Having a System and Sticking With It

Hello there folks; I hope all is well. I mentioned last week that we were going to talk about how to better manage our bankroll and also look at the game limit we play at.

The reason we talk about these two topics - bankroll & game-limits - in the same sentence is that they're absolutely inseparable. That's right my fellow rounders, what I say is true

You see, you cannot talk about one topic, without mentioning the other. It's as simple as that. They're forever bound together, like Laurel & Hardy or Cain & Able, like Fish & Chips or Manchester United and success.

A true fact about bankroll & game-limit is that one should never put more than 5 percent of their bankroll on the table at any given time and one should never sit in a game if the minimum buy-in is more than 5 percent of their cash flow. Also a person should never play in the game if they feel the level of play is over their head.

It's important to note that the size of someone's bankroll will often dictate the size of the game which they play in. Especially if they're operating with a smaller bankroll or just starting to build it.

You see a common mistake I see a lot of new players make is they're far too eager to sit in and play in the bigger games at their local card room, as the minimum buy-in for many of the bigger games might often be as much as $5,000, an amount which is greater than a majority of a players bankroll.

I mentioned in a recent blog, that I believed if the Almighty himself were to play the game of poker he would have trouble beating the game every time he played it. There's just far too many things which are out of the players control. Poker is a game that some one can even play perfectly yet still there's no guaranty that they will have a financial gain on the day!

We've all had those miserable bad beats, like the time that obnoxious drunk pulled a Houdini on you and went runner-runner to make a hand that you didn't even factor in, or the time you had your opponent virtually drawing dead, only to have the dealer put the turn and river down to make a straight on the board, bailing your victim out, with a chopped-pot.

You should know that almost every successful poker player will tell you the same thing - if you have a losing session, (providing it's only 5 percent of your bankroll) then what you should do is evaluate how you played. Was it the fact that you were unlucky? Or was it that you were just out played?

If it's the latter my friends, then you might want to consider dropping down a level. Some times it hard to do but there's not a lot of room for error when you mix poker and money. It's this is the kind of discipline that you will need in order for a system to work.

Let's look at an easy example.

When you have a bankroll of $2,000, you will buy-in for only $100
(5 percent of $2,000) and if you lose that $100 your bankroll is now $1,900 so the next time you play your buy-in should now be 5 percent of $1,900 which is $95 and so on.

But let's just say that you start off with a winning session and cash out with $600
Well now you are plus $500, bringing your total bankroll to $2,500, so you adjust again to $125, which is (5 percent of $2,500)

You see, I believe you have to have some kind of plan or system set up in poker. Just like anything else in life you need to be prepared for what might happen next and then, should that happen, the outcome is not so hard to deal with. Remember poker is a game that is multicultural and brings all kinds of characters to the table: the young, the old, the black, the white, of all denominations. Some are good and some are bad, but that's part of what makes our game great!

I'll leave you with this, a final note:

Yes it's frustrating, I know, yet still we play. We play because we love the game; we play because we love the thought of catching our opponent on a pure bluff; we play not to have good luck, just in hope of avoiding the bad luck. We play for the craic and the camaraderie and, just maybe, the thought of making history. Think about it. You can play against someone, though you are unable to speak their language yet, you can ever so clearly understand the same game. And many play for the simple reason that they need to make a living.

Play my friends…play!

Ciaran Big 'C' O'Leary

Irish Poker Championship - A Final Note

Well my friends this is the last word on the IPC. I've already mentioned in the last two postings about this great event and what an absolute blast it was hanging out with some of the best in the business. However what I failed to mention was, where I finished in the event and how I was eventually ousted.

So here it is. As I mentioned last week, we had 300 or so entrants with a wonderful structure.

After the first day, with almost half the field eliminated I was positioned very well in around the top 15 players. After a couple of pints at the hotel guest bar (which stayed open 'till about 5am) with Padraig Parkinson and Mike Sexton, I was off to try and get a little shut eye. Yeah right! Not a chance, as every hand I had seen for the entire day kept flashing through my head, Ahh well, it comes with the job!

