Another tough hand. Good Lord I could never get used to this. This sucks big time! I absolutely cannot stand it but it sure feels good when your on the other side.

LOL

Things will turn. They always do. In the mean time enjoy my latest trip to the rail.

Curtis III

Alright, I decided to blog while I am actually playing the PokerStars $4.40 (180 player). So far I haven’t picked up a lot of hands. However, I have been playing lots of hands and being much more active than I normally am this early in the tournament.  I am holding my own at around $1100. Not great by any standards but I have not taken a big hit on my stack yet. Keeping the pots relatively small. Table is actually pretty good. Not a lot of talking but plenty of good play. Will talk to you later after I take this things down.

Curtis III

Just when I thought all of the craziness was gone. The very first tournament I decide to play I end up with another beat on what appeared to be an extremely thin call. On the other hand it was only 1/5 of his stack giving him about 3 to 1 to make the call and if I am on AK he is only a 3 to 2 dog. So the call really isn’t that thin. He made his hand and put himself in position to get lucky. I can’t be all that mad at that. It is what it is. More power to him. I can’t tell you the number of times I have made the same play and gotten lucky as well. That’s what building your stack entails at times.

God I love this game! It’s just so damn aggravating.

ROFLMAO!!

Take care,

Curtis III

PokerStars Game #16703591793: Tournament #84492845, 40FPP Hold’em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/04/13 - 15:24:23 (ET)
Table ‘84492845 77′ 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: pulkovo (3282 in chips)
Seat 2: JimJim9 (3030 in chips)
Seat 3: Serie T (2875 in chips)
Seat 4: Daian81 (900 in chips)
Seat 5: D4117 (2935 in chips)
Seat 6: Curtom (730 in chips)
Seat 7: CMA77 (3490 in chips)
Seat 8: Radman56 (1795 in chips)
Seat 9: Chrissixx7 (2800 in chips)
Curtom: posts small blind 50
CMA77: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Curtom [Kh Kc]
Radman56: folds
Chrissixx7: calls 100
pulkovo: folds
JimJim9: folds
Serie T: calls 100
Daian81: folds
D4117: calls 100
Curtom: raises 630 to 730 and is all-in
CMA77: folds
Chrissixx7: calls 630
Serie T: folds
D4117: calls 630
*** FLOP *** [5h 8c 4d]
Chrissixx7: bets 2070 and is all-in
D4117: folds
*** TURN *** [5h 8c 4d] [Qd]
*** RIVER *** [5h 8c 4d Qd] [Js]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Curtom: shows [Kh Kc] (a pair of Kings)
Chrissixx7: shows [Qs 5s] (two pair, Queens and Fives)
Chrissixx7 collected 2390 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2390 | Rake 0
Board [5h 8c 4d Qd Js]
Seat 1: pulkovo folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 2: JimJim9 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 3: Serie T folded before Flop
Seat 4: Daian81 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 5: D4117 (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: Curtom (small blind) showed [Kh Kc] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 7: CMA77 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: Radman56 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 9: Chrissixx7 showed [Qs 5s] and won (2390) with two pair, Queens and Fives

Things have been kinda mediocre at the tables. I have taken some brutal beats over the past 2 weeks. I took several right before the money or Final Table. Got right to the 19th player in the $5.50 (180) the other night and swore I was gonna be at the final table. I picked up AK on the button. My opponent raised All-in when he was down to hist last 15k. I was sitting on 14k plus the blinds were like $2000 / $1000. This is a $30k pot! I call his push and he turns over AJos. Wouldn’t you know an Jack hits on the river? $30k and guarnteed final table down the drain.

CRAP!

That one stung. I played all night and just couldn’t get there.

Take care,

CIII

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Regards,
Daniel “KidPoker” Negreanu
World Champion Team PokerStars Pro

Right now I am so so bitter. I am back into the swing of things but my bankroll is still the same despite cashes in several online poker tournaments . It’s due to the ridiculous number of draw outs late in the tournament that I have been experiencing. I really can’t account for it anywhere else. If I were playing poorly there is no way I would be cashing over 15% of the time in large MTT’s. So that isn’t it. It’s just some really untimely variance. Geez that is frustrating.

