I didn't think I could keep a running blog of yesterday's tournament and still concentrate on playing properly, so I am posting this the day after. I did take a few notes while I was playing, which form the basis for this entry, but I have added in some from memory, and from the transcript I requested from PokerStars (what a handy feature).
3:00 PM (all times Central): The tournament starts. I am on table 75, and only four of us are live; the others are sitting out. I have the button for the first hand, and I get A2o. I raise and get one caller. The flop comes Q-5-5. I bet, the caller folds. I've won my first hand; an ominous sign, no doubt.
3:09 PM I haven't had much in the way of starting hands. I just stole the blinds with A9o. Everyone is playing pretty tight, including me. A fifth live player has joined us.
3:33 PM After a few marginal hands that get me nowhere, I finally get a hand worth playing: AKo. I'm UTG, and I bet 100 (twice the BB). I get reraised 200 by one player, and I call. Flop comes 8d 3c Kd. Top pair, top kicker; I bet 250. My opponent folds. The warm and fuzzy feeling this hand gives me unfortunately won't last.
3:49 PM I've been back to getting crappy cards, and the blinds keep going up.
4:00 PM After being blinded down below 1000 in chips, I go all in with KQo. My one caller shows KTo. A ten comes on the flop, and I don't improve. Busted out in 1,081st place.
After the tournament, I observed a couple of tables. I watched Wil Wheaton for a little while, and peeked in on the table where Card Squad blogger Joanne was playing. Eventually I got into a small stakes NLHE ring game and won one whole dollar (which I lost back later in the evening).
I enjoyed playing in the tournament, and I feel like I made the correct decisions most of the time. I probably should have made a play at the pot a couple of times, but a lot of my cards weren't even worth a semi-bluff or blind defense.
I look forward to my next tournament, whenever that turns out to be. Hopefully my luck will be a bit better.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Turning it around
Yesterday was an up and down day for me at the virtual poker tables. After I played in the Katrina Relief tournament a few weeks ago, I have been playing in some small stakes games with the money that was left over in my PokerStars account. I played in a couple of $5+0.50 Sit-N-Go (SNG for short) tournaments - cashed in one, busted early in the other. Mostly I have played in ring games at $0.05-0.10 or $0.02-0.04. Although I have quit while ahead a few times in the ring games, mostly I have lost. I have probably played lots of hands that I shouldn't have, and not paid enough attention to how my opponents have played so I could get reads on them and play accordingly. One thing that has surprised me is how often people have folded in these microstakes games. I expected a lot looser play for such small amounts, but that hasn't seemed to be the case, at least in the games I've been in.
Anyhow, back to what happened yesterday. I played in a 0.02-0.04 game for a while in the afternoon. I jumped ahead early by taking advantage of some good hands and some poor play by a couple of loose opponents. Maybe I got over-confident because by the time I quit, I had lost back my winnings and more. The amount that I lost wasn't enough to buy a Snickers bar, but it was the fact that I didn't play better that disappointed me. After my family and I went out to dinner, I decided to try another SNG to see if I could have more success. Keeping my risk low, I got into a five-table tourney for a $1+0.20 buy-in. I got a few marginal hands at the beginning, but didn't get past the flop much. I did manage to win a few pots here and there but my chip stack wasn't building to speak of. My tight play kept me in the game while some of the more aggressive players started duking it out and eventually busting each other out of the game. I was patient, and let the others make their mistakes. It worked for me, because eventaully I made it to the final table. I was one of the shorter stacks when I got there (as is usual for me), but I still exercised patience because sixth place and up cashed, and I didn't want to bust out on the bubble if someone else decided to take a stand first. That tactic paid off again (literally) as more people went all-in and were eliminated while I waited for the right time to make my moves. The chip lead changed hands more than a few times on that final table, and I got some good hands to double up on several occasions. By the time I got heads up, my opponent "msdoodle" and I were pretty much even in chips. The best hand I got near the end: msdoodle had about a 3 to 1 chip lead on me. I was dealt pocket aces and went all in; msdoodle quickly called with QJo. The board came all rags and my bullets took the pot. The funniest hand was the second to last when msdoodle was down to his/her last 266 chips and went all in with Kc 2s against my Kd Qc. Nothing paired on the flop or turn and it looked like I'd won it, but the board ended up all hearts and we split the pot. On the next and final hand, msdoodle was all-in in the blinds but had K6o vs. my 96o. The board came 3-J-2 rainbow, then A-9, and my pair of nines won the game. I now have $14 more in my account than I did before I started the tournament, and that's a very nice feeling. (OK, $12.80 when you subtract the entry fees.)
