Thursday, January 25, 2007

Leaderboard draws to a close

Well I gave it a damn good go. A 7th place in the £8k last night helped me consolidate my position in 6th. I took a couple of shockers in the first two hours, but recovered with even a bit of luck on my side. AJ beating AK and KJ beating JJ when short stacked.
I was the short stack for most of the time I was on the final table. With blinds at 2k/4k, approaching 3k/6k my 30k was not going to last too long. I moved with AJ and was called by AT. The river paired the board for a second time. I needed that to have a real go.
By time I was first to act again with anything resembling a hand I was down to 18k and went out.

I am aware there is still one day left in the leaderboard tournament, but I have to rely on a friend to play tonights game (a very good player), as I have a leaving do for a good friend who has worked for me for a year. I know the chance for Monte Carlo is still there, but as great as Poker is, it cannot dictate your life!

As long as I don’t lose 6th place I will be happy. Although I will still take higher if it happens!
I have fallen just short of the important number 2 slot by a small margin. It has been really enjoyable event and added a real competitive edge to the site. I am pleased that the cryptologic skins are running it again for February and March. With the 3 recent additions (Betsafe, Parbet and Playboy), the site seems to be going from strength to strength.
On the flip side this event has been absolutely exhausting. I have played in all bar 6 of the qualifying tournaments (51/57) finishing most nights at between 1 and 3am and then getting up for work at 7am, not the most healthy situation.
I will report back a full review on the leaderboard with a full profit & loss situation tomorrow when I have access to all my statistics. At the end of the day being one of the top ten players on the site is a great achievement.

Tomorrow I will also publish my schedule for qualifying for live events over the next few weeks.

I have also written a new article entitled ‘How to win an online MTT tournament! This will be published in Littlewoods next Full House magazine. I will post it on here shortly.

ClintonO

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"At the end of the day being one of the top ten players on the site is a great achievement".- there is not a chance in hell any of the real good players on the site will be entering into competitions of this such i can assure you. also all the main money earners in this game know that the main 'take' online(by quite a margin)is to be earned in cash play not mtt and this is where the real poker is played and class is determined.these 'legends'(007apr etc to name but 1)you speak of who still play £20 mtt crapshoots etc for hours on end always makes me laugh.just take a look at people like grundy and other sponsored player blogs,it is pretty clear where the real money is if you are skilled enough.

Anonymous said...

I rarely post on these things but Mr Anonymous’s comments above are so incredibly churlish and bitter I feel compelled to reply. Sure, Clintons comment “at the end of the day being one of the top ten players on the site is a great achievement” sounds OTT on face value. Don’t hang Clinton for loose words when its pretty obvious he meant he is one of the best MTT players. He doesn’t claim to be a great cash player nor a great STT player – he never has in this blog. But the facts speak for themselves, he has had great success in MTTS on Crypto over the last year or so. And he is not a pro, this is not his living, it is a recreational activity and he is rather good at it.



Unlike you, hiding behind an anonymous posting, Clinton has balls. Firstly, he has published your comment even though it is critical. Secondly, he stated publicly in his blog that he was setting his sights on the January leaderboard having not had the chance to play the last two leaderboards fully. And what happened? He fell a bit short of his objective but he still finished 6th and he is rightly proud of that – it is a great achievement.
I can’t help but feel that you are envious of the legend’s achievement. Yes, as far as Crypto MTT’s are concerned Clinton IS a LEGEND.

You are dismissive of MTTS. Sure, there is less pure poker skill in many fast structured MTTs. But the skill set required to do well at MTTs is differerent - strategy etc takes on board a different emphasis. Clinton recognizes this and CONSISTENTLY does well in them. Sure, they are different from DS tourneys (ie typical big events) but it is the game he plays and the only game available on Crypto. So why your beef?


And why criticize Andy 007? The guy plays poker for a living. Succesfully. He makes money at the game playing at levels where he feels he has an edge. What do you suggest he do ? Go play cash games at crazy limits that are beyond him and lose?

Sam Warren

Anonymous said...

Sam you are dead right!
ClintonO and 007apr are the life and sole of crypto mtt's and they have proved succesful over a long period of time.

And it is clearly this 'legends' term that is annoying the anonymous poster. Personally I do feel that they are big headed for what they have achieved which isn't a great deal considering. But to abuse them for that is simply not on.

These two guys are not world beaters. They don't go playing on any tours. They don't even play big online mtt's on other sites. But they are successful on crypto and that is all they want to do. OK so the main mtt is a mere £50 buy in but you shouldnt knock them for that. It is still an acheivement to finish 6th. Well dont ClintonO.

My brother was at the Caribbean Classic. He qualified online as well and met the two of them out there. Apparently, they didnt buy in to the bigger events that were on (e.g. the $500 and $1,000 buy ins) because they couldnt pay that kind of money. Should they be criticised for that? Certainly not. They play at their small level and do great.

And if you are coming here to read this blog like many other supporters are then please have the ability to accept this for what it is. It is intersting for us starting the game. ClintonO and 007apr are people we look up to and people we want to be like in the future when our games are that good.

And when the two of them move up to the next level playing in $200 entries etc you will be laughing on the other side of your face.

Good luck,
Lewkylew (Bristol)

Anonymous said...

To Mr anonymous:
Pointless in me repeating what Sam Warren and Leaky have said, other then, they are stating the obvious and i'm a bit surprised that you fail to see that.

What I do want to add is that before meeting these guys, (ClintonO, ThierryH and 007apr)about a year ago now, I'd never made the final table of an MTT, in fact it was rare that i'd make it past the first hour.

Since then (simply by talking to these guys) i've come to understand and learn pot odds, implied odds, actual odds, when to bluff, when to twist, when to fold (and off course what a rainbow flop is :-))etc etc..

and as a result I've made FT's a few times aswell as win a number of MTT's. So in my eyes these guys are nothing but Legends.

So, my only bit of advise to is that even if you dont like them and are jelous of their success (which you clearly are), pretend you do, and try talking to them, you might learn a thing or two, and who knows maybe we'll see you at an FT a an MTT on crypto.

SUN_DESHI