Another problem I have is that I tend to hang out in the HIGHLY volatile $4.40 (180) PokerStars Sit n Go online tournaments. This is not my preferred place to play but my bankroll says I have to stay here for at least another week or two. In the mean time I am desperately trying to take one down so I can move up to the $20+ (180) Sit n Go where the play is much less volatile.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand the craziness. We all experience it. I just wish it wasn’t happening so deep in the tournament. It wouldn’t sting nearly as much.

LOL

That’s poker baby!

Curtis III

 Do or Die Poker

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Poker Remote Control is back! Only this time it’s bigger, better, faster, and stronger. The old version of Poker Remote Control was well conceived and indeed worked. However, it was a little on the delicate side. Also, you had to be really careful with the wireless USB. Well, the guys at Poker Remote Control didn’t just sit around thinking that was the best they could do. Poker Remote Control PLUS has all of the features of the older version but everything is greatly enhanced. Here is a list of features and improvements:

• You get a rock solid hand held device that feels ready for action from the first time you pick it up. The key pad is made of better material and has a brand new look and feel that was missing in the first version.

• The wireless USB adapter is now a standard USB adapter and you don’t have to worry about tip toeing around it for fear of knocking it out of your PC or laptop. This is exactly what I had hoped for in the new version of PRC.

• Incrementing your bets is a much easier task with PRC PLUS which makes it a reliable device for No Limit play. You can even multi-table with the click of a button. It also has an All-In button which is absolutely necessary for No Limit play.

• Poker Remote Control is not just for poker anymore. You can actually use it to control your Windows Media Player with the click of a button. Not bad at all.

 PRC PLUS is easy to use and intuitive. You can download the drivers from the PRC web site for the poker room theme of your choice. PRC PLUS supports all major poker rooms. Once the software is installed you are up and running. It’s as easy as that. This is a much improved product from the initial release and I highly recommend it. I give Poker Remote Control PLUS 9 out of 10 stars. It’s a must have for online poker players.

Poker Remote Control

Curtis III

These online tournaments in the low buy-in neighborhood are really scary. I have seen a proliferation of minimum raises every week over the past six months. What used to be a standard raise of 4 to 5x’s the blinds is no longer the “standard” play with premium hands. Now players are min-raising with big hands hoping to get re-raised. I still don’t see the value in this play as several players end up trapping themselves when their large pairs ends up being all-in after the flop against a set or two small pairs. Also, with very few exceptions you must be an extremely disciplined player to play this style as it requires the ability to lay down big hands when you are faced with big re-raises. You are generally not going to find this kind of discipline at this level of play.

This is the most bizzar phenomenon that I have ever seen in my 4+ years of playing PokerStars online tournaments. Are we regressing in our knowledge of the game? Sure, it’s clear that you do not see this kind of play at the $30+ buy-in level because the skill level is considerably higher than the $10 and below player but it really makes you wonder if players are trying to improve their game or are they just playing the game to see if they can get lucky? Sure, these players are easy prey for obvious reasons and few of them cash at the standard 10%+ rate which is the online standard for a good player.

I suppose we shouldn’t complain. Let the bad players be bad players and continue to take their chips. Just don’t complain when your big pocket pair doesn’t hold up after your min raise and push.

OK?

Curtis III

Here is an example of how easy it is to get paid off on a big hand. You will notice that everyone limps and then there is a raise and a call. Once the flop hit’s and the betting begins it is quite clear that at least one player is on a flush draw.  The turn comes and the flush is now on the board. A bet is made and “Ohamen” compounds his call by min raising instead of pushing all-in. On the river “Ohamen” decides to push. I assume he is doing so because of the implied odds should he fill up on the river. The guy with KQ calls off his stack as well. Another really bad decision considering there was a push in front of him and the flush was already on the board with yet one more player to act behind him.

You make the call:

Curtis III