After my rather pleasing wins, I went to the tables on Friday night full of beenz. Sat down at my usual sit n go, ready to take on all comers. I think it was pretty evident fairly quickly that this was not going to be a good session. This uber-aggressive player was raising everything, every hand, every flop. I went into a big pot with pocket kings. The table showed 236, 4... and I got stupid and put in a massive re-raise only to walk into A5 from my opponent. It was a dumb move, and I should have seen it. But I just got so sick of his bully-boy tactics that I saw red. Note to self: Control your emotions. It's never personal in poker*.
After going out quickly, I entered another SNG straight away to try and redeem myself, only to play even worse. I turned into the Hulk, raising pots with stupid cards getting called and then having to back out with nothing. Went out in 7th.
I decided to play on a cash table for a bit to try and compose myself, but was so card dead, I gave up after losing another $1. This was my first serious case of tilt. Nothing, and I mean nothing, was going right. Every hand I called got beat. Every hand I lay down got me the nuts on the flop. Every move got outmanouevered. I had to call it quits. Give it a break for today. Come back nice and refreshed tomorrow.
*In most cases, anyway.
13 Feb 2010
12 Feb 2010
1-table = 1 waste of time
Last night I had half an hour, or so, before needing to get ready for a dance class. So, as seems to be more common now, I logged into PokerStars looking for a quick game. I didn't have the patience for a cash game, so I checked out another 1-table SNG. Don't ask me why, but I chose the $1+0.15 'double or nothing'. It was a 10-seater game, where half the table double up
What a waste of time. All that effort into making a measly $0.85 profit*. I know, all profit is good profit, and maybe they're worth it at higher levels (a $50 table would net you $45 profit, after the rake), but for penny stakes like this... not doing that again.
*Yes, I did make the money. Not that it was hard against the half wits playing. In fact, you could, probably, sit out the whole thing and still make the money.
What a waste of time. All that effort into making a measly $0.85 profit*. I know, all profit is good profit, and maybe they're worth it at higher levels (a $50 table would net you $45 profit, after the rake), but for penny stakes like this... not doing that again.
*Yes, I did make the money. Not that it was hard against the half wits playing. In fact, you could, probably, sit out the whole thing and still make the money.
9 Feb 2010
1st time FTW
Today I got my first ever 1st place finish. Wasn't going in for the £2k UK/Ire freeroll due to prior televisual commitments, but I wanted to play some poker. I didn't really have time for the epic 7,000 man $150 freeroll on Full Tilt, so it was over to PokerStars where my coin is.
I didn't fancy a cash game, and didn't have time for a full tournament. Checking over my options, I ended up going for a $1.00 + 0.20, 1-table, NLHE sit n go with 9 players.
For those who don't know of what I speak, let me break it down for you.
NLHE - an abbreviation for No Limit Hold 'Em, a type of poker.
Sit n go - a game that will start when the number of players is reached, in this case, nine.
$1.00 + 0.20 - The buy in to play the table is $1.00, with 20c going to 'the house' for running the game.
I think 1-table and 9 players speak for itself.
The $1 entry means a total prize fund here is $9.00 with only the top 3 getting paid. 50% for 1st place, 30% for 2nd and just 20% for 3rd (giving $4.50, $2.70 & $1.80 respectively).
Play started at 19:46. A multi-national field stood between me and glory. 3 Russians, 1 each from USA, France, Moldova, Hungary plus a Mancunian with the delightful monicker of Pantsman614.
Pantsman lived up to his name and was out fairly quickly, which was good for me cos I kicked his arse to the kerb giving me a nice little chip advantage. It was a well contested game for the most of it, with the best challenge coming from lancess (Leon, France) and Tadricw (USA). It took about 20mins or so for the next player to go out, and from there they tumbled till we got to 'the bubble'.
In play at this point were me (obviously), lancess, Tadrickw and K0jAK23 from Omsk. My Russian bretheren went out in 4th. It was one of those unlucky hands. He was ahead with 2 pair, but lost to trip 6s on the river. Tadrickw was next to go, and didn't he moan about it. Bitching like a child about how PokerStars always does this to him, gives someone a full house when he's got a straight draw. Being the short stack, he was pushing a lot, stealing the blinds. The one time he pushed with a crap hand, he got called. Sorry mate. You got caught. Tough shit... deal with it.
