tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27629994922226533892023-11-16T08:46:29.967-08:00MR FICKLEThis is my way of keeping a record of my poker goals and current state of mind. Whilst the main aim of this blog is for personal reference any comments from people who happen to be reading are much appreciated.Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.comBlogger276125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-55559391025822374662011-03-27T11:44:00.000-07:002011-03-27T11:45:59.289-07:00How to be a great studentI know I said I was taking a break but here are some tips for being a great student:<br /><br />1. Honesty<br />It is vitally important that we have an open and honest relationship. If you played a hand badly I will want to know why. If the reason is because you were tilted then you must tell me you were tilted. I need to get inside your head and the quickest way to do that is with your co-operation.<br /><br />2. Ask questions<br />I am sure you have tons of questions. Make sure you ask them during sessions and/or between sessions when necessary. There are no silly questions and you can ask the same question more than once if you need to. <br /><br />3. Session Summaries<br />Write a brief summary of each session and send it to me. This achieves two things:<br />• Retention – Your brain gets another chance to retain what we have covered<br />• Understanding – I get to see whether you have fully understood what we have covered (and can quickly correct any misunderstanding before it turns to spew).<br /><br />4. Identify and record ‘not sure spots’<br />There will be hundreds of times during a session where you are not sure what to do. You need to identify and record these spots somehow so we can work on them. You can Mark Hands in HEM, Keep a Journal or Spreadsheet or whatever you feel is best for identifying your weaknesses. Basically you are building a list of things you need to work on.<br /><br />5. Contribute to Google Group<br />You should have received an invite to my student group (if you haven’t then get on my case right now!).<br />Have a browse and start posting on here frequently. Again there are no stupid questions and you will never get flamed.<br /><br />6. Don’t relax between sessions<br />With coaching you get out of it what you put in. You will be provided with a video of each session so make sure you watch it back at least once and take extensive notes. I know students don’t do this often enough because they rarely come back with further questions or seek clarification on certain points. We are going to be covering some complex stuff as we go along and it is not all going to go in first time around.Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-86470292199143358122011-03-05T13:14:00.001-08:002011-03-05T13:27:29.232-08:00Blog BreakAm playing very little poker these days and am therefore going to take a break from blogging. <br /><br />I will probably be back later in 2011 if things go to plan and real life stuff settles down into some sort of normality. <br /><br />In the meantime thanks to anyone who took the time to read my ramblings over the last few years and good luck at the tables :)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-7517778314777995552011-02-23T00:21:00.000-08:002011-02-23T00:45:08.910-08:00FTP ModHad a bad day on saturday and found myself back to just under my $1,500 starting point. Two reasons for this:<br /><br />1) I ran 450 below EV which I think is a lot at 25nl and 50nl.<br />2) I 4 tabled Rush 6max<br /><br />I don't have a problem with playing Rush (in fact I like it and am going to play more) but the problem is without doubt the number of tables I have been playing.<br /><br />The difference between 2 tables and 4 tables of Rush is huge and I am still trying to find my sweet spot. <br /><br />When 2 tabling I get in approx 600 hands per hour and feel like I have plenty of time to think, take notes on my opponents and play my A game close to 100% of the time.<br /><br />When 4 tabling I get in approx 1200 hands per hour but my brain cannot cope and I go into autopliot spazzy nit mode.<br /><br />My last 5 sessions have been 2 tabling 25nl Rush and am crushing at 30bb/100, over approx 4k hands, despite continuing to run badly according to EV numbers. I have slightly modified my moving up plan to incorporate 2 tabling Rush.<br /><br />I also bought an FTP colour coding mod from Tiltbuster (www.tiltbuster.com) which is really cool. If you colour code players on the FTP client then this mode is a must buy imo. It cost $5 and looks like this:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Z8h04z0k5Ul5r9cdbeZaG1YqJ29WPGonIV-jEnX710W-Zwc8RgjNC1iojVMeNq1LM2CqOXwsXc-rjcqyeIaqGIc7jFz-kiLDhG3OzOau4qjnDVY6fMk2pnuP0DpNJSvt3QsO_Ze1GzM/s1600/2011-02+ftp+mod+pic.