A DOG'S LIFE

[Newportlad]

Nicely done Snoops

[HarlemShuffle]

Do you regret giving up work yet???

[matt674]

Similarly, Jen played a whole pound for a single banana. It must have been hand picked that morning from a Caribbean banana tree. I’m just relieved we didn’t order a bunch. Imagine the price of a pineapple! 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

How F***ing much?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 
 
 
 
 
 

<note to self - do not play EPT Copenhagen qualifiers on stars next year>

[snoopy1239]

COPENHAGEN #3


Well, I’ve been back for a couple of days now and I still can’t get over how long that final table was. Whenever someone went all-in, they won! As exhausted updaters, that can be so demoralising. Also, every hand seemed to go raise, all-in, fold. This happened on countless occasions and goes some distance to explain how it took 10 hours to whittle 8 players down to 1. I even recall Big TK looking at his watch and shaking his head. Good Lord, he must get bored directing all these tournaments.

Speaking of TK, he’s become ever so dreary recently. I almost drifted off listening to him announce the final table. ‘Fold, fold, fold, raise, fold, fold. Scandieboy wins the pot. Fold, fold, fold…’ and so and so on and so on. He must be suicidal by the end! 

He’s certainly dapper though. It was boiling at the end yet he still had his suit jacket on. Reminded me of a Lee Evans show but without all the sweat. His suit didn’t have one crease and he wore a matching tie and hanky. Smooooooooooth. I think he could be the new Des Lynam. 

Anyhow, back to the EPT. True, the final was a marathon, but overall, I’m pleased that it was because it means that the structure was good. I heard absolutely no complaints about blinds, clocks, etc, only praise. Therefore, we can’t possibly moan that it was too long. There was plenty of poker to be played and plenty of poker was played. Sounds great to me.

The two finalists deserved to be there, no doubt about that. Both Mads Andersen and Edgar Skjevold are top class players armed with all the moves. I can’t wait to see that Heads Up confrontation on the box. I’m sure there were some outrageous, but well timed, bluffs being played. I was extremely impressed.

One interesting story was that with about 20 competitors left, this Danish journalist came up to me and claimed that Edgar was going to win. I disagreed and suggested that Mads was going to be lifting the trophy. So, he said put your money where your mouth is and accept a small alcoholic wager. I agreed in a shot, even though I was offered 1-2 as a result of Mads’ larger stack. Well, Mads won, but I’m still thirsty. Yep, the bugger scarpered at the end. What a rascal. But it was good that my pick won.

It was a shame that there were so few British participants though. Of course, Ram, Julian, and Bad Girl should be applauded for their cash finishes. Also, a young lad named Thomas Grundy made it quite far. I don’t know too much about him, but I think he deserves a mention. Oh, and before I forget, my apologies to Blondeites doubleup and SuffolkPunch. I’m rubbish with faces and I’m sorry that I didn’t realise you were there. I managed to have a brief chat with Simon Young (SuffolkPunch) after his exit, but he was clearly devastated and not really in the mood to talk. I bet he enjoyed his TV interview with the stunner from PokerStars though. Hubba hubba. Down boy! 

What I’d love to do for future EPT updates is perhaps allow someone to select a random player, maybe the one with the most ridiculous name. Then Jen and I could follow this guy intently and see how he gets on. A photo, maybe an interview, anything to give us someone to follow when the familiar names fall. We could make him our stand-in Blondeite, against his will! Could be fun.

Probably the most surreal thing about my trip was that I didn’t once step foot outside of the Radisson hotel until it was time to catch my plane. I’d been in this picturesque country for five days and lived pretty much as a hermit. It felt like a wasted opportunity really, but I was so engrossed in the tournament that it didn’t really bother me until now. Ah well, perhaps I’ll be given a chance to return next year, because it seemed like a lovely place. The view from my hotel window was incredible. 

I’m back in good ol’ Brum now, back to the normal routine. Wake up at 9, shower, breakfast, pint of water, then hit the online poker for a couple of hours. Win or lose, I stop around 12, do some writing, then give it another shot in the early evening, perhaps another session before bed. Yep, back to the somewhat repetitive lifestyle that life in England can bring, but I’m not moaning, not one bit. I’ve just come back from Copenhagen after a great 5 days of poker, poker, and more poker.

The online lifestyle still feels fresh and I’m glad that it does because so many people were saying that I’d be bored within days. It’s still early days, but I predict that I’ll still be enjoying life this time next year.

