Mufasa's Poker Life

Wow.........

2006-10-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

I 4 tabled $1oo NL tonight and in an hour and a half experienced the following hands...all these hands were pocket pairs
QQ lost to trip 8's
KK lost to A,4 w/ and A on the river
AA lost to trip 8's
QQ lost again to tip 8's
QQ lost to a rivered A,x
KK folded when A flopped
JJ folded to flop of KQQ
KK folded to flop of AJJ
Lost $380.....could of been much worse I guess....:-(

Tough beats keep coming

2006-10-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

Pocket QQ ran down by A3os when A hit on the river
Pocket KK beat by 10,8 when two 8's came
A,K lost to 9,9..legit beat
Pocket 88 got creamed by AQ when flop came AQQ
Pocket QQ lost to Trip 8's
Pocket KK lost to A,4os when A came on river
Pocket AA lost to trip 8's again
Pocket QQ lost to trip 8's AGAIN

All this is ring games and SNG's and I managed to only lose about $260 tonight....

Been a while since.....

2006-10-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

I posted here. We are very busy at work and between wokring and playing a little poker I haven't had the energy to post much here. I'm not sure anyone reads it anyway. I do enjoy reading Billinga's and Titans blogs even thought I may not respond to often. I lost about a grand over the past few weeks in cash games and a bad run of SNG beats. There was one day when I got 5th or bubbled in 6 straight $109 and $225 SNG's when I got my money in good and got outflopped or two or three outed. Just a bad run.
On a good note I have played my first real live sessions(2) of NL. A casino near us had a $3-5 - $200 buy in game. After losing my first buy in on a bad call AK against AA I tightened down and played solid poker. I won $479 in my first session and then went back this saturday and turned my $200 buy in into a nice $700 profit. At one point I was up $1,000 and this girl came and sat down and bet $35 in the cut off and I was in BB looking at JJ and said all in. She called and I knew I was beat. She flipped over KK and I doubled her up. So much for my bully attempt. I was very pleased with my play and I play much tighter and aggresive in real games. I was the table leader in a passive agrssive way. I came in hard but also made some great lay downs. I laid down a flipped 2 pair to a set, I laid down KK twice after the flop in multi way action. I play6ed for 8 hours and was pretty exhausted when I was done. I didn't talk much to anyone and tried to concentrate on the game. I hope ya'll are having success at the tables. I'm off for a couple SNG's...wish me luck...

Dark Days...

2006-10-05T22:39:00.000-07:00

My bankroll has taken about an $1,100 hit in the last few days between some MTT's and ring games. I have really made some donk moves like TPTK against a flush(rivred), two pair and trips for three painful pots. I also lost about $200+ when I limped in with 44 and hit a 4 on the flop and pushed in and ran into pocket K's and a K hit on the turn. Went out 3 from the bubble in a MTT on Doyles when my A,Qs ran into A,K. I raised for 7K and got reraised all in for my last 14k by the chip leader and that was that. I am taking Foxs advanced sng training this saturday and then the next level of training next saturday. I am hoping that will help my level of play in SNG's. I went out 4th in a $225 SNG on PStars tonight. My JJ preflop all in lost to 99 when a 9 came on the flop. I finished middle of the pack in a few other $33+ MTT the last few days. I am about ready for another hot streak anyday now!!!

I suck at.....

2006-09-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

Ring games.....I mean I do ok but I always try to puch at the wrong time with the wrongs cards. It seems that I take 2 steps forward and 3 back. I made about $400+ then gave $600+ back playing on Doyles and Pacific cause I'm trying to clear some bonuses. I got frustrated and went back to Party for a couple $109 SNG's and got 2nd and 3rd. My 2nd place I lost with 99 to A9 when and A came and finally called and all in with A,Qs only to run into QQ. But it felt good to win again. I am trying to figure out why the SNG's are easier for me than the ring games. I am thinking that in a SNG you know that some action is coming as the blinds increase and chips start moving around the table. Because I know the action is coming I find it very easy to sit back and pick and choose my spots. I seem to have a good feel for this style of poker. Maybe I am an action junky and I try to force to much in the ring games. I seem to be playing well as far as stats go. One session I had a VPIP of 21% PFR of 9% and my W$SD was 16/23 for 69% yet I lost $256. My total aggression was 4.5 which is way to high. Oh well, I am just rambling now..thanks for reading and good luck at the tables.....Anybody have any thoughts about the difference in mindset between SNG's and ring games???