Anyway, on day two we started play at 1 p.m. and continued playing long into the night, actually it was about 4:30am by the time the last round ended. So when we finally began bagging up the chips for the night, with only 18 hopefuls remaining, I was quiet happy again to see I was sixth in chip position.

As we made our way out of the poker room, down towards the guest bar for a night cap, I could hear the echo of clanging milk bottles in the distance from a milk truck as it drove through Galway's ancient narrow streets. My job was done for the night yet another man's had just begun.

After two quick vodka's with orange, I was away off to bed. The crazy thing is that by the time I eventually laid my head on the pillow… the sun was already coming up! Long day folks…long day.

If anyone should dare tell you that poker is now a young man's game, well, I think Mickey Moran would beg to differ. Walking tall at a towering six foot-two inches and whistling the tune to Kenny Roger's The Gambler you would hardly know that he had been playing poker for fifteen hours straight. "How many chips do you have Ciaran?" he asked. About 160,000 I replied. Before I could ask him in return he shouts, "Sure I'm only just behind ya!"

Mickey is an exceptional poker player with almost fifty years of experience, and sure, he may no longer, have all his teeth, but this man definitely can still play the game as good as anybody! He had a great run in this event, eventually making the final table but did come up a little short though finished with a very impressive fifth place. Well done sir indeed.

Anyway, back to me. We began day three with the blind structure really starting to bite back and as I mentioned I was in sixth place with about 160,000 in chips. However with blinds now at 5,000-10,000 and 1,000 chip ante it was 24k every orbit of the table. So this took a little bit of the play away from us and forced us to gamble a bit more. It also didn't help with the fact that every time I looked down at my hand I had either 9-4 or 7-2 or 8-3.

Unfortunately, when ever I made a move with these miserable hands someone re-raised all-in and I was forced to fold. Just as well that I did fold as they were being ever so kind and showing me their J-J or A-K and so on.

With only 13 players remaining and just six players at my table and seven at the other table it was now costing 21,000 every six hands. So with no action around to me on the button and with the Q-J of hearts I shoved all my chips into the middle and as quick as I can scoff down an Irish breakfast, I was called by the big blind who turned over A-Q and I was sent packing.

We always used to complain years ago about the small amount of chips that tournaments used to start off with. I now think its good for the game with these new structures and longer rounds as it allows the cream to rise to the top in the long run. The only slight down fall with this structure is that when you get to about 30 players remaining; the structure has a tendency now to work against you as the blinds are typically very high, even in relation to the chip leader.

Having said all that though I still think it's far better for the game and at least if you're lucky enough to get to that number of around 30 you are definitely then I, with a good shot to capture that title if you can pick up a few hands.

After I was eliminated I went in to the booth to do some commentating on the final table with the best of the best - Jesse "The voice" May, Padraig Parkinson and the ambassador himself, Mr. Mike Sexton. This was a wonderful experience for me and it seems I'll have the chance to do it again in the near future. I look forward to that.

I'll leave you with this; a final note.

Next week folks we'll be looking at managing your bankroll and not playing in games that are over your head, and remember if you think you're beat - you probably are.

One last thing, I would like wish all the best to my good friend Noah Schwartz who has made the final table at the Borgata WPT main event which will play out today. Go get 'em my friend!!

The Stars Were Showing at the Irish Poker Championships…Part II

As I mentioned in my last blog I started the Irish Poker Championships at the featured table with some of the finest players that the game has to offer - the man himself Mr. Mike Sexton, Dutch poker pro Steve Wong, World Series of Poker bracelet winner Bruno Fitoussi, a Dutch singer/poker player Maud Mulder, (who was as sweet as pie and very easy on the eyes) and a poker pro from Dublin named Peter. The remainder of the players (whose names I don't know) were also fairly solid.

Then they throw (yours truly) WSOP bracelet winner Ciaran O'Leary into the mix and all is a recipe for good TV, as it's to be televised on Ireland's leading network station (RTÉ) in February.

