mathare's gamblog 2008

[mathare]

Now is as good a time as any to get this started :)

I think it's worth summarising my action plan here so I have something to refer to throughout and to act as a reminder

General

• Prepare 2008 betting record spreadsheet Done 05/01/08
• Purchase The Staking Machine software Done 19/01/08
• Make better use of Bet-IE, Bet Trader Pro etc.
• Open more bookie accounts (BetFred, Boyle Sports)
• Maintain gamblog with regular (at least weekly) entries Started 04/01/08
• Regularly review Action Plan
• Auto-Sys for 3rd party systems

Systems

• Replace flat combo system with separate banks for Goodun, ABS, Flat Monthly and Running for Profit Done 01/01/08
• Replace NH combo system with separate banks for Double Top, NH Media, NH Monthly and Jumping for Profit Done 01/01/08
• Drop TJ Murphy, Claiming Jockey, First Timer, Trainer 3 and Six+ Loser systems Done 01/01/08
• Review staking of all remaining systems at the earliest opportunity

Lays

• Review staking of all lay systems at the earliest opportunity
• Add Easy Money Lays to portfolio Done 01/01/08

Football

• More stats-based betting
• Develop spreadsheet to assist with above

Poker

• Play more fixed limit hold'em cash game and NLHE STTs
• Start new bankroll for Cash game poker
• Start new tourney bankroll (Ladbrokes) Done 29/12/07
• Focus more on game in hand
• Take notes on all opponents
• Buy-in for $25 when playing $0.50-$1
• Regular analysis of results with Poker Office
• Rationalise poker accounts

Casino

• Stan James casino account - weekly free chips competitions Joined 19/01/08
• Evaluate/compare blackjack staking plans

[mathare]

The other thing I wanted to put near the start of this year's gamblog was some stats to the end of last year. I'm not going to publish stats for the systems I am no longer following so these stats effectively act as my starting point for 2008

