Day 1 Update

Well day 1 wasn't all that good. I am also probably going to input the daily updates on top of other topics that I think off just to maintain my outlet for weird ideas.

Played a $26 dollar MTT and 3 $22+2 turbos. Long story short I did not get ITM of the MTT (700+ players) and made it ITM on only 1 of 3 turbos. The good news is I placed first on that one so that lessened the blow a bit.

Some things I noticed...

1. I am having a hard time detaching myself from the money. I need to start thinking in units again versus money because I find myself looking at the bankroll too much.

2. I still believe in the great potential for returns of MTTs (Hey 99% of my profits came from MTTs) but due to its high risk nature, I need to be able to pad my bankroll a bit before I can safely traverse these dangerous waters again.

3. My bankroll is under siege due to the high stakes (comparable to the bankroll) and should play a bit more conservatively. This style may not be suited for most new players but can be a path for those who are willing to take bigger risks.

So I MAY slow down on the MTTs until I can build a better roll through SnGs. Hopefully if I can get a 20-30% increase I can use those profits to fund my MTTs. I plan on playing the $75s a lot once I get more breathing room because that is the MTT that has netted me the most profit. Fewer players (300 max) and its a double stack tournament allowing for skill to win out more then luck.

Running Count - ($25)
Bankroll - $425

Back From The Dead

Well I just took a 3 day break from poker and just played a bit of Warcraft and DOTA on the battlenet. I've had a rough week at work, had a misunderstanding with my girlfriend (which has been resolved yay!) and a bad run of cards causing a major dip on my bankroll.

Well I'm back... hopefully with a better plan on the remaining 30+ days I have left in the US. Depending on how well or how bad I do it will pave my decision if I should continue my online game in Manila (If ever, Nickg I will need your help on setting up in Manila! hehehe)

I am going to post daily updates on how well I do. Currently I have pulled out $4000 which is locked profits and I am hoping that I do not touch that. I have $450 left as an online bankroll in FTP and that's where I will start. This is something that may be interesting to some of my readers since most people looking to start online will have a bankroll similar to that.

I will be logging in 30 pure days (which may be less if I lose the entire roll hehehe) and will update things as I go along.

I will be allotting 10 buy-ins to the $22+2 turbos ($240) and the remaining $210 for tournaments (about two $75s and two $26s). Not a lot of room to work with but I am working on the assumption that most online players hit a big tournament win and using those profits to set up a bankroll dozens of times larger then what they started with. More muscle to swing their weight and more profits to be reaped.

I will also be posting losses and wins. Just to give people an accurate view that its not all fun and games. The bad beats and bad streaks will happen. Mnlgrind, Eric and other Filipino online players have been through it. So to those aspiring players, take it with a grain of salt. Patience, skill and perseverance will win through but its not easy as TV makes it out to be.

Another option is I pull out $2000 back in and open up accounts in stars and party. That way I can multi table MTTs and try my hand at true pro play. It's an idea but I hope I can fund that with the wins from the small bankroll I have left.


Ground Zero:

SnG roll - $240
MTT roll - $210

Day 1 coming up. Wish me luck

What Should GameFrog Do No. 2

Well I havent ran too well the past few days and still searching for my 4th final table at FTP. Its taking awhile though hehehe. Good thing is I got my Frozen Throne CD so I am alternating between DOTA and poker. By the way, for the DOTA players out there please make sure to check my first link.

So anyway, I was thinking about this scenario and I would like comments on it. Three players in a hand at a 50/100 ring table. They are:

GameFrog (5,200) first to act
Chip leader (7,700) second to act
Short Stack (900) third to act

GameFrog had A[d] J[d] and raised 400 which were called by both players. Total pot is at 1,200 and the CHIPS ABOVE ARE THE CURRENT STACK AFTER FLOP. (I just put that in BOLD since some comments deducted 400 from the stacks above) The flop comes

4[s] 2[d] 9[d]

Chip leader, who looks like he only has overcards, is also known as a calling station and will probably call a bet (he got his chips from sucking out with pair 2 against KK the bastard). Short stack looks like he hit something and is raring to push all his chips in.

GameFrog feels likes he should lead out with a bet. The question is how much??

What should GameFrog do?

Assume the reads I provided are accurate. I am looking at the action after the flop and how it can net the most chips for the minimum risks.

Will post again on this tom.

When The Beats Come

I am not in a habit of posting bad beats since everyone has heard of them a thousand times. But I feel it's better to lash out here on the blog rather then further damage my bankroll.

Lost roughly $250 today and though that's not too bad really what really got me steaming was that I lost it on hands where I was coming in with at least a 6-1 advantage.

Lost $110 on a cash game when I pushed all-in with 2 pair and the guy hit his trips on the river.

Lost at 47th place on the $75 MTT with a massive chip stack when I went against the chip leader. AA vs KK and he hits running flushes?!?!

Lost a turbo SnG at 4th when I get my trips jacks busted by a runner runner straight.

All on one night. It's enough to make a man go kill someone. So in favor of not losing anymore money and not commiting homicide I thought I'd just ramble on here.

Tom is another day and the beats will come and go. Things will get better I'm sure of it!! Yeah that's the spirit!!

Oh crap am all out of booze...... well that didn't last long.

So Close......

Damn I almost made my third final table tonight. Two straight beats took me from average stack to the shortest stack in the tournament. AK vs AJ and a bloody KK vs AJ pulling the ace on the turn. Well I guess that's poker!

