21 Days On...............

So i have not posted for a while again!!!!!! (sorry about this, just do not seem to have the time and my passion of writting has gone down!)

Definately finding my way moving away from poker, i have people asking me about next year, life after uni and i realise that my poker opportunities will decrease dramatically once i start working full time. So i have stopped playing big online in the hope to one day 'make it'. I am playing $0.5/$1 NL cash on rivercard and i am loving it! Making over a buyin a day is keeping me alot happier than worrying about the swings in the slightly bigger games. However in my live games i have been playing some fairly big games.

In the last 21 days played a fair amount of poker, as i have been very bored during the Xmas holidays. On a side note completely addicted to 24!!! Watched season one and two in about 10 days! if you watch it.....how annoying is Cherry Parmer!!!!

Ok just going to do a quick review on the last month....

Played at the New Mint Casino in Coventry, a £5 rebuy!!! Was great fun and managing to do 11 rebuys was annoying but fun! I ended up comming 5th i think and making £35 which did not cover my buy in but oh well, on a nice note a friend from uni Mitesh took the tournament down for £350ish!!! He had a great hand on final where 54 people went all in on his BB and he found AAs!!!!!

Then i returned to Big Slick on a sunday and saw some very warm friendly faces which was nice. i played awful!!!! welll to be honest i played well but not under Big Slick circumstances. i was still in the mood of bluffing people off top pair and that is not going to happen in a £50 2nd chance!!! This caused me to bluff most of my chips away after getting a decent stack, ended up all in with AK vs 99s lost the race and was off to the cash game where i could not hit a hand or get people off hands!!! Just an overall bad night where i should have left earlier, i guess!!!!

Played the £75 freeze out at gutshot on thier goscar night where i made final last year but no such luck this year! The play on my starting table was abosolute awful !!! (as bad as my spelling!) People were all in every 3 hands!! It was crazy, unfortunately i could not pick up a hand at all. I did not actually play a hand for the 1st two levels! i eventually picked up some hands as i decided bluffing was not an option. I cannnot remember much but i was in the all in or fold situtation a few hours in, i pushed with Q2 and got caught by 88s no luck i off to the cash!!!!

Played well in cash early on and got some chips, was sitting on £350 at one stage (in for £200) then the game switched with new faces pot and re pot alot pre flop. I decided to leave early as Tom was taking down all the stars tournaments in the internet room. This was all about game selection and this was not the game for me!

Played a few more comps at Big slick with no success, just getting my chips in a coin flip and comming out the wrong end. Also got it in with K7 one hand after someone limped, i thought a good stealing opportunity but the limp found JT!!! and could not pass!!! K hits but so does a J and a T, oh well!!!!!!

Made final in the £10 super addon last week which was nice, had been a while and £320 was not too bad. Although most people on final could not understand my final move off the night, i was UTG 7 handed with 65k, the blinds just went up to 10k - 25k with a 2k ante. I pushed blind thinking i had no fold equity for the next round. It folded round to the SB who called with KQ. i had 45 and the 4 hit, then the K then the 5 then the Q on the river!!! (everyone shouting except me! I do not really find things like that exicting, if all the money in pre flop, i say lets see all 5 cards then react!!) After i told people i moved in blind they said why, why not wait, i explained about fold equity but there did not agreeed feeling i could have waited for a better spot!!! They might be right but i felt picking up 14K + 10K a + 20K was tooo huge to pass up!

Played a bit online, trying to rake up those action points!. on about 650k now! Still a long way to go for that million!!!!!!

Thats all folks!! Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!!!!!

