] (high card Ace)
Talerz: shows [Qd Jc] (a pair of Queens)
Talerz collected 9830 from pot

PokerStars Game #30723092059: Tournament #180540393, $8.00+$0.80 Hold'em No Limit - Level XII (150/300) - 2009/07/21 18:02:38 ET
Table '180540393 252' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: QuanticFive (8975 in chips)
Seat 2: omskurDZI (8248 in chips)
Seat 3: aldehuela (1113 in chips)
Seat 4: WjWeng (7382 in chips)
Seat 5: Talerz (12033 in chips)
Seat 6: madamxl (14397 in chips)
Seat 7: superweed (19704 in chips)
Seat 8: miken22 (6066 in chips)
Seat 9: Swuolzz (7413 in chips)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to QuanticFive [Jh Td]
QuanticFive: raises 600 to 900
omskurDZI: raises 800 to 1700
aldehuela: calls 923 and is all-in
QuanticFive: calls 800
*** FLOP *** [2h Qc 9c]
QuanticFive: bets 7235 and is all-in
omskurDZI: folds
Uncalled bet (7235) returned to QuanticFive
*** TURN *** [2h Qc 9c] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [2h Qc 9c 3s] [6s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
QuanticFive: shows [Jh Td] (high card Queen)
QuanticFive collected 1254 from side pot
aldehuela: shows [7s 8c] (high card Queen - lower kicker)
QuanticFive collected 3879 from main pot

Tonight I played three more SNGs, going deep in all three but only cashing in one - a $7 180-man turbo on Stars.

I ended up third for around $140. I was chip leader with around 40 to go but went card dead and tightened up near the bubble. I was either side of two bullies and couldn't cope really.

I scraped across the bubble near the back and limped onto the final table 8th.

I then trebled up with 10s and was suddenly chipleader again but couldn't see it through.

Bankroll update

2009-07-18T16:42:00.002Z

I finally got round to updating my Bankroll info which had been stuck on December 2008 for...well seven months!
Not moved much really, reflecting my lack of play this year. The roll is now only just over $1k after cashing out but is still decent enough for the levels I play.

Played two killer tourneys on Full Tilt this morning, didn't cash in either :(

poker and sterling

2009-07-15T16:09:00.002Z

Had another bash at poker last weekend - played four $10 double-or-nothing SNGs on PokerStars, cashing in two for solid break-even poker!

Back with my missus again since the last post for the shortest break-up in history. She is off to Athens all next week so I should be able to put in a couple of sessions while she's gone.

Just thought I would comment on sterling versus the dollar for all you high stakes players out there :)

Sterling has rallied since hitting a low of $1.37 to $1.63 as I write. For followers of this blog I was pretty vocal in my calls for sterling to fall from $2.
I lack the conviction I had last year but I can see another bout of weakness for sterling some time this year.

At $1.63, I would sit tight for a while and wait. My view is $1.45 is fairer value which is around a 15% gain from here.

Can't be arsed to go into the reasons why...but its my view for what its worth.

Back on the poker, I've made the decision to try to play some bigger tourneys while the missus is away. Only can do it on weekend so will try two not this weekend but the weekend after prob.

Ok, see ya

Weekend play

2009-07-06T08:31:00.001Z

I had another tilt at some SNGs and tourneys this weekend on Full Tilt.
Four tables, all NL, all less than $10 buy-ins.
I was watching the tennis with one eye at the same time which is my excuse for busting out of all four, out of the money ;)
The closest I came to cashing was bubbling a $10 18-man SNG in fifth when I found Ks but my foe had As. Earlier I had doubled up a short stack with 2s v his QJo, pushed on turn and he made the call with two overcards, duly spiking a Q on the river…this would have put me in a comfortable chip-lead but it wasn’t to be.
Got deep-ish in the others but actually found four tables too many to properly concentrate on, couldn’t get reads on the other players when I switched tables.

My girlfriend dumped me this weekend which sucks very, very badly. I went to Glastonbury last weekend for five days and left her some very smelly skunk that I had left over.
I came back and in her dope induced state she decided to end it.
I was totally into her and it is hurting. Trying to think of the positives – I’ll be richer as she was stony broke and I paid for everything; and more poker, I spose…

Anyway back to the grind of City life 

A win!

2009-06-14T01:38:00.002Z

Well sort of...
I played my first weekend morning session for a long time. Its the only time I really have to play tourneys. Woke up hungover, tired but unable to sleep so fired up some tables.
I kept four going most of the time, three tourneys and some cash games. The tourneys were a $10 killer and $24 + $2 on FTP and a $5 45 man on Poker stars.
I went deep in the one that counted, the $24 FTP tourney which attracted 400 odd peeps for a $9k prize pool.
I played solid poker throughout, sometimes aggressive and then sometimes like a total pussy, but I felt comfrotable...was chip leader with about 20 left, and made it to the final able with ease.
I write this slightly worse for the wear after a nite out and its funny but i only remember the suckouts. Once with qk v aq, when i rivered a j for a straight, and once with aj v aq when i rivered a jack.

I stopped playing aggressively twice, once near the bubble, and again on the final table...I ended up 7th for a $320 odd score but the winner, who was very beatable, got $2500. Busted with AKs v 10s for a standard flip, the only all-in flip I had all game.

wasnt to be tho, but def has got me thinking about poker again...

On the personal front I have started seeing someone finally after three years of singledom which is another reason for less play. She is away now which is why I can spend a morning playing.

Not my finest post but v v tired....see ya

Exam blues

2009-06-11T09:57:00.001Z

It has been a week since my exam so I thought I would post something on it.

I was studying for the CFA ((chartered financial analyst). It is most prestigious exam in the investment world but is an absolute nightmare.
Three levels, taking a minimum of 2.5 years, and a frightening 35% pass rate for Lvl 1 – the exam I took.
It is not actually uber-hard material wise, anyone with a decent brain can master the concepts, it is the volume of work that sucks.
Six big fat text books to plough through covering accounts, equity and bond analysis, economics, portfolio management, alternatives, corporate finance…the list goes on.

I basically attacked the thing all wrong – I decided back in Jan that I needed to take notes from the books, which I duly tried to do for the next four months.

I then discovered you could buy notes online for £50 which are very usable and they come with access to hundreds of past questions.

Taking notes is fine if you have time to learn them. I didn’t.
In the last week I ended up looking at two of the sections for the first time and ignored economics ‘cos I thought my A-level in it would get me by. (a mistake!)

It was a very strange exam day. Last Saturday at the Excel centre. And 8,000 people sitting the exam. Yep, 8,000!

I reckon about 75% were non-native English speakers. You have never seen a bigger conglomeration of geeks in your life. Maths geeks from China, India, Saudi, France, Russia – you name it – all trying to tap into the financial dream.
I hardly heard a single English accent and when I did they were posh as hell.

The majority were massive cocks in my opinion, but then again, I s’pose I’m doing the same – sucking corporate cock for fat dollar. I like to think I had a life first tho’ – three years bumming round Europe and five years as a hack – and didn’t decide aged 8 that I would tailor my entire life in getting a City job.

Anyway, I learned a lot during the studies, and despite the tone of the entry, I really made an effort for. I understand the markets better and if I failed, I reckon I will get it in Christmas.

Played one session of poker since the exam when I was steaming drunk.
I have cashed out $5k – so still only playing the $50 tables, fired up four on Mansion, and tried to get the tables on tilt by typing “Drunk Jimmmmmyyyyyyy!!!!” (which is my name there) after winning any hand. Kept raising.

It kinda worked but being the target on all four tables was tough to manage. I was getting pissy too, and started abusing some Finnish bloke for being depressed. I promised to send him a lightbulb in the post to cheer him up when I beat him to one hand. Usual crap.

I had about $20 left on that table and announced I would raise all-in every hand and either double up or bust.
I did, again and again and again, and no-one had the balls to call. $20! Come on!
Anyone, the Finn finally called with 10s v my 74o and I donated my money.
His parting shot was “Don’t play bingo here” – I wanted to tell him how little $20 compared to what I have won…but left with my head held high :)

OK, thats's all folks!

More play and the stock market

2009-05-26T16:52:00.003Z

I played another short one-hour session over the Bank Holiday weekend, making another $40 to leave me $90 to the good.

I've realised that my bankroll data is nearly six months out of date, which shows how the love affair with the game has dwindled somewhat.
If I get the chance in the next week or two I will try to update it but I doubt it is much more than the stated total of $5.5k.

I thought I would tell you a bit about why now is a very good to invest to pump some money into the stock market.
In the time I have been following the markets (first as a journalist and now as an analyst), it is clear that the entry level is the most important ingredient to making money.
You can pick the best company in the world, which will survive a downturn and profit during boom times, but what matters more is what price you got in.

I bought JJB a month ago - partly after doing a little work for my friend in his share tipping contest I wrote about a few posts ago.

It is up 125% since then. I have bought Lloyds at 60p, Taylor Wimpey (Britain's biggest housebuilder) at 45p, Enterprise Inns at £1.30. The list goes on.

All are shit companies, that were priced to go bust. They didn't and I profited. I used to own Lloyds at £6. JJB was a fiver not so long ago.

With the FTSE 100 at 4,300 it is a fantastic to put some money away for a couple of years, take the dividends and cash out for a healthy profit.

I now have almost all my personal wealth in equities, and will keep it there until I can afford a house - the market still fears armageddon and is cheap, cheap, cheap. Armageddon has been and gone, Lehman's went bust, Lloyds, RSB and Barclays nearly went bust. But they were saved, the Government is printing money like no-one's business but we will survive.

Buying stocks and shares, you are basically backing capitalism to my mind. There has been a bounce and a lot of the dross that I bought has topped out for now but on a two to three year view it is a win-win situation. Back capitalism and profit!

Rant over :)

online play

2009-05-23T20:09:00.001Z

Played my first bit of online poker in a long, long time tonight.

I only wanted to play an hour after a day's study but the magic is still there ;)

Fired up four $50 NL tables at Stars and apart from letting a couple of pots go with weak play in position, I played decent poker. Came out $50 up, mostly down to one hand...

PokerStars Game #28535104923: Hold'em Pot Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2009/05/23 15:37:47 ET
Table 'Holmia V' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: QuanticFive ($65.25 in chips)
Seat 2: hockey59 ($16.55 in chips)
Seat 3: kevorkallin ($3.90 in chips)
Seat 4: irishguy2005 ($40.65 in chips)
Seat 5: przemol ($50 in chips)
Seat 6: darg0r ($50 in chips)
Seat 7: Steve8Taylor ($27 in chips)
Seat 8: -Jenna88-<3 ($38.20 in chips)
Seat 9: Henck123 ($36.05 in chips)
hockey59: posts small blind $0.25
kevorkallin: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to QuanticFive [Qh Qc]
irishguy2005: folds
przemol: folds
darg0r: folds
Steve8Taylor: raises $1 to $1.50
-Jenna88-<3: calls $1.50
Henck123: folds
QuanticFive: calls $1.50
hockey59: folds
kevorkallin: calls $1
*** FLOP *** [4s 9c Qd]
kevorkallin: checks
Steve8Taylor: bets $1
-Jenna88-<3: calls $1
QuanticFive: calls $1
kevorkallin: folds
*** TURN *** [4s 9c Qd] [Qs] - Bingo!
Steve8Taylor: checks
-Jenna88-<3: checks
QuanticFive: bets $3.50
Steve8Taylor: calls $3.50
-Jenna88-<3: raises $4.50 to $8 - As soon as he did this I knew he had a set!!
QuanticFive: calls $4.50 - Flat called just in case I scared him off
Steve8Taylor: calls $4.50
*** RIVER *** [4s 9c Qd Qs] [7c]
Steve8Taylor: checks
-Jenna88-<3: bets $27.70 and is all-in - On queue
QuanticFive: calls $27.70
Steve8Taylor: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
-Jenna88-<3: shows [4d 4c] (a full house, Fours full of Queens)
QuanticFive: shows [Qh Qc] (four of a kind, Queens)
QuanticFive collected $85.65 from pot

OK, quads over set is very lucky, but I got that 'I love poker' feeling I have been missing the past few weeks.

The way he played his set, letting the clock go right down, was how I used to play my sets every time - now I tend to lead out if I don't have position and then check further down to induce the bet.

Anyway, cya...

Study and work

2009-05-18T16:03:00.002Z

The exam pressure is really starting to kick in - two weeks until the big day now - so I have had to say no to the next home game, which kinda sucks.

