the PokerDegen(erate)

life happened

2010-10-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

Wow - no posts since February. Wow.

Guess that's what happens when you meet an amazing chick: just don't find myself wanting to spend 12 hours in a casino poker room, when I could be spending much of that time with an amazing person.

I still dabble online a bit, but even that has been cut down dramatically. When I lived alone, my routine was: work, come home, fix dinner, sit down to some FTP, shower, bed. Now that my fiance and I are living together, we end up doing things together when I get home from work. We only moved in together a month ago, so we still have plenty to do to make our apartment "our" home.

I'm also finding myself in the kitchen much more than I had been. I do the cooking, and find that when I'm not just cooking for myself that I put a lot more thought and effort into the preparation. For myself I'll just throw any old thing together, and if it's not that great, well - eh, no biggie, it'll provide the nutrients I need. But cooking for someone else is a whole different can of worms.

That said: I do sometimes miss being at the casino. My last trip was far from successful: I made a lot of bad, goofy mistakes and left down 2 buy-ins. I did have fun, though.

New law in the state of WA goes into effect 10/15: raising the max bet at non-tribal casinos from $40 to $100. Currently you can play $2-$40 spread at the mini-casinos just north of Seattle. These will most likely be switching to the $2-$100 spread soon enough. Those 2-40 games are pretty soft, and with the right patience, I'm betting on being able to make a pretty good score at the 2-100 games. I'll probably be checking those out at the end of the month.

Maybe I'll post a real poker post after that.

Rush through the stars

2010-02-05T01:27:00.000-08:00

So I've been playing Rush Poker for a couple weeks now. It's got me thinking about poker in a whole different way. Turns out that as of now at least, either I'm not very good at Rush Poker, or I've just been severely unlucky. My FTP account is down VERY low right now; I want to get in there and play some Rush Poker but I'm affraid of going completely broke there. So I'm backing off for now, and trying my hand at some other things - like tournaments.

It's been EONS since I played any tournaments online. Sure, I'll do a random $2 turbo sit n go every now and again, but I haven't played any bigger tournaments in a long time. Until tonight. I decided to try my hand at a couple 90-person tournaments, one on FTP, on on Poker Stars. I registered for a $1.10 deepstack 90-seat sit n go on FTP, and a $2.20 90-seat sit n go on Stars. Both started at approximately the same time.

First - the good news:

I final tabled both. Took 6th in the FTP one, and 2nd in the Stars one.

Makes me feel good; gives me some more confidence in my game again - I learned poker from tournaments, then migrated to cash games, and haven't played a tournament in years really, so I wasn't sure if I would have the skills with me still. Turns out it's still there - and I think Rush Poker helped, too -- first off, that I've seen tens-of-thousands of hands over the past couple weeks, thanks to 2 or 3 tabling Rush poker, I've just been able to have the experience of seeing all these odd things happen, and I had to try to adapt to them - adapt to my opponents' tendencies. Rush is tough since it's a different set of opponents each hand, but for me it helped to start to classify a "super-set" of my oponents, not as individuals, but as groups of opponents with different tendencies.

I might try playing more tournaments for the time being, and hopefully I'll build up a decent roll on FTP to dive back into Rush poker. After all, it's so much fun!

I definitely like the tournament structures at Stars MUCH better than on FTP - more time, slower levels - you get a lot of room to play there. But I like the feel of the FTP site better than Stars. Whatever, that's just cosmetics, so it's easy to deal with. And I like that all the tournaments (on both sites) take breaks at 5 before the hour - nice that they're together like that.

Rush Poker - wow. What a goldmine in rake - brilliant from a business standpoint! It is a lot of fun, too. Pauly's post about his Rush Omaha experience is worth the read - I can identify with a lot in that story.

I'd better get back to playing. I'm unemployed, with a lot of time on my hands, so playing online poker has become a BIG distraction. I'm glad I just fell back into the spell of tournaments, though - I forgot how much fun they can be! And who knows, maybe I'll have a big score one of these days!

New Obsession

2009-10-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

I go through phases with musical groups, but every now and again I'll find - or in this case, rediscover - a new band. This time it's Umphrey's McGee. They've been around for about 10 years, but they're just beginning to hit their stride. They've always been known for their technical mastery, yet they've now grown into their musical chops to really begin to inject feeling into the music, as well as allow themselves the freedom to let the music take them wherever it may go.

Here's Wizard Burrial Ground, which is an impressive thing to watch live. One thing helping them along big time is Lighting Designer Jeff Waful. MOST impressive.

For some reason this doesn't seem to be embedding as I'd expected. So here's the link to the youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uKcJL4rjM8

Move the "check" checkbox Full Tilt!

2009-09-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

Twice in the last 5 days, I had this happen, thanks to a bad design by Full Tilt and incredibly bad (or good, depending on your POV) timing from my opponent.

It's the river, I'm next to act, and I simply want to check behind -- I hover my house over the "check" checkbox, and am about to click it to enable it. Just as I'm pressing the mouse button down, I mean the exact, the very same instant, my opponent goes All In. In the blink of an eye, the "call" button appears in the very spot where the "check" checkbox was1 I then inadvertently end up calling an all-in bet, and loosing over one buy in each time.

I sent the issue in as a bug report to FT, calling it a design bug, because really that's exactly what it is: due to a poor design, users will at times, under the right circumstance, mistakenly click "call." The action for "check" and the action for "call" should never be in the exact same spot.

Now, at the stakes I dick around at online it's no big deal - after having this happen twice, I'm down the equivalent of a standard preflop raise in the live games I play. However, money's money, and I'd rather not give ten bucks to some idiot because fulltilt made a bad design choice. I'm sure if I was playing for larger sums this would have severely pissed me off. As it stands now, my only recourse is to never use the "check" checkbox.

Submit this as a bug to Full Tilt! http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/submitabug.php

online card rack

2009-08-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Been playing 30-60 minutes/day online the past couple weeks. Just for fun. Eases the casino-itch a bit. Here are some highlights from a session last night I played at the laundromat (thank you for free VERY fast WiFi!):

-----------------------------------
"Thanks for the set-up FT!"

First hand at a new 0.02/0.05 table - I watched the guy who's now UTG go all-in preflop 3 times in a row at this point.

I get dealt AA, and watch him open push $0.96, then button smooth-calls. I make a small-raise to $2.25; button pushes, I insta-call.

Awesome!!

-----------------------------------

"Why open-limping OTB with AA at a passive table is a bad move:"

Flop got checked around, I bet / called a raise on the turn, I check/called the push on the river:

-----------------------------

"How to crack a set of Kings"

I called a min-raise from the BB with J8 soooted. Loose call, of course, but I won't lay down 2 suited cards from the BB to a min-raise.

Flop goes check/check. Turn I under-bet the pot /call a min-raise. Flop I bet / call a push:

Quick

2009-06-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

Grandpa passed away overnight. Amazing how fast he went. Monday I was on the phone with him, ready to book a flight the following week to visit, and when I told him flights were $950 he said "I'm not THAT sick - check later dates." Tuesday afternoon he was put in the hospital, in a lot of pain and difficulty breathing. He was heavily sedated, and comfortable. Wednesday afternoon my mom arrived and reported he was still heavily sedated, and was going to ask the doctor today to keep him less sedated so he could at least talk and visit. 4am local time, he passed away.

Cancer's a bitch. 48 hours after telling me he's not that sick, he's dead. I'm still in shock I think. Heading to Florida tomorrow for the funeral and to be with family.

*sigh*

Vegas mini-report + life stuff

2009-06-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

No extended Vegas trip report yet - had a lot going on, a lot on my mind since Vegas.

Finishing up school for the quarter, and been doing some soul-searching, trying to decide whether chemical dependency counseling really is the road I want to walk down. Haven't decided, but have decided to continue with classes through at least summer quarter.

Grandpa's been battling pancreatic cancer for over a year now. Did radiation, then a brief round of chemo which he stopped due to unbearable side effects. Things have been a roller coaster: 2 awesome weeks, followed by 3 horrible ones, 3 good days then 2 bad then 5 good then 6 bad....etc.... had what we thought was a routine procedure scheduled for this week (fluid build-up in the abdomen, which is very typical in pancreatic cancer, which was going to be removed either via drugs or otherwise), but once he hit the hospital he had great difficulty breathing, and since he's been kept overnight he's been heavily sedated and unaware of his surroundings. Talk about a bad beat...

I had been planning a trip next week to visit; unfortunately I may be going there earlier to say goodbye.

------------

Had a great time in Vegas. Venetian is a wonderful place to stay - awesome rooms, nice pools, great food - we didn't leave the Venetian/Palazzo complex for the first 36 hours of the trip.

KA was one of the most awe-inspiring, breathtaking shows I've ever experienced. Simply amazing. Even setting aside the story and the performances, just the technical feat that is the Ka stage and theatre is just -- well, stunning. I'd recommend it to anyone at anytime. I'd go see it again; hell if the tickets were cheaper I'd have stayed for the 2nd show. Unreal, and marvelous.

As far as poker -- had fun playing. I ended the trip down due to a guy making a great call and my draw not making it. It was my last day, my last short session, and check-raised all in on the turn with an OESD + flush draw, the guy tanked for what seemed like 5 minutes before calling with bottom-two pair. I honestly didn't think he was as strong as that even, but he made the call and won the pot, kudos to him.

Rest of the play was totally uneventful -- the place was swarming with poker players, the Venetian poker room was even packed at 3am Saturday night/Sunday morning when I went down. Unreal. The late night action was super-loose and quite passive. I chipped up a bit each night, never any huge hands or big scores.

------------

Been playing online micro-stakes the past week or so ($0.02/$0.05), playing super-loose and making a ton of VERY loose calls with middle and sometimes only bottom-pair. I was the Calling Station at the table, though these were often against players who had been showing a penchant for over-bluffing. I also got some big pots (for the stakes) that allowed me to gambool a bit more than was likely prudent. My FT account took about a $6 hit over the past 7 days, much of which happened 2 nights ago.

Had some really, really sick beats too. Big-time coolers, too - like the blind-vs-blind hand where I flop top 2 and opponent flops a set, I flop a set with AA and get run down by a flush draw with Qs7s... oh, well. If I'm not in Florida I'll be headed to Tulalip for a live-session this Friday; I sometimes feel like I'm easily bluffed, and so don't mind taking a small hit online by getting the "calling-station syndrome" out of my system.

VEGAS THURSDAY!!

2009-06-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

That's right, it's time to get back to Vegas! Just checked the weather report, and it's gonna be gorgeous Thurs-Sat, with temps in the mid-80's. Talk about perfect vacation weather!

I'm excited -- I've been going through major life-stress, with a crap-ton of schoolwork to do, a close relative in the declining stages of a fight with cancer, deciding what I really want to do with my future, and having my workload nearly doubled with no increase in hours or pay. I can't get awa soon enough! Thank god I don't drink anymore, because if I did I'm certain I would have looked forward to a 3-day blackout, and who knows where I would come to. I do think, though, I'll be looking to gambool it up a bit more than last time, though this could be partly from watching too much durrrr on HSP and PAD cash game...

I'm hoping to play some longer sessions this time around -- since we'll be staying at Venetian, I think I'll be playing a bit more, as we'll be spending less time traveling from the south-end of the strip to the central part, plus between the Venetian and Palazo it's likely we won't be wandering out of that complex for too much of the time.

At this point I wish we had booked through Sunday. But, I do have to get back and study for my finals. And we don't leave until 8:30pm Saturday, so we almost have 3 full days there.

Vegas!! Woo-hoo-hoo!!!

Vegas in 2 weeks, Tulalip 2 weeks ago...

2009-05-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

Rebecca and I booked another Vegas trip a few weeks back; we'll be there June 4-6. Gonna be hot as balls, but if we didn't go then we were looking at 7 weeks later, when it will be hotter than balls. I'll chose "hot as" over "hotter than" any day.

Staying at Venetian - pricier than I would opt for, but the chick is all about feeling like a queen on our little mini-vacation. I'm totally fine with it, and we did end up getting an OK deal. I also found other ways to save money over our last trip (mostly on transport to/from the airports), so we'll be spending less overall on this trip than last one. It'll also be nice staying in the same hotel where I'll likely want to play most of my poker (save for a little bit at MGM before or after we se Ka).

SO looking forward to getting away from work again. I'll still have one more day of school the next week, and a final exam to study for, but the little Thurs-Sat jaunt will be a nice mind-break before the final.

-----------------------------

Couple Saturday's back I played some $1/$3 in the afternoon while Rebecca shopped. Glad there's an outlet mall right by Tulalip :)

I was playing loose and gambly, knowing I only had a few hours to play and hoping to make a nice score, willing to put a couple buy-ins on the line against weak-passive players. Much more passive than night time games IMO.

Only hand I remember vividly was one where I called on the button with A7o vs a player I was sure I could play and represent and push them off a hand. After hitting a 7 on the flop I called a flop bet, checked behind on the turn, and folded to a $100 river bet. The board was innoccuous, but I could likely only beat a bluff (or 88+). I said to him "I think I'm supposed to call you here," and then asked him whether he wanted a call or if he was happy with the pot as it is, etc. There was something - the speed of his river bet, his tone of voice, the way he moved, etc - that screamed "BLUFF" to me.

I turned over my 7 and said "I want to call you with just this, but I have to fold," and mucked my hand. He tables AT for no pair, and takes down the $100-ish pot.

If only I could consistently follow my instincts... of course when you play once/month it's hard to have much faith in your instincts. Still, it's something of which I need to be aware.

(for those curious, I ended up one buy-in after about 3 hours...not bad for a Saturday afternoon)

Vegas day 2-3

2009-04-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

Late night Saturday night/Sunday morning: Mandalay Bay $1/$2

Luxor poker room was kind of dingy looking (don't like the black/gray look to the room), so we wandered to Mandalay Bay. Nice place, pretty (and easy to access) poker room. Very short wait (2am and 4 $1/$2 tables and 2 $2/$5 tables going). One guy at my table has $1400 in front of him; a number of $600 stacks; large, $15-20 preflop opening raises seemed standard.

Plusses: pretty room; easy to find; $300 buy-in; loose, seemingly rich crowd.

Minusses: high-hand jackpot = additional $0.50-$1 rake; the first two tables are close enough to the entrance that anyone standing just at the edge smoking will fill the area with cigarette smoke; no chopping blinds (?!!?!)

I flopped a set and turned a boat at one point and somehow couldn't get the guy who couldn't ever let go of top pair to call me. Still not sure what he called my large flop raise and turn bets with that he couldn't pay off the value-bet on the river (it was 3am, I had been up for 21 hours and don't recall the board).

I had a fairly standard session here. The table was SO so loose - most every hand, raised or limped, was multi-way. I was involved in a couple 5-way hands after raising in EP to $12. No hands stand out, no players seemed exceptionally good/bad. Liked it, but didn't like the rake or the no-chop deal.

Ended this session down $30.

-------------------------------

Sunday afternoon: $1/$2 MGM

Nice room, though also the slowest dealers so far - they seemed more interested in recounting stories with the 2 regulars at the table than dealing the game. Mix of experienced and new players; very loose action. $200 buy-in, which is fine, but I appreciate the $300 deeper games.

2 hands of note:

1. I call a $12 preflop raise OTB with 7d 8d. 3-way action. FLOP: 8s 5d 6d. 2 checks to me, I bet $35, 1 call. Original raiser check-raises all-in for another $115. I'm obviously behind now, but I like the fact that I have 20 outs to a flush, straight, trips, or two pair, so I call. Somehow I miss half the deck on the turn and river, and QQ wins the hand unimproved.

2. Tight, tight player open raises to $20 from CO-1; I raise to $40 OTB with AA; sb insta-calls. Original raiser raises an additional $100 (leaving only $100 behind). I figured he's committed, and don't know what insta-caller would smooth with from SB, so I push. SB folds. After SB folds, I have a brain-fart and think the original raiser was already all-in, and I table my hand. He shows me KK and tosses them into the muck. I drag a $180 pot w/o seeing a
flop, but probably lost out on another $100 due to lack-of-sleep killing my attention span and me brain-farting. SB had QQ, btw (he folded but dealer let him keep his cards near him to show after the hand).

End the session +$45

-------------------------------

Monday afternoon: $1/$2 Mandalay bay

We checked out at 10:30, gave our bags to the Luxor folks, and went about our day. Becca wanted to do some shopping in the area between Luxor and Mandalay, so I was going to play at Luxor but they only had 1 table and 2 names on the list, floor guy said they wouldn't get a new game going in all likelihood for another hour or 2 = Mandalay Bay again.

About 15 minute wait for a seat at one of the tables. Number of $5-600 stacks, lots of action. LOTs of loose action. Both tables going look juicy. They actually start to sit me at a new table they were opening, but then move me to one already going (which makes me wonder if this was the same day Pauly wrote this; I didn't look at anyone over there though).

2 hands of note:

1. I join 3 limpers and limp OTB with 8d9d. SB raises to $10, only 1 other call, I call.
FLOP: 7J7 rainbow.
SB bets $20, folds to me. I sensed weakness, and thought I could take it away, as he likely won't have a 7 here - I raised to $65. He takes a lot of time, and just calls.

TURN: (7J7) Q
SB checks. I still have the straight draw, so I used position and took a free card.

RIVER: (7J7Q) 2
SB checks. I think I can take it away with a big bet - say $125. But I wimp out, all the sudden afraid he may have flopped a boat with JJ, and give up. I say nice hand, I check, and he shows KK. I know a big bet would have taken it down.

