So I am getting closer to cashing in the big weekly tournaments at Pokerstars. This week I entered a $5 rebuy satellite where the top 39 places won an entry into the $530 Sunday million tournament. After paying another $5 to add-on I won one of the places.
Then I entered the Sunday $100k tournament for $11. This has 20,000 players with the top 3000 getting paid. I have entered it about 3 times and made the money once. Today I continued my "bubble" streak and finished 3148.
The Sunday million is where the big money is at and with just over 3100 entries and the top 486 places being paid I eventually finished in 882nd place. I like to watch a few different players in this tournament after I have been knocked out who seem to do consistently well. Players like 'westmenlAA' an 'The__D__RY' and 'apestyles'. They always seems to go deep in these tournaments and I am trying to learn how they do it.
It seems I still have lots to learn about this game and am thinking of signing up for one of the poker training sites to see what it can teach me. Also I am starting to re-read my poker books, particularly Harrington and Sklansky. I seem to have got to a stopping point in my progress where I can win some SnGs and smaller tournaments but cannot get deep in the bigger tournaments.
Just so you know it was no walk in the park I also tried several times to satellite into the Full Tilt $750k tournament with no success at all. I decided this was just not meant to be this week and I will try again next week.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
More bubble stories
Here are some more bubble beats:
1 - Small stack goes all-in and I raise all-in with A-J suited. Everyone folds to the button who also goes all-in and just about has me covered. The small stack has K-Js and the bubble has A-7o. No cards come until the river which is the 7 and I go out one away from the money.
2 - I raise all-in when on button with A-K. The big blind calls me and also goes all-in with K-Q. Nothing comes until the river which is a Q.
This week out of 12 tournaments I have gone out on the bubble 7 times. Possibly the worst was the Tuesday night tournament hosted by Tony Holden on Pokerstars where out of 500+ players with the top 54 getting paid I went out in 59th with QQ v 99 and a 9 popping up on the river.
Although the experts suggest you should not try to sneak into the money and should get more aggressive near the bubble if you want to win tournaments (and reap the rewards of 1st place finishes compared to the measly payout for 10th place and below) it sure does not feel that way this week.
In almost all cases I could have waited until getting in the money before getting aggressive. Some of the best young internet players have suggested this is the strategy they follow. Sklansky also suggests it might be a better strategy to follow. But far and away the most common "expert" advice is to get aggressive to try to steal the blinds of all the players who have tightened up. When this works you can really get the opportunity to win the tournament. When it does not work..... well - it just sucks!!
1 - Small stack goes all-in and I raise all-in with A-J suited. Everyone folds to the button who also goes all-in and just about has me covered. The small stack has K-Js and the bubble has A-7o. No cards come until the river which is the 7 and I go out one away from the money.
2 - I raise all-in when on button with A-K. The big blind calls me and also goes all-in with K-Q. Nothing comes until the river which is a Q.
This week out of 12 tournaments I have gone out on the bubble 7 times. Possibly the worst was the Tuesday night tournament hosted by Tony Holden on Pokerstars where out of 500+ players with the top 54 getting paid I went out in 59th with QQ v 99 and a 9 popping up on the river.
Although the experts suggest you should not try to sneak into the money and should get more aggressive near the bubble if you want to win tournaments (and reap the rewards of 1st place finishes compared to the measly payout for 10th place and below) it sure does not feel that way this week.
In almost all cases I could have waited until getting in the money before getting aggressive. Some of the best young internet players have suggested this is the strategy they follow. Sklansky also suggests it might be a better strategy to follow. But far and away the most common "expert" advice is to get aggressive to try to steal the blinds of all the players who have tightened up. When this works you can really get the opportunity to win the tournament. When it does not work..... well - it just sucks!!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
How to play when on the money bubble?
I just got back from my weekly Weds tournament at Oceans 11 where I finished 12th out of 101 players. The top 10 got paid.
When I went out I had 6 blinds left in my chip stack and was the BB. A player in mid-position raised all-in (he had about 20 blinds) and it folded round to me. There were large antes. I had A-J suited and had a decision to make. Do I let this guy attack my blinds and let it go because we are so close to the money or should I play back at him because I have a good hand and the possibility to double up on chips where I could maybe make a higher money position on the final table. I suspected he had a pair and I was behind. Applying the gap concept (from Sklansky) I knew I normally needed a bigger hand to call than he had to raise. After thinking through my options I called all-in.
