Tag: Online Poker

Back at Empire

Nick MomrikLeave a comment

I logged into Empire Poker today just for kicks and voila! They’re having a redeposit bonus of 25% up to $150. So much for sticking at UB. I just can’t pass up the bonus whoring. Since I’ve been loving the short-handed table and the Party skins don’t have $2/4 6-max, I jumped around some of the $1/2 6-maxers. After stopping by four tables I finished up a total of 28 BB and cleared over 150 of my 1050 raked hands for the bonus.

Tomorrow after work I’ll be heading to my parents for the weekend in order to get my taxes done and visit the dentist, so I won’t get in any online play. We might make a trip to St. Ignace for some casino play, but it’s more likely that we’ll just play some home games. I haven’t done that in quite some time, so it should be fun.

Update: Played another 50 minutes while waiting for laundry and took down another 11 BB. Take advantage of the Empire bonus while you can!

HAMMERth Place

Nick MomrikLeave a comment

I went out in 72nd place in tonights WPBT event. A total of 151 players entered for the biggest event so far. I would up at my first table with Dr. Pauly and definitely had the most hammer showings in history. Before I was moved the hammer was shown for about a 6-6 record. The Dr. had the most notable when he picked up the hammer on the button. The cutoff had AA and the big blind had KK. They were all-in pre-flop. The flop came down with two 7s and the hammer took out the two best hands at the same time. He even ended up with a full house on the end.

I didn’t get any real exciting hands that I need to recap. I had quite a few pocket pair, but either didn’t get any play back or didn’t hit anything. CJ from Up4Poker took me out when I tried to pick off his steal from the button. I had Ah5h in the small blind. He raised it up to 3x the BB and I then doubled it. He called and the flop came down with two clubs and a queen. I was pot committed at this point so I pushed with an inside straight draw and my ace as outs or hoping he would fold. He made an easy call with qctc. When I think about it, I should have pushed all-in pre-flop instead of just doubling his bet. I may have gotten him to fold, but I think it was a pretty easy call for him to make calling what I did bet. At least I lost to a blogger.

I have to say that the list of people now on the rail shows a lot of familiar names I recognize from blogs, so I’d bet there is a very strong showing by the readers. I just hope they don’t take the crown and finally win won of these things. GO BLOGGERS!

I played well and had a good time. That’s all I could hope for…besides a showing in the money of course.

It turns out that a blogger did win the tournament. Congrats to on_thg! Go read his recap.

A Final Table

Nick MomrikLeave a comment

I made the final table in the limit tournament and finished 9th in a field of 162 for a $32.40 profit. My Mrs. Slick went down to a guy who called two raises pre-flop with his pocket threes and hit a third on the flop. I played well but didn’t really get any hands until when I was down to my all-ins. I couldn’t even get a hand to steal the blinds with. I did make two moves that allowed me to get to the final table though. An aggressive player on the button raised when nobody else entered the pot. I reraised with my pocket fives and bet the flop and turn to put myself all-in. I figured he was on a steal and he end ended up foldin the turn. Another time I stood my ground against a steal with TJo and bet the flop and turn again with no help on the board. I was all-in, but the player folded and I doubled up. I started the final table as the 9th stack I think, so it was going to be an uphill battle and I needed to double through soon with the blinds so high. You can’t win them all. I’m happy with the way I played and didn’t make any bonehead moves, so that’s always a good sign.

It’s kind of nice to be able to enter these cash tournaments with Ultimate Points that you earn while playing the real money tables at UB. Great practice and you can’t beat the price! I think I’m ready for the WPBT tournament tomorrow. Watch out for the defending champ! Boy, I’ll be glad when I can stop saying that. I can already feel the pressure to make a decent showing tomorrow. I’m pretty sure last time was a fluke. The other bloggers really are much better no-limit players than I am. I just happened to get cards at the right times.

I ended up 23 BB to the good at the $2/4 table I was playing, so it’s a nice positive day for the bankroll again. I had doubled my buy-in (always for 30 BB) in the first hour, but then my flopped set of 6s got beat by a 2 outter on the turn by a bigger set in a 19 BB pot (I’m glad the player ran out of money early on the turn). From there I didn’t get any hands for quite some time. I made a few steals, but the key was keeping my composure unlike last night. I was forced to fold my chip stack all the way back down to even, but stuck to my game and came out on top in the end. Imagine that…you do better without tilting.

