dealisup poker

Cacheing up

2008-07-04T07:16:00.003-04:00

We took last week off and went north to stay at a resort. The Kids had fun swimming, hanging from the ceiling fans, etc. We took day trips to local attrations and did a few hikes in the woods aided by my hand held GPS. If you have kids you should try geocaching (www.geocache.com) There are millions of small caches hidden around the world that you can find. From that site you can bring up google maps and see where the caches are in your area. It's like a treasure hunt and takes you to areas that you would otherwise never see. Kids love it. Just make sure you are not in hunting season before you go. Wouldn't want to see a story posted from Vikes telling how he heard a wild turkey and ended up maiming your 7 year old kid.

I see AP was making changes again. Their new loyalty program looks like it's pissing off a few more long time grinders. I'm not sure they could do anything to actually make those players leave the site. AP has already tried pretty hard to do that with limited success. It also appears they have cancelled their Aruba satellites for the most part. They changed their Monday WSOP bounty game to an Aruba prize, but the twice an hour small rebuy satellites to the 25r and 55r daily satellites are gone. I guess if I want to continue my quest I have to sign up at UB, something I really didn't want to do.

I noticed one change for the good (as far as my bottom line is concerned) Yesterday they didn't restrict you from entering a satellite for an event you already won a ticket for. They credit your account cash for subsequent wins. I shipped 2 150k tickets back to back in 20r matches. I think I'll play a few more today. I can't think of anything more +ev then playing rebuy tournaments with a bunch of people that have no intention of ever rebuying or adding on. I also enjoy being called a donk during the first hour. As far as I'm concerned the only 'donk' move during rebuy period is not rebuying. Everything else is fair play.

Slowing down

2008-06-17T09:22:00.002-04:00

I really haven't played much poker. A few HU games, a little badbeat jackpot cash games, and a few 45 mans on Stars is all I've done the past week. I'm a little upset at myself for making some suggestions to the PRM at AP. I told him how much overlay was in the satty's and suggested an alternative structure. Well they seem to have taken my advice and implemented the change. Now my cash cow 150k rebuy satty's are gone :( I noticed that the overlay in the 150k was huge this past weekend. Some of that has to do with less people satelliting in. They effectively just moved the overlay from the sattys to the main event.

I played my first golf tournament of the year last week. I play a few 4 man team scramble events every year. We managed 3rd place in a field we could easily have won. We shot -12 and -14 won it. So many missed opportunities. I picked up a 40 ouncer of Rye (whiskey) from the prize table. Something that will definitely get used.

I also watched the last 3 rounds of the US open this week. Pretty entertaining. I'm not a huge Tiger fan but I sure appreciate how good he is and have a hard time cheering against him.

Weekend wrap

2008-06-09T06:51:00.005-04:00

On Sunday I was out of the house by 6:30am and on my way to a course in Bondhead. It's a top notch course and our group of 12 negotiated a great rate of $80 including cart. It is basically a links course with a few trees lining some holes but the rough is pretty thick shit and the sand traps are plentiful and deep and very difficult to play out of. Thankfully it was sunny with a bit of a breeze because the deer flies are pretty thick around there.

Check out the hole by hole helicoptor videos of the course.

http://www.theclubatbondhead.com/southholes.html

The good... I didn't lose a single ball or have any penalty strokes.
The bad... I hit about 5 fairways all day.
The ugly... I 3 putted 6 times and only drained 1 outside of 10 feet. (40 putts)

My chipping and approach shots were just shy of brilliant and I managed an 89, which considering my driving and putting was a fantastic score. This was also the first time in 9 months that I have held a club.

I also managed to secure US Open tickets for next year at Bethpage. I took Wed/Thur since I really hate crouds.

I ended up winning a P5 hat somehow... weeeeeeeeee. Not sure what it was, maybe it was a bounty on seal (sealeddeck). I took him out when he opened UTG with AJ and called my UTG+1 10BB shove. I had him covered by a few chips.

I also recently played a couple of the AP allinenergy drink games and won 5 cases of the Johnny Chan sponsored drink. Having not been contacted I finally emailed support and sent proof that I won them. (they are so disorganized) They told me they would be shipping.

GL all.

'super' Saturday wrap up

2008-06-07T20:24:00.003-04:00

I played the Pocketfives open which had some good prizes. The top 3 finishers that put that blurb I had in my last post into their blog each received a $530 entry to another tournament. I finished 9th in that list but that isn't the worst bubble of the day. In the 250k I finished 55th, 54th got $850.

I was at a table where we were not stalling. Other short stack tables were doing huge stalls. I had no choice but to call my short stack off as it was always raised to me. UTG Big Stack with a range of any two cards opened I was next and about to be blinded away so I called with Q8 suited. GG

As that was happening the 50r aruba game was in the early stages I was in the BB with 56 and a couple limpers, the board hits 569 so i reship then call the shove from a guy i know. He easily has an underpair but this time he had 78. I choose not to rebuy so I could have a few minutes off before the 2nd chance and bounty games start.

I shuffled the kids off to bed and put my golf clubs in the trunk. 7:00am tee off tomorrow. First game of the season.

Bounty and 2nd chance have started... gl me (as Buchs would say....)

Man I suck, out of both of them. Once again zero bounties and another 'oh for' weekend. I need to rethink my game plan.

I'll probably shoot 95 tomorrow and drop all my bets to top it off.

idk, i fell for it....

2008-06-03T21:46:00.001-04:00

I plan on playing as a blogger in the PocketFives Open. P5s is adding prizes for the poker bloggers out there.The PocketFives Poker Forum is the home of the original online poker rankings.In addition, PocketFives features regular content contributions in the forms of poker articles from top poker players such as AJKHoosier1 and USCphildo.Registered:1506794778

Full slate

2008-05-31T08:23:00.006-04:00

I continue to have awesome success in the AP satellites. I found that even though you can't register for subsequent satellites once you have won a seat you can register for multiple satellites at the same time and receive cash for any duplicate wins. I shipped 3 150k tickets within an hour the other day which puts me in great shape for another 2 months of satellites entries.

