Results are starting to come in thick and fast now,and not before time.
I have managed to scoop around $2.5k in the past few days,through both the Ladbrokes Badbeat account and my own account on Pokerstars.
It's a great feeling sitting at the start of every tournament I play now and having the confidence and mindset to know I am going to go deep. I really haven't felt as good about my game since I started playing and the correct mindset seems to be reaping its own rewards.
Just a few days to go until the big one in Killarney,gonna be a blast.
Saturday, 27 September 2008
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Starting to turn ?
Shift of death this week.....3 x 12hr nighshifts but hey , tonights the last one and i'm off until next Monday , then full speed Killarney.
Don't know why but played some low limit cash when on a break last night and managed to make a few dollars,then I got home at 8am and entered a $5 express to the Ladbrokes Breakfast club.
Managed to get in and went on to take 2nd for $480 , so who knows maybe things are starting to turn in time for the big one next week. It really does promise to be something quite special - a 500 euro buy in tournament with a 15k starting stack and hour long blinds starting at 25/25 - my type of game.
Can't wait..........
Don't know why but played some low limit cash when on a break last night and managed to make a few dollars,then I got home at 8am and entered a $5 express to the Ladbrokes Breakfast club.
Managed to get in and went on to take 2nd for $480 , so who knows maybe things are starting to turn in time for the big one next week. It really does promise to be something quite special - a 500 euro buy in tournament with a 15k starting stack and hour long blinds starting at 25/25 - my type of game.
Can't wait..........
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Should I stay or should I go......?
These posts seem to be coming only as weekly updates now , but in truth there isn't a lot to report.
I'm still playing well and getting extremely unlucky , I suppose I should console myself with the fact that I am cashing in almost every MTT I play and getting unlucky when it really matters at the end.
I played 3 MTTs yesterday....the 4pm 10 rebuy , where I finsished 13/141 losing a race with AQ v 44 - the $5 2nd chance finishing 26/325 and the 10pm $25 where I really should have made the Final table instead of blowing out in 14th - but hey , I will allow myself one mistake :)
Things have unfortunately taken a turn for the worse with Badbeat. I was appointed a new mentor around a month ago in the shape of John "Punkfloyd" Conroy and to say I was happy with this would be something of an understatement. The guys game is pure class and his tournament strategy and game is pretty similar to my own . Unfortunately he is also mangaging director of Badbeat and as such is obviously a very busy man.
Because of this I received an email from them during the week telling me that bacause he was so busy they had switched me to another mentor,Richard"Strummer9"Herbert,strangely after talking with other trainees I found I was the only one of Johns who had been switched. The word "clique" unfortunately springs to mind,and the timing quite frankly stinks.
Whilst I like Richard as a person he was also my mentor for a period last year and things did not exactly go swimmingly - mainly because I was attempting to play cash and was basically a cash fish. The timing of the switch whilst my game is in freefall results wise has left me wondering if I should go it alone again.
Decision time..........
I'm still playing well and getting extremely unlucky , I suppose I should console myself with the fact that I am cashing in almost every MTT I play and getting unlucky when it really matters at the end.
I played 3 MTTs yesterday....the 4pm 10 rebuy , where I finsished 13/141 losing a race with AQ v 44 - the $5 2nd chance finishing 26/325 and the 10pm $25 where I really should have made the Final table instead of blowing out in 14th - but hey , I will allow myself one mistake :)
Things have unfortunately taken a turn for the worse with Badbeat. I was appointed a new mentor around a month ago in the shape of John "Punkfloyd" Conroy and to say I was happy with this would be something of an understatement. The guys game is pure class and his tournament strategy and game is pretty similar to my own . Unfortunately he is also mangaging director of Badbeat and as such is obviously a very busy man.
Because of this I received an email from them during the week telling me that bacause he was so busy they had switched me to another mentor,Richard"Strummer9"Herbert,strangely after talking with other trainees I found I was the only one of Johns who had been switched. The word "clique" unfortunately springs to mind,and the timing quite frankly stinks.
