A nice break

I've had a few weeks break from poker, what with the good weather over here at the moment and the need to recharge the batteries after playing every spare moment since January.
I have only been on site to play any required league fixtures. Once again I can inform you that our league team won. Retaining the season 4 crown we won, also the staff match resulted in another Bullies win. The team goes from strength to strength. Unfortunately one of our number has had to resign this season, personal reasons. So into the fold comes a regular spare and all round a very good player, Ramster. Welcome to the fold Den.
I started playing again last weekend and tried my luck in the intercontinental championship. A $25 buy, the most I have bought in I haven't been in any over $10 yet, just 45 players entered and a guaranteed prize pot of $2500 made for good odds. Top 5 payed out $1k 1st prize down to $200 for 5th.
All went quite well for the first few rounds, picking up a few good pots to increase my stack fairly regularly. Watching as people started to drop out. For the first few blind rounds I was in the top 10. My luck took a turn for the worse about lvl 6, 400/800 blinds and 25 anti. Sitting BB the table folded round to the SB, fairly short stacked with a habit of stealing, who goes allin. Reading this as a steal I called with A9 off, SB shows J3 off. I am in a good position especially when the flop was of no use to either of us. Neither did the turn help, but a 3 on river give the SB a quarter of my stack. Getting now descent hands now started to deplete my stack with the increasing blinds and anti. With the occasional steal I managed to make the last table but being severly short stacked, holding only 6k with my nearest rival on 22k, and a few hands of lvl 7 blinds left(500/1000 (50) ) was not confident of making the money. Sitting tight saw 2 players exit fairly quickly add a couple of steals and I have started to increase again. A couple of A high hands hitting anA on the flop also help to increase to about 20k. Although still last in chips I am starting to get closer. This is made all the harder by the chip leader going allin on my BB all the time. As eveyone folds to him he simply goes allin to steal my BB and the SB inbetween us, who is now also getting low in chips. On lvl 8 blinds in BB I finally get a hand to test the chip leader. As always an allin bet, SB folds, this time holding JJ I call. Sure enough a steal. He shows T3 suited, my jacks hold up and I double up. I am now up to 3rd.
The rest finally fall by the wayside and I am in the money. 5th place already payed, there are 4 of us left. Back and forth it goes for a while till the crunch comes.
Chip leader allin AK off, I call KQ suited in BB. Chip leader catches trip A's. I'm out in 4th spot and $300 richer. Nice return considering how I entered the final table.
The very next hand
Chipleader AQ off, BB 88 both allin and the chip leader catches again. 2 gone in 2 hands to the chipleader???????
What odds 2 very descent hands shorthanded, with the same player catching both times to win........

Oh well as I say I'm happy. Could have been happier but hey nice return to the game.

Blogger final

Finally we get to the final of the blogger. All in all it has been a great experiance. I managed to place 14th in the final, unfortunately not high enough for one of the major prizes on offer. Still a goodie bag from poker.com is winging its way to me. I'll look forward to playing online with my poker.com cap etc on.
The top prize a WSOP package was won by a member of our league team, a Blind Bully EgonOlson. I'd like to wish him the best of luck in the live vegas tourny.

While we're on the league subject. The final game of season 5 has now been played and we, The Blind Bullies, have retained the crown we won in season 4. Well done to all involved. i look forward to the season 5 staff game, also the new season. Alas we will lose a player this season for personal reasons. But we have a ready made replacement waiting to kick off with us.

A coupon arrives

The last chance event. This is the last time to be able to aquire a coupon to the blogger grand final.
Problem.......It kicks off at 19:30 lobby, thats is 1:30 in the morning where I am. After all the other events kisked off at 9:30pm here, this was somewhat of a shock..... But!!! there was more to come. Having played in a good few of these, as you may have read, I have seen a lot of places go unclaimed as they were "won" by players who already have coupons. When I querried this at one of the tournies, I was told not to worry as any unwon coupons would simply be added to the last chance game. imagine my surprise when I register to see the description. Top 10 players will be manually awarded coupons? What happened to the other 12 places that were re-won.
So no easy ride then, was hoping to try and get to about 20-21st place then off to bed in the knowledge I would recieve a coupon.
So at 1:30 am we kick off 40 players some with coupons all vieing for their chance of the coupon and a share of the $500 prize pool. Things went along very slowly till the blinds started to take effect. Eventually I managed to win alittle/ hold out alittle till I finally managed to arrive on the last table, short stack or very near. Safe in the knowledge now I am in the final on Saturday. The final table was very tight so I don't know how I managed to scrap my way into 4th spot to top off the night or should I say morning with a $60 prize.

