New donkey

Having problems with the new player so I've gone back to this one for now. Anyone knows a really good player that always works?




Not only did this idiot donk with 59 os and middle pair he then went to 0.25/0.5 and lost $30 in about 10 hands.

Anyone smell fish?

A new hand replayer and a donkey paying back what is owed plus a little more :)


This Hand History Player is supported by www.myhands.com

Twitter

New mini project

$35 deposit on Aced poker with a view to playing the small SNG and 2/4c NL ring games.

You can follow my poker adventures on the blog or on Twitter as MicroPlayer

Revenge is sweet

Get the dreaded QQ and there has been a small raise - I reraise back and the new to the table short stack pushes all in - only about 70c to call so I flip them over - He has pocket tens. I am 4:1 favourite but the 10 flops and he wins with a set. Fair enough it happens so I type that was lucky into the chat box and he responds with lol and FU. The revenge comes about 10 hands later - my favourite bit is him typing ty thinking he has won and I have donated more chips with my raise. Sorry bud :)

Slow playing

Slow playing can be very profitable especailly if you get a nice helping hand - like my slow play of AJ and flopping a flush - hard to put someone on AJ with no raise so a very profitable hand :)

On the other hand it can be a problem letting someone catch a hand that beats yours and putting down QQ to a low board isn't easy...

A Change Of Fortune

A few days ago I reported on my recent bad fortune. Tonight it looks like the upswing has started. I have flopped 3 straights, 2 of which were $3-ish pots. Hit numerous sets and even had this hand!



The flop call was a unusual call for me but I figured if the ace came I would get paid - The next card and checked turn gave me a free flush. I read hicham22 perfectly. He was playing very loosely with King rag to a big raise and calling river bets when he was well beat. From this I thought I'd chance a very rare overbet on the river. I had a hunch he might call but had a bonus surprise when pottwal222 called aswell!

Don't Feed The Rake

If the board has the nuts already on it then you are not being clever by trying to push others off the pot - You all have the same hand. All you are doing is making the rake bigger!



Nice work funebrak. Ironically his little K7os madness cost him all his chips as next hand he went all in. I called him with JJ based on the hand above - He actually had KK but got rivered :)

The Next Best Thing # 2

Here is one that "sort of" got away - oziel ortiz managed to get lucky with me with what was probably his last few bucks - Here is the inevitable play money table after the luck ran out.




He was also seen going out very early of a play money HORSE SNG. Can't play Hold'Em or Omaha? Why not enter a tourney that has both plus other games too? Idiot.

Number 7 And All Four!!

I've been experiencing a really bad run of late - I have lots some all ins where I have done everything right - money in well ahead and donks have caught miracle cards.

This run of bad fortune has lead me on to playing some other games like razz and draw to try and stop the rot. Things were going from bad to worse and my $4 buyin was down to about $2.25 - So I made my usual "shoot/change the dealer" comments. I then reloaded $200 and typed "let's see if he likes me now".

The very next hand saw me get 4 spades and a Royal Flush draw - I obviously went for it binning the one non spade. I hit the card I needed and my 7th Royal Flush was in my hand! I had finally got the full set of all four suits. It was also my first non Texas Hold'Em Royal...

A break

Going to be taking a short break from my blog due to work commitments. Will return in a few days with an amazing story...

Double quads!

Playing the other morning I was met with quad kings TWICE in about 30 hands. Once with pockets and again with K10d. Another player had quad nines on the same table too!

Then I got suckedout on about 4 times inlcuding hands I was 3-1 and 6-1 to win going against me! :(

Vote with your feet.

One great thing about online poker is the amount of choice. There are hundreds of sites you can play at all are free to download. They all have play money too. Online sites (especailly the bigger ones) have great support and security. I have actaully had money returned when PokerStars caught a cheat! Below are add banners for some of the best sites - I have played on them all and wouldn't include ads for them if I didn't rate them. You will not see adverts for Noble Poker or Doyle's Room on my blog - I'll explain why another time :)




Play Online Poker

Omaha

Sooner or later most Hold'em players have a dabble at Omaha.
It is a great game for learning about poker odds. It is often played by many top pros.
Here are 2 quick lessons for playing Omaha.

1. 2+3

Unlike hold'em you play two of your 4 face cards and 3 of the community cards.

2. AA isn't that strong.

A common Omaha mistake is thinking that pocket AA or KK is great or that two pair by the river is awesome. Generally you want a set or better. Here is an example of an Omaha hand where a player runs into big trouble with pocket aces.



