SuperNova125

3.57bb/100 - NL50 in 2012

2012-03-17T19:32:00.000Z

Know your Villain...

2012-03-16T02:42:00.000Z

An interesting situation came up a couple of days ago.

There was a villain who seemed to be targeting me on numerous tables. He is a losing reg that I have encountered before but he moves up and down the leagues.

Anyway, he was at NL50 on this day and so was I and he seemed to be playing every pot that I was and he is only a 13/10 so its hard to be in all the same pots as another nit.

He was making lots of moves on me pretty aggressively and I felt like he was just f***ing with me. I folded to his aggression a few times but then I took a stand and his holding is pretty lol. I will be playing back a lot more at him and calling him down light too.

While the hand is not that interesting the build up was:

Poker Stars, $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 5 Players

BB: $56.35 (112.7 bb)
MP: $54.63 (109.3 bb)
CO: $53.43 (106.9 bb)
Hero (BTN): $50 (100 bb)
SB: $60.14 (120.3 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BTN with A J
2 folds, Hero raises to $1, SB folds, BB raises to $3.50, Hero calls $2.50

Flop: ($7.25) 9 A 9 (2 players)
BB bets $4.50, Hero calls $4.50

Turn: ($16.25) 5 (2 players)
BB bets $13.19, Hero calls $13.19

River: ($42.63) 6 (2 players)
BB bets $35.16, Hero calls $28.81 and is all-in

Results: $100.25 pot ($2.50 rake)
Final Board: 9 A 9 5 6
BB showed 3 T and won $0.00 (-$50 net)
Hero showed A J and won $97.75 ($47.75 net)

Don't let them mess with you..... Adjust...

Pokerstars 6th Anniversary Sunday Million

2012-03-14T14:03:00.000Z

I just thought I'd give a quick mention to this tournament that took place on Sunday.

It was the 6th Anniversary of the biggest online tourney on the planet and it generated 33,732 entrants, a pool of $6,746,400 with $1,000,000 guaranteed for first place.

I managed to beat 90% of the field and finish in 3,333rd place for $473. Its a shame that I could not run really deep. My 'one time' is still to come.

I used my FPPs to buy the ticket which helps maintain my bankroll.

The Prize distributions were as follows:

1st - $1,064,737
2nd - $635,510
3rd - $443,238
4th - $314,382
5th - $221,281
6th - $157,191
7th - $102,545
8th - $73,535
9th - $53,296
10th to 12th - $40,478
13th to 15th - $30,358
16th to 18th - $20,239
19th to 27th - $12,143
28th to 45th - $7,421
46th to 63rd - $6,071
64th to 90th - $5,059

The final eight chopped and all got between $190k - $590k. GG

How to Play Aces......

2012-03-12T21:06:00.001Z

When I get Aces I just flat call......

BTN: $50 (100 bb)
SB: $89.71 (179.4 bb)
BB: $70.44 (140.9 bb)
UTG+1: $51.47 (102.9 bb)
UTG+2: $20 (40 bb)
MP1: $19.25 (38.5 bb)
Hero (MP2): $50 (100 bb)
MP3: $78.28 (156.6 bb)
CO: $30.26 (60.5 bb)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A A
UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 raises to $1.50, MP1 folds, Hero calls $1.50, 2 folds, BTN raises to $5, 2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $20 and is all-in, Hero calls $18.50, BTN raises to $50 and is all-in, Hero calls $30 and is all-in

Flop: ($120.75) Q 4 7 (3 players, 3 are all-in)
Turn: ($120.75) 9 (3 players, 3 are all-in)
River: ($120.75) Q (3 players, 3 are all-in)

Results: $120.75 pot ($2.50 rake)
Final Board: Q 4 7 9 Q
BTN mucked K A and lost (-$50 net)
UTG+2 mucked K K and lost (-$20 net)
Hero showed A A and won $118.25 ($68.25 net)

Biggest Pot in a While

2012-03-10T21:12:00.001Z

This is the biggest pot that I have won in a while. Villain is a crusher at NL200.

I feel an aggressive winner like him will always squeeze JJ or QQ here so I am pretty sure I have the nuts on the flop. 9T is a very likely hand in this spot and it completes on the turn.

Again due to the image I have of him I feel he will always bet the turn when checked to him. My intention was to c/rai the turn but I didn't get the opportunity as he shoved. Ship It.....!!

MP3: $208.32 (104.2 bb)
CO: $460.76 (230.4 bb)
BTN: $200 (100 bb)
Hero (SB): $200 (100 bb)
BB: $219.39 (109.7 bb)
UTG+1: $365.89 (182.9 bb)
UTG+2: $280.40 (140.2 bb)
MP1: $100 (50 bb)
MP2: $185 (92.5 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 4 4
3 folds, MP2 raises to $6, MP3 calls $6, CO folds, BTN calls $6, Hero calls $5, BB folds

Flop: ($26) Q 4 J (4 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks, MP3 checks, BTN bets $15, Hero raises to $48.99, 2 folds, BTN calls $33.99

Turn: ($123.98) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $145.01 and is all-in, Hero calls $145.01 and is all-in

River: ($414) 8 (2 players, 2 are all-in)

Results: $414 pot ($2.80 rake)
Final Board: Q 4 J 8 8
BTN mucked T K and lost (-$200 net)
Hero showed 4 4 and won $411.20 ($211.20 net)

All In: The Poker Movie - Official Trailer (HD)

2012-03-08T00:41:00.004Z

Back at the Hundo n Two Hundo

2012-03-07T01:21:00.003Z

I'm back playing NL100 and a bit of NL200 after a long time. Its probably been around 6 months since I have played regularly there.

There is definitely a noticeably difference in the player pool. You can see it in the lobby and notice it on the felt.

There are still fish and whales floating around but the regs are definitely better. At NL50 there are loads of marginal losing regs. At the Hundo they become marginal winning regs.

There are also lots more good winning regs. At NL50 you might have 1 or 2 good winning regs sitting at your full ring table. At NL100 it is more like 3,4 or 5 at every table.

Its gonna be interesting to see if I can figure out all the new villains...... Time to step up my game...

WB'POOP' 2012 Ends

2012-03-04T22:23:00.003Z

WBCOOP 2012 has ended in pretty unremarkable style.

I think I am done forever with playing small tournaments on their own. They are simply a waste of time.

From now on if there isn't a nice six figure 1st prize then I will stick to cash games.

Today I wasted almost four hours playing the WBCOOP Final alongside the Bigger $8.80. I just missed the cash in both but would have been far better off just playing cash games as I would have made some VPPs. The prizes were very small and as I didn't play any cash games alongside it was not really worth it.

It is also annoying how many crappy beats I take when I get dumped out. Today in the $8.80 I get AA all in pre vs the table donk's JTo and he gets a flush, GG. Then in the WBCOOP I flop a set and 1 guy has a bigger set and the other had the nut flush draw, GG. Lol Tournaments.

Anyway, let me end my winging rant and conclude my WBCOOP. I played in 11 events total, cashed in only 3, winning SCOOP tickets which means more small tournies. I will always play cash games while I play tournaments from today onwards as I makes it worthwhile. They were all freerolls so I am grateful for that, ty Stars. Hope all of you faired slightly better than me..!!

CU soon.....

I Failed the Citizenship Test and they're Deporting me back to Sri Lanka

2012-03-03T13:47:00.004Z

My parents originate from a small island in the Indian Ocean called Sri Lanka.

They came over here in the 60s/ 70s by boat as many people back then could not afford plane tickets. You sometimes here the jokes about the banana boat and that is a mickey take about that situation.

Channel four is currently showing an interesting 2-part documentary about what it is to be British. The first part was a few days ago and centred around the 'Citizenship Test' that people trying to get into the UK have to take as part of the process to get in.

Fortunately for me, I was born in the UK and my birth right gave me British Passport and now an EU one. I took the test just for laughs and failed miserably. I don't think my folks had to take a test back in the day. Obviously you would revise if you were taking this for real but some must actually fail it.

Anyone can take the test but if you are from the UK then its a bit more interesting. It takes around 5 minutes so have a go:

Channel 4 - Citizenship Test

Here is my result:

February 2012 Review

2012-03-01T08:46:00.000Z

February has finished as a pleasing month in the end as I recovered from being 28 BIs down to being 25 BIs up at close of play yesterday. That means I am on an upswing of over 50 BIs.

The bad thing about being on a downswing is that your play can deteriorate as you chase losses and you can spew even more. My tilt control in general is pretty good but I did spew around $500 bucks in stupid spots during the downswing which annoys me.

Being a shorter month and also due to the fact that I was on holiday at the start of Feb my volume is not great. I hope I can pick that up in March.

My pace spreadsheet shows that I up above pace to hit 200k VPPs but around 16 days behind pace for 300k VPPs. My tentative target will be 300k VPPs as I did last year although with the new WC method I will have to play a lot more hands as I lose around 25% in VPP generation.

I have used 8 of my WBCOOP tickets and have cashed in 3 events now. I am registered for the Main Event which is this Sunday. Sadly I am nowhere in the Leaderboard contest of which I finished as top UK player in 2011.

I had a bit of fun playing Razz and Stud at very small stakes this month just to try and learn the games. They aren't as fun and holdem though. I got in a few hands of omaha too.

The final numbers for February are as follows:

167,369 Hands Played
22,512 VPPs

+$1,293 (Cash Game Winnings)
+$100 (Pace Bonus)
+$250 (Stellar Rewards)
+$1,500 (FPP Cash Bonus)
+$25 (Stake Swap)
+$6 (Tourney Winnings)
+$39 (SCOOP Tickets Won)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$3,213 (Total Month)

The Ytd numbers are as follows:

247,625 Hands Played
35,221 VPPs

+$3,648 - Jan
+$3,213 - Feb
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$6,861 (Total YTD)

Finishing on a High + WBCOOP Event 15

2012-02-28T20:09:00.017Z

The back end of February is looking pretty hot as I have turned things around from the early month disaster.

I've been on a good run since August 2011 winning at over 2bb/100 across the games of which I have mainly played NL50. The start of this month was the worst run I have had since then.

I have cashed again in WBCOOP, this time a 20th place finish in event 15 which was a Turbo NLHE offering.

There could be some surprise news coming out in March or April so watch out for that.

Here is the back end of the month graph:

Liverpool FC - Carling Cup Champions 2012

2012-02-27T21:20:00.043Z

We won our first trophy in 6 years...!! The last one being the 2006 FA CUP. This is the first silverware for Kenny Dalglish in his second tenure at the club.

It was an exciting match with the underdogs Cardiff City taking the lead and holding it to the half time break. Martin Skrtel levelled on the hour and it stayed that way for the 90 minutes.

We thought we had won it in extra time when substitute Dirk Kuyt smashed home an instinctive shot that had come his way the from City defence. However 10 minutes later with only 2 minutes on the clock Cardiff bundled home to make it 2-2.

Penalties ensued with Steven Gerrard missing the first one for Liverpool. There were then a few misses by both sides before the score was 3-2 to Liverpool with 1 pen left.

Up stepped Anthony Gerrard (Steven's Cousin). He connected well but slotted wide and it was all over. Liverpool had won..!!

Next on the agenda is the FA CUP which is at the quarter final stage. Liverpool have a good draw and will be one of the favourites to bag that one too..!!

GL Guys.

Comeback Complete + WBCOOP Event 7

2012-02-25T23:22:00.005Z

The recovery from the downswing is complete. The graph shows what the month looks like with me hitting a low of -28 BIs.

It feels like I have been running way below EV though the graph does not show that. I always wonder how accurate the RED line really is. Personally I don't pay too much attention to it like other players do. I just try to play the best I can in every single pot.

Today I finished in 25th place in WBCOOP Event #7. I won a $16.50 SCOOP ticket + entry to the WBCOOP Main Event on Sun March 4th. I have 6 Tournaments left so lets try n bring back more tickets..!!

There was a pretty cool 4-way All-In pre pot which I took down, knocking out all 3 opponents:

Good luck to Liverpool FC for tomorrow's Cup Final. I hope that we will be seeing something like this:

Finally, a quick thanks to all of you that watch the YouTube clips on the side pane. It helps generate a little cheeseburger cash every month so keep clicking. Cheers..!!

Laters.

Daniel Negreanu Real Talk VBLog + WBCOOP 2012 Update

2012-02-24T14:36:00.000Z

A little chat from DN with some words for the Full Tilt guys.

Forward to 6:00 for the FT stuff:

In other tournament news WBCOOP has started for me with a big smack in the face followed by a big knee in the balls.

