Conshohocken Classic Winter 2009

WHAT: Texas Holdem Freeze Out Tournament (no rebuy, no add-on)
WHERE: Wayne, PA
WHEN: February 7, 2009
WHO: top local talent and friends
WHY:


Post-tourne recap:
Well another tournament is in the books. Congratulations to PokerStars regular G.R. for taking it down over new-comer B.G. I successfully predicted bdd67 and partagas to go deep, as both made the final table along with Main Line Poker Club regulars T.R. and D.L.
The final went down as follows:
G.R.
B.G.
B.D.
D.L.
T.R.
F.A.
M.B.
A.K.

Personally, ran AA into T8o which turned a boat, and even with pot control, I lost a good deal of my stack early on. My premium hands never saw any action later in the tournament, and ultimately i ran into AA, and then at 2bb of course ATo < 94o busto.

In the aftermath, I go up a bit in a cash game, but then bust set over set. I rebuy and end up recovering my loss and my tourney buy-in.

It was good to see some new faces and to see some old faces that don't come around too much. Next time i'm sure we will max out, so more fun in store in the Fall.

Pre-tourney hoopla:
we have 37/40 registrants, and need to fill two spots.

well, it's that time of the year again. like Rocky, soon i will take my pre-tourney walk around the venue to take it all in, to make sure my promotional poster is accurate, and to meditate over whether i want to go the distance or go for the knockout. the field this time will be tougher than ever. i am one of the more experienced players for this tourney size, but anything can happen. good luck to all the Main Line Poker Club regulars - i expect a deep run from each of you. i think bdd67 will go deep this time, as he is due and he's been plugging leaks in his game. partagas also is likely to go deep, not to mention final tablists from last time S.M. S.H. W.E. we are disappointed squasher is not playing.

i hope to send blog updates during the breaks if i have time while coloring up.

my preparation will be similar as last time, which helped my 4th place finish. lots of rest, lots of study, and i've switched energy drinks (purely on taste). this time i'm going with

Villain Hall of Shame

hey pokerfans,
maybe this will be a new thread. with so many books and videos out there trying to tell you how to play poker, here are some lessons from my foes that can teach you how NOT to play poker:

the following are from the PokerStars nightly 70K:
1. here is the worst way possible to play AQo for value

2. here is the worst way possible to play TPNK

3. here is the worst way possible to try to bluff after your opponent bets into half your stack

from the FTP 45
4. How to NOT bluff the river when your opponent (me) has shown strength of every street
can this board be any more dangerous by the river to try to bluff?

horrible river bluff

Theory Corner

How to get your stack in smoothly:
% of pot to bet on each street with 2 players & 3 streets



Approximate odds that someone in later position is holding a pair stronger than yours:
C = (n * R) / 2
n = # of players left to act
R = # of pair ranks higher than yours
C = % chance player has a higher pair

Poker Homework: An ICM Calculation

Texas Holdem Probabilities

Seminole Hard Rock recap

55 runners in the 1pm tourney. i sit down at a hyper-aggressive table with what seems to be a few regulars and some noobs. i was pretty card dead, and when i had some kind of hand (AJs etc) i ran into very coordinated boards and had to let them go. i think i won only a single hand all day, and that was a semi-bluff. i busted in level 5. all in all, i have to say that the play at AC is considerably better.

the highlight was really meeting my online mentor LuckyTown and eventually playing at the same table. neither of us cashed in the tourney. i played a six-max SnG and chop/won it.

i was up decent in a cash game but lost AA to K3s to one of those guys playing any suited cards looking for flush draws.

January 2009 Borgata Recap

Borgata 12pm
191 runners, 10k starting stacks.

Break #1 18k. Doubled up on: 4 limpers at 50/100 i pop to 400 in sb. one caller - UTG sammy farha type, similar in age, personality, and ethnicity. nice fun-going guy. all others fold. sammy was late, missed perhaps 5 orbits. he actively splashed around after joining the table and has about 8k+. i had increased my stack to about 13k. Flop 899. I lead 800 (about 2/3 pot). sammy asks how much i have behind LOL. he calls. turn 5, i check, he bets 2200. i tank and feel confident in a read. i raise to 5000, he calls. river 6, he shoves, i insta-call and he should know that based on my bet sizing. i show TT he shows KTo for a busted bluff.

Break #2 short update from the loo. stack about 30k just trying to play smart. Some weak players at the table. Down to approx 95 players.

Break #3. Less than 10bb, down to 38. Too many interesting hands to recount here. Passed on a race and had a premium hand lose. i also bet table CL off a hand in which i should have extracted my full house for value, but i was playing for his whole stack and wanted to represent a flush draw, hoping he puts me all in, but he folded. Got lucky also JJ vs QQ we both flop sets but i river a flush.

Busto at 32. not a bad run but a few changes and i could have gone deeper. over all, i think i can now hang with the friday crowd.

i played 1/2NL with a bunch of young guys, including a talkative German guy (i like many things about Germany), and just had a blast. i played many more hands, particularly those that play well multi-way, and it paid off. i recovered about half my tournament entry fee.