Tough Beats

Nick MomrikLeave a comment

When I got home I fired up UB and saw a $5 turbo tournament starting at 5:00, so using my Ultimate Points, I joined for free. In the 2nd or 3rd level I get cowboys with an early position raiser, so I bump it up to 400 and only the raiser calls. The flop comes Q high and he checks, so I bet the pot. He goes all in and it’s an easy call for me. He has Mrs. Slick and of course the ace comes on the turn giving him two pair. I’m down to 135 chips. Two hands later I get KJo and with one early limper I push all-in. Only the limper calls and he has J7 of diamonds. The flop brings a 7 and I’m out. I guess this is turbo! I played for a grand total of 15 minutes losing to a 5 outter and a 3 outter. I got my chips in when I was the favorite and that’s all you can do.

I’m now playing in a $10 limit tournament which I also used Ultimate Points to enter for free. We’ll see how this goes. On a side note, I’m already up over 15 BB playing one table of $2/4 6-max.

Tilt Steering

Nick MomrikLeave a comment

Tilt is probably the part of poker that is capable of eating away at our bankrolls faster than anything else. Especially for us amateurs. I know I still struggle with it at times and it costs me dearly. Last night was one of those nights.

I found a couple of great 6-max $2/4 games at UB and saddled up for the ride. Talk about a roller coaster! There were a few times where I lost control and it proved deadly. I ended up down about 25 BB for the night and the loss was all due to a few periods of tilt. If I could have controlled my emotions, I would have easily walked away from the tables a winner on the night.

Since my switch to UB on Friday I’ve found great games each time I play. Last night was no exception. In fact, I’ve never come across games like this online. Maybe everyone likes to blow off some steam after a stressful Monday at work, but these people are nuts! I was playing two tables the entire session and at one point, both tables had a pre-flop raise percentage of over 25%. Yes, that 2-5, 25%. On one of the tables I had a player raising pre-flop 50% of the time, another at 20% and another at 16%. Remember, this is all at the same table. I’ve never seen anything close to this bad at Party. NEVER EVER!

So what do I do? I have the winning hand all the way and get beat on the river. Ok, fine, shit happens right? No…I go on tilt for a couple of hands and give away a few BB. I don’t just do this once. I do it several times over the course of the session. Each time I realize it and quickly adjust, but it’s already too late. I’ve given away precious bets. If I had just been able to eliminate the tilt factor, I would have won for the night. Sometimes you have to pay for your lessons though.

I was actually down about 75 BB at one point, was then back to a few big bets ahead, and then back down to where I finally called it quits. It’s frustrating to know that I played like shit in the best position I’ve ever been in at the poker tables. If I had not tilted and the cards went a little more my way, I would have easily pulled a few hundred from these games. I’ll get them next time.

One thing is for sure…I’ll be staying at UB and don’t see myself leaving anytime soon. Well, except to do some bonus whoring on the Party sites.

ATMs at Every Corner

Nick MomrikLeave a comment

One of the greatest things about playing online poker is that there are plenty of ATMs to go around. Every once in awhile they’ll take your money, but if you keep swiping your cards they’ll give you money.

I played a few hours on UB again today and added another 50 BB to the bankroll. I’m loving the $2/4 6-max tables! The aggresive strategy that I’ve been reading about and studying is paying off big time. If I get any type of hand pre-flop, I’m raising and continuing that aggression through the hand. I’ve never took down so many pots on the flop and turn. Once I showdown some big hands, I’m getting respect (for the most part) at the tables. If I’m heads up in a hand and flop middle pair, I come out firing. The same if I pick up a good draw. With only one other person in the pot, every hand has a lot more value. Shorthanded play is exciting if you know how to play it.

I’m still making mistakes more than I’d like to, but it’s amazing how far my game has come in the last few days. At the beginning of the week I was making horrible calls and bluffs at record speed, but now I’m picking my spots and scoring big wins to go along with the steals. One of the things I still need to work on is my re-raise bluffing. I’m doing it more than I should be. I’m not doing it often, but when I do, it’s not working.

Note to self: Stop re-raise bluffing. If you’ve shown aggression pre-flop/flop and a decent player comes over the top, there is a very good chance I’m beat.

What irks me about these past couple of days is I now realize how many bets I had been giving away for two months. Why didn’t I do something sooner? There’s a lesson for you. If you’re losing for a long period of time, take a step back. Variance can be a bitch for long streaks, but there might be a good chance that your play has taken a dive off the deep end. If only I had plugged the holes in my game a month or so ago, I’d be well on the way to my original goal. At least I’m well on my way to reaching the new goal I had set two weeks ago. Who knows though…if I can keep it going like the past 3 days, I might even reach the original. Unlikely, but not impossible.

