I've been on a five-week badugi exclusion diet but I fell off the wagon just in time to play the MiniFTOPS $22 buy-in on Full Tilt which had a convenient start time of 9am (presumably they've moved the tourneys forward to an un-American time slot). Black Friday meant there were only 400-odd players instead of the hordes who entered last time; the standard of play on my table was surprisingly good. I couldn't make any headway, my 4000 starting stack never reached 6000, and after bricking the best draw twice in quick succession I was out. I only lasted an hour and a half.
My early exit is no bad thing. The sun is trying to break through the clouds and I've got a bunch of stuff to get from the market.
Showing posts with label MiniFTOPS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MiniFTOPS. Show all posts
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
MiniFTOPS XIX badugi - $22 buy-in
It's just started, and I've already won a hand (yay!). I'm tired and stressed from having to make one of the hardest decisions I've ever made in my life, so I probably shouldn't be playing at all. But compared to life decisions, choosing whether to raise, call or fold is a breeze. I'll give regular updates on my progress (or otherwise).
Update 1: I'm on 5255 at the first break (we started on 4000). Lost a biggish pot just before the break where I drew two to 3-2 in the BB, made 9732 badugi on the first draw, but ran into a pat 854A. The pot was a lot bigger than it should have been due to a third player (monkey) in the hand.
Update 2: Good hour there, or really just the last half-hour. Up from just below my starting stack to 9410 currently (the highest I've been). Play is frustratingly slow though. We're about to go to 340/680; levels are 15 minutes after that.
Update 3: And I'm out! I didn't win another hand. Down to 5000-odd I had no choice but to commit with a pat 10-9. I was outdrawn and that left me crippled. I finished 476th out of 1373, winning seven of the 108 hands I played. In some ways I'm glad I didn't go deep. I have to make a couple of job-related phone calls tonight which will be hard enough without the added pressure of playing for serious loot.
Update 1: I'm on 5255 at the first break (we started on 4000). Lost a biggish pot just before the break where I drew two to 3-2 in the BB, made 9732 badugi on the first draw, but ran into a pat 854A. The pot was a lot bigger than it should have been due to a third player (monkey) in the hand.
Update 2: Good hour there, or really just the last half-hour. Up from just below my starting stack to 9410 currently (the highest I've been). Play is frustratingly slow though. We're about to go to 340/680; levels are 15 minutes after that.
Update 3: And I'm out! I didn't win another hand. Down to 5000-odd I had no choice but to commit with a pat 10-9. I was outdrawn and that left me crippled. I finished 476th out of 1373, winning seven of the 108 hands I played. In some ways I'm glad I didn't go deep. I have to make a couple of job-related phone calls tonight which will be hard enough without the added pressure of playing for serious loot.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Dining at the champion's table
It's been a choppy start to March. Until last weekend I'd never won or lost $100 in a cash-game session before (admittedly I play short sessions, and I'd had three results in the nineties). Then I had two 3-figure sessions in a matter of hours. First I dropped $113 in 65 hands of $3/$6 badugi (although I have the bankroll for those stakes I'm perhaps just outside my comfort zone), but I bounced back by making $137 in just 48 hands of $2/$4, greatly helped by some ultra-bizarro play in this hand. People do funny stuff when they have 32A don't they? I'm happy I never took my foot off the gas:
PokerStars Game #58660162672: Badugi Limit ($2/$4 USD) - 2011/03/04 17:09:38 ET
Table 'Castafiore XII' 8-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: lucaslogan ($71.50 in chips)
Seat 2: cafarte ($85 in chips)
Seat 3: MrSleet ($31.50 in chips)
Seat 4: xpokerplaya7 ($184.50 in chips)
Seat 5: hoppa731 ($133.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Whoop'n Ass ($58.50 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($93 in chips)
Seat 8: Grekk ($109 in chips)
Grekk: posts small blind $1
