Hey Break a Leg!
No poker games tonight as originally planned, my wife broke her foot and this has thrown some complications into our routine. Poker will resume shortly.
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Wait for it...wait for it...
So I might not be able to actually play for a couple of days... my wife is still in a bunch of pain and not very mobile. The little ones are fighting summer colds and not sleeping well, so I don't want to start up a bunch of games and have to walk away when one of them wakes up crying.
I'll be using the next couple of days to study a little bit, and work on other hobbies that I can switch out of quickly if needed.
I finished Prim's blog and pages 30-40 were pretty good. I'll be looking for another blog to catch up on - preferably SnG, but anything with some good poker insight would be cool. If you have any recommendations, let me know please.
Accoring to the times you post, you must be from another continent than Europe ♠_biggrin: When you post in my blog it´s around 2 o clock a.m. at my place ♠_smile:.
I hope your wife gets well soon!
Originally posted by Primrose6789
Accoring to the times you post, you must be from another continent than Europe ♠_biggrin: When you post in my blog it´s around 2 o clock a.m. at my place ♠_smile:.I hope your wife gets well soon!
Yes, I'm in eastern Canada, which is absolutely amazing for just about everything but playing online poker (since black-friday anyway) as by the time I get on, everyone else is like... it's 2 o'clock in the morning... screw this I'm going to bed....
Originally posted by Primrose6789
*off topic* What´s the time shift? 8 hours?
Canada is quite a wide country so from east to west there is a 4.5 hour time difference (i.e. we have 6 time zones)...
I live in the east (New Brunswick), and it is currently -3 hours from GMT/UTC... From November to March we will be -4 hours from GMT/UTC. (switches due to daylight savings time in the summer).
BTW, thanks for the well wishes on my wife's foot... I like to joke that she broke it "kickin my ass"! 
HUD Changes
I took a small gamble last night and played a $1 game so I could play around with my HUD and try to get used to it again. I ended up putting some labels in temporarily to remind me what stats I am looking at. I had also been using some colour codes for various ranges, but I couldn't quite remember how to interpret the colours correctly so I worked on that as well. It will take some time, but I should be used to it again soon. One of the kids got up so I had to sit out and ended up finishing 4th... booooo!
Today is a vacation day going into a long weekend. We've decided not to go to the cottage due to my wife's foot and getting ready for school to start next week. I'll post a summary for the month of August later tonight.
hey man!
welcome back!
I just got back into poker after a 2 year hiatus myself 
I also play KO SNGS. I'm at the $1 6 max ko games right now.
Glad to see there's 1 of the old crew back
Originally posted by maythany
hey man!
welcome back!
I just got back into poker after a 2 year hiatus myself
I also play KO SNGS. I'm at the $1 6 max ko games right now.
Glad to see there's 1 of the old crew backMaythany!!!! How's it going bud?
What brought you back to poker? Welcome to the KO Club! I'm still playing 9-max... old dog trying to re-learn old tricks... isn't that how the saying goes?
We'll have to get talking strategy again and review some hands, maybe sit at a few tables again and you can get in my head and crush me like before!!!
First Month Back... First Monthly Report
August Report
Games Played: 31
ROI: -0.25%
ITM: 38.7 % (48.4% adjusted for bounties)
My first month back playing poker and it was a lot of fun. Of course, I hit the run-good for the first half of my games and felt like I was returning in fighting form... but then reality hit and I nose-dived for the remaining half of the games and I broke even for the month. (Well not really - considering I bought an ICMizer subscription, but we won't count that.)
It's been great studying the game again - reviewing hands, working on ranges, thinking about strategies. I really feel like time is going to be much more of a limiting factor for me this time around though - I just can't dedicate as much time to it as I did before. That's ok though, I just need to adjust my expectations to match.