The 10,7,J,9 might not look that good preflop but suited conneting cards are very good in Omaha. Also notice the flat call with quads on the turn. If he checked the river I would put him all in anyway.

Ace Rag

Just don't! Or at least if you do be able to put it down.

Trying it on?

Sometimes a player makes a weird bet like titleist41 who decides a 3x pot bet against a tight player who has raised preflop is a good idea.

UK and Ireland PokerStars FPP Round Up

The month of May is over and my experiment of entering the FPP UK and Ireland PokerStars league has gone well.

I ended up in 32nd place which I would have took at the beginning. I am espeically pleased with that as I placed there entering only 8 out of a possible 31 tourneys including 3 final tables, a second and a first place!

UK and Ireland PokerStars FPP update

Entered my 7th tourney this month tonight...

Just managed to get to the final table winning a KJ vs Q6 suited allin battle that would have seen my be the FT bubble - I managed to hit trip jacks and took a very small stack forward...

Some good early hands and some big allin fights left us 4 handed with me again the smallest stack - The big stack bully pushed me once too many and his J10os ran into AJ to double me up.

77 vs AK and a set knock out the third place player leaving me heads up gainst the big stack bully from before.
We trade blinds for a while when this hands comes - I decide to chance his all in as he has been very aggressive - Alas my timing is poor (as usual) and he turns over an over pair- I need help and fast. The turn gives me lots of outs with straight and flush draws plus another 10 or Jack. The river hits a 10 and the chips come to me - The tourney is over and I have turned my third FT into a first place with a little help from the river :)




73 runners and nearly 4 hours later my prize is $25 and 20 points for the league which should hopefully see a top 50 finish now.

Playing AA

Aces are a hand I see people talking about quite often - I nearly always raise aces at least 10x the big blind to try and weed out hands like j9os, Q10 etc that invariably will catch 2 pair.

Obviously you will still get the occasional maniac with Q4os but a solid raise will minimise this.

I do, sometimes, slow play AA and other big pocket pairs but this is a dangerous tactic if you cannot lay down a hand - Here is a classic example of someone trying to slow play Aces. When the board comes down low they get a rush of blood and go all in - Ignoring the obvious straight and flush possibilities not too mention and number of possible two pairs.



Ofcourse a raise doesn't give you immunity from the donks - Here a 5x raise still gets a call from Q2 os!! - In classic fish mode he hits his miracle hand and then doesn't check raise the river!

6th Royal Flush

Hit my 6th Royal Flush earlier today - A giant 32c pot was my reward. Still no spades either! Mind you, some people never get one Royal let alone 6!

markooo888 is a DONK

Every so often you meet a player who is just the epitome of bad! markooo888 is without a doubt one of the worst players I have ever seen - I can think maybe one other player who made as many bad, reckless plays as he does.

Earlier on markooo888 sucked out on me twice. Once with King rag suited to a ten times raise and a solid pot bet to beat QQ and again with just overcards on a flop and turn to river me.

Needless to say I was pissed off! I questioned his play - Nothing. He was either too embarrased or more likely doesn't speak English. He also used the hide from player search feature. Presumably to stop people he has sucked out tracking him down.

Luckily for me though he hung around and I also managed to find him on another few tables. It took a while but I got my money back plus a bit more for my troubles :)







I wasn't the only guy he suckedout out on but my patience paid off - Those two hands were the result of an hour or so of play with him raising about 70% of the time and usually winning with rags.

If you happen to see him on PokerStars or PartyPoker - Say hi for me :) Be patient and he will pay you off.

Second Final Table

Tourney number four in the PokerStars UK and Northern Island Poker League ended with a 9th place and my second final table in 4 goes. More importantly I won 10 points for the league table which now puts me on 30 points and more or less guarantees me a top 100 place with only 4 tournaments entered.

I will certainly enter a few more as they are a good practice with a fairly good level of player from what I have seen.

The Next Best Thing

Sometimes donks get lucky. There is no better revenge that getting the money back with interest but sometimes they leave or you get no hands to beat them with. The next best thing, which happens quite often, is seeing them on play money! I reckon around a quarter of the players who have donked me over the years have been spotted later on play money.

Just supports one of my favourite poker sayings that "Skills lasts but luck comes and goes".

Quad Aces

Got this hand in my 3rd UK and Ireland FPP game - Alas about 30 hands later I got stick with JJ vs KK and a low flop which all but put me out about mid table.



