Borgata $10-20

Nothing much exciting to BLOG about these days. Still staying away from those evil SNGs. Haven’t had time to play many long sessions online. Played another short one last night on Full Tilt. Won 12 BBs in less then an hour. I wonder if I can maintain these win rates for a long session, like over 5 hours. If I could Poker would be so profitable to me then I could do it full time. Based on past results I know it can’t be done. More then 3 BBs per hour really isn’t possible at a single table of limit, at least for me. I would love to earn 2 BBs per hour at live poker, $10-20 or higher. After time collection and tips for the dealers/cocktails it’s hard to earn 2 BBs an hour. Wouldn’t be a bad amount to earn, $40 an hour at $10-20. Maybe this weekend I will have some good news to post about. It’s set we are going to AC this weekend. Looks like we are going to give the Borgata live $10-20 games a try again. We had switched over to the softer players at the Taj. There are just too many negatives things to deal with at the Taj. Dirty chips, smelly room, cheap drinks in cups, nasty people, noise, etc. We give up some expectation to play in the classier Borgata Casino. There really is not another poker room even close to how well run the Borgata’s is, in AC that is. Maybe will give the Saturday tournament a try. Well everyone have a happy labor day weekend. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Low Stakes Grind

Last night was more of the same. I keep up with my plan to not play any more SNGs for a while. Just because I have been running so bad in them. Played a hit-n-run session of Limit HE on Full Tilt. Won 16 BBs in 30 minutes, not a bad little session. The play at $1-2 and $2-4 has gotten worse on Full Tilt lately. Here is an example from last night. Under the gun limps and the button raises. In the small blind I have pocket nines, so I three bet. The Big Blind folds and we see a flop three handed of 9-10-5 with two diamonds. I check, under the gun bets and the button calls. I check raise and only the under the gun player calls. The turn brings the 4 of diamonds. I bet out and he raises, on what is an obvious flush to me. I call and the river is the beautiful 5 of hearts. I bet and he raises, it’s gets capped on the river. What hand do you think he has…hmm. No suspense here King-Seven of Diamonds. I wish there was no cap heads up online, like in real life. This donkey might have put in 6 bets before realizing he was beat. His play overall was just terrible. Why limp under the gun with that cheese? Then going to war on the river made no sense either. Only thing I can think of is he put me on pocket Aces or Queens. (Not Kings being he had one.) Then again he probably didn’t put me on anything. Just played his cards thinking he was going to drag down a nice pot. I need to start moving up, like I was doing before the government’s crackdown. I was up to $5-10 limit and winning on a consistent basis. These days my bankroll is too small for that limit. I am stuck beating up the donks at $1-2/$2-4. It’s a grind but I am clearing a bonus/rakeback by playing everyday. That’s it for today. Good luck at the tables. Tony

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No More SNGs for me!

Finally learned my lesson last night. I have put on hold playing in any more SNGs, at least until my bankroll is really healthy. Played nothing but live games last night. Only had an hour to play, being I wanted to watch the new season of High Stakes Poker on GSN. That and the fact that I had to do some long overdue yard work, being we are having company this week. So in an hour I won 6 BBs playing limit holdem and 3 playing stud. May not seam like a lot but over time this will really build up my bankroll. Saw some really crazy play on my limit HE table. I have learned to call down these donks with second pair no kicker when a late position player raises. People at this table would bet with nothing but air all the way to the river. I am talking pre-flop, on the flop, turn, and river. Even though there were no draws out there this guy bets the river with 4-5 of diamonds. I had to be calling with something in this spot. I won a few hands in this manner. Problem is I took some really bad beats, which took away much of my profit. It was like two step forward and one step back, over and over again. Will keep grinding away this week. As for live poker looks like AC this weekend baby. Borgata Saturday tournament is a good possibility. Also live $10-20 should be juicy, it always is on holiday weekends. Just need to get my seat belt ready for a very bumpy ride. These holiday weekends bring out an assortment of drunks, maniacs, and sharks. May also make a trip over to the Taj, to check out the action. Good luck at the tables. Tony