I don't know yet why I tend to do better in tournaments than ring games, and I plan to keep working on my skills for the latter, but I'll also keep playing tournaments and trying to improve in those. Gotta go with your strengths, right?
That reminds me, I'm playing in today's PokerStars Inaugural Blogger Tournament. See below for more info. Wish me luck!
Anyhow, back to what happened yesterday. I played in a 0.02-0.04 game for a while in the afternoon. I jumped ahead early by taking advantage of some good hands and some poor play by a couple of loose opponents. Maybe I got over-confident because by the time I quit, I had lost back my winnings and more. The amount that I lost wasn't enough to buy a Snickers bar, but it was the fact that I didn't play better that disappointed me. After my family and I went out to dinner, I decided to try another SNG to see if I could have more success. Keeping my risk low, I got into a five-table tourney for a $1+0.20 buy-in. I got a few marginal hands at the beginning, but didn't get past the flop much. I did manage to win a few pots here and there but my chip stack wasn't building to speak of. My tight play kept me in the game while some of the more aggressive players started duking it out and eventually busting each other out of the game. I was patient, and let the others make their mistakes. It worked for me, because eventaully I made it to the final table. I was one of the shorter stacks when I got there (as is usual for me), but I still exercised patience because sixth place and up cashed, and I didn't want to bust out on the bubble if someone else decided to take a stand first. That tactic paid off again (literally) as more people went all-in and were eliminated while I waited for the right time to make my moves. The chip lead changed hands more than a few times on that final table, and I got some good hands to double up on several occasions. By the time I got heads up, my opponent "msdoodle" and I were pretty much even in chips. The best hand I got near the end: msdoodle had about a 3 to 1 chip lead on me. I was dealt pocket aces and went all in; msdoodle quickly called with QJo. The board came all rags and my bullets took the pot. The funniest hand was the second to last when msdoodle was down to his/her last 266 chips and went all in with Kc 2s against my Kd Qc. Nothing paired on the flop or turn and it looked like I'd won it, but the board ended up all hearts and we split the pot. On the next and final hand, msdoodle was all-in in the blinds but had K6o vs. my 96o. The board came 3-J-2 rainbow, then A-9, and my pair of nines won the game. I now have $14 more in my account than I did before I started the tournament, and that's a very nice feeling. (OK, $12.80 when you subtract the entry fees.)
I don't know yet why I tend to do better in tournaments than ring games, and I plan to keep working on my skills for the latter, but I'll also keep playing tournaments and trying to improve in those. Gotta go with your strengths, right?
That reminds me, I'm playing in today's PokerStars Inaugural Blogger Tournament. See below for more info. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
It's OK, I'm with the band...
....my son's high school marching band, that is. Ben is a freshman, and plays trumpet in the Colleyville-Heritage High School band. He opted for junior varsity at the beginning of the school year, so he doesn't march on the field during football game halftimes or at competitions; but he does play with the band in the stands during the games, and he takes band classes during the school day. He has been playing trumpet since the fifth grade, and has done pretty well at it: he was first chair for most of his middle school years, although he has started back at the bottom now that he is in high school.
The parents of band students are encouraged to volunteer to help the band program, and there are plenty of opportunities. They need chaperones for away games, concession stand workers at the home games, and lots of other assistants. To get more involved in Ben's activities, I decided to volunteer to be a "pit dad" this year. Pit dads help load and unload the large instruments and other band equipment at the football games and band competitions. They are called "pit dads" because a large portion of the equipment to be handled are the "pit" instruments, i.e. the stationary ones that aren't carried around the field during the shows such as the marimbas, xylophones, tympani, and such. Those are (typically) set up at the front of the stands at the stadium, while the field is left open for the marching players. Loading and unloading those things can be a chore, but fortunately we have had a good turnout of dads each week so far and we haven't had any trouble getting them where they need to go. The pit dads in our group are a nice bunch of guys, and I have enjoyed the games and competitions that I have gone to so far this season. I don't actually interact with Ben much while we are at the venues for the performances, but I am glad to be there and help his school's band program. The arts don't get enough support in our school systems, IMO, and I am happy to do any small thing that I can to pitch in. It also gets me in to watch the football games and competitions for free, and that's a nice bonus.