Finished 15th out of 320 players on the $75 MTT for $180. I also managed to make it ITM on 3/4 on the $24 turbos placing first and two seconds on them. Hmmmm am starting to like those turbos. They pay out better, goes a lot faster so blind steals are the key element and allows me to play more games per day! As long as I can keep a good ITM% then they seem to be the logical choice for me.

I'll try out the 5 turbo SnGs and 1 MTT per day routine and let you guys know. Second straight day on the positive (+$220) so am hoping this keeps up. No big paydays but am seeing that its better to consistently make small profits and have a chance at getting paid big rather then draining funds constantly (no matter how trivial it seems) playing the high variance MTTs.

Opening Up My Game Further

So far I think i have been regarded as an MTT player (MTT jock as Nickg said lol). And though I have gained most of my wins from MTT I am finding it hard to make it ITM these past few days. I don't really think there's a leak in my game but the beats come and when they do they can cripple my my shot at winning the tournament. Been hitting the $75s lately and not been profiting that much from them. I am also looking for a stabler source of poker games since when I come back to Manila I won't be able to play most MTTs any longer.

Hence I tried my hand at higher stakes ring. Bought in for $50 (my usual was $20 before lol) and played the .5/$1. It wasn't to my tastes and I lost that roll in a few minutes. It was something about the blinds not increasing hehehe.

So I decided to try my hand at the baby brother of MTTs. Interestingly enough I had tried SnGs before and posted a terrible 0/6 ITM on the $11s but was a bit more successful at the $22s posting 4/6 ITMs. My thinking here is that the more sophisticated moves WORK at the higher levels and people go all-in more frequently at the lower levels. Whatever the case it seems my niche was the $22s.

I came home late for my regular $75 tournament and decided to just play some $22s SnGs. I lost my first one when my KK went against AA with 5 players to go.

But on my next 3 SnGs I proceeded to place first on the next 2 and a third place finish on the third one! I decided to play 2 more while chugging my beer and placed second and third! Wow 5/6 ITM which netted me $194 profit for today! Not bad considering I've been losing an average of $70 per day by not getting ITM of an MTT.

I am quitting while am ahead (4 beers and counting so I do not think am at optimal level anyway) but its interesting. I might go SnGs for now and just hit the MTTs once in awhile.

The wins aren't as big and exciting as the MTTs but there is a semblance of consistensy at least. I am really starting to hate variance......

Ideas and Suggestions

Nothing much happening lately. Am entered in the 100K guaranteed at pacific and will play a few $75s at FTP. Sitting out the main even ($500+35) as there are too many players and my bankroll will get slammed if I lose that one.

However, there are a lot of things on my mind and hopefully you guys can either refine it or make it a reality.

1. Pro Player Points - Poker is now booming in our country. However, it seems that tournament attendance are coming into a plateau (Nickg, Marco can you confirm this) You guys previously had a PBT player of the year. Any chance we can have that regularly? Maybe 10 years from now even a hall of fame. If you guys want calculations for points check out FTP and they have an MTT point calculator. However, you guys can invent something easier.

Another way of looking at it is keeping track of everyone's winnings. Hmmm then again this is a flag for the BIR which is a good thing and a bad thing hehe. But nothing invites more people then aspiring to be one of those big money makers in poker! Finally it may answer the question of who are the best players in the country. That is something for everyone to aspire to become.

2. Staking Online - I know a lot of people want to take the jump and some already have. I'm not saying I am rich with money flowing out of my ears but I know an opportunity when I see one. I know we have the talent to play this game but a lot of people are hampered by their bankroll. I've seen people go deep in freerolls and the time could be used a lot better when playing for real. Am thinking of staking some people who are currently playing and those who are planning to play. As long as they can show a good track record.

The basic premise is that we maxmize a lot of things. We set up a referral network that brings in a lot of free dollars. We work together in releasing bonuses on multiple accounts and I stake (lets say $200+) and the player gets to play online poker for 50/50 split and minimal risk. i take advantage of their time and skill... they get to play for real! For those already playing... then it's a matter of exponentially increasing their roll and going to the higher limits. The check and balance is I get access to their accounts. I can't withdraw but I can see the withdrawal history. FTP is also best because of the fund transfer.

I know this will take some time and research. I am in the IT consulting and outsourcing business.... this just seems like a golden outsourcing deal hehehe.

My ultimate goal is to have 8 PCs in a condo and have 8 good players coming in and playing all day for a salary lol.

3. Poker Beer Tournament - Takes skill, luck and a good bit of alcohol tolerance. Each level we drink one beer. Any pot all-in win the winner chugs a beer. At the end of it all, the playing field is roughly even for anyone! Good/lucky players are stone drunk and those with the short stacks are still rational enough to have a fighting chance!

LOL. I know.... I gotta do something else with my time.... Oh look a tournament! Later!

What Should GameFrog Do?

I was semi-famous once. I played the card game Magic The Gathering and got hooked. I started out like any player, learned the advanced strategies and started taking the game seriously. Then came that time that I was qualifying into the National Championships and competing internationally for huge money. In 2002 I became the Philippine Number 1 player and held that position for a year before I quit the game.

A friend of mine who was also a magic player and was then the editor-in-chief of a big gaming magazine created a column online that was entitled "What would Richie do?" Lol it was pretty funny and he set out very complex Magic related problems that required analysis of the cards on the board and the correct move to win the game.

That got me thinking... Poker is very much like Magic. Very strategic and requires thorough analysis of the situation at hand to make the correct decision. I also attribute this line of thinking to Phil Gordon who emphasized that every move, every decision must have a reason. The ultimate goal is to maximize your opponent's mistakes and minimize yours.

