The Ramblings of a Low-Stakes Internet Poker GrindThe Ramblings of a Low-Stakes Internet Poker GrindA blog about the world of low stakes internet poker. It is full of information for your everyday player. Articles
07/27/07 The Big Tournament: What Happened, Why I'm Out, and Why I Would Ma
2007-07-28 22:54:00 Before I get into my big long story about the tournament I played tonight, let me give you a synopsis of what I've been doing the last few days. I've played in several 4.40 180 person tournaments on Pokerstars. I have not cashed in any, but I've been in the final 40 twice. Something good is bound to happen to me soon in one of those MTT's, I can feel it (probably this weekend). I have also taken some shots in some $5.50 or less major tourneys on Stars, some with up to 2000 players. I've played well, but my finishes don't reflect that... poker can't be results oriented though, especially in multi-table tournament play. The variance in these games is so high that I must expect to lose consistently by entering them. Eventually, when I do take one down (and I will) I will be reimbursed for all the previous lost buyins, with some to spare. I've been grinding the .10/.25NL tables again. I've been very successful. I can control tables at these limits with ease, as long as I'm... More About: Would , Pene , Tournament , Amen
07/24/07 Insert Creative Title Here
2007-07-28 22:53:00 I have been playing a few low-risk high reward tournaments on Pokerstars the last few days. With buy-ins ranging from $3.00 to $10.00, they garner as many as 2000 players for a pretty solid prize pool. I can honestly say I've played pretty well in each one, but I haven't cashed yet. It feels like I'm right on the cusp of making something big happen, but I either go card dead or get sucked out on. I finished in 23rd in a 180 person tourney the other day, with the top 18 getting paid. I don't even remember how I busted, but I do remember telling Ian about it, so ask him. We played mixed games until 3:30am last night. It was a blast, even though things started out a little rough for me. I finished in last and second to last in the first tourney, having rebought and busted again. The only highlight I can remember was the hand that busted me. We were at .50/1.00, Ian limped, Roy limped, and Derek completed in the SB. I woke up with TT in the BB, and with so many limpers I decide... More About: Creative , Title
07/22/07 Here's What's Up
2007-07-28 22:53:00 I haven't updated in a few days- not for any particular reason, really. Not too much has changed, but I'm doing better for myself now than I was the last time I posted. On Thursday and Friday I dumped some more money at .25/.50 and pretty much donked it up until I felt I had lost enough. Then Friday night I made another irrational decision and decided to take a shot at the top, entering a $20,000 guaranteed tournament on Pokerstars. The buy-in was 27.50, a much larger chunk of my bankroll than I should have ever chosen to play for. The field was over 1400 players, with first prize taking home over 7.6k. I navigated the first three levels nearly perfectly, and I had over 7,000 chips at the first break. Then things kind of hit the fan- I made a raise in LP with AK, and got called by the SB. The flop came T-high, I bet, he called. I slowed down on the turn, and when he checked to me on the river, I felt I could steal the pot with my unpaired hand. I bet 2k into a 2,500 chip pot, and ...
07/17/07 What now?
2007-07-28 22:52:00 So I'm at a bit of a crossroads right now, and I've decided how I'm going to deal with it. I'm only going to play 4.00+.40 180 person Sit and Gos for a while, and play some tournament poker and avoid the cash games. The real reason I still have a bankroll was a stretch where I final tabled in 3 out of 4 of these things, winning one. I think that if I can FT once or twice in a stretch where I'm getting some of my gusto back, I will go back to the cash games, but probably at .10/.25NL for a while. I also think I'm going to play more 7-card Stud, which I consider my second best game. I will be sure to let all of you know how I'm doing as I play more 180s. I just entered one a few minutes ago, and as luck would have it, I'm already out. Early in the second level I called a 3x raise with 9hTh on the button in a 5 way pot. The flop was 2h-6h-8h, giving me a flush with a redraw to a straight flush. It was checked around to me, and I bet 250. The SB folded, and the BB min-raise...
07/15/07 Still Struggling...
2007-07-28 22:51:00 It seems like something is missing from my game right now. It has been this way for the last couple of days, and somehow I've kept my head above water until last night. I'm not being dealt any hands, so I've been getting creative with the only playable garbage I'm being dealt- JT, QT, K9, A8, those type of hands. The result has been catastrophic. I'm also not hitting any flops, or worse yet, when I do, I'm catching middle or bottom pair and if I bet I'll get raised and have to fold. I am not afraid to admit that I am playing scared right now, and while I'm usually the table leader, I have slid down to the bottom of the pack and become the table bitch. Every play I make seems to be caught. Every continuation bet is raised. Every slowplay is checked down. Every JJ is met by a AKQ flop. You know the feeling? It is gut wrenching. I won't get into details about how much I've given away in the last couple days, but it hasn't been pretty. I'm considering stepping back down to ....