SNGs, the Taj, and the Borgata Tournaments

Playing yesterday was more of the same. I crushed the live games online. Won like 30 BBs at Limit HE in a few hours. Won a small amount at Stud. Problem is I played those damn SNGs again. Played six of them, didn’t cash in even one. Bubbled in 4th in four of them. Had a huge lead twice and then got coolered/draw out on. SNGs are just so frustrating for me. I am starting to consider them a bankroll leak for me. I should just grind it out at the live tables. I clear my bonus faster and earn rake back at FullTilt also. On the live poker front we didn’t get to AC this weekend. Maybe next weekend we will go so I will play in the Borgata and/or Taj tournaments. I am dying to play in the Borgata Saturday tournament again. I have written about their great structure before. Costs $340 to play and you start with 10,000 chips. Blinds go up every 30 minutes. This is the best tournament run in all of Atlantic City. Actually I don’t recall any daily tournament in Vegas with such a great structure. This takes a lot of the crapshoot nature out of the tournament. You can be a total Nit and get really deep in this one. Just have to avoid the Cooler hands. I am looking forward to the feel of chips in my hands again. That’s it for today. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Online Tournaments and Freerolls.

First thing I apoligize for the sponsered review on saturday. I do them from time to time to make a little bit of money from this BLOG. I assure you I only do review's of sites I like, turn down a lot of garbage ones. If more readers would click through on my google Adsense banner above then I would turn down the reviews for good. So I promised to write about the tournament score I made last night. Let me tell you the secret to going deep in these....ready for it? You have to win coin flips, that's it! I won almost all critical ones last night. That and don't be affraid to put all your chips in the middle. Everything came together for me at once. It's a shame I could have won it but a donkey made a terrible call against me and sucked out. I was the short stack and pushed from early position with A-8 off. Not a great hand but we were five handed and I was getting a lot of respect. A donkey called me for 70% of their stack with K-7. Not a lot of hands they could beat with this junk. He flopped a King and I took down 5th. Same thing happened to me a few minutes ago in a FullTilt "Poker after Dark" freeroll. We were down to 4 players in a winner take all 180 man satellite. I push from the button with A-8 offsuit, maybe I shouldn't push with this cheese, hmm. Anyway a donkey calls me with Q-7 off, for 90% of their stack. I hate this move also. What hands can you beat? At best if I have a pair less then sixes it's a coin toss. So many hands are way ahead of you here. Oh well you want these kind of dumb calls over time. I have got to go play in the 3:30 $55 satellite into the big Full Tilt $750,000 tournament tonight. Wish me luck. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Tournament Score.

I finally broke the streak and went deep in an online tournament. Took 5th in the Ultimate $6.50 bounty last night. (Won $106, it's about time.) Here are the results, details to follow later. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Online Site Review.

Attention we interupt this BLOG for an important word from a sponser. We will return to normal posts later on today. The sponser link is the following:

Online Casinos

This is an excellent site to learn about places to gamble online. They have bonus offers exclusive to users of the site. Also have unique tutorial programs to teach you the best ways to play table games. (Great for beginning gamblers.) Will keep you up to date on the latest gambling news both online and live. The site focuses mainly on pit games and slots. (Not really a site for online poker room reviews.) In this sense it makes it unique to other review sites that I have written about in the past. Give the site a checkout if you are interested about learning where to play different varities of slot and pit games. They have an excellent number of tools for video poker players. Odds calculators as well as tutorials. Have some good articles about teaching people about probability as related to games of chance.
You can join their newsletter to keep up with current news about online gambling and gaming in general.

Please note this was a sponsered review. We appreciate your time spent reading it. Look my normal posts starting either later on tonight or Sunday morning, eastern time zone. Good luck at the tables. Tony

We are now returning to our normal programming.... :-) :-) :-)

P.S. - May play in the Taj or Borgata No Limit tournament on Sunday. If not will be in the Ultimate $215 Big Sunday tournament. Sweat me there, stop by and say hi.

I Hate Tournaments!

