Twoplustwo Poker Hands Volume Pool Prop is Back

It was 2010 the last time that I entered or ran the poker hands volume pool prop bet.

If you grind a bit then come and join in the fun. The smallest pool is only 50k hands which is less then 2000 hands per day.

How does it work then? Well, you simply enter a pool for how many hands you think you can play in a month of poker (this one is for October) and then you pay the buy-in.

If you make the required number of hands then your buy-in is returned but if you fail to make the hands then you lose your buy-in and it gets divided between the others in your pool who made their hands - easy. Good fun and great for motivation.

Here is the link:

October 2012 Volume Pool Prop

When you Bluff the Turn Make Sure you have Some Equity

Maybe he thought the ace was an out




This one is an 8/8 who lost his nittyness and went on a mega spew

Edge of your Seat Excitement Ends in Super Over

I might out be talking to myself with this post but there is quite a high probability that not 1 person reading this blog is into cricket. If there is please surprise me and leave a comment. :)

My favourite sport is football (soccer) but I am also a huge fan of cricket. A few blog posts ago I mentioned the Twenty20 World Cup was about to begin... well it is now well under way and I was lucky enough to watch a truly amazing game between New Zealand and Sri Lanka this morning. Poker will just have to wait..!!

Having posted a pretty high score of 174 NZ were truly in the drivers seat and all the chat was revolving around Sri Lanka's last 6 chases ending in failure when the score was above 160. It is always better to have runs on the board as you build tremendous pressure on the opposition.

Anyway F*** that, Sri Lanka then flipped the script and went on to post the highest powerplay score (first 6 overs of the 20) in the tournament so far and then ease past 100 runs. This is where things went wrong, they coasted, lost wickets and ended up in a touch position need runs when they should have won with ease.

It went down to the last over and then the last ball. There was 1 run needed from 1 ball and the guy got run out resulting in a draw and a decider by 'Super Over'. This is basically the new version of the penalty shoot out that you have in footy. There used to be a bowl off but the rules have changed. Im not sure if they still have a bowl off in the 50 over format but anyway it was edge of the seat stuff with SL getting 13 runs from their super over and NZ coming just short and losing the game. A great start to the Super 8s part of the tournament..!!

If you have never seen cricket then find a way to watch this game and you will be converted to fan status..!!

2012 Pokerstars Leading VPP Counts / Supernova Elite (SNE)

I'm not sure why but I have been thinking about Supernova Elite lately and maybe making another attempt at it in 2013.

My last attempt was in 2011 and lasted all of 5 weeks, lol, before I pretty much quit and ended the year with 300,000 VPPs. I think my main problem was I didn't really plan well in terms of what games I would play and what contingencies I would have if those games didn't work out.

I wanted to make it playing FR NL200+ and then for some weird, unknown reason on 1st Jan 2011 I switched to playing CAP which I had never played before. This was the worst thing I could have done for my confidence as every different format of poker requires different skill sets and experience. The VPP rate was obviously the temptation but there was no need to do it as I could have made it 24 tabling NL200 for around 6 hours a day. I got crushed and dropped down to rebuild and pretty much coasted out the year at small / micro stakes. The issue was that I was not used to the variance with what I undertook.

If am to go for SNE in 2013 I need to spend Q4 (Oct - Dec) preparing at the levels that I will need to play. I also want to throw in some Sit & Go (SNG) into the mix as an alternative to cash game grinding.

When I see visuals like the one posted by jorj95 (George Lind III) in the Supernova Elite Pursuit (SNE) thread it does inspire you and make you think what can be achieved if you really go for it:

He does play at a sick high level but you can get SNE at small and mid stakes poker.

So, I what is my plan? Well, I want to put a reduction on cashouts that I make and use winnings and bonuses to build up my roll and gradually move up in stakes so by December I should be playing NL100 / NL200. I need to also play and learn 6-max ranges as these games seem to be more popular the 9 player full ring tables.

Pokerstars Caleb also posted the Top 50 VPP totals link for 2012. This is an opt-in list so some names are missing to protect people that want anonymity.

He also posted the list for people who have opted-in and were either SNE already or attempting to be in 2012:

41 players have earned over 1,000,000 VPPs in 2012.

150 players are on pace.