07/16/07 Shifting Strategies and Taking it Like a Man
2007-07-28 22:51:00 When a player is running bad, he can go through a checklist of things to right himself. Some players like to just take some time off of the game. Others shift the variation of poker they are playing, i.e. going from Omaha to Stud. Others still just ride out the beats and take their lumps, trying their best not to tilt. I had tried to take time off, but I love playing the game too much to just sit around knowing I could be at a .25/.50 NL table. I didn't really want to change games either, because I know Hold'em is my strongest game and I think I'm actually playing pretty well. The third strategy wasn't really an option- my bankroll isn't exactly large enough to ride out losing 40.00 a day for very long. So today when I hit the tables I decided I was going to alter the way I've been playing dramatically. I think I've been seeing too many flops and playing too many marginal hands out of position. Today, the mindset was clear-cut and simple. No more playing moderate hands o... More About: Strategies , Shift , Rate , Taking , A Man
07/15/07 Still Struggling...
2007-07-28 22:51:00 It seems like something is missing from my game right now. It has been this way for the last couple of days, and somehow I've kept my head above water until last night. I'm not being dealt any hands, so I've been getting creative with the only playable garbage I'm being dealt- JT, QT, K9, A8, those type of hands. The result has been catastrophic. I'm also not hitting any flops, or worse yet, when I do, I'm catching middle or bottom pair and if I bet I'll get raised and have to fold. I am not afraid to admit that I am playing scared right now, and while I'm usually the table leader, I have slid down to the bottom of the pack and become the table bitch. Every play I make seems to be caught. Every continuation bet is raised. Every slowplay is checked down. Every JJ is met by a AKQ flop. You know the feeling? It is gut wrenching. I won't get into details about how much I've given away in the last couple days, but it hasn't been pretty. I'm considering stepping back down to ....
07/14/07 Got it All Back and Then Some
2007-07-28 22:50:00 Vindication. You just can't keep a good man down, not at the poker table anyway. Into the third hour of my .25/.50NL Hold'em session I was just about to call it quits, as you may have read in my previous blog entry. But since I posted last, a lot has changed. Here's a rundown of the last 30 minutes: Things would get worse before they would get better. I was still missing flops and floating in between 8.00 and 20.00 at the table (as I mentioned before, I was making a conscious choice not to reload). I opened a pot in MP with 89 of clubs, and only the BB called. The flop came down 2h-Ks-9d, and he checked it to me. I was pretty sure my hand was good here, and I bet out 1.50. He called very quickly. The turn was the 3 of diamonds, which he checked to me. I fired out another "where am I?" bet, this time 3.00, and he called. The river was the 6 of diamonds, and he checked again. This time my fear of being outdrawn saved me, and I insta-checked behind him. He tables 9d4d an... More About: Back , Some , Then
07/14/07 Hey! Anyone Else Wanna Suck Out on Me?
2007-07-28 22:49:00 Today I am running the worst I've run in recent memory. Twice I've run top-pair-top-kicker into bottom set, and twice I've had a flush beaten by a runner-runner full house. Nothing is working for me right now and I'm just trying to ride it out and minimize the damage. The second time my flush was runner-runnered, I almost folded the second nut flush for a 10.00 be on a board of J-8-7-8-5. I couldn't do it, and of course he had 85o. I am so sick right now. I was excited because I had a lot of time to play today, and now I just can't believe the spots I'm getting put in. My frustration is only fueled by the fact that everytime I wake up with AQ or AK, I either miss the flop or run into a set of fours. When I have a big hand preflop, I have to play it like a goddamn donk in order to even make any money off of it. And when I flop a big draw in a big pot in position, I'm never ever getting there. It feels like I'm running in shoulder-deep water. You fight and fucking fight and y... More About: Suck
07/13/07 Making the Wrong Reads for the Right Reasons
2007-07-28 22:48:00 I didn't play much yesterday- I worked from 3:00am until 8:30am at the station and then I came home and messed around the site for a while with Mike. I sat down at a .25/.50 NL Hold'em table later in the day, but I had to leave after like 45 minutes. I played only one key hand, and it was the first time I entered a serious pot at the table. I had 99 in my BB and a loose guy made it 1.50 to go. He had just lost a good size pot, and I figured if I caught a decent flop he would probably double me up. The flop was more than decent; 9-7-3 rainbow. I check, he fires 2.50, and I perform one of those "fake tanks," and I call after 15 seconds of pseudo-deliberation. The turn is the case 9, which is probably a bad card for me, even though it makes me quads. I check, and he bets 5.00 this time. I called instead of raising here, and I think it was a mistake. If I min-raised, he'd probably have to call with any sort of hand. Anyway, the river was an A, another bad card for me assuming he didn... More About: Reasons , Wrong , Maki , Makin