lucaslogan: posts big blind $2
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6h 2h 2c 4d]
cafarte: raises $2 to $4
MrSleet: folds
xpokerplaya7: folds
hoppa731: folds
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
plutoman20: calls $4
Grekk: raises $2 to $6
lucaslogan: folds
cafarte: calls $2
Whoop'n Ass: calls $2
plutoman20: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
Grekk: discards 2 cards
cafarte: discards 1 card
Whoop'n Ass: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [2h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6h 2c 4d] [5s]
Grekk: bets $2
cafarte: calls $2
Whoop'n Ass: raises $2 to $4
plutoman20: raises $2 to $6
Grekk: raises $2 to $8
Betting is capped
cafarte: calls $6
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Grekk: discards 1 card
cafarte: discards 1 card
Whoop'n Ass: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [6h 2c 4d 5s]
Grekk: bets $4
cafarte: folds
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
plutoman20: raises $4 to $8
Grekk: raises $4 to $12
Whoop'n Ass: calls $8
plutoman20: raises $4 to $16
Betting is capped
Grekk: calls $4
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
*** THIRD DRAW ***
Grekk: discards 1 card
Whoop'n Ass: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [6h 2c 4d 5s]
Grekk: checks
Whoop'n Ass: checks
plutoman20: bets $4
Grekk: calls $4
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [6h 5s 2c 4d] (Badugi: 6,5,4,2)
Grekk: mucks hand
Whoop'n Ass: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $115 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $118 Rake $3
Seat 1: lucaslogan (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: cafarte folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 3: MrSleet folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: xpokerplaya7 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: hoppa731 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Whoop'n Ass mucked [Td 7h 3c 9s]
Seat 7: plutoman20 (button) showed [6h 5s 2c 4d] and won ($115) with a Badugi: 6,5,4,2
Seat 8: Grekk (small blind) mucked [2s Qd 3d Ah]
There's one other badugi hand of note, from a different session, which I'd prefer to forget: I folded 843A in a big pot when it turned out my two opponents were going crazy with 10-5 and 10-3. I was trying to plug what I think thought was a leak of mine - hanging on too long with eights and nines - but 843A is hardly any old eight. If I start folding that kind of hand I'm plugging one leak but creating a much bigger one.
I had a dream run at triple draw last night, a game I love to hate. There was a monkey at my table. For once I ran well enough to capitalise (in fact I ran very well) and the monkey kept reloading. Later a very tight passive player joined which made things even better for me. I stayed up late to make the most of the situation. I won $74 in 193 hands of 50c/$1, wiping out all my previous losses in the game.
I'm hardly star-struck by big-name poker players, but I admit to certain feelings of awe today when Jonathan Duhamel, winner of last year's WSOP, joined a $1/$2 badugi table. What Mr Nine Million was doing playing badugi at those stakes I had no idea, but it was indeed him. I only got involved in one hand with him, when he patted from the get-go and I triple-bricked my 642. We were heads-up by the end and I wanted to call him ("I caught a world champion's bluff!") but figured he really didn't need my $2. That must be the first time I've played a world champion at anything - it happened in a most unexpected way today.
Update:
I just had two goes at satelliting (which I don't think is a real word) into tomorrow's MiniFTOPS triple draw. The satellite fields were small (20 or 30) and only the winner gained a place, with the next three places getting small cash payouts, so to qualify you had to negotiate the short-handed stuff that I have very little clue about. I came ninth on my first attempt. The second time I ran pretty hot. We got down to three, i.e. clueless territory, but I still thought I was the best player. I had one of my opponents all in and was about to go heads-up with a chip lead, but he outdrew my number seven on the river. A little while later he rivered number four to beat my number five, and I didn't last much longer. Unsurprisingly he got the ticket.
