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mangosteenLast night, I entered a poker tournament online, and decided to log my
progress as I was playing. This was not actually all that hard to do,
although I started getting short on cycles as things progressed.
25 October 2004, 10pm
UltimateBet 10+1 No-Limit Hold-'em
20k guaranteed prize pool w/ rebuy.
1st pays $8,652.
90 places pay.
1225 players started with T1000 each. Unlimited rebuys ($10 for an
additional T1000, if you're below T1000) through the first hour, with
an optional add-on (also $10 for T1000) at the end of the first hour.
levels 1-2: Tight as tight can be. Really. Limped a couple of times,
folded all of them. Really.
level 3: Got a wired pair of tens, and played the hell out of it. No
one even saw a turn when the board came out all clubs. That's about
all I got, but it at least kept me close to the average chip count.
Things got more interesting once the rebuy period ended.
level 4: Finally, some poker! A6o in late position, with two limpers.
I raised to 2xBB preflop and the limpers called. Flop comes J68 with
two hearts. I raise T240, and get called. At this point, I've put
him on the flush draw. Turn comes 9c. I bet the pot (~T800), and get
one caller. My stack is down to T200 at this point. River is a rag
of spades. He checks, so do I. Turns out he had A3 of hearts, and
just held on for the flush draw, figuring that worse came to worse,
he'd win with high card. I took down a T2400 pot, and was back in
business.
level 5: Split a big pot 3 ways, when I held A5s, and the board had
KQJTx. I also parlayed K4o into a nice win when someone paid me off
on a busted straigt draw, and a 4 appeard on the board.
1st break: 886 players remaining. I'm tied for 363rd place (sorry,
people just added on. 550th.), with T2785. I have not had to rebuy,
and I turned down the add-on option, as it really wouldn't buy me much
at this point.
level 6: The blind structure is now 50-100. As expected, people are
beginning to drop pretty quickly. People are getting a bit panicky as
they adjust to the higher blind structure, and start playing a bit
looser to beef up their stack. This results in people going all-in on a
pair of tens. It amuses me. Just heard someone say they did 8 rebuys.
level 7: 791 players, blinds are 75-150. This starts to be a
significant chunk of a stack, but the tables are balanced to have 10
people each, so you don't get blinded off as quickly as it would seem.
Committed myself with a pair of nines, and won a T5000 pot against
someone on a busted straight draw, which put me above the average
stack size for the first time in the tourney.
level 8: 663 players, blinds are 100-200. Nothing really of note,
but people are *really* tightening up. I've stolen some blinds here
and there, but nothing more interesting than that.
level 9: 514, 150-300: We now come to the part of the game where you
don't actually get to only play premium hands. I'm currently at
T4845. Note that the current blind structure means that bets are in
incrmements of 300. This is the farthest along I've ever been in a
large multi-table tourney. Yes, there is that "playing with the big
boys" feeling.
level 10: 430, 150-300 blinds + 25 ante. I've definitely never gotten
to the "ante" levels of a No-Limit Hold-'Em tourney before. The time
pressure begins. Tick. Tick. Tick. Every hand is 25 out of your
stack, whether you're dealt crap or not. The last three hands have
been desperation all-ins, as people feel the clock beating down on
them. I just sucked out on a guy to get a flush with four clubs on
the board on what was a coin flip, so I'll consider that my "bizarre
luck" of the game.
Observation: At some point, you do just have to get a
little lucky, in a tournament with this many people. All the crafty
play in the world won't help you if your opponent has better cards,
and knows it.
2nd break: 350 players remaining. After a moment before that had me
hyperventilating like a Red Sox playoff game, I was up to T9400. The game
has changed, a lot. It has gotten a lot more aggressive, mostly due
to the higher skill of the players, and the time pressure of the blind
+ ante structure.
level 11: 200-400+50. The ticking sound is just going to get louder
from here on out. It costs me 1100 chips to see an orbit (i.e. 10
hands. all the way around the table) at this point. Not much doing
right now. I have some time, so I'm going to take it.
level 12: 251 players, 300-600+75. 1650 per orbit. Nothing
interesting. Crap cards, and some good folds. That is to say, I
played very well, and that meant folding.
level 13: 201, 400-800+100. 2200/orbit. The clock keeps ticking, but
blind-stealing is much more profitable due to the antes. This has
allowed me to keep my head above water. I'm sure that if I plotted
players vs. time on a curve I'd end up with an interesting slope
around now, as the blinds creep up at a speed that's very quick
relative to the size of the average stack.
level 14: 154, 600-1200+125. 3050/orbit. I got dealt QTs, pushed in
against the short stack at the table, got called, and lost to K9 when
a K showed on the flop. Next hand I got dealt QTs again, pushed in
against a larger stack, and doubled up when I hit two queens on the
flop. It was approximately a wash.
