October Goals Review

Well the end of my third month has arrived and now it is time to review the damage. If you missed my October Goals post, check it part 1 and part 2.

Since my points challenge was still on, I decided to really focus on this goal for the month. I managed to play 54 tournaments on Mansion this month, with most of them being of the Double or Nothing variety. I did throw in a few Jackpot SNG's and some 6 person SNG's. I finished in the money 30 times for a profit of $36.88 and an ROI of 10.28%. I also increased my points from 296 to 876 during this time. This puts me over half way to my 1500 point goal.

So overall it was a good month and hope to continue it in November. Check back soon for my November goals.

Good luck at the tables.

Why do I blog?

I recently read a blog that talked exactly about this and it made me start thinking about my reasons for blogging.

It's not that I'm a professional poker player that the world is interested in knowing more about or how I did in my last tournament/cash game. And it is not because I am so good that everybody cares to know my game theory. For me, it's all about learning this game and many years ago I heard someone say "If you want to really learn something, try teaching it". So that is what I'm trying to do, learn. I'm not trying to teach poker to everyone in the world, I'm only trying to express my thoughts on what I see as the skills necessary to become a good poker player so that I may have a better understanding of it and for those who read it, get some insights on some of the aspects of the game. Others may have a different opinion, but some may look at my words and realize that it could help them.

So when it comes down to it, I'm really doing it for me. Nothing against you the reader, but this is how I learn, and if you can pick something up that helps out your game, then all the better for both of us.

Good luck at the tables.

Why the cards matter least - Poker Strategy Part 1

Before you decide to play your hand there are several factors that you should consider before making your decision to call, raise or fold. I understand that poker is a card game, but in reality, the cards you hold are only a small piece of the puzzle and should not influence your decision too strongly. Now a pro/advanced player will say "Tell me something I don't know," while a beginner/intermediate player might have troubles grasping this concept. Some of you may have even heard about how Annette Obrestad (online name Annette_15, winner of the 2007 European WSOP) played and won a 180 person online tournament without ever seeing her cards (they had them blacked out on her screen, there is a video on youtube about it). This just proves my point a little further. Over several upcoming articles, I will discuss many of the factors you need to consider before playing your hand.

Blinds
In order to make a proper decision you need to know what the blinds are and where you stand according to them (M-factor). I understand that this should be a trivial fact, but many players, especially late in tournaments, decide to just call without realizing that they could be putting in a good percentage of their chips pre-flop (if the blinds are high compared to your stack), when according to their M-factor they should fold the hand or go all-in.

Before going any further, I understand that most players don't know, or understand, their M-Factor, so here is a brief description.

The M-factor is the relationship between your stack and the amount of the combined blinds. First off, according to Harrington, there are 5 M-Zones:

• Green Zone = Your M is 20 or more.
• Yellow Zone = Your M is between 10 and 20.
• Orange Zone = Your M is between 6 and 10.
• Red Zone = Your M is between 1 and 5.
• Dead Zone = Your M of 1 or lower.

The higher your M-factor the less you need to play mediocre hands, as your are not in trouble to be blinded out. Once you reach the Orange zone or lower, your options start to become limited. This does not mean that when you have a Green or Yellow M-factor you should not use your larger stack size to expose opponents weaknesses, attack those with a Yellow M, or steal pots, it just means that you are not being forced to play your hand as you can survive a bad stretch of cards without worrying too much about being blinded out. For example, if you have 1000 chips and the blinds are 25-50 this gives you an M-factor of 13.33 (1000/75), putting you in the Yellow zone and giving you the option of not playing a mediocre hand out of position. But if you had 1000 chips and the blinds were 50-100, then now you have an M-factor of 6.66 and your situation takes on a whole different meaning. Your M was just cut in half by the blind increasing and now that mediocre hand starts looking like a monster that you should be pushing with. Keep in mind that with any M of 7 or lower you should be going all-in with medium hands and above, as limping commits too much of your chips to fold on the flop. When going all-in due to a low M-factor, being the first in the pot is always better, especially with medium hands. Not too often do you want to call off your entire stack with less than a premium hand. Also keep in mind that while you are in the Yellow zone you are not desperate yet, but calling or raising a hand could drop your M-factor into the Orange zone, making you think that an all-in might be your best option. Before this article gets to far you might be wondering what I consider as medium hands. First off any pocket pair (99 or less) and connected cards down to 7-6 (suited or not), any A J or lower (suited or not), K Q-7 would fit (suited is better but I would play unsuited), as well as Q J-9 (again suited is way better but if I had position I would play unsuited) would fit this range in my opinion. Some people might go lower, but then you are getting into the greater probability that you are behind pre-flop and cards above this range I would consider strong to premium hands. Bottom line is when it comes to going all-in due to a low M-factor, pick your spot but don't be afraid to play any 2 cards.

