aussie_pokerboy

Okay so I entered a $100 tournament at crown tonight. starting stack $1750, 170 players in total.

I survive to there being 22 players left with a dangerously low shortstack. 20 players get paid, smaller stack to my immediate left. Blinds are 1300 / 2600.

I'm in the SB. Player to my left is all-in on the BB for about $1100. To call here will put me all-in. Everyone folds to the player on my right, he calls the Big Blind.

I look down at my cards and find AJ suited, which looks like gold compared to the 10 previous hands I've folded.

I'm right on the bubble, and with a caller I'd say BB is beat. That likely leaves only 1 player left before the bubble bursts and I could see another 5 or 6 hands before the blinds come around with my measly $1300 left. On the other hand, player to my right only called, when with his stack he could easily have raised.

What do you do?

Went to Crown Casino yesterday and played at the $1/2 table. Here’s a couple of hands I had in the 3 hours I played there:

I got Pocket aces. Small raise, 2 callers. Flop comes 8 A A. everyone checks. Don’t even know what the turn card was, didn’t care. Check, then bigstack asian guy (he’d been playing 1-2 all day, had about $1000 in chips in front of him) bets $30 at the pot. I re-raise all-in to $55, as I figured a smooth call here and he’ll give it up on the river. He pays me off and mucks his cards when he sees my quads.

Same opponent. I’ve got AK, he raised preflop to about $12, I call. Flop comes A K 10 with two spades. He checks, I bet $25, he calls. Turn is the 9 of spades, one of the cards I didn’t want to see. He checks, I go all-in for about $130. He thinks about it and eventually calls and I’m sure I’m beat. I’m not, he has AQ for top pair and needs a Jack for the straight (he has no spade) The river is the Ace of spades, and I take down a $300+ pot

After that I stayed mostly out of the action until the next time charge and took my bat and ball and went home. Also came second at Clayton on Sunday, which makes me second in the venue leader race so far this season.

Australian Poker League
Clayton, East Malvern RSL
2 April 2007

3rd of 89, 2nd of 45

Been a while, longevity pays off in the long run.

Started playing at TitanPoker.com recently, playing a lot of small buy-in tournaments and freerolls and have had mixed results. A couple of nice cash games at Crown and finally hit some form in the APL lately. Pocket 3's beat trip 7's with two 7s on the board when a 3 hit on the turn. A10 has been a mixed bag lately, busted out of a tournament with it and won $60 at the PokerPro table.

Crown are running a series of WSOP freerolls next week which I'll be going after pretty agressively - not only for the opportunity but also the experience of playing against higher caliber players at no risk. But I'm expecting hundreds of players so I'll have to see how early you can register for em.

Australian Poker League
East Malvern RSL
5 March 2007

busted before the break

Awesome cards poorly played.

First hand pocket 3s, flop comes big cards checked to the river 3 for trips, but only got 1 caller for my minimum bet. Several hands later I play pocket Queens to perfection, pushing out pocket 8s who would have made a straight on the river and got paid off with a pair of 7s. Shortly after I call a raise of 200 with KA to flop the nut straight on the flop but with 2 hearts. A bet and call of 200 and I go all-in, pushing out 89 and AJ who both would have paid me off big time.

Then comes the Rounders hand. I limp with 8 9 off and the flop comes 6 7 & 10 with two diamonds. It gets checked around to me, I be the minimum 150 and get 2 callers. The turn card comes a 7, pairing the board, and caller 2 bets the minimum. I raise to 300 and both call me. The river brings a 4 of diamonds and caller 1 goes all-in with about twice my stack, caller 2 calls immediately. I feel sick and know I'm beat with the flush, and here's the worst part - I called it anyway. Sure enough Caller 1 has the Ace high flush, caller 2 had trip 7s and I'm busted out with my Matty Damon straight on the flop by NOT protecting against the flush.

Australian Poker League
Playhouse, Clayton RSL
19 February 2007

placed 14 of 139, 2 of 30 & 1 of 98

Today was perhaps the best day of poker I've had.

