Archive for November, 2009
PokerBRB Freeroll#BRB and Freeroll #BRBFINAL freerolls on PKR Poker in December
Sunday, November 29th, 2009 | Poker Freeroll, Poker News | No Comments
We are proud to announce that December’s PokerBRB freeroll league competition will include PKR freerolls.
Here’s our schedule:
- Friday the 4th of December 19 GMT: 25$ Freeroll#BRB Freeroll
- Friday the 11th of December 19 GMT: 25$ Freeroll#BRB Freeroll
- Friday the 18th of December 19 GMT: 25$ Freeroll#BRB Freeroll
- Monday the 28th of December 19 GMT: 125$ Monthly Freeroll #BRBFINAL
In order to get the passwords PKR freerolls here’s what you need to do:
- Create a PKR Poker account by clicking on this link: PKR Poker
- Remember to use the “POKERBRB” bonus code when you sign up
- Create an active PokerBRB freeroll league account – active means that you register at least one poker site username in your account details.
- Log into your “My league profile” page through the log in feature situated in the top right corner of the Pokerbrb front page. In order to log in you need to use the username and password you chose when you registered your PokerBRB account.
- Go to your “My league profile” page at the top of the left menu.
- Go to the “password” subpage to find the passwords for the PKR freerolls
If you have any questions feel free to contact us on pokerbrb@gmail.com or find more information on the PokerBRB forum.
PokerBRB Brunson Tribute 50$ freeroll the 11th of December 2009
Sunday, November 29th, 2009 | Poker Freeroll, Poker News | 2 Comments
We have decided to pay tribute to a living poker legend by having the PokerBRB freeroll and tournament league host the PokerBRB Brunson Tribute 50$ freeroll on Full Tilt Poker the 11th of December 2009 14 EST.
Doyle F. Brunson has been playing professional poker for more than 50 years and has seen it all in his great career. Doyle Brunson was the first player ever to win 1 million $ in poker tournaments and has won 10 WSOP bracelets including two WSOP Main Events in 1976 and 1977.
In order to get the password for the PokerBRB Brunson Tribute 50$ freeroll on Full Tilt Poker here’s what you need to do:
- Create a Full Tilt Poker account by clicking on this link: Full Tilt Poker
- Remember to use the “POKERBRB” bonus code when you sign up
- Create an active PokerBRB freeroll league account – active means that you register at least one poker site username in your account details.
- Log into your “My league profile” page through the log in feature situated in the top right corner of the Pokerbrb front page. In order to log in you need to use the username and password you chose when you registered your PokerBRB account.
- Go to your “My league profile” page at the top of the left menu.
- Go to the “password” subpage to find the password for the PokerBRB Brunson Tribute 50$ freeroll.
- We will reveal the password for the PokerBRB Brunson Tribute 50$ a couple of hours before the freeroll starts at 14 EST
If you have any questions feel free to contact us on pokerbrb@gmail.com or find more information on the PokerBRB forum.
Poker Bankroll Building on a stake deal_update 2
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Bankroll Building | 3 Comments
I have started a stake deal with my good friend Artur. The deal is that I provide a starting bankroll of 2000$ and when he reaches 5000$ I receive 3000$. I have chosen to see the deal as a bet where I get odds 1.5 on my stake. Since I think the probability of success is more than 67% the EV on my bet is above 1. If you are a gambler you always take bets with an EV over 1 
Here are some more details:
- Limits 0,5$/1$
- The project will obviously stop when the bankroll hits 0$
- I cannot pull out of the deal unless the bankroll reaches 5000$
- The daily running stop loss is 300$. This for example means that if the daily profit hits 600$ then Artur has to stop playing if the daily profit drops to 300$
- Rakeback goes back into the bankroll
- I receive weekly updates which I will post here
One month update
We are down to 1150$ which is obviously not good. Artur took a break from poker about 11 days into the project but unfortunately it did not change his luck.
