Poker Taswegian

Carbon poker rakeback

2009-09-24T22:07:00.000+01:00

And finally some poker...BRAG

2009-07-28T15:26:00.000+01:00

Sunday night was a late one (thanks Mrs P) as I made 19th out of 11,152 in the Full Tilt Poker "Double Deuce" competition. I was bitterly disappointed getting knocked out when my KKwas beaten by AA after 6-7 hours of very disciplined poker. The $580 prize money wasn't to be sneezed at but I had my heart set on first for $33,000.

Screen shot from deep in the tourney.

www.rakeraker.com

G2...attack of the vegetables!

2009-07-28T15:00:00.000+01:00

Perhaps the most exciting news is the beginning of G2...the vegetable garden. Jackie, the bloke upstairs, kindly agreed to allow me to clear his land and use it for a vegetable garden. Today marked the turning of the first sod. Man my back is killing me!

G2...before.

Stay tuned for more in the cheap drunks series!

Operation garden

2009-07-28T14:29:00.000+01:00

Having moved into the new place a couple of months ago now Mrs P. Taswegain and myself have been hard at work improving the garden. As you can see from the before and after photos there has been a great deal of progress. The corn is progressing nicely and is now knee high and we have just transferred some 'erbs from our that we brought from the old house into the garden here.

Before

Sowing of the lawn.

After

The pokertaswegian is back

2009-07-22T07:32:00.001+01:00

After a long absence I have decided to restart the pokertaswegian. Holidays kick ass!

Cheap drunks 2: Best wines for under £5

2007-10-23T21:00:00.000+01:00

Empangeni girl grabbed this cheeky saffa white like Percy Montgomery taking the ball outta the scrum. We bought both the red and the white from Tescos for £4.99 each.

A cheeky 2007 Sauvignon blanc from South Africa's Western cape region. Who knows enough to argue if you use terms like "fresh acidity" and "a hint of citrus"? Goes well with salads or seafood.

Empangeni girl says: "Moorish" (she is a bit pre-ocupied this evening).

Drinkability factor: *** Leg opener factor: ##

$172-$10,000 challenge

2007-10-23T20:52:00.000+01:00

Okay. My new resolution is to post more often. At least 3 times a week. I know I said the $172-$10,000 challenge was dead but I am pressing on ...with much courage.

So here is my graph to date. Had a bit of a blowout a couple of weeks ago, although have made a partial recovery overt eh past couple of days. I am playing 0.5/1.00 under rolled.

These posts will possible coincide with the cheap drunks series because I will most likely play at this lower level when a bit pissed rather than spunking off £800 in a night being a tipsy calling station.

Anyway here is a graph of the $172-$10,000 challenge so far:

Carbon Poker Freeroll
On Sunday I played in the Carbon poker $10,000 freeroll. They have on every week. I played really well and managed to make it to 11th out of about 950 players. Got one lucky hand along the way where I sucked out with A5 against AK but apart from that I played well. Was nicely positioned towards the end being 3rd in chips at one stage but then my lack of tourney experience shone through and I lost all my chips in 4 hands.

Cheap drunks 1: Best wines for under £5

2007-10-15T21:08:00.000+01:00

The first wine in the Cheap drunks series is the Stormhoek Pinotage. Empangeni girl makes a beeline for the saffa wine. Tescos £4.99.

A cheap saffa wine with a fancy French name added to it that will make you look posh at any dinner party. Throw around words like wild berry first nose, mild attack and balanced tannins to impress the chicks.

Empangeni girl says: "OMG who let loose the vinegar but by the second glass I no longer care."

Drinkability factor: ***1/2, Leg opener factor: ###

Cheap wine and a three day growth

2007-10-15T20:52:00.000+01:00

Am suffering through a poor run of cards atm. Down 5 buyins at NL200. Felt have been playing okay until the last session end even that wasn't too bad considering how card dead things were.

