Saturday, February 21, 2004
Moving on Up
Sorry for the lack of updates this week. Baby Royal has her baptism tomorrow and we've had company in town all week. Mrs. Royal started back at work on Monday. She's working part time for two weeks and then moving back to full time after that. Grandma watched the baby while mom was away at work this week. Next week we begin the adventure in illnesses known as day care. I've been told that even though I rarely get sick now, it's all about to change...
Great!
Quest Stage #1 Complete:
I've finally drudged my way through 10,000 hands at the $0.50/$1 limits and it's now time to take the step up. Through 10,000 hands I had a little over 3BB / 100 hands profit. Look for a statistical rundown in a later post.
The $0.50/$1 limits will be missed. In fact, I'm sure I'll play them some in the future...or at least vicariously through Mrs. Royal. There are just so many horrible players at those limits and the game requires virtually no attention or thought. You can be doing 10 things at once and still make money playing $0.50/$1 on Party or Empire.
The only real drawback to these limits is obvious...there is money to be won, but it is small. They really are perfect limits for a newer player looking to get better without investing a bunch of money. Mrs. Royal is a perfect example. She's been playing in our home tournaments off and on for the last year, watching the WPT and watching me play online. She wanted to play occasionally online, but not being a gambler she had no interest in spending a bunch of money. By playing tight preflop and aggressive post flop she has been able to make a nice (small) profit. She gets the enjoyment of playing real poker for money without any large risks and the added benefit of improving her game. More hands = more experience = better player. She's quickly going to become a scary player in our home games.
The Grublog Poker Classic
Only 1 day until the first blogger tournament. It looks like Grubby has 22 people currently registered for the 1st (annual?) tournament. This is going to be a blast!
Sorry for the lack of updates this week. Baby Royal has her baptism tomorrow and we've had company in town all week. Mrs. Royal started back at work on Monday. She's working part time for two weeks and then moving back to full time after that. Grandma watched the baby while mom was away at work this week. Next week we begin the adventure in illnesses known as day care. I've been told that even though I rarely get sick now, it's all about to change...
Great!
Quest Stage #1 Complete:
I've finally drudged my way through 10,000 hands at the $0.50/$1 limits and it's now time to take the step up. Through 10,000 hands I had a little over 3BB / 100 hands profit. Look for a statistical rundown in a later post.
The $0.50/$1 limits will be missed. In fact, I'm sure I'll play them some in the future...or at least vicariously through Mrs. Royal. There are just so many horrible players at those limits and the game requires virtually no attention or thought. You can be doing 10 things at once and still make money playing $0.50/$1 on Party or Empire.
The only real drawback to these limits is obvious...there is money to be won, but it is small. They really are perfect limits for a newer player looking to get better without investing a bunch of money. Mrs. Royal is a perfect example. She's been playing in our home tournaments off and on for the last year, watching the WPT and watching me play online. She wanted to play occasionally online, but not being a gambler she had no interest in spending a bunch of money. By playing tight preflop and aggressive post flop she has been able to make a nice (small) profit. She gets the enjoyment of playing real poker for money without any large risks and the added benefit of improving her game. More hands = more experience = better player. She's quickly going to become a scary player in our home games.
The Grublog Poker Classic
Only 1 day until the first blogger tournament. It looks like Grubby has 22 people currently registered for the 1st (annual?) tournament. This is going to be a blast!
Friday, February 13, 2004
PokerStars Special
PokerStars once again has their fantastic 20% deposit bonus deal going. The best part of their bonuses is that a $600 deposit is allowed which gives you a bonus of $120! PokerStars also is one of the few (only?) sites that give bonus credits for tournaments. So, you could potentially get your deposit bonus without playing a ring game if you were so inclined. You're also racking up Frequent Player Points (FPP) which are good for entries into some of the best freerolls around.
The only problem is the players on PokerStars are, in general, much stronger than on Party. If you couple that with less total players, your options become limited. Now, an average player can still make money with the huge $120 bonus. You just need to be more careful.
Anyone have any advice on what to play on PokerStars to accumulate the most FPPs without putting too much of your deposit at risk. I've tried Omaha H/L, Stud, and of course the Hold 'em tables and I've yet to find the right combination. It might simply be $2/$4 or $3/$6 HE. I'm sure my three readers would appreciate any tips!
Quest Update
9,100 hands down with less than 1,000 to go before I move up limits. So, probably sometime next week I'll get to sample the $1/$2 waters.
