The November Two

It certainly seems that poker in the UK and Ireland is really progressing at the moment. Whilst the US players have to cope with the fallout from Black Friday players like Jake Cody have become more prominent, dominant even. Now step up Eoghan O'Dea and Sam Holden. Playing at the final table in the biggest game of all they both have a real shot at poker immortality, and a bloody fortune. One that certainly puts my Maui challenge into perspective. I really hope one of them can do it. Last chance to vote in my survey on who will win.

Betfred Poker - Six Years On

Betfred Poker was the first poker site I played on six years ago. I have probably played two thirds of my poker there and it is still my favourite site. The site is good value I believe in terms of promotions, bonuses and other players.There are plenty of regulars who I have had good banter with. There are also a lot of weaker players particularly in the jackpot games. How else can you make a decent profit paying twice the normal rake. If you have not played on the I-Poker network before I certainly recommend it. I have played the vast majority of other sites though only significant volume on Pokerstars, Cake and Full Tilt. Betfred have just launched a new website and are a very successful sports betting outfit here in the UK. They are also heavily involved in horse racing sponsorship. As I am a big horse racing fan I have always been happy to pay my rake to Betfred. I genuinely believe that one day I finally will win the jackpot bonus I have come so close to winning in the past.  Meanwhile, September has been a bit of a mixed bag so far for my Maui challenge. I have bagged a couple of reasonable freeroll cashes ($77 and $40) but my Maui form has dipped a little. I have made a small profit on the Maui games themselves but for the first time in a few months I have played badly at times and have got a little frustrated. Variance has definately been against me so I must refocus and concentrate on making good decisions. Cheers Fred

September Result: +$404, Overall: +$2553

Another good month with a good rate per game. Very similar to last month overall and in that I added a further $93 from rakeback and freeroll cashes. I need to average just under $500 a month for the last three months to complete my challenge. If I continue to play well like August and September then I will come close but will still be a few hundred dollars short. I need a decent freeroll cash and/or a further consolation win to really have a good shot. If I can enter December with a realistic chance that would be good.       Kartajana   259 $1.2   $5   20% $311   - N/A iPoker 9/1/2011 9/30/2011 SNG Only       Good luck.

Fintastic!

One of my aims this year is to achieve a top twenty leaderboard ranking on Sharkscope for my Maui efforts. Yesterday I sneaked into twentieth for total year earnings at the $5 dollar sit n go level. So for now I have cracked it. I will have to continue with good progress to remain there for the rest of the year and retain this as a permanent ranking. That would be quite pleasing if I could. I have found Sharkscope very useful over the years particularly looking at my own stats. The ability to break down statistics into detail really helps understand weaknesses and eliminate mistakes. For example I know starting a session when I should be going to bed loses me money because I have been able to break down my performance by time of day. So I go to bed.   Kartajana   2,172 $0.59   $5   10% $1,278   - N/A iPoker Year2011 SNG Only Good night.

$20,000

It has taken nearly six years but in the last few days my total poker earnings have finally hit $20,000. A decent total for sure but also a long period of time. An average of $3,300 or £2,200 a year is ok for a part timer like myself but I have been genuinely diasppointed with it. Having said that it is nice to hit such a figure. The other good part is that I have never spent any of my bankroll.......until now. Reading Jared Tendlers book has helped me realise that I would benefit (in poker terms) by spending some of my earnings. I will more appreciate what I have achieved which will help with my confidence. So I now have a $8,000 bankroll for Poker and a $12,000 bankroll to spend on things I will enjoy or things I will be told I will enjoy by the missus. Item one: having some rooms professionally painted. Hmmm. Thanks Jared! Please vote in my survey. November is coming soon.

Two Thousand Games

I have just completed two thousand Maui games for the year. In truth the second thousand games were very similar in split and overall performance to the first (see my post in May). In some ways that gives me comfort. Both sets are a mixture of good runs, downswings and stagnation. The top two spots are still first and third which I am obviously happy with. Here is my position split and progress chart for the year to date.

The last five hundred games or so have seen me on a particularly good run which has continued into September. Also like last month I have cashed for $42 in the same VIP freeroll. This one is for high volume players only (VIP silver level) which I have been part of the last couple of months. The other night 117 players competed for a share of $3500. Real good value. I finished seventeenth. The final table which has eluded me so far has serious prizemoney. Shame its only once a month. Things are going well but I must not get complacent, cocky, lazy or unfocused. If I can remain on track I have a real chance to achieve all my challenge goals. I still have a lot of work to do however...... and another thousand games to play.

Hand History 5

A tricky spot six-handed at the 100/200 level where aggression ultimately wins the day. With A4 suited in the big blind I am resigned to folding any raise or shove. However when Siciliano25 calls in the cut off I am ready to go all in. In this spot he often has a hand like KJ or QJ. Not enough for some people to go all in with but they want to see a flop. Often when I go all in here he folds and if he calls I am slightly ahead. Occasionally this would be a trap from a big hand. However when the small blind joins in I have to rethink. Shoving now gives both the two others better odds to call so I check and take the flop which generously gives me the nut flush draw. When the small blind bets out the minimum I have only one intension, getting all my chips in. This gives me plenty of ways to win and sticks with my aggresive late style where I am hoping to double up prior to the bubble. Siciliano25 (my view on his hand holding looking correct) gets out of the way and the small blind calls with a worse flush draw. The flush hits, I become chip leader and go on to win the game. Its easy when you are running good.       saw flop | saw showdown Button martyme1 (1345) SB masha1981 (2610) BB Kartajana (1450) UTG lubeis4wimps (2432.50) MP WilliamJK (990) CO SICILIANO25 (1172.50) Preflop: Kartajana is BB with A 4 2 folds, SICILIANO25 calls 200, 1 fold, masha1981 calls 100, Kartajana checks. Flop (600) T 3 8 masha1981 bets 200, Kartajana raises to 1250, 1 fold, masha1981 calls 1050. Turn (3100) 3 River (3100) K masha1981 shows 9 6 Kartajana shows A 4 Kartajana wins 3100 with Flush (Spades) with Ace high   I quite like how these hand histories are represented but I think there is probably a better option (perhaps more graphical out there) which I will try out if I can source a good one. Also sometimes the positional data gets mixed up. If anyone knows a good I-Poker hand converter let me know via e-mail or post a comment. Thanks. Meanwhile please vote in my latest survey. I am really hoping Sam Holden can put together a strong run for the big prize but being short stack is a significant obstacle. I wish I had that problem though!