A DOG'S LIFE

[The Nomad]

Never tilting and talent and hard work is about all u need to make a living the players who have all three in abundance are at the top. What a coincidence.            I have talked about the massacer after the claw back with a friend who has played for a living  for 20 years often in the past,we havent been able to come up with anything concrete, maybe there someone on here who couldshed some light in this very dark corner. For the record it used to cost me about 20 to 25% of my monthly profit in those days I was playing limit stud and hold em so it wasnt exactly a couple of huge bad beats just a 8 to 16 hour  outdraw. Oh final thought get your mind into a poitive mode before you start to play again, banish the fear.

[snoopy1239]

BACK IN THE GAME


First off, happy new year all! Seeing that I’m writing this, I guess I’m not too big on all the end of year festivities. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big Christmas fan, but when it comes to the turn of the year, I’m a bit of grumpy git. Crowded clubs, overpriced tickets, rip-off drinks, not really my cup of tea I’m afraid. What’s wrong with getting pissed in the comfort of your own lounge?! That’s what I say.

Anyhow, back to the poker. I’ve been on a bit of a break really. Haven’t played a full session since a week last Thursday, 9 days in total. Not much of a cold turkey, but then again, 9 days isn’t the longest break in the world. Well, I ended the drought today by attempting to take advantage of the end of year celebrations. Yep, you got it, I’m one of those saddos who stay in on New Year’s Eve, lurking about online, trying to find a batch of good value comps. Well, I wouldn’t say I was too successful in my search as the only really decent value comp I could find was the Ladbrokes $100 rebuy which guaranteed $40,000. With only 156 players, this is pretty good value in my opinion, but Laddies obviously thought ahead by taking 10k off the guarantee. Even so, still worth entering.

Most other comps I looked at seemed to be reaching the guarantee. With the combination of sites reducing their pots and more players trying to take advantage of the lack of numbers, there was little value to be found. However, determined to keep myself amused, I registered for three comps:

Hold Em $100 NL freezout – 6k guaranteed
Hold Em NL $100 rebuy – 40k guaranteed
Omaha $10 PL rebuy

I was planning on playing more, but was a little tired so restricted myself to just the three. Also, I felt myself beginning to lose patience, so, unlike on previous occasions, I made sure that I didn’t enter more comps than my attention span could handle.

The $100 freezout, which found 60 players, was going great guns until I was dealt bullets. A harmless 3-4-3 flop looked good until I found my opponent with pocket fours. Out in 17th after playing a good comp. Always frustrating when a hand like that crops up, but I guess you just have to take it on the chin.

The $100 rebuy actually cost me $200 as I bought in immediately to enable me to see more flops. Once again, I was going great guns until two brisk hands dealt my demise. The first I was caught semi-bluffing when I check raised my opponents top pair with a flush draw. Of course, I missed. The very next hand I found Big Slick and overbet with a preflop all-in, secretly hoping that it looked like I was tilting. Well, one fella fell for the bait, but, unfortunately, I forgot that my A-K was still a drawing hand. His pocket sevens sent me packing and I really didn’t fancy a rebuy.

Still, I was chugging away nicely in the Omaha. Okay, there were only 35 players, but $450 for 1st wasn’t too bad. It was just a shame that top dog was the only position that would show a profit for the night. Eventually I finished up 3rd taking $180.80, so it could have been worse. Plus, I enjoyed it. The banter on the final table was fun and always makes for a more entertaining game.

So, there you have it. Sorry to bore you with all this, looking back, I really haven’t said anything particularly interesting. In fact, I’m drifting off just thinking about the waffle I’ve just written.

Suppose the important issue is that I’m playing poker again after such a heavy defeat last week. There’s always the fear that you’re gonna simply continue losing money, but I couldn’t let that stop me from playing. Anyway, I didn’t profit from the multis, but I played pretty well, so I’m happy.

Tomorrow is the real test. That’s when I hit the ring games again. A good start would really do me the world of good…

Clocking off now before I bore you all to death with my wittering.

Happy new year all.

snoops snoopy

[Robert HM]

Thanks again for the insight into you world, your mind and your aspirations. To you I wish a special Happy New Year. Keep up the updates, they fascinate me. As much as I wish for things this to happen for me in 2006 I give you a single wish, and that is, that in 12 months you look back on a successful year which has provided ample profit and lots of fun.

[Karabiner]

Have a lucky New Year Sopony, see you at the bash.

[snoopy1239]

EVERY CLOUD


Today marked my return to the cash table. Fresh, invigorated, and raring to go, I whipped out the ipod and braced myself for 2 hours of hardcore winning. Unfortunately, the cards didn’t fall my way and I ended up $177.87 down. However, I believe I played well and shall therefore put my loss down to bad luck and poor cards.

