So Close

So I played the $270 masters and managed to finish 7th out of nearly 500 players for a $3650 payday. I have to give 25% of that away as I sold some percentages to some mates. The standard on the final table was terrible, unfortunately I didnt have many chips to play with and was card dead or else I think Id have dominated the table and taken the 29k 1st place. That's the sick thing, Im disappointed to have only won 3.6k. Ok so thats alot of money, but $29000 is life changing and it would have enable me to play higher stakes.

Here's the thing. Poker hadnt been going too well. Id run my 1.1k roll upto bout 1.6 then in bout an hour was down to 400 haha. Was a combination of running shit and making silly mistakes. At this point I was very down. I actually decided to just cash out the $400 I had left and take a break from it. Maybe even quit for good (probably not, just how I felt at the time). This happened during the early stages of the masters.

I was talking to andy on msn and he offered to stake me. He'd give me 4k and take a percentage of my winnings and if i lost i owe him nothing. This meant alot to me bcos not only was it a lifeline for me, it gives me confidence in my own game. He wouldnt stake me if I wasnt good enough. Although he was doing this to make money I really appreciate it so thanks mate.

So I went from on the brink of quitting to being super happy and confident. I dont believe in fate or destiny or anything like that, but I do believe you have to take your chances in life. Iv been given another chance, and Im going to take it.

As for my challenge, bollocks to it. Im just gona play lots and see what happens.

Love you all

Ps. A big thank you to my awesome gf for working my shift last night. Love ya xx

Sad :(

Had a pretty shit week poker wise. Just cant seem to get anything going atm. Running bad plus not playing that well either. Everytime I start to win a bit I lose a couple of big pots. Its so fucking annoying. Bankroll at $1130. Playing the $270 PKR masters 2nite for free as Im using my PKR points, so hopefully run good in that.

Its just so frustrating. I so badly want to move up and start making some serious money so I can just travel with my laptop and go see all the cool places in the world, and do all the cool stuff. Maybe im wrong but I really feel my game is good enough. I just need to concentrate a bit more and grind it out. It makes me so sad to be stuck in this shitty country full of chavs, foreigners, and general scumbags, when there's so many amazing places out there to visit.

Come on Jamie, sort it out !!!!

Restart challenge?

Since my last blog things have been a bit swingy for me. I played about 7 hrs total on friday and finished the day $360 up although was up over $800 at one point. So my roll was upto $2070, but had been over the 2.5k mark. On saturday I went round andy's to play. He was playing the $530 big shot on PKR, so I ignored all bankroll management logic and decided to play as well. We swapped 20% cos he runs v good in tourneys ;) and I sold 10% to a mate.


Despite getting an early chip lead I didnt cash. I finished 6 off the money and Andy finished 5 off. Even a min cash was $1400. The standard in this comp was awful considering the buy-in. I lost a monster pot with AK vs KJs after he raised under the gun and I shoved from sb. He should never call there but Im glad he does as Im huge favourite. Then manage to stay alive by stealing alot when the ante's came in. Then with 11big blinds its folded to me in sb, and I shove J5s, get snapped called by......... Q5. I mean wtf. Obviously my shoving range is pretty wide its still pretty awful. He only had about 16BB's as well. Obv I lose and bye bye £300.


Anyways also lost $50 playing HU vs a fish so roll was now back down to $1490. This really really tilted me, like so much. A massive part of poker is psychological and having $1k less in my roll than I did at some point the day before bothered me alot. Even though when I take a step back, I still made around $600 (inc rakeback) in a week, which is a decent wage in the real world (esp as its tax free :-). The thing is even if I have a good week this week and make say $900, Im still not where I was.


So Im going to start my challenge again. Well kinda. Im gona take out $490 and leave just $1k. Although my aim is now 4.5k. I know most people wont be able to understand this and think Im a bit retarded as it doesnt actually change how much Iv won or lost, but its purely psychological. Its like a fresh start and makes it easier to forget about past losses. Now when my roll hits 2.5k Ill be happy and pleased with myself, as opposed to thinking negative thoughts.


Enough about poker. Going to see jamie t in birmingham in october. Not really my sort of music but apparently he's good live. Im going with Vikki, Gary and Claire and meeting up with badger and his new gf (Sarah?). Even if the gigs shit, it'l be an awesome night out. Going upto Lincoln where badger lives for a night out the day before as well so looking forward to it. I also think its good to have things planned, so you have something to look forward to. Even if its something little.


Iv made a deal with Vikki. If I achieve my challenge, then we're going to Thailand for a month early next year. Gives me some extra motivation. I had a quick look at flights and you can get them for £350 return!!! When I went before they were over £700.

Love you all

How do i get most value?