On to brighter things. Let me introduce the missus...Empangeni girl. "Come and say hi Empangeni girl."

"Hi!" =)

Well Empangeni girl and I have decided to do a Cheap dunks: Best wines for under £5 series. In it we will review wines that cost less than £5 a bottle. Not being wine connoisseurs most of what we write will be total bullshit. Keep an eye out for the first review as I am working on the bottle as I type.

NL200

2007-10-07T09:02:00.000+01:00

I have all but abandoned the $172-$10,000 challenge. The reason? I can't be stuffed!! :) I am playing well at NL200 and NL100 so I am missing out on money (and experience) whenever I am not playing at those levels.

Here is my NL200 graph for all my play so far. A slow start but I am playing much better and am now fully rolled.

New site

2007-09-30T23:01:00.000+01:00

I have been playing a bit at Carbon poker lately. A small new site that allows US players. I have been taking advantage of some of their free rolls. Including a $10,000 weekly and $50,000 monthly. Very tasty!!

A good coupla weeks

2007-09-26T13:39:00.000+01:00

Since I have left poker heaven my cards have improved. Its good to be back on the crypto network. I dunno what it is but I really like playing on the crypto network. I guess its coz its the first network I ever played on. Am getting close to being fully rolled for £1/2. Should be about there once RB comes through.

As I write this the cards have turned on me and |I lost all the sessions profit over about 20 hands. Having said that the tables have turned and I have finished with a nice profit for the day of a couple of hundred quid.

The Chalklenge: I had a bit of a bad session where I was making terrible call and managed to donk my challenge bankroll down to $350. :(

New Balance $10,000 challenge

2007-09-16T18:27:00.000+01:00

Another bonus cleared. Currently playing NL50. Graph and stats to be posted at $1,000.

New balance : $678.

Poker chips

2007-09-06T17:59:00.000+01:00

I recently ordered some 500 custom clay poker chips. I have got the poker taswegian logo stamped on the inside. Here are the proofs:

Reload Bonus completed.

2007-09-05T21:56:00.000+01:00

Completed reload bonus. Balance now swelled by $100 Bonus...whoo!

Current Balance: $477.67

Will move up to NL50 whenever my roll is over $500

$172-$10,000 challenge

2007-09-04T16:54:00.000+01:00

Current Balance: $319.74

Donkey Test

2007-09-04T00:27:00.000+01:00

Personal Intelligence Profile for
Poker Taswegian

Poker IQ Score

Your General Poker IQ Score is 118 and shows how skilled you are in general. Anyone with a score this high is considered to be a low stakes pro. This score is better than 88.49% of all persons taking this test. You should expect to win in low stakes NL hold'em games.

You scored higher than your average score in 10 individual ability categories. 1 of these better scores could be called statistically significant and may indicate special abilities, or that you were distracted on those parts of the IQ Test that counted more heavily in the other ability categories.

Position

Solving many of the IQ Test's problems required the ability to analyze your position at the table, considering blind levels and stack sizes, the tendencies of your opponents and the strength of your hand.. Many poker situations require analysis of position. The ability to play in and out of position strongly is required for skilled NL Hold"em players.

Your Positional Play score of 117 is not significantly different from your average score. This score is better than 87.15% of all persons taking this test.

Blinds

Understanding what changes occur when out of position but required to put in half a bet are important. By far, the blinds will be any NL Hold"em player's least profitable seats. It is important to play out of the blinds correctly in order to minimize losses over time.

Your Blinds score of 114 is not significantly different from your average score. This score is better than 82.47% of all persons taking this test.

Tournaments

This is the ability to change your strategy, hand strengths, calling and pushing ranges as blinds and antes rise. It is most useful during tournament play, but is useful in dealing with short stacks in deeper stacked cash game play. It is important to learn tournament skills even for cash game specialists. Strong tournament skills should translate to more tournament cashes and deeper finishes.

Your Tournament Play score of 115 is not significantly different from your average score. This score is better than 84.13% of all persons taking this test.

