Not again ...

Yesterday was really the worst FL session of my life :D

Within the first 100 hands I had 10 premium pocket pairs. 4x AA, 3xKK, 2xQQ, 1xJJ. That is every ten hands! (And some AK on top). But I lost every single one of those hands. After loosing 4 times in a row with Aces I totally tilted. But the funny thing is. I started to play very concentrated and could come back of a 35BB loss within 200+ hands.

I still can't believe it. But I have PO and my hand histories to prove it :D

Here is the graph of the session (the +10BB at the end are of today)


Party: +$1.06

Too much to do

Got too much on my mind. Organizing the move etc. Played some poker. But not much.

I played a sick fixed limit(!) session on party the other day. OMG. Usually I don't cry very often about Bad Beats. But this time it got me good. I lost Top-Set against Runner-Runner-Flush, Flopped Set against Rivered Set, Flush over Flush, Flush vs. FH, Top Two Pair against Runner-Runner Straight. Arghhhh. After some of these beats I just tilted.

Here is a profit graph of the session.


The BB/100h rate is around 1.5. That's Micro Limits ...

Party: +$2.77

Stars: -$2.7

PKR: +$1 (Funny eh?)

Bad Weather Equals?

Bad weather. More poker.

Party: +$.94
Stars: +$2.79

Played some poker

I played some poker today. Limit cash. NL cash. Some tournaments. Nothing special.

Limit at party went like a rollercoaster. I was up $$$, than down $$$. Strange hands. And some plain bad moves. I will never ever learn it: Don't bluff a calling station.
Party: +$.9

Played two SnG and some NL cash.
Stars: +$2.1

Well. I still have those PKR points. So I started the $300 Freeroll. What am I going to do with $1.2? Can't cash it out anyway. I think about "playing lottery". Sit down at an NL100 table and gamble :D
PKR: +$1.2
(And I still have 300 PKR points left. LoL.)

More Street Art

(Dog and Girl, StreetArt in Berlin, Photo by Palikari, 2007)

Mouse Guard

Here is another beautiful comic I want to recommend. It's "Mouse Guard" by David Petersen. The book is published at Archaia Studios Press. Although the book looks like an all ages or children's book. It's not. Mouse Guard is a beautiful crafted fantasy book.


(Cover of Mouse Guard Hardcover, Photo by Palikari, 2007)

The solicitiation for the first issue reads:
"In Mouse Guard, mice struggle to live safely and prosper among all of the world’s harsh conditions and predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed. They are not simply soldiers that fight off intruders; rather, they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden mouse village to another. The Guard patrol borders, find safeways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watch weather patterns, and keep the mouse territories free of predatory infestation. They do so with fearless dedication so that they might not just exist, but truly live. In this first issue of Mouse Guard, Saxon, Kenzie, and Lieam are dispatched to find a missing merchant mouse that never arrived at his destination. In doing so they stumble onto much more than they had bargained for."

There are previews to the first 6 issues: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6.

The Lives of Others 2.0

Lazy summer day. More photos of Berlin.


(The Life Of Others 2.0, StreetArt in Berlin, Photo By Palikari, 2007)

Talk To The Hand

Talk to the hand. Because I don't feel like talking.


(Talk To The Hand, StreeArt in Berlin, Photo by Palikari, 2007)

Yikes. Played one SnG and got busted. Pretty card dead. Then I went Preflop AI with a mediocre hand against a player who I knew would call. (Because he called AI before with hands like A4o, J5 etc.). So I got busted. And I hate it. Because it was my bad play. Grrrr.

Stars: -$1.3

Well. But the rest of the day was amazing. 30°C. Blue sky. Summer. I spent the whole day in the sun. Even worked out a little bit.

Have A Cigar

Today was another lazy day. Great weather here in Berlin. Sunshine. Met a very close friend for breakfast. Perfect.

But not much time to play. Just one SnG. 9 players. And it took 1h 16min to finish. Incredible. The tightest game ever. But I made 1st. Nice.
Stars: +$3.3

And not to forget. A great cigar. Flor de Copan Robusto Maduro. I'm addicted :)



(Photo by Palikari, 2007)

Fell

This is about comics. Not poker.