Key hands; big pots lost where we were ahead:
- 330$ pot all in preflop with KK vs QQ vs 910. Flop is 10 10 6
Tournament mistakes_part 1
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Tournament | 1 Comment
Instead of bitching and whining over bad beats I thought I would start sharing the mistakes I make in tournaments. By doing so I hope to reduce the number of mistakes I make and channel my frustrations into writing blog posts which is way more constructive than punching my desk.
Although I am on an official big buy-in tournament break I still play the tournaments in my Poker tournament league. Today was a 2000$ guaranteed 6$ buy-in turbo 6 max tournament on Power Poker.
I did quite well to build a decent 30000 chips stack and was in the money when I started making my first mistake on a relatively new table.
I was making small raises and c-bets to steal pots and blinds but the other players on the table picked up on this and started putting pressure on me by re-raising me all in. So what do I do? I continued making small raises and c-bet and quickly bleed out half my stack due to the increasing blinds. I should have been more aware of my table image and changed my style of play accordingly.
My second and fatal mistake was with J9 in the big blind and a 15000 chip stack. The button who had everyone on the table covered raised it up to 3xBB and I pushed all in aiming for a fold or two live cards in the case of a call. Turns out he had AJ and won the hand. In retrospect I should not have made this move because part of the value of it was to get my opponent to fold. You almost never get the chipleader to fold a preflop raise when you push all in as a short stacked player.
Thoughts on making moves in online poker tournaments
Sunday, November 15th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament | 9 Comments
You don’t win hands by checking; you win hands by betting.
My friend Artur keeps reminding me about this when we play online tournaments together. For some reason I tend to forget this simple mantra when I play online poker tournaments by myself.
Yesterday for example I was playing a small stakes online poker tournament on Full Tilt Poker. I was doing quite well due to some good hands coming my way. I think I had around 8000 chips when I decided to make a move under the gun with A7 suited. I raised it up to 950, the blinds being 150/250, and got one caller in middle position. The flop was rainbow KQ8. I bet 3/4 of the pot and my opponent called. At this point I started to worry that my opponent had hit either a King or a Queen so I decided to slow down and we ended up checking both the turn and river. My opponent showed pocket 9s and took down a 5000 chip pot. In retrospect this was a terrible play by me and I’ve been kicking myself about it all day long.
What annoys me is that I have a tendency to always slow down if I raise preflop, don’t hit the flop and my continuation bet gets called. I very seldom follow through on the turn. Yesterday this was exactly what I should have done. I showed strength both preflop and on the flop and with a 5000 chip pot on the turn compared to my remaining 6000 chips I should have pushed all in. There is no way my opponent could have called an all in from me on the turn. This is especially true because he did not re-raise my flop bet.
It has taken me a long time to make the transition from only betting into pots when I have a good hand to start making moves at pots where I don’t have a hand. Yesterday’s situation tells me that I am not quite there yet. To help me improve my game I have therefore made a new rule:
“Follow through on your preflop and flop moves if the size of the pot is comparable to the amount of chips you have left”
Although I risk looking like an idiot, if my opponents are trapping me, I think I will win more pots in the long run by following through. In any case it will help me grow some bigger tournament balls so to speak.
What do you think?
You could be posting your articles on the Poker Bankroll Blog. Read all about it here.
Check out our Poker Freeroll and Tournament League.
All in Radio Poker show and a funny email from Mitchell Cogert
Saturday, November 14th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament | No Comments
Last Saturday I talked on the All in radio poker show (click the link and go to 34 minutes into the show to hear my words of wisdom). I talked mostly about my favorite preflop moves from Mitchell Cogert’s “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves”. It is no secret that I think Mitchell’s book is a must read for any serious poker player, so if you have some spare time check out his tournament poker blog.
Later that week I had a pleasant chat with Mitchell and after listening to the radio show he sent me the following email which I found really interesting (I’m a sucker for poker anecdotes):
_________________________
Good job!
