A few friends of mine signed up to the Natural8 site yesterday and all except one are off to a winning start. If you are keen to sign up too, the website is www.natural8.com and remember to use the code FREEBONUS
A lot of players don't do well online is because they don't adjust. Online and live poker are similar and different at the same time:
1. Be more patient: In live poker, it can sometimes get boring. You're waiting around for hands and you're tempted to play 84 suited or 96 and call it your favourite hand, insist you must play it. Online poker you can multi-table and the action is usually much faster, so pick good spots to play, good hands that is worth your time.
2. Lot more bad beats: Statistically the more hands you play, the more bad beats you get. In online poker, you are going through usually around 100-200 hands per hour on one table. If you multi-table then times that by N. In live, you're lucky to play 20 hands per hour. The other thing with online, there are usually more fish. Some players make fish calls like call with top pair and get lucky by hitting their kicker for a two pair. Call a draw with super bad odds and hit, etc. At any given time, any player has like 20-30% equity in the hand. So 20-30% of the time you would get bad beat. So my advice is play small ball, unless you have the absolute nuts.
3. Mentally straining: You don't realize it, but playing online is more energy zapping than live. You rarely get to rest, you are thinking about 4-5 hands at the same time. Making notes about players, and watching your screen. In live poker, you have plenty of downtime where you can eat, drink, chit chat, play on your mobile phone, etc. Keep your sessions shorter than live because we are not robots. When we tire we tend to make mistakes.
4. Don't get too comfortable: Usually when you play online you're at home. You got the dog barking, your girlfriend on the other line, your parents nagging, etc. Never play online poker when you are upset, tired, angry, sad, or emotionally not in the right state. My friend who is a pro now got broke twice because he had a fight with his girlfriend just before both the sessions.
5. Good bankroll management: Play stakes you're comfortable with and you have the bankroll to buy in 10-20 times. The problem with online is once you're stuck, you want to chase it back and end up playing bigger stakes than you should. Your entire bankroll is sitting there in virtual numbers, and you can lose it all in one bad session.
6. Hit and run. I hate hitting and running, and I hate people who does it. So in live games, I usually stay on after I win a big pot. In online poker, nobody cares or can do anything about it. You doubled your buy in? Switch tables! Get up and take a break. Watch TV for a while then come back with a fresh stack. Your objective is not like live poker where if you get up, that's usually the end of your session. With online you can switch to another stake, another table, another game.
Follow my ideas here and you should be able to do well online. Good luck and have fun!
Wednesday 16 March 2016
Tuesday 8 March 2016
Latest Macau Trip
Macau is always a tough trip because I finish work on Friday, I would rush to the ferry terminal, get there, check in, go to the casino and grind for 8-12 hours, then go back to sleep and repeat until I come back and go back to work.
This trip is especially tough, because I had a brutal day on Saturday.
1. I missed 7 combo draws in a row. Combo draws usually mean I am ahead or flipping. The pots ranged from HKD10k to 40k each time.
2. I ran QQ into KK for my entire stack
3. I got drawn out a few times for majority of my stack
4. I won 4 big pots with 46 and 56 off suit (that's how desperate I got)
Two hands in particular I want to share. One was a hand that I should have folded. Preflop I am UTG with AQ suited. I just doubled up not long ago, winning with a set. Feeling good I thought I lay a trap. Limping and raising. Button raised to 300 and I made it 900. (first mistake, too little) Then he called. Flop comes QT9 rainbow. Villain has a big stack so I proceeded cautiously. I checked my top pair to him. He bets another 900. I must call with top top and a back door flush draw. Turn a rainbow 7. I checked again. He bets 2000. By now I should have been aware something is really wrong. Somehow I keep thinking he has something like JT, QJ, J9. So I called. River blank and he shoves all in 6600. I tanked and called.
I regretted this hand so much that I really hated myself for making such a stupid call. What could he have called my 3b pre with? AQ, JJ, TT, 99, maybe JT, QJ, J9 suited. Flop I checked he bet. Maybe all of the above would have bet. Turn he bet again. Would JT, J9 and JJ continue? I don't think so. River shove. AQ, JJ, JT, QJ, J9 definitely won't shove. So I am left with TT or 99. He flips over 99. What a bad call on turn and river. Could have saved me 8600 and that point I was up 13k for the session. Instead I lost all my profit and ended up losing 5k that session. Key turning point. Bad mistake.
Last day, I thought I might stay away from poker, but then I changed my mind. I was waiting for a seat on 25/50 because I saw the 50/100 was very sharky, but I was tired of waiting so I played, and I bought in 20k! 5 hands in I won a couple of pots and was feeling good. No showdowns yet so I guess they think I might have been bluffing. Some of the players were waiting for bigger tables to open so they were just killing time and was very loose.
Straddle on to 200, 2 players posted blinds for joining the game, 4 limped the straddle so came to me on the cut off with KJ off. I thought I take a stab and made it 1400. Straddler calls, mid-post calls. I didn't like that. Flop 556 two hearts. Both checked. I thought to myself if I cbet somebody will check raise for sure and I can't call. So I played it safe and checked back. Pot was already around 5.5k mind you. Turn J (not heart), bingo! Top pair! Loving it! UTG leads out 2700, not cool. Mid-post calls! What could they have? I just flat. River comes another J! Cha-ching!
