So it's taken a while for me to write again. I blame the layoff on a very rough trip to Vegas. I actually vowed that I won't be going back to Vegas for a long time. I've since softened that stance but I definitely need to build up a bankroll again before I will go.
Speaking of my bankroll, I recently did a little bit of analysis around my daily poker results. I had always believed that I was winning player on most nights but I would have the occasional terrible losing night that would wipe out my winnings over the past week or month or whatever. I hadn't ever actually looked close enough at my results to prove this. It was just something I believed.
So with my bankroll devastated by my Vegas trip (and another terrible night last week), I did the analysis and found my belief to be true. Out of almost 800 nights that I have recorded my results over the past 4 years, I had profits on over 66% of the nights.
My problem definitely is with the big nights of losing. When I look at my "large" losses compared to my "large" wins, it was almost double. I had 19 large losses and only 10 large wins. This alone is enough to skew my results.
Therefore, I am going to begin focusing on bankroll management more than ever. I am trying to figure out some sort of stop loss method to use so that I can eliminate these big losing nights. If I make sure not to rebuy into a table more than once I think that is probably the best start I can make.
Sometimes it just seems that a certain table is not going well and I should just get away from it. I've usually just brought more chips to the table if I thought I had an advantage at that table but I now think I just need to get up.
This happened the other night when I was getting great cards but constantly getting sucked out on the river. I lost with trip kings and the nut flush draw to a 2 outer (pocket sixes) and then with pocket aces against QT when a third ten came on the river and various other bad beats like this. I think I just need to accept the fact that it's just not my night at that table and get up.
Hopefully this will help build that bankroll back up for a return trip to Vegas or Atlantic City or New Orleans or ...
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Holy Crap Step 6
I finally did it. I decided to play in my WSOP Step 5 tourney tonight. After playing a couple of Step 2 and 3 tourneys tonight, I felt like I was playing quite well so I decided to give it a shot. And wow did I get lucky.
I was the short stack with 7 players to go. The blinds were at 100/200 and I had only 800 chips. Luckily for me, the 2 players just above me in chips went to battle in the blinds with A8 against Q2. The player with Q2 had fewer chips so I was hoping for A8 to win so that we'd be down to 6 players.
The structure of the tourney is 1st & 2nd place win a step 6 ticket, 3rd & 4th win a step 5 ticket and 5th & 6th win a step 4 ticket (7th, 8th & 9th place get nothing). If it were down to 6 players I would at least be guaranteed a step 4 ticket.
Of course the Q2 player hit a 2 on the river to win but the other player became the short stack below me. On the next hand he was in the small blind and I was in the big blind. Everyone folded until he went all-in for his last 360. The blinds had moved up to 150/300 so it was only another 60 for me to call.
I called and my Q6 dominated his 56. I won and eliminated him in 7th place. Whew - I made it to 6th place at least. I was still the short stack though. That is, until about 3 hands later I got my first decent hand with QQ.
The under-the-gun player limped (stupid play) and I shoved all-in. He called and turned over 66. I won and quickly moved up to 2nd place. I was stunned to say the least. Now I actually had a chance to win a step 6 ticket.
Since the blinds were so high, other player were pushing all-in and getting called rather quickly and we were down to 3 players. One player had about 6500 in chips and the other 2 of us had about 3000. On the first hand of 3 handed play I got AK and raised but got no callers. I was hopeful this was going to go well.
Unfortunately I didn't get anything remotely close to a playable hand after that. The big stack still had about 6500 and the other player had moved up to about 4000 while I had dropped to about 2000. It was not looking good for me.
Until...I was on the button and folded and the chip leader in the small blind raised to 900. The big blind (2nd in chips) moved all-in and the big stack called. It was QQ (the big stack) against TT and I suddenly had all my fingers and toes crossed.
The big stack's QQ held up and I backed into 2nd place and earned a step 6 ticket. I don't feel at all bad about backing into the win. I played as best as I could so I still feel I earned it.
My one observation on the last hand is that the big blind (2nd in chips) should've played a little slower and not shove all-in pre-flop. Just call the small blind raise and see what happens on the flop. If an Ace or King or maybe even a Queen came on the flop, he could at least fold to a decent size bet. Thankfully he didn't do that and the flop came down Kc 6d 4d and then the wonderful Qh came on the turn to seal it for me.
Hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight. I'm a little pumped up right now.
I was the short stack with 7 players to go. The blinds were at 100/200 and I had only 800 chips. Luckily for me, the 2 players just above me in chips went to battle in the blinds with A8 against Q2. The player with Q2 had fewer chips so I was hoping for A8 to win so that we'd be down to 6 players.
The structure of the tourney is 1st & 2nd place win a step 6 ticket, 3rd & 4th win a step 5 ticket and 5th & 6th win a step 4 ticket (7th, 8th & 9th place get nothing). If it were down to 6 players I would at least be guaranteed a step 4 ticket.
Of course the Q2 player hit a 2 on the river to win but the other player became the short stack below me. On the next hand he was in the small blind and I was in the big blind. Everyone folded until he went all-in for his last 360. The blinds had moved up to 150/300 so it was only another 60 for me to call.
I called and my Q6 dominated his 56. I won and eliminated him in 7th place. Whew - I made it to 6th place at least. I was still the short stack though. That is, until about 3 hands later I got my first decent hand with QQ.
The under-the-gun player limped (stupid play) and I shoved all-in. He called and turned over 66. I won and quickly moved up to 2nd place. I was stunned to say the least. Now I actually had a chance to win a step 6 ticket.
Since the blinds were so high, other player were pushing all-in and getting called rather quickly and we were down to 3 players. One player had about 6500 in chips and the other 2 of us had about 3000. On the first hand of 3 handed play I got AK and raised but got no callers. I was hopeful this was going to go well.
Unfortunately I didn't get anything remotely close to a playable hand after that. The big stack still had about 6500 and the other player had moved up to about 4000 while I had dropped to about 2000. It was not looking good for me.
Until...I was on the button and folded and the chip leader in the small blind raised to 900. The big blind (2nd in chips) moved all-in and the big stack called. It was QQ (the big stack) against TT and I suddenly had all my fingers and toes crossed.
The big stack's QQ held up and I backed into 2nd place and earned a step 6 ticket. I don't feel at all bad about backing into the win. I played as best as I could so I still feel I earned it.
My one observation on the last hand is that the big blind (2nd in chips) should've played a little slower and not shove all-in pre-flop. Just call the small blind raise and see what happens on the flop. If an Ace or King or maybe even a Queen came on the flop, he could at least fold to a decent size bet. Thankfully he didn't do that and the flop came down Kc 6d 4d and then the wonderful Qh came on the turn to seal it for me.
Hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight. I'm a little pumped up right now.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Bad Luck and Bad Flops
I have not played in a WSOP Step 5 tourney yet. Mostly because I haven't earned another ticket but I'm getting close. I have another Step 4 ticket so I'm getting close. I think I'm running out of time for this as well.
A week from today I leave for Vegas so I have 6 more days to play in these tourneys before I leave and I think PokerStars may be ending these tourneys soon. So I probably only have about 2 more weeks to try to win Step 6.
I watched a Step 5 tourney and it didn't seem that much different than any of the tourneys I have played so far. There usually seems to be 1 or 2 donkeys who try to make a move early in the tourney and lose against a made hand. Otherwise there seems to be a lot of tight play and it comes down to a lot of races where 1 players goes all-in with a pocket pair and the other calls with a big Ace (AK, AQ or even AJ).
I have still been playing in a bunch of these Steps tourneys but mostly at level 2 or 3. I have been having terrible luck in all of my races and haven't been able to get more than the 1 additional ticket to Step 4.
This brings me to some examples of the terrible flops I've seen lately. A couple of nights ago I was playing in a Step 3 tourney and we were down to 4 players. The blinds were pretty high and I was the short stack. The other short stack who just barely had me covered pushed all-in from UTG (first after the blinds). I called from the button with AJo.
Since he was short stacked also and next to hit the blinds I was hoping to be against a worse Ace than mine or a small pocket pair at best. After the 2 blinds folded, he turned over AcJc so we were basically even. He was probably slightly ahead since his cards were suited.
At least that was the case until the flop came down KcQcTc. Yes, he flopped a royal flush. I think that's the first time I've ever seen that and I know it's never happened against me before.
On the same night, I was in about the same situation except I think there were 5 players remaining. I was on the button with TT and the UTG player pushed all-in pre-flop. The player after him also pushed all-in. I was 4th in chips and thought this was a decent opportunity to triple up. My only fear was that one of the 2 all-in players would have a bigger pocket pair than me.
