Double Up

Since I went on the cruise and used a large chunk of my bankroll on the tournaments on board without cashing I've been suffering with some bankroll problems.

This, combined with not having a single live cash higher than 7th all year has lead to me not really having the bankroll to play the games I want to and not having the motivation to play at the lower limits that my bankroll requires.

This has certainly reduced my enthusiasm for poker in recent months and has probably affected the way I have been playing.

I've tried playing a couple of sessions at $.25/$.50 and $.50/$1 but just yoyo'd up or down a couple of buy ins and I also had the PKR experiment which started off horribly and didn't go anywhere.

However, I may have just found a game that my bankroll can stand and I have the motivation to play.

These are the double up tournaments on iPoker - Single table tournaments where half the field cashes for double their stake.

So far I've played 34 $50 double up tournaments in the last week or two and I'm currently running at 26% ROI. Because of the nature of them I'm playing them really tight and am able to play 4 at a time.

If I can win 13/20 for a 18% ROI I can start to build the bankroll up to a comfortable situation again.

Playing 4 at a time I reckon I can play 6-7 per hour which would work out at an hourly rate of $60-$70 plus bonuses/rakeback and it won't take too long.

So that's my focus and at the moment and I've really got the enthusiasm back.

Video success!

Thanks for the help.

Help

Can anyone help and tell me how to embed a video on here.
I posted the link below but want the video to be on the blog so people can just click it.
I've got the code to embed the video from the video website.

Thanks.

Football

Just seen this catch on a website.
What a catch!
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=542_1222384158&p=1

Lessons learned.

Played Circus Liverpool last night in the £30 semi freezeout.

Starting chips were 4000 with blinds at 50/100
Had what could have been a fantastic start in about the third hand when there had been an 1100 UTG all in bet from a player who had already lost 2900 of his chips with middle pair calling all three streets.

His all in was called by the next 2 players and I look down to see a pair of aces.

So I raised all in to 4000 to which the first caller folded and the second caller called.

I was up against A 10 from UTG and Jacks from the second player.

The flop came down something like 548 rainbow, turn was a 7 and the river was a 6 giving a straight to all 3 of us and instead of sitting with a lovely stack of 10,000 I had a meagre 400 chip profit from the hand!

During the next hour I didn't play too many hands other than reraising with JJ and losing the race against AK leaving me with 2000 so I took my rebuy.

About an hour later I did find myself in a sport where I had raised to 500 in late position with AJ and got 2 callers including a local player, Lee Birchall, fresh from his chop in the GCBPT event at Leos where he picked up a nice £15k, in the big blind.

The flop came down J96 rainbow and when he checked I lead out 800 which he called.

An Ace came on the turn giving me 2 pairs and I could almost visibly see Lee planning his move, then he bet 1200 with 2600 behind.

Now I will often raise in this spot but I was pretty certain that he would fold if I raised but if I flat called he would go all in on the river.

I also had a specific tell on Lee when he is strong and he wasn't displaying it in this hand.

So anyway the river was a brick and after a bit of thought he went all in with his K9 and I doubled up to 10,000 chips.

The next hand of note I was in the big blind for 3000 and there was a raise to 6000 from UTG which was called by the tight button so I called too with 33 and another 10000 behind.

The flop came AA5 and I decided that I could have a chance of representing here if the raiser and button show weakness so we all checked it round and the turn was a J.

I decided to make a bet of 3000 to make it look like I was trying to milk the players and UTG thought for a while after sighing and made a resigned call whilst the button folded.

Here I felt that the UTG player had a big pair and this is where I made my mistake.

The river was a King and I gave it some thought before deciding that he would have great difficulty laying his big pair down for my last 6000 (he didn't have much more himself) or he had KK and would be calling with his full house anyway.

So I checked, he actually bet 5000 and I folded before he showed me 88 thinking that he had just bluffed me!

I have learned a good lesson there though, one that I should have learned before and that is to trust your instincts and follow my actions through, something I've failed to do before.

What I did was really, really weak and I'm really annoyed at myself.

