Poker Blog of a Uni Student

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Location: london, United Kingdom

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

FUN FUN FUN


ok not much fun. Congrats to adam on getting the goldman sachs internship, although he'll never read this. I remember how much i waited on that shit (but never got it).

Phone call today from betfair... i have now qualified for the pokerplayer grand prix!

well kinda. it seems i gotta face 11 others to take 4 spots that are open. No probs, I'm sure I got them beat. Seriously, they're playing in a shitty freeroll, which i only bothered with when i was a break even player. Ever since i started making money i couldnt care less about tourneys.
Well now i do again.
My stt disaster day will be put behind me, cos im gonna go on a fucking tear these next two weeks, learn serious STT skills and then just dominate the 27 man £5000 freeroll.
Also better practice my MTTs and if i can, some live play. In fact thats what i'll do tomorrow, ucl poker i think.

Monday, February 27, 2006

Back to School

Ok i admit i been neglecting my studies. Now i will work like a dog. Just decided that i will skip the vcstudentpoker tourney tonight.
Dropped $70 today, well kinda. Got a bit spend happy and bought both PAHUD and PTO, both of which i now realise are pretty much essential. Might aswell get PTO cos i'll start playing omaha soon anyway. I like it for kicks, and will be tearing up UB PLO10 i think.

Thinking about yesterday i dont know if there was anything i could have done in the STTs. I just happened to lose every coin flip i entered. Even in the MTT i was only behind once untill i self destructed. There was one where i had TT against a medium stack and he had 2 undercards and pulled some shit out. That hand would have really put me in a good spot, but instead i had to battle it out.

I'm gonna think more about jobs etc. Gonna do my h/w for tomorrow, etc etc.
I'm gonna learn a bit about omaha and also NLHE tourneys.
also have been neglecting my ebay stuff. Gonna sort some out tonight.

Ok time to work (ebay) and start doing some schoolwork.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

What a bad weekend


I sucked all weekend.
Won $9 on friday night before going out to 'phase', which is at kings. was on snakebite all night. was a lot of fun, hadn't got drunk in ages.
Would have been a lot more if my AA didnt get sucked out on by Q6(??) when i'd reraised preflop and he hit a 6 on the turn. uh!
So i was down like $70 on sat afternoon, no problem, why not jump to the NL100 game? lol
i was tilting bad and ended up $180 down. Decided my intercasino bonus needed clearing, so i went and casino whored. Of course i did this gambling stylee so ended up $180, thus breaking even.
Also cleared the bonus.
Then went back to poker later that night and won $130.
Sunday i played 7 STTs of both the £3.60 (5) and £1.2 (2). Did not cash in any. lolipops
I was playing an MTT aswell, played like a complete donk but made it to last 20 with 3rd in chips. Then with 11 to go decided A7 was it and i lost half my chips. 22 next hand and i go out. 11-20 pretty much just got their buyin back, and 1st payed £97. Again i didnt get to the final table, which is really annoying because i really would like to do it. My MTT game isn't the best, I admit, but I am still probably skilled enough to do it consistantly.
Played like a complete donk because i knew there were times when i didnt extract, and times when i could have won (A7 hand would have been won if i had moved in on river).


Then dropped $22 at a cash table. Went and gambled at intercasino (bonus clearing) and made $25 back. So end of sunday so far is -$19. Aim not to play anymore today, and maybe not for a few days. Am gonna apply to York uni for a masters programme in Management.

totals:

week: +$210
BR: $2525
year: $1572


I havent suffered a losing week total wise in ages now, with that -$150 week the only one comming to mind. But i had 2 great weeks either side of that which more than made up.
Reading week i could do no wrong, this week i'm really struggling. Lucky my gambling paid off, but some day its gonna catch me. Variance is a bitch.
Only need to make $2000 to meet my half yearly target. This should be pretty easy, so I am now gonna concentrate on getting fit again and of course school work. Applying for jobs would be nice too.


Crypto sites have much LAGgier players, but their v$ips are way too high, like 60%-80%. My jump to NL100 on tilt was dumb, i'm gonna start playing two 6-max NL50, and two 10-max tables, but one at NL50 and one at NL100.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Tired

Finished my coursework and handed it in with 4 mins to spare. Talk about close!
Now i gotta catch up with all the shit i missed over the previous week.
Would like to play tonight, maybe some STT (I know i keep saying it, but then playing cash), but I'm gonna get drunk tonight. maybe some NL2 on UB at 4am?

so tired, proplus is wearing off so i'm gonna catch some kip before dinner.

p.s. sissoko's eye situation is sick. I feel so bad. Plus he was RATED. I thought they brought him in as a project but dude got some serious game time in a very strong liverpool midfield, and i think we'll miss him a lot. Hope he gets better because he was worth his salt next to Alonso. I think Hamman has to step up now(after stepping down.lol dude could retire) , and Garcia and Cisse have a chance to fight it out for the right hand side slot with Gerrard moving back to the middle.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Procrastinating


12am on thursday 23rd feb. I have to hand my c/w in on 24th and have written not one word of deutsch.