I decided to call and to my surprise, the big stack in the Big Blind also called all-in for over half his stack. If he loses he's still alive but without very many chips. Then to my incredibly pleasant surprise, all 3 of my opponents turn over AK!
Unless the board comes with QJT, they have 2 outs between the 3 of them to beat me. Then to my horror the flop comes out AKx. I don't even remember what the 3rd card was because I was so shocked. So the 3 of them end up splitting the pot and I go out in 5th place :(
Those hands seem to be the turning point for my bad race results lately. It seems I'm on some sort of streak where I can't win a race and therefore can't win any of these tourneys. Of course this comes after I won a bunch of races to earn my Step 5 ticket so I can't complain too much.
And I definitely can't complain since I'm leaving for Vegas in a week!!!!!!
A week from today I leave for Vegas so I have 6 more days to play in these tourneys before I leave and I think PokerStars may be ending these tourneys soon. So I probably only have about 2 more weeks to try to win Step 6.
I watched a Step 5 tourney and it didn't seem that much different than any of the tourneys I have played so far. There usually seems to be 1 or 2 donkeys who try to make a move early in the tourney and lose against a made hand. Otherwise there seems to be a lot of tight play and it comes down to a lot of races where 1 players goes all-in with a pocket pair and the other calls with a big Ace (AK, AQ or even AJ).
I have still been playing in a bunch of these Steps tourneys but mostly at level 2 or 3. I have been having terrible luck in all of my races and haven't been able to get more than the 1 additional ticket to Step 4.
This brings me to some examples of the terrible flops I've seen lately. A couple of nights ago I was playing in a Step 3 tourney and we were down to 4 players. The blinds were pretty high and I was the short stack. The other short stack who just barely had me covered pushed all-in from UTG (first after the blinds). I called from the button with AJo.
Since he was short stacked also and next to hit the blinds I was hoping to be against a worse Ace than mine or a small pocket pair at best. After the 2 blinds folded, he turned over AcJc so we were basically even. He was probably slightly ahead since his cards were suited.
At least that was the case until the flop came down KcQcTc. Yes, he flopped a royal flush. I think that's the first time I've ever seen that and I know it's never happened against me before.
On the same night, I was in about the same situation except I think there were 5 players remaining. I was on the button with TT and the UTG player pushed all-in pre-flop. The player after him also pushed all-in. I was 4th in chips and thought this was a decent opportunity to triple up. My only fear was that one of the 2 all-in players would have a bigger pocket pair than me.
I decided to call and to my surprise, the big stack in the Big Blind also called all-in for over half his stack. If he loses he's still alive but without very many chips. Then to my incredibly pleasant surprise, all 3 of my opponents turn over AK!
Unless the board comes with QJT, they have 2 outs between the 3 of them to beat me. Then to my horror the flop comes out AKx. I don't even remember what the 3rd card was because I was so shocked. So the 3 of them end up splitting the pot and I go out in 5th place :(
Those hands seem to be the turning point for my bad race results lately. It seems I'm on some sort of streak where I can't win a race and therefore can't win any of these tourneys. Of course this comes after I won a bunch of races to earn my Step 5 ticket so I can't complain too much.
And I definitely can't complain since I'm leaving for Vegas in a week!!!!!!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Step 5 Finally
It took about 9 tries but I finally won a WSOP Step 4 tourney tonight and now have a ticket to a Step 5 tourney. It definitely wasn't easy though. I was lucky enough to win each "race" that I was involved in tonight and that's what propelled me to victory.
I doubled up rather early when I got all-in with AA against my opponent's KK. I was under-the-gun (right after the blinds) and made my standard pre-flop raise. My opponent was in late position and made a standard re-raise. I assumed he had at least a pocket pair or maybe AK.
The flop came down Qh4h3c and I checked to him. He made a standard continuation bet and I raised him. He pushed all-in and I called of course. My aces held up and I was now the chip leader with 8 players left.
At this point I became rather aggressive. Everyone seemed to be very timid any time I raised so I won most pots uncontested. When we were down to 7 players, I called an all-in raise when I had 55 in the big blind. The raiser turned over AJ and my pocket 5's held up to win my first race.