It’s what you make it in the end, it really is…

snoops snoopy

[gatso]

COPENHAGEN #3


What I’d love to do for future EPT updates is perhaps allow someone to select a random player, maybe the one with the most ridiculous name. Then Jen and I could follow this guy intently and see how he gets on. A photo, maybe an interview, anything to give us someone to follow when the familiar names fall. We could make him our stand-in Blondeite, against his will! Could be fun.

Great idea Snoops but be prepared for failure. Just as day 1 of the main event was kicking off at Luton me and Heid came across the name Woody Deck, fantastic we think, must track him down, get a photo, see how he's going.
Unfortunately before we've even finished posting the table listings news comes from Dingbell  that we've well and truly bokked him and he's casualty number 1.
Back to the drawing board. Selection number 2 Mo Kazi did somewhat better.

[snoopy1239]

COPENHAGEN #3


What I’d love to do for future EPT updates is perhaps allow someone to select a random player, maybe the one with the most ridiculous name. Then Jen and I could follow this guy intently and see how he gets on. A photo, maybe an interview, anything to give us someone to follow when the familiar names fall. We could make him our stand-in Blondeite, against his will! Could be fun.

Great idea Snoops but be prepared for failure. Just as day 1 of the main event was kicking off at Luton me and Heid came across the name Woody Deck, fantastic we think, must track him down, get a photo, see how he's going.
Unfortunately before we've even finished posting the table listings news comes from Dingbell  that we've well and truly bokked him and he's casualty number 1.
Back to the drawing board. Selection number 2 Mo Kazi did somewhat better.

 

It's just an idea at the moment. It hasn't gone any further than my 2 brain cells.

It's just that it can be hard to maintain interest in a comp when there are so few familiar faces involved.

[snoopy1239]

MONTHLY REVIEW: JANUARY


For those of you still following my progress, here are the results of my second month in the game:


-- Live --

Comps = 9
Freezouts = 5
STTs = 2
HU = 2

Total Buy-In Cost = £417.50
Total Registration Fee Cost = £25
Total Prize Winnings = £523

Net Live Profit = £80.50


-- Online --

Multi Comps = 7
STTs = 3
Profit = -£187.36

Cash Game Sessions = 26
Hours Played = 2217 mins (~37 hrs)
Average Session Length = 85 mins (1hr 25mins)
Longest Session = 213 mins (3hrs 33mins)
Shortest Session = 27 mins
Most Profitable Session = $812.57
Most Costly Session = -$1220.97
Biggest Pot Won = $949.40
Biggest Pot Lost = $510.50

Cash Game Profit = $2088.93
            = £1174.25
Hourly Income = £31.74/hr

Net Online Profit = £986.89


--------------

Total Monthly Profit = £1067.39

-- Running Total = £3913.39 --

It’s not an incredible amount, but I’m still happy to have earned a grand. It’s important not to get too greedy as that’s when you start to push your hands too hard. It maybe almost two grand less than last month’s accomplishments, but I must take into account my lack of a festival appearance and the considerable knock I took on the first day of the month. I dropped well over a grand right off the bat, and, if it hadn’t been for such a poor opening, the final figures would have looked very tasty indeed.

The important thing is that I realised my downfalls and corrected them in time. Many thanks must go to Blondeite Matt674 for pointing out my failures and suggesting that it was because of poor play as opposed to bad luck. I’d realised just in time, but sometimes having someone else clarify the negatives for you is a big plus.

The key here is that I’m still winning, and making a sum that is enough to live on, which was one of the initial challenges of my venture.


(i)   Live Performance

I really haven’t played enough live events this month. I fully intend to attend the Gala more frequently for three reasons:

·   It’s great fun.
·   They have a broad selection of games and seem to be steering away from the chip throwing contests.
·   I have a good record there. Excluding my most recent visit, my last 3 finishes have been 1st, 3rd, and 2nd.

Although it went to a chip count, I was overjoyed to have won the £30 freezout a week or two ago. It may be there smallest competition to date, but it’s still nice to beat 65 other opponents, whatever you’re playing for. Most importantly though, I played well. I made the final table twice at the Gala with the biggest chip count. That’s a major progression for me as I frequently crawl into the final ten, often finding myself forced to wait for premium hands only.

The Gala have a £50 double chance freezout on Thursdays. Assuming it’s on tomorrow, I plan to pop down and give it a shot. Good to see some proper poker being encouraged.


(ii)    Online Performance

My net profit may be down from last month, but my online success has improved by a few hundred squid. Assuming that it’s not a result of luck, what are the reasons for this improvement?