This left me & lance. We were fairly even on chips, with me slightly ahead. Lots of folding of small blinds, bet/folds, and the odd flop where the first to bet takes it. The key hand was the 2nd to last. Stacks are $6,530k to me and, $6,970k to him with the blinds at $150/300 + $25 ante. He's on the button and me the big blind. He bets $2k. I've got ATs. I understand that this is a fairly big hand heads-up. His bet suggested a pair, possibly Queens or Kings. This makes it 50/50 for me. I feel that luck is on my side on this push all-in. Instant call. He's holding JJ. Flop comes with an A. Turn and river give him nothing so I double through. He has $440 left. Last hand and he has no choice, and has to all in. T6o. I have QTo. A 10 comes on flop and there are no 6s on the turn or river. And so... I win. lancess played well throughout and just got unlucky on that coin-toss. To be fair, it could have gone either way, but I was victorious.
It was strange. I've never been this aggressive previously, but I found I was starting to but larger sized bets in against marginal hands (good, but not that good). Maybe because I was chip leader I felt confident enough to press a little more. At one point I got so confident, I put in a bet 3x the big blind on 85 offsuit, winning me that hand. Now, 85 is a pretty crap starting hand, but my chip stack and table image was enough for me to pull it off.
So, after a little over an hours play I find myself $3.30 in profit. More importantly (really?) I played well and picked up a few things that I can, hopefully, carry over into the next game. And if I can keep this level of play up and keep hitting the money, I might be able to contest for bigger payouts. For now, though, its take it slowly. Maybe these 1-table things are more my speed, so I think I'll do a few more of these and build my bankroll up to a level where I can move up to the $2-$5 tables.
I GOT GAME... a little, anyway.
I didn't fancy a cash game, and didn't have time for a full tournament. Checking over my options, I ended up going for a $1.00 + 0.20, 1-table, NLHE sit n go with 9 players.
For those who don't know of what I speak, let me break it down for you.
NLHE - an abbreviation for No Limit Hold 'Em, a type of poker.
Sit n go - a game that will start when the number of players is reached, in this case, nine.
$1.00 + 0.20 - The buy in to play the table is $1.00, with 20c going to 'the house' for running the game.
I think 1-table and 9 players speak for itself.
The $1 entry means a total prize fund here is $9.00 with only the top 3 getting paid. 50% for 1st place, 30% for 2nd and just 20% for 3rd (giving $4.50, $2.70 & $1.80 respectively).
Play started at 19:46. A multi-national field stood between me and glory. 3 Russians, 1 each from USA, France, Moldova, Hungary plus a Mancunian with the delightful monicker of Pantsman614.
Pantsman lived up to his name and was out fairly quickly, which was good for me cos I kicked his arse to the kerb giving me a nice little chip advantage. It was a well contested game for the most of it, with the best challenge coming from lancess (Leon, France) and Tadricw (USA). It took about 20mins or so for the next player to go out, and from there they tumbled till we got to 'the bubble'.
In play at this point were me (obviously), lancess, Tadrickw and K0jAK23 from Omsk. My Russian bretheren went out in 4th. It was one of those unlucky hands. He was ahead with 2 pair, but lost to trip 6s on the river. Tadrickw was next to go, and didn't he moan about it. Bitching like a child about how PokerStars always does this to him, gives someone a full house when he's got a straight draw. Being the short stack, he was pushing a lot, stealing the blinds. The one time he pushed with a crap hand, he got called. Sorry mate. You got caught. Tough shit... deal with it.
This left me & lance. We were fairly even on chips, with me slightly ahead. Lots of folding of small blinds, bet/folds, and the odd flop where the first to bet takes it. The key hand was the 2nd to last. Stacks are $6,530k to me and, $6,970k to him with the blinds at $150/300 + $25 ante. He's on the button and me the big blind. He bets $2k. I've got ATs. I understand that this is a fairly big hand heads-up. His bet suggested a pair, possibly Queens or Kings. This makes it 50/50 for me. I feel that luck is on my side on this push all-in. Instant call. He's holding JJ. Flop comes with an A. Turn and river give him nothing so I double through. He has $440 left. Last hand and he has no choice, and has to all in. T6o. I have QTo. A 10 comes on flop and there are no 6s on the turn or river. And so... I win. lancess played well throughout and just got unlucky on that coin-toss. To be fair, it could have gone either way, but I was victorious.