I continued the aggression and won a race with my 33 against AQ. On the previous hand, another player had won a race (not against me) and doubled up to take over the chip lead from me. We were down to 3 players at this point.
I have finished in 3rd place 6 times so far (including 1 other time today) and I was determined to win tonight. I had about 4500 in chips as did one of the other players and the 3rd player had about 3000.
I finally won when I had 77 in the big blind and the short stack pushed all-in from the small blind. I called and he turned over 33. He had only 2 outs until the flop came down 456. That took away his original 2 outs as another 3 now gave me a straight. But now he could catch a 2 (4 outs) or a 7 (2 outs) to win. Lucky for me the turn and river didn't help him.
I am so relieved to have finally won a Step 4 tourney but I doubt I'll be using my Step 5 ticket very soon. I would really like to get at least 1 more Step 5 ticket before I play in one of the tourneys. This seems to help me psyche since I don't feel the pressure to win or be done.
I also think I'm going to watch a Step 5 tourney before I try one so that I get a feel for the caliber of play. I was initially very surprised by the ability of some of the Step 4 players and I don't want to be surprised during a Step 5 tourney.
I doubled up rather early when I got all-in with AA against my opponent's KK. I was under-the-gun (right after the blinds) and made my standard pre-flop raise. My opponent was in late position and made a standard re-raise. I assumed he had at least a pocket pair or maybe AK.
The flop came down Qh4h3c and I checked to him. He made a standard continuation bet and I raised him. He pushed all-in and I called of course. My aces held up and I was now the chip leader with 8 players left.
At this point I became rather aggressive. Everyone seemed to be very timid any time I raised so I won most pots uncontested. When we were down to 7 players, I called an all-in raise when I had 55 in the big blind. The raiser turned over AJ and my pocket 5's held up to win my first race.
I continued the aggression and won a race with my 33 against AQ. On the previous hand, another player had won a race (not against me) and doubled up to take over the chip lead from me. We were down to 3 players at this point.
I have finished in 3rd place 6 times so far (including 1 other time today) and I was determined to win tonight. I had about 4500 in chips as did one of the other players and the 3rd player had about 3000.
I finally won when I had 77 in the big blind and the short stack pushed all-in from the small blind. I called and he turned over 33. He had only 2 outs until the flop came down 456. That took away his original 2 outs as another 3 now gave me a straight. But now he could catch a 2 (4 outs) or a 7 (2 outs) to win. Lucky for me the turn and river didn't help him.
I am so relieved to have finally won a Step 4 tourney but I doubt I'll be using my Step 5 ticket very soon. I would really like to get at least 1 more Step 5 ticket before I play in one of the tourneys. This seems to help me psyche since I don't feel the pressure to win or be done.
I also think I'm going to watch a Step 5 tourney before I try one so that I get a feel for the caliber of play. I was initially very surprised by the ability of some of the Step 4 players and I don't want to be surprised during a Step 5 tourney.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Vegas Baby
As stated in my last post, I am seriously excited about my upcoming Vegas trip exactly 3 weeks from today. The weather is even turning nice here finally but I can't stop thinking about Vegas. I love my new job but I can barely focus.
I haven't had this feeling about a Vegas trip in a while. I think it's a combination of a few things: the WSOP, the fun I had on my last trip and the length of the trip.
I was in Vegas 2 years ago while the WSOP was going on and I was able to watch Daniel Negreanu play in the Main Event for a while but I didn't have the guts to play in any of the side games. I won't be there during the Main Event this time but other events will be going on and I will definitely play in the side games this time.That leads to my second reason for the excitement - the fun I had on my last trip. I was with 2 of my brothers-in-law and we had a great time. I finally got up the guts and played tons of poker. I earned some comps (free meals) because I played so much poker. We got silly drunk but not overboard to the point where we were puking or doing stupid stuff. The only problem with the trip is that it was too short. I was having such a good time that I wasn't ready to come home after only 2 nights.