Funny thing, I’ve used all the moves you mentioned on the show.
Limp with pocket aces–I like this play better online since there are so many aggressive guys online.
The Stop and Go–this is actually a well-known move now that most players may use–and unfortunately, more players recognize it as a move. I believe it is in Harrington’s book.
The Leave behind re-raise pre-flop is a move that I had never seen before–but tried it at one event by accident! In this tournament I had intended to move all-in as a bluff after a player raised pre-flop. After I made the bet, I noticed I had a couple of chips left and felt really stupid. Well…my opponent noticed those chips and appeared confused. He folded…and I decided I should try this play again. It worked and I won a big pot.
One of the times I used this move was in a $500 buy-in tournament in Reno. I only took third place or the story would have been better.
It was the middle of the event. And I was card dead. My image had to be of a very tight player. My chips were bleeding out. The under the gun player put in a standard 3x blind raise….this player and I compete all the time in the Bay Area, so I know he thinks I only re-raise with the nuts. I also know his image–and he likes making moves under the gun with good but not great cards.
A player in middle position calls. I have 9-7 suited on the button. I make a re-raise—about 4x’s the initial raise, which puts about all my chips in…probably 90% of my stack. The reason is that if I move all-in I know I will get a call by one of my opponents. The blinds fold. The guy I knew looks at me, looks at those few chips behind the line and asks, “What are you going to do with those?” I don’t respond. He thinks for a while and mucks. The player in middle position thinks for a long time. I’m thinking to myself, “Fold. Can’t you see I want action with those chips I left behind?” Finally, he shows pocket 9′s and folds. That hand was a big increase in chips for me, at the right time.
Ok..now to give you full disclosure…later on in the event. I’ve never told this story, because it is rather embarrassing. We are down to 3 tables. I’m in the small blind and the timer says it is break time–but the dealer had shuffled so the hand is being dealt. I am dying to take a leak…I mean I had been holding back for a long, long time! The under the gun player limps, the next player limps..and everyone except for one player limps in. I’m in the small blind and I have to go…I really do…I look at K-5 offsuit. I fold and get up to leave. One player says to me, “Wow, you must’ve had real junk to fold there.” I nodded. As I leave, I see the flop…K-5-5!!! No!!! Damn you Red Bull!!
Ok…
Thanks again for mentioning my book on his show. Tell these guys that Harrington is a great book, but tournament’s today are won by knowing how and when to get aggressive and get lucky. See WSOP’s final table as an example.
It was also funny since they didn’t believe that Moon was ever bluffing with his check raises–I didn’t either until I watched the ESPN telecast. This guy deserves a lot of credit for almost winning the bracelet by playing against his table image…whether he
knew what he was doing or not!
Thanks,
Mitchell
PokerBRB Eastgate Tribute 50$ freeroll the 20th of November 2009
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 | Poker Freeroll, Poker News | 2 Comments
To celebrate the recent crowning of the new WSOP 2009 champion the PokerBRB freeroll and tournament league has decided to host a PokerBRB Eastgate Tribute 50$ freeroll on Full Tilt Poker the 20th of November 2009 (we know Joe Cada won this year but we really enjoyed Eastgate’s win last year).
In order to get the password for the PokerBRB Eastgate Tribute 50$ freeroll on Full Tilt Poker here’s what you need to do:
- Create a Full Tilt Poker account by clicking on this link: Full Tilt Poker
- Remember to use the “POKERBRB” bonus code when you sign up
- Create an active PokerBRB freeroll league account – active means that you register at least one poker site username in your account details.
- Log into your “My league profile” page through the log in feature situated in the top right corner of the Pokerbrb front page. In order to log in you need to use the username and password you chose when you registered your PokerBRB account.
- Go to your “My league profile” page at the top of the left menu.
- Go to the “password” subpage to find the password for the PokerBRB Eastgate Tribute 50$ freeroll.
- We will reveal the password for the PokerBRB Eastgate Tribute 50$ freeroll on November 19th 2009.
