! ЯED SQUAЯE POKER !

Meet The Royals !

2012-01-12T15:26:00.000Z

It was a close call, but I just couldn't resist the temptation.

Happy New Year !

2012-01-02T18:09:00.000Z

I haven't played poker in ages, but recently had a weak moment and played a couple of sngs on Stars, and it felt good. Now, I'm playing again, almost on a daily basis. Hmmmm.....
The players at the micro/small stakes are still terrible, making some horrible plays, and getting lucky against me, but I'm winning, so it's all good. I'm not going to let poker dominate my life again though. It's purely a hobby, and is low down on my list of priorities. Famous last words...

I'm not going to make any new year resolutions. They are just a tradition, and don't have any effect on my perseverance. I've been going to the gym regularly for the last 5 months, and enjoying it. I also recently started to study for a Degree with the Open University, which is going really well. Things are looking up, so onward and upward.

Good luck in 2012.

Merry Christmas !

2011-12-25T09:56:00.001Z

The Great Bell Chant

2011-09-25T11:50:00.003+01:00

The Great Bell Chant (The End of Suffering) from R Smittenaar on Vimeo.

The Latest News !

2011-09-16T22:37:00.000+01:00

It's official - I can't win at poker.I have a love/hate relationship with poker = I love to hate poker. I've studied the game for many a year, but to no avail. A few years ago, I could kick ass at small stakes, but now only kick my own. Like a Heavyweight Boxer who has gone past his sell by date, I'm hanging up the gloves, and calling it a day. It's been emotional......

A Soul Read

2011-08-09T23:48:00.000+01:00

Food For Thought

2011-08-07T17:42:00.002+01:00

Mixing It Up With Poker Royalty

2011-07-19T17:02:00.005+01:00

I was just thinking the other day how many players I used to play poker with in Moscow now have bracelets.

Here is a list:

Jeff Lisandro - 5 bracelets. I used to play Sökö with him back in the day (early 90s)
Vitaly Lunkin - 2 bracelets, both in TX NL
Alexander Kravchenko - 1 bracelet in 08 & 4th the Main Event 2007
Mikhail Lakhitov - 1 bracelet in TX NL
Konstantin Puchkov - 1 bracelet in H.O.R.S.E. He also came 6th in two W.P.T events.

These guys are top notch, but still have the proverbial monkey on their backs:

Kirill Gerasimov - 3 x 2nd (TX NL, PL and 7 Stud) & 1 x 3rd (O8)
Alexander Kostritsyn - 3rd (7 Stud) 4th (TX NL HU) & 5th (7 Stud) (1st Aussie Millions 2008

From the lists above, I've played mostly with Kostantin. We used to regularly play the 'Dealer's Choice' games in the Korona Casino on New Arbat, where you could play any one of at least a dozen different games including Crazy Pineapple and Super Seven (you get dealt 5 cards face-down, a round of betting, then throw 2 away, and turn 1 card up, continuing to play the game as 7 Stud 08). Kostya breeds race horses for a living, and is also a very good Backgammon player.

Ahhh the good old days........

Pokerfarm - WSOP

2011-07-14T12:20:00.000+01:00

The Micros - WSOP Special

2011-07-01T19:55:00.000+01:00

Pokerfarm - Crazy Mofos

2011-06-25T11:04:00.003+01:00

The Perfect Scenario !

2011-06-21T01:49:00.003+01:00

I've been very busy over the last month, moving house and working on a new business, so haven't had much time to play. When I do play it hasn't been much fun, losing to really bad players usually sucking out on me. They call it variance, but I never seem to escape it.....!?

Watched 'Battle Los Angeles' last night. It was certainly entertaining, but lacked a little in the story line. I don't think that an advanced race would fight us with guns etc, and lose, but that's Hollywood.

Caio

Jake Cody - The Man The Myth The Leg-end !

2011-06-10T11:39:00.002+01:00

ClubWPT = UB Superuser Software ???

2011-06-09T15:40:00.000+01:00

Thomas Kremser & EPT Part Company

2011-05-26T20:12:00.002+01:00

The Micros - The Triple Range Merge

2011-05-22T01:13:00.000+01:00

Sunday Donkaments

2011-05-02T01:24:00.000+01:00

I had a rough day in the cash games yesterday. After reading some poker literature, I decided to implement some new strategies, which gave mixed results. Back to the drawing board.....

Today, I played in 4 tournaments, min cashing in the 'Storm' and 'The Big', and going deep in a PLO8 tournament, getting knocked out in 26/532. I also played in a PLO tournament, but couldn't get going. PLO is the one game that I struggle to do well in. Cash games are okay, but tournaments are a bit too much of a crapshoot.

This hand was pivotal in the PLO8. KPbICA2008 is a very aggressive player and has a wide range:

Roll on SCOOP...

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-30T12:00:00.001+01:00

The Royal Wedding yesterday was amazing. William and Catherine make the perfect couple. I am a Royalist at heart. The wedding dress was compared to the one that Grace Kelly wore at her wedding to Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956. I think that this marriage will last and the happy couple will become great Ambassadors.

I tried the CAP games on Stars last night, and had a rough time running 4 BI below EV, losing with KK against AK (all-in preflop) twice!!! These games play so differently with most players itching to 3 bet shove all-in preflop, especially in late position with weaker holdings. I'm going to give them a wide berth as the variance is significantly greater than at the normal tables.

c u @ the tables....

