Last night I played in a $30 buy-in Head's Up tournament and took it down for $210. Well, technically I chopped the final match because Doug had to go "dancing" and we would have had a re-match. We're still not quite sure what he meant be that, but I hope he had fun.
It was a $30 buy-in with 16 people. The format was really fun, where 4 people were seperated into 4 pools and you played everyone in your pool first. The top 2 from each pool advanced into a single elimination 8 man bracket.
What were the keys to my success? I think it stemmed from three things:
1. Strategy - I took a little time a couple days before to understand the blind structure and figure out an optimal strategy for changing gears in relation to the blinds. This was pretty big, as I think most people didn't recognize the need for a strategic shift and played too tight when the blinds started rising.
2. Confidence - I came in focused and poised, knowing that I was probably the best head's up player there. I kept that focus with each match and the concept of losing never entered my mind.
3. Praying on Weakness - While I allowed the other person to take down a few pots (when I either felt like they had a strong hand or just wanted to keep my image relatively solid), I picked up all the pots they didn't want. I think I only checked it down a couple times. I also picked really good spots for long-ball bluffs in the first two blinds levels when I had the stack to do it. This may have been check-raising on a draw or representing a hand all the way through.
Here are a couple of examples:
1. Blinds at 100/200. SB raises to 400 and I call in the BB with T9. Flop is 683, I check/call a small bet. Was I chasing a gut shot? Kinda...but it was just one of my outs. My plan was to see how he played the turn and react accordingly. I felt like he would fold to a bet on the turn if he was just continuation betting, depending on the card. The turn was a 6, so this was a great card for me to represent trips. I bet and he called. Okay, now I know he has something. Probably an overpair. River is an 8. A timid player, who is only playing his cards would most likely check here and give up. I decided that if I was going to represent either the 6 or the 8, then I needed to keep going. If anything, I would get called and be pegged as a bluffer and I could use that in later hands.
So I bet. But one thing I've improved on recently is betting enough to make them fold, while still representing my hand. I can't remember how much I bet, but I got him to lay down KK face up.
2. In my semi-finals match, a good player (but one that I know can make a laydown and knows that I play solid), raised pre-flop and I called with 89. The flop was 6Q7 and I checked, with the intention of check-raising if something about his bet seemed weak. He bet about 2/3 of the pot, which was a little more than his normal continuation bets, but I felt that with my image, a check-raise would represent a very strong hand. I could either get a laydown here or earn a free card on the turn. Again, I can't remember the size of the pot at the time, but I raised him about 3.5 - 4x his original bet. He took a while before folding and it was more than acting, so again I got someone to lay down the best hand.
Of course, I didn't bluff the entire time. I felt like I extracted the most of out my good hands as well and played on the emotions of the other players in order to induce the action that I wanted.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Tunica Trip Report & Lessons Learned
Overall this was a great trip. I had a lot of fun and made a little money. More importantly, my confidence once again grew and I learned some good lessons. Overall I was up $216 for the trip and made most of my money in satellites. Out of 6 satellites:
3 first (1 was a chop and one paid 2 places even)
1 protection (got 4th, but Doug and I had a protection deal so I got my buy-in back)
2 busts (one where my nut straight was rivered)
Gee...think tournaments are my thing?
Anyway, I flew into Memphis at 11:30am. Sit down at my first single table satellite around 12:45. First hand is AA (mmmmm...this is going to be a good trip).
So I chopped this table for $500. Ended up playing more cash games than I expected, but I felt like I needed to exorcise some demons. I played a lot of 1/2 NL and ended up down on cash games overall at - $189. Good play, good decisions, just lost a couple of big pots that hurt me. I definitely feel much more comfortable in cash games now. I just need to stay disciplined when playing out of position against those damn straddles. For some reason my ego kicks in when people play straddles.
Played awesome in a $500 event with 750 people and ended up in a big pot where I decided to lay down a flush draw after committing 1/3 of my stack (misplayed hand - http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=8782544&an=0&page=1#Post8782544). I wasn't super short after that, but then went card/situation dead and busted around 170 (top 72 paid).
Got a little bummed, burned some steam playing black jack and came up with a vigor into a satellite. Took it down for $1,100. Went over to Doug's table and played his stack while he helped me sell my satellite chips and won a $350 pot with a set of Jacks. He was nice enough to flip me $100.
I can't wait to go again! Maybe New Orleans??? Probably unlikely. Leaving Jenni for 5 days with 3 kids isn't easy on her. She is AWESOME for supporting my goals, but I know how much energy the kids can zap from you. I might just need to wait for the main event. Hopefully I can figure out a good schedule for going and maybe make it a family trip.
