Stars Align - Finally

For at least a year things have not gone well for me on Pokerstars. My confidence has been affected when playing which in effect kept the bad run going. This year I took the slightly cowardly approach of not playing very much on Pokerstars, concentrating instead on Ipoker and Full Tilt where things were going well. When I have played as almost expected the losses have continued...........

Until the other day when something changed. Things went well and kept going well. Finally success. A tentative entry into my old stomping ground, the $7 forty five man sit n go ended in victory. A truly international final table below looked on in shock as one of the worst players on the site over recent times recorded a win and a $90 cash, almost wiping out my year to date losses. Whether it was cosmic forces, probability just catching up with itself or my lucky underpants I really don't care. I just needed a win to get me back on track. Over the next week or three I will see if I can build on this progress.

PokerStars Tournament #904915668, No Limit Hold'em

Buy-In: $6.42/$0.58 USD
45 players
Total Prize Pool: $288.90 USD 
Tournament started 2014/05/03 17:42:14 ET
Tournament finished 2014/05/03 19:01:23 ET
  1: Kartajana (United Kingdom), $89.58 (31.007%)
  2: gyumo34 (Hungary), $62.11 (21.498%)
  3: edge_n (Norway), $47.66 (16.497%)
  4: Japoska2 (Russia), $36.11 (12.499%)
  5: Guzman092 (Mexico), $26.00 (8.999%)
  6: tdenhamer (Canada), $17.33 (5.998%)
  7: tiaguafonsu (Portugal), $10.11 (3.499%)
  8: mephi54 (Germany), 
  9: LaBanda014 (Argentina) 

Two days and two tournaments later I won another forty five man sit n go for $90!

A-Game Journal

I have recently started to re-read Jared Tendler's The Mental Game Of Poker 2 which largely focuses on positive elements of the mental game such as playing in the zone consistently. Part of his approach is to write down in an A-Game Journal the conditions that exist when your A game is achieved and learn from this information. Last night was such a night. I was really focused, playing instinctively and using what Jared describes as intangible competence and conceptual competence. Here are my notes:

Rice Krispies before I played.

Minimal internet distractions.

Positive mental attitude based on a good, though tough week at work.

Happy family situation.

These conditions existed as I played my usual set of evening poker games in a year where I am playing well and running better than Usian Bolt in a pair of turbo trainers. I failed to cash in my two Full Tilt Daily Double games but was happy with my play and am feeling good about my 30% cashing record in 2014. I also played five dirty dozen jackpot sit n gos following a good set of games the previous night. The result was more than impressive with a sequence of first, second, first, third and second. Whilst playing I was never in tune with the order of games but was focused in all the games on winning, though I never really felt I had a shot at winning four in a row. If I had known my last game the previous day was a win I might have felt/acted differently! Upon checking afterwards my sequence of 1121 is as close as it gets to the two thousand Euro jackpot, though I never had more than 20% of the chips in the heads up battle I lost. A really encouraging night which I should learn from and be encouraged by. It is clear I need to put in a little more volume to ensure a jackpot win is inevitable rather than likely.

Back Trouble, Login Issues and Timing Problems!

I have reported recently on a successful start to 2014. January and February went really well and I have amassed over $1000 which is as good as it gets for me in a couple of months. I am very much a creature of habit and my success was largely based around playing the same regular session each night. I integrated some Dirty Dozen sit n gos on Betfred Poker with the scheduled Daily Double games on Full Tilt which I join around 10pm. My session then lasts between an hour and three depending on the level of success in the tournaments. In March however my poker routine has been disrupted by a few difficulties and as a consequence my results have suffered.

Back Trouble: I have had a re-occurrence of some back trouble from last year. The pain ranges from discomfort to severe but sitting for long periods is not great so neither is playing poker. Playing when uncomfortable is also not conducive to A game play and is not a good idea. I am currently seeing a physio and will be looking at making some changes to help my situation. My back is currently improving but I am not there yet.

Login Issues: I managed to get myself locked out of my Betfred account early this month and for some time could not get access. A combination my own incompetence, poor customer service and a catch twenty-two situation frustrated me for a few days. Emailing support, resetting my password and live chat all failed to deliver the goods. Eventually a nice lady called Natalie at the Betfred call centre sorted me out but my poker routine was again disrupted.

Timing Problems: Just as I was back on track with Betfred, Anglo-American timing moved an hour so that my normal game times were now an hour too early to fit in with the non poker world. This will not correct itself until the end of the month when the British clocks change. As a consequence I have been playing games I am less suited by on Full Tilt. Worse than that I have also been playing some games on Pokerstars where my luck ban apparently still remains in place!

I am hoping by the end of the month all three issues will be fully resolved and I can resume my progress based on talent, discipline, focus and of course routine. In the meantime I intend to have a quiet two weeks poker, playing only a minimal number of Dirty Dozen jackpot games and resting my back.

Disney Feel Good Factor

On returning from a family holiday in Disney World Florida I was expecting to be a little rusty for my return to online poker. I had genuinely low expectations as I sat down for my usual nightly set of games given my overnight flight the day before. However, following a wonderful break I was mentally refreshed and in a happy place. As such any jet lag was offset by what I will call a feel good factor. This is a great mental state to make good aggressive poker decisions. In previous blog posts I have strongly linked my good results to a very positive mindset. 