If you are having troubles calculating your M-factor while playing, you should consider purchasing Tournament Indicator. This valuable tool is great for SNG's as it will calculate your M-factor as well as your EV (estimated value) for each hand you play. If you do not know what EV is, don't worry, I will be talking about that in another part of this series. Before spending the $80+ on this software you can download a 48 hr free trial to see how it works. Keep in mind that the free version is only for play money games and you will need to purchase the full license to get the full effect. Personally I haven't used Tournament Indicator more than the free version so I don't have a strong opinion either way but I do see the usefulness of it. If you want a more detailed description of it, you can read more at sitngotraining. The author has taken the time to thoroughly analyze it.

The other thing about the blinds to consider is when the next level will be starting. If you find yourself short stacked and the blinds are going up on the next hand or that your M is between the Yellow and Orange zone, you should consider making a move at this blind level with the cards you have. This could be advantageous as players might not consider you as desperate and take you as having a legit hand so they won't call, winning you the blinds. But if you were in the Orange, Red, or Dead zones, your opponents might be thinking that you are making a move with any two cards and are more likely to call.

So when it comes to blinds, although there isn't a whole bunch to consider, they still need considering non the less. The last thing you want is not to be paying attention to them and find yourself blinded out, or in trouble of being blinded out. The next time it is your turn to act in a game, try to think about this before looking at your cards and you will be in a better frame of mind to make a proper decision.

Good luck at the tables.

This is something very cool

I found this link on someone else's blog (can't remember who) but thought I would pass it on. This is very cool and I would love to be able to do something similar.

http://videopokertable.net/

Enjoy!

Player Point Challenge is back on

For those of you who happen to be following along with the Player Point Challenge on Mansion that I was discussing on PokerBankrollBlog, it is now back on. You can find all the details about it in the following thread. Wish me luck and let's hope it goes well.

Good luck at the tables

First Major Leak discovered

After playing in the MTT I just blogged about I had some free time while waiting for my buddies, so I really started thinking about what I did wrong. This lead me to discover what I'm calling the "First Major Leak" in my game. Now I'm sure there have been others, but since I didn't get that eureka! moment, then I can't classify those. Here's what it is: I react to quickly to hands without taking the time to analyze it thoroughly which leads me to lose more of those hands than I win. There, problem found, now the part is how do I fix it.

Before I go on to how I should fix this, let me break down my 'Leak' a little more, so that I/we may better understand it.

Here are the details of 1 of the hands that hurt me the other night.

MP limps for 200, CO calls 200, BTN (me) looks down at QsTs and decide to call. SB calls and BB (aggressive player) checks. Flop brings J33 and everybody checks. Turn brings Q and BB leads out for 500. I instantly think he is stealing as that is what he had been doing to this point in the game. Everybody folds to me and I raise it to 1500 trying to see if my Q is good. He tanks which makes me think he had a J (totaly miss the fact that he was BB and could easity have a 3). He raises to 3500 and I practically insta-call. River brings a 7 and he leads out for 3000 and again I insta-call. He flips A3 for trips and I'm down 6700 chips.

As I was sitting reading one of the free poker magazines that casinos provide for their customers, I came upon an article about making decisions based on your opponents thought process and not what you would do with what you think their hand is. The situation the author referred to was that Hero made a bluff against a calling station who was holding middle pair. Hero thought that if the roles where reversed, he would lay down middle pair. But in reality, the opponent had been calling down less than nuts all game and had hero thought about that, he would have realized that a bluff would not work. So thinking like your opponent is a better way to play than thinking like yourself with your opponents hand. (hope this makes sense)

Using this new found logic, I started wondering about the hand I just described above. Would he really have 4-bet with a bluff hand? Did he think I was bluffing? Why was I so convinced he was bluffing as he hadn't shown a bluff to this point in the game? Why did I insta-call the river instead of trying to put all the pieces together? What range of hands did I have him on? The more I sat there thinking, the more I realize I missed a tonne of information that could have saved most of the chips I just lost. This all led me to discovering that because I rarely do this while playing, it should be considered a major leak in my game that needs some serious fixing.

Now re-thinking about that hand, here's some of the issues that should have came to mind while playing it out.