PokerStars Game #58660162672: Badugi Limit ($2/$4 USD) - 2011/03/04 17:09:38 ET
Table 'Castafiore XII' 8-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: lucaslogan ($71.50 in chips)
Seat 2: cafarte ($85 in chips)
Seat 3: MrSleet ($31.50 in chips)
Seat 4: xpokerplaya7 ($184.50 in chips)
Seat 5: hoppa731 ($133.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Whoop'n Ass ($58.50 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($93 in chips)
Seat 8: Grekk ($109 in chips)
Grekk: posts small blind $1
lucaslogan: posts big blind $2
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6h 2h 2c 4d]
cafarte: raises $2 to $4
MrSleet: folds
xpokerplaya7: folds
hoppa731: folds
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
plutoman20: calls $4
Grekk: raises $2 to $6
lucaslogan: folds
cafarte: calls $2
Whoop'n Ass: calls $2
plutoman20: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
Grekk: discards 2 cards
cafarte: discards 1 card
Whoop'n Ass: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [2h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6h 2c 4d] [5s]
Grekk: bets $2
cafarte: calls $2
Whoop'n Ass: raises $2 to $4
plutoman20: raises $2 to $6
Grekk: raises $2 to $8
Betting is capped
cafarte: calls $6
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Grekk: discards 1 card
cafarte: discards 1 card
Whoop'n Ass: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [6h 2c 4d 5s]
Grekk: bets $4
cafarte: folds
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
plutoman20: raises $4 to $8
Grekk: raises $4 to $12
Whoop'n Ass: calls $8
plutoman20: raises $4 to $16
Betting is capped
Grekk: calls $4
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
*** THIRD DRAW ***
Grekk: discards 1 card
Whoop'n Ass: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [6h 2c 4d 5s]
Grekk: checks
Whoop'n Ass: checks
plutoman20: bets $4
Grekk: calls $4
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [6h 5s 2c 4d] (Badugi: 6,5,4,2)
Grekk: mucks hand
Whoop'n Ass: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $115 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $118 Rake $3
Seat 1: lucaslogan (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: cafarte folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 3: MrSleet folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: xpokerplaya7 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: hoppa731 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Whoop'n Ass mucked [Td 7h 3c 9s]
Seat 7: plutoman20 (button) showed [6h 5s 2c 4d] and won ($115) with a Badugi: 6,5,4,2
Seat 8: Grekk (small blind) mucked [2s Qd 3d Ah]
There's one other badugi hand of note, from a different session, which I'd prefer to forget: I folded 843A in a big pot when it turned out my two opponents were going crazy with 10-5 and 10-3. I was trying to plug what I think thought was a leak of mine - hanging on too long with eights and nines - but 843A is hardly any old eight. If I start folding that kind of hand I'm plugging one leak but creating a much bigger one.
I had a dream run at triple draw last night, a game I love to hate. There was a monkey at my table. For once I ran well enough to capitalise (in fact I ran very well) and the monkey kept reloading. Later a very tight passive player joined which made things even better for me. I stayed up late to make the most of the situation. I won $74 in 193 hands of 50c/$1, wiping out all my previous losses in the game.
I'm hardly star-struck by big-name poker players, but I admit to certain feelings of awe today when Jonathan Duhamel, winner of last year's WSOP, joined a $1/$2 badugi table. What Mr Nine Million was doing playing badugi at those stakes I had no idea, but it was indeed him. I only got involved in one hand with him, when he patted from the get-go and I triple-bricked my 642. We were heads-up by the end and I wanted to call him ("I caught a world champion's bluff!") but figured he really didn't need my $2. That must be the first time I've played a world champion at anything - it happened in a most unexpected way today.
Update:
I just had two goes at satelliting (which I don't think is a real word) into tomorrow's MiniFTOPS triple draw. The satellite fields were small (20 or 30) and only the winner gained a place, with the next three places getting small cash payouts, so to qualify you had to negotiate the short-handed stuff that I have very little clue about. I came ninth on my first attempt. The second time I ran pretty hot. We got down to three, i.e. clueless territory, but I still thought I was the best player. I had one of my opponents all in and was about to go heads-up with a chip lead, but he outdrew my number seven on the river. A little while later he rivered number four to beat my number five, and I didn't last much longer. Unsurprisingly he got the ticket.
Friday, December 17, 2010
KCL: Keep Chugging a-Long
Update one from the $55 MiniFTOPS single draw: down to 3227 (80% of my starting stack). A pretty barren first hour of play. I haven't been involved in many big pots, an exception being the last hand before the break when I was dealt 98432, action was three-way, and I ended up folding to a pot-sized bet post-draw. So far I've only showed down one winning hand.
Update two: and it's all over. Out in 359th. Played fine (in my opinion), but couldn't catch a goddamn thing. Survived my first all-in when I was down to 1000 - folded around to the small blind, he limped, I shoved my JT985, he called and drew two and my hand held up. The second time I had 1400-odd, blinds were 80-160, EP player raised to 800 (he always raised to 5 BB), I pushed all in with a J98 and the player to my left (who had 4000-odd) pushed too. I was pretty sure I was dead but drew to my 9-8 anyway; I hit a queen but it didn't matter - he had a pat 9-7. Maybe I could have waited but when you're down to eight or nine big blinds you can't mess around.
The best hand I made was 87652 early on; I had plenty of monster draws that could have doubled me up if I'd hit them, but I never did. There were so many calling stations that bluffing when I paired up was almost an impossible task.
