BLUEDAY'S DAILY POKER BLOG

[blueday]

As you may or may not know, 365Bonitas Poker (USA OK) are giving away free poker money in the form of 10 x 50c sitngo coupons.

You can get these by going to "player admin" when you are logged into the site (in the lobby).  I got mine and had trouble figuring out how to use them.  Finally worked it out that it is the second option down when you register for a 50c sitngo.  If you have won some cash or deposited and still have these coupons left, make sure you select the 2nd option down or you will have your bankroll cash used.

Anyway - I signed up and decided to have a game to see what the players/site was like.  have to say it is the same setup as Carbon Poker being on the merge network.  Not bad sites these in my view.

The game begins and there is the usual flurry of "all ins" from the usual get lucky fish.  One person goes all in with    and one caller shows  

The flop comes down     

Turn is and the river is .

So by this time there are only 8 of us left in.  I'm doing my usual posting and folding and another player is knocked out with a poor kicker on his Ace high.

I'm BB and dealt   and I'm raised all in pre-flop so I just called. 

My opponent shows   . 
The flop comes down     ,
turn is
and the river is    so my queen comes into play as the kicker and I knocked him out. 

The game goes on and a couple more players are knocked out - one guy got 4 x 10 and knocked two out in one go.  A very nice hand indeed.  4 of us left.

Unbelievably, another player is knocked out whilst going all in with      (Not unbelievable that he is knocked out but unbelievable that he went all in with it.

Down to 3 players and I'm definitely in the money.  Quite a few hands in and I'm dealt   

I raised to 800 and got an all in response which meant I had to call for another 320. My opponent shows   

The flop is    

Turn is
River is

Down to 2 players and we were just stealing blinds for a while and bluffing a little. 

The final hand and I'm dealt   so I raised big only to be re-raised and I called my opponents all in (I have chips left).

He shows   

The flop is    

Turn is
and the river is

So I won - I think it was $2.50 which has nicely started off my bankroll here.

It was a good game and I did enjoy it.

Tell me what you think of the cards in this post - if you think it looks too much or you like it.  Either way - I would like to know.

Thanks for reading.

blue

[Mago666]

a good start blue and nice games yeah these sit&gos of 0.50$ is like a fish tank u just need to await ur hand and just whit one hand u win u will finish in the money i have made 20$ whit my tickets and then continue playing in low limits cash now im on 100$ whit a good posibilities to increass this. im playing now im NL10 and some multitable tourneys of 2.20$ and 3.30$

All Hands Well played  

Also u need 100 poitns to cashout 

[blueday]

Thanks for the info Mago. 

I did play another and came 2nd.  Got unlucky with my Aces and was left with 10 chips after losing to some rubbish

3rd game - nowhere - unlucky with my AK.  Still have  7 left to get some more cash with though.

But I did win a buck on the video poker. 

blue

[medtrans]

Very nice blue.  I like the cards!

medtrans

[blueday]

This is just a quick post about a tourney I played at Full Tilt.

I'm not a big tourney player but I used to be.  I prefer the sitngo's.

Anyway, I entered the $1 tournament and there were 470 odd entrants at the point it was about to close but a late registration saw the number rocket to 817.

I played pretty tight the entire game and I saw the most dreadful plays that actually paid off.  One particular one that springs to mind was when BB had been raised so he re-raised and the opponent that was left in re-raised all in.

The hands came down and I was pretty gobsmacked when I saw what the other guy had re-raised with.

BB shows  

The opponent shows  

The flop came down with 3 x clubs (I can't remember them unfortunately) and the opponent cracked the guys Aces with a very poor flush.  What made it worse was the idiot with the clubs just "laughed" in the chat screen.  I'm at a loss to think why a person would re-raise all in with a hand like that pre-flop.

Anyway - as I said this is just a very brief write up.  There were 28 people left and I was at around 16th.

I was dealt    and I was Big Blind which was around 2k/4k at the time (if I remember correctly).  I had 14k so decided this was a great opportunity to either just steal or get called by an Ace high hopeful.  I raised all in when it was my turn and managed to get one caller.

His cards came down and he showed  

The flop was    

The turn was

I knew my fate was sealed at this point.  My only hope was a 10 on the river.

The final card came down and I was out at 25th position.

I showed a net profit of $2.09 [$3.19 win] for my efforts and considering I hadn't played in a large tourney like that for a while, I thought it was pretty reasonable to come 25th. 

