Sending $1

Cal42688 Calvin Anderson 

@OnTheMac "What you keep is all you have, what you give God multiplies." Ty 4 the buck hope it proves to be prosperous!lockerz.com/s/160238988

OWNED!

I got owned by Jymmi Briggs Jnr. Yes I did! Not the first time, not the last!  Congratulations Jymmi and thank you for supporting the competition and getting your 'fishy avatar' liked by the most people.  'Owned' had close to 150 people 'like' nominations and as a result I will be using this picture as my own on PokerStars.  Jymmi receives an entry into the Sunday Million!

We had many great entries in the 'Fishy Avatar' competition and The 'Quads or Better' promotion was also well supported.  We had 60 entries from all over the World and each verified entry will have a piece of me this Monday!  I'd like to thank all involved for making this an enjoyable experience.   I will try my best this Monday to win big for you all.  Get on the rail and help me bring it home.

Recent form is good.  I had a few wins this week on PokerStars.  I won the $25 hyper turbo and two $109 turbo's and final tabled a few others including the $75 turbo.  I profited about 10k before any bonuses.  I guess I am running well and my turbo game is pretty decent from playing thousands of SNG's.  I have a couple of smaller goals that I want to achieve to motivate me in terms of volume before the year is over.

I am close to 200k VPP and this month I cranked out 20,100 VPP so I think it is achievable to hit 200k VPP (double SuperNova) by the end of December .  It isn't the main goal but still a motivator to grind and pick up a 2.6k bonus.  Also I am sitting on 210k FPP's I have saved, so I just want to get to 250k to pick up the 4k bonus as well.  With the multiplier I should reach that that amount of FPP's easily, but the VPP challenge will be the tougher goal of the two as I am sitting on 175k VPP with one week left in November.

Going into 2012 I am looking forward to the Aussie Millions.  It seems like an eternity since the start of this year.  For me it has been a year of non-stop travel and excitement.  I remember last December and the week or two before the Aussie Millions as being a real grind.  I was trying to reach SuperNova and did so on the eve of the 31st (then had drinks with my mates).  Early January was reasonably tough too.  I was going down to Melbourne and putting in hours trying to improve and get better.

I wish everyone the best in the coming weeks and I hope it is a time of personal growth and good times with family and friends.  I'd like to thank my family for supporting me and my friends for always being there.  I am at a good point in my life and hope you can fulfil your goals, dreams and aspirations going into the New Year.

Future MTT EV

I have been getting back into a good rhythm at home now.  Being back in a routine and putting in consistent volume makes me feel confident about my game.  I have been impressed with some of the guys I have worked with in the past few weeks.  We are getting good results and feel like each others success pushes each individual to newer heights.

I have had a few wins on PokerStars and numerous final tables.  I have been happy with my end game, particularly in turbo tournaments.  In one $109 turbo I felt as close to playing optimally versus my opponents than ever before.  I have done well in individual tournaments previously and felt like I didn't play as well as I could, which is nice when you get lucky and win, but what really satisfies me is knowing that I played well regardless of the result.

Being process driven is a hugely important aspect of playing poker.  This is, as opposed, to being results driven.  It can be very hard at times to discern certain aspects of luck versus skill but this is where having experienced and good thinking players around to discuss MTT situations is invaluable.  Probably two of the guys I have learnt the most from are Liam Moffet and Mat Brown in MTT's and heads up play.  Without those two guys I would still be a pretty terrible MTT'r.

I had two really interesting situations this year in tournaments come up that highlight future tournament EV.  One was in Queenstown SnowFest (Vs Boartskiepe) and another in Melbourne APPT (Vs Mitch Carle) I took the lower variance route when I thought that I had a slight edge in the situation.  I passed up slightly positive EV situations for potentially even more positive situations later.  Unfortunately in those dominant later situations I lost.  There are always good future situations to come in ANZPT events.

I think against tougher competition say the Sunday 500 on PokerStars with a table full of thinking regulars you have to take the slightly positive situations.  In live 2k's the fields are relatively soft and making some sick call or 6 bet shoving pre-ante is a bit of a waste of future tournament EV.  People are just waiting to spew chips into you if you give them the chance.  Both passive and aggressive players find ways to give you there chips. Live really is a grind but well worth the time investment if you are patient and can see the long term benefits of taking even better MTT spots.