Winning Poker is not about making money or winning tournaments. Any lucky schmuck can do that. Winning Poker is about making the correct decision every single day on every single hand.

In line with this, I am posting some interesting hands that I have played over the course of my short poker life. The actions I took is meaningless, but the action that I should have taken is what matters. Help me make the perfect decision.

Poker Hand #1

Level 5 with blinds of 50/100 and average stacks were at 5,000.

GameFrog had been playing extremely tight. He has played only 2 hands the entire tournament (50 minutes running online tournament) and showing down AKs and KK at the end of those 2 hands. GameFrog raised 5X BB both times. He is currently at 6,000 stack

In Middle Position (BB +4) GameFrog gets QQ. Several limpers in front of him and frog raises to 500. Folded around to a very very good player (Villain) and villain raises me to 1,500 on the button. Villain has 1,900 left.

SB, BB and all limpers fold and it comes back to GameFrog. Total pot is currently at 2,450

What does GameFrog do?

Place a comment and explain why GameFrog should do what you suggested.

Cya people

My 2nd Big Win!!

I now believe the saying that all it takes is a chip and a chair.

Ok so I had few more chips then one but it felt pretty much the same way. I joined a $75 tournament at FTP and really decided to focus on only ONE MTT. I felt my leak was trying to play too many tournaments at the same time. I wasn't able to pay attention to the table and betting patterns which is a huge factor.

I started tight and went fishing with a Q-10s in late position. Flop comes A-K-J! Cant get better then that. I bet half the pot and got a raise so I min raised back. The guy pushed me all-in!! When you have the absolute best hand rule no 2 will always override rule no 1 so I called. he showed A-9 (absolute donk)!!! However.... the turn comes jack and the river comes up with an ace. I seriously almost threw my laptop out the window.

3,000 starting stack and I was down to 285. I gritted my teeth against just going in on my 8-4 the next hand and waited for a good hand since I was at the cutoff. A few hands in I get 78s. Perfect, a hand that wasnt easily dominated and could get lucky. There were several limpers and I pushed getting 2 callers. Flop comes 7-8-K-X-X and I quadruple up. The very next hand I get A-8s and push all-in to be called by AK! Like a champ I pull the 8 on the turn hehe.

Am back in the game! Usual strategy again and I hit it big flopping a trips and a nut flush. After the second break we were close to being ITM and I had a good stack. I went hyper aggressive on the bubble and went for a lot of blind steals. 21-27th paid $98 while first pays $4250. I wanted to win.

2 more before the bubble I get 9-9s in late position. An early position raiser raised 4X BB and I felt it was a steal of AJ at best. I raised all-in for the resteal. Then the SB raised all-in and the BB as well! The SB showed JJ and the BB showed AA!!! Worse of all the BB had me covered!

Flop Q-4-5.... I was up and slamming my head on a wall. Turn was 7 and I think blood stains were starting to show.... river I catch the 9!! Holy smokes no skill there people but I'll take it like any lucky donk!!!

I triple up and went ITM as the chip leader hehehe. Cruised my way to the final table and was eliminated at 4th when I held AQ and an ace flopped. Weak bet and I pushed... guy had AK and my luck ran out.

Overall a very good haul! 4th paid out almost $2,000 and I have finally weathered the storm of 9 out of the money performances and close to 15 tourneys without a final table.

Now I feel comfortable playing again. I am up roughly $7,000 now in less then a month. Luck played a great factor in this tournament but then I remember one pro saying.... You gotta position yourself to BE lucky. Amen to that.

Online Poker Tips of the Trade

It seems we are in the threshold of a breakthrough. We are now sailing uncharted waters and taking a bold step where few Filipinos have gone before.... I am of course talking about Online Poker.

I am happy to have been given the opportunity to be sent to the US for 3 months and in order to stay sane I have taken up playing Online Poker. I have always wanted to try it back home but connectivity, time (there were too may gimicks back home) and a reliable payment system hindered me to do so. There were no such barriers here and I have learned a lot in the past 25 days. I have also been very fortunate to have made a killing lately on the online tables and I once again want to share to my friends how and what to do to maximize your earnings online.

I of course want 10% royalty on all earnings, or Saturday night drinkfests whichever costs more...

Payments and Withdrawals from Manila

Hmmmmm no idea. Hehehe as I said I set up here in the US however Nickg has created a great system for all Filipinos and I invite you to check his blog for this huge step in progress for the Manila poker community. http://pokerfilipinas.blogspot.com/

Bonuses and Sites

This is the first key step in making money online. Our Philippine Peso is miniscule compared to the all powerful dollar which makes it more challenging to play this game. A bankroll of P10,000 is less then a measly $200 and people online throw that away in a few hours. We have to find ways to be competitive and bonuses allow us to do so. Some key points in bonuses:

- Most 100% bonus sites will NOT give you the bonus upfront. You need to log in thousands of hands before they release the bonus in small increments.
- Only Pacific releases bonuses upfront from what I know but they will prevent you to withdraw the bonus until you have met their requirements.

Here is the breakdown of the best bonus sites and how much play it will take to release your bonus:

Note: Raked hands means just being in the hand even if you folded preflop.

