Blogger Freeroll

When I signed up for twitter to follow conservatives and poker greats I began following the Ultimate Bet blog seeing their promotion to send money for Africa if they gain so many followers. What I missed was that those signing up were qualified for a freeroll with cash payouts. I didn't miss that fact when they did a similar promotion centering on delicious, a bookmark service. And here is how it went down. I may have some of the facts mixed up but you'll get the picture.

The blinds started out fairly high at 15-30, everyone with 1,500. I had a few potential hands that didn't develop. Was dry for a long while with my stack shrinking. About half gone I played a Q, 6 suited. Q,K,3 on the flop with one of my suit. After the others checked I raised. One guy went all in. I called. He had Q,9 dominating my hand. 3 on the turn and now we are splitting the pot. The river... a 6 and I win.

Stole a hand and got some good hands here and there to build my stack well into the top 45; the cash winners. But I pursued goods hands, I can't resist, and got some bad beats and was out of the money and looked to be soon out of the game.

Pocket 7's and I posted. A raise and then a very large raise. All in or fold for me, facing such a large raise, so I went all in. One fold, one call, heads up against an A,J suited. My pair held. Back in the money. I was being bullied by one player and called all in after he again raised big on the flop. I had hit two pair... sweet.

Back deep into the money I hit some incredible hands. On the SB I raised with a poor hand trying to knock off the BB. He called and I hit a set, trips, on the flop and almost took him out of the game. Had incredible hands and hit 73K, 30K over the next largest stack. I didn't know if I wanted to win 1st. 1st and 2nd received entry into a 200K tourney, no cash. I didn't know if I would be free for the big money tourney and wasn't confident I could make it into the cash. Started playing marginal hands... and still won. Then I entertained some three or four small stacks with marginal hands by calling their all in's for some heads up play. Lost all of them but still held the large stack.

Played a 6,7 and hit a pair of 6's on the flop. Raised and was called. Raised after the turn with my pair and a straight draw and the other guy went all in over 20K. I thought by the way he had bet he had some high cards, not the 9 on the table. I called and was right. He had the A,K suited. River... A. Lost.

Then I had a Q,K or something. Q,6,6 on the flop. Heads up and the other guy had raised pre-flop on the BB and I didn't think he had a 6. He went all in. I called but he did. I was out in 12th place.

If I focus I'm going deep into the tournaments. Usually I catch a game and then have to do something else and don't keep focus. Or enter a tourney when I know I can't sit the hours it will take and play loose and aggressive and don't do well. I don't know if that's good for my over all development.

Same here. I didn't have a clear picture of what I was shooting for. Final table should have been it and I shouldn't have made that last call. I have some cash to work with now for some single table tournament play. ... If I get the chance. Have been lining up a lot of odd jobs and hope to be busy these next few weeks.

Moving On Up

My game has made a quantum leap forward. After attempting several cash freeroll tourneys, when the opportunity presented, advanced play has finally sunk in. And no it wasn't just good cards. I sat dry for long periods. Hit the top 1% in a field of over 6,000 last night coming just short of the final 30, top 18 paid, which would have qualified me for weekend final cash freeroll. Top 3% today. Both times lost big to pocket Q's. I could have just sat back with my stack to see how far I could go but I have to play when I have a good hand.

Today I actually had to go to a job (just got back) and was hoping for a final big pot in the tourney so I could turn on the 'sit out' option and leave. I might have made it to the top 30 without even being here. Yes some odd jobs are coming in and I have to take them while I can get them. Need the money for house repairs and some cost saving improvements like a new range or the upfront costs to makeover our telephone and Internet service to a cheaper option. After I get the necessities paid and cost saving work done I might try the casino again if I get any extra cash. Not confident I can win consistently at the tables.

Understanding what hands to play when(or where), and a more aggressive betting strategy is paying off. You have to get as much out of a good hand as you can. And I have come to read what people have simply from their betting strategy. In today's tourney I put it on 'sit out' and went and took a shower. When I got back I went to the replay option and saw that I had had pocket A's. The winner of that hand had two pair, Q's (Q being high card on the table, on the flop), and 3's. If I had gone all in pre-flop, I may have taken a small pot and if I slow played it, I most likely would have lost big. You have to knock people off potential hands too.