For September my poker goals are:
:spade:play 50 games of $3 9-max KO
:heart:Review every session in ICMizer
:diamond:Memorize ranges again
:club:Get used to using a HUD again
:spade:Get used to multi-tabling again (currently 2 tables stacked, should be able to get back up to 12 or so eventually - if traffic allows)
My challenges will be:
:heart:Work travel - away for a week
:diamond:Cottage Travel - still nice weekends ahead so likely spending time at the cottage (no internet)
:club:Hobbies - my other hobbies are starting up again in September so I'll need to find the balance
Looking forward to the month!
Got to play a few games tonight and finished with a small profit... Overall I made some good decisions and a few poor ones.
I caught myself in one of my old bad habits - being the table sheriff... going after an aggro with a medium hand to teach him a lesson... the lesson is usually: your play style is working - keep it up and here is my bounty. I need to stop, play my game and wait for better opportunities.
Thought this was a pretty funny hand:
Poker Stars, $2.68 Buy-in (15/30 blinds, 4 ante) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 8 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.
SB: 4,397 (146.6 bb)
BB: 1,828 (60.9 bb)
UTG+2: 465 (15.5 bb)
MP1: 1,463 (48.8 bb)
MP2: 1,580 (52.7 bb)
MP3: 1,423 (47.4 bb)
CO: 931 (31 bb)
Hero (BTN): 1,413 (47.1 bb)
Preflop: Hero is BTN with K♣: K♦:
UTG+2 raises to 461 and is all-in, MP1 calls 461, MP2 calls 461, MP3 folds, CO calls 461, Hero raises to 1,409 and is all-in, 2 folds, MP1 calls 948, MP2 calls 948, CO calls 466 and is all-in
Like seriously people... what is with all the flat calls here? LOL
2 people flat for a 1/3 of their stack, and a third guy for 1/2 his stack... before it even gets to me... crazy.
Flop: (5,692) 6♠: T♥: J♦: (5 players, 3 are all-in)
MP1 bets 50 and is all-in, MP2 calls 50
Turn: (5,792) 8♥: (5 players, 4 are all-in)
River: (5,792) 7♥: (5 players, 4 are all-in)
Results:
Spoiler
5,792 pot
Final Board: 6♠: T♥: J♦: 8♥: 7♥:
UTG+2 showed 6♦: 9♦: and won 2,382 (1,917 net)
MP1 showed Q♠: J♥: and won 100 (-1,363 net)
MP2 showed Q♣: A♠: and lost (-1,463 net)
CO showed 5♣: 5♠: and lost (-931 net)
Hero showed K♣: K♦: and won 3,310 (1,897 net)
(UTG+2 went on to win the tourney - but he couldn't have done it without this pivotal hand!!!)
lol at the hand.
yeah ko bounties are so action packed it's amazing!
I read some posts ago about the lack of traffic 9 man ko sngs are getting for you.
Have you considered 6 max ko sngs? the tables fill up pretty quickly and it's just as action packed as others. I haven't checked the format but for 6 max it's top 2 get paid the same and bounties are $0.46 for each person for $1 games.
I'm playing without a hud and it's still profitable for me at $1.
Here's my graph so far:
it's not bad, but i probably shouldn't run my luck and start getting that hud going now :f_thumbsup::f_thumbsup:
with regards to my previous post, I got back into poker after watching tom dwan's return to poker after dark on youtube and it just revitalized my interest in poker again. I played around with spin & go's, zoom, and ko and found that SNG KO's are more interesting to me than zoom and spins.
My goal is to move from $1 ko sngs to $3 and then $7 games. I got a lot of other things that I do now outside of poker such as school, and work so I won't be able to dedicate as much time as I used to. Come to think of it, it's a good thing I can't dedicate as much time as I used to because I want to play recreationally with profit and nothing more than that.
Anyways, i'm off to the tables. Good to see you back!
Originally posted by maythany
I read some posts ago about the lack of traffic 9 man ko sngs are getting for you.
Have you considered 6 max ko sngs?
...
