Hey Leute,

wie die meisten sicherlich schon aus den News wissen, ich habe leider den ersten Tag im Main Event in Barcelona nicht überlebt.

Hatte eigentlich einen relativ guten Start. Direkt in den ersten zwei Blindlevels hatte ich zweimal Aces, einmal Kings und zwei Sets gefloppt. Leider hatten die anderen keine Lust mit mir zu spielen und so konnte ich meinen Stack "nur" auf 40k ausbauen.

Nach ein paar weiteren kleinen gewonnen Pots war mein Stack dann bei etwa 50k Chips und es kam zu folgender Hand: Ein etwas looser Spieler raised UTG bei 150/300 Blinds auf 900 und ein relativ solider Spieler called ihn in Middle Position. Ich sitze im BB mit QQ und squeeze auf 4000. UTG entschließt sich zu callen und als der Spieler in MP an der Reihe ist, pusht dieser instant für 24k total all in. Da er hier relativ selten AA und KK hat und sowieso schon genervt war von den ständigen 3bets, ist das natürlich ein easy call. Er zeigt AQs und ich bin favourite. Das Board kommt aber leider 89J, T, A und ich habe Glück, dass er am River nicht auch noch den King hittet. Wir splitten also und mein Stack steigt nur minimal dank dem deadmoney an.

Nach dieser Hand ist nicht mehr all zu viel passiert. Ich war die größte Zeit carddead und hab versuch mich durchzustealen, was aber leider nicht all zu gut geklappt hat. Musste einige male auf 3bets folden und mein Stack schrumpfte so auf ~40k. Dann wurde ich an einen neuen Tisch gemoved.

Direkt in der ersten Hand raise ich 85s und ein Shortstack pusht all in mit seinen letzten 9bb. Aus Odds Gründen muss ich leider callen und er zeigt KQo, immerhin livecards. Der Flop kommt leider KKK und ich habe relativ wenig Chancen die hand noch zu gewinnen :).

Eine Hand später raised der selbe Typ auf 2500 bei 500/1000, ein anderer Spieler called in middle Position und ich finde AK im bb mit 27000 Chips left. Ich pushe all in und werde vom Spieler in mp gecalled. Er zeigt JJ, ich treffe leider nichts und bin somit busto.

Habe jetzt somit erstmal spielfrei und werde am Sonntag wohl zuerst ein bisschen die anderen deutschen Spieler railen und danach die WCOOP spielen. Live werde ich wohl noch das 2k Sideevent spielen. Wünscht mir Glück.

Hey guys,

just wanna give a short review of my day 3 of the Main Event.

I started the day with 76.900 chips and the blinds were 600/1200/200, so still some room to play. I knew noone of my table, but I wasn't happy, that the two biggest stacks had position on me in most of the hands.

But as we started playing, I could win a couple of small pots and felt really confident at the table. I could increase my stack to 110k in the first blindlevel and was really happy about my game at the first break.

But as good as the day started, the worse it continued after the break. I had to give up a hand on the turn, when I didn't hit and didn't see a good spot in bluffing and another hand on the flop when I got raised. Then I was again at about 80k chips and the blinds were 800/1600/200.

I was dealt 99 utg and I raised to 4000. Utg+1 called the 4000 and the rest of the table folded. The flop came 422 rainbow and I bet 7.5k into the 12k pot. This was exactly the same bet, I made in the hand before, when I folded to the raise on the flop. Again I am getting raised to 20k. I decided, that his range was loose enough, that I have the best hand here most of the time and pushed all in for about 55k more. Now he went into the tank and asked me which pair I got, "got KK? QQ? JJ?" "damn I should not raise this flop" "do u go broke with 88 here?"... So I was sure he had TT and didn't want him to call. But unfortunately he made the call, flipped over TT and I could not hit one of my two outs.

So that's the end of my Main Event. I think I played really well, but could not win a single all in. I hope Nazgul is going to have a deep run in the Main Event. I wish him the best of luck. Maybe I am going to play the $15k WPT Bellagio Cup in a few days, but it's not for sure.

I'll keep you up to date.

Greets Allanon

Hey guys,

I can proudly tell you guys, that I have reached day two at the $10k PLHE Event!!! I have 85100 chips for day two, a little bit under average, but still ok with the blinds starting at 1200/2400 tomorrow. I just wanna sum up a few keyhands now, how I ran through the day.