Oh the horror of playing in tournaments online. I decided to play in one last night, after taking a short break. It’s the same shit different day. I won’t tell you any bad beat stories. It’s just that I outlast 300 players to get within 20 places of a payout, only to get knocked out by my own stupidity. I run so bad in tournaments. Maybe I am not a tournament player. The grinding of cash games fits my style of play I guess. Again last night I beat the cash games for a decent number. I won 12 BBs in an hour last night at Limit HE. There are bad beats in live play also but you can recover from them. Just do a rebuy if playing No Limit or grind it out if playing Limit. The problem with live games is you aren’t going to get rich quick playing them. I am still looking for that elusive “Big Score” in a tournament. You know that life changing score to financial freedom. The one I have been chasing for years. One of these days you guys/gals will read about my big score. Don’t worry I will still BLOG about my poker play : - ). Just after I win most of the BLOGs will be gay, about how wonderful everything is. About how great and fair a game Poker is. About how fair and wonderful the world is, LOL. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Limit HE

Didn’t have much time to play Poker last night. I played a short hit-n-run session, while I was riding my exercise bike. This is the best way for me to keep in shape. Online poker is actually very healthy for me : - ). Sometimes I will ride for two hours straight, time flies when you are multi-tabling. Played some Limit HE on Full Tilt, made like five BBs in twenty minutes. Really was playing to clear some of my bonus and to kill a little time. Limit HE has been great to me since I have come back to it. Oh no I have just doomed myself by implying I am running good. I beg your forgiveness oh mighty Poker gods! Since I have gone back to Limit I have noticed an increase in tight play. I seam to thrive in this environment. My biggest success has been in tight predictable play. When I play on no foldem holdem tables always seam to have trouble. I wonder if the government’s crack down is really having an effect on keeping the fish away from the table. Actually I know it has had an effect, play now is really different then play last year, before UIGEA. I had no idea how good things were until that unfair law was passed. Oh well maybe sanity will return to our government, don’t hold your breath. I will be at it again tonight on Full Tilt. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Right Play, Wrong Result.

This is a Foxwoods hand post that I promised to make this week. The hand in question is an example of the right play, with the wrong results. I had just started playing at a $10-20 LHE table, went through one orbit. The under the gun player brought it in for a raise. I am second to act with pocket queens. I re-raise and a young aggressive player after me caps it. Everyone else folds and the three of us see a flop. The flop is all rags 8-7-3 with two clubs. The under the gun player checks. I lead out and the next player raises me. Under the gun player check-raises making it three bets. I went into the tank. I put the player after me on Kings and the under the gun player on Aces. This is a clear fold in my eyes, which I did. If the under the gun player hadn’t check raised I would have called to see at least one more card. Knew the flop missed both players but they were both aggressive pre-flop. Of course a Queen peals off on the turn. Under the gun bets and other player calls. A blank falls on the river and the under the gun player bets and other player calls. Under the gun shows two Jacks and other player wins with pocket Kings. I would have won a huge pot. I feel I made the right move on the flop. I bet out, to find out where I was at, and the actions of the other players told me I was behind. I made the right move but got the wrong results. The under the gun player misplayed this hand big time. There is almost no way Jacks are ahead in this spot. Especially when the raisers were all early position, in this hand the first three places to act. I play to make the right decisions not to win this particular pot. Yes it sucks I would have won but in the long run I will win my fair share of pots. Hope you enjoyed this hand from Foxwoods. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Borgata WPT Event

I’ll never learn some things. Told myself I would take a break from tournaments/SNGs, to try to break the bad streak. Last night I kicked some ass playing live, won at every type of game I played. (Stud, Limit HE, and No Limit.) I decided I was running good so why not invest some money in SNGs? Played two of them and got coolered in both. Pushed Tens into Queens in one. In the other one pushed Jacks into Kings. In both I was getting short but had enough to hurt the other players. There are different kinds of bad luck in Poker. What are the odds of pushing a big pair, 5 handed and running into a bigger pair? If I am not doing that I am running into dry aces that keep 3 outing me on the river. Well the good news is I made enough to cover my two SNG losses to make the night profitable. Have decided to play Limit HE again, after taking a few months off from it. I have been running so good whenever we go to casinos, so figure it may carry over to online. So far it has, last night won 15 BBs in an hour. My wife checked the Borgata WPT schedule for September it looks great for us. I had already taken time off to play in some preliminary events at the USPC. It turns out the main event at the Borgata is on those same days. So I will play some Sattelites, if I get lucky enough to win a seat I will be playing in the main event! Would love to take a shot at that big score that I am due to win. I will post all about those trips, when the time comes. Good luck at the tables. Tony