I threw in a couple $5r wins recently so I know I can do it. I just need to keep the volume up. I by no means put myself in the upper echelon of player but I'm smart enough to know that I can run deep. Hell I finished 5th in the 100k in my first attempt 3 years ago! If the donk I was can FT then for sure I can do it again now.

This is what my typical registration looks like:

Wish me Luck! I need it.

Optical Illusion?

2008-05-26T15:48:00.003-04:00

Don't hurt yourself trying to figure this out....

That hole is my ticket to Aruba....

Sigh...

2008-05-14T19:57:00.003-04:00

I made it to the $530 Aruba game again and finished 10th. That's my 3rd strike in the big Aruba game. However, I'm in the 50r again tonight. There is no give up in me. This is a goal and I won't be denied.

I have really been affected by the tribulations of others. Life is short and family is important. If you don't agree now than you probably will later in life. I really believe that. Oh, and Cancer sucks.

My middle son made his 'A' team in hockey. Blessing or not we are in for a long season. I will be coaching him again. I will be giving up my older sons team and picking up my 4 year olds team. Two teams is all I can do and my older son is at that stage where my IQ has dropped significantly and won't miss me being on the bench. All part of growing up I suppose.

I'm praying for Alaina and Buchs in their cancer battles and that makes my poker battles completely insignificant.

In fact, I am playing less and doing more to help others instead. Maybe I'm in a mid-life crisis, idk...

My not so Super Saturday

2008-05-03T20:53:00.003-04:00

In the 250K I was a total cardrack for the first couple hours. Had all the big hands and hit a couple flops with speculative hands and had a nice stack going into hour 3 with very little stealing or re-stealing. (against you Zim I had AA both times I repopped you)

I had made up my mind before the game started that cashing wasn't important I wanted a FT. At the bubble I had enough chips to coast to the cash but got it aipf with AT versus A2 suited. The A2 guy flopped the flush and it was all over but my 1M shove the last shove with 59.

While at it I satellited into the Aruba 50r and tried the WSOP satellite but failed to get through.

Onto the 2nd Chance 50K. About 5 hands in UTG raises 3X blind. I call it with 99 and two more guys call. The flop is 956, with two clubs. UTG raises 1/2 pot. I re-reraise repping JJ hopeing he has AA and will reshove me. Well the BB re-pops and UTG folds. I think for a moment and def see him having 78, but also two pair or the flush draw and a pair. I have top set and have outs even if he has 78 or hits his flush. I shove it all in to go for the chiplead. He has 78 and I brick out. GG

Meanwhile the Aruba game is going on. There are about 14 ppl in with first getting a $530 seat and second getting $320. I make it heads up with a 2:1 chip lead. Two suckouts later I have myself another ugly dress. GG and good night.

I will be going to Aruba, I cannot continue to get unlucky from now until September.

Hurray Hurray

2008-05-01T11:28:00.004-04:00

"Hurray Hurray, it's the first of May. Outdoor fucking starts today."

In my case it's the start of next years hockey season today with the first of 3 tryout sessions for "A". Two weeks off hardly seems enough but whatever, when in Rome... I imagine baseball is the same thing in the States. It's actually starting to become really popular here. I guess the Blue Jays promote well and we also have an ex big leaguer (Greg O'halleron) that lives close by and volunteers a lot of his time. His kids are just awesome to watch in both baseball and hockey. Must be something in the genes.

I just watched a cool video of what the Big House will be like in 2010. This coming season will be interesting with the loss of seniors. They always seem to find enough new talent to keep tough. I'm sure this is a rebuilding year of sorts. Nov 22 Michigan is at Ohio State. If Bzim and Rags can stand sitting in a sea of Maize and Blue we should make it a date.

http://mgoblue.com/Multimedia/MultimediaCenter.aspx?id=71424&categoryId=81876

Sigh....I picked up what seems like my 5th or so ugly dress in the Aruba 50r last night. Always a bridesmaid... at least I got $420 out of it to fund further attempts.

Well this weekend is 'Super Saturday' on AP. I'm in the 250k and the 50k second chance as well as the 75k on Sunday. I satellited into that one after watching JoeDirt take down a ticket in the AP forum game last night. I wanted a ring side seat for his Sunday game.

Good Luck to all that play.

On your Bike!

2008-04-25T07:20:00.003-04:00

I'm not talking about TonyG and his well published tirade. If you have never seen it you should watch it: http://www.tonyg.tv/tonyg-poker-video/ I actually went for a 30k bike ride yesterday. This is the first time I've ridden without a kid in tow for years. 15 years ago I was in great biking shape and even competed in several mountain bike races locally and in the States. The uphills were my strength. Yesterday a bridge underpass got the respect of my granny sprocket and made my legs rubber, lol. I'm in perfect physical shape for playing poker, that's about it. I plan on getting out more often and I believe doing so will help me at the tables. I really believe that when things are going well around you and your feeling good it translates into good play. At least I know for myself when the opposite is true I play exceptionally poorly.

I continue to play AP for satellites and the occasional SNG just to keep my balance above 1K. I can even be found at the bad beat tables occasionally dumping cash and dreaming of my quads eights or better losing for a 100K plus windfall. I self proclaim myself an expert at winning games that don't involve a cash payout. I win the satellites very consistently but have yet to hit a good score in the main events.

My primary focus has been on the Aruba package. I have made it to the main $530 event twice going from 5r, to 50r to get there. Hopefully the 3rd time is a charm. My wife has already packed! The field in the main event is small and weak. Less than 20 players and mostly satellite players with one or two people that buy in directly. I made a critical strategy error not giving people respect for big hands early. I now realize that for most of these players this is a huge game and they will be playing very tight. Small raises and re-raises will get the desired folds. It is unlikely that players will be opening/calling weak.