Happy Easter !

2011-04-24T20:14:00.000+01:00

Schizophrenic Poker

2011-04-24T12:19:00.001+01:00

Well, I gave up on the sng / mtt grind. Multi-tabling with TableNinja put me in many awkward spots, tilting me badly, so I've started to grind the FR cash games instead. Things are going okay. The absence of the American Players is a mixed blessing; the competition is now weaker, but there are not so many games running.

I had some history with my opponent, and his 3 bet felt like a squeeze. I decided to check raise the dry flop, with a plan to shove if raised. He just called, so I shoved the turn, getting the right pot odds:

Sometimes the Trapper gets trapped. I isolated the utg limper (32/5) and the button (32/16/) tags along. Button flops a set and checks in position, giving me a free card:

I've played a couple of times at Duffs, but they're struggling to get the Players, especially with all the nice weather we've been having. The Grosvenor are running satellites to the Southampton leg of the GUKPT in July, so I might give that a bash.

BTW - Happy Easter !

c u @ the tables....

Party at the D.O.J

2011-04-19T22:38:00.001+01:00

Outstanding Poker - A New Training Site

2011-04-15T02:31:00.002+01:00

Outstanding Poker is a new training site. Check out this video:

Watch & Learn

2011-04-14T01:15:00.000+01:00

I've only had one decent win in the live home game. Hmmmmm.....

TableNinja or KamikazeDonkey ?

2011-04-07T19:16:00.000+01:00

I recently started to use TableNinja, and have nothing but praise for this piece of software. It makes multi-tabling so much easier. It's very similar to playing Rush Poker on Fulltilt. The action is non-stop, which is great if you're winning, but can be catastrophic when losing. I've hit a bit of a downswing since using this software, probably due to the significant increase in volume, making poorer decisions in the heat of the moment. The trouble is that you need to play at least 1000 sngs per month to make any money, which is virtually impossible to achieve playing less than 10 tables at one time. I have to play on a small laptop (big laptop broke), so stack the tables, which takes some getting used to. I prefer to tile tables, because you can see all the action, but this is not an option at the moment. Anyway, I'm going to persevere, and hopefully play through this downswing, before the BR does a vanishing trick.....

Roll on the SCOOP. You can find the tournament schedule here. I managed to win some tournament tickets in the WBCOOP, so I'm freerolling, baby !

c u @ the tables...

Pure Genius !

2011-04-06T10:16:00.000+01:00

Chilipoker - Chiliconnect v1.0 - English... by chilipoker

How To Crush All Games !

2011-04-05T13:24:00.002+01:00

Phil Who ?

2011-04-02T16:59:00.002+01:00

Apparently, Phil Ivey has created his own website to teach poker strategy. Why ? This must be a prop bet to see how hits the website gets...

March was an interesting month on the poker front. I managed to win 8.15bb/100 @ the $25 6 max games, using better table selection, and not playing too many tables. Also played in a few tournaments, getting quite deep, but no cigar. Didn't play much PLO as the variance doesn't do my blood pressure any good.

April is going to be devoted to SNGs and MTTs. The competition is significantly weaker, and it would give me a better chance of building up the BR quickly. The only problem is that my laptop is broken, so I've been playing on a Netbook. I'm looking for a decent laptop to grind on, and this little beauty is hopefully coming out soon. I also fancy an Apple Macbook Pro with 17" screen, but am not sure about reliability of HEM using Boot Camp. Here is an interesting article about setting up a online poker grind station.

My mother is coming home tonight from Egypt, having visited some family friends in Cairo. She came to visit me in Moscow back in 1993 when they had a mini revolution (Puch). Is there a theme running here ?

c u @ the tables.

The Micros - Episode 4: Heads Up 4 Röfls

2011-04-02T00:20:00.002+01:00

Phil Ivey Poker Strategy Video

2011-04-01T23:50:00.001+01:00

Here is a poker strategy video by Phil Ivey !

Cash Games (- EV) + Donkaments (+ EV) = Zero

2011-03-29T05:28:00.000+01:00

The cash games didn't go well today. I ran really badly, and one particular fish kept sucking out on me.

I read this guy like a book, but still got punished on the river:

The dreaded min raise. This guy was really twisting my melons:

I managed to recoup my losses by cashing in two tournaments:

73/2474 in the $11 $25K Guaranteed
37/1402 in the $5,50 6 max $7,5K Guaranteed

getting knocked out of the $25K with 99 against AKo, but suffered a horrible badbeat in the 6 max:

Time for some shuteye....

Up The Duff !

2011-03-25T16:18:00.000Z

Just had my boiler serviced. I had no hot water, even when the heating was on. The timer is knackered, so I'm getting that replaced next week. Also need to get the gas fire serviced. Another bad beat lol.

It's my brother's birthday today. He's 47. Jesus, I feel old. We're having a meal round his place.

I finally managed to visit Duffs the other day. It's a little card room, with 4 tables, situated in a Snooker Club. They have a Dealer's Choice cash game there twice a week with a choice of TX PLO and Irish. On Tuesday there is a £1/£1 game with an optional £2 straddle. On Thursday the blinds are £2/£2 with an optional £5 straddle, and apparently the game gets big. It was good to see some of the 'old school' players there that I've known since the mid eighties....!

