OK. I think I'm officially over the hump. My last six SNGs played were pretty good. I placed 1-3-3-4-1-1 . And the 4th place was even a chip leader position played too aggressively and got caught by some good cards from the villains. So I'll take that anyday.
I just read somewhere today that Neteller has now closed down its US operations. Meaning US players can no longer transfer funds to and from the poker sites using their Neteller account. Since Neteller is the biggest payment processor in the US, this seems like big news. This was a direct result of two of the Neteller owners getting arrested by the FBI in the US airports for money laundering or some such charge brought about by the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act a few months ago.
Out here in the local front, I'm not too sure how this affects Filipino online players. Probably only in the level of competition. I don't know if you guys notice, but I have observed that US players play generally better than their Europeans counterparts. Mostly I guess as a result of them being exposed to the game earlier and having more experience. So does this mean less sharks out in the poker sea ? I guess time will tell. If the US authorities are really serious about closing down all the funds flowing from these sites, then the US players will eventually have nowhere to turn to. Right now, some payment processors like Click2Pay are still open to US players, but I think this will also change sooner than later.
I do hope that this will result in the poker sites and the payment processors paying more attention to Asian players as this seems to be a largely untapped market for them. So it wouldn't be wistful thinking to hope for tournament times that are at least within our waking hours. =)
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
Good News .. Bad News
Just thought I'd post a little update on my poker progression so far. Haven't really played that much this January due to numerous business trips abroad. So I've been pretty much absent on the Tuesday poker league of 11finger. Will try to catch one this week if time permits.
With the few games that I've managed to play. I have luckily churned out a positive output this January thanks to a 2nd place finish in a poker.com $2,000 guaranteed tourney that was worth $400 something odd dollars. Also played in two $ 24 + 2 MTT tourneys in full tilt but busted out on those.
Out on the SNG front, it has been brutal. I think I've played 10 straight games in a row without a win. I know its just variance, but after the winning streak in december, it has deflated my confidence a bit.
This has also inadvertently resulted in me changing my playing style to what I believe is the further detriment of my SNG plays. You know what I'm talking about. In trying to catch a win to make up for some of the losses, I try to force the cards early and play some semi-crummy hands like K9 suited or A- rags hoping to get lucky on the flop. So instead of being tight at the beginning and playing only premium hands which is critical in SNGs. I'm trying to catch a hail mary and coast along.
On the bright side, I am aware of this development and have been trying my best to control this impulse in the last few games that I've played. Hopefully, the cards will eventually turn and the SNG wins will start coming again.
With the few games that I've managed to play. I have luckily churned out a positive output this January thanks to a 2nd place finish in a poker.com $2,000 guaranteed tourney that was worth $400 something odd dollars. Also played in two $ 24 + 2 MTT tourneys in full tilt but busted out on those.
Out on the SNG front, it has been brutal. I think I've played 10 straight games in a row without a win. I know its just variance, but after the winning streak in december, it has deflated my confidence a bit.
This has also inadvertently resulted in me changing my playing style to what I believe is the further detriment of my SNG plays. You know what I'm talking about. In trying to catch a win to make up for some of the losses, I try to force the cards early and play some semi-crummy hands like K9 suited or A- rags hoping to get lucky on the flop. So instead of being tight at the beginning and playing only premium hands which is critical in SNGs. I'm trying to catch a hail mary and coast along.
On the bright side, I am aware of this development and have been trying my best to control this impulse in the last few games that I've played. Hopefully, the cards will eventually turn and the SNG wins will start coming again.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Chip and a Chair
In poker, it’s often said that all you need to play and win is a chip and a chair. And we’ve heard lots of stories where this has happened. I'm sure everyone of us has their own similar experience. So let me just share a recent SNG (ended just 10 minutes ago from the time I’m writing this) in Full Tilt where I had less than 1 big blind left and still ended up winning the thing.
Got crippled when I was in the big blind and had 2-3 offsuit. Saw a free flop that came out J-2-3. BINGO, I checked, somebody bet, I raised all in with my 2 pair, got called by the villain who had top pair lousy kicker but had a flush draw. Spiked his flush on the river. Couldn’t really blame him, he had top pair and had lots of outs so it wasn’t exactly a donkey play.
This left me with exactly $95 and the blinds were already 50 – 100 with about 6 players left. If I had just given up which I often do in this situation and I went all in on the next hand with my 6 2 off, then that would have been the end. But this time around, I waited and folded. In the next hand, I got 9-9 and went all in with 2 callers. 9 came on the flop so I tripled up to around 300. After a few more hands, got 10-10, went all in again … somebody called with an A-J and doubled me up. Finally after a few more hands, got 10-10 again, went all in and somebody called with a 7-2 suited. Yep, you read it right, 7-2 suited.
After that, I had enough funds to do some stealing and play my normal game and ended up placing 1st. Cool game. Was I just lucky ? I would definitely say so, but it does emphasize the point that in poker, you never know when the next rush of good hands will come. So even with less than 1 big blind left, you could still win.
I made this example because we often see lots of player (me included) who after losing a big pot immediately goes all-in on their next hand whatever it is hoping to get lucky. They would then get called and get eliminated.
I guess its human instinct to want to try and make up a big loss immediately. Which also explains why lots of people lose their shirts inside the casinos.
But if we can just control this “Tilt” emotion, then I sincerely believe we would all be better poker players. We won’t always be lucky but at least we’re giving ourselves a chance to get back in the game. And in poker, a chance is pretty much all you need.
And just in case you are wondering where that famous “Chip and a Chair” line comes from. Well my trusty google search says that it was first spoken by Jack “Treetop” Straus who engineered what was arguably the most famous World Series comeback in history when he won the title in 1982 fighting his way back from a single $500 chip.
Got crippled when I was in the big blind and had 2-3 offsuit. Saw a free flop that came out J-2-3. BINGO, I checked, somebody bet, I raised all in with my 2 pair, got called by the villain who had top pair lousy kicker but had a flush draw. Spiked his flush on the river. Couldn’t really blame him, he had top pair and had lots of outs so it wasn’t exactly a donkey play.
This left me with exactly $95 and the blinds were already 50 – 100 with about 6 players left. If I had just given up which I often do in this situation and I went all in on the next hand with my 6 2 off, then that would have been the end. But this time around, I waited and folded. In the next hand, I got 9-9 and went all in with 2 callers. 9 came on the flop so I tripled up to around 300. After a few more hands, got 10-10, went all in again … somebody called with an A-J and doubled me up. Finally after a few more hands, got 10-10 again, went all in and somebody called with a 7-2 suited. Yep, you read it right, 7-2 suited.
After that, I had enough funds to do some stealing and play my normal game and ended up placing 1st. Cool game. Was I just lucky ? I would definitely say so, but it does emphasize the point that in poker, you never know when the next rush of good hands will come. So even with less than 1 big blind left, you could still win.
I made this example because we often see lots of player (me included) who after losing a big pot immediately goes all-in on their next hand whatever it is hoping to get lucky. They would then get called and get eliminated.
I guess its human instinct to want to try and make up a big loss immediately. Which also explains why lots of people lose their shirts inside the casinos.
But if we can just control this “Tilt” emotion, then I sincerely believe we would all be better poker players. We won’t always be lucky but at least we’re giving ourselves a chance to get back in the game. And in poker, a chance is pretty much all you need.
And just in case you are wondering where that famous “Chip and a Chair” line comes from. Well my trusty google search says that it was first spoken by Jack “Treetop” Straus who engineered what was arguably the most famous World Series comeback in history when he won the title in 1982 fighting his way back from a single $500 chip.
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