I'm in the 75k this weekend, and already in the 250k and 2nd chance event on 'Super Saturday'. I patiently await the big one. I'll post the HH when it comes.

...Deal

Biggest comeback ever?

2008-04-15T14:38:00.004-04:00

In the 2nd hand of a satellite match I lost all but 10 chips. I then managed to recover and win a seat. Perhaps the most surprising part is that the guy that won the early all in with A7 actually won a seat as well.

Cliff/Coles Notes:

Donked down to 10 chips in hand 3 with JJ
up to 60 in hand 4 with J4 suited
up to 195 in hand 5 with K7 off
up to 429 in hand 9 with A9 suited
up to 738 in hand 13 with 77
up to 2334 in hand 14 with A7 suited
up to 4208 in hand 34 with KK

then cruised with normal play to hand 81 ftw...

btw I won the event this won me a ticket in to. I now play in the triple header on Monday.

Here is how it went down...

[3/81]
##########################################
Absolute Poker Game 1152254292 / satellite
Table 13 -
Blinds : 10/20
##########################################

9 players
[SB] KEVLIZ8357 (1470)
[BB] DEALACE1 (1480)
[1] OCH731 (1500)
[2] SUCKERPLAYER (1400)
[3] JANCIA1199 (1500)
[4] CHRISNUTZZZ (1500)
[5] HOOTERHUNTER (1560)
[6] SCOOB13 (1600)
[B] ELBUBBA (1460)

DEALACE1 J J Initial Pot: 30
OCH731 folds
SUCKERPLAYER calls to -0.5
JANCIA1199 folds
CHRISNUTZZZ folds
HOOTERHUNTER calls to -0.5
SCOOB13 folds
ELBUBBA raises to 40
KEVLIZ8357 calls to -0.5
DEALACE1 raises to 200
SUCKERPLAYER folds
HOOTERHUNTER calls to -0.5
ELBUBBA raises to 400
KEVLIZ8357 calls to -0.5
DEALACE1 is All in
HOOTERHUNTER folds
ELBUBBA is All in
KEVLIZ8357 is All in
### FLOP ### 6 3 2 Pot: 4630
### TURN ### 4 Pot: 4630
### RIVER ### 4 Pot: 4630
ELBUBBA shows T T
KEVLIZ8357 shows A 7
DEALACE1 shows J J
KEVLIZ8357 wins 20 from side pot n°1 with A Flush, ace high
KEVLIZ8357 wins 4600 from the main pot with A Flush, ace high
DEALACE1 wins 10 from side pot n°0 with Two pairs, jacks and fours

[4/81]
##########################################
Absolute Poker Game 1152254883 / Ring Game
Table 13 -
Blinds : 10/20
##########################################

8 players
[BB] DEALACE1 (10)
[1] OCH731 (1500)
[2] SUCKERPLAYER (1380)
[3] JANCIA1199 (1500)
[4] CHRISNUTZZZ (1500)
[5] HOOTERHUNTER (1360)
[6] SCOOB13 (1600)
[B] KEVLIZ8357 (4620)

DEALACE1 4 J Initial Pot: 30
SUCKERPLAYER calls to -0.5
JANCIA1199 folds
CHRISNUTZZZ folds
HOOTERHUNTER calls to -0.5
SCOOB13 calls to -0.5
KEVLIZ8357 calls to -0.5
OCH731 checks
### FLOP ### 8 2 J Pot: 110
OCH731 checks
SUCKERPLAYER bets 180
HOOTERHUNTER calls to -0.5
SCOOB13 folds
KEVLIZ8357 folds
OCH731 folds
### TURN ### 4 Pot: 470
SUCKERPLAYER bets 235
HOOTERHUNTER calls to -0.5
### RIVER ### 4 Pot: 940
SUCKERPLAYER bets 740
HOOTERHUNTER folds
SUCKERPLAYER shows J 7
DEALACE1 shows 4 J
DEALACE1 wins 60 from the main pot with A Full House, fours full of jacks
SUCKERPLAYER wins 1620 from side pot n°1 with Two pairs, jacks and fours

[5/81]
##########################################
Absolute Poker Game 1152255780 / Ring Game
Table 13 -
Blinds : 15/30
##########################################

8 players
[SB] OCH731 (1480)
[BB] SUCKERPLAYER (1825)
[1] JANCIA1199 (1500)
[2] CHRISNUTZZZ (1500)
[3] HOOTERHUNTER (925)
[4] SCOOB13 (1580)
[5] KEVLIZ8357 (4600)
[B] DEALACE1 (60)

DEALACE1 7 K Initial Pot: 45
JANCIA1199 folds
CHRISNUTZZZ folds
HOOTERHUNTER calls to -0.5
SCOOB13 folds
KEVLIZ8357 folds
DEALACE1 is All in
OCH731 folds
SUCKERPLAYER calls to -0.5
HOOTERHUNTER calls to -0.5
### FLOP ### 3 6 7 Pot: 195
SUCKERPLAYER checks
HOOTERHUNTER bets 150
SUCKERPLAYER folds
### TURN ### T Pot: 345
### RIVER ### T Pot: 345
HOOTERHUNTER shows K 7
DEALACE1 shows 7 K
HOOTERHUNTER wins 150 from side pot n°1 with Two pairs, tens and sevens
HOOTERHUNTER wins 195 from the main pot with Two pairs, tens and sevens
DEALACE1 wins 195 from the main pot with Two pairs, tens and sevens

[9/81]
##########################################
Absolute Poker Game 1152258327 / Ring Game
Table 13 -
Blinds : 20/40
##########################################

