February Goals

Publicado por CharlieDi

Hi everybody,

I'm here today with two new comments to do.

First of all, I'd like to ask to Perpetuum Poker support to change hand history format. At least the MTT HH format. I've seen that HUSNG HH has a format that is captured by Holdem Manager. Would be a nice feature mostly because would make it easier to review the hands.

Also I'd like to say that I'm really excited waiting for the stuff of Cardrunners to activate my StoxEV calcultor as it seems a really interesting app to study poker. When I get used to it I'll try to post and review one hand everyday.

So that's all my news for today. Talk to you soon and good luck till then.

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Resacosix en la barra - '39 cover

Publicado por CharlieDi

Hi everybody,

Today I'm not bloggin' about poker. Instead I'd like to share with you this song. It's a cover of Queen "'39" and even his meaning in spanish may seen different, in fact they are the same, the lost of the loved ones. Hope you like it:



GL to everybody and dont forget to take care the ones you love because once they are gone there's no way back.

See you soon

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Tilt and downswings management

Publicado por CharlieDi

Hi everybody,

I write again with no poker news to tell. Why? Because I've taken a break for a few days, hoping to leave mi tilt apart.
During this time I have had time to review HHs, watch videos and read. One of the things I liked the most (and was yet helpful) was this article from AJKHoosier1.



My Name is Alex Kamberis & I'm on the Worst Downswing of My Career

Sometimes poker really sucks.
I mean, unless your name is Phil Ivey, sometimes poker REALLY sucks. If your name IS Phil Ivey, you can probably just go ahead and skip this article - thanks for reading, Phil, it’s an honor.
I’m writing this, my first article for BLUFF, in the middle of the worst downswing of my career. Now, it’s admittedly pretty big, but it’s not huge - since going deep-ish in the PCA this year, I’m down approximately $100,000 playing poker. Really, this isn’t much, given that some of it comes from a single $25,000 tournament (at the NAPT Venetian series) and some more from $25/$50 cash games, but still, it qualifies as my biggest downswing ever. Since this is my first article, it feels like it would be almost irresponsible to talk about anything else but just that - losing. This issue of BLUFF alone contains probably a few articles discussing, in some way, shape or form, how to win at poker. My goal here is to sneak one in about how to LOSE at poker, because for any wannabe professional, it’s just as important. I’ve broken down my thoughts on this subject, thoughts that become more prevalent after every losing session, into three basic ‘lessons’ regarding downswings and difficult losses.
LESSON #1: Who do you think you are?
 The very best poker players in the world suffer terrible downswings.
Let me repeat that.
THE VERY BEST poker players in the world suffer TERRIBLE downswings.
So, really, what makes you think that you shouldn’t? Are you some kind of godly creature that simply never loses in any game you play, without exception? I thought I told you to stop reading, Phil.
Poker is unlike the vast majority of “competitions” in that the best players win at rates that usually significantly differ from what their edge in skill provides. I don’t need to tell you that poker is a game that involves an extraordinary amount of chance ... or do I? While I doubt I could get a quote out of any of them, I’m quite sure there are still a handful of well-known professionals that feel they will NEVER experience an abnormally bad downswing. This group includes mostly players who ran far above expectations to start their career (a group that includes myself) and have become jaded to the realities of the game. The fact is, that you are NOT going to be the one example of a player who has a lasting, successful career without experiencing a single major downswing. It just plain does not happen - the sooner you accept that fact, the better. Therefore, the key to a healthy state of mind is managing your...
LESSON #2: Expectations
One of the biggest winners in online poker history, Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt, recently wrote a short book about his experiences in poker. While I can’t claim to have read it cover to cover, a friend of mine gave me a heads-up on a quote from it that he really enjoyed. Basically, Leatherass hired a sports psychologist to discuss the emotional effects of poker and how to best control them. The expert told him something along the lines of, “You obviously EXPECT to have downswings, so why would you ever be upset when you do?” Well, that sure makes sense, and it almost makes you feel like an idiot for ever letting those things get to you.
The key is to always be looking at your career as an overall timeline, not from spike to spike. The way you should think of it is to consider yourself a poker-playing machine. You are booted up on the first day of your career and you shut down when you retire. However much you win over the course of a lifetime, so be it. In between will be massive upswings, massive downswings, and just about everything in the middle, but all that matters is that ultimate bottom line.
Never let what you KNOW to be a natural downswing affect your overall view of the game. Likewise, never let an upswing lull you into a false sense of security. To be honest, I’ve been prone to the latter myself, and it can make things a lot harder when the inevitable downswing occurs. The first couple years of my poker career went better than anyone’s should. When you start off a big winner, you expect to always be a big winner, because it’s all you know. Poker has a funny way of bringing you back down to earth just when you feel like you’re floating on air.
In other words, expect to win, but don’t expect to win every day.
LESSON #3: Remembering to forget / “What doesn’t kill you...”
Immediately before I wrote this article, I had a losing poker session, bricking an entire afternoon’s worth of online tournaments. After I finish this article, there’s a decent chance I’ll start up what will eventually be another losing session, this time at the cash tables. Tomorrow, there’s a pretty good chance that I’ll cap off the weekend with another loss.
What, you think I should stop?
The past few months I’ve run drastically below my “all-in EV” (the amount one wins or loses if every showdown plays out according to its expected value) in every cash game I’ve played. I’ve bubbled the money and/or the final table of multiple huge online tournaments in just about every way possible; insane bad beats, ridiculous coolers, and of course, the occasional misstep. Obviously there are some hands or moments that hurt more than others, and when it comes down to it, we aren’t actually poker playing robots. I mean, you’re reading an article by someone who once threw a mouse across the room when he lost aces to queens for an enormous pot on the final table bubble of an $1,000 online tournament. Funny story, it happened to hit a light hanging from my ceiling, and I cut my hand cleaning up the glass ... lesson learned?.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “THIS guy is trying to tell ME not to be affected by losing? Well, no, I’m not. If Adam Morrison can cry on national television after Gonzaga loses an NCAA tournament game, then you damn sure can bang your first on the table when you lose AK to 7-2 on the final table bubble of a tournament. There’s nothing wrong with getting momentarily upset about these things — in fact, there’d be something wrong with NOT getting upset about them. What matters is that you move on and that your play remains constant. With all the tough beats and brutal losses I’ve taken, I’m sure I’ve gone to sleep with a frown more than a few times lately. However, I can honestly say that I NEVER wake up the next day still upset, dwelling on what might have been the night before. This is a pretty major point of pride for me, and should be for you as well. As poker players, if all we are concerned with is our bottom line, then the only session we should be concerned with is our NEXT session.
So get over it! While no part of this article is anything too revolutionary, I know it’s helped me personally to put down on paper how I should be thinking, providing myself and all those who are reading a guideline for failing successfully. Maybe like me, you can come back to this article during your next major downswing, and make sure that you are abiding by these ‘rules of losing.’ If you are mentally well equipped to handle downswings, then those downswings will inevitably become briefer and rarer. Best of luck to all of you, both on and off the tables.

