FTOPS IV is coming!
I'll be playing in 6 events.
Event 1 - Friday, May 11th - NL Hold'em
Buyin: 200+16
300k Guarantee
QUALIFIED!
Event 3 - Sunday, May 13th - NL Hold'em
Buyin: 300+22
750k Guarantee
QUALIFIED!
ENTRY IN SATELITTE(S): (A) 50+5
Event 4 - Monday, May 14th - NL Hold'em
Buyin: 1000+60
300k Guarantee
ENTRY IN SATELITTE(S): (A)100+9, (B) 200+16
Event 6 - Wednesday, May 16th - 6-Handed NL Hold'em
Buyin: 200+16
400k Guarantee
QUALIFIED!
ENTRY IN SATELITTE(S): (A) 50+5
Event 8 - Friday, May 18th - PL Hold'em
Buyin: 200+16
150k Guarantee
Event 10 - Sunday, May 20th - NL Hold'em
Buyin: 500+35
1.5M Guarantee
QUALIFIED!
I'm planning on winning seats into all of them. I'd love to win an event, but I'd settle for two deep cashes...
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Round 2!
So I played some more MTTs this week. I spent around $200 and 4000 FPP points in tourney entries and won 3 $26 tokens, 1 $75 token, 1 entry into a satelitte into the 1k entry tourney FTOPS #4 ($216) on May 14th, and a $400K seat for today ($216).
The satellites continue to be a great value on FT. Players are very bad, and I find myself in the bubble/money range in nearly all of them.
Hoping I can weed my way through the 400k today. I'll continue to update as I go, with interesting hands.
The satellites continue to be a great value on FT. Players are very bad, and I find myself in the bubble/money range in nearly all of them.
Hoping I can weed my way through the 400k today. I'll continue to update as I go, with interesting hands.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Satellite cheese reborn!
I have started to mine the 14+1 turbo, rebuy satellites on full tilt. I've played 5 so far. Gotten 2 seats - one of which gave me $535 of cash, the other a seat into the 750K tourney. Also one 2nd for $166. Spent about $200 total, made $1236 -> profit roughly $1K. :D
I'm gonna keep playing these a lot. They are full of terrible players so its pretty easy to get pretty deep in every single one. Then its just about getting chips or getting out, and once you have chips, using em' to steal enough blinds to earn a top finish.
I just doubled up in the 750K, trapping a guy I had been needling a bit for about an hour.
More updates to follow.
I'm gonna keep playing these a lot. They are full of terrible players so its pretty easy to get pretty deep in every single one. Then its just about getting chips or getting out, and once you have chips, using em' to steal enough blinds to earn a top finish.
I just doubled up in the 750K, trapping a guy I had been needling a bit for about an hour.
More updates to follow.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Playing in the 750K guarantee on FT
I played in a few satellites today.
3 were FTP tournies that satellite into a huge Super that gives out like 30 seats to the Sunday 750K guarantee. Only first earns a seat in the super - and I managed to win on my 3rd attempt. :)
2 were small rebuy tournies (1+.10 rebuys) that satellites into a 100+9 super satellite that gives away 100+ seats to the 750k guarantee. I lost both of these - but only after the addon period with only my initial rebuy - net loss was only about $6.00
1 was a 14+1 rebuy satellite straight into the $750k guarantee. Guess who won? :D :D :D
I had to double rebuy about halfway though the rebuy period, but it was worth it - for about $70, I earned a 500+35 seat!
I'm going to try to start playing in this tourney every weak - qualifying via satelites. I figure if I can get in it for less than $100 per week, it would be a very good value, and I'm bound to get deep in one of these big ones eventually, for a big cash.
On a side note, I earned about $300 in cash games today. I'm finally feeling like I'm playing well again. I play super tight most of the time, but really try to play my opponents cards more than mine. I really want to try to keep improving. For a while I was starting to get set in my game, and my thoughts of my skills as a player. Truth be told, I'm much worse than I had thought I am. Plain and simple there is no excuse that I'm still playing .50/1 after more than a year, other than my poor play. I know that good players are making a lot of money, and I know I have the potential to reach that point too.