8 players
[SB] CSUCOUGAR (3580)
[BB] ZEZETTE454 (1540)
[1] KUNTA22 (2580)
[2] MIKEJ1104 (4205)
[3] DEALACE1 (97.5)
[4] ALD32 (1215)
[5] JANCIA1199 (1440)
[B] TDOSTROM (3930)

DEALACE1 A 9 Initial Pot: 60
KUNTA22 calls to -0.5
MIKEJ1104 calls to -0.5
DEALACE1 raises to 97
ALD32 folds
JANCIA1199 folds
TDOSTROM folds
CSUCOUGAR calls to -0.5
ZEZETTE454 folds
KUNTA22 calls to -0.5
MIKEJ1104 calls to -0.5
### FLOP ### 8 T K Pot: 428
CSUCOUGAR checks
KUNTA22 checks
MIKEJ1104 bets 214
DEALACE1 is All in
CSUCOUGAR folds
KUNTA22 folds
### TURN ### 7 Pot: 642.5
### RIVER ### 2 Pot: 642.5
MIKEJ1104 shows J Q
DEALACE1 shows A 9
DEALACE1 wins 429 from the main pot with High Card ace
MIKEJ1104 wins 213.5 from side pot n°1 with High Card king

[13/81]
##########################################
Absolute Poker Game 1152260226 / Ring Game
Table 13 -
Blinds : 20/40
##########################################

8 players
[SB] DEALACE1 (349)
[BB] ALD32 (1175)
[1] JANCIA1199 (1440)
[2] RVALDALISO (6920)
[3] CSUCOUGAR (1460)
[4] ZEZETTE454 (1360)
[5] KUNTA22 (4946)
[B] MIKEJ1104 (3967.5)

DEALACE1 7 7 Initial Pot: 60
JANCIA1199 folds
RVALDALISO folds
CSUCOUGAR is All in
ZEZETTE454 folds
KUNTA22 folds
MIKEJ1104 folds
DEALACE1 is All in
ALD32 folds
### FLOP ### 6 T J Pot: 1849
### TURN ### 6 Pot: 1849
### RIVER ### 7 Pot: 1849
CSUCOUGAR shows A 5
DEALACE1 shows 7 7
DEALACE1 wins 738 from the main pot with A Full House, sevens full of sixes
CSUCOUGAR wins 1111 from side pot n°1 with A Pair of sixes

[14/81]
##########################################
Absolute Poker Game 1152260450 / Ring Game
Table 13 -
Blinds : 30/60
##########################################

8 players
[SB] ALD32 (1135)
[BB] JANCIA1199 (1440)
[1] RVALDALISO (6920)
[2] CSUCOUGAR (1111)
[3] ZEZETTE454 (1360)
[4] KUNTA22 (4946)
[5] MIKEJ1104 (3967.5)
[B] DEALACE1 (738)

DEALACE1 7 A Initial Pot: 90
RVALDALISO folds
CSUCOUGAR folds
ZEZETTE454 calls to -0.5
KUNTA22 folds
MIKEJ1104 calls to -0.5
DEALACE1 raises to 720
ALD32 is All in
JANCIA1199 folds
ZEZETTE454 calls to -0.5
MIKEJ1104 folds
DEALACE1 is All in
### FLOP ### J 4 J Pot: 3128
### TURN ### 7 Pot: 3128
### RIVER ### A Pot: 3128
ZEZETTE454 shows K K
DEALACE1 shows 7 A
ALD32 shows T T
DEALACE1 wins 2334 from the main pot with Two pairs, aces and jacks
ZEZETTE454 wins 794 from side pot n°1 with Two pairs, kings and jacks

[34/81]
##########################################
Absolute Poker Game 1152269507 / Ring Game
Table 13 -
Blinds : 60/120
##########################################

7 players
[SB] HITEMUP211 (4940)
[BB] DOWNTHERVR (1820)
[1] DEALACE1 (2014)
[2] DJERNAES (4400)
[3] PUFFALUFUGUS (4060)
[4] MIKEJ1104 (13957.5)
[B] RVALDALISO (9465)

DEALACE1 K K Initial Pot: 180
DEALACE1 raises to 600
DJERNAES folds
PUFFALUFUGUS folds
MIKEJ1104 folds
RVALDALISO calls to -0.5
HITEMUP211 folds
DOWNTHERVR folds
### FLOP ### Q 9 7 Pot: 1380
DEALACE1 is All in
RVALDALISO calls to -0.5
### TURN ### 3 Pot: 4208
### RIVER ### J Pot: 4208
RVALDALISO shows 3 5
DEALACE1 shows K K
DEALACE1 wins 4208 from the main pot with A Pair of kings

That has to be the best comeback I have ever made.

Monster @$&%*# Idiot

2008-04-11T11:10:00.004-04:00

Yup, that's me. I won a 45 man on stars and apparently made a new friend in the process.

I uploaded the HH if you want to review the match. I though it went pretty well. I was short for most of the first half but dominated the bubble and FT.

http://deals-blog-attachments.googlegroups.com/web/Stars45man.xml?gda=c4g4Tj8AAADHP7bv20GhC9EHZF31FUBf3GKWRe1S6o0wVL-a-WU3kGG1qiJ7UbTIup-M2XPURDQoDM0BVq50Zr3xamC80IFI&gsc=ZzOiPAsAAACGp9sE1kzKENgZmU20yU1f

Right before starting this game I promised that I would keep playing 45 man's all day until I won one. I didn't run so well in them yesterday. So out of my first 3 today I had this first, a 2nd, and a 5th. Good start to the day.

Reviewing HH

2008-04-09T09:18:00.003-04:00

I really think the best way to learn is to watch others play and analyze the play. It's really important to try and understand how others play the game and learn from that. Poker is a game of psychological warfare at times and knowing how others think is an advantage.

If anybody has HH that they are willing to share, please let me know. I like to review them and more importantly discuss key hands. I use a free HH reviewer: http://www.universal-replayer.net/download It supports the adding of comments which I do on key hands.