To start the day, Bill and I decided to have a go at the weekly $65 buy-in tournament at Crown, my first cash tournament. I had a rocky start, losing the first hand but tightened up for a while and watch the other players and how they were betting. I re-raised over the top pre-flop with AKs when someone who'd been caught bluffing a couple times made a move for the pot, and took it down. I played pretty conservatively until I was moved to another table when I was short-stacked with 2400 before the first break. I folded a lot as the blinds were starting to get pretty high and took down a few bluffs in the BB. I got very lucky with a couple of all-in shots, sucking out twice on the river to superior hands, and got as high as 15,000 at one point.

This is where my inexperience at cash games started to shine through. I had made it past the bubble so I had won at least $83, but could have folded my way to the final table to the bigger money with that stack. Instead, I played to win and as I would in a free tournament, and took an all-in shot with AQ and ran into KK, which knocked out the majority of my stack. I got some of it back when I suckered him into calling my (now-small) all-in bet with pocket Queens and got paid off. I made another move with AJ but didn't hit and was knocked out in 14th place.

Overall I'm pleased with my play here. I was initially a bit intimidated by the other players as they clearly played cash tournaments on a regular basis, but after I shut down and just watched their play I realised the game itself was no different, and played well - learning some great lessons along the way.

Then it was out to the new Playhouse venue in Mordialloc which is essentially a big tin shed with pool tables, and on a day of 42 degrees at one point it was like playing in an oven. I was seated at the same table as Bill for the first time in ages, and we loved it - you could blow on these guys and they'd fold their legit hands over our total bluffs - we had a ball. Small turnout of only 30 players, but that didn't stop it from being a really laborious game and the final table dragged on for what seemed like hours. In the end we were eager to up the blinds just to get it over with. Knocked out in 2nd place with one of my favourite hands, Q10.

Lastly was Clayton RSL in all its air-conditioned glory. Sat down to a great friendly table and was even given a can of coke by a guy who bought it just for the bonus stamp. A bit more refreshed, I went to work and lost a big pot with 2 pair on the flop to a straight on the river. I recovered and rebuilt my stack to be slightly up by the break. Took down some monster pots with marginal (read: desperate) hands but I tightened up, and when there was enormous value in the pot I pushed all-in with Q9s and hit a flush on the turn to knock about 4 well-stacked players out at once.

Got to the final table with slightly less than chiplead with 50,500 and stood back and watched while the short-stacks knocked each other about. Took a couple of them down and was happy when the chipleader (who I perceived as my greatest threat on the table) got whittled down and knocked out by the other two. There was a great battle when we got down to 3, I lost a few pots, won a monster when my Q10 flopped the nut straight on the flop and form there on in I just bullied my way to victory with hands like A2s and K7s.

An exhausting but thoroughly enjoyable day.

Australian Poker League
East Malvern RSL
13 February 2007

placed 17 of 53

Bullets.

The classic scenario – I look down at pocket Aces. There’s some pretty good players at the table, so a raise of 4xBB should be respected as a big pocket pairs. I get two callers, SB & BB. The flop comes 10 8 8. I hate when the flop pairs in this situation, but I’m in position. SB bets 150, minimum bet, BB folds.

This is where alarm bells should have gone off in my head. This is a reasonably good player and he’s betting 150 into a 2000-odd pot. He wants action. I can’t believe he called a 500 pot with an 8, so I push him all-in for about 3000. He turns over 8 9 suited. No ace comes and he even hits a 9 on the river for a full boat.

I’m too impulsive, I don’t take the time required to fully analyse the situation when it’s required and I really have to change that. It puts me on tilt for the last hand before the break and I push all-in with 4 5 of spades. Short stack calls for only another 150, everyone else folds, one reluctantly with A 10. Flop comes 5 5 9. I get a bit back, but still reeling from my bullets getting cracked (I should be used to it by now).

I’m reasonably happy with my play over the last few games though. I’ve tightened up, folding average hands I previously would have played and when I’m in the hand, I’m usually raising. Worked very well for me on Sunday until my K Q suited ran into pocket aces, but I survived to the final table and last night to the final 16.

Australian Poker League
The Meeting Place
4 February 2007

placed 4 of 98

The curse of pocket 6s.

