7 June 2010

After missing the cut for Day 2 I was pretty bummed… Still with the teams event on Monday I was hopeful I could partner up with a skilled sharp poker player, instead I got Mike King. As I write this he’s one table over Heads up for the title and pushing on every second hand. His little hart wont take it… It’ll be worse if the level finishes and he has to watch me pushing all in…

The level finishes, and that means I’ll be heads up against Mrs P from Rotorua… We’re already pretty stacked up so barring a disaster we should take this down…

I’m back, and we won… Mike’s finally happy, not a big field for the New Zealand Open Of Poker Teams event, but as Mike pointed out only too happily it was my first sort of title win…

Right now I’m pretty happy, especially as Mike just pointed out we both cashed more than 11th in the main event and they’d been playing for 2 straight days!

6 June 2010

The open drew a solid 125 starters from as far afield as Christchurch, Wellington, Vegas (the Roto kind) and Otago. Toni let everyone know they were in for a long day – at least 10 levels, or cutting the field to 24, which ever happened first.

Every table had a fair mix of sharks, sat qualifiers and Pub poker travelers making for an interesting day.

I had a genuine character on my right, Mathew who at 12.30 was already on his third wine. Mathew: “25, 50?” Dealer: “Yes”, Mathew: “Wait I cant remember my cards… How much?” Dealer: “50 to call”… Mathew: “listen I can’t remember my cards, (throws in 3000)… Fold fold fold…”

Suffice to say this made a fair bit of the poker crazy but it also made for entertainment as Mathew would knock out someone, throw 95% of his chips away, then head off to have a drink and a cigar with only 5 big blinds!

Of course as luck would have it Mathew made it through to Day 2. I did not.

Much of this week has been spent talking to Lee Nelson about 3 bet, 4 bet and 5 bet raises, their ranges, and the caller ranges. I’ve been using them as my stock and trade. They are amazing… Basically in a nut shell it goes like this. You’re at a table with some active (usually youngish) raising machines. In the past they’ve dominated you. You can’t get into a pot because if they’re in first they’re raising, and if you raise they 3 bet you re-rasing. Here is one solution. You have around 30(ish) big blinds.

I like this from out of position but it will work both ways as you really aren’t making this play to see a flop. You being out of position will just amplify your relative hand strength. Wait till you pick up some suited connectors – 6,7s to 9, Ts – early. Raise 3x(ish) wait for them to re-rasie then spring the trap and 4 bet them. If you have between 30 and 40 Big blinds this is a shove. This puts some real heat on them. Their calling range is so much tighter than their 3 bet range that they will almost always fold. In fact it’s so tight that only AA KK, and at a stretch AK and QQ will make the call (even if they have this and make the call at worst you are a 76% – 22% dog).

You’ll find the whole table dynamic changes and they avoid you. Throw a couple of standard 3 bets ion there and now you’re on top of the table…

Back to the main Event…

I’d been having a fair amount of fun at the table and had worked my way up to just under 40k. (average 18k) when I picked up KK UTG plus 3 I raise to 900. Renee is two to my right. Re-Raise to 2600… I 2 minute tank, then re pop her to 8k… She snap shoves… I fold and show kings… She shows Aces… I can’t remember folding KK pre live so I guess I haven’t before but this is a good spot to do it!

The whole day was up and down, grind my way to 45k, down to 20, up to 36, down to 18, up to 30 then a big hit to take me to 5600, enough to shuffle in one hand! 3 double ups later and I was back to 27 odd k but the blinds were steep, 600, 1200, with an ante so I was getting active. I raised to 2,800 early with 9Tc and was re-reised late to 8k by a pretty active player… I thought about it and shoved hoping his call range would be narrow… It was, he had Kings! 9T is a hand you don’t hate here and it almost paid off Gut to the river but a miss… Home time, midnight after 11 and a half hours of poker exhausted…

Big Stack for Day 2 is: Guobing yu 165,000

31 May 2010

It’s New Zealand Poker Open time again and I’m amped!

Between scandals and work I haven’t had any time to play poker and so I’m chomping at the bit to get amongst the 100 plus field all vying to be the next Open Champ.

The name says it all… The Open… A chance to take on all comers.

An opportunity to claim the title of 2010 New Zealand Open of Poker Champion.