Definition: The Bubble, (n.) 1. The finishing place in a
tournament that is one place below where people receive money for
their efforts. For example, in this tournament, that would have been
91st place.
At this point, I was staring right at the bubble, and was constantly
amazed that I was even close. Think about it. You're playing in a
tourney against 1224 people, and you're actually about to get some
money out of the deal, after outlasting 90% of the field. That has to
say something for your abilities. Validation and money, rolled up
into one warm and fuzzy and profitable package.
level 15: 113, 800-1600+150. 3900/orbit. People are *really*
beginning to drop like flies, as everyone plays a lot looser to get
enough chips to make it into the money. I was consistently dealt
nothing, got chipped down to T3785, and had to make a stand with A2s.
I pushed all-in preflop with three callers, flop came 8-7-2, and
someone turned up an A7. I was knocked out in 100th place, 3 hours
and 27 minutes after starting.
The math works out to $0 winnings, minus $11 in tournament entry fees;
so an $11 loss. That is to say, I lost as much money as the guy who
went out in 1225th place, though possibly less if they re-bought at
any time.
However, I made it to the top 10% of the field, in a $10 tourney, with
1225 players, without a single rebuy or add-on. I think I'll declare
that to be a "good start".
What would I have done differently? I would have liked better cards,
but there's not much I can do about that. In all seriousness, I
think I would have played more aggressively at the beginning, even if
it meant promising myself a single rebuy. Chips beget chips, and
being able to push people around when you have a larger stack is one
time-honored way of building a stack. In addition, it would have
allowed me to bide my time at the later levels, and possibly make it
into the money.
Other than that, I played tight, I played strong, and I did well.
Now, it's time to get a little bit better.
Summary:
Total Players: 1225
Buy-in: $11
Finishing Place: 100
Winnings: $0
Net Profit (Loss): ($11)
progress as I was playing. This was not actually all that hard to do,
although I started getting short on cycles as things progressed.
25 October 2004, 10pm
UltimateBet 10+1 No-Limit Hold-'em
20k guaranteed prize pool w/ rebuy.
1st pays $8,652.
90 places pay.
1225 players started with T1000 each. Unlimited rebuys ($10 for an
additional T1000, if you're below T1000) through the first hour, with
an optional add-on (also $10 for T1000) at the end of the first hour.
levels 1-2: Tight as tight can be. Really. Limped a couple of times,
folded all of them. Really.
level 3: Got a wired pair of tens, and played the hell out of it. No
one even saw a turn when the board came out all clubs. That's about
all I got, but it at least kept me close to the average chip count.
Things got more interesting once the rebuy period ended.
level 4: Finally, some poker! A6o in late position, with two limpers.
I raised to 2xBB preflop and the limpers called. Flop comes J68 with
two hearts. I raise T240, and get called. At this point, I've put
him on the flush draw. Turn comes 9c. I bet the pot (~T800), and get
one caller. My stack is down to T200 at this point. River is a rag
of spades. He checks, so do I. Turns out he had A3 of hearts, and
just held on for the flush draw, figuring that worse came to worse,
he'd win with high card. I took down a T2400 pot, and was back in
business.
level 5: Split a big pot 3 ways, when I held A5s, and the board had
KQJTx. I also parlayed K4o into a nice win when someone paid me off
on a busted straigt draw, and a 4 appeard on the board.
1st break: 886 players remaining. I'm tied for 363rd place (sorry,
people just added on. 550th.), with T2785. I have not had to rebuy,
and I turned down the add-on option, as it really wouldn't buy me much
at this point.
level 6: The blind structure is now 50-100. As expected, people are
beginning to drop pretty quickly. People are getting a bit panicky as
they adjust to the higher blind structure, and start playing a bit
looser to beef up their stack. This results in people going all-in on a
pair of tens. It amuses me. Just heard someone say they did 8 rebuys.
level 7: 791 players, blinds are 75-150. This starts to be a
significant chunk of a stack, but the tables are balanced to have 10
people each, so you don't get blinded off as quickly as it would seem.