Busy Week.....

2006-09-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

..of work and such. I did manage to play 10 $55 SNG's and place in 8 of them. 2 firsts, 2 seconds and 4 thirds. I have played some various medium and low level MTT's and took a little bit of cash away from a UB tourney.
I played 200NL at Doyles rooom last night and ended the night up $347. I don't play alot of ring games but in my 15,000+ hands so far it sure seems like the money comes in waves. Ring games can be so volitle and it seems like the best strategy for me is to play rock solid with loose players and wait for that hand where you have them buried and someone is willing to pay you off. It requires seeing some flops though which can deplete the stack rapidly if your not careful. My total BR won on ring games per pokertracker is $2,600.00. I took a big hit early when my A10 hit a flop of A,10,8 and my opponet turned over 10,10 for trips. I then fought back for 3 hours staying pretty much even and the one player who I could never push off a pot with my semi bluffs came over the top of me all in when I was holding a full house with K,s over Q,. He flipped over A,10 ans his measley A,s fell hard for a $300+ pot.

SNG Heaven

2006-09-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

Well....I got a good story a bad story. I always like to start with the bad. I was playing $200NL last night (after I said I wasn't gonna play anymore :-) while playing $50+5 Sngs. I ended up losing $400 in the ring games when I over played JJ and ran into trips 10 and knew I was beat but that didn't stop me. I later overplayed my QQ into a K,8,4 flop and I knew he had a K and I pushed anyway...more out of frustration. My VPIP was a nice 16.2, PFR was 9.4 but my W$SD I was 2/8 (horrible). While this fiasco was going on I cashed in all 4 $55 sng's. 1 Win, 2 2nds, and 2 3rds. I rebound back today and placed 2nd and 1st in 2 $50+5 sng's, I also played ring games again which I am really trying to work on and I was getting no cards. My VPIP was 10.7 PRF was 6 and my W$SD was 2/6..I was playing tight and just not getting any cards(2 hours), My only salvation was my total aggression a 12 which is extremely high but I felt like I needed to protect my marginal hands, Then came the hand I got came back on. I was dealt AcKc I bet $6, was raised to $10 and I called. The flop came 4d8cQc. I bet $16 on my flush draw and was rasied to $32. I got about $167 in play and he had $287 so I just push in (more out of frustration) turn came Ks and river 6d, I didn't make my flush by I did make TPTK. He was holding and AQ. He had me till the turn. I was down to $167 pushing all in and came away with $335 total. I was a nice save. Not as dramatic as Titans save the other day but it worked for me. It seems that right now my SNG play is stronger than anything else I play. I wanted to play the Bluff Poker Tour that Bilinga plays in but I had a church deal tonight and couldn't make it. I hope to play this thursday!!

Doyles Room

2006-09-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

I worked all night friday and all day saturday and we beat so I decided just to play a $27 MTT w/ add ons and rebuys and veg out a little. I made it to the final table with the shortest stack and ended up 5th for $345. My A,10s came up against A,kos and no 10 on the flop. It was my first time playing in Doyles room and I like the software. The blinds moved very rapidly compared to most sites which produced alot of action. It really made me concentrate on what the players tendencies were rather than just playing my cards (which I have a tendency to do). I don't imagine I will play much more this weekend cause we have the grandkids and I can't just sit at the computer :-)

Patience pays off

2006-09-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

I sat at a $220NL at Pacific and a $400NL at PStars tonight and increased my BR by $730.56. My cards held up every time I got in good. At PStars I was playing very tight and raised the same player out of two pots. The 3rd one I got A,9s and raised, he reraised, I called and we saw a flop which came 4,5,9, rainbow, I checked, he bet, I called. Turn came 2 I checked, he bet I pushed in and he called for $425 more and turn over A,Ks. He was pissssssed ......It was nice to get my BR back where it was last week. I got some hectic days at work coming up and won't be able to play much this weekend but am hoping to squeeze in a few hands. Hope everyone (titan..lol) who reads my blog is doing well....:-)

Heads Up

2006-09-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

I played a cheapy tourney on Party tonight and lost half my chips with QQ to A,10 when a A came on the turn. I managed to grind my way up to average stack size of 13K when I got dealt QQ again. Bet was 1,600 from early position which I raised to 5,800 and was called. Flop cam A,Q,9 and I pushed the last 7k in, got called with K,Jos and yep....a 10 came on the flop. Played a little 100NL and broke even for the night. I then played a couple HU matches on Party and lost a $22 and won the $55 so my night was one of those break even nights. I played well but just don't have much to show for it. I used to play alot of heads up and think I might go back to it for a week or so....thanks for reading my blog....

