as some of you may know, i set myself a challenge at party to turn $75 into $500. The thread can be found
here (Fonzies Party Poker Challenge)
I was gonna post this on that thread but i thought its relevant enough to start a new topic
Ive been playing single table sngs as much as i can at party...usually posting here at the same time actually. Ive definately improved my game. I hadnt been playing that much for a few months. I know poker books help but the experience of games under your belt is much better in my opinion, for me anyways (not suggesting you shouldnt read books as well).
I got off to a flyer in the challenge and finished in the money the majority of times i played in the sngs.
I got up to about $220. In the last 2 days i have lost a few and im down to just under $150.
Am i pissed off?? No. Infact, quite the opposite. Ive played better poker in the last two days than i have in a long time.
Whilst i was winning before i was making the occasional bad call. In particular i was going all in too much and calling all ins too much as well. I also found that when i got a little short on chips i tightened up too much and didnt get involved in hands i should have been, even though the blinds were still low.
Ive stopped doing this as much, in particular making an effort to still get involved when the blinds are low and im low on chips.
Something that happened today made me remember that sometimes the right play isnt the right play. Money management is everything in tournaments - theres no need to risk a lot of chips on a hand if your hand isnt too strong.
Classic example is how i got put out in a sng an hour ago. It was quite a loose table. After 4 blinds 3 people were out!
In particular, there was on bully at the table. He would overaise all the time. Something which is very dangerous in my opinion. He overraised me on two hands and i got him - he helped my chip count from about 700 to about 2400 in only two hands. Simply because he had a pair and instead of raising one or two blinds he raised 7+ blinds. And he got punished for it
After that he would reraise pretty much any hand i called.
5 players left. Hes first in chips, im second and there are two players very low on chips.
I get deal pocket tens. I just called.
Flop comes 567. He raises about 2xbb. I went all in. Now, firstly youll realise here is what i did was against everything ive been talking about. I went all in which i didnt need to do (an overraise).
I had placed him on either an open ended straight or a pair with ace kicker.
However he called. He flips over 82. Turn comes a 9 and im out (river was a jack).
It was a little wreckless on my part however it shows that even raising so that the other person should fold, it doesnt mean they will. Im more annoyed at my play than his - i know he was a loose player, i knew he called large raises but i still thought that re raising him was the right move because i wasnt giving him odds to call.
Now clearly, more times than not, if this hand was played again the 3 8s or 3 4s wouldnt have came on the turn or river and i would have won the hand (Perhaps if that did happen i wouldnt be writing this now).
What it does show is that :
* Ive still not ironed out the little errors on my game. Yes, played over 100 hands i would have won that showdown more times than him. The point is though that i didnt need to put myself in that position in the first place.
* How important money management is to winning games. Theres a time to step back. Im my own worst critic and i hope that in the long run that helps my game although money management is an aspect of my game id say im actually quite strong. This time however i acted wreckless. Now when i think about it i dont think its because i am wreckless. I think its because i didnt keep my concentration on the game. I need to ensure the focus and patience i have in the first half of the game stays with me to the second half.
Some of you will relate to this and i hope it helps your game. We're all different types of players here so we need to adjust our own game accordingly.
Playing the same limit and same type of game every day has really improved my game. Im such a better player compared to the one i was a few weeks ago. For a lot of you guys i know this wouldnt suit you. Ive seen a lot of people saying that sitting at the 1 table sngs time and time again is boring.
Im the first to admit that it can get boring - same limit, same game, same everything. However, what this does is give you a level playing field to compare your play from day to day. It helped me iron out some problems in my game that i didnt even know were they there a few weeks ago. This doesnt have to break the bank either. Sites such as victor chandler have 1 dollar sngs - a good way to improve your game without worrying about the money aspect.
Its crazy - been playing holdem for about a year and a half now and have played a lot of games....and i still feel like a newbie sometimes when i analyse my game
On a related note...im gonna kick your asses at full tilt tonight
Things ive learned and things ive improved in my game in the last few weeks 
