Sonntag, 27. März 2011

Last day Londres, leaving in teh morning :) MALTA GUIDE inside

So as most of you know my London time is coming to an end after exactly 6 months.

Tbh I'm very happy it is over and I can move on with my life. Really looking forward for this summer. There are/were just too many things which are annoying the crap out of me but on the other hand the time was definitely a good experience and in the meanwhile I got to know alot of nice people.

The month in case of poker wasn't too good but on the brightside I'm careerpeaking on PTR and made more than my minimum monthly goal of 5 digits including rakeback which is a fine thing. Furthermore played higher volume than the first 2 month this year... Main problem was running terrible at everything above NL200 but as being said I made some money so I don't wanna complain too much... I sent my car over to Malta on tuesday so afterwards I was only playing rush because my 2 monitors went with the car. Wasn't running to well there either but basically played only 200 so no biggie. Furthermore I should be blackcard member now for a decent while after the volume I put in this week.

I turned 27 two days ago and after a spontaneous night out I wasted another 200 pounds or so in british nightlife... Unlike me spending money a good friend of mine from Malta managed to ship an EPT title and make some money - excactly 390.000 Euro. Ofc he has to donate some shares but anyways it should've been a pretty decent payday for him. I hope that the shipping party takes place the next days and not that I already missed it... Congratz Beyne, well deserved...



My parents are here in London this week for some sightseeing and since my mother has birthday on the same day I do this was a welcome occasion to meet up and spent some time together. It's pretty funny because my parents (especially my father) aren't speaking english and so they have a hard time here but somehow they seem to manage it... Later for dinner I meet up one last time with them b4 I fly to Malta in the morning and they head back to Germany.

So enough for the past and more of the future which is going to be alot cheaper and sunny: MALTA



I'm getting asked alot of questions these days about Malta, visiting, nightlife and bla and so I decided to write a little FAQ for those who are interested to visit...


1. With whom are you living together?

Since yesterday the team of roomies for the penthouse is completed which will consist of me, Christian and Adrian.
Christian is currently grinding teh micros at Stars but I'm sure he will be able to beat at least small stakes by the end of the year - good luck to him. He's german and I got to know him during my studies in Mannheim, Germany. He's a good friend of mine since then so I'm pretty sure we'll have a good time this summer.
Adrian is some sort of crazy australian dude I got to know last year in Malta. He isn't playing poker or how he calls it "I'm not a mouseclicker" and has a real job. He's probably better with chicks than anyone I ever knew (and I know alotta people who are pretty damn good...) and besides the he's a sick partyboy. Should be a pretty good addition for the flat.

2. Where exactly is the flat?

The flat is located in Swieqi/ta L-Bragg right besides St. Julians which you can describe best as the entertainment center of Malta. Basically everything from nightlife, Hotels, fancy restaurants, etc. is located there but you get significantly more for your money compared to living directly in St. Julians. Basically you can reach almost everything by foot but it is still quiet so that you can focus on work if you have to...

3. I want to visit you - how do we do this?

I'm always happy if friends are coming for a visit but there are some important things to consider:

- I cannot host more than 3 people at the same time so no groups bigger than 3 unless there are hot girls included who have no problem sleeping in my bed. If you are more than 4 we can figure something out that we split the groups on 2 different appartments for example but we def. have to discuss this upfront.
- A lot of people writing me things like "i want to visit you mid june, etc". Even if this is nice to know I cannot plan this long in advance which means I cannot tell you now if I'm in Malta mid june or if I'm in Vegas, Ibiza, Kazantip or somewhere else. So when you really intend to give me a visit get in touch with me 2-4weeks before you want to come and then I can tell you if it is working out. It will not have much effect on the flight prices anyways if you book now or if you book 3 weeks before.

4. How expensive are the flights?

If you are flying with Air Malta/Lufthansa from Germany you will have to pay between 180-250Euro to Malta and back. Easyjet and Ryanair should be alot cheaper but I don't know from which airports in Germany they are flying... Once you arrived you obviously don't have to pay anything for accomodation and even for the nightlife you will not be spending to much because there is always somebody giving you a fresh beer or vodka redbull so that most of the time you have to fight for paying for the drinks yourself...