2. UTG raises to $10, 1 call; I reraise to $45 OTB with AA. UTG calls, other folds.
FLOP: 5J5.
UTG checks, I lead out $75, UTG check-raises all-in to $200ish. I instacall and table KK. He shows J4 clubs. Turn and river blank out.

I wish I were more awake, because that guy bought in twice already, and is rebuying again. Calling $45 preflop with only $250 holding J4 soooted? JUICY! As it stands, I was near the 2 hour mark, and struggling to keep my focus. I decided to play two more rounds or so, and get outta there before my decision making totally deteriorated.

End the session: +$350

Vegas recap - Saturday

2009-04-09T10:57:00.001-07:00

My 2nd trip to Vegas, will vastly different than my first trip, was a lot of fun. I love that city. Becca and I have already decided to go back, probably in July after the WS0P.

My first trip was poker dotted with a couple hours of sleep and a couple shows at night; this trip was much more centered on spending time with the SO, dotted by a little poker and a couple shows.

Uneventful flight on Saturday, and we were able to check in right around noon, which was nice. After a little lunch we walked through the Luxor, over through Mandalay bay, gazed at the pool, checked out menus for possible dinners. I couldn't believe how many chicks in wedding dresses we saw. Thankfully they didn't cause Rebecca to start seeing a wedding chapel in our future. Phew.

She wanted to play some slots, so she put $5 into a quarter machine and started spinning. When she was done I put $1 into the quarter machine next to her; played all 4 credits on one spin and won 2 credits. I played all 5 credits on the next spin and won $22.25 and immediately cashed out. I've never won on a slot machine before.

-EV games: +$21.25.

We walked over through MGM, and to the monorail, off at the Flamingo to pick up our tickets to X-Burlesque. From there we walked to Venetian so I could play some poker. Was a really gorgeous afternoon - 65 degrees, sunny, a touch of a breeze... especially compared to the 45-degree rainy gray we've gotten used to in Seattle, it was perfect!

I played at the Venetian briefly my last trip, and remember the game feeling small - but that was probably because I had come from playing the $1/$3 at Caesars.

This trip, it felt much like the Tulalip game I usually play, but with a little better players (probably due to a couple Vegas regulars that were at the table). The game was strange for a while - I won way more hands than I should have the first hour, with no show downs. I was getting more respect than I expected, and definitely more than I deserved. There were weak players who would buckle to pressure (like when I reraised from position with air on a paired raggy board and the original raiser folded queens face-up), a calling station that didn't fold anything preflop (literally - played 100% of hands at least to the flop)...

I lost one fairly decent sized pot to an opponent with Qh3h after I flopped top two; turn put 2 hearts on the board and the 3rd heart came on the river. I didn't mind much losing the pot since he chased a backdoor flush draw. The guy was "helpful" enough to tell me that I didn't bet enough on the turn for him to lay it down, that even if he got an extra $30 on the river it was worth calling. I didn't bother telling him that he only had 7 of the 9 outs he thought he did (as the Ah or Kh would've boated me up), or asking how he called on the flop with undercards and a backdoor draw - I want those calls all the time.

I left after a couple hours, down $115 (which was a bummer as I was up about $100 at one point - the flush hand actually cost me $140). Small losses don't phase me anymore, though my girlfriend seemed surprised I was so casual about losing that amount. No, she's not a poker player, or really much of a gambler.

--------------
Saturday evening - X Burlesque at the Flamingo.

Well.

Their production video is really great - show looks good, dancers look energetic and hot.

Sadly, the 60-second video was much better than the show itself. Tucked into this tiny little theater, the tacky-factor is sky-high. And unfortunately, the dancers are just -- not that good. Shakeera carried the show: her dancing was engaging, energetic, fun to watch - she was committed to every move she made. The others? Not-so-hot. Bec and I after the show referred to one as "the comotose blonde," but really all (save for Shakeera and the one with the biggest and most obvious fake tits) lacked so much energy and sex appeal.

All had awesome bodies - awesome bodies, so that wasn't hard to take. But - watching hot women who appear bored and dead-tired prance around a cheesey-looking stage with crappy set decoration just isn't my idea of fun. Add to that the really bad comedian that did a too-long routine half way through the show (James Bean), and being charged $5.77 for a sprite (no vodka, just sprite), that part of the evening was quite a let down.

The good part? Bec and I were able to sit in the back of the theatre, side-by-side, so we were able to talk to each other throughout the show, making fun of the dancers (except Shakeera, who we both thought was hot), laughing, etc. That part was fun. The show? Not so much.

Vegas recap

2009-04-08T16:27:00.001-07:00

...details coming soon...

Brief overview:
- short sessions all-around
- played at Venetian, MGM, and Mandalay Bay
- spa suite at Luxor is awesome, with hot tub overlooking the mountains to the east
- Saw David Benyamine in and around Bobby's room, on the phone, probably trying to get a game together
- wasted money (and time) at X Burlesque (which included paying $5.77 for a frackin' Sprite!)
- enjoyed Zumanity, though the close (and more expensive) seats were tough on the neck, and would've been better in the upper orchestra, or even balcony (i.e. the "cheap seats")

All-in-all, fun fun FUN times. We've already started figuring out when our next Vegas jaunt will be; likely June or July. I ended the weekend up in poker, and up $0.50 on -EV games (slot, roulette, blackjack).

Vegas Tomorrow!!!

2009-04-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm SO incredibly psyched to get to Vegas tomorrow! As much for the weather as for the action; it's been cold as balls in the Emerald City so far this spring (snow twice this week).

I've briefly contemplated playing $2/$5, but I don't think I'm psychologically ready for that; nor do I have the roll for that. According to some Vegas regulars, the $1/$3 at Wynn plays similarly to a loose AC $2/$5, so I may check that out. Last trip to Vegas I played the $1/$3 at Ceasars and found it to be quite action-packed. I'll start small, though, with an afternoon session at Venetian $1/$2.

We've got a couple shows lined up, too. X-Burlesque at Flamingo (girlfriend's request), and Zumanity at NY NY (my request). I think we're skipping the strip clubs this trip: the girlfriend didn't like the sounds of the non-fully-nude hands-off rules that sounded pretty standard there.

This is my second trip to Vegas, and the first time I'll be in a gambling situation with a girlfriend, who doesn't really gamble that much (she'll lose some money on nickle slots it sounds like). My other trip was solo, and I just played as much poker as I could stand, and used some of the profit to buy high-end show tickets, slept very little, and ate at random times. This trip may become a balancing act with spending time with the SO and playing poker, especially if the games are good.

On the other hand, having a set time to meet later in the afternoon/evening could make for a better time, too: as much as I love long sessions, breaking it up into a couple 4 hour sessions may be better for my mental health (and maybe even for my game). I mean - this is a vacation to enjoy myself, and rest, and have fun; my brain becoming mush because I've sat at the tables for 16 hours straight is hardly a way to relax before spring quarter starts on Wednesday.

It's so far a boring, boring workday with little to do. If I could get away with leaving early, I'd be outta here after lunch. Or now.

We shoulda left today...

Deciding and acting

2009-04-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

I've been mulling this over for months now. I've been back in school for a year; I'm half-way through the program, and 1/4 way to being certified by WA state as a CDP (chemical dependency professional). And I'm sick of it.

I'm done. I'm done with school. I'm done with it all.

I've hated my job for the past 1.5 years. I'm sick and tired of computers and managers and all that crap.

Tomorrow, I'm quitting my job.

I'm moving to Vegas, and going to be a professional poker player.

I've been saving money for the past year, theoretically so I can do a CDP internship and still be able to pay rent. Instead, I'll be using that as my $1/$2 bankroll.

This weekend in Vegas with the girlfriend will still be 'vacation,' but once I get back to Seattle I'll be selling my things, packing a few belongings, and gettin' outta the Emerald City! I should be there permanently next weekend (4/11).

To those who say you can't make a living at $1/$2 - I plan to prove you wrong!

Vegas bound!

2009-03-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

I'm heading to Vegas next weekend, (4/4-6). SO looking forward to it! I'm excited to get to the warmth, to see some sun, and of course to play some poker.

I've only been to Vegas once, thanks to my RPT TOC win a couple years back, and I had a blast. I think I slept a grand total of 6 hours the whole weekend, played a ton of poker, and used the profits to see a couple big-ticket shows.

This is going to be a bit of a different trip, though -- I'm going with my girlfriend. On her suggestion. She loves going to Vegas -- though it's still not entirely clear to me why: she plays nickel-slots, can never get the hand signals right in black jack, doesn't play poker, and rarely drink (and almost never to excess). She does like the shopping, and the 'vibe.' OK.

She likes going to strip clubs, too. So we're going to one of 'em -- not sure which yet. The big name ones are only topless, and she's interested in full-nude. No, I'm not kidding.

Should be fun. We're staying at the Luxor; hopefully it's nice. Don't know whether they have a poker room or not, but it's just down the block from MGM which I've heard is great for low-limit action. And a walk up to Caesar's or Venetian is definitely not out of the question.

I have no idea how many ppl actually read my blog, but if you have low-limit ($1/$2 or $1/$3 NL) poker room suggestions, please let me know.

short session = profit

2009-02-26T16:43:00.001-08:00

I played last Friday night. I'll write about one hand (not much excitement), but man was the game soft for a couple hours. Granted, I also ran good, hitting some flops, making some draws, etc; but it's insane how much I got paid off. I was playing pretty tight too! I started playing at 7pm and left the table at 10:50; I cashed out of a $1/$3 $200-max buy in table with $636 in profit. Yea, I bought in for $200 and cashed out $836. In less than 4 hours. Insane.

I'm obv not an amazing player; I just took advantage of weak, bad, or dumb players when I had hands.

I left when I did for 2 reasons:
1 - The biggest stack at the table by this time was only $150, with a number of $100 stacks
2 - I found myself becoming unwilling to put my chips in without a lock on a hand. Scared money.

So I took my profit and left.

----------
So I'm sitting on about $450 at this point; I'm in the cut-off. I've been playing tight: really only raising with premiums. I'll call preflop a bit light, in position, against raises from EP raisers with big stacks, but if I don't connect with the flop I'm gone.

A couple limpers, and I look down at 5c 6c. I haven't raised all night with these hands, but I wanted to mix-it-up (number of players are still here from when I sat down), so I raise it to $12. The SB calls, the limpers fold (at which I almost laughed out loud! How can you limp / fold in EP when it only costs another $9 to play for at least $24?). SB had been at the table for about 1 orbit, and came across as not really knowing what he was doing. I was happy for his call!

Flop: 2c Qc 7c

SB checks; I bet $20, SB calls.

Turn: [2c Qc 7c] 6d

SB leads out $30. I think this is a bit strange; I ask how much he has left, he counts out about $130 more.

Either he's sandbagging a flush, or he's trying to name his price for a river card.

Then, I look at him, and realize that he seriously looks confused. I'm not sure what to make of this, but it certainly doesn't strike me as confident. And it doesn't appear to be an act. I feel like he hasn't sat at a poker table very often.

I raise. I put two $100 stacks into the pot, and take a deep breath.

SB thinks. "Phew," I'm thinking, "no flush."

Then he says, "ah, I don't think you have the flush, I call," and turns over Qs 3c.

I say "flush," and turn over my cards. River was meaningless, I rake in a nice pot with a baby flush.

Guy next to me says "That was ballsy with a 6-high flush." I agreed. I trusted my read, though. Thankfully confusion != strength for this guy.

Maybe the confusion was because he surprised himself that he called a raise OOP with Q3o!

Easy, peasy

2009-02-01T23:17:00.000-08:00

Tulalip $1/$3

I had been at a super-nit table all night. Should have put in for a table change, but - eh, I didn't mind taking advantage of the nits at the table to take down a number of small pots. I was at about $400 (in for $320) when our table broke, and I shuffled over to another table with stacks between $300-$800, which is a nice amount of cash for a $1/$3 game, and very VERY loose action!

BB: LAGGY-donk, $300ish
UTG: loose, passive, $175ish (shortest stack at the table)
Hero: MP, $400

I decide to limp with 8c Tc. I'll raise with suited gappers and suited connectors maybe 40%, limp 40%, and chuck the rest (usually due to position, stack sizes, etc). 6 of us see a flop; $18 in the pot.

FLOP: 9c Qc Jc

OK, I just flopped the stone-cold nuts, no higher straight flush out there due to the Tc in my hand. I'm praying someone's got a hand of some sort.

Blinds check; UTG bets $20. Folds to me.

What to do here? I could just smooth call and hope to trap someone else in, but the same time I don't want another club to come off and kill any action. If UTG has a real hand, he may be willing to get more money in now; if he doesn't have a hand then this pot is likely not going to get any bigger.

I decide to take a chance here, following one of my mantras "If you want to play a big pot, you've got to build a big pot."

I raise to $60. Folds to the BB who calls. (SWEET!). UTG then goes all-in for another $100.

I pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.

Now, the trick is to make sure BB comes along. I need to sell being on a draw, or a hand I'm not sure about. I take some time, ask how much it will cost, take a look over at the big blind, kind of smile and sigh (like "crap, what do I do here with you still to act), and say "I'll call."

As I slide the chips in, BB declares all-in, for about another $200!!!!!

Of course, I snap call, wait for the dealer to ask to turn the cards over, and then turn my cards over first saying "I've got the nuts."

BB had Kc 10h, for a flopped straight with king-high flush redraw, UTG had Ac xc for the ace-high flush.

Without doing much work, I rake in a pot close to $500.

Easy game ;)

Raising with the straight flush, I know, isn't always recommended. Slow playing is the "typical" course of action with this hand. In the moment, though, what I thought of was this: if someone's got a hand, they're coming with me no matter what; if no one has a hand I'll likely not be getting any more money anyway, so let's try to build the pot.

At the tables again

2009-01-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

Finally, after playing only once since September, I got out to Tulalip for some $1/$3 action last night. It may be the last time I'll play in the next few months too, as I have school starting up tomorrow night.

My biggest issue was trying to remain patient. I forgot how boring poker can be: fold, fold, fold, fold, fold...

Most of the table, most of the night, was either tight-passive or loose-passive. I was mostly tight-aggressive, but made a number of loose preflop calls when in position against passive preflop raisers: 90% of the time they'll check if they don't hit, I'll bet and take it down.

I was blessed with good cards at the right moments. Presto worked out for me nicely here:

MP: Loose-passive, $200. Plays suited anythings.
Button: Tightish. Almost aggressive. $120.
Me (BB): should have a tight-aggressive image; I've had a few bluffs picked off, too, which should throw some measure of doubt into the works too.

MP limps, button raises to $12. Folds to me, I make the call with 5c 5d; MP calls.

Pot: $37
FLOP: 6c 6s 5s

Floppin' a boat is sweet! I don't check-raise here: that's too big of a give away. I want to play a big pot, so I've got to build a pot.

I bet $15, hoping a weak-lead will encourage both players to at least call.
MP calls. Button immediately goes all-in.

Dream situation! My only issue now is how to get MP to come along. I do have a theatre degree, and did win best actor award at college, so hopefully I'm putting that to good use here.

I ask for a count, count out the chips, separate them from my stack, sit back... I may have pushed it too far when I said "Man, this would be a lot easier if you weren't behind me," though in all honesty I've said that exact same thing in situations where I really meant that too.

I make the call, hoping MP has something he can com along with. Unfortunately, he does the smart thing and folds.

Button flips over Th Td. Turn and river blank out, I win a nice pot.

Hand 2:
I rarely check-raise, but there are times it's the perfect thing to do.

Bunch of limpers, I look down at AKo in the SB, and just complete. AK totally out of position in a cash game isn't that great, so I won't think twice about just limping here. In position I raise 90% of the time.

BB (tight player, $250) raises to $12; MP calls (same MP from last hand); I call.

Flop: Ad 6h 3c

I check. BB bets $30. MP looks pained, and makes the call. I raise to $130; if either of them flopped a set - so be it, but chances are I'm good here.

BB takes quite a while, then folds, MP folds. After MP folds, BB says to me "I guess you have one pair beat." I say, "Which pair?" We laugh, then I ask if he had AK, which he confirms. My check-raise won me the pot instead of a chop. Sweet.

This is one of the few places I will check-raise liberally: TPTK on a dry board, if I lead out it's likely no one without an A will call. My check can look weak, and because I so rarely check-raise, against thinking and observant oponents they'll likely fold, and I'll take down a decent pot on the flop.

nothin'. Just - nothin'

2008-12-05T10:26:00.001-08:00

Wow. Poker has been SO far out of my radar of late.

I'm in school to become a chemical dependency counselor, and that plus working full-time puts a serious dent into poker time. I fell out of love with online poker, and getting up to the local casino has been tough. I've been doing homework and reading most evenings I'm not in class - yes, that includes weekends. The last time I did go and play, I was too preoccupied with a test I had on Monday that I played like crap.

Class is over until January 5 now. I've got plans for this Saturday, but I'm hoping the next week to get up there. I'd honestly like to earn some money: what I won over the spring and summer ended up paying for my first 3 quarters of school (among other things). I just paid tuition for my 4th quarter, so it seems only right to head up there and win that back too :)

I miss playing, too. And hope I'm not too rusty what with 3 months since I was playing at least weekly...

Gross suckout

2008-10-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

I'm playing a freeroll put on by seattlepokeropen.com. Super tight, in the top 5 or something. 30/60 blinds. I raise to 180 in EP with KT0 (tight enough that it should get some respect). Loosest player at the table (I barely cover him) calls.

FLOP:
Th 5d 7s

I bet 300, he min-raises to 600. If he hit a set, then so be it, but otherwise I'm likely ahead. I shove. Pause....call.

