Monday, October 01, 2007
Teh Internet >>>> Real Life
So I played the £300 at the Vic on Saturday, there's really no point me continuing to play these tournaments and moaning about them afterwards, so I'll just say that it was pretty much the usual. I drakked around for two levels, then last hand before the break I whacked it in with two pair against a flush draw and lost, which was something of a mercy. Including travelling it took up 5 hours of my time to play about 40 hands.
Then yesterday, as the last day of the month it was definitely time for a Sunday smash-out. After busting out of, in very quick succession, the tournaments on Eurobet and Party, two Full Tilt SNGs and four $80 WCOOP double shootouts, I was almost ready to smash out my monitor screen. However, I was still hanging on in the Stars Warm-up and, to cut a long story short as you may have seen it on Facebook, finished 7th for $10,100. The final was a little disappointing, as I had gone in 2nd chip leader, but there's not a lot you can do about running AK into an aggressive player's AA, apart from suck out with a flush, which I nearly did but not quite. Still, I can't complain over the year, four big finals and finished 1st, 1st, 2nd and now 7th, you'd definitely take that.
So although 2 of those results were live and 2 online now, both the live results were in the US. I'm really thinking now that there's little or no point playing live tournaments over here, they're either not worth my time (like yesterday) or I suck in them (like the £1000 in Luton), although I suppose at least the latter is theoretically fixable :-).
Here's the hand history, I've got stuff to do right now but I might comment on some individual hands later. In the meantime any comments or questions are welcome.
Sunday Warm-Up
Update : by far the most interesting hand is 328. In brief, playing 4K-8K/800, cut-off makes it 24K leaving 212K behind. Small blind makes it 56K leaving 251K behind. I'm in the big blind with 387K after posting (so I have them covered) and AKo. Despite the positional factor widening ranges, I just can't find a line I like. I don't want to get all-in pre-flop 3-handed with AK (as discussed more than once on this blog), and as I don't close the action here I can't effectively control the size of the pot pre-flop. I think this is shove or fold and, like a wuss perhaps, I elected to fold. I really didn't like the SB's small, but not minimum, reraise - usually a sign of great strength. We'll never know, because the flop came Ac5c2h, SB bet out, cut-off shoved and SB folded. Comments welcome.
Then yesterday, as the last day of the month it was definitely time for a Sunday smash-out. After busting out of, in very quick succession, the tournaments on Eurobet and Party, two Full Tilt SNGs and four $80 WCOOP double shootouts, I was almost ready to smash out my monitor screen. However, I was still hanging on in the Stars Warm-up and, to cut a long story short as you may have seen it on Facebook, finished 7th for $10,100. The final was a little disappointing, as I had gone in 2nd chip leader, but there's not a lot you can do about running AK into an aggressive player's AA, apart from suck out with a flush, which I nearly did but not quite. Still, I can't complain over the year, four big finals and finished 1st, 1st, 2nd and now 7th, you'd definitely take that.
So although 2 of those results were live and 2 online now, both the live results were in the US. I'm really thinking now that there's little or no point playing live tournaments over here, they're either not worth my time (like yesterday) or I suck in them (like the £1000 in Luton), although I suppose at least the latter is theoretically fixable :-).
Here's the hand history, I've got stuff to do right now but I might comment on some individual hands later. In the meantime any comments or questions are welcome.
Sunday Warm-Up
Update : by far the most interesting hand is 328. In brief, playing 4K-8K/800, cut-off makes it 24K leaving 212K behind. Small blind makes it 56K leaving 251K behind. I'm in the big blind with 387K after posting (so I have them covered) and AKo. Despite the positional factor widening ranges, I just can't find a line I like. I don't want to get all-in pre-flop 3-handed with AK (as discussed more than once on this blog), and as I don't close the action here I can't effectively control the size of the pot pre-flop. I think this is shove or fold and, like a wuss perhaps, I elected to fold. I really didn't like the SB's small, but not minimum, reraise - usually a sign of great strength. We'll never know, because the flop came Ac5c2h, SB bet out, cut-off shoved and SB folded. Comments welcome.
# posted by Andy_Ward @ 12:26 PM 
Comments:
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I keep telling you that real life sucks. Now will you believe me?
Seriously, another good one. What was that about worst. month, ever. ?