·   After 3 consecutive days of severe losses, I stepped back and took a long hard look at my game. I referred to a few books and enquired with a number of fellow players. Finally, I realised that I was putting too much blame on Lady Luck. The clear fact was that I was playing poorly. Too many preflop raises, bluffing when I knew opponent’s wouldn’t fold, chasing flushes, you know, the usual. Anyhow, the bottom line was that I was trying too hard to hit a profit, when really patience was the key.
·   I’m now playing in the mornings rather than the evenings when I was more fatigued and up against slightly stronger competition.
·   I’m leaving games when I can see the standard improving and my quality of play weakening.

Let’s just hope that I can carry these characteristics through to February and perhaps pick up a few more. I’ve always got to be looking to improve my game. Once I stop learning, then that’s when my experiment will begin to go downhill.


(iii)    Changes

Eek. This is scary. Right, heading back now to see what I said last month, hands partly over my eyes.

(1)   Be more selective in my preflop raising
(2)   Refrain from titling whatsoever
(3)   Don’t play too long and quit when I’m tired
(4)   Assure plenty of breaks are taken
(5)   Not chase losses or unattainable targets.

With the exception of the opening day, I’m confident that I have achieved these changes. My online game is in pretty good nick at the moment, and I reckon it’s because I have made the necessary alterations highlighted above. What has been noticeable is the lack of a ‘clawback’ session, which is a big relief.

I definitely want to get myself fit and healthy again. I’m down to 9.5 stone, which is pretty light for me considering I was 11.5 at one stage.. I recall preaching in an earlier post, ‘Healthy body means healthy mind.’ Well, I still stand by that cliché and I fully intend to put it into practice over the next 4 weeks. Before you know it, I’ll be an Olympic athlete!

Er… No one’s perfect!

One second, I’ll just go weigh myself.

Hmm, apparently I weigh ‘BATT’.

Anyway, I feel pretty good and I’m eating okay. Plenty of water, the odd fruit now and then. Plus, I’m regularly serving up a bit of brekkie – ‘The most important meal of the day’ don’t you know!

I may have to confess that I’m still a short distance away from being an Olympic athlete. To tell the truth, I’m a good few furlongs away from being anything except a lazy unfit git.

Having said that though, I did go on a run the other night. Good Lord was that an experience. I started off comfortably, striding down the road like Seb Coe, then, suddenly, I realised that I was snoops, not an Olympian. After just about a 100 yards, I felt my legs start to ache and my throat pleading for air. 24 and out of breath so soon, the shame! I hope this is just me being unfit rather than old. (I never thought I’d be in a situation where I’m deciding on whether I’m unfit or getting old.) 

Anyhow, whilst looking rather pathetic, I decided to battle on. In the distance I spotted what appeared to be a couple of young ladies. What did I do? And I’m ashamed to admit it. Yep, I picked up the pace, so as to avoid looking like a complete loser. I mean, I must have looked a right state; breathing heavily, dragging my feet, runny nose, sheesh – I’d scare them to death. 

So, I pushed my chest out and ran a bit faster as if I was a pro training for a marathon. As I got closer I realised that they were fellas! I need my bloomin eyes testing. What a waste of a sudden burst of pace that was! I was bloomin knackered when I ran past. Bah!

As a result, I think I’d peaked way too soon and I was forced to walk for a few minutes while I regained my composure. I probably would have walked for longer but I reached the canal where they once found a dead body. I was a kid at the time, and, at nighttime, the place still spooks me out. So, I started running again. It was dark!!! All right?!

As I reached my house, I collapsed on the step and wondered why the hell people did this for fun. Are they mad?! I looked at my stopwatch in dismay. A quick jog around the block had taken me 25 minutes, when I recall my old times being around the 13 minute mark. That’s almost double. Boy, this getting fit stuff is going to be harder than I thought.

Right, I refuse to bore you anymore with my tales of athletic woe. In short, my targets for month 3 are as follows; Carry on winning, carry on running, and carry on enjoying. Simple, huh? Guess I’ll have to wait and see… 

snoops snoopy

[NoflopsHomer]

Great work Snoops, hopefully I'll actually get myself in gear for the £30 FO on Sunday, I keep meaning to come down but tis a bit of a drive. (well not that much, but I'm almost as lazy as you! )

[Dewi_cool]

  sloppy 

[The Nomad]

Hi snoops have you stopped writing. OR have you had a heart attack from jogging . Just wait till you get Piles or hemmaroids no jobs as easy as it looks.   Speaking of which you dont seem to be putting in that many hours  so it should not be a problem for you    well it should. Theres a rumour being put outby Noflops Homer you are lazy where did he get that idea from I wonder.      Seriously though your hours do look to be on the  Im just playing at it side. this is your bussiness never forget that.