Source: http://www.bluffmagazine.com/magazine/My-Name-is-Alex-Kamberis-%26-I%27m-on-the-Worst-Downswing-of-My-Career-Alex-Kamberis-2010.htm

Hope you found it as useful as me. After this I'm ready to come back to crush the field and fight for a CardMaster seat.

GL everybody and see you soon.

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How many times, a man must be rivered

Publicado por CharlieDi

Before you can call him a winner? (Charlie Di-lan)

Hi everybody!

I'm here again, trying to drop off tilt. Why am I on tilt? Because sometimes I hate poker and this week is one of this "sometimes" moment. This week is the 0-outs-week. No matter what hand I hold, if is draw it will not complete, if is a made hand there will come the river to say "hey baby, I'll show you the way out" :@.
I understand poker, I understand variance and I'm not critizicing my opponents (yes please, keep making this awful impressive shoves/calls) but I wish if I play right my luck will come back to me.

Well, that's everything for now from tiltland.

Gl everybody (me too, please) and talk to you soon

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Perpetuum Poker Players: WTF!?

Publicado por CharlieDi

Hi Everybody,

Here I am one more day to review my Perpetuum Poker experience.

Today's topic is a really interesting one because I'm reviewing the players I play against everyday in this Entraction skin. Before going any further I'd like to say the next three things:

- I am as bad player as the worst poker player ever. My comments here are based upon my observations in the poker table and by no means I think that I'm better player than my opponents.
- I will try to avoid applying qualificative adjetives such as bad, wrong, awful, etc to other players. When I use them will be referred to poker theory (eg 72o is a bad opener UTG).
- I'm sorry in advance if anybody is hurt by the words I say. Is not my intention to criticize, I just describe what I see and what's my opinion about, so peace to everybody :).