1. (pre-flop) looking down at QTs in the BTN is not a bad hand and I have a great position. With odds of 3.5:1 a call is almost justified, but I need to realize that if I miss the flop I'm done with the hand.
2. (flop) even though everybody checked the flop that doesn't mean my hand is any better.
3. (flop) could the blinds be slowplaying trips? since nobody raised pre-flop the blinds got in cheap with any two cards. I can't really put MP or CO on a 3, but he could have a hand like KQ, KJ, QJ, or JT along with a mid-pair and is afraid of the blinds holding a 3. Somebody could have limped in with 33 but the odds of flopping quads is very low, so that shouldn't really come into play. If that happens then there's nothing I can do about it.
4. (turn) Why would the BB bet the Q on the turn? Could he be thinking that with 3 limpers (excluding the SB) that 1 of them have either a Q or J and could get paid off with his 3? If he is holding junk would he bluff?
5. (turn) after BB bets and MP and CO fold, what range of hands do I put him on? Could he be bluffing? Should I let this go (top pr no kicker as the J on the board negates my 10) or do I re-raise to see if my hand is strong? What do I do if he fights back?
6. (turn) after I re-raise, BB re-re-raises which signifies strength. What hands can I put him on since he was in the BB in a limped pot. I should fold as everything that he is fighting back with has me beat, ie. a 3 (for trips), J3 (for a full house), QJ, or KQ has top pair better kicker. He also has to think that I have either a Q or J but not a 3 since the hands that I had played/showed down always had strength.
7. (river) with no straight or flush on board how strong is my Q high hand?
8. (river) after BB bets, think about all the action that has happened and put him on a hand. pre-flop - limp. flop - check. turn - bet then a re-raise. river - bet. This is screaming trips or better. Does my hand beat his range of hands that he would 4-bet the turn and lead out on the river? No.

If I had thought of any 1 of these last few questions I should definitely have folded, but I didn't and it cost me some chips.

So as you can see there is plenty of things to think about. I'm sure there are more, but my knowledge and experience aren't there yet to be thinking much further than this, but as I get better I'm sure more difficult ones will come into play, while making the easier ones second nature.

Now in order to fix this leak, I really need to start thinking about all these points during each and every hand. I won't be able to go through each of them every hand, as my memory is not that good yet, but I will definitely work on a few each session and eventually they will all come to mind when playing. I think if I can become better at this aspect of the game I will start seeing some good results.

Good luck at the tables.

1st live MTT in a while

Last night I played in a $50 MTT tournament at the Mohawk Bingo Palace. It had been over 6 weeks since my last live event so I was a little eager to play. I had a couple of buddies of mine join me so we made the trip together (it's about 20mins away).

The tournament is an interesting one as you start with 10K in chips and there is 1 rebuy of 5000 chips for $20. I personally don't like the rebuy part, so I only brought enough money for what I needed to get into the tournament. As the 23 players sat down at their respected tables (3 in total), I found myself at a table with a regular cash game player. I've played against him before (in tournaments) and he is somewhat aggressive with a variety of hands. Throughout the first few level, he doesn't dissappoint, as he steals pot after pot without any resistance. Now he could be betting with made hands but he never shows and odds are you don't get that many good hands in a row, so IMO he's stealing part of those hands.

Over the first 3 levels I manage to chip up to a little over 12k with some decent play and I was feeling good about myself and my game. Big mistake. At this point I'm sitting on the BTN when 2 players limp in before me and I look down at QTs. I decide to limp in hopes of seeing a flop. SB also limps and the above mentioned player calls from the BB. Flop comes 33J rainbow and everybody checks. Q on the turn gives me top pr and BB (aggressive player) puts in a 1/2 pot bet. I instantly think he's trying to steal, so once it is folded to me I bump up his raise 3 times. SB folds and BB tanks for a bit before doubling my re-raise. Without even thinking I call as I feel he might have a J. River brings a 7 and he puts in a 40% pot bet. Figuring I'm still good I call and he shows down A3 for trips. MUCK and a little steaming for the stupid play on my part. I'm now down to under 5k. 5 hands later I'm UTG when I pick up 55. Again I decide to limp and hopefully see a cheap flop. Everybody folds to the SB who makes it 4x the BB. BB folds and I decide to call knowing that if I hit the miracl card, I doubling up. Flop comes Q43 rainbow and we both check. Turn brings another 4 and he bets 2/3 of the pot. I tank thinking he's got A-rag and is trying to win this pot. I finally convince myself that if he has A-rag then he will fold to my all-in reraise, so I go for it, only to see him call me with AQ suited. Done and done! 2 costly mistakes and my tournament life is over. Oh well, on to the next one. As for my buddies they lasted a little longer than me, but not much more.