But we live and learn!

I ended up doubling up to 15000 shortly after with K4 in the big blind on a KdTs5s Ks board when my 4000 all in was called by the nut flush but the 5 river gave me the full house.

However, with the blinds at 1500 3000 I pushed in the small blind with J8 against the big blinds "favourite hand" KT. A 9T4 flop gave me a shout and would have ended up with all the chips in on the flop anyway but no help saw me exit 12th with the top 10 paying.

Anyway, 3 updates in as many days, what's going on....!

The misery continues...

Yet another near miss online last night.

Playing the $35k guaranteed on ipoker $10 rebuy, $7500 first prize, 1100+ runners.

I got into the money (150 paid) running for quite a while at 8-10bb when I was fortunate enough to get QQ after 2 all ins for about 6 - 7 bbs. The queens hold and I was up to 100,000 chips.

A couple more good hands and I was chip leader with 25 to go.

At this point I checked my stats and to show how few hands I was getting I was seeing 11% of hands and this included a few late position steals!

Anyway, by this time the blinds were 15000/30000 and the average chip stack was 7-8 big blinds and it was folded to the small blind who went all in for 190k. Bearing in mind he had limped a couple of times in the same spot with big hands I was pretty sure he wasn't strong and so I called with A4o feeling that the money was all at the top end and I would end up having to open my range a hell of a lot more pretty soon.

Turns out he had KQ and a queen on the flop was good enough.

This left me with 100,000 chips and when it was folded to me in the small blind I had Kd7d and so felt that the bib blind would call with a lot of hands worse than that. True enough he did, with K6o and a flop of 569 gave me a lot of problems but a gutshot, the 6 turn left the 4 8s as the only chance and I missed the river, going out in 13th for $260.

Pretty disappointing again and it continues the trend of cashing in the lower end of the scale.
I just need to convert one or two of these cashes into big wins and I'll be back on track but it really frustrates you this game of poker!!!!

Going to play in the Circus Liverpool tonight since their Wednesday night freezeout is apparently very popular.

I don't like the venue very much because of their stupid rule that even if you put in an obvious raise with multiple chips or even your whole stack, if you don't say raise it counts only as a call.

Why cardrooms have to change the simplest of rules that are commonly played everywhere I don't know. They should, at the very least, advertise the fact but I won't get on my soap box over this.

Hopefully this new initiative to try to get standardised rules and approved cardrooms will make the difference. Especially when some dealers enforce the rule and others don't.

It took me 45 minutes of making those raises without objection last time to find out about their stupid rule!

To rebuy or not to rebuy...

I was in a bit of a dilemma the other week in a £30 single rebuy tournament, with 5000 starting chips. The blinds were due to go to 100/200 at the end of the rebuy period and I had a stack of 18000.

The question I was asking myself was should I rebuy, take an extra 5000 chips and half any potential return on investment or stay as I was.

I once read a forum post where some cretin said that not rebuying was always negative expected value but I wonder if there is a formula that people use when trying to decide.

I ended up leaving it as only 1 person at my table had more chips than me so my decision was made a bit easier but yhought I would ask the question here and see what people's views are.

Played a couple of freerolls in the last week for GUKPT seats. Came nowhere last night but did get down to the last 18 out of 600+ last week when I encountered a few fellow bloggers at my table including the Jester who I had a good converasation with.

As for the comment poet, I've narrowed my list down and have a fairly good idea who it is.....

I don't mind the funny posts but I'm blocking any that are abusive, whether they are jokey or not.

Sick, sick, sick... and fevers

I didn't play Leo's last night as there was only 20 odd runners last week after all so decided to venture east to Manchester G to play the £30 second chance event.

I started off pretty quiet for an hour with JJ in the bb as my only decent hand and there had been 6 limpers so decided to raise large so that I dont get 6 callers.

Anyway, the blinds were 25/50 with 5000 starting chips so I raised to 500 hoping for only 1 caller or to just take the limps out of position and I slightly misunderestimated the players as all 6 people called!

Anyway, with a KQ flop that ended my interest in that hand.