This Sunday is the first 'Storm' tournament on Stars with $1 million prize pool and $200k for first place. I'm due an MTT win. One time......

It Ain't About The Money !

2011-03-25T00:32:00.005Z

I'm pissed (inebriated).........

Preach it, girl:

Bonfire night:

Teenage Dream:

Time for bed - spokoini nochi !

Repetition is the Mother of Learning, Unless You're Repeating Mistakes !

2011-03-22T02:05:00.001Z

Since the beginning of March I've been playing TX NL 6 max, and been doing quite well. PLO wasn't doing my blood pressure any favours.

Today was the first losing day I've had this month. I went from my A game to Z game very quickly, making the following notable mistakes:

not laying down top pair with good kicker after having my cbet check-raised on the flop, against a tight player who bet 3/4 pot on the turn.
not laying down A7os from the small blind against a button raiser who 4 bet shoved 75bb against my 3 bet.
triple barrelling air oop from the small blind against a calling station in the big blind.

I'm going to try really hard to follow a 2 buy-in stop loss, which will hopefully prevent me from reaching my Z game. Phil Ivey is an advocate of the stop-loss system, so I'm in good company lol.

I recently found out that Toby Lewis is a local lad. He used to be a 'regular' down the Grosvenor Casino.

What I wouldn't give for a 1/10 of his poker talent......

Sunday Million - 5th Anniversary

2011-03-09T18:45:00.003Z

Apparently, Jimmy 'zeurr' Jonker, 6th place finisher, was underage. Check out the article here.

February - A Tale of Graphs

2011-03-01T11:42:00.000Z

Results for February - mostly PLO:

All things considered it's not a bad result. I've run pretty badly in coin flips, and consolidated my losses with a little tilt, which is very difficult to avoid in the heat of the moment.

Rush PLO:

I was in a 'Rush' to put in some volume and win a small fortune.
Rush poker certainly puts you in to a higher gear, and it's sometimes difficult to slow down; no brakes, just crash and burn....!

Cake PLO:

I think that generally the PLO players at Cake are weaker than the players at FTP or PS, although you can't become complacent.

In conclusion, I think that my main leak in February was pushing supposed small edges, that quite often turned out to be small dogs. Watching mid stakes PLO training videos has probably given me a more aggressive style, which is a double edged sword, because the smaller stakes require more ABC poker. But you do occasionally come up against good thinking Players where more thought it required. That's why even though a HUD is useful, especially when playing many tables, it doesn't account for the meta-game, which is ultimately what you need to know to win.

c u @ the tables...

The Micros - Episode 3

2011-02-26T12:21:00.000Z

No Comment : /

2011-02-25T01:47:00.000Z

On the rare occasion that I decide to play a little crafty, I usually get shafted and this hand was no exception, check calling the turn to let matey 2 outer me on the river for my stack:

This is a standard hand, but it gets a little soul destroying when you keep getting your money in good, and they suck out on you:

Here is another 'Bobby Dazzler'. This time we took it in turns to do the sucking lol:

When you run as good as me it's time to throw in the towel, and take up a less stressful hobby:

I didn't tilt this session. I might just get the laptop rubber armoured, just in case.....

c u @ the tables.

Cry Me A River

2011-02-24T02:43:00.000Z

I managed to lose 9 BI at Rush PLO today over 500 hands. I don't think that I played too badly, just lost coin flips, and pushed a little harder when downswinging:

This hand was pure pain:

I thought that I would be a slight favourite in this hand, but ended up being a 6/4 dog:

I got FLOK'd in this hand. Couldn't put him on QQ so played for stacks on the river :(

On the bright side, I did manage to win some money with a straight flush. Note my cheeky check in position on the turn with chump change to let my opponent catch up:

There is a silver lining to this cloud though. I didn't tilt off any money, maybe overplayed some supposed edges, but no spazzing off stacks...

c u @ the tables.

Check out this groovy tune !

2011-02-23T04:06:00.000Z

Check out this groovy tune

Hilarious Video Clip

2011-02-22T18:40:00.000Z

Video Poker Table

2011-02-21T19:55:00.000Z

Here is a great idea to turn your home game in to a version of Late Night Poker:

Home Game

2011-02-19T03:29:00.001Z

Played in the Home Game tonight. As per usual I managed to lose with the best hand twice; once with AA against an all-in shove from a short stack with 87o, and with TT against AJo all-in preflop. Nevermind, at least the Host lays on some great food, there is plenty of friendly banter, and the alcohol is free flowing.

On returning home I managed to steal a couple of buy-ins on the Rush PLO game. My game is definitely improving. DTB have some interesting videos on PLO with excellent Instructors, including Marty Smyth, who won the WSOP $10k PLO Championships in 2008.

Bought a lottery ticket for the Euro Millions tonight. One time ........!

c u @ the tables.

A Reality Check

2011-02-18T13:47:00.000Z

Donkfest !

2011-02-14T03:37:00.002Z

Here's a crazy hand from a $25 PLO table at Stars. Preflop susanboyle went all-in so I could only call. I didn't even look at the flop, and just shoved my the last few bucks:

Welcome to Badbeatsville

2011-02-13T06:02:00.004Z

I'm running so bad at the moment, and tilting big time. You'd of thought that after playing poker online for the last 8 years I'd be used to badbeats, but I still struggle to contain my anger and fury when some koksuka pulls a miracle card from his rectum on the river to take down the pot.
One thing I am guilty of though is playing on autopilot, not thinking too deeply about each decision. This is probably a major leak in my game, as I get easily bored and distracted, and therefore my play becomes repetitive and predictable.