5. How expensive is Malta?

If you put all together I would say it is something between 65% and 80% of that what you would spent in Germany and prolly around 40% compared to London.
In general you can say: Going out is very cheap, cigarettes are cheap, eating out is cheap, flats are cheap, supermarkets are somehow expensive, electronics are expensive.

6. How is the nightlife?

Here obviously it depends when you plan to come to Malta. Summers are pretty busy with (June-Aug as the busiest months). Pretty busy means that you can go out on any given day in the week and it will be a blast. The standard clubs are very touristic for the main part but with some alcohol you should be always fine. The average age of the people going out is pretty young - probably around 20 I think but also dependent on where you go. In summer furthermore there are some massive openairclubs in the centre of the island which tend to have a little "older" and not so touristic crowd compared to the mainstreamclubs in Paceville. In summer you will also find massive events with big international names every 2 or 3 weeks like Fatboy Slim, David Guetta, Deadmau5, Armin van Buren and alot more.

7. How are the girls?

If you like dark hair and massive breasts Malta is definitely the place to be. If you don't there are still alot of tourist chicks who might look different. All in all there are alot of beautiful girls living and travelling to that Island especially in summer and because of the awesome climate they don't wear too many clothes either which is a fine thing (most of the time...).


I guess that's it for now and this should give you a little better inside on the small island. If you have other questions please don't hesitate to state them and I might do an additional guide in one of my next posts.


peaze

Freitag, 11. März 2011

Aggression at teh Fullring Games these days



I was always used to alot of aggression at NL400 and 600 but NL200 was always kinda soft in case of this - even BvB for the most part. However after the last sessions I seriously have to reevaluate here...
I remember back maybe 1.5years ago when I was 4bet/bluffing JJ Blind vs. Blind and prayed "please don't ship, please don't ship, plz don't ship" and after I got shipped on I had a tough decision... (don't wanna discuss here anyways if it was clever 4betting JJ in the first place when I'm afraid to get it in but w/e).
However these days when I 4bet JJ BvB I'm shouting something like "ship it" or "ez game", fistpumpsnap and open the Dom in the meanwhile.
Pretty sick when you have the exactly same hand in the exact same spot sometimes even vs. teh same opponents like 1.5years ago but what was a bluffcatcher once is a big premium moneymaker now. Conclusion: Games are evolving - variance is increasing.
I'm not 100% sure why this development is so drastic but I assume it is something like 25% because my own game got more aggressive and 75% because games in general got more aggresive.

Here some sample hands I experienced over the last days. I cannot remember 5 hands if I think about the whole last year where an opponent was stacking of with a pair smaller than TT or an unpaired hand smaller than AQ preflop Blind vs. Blind for 100BBs vs. me:

1: this is vs jj_raise, a 6max reg who lately started playing FR. I don't had particular history with him but he seems to be extremly spewy and insanely aggressive. So pretty much the standard 6max midstakes kind of guy. His shove here is beyond terrible - I probably would've even called 99 here if I decided to 4bet this for some reason.


