1 step forward 2 steps back

Not played a great deal over the past couple of weeks but playing at these higher levels means the bankroll fluctuates quite a bit. I did hit a high of €324.67 and then went down to €257.92. Its back up again a bit now which is good. I seem to hit some bad runs of luck losing with the best hands to go on losing streaks and then when i win its with luck winning when I shouldn't. Not many hands seem to be holding up at the moment.

My biggest problem seems to be that the blinds get too big and I have to push with poor cards. Perhaps I need to play more aggressive, so its something Im experimenting. Im also playing the odd cash game because the blinds stay the same, although i still feel my strength is tourneys.

I dont plan on playing much in the next few days either and Im not enjoying quite so much at the moment so the break in playing so much is doing me good.

Current balance: €291.92

Onwards and Upwards

Played quite a bit the past few days. My luck again has been awful but Im resisting the temptation to tilt and I know that over time these bad beats even out. When I hit a bad little run I have turned to playing Heads Up, coolers at this level seem to end up with too bigger blinds and become a lottery.

Now im playing €10 games the bankroll can go up and down very quickly. Im tempted to go back to €5 games just for a while but I shall see. Im having a well earned break tonight and probably wont play too much this week. I have played 292 games in January so feel a bit worn out and need a breather. On the plus side, because I managed to rake €100 in the month I received 30% back (part of a deal I have with the site I use) which was €30.39.

As long as the bankroll keeps going up this can only be a good thing. Although I do think that if just one night the percentages hold up and I win all the hands I should then I would make a massive profit. This hand about summarises my luck!

***** Hand 1434175204 *****
15.00/30.00 Texas Hold'em (No Limit ) - Friday, January 30, 2009 7:40:23 PM
Holdem (Real /Tournament )
Seat 1: nett1951 (1470.00)
Seat 2: DJ_Sharky (1635.00)
Seat 3: Tibi0509 (1455.00)
Seat 4: The_Robin (1530.00)
Seat 5: doylonegan (1410.00)
nett1951 post SB 15.00
DJ_Sharky post BB 30.00
** Deal **
nett1951 [N/A, N/A]
DJ_Sharky [As, Ah]
Tibi0509 [N/A, N/A]
The_Robin [N/A, N/A]
doylonegan [N/A, N/A]
*** Bet Round 1 ***
Tibi0509 Call 30.00
The_Robin Fold
doylonegan Fold
nett1951 Fold
DJ_Sharky Raise to 90.00
Tibi0509 Call 90.00
*** Flop(Board): *** : [Kd, 10d, Kc]
*** Bet Round 2 ***
DJ_Sharky Check
Tibi0509 Check
*** Turn(Board): *** : [Kd, 10d, Kc, Ac]
*** Bet Round 3 ***
DJ_Sharky Check
Tibi0509 Bet 195.00
DJ_Sharky Raise to 420.00
Tibi0509 All-in 1365.00
DJ_Sharky Call 1365.00
*** River(Board): *** : [Kd, 10d, Kc, Ac, Ks]
*** Showdown *** : Rake: 0.00
Total Pot: 2925.00
nett1951 Fold Win: 0.00
DJ_Sharky [As, Ah] Full house Win: 0.00
Tibi0509 [4d, Kh] Four of a kind, kings Win: 2925.00
The_Robin Fold Win: 0.00
doylonegan Fold Win: 0.00

Current balance: €277.19

Good, but should have been a lot better

I haven't played loads in the past couple of days but its been action packed. I played two 5 seaters yesterday and won them both which was a good start. Then today I started off badly, playing rubbish in one game and then going out on the bubble with a pre flop push with JJ called by 10 10 and of course a 10 came. That put me on tilt and i bubbled another 5 seater.

I then played a 30 seater and after getting no cards for ages and being the short stack on the final table I got a run of good cards. I didnt get lucky and every time I won an all in I was ahead. It made a nice change to win when ahead! I ended up having a 3 to 1 chip lead when heads up. He started of well and then this happened...