For your viewing pleasure:

Not so sure I put my tournament live on the line with 2 overs and a backdoor draw.

He proudly states "YES! 2nd suckout of the day" afterwards. I love players like this at the cash games! :)

no time...

2008-10-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

I've had like no time for poker lately. I've in class 3 days a week, and doing homework most of the other 4. My Saturday class is over this week, though, so I'll have a little lighter of a load shortly. Still, I doubt I'll be playing until likely 11/1 (plans the next two weekends).

Feels odd to take such an extended break - I was playing literally every week for months now. Miss it, miss the extra cash. Looking forward to getting back into the action whenever I can.

Raising for a free card

2008-09-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

Some of this stuff may be 100% standard, 'everyone knows this sort of thing' strategy. I feel like my poker game has just taken some big strides forward, and a lot has to do with implementing specific techniques at the table. Some I found by trial / error, some I've picked up from watching Live at the Bike, some who knows...

Here's one I heard talked about on LATB, and subsequently put to good use in my game:

If I have an open ended straight draw or a duble-gut-shot on the flop, I have 8 outs. Using the rule of 4, I have about a 32% chance of hitting my hand by the river. However, that's only when I get to see both the turn and the river. Often, however, if an early position player bets the flop, and you raise in position, if EP calls, he'll often check the turn to you, fearing you will raise again if he bets.

Example: from this weekend's $1/$3 action:

MP raises to $10, I call OTB with J8o

FLOP: 69T rainbow.

MP bets $15.

Here, any 7 or any Q gives me a straight. I want to get to the river, but don't want to call a big turn bet. I raise to $45. MP pauses, then calls. He's likely got overs (AK/AQ) or a meduim-strength pair.

TURN: [69T] 4

MP checks. I'm more than happy to take a free card, so I check behind.

RIVER: [69T4] Q

MP bets $40, I raise to $100. MP calls.

MP shows QT for a rivered 2-pair; I show my straight.

Raising in position like this is a great way to often get your opponent to check the next street. Raise the flop, oponent checks the turn = free river; raise the turn, opponent checks the river = free showdown.

Calling down light

2008-09-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

Tulalip $1/$3

Villain: MP, $700. I played with him 2 weeks ago... he seems like a solid player, made some big calls; he caught perfect on one big hand to more than double up. He's bet me out of 3 pots in the last half hour, and I don't know whether he had anything or not (though his "nothing" was likely better than mine once). He has yet to get caught in 1 bluff in about 3 hours of play, though I can't imagine he's got a hand each time he fires.

Hero: BB, $550. Typical loose/aggressive post-flop image (more passive pre-flop: I'm willing to see a lot of flops against passive, predictable opponents). I do go out of my way to get into pots with a wide range of hands when against another deep stacked opponent.

1 limper, Villain raises to $15, folds to Hero who calls with As 3h (limper folds).

Pot: $37
FLOP: 835 rainbow

Hero checks; Villain bets $25, Hero calls.

I make a loose preflop call with far-out hopes of some sort of 2-pair/wheel hand. On the flop, I'm making a very light call: I'll often do this on a dry board whenever I get even a piece of the flop, just to see what happens on the turn. If a blank comes and he checks behind, there's a chance he's missed. Here, there's also the possibility of hitting an ace and getting into a big pot against AK/AQ.

Pot: $87
TURN: [835] 9

Hero checks, Villain checks.

I'm actually feeling OK about my hand here: I don't believe he raises with below TT, and he'd bet an over pair here. Obviously, bottom pair is weak, but I think I'm good here.

Pot: $87
RIVER: [8359] 4

Hero checks, Villain bets $45.

I replay the hand, and I can't put him on anything: if this is an over pair, he's playing it very strangely, especially by checking the turn: he's not shown himself to be a tricky player. Highly unlikely the 4 helped him; slight possibility he has 67, but he's not yet to have shown himself to mix it up enough to add that to his range.

I say to him, "Do you ever bluff?" He kind of shrugs his shoulders. And then I either see something flash in his facial expression, or I'm making things up in my head to justify a call. Which is it? Who knows. I'd like to think I did see something, but I can't be certain. I spend most of my time when watching big hands observing those in the pots, trying to discern whether they're confident, strong, weak, scared, etc, just by watching their faces and body language. Is it doing me any good? I'm not sure.

Hero calls. Villain says "Good call," and turns over AQo. I table A3o and take down a $170 pot with bottom pair. He's shocked, he says, "How did you call with that?" and got some "Wow's" from the rest of the table.

How did I do that? Combination of board texture, a possible read, and partially instinct. He either had what he had, or a hand like JJ. I was getting better than 3-to-1 on the $45 bet, and decided that there was at least a 25% chance he was bluffing: if he bluffs 25% of the time, a call here is exactly break-even; if he bluffs 26%, it's barely +EV.

This was the 2nd time I called him down light: on a mostly similar board just after he sat down, I was in position and called a flop bet and a river bet with pocket deuces; I was wrong that time (he'd made an odd raise with QT and hit a T on the turn - and checked it too).

I'm quite happy what this will do for my table image. Once they see this hand, I'm hoping they will be less likely to try to bluff me.

I've been playing a lot of poker lately. I play approx 8-14 hours/week (1 long session most Saturdays). 6 months ago if I had less than top pair on any board, I'd not have thought twice about folding. Not the case today: I use my loose/aggressive post-flop image and scare cards to make bets and raises, and I use my reads and poker instincts to make light calls. I'm not always right, and honestly I've not kept close enough tabs to know whether my light calls have been profitable or not. That would be hard to quantify anyway. It is fun when I'm right though :)

Sometimes AK is enough, part 2

2008-09-16T22:51:00.001-07:00

Tulalip $1/$3

Villain: $400; very very aggressive player, usually a $3/$5 player. I've played him a few times. I wonder sometimes if he's just aggressive for aggressiveness sake (which also makes me wonder if I sometimes have that tendency)

Hero: $500; LAG. Really mixing it up tonight, probably gambooling a bit more than I ought to. IM(not so)HO villain and I are the 2 best players at the table, and while I usually try to avoid playing really good players, I'll sometimes get involved because: a) it's fun and challenging, and b) sometimes you think you have the best hand.

Villain raises to $15 in LP; Hero looks down OTB at AhKh. I don't want to build a huge pot against him, so I decide to just take a flop. Blinds fold.

POT: $34
FLOP: J29 rainbow (one heart)

Villain bets $20; Hero calls.

I decide to take one off here for two reasons: 1) he c-bets almost every flop he raises, and 2) I'm in position, and can try to represent on the turn. I'm thinking if an 8 or K comes off I can represent a straight. Of course, if an A or K come off I'm probably good, plus I do have backdoor flush possibilities. My call, too, could shut him down if he's missed, and allow me perhaps a free river. And, too, sometimes AK is good enough for a showdown.

POT: $74
TURN: [J29] 5 (no heart)

Villain bets $50. Hero calls.

I watch him watch the board, and count out his bet, and pick up something. At least I think I do. There was a look on his face as he pushed his chips that was different than the confident/cocky look he usually has. I don't think he has anything, so I call.

POT: $174
RIVER: [J295] 5

Villain stares at the board for a beat, cuts out $75, and pushes it into the pot with 2 hands. I grab a stack of $100 from my stack, and - I kid you not - he grimaced, ever so slightly. I was considering calling before the grimace, but now I'm leaning more that way. I'm not sure how capable he is of giving false tells, so I'm not ready yet, but I count out the $75, and move it away from my stack (but not forward, AND not over the commitment line). I'm looking at the pot and the board, going back through what he might have, but as I moved the chips away from my stack, he says "You're good," so I immediately push the chips out front, and he mucks.

I had seen him muck more than once that evening after an opponent called a river bet, so I was pretty sure that he would do just that again. I thought I'd be OK at showdown, too. I never have to turn my cards over since he mucked. His wife was seated right next to him and she said, "Why'd you muck?" to which he replied "Because if he can call me there he has to have me beat." I stack the chips, and as the next hand is being dealt I ask him if he had a pair, and he said of course.

Take-away: don't muck your hand until:
1) your oponent shows you the winner,
2) your oponent has mucked, OR
3) the dealer is pushing chips to you.

Don't forget who you're playing against

2008-09-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

Villain: $250. Been at the table about 30 minutes; don't think she's folded a hand preflop yet. She appears to be not very experienced (bet sizes, chip/card handling, general demeanor, etc), very very passive.

MP: $350. Very, very aggressive. Usually a $3/$5 player.

Hero: $700. Typical playing for me (LAG). Not happy MP is here, but happy Villain (and her friend) is.

MP raises to $10. Hero calls with 2c 2s. Villain calls.

POT: $30
FLOP: 256 rainbow.

Villain bets $15. MP raises to $40. I think about raising, but I want Villain to come in, so I just call. Villain calls.

POT: $150
TURN: [256] 9

Villain bets $40. MP folds. I push. Villain thinks for a half a minute, then calls.

POT: $550
River: [2569] J

Hero shows a set of 2's. Villain shows a set of 6's.

I've rarely folded sets on rainbow boards. There is a possible straight, sure, but I really don't think she's leading out on a draw. The more I think about this, though, the more obvious this should have been that I was way behind. It was obvious to the entire table just how aggressive MP is, and she wasn't the least bit afraid to bet right into him twice...I don't see what else this besides 55 or 66. Slight possibility of an over-pair, but I could only see this being AA with her leading out twice (especially twice into a raiser and a caller).

If I had stopped and taken a minute or two to replay the hand, to figure out what she would lead out into two aggressive players, I would have pinpointed that hand to 55 or 66, and saved myself some money. Instead, because I had seen her show QQ after leading into a rag flop, I simply assumed that must be what it was again.

Getting - and using - information

2008-09-09T23:07:00.000-07:00

Tulalip $1/$3

ME: UTG+1; $700. I've been nicknamed "Table Captain" now by more than one opponent. I don't think it's meant as a compliment, but it's leaning towards true: I am the guy driving the action; I'm giving a lot of action, I'm getting a lot of action; I'm raising a lot. It's easy to do at a loose/passive table.

Button: $300. Typical player: passive, bets when he has it, checks when he doesn't.

I'm dealt 2 black aces, and make my standard raise to $12. This has been my opening raise with no limpers all night, no matter what my position or what I'm raising with. Folds to button who calls (surprising that no one else calls at such a passive table); blinds fold.

Pot: $28
FLOP: Ks Kh Kd

What an interesting flop. This is a way ahead / way behind (WA/WB) situation: either he's got any pair/combination of cards with no K and I'm so far ahead it isn't funny, or he's got some Kx combination and I'm crushed.

I can't check here; I lead out for $20. Button calls.

Pot: $68
TURN: [Ks Kh Kd] 2c

I have no clue where I'm at... again WA/WB. I decide to check for pot control. Button checks behind. Is he slow playing? I really don't know. I do know, however, that I don't want to play a big pot here if I can help it.

Pot: $68
RIVER: [Ks Kh Kd 2c] Ts

I can't check here, because almost any full house is paying me off. If I bet and he pushes, I figure I can safely fold.

I bet $50. Button insta-pushes, and I feel kind of sick. I look at him, and say "This is just sick," then I turn my hand over. I didn't muck yet, I just turned it over to get his reaction. Yes, this is perfectly legitimate for cash games - though you may want to verify in your specific card room before trying this.

So after I turn my hand over, the button looks at my cards and says "Oh, you're good." He looked so instantly dejected that, if this is an act trying to get me to call, he deserves to be paid off.

So even though I had planned on folding to a push, I have to go with my read here. I put my chips into the pot, he turns over ATo; I show my aces and rake in a big pot on an oddly scary board.

Morals of the story:
1) Use whatever information you get, from whatever - legitimate - technique you can use. I was willing to fold here: I only had $80 invested, and it was another $220 or so to call. This would often be an easy fold, getting about 1.5:1 here with the small full against a player who never bluffs in this spot: he truly believed he had the best hand; AND

2) If your opponent turns over their cards, don't talk, don't flinch, don't move, don't do anything. If he hadn't looked obviously dejected, let alone saying aloud "You're good," I would have easily folded, and he would have won the hand.

Sometimes AK is enough at showdown

2008-09-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Tulalip $1/$3

HERO: UTG+1, $600. I'm in for $300, so I'm not too far up. Passive table - mostly loose preflop, tight/passive postflop. Perfect environment for me; I love it!
VILLAIN: UTG, $200. Literally first hand at the table; why he decided to come in UTG is beyond me (Tulalip allows you to come in behind the button and not have to post). I've played him a number of times; he likes to create an early, aggressive, run-over-the-table image.

UTG Raises to $15.
HERO looks down at AKo. This could a re-raising, but in this early of a position I'd rather just call and see a flop. Everyone else folds.

POT: $33
FLOP: 828r

UTG Bets $25.
HERO calls.

If he's got a pocket pair I've still (more likely than not) got overs. Granted this is often more of a limit poker play, but I'm OK with taking one off here to see a turn. He looked very uncomfortable when I called. Doesn't look like he has anything.

POT: $88
TURN: [828] T

UTG Bets $75.
HERO calls.

He got a very, very determined look on his face after the turn card came off. If I could have read his mind I believe I would have read "If this guy has something I need to keep showing strength so he'll go away." Still doesn't look like he has anything.

POT: $238
RIVER: [828T] 5

UTG looks kind of disgusted, says "Check." I consider the fact that we may have the same hand, and a bet here could move him off of it. Instead, I decide to check behind. Why? Sometimes AK, on a rag board with an aggressor who obviously missed everything, is good enough to show down. With the size of the pot, if he really did have any pair he'd likely call anyway.

I decide to take the safer route in case my read was way off and save a hundred bucks. I also considered betting so I didn't have to show my hand, but I liked what it might do to my already loose/crazy image that I'd call this guy down with nothing but the nut-no-pair. I was prepared to call his bet here, too, even if he went all-in: I was fairly certain that we were at least holding the same hand.

I turn over AK; UTG turns over AQ and throws it into the muck, and shakes his hand as the pot comes my way.

Should've stacked him

2008-08-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

Tulalip $1/$3.

UTG - new player, won first three hands he's played (this is his 4th), $300
HERO (OTB): Playing tighter than usual, table is a little too crazy to play super-lag, $400

UTG raises to $10. Folds to me, and I call with 8d 8c. SB calls.

FLOP: Jh 2h Jd

SB checks. UTG bets $20. I just don't think he's on a jack, and I can represent a flush if a heart falls, so I call. SB folds. Pot: $70.

TURN: [Jh 2h Jd] 8s

Miracle card. UTG bets $40. I take a little time, and smooth-call. Pot: $150

RIVER: [Jh 2h Jd 8s] Qd

UTG: Checks. I take some time, and bet $125. UTG SNAP-calls. I turn over the boat, and he mucks.

Moral of the story: Raise the turn. If UTG really has a jack, he's going to call most any raise. If he doesn't, then he won't put any more money in on the river anyway. If I made a smallish raise to $100 on the turn, he'd likely have called anyway, then the pot would be the right size for me to stick the rest in on the river, which he likely would have called. He likely had AJ there.

I missed out on about $100 by getting fancy and slow-playing my boat. I almost never slow-play, so I'm not sure what I was thinking.

ooops...

2008-08-27T00:27:00.000-07:00

Tulalip $1/$3 game.

As my last post was about following my gut (thanks for the correction riggs), here's one where I followed my gut almost to my own detriment...

I'd been moved to this table about an hour ago. A guy 2 to my right was seemingly raising/re-raising every 3rd hand, playing super aggro. After a while I'd decided at some point I'd make a stand against him, as there's no way he's getting that many hands. No way. I just hadn't been able to even closely connect with the board, and I hadn't found a hand yet that I'd be able to intelligently call a 3-bet shove (which he did liberally) so re-popping was often out of the question.

Villain had approx. $250 (he'd recently lost a hudge chunk of his stack in a set-over-set matchup - it was close to a $1K pot). I had just about $300.

MP raises to $10. Villain calls, I call on the button with 5d 7d (one of my favorite types of hands).

FLOP: Td 7h 6s

MP checks
Villain bets $25
HERO: calls (middle pair in position is worth seeing a turn here)
MP folds

Pot: $80
TURN: [Td 7h 6s] 4d

Villain bets $50

I don't think he has anything. Why? I just don't know... I think he plays 2 overs the same way here, especially since he's bet me out of every pot we've been in together, which likely makes me look weak/passive. I've got a big draw here, though, so I'm going with it. I "tank," count out chips, and announces all-in. Villain insta-calls. 'Ooops,' I think to myself.

RIVER: [Td 7h 6s 4d] 5c

Villain shows Kc Ks
HERO shows 5d 7d for two pair.

Who would've thunk he had a real hand this time? Granted, I had a HUDGE draw (9 diamonds, 2 7's, 3 5's, 3 trey's, 3 8's = 20 outs), but still...

Follow your read

2008-08-25T21:46:00.001-07:00

One thing I've been working on is following my read, even when I can't say what my read is based on. I've played a lot of cash game poker over the past 3 months - at least once / week, and most every session was at least 10 hours (most closer to 12-15 hours). I've gotten a lot better in general, and more specifically I've gotten much better at following my reads.

Game: private home-game, 6-handed $0.50/$0.50 NLHE, $100-$200 buy-in. We've got over $1,000 on the table. Deep stack poker is awesome. Play has been very aggressive.

SB: $400, possibly the most aggressive player at the table. This is the first time I've played with him (the rest of the table I've played with twice before).

Me OTB: $280. I've been picking my spots carefully, made some good plays that worked, made some good plays that were picked-off... having a great time, too.