My strategy is to win a cash freeroll, man they take a long time, and then with that enter single table tourneys, the cheapest starting at $0.55. They pay out to the top three and take far less time than a 5,000+ freeroll field. That way I have not sent any money and I am not placing a bet.

Ultimate Bet is having a blogger's freeroll. I have qualified. It offers a relatively small field and pays out to the top 65. Wont find many better odds than that. I told the Ultimate Bet blogger my birthday was the same day as Phil Hellmuth's. Thought they might drop a bit of cash into my account. No such luck.

Last week was National Poker Week by the way.

Not My Day

My birthdays have always been more grief than not and today was no exception. I should have known better when Phil Hellmuth tweeted he busted today. But while busting at the casino tonight, it was still a lot of fun and a first time experience that has to come sometime. All part of my pursuit of a life of reckless abandon. Not to mention most of my losses were covered by Fire Keeper's Club points earned because it was my birthday. Misao made a card too but didn't gamble. With her birthday points we can enjoy a meal at one of their better restaurants in the future.

Took an unusual high percentage of pots in the beginning but they were very small with only five of us at a new table to start. Maybe hit $70 in my stack. Ace to 5 straight with an A, 3 off suit on the small blind, if I remember correctly, my best hand of the day. 2, 4 on the flop and a 5 on the river. Then the table started filling up.

My one flush for the night was with a 7, 2 of diamonds on the big blind. Three diamonds on the flop and I raised. Then another on the turn. Heads up I checked he raised and I folded. A good read because he had the Ace.

Saw an amazing number of pocket pairs. At least a half dozen and none higher than nines. Only the nines paid. Nothing on the flops, all high cards, and folded to raises on all the others. I would have had nothing on the turns or rivers either. Again good folds.

I played mostly tight but still all bad flops for my A, J's suited and A, K and other suited high cards. Tried a few marginal suited hands not on the big blind looking for some action but again nothing on the flop.

All in, heads up pre-flop after one raise. I decided my 9, 10 of spades heads up were the best odds I would see with only a couple of blinds left in my stack. The other guy had Q, Q. A ten came on the flop along with an 8; three clubs. A Q on the river and it was all over after an hour and a half.

Next step. Study a few books and more websites. Schedule my Internet play so as to limit my time investment, working the freerolls and any other tournament I can get into. Some at the table were saying you can play for money on the web. Not according to what I've read. But I pay for a legal service so I might as well ask them. It doesn't cost anything extra. Particularly what I can do with cash I may win in a freeroll. Can get to the top 10% in most freerolls, which typically top over 5,000 participants. It's having a stack to work with when you get that far that has been my problem.

Wont be seeing the casino in the near future. Maybe take those cans we've been saving for years in someday and try again. The Omaha Hi-Lo games are $3-$6 stakes. I may have done better there. It is the Omaha and heads up hold'em games where I have built most of my play $ fortune on the Internet.

Of course if I finally get a full time job there wont be much time for Internet play but with extra cash I may still hit the casino once of month. And with a proper starting stack, 100 big blinds, I think I'll... have lots of fun. And I believe I have a high potential to come out ahead.

The Book Store

Misao and I went to the Book Store in Mayfair Mall today looking for books on poker. I saw a section for sports next to a section on mathematics and thought the poker books would be between them. Misao said they would be in the game section. Just goes to show you how differently people look at the same thing.

She was right.

Round 2

I went again to the casino this evening for another round on a $2-$4 limit hold'em table. With only $40 in chips I was against a wall. Put my last $5 in chips in when the K of diamonds on the turn gave me the flush with my Q,9. At one point I was about $30 up but spent most of the night, under my initial buy-in.

Saw plenty of great hands that might of been. Like a full house if I hadn't tossed my J,3 off suit. But that kind of speculation wont win in the long run and I had too few chips to be gambling.

My only consolation is that there are always really good players you're competing with. At least one very accomplished player and a few regulars who know how to win. Never expect you'll ever be playing against people who aren't better then you when you go to a casino. I thought of going over the Holiday thinking it might be easier with a lot of fun seekers there, but we had better things to do.

After just over 2 hours I finished $5 ahead. (but I gave only one tip to the final dealer all night... me bad)