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string(5972) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I\'m writing this some 20 hours before the beginning of another WCOOP, and it\'s about time I got back on the poker horse. Motivation to grind poker lately has been very low, especially knowing that another tough few weeks were coming up, but mainly because the sports betting has been going spectacularly. I had a huge finish to the World Cup, nailed almost all the second week matches at Wimbledon and have had some huge multis come in recently including a 7-way of odds 284:1! Of course I know it\'s important to keep a check on the ego after such a string of results and realise just how big an upswing this represents, but it\'s a great feeling to be consistently selecting high value spots that others aren\'t seeing, capitalising fully on them, and almost just as good a feeling to be leaving alone match after match that have proven to show minimal value either way.</p>
<p>I\'m always hesitant to tell my friends about sports betting; I know just the mention of it holds such an extreme negative connotation, so much so that no matter how much respect someone may have for me or for any sports bettor, no matter what lengths you go to to explain it - why you bet, that you are actually profitable or the dreaded "it\'s not as bad as you think" - you\'ll be met with the same cynical but silent "Yep, sure mate" response from all but the most considered of people. As such I don\'t bother rationalising betting to all but my closest friends who share a genuine concern for me and would like to have an honest understanding of the effect it has.</p>
<p>The truth is that in my case it\'s been a priceless resource for an array of reasons. Before I got into the whole mindgame thing I was a travelling tennis player and a reasonable all-round sportsman, and along with being an avid follower of many sports this background has given me the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of sport, in particular tennis. An appreciation of mental fortitude and how different playing styles respond to each other are just a couple of aspects that I couldn\'t have developed a proper understanding of without a sporting background. What\'s my point? Well combine that with being lucky enough to be decent at maths (dropping brags all over the place) it means I can identify a lucrative situation often enough to be profitable long term given sufficient discipline.</p>
<p>But the main reason why it\'s been so good for me is that it\'s given me a rewarding out from poker. My lifestyle and the environment I play in has been so poor and unconducive to poker really ever since I began playing that although I\'ve been able to get away with it to a decent extent, as the game has continued to get tougher and my playing conditions continued to decline, so poker has presented me with what could be described as a danger. It\'s in my veins to aim high and want success immediately, and so throughout the years of playing poker I\'ve extended myself beyond reasonable monetary means, accepting the high risk for high reward scenario. Whilst I believe when I\'ve done so I\'ve done so in games I should be profitable, due to my dreadful environment and simply to coming up against many of the world\'s best players on a given table, my edge has sometimes only been slight or even in some cases I can certainly say non-existent. Add this to my mental weakness in not being able to leave a table at the first onset of tilt and definitely on occasion poker has been a costly activity.</p>
<p>Thankfully the same setbacks I\'ve been facing with poker don\'t translate to sports betting. I\'ve got all day to mull over what\'s good and what\'s not and even better is I can get much more action than I could ever want, much more than I could get on poker and I can spread my risk over a large number of matches rather than having one poker table determine my daily result. The reason it\'s such an attractive proposition to so many people is best realised by the fact that in sports you can wager as much as gets accepted and your edge is still the same as if you were betting with pennies. With all that said though, the public perception of sports betting is completely fair and you have to know who you\'re talking to very well before you start condoning them making a habit of it!</p>
<p>I\'m not sure exactly why I just wrote an essay justifying my betting on sports but maybe I\'ll direct my next girlfriend here when she won\'t listen to what I have to say face to face! Some exciting times coming up, WCOOP will be bigger than ever and I just got word that I\'m going to get an invitation to the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown in a couple of weeks... It\'s pretty amazing, I\'ve always thought about how much I\'d give to go to the Brownlow, and maybe it\'s fate but the one and only, the REAL Andrew McLeod retired just a week ago as one of the all time greats of the game. In all likelihood he\'ll be given a special tribute on the night and to be there would be pretty surreal.</p>
<p>To address the environment issue again, I\'m very close to sorting it out. I\'m hopeful of being in position to purchase a house before the end of the year and from there I\'ll be lacking no motivation to get my lifestyle back to the way I want it to be. It\'s really been a prolonged transitional stage and unfortunately it\'s started to show in my tournament results and my level of play. I really can\'t wait to get things back on track.</p>
<p>If you made it this far, good luck in the WCOOP and we\'ll see each other again soon.</p>
<p>James</p><div class=\"prevPosts\">Other posts from <a href=\"http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/\">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href=\"http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm\">Upswings</a></li><li><a href=\"http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm\">So...</a></li><li><a href=\"http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm\">It\'s that time again</a></li></ul></div>"
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string(5972) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I\'m writing this some 20 hours before the beginning of another WCOOP, and it\'s about time I got back on the poker horse. Motivation to grind poker lately has been very low, especially knowing that another tough few weeks were coming up, but mainly because the sports betting has been going spectacularly. I had a huge finish to the World Cup, nailed almost all the second week matches at Wimbledon and have had some huge multis come in recently including a 7-way of odds 284:1! Of course I know it\'s important to keep a check on the ego after such a string of results and realise just how big an upswing this represents, but it\'s a great feeling to be consistently selecting high value spots that others aren\'t seeing, capitalising fully on them, and almost just as good a feeling to be leaving alone match after match that have proven to show minimal value either way.</p>
<p>I\'m always hesitant to tell my friends about sports betting; I know just the mention of it holds such an extreme negative connotation, so much so that no matter how much respect someone may have for me or for any sports bettor, no matter what lengths you go to to explain it - why you bet, that you are actually profitable or the dreaded "it\'s not as bad as you think" - you\'ll be met with the same cynical but silent "Yep, sure mate" response from all but the most considered of people. As such I don\'t bother rationalising betting to all but my closest friends who share a genuine concern for me and would like to have an honest understanding of the effect it has.</p>
<p>The truth is that in my case it\'s been a priceless resource for an array of reasons. Before I got into the whole mindgame thing I was a travelling tennis player and a reasonable all-round sportsman, and along with being an avid follower of many sports this background has given me the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of sport, in particular tennis. An appreciation of mental fortitude and how different playing styles respond to each other are just a couple of aspects that I couldn\'t have developed a proper understanding of without a sporting background. What\'s my point? Well combine that with being lucky enough to be decent at maths (dropping brags all over the place) it means I can identify a lucrative situation often enough to be profitable long term given sufficient discipline.</p>
<p>But the main reason why it\'s been so good for me is that it\'s given me a rewarding out from poker. My lifestyle and the environment I play in has been so poor and unconducive to poker really ever since I began playing that although I\'ve been able to get away with it to a decent extent, as the game has continued to get tougher and my playing conditions continued to decline, so poker has presented me with what could be described as a danger. It\'s in my veins to aim high and want success immediately, and so throughout the years of playing poker I\'ve extended myself beyond reasonable monetary means, accepting the high risk for high reward scenario. Whilst I believe when I\'ve done so I\'ve done so in games I should be profitable, due to my dreadful environment and simply to coming up against many of the world\'s best players on a given table, my edge has sometimes only been slight or even in some cases I can certainly say non-existent. Add this to my mental weakness in not being able to leave a table at the first onset of tilt and definitely on occasion poker has been a costly activity.</p>
<p>Thankfully the same setbacks I\'ve been facing with poker don\'t translate to sports betting. I\'ve got all day to mull over what\'s good and what\'s not and even better is I can get much more action than I could ever want, much more than I could get on poker and I can spread my risk over a large number of matches rather than having one poker table determine my daily result. The reason it\'s such an attractive proposition to so many people is best realised by the fact that in sports you can wager as much as gets accepted and your edge is still the same as if you were betting with pennies. With all that said though, the public perception of sports betting is completely fair and you have to know who you\'re talking to very well before you start condoning them making a habit of it!</p>
<p>I\'m not sure exactly why I just wrote an essay justifying my betting on sports but maybe I\'ll direct my next girlfriend here when she won\'t listen to what I have to say face to face! Some exciting times coming up, WCOOP will be bigger than ever and I just got word that I\'m going to get an invitation to the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown in a couple of weeks... It\'s pretty amazing, I\'ve always thought about how much I\'d give to go to the Brownlow, and maybe it\'s fate but the one and only, the REAL Andrew McLeod retired just a week ago as one of the all time greats of the game. In all likelihood he\'ll be given a special tribute on the night and to be there would be pretty surreal.</p>
<p>To address the environment issue again, I\'m very close to sorting it out. I\'m hopeful of being in position to purchase a house before the end of the year and from there I\'ll be lacking no motivation to get my lifestyle back to the way I want it to be. It\'s really been a prolonged transitional stage and unfortunately it\'s started to show in my tournament results and my level of play. I really can\'t wait to get things back on track.</p>
<p>If you made it this far, good luck in the WCOOP and we\'ll see each other again soon.</p>
<p>James</p><div class=\"prevPosts\">Other posts from <a href=\"http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/\">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href=\"http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm\">Upswings</a></li><li><a href=\"http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm\">So...</a></li><li><a href=\"http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm\">It\'s that time again</a></li></ul></div>"
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string(5918) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm writing this some 20 hours before the beginning of another WCOOP, and it's about time I got back on the poker horse. Motivation to grind poker lately has been very low, especially knowing that another tough few weeks were coming up, but mainly because the sports betting has been going spectacularly. I had a huge finish to the World Cup, nailed almost all the second week matches at Wimbledon and have had some huge multis come in recently including a 7-way of odds 284:1! Of course I know it's important to keep a check on the ego after such a string of results and realise just how big an upswing this represents, but it's a great feeling to be consistently selecting high value spots that others aren't seeing, capitalising fully on them, and almost just as good a feeling to be leaving alone match after match that have proven to show minimal value either way.</p>
<p>I'm always hesitant to tell my friends about sports betting; I know just the mention of it holds such an extreme negative connotation, so much so that no matter how much respect someone may have for me or for any sports bettor, no matter what lengths you go to to explain it - why you bet, that you are actually profitable or the dreaded "it's not as bad as you think" - you'll be met with the same cynical but silent "Yep, sure mate" response from all but the most considered of people. As such I don't bother rationalising betting to all but my closest friends who share a genuine concern for me and would like to have an honest understanding of the effect it has.</p>
<p>The truth is that in my case it's been a priceless resource for an array of reasons. Before I got into the whole mindgame thing I was a travelling tennis player and a reasonable all-round sportsman, and along with being an avid follower of many sports this background has given me the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of sport, in particular tennis. An appreciation of mental fortitude and how different playing styles respond to each other are just a couple of aspects that I couldn't have developed a proper understanding of without a sporting background. What's my point? Well combine that with being lucky enough to be decent at maths (dropping brags all over the place) it means I can identify a lucrative situation often enough to be profitable long term given sufficient discipline.</p>
<p>But the main reason why it's been so good for me is that it's given me a rewarding out from poker. My lifestyle and the environment I play in has been so poor and unconducive to poker really ever since I began playing that although I've been able to get away with it to a decent extent, as the game has continued to get tougher and my playing conditions continued to decline, so poker has presented me with what could be described as a danger. It's in my veins to aim high and want success immediately, and so throughout the years of playing poker I've extended myself beyond reasonable monetary means, accepting the high risk for high reward scenario. Whilst I believe when I've done so I've done so in games I should be profitable, due to my dreadful environment and simply to coming up against many of the world's best players on a given table, my edge has sometimes only been slight or even in some cases I can certainly say non-existent. Add this to my mental weakness in not being able to leave a table at the first onset of tilt and definitely on occasion poker has been a costly activity.</p>
<p>Thankfully the same setbacks I've been facing with poker don't translate to sports betting. I've got all day to mull over what's good and what's not and even better is I can get much more action than I could ever want, much more than I could get on poker and I can spread my risk over a large number of matches rather than having one poker table determine my daily result. The reason it's such an attractive proposition to so many people is best realised by the fact that in sports you can wager as much as gets accepted and your edge is still the same as if you were betting with pennies. With all that said though, the public perception of sports betting is completely fair and you have to know who you're talking to very well before you start condoning them making a habit of it!</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly why I just wrote an essay justifying my betting on sports but maybe I'll direct my next girlfriend here when she won't listen to what I have to say face to face! Some exciting times coming up, WCOOP will be bigger than ever and I just got word that I'm going to get an invitation to the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown in a couple of weeks... It's pretty amazing, I've always thought about how much I'd give to go to the Brownlow, and maybe it's fate but the one and only, the REAL Andrew McLeod retired just a week ago as one of the all time greats of the game. In all likelihood he'll be given a special tribute on the night and to be there would be pretty surreal.</p>
<p>To address the environment issue again, I'm very close to sorting it out. I'm hopeful of being in position to purchase a house before the end of the year and from there I'll be lacking no motivation to get my lifestyle back to the way I want it to be. It's really been a prolonged transitional stage and unfortunately it's started to show in my tournament results and my level of play. I really can't wait to get things back on track.</p>
<p>If you made it this far, good luck in the WCOOP and we'll see each other again soon.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm">Upswings</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li></ul></div>"
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string(5918) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm writing this some 20 hours before the beginning of another WCOOP, and it's about time I got back on the poker horse. Motivation to grind poker lately has been very low, especially knowing that another tough few weeks were coming up, but mainly because the sports betting has been going spectacularly. I had a huge finish to the World Cup, nailed almost all the second week matches at Wimbledon and have had some huge multis come in recently including a 7-way of odds 284:1! Of course I know it's important to keep a check on the ego after such a string of results and realise just how big an upswing this represents, but it's a great feeling to be consistently selecting high value spots that others aren't seeing, capitalising fully on them, and almost just as good a feeling to be leaving alone match after match that have proven to show minimal value either way.</p>
<p>I'm always hesitant to tell my friends about sports betting; I know just the mention of it holds such an extreme negative connotation, so much so that no matter how much respect someone may have for me or for any sports bettor, no matter what lengths you go to to explain it - why you bet, that you are actually profitable or the dreaded "it's not as bad as you think" - you'll be met with the same cynical but silent "Yep, sure mate" response from all but the most considered of people. As such I don't bother rationalising betting to all but my closest friends who share a genuine concern for me and would like to have an honest understanding of the effect it has.</p>
<p>The truth is that in my case it's been a priceless resource for an array of reasons. Before I got into the whole mindgame thing I was a travelling tennis player and a reasonable all-round sportsman, and along with being an avid follower of many sports this background has given me the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of sport, in particular tennis. An appreciation of mental fortitude and how different playing styles respond to each other are just a couple of aspects that I couldn't have developed a proper understanding of without a sporting background. What's my point? Well combine that with being lucky enough to be decent at maths (dropping brags all over the place) it means I can identify a lucrative situation often enough to be profitable long term given sufficient discipline.</p>
<p>But the main reason why it's been so good for me is that it's given me a rewarding out from poker. My lifestyle and the environment I play in has been so poor and unconducive to poker really ever since I began playing that although I've been able to get away with it to a decent extent, as the game has continued to get tougher and my playing conditions continued to decline, so poker has presented me with what could be described as a danger. It's in my veins to aim high and want success immediately, and so throughout the years of playing poker I've extended myself beyond reasonable monetary means, accepting the high risk for high reward scenario. Whilst I believe when I've done so I've done so in games I should be profitable, due to my dreadful environment and simply to coming up against many of the world's best players on a given table, my edge has sometimes only been slight or even in some cases I can certainly say non-existent. Add this to my mental weakness in not being able to leave a table at the first onset of tilt and definitely on occasion poker has been a costly activity.</p>
<p>Thankfully the same setbacks I've been facing with poker don't translate to sports betting. I've got all day to mull over what's good and what's not and even better is I can get much more action than I could ever want, much more than I could get on poker and I can spread my risk over a large number of matches rather than having one poker table determine my daily result. The reason it's such an attractive proposition to so many people is best realised by the fact that in sports you can wager as much as gets accepted and your edge is still the same as if you were betting with pennies. With all that said though, the public perception of sports betting is completely fair and you have to know who you're talking to very well before you start condoning them making a habit of it!</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly why I just wrote an essay justifying my betting on sports but maybe I'll direct my next girlfriend here when she won't listen to what I have to say face to face! Some exciting times coming up, WCOOP will be bigger than ever and I just got word that I'm going to get an invitation to the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown in a couple of weeks... It's pretty amazing, I've always thought about how much I'd give to go to the Brownlow, and maybe it's fate but the one and only, the REAL Andrew McLeod retired just a week ago as one of the all time greats of the game. In all likelihood he'll be given a special tribute on the night and to be there would be pretty surreal.</p>
<p>To address the environment issue again, I'm very close to sorting it out. I'm hopeful of being in position to purchase a house before the end of the year and from there I'll be lacking no motivation to get my lifestyle back to the way I want it to be. It's really been a prolonged transitional stage and unfortunately it's started to show in my tournament results and my level of play. I really can't wait to get things back on track.</p>
<p>If you made it this far, good luck in the WCOOP and we'll see each other again soon.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm">Upswings</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li></ul></div>"
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string(5918) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm writing this some 20 hours before the beginning of another WCOOP, and it's about time I got back on the poker horse. Motivation to grind poker lately has been very low, especially knowing that another tough few weeks were coming up, but mainly because the sports betting has been going spectacularly. I had a huge finish to the World Cup, nailed almost all the second week matches at Wimbledon and have had some huge multis come in recently including a 7-way of odds 284:1! Of course I know it's important to keep a check on the ego after such a string of results and realise just how big an upswing this represents, but it's a great feeling to be consistently selecting high value spots that others aren't seeing, capitalising fully on them, and almost just as good a feeling to be leaving alone match after match that have proven to show minimal value either way.</p>