Full Tilt Poker - 100% Bonus up to $600

$1 rake = 1 point.
$1 in entry fees = 7 points

Bonus releases - 100 points for $6. You will need to play 350 hands (that is raked at least $1) to earn $20. For SnGs at the $11+1 it will take 50 games to release $20

Absolute Poker - 100% up to $750

$1 rake = 1 point.
$1 in entry fees = 4 points

Bonus releases - 100 points for $10. You will need to play 200 hands (that is raked at least $1) to earn $20. For SnGs at the $11+1 it will take 50 games to release $20

Absolute is the BEST site in releasing dollars playing RING games.

Ultimate Bet - 100% up to $650

$1 rake = .5 point.
1 point per hour playing at the tables
25% more points if you are the first person on the table

Bonus releases - 100 points for $10. You will need to play 400 hands (that is raked at least $1) to earn $20. Ultimate is harder to calculate but is one of the worst with regards to bonus release. They do have good software that allows you to minimize tables and make multi tabling easier.

Pacific Poker - 50% up to $100

This is the best for starting players. Your $200 INSTANTLY become $300 and you just need to wager at least $2,000 to withdraw the bonus amount. Since we are all playing with a long-term mentality they this shouldn't be too hard. However, its money WAGERED and not the same with the rake terms as the other sites.

I chose Full Tilt because the software was very cool, they have other promotions that make playing daily a lot more fun and the bonus release was competitive. Additionally, I get to play with Ledered, Juanda etc on the big tournaments.

OK so that was part one. Everyone still with me so far? I want to focus more on the "extras' that are out there so let's continue.

Referral Bonuses and Rakeback

I will not point out the individual promotions each site has as they change constantly. There are some things that are the same across though. Referral bonuses are given to new players if they have been referred by an existing player. Both players will receive a bonus for their efforts as long as they log in the minimum required hands.

Rakeback is signing up through a separate site and where that site will pay you back a % of the rake that you have been charged. They are given royalties by the sites they sponsor and they give back some of those roylaties to you!

I have placed Rakeback and Referrals under the same category because they DO NOT OVERLAP. You can only choose one. So here are my suggestions:

1. Decide what you will specialize in. If you are going to play cash games then Rakeback is definitely for you. The rakeback is around 25%-30% which translates to hundreds of dollars in the long run.
2. If you choose MTTs or SnGs then referrals may be your best bet. Usually the referrer will get more then the referred friend and I find sharing the bonuses to be the best thing to do. FTP for example will give $25 to the referred friend as long as they make 500 points. The referring friend will receive $100 once they hit 1,000 points. I make it a point to split $50-$75 (since I need 1,000 pts and hence more risks). If any of you want to try Full Tilt please do not pass up on this opportunity as inter-player fund transfers are possible in FTP. So leave your email if interested.

Referral bonuses STACK with the initial deposit bonuses.

But remember guys, the bonuses are NOT easy to get. Don't think you can just hit a site and clear the bonuses in one month. I have been playing FTP a lot and after a month I have only cleared 50% of the total bonus.

Well that's scratching the surface I guess. The rest is really all up to you. How to play, what games to play... those things you will pick up slowly. Read through the other blogs like Manila Grind and the soon to come blog of Erick.

I hope that was helpful as it took me awhile to consolidate, research and make the correct decision based on what sites gave the best opportunities to succeed.

Hey 10% royalties ok!!!

Very Tough Tournaments

Well the day was another tiring and uneventful one for me. I played the $250K guaranteed at FTP and the 50K Guaranteed at Pacific. Lets go to the bad news first...

The $250k was a tournament of epic proportions!! 2000 players!! The tournament was maxed out 2 hours before the tournament began. Additionally, about 8 pros were playing the tournament including Ben Roberts, Juanda, and Lederer. I was playing this tournament along with the pacific one which I was already in deep and just played ultra tight all the way.

Oh and Ben Roberts was at my table. I played ultra tight and was able to get some chips from a QQ and AK. Other then that things were pretty much the same (fold 50+ times). Finally I got QQ and raised... then Ben Roberts reraised me and since I had him covered I went ahead and pushed back. Of course he had the AA (Come to think of it I don't know if I could have folded queens this late in the tournament) The AA held and I was massively crippled.

I played tight again (at this time I suffered a huge bad beat at pacific, more on this below) when i pushed with A-9. Ben again had JJ and it held elimintating me at 880th our of 2000 players.

Entry Fee - $216
Profit - $0

The Pacific Tournament had another great showing with more then 900 players coming to play. I was able to do the usual tournament strategies and was able to hit a few flops. On one I just called a raise with 10s and the flop came 10-A-K with 2 clubs. Two guys in and one bet the pot while the other called. I raised all-in and got both of them to call. One guy had a club draw and the other had AK. The turn was a blank. The river was a CLUB!!! However, it was the 10 of clubs giving me quad 10s lol.

Top 90 got paid (with a top prize of $12K!!!) and I was in deep. there were only 35 players left and I had an average stack. I see 8s and with late position I raised to 9,000 (My stack was around 40,000) The chip leader raised me all-in!! It smelled like a resteal so I went ahead and called. Winner mentality, I want to win.

He raised me with 10-4. Crazy bastard. But wouldnt you know it the first card on the flop is the bloody 10! (Hmph I thought the 10s were working for me!) I never caught my 2 outer and was out at 33rd place out of 910. This was really painful as I was eliminated by trash hands which i had completely dominated. Sometimes.... it just sucks that luck is a part of poker. But then again, I don't want to take up chess anytime soon.

Entry Fee - $70
Profit - $310

Total Profit - $24!!! Wow lemme go paint the town red.....