Now for Saturday, 5000 starting chips. Another very long game instore I think. Still at least I know I have some poker.com merchandise but who knows maybe an Ipod, 30"LCD or even A trip to vegas. LOL did I say that out loud. How awesome that would be my first ever live game the WSOP. I told you it started late last night, I'm still dreaming now....
Wish me luck

Last chance saloon

Oh my god......
Looks like I have been banished to the last chance saloon, the last blogger tourny and....... I'm out. Whats worse after just half an hour. Kept on or slightly over the 2k chips. Then had a little run in lost a few hundred chips and got moved. First hand or so on the new table KK. 300 the bet to me so I raise to 600, all fold bar 1 who re-raises allin I call.
They show QQ, flop oh dear me a Q Duh!.. needless to say left me 250 chips lasted 1 rd till the blinds caught me. So I have but one more chance, in next Saturdays last chance tourny. Oh well...

Just a trial

Ok this is just a little trial blog. To see if I get this picture adding right.


These are the finishes I have so far in the smaller tournies.
Sundays $1000 guaranteed.

My 3 wins so far. Unfortunately I don't have a jpeg of the freerolls I have moneyed in which is a shame. 2nd + 7th in the $4k = $610 and 4th + 7th in the $20k = $1600. Plus various other placings from $5 - $200.

All in all not to bad a return. Hopefully I can continue to improve and so get the elusive $20k + $4k ribbons........

Saturday sees the blogger tour move into its last event. The as far unsponsored event 8. Having got a 5th, 6th and 7th I'm begining to wonder if I will ever manage to get that final push into the top 4. Its getting mighty close now, just the last chance tourny to go after this on the following Saturday. So wish me luck I think I'm gonna need it...

Tourny win......

Finally, I've managed another tourny win. I have won a couple of small tourny's $5 buyin quite small so more like SnG's. Sunday I managed to win a larger one entry wise, $300 Guaranteed. Wasn't too bad a weekend as i managed to get on 4 final tables. Along with this Guaranteed there was the Blogger, see previous post, along with a satallite for the $10k on saturday earning me a coupon for entry into it. Unfortunately I didn't get very far. Its a little slow, a little more demanding than the others I've played. Still I played the satalite for it on Sunday to again getting to the final table and gaining another entry coupon. So I'll try again this coming weekend.
I think I might try and find a way of posting the winning pics and keep them update, as a kind of log. Not sure if I can or not so have to be a post that keeps getting bumped......

Whats it take to get a ticket

Yet another blogger tourny, yet another disappointment.
Once again I have not managed a top 4 finish in the blogger tourny. Once again adding insult to injury another ticket will go begging. Or should I make that 2........
I managed a 5th place finish this time my highest to date. 1 place to low, but one of the top 4 finishers has again already got their ticket. So only 3 again this time. Unfortunately there was a 5th on offer as a bounty on the sponsor. But it is she who has made the top 4. It was this that finally curtailed my chances this time around. 6 players left I'm dealt 22 sb, all fold back to me. I raise 2x BB. the sponsor (in BB) goes all in. I call, she shows AQo. we both miss the flop, turns a brick but isn't it always.......the river's a Ace. Never of guessed that.
Oh well 2 more weeks to wait for the next chance.
Wonder if there will actually be 4 tickets won for a change..

Season 4 Champions

We managed to hold on. The Blind Bullies are the new forum league champions for season 4. Although it was a nervous affair, with the first game seeing both bullies going out in last place and 8th, the lead we had amassed over the previous 3 weeks proved to be more than enough. Even with 3 of "the Probables" in the top 3 the 28pt lead proved too much. The winning margin eventually whittled down to 13pts.
Now with a League under our belt we can now focus on the seasonal invitaional against the poker.com staff. More news as it occurs...........

Season 5 gets underway on Saturday with 1 team dropping out (although most have reformed a new team) and 3 new additions. So 7 teams now to play, this gives us a reduced fixture list each so allowing for much needed breathing space between games.

