Category: Poker Page 35 of 36

Played a $22 no mistakes but just lost a flip and then used a $109 tournament ticket where I shoved 15BB with 99 from mid position only to be called by JJ on the button.

I did call an all in shove with KQo for half my stack and surprise surprise found myself dominated. It’s either a flip of domination nation so not +EV.

I would suggest open shoving with any pair at any position, strong aces in early position, weak aces in late position.

Also if everyone folds around to you on the button or small blind then shove any two cards. If you get your stack above 20 bb then start playing how you would normally

I’ve busted 3 times and not played a hand badly, let it go for tonight. There is tilt and residual tilt to deal with and no mater how Zen you are Tilt will get you and take your money. Have a cup of tea and go to bed there is more to life than poker and the game will be there tomorrow.

Don’t ride a motorbike angry or play poker on tilt.

Variance will kill you, the biggest crime in poker is confusing bad play with bad luck

Played 3 x $22 tournament

1. Hit a set of jacks checked the flop shove followed by call and then I shove and get called. Initial raiser has Ace high caller has a pair and a flush draw and hits his flush on the river. Should have been chip lead but busted instead.
2. Shove QQ under the gun with 10 BB called by AKs in the button and he hits his ace on the flop
3. Early position raise I shove 10BB from cutoff, button shoves with AQ and initial raiser folds. Ace on flop sends me to the rail.

3 tournaments no errors $66 down that is poker

Played the £60 tournament at Apsers and played badly.

Mistake 1 – I limped Aces from small blind when I have 3 limpers in front of me of course the big blind checked too…awful play just awful. Never slow play big hands and if you do make sure there is a good reason such as an over aggressive Villain waiting to fall into  your trap.

Mistake 2 – Flatted a raise with AKs in position instead of raising, too passive, the value of AK is in its fold equity 2 out of 3 times you’ll miss the flop and be stuck with Ace high. This of course is what happened and then I decided to float a raise in position only for the small blind to make it 3 way before I folded to a bet on the turn.

Mistake 4 – Two mid position limpers blinds at 1500/3000 400 ante small blind completes and in the big blind I check with K80 with a stack of 80K giving a pot of 15,200.  Flop comes 8 4 5 rainbow and the small blind a good player bets 10,000 so what does he have? Donk bets are normally 2 pair or a pair plus draw, he  could have flopped the nuts  with 6 7 but a good player would check that. I should call and re-evaluate on the turn as I don’t know where I am in the hand, I’m either well ahead or way behind the worst spot in poker. Remember Rule 1 – If you don’t know where you are in the hand don’t bet. I raise to 20K  two folds and villain ships, I fold and he shows me his two pair. The days of betting for information are over this is just bad play, it allows me to find out I’m beat but I’d have been better investing 10K and perhaps outdrawing his hand and re-evaluating on the turn.

Mistake 3 – Blinds 2,000/4,000 500 ante pot of 10,500  before button raises to 11,000 and I ship 61,000 with J6s. So the pot is 82,500 and villain has to put in 50,000 to call  to win 82,500 giving  him odds of 1.65 : 1 (37%)on his call needing . He calls with A3o , I hit a Jack on the flop and he spikes an Ace on the turn to send me to the rail. Correct play fold and attack the blinds in the next few hands or wait for a better hand, I don’t like the idea of playing fit or fold out of position.

What do I know of the villain?

1. Not scared of big all in confrontations he shoved a nut flush draw over a raise for the majority of his stack earlier in the tournament. Enjoys the gamble of the situation something he shared with me after that hand.

2. Has a large enough stack to make the call

3. Knows how to play

When I look at this profile, although I assume he is raising almost any two into my stack size from the button I can find a fold and find a better spot to shove my 15BB especially as I have minimal fold equity.

£1,292 – £100 = £1,192

No one knows how to play Jacks not even Phil Ivey or maybe he does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGINuq5UaD0

People play Jacks too aggressively or too passively getting the balance right is an art. Jacks is a hand to go all-in pre-flop with when you are less than 10BB  and up to 15BB in tourneys, stacking off with more than 30BB is a mistake unless you have a good read!

I advise playing Jacks in early levels as a set mining hand as you will generally win a small pot or lose a big one, when the antes kick in start 3 betting them.

This video tells you all you need to know

Super 60 at Aspers for £60 blinds are 400/800 with 100 ante raise UTG +2 to 2,000 with 3 callers and I wake up with JJ in the big blind with a stack of 40K and bump it to 12,500. Initial raiser tanks than goes all in and he is the big stack, previously he had called a 25BB shove from an under the gun raiser with a pair of eights. Two folds and I have  a decision 30K behind a playable stack and I try to get him to talk he remains silent but is his chest is breathing hard. My move looks like a squeeze play and I try to put him on a range and decide it is 88+ AQ+ and after much thought I call to get the bad news he has Kings. The board runs out and I’m out and heading for the door. Poker is a game of situations and in this situation may Jacks may be good, I want to fold but can’t, I level myself believing that he may be putting me on a squeeze, that combined with having been card dead led to the call.