I am collecting comics since 1989. It started with Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. One of the best superhero comics I ever read. But there are more: Watchmen, Maus, Persepolis, Calvin & Hobbes, Peanuts, etc. Too many to list them.

From time to time I want to recommend a book in this blog.

I will start with: "Fell". It's an ongoing story written by Warren Ellis about the homicide detective Richard Fell. The book is currently beeing published at Image Comics.

Fell is a great crime noir book. The stories are self contained. The characters seem real. The artwork fits the book perfectly. Read it!


(Fell #8, by Warren Ellis, Image Comics, Photo by Palikari, 2007)

You can read the first issue online.

All you have to do is quit your job.

"It's the easiest thing in the world, to become a professional poker player. All you have to do is quit your job."
(Tommy Angelo)

Yes. I quit my job. But not to become a professional poker player. Sorry. After seven years at my first company I needed a change. New perspectives. New challenges. New ideas. And I think I got lucky. I found an interesting new job. The downside: it's not in Berlin. Sigh. I have to leave this town. Believe me. That's hard. The good part: I'm moving to Cologne. I like the city. My family lives there.

So. now I've got seven weeks off. My new job starts in August. A lot of time to play poker. I hope so! But there's an awful lot of thing to do: searching for a new appartment, organizing the move, job center, etc. We'll see.

Another little change. As you can see I put the "poker" in the title now in parenthesis. That's because I want to change the topic of this blog a little bit. I still want to talk about poker. But there are so many things that fascinate me: Whisky, Cigars, Music, Comics, Photography. So I'm going to mix it up a little bit.

I didn't have much time to play poker. Just one tournament and a little cash games:
Party: +$2.01
Stars: +$2.48


(Street Art in Berlin, Photo by Palikari, 06/2007)

Acronyms

QFT, RTFM, BRB, PPP, TPTK ...

Did you ever wonder what all those acronyms stand for. Here is a little help: UrbanDictionary.

Btw. This way I found out what PPP means:
PPP - Palikari's Poker Palace
PPP - Public Porn Portal
PPP - Pussy Pounding Pleasure
PPP - Point to Point Protocol
PPP - pretty poor planning
and so on ...

Lazy Day

Nothing much. Played one tournament. But got busted on the bubble. Some hands at the NL2 tables. But today I was just too tired to play. Don't know why.

Stars: -$1.33

Well. The WSOP started. But I'm not playing ;)

One thing at a time

Yesterday I watched the poker documentary on arte and played SnGs at the same time. Bad idea.

Stars: -$2.12

Independent Chip Model

Here is a site with an article about the independent chip model (ICM) and an online calculator. Hope it helps!

(The icm model helps to determine if you should play a hand on the bubble.)

Goal #4 - Work on my tilting problem

"To win at poker, you have to be very good at losing."
(Tommy Angelo)

I tilt. And I tilt a lot. I tilt easy. And I tilt badly.

All poker players tilt. I believe even Doyle Brunson or Phil Ivey tilt. It's a human reaction. You see something unfair. And tilt. Maybe after years of playing poker you tilt less. But I do believe. Even after eons of poker. There is a situation where you tilt. So. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

But I need to work on my tilting problem. Because that's what it is: a problem. I lost more money on my tilting sessions than I want to remember. It's like a second rake.

When do I tilt?

The funny thing is. I usualy tilt after I played my A game for a long time. Or after winning a tournament. My ego gets pumped up. It's huge. I return to the tables and expect to control them. I expect to win every single time. But that's not poker. AA vs 22. There's still a ~20% chance that my opponent wins. That is one out of five. Better than throwing a dice. So. I'm back at the tables. I feel unbreakable. And than it happens. I loose a race. I get rivered. I try to run over a table. A bad beat. And suddenly I'm on tilt. I know I'm on tilt but. Raaaaaahhhhhh. Hulk will smash. I can't stop. You know what I'm talking about, eh?!

I still don't have a plan, how to work on my tilt problem. I just play shorter sessions. I analyse all sessions after I played them. Especially if I lost.

And hopefuly. Some day. I will tilt less.

P.S. Here is a nice article by Tommy Angelo. At the end he talks about tilting.

