Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Knowing your level

I follow both Colette Murphy and Nicky Powers blogs and would like to congratulate both on their recent successes. Colette won two tickets for the recent JP Masters each worth €750 and cashed for €700 at her local The Fitz when finishing 3rd in a €125 game. Nicky took down his first ever live PLO tournament also at the JP Masters adding over €3000 to his bankroll.
Am I jealous? Are these the sort of results I aspire to?Not in the slightest and of course I would like to cash figures like that. But these guys play at a different level to me just now and just as I love to watch Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson or Phil Laak playing High Stakes I know I can't afford to play at any thing like these levels. There are four different No limit hold'em games, online tournament and cash plus live tournament and cash. Online I have accounts on both Boyles and Bruce which have small balance and I play tournaments and cash at very low buyin's and blinds. If I am good enough my balance will increase and allow me to play at higher levels if not then I am playing the right games. I am not willing to buy myself into bigger money games by lodging more money to my accounts so in this way I will find my own level online.
The live game is a little different. As I have said before I don't have a bankroll but when I have a few quid to spare I like to play. Tomorrow night I am off to the Cue Club again to try and win a ticket for the Munster Open. If I win one I'll play if I don't well then I will have to give it a miss. That's my level, I play small local event's and satts for bigger events.
What about Live Cash?? This is the hardest one!! I can play 5 cent 10 cent blinds online and take as little as a few dollars to a table but the smallest Live games are 1-2 euro blinds and you can't really sit at a table with less than €100 and really a bit more wouldn't go astray. So I have only ever played once in a live casino game and lost my whole buy-in in what was a great move until the river hit!!! However due to the kind donations of a few Limerick bookmakers I am thinking of giving it another go!!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Bruce Poker

I have followed Nicky Power Bloghttp://nicnicnicnic.blogspot.com/ since I first played against him at the Cue Club over 18 months ago and Bruce Pokershttp://www.brucebetting.com/ sponsorship deal with him was my first introduction to the site. Mind you I only opened an account with them a few weeks ago and transferred €10 (hey I said I was small time)to the poker account just over a week ago. Anyway it didn't take me long to lose my bankroll on the cash tables--I raised from under the gun with pocket jacks got called, raised,called,and called before it came back to me. I flat called?? and my first caller again called the raise. Flop comes two small spades and Jack of hearts. Lets cut the story short I end up getting it all in on the turn and only my first caller (last to call the reraise) called me. River is a spade and the guy turns over a seven high flush--------------------------. Maggie (my better half) was sitting alongside me and near flipped, how did he call the first raise, then the reraise and the "Big" all in on the turn???
Well not long ago I would have agreed but as I get older(at least that's my excuse) I take these things a little better. My only complaints where I have no more money in my account to rebuy and as it's online I may never get to play with this guy again and believe me I want to play with him every day so no rant but also no money in my account!!!
Solution??? FREEROLLS!!!!
Bruce run a €50 freeroll every night at eight so last Monday or was it Tuesday, no matter, I set to work. One hundred and ten started seventeen to get paid with a top prize of $11.50 I was on a mission. And just over 3 hours later mission was accomplished $11.50 in my account. No great stories to tell-- well what do you expect from an online freeroll but I'm back in business and while it's far from my biggest ever cash it was numerically the biggest event I have ever won.
I returned to the cash tables and played a few small tourneys for the rest of the week, ahead in the cash down in the tourneys and again played the freeroll on Thursday but ended up tossing in the chips silly as I had to put the kids to bed and maggie got a call. Not to worry it was only the freeroll and kids are far more important than poker.
I sat back into a cash game early yesterday evening with a small stack of $4.50 and as 3 other players joined at the same time and we all checked I didn't read the all-in from the big blind as strong. Now I had just arrived at the table so you can't say my read was strong but as I had more chips to call upon for a rebuy I decided to call and give a little action with my Kh 10h and was delighted to be facing a Qs 10s well I was delighted until 3 spades hit that is!!! Anyway I had 35 cents left and my 6-5 off was enough to call an early raises from the same player(I hadn't reloaded it time) and with another caller I tripled up against an A K and A Q by hitting trips on the river. Funny thing is I would have folded if I had reloaded t time!! And my luck continued as I left the table with over $23 and decided to try the freeroll again, I'm a cheap skate.
Ninety two sat down at eight o clock and at 11.15 I finished runnerup after I called an all-in with my top pair when I was slightly out chipped the the guy hit runner runner flush to take it down. Another $8 for my bulging account.
The lesson is for people like me who can get the trill from small money http://www.brucebetting.com/ ain't a bad site.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Cue Club Anniveresy

I have been playing a decent few live games since I posted last with my best result coming in Knockaderry last Wednesday when I got €105 for winning a 19 starter event. They play there twice a week on Wednesdays and Friday and it has always been a nice earner for me but I have only played there 3 times this year mainly due to work and that fact that I enjoy spending time at home with my family. Now it's always nice to win but the highlight of my poker playing over the last few weeks was in Killarney at the Cue Club for their 10th Anniversy event. It was the first time I have played in a three day event or anything longer than a single night event come to think of it and all I can say is I can't wait to play in my next one. We had a one hour clock and a 15,000 starting stack brilliant!!! We started at 6.30 and the first blind level was only 25-25 in which got all my big hands barr one. Not than I got many big hands, my pocket kings , 6-6, 3-3 and 2-2 all came in the first level and my only other two pocket pairs where 10-10 and 3-3 in later rounds. Now I am not complaining as I was fortunate enough to hit the flop on enough occasions to keep me going. Indeed I had the chip lead for much of the night at my table but had slipped back to 18,000 entering the last level 200-400 for the night. Maurice had been raising a lot of pots lately and I wasn't too surprised to see him make it 1200 from early position. I looked down and saw Kh Qh and as I had been quite for some time felt a good reraise had a good chance of getting through so I made it 32oo but Maurice called, still I was happy enough. Flop came As Ah 3h giving me a nut flush draw and with 7300 in the pot I shoved my remaining 15000 into the middle. Maurice called showing Ad 10d and his trips held up with no heart coming to my rescue. It was 2.10 a.m. and I was the first player to be knocked out from our table. I think the best way to sum up my night was the answer I gave Jim when he asked me what had I learnt from the night? Answer----That I love it!!!!!!!!!!