First hand of the tourney, gotta go for the obvious value bet on the river yeah?

Poker Stars $0.45+$0.05 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 9 players - View hand 2302697
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

BTN: t1500 75 BBs
SB: t1500 75 BBs
BB: t1500 75 BBs
UTG: t1500 75 BBs
UTG+1: t1500 75 BBs
Hero (UTG+2): t1500 75 BBs
MP1: t1500 75 BBs
MP2: t1500 75 BBs
CO: t1500 75 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is UTG+2 with J A
2 folds, Hero raises to t80, 3 folds, BTN calls t80, 1 fold, BB calls t60

Flop: (t250) 8 3 J (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t150, BTN folds, BB calls t150

Turn: (t550) 3 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t300, BB calls t300

River: (t1150) 8 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero ????

Villain was 17/16 with an ATS of 58 over 127 hands

Poker Stars $0.45+$0.05 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t300/t600 Blinds + t50 - 5 players - View hand 2302701
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

CO: BB = 4.9, t2923
BTN: BB = 10.9, t6550
SB: BB = 17.9, t10744
Hero (BB): BB = 6.5, t3875
UTG: BB = 13.3, t7954

Pre Flop: (t1150) Hero is BB with T K
1 fold, CO raises to t2873 all in, 2 folds, Hero ????

BTN is 32/13 with ATS 33 over 34 hands, SB is 17/13 with 3bet of 0 over 47 hands

Poker Stars $0.45+$0.05 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t150/t300 Blinds + t25 - 8 players - View hand 2302704
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: BB = 2.4, t705
MP1: BB = 22.1, t6615
MP2: BB = 33.3, t9985
CO: BB = 6.3, t1890
BTN: BB = 6.2, t1865
SB: BB = 10.9, t3283
Hero (BB): BB = 10.7, t3205
UTG: BB = 20.1, t6035

Pre Flop: (t650) Hero is BB with 6 6
5 folds, BTN raises to t1840 all in, SB raises to t3258 all in, Hero ????

I've been trying a tactic of just jamming premiums on the first hand when the opportuniy arises, does anyone else see this as a viable approach? especially at these levels?

Poker Stars $0.45+$0.05 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 9 players - View hand 2302706
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

BTN: t1500 75 BBs
Hero (SB): t1500 75 BBs
BB: t1500 75 BBs
UTG: t1500 75 BBs
UTG+1: t1500 75 BBs
UTG+2: t1500 75 BBs
MP1: t1500 75 BBs
MP2: t1500 75 BBs
CO: t1500 75 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is SB with A Q
1 fold, UTG+1 calls t20, UTG+2 calls t20, 2 folds, CO calls t20, 1 fold, Hero raises to t1500 all in, 1 fold, UTG+1 calls t1480 all in, 2 folds

Flop: (t3060) 9 2 8 (2 players - 2 are all in)

Turn: (t3060) 4 (2 players - 2 are all in)

River: (t3060) A (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: t3060
Hero shows A Q (a pair of Aces)
UTG+1 shows A 6 (a pair of Aces - lower kicker)
Hero wins t3060

Poker Stars $0.45+$0.05 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 9 players - View hand 2302708
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

BTN: t1500 75 BBs
SB: t1500 75 BBs
BB: t1500 75 BBs
UTG: t1500 75 BBs
UTG+1: t1500 75 BBs
UTG+2: t1500 75 BBs
MP1: t1500 75 BBs
MP2: t1500 75 BBs
Hero (CO): t1500 75 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is CO with 9 9
UTG raises to t60, 3 folds, MP2 calls t60, Hero raises to t1500 all in, 2 folds, BB calls t1480 all in, 2 folds

Flop: (t3130) 6 2 7 (2 players - 2 are all in)

Turn: (t3130) 4 (2 players - 2 are all in)

River: (t3130) 2 (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: t3130
BB shows T T (two pair, Tens and Deuces)
Hero shows 9 9 (two pair, Nines and Deuces)
BB wins t3130

Poker Stars $0.45+$0.05 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 9 players - View hand 2302709
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