HEM is still out of commission, but Support is going to help out using Teamviewer, so finger's crossed. The laptop has also started to play up. In standby mode it refuses to start up on demand. Luckily, I quickly found a solution online. So, what else can go wrong....?

There is a new poker site called PokerView where you can play poker and the avatar is your webcam image. Check it out here:

Rush Rehab

2011-02-12T17:12:00.000Z

Book me in to Rehab. I ran bad in Rush and gave back all the money : (
It's like finding a Klondike full of gold, only to find out that it's iron pyrite.
Apparently, the first person to become a Millionaire in the Gold Rush was the guy selling the picks and shovels !

I recently joined Drag The Bar They are doing a special deal whereby if you play at Party Poker and collect enough points, they will give you free membership for one month. They've got some great videos, plus Bill Robertie (former Backgammon World Champion) teaches Backgammon.

I just can't fix HEM. Tried everything that the guys on the forum advised, but still no joy. Mind you, the way I'm running atm, it's probably better that I can't see all that red ink lol.

Okay, I'm off to tuck in to a roast dinner.

c u @ the tables....

PLO Rush - The Crack Cocaine of Poker

2011-02-10T17:25:00.002Z

Wow, I'm buzzing. Just finished a session of two tabling PLO Rush, and my head is spinning. Managed to win 7 BI on one table, and 1 BI on the other. Expect another post in the nearest future where I,ve lost my online BR and slag off the whole concept of Rush lol.

I'm still playing HU sngs and some cash. It seems to me that playing PLO and PLO8 HU are more profitable at the lower stakes, than TX NL. Most of the players are weak, but you do occasionally come across a decent player, who invariably gives you a hard time.

I finally got HEM to work on my new laptop, but now a new problem has popped up. I can't see the cash game results, but the tournament results are visible. I've posted on the HEM forum, so hopefully this problem will be resolved soon.

I recently found out about the Nash Equilibrium Tables for Pushing or Calling a Push in HU sngs. I've always erred on the side of caution when calling a shove, and this table should certainly open up my game in these scenarios.

c u @ the tables....

A Soul Read !

2011-02-05T17:48:00.000Z

Headsupaments !

2011-02-04T02:44:00.000Z

Playing HU really makes you analyse the game. I struggle to play one table competitively, but I know some Pros play 10 tables at a time. Everything comes with practice.

I couldn't believe how light this guy called me down on the river, but in retrospect it does make sense:

My opponent was aggressive, and just calling his bets looked like I was on a flush draw. I went with my read and took down the pot:

Da Pokerz !

2011-02-03T14:27:00.001Z

Naked Ladies

2011-02-02T17:09:00.000Z

Since the WBCOOP (came 26th on the Leaderboard), I've been playing mostly PLO and TX NL FR with the ocassional short handed PLO8 game.

Having been a member of various training sites over the last few years, I still have some DRM free videos, which I'm watching again. It's whetted my appetite for TX NL HU. At the moment, I'm only playing sngs, but later on, if all goes well, I'll start playing in the cash games.

Here is an interesting hand that I played today. The one thing that can't be statistically shown in a HUD is the metagame, which is critical, especially in HU games. I had some good reads on my opponent, and knew that he would try to steal the pot on the river with a post oak bluff bet:

I recently joined up to PokerStrategy and got a $50 insta-bankroll when signing up to a new poker site. That doesn't include the Poker Site Bonus that you got on depositing some monies.

Check out PokerSource. They will give you $100 starting bankroll at some sites.

TAG Poker is another interesting site, which specialises in TX NL HU SNG. There are some free videos to study, and Brokestar, the Head Coach, offers an excellent comprehensive coaching package. His Student's testimonials are worth a read.

RakeBackNation offers good rakeback deals at some poker sites. You also have the opportunity to play as a Prop Player and get up to 100% rakeback !!!

David Gorr - Aussie Millions Champion

2011-01-29T14:56:00.000Z

WBCOOP 8-Game

2011-01-29T09:05:00.002Z

Played the WBCOOP 8-Game last night and came 5th / 652. I got knocked out by a 2 outer playing TX NL. I'm quite happy with the result, but absolutely knackered after 11 hours play. Also managed 20th place in the WBCOOP PLO8 a couple of days ago.

Roll on the Main Event....

Horrible Histories FTW

2011-01-28T00:26:00.002Z

Horrible Histories is a kid's show, but I just love it:

The Micros - Episode 2

2011-01-24T22:48:00.000Z

Another Day at the Office

2011-01-20T03:45:00.001Z

I was the favourite on the flop:

Omaha Hi/Lo Simulation
820 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 4s 2h Td
Hand Equity Scoops Wins Hi Ties Hi Wins Lo Ties Lo
4c Ac 3c 5c 55.67% 303 303 9 601 9
4h Ah 9s 4d 44.33% 210 508 9 0 9

The one time I decide to slow play a big hand:

board: 9cJc9d
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Jd 7s Tc Js 86.10% 706 0
4h 9s Ah Ac 13.90% 114 0

On the Turn 40 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 9cJc9dQc
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Jd 7s Tc Js 92.50% 37 0
4h 9s Ah Ac 7.50% 3 0