Here is one for you. I felt I played pretty well in this match. One player (gew78) really berated my play at the table and continues to hunt me down and tell me what a donkey I am.

This is a $50r satellite into the an Aruba package satellite worth $530. Most ppl satellite into this one in $5r or $2r satellites so there are usually no rebuys or addons.

http://deals-blog-attachments.googlegroups.com/web/%2450r%20aruba%20sat%20pure%20ownage.xml?gda=INU8HVEAAADHP7bv20GhC9EHZF31FUBfsDmBhxeRA_xuScZZQx3Mu2G1qiJ7UbTIup-M2XPURDReCFw4d83bICuPyv6FeUjTsJf7Zr7U_R85EpxeuQm4Dy08VVU3fRS65b6689NGZ3Q&gsc=JJdquQsAAAD_6JOiYoY0zirrBexVOCh0

Hockey is over!

2008-04-07T11:11:00.005-04:00

This is my son in his last game on this team. He just scored a goal in the 3rd period to break the other teams shutout.

Not only are the Leafs out again... sigh. My kids are also done their hockey for the season. My 8 year old finished out the season in an out of town tournament going 0-4. They all had a great time as did the parents. We were totally outgunned playing in a 'select' tournament as a house league team. We got to see some of the top players in our age category to really see the gap in talent. My son really played well against tough competition. He's trying to prove to me that he can play a higher level next year and is starting to convince me. An 'A' coach has already approached me to have him play for him but I really don't want him going that route so young unless he is clearly one of the better players on the team. We will see...

It's definitely spring time now and I'm on the hunt for a big score. I played a few more majors on AP as I am having really good luck satelliting in on the cheap. I've yet to make it deep in any of them but if I can keep at it I'm sure my day will come. I think I'll take a month off of sng's on Stars and just concentrate on MTT's.

While I was away this weekend my ID cashed! Maybe I should get others to play for me more often. I made it back to the hotel in time to watch the last hour of the match. It's quite entertaining to sit back and watch yourself play having no idea what cards you have... We agreed on the standard full staking agreement of 70/30 I had no expectations other than hoping the player had fun doing it. Receiving some cash was a definite bonus and keeps my account well funded for future attempts.

...Deal

Trying to get something to stick

2008-03-30T07:54:00.003-04:00

After playing the 75K event at AP a couple times, after winning a seat by winning the AP forum MTT, I realized how much fun MTT's are as compared to SnG's. Just way more complex from the deeper stacks and the top heavy payouts. Gunning for first, the MTT goal, is far more fun then folding to cash, the proper technique of a SnG grinder and a satellite specialist. I am also really enjoy reviewing the HH and finding mistakes. I feel this will only help me to prevent them in the future.

In the last two weeks I have used the satellites to win seats at 5 AP majors. Two $1050 events, two $530 events, and a $162 game. I cashed in last nights $530 event but only for $750. I paid less than $200 for all my tickets so far so I'm up overall. I really want to hit a top 3 on an AP major this month. I have 3 left to play and I don't plan on stopping there.

Yesterday I managed to get in a season ending snowboard day. It was awesome as my buddy who shattered his leg 25 months ago while we were out west at Fernie got back on his boards for the first time. His bones have yet to heal completely but his doctor told him to go ahead and give it a try. Thankfully he walked off the hill at the end of the day. My last hockey tournament is next weekend so I'm now officially looking forward to golf season.

Thanks to my family, JoeDirt, FreddyJames, and Rags for their encouragement.

My WSOP seat winning plan

2008-03-26T14:36:00.004-04:00

Curious what others might think of this plan. After looking at the options on PokerStars I decided that the satellite MTT's pay so few that they are really outside of my strength. I have confidence in my satellite game when 1 in 10-20 pay and the field is large. These are 1 in 100+ and the fields are small so usually only the winner wins a seat.

So what I play on doing is trying out the sng Steps. I'm a profitable mid stake sng player but definitely not one of the best. I don't plan on dumping a lot of money into them but I found a way to fund my attempts using a game of which I am very good at. The satellite games where many players win. There are $2r WSOP satellites into a $39r game. If you win the $39 seat you can unregister and take W$. W$ can then be used in the Step sng's. The first step costs $7.50. As a trial I have played 4 of these $2r satellites and won a seat every time. I don't expect to maintain that but clearly I can win around 50% of them and use this method to fully fund my Step attempts.

In the steps themselves each step has a different skill set of people and the structure of the game even changes as you get higher. For this reason I don't plan on mixing the different levels much. Instead I plan on winning a bunch of step 3 tickets before I even attempt to play a step 3. I will only 4 table the games so that I get max reads without boring myself into surfing or starting other matches.

So far I think I have bought 10 step 1 tickets and have 2 step 3's to show for them. I made some mistakes in assessing ranges and have not done as well as I should and can moving forward. The play is so bad I have nothing to compare it with. I'll keep playing the $2r to build W$ and continue to play the step 1 and 2's until I have 12 step 3 tickets saved up. At that point I will start taking my shots at the next levels.

Advice appreciated!

Busy times...AP majors....Aruba/WSOP?

2008-03-24T09:06:00.003-04:00

This is a busy time of year. My kids are in hockey playoffs. My oldest, 12, is out now. My 8 year old is in his finals with games Tuesday and Wednesday and if necessary Saturday. Then the season will be done. I coach both teams so obv never miss a game or practise. We also try and get north to ski/board because the end of the season is near. Yesterday was the first Sunday this winter that I could sleep in due to no practise at 7:00am but that damn bunny got my youngest excited with his gifts and he woke us up anyhow.