It was at Artem's house - who we have christened Bank of Russia - and would have been like when the Viking's came over to England the first time, a mass rape and pillage session.

I think they are postponing it so I will be involved next time.

The study is going badly actually - I have discovered I don't get financial accounts. It is incomprehensible and more importantly, boring as shit so every time I start reading about it I fall asleep. Not great preparation...

My life is being dominated by the study so no real online play to speak of either.

The only wisdom I can impart is on the dollar again...which I will surmise as SELL IT! We are at 1.50 and it will be 1.70 by the end of the year. Could be wrong but that is my call.

Knocking this out from work so better get back to it.
CYA!

Home games

2009-04-16T20:03:00.002Z

Well its been a while...
Probably the longest spell of no updates since I started the blog.
The lack of updates reflects my lack of play really - I no longer log on after work as a matter of course and my play now is limited to weekend tilts at the tables and home games (hence the title of this post).

The online play is still profitable but I have withdrawn $4,800 from all the sites, leaving $250 in Stars, FT, Party and Mansion.
This is enough for my levels, four-tabling $50 - as long as I don't go busto!

The home games are no a regula occurence and I'm killing them in the main. I feel a bit bad as some of them are good mates but they really have no clue.
It is mainly with unemployed ex-bankers with loads of cash and spare time.

We play cash, PL hold'em with pee-wee 10p,20p blinds but as no-one knows how to fold we often get up to £70 to £100 pots.

An example of how shitty the play is:

Six-handed, I have 75s in MP. A raise before me and everyone calls to the BB who pots it for about £4. Everyone calls except me!

Flop comes A,K,x - BB bangs it, everyone calls, another A comes, then a blank and four of them end up all in.
The pot is around £75. They flip them and there is QQ, KK, JTs and 82o!

The guy who played 82o is a Russian unemployed derivatives trader who literally has no idea but is immense fun to play with. He has left down around £60 to £100 every time and he doesn't give a shit. Perfect!

I've made about £100 from three games with these guys...should have been a more except for this hand at 4am (eight hours into our session) when I was utterly arseholed.

Early position raises, and two call. I am on button with 66.

Flop A, 3, 5 (rainbow) - they check to me and I bet out 2/3 of the pot. Both call.

Turn a 6 (gin!) and I put £5 down after they check to me again.

The early position raiser is an old mate Dan (a lawyer who earns a shitload of cash but is utter garbage at poker). He basically cant fold and duly calls, the other player folded after giving me the stare-down - lol.

River 7. Dan then bets out the pot which was £22. I have about £65 in front of me and Dan has been getting lucky and has about £20 left...

I couldn't see anything to beat me...he doesn't have the gumption to slow-play and I figured A7 at best.

I push, he calls and I know I am sunk...he flips over 77!

We wrapped up a few hands later with me down £15 instead of up again a load.

I'm really loving these games tho as the banter is superb and the play worse than any online game you could find. They think they are figuring me out but I know I will win it back.

Apart from this I am studying for my chartered financial analyst exams on June 6 - hardest exam I have ever taken (and its only level one of three). This is basically taking up all my poker time and then some.

When they are over tho I plan to party like an absolute banshee, already booked tickets for Glastonbury and Big Chill and will head over to Prague in June too for some alcohol therapy.

Happy gaming!

The Insider

2009-02-23T09:44:00.003Z

One of my old journalist colleagues - now political editor of the Manchester Evening News - has been obsessively writing a rather good blog for the past three years.

It mostly covers politics - both local to Manchester and national - but he has started a mini-competition which follows the shirt sponsors of various football clubs.

Global recession. Football. Fun

The reason I mention this is that I am "The Insider".

I've had a go at predicting the winners but I reckon I have just as much chance as any one else.

If you fancy playing, drop by his blog and post yr predictions in his comments.

GL!

Ooops

2009-02-20T09:12:00.002Z

Seems Neteller has downgraded my account so I need to email them some bumpf before they will let me at my roll...

So no, I didn't pull my US $ last night.

The market opens down 2.5% and sterling down 0.83% against the dollar - so maybe a blessing in disguise.

Sell the dollar!

2009-02-19T10:05:00.003Z

OK, I'm doing it. Today's move has convinced me that sterling could rally again.
When I get home tonight I'm going to withdraw a decent chunk of my US dollar roll and put it in sterling.
It is not quite at its low - the dollar having reached $1.38 last month. It currently stands at $1.43.

My thinking on when to cash out has been murky since the start of the year. The UK economy is in the shit and the Government is planning to print a whole load of money to get us out of it. Coupled with this is the legacy of huge budget deficit thanks in part to Gordon Brown's spending while he was Chancellor.

However, I think the market has decided that Obama's spending plans ($787bn) dwarf Briton's and that the dollar has overshot.

I may be wrong and the pound may go lower, but I don't think by much, and I want to cash with in the $1.40s rather than 1.50s or 1.60s.

As a caveat, I'm not as confident on this prediction as I was on my last few - when I called the crash in sterling - but this is what I plan to do tonight.

As for poker....haven't played a hand since the weekend :)

Sets and the dollar

2009-02-13T12:16:00.003Z

For cash game regulars, sets are the most profitable hands in poker.
You have disguise and more often than not, surety that you have the best hand. The perfect storm is when u are up against an overpair or big ace that hits.
Extracting the most money out of sets is an art; sniffing out sets even more so - but to be profitable consistently playing full ring hold'em cash you need to have this skill.

Case in point last night. I was four-tabling my usual $50 cash games and slowly chipping up.
I had doubled up on one table when I got involved in a big hand with a player who had recently sat down.
I flat-called his EP $2 raise with AKo in mid position and saw a two-way flop of AJx (2 hearts). He led out just under the pot on the flop, I smooth-called. Turn a second Ace. He again leads out 3/4 of the pot. I call. River a blank heart, he fires out a $23 bet.

What does he have?

Well, unless he is bluffing he has to have at least AK, AQ, AJ, JJ or flush - and that's it.
Is he bluffing? You very, very, very rarely get full-ring players who play this aggressively - firing three bluffs in a row is tough! As I said earlier, he had only recently sat down so I had no read on him.

What I should have done was type his name into 'Find a Player' (we were playing on Pokerstars) - he was sitting at 10-tables. A multi-table bot. No bluffs. A clear fold.

As it was I made a terrible call and duly lost.

My instinct was telling me to fold, and I talked myself into calling...

A hand later in the evening, and one which turned out to be my last hand of the night, involved another set.

I was dealt AA in EP and raised to $2 again. I was sitting on around $80 on this table and hand been raising pre a lot.
No respect then, so three callers, including the BB.
I bet out $5 on a flop three low cards, two folds before the BB called.

This immediately set alarm bells ringing as this foe had been playing T-I-G-H-T.
Turn another rag, foe checks, I bet $7.50 (half the pot) and she check raises to $15.

Yes I have Aces but she has a set, a slim chance of 2 pr, but she def has me and I fold.

In hindsight, I could have maybe gotten away with a $5 bet on turn as there were no draws. A call from her on the turn means most likely I am ahead.
The way she played her set was the way I would have played it, two, three years ago. It works but against experienced players it is just too obvious.

The title says a post on the dollar too but I'm at work and need to get back on it.Will try to giev some thoughts on the dollar this weekend.

One hundred dollars

2009-01-31T16:45:00.002Z

Hi all, sorry for the lack of updates again. I've just returned from two weeks sunning myself in Florida.
My parents spend most of the winter there now - been doing it for five years now -and I finally got my arse over to visit them.
Played a lot of golf, studied, eat well and managed three runs.
I deliberatley left my laptop at home so I would study more, although I couldn't stay away from the felt for two whole weeks and downloaded FT on my mum's laptop.
I four tabled cash games on the whole and finsihed around $100 up.
Also had a shot at a few Mansion SNGs, but basically lost my rakeback from the previous month.

The online betting ban must be so frustrating for Americans - I couldn't even place a bet on the Australian Open tennis.
I fancied Dementieva and got a friend to place a £20 bet for me and got 9.5 - but she crashed out to Serena in the semis. Bum!

Poker Pains

2009-01-06T12:28:00.002Z

No poker at all to speak of, hence the lack of updates for ages.
I had a very boozy Christmas and then a week off work to rest and recover. During the past three weeks I have played maybe 20 SNGs and tourneys, all at small buy-ins and most have amounted to nothing.
I don't really have the motivation to play at the moment. I'm studying a lot, playing a bit of XBOX 360, reading, chilling - just no poker.
I'm sure the will to play to return, I've had breaks like this before, so keep checking the blog.

The only wisdom I can impart on you is that I am slightly concerned about a sterling rebound. Looking at the numbers I have $6k in various poker accounts and neteller, which at current levels is £4,100. It costs a fiver to withdraw cash, so I may just pull out most of it and then put it back in again when the dollar is stronger.

The problem is I'm pretty sure the dollar will weaken against most currencies, say the Aussie dollar, Canadian dollar but against sterling (which is pants at the mo), I'm less sure.

So for now is do nothing - which pretty much sums up my poker grinding at the mo!!!

A whole lot of nothing

2008-12-16T13:11:00.002Z

Been running bad Sunday and Monday - nothing serious. But just can't seem to get anything going.
I was down around $50 on Sunday. $20 on Mansion, $30 on FT where I busted out of the Brit Blogger game, a $10 SNG and $5r Omaha H/L.
The Omaha was slightly annoying as I was in the top ten in chips with around 50 to go (18 paid) but donked off all my chips with a stupid call.
The only win was a $26 token from a $6 tourney.
Last night I lost around $60 on Party cash before I managed a $20 boost to my bankroll over five SNGs on Mansion.

A $100 loss is nothing to get too down about but I think its a sign for me to close down the year pokerwise.

I have xmas boozing for the rest of the week and have learnt the hard way that alcohol and poker don't work for me.

Will post soon with an updated bankroll and some goals for 2009!

Quick update and more on dollar

2008-12-14T18:05:00.002Z

Nothing doing on the poker front really.
Busted out of four SNGs well out of the money just now, which was the first time I've logged on in a few days.
May play the Brit Bloggerment but need to tidy my flat which is looking like a pig sty at the mo.

Quickie on the dollar - a very respected fund manager last week predicted parity - $1 for £1. Shit for visitors to that fair land - awesome for my bankroll.
Im not sure it'll get down there tbh, maybe $1.20, but am following it every day at work so will try to update again when there is a firmer view out there.

SNG rebound

2008-12-08T14:33:00.002Z

After going 1 for 15 on Saturday I managed to make it all back again on Sunday with some wins. My ROI has dropped from the frankly ridiculous 83% down to a respectable 38%.
In the last batch I ended up getting in a right ding-dong with a dutch cock called MaxMDR. He was bitching about missing out on the $49k jackpot when his As got busted by J9s all-in pre. He said that cost him the jackpot, I told him he was full of shit, which he didn't like.
Anyway, we spent most of the next half-an-hour bitching at each other. I got him steaming when I beat his AKo with the mighty J5s.
He raised all-in on my blind, I (correctly) called off half my stack to bubble the c*nt :)
He was playing on another table with me and got his revenge by busting me on the bubble.

Anyway, one of the reasons we were arguing was about the rules of the jackpot SNGs on iPoker. I was under the impression that you needed to play five-in-a-row as they fill up. He said they didn't need to be consecutive games.

I had asked Mansion support about this but had missed their reply. I double checked my inbox to find the Dutch twat was right. They need to be consecutive ie you can't play another SNG in between, but they can be played over a 48 hour period.

This makes it A LOT easier and I'm gonna continue playing them. The standard of play is perfect for my style. Very loose early doors so I limp lots and more often than not get paid when I hit. But they all tighten right up around the bubble and my aggro-pushing works wonders.

You still need the hands but I've come mighty close already while five tabling, so if I limit myself to three-tables I reckon I can make a tidy profit.

Wish me luck!

WBCOOP

2008-12-07T15:25:00.000Z

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

All bloggers can play in this exclusive online poker tournament.

