Successful home game

Well the home game on Thursday went well.
It started as $1-3 NLHE so I just bought in $150.
I lost that in about 21/2 hours - didn't play many hands - the hands i played were
QQ - I'm down to about $130 just from some small pots and blinds - I make it $10 to go in EP - a guy who has just taken a big beat goes all in for about $40 - only $30 more so autocall - he has Kd10d but hits his king.
1010 - I've been blinded down to around $60 now and get this in late position (just call the 3) - flop is KQ10 - I bet $20 and get one caller - I assume he has a pair and open ended so I'm just looking out for a 9 or an Ace - turn is another 10 - we both check - can't remember the river but not a 9 or an Ace - I bet $25 - he says "we probably have the same hand" I said "I doubt it"! - he folded anyway so I should have just shut up! Was kind enough to show him and two players said when I said that they knew I had quads!
So I still didn't have much after that hand - maybe 70 - then get AK on button with about 8 limpers - think that $30 would be nice for my stack so I push - but get two callers - both had suited connectors (low) - one hit flush and one hit str8! One of them said my all in priced him into the hand - that didn't make much sense but I just laughed.
So..reloaded another $150 and that went much better.
The next big hand was 55 - I limp with it in LP (stack around $130) one of the blinds makes it $21 - gets one caller - I decide to gamble and call. Flop 832 rainbow. Raiser bets $50 other guy calls and I do too. I don't know why - I kind of liked the flop and don't think either of them have much. I think the raiser has AK. The turn is a 2 and everyone checks - I am sure I'm ahead now - river is a king which i hated - but thankfully they both check - no-one wanted to turn over their hand so I flipped up the 55s and got a load of comments about what a bad call I made as they both mucked!
Next big one was 1010 - i make it 10 to go early - am reraised to 50 by a loose player - then there is some commotion about a misdeal - some card was lying loose - but he so wants to play the pot I am sure he has aces. I could have said it was a misdeal but we are heads up and I really wanted to gamble. Flop is like 10 5 2 rainbow - the money all got in pretty quick and he did have aces.
So..I'm well over $600 going into OH8 and got some good hands in that also - mainly split pots but with a few players in so I made good profit.
Cashed out $900 - should have been $910 but we did a blind hand for the loose change!
Enjoyed it a lot - going to play more live when I can.
3 $20+2 SNGs since last post 1st 3rd and bust. Getting a bit better. Been reading Collin Moshman's book which advocates a much more aggressive strategy to what I have been playing but I think this is necessary given the amount of bubbles I have been getting at $20+2
Unfortunately I think I can only play one at a time this way so it will be a bit slow.
Current roll $530 (plus $600 live roll to be saved for home games!)

Another 5 SNGs tonight 2 $10+1 - 1 win 1 bust
3 $20+2 3 busts. Its driving me mad - I'm not playing that bad. Around the bubble I haven't one a race in any of the $20+2s.
did well in the cash games - practised some OH8 for tomorrow night and made $50 at 25c pl.
Closing roll $464

bad results:{

done another 23 SNGs since last post
1st 11, 10+1 SNGs 3 1sts 1 3rd 7 busts - I won the last two of this group of 10 using a different aggressive, stealing blinds and doing races strategy
then 12 $20+2 SNGs - terrible results - only one 1st. I don't know why so bad - trying different strategies I guess. So on tilt and had a few beers last night that in the last one I called two all ins on the 1st hand with 78off! I never do stuff like that. They both had pocket aces amazingly enough.
Going to a friends $1-3 cash game tomorrow so going to practise ring games tonight. It's above my bankroll and a wild game based on last time (see post back in May) - going to try and just play tight and survive on $150.
Closing roll $450. (somehow still doing ok due to deposit bonus - final table in a $5 multi - and a little omaha session)

130 down

2 1sts, 1 2nd and1 3rd from the last 9.
Closing roll $376
I played a lot today and did a lot of multis also which is why still down I guess.
Nearly cleared $100 bonus - should be doing the $20+2 sngs soon

121 down

done 121 now - only managed 3 2nds out of the last 15. Terrible. Unless the next 10 are profitable a major strategy review is needed...