Who knows if this was the right decision. He turned over 8-8 and my A-J suited did not improve so my tournament ended. Some guys on my table told me I did the right thing. Part of me feels I did the right thing. Reading Sklanskys "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players" suggest that maybe I should have waited. There were a few players with tiny chip stacks who may have been anted out before I would have been and I could have come home with some money (which surely is better than no money!).
I can never decide if its better to get in the money or not. Last month in Australia I finished 33rd in event #1 where the top 50 get paid. The difference in payout for 33rd spot to 10th spot makes me wonder if I did the right thing then also. Maybe I should have waited and anted round to make a bit more money. Most of the books I read say I am doing the right thing - its better to try to make the big money and fail than to limp into the smaller money.
But today I would have liked some of the smaller money....any money would be nice. When I look back on my tournaments should I be happy to have made 8 cashes out of 20 tournaments or 1 big cash out of 20 tournaments. I guess until I make that one big cash I will never know!!
When I went out I had 6 blinds left in my chip stack and was the BB. A player in mid-position raised all-in (he had about 20 blinds) and it folded round to me. There were large antes. I had A-J suited and had a decision to make. Do I let this guy attack my blinds and let it go because we are so close to the money or should I play back at him because I have a good hand and the possibility to double up on chips where I could maybe make a higher money position on the final table. I suspected he had a pair and I was behind. Applying the gap concept (from Sklansky) I knew I normally needed a bigger hand to call than he had to raise. After thinking through my options I called all-in.
Who knows if this was the right decision. He turned over 8-8 and my A-J suited did not improve so my tournament ended. Some guys on my table told me I did the right thing. Part of me feels I did the right thing. Reading Sklanskys "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players" suggest that maybe I should have waited. There were a few players with tiny chip stacks who may have been anted out before I would have been and I could have come home with some money (which surely is better than no money!).
I can never decide if its better to get in the money or not. Last month in Australia I finished 33rd in event #1 where the top 50 get paid. The difference in payout for 33rd spot to 10th spot makes me wonder if I did the right thing then also. Maybe I should have waited and anted round to make a bit more money. Most of the books I read say I am doing the right thing - its better to try to make the big money and fail than to limp into the smaller money.
But today I would have liked some of the smaller money....any money would be nice. When I look back on my tournaments should I be happy to have made 8 cashes out of 20 tournaments or 1 big cash out of 20 tournaments. I guess until I make that one big cash I will never know!!
Erick Lindgren book - Making the final table
I went to the library and spent the whole afternoon there reading this fascinating book by Erick Lindgren. I could not wait to come back and put his ideas into practice in some small online tournaments.
Unlike many books which suggest you start playing tournaments very tight, then gradually loosen up as the blinds and antes increase before going for it as you near the money, this book suggests you focus on chip accumulation from the very start of the tournament. He also suggests you enter marginal hands even when you know you are behind because when they do payoff it can seriously increase your chip stack.
Needless to say I really enjoyed the book but when I put his ideas into practice I lost, lost and lost again. By trying to accumulate chips by raising with marginal hands either in late position or UTG I just kept getting called and the flop never hit. If I fired another bullet I typically got called or raised and when I tried the third bullet I typically lost a load of my chips. When I entered a hand the underdog (maybe a small pair or a flush/straight draw) I kept losing my chips. It may be because I was entering a bunch of low-stakes tournaments to try his ideas that the other players would call no matter what and are not the same as serious players playing in the WPT or WSOP events. It may be I just had a run of bad luck or implemented his strategy incorrectly. The only thing I know for sure is I lost about 12 small tournaments in a row and only changed this when I went back to my old strategy.
I think the idea of a lot of these books is to be able to pull bits of valuable information that you can add to your own game instead of implementing their whole strategy. I guess if Erick told us all EXACTLY how to do it he would not have much play left in him!!
