Who said online bad beats were brutal?

Been a little bit short on time lately. In short, I have joined the gym again. Haven't been using the FTP account but it did take another downturn and I am currently sitting on $120.00.

So, last week (I don't recall what day) we had a home game. Short handed as usual. Just BnB, Jen, TV and me. So in the home games that I participate in, I am usually ultra loose and ultra aggressive. This is perfectly normal for anybody that has played in a home game will know as it's usually more of a social occasion than anything else.

Anyway, deep into this game, I could not believe the beats that I was getting. This was not an ordinary run of cold cards - this was hypocrisy!

It all started with when I picked up QQ on the button. This was a dream because I had been playing maniac poker and my raise on the button (to about 5xBB) would raise no suspicions. So I raised and SB and BB called (chumps). The flop comes QA4. Bingo. So, the SB bets and then the BB goes all-in. I am pretty much packing my bags to go to Vegas when I call all-in. I know these fools don't have anything too strong. Top pair with shitty kicker at best. SB joins the party and also calls.

Now, the turn is a 7 - sweet.

Then, the river comes a Ten - feeling good still.

So, SB says "Let's make this interesting" and turns over KJ. King freakin' Jack? KING FK'N JACK!?!?!

Well, then I flop over my QQ in disgust. SB begins to rake in the pot and the BB goes, "Hey, hang on", and flops over KJ too!

And you thought those hands only happen online - not a short handed home game.


Now, Reload!

The *very next hand* I look down and find AA. These fools are going to PAY. I am in the in the cut-off and everybody folds except the BB. This is fine (although a bit weird). Anyway I raise and the BB calls. The flop is TK7 and I have now re-packed those bags I had, ready to hit Vegas again. I bet and BB calls.

Turn gives a J (ok, a little worried now), but BB checks and I go all-in. BB calls.

River gives a Q and this is actually a relief as the worst case is a split pot. Of course, BB turns over AJ and we split the pot. Cold decked again!


Anyway, the hand after that, I pick up 45. The theory in poker is simple; if you don't win with your big hands, push your small ones. Any professional will tell you this.

Pre-flop, I am now in cut-off -1 and I raise standard to 5xBB. SB calls and everybody else folds. Great, it is now heads-up where I can outplay my opponent. The flop is T65, BINGO!

SB bets and I shove - He calls. Turn is a Q (ok, don't panic) and the river is a .... 7!

Double me up baby =)


Well, home games are always interesting =)

I am heading off to Japan for my honeymoon and this is going to take a lot of planning. I am in charge of the itinerary for the whole 3 weeks so that is going to keep me busy. I'm not too worried because we got 'given' the Japan bible to take care of the task.

Australian Pokie Machines

Just quickly fellow compatriots, i'm not sure how long this link is going to last but I have found a source where you can download the emulated version of the Indian Dreaming pokie found in most pubs and clubs across Australia.

Rare find: Australian Pokie Machines Download

Tell me if the link doesn't work anymore!


More information about this release can be found on the Fruit Machine Forums.

Mr Ferguson is almost there...

Yes, Chris Ferguson has almost broken the 10k barrier. As it stands, he is currently sitting on $9,553.34 - you can check out his progress on at the Full Tilt website.

Things haven't been going as smoothly for me and I took a dive to about $130, but have rebounded a little back to $150 so far. It would seem that I should not multi-table at this time. So haven't been playing too much lately as I need to organise for my wedding that is coming up. We have decided and locked in to go to Japan for our honeymoon which is pretty exciting.

More on the poker front though. I also played an external MTT tournament yesterday with about 98 runners. I finished up second which was pretty good. It is nowhere near as sweet as finishing first but I still gained a little from it - can't say too much but next month I aim to do one better :)

APL

Well tonight I went to Chatswood RSL and played in a freeroll run by the APL. Went with a few work buddies and the experience was quite good. Not sure how many runners there were but probably about 70 or so i'd say. I came 10th, which means that I rack up some points which I'm sure I will use - just like my old Fly Buys card.

Before the first break I was struggling but managed to double up just before the break, giving me about 3.5k in chips. We then had a 20 minute break. After the break I immediately doubled up twice pushing my stack close to 15k.

The first hand I had JJ and the flop was T72. It was heads up, the guy who called my pre-flop raise of 3xBB checked. I bet for about 1.2k and he pushed over the top for another 2k. I snap called (as you would :)) and he turned over 79. Oh they were suited alright. Blank blank and I scoop the pot. I knew the guy wanted to bust me as I had pushed him off the pot earlier on.

The second hand was quite easy too. I was BB and everybody folded except the SB. I look down and 45 (sneaky sneaky) and check to see a flop. The flop comes down A45. Bingo. However with the straight already out there and a flush draw evident I was quite weary. SB leads for 600 (min bet) and I reraise the minimum to 1200. You see, I normally would bet hard in this situation but for some reason the min bet seemed like the correct play. He deliberates for a bit and calls. The turn is a 7 and I am putting him on a range of hands. These include A-rag, 67 or a flush draw. The flush hasn't hit and if he had an open-ender, that card helped, but I am still in front. He leads for 1200 but he's actions scream to me that he is flush drawing. I am ready to push but notice that if I do, he will snap call me. I call to see a river. Q. This is actually a good card as it does not give the flush draw. He goes all in and I snap call him. Ship it baby :)

The rest of the tournament is dull. I laid down JJ with an A on the flop. My 99 ran into TT. My AJ got annihilated by AT (flop of JQK) blah blah blah. So the final hand I have 9k in chips. There are 5 people on my table and I look down at Ks9s UTG. My options were limited and I didn't want to fold because of several reasons:
1. This really was the best hand I had seen in a long while
2. The blinds were huge and I was short stacked on a 5-handed table
3. The SB and BB still have fold equity so if they don't have a monster they will fold
4. My image was ultra tight
5. It was the bubble to the final table so the people at my table were also in tight mode

Anyway, I pushed and ran head first into AJ. The play was questionable and I do reflect on it. Anyhow I had fun and I thank my work mates for the invite. Oh, first prize would have been $150 and second $50.

That's been my poker fix for the night :) Back on FTP tomorrow night hopefully!

Bowling + Experimentation = Jarred Fingers

I went bowling last night with my Ben, Bich, Jenna, Jess and Jay. At first we went for dinner at this pizza joint in Fairfield - it was pretty good and I would recommend it to anyone (if I could remember the name).

Anyway, we were at bowing and the aim of the game was to get 6 strikes. Well, this was my aim and anybody that knows me well knows that I am highly competitive. More so, there's nothing better than beating your brother. Anyway, I didn't get 6 strikes and I didn't beat my brother. I don't think I even beat Jenna - meh.

Instead what I did do was try a new bowling grip. DO NOT TRY THIS. I saw some semi-professional bowlers spinning their custom made bowling balls down the alley and thought to myself "that can't be that hard, can it?!". So, I grabbed my ball and tried out my new grip. You see, you are meant to put two fingers and a thumb into the bowling ball. That is the standard grip. But this restricts your spinning action (or so I thought) and as the experienced amateur I am, I decided to let the thumb have a rest whilst my two fingers held the ball in place. BIG MISTAKE. You see, without the thumb the ball is not going to drop properly and as I started to bowl, the ball dropped to the ground. Oh yeah, my two fingers were still in the ball. Anyway, that ended the night pretty quick...