Lessons Learned
1. Don't be afraid to get your money into a +EV gambling situation when the odds are right and the situation warrants it. More specifically, don't be afraid to put your "tournament life on the line" in live tournaments if it is the right thing to do.
2. Don't try to outplay someone (i.e. long ball moves) until you've been at the table long enough to have strong reads.
3. Navaro's tells book really works (please don't tell anyone though)
4. Friendly table talk helps you keep control over the pace of the table
5. Sometimes you do have to go with a "feeling" if you are running well. It doesn't mean a donkey play, but if it is a close decision, sometimes you just gotta go with it.
6. Smiling and wit at the table tends to help me stay confident and mentally sharp
7. Not expending a lot of effort to observe others actually helps me take in more information. Overconcentrating can erode your ability to focus over a long session.
8. The table is a gold mine of information if you know how to extract it. People are much more likely to give up information if they like you. I gained a ton of valueable experience on this trip in asking the right questions in the right way and by simple observation.
9. Overt and dynamic friendliness is contageous. You can get even the tightest of rocks to open up.
10. I got better at adjusting to the blind structure better on this trip. Sometimes you have to be more agressive early to accumulate chips with fast structures. This also means open up raising and stealing requirements when your M is starting to dip, even if the blinds are relatively low (i.e. you have 1K at 25/50 level).
11. ALWAYS be aware of the blind structure for a tournament. Don't get caught not realizing that the blinds are doubling next.
12. Be aware of your M and play accordingly in live tournaments. Even if you are one of the table chip leaders, one mistake or marginal situation can have a significant long-term affect if you don't have room to recover.
3 first (1 was a chop and one paid 2 places even)
1 protection (got 4th, but Doug and I had a protection deal so I got my buy-in back)
2 busts (one where my nut straight was rivered)
Gee...think tournaments are my thing?
Anyway, I flew into Memphis at 11:30am. Sit down at my first single table satellite around 12:45. First hand is AA (mmmmm...this is going to be a good trip).
So I chopped this table for $500. Ended up playing more cash games than I expected, but I felt like I needed to exorcise some demons. I played a lot of 1/2 NL and ended up down on cash games overall at - $189. Good play, good decisions, just lost a couple of big pots that hurt me. I definitely feel much more comfortable in cash games now. I just need to stay disciplined when playing out of position against those damn straddles. For some reason my ego kicks in when people play straddles.
Played awesome in a $500 event with 750 people and ended up in a big pot where I decided to lay down a flush draw after committing 1/3 of my stack (misplayed hand - http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=8782544&an=0&page=1#Post8782544). I wasn't super short after that, but then went card/situation dead and busted around 170 (top 72 paid).
Got a little bummed, burned some steam playing black jack and came up with a vigor into a satellite. Took it down for $1,100. Went over to Doug's table and played his stack while he helped me sell my satellite chips and won a $350 pot with a set of Jacks. He was nice enough to flip me $100.
I can't wait to go again! Maybe New Orleans??? Probably unlikely. Leaving Jenni for 5 days with 3 kids isn't easy on her. She is AWESOME for supporting my goals, but I know how much energy the kids can zap from you. I might just need to wait for the main event. Hopefully I can figure out a good schedule for going and maybe make it a family trip.
Lessons Learned
1. Don't be afraid to get your money into a +EV gambling situation when the odds are right and the situation warrants it. More specifically, don't be afraid to put your "tournament life on the line" in live tournaments if it is the right thing to do.
2. Don't try to outplay someone (i.e. long ball moves) until you've been at the table long enough to have strong reads.
3. Navaro's tells book really works (please don't tell anyone though)
4. Friendly table talk helps you keep control over the pace of the table
5. Sometimes you do have to go with a "feeling" if you are running well. It doesn't mean a donkey play, but if it is a close decision, sometimes you just gotta go with it.
6. Smiling and wit at the table tends to help me stay confident and mentally sharp
7. Not expending a lot of effort to observe others actually helps me take in more information. Overconcentrating can erode your ability to focus over a long session.
8. The table is a gold mine of information if you know how to extract it. People are much more likely to give up information if they like you. I gained a ton of valueable experience on this trip in asking the right questions in the right way and by simple observation.
9. Overt and dynamic friendliness is contageous. You can get even the tightest of rocks to open up.
10. I got better at adjusting to the blind structure better on this trip. Sometimes you have to be more agressive early to accumulate chips with fast structures. This also means open up raising and stealing requirements when your M is starting to dip, even if the blinds are relatively low (i.e. you have 1K at 25/50 level).
