Despite my last post I pretty much took the rest of the year off.  I played occasionally but just short sessions when I felt like it (rare and typically short-lived).

It’s a new year though and I’ll be hitting the UK tournament circuit pretty hard in 2009.  I’ll probably use this blog primarily to document live tournaments – and so force myself to pay more attention during them so I can recall hands properly.

I’ve still to decide how much online play I put in, but it’s becoming safe to say that PLO won’t be featuring heavily in my plans.

The 25/50 stars game welcomed me back with open arms, like an abusive lover kissing me with a nice starter on the 1st hand, a nice-looking smiley flop and then just as I started to relax a black eye.

PokerStars Game #23428619657:  Omaha Pot Limit ($25/$50) – 2008/12/31 6:41:48 ET
Table ‘Winifred’ 6-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 2: <xllllll>< ($2903.55 in chips)
Seat 3: flaneur ($4842 in chips)
Seat 4: Prefontaine ($8166 in chips)
Seat 5: spence79 ($2500 in chips)
Prefontaine: posts small blind $25
spence79: posts big blind $50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to spence79 [Ad Qs 4c Ac]
<xllllll><: raises $100 to $150
flaneur: folds
Prefontaine: folds
spence79: raises $325 to $475
<xllllll><: calls $325
*** FLOP *** [5h 9s 2c]
spence79: bets $800
<xllllll><: raises $1628.55 to $2428.55 and is all-in
spence79: calls $1225 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($403.55) returned to <xllllll><
*** TURN *** [5h 9s 2c] [Td]
*** RIVER *** [5h 9s 2c Td] [4s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
spence79: shows [Ad Qs 4c Ac] (a pair of Aces)
<xllllll><: shows [Jh 3c 4h 5c] (two pair, Fives and Fours)
<xllllll>< collected $5023 from pot

I checked the odds and was a little surprised to only be 52% against his hand on the flop, I’d figured it to be more like 56%.  That may well end up being my one and only hand of 25/50 PLO this year.  I’m already $4k down for PLO for 2009 and have no wish to start the year dropping $20k at PLO like I usually do.  Hell, combine that with the $20k PCA loss that normally starts my year and I can count myself as being $36k better off than normal at the start of the year simply from not flying to Atlantis and avoiding PLO games :-)

 

I’m feeling fairly comfortable in the 100/200 and 200/400 HORSE games tho and that will probably end up becoming my home.  I need to be careful who I play with HU and 3 handed, but I feel good against the entire player base 4-7 handed. 

Today’s session was extremely swingy and I found myself playing a lot 2-3 handed which I wouldn’t have done at 200/400 and probably shouldn’t have been doing at 100/200.  It was interesting in that I was playing against a maniac Chino23.  I bled a few thousand to start with before I adjusted to him.  This was made worse by my playing 2x 3-handed tables, once I cut down to 1 table and focused on him things went a lot better.

 

Table ‘Tucana III’ 8-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: spence79 ($3083.50 in chips)
Seat 5: Jin_ ($1607.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Colonel Mort ($9000.25 in chips)
Seat 7: Chino23 ($2351.75 in chips)
Chino23: posts small blind $50
spence79: posts big blind $100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to spence79 [Tc Ah]
Jin_: folds
Colonel Mort: raises $100 to $200
Chino23: raises $100 to $300
spence79: raises $100 to $400
Betting is capped
Colonel Mort: calls $200
Chino23: calls $100
*** FLOP *** [Jh 6c 5d]
Chino23: checks
spence79: bets $100
Colonel Mort: calls $100
Chino23: raises $100 to $200
spence79: calls $100
Colonel Mort: calls $100
*** TURN *** [Jh 6c 5d] [Qc]
Chino23: bets $200
spence79: calls $200
Colonel Mort: folds
*** RIVER *** [Jh 6c 5d Qc] [5h]
Chino23: bets $200
spence79: calls $200
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Chino23: shows [8s 4c] (a pair of Fives)
spence79: shows [Tc Ah] (a pair of Fives – Ace kicker)
spence79 collected $2598 from pot

PokerStars Game #23429761696:  HORSE (7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Limit, $100/$200) – 2008/12/31 7:57:25 ET
Table ‘Tucana III’ 8-max
Seat 1: spence79 ($5147.25 in chips)
Seat 2: bennyboy_k ($1501 in chips)
Seat 3: Chino23 ($3208 in chips)
Seat 6: Colonel Mort ($12038.25 in chips)
Seat 8: ozenc ($1635 in chips)
ozenc: posts the ante $20
spence79: posts the ante $20
bennyboy_k: posts the ante $20
Chino23: posts the ante $20
Colonel Mort: posts the ante $20
*** 3rd STREET ***
Dealt to spence79 [Ah Kd Ad]
Dealt to bennyboy_k [4h]
Dealt to Chino23 [7c]
Dealt to Colonel Mort [Js]
Dealt to ozenc [Ts]
bennyboy_k: brings in for $30
Chino23: raises $70 to $100
Colonel Mort: folds
ozenc: folds
spence79: raises $100 to $200
bennyboy_k: folds
Chino23: calls $100
*** 4th STREET ***
Dealt to spence79 [Ah Kd Ad] [As]
Dealt to Chino23 [7c] [7d]
spence79: bets $100
Chino23: calls $100
*** 5th STREET ***
Dealt to spence79 [Ah Kd Ad As] [Td]
Dealt to Chino23 [7c 7d] [Jc]
spence79: bets $200
Chino23: raises $200 to $400
spence79: raises $200 to $600
Chino23: calls $200
*** 6th STREET ***
Dealt to spence79 [Ah Kd Ad As Td] [Jh]
Dealt to Chino23 [7c 7d Jc] [3c]
spence79: bets $200
Chino23: calls $200
*** RIVER ***
Dealt to spence79 [Ah Kd Ad As Td Jh] [6h]
spence79: bets $200
Chino23: folds
Uncalled bet ($200) returned to spence79
spence79 collected $2328 from pot

After the following stud8 hand I’d recovered from -$11k to +$1500.