The CHHS band is highly respected in our area. We have done well in two competitions so far this year; two years ago (before Ben was there) the band was selected to march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I am very impressed by the show they have put together this year, which uses music specifically composed for them by a noted school band composer whose name, I believe, is Key Poulan. This year's music is based on Pachelbel's Canon in D, and the composition and arrangement is quite well done, in my opinion, as is the marching routine that the band directors have created to go with it. I always enjoy watching and hearing the show at each performance. Ben has already said that he wants to move up to varsity the first chance he gets, so I expect that he will be out there on the field with the band next year.
I haven't been all that involved in Ben's school activities in the past. I think I've tended to be too busy (or thought I was) with my own personal interests. I am sorry that I didn't do something like this sooner; I'm enjoying it, and I think Ben is glad that I'm participating. I know I am.
The parents of band students are encouraged to volunteer to help the band program, and there are plenty of opportunities. They need chaperones for away games, concession stand workers at the home games, and lots of other assistants. To get more involved in Ben's activities, I decided to volunteer to be a "pit dad" this year. Pit dads help load and unload the large instruments and other band equipment at the football games and band competitions. They are called "pit dads" because a large portion of the equipment to be handled are the "pit" instruments, i.e. the stationary ones that aren't carried around the field during the shows such as the marimbas, xylophones, tympani, and such. Those are (typically) set up at the front of the stands at the stadium, while the field is left open for the marching players. Loading and unloading those things can be a chore, but fortunately we have had a good turnout of dads each week so far and we haven't had any trouble getting them where they need to go. The pit dads in our group are a nice bunch of guys, and I have enjoyed the games and competitions that I have gone to so far this season. I don't actually interact with Ben much while we are at the venues for the performances, but I am glad to be there and help his school's band program. The arts don't get enough support in our school systems, IMO, and I am happy to do any small thing that I can to pitch in. It also gets me in to watch the football games and competitions for free, and that's a nice bonus.
The CHHS band is highly respected in our area. We have done well in two competitions so far this year; two years ago (before Ben was there) the band was selected to march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I am very impressed by the show they have put together this year, which uses music specifically composed for them by a noted school band composer whose name, I believe, is Key Poulan. This year's music is based on Pachelbel's Canon in D, and the composition and arrangement is quite well done, in my opinion, as is the marching routine that the band directors have created to go with it. I always enjoy watching and hearing the show at each performance. Ben has already said that he wants to move up to varsity the first chance he gets, so I expect that he will be out there on the field with the band next year.
I haven't been all that involved in Ben's school activities in the past. I think I've tended to be too busy (or thought I was) with my own personal interests. I am sorry that I didn't do something like this sooner; I'm enjoying it, and I think Ben is glad that I'm participating. I know I am.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Blogger Championship poker tournament registration
I have registered to play in the
Online Poker Blogger Championship!
This event is powered by PokerStars.
Registration code: 5038784
Survival of the tightest
I have been meaning to update my blog for some time now, but of course lots of things get in the way. I don't consider myself a particularly skilled writer; I also don't feel like I have a great facility for putting my thoughts into typed words and sentences. Writing takes effort for me, at least if I want what I write to be worth reading. I know, I know: I won't get better at it or find it less difficult to do if I don't sit down and do it regularly. I don't have my Mom here to nag me to practice, like she might have if I had had piano lessons when I was a kid. I have to motivate myself to get cracking. Or I have to have some outside incentive that gives me a reason to overcome my reluctance. It seems that a motivation like that has come along.
On October 23, PokerStars will be hosting a special tournament for bloggers. You don't have to write a poker blog; you just have to have a "regularly updated blog" that is at least two months old. The good news is, I started my blog in February of this year. The not-so-good news is, I've only posted here seven times since then, which is barely an average of once a month. Does that qualify as "regularly updated" in the eyes of the PokerStars staff? I guess I will find out when I try to register for the tournament. If you have a blog (or don't) and are interested in more info about the tournament, you can find it here:
http://www.pokerstars.com/blog_tournament/index.html
I'm looking forward to playing in the tournament, if they let me.