<p>I'm always hesitant to tell my friends about sports betting; I know just the mention of it holds such an extreme negative connotation, so much so that no matter how much respect someone may have for me or for any sports bettor, no matter what lengths you go to to explain it - why you bet, that you are actually profitable or the dreaded "it's not as bad as you think" - you'll be met with the same cynical but silent "Yep, sure mate" response from all but the most considered of people. As such I don't bother rationalising betting to all but my closest friends who share a genuine concern for me and would like to have an honest understanding of the effect it has.</p>
<p>The truth is that in my case it's been a priceless resource for an array of reasons. Before I got into the whole mindgame thing I was a travelling tennis player and a reasonable all-round sportsman, and along with being an avid follower of many sports this background has given me the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of sport, in particular tennis. An appreciation of mental fortitude and how different playing styles respond to each other are just a couple of aspects that I couldn't have developed a proper understanding of without a sporting background. What's my point? Well combine that with being lucky enough to be decent at maths (dropping brags all over the place) it means I can identify a lucrative situation often enough to be profitable long term given sufficient discipline.</p>
<p>But the main reason why it's been so good for me is that it's given me a rewarding out from poker. My lifestyle and the environment I play in has been so poor and unconducive to poker really ever since I began playing that although I've been able to get away with it to a decent extent, as the game has continued to get tougher and my playing conditions continued to decline, so poker has presented me with what could be described as a danger. It's in my veins to aim high and want success immediately, and so throughout the years of playing poker I've extended myself beyond reasonable monetary means, accepting the high risk for high reward scenario. Whilst I believe when I've done so I've done so in games I should be profitable, due to my dreadful environment and simply to coming up against many of the world's best players on a given table, my edge has sometimes only been slight or even in some cases I can certainly say non-existent. Add this to my mental weakness in not being able to leave a table at the first onset of tilt and definitely on occasion poker has been a costly activity.</p>
<p>Thankfully the same setbacks I've been facing with poker don't translate to sports betting. I've got all day to mull over what's good and what's not and even better is I can get much more action than I could ever want, much more than I could get on poker and I can spread my risk over a large number of matches rather than having one poker table determine my daily result. The reason it's such an attractive proposition to so many people is best realised by the fact that in sports you can wager as much as gets accepted and your edge is still the same as if you were betting with pennies. With all that said though, the public perception of sports betting is completely fair and you have to know who you're talking to very well before you start condoning them making a habit of it!</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly why I just wrote an essay justifying my betting on sports but maybe I'll direct my next girlfriend here when she won't listen to what I have to say face to face! Some exciting times coming up, WCOOP will be bigger than ever and I just got word that I'm going to get an invitation to the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown in a couple of weeks... It's pretty amazing, I've always thought about how much I'd give to go to the Brownlow, and maybe it's fate but the one and only, the REAL Andrew McLeod retired just a week ago as one of the all time greats of the game. In all likelihood he'll be given a special tribute on the night and to be there would be pretty surreal.</p>
<p>To address the environment issue again, I'm very close to sorting it out. I'm hopeful of being in position to purchase a house before the end of the year and from there I'll be lacking no motivation to get my lifestyle back to the way I want it to be. It's really been a prolonged transitional stage and unfortunately it's started to show in my tournament results and my level of play. I really can't wait to get things back on track.</p>
<p>If you made it this far, good luck in the WCOOP and we'll see each other again soon.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm">Upswings</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(58) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-tomorrow.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Sun, 05 Sep 2010 01:07:49 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:20341"
["summary"]=>
string(5918) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm writing this some 20 hours before the beginning of another WCOOP, and it's about time I got back on the poker horse. Motivation to grind poker lately has been very low, especially knowing that another tough few weeks were coming up, but mainly because the sports betting has been going spectacularly. I had a huge finish to the World Cup, nailed almost all the second week matches at Wimbledon and have had some huge multis come in recently including a 7-way of odds 284:1! Of course I know it's important to keep a check on the ego after such a string of results and realise just how big an upswing this represents, but it's a great feeling to be consistently selecting high value spots that others aren't seeing, capitalising fully on them, and almost just as good a feeling to be leaving alone match after match that have proven to show minimal value either way.</p>
<p>I'm always hesitant to tell my friends about sports betting; I know just the mention of it holds such an extreme negative connotation, so much so that no matter how much respect someone may have for me or for any sports bettor, no matter what lengths you go to to explain it - why you bet, that you are actually profitable or the dreaded "it's not as bad as you think" - you'll be met with the same cynical but silent "Yep, sure mate" response from all but the most considered of people. As such I don't bother rationalising betting to all but my closest friends who share a genuine concern for me and would like to have an honest understanding of the effect it has.</p>
<p>The truth is that in my case it's been a priceless resource for an array of reasons. Before I got into the whole mindgame thing I was a travelling tennis player and a reasonable all-round sportsman, and along with being an avid follower of many sports this background has given me the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of sport, in particular tennis. An appreciation of mental fortitude and how different playing styles respond to each other are just a couple of aspects that I couldn't have developed a proper understanding of without a sporting background. What's my point? Well combine that with being lucky enough to be decent at maths (dropping brags all over the place) it means I can identify a lucrative situation often enough to be profitable long term given sufficient discipline.</p>
<p>But the main reason why it's been so good for me is that it's given me a rewarding out from poker. My lifestyle and the environment I play in has been so poor and unconducive to poker really ever since I began playing that although I've been able to get away with it to a decent extent, as the game has continued to get tougher and my playing conditions continued to decline, so poker has presented me with what could be described as a danger. It's in my veins to aim high and want success immediately, and so throughout the years of playing poker I've extended myself beyond reasonable monetary means, accepting the high risk for high reward scenario. Whilst I believe when I've done so I've done so in games I should be profitable, due to my dreadful environment and simply to coming up against many of the world's best players on a given table, my edge has sometimes only been slight or even in some cases I can certainly say non-existent. Add this to my mental weakness in not being able to leave a table at the first onset of tilt and definitely on occasion poker has been a costly activity.</p>
<p>Thankfully the same setbacks I've been facing with poker don't translate to sports betting. I've got all day to mull over what's good and what's not and even better is I can get much more action than I could ever want, much more than I could get on poker and I can spread my risk over a large number of matches rather than having one poker table determine my daily result. The reason it's such an attractive proposition to so many people is best realised by the fact that in sports you can wager as much as gets accepted and your edge is still the same as if you were betting with pennies. With all that said though, the public perception of sports betting is completely fair and you have to know who you're talking to very well before you start condoning them making a habit of it!</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly why I just wrote an essay justifying my betting on sports but maybe I'll direct my next girlfriend here when she won't listen to what I have to say face to face! Some exciting times coming up, WCOOP will be bigger than ever and I just got word that I'm going to get an invitation to the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown in a couple of weeks... It's pretty amazing, I've always thought about how much I'd give to go to the Brownlow, and maybe it's fate but the one and only, the REAL Andrew McLeod retired just a week ago as one of the all time greats of the game. In all likelihood he'll be given a special tribute on the night and to be there would be pretty surreal.</p>
<p>To address the environment issue again, I'm very close to sorting it out. I'm hopeful of being in position to purchase a house before the end of the year and from there I'll be lacking no motivation to get my lifestyle back to the way I want it to be. It's really been a prolonged transitional stage and unfortunately it's started to show in my tournament results and my level of play. I really can't wait to get things back on track.</p>
<p>If you made it this far, good luck in the WCOOP and we'll see each other again soon.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm">Upswings</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[1]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(8) "Upswings"
["link"]=>
string(47) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm"
["description"]=>
string(1673) "<p>Howdy.</p>
<p>So after a pretty good finish to the SCOOP I've barely played a hand of poker. I went with a couple other Aussie players up to the Gold Coast where we played golf almost every day and it was nice to get away from the game... of course I've been keeping the variance up with the World Cup and Wimbledon going on - thankfully that's been going very much the right way so things are good for the moment! Hell I even got told by a super cute Virgin Blue airline hostess that "You're such a happy person, I love it!" eh eh.</p>
<p>Loosely my plans from here involve finishing the World Cup on an upswing (one TIME!), getting back to grinding a bit of cash and jumping back into playing a lot on Victory Poker. There's actually a chess tourney on in Adelaide tomorrow I think that I'm considering playing, would be good to see some old chess mates.. it might be a challenge to play though since it's likely there will be a lot of drink consumed tonight considering it's probably the biggest night of sport in recent memory (there's a killer AFL game on before two great Wimbledon semis and R8 World Cup matches including Brazil v Netherlands).</p>
<p>Shout out to Arjen ROBBEN!!!!!!!!!!! You GENIUS. Go the Dutch!</p>
<p>Best of luck</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(52) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:25:00 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:19861"
["summary"]=>
string(1673) "<p>Howdy.</p>
<p>So after a pretty good finish to the SCOOP I've barely played a hand of poker. I went with a couple other Aussie players up to the Gold Coast where we played golf almost every day and it was nice to get away from the game... of course I've been keeping the variance up with the World Cup and Wimbledon going on - thankfully that's been going very much the right way so things are good for the moment! Hell I even got told by a super cute Virgin Blue airline hostess that "You're such a happy person, I love it!" eh eh.</p>
<p>Loosely my plans from here involve finishing the World Cup on an upswing (one TIME!), getting back to grinding a bit of cash and jumping back into playing a lot on Victory Poker. There's actually a chess tourney on in Adelaide tomorrow I think that I'm considering playing, would be good to see some old chess mates.. it might be a challenge to play though since it's likely there will be a lot of drink consumed tonight considering it's probably the biggest night of sport in recent memory (there's a killer AFL game on before two great Wimbledon semis and R8 World Cup matches including Brazil v Netherlands).</p>
<p>Shout out to Arjen ROBBEN!!!!!!!!!!! You GENIUS. Go the Dutch!</p>
<p>Best of luck</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[2]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(5) "So..."
["link"]=>
string(47) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm"
["description"]=>
string(1828) "<p>So the last couple of weeks haven't gone exactly to script, I've played really well for spurts, sometimes for near on full days, then other days I haven't been quite up to it. Today was by far the worst - with no SCOOPs on that I was thrilled about I woke up with a nothing attitude (and was extremely dehydrated), spewed around aimlessly in the heads up SCOOPs and didn't really take anything seriously for the rest of the day.. I definitely had no chance in the well structured late NL events with the way I was playing.</p>
<p>The last couple of weeks have been as much about learning how to best acclimatise and sustain my body and mind to perform at its best as it has about just playing cards. Today when I woke up I was too tired and unwilling to get a shower, get breakfast and generally prepare to play.. instead I slept another half hour, switched on my laptop just before the start time and played barely awake and dehydrated. Sure I've won some tournaments doing this in the past, but I was doing other things better then - one thing would be running well.</p>
<p>Tomorrow starts with the defense of my Mixed Hold'em title from last year so if I can't get up for that I'm probably a lost cause this series. With a few improvements like staying well hydrated throughout and a bit of old fashioned hardening-the-f!#%-up, it's time to do work!</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(52) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Wed, 05 May 2010 08:08:08 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:19284"
["summary"]=>
string(1828) "<p>So the last couple of weeks haven't gone exactly to script, I've played really well for spurts, sometimes for near on full days, then other days I haven't been quite up to it. Today was by far the worst - with no SCOOPs on that I was thrilled about I woke up with a nothing attitude (and was extremely dehydrated), spewed around aimlessly in the heads up SCOOPs and didn't really take anything seriously for the rest of the day.. I definitely had no chance in the well structured late NL events with the way I was playing.</p>
<p>The last couple of weeks have been as much about learning how to best acclimatise and sustain my body and mind to perform at its best as it has about just playing cards. Today when I woke up I was too tired and unwilling to get a shower, get breakfast and generally prepare to play.. instead I slept another half hour, switched on my laptop just before the start time and played barely awake and dehydrated. Sure I've won some tournaments doing this in the past, but I was doing other things better then - one thing would be running well.</p>
<p>Tomorrow starts with the defense of my Mixed Hold'em title from last year so if I can't get up for that I'm probably a lost cause this series. With a few improvements like staying well hydrated throughout and a bit of old fashioned hardening-the-f!#%-up, it's time to do work!</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[3]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(20) "It's that time again"
["link"]=>
string(59) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm"
["description"]=>
string(1965) "<p>So I've been spewing around embracing variance for the last few months in tournaments when I've played after running comically bad for an amusingly long time, just generally going through the whole 'I'm over it' phase that we all go through as poker players.</p>
<p>Finally though, the SCOOP is nearly here again, and there's even an FTOPS preceding it starting in a couple days. These are the events I get out of bed for and I'm looking forward to them once again. I'm a bit worried about how I'm going to cope physically with the 2-3am starts every morning after having just had a minor operation a couple of weeks ago that I've been recovering from. I've dropped a few kilos and done nothing in the way of fitness work, so I'm clawing now for anything that's going to help me get through a gruelling three and a half weeks of online poker. Yeah who would have thought playing a computer game could be described as 'gruelling', I feel a bit dirty just typing it.. still, that's what it's like when you live in these parts. I'm going to have to be really strict about sleeping patterns and basically go into lock-down until May 17!</p>
<p>I haven't been keeping up with the news but with all this chaos with flights in Europe and just generally being more comfortable at home after the operation I regrettably won't be headed to Monte Carlo this year. I look forward to playing live again soon, not sure where the next checkpoint will be. Organisation is not one of my strong suits!</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(64) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:21:30 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:18977"
["summary"]=>
string(1965) "<p>So I've been spewing around embracing variance for the last few months in tournaments when I've played after running comically bad for an amusingly long time, just generally going through the whole 'I'm over it' phase that we all go through as poker players.</p>
<p>Finally though, the SCOOP is nearly here again, and there's even an FTOPS preceding it starting in a couple days. These are the events I get out of bed for and I'm looking forward to them once again. I'm a bit worried about how I'm going to cope physically with the 2-3am starts every morning after having just had a minor operation a couple of weeks ago that I've been recovering from. I've dropped a few kilos and done nothing in the way of fitness work, so I'm clawing now for anything that's going to help me get through a gruelling three and a half weeks of online poker. Yeah who would have thought playing a computer game could be described as 'gruelling', I feel a bit dirty just typing it.. still, that's what it's like when you live in these parts. I'm going to have to be really strict about sleeping patterns and basically go into lock-down until May 17!</p>
<p>I haven't been keeping up with the news but with all this chaos with flights in Europe and just generally being more comfortable at home after the operation I regrettably won't be headed to Monte Carlo this year. I look forward to playing live again soon, not sure where the next checkpoint will be. Organisation is not one of my strong suits!</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[4]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(17) "Sports degeneracy"
["link"]=>
string(56) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm"
["description"]=>
string(4683) "<p>So I haven't been playing much poker lately, spending most of my time betting sports, catching up on sleep and playing some tennis and golf. When I have played poker I've played pretty terribly, haven't really been in the mood to play and my sleeping patterns are all over the place since I've been staying up all night to sweat all the overnight sports action.</p>
<p>I just went to the grass driving range and hit some balls for the first time in a while, and I really suck. I have to say, whilst I knew I wouldn't be spectacular, I really expected to have improved a lot in the last half a year of playing golf on at least a bit more of a regular basis... I'm pretty sure my swing is technically more sound than it was, but I'm still shanking a heap of balls. I've had problems with hitting behind the ball so I was trying to have my hands lead the clubhead to the ball and transfer my weight to the front foot early to help hit the ball on the way down and take a divot in front, but it just ain't happening at the moment. I'll hit the occasional gem to keep the false hope that I may just have it, then leak shots all over the place thereafter. I'm going to try a few more tricks, probably go to Sydney for a few weeks to play regularly with a mate, and then I might get lessons after that. If I still suck in two months I'm going to be really annoyed!</p>
<p>I've been betting mostly on AFL, Cricket, Golf, Soccer and Tennis over the last few weeks.. it's been going pretty well and I've learned a lot during that time. My record on the pre-season AFL comp was terrible and cancelled out a stellar few weeks betting on Soccer - mostly EPL. I never expected to do well on Soccer - or to actually get into betting on it regularly at all - but after a great start I think I'm really onto a winner betting on total goal lines, and by watching a few EPL games over the last year or two I think I have a pretty good feel for the EPL teams, players, and how playing styles may matchup against each other. It's quickly gotten to the stage where my go to bet has become soccer lines instead of perhaps tennis or AFL, although I expect to do better once the main AFL season starts in a week.</p>
<p>Since I'm taking a lot higher odds on the golf (tournament winners, 3 balls etc.) the variance is a lot higher.. the last two events haven't gone particularly well but the one before that was spectacular. I have to thank my mate Joel a lot for his advice, he's been a big help giving me tips about certain players, courses and general qualities to look for when betting. I've learned a huge amount recently and, like soccer, feel confident that I can find some great value by myself in a sport I really didn't know that much about not long ago. There hasn't been much tennis to bet on lately but I've been really picking my spots carefully and that's gone great over a small sample too. The Indian Premier League Cricket has kicked off and after an indifferent start I'm hopeful of doing well on that also.. there seems to be some clear cases where some teams are being over valued, as well as some nice value on some special options where there are specific details of a matchup to look into.</p>
<p>For entertainment's sake, I'll share a bet I made on the AFL Brownlow Medal:</p>
<p>Selections Wager Payout<br/>
BET ACCEPTED<br/>
THOMPSON, S (ADEL) @ 251.00 $1000.00 $251000.00</p>
<p>Scott Thompson at $251!! You can't be serious. The Crows are going to crush this year and he is always likely to be our highest polling player. When I saw that price I was thinking 'Wow his injury must be really bad'.. but I searched around, listened to an interview and it seems he's not injured at all, what I had heard early in the pre-season was just that he had some soreness in his knees. Scotty is an absolute gun and is durable so hopefully he stays fit, doesn't get suspended and we can have a legitimate sweat in six months! I looked at another site just afterwards and he was only paying $67, it was quite incredible. Some guys who have no hope whatsoever were paying half the price or even shorter!</p>