Whilst I like Richard as a person he was also my mentor for a period last year and things did not exactly go swimmingly - mainly because I was attempting to play cash and was basically a cash fish. The timing of the switch whilst my game is in freefall results wise has left me wondering if I should go it alone again.
Decision time..........
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Persevere.......
Haven't posted in a while simply because I don't want to fill this with endless bad beats and negativity , it really is getting tougher to plough on through what is going on at the minute but I guess I just have to console myself with the fact that I am playing really well and that the results will come .
Yesterday however was a stinker !
I made a call in the Ladbrokes 10 rebuy wth blinds at 200/400 when I had a 12k stack , some of my learned colleagues have questioned it but I know it's a long term winning play........
My opponent in the hand had just halved his 20k stack the hand previous by shoving with KQoff on and ace high 2 club flop with no pair no draw. Next hand I get pocket 10s and its raised to 1200 beore me and I elect to take a flop - guy in question decides to shove when it comes to him for his remaining 10k and the original raiser folds.
Now it's in no way an auto call but I am convinced its a squeeze.....I can fold and still have over 10k but if I make the call its a 22k pot at 200/400 and I am in a great position to go on and win. Call is made an as expected he has squeezed with a9 off - flop delivers the ace of course and I'm crippled. Im 72% to win here and will make this call all day every day in this position but as usual lately the donkey gets rewarded.
I also final tabled the $3k gtd $25 on Ladbrokes later on but there was no poker to be played on that table as it quickly descended into a muppet fest - serial buffoon eventually busting my aces with AK ffs and I exit in 5th............
Its coming soon apparently , hope the patience holds..........
Yesterday however was a stinker !
I made a call in the Ladbrokes 10 rebuy wth blinds at 200/400 when I had a 12k stack , some of my learned colleagues have questioned it but I know it's a long term winning play........
My opponent in the hand had just halved his 20k stack the hand previous by shoving with KQoff on and ace high 2 club flop with no pair no draw. Next hand I get pocket 10s and its raised to 1200 beore me and I elect to take a flop - guy in question decides to shove when it comes to him for his remaining 10k and the original raiser folds.
Now it's in no way an auto call but I am convinced its a squeeze.....I can fold and still have over 10k but if I make the call its a 22k pot at 200/400 and I am in a great position to go on and win. Call is made an as expected he has squeezed with a9 off - flop delivers the ace of course and I'm crippled. Im 72% to win here and will make this call all day every day in this position but as usual lately the donkey gets rewarded.
I also final tabled the $3k gtd $25 on Ladbrokes later on but there was no poker to be played on that table as it quickly descended into a muppet fest - serial buffoon eventually busting my aces with AK ffs and I exit in 5th............
Its coming soon apparently , hope the patience holds..........
Saturday, 6 September 2008
The morning after......
Yuck...banging head and my phone wont stop ringing.
Shanes brother Gareth arrives as promised and we decide to meet up for breakfast to give ourselves a good start to what promises to be a long day.
Once thats over with (not easy to eat a full English the way I felt) everyones starts to appear in the hotel lobby and once again the beers start appearing. By this stage Lizard and Emmerson have arrived so the gangs all here - I'm overflowing with confidence now and can't wait to get started , so after a bit of back slapping and a few "looseners" we make our way down to the venue.
There are so many good players here , the first friendly face I see is Punkfloyd , my Badbeat mentor who hands me a glass of champagne and a hearty good luck handshake.
So enough frivolities...I'm here for the poker and off I go to my table - its made up of quality - Sandy from Badbeat-Boomer-63Jimboy and Crutchley...all players I know and all very very capable. So 4pm arrives and the tournament begins , 12k stack and with it all to do but I cant wait.
