Brief Update

I played a few sit and go's today, and cashed in a majority of them. Over the past few days, I erased the deficit I was in and have added to my bankroll. I've played well, played with patience, but at the same time I've played aggressively. I have found that when I play too passive, my results are abysmal. I have played some hands extemely well, and outside of losing the coin flips and other races, I have stayed out of trouble for the most part. Of course I ran into quite a few weak players and calling stations. Luckily, they didn't draw out with weak hands and draws. So it's been very encouraging over the last few days. I am going to start playing more satelite tournaments, multi-table tournaments, and token tournaments. Satelite tournaments are great. You win entry to a tournament, and if you cash, it's more than just a little more than your buy-in. If you satelite into a $26 tournament for $8, when you cash you win about $20 right off the bat. They give you a little more leverage to be aggressive around the bubble and just after the bubble bursts. Mainly because you have already doubled your entry and have nothing to lose. Players that have bought directly into the tournament only win a minimal amount and will usually tighten up to try and get a little deeper in the tournament. You need to know which players are looking to move up the ladder and which ones are willing to be aggressive to try and get their hands on some chips.
So it's business as usual. I have to stay agressive and pick my spots. I've been 3-betting a little more often and have been branching out and raising with a lot more hands. Of course, whenever you raise, you should have position on your opponents. One final thing, don't be the first to open limp, unless you have a preset plan. If you open limp, you should know what you are going to do if other players limp, another player raises, and you should have a basic gameplan together before you open limp. Just a thought.

Funny Side Note

I think it's hilarious when you open a pot early in a tournament and players overbet the pot. Here's an example. I open with AK suited for 100 when the blinds are 15/30. The player right behind me shoves in for 1500. A real poker player, if they have a hand, would re-raise to 250-350. Not players online. They go with a hand and just donkey shove before the flop. I see it all the time and it makes me laugh everytime. I folded the hand. I'm not going to risk my tourney with AK suited that early. I still had 1400 with the blinds small. Early in a tournament, there is no need to race off chips. I'm sure he had a small pair. Probably 99+, maybe even AK as well. Oh well, I'll find a better spot.

Tournament Update

The last couple of days have gone much better than the previous. I dropped about 10 buy-ins a few days ago, and decided to slowly get my head back in the game. I was playing well, I just kept getting unlucky and my hands were not holding up. So I took it slow over the next two days. The results were good. I cashed in a majority of the tourneys I played in. Over the past two days, I've played in 20 tourneys. I cashed in 12 of them, giving me a 60% in the money percentage. My normal percentage is about 44% so I'm running well right now. I won back the buy-ins I dropped, so I can get back to business as usual. I'm still planning on implementing my new strategy within the next couple of days and start taking some shots at multi-table tournaments. I'll also be branching out to play more cash games. I used to play cash games from time to time.
I qualified for the Bronze Ironman freeroll this month. So I'll be playing in that next Saturday. I also qualified for the One-a-day freeroll. I don't know how many people will be in that freeroll, so I may just take the bonus medals. There will be about 1,000 people in the Ironman freeroll. My experience with them is that about 2/3 of the field actually play the event. The rest sit out or just shove for the first few levels. First place will be about $1,200, so that would be a big boost to the bankroll. So I'll give them my best shot and whatever happens, happens.
My mind is really focused on poker right now. I feel like I'm playing really well right now. I've made some good laydowns and have upped the aggression a couple of notches. I found a minor leak in my game. When I get short, I tend to play a little too passive. I've made the mistake of trying to set mine with small pairs when I didn't really have the implied odds or the right situation to do it. So I need to stay alert and aggressive if I start to get short. Of course, from time to time, you have to win the 50/50, 60/40 races. That's just a part of the game. In one of the games tonight, I was getting short and we were 5 handed. I had about 8 big blinds. I shoved in the cutoff with 89 suited. The big blind called with AJ off and I caught an 8. The turn and river bricked and I doubled up. If I had shoved with a marginal ace or king, I would have been gone. That's why I always advocate shoving with pairs and hands that are not likely to be dominated. On a side note, I find it funny that players are willing to call off their stack and put their tournament on the line with some very questionable hands. It's one thing to be the one raising. It's totally different if you are the one calling. I've seen players call all ins for more than 75% of their stack with hands like; K7 off, Q8 suited, A4 off, 64 suited, and J9.
I've done some things really well over the past few days. The first of which is playing patiently at the beginning of a tournament. I've raised and three bet people with some hands, but have gotten away from hands when I should. Early in the tournament, I'm looking to make a big hand or hit a big draw. I try to stay out of marginal situations. I want to play small pots with small hands, and big pots with big hands. If I get some big hands, then usually I can grab the chip lead early and use those chips to pressure players later. If I don't get any kind of big hand or hit a big draw, then usually I'm in the middle of the pack and start to play position and move chips when I can. I don't look to push small edges early. That's just the way I play. I'll change gears and I'll make moves, but I'm not going to push with small hands, especially with small pairs.