I'm planning on signing up for card runners, which has videos of top pros for download. I think its like $30 a month for unlimited access. So I'll probably subscribe for a month, download all the videos, and then unsubscribe.
I also am going to try to focus on putting some money for tournies aside every week on top of the $100 I'm putting towards qualifying for the big sunday tournament. I'd like to be able to eventually play in all of the big tournies every weekend, on UB, Stars, and FT. The fields are huge, but the payouts are substantial. Most of these final tables often payout 50+K to the final 4-5 players.
Pocketfives really has me interested in tournaments because many players are consistently beating these big tournies, and I feel like if you only enter tournies via satelites, the bigger tournies are a great opportunity. However, buying in for $535 outright into a tourney is clearly inferior to entering for FTP points, a few dollars, or even $50.
One thing I like about tournaments is that situations are much easier to see and attack. Its all about giving yourself lots of folding equity and trapping. I've been much more willing to go broke lately, and I think that has improved my results considerably. I bust out in retarded spots a bit more - I called an all-in of a 2x reraise with K7s to see KK today for instance. But some of the time, those marginal calls with the right odds give you spots to get lucky and get enough chips to make a run at the final table. Patience is important, but more important is knowing when you have a powerful opportunity to leverage your opponents into folding, and chipping up.
I've noticed that in these satelites most players do not adjust well to shorter handed play - so if I can get to a final table, and not run into huge hands, selected aggression dominates this situations big time!
3 were FTP tournies that satellite into a huge Super that gives out like 30 seats to the Sunday 750K guarantee. Only first earns a seat in the super - and I managed to win on my 3rd attempt. :)
2 were small rebuy tournies (1+.10 rebuys) that satellites into a 100+9 super satellite that gives away 100+ seats to the 750k guarantee. I lost both of these - but only after the addon period with only my initial rebuy - net loss was only about $6.00
1 was a 14+1 rebuy satellite straight into the $750k guarantee. Guess who won? :D :D :D
I had to double rebuy about halfway though the rebuy period, but it was worth it - for about $70, I earned a 500+35 seat!
I'm going to try to start playing in this tourney every weak - qualifying via satelites. I figure if I can get in it for less than $100 per week, it would be a very good value, and I'm bound to get deep in one of these big ones eventually, for a big cash.
On a side note, I earned about $300 in cash games today. I'm finally feeling like I'm playing well again. I play super tight most of the time, but really try to play my opponents cards more than mine. I really want to try to keep improving. For a while I was starting to get set in my game, and my thoughts of my skills as a player. Truth be told, I'm much worse than I had thought I am. Plain and simple there is no excuse that I'm still playing .50/1 after more than a year, other than my poor play. I know that good players are making a lot of money, and I know I have the potential to reach that point too.
I'm planning on signing up for card runners, which has videos of top pros for download. I think its like $30 a month for unlimited access. So I'll probably subscribe for a month, download all the videos, and then unsubscribe.
I also am going to try to focus on putting some money for tournies aside every week on top of the $100 I'm putting towards qualifying for the big sunday tournament. I'd like to be able to eventually play in all of the big tournies every weekend, on UB, Stars, and FT. The fields are huge, but the payouts are substantial. Most of these final tables often payout 50+K to the final 4-5 players.
Pocketfives really has me interested in tournaments because many players are consistently beating these big tournies, and I feel like if you only enter tournies via satelites, the bigger tournies are a great opportunity. However, buying in for $535 outright into a tourney is clearly inferior to entering for FTP points, a few dollars, or even $50.
One thing I like about tournaments is that situations are much easier to see and attack. Its all about giving yourself lots of folding equity and trapping. I've been much more willing to go broke lately, and I think that has improved my results considerably. I bust out in retarded spots a bit more - I called an all-in of a 2x reraise with K7s to see KK today for instance. But some of the time, those marginal calls with the right odds give you spots to get lucky and get enough chips to make a run at the final table. Patience is important, but more important is knowing when you have a powerful opportunity to leverage your opponents into folding, and chipping up.