If you want to buy or read this book click on the following link:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=31192083&listingid=15047985&dcaid=17902
Unlike many books which suggest you start playing tournaments very tight, then gradually loosen up as the blinds and antes increase before going for it as you near the money, this book suggests you focus on chip accumulation from the very start of the tournament. He also suggests you enter marginal hands even when you know you are behind because when they do payoff it can seriously increase your chip stack.
Needless to say I really enjoyed the book but when I put his ideas into practice I lost, lost and lost again. By trying to accumulate chips by raising with marginal hands either in late position or UTG I just kept getting called and the flop never hit. If I fired another bullet I typically got called or raised and when I tried the third bullet I typically lost a load of my chips. When I entered a hand the underdog (maybe a small pair or a flush/straight draw) I kept losing my chips. It may be because I was entering a bunch of low-stakes tournaments to try his ideas that the other players would call no matter what and are not the same as serious players playing in the WPT or WSOP events. It may be I just had a run of bad luck or implemented his strategy incorrectly. The only thing I know for sure is I lost about 12 small tournaments in a row and only changed this when I went back to my old strategy.
I think the idea of a lot of these books is to be able to pull bits of valuable information that you can add to your own game instead of implementing their whole strategy. I guess if Erick told us all EXACTLY how to do it he would not have much play left in him!!
If you want to buy or read this book click on the following link:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=31192083&listingid=15047985&dcaid=17902
Monday, February 11, 2008
FTOPS #9 - how I lost my chips
I finally won a satellite into FTOPS #9 and thought I would play according to my pre-game plan. Be nice and tight early on, only play premium hands. Wait for the blinds to increase and make a few steals. Then look for big pots to get involved in to really get above average and try to stay there. Once I had the chips protect them and do not let them leak away. Get into the money and then get super-aggressive to try to make it to the top spots.
It was a good plan. A great plan. I think I am like many poker players who understand the fundamentals and have a great game plan. I just do not follow it. I consistently make mistakes that I know are bad plays but I still do them. Even when they are completely opposite to the game plan my brain goes blank and I throw my chips away.
So here was my execution of my plan:
1. I get KQd in the BB. It checks round and I check (keeping the pot small because I don't really even want to play this hand - its not in my "premium" starting hand list for this early stage of the tournament). The flop is 4d, 6d, 4c. I check and then call a small bet - I figure I have 2 overcards and the flush draw. I have options to raise and try to steal the pot here but I still think I dont really want to make a big pot at this stage or give my chips away so I keep it calm. The turn is blank (check check) and the river is the Qc - now I have top 2 pair and no bets. FUCK the plan - go for it - I put in a raise. He calls and shows the trip 4s to take a chunk of my chips.
2. Wait a bunch of hands playing super tight and then I get 3-3 in late position. No bets so I raise from 30 to 120 to try to take the pot there. A couple of callers and the flop is A-K-7 so I put in a two third pot continuation bet to try to steal the pot - if they do not have an ace or king maybe they will fold now. Unfortunately they both call so I check-fold on 4th street losing another chunk of chips.
3. Wait a bunch more hands and I get 4-4 in the SB and call the BB. I miss the flop so I fold the cards and lose a few more chips.
4. My stack is down from 3000 starting stack for just over 2000 so I wait a bunch more hands and get A-Jc in late position. There is a small raise in front of me (2xb) so I re-raise and get a caller. The flop is 6d 2c 8c so I bet the pot and he re-raises to put me all in if I call. I have a flush draw and 2 overcards and am thinking its 2.2-1 for me to get one of my cards, I only have 1700 chips left and am way below average and this is my opportunity to get back in the game. So I call, miss the flop and he turns over K-K and my tournament is over. I am iin 5137th place out of 5637 people - what a loser!!
This last play is so dumb I feel I could shoot myself. I was thinking all the wrong things. I should have thought that my tournament life is on the line and I do not need to risk it right now - its way too early. I should have thought what range of hands he could have based on his betting patterns but I didn't even think about him. I should have thought how A-J suited is NOT even on my starting hand range this early in the tournament so why am I playing it. I could have looked at the pot-odds and realised I was getting about 2-1 on the money I was betting but I was 2.2-1 to get a card so it was a bad idea to call. I did not think any of this. If I knew he had kings and my jack was not an over card my odds were even less with only 12 outs - way too few to call.