I had the first important hand in level 2, the blinds were 150/300 and I had A9o in the small blind. As it was folded to me, I raised to 900 and the loose-aggressive big blind calls. I already played a couple of pots with him and he didn't fold to a single continuation bet of me, so I thought he might float really much. The flop was Ax7c8c and I bet 1200 into the 1800 pot, which was called from the big blind. Turn is another Ace. Generally I would bet here really often again, because the board is so draw heavy and I have a strong hand, but as I wrote before, I thought that the big blind might float me often, so I just checked. He checks behind. The river is a 4s not completing the flush draw. Now I thought, that the big blind had showdown value, because he checked behind and made a value bet of 3k I think. After a while of thinking, the big blind then reraised to 8k. I called and he showed T8o for a pair of 8s and I win the pot.

I was up to 40k, but lost a big pot, when I had to fold JJ, and a couple of smaller pots I was down to 20k. Then my table broke up and I got moved to a table with Antonio Esfandiari. In the first hand at the table, I am in the big blind with 88 and Esfandiari raises from early position. I call and the flop comes ThTd2d. I check/call his continuation bet and the 8d on the turn gives me pretty much the nuts. I check again and he checks behind. The river is a blank and I bet 2/3 pot and he calls, mucking his hand after I showed my 88.

A little later, when the blinds were 250/500, the hijack limps in the pot and I have KJo in the button and limp too. The small blind folds and Esfandiari in the big blind checks. Flop comes KhKsQs and Esfandiari bets 1000 into the 1750 pot, the initial raiser folds. I make it 3500 total and as its Esfandiaris turn again, he raises to 8000 total. I called to let him bluff the turn, if hes bluffing. But he shuts down and check/folds the turn and I win a nice pot.

Then I lost 20k Chips with KK in a 4bet pot, because an ace came and I had to fold the river. After losing a couple of small pots then, I was down to 20k Chips at the 500/1000 level. It was folded to Scott Montgomery in the cut off. He raised to 2600 and I repottet from the big blind with 88, commiting me. He finally shipped all in and I called. He flipped over KdJd. Flop came K5d6d and I was pretty much crushed, but as we all know, I am still in the tournament and could hit running straight cards.

Two orbits later, I had QQ in middle position and raised to 3000 at the 600/1200 level. Scott Montgomery reraised from the big blind to 10400. I thought for a while and repotted it, commiting me again. And again he pushed all in and I called. This time he had AdKd. My Queens held up and I was up to 80k.

After this, there were not any more big hands. I won a few nice sized pots and could build my stack to 115k, but later on I had to fold a few times, because I got 3bet, and when I 3bet, I got 4bet, etc. So now at the end of day one, my stack is 85100. Tomorrow there are around 85 players left from the starting 270 and 27 players will cash, so wish me good luck for day two and my first WSOP cash.

I am going to bed now, because in 11 hours the tournament will resume.

Greets from Vegas

Hey guys,

yesterday I played the $5000 Shootout NLHE Event. I wasn't really happy, when I came to my table. Many familiar faces and only young players, seemed like a tough table.

Seat 1: A young russian guy, loosest player at the table

Seat 2: Hevad Khan

Seat 3: Andrew "runthistable" Lichtenberger

Seat 4: A young scandinavian guy

Seat 5: Me

Seat 6: A young guy, sponsored by Everest Poker

Seat 7: Asian guy, sponsored by PKR.com

Seat 8: Chris "Jesus" Ferguson

Seat 9: Peter Eastgate

So should be a funny table. The starting stack in this tournament was 15000 chips, but the blinds started at 100/200, so only 75bb deep. I think I folded the first two orbits, until I found AKo in early position. I raised to 550 and got called by seat 7, Peter Eastgate in the button and Hevad Khan in the big blind. So the pot was 2200 big and the flop came Ac7h9h. Khan checked to me and I bet 1600, folded back to Khan he called pretty fast. Turn was the 2s, a really nice card for me. Khan checks again, and now I bet 3600 into the 5400 pot and he called again. River brought the Th and he checks again. I thought that he wouldn't call me with much hands that I have beat and checked behind. Unfortunately he had AQ and maybe would have called a small river be, so I might have lost a little bit of value there. Anyways, I won a nice pot there and was up to 20k.