<p>That's all for now. Good luck at the tables and the bookies!</p>
<p>James</p>
<p>Come play poker with James at VictoryPoker.</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(61) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:05:32 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:18347"
["summary"]=>
string(4683) "<p>So I haven't been playing much poker lately, spending most of my time betting sports, catching up on sleep and playing some tennis and golf. When I have played poker I've played pretty terribly, haven't really been in the mood to play and my sleeping patterns are all over the place since I've been staying up all night to sweat all the overnight sports action.</p>
<p>I just went to the grass driving range and hit some balls for the first time in a while, and I really suck. I have to say, whilst I knew I wouldn't be spectacular, I really expected to have improved a lot in the last half a year of playing golf on at least a bit more of a regular basis... I'm pretty sure my swing is technically more sound than it was, but I'm still shanking a heap of balls. I've had problems with hitting behind the ball so I was trying to have my hands lead the clubhead to the ball and transfer my weight to the front foot early to help hit the ball on the way down and take a divot in front, but it just ain't happening at the moment. I'll hit the occasional gem to keep the false hope that I may just have it, then leak shots all over the place thereafter. I'm going to try a few more tricks, probably go to Sydney for a few weeks to play regularly with a mate, and then I might get lessons after that. If I still suck in two months I'm going to be really annoyed!</p>
<p>I've been betting mostly on AFL, Cricket, Golf, Soccer and Tennis over the last few weeks.. it's been going pretty well and I've learned a lot during that time. My record on the pre-season AFL comp was terrible and cancelled out a stellar few weeks betting on Soccer - mostly EPL. I never expected to do well on Soccer - or to actually get into betting on it regularly at all - but after a great start I think I'm really onto a winner betting on total goal lines, and by watching a few EPL games over the last year or two I think I have a pretty good feel for the EPL teams, players, and how playing styles may matchup against each other. It's quickly gotten to the stage where my go to bet has become soccer lines instead of perhaps tennis or AFL, although I expect to do better once the main AFL season starts in a week.</p>
<p>Since I'm taking a lot higher odds on the golf (tournament winners, 3 balls etc.) the variance is a lot higher.. the last two events haven't gone particularly well but the one before that was spectacular. I have to thank my mate Joel a lot for his advice, he's been a big help giving me tips about certain players, courses and general qualities to look for when betting. I've learned a huge amount recently and, like soccer, feel confident that I can find some great value by myself in a sport I really didn't know that much about not long ago. There hasn't been much tennis to bet on lately but I've been really picking my spots carefully and that's gone great over a small sample too. The Indian Premier League Cricket has kicked off and after an indifferent start I'm hopeful of doing well on that also.. there seems to be some clear cases where some teams are being over valued, as well as some nice value on some special options where there are specific details of a matchup to look into.</p>
<p>For entertainment's sake, I'll share a bet I made on the AFL Brownlow Medal:</p>
<p>Selections Wager Payout<br/>
BET ACCEPTED<br/>
THOMPSON, S (ADEL) @ 251.00 $1000.00 $251000.00</p>
<p>Scott Thompson at $251!! You can't be serious. The Crows are going to crush this year and he is always likely to be our highest polling player. When I saw that price I was thinking 'Wow his injury must be really bad'.. but I searched around, listened to an interview and it seems he's not injured at all, what I had heard early in the pre-season was just that he had some soreness in his knees. Scotty is an absolute gun and is durable so hopefully he stays fit, doesn't get suspended and we can have a legitimate sweat in six months! I looked at another site just afterwards and he was only paying $67, it was quite incredible. Some guys who have no hope whatsoever were paying half the price or even shorter!</p>
<p>That's all for now. Good luck at the tables and the bookies!</p>
<p>James</p>
<p>Come play poker with James at VictoryPoker.</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[5]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(34) "Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker"
["link"]=>
string(72) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm"
["description"]=>
string(2875) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>It's been a pretty long and stressful summer (yep, it's still summer down under!) but exciting times are ahead. I had a real good week betting on the golf a couple of weeks ago and after a nice win in the iPoker major yesterday for around 56k yesterday I'm going to take it easy on grinding for a while to concentrate on some other things.</p>
<p>I'm particularly excited, funnily enough, to take some time off playing and start doing some proper poker study. The simple reality is that I have done nowhere near enough math-based poker study to be where I want to be. You could get away with this a few years ago and still do in tournaments now because, well, a few years ago the game was nowhere near as advanced as it is now, and in tournaments the difference of 3% equity in any given situation pales into insignificance in the overall conditions of tournament poker. In the last probably 6-8 months of playing cash online it's become more and more apparent to me that I have a few small areas of uncertainty in my play specifically in the limit games, so I'm looking forward to finally taking some time out to spend on sharpening all aspects of my game that require it. Not only will that give me the ultimate confidence to be able to sit in any lineup, but I believe it will also help my tilt control a great deal - for some reason I've always found it hard to tilt by choosing a sub-optimal gambling play when I know exactly what the correct one is instantly; rather it's been whenever there is any ambiguity in the decision ("peeling one more here may be good?") where I allow myself to spew.</p>
<p>The most exciting news by far though is that I'm now on board with Victory Poker. VP is a new site that's launched on the Everleaf network (a small network you may not have heard of) and to say the least it has a pretty incredible list of pros involved. We have high ambitions and have a lot of fun things going on like a TV crew and a bunch of promotions in the works. We've also got our own support forum on TwoPlusTwo. I feel very fortunate to be involved and look forward to meeting everyone. I've been playing some low stakes games there when I can so feel free to hit me up.</p>
<p>That's all for now, I'll probably be back to talk about how much I suck at golf and ask for some advice soon. May even try to get some pics of my swing :).</p>
<p>Good luck at the tables,</p>
<p>James</p>
<p>Come play poker with James at VictoryPoker.</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(77) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:36:29 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:17981"
["summary"]=>
string(2875) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>It's been a pretty long and stressful summer (yep, it's still summer down under!) but exciting times are ahead. I had a real good week betting on the golf a couple of weeks ago and after a nice win in the iPoker major yesterday for around 56k yesterday I'm going to take it easy on grinding for a while to concentrate on some other things.</p>
<p>I'm particularly excited, funnily enough, to take some time off playing and start doing some proper poker study. The simple reality is that I have done nowhere near enough math-based poker study to be where I want to be. You could get away with this a few years ago and still do in tournaments now because, well, a few years ago the game was nowhere near as advanced as it is now, and in tournaments the difference of 3% equity in any given situation pales into insignificance in the overall conditions of tournament poker. In the last probably 6-8 months of playing cash online it's become more and more apparent to me that I have a few small areas of uncertainty in my play specifically in the limit games, so I'm looking forward to finally taking some time out to spend on sharpening all aspects of my game that require it. Not only will that give me the ultimate confidence to be able to sit in any lineup, but I believe it will also help my tilt control a great deal - for some reason I've always found it hard to tilt by choosing a sub-optimal gambling play when I know exactly what the correct one is instantly; rather it's been whenever there is any ambiguity in the decision ("peeling one more here may be good?") where I allow myself to spew.</p>
<p>The most exciting news by far though is that I'm now on board with Victory Poker. VP is a new site that's launched on the Everleaf network (a small network you may not have heard of) and to say the least it has a pretty incredible list of pros involved. We have high ambitions and have a lot of fun things going on like a TV crew and a bunch of promotions in the works. We've also got our own support forum on TwoPlusTwo. I feel very fortunate to be involved and look forward to meeting everyone. I've been playing some low stakes games there when I can so feel free to hit me up.</p>
<p>That's all for now, I'll probably be back to talk about how much I suck at golf and ask for some advice soon. May even try to get some pics of my swing :).</p>
<p>Good luck at the tables,</p>
<p>James</p>
<p>Come play poker with James at VictoryPoker.</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[6]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(23) "Some post-flop analysis"
["link"]=>
string(62) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm"
["description"]=>
string(5958) "<p>My friend is playing $2/4 NL Hold'em 6-max on PartyPoker when he gets involved in the following hand:</p>
<p>The player first to act (Under The Gun), who has $827, raises to $12.</p>
<p>It folds to him on the button ($852 stack) with black Kings and he raises to $44, UTG calls.</p>
<p>The flop comes 8h 4c 2h, UTG checks, he bets $55, UTG raises to $164.</p>
<p>At this stage we have to try to work out a range of hands he can be doing this with. Without any reliable reads it's impossible to know whether he can be doing this with no pair and no draw, but that would be rare. I'd include some hands like AQ with the ace of hearts as possibilities some amount of the time. We also need to consider whether this player would be calling a big reraise with a low pair like 22 or 44 in the first place. Most solid players won't, so we'll just reduce the percentage chance of those showing up in his range.</p>
<p>So lets say his range includes any three of a kind, QQ, AQ and AJ of hearts, 56 and 67 of hearts and the AQ with just the ace of hearts. I'll also throw in a trickily played AA and the occasional low equity bluff because our opponent may be tilting or decide a bluff would work for whatever reason. I'm going to reduce the likelihood of 44, 22, AA, AJhh, 56hh, 67hh and AQ with the ace of hearts because a lot of players won't be calling with the first 4 hands before the flop and of course a lot of players will not elect to check-raise with AQ with just the ace of hearts. I'm also assuming that our opponent will always reraise with AK before the flop because that is how the cash games play online.</p>
<p>Now I'm going to cheat. I'll use an online software program called PokerStove to calculate our equity against the range we've given our opponent. Obviously we can't do this fast enough in the middle of the actual hand we're playing, or indeed not in live poker, but in order to be a top class poker player this is really the kind of study we should be doing away from the tables so that we have a better ability to approximate real time decisions in the future.</p>
<p>I can tell you that PokerStove calculates our equity against our perceived range of our opponent to be around 33%. So does this mean we should be folding to his check-raise on the flop? Well, not quite. We have to consider other factors. If we are bet/folding kings here, this means that we are bet/folding on the flop a ridiculously high percentage of the time since it's not often we're going to have a stronger hand than kings in this spot. This in turn means that perceptive players will pick up on our tendency to fold a lot and start bluffing us a lot more - and indeed, had we folded in a similar situation earlier in the session, our opponent's bluffing frequency here may be a lot higher in which case our equity would be a lot higher. So, what do we do, do we get all in with around 30% equity (we will fold out his bluffs) and take the ~$300 in the pot the few times he is bluffing, rendering us unexploitable and meaning we will be able to pick up more money later with lighter continuation bets, or do we fold, saving ourselves a small amount of money considering the hand in a vacuum?</p>
<p>If that was the question, we should choose the former, since we will more than make up for whatever equity we lose (assuming our range is close to accurate) later. We do have another option though of course, we can just call. When you consider that we think our opponent's range consists mostly of sets and flush draws <i></i>and<i></i> that we have position, this should be clearly the best play. Since our opponent has to act first, were he to miss his flush draw on the turn, it would be almost impossible for him to not still bet and commit himself to the hand, since he must imagine there is still a chance that we can fold and he still has outs to win the pot. However, now against these hands our equity is much much higher with only one card to come, in fact we'd be a considerable favourite. We can safely fold on heart turns since we think it is only rare that he should bluff the flop without hearts in his hand, and even if he only had the Ace of hearts or a different kind of hand, he is likely to have picked up additional chances to improve against our kings. So when we call on the flop, we are moving all in on all non-heart non-ace turn cards - we should fold if an Ace hits since that also connects with a large part of the perceived range of our opponent.</p>
<p>The reason calling is so effective in position here is that our opponent doesn't have a choice but we do; he <i></i>must<i></i> commit his chips on all turn cards since he acts first, whereas we get to see if we like the card to the tune of $620 or not. As it happened, the turn card came the 8 of spades, making the board show 8h 4c 2h 8s. This was a great card for our hand - the most likely three of a kind our opponent could have had, 8s, now became severely more unlikely, and now his range would be weighted far more towards flush draws and bluffs, making our decision an easy one. We have even stolen one of his outs since the King of hearts would give us a full house! Our opponent bet $272, an obviously committing bet but a futile attempt to look strong rather than just moving all in. My friend moved all in for an additional $346 which the opponent called, showing 67 of hearts. The river bricked and he took down the $1660 pot.</p>
<p>___________</p>
<p>This was a copy of a recent article for PokerNews magazine, you may be interested to see it here.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(67) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:50:55 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:15868"
["summary"]=>
string(5958) "<p>My friend is playing $2/4 NL Hold'em 6-max on PartyPoker when he gets involved in the following hand:</p>
<p>The player first to act (Under The Gun), who has $827, raises to $12.</p>
<p>It folds to him on the button ($852 stack) with black Kings and he raises to $44, UTG calls.</p>
<p>The flop comes 8h 4c 2h, UTG checks, he bets $55, UTG raises to $164.</p>
<p>At this stage we have to try to work out a range of hands he can be doing this with. Without any reliable reads it's impossible to know whether he can be doing this with no pair and no draw, but that would be rare. I'd include some hands like AQ with the ace of hearts as possibilities some amount of the time. We also need to consider whether this player would be calling a big reraise with a low pair like 22 or 44 in the first place. Most solid players won't, so we'll just reduce the percentage chance of those showing up in his range.</p>
<p>So lets say his range includes any three of a kind, QQ, AQ and AJ of hearts, 56 and 67 of hearts and the AQ with just the ace of hearts. I'll also throw in a trickily played AA and the occasional low equity bluff because our opponent may be tilting or decide a bluff would work for whatever reason. I'm going to reduce the likelihood of 44, 22, AA, AJhh, 56hh, 67hh and AQ with the ace of hearts because a lot of players won't be calling with the first 4 hands before the flop and of course a lot of players will not elect to check-raise with AQ with just the ace of hearts. I'm also assuming that our opponent will always reraise with AK before the flop because that is how the cash games play online.</p>
<p>Now I'm going to cheat. I'll use an online software program called PokerStove to calculate our equity against the range we've given our opponent. Obviously we can't do this fast enough in the middle of the actual hand we're playing, or indeed not in live poker, but in order to be a top class poker player this is really the kind of study we should be doing away from the tables so that we have a better ability to approximate real time decisions in the future.</p>
<p>I can tell you that PokerStove calculates our equity against our perceived range of our opponent to be around 33%. So does this mean we should be folding to his check-raise on the flop? Well, not quite. We have to consider other factors. If we are bet/folding kings here, this means that we are bet/folding on the flop a ridiculously high percentage of the time since it's not often we're going to have a stronger hand than kings in this spot. This in turn means that perceptive players will pick up on our tendency to fold a lot and start bluffing us a lot more - and indeed, had we folded in a similar situation earlier in the session, our opponent's bluffing frequency here may be a lot higher in which case our equity would be a lot higher. So, what do we do, do we get all in with around 30% equity (we will fold out his bluffs) and take the ~$300 in the pot the few times he is bluffing, rendering us unexploitable and meaning we will be able to pick up more money later with lighter continuation bets, or do we fold, saving ourselves a small amount of money considering the hand in a vacuum?</p>
<p>If that was the question, we should choose the former, since we will more than make up for whatever equity we lose (assuming our range is close to accurate) later. We do have another option though of course, we can just call. When you consider that we think our opponent's range consists mostly of sets and flush draws <i></i>and<i></i> that we have position, this should be clearly the best play. Since our opponent has to act first, were he to miss his flush draw on the turn, it would be almost impossible for him to not still bet and commit himself to the hand, since he must imagine there is still a chance that we can fold and he still has outs to win the pot. However, now against these hands our equity is much much higher with only one card to come, in fact we'd be a considerable favourite. We can safely fold on heart turns since we think it is only rare that he should bluff the flop without hearts in his hand, and even if he only had the Ace of hearts or a different kind of hand, he is likely to have picked up additional chances to improve against our kings. So when we call on the flop, we are moving all in on all non-heart non-ace turn cards - we should fold if an Ace hits since that also connects with a large part of the perceived range of our opponent.</p>
<p>The reason calling is so effective in position here is that our opponent doesn't have a choice but we do; he <i></i>must<i></i> commit his chips on all turn cards since he acts first, whereas we get to see if we like the card to the tune of $620 or not. As it happened, the turn card came the 8 of spades, making the board show 8h 4c 2h 8s. This was a great card for our hand - the most likely three of a kind our opponent could have had, 8s, now became severely more unlikely, and now his range would be weighted far more towards flush draws and bluffs, making our decision an easy one. We have even stolen one of his outs since the King of hearts would give us a full house! Our opponent bet $272, an obviously committing bet but a futile attempt to look strong rather than just moving all in. My friend moved all in for an additional $346 which the opponent called, showing 67 of hearts. The river bricked and he took down the $1660 pot.</p>
<p>___________</p>
<p>This was a copy of a recent article for PokerNews magazine, you may be interested to see it here.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[7]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(12) "WCOOP update"
["link"]=>
string(51) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm"
["description"]=>
string(7432) "<p>Whoa, been a pretty hectic week.. I'll keep it a bit shorter this time. I drove to Melbourne (7 hours-ish) a week ago to try to get in a better routine for WCOOP, to hang with some friends and also to go to a blockbuster Aussie Rules Football finals match involving my team the Adelaide Crows.</p>
<p>What ensued would be an endless head-fuck of frustration that one can only appreciate after having been subjugated to the ever so vast chasm of shit that is Melbourne.</p>
<p>To keep a long story short, my wireless internet card I took was so terrible that I had to just punt shove my stack every hand in the $1k WCOOP a week ago because it refused to stay up for more than a couple minutes at a time. My roommate had just moved into his apartment and had ordered wireless for the place, but, true to form with all Telstra related activities, products and inquiries, they failed to deliver. Yet for some reason my wireless card decided to work sufficiently enough early one morning to give me false hope, and made me continue to register for WCOOPs without seeking another option (Crown Towers were unfortunately booked out which would have been the easiest option).</p>
<p>The football match was quite the experience. My team successfully blew the seemingly unloseable game at half time by less than a single kick in the last 30 seconds of the game, courtesy of a dubious umpiring decision. With a lot of money on the game and having gone with friends who were passionate supporters of the opposing side, this too was a pretty typical Melbourne night, although (unlike most nights in Melbourne) undoubtedly worthwhile.</p>
<p>So Monday morning (Sunday in America) came around and, having tried briefly to find an alternate place to play and failed, I started playing majors on my wireless card.. and, well, I couldn't lose a pot.. I just couldn't play more than 2 without getting disconnected either. Having run super hot and not busted a single tournament in the first 3.5 or so hours, the connection was just too dire and I had to do something about it. I got the address of a friend's place and set off there in a hurry. Little did I know what would await me.. the most mindless labyrinth of roads that noone driving around for the first time could possibly not get lost in. I got to my friend's place an hour later and had mincashed 2 tournaments, bubbled one, and lost my big stacks in the $215 WCOOP and FTP $256 Brawl to the point of being 1/7 average in both.</p>