Tournament #1 was going ok, I was up to around 14k chips from the original 10k when I isolated a limper in the CO with KQs, SB calls and so does the limper. I flop the nut straight and cbet. The SB check raises me the minimum and I just smooth call. The turn is a blank and he leads out quite big and I shove. He makes quad Jacks on the river and I am left crippled. I was out with A7 shortly afterwards

Tournament #2 was a 6-max PLO event which was going extremely well as I was bossing the table and the other players didn't seem to know what they were doing (rewind a year and that was me). I had almost doubled my stack when another played arrived who was aggro and knew how to play. We got into a 3-way pot with a short stack and got it in on the turn with both of us having the nut straight but he had a re-draw to the flush which duly arrived on the river to knock me out. GG.

So my quest for a main event ticket continues with 8 events remaining. I have to cash in 1 to be awarded a ME tkt.

If there was ever a reminder as to why I hate tournaments and love cash games then today was it.

Back to the cash grind..!!

Fish on a Heater

2012-02-23T12:35:00.001Z

I am a fish on a heater at the moment.

I have been a bit of a play-master this last week and its been fun exercising my FPS across the felt playing a 27/20/4 style in one session.

I have now calmed the **** down and am back nitting it up playing my usual 10/10/0.5.

My downswing this month was 28 Buy-Ins which is big but not too huge. I am well on my way to making it all back and potentially some profit in the form of winnings (shocker).

My graph from this last week looks like this:

My WBCOOP 2012 Schedule

2012-02-22T00:03:00.002Z

I have now received my 10 tickets for the WBCOOP 2012 series of events which starts this Thursday.

I have drafted my schedule below although this is possibly subject to a few revisions:

WBCOOP 2012 Tournament Schedule (GMT)

Feb 23

#1 - 15:00 NLHE

#2 - 19:00 PLO [6-Max]

#3 - 23:00 FL Badugi

Feb 24

#4 - 15:00 NLH/PLO [Turbo]

#5 - 19:00 NLHE [Triple Shootout]

#6 - 23:00 8-Game

Feb 25

#7 - 15:00 NLHE [6-Max]

#8 - 19:00 NLHE

#9 - 23:00 PLO [6-Max]

Feb 26

#10 - 15:00 Stud

#11 - 19:00 NLH/PLO

#12 - 23:00 Stud Hi/Lo [Turbo]

Feb 27

#13 - 15:00 NLHE [4-Max]

#14 - 19:00 PL 5-Card Draw [6-Max]

#15 - 23:00 NLHE [6-Max, Turbo]

Feb 28

#16 - 15:00 Triple Stud

#17 - 19:00 NLHE [Heads-Up]

#18 - 23:00 PLO [Turbo]

Feb 29

#19 - 15:00 FLHE [6-Max]

#20 - 19:00 PLHE [Turbo]

#21 - 23:00 NLHE [Triple Shootout, 10-Max]

March 1

#22 - 15:00 PLO [6-Max]

#23 - 19:00 NLHE [Big Antes]

#24 - 23:00 NL Omaha Hi/Lo

March 2

#25 - 15:00 NLHE [Deepstacks]

#26 - 19:00 PL Omaha Hi/Lo [6-Max]

#27 - 23:00 NLHE [Turbo]

March 3

#28 - 15:00 HORSE

#29 - 19:00 NLHE [6-Max]

#30 - 23:00 NLHE

March 4

#31 - 15:00 NLHE Main Event

On the Road to Recovery

2012-02-20T14:59:00.003Z

29 days in Feb and its the 20th today. That leaves me 10 days to complete my fight back. Im against the ropes but swinging hard.... a bit the David Haye and Dereck Chisora in their shameful brawl on Sat.

I'm pulling it back little by little:

The Month That Keeps Taking and Taking

2012-02-18T00:15:00.008Z

I am well and truly in a hole this month.

The kind of beats that I am taking are pretty unbelievable in the sense that they just wont stop. I am losing so many times when the villain has less than 10% and all the money goes in on the turn or when they have less than 30% and the money goes in on the flop. The graph below shows the kind of **** that is hitting the fan in Feb.

I will be lucky to break even this month after bonuses.

Rant over..... : )

Ziigmund Drunk Pic - Epic Thread

2012-02-16T20:13:00.000Z

I just stumbled upon this epic thread about Ziigmund. If you have a few minutes to kill its definitely worth a viewing:

Ziigmund Drunk Pic Thread

Enjoy.....

Professional Poker Player

2012-02-15T09:06:00.000Z

Pokerstars WBCOOP 2012

2012-02-14T03:27:00.000Z

The WBCOOP (World Blogger Championship of Online Poker) is back for 2012.

There are 30 tournaments running from February 23 - March 4 2012.

These are a variety of events scheduled that include No Limit Holdem, Pot Limit Omaha, Fixed Limit Badugi, 8-Game, Stud and many variations thereof.

Bloggers who meet the entry criteria will be awarded 10 tickets to play in these freeroll events which have cash prizes, live tournament packages and online tournamaent seats up for grabs. There is also a series tournament leader board in which your score from all 10 events will be added up. You will then have a chance to win some additional prizes.

Also up for grabs is $5,000 for the best blogger prize.

Last year was pretty good for me as I won a few prizes including SCCOP tickets and I also managed to final table one of the events.

So what would I do with an extra 5 grand in the bank??

1. Travel

I could step up my travel plans and add to the current list of destinations that I have already been to if I had a few extra bucks floating around.

I would love to visit South America for the first time going to Brazil, Bolivia or Peru. The Machu Picchu Inca site looks like an amazing destination.

I have still never been to Las Vegas which is like a mecca for poker players and gamblers alike. This would be one of my top destinations to visit and a trip during the WSOP in the summer would be fantastic.

There are other places like Canada and Australia that really interest me too.

2. Take on the Big Boys

I am currently tackling all my favourite clowns and jokers of NL50 while having an occasional shot at NL100 and NL200.

A bigger roll would see me step into playground of some of the bigger boys and take them on. I could do this without busting my whole roll in a single session if it was padded up with a few extra G's.

Bring on the NL1k....!!

3. Red Letter Days

The Red Letter Days are special events that only cost between like $30 and $300. There are a few that I want to go on like:

- Ferrari Driving
- Hot Air Ballooning
- Segway Rallying
- Vinyard Tour
- Flight Simulator
- Extreme Dodgems
- Gordon Ramsey at Claridges Four-Course Menu
- Clay Pigeon Shooting

4. Buy a New Toy

Sadly $5,000 will not stretch to a new BMW but there are few new toys that I would be able to afford like these:

- A new Samsung Galaxy S2 phone
- A new wide screen TV
- Terry the Swearing Turtle
- Budweiser mini fridge
- Mr Beer Premium Gold Beer Kit
- DJ controller for ipod

5. Give Something Back

In the past I used to make regular donations to charities and good causes in the UK and Internationally. Over the last 2 or 3 years I have slacked in this department.

I think its time to make a few donations again.!

6. Treat the Missus

The things that I could do in this category are pretty much endless. I could make write hundreds of items here but I will list only a few:

- Jewellery
- Bags
- Shoes
- Treatments
- Hair Styling
- Weekends Away
- Nights Out

7. Olympic Tickets

The Olympics are in London this year. It is a huge deal and has been talked about for the last few years. Most of the tickets have already been sold but some are still available and also unwanted ones will come back on sale although maybe at a premium.

Event that I would like to see:

- Athletics
- Boxing
- Cycling
- Badminton
- Football
- Tennis

8. Investments and Savings

I used to buy £500 worth of a new stock every now and again in the past. Sadly these days I do more selling than buying. A bit of spare cash would let me buy 1 or 2 new stocks and add to my portfolio.

I could also do with a bit of rainy day money

Lets take down the WBCOOP...!!!

GL All

It's Good to Speculate vs the Whale

2012-02-12T20:22:00.002Z

When there's a huge whale at the table you should play more hands IP and especially on the button. When you hit you could win a big one.

Poker Stars, $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 8 Players

MP3: $18.50 (37 bb)
CO: $61.86 (123.7 bb)
Hero (BTN): $59.35 (118.7 bb)
SB: $56.55 (113.1 bb)
BB: $19.06 (38.1 bb)
UTG+2: $75.55 (151.1 bb)
MP1: $49.86 (99.7 bb)
MP2: $73.80 (147.6 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BTN with 7 4
UTG+2 raises to $1, 4 folds, Hero calls $1, 2 folds

Flop: ($2.75) A K 6 (2 players)
UTG+2 bets $1.50, Hero raises to $5.74, UTG+2 calls $4.24

Turn: ($14.23) T (2 players)
UTG+2 checks, Hero bets $12.75, UTG+2 calls $12.75

River: ($39.73) J (2 players)
UTG+2 bets $23.50, Hero raises to $39.86 and is all-in, UTG+2 calls $16.36

Results: $119.45 pot ($2.50 rake)
Final Board: A K 6 T J
Hero showed 7 4 and won $116.95 ($57.60 net)
UTG+2 showed J Q and lost (-$59.35 net)

RIP Whitney Houston

Worst Day Ever at NL50

2012-02-08T16:35:00.009Z

After being set over set 5 times and running KK into AA 4 times my day yesterday looked like this:

It is probably my 2nd worst day ever in terms of BIs lost although I have had bigger loss days at higher levels in terms of $$$.

I made about 3-4 mistakes in big pots which I am annoyed about but apart from that it was just a bad day at the office. I hope I can make up the losses in the remainder of the month.

Tilting Away

2012-02-07T15:40:00.000Z

After a few beats over the last couple of days I find myself with a bad start to the month. I lost about 7BIs today when I flipped out and started spewing.

Poker Stars, $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players

Hero (BTN): $61.23 (122.5 bb)
SB: $94.35 (188.7 bb)
BB: $52.50 (105 bb)
UTG: $113.52 (227 bb)
MP: $25 (50 bb)
CO: $50 (100 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BTN with Q 7
2 folds, CO raises to $1.50, Hero raises to $4.33, 2 folds, CO raises to $9.50, Hero calls $5.17

Flop: ($19.75) 7 6 6 (2 players)
CO bets $7, Hero calls $7

Turn: ($33.75) A (2 players)
CO bets $14.10, Hero calls $14.10

River: ($61.95) J (2 players)
CO bets $19.40 and is all-in, Hero calls $19.40

Results: $100.75 pot ($2.50 rake)

Final Board: 7 6 6 A J
Hero showed Q 7 and won $98.25 ($48.25 net)
CO showed A K and lost (-$50 net)

My play... just lol

-25 Degrees °C in 5hrs

2012-02-05T22:33:00.000Z

I am now back from Tenerife after a relaxing holiday. I stayed in a pretty cool 5* resort. It was a nice 23°C on the beach in this photo.

Then as we landed in England about 5hrs after leaving the island we were faced with this when we went to get our car from the long stay car park. A -2°C snowed under welcome back to the UK.

Just finished my first session in Feb for a nice $11 profit. : )

The resort we stayed in is called Gran Melia Palacio Sensatori Tenerife

Here is a short clip of the centre plaza:

January 2012 Review

2012-01-27T00:35:00.002Z

It ain't too long now before I will be on a flight to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Its the first time that I will be visiting this region and I'm pretty excited.

It will be nice to get some decent weather as it is 7 or 8 Degrees C in London whereas its between 20C and 23C on the island.

In the centre of the island is the 3rd highest volcano (Teide) in the world which stands at 3,718 metres tall at its summit.

January has been a low volume month due to a few reasons. Firstly I took part in the mass protest against the rakeback changes. I was banned from playing for over a day for this. I then spent time with the missus doing a few day trips while she was off work. After that I got sick so my grind only began really around 12 or 13 days in. Now with the holiday I will miss around 5 days at the end of the month.

The worm looks like this:

I had some fun playing omaha even though I lost a little. I have played a little HU too and it is quite interesting as you try to figure out the villains game.

The final numbers for January are as follows:

80,256 Hands Played
12,709 VPPs

+$1,998 (Cash Game Winnings)
+$150 (Stellar Rewards)
+$1,500 (FPP Cash Bonus)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$3,648 (Total Month)

Finally I would just like to give a shout out to the Liverpool FC boys who have made it to the League Cup Final at Wembley. Even though it is the smaller of the Cups contested by the top flight teams it is a big deal to us as we have not won much in recent times, lol. I will try to get tickets to this one even though it won't be easy.

Weighted Contribution Impact

2012-01-26T10:37:00.001Z

Since Stars switched to the WC method of VPP distribution I have made 11,842 VPPs and my HEM states that I would have made 12,752 in the 2011 dealt method.

This is only a drop of 7% which is not too bad at first sight. However as I have played a lot of the happy hours which were awarding 1.5 times the normal VPP rate my figures will be skewed.