Been reading a tonne of forums, and the gigabet dilemma has really got me thinking.
I'm gonna play a $5 STT on friday, thinking about 'blocks' and 'the line' which arguably means that actually playing with cards is irrelevent. They only determine the outcome (which matters obviously). However in trying to make the right decision, you may only have to make someone else making the wrong one. When the blinds are at a certain level, i wont care what my cards are, its push or fold, unless i have a big stack in which i'm trying to move 'the line'.

yeh it sounds wierd, but interesting all the same.



Right, back to the c/w

Monday, February 20, 2006

Finished!


Empire account cashed out at $1002.04. Pretty darn PiMP. (deposit of $500)

Fucking annoyed with my play. Ended up like i think $30 up or something on the day, but took some serious swings. I played really poorly, and only a good session on PLO25 (which i donk at) kept me from break even for the day. I donked AK for $20 on a rag flop, dude shows AA so im fucked.
Played ok, mostly, then went on tilt for a while, calmed down, then got stacked when my KK ran into AA, with all the money in preflop. thats ok, it was gonna happen someday. Hit 2000 hands and have now stopped.

4 tabling is hectic, but not difficult on full tables, its not really good 4 tabling 6-max unless theres no overlap. I will be buying the PT for omaha, and will be learning the game. Its very much a gambling game, as you see a lot of flops and its very rare that a flop is raised like crazy.
I'll also buy PAHUD.

Totals

Week (reading week, so 9 days) +$742
BR is $2315
on the year i think im up $1362. I did the math quick, and cant be assed to do it again. Thats good for £780. Thus i need to make around $2000 now to meet my half yearly total. Thats not bad.

Very happy with this, especially since its been truely grinding, although hitting a MTT would be nice. Thats a target of mine, but i think will stick to cash games till i finish my exams in May, then do my best to win an MTT.
I was meant to play STTs this week, but was too good at cash games, and to be honest have now changed from tight-weak to tight-hyperfucking aggressive. Now want to tone it doown, be selective and be a stone cold TAG who has serious LAG tendencies.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Still Rocking

Didn't really get any cards today, and got a lot more people playing back at me.
Had a lot more swings, but managed to pick someone off with A9, high card ace for $10 pot which was nice.

Got picked off for $8 pot on 10,10,2 which i managed to fire 3 times at.

up $63.5 on the night. Around 4hrs of play.
Won $250 so far on Empire. 10 buyins at NL25, im officially now too good for the level.

Totals

Week. $499
BR: $2063

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Had a Burner


Finally got empire working, then wondered if it was gonna not be my day. sucked out on in one of my first hands. (i did suckout with AK vs KK yesterday i suppose)

Up to $690 on Empire from a $500 deposit. 800 raked hands through my bonus requirement of 2000.
Only played like 2hrs

Went fucking crazy the last hour, i was taking pot after pot after pot.
Playing LAG is working well, I think its lessingers book of bluffs. I keep betting on those Kxx flops with JTs or some other random shit like that.
In the end i was getting called down by people with like 99 on QJ4 flops. Funny!

I'm really happy with my play and know it may not always be like this, but the past couple of days I've really learnt to take those unwanted pots.
Also learnt my lesson yesterday when i was doing it, cant have a 40% V$IP. thats just throwing a party and anyone with PT will see it immediately. Have been murdering the 10-max NL25 tables because they're so weak-passive. The real sharks at that level play 6-max cos there's much better profit margins, with noobs gambling.

Most interest is this guy i met called matt. he knows some online poker pros (the dude plays NL5/10 himself).
Obviously he could be full of shit, but he seems the real deal and i do like him.
Real interesting and i think its cool that hes happy to chat to a 'regular' micro limit player. dudes only 22, crazy.

So the BR has now moved to $2050 and i got confirmation my £466 from Golden Palace is on the way within the next 21 days(i know) via a bank draft.