BB stats for 31/12/2007
<table><tr><td width="100"></td><td align=center width="100"><b>A+</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Trades</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Bet-IE</b></td></tr><tr><td><b>Bets</b></td><td align=center>635</td><td align=center>242</td><td align=center>79</td></tr><tr><td><b>Winners</b></td><td align=center>239</td><td align=center>163</td><td align=center>64</td></tr><tr><td><b>SR</b></td><td align=center>37.64%</td><td align=center>67.36%</td><td align=center>81.01%</td></tr><tr><td><b>+/- BB</b></td><td align=center>1.39</td><td align=center>55.23</td><td align=center>4.63</td></tr><tr><td><b>Overlay</b></td><td align=center>0.32%</td><td align=center>.</td><td align=center>.</td></tr></table><table><tr><td width="100"></td><td align=center width="100"><b>AP McCoy</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Nine Or Less</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Stoute 80</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Lambourn Yuck</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Johnston Tracks</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Michael Stoute</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>LTO3</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>System Banker</b></td></tr><tr><td><b>Bets</b></td><td align=center>71</td><td align=center>58</td><td align=center>36</td><td align=center>291</td><td align=center>176</td><td align=center>82</td><td align=center>102</td><td align=center>410</td></tr><tr><td><b>Winners</b></td><td align=center>18</td><td align=center>25</td><td align=center>9</td><td align=center>95</td><td align=center>29</td><td align=center>22</td><td align=center>32</td><td align=center>148</td></tr><tr><td><b>SR</b></td><td align=center>25.35%</td><td align=center>43.10%</td><td align=center>25.00%</td><td align=center>32.65%</td><td align=center>16.48%</td><td align=center>26.83%</td><td align=center>31.37%</td><td align=center>36.10%</td></tr><tr><td><b>+/- BB</b></td><td align=center>18.52</td><td align=center><font color="FF0000">-3.50</font></td><td align=center><font color="FF0000">-4.48</font></td><td align=center>0.13</td><td align=center>50.02</td><td align=center>51.07</td><td align=center>5.47</td><td align=center>84.32</td></tr><tr><td><b>Overlay</b></td><td align=center>20.72%</td><td align=center>9.41%</td><td align=center>5.93%</td><td align=center>11.02%</td><td align=center>26.02%</td><td align=center>26.73%</td><td align=center>7.20%</td><td align=center>9.01%</td></tr></table><table><tr><td width="100"></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Goodun</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>ABS</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Flat Monthly</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Run Profit</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Double Top</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>NH Media</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>NH Monthly</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Jump Profit</b></td></tr><tr><td><b>Bets</b></td><td align=center>4</td><td align=center>0</td><td align=center>120</td><td align=center>125</td><td align=center>874</td><td align=center>777</td><td align=center>0</td><td align=center>149</td></tr><tr><td><b>Winners</b></td><td align=center>2</td><td align=center>0</td><td align=center>37</td><td align=center>37</td><td align=center>312</td><td align=center>288</td><td align=center>0</td><td align=center>55</td></tr><tr><td><b>SR</b></td><td align=center>50.00%</td><td align=center>.</td><td align=center>30.83%</td><td align=center>29.60%</td><td align=center>35.70%</td><td align=center>37.07%</td><td align=center>.</td><td align=center>36.91%</td></tr><tr><td><b>+/- BB</b></td><td align=center><font color="FF0000">-0.88</font></td><td align=center>0.00</td><td align=center>3.21</td><td align=center><font color="FF0000">-12.03</font></td><td align=center>80.52</td><td align=center>5.65</td><td align=center>0.00</td><td align=center><font color="FF0000">-4.69</font></td></tr><tr><td><b>Overlay</b></td><td align=center>.</td><td align=center>.</td><td align=center>-0.31%</td><td align=center>.</td><td align=center>-0.02%</td><td align=center>0.00%</td><td align=center>.</td><td align=center>-0.06%</td></tr></table><table><tr><td width="100"></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Max</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Lay'em</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>NHPM</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Ladies</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>CD</b></td><td align=center width="100"><b>Easy</b></td></tr><tr><td><b>Bets</b></td><td align=center>296</td><td align=center>1300</td><td align=center>448</td><td align=center>71</td><td align=center>244</td><td align=center>0</td></tr><tr><td><b>Winners</b></td><td align=center>241</td><td align=center>1120</td><td align=center>388</td><td align=center>58</td><td align=center>207</td><td align=center>0</td></tr><tr><td><b>SR</b></td><td align=center>81.42%</td><td align=center>86.15%</td><td align=center>86.61%</td><td align=center>81.69%</td><td align=center>84.84%</td><td align=center>.</td></tr><tr><td><b>+/- BB</b></td><td align=center><font color="FF0000">-3.45</font></td><td align=center>4.89</td><td align=center>9.80</td><td align=center><font color="FF0000">-1.15</font></td><td align=center>0.32</td><td align=center>0.00</td></tr><tr><td><b>Overlay</b></td><td align=center>11.62%</td><td align=center>13.14%</td><td align=center>10.77%</td><td align=center>13.75%</td><td align=center>6.78%</td><td align=center>.</td></tr></table>

As I said elsewhere the plan is to publish weekly versions of these stats from this point forward

[Fadetoblack]

Why drop Timmy Murphy?

[mathare]

Why drop Timmy Murphy?

Wasn't working out for me. I was getting a great overlay/overbet on the selections but at the end of the day I wasn't profiting from it so dumped it. Simple as.

[mathare]

Poker has been a mixed bag for me this evening. I think my strategy for these 10 pays 5 tables needs a little tweak.

I played 5 of them this evening and cashed in 3. I am annoyed at the way I busted out of the other two though...

