I finished the Canterbury Summer Swiss with 5/7, which was =5th out of 68 players. The result was far better on paper than it was in regards to the actual chess. I was losing in four games (rounds 1, 4, 6 & 7) but managed to win round 1 & draw round 6 & 7 to make my score look far better than it actually was.
Christmas with the family was good & I'm now back in Sydney for New Years & the Australian Open chess. Hopefully the good chess results can continue ... obviously with improved quality of play!
The homegame went reasonably well, with 12 players turning up & playing at various times throughout the day & night, though it did end up being multiple single table tournaments, rather than the intended mix of tournament & cash games. Of course I still managed to run horribly, but managed to win one of the tournaments. The response from those who attended was positive, so I may begin hosting home games on a more regular basis.
Happy New Year to all the readers of the blog & listeners to the podcast! Hopefully things will continue to grow & improve in 2011!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sydney & some updates ...
I'm in Sydney at the moment, spending some time with the family over Christmas. I'm sure I'll catch up with many of my Sydney friends while in town as well.
I've also got a few things happening over the next month ... two chess tournaments - one in Melbourne (the Canterbury Summer Swiss) & one in Sydney (the Australian Open) ... a poker homegame (let me know if you're interested in attending) ... as well as the Aussie Millions!
As far as the chess stuff goes, I would like to do some sort of blogging/podcast type thing around it. I suspect this may involve setting up another blog, though it might also end up here, but either way I'll let you know.
As for the 'you' ... there's been 8 downloads of the latest episode, which only went up about a week ago, so I suppose that means there's at least 8 people who read the blog & listen to the podcast (or perhaps fewer readers/listeners who have trouble downloading & need to download multiple times ... but I'll go with the optimistic numbers!) ... one would almost call it a following, although I think such terms should be reserved for times when you run out of fingers when counting.
As for the Deuces Cracked 50,000 hand challenge, I'm currently around 11,500 hands in and down about $40. I've been going in the right direction lately playing micro-NLHE, which has seen something of a recovery from my earlier efforts with Rush poker & limit holdem, where I ran horribly. At the moment, I think the leaders in the challenge are up around $300, so I'm not entirely out of the running yet, although the graph needs to keep heading in the right direction.
I'm sure I'll also be playing some poker while in Sydney & I'll let you know how it goes.
If I don't get around to updating beforehand ... have a great festive season!
I've also got a few things happening over the next month ... two chess tournaments - one in Melbourne (the Canterbury Summer Swiss) & one in Sydney (the Australian Open) ... a poker homegame (let me know if you're interested in attending) ... as well as the Aussie Millions!
As far as the chess stuff goes, I would like to do some sort of blogging/podcast type thing around it. I suspect this may involve setting up another blog, though it might also end up here, but either way I'll let you know.
As for the 'you' ... there's been 8 downloads of the latest episode, which only went up about a week ago, so I suppose that means there's at least 8 people who read the blog & listen to the podcast (or perhaps fewer readers/listeners who have trouble downloading & need to download multiple times ... but I'll go with the optimistic numbers!) ... one would almost call it a following, although I think such terms should be reserved for times when you run out of fingers when counting.
As for the Deuces Cracked 50,000 hand challenge, I'm currently around 11,500 hands in and down about $40. I've been going in the right direction lately playing micro-NLHE, which has seen something of a recovery from my earlier efforts with Rush poker & limit holdem, where I ran horribly. At the moment, I think the leaders in the challenge are up around $300, so I'm not entirely out of the running yet, although the graph needs to keep heading in the right direction.
I'm sure I'll also be playing some poker while in Sydney & I'll let you know how it goes.
If I don't get around to updating beforehand ... have a great festive season!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Episode 9 is here!
Finally, the long overdue episode is out!
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JZOS0KXI
The episode is full of news, covering the WSOP final table, the WSOPE, the Partouche Poker tour, as well as local events such as ANZPT Melbourne & Darwin, APPT Auckland & Sydney, the Sydney Championships & the Joe Hachem Deepstack Series. I also look at some play form the High Rollers event at the Victorian Championships & discuss a hand from the WSOP final table that will be talked about for a few years to come ...