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 159px; height: 103px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Z8h04z0k5Ul5r9cdbeZaG1YqJ29WPGonIV-jEnX710W-Zwc8RgjNC1iojVMeNq1LM2CqOXwsXc-rjcqyeIaqGIc7jFz-kiLDhG3OzOau4qjnDVY6fMk2pnuP0DpNJSvt3QsO_Ze1GzM/s320/2011-02+ftp+mod+pic.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576802623908886546" /></a><br /><br />If you don't have a good colour coding system them you should book a coaching session with me :)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-62124001460135151302011-02-16T10:43:00.000-08:002011-02-22T01:38:34.137-08:00Gooooooaaaaaaalllllllll<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="430" height="272" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/38UFQVHusOI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-67150373124781866992011-02-10T16:27:00.000-08:002011-02-10T16:39:35.690-08:00Slowy does itMy affair with Rush has come to an end and this week I have gone back to the normal 6max games. In other words back to what I do best.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dtUg-ZVPTZea87cv4ahw27MfwlikG7OvNxLZCjb9Irr2zpqkMV-rHR_MV2lBSs8-9dTkoRn0uwUl9aEgrSeEMKptIXB63r-uMYsfbOyLzf5QZqiZHrZ2nDWS3nzqp7FNLnVAdX09jwY/s1600/2011-02-10+6max.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 66px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572222747479039858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dtUg-ZVPTZea87cv4ahw27MfwlikG7OvNxLZCjb9Irr2zpqkMV-rHR_MV2lBSs8-9dTkoRn0uwUl9aEgrSeEMKptIXB63r-uMYsfbOyLzf5QZqiZHrZ2nDWS3nzqp7FNLnVAdX09jwY/s320/2011-02-10+6max.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Agreed these are short term results, but i am not running above EV at all and there are definetely plenty of mistakes in there which need to be looked at in more detail.<br /><br />I have to say I didn't realise how much I miss the gameflow/metagame aspect of ring games and the enjoyment factor is rapidly returning :)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-53926595850651313882011-02-08T09:07:00.001-08:002011-02-08T09:26:50.174-08:00MicrogrinderFirstly thanks to everyone who replied both publicy and privately to my previous post. I have no doubt I have made the right decision and everything is looking good.<br /><br />Secondly thanks to all the people who have donated stacks to me over the past few years. I have never made significant withdrawals to my bankroll in the past, but now I have and my savings account looks great :)<br /><br />Since my last post I have been playing some 25NL rush full ring and am already onto Phase 1 of my moving up plan. This means I am currently at 3 tables of 25nl and 1 of 50nl without any real dramas so far.<br /><br />I just had my internet die at the wrong time though:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOH9hbcRv44jg4Z-TE08gKUMqeHvfClIT67sZa48LUAMQiBY5SF9j_QMWqcSTP8XlMCDPK6p_GCFUH-wCOuGC2Ke6emE6atDart1MzgyrF0aXA5D3JIHE6HtBcLFfzAXr3sNUmYp4cjI/s1600/2011-02-08+Top+Set+Crash.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 231px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571368419711060850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOH9hbcRv44jg4Z-TE08gKUMqeHvfClIT67sZa48LUAMQiBY5SF9j_QMWqcSTP8XlMCDPK6p_GCFUH-wCOuGC2Ke6emE6atDart1MzgyrF0aXA5D3JIHE6HtBcLFfzAXr3sNUmYp4cjI/s320/2011-02-08+Top+Set+Crash.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Didn't reconnect in time so am telling myself he had 66 and was about to 1 outer me, I run goot :)<br /><br />One observation for my students grinding 25nl is that the rake is very high. The difference in play at 50nl is hardly noticable from what I have seen so far, so if you are winning at 25nl there is no reason why you can't maintain that winrate at 50nl imo. Just make the move up gradually and ask me if you need help making a move up plan.Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-51768120521996691992011-02-01T00:49:00.000-08:002011-02-01T01:43:14.446-08:00A change of paceMy life has gotten very busy this year with my real life job suddenly being more than part time. I won't bore you with the details of that but with another baby girl due to arrrive in a few months I have to accept that I am not going to have the time to juggle a real life job, poker playing/coaching and a young familty.<br /><br />I am already struggling to fit everything in to be honest, and it will only get tougher when the baby comes, so clearly something has to give.<br /><br />Having discussed this in great detail with the wife, the 'something' that gives simply has to be poker. I no longer have the time to be a grinder, fact.<br /><br />So I have been looking for a compromise and have decided to do a bankroll challenge where I reset my bankroll to $1,500, design a bankroll plan, and aim to move up through the levels during the next year or two without any pressure to grind.