Just a shame he only had 33 and not something better.

Decided to play my second PokerStars UK and Northern Island Poker League tourney. I went for the FPP version which has 104 players registered. I managed alright but soon ended up about 45/60 and a desperate all in when down and out runs into a set but I caught running hearts for a flush and survived

KK vs 99 Vs AJos sees me knock 2 players out and move up the leader board.

Soon after a very short stack goes all in from SB to my BB I call and he has A6 vs my A4 - A 4 flops and the ace on the river gives me two pair -a second bit of luck and the third player I have knocked out.

I have made final table in 6th but the blinds are now $650/$1250 and are starting to eat away at the smaller stacks.



I then have KK vs 5,10os and knock out my 4th player

Soon after I go all in with 33 trying to steal the now very big blinds. A player calls and flips over KK - my third bit of luck saves me a second time as a 3 comes on the river, putting me in second.


I am now up heads up with a nice 3:1 chip lead.

Despite the big chip lead I seem destined for second place as the luck I have experienced so far now turns against me. Twice I outplay my opponent with him all in and behind for him to catch hands

Now on Youtube

Finally got round to making a Youtube advert for the blog - Check it out.

Not A Great Start

Decided to enter both Division 1 and the FPP divisions. Fairly early exits in both with AJ running into AA - I have a knack of finding the outgunned hands to make a move with. I really don't like tournies although I will probably continue with the FPP division just to see how I get on. One nice surprise though was looking up an old user name on www.officialpokerrankings.com where my tourney record was much better than my PokerStars record. I seem to do good in cash games on some sites and bad in tournies and vice versa.

Nasty hand on PL omaha - Nut full house vs Quads :(

The night ended about even with a 5th place SNG result.

Table Chat

Some love it some hate it but it is a part of online and live poker. Some players use it to annoy others to try and gain an edge. I have witnessed some great arguments beetween players and I have had my share too. It usually starts over someone thinking they have been beaten by bad play but some players start on someone with no reason other than to annoy them into making mistakes. My advice is to try not to let table chat bother you. I usually try to answer in a cool manner and avoid personal isults - usually the hands they have played can be ripped to shreds. Here are some of my favouirtes.

Annoying donkey who is now chat banned: Various your mother styles 'jokes'
ME: Does PokerStars know you are 12?

Loud mouth fish who has just cracked some poor guys Aces: Do you want 50 cent to call someone who cares?

ME: Wow -Do you know him personally? Do you know Dr Dre too?

New Adventures in Micro

Whilst chatting to another UK based player I discovered the PokerStars UK and Ireland Poker Leauges. These are daily tournies that have a points system and leader board with prize money at the end on the month. I fancy trying my hand (BOOM BOOM) in one of these but I am not sure which division to try.

My options are division 1 - $1 buyin which I am more than covered for or option 2 - FPP division which I have 16 buyins for. Both prize monies are the same but the FPP has about half the entrants in the tournies. I am not sure I fancy a poker tourney everynight but I don't want to be at a disadvantage only entering half the days if some people are playing in them all!

Choices, choices...

The Short Stack

I have never really got the idea of the short stack - I always buy in with the full amount. For starters, if you get a hand you can only win multiples of your stack and if you have $1 only that really limits you. Secondly, you can't push people off pots. Take the following hand for example.



mangelod is very understacked and has already mentioned going all in next hand. I find KQ os on the button and put in a small raise. As mentioned mangelod does go all in with another caller. Seeing as I have posistion on the other player I decided to see the flop. As you can see I flop a gutshot and two overcards - not what I wanted. However when holyuser checks I use my position to see if he has hit anything - His probable AK has missed and he folds. The turn brings nothing still but I hit my 10 for the straight. mangelod flips over pocket nines and a flopped set - A big bet or check raise on the flop and I fold my gutshot especailly given the flush draw too. Unfortunately all mangelod's money was in the middle so he had no more power in the hand giving me free cards...

WSOP Step 2

Using my free buy in form my Step 1 SNG result I sit down at a Step 2 tourney with 8 other players hoping for a first or second place and a Step 3 seat.

I get nice cards at first but AQ suited, KQ suited and AQ os all miss flop.

About 20 hands in my QQ runs into low flop and 99 - nice pot puts me to chip leader.