Registration code: 569397

48 hours

2008-12-07T13:41:00.003Z

Last night I had a terrible session: 15 SNGs, one first, 14 nothings.
Couldn't think, couldn't play after 48 hours of no sleep. New York is an absolutely amazing city - if you like London, you'll love NY.
The people have an energy sometimes lacking among Brits - we saw a street brawl between a white lawyer and some black dude.
The lawyer was being a total dick and getting in people's faces. The black dude took exception and started pounded his head against a taxi cab parked outside.
The lawyer started shouting "I'm gonna sue yr ass!", the black dude shouting back "Sue me, homie".
Then the lawyer's two girlfriends jumped on the two wrestling fighters, screaming like excited teenagers.
It was FUCKING hilarious, something out of the movies.
We went to this bar called the ChillOut bar and were greeted on arrival by platters of food, buckets of bottled beer and whole bottles of vodka and whiskey.
Fuck the credit crunch!

As well as drinking myself to oblivion and eating huge portions of food, I also went shopping (not as cheap now the dollar is stronger) and err...did a bit of work.
It was actually a press trip that I blagged my way on so the the work load was much lighter than a normal investment conference.

Anyway, I returned to Brixton fucking knackered and stupidly decided to play some jackpot SNGs on Mansion. I had my first place in the first batch of five - after that it went to shit.
Was so tired, by the end, I just wanted to bust out and sleep.

Played another batch just now, after sleeping for around 13 hours, and managed two firsts and a second so I still have the magic! :)

Maui jackpot

2008-12-02T23:53:00.002Z

I had three tilts at the Maui jackpot on Mansion, which I've only just realised is on the iPoker network!!
The jackpot on the $5+$1 tables is a very tempting $49,000 for five consecutive firsts. This doesn't mean five firsts in a row over several days but five consecutive wins in a row as each Maui table opens up so to win them involves five tabling.
I play on a laptop which means I can't fit all five on to the screen and it all gets rather hectic.
The matrix SNGs are excellent training for this, however, and playing different foes is actually a little easier.
The opposition is generally pretty soft and my win rate is pretty decent.
Over 20 games (five games from previous sessions), I have a 83% ROI and am up $101!

The first batch I got a first and two seconds for a $20 profit, the second batch two firsts and a third for a $30 profit and the final batch: two first and three thirds for a $50 profit. I was on for the jackpot right up until the end, and was four-tabling having won one of the five outright. But I busted third in two of them in quick succession.

I also had a small $17 win on a cash game which makes for not a bad evening.

The jackpot will undoubtedly have been snared by someone while I'm in New York and will reset itself back to $15k. But if it isn't I'm gonna go all out over the weekend when I get back to win it.

Dollar update

2008-12-02T15:29:00.002Z

OK, I was a little premature in my sterling rally forecast of a week ago.
It looks like the Bank of England is going to cut rates by 0.50% to 1.00%, maybe even another 1.50% are there are risks of a short term rout of sterling.
One commentator is forecasting $1.27.

No-one really knows for sure but the Bank of England seems to be happy to let sterling depreciate. My advice now is - let it ride!

Breakeven(ish) poker

2008-12-02T12:22:00.003Z

I logged on again yesterday for a couple of short cash sessions on Mansion.
A $40 win before supper followed by a $60 losing session after. I was playing pretty aggressively pre-flop during both sessions - it worked in the first but not the second.
Got buggered with Ks v Js when he flopped trips and I called his river raise.
Loosening up is a much harder style to play as if it goes past the flop you need to be very careful of slowplayers and willing to deal with the swings.
You also need to tilt your foes enough to get them to call you down when you have the goods.
This is a BIG problem when they are all multi-tabling, not paying much attention and playing boring ABC poker. During the weekday evenings, this happens a lot and for the life of me I can't really think of way to beat them except follow suit, tighten up and grind. Yawn!

I'm off to New York tomorrow for three days through work. Never been and can't wait to visit - gonna do a bit of shopping and drink myself silly on free mojitos (all expenses baby!).

Will play a little tonight before my 5.45am taxi to Heathrow. Urgh!

Decent Sunday

2008-11-30T22:14:00.002Z

I had a great session this afternoon on Mansion, when I logged out $220 up.
I was only two-tabling 8-man, $50 NL but one of the tables had a seriously aggressive raiser from Ireland who was tilting pretty much everyone.
He had position on me, but I kept chipping up off him; check-calling and check-raising.
The big hand, however, was against another foe who had doubled off the aggro player. I was sitting on the button with K7s and called a double blind raise.
Flop K,6,7. Turn 7. And I won all my foes $96 stack when he couldn't let go of Aces.
I decided to leave with $240 on one table and $75 on the other.

Dollar thoughts

2008-11-26T13:29:00.003Z

For those of you that follow my blog, I first made my forecasts that the pound would fall to $1.50 against the dollar back in May when the dollar stood at $1.95 - Dollar forecast

Well, I have some more 'thoughts' that may interest you. The US Government yesterday announced a second $800bn lending programme to supplement the $400bn TARP program. This is a LOT of money. By comparison, the UK pledged £20bn in the pre-budget report this week.

I think the dollar will stay strong, and maybe get even stronger in the very short term, but come the New Year and into 2009 IT WILL TANK.

In the simplest terms, the only way the US can pay for all this spending is by printing a lot of money. Printing money means hyper-inflation and a weaker dollar.

It may not happen tomorrow but a fund manager we own and respect highly is now 45% short the dollar. This is the same manager who was 30% long the dollar as recently as last month and rode a $2.10 sterling/dollar all the way down, getting out at $1.55.

Just a warning...

Brit Blogger (part deux)

2008-11-23T22:10:00.002Z

Somehow I managed to take down the Brit Blogger tonight with some truly stupendous shoving!
I've had a crack at Zagga's tourney a few times without making the final table.
Doubling up early with As v Js definitely helped and I managed to make a big comeback against Total Crud with three shove and hopes with A high and King high twice.

I then went back to Mansion Poker and lost my winnings in about three minutes when my AKs couldn't beat AJo, all in pre, and via a misplaced shove with A10 to double up another shortie.

Easy come, easy go!

Tourneys suck, cash games gut

2008-11-23T14:50:00.002Z

I've had a pretty poor run in the handful of tourneys I've tried over the last few days. I've busted out of an $8 MTT on Stars, $10 on Full Tilt and $3 on Mansion without accumulating any chips.

Cash games however have netted me a few dollars - around $40 more on Party and $60 on Mansion.
I flopped quad sevens on one hand on Mansion and my foe turned a nine get a full house. Later on the same table I played against the worst player I've seen in a long time. He was a classic Any two card calling station. I stacked his first $10 with Qs against his Ace high. Then doubled him up with AJs versus his mighty 83o.
He then doubled up again with A7 v Ako, calling all in with a pair of sevens and spiking his two-outer on the river.
I was one to his left and managed to take another $20 off him over a few hands before he went busto.

Will try to play the Brit Blogger tonight if I remember and do some more grinding a quick afternoon kip...

Party Poking

2008-11-19T21:45:00.002Z

Logged on tonight after work and rather than spend two and a half hours grinding away at two $10 Matrix SNGs, I decided to try and make some proper money.

I thought I'd give Party Poker a go again as I hadn't tried their new software yet.

Initially it was pretty disappointing. I entered a $9 MTT with around 500 around fish and busted out 300th without really playing a hand. The levels were every 10 minutes and it was way too fast for my liking. No hands, no time to read my foes. I don't think it was a turbo but if it was, I may not bother with many more.

Slightly pissed off with my first 45 mins on the site, I sat down at three then four $50 NL tables, full-ring. It was the same tight, boring, fishless snoozefest I remembered.

I was raising 3xBB a lot but no-one was biting. When they did, I had nothing, they had something and I had to fold. My bluffs got picked off and I kept doubling up $10 weaklings pushing with Aces. I was a buy-in down when I finally found a donkey to play with.

The background to the first hand was that I had pushed him off two pots following his 3xBB pre-flop raises previously. Once with position (he was sitting two to my left) and once from the SB; the first was with the nuts and the second was a bluff.

He wasn't steaming but he had me labeled as aggressive.

***** Hand History for Game 7550101414 *****
$50 USD NL Texas Hold'em - Wednesday, November 19, 16:11:49 ET 2008
Table Speed #1381865 (No DP) (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: yzfdavid ( $35.96 USD )
Seat 3: thuttere ( $10.25 USD )
Seat 5: Tomshot ( $59.70 USD )
Seat 7: QuanticFive ( $69.16 USD )
Seat 4: VincentVegas84 ( $48.26 USD )
Seat 8: lissa35 ( $50 USD )
Seat 9: Aman_2525 ( $31.56 USD )
Seat 6: Sebmaster85 ( $22.50 USD )
Seat 2: Gauner175 ( $50 USD )
lissa35 posts small blind [$0.25 USD].
Aman_2525 posts big blind [$0.50 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to QuanticFive [ 6s 6c ]

VincentVegas84 raises [$1.50 USD]
QuanticFive calls [$1.50 USD]

** Dealing Flop ** [ 6d, As, Ac ] - Please have a big ace!!!

VincentVegas84 checks
QuanticFive checks

** Dealing Turn ** [ 7h ]

VincentVegas84 checks
QuanticFive bets [$1.50 USD]
VincentVegas84 raises [$5.05 USD] - Hell yes, you've got a big ace!
QuanticFive calls [$3.55 USD] - bait struck...

** Dealing River ** [ 4h ]

VincentVegas84 bets [$11.37 USD]
bretaudeau has joined the table.
QuanticFive is all-In [$62.61 USD]
VincentVegas84 is all-In [$30.34 USD] - He thought about this but had been bamboozled by the power of Quantic :)

VincentVegas84 shows [ Qh, Ad ]three of a kind, Aces.
QuanticFive shows [ 6s, 6c ]a full house, Sixes full of Aces.
QuanticFive wins $20.90 USD from the side pot 1 with a full house, Sixes full of Aces.
QuanticFive wins $94.27 USD from the main pot with a full house, Sixes full of Aces.

Enjoyed that a lot!
So I was back in the black and had a loose table image on all four tables.
Mr Vegas buggered off but a new loser sat down, this time wearing a beret - although I also got a little lucky... :)

***** Hand History for Game 7550154089 *****
$50 USD NL Texas Hold'em - Wednesday, November 19, 16:30:19 ET 2008
Table Speed #1381865 (No DP) (Real Money)
Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 3: thuttere ( $13.54 USD )
Seat 5: Tomshot ( $62.94 USD )
Seat 7: QuanticFive ( $110.42 USD )
Seat 8: lissa35 ( $42.50 USD )
Seat 9: Aman_2525 ( $56.38 USD )
Seat 6: Sebmaster85 ( $25.50 USD )
Seat 2: Gauner175 ( $48.05 USD )
Seat 10: bretaudeau ( $30.34 USD )
Seat 1: pietjevdl ( $10 USD )
Seat 4: Aymen2007 ( $23.46 USD )
Aman_2525 posts small blind [$0.25 USD].
bretaudeau posts big blind [$0.50 USD].
** Dealing down cards **

Dealt to QuanticFive [ As Ah ]

Aymen2007 calls [$0.50 USD]
QuanticFive raises [$2 USD]
Aman_2525 calls [$1.75 USD]
bretaudeau calls [$1.50 USD]
Aymen2007 calls [$1.50 USD]

** Dealing Flop ** [ 7h, 3h, 6s ] - slightly scary but must fight on...

Aman_2525 checks
bretaudeau checks
Aymen2007 checks
QuanticFive bets [$5.70 USD]
Aman_2525 calls [$5.70 USD]
bretaudeau calls [$5.70 USD]
Aymen2007 folds

** Dealing Turn ** [ Ac ] - Bingo!

Aman_2525 checks
bretaudeau is all-In [$22.64 USD]
QuanticFive is all-In [$102.72 USD]
Aman_2525 is all-In [$48.68 USD]

** Dealing River ** [ 6h ]

Aman_2525 shows [ 7s, 7d ]a full house, Sevens full of Sixes.
bretaudeau doesn't show [ Qs, 4h ]a pair of Sixes.
QuanticFive shows [ As, Ah ]a full house, Aces full of Sixes.

QuanticFive wins $54.04 USD from the side pot 2 with a full house, Aces full of Sixes.
QuanticFive wins $52.08 USD from the side pot 1 with a full house, Aces full of Sixes.
QuanticFive wins $90.02 USD from the main pot with a full house, Aces full of Sixes.

A nice quadruple, although on reflection I would have doubled Aman_2525 up without the turn and had just a break-even session. Bretaudeau had shown himself to be a huge bluffer so I would have had to call if say a king had come up.

Anyway, I made $100 profit (which is now is now more like £65 rather than £50 from before)

Nearly big...