<p>Nevertheless I registered in a few later tournaments and continued to run hot, real hot. Until, in true Sunday style, I busted a bunch in a hurry and was left two tabling, with neither being a spectacular stack. Some hours later, I would be chip leader in them both (the $1k 2 day WCOOP and the $530 second chance), running super hot but having regained the kind of playing level that had been missing earlier in the series - thankfully I had finally improved the sleep patterns a day or two prior. Apart from one or two 30 minute lapses I was very happy with how I played. I unfortunately lost half of my stack with JJ to QQ in the $1k before the end of day 1 in an unavoidable spot, but still had nearly double the average when that finished. The Second Chance went on forever though, and I learned a valuable lesson during it: do NOT overindulge on pizza. I swear I ate so much and 5 minutes later could barely open my eyes since my body was consuming so much energy trying to digest it. It was tough hanging in with such a good structure, but I kept a good level of play, the flips just stopped going my way towards the end and 7th for ~$11k would have to do. Hey, it meant more sleep.</p>
<p>Next morning I tried to take a quicker route to my mates place to play there again, and yep, I got lost once more. I rocked up around 15 minutes late and things weren't going to plan like they did yesterday. I was pretty short but hung around and got a stack back, when I busted on the following hand:</p>
<p>Me (CO) ~620k<br/>
SB >620k (no reads)<br/>
BB ~550k (major spaz)</p>
<p>I raise K9o in the cutoff to 27,550 at 6,000/12,000.<br/>
SB calls, BB calls.</p>
<p>Flop 2h 3h Kx</p>
<p>SB checks, BB leads for ~55k<br/>
I click it back, making it ~110k<br/>
SB then takes a bit of time and makes it ~265k, BB folds.</p>
<p>So the analysis is pretty simple: He has a set, air, or very occasionally a flush draw. He's never just calling AK preflop and he's never calling with AA either (you'll have to trust me on that one). I also expect him to shove (or fold) any flush draw.</p>
<p>What's obvious is that the Big Blind was a spastic, I'm certain the SB knew this and he knew that I knew this. With that said, I expect him to expect me to raise the Big Blind's donk lead with a ton of hands on the flop, if not all. When the SB then puts in a third bet, the range he's representing is so rare (333, 222), that if he is capable of picking up on this and making a play ever, then that is going to occupy a large part of his overall range since sets are so uncommon. I was also factoring in the fact that a lot of people won't even call preflop with 22 or 33 from the small blind, although I know a lot of people do. If this were the case, then there wouldn't be a single hand in his range that beats me.</p>
<p>The question simply comes down to: Is this guy capable of making a play in this spot? You can flip a coin. Some are, some aren't. But my image does ridiculous things to some people, as can be evidenced by some of the pots that were pushed my way throughout the tournament. In the end, I crammed over his 3bet and he did show up with the set of 3s. I wasn't upset though, it was just one of those spots where he either was on a bluff or you're out of the tournament.. he wasn't, gg me. I'm still happy with the play given this player only needs to be capable of even just considering a bluff here for it to be good, given the rarity he has a set and the possibility that he isn't even calling with 22 or 33 preflop in the first place. I'm perfectly aware that this could be a shocking mistake against this particular player, but it also may be a super play against a different unknown, it still sits well with me.</p>
<p>You might ask if this means that I'm still shoving A8o here instead of K9 - the answer would be I'm not sure. I didn't shove for the the value of my top pair, obviously, but actually having the king does give that slight extra reassurance that he is unlikely to have a random K like KQ (that you have disregarded anyway), that if he did actually just raise but not shove with a combo flush draw you have decent equity, and that when he does have a set, you do get your miracle shot of 4% or whatever it is at filling up, which hey is better than nothing.</p>
<p>It's a shame not to have turned such a promising day into something more substantial, but 11k and 6k is not bad and it's a good warm-up coming into the last week of the WCOOP, let's hope there's one or two really deep runs to come.</p>
<p>Good luck,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(56) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:41:35 GMT"
["guid"]=>
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["summary"]=>
string(7432) "<p>Whoa, been a pretty hectic week.. I'll keep it a bit shorter this time. I drove to Melbourne (7 hours-ish) a week ago to try to get in a better routine for WCOOP, to hang with some friends and also to go to a blockbuster Aussie Rules Football finals match involving my team the Adelaide Crows.</p>
<p>What ensued would be an endless head-fuck of frustration that one can only appreciate after having been subjugated to the ever so vast chasm of shit that is Melbourne.</p>
<p>To keep a long story short, my wireless internet card I took was so terrible that I had to just punt shove my stack every hand in the $1k WCOOP a week ago because it refused to stay up for more than a couple minutes at a time. My roommate had just moved into his apartment and had ordered wireless for the place, but, true to form with all Telstra related activities, products and inquiries, they failed to deliver. Yet for some reason my wireless card decided to work sufficiently enough early one morning to give me false hope, and made me continue to register for WCOOPs without seeking another option (Crown Towers were unfortunately booked out which would have been the easiest option).</p>
<p>The football match was quite the experience. My team successfully blew the seemingly unloseable game at half time by less than a single kick in the last 30 seconds of the game, courtesy of a dubious umpiring decision. With a lot of money on the game and having gone with friends who were passionate supporters of the opposing side, this too was a pretty typical Melbourne night, although (unlike most nights in Melbourne) undoubtedly worthwhile.</p>
<p>So Monday morning (Sunday in America) came around and, having tried briefly to find an alternate place to play and failed, I started playing majors on my wireless card.. and, well, I couldn't lose a pot.. I just couldn't play more than 2 without getting disconnected either. Having run super hot and not busted a single tournament in the first 3.5 or so hours, the connection was just too dire and I had to do something about it. I got the address of a friend's place and set off there in a hurry. Little did I know what would await me.. the most mindless labyrinth of roads that noone driving around for the first time could possibly not get lost in. I got to my friend's place an hour later and had mincashed 2 tournaments, bubbled one, and lost my big stacks in the $215 WCOOP and FTP $256 Brawl to the point of being 1/7 average in both.</p>
<p>Nevertheless I registered in a few later tournaments and continued to run hot, real hot. Until, in true Sunday style, I busted a bunch in a hurry and was left two tabling, with neither being a spectacular stack. Some hours later, I would be chip leader in them both (the $1k 2 day WCOOP and the $530 second chance), running super hot but having regained the kind of playing level that had been missing earlier in the series - thankfully I had finally improved the sleep patterns a day or two prior. Apart from one or two 30 minute lapses I was very happy with how I played. I unfortunately lost half of my stack with JJ to QQ in the $1k before the end of day 1 in an unavoidable spot, but still had nearly double the average when that finished. The Second Chance went on forever though, and I learned a valuable lesson during it: do NOT overindulge on pizza. I swear I ate so much and 5 minutes later could barely open my eyes since my body was consuming so much energy trying to digest it. It was tough hanging in with such a good structure, but I kept a good level of play, the flips just stopped going my way towards the end and 7th for ~$11k would have to do. Hey, it meant more sleep.</p>
<p>Next morning I tried to take a quicker route to my mates place to play there again, and yep, I got lost once more. I rocked up around 15 minutes late and things weren't going to plan like they did yesterday. I was pretty short but hung around and got a stack back, when I busted on the following hand:</p>
<p>Me (CO) ~620k<br/>
SB >620k (no reads)<br/>
BB ~550k (major spaz)</p>
<p>I raise K9o in the cutoff to 27,550 at 6,000/12,000.<br/>
SB calls, BB calls.</p>
<p>Flop 2h 3h Kx</p>
<p>SB checks, BB leads for ~55k<br/>
I click it back, making it ~110k<br/>
SB then takes a bit of time and makes it ~265k, BB folds.</p>
<p>So the analysis is pretty simple: He has a set, air, or very occasionally a flush draw. He's never just calling AK preflop and he's never calling with AA either (you'll have to trust me on that one). I also expect him to shove (or fold) any flush draw.</p>
<p>What's obvious is that the Big Blind was a spastic, I'm certain the SB knew this and he knew that I knew this. With that said, I expect him to expect me to raise the Big Blind's donk lead with a ton of hands on the flop, if not all. When the SB then puts in a third bet, the range he's representing is so rare (333, 222), that if he is capable of picking up on this and making a play ever, then that is going to occupy a large part of his overall range since sets are so uncommon. I was also factoring in the fact that a lot of people won't even call preflop with 22 or 33 from the small blind, although I know a lot of people do. If this were the case, then there wouldn't be a single hand in his range that beats me.</p>
<p>The question simply comes down to: Is this guy capable of making a play in this spot? You can flip a coin. Some are, some aren't. But my image does ridiculous things to some people, as can be evidenced by some of the pots that were pushed my way throughout the tournament. In the end, I crammed over his 3bet and he did show up with the set of 3s. I wasn't upset though, it was just one of those spots where he either was on a bluff or you're out of the tournament.. he wasn't, gg me. I'm still happy with the play given this player only needs to be capable of even just considering a bluff here for it to be good, given the rarity he has a set and the possibility that he isn't even calling with 22 or 33 preflop in the first place. I'm perfectly aware that this could be a shocking mistake against this particular player, but it also may be a super play against a different unknown, it still sits well with me.</p>
<p>You might ask if this means that I'm still shoving A8o here instead of K9 - the answer would be I'm not sure. I didn't shove for the the value of my top pair, obviously, but actually having the king does give that slight extra reassurance that he is unlikely to have a random K like KQ (that you have disregarded anyway), that if he did actually just raise but not shove with a combo flush draw you have decent equity, and that when he does have a set, you do get your miracle shot of 4% or whatever it is at filling up, which hey is better than nothing.</p>
<p>It's a shame not to have turned such a promising day into something more substantial, but 11k and 6k is not bad and it's a good warm-up coming into the last week of the WCOOP, let's hope there's one or two really deep runs to come.</p>
<p>Good luck,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li></ul></div>"
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["title"]=>
string(5) "WCOOP"
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["description"]=>
string(1802) "<p>Gday guys, thought I would give a quick rundown of my WCOOP so far.</p>
<p>I've found it impossible so far to get the sleeping pattern right and have been playing pretty poorly for the majority of the series to date. Going to skip the NLHE 4-max and the Stud today (who knows, unless I can't sleep again) and maybe go interstate to relax, grind with friends and have some fun. Stress levels are pretty damn high at the moment haha so I think being around friends will help me refocus. Mono-tabling in this state of mind results in nasty FPS (fancy play syndrome), and whilst I'm confident that by constantly reassessing the table flow I can strike the balance between FPS and solid poker, I've found that when you're struggling to stay awake, let alone stay on top of your game, I'm just not sharp enough to be continuously reassessing as I should be, but rather only after I've made a bad mistake or on a break.</p>
<p>This game is all about doing what you can to put yourself in a position to get lucky.. so far I've done myself no favours and my play has clearly suffered. Unfortunately I can't seem to sleep for more than 4-5 hours even on sleeping tablets but lets hope this can improve :). Still have most of the series to look forward to and am expecting big things of myself, and if nothing else I'll expect my play to improve markedly.</p>
<p>Will try to keep making progress reports.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/math-time.htm">Math Time</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(49) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:25:02 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:15395"
["summary"]=>
string(1802) "<p>Gday guys, thought I would give a quick rundown of my WCOOP so far.</p>
<p>I've found it impossible so far to get the sleeping pattern right and have been playing pretty poorly for the majority of the series to date. Going to skip the NLHE 4-max and the Stud today (who knows, unless I can't sleep again) and maybe go interstate to relax, grind with friends and have some fun. Stress levels are pretty damn high at the moment haha so I think being around friends will help me refocus. Mono-tabling in this state of mind results in nasty FPS (fancy play syndrome), and whilst I'm confident that by constantly reassessing the table flow I can strike the balance between FPS and solid poker, I've found that when you're struggling to stay awake, let alone stay on top of your game, I'm just not sharp enough to be continuously reassessing as I should be, but rather only after I've made a bad mistake or on a break.</p>
<p>This game is all about doing what you can to put yourself in a position to get lucky.. so far I've done myself no favours and my play has clearly suffered. Unfortunately I can't seem to sleep for more than 4-5 hours even on sleeping tablets but lets hope this can improve :). Still have most of the series to look forward to and am expecting big things of myself, and if nothing else I'll expect my play to improve markedly.</p>
<p>Will try to keep making progress reports.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/math-time.htm">Math Time</a></li></ul></div>"
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["title"]=>
string(16) "Back from Europe"
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["description"]=>
string(4857) "<p>On the 4th of May I thought it would be the end of another unsuccessful although enjoyable European venture (to Monaco on this occasion), but when I checked my flight ticket at 5pm that afternoon (after eating yet more chicken nuggets and chips from room service) assuming I was flying some 4-6 hours later.. plans changed. My flight was apparently in an hour... and I'm an hour from Nice airport already... d'oh.</p>
<p>What ensued would be a goddamn annoying waste of time and money as I trecked over to Venice with a couple friends to play in a World Poker Tour event there. I could write a book of complaints but I think busting 2nd level, having to deal with Italians, and a return flight plan of Venice-Paris-Nice-London-Singa pore-Sydney-Adelaide sums it up pretty well. Yes you read that correctly =P. Oh and as far as I'm concerned any place with no roads is prime nuclear testing grounds. I find nothing attractive about 16th century ugly architecture, disfunctioning air conditioners and the general attitude of Italian people. Once an Aussie, always an Aussie... thank god I'm an Aussie.</p>
<p>As far as the poker is concerned I think I played pretty well, the main event went bad yet again at the start of day 2 where I wasn't thrilled with my play, I ended up playing a ton of hands and trying to feed off the image early but it seemed like every situation went the wrong way although I don't think I made any real glaring mistakes, probably a couple slight ones. I lost two 80/20s in big 4bet pots early in the 25k Euro high roller (AA to TT and QQ to JJ) to bust there early and despite playing really well in the 5k 6max I yet again couldn't win a showdown when the chips were in preflop and a good start there fizzled out again. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't becoming bloody frustrating. Every tournament I am very confident of how to exploit the table image I have and am very aware of my opponents, but poker is such a confidence game that when everything seems to go against you for such a long time it's hard to play your absolute best and make the big laydowns that can be so important to your winrate. Things will change in time though.</p>
<p>The weekend I left was a pretty awesome one though. I decided to splurge on the AFL matches for the first time in a while and backed 8 out of 8 for the first time I can even remember. The matches were:</p>
<p>St Kilda ($1.95) to beat Port Adelaide<br/>
Essendon ($2.77) to beat Collingwood<br/>
Hawthorn ($1.38) to beat West Coast<br/>
Richmond ($2.65) to beat North Melbourne<br/>
Fremantle ($2.25) to beat Sydney<br/>
Geelong ($1.12) to beat Brisbane<br/>
Carlton ($1.92) to beat Western Bulldogs<br/>
Adelaide ($1.38) to beat Melbourne</p>
<p>It was particularly sweet because with ~3 minutes to go Essendon were down and out after leading for most of the match and staged one of the most remarkable comeback wins you'll ever see.<br/>
I'd highly recommend any of you who are not familiar with Aussie Rules Football to order the round 5 match from SportsDelivered.com, take my word that it's unquantifiably better than any other football code :). The 8-way multi was at around 131:1 odds alone and I ended up netting around 160k AUD on the round which was a pretty sweet boost ahead of the trip. I was even flying on the Sunday so I had to sweat the results of the last three matches while I was on a plane :).</p>
<p>Online was going well during the trip though as I ran up buyins to the live events there, but I'm more enthusiastic about looking ahead. Over a year ago I paid over 7k AUD for a supposedly awesome desktop computer that has done nothing but screw up and cost me money since - well it's apparently fixed and I'm looking forward to grinding as well as getting outdoors, playing a lot of tennis and golf and getting back into the kind of phyiscal condition I was in when sport, as opposed to mind games, was my life :). I have a lot of very high non poker related goals that I won't post here because they would sound ridiculous, but I'm looking forward to diversfying and hopefully only playing poker when I feel like playing, which would in turn help my results out of sight.</p>
<p>I'm playing a few tables at the moment so a couple random things I didn't manage to include - made the Stud H/L FTOPS FT, meh. And they lost my baggage somewhere on the way home (didn't show up at Sydney)... no doubt it was the bloody French =P.</p>
<p>GL,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/math-time.htm">Math Time</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/variance-personified.htm">Variance personified</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(60) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Mon, 11 May 2009 21:09:15 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:13780"
["summary"]=>
string(4857) "<p>On the 4th of May I thought it would be the end of another unsuccessful although enjoyable European venture (to Monaco on this occasion), but when I checked my flight ticket at 5pm that afternoon (after eating yet more chicken nuggets and chips from room service) assuming I was flying some 4-6 hours later.. plans changed. My flight was apparently in an hour... and I'm an hour from Nice airport already... d'oh.</p>
<p>What ensued would be a goddamn annoying waste of time and money as I trecked over to Venice with a couple friends to play in a World Poker Tour event there. I could write a book of complaints but I think busting 2nd level, having to deal with Italians, and a return flight plan of Venice-Paris-Nice-London-Singa pore-Sydney-Adelaide sums it up pretty well. Yes you read that correctly =P. Oh and as far as I'm concerned any place with no roads is prime nuclear testing grounds. I find nothing attractive about 16th century ugly architecture, disfunctioning air conditioners and the general attitude of Italian people. Once an Aussie, always an Aussie... thank god I'm an Aussie.</p>
<p>As far as the poker is concerned I think I played pretty well, the main event went bad yet again at the start of day 2 where I wasn't thrilled with my play, I ended up playing a ton of hands and trying to feed off the image early but it seemed like every situation went the wrong way although I don't think I made any real glaring mistakes, probably a couple slight ones. I lost two 80/20s in big 4bet pots early in the 25k Euro high roller (AA to TT and QQ to JJ) to bust there early and despite playing really well in the 5k 6max I yet again couldn't win a showdown when the chips were in preflop and a good start there fizzled out again. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't becoming bloody frustrating. Every tournament I am very confident of how to exploit the table image I have and am very aware of my opponents, but poker is such a confidence game that when everything seems to go against you for such a long time it's hard to play your absolute best and make the big laydowns that can be so important to your winrate. Things will change in time though.</p>
<p>The weekend I left was a pretty awesome one though. I decided to splurge on the AFL matches for the first time in a while and backed 8 out of 8 for the first time I can even remember. The matches were:</p>
<p>St Kilda ($1.95) to beat Port Adelaide<br/>
Essendon ($2.77) to beat Collingwood<br/>
Hawthorn ($1.38) to beat West Coast<br/>
Richmond ($2.65) to beat North Melbourne<br/>
Fremantle ($2.25) to beat Sydney<br/>
Geelong ($1.12) to beat Brisbane<br/>
Carlton ($1.92) to beat Western Bulldogs<br/>
Adelaide ($1.38) to beat Melbourne</p>
<p>It was particularly sweet because with ~3 minutes to go Essendon were down and out after leading for most of the match and staged one of the most remarkable comeback wins you'll ever see.<br/>
I'd highly recommend any of you who are not familiar with Aussie Rules Football to order the round 5 match from SportsDelivered.com, take my word that it's unquantifiably better than any other football code :). The 8-way multi was at around 131:1 odds alone and I ended up netting around 160k AUD on the round which was a pretty sweet boost ahead of the trip. I was even flying on the Sunday so I had to sweat the results of the last three matches while I was on a plane :).</p>
<p>Online was going well during the trip though as I ran up buyins to the live events there, but I'm more enthusiastic about looking ahead. Over a year ago I paid over 7k AUD for a supposedly awesome desktop computer that has done nothing but screw up and cost me money since - well it's apparently fixed and I'm looking forward to grinding as well as getting outdoors, playing a lot of tennis and golf and getting back into the kind of phyiscal condition I was in when sport, as opposed to mind games, was my life :). I have a lot of very high non poker related goals that I won't post here because they would sound ridiculous, but I'm looking forward to diversfying and hopefully only playing poker when I feel like playing, which would in turn help my results out of sight.</p>
<p>I'm playing a few tables at the moment so a couple random things I didn't manage to include - made the Stud H/L FTOPS FT, meh. And they lost my baggage somewhere on the way home (didn't show up at Sydney)... no doubt it was the bloody French =P.</p>
<p>GL,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/math-time.htm">Math Time</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/variance-personified.htm">Variance personified</a></li></ul></div>"
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string(15) "WCOOP tomorrow!"