BTN: t1500 75 BBs
SB: t1500 75 BBs
BB: t1500 75 BBs
UTG: t1500 75 BBs
UTG+1: t1500 75 BBs
UTG+2: t1500 75 BBs
MP1: t1500 75 BBs
Hero (MP2): t1500 75 BBs
CO: t1500 75 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is MP2 with 8 8
1 fold, UTG+1 calls t20, 1 fold, MP1 calls t20, Hero raises to t1500 all in, 5 folds, MP1 calls t1480 all in

Flop: (t3050) 6 K 4 (2 players - 2 are all in)

Turn: (t3050) 7 (2 players - 2 are all in)

River: (t3050) 6 (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: t3050
MP1 shows K Q (two pair, Kings and Sixes)
Hero shows 8 8 (two pair, Eights and Sixes)
MP1 wins t3050

So no wins unfortunatly but profit nonetheless. I will add another post after work with some interesting spots to discuss 

I had to withdraw my roll for life purposes (Not that you could call it a roll to begin with) And have had to start rebuilding a new roll. I'll start with $25 and with a 50 buy in minimum, grind through the micros to continue on my course of making it to the midstakes. 

So i'll start with 50c 45 and 90 man mttsngs until my roll allows a move up the ladder. I will continue to post results and interesting hands as they come up.

Thanks guys and girls, I really hope i can stick to it this time around and show some considerable growth in my game. I already know for a fact I am at the right place to get this done. 

Just posting an update from the last couple of days, played another 20 tournaments and booked 2 45 man wins and 2 cashes, and a deep run in the hot $4.40 for a small boost to the bankroll. I posted a hand from the hot 4.40 in the MTT strategy sub forum:

.....too-loose/

And a funny little hand in BBV:

.....ck/#p46030

Overall my bankroll has been boosted another $18.23 to put my total winnings YTD at $260.36 

I'm most likely going to start making this a weekly entry coming up 

hand 2   sizing seems fine for being oop, tbh maybe its a lil too nitty but if i have a feeling he will not fold to the 3b often i have no problem folding here with a 30bb stack

hand 3  shove against random, but against competent regs i would mix it up with checking

hand 2: seems good, sizing could be slightly smaller but im fine with it

hand 3: id raise and cbet and probably check back A high flops.

Villain was 55/27 over 46 hands. I hadn't noticed any showdowns at this point in game, but on the replayer i noticed some wierd plays (open limped 23s on the button and checked down a flush draw against the blinds, flatting 76o from bb and c/mr 3rd pair oop etc)

I think flop is pretty standard. Is checking turn for deception/let villain catch up better than betting, since his donk flop/check turn line looks like someone just taking a stab and giving up, so i dont want him to fold his air. On the other hand he does look like a fish and may still call with overcards/draws/underpairs so betting does have strong points.

Should my river raise be bigger? His range looks weak imo so i dont thnk he will call much.

Thoughts?

Poker Stars $4.10+$0.40 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t75/t150 Blinds - 8 players - View hand 2174862
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

BB: t7102 47.35 BBs
UTG: t1510 10.07 BBs
UTG+1: t3423 22.82 BBs
MP1: t4431 29.54 BBs
MP2: t2352 15.68 BBs
CO: t5542 36.95 BBs
Hero (BTN): t4170 27.80 BBs
SB: t9665 64.43 BBs

Pre Flop: (t225) Hero is BTN with 8 8
5 folds, Hero raises to t300, SB calls t225, 1 fold

Flop: (t750) 2 9 9 (2 players)
SB bets t450, Hero calls t450

Turn: (t1650) 8 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (t1650) 6 (2 players)
SB bets t450, Hero raises to t999

This villain was running 11/10 over 86 hands with an ATS of 31. He seemed competant enough and positionally aware. My image had been TAG, not getting out of line really. Is this a profitble 3bet with ATC? and if so, is my sizing ok?

Poker Stars $4.10+$0.40 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t200/t400 Blinds + t50 - 7 players - View hand 2175219
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: BB = 36.4, t14549
MP: BB = 25.4, t10162
CO: BB = 19.3, t7720
BTN: BB = 26.7, t10673
SB: BB = 7.0, t2790
Hero (BB): BB = 32.5, t13016
UTG: BB = 1.7, t691

Pre Flop: (t950) Hero is BB with XX
4 folds, BTN raises to t800, 1 fold, Hero raises to t2000

Villain was running 8/3 over 38 hands. Given his 18bb stack, what is your play here? Shove? Check and see flop? Standard raise?