2,530,393 jorj95
1,558,751 shabalinvlad
1,540,260 1Bunn
1,427,543 ffguitarguy
1,371,675 Berndsen12
1,218,106 AironVega
1,166,064 MouldyOnions
1,117,894 B3RTstare
1,091,186 king10clubs
1,046,274 ocropTi
1,028,217 tonkaaaa
1,007,445 L0ve2playU
1,005,834 acoimbra
982,317 Tpirahna
978,839 $indabank111
962,386 Odd_Oddsen
949,145 spacegravy
948,019 Buzzer1404
919,852 willyBeer22
918,934 River Prayer
903,768 SantaZzz
884,315 pistons87
868,303 Xereles
853,709 Duckslayer2k
827,544 anguila
826,262 mysterio6044
815,749 slavistas
813,709 MOCA CHOCA89
809,906 poker_in_pb
800,750 ToDaFelt
786,735 ment52
783,972 ivanildo
780,832 badblood1
780,106 Mayo the Don
774,139 Raventhon
753,623 nanonoko
734,339 Bruut99
734,069 knifefish8
730,365 sly caveat
727,983 Quadchrazs

---PACE--- 727,914

723,133 ShandeC
712,722 wpr101
710,094 Jackal69
695,437 jamesgav19
694,803 showtime
676,696 Sooo Tilted
668,251 horvyjoe
668,163 AWice
666,864 live@pompeii
650,728 natisfinest
650,561 YaDaDaMeeN21
647,094 innerpsy
646,375 Sbyla
615,214 JazzyFek3000
599,132 _salaz4r_
588,379 dombomain33
574,347 THEDUTCH4141
560,743 Thrash370
557,447 oscarleon
552,100 fricirics
534,251 azntracker
534,128 MissOracle
521,861 TenerifeBel
520,376 dealer666
518,019 eppy12588
516,602 GodlikeRoy
502,136 2w392y41ur
497,200 slayerv1fan
481,287 Pokerger1337
479,346 k345
479,321 Brokerface
468,479 slimfast
454,118 Octavian_C
442,465 PedroKL
429,827 donjuanmt
428,596 neomorf

I am only going for 200k VPPs this year so I better get working on my plan for 2013. ZOOM poker is also going to be a potential as the hands play out so fast. If I could get to NL200 6-max on ZOOM then SNE in 2013 becomes a real possibility. Watch this space.....

R

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Gotta Fade a Lot

Pokerstars VIP Club Live: 1st London Party

I've just purchased my ticket for the 1st VIP Club Live - London Party hosted by Pokerstars.

£10 for unlimited beers + brunch during the Arsenal v Chelsea game sounds like a great deal.

There are also 3 UKIPT packages to be won.

It will good to meet a few of the other players that I see on the felt on a regular basis but have no idea what they look like in real life. The last stars event that I went to was a twenty20 cricket game and was pretty good.


Schedule:

The Cost:

Chump Change

Looks good in bbs but not enough to pay the bills. 10 Days to go.....

ICC World Twenty20 (T20) 2012 Begins

Cricket fans are in for a treat as 3 weeks of Twenty20 action begins in Sri Lanka.

If you're not a cricket fan and think the game goes on for too long you will love this format. It is high octane, big action and only goes on for 3hrs and not 5 Days :)

There are 12 teams competing with the final on Sunday October 7th.

I will most probably be watching every game. The opener was yesterday and quite one sided as one of the favourites Sri Lanka came up against one of the minnows in Zimbabwe who are 250/1 outsiders to win the whole thing.

England are playing on Friday and I will be watching them closely along with Sri Lanka which is where my parents were born.

The teams involved are:

Game Theory - Pilot Episode

I Won All 6

Yesterday was a good day to come back after I had a 3 day break. 6 sessions, 6 Wins..... can't do better than that..!!

In bb it looked like this:

Calling Down on Aggression Factor

I am mixing ZOOM NL50 and NL25 with some NL10 this morning.

In this hand I was left with a tricky call.

In recent times I am always shown the nuts here or at least trips but you must play the hand and villain on their merits. I have 1.5k hands on this guy so a nice sample.

My decision on the river was determined by the jump he had from his overall to flop to turn to river AF:

Here is the hand. The turn check is perfect vs this guy. Against most other players I would bet the turn too.

3 Day Staycation in Northwood

I'm off for a 3-4 Day Staycation in Northwood so no pokers for a while.....

Andy Murray Wins US Open and His First Grand Slam

Just a huge Congrats to Andy. The first British guy to win a Slam in 76 years..!!

NL25 Rebuild Complete - Results

For those of you who read this blog you will know that I have played Texas Hold'em for 7yrs now.

The vast majority of that time was as a recreational player and only in 2011 and 2012 as an online pro. I have greatly enjoyed the game and continue to do so.

Over July and August I had my equalled my biggest downswing of 60 BIs. I won a fair bit back only to lose a load again.