2008-11-17T00:12:00.002Z

Woke up on Saturday morning feeling very hungover and unable to sleep...my cure? Poker!
It was 7.30am so there were still a few late-night Americans playing free and loose, so I joined them three-tabling $50 NL on Stars. Won a bit, lost a bit, then won a bit back.
Was having trouble concentrating as I was still a bit fooked so I logged off and tried my luck on a $3 donkfest. 1566 entries, first $820.
The first hour was a joke...the very first hand I tried to bluss with 64o on the river with 6 high. Got called but my table image was set. At one stage I was 75% flops seen, which dipped down to 65% by the end of the first hour.
I had trebled up and was talking a lot of trash.
I accumulated a decent amount of chips when I made the great play (!) of calling in the BB with Aces against a button push with 9s but other than that I can't remember many hands.
I watched Match of the Day, cooked some food, eat, brushed my teeth, while carrying the laptop round my flat. I had a free corporate box ticket through work to see Arsenal v Villa and time was ticking but I couldn't bust out.
My coinflips won, my big pairs held up, nobody called my bluffs. It was closing in on 2pm and I was 7th with 28 left.
I was in control but couldn't decide...do I post and fold my way to probably second last table, go for the win and fuck the footie???
In the end, the poker gods decided for me.
MP doubles blinds I call with AJo, BB calls. Flop A77. All check flop, turn blank. I bet half pot on turn, BB folds, MP raises. Should have folded here but I call.
Seven on river, I push, MP snap calls and turns over Aces.
The very next hand, I find AQs. Serial raiser trebles blind, I push, SB wakes up with Aces...IGHN.
The first hand I could have gotten away with, the second was tougher...
So no big score, a shitty $15 for four hours play, but it gave me something to think about on the tube up to north London...

Stayed away from home yesterday and returned late today to read about Milkybarkid's truly amazing exploits on the Omaha tables - that guy must be the UK's biggest online winner playing today - and made $12 playing a Matrix SNG.

Bed time now, and another week of trying to negotiate the fucked-up stock markets ahead.

Market blues

2008-11-13T10:24:00.002Z

For those who follow the world of business and finance the past year has been interesting to say the least.
Where we go from here is the question that I'm obsessing over at work. One day I'm bullish, the next day I feel like the world is going to end.
Whatever happens next, the market is CHEAP and with my personal money I'm planning to wait until New Year and then start buying shares in earnest.

As for poker, no play last night but will probably put a session in over the weekend. Just linked up to a new poker blogger - Cheesie's Poker - who has been making rather a lot of money this year playing SNGs and tourneys. Welcome!

More Matrix

2008-11-11T22:10:00.002Z

Spent the weekend in Edinburgh and got back very late Sunday night.
I'd booked Monday as I knew I'd be knackered and played a few more $10 and one $20 Matrix SNG.
I'm up but just busted out of one without cashing. I was resigned after beat number three that nothing was going to stand up.
Just entered another, which will be my last tonight. Hopefully will do a bit better than last!

Running hot (ish)

2008-11-06T23:27:00.002Z

My graph for sharkscope looks kinda pretty - although I lost $4 on the last Matrix SNG I played. Three-outer busts on two tables and two thirds. Overall on FT under my old alias Razorlight (my 2nd one with rakeback got banned) I am running at 21% ROI after 58 games although since I started playing the Matrixes it is prob double this as i've made around $140 profit after 25 games.

Was bit pished tonight so a $4 is not bad considering..

So much for study

2008-11-04T23:20:00.002Z

Bought myself a tuxedo from Primark on Oxford Street on my way home last night - everything including a shirt and black tie was £42!!!!
What a bargain...

In no mood for study so I decided to fire up a couple of $10 matrix SNGs and a $50cash game. I was five-tabling which was far too much for little brain to cope with but managed to win about $60 all told - $20 on the cash game, and $20 more on each of the SNGs.
I placed 7 of the 8 tables, and won the $9 bonus for the most points on both.
The matrix games have really invigorated my game - I am happy with the buy-in and feel I can beat most players.
I sharkscope ones I think may be dangerous during play and am amazed how many seriously losing players there are.
If I was consistently losing that much I would give up.

The last game I was down to heads-up on three tables which was a bit much to be honest, which I why I think winning all four and scooping the whole pot is almost impossible.

Quick wins

2008-11-04T09:41:00.002Z

Doubled my money on a $10 Matrix SNG on Full Tilt and made a quick $20 on Mansion cash games so a reasonably successful night.
Still searching for that elusive Dominatrix score on the Matrix SNGs and came close last night.
I had accumulated decent stacks on all four tables when I get AKs and As at the same time on two of the tables.
I raise 3xBB from the button with AK spades, aggodonk calls. Flop AJ6, two clubs, aggodonk who is also sitting on large stack insta-pushes. I call. He turns over A7o and duly spikes his 7 on the river.
I look down to table two, where the SB has completed the blinds but there are no other callers. I raise it up, SB pushes, I call and he shows A10o. K and J on flop, Q on river.
O yes!
I quickly bust from those two tables, but managed a 1st and 2nd on the other two.
The Matrix SNGs are mighty frustrating and there may be better value out there but I really like them as I can usually get really good reads on my foes.

Brit Blogger

2008-11-02T21:20:00.002Z

The monkey is my "punishment" for busting out first in the Brit Bloggerment, although I must say this chap is really rather cute.
I had a 'fuck it' moment with 7s against my foes As. First place was a FTOPS 24 entry, so a large $120 overlay...should maybe have folded :)

Earlier I busted out of a couple of peewee buy-in tournies on Stars and made about $40 while three tabling $50 NL Holdem. The river was kind to me twice, once when I beat AQ with KQ when I went runner-runner flush and the second time hitting a Q on the river to 2 pr my AQ; my foe had AJ for a flopped two pr and instantly called my push on the river. Ship it!

The best news is that I've totted up my various stacks and I have finally pushed past the $5k mark.
Looking back at the early das of my blog, I had $220 in May 2006 which reached just shy of $1k by the end of the year.
This rose to $3400 in 2007, so I've made $1600 in 2008 so far...
Not bad, but my winrate has definitely slowed this year - i have been hovering around $4500 since April - althoughtwo months were 'lost' growing at low stakes trying to clear the bonus for my Ipod.

Anyway, hopefully get it close to $6k by the time we reach the year end. My target at the start of the year was $7k but this looks a dream now.

Good luck at the tables!

PS Just busted out of a Bodog $4 tourney when my 3s lost to 9s on a 3AA95 hand. All in on turn, thought he was slowplaying a big ace. I was a huge stack in that with four tables to go, but my foe was the 2nd biggest. Think its time I logged off!

Career development

2008-10-30T10:11:00.002Z

My job is in jeopardy and I've only been doing it for six months.
It's not going to happen now, but if I'm here in a year I will be very surprised.
There is no chance another job in this field as no-one is hiring, the City is a depressing place at the moment.

The only thing I can really do is study again - this time for the CFA - a mammoth three-year program, with an exam each June. I've started taking notes for the Level 1 and it is a huge amount of info to learn and digest. It will probably mean an hour a day study, or if you are like me, four hours one day, nothing for two, six another, nothing for...etc etc.

My company is American so they'll pay for it, give me a grand if I pass, and have promised at least another £5k on my salary - so the incentive is there.

This will definitely eat into my poker time but I will definitely keep playing on. I love the game too much to stop.

I'm still in the early throes of eagerness to pass this thing - even tho its nine months away, I've managed only two short hour-long sessions of poker this week. The first saw me drop $40 playing HORSE on Stars. The second saw me break even on two $11 Matrix SNGs. Thrilling stuff!

The Matrix breakeven session should have been a win but my flatmate cmae into my room with me sitting on decent stacks on all four tables. I then had to listen to her moaning about her new on-off boyfriend and stacked off stupidly while only half-concentrating. Should have told her to go, but I want an easy life and pissing off your flatmates is an simple way to make life complicated!

Dollar

2008-10-24T08:22:00.001Z

My dollar thoughts were somewhat awry...the pound is $1.58 to the dollar and falling. I think $1.40 is back on the cards.

Why cash games annoy the shit out of me

2008-10-20T21:32:00.002Z

To play poker you need the patience of a saint...
Aggression constantly needs to be tempered and it feels like a luckfest sometimes. Case in point tonight. I decide to fire up four $50 tables on Full Tilt, one deepstacked, so I'm sitting with $250 in play.
All good and in 90 mins I'm up $60.
One fold early doors hurt when I hit a set with 5s and folded to a potential str8 from the BB who could have had anything. Should have raised it up pre but decided to flat call. He carried on playing tightly so I figured it was a decent fold but it played on my mind.
I chipped away, played reasonably aggressively pre-flop, then hit a beauty set of 7s against an aggro-ish foe.
She played it well, slowplaying it, and won set over set, but the mindset of full-ring cash games, multitabling really has to be tight,tight,tight - prey on the weak, avoid the regulars. She put me all-in with a big reraise on the river and there is no way she would have played that way with two pair. It was a clear fold.
ABC poker, but it pays off.
A $50 win turned into a break even night.
I've now got that tight, hate poker, feeling in my chest which shows me its time for a break again.

Matrix

2008-10-20T12:29:00.002Z

The Matrix SNGs on Full Tilt have been treating me very well...
I have only been playing the standard SNGs, non-turbos, which I can't abide normally as they are too slow.
Four-tabling against the same 9 foes at this speed, however, really allows you to pick their play apart. It lowers variance and it seems to separate the better players from the worst ones.
Time and time again over the weekend I was heads-up or three-handed against the same players on three.
I was very, very close to being Dominatrix - winning all four tables and scooping the entire pot - on a $10 + $1 SNG. I won the first two tables and was playing three-handed on the remaining two when this happens.

I'm in the BB with q4o and short stacked, button limps, SB folds, 1k in pot. Flop comes A,q,10 rainbow. I check, looking to check raise all-in as he would have raised any bare ace here with me short-stacked. Button duly bets, I push, he calls, turning over j10o, I figure I'm good and focus on the other table.
In fact I had 94o for a mis-read and I bust third.
I came third on the final table so it was immaterial but still mighty annoying.

My stack on FT is back up $500, and Mansion and Pokerstars are up around $50 from my last bankroll totting up. I think I'm now past the $5,000 level which has been within reach for almost six months now.

A quickie on the US Dollar, it seems to have reached a floor at $1.70 to $1.75. If it dips below $1.70 over the next few weeks I would look to withdraw some. The dollar looks under pressure over the medium term due to this bailout/credit crisis - it will be seriously in debt.
The main plus for Brit players is that sterling also looks a pile of garbage and it is a toss-up as to which is weaker, the dollar or sterling.
Don't take this as gospel, or any sort of investment advice - cos its not! But my thoughts at the mo are cash out some below $1.70 and buy a loved one something nice :)

Matrix

2008-10-18T12:59:00.002Z

Thought I'd put my two cents in on the Matrix SNG on Full Tilt.
They are a variation on the Knockout tourneys on Littlewoods, FT etc, but with four tables.
I've done well, trebling my buy-in twice at $5 and $10. The variance is definitely lower but a decent SNG player will make more from the usual tables.
The play is subtly different as it loosens play up early on. The number of players that called or bet into my nuts was a lot more than a normal cash/SNG.
The last game I almost scooped the entire pot - rewarded if you win all four tables - by coming 1,1,1 and 4th.
I'm not used to four-handed while four tabling and found it a little frenetic. But all good fun!

Connection woes

2008-10-14T20:58:00.001Z

Not sure why, but my wireless connection sucked all evening.

Given up now. The only site it was reasonable on was Full Tilt, where I eeked out a $20 profit. Tried a four SNGs with no cashes, but made $45 profit on a $50 NL table, all from one tilty Italian. Mama Mia...

Back to Poker

2008-10-14T18:12:00.001Z

I have been trying to play Mansion Poker more over the past few days. It has new software, I've got 36% rakeback thru Rake the Rake and has a fair number of tables running now.

Unfortunately my connection sometimes sucks and they have an Online casino which I've been dabbling on. I haven't blown my $500 roll there yet but I'm scared it is only a matter of time...

I finally have a night now where I can put more than 30 minutes in, so we'll see how it goes.

Funniest shit ever...

2008-10-03T11:52:00.000Z

The edited transcript of Newcastle United's interim manager Joe Kinnear's first official press conference, taken from The Guardian:

Joe Kinnear Which one is Simon Bird [Daily Mirror's north-east football writer]?

Simon Bird Me.

JK You're a c**t.

SB Thank you.