I carried out a session by session comparison and this showed a drop of between 15% and 40% across around 12 or so sessions that I looked at. I believe my personal drop is around 25% overall.

It will be a more accurate reflection if I carry out an analysis of Feb's figures when there are no happy hours scheduled.

Hopefully there will be some positives changes to come out of the talks that are taking place this week.

A Gift

2012-01-25T01:59:00.000Z

I don't know what to say about this one apart from cheers mate..!!

Poker Stars, $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 5 Players

Poker Tools by CardRunners - Hand Details

CO: $23.30 (46.6 bb)
BTN: $50 (100 bb)
SB: $51.60 (103.2 bb)
BB: $49.50 (99 bb)
Hero (MP): $56.50 (113 bb)

Preflop: Hero is MP with K K
Hero raises to $1.50, 3 folds, BB raises to $49.50 and is all-in, Hero calls $48

Flop: ($99.25) 5 K 7 (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Turn: ($99.25) 6 (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: ($99.25) 8 (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results: $99.25 pot ($2 rake)
Final Board: 5 K 7 6 8
BB showed Q T and lost (-$49.50 net)
Hero showed K K and won $97.25 ($47.75 net)

It Must be the Weekend

2012-01-22T13:32:00.001Z

The games on the weekend are pretty dam juicy.

I am itching to leave NL50 behind for good and play NL100 & NL200 exclusively but every time I look at the Pokerstars Lobby the NL200 games look awful, the NL100 games look hit n miss and the NL50 games look amazing. So I am still playing the majority of tables at the Fiddy while mixing in some of the Hundo.

Sometimes the villain turns up with a hand you just don't expect to see:

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 1603507

MP2: $20.00
CO: $48.30
BTN: $19.25
SB: $101.40
BB: $41.20
UTG: $63.15
UTG+1: $20.00
UTG+2: $50.00
Hero (MP1): $68.60

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP1 with Q Q
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $1.25, 1 fold, Hero raises to $4.10, 4 folds, BB calls $3.60, 1 fold

Flop: ($9.70) Q J K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $7.95, BB calls $7.95

Turn: ($25.60) J (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $16.85, BB calls $16.85

River: ($59.30) T (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $16, BB calls $12.30 all in

Final Pot: $83.90

BB shows 3 K (two pair, Kings and Jacks)
Hero shows Q Q (a full house, Queens full of Jacks)

Hero wins $80.90
(Rake: $3.00)

Then they go and do it again. Different Villain but pure bluffage all the same

Poker Stars, $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 9 Players
Poker Tools by CardRunners - Hand Details

MP3: $29 (58 bb)
CO: $47.55 (95.1 bb)
BTN: $55.90 (111.8 bb)
Hero (SB): $52.75 (105.5 bb)
BB: $37.05 (74.1 bb)
UTG+1: $61.65 (123.3 bb)
UTG+2: $22.95 (45.9 bb)
MP1: $50 (100 bb)
MP2: $20 (40 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A A
5 folds, CO raises to $1.50, BTN calls $1.50, Hero raises to $6.40, BB calls $5.90, 2 folds

Flop: ($15.80) 3 9 K (2 players)
Hero bets $11.30, BB raises to $30.65 and is all-in, Hero calls $19.35

Turn: ($77.10) 8 (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: ($77.10) 9 (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results: $77.10 pot ($3 rake)
Final Board: 3 9 K 8 9
Hero showed A A and won $74.10 ($37.05 net)
BB showed A J and lost (-$37.05 net)

I am playing a few hands at NL100 too. I got a nice welcome back. Standard Cooler but nice all the same. The interesting part here is the play of the CO. The best he is hoping for surely is 2x AK. Unlikely your gonna get 2 worse pairs calling.

Poker Stars, $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 8 Players
Poker Tools by CardRunners - Hand Details

SB: $51.20 (51.2 bb)
BB: $161.70 (161.7 bb)
UTG+2: $53.35 (53.4 bb)
MP1: $74.50 (74.5 bb)
MP2: $85.90 (85.9 bb)
Hero (MP3): $100 (100 bb)
CO: $100 (100 bb)
BTN: $187.35 (187.4 bb)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A A
UTG+2 calls $1, 2 folds, Hero raises to $5, CO raises to $15, 3 folds, UTG+2 calls $14, Hero raises to $38, CO raises to $100 and is all-in, UTG+2 calls $38.35 and is all-in, Hero calls $62 and is all-in

Flop: ($254.85) 7 6 J (3 players, 3 are all-in)
Turn: ($254.85) 5 (3 players, 3 are all-in)
River: ($254.85) T (3 players, 3 are all-in)

Results: $254.85 pot ($3.00 rake)
Final Board: 7 6 J 5 T
UTG+2 mucked K K and lost (-$53.35 net)
Hero showed A A and won $251.85 ($151.85 net)
CO mucked Q Q and lost (-$100 net)

Hope the doomswitch stays off for the next week

Peace

Heads Up LOL

2012-01-21T00:40:00.001Z

I sometimes play heads up just for laughs. I'm very new to it and pretty bad but apparently this villain doesn't think so. This comment made me chuckle:

We played about 15 hands or so and he just quit to find a better spot, hehe.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

2012-01-18T00:45:00.001Z

I wish I didn't piss my money away playing Omaha. I think I am down over $300 this month playing that nonsense.

I haven't invested in Omaha Manager yet so I don't have any nice graphs or stats to show but I hope to play less and less of the devils game so the bleeding should stop. I ain't touched PLO for a few days now and have been playing exclusively with only 2 cards.

The Happy Hour on Stars has shifted to 9pm UK time this week and has been pretty dam juicy in terms of the NL50 games.

I have just hit a target level for my bankroll on stars so I will now be adding more NL100 games to my schedule.

The worm for the month is looking like this:

Jessica Jane Clement

2012-01-17T00:22:00.000Z

Book Review: Crushing The Microstakes by Nathan Williams

2012-01-14T01:33:00.002Z

Crushing The Microstakes by Nathan Williams

ISBN: 978-0-9878836-0-5

251 Pages

$19.95 Sale Price (29.95 RRP)

This is a poker strategy book particularly directed at players who play NL2 and NL5 although the concepts learnt can be used at higher levels.

Nathan Williams aka "BlackRain79" is a poker player from Canada who had been playing for around 5 years at this time.

He claims to be the biggest winner at NL2 and NL5 full ring and by looking at his graph (see below) and stats I can confirm that I have never seen anyone with better results at these 2 levels before.

Why he doesn't move up is something I can't understand as he used to play higher. Maybe he is just happy playing at this level.

If you want to find out more about him and his book you can go to his website, located at:
http://www.blackrain79.com

I have just read the book and will give some of my thoughts on the product.

I have talked via email on occasion to Nathan but I have never met him and don't know him personally so I will give a completely unbiased opinion.

The book starts out with a little background about the author along with some notes on why we play poker and the short term / long term results variance.

Nathan makes a few distinctions between NL2 and NL5 before moving on to topics like bankroll, table layouts and tracking software. He also introduces you to pokerstove.

I was particularly impressed with his knowledge on player types, detailed ranges by position and general pre and post flop play. There was quality commentary on bet sizing and playing when IP and OOP.

Something that I don't use too much in my game is the Aggression Factor Stat. In this book I learnt more about this and have just today added it to my already overloaded HUD : )

There is a lot of good quality information in this book and I don't want to give too much away in this post but if you stick to the concepts you will simply win money at these tables over the long run.

So my conclusion is that this book delivers an excellent guidance on how to beat the micros and is great value at the sale price of $19.95. If you play the micros then get this book..!!

And They Called Me a Nit :)

2012-01-12T00:48:00.001Z

This one is all for the people that calling me a nit

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 4 players

BTN: $71.90
SB: $52.00
Hero (BB): $50.75
CO: $50.85

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with 5 2
1 fold, BTN raises to $1.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $5.50, BTN calls $4

Flop: ($11.25) 4 3 Q (2 players)
Hero bets $8.00, BTN calls $8

Turn: ($27.25) A (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $12.00, Hero raises to $37.25, BTN calls $25.25

River: ($101.75) K (2 players)

Final Pot: $101.75

BTN shows Q A
Hero shows 5 2

Hero wins $100.75
(Rake: $1.00)

2012 So Far......

2012-01-10T22:17:00.001Z

After the epic grind of December playing 200k hands in a month for the first time ever 2012 so far has been pretty quiet.

I spent the first week going on a few day trips mainly around London doing some shopping etc. as the missus was off work. Nothing too exciting. I did visit Harrods after many many years though and anyone who hasn't been should check out this store as it is pretty sick, especially the Food Hall.

The last 4 or 5 days have been s*** as I have been sick for the fist time in ages. Flu has hit me and I am still not better. I hope this ends soon.

I am not getting good VPP rates now under the new WC system which is crap but I am hoping that the upcoming scheduled talks with Pokerstars go well and bring some positive changes. This is making me work harder on my game and get less reliant on bonus rakeback.

Jan 2012 so far:

Randy "Nanonoko" Lew sets Guinness World Record

2012-01-09T11:19:00.003Z

Yesterday Nanonoko attempted to set the world record for the most number of hands played in 8 hrs while showing a profit.

He was able to play up to 40 tables at once and he started at nl50 6max. The first couple of hours were good and he found him self up around $200 while having played around 8,000 hands.

He then began to lose and was down -$1,200 when he switched to 1knl to make up the difference.

As the finish neared he was only playing one table and he turned a small profit.

The final stats:

Hands: 23,493

Hours: 8

Hands per hour: 2936.63

Hands per minute: 48.94

Seconds per hand: 1.23

Hours of live poker (at 30 hands per hour): 783.10

FPPs earned: 22,784

Profit: $7.65

Cooler City

2012-01-06T08:20:00.000Z

This is just an unlucky hand for the 2 villains. As the MP player posts his blind I decided not to squeeze him out as he may be a fish. I think CO can never put me on KK and is happy to ship with what surely must be the best hand.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players

MP: $20.00
CO: $50.00
BTN: $20.00
SB: $55.55
Hero (BB): $52.35
UTG: $56.60
UTG+1: $49.05

MP posts a big blind ($0.50)

Pre Flop: ($1.25) Hero is BB with K K
2 folds, MP checks, CO raises to $1.75, 2 folds, Hero calls $1.25, MP calls $1.25

Flop: ($5.50) K 9 5 (3 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $2.00, CO calls $2, Hero raises to $7.90, MP raises to $17, CO raises to $48.25, Hero raises to $50.60, MP calls $1.25 all in

Turn: ($120.25) 8 (3 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($120.25) J (3 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $120.25

MP shows 9 K
CO shows 9 9
Hero shows K K

Hero wins $57.25
(Rake: $3.00)

No Pair, No Draw

2012-01-05T08:35:00.000Z

If you were worried that poker is dead then think again :D

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players

MP: $53.05
CO: $41.90
BTN: $30.00
Hero (SB): $52.50
BB: $50.00
UTG: $50.00
UTG+1: $38.40

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with 5 5
2 folds, MP raises to $1.50, 1 fold, BTN calls $1.50, Hero calls $1.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($5.00) 5 5 T (3 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $3.30, BTN folds, Hero calls $3.30

Turn: ($11.60) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $7.50, Hero raises to $15, MP raises to $48.25, Hero calls $32.70 all in

River: ($107.00) A (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $107.00

MP shows 6 7
Hero shows 5 5

Hero wins $104.00
(Rake: $3.00)

Meh & Fail

2012-01-04T16:31:00.000Z

I am currently laughing out loud as I flick through some of my blogger pages.

Anyone who uses this site to blog will be aware of the stats tab that is available when you click 'Design' button.

You can filter various stats for the day, week, month or for all time.

Anyway, the 2 biggest search terms that lead readers to my site are 'meh' and 'fail', lol. Not sure what this implies about supernova125 but I didn't think it was that bad :D

Here is the break down of the Top 10 searches of all time that lead to this site:

Now we are free:

Mass Sit Out Protesters Banned on Pokerstars

2012-01-03T12:21:00.002Z

The Mass Sit Protesters have been hit with varying degrees of bans after Sunday's Action.

Sit outers were banned from playing 24 tables and entitled to only play 1 table.

The players who blocked wait lists were banned from joining wait lists and also only allowed to play 1 table. Persistent blockers were completely banned from playing or joining any tables.

I was banned from playing more than 1 table for around 36 hours but have now been reinstated.

A hardcore of protesters have withdrawn their cash and are seeking other sites. I almost joined William Hill yesterday who I think is a reputable and trustworthy company but as they are part of the iPoker network I thought twice as they seem to be infested by scamming bot accounts.