Later on my KK holds vs AQ off suit. Soon after a player who has been raising alot puts about a 4x raise in and I look down to see Jacks. I immeadiately raise him all in only to then see another player yet to act who I had missed. He calls with KK and shares the big pot with the original raiser hits a set of nines on the river. This leaves me with about 3 big blinds and all but out.

Pocket eights are then not good enough as and I end up in 5th place with 5c for my troubles!

My 10c for the WSOP has ended there!


Play Online Poker

WSOP!!

Ever fancied playing in the WSOP main event? I have but I am a bit short of the $10000 buy in! Whilst playing on Absolute Poker I noticed they are running Sit N Go tournaments that start at 10c. The idea being that you win places to the next step with the winner of step 10 advancing the Main Event.

I am not really a tournament player so some SNG practice can't be bad for my game either. I find a Step 1 table that soon fills up but after about half an hour end up in 5th place, missing out both Step 2 seats and a free retry at Step 1. I decide to have another go and soon find myself with 3 other players and a guarantee of at least a free go at another Step 1 tourney. It is of course a first or second place and a Step 2 seat that I am after. I knock out the 4th place player with a checked flop which he stabs at and I quickly call. Now there are 3 players left and a tense battle begins for the 2 seats.



After about 20 minutes the slightly bigger stack wins an all in against the other remaining player and knocks him out leaving me about 2:1 down and heads up! In doesn't matter as the tourney ends there as both 1st and 2nd place prizes are the same. Step 2 is now here and the WSOP is 1 step nearer.

Can't hit a thing!

Bad day today. Nothing major loss wise - couple of dollars but hand after hand of junk. When something does hit I am outkicked or they have a set! This kind of day happens and can last for a lot longer than a day too! Luckily experience tells me that these swings are all part of the long term game of poker and the good times will soon return :)

My Table

Just a picture of my home table.

The Worst Hand In Poker?

Ask this question to most players and they will say two ,seven offfsuit. No straight or flush chances (bar hitting 4 cards) and both cards are low. In fact, some players take great delight in playing and bluffing with 27os then showing their opponents.

Actually I think the worst hand is not 27os but any hand that is just behind. For example if you have AK suited and raise preflop with one caller to the flop and hit your king then the pocket 3s that called you for a set make AK suited, for that moment, the worst hand in poker. Of course mathematically 27os is the worst hand but it is worth considering that pocket Queens which are considered a great hand are almost certain doom against KK!

Super Tip #2

Watch hands you are not involved in. You can gets lots of information about a player you might find yourself up against a few hands later.

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Super Tip #1

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Super tip number 1 -

You don't need the nuts to win - In this hand I sense weakness when all the other players check and a good bet with only a straight draw wins the pot.

Session Number 3

My third sit down at Absolute poker starts well enough with some small pots and I find myself about 35c up. Then my pocket Jacks hit QQ against a short stack and I suddenly find myself about 45c down for the first time. It is important to remain focused here and not start playing wildly.



A few rounds pass and I hold my own against the quick blinds as we are only 4 handed. A player sits with $1.59 in one of the empty seats. Watch out for odd buyins as it is often players sitting down with their last bit of money. They are usually playing anything and giving it away.

The session continues to go downhill when my raised KJ hits a king on the flop - after some betting and calling the other big stack flips AK and I am out kicked and another 75c down! Time to leave with my bankroll now at $102.71

I decide to sit down at Absolute Poker to continue my bankroll of $100. I seem to be on a bit of a roll and flop hand after hand. Short stacks all bust out and leave me and another player who has lost a few hands to me so far. I turn an Ace high flush and play a check raise which he calls quickly - A safe river comes and and I bet a solid amount - he calls and mucks the straight he rivered (remember kids flush beats a straight) leaving me about $3.25 up on the table.

I leave at the point with my roll now at $104.28 - A winning start is always nice as it takes the pressure off a little.

First "Proper" Hand

After about 10 mins of usual blinds going and folding I got dealt this hand. This came two hands after bluffing and showing player 3.

Click play above to watch the hand unfold...
A set (pocket pair and one on the board) is very hard to spot, especially when you have hit top pair and top kicker. Also the check raise on the flop where I checked my first action then raised his bet is a strong play and one that a lot of people can't deal with. Combined with the bluff two hands earlier he probably thought I was at it again. One last thing to note is the blue and green coloured cards - Most sites have a 4 colour deck option. I use this to help avoide confusion between hearts and diamonds which can lead you in to thinking you have a flush when you don't.