I won my second AP Forum match this week so was scheduled to play the 75K last night. This time I actually won HU compared to the last time when Carson purposely lost because he already had a seat. He wouldn't even let me ship him anything for it. He is definitely a great guy and I am happy for his all his success lately. I didn't cash in either. Made it 2+ hours in and ran into coolers both times. No regrets. I also watched Freddy play lat night. He played extremely well and got donked out when he shoved a Kxx flop with his AA and got called by KJ off. (the donk nuts) K turn and Freddy is railed. He will be winning one of these soon if he keeps at it.

A little about my relationship with AP...

I still have some internal contacts there after helping them out a few times pre-scandal. I quit playing AP but continued email contact with those I know. Well recently with their Cashier problem I got involved again. Once the problem was resolved they offered me a small cash token for helping. I asked them if they would consolidate my VP247 and AP accounts onto AP and they did! I now have my ARPs, cash, and rakeback all on my AP account. I was surprised to see that my account was back over 1K as well. I have been doing a few transfers for people that want Stars money and it all adds up.

So Saturday morning I decided to move AP onto my Main computer and see what is happening there. They have huge overlay satellites into their majors. I shipped a 100K pro bounty seat ($1000 seat) for 800 RPs (equivalent of $8) and a 150K ($530 seat) in a $20 rebuy, 2 seats guaranteed satty for $80. Only 9 players in it. 7 left at the break and only 4 of us added on. Easy shipping. So I may be playing more of the big games at AP. The majority of my play will still be on Stars. Their satellites are better in that you can take the cash. I also shipped a Stars Sunday warm up and a Sunday Million seat yesterday and took the cash.

Next goals, Aruba seat on AP. WSOP seat on Stars. Got to try this year. My BR can handle it and my satellite game is good.

What's next?

2008-03-03T19:09:00.003-05:00

I'm really getting bored of the $5.50 rebuy satellites. I have a 50% cash rate and roi > 70% in them. The variance is about as low as any poker game could be. I have not gone longer then 7 matches without a cash in 250+ overall matches. Anyone reading this that would like to pick my brain on strategy for them is more than welcome to. They are great for BR building at a slow and steady pace. I have looked up many regulars in the pokerdb and have found that I cash a higher percentage then any of them. I must do something right but I think I need to move on.

The Sunday million also has a whole whack of satellites and I might attempt a few of them. The $36 rebuy is the same format as the $5.50r so I believe my strategy would be the same and it might be fun to try them. I even think they are within my BR.

I have also played a few dozen $12 45 man sng's, mostly 3 tabling, and find them much more interesting then the 9 man's. The full gambit of MTT strategies come into play during the various stages of the game. More importantly, for my bankroll, is the fact the bubble play is terrible. The $16 9 man turbos are what I use to rack up FPP pts at the end of the month to maintain silver star status but I find them mind numbing to some extent and 6-8 tabling them hurts my clicking finger!

I think that the 45 man's might be my next game with a few higher stake satellites. The WSOP satellites are running now and that has caught my interest. Not sure to what extent but I'm thinking about it.

Oh and I'm waiting on my first Stars cheque!

PokerStars Support disagreement

2008-03-01T09:02:00.000-05:00

I have had no complaints at all with support at Stars. They have investigated obvious collusion for me and refunded me buyins based on their findings. They have answered my emails promptly and with relevant responses.

I recently had a disagreement with them. I was playing in a 180 man tournament and was in 2nd place with 20 people remaining. Stars had technical issues and the game froze. They had an announcement on their site regarding the issues they were having and had stopped any further games from starting. I emailed them asking what was up and they quickly responded that they were having issues. I eventually signed off expecting to get a reimbursement of some sort. Next day I asked them about the tournament in question because I had not received anything for it yet I did for another game I was playing at the time.

A few emails later after they sent me the HH for the game I noticed that they restarted the game 2 hours after it froze. A few people reconnected but the majority were sitting out. The game ended, I blinded out in 6th place for less money then if they had done a chip/chop as they did in the other game that froze on me at the same time.

Once I had that information I just knew they would make it right. Nope, they said the game completed and that no further compensation was warranted. Crazy. It eventually got resolved and I had an email conversation with 'Scotty' that posts for Stars on 2+2 and P5's sometimes. He admitted that it was not handled correctly and that he would let the PokerRoom manager know.

Full thread: http://www.pocketfives.com/E9E42BA0-08E1-4485-95AD-7441591E74C9.aspx

PokerStars rebuy glitches

2008-02-21T10:09:00.000-05:00

So now I've played about 250 rebuys on Stars and usually play a set of 8 where I could have up to 5 going at the same time if everything goes well. I often play a couple sng's at the same time to keep me busy. I found a number of small issues with the PokerStars software that will hopefully get addressed in upcoming releases. Here is what I sent to PokerStars:

I know some of this has been discussed multiple times on different forums (p5, 2+2) but I thought I would try and outline an area of software implementation that isn't working as well as it could and suggest possible solutions.

I often multi-table rebuy tournaments and really have a problem with the manner in which I have to interact with the software in order to rebuy when my stack reaches the point where a rebuy is possible. Quite often I end up playing hands with a low stack because I was unable to rebuy during the very very small window where the software allows it.