The Ambassador himself Mike Sexton was seated to my right. He had a fresh shirt on and a crisp smile… and looked like a man on a mission. He told me that he'd been coming to Ireland for a long time and mentioned that this was an event he'd one day like to capture. The funny thing is… I was kinda rooting for him… well, if it wasn't to be me, then why not him, as he is a perfect gentleman.

Wish full thinking I know but one has to set the bar high and keep in mind that I did spend a lot of time up at the bar and got a good look at the height of it!!

Anyway, Mike played the first hour like he had a flight to catch; he was in almost every pot and was accumulating chips at a fierce rate. I twice requested a urine sample from
Mr. Sexton, but was denied, due to the fact, that, as the Ambassador to poker, he had diplomatic immunity. I also requested a loan and was denied that too!

The cards were fairly miserable for me up until this point in the Tourney but with a couple of moves, that even Michael Flatley himself would have been proud of, enabled my stack to head north, though at a terrible slow pace. Lucky for me I had a nice cold Bulmer's cider to insure that I had at least something decent in my hand, at all times.

However, I was soon to be involved in one of the key hands at this featured table (and is the hand that will dominate the remainder of this week's blog) which it saw the end of one of the stars (Bruno Fittousi) tournament chances.

I hadn't played a hand in a while and when I picked up K-J suited in early position it looked like a monster (keep in mind the featured tables in Europe are mostly eight handed) so with my K-J suited I decided to raise and was smooth called by Peter, to my immediate left. Bruno also elected to call from the BB.

Already alarm bells are starting to go off in my head - I didn't have a good feeling.

Here comes the flop…J92. Now this is good flop for me but, by no means do I feel comfortable with the hand.

Bruno decides to lead out and bet it, but for only half the pot, Hmm, the absolute worst hand I can put him on here is J-10. It's a hand that almost every player like's to see a flop with and his lead out feeler bet would also be the correct play in this situation. However, with this hand, Bruno would be in really bad shape, as I have the K-J.

Note I did say that's the 'worst' hand he could have! There's also a chance that he even has a hand like J 9 … which would give him two pair, (remember he was in the BB and was getting to see the flop at a discount). There's also a chance he could have flopped a set …I know…I know…it's complicated, but in order to play this game at the highest level, you need to be able to see everything, and I mean everything.

A mistake a lot of new players make is that they only focus on the hand in which they hold, as oppose to trying to put their opponents on a hand. So, now what do I do?

Well, I don't really like my hand enough to raise here, and I don't want to invest too much of my stack if I have to get away from the hand at a later stage… but what to do? Well, just on the off-chance he has a hand like J-10 or Q-J he'd surely have to check the turn after I smooth call his bet on the flop.

Not to forget also that Peter still has to act after me and I'm sure he's strong as well and if he were to raise, well…that wouldn't be good. So the correct play I believe, against these players in this particular situation, is to just to call.

Now an important thing to note here folks is that every scenario is different and no two players are the same. Sometimes a raise here would indeed be the correct play with a hand like K-J, but would I really raise here after his bet with another player still to act after me if I had flopped top set?

No of course not. Why push out the guy that's doing the betting? Especially when I'm trying to coax Peter in as well. I'm playing the players here as much as I am the hand, understanding that Bruno and Peter are very clever players.

Now granted I didn't have that hand but they don't know that. Remember I did have a good feel as to where I was in the hand, which was probably behind. But if I'm able to see the turn on the cheap maybe I can spike something. It also prevents me from being out played if he has a weaker hand. Damn… I haven't even gotten to the turn yet!!

Ok I'll speed it up. After I just called Bruno's bet on the flop. Sure enough Peter announces "raise". And then Bruno says reraises, then it's back to me …FOLD!!!!
I'm gone. With top pair I'm actually in 3rd place! For God sake get me some water!
All the money goes in here, Bruno has a set of deuces and Peter has trip jacks.
What a cooler. The case jack had hit the flop and Bruno is heading for an early flight.

I'll leave you with this a final note. I'm tired

Ciarán Big 'C'