I have decided to play a series of live tournaments this month, 18 tournaments in 32 days, with varying low stakes buy ins.
Starting this thread for 2 reasons,
To keep backers informed
To make myself accountable and review my decision making processes daily.

Tonight the £75 + 10 10k guarantee in Leeds Victoria gate casino is the first in the grind.

Hope any of you enjoy following along with the progress, will keep everyone updated.

Will also be updating progress during tournaments on snapchat mattygray91

First tournament not a great start, with no cash, and also the Snapchat updates not working.

Happy with how I played, one hand I think I could have played slightly better on the flop, but no big hands until the one I bust...

Last hand before the end of late registration,
500/1000 100
I open to 2400, with 9Tss 3 bet from hijack to 5700,
This guy has been regularly 3 betting and have seen him showdown AJo after 3bets.
We are playing ~55k effective so I decide to peel. Not sure whether this is too thin or not, as I'm out of position, thoughts??

Flop is AJ8sss

I check, he bets 6700, I consider raising, but decide to just flat, as he could still have many Ax hands I don't want to blow off it.
Turn is Td, I decide to lead here,
I think leading is good as he may choose to check behind a lot of his Ax hands, if he has 2 pair or sets I can still get value. As the line looks strange, he may also go crazy with Ksx hands, that have no show down value,

So, I lead for 8k, I think this sizing keeps the Ax hands in, and allows him room to think he has fold equity to bluff.
he moves all in for ~42.5k, and I call.

He shows JJ, and we have 80% for 112k pot, while average stack is 42k,

Unfortunately the river is the 8c, and we're out.

I decided not to re-enter, as good as the tournament was, and seemed fairly soft, I didn't think buying in with 21bb was going to be +ev, so decided to call it a night.

Next tournament is in hull tomorrow, £50 + 5, no guarantee, usually makes ~3-3.5k

i won the £75 £10k tourney at the VGC last month. it's definitely a good one. do you know a good place to find good local tournaments round leeds/yorkshire?

on that hand i would either check raise flop or check turn. bet call turn is not ideal.

good luck.

Most of the tournaments I'm playing are in hull where I live, some good structures, but not worth travelling for.
I am playing the weekly Wednesday 8k guarantee in genting Sheffield. There are a few good tournaments around.

Tonight is event 2, £50 + 5 in hull. Legendary John Hesp is in the field!!

In tournament updates on snapchat, hopefully go heads up with the main man himself.

Not a good night last night, unfortunately a bad start to the series so far.

I bust early on, I didn't play many hands then got half my stack in against a short stack with TpTk, against his big draw, which got there - sigh.

I then bust the rest of my stack on a bluff raise, when the villains line made no sense. In hindsight, despite the fact his line made no sense, and he should have no value hands, I don't know hes good enough to have any bluffs here, and I can wait for a better spot.

I re-entered and was sa to the right on Mr Hesp. I was soon all in again, in fact my very first hand after re-entry!!!
I did have aces full though, and got paid off, so I now had 75k.

Unfortunately, I could not get much going for the remainder of the night, Iran up to around 100k, but then lost a few pots.
One where, againt he villains line made zero sense, but knowing him, he has absolutely zero bluffs, so i found a fold, to keep mself alive, even if on life support.
I doubled soon after, with AT v KQ, and picked up a few more blinds to get back to 80k, with the average at 109k, with 22 left.
A fairly active reg opened UTG +1, 7 handed, and I have AJ, i contemplate my options before moving in on him. He tanks for a long time, before eventually calling, and having AQ -

Back on it again tonight, 40 + 20 AO +7, in Grosvenor Hull, hoping for some run good, and take it down.

One positive to come from the evening, having a long talk with John Hesp about the Main Event experience, and I can really see why everyone out there loved him, what a nice guy!

https://imgur.com/gallery/L28Kk

Sorry didn't get chance to post yesterday.
So Monday was a bust again, felt like I played really well the majority of the night. Made some good thin value bets, and made some good folds. I think my bet sizing was very good all night, and all round played well.
Unfortunately as is the case with no limit hold em, despite playing well most the night, I absolutely butchered one hand against the chip leader with 7 remaining, and that was me gone, 4 from the money.

With 4 short stacks in play as well, it really was a poorly played hand.

There was a table dynamic going on, where despite there being a huge chip leader, I had taken up the role of table captain, and was steadily building a stack. The chip leader seemed visibly frustrated with this and was expecting him to play back at me at some point.

The hand in question was a far too big of an adjustment with this in mind, if I'm brutally honest, just terribly played.

Utg limps, I open 55, chip leader defends sb, and 2 folds.

Flop is 88k,
Pot is 46k
I bet 19k, I almost instantly regretted this, I think I have a perfect check back hand as I have some value, but not enough to bet.
I get raised to 55k.
This is another problem with the bet, I'm expecting to be played back at at some point, and give him chance to.
I didn't think it made any sense to raise a king, so figured he's very polarised, and has not many 8s, so call to reassess.
Turn is 4s putting a flush draw there.
He moves in for my effective 76k, I tank for a long time.
I figure he doesn't have a king, or at least he shouldn't. I reluctantly call it off, and shown KQ ss.

I know the hand was played horribly, and have discussed it with fellow players I talk strategy with. I have only broke it down here for accountability and owning up to my errors.

We go again tonight. 80 + 8, 8k guarantee in Sheffield

So Wednesday night didn't go quite to plan. Played solid all night despite being extremely card dead.
Grinder hard all night picking up pots where I could, and was down to the last 11, with 8 paid, when a deal was offered.
I am usually against any sort of deal that removes the bubble from play, and I was fairly quick to turn down the deal. Inevitably I then busted in 11th, after flopping the nut flush draw with the naked ce, against the flopped flush, for 10bb.
Regarding the deal, with hindsight, I think sitting ~9th in chips, it was probably a plus Ev deal for me, and should have considered it further.
In future I may have to take more consideration with deals, and be more open minded to them.

Anyway, I was happy with how I played, and we go again tonight. 100 + 7, 1k ADDED!!

Sorry not been updating much lately, bust week for my non poker commitments, last weekend didn't go well, with tournaments Saturday, Sunday and Monday without cashing. Monday was going well until I mad a move with a combo draw, into the nuts and didn't get there.

This Sunday much better, taking 1st in the hull £50 for £1000, puts us back in the black for the series. Sheffield £80 tonight, hoping to keep up the forward progress.

Updates on snapchat again tonight. Mattygray91

following. GLGL