Secrets of Sit'n'gos

I just finished reading "Secrets of Sit 'n' Gos" by Phil Shaw.  So far I think it has been a helpful book for me.  Some of it I had picked up intuitively just by playing a lot of play money SnG's and it was nice to know there was some math behind it.  There were a lot of things I did not know and judging from the small sample of SnG's I have played since reading the book, they are important concepts.

I haven't committed the tables to memory yet, maybe the next time I read it.  I want to let these ideas sink in a bit before going back.  Who knows, maybe I will start playing these things for real money at some point.

If you haven't read it and you like playing SnG's, you should go and buy it.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

From Littleacorns...

Caution, Blog Pimpage ahead!  From time to time in the past (and hopefully more frequently in the future) I have featured a poker blog in a post.  The blog doesn't have to be big, or popular, or well written (see my blog) to get a plug here.  All it takes is that you blog about poker and are doing it on a fairly regular basis.

The blog featured today is a blog called "Littleacornman's poker n life blog".  The blogger is from Scotland and apparently plays SnGs on Party and Stars.  Haven't seen a bad beat story yet, but I haven't read a lot of his posts yet.


Go read, then Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Chip Off the Old Block

Last night my 8 year old son sweated me while I played a one table SnG online last night.  It was for chips and not money.  He made most of the decisions, I explained the board to him and he would decide what I should do.  We actually made it to the 1 hour break in a close 3rd place.  Then we flirted with the chip lead and one of the other two players took out the other.  We were in a close second.  We battled back and forth for a good 10 minutes.

Then we saw AJ spades in the big blind and called.  We bet, the other player raised and we went all in.  The other player had KTo and spiked a 10 on the river.  I don't look at it as a bad beat.  I look at it as a valuable lesson for my son.  We can only control the things we have control over.  We got our chips in when the odds were in our favor, but poker as in life there are no guarantees.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Playing again...

The past two weeks I have been playing on Full Tilt Poker again.  So far, I have been playing only with chips.  I have been playing mostly multi-table SnGs.  I have been in the money (chips) 4 out of 5 times.  I have also played 4 freeroll tournaments.  I have yet to cash, but I have gone deep each time.  I think that it is only a matter of time before I start getting some return on my time investment.  If you see me at the tables, give me a yell.  I usually don't pay attention to the chat, unless my name is in the box.


Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Getting Better

I had time for some play money SnG action this week on FTP.  I played 4 multitables and made the final table 4 times.  I was in the (play) money twice and even won once.  I was making good reads and getting my chips in at the right places throughout.  The two where I did not make it to the money, I was not patient enough.  I'm getting better.  Hopefully the trend will continue.

As you may or may not remember, I have not played with real money online since the US Congress passed the most dastardly, cowardly act I can remember.  I think it would be better if they regulated and taxed online poker than try to ban it.  It does not stop those who truly wish to play.  They can get their money to the online site.  With any luck, congress will wake up after the election and deal with this.  But I doubt they will.  At this point it is not a major issue and the atmosphere is too polarized for them to agree to anything. 

Update on my play

I played in 4 -90 seat play money SnG's at FTP over the last three days. The results:

5th - in the chips.
11th - my head was screaming fold, but I had pot odds.
14th - donked with the Hammer.
7th - in the chips. Went out on a coin flip - my AKo vs. 88. 8 came on the flop.

Overall I thought my play was OK. All I really need to do is avoid the all-in monkeys at the beginning and fold most of the rest of the time.

So I think I am pretty consistent at this point. I still need to tweek a few things. Like when to up the aggression. But that will come. Man I love this game!

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Still Playing, Though not as Much

Yes, I am still playing. Maybe once or twice a week I will go to FTP and play a couple of 90-seat S-n-Gs for chips, not real money. About 90 percent of the time, I make the final table. I guess I need a new challenge. More later.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Actual Poker Playing

Yes, I actually played some poker this week. Three different days - two at FTP and one at UB. All for play money of course (Congressional bastards!).

At FTP I spent one day playing Pot Limit Holdem, and was up considerably. The next day I switched to Multi-table SNGs and "cashed" in all of them.

At UB I played a couple of SNGs cashed in 3 of 4. Then I played two freerolls. I need to build up my patience level for the tournaments. I was one of the first 200 out in one and outlasted 3/4 of the field in the other.

Yes, I know UB has a cheating scandal. But it, as far as I know, didn't extend to play chips.

If there is a site you play at and would like me to play there let me know!

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

SnG Success?

Last week I got to play in some 90 seat SnGs at FTP - play money of course at this point. Over three days, I played 10 of them. Yeah, I know, it ain't many, but what can I do on a 14.4 connection. Well anyway, I didn't do too badly. I finished 3rd in one and 1st in two others.