This may have been my fourth consecutive losing day, but I remain undeterred. There was a lot to take away from what was a tough session. Firstly, I didn’t tilt, even when morale was at its lowest. At one point, I was in excess of $300 down, and this would normally either transfer into a $500+ loss, or a small profit. This time, however, I pulled just a little back, which probably speaks volumes about how I am striving to change my game. This brings me onto my second point – I knew when to quit. Instead of battling past fatigue in an attempt to break even or claw my way back into profit, I decided to cut my losses and call it a day. And you know what, it felt pretty good.

Thirdly, considering the cards I was dealt, a $177 deficit isn’t too catastrophic. I’ve been on the receiving end of a lot of bad luck recently, but what differentiates a good player from a bad, is his ability to cope with the knock backs. Hopefully, I’m heading in the right direction. I must try to avoid the issue of feeling low when I’m losing, and high when I’m winning. I’m sure every poker player endures these emotions, but if I can just neutralise my feelings, whatever’s happening at the table, then the game won’t affect me as emotionally as it sometimes does.

According to Poker Tracker, my profits tend to derive from three avenues:

--   Pocket pairs that flop trips.
--   Open ended straight draws that hit on the turn.
--   Being dealt pocket aces.

Today all three of these were a rarity, which is pretty odd for a 2.5 hour session. I think I recall hitting a set on one occasion, but, apart from that, none of the others occurred. Therefore, I should perhaps look at the session as a success. I wasn’t given the opportunities to win big pots, so therefore could have finished off a lot worse. To be honest, I really don’t recall losing any sizable pots. There were two or three times when I was reraised out of a pot, and if that happens on more than one table, you can be $150 without even playing much.

For instance, one hand I raised to $8 preflop with A-T. The big blind smooth called. The flop came down A-J-2. He bet $25, I reraised to $50 and he moved all-in for $180. Not wishing to risk my whole stack on just the 1 pair, I opted to fold. This is probably a pretty standard play, but, if it keeps occurring, it can prove costly in the long-run.

as a side note, I think I’ve decided that I prefer to raise suited connectors preflop. I just think that flatcalling is asking for trouble. If you hit trips, you could be outkicked. If you flop a flush, you could be either already beat or playing against the lone ace. At best, if you make a straight, you could get paid, but how often? In fact, I’d rather hit the hand with something like 9-7, as it will be better disguised and more likely to win a big pot.

In contrast, if you raise preflop, you achieve a number of things. Firstly, you push off any of the hands that would outkick you if you were to hit trips. Secondly, you create the illusion of a big hand, so, if you do flop something, it will be extremely well hidden. Thirdly, it makes people aware that you are playing hands and not just waiting for nuts. If you only raise now and again, it’ll be harder to get paid off and opponents will find opportunities to trap you, safe in the knowledge that you are holding big cards.

Well, that’s my theory anyhow. I’m sure others see it differently.

There didn’t seem to be many fish online today. I kinda hoped that a few players would be hung over and not playing up to scratch, but everyone was pretty solid. A real cagey game with no one throwing chips away. It’s made me consider rising at 5 or 6am in order to catch the Americans at their weakest (and tiltiest – new word?). Think I’ll give it a shot after the Bash, just to see what happens.

Anyhow, that’s the story of the day. Just thought it was worth writing about considering it was a return to the fray after a week out. I could really do with stopping the rot, even if it’s only a small win. But I’m not down, quite the opposite in fact. I lost, but learnt from the session. Every cloud I guess…

Right, onto the Walsall £300 doublechance freezout. I’m in good live form and confident about my ability to win this event. Why not, eh? Let’s give it a shot.

Bye bye people. Will see some of you there.

Snoops snoopy

Ps. Slightly humourless report today. I’ll spice it up next time with a few gags. Maybe even a dancing smilie!

[The_nun]

No need to spice anything up here Snoops .. your reports are spot on ..TY..

[snoopy1239]

Good golly! I almost forgot.

This hand cropped up today. Made me smile. Not what happened, but what he said in the chatbox.


$200 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, January 01, 08:49:58 EDT 2006

Seat 6 is the button

Seat 1: sarfu ( $362.10 )
Seat 2: snoopy1239 ( $178.05 )
Seat 8: MrX ( $147.57 )
Seat 9: kitt001 ( $100.15 )
Seat 3: venerable1 ( $259.75 )
Seat 7: BlndSquirre1 ( $214.30 )
Seat 10: Zalmaz ( $260.70 )
Seat 6: NattyKid ( $186 )
Seat 4: PureGambler ( $200 )
Seat 5: drunkpunk_ ( $200 )

BlndSquirre1 posts small blind [$1].
MrX posts big blind [$2].
PureGambler posts big blind [$2].
drunkpunk_ posts big blind [$2].

** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to snoopy1239 [  ]

kitt001 folds.
Zalmaz folds.
sarfu folds.
snoopy1239 calls [$2].
venerable1 folds.
PureGambler checks.
drunkpunk_ checks.
NattyKid folds.
BlndSquirre1 calls [$1].
MrX raises [$4].
snoopy1239 calls [$4].
PureGambler folds.
drunkpunk_ folds.
BlndSquirre1 folds.

** Dealing Flop ** [ , , ]
MrX bets [$10].
snoopy1239 calls [$10].

** Dealing Turn ** [ ]

MrX checks.
snoopy1239 bets [$30].
MrX calls [$30].

** Dealing River ** [ ]
MrX checks.
snoopy1239 checks.

MrX shows [ , ] high card ace.
snoopy1239 shows [ , ] a pair of fives.

snoopy1239 wins $95 from  the main pot  with a pair of fives.

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

At the end of the hand, the conversation went something like this (activate snippy memory...):

MrX - ffs, you bet $30 with a pair of fives?! Get real.
snoopy1239 - Well you bet $10 with ace high?
MrX - that's not the point.
snoopy1239 - you mean it's not the point that I bet with the best hand and you bet with the worst.
MrX - but a pair of fives ffs?
snoopy1239 - If you're so suprised, then why did you call the bet with just ace high?
MrX - let's move on


Made me giggle. I love these guys sometimes. 

 

[Newmanseye]

nice one, was he on tilt after that?

[snoopy1239]

nice one, was he on tilt after that?

nah - unfortunately not. To give the lad credit, he kept his discipline.

He said nh snoops afterwards. Probably realised that he was being a bit of a plum.

[The Baron]

LMAO!

Most importantly, excellent bet on the turn.

[snoopy1239]

FINALLY


Yipeeeee!!! Yahooooo!!! Whopeeeee!!! Weeeeeee!!!

Sorry, had to get that out of my system. Yesterday, after 4 consecutive days of severe financial loss, I finally stopped the rot. I’m precisely $944.47 better off and can safely say…

The Beagle has been unleashed!

It wasn’t the losing that was damaging me, it was the amount I was losing. At one point I began to panic and thoughts of ‘Crap. I’m gonna be back at the 9-5 if this carries on’ and ‘Maybe I’ve overestimated my skill at this game’ started popping into my head. I definitely felt a sense of desperation, and that’s always dangerous in this game. When poker is your only income, and you see your bank balance dribbling south, you can’t help but be slightly concerned.

The key was self-awareness of how I was playing and where I was going wrong. This is something that is crucial and a part of my game that I would have just brushed over a few months back. I shook myself and said ‘Cmon snoops! (well, okay, I used my real name) Get a grip. Work out what you’re doing wrong and do something about it’.

The biggest problem with luck and form is that it’s difficult to decipher between the two and sometimes it’s hard to work out whether you’re playing badly or just being unlucky. What you need to do is look back to when you are winning, and see if you’re doing anything starkly different.

For inspiration, I looked back at notes I’d once made from John Vorhaus’s ‘Killer Poker Online’. A great motivational book and I firmly recommend you look it up.

Here are a few quotes:

-- Don’t substitute action for passing a losing hand.

-- Don’t be greedy, be patient.

-- Don’t let your reality be coloured by your need to win.

-- Losing control? A hand you folded an hour ago looks like a hand worth raising with now.

-- You call a raise and a reraise before the flop with 5-6, knowing that you’re up against big tickets, but banking on stealth because who’d figure you calling with such rags.

-- You call the flop and turn with bottom pair, expecting to hit trips because you’re ‘due’.

-- You run hopeless bluffs, trying to get well quick.

-- You know – just know – that the next rack of chips will be the one that turns things around.


Too many of these comments rang true, and it was then that I realised that I was playing poor poker. I was playing desperate poker and trying too hard to win, when patience, patience and more patience should have been the key.