Lost another tournament with pocket 6s today. Blinds were 5000/10,000 and was medium stack this time, all-in preflop for 30,000 and the chipleader called me (after I'd taken down the last two pots with all-in preflop bets) with KJ suited. He hit trip kings with the flop and no miracle 6 came on the river.

Another tournament I had the second-nut flush draw with KQ clubs on the turn, but was faced with an all-in bet to see the river. I hummed and harred and folded only for the Ace of clubs to fall on the river. That one stung, would have put me in great shape for the final table which was approaching. Sometimes you've just gotta take a chance.

Australian Poker League
The Meeting Place
2 February 2007

placed 3 of 95

Massive chipleader goes out with pocket 6s.

Had a nice run of cards tonight, although I almost got knocked out before the break when my Pocket Jacks got beaten to a pulp with a full house Kings full of 10s. Thankfully I got most of those chips back and then some the last hand before the break with a pair of Kings on the flop.

Final table I was enormous chipleader with 61,000 in chips, the highest I've ever been starting on the final table. Took a couple of fleshwounds but knocked out a couple of players till we were down to 3. The guy who beat me had some amazing luck fighting the rest of the table too, getting a runner runner suckout to make a 10-A straight to beat trips.

Final hand I'm looking down at pocket 6's UTG and raise 2  x BB to 12,000, this guy raises me to 24,000. I have about 50,000 chips in total and he's got me covered, and I go all-in. He hesitates for a second and then calls with his pocket 10s and I'm a mile behind.

Flop comes with a 6 and I look like the greatest genius in the world with that all-in call, survive the turn until the river brings him a 10 and I'm out in 3rd place. Nothing more to say other than that's poker. But it does give me a nice bundle of points to start the week with which if I do well on Sunday could put me in contention for the state finals at the end of the season.

Australian Poker League
Quay Bar & Brasserie
30 January 2007

placed 7 of 45

KK holds up for once.

Had some lousy cards lately, but got some nicer ones last night, beginning with a second-nut flush on the river to double up. A few hands before I flopped the nut flush draw with AJ on a board of K 10 Q, but slowplayed it and was forced to split the pot when the turn brought a J.

Big hand of the night just prior to the final table was pocket Kings which I immediately went all-in with for about 3500 and got 2 short-stack callers and one from a Crown dealer with pocket 10s. My cowboys held up but lost a few blinds and was right into the big blind on the final table with 1000/2000 and was very quickly shortstacked. All-in for 5000 with A 5 diamonds and with a board of A K Q I was looking good against 3 opponents. But when the J hit on the turn I knew I was beat by a guy from the previous table who made an amazing comeback with 200 chips after a brutal runner-runner straight suckout.

Not bad, I played most hands well but I'm still limping with poor cards, have to learn to stop doing that. Haven't bluffed in a week, need to practice that more as well.

Have been reading Daniel Negreanu's blog a lot, where he talks a lot about the effects of fatigue and unhealthiness on his game which I think plays a much larger part in Poker than I ever thought; and on the advice of a good friend I'm gonna try and slim down and eat better than I have, so I'm riding to work every day this week and seeing how I go in my first trip to the casino in about a month on Saturday, want to play in an Aussie Millions satellite and a few cheap cash games. APL is great for cheap poker, but it's a whole different ball game with your own hard-earned dollars on the line.

Australian Poker League
Dandenong Hotel
27 January 2007

placed 4 of 105

Final table lessons.

Had a great start to this one, first hand I have AJ suited and 2 players go all-in ahead of me. No-one likes to go out first hand but I was getting good value for a pretty nice hand so I went for it. I was up against pocket 4s and 8s and hit a jack on the flop to triple up. From there I built my stack slowly but steadily and was just under 9000 before the break. I used my chips well with a few well-timed bluffs and semi-bluffs and did a little bullying of the short stacks to get there.

Folded a lot more than I usually do, but found myself occasionally getting annoyed at other players who either consistently hummed and harred and folded, or made all-in bets with mid-range hands. I think a lot of this irritation stemmed from it not being the best venue for poker, its a real pea-souper down there and I don't think I'll play there again until the new smokefree regulations come into play mid-year.