The first 90 minutes fly by and I have increased my stack to 24k without having to show a hand , been a while since I have played live this well and with this amount of confidence . I pass the next few hands and around 10 minutes before the first break I look down to see AA , blinds are 100/200 at this stage and the UTG player makes it 600 to go , i KNOW just KNOW he has a big hand so when its folded to me I re-pop him to 2200.
The call comes very quickly which re-enforces my belief he has a big PP so when the flop comes down 836 and he checks I know hes waiting for me to bet which I duly do (around 2/3 pot) he's instantly all in. I make the call pretty quickly , telling him he has KK and him askin me if I have the aces.......45k in there and I aint lookin - dream start - KING ON THE FKIN RIVER ..............
Never before at a live game have I felt so sick , I'm team captain , the dream start was there and then snatched away by a 25/1 shot with 1 card to come . Words fail me even now.............
The bar awaits.................
Shanes brother Gareth arrives as promised and we decide to meet up for breakfast to give ourselves a good start to what promises to be a long day.
Once thats over with (not easy to eat a full English the way I felt) everyones starts to appear in the hotel lobby and once again the beers start appearing. By this stage Lizard and Emmerson have arrived so the gangs all here - I'm overflowing with confidence now and can't wait to get started , so after a bit of back slapping and a few "looseners" we make our way down to the venue.
There are so many good players here , the first friendly face I see is Punkfloyd , my Badbeat mentor who hands me a glass of champagne and a hearty good luck handshake.
So enough frivolities...I'm here for the poker and off I go to my table - its made up of quality - Sandy from Badbeat-Boomer-63Jimboy and Crutchley...all players I know and all very very capable. So 4pm arrives and the tournament begins , 12k stack and with it all to do but I cant wait.
The first 90 minutes fly by and I have increased my stack to 24k without having to show a hand , been a while since I have played live this well and with this amount of confidence . I pass the next few hands and around 10 minutes before the first break I look down to see AA , blinds are 100/200 at this stage and the UTG player makes it 600 to go , i KNOW just KNOW he has a big hand so when its folded to me I re-pop him to 2200.
The call comes very quickly which re-enforces my belief he has a big PP so when the flop comes down 836 and he checks I know hes waiting for me to bet which I duly do (around 2/3 pot) he's instantly all in. I make the call pretty quickly , telling him he has KK and him askin me if I have the aces.......45k in there and I aint lookin - dream start - KING ON THE FKIN RIVER ..............
Never before at a live game have I felt so sick , I'm team captain , the dream start was there and then snatched away by a 25/1 shot with 1 card to come . Words fail me even now.............
The bar awaits.................
Friday, 5 September 2008
Beer and chips.....
So Friday has arrived at last and off to London we go for the Dream Team III live final , been a long online run of 32 weeks and while my team will start with only around average chips , I leave full of confidence.
Met ShaneMcG and his girlfriend Eileen at the airport and the first of many drinks were taken before we boarded our flight ( eventually....).
It was a long old day of travelling but we eventually got to the hotel and as always at these things were greeted with all the usual friendly faces and a few more drinks before the inevitable ego and muff driven game of poker was started up ( and i REALLY do mean MUFF DRIVEN..)
From what I can remember I took my exit around half way through proceedings when my all in call with AJ suited of Shanes UTG push with Q4 off came out second best , must apologise for spitting my dummy out and sulking off to bed :).
Fingers crossed for tomorrow.............
Met ShaneMcG and his girlfriend Eileen at the airport and the first of many drinks were taken before we boarded our flight ( eventually....).
It was a long old day of travelling but we eventually got to the hotel and as always at these things were greeted with all the usual friendly faces and a few more drinks before the inevitable ego and muff driven game of poker was started up ( and i REALLY do mean MUFF DRIVEN..)
From what I can remember I took my exit around half way through proceedings when my all in call with AJ suited of Shanes UTG push with Q4 off came out second best , must apologise for spitting my dummy out and sulking off to bed :).
Fingers crossed for tomorrow.............
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