I don’t have much to write about , i just had to take the top spot away from Timor . Bureaucracy is owning me and due to Internet provider conflicts my internet keeps going down every 3 days for at least one day. Hopefully it gets sorted out soon because it is really getting on my nerves.

Poker still is going fine at least , and although i am just donating stacks every once in a while , i am still a winning player at around 8.6PTBB/100 , which is ok i guess. At least i have been playing more lately , in order to get the deuce status and i now have 17k hands.  The more i play on this level , the more fishes i find and its totally amazing how eager some people are to give money away. Saturday night was my best session ever by far , i was up 3.8k and i also found myself with a 2k stack on a table. Woohoo.

I was watching a show today where the subject was gambling , and there were a bunch of people calling and saying how gambling destroyed their lives and their families etc etc. I guess these people are mostly the ones we call fishes , but it made me feel sort of  bad for whenever i win money off some people who need it way more than i do. (Well , its their own fault to play with that money in the first place but w/e) .  And it also made me a bit concerned on whether i might end up like these people , addicted to gambling in general and risking huge amounts of money and not just being a poker player with a professional approach.  But this show in general gave me the impression that everyone who has no knowledge of these things sees gamblers as sick people and probably looks down on poker players .

I guess it is hard to convince someone that there is actual skill in poker which prevails long term over the short term luck factor . Well , whatever.

Gl and hf at the tables

It’s time for an update, and it’s probably going to be the last one for a long while. Sorry undercover, that I’m stealing your top place here ;-). Frankly, I don’t have a good one. I moved up to NL400Sh at the end of November. Things were going well…at first. Immediately made about 1600$ profit. I felt like a God, and nothing could go wrong again in my forthcoming poker carreer. At least, that’s what I thought. Then, the bomb hit.

I lost my 1600$ again and a little bit more. “No big deal,” I thought, “I’ll just move down again for a little while untill I have a little bit more of my bankroll to deal with the swings, and move up again in a couple of days”. I moved down to NL200, but I kept losing. And losing. And losing again. Sets over sets. KK against AA. Flushes getting rivered by a full house. You name it, I’ve seen it all in the last 14 days. I took a break of about 3 days, viewed some video’s, posted some hands, and started again with a fresh mindset. But, I kept losing. The most horrendous downswing of my life. I lost basically all my mediumsized pots. I lost the big ones. I lost faith in my game. Could it really be that I reached this level purely on luck? On top of that, I started tilting when things weren’t going my way. The strangest thing of all, I didn’t have a tilting-issue for the last 4 months. Ever. And now I was swearing like a seacaptain, and felt like I wanted to throw my mouse against the wall, time after time. I made bad decisions. I’ve always been reasonably proud of my reading abbilities. Not that they’re always right off course, but I found them accurate enough to follow them in time of doubt. But I didn’t listen to them anymore. I kept making crying calls, even though I knew I was beat. I just couldn’t believe that my AA got cracked for the 4th time in an hour, so I called down a tight-passive player who kept betting at me. Off course he shows a set. Etcetera.

I decided to take another break. Viewed some more videos, asked some hand questions. Yesterday I started again. Same sh**, different day. 1k hands, a summary:

- Won 2 big pots with only TPTK-hands

- Lost basically 80% of my mediumsized pots

- Losing hands:

Beat #1:

***** Hand History for Game 6583975315 *****
$200 USD NL Texas Hold’em - Tuesday, December 11, 19:09:36 ET 2007
Table Table 128208 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: Timor83 ( $359.40 USD )
Seat 2: crackmasta ( $225.20 USD )
Seat 3: lacduder ( $645.08 USD )
Seat 4: All_Rigged ( $311.65 USD )
Seat 5: against_outs ( $222.70 USD )
Seat 6: jupi611 ( $472.65 USD )
All_Rigged posts small blind [$1 USD].
against_outs posts big blind [$2 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Timor83 [ Qh Qs ]
jupi611 folds.
>You have options at Table 133378 Table!.
Timor83 raises [$7 USD]
crackmasta folds.
lacduder raises [$12 USD]
All_Rigged folds.
against_outs folds.
Timor83 raises [$33 USD]
lacduder calls [$28 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Th, 7d, 3s ]
Timor83 bets [$60 USD]
>You have options at Table 127806 (No DP) Table!.
lacduder is all-In.
Timor83 is all-In.
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9d ]
** Dealing River ** [ Ac ]
Timor83 shows [ Qh, Qs ]a pair of Queens.
lacduder shows [ Kd, As ]a pair of Aces.
lacduder wins $285.68 USD from side pot #1 with a pair of Aces.
lacduder wins $718.80 USD from the main pot with a pair of Aces.
#Game No : 6583981518

I know calling an all in with such deep stacks and just a pair of Queens might not be prudent. But he was a loose and aggressive player, and he played it exactly like AK. The small reraise from the blinds, the bigger than normal push,…. All my instincts were saying he had that AK. Frustrating, but all in all that feeling is at least a bit countered by the fact that, although difficult, I made the right decision. In order to live, you must be willing to die, or something like that. All in all, I wouldn’t recommend calling here unless you have a very good read on your opponent. Against 95% of my opponents, I’d lay this hand down, but not against this maniac. I had seen him go all in with worse, so no need to second guess here

Beat #2:

***** Hand History for Game 6584144964 *****
$200 USD NL Texas Hold’em - Tuesday, December 11, 20:23:33 ET 2007
Table Jackpot #1306723 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: marcpreu25 ( $195 USD )
Seat 3: tummen555 ( $283.50 USD )
Seat 6: didugan ( $247.79 USD )
Seat 2: Timor83 ( $311.55 USD )
Seat 5: Sheep_ftw ( $199 USD )
Seat 4: idalijensen ( $16.50 USD )
idalijensen posts small blind [$1 USD].
Sheep_ftw posts big blind [$2 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Timor83 [ 7d 7h ]
didugan folds.
Timor83 raises [$7 USD]
tummen555 folds.
idalijensen folds.
Sheep_ftw calls [$5 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9h, 7s, 6s ]
Sheep_ftw checks.
Timor83 bets [$10 USD]
Sheep_ftw raises [$35 USD]
Timor83 raises [$85 USD]
Sheep_ftw is all-In.
Timor83 calls [$97 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 8s ]
** Dealing River ** [ 2h ]
Timor83 shows [ 7d, 7h ]three of a kind, Sevens.
Sheep_ftw shows [ 9c, 9d ]three of a kind, Nines.
The time at which hand ended:Dec 11 2007 20:24 ET
Sheep_ftw wins $396.50 USD from the main pot with three of a kind, Nines.
#Game No : 6584147466

Yeah well, what are you going to do about it? Lay down your middle set? I don’t think so.

Beat #3:

***** Hand History for Game 6584142002 *****
$200 USD NL Texas Hold’em - Tuesday, December 11, 20:22:04 ET 2007
Table Table 133903 (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 4
Seat 3: Timor83 ( $299.90 USD )
Seat 5: Just_a_hunch ( $270.05 USD )
Seat 6: midein87 ( $199 USD )
Seat 1: LeonPhelps2 ( $95.65 USD )
Timor83 posts small blind [$1 USD].
Just_a_hunch posts big blind [$2 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Timor83 [ 6h 6c ]
midein87 folds.
LeonPhelps2 raises [$4 USD]
Timor83 calls [$3 USD]
Just_a_hunch folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9d, 6d, Jc ]
Timor83 checks.
LeonPhelps2 checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Tc ]
Timor83 bets [$10 USD]
LeonPhelps2 calls [$10 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ 9c ]
>You have options at Jackpot #1306723 Table!.
Timor83 bets [$20 USD]
LeonPhelps2 is all-In.
Timor83 calls [$61.65 USD]
Timor83 shows [ 6h, 6c ]a full house, Sixes full of Nines.
LeonPhelps2 shows [ Jd, 9s ]a full house, Nines full of Jacks.
LeonPhelps2 wins $191.30 USD from the main pot with a full house, Nines full of Jacks.
#Game No : 6584143366

Nice, another 4-outer. Long live variance in a 90%-turn favourite hand.