CO limps in, I limp with Q2o. I did this because: a) I'm on the button, and I play almost anything 6-handed on the button with no raise, and b) there's a running joke on this email discussion list we're all on that claims Q2o to be the nuts. SB raises to $2.50, CO folds, I call.

FLOP: 929 rainbow.

SB bets $6. I call. Why? Something in his mannerism, or the way he tossed his chips, or something else, tells me he doesn't have anything. I consider raising, but this player loves to 3-bet, so I just call and hope to get to a showdown.

TURN: [929] 7x

SB bets $15. I call.

RIVER: [9297] Jx

SB bets $35. I take some time, count my chips, take a look at the SB, count the $35 out, take a look at the small blind. I just don't think he's got anything. My motto lately has been to pick my spots, and if I was following that I'd have folded preflop, or at least on the flop. But I also need to follow my reads, and if I think I've got the best hand I'm at least calling.

So I do call. SB says "Nice call. Ace high." I turn over Q2 and collect a $148 pot with a pair of ducks.

Am I writing this to brag? Only partly ;)

My point is if you have a read, follow it. Or, more specifically, if I have a read, I'm following it. I often cannot put my finger on what it is that gives me the read I have, so I guess that's the next step. But there are times when I'm playing where I get an almost overwhelmingly strong sense of exactly what's going on in the hand. That's what happened here.

It's a feeling I can't describe, but it just kind of 'makes sense,' in a similar way that great music just 'sounds good.'

Short break

2008-08-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

After the past 3 months of playing once/week up at Tulalip (with 2 weekends I played Friday and Saturday), I've got an off weekend. I'm down in Orlando visiting my grandparents. Grandpa has pancreatic cancer, and is likely to start treatments in about 2-3 weeks. If the PET scans he just had done are not promising, though, well....he may skip the treatments and just go when it's time.

What a helluva scary decision that must be to make.

Anyway...

So normally, this time of the week I'd be at the tables (I start around 3-4pm Pacific and go for 1-16 hours typically). The last break I took was when I was running really bad, and the break was good for me to examine my game.

This time, though, I've been on fire. Yea, luck-boxed into some pots. But I'll tell ya - I feel better and more confident about my game today than I ever have. I fell like I've finally, after all these years, finally I've begun to flourish into a real poker player.

I need to work on some aspects of my game. I know I need to come up with a physical routine at the tables, as I know I give off some physical tells to observant players. I need to continue to work on my value betting. And I'd like to get to the level where I'm trying to misrepresent my hand to my oponent...

These will be necessary for me to be sucessful once I step up to $3/$5. The $1/$3 game (with the $200 buy in) is playing a lot like the old 2-5 game was playing, just not quite as big. It's really the perfect game for where I'm at though: can beat the players, can beat the rake, can build a bankroll, can have losing sessions that won't be psychologically devastating... you know, moving up may not happen for quite a while.

I'd like to make more money at the game, and I will take a shot at some point, but for now - I'm earning enough to pay for school and books, and to sock some away for when I"m in my poorly paid internship next summer. Yea, I want to step up, but my bankroll would be in jeopardy after 1 really bad night. I can't jeopardize my poker career just by taking a shot at the next level. I'm not worried about the play there: I'm confident I will do fine at that level. At this point, though, one $3/$5 downswing would hurt the roll and my psyche too much...

I'd love to be at the tables... as much as I'm loving the vacation, I've got two things I'm looking forward to next weekend: Friday, Angel and I are going to a play then a late dinner (and perhaps dessert at my place), then Saturday - back up at the tables.

I run damn good

2008-08-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

Tulalip $1 / $3

Hero ($1300). LP. Last 1/3 table going, and I've been playing well, running well, and playing against idiots who apparently hate money.

SB ($600). Straight-forward player; won a huge pot with quads a while back. Nothing fancy, typical player.

UTG ($25). Tulalip bartender who's been waiting and waiting for the nuts, blinding off and chasing stuff.

Bunch of limpers, so I decide to see a flop with QTo. Shut up, it's a weak ass hand, I know, but more likely than not everyone will miss, I'll bet, everyone will fold, money comes my way. Been doing it all night.

Pot: $18
FLOP: Jc Qc Th rainbow.

Unlikely AK is out there, as it's been limped. SB bets $12, UTG pushes all -in. I've got top two, and don't want any more flush draws in there, so I bump it to $75. Folds to SB who calls.

Pot: $190
TURN: [Th Jc Qc] Tc

SB checks. I bet out $150. The flush got there, so I hope he's got the nut flush. When the SB calls, it smells like a flush. Sweeeeet!

Pot: $490

RIVER: [Th Jc Qc Tc] Qd

Kind of an unfortunate river, as if he had a Q we're now chopping. SB checks. I fire out $250 (in green $25 chips). SB shows 7c 8c and folds. Apparently, he was looking for the 9c (or was hoping I'd stop betting and that his flush was good). UTG turns over AK for the flopped straight (well played, and no - she wasn't looking for a limp reraise). I turn over QT for da boat.

$490 in a limped pot. not bad, not bad at all....

The stuff that dreams are made of

2008-08-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Tulalip $1/$3

Hero: MP, $900. Playing aggressively, making moves, pushing the table around. Very much a LAG image. Even though when the big pots come up I almost always have the goods, people continue to think I'm just making moves on them.

Cut-Off: 1st time playing poker in a casino. Luck-boxed into a few medium-size pots. $240 (up from $100).

BB: Young kid. No read. Not involved in more than a couple pots over the last hour or so. Casual player. $180.

UTG raises to $12. I look down at 2 black aces, and I bump it to $35. CO calls. BB takes a few seconds, and announces all-in. Folds to me. It's spread-limit, so I know the betting is capped, but I still announce "All-In." Dealer tells me it's capped, so I say I call and am all-in blind before the flop. CO calls. Dealer pulls money in, and I put out $200 before the flop, CO pushes his chips into the pot.

I have no idea what the flop turn or river were. Nobody improved.

BB showed pocket deuces (?!); CO shows AhQd (?!?!).

Insanity. $180 with 22. $240 with AQ0. I love this game!!!

Is it sustainable?

2008-08-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

Over the last 2 months I've booked pretty big wins overall. My sessions are typically approx 12 hours long, and I've been averaging about 17 big blinds per hour.

I wonder how sustainable this is, though. The games are playing bigger (the bigger buy-in level and the $1/$3 structure had a much bigger effect on the game than I had anticipated), and my bankroll is stable enough that I am very very comfortable playing for big pots and making large bets if I think I'll earn the pot.

The last two weekends were hudge wins ($1400 and $1555). I know some of it is the luck of the draw, but some has got to be my play: I've become much better at reads, and playing position aggressively. But I wonder how much is luck, and how much is me. There are players who I view as better than me that I've seen consistently walk away from the tables with much less profit.

I guess only time will tell which is the case, but I'm feeling really great about my game: I feel like I'm able to put my opponents on ranges pretty accurately, I've become very good at figuring out what I think my opponent thinks I have, I've become able to sniff out weakness, I'm able to use scare cards to bet my opponents off of likely winning hands...

I hope it's not just ROT...

On another note: while I had been expecting to step up to $3/$5, I'm not going to do that any time soon: the $1/$3 games are playing big enough that I'm sticking there for a while. Plus, and even though I'm doing well, losing 3 buy ins in an evening is possible in any game (I always come prepared with 3 full buy-ins), which in the $3/$5 game would mean $1500. I'm not sure I'm psychologically OK with the possibility of losing $1500 in one night. I'm OK with $600, but I fell like I'd be playing too scared. Maybe not, though, we'll see. In all honesty my bankroll is still not big enough to play comfortably there.

Aces never win...

2008-08-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

Tulalip $1/$3 "No limit" game.

Part 1:
It's deep into the session; the player to my right is a huge fish with a $1,100 chip stack (don't ask). I'm sitting on the button with around $900, and am doing everything in my power to get into pots with the fish. Dude in the BB is a new player, very casual player, with about $250.

MP limper, Fish McFish limps, I limp with Ks Js, SB completes, BB raises to $20. MP folds, Fish calls. My hand is pretty weak, but instead of thinking of this as 2 broadway cards, I'm playing this as a suited 1-gapper; in other words, I'm not looking to hit just top pair - I need straights and flushes and two pair for this hand to be worthwhile. If Fish mucked, so did I: I was looking for reasons to get into pots with him. He had about $1600 just a couple hours back, and he's been slowly leaking that money around the table; I want my share!

3 to the flop, $60 in the pot.

FLOP:
K2J rainbow

BB bets out $50. Fish folds (oh well). I raise to $125. BB hesitates, then calls.

TURN:
[K2J] 5

BB goes all-in. I call.

River:
[K2J5] J.

BB turns over AA. I show KJ for the full house.

Easy game.

------------------------------

Part 2:
I'm UTG with AA, and I raise to $15. Guy in the cut-off (thinking player, aggressive) puts in $10. He didn't realize there was a raise, so then he just tosses in another $5 chip. Button calls, BB calls. 4 to the flop, $60 in the pot.

FLOP:
Qh 5h 8s

BB checks. I bet $75 (lotta flush chasers at this level, want to price them out, as I don't have the ace of hearts). Cut-off raises all-in for $100 more. Folds to me, I call.

Turn and river are meaningless.

I turn over aces for one pair. Cut off turns over QQ for flopped top set.

So freakin' rigged...

Big Score

2008-08-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

Had my biggest one night win Saturday night at the $1/$3 Tulalip casino game. At one point I was up to $1800, but ended up cashing out at $1625, for a profit of $1425. Brilliant poker playing?

Not at all. I was watching one of the Live at the Bike episodes late Friday, and one of the announcers called it out just right: he said NL hold 'em is a game of mistakes. The object is to make as few mistakes as you can, and capitalize on the mistakes of your opponents. That's pretty much what I was doing. I'd catch players over-playing medium-strength hands, and just take their money. Here's a great example:

I'm in middle position with 7h 8h, and I limp in. Player on the button pops it to $20. It folds around to me, and I call. At this point, we're both pretty deep for these levels: I've got about $600, and he's got about $400. As a general rule, I use the 10-times rule to decide whether to call with hands like small pocket pairs and low-mid suited connectors: if the player has 10 times the amount of his raise (and, of course, I do too), and I think he'll pay me off if I hit, then I'll call. If not, then it's not worth it.

I also know, too, that this is quite a large raise for this player, and the last time he made this large preflop overbet he showed jacks, so I have an idea right off the bat where he's at.

2 players, pot is $44.

FLOP:
Kd 8c 8s

I lead out for $30. He pops it to $100. I smooth-call, and plan on leading any turn. He says something like "Great, I've been trying all night to avoid you, and here we are." Whatever; unless he has K8 or KK I'm good..

TURN:
[Kd 8c 8s] 2c

Pot is $244, he's got about $300 left. I bet $100, he goes all-in. Of course, I call.

RIVER:
[Kd 8c 8s 2c] a meaningless river card

I show 7h 8h for trip 8's. He shows Tc Td for 2 pair. And for some reason he goes off for about 5 minutes on how I can call with that garbage. I ask him if he plays suited connectors and he says, "not like that." I say something to the effect of him obviously being a limit player, which he didn't take too kindly to.

Thing is -- I'd probably play AK just as fast, and I'd expect him to as well. I can't tell you how shocked I was when he didn't have a king there. Insanity.

------------------

So for the next hour this guy is steam-raising and playing super-aggro. I don't mind; if I don't have a hand I get out of the way, all the while he's building up a nice stack from the rest of the table.

Then, round two:

After a couple limpers, I raise to $15 from middle-late position with 3c 4c. I'm raising often, but not excessively, and I'm mixing up what I'm raising and limping with, so this fits in to the script perfectly (see this post). Same dude calls me from the button. Blinds fold.

Pot is $40.

FLOP:
[Td 4h 3s]

Not a bad flop, eh?

I bet $30. He calls, and gives a little speech: "You'd better have something this time." I don't know what this means, except that he must've hit part of that flop or has a pocket pair. TT he'd for certain raise here.

TURN:
[Td 4h 3s] 3d

Well, I've got a likely lock on the hand. I don't get fancy: I want to build a pot, so I stick some money in there. He already told me on the flop he liked his hand, so the 3 is likely not going to affect his hand quality, so he should be able to call here too. I bet out $50. He comes over the top and goes all in for another $250 or so. Massive bet. Massive.

I, of course, call.

RIVER:
[Td 4h 3s 3d] 9h

I show 3c 4c for a full house. He shows 3h 5h for trip 3's. He then gets an attitude again, saying "You raised with 3c 4c?" I remind him that not only did he call preflop with 35o, but that he called a flop bet with bottom pair. He then goes on like a doofus saying "I can't beat you, I just can't beat you can I?" He says a few other rude things as he's standing up to leave. I ask him if he's going to the ATM, because we'll save his seat for him.

That may have been a little over-the top, but the table got a laugh from it.

Bye bye Bodog?

2008-08-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

Reading this article on Forbes online, it sure sounds like Bodog may not be long for the world.

The tenor of the article makes it sound like FTP and Stars are in danger too, though I doubt that. I'm hoping the Bush administration yahoos decide to concentrate their efforts on real criminals over the next 6 months...

And for an expert comentary on the situation, check out this youtube video (no, it's not a rickroll!).

Raising with deceptive hands

2008-07-29T00:07:00.000-07:00

Tulalip $1/$3

First off, kudos to Tulalip casino for upping the buy in to $200, and though they changed the big blind to $3 so you don't quite have 100 bb's, it's still a much, much, much better game!

I just lost a decent chunk of my stack to the player on my right with a sick river card. I went from about $250 down to $60. Don't remember the betting details, but I know the dude called my turn push with a flush draw and an over card, and the river spade killed my set.

I topped off back up to $200 before the next hand, when I'm dealt 4s 6s. I love these hands, especially in position, and I'd decided as a bit of randomness that this session, I would raise/re-raise black suited gappers and connectors, and just call/limp with red suited gappers/connectors. SO, in late position I raised this up to $10. I get called by the dude to my left who just rivered the flush; others fold.

Pot: $22
FLOP: 6d Qd 4c

BB checks, and I fire out $20; I thought about betting much more than pot to chase out the flush-draw, but I decided to gamble a bit and just play carefully if the flush came.

Pot: $62
TURN: [6c Qd 4d] 6d

The flush got there and I got my boat. I could fire out to represent the flush, but I decided to trap a little, and hope my opponent was on the flush draw (I was almost certain he was, and if he wasn't he wouldn't be able to call my bet anyway). I checked, and he bets out $30. I take my time, cut out my chips, stack them back up again, look at my opponent -- I'm trying my best to sell some disappointment, but trying not to ham it up too much. I kind of "reluctantly" call.

Pot: $122
River: [6c Qd 4d 6d] As

I need to lead out here, but I want it to look weak. I have $140 left, so I bet out $30 as a "blocking" bet. My opponent min-raises to $60. When I push all-in, it's only another $50 anyway, so he calls and turns over his king-high flush. I show the full house, and he says, "Oh my god. You raised with that crap?"

I love it!

Tulalip buy ins went up!

2008-07-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

So the $1/2 game I play was typically a $50 min / $100 max buy-in. That's so shallow.

FINALLY, they've upped the buy-ins. While it's now a $1/$3, it's now a $100-$200 buy-in. It's doubtful the game will play any differently due to the $1 bigger big blind, but being able to start with $200 will make this game MUCH more entertaining!

Especially late at night. Last weekend I was crushing the game (was up to $600 on one buy), when we were down to 5 handed. Thing is, 1 guy had like $75, and the others were under that. 2 new guys sat at the table, but bought in for $50 and reloaded up to $50 after busting. Just not a lot of money on the table like that.

With the $200 max, you no longer start as a short-stack! And $100 min will get more money onto the tables right away! Woo-hoo-hoo!!!!!

Thanks, FTP

2008-07-22T23:51:00.000-07:00

This, mind you, got all in preflop.

As soon as I saw the jack on the turn I opened up the "get chips" window. Thanks for the screw-job, FTP, now my ass hurts.

Playing big pots

2008-07-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

I'm addicted to Live at the Bike, a webcast of cash games at the Bicycle Casino (they don't webcast anymore, but you can subscribe and watch the archives here), and just yesterday I was watching a show with Barry Greenstein doing commentary.

He was talking about the fact that his aim when playing no limit, is to play for big pots. "Duh" I guess you could say, but it helped me plug a little leak. I realized I was trying to win too many of the smaller pots, which meant I was at times losing too many chips with marginal hands. Don't get me wrong, I'm still playing some of the smaller pots, and I'll take stabs at pots when I don't think anyone's connected. But this last session, instead of 2 or 3 barrelling, I'd give up once I'm called if I don't improve.

I'm still getting in there with hands that can hit hard, and, quite honestly, hope to get lucky. Cases in point:

Hand 1:

After a couple limpers, I limp on the button with Ac 6c. With this hand, I'm not looking to hit top pair; I want something like 2 pair or, obviously, flushes or flush draws. The BB, a young woman I've played with a number of times, raises it up to $8. The cut off calls, and they both have enough money behind for me to take a chance with this hand, so I call too.

FLOP: Ad 6h 2h

BB bets $15. CO calls. I've got top 2 pair, so I raise it to $50, and both call. I can put one of them on a decent ace, and the other one on a likely heart flush draw.

TURN: [Ad 6h 2h] 6d

Well, I don't care if the flush gets there now, and it's likely the BB is happy with her 2 pair with a good kicker, so it's time to bet. The pot is almost $150, and I've got about $100 left, so when they check it to me, I just stick it all in there and hope they've got something they can go with.

BB calls, and the CO calls!