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string(5918) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm writing this some 20 hours before the beginning of another WCOOP, and it's about time I got back on the poker horse. Motivation to grind poker lately has been very low, especially knowing that another tough few weeks were coming up, but mainly because the sports betting has been going spectacularly. I had a huge finish to the World Cup, nailed almost all the second week matches at Wimbledon and have had some huge multis come in recently including a 7-way of odds 284:1! Of course I know it's important to keep a check on the ego after such a string of results and realise just how big an upswing this represents, but it's a great feeling to be consistently selecting high value spots that others aren't seeing, capitalising fully on them, and almost just as good a feeling to be leaving alone match after match that have proven to show minimal value either way.</p>
<p>I'm always hesitant to tell my friends about sports betting; I know just the mention of it holds such an extreme negative connotation, so much so that no matter how much respect someone may have for me or for any sports bettor, no matter what lengths you go to to explain it - why you bet, that you are actually profitable or the dreaded "it's not as bad as you think" - you'll be met with the same cynical but silent "Yep, sure mate" response from all but the most considered of people. As such I don't bother rationalising betting to all but my closest friends who share a genuine concern for me and would like to have an honest understanding of the effect it has.</p>
<p>The truth is that in my case it's been a priceless resource for an array of reasons. Before I got into the whole mindgame thing I was a travelling tennis player and a reasonable all-round sportsman, and along with being an avid follower of many sports this background has given me the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of sport, in particular tennis. An appreciation of mental fortitude and how different playing styles respond to each other are just a couple of aspects that I couldn't have developed a proper understanding of without a sporting background. What's my point? Well combine that with being lucky enough to be decent at maths (dropping brags all over the place) it means I can identify a lucrative situation often enough to be profitable long term given sufficient discipline.</p>
<p>But the main reason why it's been so good for me is that it's given me a rewarding out from poker. My lifestyle and the environment I play in has been so poor and unconducive to poker really ever since I began playing that although I've been able to get away with it to a decent extent, as the game has continued to get tougher and my playing conditions continued to decline, so poker has presented me with what could be described as a danger. It's in my veins to aim high and want success immediately, and so throughout the years of playing poker I've extended myself beyond reasonable monetary means, accepting the high risk for high reward scenario. Whilst I believe when I've done so I've done so in games I should be profitable, due to my dreadful environment and simply to coming up against many of the world's best players on a given table, my edge has sometimes only been slight or even in some cases I can certainly say non-existent. Add this to my mental weakness in not being able to leave a table at the first onset of tilt and definitely on occasion poker has been a costly activity.</p>
<p>Thankfully the same setbacks I've been facing with poker don't translate to sports betting. I've got all day to mull over what's good and what's not and even better is I can get much more action than I could ever want, much more than I could get on poker and I can spread my risk over a large number of matches rather than having one poker table determine my daily result. The reason it's such an attractive proposition to so many people is best realised by the fact that in sports you can wager as much as gets accepted and your edge is still the same as if you were betting with pennies. With all that said though, the public perception of sports betting is completely fair and you have to know who you're talking to very well before you start condoning them making a habit of it!</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly why I just wrote an essay justifying my betting on sports but maybe I'll direct my next girlfriend here when she won't listen to what I have to say face to face! Some exciting times coming up, WCOOP will be bigger than ever and I just got word that I'm going to get an invitation to the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown in a couple of weeks... It's pretty amazing, I've always thought about how much I'd give to go to the Brownlow, and maybe it's fate but the one and only, the REAL Andrew McLeod retired just a week ago as one of the all time greats of the game. In all likelihood he'll be given a special tribute on the night and to be there would be pretty surreal.</p>
<p>To address the environment issue again, I'm very close to sorting it out. I'm hopeful of being in position to purchase a house before the end of the year and from there I'll be lacking no motivation to get my lifestyle back to the way I want it to be. It's really been a prolonged transitional stage and unfortunately it's started to show in my tournament results and my level of play. I really can't wait to get things back on track.</p>
<p>If you made it this far, good luck in the WCOOP and we'll see each other again soon.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm">Upswings</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(58) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-tomorrow.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Sun, 05 Sep 2010 01:07:49 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:20341"
["summary"]=>
string(5918) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm writing this some 20 hours before the beginning of another WCOOP, and it's about time I got back on the poker horse. Motivation to grind poker lately has been very low, especially knowing that another tough few weeks were coming up, but mainly because the sports betting has been going spectacularly. I had a huge finish to the World Cup, nailed almost all the second week matches at Wimbledon and have had some huge multis come in recently including a 7-way of odds 284:1! Of course I know it's important to keep a check on the ego after such a string of results and realise just how big an upswing this represents, but it's a great feeling to be consistently selecting high value spots that others aren't seeing, capitalising fully on them, and almost just as good a feeling to be leaving alone match after match that have proven to show minimal value either way.</p>
<p>I'm always hesitant to tell my friends about sports betting; I know just the mention of it holds such an extreme negative connotation, so much so that no matter how much respect someone may have for me or for any sports bettor, no matter what lengths you go to to explain it - why you bet, that you are actually profitable or the dreaded "it's not as bad as you think" - you'll be met with the same cynical but silent "Yep, sure mate" response from all but the most considered of people. As such I don't bother rationalising betting to all but my closest friends who share a genuine concern for me and would like to have an honest understanding of the effect it has.</p>
<p>The truth is that in my case it's been a priceless resource for an array of reasons. Before I got into the whole mindgame thing I was a travelling tennis player and a reasonable all-round sportsman, and along with being an avid follower of many sports this background has given me the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of sport, in particular tennis. An appreciation of mental fortitude and how different playing styles respond to each other are just a couple of aspects that I couldn't have developed a proper understanding of without a sporting background. What's my point? Well combine that with being lucky enough to be decent at maths (dropping brags all over the place) it means I can identify a lucrative situation often enough to be profitable long term given sufficient discipline.</p>
<p>But the main reason why it's been so good for me is that it's given me a rewarding out from poker. My lifestyle and the environment I play in has been so poor and unconducive to poker really ever since I began playing that although I've been able to get away with it to a decent extent, as the game has continued to get tougher and my playing conditions continued to decline, so poker has presented me with what could be described as a danger. It's in my veins to aim high and want success immediately, and so throughout the years of playing poker I've extended myself beyond reasonable monetary means, accepting the high risk for high reward scenario. Whilst I believe when I've done so I've done so in games I should be profitable, due to my dreadful environment and simply to coming up against many of the world's best players on a given table, my edge has sometimes only been slight or even in some cases I can certainly say non-existent. Add this to my mental weakness in not being able to leave a table at the first onset of tilt and definitely on occasion poker has been a costly activity.</p>
<p>Thankfully the same setbacks I've been facing with poker don't translate to sports betting. I've got all day to mull over what's good and what's not and even better is I can get much more action than I could ever want, much more than I could get on poker and I can spread my risk over a large number of matches rather than having one poker table determine my daily result. The reason it's such an attractive proposition to so many people is best realised by the fact that in sports you can wager as much as gets accepted and your edge is still the same as if you were betting with pennies. With all that said though, the public perception of sports betting is completely fair and you have to know who you're talking to very well before you start condoning them making a habit of it!</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly why I just wrote an essay justifying my betting on sports but maybe I'll direct my next girlfriend here when she won't listen to what I have to say face to face! Some exciting times coming up, WCOOP will be bigger than ever and I just got word that I'm going to get an invitation to the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown in a couple of weeks... It's pretty amazing, I've always thought about how much I'd give to go to the Brownlow, and maybe it's fate but the one and only, the REAL Andrew McLeod retired just a week ago as one of the all time greats of the game. In all likelihood he'll be given a special tribute on the night and to be there would be pretty surreal.</p>
<p>To address the environment issue again, I'm very close to sorting it out. I'm hopeful of being in position to purchase a house before the end of the year and from there I'll be lacking no motivation to get my lifestyle back to the way I want it to be. It's really been a prolonged transitional stage and unfortunately it's started to show in my tournament results and my level of play. I really can't wait to get things back on track.</p>
<p>If you made it this far, good luck in the WCOOP and we'll see each other again soon.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm">Upswings</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[1]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(8) "Upswings"
["link"]=>
string(47) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm"
["description"]=>
string(1673) "<p>Howdy.</p>
<p>So after a pretty good finish to the SCOOP I've barely played a hand of poker. I went with a couple other Aussie players up to the Gold Coast where we played golf almost every day and it was nice to get away from the game... of course I've been keeping the variance up with the World Cup and Wimbledon going on - thankfully that's been going very much the right way so things are good for the moment! Hell I even got told by a super cute Virgin Blue airline hostess that "You're such a happy person, I love it!" eh eh.</p>
<p>Loosely my plans from here involve finishing the World Cup on an upswing (one TIME!), getting back to grinding a bit of cash and jumping back into playing a lot on Victory Poker. There's actually a chess tourney on in Adelaide tomorrow I think that I'm considering playing, would be good to see some old chess mates.. it might be a challenge to play though since it's likely there will be a lot of drink consumed tonight considering it's probably the biggest night of sport in recent memory (there's a killer AFL game on before two great Wimbledon semis and R8 World Cup matches including Brazil v Netherlands).</p>
<p>Shout out to Arjen ROBBEN!!!!!!!!!!! You GENIUS. Go the Dutch!</p>
<p>Best of luck</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(52) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:25:00 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:19861"
["summary"]=>
string(1673) "<p>Howdy.</p>
<p>So after a pretty good finish to the SCOOP I've barely played a hand of poker. I went with a couple other Aussie players up to the Gold Coast where we played golf almost every day and it was nice to get away from the game... of course I've been keeping the variance up with the World Cup and Wimbledon going on - thankfully that's been going very much the right way so things are good for the moment! Hell I even got told by a super cute Virgin Blue airline hostess that "You're such a happy person, I love it!" eh eh.</p>
<p>Loosely my plans from here involve finishing the World Cup on an upswing (one TIME!), getting back to grinding a bit of cash and jumping back into playing a lot on Victory Poker. There's actually a chess tourney on in Adelaide tomorrow I think that I'm considering playing, would be good to see some old chess mates.. it might be a challenge to play though since it's likely there will be a lot of drink consumed tonight considering it's probably the biggest night of sport in recent memory (there's a killer AFL game on before two great Wimbledon semis and R8 World Cup matches including Brazil v Netherlands).</p>
<p>Shout out to Arjen ROBBEN!!!!!!!!!!! You GENIUS. Go the Dutch!</p>
<p>Best of luck</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[2]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(5) "So..."