That leads to my third reason - the length of the trip. This time I will be there for 4 nights and almost 5 full days. I haven't been in Vegas on that long of a trip since just before my daughter was born (over 8 years ago). This time I will have more time to do new things. I always have set things I do on almost every trip like go to the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay, Cheesecake Factory at Caesar's, Hofbrau House, Bellagio Fountains, Downtown and shopping for a toy for the kids of course. But this time I'll be able to find new things like this "burger tour" my brother suggested. And I'm sure I'll be ready to come home this time and I won't be so crabby when I get home.Tuesday, May 20, 2008
No News is Not Really Good News
I haven't written in a while but that's not because I haven't been playing. I'm actually enjoying my new job so I haven't taken the time to write while I'm at work. Plus they don't block any internet sites so I've been going to Pokersavvyplus.com to download and watch some poker training videos while I'm on lunch break (instead of blogging).
I have played in about 6 WSOP Step 4 tourneys so far. I was able to accumulate 5 tickets to Step 4 before I started playing. On my first try I finished 5th which gave me a ticket back to Step 3 (which I promptly lost). On the second try I finished 3rd which gave me a ticket to Step 4 again. I have gone on to finish 5th 3 times and 3rd 3 times. Not exactly the results I want but not horrible either.
So far I've been surprised at the quality of play. I was expecting much better players since this is the half way point of the Steps but it's basically the same stuff.
I had a donkey at my table tonight who raised preflop and then called my reraise preflop. On a flop of 674 rainbow I bet enough to put him all-in and he called. To my shock he turned over KTo. Since I had AK he was drawing to 3 tens or runner runner straight. Of course the turn brought a ten and he doubled up. I was in 2nd place before this hand and I dropped to 3rd after it.
I couldn't believe such a donkey would be playing at this level but it quickly changed my mind. Of course he ended up winning this step when his Q9 beat my K5 and I ended up going out in 3rd. Earlier he had doubled up the 3rd place player (who moved ahead of me to 2nd) when the donkey called an all-in bet on the river on a board of 87643. The third place player turned over 55 for the obvious straight and the donkey had J3.
Yes he called with bottom pair and no kicker. He could only beat a complete bluff or a 3 with a worse kicker than a jack. Donkey.
Oh well, hopefully I can report that I have a ticket or two to step 5 soon since I have come very close so far.
On another note, I'm about 3 weeks away from my Vegas trip and I'm not going to make my goal of winning enough money online to buy my way into the $1500 WSOP tourney. That's why I'm focusing so much on these Steps tourneys so that I can win my way into the main event.
I am seriously excited for the trip though. Some of my brother's friends are going to be there also and they seem like fun people. We've decided to do a "burger" tour while we're there this time so hopefully we'll hit some new restaurants. We're still doing Cheesecake Factory and Hofbrau even though we won't be getting burgers there though.
I'm hoping to play in a satellite tourney or 2 to win my way into the $1500 tourney and if I can't do that I'll be playing a lot in the side games. I'm really looking forward to that. I'm also just looking forward to the freedom that Vegas provides. It really is like a fantasy world for me and I think that's why I like it so much. I can drink as much as I want. I can stay out as late as I want. And I can basically spend money on whatever I want as long as I don't lose the house.
I usually end up losing money gambling or win just a little. I'm still waiting for that trip that I win enough to cover the cost of food, drink and airfare/hotel. Either way I have a great time without a care in the world. I think I have a lot of stress here at home that I usually don't express or let out so my Vegas trips provide an opportunity for that release. Hopefully I can do well enough in poker to cover my expenses this trip.
I have played in about 6 WSOP Step 4 tourneys so far. I was able to accumulate 5 tickets to Step 4 before I started playing. On my first try I finished 5th which gave me a ticket back to Step 3 (which I promptly lost). On the second try I finished 3rd which gave me a ticket to Step 4 again. I have gone on to finish 5th 3 times and 3rd 3 times. Not exactly the results I want but not horrible either.
So far I've been surprised at the quality of play. I was expecting much better players since this is the half way point of the Steps but it's basically the same stuff.
I had a donkey at my table tonight who raised preflop and then called my reraise preflop. On a flop of 674 rainbow I bet enough to put him all-in and he called. To my shock he turned over KTo. Since I had AK he was drawing to 3 tens or runner runner straight. Of course the turn brought a ten and he doubled up. I was in 2nd place before this hand and I dropped to 3rd after it.
I couldn't believe such a donkey would be playing at this level but it quickly changed my mind. Of course he ended up winning this step when his Q9 beat my K5 and I ended up going out in 3rd. Earlier he had doubled up the 3rd place player (who moved ahead of me to 2nd) when the donkey called an all-in bet on the river on a board of 87643. The third place player turned over 55 for the obvious straight and the donkey had J3.