Then I lost a couple of small pots. One time I had to fold TT on a AKx board, the other time I defended my blind with KJo, hit the King and lost to AK. So at the first break I had pretty much starting stack.

Right after the break, I had JJ in the cut off and Hevad Khan opened to 1000 at the 200/400/50 level. He was pretty active at the table so far, so I 3bet to 2850 and wanted to call a shove. But that didn't happen, because the button decided to push his 10k stack all in. And when Chris Ferguson looked at his cards, he also announced all in and shipped his stack in. So I had to fold my Jacks, 3bet folding, hate it. At least it was a good laydown, because Ferguson had AA, so I dodged the bullet one time.

Right after that hand, I raised with KK and won the blinds.  Then a little bit later, I lost more Chips, when I openraised 78s and 96s and had to fold to a push two times.

So in the fourth blindlevel my stack was down to 9000 and the blinds were 250/500/50. The aggressive russian guy openraised from the hijack and I repushed all in with QJo in the big blind. He called me with QQ and once again I got my chips in really nice. Could not suck out and had to leave the table in 6th place I think.

So still waiting for my first WSOP cash, I am going to play the 10k Pot Limit Hold'em Event tomorrow hopefully making my first day 2.

Good night, I am going to bed now.

...there is not much to say. Today I played another $1500 NLHE Event. After playing a few hours I increased my stack from 4.5k to 8k. Then I got moved to another table. Raised twice, once I got 3bet and had to fold my 33, the other time I had 67s and had to give up on the flop against 2 people. Then I am in the Button with AKs. Blinds were 100/200/25 and one player limps in middle position. I raised to 700. The SB reraised to 2100 and I moved all in for 7k total. He instantly called and guess what, he had AA....

Right now I am a little bit pissed, because I can do what I want, at the end I'm getting my stack in against Aces. Nevertheless tomorrow I am going to play the $5k Shootout Event and try to get my first WSOP cash, wish me luck.

Greets Allanon

Since my last post, I have played five more tournaments. I'll try to review the tournaments, hopefully I didn't forget all the key hands.

First I played the $1500 NLHE last Thursday. I had a nice start and my stack increased a little bit. But then once more, I couldn't play any hands for a while and I had starting stack again. Then the final hand: It is folded to the cutoff, who raised to 2.5bb, the button a younger player, then 3bet and I looked to AKs in the small blind and obviously shoved all in. Unfortunatelly the button had Aces and my tournament was over.

Next I played the  $1500 NLHE on Saturday. It was a really short tournament for me. In the first level I didn't play many hands and then in the second level I am getting it in with KK against AA to lose 2/3 of my stack. The very next hand I was in the big blind with 88 and 20bb left. The cutoff raised it up and I pushed all in. He made the call with KQs and I lost the flip, so I was out.

On Monday I played the $2000 NLHE. There is not much to say. My stack was always between 5k and 7k. I was really card dead and didn't get any big hands. So I could just win a few small pots, but couldn't increase my stack. However I made it to the dinnerbreak. After the break I had like 15bb left and didn't find any spots to either push all in or repush. I had 3 shortstacks to my right, who always pushed all in, before I could push, so I folded for 3 more orbits. Then I Got KQs in the cutoff with 9bb left and shipped it in, but the button called me with AKo and knocked me out of the tournament.

The next day I played the $1500 NLHE. Another really funny and short tournament for me. First hand I played: It is still the first blind level and I get AKo in the small blind. It is folded to me, I raised to 200 and the big blind made the call. Flop is A78, and I am happy to finally hit a pair with AK. I bet 275 in the 400 pot and villain calls. Turn is a 4. I checked and he bet 625, I called. River is a 9. I check once more and he bets 500. I wasn't happy about such a small bet, but I still had top pair top kicker and was hoping he has a weaker ace, so I called. He flipped over A7o for 2 pair and I mucked my hand. Then the blinds increased to 50/100 and I had like 2200 chips left, when I get dealt KQs in the button. It is folded to the loose hijack who raised it up to 275. The cutoff called and I pushed all in. Unfortunatelly the hijack snapcalls me and showed me, guess what, AA... Could not suck out and another great tournament was over.

