UBOC Chop/30r win

Wed/Thurs of this past week marked some interesting events.....first off on Wednesday I shipped the 20r AP - yeh yeh, its not that much of a cash but shipping it completed the shippage of every AP daily I play during the day......so that includes the 50 FO at 3 est, 30r, 501r1a,50r,20r,20k,30k,30r, and the turbo 75.......not a huge deal but thought it would be cool to one day ship every tournament that I play in my daily schedule......Thurs was a pretty sick day - I started off things with winning the 30r FTP for 6600 - this was the first time I won it so glad to get that monkey off my back....ran like a god short handed - HU I hit everything, ran good, and just destroyed him HU - felt too easy........then the UBOC 320 came up - I never really cared to play these bigger events as the fields are larger and I havent had any success.....also it was getting late and I had very little motivation but decided to reg the 320 UBOC and the 66 deepstack on AP along with the 162 FTP at 8est and call it a night......the UBOC overall was very soft for a 320 - when we got to the final 100 or so players, everyone was pretty passive - little to no 3 betting, the 3 bets I made worked, and postflop play was passive..........when we got ITM at 45 players, I lost a flip, but then had QQ beat KK and continued chipping up.....then I got a double with two tables to go, AA over TT I believe.....I came into the final table with like 25 bbs so I didnt have a ton of hope and had to play pretty tight as I was carddead and 25 bbs isn't much room to manevuer.....I tossed in a nice 3 bet that worked and picked up KK and doubled up with it......6 handed I had the CL or near the CL and began raising a bunch of pots - the players seemed very passive and it definitely seems the money was affecting them.....eventually they started opening up and then I lost A9 to KQ and was short 5 handed......from there I got lucky as 5th and 4th busted bringing us 3 handed.....I had 10 bbs at this point but then doubled up and we decided to talk chopping #s.......3rd was 15,500 and 2nd was 22k - chip counts gave me 17 something but told them I needed another 1k - I ended up getting 18,866 and we played it out for 3k and the UBOC watch.....I busted 3rd the 2nd hand in and that was the end of it. Overall was real happy with how the day turned out and the UBOC wasnt expected whatsoever......its great too cause it gives me the confidence to go deep in the bigger majors and hopefully get a win under my belt.....looking forward to the WCOOP and hopefully a deep run

Strategy post - have a plan

Was talking to someone the other day and this came about.....when you're playing poker, especially tournament poker, always have a plan for a hand.....I use to make this mistake myself about a year ago where I'd make a play either betting or checking and end up in an awkward situation where I have no clue what to do. People need to think one step ahead and understand all possible outcomes before making their move......the great thing about this is it also makes your decisions alot easier in certain situations - alot of times I'll get to the river and decide to bet/fold - if I get raised its a no brainer fold, and if he calls Im getting some nice value.....you see alot of newer players not setup a plan for the hand and get lost postflop - understand all the variables that are presented and come to a conclusion. Also if you're plan isnt going exactly as you wanted, stick with it. Sometimes Ill plan on 3b/calling someone and their 4 bet sizing will be very scary for example - regardless once I 3b I must stick to my plan - their odd 4 bet sizing could be pretty balanced between monsters and trying to look scary with 99, so I have to go with the plan of action. I think if you always have an intelligent plan of attack, you will always do much better.

Theres my tidbit of info for today now on to the grind :)

continuing to crush stars

The past 3 weeks have been real sick - I hit my biggest score ever and popped off a couple more 5 figure scores.....anyways last Monday I ended up chopping the 129 KO on tilt for 9400, and the following day on my bday winning the 162 Stars 65k guarenteed for 14,300.........also on those days I won the 501r1a on AP back to back which was the first time I won a tournament back to back like that.......this past week I followed things up with chopping the 50r on Stars for 11.4k 3 handed......The sickest part of that was at one point 3 handed I had 2.2 mil in chips, and the other two guys had 500k combined....I then went on to lose 6 all ins, and before you knew it I had 700k, the CL had 1.1 mil, and the shorty had 300k, and blinds were something absurd like 20/40k.......I pushed for the deal as these players werent good but it had turned into a luckfest and the difference between 3rd and 1st was 6k.....I ended up getting slightly more than 2nd place which is fair and it worked out as I busted in 3rd.......