It was strange. I've never been this aggressive previously, but I found I was starting to but larger sized bets in against marginal hands (good, but not that good). Maybe because I was chip leader I felt confident enough to press a little more. At one point I got so confident, I put in a bet 3x the big blind on 85 offsuit, winning me that hand. Now, 85 is a pretty crap starting hand, but my chip stack and table image was enough for me to pull it off.
So, after a little over an hours play I find myself $3.30 in profit. More importantly (really?) I played well and picked up a few things that I can, hopefully, carry over into the next game. And if I can keep this level of play up and keep hitting the money, I might be able to contest for bigger payouts. For now, though, its take it slowly. Maybe these 1-table things are more my speed, so I think I'll do a few more of these and build my bankroll up to a level where I can move up to the $2-$5 tables.
I GOT GAME... a little, anyway.
7 Feb 2010
The Glorious Inglourious
I’ve been putting off watching this one, as I have mixed opinions when it comes to Quentin Tarantino. I love hearing him talk about films/cinema. His passion is evident in every hyperactive word, giving equal love to Kubrick and Corman. His output, however, I have found inconsistent. Res Dogs was an overhyped disappointment. Pulp Fiction, offered great entertainment, aside from the piss dull opening segment with John ‘charisma vacuum’ Travolta. Jackie Brown had a great non-linear narrative with strong performances across the board.
But his last 2 films, Kill Bill and Death Proof? Oh dear. Death Proof was supposed to be an homage to the exploitation cinema on the 70s and 80s. Now, I’ve seen a lot of these films and I don’t remember any of them featuring an hour of girls talking complete bollocks, followed by 5 mins of action. Deathly Dullness would be a better title for it. And Kill Bill had no heart. All style, no substance and bordering on plagiarism. The other signs, however, were pretty good. Brad Pitt is always watchable, any film in the French language is instantly more classy and any film the critics are not too keen on is usually quite good.
And, blow me, if Inglourious Basterds isn’t one of the best films from 2009. I’ll go one further than that. Forget Pulp Fiction, IB is QT’s best film, by quite a big margin. It’s simultaneously intelligent and dumb, violent and passive, active and reflective. It showcases everything that makes QT great as a filmmaker. There have been hints at it in previous films, but they were always bogged down with genre conventions. In IB there is none of that. The only genre he’s playing tribute to is cinema itself. Although its set during WWII, its not your standard war film. It looks, sounds and plays out more like a spaghetti western, dressed up in an SS uniform, but it is so much more than that. Tarantino plays with the clichés of so many different genres and, I think, plays with the conventions of his own oeuvre.
For a much better viewpoint on Inglourious Basterds, I recommend you check out highlycontrasting.com from Lincoln Barrett aka High Contrast.
But his last 2 films, Kill Bill and Death Proof? Oh dear. Death Proof was supposed to be an homage to the exploitation cinema on the 70s and 80s. Now, I’ve seen a lot of these films and I don’t remember any of them featuring an hour of girls talking complete bollocks, followed by 5 mins of action. Deathly Dullness would be a better title for it. And Kill Bill had no heart. All style, no substance and bordering on plagiarism. The other signs, however, were pretty good. Brad Pitt is always watchable, any film in the French language is instantly more classy and any film the critics are not too keen on is usually quite good.
And, blow me, if Inglourious Basterds isn’t one of the best films from 2009. I’ll go one further than that. Forget Pulp Fiction, IB is QT’s best film, by quite a big margin. It’s simultaneously intelligent and dumb, violent and passive, active and reflective. It showcases everything that makes QT great as a filmmaker. There have been hints at it in previous films, but they were always bogged down with genre conventions. In IB there is none of that. The only genre he’s playing tribute to is cinema itself. Although its set during WWII, its not your standard war film. It looks, sounds and plays out more like a spaghetti western, dressed up in an SS uniform, but it is so much more than that. Tarantino plays with the clichés of so many different genres and, I think, plays with the conventions of his own oeuvre.