Committed myself with a pair of nines, and won a T5000 pot against
someone on a busted straight draw, which put me above the average
stack size for the first time in the tourney.
level 8: 663 players, blinds are 100-200. Nothing really of note,
but people are *really* tightening up. I've stolen some blinds here
and there, but nothing more interesting than that.
level 9: 514, 150-300: We now come to the part of the game where you
don't actually get to only play premium hands. I'm currently at
T4845. Note that the current blind structure means that bets are in
incrmements of 300. This is the farthest along I've ever been in a
large multi-table tourney. Yes, there is that "playing with the big
boys" feeling.
level 10: 430, 150-300 blinds + 25 ante. I've definitely never gotten
to the "ante" levels of a No-Limit Hold-'Em tourney before. The time
pressure begins. Tick. Tick. Tick. Every hand is 25 out of your
stack, whether you're dealt crap or not. The last three hands have
been desperation all-ins, as people feel the clock beating down on
them. I just sucked out on a guy to get a flush with four clubs on
the board on what was a coin flip, so I'll consider that my "bizarre
luck" of the game.
Observation: At some point, you do just have to get a
little lucky, in a tournament with this many people. All the crafty
play in the world won't help you if your opponent has better cards,
and knows it.
2nd break: 350 players remaining. After a moment before that had me
hyperventilating like a Red Sox playoff game, I was up to T9400. The game
has changed, a lot. It has gotten a lot more aggressive, mostly due
to the higher skill of the players, and the time pressure of the blind
+ ante structure.
level 11: 200-400+50. The ticking sound is just going to get louder
from here on out. It costs me 1100 chips to see an orbit (i.e. 10
hands. all the way around the table) at this point. Not much doing
right now. I have some time, so I'm going to take it.
level 12: 251 players, 300-600+75. 1650 per orbit. Nothing
interesting. Crap cards, and some good folds. That is to say, I
played very well, and that meant folding.
level 13: 201, 400-800+100. 2200/orbit. The clock keeps ticking, but
blind-stealing is much more profitable due to the antes. This has
allowed me to keep my head above water. I'm sure that if I plotted
players vs. time on a curve I'd end up with an interesting slope
around now, as the blinds creep up at a speed that's very quick
relative to the size of the average stack.
level 14: 154, 600-1200+125. 3050/orbit. I got dealt QTs, pushed in
against the short stack at the table, got called, and lost to K9 when
a K showed on the flop. Next hand I got dealt QTs again, pushed in
against a larger stack, and doubled up when I hit two queens on the
flop. It was approximately a wash.
Definition: The Bubble, (n.) 1. The finishing place in a
tournament that is one place below where people receive money for
their efforts. For example, in this tournament, that would have been
91st place.
At this point, I was staring right at the bubble, and was constantly
amazed that I was even close. Think about it. You're playing in a
tourney against 1224 people, and you're actually about to get some
money out of the deal, after outlasting 90% of the field. That has to
say something for your abilities. Validation and money, rolled up
into one warm and fuzzy and profitable package.
level 15: 113, 800-1600+150. 3900/orbit. People are *really*
beginning to drop like flies, as everyone plays a lot looser to get
enough chips to make it into the money. I was consistently dealt
nothing, got chipped down to T3785, and had to make a stand with A2s.
I pushed all-in preflop with three callers, flop came 8-7-2, and
someone turned up an A7. I was knocked out in 100th place, 3 hours
and 27 minutes after starting.
The math works out to $0 winnings, minus $11 in tournament entry fees;
so an $11 loss. That is to say, I lost as much money as the guy who
went out in 1225th place, though possibly less if they re-bought at
any time.
However, I made it to the top 10% of the field, in a $10 tourney, with
1225 players, without a single rebuy or add-on. I think I'll declare
that to be a "good start".