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Foxwoods Trip

We went to Foxwoods on Saturday, played $10-20 Limit HE for around six hours. Was a pretty erratic session. Wife was up 15 BBs within the first 30 minutes. I was down around the same. Then she started getting repeatedly drawn out on. Got to a point that her whole $400 stack was gone and she had to re-buy. I was up and down all day. Have to say I made some great reads on Saturday. Around six times I called out someone’s hand before they turned it over. I laid down pocket Aces on the turn for a single bet(3 handed). It was totally correct, was beaten in two places. Even though we both were playing well we still were getting beat up. At our worst point we were down $800 combined. Looked like a very bad day but we wouldn’t give up. The table was just so good. It was us and maybe one other good player. Rest of table was pretty much clueless. Guy next to me called my raises cold all day long. I had raisable hands almost every time. Good news is we made a huge comeback. In the last hour and a half we won $1050, for a profit of $250 for six hours. Wanted to stay longer but we had a commitment in Newport RI. Both of us are so comfortable playing $10-20, time to give $20-40 another shot. Later on or tomorrow I will do a post about some interesting hands from Foxwoods. Good luck at the tables. Tony

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FTOPS Stud

Last night was some more of the same running bad. I couldn’t resist playing in a satellite for the $216 Stud on Full Tilt last night. It was $55 and had 127 players, giving away 27 seats. I got coolered in 43rd with Queens and threes on 4th. A donkey that three bets 3rd street, with a pair of sevens, caught another one on 4th. I hate tournaments and will really take a break from them this time, a week a least. Again I am running bad in Stud but great in HE. Lost 27 BB in Stud but won %80 of it back in No limit and short-handed Limit HE. Bad news to report is my wife’s playing in the FTOPS Stud event last night on Full. She got seated at a table of crazy donkies. Guy on her left was the table leader/bully. Everytime she raised on 3rd he three bet, with position. I noticed it and told her just to limp unless she wanted him to three bet. This helped a little but he still pounded on her. I wish I was at that table instead of her. I watched her play and would have played it much differently. She got involved early in the tournament with small pairs for multiple bets. In no time at all 40% of her stack was gone. At that point she had to battle to avoid getting knocked out. Then she tightened up and played well. Of course she got coolered with Aces up on forth. A donkey chased her heads up with a Ten high flush draw. That hand put her down so low that there was very little chance of coming back. She still outlasted 150 people but was not happy with her play. Well as long as she learned from these mistakes and not repeat them the entry was worth the experience for her. Tonight I won’t be playing online. Looks good for Foxwoods on Saturday so expect a trip report. Good luck at the tables. Tony

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Mixing it Up

Last night I decided to give playing tournaments a rest. Scott Fishman has said you need to play different games when you are running bad at one. So I decided to play live only being I have been winning consistently there. I started off really badly. I was down forty BBs within one hour at Stud on FullTilt. Things were looking really bad. I changed things up by playing some No Limit, while I was playing Stud. I did great at No Limit and made a comeback at Stud too. I finished the night down around 12 BBs. At least I slowed down the bleeding of my bankroll that has been going on lately. Tonight I plan on playing live games only again. Think I will give up on tournaments until next week. We may make a Foxwoods $10-20 LHE trip this weekend. Haven’t played with real chips for about a month! Expect a great trip report about it on Sunday. My wife will play in the FTOPS Stud Tournament tonight. Hopefully will have a good post about her experience in it on Friday. That’s it for today. Good luck at the tables. Tony.

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Online Donkaments

Last night I tried to start my tournaments/SNGs fresh. In other words forget about all the bad beats I had taken lately. Act as if it was a new day and nothing would bother me. Played in a token 2 two table SNG on Full Tilt. In the first orbit I get pocket sixes. Flop comes 10-10-6, gin for me! Four people saw the flop so I check and some donkey that was already down to 700 chips pushes. It folds to me and I obviously call. He has J-8 of hearts, no hand or draw. I think I am starting the night off right. Nope, ten on the turn and Jack on the river and he doubles through me! I get knocked out of this one a few minutes later. Ok I will start another one up fresh, nothing will bother me tonight. I chip up nicely and we are down to 11 from the original 18 players. I get dealt pocket Kings, after 5 people limp I make a big raise of half my stack. Get one caller and we see a flop of J-2-4 with two spades. He checks and I push for around 75% of his stack. He insta-calls me, with what you ask? He had the Ace of spades and the ten of hearts. No hand and no draw again. Of course an Ace on the river and I am knocked out of my second one of the day. It’s almost like these donks know what is coming. The play on Full Tilt’s low limit tournaments is getting worse and worse. I was really getting frustrated last night but I decided to play a MTT on Ultimate anyway. This was a Bounty No Limit tournament with 417 players.(Low limit buy in of $6.50.) I finally broke the bad streak by taking 27th in this one, also got three bounties. So I wound up breaking close to even in tournaments for the night. Oh well I will break through this funk one of these days. Good luck at the tables. Tony

