Poker Blog of a Uni Student

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Location: london, United Kingdom

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Vegas vegas vegas

Well, it's all over for me. I have 2 more days or so before I leave, and I wish I could say I've enjoyed every moment. That's not saying I haven't enjoyed it. Definitely not. However some things have sucked.

Busting the main event was the most disappointed I've felt in a while. I should really have gone much deeper, considering how well I held. The first time that I was all in since level 1 of day 1, I got AK into KK and even then flopped Axx. Obv 1 outer on the river (i got it in behind tho obv), and I close out wafflecrush in pretty std fashion.

I've lost my laptop, glasses, tolietries, camera, ipod and some other stuff too, since my backpack got left in a taxi during day 3, which was great.

Overall I actaully was in profit for the series, which is semi great. I wont explain why it is bad, but well it's not the best. Although a totally disppointing 126th, I feel like I gained a tonne of confidence. I obv am no teir 1 online player, but I'm def within teir 2 and feel like thats WAY more technical skill than is needed. Plus the fact that I believe that I'm playing 'live' poker so much better, I'm sure good scores are coming.

Currently supremely confident in my play, and am planning to grind out more live donkaments.

On thursday I go to albany NY and turning stones for the first time. There's gonna be a small 2k thats gonna be telivised so I expect to win that. Then I'm gonna go to cali for a week or so with shaun for something or other poker related. After that I head back home and rest for a while. I plan to play a lot online, but also mix in a fair amount of live play.

Definitely doing barcelona, wsope, and london ept, as well as some gukpts if they are at good times. I'm not sure about my actual situation in terms of who's taking my action, but I'm confident that that will get sorted out soon, and in time for barcelona and wsope.

After that I guess it may be more random epts, and then definitely aussie millions and the appt in aussie too at the end of the year. Will def miss pca. lapc is a possibility on the list, and def wanna do monte carlo ept again, as well as wsop next year.

That's my provisional plan. I had wanted to try going back to uni somewhere, but I kinda feel like not doing it. I really dont like having to work on someone elses schedule, and I feel like this is what I want to do right now. I feel like there's very little chance of me ever getting a real job. I see too many edges everywhere that I don't think I'll ever do it.

Since it's kinda the end of the poker season, I felt like it's time to reflect. 2 years ago I was grinding micro stakes NL, and casinowhoring at $1/hand. Now I'm playing 10ks all over the world and am extremely disappointed with a deepish run at the wsop main event.
This wasn't natural poker ability. I luckboxed into learning a game that I feel can be broken down very easily, yet others cant. And, at the same time, they are willing to put up lots of money against me because the variance within the game blinds them. Sometimes it blinds me too, but thats half the fun.

My mother always said that televison and the internet wouldnt pay my bills. I know she meant the best, but I feel like she was wrong. Getting a job is not the most profitable route. The only way it is, is because you do it to learn the skillsets you need to make money on your own. Even if you made £500k/year in a job, that still means that the value you give to a company is like £1mill-£2mill. That's a lot of edge to pass up and it's not what I do want to give up especially right now with poker being untaxed.
Also once in a job, people follow societies idea of what they should do. That cant be the most profitable, as society is made up of people who work for others. It's those that are willing to take chances, that have the most money/power/whatever they seek.

Monday, July 07, 2008

world series

Srry for the lack of updats. We'll i went 1 for whatever i played, i think 10. just like a 3rd level min cash in the penultimate 1.5k nl. I kinda felt dumb after the very last 1.5k event, where I felt like I overran my image, in that i could have chipped up a lot without showdown if i hadnt gone for a total insane image. Saying that i got A6hh in vs KJo on 973hh and he hit his 4 outs etc for starting stacks first hand of level 2. If I'd won that, I'm pretty sure the table would have been run the hell over. Oh well.


Moved into the palms place and its pretty nice. I chilled for a couple of days, just doing the bananas. Went to the SSNL dinner, and got to play a dealers choice game with sklanksy for a little bit. Was fun. His game of choice was 5/10 stud hi/lo, no qualifier hi side takes 2/3rds of the pot. lol <3 david.


Anyway did 1c of wsop main event. ended with 90k cos im built like that. I ran super cold preflop, seeing AA x1 right at the end of the day when i could never get action, TT 2x, Ak 1x, KK/QQ/JJ/99/88 for a combined 0x. Obv I'm saving it for later, although I did crack KK with 77 in a way that was just lol.