Today I played the $2000 NLHE. And this time I did better than in the four tournaments before. I managed to bust out of the tournament after playing for like 20 minutes. First I lost a small pot with 55, where I just check/folded the flop. Then I got moved to a new table and the first hand I get there is KK. Everyone folds to me in the cutoff, I raised to 150, the button calls and the big blind reraises to 625. I made a 4-bet to 1550 and after the button folded, the big blind moved all in. I was just thinking "omg not again" but I made the call and again it was KK vs AA for my tournament life. Over and out :(

So overall I am running really bad. Don't know what to do, everytime I play a hand villain has Aces, it is really hard to play against that range.

But as bad as poker is going for me, the nicer the rest of Vegas is. As Tobias already wrote, we went to the nightclub in the Caesars Palace. It was a really nice party with the other german guys from the villa. Yesterday me and the other guys from the Penthouse went to the Chris Angel Show, a magician show. It was not bad, but we thought, that it would be a little bit more special, than the good old chest tricks.

That's it for now, next I am playing the $1500 NLHE and the $5000 NLHE Shootout tournaments. Still hoping for a day two result, so wish me luck.

Greetings from Vegas,

Allanon

Hey guys,

here is the latest news from Vegas. The day before yesterday I played the $2500 6-max Event. There I had a really nice start, when I got it in with AA vs JJ and 88 at the last hand of level 2 for a 20k pot. So I had alsmost 3 times the starting stack. I had a very nice table, everyone was too tight and too passive, so I could bully my table around, and won many small pots. At the end of level 4, my table broke up and I was moved to another table. At this time my stack was already 30k and the blinds were increased in level 5 to 100/200/25. But then everything changed. First I lost a coinflip for a 10k pot with 96s vs AdKd on a 9x7d3d flop. Then I made a stupid 3bet, because I didn't see, that the other guy was so short. So he pushed all in and I had to call him with 43s and couln't stand his JJ. So I was down to about 20k. Couldn't win a single hand then, because I didn't hit my draws, got check/raised a few times, when I had to play bet/fold with air and thus my stack was decreased to about 12k. Then I had J9o in the big blind, it was folded to the small blind, who raised to 800 at 150/300/25 blinds. I called and the flop came Q94. He cbet 1100 and I called. Turn was a J and I had 2 pair now. The small blind bet again, like he was doing every time and I decided that the best play for me is to push all in. Unfortunately he KT for the nuts and I couldn't hit one of my outs.

After the tournament, I went directly to the final table of the $5000 Event, to cheer for fabstinho.  It was a nice atmosphere, many germans were railing him, everyone had beer and was hoping for the first german bracelet in 2009. But as you should already know, fabstinho could "only" finish in second, because he was unlucky in the important all ins. Nevertheless a really great performance of fabstinho and still a nice payday. Congratulations!!!

Today I played the $1500 NLHE Shootout tournament. Everyone started with 4500 in chips and the first player of every ten handed table improved to day two and had about $5300 safe. I think I had a good table, with some decent players, but also some who donked of their chips. In the first level, I didn't play many hands, I was just feeling out the table a little bit. Then in level two, I had the first big hand. The hijack raised to 125, cutoff and button called, so did I with 99 in the small blind and also the big blind threw in another 75 chips. The flop came J96 with two hearts. I bet 475 in the ~600 pot and it was folded to the hijack, who raised to 1100. Everyone folded back to me and I pushed all in. He put me on a flush draw and called with QJ. Turn and river blanked and I could win a nice pot.

Then again at the end of level two, the young loose guy in the hijack opened to 300, I reraised with black Kings to 850 and he shoved all in for 8k. I called and was happy to see his AQo. The flop came with three low clubs, he had no club and couldn't hit on turn and river. So I was up to about 17k. After the break, the game went on 6-handed. After a while of playing, another three players where knocked out, and we were 3-handed. I still had about 17k, the chipleader had about 20k and the third guy had 8k. After raising and folding around for some time, I found QQ in the small blind. I raised to 850 and the big blind called. The flop came 865 with 2 diamonds. I cbet around 1200, he raised to 3000 and I pushed all in. Then he went into the tank, but finally he threw in his last chips and showed A8o. The Queens held up and I went into the heads up with a 3:2 chiplead.

