Thursday, August 16, 2007

50 UP!

My blog has now visited 50 different countries in 2007.

With first time visitors from Austria, Lebanon and India this week, I have now reached the half century mark!

ClintonO

2 more final tables

I managed to fit two games in this evening.

The $5k HH and the $4.5k GTD.
I made both final tables finishing 6th in the first and 4th in the 2nd.

In the $4.5k, I was chip leader with just 4 players left. Then this happened.

HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to ClintonO [Th Td]
Soobydo: folds
Jillyfish: folds
ClintonO: raises to 7200
Paulf1001: calls 4800
----- FLOP ----- [4c 8d 9d]
ClintonO: bets 7200
Paulf1001: calls 7200
----- TURN ----- [4c 8d 9d][Kd]
ClintonO: bets 7200
Paulf1001: is all-in 5825.50
Returned uncalled bets 1,374.50 to ClintonO
----- RIVER ----- [4c 8d 9d Kd][8h]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
ClintonO: shows [Th Td] (Two Pairs, Tens and Eights, King high)
Paulf1001: shows [Qd 8c] (Three of a kind, Eights, King high)
Paulf1001 collected 41651 from Main pot

Followed shortly after by

----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to ClintonO [8s 8c]
ClintonO: raises to 7200
Paulf1001: calls 7200
Soobydo: folds
Jillyfish: calls 4800
----- FLOP ----- [2c Ah Ad]
Jillyfish: checks
ClintonO: bets 13906 and is all-in
Paulf1001: calls 13906
Jillyfish: folds
----- TURN ----- [2c Ah Ad][5c]
----- RIVER ----- [2c Ah Ad 5c][Qd]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
ClintonO: shows [8s 8c] (Two Pairs, Aces and Eights, Queen high)
Paulf1001: shows [5s 5h] (A Full House, Fives full of Aces)
Paulf1001 collected 51812 from Main pot

"SIGH"

Still 2 from 2 final tables is a good effort and the bankroll continues in the right direction.

ClintonO

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

A couple of decent performances

I managed to find a few hours to play on Sunday. Playing in the CPC Final and the £40k.

Both ended within a minute of each other, but both financially profitable.
I made my 3rd consecutive final table of the CPC, but went out in 7th place. I received $603 for my efforts, but so did everyone from 2nd to 16th!

In the £40k, it a was a 23rd place finish and £280.

Both tournaments I pushed with top pair on the flop, but was outkicked by one card both times. Both were hands I did not to get involved in, but was priced in.

Always nice to push the bankroll forward!

ClintonO

Friday, August 10, 2007

Playing at last!

How nice to be playing again!

I managed four games last night, which was more than I expected to be able to play but I am not complaining.

First up was the $77 CPC qualifier. I have done very well in these so far, I have previously played in 4 and won 3 of them. 35 runners last night and top 4 made it. Solid poker is the way forward in this type of the event and after getting into 2nd place with 7 left, it was just a matter of playing tight, aggressive poker, putting the short stacks under pressure. I continued my good record to make it through to Sundays $530 final.

Next was the GC 7 qualifier, I wanted to add this to numbers 4,6,8 that I previously qualified for. I made the final table, but was quite short stacked with 7 left and 3 seats available.

I get into a pot cheaply with 34, the board brings 52x and I think this is as good time as any to go for the check raise. I get called by 99, which was a lot better than I expected and missed the help needed.

I played the £6k and finished just outside the money, I managed to get my way up to 7k. Holding JJ, I thought I played the hand really well, eventually getting someone to put all their chips in with K9 and a flush draw with one card to come. He had 11 outs on the river (I held one of the hearts) and hit, to knock me out 4 from the money and robbing me of a chance to move into the top 12.

I also played the $4.5k, for some reason people kept giving me their chips to start with and I had 6k and was leading after the first level.
I stayed in the top ten for most of the tournament.
With 25 left, the button raises me, I have KK in small blind, push all in and get called by TT, a ten hits on the turn.
Shortly after I have JJ and reraise all in to be called by AJ, an ace comes on the river.

I am happy enough with that for a nights work, a seat in Sunday’s final and a couple of unlucky hands which stopped me benefiting financially.

The other subject I want to touch on today is how people react to things that happen during poker.
Someone posted on my blog last night, asking what my views are on the fact that the Eyesight brothers abuse people on line and that abuse can get very strong and yet they claim to be good friends of mine.