All in all, not a good night on the felt but I feel that I might have uncovered a serious leak in my game. Going to think more about it and hopefully blog it so that I may learn to fix it.

In the meantime, good luck at the tables.

Goals for October - Part 2

Well I just found out that PokerStrategy will not be offering the $100 bonus for signing up to Mansion Poker through them. Booo! This leaves my Point challenge in the category of 'completed unsuccessfully.' I did also find out that the 'Use it or Lose it' is still on the table so I have until November 26th to make sure that I have more than $50 in my account or it will be gone. If I have more, then I only lose $50 and the rest is mine. This leaves me with a new challenge and goal for October.

I plan on continuing to play at Mansion with the goal of increasing my BR to the point that I won't worry about losing the original $50. This will proably mean that I will keep playing their $5.50 Turbo Double or Nothing games and not worry if I lose it all. I may even try the odd $11 DoN game to see if I can increase my BR even faster.

With my BR at Titan and RedKings secure, I probably won't play there much while I work on my Mansion BR. Time will tell.

Good luck at the tables.

Goals for October - Part 1

As per my September goals, I planned to try and reach a certain amount of Player Points on both RedKings and Mansion. A week ago, when I was thinking about my October goals, I figured I would stick with trying to attain more Player Points on Mansion only, as I would not have enough time to reach the first milestone (250) on RedKings and that money was secure (I wouldn't lose it like on Mansion).

The other day I finally had the opportunity to play poker again after being unable to for the previous 3 weeks (read). Since I was offline for several weeks, Mansion requested that I update my software, so I did. To my surprise, Mansion had left the OnGame network (same one as RedKings) and joined the iPoker network (same one as Titan). I was somewhat pleased with this as now I will be able to monitor my tournament stats with PokerTracker3 (tournament stats are not available for PT3 on the OnGame network, only cash game stats/hands). As I was looking around the new interface (new for Mansion, but very familiar to me as I've been with Titan for several years now) I realized that the Double or Nothing games were only available as "Turbo" and that the Player Points had changed their style/format. As for the DoN games, I'm not happy playing "turbo" games as this takes away some of the skill as it forces you to play mediocre hands or you get blinded out fairly fast, therefore lending itself more to luck in order to survive and win. With the points, I noticed that they changed from 5pts/$1 rake to 20pts/$1 rake. This is nice, but that leaves me confused on where I stand towards my "Use it or Lose it" money that I received from Poker Strategy. I'm currently exchanging e-mails with them to find out what is going to happen now. I can say that my points have changed from 73.7 to 296. So once I know exactly what is going to happen with my points and my money, I will be able to decide what I should set for goals for this month.

As for RedKings, they are still part of the OnGame network, so nothing has changed. I have come to the conclusion that I will not reach the 250 point milestone (extra $12.50 into my account for reaching this point) before October 18th, so I probably won't play there too much this month.

Although I really can't set goals at this point, I do know that I plan on continuing to play solid poker while constantly reviewing the play afterwards so that I can become a better player. Check back soon to see what my final goals for October will be.

Good luck at the tables.

September Goals Review

Well the end of my second month has arrived and now it is time to review the damage. If you missed my September Goals post, check it out here.

First off, I will give you my numbers and then discuss my opinion of them.

Tournament hours played: 26.8hrs

Mansion: 46.77 (-0.80)
RedKings: 94.35 (+43.4)
Titan: 80.97 (+21.6)

Total: 222.09(+64.20)

As you can see I played a few more hours during the month, which is interesting since I stopped playing around the 20th of the month (see previous posts). I think I really could have reach 35-40 hrs played in the month had I kept going. I did manage to increase my BR in 2 of the 3 spots, mostly because of a big win on RedKings (read here) and a good week on Titan (read here) which was nice.

As for my Goals of increasing my Points on both RedKings and Mansion that really only happened on Mansion. It went from 19.7 to 73.9 (+53.8), while RedKings increased from 36.5 to 44.5 (+8). Even though I increased my BR significantly, I did not reach my points goal.

Check back soon to see my October goals.

Good luck at the tables.

Back at it

First off, I'd like to apologize for not blogging during the past 3 weeks. What happened was that I had some out of town training scheduled and with all the preparation leading up to the event, I didn't have the opportunity to play any poker. Let me tell you, 3 weeks of no poker was tough. The first week and a half was like going through detox and once that passed I was OK. I finally managed to play a few nights ago and had some mild success (2 money's out of 3 games).

Currently I'm working on a series of topics to blog about. I'm also planning on updating my September results and planning my October goals.

See you soon.

Good luck at the tables.