I also had a win in the 75 dollar 10k turbo on AP the night before for 3300....Its a very soft tournament that is basically a luckfest towards the end - I had gotten down to 3 bbs with like 40-50 left and jammed AA and everyone folded.......at this point I figured I had no chance but I just kept winning showdowns and before you knew it made it to the ft.......the table was ridiculously soft - no one had a clue how to play......it was nice getting a win in a turbo tournament - I dont play too many of them so it was cool to do that for once

alot of big online tournament series are going on now and I know people are pysched up for them but I could careless.......i dont see why people fall in love with these big field big buy ins - majority of poker players see the payouts rather than thinking about their ROI and think oh man I got a shot at winning 100k! meanwhile in the long run these are the players who dont make as much as the consistent grinders......Im not knocking these tournaments - Im sure my ROI is atleast 150% in an FTOPs over a standard tournament, but the extreme variance of these fields makes it less appealing.....Im glad I dont play Sundays as well - it could take years to ever even out with variance and Ill pass on playing with that.......if people took more interest in playing the more profitable least variance games then everyone would be making alot more money.

Stars 100k ship

2nite was interesting.....last week I lost about 6k and was getting hammered once again today - I came into the night session with no cashes, and after busting the 20k AP I just had the 100K Stars to go.....my stars history is iffy - before this month I would run so awful on that site - after some unlucky spots today I figured my luck was back to reality after my 162 2nd place finish but apparently it wasnt.....ended up shipping the nightly 100k for 23k and change.....I never really had a big stack till the final two tables, then I came into the ft 4/9, and eventually was 5/6 at one point......had actually a funny hand short handed

PokerStars Game #47328259284: Tournament #323011041, $150+$12 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level XXIV (6000/12000) - 2010/07/27 3:35:34 ET
Table '323011041 30' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: dudeoflife21 (289014 in chips)
Seat 5: Z06LUVR (736000 in chips)
Seat 6: UcfChamp (534073 in chips)
Seat 8: joesid88 (714662 in chips)
Seat 9: Tjollerboy (288251 in chips)
dudeoflife21: posts the ante 1200
Z06LUVR: posts the ante 1200
UcfChamp: posts the ante 1200
joesid88: posts the ante 1200
Tjollerboy: posts the ante 1200
UcfChamp: posts small blind 6000
joesid88: posts big blind 12000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Z06LUVR [Qd Ac]
Tjollerboy: folds
dudeoflife21: folds
Z06LUVR: raises 15777 to 27777
UcfChamp: raises 44223 to 72000
joesid88: folds
Z06LUVR: raises 95555 to 167555
UcfChamp: calls 95555
*** FLOP *** [5h 4h 7d]
UcfChamp: checks
Z06LUVR: bets 37777
UcfChamp: raises 82223 to 120000
Z06LUVR: raises 447245 to 567245 and is all-in
UcfChamp: folds
Uncalled bet (447245) returned to Z06LUVR
Z06LUVR collected 593110 from pot
Z06LUVR: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 593110 | Rake 0
Board [5h 4h 7d]
Seat 1: dudeoflife21 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Z06LUVR (button) collected (593110)
Seat 6: UcfChamp (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 8: joesid88 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Tjollerboy folded before Flop (didn't bet)

so we're 5 handed here - UCF has been pretty aggro up until this point - he had the CL for a while and was definitely 3 balling it light from time to time - anyways my intentions were to get in AQ preflop vs him - I felt his 3b range was pretty wide and a small 4 bet might get him to spazz out and ship in worse.....anyways he flats which was odd since he has a pot sized bet left....on the flop I planned on just betting 370k to put him in but by accident bet 37k! I felt like a total idiot at this point - what to do - I figured the flop didnt improve him and hed ship pre with bigger pairs and I gotta stick to my original plan....I shoved and closed my eyes and it was crazy seeing him fold....

when we got HU we were about even in chips and I offered to talk chop numbers and he quickly declined - I guess he looked at my stars stats and figured i was awful....anyways the final hand was when I raised the button with 26 suited he called from the bb and flop came 26A two clubs - he led I raised he called.....turn came an 5 - he checked I bet he jammed - i called he had 78 and i held......felt amazing winning that tournament and probably the best feeling since winning the 60k FTP back in november......Its been a long year playing on Stars without being a winner and finally I can say I am across all the sites.....it was funny too today cause I was in the stars 50r for 350 and ap 50r for 450 and was just watching my monthly profit disinegrate and boom

goodnite all see you another time

Finally a lifetime winner on stars!