    Having cashed in a couple of dirty dozen sit n gos I was also showing good promise in one of the two daily double contests. Without too much trouble or too much luck I made the final table and before long was down to the last three, albeit with only ten percent of the chips. Of the two remaining opponents it was clear one was very good and one was not. With enough time left even with my chip stack I was able to slowly pull myself level with the other two players. I then knocked out the good player in a classic coin flip and was able to seal the win against a very passive heads up opponent. It was quite a stressful heads up process though as the winner got an extra $100. With relatively low blind levels I choose to take a low ball approach to this contest given the clear edge I had. Twice my opponent was on the ropes but fought back but I eventually prevailed. A $297 return on my first night back is very satisfying.

Thanks a lot Mickey and friends. See you next time. 

Successful January Shock

For the last two years January has been associated with poor poker results for me, terrible weather, bad health and generally depressing blog posts. See Janaury Blues and Routine Losses.

So to be able to report on a successful poker month, a period of good health and even only fairly miserable weather is massively satisfying. Whatever happens in the next few days I will make $600 plus this month thanks mainly to five visits to Full Tilt Daily Double final tables, including my first win in such a game for $372. These profits have been topped up by some solid results in my Dirty Dozen Jackpot games.

One feature of my poker sessions this month has been listening to poker related material while I play. This seems to really help with my focus.  So whilst playing upto six games I am also soaking in Jared Tendler Podcasts or Nick Weathall Winning Poker Blueprint training instruction. Both are of a high quality, though I now need some new material. If anyone can recommend a quality poker podcast please comment below or e-mail me on jasontomlinson44@btinternet.com.

Thanks very much.

Jason

Double Trouble For Full Tilt's Hana Soljan

Now I am not in the habit of interacting with beautiful Croatian women. Last night however was an exception as I tangled with Full Tilt Pro Hana Soljan in my regular Daily Double MTT game. Our encounter culminated in a defining hand that doubled me up at a crucial time and left her very short and quite soon after, out of the tournament.

I started this key hand in reasonable shape with twenty big blinds, not far off the money bubble and raised with nines. We had played a couple of hands already. Hana had been very active playing nearly every other hand. When she called from the small blind I was certainly more excited than afraid. A 533 flop saw her make a bet which I raised. After a short pause she went all in and I called. Her pair of fours got some help on the turn when a two came but my hand held up giving my general confidence and my chances in this tournament a boost. 

The pot set me up nicely to cash and via some good play and good fortune make my first final table of the year. Snagging fifth for $91 is not a big score for sure, but its a start. 

Cheers Hana.

The hand was recorded as follows:

Full Tilt Poker Game #33767926807: Daily Double - B (263436762), Table 4 - NL Hold'em - 150/300 Ante 25 - 17:31:37 ET - 2014/01/14
Seat 1: BadBRM (4,980)
Seat 2: grigoreb (14,545)
Seat 3: nutslikeme (8,845)
Seat 4: MopsRoll (7,100)
Seat 5: Sachs777 (7,222)
Seat 6: Hana Soljan (7,960)
Seat 7: sergos1 (13,420)
Seat 8: Kartajana (6,110)

Hana Soljan posts the small blind of 150
sergos1 posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Kartajana [9d 9h]
Kartajana raises to 800
BadBRM folds
grigoreb folds
nutslikeme folds
MopsRoll folds
Sachs777 folds
Hana Soljan calls 650
sergos1 folds
*** FLOP *** [5c 5s 3h] (Total Pot: 2,100, 2 Players)
Hana Soljan bets 900
Kartajana raises to 2,700
Hana Soljan raises to 7,135, and is all in
Kartajana calls 2,585, and is all in
Hana Soljan shows [4s 4h]
Kartajana shows [9d 9h]
Uncalled bet of 1,850 returned to Hana Soljan
*** TURN *** [5c 5s 3h] [2s] (Total Pot: 12,670, 2 Players, 1 All-In)
*** RIVER *** [5c 5s 3h 2s] [Kc] (Total Pot: 12,670, 2 Players, 1 All-In)
Hana Soljan shows two pair, Fives and Fours
Kartajana shows two pair, Nines and Fives
Kartajana wins the pot (12,670) with two pair, Nines and Fives

Gross Profit

Since October I have focused primarily on the Daily Double Jackpot Multi table tournaments on Full Tilt and the Dirty Dozen Jackpot sit n go games on Betfred. In the later I have so far played 144, a gross of games with the following results:

I am encouraged by my efforts with a high proportion (16%) of wins. The Jackpot opportunity I had last month only adds to the satisfaction. At this win rate I would win the $2000 jackpot around every 1500 games. In real terms though the profit return is only around $50 for these 144 games which is progress at least. In a year when I have struggled to make a profit I have ended on a high. To make this approach more worthwhile I need to play a lot more games. No reason why I could not play a couple of thousand next year.

Meanwhile, my efforts in the Daily Doubles on Full Tilt have also been rewarded. Having played them for just a few months I am ranked in the top 6% of players on Full Tilt, a figure which ignores the $500 or so bonus payments I have received. I have also cashed in around a quarter of the tournaments played. The games fit great into my evening routine and once I make it past the money bubble I really enjoy the chase for those top final table spots. One disappointment is the lack of a win in one of these games. Something to rectify in the new year.

My approach will be to continue my recent good work, make a positive start to the year and build from there. I certainly have no reason to change things right now. I also intend to be a bit more active on this blog which I have neglected a little this year. Anyway seasons greetings to all and have a great 2014.