Aussie Sickness

Right where to start, i think this could be my longest post for a long time if i chuck hand histories in.

Busted in 6th, sounds crap but basically ive just played my best ever live poker for 5 hours without a doubt. Nothing prior to this game in my whole career comes close, i know i was in the zone for so long but the blind structure just killed me in the end.

At this minute in time i feel inconsolable and so low i still do wonder if i have it in myself to handle the ups and downs in poker in the long haul. The "play out of your skin" for no reward kills me and i just feel sick. Sicker than WSOP bust 2006, sicker than WSOP bust 2007, sicker than CPC deep bust 2005.

OK on to hands, will list as many as i can handle, hopefully this will help me get some of this negative stuff out of my head cos i know there are so many postives to be taken deep down.

10,000 starting stack
50/100

1st hand, im dealt KK in the sb (highest hand of tournament) and make it 900 after several limpers as im not too bothered about action and want to set a image immediately anyway and all fold.

No i cant do this, there are too many hands and its just pissing me off trying to think of them cos im tired.

Lets generalise and maybe i will list key pots and list some more in another post. Basically everyone at the table (except myself) looked terrified and nervous in my opinion pretty much the whole game. The table was ridiculously tight with exception of the 1 italian who bust first as expected really. The more everyone tightened up the more i raised with complete junk, not even linked stuff often and got the majority through.

OK straight to the sickest pot of all, i have good image from above and we are on level 200/400 50 ante. Ive just raised from button with AK (had 2 times all game) and im now in the hijack 2 hands later with 10s (2nd biggest hand all game) and make it 1400. Allin for about 3700 more and i call. its his KQ vs my 10s but i dont hold and im mad, on tilt, gutted, annoyed, livid and plenty more.

At that time i was probably joint chip leader on about 22,000 and the pot would have took me to 30,000 (30% of chips in play) with 6 players left on a v v v tight table with a great payout structure to justify stealing beyond belief and of course it wasnt a crapshoot at that point.

It took me a while to calm down after that and despite being stacked on still just over average chips circa 18k it just seemed to go wrong after that. A couple of reraises of missed flops pots lost and stuff like that really. Made a good laydown with 8s after being priced in ridiculously preflop reraised and seeing a 9 high flop i eventually got a confident tell at which point i immediately mucked to be shown QQ.

Again reraised (by genuine hands 100% im sure) a couple times and with the blinds going up i become crippled. Playing only 7,000 at 600/1200 in the big blind i get the clearest tell ive seen all game. Folds to sb big stack and he pauses and i know he is weak as can be, then he moves in. Obviously it wasnt just the pause that gave me this his facial expression was def part too and previous strong hands pots he played info i had. Anyway im lookin for anything to gamble with and prob would called queen high here, likely J10 , maybe J9 so im praying for sommat like that. First card is 4h and 2nd is Ah and i make an immediate call on seeing the ace to be shown 9,10off. Its the first time im allin and in trouble for my life but i hold and get back to 15k.

Again sustain that then blinds go up again and its a ridiculous 3600 a round at 800/1600 with 200 ante. AJ runs into AQ which he took ages to call with and i bust out in 6th. Pot would have put me on over 30,000 with 5 left so again was huge and i knew how much it meant to me but no help came and i went into this instant depressive mood.

Absolutely no way i could watch the last 5 play out. to be honest they are all nice people but i couldnt care less who wins once i had gone.

One blind out merchant (the AQ) had probably survived at least 3 allins prior to that point and it just left me sick knowing how much luck just didnt go my way when i only needed such a smaller chunk compared to most of the other players. In all honesty if that STT played out 100 times i would expect to win it 20-25% of the time which is just a plain ridiculous statement to make but i know its true !

OK dunno what im doin now but im done on here for now. Try to fast forward in aussie millions mode where 20,000 chips with the same blind structure but an hour clock will be juicy and fun to say the least. I cant face the $1,150 supersatellite in 20 minutes as im flamin knackered and may hav a snooze for an hour or 2 to see if that makes me feel any better.

Note to self:

Poker is a sick sick sick game, get some luck for a change in a big event and who knows what can happen but for now its sick sick sick.

:((

Note to readers:

Comment on above if u want but i dont want "ul comments" so aint gonna post anything of that nature on here.

Almost Time

Just under 5 hours to go. Not too much to report about yesterday, i was just relaxing most of the time and met the other players at the evening meal.