On second thoughts my BR is being down graded to $2000. This is to cover 'transaction costs' cos i'm losing money from the conversion and the moving exchange rate. this $50 should cover me like the end of march easily.
(also interpoker are charging $1 per withdrawal)

totals

week: $435
BR: $2000



I was playing against another LAG (who i dont rate) and i was pretending to make a move with 6h2h when i'd flopped the flush.
he has 8h9d and ends up hitting the Ah on river so im sitting there pissed off after we got it all in on the turn (after large bets on the flop).
He knew i could be making a move, i knew i wanted him to think that and we both may have played it bad. either way i did get what i wanted, my money in when in a great pos, but oh well.
Cant complain, I did only get sucked out on once.

Empire Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.10/$0.25
5 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: $5.43
CO: $14.45
Button: $17.97
SB: $7.75
Hero: $26.55

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is BB with 6 2
2 folds, Button calls $0.25, SB calls $0.15, Hero checks.

Flop: 7 T 4 ($0.75, 3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.5, Button raises to $2, SB folds, Hero raises to $5, Button calls $3.

Turn: A♣ ($10.75, 2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $5, Hero raises to $15, Button calls all-in $7.72.
Uncalled bets: $2.28 returned to Hero.

River: A ($36.19, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $36.19)


Results:
Final pot: $36.19
Hero shows 6h 2h
Villain shows 8h 9d

Friday, February 17, 2006

EMPIRE


Past two days ive logged 600 raked hands on empire. need to get to 2000 asap for $200

profit is $106 having gone on a serious burner on first day. I played really well today and would be up more if:
  • i played more
  • hadnt donked $15 on the LHE
  • didnt have empire crash and the never reopen

BR: $1966

Monday, February 13, 2006

Wasted Day



Did not do anything today. Woke up late read some forums and generally just bummed around.
Played 30 mins on intercasino just to complete the $90 bonus.

Played about 30mins on interpoker after that.
was semi-tired but you know what?- I felt lucky (and i was)


played the NL$50 on crypto, which I've really struggled with. I think the NL$50 on crypto is the hardest over anywhere on the net. Paradise and Party are nowhere like that (apart from maybe paradise during the day, but i hate 5-max).
I really don't understand why either because I absolutely kill the NL£25 on crypto, which is pretty much the same limit. I also do well playing NL$50 pretty much everywhere else.

Any way first hand i lost like $12, when i turned a flush, only for the dude to to fill up his 2 pair on the river. It was a $20 pot, but i would have stacked him if it didnt hit.
Never mind i wasnt paying too much attention, because on the other table i was playing I'd picked up QQ first hand in bb!!
2 limpers, i raise to $3. Flop comes J high. I lead out with $5, MP moves in, LP folds, so i figure unless he has JJ I'm ahead. He turns over J8s and I stack the punk.
Back to the first table, things arent going great. No cards, I limp K10s, then get raised and so I call for $2. Flop gives me flush draw and 2 overs. I check raise allin (i know, wtf!!).
He calls with AA BUT i make it on the end. First time i sucked out on someone in about 3 months (possibly the 2nd time I've tried to in 3 monthse

Wow i am feeling lucky. I didnt really play long after that. Couldn't really get going, never got a chance to even run a bluff.


tally:

day: +$140
week: +$245
BR $1863

quick update



ok had a good weekend. ran pretty good. only complaint was i barely played at all.
maybe 4hrs max. didnt play both friday AND saturday night. been a long time since thats happened.
finally got a neteller account hooked up. still have £460 to be refunded to me from goldenpalace. I would be sick if i somehow managed not to get it. It just takes so long, not even approved yet.
I think tomorrow i will do the intercasino bonus. I'll do casinos during the day and play poker at night.

so far +$95 since my weeks target was set




BR is now $1719

Friday, February 10, 2006

WOW!

Read about Gigabet, one of the most famous internet players ever.
The dude played $1000 pots at age 16!

Man. I think I really need to learn STTs so that I can play MTTs too. I played 3 today busting 2 and comming 1st in 1.

Thing is it really bores me in the early stages as i know i'm not gonna be making enough money for it to be worthwhile at the £1 limits.
I think I will play $5 STTs whenever I can, however cash games will still have to be my bread and butter. I also want to learn some LHE but at 0.5/1 I still cant quite earn enough.

Targets:
  1. German Coursework.
  2. Sort out B203 notes and revise
  3. Study a bit for International Monetary Economics
  4. Bodog PSO bonus completed next week
  5. Get a Neteller account.
  6. Intercasino - sign up and do the bonus
  7. Starluck casino bonus.
  8. Make $500 (or £300ish) total.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

quick post


Made £23 playing on interpoker yesterday. Played 2hrs 30 mins of NL£25
just couldnt resist the new monitor. 19" tft samsung with refresh rate of 8ms.
Got rivered in a £30 pot early on, then hit like 4 sets out of 9 to give me a fucking hot deck over 2hrs30. Even then i put one down. Recently I've hit my set about 1in20 times. I even cracked AA with a flopped 2 pair, but thats his own fault for limping with his 'monster'.

