Wow that month went quick and I barely updated the blog at all… sorry about that. Time is just flying!

Results wise July started well, was good in the middle but a big (50+ BB) downswing in the last two days brought what should have been close to 3BB/100 hands profit down to around 1.5BB/100.

The annoying thing was this downswing came entirely at a single site, Absolute Poker, where I had just signed up so I could play in their cheap SNG tournaments (I’m trying to get as much tournament practice as possible, as cheaply as possible). I had planned to play tournaments exclusively there but as I’d got a little bit of a deposit bonus I decided to at least try and clear it, going to have to work hard to make a profit out of that one!

So, let see how did with my three goals from last month:

1. Keep the solid cash game going at my new limit.
2. Keep playing the low-level NL hold’em tournaments, aim for a positive return for the month.
3. Read “Harrington on Hold’em” volumes 1 and 2 (on order from Amazon, due to arrive middle of the month – darn international shipping).

Well, I’m going to say that I achieved number 1 even if my BB/100 is well down from where it should be. Since I only played 6000 hands in July and these are (for all practical purposes) my first 6000 at this level (also 3000 of these were 6Max tables – it’s my first time in these waters and I’m still adjusting) I’m not too worried about the drop in BB/100. For some reason I can’t quite put my finger on this has happened every time I’ve moved up a level and seems to return to normal after about 10000 hands or so.

Number 2? well, umm… the less said about number 2 the better. I played in 25 tournaments (range of styles/buy-ins) in July and produced a ROI of -58%. Not good. There is still work to be done here, I’ll post about that later.

That leaves number 3, my books have arrived and I’ve read volume 1. These books will warrant some reading and re-reading, but I can already notice an improvement in my game just by applying some of the thinking that Harrington teaches. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into volume 2.

So, my goals for August:

1. Break out of my downswing (early signs are looking promising, but I won’t speak too soon) and clear the bonus at Absolute Poker. Improve my BB/100 for $0.50/$1.00.
2. Study the 6Max game.
3. Read Harrington volume 2, re-read volume 1.
4. Return a positive figure in NL hold’em tournaments.
5. Play at least 500 hands in a game other than hold’em, I’m thinking maybe some Omaha 8 or better.

Stay tuned.

P.S. No graph this month, having trouble finding some graphing software that wants to work with my new Postgre Poker Tracker database. I need to get in touch with the Poker Grapher or Poker Patterns authors and see if I’m doing something wrong. Has anyone reading successfully graphed a Postgre PT database? Let me know.

I just witnessed what has to be one of the craziest hands of limit hold’em I’ve seen. I wasn’t involved but I had to share it with you as it sure gave me a laugh.

I’m sat at a $0.50/$1 10 handed limit hold’em table, it’s loose with something like 50% of the player’s seeing a flop but generally passive and pre-flop raises are rare. I’m not getting anything playable which is annoying me because the two players directly to my right are seeing 50% and 75% of the flops respectively and calling down with almost anything, there’s money to be made here but I’m not getting the cards to do it. Although I’m multi-tabling at the time (and therefore not giving the table the attention is probably deserves), my interest is suddenly sparked when I see the betting capped four ways pre-flop!

One pre-flop raise was rare, but to see four players capping? I was intrigued. So the flop comes:

Or what is better known in the business as “rubbish”. That doesn’t stop these maniacs with all four of them betting and raising to have it capped again for the turn. At this point I’m thinking surely we must have AA vs AA vs KK vs QQ or something wonderfully rare like that, these guys will surprise you though and they all see a turn:

So off they go again, betting, raising and capping. All four of them. At the river there is $32 in the pot, 32 BB! If you’re a no-limit player don’t be fooled – this is a huge pot for a limit hold’em game. They all see the river:

Surpsingly, this actually slows them down. The UTG player bets, second to act just calls this time, third position raises and fourth folds! UTG re-raises, second player folds and of course it’s capped. I’m a little disappointed because I only get to see half the players cards.

UTG shows:

Giving him a set of kings, but the third to act player turns over:

Giving him a straight. A straight he made on the turn! This guy had raised/called capped both pre and post flop before he made this straight. He simply does not fold. This time he got lucky, and took down a pot worth $40 – that’s 40 big bets at a limit table. With 67o. When you’re lucky, you’re lucky!

Am I the only one who wonders what the other two players might have had?

The frustrating thing is, I’m still at this table and he’s still sitting there two seats to my right. His stack is shrinking but it’s not heading my way, I’m card dead. Come on poker gods, give me a break

EDIT: Just caught a club flush against him (and four others) – they all happily called me down to the river. What did he have? 83o for a pair of threes – the three came on the river. Patience is a virtue in this game, wait long enough and order will be restored on even the craziest of tables.

Well June ’06 was a mixed month for me. On one hand in the cash games it’s been my best month so far up over 280 big blinds over around 5800 hands:

But tournaments both large and small were a different story with an ROI of -46% (this is on-line only so doesn’t include my first place at the monthly home game, which would improve this number a bit).

So then, my goals for July:

1. Keep the solid cash game going at my new limit.
2. Keep playing the low-level NL hold’em tournaments, aim for a positive return for the month.
3. Read “Harrington on Hold’em” volumes 1 and 2 (on order from Amazon, due to arrive middle of the month – darn international shipping).

It’s time for me to move up the limits! Don’t get too excited though, I won’t be playing high stakes poker just yet. I will, however, be moving up from my current $0.25/$0.50 limit to a whopping $0.50/$1.00. Look out!

