Another Deep Run

I ended up playing in a big $2 tournament last night that had 631 entrants.  I had no intention of playing but my fellow blogger pokerpace was playing so I figured I would jump in it.  I flopped a straight in two different hands early on in the tournament and built up a nice stack pretty quickly.  With plenty of chips I cruised deep in the tournament with the luxury of being able to wait for premium hands to play with. 

I still had an average stack when we got down to 3 tables.  Now this is where I always seem to have trouble advancing further.  The blinds are starting to get really big and i'm not picking up any playable hands.  I have about 30k in chips and the blinds are 1k/2k.  I don't like trying to pick up the blinds by raising with nothing.  At this point I would have to put in about 20% of my stack for a decent size raise.  If somebody comes over the top of me and moves all in I have to fold.  Even worse if somebody just calls it is pretty much mandatory that I have to put out a continuation bet and try and pick up the pot whether I hit my hand on the flop or not.  With the pot now at around 15k i would need to bet at the very minimum 5k to try and get somebody to lay down their hand.  Now I have bluffed off 1/3 of my chips in one hand.  Or do I surrender the hand right when somebody calls and let them take control of the hand and just check and fold if they bet?  I definitely need some help in this area of my game. 

After a couple of unsuccessful attempts at picking up some blinds my stack dwindled down to 17k with the blinds at 1k/2k.  I picked up AJh in early position and I pushed all in hoping to pick up the blinds or maybe getting really lucky and doubling up.  Unfortunately for me and all my big poker dreams I got called by KK and was knocked out in 26th place and was awarded $5.36 for my troubles.  I really enjoy playing the big tournaments but it doesn't seem to be very profitable for me.  I don't know if it is just a numbers game and if I keep playing them one day the stars will align and I will make the final table and maybe even win one.  Even still I think that I could use some training on how to adjust my game for MTTs.  Up to this point I haven't kept track on how much I have spent on entries into tournaments but I am curious on where my bankroll would be if I never played any.  From now on I am going to keep track to determine whether I should be playing them at all and will have to stop if it is having a negative effect on my bankroll.


Started  =  $93.69

                +  19.26

Total    =  $112.95

Just Call Me Bubble Boy!!!!

Okay, I'm back.  I went on a roller coaster ride for a couple of days.  Honestly, I didn't want to post a loss and that is why I haven't posted.  If I really want to be serious about this I have to be realistic and know that I am not going to have a winning session every time I sit down at the tables.  I also have committed the ultimate sin in bankroll management a few times in the past couple of days.  I didn't cash in a couple of $5 sngs in a row, which tells me that either I am not playing well or that the poker gods are real and they really do hate me.  Instead of taking a break I decide to do the dumbest thing I can think of and move up to the $10 sng with the flawed thinking that if I win I can easily make up for what I have lost.  Until I lost that one.  OUCH.  Now I am really in trouble. 

I know that a lot of poker players and gamblers in general make this mistake.  But I don't want to be one of these players.  That is why I am confessing my sins here.  I have put my transgressions in writing for the entire world (the 5 of you) to see.   Forgive me my trespasses as I forgive them that trespass against me (3 outers on the river).

I have been trying a lot of the KO tourneys and a few of the large $2 tourneys.  I did go really deep in a few of them and came up a little short when it would get down to 2 tables.  If I played a couple hands differently I could of just as easily been posting a big increase in my bankroll instead of a loss here but I am happy with my play and that is all I can ask for.  If I can keep playing this way and going deep then eventually I know I will take down a big score.  I feel like it's only a matter of time I just have to be patient and play my game.  I actually had the chip lead in one and was 2nd in another and I felt like I should have went deeper in both of them.

I was 2nd in chips with 90 players left.  I ended up taking 10th for $14.85.  1st place paid $297

I was chip leader with 29 players left.  I ended up going out in 15th with a hand that I played horribly.  I should of at least made the final table.  1st place paid  $144

My total was actually a lot lower at one point but i tightened up again and started playing decent poker and brought it back up to a somewhat respectable number. 

Started  =  $123.80

                   - 30.11          

Total     =    $93.69

                 

A 2nd Place Finish And A Big Boost For My Bankroll

I was playin $5 sngs and not doing very well this morning.  It seems to me that the players at this level are too wild and that makes them really hard to play against.  Or maybe it's that I don't play my best because it is such a low limit.  Maybe it's both, I don't know.  So going against the rules of bankroll management I decided to play a $10 sng to see if the players were any different at that level.  The level of skill seemed to be the same.  There were still people pushing all in with 2 random cards with 1500 chips and the blinds at 10/20.  I don't understand what these people are thinking.  I played pretty solid and I was gettin some good cards and I ended up taking 1st for $45.  I was happy to win but since the level of skill seems to be the same at $10 as it is at the $5 sngs I am going to drop back down and continue to play at the $5 level so that I am playing within my bankroll.  I don't want to put too much of my bankroll at risk with all of these insane beats that I see happen every time I am at a table.