Playing HU I got all the money in on the turn, only to find my opponent wake up with a set. I still had 30% equity in the pot though:

Omaha Hi Simulation
40 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 9s Qs 4d 3d
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Qc Ad 4c 9d 30.00% 12 0
4h Jc 4s 7s 70.00% 28 0

I got all the money in as a slight underdog. With only 2 clubs in my hand, my equity would have increased by approximately 3%:

Omaha Hi Simulation
820 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 8c Kc 7s
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Ks Tc Ac 9c 43.66% 358 0
8s 7c 8h 6d 56.34% 462 0

Meet The Royal Family

2011-01-19T02:01:00.000Z

Tough Decision on the Turn

2011-01-18T02:01:00.000Z

Omaha Hi Simulation ?
600,000 trials (Randomized)
board: 7h 2d Qh Js
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Ks 5c Ah Th 44.59% 266,605 1,898
QJ** 55.41% 331,497 1,898

Omaha Hi Simulation ?
600,000 trials (Randomized)
board: 7h 2d Qh Js
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Ks 5c Ah Th 42.60% 254,681 1,783
QQ** 57.40% 343,536 1,783

According to the simulations I had the odds to call, but it's tough when you're deep in a tournament, although I would have become chipleader if I had won the hand.

Jokerstars !

2011-01-17T17:50:00.000Z

board: 6d9c5d
Hand Equity Wins Ties
8d Ad 9d Jh 54.05% 355 10
Ac Qc 6c Jc 16.22% 107 2
Kd 9h Kc 5c 29.73% 194 8

On the Turn 36 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 6d9c5dAs
Hand Equity Wins Ties
8d Ad 9d Jh 76.39% 27 1
Ac Qc 6c Jc 12.50% 4 1
Kd 9h Kc 5c 11.11% 4 0

This bullsh!t keeps happening to me on Jokerstars. Time for a break, before I do something silly and expensive....

Get Lucky !

2011-01-11T21:57:00.000Z

I had a pretty good day on the poker front. Won a couple of buy-ins in the PLO cash games in the morning, then in the afternoon played in a few small buy-in tournaments, coming 2nd and 4th for a tidy profit.

What have I got to do to win ?

2011-01-11T00:56:00.000Z

Omaha Hi Simulation
528 trials (Exhaustive)
board: Th 8h 2d
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Ah 7h 8c 9d 50.38% 265 2
Jd Ts Ac 9c 23.58% 122 5
8s 7s Tc 6d 17.80% 93 2
Jc 5c Td Js 8.24% 41 5

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

2011-01-05T17:09:00.002Z

Wake Up and Smell the Equity !

2011-01-02T16:23:00.000Z

This hand was a wake up call for me. My opponent is actually a favourite on the turn:

Hand Equity Wins Ties
3s 4d Kh Ks 58.06% 630,532 0
7c Tc Jd Kd 41.94% 455,476 0

On the Flop 820 trials (Exhaustive)
board: Kc2s8c
Hand Equity Wins Ties
3s 4d Kh Ks 67.32% 552 0
7c Tc Jd Kd 32.68% 268 0

On the Turn 40 trials (Exhaustive)
board: Kc2s8c9h
Hand Equity Wins Ties
3s 4d Kh Ks 47.50% 19 0
7c Tc Jd Kd 52.50% 21 0

In this hand my opponent overplayed his draws, even though they were for the straight and flush, he was completely dominated:

board: Qd 8h Td
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Ks 8d Ad Jc 69.39% 569 0
7s 9d Qc 5d 30.61% 251 0

How to Win with Ace High in PLO

2010-12-29T23:59:00.001Z

Before the Flop 1,086,008 trials (Exhaustive)
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Ah Td Qs Kc 57.24% 594,104 55,004
Jh Qd 8d Ts 42.76% 436,900 55,004

On the Flop 820 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 6s 5s 4h
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Ah Td Qs Kc 74.76% 611 4
Jh Qd 8d Ts 25.24% 205 4

On the Turn 40 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 6s 5s 4h 2h
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Ah Td Qs Kc 85.00% 34 0
Jh Qd 8d Ts 15.00% 6 0

The Micros - Holiday Special

2010-12-27T00:27:00.000Z

A Mission to Planet Omaha

2010-12-20T17:43:00.000Z

Well, as you can see, I've been playing a lot of PLO and having a great time. If you're going to lose, then you might as well enjoy yourself doing it lol. I've been playing TX NL almost exclusively for the last couple of years, and PLO is like a breath of fresh air. I think that it's very important to keep the game interesting, otherwise you'll just go stale, and stop learning. As you can see, I've started playing at the micro stakes, but expect to move up quite quickly (famous last words).

Listened to the Pokernews Podcast the other day, and managed to bink one month's subscription to Pokernews Strategy by being the first one to correctly answer their quiz. I've been watching the PLO videos by LitleBastrd and URnotINdanger2. These guys really know their onions. The legendary on-line grinder Nanonoko is also one of the Instructors, so I'm expecting some impressive results for 2011 (ever the optimist).

On the Sports-book front everything is going okay, except for the snow screwing up most of the Football games recently. They reckon that due to global warming, the gulf stream is moving away from the UK, and as a result, we're going to have colder winters. Maybe it's time to move to pastures greener and warmer...!

Be lucky.....

