theonlinepokerleague.com Blog

Tournament Indicator - Free Trial

Over the years I’ve tried a few programs such as Calculatem for my tournament games but I’ve always found them lacking as they do not really give you the information that you need but last weekend I stumbled across Tournament Indicator on YouTube. This one looks good and have some interesting features such as:

• instant M calculations
• player profiling
• tilt factor monitoring
• matchcard showdown (ie what are you beating)
• odds calculations
• miniview and customised settings
• video tutorial guides

I took advantage of their free 48 hour trial last weekend and I was sufficiently impressed that I have taken up a license. If you would like to test drive the software for 48 hours then please click the link below:

alternatively you can check out my video site where I have posted a Tournament Indicator video so you can get a flavour as to what the software can do: http://toplvideo.blogspot.com.

Update 18 June

I hosted the Pot Limit Omaha event on Saturday and whilst there was only a small field it was still a tough game and I am glad to say that I came through in the end to win the tournament.  I was messing around with a screen recorder during this game and I have uploaded the last couple of hands onto YouTube and posted to my video blog. (http://toplvideo.blogspot.com/) . The video is also here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2stob4GT7k

On Sunday I tried to qualify for the Pacific Poker $75k event and I entered an initial $3 sub satellite which I won but then when it came to the main satellite I was out in 30 place from 80 players. It was a bit dissapointing as this was one of those games where I just didn’t pick up any sort of hand but because of the structure of the tournament (semi turbo!) I had to start making moves but I kept running into hands. After that I decided to play the turbo sat at $26 and I went out early here when my 66 hit a flop of 2 6 Q and as I was getting on the short side I pushed and typically I was against the guy with QQ!!

Not played much this week

That’s right my playing poker has been limited this week due to work but I hope to get a few games in this weekend. I have also spent a lot of time going through YouTube to pick out some clips to put on my new Poker Video Library blog at: http://toplvideo.blogspot.com/ . I’ve put some great clips on there so far and I will update with Gus Hansen Strategy and SNG Strategy in due course. I have part 1 of each on there at the moment.

I did try an play in an $11 game at Party Poker this afternoon but after having identified the donk at the table I managed to go against him the only time he had a hand and his trips busted my 2 pair. (what a d o n k I am!) lol

Anyway I’m schedule to play a $22 PL Omaha later today at PokerStars and I am putting up a prize for this. To be honest because of the buy in I’m not expecting a huge turnout but I will put up a prize even if there is only 3 of us. Of course as ever we welcome anyone who would like to play and the details are in the previous post.

Pot Limit Omaha on Saturday (with prize!!)

 On Saturday I am hosting a $20+$2 Pot Limit Omaha event at PokerStars. This is one of the 3 “majors” that I am hosting this season and what “major” means is that I will put my hand in my pocket and provide a prize for this event.  I’m not exactly sure whether it will be a plaque or a trophy but there will be something and I will look to see what else I can lay my hands on to include in the prize such as WPT Cards or a t-shirt or something. Anyway what you need to know is that there will be a prize for this one and its gonna cost me money!! (That should be incentive enough!!..lol)

The details of the event are that it will be at PokerStars at 1500 EST on Saturday so if you’re in the UK like me then that will be 8.00pm. You can find the tourney under Tourneys–>Private from the lobby!

The details in full are:

Table name: TOPL $20 PL Omaha
Table number: 51431701
When: Saturday 16 June @ 15:00 ET
Game: PL Omaha
Blinds: 15 minutes
Starting chips: 1,500
Places paid - Normal PokerStars payout rules (top 3 up to 27 players etc)
Break: 5 mins after each hour
Buy in: $20.00 + $2.00
Password: topl07

I’m just hoping that I can win the thing so that it doesn’t cost me too much…lol. 

Assuming that I do not win then the winner will have to contact me to sort out the prizes.

Pot Limit Holdem result

Ok there may have only been 5 of us in the game tonight but the game was still a tricky one and lasted the best part of 80 minutes. Str8Krzy was actually not seated for the first half an hour and he missed MrStricker66 going out. Whilst I managed to get into a big lead I couldn’t quite make it count and keep losing chips on silly pots that I shouldn’t have been in. Anyway Str8Krzy went out next which left Beardyian, Kedster and myself coming up to the break. Beardy was next to go and then after a number of hands Kedster managed to take 1st place. Well done m8.

Practice for Saturday

I thought I’d get in a bit of practice for Saturdays Pot Limit Holdem game that I am hosting on Stars on Saturday. I really don’t remember playing much PLHE before so it was a fairly new experience for me.