January 2009 Recap

1/31/09
2/45 ITM losts QTs v 66 flush draw on board. good HU foe.
1/112 ITM for a token. too bad it wasn't a true tourney, as i took actual first when it shut down.

1/30/09
i'm losing JJ < AKo 3 times in a row now. i'm losing most races and most all dominated hands. this just has to turn around.

1/29/09
as further proof that i am inherently unlucky, i took some winnings and played a higher buy-in: the 10pm big double. i didn't know what to expect as far as play, but very early on in each tourney (perhaps level 2) i get JJ, i raise it up, i get re-raised, and i shove all in and get called - by the SAME villain! in one tourney he tables AKo and hits, in the other he tables A4s and hits. i try my luck at a higher 45 and run two pair into a set. finally, i return to my bread-and-butter to finish 8/45 but lost a number of key races to keep me OTM. i'm not giving up on the higher level - i'm happy to race in those spots.

1/28/09
4/45 ITM
6/45 ITM
i final-tabled two 45s simultaneously. i played aggressive and smart, got into trouble once in each one by getting 3-bet when i raised light. in one, i ran AKs into QQ that improved to QQQQ. but i finish ITM when AQo beats K6s from CL who didn't mind calling my shove. i'm crippled when i shove KQo < 77. in the other game i get QQQQ myself but there are no knockouts to help me move up. down to 6 i shove JJ < QKo. this is the kind of night i have in mind when i sit down to play, although i could/should have finished higher IMO.

1/27/09
70/1602 ITM

Thats why volume is important. If u can squeeze that bad streak of 300 tourneys into one week u wont be depressed for as long as someone who plays 2 tourneys a day and always complains about running bad. -Annette_15

at 1:42am, this is how i am rewarded for going so deep. it's so not worth playing MTTs unless you are under 25 years old. and mind you, this was the THIRD overpair that lost to an underpair long after the bubble burst.



1/25/09
2/9 ITM
7/45 bubble boy
returned from vaca to multi-table two tourneys. the SnG i think i could have won but i was busy final-tabling a 45, which i ultimately bubbled. i was the CL down to 8 when i pick up 99 in LP and IronMan/pro with half my stack overshoves, which i take to be AK so i decide to race. he was suited and hit his flush on the river. shortly thereafter i sense weakness in a MP limp and shove my 6bb with A8s, only to be called by the donk who has me slightly outstacked. his JTs flops a J and i'm out. you just can't play JTs any worse than that. my game was on but it's not enough in poker. this is when i usually feel like quitting - i don't do the volume to just shake off beats. every time i play, i play to win it, and it's no fun staying up late just to bubble.

1/16/09
1/45 ITM
just played one tourney tonight, fighting a cold and falling asleep. after the prior night's horrible coolers and beats, i notch a victory against a tough, successful player.

1/8/09
6/27 bubble boy.

1/6/09
9/90 ITM
7/45 ITM
an ice storm knocked me out of two tournaments. usually i have an adequate backup via my HTC FUZE/3G cell phone which can act as a wireless wifi router, but i was foolish to not have the battery fully charged. no problem - i can tether my Samsung Blackjack1/3G to my laptop for a connection. aahhrrgg i left the sync cable at work. i decide to go to the car to charge the FUZE, so i made the trek across my ice-covered driveway in my robe and survived the ice pelting and scorn from my teenagers, but i had busted by the time i was back online. immediately following this escapade, the power came back. too bad - i was deep in each of these tournaments. why go through the effort of having a backup system if i don't keep the backup system ready to go?

i entered another two turbos and manged to get the last paying spot in each. were it not for some bad beats, i could have recovered nicely from the disconnects bust outs.

i'm likely to not play until friday borgata and try to catch up on sleep before then.

1/3/09
2/90 ITM
an absolute heart-breaker against someone from Norway who stayed up all night and played 45o and hit a straight against my paired AQ. i really wanted to notch this victory on PS as i hardly ever win there. i have noticed a big difference in play in some tournaments so maybe there's hope for me if i can profile the table a little better.

54/402 in the 9pm R+A. my streak of donking off my chips in this tournament continues. all i had to do was look at the payout and i could have finished ITM but i spaced out. this is why i remain just average. just a poor play by me.

1/2/09
4/45 ITM
18/180 ITM
96/242
dropped down in buy-in on PS and the play is horrible down there. got a bad beat in the PS 9pm R+A.

1/1/09
played really well multi-tabling but in the end exhaustion got the best of me and i made some donk calls. a shame too - i was 5th in the PS 9pm R+A with a great table image and poised to make a decent run, but ultimately i made a poor decision. lesson learned.

2009 Goals

last year i exceeded my goals, winning the FTP 45 numerous times, winning a 90KO, winning/cashing a casino MTT a few times, and working with a mentor.

my goals for 2009 are:
improve post-flop play
begin thinking about more variables and putting the pieces together
final table a PokerStars 180
final table a MTT > 400 (24th is my best)
qualify for the WSOP ME via satellite or steps
cash in a casino large MTT (31st is my best)
win one of the two scheduled Conshy Classics