And after all the said and done lets start:

Even I haven't played a ton of games I can say one thing: they are the weakest players I've player ever. Why I say this?  Look:

Game # 2046686674 - Texas Hold'em No Limit 10/20 - Table "Tournament Table €1,000 Guarantee 9795685 2"
Players(max 9):
renpan                      (2,420.00 in seat 2)
hergoher1                   (3,080.00 in seat 3)
runninggood                 (2,328.00 in seat 4)
demattese                   (30.00 in seat 5)
e92967t                     (5,227.00 in seat 6)
pbp-dennis                  (5,175.00 in seat 7)
charliedi                   (2,595.00 in seat 8)
fabione1966                 (2,185.00 in seat 9)

Small Blind:                runninggood (15.00)
Big Bling                    demattese    (30.00)
charliedi was dealt:        4c - 4h
e92967t                     Fold       
pbp-dennis                  Fold       
charliedi                   Raise       (90.00)
fabione1966                 Call        (90.00)
-------------------- Ok till here ------------------------------
renpan                      Fold       
hergoher1                   Raise       (390.00)
runninggood                 Fold       
charliedi                   Fold       
---- 300 to call to win 390 + 90 + 90 + 45 -> 300:615 ~ 1:2 and I need 1:8 so good fold ----
fabione1966                 Call        (300.00)
---- Same reasons apply, and given his hand strenght he should be more decided to fold ----
Flop                        8s - 8c - 2c
fabione1966                 Check      
hergoher1                   Bet         (457.00)
------------------------ Standard ---------------------------
fabione1966                 All-In      (1,795.00)
---- WTF??? Check Raise All In 70bb with 33?? In the early stage vs a 3bettor after an Early Open + Call?? ----
hergoher1                   Fold       
fabione1966                 Payback     (1,338.00)
Turn                        8s - 8c - 2c - 6c
River                       8s - 8c - 2c - 6c - 9d
fabione1966 shows:          3c - 3s (two pairs, Eights and Threes)
fabione1966 wins:           1,694.00 side pot (with two pairs, Eights and Threes)
demattese shows:            As - Jh (a pair of Eights)
fabione1966 wins:           135.00 main pot (with two pairs, Eights and Threes)
Game ended 2011-01-23 18:22:06 CET


Game # 2046733988 - Texas Hold'em No Limit 25/50 - Table "Tournament Table €1,000 Guarantee 9795685 7"
Players(max 9):
sergei1                     (629.00 in seat 1)
DanituBcn                   (5,153.00 in seat 2)
fabioCi80                   (1,455.00 in seat 3)
claudiu123                  (3,368.00 in seat 4)
maurinio77                  (3,590.00 in seat 5)
charliedi                   (2,385.00 in seat 6)
St_Pedro                    (3,980.00 in seat 7)
Nille__P                    (2,690.00 in seat 8)
Cassiopee                   (4,075.00 in seat 9)
Dealer:                     charliedi
Small Blind:                St_Pedro    (25.00)
Big Blind:                  Nille__P    (50.00)
charliedi was dealt:        Jc - 7c
Cassiopee                   Fold       
sergei1                     Call        (50.00)
----------- 8 BB deep and limp, will you be limp-shoving? -----------
DanituBcn                   Fold       
fabioCi80                   Fold       
claudiu123                  Fold       
maurinio77                  Fold       
charliedi                   Raise       (200.00)
----------- Big mistake, thats why I can't be writing this and playing at the same time -------
St_Pedro                    Fold       
Nille__P                    Fold       
sergei1                     Call        (150.00)
----------- ??? will he shove any flop? ------------------
Flop                        2s - 9s - 3s
sergei1                     Check      
charliedi                   Bet         (475.00)
------------ I'm sure that if I bet he folds ----------------------
sergei1                     Fold       
----------------- Unbelieveable ------------------------------
charliedi                   Payback     (475.00)
charliedi didn't show hand
charliedi wins:             475.00
Game ended 2011-01-23 18:34:50 CET

That's what I mean. If I would open the chat and ask:
Hey guys, what would be your range for *?
I'd get this:
range? what is this? what is a "range"?
Ok, maybe not everybody, but I realize the mayority of the players doesn't understand one of more of this things: Position, Stacks, Stage; Betting Patterns -> Ranges. They will call a shove 70bb deep in the early stage of the tourney with Second Pair Second Kicker and will limp fold BvB with 6 BB and a Kx hand in an unopened pot.

They doesn't know what a Push/Fold strategy is and what hands should be shoving and when. Of course, I can call his 9d5d 10bb shove with my AhQh and lost, but at least I'm getting the money in good.
And not only Push/Fold ranges are missing. I open UTG with ~30BB, somebody 3bets me in late position for 12BB, I 4bet shove and he calls with A9o. A9o!!! Can you believe it?? And ovbiously he won to my JJ but ok, that's just variance. The key is that this happened in a $75 + $75 tournament, we are not talking about micro stakes where players dont know how to play, this is a very decent stake so... it makes me think.