Poker on TV

Arte shows the documentary "That's poker!" tomorrow night at 22:10. Sorry. German and French only.

Change of plan?

Right know I'm rethinking my strategy. As you know I play .05/.1 limit at party. But the rake at this limit is incredible 10% with no rakeback. My idea is to use the money I cashed out at PKR and drop it into my party account. That way i could play .1/.2 where the rake is 5%. Makes sense, huh? Well. Let me think about it.

Tomorrow I leave again for a business trip and won't be able to play poker until the weekend. So. I got plenty time to think. :P

Btw. I would like to join another pokersite.
Criteria:
- many players/tables
- PokerOffice support
- rakeback
Any suggestions?

A thought about PokerOffice:
If I ever have to pay the anual fee, I think I would drop PO and try PT&PAHUD. Especially since PT seems more flexible and supports Absolute, Ultimate etc.

The Stars are bright

Today is a bank holiday in germany (Pentecost?!) and my girlfriend went to visit a friend. A perfect day to stay at home, smoke a cigar (Flor de Selva Robusto) and have a good whisky (Oban). And of course: poker.

So I joined the big family at Stars and played a little recreational NL2. Great games & Loose donks (like me). I love you all! Within 20 hands i doubled up.

Then a friend dropped by. The weather was great. We walked to a cafe. And I think we had 5 pieces of apple cake each. Lol. So much for loosing weight.

After coming back I played some more. First a 9pl $1.2 SnG. On my second hand I gambled. I knew that the preflop raiser had at least an overpair (or AK). But I had Two pair on the flop. So I went all in. He called and hit his set on the turn: busted. Nevermind. I went back to the NL2 tables. Within 10 hands I doubled up again. Man. Why do I play limit? It's so much harder. I can't believe it. Well. Maybe I'm up for the competition. Lol.

Stars: +$4.64

Adieu PKR

Just played the PKR $100 tourney. Oh. Me so bad. I don't know. MTTs are not made for me. I finished itm. 30 places got paid and I finished 219/30. Thanks to the bubble boy.

In 30 minutes starts the forum tourney. I think this will be my last game on PKR for a while.

Well. The tournament didn't go to well. I had some good cards. But I played them bad. In the end Nemo kicked me with his AA vs my snowmen.

After the tournament I cashed out at PKR. My reasons are:
- too few fixed limit tables
- SnG blind structure
- slow gameplay

I enjoyed the PW24 tournaments. But in the end I played them only to chat with the other forum members. And to be honest. I think I was the only one chatting. Maybe the others put me on ignore. I don't know.

PKR: -$4.96

Rainy Day

It's a rainy and stormy day in Berlin. A perfect day for ... poker :D
(My girlfriend thinks different.)

Played three $1.2 STT SnG at Stars. In the first one I got busted on the first hand I played. KK vs. AA. It's a classic. You gotta love it. Then I made 1st and 2nd in the next two. After that I tried the 45 player $1.2. But didn't reach itm.

I also played a little bit at the NL3 cash tables. Well. "Me so bad" (Bizzaro) . I should stick to limit. After 1 hour I was $.09 up. Lol.

Stars: +$2.49

PKR - Reloaded

I'm back in Berlin. Finally. 10 days without poker is a drag.

Today I played with the updated PKR software. Well it's ok. Nothing revolutionary. You can stand up when you are all in etc. Try it!

I played a little S&G and made 2nd place. There are a lot of weak players. But I still think I'm gonna cash out. The blinds in the S&G tourneys just raise too fast for my taste.

On sunday is the last PW24 Tournament. I will play that one and decide afterwards.

PKR: +$1.9

Played two more $1.2 SnG at Stars. Finished the second in second place.

Stars: +$.3

Betting Draws on the Come

I just love the 2+2 forum. There are so many interesting threads and posts there.

Here's another one about "Betting draws on the come". This one is especially valuable for newbies.

How I learned to love my downswings

Another great thread in the 2+2 forum. This one is about downswings, luck and Doyle Brunson.

"Do you ever see Doyle Brunson play a hand on TV. Of course you have, did you notice his expression after the hand when he wins, he always has this little wry smile. It looks to me like he's thinking, I just must be the luckiest guy ever." (Bob T. "Something about luck")

How did you do it?