11. ALWAYS be aware of the blind structure for a tournament. Don't get caught not realizing that the blinds are doubling next.
12. Be aware of your M and play accordingly in live tournaments. Even if you are one of the table chip leaders, one mistake or marginal situation can have a significant long-term affect if you don't have room to recover.
Monday, January 1, 2007
My Plans for Tunica
I'll be in Tunica, MS from Jan 10 - 14 for the WSOP Circuit Event and the WPT World Poker Open.
While I'm getting excited about going, I'm treating it as just another set of poker sessions. It really is no different than any other session except I'll have more playing time in a condensed period.
An adjustment I will be making this time is that I won't let myself sink into just playing my cards if I go through a cold period. I'll be focusing on playing the players and the situations, just like any other session. My game is at a new level now and I'm confident in my abilities to adjust to different table dynamics better in a robust live setting.
The only difference between this and other sessions is that I'll need to manage my energy and sleep differently. While I plan on having longer than normal sessions, I will also make sure I'm getting enough sleep and eating well.
The other difference in this trip is that I will have the opportunity to meet one of my goals for this year, which is to cash in a WSOP Circuit or WPT Event in 2007 (2007 goal post coming soon). How I expect having this goal to change my play is simply that I will bring my A game to each session. I'm not going to focus on the outcomes and allow that to affect my play. I don't even need to cash in a main event this year. It can be a $200 event or whatever. But this will help me break the seal and just be a nice stepping stone. I've been to a couple of these events and have only played in about 5-6 tournaments so far; I bubbled a $200 second chance tournament last time. I'm confident that I can make a final table, if not win one of these events, but it's not like I have the opportunity to let variance play itself out, so I'm just starting with a goal of cashing for now.
As far as what I'm going to play in, I'm just going to treat the trip like a long poker session and try to maximize profitability, while at the same time, trying to satellite my way into the $500 and $1K events. Unlike last time, I'm not going to play in a $1K event unless I satellite in. Once I make enough in satellites, I'm going to go ahead and buy-into an event and treat the satellites as sit-n-go's. I probably won't play cash games much, but if I do, it will be the 1/2 game at the Gold Strike.
I'll try to keep up with trip reports while I'm there. Wish me luck.
While I'm getting excited about going, I'm treating it as just another set of poker sessions. It really is no different than any other session except I'll have more playing time in a condensed period.
An adjustment I will be making this time is that I won't let myself sink into just playing my cards if I go through a cold period. I'll be focusing on playing the players and the situations, just like any other session. My game is at a new level now and I'm confident in my abilities to adjust to different table dynamics better in a robust live setting.
The only difference between this and other sessions is that I'll need to manage my energy and sleep differently. While I plan on having longer than normal sessions, I will also make sure I'm getting enough sleep and eating well.
The other difference in this trip is that I will have the opportunity to meet one of my goals for this year, which is to cash in a WSOP Circuit or WPT Event in 2007 (2007 goal post coming soon). How I expect having this goal to change my play is simply that I will bring my A game to each session. I'm not going to focus on the outcomes and allow that to affect my play. I don't even need to cash in a main event this year. It can be a $200 event or whatever. But this will help me break the seal and just be a nice stepping stone. I've been to a couple of these events and have only played in about 5-6 tournaments so far; I bubbled a $200 second chance tournament last time. I'm confident that I can make a final table, if not win one of these events, but it's not like I have the opportunity to let variance play itself out, so I'm just starting with a goal of cashing for now.
As far as what I'm going to play in, I'm just going to treat the trip like a long poker session and try to maximize profitability, while at the same time, trying to satellite my way into the $500 and $1K events. Unlike last time, I'm not going to play in a $1K event unless I satellite in. Once I make enough in satellites, I'm going to go ahead and buy-into an event and treat the satellites as sit-n-go's. I probably won't play cash games much, but if I do, it will be the 1/2 game at the Gold Strike.
I'll try to keep up with trip reports while I'm there. Wish me luck.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Reset Your Mind for the End Game
I've been getting deep lately in online tournaments, but seem to make some sort of wierd mistake that I can look back on and clearly see where it went wrong. Call it a brain fart or whatever, but for some reason I'm dominating early and mid stages and when it starts getting closer to the final table, I'm making mistakes.
Part of this could be because I recently went through a downswing and hadn't made it deep in a while, but I figured out it was something else. I'm getting anxious (in an excited, impatient sort of way) about making the final table and making a big cash and I'm narrowing my focus to my cards. I'm losing sight of putting others on a hand and I'm forcing situations in order to win a specific (sometimes insignificant) pot. I'm not thinking about any particular hand I'm representing and I'm just blindly being agressive without regards to my opponent's holdings.