It may prove to be the hardest season yet to win, but now we have proven to be worthy champions I know we can hold on to our crown.

On a side, we ( the Bullies ) managed a clean sweep. Drugsarebad (who unfortunately has to use his time now on more mundaying things has reluctantly had to move to the spares list. This has made room for our newest addition Jupite. Welcome......) won the "easy week" individual title. Cymru won the league individual title. Beating me into second place by 2pts. We also had 2 other players in the top 5. So all round an excellent season for the Bullies. Lets keep our crown and beat the Staff.
Good Luck all.

One more Round to Go

A monster set of games this week end for us in the league.
First up was the MTT, all 6 players did us proud. All lasting out till the last 12. We then managed to hold out for a 4th place and 1st. A very long game that sent us straight into the SnG's for Sat. A 5th n 7th in the first games folded by 3rd n 4th in the last. Saturday saw us increase our lead on the chasing pack by another 8 pts.
4 more games Sun all SnG. The first pair went well gaining a 1st, 2nd and 4th pulled us another 5 pts further in front. Followed up by a 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the last pair has given us a huge lead to take into Weds final Pair of SnG's.
With just 2 games to play and a 28 point lead, we are virtually unbeatable now. Only the intervention of a really cruel dealer can stop us from claiming the League . Fitting as we had "Won" it the last season, only to find that unfortunately a scoring teething error ripped it from our grasp.
Still that gave us an insight to what it will be like on Weds when we are crowned champions.
Allowing us then a chance at playing the poker.com staff in the challenge match.

So far the staff are 2 - 1 up.
The River Demons beat the staff in the season 1 match.
Having retained their title in season 2 the Demons again played the staff but this time lost.
Season 3 saw new champions to attempt the staff, The Probables (should have been us *sob*)
but they to fell to the wrath of the staff going down by just 1 point.
Hopefully in season 4's match we can level the scores. But first we have the formality of winning the league on Weds. Good Luck all Bullies involved on Weds keep it tight we still need to get at least 11 pts to guarantee the title.

A League Win?

I have been a member of the forum league since its inception. Being a Blind Bully throughout. At the start things were a little difficult with team members committing time to what is only a month long "season". Still things seemed to have settled down nicely now. We have a stable team all willing to commit. Thankfully in the main to our captain Housekat, who has struggled through trying to keep the team together, organising spares to fill vacant slots. Also managing to get together a selection of players that now form the team as it is now.
Last season we "won" only to have victory snatched from us on a recount. All above board, a clerical error. Still it hurt. This season, however, we find ourselves on top by a few points running into the last weeks games. Hopefully we can keep hold of it. Hopefully we can push further away from the rest of the teams.
Season 5 looks to be even bigger, with the addition of perhaps 2 more teams?

Where to go now

I think I have a fair understanding of the game now. Problem is I need to find out now about the complicated things that go hand in hand to improve your game.
So far I have done fairly well, mainly in the big freerolls, with little more than basic knowledge along with with what many professionals would frown at- intuition. Now reading what I can online I realise that the game is more about long term strategies than the short term fix. A little like investing in the stock market, yes you can make some good gains short term but invariably you will lose with this attitude. To this end I am know looking into finding some better literature to try and help explain and teach me these more complicated elements.

A big zero

$80,000 up for grabs in three tournaments and I can't get a single $. Not for the want of trying, It would be a little helpful to at least have a few hands to be able to play. All three went the same way, take the $10k as an example. I have just been knocked out 47th I think. After two breaks and 2 1/2 hrs of waiting 120 hands 9 won. Had only a few hands worth noting, AQo layed down to an allin pre flop raise. Good call K flush won. QQ, JJ both won small pots with 1 BB raise after the flop. 99 flopped AA9 but river and turn were 5's luckly no one had an A. Finally the last hand 99 preflop allin only 1700 left, 1caller AQs pair 77's flop turn no help to either then of course the river is an A. Oh what a surprise.
Time to try and learn a little more to help improve my game before I get too disenchanted. All the fuss and build up to the B'day tourny only to be let down by having to just sit and watch your stack dwindle away........
Suppose there's always the 2nd B'day only 364 days to go

Birthday update

Well no cash no cake. 409th, finally succumbed to a pocke pair. Guy goes allin and sitting on AA I have to call he turns TT catch's on the flop and its goodnight to me. Amazing really when I see so many good hands and they are always a mile off the flop. Not just me, reading the posts of the fallen seems there were/are a lot off good hands and they are falling way short.
Still good luck to all that are left, 20k and 10k to aim at tomorrow. Lets hope for better in one or both of them......