I am considering upping my buy in to a more expensive tourney.  I'll post it if I do.  In the meantime, I'm fancying another game right now, so I will probably be posting another [sitngo] later.

blue

[Rosebud]

Thanks Blue...tried the 50c sit and go @ Bonitas and took third so I guess I'll try again.

[Rosebud]

Thanks again for the info and nice hands you got except for the 1 set.Good luck!!!!

[blueday]

Thanks Blue...tried the 50c sit and go @ Bonitas and took third so I guess I'll try again.

Well done - nice to get a payout thats for sure. 

blue

[blueday]

Worst game ever! 

I just played a quick turbo dollar sitngo on Full Tilt and the standard of play was pretty poor.

I say "worst game" because of the poor play and bad beats. 

First player is knocked out with the following hand: (both players are all in)

One player has   and the other player has   

The flop is    
Turn is  and the river is 

There was one player who kept raising all the time - stealing blinds mostly.

A few hands in and I'm dealt   so I just flat called.  There is one caller, SB calls and BB checks.

The flop comes down      and SB is first to act and bets 50.  BB folds and the other player (the guy that was raising most hands) calls, so I just flat called.   The turn is  , SB checks, the other player checks so I bet the pot of 350.  SB folds and the other guy calls.  I\'d seen this guy fishing to the river so I thought 350 would be enough to see him off - obviously not!  The river falls and is  .  I decided it was do or die time so  just went all in and the other guy folded.  He was probably chasing a straight. 

The very next hand and the guy that had been raising all the time raised (UTG) to 180 and he is immediately re-raised to 650.  Everyone folds except the UTG guy and the cards are shown.  I couldn't believe my eyes:

UTG shows    and the re-raiser (next to the UTG player) showed (wait for it)    . 

The flop is      , the turn is    and the river 

So the re-raiser won with a pair of 2s from an 8 2 off hand.  I just couldn't believe it....but some may say "thats poker".  That's not poker - thats just a joke.

That 82 off person was knocked out a few hands in when they lost with their   (they hit aces) and lost to trip     

So 7 players left and the game goes on.  Players are stealing blinds left, right and centre.  At one point   was cracked by   when  came on the flop.  He lost most of his chips and was out next hand.

Down to 6 and the blind stealing continues.

I'm doing my usual, posting and folding.  A few more hands on and UTG calls BB (160), the guy that was stealing blinds raises to 480, UTG calls and everyone else has folded.

The flop comes down    

UTG bets all in with 120 and the remaining player calls.  They show their hands. 

UTG has    and the "raiser" shows    . 
The turn is 
River is 

So one more is knocked out and there are 5 of us left.

The blinds are now 120/240 and I'm getting low on chips.  My blinds are being stolen but my hands are just dire so no point in calling/raising.

I'm dealt   and I\'m BB.  UTG raises me all in - everyone folds and I decide to call as the opponent prob has an Ace rag or Ace J/Q/K.

Our cards are revealed and the opponent does indeed have   

The flop is     

Turn is 

River is 

So I'm rivered and out in 5th.  Thought I was in with a good chance there - ah well that IS  poker.

Bad game though - bad play and bad beats.

blue

[blueday]

I'm not posting a game today.  I'm posting my hand of the week!

I played in a tournament at Full Tilt - just a $2 buy in and I came 160th out of 532 so no payout for me. 

I did enjoy it though and had one of my favourite hand results and this is my poker hand of the week.  I feel there should be flashing stars around those words and a couple of trumpets playing in the background.

Anyway, I was dealt   and I was 2 away from the BB so I just flat called the big blind which was $60.

The guy next to me (left of me) calls and BB checks.  The flop came down      .

I have trips and I have no doubt that someone is on a draw for a straight or may indeed, already have it.  Im 2nd to act next to BB.  BB checks, I check and the guy next to me bet $60 so BB folds and I just flat called.

Now I know this is a dangerous situation, the guy could hit or already have hit his straight and unless I hit the full house, I could lose a good few, if not all, of my chips.

The turn is .

I have the full house but there is the chance the other guy could have either   or   or   and have the straight flush.

I check.  Player next to me bets $60 so I decided to test the water and bet the pot which was a total of $510.  He flat called my raise.

The river is .

I'm truly hoping this guy just has a normal straight against my full house.  I'm quite sure he would have re-raised me all in if he had already hit it on the turn.  So I go for the throat and bet all in for $1350.  The guy calls all in and shows    so he had the straight from the getgo and I'm guessing he was praying for the  to come on the river.