Yes he called with bottom pair and no kicker. He could only beat a complete bluff or a 3 with a worse kicker than a jack. Donkey.
Oh well, hopefully I can report that I have a ticket or two to step 5 soon since I have come very close so far.
On another note, I'm about 3 weeks away from my Vegas trip and I'm not going to make my goal of winning enough money online to buy my way into the $1500 WSOP tourney. That's why I'm focusing so much on these Steps tourneys so that I can win my way into the main event.
I am seriously excited for the trip though. Some of my brother's friends are going to be there also and they seem like fun people. We've decided to do a "burger" tour while we're there this time so hopefully we'll hit some new restaurants. We're still doing Cheesecake Factory and Hofbrau even though we won't be getting burgers there though.
I'm hoping to play in a satellite tourney or 2 to win my way into the $1500 tourney and if I can't do that I'll be playing a lot in the side games. I'm really looking forward to that. I'm also just looking forward to the freedom that Vegas provides. It really is like a fantasy world for me and I think that's why I like it so much. I can drink as much as I want. I can stay out as late as I want. And I can basically spend money on whatever I want as long as I don't lose the house.
I usually end up losing money gambling or win just a little. I'm still waiting for that trip that I win enough to cover the cost of food, drink and airfare/hotel. Either way I have a great time without a care in the world. I think I have a lot of stress here at home that I usually don't express or let out so my Vegas trips provide an opportunity for that release. Hopefully I can do well enough in poker to cover my expenses this trip.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Amazing Night
I guess I shouldn't title this "Amazing Night" because I didn't really win very much money tonight but I had some amazing hands. I'm still playing in the WSOP steps tourneys on PokerStars and I played in a Step 3 tourney tonight. I ended up winning it but that is an understatement.
I completely blew away the rest of the table. I wish I could claim it was all skill but I was really getting great cards and getting lucky. My luck started in level 2 (15/30 blinds) when everyone folded to me on the button. I had A9o and made the standard raise to 90. The small blind reraised me to 240 and I folded.
That doesn't really show any luck but I think it led to what happened on the very next hand. I was in the cutoff with 77 and it was folded to me again. Once again I made the standard raise to 90 and the button and big blind both called. The flop came down 6s 9h 7d and I bet 180 into a 285 pot. The button folded and the big blind called. The turn brought the 3s and I bet 360 into the 645 pot. The big blind check-raised me all-in for another 925.
I suspected he had an 8 and a flush draw and was trying to push me off the hand but I guess he could've had the straight already or a set also. I had to call and he turned over Kh Jh. He was drawing dead. He put his whole stack in on a complete bluff. Why? I'm only guessing it's because he saw the previous hand and thought I could be pushed off my hand.
That gave me the chip lead. Then in level 4 (50/100 blinds) I was dealt QQ in the small blind. An early position player made the standard raise to 300 and the player next to him called. Everyone else folded to me. I thought about just calling but then I'd be pretty scared if an Ace or King came on the flop. Since I was the chip leader I decided to reraise all-in. Both players had decent stacks and could fold and still have a chance at winning.
The original raiser thought for a long time and I was happy that I had made the all-in reraise. I'm guessing he had AK or maybe a medium pocket pair but I won't know since he folded. The other caller thought for a while too and eventually called with Ad Tc. I'm guessing he hoped I had a middle pair or he was just in the mood to gamble. No matter since the board brought no help to him and I jumped to a huge lead.
After that I started getting really lucky. I knocked out a player with QQ against my AJ when an Ace came on the river. Later I flopped 2 pair when I had T8 in the big blind and 2 players limped pre-flop. The flop also had an Ace and one of the original limpers called my bets on the flop and turn but then folded on the river.
In level 7 (150/300 blinds plus 25 ante) we were down to 3 players - the top 2 move on to Step 4. I was in the big blind with AJ and the small blind raised to 900 leaving him about 700 in his stack. I reraised him all-in and he surprisingly folded. I don't get that at all since he was left with basically nothing and he was getting the right odds to call with any 2 cards.
The luck lasted on the last hand when I was on the button with J7. The big blind was the super short stack who folded on the previously described hand and I made a minimum raise which was enough to put him all-in. I made the min raise because I was hoping the other player would call also and then the 2 of us would have a better chance of knocking the short stack out.