Well I guess these kind of days will pass. At least I was able to finally break my ITM drought and that should get my confidence back up.

A shoutout to the "Filipino Delegation" that played the major tournaments today. Erick at the PokerStars $1M guaranteed and 11Finger at the $250K guaranteed at FTP.

It wont be long now before us Filipinos will be able to hold our own and be a force to reckon with at the WSOP. Cheers

Weathering the Storm

I am running bad. Real bad. I have finished out of the money in the last 9 tournaments and have an ITM% of only 25% in SnGs. Am doing ok at the $22 SnGs winning at least 50% but I have gone 0/5 on the $11s.

Currently I am at around -$385 based on my computations in the last 5 days. I am not sure where my leak is but the bad beats are really raining on me hard. Case in point I just finished a $75 tournament (I play one of these big ones once a week) and was eliminated by a furious swing of luck.

I was at the average stack of around 5K when I get KK. An early raise in front of me was perfect and I put in a reraise. The BB then went all-in for about 4K. The inital raiser raises all-in as well! I didn't think anyone had aces as the BB felt like a push. The inital raiser probably had AK or QQ but I didn't think he had the rockets.

I was right.

First player - AQs
Hero - KK
BB - JJ

I had the best hand going in on the flop and was poised to triple up and seriously be a contender in this tournament!

Flop comes 9-4-J rainbow. WTF!!! Trips on the flop for the BB! I look away in utter disgust when the turn comes the beautiful KING!!! Take that sucker!!!!!!!

I was so excited I was just hoping that the final card was not a Jack again and it came out 10! Woohoo no help!! But then the chips didn't go my way and I saw that AQ hit the runner runner straight taking me out once again in another tournament.

I was devasted and played 2 more SnGs. I threw that away and got a hold of myself. I already knew this feeling of tilt and thought I better just post on the blog rather then throw more precious dollars away.

I have withdrawn $4000 safely in my bank account and under no circumstances am I touching it. It's locked pure profits which I hope will boost my confidence in my remaining bankroll. I have roughly $800 left and from there I will once again try to build up on that to roll with the big boys.

Tomorrow is a 50K tournament for $70 at pacific. There is also a guaranteed 250K tournament at fTP for a whopping $200+16 entry fee. Hmmm maybe I will try to play a satellite into that instead of popping the full amount. Well tom is another day.

Hope everyone is raking it in on the felt! Good luck and good pot odds!

Results of Experiment

I have performed the experiment at Pacific playing a nitro extreme tournament to speed up the increase of the blinds. I had to fold all hands from level 1-3 since stealing the blinds did not mean anything. I was also trying to build a tight image that would be helpful in the later rounds.

When level 4 came up I started raising 6XBB (a little more the usual) to set a strong perception of a premium starting hand. I did not perform steal on the button too much as it may come across as a pure steal. I did most steals on the cutoff, middle position and even UTG! Just to mix things up. I was able to make a steal per round which kept me on track with the average stack. I also usually raise BIG when there are multiple limpers in a pot

On the times I was called I based my decision on the flop. If I was called with my big raise, I look at the flop. If I see all low cards then that merits a pot bet. If reraised I will fold as it may be an overpair. If a flop comes down with an ace or a face card I check and bet if checked around to me.

I got caught when the flop came 9-7-3 rainbow. I did't put the guy on an overpair and when he checked I bet half the pot. He raised the minimum which seemed weak and I pushed. He instacalled and showed his pocket 7s. At that time I looked at my cards and I actually held A-9! Makes you think.....

I finished 62nd out of 218 players. It was a pretty good feeling betting out strong with confidence since I always just pictured myself holding pocket aces every hand.

Oh and to those that took Nickg's bet you just won P5K! The only time I looked at my hand was at the very last one since I figured I needed a miracle to win that. However, I don't think that it's really fair since I just played a small $8 tournament so I wouldn't get tempted hehehe.

Till next time people!

Experimentation to Prove a Theory

Mwahahahaha..... did I get the mad scientist laugh right?

No I am not losing my mind. However, I have been thinking about my top 3 pros of all time and been thinking of emulating their skills and combining them into one. They are:

Chris Ferguson - Mathematics and card trick skills. He knows exactly what the odds are and the perfect play according to mathematics. He has been in the academics world more then any person I know and he can slice a carrot with a card from 10 feet away. I know my pot odds and I have been finally able to HIT the damn the carrot after my 712th throw so I know I'm making progress.

Phil Gordon - Super Sleuth. I became a fan after reading his little green book. He makes you THINK and ponder about every single move that is made in a hand. Every move, every little clue leads to the final analysis that show you the solution to any problem. You should continuously ask yourself why your opponent did what he did and why are you doing what you plan to do.

Mike Caro - Master strategist and theorist. The mad genius of poker has broken the psychological aspects of the game allowing further skill to be harnessed beyond the realm of statistics. People are not robots and they are capable of doing things differently even within the exact same environments and situations.

So enough of my introduction. I would like to focus on Caro and Gordon (Once I slice the carrot I will spend a lot of time on Ferguson I promise) There are 2 things I will be doing with regards to my blog starting now.

First is that when I experience an interesting hand I will post what occurred but will leave out the final result until my next post. I hope that my readers can comment and we can work together to figure out what happened. Of course I know what happened and will tell you what I did and WHY I did it. I look forward to hearing other people's ideas on it so that we ALL can improve our game. This is the Phil Gordon skill we are looking to improve.