Lucky me took the pot for $5050 and he missed his straight flush and was knocked out.

A great hand which is one of my favourite outcomes - the straight against the well hidden full house.

blue

[blueday]

Just played a 9 seater $2 sitngo at Full Tilt.

A really good but very long game with a couple of quality players made it a tough fight to even place. 191 hands in total.  I enjoyed it once the usual bluffers were knocked out.  You will see throughout my play that pocket KINGS were popping up in many of my hands (which I am certainly not complaining about).

The game kicks off with the usual "all ins" from the poor players.  There was a great cookery program on the TV and I must admit to being a bit distracted at first.....and that was when I looked at the screen and saw the little button "I'm back".  I pointed at myself to see what cards I had folded and it was    

What a waste however there was an ace on the board and chances are, I would have lost to an Ace rag fisher.  

A few hands on and I'm dealt  .  Blinds are 20/40 so I raised to 200 and I got one caller.

Flop comes down    

Rather than chance my opponent fishing for a flush (poor player from the previous few hands - bit of a calling station) I decided to just go all in after they checked.  Opponent folded and I won the pot of 500.

After a few more hands, one player is knocked out with   against    .  Aces held and one is out.

Another player was knocked out a few hands in (all in with pocket 6s) against   - he hit trips on the flop.

One more player is out and a few hands down the line, I'm dealt     Blinds are 60/120 and I'm in a perfect position as the dealer.  Everyone else has folded and I bet 5x BB again and SB and BB folded.

A few more hands along and another player is out and we are down to 5 of us.  At this point we have played 60 hands and I am 2nd to bottom stack with 1555 chips - top stack has 4395.  

My chips are dwindling and I need to start calling mediocre hands - I'm dealt    

The flop is       and Im first to act.  I just check as do the two other players in the hand.  

Turn is    so I bet 320 and I get one caller.  
River is   so I just bet all in and opponent calls.  I won with my two pairs and he showed    

A few hands in and another player is out aginst a pair of 4s.  So we are down to the last 4 and only 3 places pay.  Everyone tightens up their play.

I am YET AGAIN dealt   - I raise high and everyone folds.  So this is the 4th time I've been dealt pocket kings.

Loads of hands on - after much blind stealing/folding by everyone, I am dealt   I raise big and everyone folds.

After 120 hands another player is out and I'm finally "in the money".  Nothing much happened for the next 20 hands until I am dealt......you guessed it   - I just raised and stole the blinds as the two opponents left were quality players.

We are all posting and folding - hands are dire - there's a bit of stealing going on too until........yes I got em again:    
Unbelievable.  I raised and stole the blinds again.

10 more hands and the other two players are all in.  The big stack has img]http://www.stevedawson.com/pokercards/ac.gif[/img]   and the opponent has MY    

Thank goodness I didn\'t get them then.  Needless to say, the Aces held and we are now down to two.  My opponent has most of the chips.

Few hands were actually played until the final hand when I'm dealt   which is quite a good hand heads up.  We had both been folding a lot and I thought this was a good opportunity to double up.....maybe!

Anyway, I just went all in (based on his previous play, he was folding rubbish) - opponent calls and shows    

The cards are no help to me whatsoever and his pocket 4s hold.

Now I know that this isn't "big bucks" poker but against a quality player like the guy that won it, it makes for a great game.  I really enjoyed this one even though it was pretty lengthy.

As for the pocket kings - unbelievable that I should be dealt them so many times.

Thanks for reading.

blue

[dirkemans]

just read up on your blog Blue!

greatly written, and well played imo:
when are you maybe going to try some higher limits?
i have the feeling you  might be ready ^^

your tight, but not too tight, your well aware of the odds, and i think you are very observant @ your fellow players:
all the qualities needed to be  a good player imo, the best you can doto rule out as many nitwits as possible, is to go to more expensive limits or tourenys, its in no way  a guarantee, but in general, i think the play will be more enjoyable and challenging!

im not saying $50/100 blinds

maybe $1/2, $2/4 and tourneys with 11$ buyin?

what do you think?

[blueday]

Thanks Dirk.

You must be reading my mind.  I was talking it through the other day with a friend about upping the stakes.  I believe you are right and I have been considering it for a while. 

Thank you for your comments - I guess you have really confirmed my thoughts and it gives me a real boost to see it written down and an even bigger boost that it was written by you.