When you make a bet know how you will respond and have a plan for the hand ask yourself “Am I prepared to play for my whole stack with this hand?” with Jacks this should be 10-15BB pre-flop for an all in, I managed to get 50BB and that is a major mistake.

People earn the right to bluff you by making bets, I should have let the hand go and found a better spot for my remaining 30 BB.

There is a story of two poker players who meetup in Las Vegas one asks the other how he’s doing and he replies “I’ve gone completely broke playing poker but the good news is no one bluffed me”.

Learn to let yourself be bluffed you’ll be richer for it.

£1,352 – £60 = £1,292

I came home worse for wear after a night in Borough Market,  watched an episode of First Dates and fired up a $22 game on PartyPoker Middleweight $1,000 6 Max Gtd. I came 30th out of  74, the tournament finished at 03:30 am and I fell asleep somewhere before the end during one of the breaks when I was playing well…$22 wasted, I woke up on the sofa with my laptop on my chest and the game over. I’m playing Aspers £55 tonight and my task for the day is to finish Oliver IMPROVA Marx’s A PIECE by PIECE approach to SOLVING THE POKER PUZZLE I need to up my game before the WPT Ireland my last £1,000.

£1,369 – £17 = £1,352

Last week’s cooler.  $22 tournament I ran a pair of tens from the small blind into the big blind’s Aces on the bubble. I came 6th and  remaining five players each won a $109 ticket.  Rule 4 – Sometimes they have aces. You must remember that in no limit Texas holdem when you play a hand it may be your last. Enter pots with the appropriate level of caution that is required and from an ICM perspective be aware that sometimes it is mathematically correct play to even fold Aces.

ICM, also known as the Independent Chip Model, is a mathematical formula used by poker players to calculate the equity of their chip stack in a tournament. Players often use these calculations to make better decisions in subsequent hands or even to determine a fair and equitable deal when chopping up remaining prize money. Tournament chips hold a non-linear value, meaning one big blind is worth more to a short stack than one big blind for the chip leader.

Raise from late position of 1,200 and I flat on the button with AQo Big Blind shoves all-in for 27,000 this is the 3rd time he has over shoved all-in. I call to see what he has…and he turns over a pair of nines. He hits a nine on the flop for his set and I hit my ace. So suddenly I look at my stack and it’s been halved and all my good early tournament work is undone in one hand. Rule 3 – Don’t call big bets out of curiosity as most people’s bets mean what they say. His bet said “I have a medium pair  and it figures to be best pre-flop. I don’t want to just call as I’ll be playing out of position with a flop that has over cards. My preferred play is to get my chips in good now.”

There is nothing better than Aces in the big blind, re-raising an early position raise of 5 K to 14 K Villan shoves with  his AK and I double up to 72 K. Now at level 10  with 23 out of 40 left, I’m 8th  and the top five players win $2,000 packages to WPT Ireland…almost forgot about my ill advised call with AQ0

Initial raiser in early position to 2,400 I bump it to 9 K with Queens and get a shove behind of 31 K  from KJ0 the ladies hold up and I move into 2nd place with 110 K.

12:22 a.m. made it to the last five and a $2,000 dollar package to the WPT Ireland…what a feeling, played well and controlled the ICM implications when there was a flat prize for the first five. It made hand selection and shove tables something to master and is an area I need to review…

Packages Includes:
€1,100 WPT National Ireland Entry 15th – 18th September 2016
4 Nights Accommodation
$200 Spending Money

Bankroll £1,530 – £161 = +£1,369

I used a $109 ticket to buy in late for a 30 K stack at level 7 with blinds at 300/600 50 BB at 1.11 a.am after a night out. $2,250 for the winner 16/25 players left with late registration still open. Raise from the cutoff and I shove 44 into 10 10 with 10 BB and its all over, I finished 50th out of 100. Immediately bought in for a $22 tournament and ended up getting it in with top pair losing to a set of nines on a 9 high flop. I finished 31st out of 50…no mistakes but $131 dollars down for the night. It would have been a better choice to play the Super Stack at the Victoria casino for £150 + £20 and the chance to win £16 K…Rule 2 Alcohol and poker don’t mix 

For context I did win  £6,250 two weeks ago and bought this new poker ring to bring some bling to my live game.

Bank roll – £161.39