There are a few quirks in the rebuy process. The best way for me to explain is with examples:

Start with the assumption that the original stack is 1000 chips, and you are allowed to rebuy once your stack is at or below 1000 chips.

example 1) I start a hand with a stack of 1100 chips. I lead out 100 chips, somebody shoves, and I fold. The hand continues with other players in it. For some reason I cannot rebuy during this time. I only have 1000 chips as I have folded out of the hand in progress. Next hand I am dealt AA but I only have 1000 chips....TILT !!!. Please allow me to rebuy once I am out of the hand if my stack is low enough to allow it.

example 2) I have the auto dbl rebuy option selected so I feel that if my stack ever hits 0, I should start the next hand with 2000 chips. I start a hand with 900 chips because I missed an opportunity to rebuy so I'm already semi-tilted. I use the lobby to rebuy while the hand is in play. This is allowed because I started the hand with a rebuy eligable amount of chips. Then during the hand my flush draw misses and I bust out. What then happens is that I start the next hand with 1000 chips instead of 2000. Please respect the dbl-rebuy option in this scenerio.

example 3) This is a small thing but would be helpful for multi-tablers. I am currently playing 6-8 tables and a new rebuy tournament that I have pre-registered for begins. By the time I notice that I am in it it is my turn to act in the first hand. I have not added the extra chips and there are 4 ppl already allin each with 2000 chips and I am staring at 78 suited. So I shove and win 5000 chips when if I had rebought in time I would be sitting pretty with 10K. Please add the ability when registering for a rebuy to pre-select that you would like to start with the max chips at dbl cost.

example 4) The rebuy period ends and the tournament is on break. Please allow me to addon as soon as my hand is over (while the message that the break will start as soon as the current hands are finished is on) So many times as I am waiting for that message to end other tables will pop up and I will miss my chance to addon. I effectively have no way of knowing if I have added on or not. Remember I am multi-tabling. I often try adding on multiple times to some tables and not at all on others. If you added a pop-up box with the options to rebuy,addon (if eligible), addon, or do not addon. Then completing that dialogue would be enough to know that window has been taken care of.

I would like to ask again if you could add a new option for rebuys where if selected you would always rebuy once your stack was eligable. That would reduce so much frustration for those that would like it as we could just keep playing.

I'll keep playing them regardless but these changes would help me do so without hair falling into my green tea.

Annual TLB at VP247

2008-01-19T09:19:00.000-05:00

VP247 is a skin of Absolute and is where I played most of my poker over the last two years. I quit there once it was obvious that their execs were as crooked as they come. I have no faith that the culture of greed changed any when they were caught. The 'punishment' did not look at all like a deterrent to me. Their volume didn't appear to suffer. They basically got away with it.

Anyhow my volume managed to put me in the top 20 on their annual TLB list and they had a 5K freeroll for their top 100. 63 players signed up and 63 got paid...lol $18 for signing up.

I managed to make the FT and came in 6th for $225 after calling a UTG players allin with AQ. We both had about 8BB's so I figured I had his range crushed and didn't mind at all taking a race. He turned over KJ off and flopped a K for the win. I really should have abused the weak tighties a little more. My fault for not having a bigger stack. I was in 1st when the FT began, but got chipped away. 1st took over 1K, not bad for a freeroll with 63 players in it.

So now I have $240 on VP, and another $350 on AP. Not sure what to do with it. Thinking about using it to take shots at bigger games since the play there is terrible in comparison with Stars.

My first MTT

2008-01-16T09:36:00.000-05:00

I had wanted to find the motivation/time to play a few MTT's and just haven't done it. Yesterday I logged on at 7:30pm and played the $20 satty into the nightly 50K ($55) at the same time I played a few sng's because I had a bunch of T$ in my account. I won the satty and then quit for the night. At 11:00pm I turn off the TV and hit my pillow when the thought hits me. I forgot to unregister for the 50K!!!

I get up and logon and the first break is on. I have 2500 chips (start with 3k) the field is down to 900 from 1500. I decide to play it to cash. No way am I staying up to 6:00am to the bitter end and 180 players cash. I dbled up a couple times during the next hour and was sitting at 12K at the next break, if I could hang on another hour I would cash ($110) and it would be worth my while. My table was particularly tight and I was in 2nd place with the only laggy player (and CL) to my left. It was easy to glide to the cash. Once there I busted with KK to AQ aipf.

Not the way I wanted to do it, but I finally played my first MTT on Stars.

Slow start to the New Year

2008-01-11T20:37:00.000-05:00

I've played very little so far this year. I decided to play a few satty's while waiting for a response on an 'appliance fix-it' forum. My washing machine is acting up. Hopefully I can get some good advice, it's worked for me a couple other times. I end up finding the faulty part and getting instructions on how to replace it then pick the part up at a local store. I save a few bucks and avoid the over priced service call that doesn't fix the issue.

Anyhow, I shipped 2 of 3 tonight. I lost the freezeout thinking I was in the rebuy period. I ended up calling an all-in with a flush draw without the odds to do so. I was shocked when I couldn't rebuy... Oh well. $50.5 in and $110 out. Not bad for 90 minutes work while carrying on 2 MSN conversations, answering multiple emails, researching a ski vacation, researching my washing machine issue, and drinking a few rye and cokes.

I'm now railing my bud Joe_Dirt who is pwning an MTT on Stars right now. Take it down Joe!

Day late and and $4 short

2008-01-02T12:46:00.000-05:00

I had intended on playing a little more during the break but with the extra noise in the house and other opportunities I didn't play much at all. I had a goal of breaking the 2K barrier before 2008 and was sitting around $1850 on Dec 31. I decided to play for 3 hours on Jan 1 to see how I did so from 5:30pm to 8:30pm I played and ended up $4 short of 2K.

I'm not much for New Years resolutions so I'll pass on making up goals today. I intend on grinding up a bit more this week, making my initial deposit withdrawal, and then playing the next level soon. It was a grind to replace the BR without just depositing it but I think it's worth it to test yourself and get some experience on a new site.

The ugly side

2007-12-22T10:04:00.000-05:00

Up to this post on Stars I have run pretty well. I take my share of bad beats as well as sucking out a number of times. Normally these even out over just a few days. Lately it's been really ugly for me. It just seems that if there is a card or runner/runner combination that can take me from a dominating lead to a horrible beat it happens. I have lost $500 over the last few days. Here is my graph now:

I found this one match quite 'amusing'. Losing AA in two consecutive hands. I know what you're thinking, what a card rack for getting AA twice in a row.

