I'm also going to start blogging @ cardrunners as I am quite fond of the site. So if you'd prefer that, here's the link: http://www.cardrunners.com/members/index.php?option=com_mamblog&Itemid=29&task=show&action=user&id=5072
lol...my screenname on that site is mongmong.
That graph is from Monday to Wednesday and I think I'm quite proud of it : ) Poker has been going pretty nicely for me! 5/10 started out really great. My first one thousand hands this month I made 8 buy ins! But then after that I lost some, made some, was up 10k, lost 10k, grind grind, big heater!
My roommate asked me the other day what I thought of 5/10 and if it's that tough and without too much thought I said nope, not that tough. But now that I think about it, it really is a tough limit. I actually feel a lot of pressure when I put in a session, at least beforehand anyways.
-random tangent. Roommate and I were at South Coast Plaza yesterday (big mall) and while walking and talking I said anyways, to which he replies anyway. Naturally I responded, "well I'm going to say anyways" :D which he then proceeded to explain that some people look down on you for saying anyways. I thought it was kind of interesting. I can see why that happens. Kind of like when you use "who" instead of "whom". it's really not that hard to use it correctly.
So, yes there is a lot of pressure when I play. There are some regs who play 10/20 and will drop down at 5/10. Some of those regs are very very good. They're solid players, they read hands well, they know when to apply pressure, and the biggest attribute that I associate with being tough is that, it's hard to get money from them. At 2/4 and 3/6 players will get it in light incorrectly, thus 2pair becomes teh immortal nuts at that limit. But on 5/10, depending on board texture, twopair really becomes more of a bluff catcher than anything.
Example:
Villain below is a tightish but very good reg. In fact, I try to stay out of his way because he just doesn't make very many mistakes.
Poker Stars
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $5/$10
5 players
ConverterStack sizes:Hero: $1000
CO: $960
Button: $2502
SB: $975
BB: $1867
Pre-flop: (
5 players) Hero is UTG with :2s :as
Hero raises to $30,
2 folds, SB calls, BB folds.
Flop: :jd :td :7h (
$70, 2 players)
SB checks,
Hero bets $50, SB calls.
Turn: :ah (
$170, 2 players)
SB checks,
Hero bets $122, SB calls.
River: :qs (
$414, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.
Results:Final pot: $414
SB showed Jc AcHero mucks 2s AsWhile top 2pair seems to be pretty strong here (and it can be depending on who is at the table), the problem here is that we're both competent players. The ace is a seemingly good card for him but really his hand becomes a bluffcatcher. The flop was very drawy and the ace just completed KQ. If he check-raises this turn, rarely am I getting it in with AT, A7, JT (very rare for JT). So pretty much, when he puts the money in the middle, he's really only getting called by hands that crush him - straights and sets.
This is the kind of thinking that happens at 5/10. By all means it's not a super high level hand but it just shows the difference between this limit and 2/4 where people may do lots of silly things.
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I'm pretty happy with my progress as a player : ) It was 7 months ago that I jumped straight into 2/4 no limit. I had come from a limit hold'em background and after watching my roommate play 2/4nl, I decided I could probably beat the limit -- and I did : ) I want to say that I work very very hard on my game but the truth is my work ethic isn't the best and could always be better. However, I have put a lot of thought into the game and I really like to think about how a hand played out and the many possibilities that can occur when the turn brings X and the river brings X. It's a really interesting game and I'm very happy with my progress so far. I hope to keep pushing further and at the end of the year, maybe I will become a 10/20 reg, but until then I'd like to make 5/10 my home : )
Cheers!
