Not too much poker to mention im afraid.
The journey back was pretty much as anticipated, from leaving my hotel room to getting home was just under 34.5 hours. It didnt help that the bug i picked up moved into my chest and i now have one hellish deep chesty cough.
Im unsure whether i have jetlag or if im just ill but im just sleeping whenever i can at the moment. Since i got back at 5:30am yesterday i slept from 6:30am-2:30pm, 3pm - 5:5:30pm and 12:30am to 2:45am. I have now been online for 2.5 hours (its 5:15am BST) playing a tiny bit of low stakes omaha cash (its easy on my brain). I will almost certainly try to clear 500mpp points on cryptologic so i can enter the next $25k added tournament next sunday. Apart from that i have zero poker targets for the next few weeks and will play mainly for enjoyment rather than worrying too much about the money.
One more point about the WSOP ive only found out now was that i busted Isabelle Mercier with that AJ vs AK hand (see "Animal Instincts" post). Im surprised i didnt recognise her as i watched her play a fair bit in Deauville but apparently she changes her image often, she was hiding under a cap to be fair. I remember the guy next to me commenting when i said how bad she was playing after i had busted her that she was a famous pro, as far as i was concerned she was one of the worst players at the table by image. She was between 3-6k the whole time i was there and even limped in one pot for 500 and folded to a raise. Basically i had been at this table for about 3 hours and she had played 2 or 3 hands maximum (including the limp) off her blinds and was certainly not gambling like a short stack should be in my opinion.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Friday, August 11, 2006
Shit Happens
The last 2 or 3 days have been ok at best, 15 nights in Las Vegas is too long for me. When i came the only other time i had 9 or 10 nights and that was optimum. How anyone would want to play as many WSOP events as possible and stay here for 6 weeks is beyond me. I certainly was ready to go a few days ago and hearing the news in England i just wish i was already back in Cornwall.
Thankfully i do leave at 4pm tommorrow and am looking forward to it despite the maybe slightly more tense flight home and the possible delays. I actually have managed to catch a sore throat and chesty cough now so the journey home will be testing to say the least.
Right i guess its time to pack , over and out.
Thankfully i do leave at 4pm tommorrow and am looking forward to it despite the maybe slightly more tense flight home and the possible delays. I actually have managed to catch a sore throat and chesty cough now so the journey home will be testing to say the least.
Right i guess its time to pack , over and out.
Monday, August 07, 2006
WSOP Summary
Now ive had a chance to chill after my main event i can now review the tournament as a whole.
I am very pleased with my play and know i could have easily gone further with a little bit more luck.
The allin i made on day 1 with QhJh (see previous posts) on the turn to push a guy off a better hand and the call i made on day 3 for all my tournament chips on the flop with AK were without doubt the 2 best plays in live poker ive made to date. Both hands were key to increasing my stack size significantly enabling me more freedom to play more hands without worrying as much about my cards. Also the AK i re-re-raised with on day 2 gave me a nice few chips when i pushed a tight player off AK before the flop towards the end of the days play.
I dont think ive mentioned that on day 3 i didnt hit a single flop with maybe 5 pocket pairs as well as a few ace-x and other hands. Mind you saying that i did hit an above average number of flops on day 2 on my second table. I am also pleased to confirm i did not get AA at all in the tournament and only had KK once. This doesnt bother me because i only had JJ or less in St Kitts and in live poker you simply dont have to have good cards to get deep into a tournament if you are playing well. It helps if you can hit flops or straight draws when you are priced in which i know my luck ran ok on.
I think it is very important in deep stack live poker that you get involved in a lot of hands in the early levels, unfortunately i maybe should have been in a few more flops on level 1 but i soon relaxed and took many more flops in level 2 and tried to be the raiser where possible and not the caller , although if you are the caller it helps to have position.
I also realise that it helps to get more chips as soon as possible in the early levels so that the option to bully the tighter stacks and get a strong table image is available without risking too many chips. It really helps to watch as much play as possible at a table and label players so you know what type of player they are. Its also nice if you can pick up some tells which i know i did well on some tables guessing what players were holding when they are in a pot and using that information for later if possible. I play better when im relaxed and comfortable at a table and sometimes a few friendly words to the guy next to you can mean he goes a lot easier on you in blind battles. Its true, honest ! although i use the reverse to make them fold as how i could i betting without the goods if im so nice in between hands.