You're Twisting My Melons, Man !

2010-12-12T00:31:00.000Z

Omaha Hi Simulation
1,086,008 trials (Exhaustive)
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Kd 5s Ad Kh 68.70% 744,899 2,286
5c 3h 4d 2s 31.30% 338,823 2,286

Omaha Hi Simulation
820 trials (Exhaustive)
board: Th 2d 8h
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Kd 5s Ad Kh 65.61% 538 0
5c 3h 4d 2s 34.39% 282 0

Omaha Hi Simulation
40 trials (Exhaustive)
board: Th 2d 8h 6d
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Kd 5s Ad Kh 72.50% 29 0
5c 3h 4d 2s 27.50% 11 0

PLOHH

2010-12-10T01:41:00.001Z

In this hand against a set I have approximately 50% equity. Unfortunately, he had a higher flush draw also:

Omaha Hi Simulation
820 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 2s Kh Qs
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Jh 9h 8s Ts 26.34% 209 14
Ks 3d Js Kc 73.66% 597 14

Omaha Hi Simulation
600,000 trials (Randomized)
board: 2s Kh Qs
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Jh 9h 8s Ts 45.15% 268,922 3,998
KK** 54.85% 327,080 3,998

'dorado1973' had been playing very aggressively, so I decided to have a punt with him. On the flop I would normally raise, but decided to just call and hopefully see a safe turn card, then raise, therefore effectively halving the odds for those players on a draw:

Omaha Hi Simulation
36 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 8c 2c 5d Qs
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Kh 8s 9s 8h 55.56% 20 0
6s 4c 7c 6h 19.44% 7 0
Kc 6d 9h 5c 25.00% 9 0

Looking Good !

2010-12-09T11:34:00.000Z

I really enjoy watching coverage of the W.P.T, and these enhancements will certainly improve on the entertainment factor, especially with 'Bond18' giving his ten cents worth:

PLO HH

2010-12-08T15:01:00.000Z

In this hand I'm playing an aggro short stack and another aggro DONK, who is relatively new to the table. Was I correct to gamble? Going over simulations, I was never a huge dog:

Omaha Hi Simulation
600,000 trials (Randomized)
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Ts Js 9c Qs 29.23% 165,909 19,057
30% 32.81% 187,964 17,898
15% 37.97% 219,321 17,111
Edit · Link · 2+2 · Deuces Cracked
Omaha Hi Simulation
600,000 trials (Randomized)
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Ts Js 9c Qs 29.15% 168,447 12,930
AA** 46.93% 274,415 14,330
15% 23.92% 131,293 24,532

In this hand the equity is 50/50 on the flop and the turn:

Omaha Hi Simulation
820 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 7h Qs 9s
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Th 9h 3s Ks 51.83% 422 6
Qc Kc Kd 7d 48.17% 392 6

Omaha Hi Simulation
40 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 7h Qs 9s 4h
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Th 9h 3s Ks 50.00% 20 0
Qc Kc Kd 7d 50.00% 20 0

PLO Madness !

2010-12-07T23:07:00.000Z

PLO is a game for Masochists. I get a great deal of pleasure from PLO, but boy do you pay for it in variance.

Omaha Hi Simulation
820 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 6s Th Jc
Hand Equity Wins Ties
9c Ts Ks Qc 54.02% 328 230
Kc Jd 2s Qd 45.98% 262 230

Omaha Hi Simulation
820 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 2c 8h Ah
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Kh Kc Qh 7h 40.00% 328 0
8d Jc Ad 9c 60.00% 492 0

Omaha Hi Simulation
820 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 8h Ac Qd
Hand Equity Wins Ties
8d 7h Jd Ts 28.05% 230 0
2s Qh Qc 9s 71.95% 590 0

Pure Genius

2010-12-02T15:20:00.000Z

Home Game - Take Two !

2010-11-28T02:44:00.000Z

I played in the 'Home Game' again tonight, and actually sucked out on the other players, TWICE. It's normally the other way around. Today, I was all-in preflop with KK and ran in to AA. I was the Dealer and squeezed out the King on the river. Everyone was in complete shock, and thought that maybe I had done a 'Paul Daniels' (famous Magician in the UK). Also had AKs on an A24r flop. Bet, call, I raise, and get 2 callers, with A6o and A4o, both all-in. A rag comes on the turn and a beautiful King on the river. So two suck-outs on the river with a King. It's been a long time since I won 5 buy-ins. Life is good.

A new poker club has opened in my local town, called Duffs. Going to pay them a visit sometime next week. I'm expecting a guy called Moe to be running the Bar. I just hope that Homer isn't running the poker room......

It's been pretty quiet on the poker front, other than playing some stt sngs on Stars and Tilt. I'm just not in the mood atm to put in any volume. After reading about Amatay's and Felix's mtt successes, I'm getting fired up to play some donkaments on Sunday.

c u @ the felt.

Home Game Fun

2010-11-13T15:26:00.000Z

Played in a home game with some mates last night. Had a good time, and played some interesting hands. As per usual I got sucked out on with a 2 outer TWICE. In one of the hands, I had QQ on a Jxx flop. We get it all-in. Matey had AJo and caught a Jack on the river. I'm so unlucky in the home games, but still managed to book a small win :) Also, the Host makes a 'mean' Chili Con Carne, which always goes down well.