Here's a fascinating read in El Diablo's 2+2 Forum. A lot of different readers tell us how they achieved financial success.

How To Use Pokertracker

Here is a very good article in the 2+2 Forums on "How To Use Pokertracker". (Or PokerOffice). It's aimed at NL/PL players. But I think it's also quiet useful for Limit Donks like me.

Bubble Boy

Today was the Tournament of PokerWorld24. We played SH NL Texas Hold'Em. It was a nice tournament. I think I played quite well. But I was eliminated with TP2K against a set. I left as the bubble boy (22/4). That hurt. But that's poker, eh?!

I played three more tournaments at pkr. I played the Poker-Institut tournament. But I wasn't really paying attention because it took place at the same time as the PW24 tournament. When I reached the final table at the PW24 tournament I made some harakiri moves at the PI tournament and busted. (I think 80/33?!)

Well. I was a little bit frustrated after the bubble experience and played two more 1+.05 SnG at pkr. But I played really badly. In the first SnG I got busted very early. The second I finished 2nd place. To be honest. I played like a donkey.

I think I'm going to cash out at pkr after the PW24 series. I don't like the blind structure of the SnG tournaments at all. The blinds just raise to fast for my taste. I prefer PS.

PKR: -$7.9 (ITM 25%)

First Limit Session in a week

Today I played my first limit cash game in a week. It was good to be back at the tables. Even if I could play only for an hour. The table was great. Loose, passive players. I love them all! They are great.

I posted some hands in the Forum of Pokerworld24 (German): Hand #1, Hand #2, Hand #3, Hand #4 and Hand #5.

Party: +$.44 (4.4 BB)

It's sad. But I won't be able to play any poker for the next 10 days. I'm on a business trip and I don't have my UMTS card anymore.

If I'm lucky I can play the Pokerworld24 Tournament (German) on sunday.

Winning In Tough Hold'Em Games

I started reading "Winning In Tough Hold'Em Games" by Nick "Stoxtrader" Grudzien and Geoff "Zobags" Herzog. Hope it helps to develop my SH game.

Goal #3 - Play more short-handed games

Well. That's an easy topic. Until now I played mostly full ring limit games. Usually I left the table when it came down to 6 or 5 players. But that makes it quite difficult to play limits like .5/1 or higher because there are just too few full tables.

My goal is simple. Play more short handed tables. :D

Bad Hair Day

Played five $1+.2 SnG Tournaments on Stars. But I was eliminated in all of them before the money.

In the first tournament I was eliminated on the 2nd hand holding Pocket Rockets.

Second tournament. I raise preflop with QQ. Chipleader puts me All-In. I call and he shows me A7o. He wins with a flush.

The last tournament was especially despressing. I was the chipleader. 4 Players. We are looking for the bubble boy. I'm dealt QQ. Smallstack raises. I put him All-In. He turns over AJo and hits the Jack on the flop. So now I'm the smallstack. Four or five hands later UTG raises. I reraise him All-In with Pocket Tens. He shows me AJo (again). Well. The river is a Jack. And I'm busto.

Stars: $68.38 (-$6)

Goal #2 - Steadily build a bank roll and move up.

My second goal is to build my bankroll and move up.

This means three things:

• "There is no hurry!",
• Bankroll management,
  
• I want to play higher limits.
  

There is no hurry!
I start in the micro limits. From that point on, I want to build my bankroll steadily. I don't need to play in the low or middle limits just yet. Not today, not tomorrow. Maybe in a month or a year. If it takes longer, that's ok too. (It's a game, remember?)
Yes. I do have the money. I could deposit enough money to play FL 1/2, 3/6, 5/10 or even higher limits right away. It wouldn't even hurt me, if I lost that money. But I don't want that.