So, I decided to pull myself together and adopt a back to basics style. Although I enjoy and have found success in playing a loose aggressive game, I decided that I would only raise obvious hands such as AK, KQ, AQ, etc. To add at least some sort of unpredictability, I would also raise preflop with suited connectors above 4-5 and hands such as 6-8 and 9-7 suited. I wouldn’t chase draws, call big bets with suited connectors, raise with 6-3 suited preflop, etc. I would play ABC poker post flop, enforcing just the odd bluff and making few plays. All I had to do now was play…

After an enjoyable, but unsuccessful night at Walsall, I arrived home at around 6am. I was just about to pop my jimjams on when I had an idea. How about some early morning online poker? Well, I felt pretty fresh and I quite fancied the idea of catching the Americans at their weakest, so I thought I’d give it a shot. By 7.15am, I was around $650 up, which, considering the run I’d been on, was astronomical. True, my opposition was playing slightly looser at this time, but, instead of doubling up, and then dribbling back down, I kept my head above water and even built on my profit. I guess this was mainly due to my cutting out of all the bad habits that I’d picked up without realising.

Then, after a quick kip, I gave it another go. After losing $400 of my previous profit, I kept my head and eventually clawed my way back up to about a session profit of $300. So, overall, I was just under a grand up for about 3 hours play. Not bad for an hourly wage! Anyhow, although I earned less in the second effort, I think that’s the best online session I’ve played for ages. That, without doubt, is the most important thing.

I guess the key here is spotting your weaknesses early. Over time, I think you begin to improve the timing of those alarm bells that sit at the front of your mind. If I could employ someone to slap me round the face with me a wet kipper every time I was playing poorly, I’d probably stump up the dough. Sometimes though, you’re just oblivious to your bad habits and it takes a severe run of losses for you to get wise to the situation.

I know how boring journals and blogs can become when all people write about are their results. Saying ‘I was up $400 today’ and ‘I lost 5 STTs yesterday’ and so on is just not gripping to anyone but the author and his mother. Actually, I doubt even the folks would be that interested. So, I apologise for a couple of my last entries, some of them have done just this.  However, I think yesterday’s success was worth reporting, because I learnt so much about how to deal with a losing run. I guess I realised that I still have lots to learn. Complacency can be a right bugger sometimes…

Snoops snoopy

[ACE2M]

Up the beagle. WP m8.

I can aquire kippers and we can discuss an hourly rate at the blonde bash.

Keep it up.

[raab11]

just reread this thread from the start snoops(i know)

i have to say mate it is great, love the fact your reporting the downs and the ups(hopefully this year will be mainly ups)

keep playing and writing.

gl for 2006

raab

[thetank]

I know how boring journals and blogs can become when all people write about are their results. Saying ‘I was up $400 today’ and ‘I lost 5 STTs yesterday’ and so on is just not gripping to anyone but the author and his mother.

Not something you need to worry about snoops, yours is always worth a read.

Happy to hear it's turning around for you. Experiencing something similar myself at the moment. I've made more in the last two days than I managed in the whole month of December.

[matt674]

just wondered how many times you were going to say this:

I was enraged at first, but managed to remain composed. I ran into some more bad luck with minor hands, and, at one point, was $800 down. I considered quitting, but decided that I was still playing well.

I don't think I was ever really on tilt. I was playing well and the players were ripe for the picking.

Looking back through Poker Tracker, I don't believe I made many errors, so I shall put it down to a bad run of cards.

I’m just not sure what’s wrong with me at the moment. I never ever tilt like this, so why now? Okay, I can honestly say that today I received the worst run of luck I have encountered in 4 years of online play.

Unfortunately, the cards didn’t fall my way and I ended up $177.87 down. However, I believe I played well and shall therefore put my loss down to bad luck and poor cards.

before you finally said to yourself:

Too many of these comments rang true, and it was then that I realised that I was playing poor poker. I was playing desperate poker and trying too hard to win, when patience, patience and more patience should have been the key.

even though you could see the warning signs yourself and even mentioned it before:

It's bizarre. You have a great run, then suddenly it ends. You have 1 day when you are down by a load, but manage to just scrape back into profit. Then, the very next session, it all goes wrong. That happens so much for me, and you highlighting it is really wierd. There HAS to be something in it. Perhaps your brain just convinces you that you're playing well when you're not.

I'm glad to see that you can finally admit to yourself that sometimes it isnt the fact that your on a bad run or that luck is against you. The first time i went on a similar run it got to the stage where i was on the verge of giving up poker during february and march of this year. People told me maybe it was my game that was off but I felt i was still playing well but luck just wasnt on my side and therefore ignored them but after 6 or so weeks i had to admit that no-one is that unlucky so i had to admit that it was my game that was suffering.

It helped having someone to talk to in times of uncertainty and now that i am honest and open with myself when playing i can spot the signs far quicker when things dont appear to be going according to plan allowing me to stop the rot as quickly as it starts. I didnt want to say anything as i was reading your posts because it is something you have to admit to yourself and now that you have hopefully your profitable poker will be able to move to another level.

Keep being honest with yourself and all the best for 2006!!