Mrs. Royal continues to dominate at the $0.50/$1 tables on Party. She's run the free $20 up to over $120 in the last week. She's maybe playing 50 hands a day. This puts her BB / hr at some obnioxously high rate. I hope she doesn't get discouraged when it returns to normal. I've been preaching to her and "I think" she understands.
It's so easy to feel invincible when you are on a hot streak. Every play you make is correct. You are clearly better than almost any other player. Why is this so easy?
...and then everything changes and you start running cold.
The good players can accept the hot with the cold and not get too excited either way. They continue to analyze their game whether winning or losing. They can mentally handle the inevitable swings associated with this game. They understand and accept that better players will win more money than worse players over long periods of time.
Where do you stand?
PokerStars once again has their fantastic 20% deposit bonus deal going. The best part of their bonuses is that a $600 deposit is allowed which gives you a bonus of $120! PokerStars also is one of the few (only?) sites that give bonus credits for tournaments. So, you could potentially get your deposit bonus without playing a ring game if you were so inclined. You're also racking up Frequent Player Points (FPP) which are good for entries into some of the best freerolls around.
The only problem is the players on PokerStars are, in general, much stronger than on Party. If you couple that with less total players, your options become limited. Now, an average player can still make money with the huge $120 bonus. You just need to be more careful.
Anyone have any advice on what to play on PokerStars to accumulate the most FPPs without putting too much of your deposit at risk. I've tried Omaha H/L, Stud, and of course the Hold 'em tables and I've yet to find the right combination. It might simply be $2/$4 or $3/$6 HE. I'm sure my three readers would appreciate any tips!
Quest Update
9,100 hands down with less than 1,000 to go before I move up limits. So, probably sometime next week I'll get to sample the $1/$2 waters.
Mrs. Royal continues to dominate at the $0.50/$1 tables on Party. She's run the free $20 up to over $120 in the last week. She's maybe playing 50 hands a day. This puts her BB / hr at some obnioxously high rate. I hope she doesn't get discouraged when it returns to normal. I've been preaching to her and "I think" she understands.
It's so easy to feel invincible when you are on a hot streak. Every play you make is correct. You are clearly better than almost any other player. Why is this so easy?
...and then everything changes and you start running cold.
The good players can accept the hot with the cold and not get too excited either way. They continue to analyze their game whether winning or losing. They can mentally handle the inevitable swings associated with this game. They understand and accept that better players will win more money than worse players over long periods of time.
Where do you stand?
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Brutal B-Tings
No, not a bad poker beat. Tuesday night basketball league was brutal. Tonight we played the league's top team and lost a tough game by 14 points. I'm bruised, sore and physically exhausted. I'm really impressed how this team has gelled through this season. We are the second least talented team in the league and our end of season record will clearly indicate that. However, three teams that beat us by 30 the first half of the season only won by 12, 2, and 14 points respectively in the second match-up. We're playing so much better as a team!
It's now offical! Soaring Eagle Casino will be opening their poker room again this month. Check out this link to their website.
Number of tables?
Tournaments?
Casino Location?
I'm not sure any of this has been specifically decided yet...
This can only be good for poker in Michigan and will hopefully force the other casinos to improve their act. I LOVE COMPETITION!
Mrs. Royal Joins the Action
It turns out Mrs. Royal has an email from Party Poker giving her account $20. Not a deposit bonus, simply a $20 gift. Play 140 raked hands and the money is hers to keep. I ran through the 140 hands on Sunday, built it up to a little over $50, and turned her loose. She's playing good and has already built her bankroll to over $65. Lookout Fuzz, here comes Mrs. Royal!
Quest Update
8,600 hands down! My plan is still to move up to $1/$2 once I hit the 10,000 hand mark at the $0.50/$1 limits. At this time I do not plan to play the shorthanded six-players games at $1/$2, only the normal ten-player ring games. I'm a little worried about the lack of tables compared to $0.50/$1, but we'll see. If there isn't enough action I might jump straight to $2/$4, but my preference is to play the limits in order.
Last
Best of luck to Iggy on his blogging / poker break. I know he'll be stronger than ever when he comes back and that is a very scary thought indeed! Remind me never to come down to your place again, get drunk, and play NL. My bankroll could not afford a hit like that!