BB shows AJo, CO calls Ah 9h, so both are drawing dead. I don't remember the river, and I collect a pot over $350.

Hand 2:

Very early in the session, and I've been gambooling it up a bit to try to build my stack. I've gone up to $150 and now down to about $85.

I limp in with 7d8d UTG. There were a couple limpers, then the button bumps it up to $10. It's $8 more for me to call; it's a close-call whether it's worth taking a long-shot here (I'd like to have a little more in my stack for this to be over-all profitable, but it's early in the night and I'm willing to take some more chances to try to build a stack to play with). I call, hoping for a straight draw or flush draw.

FLOP: 7s 7c 2c

One of the few times I will check raise is right here. If I was holding two 7's, and flopped a set, I'd lead out. One in hand and 2 on the board I'm more apt to check-raise OOP. [edit: if stacks were deeper, I'd lead out, but this game is rarely very deep stacked so the check-raise is my favorite move here]

I check. Button bets out $35 (gross overbet to chase out a flush draw). I go all in for an additional $50. He takes some time, asks if I'm on a club draw, then calls with TT. Turn and river blank out, and I double through, while hearing from him how horrible my preflop call was.

I'm convinced I got the call here because I've gone all-in on draws, one that hit, and one that didn't get called but I showed. I want my opponents to think I'll put them to the test for their stack whenever they're in a pot with me (and I don't always have to have a hand to do it). My range is really wide, too, so there's a ton of flops that will connect with me big time.

Hand 3:
UTG raises to $6. Folds to button who raises to $16. I'm in the SB with AsQs; I'd rather not see a flop so decide to try to take it down here, and re-raise to $35. UTG folds, button calls.

His call and no raise here, I believe, means he's got AK or AQ. I could get into trouble here, but with no queen on the flop I'll have to bet to win.

FLOP: Js Jc 2d

If he's got AA/KK/QQ I'm screwed. I HIGHLY doubt he called the reraise with AJ/KJ. I'm sticking with my original read that he's on AK. Rainbow flop means no flush draw.

I go all in (approx $100). Button hems and haws a bunch, then folds AcKc face up. "Good fold," I said, "I definitely did not want to see an ace or a king." He asked what I had and I told him queens, but mucked my hand. The entire table seemed to believe me (I don't know why!).

This was one of the few times playing out of position can earn you the pot: if you go with your read, and you know the guy can't call an all-in here, you stick the chips in and win the pot.

you know you want one!

2008-07-16T11:37:00.001-07:00

One of the funniest web page / product adverts I've read in a long time.

http://www.weaselballs.com/

Be sure to read the whole thing!

2 4 > JJ

2008-07-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Tulalip $1/2 session was uneventful: had some big hands, delivered some sick river beats, sucked out on the river a couple times. Ended a 10 hour session when the last $1/2 table broke with a $5 profit. Yipee. Incredibly, I was at the first $1/2 table started 10 hours prior. I like marathon sessions.

...which is why, on the way home, I stopped off for a $2-40 spread game that's usually super-soft at these hours. I quickly (20 minutes) am up to $300 (bought in for $200), and within a couple hours I'm up over $400.

Yea, it's that soft.

One player who is likely the best player at the table (big-time gamboooler too) raises to $8 UTG. 3 callers to me on the button with 2 4 offsuit. Imagining him with AA and a flop of A35, I decide to see a flop (bottom-feeding as others likely have broadway-type cards).

Boy, what a flop:

FLOP: 2 4 7 rainbow (woo-hoo!!!)
UTG bets $20. I raise $to $55, UTG calls.

TURN: [2 4 6 ] 9
UTG checks. I bet $40, UTG calls.

RIVER: [2 4 6 9] 5
UTG checks. I bet $40 UTG calls.

I announce 2 pair and show the duece four. UTG shows 2 jacks and practically cuts the felt he threw it down so hard. He walks away from the table to take a breather, and I hear him saying to no one in particular "I can't believe he calls with two f*@k'n four."

"Creative call," one of the players say to me.

I love what this does to my table image.

Grandpa update, preview of NL action this weekend

2008-07-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

First off, Grandpa's prognosis was not very good: the doctor, who would not have bothered with the surgery if he didn't think he could do anything, ended up not being able to do much at all. The tumor is cancerous, and there was too much of it to be able to do anything surgically. What he did will allow Grandpa to not get jaundiced and be able to eat comfortably for a little while.

Next up is a visit with the oncologist, and a likely recommendation of a combination chemo/radiation treatment. The surgeon said this is most likely, and will in most case allow grandpa a few more years of fine, comfortable living.

He's still recouping, and was able to get up and walk around a bit yesterday. Likely will go home Monday or Tuesday, and begin chemo / radiation in about a month, once he's healed up a little from surgery.

Not the greatest news, that's for sure. Being that he's 82, though, the ability to likely get a few more comfortable years is not a bad thing.

I'm looking forward to some more NL fun Saturday. I want to take a shot at $3/5 soon, but I don't think this weekend is it. Maybe, we'll see - I'll make that call Saturday.

My goals this session are (besides great decision making): pot control, and value betting. I've been missing some value bets with winning hands, and I'd like to be able to get more out of them.

And I've gotten better about keeping pot sizes reasonable when holding good, but not great hands. This one is tough for me, though, because some of the typical Tulalip play is so bad I want to get as much as I can out of the hands; OTOH sometimes it's not necessary to bloat the pot with vulnerable holdings.

Roller Coaster

2008-07-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

I've finally come to the understanding that my particular style of play is going to result in sometimes large swings, even within a session. I play a lot of speculative hands. I splash around in a lot of pots. I take stabs at a lot of pots. I give a lot of action. And, in return, I get a lot of action. When the big pots come around, though, I'm typically the one holding the goods.

Case in point:
Saturday night, Tulalip Casino. I'm on my 3rd $100 buy in due to pushing some big draws and bricking out. Standard.

I limp in on the button with 3h5h. 6 of us see the flop:

924, rainbow.

Checks to me, I just check (OESD? Sure, I'll take a free card, esp. with BB's propensity to check-raise).

Turn: [924] A

Boy, I'm hoping somebody's got an ace, maybe even an ace-rag 2 pair. Checks to me again, I bet $10. Both blinds call, others fold.

River: [924A] 6

Well, my straight just got bigger. I've got the nuts. Checks to me, I put in a bet of $30 ($40 in the pot). SB grudgingly calls. Then the BB min-raises to $60. I've got about $250 left; there is about $160 in the pot. He likes his hand, and I know he'll call a raise, only question is how much.

Though it's a little risky, I go in for the kill and OBFV: all in, baby!

SB, as expected, folds. BB, who is a very good player, one who I mostly tried to avoid at the table, thinks. And thinks. And thinks. He tanks for a long time. I'm tempted to call clock, but I don't want to scare him into folding. He's stared at the board long enough that he should see the possible straight, but isn't talking about that: he's worried about a slow-played set. Which of course means he hit two pair on the turn.

Eventually, he calls. I say "the nuts" and show, he flashes me A2 for top and bottom pair.

Total win from this trip: $659. I had almost $1K in chips at the table. The last $1/$2 game broke up around 7am. I was tempted to keep playing, and sit in the $3/$5 game, but after 15 hours at the table, I didn't think my decision-making abilities would be top-notch, so I decided not to try that.

I will be taking a shot at $3/5 sometime in the coming months. I've played 3/5 before, and was comfortable playing there. I'm just trying to be more prudent about my bankroll, because in all honesty I wasn't bankrolled to play 3/5. And even my 1/2 bankroll is slightly short because I keep using it to pay for things like tuition and school books and stuff (yes, I'm paying my way for my chemical dependency professional certification with poker winnings... some may call that slightly ironic). But once I hit a certain mark I'm going to take $600 and sit at the 3/5 table (that'd be 2 max buy-ins), and see how it goes.

On a side note, Grandpa goes in for surgery Tuesday at 2:30 EST. Think good thoughts.

aw crap

2008-06-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Grandpa's not doin' well. Been having stomache pains for months, and the idiot doctors couldn't find anything wrong. After MONTHS of this, yesterday he finally went to the Cleveland Clinic, where they examined him and found a tumor/mass on the pancreas, which is blocking the pancreatic vein.

Surgery is likely not an option due to his age.

Crap.

Beat of the night

2008-06-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

Last Friday/Saturday session, Tulalip $1/$2. MP limps, Button limps, SB limps, I look at 2 red kings and bump it to $16 to go.

MP calls. Others fold

FLOP: 789 rainbow

I lead with $25.

MP goes all in for $20 on top. (silly me I should've looked at his stack before betting; maybe I did and my brain is cloudy as this was at like 4am when I'd been playing for 10 hours).

I make a crying call (thinking I'm up against a possible JT, but I've seen people go all-in here with A9 or even 2 overs as, again, so many people (including me at times) are more apt to put their oppoents on AK than a big pair).

MP Turns over T6o for a flopped straight. T on the turn gives me some hope, but the river bricks out.

I guess the right play is to fold there, but I've seen enough people overcommit there with AJ or A9 that I felt I had to call.

3rd week in a row I've played against this guy, and I've never seen him walk out of the casino with chips. Sure, you'll hit a big score with T6o from time to time, but when short stacked? I dunno, maybe it was a good play...

Work to do

2008-06-23T16:54:00.001-07:00

In all honesty, as much poker as I've played in the past, I only recently began playing with any real regularity and seriousness. Sure, I've played online for a couple years now, but never at 'meaningful' stakes to either me or my opponents: online play is purely recreational, it's fun, it can be exciting, but it's never been about big profits etc.

RPT tournaments were my main poker experience 3-4 times/week for a year and a half or more. And there is a big difference between freeroll shortstack tournaments and live cash games.

For the past 3-4 months, I've been hitting up the $1/$2 game regularly - at least every other week, if not every week (Memorial day I was there for 2 days: nice $1200 score). My results are positive. The game is typically soft, though I make most of my money not by outplaying my opponents, but rather waiting for them to make mistakes and capitalizing on them.

I had a good Tulalip session Friday, but I am still obviously learning this game: I'm still a beginner. I'd say an advanced beginner, but a beginner nontheless. I can spot, with relative ease, who I should avoid at the table (w/o a monster holding), and who I should be able to take advantage of. I also play well post-flop, especially with people who are timid bettors: I get to steal enough pots that I can take some long-shot chances (like the T7s hand).

One unfortunate way I learn is by encountering pain. And that often comes in the form of making mistakes. While they suck, they are major learning experiences. And much more effective for me than reading a book. Experience is the best teacher, and I learn more from painful experiences than pleasurefull experiences.

I played in a private game Sunday night - 6-max deepstack ($100/$200 buy in, $0.50 blinds), with players obviously much more experienced than me (except perhaps one guy). I made what was likely the 2nd worst call of my life in a hand where my opponent obviously had AA. It was so obvious that I should have mucked my QQ preflop. Yes, that obvious. But I didn't. And it stung. Stung to the tune of $175.

Ouch.

Worst part? When I lead out (OOP) on a rag-board, I tell myself if he raises I must go away. What happens? He pushes, and I tank for a few minutes before calling.

DONK CALL!

I also learned a few more things:

- just because I'm playing deep stacked doesn't mean I can still play marginal hands to raises. Like KQo. I hit my queen I may not be good.

- just because my hand is a "good hand" doesn't mean that it's a good spot to make / call a raise/re-raise. I could've saved many a bet and waited for better opportunities.

- I've become so used to the relatively short-stacked $1/$2 game that the idea of "pot control" rarely crosses my mind; playing with 400 big blinds it should be crossing my mind.

- I don't like getting bullied around. I don't think anyone does. Which means I need to work on a counter-strategy against bullies. I can easily bully tight-passive $1/$2 players, but guys with 15 years of poker experience, who are used to the ultra-aggressive Microsoft games and taking advantage of the ultra-passive local games, I end up being the one getting bullied.

I got lots to work on. I've now got my poker roll completely separate from other money (though I'm still using my poker $$ to pay for a few things: classes, and contacts are my latest poker purchases), so I am easily able to disregard the "value" of the money and play much more optimally. And I need to balance my aggression: I'm oten either overshooting the mark (getting too aggressive), or playing too passively.

God I love this game.

Tulalip $1/2 - hands of the night

2008-06-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

Good session last night. I got caught in many bluffs; gotta keep reminding myself not to bluff idiots who don't know how to fold.

Hand 1:

Villain (UTG, $125): very loose, has made a ton of really odd calls, even called a $35 (3/4 pot bet) river bet from me with ace high (and yes, he won the pot). He's been playing 90% of the pots, and seemingly ATC. The hand right before this one, he limped in 2nd position, Hero raised from position with QJo, Villain re-popped to $22; I folded.

Hero (hijack, $200): Not affraid to re-raise from position, takes stabs at a lot of pots (it's a brand new table so I'm not scared of keeping a wild, loose image... perhaps same thing UTG is doing?).

Villain limps, folds to me 9c 9s. I raise to $8. Button calls; Villain re-pops to $25. I say "two big limp/re-raise hands in a row? OK, I'll play." SB folds.

FLOP: 2d 5s 7h

Villain bets $25.
I just don't think he's got anything. AK at best, c-betting. I know, though, that I'm facing a big bet on the turn (He's only got about $75 behind), so this is either push or fold.
HERO: "All in"

Villain looks at his hand, shrugs, and says, "Ah, what the hell," and calls

Villain turns over QJo (?!?!?!?!?!). Turn and river brick out, and I collect a good size pot due to a good read and a very loose call.

Hand 2:
Villain (LP, $200): good, thinking player. Likes to talk strategy at the table (I just nod my head and say "uh-huh"...). Confident, aggressive.
Hero: (LP+1, $300): aggressive, caught in some bluffs trying to steal-raise on dry boards; I'm raising and re-raising a ton of pots, though, many successfully so I've got splashing-around-chips. I should have a fairly tricky image.

One limper, folds to Villain who pops to $8. I look down at 7s Ts, and decide to call; limper calls.

FLOP: Tc 7d 3s

Limper: Checks
Villain: Bets $16.
Hero: Raises to $45(hope he's got an overpair)
Limper folds.
Villain begins stacking up his chips like he's going all-in. He looks at me and says "Are you serious? I've got a huge hand here." I say "If you're gonna raise me just get it all in now." He asks if I'll call, and I say more than likely (meaning YES YES YES!)
Villain just calls.
(POT: ~$110)

TURN: [Tc 7d 3s] Th
Villain: looks at it and says "Should I check?" I say "What the hell do you have?" He says "All in"
HERO (of course) INSTA-calls...

Villain turns over 77 for 7's full of T's; Hero turns over T7 for T's full of 7's.

*whew* Had no idea I was behind there; I was sure he was sitting on KK there, esp after my flop raise and he says, "Are you serious?"

What's that saying about rather being lucky than good? I'll take both :)

poker & emotions

2008-06-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

One thing I'm realizing is that I do not emotionally deal well with big swings. Oh sure, the up swings are wonderful, but the down swings -- I'm not good with them.

I start to question my abilities. I start to wonder whether I really am any good at this game, or if I just get lucky during winning sessions. Knowing that the majority of poker players are losing players, I wondered whether this fit me too, and if my stats for the past 9-10 months or so (only began tracking live NL play, leaving limit out right now) are just an anomaly.

About a month ago, I had an incredible poker weekend - 2 marathon poker sessions that netted me over $1K. At $1/$2. I kid you not.

But then the next 3 weekends were horrid. Awful. I ended up below where I was before memorial day.

This weekend, though, I did 2 back to back sessions Sat-Sun morning, and had to buy in 3 times to the $1/$2 game to end with a $24 profit. And the $2-$40 spread game I went to I crushed: started with $100, walked out with $460.

I hated that I spent 14 hours playing to only show a $24 profit. That almost feels like a loss...

The fact of the matter is that when I start losing, I start to feel bad about myself, and start questioning my play and my abilities. And when I'm winning, I start to wonder how this game can be so easy, and whether I should step up to $3/$5 even though I'm not properly bankrolled for that level.

I know neither of these two thoughts is correct. Yet my brain still goes there. So I guess part of me believes these thoughts. The brain lying to itself is a scary thing.

Logically, I understand 100% that you can't have winning sessions every time: nobody does except the UP and AP Super User accounts. But psychologically I get way too down on myself after losing sessions.

First step in any problem is to acknowledge the problem, so I'm part way there at least :)

...and again...

2008-06-14T01:17:00.000-07:00

Got another Round 2 ticket tonight. Final hand was the funniest thing ever.

It'd been 3-handed for a while: 1 big stack, and other dude and I were switching between 2nd and 3rd in chips (big swings). I had just taken a big hit and was down to about 55,000. Button had about 130,000 and BB had about 150,000.

Last hand button goes all-in. I've got Ad 3h. It's probably a calling situation, but I'm willing to take my chances next hand and be the pusher rather than the caller.

Then, the funniest thing happens: The chipleader in the BB, who only covers the button by about 20K, calls!!

BB shows AKs, button shows A9o; king on the rainbow flop seals the deal.

I was very surprised that the bb called there as they both had me severely outchipped, and I would likely be all-in bad during one of these upcoming hands. Guess he saw his shot, and took it.

All I had to do to get into the top 2 was fold!

So I've got 2 shots at round 2. I also got down to the final 13 in another, and busted in 24th in another.

Finaly

2008-06-11T22:14:00.001-07:00

Snicker if you want, laugh if you must, but I'm psyched about this. This weekend I final tabled like 4 of these things, never once using the all-in preflop for the first 5 hands to create a mega-stack. Due to the insanity surrounding these things, I hunker down and play super tight. But when I got the hands, I bet the hell out of them. At one point I went from 2nd to last in chips, to 15th in chips within 10 minutes and 4 hands.