A tournament with a buy-in of that size could have done with being a little deeper. I think 5000 chips to start would have been perfect, with 15-minute levels, maybe 20. It appears the FTOPS (and its mini counterpart) are quarterly events, so if I haven't got one of them job thingies by March, I may well be back.
Update two: and it's all over. Out in 359th. Played fine (in my opinion), but couldn't catch a goddamn thing. Survived my first all-in when I was down to 1000 - folded around to the small blind, he limped, I shoved my JT985, he called and drew two and my hand held up. The second time I had 1400-odd, blinds were 80-160, EP player raised to 800 (he always raised to 5 BB), I pushed all in with a J98 and the player to my left (who had 4000-odd) pushed too. I was pretty sure I was dead but drew to my 9-8 anyway; I hit a queen but it didn't matter - he had a pat 9-7. Maybe I could have waited but when you're down to eight or nine big blinds you can't mess around.
The best hand I made was 87652 early on; I had plenty of monster draws that could have doubled me up if I'd hit them, but I never did. There were so many calling stations that bluffing when I paired up was almost an impossible task.
A tournament with a buy-in of that size could have done with being a little deeper. I think 5000 chips to start would have been perfect, with 15-minute levels, maybe 20. It appears the FTOPS (and its mini counterpart) are quarterly events, so if I haven't got one of them job thingies by March, I may well be back.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Maxi mini
On Tuesday I had a third crack at trying to get into that $55 buy-in single draw. I ran pretty well and had a biggish stack when we got to the final table, with the top two gaining entry. Down to three, then of course the phone rang. It was Mum. It isn't easy having to talk about jobs and flats when you're on the bubble of a tournament. By my reckoning the three of us went a whopping 177 hands before I was the unlucky one to bust out when I missed a nine draw. It was a shame to miss out but playing short-handed was good experience for me, and I still made $20 on that tournament. Thinking I might not get another chance, yesterday I saw a $5.50 satellite with ten guaranteed seats so I signed up, expecting a pretty low overall level of play and I wasn't disappointed. However I started badly and was down to half my starting stack when I hit 85432 and 86432 on consecutive hands and shoved both times. My number five didn't get a call but my number six did, from someone who had stood pat with 87654! I pushed on from there but got very short around the two-hour point and ended up shoving with 8754 - a yucky draw. My all-in got a call. I hit a lovely three while my opponent drew a king to go with his 8642, so despite being a 60:40 underdog I survived. After one or two hiccups I made the final ten for a place in today's event, which kicks off at 3pm.
The tournament is part of the MiniFTOPS, where FTOPS stands for Full Tilt Online Poker Series. As for the mini part, well it's hardly mini for me; in fact it's the biggest buy-in I've ever played. I'm effectively in for free, not that that should influence my play at all. I remember once having a discussion with Uncle Dan (who passed away in July) about some shares he had bought. They had doubled in value so he sold half of them, meaning he didn't need to worry about his remaining stock because he was "in for free". I disagreed with his line of thinking, though really, who was I to disagree? His investment strategy had made him serious money over the years.
I imagine I'll be posting a few hands from the tournament, or maybe just one if I bust out with my pat eight on the first hand. We'll be deep-stacked (4000 chips to start) but with normal-length 12-minute levels.
For a change here's a triple draw hand from last night. I can't remember the last time I had a winning session in that game, which is why I don't play it much.
Full Tilt Poker Game #26441052356: Table King Henry (6 max) - $0.25/$0.50 - Limit 2-7 Triple Draw - 03:37:02 ET - 2010/12/16
Seat 1: Lady Gakgak ($18.50), is sitting out
Seat 2: kejer04 ($4.70)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($13.55)
Seat 4: blackrabbit11 ($8.70)
Seat 5: LemenyiT ($9.50), is sitting out
Seat 6: Grand Master001 ($21.90)
plutoman20 posts the small blind of $0.10
blackrabbit11 posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c Kh Td 8c 3s]
Grand Master001 has 15 seconds left to act
Grand Master001 folds
kejer04 folds
plutoman20 raises to $0.50
blackrabbit11 raises to $0.75
plutoman20 calls $0.25
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $1.50)
plutoman20 discards 2 cards [Kh Td]
blackrabbit11 discards 2 cards
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 8c 3s] [4d 3d]
blackrabbit11 is dealt 2 cards
plutoman20 checks
blackrabbit11 bets $0.25
plutoman20 calls $0.25
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $2)
plutoman20 discards 1 card [3d]
blackrabbit11 stands pat
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 8c 3s 4d] [2s]
plutoman20 checks
blackrabbit11 bets $0.50
plutoman20 raises to $1
LemenyiT stands up
blackrabbit11 calls $0.50
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $4)
plutoman20 stands pat on [5c 8c 3s 4d 2s]
blackrabbit11 stands pat
plutoman20 bets $0.50
blackrabbit11 calls $0.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20 shows [8c 5c 4d 3s 2s] 8,5,4,3,2
blackrabbit11 shows [7d 6h 4s 3h 2c] 7,6,4,3,2
blackrabbit11 wins the pot ($4.75) with 7,6,4,3,2
plutoman20: lol
plutoman20: that's quite a good hand
blackrabbit11: i know
plutoman20: did u think i had the nuts?