Of course if I had hit the flush I would have thought I was great but in truth I would have been lucky when making a bad play.
In fact every one of my 4 hands above were short of my starting range and completely outside of my game plan I had setup. I should have folded all 4 hands. But I had a brain freeze and this is the part of my game I need to work on. Its one thing to not know the fundamentals but a lot of losing tournament players know them and just do not follow them at a critical moment. This is the difference between a good player who wins tournaments and the rest of us - the good players do not make stupid mistakes.
I'm off to do some meditation before someone hands me a gun. So stupid - I gotta learn from these mistakes - gotta gotta gotta learn!!
It was a good plan. A great plan. I think I am like many poker players who understand the fundamentals and have a great game plan. I just do not follow it. I consistently make mistakes that I know are bad plays but I still do them. Even when they are completely opposite to the game plan my brain goes blank and I throw my chips away.
So here was my execution of my plan:
1. I get KQd in the BB. It checks round and I check (keeping the pot small because I don't really even want to play this hand - its not in my "premium" starting hand list for this early stage of the tournament). The flop is 4d, 6d, 4c. I check and then call a small bet - I figure I have 2 overcards and the flush draw. I have options to raise and try to steal the pot here but I still think I dont really want to make a big pot at this stage or give my chips away so I keep it calm. The turn is blank (check check) and the river is the Qc - now I have top 2 pair and no bets. FUCK the plan - go for it - I put in a raise. He calls and shows the trip 4s to take a chunk of my chips.
2. Wait a bunch of hands playing super tight and then I get 3-3 in late position. No bets so I raise from 30 to 120 to try to take the pot there. A couple of callers and the flop is A-K-7 so I put in a two third pot continuation bet to try to steal the pot - if they do not have an ace or king maybe they will fold now. Unfortunately they both call so I check-fold on 4th street losing another chunk of chips.
3. Wait a bunch more hands and I get 4-4 in the SB and call the BB. I miss the flop so I fold the cards and lose a few more chips.
4. My stack is down from 3000 starting stack for just over 2000 so I wait a bunch more hands and get A-Jc in late position. There is a small raise in front of me (2xb) so I re-raise and get a caller. The flop is 6d 2c 8c so I bet the pot and he re-raises to put me all in if I call. I have a flush draw and 2 overcards and am thinking its 2.2-1 for me to get one of my cards, I only have 1700 chips left and am way below average and this is my opportunity to get back in the game. So I call, miss the flop and he turns over K-K and my tournament is over. I am iin 5137th place out of 5637 people - what a loser!!
This last play is so dumb I feel I could shoot myself. I was thinking all the wrong things. I should have thought that my tournament life is on the line and I do not need to risk it right now - its way too early. I should have thought what range of hands he could have based on his betting patterns but I didn't even think about him. I should have thought how A-J suited is NOT even on my starting hand range this early in the tournament so why am I playing it. I could have looked at the pot-odds and realised I was getting about 2-1 on the money I was betting but I was 2.2-1 to get a card so it was a bad idea to call. I did not think any of this. If I knew he had kings and my jack was not an over card my odds were even less with only 12 outs - way too few to call.
Of course if I had hit the flush I would have thought I was great but in truth I would have been lucky when making a bad play.
In fact every one of my 4 hands above were short of my starting range and completely outside of my game plan I had setup. I should have folded all 4 hands. But I had a brain freeze and this is the part of my game I need to work on. Its one thing to not know the fundamentals but a lot of losing tournament players know them and just do not follow them at a critical moment. This is the difference between a good player who wins tournaments and the rest of us - the good players do not make stupid mistakes.
I'm off to do some meditation before someone hands me a gun. So stupid - I gotta learn from these mistakes - gotta gotta gotta learn!!
How to make money playing poker
I have to read up and work on bankroll management. I have thought a lot about how to make money playing poker especially since I have been used to making 200k plus per year in a job.
The small SnGs take time and you only make a small profit. The large SnGs have better players so you win a lower % of the time and they take longer to complete so you struggle to grind out a living there. If you mutli-table SnGs you could probably grind out a living but not a very wealthy one.