I'm only like 2 steps away from a Main Event seat!

Forgot the cardinal rule

2008-06-08T16:25:00.001-07:00

of tournament poker: Survival.

I took AQo up against the big stack (I'm #2). BB SNAP called my pot-size preflop raise.

*** FLOP *** [3c Jh Qc]

SB checks
gsw61515 bets 2,600
SB calls 2,600

*** TURN *** [3c Jh Qc] [Ah]
SB checks
gsw61515 bets 5,600
SB raises to 17,000
gsw61515: KT?
gsw61515: no way

editors note: when one correctly surmises one's opponent has the nuts, one should typically fold.

gsw61515: OK
gsw61515 raises to 20,335, and is all in
SB calls 3,335
gsw61515 shows [Ac Qs]
SB shows [Ks Tc]

*** RIVER *** [3c Jh Qc Ah] [Td]
gsw61515 shows two pair, Aces and Queens
SB shows a straight, Ace high
gsw61515: gg
gsw61515 stands up

I guess I was really hoping they called with AJ and hit the other two pair.

I always considered KT a sucker hand. Especially OOP, and esp. when you're the chip leader and 2nd in chips is in position with a preflop raise....

That being said, I still think that was a fold. Down to the final 10, almost at the FT, I'm dreaming of Vegas, and I think that was a clear fold in the hopes of surviving and getting my money in in a better spot.

I fold there, I still have an OK stack - smaller than average, but about mid-pack... Winner take all event like this, though, I kinda felt I'd have to take a chance that my fear was wrong and that they too turned 2 pair.

Guess I'm not playing in the WS0P this year....

Can you get away from this?

2008-06-08T07:25:00.001-07:00

Tulalip $1/$2. Pretty standard; there's really only two of us who are doing much 'playing' while it seems other 4 are only playing their cards. I've got about $260, cut off has over $300. He seems to be a pretty standard tight/passive player.

5 limpers to me in the big blind. I look down at KK, and say "Put ten more dollars in everyone," and raise to $12. 4 callers.

Pot: $48

FLOP:
Kh 7s Th

SB checks. I bet $50. Folds to SB who calls.

TURN:
[Kh 7s Th] 8d

SB checks. I've got a weird stack size now: pot is ~$150, and I've got $200. I'm putting the guy on a flush draw, but I can't just bet the pot here, and 1/2 pot bet would leave me with barely a barrel on the river, so I figure my best move is all in here: the pot is big enough to take down now, and if he wants to chase a heart then he's paying a horrible price for it.

I say I'm all in, and SB insta-calls. I turn over top set, and he turns over J9o for a turned straight.

River is a meaningless Q (just gives him an even bigger straight).

Can I get away from this hand? I can't check-raise the flop with 2 hearts out there, can I? Do I under-bet the pot? Do I massively over-bet the pot to make most any draw not worth it to call?

freeroll fun

2008-06-07T02:21:00.000-07:00

Killed a bunch of hours on FTP tonight, played a slew of Bracelet Race freerolls, and a smattering of PAD freerolls. Probably played in something like 16 or 20. Made 4 final tables, and final 2 in 3 others, and top 30 in a couple. If these were cash tournys I'd have made some bucks tonight.

I saw some of the sickest beats in those tournaments. I saw aces cracked by the oddest of hands not once, not twice, not three times, not even four times, but five whole times. Unreal. Twice were mine, and after witnessing my first beat and 3 others, I considered mucking preflop the next time I got them. Duh, I called. And got run down by J6. Check out the screen cap. Raised pre, BB & limper called. Flop was checked to me, I shove (was an overbet, hoping to block any flush draws), and get called in both spots:

I wish I could list the sick stuff I witnessed: people calling their stacks on the turn with gutshots, other craziness... I played solid, standard poker and got pretty deep.

Also played 2 SNGs. Busto in the first one just off the bubble, and 3rd in the other one, busted with AKo vs AKo and the guy catches running flush cards.

Tulalip tomorrow night!

Dreaming of Vegas

2008-06-05T15:20:00.000-07:00

Every day for the past week and a half, I've taken about 1/2 my lunch hour (actually my lunch half-hour, but whatever) and scoured expedia.com, travelocity.com, lastminute.com, cheaptickets.com, cheapair.com, kayak.com - and probably some others - for airfare / hotel deals in Vegas.

Funny because I'm not interested in playing a WS0P event (scratch that: I'd play if I had the dough, I just don't have $1500 to plunk down on a tournament, esp. with the lack of tournament experience I have over the past year), I just want action. I want to spend a couple days sleeping as little as possible, parked at a juicy (but admittedly low stakes) poker table for as many hours as I can stand, taking an occasional break to bake in the desert sun, and maybe even catch one of the overpriced shows going on there (Ka would most likely be the show).

I just want to be around action. Memorial day weekend was almost like this at Tulalip for me: due to the huge bad beat jackpot that was going on, there were a slew of action junkies playing all limits throughout the weekend in hopes of hitting it. Some of the juiciest games I've seen up this way in a long time. I put in two long sessions (12+ hrs Sat-Sun and 18+hrs Sun-Mon). It was beautifully exhausting, and wonderfully exhilarating.

I have such fond memories of Caesar’s Palace $1/$3 game: was playing more like a $2/$5 game but with mostly players worse than me. Or the Venetian $1/$2 game, which was even more passive than Tulalip games (hard to believe!)...

And of course I'd love to wander through the Rio and see the round-the-clock degeneracy going on.

I really wish I'd been more mindful of my bankroll: I've been using winnings to pay for stuff (classes, contacts, new shoes, concert tickets...), that I really haven't grown my 'roll into anything significant. I play on a very short bankroll according to most 'expert opinions,' which means that 3 or 4 really bad sessions could make it vanish.

If I hadn't spent so much of my roll on stuff I'd have a little extra to spend on travel to Vegas and have a good chunk left for aggressive poker playing.

We'll see after this weekend: if I end up with a killer session Saturday night, I'll contemplate heading down the following Sat-Mon for a long weekend...

How do you get stats like this?

2008-05-29T09:34:00.001-07:00

Guess this would be the epitome of "running good":

Weekend Degeneracy

2008-05-26T18:00:00.001-07:00

Friday night: after dinner, I hop on the bus and head to Goldies for some limit poker. I played limit for the first time in MONTHS last week, and it was an interesting change of pace. Still not my cup of tea (I ended just below even for the two sessions), but I think it's a good thing to come back to every now and again. Limit is the place for good, solid, standard, ABC poker: nothing fancy about it.

Session time: 5 hours

Saturday I took a skate around Greenlake park, had some lunch, and around 2:30 headed up to the Tulalip. As I was sitting down to play (waited less than 5 minutes), a line of about 20 people came streaming through the doors to get on the poker lists. Within minutes the $1/$2 list was about 10 deep.

I played that session through the night / morning, and ended up leaving the casino around 6am.

Saturday to Sunday session time: 15 hours

Well, Sunday;s action didn't disappoint! Though I got their later than usual (7:00pm), I was sat within 5 minutes. Awesome action. Awesome. The $1/$2 game dwindled from 3 tables to 2 down to 1, and let me tell you: the 4am-7am table was juiiiiccceeyy!! That game never broke, and at 1pm on Memorial Day, there was a list about 10 deep for $1/$2.

Session time: 18.5 hours

And I have no clue how I am keeping my eyes open right now. Matter of fact I've been drifting in and out on occasion, and when I do it's interesting because whatever dreamlet starts going through my head starts to come out in what I'm typing (yes, I can type with my eyes closed and apparently half-conscious).

Poker goal / hand analysis:

2008-05-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

Aggressive deep stack 6-handed home game. $0.50/$0.50 blinds, $100-200 buy in.

UTG: big stack ($300), very aggressive player. Apart from big hands, he has not had to show down many. Smart player.

SB: $130. Tight, careful player. Less aggressive than the other 5, but the only big re-raise he's put in were holding the nuts.

Hero on button: $150; tricky, slightly unorthodox image; winners I've recently shown down vary from 94o to flopped boats, turned flushes; successful bluffs I've shown down range from 2 overs to nothing near the board. I have a good feel for the risk-tolerance of the rest of the table; my steal-raises and re-raises have been spot-on all night, as have my value bets. I was way on top of my game: not to toot my own horn too much, but it was some of the best poker I've played in a while.

UTG raises to $2 (standard raise); Hero re-raises to $6 with AJ0. SB looks and thinks I open-raised to $6, comments "that's a big opening raise OK I call" (comma intentionally left out as he didn't speak it). He then sees that I reraised and says "Oh, that makes sense then."; UTG also calls.

FLOP: 9c Th Qh

SB bets $12; UTG instacalls. HERO announces raise; calls the $12, considers the pot, and raises $50. SB stares down HERO for a good 2 minutes. SB announces All In. UTG shows his cards to his neighbor and says "can you believe I have to throw this away?"

I ask for a count, it's $100 even to call.

I can't put him on KJ or J8: he's WAAAYYY too tight to call what he perceived to be a preflop overraise with these. It's possible he has AK/AQ/TT/99/QQ/KK/AA. Outside of these hands, all of which are ahead of me, I can't figure anything else out.

possibilities

I need an 8 or a K for the probable nuts. That's 8 outs, twice. ~32% to the winner. Slight chance an A will give me a winner, though I'm not convinced so I won't count that, and I have no backdoor flush.

And unfortunately, my emotions ran too hot for me to properly do simple math. See, I'm fairly bad at the math-end of poker (perhaps why I suck at limit). If I had done the math, I would have seen that I was being asked to call $100 to win $242. I was getting 2.42 to 1, which really meant that all I needed was a better than 29% chance to win to make the call. I actually had the perfect odds to call. Even if I was down to 7 outs, I would have been right at the borderline to call.

I mucked. And then unfortunately I paid $1 to see his cards. Guess what he had?

AJ.

Because I failed the math, I let myself get outplayed.

NEW POKER GOAL: become proficient at quickie pot-odds calculations, even under intense scrutiny and emotional duress.

FU FTP

2008-05-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

I just got creamed by the FTP RNG.

First up: I got check/raised all-in on the flop:

Next up:
flop: Bet pot / call. Turn: bet pot / call. River: 1/2 pot, ALL IN....reluctant call:

I can almost understand the turn call: at least then he had a gutshot, but the flop?

LAST: preflop, UTG raises I RR, UTG calls. UTG check/raises all in on the flop.

I swear 1/2 the yahoos out there think a preflop raise must only mean AK, so no A and no K on the flop = golden.

I have run AMAZINGLY HORRIBLE online over the last month. My roll has been severely depleted. SEVERELY. Like the lowest it's been since my first deposit.

And don't read this post wrong: I love love LOVE all these plays by my opponents. Just the magnitude of the suckouts was kinda gross.

Oh, this was over 3 tables, over about an hour. And only the highlights. :)

Live 6 max this weekend

2008-05-14T22:01:00.001-07:00

Sunday should be interesting: one of the guys on the Microsoft poker discussion list is putting together a regular deep stack 6-max home game: $0.25/$0.50 blinds with a $100-$200 buy in.

And I honestly have no idea what to expect. I know the guy organizing it plays higher than that: he's a Tulalip $3/5 regular. And I don't know if that means he's better than $1/2 players, or that he just has the money to risk more. I mean - I never felt out matched at the $3/5 games: I don't believe there's a ton of skill difference from the average $1/2 player to the average $3/5 player.

I'm not used to short-handed play, and am not sure what types of adjustments I'll need to make. I'm honestly anticipating come out of there lighter: I'm really hoping the caliber of play is going to be higher than I usually play. I need to learn more about this game, and if I play better players I'm bound to both learn, and lose - for a time at least.

The main difference won't be the stakes, though, but the stacks: I'm not used to playing against maybe one other deep stack. I don't know how much to adjust my play because of that.

I may do some strategy reading online the next couple of days, hoping to find something that'll help me out somewhat.

Live play: Tulalip $1/$2

2008-05-11T02:22:00.000-07:00

Over the past 1.5 months I logged 7 live sessions, with 2 wins and 5 losses for a grand total of -$257. Not great. Not horrible, but not great.

I had been playing very well, I thought. But I took last weekend off, and the week away from the tables gave me time to reflect, and found what I thought were some leaks. Well, the two major ones were: 1) playing too many hands, and 2) bluffing players who were incapable of folding top pair no kicker. Simple stuff. Basic discipline.

Tonight, I logged two wins: 1 for $676, and one for $28 (at a local casino playing $2-40 spread).

Tulalip $1/$2.

Got sat not ten minutes after arriving, which is awesome. When I got to the table, I had to ask again if it was 1/2 or 3/5: two players had over $500 in front of them. One woman had $500 in green $25 chips alone! You don't see this too often in a game with a max buy-in of $100.

Table seemed pretty gambly, which meant that the best course of action was to tighten up and pick my spots; avoid marginal hands OOP, and value bet my strong hands on every street. Standard poker.

Pot of the night:

UTG with 44, make it $6 to go and 3 of us go to the flop:

FLOP: 934 rainbow

I don't like to slow play here: I lead out $10; folds to the button who raises to $30. I'm guessing an over pair, and knowing what I know from him in the past, he'll call most anything I put out there if he's got an over pair. I raise to $80, and he re-raises to $180.

This re-raise really got me. I took my time and thought about this. I started the hand with about $320. I start to consider whether I've got the underset: whether he really has 99. I begin to wonder how deep our stacks need to be to consider folding a set here.

Once I decide to call (spread-limit, so betting is capped after the 3rd raise), I take a little time to count out the chips and figure out how to get him to call for the rest of my chips: if he's got 99 then oh well, I reload.

I say "I call, and I'm all in blind on the turn." He INSTAcalls.

TURN:
[934] 6

RIVER:
[9346] 9

Villain: shows 88 for two pair, 8's and 9's
HERO: shows 44 for a full house, 4's full of 9's.

I've played this guy like 3 times over the past couple months, and won large pots from him each time. He says that here he put me solidly on AK, and figured I was trying to push him off his hand. It's amazing that he didn't consider the fact that I could have simply had 99/TT/JJ/QQ/KK either!

Thing is: in this guy's eyes, I'm the guy that raised on the button with 64o and almost cracked his KK when I flopped 2 pair (over a month ago). In his eyes, I'm the guy who will call or raise with seemingly any two cards, and an UTG "standard" 3x's raise means AK or some odd 10-7 or 9-6 etc.

Somehow, to him, I'm the guy who tries to buy pots with big bets. He apparently hadn't noticed how locked-down I was playing this session. Of course, this was also helped by the fact that earlier in the session I re-raise-shoved on the flop with nothing but a draw, was called, and got there. Thing is, in that situation I read the hands perfectly and was a mathematical favorite to win. He saw me push with a draw; I saw me value-betting. He probably considers me reckless.

I'm happy to have this reputation! :)

SO out of shape

2008-04-24T23:20:00.000-07:00

Played the Riverchaser's tournament tonight. Oh BOY am I out of shape tournament-wise. I forgot simple things like stealing. And restealing.

I made it as far as I did, honestly, due to one supremely lucky hand.

I got home a lot later than I had anticipated, and was still cooking dinner when we started; I missed about 5 minutes or so. 48th hand I was logged in for, I have JJ in MP. One limper before me, I pot-raise, button (who's been playing over 60% of the hands) calls, and the limper calls. Flop is T33. Limper checks, I bet 3/4 pot, button min-raises, limper pushes. I know I'm behind, and decide "wtf" because, quite honestly, I was tired and hungry and if I'm done I eat in peace and start on my paper. I called. Button called.

Limper: AA
Button:Q3 (trip 3's)
Me: in 3rd place.

There's always the turn, though:

I love a good suckout after a hard day's work. That vaulted me to 1st in chips (I had been 3rd or 4th from the bottom before this hand).

Not much excitement. I have one hand that I apparantly confused my opponent: I raised from MP, got called by CO. Flop is JJ2 rainbow; I check-call a 1/2 pot bet. Turn is a 9, and I lead out with 1/2 pot. CO takes their time, types "?" and ends up folding. I'm curious what they had.

I blinded out for a while without getting a heckuva lot of playable anything, and as I mentioned at the start - stealing has left my vocabulary a bit. I need to warm myself back up to tournament play, as I felt totally paralyzed.

And the Screw of the Night™ in the cash game: I flop trip 6's and get it all in by the river:

Awesome.

Thanks to riggstad for the shoutout on BDR; and I won the 2nd Riverchaser's TOC, millerd33 won the first. Oh, he doesn't have a blog yet....nvm...

Interesting stats:

2008-04-14T23:12:00.001-07:00

Poker Tracker stats for just over 21,000 hands, of all combinations of starting hands I've played:

- I've won more with 54o than all other hands except 7
- I've won more with JTs than AKs
- I've won more with 75o than AQs
- I've won more with 7's, 8's, and 3's (each, not combined) than 10's

...perhaps this is either just fluke stats, or an indication that I'm overplaying big unpaired cards?

I think maybe I'm not that good

2008-04-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

I lost a bunch online this weekend. A couple years back I had made a pledge to never play on Sundays - for whatever reason, I took more horrible beats on Sundays than any other days. I played super-early Sunday morning (5am) and did great, but between 4 & 8pm over a couple sessions I dropped about 5 buy ins.

