Played again on Tuesday night but been too busy to blog about it.
field of 40 people and I came second.
The guy who came first never saw a bet he couldn't call.
He kept catching cards though and put everyone else on tilt.
This allowed me to cruise into second place and finally got knocked out with a KQ all in, called by an A10.
I have generally found the standard of live play to be lower than online and so will have a few more punts at this.
Hey I played live for the first time.
I had heard there was a sunday game at 3 o clock in Glasgow Merchant city with a £22 buyin so I went along to give it a go.
well I came 5th out of 22 not brilliant but respectable for a first live game. winning £25 for £3 profit.
I then went onto the blackjack and won £40 so a profitable day out and great live experience.
I will hopefully try again in a couple of weeks and let you know how it goes.
Peter
Just thought I would write a quick article on sit n go's and how I believe they are best played.
Please do not employ these methods if you are at my table.
Basically when you play at $11 and above the players are moderate players, they are not your micro limit Riff Raff but have some idea of hand value and playing tight so you can employ some tactics that would be considered OPS (Over play syndrome) in a micro limit game.
What do I mean by this?
well you can mess with there heads, they are paying attention they do get reads on you and they know to play tight early and then to loosen up.
They have all read the same books and articles as you and me and they know how to play tight early on, so you shouldn't. I am not talking about bluffing every hand but simply use your position. Position early on in a sit n go can be wielded like a hammer.
Basically I have been employing the following strategy
On the button
call any raise up to 4 times the blind with any 2 cards.
watch for weakness after the flop (i.e a small follow up bet (1/3 to 2/3 the pot) and reraise with a pot size bet, after that use your judgement if called.
on the cut off - raise 2-3 times blind with any 2 cards on any unraised pots. and then bet 2/3 to pot size after flop.
1 off the cut off - same as cut off (this is an even better seat than the cut off because knowledgeable players see the cut off as a steal.
All other positions play tight.
What this gives you is a very early lead and you get paid on all your premium holdings because about 4 blind increases in people start playing back at you. This is when you shut down. Everyone else is opening up but you have a large chip lead already so there is no need to risk it. Then when you get a premium hold they play back at you because they have taken a note saying you are a lag and are looking for any cards to play back with.
All my advise here goes against everything you have been taught but I find it works at 11 22 and 33 dollar games and I am often in the last 4 players with 1/2 the tables chips which means I coast into the final 3.
Try it and if it works for you let me know, if it doesn't don't blame me I am just a micro limit player.
Just remember the following Poker is like the stock market always do the opposite to everybody else and you will make money and since established wisdom is play tight early on and loosen up later on I advocate the opposite, play the player, play poker- don't play cards.
I will add the following warning to this as whilst working on this method I fell foul to the major premium hands calling rather than reraising- be aware that a really good player will spot what you are doing and let you bluff your stack to them - so do not pot commit and watch out for really tight players calling to the river.
Have fun
Peter
Have spent the last week playing Sit and go's at Party Poker.
Have done these before and never done better than come of even in the long run so I gave them up a long time ago.
But party emailed me saying they were Giving me $15 so I couldn't resist it.
I played an $11 sit and go and won and have been going from there, I am currently at about $180 and hooked.
Really stupid I know as I was making more at the micro limits, however there is something about competition in this form that gives more of an adrelinin boost and is more satisfying.
I can't decide what to play mainly these days though sit'n gos limit cash or tourneys what do you guys prefer and why?
Just in case you guys thought I was not posting my results anymore, it has simply been because I have hardly played any micro limit poker in the last week.
I received a new book I had ordered called "Kill Phil" and was inspired to play a few small stakes tournaments.
My Results were as follows.
Lost quite a few but had 2 big wins
$10 short handed tourney 64 entrants 1st Place -$224
$3 Buy in to ladders tournament second place - $300
oh yes and for $5 I have won a seat onto the GBPT final to qualify for GBPT in Edinburgh
lost about $50 altogether with other buyins but was more than impressed with my results.
The question is will I switch to tourneys.
I don't know, the variance is much greater and a few night you just lose after hours of work, while as in limit you seem to win most nights and the variance is not that great if you play well, I will keep you posted.
Anyway the book I used as a primer for these tourneys was Kill Phil see link below, and if you are considering buying it please use the link below and help support my blog.
Kill Phil is excellent for beginners (but all levels can get something out of it) and gave me a few insights that I never saw before, a sort of extension on Harrington's Low 'M' Theory in lots of ways. Anyway if you are serious about tourneys I would also recommend Harrington's books which are must reads and can be bought from my astore (click here to open).
Anyway good luck at the tables whatever your chosen format, just remember that they vary greatly and pick a format that suits you and your temperament.
Peter
came 2nd in the 2nd stage though led all the way and the last 2 places were all in all the way as the prize was the same.
I am very pleased with myself as normally am a limit guy and this was NL.
So now I have a ticket to the final for a seat at the GBPT
1 in 22 people get a seat at the GBPT event in Edinburgh.
see links below for details
http://www.eurobetpoker.com/club/pn.go?page=promotion1&lang=1&sid=231116190254591251048612&ms=MS