I haven't played much poker lately, except some STT SnGs on Stars and Fulltilt, but I've been spending a lot of time on Sportsbook betting. There is software for betting, very similar to the programs used for trading stocks/shares on the Stock Exchange. I'm trying to get used to the software at the moment. It's very easy to make a mistake in the heat of the moment, when you are betting in-play.

Thinking about flogging the house and moving abroad. Since moving back from Russia a few years ago, I feel like I've fallen in to a quagmire, what with the recession and banks crashing, the future is not looking too bright. I've got friends all over the world, so there is plenty of choice; somewhere warm and chilled out, with a decent internet connection hmmm.....

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - GG ME LOL !

2010-11-05T04:51:00.000Z

I've been writing this blog for 5 years now, and it's interesting to look back and see how my game has evolved over the years.

When I started to play poker on-line (2003 on Paradise), I remember watching the big boys playing at Pokerstars, and thinking that one day that would be me. I'm still waiting for that day to come lol.

Amazing Stunts !

2010-11-03T18:08:00.000Z

Laptops, Literature, & Loose Cannons !

2010-10-17T17:47:00.000+01:00

My laptop broke down again. It's definitely on it's way out, so my friend resuscitated it just enough to flog down at Cash Converters. Not sure now whether to buy a desktop or a laptop. Having worked abroad for many years, a laptop would be more suitable. The problem is that I've spent most of the last few years in the UK, and a desktop would give me more bang for my buck. Ideally, I'd buy an iMac desktop and a MacBook Pro laptop, but poker hasn't been that kind to me, yet. There are some good Sony Vaio laptops out now, with the new i7 Quad Core, but the batteries are weak. Choices choices.....

Been doing a lot of thinking about poker lately, studying literature and analysing hands. The depth of poker is unreal. The deeper you go, the more levels you find. Playing HUD-less certainly challenges you to study your opponents and make more detailed notes. Combinatorics is a subject that I'm trying to get to grips with. For most of these young internet Pros, the math is basic, but algebra was never my strong point.

I've been watching PokerStars Big Game on Pokertube. What an excellent format. One Loose Cannon against five Pros. You can win a 'Loose Cannon' spot through playing Sats on Stars, and you get staked $100k to play with the Pros. Everything you win over the $100k is yours. You only get to play 150 hands, so it gets exciting towards the end, when the Loose Cannon is forced to play weaker hands. Check it out.

OK, time to take down one of these Sunday donkaments.....

H.E.M.LESS & H.U.D.LESS !

2010-10-08T01:55:00.000+01:00

I've had problems with my laptop recently, and had to reformat the hard drive. Unfortunately, this didn't resolve the problem, so now I've got to send it away for repairs.
There is a silver lining to this cloud though, because even though I don't have HEM on my other computer, it has FORCED me to concentrate on the action, which has made me play better, because I have become more aware of the metagame, which the HUD doesn't account for. When you play more than four tables, particularly at small stakes, where there is a huge player pool, a HUD is a necessity, but it is impossible to follow the metagame. A HUD can also make you too reliant on the statistics , which can be deceptive. These negative aspects are probably more pertinent at 1/2 NL and above.

I really enjoyed watching live coverage of the EPT London. John Juanda is a very talented player, and has had some incredible results in London over the last few years. David Vamplew was lucky to beat Juanda HU, sucking out a couple of times, but his game was very impressive.

By this time next year.......

You're Twisting My Melons, Man !

2010-10-05T01:50:00.000+01:00

$11 $25k Guaranteed on Pokerstars:

SnG Crazyness !

2010-10-04T17:17:00.001+01:00

W.C.O.O.P Main Event Final Table Replay

2010-10-03T22:18:00.001+01:00

Super Stack $14k Guarantee on Fulltilt

2010-10-03T03:11:00.001+01:00

The villain was quite aggressive in late position, so I decided to gamble with him on the flop:

I love it when the 'min raisers' give me the odds to chase my draws:

I got lucky here. The villain was very active in the small blind and on the button:

In this hand I do some soul reading. The villain was very repetitive in his play:

Due to the wetness of the flop, I knew the villain wasn't strong enough call my raise:

The villain in this hand was playing badly and sucking out on everybody. I was lucky enough to have my hand hold up against him:

You got to love this. He went on 'monkey tilt' and bombed out of the tournament after this hand:

I managed to knock this guy out. He'd been stealing my blind like forever, so revenge was sweet:

I managed to 'bubble' the final table. The table 'crazy' 3 bet shoved with JJ against my raise from utg with TT 5 handed. Oh well, I'm getting closer to the 'sugar'.
I ended up 10 / 2378 after 9 hours play :-/

LMAO

2010-10-02T03:01:00.000+01:00

Soul Reading & Lost Souls !

2010-10-01T00:47:00.000+01:00

$11 $10k GTD Deepstack on Pokerstars.

Here I made a soul read. The villain was playing 31/21 and very aggressive. The check on the turn and large bet on the river just reeked of a bluff:

In this hand I'm out of position against two maniacs. The villain was playing 43/17 and had made some crazy plays:

TopSushi was up to his tricks again in this next hand. A tight player had raised 4xBB and I called in position with a plan to take the pot off him if checked to me, as he was playing 'fit or fold'. TopSushi made a strange play on the flop so I thought I'd just call and see what the turn brings. I could have checked the turn, but when TopSushi and the rock checked, I was sure that I had the best hand:

The perfect scenario, but which idiot changed the ending?:

These guys are MANIACS:

These guys are predictable. I knew he was trying to push me off the pot:

I eventually finished 63 / 1322 three betting a maniac cut off raiser / stealer with rags and getting called. I really enjoyed playing the tournament with a 5k starting stack and 30 minute levels, but after 8 hours play, I'm knackered...!

