BPT Event #5: Shorthanded & Action Packed

Skinski's The House of Blues hosted the festivities this week as we turned the corner of the Blogger Poker Tour's sophomore season at poker.com. This, the fifth of seven preliminary events, was a shorthanded version of no-limit texas holdem. With a maximum of six players per table, this format forces a more aggressive style of play and is extremely fast paced.

Marckster1 quickly jumped out to a healthy chip advantage and among his victims was last week's winner kufolem. TheBigSurprise, one of twenty new bloggers on the BPT this week, lived up to the name and also showed strength out of the gate. The attrition rate was high, and the first hour of play saw the field of 116 reduced by more than half, but some familiar names were climbing up the leaderboard. Holding chipstacks of around 9,000 each, 4th place JayNYC, 5th DawgRoyal, and 6th ViezeMan were stalking leader Marckster1's 14,570 chips. Also worth noting is the determination shown by last week's runner-up imjusthere4thebeer, who found trouble immediately this go around. Nursing only the remnants of his crippled stack, he made a 'Smokey & The Bandit' magnitude beer run, eventually finishing 19th.

When play resumed after the first break, the last surviving sitout was at my table and was much like a hurricane tested trick candle. A weapon was required to finally knock them out- Uzzzzi, who was rising to power along with luckylolo at the expense of Marckster1. This is about the time that your correspondent, brodoughno, took it on the chin. I had progressed to 10th place before river cards sunk my hopes in consecutive hands. First, my suited AK was outdone by A2 when Marckster1 caught a deuce on the river for half my chips. Then moments later, I pushed with QQ and succumbed to Uzzzzi's AK when a king floated in at the last moment to eliminate your bro in 31st spot.

At almost the same instant, TheBigSurprise, DawgRoyal and Irongirl had gone out in 32nd, 34th and 35th repectively. Then I took a phone call from the Associated Press, who of course wanted an update on the action. After checking the Michigan/OSU game I looked back and had missed the final table altogether. Event #2 bridesmaid iyatoni evidently took control when it counted and edged out event host and new BPT leader skinski. Poker.com mainstay JayNYC, who seemed like the favorite at the time I went out of the tourney, came home in 3rd place and is in good shape to make the finals despite missing the first two events. Event #4 winner freeroll26 notched a re-enforcing 4th place finish, and event #1 champ ReplicantPoker made another final table before finishing 10th. Congrats to all the winners this week and I want to wish the entire BPT a Happy Thanksgiving. The tour will resume Dec. 2, giving everyone plenty of time to sleep off that Turkey. Listed below are the updated BPT standings.


Overall /Player & Blog/BPT #5 Result/Total Points
(01) skinski Skinski's Blog (02) 1002
(02) irongirl Irongirl01 (35) 719
(03) freeroll26 Freerollcalendar Weblog (04) 642
(04) ViezeMan Peetscheet (20) 598
(05) iyatoni Perfectly Beastly (01) 597
(06) kufolem Poker Athletes Blog (67) 556
(07) imjusthere4thebeer Poker Pub (19) 550
(08) DawgRoyal Royal Poker (34) 522
(09) astinaguy astinaguys poker blog (08) 518
(10) brodoughno Gamingology (31) 515
(11) natsdad Alex (27) 500
(12) ReplicantPoker ReplicantPoker blog (10) 474
(13) elc3105 elc3105s blog (47) 430
(14) JayNYC I hate money (03) 415
(15) DavidMalek 11ave.blogspot.com (80) 411
(16) Hacksaw2000 5TH Street Forum (54) 403
(17) cerberi riverdemon (07) 387
(18) gohabs1234 free poker (30) 363
(19) PearlSnapMan PearlSnapMan Plays Poker (21) 350
(20) MTLdon the life of a don (77) 346

Online Poker: Betting Patterns To Watch For

• Bet size - many online players make smaller continuation bets (+/- 30% of the pot) when they miss the flop. This sometimes can be deceptive because some players will frequently do this when they flop a monster. They will also fluctuate bet size with the strength of their hand before the flop. Usually, smaller bets mean weaker hands. When you are in the blinds, beware of a small raise from the button when it is folded around. Many times this indicates a strong hand.
  

• Continuation bets: does a player frequently make a bet after the flop? Many players that make continuation bets will check the flop when they hit a monster. A check from an aggressive player on the flop usually indicates a monster.
  

• Players that check/call out of position on the flop that bet out the turn usually have a strong hand.
  

• A player first to act that check/calls on the flop and the turn and bets the river almost always has a big hand.
  

• A player that min bets the flop is nearly always on a draw. It is a defensive bet to keep other players from betting out.
  

• A minimum reraise (example: you raise to 100, he makes it 200) before the flop usually means a aces or kings. They are building the pot, looking for action.
  

• Raises that are larger than usual (6-7 BB for example) usually mean a medium pair or Ace/King.
  

• Strong players that just call large bets after the flop have either big hands or big draws (flush draws + 2 over cards, straight flush draws, etc). Strong players will either bet/raise or fold. They typically won't play draws unless they have the odds to do so.

• If someone does something consistently and suddenly alters their play, it's almost always a sign of strength.

• The min re-raise preflop is almost always AA/KK. The limp re-raise is almost always AA/KK.

• In short, look for bets/raises/calls that are unusual - too big or too small - or just simply out of character.