Now you could argue that $0.50/$1.00 is nothing to get too excited over and I’d tend to agree with you except for one thing, I’ve worked my way up to this level from a lowly $30 deposit over at Poker Champs nearly a year ago where I played $0.02/$0.04 no-limit.

Thing is it’s never really been about the money, true I’d love to make some decent cash playing this game one day but unlike some I have never had illusions that I could just deposit a few hundred on-line and start turning a profit in the middle/high stakes games. Much better in my opinion to start low and work up, sure I’m probably not facing the best opponents in the world but I am still constantly learning I have no doubt that the 60,000 hands of hold’em I have played at these micro-limits have had nothing but a positive impact on my overall game.

So if it’s not about the money (yet) why am I moving up? Well, I’ve thought about this and here are my reasons:

1. Even though I’m not withdrawing any cash from the game I am building up a bankroll and I’m now bankrolled sufficiently to play the higher limit.
2. I feel like I’m getting a little complacent at the $0.25/$0.50 limit, almost like I’m in a rut. At a higher level (even low stakes) I immediately notice that I’m more attentive. It’s nice to mix things up.
3. Even if it’s just a little bit, moving up is a sign my game is getting better. Improving my game is my current aim.
4. I want to move from the “Micro” to the “Low” tab over at Poker Stars

So here I go then, up the ladder. Wish me luck!

Played in three Sit and Go’s over at Party Poker tonight, after going out in fourth in the first one (losing most of my chips after I folded to a bluff made by the big stack at the table, still kicking myself about that one) I wasn’t in the best of moods.

Then to make matters worse, in the third hand of my next tournament I’m dealt:

I raise 3 X BB and get one caller, the flop is:

I bet the pot and get re-raised all-in. I call and he shows:

For set of 8′s. I don’t improve and am out… 10th place. Question is should I really fold aces here? I’m playing in low level Party Poker SNG’s, opponents would (and do) make this same move with AQ, KQ … heck half the time their hand wouldn’t even need to be that good! Maybe I’m just making excuses but I think that calling this bet in these games will win more often than it loses.

Ok, so that was fine… I mean, not great but it happens right? Ok, so back on the horse I up the stakes from a $5+$1 to a $10+$1 game.

Things didn’t start so good, I lost a big pot when my AK missed the flop and my continuation bet was raised. So, I tighten up a bit and eventually I’m dealt:

*gulp*

I raise it up 3 X BB again and again I get one caller, the flop is:

My opponent checks to me, I bet the pot and he calls. The turn is a king and he checks again, I go all-in (for my last few remaining chips) and he instantly calls showing:

For a full house, I’m out in 9th. Sure, I fell for a trap here but am I really going to check the flop heads up just because it’s paired? Perhaps I should have analysed his call on the flop a little further, but honestly I don’t see myself getting away from this one. If I check the turn and he goes all-in on the river what then? I have to think if I second guess myself too often I’ll lose more times than I win.

So, something for me to analyse in a couple of days time once the adrenalin dies down. The question is, was I just unlucky a couple of times in a row or should I have laid these hands down? In hindsight obviously I should have played them differently, but to actually do that in the heat of battle… well I’ve still got a bit to learn before that happens.

EDIT: At the end of the day I went out of these tournaments with nothing more than a pair. Sure, it’s a nice pair but just a pair nonetheless. Heads up a pair of aces is going to win most of the time, but you’ve got to ask yourself in these kinds of situations is this move worth my tournament if I don’t have the best hand? Honestly, if I asked myself that and I wasn’t already tilting a little bit from the previous beats I probably would have been able to answer “no” and fold (in the first case) or slow down (in the second). This was just a case of two good hands at the wrong time, luckily it’s not going to happen too often and hopefully the next time it does I’ll be in the right frame of mind to make the correct play.

Low stakes limit hold’em game on Party Poker. Loose, generally fishy table. In the big blind I am dealt:

Two players limp, the small blind raises and I call. The first limper calls the second re-raises, small blind re-re-raises and I have a think.

Betting is capped, I’m up against four loose players who even with all this action could have just about anything. I have to put at least one of them on a big pocket pair which could leave me drawing close to dead but given that these players seem pretty comitted to their hands I decide it’s worth at least seeing a flop where I can re-evaluate the hand and throw it away if I don’t hit two-pair or better. So I call, as does everyone else and we see the flop:

Just the kind of flop I was hoping for, but I still have to be wary of the preflop action and look out for JJ, AK or even KJ. Still I like my chances and I can’t be too scared of the bigger hands and even if they are out there I do have outs against all of them. So, the UTG player bets and I raise. The player to my right re-raises, the button caps and I wonder what I’ve gotten myself into. I’m gettng 14.5:1 to call and if I don’t already have the best hand I figure I’m drawing to 4 outs to win (3 queens and 1 king) as well as a jack to tie if no one has JJ. So if I’m behind I’m almost getting odds to call and certainly my implied odds are good enough, add to this the chance that I’m already winning and I have to call. So I do. As does everyone else and we go to the turn:

I blink a couple of times and once again am thankful that I’m playing on-line (I can only imagine I was grinning like a mad man). Great card for me, but surely now these guys are going to slow down… right?

Well, UTG bets, I raise, player to my right re-raises and the button caps. Ok… I can play this game. I call. The river is a ten and we dance the same dance again, four players capping the betting. Once all the money is in I turn over my quad kings and take a look at what everyone else had.

UTG:

– no real business being there after the flop.

Player on my right:

– optimistic, probably hoping for a tie. Why re-raise?

The button:

– unlucky, but should have slowed down on the third king.

This hand now takes the record for largest pot (in terms of big bets) that I’ve won at limit hold’em table – 46 big bets! Sometimes I really love this game