All of this is something to take into account when playing. let's say we have this situation:
A player in early position open for 3x and everybody folds to me. I 3bet 10BB in the button. both blinds folds and he calls. We are both deep (50BB at the begining, now 40BB). Flop is
As7c3c - he checks and I cbet 11BB (standard move isnt it?) and he calls again. Now turn is:
As7c3c5c - and now he donk shoves!! Oooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuu Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!
In the short term I've been playing here I've learned that a big overbet means a busted draw or a small pocket pair or air or the nuts. So, what can I do here?? I put more than 1/3rd of my stack, so I'm commited but... I'm getting it in good? I know that is as likely that he shows AcJc as 44 so is a tuff decision.

So what's the solution? You guessed it: Adjust!! But how? Tighten Up! They are very loose players and there are no antes (I will talk about this in other post) so the best thing to do is wait for a good hand and then bet strong hoping the suckout machine is off.

Thats all for today. Hope you have a good week and good luck at the tables.

See you soon!

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First Thoughts On Perpetuum Poker

Publicado por CharlieDi

Hi Everybody,

Here I am ready to share my first impressions in this new site (for me) that is Perpetuum Poker.

As I've been playing there for only 2 days I can't say that my conclussions are close to be definitive but as a experienced player that have played in almost every poker net (stars, tilt, cereus, cake, ipoker, ongame and few more) I think I can address what we could see as a strenghts, small improvements and weaknes.

Lets start for the good things:
- As a mostly (I mean 90%) MTT player I'm happy to find that there are quite a lot of tournaments and with all kind of buy-ins. I can play small BI regularly and take some shots here and there because there is always a interesting tourney in the next 20 min.
- The average field of each tournament is really small compared to other sites (<200 vs >6000) so this give you more chances to get in the money.
- The average field of each tournament is weaker compared to other sites for the same and lower BI. I think this is a very important topic that will develop in further posts when I get used to the ranges of the players.
- Also, although I'm not a cash player, you have a lot of tables to play in very different stakes, that is always a good thing if you want to switch a bit from MTTs.

Now the small improvements:
- Time bank: Would be nice to have that extra time to take decissions. You have a good slice of time per hand but, sometimes (like lately in a tourney), you need an extra bit to think about the best action to take and the time bank would be perfect for that.
- Choosing a seat: If you multitable a lot, or making it simpler, if you just 4-table is quite difficult to track your cards and position from table to table (and even more in tournaments that you change the table and so the position). So being able to have a reference seat would make the game highly more dynamic.
- Late registration: Sometimes you open the loby and see marked in red a tournament that you would had been interested to play. If there were an option for late registration probably more players could join to the games.

And, at last, the weaknes:
Unsynchronized breaks: I think this is a weaknes because it make you a slave. If you are playing 3, 4 or tournaments at the same time you find that you can't have a one minute break. If the tourneys start at o'clock, past 5, quarter and half hour thre breaks will never be at the same time so you will never be able to leave for a drink or for a pee if you don't sit out. And this is a major inconvenience.
I don't want to tell anybody how to make his work but, as a computer science student, I give you my two cents.
No matter if you use functional or OO programming, I'm sure you will have a function/procedure/object that manage the tournament time. I guess that you have a countdown that looks something like this (in pseudocode):

IF 1_hour_counter = 0 THEN
break = true
manage the break
break = false
reset (1_hour_counter)
END IF

Instead of this you could easily make a system call to get the clok and if the time is correct the, go to break:

IF min_55 (system_clock) THEN
break = true
manage the break
break = false
END IF

Well, I hope some perpetuum poker staff read this and think about it.

And that's all for now. I'll keep blogging with my ups and downs in the poker world.

GL at the tables and see you soon.

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Back to the game

Publicado por CharlieDi

Hi everybody,

I'm here again! Yeah. After a long break where I felt I had no poker goals, I'm back!
I've found a new poker site: Perpetuum Poker. And they have a promotion that I've set as my new goal: The Card Master.

The promotion is a backing one. I've to be one of the best players of the site (good ROI u know) and make a deep evaluation of my game in the blog. If I meet the requirements I'll be among the 5 players staked by the site to go EMOP events. I want to start crushing the site to be elegible for March EMOP in Estoril.

So this is the born of a new day in the blog and in my poker life. I'm going for it and I feel unstoppable.

Good luck at the tables and will talk again soon!

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