[snoopy1239]

HARD TO ADJUST

I haven’t posted too frequently on this thread recently, mainly due to the fact that I’ve been updating on the EPTs, but also because I want to avoid filling the thread with irrelevant waffle. I feel today’s entry, however, might interest a few people, and I firmly believe that it is a problem that occurs for many an online player.

Last Thursday was the Birmingham Open £300 event at the Broadway Casino. I’d promised myself that I would win either this event, or the £300er at the Midlands Medley in Walsall. Although I experienced a victory in a £30 freezout at the Gala last month, my form in the bigger events is questionable. However, I was determined to start hitting those final tables again, and I saw no better place to do that than my own hometown.

On entry, I noticed a whole heap of familiar faces. In fact, the 100 plus runners seemed to be made up of quality known players from the circuit. Joe Grech, Paul Jackson, John Shipley, Micky Wernick, Dave Colclough, and co had all been lured by the bright lights of Brum. Actually, El Blondie was on my table, along with Ash Pervais, Craig Wildman, Frankie Knight, and Matt Tyler. It was a pretty tough table to be honest, and, at the most, there was just the 1 fish.

My thought process before we kicked off was thus: Don’t try and show off in front of Dave and think about every decision. Also, I wanted to add a bit of flair to my game. The table was lacking in fish and I needed to show some rags so I could be paid off somewhere down the line. Most of the table knew me, but hadn’t played with me too often, so would naturally assume I was a rock. Therefore, to have any chance of the aforementioned players paying off my monsters, I needed to show that I’d come here to play.

After a round or two, I just wasn’t finding any hands and my plans were going to pot. So, when I was one off the cut-off position, I decided to raise whatever my cards. Big mistake. I had K-5 off, a dangerous hand to start messing around with. I could easily get caught by a bigger king holding, and it’s not the sort of hand that’ll catch a nice flop. Something like 9-7 would have been much more appropriate.

Anyhow, I did raise, and both blinds called. The flop came 8-8-9 with two diamonds. Both checked. I bet 600. Another big mistake. With a flop like that, it’s way too dangerous to start betting out when both the blinds are involved. I could get called by a 9, 8, flush or straight draw, even overcards. Getting them both to fold is nigh on impossible.

The small blind called and the turn came a raggy diamond. Hmm, not good. He checked, I checked. The river then brought a J. He checked. I dwelled for ages, wondering how I was going to get out of this one with some pride in tact. Another mistake. Do I really care that much about pride? With that board, there are so many hands that could beat me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned over a nine, or even a straight. So, for that reasoning, I checked. He flipped over pocket sixes, and I was left blasting myself for not making the bluff.

I was about to muck my garbage, when I suddenly decided to flip it over. Pretty embarrassing, but I thought I’d swallow my pride and let the table know that I was willing to play any two cards. I got a few smirks and the odd, ‘K-5? What you raising with that rubbish for?’ but I can take it.

So, not the best of starts, and it wasn’t to get any better. From here on in, my concentration completely slipped and I started playing like an idiot. I didn’t think logically about any of my hands and the amount of mistakes I made is insurmountable. I wasn’t receiving any big cards, and I became impatient, unnecessarily so.

Online, I have a matter of seconds to make my decision due to the fact that I’m playing four tables simultaneously. For some reason, my brain was still in multitabling mode and I was treating my live decisions as online ones, hitting call, fold, or raise ASAP.

One hand I raised to 200 under the gun with . There were 4 or 5 callers. (Well, at least they’re willing to play with me) The flop came . Everyone checked, to the button who bet 500. This guy was a weakfish player and I was pretty confident that he had the ace. For some reason, I decided to call. Why? Well, because I’m a baboon. This is the sort of call I’d happily make online. I have a backdoor flush and a straight draw. It’s pretty cheap, and I know that if I hit, I can get called by a top pair holding, even if I massively overbet the river. Also, there’s a good chance that he’ll back off and check the turn, therefore giving me another chance at hitting. It’s not the greatest move, but online, it can be surprisingly profitable. Live, however, it’s a donkey play, especially when your chips are already diminishing.