End of Term Deep Stack

Warwick Poker End of Term Deep Stack Tournament

The game was set on a sunday and it would be a two day event. £20 buy in and 10k in chips with a 30min clock and every blind level you could think off, this was something i was looking forward to. HOWEVER in terms of preparation i was not gooooood! Saturday night was my mates 21st!!! (Happy bday KAVIT!!!) and our mate came from France (Bijal!!!!) but she could only come if i could drop her to the airport by 8am on sunday!!! So we got back from birmingham to warwick at 2ish, we then chilled to 615am (i had a lil nap in the middle) then me Guv, Pav and Bij went down to Stanstead! Pav fell asleep straight away and we were tired after a stop at little chief we dropped bijal to the airport on time, we got back home at 12pm! The poker soc tournament started at 430 so straight to bed!!!!! Got 4 hours sleep and headed off to uni!

My table was better than average, few solid player and played with everyone bar one of the 7 players at my table. I tried to play a tight game at the start as i was very tired and didnt want to make mistakes early on. I pick up TT early on and call raise in position. My strategy today was to get people off hands by playing position position position , The flop came J high, with a 6 and a 5. He bets out 300 and i call, turn is another 6 and he bets out 300, such a small bet here and i feel he has to bet more with KJ / AJ or an over pair. i call, river is another 5, which is a very nice card, only one over card and very unlucky for him to have hit a 5 or 6. he then bets out 1200!!! hmmm i said 'thats a big bet' when i say that it means they got the bollocks or have nothing, soooo i think, its a big part of my stack and i know this guys likes to bluff but because of my rep he had not bluffed me in the passed and has passed a few solids hands to me, but this time he is betting the whole way and there is a change in betting pattern which meant something was fishy!! So i called and he instantly mucked, someone said AJ to me, while i showed TTs!! Off to go good start!!!

Then pick up AQ and hit a Q high flop after a raise, i check the flop as does he, i bet the turn and the river and get both calls, AQ is good and this is my 2nd showdown and my last for a while!

Ok keeping the girls even happier! Here is a picture for you!!!

Now back to the poker!!!

With about 12k in chips i started playing my button very hard, when ever someone raised and i was on the button and called and succesfully took down 8/10 pots at least without a showdown. I then limp with 7c5c and then call a raise. The player is tightish pre flop especially in early stages of the tournament but knows how to switch gears later on. Also is able to make some good calls, so i was hoping to out flop him rather than bluff him out of this one but again i had position. The flop is A K 3 all diamonds. This is a great flop for me, i feel he has AQ AK and that means there is a very low chance he has a diamond in his hand, now the bluffing part of my brain kicks in. He bets outs and i call, then turn is a blank and he checks, i bet out here just incase he was holding something like TTs or JJs and was just c/betting the flop but he calls. Now i think he is just controlling the pot with AJ or AQ and hoping he is not trapping me at this point im drawing dead as long as he has 88s or better. The river is a 4th diamond, i was slighlty worried he may have had the Qd in the hole but when he checked to me i have to bet otherwise i would be surrending the hand. I fire out and he thinks for a while and mucks AQ! Sweet!

I get to the break with about 16k in chips and feeling good about the way i'm playing, also had a nice hand with Q5 but cannot remember what happened. The table was still all alive and we still had the starting 7. After the break early on a short stack raised it up and i re raised him in with AQ and he called 'feeling' he was commiteed with 94sooooted! AQ holds and we lose one. A similar thing happens later after i re raised with AQ and someone behind found KKs and shoved, i had to call with the money in the middle but always a danger when you re raise to commite a player when there is futher action behind you. But i was feeling in the mood and raising with anything and beat players off alot of pots.

I find AdKd and i raise UTG, the short stack then moves in, then there is a big dwell up, someone passes JJs (nice fold) although as he took a while if he smooth calls the allin i re raise him all in. Then someone else moves in!!! for about 7k, i had commiteed 650 i chips and know at best i am 50/50 also with the dwell up in the midddle and the short stack pushes i really do not know how live my A and K are. I fold quickly as the other two show AK and QQs!! Gd fold! I guess!! Annoying when the Ace hits on the turn though!!!