I've noticed that in these satelites most players do not adjust well to shorter handed play - so if I can get to a final table, and not run into huge hands, selected aggression dominates this situations big time!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
I want a new poker name!
After stumbling upon www.pocketfives.com I have come to two realizations.
1) There is a very active scene of online tournament players who make a living playing tournies full time.
2) My poker name sucks.
I've decided to start playing some MTTs here and there - via satelites mostly AND I've decided that I need a new poker name.
Any suggestions?
1) There is a very active scene of online tournament players who make a living playing tournies full time.
2) My poker name sucks.
I've decided to start playing some MTTs here and there - via satelites mostly AND I've decided that I need a new poker name.
Any suggestions?
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Vegas trip. :D
I just got back from a trip to vegas on Monday night - I was there Sat., Sun., and Mon.
Over the course of this period I played 5 sessions. 2 at Binions, 2 at the Sahara (where I was staying), and 1 at the Rio. Binions plays a 1-2 NL game with no max-buyin. Sahara had a 1-3 NL game with 500 max buyin. Rio had a 2-5 NL game with a 500 max-buyin. At every limit/game I bought in for 200 - I felt like this was a good amount because I didn't want to create a "serious" atmosphere and I still had most players matched or covered at each table.
Overall, I felt the games were incredibly good - I could easily see how poker players could make a living playing just cash game poker in Vegas. Generally, the players were extremely passive or extremely aggressive, but either way they were extremely patterned. I would usually start each session trying to figure out how each player played and then I would just hope to get into pots (in position usually) and take advantage of their weaknesses. I noticed that players checked way more often than in online games - like way, way more often. So, I felt like this was a great thing to exploit. Whenever I limped in on the button and it was checked to me and I felt like everyone was weak - I'd fire out a decent sized bet and nearly always pick up the pot.
One of my favorite plays- and one that I have never done before - largely due to my very little live experience - was calling or checking the SB/BB and then checking the flop dark. It was nearly automatic for players who were the aggressor or were just aggressive in general to bet here. Whenever they did - I would fire out a check raise if I had a decent hand and usually scoop the pot. For example, I had Ts7s on the BB. The cutoff min raised to 2x BB - $10. I called, and checked in the dark. The flop came Th9s2h. My opponent bet 2xBB - $10. I raised to $35 - 7xBB. My opponent folded.
I also sometimes would call in position with mediocre hands like middle aces and suited connectors. When I hit the flop I'd usually just bet out and if I was called - my opponents would just check it down - even if they had something stupid like middle pair. OR if I was lucky, they would bet hands after limping preflop with strong hands - but not made hands. One of my better hands I Th9s on the button. Three players limped in. I called. The SB called and the BB checked. The flop came TcJs3h. A player who I'd seen be pretty aggressive, but often after the flop - rarely preflop, bet about 3x BB - about half the pot. I called - I felt that I very likely had the best hand because I hadn't seen this player hold middle cards up to this point - and I had been playing 3-handed with him for over an hour earlier in the session. I figured this player could only have a hand like a set of jacks or AJ or he had over cards like AK, or AQ. The turn, paired the 3. My opponent bet again, but this time he bet very weak about the same as on the flop. I took this to mean I had the best hand, and figured I might be able to earn a further bluff on the river if I called, but if I raised my opponent would only call with a hand that beat me. The river came a blank - 5d. My opponent, after thinking for a few seconds, bet half the pot. I called - he said "you win" and I scooped the pot with my 2nd pair. :)
I won $200 over the course of my sessions - winning at least a little bit in every single session and $120 in the last one at the Rio - interestingly, I never had a big hand the entire session that I won the most in, but then the blinds were higher and the players were worse.
I liked the 2-5 game a lot more than the 1-2 and 1-3 games. A typical raise to 15 would get a couple callers, but in the 1-2 and 1-3 games it would take a raise to 20 or more to get it 3 handed or heads up. Basically a lower amount of BBs would get fewer players and this made pots easier to play after the flop.