I'm Back

Nick Momrik1 Comment

Help me give a big warm welcome back to my poker game. I had lost it for almost two months and yesterday I finally found it. I’m back in the ring!

I’ve written before that it’s been a struggle over the past two months. If it wasn’t for deposit bonuses, I would have been done quite a bit. When I last posted about my game, I was in the process of taking some time off. It was well worth it. I didn’t play online at all for a period of 10 days and was able to some reading and think about my game. TOP and ITH are both great books if you haven’t read them.

Party Poker was again offering a great redeposit bonus and it came just in time for my return to the ring. I was disappointed though to actually lose money while working off the required 1400 raked hands for my maximum bonus. Not only did I lose money, but I even ended up behind after figuring in the bonus! So much for taking time off to refine my game and get back to winning!

I was making the same mistakes that had been costing me dearly for the previous two months. I knew what I was doing wrong and just couldn’t stop. As soon as I’d click the button to bet or call, I knew I had made the wrong choice. Always calling check-raisers on the turn is not a profitable situation to be in at the low limits that I play (usually $2/4). You can pick off a bluff once in awhile, but not too many people have the balls to pull a check-raise bluff at these levels. I was calling and then calling another bet on the river. That’s 2 BB each and every time in a losing situation. Not good for the bankroll!

Another mistake I had been making was bluffing way too much. I’d say that of my bluffs and semi-bluffs, I was doing it about 90-95% too much! You can’t win money making this many mistakes and I surely wan’t winning. Bluffs simply are not very profitable at the low limits. There are too many fish that will call you down with bottom or middle pair that it doesn’t pay to bluff them. Simply let them pay you off when you do have a hand. It’s really not that difficult.

While clearing the bonus I think I was down about $350 (or only $150 if you incorporate the bonus I received). Something had to change. I thought about completely moving back down to $1/2 until I could fix my game. I thought about withdrawing $1000 from my bankroll to make sure I wouldn’t blow it. I thought about starting fresh from the lowest limit that Party Poker offered.

Read More »

Review: Internet Texas Hold'em

Nick Momrik1 Comment

Internet Texas Hold'em: Winning Strategies from an Internet ProA little over a month ago, Ammon from ITH offered me a free copy of Matthew Hilger’s book Internet Texas Hold’em: Winning Strategies from an Internet Pro in exchange for writing a review on my site. Since I always review the books I read and had wanted the book, I quickly took him up on his offer.

At the time, I had just started reading Theory of Poker (my review), so I didn’t start on ITH until last week when I was taking a break from the poker tables. I finished ITH earlier this week. It was really a quick read, even though its length is comparable to most poker books. I was able to read it so fast because I’m already familiar with most of the concepts discussed from reading TOP and Small Stakes Hold’em. That’s not to say that the book is all repeat information though.

ITH is a great book and one that I would recommend to anyone who wants to start playing poker online. Yes, I’d even recommend it before SSH in this case. What sets ITH apart is that the book concentrates on the differences between online and live play. Hilger gives you solid advice on how to beat the online game.

The book is broken down into chapters and the order was great. The jump from one topic to the next flows smoothly and would allow a beginner to easily follow along. Perhaps the best part of the book is the examples and how they are used to supplement the text. At the end of each chapter there are 15-20 real examples taken from online hand histories. The situation is laid out in plain English and then a question is proposed. Should you call? Is raising a better play? Right after each question, Hilger lays out what he believes is the correct play for each situation. Another thing that sets the examples apart from the other books I’ve read is that the author doesn’t use large card images to show you the hand and situation. He simple explains it in text form. This helps to cut down on a lot of space and flipping back and forth between pages.

ITH is not only a great book for the beginning poker player, but it can be a great resource for anyone’s online game. I’ve been struggling with my game over the past two months and the book helped to reinforce some of the concepts and strategies that I had forgot. There are other books I like better, but since the book does so well at what it’s meant for I have to give it an A.


No Play

Aside Nick MomrikLeave a comment

Just a quick post to say that I haven’t played online in a week now as I had planned. I’ve really got the itch, but I’m going to stick to my plan. I’m about 1/3 of the way through reading Internet Texas Hold’em and I think I should be able to finish if I spend […]