PokerStars Game #58949874808:  Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2011/03/10 4:36:02 CET [2011/03/09 22:36:02 ET]
Table 'Gefion XII' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Preferaltits ($125.10 in chips)
Seat 2: OMGJohnWU ($203 in chips)
Seat 3: pokerninjasf ($218.25 in chips)
Seat 4: ChiTwnChris ($74.95 in chips)
Seat 5: TimStone ($200 in chips)
Seat 6: Que1620 ($334.30 in chips)
Seat 7: jj_raise ($200 in chips)
Seat 9: Clife ($87.80 in chips)
Que1620: posts small blind $1
jj_raise: posts big blind $2
natsbepro: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TimStone [Ac As]
Clife: folds
Preferaltits: folds
OMGJohnWU: folds
pokerninjasf: folds
ChiTwnChris: folds
TimStone: raises $2 to $4
Que1620: folds
jj_raise: raises $13 to $17
TimStone: raises $23.15 to $40.15
jj_raise: raises $159.85 to $200 and is all-in
TimStone: calls $159.85 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [2h 4s Ks]
*** TURN *** [2h 4s Ks] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [2h 4s Ks Jd] [Ad]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jj_raise: shows [4c 4d] (three of a kind, Fours)
TimStone: shows [Ac As] (three of a kind, Aces)
TimStone collected $398 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $401 | Rake $3
Board [2h 4s Ks Jd Ad]
Seat 1: Preferaltits folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: OMGJohnWU folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: pokerninjasf folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: ChiTwnChris folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: TimStone (button) showed [Ac As] and won ($398) with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 6: Que1620 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: jj_raise (big blind) showed [4c 4d] and lost with three of a kind, Fours
Seat 9: Clife folded before Flop (didn't bet)


2: in this hand moneymike is the villain. he is around forever at 200NL, kind of nitty and even if the hand looks standard I had to think about it because he is folding 85% to a 4bet in this exact spot. In the end I have AKo however. I'm not thrilled calling it off but basically will not fold this kind of hand to anybody ever besides Vincent Wille and Daniel Weinman. I'm highly surprised when he shows up with T9s - I mean if he is shipping this what kind of hands is he folding when he folds 85% over large sample there??? 


PokerStars Game #59051852689:  Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2011/03/12 2:38:47 CET [2011/03/11 20:38:47 ET]
Table 'Gallia VII' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: dh7889 ($362.05 in chips)
Seat 2: sirfreddy83 ($186.65 in chips)
Seat 3: nakinoe ($387.40 in chips)
Seat 4: TimStone ($210.30 in chips)
Seat 5: moneymike7 ($219.20 in chips)
Seat 6: bripas ($192.80 in chips)
Seat 7: skars07 ($214.55 in chips)
bripas: posts small blind $1
skars07: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TimStone [As Kd]
dh7889: folds
sirfreddy83: folds
nakinoe: folds
TimStone: raises $2 to $4
moneymike7: raises $12 to $16
bripas: folds
skars07: folds
TimStone: raises $24 to $40
moneymike7: raises $179.20 to $219.20 and is all-in
TimStone: calls $170.30 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($8.90) returned to moneymike7
*** FLOP *** [2d Td 6c]
*** TURN *** [2d Td 6c] [9d]
*** RIVER *** [2d Td 6c 9d] [3d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TimStone: shows [As Kd] (a flush, King high)
moneymike7: shows [Tc 9c] (two pair, Tens and Nines)
TimStone collected $420.60 from pot
TimStone said, "jeje"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $423.60 | Rake $3
Board [2d Td 6c 9d 3d]
Seat 1: dh7889 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: sirfreddy83 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: nakinoe folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: TimStone showed [As Kd] and won ($420.60) with a flush, King high
Seat 5: moneymike7 (button) showed [Tc 9c] and lost with two pair, Tens and Nines
Seat 6: bripas (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: skars07 (big blind) folded before Flop


3: here I get it in good again vs. a small pocket BvB. Villain is eunhobae who grinded his way up from NL25 to 200 and is more or less crushing (probably running good though). He plays a pretty unorthodox style with alot of limping, limp/raising and overshipping but it seems to pay off for him. His shove here is pretty meh but since we have definitely some dynamic going on I think it is not as bad as ship in hand No1.