Since I started playing MTTs fulltime Ive struggled to make money on Stars....Id just constantly lose showdowns, run into better, etc etc etc......This was fine by me as I was crushing AP/FTP and doing decent on Cake so overall everything equaled out, but I always wondered when I'd do my first cashout on Stars....Well finally this week it came - took 2nd in Stars 501r1a and then 2nd in the 162 afternoon for like 14k combined....the first one, the 501r1a I ended up getting HU with about a 3 to 1 disadvantage....HU the button limps and I shove for 30 bbs - he snaps with K9 - I had A8 and he hit and that was that....Obviously a terrible call by him but hed been doing that all final table so nothing new. The second one I came in with about a 2-1 advantage.....I just couldnt flop anything and he apparently continued to pick up hands......I picked off some bluffs, got some of mine picked off - had 1 hand where I 4b pre with like k5 and he jammed - he was playing pretty straightforward and his sizing was giving away info but I couldnt get going...the final hand he opened, I jammed KQ for 20 bbs he obv has AQ......it was frusturating but what can you do......It felt great to withdraw off Stars - took a year to do so, but hey finally.....

As far as the other sites I also did well across the board....won the cake 109, a 50 fo on ap, and another 2nd in an ap.......Ive been feeling good about my game and am in a real good spot with it now.....its funny how much more I'll open now then I use to especially on sites like AP where they dont defend enough.......The only site I wont open too light is Stars cause they defend too much so I go back and forth between playing looser and tighter.......playing some of the softer APs like 50 fo's and the 20k at night you can run over the table so easily its really incredible......Ive also been 4betting more often then before - I still think at mid stakes 4betting is very very borderline as you need to satisfy a couple things before deciding to 4b bluff........had one spot in a FTP tournament where a decent reg opens with like 40 bbs, another decent reg 3bets with like 50 bbs, I got about 50 bbs and decide to put in a cold 4bet with like A3 - I figured its a good spot because the first reg opens with his standard sizing so his range is wide - the 3 bet from the other reg is also the proper 3 bet sizing - both stacks are deep that the 3 bet isnt commiting nor is his plan to isolate the first opener......Bet sizing is so key - had his 3b sizing not been 2.5x the raise then I wouldnt contemplate the 4b but everything was perfect......so I 4 bet - at this point my range is super strong - I dont know if they know who I am or if im capable of 4b without value, so I figured theyd need atleast QQ+,AK to consider getting this all in......anyways the original opener folded, the 3b shoved and I had to fold.....it definitely sucks when 4bs dont work but when they do its a beautiful thing...

Ive also worked on improving some things I was doing wrong........#1 was hero calling against people who arent capable of barreling.....heres an example

blinds 100/200, you have 6k, villan covers....villan is someone thats a reg but not good - hes very straightforward, will never value bet thin, and his sizing isnt the greatest...

villan opens in MP to 500, you flat with AJ, folds around flop comes J77 - he bets you call.....turn is a 2 bringing a club draw - he bets again about half pot you decide to call......river is a non club 6 - he goes all-in......for this player to be betting every street like this he has to have a near nuts hand - even with QQ/KK/AA I think hes that straightforward that he might take some pot control with the 77J flop......his range on the flop is obviously very wide, but I dont think hes capable of betting the turn as a bluff, or if he can its very very rare......when he jams the river its a little over pot so his sizing looks like it could be bluffy but at the same time hes that straightforward that he checks all of his river range except fh's,quads,trips,etc.....anyways I ended up calling and he had A7...I should fold the turn all day....

Another leak Im plugging is raising weak river bets on boards that are pretty dangerous.....Had a spot the other day in that 50 FO - heres teh HH

Stage #269536000 Tourney ID 5640136 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit 40 - 2010-07-09 15:36:16 (ET)
Table: 2 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - RAISERAISE87 (1,910 in chips)
Seat 2 - TWIT007111 (1,164 in chips)
Seat 4 - SCHONGIT (2,229 in chips)
Seat 5 - Z06FANATIC (3,154 in chips)
Seat 6 - BIGPATRA (2,852 in chips)
Seat 7 - IRONP0KER (3,090 in chips)
Seat 8 - DA MAD HATTER (3,836 in chips)
Seat 9 - BIGCATOK (2,000 in chips)
BIGPATRA - Posts small blind 20
IRONP0KER - Posts big blind 40
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to Z06FANATIC [6h Kh]
DA MAD HATTER - Folds
BIGCATOK - Folds
RAISERAISE87 - Folds
TWIT007111 - Folds
SCHONGIT - Folds
Z06FANATIC - Raises 120 to 120
BIGPATRA - Raises 180 to 200
IRONP0KER - Folds
Z06FANATIC - Calls 80
*** FLOP *** [Jh Jc 4h]
BIGPATRA - Checks
Z06FANATIC - Checks
*** TURN *** [Jh Jc 4h] [8s]
BIGPATRA - Bets 160
Z06FANATIC - Calls 160
*** RIVER *** [Jh Jc 4h 8s] [10c]
BIGPATRA - Bets 80
Z06FANATIC - Raises 565 to 565
BIGPATRA - Calls 485
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Z06FANATIC - Shows [6h Kh] (One pair, jacks)
BIGPATRA - Shows [Qd 10h] (Two Pair, jacks and tens)
BIGPATRA Collects 1,890 from main pot