Ive learnt a lot more about live poker from this tournament and the most important thing is to trust your instincts and feel for a hand removing your cards from your head and putting yourself in your opponents shoes to get an idea what they could be holding. I certainly used my instincts a lot more in this tournament than ive done in any other live one before.
In summary, ive played very well, learnt enough to take my poker to a higher level and cashed for a nice healthy $20,617. Job well done and i now have 4 days left to holiday in Las Vegas , BONUS.
Endnote: I didnt mention that i spoke to Steve Davis again in losers corner waiting for payout as he finished 2 places higher than me in 579th , although the pot he lost on was only half the size of mine :)
I am very pleased with my play and know i could have easily gone further with a little bit more luck.
The allin i made on day 1 with QhJh (see previous posts) on the turn to push a guy off a better hand and the call i made on day 3 for all my tournament chips on the flop with AK were without doubt the 2 best plays in live poker ive made to date. Both hands were key to increasing my stack size significantly enabling me more freedom to play more hands without worrying as much about my cards. Also the AK i re-re-raised with on day 2 gave me a nice few chips when i pushed a tight player off AK before the flop towards the end of the days play.
I dont think ive mentioned that on day 3 i didnt hit a single flop with maybe 5 pocket pairs as well as a few ace-x and other hands. Mind you saying that i did hit an above average number of flops on day 2 on my second table. I am also pleased to confirm i did not get AA at all in the tournament and only had KK once. This doesnt bother me because i only had JJ or less in St Kitts and in live poker you simply dont have to have good cards to get deep into a tournament if you are playing well. It helps if you can hit flops or straight draws when you are priced in which i know my luck ran ok on.
I think it is very important in deep stack live poker that you get involved in a lot of hands in the early levels, unfortunately i maybe should have been in a few more flops on level 1 but i soon relaxed and took many more flops in level 2 and tried to be the raiser where possible and not the caller , although if you are the caller it helps to have position.
I also realise that it helps to get more chips as soon as possible in the early levels so that the option to bully the tighter stacks and get a strong table image is available without risking too many chips. It really helps to watch as much play as possible at a table and label players so you know what type of player they are. Its also nice if you can pick up some tells which i know i did well on some tables guessing what players were holding when they are in a pot and using that information for later if possible. I play better when im relaxed and comfortable at a table and sometimes a few friendly words to the guy next to you can mean he goes a lot easier on you in blind battles. Its true, honest ! although i use the reverse to make them fold as how i could i betting without the goods if im so nice in between hands.
Ive learnt a lot more about live poker from this tournament and the most important thing is to trust your instincts and feel for a hand removing your cards from your head and putting yourself in your opponents shoes to get an idea what they could be holding. I certainly used my instincts a lot more in this tournament than ive done in any other live one before.
In summary, ive played very well, learnt enough to take my poker to a higher level and cashed for a nice healthy $20,617. Job well done and i now have 4 days left to holiday in Las Vegas , BONUS.
Endnote: I didnt mention that i spoke to Steve Davis again in losers corner waiting for payout as he finished 2 places higher than me in 579th , although the pot he lost on was only half the size of mine :)
Saturday, August 05, 2006
End of the Road
I now know what people mean when they say its one of the most lowest points in poker when you bust out of the main event of the WSOP.
I finished 581st for $20617 (my 3rd biggest poker win). That pretty much doubles my profit for the year so far yet i am gutted and pissed off, what a strange game poker is on your emotions.
Exit hand was calling an allin with AKstd hoping to see AQ or AKoff only to face the coinflip of 88 and a queen high board sealed my fate. The pot was to go back to average chips with the chance to get right back into the game and go deep and i was happy to take the gamble at the time.
I had nursed a 40-60k stack after the dinner break well picking the spots for my allins and not being called once, i lost count of the number of times i moved allin uncalled.
Before dinner i had started on 81k and had tried to make a move reraising a raiser to 14k with 82off but he had a hand and went allin so my first play of the day was 14k down the drain.
I then made what was to be my best call of the tournament. At blinds of 800,1600 i made it 5000 to go from 2nd position with AKoff and the BB called. Flop was 9s10s10h and i bet 10k in position only to get check raised allin. I went into the think tank for 1-2minutes but was convinced my AK was ahead and at best this guy was on a straight or flush draw. I finally called my last 50k for him to turn over Ad7d and i was delighted , even more so when a king hit the turn to seal the 130k pot.