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrzORf9bwPo8FZMYJ8pQMIUDbaximOhQOLALn5pmsYiVCI5w2Xb1oOrNgGiVdWCutv7QfzEjOLSe6c0nIPi5K-6SHw0KFb3a6-Ai8S41-RkHF7baR9Q6p2cpSvMuWnzv9DKKrMsxNjKc/s1600/2011-01-28+%25241500+Start.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 246px; HEIGHT: 97px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568645302157098738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrzORf9bwPo8FZMYJ8pQMIUDbaximOhQOLALn5pmsYiVCI5w2Xb1oOrNgGiVdWCutv7QfzEjOLSe6c0nIPi5K-6SHw0KFb3a6-Ai8S41-RkHF7baR9Q6p2cpSvMuWnzv9DKKrMsxNjKc/s320/2011-01-28+%25241500+Start.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx9EJlFhh5VgLu6ocAvr3avIWZalUeel7w02_NrhePdQBmw2owbf9ZvqJEfur6oRtdoaag_nK9JVeNZV2Uj3DLzbYBKLQv_wxNVH5XMtC_CgNvInfFDTURMVm-uTtlVb9KF15QepJqTzY/s1600/2011-02+Bankroll+Plan.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 61px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568646888220350498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx9EJlFhh5VgLu6ocAvr3avIWZalUeel7w02_NrhePdQBmw2owbf9ZvqJEfur6oRtdoaag_nK9JVeNZV2Uj3DLzbYBKLQv_wxNVH5XMtC_CgNvInfFDTURMVm-uTtlVb9KF15QepJqTzY/s320/2011-02+Bankroll+Plan.JPG" /></a> </p><p>Apart from the need to reduce my playing schedule significantly, the reasons behind my decision to do this are:</p><p>1. Learn how to move up better<br />I have played 200nl for almost 3 years and do badly whenever trying to move up to 400nl. I think it's more of a mental thing (inferiority complex) than anything else and wanted to create a bankroll plan that is more dynamic and helps me get used to moving up gradually. In short I need to get in some moving up experience and the bankroll plan above will help me do that. Whenever I play I will be 4 tabling and each 'Phase' is simply to mix in a table at the next level. So for example I start at the highlighted area with 4 tables of 25nl and the next phase will be 3 tables at 25nl + 1 at 50nl. If anyone has any questions about this then just give me a shout on skype.<br /><br />2. Try out some new ideas<br />The more I open my mind to considering all the options available on each street, the more I realise there are no 'standard' plays. I want to experiment with some new lines, move and bet sizes where the money doesn't matter to me.<br /><br />3. See how tough poker has become<br />I hear people saying the games have got much tougher at the micros/low stakes and want to see for myself. <br /><br />4. Set a good example<br />I coach a lot of micro stakes players and the private forum for my students is very active these days. The content could improve a lot though as people still tend to focus on the big pot coolers and ignore all of the small subtle spots that make the difference. I want to show my students that everyone has to work incredibly hard and learn from their mistakes every day in order to succeeed. I want to see what mistakes are being made at these levels (by me as well as my opponents) and use these spots to help me and my students porggress through the levels together.<br /><br />5. Make poker fun again.<br />I had my biggest downswing ever last month (in buyins, not $$) and whilst it didn't hit my bankroll very hard, it did make me grind way too much and burnt me out a bit. I think it is clear from my post that my decision is not a knee jerk reaction to a downswing but it did make me realise there is more to life than poker. I still have the poker bug am am never likely to give poker up completely, but I want my poker to be fun rather than a grind.<br /><br />So this is not the end and my dream is to be back ready to grind mid stakes in a few years. My girls will be at school then and hopefully games will still be running!<br /><br />Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables everyone :)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-56453712824157585702011-01-21T01:29:00.000-08:002011-01-21T01:39:31.687-08:00HPHWhen I was playing 6max on stars I could get around 500 hands per hour playing 6 tables.<br />Yesterday I 2 tabled rush 6max for a couple of hours at over 600 hands per hour.<br /><br />The interesting thing about this is that when 6 tabling normal ring games these is tons of stuff going on all the time. I find things a quite rushed and struggle with hand reading, note taking etc.<br />Yet when 2 tabling rush it seems like I have all the time in the world when involved in a hand.<br /><br />More volume + more time to think. Nice.Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-22959936090121043352011-01-16T13:59:00.000-08:002011-01-16T14:11:41.673-08:00BrawlingI played the $256 sunday brawl and $75 super stack this evening and felt pretty out of touch with the tourney game.<br /><br />I have always done OK in tourneys and am planning to spend most of my FTP points on tourney entries this year, but I clearly need to work on my game. In particular I need help with the middle stages when stacks start to get shallow but not super short, and we are still some way off the money. People don't seem to fold thier blinds as much these days and I was getting pwnd by some decent aggro players to my left.