As Pokerstars holds pretty much a Monopoly in the industry at the moment it is pretty hard to go anywhere else. They are still the number 1 choice even though we are losing rakeback.

They have agreed to consultations with 4 player representatives this month to discuss a few positive changes to the current system. It looks like I will just have to lump it for the time being and try to increase my win rate to make up for the loss in VPPs/ FPPs.

Initial sessions are showing that I have a 26% loss in VPPs :(

December 2011 + Full Year Review

2012-01-01T13:03:00.002Z

Happy New Year All..!!

2012 will probably be remembered for more negatives than positives in the poker world.

For me it all began with an SNE attempt. Sadly it only lasted 5 weeks as for a greater VPP generation I decided to ditch what I had been doing well for 5 years and start to play the CAP tables (aka 50bb prior to being named CAP).

I'm yet to see many winners at these table and I was crushed which really hit my confidence and outlook for the year. I did manage to final table a WBCOOP event which was quite cool.

I then went back to 100bb poker in Feb/March but dropped down to NL50 to rebuild. I then moved back up to NL100 when Black Friday rocked the Poker World. I had 2 good winning months followed by 2 bad months at the Hundo. I then dropped back to down to NL50 to work on my game and have been winning ever since.

December has been an interesting month. Due to exam commitments I only played half a month. Even so I managed to get the most volume ever in a single month. If I had played the full month I could have played over 400k hands which is pretty good volume. I also had my biggest ever tournament score.

I was up over $600 in cash games at one stage and if I had been able to maintain that then I would have had my best month ever but 24 tabling to hit a milestone meant I was playing a 'C' or 'D' game at many times and I just managed to stay in the black.

The final numbers for December are as follows:

209,000 Hands Played
34,515 VPPs

+$142 (Cash Game Winnings)
+$890 (Tournament Winnings)
+$1,500 (FPP Cash Bonus)
+$2,800 (300k Milestone Bonus)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$5,332 (Total Month)

The full year numbers are as follows:

1,427,000 Hands Played
300,242 VPPs

-$1,214 - Jan
+$1,075 - Feb
+$722 - Mar
+$4,766 - Apr
+$3,278 - May
+$415 - Jun
+$1,334 - Jul
+$2,341 - Aug
+$1,833 - Sep
+$2,159 - Oct
+$1,837 - Nov
+$5,332 - Dec
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$23,878 (Total Year)

I am still planning for 2012 but there will be some big things happening so watch this space...

All the best.

Rosh

300,000 VPPs

2011-12-31T09:03:00.005Z

A tough grind in December comes to an end..!!

2011:

Occupy Pokerstars Mass Sit Out Protest Due to Rake Changes / VPP Calculation Method

2011-12-30T02:54:00.004Z

During my time at Pokerstars I have seen various changes. Many of these have been welcomed and some have been opposed.

The recent announcement regarding the VPP calculation and rake changes is one of the worst decisions that Pokerstars has taken. This decision will have a direct impact on how much I play in 2012.

The rake changes due to take effect from Jan 1st 2012 have now been cancelled but in essence would have made some games more expensive to play at and some slightly cheaper to play at. The VPP calculation changes however are still due.

The rake changes are quite complex in the sense of how they affect different games and I believe that some of the 6max, CAP and short handed games would have been negatively hit while some of the full ring games at micro level would have received a small benefit. As this part has now been cancelled we don't need to discuss this too much compared with the real issue which is the VPP calculation and distribution.

This main issue revolves around how the bonus given by Pokerstars (VPPs) are calculated and distributed. They are changing from the 'Dealt' method to the 'Weighted Contributed' method. The change can be illustrated by this example:

Five players participate in a hand of $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em.
Pre-flop:

Player 1 raises to $6
Player 2 folds
Player 3 folds
Players 4 (the $1 small blind) calls
Players 5 (the $2 big blind) calls

Post-flop:

Player 4 makes a bet of $9
Player 5 moves all in for $21
Player 1 folds
Player 4 calls
The remaining cards are dealt, and the $60 pot is awarded to Player 4

The pot is $60 in total. Players 4 & 5 contributed $27 each, and player 1 contributed $6. The total rake on this pot is $3, which is worth 16.5 VPPs.
Under the old method, all five players would receive an equal share of the points, i.e. 16.5 / 5 = 3.3 VPPs.
Under the new method, the VPPs will be awarded as follows:

Player 1 contributed $6 (10% of the pot) and so receives 1.65 VPPs.
Player 2 contributed $0 (0% of the pot) and so receives 0 VPPs.
Player 3 contributed $0 (0% of the pot) and so receives 0 VPPs.
Player 4 contributed $27 (45% of the pot) and so receives 7.43 VPPs.
Player 5 contributed $27 (45% of the pot) and so receives 7.43 VPPs.

Now while this may seem fairer there are more hidden issues they have not been addressed or mentioned by Pokerstars.

The bulk of money made by stars is from the cash ring game grinders who play hours on end everyday generating rake for the poker company. These guys will see a marked reduction in VPPs unless they play a really loose style which is rumoured to be around 25% VPIP+. The vast majority including myself will play a style which is a lot tighter and therefore under the new method will lose over the course of the year between 10-40% of our bonus. The tighter you play the more you stand to lose. These VPPs will then be given to the recreational players who splash money around on an evening after work or at the weekends.

Now this is a real insult to the loyal players who provide wages for the people who work at pokerstars through the rake they collect.

A secondary issue is that the recreational players have lower VIP status levels and therefore will recieve less FPPs which will be money collected directly by Stars. This should be pumped back into the poker community to compensate for the losses that grinders will incur but so far is not going to be.

Due to this announcement there has been uproar in the poker community and there is a strike planned on Jan 1st where players will sit out at 24 tables for two hours and tell other players at the tables to sit out too.

You can find more details here:

Mass Sit Out Protest Summary

Mass Sit Out Protest Thread

Please support our strike action if you are a player by sitting out during the planned 2 hours

Thanks

Rosh

I Stared Down the Devil....... and I Lost

2011-12-27T23:19:00.006Z

There's a card game where you get 4 cards dealt to you instead of two. Surely this must be twice the fun of hold'em then?

After all if you have 4 cards to choose from then you can make so many more hands and it must be easier to win? Right? Wrong?

Well the game is Omaha and answer is Omaha is the DEVIL....!!

I have been playing this maniacs game for a short while now on the side and began okay. I started at PLO2 and beat that. I had bouts of variance at PLO5 and PLO10 but just about beat them too. I then moved up to PLO25 and started to read books and learn and came face to face with big variance.

This variance was visibly far greater than in hold'em even in my small sample of hands. The problem with Omaha is that your opponent is very rarely drawing dead. So they often get there and you take a bad beat.

In holdem if you are 80/20 to win 3 times in a row and you lose all 3 that is pretty bad running. However in Omaha you might be 65/35 or 60/40 when the money goes in and suddenly lose 20 of these in a row in very quick succession.

Even though the game is pot limit the money often gets all in with the numerous draws that exist.

I thought it might be interesting to look up the PTR pages of regulars that play this game and the results were very interesting.

What I found was that consistent winners in one league were suddenly big losers in another league and there was no decipherable pattern. The luck and variance factors seem to contribute a bit more than I like in this game.

In this example you can see the difference in stats of each league this player plays in:

It's just totally random.

In No Limit Hold'em winners are usually winners across each level they play and losers are the same.

Here is an another example:

This is just 2 examples but I saw this time and time again over many accounts.

What this tells me is that it is very hard to figure out who the really good players are and who the really bad ones are as there is often very little between them due to the gambling nature of Omaha.

So does this mean that I insta quit this game as it is unlikely that I can win consistently? Well you would think so, huh.... but... and here comes the but..... I have a small problem:

I F***ing Love this game and I am addicted

I am going to play once or twice a month only and not go above PLO25 but I am determined to find a way to beat the DEVIL. I could lose this battle big style but I have to give it a go.

If you want to know how sick this game can get then watch this short clip and take note of the outs and equity percentages that each player has.

Challenge Update - 26/12/2011

2011-12-26T04:01:00.001Z

My Challenge to hit 300k VPPs is going pretty well as I have put in grind work pretty much everyday.

My game play has been terrible juggling 24 tables and I have been playing my 'C' game or maybe even worse. I have now dropped to 20 tables and feel a bit less pressured. I may drop to back to 16 for the last few days.

I am actually in the black slightly after being up almost $700 at one stage. Hope to activate my 'A' game from tomorrow.

I have around 8,700 VPPs left to get in 6 days which means around just under 1,500 per day which will take around 8 hrs a day at nl50.

I want to give my self new years eve night off to go out so I have put together the final plan as follows:

26/12/11 - 1,600 VPPs
27/12/11 - 1,600 VPPs
28/12/11 - 1,600 VPPs
29/12/11 - 1,600 VPPs
30/12/11 - 1,600 VPPs
31/12/11 - 700 VPPs

Almost there.....

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T10:11:00.001Z

Biggest Prize Pool Ever

2011-12-24T09:57:00.004Z

A bit of history took place last Sunday when the weekly Sunday Million tournament was set with a guaranteed prize pool of $10,000,000 to celebrate 10 years of Pokerstars.

A prize of $2m was also guaranteed for first place.

I snap entered this with hopes of making the final table. An amazing 62,116 entrants made the cut off to register the largest pool in online tournament history of $12,423,200.

I managed to beat 94% of the field and score my largest MTT win of $729.63 finishing in 3,718th place.

A deal was done at the final table and the event ended as follows:

1. First-Eagle (Canada) $1,146,574.65*
2. Unstoffable (Spain) $580,724.34*
3. BLAABAR (Sweden) $709,896.78*
4. tunafish919 (Australia) $627,317.26*
5. Dimedroll (Russia) $995,996.85*
6. SkunkDen (Australia) $758,986.42*
7. fireballdia (Portugal) $182,406.00
8. kaalen (Sweden) $119,866.80
9. yokouno1980 (Israel) $86,512.56

*= reflects a six-way deal that left an additional $200,000 for the winner

A huge day for these guys

Congrats to BLAABAR who posts in my forum and finished 3rd.

The Actual Prize breakdown before the deal was:

1st -             $2,000,020.70
2nd -            $1,042,320.00
3rd - $677,508.00
4th -             $489,890.40
5th -             $354,388.80
6th -             $255,368.40
7th -             $182,406.00
8th -             $119,866.80
9th -             $86,512.56
10th-12th - $65,666.16
13th-15th - $47,946.72
16th-18th - $34,396.56
19th-27th -   $22,931.04
28th-45th -   $15,634.80
46th-63rd -   $11,986.68
64th-81st - $8,859.72
82nd-99th -   $6,775.08

Surely one day I must make the final 9. I will keep trying..!!

New PB Grind Record - Most Hands in a Day

2011-12-22T23:15:00.000Z

Just Can't Fade F*** All

2011-12-21T18:36:00.004Z

The month seems to be getting worse chasing this damn milestone. I am now 24 Tabling for the first time in ages and while I am not playing my 'A' game I am getting done over by some serious beats over and over again.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players

MP2: $49.20
CO: $41.25
Hero (BTN): $66.20
SB: $50.00
BB: $37.05
UTG: $53.95
UTG+1: $65.30
UTG+2: $18.25
MP1: $39.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with K K
6 folds, Hero raises to $1, SB raises to $3.50, BB calls $3, Hero raises to $9.90, SB raises to $50, 1 fold, Hero calls $40.10

Flop: ($103.50) 9 J 8 (2 players)

Turn: ($103.50) 7 (2 players)

River: ($103.50) 6 (2 players)

Final Pot: $103.50

Hero shows K K
SB shows T Q

SB wins $100.50
(Rake: $3.00)

This was quite and interesting hand as I played it a bit tricky and shoved the flop to make my hand look like an AKs or some other draw. The villain tanked for a while and made the crying call

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players

BB: $53.30
UTG: $40.70
UTG+1: $27.30
MP: $50.00
CO: $51.55
Hero (BTN): $99.85
SB: $16.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with K K
4 folds, Hero raises to $1, SB raises to $3, BB raises to $9, Hero calls $8, 1 fold

Flop: ($21.00) 8 4 Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $90.85, BB calls $44.30 all in

Turn: ($109.60) 6 (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($109.60) Q (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $109.60

BB shows Q A
Hero shows K K

BB wins $106.60
(Rake: $3.00)

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players

UTG: $46.25
UTG+1: $20.00
UTG+2: $51.70
MP1: $79.55
MP2: $54.15
CO: $61.40
Hero (BTN): $61.50
SB: $16.80
BB: $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with Q T
3 folds, MP1 raises to $1.50, 1 fold, CO raises to $2.50, Hero calls $2.50, 2 folds, MP1 calls $1

Flop: ($8.25) K 5 6 (3 players)

MP1 checks, CO bets $1.50, Hero calls $1.50, MP1 raises to $11, CO calls $9.50, Hero raises to $22, MP1 raises to $77.05, CO calls $47.90 all in, Hero calls $37 all in

Turn: ($185.15) 9 (3 players - 2 are all in)

River: ($185.15) A (3 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $185.15

MP1 shows 5 5
CO shows A 8
Hero shows Q T

CO wins $181.95
(Rake: $3.00)

The Secret Tournament

2011-12-18T01:05:00.006Z

As you may or may not know Pokerstars is 10yrs old and during the last month there have been numerous promotions to celebrate this birthday.

