Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Victory at last

Finally, after over two months of toddling down to Baker Street to play in live tournaments, I've managed to be last man standing, and what a rollercoaster ride it was.

£10 Rebuy, and I rebought on the very first hand when I went all-in on the flop with an open-ended straight draw, only to be called by a flush draw, who hit. Next rebuy was calling an all-in on the BB with AQ - the raiser was someone who I knew always tried to take chances getting a big stack early. He flipped over J2, so of course that hand ended with me pulling another picture of Charles Darwin out of my pocket. I had still not won a hand, and called a frequent raiser on the blind with A3, looking to bet out all-in on just about any flop, even if I missed. I did so, but he had a genuine raising hand of QQ. On the last hand before the break, I raised pre-flop with 55 and picked up the blinds - my only pot in the first hour.

Luckily there was a double top-up so, despite my being £50 down, I had enough chips to play with. I got better cards and picked up some pots, lost a couple when I made slightly optimistic calls I had to let go on the flop, but then came the most important hand so far.

I'm in middle position with 44. I decide to raise (it was quite a tough table and limpers were being, quite rightly, raised out of pots). Guy immediately to my left re-raises me the minimum, so I call.

Flop comes A82, or something. Can't quite remember, but the important fact to note is that there was an Ace. I felt he had a big pocket pair, so I went all-in for 1,250 into a pot of about 1,600, representing the Ace. He goes into the tank for a a long time (and I mean a long time, at least two minutes, which is an eternity for this type of tournament). Usually when people have a long think, they eventually fold, so I thought that was what he was going to do. However, he made a fantastic call with QQ. Thinking about the hand afterwards, I wonder if he picked up something on me that indicated I was bluffing. I did feel the pulse in my neck throb, so at one point I shifted position in my chair so I was leaning my head on my hand, covering my neck. However, he wasn't really looking at me for a tell, more working things out in his head.

Turn was a blank, before the fortuitous 4 fell on the river. It was cruel luck for him, as it was such a great call, but I've been due luck like that for weeks.

The blinds had now picked up, so I was into my usual tactic of going all-in with any Ace, and I found a few. Stack took a hit when one BB found AK to call my AT with, but rose again when I managed to knock out two short stacks by isolating them with good, but not great hands when I felt they would call anything.

Made it to the final table, and was annoyed to find myself immediately to the left of a huge stack. He had come from the other table and had about 17,000 of the 44,000 chips in the tournament. I only had 5,000. Can't remember much about getting down to 4 players - I picked up a couple of rounds of blinds, and certainly knocked out one player when I called on the BB with any two cards as his all-in raise barely covered the blind.

We were four-handed for quite a while, chips flowed around with the shorter stack winning every showdown. A big hand occured when the large stack completed the SB on my BB. We saw a flop of AKx and he bet out 4,000 into a pot of 4,500. I had K8 and 9,500 chips left. I had a think. If he had an Ace, I felt sure he would have raised pre-flop (unless he had AA, when he may have limped) so I discounted that. However, the main line of my thinking was that he was preying on my perceived weakness when I just checked my blind. His thinking would have been 'If he had an Ace, he would have raised pre-flop, so he doesn't have one. After a think, I re-raised all-in, and after his own ponder, he folded. He said he had a King and that he knew I didn't have an Ace. I showed my K8 and he said his kicker was worse than mine, but I'm sure he would have raised pre-flop with a King and that he was just trying to take the pot.

That pot made me chip leader, and the last big hand was when the original big stack went all-in from first position. I was on the button and had JJ (the first pair I was dealt at the final table), so I called. The SB then had a think, but discretion got the better part of valour and he folded. I was up against Ace-something, but the first card I dealt on the flop was a Jack, so I won the massive pot.

I was a huge chip leader over the other two, and we actually all got it in pre-flop on the first hand when I took a chance at ending it early on my BB with JT. They had QQ and AQ, and the Queens held up to put us heads-up. He then went a bit too timid, folding the first two hands. The blinds were 3,000/6,000 by then so on his next BB he only had 2,000 chips after putting in his blind. I found my second pair of the final table with 88 and put him all-in. He had to call, but only had 73. I again hit my set on the flop and that was that - £270 first prize and a profit of £220 on the evening.