Jamie Kristov took honours and $41k last year, money I’m guessing Jamie donated to charity. I’m curious as to what I’d spend my money on if I win. Mike King would no doubt put my chances of taking out the top spot at about the same as the All Whites winning the world cup. May be less, but you gotta love an underdog! King himself has been in good form as have the rest of the La Vida Poker crew. Richard Lancaster continues to impress both live and online and Dan Sing should be at the open fresh from Macau.

I’ll be playing the 6 Handed $220 at 7.30 on Tuesday, Watching the Limit on Friday and getting stuck in on Sunday in the main event!

Hmmm, so what advice for this blog…

You’ve got to be in it to win it? Whatever your level of buy in comfort (This is something I’m passionate about and will talk about in a sec) You should be playing in this event! Or at least trying to. You can make it for as little as $20, and if that’s to much sell a 50% share in yourself for $10! Give it a go. You never know. The amazing thing about poker is how great it is just getting on a live table, shooting the breeze and getting your chips in.

Now for the real advice:

Buy in levels.

Never EVER buy in at a level you’re not comfortable with.

Don’t fool yourself either. “this is a one off” or “I have a good feeling about this one”. If the buy in is too high satellite in. Don’t play 5 sats and spend almost a whole buy in trying to sat. If you’re good and you miss the sat, have other people invest in you. The point is this. I want to play poker for the rest of my life. I want it to work in with my life, not dominate and inhibit it.

I’ve bought in to events that were too expensive before overseas and I’ve regretted it every time. Why, because I’d turned the controlled calculated and enjoyable love that is poker into a gamble the HAD to pay off. If you bust out of the tournament your first though should be, “How could I have played that better” and “I can’t wait to get back on the table” not, crap, how am I going to pay the rent.” The crew at SKYCITY Poker have done a great job of building levels for every one from $20 to $1100 so dig in!

30 March 2010

The 2010 SKYCITY Lee Nelson Deep Stack Series!

The first ever SKYCITY Lee Nelson Deep Stack Series was a resounding success.

Lee’s idea of a truly deep opening bank (35,000 in chips) made for an amazing low pressure all fun Day 1 and a tension filled action packed Day 2.   Don’t be surprised if you see more of this type of stating stack in the future.   In fact the stack size came in handy very early for me when I ran into a crazy hand.   For the 3rd event in a row I was seated with Mike King.   Mum says I get seated at his tables because I was cruel to animals in a former life.

Any way, 9 handed I get dealt JJ in UTG + 1, I raise to 900 (BB is 300) from the back Mike thinks, and makes it 2700. The stacks are so deep here I think I can flat out of position the see where I’m at post flop. No need to re-raise. Mike and I joke a little the flop comes QQ8 rainbow… I lead out with a feeler bet of 3k Mike thinks, jokes about us being mates and to take it easy then calls… I immediately narrow him to AA, KK, or may be a lose re-rasie with AQ, but really that’s not mike… Then it happens… The Turn is a jack. Now I’m looking at Jacks full of Queens.

We joke a little about how big the pot is getting, I check thinking that anyone who called the flop bet will most likely bet a checked turn, and weirdly Mike checks the turn. Now I’m thinking he’s a) trying to slow play the AQ, or b) Just trying to keep this friendly, after all were mates from the same home game. The river is far from a blank. It’s an Ace! Giving AQ and aces a bigger boat! I think I’ve blown this and check knowing I have to call pretty much any met up to 10k. Mike bets out 5 and I snap call and muck as he shows QUADS!!!

In all I dropped 10k into the hand taking me back to just below 30k but I was very very lucky not to go broke. A bet from either one of us on the turn would have seen all the money in by show down. I was very lucky later to have a couple of people fire 3 barrels at me with nothing taking me back up to 37k.

The tournament happened to be the same night as my good friend Noah Hickey’s wedding. So I took the next 3 hours off to celebrate and arrived back half way through the dinner break. My stack was down to 23k with blinds at 500, 1000, with a $200 ante. I woke up on the button with A8s and raised to 3k, the small and big blind called (both massive stacks) and the flop came down A62 two diamonds, check from both the blinds so I shoved (a pot sized bet here is half my stack!)