Why am I doing this and what am I going to do about it?
It only makes sense that after hours of play you are going to have wound up tension from multiple coin flips and dodging miracle river cards. This can create an anxious feeling as you get closer and closer to hitting it big. It's certainly a normal reaction, but in order to excel at this game (and any other competition for that matter), you have to eliminate this emotional response...especially when tensions are mounting. It all goes back to that detachment thing I keep talking about.
So the first thing I need to do is recognize that the tension exists. Do a gut check...literally. When you're all wound up, your stomach muscels tend to tighten. If your stomach and shoulders seem to be tensed up, it's a good sign you need to do something. This tension needs to be released in order to think clearly and approach the end game as a new beginning.
What I have done in the past when I recognize this feeling is to Re-set my mind. Consider it half-time or a TV timeout or whatever, but there needs to be moments of stepping back and re-assessing your game plan.
How you re-set is simple:
Step 1: Recognize - Just keep a general tab on your psychological and emotional state throughout the game so you can identify when you might need to do something about it. It's not like you have to constantly monitor yourself and make it a big deal, just be able to determine if your play is being affected.
Step 2: Relax - Step away from the computer (or table in live play), get a drink, stretch, take a big deep breath, shake it off, yell out, etc. Whatever works for you to break the tension and clear your mind, do it.
Step 3: Re-Focus - Take a look around the table. What are the stacks like around you, what are the emotions like of the other players, what types of plays are optimal based on your stack size and these other situational factors? In other words, determine a proactive game plan moving forward instead of being subjected to the luck of the cards. Thinking about the future helps you focus on the end goal and how each decision impacts that.
So moving forward, I'm going to incorporate this re-set plan as a regular routine for tournaments. I'm not necessarily going to stand up from the table everytime things start getting heated. It may be as simple as taking a quick breath and adjusting my game plan to the dynamics of the table. But I will definitely start using it to keep a clear, focused and determined mindset to take down more final tables.
Part of this could be because I recently went through a downswing and hadn't made it deep in a while, but I figured out it was something else. I'm getting anxious (in an excited, impatient sort of way) about making the final table and making a big cash and I'm narrowing my focus to my cards. I'm losing sight of putting others on a hand and I'm forcing situations in order to win a specific (sometimes insignificant) pot. I'm not thinking about any particular hand I'm representing and I'm just blindly being agressive without regards to my opponent's holdings.
Why am I doing this and what am I going to do about it?
It only makes sense that after hours of play you are going to have wound up tension from multiple coin flips and dodging miracle river cards. This can create an anxious feeling as you get closer and closer to hitting it big. It's certainly a normal reaction, but in order to excel at this game (and any other competition for that matter), you have to eliminate this emotional response...especially when tensions are mounting. It all goes back to that detachment thing I keep talking about.
So the first thing I need to do is recognize that the tension exists. Do a gut check...literally. When you're all wound up, your stomach muscels tend to tighten. If your stomach and shoulders seem to be tensed up, it's a good sign you need to do something. This tension needs to be released in order to think clearly and approach the end game as a new beginning.
What I have done in the past when I recognize this feeling is to Re-set my mind. Consider it half-time or a TV timeout or whatever, but there needs to be moments of stepping back and re-assessing your game plan.
How you re-set is simple:
Step 1: Recognize - Just keep a general tab on your psychological and emotional state throughout the game so you can identify when you might need to do something about it. It's not like you have to constantly monitor yourself and make it a big deal, just be able to determine if your play is being affected.
Step 2: Relax - Step away from the computer (or table in live play), get a drink, stretch, take a big deep breath, shake it off, yell out, etc. Whatever works for you to break the tension and clear your mind, do it.
Step 3: Re-Focus - Take a look around the table. What are the stacks like around you, what are the emotions like of the other players, what types of plays are optimal based on your stack size and these other situational factors? In other words, determine a proactive game plan moving forward instead of being subjected to the luck of the cards. Thinking about the future helps you focus on the end goal and how each decision impacts that.
So moving forward, I'm going to incorporate this re-set plan as a regular routine for tournaments. I'm not necessarily going to stand up from the table everytime things start getting heated. It may be as simple as taking a quick breath and adjusting my game plan to the dynamics of the table. But I will definitely start using it to keep a clear, focused and determined mindset to take down more final tables.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Yummy Stop n' Go
Rather than push since he has the stack and will be getting good odds to call, I don't want this guy to see 5 cards. Text book stop n'go where you push no matter what falls on the flop.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t150 (7 handed)
MP2 (t1060)
CO (t1175)
Button (t2305)
SB (t2600)
Hero (t1445)
UTG (t3880)
MP1 (t1035)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Ts, Tc.