Instead of running to try (and probably fail) to catch the last tube I treated myself to a taxi home and had a nice long chat with the cab driver about poker.

Friday, June 24, 2005

Two live reports

Two nights at Fourth Street this week. Tuesday was the £10 rebuy, and it started very slowly for me. In the rebuy period I didn't win a single pot till the very last hand, when I went all-in to grab blinds of 150 with K4, purely to take a chance at either getting some chips, or going bust and being able to rebuy. Luckily, one of the drunk muppets at the table (of which there were three) called me with inferior cards and I doubled up. Once we got to the freezeout, I managed to knockout one of the muppets when I picked him off trying a complete bluff on the turn. At the first break I was doing quite well - I had one of the bigger stacks.

A bad read cost me when a small blind went all-in for 3BB on my BB. I had A3 and thought he was trying it on so called, only for him to turn over AT. I made it to the final table though and exited when my AQ came up against the BB's pair of tens. I'm getting quite annoyed by the fact that I keep managing to find BBs who have proper hands when I go all-in, and yet I always seem to get trash, which I can't defend when the other guy is all-in. Didn't help matters on Tuesday that the guy who knocked me out was a bit of a wanker who thought he was all that. More than one of the other people at the table quietly expressed their disappointment that I had lost to the tosser.

Last night was the £30 freezeout and I had a bit of a mare. I got some chips early when I managed to trap another guy with a set of threes, but chips dribbled away till I had exactly what I started with - 2500. I then managed to make a complete mess of a hand which did for me. I saw a free flop of 997 with A3. Four of us in the pot, and it's checked round to the guy who I beat with the set earlier. He bet 100 into the pot, but I took it for a steal and raised to 500. He called and it was just us two for the turn of an Ace. Whilst I originally read him for nothing, I now had the added insurance that even if he had a nine, I was ahead. I decided I would like to check-raise him all in, and my plan worked, only for him to call with K7 and that was me gone.

It was a dreadful risk to take with no more than a hunch, especially when it was so early in the tournament. I've noticed I've been trying to pick off bluffs a bit more recently, but I think I need to ease off unless I have a cast-iron reason for thinking someone is trying it on, rather than just 'maybe he's bluffing'.

A couple of SNGs did nothing to recoup my losses. I've been doing OK in these recently, as my more aggressive style pays off in the contracted levels/chip stacks in these, but I think I had a bit too much of a 'fuck it' attitude last night (like calling two all-ins with 22).

Overall my poker losses on the night were £57, so my live poker losses are now getting on for £300. One tourney win will sort that out, and I am due a big run of good luck in the main tourneys (ignores fact of luck being totally random and uninfluenced by past events).

Monday, June 20, 2005

A Good Plan Derailed

Not as much poker over the last week or so - GTA San Andreas coming out on PC has diverted my attention somewhat. I did get stuck in a bit on Friday and Saturday night as a) I was in anyway, b) I wanted to make sure I cleared my Crypto bonuses this month and c) after last Saturday's good fortune, I hoped to take advantage of the drunk fish who tend to play late at the weekend.

I was not to be disappointed, turning in a profit, despite twice taking big hits when an opponent showed down the only two cards that could hurt me. I've become quite good recently at gradually building up my stack by taking down lots of small pots, which is more in line with good NL play, rather than just waiting for big hands. I've also got better at stealing pots when it is clear no-one else has a hand (or when I spot a weak player who I can knock off the pot).

I'm still not having any luck with pairs of TT and below - I just cannot hit a set with them at all. One other thing I haven't yet been able to do is the classic NL trick of crushing a player with a big pair by playing a small pair or connectors against him. I just haven't had the cards yet - hopefully my time will come (and I'll start hitting those sets).