JK Which one is Hickman [Niall, football writer for the Express]? You are out of order. Absolutely f**king out of order. If you do it again, I am telling you you can f**k off and go to another ground. I will not come and stand for that f**king crap. No f**king way, lies. F**k, you're saying I turned up and they [Newcastle's players] f**ked off.

SB No Joe, have you read it, it doesn't actually say that. Have you read it?

JK I've f**king read it, I've read it.

SB It doesn't say that. Have you read it?

JK You are trying to f**king undermine my position already.

SB Have you read it, it doesn't say that. I knew you knew they were having a day off.

JK F**k off. F**k off. It's your last f**king chance.

SB You read the copy? It doesn't say that you didn't know.

JK What about the headline, you think that's a good headline?

SB I didn't write the headline, you read the copy.

JK You are negative b**tards, the pair of you.

SB So if I get a new job next week would I take the first day off? No I wouldn't. If I get a new job should I call my boss and tell him I am taking the first day off?

JK It is none of your f**king business. What the f**k are you going to do? You ain't got the balls to be a f**king manager. F**king day off. Do I want your opinion. Do I have to listen to you?

SB No, you can listen to who you want.

JK I had a 24-hour meeting with the entire staff.

SB Joe, you are only here six weeks, you could have done that on Sunday, or Saturday night.

JK No, no, no. I didn't want to do it. I had some other things to do.

SB What? More important things?

JK What are you? My personal secretary? F**k off.

SB You could have done the meeting Saturday night or Sunday. You could have had them watching videos, you could have organised them.

JK I was meeting the f**king chairman the owner, everyone else. Talking about things.

SB It is a valid point that was made in there. A valid point.

JK I can't trust any of you.

Niall Hickman Joe, no one could believe that on your first day at your new club, the first-team players were not in. No one could believe it in town. Your first day in the office.

JK My first day was with the coaches. I made the decision that I wanted to get as much information out of them.

NH But why Monday, no one could believe it?

JK I'm not going to tell you anything. I don't understand where you are coming from. You are delighted that Newcastle are getting beat and are in the state they are? Delighted, are you?

NH Certainly not. No one wants to see them get beaten, why would we?

JK I have done it before. It is going to my f**king lawyers. So are about three others. If they can find something in it that is a court case it is going to court. I am not f**king about. I don't talk to f**king anybody. It is raking up stories. You are f**king so f**king slimy you are raking up players that I got rid of. Players that I had fallen out with. You are not asking Robbie Earle, because he is sensible. You are not asking Warren Barton? No. Because he is f**king sensible. Anyone who had played for me for 10 years at any level ... [but] you will find some c**t that ...

Other journalist How long is your contract for Joe?

JK None of your business.

SB Well it is actually, because we cover the club. The club say you are here to the end of October, then you say six to eight games which would take it to the end of November. We are trying to clarify these issues. We are getting no straight answers from anyone. How long are you here for. It is a dead simple question. And you don't know ...

JK I was told the length of contract. Then I was told that possibly the club could be sold in that time. That is as far as I know. That's it finished. I don't know anything else. But I have been ridiculed. He's trying to f**king hide, he's trying to do this or that.

There follows an exchange regarding the circumstances under which Kinnear had met the owner Mike Ashley and executive director (football) Dennis Wise.

Steve Brenner (football writer for the Sun) We are all grown men and can come in here and sit around and talk about football, but coming in here and calling people c**ts?

JK Why? Because I am annoyed. I am not accepting that. If it is libellous, it is going to where I want it to go.

Newcastle press officer What has been said in here is off the record and doesn't go outside.

Journalist Well, is that what Joe thinks?

JK Write what you like. Makes no difference to me. Don't affect me I assure you. It'll be the last time I see you anyway. Won't affect me. See how we go at Everton and Chrissy [Chris Hughton, assistant manager] can do it, someone else can do it. Don't trust any of yous. I will pick two local papers and speak to them and the rest can f**k off. I ain't coming up here to have the piss taken out of me. I have a million pages of crap that has been written about me. I'm ridiculed for no reason. I'm defenceless. I can't get a point in, I can't say nothing, I can't do nothing, but I ain't going to be negative. Then, half of you, most of you are trying to get into the players. I'm not going to tell you what the players think of you, so then you try and get into them in some way or another, so I've got a split camp or something like that, something like that. It's ongoing. It just doesn't stop.

Journalist It's only been a week.

JK Exactly. It feels more like a year.

Journalist It's early days for you to be like this.

JK No, I'm clearing the air. And this is the last time I'm going to speak to you. You want to know why, I'm telling you. This is the last time. You can do what you like.

Journalist But this isn't going to do you or us any good.

JK I'll speak to the supporters. I'm going to tell them what the story is. I'm going to tell them. I don't think they'll interpret it any different, I don't think they'll mix it up, I don't think they'll miss out things. I mean, one of them last week said to me ... I was talking about in that press conference where you were there, I said something like "Well, that's a load of bollocks ..."

Journalist "Bollocks to that" is what you said.

JK Bollocks to that. And what goes after that?

Journalist That was it.

JK No it wasn't, no it wasn't. What was after it? I don't know if it was your paper, but what went after it?

Journalist I don't know.

JK It even had the cheek to say "bollocks to Newcastle".

Journalist I didn't write that.

JK That was my first f**king day. What does that tell you? What does that tell you?

Journalist Where was that? Which paper said that?

JK I've got it. I can't remember. It was one of the Sundays, not a Saturday. It was a Sunday.

Journalist But you didn't say that to the Sundays, you said that to us. That was during the Monday press conference.

JK I'll bring it in and show it to you. Why would I want to say that?

Journalist Are you saying that someone has reported you saying "bollocks to Newcastle?"

JK Yes. Lovely.

Journalist I don't know who's reported that.

JK I'll tell you what, I'll bring it in.

Journalist That's obviously going to damage you. That's not a good thing. But I don't think someone's done that. We have to have some sort of relationship with you.

JK So have I. But I haven't come in here for you lot to take the piss out of me. And if I'm not flavour of the month for you, it don't f**king bother me. I've got a job to do. And I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. I'm not going to spend any more time listening to any crap or reading any crap. Stick to the truth and the facts. And don't twist anything.

Journalist You know, you know the game ...

JK Of course I know, but I don't have to like it.

Journalist Today we'll print the absolute truth, that you think we're c**ts, we can all f**k off and we're slimy. Is that fair enough?

JK Do it. Fine. F**king print it. Am I going to worry about it? Put in also that it'll be the last time I see you. Put that in as well. Good. Do it.

Much, much later after long discussions over whether Kinnear had promised Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan would be returning to the club

Press officer Let's get on to football. Let's have an agreement that everything said so far, if anyone has got their tapes on, it's wiped off and we're not discussing it.

Journalist But that's what Joe has said he thinks of us.

Press officer I'm saying don't push it. Let's accept what's been said and try and move on.

Journalist: Move on to not doing any more press conferences?

PO: No, to doing something now.

Journalist: What, one press conference only?

(Silence)

Journalist: Any knocks?

PO: Come on, let's go football.

Journalist: What are your plans for training in the next three days? How's the training going?

JK It's going very well. No problems at all.

Journalist Enjoyed getting back in the swing of things?

JK Absolutely. I've loved every moment of it.

I suck at this game...

2008-09-27T11:53:00.002Z

I have been playing poker for more than three years now and I can count the number of tourneys I've won on one hand.
I managed to take 2nd in a £2 Headhunter tourney just now, but couldn't take it down.
Even though I made £35, it still really, really fucks me off. I was heads up for an age against an average foe who limp called everything.
I had him all in with A7 against my 9s, he rivers a second 7, and then I went seriously card dead.
FUCK,FUCK,FUCK...second feels worse than bubbling.

Dropped $20 on $5 rebuy on Stars, made $60 playing last night on cash, lost it this morning.

Food now and hopefully a calmer Marky when I return.

Punting on shares

2008-09-25T10:55:00.000Z

I have been playing poker only sporadically since my last post, mainly becuase work is frantic, the visit of friend for four days, a short break in Italy with my new girlfriend and studying for an exam.

When I have played it has been mostly successful and I've made about $200 piddling around on Stars on the low limit tables.

I have tho made a decent return on backing my employer. I doubled my £500 investment in two days on a share price spike and then banked the profit. Easy!
A bit dodgy but there was no inside information, and it was a genuine conviction call on my part - akin to calling an all-in with K9s in the BB against a known bluffer...:)

Checking my bankroll numbers and I think I may be up to $5,000 - which would be mighty fine. I will update them when I get the chance.

Mo' poker

2008-09-24T13:19:00.003Z

Since my last post, I have spent four days in Italy, been saved in my job, started studying in earnest for an exam next week and still managed time to play a little poker.

Its all been on Stars, all peewee limits but mostly profitable.
Ten bucks here, twenty there...couldn't get anything going on the half-dozen tourneys/multi-table SNGs, but made a fair chunk playing $50 NL cash again.

Last night I four-tabled for two hours, clocking in 350 hands and made around $70 profit, spread evenly between all four tables.
On one, I made around $15 inside 10 mins after being dealt Ks, Js and As in quick succession.
On another I identified a calling station and an aggro-donk on another, reaping some more from them.

Other than that not much else to report. Loaded Party Poker, which has an all-new table software and layout. If they offered a deposit bonus I might be tempted to have another crack there.

As it is, I'll be sticking with short sessions on Stars until my exam is over next Thursday.

Another small score

2008-09-16T21:54:00.002Z

Had supper, watched the progress of my employer, almost bet £500 on their shares, decided that was stupid, so decided to play so some small stakes SNG instead.
Busted out of the $3 45-man Turbo after my 5th and 3rd (it was third not fourth as I wrote in my last post) but had more success in the 180 $2 turbo, finishing 6th for a huge $18 score!
The luckiest hand was hilarious, in SB with no stack to speak of, call all-in with 75o, my flopped str8 beats AA and K10s no problem...

I've now made $75 pissing around on a few of these things and kept the stress levels well below tilt levels :)

Lets just hope i've got a job in the morning...

Mini SNGs

2008-09-16T18:58:00.002Z

My multi-table tourneys/SNGs have been going well but made not much as the buy-ins have been so low.
I've been grabbing an hour here and there so can only really play 45-manners or turbo 180s.
Played two $3 + 40c 45 man SNGs and come 5th and 4th for HUGE cashes!
Also busted out of 2 $2 180-man turbos early and won a $26 token on Full Tilt.

What is focusing my attention is the trials of the stock markets which are utter madness right now and might mean me out of a job.

I've only been working in the City five months and then this happens - the chances of me getting another similar job are slim to none.

This may mean back to journalism - we shall see - I don't want to say which company I work for, in case I get in shit when they realise I'm a poker fiend - but suffice it to say, we are right in the firing line!!!

Decent Score

2008-09-05T23:46:00.001Z

Tonight was a strange very strange night of poker.

It started off with one of those evenings when nothing whatsoever was happening. No double ups, no pocket pairs, no str8, no flushes...nothing.

On a full ring it is mighty hard to do much when nothing hits...either bluff a lot (which I do only sporadically) or watch yr roll dwindle.

I was three-tabling at Bodog, both $25 and $50 tables and can't remember the number of times I was forced to top up. I was pleased to be just $50 down.

At 8pm, I saw a tourney with a decentish overlay and decided to have a go. It was a $7 + 70c, $1,500 guaranteed. There were only 188 entrants so there was a $230 bonus put in by Bodog.

I played with two other cash tables open and played ABC poker to start with. I doubled early with Qs, then went back to even with Qs again against a short-stacked 9s.

I didn't get Aces once but hit TPTK to bust an aggressive foe, and kept busted smallstacks when I had them dominated. I remembered I could play tournies last Sat in the Pokerstars $10 run, and this time I made it count.

I busted a similar size stack with 10 8s, flopping two pr to my foes A10 TPTK and I was suddenly 2nd biggest stack with three tables left. It then went a bit wrong as I got too aggressive and got caught twice raising pre with 72o and a5s. Had to fold to pushes and I was suddenly back in the pack.

However, every time the chips went in I was favourite and luckily they were standing up.

One from the final table I had my first HUGE stroke of luck. Five left on my table and I'm third biggest, I rose in MP with 5s, my foe in the BB who I knew was aggressive, re-raised. It was either push or fold, I push, he calls with the powerhouse hand of 10 7s. A ten on the flop and I am suddenly small stack, a flush draw on the turn for him before a nice 2-outer 5 on the river.