Anyhow, the turn came a dreaded , making me a pair. Both of us checked. The river then brought the . Now, I know he has the ace, I know he’s a weak player who could never fold top pair, I also know that, before the river, I was happy to pass if I didn’t hit one of my 11 outs. So, what did I do? Yep, a little demonic voice in my head chanted ‘Bet. Bet. Bet’. And I couldn’t stop myself chucking in a 1000, which clearly wasn’t enough to push anyone off anything, never mind a weak player off top pair. Inevitably, he called and showed . Great going snoops. I looked down in dismay at my 2.5k stack. I hadn’t received any bad luck, no bad beats, no nothing, but I was 3.5k down already from my 6k starting chips. What a waste. An hour clock with miniscule blinds, and here I was throwing it all away.

Online, this wouldn’t be a problem. I’d accept my mistake and refill back up to the max. No worries. Unfortunately, my brain was still in online gear when I sat down at the Broadway. I was in a ‘I’ll just refill’ mood, and it was threatening my existence in the comp. I kept telling myself to get a grip and start focusing, but I didn’t seem to listen. Immensely frustrating in hindsight.

Well, after doing some more chips and then doubling back up to 4k, I eventually sang my swan song the very next hand when I raised 350 preflop with . I found two callers and a flop of . I checked, the guy next door made an overbet of 1600. I mulled it over for about a split second, then moved all-in. The overbet smelt like a bare ace to me. He called in a shot and showed . Awesome. I was a gonna.

Whilst some said that I couldn’t really get out of it, I was convinced that I’d made another boo boo. I’d only invested 350, and I had no spade, so it really wasn’t worth me moving all-in, especially when I know I’m going to get called. Why I didn’t think any of this through at the time, I don’t know. I made no attempts to read my player or the situation, instead opting just to make a random decision. Once again, my brain was looking at a monitor with four tables, believing it had to make a decision pronto and that, if I was wrong, I could just refill. Well, not this time. I trundled off to the bar with my tail firmly between my legs.

I was absolutely gutted. I’d payed £300 to play like a fool. I don’t mind getting bad beats, but when I knock myself out of competition through play as bad as that, it really gets me down, especially when I’m in need of a win.

But why did I play so badly?

The day before, I played 7 hours of non-stop online poker. I encountered the clawback and managed to drag myself from $700 to just $100 down. I’d played all that time without a break, and still lost money. Intensely infuriating, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. My mistake here is not recognising that the clawback scenario can count for live competition too.  If you recall a post a while back about the ‘clawback’, you’ll remember me identifying the god awful session that inevitably follows. You manage to claw back a loss, and then do all your money the very next day. Well, I guess that’s what happened here. I endured a clawback, went to the Broadway the next day, and did my money by playing poorly. I suppose I should be thankful that I got it out of my system before I hit the online tables, which could have been a lot more expensive.

Also, my mindset was much too focused on online play. Not thinking about my decisions, bluffing unnecessarily, forgetting that I couldn’t refill, not paying attention to my diminishing stack size, not making efforts to read players, acting too quickly… the list just goes on and on.

Ultimately, I failed to adjust to live poker and it cost me £300. It’s something that I am now aware of, so next time I’ll make efforts to avoid a repeat performance. Not playing a seven hour session the day before, recognising the importance of a clawback, and making sure I staple a thinking cap to my head, would be a jolly good start…

snoops snoopy

[NoflopsHomer]

Hey snoops, don't feel too despondent, you've still got the £500 today, just play good solid poker and you'll do fine. I think you be fine after you win your first pot. 

Nomad -  for 

[Chili]

Snoops i love the way you pyscho analyse yourself, but STOP beating yourself up.  What you have described is what most people go through in any given comp when they are card dead.  I think you are suffering from naughty boy syndrome, in that as soon you tell yourself not to do something - it makes you do it even more!

To get off online thinking, why dont you try a Harrington special.  When it comes to you to make a decision, sit on your hands and think. You might look like an idiot but at least those chips wont be in the middle as quick as a flash!

[Rod Paradise]

Snoops i love the way you pyscho analyse yourself, but STOP beating yourself up.  What you have described is what most people go through in any given comp when they are card dead.  I think you are suffering from naughty boy syndrome, in that as soon you tell yourself not to do something - it makes you do it even more!

To get off online thinking, why dont you try a Harrington special.  When it comes to you to make a decision, sit on your hands and think. You might look like an idiot but at least those chips wont be in the middle as quick as a flash!

Quelle difference?

Don't beat yourself up Snoppy - that's our job 

Now get out there & play well in the £500.

[thetank]

Have you ever prematurely ended an online session because it wasn't going so well?

Or do you always go for clawback?