For those of you who are curious, Iggy really is a sober middle-age housewife. RIGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHTTT
No, not a bad poker beat. Tuesday night basketball league was brutal. Tonight we played the league's top team and lost a tough game by 14 points. I'm bruised, sore and physically exhausted. I'm really impressed how this team has gelled through this season. We are the second least talented team in the league and our end of season record will clearly indicate that. However, three teams that beat us by 30 the first half of the season only won by 12, 2, and 14 points respectively in the second match-up. We're playing so much better as a team!
It's now offical! Soaring Eagle Casino will be opening their poker room again this month. Check out this link to their website.
Number of tables?
Tournaments?
Casino Location?
I'm not sure any of this has been specifically decided yet...
This can only be good for poker in Michigan and will hopefully force the other casinos to improve their act. I LOVE COMPETITION!
Mrs. Royal Joins the Action
It turns out Mrs. Royal has an email from Party Poker giving her account $20. Not a deposit bonus, simply a $20 gift. Play 140 raked hands and the money is hers to keep. I ran through the 140 hands on Sunday, built it up to a little over $50, and turned her loose. She's playing good and has already built her bankroll to over $65. Lookout Fuzz, here comes Mrs. Royal!
Quest Update
8,600 hands down! My plan is still to move up to $1/$2 once I hit the 10,000 hand mark at the $0.50/$1 limits. At this time I do not plan to play the shorthanded six-players games at $1/$2, only the normal ten-player ring games. I'm a little worried about the lack of tables compared to $0.50/$1, but we'll see. If there isn't enough action I might jump straight to $2/$4, but my preference is to play the limits in order.
Last
Best of luck to Iggy on his blogging / poker break. I know he'll be stronger than ever when he comes back and that is a very scary thought indeed! Remind me never to come down to your place again, get drunk, and play NL. My bankroll could not afford a hit like that!
For those of you who are curious, Iggy really is a sober middle-age housewife. RIGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHTTT
Saturday, February 07, 2004
Why 10K?
The Fat Guy asked a great question the other day in reference to my 10,000 hand quest(s).
Here's my rational for 10,000 hands versus less:
I agree that putting in a bunch of time at the same limits and tables, say $0.50/$1 at Party Poker, is great from a human pattern recognition standpoint. Human beings have a unique ability to do neural pattern mapping and quickly recall those patterns. Have you seen how much trouble robotics and AI folks have had getting computers to recognize faces? It seems that now, finally, the computer hardware and software is in place to do this fairly accurately. On the other hand, my daughter is 10-weeks-old and already knows her Mom and Dad's face.
2K vs. 5K vs. 10K vs. 25K....I think even several thousand hands in the same situation will give you a good enough pattern of the game. For example, at $0.50 / $1 on Party you are no longer surprised when the following occurs:
-Guy on the button has 47o and he cold calls 4 bets preflop. Why not call with 47o, you've got position, right?
-He gets incredibly lucky when the flop comes AK5 all suited. Now, our hero doesn't have a card to the flush...but runner runner straight is always a possiblity, right? So, he easily calls the bet and raise on the flop.
-The turn is all money when it brings an 8. Now he knows the gutshot is coming! Who cares if the turn is 4-bet?
-Of course, here comes the money 6. He now joins the fray and helps cap the river...then loses to the guy on 79o. lol
I LOVE PARTY POKER
The problem with simply remembering patterns is we miss the subtle details. Our brains tend to remember dramatic things much more easily than normal occurrences. So, we remember the one time we flopped the nut flush with A8 suited and got paid a $40 pot. And we remember the time we flopped the nut flush with A8 suited and lost a $40 pot when the board paired on the river. However, we forget the 42 times we called a raise with A8 and had to fold on the flop.
I want to understand the patterns and plug those little leaks as well. Poker Tracker is your weapon in plugging the small leaks you will not pickup without statistically analyzing your game. I'm not even talking about tagging fish here. Simply looking at your statistics and finding out what hands are profitable under certain conditions. No pattern mapping or guessing involved. Just the hard truth about what wins and what doesn't.
When I started this serious of quests I picked 10,000 hands hoping it would be enough to do accurate statistical analysis. After 8,000+ I can now tell you that it is not enough hands. I'm now thinking 25,000 and maybe even 100,000 hands would be required for a completely accurate profile. There are simply too many possibilities. Then, when you make your play adjustment based on the data, you will need another large set of hands to analyze and compare with.