What would I have done differently? I would have liked better cards,
but there's not much I can do about that. In all seriousness, I
think I would have played more aggressively at the beginning, even if
it meant promising myself a single rebuy. Chips beget chips, and
being able to push people around when you have a larger stack is one
time-honored way of building a stack. In addition, it would have
allowed me to bide my time at the later levels, and possibly make it
into the money.
Other than that, I played tight, I played strong, and I did well.
Now, it's time to get a little bit better.
Summary:
Total Players: 1225
Buy-in: $11
Finishing Place: 100
Winnings: $0
Net Profit (Loss): ($11)
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no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 01:26 pm (UTC)It's been somewhat amusing, they've been showing poker on late-night five (one of the TV channels). I think it's the WorldPoker.com euro championship.
Lots of psychology happening and it's been somewhat interesting to see that all-out has (mostly) ended up with the initial all-outer having to leave the table.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 02:29 pm (UTC)Was it the one at the Aviation Club du France? If so, I watched that one the other day. Funny how a million euros doesn't look like all that much money, when it's stacked at 500 euro notes.
Lots of psychology happening and it's been somewhat interesting to see that all-out has (mostly) ended up with the initial all-outer having to leave the table.
Well, keep in mind that they're not showing all of the hands by any stretch of the imagination. They're televising maybe 20% of them, because there are a lot of single-raise-everyone-folds hands. So, they televise the most dramatic all-ins, the more interesting hands, and the toughest calls.
Limit hold'em is all about the math. No-limit hold-em is some math, and a whole lot of psychological warfare, laid out as:
- What your chances are.
- What you think your opponent has.
- What you want your opponent to think you have.
In is necessary, but not sufficient, to understand the math in no-limit hold-em.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-28 02:17 am (UTC)Poker addicts should make sure they catch a rerun of the American Poker Championship at Turning Stone.... it'll be on fox sports. They *LIVE* televised the *entire* final table. Very very cool.... although the amateur they kept talking about is actually a little know professional - he'd made the final table at one of the WPT events last year as well as at Turning Stone.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-28 02:19 am (UTC)- what does your opponent think you think he thinks you have
- what does your opponent think you think he has
etc etc etc
Do try not to over think it though - once you've been playing a while, your instincts should get pretty good and automatic :)
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 02:23 pm (UTC)Suggestions?
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 02:39 pm (UTC)The site is well put-together, they spread a wide selection of games and stakes, and I really like their interface. IMO, it has the best UI of any of the poker sites at which I've played.
You're going to find automatic "calling stations" at any of the smaller limit games. I've found that they're beginning to shake out at the $1/$2 limit tables.
If you're interested in joining, tell me. There's a referral bonus in it for me. :)
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 02:28 pm (UTC)How long was the tourney? were the rounds evenly timed/long?
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 02:34 pm (UTC)I was knocked out at the 3h27m mark. There is a (very) loose positive correlation between the number of players and how long any tournament will take to complete. It's more tied to the blind structure than anything else. To wit, I was virtually standing over someone's shoulder in a tournament last night, which had 149 players, and took about 2h30m to finish. Tournament completion is more about the blind structure than the amount of players.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 03:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 03:52 pm (UTC)That being said, I might actually try to figure it out anyway.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 04:52 pm (UTC)oh, I dig the new icon. Presto!!
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 05:48 pm (UTC)The 2 important messages
Date: 2004-10-27 06:12 pm (UTC)- chips chips and chips. If you can get yourself into a dominant position over your table (forget how the other tables are shaping), you can run over shorter stacks *ESPECIALLY* close to the button when everyone is desperately holding on for the money
- The hand you busted out on was the right move at the wrong time. It was a somewhat loose call by A7, but he probably read you for "any Ace" (you didn't have enough left for a full round so you were pretty much forced to play before the blinds came around), so A7 puts him in relatively good shape.
One other thing to consider... you played a really strong, tight game. Once you get to later levels, you can capitalise off your tight image with a few more plays at the pot, rather than getting chipped away down to a point where you are going to be read for "any ace".
Sometimes that means you will bust out further away from the money, more often (especially against better players!) you'll get enough chips to push yourself well past the bubble.
Anyway, keep improving your play at this rate, and we'll be seeing you on TV soon :) (just don't beat me there!)
no subject
Date: 2004-10-29 06:36 pm (UTC)I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I am contemplating trying an online tournament out, myself, but find it a curiosity since I have only ever played against my computer.