I didn't crush the competition. I just waited out the all-in monkeys, played hands I could win and tried to find reasons to fold. My favorite hand from during these tournaments was when I had KK and the flop came KK2 rainbow. I had limped in UTG and with this flop, I checked. I knew the other two still in the hand would make a play for it and they did. One for a substantial raise and the other called. I waited and then called. The river came with another rainbow card - a 7. I again checked to show my "weakness" and the other two raised and reraised. I again "reluctantly" called.
When the river came with an Ace, I knew it was time to wake up. I checked, the other two raised and reraised trying to bluff each other and me. When it came back to me, I re-reraised all in. the other two thought I was was stupidly trying to steal the pot and insta-called me. They were not too happy to go home when they saw my quad-kings, but that is the way it is sometimes.

So in three days, I am up about 16000 play chips. Not bad. Not great. I think I will play these some more until I can get a little better and build up my chips, then go up to the higher buy-in SnGs and see how much better they play there. Probably not too much better as it is still play chips, but who knows.

Yes, the WSOP is in full gear at this point. And you know, I am not following it too closely this year. I think my level of poker interest has leveled off a bit. I am not following things as ravenously as I used to. I still love poker quite a bit. I just wish I could find a game in the Martinsburg area that did not involve 420. Oh well, I guess I will continue to play for play chips online for the time being.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Ah, there is nothing like owning a tournament. Even if it is for play money. I only got to play a couple of Sit-N-Go's on Friday, but the results were pretty good.

The first was a single table at FTP. At one point I was last out of seven, then I chipped up a bit and was in a solid third place with four players left (Top three pay out). At that point I got a little impatient trying to either chip up some more or bust out the guy in fourth. I bubbled.

The second was a 90 player at FTP. I was a lot more patient and was consistently above average in chips. Going into the final table I was second in chips and was expecting to pull in a first place because the chip leader had a massive lead and was in sit-out mode. I guess he went to start another tournament.

Then it happened. My wife reminded me that we were going to a play that evening and if I didn't get my butt in gear I would be left home because she was going. At this point, I am almost equal in chips to the leader, and I own the other two.

So, I put myself in sit-out mode, got ready and went to the play. So what happened? I finished third. behind the guy that was in third and the chip leader. Oh well. That will teach me to know what the schedule here at the house is before I start a Sit-N-Go.

By the way, the play was excellent!

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Updates

Greetings my friends. Since Party Poker does not allow me to play for real, maybe some of my European readers would like to check out Party Poker Germany. You will find the link over on the right hand side. I'm sure there are still quite a few fish swimming around. There always were when I played there.

I got a bit of interesting mail today. Actually it was addressed to my wife, the lovely Mrs. _one. I will post more on it once I have checked it out. Hopefully I will have time in the next few days.

To any of the Bloggers attending the upcoming WPBT in Vegas: If you are in need of a dial-a-shot contact me, and work permitting, I will throw one back with you. (Note to self - make sure there is SoCo on hand.)

Play for me has not been easy the last couple of weeks. Right now I am playing mostly play-money Sit and Go's over at FTP. I can usually make the final table if I am patient. But I have not been "In the Play Money" for a while. I will have to study my play and figure it out. My first inclination is that I have not been playing aggressively enough.

Time to put the little _ones to bed.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

More SnG Fun

I played in a handful of Play money 2 table SnGs at FTP today. I finished 3rd and 2nd in two and the rest I finished out of the money.

I did something in one of them that I swore I would never do (never say never). The first hand I see AA and I went all in pre-flop. I had 4 callers, nobody improved enough to beat me and I cruised to the my second place finish.

Maybe sometime in the near future I will play some of these for real money. Of course I will have to figure out a way to get my winnings since Neteller no longer serves me. Don't you love Congress and the President.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Sit-N-Go Fun

I had some time today, so I played in a couple of Play Money, Two Table Sit-N-Go's over at FTP. I haven't played for a couple of weeks and I was fairly pleased with the results.

In the first, I made the final table 3rd in chips and held pretty steady until I went all-in with trip Kings on the flop against a guy with two pair who rivered the full house to beat me. I went out in 7th.

I fared a bit better in the second. I made the final table 2nd in chips. Then I played semi-tight, for a while then I went full bore on the aggression. I ended up winning that one. I was pleased with my play in both games. I think I only played one hand badly. Fortunately I think it helped me win the second SnG.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Rusty

I haven't played much in the past few months. I have spent most of my waking hours either taking care of my family or looking for a job. (If you have a job for me, let me know.)

So Monday was the first time I had fired up UB in a while. I have been playing the play money sit-n-gos there for a while and doing pretty well, more often than not "cashing". Well the time off was really bad for my game. I have become to impatient since I last played. Of course the fact that I am currently playing on 14.4 dial-up does not help matters much. I did not even break the top 20 in the 3 30 seat S-n-G's I played. Oh well, I guess I just need to practice more.

Note to WV Governor Manchin (like he reads this): Please sign the Table Gaming Bill! I want to play poker twenty minutes from my house!

Enjoy the pokery goodness!