Only one tournament of note this week - a £15K where I came 28th for £120. I was actually quite pleased with this because of the structure of the payout. 21st-30th was £120, 11th-20th was £150 and 10th was £225 (with jumps of £75 or so for each place thereafter). Therefore, once I made the top 30, there wasn't anything much to be gained by coming 11th-30th - I had to make a push for the final table. I saw my opportunity when on the BB with T8s. There was a min raise and a call ahead of me so, with the antes and blinds already in the pot, there was about 17,000 chips in the middle, and I only needed another 2,400 to call. I did so, with the plan of going all in if I caught the flop at all (this would have been a pot-sized bet). Flop came down KQJ, giving me an outside straight draw. I pushed in, but came up against someone who had flopped the nut straight with AT. Another Ace would have given me a split, but there was nothing doing. Still, I wasn't displeased as I still think the theory was sound - if I'd won that hand I'd have doubled though (or tripled if I'd been called) which would have almost certainly got me to the final table.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

94 - An All-In Hand If Ever I Saw One

Friday night freezeout at Fourth Street - instead of the £15 rebuy tourney of previous weeks, this event has changed to a £30 freezeout. I prefer this as it means you immediately start with 2500 chips, rather than the 800 of the rebuys, so there's more scope for proper poker.

Scope I very nearly blew when I got knocked down to about 400 chips relatively early on. The first couple of dozen hands at our table were fairly quiet - no one showed a hand down and the same chips got pushed about between players. Then came a hand when I got dealt AQ. I can't remember the exact position of the players, but I recall that I came to the conclusion at some point that the other guy had a weaker ace than me, but I flat called at one stage instead of reraising, thus allowing his kicker to hit the board, and I doubled him through. I was very annoyed with myself, but I felt better over the course of the next 45 minutes or so as, through a period of very good bluffing and recognising stealing opportunities, I managed to regain all that I had lost, plus a bit more.

Once we were down to two tables, the blinds had a bit of a steep jump, so I quickly found myself shortstacked. My cards were cold so I needed an opportunity to steal to stay alive. I'm on the button, and had identified the BB as someone who would only defend his blind with premium cards, so even before my cards came to me, I'd decided to push for the blinds if it was folded round to me, which it was. I went all in (about 6BB) even though I only had 94. to my horror, the SB called. "I'm in trouble I thought", but I had a lifeline when he turned over 33, giving me two live overcards (and a 45% chance of winning). I didn't hit and was out, though I think I've developed a reputation as a bluffer, as it's not the first time I've been caught going all-in with not-very-much. I must try and use this reputation in the future.

Once out of the freezeout I got stuck into a couple of SNGs, and came second in both, meaning I broke even for the night. The second SNG was a comedy affair. I built up a huge stack by gambling with Ace-rag, coming up against a better Ace, and winning (usually by hitting a flush or a straight). Four times in a row this happened, knocking out 3 other players. Sometimes you just hit a run of luck. This continued into the heads-up, though it took on the more general 'favourite's no good' form, as seemingly every time one of us got all-in, the inferior hand would win. I thought I had it won when he went all in with 44 against my QQ but, predictably, he made his set on the river. After a good tussle, he finally prevailed, but I had got some great heads-up experience.

Saturday night I found a fantastic muppet on the NL table on Crypto. An awful player kept getting lucky against everyone else at the table, but found his crappy cards didn't hit against me, so I took everyone's money via him. I worked £100 up to over £500 - my best ever NL cash result.

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

TV Superstar (of sorts)

Big ol' poker day yesterday. Spent most of the afternoon at the Pokerzone studios taking part in a televised tournament. Six of us sat down - five of the top guys from the Gutshot and me. I took part because the poker room I work for was sponsoring it, and they needed to fill a seat (originally the idea was we'd send the top players from our site, but we only got told about it on Thursday (that's a whole different story that I can't go into here) and so couldn't get anyone at short notice).