For a much better viewpoint on Inglourious Basterds, I recommend you check out highlycontrasting.com from Lincoln Barrett aka High Contrast.
5 Feb 2010
Live Night #1
That's right folks, time to put the old inet away for a night, and indulge in face to face poker combat. The dulled click-clack of chips on baize, the riffling shuffle of cards, and the smell of stale beer and cigarettes. Well, no cigarettes, as you can't smoke in Foz's house, and the beer is never stale, but the rest of it. Actually there's no baize either, its a veneered hard wood table. We have cards, chips, both plastic and potato, and some beers.
Don't know what format the game will take, but thats not really important. Its about kicking back with your mates and having a laugh.
UPDATE
It was a mixed table of young and old, most of whom I'd not met before. But never mind. It was a good night and only £5 to play, with optional £5 re-buy, the winnings to be split 60/40 betwixt 1st and 2nd. Being as it was a spur of the moment thing, it went smoothly. It was alot of fun. Probably more time was spent chatting than actually playing. And, even better, I took home some money. OK, it was 2nd place* and I took home £22, but with no re-buy thats £17 profit. Not bad.
*It would have been first but... it was about half 11 and it had been heads up for about 20 mins. Most of the others were itching to get home but didn't want to miss out. I had Q2h and the flop came 6h 2c 6s. I flopped bottom pair and a outside flush draw. He bet big, I doubled, he pushed. I knew he had the 6, but feeding off the mood I called. I knew he had me beat, but in the sense of fairness to everyone else it was the right thing to do... in this situation.
Don't know what format the game will take, but thats not really important. Its about kicking back with your mates and having a laugh.
UPDATE
It was a mixed table of young and old, most of whom I'd not met before. But never mind. It was a good night and only £5 to play, with optional £5 re-buy, the winnings to be split 60/40 betwixt 1st and 2nd. Being as it was a spur of the moment thing, it went smoothly. It was alot of fun. Probably more time was spent chatting than actually playing. And, even better, I took home some money. OK, it was 2nd place* and I took home £22, but with no re-buy thats £17 profit. Not bad.
*It would have been first but... it was about half 11 and it had been heads up for about 20 mins. Most of the others were itching to get home but didn't want to miss out. I had Q2h and the flop came 6h 2c 6s. I flopped bottom pair and a outside flush draw. He bet big, I doubled, he pushed. I knew he had the 6, but feeding off the mood I called. I knew he had me beat, but in the sense of fairness to everyone else it was the right thing to do... in this situation.
4 Feb 2010
Zero to whatever
In order to compete in the generous freeroll with The Hendon Mob, I needed to sign on with Full Tilt Poker. As its a freebie I don't need to shell out any coin to be there. This gave me an idea. A very unoriginal idea that, I think, has been done to death. How far can I go without making a deposit of cold, hard cash? I'm not setting myself an upper limit or a timescale, only that I will play in as many freebies as I have time/patience for at Full Tilt.
The updates for this little venture will be titled 'Zero to $[x.xx]', where x.xx, rather obviously, will show how much I've made. The intention is to give regular, weekly updates. But I suppose it depends on how well, or badly, I do. Expect it to be at zero for some time kids, cos I ain't exactly the most experienced player in the world.
The updates for this little venture will be titled 'Zero to $[x.xx]', where x.xx, rather obviously, will show how much I've made. The intention is to give regular, weekly updates. But I suppose it depends on how well, or badly, I do. Expect it to be at zero for some time kids, cos I ain't exactly the most experienced player in the world.
2 Feb 2010
Pocket Jacks
Now, I'm fairly new to the actual business of playing poker for money, but I have been around the game for some time, and have picked up a few things. One of them is the danger of playing pocket Jacks.
Too big not to play, too small to guarantee being ahead. So, what to do? This is what happened to me when I backed them big.
My poker terminology was not exactly right at the first posting, but at least I know I did the right thing.
Too big not to play, too small to guarantee being ahead. So, what to do? This is what happened to me when I backed them big.
My poker terminology was not exactly right at the first posting, but at least I know I did the right thing.
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