Just donked off two buy in's to some LAG player that just owned me for an hour. I was playing ok, but then I 3 bet him with QQ and he called with A5, obv 2 aces came on the flop but I couldn't believe he'd call with an ace so paid him off. Later after he'd be consistently raising my blinds and 3 betting lots of other PFR's, with 99 on a 7 high board, I refused to believe I was behind and paid him off again with his QQ.

Things like this really let my game down. My main profits in poker come from mtt's but I was hoping for an alternative, more regular profit from cash games, but I do wonder if I'm cut out for it sometimes. Maybe it's just because I had a bad nights sleep, who knows.

I'm going to treat myself though. I've enough Stars points for about £450 at Amazon, plus I have Rpoints and CashbackKings points for another few hundred so I'm going to order a PS3 early next week then a HD tele in August. I may have to fork out £100 in real cash or so, but it's still good and will make my efforts seem a bit more worth while.

Where to start! I've been quite busy poker wise recently. I have a cash game mentor who has kindly offered me some of his time and expertise too hopefully improve my game. I'm at best a break even cash game player so I'm looking forward to it. I've had one session so far and I always thought I was 'ok', but it's clear I'm missing out on lots of opportunities so I need to work on things. I won't mention his name in case he doesn't want to be named, but it really is a privilege to be offered the chance as he's a good cash game pro player. I've a bit of homework to do before our next session but hopefully I'll sort that out soon!

Went to the Western on Thursday last week and managed another cash, 6th, for just under £80 which paid for some bits at the APAT event at the weekend. Nice to make the FT as at one point I was down to 1 big blind but still managed a comeback. Never got going at the APAT event or the Chezger event the night before, but what a laugh the weekend was.

Came back a day early than originally planned and played some tourneys last night. Managed to cash in both the early doubles even if it was only small amounts but also got a $9 bonus LOL! Thought I was playing well so entered the $9.5k HH tourney, a $5 mtt and also the early doubles again and did nothing in the $9.5k but made the FT in the $5 and also came 39thish in one of the early doubles. Always the cheapies that I do well in for some reason, but still pleased with things even if it didn't make me rich. I also came 2nd in one of the crypto HH comps for $199 and made about $50 in scalps so that was a nice profit for the day. Was so close to winning that too when matey pushed with J8 and I called with 7's but the jack came on the turn and I was very short after that. Two final tables and a profit for the night so no complaints really.

Part 1

Arrgggh, Sundays are hard. I'm used to losing in tournaments on a Sunday, so to grind the cash is a change for me, but man are they hard! I 'should' be quite a bit up, but there's too many donks. Well, I keep calling the donk bets. For example, I raise preflop with AJs and hit two pair on a double suited flop. The donk caller leads out for a min bet of 50c. Clearly I repop him to about $3 and he calls. The turn brings a card that fails to complete any draws and donk checks. I bet about the pot at $9 and he flat calls. The river duly completes the flush and the donk leads out for $5. The pot's standing around $30, so I'm feeling like I can't fold my top two pair, but lose to the flush and the cards he's holding? 94s. This has happened a couple of times.

I've also had a pot taken away from me with which I'm obviously a bit miffed about, but generally if I call here, I'm 90% of the time behind I think.

I also think I played this bad I only lead out of the river because I clearly wasn't going to win the hand by not betting. I was a little surprised with his calling range here, obviously not concerned about the ace, the flush, the straight or the paired board, but hey, I lost, no complaints really.

It's not all been that bad, I got lucky with Kings against Aces The thing that's most laughable is that I actually thought he had Aces due to the stupid preflop betting he seems intent on doing, but when I trip up, I'm obviously going nowhere. Had he shoved earlier, I'd have folded.

This is my hand of the session though, lovely quads again and paid off by a monster.

I had a sneaky session last night where I notched up another 300ish points and made less than a dollar.

I was 9 tabling for an hour or so, but the wheels came off towards the end and now I'm back to not having enough in the account to do that so when I hit the tables again in 5 mins or so, it's back to 6.

Stats for today

Hands - 1830
Profit/Loss - $3.25
bb/100 - 0.18
Points - 712 (currently on 2940 for the month)

9 tabling I made 636 points in an hour. Perhaps I should bung in another $100 in my account and go for the 9 again - two hours and I could be Gold!!


PART 2

I did it :shock: I'm bloody knackered and I expect I'll have a bad day at work later on, but I made Gold on Stars for the first time ever.

Not only that but I pretty much hit all my hands in the latest session.

Few hands of note.

I gave this guy a bit of a rubdown for his play here. Not sure why I did, but calling with 52o was sick. I don't usually talk at the tables, but he'd wound me up in a few previous hands and was always raising me and he had filth that got lucky a few times.

This was a nice hand, goes to show patience pays off.