<br /><br />Can anyone recommend good MTT books or videos that cover this?<br /><br />ps. I didn't win my next cash session but things are improving on that front :)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-49086392641719767052011-01-08T15:18:00.000-08:002011-01-08T15:29:14.528-08:00UrghBiggest ever downswing (in buyins):<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlYeXs2v9MJQLHVFzg-8B5iQQWe6KIh0emfgbhfX1q1c7UTCmBPG_JKpU_vx0g7PKMf4PuZOKiqNyrxhRr8ndFu-fbI2l3fzKurM6Ka3k9w1a-S2QDZKUOLejCuvzNkQtcMhl6dAqea0/s1600/2011-01-08+35+buyins+downswong.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 202px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559958846941908658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlYeXs2v9MJQLHVFzg-8B5iQQWe6KIh0emfgbhfX1q1c7UTCmBPG_JKpU_vx0g7PKMf4PuZOKiqNyrxhRr8ndFu-fbI2l3fzKurM6Ka3k9w1a-S2QDZKUOLejCuvzNkQtcMhl6dAqea0/s320/2011-01-08+35+buyins+downswong.JPG" /></a><br /><br />According to the poker mindset I have already hit the following for 2011:<br /><br />53/1 chance at 5 losing seesions in a row<br />270/1 chance at 7 losing sessions in a row<br /><br />The table in poker mindset doesn't go as far as 8 losing sessions so that must mean I win tomorrow :)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-34125361150179985162011-01-07T17:13:00.000-08:002011-01-07T17:24:03.516-08:00Long way to goI just finished another tough days play and now sit at -30 buyins for the new year. <br /><br />My optimism for 2011 has been shat on from a great height over past week and things can only get better that's for sure. On the plus side I recorded the last 40mins of the final session today and will be going through it with Corwin in a coaching session next week.<br /><br />I am not feeling to bad mentally and that is another positive so I guess things could be worse :)<br /><br />Oh and I am scarpping the no stats thing, it's just not for me.Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-26244751758058995202011-01-06T08:36:00.000-08:002011-01-06T08:55:31.418-08:00Going Stat Free...againDownswing sits at 23 buyins for 2011. Am not going to bitch and wine, and will hold my hands up and say I have not played perfect, but it is getting silly now. Enough is enough poker gods, go fuck with someone else. K thanks.<br /><br />Short term results are playing on my mind a bit now (not good, sometimes unavoidable)so have decided it is time to go fully stat free during session times. I tried this before and was pretty much clean but have gotten back into bad habits and need to quit again.<br /><br />To help me I am:<br /><br />1. Going public (this post)<br />2. Adding a stat free record to this blog. (Look left)<br /><br />Wish me luck, I need it atm :)<br /><br />Edit: I played a 15 minutes session just now, and am stat free 100% so far and am on a $2.30 upswing. Woot!!Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-14307522494545438802011-01-03T11:05:00.000-08:002011-01-03T11:09:29.256-08:002011 SucksMy year has started with a 14 buyin downswing and can be summed up by this stupid hand:<br /><br />Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players<br /><a href="http://www.deucescracked.com/?referrer=converter_html">DeucesCracked Poker Videos</a> <a href="http://www.handconverter.com/">Hand History Converter</a><br /><br />CO: $51.85<br />BTN: $109.90<br />SB: $131.80<br />BB: $38.30<br />UTG: $113.00<br /><strong>Hero (UTG+1): $162.45</strong><br />UTG+2: $107.75<br /><strong>MP1: $115.25</strong><br />MP2: $87.40<br /><br /><strong>Pre Flop:</strong> ($1.50) Hero is UTG+1 with A<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> K<img alt=" of hearts" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/heart.png" /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">1 fold</span>, <span style="color:red;">Hero raises to $3</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">1 fold</span>, MP1 calls $3, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">5 folds</span><br /><br /><strong>Flop:</strong> ($7.50) 7<img alt=" of hearts" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/heart.png" /> 3<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> J<img alt=" of diamonds" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/diamond.png" /> <span style="color:blue;">(2 players)</span><br />Hero requests TIME, <span style="color:red;">Hero bets $74</span>, <span style="color:red;">MP1 raises to $112.25 all in</span>, Hero calls $38.25<br /><br /><strong>Turn:</strong> ($232.00) 5<img alt=" of hearts" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/heart.png" /> <span style="color:blue;">(2 players - 1 is all in)</span><br /><br /><strong>River:</strong> ($232.00) T<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> <span style="color:blue;">(2 players - 1 is all in)</span><br /><br /><strong>Final Pot:</strong> $232.00<br /><br />Hero shows A<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> K<img alt=" of hearts" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/heart.png" /> (Ace King high)<br />MP1 shows 7<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> 7<img alt=" of diamonds" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/diamond.png" /> (three of a kind, Sevens)<br />MP1 wins $229.00<br />(Rake: $3.00)<br /><br />Hope you guys are running better than me :)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-37818982613451059222010-12-24T05:42:00.001-08:002010-12-24T05:49:48.230-08:00100K Rush HandsSo here is my first 100k hands at rush full ring:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgErcHnIJPl-NnFgsiZ7lDeKVA-7pqCeQj8vi5PWdV1AvAdbZ0zgEGOcNg9bBuHN3rzNkHwbNryPYjLkpFOZfdSIgMhwww2tU3SZnVaW7RRrlHSTXletZVj9ALCMSwFFjhxSpzUV2SfI/s1600/2010-12-24+100k+rush+hands.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 45px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554243891574430130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgErcHnIJPl-NnFgsiZ7lDeKVA-7pqCeQj8vi5PWdV1AvAdbZ0zgEGOcNg9bBuHN3rzNkHwbNryPYjLkpFOZfdSIgMhwww2tU3SZnVaW7RRrlHSTXletZVj9ALCMSwFFjhxSpzUV2SfI/s320/2010-12-24+100k+rush+hands.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYwEWEH2mHcMc2hrRKGVIEso7IZ9qYTox1OLDsPICvMd5kAxTBjWt-8N7sGNXLwgtMgpz4gBtfhDkBwraYMVfPE3nqjEHx7Pgjt7rkbcG8MAGXnS4F5nAabG-2kQcMeYZl37agWopYy8/s1600/2010-12-24+100k+Rush+Hands+Graph.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 220px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554244037279434434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYwEWEH2mHcMc2hrRKGVIEso7IZ9qYTox1OLDsPICvMd5kAxTBjWt-8N7sGNXLwgtMgpz4gBtfhDkBwraYMVfPE3nqjEHx7Pgjt7rkbcG8MAGXnS4F5nAabG-2kQcMeYZl37agWopYy8/s320/2010-12-24+100k+Rush+Hands+Graph.JPG" /></a><br /><br />It would have been looked better if I hadn't been in a particulary generous mood this morning. Pretty spewy session so you're welcome 100nl rush regs, have a merry xmas on me!<br /><br />Overall I am quite pleased with the way I have started with rush. It's a totally different game from mid stakes 6max, and there have been tons of mistakes made along the way, but if I continue working hard and improving then good things could happen for Mr Fickle in 2011.<br /><br />I am off to find some festive beers, have a great xmas everyone :)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-22923449727009174062010-12-21T07:26:00.000-08:002010-12-21T07:27:28.484-08:00Full Cup Coffeeby King Fish on 2+2:<br /><br />On Tuesday, I purchased a cup of coffee for $2.00. I am a valuable customer Full Cup Coffee, so the manager gave me 25% off, like he always does. It's a win/win, as I drink a lot of coffee and he still makes a nice margin. $1.50/cup.<br /><br />On Wednesday, the Manager said that to show his appreciation, from now on I will get 50% off all my cups of coffee. I was stoked. $1 cup FTW!<br /><br />On Thursday, the manager let me know that because of his generosity, he needs to re-evaluate the price of coffee. I will still get 50%, and every other day 75%, but the price of coffee has gone up to $4. I have no idea how much the coffee costs any more. My accountant is on it.<br /><br />Yesterday, the manager let me know that the price of coffee has gone up to $10 a cup because of all the frequent customer discounts he was giving. I will now get 80% off on every cup because I am such a good customer, however the 27% coffee tax recently implemented by Harry Reid will go against the $10 wholesale price of the coffee and not the $2/cup I would have spent.<br /><br />He has assured me that this is what I want, as a valuable customer he is looking out for me. He then kicked me in the shins and walked off. He does that sometimes.<br /><br />There is a really great coffee house next door to this guy, (PokerStarbucks) and of the 100 varieties of coffee, theirs are better than Full Tilt Coffee. Their staff is also a lot friendlier and much more knowledgeable about the beans, roasting methods, etc. They are also really, really funny. The coffee is also cheaper, at 90 cents per cup for all (frequent visitors I have heard get theirs for as little as 40 cents per cup!). My problem is that my current guy has one type of coffee I really like (Rush Coffee). It has 5 times the caffeine as standard coffee and gives me my caffeine boost much quicker. <br /><br />So, I will continue to go to Full Tilt Coffee for now, because it is a bit closer and easier for me. Once Pokerstarbucks gets a coffee that is just 1/2 good as my current brand, I will switch. <br /><br />I spend probably close to $50k/year on coffee, so I assume they will appreciate my business. <br /><br />There may be a very loosely related allegory here somewhere, but it is purely coincidental.Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-84873023607935452222010-12-21T06:37:00.000-08:002010-12-21T06:56:58.650-08:00Silence is deafeningStars have announced their 2011 VIP club changes, which are very minor changes and not worth going into, but they remain deadly silent on what they are (or aren't) going to do about the 20-50bb tables for next year. Seriously wtf stars? If you aren't going to do anything just say so, and if you are going to do something at least tell people some changes are in the pipeline!<br /><br />I'm not that bothered now tbh as I have made my plans for 2011. More than anything I am just sad that things weren't dealt with better/quicker so I could have at least considered stars when making my plans.<br /><br />Having said that I am really happy with how things are going elsewhere and will post a rush update when I hit 100k hands, which will be soon :)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-29288435206542316532010-12-07T05:38:00.000-08:002010-12-07T05:41:30.596-08:00Deep ValuetownRead: Station<br />Action: Value bet to death<br /><br />Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players<br /><a href="http://www.deucescracked.com/?referrer=converter_html">DeucesCracked Poker Videos</a> <a href="http://www.handconverter.com/">Hand History Converter</a><br /><br />BTN: $100.70<br />SB: $294.50<br /><strong>Hero (BB): $263.05</strong><br />UTG: $112.60<br />UTG+1: $98.00<br />UTG+2: $108.50<br />MP1: $42.25<br />MP2: $87.60<br /><strong>CO: $239.35</strong><br /><br /><strong>Pre Flop:</strong> ($1.50) Hero is BB with Q<img alt=" of diamonds" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/diamond.png" /> Q<img alt=" of hearts" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/heart.png" /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">5 folds</span>, <span style="color:red;">CO raises to $3.50</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">2 folds</span>, <span style="color:red;">Hero raises to $12</span>, CO calls $8.50<br /><br /><strong>Flop:</strong> ($24.50) 5<img alt=" of spades" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/spade.png" /> Q<img alt=" of spades" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/spade.png" /> J<img alt=" of diamonds" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/diamond.png" /> <span style="color:blue;">(2 players)</span><br /><span style="color:red;">Hero bets $18</span>, CO calls $18<br /><br /><strong>Turn:</strong> ($60.50) 9<img alt=" of diamonds" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/diamond.png" /> <span style="color:blue;">(2 players)</span><br /><span style="color:red;">Hero bets $60</span>, CO calls $60<br /><br /><strong>River:</strong> ($180.50) 2<img alt=" of diamonds" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/diamond.png" /> <span style="color:blue;">(2 players)</span><br /><span style="color:red;">Hero bets $173.05 all in</span>, CO calls $149.35 all in<br /><br /><strong>Final Pot:</strong> $479.20<br /><br />Hero shows Q<img alt=" of diamonds" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/diamond.png" /> Q<img alt=" of hearts" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/heart.png" /> (three of a kind, Queens)<br />CO mucks T<img alt=" of spades" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/spade.png" /> J<img alt=" of spades" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/spade.png" /><br /><br />Hero wins $476.20<br />(Rake: $3.00)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-53953357814447686232010-11-29T09:16:00.000-08:002010-11-29T09:19:44.967-08:00RuuuuuussssssshhhhhhHave been playing some rush poker whilst I consider my options for 2011. It's been fun so far ;)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiaiuFLGY0aw9YuObiUPV0WTjn0hnZ1ec4gm_Jj5i-L0hTZR_Wy6BNB_MlWwSpcl9fglDFhqgmoRQIxQwd5jE3MLwqHQQuFT9qb9LBF6g-oe3kfcrQ9QzNJLXQcWbnTSWd5PkGqoo6FQY/s1600/2010-11+FTP.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 47px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545022272529222162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiaiuFLGY0aw9YuObiUPV0WTjn0hnZ1ec4gm_Jj5i-L0hTZR_Wy6BNB_MlWwSpcl9fglDFhqgmoRQIxQwd5jE3MLwqHQQuFT9qb9LBF6g-oe3kfcrQ9QzNJLXQcWbnTSWd5PkGqoo6FQY/s320/2010-11+FTP.JPG" /></a>Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-1759721405792005902010-11-21T04:13:00.000-08:002010-11-21T07:29:35.216-08:00So long stars, enjoy the ratholersIt is with mixed feelings that I will no longer be playing on pokerstars. <br /><br />This is a direct result of their decision to split the games between 20-50bb and 40-100bb. They claim this is to give people choice, but they took away my choice which is to play with a mixture of full and short stackers.