They say poker takes a moment to learn and a lifetime to master.

Well they ain't wrong, I've spent the last couple of years learning those lessons the hard way and I still mess up. I'm down a fair bit - nothing major when you average it out but down none the less - On the up side I've heard of people losing in a night what took me a year and a half. I look at it a paying for poker lessons - but boy I've paid for every one.

I've been chasing losses but I ain't gonna keep chucking good money after bad - This time I'm going to start small and build my bankroll up steadily and maybe get square eventually.

The only rule - Not to cash-up anymore than $ 44 per month, whatever happens thats my limit.
That should be every poker players Golden rule No.1 - dont bet more than you can afford to lose.

Hope this blog doesn't get a bit boring towards the end of the month but if I get skint and blow it - there's the freerolls and I can always tell you how www.4kingpoker.com is coming on.

Day 1 (4kingpoker.com launch -65 days) ... starting money ... $ 44

I've cashed up $44 a few days early at pokerroom.com my favourite poker site - (sign up at www.4kingpoker.com for bonus)
Got to stick to playing low stakes tournies for starters. There a bit wild and I much prefer the middle limits as the play is a bit more sensible but hey beggars cant be choosers, the WSOP will have to wait.

• $5+0.5 NL sit&go shorthanded ... 1st ... win $ 17.50 ... + $ 12

Nice easy game - played tight aggressive and got them folding left and right on fair odds semi bluffs - no stone cold bluffing thats for mugs - I manage to f**k up enough with a half decent hand let alone going in with nothin'

Off to do a quick job, get back time for a quick cuppa and then back online

signed up for the freeroll starting in 1 1/2hrs and decide to try the $1 lucky dollar as well - not done it before but seems like a good opportunity to improve my tournament play cheaply - but more of that later.

• $5+0.5 NL sit&go shorthanded ... 1st ... win $ 17.50 ... + $ 12

no major dramas until I got out drawn by a guy who had be stealing ever other hand, seen him chasing draws on low flush cards - picked the wrong hand to clash on and my top two pair got out drawn - s*** happens. Who was I kiddin anyway, by this stage there were still five in and I'm down to not much more than a few blinds... I'm still a muppet. Battled back - planned to be tighter than a nuns chuff, stay out of the action and hold on until 3 left and play for 2nd place ... ok so it only $2 profit but thats better than a 5 1/2 dollar loss. Anyway long story short end up getting most of the chips and made short work of the last two players. Great thing is the other guy figured I'd had all the luck - but I knew for a change I'd out played
'em ... better make the most of it 'cos it prob won't last - yeah I know its for chump change but it feels like my play and discipline have improved.

• $1 lucky dollar ... 657th out of 665 ... -$1

What a balls up lol, despite the terrible result I might take a regular look at this tournie. It's a dollar to enter with $ 500 dollars added so with 600+ players it pays out 70 places, pocket money of course other than final table, 1st is a handy $ 200

So what went wrong ... One hand and that was it, I was left with barely a chip and a chair. Sorry for the lack of a full hand history on this one but I never figured I have to write it up in detail, you'll see why in a min.
I'd been playing conservatively, with 600+ players to get through there was no point getting cavalier too early ...
yeah like who am I kidding I usually get sucked in like Yoda at a backwards talking competition ... hmm Play 72 off and win I will ...

then I got dealt something half decent

Ac 10c ... so put in a medium raise pre flop and got called - one behind and one infront.
flop came down ... spade 9s Ks
made the nut flush on the flop - sorted - now how to play it ?

Hotdog something or other (the guy before me) has been stealin & playin all sorts of crap but I figured that a check would seem more suspicious than a bet or a raise and they had all been calling / stealing so I figured I'd stir it up right there and then. Ive got beat on the river too many times slow playing a hand like this or got no cash out of it because everyone gets an attack of the "what if's"

so I bet the pot - make it look like im playin for a steal. The next guy sees it for what he thinks it is and calls and the next guy thinks the same and raises. By now theres enough in the pot for me to be happy to take the hand there and then - one of them might have half a hand like 2 pair or even trips and I aint in the mood for greedy and getting out drawn

so I all-in over the top on the flop ... call ... call ... they're both all-in (I had about 55 chips more than them)
and so in the same split second I'm happy (read cocky) - thinking to myself

" yeah nice play gettin' them to fill up the pot when you've got the nuts - Hellmuth eat your heart out, see you at the WSOP, whip your ass etc "

and sad

turn and the river came - and I had lost - to hotdog's Full House made on the river.

" 4king w%£&*er how the f*$£ did he go all-in on the flop with three spades on the board "

all I can remember is hotdog had called with a King rag neither of them spades - he really must have thought I was trying to buy the hand. Unbeliveable he had caught runner runner 9 K to make his full house. The other guy made two pair K's and 9's (what was on the board)

At times poker is a cruel cruel game - I was gutted

hotdog didnt even have the grace to say he got lucky, or more likely any idea just how unbelievably lucky he had been to make that hand. NB. anyone who can work out the odds, I'd love to know

The table was stunned and I was as good as out with 55ish chips left to play with. I hung around biting my lip but I just had to point out just how lucky the runt was ... I went out 657th.

• Freeroll $500 added ... 1101st out of 2400 ... Freeroll

made an ok start, trying to play tight and not too aggressive. But after a bit threw caution to the wind and went $780 all-in
with Qs Qc on the flop of 6s Kd 4s - a bit foolhardy with a king showing but I had a feeling and I had seen this guy bluffing and pushing people around - gut feelin proved right as he showed 5c 6c that pulled me up to $ 2380 and 102nd place after the first 10 mins.

downfall came 5 mins later on BB with 7s Qc I limped in - flop comes down 6c 7c Qh
figured I had the best of it (top 2 pair) - what a muppet. I didnt want to let anyone out draw me and make a flush (oh for a pair of xray specs) Ended up chasing a $ 2000 pot and re-raised him all-in anyone with a brain would have stop for a minute and figured him for what he had.

he turns over QQ ... nice play - sucked me in like the sucker I am. Now I'm down on my knackers

I keep foldin for the next 10 min until I see K K before I get to act two more have gone all-in before me - well if one of em's they got A A then fairplay but these is the best cards I'm gona see before Ive got nothin -

so I all-in my $ 120 and see what happens

1st guy shows 2d 3h ... clearly on the steal

2nd guy shows A 8

Figure I'm in good shape here and set for a triple through so long as we dont see an ace ...

board reads ... Qc 4d As 5d 10d

oh well the guy hit his ace - s*** no the idiot with 23 has taken it

the stealin dog makes a straight - You cant play for a lucky idiot and I finish 1101st - and I bet im not half as sick as the guy with A8.

cuppa and a ponder decide you cant help bad beats and jump into a

• $5+0.5 NL sit&go shorthanded ... 3rd ... loss $ 5.50 ... - $ 5.50

surprisingly very tight and aggressive game for a $5 table, money moving around but not much progress being made. By the time we're down to 3 my stack isnt in the best of shape but figure to sit tight as I'm not far behind the 2nd place bloke and he is up for action - let him hang himself. Not a great plan - got blinded away waiting for cards and he made progress
on the big stack. So I had to make a move and it didnt come off. Still there's always the next game

• $5+0.5 NL sit&go shorthanded ... 3rd ... loss $ 5.50 ... - $ 5.50

should have gone to bed - always listen when the little voice says " dont bother playing "

• day one $ 44 + $ 12.00 total $ 56.00 crap - but better up than down •


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