I'm so guilty of this and it's a part of my game I'm trying to get rid of, easy to see why when you are on the profitable end of it. In fact, here's where I am guilty of it.

And finally, this was ironically the hand that gave me the 4000thish points

Final Stats (todays in brackets)

Hands played 10640 (4656)
Profit/Loss 135.45 (219.50)
bb/100 1.27 (4.73)
Points earned 4032 (1804)

So over 4k in hands for me today!! Glad to have shown a profit overall for it.

Should I go for Platinum if they do the double points for ring games again? Not sure about that

Just a quick 935 hands tonight. I was down about $90 at one point after a couple of stupid calls, a bit of a beat (top 2 v set) and a donkish shove with AK preflop against a guy who I thought was tilting against me after I hit quad kings v his AA. Well, he was out to get me, he was on about 3 of my tables and raised my blind every time, once calling me down and betting the flop for $10 with 69s, but thankfully I had a hand and took the pot. In this particular hand he had QQ though which held. After a grim start, I did manage to claw things back and ended up in profit, even if it was only $0.55. If my bad days are one where I break even then I'll be happy.

Stats so far (todays in brackets)

Hands played 5995 (935)
Profit/Loss -84.05 (0.55)
bb/100 -1.40 (0.06)
Points earned 2228 (334)

I moved back to 6 max games tonight and I was I was there from the start. There's notable differences between the games. I'm not sure that you need necessarily play more hands, but raising preflop is more profitable and likewise, the continuation bet is also +EV and 3 betting AK is also +EV. I always seem to find in full ring, you'll usually get a caller if you raise preflop, and they generally don't let go with continuation bets. Plus there's the a third more of a chance that someone has a nice hand due to the increase in players at the table of course.

The points rack up a lot quicker on 6 max too. I've amassed about 700 points in 3 hours playing and currently stand on just under 1900. So Silver is out of the way just 2000 more to go to reach the target - 9 hours 6 tabling 6 max? I'll try and get back to 9 tables for my next session but couldn't tonight as I didn't start the night off with enough in my account. Thankfully, I actually made a profit tonight, $48.85, not massive but I still have had a few annoying hands that you just can't do much about. I think I maybe should raise to $1.75 or preflop as a standard raise rather than the 3xBB I usually make, perhaps it will stop the idiots calling me. I think I had 3 hands like this tonight, the one here, JJ called by JQ who flopped a straight and AA v 9T, who again hit a straight on the river, but was happy to get it all in on the flop, but all in all I'm quite pleased with myself tonight.

Stats so far (todays in brackets)

Hands played 5060 (1738)
Profit/Loss-84.60 (48.85)
bb/100 -1.67 (2.81)
Points earned 1894 (708)

I don't think I'll get to play tomorrow either as I'm off out to a bbq early afternoon and am bound to get sloshed and I don't play well when drunk so Sunday is going to be a mammoth push to the finish. To be honest, I don't think I'll do it, but I'm hoping that Stars will have another week where ring games earn 2xFPP and I'll finish it off then. If not, at least I'm Silver and will try and make use of the freerolls etc.

I normally try and get to the Western on a Thursday to play the double chance, but with the Stars promo, I had it in my mind that I'd just stay in and play online. I was back ok mentally after the knocks on Wednesday, after all, I wasn't that much down, but I still thought that getting out may be a better idea and thought I'd finally get myself up to Luton and play the £50 comp. Things didn't start off great, but not bad either, I'd hardly played a hand going into the third level, but with a 30 min clock and 5k in chips, it was nothing compared to the Westerns fast structure. I'm not sure why I did it but I completed from the small blind with Q2o for an extra 100 - there were 4 in the pot and I was more bored from folding I guess, so I limped in. The flop came Q 6 Q which I was quite pleased with. Check from me, check from the BB, the other two checked and a suited card to the board came on the turn so I've lead out for 600. The BB calls, the others fold. Ace on the river and I'm pretty happy now. The BB must have played about 90% of hands and has been calling/betting on draws so I'm still feeling good so am ready to check raise. He duly obliges and bets 800 and I make it 2.5k more. After a short think he calls with 6's and scoops the pot. I was gutted to be honest and only had 550 left and the break was less than 10 mins away. I folded for a while then the blinds passed me and I know I should have chucked them in without looking, but I didn't for some reason. Down to 250 and two minutes to the break and I stick them in with A2. Get a treble up, then stick them in again with T9 and get another treble up. A couple more shoves before the break and I'm back to where I was pretty much with just under 4k. After the break, I continue to be busy but get no opposition and manage to take plenty of uncontested pots. Eventually I'm back in decent shape, then we break for the final table. I didn't make the FT in great shape, but neither was I the shorty. There was a clear chip leader who had most of the chips in play, but I was feeling good. At the bubble with 6 left it was suggested a saver for 6th was sorted which to be honest, I'm usually happy to do. The bubble didn't take too long, 5th went, 4th went and we're down to 3, with me 2nd in chips, but a long way behind. There was 165,000 in play, and I guess between me and 3rd, we had maybe 35k between us. I thought I was going to knock third out when on a T 3 T flop holding 7's I lead out for 4k, the shove came. I had a feeling I was ahead and obviously called and she showed Q3, but the queen came on the river and I was now the shorty. Couple of hands later, the worst thing for me came, the chip leader knocked out the lady in 3rd so now he had about 150k of the chips. Heads Up didn't last too long, I called with A2 against his J9s but he hit a flush.