My goal is to move from $1 ko sngs to $3 and then $7 games.
Yeah, I think about it from time to time... I don't think I would want to mix them. I think I'm going to stick with 9-man for September and get used to playing again, then once I'm used to playing and studying again, I might take a month and try to adjust to 6-max play. The only thing that concerns me about 6-max is that they seem to only be hyper-turbo games... that frustrates me. Turbo is more my speed.
The KO games used to mirror the progression of the non-KO games, but now it looks like they go $1, $3, $5, $10, $25... strange...
Hand Review Session
Hand 1: Fullhouse vs min-bet on turn...
Poker Stars, $2.68 Buy-in (25/50 blinds, 6 ante) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.
Hero (SB): 3,422 (68.4 bb)
BB: 1,499 (30 bb)
UTG: 1,753 (35.1 bb)
MP: 3,892 (77.8 bb)
CO: 1,545 (30.9 bb)
BTN: 1,389 (27.8 bb)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 5♥: 2♥:
UTG calls 50, MP calls 50, CO calls 50, BTN calls 50, Hero completes, BB checks
Blinds are low relative to my stack and lots of money already in pot - let's see a cheap flop...
Flop: (336) 2♠: 2♣: 9♥: (6 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP checks, CO checks, BTN checks
hmmm... nice flop. Let's check-raise the poor guy who makes a stab at this one... wait no one... ?
Turn: (336) 9♠: (6 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG bets 50, 3 folds, Hero ?
Spoiler
I folded...
Hand 2: Horrible shove
Poker Stars, $2.68 Buy-in (80/160 blinds, 20 ante) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 4 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.
SB: 3,292 (20.6 bb)
BB: 3,395 (21.2 bb)
Hero (CO): 5,315 (33.2 bb)
BTN: 1,498 (9.4 bb)
Preflop: Hero is CO with 2♣: 2♠:
Hero calls 160, 2 folds, BB raises to 640, Hero raises to 5,295 and is all-in, BB calls 2,735 and is all-in
Results:
Spoiler
He had KK and his hand held... I had no business shoving here against his large bet... a case of me playing table-sheriff?
Hand 3: It's not about the cards...
Poker Stars, $2.68 Buy-in (80/160 blinds, 20 ante) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 3 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.
Hero (SB): 1,920 (12 bb)
BB: 998 (6.2 bb)
BTN: 10,582 (66.1 bb)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 9♠: 4♥:
2 folds
Results:
Spoiler
220 pot
BB mucked and won 220 (120 net)
I need to shove ATC here against short-stack...
Hand 4: It's not how short your are, it's how short shorty is...
Poker Stars, $2.68 Buy-in (100/200 blinds, 25 ante) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 3 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.
SB: 11,282 (56.4 bb)
Hero (BB): 1,432 (7.2 bb)
BTN: 786 (3.9 bb)
Preflop: Hero is BB with K♦: J♠:
BTN folds, SB raises to 11,257 and is all-in, Hero calls 1,207 and is all-in
Flop: (2,889) 3♥: 4♦: 5♦: (2 players, 2 are all-in)
Turn: (2,889) T♣: (2 players, 2 are all-in)
River: (2,889) 7♦: (2 players, 2 are all-in)
Results:
Spoiler
2,889 pot
Final Board: 3♥: 4♦: 5♦: T♣: 7♦:
SB showed Q♠: A♠: and won 2,889 (1,457 net)
Hero showed K♦: J♠: and lost (-1,432 net)
Small Blind with the HUGE stack should be shoving ATC, but based on his play he would shove at most here 47%... which makes my call even worse.
Poker Holiday
Just decided to do a quick update... I've got about 20% of my games in for the month and completed a few session reviews, but I've been away on that work trip and weekends at the cottage, so it has been a struggle. This week, I am focusing on another hobby. So it looks like the grind won't really start until Monday next week.
See you next week!
I'm Baaaack!!!