God knows how players survive the WSOP Main Event.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday !

2010-09-27T01:29:00.000+01:00

$11 Daily $40k Gtd on Pokerstars:

$11 1/4 million Gtd on Pokerstars:

$8.80 $12K Gtd on Pokerstars:

$11 R+B $75K GTD on Pokerstars:

At least I made the money in this tournament - 385/3779

Roll on next weekend.

Playing Well - Running Bad !

2010-09-26T00:13:00.003+01:00

Unrolled Omaha Hi Simulation What's this?

Before the Flop 1,086,008 trials (Exhaustive)

Hand	Equity	Wins	Ties
8s 5s 6d 7d	42.14%	456,879	1,437
8c 9h Jc Qh	57.86%	627,692	1,437

On the Flop 820 trials (Exhaustive)

board: 7sTh4s

Hand	Equity	Wins	Ties
8s 5s 6d 7d	66.95%	549	0
8c 9h Jc Qh	33.05%	271	0

On the Turn 40 trials (Exhaustive)

board: 7sTh4s7c

Hand	Equity	Wins	Ties
8s 5s 6d 7d	90.00%	36	0
8c 9h Jc Qh	10.00%	4	0

God, I hate variance !

2010-09-23T15:21:00.001+01:00

Some day, I'm going to run good at PLO....

Clay Shirky on Cognitive Surplus

2010-09-18T15:16:00.000+01:00

First Hand in a PLO Tournament

2010-09-16T15:14:00.006+01:00

Cards	%win	%lose	%tie	EV
Flop
	37.65	62.35	0.00	0.377
	12.57	87.43	0.00	0.126
	49.78	50.22	0.00	0.498

I still had 42% equity on the turn.....!

A Little Tournament Success !

2010-09-13T13:32:00.001+01:00

I played the 1/4 million on Stars yesterday and went real deep 56 / 28687. I'd been hanging in there with a short stack from the last 300 players, and only sucked out once mid tournament:

My opponent was getting aggressive in late position, and I decided that it was a good situation to earn some chips.

My exit hand was rather unfortunate:

Once he hits his ace on the flop, I'm virtually drawing dead.

I'm very confident in my game at the moment, so expect to take down one of these donkaments in the nearest future.

Watch this space.....

This is how I run, baby...!

2010-09-05T23:01:00.001+01:00

A Clever Solution.....!

2010-09-03T12:08:00.002+01:00

If you are sitting next to someone who irritates you on a plane or train…
1. Quietly and calmly open up your laptop case.
2. Remove your laptop.
3. Boot it.
4. Make sure the person who won’t leave you alone can see the screen.
5. Open your email client to this message.
6. Close your eyes and tilt your head up to the sky.
7. Then hit this link: http://www.thecleverest.com/countdown.swf

The Truth

2010-09-02T19:10:00.000+01:00

Can Amoebas Play Poker ?

2010-08-21T13:16:00.002+01:00

I've been playing online poker since May 2003, and have evolved from a fish, but still haven't become a shark. My evolution stopped abruptly at the end of 2008, and it's been downhill ever since. I did take some coaching at the beginning of 2008, which improved my game tremendously. The problem is that coaching doesn't come cheap, and there are no guarantees. Also, Coaches come in different varieties, the good, the bad and the ugly....

Recently, I've made a concerted effort to improve my game, studying books etc. These books give great advice, but a lot of the information is very player dependent. It's not 'one size fits all'. At the lower stakes it's basically ABC poker, without any F.P.S. Further up the ladder you're playing the same 'Regs' day in and day out, so you have to be creative with your play and more balanced with your ranges to deceive and outplay them.

Mike Lou and Saban's blog pretty much sums up my feelings about online poker at the moment. When I used to live and work in Moscow, I played live poker all the time, and had excellent results. We used to play 'Dealer's Choice' where you could play a dozen variants of poker, including Super Seven and Pineapple. Mind you, even though there were Regs, there were also plenty of fish to sweeten the pot. My results online were not that good though. Maybe it's the aggression factor that affects my game adversely?

So, where do we go from here?

If you never lose sight of the fact that poker is a game that you play for enjoyment, then as long as you don't give up the 'day job', then it's all good......

Talking of work, I might be off again soon to somewhere in Asia......!

Have your Cake and eat it !

2010-07-27T11:53:00.004+01:00

Phil Ivey - Bracelet No:8

2010-06-22T17:10:00.002+01:00

Felt Wars

2010-06-18T20:57:00.000+01:00

Food For Thought....

2010-06-09T11:59:00.005+01:00

Bling Blang Blaow !

2010-04-17T03:17:00.002+01:00

I just took down a limit 08 tournament with 118 players on FTP. At last a little success. It's given me a much needed confidence boost.

I got lucky in this hand at the final table, which doubled me up:

Here is the final hand. I just wanted to finish him off, and with so many outs, that was a distinct possibility:

Time for some shuteye....

I could show Sara a few moves !

2010-04-11T03:18:00.000+01:00