By the time we made it to the final table I was slight chip-leader with 38,000 in chips, but I kinda went downhill from there. I tightened right up but when I had committed to being in the hand I made some poor judgements and bet at pots I had no business betting at, and was punished several times with re-raises that forced me to muck. With the blinds at 5000/10000 though it was a case of making the most of a single high card, and lost several showdowns to eventually bow out in 4th with K4 which was ahead until my opponent hit a 9 of the flop with no help forthcoming.

A lesson I took from tonight's play was not to underestimate the other players on the final table - they made it there for a reason and plays that will see amateurs fold every time just won't cut it with these guys. It may be free pub poker, but that doesn't mean there aren't some damn good players in the APL.

Australian Poker League
East Malvern
22 January 2007

placed 60 of 72

Pick your moments.

You know, AQ is a nice-looking hand pre-flop, definitely worth a small raise to get rid of the limpers. But when you miss the flop completely you have to keep betting to represent something strong, like high pocket pairs. But when someone calls you on both the flop and the turn and isn't particularly worried when a J and a K hit the board, you should recognise that the hand you're trying to represent is usually sitting in the hands of your opponent, who is happy for you to dig your own grave and just call you all the way with their pocket Aces.

And A 10 the immediate next hand is worth raising, especially if it seems like you're on tilt from the previous hand. And then when you throw in your remaining 500 chip on a flop that you AGAIN completely miss, you'll probably be safe unless they've flopped an open-ended straight that hits on the river.

I've created an APL LiveJournal community for people to post to, located at auspoker_league so if you'd like to keep your journal poker-free but still share your experiences as an APL member, thats the place to do it.

Australian Poker League
Cheltenham/Moorabbin RSL, Bentleigh Club & Clayton RSL
21 January 2007

placed 2 of 81, 41 of 52 & 78 of 140

3 games, one well-played.

First game of the day was the best, made some good plays, survived some bad beats and slowly worked up my chips. Can't say any of the cards were particularly memorable, was a huge underdog when it got to heads up but I bluffed and bet strong enough to get back to even chips with my opponent and took a shot with K4 of diamonds which lost to A7 when he hit his 7 on the turn (though I guess since I didnt hit anything you could say he was ahead all the way, although the turn card did give me straight and flush draws but missed both).

I'm happy with how I played this one, was a real grind affair and made the most of my opportunities and got out of the way when others were firing. It showed me that you don't have to have fantastic hands to make it to the final table and even the final 2, you just have to be smart about what you play and when you choose to play it.


The other two games weren't much to write home about, best hand at Bentleigh was pocket 3s with a A 2 3 flop, but I made the mistake of slowplaying them and when the 4 hit on the turn I knew I was beat (yet I paid him off with his milking bet to see the 5). Went out at Clayton first hand after the break, got a little overzealous (or maybe just tired as it was a relatively silly bet).

Had A 10 suited, my left-hand player was pot committed and went all in with his remaining 300 in chips (blinds were 100/200) and the right-hand player made a raise to 400, what I perceived as a bet to try and buy my blind and get heads up with the all-in player. I put him on some kind of mid-range hand but as I often do, I overvalued my suited cards and went all-in as I felt that would be enough for him to fold. He hummed and harred a bit and called with AK os, my hand severely dominated. The all-in player hit an amazing full house on the flop of 3 3 4 and the K on the turn sealed my fate.

It was good to catch up with Bill today too, one of the few players I've become friends with at the APL, and I look forward to hearing what he thought of Rounders which I lent to him as he's one of the few poker players in the world yet to have seen it.

Tomorrow I'll see if I can go one better at East Malvern this week. Oh and I picked Gus Hansen to win the Aussie Millions, but had no idea the internet qualifier would take it right to him, an incredible effort that had all of the pros running scared the whole tournament.

Australian Poker League
The Local, Port Melbourne
17 January 2007

placed 37 of 48

Well, one of my bluffs worked.

Took down a small pot with a semi-bluff but lost most of my chips with 2 pair beaten by a higher 2 pair. All-in with J 10 and wouldnt you know it I'm up against KK and AK. Hit my Jack on the river but by then it was far too late.


