Had another good night on the felt today! Won again tonight at Red Hot Poker Tour. The win also gets me double points and moved me into 1st place in the league. 
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
New week = new challanges
Hello again poker people, lets see what I got up my sleeve this week.
So the week began well this week. Played in my usually Red Hot Poker Tour tourneys to start off the week and I won on Monday night at Rum Runner and the next night I came in 2nd. Not a bad start to the week. Wednesday I just missed final tablle by going out 11th. Had Ace-rag, was getting low stacked. Got called by pocket 10's. I flopped an Ace, he ends up rivering a straight to send me packing. But it was against one of the few people I give a lot of respect to on the felt.
Lets talk about wednesday more for a sec. We got into a hand early on where I got into a hand 4 handed, i flopped the nut flush draw rivered the nut flush. One person was all-in during the hand. Us 3 remaining players in the hand check it down to the river. I was in middle position. Now WSOP rules state you have to bet the nut flush on the river in order to prevent collusion. I was in the middle position of the checking down. So when i checked on the river. I was hoping someone would bet and create a side pot. the last person checked and we showed the cards. I was then asked by a person at the table why I didn't bet into the dry side pot. He of course stated the WSOP rule which doesn't apply to our league even though we use mostly WSOP rulings. Now for me, it is a personal thing. I don't like to bet into a dry side pot. If someone is all in I am content to check it down to the river. Thats my personal preference. If someone creates one thats their deal. If my hand it crushing them I call and reap my rewards. But I am never the guy to start it. So there. Thats that. Feel free to post your feelings on this in the comments section below. I'd love to know what you all think.
Online this week, I played in a couple free-rolls for my bar league. On PartyPoker (nic:TheGeesus) I finished in 43rd in one, and then in the WPT-LC qualifier free-roll I came in late having pre-registered. Got up to 7th place in chips at one point, but ultimately ended busting out in 18th place. Not bad for being well below my starting chip stack of 3000 at about 1100 when I eventually logged in. *sidenote* I hate people that register for tournys and are away for most of it, and I realize I did this wed on PP, but that was because of my earlier story.
Friday night I decide to log into PokerStars (nic:TheKleyer) and register for my buddy Chris new home game group. We will talk about this later. I decide to enter a Hubble Free-roll playin NLH. It's a 9000 person tourney, and I really should of been packing for my big move on saturday. But the felt was calling. Top 72ppl in this tourney qualify for a tourney of their choosing. What a great time i had on the felt here. I was hitting EVERYTHING! within the first 30mins I had doubled up twice. Coasted for a bit, then won a few more huge pots. At about the 3hr mark of the tourney we are gettin to the bubble for the top 72, so of course it starts going to hand-for-hand play. I made a giant mistake with 74ppl left and lose about half my stack which was at 300k at the beginning of the hand. Ended up losing a lot more of my stack before we got to Top 72, but ultimately got past the bubble and finished in 63rd place of 9000 ppl. Not bad if i say so myself. However in my stupidity. I choose my next round for 2pm today and completely forgot to login and play. I finished 2585th of 8354ppl.
Ok, lets talk PokerStars new Home Game format. I LOVE THIS!!! What a great idea this is. Most of the home games I go to are outside of Kitchener in Cambridge and Guelph (Gavin Smith's home town). So I have to rely on rides from other people to get to the game. But this now changes everything. First option I like is being able to pick between play money and real money. Second option I like is you can pick any game you want. Razz, Stud, NLH, LH, 2-7, HORSE, anything. At the same time I played in this tourney i talked about above. I ended playing a game of HORSE with 2 friends. Was good and it helps learn other games. Cause I find not enough people play other varients of poker. I myself like to play NLH and 2-7. But I am getting better at Omaha and Stud.
The move on the weekend went well, and again I thank those that helped. Gotta get my net hooked up this week so that I can get back onto the virtual felt ASAP. I am actually writing this blog from my local pub using their wifi, and will have to use it to play online until my tubes are hooked up.
Peace Out for now Poker Peeps.