Start of the second level (15/30) and I get KdQc in mid position. I have pretty much my starting stack and there's been one limper so I raise to 150 and get one caller with everyone else folding. Flop comes Jc Kc 6c so I have hit top pair and have a flush draw to the third nut flush. I bet 250 into a pot of 375 and he calls for a pot of 875. The turn comes down 8d which doesn't improve my hand. I don't really have a read on this guy (and I'm multi-tabling) but I feel he can be pushed out. I doubt he's flushed already and figure him for a draw (don't ask me why, instinct I guess) so I push all-in for 1060. He calls and flips Ac 7c for the nut flush and the river (10d) was rather irrelevant.

I massively overplayed that hand on the turn. I'm happy with the pre-flop and flop betting. I perhaps bet a little too much pre-flop and should have made it 4xBB (120) but my flop bet is OK I think, at two-thirds of the pot. What I should have done is check the turn, or put out a small bet as an intended blocker. I know that now and I knew that as soon as I hit all-in but the deed was done.

Oh well, a moment of weakness but at least I know I had done wrong so I guess that's something.

The second exit was even more irritating. I had built up a nice stack (2615) by the middle of level 2 so all I basically had to do was sit on it and cruise through to the cash. Yeah, right! At the start of level 3 (30/60) I get JJ in early position. My stack is still around 2600 at this point. There's been 1 limper before me and I limp. 1 more limper, SB folds and BB raises to 90 which all 3 of us call. Flop comes down 2-9-6 rainbow which is a great flop for me. It's checked to me and I lead out for 250 into a pot of 375, a fairly standard two-thirds pot bet. I get one caller to my left. The turn comes out 7h, potentially completing straight draws but they would have to have been gutshots and the odds weren't there for those by a long chalk. I check (why?) and he bets the pot (875). I put him all-in for a further 180 as I really don't think he has me beat. He flips 9c8c giving him top pair and an open-ended straight draw. The river is Ts and he's hit his draw and won the pot.

My stack is down to around 1200 and with 7 players left I need to be careful. I have 20xBB left so there is plenty of room to play poker at the minute. But the blinds go up in around 8 hands so I may need to get busy soon. By the time we get 6-handed my stack has dipped to 1130, around half of the next smallest stack. Time to turn thief. And that's what I did - every time I thought I could get away with it I pushed all-in and stole the blinds with everyone folding with barely a second thought. Nice. Through my good play and others bad play I got myself equal with two other stacks then surpassed them both. Time to cruise on home again. Yeah, right! I got out of line on one hand and blew it.

We're six-handed and I'm down to 1730 in the cut-off. The dealer has 1202.50 and the BB has 820 before posting her blind of 150 so she is in trouble. I get AdJd and it's folded round to me. I shove all my chips in and get a call from the big stack in the SB. Err, hang on, that's not in the plan. I was trying to isolate the BB or just steal figuring that AJs was strong enough even if I met resistance from a small stack. I didn't expect the SB to wake up with pocket Kings! The board came 3h-6s-5h-9s-3d and I was out. And very angry with myself. Fold AJs in that situation and I (very probably) make the money with the blinds eating away at two smaller stacks.

Looking back, if I had lost and doubled up even the BB I would have been in trouble as that puts me down on around 850 with the blinds approaching. I couldn't afford to risk playing that hand and should have folded. The daft thing is earlier in similar situations in other tourneys I had happily folded KK and AQs (a hand I love to play) as I didn't need to play them as I had a good enough stack.

As it happens I also made a very similar move in a later tourney (that I did cash in, fortunately). We're 6-handed again and in pure mid-position I get ATo and decide to steal the blinds, figuring I could do with the chips to make sure (my stack was 1825 with blinds of 100/200; two shorter stacks of around 1200 each). This time the BB wakes up with Kings and he has me covered so calls. The flop comes 6-A-4 (phew), turn is 6d and river is 4c so my hand stands up (double phew) and I cripple the BB's stack leaving him on 520. That was stupid but lucky.

Like I said, a slight strategy revision required. I know stealing from the stacks who look safe should be OK but only if they think they are safe. And don't wake up with KK! But I need to watch which hands I am playing when I have what looks to be a good enough stack to see me through and not risk busting for nothing.