One of the promos was a cash game leader board everyday for around 10 days.

All the cash ring games were divided into groups and the top 100 VPP earners in each group were awarded cash prizes each day.

One of the side bonuses to these leader boards was that the top 1000 each day in each category would be entered into a free-roll with a huge $500k prize pool.

With all the stuff they had going on Pokerstars forgot to publicise this tournament. I randomly saw a post on a forum and checked it out without even realising that I was registered, lol. About a day later I then checked my registered Tournaments link in the client for something else and was surprised to see myself in the draw.

The Tournament had around 12,300 players registered and only around 40% of those players knew about it, hehe. Amazing for a $500,000 event.

This amazing screen shot shows a situation that will probably never happen again in my life. It shows my 1st table where I played a good 200 hands and I am the only player active. Unbelievable:

I won every hand uncontested with all the players sitting out. There were 2 guys that did sit in late and start playing but I busted them both pretty quick and they were replaced by 2 more 'sitting out' fish, lmao. I then proceeded to try to hit raise as quick as I could each hand and it didn't take long for me to reach 2nd in the tournament with about half the field eliminated.

I stacked all the non active players so quickly that when I arrived at a legitimate table with around 5 active players the 'sit outs' there still had 2/3rds of their stacks left.

It was so ridiculous that hundreds of players that were 'sitting out' made the money as they paid out 5,400 places out of the 12,300.

I remained in the top 100 for ages and until I lost a few big hands and finished 448th and cashed $160. Not bad for a free roll versus people sitting out. The top prize was around $48k.

Challenge Update - 16/12/2011

2011-12-16T13:53:00.002Z

The challenge is now 3 days in and going pretty slowly. I initially need 1,704 VPPs per day for the rest of the month but that has slowly crept up to around 1,800 per day.

I am playing 20+ Tables and feeling not too bad about it. It is very hard to take notes playing this many tables. I am mixing in a few NL100 tables while playing at NL50.

Day 1 didn't go too well as I went out for a few drinks and a meal and only got 400 VPPs.

Day 2 saw the daily requirement move up to 1,790 VPPs per day. I didn't calculate the new requirement till after day 2 was done so I thought I only needed 1,704 and managed to get 1,708 so I was a little short but a minor oversight. I played for 8.25hrs which means that roughly 9hrs a day is enough to make my goal. This is good and lower than I had expected as I made my calculations on playing 16 tables.

Day 3 is under way and I am now on my lunch break having made 407 VPPs in session 1. It was a frustrating session as I was up $250 only to lose a few big pots and finish up only $90. Still better than a loss.

I feel like I am taking numerous bad beats but it is probably only because I am playing a lot of hands. I have run into AA 3 times into KK and lost all 3. The one time I get AA vs Villain's KK he flops a King. I got KK all in pre vs AK and he flops a king. Stuff like this keeps happening. I am actually up though which is the amazing thing over these last 3 days. I seem to be winning a lot of small and medium sized pots to make up for losing a lot of big ones.

Here are a few of the best ones:

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players

UTG+1: $51.25
MP1: $20.50
MP2: $50.00
CO: $50.00
Hero (BTN): $77.95
SB: $28.75
BB: $52.85
UTG: $24.10

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with A A
5 folds, Hero raises to $1, SB raises to $2, 1 fold, Hero raises to $5.90, SB raises to $9.80, Hero raises to $77.95, SB calls $18.95 all in

Flop: ($58.00) 2 8 5 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($58.00) Q (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($58.00) 6 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $58.00

Hero shows A A
SB shows Q Q

SB wins $55.10
(Rake: $2.90)

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players

UTG: $60.10
UTG+1: $63.05
UTG+2: $83.30
MP1: $49.20
MP2: $20.15
CO: $55.65
BTN: $50.00
SB: $24.00
Hero (BB): $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with A A
3 folds, MP1 raises to $1.50, 1 fold, CO calls $1.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $6.25, 1 fold, CO calls $4.75

Flop: ($14.25) 8 9 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $13.00, CO calls $13

Turn: ($40.25) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $30.75, CO calls $30.75

River: ($101.75) Q (2 players)

Final Pot: $101.75

CO shows Q Q
Hero shows A A

CO wins $98.75
(Rake: $3.00)

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players

BB: $50.00
Hero (UTG): $56.45
UTG+1: $50.00
UTG+2: $54.75
MP1: $47.75
MP2: $39.55
CO: $88.15
BTN: $50.75
SB: $31.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG with A K
Hero raises to $1.50, 2 folds, MP1 raises to $3.50, 5 folds, Hero calls $2

Flop: ($7.75) 6 K A (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $1.50, Hero raises to $7.95, MP1 calls $6.45

Turn: ($23.65) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $38.00, MP1 calls $36.30 all in

River: ($96.25) 7 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $96.25

Hero shows A K
MP1 shows K K

MP1 wins $93.25
(Rake: $1.30)

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players

BB: $50.00
UTG: $35.75
UTG+1: $25.30
MP1: $65.45
Hero (MP2): $95.20
CO: $54.20
BTN: $20.95
SB: $17.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP2 with A K
UTG raises to $1.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $5.50, 4 folds, UTG raises to $35.75, Hero calls $30.25

Flop: ($72.25) 7 7 5 (2 players)

Turn: ($72.25) J (2 players)

River: ($72.25) 8 (2 players)

Final Pot: $72.25

UTG shows 5 A
Hero shows A K

UTG wins $69.25
(Rake: $3.00)

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players

BTN: $20.00
SB: $20.25
BB: $59.55
UTG: $26.95
Hero (UTG+1): $62.20
MP1: $81.55
MP2: $20.00
CO: $5.30

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with Q Q
UTG raises to $1.50, Hero calls $1.50, 6 folds

Flop: ($3.75) 7 7 6 (2 players)
UTG bets $1.50, Hero raises to $5.55, UTG raises to $25.45, Hero calls $19.90

Turn: ($54.65) 5 (2 players)

River: ($54.65) 8 (2 players)

Final Pot: $54.65

UTG shows 4 4
Hero shows Q Q

UTG wins $51.95
(Rake: $2.70)

The Challenge

2011-12-14T15:26:00.003Z

I'm back on the grind today after a small break for exams.

As the year is nearing to an end lots of players find themselves in a late rush to hit a milestone before 23:59 on 31/12/2011. Sadly I am also one of the grinders who has not planned the run in to year end very well.

Here are the cliffs:

Target: 300,000 VPPs
Current: 271,024 VPPs
Required: 28,976
Time Limit: 17 Days
VPPs per day: 1,704
Bankroll: $1,800
Level: 50NL-100NL
Tables: 16-24
Hours per day: 8-11.5
Milestone Value: $2,800
Obstacles: Xmas

Now I know what people will be saying... 'move up you nit'.

I have not deposited any cash into poker since July 2010 (except for deposit bonuses) and would need to if I wanted to play higher. Not depositing is one thing that I am quite proud about and a goal of mine is to never deposit money into poker ever again apart from if I have to join a new site or for deposit bonuses. Due to cash outs my current roll is pretty low and will only let me grind up to nl100 unless I make some winnings. Another issue is that nl200 is known as the place where dreams go to die and I would like to avoid that level until January as it is pretty tough.

This will mean a tough grind of 8-11.5 hours depending on how many tables and which level I choose. I will probably mix tables from NL50 and NL100. My main problem whether to increase my tables from 16. My game deteriorates a little with each table that I add above 16 and I don't want to start playing really badly. Every time there is a milestone hand promo I push to between 20 and 24 tables and I usually lose money. I find 16 tables perfect for game.

The other problem is nights out that I have planned over the Xmas period. So far there are 3 booked with 2 potentials. I will have to juggle these as I don't want to miss out on the bonus as it is my holiday in Jan to one of the Canary Islands :D. This one is gonna be close. I better get on the tables right now.

Evangeline Lilly

2011-12-13T02:33:00.018Z

Pretty Sick Beat

2011-12-12T03:00:00.004Z

This was a hand posted in a forum the other day

BB: $200 (100 bb)
UTG+2: $200 (100 bb)
MP1: $100 (50 bb)
MP2: $45.50 (22.8 bb)
Hero (MP3): $257.75 (128.9 bb)
CO: $242 (121 bb)
BTN: $92.25 (46.1 bb)
SB: $78 (39 bb)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with 8 9
3 folds, Hero raises to $6, CO folds, BTN calls $6, SB raises to $18, BB folds, Hero calls $12, BTN calls $12

Flop: ($56) T Q T (3 players)
SB bets $37.20, Hero calls $37.20, BTN calls $37.20

Turn: ($167.60) J (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks

River: ($167.60) 6 (3 players)
SB bets $22.80 and is all-in, Hero raises to $190, BTN folds

Results: $213.20 pot ($3.00 rake)
Final Board: T Q T J 6

Hero showed 8 9 and lost (-$78 net)
BTN mucked and lost (-$55.20 net)
SB showed A K and won $210.20 ($132.20 net)

The 97/17 Always Wins

2011-12-11T00:10:00.006Z

There really is nothing I can do against these guys over the last few days. If you didn't laugh you would have to cry.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players

MP: $54.15
CO: $60.00
BTN: $41.95
SB: $72.85
BB: $47.35
Hero (UTG): $57.50
UTG+1: $97.45

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG with T T
Hero raises to $1.50, 3 folds, BTN raises to $2.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $9.15, BTN raises to $41.95, Hero calls $32.80

Flop: ($84.65) 6 K 5 (2 players)

Turn: ($84.65) 2 (2 players)

River: ($84.65) J (2 players)

Final Pot: $84.65

BTN shows 4 J
Hero shows T T

BTN wins $81.65
(Rake: $3.00)

Would be nice to win one of these

Year End Grind

2011-12-09T14:01:00.000Z

I hope I will not be grinding on new years eve.

Trying to grind out a milestone in December each year can be disastrous especially if you are going for SNE. You may find yourself in a spot where you need to 24 table 12-16 hours a day for over a month.

Here are 2 examples of players who totally lost the plot trying to mad grind SNE at years end. Player 1 was a slightly winning to break even reg who completely lost his way for the last 2 months in 2010 and has never recovered. He is now a consistent losing player who valleys almost everyday:

Player 2 was actually a decent winning reg before 2 SNE attempts during 2009 (he failed with like 980k VPPs) and 2010 (he made SNE) also destroyed his game.

Both of these guys 24 table and mass grinding like this can be extremely detrimental to your game. The biggest issue I think is getting into a losing mentality and simply accepting the fact that this is fine due to the fact that you 24 table and still make money.

For me personally I could never do this. I would have to be a slight winner or at least break even if I was hitting SNE. That real satisfaction in poker for me is to be winner and out think players. Doing that and getting less VPPs is far better for your mental frame of mind even though you may make less money.

I will now contradict myself because I have a bit of a grind to hit 300k VPPs starting on the 15th. The difference between me and the 2 guys above is that my game play will take priority and if I start losing huge then I will give up the milestone chase and concentrate on getting back to winning ways. More to come....

Racist Rant - My Tram Experience

2011-12-08T13:25:00.002Z

This now infamous clip has been around for a couple of weeks in the the UK. For you guys outside of the UK you probably have not seen it.

It's basically a woman ranting racist abuse in South London on a tram full of various people from different backgrounds.

I'm interested to know your thoughts on the clip. One of the responses from another racist guy to this video was to question why multiculturalism is not prevalent in other countries like Japan, China, Zimbabwe, Libya etc. While I am opposed to the views of the woman in the clip and her supporters I think the question is quite interesting. It might simply be to do with economic reasons, language barriers or is there a lot more to it? Maybe all countries will become multicultural over time or maybe not.

World Record Tournament

2011-12-07T00:36:00.000Z

On Sunday Pokerstars held the largest tournament ever. You can see the official confirmation from Guinness in the photo being presented to Fatima Moreira de Melo.

It was a $1 buy-in and the field reached the maximum number a few hours before the start.