PokerStars Game #59006856434:  Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2011/03/11 6:54:22 CET [2011/03/11 0:54:22 ET]
Table 'Ocllo XII' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: chupoptero ($713.50 in chips)
Seat 2: ShanZ ($240.30 in chips)
Seat 3: stupotz ($938.10 in chips)
Seat 4: TimStone ($200 in chips)
Seat 5: eunhobae ($200 in chips)
Seat 6: Kingcovey ($203.35 in chips)
Seat 7: Liza_plus_EV ($84 in chips)
Seat 8: denitz21 ($200 in chips)
Seat 9: shnizzel ($200 in chips)
eunhobae: posts small blind $1
Kingcovey: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TimStone [Qh Qc]
Liza_plus_EV: folds
denitz21: folds
shnizzel: folds
chupoptero said, "heunabaeeeeeeeee"
chupoptero said, "nh"
chupoptero: folds
ShanZ: folds
stupotz: folds
TimStone: raises $2 to $4
eunhobae: raises $14 to $18
chupoptero said, "tell me YW"
Kingcovey: folds
chupoptero said, "please"
TimStone: raises $22 to $40
eunhobae: raises $160 to $200 and is all-in
TimStone: calls $160 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [2d 4h Jd]
*** TURN *** [2d 4h Jd] [Jc]
*** RIVER *** [2d 4h Jd Jc] [7h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
eunhobae: shows [5s 5h] (two pair, Jacks and Fives)
TimStone: shows [Qh Qc] (two pair, Queens and Jacks)
TimStone collected $399 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $402 | Rake $3
Board [2d 4h Jd Jc 7h]
Seat 1: chupoptero folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: ShanZ folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: stupotz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: TimStone (button) showed [Qh Qc] and won ($399) with two pair, Queens and Jacks
Seat 5: eunhobae (small blind) showed [5s 5h] and lost with two pair, Jacks and Fives
Seat 6: Kingcovey (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: Liza_plus_EV folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: denitz21 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: shnizzel folded before Flop (didn't bet)




4: here a little other hand were I squeeze for value and got 4bet by the coldcaller. I hate his play and I think it is insanely minus EV even though the table is shorthanded. He is repping nothing but I don't know if he is thinking enough to realize this. He has never a big pair and basically never AK in this spot so I have him smoked everytime. I don't really mind his 4bet there but I think when you 4bet here it's a 4bet/fold with blockers even if it is s00ted...

PokerStars Game #59006343208:  Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2011/03/11 6:30:52 CET [2011/03/11 0:30:52 ET]
Table 'Spicer V' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 2: cb4mvp ($267.40 in chips)
Seat 6: zbpoker ($200 in chips)
Seat 7: hotwussy ($204.60 in chips)
Seat 8: Omega1974123 ($131.35 in chips)
Seat 9: TimStone ($202 in chips)
Omega1974123: posts small blind $1
TimStone: posts big blind $2
BIG PERM 386: sits out
jmh306: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TimStone [Kc As]
cb4mvp: folds
zbpoker: raises $4 to $6
Ronfar3 joins the table at seat #3
hotwussy: calls $6
Omega1974123: folds
TimStone: raises $20 to $26
zbpoker: folds
hotwussy: raises $28 to $54
TimStone: raises $148 to $202 and is all-in
hotwussy: calls $148
*** FLOP *** [9h Qs 5h]
*** TURN *** [9h Qs 5h] [3h]
*** RIVER *** [9h Qs 5h 3h] [7s]
TimStone said, "well played"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TimStone: shows [Kc As] (high card Ace)
hotwussy: shows [Qh Ah] (a flush, Ace high)
hotwussy collected $409 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $411 | Rake $2
Board [9h Qs 5h 3h 7s]
Seat 2: cb4mvp folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: zbpoker folded before Flop
Seat 7: hotwussy (button) showed [Qh Ah] and won ($409) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 8: Omega1974123 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: TimStone (big blind) showed [Kc As] and lost with high card Ace


5: last but not least 2 examples with my new premium hand JJ: this is vs. my good buddy RobertFripp who is extremly aggressive a pretty good player imo. Don't like the his ship too much bc KQo is massively dominated by everything but as we see he has life cards and almost binked it. Lucky me ;)