The guys from the Gutshot were a great bunch, but I did detect that they thought of me as just some internet mug they were going to rob of his chips. Once we got down to business, I managed to win a nice pot early and stay out of trouble. First hand of note was when I won a big pot after calling a bet on the river with just top pair when the other guy bet with a busted straight draw. I then made my one big mistake when I called a pre-flop raise in the BB from a guy called Granite John with A something (maybe an 8). An Ace comes on the flop and I bet out. He re-raises me and I have a long ponder about the situation. I think I have kicker trouble so I fold, only for John to show 52 - absolute nothing. Apparantly this hand has a reputation at the Gutshot for being a show hand (it's called the Powerhouse) - and so it proved.

The next big hand was when I knocked a guy called Hugh out. I limped in from the SB with 55. Flop was 842 and I threw a bet out, which Hugh called from the big blind. I made my set on the turn. Can't remember if I bet the hand and he called, or whether I check-called, but we saw the river, which was a 7, putting four to a straight on the board. I bet and Hugh reraised me all-in. I had a think but I didn't believe he had a 6. Because he'd seen me be intimidated by a reraise before, I believed he was representing a straight to push me off the hand, so I called. He only had a pair of sevens and I was about chip leader with 4 left.

Myself and Granite John had about 24,000 chips each, with the other two guys only having 12,000 between them. After a few hands where not much happened, one of the short stacks went out and we were down to three. The new shortstack, Amir, then got a great run of cards. A7, A8, two AQ and an AK in the space of about 6 hands won him a few blinds, which were worth having at this stage. Before long though, John got Amir's chips and we were heads-up.

Things then went very cagey. I did get cold cards, but I think I failed to be aggressive enough when I got a sniff of anything decent, like a K or a Q. John picked away at my stack, until we reached a stage where his chip lead was about 3/1. I had A7, and the flop was Q75 (all spades). I think I checked, John bet, I reraised all-in (trying to push him off) and he called with QJ. My Ace was red, so I needed another Ace or 7 to fall. A spade on the turn gave me a chance at a split pot if the river put a flush on the board, but I got no help and that was the end. 2nd prize was £300, but sadly that couldn't go in my back pocket (work had already given me the afternoon off to play poker, and so said I had to give any winnings to charity). Twas a fun day though, and I didn't disgrace myself, even though I know I could have played better.

In the evening, I went to 4th Street Poker for a game and ran into a big slice of bad luck. After losing my first buy-in to an idiotic play (reraising all-in with 99 on a Q-high board) I gained a nice stack. At 100/200, it's folded round to me on the SB with AQ. I raise to 300 and the BB immediately goes all-in. He has about 2700 chips and I have a think. I didn't rate him as much of a player, and the speed of his all-in meant it was clearly pre-meditated. It also looked like he didn't want a call, so maybe he had a small pair. It looked more like a bluff though, so I called, and he showed T8. Flop was blank, blank, 8 and the players at the table went 'Oooh'. Turn was an Ace, and there was a bigger 'Ooooh'. River was another 8 and there was an almighty 'Ooooooooh'.

This hand crippled me to 400 chips and I was out soon after. First time I've not made the final table for a while (went out on the bubble in 5th last Friday). Actually, thinking about it now, that's not true, the Tuesday before I was knocked out before the final table when I had KK against AK and he spiked an Ace on the river.

Not as much internet poker recently, though last Monday I won £800 in Betfair's Anniversary tournament to celebrate the fact they'd been online for a year. The slow play was a major pain, though. The event cost £10 to enter, but any winnings would be multiplied by the number of months you'd been a member of Betfair Poker. This meant a lot of the players had a shot at really big sums for only a tenner (for a 12-monther, the first prize would have been about £14,000). Each jump up the prize ladder was quite substantial for a £10 tourney. On my table this resulted in just about every other player taking the maximum amount of time to fold their cards, and we only got through about three hands per level. By the time I got to the final table, the other players had big stacks compared to mine. It also meant the blinds were ridiculous - even the 2nd chip leader had under 3 BB in their stack. I went out in tenth (which still isn't bad considering there were nearly 500 entrants) but the tourney had very little skill at the end. Cryptologic really need to introduce hand-for-hand play in their tournaments to eliminate this problem.