These tourneys are good fun to play though and quite easy to multi-table. I will be playing a lot more of these. I need a better than 55% SR to profit and I think that should be easy enough. My average finish is 4th over 165 10-seater tourneys. If they were all 10 pays 5 tourneys I would have cashed in 115/165 for a strike rate of a touch under 70%, which would suffice but I am sure I can do better than that on these tourneys. I need to build up a lot more data for them before I can be sure though. My goal is to play 100 and then re-evaluate how I am doing with them.

[mathare]

You're going to have to put up with quite a bit of poker chatter I'm afraid if things continue like they have been. I know I am probably just talking to myself but you don't realise how useful it is for me to get these things down on 'paper' as it really helps reinforce things in my head. Anyway...

Played 3 more '10 pays 5' tourneys this afternoon and cashed in 2 of them. Nothing much to say about those, except that the last one of them lasted ages (1h 17m) and we were on level 9 before the bubble burst. I was rarely in any danger in either of the two I won though. But the one I lost - that's a different story.

We're 8-handed with blinds at 75/150 and I get AA in the cut-off. There are two limpers so I shove all in (1595) the thinking being I either take down the pot (525) here and now putting me on a better stack for survival or I double-up, either suits me really. I get a call from the early position limper, who I had covered, and everyone else folds. My AA v their TT. Flop comes 8-5-T. Great! I need to hit to win now. Turn is a King, river a Queen and my stack is crippled (400). I'm sure I don't need to tell you that my opponent was a touch over 4/1 to win that hand pre-flop.

With less than 3xBB it's time for drastic action. I take down a pot for 1025 to keep me alive and pay the blinds, folding trash to raises. Then I get TT on the button. There has been an all-in under the gun for 1375 and it's folded round to me. Fold or shove? I have 5xBB so I figure I should shove and hope TT stands up. It's heads-up and UTG shows A6o. I am in good shape here, 72% favourite to win the hand. Flop comes 2-J-3 and I'm now 85% to win. The turn is another Jack and I am now a massive 93% to take it down and double through. My opponent is drawing to three outs - the remaining Aces. So of course the river has to be one of the three and his two pair beat my two pair to put me out in 8th.

I hate TT!

While playing poker I did dutch a couple of races for 35-40% profits each though so it's not all bad :)

[Iron Chris]

Quick question Mat, feel free to shoot me if I have missed it...:wink

Where are you playing these 10 pays 5 tourneys?

[mathare]

Where are you playing these 10 pays 5 tourneys?

Ladbrokes. It's where I said I would set up my tourney poker bankroll and I have stuck to that, fortunately :)

[mathare]

One thing I meant to talk about yesterday but forgot was my mission to rationalise my poker accounts and the fund and games that has involved. Those of you who have read my gambling review and full action plan (members only I'm afraid folks as it contains a lot of stuff I don't want any guest forumites to see for nowt) will know of the trouble I have had with Party Poker. Well, finally those days are over.

The other evening I finally built up enough loyalty points to make my withdrawal so I did just that, emptying my account completely. For non-members suffice it to say that I set up a cash game bankroll with Party before realising that to withdraw I had to pay fees (unless withdrawing to eWallets such as Neteller) and had to have a certain number of loyalty points. As the funds in my account are mine I wasn't happy about these conditions on getting to my own cash so I swore to get my funds out of there ASAP and I have now done that. My withdrawal to Neteller was approved and that allowed me to make a small deposit to PKR which in turn allowed me to withdraw the rest of my PKR funds back to that Neteller account.

That just leaves me with 'spare' money in CD Poker (non-withdrawable funds as it was awarded as a welcome bonus and needs to be played through about a thousand times), just over $75 in Empire Poker (which uses the Party Poker engine and as I didn't deposit via Neteller I can't withdraw to it and I don't want to pay fees on top of the foreign currency transaction fees by bank would charge as the site is in USD so I am keeping this one as a fun, burn off steam bank) and a free $9 in Poker Room which I have never used. Then I have my Ladbrokes tournament bankroll and will soon set up a Blue Square cash bankroll.