Bankroll management
My plan is to play according to a strict bankroll management. The rules are easy:

• my bankroll should be ~300BB (e.g. $30 for FL .05/.1),
  
• BB/100h > 1 for at least 10k hands before even considering to move up
• win 360BB before moving up ($66 for FL .1/.2)
  
• if I loose 60BB after moving up, I move a limit down ($54 -> back to FL .05/.1)

See also: "Basic Bankroll Management". A good article by Chris "Fox" Wallace. (Source: PocketFives.com)


I want to play higher limits
No. I don't want to grind a level forever. I'm a competitive guy. I'm up for the challenge. If I'm good enough on a certain level (according to my BR management) I'm going to move up. Even if it means playing Yo-yo :D

CU Around

Betcha Can't

"Betcha can't turn your computer off.

See. Told you."

Great Article by Tommy Angelo. (Source: TommyAngelo.Com)

I like the articles of Tommy Angelo. He writes about the game in a different way. It's not boring repetitions of odds and outs or how he played that hand blah blah blah. Usually he explores general concepts and applies them on poker. Very refreshing.

Greg Raymer for president

"Greg Raymer is considering joining famed sports handicapper Wayne Allyn Root on a Libertarian ticket at the run for the Presidency." (Source: Cardplayer.com)

Donk donk donk

Well. Today I wanted to play my first cash game in a week. But somehow I started playing S&G tournaments on Stars ($1.2, 5-Table).

In the first tournament I lost very early half of my stack, went on tilt and: busto. (It was all my fault.) So I took a small break to watch Dr. House. I love that bastard.

Back for the second tournament. It went bad bad bad. I became the rock. (VP$IP 19% at a table where everyone else was above 40%-50%.) Nobody called my good hands. The blinds ate my chips. But somehow I reached the final table as Mr.Very Small Stack. (Small like Tiny, like M=3). Then I got lucky on two hands. I eliminated the bubble boy myself. Tables turned. Three more players got eliminated. I played alot more aggressive. And suddenly I was the chipleader. And yes. I won the tournament. Nice feeling.

Stars: $74.38 (+$11.6)

"Since I got ten high, there's probably no way I'm gonna fold."

U gotta love Gus Hansen.

Goal #1 - Have fun playing poker

That's my #1 goal. Why?

I started playing poker in 09/2006. Saw it on TV and was hooked. The next day I bought alot of books (2+2 they are great!) and PokerAcademyPro (great too). I played 10k hands with PokerAcademy and (re)read my books. In November I started my online poker "career". I deposited $400 on party and started playing right away. No playmoney here. First I had a mayor upswing. Then some downswings. I played NL, S&G, Cash, MTTs. I tried multitabling. Had upswings again. I tilted. I had Good Beats and Bat Beats. I gave and received suckouts. I played every day. And sometimes I was wondering. Is this an addiction? Well if it was, at least I didn't loose money. Which was good, right?

But during the last month I became aware that I didn't have fun playing poker anymore. And that bugs me.

There are a lot of reasons for this. But I think the main reason is, that I was hoping I could make a living out of it or to become rich overnight. I tried too hard. Every suckout made me now angry. I tilted too much, too often.

I know I'm not gifted. For me to learn poker means hard work (that's ok). But at the poker tables you meet sometimes people who just instantly know what to do and how to play. Very impressive. It bugged me that I'm not one of them. But wait. Why? I don't even need the money.

Poker is a game. It should be fun.

I want that back :D

Zero Hour

Today I hit the big "RESET" button. I cashed out. Just left enought money on the sites I play, so that I can start over again. All the money left in my accounts is bonus money. I never reloaded. But I had some pretty huge swings. I tried too much, too hard, too early.

So. What are my goals:

1. Have fun playing poker.
2. Steadily build a bank roll and move up.
   
3. Play more short-handed games.
4. Work on my tilting problem.
5. Take the game serious.
   

The good thing is: i don't need the money. I've a decent job that pays well. There's no need to "get rich or die tryin" :D

So. Where do i start?

For me it's limit texas hold'em. I do play NL and tournaments, but only for recreational purposes.

I start with a bankroll of:

• Party: ~$30 = 300BB for .05/.1
• Stars: ~$60 = 50 Buy-Ins for 1+.2 S&G
• PKR: ~$55 = probably gonna cash out as well. Just playing on pkr because my favorite german forum Pokerworld24 organizes tournaments there.

That's it for today.

CU Around.

The beginning

A new blog, about poker, just what the world needs most.