200,000 people played for a first prize of $50,000. This surpassed the previous record of 149,196 players 2 years ago.

I wonder how many would have registered if there was no capped limit. This means for sure that this record will be beaten again in the future.

The were more than 400k players online at one time when I checked.

The eventual winner was Russian player sokoluk1991 who took down just over $40,000 after the last 3 players made a deal leaving $5k for the eventual winner

Which Personality Are You?

2011-12-06T04:35:00.001Z

Stung in the Ass by a 100% VPIP Mega Whale

2011-12-04T22:14:00.002Z

I should have known what he was holding. Merry Xmas mate..!!

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players

MP: $136.65
CO: $13.00
BTN: $14.50
SB: $46.20
Hero (BB): $50.00
UTG: $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with K K
2 folds, CO raises to $1.25, 1 fold, SB calls $1, Hero raises to $5.50, 1 fold, SB calls $4.25

Flop: ($12.25) 8 8 2 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $8.90, SB calls $8.90

Turn: ($30.05) 2 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $35.60, SB calls $31.80 all in

River: ($93.65) 5 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $93.65

SB shows 8 2
Hero shows K K

SB wins $90.65
(Rake: $3.00)

Check When You're Ahead, Raise When You're Behind

2011-12-03T16:36:00.001Z

Some people insist on doing things the wrong way

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players

SB: $41.30
BB: $21.85
Hero (UTG): $50.55
UTG+1: $67.45
UTG+2: $56.25
MP1: $80.95
MP2: $113.85
CO: $17.75
BTN: $48.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG with Q Q
Hero raises to $1.50, 2 folds, MP1 calls $1.50, 5 folds

Flop: ($3.75) Q T 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $2.95, MP1 raises to $9, Hero calls $6.05

Turn: ($21.75) J (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks

River: ($21.75) Q (2 players)
Hero bets $13.30, MP1 raises to $41.50, Hero calls $26.75 all in

Final Pot: $101.85

Hero shows Q Q
MP1 shows A T

Hero wins $98.85
(Rake: $1.55)

November 2011 Review

2011-12-01T10:20:00.000Z

November has been a low volume month as expected due to being busy with my work on another project.

I had some fun this month learning how to play omaha (later post).

I not going to spend too much time with this months review as I have a lot of things on.

For December I will be busy for the first 15 days so and will play pretty much no poker at all. After that I will decide whether or not to mass grind the rest of the final month to try to get to 300k VPPs.

The final numbers for November are as follows:

63,000 Hands Played
14,936 VPPs

+$1,793 (Cash Game Winnings)
+$10 (Re-load Bonus)
+$15 (Stake Swap)
+$19 (Live Cash Winnings)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$1,837 (Total Month)

The Ytd numbers as at the end of November are as follows:

1,218,000 Hands Played
265,727 VPPs

-$1,214 - Jan
+$1,075 - Feb
+$722 - Mar
+$4,766 - Apr
+$3,278 - May
+$415 - Jun
+$1,334 - Jul
+$2,341 - Aug
+$1,833 - Sep
+$2,159 - Oct
+$1,837 - Nov
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$18,546 (Total YTD)

Later

A 6-Day Mo

2011-11-30T12:37:00.001Z

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in the UK and around the world.

The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

movember.com

So I decided to put in a late entry to this years movember. A pretty dumb move considering that my decision took place on Nov 28th, lol.

I had already about 3 days growth so thought I would give it a good weeks effort. However I forgot that there are only 30 days in November so I only achieved a nice 6 day mo. My attempt at side handlebars is pretty lame too but not much you can do in 6 days. I will give it the full month next year. Starting so late also means that I could not really put together a sponsorship page so I will just donate to a mate's page or directly to the site.

Here is my 6-day Mo:

A few more funny Mo's:

The Fish Fight Back

2011-11-27T22:23:00.000Z

I've played a few hands over the last 2 days and they haven't been fun.

I am not too bothered as I seem to getting it in good only to be crushed to ridiculous suckouts or really terrible shoves pre.

I will start with this first one which is against an aggro 48/31 type player. When the showdown arrives I am totally shocked by his holding.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players

UTG+1: $50.95
MP1: $49.90
Hero (MP2): $54.95
CO: $51.45
BTN: $21.15
SB: $21.35
BB: $19.65
UTG: $65.30

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP2 with Q A
3 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, CO calls $1.50, 3 folds

Flop: ($3.75) A 4 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $2.45, CO raises to $6, Hero raises to $15.20, CO raises to $49.95, Hero calls $34.75

Turn: ($103.65) 2 (2 players)

River: ($103.65) 6 (2 players)

Final Pot: $103.65

Hero shows Q A
CO shows 6 4

CO wins $100.65
(Rake: $3.00)

Couldn't fade the river......

Hand 2 here is probably one where I deserve my stacking as for some reason I didn't raise his mid position open. The villain is a 52/14 monkey that will go broke pretty soon.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players

CO: $20.20
BTN: $36.90
Hero (SB): $63.50
BB: $50.00
UTG: $50.00
UTG+1: $58.35
MP1: $54.20
MP2: $44.65

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with K A
3 folds, MP2 raises to $2, 2 folds, Hero calls $1.75, BB raises to $7, MP2 calls $5, Hero raises to $63.50, 1 fold, MP2 calls $37.65 all in

Flop: ($96.30) Q 3 2 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($96.30) 4 (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($96.30) 4 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $96.30

Hero shows K A
MP2 shows Q T

MP2 wins $93.30
(Rake: $3.00)

I am a 64% favourite here pre but that was no good.

Hand 3 is a little less interesting but shows that fish will stack off with any pair pre.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players

MP1: $28.25
MP2: $105.85
Hero (CO): $61.60
BTN: $50.00
SB: $53.60
BB: $37.50
UTG: $45.85
UTG+1: $51.80

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with A K
4 folds, Hero raises to $1.25, 2 folds, BB raises to $6, Hero raises to $17.60, BB raises to $37.50, Hero calls $19.90

Flop: ($75.25) J Q 9 (2 players)

Turn: ($75.25) 8 (2 players)

River: ($75.25) 6 (2 players)

Final Pot: $75.25

Hero shows A K
BB shows 2 2

BB wins $72.25
(Rake: $3.00)

The fight continues.....

Gary Speed

R.I.P

1969 - 2011

1 Little Red Ruined It.......

2011-11-25T02:29:00.001Z

When Poker gets Serious......

2011-11-24T00:14:00.003Z

Poker Pros Lex "RaSZi" Veldhuis and Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier decided to stake $100k each to see who is the hardest in a kick boxing match. Propbets gone wild but a good performance by both.

Here is the full bout:

Forward to 9:30 and 10:25 for the Money Shots.

Hero??

2011-11-23T03:18:00.001Z

Stealing EV

2011-11-22T00:50:00.000Z

A little run good has come my way for a change

No Need for Toilet Breaks when Grinding Poker

2011-11-20T11:15:00.001Z

You can now grind for hours and hours with the new poker accessory available at the Pokerstars store

Jam Baby, Jam...

2011-11-18T00:02:00.000Z

I love these pots. They are so much fun. I just want to try to understand why MP2 would call with his holding after 2 all-ins. I guess some people just love to gamble. As it turns out his ace was live.

Pre against these two hands I am only 54% to win. On the flop I am a 70% favourite and on the turn I am 79%.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players

UTG: $52.00
Hero (UTG+1): $50.00
UTG+2: $65.80
MP1: $50.00
MP2: $26.90
CO: $24.30
BTN: $50.00
SB: $53.55
BB: $31.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with K K
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.50, UTG+2 calls $1.50, 1 fold, MP2 calls $1.50, 3 folds, BB raises to $31.50, Hero raises to $50, 1 fold, MP2 calls $25.40 all in

Flop: ($91.65) 6 8 3 (3 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($91.65) 2 (3 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($91.65) 8 (3 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $91.65

Hero shows K K
MP2 shows 5 A
BB shows J J

Hero wins $79.45
(Rake: $3.00)

Can't be touched Can't be stopped Can't be moved Can't be rocked Can't be shook We hot

2011-11-17T00:21:00.000Z

You don't believe me?

A Good Days Work

2011-11-16T02:27:00.001Z

Played a few hands at NL50 today. The games were average but I managed to get in a few good spots.

Win rate was okay too

Keep Grinding..!!

Internet Explorer 9 is causing my computer to crash and get really slow + display driver problems

2011-11-14T23:33:00.002Z

I've had loads of problems last few days after installing IE9. Pc kept getting really slow or crashing. There was also a display driver issue where the screen went blank for a few seconds.

Anyway I have uninstalled IE9 and reverted back to IE8. I will also use chrome a bit more now.

I hope the issue is resolved now. I will monitor it over the next few days.

Has anyone else had this issue?

Here is how to get rid of IE9:

Oooops

2011-11-14T02:01:00.000Z

Win money at Hold'em, lose it all at omaha... That's kind of the story of what happens, lol

It's always fun getting into pots vs loose players... you just don't know what they can have.

The villains in this next pot are a 29/6 in MP and a 38/16 on the button. I have only a small sample on both

I never think that the button has what he has... it is more likely that the MP has that hand but anyway when im running like this it does not matter..!!

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players

BTN: $42.95
SB: $22.05
BB: $50.50
UTG: $26.95
UTG+1: $56.15
UTG+2: $23.35
MP1: $31.90
Hero (MP2): $104.85
CO: $50.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP2 with A A
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $1.50, MP1 calls $1.50, Hero raises to $6, 1 fold, BTN calls $6, 3 folds, MP1 calls $4.50

Flop: ($20.25) J K A (3 players)
MP1 bets $6.50, Hero calls $6.50, BTN raises to $36.95, MP1 calls $19.40 all in, Hero calls $30.45

Turn: ($120.05) A (3 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($120.05) 4 (3 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $120.05

BTN shows T Q
MP1 shows K J
Hero shows A A

Hero wins $94.95
(Rake: $3.00)

Must be Nice.....

2011-11-11T13:42:00.002Z

I'd be happy with the interest the month I'm having..!!

Software to Take Your Game in Poker to the Next Level - By Andrew Perry

2011-11-10T13:32:00.001Z

The arc for many successful poker players looks much the same, as many get started in casual games with friends or online and spend plenty of time having fun but largely spinning their wheels as far as making steady profits. For players that decide they want to get serious about the game, the next step in their poker journey typically involves reading poker strategy books, visiting poker forums, and signing up for coaching or subscribing to an poker video training service.

One of the most common ways that players at many different stakes and games improve their profitability at the tables is by turning to tracking software such as PokerTracker and HoldemManager. These rival programs are very similar in function, giving online poker players the ability to record and analyze all of the hands that they play online. Both programs work with all the major online sites, and with a few clicks you’ll be up and running and able to automatically log all of the hands you play online.

Once you’ve collected enough data you can then start sifting through all your hands and start identifying areas of your game that are strong as well as picking out weaknesses to focus on. Stats can be filtered by hundreds of different parameters, letting you see how well or poorly you play from each position at the table, whether or not you’re defending your blinds as much as you should be, and what starting hands are your big winners or losers. The programs won’t recommend how you should play pocket jacks from early position but they can definitely increase your profits at the tables.

You can also use them to do far more than just calculate poker odds and look at your past data, as both programs include tools that pull from your database and display stats in real-time as you play at online tables. This means that at a glance you can see stats at the table such as how aggressive your opponents have played in the past as well as session stats for your own play such as how often you’ve raised pre-flop, how many times you’ve check-raised, and other valuable insights.

Pius Heinz Wins the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event for $8,715,638

2011-11-09T15:09:00.003Z

22yr old Pius Heinz from Germany becomes the first player from his country to win the WSOP Main event.

He passed through 6,865 opponents to be crowned the 2011 champ and receives his customary bracelet along with a nice $8,715,638.

The tournament that commenced in July goes on a 3 month break before the final table plays and ends the season with what is known as the 'November Nine'.

The final hand against runner up Martin Staszko saw Heinz pick up AKo. Martin shoved with T7cc and Pius made the easy call.