So the week began well this week. Played in my usually Red Hot Poker Tour tourneys to start off the week and I won on Monday night at Rum Runner and the next night I came in 2nd. Not a bad start to the week. Wednesday I just missed final tablle by going out 11th. Had Ace-rag, was getting low stacked. Got called by pocket 10's. I flopped an Ace, he ends up rivering a straight to send me packing. But it was against one of the few people I give a lot of respect to on the felt.
Lets talk about wednesday more for a sec. We got into a hand early on where I got into a hand 4 handed, i flopped the nut flush draw rivered the nut flush. One person was all-in during the hand. Us 3 remaining players in the hand check it down to the river. I was in middle position. Now WSOP rules state you have to bet the nut flush on the river in order to prevent collusion. I was in the middle position of the checking down. So when i checked on the river. I was hoping someone would bet and create a side pot. the last person checked and we showed the cards. I was then asked by a person at the table why I didn't bet into the dry side pot. He of course stated the WSOP rule which doesn't apply to our league even though we use mostly WSOP rulings. Now for me, it is a personal thing. I don't like to bet into a dry side pot. If someone is all in I am content to check it down to the river. Thats my personal preference. If someone creates one thats their deal. If my hand it crushing them I call and reap my rewards. But I am never the guy to start it. So there. Thats that. Feel free to post your feelings on this in the comments section below. I'd love to know what you all think.
Online this week, I played in a couple free-rolls for my bar league. On PartyPoker (nic:TheGeesus) I finished in 43rd in one, and then in the WPT-LC qualifier free-roll I came in late having pre-registered. Got up to 7th place in chips at one point, but ultimately ended busting out in 18th place. Not bad for being well below my starting chip stack of 3000 at about 1100 when I eventually logged in. *sidenote* I hate people that register for tournys and are away for most of it, and I realize I did this wed on PP, but that was because of my earlier story.
Friday night I decide to log into PokerStars (nic:TheKleyer) and register for my buddy Chris new home game group. We will talk about this later. I decide to enter a Hubble Free-roll playin NLH. It's a 9000 person tourney, and I really should of been packing for my big move on saturday. But the felt was calling. Top 72ppl in this tourney qualify for a tourney of their choosing. What a great time i had on the felt here. I was hitting EVERYTHING! within the first 30mins I had doubled up twice. Coasted for a bit, then won a few more huge pots. At about the 3hr mark of the tourney we are gettin to the bubble for the top 72, so of course it starts going to hand-for-hand play. I made a giant mistake with 74ppl left and lose about half my stack which was at 300k at the beginning of the hand. Ended up losing a lot more of my stack before we got to Top 72, but ultimately got past the bubble and finished in 63rd place of 9000 ppl. Not bad if i say so myself. However in my stupidity. I choose my next round for 2pm today and completely forgot to login and play. I finished 2585th of 8354ppl.
Ok, lets talk PokerStars new Home Game format. I LOVE THIS!!! What a great idea this is. Most of the home games I go to are outside of Kitchener in Cambridge and Guelph (Gavin Smith's home town). So I have to rely on rides from other people to get to the game. But this now changes everything. First option I like is being able to pick between play money and real money. Second option I like is you can pick any game you want. Razz, Stud, NLH, LH, 2-7, HORSE, anything. At the same time I played in this tourney i talked about above. I ended playing a game of HORSE with 2 friends. Was good and it helps learn other games. Cause I find not enough people play other varients of poker. I myself like to play NLH and 2-7. But I am getting better at Omaha and Stud.
The move on the weekend went well, and again I thank those that helped. Gotta get my net hooked up this week so that I can get back onto the virtual felt ASAP. I am actually writing this blog from my local pub using their wifi, and will have to use it to play online until my tubes are hooked up.
Peace Out for now Poker Peeps.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Bad Run
Well it's been awhile since I have blogged, and I have been meaning to keep up with it. Lets talk about my bad run as of late.
Bad Runs happen. It happens to everyone in the poker world, whether you are sit on the couch half naked with a coke Johnny from Idaho or seasoned Pro Phil Ivey. They suck when they happen, and well we can also learn a lot from it.
Well the week had started off well on both the real felt and the virtual felt. I won a qualifier on PartyPoker and a couple sit-n-go's on PokerStars early in the week, and also finished 5th on Wednesday at my Red Hot Poker Tour game at Molly Blooms. Then Thursday happened. I should of known that since I got great news that morning (found a new apartment and I got it), that something was bound to happen. Just my luck it happened at my next RHPT game at Rum Runner Pub.