<br /><br />I do have another choice though which is to play elsewhere and that is what I am going to do. I have given them way way more time than I should have to rectify the situation but now feel enough is enough. <br /><br />The shallow tables now outweigh the normal tables significantly at mid stakes and the waitlists are ridiculously long. People don't want to start 40-100bb tables for whatever reason. The final straw was sitting down with a reg who was apparantly trying to start tables, he sat out after 1 hand (in which he won $40) and then just sat there for the next 20mins. Unsuprisingly nobody wants to sit down at a table with me plus a reg who is sitting out, and plenty of shallow tables filled up in the meantime because the one thing rats are good at is starting tables.<br /><br />It is very similar to what happend with PT3 and HEM. I really didn't want to give up on PT3 but eventually it got to a point where I couldn't wait anymore and had to go with a product that was clearly better and was giving my opponents an edge on me. Once I eventually made the switch I didn't look back.<br /><br />Really is a shame because stars still has a lot going for it (ie traffic, VIP program, customer support) but the simple fact is the games I like to play simply don't exist anymore. <br /><br />I am not going to let misguided loyalty stop me from maximising my winrate anymore.Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-23677564395238150922010-11-13T05:03:00.000-08:002010-11-13T05:05:43.453-08:00Game Selection<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqI5ZJKYjZuX2i8RXDR5k_UAkcEMN23csxkPannXonTC0zy8dL8ZwQFC4Vy5LBccY5gJMie6u8Sxx1OW40uL0bLDKlvifR3H3jOb4uiCSKV6zYJFblmrSwr9qwQJPtaOkQ1WAGPG7OLfg/s1600/2010-11+FTP.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 206px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539019375535800658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqI5ZJKYjZuX2i8RXDR5k_UAkcEMN23csxkPannXonTC0zy8dL8ZwQFC4Vy5LBccY5gJMie6u8Sxx1OW40uL0bLDKlvifR3H3jOb4uiCSKV6zYJFblmrSwr9qwQJPtaOkQ1WAGPG7OLfg/s320/2010-11+FTP.JPG" /></a>Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-53626737775910421182010-11-02T10:32:00.000-07:002010-11-02T10:35:25.813-07:00Battling the Demons (not mine)The following was posted by one of my students in our google group. I thought it was awesome and worth sharing.........<br /><br />"I've been on a downswing and tilting lately, I actually took about 2 weeks off from seriously playing. I needed to step back and reevaluate some things. I did a lot of thinking and I believe I'm ready to come back.<br /><br />Tilt is when I stop playing against my opponents and I start trying to play against either myself, or against variance. I realized that when I'm tilting all of the reads, the focus, and sound play go out the window. Sometimes I honestly forget the other players are even there. It isn't really about trying to beat my opponents anymore, I'm fighting a battle against variance or myself.<br /><br />This is a waste of time. Variance is undefeated. I can't beat it. No matter what I do there's going to be suckouts, runs of bad cards, downswings etc. More importantly it's my friend. Without variance there wouldn't be poker.<br /><br />Even worse is trying to play against myself. For me mainly it's beating myself up over mistakes and losing confidence in myself because of it. I looked at my mistakes as a total loss, instead of realizing there's a lot to gain from them. Also instead of being so critical of my own game, I need to turn that focus outwards and look at other people's. Find and exploit the mistakes they're making.<br /><br />From now on whenever I feel like I'm no longer playing against my opponents I'm just going to close Full Tilt. Because that's the reason I log onto FT in the first place."Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-33274056341562990952010-10-06T07:28:00.000-07:002010-10-06T07:37:08.526-07:00Backdoor BrillianceVillain was never ever folding river and there is no better feeling than shoving all the money in when you know that you are getting paid 100% of the time :)<br /><br />Poker Stars $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players<br /><br /><a href="http://www.deucescracked.com/?referrer=converter_html">DeucesCracked Poker Videos</a><a href="http://www.handconverter.com/">Hand History Converter</a><br /><br />BTN: $258.40<br />SB: $220.30<br />BB: $179.95<br />UTG: $214.00<br /><strong>MP: $358.40</strong><br /><strong>Hero (CO): $200.00</strong><br /><br /><strong>Pre Flop:</strong> ($3.00) Hero is CO with A<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> T<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">1 fold</span>, <span style="color:red;">MP raises to $6</span>, Hero calls $6, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">2 folds</span>, BB calls $4<br /><br /><strong>Flop:</strong> ($19.00) A<img alt=" of