But back to Neteller for a brief moment. I tried yesterday to withdraw all my funds to my bank account. Initially it would let me, as long as I supplied my IBAN and BIC details for the account I had previously registered with Neteller. I didn't know such details so I cancelled the withdrawal process for now and phoned my bank to obtain these details. My bank told me they don't give out such info over the phone and to check a recent statement. I eventually dug out a statement from about 6 months back and found what I needed so I went back to Neteller to make that withdrawal. Only now the bank account option wasn't there. Because I had cancelled the process before it had removed my registered bank account and I would need to re-register. At least that is what seems to have happened because I know (and have evidence) that I registered a bank account with them but their customer support team are telling me there is nothing showing on their sytem and that my Neteller account has no associated bank account. So I am currently in the process of re-registering my bank account, which takes a few days, and then I can finally get my hands on my money again and use some of that to set up my cash game bankroll.

The lesson here, kids, is stick to sites with easy banking such as those with integrated sportsbook and poker accounts (Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, Blue Square, Bet365 etc.) if you want to get your money out again.

[mathare]

I seem to be hitting a wall around level 5 of these '10 pays 5' tourneys. If I haven't built up a stack by this point and am down to 10-15xBB I seem to struggle, especially when the table is still quite full. I've busted out of two so far like that.

The first time I had 11xBB with the blinds due to go up shortly so I shoved UTG with a weak ace (A5o) trying to represent a decent hand. I had been watching the others to act after me and had marked this down as a decent steal attempt given who was in the blinds. Dealer calls with AKo and SB calls with AJo so I am dominated all over the shop and unsurpisingly lose the hand.

The second time I was in a race with AsQs v 99. The pre-flop betting was steady with my raise from the SB getting this one caller and the flop coming Tc-Js-7s to give me a lot of outs. I had 9 outs to the flush and 3 more outs with the Kings for the straight. All the money went in on the flop, a 7 came on the turn and a 9 on the river to give him a full house which beat my Ace high all ends up really.

Disappointing but a learning experience.

I figured I'd be able to do really well in these tourneys and have a strike rate around 75-80% but that is looking a long way off at present. More practice needed I guess.

[mathare]

Not my afternoon poker-wise :(

I cashed in two '10 pays 5' tourneys to recover some of my earlier losses and then fancied a bit of a change of pace so played the second level ($10+1) of a treble chance ladders tourney using a token I won playing level 1 ages back.

It was going well enough and we were down to 6 players with 4th getting a token for the same level and the top 3 getting entry to the next level. I had built up a mid-sized stack and was sat safely enough for now. I had 2020 with blinds at 100/200. I get 4s5c in the small blind, two players limp so I make up the difference and the BB checks so 4 of us see a flop of 2d-2c-5c giving me two pair. I bet out 500 and get 1 caller. The turn is a dream card, 5h to give me a full house. There's 1800 in the pot and with a hand like this I am looking to get all the money in the middle and double up so I check, expecting my opponent to bet so I can check-raise all-in. He checks behind me and while the free card play wasn't what I was after I figure it isn't disastrous as I have a very strong hand. The river is 9h and I shove. He insta-calls but then he would as he holds 9s9d for a bigger full house.

[mathare]

I told at least one forum member some time back that I had made significant strides towards this and that I was finally getting somewhere. That may have been a little premature!

I have been looking into it a bit more this afternoon/evening and I think that in order to do what I want to do I need to learn Visual Basic (which is distinct from VBA) and Visual Studio 2008. I used to do quite a bit of programming and still do odd bits here and there in VBA so what I need to learn isn't rocket science for me (although at times I wish it was because I am quite good at that) but it is going to take time for me to get to grips with these things. When I do I then need to make sure that I can do what I am planning to do with Auto-Sys in the way I am planning to do it and then develop it. That's a long process given I can't work on it full-time.