So lets go over the hand.
We are still in the first blind level. 25/50. I have about 3250 of my 4000 starting stack.
In the cutoff I have 57o with 3 limpers already in the pot. Button limps, as does SB and BB.
Flop: 643 rainbow
GREAT flop for me! I have hit the nuts.
SB, BB, UTG and UTG+2 all check. I bet 200 at the pot. Button re-raises me to 500. Everyone else folds. I push for my remaining stack. He hums and ha's about calling, then looks at me and goes "oh are you all-in?" Of course I answer yes, he replies "well then I call" He turns over AA.
I am now in a great mood. He had aces, LIMPED in position pre-flop, and now he is gonna get hosed. One thing I have learned in my years of poker is "YOU NEVER LIMP WITH ACES" You gotta raise that. So on to the rest of the hand now that he is in shock that his AA are CRUSHED. and he starts to grab his coat. This is where I should of thought to myself to shut my mouth.
Turn: 3s
Ok, now he has 2 pair......woopty doo. I am still WAY ahead, but he still has 5outs.
Now i decided to be stupid and make a joke to him. "Why are you leaving? You could hit an A or a 3 for a boat" He replied "i'm not that lucky" Well I should of shut my mouth.
River: 3d
Yep, he hit is boat on the river........and I am busted. So I think to myself, next time. SHUT MY MOUTH. Nothing I can do about it. I move on and go home.
So that was bad run #1. Lets move on to bad run #2.
Last night some friends and I gather in Guelph for a leisurely cash game. Due to my having to move in over a week, I decide to only buy-in for $25, everyone else buys-in for $40. No skin off my back. I get down to about $23 have KK, flop a set, and end up getting called on my push by QQ and have a nice double up. So i am sitting over $40 at this point now have a pretty even stack with the rest of the table. Couple hours go by and up and down and up my stack goes. But we are having a blast, well I was until this hand
Blind levels for this cash game are small 25cent/50cent, at this point i have $32 in my stack.
I get 57d in the BB. UTG, UTG+2, cutoff and SB all call no raises. I check.
Flop: 864 rainbow!
Guess who has flopped a straight for the second day in a row? Thats right.......ME!!!
With 5 limpers and my check there is only $3 in the pot. SB instantly goes All-in for $16 on that flop. Now I have to think. I have hit the straight yes, but why would he push, he could be on a bigger straight draw, he could of flopped a set, but I think thats unlikely. He probably would have raised pre-flop with a pocket pair in the SB pre-flop. It's a rainbow board, so there is no flush draw out there. But I also have 3 people behind me left to act. So I make the only move I can. I push all-in for $32. After A LOT of thinking from UTG, like I mean I probably could of gone for a bath room break for how long it took him to fold. UTG+2 and CO both fold. We turn the cards over. He has A8 suited. He hit top pair, which top kicker. I am in great shape!
Turn: 6h.
Doesn't bother me that much, completes the rainbow meaning he definitely can't go runner runner flush. But all of a sudden I am thinking in my head, wait a minute he now has 2 pair. This can't happen to me 2 nights in a row where I flop the straight and my opponent goes runner runner boat, can it?
River: 8d
He went RUNNER RUNNER boat.........thats right.....just my luck. At least i kept my mouth this time. So I was left with just $16, and within the next hour I had busted again, when I mis-played KJ and could of doubled up. Instead I let him hit his straight.
So ya, not a good couple of days. Which I am hoping changes. I have a big Bounty Tournament tomorrow afternoon for the Regional Championship for the KW region of the Red Hot Poker Tour. Here is hoping I run good tomorrow. Winner gets his pick of a new iPod Touch or a seat at the Season 20 Tournament Of Champions in April. Since I have an iPod, I'll take the seat if I win.
I plan on taking notes of all the hands I am in tomorrow and will be writing an extensive blog of my tournament results. So keep a look out for that Monday or Tuesday.
I leave you with a quote from poker legend Mike Sexton of PartyPoker fame: "May your cards be live & your pots be monsters"
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