If you have any questions feel free to contact us on pokerbrb@gmail.com or find more information on the PokerBRB forum.
I’m taking a long break from tournament poker
Monday, November 9th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Tournament | 4 Comments
My online poker tournament year has been absolutely terrible with only two final table finishes all year. Due to my bad run I am experiencing increasing difficulties dealing with the luck factor of the game. I feel like an injustice is done to me every time someone sucks out on me. Watching the final table action of the WSOP main event has just confirmed the fact that luck is a key factor in poker.
You can be the best player in the world but if you are not lucky and those coinflips roll your way, you will never win a poker tournament.
I have to to face that luck is just not on my side these days. In addition my bitterness over being knocked out of tournament after tournament has started to eat away at my passion for the game. Worse yet, the bitterness persists for longer and longer time after the tournaments have ended which has not gone unnoticed by my surroundings.
Therefore I’m calling it quits for at least two full months until I feel ready to play again. I will still play the freerolls in my Poker tournament league but I will not play in anything else. I will keep track of my tournament poker break progress in the comment section of this article.
The November 9 WSOP main event final is well under way.
Sunday, November 8th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments
The November 9 final table of the WSOP 2009 main event started November 7th 12:56:42. 6494 players in total entered the WSOP 2009 main event; each paying a 10000$ buyin. The starting chipstacks of the November 9 players on the final table were as follows:
Darvin Moon (58,930,000)
James Akenhead (6,800,000)
Phil Ivey (9,765,000)
Kevin Schaffel (12,390,000)
Steven Begleiter (29,885,000)
Eric Buchman (34,800,000)
Joseph Cada (13,215,000)
Antoine Saout (9,500,000)
Jeff Shulman (19,580,000)
And here’s the massive payout list for the final table finishes of the November 9 WSOP main event:
- $8,546,435
- $5,182,601
-
$3,479,485
- $2,502,787
- $1,953,395
-
$1,587,133
- $1,404,002
- $1,300,228
- $1,263,602
Phil Ivey has been the massive favorite to take the 2009 WSOP main event title despite entering the November 9 final table short stacked
Currently the final table action has been under way for 16 hours and the following players remain:
- Antoine Saout: 80,650,00 chips
- Darvin Moon: 75,925,000 chips
- Joseph Cada: 39,225,00 chips
Phil Ivey was knocked out in 7th place when his all in preflop holding AK did not hold up against Darwin Moon’s AQ. Darwin Moon has continued his amazing run on the final table hitting one three outer after another. It looks like an amateur’s year once again in the 2009 WSOP main event.
Poker Bankroll Building on a stake deal_update 1
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Bankroll Building | 1 Comment
I have started a stake deal with my good friend Artur. The deal is that I provide a starting bankroll of 2000$ and when he reaches 5000$ I receive 3000$. I have chosen to see the deal as a bet where I get odds 1.5 on my stake. Since I think the probability of success is more than 67% the EV on my bet is above 1. If you are a gambler you always take bets with an EV over 1
Here are some more details:
- Limits 0,5$/1$
- The project will obviously stop when the bankroll hits 0$
- I cannot pull out of the deal unless the bankroll reaches 5000$
- The daily running stop loss is 300$. This for example means that if the daily profit hits 600$ then Artur has to stop playing if the daily profit drops to 300$
- Rakeback goes back into the bankroll
- I receive weekly updates which I will post here
Second week’s update
As you can see the project is off to a slow start. Hopefully the pots will start rolling our way soon. Artur is very dedicated to the project as demonstrated by playing a session in the emergency room before it was his turn to get stitched up.
Key hands; big pots lost where we were way ahead before the river:
- Lost 200 with AA vs 10J on a 10 high flop. Our opponent called big bets all the way to the river to hit his runner runner flush
- Lost 200 where we hit K high flush on turn but lose to A high flush on river
Who’s winning and who’s losing
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