I didn't get back to you on thursday like promised because I had a really full schedule; but anyway, there wasn't too much to report. Pretty standard live play, resulting in a 8./43 placement. There were no spectacular hands, just normal tight MTT play. In the later levels, I didn't get too many good hands and got reraised on some steal attempts, so I had to push with KTo on the big blind. JJ calls from middle position and hits a third jack on the turn. I got an open ended straight draw in the process, but the river was a blank.

I did think a bit about the aforementioned tight MTT play, however. I'm sure its the correct strategy for higher-level, large MTTs (I'm sure most of you know the concept, so I won't go into detail). However, I'm thinking that at tables with 6-7 players, with everyone playing very tight, it may be profitable to start stealing at an earlier phase than usual and call with a lot more drawing hands than the theory recommends. I'm going through some formulas right now and intend to try out some new "moves" tonight, when I'm playing another live game. I'll tell you all about it either late tonight or tomorrow.

Cya...


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TOTAL BANKROLL: 243,27$ ONLINE -- 695,00$ OFFLINE
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OK, big day today! I got up in the morning thinking I was special, so I logged myself into a 180-player 2,20$ MTT SNG. Not my thing usually, but hey, my bankroll can take it.

At first, it was pretty stiff going; I lost a hand with KK against a flopped flush, left me with about 900 chips. I built myself back up to about 2000, but nothing spectacular. Then started the sickest run I've ever had in my life. Aces, Kings, Queens, AKs, AJs, I had'em all. I'm serious, I was dealt one killer hand after the other! People were screaming maniac, fish, whatever, but the cards just kept on coming. Some 20 rounds later, I was massive chip leader - and I'm talking MASSIVE. Of a total of 270,000 Chips in play, I had 100K. And we weren't even at the final table yet!

I figured I absolutely had to calm down, so I sat out some rounds and went to take a smoke. A few minutes after I came back, I finally got my final table. Pretty uneventful play here, but I was now getting punished for my good luck earlier. I had a couple of bad beats, but also stole some blinds so that by the time I reached the Heads Up, the Chips were about even with some more on my side.

Well, final Hand wasn't all that interesting. I push with A9s, a pretty good HU hand, he calls with pocket deuces (22). Board brings junk, he doubles up and I'm left with some 15K chips. Next round, I push all-in with K4, he calls with T8 and hits the ten. Oh well. I'm second, and just made 72$ in about an hour of play!

I really forced myself to stop playing then, I didn't want to gamble away those winnings. So thats all for today. But thursday evening is my next live game, and I'm sure I'll have plenty to report there...


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TOTAL BANKROLL: 249,47$ ONLINE -- 750,00$ OFFLINE
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Well, yesterday I played two SnG Sessions on Pokerstars - 4 tables, 1.10$ buy-in, 9 Players.

The results were OK:

1st place: 2 times
2nd place: 1 time
3rd place: 2 times
other: 3 times

So my net winnings were 6,5$ for about an hour of play. Nonetheless, I wasn't too happy. The following hand (#1) really tilted me off. OK, its a royal flush draw, but STILL, going all in with a flush draw and an inside straight draw...

#1: http://www.pelopoker.com/flash/pelopoker_replayer.swf?hostid=008&id=1238003773

I'll play another SnG session later today, maybe some CG or MTT to keep things interesting. I'll probably put up a graph of the winnings this evening.

So long,

-Maurice

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TOTAL BANKROLL: 179,77$ ONLINE -- 750,00$ OFFLINE
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Welcome to my brand new poker blog, "Beating the Odds". First, I'll tell you a little bit about myself, then I'll describe my goals for the next twelve months and why I'm even bothering with a blog.

My name's Maurice, I'm a 19-year-old student at the University of Zurich (Mathematics and Informatics). In my free time, I play poker (d'oh...). Over the last few months, I've increasingly moved on from home games to real live tournaments and online poker. I've gained some, lost some, but overall I'm about where I started. I just didn't have the necessary discipline.
That's what this blog is all about. I'm not a super pro. I'll never say I play the best poker around. But I do have the mathematical understanding, and I hope writing my experiences down will help me get my emotions under control. I'll tell you all about my online experiences, my live games, suckouts etc. I'll spice the whole thing up with some mathematical ideas, but I'll make sure to keep my entries friendly and easy-to-read.

So, if you're a beginner- to medium-level pokerplayer who wants to win but also loves the game and is open to unconventional ideas, I hope this blog will be for you.

Now, about my goals. My starting online Bankroll is at 173.27$, with 750$ BR for live games. Within the next year, I'm aiming to

-Reach the final table of the Swiss Poker Trophy (a tournament series with a final table in november. You can collect points at independent tournaments all around zurich. Ill tell you more about that when the time comes).

-Reach a total Bankroll exceeding 7,500$ within 12 Months.

I think these goals are quite realistic, and I'll adapt them as time goes on. More about what type of games I'll play plus my first report in my next post (sometime today or tomorrow).

Cheers,
-Maurice