The tournaments cost anywhere from $1 to $100,000 and have massive prizes. The bigger the entry fee the bigger the reward. When you look online at statistical sites and ranked players it appears the highest earners are those who regularly enter big tournaments and win big prizes. The risk/reward factor seems to be in the big tournaments BUT if you are not good enough you will burn through your bankroll really quickly. The big tournaments have certainly been the biggest cost to me over the last few months. I cash in a bunch of SnGs and smaller tournaments and think "lets go big and win big" and then I blow a fortune because I am just not good enough yet.
Maybe the cash/ring games are where the real money is. You can grind away earning $1-2k a week playing the cash games in Las Vegas and can probably do the same online. If you enter bigger stakes games you could lose a fortune in one hit - it seems many a professional poker player has done this many times.
So how to consistently make money - this is what I need to research and find out. How are other players doing it. Does "bankroll management" really mean "making money" or is it more about "being scared to lose your money". As I find out some of these answers I will share them here.
The small SnGs take time and you only make a small profit. The large SnGs have better players so you win a lower % of the time and they take longer to complete so you struggle to grind out a living there. If you mutli-table SnGs you could probably grind out a living but not a very wealthy one.
The tournaments cost anywhere from $1 to $100,000 and have massive prizes. The bigger the entry fee the bigger the reward. When you look online at statistical sites and ranked players it appears the highest earners are those who regularly enter big tournaments and win big prizes. The risk/reward factor seems to be in the big tournaments BUT if you are not good enough you will burn through your bankroll really quickly. The big tournaments have certainly been the biggest cost to me over the last few months. I cash in a bunch of SnGs and smaller tournaments and think "lets go big and win big" and then I blow a fortune because I am just not good enough yet.
Maybe the cash/ring games are where the real money is. You can grind away earning $1-2k a week playing the cash games in Las Vegas and can probably do the same online. If you enter bigger stakes games you could lose a fortune in one hit - it seems many a professional poker player has done this many times.
So how to consistently make money - this is what I need to research and find out. How are other players doing it. Does "bankroll management" really mean "making money" or is it more about "being scared to lose your money". As I find out some of these answers I will share them here.
What a winning day feels like
Here was my great comeback day from flu. Note I am all over the place when it comes to choosing what tournaments to play in. Sometimes I enter $1 tournaments (especially when on a losing streak) and sometimes I go big and enter $109 and $215 tournaments. I am still consistently losing money although much less than last year when I started training - I think this is a good sign suggesting that if I keep practicing and improving I might start making money soon.
So to my good day:
1. Full Tilt 180 player Sng - entry fee $2.25 - I came 18th and won $3.60
2. Full Tilt Early A tourney - entry fee $6 - I cam 60th from 1203 players and won $14.44
3. Full Tilt Early B tourney - cost $6 - win $0
4. Full tilt super-satellite to FTOPS #9 - 2.25 entry (10.25 after rebuys and addon) - I came joint 1st winning a $55 entry into a satellite.
5. Pokerstarts $11 rebuy - cost $31 with rebuys/addon and I came 84th out of 1877 winning $129
My total costs were $85.50 and I won $147 and an entry into FTOPS #9 satellite worth $55.
So to my good day:
1. Full Tilt 180 player Sng - entry fee $2.25 - I came 18th and won $3.60
2. Full Tilt Early A tourney - entry fee $6 - I cam 60th from 1203 players and won $14.44
3. Full Tilt Early B tourney - cost $6 - win $0
4. Full tilt super-satellite to FTOPS #9 - 2.25 entry (10.25 after rebuys and addon) - I came joint 1st winning a $55 entry into a satellite.
5. Pokerstarts $11 rebuy - cost $31 with rebuys/addon and I came 84th out of 1877 winning $129
My total costs were $85.50 and I won $147 and an entry into FTOPS #9 satellite worth $55.
Never play when sick
I left Las Vegas and drove home to California. The lack of sleep and jet-lag then caught up with me and I was sick with flu for almost 2 weeks.