I had also withdrawn funds and found myself having to drop down to NL25 to rebuild.

I am normally excellent with bankroll management but on this occasion I let it go too low. I decided not to re-load but instead to rebuild and get some confidence back at an easier level and then step back up.

The NL25 filtered results for the last 2 months are below:

I have now stepped back up to NL50 exclusively and will only 10 table the first few sessions until I am happy with bet sizing and to give me a little extra time to make better choices.

I will then go back to 16+ tabling and hopefully start winning again like I have done all year..!!

Here is the first big hand for me back at the fiddy:



Lol

When will it end.....

All Aboard

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

The Good:

Its nice to have a good start to a month after July and August were so tough. I haven't played many hours yet but winning 13 BIs is cool. I have also won every session that I have played so far:

The Bad:

I took this on the last day of August and seriously cant remember the last time my balance was this low, maybe 3yrs or so. It is usually around the $5k mark but the bad run has hit me. 

The graph above is cash won after this so it is looking a bit better now. I am playing 6 ZOOM tables at the moment so that I can get NL50 tables in otherwise my 16+ tabling sessions are still at NL25. Once I get to $2k I will shift all my play to NL50.

The Ugly:

I pissed away almost $300 in Tournies yesterday including WCOOP-02 and as always my tourney ends in a crappy beat. I hate tournament poker:

Chamberlin 3 in 1 Poker Table

I have found a pretty cool table. I am looking to move house in the next 6 months and this could be a new addition to my set up.

It is a 3 in 1 Poker, Dining and Pool Table retailing between $1,150 and $3,000 depending on the version:

Poker with 8 Chip Trays

 Pool

 Dining

Looking at the next photo the table seems to slot in to each format pretty easily:

Features include:

Teak Finish
Solid Oakwood Double Pedestal Leg Design
Pool Table Rail: Solid Oakwood, Inlayed Genuine Mother of Pearl Diamond Sights
Pool Table Play Bed: High density MDF, Pre-felted Wool Blended Green Cloth
Pool Playing Dimensions: 72”L x 36”W
Pockets: Genuine Leather, Liner-Basket Style, Black
Reversible Poker/Dining Table Top, Solid Oakwood / Oak Veneer Construction
Poker-top: Padded Wool Blended Green Cloth
8-Stainless Steel Drink Holders
3-Poker Chip Slots per seating
Dining-top Dimensions: 85.7”L x 47.3”W
Overall Dimensions with Conversion Top: 85.7”L x 47.3”W x 31.6”H

Pool Accessories:
2-Cue Sticks
1-Set Pool Balls
1-Triangle
1-Table Brush
2-pcs Chalk

Poker Chip Set:
1-Aluminum Carrying Case
300-Count 11.5g Deluxe Chips
2-Deck of Playing Cards
5-Dice
1-Dealer Button and 2-Blind Buttons

August 2012 Review

Back to back losing months at the tables. Pretty unbelievable considering how the first 6 months went. I'm glad I didn't put down August goals as I had big plans for the month :)

I have only ever lost 3 months in a row once and that was in the first four months back in 2005 when I started playing. This is actually not a losing month overall so I won't be breaking that unwanted record.

The month ended with a night at the Vic where Luke Schwartz and John Duthie were in action. There was a dude at Luke's table sitting with around £100,000. First time I had seen those purple £1,000 chips before.

I pretty much beat up the table I was at but as it was a £1/£1 table I only made like $250 in 3hrs before I got bored and moved on to the roulette where I bagged another $50. Need to start moving up the levels but the fish at £1/£1 are cool. It is always good when just as you are taking your seat the dealer is explaining the rules to a player who is going to be in the next pot wit you :) Getting a straight flush 3-way helps too. Of course he paid me off and so did the other one.

I didn't realise how many hands I had played this month. It was probably the 2nd biggest volume month ever for me. That's about where the positive ends. The table summary was: crushed NL25 and got ass raped at NL50.


The final numbers for August are as follows:

188,050 Hands Played
17,760 VPPs

-$1,243 (Cash Game Losses)
+$1,600 (FPP Cash Bonus)
+$65 (WCOOP Re-load Bonus)
-$14 (Online Tourny Losses)
+$256 (Live Cash Game Winnings)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$664 (Total Month)


The Ytd numbers are as follows:

905,211 Hands Played
131,654 VPPs

+$3,648 - Jan
+$3,213 - Feb
+$2,023 - Mar
+$2,072 - Apr
+$3,642 - May
+$5,120 - Jun
-$699 - Jul
+$664 - Aug
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$19,682 (Total YTD)