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Still Running Bad

I am running really bad in Tournaments/SNGs. Don’t know how to put an end to this run. Played three of them last night. Played a $26 satellite to the limit HE FTOPS on Friday night. Sixteen players in this one giving away one seat and playing places two and three. Played well and got down to four players. I was the short stack when I got dealt Aces in the Big Blind. Button raises and I three bet. He caps and the flop comes J-2-4 off. I get all in on the flop and he has pocket Jacks.(Another cooler for me.) Play in a No Limit tournament on Ultimate and decide to aggressively acquire chips. I get A-K suited in the small blind after the button raised it up. I call and we see a flop of A-K-9. I bet and the button puts me all in. Of course I am almost drawing dead being he has pocket Aces! Another tournament another cooler. I play one more to try to break out of the funk. Play in a token satellite on Full Tilt. These have been my best tournaments cashing in 75% of them lately. I make it too the final table with top five getting paid. I get dealt K-Q suited in the big blind. Two people limp and we see a flop of Q-3-4 off. I bet the pot and am brought all in. So I tell my wife I am only scared of my opponent having A-Q. We discuss the fact that there wasn’t a pre-flop raise so, “How can he have A-Q?”. So I call and guess what he has…...A-Q of course. Another tournament I get knocked out of. Tonight I will back at it again. Have to play through this bad streak, must end sometimes. Enough ranting for today. Thanks for listening. Good luck at the tables. Tony

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Short Monday Rant.

Finished off last night by killing the Stud tables on Full Tilt. Tournaments and SNGs have really brought me down lately.(As you can tell from my post yesterday.) The up and down roller coaster ride is just too much for me. Think I will stick to grinding it out at the live tables. Then take my profits and blow them in tournaments : - ). Can’t help myself just want to make that big score. Feel I am so close to it I can almost taste it. Oh well another day some more ranting about tournaments by me. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Tournament Poker Luck or Skill?

Starting to think it's all luck. I am sick of playing a hand perfectly and still losing it. Just got knocked out of my 4th attempt at winning a seat in tonights $322 No Limit FTOPS tournament on Fulltilt. The way I got knocked out was just brutal. This is not a bad beat post, just an example of playing it right and losing anyway. We are down to 28 players with 12 seats being awarded. I am pretty low but not desperate. The chip leader brings it in for 3x the BB when I have Q-10 of spades in the Big. I call planning on pushes no matter what. I know his range here is huge, ATC really! Flop comes pretty good for me 7-7-4 with two spades. So I insta-push and he insta-calls. My push was half the pot so I figure I am way behind. Did I run into Aces or Kings? Nope his insta-call was with K-10 off?? Why did he call, I just don't get it. Of course he dodges my 12 outs twice and I am on the rail. How can you beat this BS?? Everyday I grind away in the live games and make a decent win rate. Everyday I blow money in these donkfests. I should give up tournament poker. Thanks for listening to my ranting. Good luck at the tables.

P.S. - Shoutout to my cousin Ton, good luck in the donkament tonight!

FTOPS Pot Limit HE

Another night of winning online Stud at FullTilt. I should just stick to this game and slowly build up my bankroll. No I want that big score that has been so hard for me to acheive. I had a good start to the night, won a $26 satellie into the FTOPS $216 Pot Limit tournament. Also pretty much bubbled in the $55 Turbo super into it. Would have been so sweet to win that one also, $216 would have padded the bankroll nicely. Felt I played fine in the Pot Limit tournament but had a very tough table. Couldn't chip up much being the pots were always raised/re-raised pre-flop. Berry Johnstone was at my table and played a very patient TAG style. I did fine but only managed to finish in around 900 out of close to 1700. Again I couldn't win a critical coin toss for all my chips. I pushed with Jacks and a total donkey next to me insta-called. This time he had A-K and flopped an Ace. Sending me packing from this tournament. Oh well one of these nights I will win an important coin toss, I hope. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Online Stud