 

PokerStars Game #23430837325:  HORSE (7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Limit, $100/$200) – 2008/12/31 8:52:35 ET
Table ‘Tucana III’ 8-max
Seat 1: spence79 ($7177.75 in chips)
Seat 2: bennyboy_k ($567.50 in chips)
Seat 3: Jin_ ($1692.50 in chips)
Seat 4: mynoli ($6725.50 in chips)
Seat 7: thaaj2004 ($2448 in chips)
Seat 8: ozenc ($5154.50 in chips)
thaaj2004: posts the ante $20
ozenc: posts the ante $20
spence79: posts the ante $20
bennyboy_k: posts the ante $20
Jin_: posts the ante $20
mynoli: posts the ante $20
*** 3rd STREET ***
Dealt to spence79 [2s 4c 5s]
Dealt to bennyboy_k [7h]
Dealt to Jin_ [Jc]
Dealt to mynoli [5h]
Dealt to thaaj2004 [Js]
Dealt to ozenc [9s]
mynoli: brings in for $30
thaaj2004: calls $30
ozenc: folds
spence79: raises $70 to $100
bennyboy_k: raises $100 to $200
Jin_: folds
mynoli: calls $170
thaaj2004: calls $170
spence79: raises $100 to $300
bennyboy_k: raises $100 to $400
Betting is capped
mynoli: calls $200
thaaj2004: calls $200
spence79: calls $100
*** 4th STREET ***
Dealt to spence79 [2s 4c 5s] [8h]
Dealt to bennyboy_k [7h] [Qh]
Dealt to mynoli [5h] [6c]
Dealt to thaaj2004 [Js] [Kd]
thaaj2004: checks
spence79: bets $100
bennyboy_k: calls $100
mynoli: raises $100 to $200
thaaj2004: calls $200
spence79: calls $100
bennyboy_k: calls $47.50 and is all-in
*** 5th STREET ***
Dealt to spence79 [2s 4c 5s 8h] [3s]
Dealt to bennyboy_k [7h Qh] [Th]
Dealt to mynoli [5h 6c] [Ks]
Dealt to thaaj2004 [Js Kd] [Td]
thaaj2004: checks
spence79: bets $200
mynoli: raises $200 to $400
thaaj2004: calls $400
spence79: raises $200 to $600
mynoli: calls $200
thaaj2004: calls $200
*** 6th STREET ***
Dealt to spence79 [2s 4c 5s 8h 3s] [6h]
Dealt to bennyboy_k [7h Qh Th] [7c]
Dealt to mynoli [5h 6c Ks] [3d]
Dealt to thaaj2004 [Js Kd Td] [4h]
mynoli: bets $200
thaaj2004: folds
spence79: raises $200 to $400
thaaj2004 leaves the table
mynoli: calls $200
*** RIVER ***
Dealt to spence79 [2s 4c 5s 8h 3s 6h] [7s]
mynoli: checks
spence79: bets $200
mynoli: calls $200
*** SHOW DOWN ***
spence79: shows [2s 4c 5s 8h 3s 6h 7s] (HI: a straight, Four to Eight; LO: 6,5,4,3,2)
mynoli: mucks hand
spence79 collected $1578.75 from side pot
spence79 collected $1578.75 from side pot
bennyboy_k: mucks hand
spence79 collected $1153.50 from main pot
spence79 collected $1153.50 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5467.50 Main pot $2307. Side pot $3157.50. | Rake $3
Seat 1: spence79 showed [2s 4c 5s 8h 3s 6h 7s] and won ($5464.50) with HI: a straight, Four to Eight; LO: 6,5,4,3,2
Seat 2: bennyboy_k mucked [3h 2c 7h Qh Th 7c As]
Seat 3: Jin_ folded on the 3rd Street (didn’t bet)
Seat 4: mynoli mucked [Ad Ah 5h 6c Ks 3d Qd]
Seat 7: thaaj2004 folded on the 6th Street
Seat 8: ozenc folded on the 3rd Street (didn’t bet)

 

Unfortunately the game broke shortly after this and it was just me and ozenc HU.  I felt good at this point and there were no other games going so I kept playing, but I had to quit him after dropping $8k.  It’s difficult to tell whether I was outplayed or just ran bad.  It’s usually a mixture of both though so I should probably be pleased that I quit when I did cos it just didn’t feel like I was going to gain ground on him.  I  staged a small recovery when the game filled again to finish the day only around $4.2k down.

Schwongs – they are one thing.

Brighton GUKPT starts on the 12th and I’ll be there for the whole festival and the online SH GUKPT events afterwards.  I’ll be trying to scare up some side action on GUKPT league performance as well as an extra motivator not to skip tournaments as much as I did last year.