Big Pairs

The ability to play big pairs correctly is important for any successful NL Hold"em player. Although over time big pairs will be the most profitable hands, playing them incorrectly can lead to disastrous results. Beginners get themselves into trouble by slow playing and/or overplaying big pairs, and often try to be excessively tricky with them. Although poor players sometimes play their big pairs correctly, it is rare. In general better players will win more and lose less with JJ+ as they gain skill and experience.

Your Big Pairs score of 99 is significantly lower than your average score. This score is better than 47.34% of all persons taking this test.

Small and Medium Pairs

The ability to play small and medium pairs is typically difficult for beginners. Typically beginners will call too much pre-flop with these hands and overplay overpairs on the flop. Folding a set is rarely correct but sometimes necessary.

Your Small and Medium Pairs score of 112 is not significantly different from your average score. This score is better than 78.81% of all persons taking this test.

Bluffing

Bluffing is big part of NL Hold"em. Bluffing and semi-bluffing at the right times is important. So is recognizing that an opponent is likely to be bluffing and acting accordingly. Balancing your own bluffs and adjusting opponent calling ranges is essential.

Your Bluffing score of 122 is exceptionally higher than your average score. This score is better than 92.88% of all persons taking this test.

Flop Texture

Adjusting your play based on the "texture" of the flop is important. The flop cards should be analyzed in light of your opponent's tendencies, his suspected hand range, and the strength of your own hand. Failing to include the flop texture in your post flop decision making is a typical beginner mistake and is easily disastrous. As you gain experience in NL Hold"em and play against more experienced opponents, it will become second nature and of paramount importance.

Your Flop Texture score of 109 is not significantly different from your average score. This score is better than 72.57% of all persons taking this test.

Pot Odds

Sometimes you are required to call when you know you're losing because the price is right. Sometimes you must fold because you're facing a bet that is too big or because an opponent does not have enough money behind to justify an implied odds call. Failing to make the correct odds calls is a major error. Sometimes it is correct to call in some surprising situations.

Your Pot Odds score of 120 is not significantly different from your average score. This score is better than 90.88% of all persons taking this test.

Logic

Logically analyzing the action during a hand is important. Players with strong logical ability are quicker to see where a given set of conditions is leading, better understand the technical aspects of the game, often move up quickly in stakes and have little trouble with bankroll management.

Your Logic score of 118 is not significantly different from your average score. This score is better than 88.49% of all persons taking this test.

Betting Patterns

An awareness of betting patterns serves a number of purposes. It is useful for analyzing the playing styles of opponents and for finding errors in your own game. Often beginning players have no awareness of common betting patterns. Experienced players are sometimes able to watch a hand, adjust for the skill, experience and tendencies of each player and determine almost exactly what each player holds.

Your Betting Patterns score of 115 is not significantly different from your average score. This score is better than 84.13% of all persons taking this test.

Hand Selection

It is important choose which hands to play by adjusting for position, stack sizes, and the tendencies of your opponents. Beginners often have no awareness of relative hand strength, often play weak hands out of position, or easily dominated hands against tight opponents.

Your Hand selection score of 121 is not significantly different from your average score. This score is better than 91.92% of all persons taking this test.

Aggression

Aggression is important in poker. It increases your equity in most hands by giving you an extra way to win the pot. Your opponent may fold. Playing passively yields only one way to win -- with the best hand at showdown. Beginners typically play too loose and too passive. Excessively aggressive players will lose less than passive players. A balanced tight aggressive strategy is typically best for NL Hold"em depending on game conditions and stack sizes. Loose aggressive style is more difficult to master but can often be extremely profitable.

Your Aggression score of 120 is not significantly different from your average score. This score is better than 90.88% of all persons taking this test.

Computational Speed

Solving problems quickly indicates a combination of experience and card sense. Experienced players can often play most hands automatically, and only require significant thought for the most complex situations. Experienced players should easily answer a good amount of the questions on this test, leaving extra time to focus on the more complex situations.