However, whilst writing this post (and playing poker, so there goes that 'focus more on the game' resolution!) I have just come up with a sort of plan. It needs some thought and discussion with a few key people but I may be able to offer an Auto-Sys of sorts for 3rd-party systems in the not too distant future.

Watch this, and various other bits of, space...

[mathare]

One final lesson to leave you with today: don't try coding VBA, writing forum posts and playing poker at the same time - your poker will inevitably suffer. Trust me, I know these things.

Yep, busted out again. I lost out to a bigger full-house that again came on the river. I held QJ on a flop of KJ2 and bet out to see where I was. Two callers so no real info. The turn comes a J and once more I check it trying to trap. Check, check and a K on the river to reduce my amazing hand to something rather second-rate. I check-call a small-average bet and am not surprised to see him show a K. Later on I got distracted and frustrated in equal measure and threw the rest of my stack away chasing a flush draw. I had the odds, just about, but I had a feeling as soon as I called them off that I was betting into a made hand. The guy had flopped a straight and the turn and river both came rags so my flush draw didn't hit and I was out, in 9th.

Not a great day for me at the poker tables today.

[wb]

Mat, how are you finding the time to place your bets?

Like me, you seem to have a rake of systems on the go as well as other personal stuff. I've managed to get my hands on some bet placement software (and with the help of MattR, excel places all my bets for me). Do you do it all at once or throughout the day?

Up until recently, bet placement was taking a huge amount of time from me.

[mathare]

Mat, how are you finding the time to place your bets?

Takes me 15-20 minutes at lunchtime I guess, and that's it. No big deal at all. What takes/took you so long?

I can copy down the qualifiers into my spreadsheet in less than 10 minutes, for all systems. Then it's simply a case of bunging the lays in at Betdaq
with orders at the best backing price, or slightly below. For the backs I compare Oddschecker's best price with Betdaq and bung the bet on wherever offers the best price. All my stakes are automatically calculated so it's just typing numbers into betting slips online. It's all very quick.

I wouldn't want Excel to place bets for me automatically. It takes all the human involvement, and fun, out of it. I like to watch the results on and off and think "yay, I won on that race" or what have you. I like some degree of involvement. I'd hate to switch the PC on at the end of racing and have it tell me how much I won/lost that day without me having anything to do with it.

[counterfeit]

Hi Mat

It seems to me that you have a slight problem with the STT's.

I'm no doctor but I would say you are suffering from a distinct case of hyperactivity causing a loss of concentration.

You cannot afford to play poker half heartedly and expect to win. If you want to do other things at the same time (and I am just as guilty of this) your poker will suffer.

On the occasions that you are playing poker and doing nothing else it seems as though your desire to get things over with is causing you to play marginal/bad hands.

I spoke about this in one of my ramblings the other day. In the 10 pays 5 tourneys, you know that 3 people wil go out playing like idiots who have too much money. That means that if you play a proper sensible game you will end up playing a 7 pays 5 tourney. That is where discipline and position become paramount.

I played 10 STTs on Friday and cashed in 9, which spolit my hit rate a bit so although it was successful I was annoyed because I came 7th in the one I busted out of. That was through stupidity and not concentrating and I was really annoyed with myself.

It's all very well passing on advice to you but I really must follow it myself.

Good luck with the ongoing poker quest for riches and enjoyment.

[monty]

Now is as good a time as any to get this started :)

I think it's worth summarising my action plan here so I have something to refer to throughout and to act as a reminder

General

• Prepare 2008 betting record spreadsheet Done 05/01/08
• Purchase The Staking Machine software
• Make better use of Bet-IE, Bet Trader Pro etc.
• Open more bookie accounts (BetFred, Boyle Sports)
• Maintain gamblog with regular (at least weekly) entries Started 04/01/08
• Regularly review Action Plan
• Auto-Sys for 3rd party systems