blackrabbit11: that or split
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5 Rake $0.25
Seat 1: Lady Gakgak is sitting out
Seat 2: kejer04 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [8c 5c 4d 3s 2s] and lost with 8,5,4,3,2
Seat 4: blackrabbit11 (big blind) showed [7d 6h 4s 3h 2c] and won ($4.75) with 7,6,4,3,2
Seat 5: LemenyiT is sitting outSeat 6: Grand Master001 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
The tournament is part of the MiniFTOPS, where FTOPS stands for Full Tilt Online Poker Series. As for the mini part, well it's hardly mini for me; in fact it's the biggest buy-in I've ever played. I'm effectively in for free, not that that should influence my play at all. I remember once having a discussion with Uncle Dan (who passed away in July) about some shares he had bought. They had doubled in value so he sold half of them, meaning he didn't need to worry about his remaining stock because he was "in for free". I disagreed with his line of thinking, though really, who was I to disagree? His investment strategy had made him serious money over the years.
I imagine I'll be posting a few hands from the tournament, or maybe just one if I bust out with my pat eight on the first hand. We'll be deep-stacked (4000 chips to start) but with normal-length 12-minute levels.
For a change here's a triple draw hand from last night. I can't remember the last time I had a winning session in that game, which is why I don't play it much.
Full Tilt Poker Game #26441052356: Table King Henry (6 max) - $0.25/$0.50 - Limit 2-7 Triple Draw - 03:37:02 ET - 2010/12/16
Seat 1: Lady Gakgak ($18.50), is sitting out
Seat 2: kejer04 ($4.70)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($13.55)
Seat 4: blackrabbit11 ($8.70)
Seat 5: LemenyiT ($9.50), is sitting out
Seat 6: Grand Master001 ($21.90)
plutoman20 posts the small blind of $0.10
blackrabbit11 posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c Kh Td 8c 3s]
Grand Master001 has 15 seconds left to act
Grand Master001 folds
kejer04 folds
plutoman20 raises to $0.50
blackrabbit11 raises to $0.75
plutoman20 calls $0.25
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $1.50)
plutoman20 discards 2 cards [Kh Td]
blackrabbit11 discards 2 cards
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 8c 3s] [4d 3d]
blackrabbit11 is dealt 2 cards
plutoman20 checks
blackrabbit11 bets $0.25
plutoman20 calls $0.25
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $2)
plutoman20 discards 1 card [3d]
blackrabbit11 stands pat
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 8c 3s 4d] [2s]
plutoman20 checks
blackrabbit11 bets $0.50
plutoman20 raises to $1
LemenyiT stands up
blackrabbit11 calls $0.50
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $4)
plutoman20 stands pat on [5c 8c 3s 4d 2s]
blackrabbit11 stands pat
plutoman20 bets $0.50
blackrabbit11 calls $0.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20 shows [8c 5c 4d 3s 2s] 8,5,4,3,2
blackrabbit11 shows [7d 6h 4s 3h 2c] 7,6,4,3,2
blackrabbit11 wins the pot ($4.75) with 7,6,4,3,2
plutoman20: lol
plutoman20: that's quite a good hand
blackrabbit11: i know
plutoman20: did u think i had the nuts?
blackrabbit11: that or split
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5 Rake $0.25
Seat 1: Lady Gakgak is sitting out
Seat 2: kejer04 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [8c 5c 4d 3s 2s] and lost with 8,5,4,3,2
Seat 4: blackrabbit11 (big blind) showed [7d 6h 4s 3h 2c] and won ($4.75) with 7,6,4,3,2
Seat 5: LemenyiT is sitting outSeat 6: Grand Master001 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
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