So nice when it happens to me for a change.

The final table was very slow going and was being dominated by one very, very large stack who was raising pre every third hand.

My miracle 5 had put my back into the top five, with roughly the same size stacks as 2nd through 5th. I then went v v card dead and folded, folded, folded.

With seven left I had a premonition that i would make it to the last four against the three most aggressive foes.

I then had my second big break. I call a minimum raise from the BB with A7clubs. Four see the flop which is a beauty J63 two clubs. The SB (who just has me covered) immediately pushes, I call, two folds and he turns over j7 for top pair. Turn blank, river Ace for another big pot.

Soon we were four-handed, then three-handed and again the big stack, who had had a roller coaster ride but was still being very aggressive.

It was tight but I went card dead again and busted out with A5o v JKo, J on flop and IGHN.

The prize was $175, my first three figure win for some time and profit for the night.

More of the same please...but I'm gonna keep playing at least one tourney while playing cash from now on.

Bodogging

2008-09-04T21:48:00.002Z

Despite the recent troubles at Bodog, I just logged off a decent $120 winning session.
I started playing the $25 tables due to lack of traffic when I logged on at the $50 tables, and decided to keep going after running good.
I doubled up a fair few times and suffered no bad beats, no busted big pairs, it all just came together.
Finally I'm in profit there with around $30 bonus money to come.
Is this the start of something? :)

Quiet August

2008-09-03T09:18:00.001Z

It was a really quiet August for me poker-wise and I went more than two weeks without playing a single hand.
I returned to the felt on Saturday, entering two $10 +$1 tournaments on Pokerstars.
The first was a 2000 man donkfest, with a fair chunk of cash up for grabs.
I ran well and was in the top 300 for most of the tournie until we got down to 400 (300-odd cashed).
I flat called an early position raiser to my right with Qs, a short stack immediately to my left pushed, it folded round and the 1st position raiser also pushed.
I had both covered, went on my instinct and decided to call. Up against AK and JJ, so I was a favourite…just.
A king on the flop, and jack on the river sunk me.
Should I have called…it’s a tough one but in hindsight, I could and probably should have folded.
I was crippled with a pee wee stack but managed to double up twice and be left with a shot before my AQo couldn’t beat Ks and I busted 10 places from the money.
Very annoying.
I also had another pop at Tao of Poker’s $10 Omaha tourney but bubbled the final table.

Since then I have returned to Bodog grinding and after dropping $150 there from my original $500 deposit, I am back to even again.

Littlewood’s still haven’t sent me my Ipod but an email last week said it was coming.

I have another exam coming up so will continue to play sporadically but will keep updating. So keep checking back to see my progress.
I feel I am close to a big score. Its gonna come dammit!

As for the US Dollar – for all you UK players, the rally will definitely be helping your roll. I forecast $1.70 to $1.75 – as I write it is $1.77!!!
It has more to go but I am contemplating cashing out some of my roll for the first time in two years.

No poker, but some market views

2008-08-13T14:56:00.002Z

The less said about the performance on the felt, the better at the moment.
Suffice it to say I have droped about $200 since I last updated, withdrawn most of my Pokerstars roll into my Neteller a/c and moved some of it into Bodog.

Why I'm updating is to talk a bit about the US dollar...

Ardent readers (!) may remember I talked about the US dollar strengthening versus sterling. Well its finally happening...£1.70 or £1.75 is not unreasonable.
This means if you can afford to keep your roll in dollars, do so.
It is £1.86 as I write (£2.02 when I made the prediction) and should continue to fall in the coming weeks. It has really come off this week and my $4500 roll is now worth around £2,400, meaning I've made £150+ by doing nothing.

My currency forecast has proved far more accurate than my share tip - Partygaming - which I sold a couple of months back, booking a 15% loss. It has since tanked further.

Bye for now.

Back from my hols

2008-08-06T22:05:00.002Z

After a week in France and a hectic weekend at the Big Chill losing my mind, I logged on again tonight.
Went back to Stars and managed to win over $100 four-tabling the $50 NL tables in 90 mins.
I was about to log off about $20 up when I went on a mini-rush with this hand doing me very nicely indeed...

PokerStars Game #19412975593: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/08/06 - 17:43:29 (ET)
Table 'Kale V' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: QuanticFive ($61.80 in chips)
Seat 2: royaldd ($48.50 in chips)
Seat 3: Ernestoxl ($45 in chips)
Seat 4: habfan123 ($29.50 in chips)
Seat 5: [M69] ($48.25 in chips)
Seat 6: RicoJay13 ($49.75 in chips)
Seat 7: Spy_Lord ($67.35 in chips)
Seat 8: fila1051 ($36.10 in chips)
Seat 9: retrofatgaz ($50.85 in chips)
habfan123: posts small blind $0.25
[M69]: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to QuanticFive [9s As]
Three folds
retrofatgaz: calls $0.50
QuanticFive: calls $0.50
royaldd: calls $0.50
habfan123: calls $0.25
[M69]: checks
*** FLOP *** [5s Qs 2s]
retrofatgaz said, "nice king fila"
habfan123: bets $2
[M69]: folds
retrofatgaz: raises $2 to $4
QuanticFive: raises $10 to $14
royaldd: folds
habfan123: folds
retrofatgaz: raises $36.35 to $50.35 and is all-in
QuanticFive: calls $36.35
*** TURN *** [5s Qs 2s] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [5s Qs 2s 3s] [Ah]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
retrofatgaz: shows [Js 4s] (a flush, Queen high)
QuanticFive: shows [9s As] (a flush, Ace high)
QuanticFive collected $102.20 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $105.20 | Rake $3

A couple of $25 pots boosted my winrate further. I can't be bothered to run them through Poker-tracker but it was pretty easy to spot who to go for.
I tried to be a little more aggressive against certain foes which worked and meant I could keep my stacks at $50 without constantly having to reload.

Work today was a massive shock and the markets remain unfathomable. However, all the doom and gloom is totally misplaced and the world will sort itself out.

As a former hack of eight years, I know for a fact that a editor of one national got his staff to queue outside a Northern Rock branch for his front page pick. The next day, as if by magic, real customers begun queueing.
Now the tabloids bang on about the credit crunch without really understanding what it means.

My next poker-stop will probably be Bodog again...

Finally

2008-07-26T15:05:00.002Z

After what seems like years, I have finally cleared 1000MPPs on Littlewoods to win a £140 Ipod. It cost me about £10 and several hours of my life to win it but its mine!

My roll there is a feeble £190, inc. rakeback, after a roller coaster ride on the lower limit tables there. There were very higlights, very few double-ups, just grind, grind, grind. With so few tables going it is very easy to work out the regulars, and for them to work out me!
Most of the losses came on the Omaha H/L tables where I must be down around $200 - but it cleared many more MPPs than the Hold'em tables, where I was up.

I went deep in one tourney, a $5 Headhunter with around 500 foes. I busted 21st for a mini-$25 win...

Not sure what next as my roll has stagnated while I was doing this Ipod challenge.

I shall take stock when I get back from my holidays which start tomorrow! France and then the Big Chill festival.

So long for now, back in the land of the living in ten days when I shall update again - promise!

A winning night!

2008-07-07T22:08:00.002Z

Yes kids, that's right, I won a whopping $100 tonight. I was four-tabling on Stars, to try and get some practice in.
The Littlewoods Ipod bonus still needs to be cleared but I've been dying on that site. The traffic there is simply not good enough but I need another 200 MPPs to qualify for the ipod so I'm stuck there for the moment.

Anyway here is how I won some of the money...

PokerStars Game #18655548622: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/07/07 - 17:59:26 (ET)
Table 'Erna V' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: tex0101 ($54.55 in chips)
Seat 3: QuanticFive ($47.60 in chips)
Seat 5: cee23 ($27 in chips)
Seat 6: DravenG ($14.60 in chips)
Seat 7: bec-n-ron ($47.25 in chips)
Seat 8: joforest ($28.25 in chips)
Seat 9: ihwtl ($30.75 in chips)
joforest: posts small blind $0.25
ihwtl: posts big blind $0.50
FlyingDutchE: sits out
funkyworms: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to QuanticFive [Ks Kc]
tex0101: calls $0.50
QuanticFive: raises $1.50 to $2
tex0101: calls $1.50
*** FLOP *** [Th 3d 7d]
tex0101: bets $1.50
QuanticFive: raises $3 to $4.50
tex0101: calls $3
*** TURN *** [Th 3d 7d] [6c]
tex0101: bets $2
QuanticFive: raises $6 to $8
tex0101: calls $6
*** RIVER *** [Th 3d 7d 6c] [Ah]
tex0101: bets $5
QuanticFive: calls $5
*** SHOW DOWN ***
tex0101: shows [9h 3h] (a pair of Threes)
QuanticFive: shows [Ks Kc] (a pair of Kings)
QuanticFive collected $37.85 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $39.75 | Rake $1.90
Board [Th 3d 7d 6c Ah]
Seat 1: tex0101 showed [9h 3h] and lost with a pair of Threes
Seat 3: QuanticFive showed [Ks Kc] and won ($37.85) with a pair of Kings

Then two hands later...

PokerStars Game #18655583782: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/07/07 - 18:00:58 (ET)
Table 'Erna V' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 3: QuanticFive ($65.95 in chips)
Seat 4: funkyworms ($10 in chips)
Seat 5: cee23 ($50 in chips)
Seat 6: DravenG ($14.60 in chips)
Seat 7: bec-n-ron ($46.75 in chips)
Seat 8: joforest ($29.25 in chips)
Seat 9: ihwtl ($30 in chips)
FlyingDutchE will be allowed to play after the button
QuanticFive: posts small blind $0.25
funkyworms: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to QuanticFive [Jd Js]
cee23: raises $1.50 to $2
QuanticFive: calls $1.75
*** FLOP *** [8c Jc 9s]
QuanticFive: checks
cee23: bets $3
QuanticFive: raises $3 to $6
cee23: calls $3
*** TURN *** [8c Jc 9s] [7s]
QuanticFive: bets $10.50
cee23: calls $10.50
*** RIVER *** [8c Jc 9s 7s] [9d]
QuanticFive: bets $38
cee23: calls $31.50 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($6.50) returned to QuanticFive
*** SHOW DOWN ***
QuanticFive: shows [Jd Js] (a full house, Jacks full of Nines)
cee23: mucks hand
QuanticFive collected $97.50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $100.50 | Rake $3
Board [8c Jc 9s 7s 9d]
Seat 3: QuanticFive (small blind) showed [Jd Js] and won ($97.50) with a full house, Jacks full of Nines
Seat 5: cee23 mucked [Kh Kc]

My first double in fucking ages. I have put so many people in and they keep folding, finally I found someone who was married to his cards.

July update

2008-07-07T17:32:00.002Z

I've finally updated my roll stats which make very sorry reading.
Down $400 over the past two months and feel I'm going nowhere fast.
The following hand is a good example of what is happening to me, just can't win any key hands or build any sort of stack in tourneys.

Game #6055334903: HeadHunter $1.5K GTD (ID7618764) $5+$0.50 - Hold'em NL (25/50) - 2008/07/07 - 18:11:03 (UK)
Table "7618764 - 12" Seat 8 is the button.
Seat 1: DonV (1375 in chips)
Seat 2: Jgl2367 (1920 in chips)
Seat 3: Garya2007 (5105 in chips)
Seat 4: Quantic5 (1575 in chips)
Seat 5: holdon123 (4260 in chips)
Seat 6: Dragen (1125 in chips)
Seat 7: And251197 (1295 in chips)
Seat 8: Dden78 (4215 in chips)
Seat 9: Nicky38 (2180 in chips)
Seat 10: Bighuck (1000 in chips)
Nicky38: posts small blind 25
Bighuck: posts big blind 50
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Quantic5 [3d 3c]
DonV: folds
DonV sits out
Jgl2367: folds
Garya2007: calls 50
Quantic5: calls 50
holdon123: calls 50
Dragen: calls 50
And251197: folds
Dden78: calls 50
Nicky38: calls 25
DonV sits back
Bighuck: checks
----- FLOP ----- [9h 5s 3h]
Nicky38: checks
Bighuck: bets 250
Garya2007: folds
Quantic5: raises to 1200
holdon123: folds
Dragen: is all-in 1075
Dden78: folds
Dden78 sits out
Nicky38: folds
Bighuck: is all-in 700
Returned uncalled bets 125 to Quantic5
----- TURN ----- [9h 5s 3h][Kd]
----- RIVER ----- [9h 5s 3h Kd][5c]
Dden78 sits back
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Quantic5: shows [3d 3c] (A Full House, Threes full of Fives)
Dragen: shows [7s 9s] (Two Pairs, Nines and Fives, King high)
Bighuck: shows [5h 9c] (A Full House, Fives full of Nines)
Quantic5 collected 250 from Side pot #1
Bighuck collected 3200 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot 3450 Main pot 3200 Side pot #1 250 | Rake 0
Board [9h 5s 3h Kd 5c]
Seat 2: Jgl2367 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Quantic5 showed [3d 3c] and won (250) with A Full House, Threes full of Fives
Seat 10: Bighuck (big blind) showed [5h 9c] and won (3200) with A Full House, Fives full of Nines

Basically lost to a three-outer this time.
This blog is turning into a moan-fest but unfortunately I don't have that much positive to write about.