While I'm here, I might as well talk about my poker adventures of recent times. I have been playing on line pretty often, and I play every Tuesday in a live (and free) Amateur Poker League tournament at Willhoites's, a local bar/restaurant. I tend to do better in tournaments than in "ring games," i.e. games that are continuous and have players that come and go at any time. In a cash tournament, all the players pay an entry fee which gets them a set number of chips and a seat at a tournament table with other players. The entry fees make up the prize pool, less some amount that is kept by the host of the tournament to cover their costs and make them a profit. Once the tournament starts, play continues (with occasional breaks) until one player remains with all of the chips. As the tournament goes on, the blinds (forced bets that rotate around the table) go up in amount, to keep the tournament from lasting forever and to make the action more exciting. This is a simplified explanation but I hope you get the idea.
At the APL tourneys, there are no entry fees and no cash prizes. However, the players who finish 16th or higher earn "points" that determine their rank in relation to each other over the course of a season. I have finished "in the points" most of the weeks that I have played over the past few months. My highest finish so far has been second, once. I am not among the top points leaders in my region, but I generally get an invitation to the monthly championship tourney at Willhoite's. The APL events are fun and give me a chance to practice the principles that I have learned from the various books that I have been reading on how to play the game, without putting up any money. There is a group of regular players at Willhoite's each week, and they are overall a friendly bunch that I enjoy playing with.
But, my biggest tournament yet was one I played in on line on September 14 at PokerStars. It was a fund-raiser for Hurricane Katrina relief, with virtually all of the entry fees donated to the American Red Cross and matched, dollar for dollar, by PokerStars. There were a total of four tournaments hosted by PokerStars that week, and in total they raised over $100,000 for the Red Cross.
I originally entered two of those tournaments, one with a $5 fee and one with a $20 fee. The $50 and $100 events were a bit too expensive for my blood. I couldn't play in the $5 tournament on Sept. 12 because my Internet connection was down that night. At least my $5 still went to the charity. By Wednesday our connection was back up and I was able to play. As it turned out, there were a lot of people who didn't show up for the tournament that night, although I doubt that they all had technical problems like mine. Many undoubtedly just wanted to donate and didn't plan to play anyway; that made for a lot of players who were "sitting out" at the tables. It took some time to win the chips from those absent players, but eventually there were just live people left in the game. I played conservatively, got some good cards and made some fairly decent moves early on, and built my chip stack enough to get me through the dry spells when the crappy cards fell my way. After nearly four hours of playing my way through countless hands and moving between tables, I had the honor of making it to the final table of the tournament. When I got there, I had the fewest chips of anyone at the table, but I didn't mind. I was just thrilled to have lasted that far into the tourney. Shortly after I got to the final table, I busted out, finishing ninth in the tournament. I felt really pleased with how I played that night, and with my finishing place. After all, ninth out of 738 entrants is a pretty high percentile. It's my proudest moment so far in my very short poker "career."
All of the players who made it to a final table in these tournaments are to get prizes donated by various celebrities associated with PokerStars. I believe that I will be getting an autographed copy of a book by Wil Wheaton, who hosted the tournaments; if there are other prizes forthcoming, I don't know what they might be. But my experience with this tournament has been all positive, with the most important part of that being the fact that the Red Cross has benefited greatly by the generosity of PokerStars and its players.
I'm also unashamedly pleased that Wil reported the results of the tournament that I played in on his blog, and he mentions me (by my PokerStars screen name, yestbay1) in the entry. You can read that entry here:
http://www.wilwheaton.net/mt/archives/2005/09/
You will need to scroll down to the September 15 entry. Go ahead and read the rest of his September archives while you are there. Wil's blog is always a good read, IMO. (His archives look rather funky at the moment because he is doing a redesign on his site.)
I hope I get to play in the Bloggers Tournament on the 23rd. I don't have high expectations of making the final table again, but it happened once; who knows, with good play and some luck I might get there again. And this time the prizes are more substantial, such as a trip to (and buy-in for) the 2006 PokerStars Carribean Adventure, flat-panel TVs, X-box game systems, and more. I'll just be glad to play and have fun. Bonus: there is no entry fee! Like I always say, free is good.
Wish me luck!
On October 23, PokerStars will be hosting a special tournament for bloggers. You don't have to write a poker blog; you just have to have a "regularly updated blog" that is at least two months old. The good news is, I started my blog in February of this year. The not-so-good news is, I've only posted here seven times since then, which is barely an average of once a month. Does that qualify as "regularly updated" in the eyes of the PokerStars staff? I guess I will find out when I try to register for the tournament. If you have a blog (or don't) and are interested in more info about the tournament, you can find it here:
http://www.pokerstars.com/blog_tournament/index.html
I'm looking forward to playing in the tournament, if they let me.