***** Hand 1431111957 *****
800.00/1600.00 Texas Hold'em (No Limit ) - Wednesday, January 28, 2009 7:59:01 PM
Holdem 3 Table (Real /Tournament )
Seat 1: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 2: DJ_Sharky (27474.00)
Seat 3: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 4: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 5: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 6: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 7: Hurvabock (17526.00)
Seat 8: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 9: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 10: Unknown (0.00)
Hurvabock post SB 800.00
DJ_Sharky post BB 1600.00
** Deal **
DJ_Sharky [Qs, 8c]
Hurvabock [N/A, N/A]
*** Bet Round 1 ***
Hurvabock Raise to 3200.00
DJ_Sharky Call 3200.00
*** Flop(Board): *** : [8s, 5c, 7c]
*** Bet Round 2 ***
DJ_Sharky Check
Hurvabock Check
*** Turn(Board): *** : [8s, 5c, 7c, 8h]
*** Bet Round 3 ***
DJ_Sharky Check
Hurvabock Bet 6400.00
DJ_Sharky All-in 24274.00
Hurvabock All-in 14326.00
*** River(Board): *** : [8s, 5c, 7c, 8h, 9d]
*** Showdown *** : Rake: 0.00 Total Pot: 35052.00
DJ_Sharky [Qs, 8c] Three of a kind, eights Win: 0.00
Hurvabock [10s, Js] Straight to the jack Win: 35052.00

I could not believe this and was so angry. I did however manage to get back in to it and then went on to win it. So was happy and felt justice had been done. I pocketed a nice €60 for this and the tilt was over.

This then meant I was able to play €10 games for the first time. I played a 10 seater and a 30 seater. I made what I thought was the right play in the 30 seater with 8 8 on a low board but was caught by KK and went out. In the 10 seater there was 7 left and I hadnt really played much as my cards had been awful and it was an aggressive table. With the blinds getting bigger and it folding to me on the button I pushed with A5. This was 7 times the big blind. I was called by the BB with 2-5. Happy Days! No, wait, yes, you guessed it, a 2 came! What a sick call and then a sick beat! Again this sent me on tilt and in a 5 seater which I dominated and had a 5 to 1 chip lead heads up, I got two all in river beats which would have won me it and went on to come 2nd. These were a 5% and a 13% river beat which I was fuming with. So I have had to stop play for the day.

So although I am above the €200 mark which is great, I should be on more than what I am. So drawing a line under it and starting fresh is the best idea!

Current balance: €217.15

Why do bad players always get lucky?

Its been a weird few days. Now im playing €5 games the bankroll can go down quickly if you have a run of bad games. This has happened a couple of times. I feel like im playing really good poker at the moment, and I rarely seem to be outplayed. When I lose its either to a bad beat (this seems to happen a lot) or when the blinds are so big it becomes a lottery. I would say the only thing I need to improve on is Im playing too tight when it gets near the bubble just to make sure I cash. I need to start playing for the win and be a bit more aggressive.

I seem to have come up against donk after donk recently and again I have had some annoying bad beats. They seem to get lucky more often that the percentages say they should. I have had too many bad beats to list hand histories but they generally come from people playing with rubbish hands and getting lucky, or way overplaying a hand when they should fold. It still shocks me that I can raise 5 times the BB with 10 people at the table and someone in middle position will call with A3 off suit. It is so so annoying when you get a run of sick beats and this has happened a lot recently. But the fact that Im getting all this bad luck and still grinding out a profit is a very positive thing. I have been playing a complete mixture of games but sticking to holdem. Im playing a bit of PL heads up and also 5, 10, 20 and 30 seater NL games and if im on a bad run i play some coolers. Im closing in on the double century now so it would be nice to get there by the end of the weekend.