After the same player who just over doubled up, calls my raise but he looked like he wanted to re raise, i got QT so i know i'm in bad shape. The flop is Q high and i check to him. He bets out 2.5k, he had around 9k left and i got into the tank! I think for ages trying to put him on a hand, he then started counting his chips as if i wanted a chip count but i already knew how much he had. This was trying to show strengthen which i read for as weakness, i started going through the re raising hands pre flop. AA, KK and AK he would have re raised, QQ, unlikely if so on a Q high board with a Q in my hand thats just to sick, but that is poker, also i think he checks the flop. JJs or TTs maybe, only one over card! Im stearing towards JJs, at this point i take 2 black chips in my hand (5k each), then someone calls the clock on me (fair enough) and im still thinking, i then throw in the 2 black chips sticking him all in, he thinks for a while and folds AQ!!!!

Im on about 25k when this hand pops up, new player at the table opens up and i call with AK, flop is Ace high and he bets and i call. Turn is a T and he bets but it also brings out a 3rd diamond. I then bump it up 5k, which means if he called he would be below the 10k mark, which is a barrier for most players as they never want to go below starting stack, so i always try and bluff when i see that in them, which also allows me to bet the minimum in case the bluff goes wrong. He thinks for ages and ages and ages and folds top two!!!! Wooaaah was not expecting that! i end the 2nd level with about 30k in chips and feeling very good, i have picked up a few good hands but i always seem to have to bluff my way through

In the 3rd level i pick up QQs and someone min raises!! hmmmm min raise can mean AAs so i made a smallisjh re raise to find out where i was, and he flat calls so i guess he does not have AAs, i also have position on him and felt good about the hand. The flop is K K x and he checks and i check behind, then turn is a blank and he checks and i bet small and he calls. The river is a J, not a great card, as he played JJs like this to a re raise earlier on, he checked and i checked behind thinking i'm only getting called behind or getting re raised. I showed QQs and he showed AT! QQs are goooooooood! I then found TTs after the SB pushed with J7 and the J hits! But i was doing ok, We get down to about three tables and i feel very comfortable with plently of chips in play

We are 6 handed and i pick up 88s in the SB, UTG opens up and i call, the flop is Q high again just one over card, he bets and i move in instantly (putting him all in) He thinks for ages and really did not want to be bluffed off the hand, i think he recently doubled up if i remember correctly so here another factor comes me, when people just double up they do not want to lose their chips striaght after. He eventually folds and is shocked when he sees my hand, he folded top pair 3rd kicker!

I do not get involved much just stealing when possible, when we are down to 2 tables my stack flips over!!!!! I was on 5ok and probably 1st or 2nd in chips in the tournament, Player A opens up and i re raise with AK, he then moves in and i had to call only 12k more into a pot of 50k. Plus i still have 20k back if i lose with average being 30k and if i win im huge!! i really do not think i can pass here. He flips over KKs and i lose a 62K pot!!!!!! I played so well not to get the chips in pre flop and played awesome flop poker! Just annoyed about that! Really really annoyed, especially when all your chips go else where!!!!! after working so hard!!!! Near the close of play and i raise with KQ and BB the short moves in more a little bit more and unless he has KK AA AK or AQ im getting the odds and i call, he shows A5 which i felt was a weak play as he knows im calling, i miss and he doubles up!! I'm left with 11.3k going into day two!!!!!

I go into day two with nothing and 3 hands in i find JJs, Player A who has knocked me out of 2 poker soc as a huge under dog (AA vs KK and Top Pair vs Middle Pair) raises and i shove, he calls with A9 and the flop is 2 4 6, turn is a 9 and the river a sweeet ACE and i go busto!!!!

Overall i feel i played really well, the AK hand was very annoying as i hate getting my chips in, in a well structure tournament with less than QQs to be honest. But thats the highs and lows of poker!!!

Riddle of the Day

If a Mother is 21 years older than her son
And in 6 years time the mother is 5 times older than her son
Where is the father????????
Clue : Find Mother and Sons ages!
Answer is goooooooddd will share it in the next blog entry