Tough Days

2006-09-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been flat on my back for about a week which has never happened to me before so I have been playing on my laptop. My bankroll has taken a hard hit in the past week and a half. I went from $6K down to $5.2. I have taken every imagineable beat in the past week. I have definately overplayed some hands when I knew I was beat like pushing with flushes after the board paired only to get called down by full houses. I played about 10 MTT's, a few sng's and some 200NL and 400NL. I have had AA cracked 6 times, KK cracked 4 times and Q,Q beat 7 times over the last week. The law of averages will prevail in the end but they certainly haven't been with me this past week. My last hand tonight I pushed in with JJ with 3k and got called by 88 and the flop came 8,3,8 and I am the bubble boy in another sng....The pain medication for my back probably hasn't helped my decision making either. Time to keep the head up and grind it out!!!!

Back to Reality

2006-09-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

No sooner did I get home from Montana then I left for another bike trip down to Yreka, CA. I didn't take my laptop with me so I didn't play any poker. Just a great time with about 25 other riders I know. I haven't yet decided what my new poker venture will be but I will be playing a few MTT's. I played the UB $12.5k tonight and lost with QQ vs KK and finally with A,K to 6,8s when a 6 came on the flop. Finished in the middle of the pack. My bike trips are over so I will get serious again about my poker.

Back from 5 days in Montana

2006-09-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

Had a great 2,200+ mile ride. Got my business taken care of and enjoyed riding. I played my final 2 SNG's and went out 9th and 10th respectively. Got knocked out of one with A,Ks against A,Js and a J came on the flop. The other I lost w/ 3 pocket pairs in a row. Just wasn't meant to be.
I also lost a few $33 SNG's and a $400 pot in a $200NL game. It was a 3 way pot and I flopped a nut flush draw which never came and lost to trip Q's.
I played in both the UB and FT $200k gaurantee today and finished right in the middle of the pack. Couldn't get much going and lost with A,Qs to KK and a K,Qs to A,K. I had pocket pairs about 10 times but couldn't catch a set on any of them. My VPIP was under 10 for both which shows I was playing tight but just couldn't really catch any cards.

Total of 20 SNG's - $3180 - $2,185 = $995 profit

I need to find a new challenge to start on............

Good Night

2006-08-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

I played 2 more SNG's tonight and finished 8th on PStars and 1st on PPoker. On PStars I was virtually card dead. A pair of 4's was the best hand I saw through 5 levels. I tried a steal with my A,9 (best hand I seen in a while) and ran into JJ.
On PPoker I played good solid poker and caught an A on the flop 3 times to beat lower PP's. Sometimes the poker gods shine on you!!

Total of 18 SNG's: $3,180 - $1,967 = $1,213 profit

I am heading to Montana for some work related training. I am riding my bike and will take my laptop. Hopefully I will continue to turn a profit on my SNG's.

The Weekend

2006-08-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

Well I was pretty tired from my work week but managed to get in 6 more SNG's. I pretty much just treaded water this weekend. The grandson was over friday night and saturday and pretty much wore me out. I have a hard time making good decisions when I am tired. I admire you guys that are professional online players. It would be very tough to bring the A game day after day. The summary of my weekend was a 7th, 2 - 6th's, a 5th, a 3rd, and a 1st'. Not bad but no real headway towards profit. I played on PartyPoker which has 10 players but the payout is also better. I'm not sure the 10th guy really hurts the odds of placing over 9 players.

I also lost 1 buy in at $100NL when my A,K ran into K,J on a flop of K,J,8 with no help on the turn or river.

