More bad beats than Tina Turner!

I played in the Poker Academy $10 Tournament on Sunday evening and I would like to thank Satan (His nickname not the Lord of Darkness) for arranging it. It was a very good game and the level of poker was as high as the level of banter! Darkplay managed a new record of having his machine crash every 6-7 minutes. I don't know how he has managed to get a machine that is about as stable as Groundskimmer* but somehow he has achieved it.

Another thing the game delivered was (as the title of this post suggests) some pretty brutal bad beats. Some I delivered, some I received. My game was all but finished when I played an all in from ajdragonfly. She turned over pocket Queens and I thought I was on the way to a chip lead with my pocket Kings. Of course the Queen came down and my comfortable stack became about the size of two big blinds.

I would like to say that I took my beats with grace and decorum and, as far as the other players were concerned I did. It is just as well they could not hear what I was saying to the computer or I would have been hit with a series of "f-bombs" that I would still be serving when I have retired! (I would also like to apologise to aj for all the things I called her when that Queen came down (out loud, not typed into the chat window). I didn't mean any of it and am sorry.)

*For more information on Groundskimmer see The Jesters Tale (follow the link on the right).

Midnight, One more night without sleeping!

Last night, or to be accurate this morning, I played in the PokerPlasm $50 freeroll. It was a very enjoyable tournament and I think that was shown by the fact that even after they had gone out and even though it was very late (for those of us on this side of the Atlantic) most if not all of the players watched the game to the end and joined in the chat. It was one of the most fiercely contested tournaments I have ever played in. You know they say "If you can't spot the sucker at the table after half an hour it's you"? Well after an hour of play and only one player down I was beginning to suspect it WAS me! Truth of the matter is I don't think that there was a sucker at that table and whoever won it was going to have to climb over a lot of very good players.

I went out in fourth. I was a bit upset about this as it meant I was on the bubble and not in it (last place not paid). I'd like to thank Zonetrap for organising the tourney and say well done on his placing (At least I think it was him; there are at least three different identities for him that I know about or suspect).

This brings me on nicely to the subject of tournament success. Although I only finished fourth last night at the PP tourney, I played two this morning winning one and placing second in the other. My advice to you would be hand selection, it's all a question of hand selection. More people go out of tournaments playing weak aces early on than get blinded out as the blinds get big. A lot of people start playing scared on the second hand! "Oooh, I had better build my stack up now before the blinds get too big" This is, needless to say, completely insane. For every tournament you hit your cards in, there will be five or six where you go out in the first ten minutes. Pick your spot. Play good cards and (in the long run) good things will happen for you.

The first post (Hopefully not the last!)

This is the first post I have ever put on a blog. I have been using the net for years and decided it was time to put something back in!
My life, at the moment, revolves around poker. I am a reasonable player ~(I have not had to deposit into my poker accounts for some months now) and am hoping to become an even better player in the future. I am a keen reader and occasional poster on the poker academy and would recommend it to any would be poker players out there along with the following advice:-

Do not start a tournament if you do not have time to finish it. Patience and hand selection are the most important virtues if you want to win at poker.

Aggression, whilst very useful to the experienced player will cost you a lot when you first begin.

Aggressive players tend to win a lot of small pots. Let them. Aim to win only a few, large, pots. You may be surprised to find that you have more chips than the aggressive player (especially if they do not know when to dog a hand*)

Remember that although it is important not to be bullied off your premium hands, there is also a time to dog them. Remember the calculation is all about profit/loss. What do you think you will gain against what you think you could lose. If you are in a comfortable chip position and the big chip leader throws in a big raise do you really want to risk all you chips hoping your As Kd** will hold up?


* folding a hand
**Ace of Spades and King of Diamonds

If people would like I will do a handy English - Poker translator on a future post.