UTG raises to t450, 5 folds, Hero calls t300.
Flop: (t975) Qs, 8c, 4s
Hero bets t995 (All-In), UTG folds.
Final Pot: t1970
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t150 (7 handed)
MP2 (t1060)
CO (t1175)
Button (t2305)
SB (t2600)
Hero (t1445)
UTG (t3880)
MP1 (t1035)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Ts, Tc.
UTG raises to t450, 5 folds, Hero calls t300.
Flop: (t975) Qs, 8c, 4s
Hero bets t995 (All-In), UTG folds.
Final Pot: t1970
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Learning the Game vs. Understanding the Game
I'm at a transition point in my experience with poker (No Limit Hold'em specifically) in that I'm shifting from looking to other sources for the "correct" way to play certain situations to a deeper level of understanding of the game, where I look to myself for the answers. Books and poker forums are now reference points for additional perspective instead of text books or instructional manuals with a magical answer.
It's really a shift in confidence. Where I used to think "what did Harrington say about small pairs with 8M again?", I have been in enough situations where I'm referencing my own past experiences instead. I now think through multiple ways of approaching a situation and understand the full implications of each course of action, then select the one that has the highest positive expected value (EV).
I'm certainly not saying that I know everything about the game. I still have a lot to learn and there are definitely answers that others with more experience can provide. In fact, I'm sure there are questions I don't even know to ask yet. But I feel like I've passed through a stage of skill development that has brought me one step closer to reaching my goals.
It's really a shift in confidence. Where I used to think "what did Harrington say about small pairs with 8M again?", I have been in enough situations where I'm referencing my own past experiences instead. I now think through multiple ways of approaching a situation and understand the full implications of each course of action, then select the one that has the highest positive expected value (EV).
I'm certainly not saying that I know everything about the game. I still have a lot to learn and there are definitely answers that others with more experience can provide. In fact, I'm sure there are questions I don't even know to ask yet. But I feel like I've passed through a stage of skill development that has brought me one step closer to reaching my goals.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Playing the Situation
Simple little hand, but nice example of playing the situation.
This bet was made based on my stack size relative to theirs and the likely hood that one of them had an Ace since there was no pre-flop raise. Also there are no significant draws out there, so the likely hood of getting called goes down.
PokerStars Game #7637832681: Tournament #38704499, $9.00+$0.90 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2006/12/27 - 22:05:27 (ET)
Table '38704499 8' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: AgReSSiVe79 (1780 in chips)
Seat 2: akdgh (1295 in chips)
Seat 3: DP388 (2720 in chips)
Seat 4: bigtimin (1230 in chips)
Seat 5: PCD48 (1410 in chips)
Seat 6: TheG8dFather (1115 in chips)
Seat 7: righty0130 (4405 in chips)
Seat 8: LowLead77 (3160 in chips)
Seat 9: cup1948 (1275 in chips)
DP388: posts small blind 50
bigtimin: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [3h Qh]
PCD48: folds
TheG8dFather: folds
righty0130: folds
LowLead77: folds
cup1948: folds
AgReSSiVe79: folds
akdgh: calls 100
DP388: calls 50
bigtimin: checks
*** FLOP *** [Ts 4c Ah]
DP388: bets 200
bigtimin: folds
akdgh: folds
This bet was made based on my stack size relative to theirs and the likely hood that one of them had an Ace since there was no pre-flop raise. Also there are no significant draws out there, so the likely hood of getting called goes down.
PokerStars Game #7637832681: Tournament #38704499, $9.00+$0.90 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2006/12/27 - 22:05:27 (ET)
Table '38704499 8' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: AgReSSiVe79 (1780 in chips)
Seat 2: akdgh (1295 in chips)
Seat 3: DP388 (2720 in chips)
Seat 4: bigtimin (1230 in chips)
Seat 5: PCD48 (1410 in chips)
Seat 6: TheG8dFather (1115 in chips)
Seat 7: righty0130 (4405 in chips)
Seat 8: LowLead77 (3160 in chips)
Seat 9: cup1948 (1275 in chips)
DP388: posts small blind 50
bigtimin: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [3h Qh]
PCD48: folds
TheG8dFather: folds
righty0130: folds
LowLead77: folds
cup1948: folds
AgReSSiVe79: folds
akdgh: calls 100
DP388: calls 50
bigtimin: checks
*** FLOP *** [Ts 4c Ah]
DP388: bets 200
bigtimin: folds
akdgh: folds
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