It is looking like I’ll miss my target of 100 online poker tournaments played before heading to Las Vegas because I’m running out of time. A combination of working, a busted washing machine, and shopping, etc. for Christmas has left me short of time. However, I have been getting in some post-flop practice at the GGPoker cash game tables.
I played eight tournaments on December 4. They were my usual selection of bowl comps that kick off between 1900 and 2100. My only cash was a 19/378 in an $8 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo, which paid a sum not worth shouting about, but it was another step in the right direction.
Looking at my statistics from the 63 tournaments I’ve played, nothing major stands out as being a glaring mistake. It does look like I am calling too many three-bets from early position, although my sample size is meaningless, so I’m not worried about it. I could do with being looser in the cutoff and on the button and could call wider in the big blind, but a lot of that is player-dependent, in my opinion.
Hitting the Cash Games for Some Post-Flop Practice
The problem with relatively fast-paced tournaments online is you tend not to get much post-flop action. One mistake in a chunky pot, and you’re left with little room to maneuver. The WPT World Championship event I’m playing at the Wynn has a superb blind structure. You start with 100,000 chips, blinds start at 300/500/500a, and levels span an hour. Those blinds are only 500/1,000/1,000a after four hours, so there should be some scope to play poker post-flop.
With that in mind, coupled with a lack of time to potentially play tournaments online for five to seven hours (or more), I’ve played almost 2,000 hands of six-max NLHE cash games at GGPoker. It has been quite fun, primarily because I play 31/23 or thereabouts, meaning I get involved in quite a few hands during a typical four-table session.
I’m essentially breakeven over that small sample despite being stacked four times. Each of the four times was my fault, and I knew I was probably crushed, but it is so difficult to find a fold against these mouth-breathers!
PokerTracker 4’s LeakTracker shows that almost all of my stats fall within the range of a solid winning player. LeakTracker says my VPIP and PFR are on the high side, as is my love for three-betting steal attempts from the small blind. It also thinks I’m stealing too much from late position, which is probably down to my high VPIP, and I’m not folding my big blind enough to steals, but I’m a Yorkshireman and we don’t give up our money easily! Everything is gravy.
Hoping to Give Away $1.2 Million
Aside from some COVID-related crap I have to fill in online 72 hours before our flight, we are essentially all set for Vegas. Having underestimated the cost of the Mrs’ flight and our stay at Treasure Island after our free Wynn stay expires, plus the fact our washing machine decided to give up the ghost on Monday, I decided to sell some action for the WPT World Championship.
I’ve swapped 5% with a work colleague who is also playing, but that only kicks in on scores of $100,000 or more. A friend messaged me on Twitter a couple of weeks ago, asking if I was going to sell any action, so I gave him first refusal. I sold at no markup and he snapped up the 15% I was happy to sell. This means if the Poker Gods shine down on me in Vegas, the stars align, and I end up somehow walking away with a $6 million top prize, I’ll have to explain to my bank manager why I need to transfer $1.2 million from my account a few days before Christmas. Would be a nice problem to have, wouldn’t it?
All being well, I’ll be able to fit in at least one more bunch of tournaments before we jet off on Sunday. If not, it’ll be a case of some cramming in of some last-minute studying, much like I did while revising for my GCSEs!
This time next year, Rodney…..