Didn’t get much chance to play last night. Just got to play a few minutes of Stud on Full Tilt. Did very well winning 10 BBs in around 15 minutes. Amounted to playing tight and winning two small pots. I love Stud online these days. When I was last playing Limit HE was running so bad that I decided to mix it up. I play Stud or HORSE to change things up when I am running bad at HE. It seams to work well for me. I don’t know if my play changes or my luck does. I will say it again, in general online people do not know how to play any of the Stud variants.(Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, and Razz) I am talking about the very low limits. Which to me is anything below $2-4. Once I build my bankroll back up I will take a shot at the $2-4 and $3-6 games. The swings are huge at these levels. I hate going through $300 in a session but it happens. Playing short-handed $3-6 HE has been a huge rollercoaster ride for me. Well all the books say you should have 300 BBs as a bankroll to avoid going broke from variance. Well 300x$6 is $1800 which I don’t have in my bankroll now so no $3-6 for awhile. Tonight I will play in the Super turbo Satellite to try to win a seat in the FTOPS $215 Pot Limit tournament at 9:00. First will be at least $50,000 so it will be worth my time. I am do for a big score in a MTT. Wish me luck. Good luck at the tables. Tony

WPT Championship

Short post today, got some real work to do : - ). Played in two SNGs last night. Started out fine in both and then ran into coolers in both of them. Starting playing Stud on FullTilt and I like it! The play there is just so bad. People have no idea how to play Stud online. Yum yum will play there some more tonight. Watched the WPT Championship last night. I now have a huge respect for Carlos Mortenson. Always thought he was an overrated luckbox. Last night his reads/plays were right on. He ran into a cooler when he had A-Q and Kirk Morrison had three Jacks. Carlos didn’t need to push there but he recovered from that hand to win the whole thing. Many people would have just tilted after that hand. Hats off to his great play, deserves to be the champion. That’s it for today. Good luck at the tables. Tony

So Close Again.

So close, for the second night in a row. I played in a $48 satellite on stars for a seat into their $320 Stud WCOOP tournament. Top 3 places won a seat, 4-7 got their buy in back. Again for the second night in a row I got my buy in back. Had some crazy suck outs and bad beats last night. In one hand I started with rolled up eights. A donkey chased me with a pair of fives. He made fives and sixes on 5th. He fulled up on the river but I was smart enough to only lose one bet at that point. As for the rest of the hand I bet every street and lost half of my stack. Would have been the clear chip leader with 15 left. My great suck out took place when we were on the money bubble. It lasted 30 minutes with me being card dead, got anted down to the short stack. I had pocket jacks and decided this was the hand. I raised on third and was re-raised by a seven up. I called with my Ace doorcard. I caught an Ace on Forth for Aces up. I raised and was re-raised putting me all in. I fulled up on fifth and it turns out I needed to. My opponent had rolled up sevens, he fulled up on the river. Now I had enough chips to easily make the money. Nothing else eventful happened in this satellite. I finished in 6th to get my $48 back. Oh well I will be at it again tonight. I played low limit no limit and won a buy in. I played live Stud on FullTilt and did very well winning 10 BBs. So overall it was a winning night. My bankroll is on a road to recovery. Good Luck at the tables. Tony

Turning it Around.

May be turning around my running bad at tournaments/SNGs. Actually had a slightly positive night. Played in a Hi/Lo turbo SNG on Stars, which didn’t go too well. Got sucked out on big time in one hand. Started with pocket Kings and made Kings up on 5th. Donkey chased me until the river with split jacks. Which I knew he had being he raised on 3rd and I re-raised him. He of course caught a third Jack on the river and I was left shaking my head. Was thinking it’s going to be another one of those nights. Finished shortly after this hand in 6th. While this was going on I started playing a $22 turbo HORSE satellite for the WCOOP $215 HORSE event. This one was paying seven entries with 8-11 getting their $22 back, also 12th getting $7 back. I bubbled in eighth and got my money back. Didn’t feel bad being when we were down to 14, in the HE leg, I got all in against 2 players with K-J. My K-J held up unimproved, felt like I was free-rolling the rest of the tournament! Really wanted to win a seat, will try again tonight. Have plenty of time being the event is in the middle of September. While this was winding down I started playing a double heads up shootout on FullTilt for a tournament token. Like I have said before I cash in like 75% of these token SNGs. I quickly destroyed my first opponent. My second one was a little tougher but I took him down and won the token. Making my night positive by a few bucks. These double shootouts are a great value for your time and money. It costs $6.50+.40 rake to play in these. That is only a 6% rake which is very low. Also these usually take less then an hour to win. You win a $26 token good for any of their tournaments or satellites. I would highly recommend giving them a try. If you are not a member of FullTilt please click on my banner at the top of this BLOG to give them a try. (I could use the affiliate bonus : - ).) Good luck at the tables. Tony

