RIP Nan

Apologies to regular followers of this blog that I had no update last Monday, my Nan passed away on Sunday morning and it was a really tough for for me to take considering I lived with her all my life.

I was chosen to say a few words about my Nan and her life and it was a real honour. I took two or three hours to finalise everything I was going to say for the funeral on Thursday last. I was ridiculously nervous but I suppose its to be expected. I've done a tonne of public speaking but this had to come from the heart. The general consensus I got from everyone is the speech went really well and I was happy to send her off with something nice to say.

Poker wise obviously everything has been a bit quiet. The Tuesday after my last blog post I shipped the €30 freeze in voodoo, other than that I've played two tourneys. I ran jaw-droppingly horrible in one and played like an absolute ass in the other. The latter worried me because I analyse lots after tournaments and these were just basic errors. I hope it was just a brain fart and not bad habits coming into my game, but the fact I even realise this I guess is good. Keeping my poker player ego in check, very important in my opinion.

Well this was a short post but under the circumstances its nice to stick up a new blog and get some routine back this week. My Nan was always super supportive and always told me if I loved playing poker to go for it, I know the idea of achieving something in poker for a loved one who passed on is alien to people but it will only spur me on to become better and do her proud.

Carl M

Pretty boring week and random thoughts on tilt.

Meh is the only way to explain how this week went poker wise. I played four tournaments with one cash since my last post for a small loss for the week. I think the best way to deal with weeks like these are to start a fresh clear your mind and look at the bigger picture. I know plenty of players who who play good for weeks even months on end and then a bad run mixed in with tilt absolutely decimates their bankroll. I think I've enough experience and bankroll discipline to avoid this.

Another big factor in avoiding tilt is surrounding yourself with the right people, people who give good advice and encouragement rather than horrible advice. Choose your gambling friends carefully, they could make you or break you (literally). Luckily for me at the moment i'm surrounded by a great group of lads and we always have each others back.

I'm not usually one to complain about bad luck/running bad but this week took the piss. Countless 3 outers, flush v flush, top two rivered a couple times. With the stacks/structures of the tourneys I play this is almost impossible to overcome. I still maintain people get the same amount of luck over a lifetime, people who lose every week will just never accept this. This is understandable, poker players by nature are ego-maniacs. Everyone thinks they're the best player around and that their plays are uber genius. The problem with this mentality is that these people generally don't change their game over time and in an ever evolving game these people won't win, it's that simple.

Apart from poker I'm delighted to see Kenny Daglish back at Liverpool. Some people may scoff at the appointment but it will bring some much needed feel good back at the club at I really wish him all the best. With the way the league is at the moment 3 wins on the spin and everything is changed, a true gent in the game. Best of luck Kenny.

I also got my car to actually move which will stop me funding half the fucking taxis in Dublin. At least thats some run-good I guess.

Carl M

Live tournaments v Cash Games

Hey everyone, Happy 2011!

After a really fun weekend in London celebrating New Years Eve with friends I'm 100% ready to get back to the tournament grind fresher than ever. The last couple of weeks I've taken off have me more hungry than ever for success and hopefully 2011 will be a big year for me, and for all my readers I hope 2011 is a massive year for you too, be it poker or whatever your passion.

I've taken this blog to discuss something I've been considering a long time, cash games or tournaments? I genuinely admire live players who make serious bank from both tournaments and cash games. From my time in the Dublin poker scene theses rare cash game/tournament hybrids are few and far between.

Cash games in Dublin are generally €1-€2-€5 or 50c-€1-€3. These games generally play pretty similar to each other with the average amount at the table being €100-€150 per player when a game is in full flight. The variance in these games is MASSIVE! I started out playing cash and went on a sick rush of multi buy-in gains per session simply by playing tight ABC poker and set mining. I thought it would never end, but I soon realised my big hands had been holding for me and this couldn't last forever. It didn't. After getting it all in numerous times being a massive favorite and losing a few sessions I was mega steamed and I began to question my cash game. I came to the conclusion that to beat variance and a pretty massive rake, a serious amount of volume was needed to make a nice living. This is when I began to play tournaments for fun more so than anything.

Tournaments then became a massive area of interest for me. I quickly learned a winning strategy for these things. I was once a sick sit n go degenerate online so I know how to play shallow average stacks as well as anyone I know. This was massive for me. I began to realise that the RoI for these things were huge. Its so easy to gain a reputation as a good tournament player too. After a period of success I was playing a tournament in a Dublin casino and was seated beside this nice man I had never played before, he asked my name and I replied 'Carl Morrissey' and shook his hand. He replied, 'Carl Morrissey? Someone just told me you're the best player in this place!'. With a rep like that people do not want to mess with you and give you respect for a hand everytime. Its pretty cool. Unlike rake, reg fees for me are easily beatable. Avg reg fee is usually €5-€10 whereas rake is 5% capped at €20 in the cash game at my home club.

The reason i'm so impressed with successful players in both cash and tourneys is all the cash game players think the tournaments are too small and a waste of time and the tournament players think the cash games are just places to get bad beats to blow their bankroll. Its a difficult adjustment.

I know if I was to give cash games an extended run and put in the hours I would be a winning player, I know for a fact I study the game more and have better strategic poker thinking than 90% of the cash game players out there, I just really don't want to.

I love tournaments, everything about them. I love the adjustments as the tournament proceeds, I love the money bubble, I love final tables and I love winning titles/tournaments more than anything. I feel so lucky to be making money at something I have such passion for and long may it continue.

Run Good in 2011 Everyone - Carl.