While I'm here, I might as well talk about my poker adventures of recent times. I have been playing on line pretty often, and I play every Tuesday in a live (and free) Amateur Poker League tournament at Willhoites's, a local bar/restaurant. I tend to do better in tournaments than in "ring games," i.e. games that are continuous and have players that come and go at any time. In a cash tournament, all the players pay an entry fee which gets them a set number of chips and a seat at a tournament table with other players. The entry fees make up the prize pool, less some amount that is kept by the host of the tournament to cover their costs and make them a profit. Once the tournament starts, play continues (with occasional breaks) until one player remains with all of the chips. As the tournament goes on, the blinds (forced bets that rotate around the table) go up in amount, to keep the tournament from lasting forever and to make the action more exciting. This is a simplified explanation but I hope you get the idea.
At the APL tourneys, there are no entry fees and no cash prizes. However, the players who finish 16th or higher earn "points" that determine their rank in relation to each other over the course of a season. I have finished "in the points" most of the weeks that I have played over the past few months. My highest finish so far has been second, once. I am not among the top points leaders in my region, but I generally get an invitation to the monthly championship tourney at Willhoite's. The APL events are fun and give me a chance to practice the principles that I have learned from the various books that I have been reading on how to play the game, without putting up any money. There is a group of regular players at Willhoite's each week, and they are overall a friendly bunch that I enjoy playing with.
But, my biggest tournament yet was one I played in on line on September 14 at PokerStars. It was a fund-raiser for Hurricane Katrina relief, with virtually all of the entry fees donated to the American Red Cross and matched, dollar for dollar, by PokerStars. There were a total of four tournaments hosted by PokerStars that week, and in total they raised over $100,000 for the Red Cross.
I originally entered two of those tournaments, one with a $5 fee and one with a $20 fee. The $50 and $100 events were a bit too expensive for my blood. I couldn't play in the $5 tournament on Sept. 12 because my Internet connection was down that night. At least my $5 still went to the charity. By Wednesday our connection was back up and I was able to play. As it turned out, there were a lot of people who didn't show up for the tournament that night, although I doubt that they all had technical problems like mine. Many undoubtedly just wanted to donate and didn't plan to play anyway; that made for a lot of players who were "sitting out" at the tables. It took some time to win the chips from those absent players, but eventually there were just live people left in the game. I played conservatively, got some good cards and made some fairly decent moves early on, and built my chip stack enough to get me through the dry spells when the crappy cards fell my way. After nearly four hours of playing my way through countless hands and moving between tables, I had the honor of making it to the final table of the tournament. When I got there, I had the fewest chips of anyone at the table, but I didn't mind. I was just thrilled to have lasted that far into the tourney. Shortly after I got to the final table, I busted out, finishing ninth in the tournament. I felt really pleased with how I played that night, and with my finishing place. After all, ninth out of 738 entrants is a pretty high percentile. It's my proudest moment so far in my very short poker "career."
All of the players who made it to a final table in these tournaments are to get prizes donated by various celebrities associated with PokerStars. I believe that I will be getting an autographed copy of a book by Wil Wheaton, who hosted the tournaments; if there are other prizes forthcoming, I don't know what they might be. But my experience with this tournament has been all positive, with the most important part of that being the fact that the Red Cross has benefited greatly by the generosity of PokerStars and its players.
I'm also unashamedly pleased that Wil reported the results of the tournament that I played in on his blog, and he mentions me (by my PokerStars screen name, yestbay1) in the entry. You can read that entry here:
http://www.wilwheaton.net/mt/archives/2005/09/
You will need to scroll down to the September 15 entry. Go ahead and read the rest of his September archives while you are there. Wil's blog is always a good read, IMO. (His archives look rather funky at the moment because he is doing a redesign on his site.)
I hope I get to play in the Bloggers Tournament on the 23rd. I don't have high expectations of making the final table again, but it happened once; who knows, with good play and some luck I might get there again. And this time the prizes are more substantial, such as a trip to (and buy-in for) the 2006 PokerStars Carribean Adventure, flat-panel TVs, X-box game systems, and more. I'll just be glad to play and have fun. Bonus: there is no entry fee! Like I always say, free is good.
Wish me luck!
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