07/11/07 The Other Side of Variance
2007-07-28 22:47:00 Pokerstars had been pretty good to me lately- granted, over the last few months I have been playing the best I ever have, but I've also been running well online. As all serious players know, however, what goes up must come down and all of us will have endure extended stretches of bad luck. I've been facing a little bit of the ugly side of expected variance over the last few days, but I think I am handling it well. Over a two day span I dropped close 100.00 at .25/.50NL tables. In one situation, I was up a little bit when a crazy hand came up. Let's play a little game of "Hand Analysis;" I'll give you all of the information and you try to put me and my opponent on a hand (The actual hands will be revealed at the end of this post). I am at a loose table where players love to take flops. When there are preflop raises, they are mostly 5-8 times the BB so that they scare away at least a few limpers. I have roughly 25.00 in chips at this juncture. There are 3 limpers ahead of me,... More About: Side , The Other , The O , The Other Side , Other Side
07/11/07 Hold'em Tourneys and Mixed Games
2007-07-28 22:19:00 I put in a solid 5 hour live session last night with some friends. We played two four handed NL Hold 'em tournaments with ten minute levels and unlimited rebuys through the third level. We started with $20.00 in chips, with blinds beginning at .25/.50 and progressing from there. Basically, it was a great chance for me to donk off some money. I built a nice chiplead early in the first tournament, then I gave about a fifth of my stack away on a hand where i semi-bluffed with a gut-buster on the turn and fired out a pot-sized bet when the river bricked, only to be re-raised all-in. Early in the third level I pulled a similar play that worked out even worse. In an unraised pot with three players, the flop came down Q-T-5. It was checked around to me on the button, and I elected to take a free card with 69s. The turn came an 8, giving me essentially 8 outs to the nuts, with any J or 7 making me the straight. The SB bet out, the BB called, and so did I, getting almost 6:1 on my draw. The ... More About: Games , Ames , Mixed , Mixe
07/10/07 Up and Down in the Cash Games
2007-07-28 21:45:00 I just lost two monster pots in four consecutive hands at the .10/.25 NL tables. Here's how they went down. I catch KK on my first hand at the table. I bump it to 1.00. One caller, flop is T high. He checks, I fire 1.50, he folds, so far so good. The very next hand I pick up AKs in late position. I limp, the button raises to 1.25, the SB calls and so do I. Flop is T high again. SB checks, I check, button bets 1.50. I usually would put in a raise here, but the SB repops to 4.00. I fold, no big deal. The VERY NEXT HAND I have KQ on the cutoff. A guy in middle position raises it to 1.00 and I call and so does the BB. Flop is QA7. BB checks, the raiser bets 1.00. I smooth call, the BB folds. The turn is a beautiful Q. The original raiser bets 2.00, I just call looking to set him up on the river. The river comes an offsuit 8; there are no straight or flush possibilities. He bets 3.00 and an alarm goes off in my head. Someone in the back of my brain is screaming at me to just call... More About: Games , Cash , Ames
Links for 2007-07-22 [Digg]
2007-07-23 07:00:00 Interview with a Presidential Candidate: Marijuana Party's She runs a real grassroots campaign.... More About: Links , Digg
Links for 2007-07-18 [Digg]
2007-07-19 07:00:00 Arabian Monkey- Where Are They Now: Salute Your Shorts Edition Donkey Lips is a rapper...wow... More About: Links , Digg
Links for 2007-07-17 [Digg]
2007-07-18 07:00:00 Arabian Monkey- Where Are They Now: Salute Your Shorts Edition Donkey Lips is a rapper...wow... More About: Links , Digg
Links for 2007-07-15 [Digg]
2007-07-16 07:00:00 Arabian Monkey- The Five People George Bush Will Meet In Heaven The five people George Bush will meet in heaven...one of them is C. Everett Koop More About: Links , Digg
Links for 2007-07-12 [Digg]
2007-07-13 07:00:00 Interview with Vampire/Presidential Candidate Jonathon The Impaler Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey is a Satanist, vampire, witch, wrestler, and a presidential candidate...he also says he will impale President Bush once in office... The Gerk's Poker Blog: Ramblings of a Low-Stakes Internet Grinder The ramblings of a low-stakes internet grinder... More About: Links , Digg
Links for 2007-07-10 [Digg]
2007-07-11 07:00:00 American Political Idol A great idea for a new TV show to elect our next president... More About: Links , Digg
Links for 2007-07-05 [Digg]
More articles from this author:2007-07-06 07:00:00 Interview With Presidential Candidate and Nude Performancer Frank Moore. "I am known for long [5-48 hours] ritualistic performances with audienceparticipation, improvisation, nudity, and eroticism. For this I wastargeted in the early 90s as an "obscene" artist by Sen. Jesse Helms andother right-wingers." More About: Links , Digg 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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