I signed up for a $2 180 man sng while I was playing the $10 sng and totally forgot about it until I was seated when the tourney started.  I was down to a few players in the $10 sng so I was focusing more on that and folding most of my hands in the $2 sng.  After I won the $10 sng and basked in the glory for a few seconds I turned my attention towards going deep in the $2.  I told myself that this would be the last one for the night/morning so I wanted to make it last as long as possible (I never want to stop playing and I have to force myself to). 

I approached this one differently than I usually do.  I usually watch the lobby constantly to see where the chip average is and how many players are left.  This time I wouldn't let myself do that.  I didn't want to feel rushed and start playing hands that I had no business playing.  I had no idea how many players were left the entire time until we started going hand for hand with 28 players.  Even then I didn't keep track of how many players were left.  I could only tell we were down to 18 players when our 3 tables were condensed down to 2..  I had an average/below average stack the entire tourney but I played more patiently than I ever have and picked my spots to pick up blinds.  I ended up taking out the short stack on our table and another player got knocked out at the other table at the same time so we were sat at the final table with only 8 players.  I didn't change my game plan at all.  I had an average chip stack and I waited patiently for good hands,  and I got plenty of them thank the good lord. Hallelujah.  It got down to 4 handed and I had 173K in chips and the guy 2nd in chips only had around 50K.  I took out 2 more players and went into heads up with a 4/1 chip lead.  This is the only time that I question my play.  The blinds are around 1000/2000 and Mort is pushing all in with 50K in chips preflop with what turns out to be small/medium pocket pairs.  I fold A9 and he shows 88.  I fold Q10 and he show 99.  At the time I felt like I was in control and didn't need to risk a coin flip, either knocking him out or doubling him up and making our stacks about even.  He won every sizable pot that we got involved in after that.  If I had two pair, he had a bigger two pair.  If I had trips, he had trips with a better kicker.  He eventually overtakes the chip lead and in the final hand I push all in with JJ preflop and he calls with A9 and spikes the A on the flop.  I take 2nd place for $61.  I had a blast and enjoyed every minute of it I just wish I would have been able to take 1st.  Any comments or criticisms would be much appreciated on my play in this tourney. 

Tomorrow I should be able to add $15 in bonuses to my bankroll from the Take 2 promotion that I have been participating in.  I started in the middle of the month this month but I plan to get the full $50 in October if they are still running it.

Below is the screen shot of the $2 sng lobby for my own prosperity.  I didn't know how to make it any bigger.  Oh well, at least I know what it says   :) 

Started  =  S51.32

            

                 +72.48

Total     = $123.80

      

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Day 1

I am starting this blog now because if I don't then I never will.  I get more interested in reading other people's blogs than in writing my own.  Which comes as no surprise, I have always loved to read but hated writing.

My main reason for keeping this blog is so that I can track my progress as I try to become a winning poker player.  I will also include anything that I find to be interesting along the way.  I plan to mimic a challenge that a pro poker player, Chris Ferguson, completed by turning $0 into $10,000.  He is one of the world's best players and it took him 16 months to accomplish this feat.  It took him 7 months just to get his bankroll stabalized around $6.50.  The hardest part is turning that $0 into real money by playing free tournaments with 2,700 entrants that only pay a couple dollars to the top 27 finishers.  Since I am a pure novice I am starting with $30 to give myself  a head start in hopes that I don't pull all of my hair out or go on a tri-state killing spree which would be horrible because I do have great hair.

I started by playing $5 Sit & Gos. The payout is:  1st - $22.50, 2nd - $13.50, 3rd - $9.  My first three SNGs I finished in 1st, 1st, and 2nd.  The last one that I played I went out 7th due to this hand early on:  Player under the gun min. raises to 60 with Q10.  I reraise to 120 with KK and the rest of the table folds around to player with Q10 who reraises to 180.  I push all in and he calls and the flop comes 89J making a straight for Q10 and I am out. Good game me.  Not a bad start still with 3 cashes.

 I decide to call it a night after that and watched the new episodes of Family Guy, The Cleveland Show and American Dad.  They were all hilarious and everybody should check it out if you get a chance.  Is it just me or does The Cleveland Show look exactly identical to Family Guy?  Don't they think they should have changed it up a little?

Started = $30.00
   
              + 21.32

Total     = $51.32