Current balance: €175.15

On the verge of tilt

Been an interesting few days. I seem to have had some really bad luck so far this week. I seem to be losing more than my fair share of the 50/50's and 60/40's and don't seem to be getting the cards at the right time. I have had a few bubbles again and its been frustrating. I have gone on tilt a couple of times and played the turbo games which I never do well in. I need to cut this out of my play so Im annoyed at myself. I havent played so well in the coolers as well, I have been getting involved with hands I should just stay away from.

Even with this bad luck I managed to grind my way above €110 which meant I could play €5 games but I dropped back down after another run of bad luck. I have played 4 of these added cash tourneys now, 2 were FPP buy ins and the other 2 were €5+0.50 buy ins. The first 3 I bubbled which was so frustrating again! The most recent one 1st prize was over €100 and I was chip leader for a while but when the blinds got big I just didnt get the cards or the flops and was gutted to bubble.

But then today my fortune changed and I entered the Heads Up game. This had only 12 runners and I got a bye in the first round. So I only needed to win one match to cash. It was very tight early on but when the blinds went up a bit more play came in to it. I had A8 and they raised pre flop, so I called. I hit middle pair and they made a bet on the flop. It was all in or fold really and I put them on a continuation bet so decided to re-raise all in. They had top pair but another 8 on the turn put me through. I hate winning like this but it made a change to get some luck. I then won the next round pretty quick with KK v JJ. I was just edging it in the final when I had A 3 and hit the A2345 straight on the turn. They pushed all in so was very happy and with no flushes out there I thought I had won, but they had a 36 to hit a 23456 straight. Gutted!

But 2nd place got me €51.25 which I was more than happy with and has got me off tilt and kick started me again. I can now play €5 games again which is nice so lets see what the standard is like here and if I can get close to €200 by the end of the month.

Current balance: €141.36

Frustration

Its been a frustrating last few days. My bankroll has fluctuated between €75 and €105 the past few days. I have been playing a lot of coolers recently and have been doing well cashing in 21 out of 27 of these. I need to keep playing more of these I think. Because you will always have 6 or more players at the table I can play 4 of these at once rather than the usual 2.

One weakness in my play seems to be heads up so I have played a couple of games heads up and Im about even with these. I havent been doing so well in the normal 5, 10, 20 and 30 seaters though and this is why my bankroll has hardly increased. I think I have played too much this weekend so Im calling it a night and having a break tomorrow. I will then hit the tables Tuesday and Wednesday including the forum games (these are weekly games for members of the forum I post on) which have added prize pools and a great chance for me to make some money with nice payouts for the number of runners. Im also buidling up FPP (frequent player points) which enable me to play in some freeroll multis with hardly any players. The one I have played in so far I finished 4/23 . It was very annoying because the top 3 got paid and I had A 10 with an Ace on the flop. Beaten by a J 6 flush. Grrrr.

Hopefully next week I can get above €100 and stay there.

Current balance: €93.01

Another good weekend

Its been another good weekend of poker. The first milestone in the challenge was achieved and that was being able to start playing €3 + 0.30 games. There is a few more different types of game on offer so it makes it more interesting. So far Ive played one cooler and easily made it through that. I played this after a bad beat to stop me tilting and it worked. I have also played 5 turbos and only cashed in two of these which overall has won me my money back. These are a complete lottery and I wont be playing many of these. The blinds go up far too quick and if you dont get cards at the right time you're screwed. They don't suit my style of play at all.

Another thing I have found is that I lose too many chips with AK, so im trying different ways of playing this hand. My main problem being that I raise with it pre flop and if im just against one other player then make a continuation bet no matter what the flop is. But if I dont hit and I get re-raised I have to fold and quite often i lose a large chunk of my stack doing this. Or I can get called after the flop and then Im not sure whether to bet again and hope they are on a draw or check which generally leads to them betting and me folding.

There was also the good old weekend drinkers playing and some terrible play on offer. I have had a couple of bad players knock me out when they have got lucky and then call me a fish or say how great they are when in fact they won with a bad beat. I then check there sharkscope and reveal how bad they are and they soon shut up. Although largely I try to stay out of chat and concentrate on my play as im generally playing 2 games at once. Another example of bad play was when I was BB and was raised by SB. I had AQ and with the blinds at what they were I decided to push all in. He called and had 8-2. Of course a 2 came on the river.