Unfortunately the other player folded and the short stack turned over KJ. I was in bad shape until the flop brought a 7 and the river brought another 7. Obviously I wasn't going to be in bad shape for the tourney but at least for that hand. I now have 3 tickets to Step 4 so hopefully I will be reporting some good results from those tourneys soon.
The luck didn't end there though. I started playing some cash games on FullTilt and ended up getting dealt quads twice. Both times I flopped a set and turned the four-of-a-kind and won some decent sized pots. I also caught a lucky turn card to give me a set of sevens over another player's flopped set of deuces. That player was seriously bad though so I was going to get his money on other hands even if I hadn't turned that set of sevens.
With all of this luck, I should probably still be playing instead of writing this but I wanted to stop for the night and watch some training videos on PokerSavvyPlus.com. I started a trial subscription on there and hopefully it'll open up some ideas to me.
I completely blew away the rest of the table. I wish I could claim it was all skill but I was really getting great cards and getting lucky. My luck started in level 2 (15/30 blinds) when everyone folded to me on the button. I had A9o and made the standard raise to 90. The small blind reraised me to 240 and I folded.
That doesn't really show any luck but I think it led to what happened on the very next hand. I was in the cutoff with 77 and it was folded to me again. Once again I made the standard raise to 90 and the button and big blind both called. The flop came down 6s 9h 7d and I bet 180 into a 285 pot. The button folded and the big blind called. The turn brought the 3s and I bet 360 into the 645 pot. The big blind check-raised me all-in for another 925.
I suspected he had an 8 and a flush draw and was trying to push me off the hand but I guess he could've had the straight already or a set also. I had to call and he turned over Kh Jh. He was drawing dead. He put his whole stack in on a complete bluff. Why? I'm only guessing it's because he saw the previous hand and thought I could be pushed off my hand.
That gave me the chip lead. Then in level 4 (50/100 blinds) I was dealt QQ in the small blind. An early position player made the standard raise to 300 and the player next to him called. Everyone else folded to me. I thought about just calling but then I'd be pretty scared if an Ace or King came on the flop. Since I was the chip leader I decided to reraise all-in. Both players had decent stacks and could fold and still have a chance at winning.
The original raiser thought for a long time and I was happy that I had made the all-in reraise. I'm guessing he had AK or maybe a medium pocket pair but I won't know since he folded. The other caller thought for a while too and eventually called with Ad Tc. I'm guessing he hoped I had a middle pair or he was just in the mood to gamble. No matter since the board brought no help to him and I jumped to a huge lead.
After that I started getting really lucky. I knocked out a player with QQ against my AJ when an Ace came on the river. Later I flopped 2 pair when I had T8 in the big blind and 2 players limped pre-flop. The flop also had an Ace and one of the original limpers called my bets on the flop and turn but then folded on the river.
In level 7 (150/300 blinds plus 25 ante) we were down to 3 players - the top 2 move on to Step 4. I was in the big blind with AJ and the small blind raised to 900 leaving him about 700 in his stack. I reraised him all-in and he surprisingly folded. I don't get that at all since he was left with basically nothing and he was getting the right odds to call with any 2 cards.
The luck lasted on the last hand when I was on the button with J7. The big blind was the super short stack who folded on the previously described hand and I made a minimum raise which was enough to put him all-in. I made the min raise because I was hoping the other player would call also and then the 2 of us would have a better chance of knocking the short stack out.
Unfortunately the other player folded and the short stack turned over KJ. I was in bad shape until the flop brought a 7 and the river brought another 7. Obviously I wasn't going to be in bad shape for the tourney but at least for that hand. I now have 3 tickets to Step 4 so hopefully I will be reporting some good results from those tourneys soon.
The luck didn't end there though. I started playing some cash games on FullTilt and ended up getting dealt quads twice. Both times I flopped a set and turned the four-of-a-kind and won some decent sized pots. I also caught a lucky turn card to give me a set of sevens over another player's flopped set of deuces. That player was seriously bad though so I was going to get his money on other hands even if I hadn't turned that set of sevens.
With all of this luck, I should probably still be playing instead of writing this but I wanted to stop for the night and watch some training videos on PokerSavvyPlus.com. I started a trial subscription on there and hopefully it'll open up some ideas to me.
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