Well, what can I say? That was a hell of a long holiday, but I got hooked on some new hobbies and even though I occasionally played a few games of poker, it just wasn't the right time to dive back into it.
But now it is!!!
This past month I started playing some Sit & Go's again and had some fun, but I was reminded how much the games have dried up the past few years, especially around the time of day that I like to play. It's a shame because Sit & Go's and the Knock-out STT's were a lot of fun to play and study. Unfortunately, the thought of putting all that effort into getting my game back-in-shape again just didn't seem worth it for such limited opportunities to play.
I always felt the weakest part of my game was post-flop play (pretty common for single-table tournament players), and decided to start playing cash games to work on my post-flop play. I quickly found out, I have no idea what I'm doing, and I love it!
I've been studying a bit... learning some opening, calling, 3-bet (and 4-bet) ranges. Starting to get a very early appreciation for thinking more about how opponent ranges hit on various board textures and how to proceed with my hand. It's been a lot of fun and I can see I'll have a ton to study and learn going forward. Did I mention I love to study this game - just as much as playing?
I haven't played that many hands, but here's my summary to date:
6-Max NL2
1009 hands
14.52 bb/100
(I think I remember reading you need something like 100,000 hands to get a reliable bb/100 estimate, so I'm taking that win-rate with a grain of salt and not looking to move up yet. I'm still trying to get a handle on ranges and such anyways...)
... and a Bonus MTT
I also had a free $11 entry-fee to the Poker Stars Blow-Out $2 Million tournament today, and was happy to finish around 8000 / 220,000 players for about a $50 cash-out. (There was a lot of sit-outs registered). I lost an all-in pre-flop with JJ vs AKo, but that's the game.
Glad to be back and playing again. I'll likely be posting updates here about interesting things I come across as I play and study this game. I'm always happy to hear insights or commentary from other players so feel free to leave a comment.
Originally posted by Ramble
... and a Bonus MTT
I also had a free $11 entry-fee to the Poker Stars Blow-Out $2 Million tournament today, and was happy to finish around 8000 / 220,000 players for about a $50 cash-out. (There was a lot of sit-outs registered). I lost an all-in pre-flop with JJ vs AKo, but that's the game.Glad to be back and playing again. I'll likely be posting updates here about interesting things I come across as I play and study this game. I'm always happy to hear insights or commentary from other players so feel free to leave a comment.
Hey, Ramble
Welcome back to PokerStrategy.com! 
50 bucks for free is pretty good.
...wishing you the very best for a peaceful, prosperous 2021,
VS
Hellooooo MR Ramble,
Great to hear from you mate. I just got an email notification and had to reply. I've not been on here for ages too but plan on updating soon as lots has been happening.
John
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Hey, Ramble
Welcome back to PokerStrategy.com!50 bucks for free is pretty good.
...wishing you the very best for a peaceful, prosperous 2021,
Thanks Vorpal! Glad to be back and studying this game again.
If I remember right, I believe you are on the west coast of Canada? I'm on the east coast, and we got some good snowfall today (about 30 cm I suspect by the time it stops). Good start to the New Year! Wish you a great year on and off the tables!
Originally posted by zachrina
Hellooooo MR Ramble,Great to hear from you mate. I just got an email notification and had to reply. I've not been on here for ages too but plan on updating soon as lots has been happening.
John
I'm glad you took the time to jump on and check it out, nice to see some friendly faces around here. Really looking forward to reading an update on your page soon! Happy New Year bud!
Originally posted by Ramble
Thanks Vorpal! Glad to be back and studying this game again.If I remember right, I believe you are on the west coast of Canada? I'm on the east coast, and we got some good snowfall today (about 30 cm I suspect by the time it stops). Good start to the New Year!
Yes I'm on the wet coast -- about 40km E of Vancouver.
Snowfall -- I've heard of this.
I thought it was something that Calgarians looked after on our behalf.
Cheers,
VS