Both of them checked to me, and the pot is now 13.5k. I have 3rd nuts, and I doubt anyone can call me anyways. I bet 4700. UTG jams all in 15000!!! mid post folds and comes to me. I lose to 55, J6 and chops with any Jack. I think to myself, I have to call. If I lose, then it's a sick cooler. He flips over T high! Happy birthday to me :) I guess he didn't put me on a Jack when I flat the turn. River bet was so small maybe it looked like I was thin value betting my over pair. So a jam could get me to fold. I guess one of the rare times my passiveness got me a gift!
This trip is especially tough, because I had a brutal day on Saturday.
1. I missed 7 combo draws in a row. Combo draws usually mean I am ahead or flipping. The pots ranged from HKD10k to 40k each time.
2. I ran QQ into KK for my entire stack
3. I got drawn out a few times for majority of my stack
4. I won 4 big pots with 46 and 56 off suit (that's how desperate I got)
Two hands in particular I want to share. One was a hand that I should have folded. Preflop I am UTG with AQ suited. I just doubled up not long ago, winning with a set. Feeling good I thought I lay a trap. Limping and raising. Button raised to 300 and I made it 900. (first mistake, too little) Then he called. Flop comes QT9 rainbow. Villain has a big stack so I proceeded cautiously. I checked my top pair to him. He bets another 900. I must call with top top and a back door flush draw. Turn a rainbow 7. I checked again. He bets 2000. By now I should have been aware something is really wrong. Somehow I keep thinking he has something like JT, QJ, J9. So I called. River blank and he shoves all in 6600. I tanked and called.
I regretted this hand so much that I really hated myself for making such a stupid call. What could he have called my 3b pre with? AQ, JJ, TT, 99, maybe JT, QJ, J9 suited. Flop I checked he bet. Maybe all of the above would have bet. Turn he bet again. Would JT, J9 and JJ continue? I don't think so. River shove. AQ, JJ, JT, QJ, J9 definitely won't shove. So I am left with TT or 99. He flips over 99. What a bad call on turn and river. Could have saved me 8600 and that point I was up 13k for the session. Instead I lost all my profit and ended up losing 5k that session. Key turning point. Bad mistake.
Last day, I thought I might stay away from poker, but then I changed my mind. I was waiting for a seat on 25/50 because I saw the 50/100 was very sharky, but I was tired of waiting so I played, and I bought in 20k! 5 hands in I won a couple of pots and was feeling good. No showdowns yet so I guess they think I might have been bluffing. Some of the players were waiting for bigger tables to open so they were just killing time and was very loose.
Straddle on to 200, 2 players posted blinds for joining the game, 4 limped the straddle so came to me on the cut off with KJ off. I thought I take a stab and made it 1400. Straddler calls, mid-post calls. I didn't like that. Flop 556 two hearts. Both checked. I thought to myself if I cbet somebody will check raise for sure and I can't call. So I played it safe and checked back. Pot was already around 5.5k mind you. Turn J (not heart), bingo! Top pair! Loving it! UTG leads out 2700, not cool. Mid-post calls! What could they have? I just flat. River comes another J! Cha-ching!
Both of them checked to me, and the pot is now 13.5k. I have 3rd nuts, and I doubt anyone can call me anyways. I bet 4700. UTG jams all in 15000!!! mid post folds and comes to me. I lose to 55, J6 and chops with any Jack. I think to myself, I have to call. If I lose, then it's a sick cooler. He flips over T high! Happy birthday to me :) I guess he didn't put me on a Jack when I flat the turn. River bet was so small maybe it looked like I was thin value betting my over pair. So a jam could get me to fold. I guess one of the rare times my passiveness got me a gift!
Tuesday 1 March 2016
My poker life lately
Feb 20th-21st I went to Macau to play the baby dragon. One hand I made a mistake. I had 99 and I called three streets on a 8 high 2 card flush board. Villain had JJ and bet all the way. Soon I had JJ and on the cutoff. I raised the normal 2.5x there were 2 callers. Dong Guo the Chinese player that went deep in WSOP 2014 I think (see picture below) who I think is not a great player 3b me with KQ. I shoved and he called. K on the window. GG
Proceeded to play cash game at the Wynn. Got onto a fishy table. Fish #1 calls with anything. Flop K5x. He has K5 and checks. I have 22. Turn the gin card 2! Ok, I ran good. He checked, I bet, he min raised, another guy with K2 just called. I reraised big, fish calls, other player folds. River I jammed he called. Ship it! 11k pot!
Fish #2 calls the river 3/4 pot bet with top pair 9s 8 kicker on a 4 card straight board. He even commented that the bet was "small" so he called. I voiced out loud "WHAT A FISH", but I wasn't even in the hand. Immediately next hand I had AT late position I raised, he called. Flop was QJx rainbow. He donked bet a small bet, so I called. turn was the money card, K! He bet, I raised, he reraised, I shoved, he snapped. River blank and I showed nuts. He said he didn't see the straight. FISH! 25k pot.
Second day I ran bad, anyway this trip I just broke even. I came back and won 4 cash games in a row. Last night being the most fulfilling of all. I was in for 2k. I was down to 170, I grinded my way up to 4195. Nice comeback kid! :) All in all I played good poker and am feeling confident. This weekend I am going to Macau again!
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