I think, then we played for like 2 hours. I grinded him down to 7000 chips. The blinds now were 300/600/75. I had K8o in the small blind and shipped it in. He tanked for a while, but then he called with A8s (wtf). Sadly I didn't suck out, and he was back in the game. After one failed 3-bet bluff, the stacks were like 26k vs 19k in my favour. He openraised to 1500, I got 88, 3-bet to 4250 like in the last hand, when I bluffed and he pushed all in. I obviously called. He had AK and we had the classic coinflip. The flop brought an Ace and I couldn't catch an 8. So now I only had 7k left. The very next hand I moved all in with A6s and he folded. He then completed his small blind and I checked with 36s. The flop came 862 with two clubs, I had hearts. I check/raised all in and was in bad shape against his 89o. Another 8 on the turn and I was drawing dead.

Right now I am a little bit sad, because I dominated the table the whole day and should have won the heads up most of the time. But what can you do, this time villain had the luck on his side and I have to wait for my first WSOP cash. Maybe I am going to cash in the $1500 NLHE Event tomorrow. Will tell you if I do so...

Hey guys,

I got some updates from the last two days. Yesterday I played the $2500 No-Limit Hold'em Event. There I did a little bit better, than in the other events I played, but I couldn't survive day one, which makes me sad. I think I played really well, but once again I had some Setups. I don't remember most of the hands, just to give a short update:

After the dinner break the blinds were 200/400/50 and I had a 20bb repush stack. After 4 limpers I shoved my stack in on the button with KK, but was called from the big blind, who had AA. Lucky for me, that he only had 10bb and I didn't lose my whole stack. After this hand I pushed all in with KQ and was called from another shortstack, who had AQs. I couldn't suck out and had only 3bb left. So I pushed all in from under the gun with T8o and was called from two players. Unfortunately one of them had AA, but this time I could hit a straight and tripple up to 10bb. After this hand I was in the big blind with A8o and pushed all in, after the button opened, and again I was forced to risk all my chips against AA, this time I couldn't suck out and my tournament was over. I think the card decks in Vegas are rigged, too many Aces in there :).

After busting in the $2.5k event, I directly registred for the $5k NLHE event, which I played today. I think I played really well and had some interesting hands, so lets talk about the most interesting ones:

The tournament didn't start really well, I had many playable hands, but I couldn't win many pots, therefor my stack was decreased from 15k starting stack to a 9k stack. We are in the third blindlevel and the blinds are 75/150. I was pretty active at the table and had a loose aggressive image. It is folded to me in the small blind and I have KQs. I raised to 475. The big blind thought for a while and 3-bet then to ~1500. I was already waiting for someone to 3-bet me, because of my loose image. I thought, that it is a good spot for the big blind to 3-bet me light. Because of that, and because I have a decent hand and the stack size was really good to shove, I shoved all in. Now the big blind went into the tank for like 5 minutes and after all he called with JJ. The flop was Qxx, turn and river blanked and I could double up.

Shortly after this hand, I raised AcTc from middle position and got called twice, from the button and from the big blind. The button was an older player, who liked to slowplay his hands a lot, and who tended to make strange moves. Once he check/raised his straight with K9 on a QQJ T 4 board on the river and lost a big pot against QJ. Ok, back to the hand. The pot was 1750. Flop came QT4 with two spades. Everyone checked. Turn Ah. Big blind checked again, I now bet 1375 I think, button called, and big blind folded. River As. Pot is 4500. Now I was hoping, that he had a hand like an weaker Ace, the flush or maybe the straight, so I bet really big like 4k. He instantly shoved all in for 10k total and I called. I showed AT, he showed KJ, for another excellent river push an I won another nice pot and was now up to ~30k chips.

The next hand was dealed a few orbits later and was really sick.  Blinds are 100/200. A young loose aggressive player raises to 600 from middle position and I decide to call on the button with AJo, blinds fold. The flop came 964 rainbow. Pot is 1500 and he bets 850. I think that my AJ high often is good here and I call his bet. I still have outs, if I am behind. Turn is the Qs, which brings a flush draw. Pot is ~3200 and he bets half the pot. Now its getting tough. I saw the other guy already two barrel a few times and the board is really draw heavy. He could easily have hands like, 75, 78, JT, KJ, KT, flushdraws and combo draws, which I have all beat. So I decide, that my AJ high is good against a big part of his range and call again. Pot is now around 6.5k and the river is a ten, that doesn't complete the flush draw. He bets 3600 and now its really tough. If he had hands like JT, KT, which now have showdown value,it would not make sense to bet, so I don't think he has this hands in his range. I still beat 75, flush draws, combo draws and other strange bluffing hands. Possible hands, that have me beat are, QQ, 99, 44, 66, TT, AQ, QT, KJ, AA, KK and 78. Sets are a really small part of his rang, compared to draws. I have AJ, which decreases the chance, that he has AQ, KJ or Aces a little bit. All in all, I only need to be good here in 35% and with all those busted draws, I think I have to call the river. So I called, and after the other guy flipped over 8s5s for 8 high, I flipped my AJ over and won a decent pot. I had now around 45k in chips.

