Paul Newman....RIP

I'm an idiot...

I'll start off with some good news. I played in another one of those PokerStars Canada/USA events...this time the game was Pot Limit Hold'em. I got another cash in that one for 5 bucks plus I finished 12th (out of 1600) so I got a ticket to the next round for next week I believe. I don't know if I'll be able to play it or not. Will have to see what that day brings.

I played a SNG last night and finished on the bubble. Overall, I played okay. I played tight early and went into a "push-or-fold" mode when the blinds got big enough. However, I made a stupid mistake that cost me my chips when I shoved into the two big stacks. I should have just dropped the hand since the short stack was probably going to be gone in a couple of orbits. Pushed with A7 and got called by pocket jacks....I'm an idiot.....

The last couple of LHE cash games have been bad. Can't get cards and when I do get them, I get outdrawn. The best one was last night when I raised with AK and got two callers. The flop came K-K-J. I bet and raised to the river and lost to K9 when a nine came on the river. Gross. Don't blame the guy since the pot was large but still....gross.

Bleh....and yahoo?

So I played another one of those 6 max games and eventually lost my $5 buy in. I originally had it up to $9 but a couple of bad beat hands lost the amount...to the same guy. Got the money all in with a flopped straight and the guy hit runner runner full house. The eventual bust hand was me with a set and the guy hitting his flush on the river. I'm okay with the fact that I had the best of it both times when the money went in....but it still sucks.

I ordered "The Poker Tournament Formula" by Arnold Snyder. I should receive it in the next few days. It tells how to play a tournament based on its structure...something the other tourney books really don't discuss. For a lark, I decided to play a small tourney basing my plays solely on position and not on my cards (unless I got a good hand in EP). So I made raises in the hijack, cutoff, and button seats if there were no raises to me. If someone reraised and I had a junk hand, I'd just fold it.

360 people.....and finished 12th. Granted, it was a 10 cent tournament and cashed for 40 cents. However, it was just an experiment that had a positive result. Don't know how successful it would be long term but it was fun regardless.

Sick run...

After dropping a couple of BB's and busting out of a small tourney, I decided to play on another website that has most of my online bankroll. I usually don't play here as it really only offers NL 6-max nowadays plus tournaments.

I decided, on a whim, to sit in a .05/.10 NL 6 max table with 5 bucks.

When it was said and done, I cashed out for over $20.

Truth be told, I got hit with the deck...AA twice...KK twice....AQ, AJ. I did the "Doyle thing" and played my rush on one hand with 62o and flopped a straight. LOL...crazy stuff.

Given my micro-stakes play, this gives a good boost to my overall results which is cool. May have to try that game again.

Tourney Cash...

Hey all.

Pokerstars has been offering a freeroll tourney series. Each week, you can sign up for a freeroll with the top 50 getting a ticket to the next round and the top 250 getting 5 bucks.

The first one was a limit hold'em event. I did okay in it but made some stupid mistakes. I had to remind myself that it is, in essence, a supersatellite. I missed the next one (7 card stud I believe). But I played in the NL 6 max. I got around 130 out of 1200 or so for a cash prize.

I know....five bucks is not a big deal. However, since my account there is very small, this is a nice little boost. The play in these events is a bit weak. You just need to stay patient and play your hands well and you should be in a position to cash with some luck.

My vacation time is set for next month. I haven't really decided my poker trip yet. I'm leaning towards Brantford right now. Apparently, they now have weekly tournaments on Thursdays so that is a possibility. I'll finalize my plans in more detail over the next few weeks.

Some CNE and other thoughts...

I've been thinking about my play over the last couple of days of my last live experience. I've come to some conclusions.

1. Don't sit down to play if you know you have to be somewhere else in a couple of hours. I think it forced me to play hands that I probably wouldn't have played at that current position at the table. I believe I tried to make money against players that were chasing their draws (even if it was just a backdoor flush draw like one player had).

2. Probably play certain hands more aggressively and make them pay to play. I know of a couple of hands where I should have played faster than I did. It may not have stopped them from chasing but....it may have stopped them.

3. Have fun. I did do that....so no complaints there.

So it seems that Brian Townsend multi-accounted. This wasn't a case of him entering himself into the same tournament with several accounts like a JJProdigy or anything but apparently it did violate the site's terms of use. I think his public humiliation will be punishment enough.

The TV coverage for the WSOP main event started last night. I'll have to watch that today.