Slow playing

Now I know what you're thinking - slow playing good hands to induce bluffs. But actually I mean something quite different: playing as slowly as you can to finish higher in a large tournament. Scandalous.

Playing in the Maxim King of Poker tournaments is getting serious tedious. 2 a day, with an average of 275 people in each one, with each lasting upwards of 2 hours to finish. I really don't want to spend 6 hours a day playing poker and neither does anyone else in the top 15-20 places on the leaderboard, so we work together to slow down the table we're playing on so as to outlast the disconnected players, and the mentalists who go all in first hand. Getting beaten by a crazy call is what we fear the most, and it seems to be happening more and more.

As an example - the other day at 2pm five of us started on table 1. Since tables are closed from highest to lowest (with table 1 always being the final table), we knew that we were safe from being moved. The VC software clie... more.

Cheating scoundrels!

Is cheating really that prolific? It's certainly becoming more apparent in the Maxim King Of Poker tournaments. There are several people who create multiple accounts (and are even cheeky enough to have almost identical names) and then play them all at the same time. This basically gives them loads more (collective) chips than everyone else, and if the various accounts get seated at the same table, a greater chance of winning!

Now, it's a freeroll tourny, so it doesn't make a lot of difference, especially as we're in the later stages so they can't muck up the leaderboard, but does this happen a lot online? I've been reading it mentioned more and more in various poker and online magazines, with tall tales of these little scammers making serious amounts of cash. If it's that easy, why aren't we all doing it?

What can be done about it anyway? From the point of view of the poker operator, there isn't a lot, besides monitoring who plays with who most often and flagg... more.

GAH, Finished final table in Maxim's Weekly Final again (came 5th and won a DVDset last time) in the final 3 shortstacked by 1-4 i go all in with a/7o, get called by big stack with k/4o and he hits a 4, god damnit!! i suppose an iPod isnt a bad prize for a freeroll but still, dont you just hate going in with the best hand and losing!!!... more.

It's all about the long term

I think I'm finally realising that today. Poker is up and down, and luck plays a large part in the outcome of any game, regardless of the player's skill. How many times have we all seen AA lose to 10/3 offsuit, simply because the the big stack can afford to call with trash?

Anyway. My STTs have been going terribly. I think I played 3 or 4 days in a row without placing in the money.. I was beginning to get disheartened and wonder if it was worth it - until today.

Today I had a corker. I played two games (as usual) for $5 each (as usual). I won the first one thanks to some nice cards and good decisions, and came second in the second one thanks to one bad decision.

I had a suited king when my opponent (who had been very aggressive) raised me on the big blind. I figured I'd have to start actually playing against this guy or the blinds would eat me since I was slightly behind. Flop was QQJ, with none of my suit. At this point, I was betting on him n... more.

Today's STT went terribly, but started so well! I gained chip lead early on with pocket rockets, and stayed that way until there was only three of us left (top 2 pay out).

The other two guys are very aggressive, raising outrageously and unnecessarily most hands. We barely get to see any flops, and it's getting boring. So, the killer hand - I'm on the big blind, and the other two just call. I smell a rat... but the flop suits me nicely:

Me:

The flop:

Great! I'm well ahead. I check raise, knowing I'll get a caller because of the over betting style of my opponents. Sure enough, I get one of them all in and he turns over:

Even better, I'm so far in front it's not true - 95% to win, 2.5% to lose, 2.5% to tie. Either way, he needs runnings cards... and guess what? Two more spades ma... more.

Lucky big stacks

Why is it that big stacks are always outrageously lucky?

Picture the scene - 3 of us left from a 6 seater, one guy big stack, me and the other about even. The big stack has a 4 to 1 chip lead over us, and is being agressive (which is ok, I would do the same!).

However, he keeps making big moves and getting lucky - something I've seen more and more from big stacks on VC. My final hand - I'm dealt a suited AK, and he raises (as usual). I re-raise all in, and he calls instantly, turning over A9 offsuit. At this point I'm totally crushing him, odds are 73% in my favour. And of course, he flops two pair, knocking me out.

So why does it seem that players with bigger stacks are luckier? Is it because they can afford to take bigger risks that sometimes pay off? Or is it just because of the mental attitude of poker players - that we always remember the bad beats and never the awesome wins? Either way, it sure as hell is annoyi... more.

Before I get down to the serious business of blogging, let's just catch up with where I am.

Yesterday (Feb 8th)

yesterday I had a great day - I played 2 $5 STTs and won them both, for a total profit of $30. I played tight aggressive, making a few choice bluffs, and (almost) always having the best hand hold up. Perfect poker :)

The Maxim tournaments went well too, I finished high and earned lots of points. Perhaps I should explain about Maxim: it's a men's magazine, and is running a poker tournament (The King of Poker). There are two daily qualifiers, with the top 27 going through to the weekly semi. The winner of each Monday night semi gets a seat in the grand live final in London. There are various other ways of qualifying, but the safest bet is the leaderboard. One point is earned for every player beaten in each of the dailies, so if 300 people play and you finish 50th, you get 250 points. I'm currently 6th, with the top 10 qualifyin... more.

Hi, and welcome to my poker blog. I suppose I should introduce myself - my name is PokerBarney and I've been playing Texas Hold'em for a year or so. I play online and in a weekly game with friends (which I usually struggle to win because they all play like it's their last game on earth!)

I started this blog to keep track of my progress in the Maxim King Of Poker tournament, and also my daily earnings through playing real-money Single Table Tournaments (STT). With any luck I can make a bit of cash out of this game :)

I play on Victor Chandler mostly, but have begun signing up for other sites for the large freerolls. It's crazy how much poker companies can give away - some are offering $50,000, some $100,000 every week! Still, the really big ones always impose a minimum raked hand limit for entrants, which will most likely add up to about $100 in rake. Cheeky.

So, what else..?... more.