Unfortunately, only 2 of those were gross beats; the other 3 I pretty much paid off way too many winners. I shoulda stopped playing way before I did. Discipline is lacking; I see myself playing poorly and think I can change it and get better. I haven't been able to much lately. Tilt, I think this is referred to as. :)

Roll isn't near as healthy as I'd like, so I'm in rebuild mode. Not in danger of busting, but if I run like that too much I will be. For a little while I won't be ashamed of small hit and runs. I'm also focusing on fundamentals: will likely drop the 2nd table, and play more conservatively.

This hand was a dream, though - AA in the BB, 2 limpers called my raise. Then... ah, hell, see for yourself:

Flop gets checked around. Turn, "Lost with AK" shoves. Guess he wanted to chase out flush draws (too late!). I think of coming over the top, but I'm hoping button has a flush so I just call, as does the button. I shove the river, and get called. Awesome.

That was a $25 pot. I took the $17 profit (I bought in for $8), and left. I'm roll building, and until I can move back up to dime/quarter, I'm going by the Ferguson Challenge rule that if the money in front of me is 10% or more of my roll, I have to leave when the blinds come around. And, unfortunately, $25 is more than 10% of my roll, so I folded a few crap hands and left when the bb came back.

Heater

2008-04-05T02:27:00.001-07:00

UTG+1 standard raise to $0.35. I re-raise to $1 with QQ. SB calls. Original raiser re-pops to $4.

I don't like my position here. I hate to lay down QQ, but I take my time, and fold. We've both got very deep stacks for this game, and if a flop without an A or a K comes, it's going to look safe and I'll get stacked if he's got AA or KK. If he doesn't, then so be it and I lost a buck: there will be better opportunities to get my money in.

I guess that can be an easy fold, but it didn't feel like one. I wonder what I would have done if we each started with $8: would I shove here, or fold?

Definitely glad I folded though:

Was on a bit of a heater tonight, as I left this table with $29, left my 2nd table with $8.55, and later on sat down at a table and had this happen on my 2nd hand:

I re-raised preflop, he called/called my flop bet and I got it all in on the turn.

Left that table at $24.

Tulalip in 12 hours!

Strength = Weakness & trusting your read

2008-03-31T09:30:00.000-07:00

Both of these hands are from a Saturday $1/$2 (max $100 buy in) session at the Tulalip Casino. Same table, different villains.

Hand 1
Villain: CO, not there for too long (a couple hours tops), not involved in many pots - 2nd tightest player at the table, so I'd have to give him credit for a hand whenever he fires at a pot. $65 or so.

Hero: BB, likely seen as very loose, rather aggressive, makes many steal attempts (read: bluffs a lot), especially on ragged flops from the blinds, and from any position on the turn if the flop checks around. About $175

Bunch of limpers, Villain limps, SB completes, Hero (8h 10d) checks. Pot ~$14

FLOP: 8 6 10 rainbow

Hero: Bets $15
Folds to Villain: All-in for $65

While top 2 is typically an insta-call, when someone playing as tight as this guy has goes all in, I have to give some consideration to the possibility of being beat (I've only folded top 2 pair once in recent weeks, and was correct - my opponent showed his flopped bottom set when I folded top 2 face-up). I doubt 79 is in his range (too tight); 88, 66, and 10-10 are all in his range, 66 being the most likely (due to my hand).

I ask him if he flopped a set - he stares at the table.

I turn my hand over, Villain looks down at it, blinks, and then looks up and stares right at me without flinching. He looks strong. He's acting strong.

...which is exactly where he gave it away. He "acted" too strong. Most folks with a lock on a hand are going to be acting much, much more casually, relaxed, and care free. He was "displaying" strength to appear threatening and, thus, get me to NOT call.

After 5 seconds of him staring unflinchingly at me, I call. He tables AA, and my 2 pair hold up.

----------------------------------------------------

Hand 2:
Villain (BB): I've played with him 4 times over the past 4 weeks, felting him once. He's a decent player who thinks he is a lot better than he is. Tends to overplay hands like TPTK and flushes on paired boards. He's observant enough to know I stab at a lot of pots with air. He's a nice guy, and a typical, standard tight-passive player.

Hero (Button): Seen as very loose, rather aggressive. Villain has called me down with bottom pair and 2nd pair when I've fired 3 bullets from the button (he was right once, wrong once). I've only shown big hands (sets / boats / straights / quads); I've shown very few of my many bluffs (if caught on the river I just say "good call" and muck after they show) but have recently told the table they need to start calling me more after stealing yet another pot. Villain knows I bluff often and semi-bluff regularly.

Hero: Raises to $8 with 4s 6s
SB: Calls
Villain: says "Yea, I know your button play, I'll give you some action."

FLOP:4c 6h 8s

SB: Check
Villain: Check
Hero: Bets $15
(SB: Folds)
Villain Raises to $30 (min raises are surprisingly standard at Tulalip).

I ask him how much he has left ($59). I decide to call (I'm mildly worried about a set and decide to re-evaluate on the turn).

Turn:[4c 6h 8s] 5c

Villain: All in
Hero: I ask if he has "one of my crazy hands like 79"; he doesn't say a word, he sits back and stares at the board (I don't think he's capable of semi-bluff-raising with the OESD here anyway).

I turn my hand over to show the two pair. He leans forward to look at my cards, then looks up and stares directly in my eyes, not moving.

This villain, again, gives it away right there, the same way the previous villain did. He was staring directly into my eyes as if to say "I'm stronger than you and if I look strong enough and confident enough I know you won't call."

I count out my chips, give him one more look (still staring at me, threateningly), and push my chips in.

He turns over KK and says, "I didn't put you on raising with crap like that." River is a 7, so the straight on the board chops the pot. But only 8 cards could've given him a win (and 4 gave him a tie), so when I made the decision I had him on the ropes.

Moral of the story:
1) Trust your read. If someone looks "too strong," then it's probably an act. With monster hands, players will typically act either relaxed or excited (shaking hands, trembling voice, etc); when a player looks strong they often are attempting to get you to fold
2) One-gappers are awesomely deceptive hands!

Funny

2008-03-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

http://xkcd.com/386/

Weekends @ Tulalip

2008-03-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

For the last 3 weekends, I've spent some time at the Tulalip: 6 hours the first Friday evening, 12 hours a week later from Sat-Sun, then this past weekend another 12 hours from Sat-Sun. I'm hoping to do this for the next 2-3 weeks as well, trying to cram in as much as I can before I start classes in April (Saturdays will be for homework, so this will cut into massive poker playing, though I do hope to still go up maybe once every other week or so - try to pay for my classes through poker). Incidentally, I've played nary a hand online since getting back into playing live. I'm much more fond of live play (though BBT3 will likely see me come back into online tournament action).

Basic stats:
Week 1, 6 hours: +$250
Week 2, 12 hours: + $500
Week 3, 12 hours: - $46

Not a bad start, though this past weekend I started off very very shakey.

First hand I sit down to JJ and raise. SB is short-stacked at ~$35 and re-raises about 1/2 his stack. I know him from last week, and he's quite aggressive, often re-raises light, and didn't appreciate re-pops. I should have thought a little closer, thogh, as if he puts in $18 pre he's not folding, but I hoped he was on AK/AQ and we'd race so I put him all-in. Of course, he has AA.

Being that the max buy-in at $1/$2 is $100, I already feel short at $65.

2 hands later, I run my QQ into a set of 3's and am crippled down to $20 and reload. Within the next 20 minutes my turned 2-pair runs into a rivered straight.

Within the first 2 hours, I've bought in for $300. Not a big deal, and nothing I'm not prepared for (mentally and cash-wise), just a little disheartening that I kept on getting 2nd-best hands. The only hand I feel I really misplayed was JJ. I could have easily folded to the re-raise and given up $6 instead of $35, but I also wanted the table to know I wasn't going to be bullied, and I'm willing to gambool a bit.

So I'm in for $300, and my stack has gone from a high of $150 to about $30 by 11pm (I started around 4). Over the next hour I double-up twice; then the fish sit down. Awesome. Over 3 hours I go from $30 to $360. No joke. Guys calling down with pocket 4's on a 3-heart AK-high board board; guys pushing all-in with bottom set on a 345 flop (thank you 67 :) ), and one big stack who didn't think I ever slow played (flopped broadway tyvm).

I ended down after I raised to $8 in position with As10s; bb called. BB check-called my $12 c-bet on the KQx flop. Ace on the turn gets check-called ($30). 8 on the river, BB checks and I'm not sure what he's check/calling with, so I check behind and say "I have an ace." He turns over Q8o for a rivered 2-pair. Yea, the guy calls with 2nd pair on the flop (not horrible, but not great), calls with 3rd pair on the turn (when is 3rd pair good here?!), and checks his 2 pair. Awesome.

This game is so damn soft. If I hadn't been run down at this point I'd have ended right around even., which after being down $270 is a good feeling.

2008-02-25T21:15:00.000-08:00

In the previous post, I had KK UTG, called by the button. Flop bet was called, turn bet was called.

3 diamonds, and a paired board. I'm moderately worried about the flush. I can't imagine him calling the flop with only 2 diamonds: Ad 10d is possible. So is 6s 8s, for a straight; so is 6d 8d, turning the straight and rivering the flush. I guess 67 or 78 are possible, too, but also less likely hands: that'd be a tougher call on the flop and the turn, unless he pegged me for only AK or AQ.

When do I start getting worried about this hand? How do I figure out that I'm behind.

While I think I'm ahead, I do feel a little vulnerable, so I go into passive mode. If he puts me on AK and he's got a pair, he may think he's good. If I lead out, he may raise, putting me to a harder decision: with just one pair, I'm not interested in putting my stack in the middle. I don't really want to bet more than pot on this. If he was a habitual min-raiser, I may think about betting 1/2 pot, knowing any raise will bring it to a pot-size bet. But he's a good bettor. So I need a plan.

If I check and he:
- bets pot, I can call
- makes a min-bet (sounds silly, I know, betting $0.10 into a $4 pot, but I've even seen fuel55 bet $10 OOP into a $200 pot...not that that means much of anything, but some consider him an OK player), I can raise - probably to 1/2 pot or so (if he's got TPTK he'll call)
- overbets, I can fold. Overbetting for value is becoming more and more popular amongst good players. I won't stack off here with one pair

If I bet 1/2 pot and he:
- shoves, I have to fold
- raises more than pot, I have to fold
- min-raises, I have to call

If I bet pot and he:
- raises any, I have to fold

I think check/calling up to a pot-size bet here is correct: I have K's, but it is only one pair on a board with flush and straight possibilities. I'd love to know your opinions here (and your opinions on the posibilities listed above).

*** RIVER *** [7s 5s Td 9d] [7d] (pot ~$4.75)
gsw61515 checks
PKTaceSuited bets $2.50
gsw61515 has 15 seconds left to act
gsw61515 has requested TIME
gsw61515 calls $2.50

*** SHOW DOWN ***
PKTaceSuited shows [Js Qs] a pair of Sevens
gsw61515 shows [Ks Kd] two pair, Kings and Sevens
gsw61515 wins the pot ($8.90) with two pair, Kings and Sevens

I won a good-size pot while risking no more than I needed to. Leading out here, I would only have gotten either a fold if he had nothing, or a decision for the rest of my chips if he shoved, something I don't think would have been prudent to call. If he turned out to have the straight or the back door flush, then I believe I'd have lost the bare minimum with this.

--------------------------

Why, then, did I bother posting this? A couple reasons:
1. I had a difficult decision deciding how to handle the turn, and the river. Analyzing after the fact helps me with similar future situations
2. To see if I missed anything somewhere: a read, a clue to what my opponent is holding, etc
3. To take a look at my betting: did I miss a bet anywhere (unlikely on this hand of course), did I give away anything with my betting, could I have saved chips (not in this situation of course)
4. To see if any of the 3.2 people who read this blog have any different ideas as to how to play the hand: was this a hard decision, or do you just insta-call? Do you lead the river and insta-call a raise/shove?

Also, goes to show that KK isn't always an easy hand to play. KK out of position can be dangerous, and if unimproved by the river, you should remember that the average winning hold 'em hand is two pair.

Score!

2008-02-24T09:01:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a 11+ hour session at Tulalip. I was playing fairly loose and very aggressive, which I know helped me win some big pots but also helped me lose more than I might have if I had played a bit more snug. My stack was bouncing from a low of $30 (I reloaded here) to $150 back to $75 to $250... it was a roller coaster, but I was playing poker, I wasn't just waiting for cards. Higher variance with this style (short-term), but in this game it really is the optimal way to play: it's so passive! Of course, I wouldn't have gotten the action I did had I played snugger. But I digress....

Last hand of the session, we're 7-handed, I'm in the small blind. One fold, limpers all the way to the button who raises to $12. I look down and find Jd9d. I love these types of hands, but I loathe playing them out of position. Still, 2 other limpers and me are fairly deep ($200-$300+), so I decide to call the raise and hope the rest of the limpers also call. This is the type of hand where if I miss I don't get fancy, I check-fold. And, as expected, all 6 limpers call (one limper is actually all-in with his last $12). Pot: $72.

FLOP: Jc 4c 9s

Awesome, top 2; don't like the flush draw, but that will only get there 35% of the time. I bet $50. UTG goes all-in for less. One fold, MP min-raises to $100. Folds to me.

Top 2 on a flushing board. Thing is, the guy who raised has been very quiet - hasn't played a hand in a while, and I typically see him raising with decent hands. I ask how much he's got left: $140. While I'm affraid of a set, he'd have raised pre with JJ or 99; 44 is the only hand in his range that I think is beating me. He's looking me dead in the face. He feels very strong about his hand, I can tell.

I say I need a minute. "Tell you what," he says, "you take a minute and I'm going to put these on" (referring to his sunglasses). Something doesn't seem right, I dunno. I remember back through the night; I remember him saying that QJ and AJ are two of his favorite hands. Something just... I dunno, I watched him flop 2 sets today, and -- he's just acting different than he did then. I can't pinpoint at all what's "different," but it just is.

He's actually at this point got his back turned to the table. It's almost a Phil Laak-Unibomber move. I take another second, and then remember that I'm at $1/$2 NL, and that push-monkeys will get married to TPTK.

I then say a silent prayer that he doesn't have a set, and then announce all-in. He whips off his sunglasses, stares at me, looks at his cards and thinks. With no insta-call, I know he doesn't have a set, and he either has AcKc with the flush draw, or AJ. After about 20 seconds he says, "I can't lay this down, I call."

"Top two," I say. He says "Holy s*#t, I'm way behind," and flips over the JackAce. The other two players - one had A4o, the other had J8o. Only 2 aces left that I have to dodge.

Top two hold up. I rake in a $400+ pot. This is the biggest pot I've ever won. I simultaneously bust 3 players, and the game breaks. It was 8am; I'd been playing since 8:30pm, with every intention of leaving around 1 or 2am. The game was so damn good, though, that I couldn't leave - I just couldn't!

Yea, it's an easy game when the deck smacks you upside the head - AND your opponents are willing to go broke with one pair!.

Stop speaking f*$# Sputnik!

2008-02-18T13:31:00.001-08:00

I got to the Tulalip early enough Friday to play $1/$2: get there anytime after 8pm and the wait is over an hour. My wait, with getting there around 7:15, was about 10 minutes.

I really, really enjoyed the $1/$2 game. While I like the $3/$5 for the bigger profit possibilities, I don't believe I have a large enough bankroll to play optimally in that game. Making big river bluffs in that game is terrifying; in the $1/$2 game it's scary, but completely doable. I was able to play much more aggressively, and make moves that I would be way too nervous to make for larger stakes.

Some interesting hands, and some team playing I called out.

First hand: I sit down UTG with my $100 buy-in (max buy-in is unfortunately this low). I have 2 black fours. Unsure of anyone's tendencies or the "standard raise" (I usually play $3/$5), I popped it to $6 and got 3 callers. Before the flop, the BB tells me it's the biggest preflop pot he's seen there in an hour. 'Wow,' I'm thinking to myself, 'are they really that passive? This table is in for a shock then.'

FLOP: 4d Kh 7c. BB checks, I look around, say "What, there four of us in there?" and bet out $20. Folds back to the BB who automatically goes all in. He counts out his chips: costs me $37 to call, which I of course do. BB has AK, he doesn't catch a miracle, and I add about $75 to my stack on my first hand. Unfortunately BB leaves the table after this hand. Oh, well,

I watched a number of pots where this blonde woman is getting bullied around by the laggy table bully. I don't think much of it at first; they do end up in a lot of pots heads-up though. It was only after she moved seats next to him, though, that I realized they were together (married, bf/gf, etc).

I then started noticing an interesting pattern where if she entered the pot for a raise, he was calling 95% of the time. In multi-way pots if she raised, he would very often re-raise - other players would fold, she would call, they would check it down. Epitome of team playing, right?

Not yet.

I pick up JJ in the SB. Blondie limps from UTG+1, 2 more limpers, and then I pop it to $15 from the SB. Blondie calls, all others fold. Flop is all unders. I lead out $15, blondie calls. Turn puts a straight draw out there; I bet $30, blondie insta-calls. I have her on AK, AQ, or 10's here. She plays very straight-forward, and would be raising with a set (I'm pretty sure slow-playing a set here is not in her repertoire).

River is a J. If she flopped a set, I just rivered her. I do a quick calculation and bet out $75 (3/5 pot). Blondie lifts her cards up on the table, so her boyfriend can see them. She then turns to him and whispers, "Should I call?" and he vigorously shakes his head.

?!?!?!?!

Guy 2 to my right says, "Oh my god did that just happen?"