First of all my challenge has been going ok in financial terms although I havnt played as much as I would have liked so far. I felt really crappy for a couple of days so decided not to play, except for a small session wednesday where I played just under an hour. One of the reasons I set myself this challenge was to motivate me into putting in more hours. Yesterday me and andy went and played down gunwharf where I had a decent session.

Here's a breakdown of the last few days

Tuesday: 0
Wednesday: $150 1hr
Thursday: $560 4hrs

Bankroll now $1710, so not a bad start. I need to be averaging nearly $700 a week so im happy to achieve that in just 3days.

Gona play a bit now then going to Southampton with Vikki. Will defo be grinding it out 2nite though. Would like to build my roll upto $2500 so maybe 2moro I can take some shots at 2/4. A bit adventurous I guess, but totally doable.


Here's a hand I played yesterday that Im not sure which is the best line to take on the river.

I raise from the Cut-off with JJ, button calls and blinds fold.

Flop Qd J 2d. I bet $14 he calls. Turn K. I bet $36 he calls. River 3.

The pots $117 and we both have $160 left behind.

Once he calls the turn I think his range is; KQ,KJ,K10,QJ,AQ or a Flush draw (which missed). So how do i get the most value? Here's my options.

1. Bet smallish ($60-$90)
2. Bet big ($90-$120)
3. Check raise
4. Shove

1. This guarantees a call from 2 pair type hand. Possibly even K10 if he convinces himself that I missed my flush draw. If he had a flush draw then he'll just fold

2. I dont like this sizeing. If he's gona call this much, he'll probably call a shove.

3. I quite like this move. He's should be value betting any 2 pair plus it allows him to bluff if he missed his flush. Only problem is if he bet like $60, he MIGHT be able to find a fold with 2 pair when I shove. Even though he'll be getting great odds, my hand looks super strong. If he bets $80+ then he probably doesnt fold.

4. I find when you overshove, people either take it as mega strong, or complete bluff. But i dont know if he can fold 2 pair.

Any advice?

Gl

Jamie

Bankroll Challenge

After my bad night on friday I decided to have a few days off. My head just wasnt in the right place and playing would have been -ev. I missed out on the weekend value but playing when your not in the right frame of mind is a recipe for disaster.

Iv decided to set myself a little challenge. Iv taken out some money on PKR leaving just 1k in there. Im going to try and turn that into 5k by end of September, given me 6 weeks. I think having something to work towards is always good inspiration. Ill be giving regular updates here if your interested on how im doing.

Im setting a couple of stipulations to the challenge.

1. Play at least 25hrs a week.
2. Only play 2/4 when I have $2500 and games are good or when i get over 4k ill just play 2/4
3. If I drop below $800, re-deposit to 1k and start again.

Wish me luck

Bad day

I decided to play some 2/4 2nite. Friday nights are always great value. Big mistake. Run so fucking bad.

AK v KK all in pre flop
AQss v QJ all in on turn on Q 10s 5s 2.... River J (nice too lose $800 pot as a 95% fav)
QQ v 1010 all in pre
99 v 68 on 9 7 5.

All in all lost about 1.4k despite playing pretty good. Back to 1/2 for me

AAAARRGGHH !!!!!!

Im playing 2/4, open from early position with A10ss. The button 3bets me. The two blinds call as do I.

Flop 10d 9d 8s. It gets checked around.

Turn 10c. Checked to me I bet $145 into $192. Button calls as does BB.

River Ad. BINGO! BB insta shoves his last $100ish.

I decide to wait b4 shoving to induce the button (who has about $200 left) to call. Whilst waiting Im looking at the lobby trying to get on some waiting lists. Then my time bank starts ticking meaning I have to act v soon. But on PKR you have to close the lobby b4 you can make a decision. So I click hide lobby....... Nothing. Click again..... Nothing. Tick Tick Tick, and Iv timed out meaning my hand get folded. The button snap calls with AJ. BB had KQdd.

The pot was $930 and should be mine !!!!


Aside from that poker going ok. Didnt play at the wkend cos was at my cousins wedding (which was awesome btw). Only played for bout half hour on monday and made $250. I love the mini-session wins. Went down gunwharf tuesday and lost $150. Then made just under $600 yesterday (should have been more lol!!)

I keep thinking bout that hand, AAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ignorance

The following blog is a rant about peoples ignorance towards poker.


I tend to categorize people's response about what I do for a living into 3 categories.

1. People who play poker and are intelligent to know that money can be made from it (serious money if your good enough)

2. People who know nothing about it but are open-minded enough to respect my decision

and the worst of them all

3. People who know nothing and are just ignorant towards it


So here's the thing. I understand that pokers a unique way to make a living. The majority of people know shit about poker. Most that do know something about it often only play at the occasional home game. And yet when I politely answer their question about what I do, people want to start giving me advice such as;


'You need to get yourself a real job'

'You'll lose it all eventually'

'I know someone who lost everything gambling online'


What's worse is that people who know me, know that Im a reasonably intelligent and capable person. And then they ask how much I make (none of your fucking business), and I tell them an average figure (because the nature of poker is of such variance) and they say 'but how much have u lost' !!! How fucking dumb. That figure Iv just said is my profit you moron!!!