You can see how the hand went down in the clip below:

Smokin' Joe Frazier (1944 - 2011)

2011-11-08T10:43:00.001Z

Born 12 January 1944, Beaufort, South Carolina
Total fights 37 - 32 wins (27KOs), 4 losses, 1 draw
Won gold for USA at 1964 Tokyo Olympics
Won WBA and WBC versions of world title with victory over Jimmy Ellis in 1970
Last world title fight in 1975 against Muhammad Ali
Retired in 1976 and made a comeback in 1981, fighting just once, before retiring for good
Dies 7 November 2011 after suffering from liver cancer

Joe Frazier Fight Record: 32 Wins, 4 Losses, 1 Draw, 27 Knockouts

1965
1965-08-16 - Woody Goss, Philadelphia, PA, W TKO RD 1
1965-09-20 - Mike Bruce, Philadelphia, PA, W KO RD 3
1965-09-28 - Ray Staples, Philadelphia, PA, W KO RD 2
1965-11-11 - Abe Davis, Philadelphia, PA, W KO RD 1

1966
1966-01-17 - Mel Turnbow, Philadelphia, PA, W KO RD 1
1966-03-04 - Dick Wipperman, New York, NY, W TKO RD 5
1966-04-04 - Charley Polite, Philadelphia, PA, W TKO RD 2
1966-04-28 - Don (Toro) Smith, Pittsburgh, PA, W KO RD 3
1966-05-19 - Chuck (Charley) Leslie, Los Angeles, CA, W KO RD 3
1966-05-26 - Memphis Al Jones, Los Angeles, CA, W KO RD 1
1966-07-25 - Billy Daniels, Philadelphia, PA, W TKO RD 6
1966-09-21 - Oscar Bonavena, New York, NY, W RD 10
1966-11-21 - Eddie Machen, Los Angeles, CA, W TKO RD 10

1967
1967-02-21 - Doug Jones, Philadelphia, PA, W KO RD 5
1967-04-11 - Jefferson Davis, Miami Beach, FL, W KO RD 5
1967-05-04 - George Johns, Los Angeles, CA, W RD 10
1967-07-19 - George Chuvalo, New York, NY, W TKO RD 4
1967-10-17 - Tony Doyle, Philadelphia, PA, W TKO RD 2
1967-12-18 - Marion Connors, Boston, MA, W KO RD 3

1968
1968-03-04 - Buster Mathis, New York, NY, W TKO RD 11
1968-06-24 - Manuel Ramos, New York, NY, W TKO RD 2
1968-12-10 - Oscar Bonavena, Philadelphia, PA, W RD 15

1969
1969-04-22 - Dave Zyglewicz, Houston, TX, W KO RD 1
1969-06-23 - Jerry Quarry, New York, NY, W TKO RD 7

1970
1970-02-16 - Jimmy Ellis, New York, NY, W TKO RD 5
(Won WBC Heavyweight Title)
(Won WBA Heavyweight Title)
1970-11-18 - Bob Foster, Detroit, MI, W KO RD 2
(Retained WBC Heavyweight Title)
(Retained WBA Heavyweight Title)

1971
1971-03-08 - Muhammad Ali, New York, NY, W RD 15
(Retained WBC Heavyweight Title)
(Retained WBA Heavyweight Title)

1972
1972-01-15 - Terry Daniels, New Orleans, LA, W TKO RD 4
(Retained WBC Heavyweight Title)
(Retained WBA Heavyweight Title)
1972-05-25 - Ron Stander, Omaha, NE, W TKO RD 5
(Retained WBC Heavyweight Title)
(Retained WBA Heavyweight Title)

1973
1973-01-22 - George Foreman, Kingston, Jamaica, L TKO RD 2
(Lost WBC Heavyweight Title)
(Lost WBA Heavyweight Title)
1973-07-02 - Joe Bugner, London, England, W RD 12

1974
1974-01-28 - Muhammad Ali, New York, NY, L RD 12
1974-06-17 - Jerry Quarry, New York, NY, W TKO RD 5

1975
1975-03-01 - Jimmy Ellis, Melbourne, Australia, W TKO RD 9
1975-10-01 - Muhammad Ali, Manila, Philippines, L TKO RD 14
(For WBC Heavyweight Title)
(For WBA Heavyweight Title)

1976
1976-06-15 - George Foreman, Uniondale, NY, L TKO RD 5

1981
1981-12-03 - Floyd (Jumbo) Cummings, Chicago, IL, D RD 10

70 Billionth Hand Passes Through the Night

2011-11-04T13:32:00.002Z

So all the Regs were mass multi tabling in an effort to be sat at 'the' table when the 70 Billionth hand on Pokerstars was dealt.

I stepped up my tables to 20 and vastly underestimated the time that it would go down. I guessed it would be at around 3am but as the volume of players went down during off peak time it actually hit just after 5am. Man, I'm tired...!!

The table was a heads up NL50 between 2 German players who had just been exchanging blinds over the previous 50 hands. This meant that the winners VPP bonus was nil as you get $500 per VPP over the last 50 hands played at the milestone table. The milestone bonus of $70,000 was however up for grabs and they flipped for it with the winner making a pair of aces on the flop. A sweet reward for being in the right place at the right time..!!

I still have never hit a milestone hand which is annoying for someone who plays a lot but my graph for the day was not too bad at all for NL50 as the games get juicy with all the recreational players piling in during these promotions:

I guess I will just have to take down the 80 Billionth hand then...!!

Later

October 2011 Review

2011-11-01T01:09:00.002Z

Its all head in books these days... Learn Learn Learn.....

I played some of the micros stakes at the start of the month so there was some learnings to be had there in terms of figuring out the nuances at NL2, NL5, NL10 and NL25.

I then decided to read an Omaha book and learn some of the big points of this game. I can confirm that I hate this game. Omaha kinda goes like this:

Get AAxx, lose the hand
Get the nuts on the flop, lose the hand by the river
Get the nuts on the turn, lose the hand on the river.

The equity holdings of each player in the pot are a lot higher than in hold'em so that means people are rarely drawing dead and chase down combo draws and usually hit vs me. It is a high variance game and I won't playing much of this in the future.

Most of my time is now being spent studying for the December Exams.

I am playing my usual NL50 when I can and have got in a little bit of volume in October.

The final numbers for October are as follows:

136,000 Hands Played
12,716 VPPs

+$659 (Cash Game Winnings)
+$1,500 (FPP Cash Bonus)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$2,159 (Total Month)

The Ytd numbers as at the end of October are as follows:

1,155,000 Hands Played
250,791 VPPs

-$1,214 - Jan
+$1,075 - Feb
+$722 - Mar
+$4,766 - Apr
+$3,278 - May
+$415 - Jun
+$1,334 - Jul
+$2,341 - Aug
+$1,833 - Sep
+$2,159 - Oct
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$16,709 (Total YTD)

I still have ambitions of making 300k VPPs for the year but it is going to be very tough as my exams finish on December 15th. I will probably have virtually no volume in the next 6 weeks so I basically need to get 49.3k VPPs in around 16 days in December which is around 3.1k VPPs a day.

I will need to move up to NL100 and maybe NL200 to make this happen. It might not be worth the $2,800 bonus if I have a bad run at NL200 which could be a lot more than the bonus. Lets see how it goes...

He's Repping the Jackson Five

2011-10-29T22:36:00.002+01:00

If you don't know who Nanonoko is then you must be residing on another planet.

Seriously though he is probably unknown outside the Poker World. For those who don't know, he is the number 1 mass multi tabling grinder on the planet who plays 24 high stakes tables of 6 max cash games simultaneously.

I have included a clip at the bottom showing his sick sick skills.

In 2008 he was involved in a funny hand that I have only just found the transcript of. I had heard about the hand but never knew that he had posted it on-line.

Here it a copy taken from his forum post:

nanonoko: raises $8 to $12
uk_djerba: folds
mugsyjets: calls $8
*** FLOP *** [7c Qs 2h]
mugsyjets: bets $20
nanonoko: raises $506.25 to $526.25 and is all-in
mugsyjets said, "u beat AQ?"
mugsyjets said, "wtf!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
mugsyjets: calls $409 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [7c Qs 2h] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [7c Qs 2h 6c] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
mugsyjets: shows [As Qc] (two pair, Aces and Queens)
nanonoko: shows [5c Jc] (a flush, Ace high)
nanonoko collected $882 from pot

mugsyjets: what a fcuking joke
mugsyjets: stupid fcuking moron
mugsyjets: youre a fcuking stupid kunt, fish
mugsyjets: runner runner flush
mugsyjets: fcuk you kunt
mugsyjets: speak up dikhead
Mooshoo: he's repping the jackson five
Mooshoo: don't hate
mugsyjets: stupid fcuking ****
mugsyjets: god damn slope
mugsyjets: fcuking jokerstars rewards morons like you is whats funny
mugsyjets: say something you gutless poussy
nanonoko: hello sir
mugsyjets: your play was so obvious you hAD nothing
micutu17: i would love to punch in the mouth whoever built the system
micutu17: def a sick *******
micutu17: always rewards fish
nanonoko: fishes call
nanonoko: hence you are the fish and i'm not
mugsyjets: fishes call???????????? thats what u say?
mugsyjets: i had you KILLED u fcuking moron
nanonoko: don't you know fishes love to call?
mugsyjets: it was an obvious steal with that overbet and now u are criticizing my play?????????????
mugsyjets: youre a fcuking joke
nanonoko: the say the best players are the ones who puts a man to a decision for all of his chips
mugsyjets: LMAO
mugsyjets: you must be another stupid fcuking asian
micutu17: lol
mugsyjets: u did and i read you perfectly
mugsyjets: fcuking donk
nanonoko: BTW
nanonoko: i am NANONOKO

Dealer: mugsyjets has a pair of Kings
Dealer: nanonoko has a pair of Aces
Dealer: Game #15889845865: nanonoko wins pot ($199) with a pair of Aces

He is NANONOKO and with over $3m in earnings he is a phenomenon:

Graham Norton Show

2011-10-28T18:21:00.001+01:00

I went to the Graham Norton show last night.

For those who have never watched it, it is a comedy chat show that is broadcast on BBC1 on Friday nights.

The guests were James McAvoy, Joanna Lumley, John Bishop and Nancy Dell'olio.

The Band on the night was the Arctic Monkeys.

It was an excellent show and if you get the chance to watch BBC1, then its on at 22:30.

Assault on Omaha

2011-10-27T00:01:00.003+01:00

I have spent the last few days learning how to play Omaha. I read a book and have been playing PLO5 since.

I played a lot of Omaha hands one month last year. I played a super lag maniac style and the ups and down were huge in terms of BIs and I lost overall.

I am now playing a tighter, more controlled and intelligent style, while aggressive in good spots. I have now become a winning player over the last 4 or 5 days and I am up around 14 BIs. I have learnt a lot about the nuances of the game and am making less mistakes. I am only playing 6 tables and each is 6-handed.

This game is a lot of fun and I am enjoying playing. It takes a while to get the hang of it but it is good fun.

If you have tilt issues then give Omaha a miss as you will encounter some ridiculous shoves from villains that get there and drive you mad. It's high variance game and is more complicated than Hold'em as you have 4 cards but you must use 2 of them. At first you will get confused with when you have a flush, straight, trips and full houses but eventually it comes together.

My goal is to beat PLO5 and then move up to PLO10 and eventually to PLO25 where I will then just play for fun on occasion inbetween my NLH sessions . Maybe a few drunk gambling Omaha sessions ahead.....

We all know the best NLH hands but for those who are curious here are the Top 30 best Omaha hands (they should be double suited):

See yous on zeeee felt... later

Adrenaline Rush

2011-10-23T09:38:00.002+01:00

I got a little bit too excited when I had a Royal Flush Draw and shoved. MP is an aggroreg that will often call this type of play but a 3x raise would have been a much better play. The best possible poker hand arrived on the river and I made my thirteenth Royal Flush

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players

Hero (BTN): $70.70
SB: $44.00
BB: $4.05
UTG: $50.00
UTG+1: $50.00
MP: $52.65
CO: $53.10

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with A Q
2 folds, MP raises to $2, 1 fold, Hero calls $2, 1 fold, BB raises to $4.05, MP calls $2.05, Hero calls $2.05

Flop: ($12.40) 5 T J (3 players)
MP bets $7.00, Hero raises to $66.65, MP folds

Turn: ($26.40) K (2 players)

River: ($26.40) K (2 players)

Final Pot: $26.40

Hero shows A Q
BB shows 6 A

Hero wins $11.80

Amazing Space Balloon Launched into the Stratosphere

2011-10-20T01:46:00.001+01:00

Micro Mania - uNL Poker

2011-10-17T13:57:00.003+01:00

The commonly classed levels that come under the micro poker stakes banner are NL2, NL5, NL10, NL25 and NL50.

My normal level of recent months has been NL50 even though I have spent most of my lifetime poker play at NL100.

As I have decided to coach micro players in the future I spent some time over the last 2 weeks playing at NL2, NL5, NL10 and NL25. I witnessed a lot of interesting plays that helped me to understand how the game plays out at these lower stakes and how they differ from NL50 and NL100.

My coaching page is about half complete and you can find it on the right hand side pane. I will write a full post about this once it is ready.