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Still Running Bad in MTTs

I seam to have played through my running bad in live games streak. I was down a huge amount on Friday and I came back to only be down around 16 BBs. Then Saturday and Sunday were both small wins for me. Whenever I am running bad I am always happy to post some small wins, to get my confidence back. As for MTTs the coolers at bad times continue. I played in a $22 HORSE satellite yesterday. Top three won seats to the WCOOP HORSE tournament, 4-10 got their $22s back. Eleventh place won a whole $1. Of course I finished in 11th place! I made a huge mistake the hand before I got knocked out. In Omaha I had some crap like 7-4-4-2 from the bid blind. I was in for most of my chips, had like 250 left. The hand was checked down to the river with the final board having three queens and two rags. First person bet and the person in between called. I would have called if the person in between would have folded. How could I overcall and expect to have any chance to win? First donkey had A-K high and the calling donkey had A-J! My pocket fours would have made a full house, which I would, never thought was good. Reason I folded was there was another really short stack with like 300 chips left also.(Should have paid attention that I was small blind next hand.) I was put all in next hand and got knocked out. After this I played a Hi/Lo Stud tournament on Stars. 88 people played and they were paying 8 spots. 8th place paid almost 4 times your buyin, so I would have been happy even taking eight. I was the chip leader for half the tournament. Then I started getting coolered here and there. When we were down to 14 I was like 12th. Then the following cooler took place. On forth I was heads up with a player with a ten for a door card, he had to be going high. I had 3-4-5-6 with three spades. A monster in Hi/Lo Stud! On fifth caught a six and I went all in for my last bet. Of course I caught two bricks and his pair of tens knocked me out. I was a huge favorite on forth and fifth street but couldn’t get there. I am running so bad in tournaments right now. Also played one No Limit SNG and took second in it. At least I cashed in this one. Still was very disappointing, had a 2-1 chip lead when got heads up. The hand that killed me was when I had 10-7 in the big blind and flopped 10-9-8. I put my opponent all in. He called me with A-9 and I thought I had it won. Of course he rivers a nine to double through me. I never recovered from that hand and he took it down shortly after this. Of well tonight I will try to play through this running bad period again. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Running Bad.

I know I have complained before but this is getting re-dick-u-las. I stopped playing no limit to try to stop the bleeding. I am now taking sick beats at Stud! Twice last night started rolled up and lost to underpairs!! In other words started with three tens and lost to someone who started with two fives! I make a straight on 5th and loss to a full or flush on the river! Forget about starting with Aces or Kings I should just throw them away. Good news is that I made a small comback and only finished last night down like 20 BB. This morning it started all over right away. Again I am coming back and am happy to only be down 12 BBs right now. Oh well things will turn around soon, I hope. Then you can read a post about me winning instead of whining. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Home Game.