I shall certainly try it and see how I get on.  Thank you.

blue

[dirkemans]

im flattered you value my opinion dear blue!

now go get em!

anxiously awaiting your next blog!

 

[blueday]

Well I did up the stakes to a $5 6 seater Turbo sitngo at Full Tilt.  Not a great idea as you only get 300 chips and despite me doubling up on the first hand with a pair of "Mago"   , I came 4th when my   failed against a "Doyle Brunson"   .

Whilst this game was going on, I found a nice 9 seater $5 + 50c sitngo game.  The second hand dealt me was   Blinds are 15/30 so I wanted to raise big but not so big that nobody called so I bet 180.  Bearing in mind this was only the 2nd hand, it was difficult to judge whether I would get a caller or not so I decided I would settle for the blinds if nobody called.

I did get one caller - flat called my bet.  The flop came down    
I went all in and the opponent called and showed  
Turn was , the river was  so I doubled up and one player was history.

Play was very tight and there was a lot of folding (except for the player to my right who shall be named "bllnd stealer".  He was trying to steal those blinds from everyone no matter what his position. 

Quite a few hands in and another player is out after losing to  

Down to 7 and the very next hand I'm dealt   and I'm BB.  My BB is raised to 150 so I called.  Everyone else has folded.

Flop is     and Im first to act.  I checked and waited to see what the raiser would do and he bet 250.  I decided to raise him up to 500 to see what he would do.  He flat called which suggested he had an Ace high with perhaps a K or a Q.  The next card is  and Im getting worried now that he could have a couple of spades in his hand.  He had 850 chips left and the pot is 1325.  I decided to just bet the pot and put him all in. 

He called and flipped his cards to show   

Fortunately for me the river was  and another player bites the dust.

Many hands along and another player "loses his shirt" with pocket   against   and we are down to 5.

A few more hands of blind stealing from most of the players and the dealer goes all in - I don't think they were expecting a call but he did get one and everyone else has folded.

The show their cards:

Dealer shows   and the caller shows    .  The kings held and the dealer is knocked out.  There are now 4 of us left and I'm one away from being in the money. 

You may recall I mentioned the "blind stealer" near the beginning of this game.  Well this guy whenever in SB poisiton kept raising all in on my BB.  I kept saying bide your time to myself as I knew it would just be a matter of time before I hit a decent hand and would call his all in.

There was lots of posting and folding for quite a few hands.  The odd raise here and there but nothing much to speak of.

Then I'm dealt   Im small blind and the UTG decided to raise to 600 so I decided this was do or die for me as my stack was dwindling fast so I raised all in and UTG calls leaving them with 110 chips. 

UTG shows their hand and its    I have to hit an ace or I\'m a gonner. 

The flop comes down      so Im in the lead for the moment.  The turn is  and the river is  so I doubled up and now had 3750.  The UTG player was knocked out a few hands down the line when they went all in with Ace high and lost.

Down to 3 players and I'm definitely in the money.  The blind stealer is up to his usual tricks and I'm dealt   and Im SB.  Blinds are 100/200 and Blind stealer raises to 525.  I reraised him to 850 and he folded.

A few more hands along and I'm BB once again and Blind stealer has been up to his usual tricks.  I'm dealt   and I was hoping he would raise me.  Needless to say he did - all in for 6k so I just called him.

He showed    so Im in the lead for now.  The flop comes down      , turn is  and the river was  so I doubled up to 7300.

Biding my time finally paid off.

A few more hands along and he's up to his tricks yet again.  I'm dealt   Im BB and he raised me all in with 1890.  I decided to call him and take a chance with my pocket 3s.

He showed his cards    so Im ahead for the moment.  The flop comes down      .  Turn is  and the river is  so I finally knocked the blind stealer out and there are two of us left.  This gave me a great sense of satisfaction. 

The other player was a fairly good player although I did note that he stole a few hands along the way and bet quite high to get people off their cards. 

I have 10,030 chips and my opponent has 3470 chips.

Im dealt   - a great hand heads up.  Im the dealer and so I raised  3x the BB which was currently 240.  So the bet was 720 for him to call.  He went all in and so I just called him.

He showed    UGH! 

Flop comes down      the turn was  and the river 

I won on a bad beat that's for sure but I'm not going to complain.  $22.50 was the payoff but if it had gone the other way, I wouldn't have minded - the game would have just gone on for a little longer.  I guess I was just lucky today.

blue