I proceeded to call off a few too many chips after that missing flops with 4 small pocket pairs and losing another 15-20k on a button vs my BB battle where i knew i was ahead on a flop of KJrag with A9 only for a 9 to hit the turn and give the buttons Q10 a monster hand which i paid small bets off to see.
I folded 2 key hands on the bubble time to guarantee the money, A7std in the bb when the sb had raised. Also 1010 on the button when a tight player had raised. ( no £8000ish bubble and both of these were standard all in moves) Turns out sb had A9 and prob would have called and tight raiser had 99 and prob would have folded, both interesting situations but with over 40k left i knew with my fearless allins after the bubble i could easily get back in as i proved in the end anyway.
Ive learnt a lot more about live play and cashed in another multi so its a good result overall. Hopefully i can get over the exit in the next 24 hours and try to enjoy the 5-6days left as a holiday now.
I finished 581st for $20617 (my 3rd biggest poker win). That pretty much doubles my profit for the year so far yet i am gutted and pissed off, what a strange game poker is on your emotions.
Exit hand was calling an allin with AKstd hoping to see AQ or AKoff only to face the coinflip of 88 and a queen high board sealed my fate. The pot was to go back to average chips with the chance to get right back into the game and go deep and i was happy to take the gamble at the time.
I had nursed a 40-60k stack after the dinner break well picking the spots for my allins and not being called once, i lost count of the number of times i moved allin uncalled.
Before dinner i had started on 81k and had tried to make a move reraising a raiser to 14k with 82off but he had a hand and went allin so my first play of the day was 14k down the drain.
I then made what was to be my best call of the tournament. At blinds of 800,1600 i made it 5000 to go from 2nd position with AKoff and the BB called. Flop was 9s10s10h and i bet 10k in position only to get check raised allin. I went into the think tank for 1-2minutes but was convinced my AK was ahead and at best this guy was on a straight or flush draw. I finally called my last 50k for him to turn over Ad7d and i was delighted , even more so when a king hit the turn to seal the 130k pot.
I proceeded to call off a few too many chips after that missing flops with 4 small pocket pairs and losing another 15-20k on a button vs my BB battle where i knew i was ahead on a flop of KJrag with A9 only for a 9 to hit the turn and give the buttons Q10 a monster hand which i paid small bets off to see.
I folded 2 key hands on the bubble time to guarantee the money, A7std in the bb when the sb had raised. Also 1010 on the button when a tight player had raised. ( no £8000ish bubble and both of these were standard all in moves) Turns out sb had A9 and prob would have called and tight raiser had 99 and prob would have folded, both interesting situations but with over 40k left i knew with my fearless allins after the bubble i could easily get back in as i proved in the end anyway.
Ive learnt a lot more about live play and cashed in another multi so its a good result overall. Hopefully i can get over the exit in the next 24 hours and try to enjoy the 5-6days left as a holiday now.
CASH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its official you heard it here first, Animal cashes in the WSOP at his first attempt. Thats 2/3 live multi big events that ive cashed in setting my standard at a high level for future ones !!!
Its actually the dinner break now and im nursing a 50k low stack, average is well over 100k now. There are less than 740 left at this time and im guaranteed a $16,493 payout minimum . Its actually easy poker at the moment because the allin is almost my only move with 6.5k in the middle in blinds and antes every hand. I will not blind out its not in my nature and am enjoying the freeroll factor to sustain the stack before doubling or busting.
Hands details will follow later, if i survive to day 4 its a huge bonus, pokergods be kind. We play down to 600 tonight so potentially play could finish at a reasonable hour if i last.
Its actually the dinner break now and im nursing a 50k low stack, average is well over 100k now. There are less than 740 left at this time and im guaranteed a $16,493 payout minimum . Its actually easy poker at the moment because the allin is almost my only move with 6.5k in the middle in blinds and antes every hand. I will not blind out its not in my nature and am enjoying the freeroll factor to sustain the stack before doubling or busting.
Hands details will follow later, if i survive to day 4 its a huge bonus, pokergods be kind. We play down to 600 tonight so potentially play could finish at a reasonable hour if i last.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