I had one bad beat, one terribly played hand, and two great hands throughout the whole weekend.
Bad Beat?
I don't like telling bad beat stories, so I'll keep this one brief.
Sahara - 1-3 Blinds
I had AsAh UTG in a 6 handed game. I raised to 4x BB and was called by the cutoff and button. The blinds folded. The flop came JT9 rainbow. I checked. The cutoff bet about half the pot. The button called. I moved all-in for about $115- the pot was about $50 at this point, so this was a large overbet. The cutoff called, showed QQ. I was 61.7% to win the pot, but alas, an eight hit the river and my opponent scooped it with a straight.
Donkey is me - but it wouldn't have mattered.
Binions 1-2 Blinds
I raised in middle position with AdAs - to 14 - 7x BB. I got 1 caller in the SB. The flop came Ah5d8d. I bet out about 7x BB - around half the pot. My opponent called. The turn came Jd. My opponent bet $25 - about 8x BB. I had a set of aces - but alas because I'm a moron I didn't realize I also had the nut flush draw. I was a favorite against nearly every hand. I called. The river came the Kd. My opponent checked. And like an idiot who didn't realize he had the nuts, I asked him if he had a diamond and showed my hand. I won the pot - and it turns out he had nothing and was completely bluffing on the turn - but I cannot believe I checked the nuts on the river...
Lucky hand #1
Sahara 1-3 Blinds
I had 9h9d on the BB. A somewhat tight player raised to 5xBB in early position. 2 players called in front of me. I called. The flop came 9cThJh. I bet 7xBB hoping that my opponent, with the preflop lead, would raise - I would like to note that he was relatively short stacked - only about $75 in his stack after the flop. Figuring if he has KQ I'm going broke every time. My opponent obliges by moving all in with AQ and my hand holds up. :) I scoop a nearly $200 pot.
Lucky hand #2
Binions 1-2 Blinds
Ts8s on the BB. 4 players limp in in front of me. I check. The flop comes Tc8h8c. I check. A woman, who had just moved to the table bet about half the pot. I called. The turn was a 5d. I checked and after she bet again, I thought for about 5-6 seconds before calling. The river was Ah. Obviously a bad card for me. I checked - figuring I might have just gotten sucked out. She moved all-in, I crying-called and my boat beat her Qh8d for trips.
Overall, I had a great time and I think live play has so much more potential over online play. Players are sooooo terrible and I could easily see making a lot of money hanging out at the rio or a similar "touristy" casino every weekend. :)
Over the course of this period I played 5 sessions. 2 at Binions, 2 at the Sahara (where I was staying), and 1 at the Rio. Binions plays a 1-2 NL game with no max-buyin. Sahara had a 1-3 NL game with 500 max buyin. Rio had a 2-5 NL game with a 500 max-buyin. At every limit/game I bought in for 200 - I felt like this was a good amount because I didn't want to create a "serious" atmosphere and I still had most players matched or covered at each table.
Overall, I felt the games were incredibly good - I could easily see how poker players could make a living playing just cash game poker in Vegas. Generally, the players were extremely passive or extremely aggressive, but either way they were extremely patterned. I would usually start each session trying to figure out how each player played and then I would just hope to get into pots (in position usually) and take advantage of their weaknesses. I noticed that players checked way more often than in online games - like way, way more often. So, I felt like this was a great thing to exploit. Whenever I limped in on the button and it was checked to me and I felt like everyone was weak - I'd fire out a decent sized bet and nearly always pick up the pot.
One of my favorite plays- and one that I have never done before - largely due to my very little live experience - was calling or checking the SB/BB and then checking the flop dark. It was nearly automatic for players who were the aggressor or were just aggressive in general to bet here. Whenever they did - I would fire out a check raise if I had a decent hand and usually scoop the pot. For example, I had Ts7s on the BB. The cutoff min raised to 2x BB - $10. I called, and checked in the dark. The flop came Th9s2h. My opponent bet 2xBB - $10. I raised to $35 - 7xBB. My opponent folded.