I played the game at Iron Duke (on the Merge Network) as I knew that there wouldn’t be that many players and true enough the game was only 14 players in total but it was also short handed so max 6 at a table meant there was a bit more action. I have to say that I did pretty well and knocked the first 3 out and was 1 or 2 all the way to the end and with just 4 left my KK went up against AJ, AJ which held up and we were heads up. At this point I had 75% of the chips and the game lasted but one more hand so I was please with taking the first prize.

Hopefully my good fortune will carry through to Saturday when we have the game at PokerStars. If you would like to play then just look for the game in the private tab and input the password detailed below:

Game details:

Table name: TOPL $5 PL Holdem
Table number: 51431420
When: Saturday 2 June @ 15:00 ET
Game: PL Holdem
Blinds: 15 minutes
Starting chips: 1,500
Places paid - Normal PokerStars payout rules (top 3 up to 27 players etc)
Break: 5 mins after each hour
Buy in: $5.00 + $0.50
Password: topl07

Before that game we have the WAPT Essex/London game on PokerStars on Friday. This game kicks off at 8.00pm and is for members of the World Amateur Poker Association. If you would like to know more before signing up then see Geoff who is near the top of my friends list on MySpace 

Pot Limit Omaha tonight on PokerStars

This evening we have the next round in The Online Poker League 2007 Championship with a bonus event of a $5.50 Pot Limit Omaha game at PokerStars. Don’t worry if you’ve not played in these tourneys before as there are just a handful of us and we have a nice relaxed game every other week. If you would like to play then look for the table: TOPL #9 - PLO $5.50 under the private tables tab. The game starts at 15:00 ET (20:00 BST) and the password is topl07.

Computer probs and tonights event (#8)

Well after a weeks decent set of money finishes I have run bad..and when I say bad I mean I have stunk big time!! Not all of it has been my fault, however, with a series of PC crashes at important stages in SNG’s and MTT’s. I have therefore ordered a new PC which hopefully will turn up next week. In the meantime I was playing on Hollywood last night and the PC crashed with just 4 players left in the SNG (aargh) and nearly 18 hours later I still have not managed to get the PC working again. Hopefully I can get this laptop to work later so that I can play in Event #8 of The Online Poker League 2007 Championship. This weeks game is an $11 No Limit Holdem game. Everyone one is welcome so just look for TOPL #8 in the private lobby on PokerStars and enter topl07 as the password and with any luck I will see you there.

Card dead?

Yikes its been a bad day today. I’ve played in 4 MTT’s and I have won a grand total of 5 hands in that time! I have had no cards to speak of at all and the only Aces I saw where the ones that I walked into (twice!). Should be good for Razz later..lol

MTT’s yesterday

I managed to play a number of MTT’s yesterday and I didn’t play too bad. First up I was in a $10 625 player No Limit Holdem game on PokerStars which has to be one of the tightest tournaments that I’ve played in for a while I tried to make some moves on my table to try and counter this but I always seemed to come against a premium hand. I just scraped into the money but bubbled on the level where the money was due to go up.

I then went to Hollywood Poker to play a $10 MTT $2000 Gtd tourney.  For the 2nd time in 3 weeks my PC suffered a malfunction when it went to load up the table and by the time I got back into the game 20 mins had gone. I had only blinded off about 100 chips so it wasn’t too bad but in comparision to the previous game this was quite loose and I lost a few key hands when I had the best of it in multi way pots (aargh!) and then came the great suck out! Oh well never mind this happens and we just have to move on to the next tourney!

The next game was the weekly WAPT London event at PokerStars where a handful of us play each week. Anyway we were early in the tournament and I have AK which I have raised 4BB and I have been called. The flop is a nightmare with QQJ but I need to get rid of at least one or both of these players if I want to win the pot so I put in a half pot raise. Everyone calls. What could they have? I’m thinking that if the Q or J are out there that there would have been a reraise at this point so I think that they are just on a draw. The turn brings a 10 which gives me the nut straight and I’m pretty sure at least one of the others is on the second straight but there is only one way to find out and that is to stick the chips in and sure enough there are 3 of us all in. The hands come AK (nut straight) and K9 (second straight) but we are dead in the water against 10 10 who now has a Full House!

To try and take my mind off that carnage I played an $8 PL Omaha tourney on PokerStars which was a bit wild but I managed to cash in this one as well (18th out of 170+ players) which is the first time I have ever cash in an Omaha MTT so I quite with this one even if it was only for $17.

I’m gonna try to get into the Mansion $100k later today and there is also The Online Poker League event at PokerStars which is Razz. I just hope that everyone else is as bad as me on that or I have no chance!!