The 5th hand of the tournament and first I entered with blinds of 15/30 there were two early limper's. I raised to 150. A late position guy re-raised to 270 and that took out the limper's. I shove my AA and he calls with AQ offsuit. Ship the str8 to the donk. This left me with 265 chips which I open shoved next hand after getting AA again. K7 soooooted calls me and ships the flush. My parting words were: "I suck"

My goal of hitting 2K before Jan 1 is at risk now. I need to turn it around quickly. Luckily I made $100 playing the satellites last night to keep my Stars account above $1500. If it gets any worse I might be forced to drop levels.

Sharkscope graph

2007-12-12T11:24:00.000-05:00

I guess I should post my results so far. I'm doing well ROI wise. I have now started at the $16 sng level now playing 6-8 tables. That way I have close to $100 on the site at a time and would expect to earn $20+ per hour at that rate playing that level. I am watching RPT videos on MTT play and feel I am ready to play them. I want to have 100 buyins behind me and due to the time it takes to play them I don't want to start at the lower levels. $3rebuy or $20FO is as low as I want to play and for that 2K is necessary in my opinion.

I have done well on the 180 man $4.40's on Stars that I have played. I have an unsustainable 460% roi after playing 20 of them. I have 5 Final tables 2 2nds, and 2 3rds but I have yet to win one. They take over 3 hours to play and I don't often find that much concurrent time.

I may play one of those $50FO tourneys that I satellite into soon. I have profited well satelliting into them but I have always unregistered and taken the cash to date. I think I should play one. I did well playing the AP 150K tourney after satelliting in, I didn't have the option to unregister at AP.

Here is my graph now after 2 months on Stars, it's certainly heading in the right direction:

Learn when not to play!

2007-12-11T09:26:00.000-05:00

I recently read a forum post with a Chip Reese quote on it that really rings true with me. Chip described his "A" game as pretty good, but not as good as some other pro's. However he stated his "D" game was not far from his "A" game.

I believe that your game is really only as good as how you play when you are at your worst. It's very important to know when not to play. Months of profits from your "A"game can disappear in hours playing your "D" game. This variance in play can be controlled however it is probably the most difficult skill in poker. Many really skilled poker players are unsuccessful at the game long term because they cannot manage to control their internal emotions and thought processes in order to play their best in ever session they play. Like other skills this can be worked on and improved.

The first key to fixing this problem is recognizing when you are playing poorly and stopping. Then recognize the conditions upon which you will play poorly. For some it is poor eating or a family or work related issue on your mind. If these conditions are present, don't play. The more aware you are of what outside factors impact your game the easier it will be for you to shut these outside factors out and allow your poker skills/instinct to control your plays.

Grinding some more

2007-12-11T08:45:00.000-05:00

I am still enjoying the rebuy satellites. I just finished playing 6 of them yesterday. I won a seat in all 6 and I had no extra rebuys in any of the matches. To date on Stars I have won seats 42 of 89 attempts for a payout of $2400 on a buyin of about $1800. I really understand the format and how many chips are required to fold into the seat. I have no problem insta-folding AA, KK preflop or shoving 48 offsuit when the conditions warrant it.

My sng game is improving but I still need to work on the end game (ICM). I plan on buying one of the tools that teach ICM once my subscription to RPT ends. I recently bumped up the number of concurrent tables I play from 2-4 to 6-8 as a trial. At first it seemed daunting but after a few sessions I can once again carry on an MSN conversation, read forums, etc. while playing. I probably miss some reads and also fold some hands I shouldn't. I know for sure I can manage that number of games now and I am looking forward to putting some volume in during Xmas.

Trying the satellite's

2007-11-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

One difference between AP and Stars is that on Stars you can unregister for tournaments that you win via a satellite and get T$ for them. T$, or tournament dollars, can be used to register for any tournament including sit-n-go's so they are as good as cash to me.

I decided to play the $5.50 rebuy turbos that satellite into $55 freezeouts. These take just over an hour to play due to the 5 minute levels. You start with 1000 chips and the rebuy period lasts the first 30 minutes and then there is a 1500 chip addon at the break.

My reason for choosing the rebuys versus the freezeouts are two fold. The money added for rebuys and addons is not raked so the overall fee is lower then for a freezout with the same payout. There are also many poor players that don't understand either rebuy or satellite strategy and so my edge is greater. As examples of the poor play; 30% if the field choose not to rebuy during the first hour, then another 30% choose not to addon at the break, then many players that have accumulated enough chips to fold to their seat choose to risk their chips in the late stages.

My results so far are better than expected. I have won 6 seats out of my first 9 attempts.

At first I played the rebuy period too aggressively. One game I had $35.50 invested with a chance of making $55. I did win the seat but I had way too much invested. During my last 4 games I only invested $15.5 each game. That was the initial buyin+ an immediate rebuy + the addon after 30 minutes. I won 3 of 4 of these playing much tighter during the first hour.

I'll probably outline my strategy for these after playing a few more. I think they are one of the easiest ways to grind out a consistant earning with a low variance. The strategy for playing them is also much simplier to master then a sit-n-go and they take the same amount of time. The downside is that there are far fewer of them running.

Done with Absolute Poker... Hello Stars

2007-09-27T21:22:00.000-04:00

I withdrew my roll from Vegas Poker (an AP skin), leaving $500 on for now. Once my last rakeback payment is put into my account I will take the rest out. AP just hasn't given me the sense that they take security matters seriously. I'll leave the door open to play there again but it won't be until they make great strides in security including reimbursing those cheated.

I decided to try Poker Stars. I started with a $300 deposit and used a signup bonus that will give me access to a training site for 6 months without charge once I earn 250 FPP's. I was considering joining PXF and will put that off until after the free subscription runs out.

I started with the $5.50 sng's to get use to the interface and proceeded to lose 12 matches in a row. I then lost one more buy in over my next 8 matches to be stuck $70 after 20 matches playing $5.50 games. Well as you can see from the graph I cashed my next 7 including 4 firsts and 2 2nds to get back above even.