Poker Stars $4.10+$0.40 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t400/t800 Blinds + t75 - 7 players - View hand 2175223
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

SB: BB = 17.8, t14234
Hero (BB): BB = 25.7, t20591
UTG: BB = 14.7, t11798
UTG+1: BB = 11.6, t9278
MP: BB = 73.2, t58540
CO: BB = 39.6, t31668
BTN: BB = 39.9, t31899

Pre Flop: (t1725) Hero is BB with A 6
5 folds, SB calls t400, Hero ?????

These are just a couple of stand out hands. The final table consisted of me tripling up with AQ then winning a massive flip with QQ against Ak to take a monster chip lead 5 handed and apply heaps of pressure on eveyone since they were playing to move up in spots after that. So it was basically a lot of raise/take it downs towards the victory! If anyone would like to take a look over the whole tournament i would greatly appreciate your feedback or anything else you have to offer. Send me a PM here or email or Skype me and i'lll send you either a Universal Replayer version or the raw HH so you can put it in your PT or HEM. 

I'm more than happy to make it a HH swap and review of tournament of yours too 

Thanks guys

That being said, I did ship a $4.50 180 man the other night for about $220 so that was fantastic!! I have come to realise that i play much better in reg speeds than in turbos, as i can play quite patiently and pick my spots well, whereas in turbos i kinda freak out and get it in a bit too light in certain situations 

So here is my updated graph for the year so far:

Seems like i might focus a bit more on reg speed tournaments 

I am going to review my 180 man win when i can and post some interesting hands in the thread as soon as possible. 

hand 2: betting is fine, but yea fold pre

hand 3 is fine

hand 4: think about positional ranges, he will never ever be light there and we have no way near enough equity v 99+ AQ+ and we dont get near enough folds from much else

yea the shove is fine, you can iso shove limpers with a pretty wide value range since theirs is capped tho btw.

I only played 2 day this week, 20 tournaments total. Mostly turbo 45mans, but a couple of 180 mans and large MTT's as well. If anyone follows my Twitter account, you'll know my results:

45 mans - 2 wins, a 4th and a 7th

180 mans - 1 min cash

MTT's - Zilch

So i ended up this week in the black, adding to my bankroll to move up to the midstakes. Here is my overall graph for 2013:

I'm going to go over some hands and post some interesting ones in my next post here. 

As far as your first point of advice goes, i very rarely get the opportunity to play MTT's, so i think a volume goal for me wont be adhered to very well. Bankroll wise i agree, I have a very rough guideline of 30BI as i can replenish my bankroll as needed. 

Thanks again 

As for the hands you posted, I think they're pretty interesting:

1. As painful as it is to fold Aces to such a small bet, I think that's correct. Have you watched my hand reading series yet? This comment will make more sense if so, but I think that he can't have a bluff and he isn't value betting a marginal hand worse than yours, so that makes it a fold.

2. Agree with the pre-flop fold, but I like the flop underbet.

3. Perfectly played IMO.

4. I'd fold this. In my experience an early position 3x raise when a guy only has 20 BBs is pretty strong, and with your own positon being so early, the risk of someone waking up with a strong hand behind you isn't trivial either. There are plenty of players against whom I'm shove this, but without a read I'd fold.

Only a couple of hands in, i had just doubled up the hand before this with AA against AK. I feel like this river completes so many draws, i prefer a c/c than any other line. Thoughts?

Poker Stars $2.00+$0.20 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 9 players - View hand 2083456
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

CO: t3000 150 BBs
BTN: t3150 157.50 BBs
SB: t2980 149 BBs
Hero (BB): t6020 301 BBs
UTG: t3000 150 BBs
UTG+1: t3000 150 BBs
UTG+2: t3000 150 BBs
MP1: t3000 150 BBs
MP2: t3000 150 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with A A
1 fold, UTG+1 calls t20, 5 folds, SB calls t10, Hero raises to t100, UTG+1 calls t80, 1 fold

Flop: (t220) 9 3 K (2 players)
Hero bets t160, UTG+1 calls t160

Turn: (t540) T (2 players)
Hero bets t380, UTG+1 calls t380

River: (t1300) J (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets t420, Hero calls t420

Both players involved hadn't even been at the table for a full orbit yet. I regret flatting this on the BTN against a 20bb stack, not worth it right? What about my flop play? Thoughts? 