hearts" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/heart.png" /> 8<img alt=" of diamonds" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/diamond.png" /> 2<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> <span style="color:blue;">(3 players)</span><br />BB checks, MP checks, Hero checks<br /><br /><strong>Turn:</strong> ($19.00) J<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> <span style="color:blue;">(3 players)</span><br /><span style="color:red;">BB bets $8</span>, MP calls $8, Hero calls $8<br /><br /><strong>River:</strong> ($43.00) K<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> <span style="color:blue;">(3 players)</span><br /><span style="color:red;">BB bets $16</span>, <span style="color:red;">MP raises to $56</span>, <span style="color:red;">Hero raises to $186 all in</span>, BB folds, MP calls $130<br /><br /><strong>Final Pot:</strong> $431.00<br />MP mucks 6<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> 9<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /><br />Hero shows A<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> T<img alt=" of clubs" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/club.png" /> (a flush, Ace high)<br />Hero wins $429.00<br />(Rake: $2.00)<br /><br /><br />I enjoyed this one almost as much though.<br /><br />Poker Stars $2/$4 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players<br /><br /><a href="http://www.deucescracked.com/?referrer=converter_html">DeucesCracked Poker Videos</a><a href="http://www.handconverter.com/">Hand History Converter</a><br /><br />MP: $80.00<br />CO: $80.00<br /><strong>Hero (BTN): $217.10</strong><br />SB: $381.00<br />BB: $80.00<br />UTG: $102.60<br /><br /><strong>Pre Flop:</strong> ($6.00) Hero is BTN with 7<img alt=" of diamonds" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/diamond.png" /> 2<img alt=" of spades" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/spade.png" /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">2 folds</span>, <span style="color:red;">CO raises to $8.40</span>, <span style="color:red;">Hero raises to $20</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">3 folds</span><br /><br /><strong>Final Pot:</strong> $22.80<br />Hero mucks 7<img alt=" of diamonds" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/diamond.png" /> 2<img alt=" of spades" src="http://images.deucescracked.com/suits/spade.png" /><br /><br />Hero wins $22.80<br />(Rake: $-0.00)Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-4905537813012232922010-09-27T04:34:00.000-07:002010-09-30T02:01:45.163-07:00Offline & GolfMy internet has been down since saturday morning and is still not fixed. I have spent the majority of my weekend on the phone to the ISP and am now waiting for an engineer to come to my house and sort it out. They can't tell me when, or even what day, this will be so am having some unexpected time off.<br /><br />Apologies to all students who have coaching booked, I will catch up as soon as I can.<br /><br />One upside was I got to play a rare round of golf on Sunday morning which was great. Weather was perfect, course was very nice and I shot 115 which is probably about par for me. Golf is not my strongest sport lol.<br /><br />Edit: Am back online and catching up as quickly as possible.Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-62436275031262021752010-09-20T06:45:00.000-07:002010-09-20T06:48:42.180-07:00Pretty PictureMy September so far...........<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXCt7bf7963AJLSC0dV1dhF8t17Sf6wvqDFSgudQnL_upXNAXJW7k1AxNnkBoW0GL8u8v3o0nZFCHoDClrso01h88_bvzUBqg0nQOFm6g4c97LoW-ZkpqaQMWVD6ceZej9BAaDp8IrWQ/s1600/2010-09-20+Pretty.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 196px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518991678000617554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXCt7bf7963AJLSC0dV1dhF8t17Sf6wvqDFSgudQnL_upXNAXJW7k1AxNnkBoW0GL8u8v3o0nZFCHoDClrso01h88_bvzUBqg0nQOFm6g4c97LoW-ZkpqaQMWVD6ceZej9BAaDp8IrWQ/s320/2010-09-20+Pretty.JPG" /></a>Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2762999492222653389.post-8208085052848055072010-09-17T01:13:00.000-07:002010-09-17T01:19:23.908-07:00Frying FishIt is becomming more and more apparent to me that most people stuck at microstakes think they have a good understading of 'ABC' poker but when they are sitting at the tables they struggle to beat bad players.<br /><br />This is usually due to one of two reasons:<br /><br />1. They go on tilt easily and don't fry fish as they know they should.<br />2. They don't have the solid 'ABC' game that they think they do.<br /><br />My advice to everyone is to make sure you understand how to fry fish.<br /><br />They taste better when cooked to perfection and don't make you ill.Mr Ficklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11406694448843384583noreply@blogger.com0