So, I'm up and running again on the micro-stakes cash tables.
I've started fairly slowly, as I'm not particularly confident about my game, at the minute. I managed to get about 1,000 hands in during the week playing one table at a time, on Full Tilt Poker. Things started very shaky, but I think I've managed to turn them around a little.
My current stats are:-
Progress, such as it is:-
I've found myself limping a lot less than I used to, which is probably the most positive thing to report. I'll try and get at least 2,000 hands in during next week, and see how things look after that.
Well folks - since I last wrote, I played out both of the Hendon Mob Forum league play-offs that I'd qualified for.
I managed a decent showing in the runners-up play-off, taking an aggressive line; although I was never able to get maximum value from any of the hands I was involved in - mostly due to the quality of the competition, I suspect - and bust-out in ninth place.
The loyalty freeroll, which I played the following evening, was a total disaster! I think I tried too hard from the start, and ended up chasing losses, badly.
At a bit of a loss what to do next, I've spent the last week playing 8-Game, H.O.R.S.E., PLO8, Stud8, and Razz for cash; at limits that my bankroll most definitely doesn't support ($0.10 / $0.20) - great fun, but a losing game - especially as I couldn't seem to concentrate on one game and kept flitting between formats, looking for a win.
So... after an exhilarating week of fun, I've now decided to give my [much battered] bankroll a bit of a rest, and have returned to the very beginning...
You guessed correctly, Einstein - it's back to the the heady heights of $0.01 / $0.02 Hold 'em for me!
(1) Yes, it's boring; and (2) Yes, it's full of disrespectful upstarts, that are constantly looking-me-up with such utter trash, that it's only slightly ahead of my trash; but (3) it may help my BR recover (albeit slowly); and (4) I've got to admit it - my game has been getting sloppy over the past week, and it really is time to get back to basics.
After having exploded yet another laptop recently, I've now downloaded Hold 'em Manager again, and am gonna start working on all the basics that have been slipping - bet sizing, positional play and hand reading.
I'll post some numbers up once I've managed to get my first 1,000 hands in, and let's hope I can show a decent return at the same time!
Haven't managed to write-up an entry for a little while, because I've not had much to write home about.
I've been too busy working to get much [any] time in at the cash tables, which is where I tend to make-up the BR ground I lose in the tournaments.
A quick, but depressing resume of what I've been up to:-
Black Friday
Yes... I was one of those melodramatic souls that made a run on Full Tilt and Stars... after lots of anxious introspection my withdrawals... were deposited HOORAY... now what?
Super50
So I decided to use a sizeable portion of my bankroll to play in the Super50 at Dusk til Dawn. As I think I've said before, Dusk til Dawn is an amazing poker club to play in, with some fantastically structured tournaments - in particular the Super50 is a great tournament - decent field, nice structure and stacks. However... it really didn't help my state of mind getting my entire stack in on the first hand and not-winning. Ok, I didn't lose either, but as far as omens go it certainly wasn't propitious!
I managed to stay true to form and played [consistently] badly throughout... but saved my finest [bad] moment to the last hand I played - trying to bluff a solid player off a flopped full-house with air - inspired really... just inspired by these guys:-
Hendon Mob Forum League
I last wrote about the Hendon Mob Forum League the last time I made a final table - funny that. Since then, there have been two more league matches - the last two games in the league. The first was a double-stack Pot Limit Omaha [PLO] tournament. I'm not very good at PLO - it's best to admit it - I play draws too aggressively - which isn't necessarily a losing habit, it's just that I play non-nut draws to aggressively, which is. The final league game of the season was a triple-stack Hold 'em tournament. To be fair to myself, I played this fairly well, and didn't make many stupid moves throughout the first two hours - went out to a decent player with a decent hand in a decent spot, so I'm not going to beat myself up too much about that... stupid f**king idiot!!
However... not everything has gone wrong in the league. Once the final scores-on-the-doors had come in, I'd managed to scrape into position for the second play-off (runners-up play-off); and had managed to cover my costs for the season with tournament winnings from the league - so actually achieved my two goals from the start of the season.
I also think that my overall poker game has improved quite a lot during the nine months I've been playing in the league games. They are a great opportunity to play a range of poker games and formats, with a decent group of players, cheaply. I'd recommend anyone to come and try it out next season, if you want to learn to play tournament poker on a budget.
My cash game has also improved during the same period (mostly since xmas, really); and I'm confident that I can take it forward once I get the time to begin playing again, properly... in about two weeks time - HOORAY!!
The two league play-offs that I'm in take place tonight and tomorrow - the first is the runners-up play-off, for finishing 22nd in the league; and the second is the 'league loyalty' play-off for competing in 33 of the 34 scheduled games. Each play-off is a winner-takes-all tournament, with a $2,500 tournament prize for first place. Given the players that I'm competing against, I'm not expecting to win both tournaments ;-)
However, I have been motivating myself during the week, to give myself the best shot. I really shouldn't give away all my secrets, but suffice it to say, it involves eating several bananas (they can work wonders) and sporadically listening to this:-
With this sort of preparation, it's almost unfair on the other players... good job I didn't have also have a tangerine, otherwise it would have been tantamount to cheating!