I have no intention of increasing my quest. If I continue to play $0.50/$1 in the future I'll collect more data. Maybe a few years down the road I'll have the 25,000 hands I need.
So, 5K is okay...10K is twice as good. The more data you have to analyze, the more small leaks you will find!
The Fat Guy asked a great question the other day in reference to my 10,000 hand quest(s).
...I admire guys like Royal for playing 10,000 hands of 50¢ poker, but I wonder what the point of that is. My take is that after that many hands of pointless robot poker, you will have seen enough hands and flops that absolutely nothing will ever surprise you again, and there's a HUMONGOUS deal of value in that. On the other hand, what will you see in 10K that you won't see in 5K? I dunno...I'm asking here.
Here's my rational for 10,000 hands versus less:
I agree that putting in a bunch of time at the same limits and tables, say $0.50/$1 at Party Poker, is great from a human pattern recognition standpoint. Human beings have a unique ability to do neural pattern mapping and quickly recall those patterns. Have you seen how much trouble robotics and AI folks have had getting computers to recognize faces? It seems that now, finally, the computer hardware and software is in place to do this fairly accurately. On the other hand, my daughter is 10-weeks-old and already knows her Mom and Dad's face.
2K vs. 5K vs. 10K vs. 25K....I think even several thousand hands in the same situation will give you a good enough pattern of the game. For example, at $0.50 / $1 on Party you are no longer surprised when the following occurs:
-Guy on the button has 47o and he cold calls 4 bets preflop. Why not call with 47o, you've got position, right?
-He gets incredibly lucky when the flop comes AK5 all suited. Now, our hero doesn't have a card to the flush...but runner runner straight is always a possiblity, right? So, he easily calls the bet and raise on the flop.
-The turn is all money when it brings an 8. Now he knows the gutshot is coming! Who cares if the turn is 4-bet?
-Of course, here comes the money 6. He now joins the fray and helps cap the river...then loses to the guy on 79o. lol
I LOVE PARTY POKER
The problem with simply remembering patterns is we miss the subtle details. Our brains tend to remember dramatic things much more easily than normal occurrences. So, we remember the one time we flopped the nut flush with A8 suited and got paid a $40 pot. And we remember the time we flopped the nut flush with A8 suited and lost a $40 pot when the board paired on the river. However, we forget the 42 times we called a raise with A8 and had to fold on the flop.
I want to understand the patterns and plug those little leaks as well. Poker Tracker is your weapon in plugging the small leaks you will not pickup without statistically analyzing your game. I'm not even talking about tagging fish here. Simply looking at your statistics and finding out what hands are profitable under certain conditions. No pattern mapping or guessing involved. Just the hard truth about what wins and what doesn't.
When I started this serious of quests I picked 10,000 hands hoping it would be enough to do accurate statistical analysis. After 8,000+ I can now tell you that it is not enough hands. I'm now thinking 25,000 and maybe even 100,000 hands would be required for a completely accurate profile. There are simply too many possibilities. Then, when you make your play adjustment based on the data, you will need another large set of hands to analyze and compare with.
I have no intention of increasing my quest. If I continue to play $0.50/$1 in the future I'll collect more data. Maybe a few years down the road I'll have the 25,000 hands I need.
So, 5K is okay...10K is twice as good. The more data you have to analyze, the more small leaks you will find!
Friday, February 06, 2004
What Would You Do?
It’s time for another poker hypothetical question.
The Situation:
You're in Vegas for a "business" trip this April. You learn that The Horseshoe has Super Satellites going on all week and you just "happen" to have a free day during your trip. So, what the heck, you enter a Super. Many hours and a couple re-buys later you've done it! You've just won a seat in the $10,000 WSOP.
Now what...book your room and plane ride for May? Take your crack at the $3 Mil first prize?
Or, sell your seat for ~$10,000. Yes, I know it will be slightly less on the secondary market.
Go For It!
Keep the Cash!
In all seriousness I'm not sure what I'll do if and when that day comes. $10,000 is a lot of money for me, but I don't really need it for anything either. The Royals are a relatively frugal family and we have our finances in pretty decent order. Now, ten grand would sure be nice to take off the mortgage or throw in Baby Royal's college fund. Since it was won playing poker, it would probably go into the bankroll. Maybe then I could afford to go above these $0.50 / $1 limits. :)
I'd probably lean towards entering the event...though it would go against much I stand for. Maybe I'll just plan on winning two entries and making the decision a little easier!
