Rest

I'm taking a bit of a break from my normal timetable this month. Last month was the equivalent of two months' work by old standards, so I reckon I can afford to "coast" through September.
Back in March I played in the Pokerstars FPP UK and Ireland League because it seemed like an excellent way to turn FPPs into cash. That line doen't hold so true now, with the $400 Amazon token available for 25,000 FPPs, but it does make a break from the cash grind.

So, I decided to give it another go this month, playing the FPP game, the $1 game, the FPP satellite to the EPT London final on Sunday (this was the route I took in March to get to Monte Carlo, so it obviously has fond memories) and some other EPT dollar tournament that has conditions I can't recall.

Irritatingly, the breaks aren't synchronized -- I thought that this was standard now on Stars and Full Tilt?

I managed to run bad on the first and the second of the month, although the damage wasn't too serious. On Day One I managed to misplay a hand because, and this is my excuse and I am sticking to it, because I was still getting used to the new Party layout, which I switched over to at the end of last month. I was in the small blind in a $1-$2 game, and it went something like this:

Pete (SB) $200
Villain (MP1) $200
Villain 2 (MP2) $100

dealt to Pete: Th Ts

Villain 1 raises to $6.
Villain 2 calls
Pete calls.

Flop Td 5c 5d

Pete checks.
Vilain1 bets $15
Villain2 calls
Peter raises to $30.

This was the mistake. In fact it almost certainly made hardly any difference to the hand, but I should raise to $45 here rather than $30. My mini-raise actually prices Villain 1 in if he has an overpair (just). The additional player makes the difference.

I was kind of thinking that a mini-raise might get a shove from Villain2, but that's a bit optimistic. Far better to take the initiative.

Villain1 calls
Vilain2 calls.

$106 in the pot. Small stack has $64 behind. Villain1 and I have $164 behind.

Turn: Jd

Although JJ is certainly in Villain's range, so is a whole bundle of other stuff. Since I have to act first, I really want to put in a bet that will get a worse hand to play as well as the (unlikely) better hand. If opponent as AA to QQ, any bet above $30 stops him from getting implied odds.

I think that I bet something like $80, but I couldn't swear to that. I can see a line for backing anything between $50 and all-in.

Villain 1 raises all in.
Villain 2 calls.
Pete makes crying call here.

Villain 1 turns over JJ
Vilain 2 turns over A5

So it goes.

Yesterday I played Aces "perfectly" (well, actually the hand played itself).

Pete in Small blind with $225

As Ad

Villain (button) ($260) raises to $6
Pete reraises to $20
Villain all-in for $260
Pete calls

Board comes 3h 3d Ks ... 6d .... Kd

Villain shows Ah Kh for full house, Kings over threes.

++++++

The MTTs last night were diverting enough. One in the money, One final table, Two out of the money.

My elimination on the final table almost qualified as entertaining.

Blinds $1k-$2k, ante, errrr, can't remember. 100? 150? 200?

Pete on button ($36k, avge stack about $30k) gets Jd Jh

Passed round. Pete raises to $5,500.

SB passes, BB ($86k) reraises all-in.

Pete snap calls.

BB shows Ad 4d.

As appears to be compulsory these days, an Ace appears on the flop.

And so the Birks "Call your way to victory" plan suffers a slight setback. Then again, had I won the hand and eliminated the BB a few hands later, he could have called me a muppet and come out with the perpetual cry of the useless tourney lag ... "I got my money in first, but how could he call?"

Quiet response from the corner.

"Because he was ahead of your range?"

Old-timer walks away, scratching head, muttering "it was never like this at Reading in the 1990s..."

++++++++++