So at this stage they know how much I earn (although Im sure most people dont believe me), yet they're still hellbent on giving me life advice.

Then there's the questions. I must have answered the same questions a million times. Dont get me wrong. I dont have a problem with people taking a genuine interest. I completely get that earning a living from poker is very intriguing to some people. But please dont pass judgement on something you know nothing about.

/End rant

For those who want to know the outcome of the hand in my last post. He had K3 and held :(

Meta game

I want to talk about a hand I played recently which I think is quite interesting from a meta game point of view (probably not to a non poker player). I was playing at a 2/4 table as there was 2 fish in the game both on my right. Id played maybe 40-50 hands and hadnt won a pot and was probably $100-150 down. Id been getting run over a little bit up 2 this point. All pretty standard stuff imo. Id been iso-raising (not necessarily weak) the 2 fish regularly only to be called and then having my cbet floated or min raised. Or being min-raise pre-flop, having to call obv and then having to give up post flop. Also zomgchipriffle who's a decent player had 3bet my iso-raise 2 or 3 times. I suspect he was doing this with a wide range as he knows Im iso-raising a wide range.

So the following situation came up. We start the hand with effective stakes of $400 (100bb's).

Its folded around to a fish on the button who limps. SB completes and I make it $20 from the BB with KJhh, and the button calls. Flop 6 4 3 with 2 hearts. I lead for $32 and the fish shoves.

Now in a vacuum I think this is a fold, although having pokerstoved his range it's closer than I thought in real time.. His range here is pretty wide and therefore hard to get an exact figure from pokerstove but I worked out I had about 39% equity (feel free to give me your opinion, I could be way off). So I have to call $348 to win $474. This works out about 1.36/1 or more importantly means I need 42% equity to call profitably.

I only have 39% so I should fold right? Well yes in a vacuum. However my table image was pretty bad and folding again here would kill it completely. I felt by calling, regardless of the outcome Id get a little more respect and be able to carry on playing pots with marginal hands in position against the fish. So I give up 3% equity in a $800 ($24) pot for a better table image.

A couple of other things to think about are

• If I win the pot the fish may re-load and be tilting
• I gain some information as to how he plays
• If I lose I have a crazy fish with 200BB's on my right
• If I lose I may tilt slightly

Any thoughts or comments on this hand would be much appreciated. Plus my maths may be a bit off so feel free to correct me.

bulletproofJ

I thought it was about time I started a blog as everyone else in the poker world seems to be doing it. The reason behind the title is because I have such a great life and sometimes forget it so it's there to remind me. Most of the stuff in my blog will just be poker stuff so if that doesnt interest you then i wouldnt bother reading it.


So poker. Iv been playing poker for about 3 yrs and professionally since March 2008. I love the freedom that it offers me. I can wake up whenever i want, go out when i want and pretty much travel and live wherever i want (providing there's an internet connection :)). I mainly play online but sometimes play tournaments at grosvenor casino in gunwharf, but playing live just bore's the crap out of me. I think I might only play live from now on if it's a biggish comp (which for me is £100 buy-in or more). I play on a poker site called PKR and my screename is bulletproofJ (come sit at my table :-) I class myself as a 1/2 player but will sometimes play 2/4 when Im feeling good and the games are decent. Even though i think id be a winner in the 2/4 games I dont have the bankroll for it at the moment and Iv made similar mistakes in the past with disastrous consequences.


I also work 8hrs a week in my local pub. The reason for this is because if one day I dont want to play it anymore (or poker's not working out for me) then when it comes to getting a job, it doesnt show up that iv done nothing for the past few years. The only problem with this is I work 2 evenings a week and thats the best time to play online, so Im kinda losing money by working. But at the same time its not a bad job and most of the ppl there are cool.


Poker's been going pretty well for me the last couple of weeks. Im up around 3.1k since last monday (thats US Dollars). I really feel my game has improved recently and Im seeing spots that I never used to. A good friend of mine Andy (kingand77) also plays for a living and Iv been playing poker with him a bit recently which is good for my game. He's a much better player than me (arse lick lol) and watching him play makes me think about the game differently. We often take our laptops and sit in bar38 in gunwharf and play and the other day he played for me whilst I went to the toilet and when I came bak he'd won me over $200.... thanx mate :)


Ok im off the put in some hrs. Think Im going to a comedy night @ the wedge 2nite with Vikki my awesome gf, and some friends, so should be good :)