100 SNGs complete - cash game ban lifted!

Finished the first 100 SNGs plus another 6 so only 94 to go.
did 5 on Tuesday night (all 10+1) and got a 3rd and a 2nd
10 last night - started off real bad - lost the first couple and then was on major tilt - argument at home doesn't help. So lost the first 6 but then managed to break even by getting 1333 on the last 4.
Tonight was good did 6 and got xx131x (all 10+1)
of the first 100 SNGs I think I got in the money 46 times - aim for the next 100 is cash in 50 of them with at least 10 1sts and 10 2nds. Realistic but steady target.
decided to do the cash games again for a max of 2 5% of my roll buyins per day. made about $14 off 2 $20 buy ins. Just want to play them a little bit to stay in practise for casino trips.
Closing roll $432.79

85 SNGs done

3 $20+2 - 1 3rd 2 busts 7 $10+1 1 2nd 1 3rd 5 busts
pretty bad
I need to think of a change in strategy
what I am doing wrong
1 - making some bad calls
2 - playing for the money too much and too tight around bubble time
3 - just playing my own hand - not thinking about opponents - not bluffing enough
4 - not accumulating enough early on
5 - not reraising enough when I think I may be ahead
solutions
1 - don't worry about being bluffed - don't call overpot sized bets - in an attempt to make heroic call
2 - defend blinds more around bubble time, be prepared to race
3 - try and win every pot in - bluff more
4 - limp with more hands
5 - not allowed to just call - reraise or fold - especially one <20 blinds

Banned from cash games - 75 SNGs done

I'm banned from cash games from now - absolutely useless - blew at least $50 of my hard earned tourney winnings in about 30 mins. Quite a lot considering it was 10-20cent blinds!
I buy in for 20 - call a raise to $1.2 with 7s8s flop is J56 - there is a flush draw (I have no part of it) - 3 players in it 1st checks 2nd bets $3 I call 1st goes all in (has me covered) - I snap call - other guy folds. What a fckn donkey I am! Needed a 4 or a 9 which didn't come.
Rebuy another 20 start playing every hand - call some raise with Qd7d - flop is Kd10hJd - great! I must have about 75 outs so I lead out pot sized $3 against about 5 players hoping someone goes all in - I figure I'm favourite against anything. Get stuck in for all my chips by AA (no diamonds) but he still holds up. I suppose this wasn't as bad as the first one with 78 but I knew i was drawing and I knew I wouldn't get everyone to fold. I should have check called hopefully smaller amounts. And when I'm thinking I have an OESD as well as the flush I am being generous considering it was fairly obvious the original raiser even preflop had AA so two outs gone. Although when the all in percents came up I was 46% so not too bad.
Lost even more after that - trying to play every hand and get it back fast.
So I'm banned from cash games for now! - I've no respect for the chips compared to a tourney - it was same last time I went to Vegas - particularly chasing draws.
did another 10 SNGS
5 20+2s (1 3rd 2 2nds 2 busts) 5 10+1(1 2nd 2 3rds 2busts)
Closing roll $477.6

65 down 135 to go

done 65 sngs now - done some $20+2 but not much success
did 10 yesterday 1 1st 1 2nd and 2 3rds - (8 10+1 and 2 20+2) I lost both the 20+2's tho.
done 6 so far today - 3 $10+1 got a 3rd and a 2nd and 3 $20+2 got a first and two losses.

Rough day

Rough day personally - still managed to profit from poker
My wife is not getting out of hospital til at least Monday so that sucks - home alone again ( my daughter is staying at her grans tonight to help me out)
Great opportunity to play poker but I'm too depressed and tired to enjoy it much.
Anyway managed 8 bottles of beer, 10 SNGs, 1 multi (400 players) and 1 shorthanded multi (only 35 players)
SNGs - did ok despite losing the first 4, got 1 1st 3 2nds and 1 3rd out of 10 tournies. A slight profit - $20 or something I guess.
got about 25th in the 400 player tournie - not bad but not much money for that - got $15 ($5+0.5 tourney)
4th in the shorthanded one - should have done better - was very tired and happy to be in money so called an all in with 66 when I still had 17/18 blinds. The problem was every time I raised the same player reraised all in so I felt I had to do a race. Not true really - I don't usually do that. Anyway it wasn't a terrible call as I was ahead (he obviously had overs) but he hit one of his overs.
Closing roll $416 and $20+2 ticket - happy enough that still making a profit on a bad day!

Get better soon!