PokerStars Game #59035732375:  Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2011/03/11 21:19:03 CET [2011/03/11 15:19:03 ET]
Table 'Sculptor II' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: chirak1982 ($81.75 in chips)
Seat 2: americo71032 ($215.80 in chips)
Seat 3: TimStone ($217 in chips)
Seat 4: gl79 ($80 in chips)
Seat 5: RobertFripp2 ($231.25 in chips)
Seat 6: sgzoe ($200 in chips)
Seat 8: Alex12690 ($200 in chips)
Seat 9: LiraMaker ($151.45 in chips)
RobertFripp2: posts small blind $1
sgzoe: posts big blind $2
EMPshockwave: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TimStone [Js Jc]
Alex12690: folds
LiraMaker: folds
chirak1982: folds
americo71032: folds
TimStone: raises $2 to $4
gl79: folds
RobertFripp2: raises $10 to $14
sgzoe: folds
TimStone: raises $26 to $40
RobertFripp2: raises $191.25 to $231.25 and is all-in
TimStone: calls $177 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($14.25) returned to RobertFripp2
*** FLOP *** [Qd 8h 7d]
*** TURN *** [Qd 8h 7d] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [Qd 8h 7d Jd] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RobertFripp2: shows [Qc Ks] (a pair of Queens)
TimStone: shows [Js Jc] (three of a kind, Jacks)
TimStone collected $433 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $436 | Rake $3
Board [Qd 8h 7d Jd Ac]
Seat 1: chirak1982 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: americo71032 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: TimStone showed [Js Jc] and won ($433) with three of a kind, Jacks
Seat 4: gl79 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: RobertFripp2 (small blind) showed [Qc Ks] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 6: sgzoe (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: Alex12690 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: LiraMaker folded before Flop (didn't bet)


6: last example for the day is vs. some sort of new reg. He seems to be extremely aggressive but I'm not sure if he really knows what he is doing. He 3betting about 10% (lol) and I saw him later coldcalling with AKs on a deep table when a fish shipped 200BB over an openraise which was pretty lol as well but the guy might to enjoy variance...



PokerStars Game #59047680449:  Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2011/03/12 1:02:34 CET [2011/03/11 19:02:34 ET]
Table 'Jablunka II' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: frosty012 ($202.90 in chips)
Seat 2: moneymike7 ($210.40 in chips)
Seat 3: cheeksmtg ($245.25 in chips)
Seat 4: btren ($113.30 in chips)
Seat 5: TimStone ($200 in chips)
Seat 6: RobertAlbia ($224.35 in chips)
Seat 7: AltyAA ($344.95 in chips)
Seat 8: SetzerMason ($200 in chips)
Seat 9: c2darok ($149.05 in chips)
RobertAlbia: posts small blind $1
AltyAA: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TimStone [Jc Jd]
SetzerMason: folds
c2darok: folds
frosty012: folds
moneymike7: folds
cheeksmtg: folds
btren: folds
TimStone: raises $2 to $4
RobertAlbia: folds
AltyAA: raises $11 to $15
TimStone: raises $25 to $40
AltyAA: raises $260 to $300
TimStone: calls $160 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($100) returned to AltyAA
*** FLOP *** [8s Ac 2c]
*** TURN *** [8s Ac 2c] [7h]
*** RIVER *** [8s Ac 2c 7h] [Qc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AltyAA: shows [Jh Kh] (high card Ace)
TimStone: shows [Jc Jd] (a pair of Jacks)
TimStone collected $398 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $401 | Rake $3
Board [8s Ac 2c 7h Qc]
Seat 1: frosty012 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: moneymike7 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: cheeksmtg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: btren folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: TimStone (button) showed [Jc Jd] and won ($398) with a pair of Jacks
Seat 6: RobertAlbia (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: AltyAA (big blind) showed [Jh Kh] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 8: SetzerMason folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: c2darok folded before Flop (didn't bet)






Final conclusion of all this: Let's make Fullring the new 6max. Let's get in AJ+ and 88+ BvB as a default. I mean it's alot more fun for everybody and a little bit more variance will make nobody broke! Amirite? Wait...