Alright so I open the button here - Im fine with this - I have a suited King in position against weak players who dont defend often....he reraises pre - the sizing leads me to a weaker hand than stronger - either way I have good implied odds to call and can outplay postflop..The flop comes out and he checks - maybe I should be betting here I decided not to as I dont really rep anything and dont want to be blown off my fd......the turn comes and he bets - I probably should of raised here if anything but figured I had alot of equity and hed check/fold alot of rivers....anyways the river comes out and he leads for 80 - its obvious this player is awful and is leading something to protect me from betting alot so I decide to pounce on this and make a substansial raise - of course he calls.....this might work later in a tournament with higher blinds but I think early on I should avoid raising rivers like this because my opponents in a 50 fo arent thinking enough to fold to my range thats either nuts or pure air.....Ive taken spots like these a couple times and definitely seems like burning money :)

Alright im tired and heading off to bed so i can grind tomorrow......no more river bluffs and hero calling

Vegas trip report - Big day yest

So I went out to vegas for about 5 days to play some poker and have a vacation with the gf......we stayed at the Venetian which is easily the best place Ive ever stayed at - each room is a suite so while one person can be on the bed watching tv, theres a living room area with another flatscreen which is awesome....I could of stayed there for a month and it was around 100/night for the poker rate.....definitely where Ill be staying in the future.....anyways in regards to poker, I played 1 550 Venetian and 2/5 NL while I was out there.....first off live poker is hilarious - I'd probably rank the 550 skill level as that of a 50 dollar freezout online - the level of play early on especially is atrocious.......the structure is great though - 15k starting 25/50, 40 minute levels I believe.......I was very aggressive early on - played my normal online game, opened alot in position pretty wide, a couple 3 bets......got lucky with my 3 betting actually - a guy in later position opens at like 100/200 with about 14k effective.....hes been opening alot, looks like a younger guy, so I decide to 3 bet A7.......he flats and the flop comes 77x.......he checks, I cbet, I think he c/rs and I flat....turn comes another blank - he leads I shove he folds......says he had JJ (wp sir)...A couple hands later I open A3 from sb into bb who calls....flop is 338 - i bet he calls....turn comes a queen - i bet again he calls.....river is an 8 - i decide to valuebet/blockbet into him with intent on folding to a raise - i bet like 35% pot he folds......

So at dinner break I have about 160k and go into the 1500/3k level shortly after......I lose AK to QQ for a flip then my final hand comes up.....I got about 85k at 1500/3k when MP opens to 7500, CO flats, Im in BB with JJ and jam it.......MP calls and i lose a race to AQ....Overall I was very happy with how I played - I didnt feel like I made any glaring mistakes, although its definitely easier to play 100% on your game when your 1 tabling against retards.

So yest was a pretty good day to snap me out of a funk - I won the 20r 6 max Tilt and Cake 162 to get me some wins on the month, along with a couple 7-800 dollar cashes.....Ive also been staking someone recently whos real good and he won the 30k sniper on ap for 8k....while the month still isnt that great, its nice to get some confidence back and get that feeling again of winning.

Offering coaching services

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/164/poker-coach-listings/mtt-coaching-804529/

So I put up an ad on 2p2 regarding coaching for MTTs.....The going rate will be 80/hr if anyone who reads my blog is interested!

As far as poker its been slow this month.....Im up 4k while getting raped deep in tournaments....The worst part about this is alot of these FTs Ive made with 5 figures+ to first have a bunch of droolers that are pretty terrible.....last week I ft'ed the 40k ftp with 10k to first and busted in like 6th after losing QQ to QT....tonight I came into the 75k FTP 2/9 but got my money in with an open ender for about 40 bbs....I couldnt hit and obv busted like 7th - it was sad too as the two bigstacks I had played with for about 50 hands and were pretty bad.....you could tell this money was big to them and their play reflected it....one was super tight while the other was super spewy, so it coud of been a cakewalk if I picked up a big stack.....oh well cant win them all I guess....on a positive note Ive gotten in 180 MTTs only 11 days into the month which is great - as long as I get my volume in Im happy.