Just before the end of the send level a new player arrived from the higher stakes cash table he had been playing whilst waiting for a seat and I got QQ in seat 7.

The blinds were 50/100 now and I raised to 500 as there had already been 2 limps. The new player called on the button as did the 2 limpers and the flop came down A 9 3 rainbow. The first 2 players checked as did I and the button fires out 1400 into the 2000 pot with 2600 behind.

The first 2 limpers folded so it was left to me and, knowing that the other guy could play I was pretty sure this guy could easily be betting to take this orphan pot down using his position.

So I looked him over and asked him how much he had left and when he told me he put his chips towards the line as if to say I'mm calling if you raise which I've often found to be untrue when people do that.

Coupled with the fact that when he answered me there was a very distinct swallow and his voice was very muted I felt 85% sure he didn't have the ace and said "go on then" whilst puitting my 5000 chip into the pot meaning to put him all in.

I realised straight away that this could only be a call and so took my chips out without asking and just placed the 1400 in.

Then when the turn blanked I threw in the 5000 chip and sure enough he folded.

It is not often that I get a tell like that and act on it and I have felt I was ahead a few times but bottled the call in situations like that only to be shown the bluff so I've decided to follow my read from now on and I'm really pleased it worked out last night.

I showed him the QQ after he mucked and said "I was ahead wasn't I" to which he replied "I put you on something like that!"

Anyway, the rest of the night didn't go too well as my wife phoned with 40 players left cos she had been throwing up all night and was really bad so I ended up having to go home leading me to throw in a bluff reraise with 94o that was called by Billy Ngo with QT who told me that he was behind but wanted to gamble. I told him he might not be and promptly saw a 4 and 9 hit the flop and turn but a 7d river gave him the flush which didn't really bother me as I would have had to keep doing that till I went out or won the tournament in record time and record numbers of outdraws!

GCBPT Liverpool

The GCBPT comes to what I still consider my home casino - Leo's in Liverpool - next week so I'm currently trying to satellite in.

I played a couple on Coral on Tuesday night and went out pretty early in both, running KK into QQ in one and bluffing away my chips in the other.

So I'm probably going to Leo's tonight for a live satellite.

Not sure how many will be there but I hear they had 4 seats last week.

I've managed a small cash in the Leeds event last year busting out just 2 before the tv table after winning my seat at Leos so I'm hoping this will can change my luck since I've not had a significant live cash for a long time now.

Jealous, jealous, jealous

The GUKPT rolls into Bolton this week and I'm unhappy that I won't be playing the main event.

I've been lucky enough to satellite into almost every big event in the North West in the last couple of years but unfortunately through one thing and another (holidays and bankroll limitations)

I've not played any for Bolton and so won't be there. I am playing on Friday in one of the side events but I'm still really jealous of everyone who will be there.

So instead I had to make do with playing the £10 rebuy in the Liverpool Circus on Monday.

There was only 44 runners and I did manage to cash but again it was only for one of the bottom places.

I really must get myself a decent finish soon.

There was one very interesting hand that came up and I couldn't decide how best to describe it.

We were down to the last 6 with the prize structure something like this:

6th £115
5th £135
4th £190
3rd £290
2nd £420
1st £750

The blinds were 2000 - 4000 and I had average chips of 25000.

I guy in early position limped which he wouldn't do with a big Ace so it was either a premium pair or something he would fold to a raise and I had AJ. As I was considering whether to raise or fold the short stack to my right started to put all his chips (7000) in. I stopped him before they crossed the line and someone said that I would have to fold my junk now to which I replied, "I think I might have to limp!" which I did.

Anyway, the short stack did put his chips in and the blinds and limper folded (much to the limper's annoyance and I called the extra 3000 to see the short stack's AA.

I would be interested to hear what everyone thinks about the play.

I've got what I think are some good reasons for my actions but would be intersted to hear what others think.

Anyway, I'll update after Friday with my reasons.

Good luck to the North West lads playing tomorrow and Friday (Andy, Jimmy, Charlie etc.)