On another note the Aussie Millions tournament at Crown is down to the final 20 and Internet Qualifier Jimmy Fricke is having an amazing run of luck sucking out on the river on several occasions. Local heroes Joe Hachem and defending champion Lee Nelson both busted out in the final 30. My money's on Gus Hansen to win but I'm hoping Kristy Gazes does well too.

Australian Poker League
Quay Bar & Brasserie
16 January 2007

placed 32nd of 40

It's time to start bluffing.

As every player does from time to time, I had a shocking run of cards last night. Q J os was the best of it, and I lost to a A J os when the J hit on the turn. Didn't win a single hand, and even with bad cards I think that shows a fundamental weakness in my game - I don't bluff often enough.

I read that a good exercise in these situations is to pick a couple of possible hands like 3 7os or 5 10s before the tournament, and if you get dealt those cards you should play them as if they were a couple of Aces. Obviously if you run into a big re-raise pre or post-flop you should throw them away, but if you bet strong out and everyone else only has medium strength cards, there's a good chance they'll put you on high pocket pairs and fold.

To do this however, I have to accept the fact that I'm not going to win or do well in every tournament I play in, and that using them as learning exercises in improving my game will be worthwhile in the long term.

Australian Poker League
East Malvern RSL
15 January 2007

Placed 2 out of 78

A lot of luck and some good cards, and smarter play (in most instances).

One particular hand I have A8os in the SB, BB raises pre-flop, girl calls and I call. Flop is 10 8 A rainbow. I check, BB bets 600, girl calls, I call. Turn comes another A, and while I’ve made trips, the betting has me worried I’m outkicked. Another bet of about 1000, girl calls again which surprised me, I can’t put her on a hand right now. I may well be outkicked, but I can’t fold trip Aces, I call. The river brings a 10, giving me the nut full house.

This is where I’m unsure if my play was correct. If one of my opponents has a 10 there’s a good chance they’ll bet here, any bet from me could scare them from doing so. I’ve called 2 sizable bets so they must put me on some kind of hand, but I didn’t raise with the trip aces so they could put me on a straight draw that missed. On the other hand, if either of them are on a draw, that 10 is going to scare the hell out of them and they’ll likely check.

At this point it’s unlikely I will lose - only pocket 10s will beat me, a single 10 I have them beat, and if one of them has the other ace then it’s a split pot.

I check, and am a little dismayed when both of them check as well. SB mucked his hand when I showed the Ace, and the girl showed QJ, a busted straight draw. I take it down wondering if I could have milked them for a little more with a small “steal-the-pot” bet.

Final table the poker gods were smiling at me for one particular hand. I look down at KA of hearts in the BB, good old Anna Kournikova, a hand which has gotten me in a lot of trouble (in fact it busted me same time last week). But with the blinds at 2000/4000 and a lot of short stacks it’s going to be a short-handed play. Everyone calls to me and I raise to 12000. I get 2 callers and the SB folds.

Flop comes Q K 4 rainbow, so my flush is pretty much busted, but I’ve picked up top pair and a backdoor nut straight draw. I check, 2nd player checks and Bernard (friendly guy who introduced himself at the start of the hand) bets the minimum. I figure if an Ace or another King falls on the turn or the river I’ll probably be ahead, so I call, other player calls as well. Turn comes a J, one half of my straight draw, and both players don’t seem to like that card. Sensing weakness, I bet 8000. Player 1 goes all-in to call but Bernard goes all-in for another 5000. My senses obviously need some work!

I don’t really subscribe to the pot-committed theory completely, but there’s a little over 70000 in chips in the pot and it will only cost me another 5000 to see the river. This hand has made a serious dent in my chipstack, If I call I’ll be down to about 7000 left if I call. Good old KA eh. With 2 callers I know I’m probably beat by at least one of them right now, and the sidepot won’t be much to write home about if I’m secondbest. It’s getting late and I wanted to do some shopping tonight, so I decide to call and be happy with making the final table.

Player 1 shows K 10, so while I’m ahead with my Ace kicker, he has one of the 10s I was hoping for on the river. Bernard turns over a monster, pocket 4s for trip 4s on the flop, slow-played to perfection. I’m toast for sure now. The dealer takes his time turning over the river, and it’s a frickin miracle 10. Poor old Bernard can’t believe it, and after I pump the air I remember what a terrible beat he’s suffered and feel bad about that display. I get up to shake his hand and commiserate with him on such a bad beat, and he’s really good about it, happy to shake my hand and wishes me well, saying he’s barracking for me to win now.