Don't forget to send your feedback to thedonkcast@hotmail.com
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JZOS0KXI
The episode is full of news, covering the WSOP final table, the WSOPE, the Partouche Poker tour, as well as local events such as ANZPT Melbourne & Darwin, APPT Auckland & Sydney, the Sydney Championships & the Joe Hachem Deepstack Series. I also look at some play form the High Rollers event at the Victorian Championships & discuss a hand from the WSOP final table that will be talked about for a few years to come ...
Don't forget to send your feedback to thedonkcast@hotmail.com
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The watch is here!!
It looks like Full Tilt deliver a lot quicker than they say they will!
I returned home from a brief trip to the shops today to find a package underneath my door mat. Inside was the Full Tilt watch I had ordered a few weeks ago. 6-8 weeks shipping ... not with Full Tilt!
Of course the watch will now be part of the things I wear pretty much where ever I go!
Now to work on actually turning a profit in this Deuces Cracked 50,000 hands challenge ... and finish recording a podcast!
I returned home from a brief trip to the shops today to find a package underneath my door mat. Inside was the Full Tilt watch I had ordered a few weeks ago. 6-8 weeks shipping ... not with Full Tilt!
Of course the watch will now be part of the things I wear pretty much where ever I go!
Now to work on actually turning a profit in this Deuces Cracked 50,000 hands challenge ... and finish recording a podcast!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
A tournament cash ... finally!
Yes, I've finally managed a cash in a live tournament ... my first for over three months!
By the same token, it was also very disappointing. The event in question was the 8 game at the latest joe Hachem Deep Stack Series at Crown. The disappointing part of it was that I was the chip leader going into the final table & stayed at or near the top of the chip count throughout the final table ... until it got down to three handed. Early in three handed play I continued to chip up & at one point I had over 300k in chips, compared with the 140k & 45k of my oppoents ... yes, I had a massive chip lead! I felt I was the best player remaining at the table & I felt I was playing well ... and yet I still managed to finish 3rd!
It all came apart in the triple draw & limit holdem rounds ... two big triple draw hands saw me make second-best hands & lose sizable pots ... and then another two limit holdem hands saw me go from big stack to short stack in about 15 hands! I eventually went out in the Omaha hi-lo round, after chopping a pot when I flopped a full house, only to have my oppoent catch running low cards to take the low ... and finally went out with a high-only hand QJJ8 against my opponent's A874 which made two pair with the A8 to scoop the pot & send me home.
In summary, it is good to finally get a live tournament cash after months of non-cashes ... but at the same time, its very disappointing to once again miss out on the trophy, particularly given the situation I was in when three-handed.
In other news, I've recorded a few segments for the next episode of the Donkcast, so expect to hear it soon!!
By the same token, it was also very disappointing. The event in question was the 8 game at the latest joe Hachem Deep Stack Series at Crown. The disappointing part of it was that I was the chip leader going into the final table & stayed at or near the top of the chip count throughout the final table ... until it got down to three handed. Early in three handed play I continued to chip up & at one point I had over 300k in chips, compared with the 140k & 45k of my oppoents ... yes, I had a massive chip lead! I felt I was the best player remaining at the table & I felt I was playing well ... and yet I still managed to finish 3rd!
It all came apart in the triple draw & limit holdem rounds ... two big triple draw hands saw me make second-best hands & lose sizable pots ... and then another two limit holdem hands saw me go from big stack to short stack in about 15 hands! I eventually went out in the Omaha hi-lo round, after chopping a pot when I flopped a full house, only to have my oppoent catch running low cards to take the low ... and finally went out with a high-only hand QJJ8 against my opponent's A874 which made two pair with the A8 to scoop the pot & send me home.
In summary, it is good to finally get a live tournament cash after months of non-cashes ... but at the same time, its very disappointing to once again miss out on the trophy, particularly given the situation I was in when three-handed.
In other news, I've recorded a few segments for the next episode of the Donkcast, so expect to hear it soon!!
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