Quest Update
I've now broken through the 8,000 hand barrier and the light is getting brighter. I'm also decently above my 2BB / 100 hand goal. The last ~2,000 hands have been the most profitable so far. I "might" be getting better at these limits or maybe I'm just running hot. I think it's probably a little of both. I can table that improved table selection has helped.
Local Scene
We went out to eat with BDozer and AI last night. Baby Royal was, once again, very well behaved. I'm looking forward to a rare Friday basketball game tonight. I haven't had time to deposit money in Mrs. Royal's Party Poker account yet. Hopefully we'll get that done this weekend.
Last
Good luck to Lord G on the Pro Quest. I truly hope it all works out for you man!
It’s time for another poker hypothetical question.
The Situation:
You're in Vegas for a "business" trip this April. You learn that The Horseshoe has Super Satellites going on all week and you just "happen" to have a free day during your trip. So, what the heck, you enter a Super. Many hours and a couple re-buys later you've done it! You've just won a seat in the $10,000 WSOP.
Now what...book your room and plane ride for May? Take your crack at the $3 Mil first prize?
Or, sell your seat for ~$10,000. Yes, I know it will be slightly less on the secondary market.
Go For It!
- This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You qualified for the big event for less than a $1,000...it's destiny.
- Moneymaker had never played live before and look how he did. You've already proven yourself in live tournaments.
- Varkonyi was, and still is, much deader money than you currently are.
- It's only $10,000. If you don't spend it here you'll probably blow it betting on the Pats in the Super Bowl.
- It's an excuse to go to Vegas! That's worth the $10,000 alone.
- 1,300 players with top 8% in the money. That's way better odds than Powerball!
- First place is $3 Million Dollars!
Keep the Cash!
- $10,000 is a lot of money. It would double your bankroll and allow you worry free playing at most lower limit tables.
- 1,300 players with top 8% in the money. If Varkonyi plays then at least you'll be a favored over one player. You've got no realistic chance of making the money.
- Now you need to buy a plane ticket, book hotel rooms for 7 nights, and play a little side action. This trip is going to cost way more than $10,000.
In all seriousness I'm not sure what I'll do if and when that day comes. $10,000 is a lot of money for me, but I don't really need it for anything either. The Royals are a relatively frugal family and we have our finances in pretty decent order. Now, ten grand would sure be nice to take off the mortgage or throw in Baby Royal's college fund. Since it was won playing poker, it would probably go into the bankroll. Maybe then I could afford to go above these $0.50 / $1 limits. :)
I'd probably lean towards entering the event...though it would go against much I stand for. Maybe I'll just plan on winning two entries and making the decision a little easier!
Quest Update
I've now broken through the 8,000 hand barrier and the light is getting brighter. I'm also decently above my 2BB / 100 hand goal. The last ~2,000 hands have been the most profitable so far. I "might" be getting better at these limits or maybe I'm just running hot. I think it's probably a little of both. I can table that improved table selection has helped.
Local Scene
We went out to eat with BDozer and AI last night. Baby Royal was, once again, very well behaved. I'm looking forward to a rare Friday basketball game tonight. I haven't had time to deposit money in Mrs. Royal's Party Poker account yet. Hopefully we'll get that done this weekend.
Last
Good luck to Lord G on the Pro Quest. I truly hope it all works out for you man!
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
WPT Wednesday
Finally, a new World Poker Tour episode tonight! I think I've seen all the season one episodes about a billion times each. It's time for some new action and tonight I get my fix! As I mentioned before, Mrs. Royal also enjoys the WPT. It's a "win-win" when poker counts for quality time!
Here's what the Travel Channel says about tonight's episode.
The Grublog Poker Classic
Well, I joined the fray in the first annual Grublog Poker Classic. The competition will take place at Choice Poker on Feb. 22nd. Choice Poker is apparently a newer poker site and as of yet there are not many players. They're currently offering an attractive 35% sign-up bonus. I'm a little leery because of the few players, so I just deposited $50. That will give me a chance to try the site out at least a little bit. If you decide to give them a try, feel free to use your good buddy "Royal" as a referral.