On the Rise

So I dropped a little over 10 buy-ins the other night. I took it easy yesterday, and only played in 6 sit and go's. I cashed in 3 of them, and finished the night by winning one and taking second in the other. Tonight, I wanted to continue to take it easy and not overdo it. I only played in 3 tournaments, but cashed in all 3. 2 third place finishes and 1 second place finish. So I'm getting back to where I started. The main reason I'm not trying to overdo it, and play my usual amount, is to get my mind back on track. The other day really shook me, and I started to question whether my winning streaks and profit up to this point has just been luck or if I am a good player. I feel that the last two days have shown me that I am a good player and that it's no fluke that I've won and cashed in a lot of tournaments.
I just need to remember to not try and push against certain players, and play patient and wait for the right spots. I need to start 3 betting against certain players more often and not be afraid to play flops against overly aggressive loose players. That was one thing I was trying to focus on tonight. If I had position on a loose player, I would usually call in position with a pretty wide range of hands and try to outplay them on the flop. I was in late position with 97 suited. An early player raised, he had been raising a lot of hands. Most of the hands he showed were pretty marginal. He also varied his raises by the strength of his hand, from the hands I saw. He would raise the pot with premium hands, and raised less than 3X's the BB with marginal hands. So he raised about 2.5X's the blind, and I called with one other player in between. The flop came 8-6-3. The early player bet half the pot, and the player in the middle called. I had to ask myself, what did the early player have, and what did the middle player have to float a dry flop like this? There was no flush draw, and I had the best draw. I figured the early player probably had ace high or two big cards and was just c-betting the flop. I thought the player in the middle might have two overs and was just making a loose play to try and steal it on the turn, maybe had second pair. If he had top pair, I'm sure he would have raised, he was the kind of player that overvalued top pair. I wanted to find out who liked their hand and if anyone really had anything. So I raised 3.5X's the initial bet. The early player called, the middle player dropped out. So now I had the early player on A8, or just two big cards hoping to hit the turn. Again, I knew that if he had a hand or an overpair, he would have raised. The turn brought a 5, GIN!!! The early player now bet the pot into me. Do we have the same hand? It sucks when you have the same hand and have to chop the blinds and any calls with someone else. Did he really raise with 97 in early position? With this player, it's possible. I thought he was just posturing and was trying to steal the pot now. If I had a weak pair or just a draw, I would probably have to fold now. I smooth called the turn, after taking some time. He shoved the river, and I snap called when a 10 hit. He had A10, and I crippled him with the nut sraight.
So in the tourneys I've played, I didn't really see many hands OOP, but I did see some pretty good hands IP. That is one of the big keys to success in No Limit Hold'em. If you have position, you can really open up your starting standards and start to play the player and not your hand. I had some small pairs that I was trying to set mine with, but never really hit. The most frustrating hand, that almost tilted me was when I had 22 on the button. A tight passive player limped UTG. A loose player in middle position raised 4 times the blind. I was getting kind of short. I thought the early player was limping to raise. I folded, the early player called and the flop came K-2-2...UGH!!! But I just played patiently and waited for the right opportunity. I doubled through the chip leader, when he shoved on the button with A6 into my 99 that held. From there I just chipped away.
The lesson to learn, is that you need to stay patient and not shove with a weak or marginal hand. Don't get me wrong, you need to stay aggressive and try to steal blinds whenever possible. But at the same time, if you find yourself getting short, you have to wait for the right opportunity. Sometimes it just doesn't come, or you just can't seem to win. But you have to stay patient and find the right time. Once you get past the red M zone, you can open up a little more. But make sure you know what your stack is in relation to the other players and the blinds. Don't get blinded out, but don't shove into certain players without a hand that plays well hot and cold. I've been trying to stay away from shoving, when short, with weak aces and kings. I would rather shove with a pair or suited connector than A5. So many times I see a player call an all-in with A8+, and K8+. So if you shove with a weak king or ace, you may be dominated. If they call you with a pocket pair, you're a 2:1 dog. So make sure to try and shove with a hand that is not easily dominated and a hand you feel is live.
Anyway, just a quick update. It's late and I don't think I'm making sense right now. I'll try to get a lesson plan started. Almost back to square from the other night, so all is looking good right now.