A big weekend

Well tonight is the big birthday bash. I'll let you know how well I did or didn't do.
It's going to be a busy weekend for me hopefully playing for a share of $80,000 worth of prizes.
For along with the birthday tourny theres the 20,000 sunday along with the 10,000. The later I am able to play this weekend as work starts late fo me on monday. Hope this coupon will lead to a money finish. Wish me luck

I'm in the Birthday Tourny

I have recieved my coupon for the birthday bash. I wrote a note in the forum thanking poker.com for the changes they have made to the player ledger. As a thank you from poker.com they gave me a coupon.
The ledger before only took into account the poker games that you play, also as some coupons like the showdown poker semi final have a monetry value these would show up as cah winnings. However, when you enter the semi final with the coupon nothing is removed from the ledger as it is a coupon. This was a little bit of a pain when trying to match up with my own ledger I keep upto date at home. I was hoping to be able to use the online ledger to check my figures periodically. All this has now changed and it seems that all things are taken into consideration. Not only that but both ledgers now tally. So once again thankyou poker.com

It was the forth blogger event Saturday and once again I duly entered hoping to gain entry to the final event. But sadly after some wonderful hands to get me to the final table I still haven't managed to get there, finishing 7th this week to go with last times 6th lol. I did notice however, that 3 of the last 7 players had already gained entry so can't collect the coupon should they win it. Taking out the 3 already there would have given me a coupon to the final. As things turned out there were 2 new winners of the coupon and 2 previous winners. I take it then that the 2 unwon coupons now get added to the final tourny. There may well be an awful lot of coupons up for grabs in this last tourny the way things are going.

poker.com have also added sattelites for thier $10k tourny's that are at Euro friendly times. How long these will continue for I am unsure but having entered a couple I have won a coupon to the tourny. Trouble is these start at 23:15gmt so I will have to wait a little till I have a later start time on a Monday to play. This may well be next weekend. If so it be very busy for me.
Saturday has the $50,000 Birthday tourny
Sunday has the $20,000 Freeroll
Sunday has the $10,000 Guaranteed tourny
$80,000 worth of prizes over the weekend will be a blast. Hope that I get have alittle of it :)

Comp points

After a couple of weeks nursing my bank balence I finally managed to release my first $50. This was then added to by finishing 6th in the blogger MTT, after finishing on the bubble in the last one, so another $30. Bubble upto 6th could I gain my place in the final in the next blogger tourny?
This has made my balance a little more healthy and allowed me to start entering the tournys again. Low and behold the first I enter the $1000 guarenteed I got 2nd, $280 coupled with $10 from the $20k freeroll (placed 104th), well I now have a very healthy balance again back up to araound $400.
Now to the point of this blog, I recieved an e-mail this morning from poker.com . It is to inform me of a reload bonus for May. You can recieve 100% bonus upto $200. $5 releases per 600 points valid 7 days from deposit. Well this will prove to be a very busy month for comp points. There is such a lot to get for them at the moment:-

Top 50 in your birthday month $50,000 Birthday Freeroll Entry.

$50 release per 20,000 Bonusbuilder.

$5 release per 600 (up to 7 days from deposit) 100% reload bonus.