Local Scene
Even though we lost, again, basketball went extremely well last night. As previously mentioned we are simply out gunned in this league. Last night we fought one of the top teams in the league neck-n-neck the whole time. We were down 6 points with about 5 minutes left when one of our players did some serious damage to his Achilles tendon. Final diagnosis is not in yet, but he is probably out for the season. This left us with only 5 active players and more importantly it was a huge deflation for the team. This wasn't a star player we lost (we don't have any of those), but it's really tough to get motivated again after seeing on of your teammates sprawled out on the floor in excruciating pain. We were flat the rest of the game and lost by about 10. I shot and rebounded well last night and helped keep my team in the game.
Baby Royal continues to sleep better through the night. She's now getting up about once to eat at 3 or 4 and then going right back to sleep. Mrs. Royal is happy about this and that makes Royal very happy!
Also, tonight at dinner (Stir Fry with Scallops - Yummy!) Mrs. Royal mentioned how she would like some money deposited into her account on Party. We set her up with an account a year or so ago, but she never had much interest in it. This should be interesting...
Quest Update
I've put very little time into online playing these last few days. Super bowl, basketball, and real life in general have all gotten in the way. I'm playing a few hands now as I work on this update, but probably won't get too much time in with the WPT tonight. I've been looking at notebook computers again and might use profit sharing from work to purchase one. Then I could put in those $0.50/$1 hands for my loyal readers while watching the WPT.
Finally, a new World Poker Tour episode tonight! I think I've seen all the season one episodes about a billion times each. It's time for some new action and tonight I get my fix! As I mentioned before, Mrs. Royal also enjoys the WPT. It's a "win-win" when poker counts for quality time!
Here's what the Travel Channel says about tonight's episode.
It's a legendary final in Hollywood as six of poker's best line up in Los Angeles for a shot at the $1,500,000-prize pool and one of poker's most prestigious titles. In the hunt for the money is famed Texas rounder T.J. Cloutier, two-time WPT finalist Chip Jett and Paul Phillips the Dot Com Kid, an internet millionaire who doesn't need the money — he only wants to win. With a raucous crowd on hand, The Legends of Poker hosts one of the wildest final tables of the year and promises a Hollywood ending that will have you right on the edge of your seat.
The Grublog Poker Classic
Well, I joined the fray in the first annual Grublog Poker Classic. The competition will take place at Choice Poker on Feb. 22nd. Choice Poker is apparently a newer poker site and as of yet there are not many players. They're currently offering an attractive 35% sign-up bonus. I'm a little leery because of the few players, so I just deposited $50. That will give me a chance to try the site out at least a little bit. If you decide to give them a try, feel free to use your good buddy "Royal" as a referral.
Local Scene
Even though we lost, again, basketball went extremely well last night. As previously mentioned we are simply out gunned in this league. Last night we fought one of the top teams in the league neck-n-neck the whole time. We were down 6 points with about 5 minutes left when one of our players did some serious damage to his Achilles tendon. Final diagnosis is not in yet, but he is probably out for the season. This left us with only 5 active players and more importantly it was a huge deflation for the team. This wasn't a star player we lost (we don't have any of those), but it's really tough to get motivated again after seeing on of your teammates sprawled out on the floor in excruciating pain. We were flat the rest of the game and lost by about 10. I shot and rebounded well last night and helped keep my team in the game.
Baby Royal continues to sleep better through the night. She's now getting up about once to eat at 3 or 4 and then going right back to sleep. Mrs. Royal is happy about this and that makes Royal very happy!
Also, tonight at dinner (Stir Fry with Scallops - Yummy!) Mrs. Royal mentioned how she would like some money deposited into her account on Party. We set her up with an account a year or so ago, but she never had much interest in it. This should be interesting...
Quest Update
I've put very little time into online playing these last few days. Super bowl, basketball, and real life in general have all gotten in the way. I'm playing a few hands now as I work on this update, but probably won't get too much time in with the WPT tonight. I've been looking at notebook computers again and might use profit sharing from work to purchase one. Then I could put in those $0.50/$1 hands for my loyal readers while watching the WPT.
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Super Bowl Sunday
The tournament last night went fantastic. We had 20 players and quite a few railbirds for this local $25 limit HE event. I wanted to start with two tables of 10, but one available table was your standard 8 person home poker table. With quite a few "large" bodies present, going to 10 at this table was a definitive NO. So, we started with 3 tables of 6-6-7 and dropped down a table with 16 players left. This actually worked out quite well as the extra table turned into a NL ring game once people started dropping out.