I tighten up a lot, secure that my chipstack is good enough to get me to heads-up play, plus I get dealt a lot of rubbish. With the blinds up to 3000/6000 the short stacks don’t last much longer, but most of them fall to my main opponent at the table, a young Asian guy named Tommy, who has quite a cheer squad behind him.

I really enjoy playing heads up on the final table, it’s almost a whole different game and I practice reading tells better since there’s only one guy to study – with a full table I find it hard to get reads on multiple opponents at a time, something to work on.

I think it’s either the first or second hand heads up that I get dealt a monster, pocket queens. I don’t want to scare him off, but I have to make a minimum raise of double the blinds, taking it to 12000, he calls. Flop comes 2 5 10 rainbow, only a Q would have been better. If I had two overcards that flop completely missed for me, so I feign weakness and check, hoping he’s hit something. He has, and goes all-in, and I called him faster than the dealer could determine his chipstack. He turns over K5, and he winces at the sight of my ladies. The turn doesn’t help him and he’s about to get out of his seat when the fucking King hits on the river. Sigh. That’s poker!

That puts me at a severe shortstack compared to Tommy, but not out. A few well-timed all-in bets and folds gets me back up to about half of tommy’s stack.

One hand I’m BB and he goes all-in pre-flop, I look down at 8 10 of clubs. I’m notorious for overvaluing 2 cards of the same suit, and they’re almost connectors. I put him (correctly) on 1 or 2 overcards, maybe an ace. I call, he shows K9os. A few in the crowd question my play, and frankly so do I for a while. He’s ahead with K high all the way to the river when I hit my 10 (the third 10 on the river tonight that’s won me the hand).

I’m monster chipleader and feeling good, but a few good bluffs and lousy cards get him back in the game.

Perhaps the play I’m most proud of for the night wasn’t for a big pot, it was for reading his weakness when he tentatively bet the minimum on the flop. I could see him trying to figure out how cheaply he could take the pot, he was going to bet more but then just went for the minimum. I went all-in and he mucked it, I showed my J 9 and in a bit of coaching, told him he “just didn’t bet hard enough dude”, not gloating just letting him know I would have folded to a stronger bet (which ended up biting me in the ass later!).

For the first time I can recall I actually had a few people in the crowd cheering me on, which I have to say was a bit of a buzz. There was some very entertaining hands heads up so I think they got into the game a bit.

Final hand. I’m SB and I look down at K 10 os. A medium strength hand, good enough to re-raise if he raises me - he doesn’t and flat calls. Flop comes 9 A 2 with two diamonds (my 10 is a diamond). I check and he goes all-in.

I know he didn’t hit the Ace, as he was raising pre-flop with every Ace he got (showed me one when I folded and showed pocket 3s pre-flop). Pocket pairs he would have raised with. So he’s either got a 2 or a 9 or if he’s very lucky, 2s and 9s. That still gives me 2 overcards to hit, plus a backdoor flush draw to win. I call. He shows 2 6 for low pair, which is in front of my K high right now. Surely I can’t lose a tournament to a pair of 2s.

The turn card is a diamond and the crowd gets excited. A player in the crowd behind me better at calculating odds than me says I have 14 outs now, any K, any 10 or any diamond. This makes me feel a bit better, but I’m still pretty sure the 2s are going to hold up, and they do.

I shake Tommy’s hand and congratulate him on a great win, and he’s great, looking a bit exhausted as well. Pretty sure he didn’t expect his 2 to hold up. Bernard and his mate come up to talk to me, they’re great, tho they did ask me about that questionable 8 10 all-in call and I semi-agreed with them. One thing that they were dying to ask me was whether I would have called Bernard’s all-in on the flop if he hadn’t slowplayed his trip 4s, and I’m forced to say I probably wouldn’t have with just KA high and 18000 less chips committed to the pot.

A great night, I’m happy with some of my reads and I didn’t make any silly bluffs (unlike Saturday’s state championships…).