["link"]=>
string(47) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm"
["description"]=>
string(1828) "<p>So the last couple of weeks haven't gone exactly to script, I've played really well for spurts, sometimes for near on full days, then other days I haven't been quite up to it. Today was by far the worst - with no SCOOPs on that I was thrilled about I woke up with a nothing attitude (and was extremely dehydrated), spewed around aimlessly in the heads up SCOOPs and didn't really take anything seriously for the rest of the day.. I definitely had no chance in the well structured late NL events with the way I was playing.</p>
<p>The last couple of weeks have been as much about learning how to best acclimatise and sustain my body and mind to perform at its best as it has about just playing cards. Today when I woke up I was too tired and unwilling to get a shower, get breakfast and generally prepare to play.. instead I slept another half hour, switched on my laptop just before the start time and played barely awake and dehydrated. Sure I've won some tournaments doing this in the past, but I was doing other things better then - one thing would be running well.</p>
<p>Tomorrow starts with the defense of my Mixed Hold'em title from last year so if I can't get up for that I'm probably a lost cause this series. With a few improvements like staying well hydrated throughout and a bit of old fashioned hardening-the-f!#%-up, it's time to do work!</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(52) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Wed, 05 May 2010 08:08:08 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:19284"
["summary"]=>
string(1828) "<p>So the last couple of weeks haven't gone exactly to script, I've played really well for spurts, sometimes for near on full days, then other days I haven't been quite up to it. Today was by far the worst - with no SCOOPs on that I was thrilled about I woke up with a nothing attitude (and was extremely dehydrated), spewed around aimlessly in the heads up SCOOPs and didn't really take anything seriously for the rest of the day.. I definitely had no chance in the well structured late NL events with the way I was playing.</p>
<p>The last couple of weeks have been as much about learning how to best acclimatise and sustain my body and mind to perform at its best as it has about just playing cards. Today when I woke up I was too tired and unwilling to get a shower, get breakfast and generally prepare to play.. instead I slept another half hour, switched on my laptop just before the start time and played barely awake and dehydrated. Sure I've won some tournaments doing this in the past, but I was doing other things better then - one thing would be running well.</p>
<p>Tomorrow starts with the defense of my Mixed Hold'em title from last year so if I can't get up for that I'm probably a lost cause this series. With a few improvements like staying well hydrated throughout and a bit of old fashioned hardening-the-f!#%-up, it's time to do work!</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[3]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(20) "It's that time again"
["link"]=>
string(59) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm"
["description"]=>
string(1965) "<p>So I've been spewing around embracing variance for the last few months in tournaments when I've played after running comically bad for an amusingly long time, just generally going through the whole 'I'm over it' phase that we all go through as poker players.</p>
<p>Finally though, the SCOOP is nearly here again, and there's even an FTOPS preceding it starting in a couple days. These are the events I get out of bed for and I'm looking forward to them once again. I'm a bit worried about how I'm going to cope physically with the 2-3am starts every morning after having just had a minor operation a couple of weeks ago that I've been recovering from. I've dropped a few kilos and done nothing in the way of fitness work, so I'm clawing now for anything that's going to help me get through a gruelling three and a half weeks of online poker. Yeah who would have thought playing a computer game could be described as 'gruelling', I feel a bit dirty just typing it.. still, that's what it's like when you live in these parts. I'm going to have to be really strict about sleeping patterns and basically go into lock-down until May 17!</p>
<p>I haven't been keeping up with the news but with all this chaos with flights in Europe and just generally being more comfortable at home after the operation I regrettably won't be headed to Monte Carlo this year. I look forward to playing live again soon, not sure where the next checkpoint will be. Organisation is not one of my strong suits!</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(64) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:21:30 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:18977"
["summary"]=>
string(1965) "<p>So I've been spewing around embracing variance for the last few months in tournaments when I've played after running comically bad for an amusingly long time, just generally going through the whole 'I'm over it' phase that we all go through as poker players.</p>
<p>Finally though, the SCOOP is nearly here again, and there's even an FTOPS preceding it starting in a couple days. These are the events I get out of bed for and I'm looking forward to them once again. I'm a bit worried about how I'm going to cope physically with the 2-3am starts every morning after having just had a minor operation a couple of weeks ago that I've been recovering from. I've dropped a few kilos and done nothing in the way of fitness work, so I'm clawing now for anything that's going to help me get through a gruelling three and a half weeks of online poker. Yeah who would have thought playing a computer game could be described as 'gruelling', I feel a bit dirty just typing it.. still, that's what it's like when you live in these parts. I'm going to have to be really strict about sleeping patterns and basically go into lock-down until May 17!</p>
<p>I haven't been keeping up with the news but with all this chaos with flights in Europe and just generally being more comfortable at home after the operation I regrettably won't be headed to Monte Carlo this year. I look forward to playing live again soon, not sure where the next checkpoint will be. Organisation is not one of my strong suits!</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm">Sports degeneracy</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[4]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(17) "Sports degeneracy"
["link"]=>
string(56) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm"
["description"]=>
string(4683) "<p>So I haven't been playing much poker lately, spending most of my time betting sports, catching up on sleep and playing some tennis and golf. When I have played poker I've played pretty terribly, haven't really been in the mood to play and my sleeping patterns are all over the place since I've been staying up all night to sweat all the overnight sports action.</p>
<p>I just went to the grass driving range and hit some balls for the first time in a while, and I really suck. I have to say, whilst I knew I wouldn't be spectacular, I really expected to have improved a lot in the last half a year of playing golf on at least a bit more of a regular basis... I'm pretty sure my swing is technically more sound than it was, but I'm still shanking a heap of balls. I've had problems with hitting behind the ball so I was trying to have my hands lead the clubhead to the ball and transfer my weight to the front foot early to help hit the ball on the way down and take a divot in front, but it just ain't happening at the moment. I'll hit the occasional gem to keep the false hope that I may just have it, then leak shots all over the place thereafter. I'm going to try a few more tricks, probably go to Sydney for a few weeks to play regularly with a mate, and then I might get lessons after that. If I still suck in two months I'm going to be really annoyed!</p>
<p>I've been betting mostly on AFL, Cricket, Golf, Soccer and Tennis over the last few weeks.. it's been going pretty well and I've learned a lot during that time. My record on the pre-season AFL comp was terrible and cancelled out a stellar few weeks betting on Soccer - mostly EPL. I never expected to do well on Soccer - or to actually get into betting on it regularly at all - but after a great start I think I'm really onto a winner betting on total goal lines, and by watching a few EPL games over the last year or two I think I have a pretty good feel for the EPL teams, players, and how playing styles may matchup against each other. It's quickly gotten to the stage where my go to bet has become soccer lines instead of perhaps tennis or AFL, although I expect to do better once the main AFL season starts in a week.</p>
<p>Since I'm taking a lot higher odds on the golf (tournament winners, 3 balls etc.) the variance is a lot higher.. the last two events haven't gone particularly well but the one before that was spectacular. I have to thank my mate Joel a lot for his advice, he's been a big help giving me tips about certain players, courses and general qualities to look for when betting. I've learned a huge amount recently and, like soccer, feel confident that I can find some great value by myself in a sport I really didn't know that much about not long ago. There hasn't been much tennis to bet on lately but I've been really picking my spots carefully and that's gone great over a small sample too. The Indian Premier League Cricket has kicked off and after an indifferent start I'm hopeful of doing well on that also.. there seems to be some clear cases where some teams are being over valued, as well as some nice value on some special options where there are specific details of a matchup to look into.</p>
<p>For entertainment's sake, I'll share a bet I made on the AFL Brownlow Medal:</p>
<p>Selections Wager Payout<br/>
BET ACCEPTED<br/>
THOMPSON, S (ADEL) @ 251.00 $1000.00 $251000.00</p>
<p>Scott Thompson at $251!! You can't be serious. The Crows are going to crush this year and he is always likely to be our highest polling player. When I saw that price I was thinking 'Wow his injury must be really bad'.. but I searched around, listened to an interview and it seems he's not injured at all, what I had heard early in the pre-season was just that he had some soreness in his knees. Scotty is an absolute gun and is durable so hopefully he stays fit, doesn't get suspended and we can have a legitimate sweat in six months! I looked at another site just afterwards and he was only paying $67, it was quite incredible. Some guys who have no hope whatsoever were paying half the price or even shorter!</p>
<p>That's all for now. Good luck at the tables and the bookies!</p>
<p>James</p>
<p>Come play poker with James at VictoryPoker.</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(61) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/sports-degeneracy.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:05:32 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:18347"
["summary"]=>
string(4683) "<p>So I haven't been playing much poker lately, spending most of my time betting sports, catching up on sleep and playing some tennis and golf. When I have played poker I've played pretty terribly, haven't really been in the mood to play and my sleeping patterns are all over the place since I've been staying up all night to sweat all the overnight sports action.</p>
<p>I just went to the grass driving range and hit some balls for the first time in a while, and I really suck. I have to say, whilst I knew I wouldn't be spectacular, I really expected to have improved a lot in the last half a year of playing golf on at least a bit more of a regular basis... I'm pretty sure my swing is technically more sound than it was, but I'm still shanking a heap of balls. I've had problems with hitting behind the ball so I was trying to have my hands lead the clubhead to the ball and transfer my weight to the front foot early to help hit the ball on the way down and take a divot in front, but it just ain't happening at the moment. I'll hit the occasional gem to keep the false hope that I may just have it, then leak shots all over the place thereafter. I'm going to try a few more tricks, probably go to Sydney for a few weeks to play regularly with a mate, and then I might get lessons after that. If I still suck in two months I'm going to be really annoyed!</p>
<p>I've been betting mostly on AFL, Cricket, Golf, Soccer and Tennis over the last few weeks.. it's been going pretty well and I've learned a lot during that time. My record on the pre-season AFL comp was terrible and cancelled out a stellar few weeks betting on Soccer - mostly EPL. I never expected to do well on Soccer - or to actually get into betting on it regularly at all - but after a great start I think I'm really onto a winner betting on total goal lines, and by watching a few EPL games over the last year or two I think I have a pretty good feel for the EPL teams, players, and how playing styles may matchup against each other. It's quickly gotten to the stage where my go to bet has become soccer lines instead of perhaps tennis or AFL, although I expect to do better once the main AFL season starts in a week.</p>
<p>Since I'm taking a lot higher odds on the golf (tournament winners, 3 balls etc.) the variance is a lot higher.. the last two events haven't gone particularly well but the one before that was spectacular. I have to thank my mate Joel a lot for his advice, he's been a big help giving me tips about certain players, courses and general qualities to look for when betting. I've learned a huge amount recently and, like soccer, feel confident that I can find some great value by myself in a sport I really didn't know that much about not long ago. There hasn't been much tennis to bet on lately but I've been really picking my spots carefully and that's gone great over a small sample too. The Indian Premier League Cricket has kicked off and after an indifferent start I'm hopeful of doing well on that also.. there seems to be some clear cases where some teams are being over valued, as well as some nice value on some special options where there are specific details of a matchup to look into.</p>
<p>For entertainment's sake, I'll share a bet I made on the AFL Brownlow Medal:</p>
<p>Selections Wager Payout<br/>
BET ACCEPTED<br/>
THOMPSON, S (ADEL) @ 251.00 $1000.00 $251000.00</p>
<p>Scott Thompson at $251!! You can't be serious. The Crows are going to crush this year and he is always likely to be our highest polling player. When I saw that price I was thinking 'Wow his injury must be really bad'.. but I searched around, listened to an interview and it seems he's not injured at all, what I had heard early in the pre-season was just that he had some soreness in his knees. Scotty is an absolute gun and is durable so hopefully he stays fit, doesn't get suspended and we can have a legitimate sweat in six months! I looked at another site just afterwards and he was only paying $67, it was quite incredible. Some guys who have no hope whatsoever were paying half the price or even shorter!</p>
<p>That's all for now. Good luck at the tables and the bookies!</p>
<p>James</p>
<p>Come play poker with James at VictoryPoker.</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm">Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[5]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(34) "Latest affairs incl. Victory Poker"
["link"]=>
string(72) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm"
["description"]=>
string(2875) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>It's been a pretty long and stressful summer (yep, it's still summer down under!) but exciting times are ahead. I had a real good week betting on the golf a couple of weeks ago and after a nice win in the iPoker major yesterday for around 56k yesterday I'm going to take it easy on grinding for a while to concentrate on some other things.</p>
<p>I'm particularly excited, funnily enough, to take some time off playing and start doing some proper poker study. The simple reality is that I have done nowhere near enough math-based poker study to be where I want to be. You could get away with this a few years ago and still do in tournaments now because, well, a few years ago the game was nowhere near as advanced as it is now, and in tournaments the difference of 3% equity in any given situation pales into insignificance in the overall conditions of tournament poker. In the last probably 6-8 months of playing cash online it's become more and more apparent to me that I have a few small areas of uncertainty in my play specifically in the limit games, so I'm looking forward to finally taking some time out to spend on sharpening all aspects of my game that require it. Not only will that give me the ultimate confidence to be able to sit in any lineup, but I believe it will also help my tilt control a great deal - for some reason I've always found it hard to tilt by choosing a sub-optimal gambling play when I know exactly what the correct one is instantly; rather it's been whenever there is any ambiguity in the decision ("peeling one more here may be good?") where I allow myself to spew.</p>
<p>The most exciting news by far though is that I'm now on board with Victory Poker. VP is a new site that's launched on the Everleaf network (a small network you may not have heard of) and to say the least it has a pretty incredible list of pros involved. We have high ambitions and have a lot of fun things going on like a TV crew and a bunch of promotions in the works. We've also got our own support forum on TwoPlusTwo. I feel very fortunate to be involved and look forward to meeting everyone. I've been playing some low stakes games there when I can so feel free to hit me up.</p>
<p>That's all for now, I'll probably be back to talk about how much I suck at golf and ask for some advice soon. May even try to get some pics of my swing :).</p>
<p>Good luck at the tables,</p>
<p>James</p>
<p>Come play poker with James at VictoryPoker.</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(77) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/latest-affairs-incl-victory-poker.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:36:29 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:17981"
["summary"]=>
string(2875) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>It's been a pretty long and stressful summer (yep, it's still summer down under!) but exciting times are ahead. I had a real good week betting on the golf a couple of weeks ago and after a nice win in the iPoker major yesterday for around 56k yesterday I'm going to take it easy on grinding for a while to concentrate on some other things.</p>
<p>I'm particularly excited, funnily enough, to take some time off playing and start doing some proper poker study. The simple reality is that I have done nowhere near enough math-based poker study to be where I want to be. You could get away with this a few years ago and still do in tournaments now because, well, a few years ago the game was nowhere near as advanced as it is now, and in tournaments the difference of 3% equity in any given situation pales into insignificance in the overall conditions of tournament poker. In the last probably 6-8 months of playing cash online it's become more and more apparent to me that I have a few small areas of uncertainty in my play specifically in the limit games, so I'm looking forward to finally taking some time out to spend on sharpening all aspects of my game that require it. Not only will that give me the ultimate confidence to be able to sit in any lineup, but I believe it will also help my tilt control a great deal - for some reason I've always found it hard to tilt by choosing a sub-optimal gambling play when I know exactly what the correct one is instantly; rather it's been whenever there is any ambiguity in the decision ("peeling one more here may be good?") where I allow myself to spew.</p>
<p>The most exciting news by far though is that I'm now on board with Victory Poker. VP is a new site that's launched on the Everleaf network (a small network you may not have heard of) and to say the least it has a pretty incredible list of pros involved. We have high ambitions and have a lot of fun things going on like a TV crew and a bunch of promotions in the works. We've also got our own support forum on TwoPlusTwo. I feel very fortunate to be involved and look forward to meeting everyone. I've been playing some low stakes games there when I can so feel free to hit me up.</p>
<p>That's all for now, I'll probably be back to talk about how much I suck at golf and ask for some advice soon. May even try to get some pics of my swing :).</p>
<p>Good luck at the tables,</p>
<p>James</p>
<p>Come play poker with James at VictoryPoker.</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm">Some post-flop analysis</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[6]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(23) "Some post-flop analysis"
["link"]=>
string(62) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm"
["description"]=>
string(5958) "<p>My friend is playing $2/4 NL Hold'em 6-max on PartyPoker when he gets involved in the following hand:</p>
<p>The player first to act (Under The Gun), who has $827, raises to $12.</p>
<p>It folds to him on the button ($852 stack) with black Kings and he raises to $44, UTG calls.</p>
<p>The flop comes 8h 4c 2h, UTG checks, he bets $55, UTG raises to $164.</p>
<p>At this stage we have to try to work out a range of hands he can be doing this with. Without any reliable reads it's impossible to know whether he can be doing this with no pair and no draw, but that would be rare. I'd include some hands like AQ with the ace of hearts as possibilities some amount of the time. We also need to consider whether this player would be calling a big reraise with a low pair like 22 or 44 in the first place. Most solid players won't, so we'll just reduce the percentage chance of those showing up in his range.</p>
<p>So lets say his range includes any three of a kind, QQ, AQ and AJ of hearts, 56 and 67 of hearts and the AQ with just the ace of hearts. I'll also throw in a trickily played AA and the occasional low equity bluff because our opponent may be tilting or decide a bluff would work for whatever reason. I'm going to reduce the likelihood of 44, 22, AA, AJhh, 56hh, 67hh and AQ with the ace of hearts because a lot of players won't be calling with the first 4 hands before the flop and of course a lot of players will not elect to check-raise with AQ with just the ace of hearts. I'm also assuming that our opponent will always reraise with AK before the flop because that is how the cash games play online.</p>
<p>Now I'm going to cheat. I'll use an online software program called PokerStove to calculate our equity against the range we've given our opponent. Obviously we can't do this fast enough in the middle of the actual hand we're playing, or indeed not in live poker, but in order to be a top class poker player this is really the kind of study we should be doing away from the tables so that we have a better ability to approximate real time decisions in the future.</p>
<p>I can tell you that PokerStove calculates our equity against our perceived range of our opponent to be around 33%. So does this mean we should be folding to his check-raise on the flop? Well, not quite. We have to consider other factors. If we are bet/folding kings here, this means that we are bet/folding on the flop a ridiculously high percentage of the time since it's not often we're going to have a stronger hand than kings in this spot. This in turn means that perceptive players will pick up on our tendency to fold a lot and start bluffing us a lot more - and indeed, had we folded in a similar situation earlier in the session, our opponent's bluffing frequency here may be a lot higher in which case our equity would be a lot higher. So, what do we do, do we get all in with around 30% equity (we will fold out his bluffs) and take the ~$300 in the pot the few times he is bluffing, rendering us unexploitable and meaning we will be able to pick up more money later with lighter continuation bets, or do we fold, saving ourselves a small amount of money considering the hand in a vacuum?</p>