The other thing we've found works really well in these smaller tournaments is having set dealers. We force a couple of the more experienced players to deal. This really really helps move things along. The experienced player / dealer helps keep bets, raises, etc. correct and keeps the game flowing. I would prefer to have set dealers who do not play, but in a friendly game with no rake who would want to sit out? We've used this setup for both ring games and tournaments and it is dynamite! I'd highly recommend it to any group that is still passing the deck around the table. It might be too big of change for some established local games, but if you are just starting a game --- get the players into this setup!
I think we now might have enough local interest to start something the BGPS has been doing for awhile. That is, taking a small rake from each entry fee (maybe $5 in our case) and adding it to a pool for a large prize at the end of the season. Maybe we could do a ranking system and season championship?
Results
I played well and caught a few key cards resulting in a 3rd place finish. BDozer and Joe ended up splitting the top prizes.
Key hands:
4 or 5 players left and I'm in 2nd or 3rd chip place. BDozer has a relatively small chip lead over both Joe and I. Finding a medium pair UTG I raise it up. BDozer calls from the BB with A8o. The flop comes eight high giving da Dozer top pair and me a set. Yes! I call his bet and then we 3-bet the turn as Dozer picks up a nut flush draw to go with his still top pair. River 4 flushes the board and when he bets spew profanity and fold. :)
BDozer goes from a small lead to a huge chip lead!
We get down to heads up and BDozer is 3-5 times favorite in chip count over Joe. However, Joe picks up AA and BDozer flops top pair. Many chips are piled into the pot and Dozer finally folds on the river when Joe makes his set. BDozer was, of course, pissed off to see the ace since he knew he was ahead the whole time. Turns out the A on the river saved him at least one more bet since he was actually chasing Joe's AA. This left DBozer in the lead, but the gap was greatly narrowed.
A few hands later they decide to split. Great job guys!
Quest Update
7,500 hands down and 2,500 more to go. I probably won't get much chance to play today since we're going over to a friend's house to watch the Super Bowl. I'll let you know when I hit 8,000!
Last Thing
Pats will not cover.
The tournament last night went fantastic. We had 20 players and quite a few railbirds for this local $25 limit HE event. I wanted to start with two tables of 10, but one available table was your standard 8 person home poker table. With quite a few "large" bodies present, going to 10 at this table was a definitive NO. So, we started with 3 tables of 6-6-7 and dropped down a table with 16 players left. This actually worked out quite well as the extra table turned into a NL ring game once people started dropping out.
The other thing we've found works really well in these smaller tournaments is having set dealers. We force a couple of the more experienced players to deal. This really really helps move things along. The experienced player / dealer helps keep bets, raises, etc. correct and keeps the game flowing. I would prefer to have set dealers who do not play, but in a friendly game with no rake who would want to sit out? We've used this setup for both ring games and tournaments and it is dynamite! I'd highly recommend it to any group that is still passing the deck around the table. It might be too big of change for some established local games, but if you are just starting a game --- get the players into this setup!
I think we now might have enough local interest to start something the BGPS has been doing for awhile. That is, taking a small rake from each entry fee (maybe $5 in our case) and adding it to a pool for a large prize at the end of the season. Maybe we could do a ranking system and season championship?
Results
I played well and caught a few key cards resulting in a 3rd place finish. BDozer and Joe ended up splitting the top prizes.
Key hands:
4 or 5 players left and I'm in 2nd or 3rd chip place. BDozer has a relatively small chip lead over both Joe and I. Finding a medium pair UTG I raise it up. BDozer calls from the BB with A8o. The flop comes eight high giving da Dozer top pair and me a set. Yes! I call his bet and then we 3-bet the turn as Dozer picks up a nut flush draw to go with his still top pair. River 4 flushes the board and when he bets spew profanity and fold. :)
BDozer goes from a small lead to a huge chip lead!
We get down to heads up and BDozer is 3-5 times favorite in chip count over Joe. However, Joe picks up AA and BDozer flops top pair. Many chips are piled into the pot and Dozer finally folds on the river when Joe makes his set. BDozer was, of course, pissed off to see the ace since he knew he was ahead the whole time. Turns out the A on the river saved him at least one more bet since he was actually chasing Joe's AA. This left DBozer in the lead, but the gap was greatly narrowed.
A few hands later they decide to split. Great job guys!
Quest Update
7,500 hands down and 2,500 more to go. I probably won't get much chance to play today since we're going over to a friend's house to watch the Super Bowl. I'll let you know when I hit 8,000!
Last Thing
Pats will not cover.
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