I keep trying to summon up the willpower to drive up to the Vic either one Friday night or late one Saturday night, but even the energy required for a five-mile drive (albeit through central London, so that's the same as a 50-mile drive elsewhere) seems pointless when I can get in five times as many hands online, without the travelling.
We should have a poker meeting place for online poker players who don't want to play poker.
I've played 110,000 hands this year -- that's as a part-timer. If I went to the Vic every night of the week and played for three hours (not allowing for waiting time, travelling time, etc), then it would take me three years to get that number of hands in. If I was just a weekend player at the Vic, it would take me a decade.
Is it any wonder that the online players have a bit of an edge, despite their lack of player-reading practice?
But the downside is, you need a lot more patience live to play exactly as you would online. Because there won't be aother hand along in 10 seconds if you pass. More like three minutes.
And then you have to cope with the "thinking pause" before a fold to a reraise when someone has been caught with their fingers in the till. I really do feel like saying "Look, I know you're going to fold. You know you are going to fold, the dealer knows that you are going to fold. Even the goldfish has a hunch that you are going to fold. So stop this act of 'I have a good hand and I'm thinking about it', puleeeze."
Except, of course, that would probably get you a lifetime ban from the MOGs.
If you ever want to wonder how to spend your money, buy a Victorian house (third only to buying a Premiership football club and an F1 racing team in terms of annual maintenance cost). I've got builders, plumbers, tilers, plumber's mates and, quite possibly, half the Millwall Reserve Eleven stomping around. And no toilet.
PJ
PJ
Seriously, another good one. What was that about worst. month, ever. ?
I keep trying to summon up the willpower to drive up to the Vic either one Friday night or late one Saturday night, but even the energy required for a five-mile drive (albeit through central London, so that's the same as a 50-mile drive elsewhere) seems pointless when I can get in five times as many hands online, without the travelling.
We should have a poker meeting place for online poker players who don't want to play poker.
I've played 110,000 hands this year -- that's as a part-timer. If I went to the Vic every night of the week and played for three hours (not allowing for waiting time, travelling time, etc), then it would take me three years to get that number of hands in. If I was just a weekend player at the Vic, it would take me a decade.
Is it any wonder that the online players have a bit of an edge, despite their lack of player-reading practice?
But the downside is, you need a lot more patience live to play exactly as you would online. Because there won't be aother hand along in 10 seconds if you pass. More like three minutes.
And then you have to cope with the "thinking pause" before a fold to a reraise when someone has been caught with their fingers in the till. I really do feel like saying "Look, I know you're going to fold. You know you are going to fold, the dealer knows that you are going to fold. Even the goldfish has a hunch that you are going to fold. So stop this act of 'I have a good hand and I'm thinking about it', puleeeze."
Except, of course, that would probably get you a lifetime ban from the MOGs.
If you ever want to wonder how to spend your money, buy a Victorian house (third only to buying a Premiership football club and an F1 racing team in terms of annual maintenance cost). I've got builders, plumbers, tilers, plumber's mates and, quite possibly, half the Millwall Reserve Eleven stomping around. And no toilet.
PJ
PJ
# posted by 
: 3:35 PM
: 3:35 PM
To my mind, the simple issue of volume, of hands/hour, is so big that it overrides all psychological / people-reading / general live poker mumbo-jumbo factors.
Another point that almost everyone misses is that when it comes to these "psychological factors", these can work for or against you. You can pick up tells and opponents can pick up tells on you. Of course, this is just the same mindset that leads to 90% of people believing that they are above-average drivers.
Anyway, it does amuse me that some of the players who really seem to believe that they have a huge edge in live play are the same people who make every hand into a drama and reduce the game to a crawl. I know that if I could dodge bullets and everyone else was an idiot, I'd make some effort to play more hands per hour.
Another point that almost everyone misses is that when it comes to these "psychological factors", these can work for or against you. You can pick up tells and opponents can pick up tells on you. Of course, this is just the same mindset that leads to 90% of people believing that they are above-average drivers.
Anyway, it does amuse me that some of the players who really seem to believe that they have a huge edge in live play are the same people who make every hand into a drama and reduce the game to a crawl. I know that if I could dodge bullets and everyone else was an idiot, I'd make some effort to play more hands per hour.
Congrat on last Sunday nite, was watching you and of course rooting for you, excellent result. pleased to have you back again, always good to read your posts and reply's.
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# posted by : 3:06 PM
: 3:06 PM << Home