One other thing I have learnt is to be more patient heads up when blinds are small in comparison to stacks. I try to play aggressive heads up as I find more often than not this is the best way to play. But at times you need to sit back a bit when the blinds are not that big yet. This especially cost me in a 3 table 30 seater game in which I finished 2nd but should really have won. I still won €21.60 for my troubles but should have won the €36.00 first prize really. I pushed with A 5 and was called by Q J and he hit the jack. A raise rather than an all in here would have allowed me to get away from this. When in the last 5 of this tournament I managed to hit a sweet hand, my first ever royal flush which you can see below.

Im enjoying the 20 and 30 seater games but also seem to be doing well in the 5 and 10 seaters so I will be mixing it up between these for now and see how this goes. Thats it for the weekend for me, lets see what next week brings.

***** Hand 1403086780 ***** 400.00/800.00 Texas Hold'em (No Limit ) -
Sunday, January 11, 2009 12:46:45 PM Holdem 3 Table (Real /Tournament )
Seat 1: Mane54 (14658.00)
Seat 3: DJ_Sharky (12056.00)
Seat 2: gorogoro (7306.00)
Seat 4: Kyol (3450.00)
Seat 5: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 6: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 7: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 8: Unknown (0.00)
Seat 9: benben95 (7530.00)
Seat 10: Unknown (0.00)
Mane54 post SB 400.00
gorogoro post BB 800.00
** Deal **
Mane54 [N/A, N/A]
DJ_Sharky [As, Kc]
gorogoro [N/A, N/A]
Kyol [N/A, N/A]
benben95 [N/A, N/A]
*** Bet Round 1 ***
DJ_Sharky Raise to 2400.00
Kyol Fold benben95 Fold
Mane54 Fold gorogoro All-in 7306.00
DJ_Sharky Call 7306.00
*** Flop(Board): *** : [3h, Jc, Qc]
*** Turn(Board): *** : [3h, Jc, Qc, 10c]
*** River(Board): *** : [3h, Jc, Qc, 10c, Ac]
*** Showdown *** : Rake: 0.00 Total Pot: 15012.00
Mane54 Fold Win: 0.00
DJ_Sharky [As, Kc] Royal straight flush Win: 15012.00
gorogoro [Ad, 7h] Pair of aces Win: 0.00
Kyol Fold Win: 0.00
benben95 Fold Win: 0.00

Current balance: €86.28

It's a funny old game

Its been a couple of weeks since my last update and its been a very up and down period to say the least. I went on a mental streak of bad luck and my bankroll diminished almost. It had got down to €4.90 and I was not happy at all. I had all but given up poker and was about to retire. I decided to play 2 final €2 + 0.20 games and managed to win one of them. The next few games I was only winning enough to just keep me going and then i managed to win a 20 seater which gave me a nice bit of breathing space. Since then my hands seem to be holding up a lot more and I'm controlling my tilt urges quite well. Im mixing it up between 5, 10 & 20 seaters at the moment and sticking to holdem.

As you can see im now at an all time high for the challenge and im hoping not to get anywhere near zero again! Now I know why you only play within 5% of bankroll! Im now almost at the stage where i can increase to €3 stakes if I wish to. The highs and lows of this game are amazing. To think I was almost out and about to quit the challenge less than 2 weeks ago and now here I am right back in the challenge and doing well. My main aim is for more consistency and to hopefully not hit a bad run like last time. So who knows what will happen over the coming weeks.

I have played quite a lot since the last post and it would be impossible for me to go in to hand history. We all have a bad beat story and I have plenty, but I wont bore you with them! What I will do is try and update this blog every day that I play and go in to more detail of certain hands. Im off to bed now as Im tired but I can sleep well knowing the challenge is back on!

Current balance: €65.08