After losing a couple of small pots, I had A9o in the big blind. The cutoff raised to 800 at the 150/300/25 level. The small blind called and so did I. The flop is 9h8h9c. Small blind checked, and I donked 1600 into the 2600 pot. The initial raiser tought for a little bit and then pushed all in for his 10k stack. Small blind folded, I called and the guy flipped over QJo for a gutshot with overcards. Turn Q, river Q and I won a nice pot... Oh wait, he made the better full house and I was down to 30k.

Then I didn't play many hands for a while, because a really aggressive guy with tons of chips was moved behind me, and I had to tighten up. The next hand I played was against this guy, when I completed my small blind in the 200/400/50 level with ATs and he checked in the big blind. Flop came 666, we both check. Turn was an 8, check, check again. River T, bingo. I bet 2/3 pot and he raises me big. I think we are splitting, but I was hoping he had an 8 or maybe a bluff and called, but unfortunately he showed Q6s for quads.

My good run continued, when I raised QQ from the cut off at the 300/600/75 level and the big blind pushed all in for 20bb. I obviously called and was ahead against his A9o. But the WSOP is rigged, and he hit the Ace .

Now I was really short, I think I had about 7k left. I pushed a couple of times, until I had 11k again, then I doubled up with QQ vs AQ and had 24k. After that hand, my table broke up and I went to my new table, The first thing I mentionedat this table, was Fabian "fabstinho" Quoss, who is sharing the suite in the Palms Place with me and the other guys. So I sat down at the table, and the first hand I got dealt was 99 in early position. I raised it up to 2k at the 400/800/100 level. Then the player right behind me shoved all in for 14k total. Thats 17.5bb and after a while of thinking I finally called the push. He flipped over KK and I lost another big pot and was really short now with about 6k left.

The next 4 hands I had no chance to push my stack in and was forced to fold myself down. Then in the final hand, I had like 6 big blinds left, when someone raise to 2100, fabstinho called, and the woman between us called, I pushed all in with ATo. The initial raiser made an isolation 4-bet and fabstinho shoved over the top. The woman folded, the initial raiser folded and my ATo had to stand fabstinho's AKo. I couldn't hit and busted out of the tournament in level 9.

At least I am surviving longer and longer in the tournaments. While I busted out in level 3 and 4 in the first two events, I managed to reach the levels 7 and 9 in the other two events. Hopefully this trend will continue and then my win in the main event is for sure .

On Monday I am going to play the $2.5k 6-max No-Limit Hold'em Event, maybe I will reach day 2 there.

To be continued...

Allanon

Today I played Event #11 the $2000 No-Limit Hold'em. Starting stack was 6000 chips with 25/50 blinds and 60 minute levels. The tournament didn't start very well. I had some good hands in the first two levels, like AK, AQs, some suited connectors and some pairs. But as nice as my cards were preflop, so much the worse they were postflop. For the first 2 hours, I couldn't hit a single flop, not even bottom pair. So my stack was reduced after the first break to 4500 chips. After the break, I ran a little bit better. I could hit top pair against an aggressive guy, who bluffed two barrels into me and thus I had starting stack again. After that hand I could also win a couple of small pots and was up to like 9k. Then I had the first big starting hand. Blinds were now 100/200 and I made it 500 from the cut off with QQ. Button and small blind called my raise and the chinese woman in the big blind pushed all in for her last 3k. I pushed all in, to isolate her, but unfortunately she flipped over KK. Fortunately I hit one of my two outs and was up to 13k.