Played in the home game at my brother Dave’s house last night. I played bad, think was on Online tilt from all the coolers I have been getting lately. Need to have more patience in this game. Instead of making moves need to play ABC poker. The structure is really good so I should just wait for premium hands and play them hard. There is a lot of weak play in this game. I tried to exploit my tight play last night by making moves that all backfired. Early in the first one I raised from late position with 10-8 of spades. Not a great hand but again I was playing my tight image. One player called me and we took the flop heads up 8-9-J with 2 hearts. I bet out my pair/open ender about 75% of the pot. My cousin calls me with either top pair or a flush draw. Turn comes with an off suit 7, gin for me. I bet around half the pot and he insta-calls me. Please no heart and don’t pair the board. The river comes with the Jack of hearts. I check and he goes all in right away. Could he do this with just three Jacks, yes but it didn’t feel right. I folded my hand face up, had enough chips left to continue in the tournament. He had A-4 of hearts caught the nut flush on the river. Maybe I should have pushed on the turn but in this group never know he might have called. I think I made the right play, he was getting like 3-1 for a 4-1 draw so his call was wrong. Oh well another suckout against me. I ended up being the bubble boy in this one in 4th. This second cooler knocked me out of the next tournament. I was semi-short in the small blind with six people left. Everyone limped so I called from the small blind with A-4 off. Big blind checks and we see a flop 6 handed. The flop comes A-4-Q all hearts. I insta-push which is about the size of the pot. Not wanting any flush draws getting there cheap. My brother calls right away and I know exactly what he has. Everyone else folds and I know he has the nut flush. He turns over K-10 of hearts from the big blind!! I am running so bad these days. I don’t improve and am knocked out of this one also. Oh well hopefully I can turn it around online tonight. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Shout out to Cousin Ant. hang in there the fish won't get there everytime!

One Outer!

Quads! Last night I had quads on 6th street in seven card stud. A villain made his quads on the river. (Yes it won’t be the last time I loss to a one outer!) I am so glad that the betting online is capped at 4 bets even heads up. In real life I would have gone 8 bets at least. I don’t remember even losing quads over quads since I have been playing poker. (That is in 25 years!) You know you are running bad when this happens. I couldn’t get anything going last night. I got killed in low limit no limit also. Check this hand out. From the big blind I make top two pair on the turn with Q-J. The board on the turn is 2-J-5-Q with two hearts. So I push on the turn for 85% of the pot. My opponent goes into the tank and finally calls me before the timer ran out. He had the A-4 of hearts. BTW I bet the pot on the flop. He calls me with a flush draw/gutshot with one card to come. He was almost a 4-1 dog getting slightly better then 2-1. Of course the river comes with a 3 and I get felted again. Lost 3 buyins at no limit last night. After that hand I had enough. I left FullTilt immediately. I was so frustrated that I turned off my computer and gave up for the night. On a good note I won another FullTilt token, after only one try. Not bad $6.60 for a $26 token. Think I win these almost 50% of the time. Should just stick to playing for Tokens : - ). Tonight I am playing in another home game at my brother’s house. I want some revenge! Look for a good post tomorrow about my winning night! Good luck at the tables. Tony

One Time!

“One Time”! That’s what I found my self yelling last night in my 4th SNG within 30 minutes. I regress let me tell you the tale of SNG cooler hell. Full Tilt has these really cool double heads up shoot out SNGs. You Pay $6.50+.40 to play against 3 other players, Winner take all gets a $26 Token good for all their tournaments. All you have to do is beat one person heads up, get 1500 chips with blinds at 10-20 to start. Then go to final table and play the winner of the other table with 3000 chips each. Well I love this structure, think the blinds go up like every 6 minutes, not sure about that. Anyway I quickly got coolered in three of these and I was steaming. Won’t bore you with all the details but Flop Top Two with J-9 and the turn brings a gunshot to opponent and I am felted. Next one Flop a pair of nines on a 2-4-9 board with 9-10 suited. Turn brings another nine and we get it all in. Of course he has Q-9 and I am felted again. This has been happening to me a lot lately. So I decide to play one more, if I win this I will be even for the night minus the rake. I win my first match easily against a real donkfish. So I have to wait for 20 minutes for the other match to end. So I start playing my opponent and am chipping up nicely. I win six pots for every one he wins. Of course his pots are big and mine are small. So I am getting really frustrating and I can’t seam to trap him at all. Very slippery player who seams to always know where he is at. Anyway he has a 1000 chip lead on me when this hand takes place. I have A-J and want to get it all in. I limp he raises I re-raise and he pushes. I insta-call thinking I am in good shape(Coin Toss) and he has me dominated with A-K. Long story short the first 4 cards brick off for both of us. This is when I put my hands up and yell, “Come on one time!”. It comes and I am totally happy. My wife and I high-five. For once I suck out on someone. My opponent lets me have it. He is so mad and tilting it’s not funny. Two hands later the flop comes J-J-6, when I have J-Q and he pushes. I insta-call and he has K-10. I felt him and win the SNG. I love these SNGs, will continue to play them this week. That’s it for today. Good luck at the tables. Tony