The Game is 10,000 starting chips with a 50/100 starting level and a 30 minute clock. Ive got a kinda plan but really i dunno what im gonna do until im playing and take each situation as it arises. 7 of the 10 played a $50 sit and go last night for fun after the meal and i actually think i got some good information from it but sadly i also luckboxed a lot and just hope it isnt wasted on the small game only.

Payout is so top heavy it could lead to some interesting decisions, im praying for a big stack early or mid game to enable some hard bubble bullying but just have to see what happens. Also with effectively "2 pairs" of players (bro/bro & bro/sister) it could mess with my head a bit but hopefully enough im experienced enough to actually take advantage of that if possible.

Im expecting a fairly tight table for the first few levels at least and may attack early if i can get some linked cards rather than total rags just to get some good image.

Without being cocky i know im the favourite, but only a marginal one as anything can happen in any individual game and cos of that i havent put any pressure on myself as "anything is a bonus" will be what i will be trying to use to relax myself throughout it.

Right its now 7:21am (k/o midday) and despite my stomach giving me grief (not through nerves yet) i think i need to eat something to set me up for hopefully a long game. I will probably go to the sauna and swimming pool too after to relax for an hour or so.

Heres to a good finish, but its good to know ive got the Aussie Millions afterwards to look forward to anyway regardless of todays result.

I Made It

After the expected long slog with usual expected sort of delays i made it to my hotel at 1am last night local time. I managed 4 hours sleep and feel pretty adjusted body clock wise already having had bits of sleep on both legs of the flights.

Room is good and Pokernews have booked it so im in for 16 nights straight which is good to know. Had a brief look at the casino earlier which is pretty much as standard. Not sure what im gonna do this afternoon, maybe test the swimming pool etc in the hotel. Dont wanna do too much today apart from relax really. Got a meal later i think, so should find out full details of the 10 seater tommorrow which i believe is at 12 noon. Ive met 5 others already and it could be an interesting game with 2 brothers in it and also a brother and sister in it as well !!!

Bring It On

Cant wait to escape, probably just had one of my worst (non-sunday) days in terms of losses. Couldnt win a thing be it multis, NL, FL, or omaha. Didnt think i did too much wrong, only a few minor mistakes. Punished in full or outdrawn was the setting for the night. So as with a few months recently im starting off with a chunky loss handicap.

Obviously im got a big live scene ahead of me in the next few weeks which could be a good or bad thing money wise. Either way im prepared for a big or bad January. I keep reminding myself to just play poker exactly like i did in St Kitts and things will come good. I hate losing, its supposed to be all part of this "bankroll management" crap. I cant quite get a grasp on when it comes to staking myself to lose a little bit then win a lot back. I guess thats why i havent moved up in stakes enough and its always could be slow progress up a large hill.

Anyways hopefully the long long journey wont be too bad, especially when i remind myself what im getting away from and what im heading off out there for.

AUSTRALIA TRIP & SCHEDULE JANUARY 2008

INCLUDED IN PACKAGES/(APPROX. VALUE):

RETURN FLIGHTS (£1,000)
16 NIGHTS ACCOMODATION (£1,500)
10 SEATER POKER PRO FINAL TABLE (£3,000)
AUSSIE MILLIONS MAIN EVENT (£4,500)

TOTAL APPROX. VALUE £10,000


POKER PRO FOR A YEAR PRIZES:

Grand Prize
Sponsorship into four major poker tournaments in 2008
Buy ins, accommodation, flights and expenses all inclusive
Your own personal blog on PokerProForAYear.com
Worth over $50,000

2nd place
Sponsorship into the 2009 Aussie Millions
Buyin, accommodation, flights and expenses all inclusive
Worth up to $15,000

3rd place
$1000 worth of entries into Pacific Poker Global Qualifiers



SCHEDULE JANUARY 2008:

THUR 3 - TRAVEL TO & STAY HOTEL HEATHROW

FRI 4 - 12:25pm FLIGHT DEPARTS HEATHROW

SAT 5 - 9:35pm FLIGHT ARRIVES MELBOURNE


SUN 6 - POKER PRO MEAL

MON 7 - POKER PRO FOR A YEAR FINAL TABLE 12 NOON

SUN 13 - POKERNEWS PARTY

TUES 15 - AU$ 10,500 MAIN EVENT DAY 1 - FLIGHT 2

SUN 20 - AUSSIE MILLIONS PARTY


MON 21 - 5:30pm FLIGHT DEPARTS MELBOURNE

TUES 22 - 5:25am FLIGHT RETURNS HEATHROW