But after that hand, my good run stopped again and I think I couldn't win one more single hand. After losing some pots my table broke up and I moved to my new table with a 9k stack. Just arrived there and sat down, I had AJo in middle position and raised it up to 500. One player in the cutoff called, but sadly the small blind decided to squeeze and I had to fold my hand without a read. Then, after two orbits of folding, I had 75s in the cutoff, raised to 500 again, and again the small blind was 3-betting me, so I had to fold again. What a nice "Welcome" at the new table.

After this hand we had a break and the blinds went up to 100/200/25. My Stack was now again 6k starting stack and I found QQ in middle position. I raised to 500, everyone folded to the guy who reraised me last time, when I raised with 75s. When it was folded to me, I made a little hollywood tanking and after one minute I pushed all in. Unfortunately I ran into KK again, this time I couldn't suck out and the tournament was over for me.

Tomorrow I am going to play the $2500 No-Limit Hold'em Event. Hopefully I can survive longer in this one and maybe make my first day 2 at this world series. I will keep up guys up to date.

Greetings from Vegas,

Allanon

Hey guys,

Sorry for blogging late, but I couldn't blog earlier, because we had some problems with the Penthouse we booked.

On Monday evening I arrived at the Palms Place with Konstantin, Fabian, Malte and Till,  those who are sharing a Penthouse with me. But when we wanted to check in, the guy at the reception desk told us, that the Penthouse we booked isn't available at the moment. Therefore, we had some problems with the room and I couldn't go online.

Today I played my first tournament at the Rio, the $1500 6-max No Limit Holdem. First of all, I am out. 

When I arrived at the table, my first impression was, that I got a good table draw.  After a while of playing my impression was pretty much approved, because the other guys played really strange. Minraising, Min-3-betting, limping... I thought I had an edge at this table. But let's discuss my tournament in two hands:

Blinds: 25/50, It was folded to me in the cutoff and I raised to 150 with 8d5d, the button called and the rest of the tabled folded. The flop came Tc9c7d. Pot: 375. I bet 250 and the other guy reraised to 500. At this point I think, that he got a weak made hand like a 9 or a T and he wants to see where he stands. I don't think, that he is minraising with a flush draw ,because he was one of the older players, who are most likely calling there flushdraws in position, to see if he is hitting on the turn or not. Also I didn't think that he has a monster like J8 or a set, because I was expecting a bigger raise of those hands, but it's still possible. So I called his raise, with the intention of bluffing good turncards or hitting one of my straight outs. The turn was the Kc. I checked and the other guy bet 500 into a 1375 pot. A really small bet. Now I was sure, that he has no flush or straight, because he would bet more with these hands, especially with the straight, for protection. So I tried to represent the flush and check/raised the turn, to get him to fold a weak pair. But unfortunately he called. The river blanked and I gave up my bluff, because the pot already was too big for the rest of my stack to make a riverbluff. So I checked, he checked behind and showed me K9o for two pair, which won the pot.

After this hand I had 20 big blinds left and restealed a couple of times, until I got a good hand.

Blinds: 50/100, I was under the gun with KK and made it 250 with my 2k stack. The K9o guy right behind me, reraised to 500. It was folded to me, I tanked like like 30 seconds and then I shoved. The other guy called with AJo. The flop came 89T, turn K, river Q and I was out.

Not a good start for me, but I am looking forward to the rest of the events. Tomorrow I am going to play the $2000 No Limit Holdem Event and hopefully I  can blog better results tomorrow.

Greetings from Vegas,

Allanon

First of all, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Daniel Drescher, I am 23 years old and I live in a small village called Schambach near Regensburg. I am playing Poker for approximately 3 years now. I started playing NLHE Cashgame up to NL1k, but since a year I am mainly playing tournaments. I think I am very experienced in playing tournaments now and I hope, that I can help you guys to improve your game.

I am glad to be in Team Pokerstrategy.com and I am looking forward to the future. I already met all the other guys at different live tournaments and they are all really nice and good poker players. Let's see what we can achieve with our Team, I am curious about it.

Our first stop will be the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, where we will play a couple of live tournaments. I am going to play at least 10 events and hopefully we will do well. Maybe we can win one or two tournaments to get a bracelet, or even more. :)

I am going to Vegas from 01.06. until 20.07. and will stay there in the Palms Place Hotel. I think my next blog will be about Vegas and how its going, and hopefully about some nice results.

Greetings from Bavaria