The New Site

As part of this blog I have decided to join you as a new player at a site I have not played at before.
I have deposited $100 of my own money at Absolute Poker as MICROPLAYER



That gives me 25 full buyins of $4 at the 1/2c tables. I have chosen a 6 seater table with a 49% plr/flop percentage. This means that half the table sees every flop. There are two players with about $2.50 and two with about 80c.

First hand and I am strangley nervous considering I have played online so much! I get 56 of hearts and use that 56 high to bluff a 4c pot away from the other player at the flop.

20 hands or so later and a few big hands included quad aces with other players has left alot of empty seats. I find QQ on the button and raise it to nearly cover a very short stack. He raises for the rest of his stack and I call his KJ of diamonds. The queens hold and I leave the table 10c up.

The First Game

So once you have decided on your site and deposited your money it is time to play your first game. Bankroll management is key to survival and most beginners make the mistake of playing out of their depth (usually to try and recoup losses). If you stick to a maximum of 5% of your roll at a table then you should be alright.

Most 1/2c micro tables have a buyin ranging from $1-$5. For your first go I would be tempted to just buy in for $1 just to get the feel for it. Usually I would suggest the maximum buyin. There is no point playing for hours then getting the hand you want and only having 76c!

One thing you MUST do before playing is to learn the hand rankings - Find on online version on Google images and study them. Be aware of higher straights and flushes to what you hold. Infact thinking "what beats me" is a good strategy to have.

In the lobby of most online rooms you will see table information. Use this to pick your tables. I try and go for a mix of short and mid stacks with not too many near the full buyin. Use the plrs/flop percentage to pick a lose table. This percentage tells you how many players see the flop and generally the higher the percentage the worse the play and the easier the pickings are.

Starting!

Let's say you have chosen your site and registered a bank card. Your next decision is how much to deposit.
If you choose a small ($10ish) deposit then it might be an idea to try some low level limit games first. PokerStars starts at 2/4c blinds for limit Hold 'Em.

If you are rich :) or more adventurous then a bigger bankroll is a good idea. A bigger bankroll helps you deal with downswings and bad beats as they don't impact a big roll as much. For example:
You deposit $10 and sit down with $5 at a 1/2c game - Your Aces get cracked and you bust out - Half your roll has gone in one hand! With a roll of say $250 you have lost a much smaller percentage and are therefore less likely to go on tilt and start chasing your losses.

You will notice that I have at no point mentioned play money. This is because I would advise against it - It builds bad habits and the play is not the same as real money - mistakes don't hurt so you won't learn from them.

Choosing A Site

So how do you decide which site to put your hard earned money in?

Sites offer many things to consider. Ultimately the choice is down to you but it well worth thinking about the following key points:

1. Deposit options - What is the miniumum deposit? Most sites let you start playing from as little as $10 although as you see later on I would advise against such a small amount.

2. Game choice - Most people start out with No Limit Holdem which is the most common game. All sites cater for this and some offer a massive array of game types - pick a site that has what you like.

3. Traffic - how many players at the times you play - it is no good if you can't get a game when you want. Obviously the bigger sites like PokerStars avoid this problem.

4. Lastly - support. What is the site like for help with problems and deposit/withdrawal? There is a big difference and some sites (which I might name later) are like Fort Knox to get money out!!

Hello

Hello. I guess!

Welcome to my poker blog - A Guide To Playing Micro Poker.

This blog is aimed at new players to the wonderful game of poker but I hope that anyone who plays the game will get something from it.

First of all I do not profess to be a poker expert, far from it. I have played for about 4 years and have lots still to learn. I have played online with many sites under various different names some with lots of success, others with a certain amount of fail :) The following are sites that I have played at with real money:

PokerStars, FullTilt, PKR, VC Poker Paradise Poker, Doyle's Room, Sky Poker and Noble Poker

As you can see I have sampled a few but this is a tiny fraction of the masses of sites out there.

I have made lots of mistakes and learnt lots of things, some of which I hope to share with you.

I have played live poker at a local casino and at a pub night whilst on holiday. I also host a home game every month or so which see friends come to my flat for a friendly game of poker (if there is such a thing).

I hope to cover many things in this blog especially from the aspect of starting out - Avoiding the mistakes I made and learning the sometimes obvious things it took me weeks or months to work out.

There is a massive amount of poker sites out there and choosing the right one for you can be daunting. They all work in more or less the same way so only a few things should influence your choice.