Weekly $20,000 Freeroll entry 2000

Weekly 2x $4,000 Freeroll entry 1500

Then on top of all this you can "spend" these points in the shop for goods

So can't stop to long got them points to earn, catch you all later

I have now been a poker player for about 18 weeks, only online. As I play and talk read and listen I find that there is an awful lot more to the game other than just who's lucky enough to win.
I've been trying to fathom out where the "skill" in the game is. I know that "reading" players is part of it, looking for tells of strong / weak or indifferent holdings. As yet I can not work out how to do this. I have a few notes but they tend to be just how much was bet holding what cards. There isn't really anywhere I have found that can help explain. Or failing that somewhere to help you along a step at a time.
The other part to the skill I think, is in how cards are played. I have read on the forums about "bad beats", heard it on the tables as a hand goes down that the player thought should have won. But my thinking is that on a table of ten players each has a hand, there will be 5 cards in the centre for everyone. Elementry I know, now these hands will have an order from best to last that doesn't mean that the AA will always win but it will have its place somewhere. These placings will change as the cards are dealt. With no community cards the AA wins 23 suited or off will come last. All this changes when the FLOP is dealt 23J rainbow moves the 23 to the head of the table and the AA down. Again things change with the TURN and RIVER are dealt. So another key to playing or skill is knowing when you are in front. This is what is meant when the books go on about driving out the weaker hands when you have strong hands. To do this you need to know your opponents. So the two skills go together. Without both you are just playing a game of luck so you can't cry when you lose......
What would be a good idea would be a site, forum, group or such like that had people that could assist you. Perhaps sit in while you play games and help you in learning to read players. Not doing all the work for you but pointing you in the right directions. A teacher of sorts. To help players get into the game, but I suppose this won't happen as they would rather keep fleacing the "fish" when they come along. But wouldn't a better player stay around longer perhaps give the opportunity to win more or improve your game!!!

Oh well never mind no one reads these so it doesn't really matter what I think does it :)

A New Game??

As theres a new promo I've been trying to find a way that will accumulate points at a fast rate yet not break my bankroll, which thanks to trying to many tables at once in NL games has dwindled quite significantly.
Therefore I have looked elsewhere and came across a short handed limit table .25/.5 6players. This has possibilities I thought. Can't lose much here, should move fairly quickly. The speed I got right the games move fast and so points can be gained very quickly. But oh how wrong I was about loses. I was losing more than I won eek. The trouble lies in the make up of the game. Short handed I am playing a tight game to limit loses so I can gain more points. Its just this game thats losing money for it seems that you can play any hand in these games. This is because of the cost I think, so people play just about anything. Then decide to go on or not after the flop. I just cant get the hang of calling everything yet. Its like a completely new game. Still If I can persevere with it I may be able to keep my head above water while gaining quite a few points. Handy as there is a nice tourny to celebrate the sites birthday. Could be a way for me to gain a seat. It should also add a new string to my bow giving me more confidence at the latter stages of tournys where they start going short handed.....

Tilt

Well its only been four days since the introduction of the new promo and the tables are filling up like theres no tomorrow.
I'm just surprised by the hands people will play. I am quite new to the game and still trying to aquire info on best ways to play. I can't anything to help with the kind of plays that I have experienced in the last three days !! What point is there to trying to play the "right type" of game if you are not going to win any. Is there any place that has any info on playing the same way or how to defeat these plays.....
I was on one table low stakes, .10 / .25 NL, I was only there to gain the comp points for the promo. Still you have to win a few to keep from constantly having to add to the table. I played 170 games and managed only 3 wins. 3 I ask you, probable could have won more by playing every hand out, If I had enough money to. I played in those 170 games 3 sets of pocket J's 2 sets Q's 3 sets K's and AK suited twice off once. Of all these only one set of Q's won the rest lost. Is it the way I play? don't know yet. Perhaps i dont play them hard enough, yet If I play harder other players pack. Hard to get the balance right. Lost nearly all my bankroll in the last three days. Managed to pull some back today, got 2nd in a $300 guaranteed. Then theres the $20,000 tonight perhaps..... you never know.
Oh I played in my first blogger tourny Sat night. Could have made a mint at the bookies with my luck of late. Guess where I finished....................yep right on the button 11th place you just gotta laugh.
Stll noticing how the site seems to favour chip leaders, table leaders as you near the button. Could be people get desperate and go more on hands the wouldn't usually? Yet there's some pretty good hands beat by some very iffy calls. I'll keep a check and see how this develops. Perhaps I could form a strategy around it. Later peeps

A new promotion

It seems the staff at poker.com have found a new way to increase thier revenue. A new promotion that lasts for 45 days has been awarded to all I have spoken with. It takes the guise of a coupon that awards players money once a set amount of points are earned, up to a max. The money is released in $50 lots upto a max of $500.
It seems a good way to increase the table play as players already acrue points to take part in thier 3 large "freerolls". This coupon will no doubt have people staying on the tables longer to gain some "free" money. I have found a lot of players play on the tables each week until they have enough for the freerolls then they leave perhaps this is what its aimed at.
I know I shall try and gain a few extra points :)