Both monitors are now hooked up so im gonna play A LOT this weekend. Especially since its ahlf term. I expect to apply to a few jobs too.

Ok i got an Econometrics homework in tomorrow, and a german listening test (i know!)

below is a pimp hand- and i thought i would slow play it!


Game #1668666784: Hold'em NL (£0.15/£0.25) - 2006/02/07 - 17:12:58 (ET)
Table "Begonia" Seat 3 is the button.
Seat 1: hatman53 (£7.65 in chips)
Seat 2: Grapes (£26.91 in chips)
Seat 3: tufat23 (£28.80 in chips)
Seat 4: Damianr (£13.51 in chips)
Seat 5: Jez_leeds (£12.37 in chips)
Seat 6: Manvsfish (£29.10 in chips)
Damianr: posts small blind £0.15
Jez_leeds: posts big blind £0.25
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to tufat23 [Ac 9c]
Manvsfish: folds
hatman53: calls £0.25
Grapes: folds
tufat23: calls £0.25
Damianr: calls £0.10
Jez_leeds: checks
----- FLOP ----- [9h 9d Kh]
Damianr: checks
Jez_leeds: checks
hatman53: bets £0.50
tufat23: calls £0.50
Damianr: calls £0.50
Jez_leeds: calls £0.50
----- TURN ----- [9h 9d Kh][Td]
Damianr: checks
Jez_leeds: checks
hatman53: bets £1
tufat23: calls £1
Damianr: calls £1
Jez_leeds: calls £1
----- RIVER ----- [9h 9d Kh Td][3s]
Damianr: bets £11.76 and is all-in
Jez_leeds: is all-in £10.62
hatman53: folds
tufat23: folds
Returned uncalled bets £1.14 to Damianr
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Damianr: shows [Jc Qd] (A Straight, King high)
Jez_leeds: shows [9s Kc] (A Full House, Nines full of Kings)
Jez_leeds collects £26.84 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £28.24 Main pot £26.84 Rake £1.40
Board [9h 9d Kh Td 3s]
Seat 1: hatman53 folded on the River
Seat 2: Grapes folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: tufat23 (button) folded on the River
Seat 5: Jez_leeds (big blind) showed [9s Kc] and won (£26.84) with A Full House, Nines full of Kings
Seat 6: Manvsfish folded before Flop (didn't bet)
****HAND ENDS****

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Update



Ok I made back £23 having caught someone on AA.
Finally got lucky when a noob couldnt give up AA.
got 87s, i limp, everyone calls, till SB who raises JUST to £1.
so everyone but the button calls.
flop 872.
Now the sb bets £5 and i raise to £15. Get the money in on the turn and i win a £50 pot. Nice and easy.
a raise of £2.50 was probably necessary preflop with that many takers.


this plus $40 rakeback, and $35 from the referral at golden palace means my bankroll just hit $1909. however i'm withdrawing £190 to buy my monitor and i hope i can get my £400 out of golden palace, pronto.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Sold my green BApe KAWS hoody on ebay for £85 total. profit of just over £30 after all costs.

Still thinking about yesterday. Ironic that i blew so much cash at paradise BJ which had always been good to me. BJ is a sickness i hope i can be cured of.
Made me miss class today but oh well.

Ok no play till maybe friday afternoon, but again i suck on friday afternoons at the crypto sites. I seem to drop like £30 and then make £60 back at night without fail.

Still looking for a damm job...

...any suggestions?

Dropped £10 in no time. Tilted and went to play BJ where i consequently lost my paradise total of $380. WTF im a cock. Then deposited $380, and proceeded to lose that too. So $760 down, and wondering wtf to do.

Answer: go to CON which i could kiss. Turned $500 into $950 by BJ. Then made $125 on party with BJ (dunno why) then made $20 total after tilting £50 away, i ended up doubling one of my stacks on the NL£50 table, which really is above my limit. Its really aggressive there and i really hit some hands, and would have been up a lot more if my trips hadnt run into a flopped straight.

Never mind total is down $150 today, when i really wasnt even gonna play.

Fucking annoying to drop $150 but its ok. So my BR is not $1350. I can build it up. Should get rakeback but it doesnt really add much.