Well been a rough couple of days so not much poker. Had to take my wife to A and E yesterday - with chest pain -after 6 hours in there they admit her - possible pneumonia. Seems to be under control today but still in there - get well soon - I love you:) xoxo
Poker - got home last night after 6 or 7 hours in hospital and shouldn't have played - lost 2 $10+1 SNGS then bed. Tonight - bad start - very tired after 4 hours sleep and lost the first one then went 1 2 x 1 on the next four. So pretty good.
One of them I won when i was dead cert bubble boy with about 2 or 3 blinds left - the other 3 were comfortable stacks. Its amazing how quickly it can change. Basically the blinds were good to me I got back up to 2000 ( with the blinds 200-400) then I'm in the small blind (folded to me) and the BB only has 2000 or so also - pick up KQ and shove - called by 77 and hit a Q. Then I'm even with the other two stacks - they went to war straightaway - and I'm heads up.
Also hit a straight flush - but it doesn't count for much as only using one holecard.
So, so far I've done 39 SNGs
32 @ 5+0.5 6 1sts 4 2nds 5 3rds
7 @ 10+1 2 1sts 1 2nd
Total profit $137
Closing roll $340.

Successful night!

Had a good night tonight - well apart from my wife being sick - the poker was good.
1 - main event on TV - always entertaining - saw one poor guy get four aces on the river but the river ace made his opponent a royal flush. He stumbled out of there in shock! Never seen that - the closest was one cash game when I made a str8 flush with 3c5c and the other guy had 44. Unfortunately it was 25c blinds and we only had about 20 bux each!
2 - finished 2nd in $2 shorthanded MTT (423 runners) - happy enough with 2nd I got my money in quite good with QQ on a 4 67 flop - he had 89 with a backdoor flush and hit the flush. I was second going into final table and came out second so I suppose it is ok. The three hands that really did it in the tourney were - 1 stack around 15k blinds 200-400 I call min raise in BB with 86off - flop 457 2 clubs - raiser with 30k goes all in with ace queen of spades - no sweat! 2 - stack around 50k folded to me in small blind blinds 400-800 - I raise 3.5* with Ad3d - flop is 3,5,7 - I bet 1/2 pot - bb calls - turn is 7 - I decide to set a trap and show weakness - I know he just thinks I have none of this flop - he checks - river is a 10 he goes all in for about 25k - I hesitate then call - he has AJ - nothing - the 3 is good! The last good hand I remember was with stack around 100000 guy with similar stack raises pre - I reraise with KK - flop K88 - I make a weak bet of 1/2 the pot - he min reraises - I just call - then smooth call a sizeable turn bet and reraise all in on the river (to a large bet) - the river reraise was quite small but he got away somehow. Still made a lot about $70k.
3 - two more places out of 2 $5 SNGs - 1st and 2nd.
4 - won my battle with Hollywood Poker to get my $20+2 ticket they have owed me for 2 weeks. Unfortunately the site went down for maintenance so I can't use it tonight.
Closing roll $288 - not bad from $5.5 start! and a $20+2 ticket! will be starting the $10+1 SNGs tomorrow.

30 SNGS done

did another 10 tonight - ok results - disappointed with number of 3rd places but in most of them I was happy to make money
got 2 1sts and 4 3rds out of 10
that brings record out of 30 to 5,3,5 - 5 1sts 3 2nds 5 3rds - profit of $55 from 30 $5+.05 SNGS.
It's ok I guess - as long as I make a small profit - I don't think I can go bust playing these if I stick to 5% buy in rule. Hope to keep going at this rate so I can do the $10+1 ones soon.
also got second in the EZ money tourney - I got a free $5 ticket for that and also placed in $2 sh mtt
Closing roll $131.5

20 SNGs done

did another 5 SNGs and only got 1 second. Today was a Monday holiday and the play seemed stronger during the day.
Will give my current strategy one more chance as it seems to work at night times.

50 SNGS per week

doing a new experiment - going to do 50 SNGs per week - 200 by end of September. Starting on $5+0.5 and will move up once buy in for next level is not more than 5%.
Started really well but slowing down a bit - pleased that when I have made money there have been a good amount of 1sts and 2nds.
So for from 15, 3 1sts 2 2nds and 1 3rd. Profit $32.5
Closing roll $95.57