The great thing about online poker is you can play from home even when you are sick. In my case this just made me sick at poker. I played about 20 small tournaments and a few big tournaments while having the flu and was just terrible.
To be fair I was also reading Sklanskys "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players" and trying some of the techniques suggested in the book. Arguably this is similar to when you start taking golf lessons and change your swing. Your game eventually should get better but initially you play terrible as you adjust.
I also read a book by Anthony Holden called "Bigger Deal". This is the story of his year chasing poker tournaments around the world ending with the WSOP in Las Vegas. He goes through many of the same emotions as I have gone through so it was quite therapeutic to know I am not the only one. These emotions range from "I am crap", "Why do I bother", "Why is everyone else so much better than me", "Maybe I am just not good enough to play this game", "Will I even get better" to elation when winning a smaller tournament or parting a lessor player with a chunk of his money.
I played 5 online tournaments the day after finishing the "Bigger Deal" book and after feeling 80% recovered from the flu and cashed in 4 of them. This lifted my spirits immensely after the terrible run I had been on. Maybe I should just never play when I am sick. I had also had my best nights sleep in 2 weeks so maybe I played better because I was well rested. This is my new motto - "Don't play poker when you are tired and never play when sick".
The great thing about online poker is you can play from home even when you are sick. In my case this just made me sick at poker. I played about 20 small tournaments and a few big tournaments while having the flu and was just terrible.
To be fair I was also reading Sklanskys "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players" and trying some of the techniques suggested in the book. Arguably this is similar to when you start taking golf lessons and change your swing. Your game eventually should get better but initially you play terrible as you adjust.
I also read a book by Anthony Holden called "Bigger Deal". This is the story of his year chasing poker tournaments around the world ending with the WSOP in Las Vegas. He goes through many of the same emotions as I have gone through so it was quite therapeutic to know I am not the only one. These emotions range from "I am crap", "Why do I bother", "Why is everyone else so much better than me", "Maybe I am just not good enough to play this game", "Will I even get better" to elation when winning a smaller tournament or parting a lessor player with a chunk of his money.
I played 5 online tournaments the day after finishing the "Bigger Deal" book and after feeling 80% recovered from the flu and cashed in 4 of them. This lifted my spirits immensely after the terrible run I had been on. Maybe I should just never play when I am sick. I had also had my best nights sleep in 2 weeks so maybe I played better because I was well rested. This is my new motto - "Don't play poker when you are tired and never play when sick".
Las Vegas
After returning from Australia I had to go to Las Vegas for a soccer tournament. There was no time to recover from jetlag and these weekends tend to involve a lot of drinking and not much sleep. This means my decision to stay an extra day or two to play some poker was probably not the smartest but I wanted to experience the Las Vegas card rooms.
I played in the Tropicana, the MGM, the Bellagio and the Mirage. On my last visit to Las Vegas I had played in the Luxor and the Venetian so I figured I was getting a good rounded experience. The Bellagio is like the gold standard for poker rooms according to all the reviews I read and I enjoyed playing there. I did not win any tournaments and the furthest I got was 2 players outside the bubble at the Mirage. I also played some 4-8 limit games at Bellagio where I held my own for an hour or so before eventually losing about $60.
I love going to Vegas but I have what professional poker players call a leak. I like to play CRAPS and I almost always lose money on the CRAPS table. Its something I'm going to have to think about as I continue my poker journey. If I am serious about poker I will be visiting many casinos and cannot afford to throw away my limited bankroll playing other games.
I played in the Tropicana, the MGM, the Bellagio and the Mirage. On my last visit to Las Vegas I had played in the Luxor and the Venetian so I figured I was getting a good rounded experience. The Bellagio is like the gold standard for poker rooms according to all the reviews I read and I enjoyed playing there. I did not win any tournaments and the furthest I got was 2 players outside the bubble at the Mirage. I also played some 4-8 limit games at Bellagio where I held my own for an hour or so before eventually losing about $60.
I love going to Vegas but I have what professional poker players call a leak. I like to play CRAPS and I almost always lose money on the CRAPS table. Its something I'm going to have to think about as I continue my poker journey. If I am serious about poker I will be visiting many casinos and cannot afford to throw away my limited bankroll playing other games.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)