I also sometimes would call in position with mediocre hands like middle aces and suited connectors. When I hit the flop I'd usually just bet out and if I was called - my opponents would just check it down - even if they had something stupid like middle pair. OR if I was lucky, they would bet hands after limping preflop with strong hands - but not made hands. One of my better hands I Th9s on the button. Three players limped in. I called. The SB called and the BB checked. The flop came TcJs3h. A player who I'd seen be pretty aggressive, but often after the flop - rarely preflop, bet about 3x BB - about half the pot. I called - I felt that I very likely had the best hand because I hadn't seen this player hold middle cards up to this point - and I had been playing 3-handed with him for over an hour earlier in the session. I figured this player could only have a hand like a set of jacks or AJ or he had over cards like AK, or AQ. The turn, paired the 3. My opponent bet again, but this time he bet very weak about the same as on the flop. I took this to mean I had the best hand, and figured I might be able to earn a further bluff on the river if I called, but if I raised my opponent would only call with a hand that beat me. The river came a blank - 5d. My opponent, after thinking for a few seconds, bet half the pot. I called - he said "you win" and I scooped the pot with my 2nd pair. :)
I won $200 over the course of my sessions - winning at least a little bit in every single session and $120 in the last one at the Rio - interestingly, I never had a big hand the entire session that I won the most in, but then the blinds were higher and the players were worse.
I liked the 2-5 game a lot more than the 1-2 and 1-3 games. A typical raise to 15 would get a couple callers, but in the 1-2 and 1-3 games it would take a raise to 20 or more to get it 3 handed or heads up. Basically a lower amount of BBs would get fewer players and this made pots easier to play after the flop.
I had one bad beat, one terribly played hand, and two great hands throughout the whole weekend.
Bad Beat?
I don't like telling bad beat stories, so I'll keep this one brief.
Sahara - 1-3 Blinds
I had AsAh UTG in a 6 handed game. I raised to 4x BB and was called by the cutoff and button. The blinds folded. The flop came JT9 rainbow. I checked. The cutoff bet about half the pot. The button called. I moved all-in for about $115- the pot was about $50 at this point, so this was a large overbet. The cutoff called, showed QQ. I was 61.7% to win the pot, but alas, an eight hit the river and my opponent scooped it with a straight.
Donkey is me - but it wouldn't have mattered.
Binions 1-2 Blinds
I raised in middle position with AdAs - to 14 - 7x BB. I got 1 caller in the SB. The flop came Ah5d8d. I bet out about 7x BB - around half the pot. My opponent called. The turn came Jd. My opponent bet $25 - about 8x BB. I had a set of aces - but alas because I'm a moron I didn't realize I also had the nut flush draw. I was a favorite against nearly every hand. I called. The river came the Kd. My opponent checked. And like an idiot who didn't realize he had the nuts, I asked him if he had a diamond and showed my hand. I won the pot - and it turns out he had nothing and was completely bluffing on the turn - but I cannot believe I checked the nuts on the river...
Lucky hand #1
Sahara 1-3 Blinds
I had 9h9d on the BB. A somewhat tight player raised to 5xBB in early position. 2 players called in front of me. I called. The flop came 9cThJh. I bet 7xBB hoping that my opponent, with the preflop lead, would raise - I would like to note that he was relatively short stacked - only about $75 in his stack after the flop. Figuring if he has KQ I'm going broke every time. My opponent obliges by moving all in with AQ and my hand holds up. :) I scoop a nearly $200 pot.
Lucky hand #2
Binions 1-2 Blinds
Ts8s on the BB. 4 players limp in in front of me. I check. The flop comes Tc8h8c. I check. A woman, who had just moved to the table bet about half the pot. I called. The turn was a 5d. I checked and after she bet again, I thought for about 5-6 seconds before calling. The river was Ah. Obviously a bad card for me. I checked - figuring I might have just gotten sucked out. She moved all-in, I crying-called and my boat beat her Qh8d for trips.
Overall, I had a great time and I think live play has so much more potential over online play. Players are sooooo terrible and I could easily see making a lot of money hanging out at the rio or a similar "touristy" casino every weekend. :)
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