I have a few things to say on this subject, which may or may not be controversial depending on your point of view.
Firstly, poker in my opinion is a game of skill, with a greater or lesser degree of luck thrown in dependent on your timeframe and how you approach and play the game.
Some people are prone to more bad luck than others. The tighter the player you are, the more likely it is that when you lose a hand, you lose to a weaker hand.

How you respond to misfortune is a great indicator of how successful you will be in whatever it is you do.

No one enjoys losing with AA to JJ preflop, but it happens and it happens 1 time in 5. However, when it does happen, you don’t instantly turn around and say well that ok, I am due one, you feel gutted and cheated. For those people who think they are the best around, then these hands are almost impossible to take.
I have gone through substantial losing periods with all the big hands and yet if I take a long term perspective of it, the percentages play themselves out whatever you think actually happens.

I do not see the point of abusing people who get lucky against you, what are you trying to make happen, does it affect the way they play, very unlikely. It is more likely to affect you. Poker is a game played in the mind, try playing a game without looking at your cards, that will show you how it’s a mind game.

I have met both the Eyesight brothers, who have been kind enough to play in both my Poccer events.
I had long chats with both of them and they are genuine, decent guys. However when they hit the poker tables they are subject to change!
For a lot of poker players, poker is everything, it’s their livelihood, their bread and butter. What goes with that is a level of confidence and to a degree arrogance. In order to be successful, confidence is a pre-requisite. How you manage that confidence will determine how you appear in the eyes of the all those watching.

I have met some lovely people in the world of poker and I have met some complete tossers! All of these people have confidence in their ability, but how they handle themselves, their levels of arrogance and whether they believe their own hype makes the difference.

I know I can play poker, I know that I am a decent player and am confident when I play. I have been fortunate in that I have qualified for a number of big events and have enjoyed my time in those. I know though, that there are thousands of better players than me in the world. What I do know is how to play to my strengths and make the most of what skills I have and also to take the rough with the smooth.

When I look at Tom, the younger eyesight brother, you can see a decent poker player, with hopefully the potential to do better, who has also won a fair amount online. Not massive compared to some the big names, but credit where it’s due he has done well.

I can’t agree with the verbal assaults he or anyone else gives out when they lose, nor will I try to justify them. At my recent Poccer tournament, he was the only player not be clapped when he went out. What does that mean, if it helps build his image or character as a player, then maybe positive can be taken from it, but let’s be honest, we are not world famous players and you are more likely to open doors with a positive attitude than a negative one. I am not professing to try to be liked by everyone as that is impossible and most unlikely unprofitable! I do suggest though, that everyone has the right to sit down at a poker table and how they play is up to them. All you have to do is work them out and then how to take their chips!

I have met many other young poker players who believe that they are the next big thing, they are cocky, arrogant and so self assured, they honestly believe they are the best poker player in the world. This is not attractive to poker companies, the media or followers of the game, who see so many of these types of people.

Instead of typing expletives down the screen, work out what happened and why. If you genuinely could not have played it better, then that’s just unlucky and it was not to be. If you can learn from victory or defeat, then you are going to be in a much better position for the future.

Now who’s for a friendly game of Poker!
Take Care
ClintonO

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Wanted - Time Machine

How do I find more time in the day!

Its my only my second night on the tables in over a week, I really want to play more, but I just don't have the time.

So whats new, well the CPC is still priority 1, but I need to play more to get into the finals, will try and qualify tonight for Sundays final. Where are the Double Shootouts.

I have decided to try to qualify for as many as the Golden Cup Finals as possible. I have so far made it into finals 4, 6 and 8. Thats $960 worth of entry fees so far, would like to make them all if possible without having to buy in.

It was the 2nd Poccer Cup last weekend, which was a really enjoyable day for all involved.
The Ditch Six (a newly formed team) stole the show with a great performance.

From the feedback so far, the average rating for the day is 9/10, bettered only by Poccer customer service up at 9.5/10. This is always nice to see as we put a hell of a lot in to making this work.

I am putting everything into making this work, so lets hope it does. Was great to see Tony Chessa and Dave Colclough come along to see the event in action.

Please be sure to check out www.poccer.co.uk and look at getting involved when you can.

Hopefully I will be back later talking of some successes!
ClintonO