The other thing I wanted to mention was I am about to embark on an experiment to prove a theory. The theory is this: You do not need good cards to win. Yes we have all heard this statement but how do you prove it?

I am going to enter a few $26 tournaments and play the game blind. I will stick a post-it on my screen covering my hole cards and will play the tournament solely based on position, opponents betting strength and tournament level. I will use the power of blinds steals and power poker to gain chips and will avoid going to a showdown. If I come into a showdown and win then of course I have to take the chips but I am at a serious disadvantage not knowing if I actually hit anything. No I am not throwing money away as I see it as a worthwhile investment. Once you harness this skill then there is absolutely no reason for you to complain that "I never got any good cards!". The good cards now just become a bonus and poker comes down to a game where it becomes 90% skill and 10% luck.

The experiment will end IF I make it ITM. (Hey I can afford a $26 experiement but when I can potentially win hundreds am not throwing THAT away!) Wish me luck!

Stay tuned!

Dominated... and a Request

I broke my record. I was the 2nd person out in a tournament yesterday! I know I know... rule no 1. But I went with Rule no 2 and caught a big ass fish and there was no way I could let go!

I had 6-6 in the BB and was able to see a cheap flop. Flop was A-9-6 and the SB checks so I check as well. Button bets the pot, SB calls and of course I raise! Button thinks and pushes all-in. SB folds. I look at the board and see no flush draws, possible straight draws... Button would not allow us to get in cheap with AA so that leaves 9-9... but what are the chances of that happening. I put him on AJ or A9 and call with all my chips on the second hand of the tournament.

He shows.... 9-9. I was dominated drawing to 1 out. The poker gods were not in a sick mood and did not give me my 1 outer for the win. I was out at 437th place out of 438 hehehe.

Well this kind of things happen. I can only put my money in where I have the best hand (Or when I THINK I have the best hand) At least I wasnt dominated by AK vs AQ or something like that. I will put my tournament line on a trips at the very least... never on one pair so early in the tournament.

I went to place ITM on 2 of 4 MTTs last night for a small profit. The good thing is as long as I place ITM 40% of the time I will still make small profits. The higher I go the bigger the profits. A final table and its a huge payday!

Keep reading and posting people!

Which leads me to a request. To anyone and everyone who reads my blog and go over my incessant ramblings, do me a favor and just post a quick comment. Even as simple as saying my grammar sucks or a question just so that I get a feeling that I am talking to the Poker community rather then an endless void hehehe. Leave your blog links too so I can also take a look at what you've been up to.

Golden Rules to Get ITM

I made a promise a few days before that I would give back some of the things I learned when i made 400% ROI. I am now at 1000% ROI and I think the things I will say have been proven and is safe to be discussed. Any comments or questions are definitely welcome.

The following 3 rules are my guiding principles to get in the money (ITM) of any tournament. So far I have made it ITM in 75% of the total tournaments I have joined. Once there, you can go on and win it all at the final table.

Rule 1 - Do not bet 100% of your chances to win 1% of the total chips in the tournament.

This simply means you do not go all-in on the first 3 levels of the tournament. There really isnt any point to it. The only hand I would consider going all-in would AA and that would only happen pre-flop. Post flop will give you valuable information to make the right decision.

Case in point, you have JJ and bring it in for a raise 5X BB (at earlier levels 3X means nothing) Another guy raises it all in and its folded to you. What do you do?

Many players will go ahead and call with such a great starting hand but if we look at it its a terrible call:

You are either dominated by AA, KK, QQ drawing to 2 outs

You are a slight favorite over AK, AQ (52%-48%)

Or you can have someone dominated with a lower pair. But then again ask yourself if someone would commit hit entire stack with a hand like 9-9.

So most of the time you are at a coin flip. Do you take it? NO. You take your losses and fold. There is absolutely no point in wagering 100% of your chances in the tournament to win 1% more of the total chips in the tournament. If you go all-in in the later levels where you can stand to win 10-20% of the total chips then that's the time you take coin flips.

Rule 2 - Go fishing.

I have never gone fishing but seeing old men sit around all day seems like its a boring thing to do. They cast their line, wait awhile and reel it back in if they catch nothing. That's exactly what you do in the first 4 levels. When in good position you can consider calling with the following hands - any pocket pair, small suited connectors. You still raise premium hands of course.

The goal here is to see the flop as cheaply as possible and flop a monster. If you hold 3-3 and the flop comes A-Q-3 then you are in a position to seriously damage your opponents. There is no better feeling then calling bets when you have the nuts.

I almost never raise even with AJ or AQo. The chances that I am dominated or that someone else flops trips or 2 pair is very high. Starting level 3-4 yes you can raise with these hands to limit the field. But very early on your goal is to hit the nuts rather then take a stand with one pair good kicker.

Finally, dont think your ultra tight rock style wont give you benefits later on. Being quiet and tight the whole first 2 hours only shows the players on the table that you are patiently waiting for good hands. When the antes kick in and the blinds are high enough to be worth stealing, that tight image works wonders. You finally wake up and raise 3X BB... you have been quiet for the last hour.... what will your opponents think? I have seen people muck cards as good as KQ when raised by a tight player. To see this style played, check out Dan Harrington.

Rule 3 - Blind Steal and Fold Equity

I hope the first 2 rules shows a semblance of continuity because it leads into the middle rounds where the antes kick in and the blinds are pretty high. There is a great article out on the net with regards to fold equity and I suggest you look for it. But basically the general premise is this: The higher the blinds, the higher fold equity becomes.