Another Final Table

Created with PhotoShake

To The Zoo!

  

I took a break yesterday and went to Taronga Zoo in Sydney.  It was a a pretty nice day and it struck me that these 20 foot tall Giraffes are held in an enclosure by a 4 foot high fence.  It reminds me of a trained Elephant in a circus that is held down by a stake in the ground with a thin rope.  Yet these Meerkats next door had a wall 10 times there height to keep them in!

Similarly, I think we limit ourselves when there really is no reason why we can't do so many things in life.  Take a chance.  At times we set illogical limits on ourselves.  Be willing to take the path less travelled.  Embrace new and different situations.  Travel to new and exciting places while you can.  Let your kids do what they really want to do and support them in their endeavours.

After the zoo we went back to the airport and whilst waiting for Nic's flight I final tabled the 51 hyper.  I  woke up pretty fresh today and I had a few deep runs in the 162 and then did final table the 55 Nightly Thirty Grand for just under 2k.  I've been enjoying my week.  I stayed at a boutique hotel Tuesday in the Cross with Nic after a pretty average Monday (FT'd the 44t for not much).  Also Friday night I went to my cousins birthday.  Brazilian BBQ is so good!

Free Stuff & Competition Info

Only a short period of time remains now before the 'Fishy Avatar' Competition is drawn.  We have had a flood of entries and quite a few have been supported really well.  Also the 'Quads or Better' competition has seen over 40 entries and screenshots posted up.

There are a few big things coming up on PokerStars in the next two weeks.  The 'Red Spade Open' and the 10th anniversary Sunday Million with a huge prize pool.  Also PCA giveaways  see here for more details http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/

Pictured above is my current avatar (pretty cute eh!).  This will be replaced by the winner of the 'Fishy Avatar' competition.  The winner will also receive an entry in the Sunday Million, entries close on the 25th of November.  The 'Piece of Me' 'Quads or Better Comp concludes on the 25th also, so get involved and you will have a share of 10% of the schedule outlined here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jesse-On-The-Mac-McKenzie/268385906533569.  All the best!

Flights, Flights & Awesome Nights!

I returned from Adelaide a few days ago, before that I was on a break on Hamilton Island. It was really beautiful there, I enjoyed so many good nights and great dinners. Cocktail Hour was a highlight, you could pool hop and enjoy the view and the drinks. The weather was a bit sketchy at times but we watched a movie each day and even though the weather wasn't perfect like earlier this year it was still fitting as we watched a few scary movies which matched the night time atmosphere on the island with howling winds and cracks of thunder.

Before Hamilton Island I was on the Gold Coast and finished 18th in the Gold Coast Champs out of 220. It was a 1k repercharge and 1st was 55k. The guy who won it, I played a lot of pots against and won most. There were at least five hands that were pretty awesome between us (which I have noted and may refer to later in a strategy post). However, I lost 3 flips late against other players any of these would have given me double average and i would have been in a strong position to crush the final table.

I have never seen a more bubble sensitive field, I basically opened every hand and when the bubble burst 4 of the 24 players had < 4 bbs. The only thing that was close to that sensitivity was Adelaide ANZPT in February. The funny thing is everyone knows what is going on but still the players are super fearful. 

After returning from Adelaide after my flight was cancelled due to Industrial Action between QANTAS and it's employees, I caught up with family in Sydney, slept in my own bed and got up at midnight for a Monday session (Sunday in the Northern Hemisphere).

 The big news on the day was WaGe N WarZ finishing 3rd in the 2nd Chance which upper cut him out of make up! He has been working hard, I really admire his grit and determination.

I had a win this week in the $55+r big ante for just over 5k. Plenty of people are getting involved on my Facebook and Twitter promotions. There are two running at the moment. The 'fishy avatar' promo has over 25 entries and plenty of people voting and as of today we have 4 quads or better entries in the 'wanna piece of me' competition. For more details click here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jesse-On-The-Mac-McKenzie/268385906533569