Have A Bad Day

In terms of results yesterday was very poor. In terms of my poker play im quite happy with maybe one bad error.

I committed $200 to 99 on an eight high flop (running into aces) on a cash table. It didnt help that 10 minutes before that i had a 17% river beat for $400 which probably was a factor in my misread. This all happened within the first 30 mins of switching on in the morning and it appears that bad beats are more difficult to face so early in the day. I did grind back a little later on low stakes omaha futher trying to clear a monthly bonus.

Right Multis, 3 of them played including $100 on mansion. Progressed well early in this but then lost 1/3 of my stack continue betting 55 on a AAK flop. I tightened up and finally when out AQ vs JJ for a decent sized pot relative to the blinds, fair enough i guess. I played my first $100 rebuy for the GUPT also (300$ in) which was an eyeopener to say the least. Whilst i totally understand peoples tactics in a rebuy to get stack early i would suggest in this most just didnt have a clue (even though this contained what proabably are a lot of winning players). I watched some ridiculous stuff and when the package available is only worth $2700 it makes no sense to me that you buy in for $500-$1000. If u are happy to spend that much you might as well buy in directly !!! Anyway there were about 60 players and i finished in 19th (5 packages and cash for 6th). Pot i went out on was A7std vs JJ for a decent sized pot which proably would have put me in the region of 6-10th at the time. My tactics for this satellite (and often many others) are to go allin or fold once the blinds get up until im about 15xbb or better. I never progressed my stack at the start and my 5500 stack after rebuys finished was very weak compared to others. As the blinds went up i played what i consider perfect short stack agressive poker and from being on 5k at 200,400 blinds i progressed to 10k at blinds of 400,800 without being called on any hands, all preflop. Of course my tactics got totally under half the tables skin who dont consider it "pure poker" and i actually got some mild abuse when i finally ran into a hand and busted. Thats fine, each to there own but i know im thinking at a higher level than most of them and if it got under their skin that was a huge bonus as tilting people at a poker table that are frustrated with the way you play is excellent in the long run. Eliminating the resteal move from others in a satellite is a good thing as i know im less likely to get a coinflip preflop cos if i push in 10xbb with AK lets say, often a guy with 77 will pass, that same guy would have flopped or gone over the top if i just did a standard raise. I knew if i pushed often enough i would increase my stack and thats exactly what happened getting to more than double my stack uncalled. With the hands i had been dealt there is no way i would have made it to 10k by doing standard raises and hitting/missing flops without a lot of luck in several hands. Anyway i laugh at the abuse people give you at a table because you dont follow their set rules, or the book they have been reading tactics. For gods sake, thats what poker is about, everyone is free to play as tight or loose as they choose and any given move or strategy at any time is down to the individual which is what makes poker such a good game. I used a similar tactic in the main event of the WSOP main event when we were approaching the bubble and it works perfectly. Playing around 50k with blinds around 2400 i have 20xbb but this was not key to my thinking in that. What was key was i didnt want to blind out and have to double just to get back to where i was and, with a running ante, without playing a hand i would lose 6k a round or 12% of my stack. The move eliminates tough decisions post flop which is why purists hate it, but why not elimnate that option rather than miss and be put to the test. Also it really frustrates people when you do it and it makes their decisions much tougher because they know its a big chunk of their stack if they play. Obviously its important to only do this when you are weak enough and the blinds and antes stolen will make a difference to your stack. I believe in the WSOP once i got to this point i moved between 40-65k before i finally reluctantly called an allin for a flip (when on 65k i might add) which would have got me back to just over average chips and back into "proper" poker territory. Right enough of my waffle on to the last multi which was a £32 sub for sixpac highrollers, i had played excellent and got some nice hands prior to the final table and looked big favourite for a seat 1st/6 at the final table (3 seats available). No it went wrong, i just picked the wrong spots to raise and got overraised on what was a very passive table generally. I spotted a guy in the sb topping up for 10s for example and on another hand the bb checked an AK preflop ! Ironically the guy that checked the AK on one hand took me out in the end. Playing 5000 stack at 150,300 (4 players had 4-6k with 2 weaker) that guy limped for 300 and i was in the bb with A7. I decided to push in and steal the 900 but for some reason this guy was having none of it and called his whole same stack off with A8 !!! Backwards dummy classic and on a flop of A88 i figured great he will think he made the right play !!! Dont raise with A8 and take the blinds but do call an allin for your whole stack facing off against a big chippie when there are 2 weaker stacks at the table. Anyway i was out and very disappointed but i stand by my tactics and know this guy just really didnt have a clue what he was doing watching other pots he was involved in.

From the results i could easily think my satellite play needs fine tuning, but if i play the same way in those two satellites i know in the long run the results would be excellent so i take the positives from the games. Only other thing of note was i still struggle to play many multis in a night, 1 or 2 is ok and 3 in this case was fine but i know i would be bored stiff if i only played multis like i used to a year ago. Again its my patience which is a skill i must keep working on for sure.

EPT and WSOP satellites later on today so hopefully ill get through to the 1/10 next final stage of one these for another chance at the big time !