Net total: -153$, which is basically not too bad considering the first hand.

The good news was that I remained calm. I didn’t tilt and I was satisfied with my play. I made good decisions. But still, I’m a winner by nature. And I hate it that my bankroll was cut almost in half within 2.5 weeks. I Lost about 12 NL200 buyins since the beginning of december, so the job is to get it back after new year

I really wished I had ended the year differently, because I have to cut down on poker for a while with my examinations coming up in January. But that’s just the way it is, as one Bruce Horsnby once said. Hopefully, I’ll bring you better news next time.

I wish you all a merry X-mas, and a happy newyear with lots of profitable poker. I’ll see you back in 2008

Damn it , i am the only one updating this blog frequently and i don’t even have that much to write :D. This week was rather uneventful , i didnt play for like 5 days because i just couldn’t find the motivation.

I only like playing after midnight anyway , for some weird reason. Maybe because thats when i used to play Warcraft as well. Plus the tables are softer at that time i guess. The only time where i find myself massing hands is when i am running bad , in which case i play to get back to where i was . But when i am running good i am lacking this motivation. I have only played 9k hands on NL400 since when i moved up at 25th of November , which is pretty pathetic. Any suggestions ?:D

I am really hating how everything in Greece is so unorganized. I have applied to upgrade my line to ADSL2 , and it has been almost 2 months now and there is no progress whatsoever. And my current ADSL connection is ending , but i can’t renew it because somehow it will further hinder the progress of the application. I mean wtf?

Anyway , i made a cashout and decided to invest on something that might help my poker career ^^ , a new monitor for better multitabling. It’s a 24” LG running at 1920×1200 , and it is ridiculously huge tbh and makes me a bit dizzy but i guess i ll get used to it. I remember like 10 years ago 21” TV was the standard for a living room or whatever , and now i have a 24” monitor like 50 cm away from my face. That can’t be good ~~.

It proved to be somewhat lucky though , since on my first session with it i ended up around 1.8k which is my best single session result so far. That means i ll probably play again in a week - Nah, hopefully sooner than that. Anyway NL400 is going extremely well for me so far , with 11PTBB/100 . I will be happy if i can stabilize my self at 5 PTBB over a long amount of hands. Technically i could already move to NL600 but climbing 2 limits within 20 days is a bit too wild for me. I don’t wanna find myself suddenly in a limit where i am outskilled or something ~~. I find it rather funny that i am doing good in NL200/NL400 , while when i was playing NL25 (Both SSS and BSS)  i had 0.22PTBB over 82k hands , which means a whooping profit of 89$. So to everyone who is running mediocre on micro limits : Don’t give up and you will eventually get rewarded.

I saved the best for the end : I made my first winning coaching session on NL50! I played 600 hands and ended up 1.85$ . Go me !

Well , hopefully i ‘ll have something to write about before the new year.

gl and hf at the tables

So we are heading towards the end of another year , and also i m completing my first year of poker. It has been a pretty nice (and lately profitable) experience , with many ups and downs and it has even taught me some stuff that can be helpful in life overall. Time seems to fly by so fast… 1 year ago i was happy for doubling up my 2$ stack with the SSS on NL10 tables and today i am often involved in pots worth over 1k. To be honest it seems to me like money loses a lot of its significance on the poker tables - it is hard for me to comprehend that sometimes i am playing a pot that is a monthly wage for some people. And im not even playing on that high stakes.