<p>If that was the question, we should choose the former, since we will more than make up for whatever equity we lose (assuming our range is close to accurate) later. We do have another option though of course, we can just call. When you consider that we think our opponent's range consists mostly of sets and flush draws <i></i>and<i></i> that we have position, this should be clearly the best play. Since our opponent has to act first, were he to miss his flush draw on the turn, it would be almost impossible for him to not still bet and commit himself to the hand, since he must imagine there is still a chance that we can fold and he still has outs to win the pot. However, now against these hands our equity is much much higher with only one card to come, in fact we'd be a considerable favourite. We can safely fold on heart turns since we think it is only rare that he should bluff the flop without hearts in his hand, and even if he only had the Ace of hearts or a different kind of hand, he is likely to have picked up additional chances to improve against our kings. So when we call on the flop, we are moving all in on all non-heart non-ace turn cards - we should fold if an Ace hits since that also connects with a large part of the perceived range of our opponent.</p>
<p>The reason calling is so effective in position here is that our opponent doesn't have a choice but we do; he <i></i>must<i></i> commit his chips on all turn cards since he acts first, whereas we get to see if we like the card to the tune of $620 or not. As it happened, the turn card came the 8 of spades, making the board show 8h 4c 2h 8s. This was a great card for our hand - the most likely three of a kind our opponent could have had, 8s, now became severely more unlikely, and now his range would be weighted far more towards flush draws and bluffs, making our decision an easy one. We have even stolen one of his outs since the King of hearts would give us a full house! Our opponent bet $272, an obviously committing bet but a futile attempt to look strong rather than just moving all in. My friend moved all in for an additional $346 which the opponent called, showing 67 of hearts. The river bricked and he took down the $1660 pot.</p>
<p>___________</p>
<p>This was a copy of a recent article for PokerNews magazine, you may be interested to see it here.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(67) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/some-post-flop-analysis.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:50:55 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:15868"
["summary"]=>
string(5958) "<p>My friend is playing $2/4 NL Hold'em 6-max on PartyPoker when he gets involved in the following hand:</p>
<p>The player first to act (Under The Gun), who has $827, raises to $12.</p>
<p>It folds to him on the button ($852 stack) with black Kings and he raises to $44, UTG calls.</p>
<p>The flop comes 8h 4c 2h, UTG checks, he bets $55, UTG raises to $164.</p>
<p>At this stage we have to try to work out a range of hands he can be doing this with. Without any reliable reads it's impossible to know whether he can be doing this with no pair and no draw, but that would be rare. I'd include some hands like AQ with the ace of hearts as possibilities some amount of the time. We also need to consider whether this player would be calling a big reraise with a low pair like 22 or 44 in the first place. Most solid players won't, so we'll just reduce the percentage chance of those showing up in his range.</p>
<p>So lets say his range includes any three of a kind, QQ, AQ and AJ of hearts, 56 and 67 of hearts and the AQ with just the ace of hearts. I'll also throw in a trickily played AA and the occasional low equity bluff because our opponent may be tilting or decide a bluff would work for whatever reason. I'm going to reduce the likelihood of 44, 22, AA, AJhh, 56hh, 67hh and AQ with the ace of hearts because a lot of players won't be calling with the first 4 hands before the flop and of course a lot of players will not elect to check-raise with AQ with just the ace of hearts. I'm also assuming that our opponent will always reraise with AK before the flop because that is how the cash games play online.</p>
<p>Now I'm going to cheat. I'll use an online software program called PokerStove to calculate our equity against the range we've given our opponent. Obviously we can't do this fast enough in the middle of the actual hand we're playing, or indeed not in live poker, but in order to be a top class poker player this is really the kind of study we should be doing away from the tables so that we have a better ability to approximate real time decisions in the future.</p>
<p>I can tell you that PokerStove calculates our equity against our perceived range of our opponent to be around 33%. So does this mean we should be folding to his check-raise on the flop? Well, not quite. We have to consider other factors. If we are bet/folding kings here, this means that we are bet/folding on the flop a ridiculously high percentage of the time since it's not often we're going to have a stronger hand than kings in this spot. This in turn means that perceptive players will pick up on our tendency to fold a lot and start bluffing us a lot more - and indeed, had we folded in a similar situation earlier in the session, our opponent's bluffing frequency here may be a lot higher in which case our equity would be a lot higher. So, what do we do, do we get all in with around 30% equity (we will fold out his bluffs) and take the ~$300 in the pot the few times he is bluffing, rendering us unexploitable and meaning we will be able to pick up more money later with lighter continuation bets, or do we fold, saving ourselves a small amount of money considering the hand in a vacuum?</p>
<p>If that was the question, we should choose the former, since we will more than make up for whatever equity we lose (assuming our range is close to accurate) later. We do have another option though of course, we can just call. When you consider that we think our opponent's range consists mostly of sets and flush draws <i></i>and<i></i> that we have position, this should be clearly the best play. Since our opponent has to act first, were he to miss his flush draw on the turn, it would be almost impossible for him to not still bet and commit himself to the hand, since he must imagine there is still a chance that we can fold and he still has outs to win the pot. However, now against these hands our equity is much much higher with only one card to come, in fact we'd be a considerable favourite. We can safely fold on heart turns since we think it is only rare that he should bluff the flop without hearts in his hand, and even if he only had the Ace of hearts or a different kind of hand, he is likely to have picked up additional chances to improve against our kings. So when we call on the flop, we are moving all in on all non-heart non-ace turn cards - we should fold if an Ace hits since that also connects with a large part of the perceived range of our opponent.</p>
<p>The reason calling is so effective in position here is that our opponent doesn't have a choice but we do; he <i></i>must<i></i> commit his chips on all turn cards since he acts first, whereas we get to see if we like the card to the tune of $620 or not. As it happened, the turn card came the 8 of spades, making the board show 8h 4c 2h 8s. This was a great card for our hand - the most likely three of a kind our opponent could have had, 8s, now became severely more unlikely, and now his range would be weighted far more towards flush draws and bluffs, making our decision an easy one. We have even stolen one of his outs since the King of hearts would give us a full house! Our opponent bet $272, an obviously committing bet but a futile attempt to look strong rather than just moving all in. My friend moved all in for an additional $346 which the opponent called, showing 67 of hearts. The river bricked and he took down the $1660 pot.</p>
<p>___________</p>
<p>This was a copy of a recent article for PokerNews magazine, you may be interested to see it here.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm">WCOOP update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li></ul></div>"
}
[7]=>
array(7) {
["title"]=>
string(12) "WCOOP update"
["link"]=>
string(51) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm"
["description"]=>
string(7432) "<p>Whoa, been a pretty hectic week.. I'll keep it a bit shorter this time. I drove to Melbourne (7 hours-ish) a week ago to try to get in a better routine for WCOOP, to hang with some friends and also to go to a blockbuster Aussie Rules Football finals match involving my team the Adelaide Crows.</p>
<p>What ensued would be an endless head-fuck of frustration that one can only appreciate after having been subjugated to the ever so vast chasm of shit that is Melbourne.</p>
<p>To keep a long story short, my wireless internet card I took was so terrible that I had to just punt shove my stack every hand in the $1k WCOOP a week ago because it refused to stay up for more than a couple minutes at a time. My roommate had just moved into his apartment and had ordered wireless for the place, but, true to form with all Telstra related activities, products and inquiries, they failed to deliver. Yet for some reason my wireless card decided to work sufficiently enough early one morning to give me false hope, and made me continue to register for WCOOPs without seeking another option (Crown Towers were unfortunately booked out which would have been the easiest option).</p>
<p>The football match was quite the experience. My team successfully blew the seemingly unloseable game at half time by less than a single kick in the last 30 seconds of the game, courtesy of a dubious umpiring decision. With a lot of money on the game and having gone with friends who were passionate supporters of the opposing side, this too was a pretty typical Melbourne night, although (unlike most nights in Melbourne) undoubtedly worthwhile.</p>
<p>So Monday morning (Sunday in America) came around and, having tried briefly to find an alternate place to play and failed, I started playing majors on my wireless card.. and, well, I couldn't lose a pot.. I just couldn't play more than 2 without getting disconnected either. Having run super hot and not busted a single tournament in the first 3.5 or so hours, the connection was just too dire and I had to do something about it. I got the address of a friend's place and set off there in a hurry. Little did I know what would await me.. the most mindless labyrinth of roads that noone driving around for the first time could possibly not get lost in. I got to my friend's place an hour later and had mincashed 2 tournaments, bubbled one, and lost my big stacks in the $215 WCOOP and FTP $256 Brawl to the point of being 1/7 average in both.</p>
<p>Nevertheless I registered in a few later tournaments and continued to run hot, real hot. Until, in true Sunday style, I busted a bunch in a hurry and was left two tabling, with neither being a spectacular stack. Some hours later, I would be chip leader in them both (the $1k 2 day WCOOP and the $530 second chance), running super hot but having regained the kind of playing level that had been missing earlier in the series - thankfully I had finally improved the sleep patterns a day or two prior. Apart from one or two 30 minute lapses I was very happy with how I played. I unfortunately lost half of my stack with JJ to QQ in the $1k before the end of day 1 in an unavoidable spot, but still had nearly double the average when that finished. The Second Chance went on forever though, and I learned a valuable lesson during it: do NOT overindulge on pizza. I swear I ate so much and 5 minutes later could barely open my eyes since my body was consuming so much energy trying to digest it. It was tough hanging in with such a good structure, but I kept a good level of play, the flips just stopped going my way towards the end and 7th for ~$11k would have to do. Hey, it meant more sleep.</p>
<p>Next morning I tried to take a quicker route to my mates place to play there again, and yep, I got lost once more. I rocked up around 15 minutes late and things weren't going to plan like they did yesterday. I was pretty short but hung around and got a stack back, when I busted on the following hand:</p>
<p>Me (CO) ~620k<br/>
SB >620k (no reads)<br/>
BB ~550k (major spaz)</p>
<p>I raise K9o in the cutoff to 27,550 at 6,000/12,000.<br/>
SB calls, BB calls.</p>
<p>Flop 2h 3h Kx</p>
<p>SB checks, BB leads for ~55k<br/>
I click it back, making it ~110k<br/>
SB then takes a bit of time and makes it ~265k, BB folds.</p>
<p>So the analysis is pretty simple: He has a set, air, or very occasionally a flush draw. He's never just calling AK preflop and he's never calling with AA either (you'll have to trust me on that one). I also expect him to shove (or fold) any flush draw.</p>
<p>What's obvious is that the Big Blind was a spastic, I'm certain the SB knew this and he knew that I knew this. With that said, I expect him to expect me to raise the Big Blind's donk lead with a ton of hands on the flop, if not all. When the SB then puts in a third bet, the range he's representing is so rare (333, 222), that if he is capable of picking up on this and making a play ever, then that is going to occupy a large part of his overall range since sets are so uncommon. I was also factoring in the fact that a lot of people won't even call preflop with 22 or 33 from the small blind, although I know a lot of people do. If this were the case, then there wouldn't be a single hand in his range that beats me.</p>
<p>The question simply comes down to: Is this guy capable of making a play in this spot? You can flip a coin. Some are, some aren't. But my image does ridiculous things to some people, as can be evidenced by some of the pots that were pushed my way throughout the tournament. In the end, I crammed over his 3bet and he did show up with the set of 3s. I wasn't upset though, it was just one of those spots where he either was on a bluff or you're out of the tournament.. he wasn't, gg me. I'm still happy with the play given this player only needs to be capable of even just considering a bluff here for it to be good, given the rarity he has a set and the possibility that he isn't even calling with 22 or 33 preflop in the first place. I'm perfectly aware that this could be a shocking mistake against this particular player, but it also may be a super play against a different unknown, it still sits well with me.</p>
<p>You might ask if this means that I'm still shoving A8o here instead of K9 - the answer would be I'm not sure. I didn't shove for the the value of my top pair, obviously, but actually having the king does give that slight extra reassurance that he is unlikely to have a random K like KQ (that you have disregarded anyway), that if he did actually just raise but not shove with a combo flush draw you have decent equity, and that when he does have a set, you do get your miracle shot of 4% or whatever it is at filling up, which hey is better than nothing.</p>
<p>It's a shame not to have turned such a promising day into something more substantial, but 11k and 6k is not bad and it's a good warm-up coming into the last week of the WCOOP, let's hope there's one or two really deep runs to come.</p>
<p>Good luck,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(56) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop-update.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:41:35 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:15517"
["summary"]=>
string(7432) "<p>Whoa, been a pretty hectic week.. I'll keep it a bit shorter this time. I drove to Melbourne (7 hours-ish) a week ago to try to get in a better routine for WCOOP, to hang with some friends and also to go to a blockbuster Aussie Rules Football finals match involving my team the Adelaide Crows.</p>
<p>What ensued would be an endless head-fuck of frustration that one can only appreciate after having been subjugated to the ever so vast chasm of shit that is Melbourne.</p>
<p>To keep a long story short, my wireless internet card I took was so terrible that I had to just punt shove my stack every hand in the $1k WCOOP a week ago because it refused to stay up for more than a couple minutes at a time. My roommate had just moved into his apartment and had ordered wireless for the place, but, true to form with all Telstra related activities, products and inquiries, they failed to deliver. Yet for some reason my wireless card decided to work sufficiently enough early one morning to give me false hope, and made me continue to register for WCOOPs without seeking another option (Crown Towers were unfortunately booked out which would have been the easiest option).</p>
<p>The football match was quite the experience. My team successfully blew the seemingly unloseable game at half time by less than a single kick in the last 30 seconds of the game, courtesy of a dubious umpiring decision. With a lot of money on the game and having gone with friends who were passionate supporters of the opposing side, this too was a pretty typical Melbourne night, although (unlike most nights in Melbourne) undoubtedly worthwhile.</p>
<p>So Monday morning (Sunday in America) came around and, having tried briefly to find an alternate place to play and failed, I started playing majors on my wireless card.. and, well, I couldn't lose a pot.. I just couldn't play more than 2 without getting disconnected either. Having run super hot and not busted a single tournament in the first 3.5 or so hours, the connection was just too dire and I had to do something about it. I got the address of a friend's place and set off there in a hurry. Little did I know what would await me.. the most mindless labyrinth of roads that noone driving around for the first time could possibly not get lost in. I got to my friend's place an hour later and had mincashed 2 tournaments, bubbled one, and lost my big stacks in the $215 WCOOP and FTP $256 Brawl to the point of being 1/7 average in both.</p>
<p>Nevertheless I registered in a few later tournaments and continued to run hot, real hot. Until, in true Sunday style, I busted a bunch in a hurry and was left two tabling, with neither being a spectacular stack. Some hours later, I would be chip leader in them both (the $1k 2 day WCOOP and the $530 second chance), running super hot but having regained the kind of playing level that had been missing earlier in the series - thankfully I had finally improved the sleep patterns a day or two prior. Apart from one or two 30 minute lapses I was very happy with how I played. I unfortunately lost half of my stack with JJ to QQ in the $1k before the end of day 1 in an unavoidable spot, but still had nearly double the average when that finished. The Second Chance went on forever though, and I learned a valuable lesson during it: do NOT overindulge on pizza. I swear I ate so much and 5 minutes later could barely open my eyes since my body was consuming so much energy trying to digest it. It was tough hanging in with such a good structure, but I kept a good level of play, the flips just stopped going my way towards the end and 7th for ~$11k would have to do. Hey, it meant more sleep.</p>
<p>Next morning I tried to take a quicker route to my mates place to play there again, and yep, I got lost once more. I rocked up around 15 minutes late and things weren't going to plan like they did yesterday. I was pretty short but hung around and got a stack back, when I busted on the following hand:</p>
<p>Me (CO) ~620k<br/>
SB >620k (no reads)<br/>
BB ~550k (major spaz)</p>
<p>I raise K9o in the cutoff to 27,550 at 6,000/12,000.<br/>
SB calls, BB calls.</p>
<p>Flop 2h 3h Kx</p>
<p>SB checks, BB leads for ~55k<br/>
I click it back, making it ~110k<br/>
SB then takes a bit of time and makes it ~265k, BB folds.</p>
<p>So the analysis is pretty simple: He has a set, air, or very occasionally a flush draw. He's never just calling AK preflop and he's never calling with AA either (you'll have to trust me on that one). I also expect him to shove (or fold) any flush draw.</p>
<p>What's obvious is that the Big Blind was a spastic, I'm certain the SB knew this and he knew that I knew this. With that said, I expect him to expect me to raise the Big Blind's donk lead with a ton of hands on the flop, if not all. When the SB then puts in a third bet, the range he's representing is so rare (333, 222), that if he is capable of picking up on this and making a play ever, then that is going to occupy a large part of his overall range since sets are so uncommon. I was also factoring in the fact that a lot of people won't even call preflop with 22 or 33 from the small blind, although I know a lot of people do. If this were the case, then there wouldn't be a single hand in his range that beats me.</p>
<p>The question simply comes down to: Is this guy capable of making a play in this spot? You can flip a coin. Some are, some aren't. But my image does ridiculous things to some people, as can be evidenced by some of the pots that were pushed my way throughout the tournament. In the end, I crammed over his 3bet and he did show up with the set of 3s. I wasn't upset though, it was just one of those spots where he either was on a bluff or you're out of the tournament.. he wasn't, gg me. I'm still happy with the play given this player only needs to be capable of even just considering a bluff here for it to be good, given the rarity he has a set and the possibility that he isn't even calling with 22 or 33 preflop in the first place. I'm perfectly aware that this could be a shocking mistake against this particular player, but it also may be a super play against a different unknown, it still sits well with me.</p>
<p>You might ask if this means that I'm still shoving A8o here instead of K9 - the answer would be I'm not sure. I didn't shove for the the value of my top pair, obviously, but actually having the king does give that slight extra reassurance that he is unlikely to have a random K like KQ (that you have disregarded anyway), that if he did actually just raise but not shove with a combo flush draw you have decent equity, and that when he does have a set, you do get your miracle shot of 4% or whatever it is at filling up, which hey is better than nothing.</p>
<p>It's a shame not to have turned such a promising day into something more substantial, but 11k and 6k is not bad and it's a good warm-up coming into the last week of the WCOOP, let's hope there's one or two really deep runs to come.</p>
<p>Good luck,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm">WCOOP</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li></ul></div>"
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["title"]=>
string(5) "WCOOP"
["link"]=>
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["description"]=>
string(1802) "<p>Gday guys, thought I would give a quick rundown of my WCOOP so far.</p>
<p>I've found it impossible so far to get the sleeping pattern right and have been playing pretty poorly for the majority of the series to date. Going to skip the NLHE 4-max and the Stud today (who knows, unless I can't sleep again) and maybe go interstate to relax, grind with friends and have some fun. Stress levels are pretty damn high at the moment haha so I think being around friends will help me refocus. Mono-tabling in this state of mind results in nasty FPS (fancy play syndrome), and whilst I'm confident that by constantly reassessing the table flow I can strike the balance between FPS and solid poker, I've found that when you're struggling to stay awake, let alone stay on top of your game, I'm just not sharp enough to be continuously reassessing as I should be, but rather only after I've made a bad mistake or on a break.</p>