Hands I can remember. Clownfish in hijack opens 350 at 50/100 with starting. i call button KJo, superclownfish bb 3-bets to 1k with 40k (which he'd got in the most retared manner vs an obv AA). So we both call. Flop KQQ. bet 1.4k, fold I raise to 4.4k. Kinda dubious obv, but man he could have anything and bleh. turn K. ding. he donks 6k. I call. river 2o. he checks, meh. I bet 6k he shvoes and puts me in for like 3k more. lol he has T9. pretty awesome
Some blonde chick comes to the table with like 23k. Researched later it was lacey jones, whom I still have no idea is famous for what but whateverr. She had these massive gold headphones which just made me laugh and she was talking to the table about going to spearment sometimes or something. whatever i was in the 8 seat and she was in the 1 seat, so I really didn't have any chance to chat. I managed to successfully not run into AA/KK/chase down AK from her, in the 2nd hand she played. young uk pro tony phillips limps UTG at 50/100, 2 clowfish limp, i rock the 7x with QTo and folds to her when she makes it 1.7k. Folds round and I wtf all over the place. ugh fold maybe? whatever i have the 40k stack, gamble gamble.
Flop Q78, i check call 2k, turn 7 check call 3k, river 8 checked through and my Q is good. Kinda wanna say she has JJ here a lot, but its also AK a lot. Whatever I faded the overpair which she could have had a lot obv.
I was at 50k at the end of level 1, on a relatively difficult table. However due to seat locations, I had an awesome seat. A dude who won gukpt london the year before was in the 2 seat, i think mike sextons son in the 4 seat and tony phillips in the 4 seat. that was really good for me as they had to battle, and i could pick up whatever i wanted from the guys around me. It got even better when the 5 seat got filled by a dude who I'm 100% didnt know the rules of poker 1month ago. He had no idea of adequate agression or relative hand strengths.
In one limped pot it checked to me on AQx and I bet 1k, into a 2kish pot, guy behind me raises to 3k and he snap calls. tehy showdown eventually and he has A3o. then he limps UTG, UTG+1 limps I iso the 43s at 150/300 to 1.8k and both call. Flop A77 he donks 1k, snapcall, I sigh and decide to fold. turn A. something happened, like a bet or something, but river was like 2o and it went bet/call with 10k behind for UTG+1. note utg called the raise, and then tables 77. lol utg+1 obv has AT and everyone lols.
Went into the dinner break a little pissed cos I had 48k, and meh. But my table was good, including someone who I can only describe as a weekend warrior. On my button it was laceys bb, and he was in sb in the 9 seat and would ALWAYS flat my button 3x. without fail. and then stare me down if he missed the board. was teh awesome. also because when he hit he wouldnt stare me down and would have happy feet. So basically I could play perfectly vs him, although he won the first 2 since it took me exactly hand 1 to figure it out, then the 2nd hand he obv had the nuts and he showed me AT after i check behind flop Axx and fold turn after waiting a little bit on him just so I had a better feel for him later.
After the break, bakes goes on a tear and I have to catch up. At 150/300/25, effective stacks are about 25k, the quad 7s dude limps UTG, I iso to 1.4k, kinda big but now i have 77 and i plan to full pot at least 2 streets vs him. would be nice to have him o myself. he calls. flop 876ddd. meh. check, i bet 2.5k he tries to raise but only throws out one 5k chip. dealer insta rules a call and i cant decide what to do. meh i just keep quiet. turn 8. woot. he bets 2.5k, i raise to 6.5k, he calls. river 7 he bets 6k ad i shove for whatever more. He called relatively fast and I beat KK. lol i felt it was kinda ironic. Then used my expert limping strat to win some chips, and lose chips with my expert raising strategy. bleh

got moved and on a new tabel had about 80k. directly behind me the dude had like 110k. meh. he 3-bet my first open kinda small, i folded. then i won a pot in a bvb 3-bet spot and stole a few blinds etc. just hung out a little whatever. I then got 3-bet again bvb with AJ. and c/f a 9xx. he flashes AA. sweet. kinda bleh cos it was always bvb a lot as we were the two biggest stacks and the most aggro. overall though he didn't try and get too nuts with me and I ended the day on 90k.

felling good, and checking the leaderboard, I'm bigger than i thought. 90k didn't feel like much when bakes has 160k, but i'm really high in the counts so I feel good.