Certainly no complaints about it and I was pleased with my game. Despite the Q hand early on, I think I played pretty good and made some nice plays on the final table that got me a few nice pots. Also, it was my biggest live cash so far at £410 which is pretty decent.

Nice crowd at Luton, certainly a friendly place and the guy that won was a nice chap too. Would like to go back, but I'd like the M1 fixed first!

I run bad

http://www.pokerhand.org/?2835574

http://www.pokerhand.org/?2835589.

Takes my losses for the day to just under $90. I didn't bother to check my points, too gutted to care at the moment. Why didn't I stick to tourneys?

I'm again finding myself on the brink of tilt. I'd done exceedingly well and built up some nice profits. I've had one nervy handd that I got away with and 5 big loss hands that I'm really not sure what I could do about.

Firstly, I'm only buying in for $30. I don't have enough to multitable at the full buy in. I know it's not good value, but the way I'm running, it's saving me money!

These are in the order they happened so you can maybe feel my tilt building.

First - AK on the BB, auto 3 bet?. Trouble is that the raiser to me has but $10. I bet $6 with the view that it's more than likely all going in preflop - I lose, fair enough, I didn't hit, he had a medium pair and hit trips anyway.

Second - Lost my small buy in here. I guess I should have folded to the 4 bet - my mistake. I've learned that the 4 bet is strong so will respect it from now on.

Third - Queens again - joy, another small buy in gone when I run into kings

Fourth - I put goldberg2 on the flush draw which is why I raised. I'd have thought common sense would say that if there's a bet, then a raise, then perhaps the flush draw isn't great. When the turn made a flush possible, I'm awkwardly out of position - what do I do here? If I check, I have to fold to a bet (obv the option) but I didn't expect him to call a reraise on a flush draw and another buy in is down the swanny.

Fifth - What can you do here? I knew I was ahead, but he's still called of all his stack on the flush draw which he's duly hit. Obv I'm not folding for his last $2 when $30 is in the middle. Hmm, actually that one is only half a buy in for me. I didn't realise until now.

Anyway, I've decided that it's a good time to take a break as I'm on the verge of smashing my keyboard at the moment.

Stats so far.
Hands played - 3067 (fk me! in 1 day - I average that a month usually!)
Profit/Loss - [color=#FF0000]-52.95[/color]
BB/100 - [color=#FF0000]-1.73[/color]
Points Earned - 1030.

Actually, the profit and loss is a real bitch. I'm only down $9.35 for the day, if it weren't for my hands above, I'd be well up. In an ironic lolable twist to the problems above, I've had Aces 11 times today and am only up $29 from them - seems every time I raise with them, everyone just folds :roll:

OK, chin up, I'm only down $9 on the day, I've had worse and I'm nearly at silver.

For one week only, I'm back on the cash! I know, it's not good, but Stars have the 2xFPP scheme on at the moment and if I can make Gold, I can do something nice with my points. I have over 50k of them but everything nice you can get you either need to be silver or for the better stuff, gold. I started off ok but managed to lose $40 by the end of my first session. Then last night, I played again and was going great until I managed to try a move on someone and they clearly didn't respect it and called and reraised me. I obviously gave him too much respect and thought my bottom pair was good but his top pair was good and I lost $20. In my defense, the line I sold him was that the board paired with 4's and I played it like I had one (called flop bet, then c/r the turn when the other 4 appeared) then lead on the river, but he clearly wasn't having any of it. My moves are obviously too sophisticated for the average NL50 player ;) Later on I was in the big blind with JT and it folded to the small blind who raised. He's raised me numerous times like this so I flat called. Flop came J high and he lead out for $2, I reraise to $5 and he shoved. I obviously called, but he had the aces and that was that, another $35 gone and with it my profit for the day.

So my new plan is to play really really tight and conservative. I'll make a profit like this, but I just need to respect raises a bit more. I'm going to crack on with 9 tabling later on but as I've almost busted my Stars account, I'm going to have to buy in on the cheap. I'm going to stick with full ring though so it's not the end of the world.

366 points so far, I could do with around 1,00 by the end of the day.