Systems

• Replace flat combo system with separate banks for Goodun, ABS, Flat Monthly and Running for Profit Done 01/01/08
• Replace NH combo system with separate banks for Double Top, NH Media, NH Monthly and Jumping for Profit Done 01/01/08
• Drop TJ Murphy, Claiming Jockey, First Timer, Trainer 3 and Six+ Loser systems Done 01/01/08
• Review staking of all remaining systems at the earliest opportunity

Lays

• Review staking of all lay systems at the earliest opportunity
• Add Easy Money Lays to portfolio Done 01/01/08

Football

• More stats-based betting
• Develop spreadsheet to assist with above

Poker

• Play more fixed limit hold'em cash game and NLHE STTs
• Start new bankroll for Cash game poker
• Start new tourney bankroll (Ladbrokes) Done 29/12/07
• Focus more on game in hand
• Take notes on all opponents
• Buy-in for $25 when playing $0.50-$1
• Regular analysis of results with Poker Office
• Rationalise poker accounts

Casino

• Stan James casino account - weekly free chips competitions
• Evaluate/compare blackjack staking plans

Well Mathare, you did say to me that your were busy? and by the looks of all that you have been really busy. . . :D

[mathare]

It seems to me that you have a slight problem with the STT's.

I'm no doctor but I would say you are suffering from a distinct case of hyperactivity causing a loss of concentration.

You're spot on with all of that and I know what my problems are. I am just having a bit of a hard time addressing them. I have said several times that online poker is a blessing and a curse as it being online means I have endless other distractions at my fingertips. I need to focus better on the poker (and not posting here and coding at the same time). It's one of my resolutions for this year and I need to start acting on it ASAP.

You have to admit though, yesterday was poor with my full houses getting cracked.

[mathare]

Well Mathare, you did say to me that your were busy? and by the looks of all that you have been really busy. . . :D

That ain't the half of it!

[Mavrick]

All these posts are a great read. I haven't played poker in years, but have started to get back into thanks to these 10 pays 5 tourneys. Does anyone recommend any sites or books to read especially geared towards tourneys and not cash games?
I've read a few general poker books in my time, but in all honesty I can't really remember them much.

Oh and in them tourney mentioned above, does anyone aim to get like 3000 chips and then sit out or do something similar or is that just a silly thing to do?

[mathare]

Does anyone recommend any sites or books to read especially geared towards tourneys and not cash games?

I got a few for xmas, when I've read 'em I'll let you know if they are any good. But for now just play tight-aggressive and you'll be OK

Oh and in them tourney mentioned above, does anyone aim to get like 3000 chips and then sit out or do something similar or is that just a silly thing to do?

I won't do that because you can never be sure that 3000 is enough. It should be as it's twice your starting stack and you need to get 5th or better but the other players can just trade blinds with one another and whittle your stack down if they know what they are doing. And it's very obvious when someone is sitting out the rest of a tournament. Plus when it gets down to 5 there is no point folding anything. Everyone should be all-in every hand to get it over with so if you're on auto-fold you drag the game out unnecessarily

[wb]

Takes me 15-20 minutes at lunchtime I guess, and that's it. No big deal at all. What takes/took you so long?

.

Well, I've around fifty systems on the go now, and the lay ones were taking quite a bit of time as they were price based. A lot of my trial lay systems use stakes under the minimum €4, to that was taking a while to get around. I suppose it was taking me 3/4 of an hour to get everything done which is a lot if you only have an hour for lunch. The main problem with letting excel place the bets is that the horse name etc, has to be exact and all commas etc removed as betfair don't include them. Otherwise, I find it handy, as I can work out my systems the night before, then switch on the computer the next day and off I go. I don't really feel detached from betting as most of the systems are my creation, so I still feel responsible for the wins and losses.

[Mavrick]

Thanks mat. Yeah let us know what books you think are decent once you have read them.

I seem to have trouble seeing out my games, even if I have a nice stake of chips come half way through, so that's what I need to work on. For instance, I'm playing at the moment and I got upto 5000, which completely ruined my mentality as I just went into protect mode, and a couple of loose calls later I'm down to 3800.