Your Computational Speed score of 97 is significantly lower than your average score. This score is better than 42.07% of all persons taking this test.

September

2007-09-02T10:54:00.000+01:00

My worst month ever cash games. I lost about $8,000. This reflect poor play at higher stakes than I have ever played before. Built my BR up to a massive $18,000 towards the end of July on Poker Heaven and then dropped it down to about $5,0000 this month through bud luck and even worse play. Improved my play, and my luck also improved (surprise, surprise) and now BR is closer to the $10,000 mark at the end of the month.

Am only about $200 worth or rake short from getting the flatscreen TV after raking $5000 in 3 months.

One other poker related item worth noting is that I am in thye process of ordering a set of 500 customk made poker chips which will feature THE POKER TASWEGIAN logo. Will post photos when they arrive.

Goal for September; stop making crappy calls

A nice win

2007-08-28T11:50:00.000+01:00

Last night won the Raise the River poker online world series NLHE event. Link to the site at the right hand side of the page. Was lucky on two hands but was ahead every other time when I put my money in, so was happy with that. Seem like a good bunch of guys just up for a friendly game of poker with no huge egos floating around.

Well at least I can say I have won a world series as I think this will be the only one I will ever compete in.

Current Balance of the $10,000 challenge $258. To be honest I am having trouble dragging myself away from my regular game to play this limit but we will battle on.

Am I capable of doing this?

2007-08-19T18:30:00.000+01:00

I like to think so...These are my NL stats:

The $10,000 Challenge

2007-08-19T16:51:00.001+01:00

I recently downloaded and logged onto Empire poker. Low and berhold I had about $172 in my account from when I used to play limit there a couple of years ago...Whoooo! So I am mucking around at 25NL and I thinks to myself that I will have a crack at turning my original $172 into $10,000. See a screen shot showing my current balance left.

Okay here are the rules: I can play any NL cash games on Empire poker in an effort to build my balance up to $10,000. I may deposit to receive bonuses. Once the bonus has cleared I must withdraw the deposit used to receive the bonus. Deposits used for the bonus may not be used at the tables. Only the initial $172 + winnings + bonuses will be counted towards the $10,000.

This is a side project apart from my regular poker playing for kicks and the raison d'etre of this blog.

I have been playing while writing this and my current balance is $234.72

Back on air

2007-08-15T08:43:00.000+01:00

Okay...after posting once and never again I thought I would restart the pokertaswegian blog and see what happens. I am currently playing 1/2-36 NLHE on Poker Heaven. Two reasons why I am playing there:
1. They have a promotion where if you rake $5000 in 3 months you get a big TV.
2. The players are soft.

Managed to turn $1,000 into $18,000 before hitting a bad run and also playing people that were better then me and dropping back down to $10,000. Withdrew $5000 so now Bank Roll is $5000 on Poker heavan.

I must say that poker blogs can be bloody boring so I will try to keep things short and sweet.

Poker Taswegian

Carbon poker rakeback

And finally some poker...BRAG

G2...attack of the vegetables!

Operation garden

The pokertaswegian is back

Cheap drunks 2: Best wines for under £5

$172-$10,000 challenge

Cheap drunks 1: Best wines for under £5

Cheap wine and a three day growth

NL200

New site

A good coupla weeks

New Balance $10,000 challenge

Poker chips

Reload Bonus completed.

$172-$10,000 challenge

Donkey Test

Personal Intelligence Profile forPoker Taswegian

Poker IQ Score

Position

Blinds

Tournaments

Big Pairs

Small and Medium Pairs

Bluffing

Flop Texture

Pot Odds

Logic

Betting Patterns

Hand Selection

Aggression

Computational Speed

September

A nice win

Am I capable of doing this?

The $10,000 Challenge

Back on air

Personal Intelligence Profile for
Poker Taswegian