Brutal

I'm on a really brutal run right now. Not in the good way either. Over the past 13 sit and go's, I've cashed in 2. One second place, and one third place. I've dropped around 10 buy-ins so far. What has been so brutal, is that I'm just not getting there on big draws, my big hands are not holding up, and I've been getting called by some really loose players. Some of the plays that were made against me, nothing could be done. Here's an example. I'm on the button with AA. A LAG makes a minimum raise in middle position and gets two callers. With so many players in the pot, I re-raised the pot. The small blind calls, as does the LAG. The flop comes 2-2-7 with two spades. The small blind bets out about 1/4th the pot. I re-raise all in, he calls. He has KK, I have AA....sweet. NO. He gets runner runner to catch the flush and I'm out. So nothing I could really do. Could he fold KK in that spot? Probably not. I'm sure he put me on a pretty big range, like 88+, AQ+.
I've had JJ 4 times and didn't win one pot with them. QQ 5 times, again didn't win one pot. AK suited and off about 22 times and won with it about 40% of the time. AA 6 times and only won 3 times with them. However, I did have KK 5 times and won 100% of the time. So, I kept getting my money in good and pounced on weakness a ton of times, but was up against some really loose calls.
The tournament I just played was another example of some pretty loose play. When we got to 5 handed, one guy kept pushing in for about 20 times the blind. I know he's not that strong most of the time, but knowing my luck when I made a move at him he would have AA or KK. I had made my standard small ball raise a few times and got re-raised in by the same player. So I finally pick up AA and make the exact same raise. He pushes in again. I call, of course. He has KJ suited. He catches a jack and bricks the rest. So now I'm sitting second, and he's short. The next hand I have A9 off and he pushes in again. I call, knowing I'm probably ahead. He has K6 off. He bricks out and is gone. The same types of plays pretty much go the rest of the way, I finished second.
It's just amazing how many times I saw people raise with nothing and get there on the end with all kinds of funky runner, runner combinations. Here's another example. I'm in the BB with KJ off and 5 limpers. It's early in the tourney with the blinds at 20/40 so there's no need to get crazy. The flop comes K-Q-10 rainbow. Top pair and open ended, I probably have the best hand or at least a draw to it. So I bet 2/3 of the pot. The player right behind me raises the minimum. Everyone else folds, I just call. The 7 of spades comes on the turn, putting two spades on board. I check, he bets the pot, I check-raise all in. He calls and shows A6 of spades. A spade hit the river and I was crippled. Little analysis on this hand. On the flop, when he raised, he only had 3 outs. So he was about 12% when he raised. I knew he didn't have two pair or the straight, I had been watching the hands he had been showing down. Plus he had been playing just about every hand. When the spade came on the turn, I thought he might have had a flush draw. So if I put him on the nut flush draw, he would have 11 outs. About 20% in the hand. Not bad, but I'll take a 3:1 advantage with one card to come every day of the week. He got there, but I eventually came back to get a respectable stack. I was eliminated in 4th in this tourney when my A10 went down to KQ. I pushed in for about 8 times the blind, and the BB who only had about 200 more than me called and flopped two pair. Oh well, kept getting it in good, but just couldn't do anything.
So hopefully this dry run will end soon. Maybe the cards will start cooperating and I can finally stop getting drawn out on by some pretty loose calls. Just have to stick to my mantra, get it in with the best and that's all you can do.