[Jonny2621]

I told at least one forum member some time back that I had made significant strides towards this and that I was finally getting somewhere. That may have been a little premature!

I have been looking into it a bit more this afternoon/evening and I think that in order to do what I want to do I need to learn Visual Basic (which is distinct from VBA) and Visual Studio 2008. I used to do quite a bit of programming and still do odd bits here and there in VBA so what I need to learn isn't rocket science for me (although at times I wish it was because I am quite good at that) but it is going to take time for me to get to grips with these things. When I do I then need to make sure that I can do what I am planning to do with Auto-Sys in the way I am planning to do it and then develop it. That's a long process given I can't work on it full-time.

However, whilst writing this post (and playing poker, so there goes that 'focus more on the game' resolution!) I have just come up with a sort of plan. It needs some thought and discussion with a few key people but I may be able to offer an Auto-Sys of sorts for 3rd-party systems in the not too distant future.

Watch this, and various other bits of, space...

Wahey !

[mathare]

I seem to have trouble seeing out my games, even if I have a nice stake of chips come half way through, so that's what I need to work on. For instance, I'm playing at the moment and I got upto 5000, which completely ruined my mentality as I just went into protect mode, and a couple of loose calls later I'm down to 3800.

5000 is a fold everything stack - even Aces as I did yesterday. You don't need to play a hand so let everyone else knock the rest of the players out while you fold away. Loose calls will see you lose chips and potentially put yourself in danger. 5th is as good as 1st don't forget. That said, 3800 is enough to see you through safely so don't beat yourself up over this one too much but watch the calls in the future.

[counterfeit]

This disucssion is getting so big we ought to open up a thread in the poker forum.

Anyway, I agree with Mat in that if I get beyond 4000 chips I literally fold everything (unless a ludicrously short stack moves on my BB).

My kids were home today because of a training day at school and I played 1 table and got to the money with 800 chips. I couldn't concentrate properly so gave up before I started to lose money.

The good news is that my wife is home from work so I can look forward to some poker tonight and hopefully turn in a profit.

As for Mat getting two full houses overturned - that is really unlucky but both of them were only using one of your hole cards so there was always a danger that there would be a better FH out. You knew that and bet accordingly in one hand which was good, sensible (nigh on professional) play.

On the other you were very unlucky to run into an overpair and I also would have gone bust in that hand.

[mathare]

As for Mat getting two full houses overturned - that is really unlucky but both of them were only using one of your hole cards so there was always a danger that there would be a better FH out.

True, true. I was pleased that I didn't go bust on the second one and unsurprised I went bust on the first. But for all that to come on one day was truly annoying.

And you're right, maybe we need a 10 pays 5 poker thread. Be nice to get some proper poker chatter going again

[Mavrick]

A 10 pays 5 thread sounds like a great idea as I need as much help as I can get:)

I know the basics, and I've got discipline, but I still never seem to be able to break even.

Does anyone use a technique, that never involves them never going all-in, or never risking more than a certain % of there chips, even if they're are the heavy fav, but can still get beat, as I've been knocked out the last two times, on the river when my pair has been beaten by a better pair and and it really pees me off:) as I would love to be able to make money out of these tourneys without having to risk everything, even if in the long terms the odds would imply that I would come out on top.

[mathare]

Not much more to say here today. I had a good day with some nice winners but it was steady rather than anything special.

I do have to wonder how Betdaq punters expect to make much money long term though when they are willing to lay 16/1 shots at 62.0 (Where's The Boss) And also when they take my 5.8 about horses that go off 12/1 (Tagula Sunrise) :D Needless to say I got some good prices today

And no fewer than 5 banks hit new highs: System Banker, ABS, Running for Profit, Double Top and NH Media. Bit unfair to include the last four as they are new banks but a new high is a new high at the end of the day.

Evening off now, watching a film (I Am Legend) with the missus

[paul183195]

hi mat, i was just wondering when do you decide to drop a system, if it has bust the bank a couple of times, once, or if it is showing a loss after a certain amount of bets ?