BPT Event #4: Omaha a Go-Go Shakes Up Standings

Irongirl played host to the fourth installment of the Blogger Poker Tour Saturday at Poker.com. This event was billed as Omaha a Go-Go, which conjured up images of Goldie Hawn in a tight mini-skirt and high-heeled white boots doing "the watusi". My mind drifted to a happier time and I barely noticed the seating configutration.

The true nature of this pot limit tournament had become apparent, as there were only eight players per table. The blinds loomed large and play was very aggressive right from the start. Don't you love it when you're dealt AsAdKsKd, everybody calls your raise, and the flop comes 567 rainbow? Or you're in the BB holding 8d8c6s7s and the flop comes AhKhQh? Sometimes the best course of action is to donate as slowly as possible.

Such was the case for yours truly, brodoughno, and I limped it home in 31st spot. Daylight Saving Time was a stumbling block for BPT leader ViezeMan, costing him an hour's worth of blinds. This proved too much to overcome, and the resulting 57th place finish caused ViezeMan to "fall back" to third overall.

The versatile kufolem showed that he's no slouch at 8 Man Omaha PL, and backed up last week's win with a solid sixth place finish. He slipped past the sleeping ViezeMan into second position in the standings despite missing a BPT event. imjusthereforthebeer found the preverbial keg this time around and then laid under the tap. But upon being stopped, his point total indicated that he had gained just under the legal limit and $100 for the runner-up spot. imjusthereforthebeer now sits in fourth place overall and looks poised to pass the field sobriety test.

When the chips were down it was Freeroll26 who stepped up to the challenge and took down the $125 first prize. The winner also established a firm position in the BPT top ten. But the biggest move this week was made by the hostess with the mostest. Irongirl's dietary supplement boosted her point total to 617; enough to set the tour standard at the midway point in the season.

132 blogger hopefuls are trying to advance to the Dec. 23 Blogger Poker Tour Grand Final, where the top 20 will share in over $25,000 in prizes. The field is bunched tightly and only a 96 point spread separates 2nd and 8th, while the 200 point gap between 9th and 49th can be easily be erased in one event. After a week off, The House of Poker Blues will host BPT Event #5 on Nov. 18 at Poker.com. This weeks results and the updated standings:


Event #4 Omaha PL
1. Freeroll26 $125
2. imjusthereforthebeer $100
3. EgonOlsen $75
4. astinaguy $55
5. MTLdon $45
6. kufolem $30
7. Stevenslb159 $25
8. Rahaboss $20
9. PearlSnapMan $15
10. thepurdle $10


Overall Standings
1. Irongirl 617
2. kufolem 506
3. ViezeMan 501
4. imjusthereforthebeer 452
5. DawgRoyal 439
6. brodoughno 429
7. Freeroll26 416
8. natsdad 410
9. DavidMalek 374
10. elc3105 360

Freerolls For Sunday

01:00 AM $50 Ultimate Bet Poker Sloppy Play FR
01:30 AM $20 Full Tilt Poker reg. 12:30AM
02:15 AM $50 Poker.com reg. 01:15AM
04:00 AM $250 Bodog reg. 3AM
04:15 AM $50 Poker.com reg. 01:15AM
06:15 AM $50 Poker.com reg. 5:15AM
08:00 AM $200 Riverbelle Poker reg. 7AM
08:15 AM €50 i4Poker reg. 5:15AM
08:15 AM $50 Poker.com reg. 7:15AM
10:15 AM $50 i4Poker reg. 9:15AM
10:15 AM $50 Poker.com reg. 9:15AM
11:00 AM $1000 Satellite Bowman's Poker reg. 10AM
12:15 PM $50 Poker.com reg. 11:15AM
12:15 PM €50 i4Poker reg. 11:15AM
12:45 PM $50 Ultimate Bet Poker Stud Lover FR (7 Card)
01:00 PM $1000 Riverbelle Poker reg. 12PM
01:15 PM €700 i4Poker reg. 8AM
01:30 PM $20 Full Tilt Poker reg. 12:30PM
02:00 PM $200 poker4ever reg. 12PM
02:15 PM $50 Poker.com reg. 01:15PM
03:00 PM $10,000 Poker.com reg. 3AM
04:00 PM $50 Ultimate Bet Poker Turned Striaight FR
04:00 PM $1000 Satellite Bowman's Poker reg. 3PM
04:15 PM $50 Poker.com reg. 03:15PM
04:15 PM €100 w/rebuys i4Poker reg. 3:15PM
06:00 PM $50 Ultimate Bet Poker Buffalo Run FR
06:15 PM $50 OMAHA Poker.com reg. 5:15PM
08:00 PM $400 poker4ever reg. 6PM
08:15 PM $50 Ultimate Bet Poker Dinner Roll FR
08:15 PM $50 Poker.com reg. 7:15PM
09:30 PM $1500 Bodog reg. 7:30PM
10:00 PM $50 Ultimate Bet Poker Happy Hour FR
10:00 PM $1000 Satellite Bowman's Poker reg. 9PM
10:15 PM $50 Poker.com reg. 9:15PM
10:20 PM qualifier to $50 Canbet Poker reg. 9:20PM
12:15 AM $50 Poker.com reg. 11:15PM
01:30 AM $20 Full Tilt Poker reg. 12:30AM
02:15 AM TEC Ultimate Bet Poker reg. 1:45AM
02:15 AM $50 Poker.com reg. 1:15AM