I took the first part of my Investment Management Certificate this afteroon and I think I passed. 51 questions, 65% to 70% pass mark allows me 15 questions wrong. It was close but I think I made it.
Part 2 is much much more work, but I'm going to have a break from study for a while.

My work is really good at the mo, although the markets are doing terribly.

Hopefully next time I post it will more positive on the poker front.

More pain

2008-07-05T09:14:00.002Z

Game #6030193583: Hold'em NL ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/07/05 - 10:10:49 (UK)
Table "Partita" Seat 4 is the button.
Seat 1: Taalari ($47.50 in chips)
Seat 2: Quantic5 ($48.75 in chips)
Seat 3: memohb ($58.05 in chips)
Seat 4: W0TAN ($6.40 in chips)
Seat 5: demid ($18.28 in chips)
Seat 6: Jooper ($21.15 in chips)
Seat 7: Widowm ($50.49 in chips)
Seat 8: torpapa ($46.90 in chips)
Seat 9: 1860 ($47.25 in chips)
Seat 10: paxis ($49.50 in chips)
demid: posts small blind $0.25
Jooper: posts big blind $0.50
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Quantic5 [7c 9c]
Widowm: folds
torpapa: folds
1860: folds
paxis: folds
Taalari: folds
Quantic5: raises to $1.50
memohb: folds
W0TAN: folds
demid: folds
Jooper: raises to $3
Quantic5: calls $1.50
----- FLOP ----- [8c 9s 7s]
Jooper: bets $2
Quantic5: raises to $8.50
Jooper: raises to $18.15 and is all-in
Quantic5: calls $9.65
----- TURN ----- [8c 9s 7s][8h]
----- RIVER ----- [8c 9s 7s 8h][2d]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Jooper: shows [Kc Ks] (Two Pairs, Kings and Eights, Nine high)
Quantic5: shows [7c 9c] (Two Pairs, Nines and Eights, Seven high)
Jooper collected $40.45 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot $42.55 Main pot $40.45 Rake $2.10
Board [8c 9s 7s 8h 2d]
Seat 2: Quantic5 showed [7c 9c] and lost with Two Pairs, Nines and Eights, Seven high
Seat 6: Jooper (big blind) showed [Kc Ks] and won ($40.45) with Two Pairs, Kings and Eights, Nine high

Game #6030212513: Hold'em NL ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/07/05 - 10:24:58 (UK)
Table "Kapelle" Seat 6 is the button.
Seat 1: Omtatsat ($13.25 in chips)
Seat 2: torpapa ($97.85 in chips)
Seat 5: Quantic5 ($49.25 in chips)
Seat 6: Taalari ($45.70 in chips)
Seat 9: BigBulls ($161.87 in chips)
Seat 10: W0TAN ($14.20 in chips)
BigBulls: posts small blind $0.25
W0TAN: posts big blind $0.50
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Quantic5 [Qs Ks]
BrutePoke joins the table at seat #3
Omtatsat: folds
torpapa: folds
Quantic5: raises to $1.50
Taalari: folds
BigBulls: calls $1.25
W0TAN: folds
----- FLOP ----- [3d 4d Qh]
BigBulls: checks
Quantic5: bets $2
BigBulls: raises to $4
Quantic5: raises to $8
BigBulls: calls $4
----- TURN ----- [3d 4d Qh][7c]
BigBulls: checks
Quantic5: bets $8
BigBulls: calls $8
----- RIVER ----- [3d 4d Qh 7c][As]
BigBulls: checks
Quantic5: checks
----- SHOW DOWN -----
BigBulls: shows [Qc Ah] (Two Pairs, Aces and Queens, Seven high)
Quantic5: mucks hand [Qs Ks]
BigBulls collected $33.75 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot $35.50 Main pot $33.75 Rake $1.75
Board [3d 4d Qh 7c As]
Seat 5: Quantic5 mucked [Qs Ks]
#Seat 9: BigBulls (small blind) showed [Qc Ah] and won ($33.75) with Two Pairs, Aces and Queens, Seven high

Bad session

2008-07-01T19:27:00.002Z

Running bad at mo...

PokerStars Game #18511543111: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/07/01 - 15:11:26 (ET)
Table 'Luna V' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: QuanticFive ($50 in chips)
Seat 2: Lorenzo6tr ($49.35 in chips)
Seat 3: alty88 ($142.30 in chips)
Seat 4: kayzai_86 ($14.25 in chips)
Seat 5: Pastafarian1 ($20.70 in chips)
Seat 6: rssoul20 ($40.40 in chips)
Seat 7: Dummkobb ($54.95 in chips)
Seat 8: jozsef75 ($7 in chips)
Seat 9: BaggieBoyyy ($9.50 in chips)
Lorenzo6tr: posts small blind $0.25
alty88: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to QuanticFive [Ah Kh]
kayzai_86: calls $0.50
Pastafarian1: folds
rssoul20: folds
Dummkobb: folds
jozsef75: folds
BaggieBoyyy: folds
QuanticFive: raises $1.50 to $2
Lorenzo6tr: folds
alty88: raises $5 to $7
kayzai_86: folds
QuanticFive: calls $5
*** FLOP *** [8d Qc 9h]
alty88: bets $8
QuanticFive: calls $8
*** TURN *** [8d Qc 9h] [Ks]
alty88: bets $40
QuanticFive: calls $35 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($5) returned to alty88
*** RIVER *** [8d Qc 9h Ks] [Jh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
alty88: shows [Jc Jd] (three of a kind, Jacks)
QuanticFive: mucks hand
alty88 collected $97.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $100.75 | Rake $3
Board [8d Qc 9h Ks Jh]
Seat 1: QuanticFive (button) mucked [Ah Kh]
Seat 2: Lorenzo6tr (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: alty88 (big blind) showed [Jc Jd] and won ($97.75) with three of a kind, Jacks

I'm gonna have a go at Bodog again - it was the last site I managed to win on.

Rant

2008-06-21T10:06:00.002Z

Poker is a very, very annoying game.
I cannot win shit at the moment, and am wondering how I made $5000 at this game.
Every all in tourneys I'm in, I lose.
Today I busted AK v KQ, all in pre; AA v J5 all in pre (!); 24 v AJ (flop 24A) - all-in, turn J.
I can't remember the last cash I've had in a tourney.

On Littlewoods, I managed to get to 350 points and release a £50 bonus but unfortunately this has gotten me to break even only as I'm down, mainly on Omaha H/L cash games which I seem to suck at.

I'm starting to get pissed off with Littlewoods as there are simply no games going. There are always loads of half buy-in tightees who limp As and AKs cos they're pussies.

I very much doubt I will make it to 1000MPPs by the end of July, let alone 2000.

I hate Stars, but at least there's games going and people aren't playing sss tight poker all the time.

Rant over

Profit at last

2008-06-10T22:05:00.002Z

I have finally broken into the black on Littlewoods with some truly amazing play...
OK, actually two pushes with AA2x, double suited on the Omaha H/L tables that stood up.
These two hands netted me $50 and I've won and lost a £5 Double Yr Money SNG since then. My loss came when I busted with Ks v Qs, all-in pre...it had to happen sometime.
I'm still a long way from my Ipod - a Touch if I reach 1000MPPs by end of July and Classic for 2000MPPs.
I have a grand total of 200 so far!
More grinding needed me thinks

Weekend on Littlewoods

2008-06-08T21:27:00.001Z

I spent a good few hours grinding on Littlewoods. I signed up through RaketheRake and if I manage to reach 2,000 MPPs I get an Ipod, £350 bonus and rake of 30%. Not a bad return.

I have to do this by the end of July, which will involve many hours but I think its doable. I deposited $400, roughly £200 and currently stand on...£200!

The positives have been decent wins on full-ring Holdem cash games. I'm also four for four on the £5 double yr money SNGs, which pay 5 out of 10 players. V V easy with some terrible players.

Where I've lost it is the 50c/$1 Omaha H/L tables, which rack up the MPPs the fastest but are dangerous as hell.

I also tried the Tao of Poker's Omaha blogger tourney on Stars but crashed out 28th out of 32. Not a very impressive debut!

A break but I'm back

2008-06-06T18:59:00.002Z

Its been a while...
The reason for no posts is because I have been playing very, very little poker.
A few low buy-in SNGs on Stars, and a bit of cash games on Mansion is all I've been able to muster in the past two weeks.
Grand Theft Auto is one reason - I've played a lot and am still only half-way through - but I'm also studying for an exam at the end of the month.
If I'm serious about my new job I have a lot of exams to take. I'm currently studying for the IMC, which is two parts and is reasonably easy.
But there is this thing called the CFA which takes three years and is very, very, very hard.
My academic record is such - shit A levels, a degree from the Mickey Mouse School of Disney Studies - that I may be forced to go for it just to get to the next level. Call it building a bankroll, if you like, so that I have a shot at working for an investment bank, where life is very sweet indeed.

I'm out now in Clapham to see a friend off, who has taken a job in Hong Kong, but I have no other plans for the weekend so you may find me on the tables.
I've just signed up to Littlewoods poker, who are offering an free Ipod to gimps like me who can grind for five hours playing $100 cash games.

All Quiet on the Western Front

2008-05-26T07:18:00.002Z

Until yesterday I had literally played zero hands of poker last week.
The reason: Grand Theft Auto IV - a beast of a game.
Yesterday I pissed around with the Omaha $3 SNGs again, taking a 1st and two 2nds in five attempts, but lost the small profit playing some HORSE.

As for my currency predictions - I'm still very confident of a dollar rebound, which is becoming the consensus view. One report by Morgan Stanley suggested the dollar was 15% overvalued versus the pound - pointing to at least $1.75. It may not get there until the end of the year but if you can hold on it beats any interest rate you'll get in a bank account.

Gonna play a bit of poker now so wish me luck!

Three tourneys, one cash

2008-05-18T19:00:00.002Z

No cash games this weekend, but I had a go at three different tourneys today.
I busted just out of the money on the same Omaha H/L tourney I played last week. It was bad play by me when I misread a hand that prompted my demise.
I also busted out of a $10 + $1 NL Holdem tourney less than an hour in.
The cash was a fifth in a $10 + $1 90 man SNG on Full tilt, I got $55 and a few more for busting a couple of fishees.

Dollar

2008-05-15T14:00:00.001Z

Currency predictions are very, very difficult. When I was a journalist it was pretty easy to find one economist to forecasting the pound would rise versus the dollar and another to say the polar opposite.

However, if I was a betting man, and I am, I would predict a stronger dollar than the pound on a 12-month view.

Maybe $1.50 is a bit ambitious; but I will definitely exchange some of my roll at $1.70. We stand at $1.95 today, down from a high of $2.10 late last year.

Reasons: first up the pound is overvalued – this is a consensus view. The Economist magazine created the Big Mac index, which measures the price of McDonald's famous burger in various countries. A bizarre concept but it is a measure that has gained some traction.

A Big Mac in the euro zone cost $4.17 in the UK vs. $3.41 in the US (this is back in July when the index was last updated).

Second, the main driver of currencies are interest rates. Where do the big financial institutions park their cash? Where interest rates are highest.

Interest rates in the UK are currently higher than in the US – BUT expectations are that interest rates will need to come down more in the UK than in the US. Our economy is in the mire, and growth stagnating, the market expectation is for interest rate cuts at some point to stimulate growth.

Against this the US is near the bottom of its rate-cutting cycle and the expectation is for one, max two more cuts.

Ok, I’m ignoring inflation pressures but this is just a blog after all and it is all very complicated.