Fold equity is greatly used with position. You are in the cutoff seat and look down at 7-8s. You are in the perfect position to steal. Raising at this point gives the blinds a lot to think about. They must wager 2 more times what they already have put in the pot with what may be against AA. All hand ranks go way down at this level and you will see people only play AJ and up. Even if you are called chances are your cards are "live" meaning you do not share any cards and outkicked by the players other card.

Blind steals are also very powerful when you are on the bubble. If think like a winner then you do not focus only on making it ITM but to win the whole thing. At this point no one wants to bust outside the bubble and play will tighten up to the point players will muck AQo instantly. Powerful raises can net you a lot of chips at this point.

The goal here is to steal 1.33 times per round or 4 times per 3 rounds. At this rate you are not being blinded out and you are actually slowly building your stack. After 1 level players have been eliminated and you are STILL on the average stack without seeing a flop.

Of course each rule has its exceptions and situational caveats. But overall, I believe following these 3 key rules and remembering them when in a tournament will greatly increase your chances of making it ITM.

Hope that was helpful.

ITM for the 200K and 50K

Those 2 tournaments are the biggest I have ever played in. Here is a quick summary of what occured:

50K Event - Total players 825 - Pays top 90 players - starting stack 2000

I played this at 4 pm and things didn't start out too good. I wasnt getting premium hands and not hitting my small pocket pairs. I sit very patiently and got down to around 1200 in chips. After an hour of waiting I finally get KK and since I was in early position (EP) I limp in. A raiser in late position and a reraise got my attention but this was it. I reraised all-in and sandwiched the initial raiser which made him fold. The other called with AK and he didn't hit his aces getting me back in the game. By now the blinds are starting to get higher so some well positioned steals as well as postflop play got me up to around 6K.

However, I was still below average by the break. I went into aggressive mode and whenever a pot had 4 or more limpers I raised all-in. I was able to do this 3 times before I got called with my 7d9d hand. Opponent had AQo so I was happy that my cards were live. I hit the 9 on the flop and went on to double up.

I was clear in the money when I finally got a real hand. I raised with QQ and got reraised by the chip leader who was the BB. I thought about it and decided it seemed like a resteal so I pushed all-in. He thought awhile and called with 44. I guess he put me on AK. The flop was 3-7-Q. I was ecstatic at doubling up when the turn came.... 5 and the river gave a freaking 6. I lost to a runner runner straight and busted out at 58th out of 825 players.

Entrance Fee - $65+5
Prize Money - $210

Total Profit - $140


200K Event - Total players 1238!!! With Keith Sexton and 3 other pros playing the event!! - Pays top 120 players - starting stack 3000

I was playing this event while playing the 50K won and it started out the same. My 3K stack shrunk to 1,400 after some bad calls when I was dominated (AQ vs AJ) I stole some blinds and came a turning point when a raiser went all-in with about 1,000. I had A-8s and thought the guy was raising with trash so I called. The BB raised all-in! I had to call with my remaining 600ish and they showed:

Raiser - K-7
BB - 9-9
Me - A8

My hand was live but was an underdog to the BB. I flop the beautiful ace and I triple up.

The next stage was clearly about stealing the blinds. I did not get a single premium hand in the next 2 hours and the best hand I saw was AJs. However, well timed blind steals and resteals kept me alive and slowly increased my stack to keep abreast the average stack.

And then the wonderful announcement: "All tables are now playing hand for hand" the signal that we were at the bubble and everyone would be in the money after one more person busts!

I got in short stacked and had to push with QJ. One guy had KJ and I was dominated 4 to 1. No miracle draws there and I finished 99th out of 1238 players.

Entrace Fee - $200+15
Prize Money - $430

Total Profit - $215

Overall Profit - $355

Not the best way to end my day with a top prize of over $50,000 but none of the pros made it in the money so that made me feel good.

Oh and I just found out I am now ranked 97th overall in the multi table tournaments leaderboard at Full Tilt. Top 100 at the end of the month will receive free tokens for entrances and cash (1st gets $1,000) plus bragging rights. I have a goal now and of course thats to be in the top 10 or number one slot before August ends.

Thanks for reading

My First Championship Win!

Yeap you read it right. Right after my previous heartbreaking loss 1 position from the final table I was able to win it all the very next tournament! My very first championship win against 400 players!

I have played about 16 MTTs now ($15-$75 entry fees) and I have made it in the money on an astounding 10 of them. I have final tabled 4 of these tournaments and I have won my first ever championship!

Total entrance fee are less then $300. Total profit? I have made roughly $5,200 in MTTS in the last 6 days!!! To all my readers... I suggest you take a step back from your cash games and SnGs and take a good look at tournaments again. Once you know the key strategic moves, the timing to use them and the courage to put your chips in the returns are out of this world.

I am entering the $200K AND $50K tournaments of FTP and Pacific tom for an entry fee of $215 and $70 respectively. Wish me luck.

If I somehow win one of them I will go to vegas and try my hand at the WPT circuit. LOL I know.... big dreams, but they're free and they drive me to become better.

One Mistake Is All It Takes

I played an MTT 9 handed at Full Tilt Poker and started out pretty well. 320 players vying for 10K guaranteed cash money. I bring my A game and before I know it we're in the money.

I just read Phil Gordon's Green Book and that thing rocks. Helped my game a bit and I was able to survive pretty well. The final table was closing in and as Phil suggested, I play aggressive and make those tight players pay!