The small blind called on the diamond draw and hit the turn. Good night. Wanting to put the main event behind me I was happy to hear Toni had a 6 handed $330 tournament running on Sunday. I entered and convinced Lee to play, he said he would if he was at my table. Be careful what you wish for. Early in the game I picked up 88 UTG and raised to $175, what do you know family pot. The flop comes down 894 Bingo! I lead out with $600, 4 callers! The turn is a 6h putting two hearts on board. I want to shut this down asap as it’s a pretty dangerous board so I bet $2200 the player to my left thinks then shoves… He’s been a little strange all day twice min raising me then folding and I’m sure he could be overplaying an over pair, top top with the a flush draw or 2 pair.

I’m happy to call him, but then Lee calls! Remember this is a deep stack as well with a 20k start bank and we’ve had someone move all in to a $5650 pot and a call from behind, and not just any call, Lee Nelson has called! I look down at my set of fat ladies, snowmen, and run through the hands each of them could have. I think the first shove may be overplaying an over pair or more likely 2 pair (89, 68, 69, 46) of course he may have a set. I don’t put him on T7 (AKA the nuts) I don’t think he’s the kind of player to shove this. Lee is a different matter, I have no idea how “in” to this he is. Would he call with 78h? Bottom set? In the past I have let go of hands here seeing monsters in the shadows so I call only to see 99 from the shover (top set) and T7 from Lee, (the nuts) I’m left with one out, bruised ego and a dent in my wallet.

What’s the lesson I learned here? The lesson is don’t invite Lee to your table! Oh, and become a better poker player!

Here are your results for the main event!

• 11. Kevin Peters – Rotorua – $2,160.00
• 10. Jeffery Fitzpatrick  Auckland – $2,920.00
• 9. Wilbur Tarn Yu  Auckland – $3,240.00
• 8. Asokan Sing  Auckland – $3,780.00
• 7. James Honeybone  Tauranga – $4,320.00
• 6. Goy Zheng  Auckland – $5,400.00
• 5. Matthew Mitchell  Rotorua – $8,210.00
• 4. Danny Tavita  Auckland – $10,800.00
• 3. Xidong Du  Wellington – $12,960.00
• 2. Simon Watt  Auckland – $21,600.00
• 1. Angie Fitzgerald  Auckland – $32,610.00

1 February 2010

Day 1 of the Auckland Anniversary Poker Champs is over and Day 2 may be over before it begins for me.

121 runners started the day with 15k in chips.   As you’d imagine the first few levels were fairly passive.   I sat down to a tough but interesting table.  Big Kev, John Pie, Mike King, Brother D and an English player who bubbled a couple of events in Melbourne called Dan Carter. The table played it pretty tight. Kev was active, raising 2 hands an orbit, Brother D kept him pretty honest often preferring to flat behind him or 2.2 bet him and control the pot size. It was this concept or at least Pot control that dominated the days discussions. With modern day poker being all about aggression many players including myself get caught up in “the scare”.

This is the series of moves you make to put the fear of death into your opponent. It could be the 3 or 4 bet pre flop, or the c-bet-re-raise, or the float. When a player is only thinking about “the scare” they often forget about 4th street, the river and how bloated the pot is getting. I often forget that poker is about making your decisions easy AS WELL as making their decisions difficult.

Anyway, the long and the short of it is this:

• Your had plan should take pot size into account from the get go. Ask yourself, is this person comfy playing big pots, am I? How big will the pot be on 4th street or the river (where you’re most likely to take the pot) and how big will the bet have to be. Don’t just whack a pot sized bet in there.
• Half pot bets are pretty effective and will help manage the pot. I was moved through a couple of tables and finally ended up with Dan Sing, Marti Cardno and a gentleman to Dan’s right who would 5,6, or 7 bet ALL THE TIME! It was an interesting strategy. With the blinds at 400 / 800 he’d open for 6k! It was fascinating to watch. And it achieved a couple of things.
  1. Dan avoided him like the plague. (This is usually good) In fact we all did.
  2. When people did get it in against him they had the goods. And although his re-raises were usually successful he ended up playing 2 types of hands. Uncontested hands and losing hands.

Around 9pm I started telling Paul to my right about “The Golden Hour” this is a misnomer as it’s about 3 hours.

It’s the final few hours of Day 1 when many of the satellite ticket winners and first time multi day MTT players get tired. 8 hours is often the longest they’ve played for and it after this time that they start to lose focus and make mistakes. It’s when a good player really starts to accumulate chips. I had 50k at this point. By 11pm I had 18,200. It turns out I am that sap.

I’ll be up there at 2pm today to continue my up and down tournament. With just over 10 BB’s, I’ll be active to say the least!