Suffice it say I have been happy to keep my poker money in dollars on Neteller and various other sites, losing the potential for interest. This is partly for bankroll reasons but also as I feel the pound is too strong and had to come back.

Break

2008-05-13T20:35:00.002Z

I think I need a break from poker.
Just dropped $150 bluffing like hell on Mansion in less than 45 mins, some of the calls people made on me were crazy but still...

My job is gambling - I'm basically spending every day working out how to make money from the markets - Are commodities in a bubble? Is energy a good bet? Can Japan come good this year? Will China rebound? The dollar or sterling?
Is this affecting my poker play? Not really, I'm drunk and need some food but it makes gambling when I come home every evening less appealing.

I'm addicted to this game so I'm sure I will carry on playing, but I'm worried about blowing through my stack on a whim.
My roll is in dollars and I think the dollar is set for a rebound. Some currency experts are forecasting it may get to $1.50. If it does I may consider withdrawing some of it.

Get over it

2008-05-12T07:13:00.002Z

That's what I keep telling myself - but I'm still mighty annoyed about the bust in the tourney on Sat.
I basically threw away my chips when my foe made it obvious he had hit a set. For over three hours I was able to fold, but not at the crucial moment when the tourney was up for grabs.
Psyhcologically if you are slowly chipping up you feel in control but I started losing a few chips just before the final table and this sent me on mini-tilt. Not enough to throw me off my game but too eager to push all-in to try and win tem back.
When we made the final three I was shortie with 40k against my foes 80k and 100k, but with the blinds at 2,4k I had more than enough to play a few hands.
O well next time...

Didn't make the top 100 in the Planets challenge again, 400 points this time. I'm sure I'll try again soon when I know I have an easy week workwise coming up.

3rd sucks

2008-05-10T12:06:00.003Z

Just finished an $5 Omaha H/L tourney in 3rd...
Good score but I was in the top two the entire tourney right up until the end.

I tripled up on the very first hand and basically limped A LOT, nabbed lots of pots and folded to any strength. For the first two hours the deck was hitting me in the face and I just chipped up and up.
I was only worried about one foe late on - who unfortunately was sitting to my left - and had worked out what I was up to.

During the week I haven't played much cash but pissed around with the $3 Omaha H/L games in an attempt to get on the Planets leaderboard again. I have one game left and need to come first or second to get a middling position.

Dropping $55

2008-05-05T16:00:00.002Z

Sometimes the poker gods go against you...
I lost $100 on one table but got half of that back on the other three tables.
The two hands which killed me were AA v QQ - all-in pre-flop, foe spikes a Q and then set under set, my 555 v his KKK.
I managed to control the tilt, which I take as a plus, but still mighty galling.

Four-table grinding

2008-05-05T10:40:00.001Z

Been putting in the hours this weekend, mainly on Mansion Poker.

My sessions over the last two days read like this:

2 hrs 17 mins, +$175.44, 392 hands

1 hr, -$43.25, 233 hands

1 hr 28 mins, +$74.75, 337 hands

1 hr 37 mins, -$50.05, 401 hands

53 mins, +$44.35, 99 hands

27 mins, +$4.70, 105 hands

So, around 1500 hands for a profit $200, or 13BB/100 hands which I'm very pleased with. Mansion is 90% Scandinavian and there are some super aggressive players. Even on ten-man tables there are certain players who play position very well and seem to chip up consistently.

The only way to play them is to put them to the test, as they are often playing with air.

He's a hand when I caught one out - I had played him before and knew he was very aggressive.

Hand P4-66930145-289, Started at 04/05/2008 20:40 (EDT)
Table 'Steyr': $1-$1 No Limit HE (Real)
Seat 0: Triglycenide ($220.05 in chips)
Seat 1: GiveUsATwirl ($100 in chips)
Seat 2: dvorn3k ($97.30 in chips)
Seat 3: Haieral ($99.80 in chips)
Seat 4: litemyfire25 ($139.70 in chips)
Seat 5: chiquili4 ($100 in chips)
Seat 6: SillySal x ($142.40 in chips) (on the button)
Seat 7: GiveMeDolars ($102 in chips)
Seat 8: RIZLA POKER ($17 in chips)
*** Blind Bet Round *** :
GiveMeDolars : Post Blind ($0.50)
RIZLA POKER : Post Blind ($1)
GiveUsATwirl : Post Blind ($1)
Dealt to GiveUsATwirl: [ 6s. 8s]
*** Pre-Flop *** :
GiveUsATwirl : Check
SillySal x : Bet ($3)
GiveMeDolars : Call ($2.50)
GiveUsATwirl : Call ($2)
*** Flop *** : 2s Ks 9h (Flush draw)
GiveMeDolars : Check
GiveUsATwirl : Bet ($3)
SillySal x : Raise ($15) - Don't believe you

GiveMeDolars : Fold
GiveUsATwirl : Raise ($35)
SillySal x : Fold
*** SUMMARY ***
Pot: $61 | Rake: $2
Board: [ 2s Ks 9h ]
Triglycenide lost $0
GiveUsATwirl bet $41, collected $61, net $20

I also played three tournies on Stars and Full Tilt, I cashed in all three but didn't break the bank.

The first was a 10FPP $500 which attracted thousands, I basically folded/pushed my way to a 0.15c payout. Wooot!

I also reached the final table of $3, 90 man SNG on Full Tilt. 5th place. My Ks couldn't beat AQo.

And finally, I made it to 250th in a $5 tournie on Stars with 2500 entrants. I was card dead for the first hour like I've never been before, no prs and my best hand was A9s in 70 hands. I basically nursed my short stack into the money, winning about $15 for my trouble.

I'm also having another crack at the Battle of the Planets thing on Stars. Will update about that when I'm done, don't want to tempt fate!

Hello again!

2008-05-03T11:46:00.001Z

After my blackjack woes of last weekend, I didn't play any poker until last night. The break did me good.

During the break I decided to play the $100 tables again.

Last nighy on Pokerstars, I managed to win $60 four-tabling on two $50 and two $100.

This morning I logged on to Mansion Poker and begun four-tabling the $100 tables.

One table in particular, an eight-man table was soooooo loose. If only foes could be this bad all the time.

TEXAS_HOLDEM, NO_LIMIT, P4-66808153-163

Seat 1: skriver2000 ($39 in chips)

Seat 2: tsekke ($29.25 in chips)

Seat 3: giuse75 ($70.55 in chips)

Seat 6: lucabrasi73 ($235.85 in chips)

Seat 7: geronimo62x ($82.85 in chips)

Seat 8: GiveUsATwirl ($143.45 in chips) - THIS IS ME ON MANSION

Seat 9: riela ($105.45 in chips)

Seat 10: orpedo ($153.95 in chips)

ANTES/BLINDS
orpedo posts blind ($0.50), skriver2000 posts blind ($1).

PRE-FLOP
tsekke calls $1, giuse75 bets $5, (I'd seen him do this with ATC including K7s and Q3s)

lucabrasi73 calls $5, geronimo62x folds, GiveUsATwirl calls $5 with [ QH,KD ], three fold, tsekke calls $4.

Four way action

FLOP [board cards: JD,QC,TD ]
tsekke checks, giuse75 bets $5, lucabrasi73 bets $19, GiveUsATwirl calls $19, tsekke folds, giuse75 calls $14.

TURN [board cards: JD,QC,TD,AH ] - O yes...
giuse75 checks, lucabrasi73 checks, GiveUsATwirl bets $30, giuse75 bets $46.55 and is all-in, lucabrasi73 calls $46.55, GiveUsATwirl calls $16.55.

RIVER [board cards: JD,QC,TD,AH,2C ]
lucabrasi73 checks, GiveUsATwirl bets $30, lucabrasi73 calls $30.

SHOWDOWN
GiveUsATwirl shows [ QH,KD ]
giuse75 mucks cards [ JS,TS ]
lucabrasi73 mucks cards [ JH,TH ]
GiveUsATwirl wins $60, GiveUsATwirl wins $215.15.

I wasn't folding top pr and an open-ended str8 draw against these two. Lucabrasi was sitting on a huge stack through luck rather than any poker skill and giuse literally couldn't check.

This hand makes me feel a lot better about poker!

TILT!

2008-04-27T21:35:00.002Z

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

2008-04-27T00:17:00.001Z

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

2008-04-25T14:40:00.002Z

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

2008-04-21T22:23:00.002Z

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

2008-04-18T22:10:00.002Z

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

2008-04-18T17:47:00.002Z

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)

2008-04-18T12:10:00.002Z

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)

2008-04-17T13:17:00.003Z

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

2008-04-16T19:02:00.003Z

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)

2008-04-11T11:11:00.002Z

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)

2008-04-11T08:13:00.004Z

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

2008-04-10T14:00:00.002Z

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

2008-04-10T04:07:00.002Z

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...

2008-04-09T10:04:00.002Z

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

2008-04-08T22:54:00.002Z

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

2008-04-07T14:19:00.002Z

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

2008-04-06T08:42:00.003Z

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

2008-04-04T10:01:00.002Z

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

2008-04-03T09:45:00.002Z

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!

No play

2008-03-31T14:24:00.002Z

Quick update...
I've had a friend staying so I haven't managed to play a single hand since he arrived on Friday.
He's around until Wednesday so I doubt I'll get much play until he's gone.
So...erm...nothing to report really.

Pot odds

2008-03-26T23:27:00.006Z

Played 400 hands on Bodog, no big wins, pretty static really before this happened:

At the end of the hand my foe said "pot odds", then left!
I had to add the hand manually to the site PokerHandReplays and the pot sizes are not quite right - he had a $40 stack so I won around $50 but a truly bizarre hand.

200 hands, up $30

2008-03-25T23:27:00.005Z

Added another $30 to my roll playing Bodog after a short session.
Roll there close to $1,200 now.
The site has this nice facility for PokerTracker phobes like me which tracks your recent winnings.
Over three days I'm up $172, over seven days I'm up $356 and since I deposited ten days ago I'm up $695.

Speaking of PokerTracker, I'm going to try to get back to using it again. Its a no brainer really, I just couldn't be bothered to transfer all the data when I upgraded my laptop last year.

By the time my one-month bonus period is up on Bodog my roll should be $5k and I'm going to have another stab at the $100NL tables again.
I've been watching them on Bodog and Mansion and don't see much different to the $50 tables.

Last time I tried them for any length of time I got spanked so it will be a good test of how far I've come in a year.

Lastly, I've been reading this guy for a while now and he CRACKS me up.
If you haven't checked him out, you should: WAffles on Poker

Easter summary

2008-03-24T20:27:00.003Z

Just played my last hand for Easter on Bodog as I'm pokered out.
I've put in a lot of hours - more than I have all this year.
Managed to double my buy-in on one of the three tables during my last one session, leaving me a stack of $1166.45.
I also have around $65 of bonus due next month.

My updated bankroll stats are on the right which shows I'm only up around $700 since the start of the year, although most of this has come in the last couple of weeks.

Anyway, back to work tomorrow...

Token woes

2008-03-24T18:59:00.003Z

The $26 token satellites on Full Tilt are becoming the bane of my life.
I am currently 6 and 0 in these and it looks like it will soon be seven entries without a token - I am 140th out of 141 left in the daily $6 + 50c with a paltry 550 chips. The top 50 getting a token.

I'm also playing a $3, 90 man tourney also on Full Tilt where I'm 7th with 17 left - top 9 pay. Its one of those knockout ones, but not managed to knock anyone out yet.

On Bodog, I have edged up to $1,120 with a couple of double up with big pairs, one again an all-in check raise with a flush draw, the other was a slightly odd one.

25c/50c NL, 6-handed

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Button raises $2
QuanticFive raises $6 from SB with [As Ah]
BB calls $6
Button calls $4

*** FLOP *** [6c 3d 3h]
QuanticFive bets $10.50
BB folds
Button calls $10.50

*** TURN *** [6c 3d 3h] [Ac]
SB checks (Way ahead here and the Ace would have scared any high pair)
BB checks

*** RIVER *** [6c 3d 3h As] [Kh]

SB bets $24.50 (Hope he has something
Button calls $24.50

*** SHOW DOWN ***
QuanticFive shows [As Ah] a full house, Aces full of threes
UTG+1 mucks [2c 3c] - three of a king threes !!!

How the guy can call the pre-flop re-raise with 2,3 suited. Although I got v v lucky on the turn as I was going all in.

UPDATE: Just busted out 13th from the $3 tourney, four off the money.