<p>This game is all about doing what you can to put yourself in a position to get lucky.. so far I've done myself no favours and my play has clearly suffered. Unfortunately I can't seem to sleep for more than 4-5 hours even on sleeping tablets but lets hope this can improve :). Still have most of the series to look forward to and am expecting big things of myself, and if nothing else I'll expect my play to improve markedly.</p>
<p>Will try to keep making progress reports.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/math-time.htm">Math Time</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
string(49) "http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/wcoop.htm#comm"
["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:25:02 GMT"
["guid"]=>
string(10) "Blog:15395"
["summary"]=>
string(1802) "<p>Gday guys, thought I would give a quick rundown of my WCOOP so far.</p>
<p>I've found it impossible so far to get the sleeping pattern right and have been playing pretty poorly for the majority of the series to date. Going to skip the NLHE 4-max and the Stud today (who knows, unless I can't sleep again) and maybe go interstate to relax, grind with friends and have some fun. Stress levels are pretty damn high at the moment haha so I think being around friends will help me refocus. Mono-tabling in this state of mind results in nasty FPS (fancy play syndrome), and whilst I'm confident that by constantly reassessing the table flow I can strike the balance between FPS and solid poker, I've found that when you're struggling to stay awake, let alone stay on top of your game, I'm just not sharp enough to be continuously reassessing as I should be, but rather only after I've made a bad mistake or on a break.</p>
<p>This game is all about doing what you can to put yourself in a position to get lucky.. so far I've done myself no favours and my play has clearly suffered. Unfortunately I can't seem to sleep for more than 4-5 hours even on sleeping tablets but lets hope this can improve :). Still have most of the series to look forward to and am expecting big things of myself, and if nothing else I'll expect my play to improve markedly.</p>
<p>Will try to keep making progress reports.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/back-from-europe.htm">Back from Europe</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/math-time.htm">Math Time</a></li></ul></div>"
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string(16) "Back from Europe"
["link"]=>
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["description"]=>
string(4857) "<p>On the 4th of May I thought it would be the end of another unsuccessful although enjoyable European venture (to Monaco on this occasion), but when I checked my flight ticket at 5pm that afternoon (after eating yet more chicken nuggets and chips from room service) assuming I was flying some 4-6 hours later.. plans changed. My flight was apparently in an hour... and I'm an hour from Nice airport already... d'oh.</p>
<p>What ensued would be a goddamn annoying waste of time and money as I trecked over to Venice with a couple friends to play in a World Poker Tour event there. I could write a book of complaints but I think busting 2nd level, having to deal with Italians, and a return flight plan of Venice-Paris-Nice-London-Singa pore-Sydney-Adelaide sums it up pretty well. Yes you read that correctly =P. Oh and as far as I'm concerned any place with no roads is prime nuclear testing grounds. I find nothing attractive about 16th century ugly architecture, disfunctioning air conditioners and the general attitude of Italian people. Once an Aussie, always an Aussie... thank god I'm an Aussie.</p>
<p>As far as the poker is concerned I think I played pretty well, the main event went bad yet again at the start of day 2 where I wasn't thrilled with my play, I ended up playing a ton of hands and trying to feed off the image early but it seemed like every situation went the wrong way although I don't think I made any real glaring mistakes, probably a couple slight ones. I lost two 80/20s in big 4bet pots early in the 25k Euro high roller (AA to TT and QQ to JJ) to bust there early and despite playing really well in the 5k 6max I yet again couldn't win a showdown when the chips were in preflop and a good start there fizzled out again. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't becoming bloody frustrating. Every tournament I am very confident of how to exploit the table image I have and am very aware of my opponents, but poker is such a confidence game that when everything seems to go against you for such a long time it's hard to play your absolute best and make the big laydowns that can be so important to your winrate. Things will change in time though.</p>
<p>The weekend I left was a pretty awesome one though. I decided to splurge on the AFL matches for the first time in a while and backed 8 out of 8 for the first time I can even remember. The matches were:</p>
<p>St Kilda ($1.95) to beat Port Adelaide<br/>
Essendon ($2.77) to beat Collingwood<br/>
Hawthorn ($1.38) to beat West Coast<br/>
Richmond ($2.65) to beat North Melbourne<br/>
Fremantle ($2.25) to beat Sydney<br/>
Geelong ($1.12) to beat Brisbane<br/>
Carlton ($1.92) to beat Western Bulldogs<br/>
Adelaide ($1.38) to beat Melbourne</p>
<p>It was particularly sweet because with ~3 minutes to go Essendon were down and out after leading for most of the match and staged one of the most remarkable comeback wins you'll ever see.<br/>
I'd highly recommend any of you who are not familiar with Aussie Rules Football to order the round 5 match from SportsDelivered.com, take my word that it's unquantifiably better than any other football code :). The 8-way multi was at around 131:1 odds alone and I ended up netting around 160k AUD on the round which was a pretty sweet boost ahead of the trip. I was even flying on the Sunday so I had to sweat the results of the last three matches while I was on a plane :).</p>
<p>Online was going well during the trip though as I ran up buyins to the live events there, but I'm more enthusiastic about looking ahead. Over a year ago I paid over 7k AUD for a supposedly awesome desktop computer that has done nothing but screw up and cost me money since - well it's apparently fixed and I'm looking forward to grinding as well as getting outdoors, playing a lot of tennis and golf and getting back into the kind of phyiscal condition I was in when sport, as opposed to mind games, was my life :). I have a lot of very high non poker related goals that I won't post here because they would sound ridiculous, but I'm looking forward to diversfying and hopefully only playing poker when I feel like playing, which would in turn help my results out of sight.</p>
<p>I'm playing a few tables at the moment so a couple random things I didn't manage to include - made the Stud H/L FTOPS FT, meh. And they lost my baggage somewhere on the way home (didn't show up at Sydney)... no doubt it was the bloody French =P.</p>
<p>GL,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/math-time.htm">Math Time</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/variance-personified.htm">Variance personified</a></li></ul></div>"
["comments"]=>
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["pubdate"]=>
string(29) "Mon, 11 May 2009 21:09:15 GMT"
["guid"]=>
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["summary"]=>
string(4857) "<p>On the 4th of May I thought it would be the end of another unsuccessful although enjoyable European venture (to Monaco on this occasion), but when I checked my flight ticket at 5pm that afternoon (after eating yet more chicken nuggets and chips from room service) assuming I was flying some 4-6 hours later.. plans changed. My flight was apparently in an hour... and I'm an hour from Nice airport already... d'oh.</p>
<p>What ensued would be a goddamn annoying waste of time and money as I trecked over to Venice with a couple friends to play in a World Poker Tour event there. I could write a book of complaints but I think busting 2nd level, having to deal with Italians, and a return flight plan of Venice-Paris-Nice-London-Singa pore-Sydney-Adelaide sums it up pretty well. Yes you read that correctly =P. Oh and as far as I'm concerned any place with no roads is prime nuclear testing grounds. I find nothing attractive about 16th century ugly architecture, disfunctioning air conditioners and the general attitude of Italian people. Once an Aussie, always an Aussie... thank god I'm an Aussie.</p>
<p>As far as the poker is concerned I think I played pretty well, the main event went bad yet again at the start of day 2 where I wasn't thrilled with my play, I ended up playing a ton of hands and trying to feed off the image early but it seemed like every situation went the wrong way although I don't think I made any real glaring mistakes, probably a couple slight ones. I lost two 80/20s in big 4bet pots early in the 25k Euro high roller (AA to TT and QQ to JJ) to bust there early and despite playing really well in the 5k 6max I yet again couldn't win a showdown when the chips were in preflop and a good start there fizzled out again. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't becoming bloody frustrating. Every tournament I am very confident of how to exploit the table image I have and am very aware of my opponents, but poker is such a confidence game that when everything seems to go against you for such a long time it's hard to play your absolute best and make the big laydowns that can be so important to your winrate. Things will change in time though.</p>
<p>The weekend I left was a pretty awesome one though. I decided to splurge on the AFL matches for the first time in a while and backed 8 out of 8 for the first time I can even remember. The matches were:</p>
<p>St Kilda ($1.95) to beat Port Adelaide<br/>
Essendon ($2.77) to beat Collingwood<br/>
Hawthorn ($1.38) to beat West Coast<br/>
Richmond ($2.65) to beat North Melbourne<br/>
Fremantle ($2.25) to beat Sydney<br/>
Geelong ($1.12) to beat Brisbane<br/>
Carlton ($1.92) to beat Western Bulldogs<br/>
Adelaide ($1.38) to beat Melbourne</p>
<p>It was particularly sweet because with ~3 minutes to go Essendon were down and out after leading for most of the match and staged one of the most remarkable comeback wins you'll ever see.<br/>
I'd highly recommend any of you who are not familiar with Aussie Rules Football to order the round 5 match from SportsDelivered.com, take my word that it's unquantifiably better than any other football code :). The 8-way multi was at around 131:1 odds alone and I ended up netting around 160k AUD on the round which was a pretty sweet boost ahead of the trip. I was even flying on the Sunday so I had to sweat the results of the last three matches while I was on a plane :).</p>
<p>Online was going well during the trip though as I ran up buyins to the live events there, but I'm more enthusiastic about looking ahead. Over a year ago I paid over 7k AUD for a supposedly awesome desktop computer that has done nothing but screw up and cost me money since - well it's apparently fixed and I'm looking forward to grinding as well as getting outdoors, playing a lot of tennis and golf and getting back into the kind of phyiscal condition I was in when sport, as opposed to mind games, was my life :). I have a lot of very high non poker related goals that I won't post here because they would sound ridiculous, but I'm looking forward to diversfying and hopefully only playing poker when I feel like playing, which would in turn help my results out of sight.</p>
<p>I'm playing a few tables at the moment so a couple random things I didn't manage to include - made the Stud H/L FTOPS FT, meh. And they lost my baggage somewhere on the way home (didn't show up at Sydney)... no doubt it was the bloody French =P.</p>
<p>GL,</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/scoop-update.htm">SCOOP Update</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/math-time.htm">Math Time</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/variance-personified.htm">Variance personified</a></li></ul></div>"
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string(5918) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm writing this some 20 hours before the beginning of another WCOOP, and it's about time I got back on the poker horse. Motivation to grind poker lately has been very low, especially knowing that another tough few weeks were coming up, but mainly because the sports betting has been going spectacularly. I had a huge finish to the World Cup, nailed almost all the second week matches at Wimbledon and have had some huge multis come in recently including a 7-way of odds 284:1! Of course I know it's important to keep a check on the ego after such a string of results and realise just how big an upswing this represents, but it's a great feeling to be consistently selecting high value spots that others aren't seeing, capitalising fully on them, and almost just as good a feeling to be leaving alone match after match that have proven to show minimal value either way.</p>
<p>I'm always hesitant to tell my friends about sports betting; I know just the mention of it holds such an extreme negative connotation, so much so that no matter how much respect someone may have for me or for any sports bettor, no matter what lengths you go to to explain it - why you bet, that you are actually profitable or the dreaded "it's not as bad as you think" - you'll be met with the same cynical but silent "Yep, sure mate" response from all but the most considered of people. As such I don't bother rationalising betting to all but my closest friends who share a genuine concern for me and would like to have an honest understanding of the effect it has.</p>
<p>The truth is that in my case it's been a priceless resource for an array of reasons. Before I got into the whole mindgame thing I was a travelling tennis player and a reasonable all-round sportsman, and along with being an avid follower of many sports this background has given me the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of sport, in particular tennis. An appreciation of mental fortitude and how different playing styles respond to each other are just a couple of aspects that I couldn't have developed a proper understanding of without a sporting background. What's my point? Well combine that with being lucky enough to be decent at maths (dropping brags all over the place) it means I can identify a lucrative situation often enough to be profitable long term given sufficient discipline.</p>
<p>But the main reason why it's been so good for me is that it's given me a rewarding out from poker. My lifestyle and the environment I play in has been so poor and unconducive to poker really ever since I began playing that although I've been able to get away with it to a decent extent, as the game has continued to get tougher and my playing conditions continued to decline, so poker has presented me with what could be described as a danger. It's in my veins to aim high and want success immediately, and so throughout the years of playing poker I've extended myself beyond reasonable monetary means, accepting the high risk for high reward scenario. Whilst I believe when I've done so I've done so in games I should be profitable, due to my dreadful environment and simply to coming up against many of the world's best players on a given table, my edge has sometimes only been slight or even in some cases I can certainly say non-existent. Add this to my mental weakness in not being able to leave a table at the first onset of tilt and definitely on occasion poker has been a costly activity.</p>
<p>Thankfully the same setbacks I've been facing with poker don't translate to sports betting. I've got all day to mull over what's good and what's not and even better is I can get much more action than I could ever want, much more than I could get on poker and I can spread my risk over a large number of matches rather than having one poker table determine my daily result. The reason it's such an attractive proposition to so many people is best realised by the fact that in sports you can wager as much as gets accepted and your edge is still the same as if you were betting with pennies. With all that said though, the public perception of sports betting is completely fair and you have to know who you're talking to very well before you start condoning them making a habit of it!</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly why I just wrote an essay justifying my betting on sports but maybe I'll direct my next girlfriend here when she won't listen to what I have to say face to face! Some exciting times coming up, WCOOP will be bigger than ever and I just got word that I'm going to get an invitation to the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown in a couple of weeks... It's pretty amazing, I've always thought about how much I'd give to go to the Brownlow, and maybe it's fate but the one and only, the REAL Andrew McLeod retired just a week ago as one of the all time greats of the game. In all likelihood he'll be given a special tribute on the night and to be there would be pretty surreal.</p>
<p>To address the environment issue again, I'm very close to sorting it out. I'm hopeful of being in position to purchase a house before the end of the year and from there I'll be lacking no motivation to get my lifestyle back to the way I want it to be. It's really been a prolonged transitional stage and unfortunately it's started to show in my tournament results and my level of play. I really can't wait to get things back on track.</p>
<p>If you made it this far, good luck in the WCOOP and we'll see each other again soon.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm">Upswings</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li></ul></div>"
["post_excerpt"]=>
string(5918) "<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm writing this some 20 hours before the beginning of another WCOOP, and it's about time I got back on the poker horse. Motivation to grind poker lately has been very low, especially knowing that another tough few weeks were coming up, but mainly because the sports betting has been going spectacularly. I had a huge finish to the World Cup, nailed almost all the second week matches at Wimbledon and have had some huge multis come in recently including a 7-way of odds 284:1! Of course I know it's important to keep a check on the ego after such a string of results and realise just how big an upswing this represents, but it's a great feeling to be consistently selecting high value spots that others aren't seeing, capitalising fully on them, and almost just as good a feeling to be leaving alone match after match that have proven to show minimal value either way.</p>
<p>I'm always hesitant to tell my friends about sports betting; I know just the mention of it holds such an extreme negative connotation, so much so that no matter how much respect someone may have for me or for any sports bettor, no matter what lengths you go to to explain it - why you bet, that you are actually profitable or the dreaded "it's not as bad as you think" - you'll be met with the same cynical but silent "Yep, sure mate" response from all but the most considered of people. As such I don't bother rationalising betting to all but my closest friends who share a genuine concern for me and would like to have an honest understanding of the effect it has.</p>
<p>The truth is that in my case it's been a priceless resource for an array of reasons. Before I got into the whole mindgame thing I was a travelling tennis player and a reasonable all-round sportsman, and along with being an avid follower of many sports this background has given me the knowledge and understanding of all aspects of sport, in particular tennis. An appreciation of mental fortitude and how different playing styles respond to each other are just a couple of aspects that I couldn't have developed a proper understanding of without a sporting background. What's my point? Well combine that with being lucky enough to be decent at maths (dropping brags all over the place) it means I can identify a lucrative situation often enough to be profitable long term given sufficient discipline.</p>
<p>But the main reason why it's been so good for me is that it's given me a rewarding out from poker. My lifestyle and the environment I play in has been so poor and unconducive to poker really ever since I began playing that although I've been able to get away with it to a decent extent, as the game has continued to get tougher and my playing conditions continued to decline, so poker has presented me with what could be described as a danger. It's in my veins to aim high and want success immediately, and so throughout the years of playing poker I've extended myself beyond reasonable monetary means, accepting the high risk for high reward scenario. Whilst I believe when I've done so I've done so in games I should be profitable, due to my dreadful environment and simply to coming up against many of the world's best players on a given table, my edge has sometimes only been slight or even in some cases I can certainly say non-existent. Add this to my mental weakness in not being able to leave a table at the first onset of tilt and definitely on occasion poker has been a costly activity.</p>
<p>Thankfully the same setbacks I've been facing with poker don't translate to sports betting. I've got all day to mull over what's good and what's not and even better is I can get much more action than I could ever want, much more than I could get on poker and I can spread my risk over a large number of matches rather than having one poker table determine my daily result. The reason it's such an attractive proposition to so many people is best realised by the fact that in sports you can wager as much as gets accepted and your edge is still the same as if you were betting with pennies. With all that said though, the public perception of sports betting is completely fair and you have to know who you're talking to very well before you start condoning them making a habit of it!</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly why I just wrote an essay justifying my betting on sports but maybe I'll direct my next girlfriend here when she won't listen to what I have to say face to face! Some exciting times coming up, WCOOP will be bigger than ever and I just got word that I'm going to get an invitation to the Brownlow Medal ceremony at Crown in a couple of weeks... It's pretty amazing, I've always thought about how much I'd give to go to the Brownlow, and maybe it's fate but the one and only, the REAL Andrew McLeod retired just a week ago as one of the all time greats of the game. In all likelihood he'll be given a special tribute on the night and to be there would be pretty surreal.</p>
<p>To address the environment issue again, I'm very close to sorting it out. I'm hopeful of being in position to purchase a house before the end of the year and from there I'll be lacking no motivation to get my lifestyle back to the way I want it to be. It's really been a prolonged transitional stage and unfortunately it's started to show in my tournament results and my level of play. I really can't wait to get things back on track.</p>
<p>If you made it this far, good luck in the WCOOP and we'll see each other again soon.</p>
<p>James</p><div class="prevPosts">Other posts from <a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/blog/">AndyMcLEOD Blog</a>:<ul><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/upswings.htm">Upswings</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/id/19284.htm">So...</a></li><li><a href="http://my.pokernews.com/AndyMcLEOD/it-s-that-time-again.htm">It's that time again</a></li></ul></div>"
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