Over the last week or so most of my play has been at NL10. Here are my results:

I will slowly ease back into NL50 and NL100 over the next few days. Most of my time over the next 9 weeks will be dedicated to my Accountancy course so my volume will pick up only after December 15th.

Later

Come Fly With Me.............

2011-10-15T00:33:00.000+01:00

Some of you guys might remember a post I wrote a while back about the Inbetweeners Movie and the TV series.

Anyway, if you like that show then you probably have a similar taste in comedy to myself.

If you have never watched the show 'Come Fly With Me' then you need to get hold of the dvd or download it. There is only 1 series so far with 6 episodes.

It is British Humour at its funniest. It's created by the Little Britain guys David Walliams and Matt Lucus. I think it is way better than Little Britain though.

He are some of the characters and a short clip of one of the sketches:

Clip of Immigration Officer Ian:

KTFO..............

2011-10-14T02:52:00.000+01:00

We're All In....!!

2011-10-12T13:42:00.001+01:00

A fun hand from NL10 yesterday

UTG is an 89/6 over a small sample
MP2 is a 7/7 over a small sample and the only one that we need to worry about
SB is a 44/16 over a small sample too

When the 7/7 Jams I think I am done for but I break even in this pot due to winning the side pot

Poker Stars $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players

MP2: $10.00
CO: $10.00
BTN: $3.74
SB: $5.40
Hero (BB): $17.58
UTG: $25.71
UTG+1: $7.74
UTG+2: $4.17
MP1: $10.16

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with K K
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $0.20, 2 folds, MP2 raises to $0.60, 2 folds, SB raises to $1.20, Hero raises to $17.58, UTG+1 calls $7.54 all in, MP2 calls $9.40 all in, SB calls $4.20 all in

Flop: ($33.14) 7 T 6 (4 players - 3 are all in)

Turn: ($33.14) A (4 players - 3 are all in)

River: ($33.14) J (4 players - 3 are all in)

Final Pot: $33.14

MP2 shows Q Q
SB shows A Q
Hero shows K K
UTG+1 shows 9 K

SB wins $20.52
(Rake: $-5.93)

I have 46% equity on the flop, no way is my hand gonna hold, lol

Hand Reading - Know the Basics

2011-10-07T23:04:00.005+01:00

One of the first things that I learnt in poker was to hand read. I'm not talking about any advanced stuff in the heat of battle vs specific opponents but basic hands that beat other hands.

I was thinking about a hand from about 5yrs ago in a Live STT because hand reading was on my mind after I witnessed 2 funny hands from a recent online session. So here are all 3 hands with the 2 online ones first.

1. The first hand is quite a common occurrence but when recreational players are around it can be quite funny.

I'm in a small pot multi way in the SB and I don't think there was a bet on the flop or turn. By the river the board is KJQAT with no flush possibilities so basically the board plays. Now, if I am on the button and it checks to me, depending on the size and who it is against I may take a stab at it just in case someone folds out of a chop. In the hand above one guy bet small and 2 people folded. It can be just a waste of rake against a reg but against an unknown it has happened where I have got someone to fold.

2. Hand 2 is more interesting as I think it is one that gets many a fish/ recreational players confused. UTG min raises and it folds to me in the BB with 78s and I just call. Board runs out AJJJJ and there is no betting on the flop or turn. On the river I decide to have a laugh and lead out 2x the pot and he insta folds and I take down a tiny pot vs an unknown. I think a lot of players think that if I have an Ace or AA then I could have a big full house but actually they don't understand that 4 of a kind with an ace is unbeatable with any 2 hole cards so again the board plays.

3. This is the hand from 5 years ago in the Live Tourney. I played the hand terribly I know but I had no clue back then. I limp UTG with 76o and there are 4 people to the flop with no raise pre. Flop comes down 345hh, checks round, turn is 2h, putting the flush possibility out there, checks round (lol, I know I sucked), River is the an ace (different suit). So there is a straight on the board with a possible flush and I have the highest nut straight available. It checks round to the guy on the button who just goes all-in. I tank for a few seconds and call and the other 2 players fold. I say 'what cha got? and he replies 'the board obviously', but it wasn't obvious and he was a huge fish and didn't even see the possible flush and was shocked when I turned over the 67. His expression was priceless as he got knocked out with a shove in a nothing pot, lol.

The moral of the above hands is make sure that you always know what the NUTS is...!!

Star Wars Subway Train

2011-10-06T01:50:00.002+01:00

The Most Followed People On Twitter

2011-10-03T23:02:00.002+01:00

I am not a huge user of twitter but I like the fact that you can receive the most up to date information via them on many occasions. Just watch out for the false stories that also arise.

After seeing a quiz question the other day I was quite surprised to learn that some people have 8 figure followings.

This just shows how big the site has become in a relatively short space of time. It is rumoured to have 200 million users worldwide.

So who are the most followed? Well, Topping the list is Lady Gaga with over 14 million followers, damn....

1. Lady Gaga - 14.0m+
2. Justin Bieber - 13.0m+
3. Katy Perry - 10.4m+
4. Barack Obama - 10.3m+
5. Kim Kardashian - 10.1m+
6. Britney Spears - 9.8m+
7. Shakira - 8.9m+
8. Taylor swift - 8.2m+
9. Rihanna - 7.9m+
10. Ashton Kutcher 7.8m+

Someway down the list is me with a massive 22 followers, lol.

x_ROSH125_x on twitter

More random geeky facts next time....

Later

September 2011 Review

2011-10-01T12:41:00.003+01:00

It's been an another interesting month in the Poker World.

As the Full Tilt Situation seems to get worse by the day Pokerstars seems to be getting stronger with new software updates, talk of a RUSH poker type game and of course WCOOP which just finished. I didn't play any events this time around but I railed a few final tables which was fun.

My study course will now take centre stage till the middle of December so you will notice my volume drop this month and in the next 2 months while I work on this.

Unfortunately for those of you waiting to see me win my EPT event you will have to wait till next year as I was unable to attend due to other commitments arising.

In September I also got to meet some other Stars players from London as the cricket event was organised by Stars Rep Jonny. It was a good night and I hope there are more to come in the future.

I am planning to visit the Westernclub in October which is a poker club based in Park Royal, a few miles from where I live. Doyle Brunson is due to make an appearance there and I would like to meet him. I basically learned how to play poker from his 2 Super System books a long time ago.

I am also working on creating Coaching Packages for micro players. I now have a link on the right hand side pane with some details that are finalised and others that are still in progress. I would really like to become a coach and help others to improve and take their games forward. Some of my prices are listed and they are extremely competitive with most coaches out there. More to come on this once it is complete.

The final numbers for September are as follows:

110,000 Hands Played
15,783 VPPs

+$1,828 (Cash Game Winnings)
+$15 (Online Tourni Winnings)
+$105 (Live Cash Winnings, (80 + 25))
-$114 (Stake Buy)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$1,833 (Total Month)

The Ytd numbers as at the end of September are as follows:

1,019,000 Hands Played
238,075 VPPs

-$1,214 - Jan
+$1,075 - Feb
+$722 - Mar
+$4,766 - Apr
+$3,278 - May
+$415 - Jun
+$1,334 - Jul
+$2,341 - Aug
+$1,833 - Sep
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+$14,550 (Total YTD)

Big Daddy Update - 30/09/11

2011-09-30T10:29:00.002+01:00

My obsession with pull-ups continues.... I can now do 3 proper pull-ups before I fail. 2 months ago I could only do 1. A few years back I could not do any. When I was 20 I could do 6. My target is to be able to do 10 proper.

I now weigh 13st 5lbs (85kg or 187lbs)

The Deep Tables

2011-09-27T12:38:00.002+01:00

For those who don't play the Deep tables they are basically designed for players who don't wish to tangle with the short stacks.

You must buy in for a minimum of 100bb and you can if you wish buy in for a maximum of 250bb.

Any time I sit down at a cash game I always buy in for the max simply to get the best implied odds vs any players who are worse than me.

The Deep tables on stars are interesting as you get some wild maniacs who have more $$$$$ to spew in bigger pots. I am still quite baffled as to why so many do not buy in for the max.... even the top players.... strange

Anyway, being deep allows for different kinds of game play. People will generally play more normally as they want to protect their BIG stacks. However some will take advantage of this and 3bet/ 4bet more aggressively as they know that you don't want to risk 250bb without a strong holding.

One of the features I like is that you can call pre, especially multi way with more speculative hands as the potential rewards are high.

Here is an example of a hand where I may have folded to the size of the 3bet if I were at a standard table but with the deep stacks I decided to call. The villain is a 32/18 over 61 hands with a 3bet of 11%

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players

BTN: $159.85
SB: $50.00
BB: $134.80
UTG: $100.00
Hero (UTG+1): $125.00
MP1: $72.70
MP2: $126.80
CO: $154.45

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with 8 8
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.80, 5 folds, BB raises to $6.50, Hero calls $4.70

Flop: ($13.25) 2 J 8 (2 players)
BB bets $8.50, Hero raises to $23.30, BB raises to $59.50, Hero raises to $118.40, BB calls $58.90

Turn: ($250.05) 7 (2 players)

River: ($250.05) 4 (2 players)

Final Pot: $250.05

BB shows A A
Hero shows 8 8

Hero wins $247.85
(Rake: $2.20)

Bit of a cooler for him but it just illustrates what can happen at the Deep tables

Still Time for Action....

2011-09-26T12:36:00.001+01:00

Its only 3 days to go before I make my EPT debut.

As you may know I am selling chunks of myself so that I can reduce variance and give people a chance for a nice little sweat.

There are still pieces of me available to buy on the thread that I created.

The price of each chunk is as follows:

1% = $18.43
2% = $36.86
5% = $92.15
10% = $184.30

I accept Pokerstars Transfers and Paypal (link on the rightside pane, near the bottom)

The full thread link is as follows:

Rosh at EPT London

GL to anyone attending.

Cheers

Rosh

Pokerstars Cricket Night

2011-09-24T13:06:00.001+01:00

I recently got a call from a Pokerstars Rep.

I was a bit sceptical when I received the call as I been reading about scams where people where posing as Stars Reps on Skype in an attempt to swindle players.

After a while talking to this guy it was apparent that he was really who he claimed to be and I began to trust him.

Stars organises social events for Supernova+ players to bring a more community feel to what can be quite an isolated job if you grinding alone behind a screen for hours on end.

I think its a great idea and there aren't many poker sites that would host these kind of nights out on their account.

Yesterday I attended the England vs West Indies T20 Cricket match at the Oval. Myself, 4 other players and the Stars Rep all attended and it was paid for by Stars. We were also treated to drinks and food and it was a fun evening. The players that attended all played different games from HU to SNGs to FR Cash to 6-max.

The game was pretty interesting although predictable at the end as England romped home to victory

Afterwards we hit a pub for a few more after game drinkz.

Here we are:

Rosh at EPT London 2011

2011-09-20T02:15:00.001+01:00

I have decided to enter an event at EPT London.

I would love to play the main event but the buy-in at £5,250 is pretty steep and I don't really want to fork out that much money on a tournament. After all I am a cash game specialist.

I am however going to play event 1 which is a NLH Freezeout for a buy-in of £1,000 + £100.

I am currently selling shares in this event to reduce variance and to reduce the amount that I have to put up.

I have started a thread on 2+2 for the sale of shares.

If you would like purchase a share please let me know via here or on the forum, thx.

Link

Rosh at EPT London

The Million Pound Drop

2011-09-18T17:00:00.001+01:00

I don't watch that much TV these days but one of my favourite shows right now is the Million Pound Drop.

I was on the show as an audience member on Friday and apart from a lot of standing around it was good fun. My ugly mug was on cam too on a few occasions.

For those who don't know, the quiz show works like this: the contestants (couples) receive £1m at the start of the show which is theirs to keep. To walk out with it however they must answer 8 general knowledge questions correctly.

Each question is multiple choice and they must bet all of the money on one or more of the answers by placing it on drops. They keep the amount that they bet on the correct answer and move on to the next question. If they answer question 8 correctly the keep what they have left.

They show we went on had both teams win which almost never happens. The second couple also won the highest amount ever on the show, £250,000..... nice pay day.

Now I have had a taste of it I will be applying to go on as a contestant. Would love to get a shot..!!

Ultimate Grinder Leaderboard - NL50 Sept 2011

2011-09-15T23:30:00.002+01:00

I mentioned a while back about how I would like to make the top 50 winning players in a division for the month. PTR has an ultimate grinder leaderboard (UGL) which attempts to track this across the sites.

Here is what it looks like for this month:

Here is someone you may recognise:

But if the donks had got it right I should be right up there...!!

Anyway, looks like I may finish up on the board for the first time ever.