 Poker Stars $2.00+$0.20 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t75/t150 Blinds + t20 - 9 players - View hand 2083468
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

MP1: BB = 19.9, t2980
MP2: BB = 65.8, t9863
CO: BB = 19.6, t2935
Hero (BTN): BB = 31.4, t4715
SB: BB = 37.2, t5574
BB: BB = 17.7, t2650
UTG: BB = 69.9, t10492
UTG+1: BB = 62.5, t9377
UTG+2: BB = 45.4, t6805

Pre Flop: (t405) Hero is BTN with 8 9
3 folds, MP1 raises to t345, 2 folds, Hero calls t345, 1 fold, BB calls t195

Flop: (t1290) 5 A T (3 players)
BB checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets t375, BB raises to t2285 all in, MP1 folds, Hero folds

 I completed the SB just trying to smash a good flop, and decided to get to cheap showdown with maybe the best hand. Not sure about the turn call, maybe i should just fold there? I'm pretty confident about my river fold. Thoughts?

Poker Stars $2.00+$0.20 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t125/t250 Blinds + t30 - 8 players - View hand 2083459
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

CO: BB = 66.2, t16560
BTN: BB = 31.6, t7903
Hero (SB): BB = 31.8, t7940
BB: BB = 14.7, t3669
UTG: BB = 11.6, t2890
UTG+1: BB = 23.2, t5812
MP1: BB = 31.3, t7837
MP2: BB = 23.1, t5780

Pre Flop: (t615) Hero is SB with Q 8
3 folds, MP2 calls t250, CO calls t250, 1 fold, Hero calls t125, BB checks

Flop: (t1240) Q K K (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, MP2 checks, CO checks

Turn: (t1240) 6 (4 players)
Hero checks, BB bets t750, MP2 folds, CO folds, Hero calls t750

River: (t2740) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets t2639 all in, Hero folds

 No stats on raiser as he has just moved to the table. With a 23/22bb stack is a shove good here?

Poker Stars $2.00+$0.20 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t150/t300 Blinds + t40 - 9 players - View hand 2083466
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

UTG: BB = 50.6, t15170
UTG+1: BB = 22.2, t6660
UTG+2: BB = 24.9, t7463
Hero (MP1): BB = 22.7, t6800
MP2: BB = 24.3, t7289
CO: BB = 24.3, t7275
BTN: BB = 27.4, t8232
SB: BB = 18.8, t5647
BB: BB = 27.3, t8200

Pre Flop: (t810) Hero is MP1 with 8 8
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to t900, 1 fold, Hero raises to t6760 all in,

Both blinds had only been at the table for 3 hands, BTN was 21/4 over 24 hands. Is this a good spot to take?  Most hands were starting with limps (standard $2 tournament) So my hands were tied in open shoving spots. So when this one came up, i felt i needed to take it. Agree?

Poker Stars $2.00+$0.20 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t1000/t2000 Blinds + t250 - 8 players - View hand 2083475
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: BB = 11.8, t23524
MP1: BB = 23.6, t47119
MP2: BB = 25.7, t51426
Hero (CO): BB = 6.1, t12247
BTN: BB = 6.2, t12335
SB: BB = 4.9, t9807
BB: BB = 2.9, t5785
UTG: BB = 13.2, t26324

Pre Flop: (t5000) Hero is CO with 6 K
4 folds, Hero raises to t11997 all in,

Thanks in advance for any comments and opinions guys 

I won a TCOOP Satty for $27 which i used for $T dollars, I won a 45 man sng and came 7th in another, and cashed in the $2.20 turbo, 449/4788. Now that the holiday season is wearing down, i'll be getting a lot more volume in coming up.

As far as my home cash games are going, We had our 3rd session yesterday. I got my stack in with KK on a TJ2dd flop after a c/r from the only other competent player at the table. I was so close to folding too, but didnt and he had TT to felt me  Luckily i bought back in and rallied back, mostly due to someone stacking off on the river after i flopped a set. I ended up in the black $50  which puts me overall for the year so far at $10 in the red. Plenty of time, plenty of opportunities.

Anyway i'm gonna go over my HH from the $2.20 turbo and see if there is any threadworthy hands to put up. Until next time TPE'ers