Anyway , poker wise i have started off great in this month. It seems like my stats have slightly changed since when i moved up to NL400. I have become a bit more nitty and more aggresive. The bad level of some players even at this limit is surprising me , i definately doubt they built their bankroll up to that point. One of the main reasons i am being succesful so far is my very careful table selection. Especially on this limit , where there are not many tables , i take my time to scan them all before i sit and play. There is no point on trying to outplay good opponents against whom you have a small or no edge , instead of milking the fish .

I also won my biggest pot ever these days : 1,5k. Here’s the hand (There is no better combination than a bad player with a big stack)
Known players: (for a description of vp$ip, pfr, ats, folded bb, af, wts, wsd, hands go to http://www.pokerstrategy.cc/en/articles/182/?referer=grabem_hand)
MP3 (1.192)
SB (394)
BB (0)
MP2 (696.75)
BU (760)
CO (400)

2/4 No-Limit Hold’em (6 handed)
Hand recorder used for this poker hand: Texas Grabem 1.8 by www.pokerstrategy.cc.

Preflop: Hero is BU with 5c, 5s
MP2 raises to $14.00, 2 folds, Hero calls $14.00, SB folds, BB calls $10.00.

Flop: ($44.00) Qh, 5d, 2h (3 players)
BB bets $20, MP2 folds, Hero raises to $80.00, BB calls $60.00.

Turn: ($204.00) 6d (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $155, BB calls $155.00.

River: ($514.00) Jc (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $511 (All-In), BB calls $511.00.

Final Pot: $1536.00

I loved the river call , i wonder how he can think that i invest 2 stacks on just top pair or something.

I have the feeling that noone reads these blogs , because there are never any comments on the posts . That’s ok though , i will show these to my grand children some day =] .

Have a nice month everyone !

EDIT: Blah , i didn’t notice that i did not post his hand. Anyway he had 65 of hearts. So i guess he could have shown more aggression on the flop or turn , but i think his call on the river was pretty bad.

Well, I guess no better way to start this blog by a general introduction. I’m a 24 year old student from Belgium, who started with PokerStrategy in June. If by then you had told me I would be writing this blog, I’d have probably laughed. Hard. And see, now it seems that I’m the first English community member who reached NL400 (although undercover82 had build up a bigger bankroll but cashed out more and moved up later). That doesn’t by all means says that I’m a great player. Decent might be a better description. I made some stupid plays last night, and my 1800$ I won at NL400 is already diminished to a measly 600. True, that’s “only” 3 buyins I lost, so no real harm done. But somehow, for a player who still played NL50 not even 3 months ago, and who plays NL10 with his friends every monday, it still feels like a lot of money. I could have made more money though, because I accidently played at a table last night where Sebra was coaching. My evil mind thought for a moment about joining in Teamspeak to hear his cards, but nah :p I didn’t want to cause a next Potripper scandal ;-). I guess you could summarize my poker career through this graph. Oh yeah, this one’s without the loss of yesterday, off course. What, do you think I want to look stupid?

Winnings graph

For the past few months, I’ve been having the urge to move up constantly. I studied articles, posted hands, watched video’s, read books, and played, played, played. 125k hands, thank you very much. But that urge is now no longer there. I feel NL400 should be a great habitat for me to further improve my game and to win consistently at the same moment. The time has come for me to make some money, because after all, apart from the love for the game, that’s the main drive for many players. And it’s no different with me, off course. Sure, I’ll move up again (I hope), but no rushing to it. A busy schoolperiod is coming up, so I’ll be playing less anyway the coming weeks and months. And, I want to finish off “No-Limit Hold’em: Theory & Practice” (Sklansky & Miller) for the second time before that examination period is coming up. It’s a must read for every serious student of the game, and while reading it for the second time, I’m still learning from it.

You’ll probably see more of me here in the future, because I was asked to do some more stuff besides this blog, like videomaking. I hope I don’t make as stupid plays as I did yesterday though, because I’ll not exactly be setting a good example for my viewers. To be continued

// EDIT: For some reason the graph was removed unintentionally…it should be available again.