Total of 16 $109 SNG's: $2,680 - $1,744 = $936 profit

Friday Night

2006-08-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

I played 2 more SNG's tonight for a total of 10 with 10 more to go. I played on on Full Tilt and one on Pokerstars. I got 8th at Full Tilt. I had pocket 5's and called $450 all in from the short stack who turn over A,K and a K came on the flop. I raised 3x the BB from the button with A,6 and was called by the SB (same player w/ the A,K). Flop came A,6,9 with 2 clubs. The SB pushed and I called for $725 more. He hit his flush on the river. I pushed my last $400+ from the CO and was called by the BB and UTG. I turned over 4,4 against A,K and A,10. A K came on the flop and that was that, out in 8th. I felt good about getting my money in with the best hands.
On PokerStars I was down to 1k in chips with 4 players left and ended up chopping the pot. We were within a $100 of each other when we got heads up and so we chopped. I won and sent him $90. I have never been asked to chop before but he was clearly the best player in the SNG and I thought a chop sounded profitable and reasonable.

Total for the night: $360 - $218 = $142 profit

Total of 10 SNG's: $1,980 - $1,090 = $890.00 profit

Back on Track

2006-08-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well tonight I got a chance to play so I played 2 $109 SNG's on PokerStars and got a 2nd and a 3rd. In one I had a 13.7 VPIP with a 8.2 PFR when it got down to 3 handed and in the other I had a 21.1 VPIP with a 12 PFR when it got down to 3 handed. This is just a very small sample but it demonstrates for my play that the tighter the better until most of the field is gone. I didn't chase any suited Ax or small pairs early which I did last night. The last hands came down to me holding A,6s vs 2,2 in one and K,Q vs. 5,5 in the other and in both case the best hand held up.

Total for the night: $540 - $218 = $232 profit

Total of 8 SNG's: $1,620 - $872 = $748 profit

Bad Night

2006-08-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

I went and had dinner with the wife, kids and grandkids and came home refreshed to play a couple SNG's. I could tell I was in for a short night right away. At FTP I got dealt A,7s, A,4s, A,js, A,ks, and finally pocket 7's which came up against pocket Q's. I called or minimumed raised with each of the hands and caught a "piece" of each flop. I ended up finishing 8th which is one of my worst finishes in a long time except for........my PokerStars SNG.
There was a wild self professed drunk at the table who dismemebered me. I called a minimum raise with K,10 on the button and flop came K,9,10 with 2 spades and drunk boy pushed in for $405, was called by 1 player and myself. We checked it down and four spades fell and he took the pot with a 9s in his hand. Other caller had K,9 so I was in great shape till the river. I was down to $875 with the blinda at $50 - $100 and pushed into an uncalled pot from the small blind with K,Qs and drunk boy called for his last $775 and turned over A,A. My night was over in 9th....

Total for the night -$218.00

Total of 6 SNG's $1,170 - $654 = $516 profit

I don't think I will be able to play tomorrow night but will get back on my game Friday night and play 2-6 more SNG's

I played a little .50 - 1 NL and made back $125.25

Night 2

2006-08-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

I was a little tired coming home from work today and was wondering if I should even play tonight but once I got in the door and the wife was gone I couldn't resist sitting down for a couple SNG's.
I played 1 on Full Tilt. I didn't really get a hand for 4 or 5 orbits and slowly began to build up to 4k in chips. One from the CO raised to 600 and I pushed in with pocket 6's. He called for the balance of his chips (1,200) and showed pocket 5's. He hit his set on the turn and I was left with around 2,100. My pocket 6's let me down again when I pushed and met up with pocket 10's. I finished a dissapointing 5th.
I also played on PokerStars. Again my cards were pretty quiet and I blinded down to just under 1k and started stealing here and there when I sensed any weakness. The key hand was when there was 4 of us left and the short stack (not by much) bet $600 and I pushed him all in with A,3s. He turned over A,Qs and I sucked out a 3 on the river. I deserve a good suck out too once in a while. I played good position poker and ended up getting 1st.
My next challenge is to pay better attention to what my position and chip count is so I can describe the hands better.

Total for today was $450 - $218 = $232 profit

4 SNG's complete for a total of $734

$109 SNG's

2006-08-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

Starting today I am going to play 20 - $109 SNG's on various sites. Tonight I played 1 on Fill Tilt and finished 2nd for $270. I had a 7 to 1 chip advantage and couldn't win a race down the stretch. When I had A,9 he had A,J, etc. etc.
I also played on one at Poker Stars at the same time and finished 1st for $450. I felt confident going in and played well. When I got my money in good my hands held up (for once..lol).

Total for today was $720 - $218 = $502.00 profit

I will play two more tomorrow night and see if I fair as well.