I look down and see pocket KKs. Since I UTG I called hoping for a raise. No such luck. The blinds complete their bets amd the flop comes Jc-9c-Ks. I hit my trips! I didn't even look at the boards and made my mistake. I checked.

I understand now why Phil is saying he almost never slowplays a hand. Don't be greedy and take the pot now. Turn comes 5d and I bet the MINIMUM BET. Both players call and I knew I was in trouble. Both of them had to be drawing to a flush. The river was a Qd and I breathe a sigh of relief... they missed their flush, I bet the pot and got raised all in.

WHAT?? Resteal?? Could a guy be calling with a gutshot straight draw?? This guys was the chip leader by far and had been very very aggressive calling all-ins with A-2. I figured he was pushing and I went over the top. He sent me to the rail with a K-10 giving him a straight to K high.

I bust one place off the final table and take my measly winnings (compared to the top prize) and licked my wound. Tomorrow (or 2 hours from now) is another day and another tournament.

3 Consecutive Final Tables!

I can't believe it myself. I now think that I have gained the skills and patience to play huge Multi Table Tournaments. I have final tabled the last 3 MTTs that I have played. Here's a quick breakdown:

$10K Guaranteed - 4th of out 600+ players for a $700 prize
$888 Guaranteed - 5th out of 200+ players for a $200 prize
$10K Guaranteed - 9th out of 700+ players for a $200 prize

My total entrance fee?? $38. That's an ROI of 28,000%. The prize jumps at the final tables are dramatic to say the least. 9th pays $200 while first pays somewhere around $2k. It seems like a curse to me but I have never won a tournament before. I have been able to win a lot of SnGs and have placed in several final tables at the ACF and the PPT major tournaments this year and last year.

Still I haven't reached the top. I guess I will have to take it one table at a time. If I can continue this amazing streak I'll let you guys know some of the major tips I use to consistently help me survive.

4th in a $10K Guaranteed Tournament

The other day paved the way for a new phase in my online poker game, Multi Table Tournaments. I joined a $1 entry fee tourney for fun and placed 16th over 999 players. It was the biggest tournament I have ever joined (Tourneys back home have never broken the 200 mark) and I was interested in trying it again.

I have been playing over at Full Tilt Poker full time but I had a few dollars left at my Pacific account. $21.25 dollars in fact and I saw a 10K Guaranteed MTT for $18+2. I had enough for one shot and since I was retiring the Pacific account anyway I went ahead and played it.

The prize payout was:

1st - $2,500
2nd - $1500
3rd - $900
4th - $700
5th - $500
6th - $300
7th - $250
8th - $200
9th - $150
10th - $100
Top 60 players got paid

There was a huge turnout of almost 600 players in the field. I started out well and was able to build my stack in the early and middle games. About 2 hours into the tournament I was in the top 10% of chips.

When the next break came, I looked at the remaining players and there were only 37 players left! And I held the chip lead! Once again patience and timing is key and I had gotten my chips from 2 AA, KK and a AQs starting hand.

I won't go into too much strategy and detail (I'll do that on another post) but I finally final tabled the tournament being 3rd in chips. It was an easy wait as there were 5 short stacked people on the table and we were down to 5. I had to gamble with the 5th person (he had about 40% of my stack and was able to take him out!) but the 4th short stack proved to be difficult to remove. He was able to steal the blinds successfully twice and survived 2 all-ins (one against me) in order to replace me at the short stack!

My final hand was KdJd and I raised 5X BB. The idiot chip leader (That guy was unbelievable lucky hitting 2 outers all tournament) raised me all-in! I had to call and put my tournament life on the line and he shows me As4c. What garbage!! of course the flop missed me completely... and the turn.. and the river. I can't believe I lost to an Ace high....

It was unclimactic but I will take the $700 and sleep happy. The tournament lasted 6 hours (it ended at an ungodly 3 am and I had work the other day) but in one fell swoop I had doubled my bankroll.

A few dozen more tournaments like these and I should have the experience to take the ACF5K by storm when I come back in October. Cya guys then!

Deep in an MTT

Well I recovered nicely from my tilt the other day and posted a great +9 units on Monday. The other nice bit of news was I placed 16th out of 1000 players today (sucks since it was only a $1 tourney hehehe) However, I never placed this deep before in an MTT online! Then again I have only played 3 MTTs since I got here.

The interesting thing was I got my +9 units WHILE playing the MTT. I think this is very important because in online play, you can play some ring games while playing MTTs and it helps you become patient. I played only 5 hands on that MTT which were KK, KK, AKs, AKo and QQ. That was in the course of over 2 hours and the ring games helped me keep my patience in check.

The hand I lost was a heartbreaker and I seriously would have been a contender if I had won that.

Hero (45K) - BB 3s3d. Chip leader of about 100K calls and SB calls. Flop was 5-7-3. The SB goes all-in with his last 5K and I call hoping for a reraise from the chip leader. Leader calls and turn was a Q. I check and Chip leader bets the pot in an instant. I knew he hit the queens and the trap was set! I raise all-in and he instacalls showing his pair queens. The unfortunate part was his other card was a 4 (Idiot called with a Q-4)

The river gave him the 6 to complete his 7 high straight! I would have taken the chip lead with about 110K if I had won the pot and would be able to cruise my way to the final table. I had to be content with 16th place for a puny $9 dollar prize (top prize was $220)

Overall it was a good experience. Am thinking of hitting some $18 MTTs now (Top prize pays over $3K) but I estimate I'd need at least 30 buy-ins to profit from this. Will have to see if the profits from the ring games can cover this phase of my game.