She mucks, and, feeling like I quite possibly missed out on $75, I say to the dealer, "Could we make sure it stays one player to a hand?" to which Blondie's boyfriend replies "We didn't do anything." When I recount the turn of events Blondie says she wasn't going to call anyway. Two more of the players on my side of the table had spoken up as well when I talked to the dealer. I then said to them, "I'm tired of watching your team-playing, but this was just completely and blatantly and obviously a hideous violation of the rules." Yea, I used the word 'hideous.' I'm pissed off. They both don't say a word.

After the next hand, they start speaking Russian to each other. Someone calls them out on it, citing the English only rule. At this point, I go to the floor, and tell them I want a table change because there is team playing going on at my table. They don't seem concerned about the team playing, but I get my table change in under 5 minutes. The table was becoming unfriendly, and I would have gone on tilt if I stayed at their table. Better to just move.

If I'm at their table next time I'm there and they start speaking Russian again, I think I'll quote Rounders and tell 'em to stop speaking Sputnik!

Hand Analysis

2008-02-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

I'm going to break this down into a couple posts. Let me know what you think of my play and my thinking here. I've played against the opponent quite a bit, so I'm fairly familiar with his play.
-------------------------

Seat 3: gsw61515 ($13.75)
Seat 9: PKTaceSuited ($7.40)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
gsw61515 raises to $0.35 with [Ks Kd] from UTG
PKTaceSuited calls $0.35 from the button

Standard button call I'd say, possibly suited connectors, possibly any pair, perhaps AK or AQ (though with AK, AQ, and QQ+ he'd be re-raising 99% of the time).

*** FLOP *** [7s 5s Td] (pot ~$0.85)
gsw61515 bets $0.60
PKTaceSuited calls $0.60

I'm OOP with a big pair, against a good button player. From my experience with him, he will raise here if he has a set, especially with two spades out there. He's capable of calling preflop with suited connectors or small or medium pair. Preflop: 55, 77, or 10 10 are possible; 57 is moderately possible but more unlikely; 7 10 and 5 10 are NOT in his range.

With his smooth-call here, I have to put him on a spade draw. 89 is possible, but if it were it would more likely than not be 8s 9s. If another spade comes I must tread carefully. The good news is I have the Ks, so AsKs is not possible (again, this would be a preflop re-raising hand for him anyway, so AK and AQ are out of the question: if an ace hits I'm not going to be too worried).

Did I bet enough? If he's committed to a showdown with a spade draw, I think I gave him good odds to call here; if he's chasing just to the turn though I didn't give him great odds, but it's close. 2/3 pot and he's got at best 14 outs: it's close I think.

Am I missing something, or does this smell like a spade draw?

-----------------------------------

*** TURN *** [7s 5s Td] [9d] (pot ~$2.05)
gsw61515 bets $1.40
PKTaceSuited calls $1.40

Again with the smooth call. Two diamonds and two spades now. It'd be unlikely he called with a diamond draw, unless it was something highly unlikely like 6d 8d. If he's there (or 6s 8s) then he just took the lead.

I made another roughly 2/3 pot bet, which I know is a bad price to chase a pure flush draw, but if he's got a straight draw to boot, he's chasing 14 outs: is 2/3 pot on the turn giving good odds here? I'm horrible with the minutia of the math here...

Do I start to worry about the monster under the bed at this point? Do I start to include 6s 8s in this range? I think I still have to stick with 8s 9s as his most likely holding. Any other 2 spades is also possible; however calling my flop bet with a pure spade draw is unlikely.

Am I giving this guy way too much credit? Do I need to not worry about this and just bang away with KK to extract maximum value?

------------------------

Presto is Platinum (part 1)

2008-02-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

(a lá fuel55 :) )

6-man STT; I'm 2nd short stack and need to shove ASAP:

*** HOLE CARDS ***
jcn75 folds
Daniel80 raises to 280
gsw61515 raises to 783, and is all in with [5h 5d]
BIAHH1025 folds
smonsss calls 72, and is all in
Daniel80 calls 503

*** FLOP *** [5s 6h 3h]

*** TURN *** [5s 6h 3h] [5c]

*** RIVER *** [5s 6h 3h 5c] [9h]

gsw61515 shows four of a kind, Fives
Daniel80 shows [Ah Ad] for two pair, Aces and Fives
gsw61515 wins the side pot (1,262) with four of a kind, Fives
smonsss shows [As Ts] for a pair of Fives
gsw61515 wins the main pot (496) with four of a kind, Fives

Hand of the day

2008-02-09T20:34:00.000-08:00

at the table for 15 hands, played 1. 2 limpers, I'm on the button with KK, raise to $0.50, UTG calls. FLOP: 7 9 3 rainbow.

UTG bets pot, I min-raise, UTG calls.
TURN: 6
UTG shoves.

Yea, I'm dreading a set, but there are 2 spades now, so this could be 2 spades shoving. I make a crying call. Look at this hand:

How do you call the preflop raise? And how the flop re-raise?

Again - please, call me every single time there, please!

Fold of the day

2008-02-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

Lost 1 buy-in today; at the same time I played about as good as I can. How's that possible? Variance. I was correct in most all of my reads, yet was cold decked too often.

Playing well isn't all about winning pots, but has to be combined with not losing too much when vulnerable.

I'm UTG, and get JJ. Not the best position for jacks, I pot raise and hope it folds around. MP calls, LP calls, button re-pots it (~$2). It feels kinda pinchy, given the two limpers could easily be dead money. He had to give some thought to the raising from UTG (right?), so while I'm tempted to get stubborn and shove, I fold. MP and LP both call, which puts them all in. Look at this board:

I obviously correctly read the situation. The amazing thing to me, though, is the other two in the pot. Called all-in with KQo and 89s!! Wow.

Dream situation for AA.

Here's a great cold-deck example. AA in the SB, 1 limper, folds around and I raise to $0.35, BB folds, limper calls. I bet the flop, limper raises, I raise enough to put him all in, and he calls:

Well played, sir: never mind the limp/call a raise preflop, but top pair / 2nd kicker all in? Brilliant move. Call me like that every time, please!!!

Creative call of the night

2008-02-08T22:53:00.000-08:00

I'm UTG+1. UTG raises to $0.35, I re-pop to $1 with QQ. Folds to UTG who calls.

Now, UTG is kind of short-stacked: only started with $2.35 or so (and I'm around $17), so I had decided before the flop that I'd insta-call a shove preflop, so I'm committed to a showdown here. If he had a bigger stack, I'd have played postflop much more carefully. But since I would've called a shove pre, I figure there's not gonna be many flops I'll fold to.

Flop comes J6K rainbow. I don't like the K out there, but again - I'm calling the extra $1.5 or whatever anyway. UTG shoves as I expected, and I call. I figured maybe he out-flopped me with AK, but he could have AJ, AQ, and I could still be very good here. But I lose the pot. NOT AK. Not JJ. Not 66. Nope. See for yourself:

I was a;ready resigned to losing the hand anyway. But it wouldn't have sucked so much if the dude didn't call with king freaking jack offsuit!!!

Hand of the night:

2008-02-07T22:28:00.000-08:00

I'm UTG, pot-raise to $0.35 with AKs, sb calls, bb calls.

FLOP: 8 2 4 rainbow
SB: bets $0.20
BB: calls $0.20
I raise to $1.20 (no way that flop gave anyone a monster)
SB folds (good boy)
BB calls (huh?)

Turn: [8 2 4] 2h
BB checks, I'm confused so I check

River: [8 2 4 2] 7h
BB checks, I'm still confused so I check.

look at this showdown:

Nice preflop and flop calls, dude.

Card rack

2008-02-03T23:51:00.000-08:00

Easy game when you catch everything under the sun. Can't sleep, played about 30 hands:
- Aces 3 times (never went to showdown)
- QQ once (though I lost: AK4s flop, folded to raise / re-raise by LP & button)
- AKo twice (won one pre, one on the turn)

That's 20% of my hands. Biggest winner, though: 79o:

Button: gsw61515 ($11)
SB: down2raise ($4.55)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
(limpers)
gsw61515 calls $0.10 with 9h 7d <-- obvious limp on the button
down2raise calls $0.05

FLOP: 8d 5h 6h <-- uh, that'd be the nuts!
down2raise checks
gsw61515 bets $0.30 <-- charge for flush draws
down2raise raises to $1.30
gsw61515 raises to $5 <-- 2 pair or sets will call 100% of the time here
down2raise calls $3.15, and is all in
gsw61515 shows [9h 7d]
down2raise shows [Tc 8c] <-- bwah hahaha!
Uncalled bet of $0.55 returned to gsw61515
hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
TURN: [8d 5h 6h] Jc
RIVER: [8d 5h 6h Jc] 8s
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
gsw61515 shows a straight, Nine high
down2raise shows three of a kind, Eights

Top pair / ten kicker?! I'm still laughing!!

Root cause

2008-02-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

While it's true that I have been getting a bit cold-decked, I think I know the root of my downswing as of late: lack of patience. Add being card dead to that, and it can be a deadly combination. I started to play way too many speculative hands for way more than they were worth, just to try to "make something happen."

I tightened up a lot, and was much more careful about calling people down with 2nd or 3rd pair. I basically went back to playing a smaller variance brand of poker.

I also got some decent cards, too... a cooler or two of course, but that'll always happen.

I have AA in the SB. Folds around to me. Awesome, right? Well, I figure I might as well try to get an over-call preflop from the guy if he's got something decent. I raise 5x's the BB to $0.50. He instantly shoves for $9 & change:

I guess he was bound to go broke on that hand no matter what.

I didn't screen-cap this next one, so here's the reduced HH:

gsw61515, MP, $7.50
techcharlie, UTG, $9.35

techcharlie calls $0.10
gsw61515 raises to $0.45 with [Ks As]
(folds around)
techcharlie calls $0.35

FLOP: 8h Kh Kd
techcharlie has 15 seconds left to act
techcharlie checks
gsw61515 checks <-- set the trap

TURN:[8h Kh Kd] Ad
techcharlie bets $0.80 <-- took the bait!
gsw61515 calls $0.80

RIVER: [8h Kh Kd Ad] 7d
techcharlie checks
gsw61515 bets $4 <-- overbet for value
techcharlie INSTAcalls $4

gsw61515 shows [Ks As] a full house, Kings full of Aces
techcharlie shows [Qh Ac] two pair, Aces and Kings
gsw61515 wins the pot ($9.60) with a full house, Kings full of Aces

He called so fast I almost wondered if they had AA! I'm sorry, but definitely do NOT make that call there if I'm him. I doubt I lead the turn either, except perhaps as a potential block. But - come ON! - how do you call $4 on the river when the pot is $1.70 with that board?!

Last one was a cooler: first hand at a new table, 77 in the BB, I check my option. I pot bet the flop, SB check-called. SB Check-raised all-in on the turn, I was happy to call:

Ooops... didn't see the potential straight, was hoping to get value out of flush draws and TPTK / 2 pair type hands. Oh, well. I lost $8 on that hand, and moments later FTP released $7.50 bonus money, so it all evened out in the end :)

Feed the rake!

2008-02-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

First, this one:

What are the chances, anyway? It all got in pre-flop, so I lost $$ on this hand!

Then, the very next hand:

2 chops in a row; apparently FTP thinks I'm not paying enough rake.

Guess I shouldn't feel too bad.

2008-01-31T08:48:00.000-08:00

So I'm down 20 buy-ins. Big deal so far. Looking at Chris Ferguson's bankroll, he dropped over $16K in 10 days.

Just variance. Only not as big as Chris's!

Poker Gods, why hath you forsaken me?

2008-01-30T11:22:00.000-08:00

Unsure whether I have changed to playing like crap, or I'm just on a horrible run. My gut tells me it's a bit of both, as being down roughly 20 buy-ins over 3 weeks is pretty crappy. Sure, I've taken my share of suck-outs, but still.... I need to analyze my game from Oct-Dec to find the strong points, and compare that to Dec-now. Basically, I'm right back where I started back in October, so from a cash standpoint, no harm/no foul.

Horrible run? Horrible play? Dunno...

Friends are playing a teeny poker game Friday night: dealer's choice, nickle-ante, $0.10/$0.25 limit / 3-raise-max. Should be fun if nothing else; I hope to play the strangest combination of starters I can think up. Also hoping I can talk these guys into a NL game the next time. We'll see.

Hoping to hit Tulalip on Saturday - planning on getting there a bit earlier than usual and sitting at $1/$2 (instead of $3/$5). I may play a sit n go or 2 online; I played one turbo HU the other night and dominated. I think I need to step away from the cash tables for a spell.

Tulalip - Two Thursday hands

2008-01-24T23:52:00.000-08:00

Tulalip $3/$5

I've folded for 3 orbits, and observed insanely loose-passive play from most of the table, with one LAGGY raising and C-betting all but maybe one pot he's been in. He's been picking up a lot of dead money without having to show any cards. I'm UTG with KK. Awesome.

I raise to $20
Folds to Laggy in MP who calls, others fold. Pot = $48

FLOP: 6s 4c 10d
I check, hoping laggy will c-bet (like he has all but maybe 2 pots he's been in)
Laggy checks.

TURN: [6s 4c 10d] 3d
I bet $40
Laggy calls.
This looks like it could be 5-7, and I thought about this. However, I'm convinced he would have bet the flop with an OESD. (and yes, I believe 5-7 could easily have been in his range).

RIVER: [6s 4c 10d 3d] 5h
I check.
Laggy bets $50
I reluctantly call, almost certain I'm beat.

Laggy shows Ad 7h for the straight. First off, he called 4xs BB bet from an UTG player who had yet to play a hand in 45 minutes. Secondly, he made that call with A7o! FINALLY, that's right, he called $40 on the turn with a gut-shot; with the over that gave him 7 outs. Awesome call man, awesome call.

Why did I make this call when I was almost sure I was beat? He could have played AK the same way; he also could have believed I had AK, and once I checked the river it gave him the green light to make a play.

Nice thing about this evening for him: he made some awful calls on draws that hit; he's going to believe he played well, and play like that the next time too. And hopefully I'll have the privilege of sitting at his table in the future.

--------------------
--------------------

2 hours later, I'm stuck, and my stack has been whittled down to ~$100. A few new players just came to the table. My table image of über-tight won't matter at all now, and the short stack makes it look like I'm either playing like crap or am super unlucky.

MP raises to $15; MP+1 calls.
I call on the button with Ac Qs.

FLOP: 9c As 5s
MP bets $30, MP+1 folds
I push for $85 more; MP insta-calls.

Board: 9c As 5s 10c 3d

MP shows Ah 10d for 2 pair.

Awesome call with top pair/OK kicker. I can't see making that call on the flop. I was so glad he did, though - I'd love to be called in that spot ever time, with the dude chasing a 3-outer. Funny thing too, when we flipped our cards over he seemed genuinely surprised that I had him out-kicked.

Cold-decks suck.

DQB squared!!

2008-01-21T23:45:00.000-08:00

The THRILL of VICTORY:

....and the AGONY of defeat:

Must say, though, that I loved the guy on the top hand (my flopped quads) shoved on the turn. I'm glad that I at least waited until I had a boat (my QQ hand) to shove! Actually, I checked the turn and OBFV on the river -- ooops!

After he checked the turn, I even momentarily thought "he could have quads" and for the slightest of split seconds contemplated smooth-calling his small value-bet-sized river bet. I'm glad I didn't though; that's definitely a situation I don't mind busting out in.

OBFV

2008-01-20T21:50:00.000-08:00

After reading a couple recent posts by fuel55, I decided to try some overbetting for value when I'm super strong or holding the stones. I feel like I'd gotten pretty good online at value betting on the river, but in just a couple hands this past weekend where my overbets were called probably earned me as much as my "standard" value-bets would over the course of a week.

I haven't gone totally nuts and shoved when the pot is only a couple bucks, but I'll easily bet $4 into a $1 pot.

CASE IN POINT:

I'm UTG with 89o. I limp (shut up, I hear you laughing; some of these tables are very limp friendly and I will take advantage of that with a wide range of hands). Folds to SB who pops it to $0.30; BB folds, I call (position, connectors, yada yada).

FLOP:
Ah 9h 8c

SB fires $0.65, I call with bottom 2 pair.

TURN:
[Ah 9h 8c] 9d

I quickly enable the "check" checkbox (I've been doing this when very strong, as the insta-check often is read as weaknes, or a draw), so when the SB checks, so do I.

River:
[Ah 9h 8c 9d] Kh

God how I hope they were on a flush draw!

SB checks; I fire $4 into the $1.80 pot, and get instacalled:

Here's one where I either played great, I played recklessly, or I missed a bet on the river:

WhereAreMyChips calls $0.10
Poker464 calls $0.10
PACIFICPOWER calls $0.10
gsw61515 calls $0.10 with [Tc 9c]
tlopirt sukram calls $0.10
chamchum checks

*** FLOP *** [Jc 9d Th]
chamchum checks
WhereAreMyChips checks
Poker464 checks
PACIFICPOWER bets $0.40
gsw61515 raises to $0.80 <-- 2 pair is vulnerable, I'll try to protect a little
tlopirt sukram folds
chamchum folds
WhereAreMyChips folds
Poker464 folds
PACIFICPOWER calls $0.40

*** TURN *** [Jc 9d Th] [8s]
PACIFICPOWER checks
gsw61515 has 15 seconds left to act
gsw61515 bets $1.50
PACIFICPOWER calls $1.50
This call worried me. Any 7 or any Q kills me. I will proceed with caution.

*** RIVER *** [Jc 9d Th 8s] [4c]
PACIFICPOWER checks
gsw61515 checks <-- can't risk getting check-raised with a straight

*** SHOW DOWN ***
gsw61515 shows [Tc 9c] two pair, Tens and Nines
PACIFICPOWER mucks [Ac Ts] <-- top pair no good!
gsw61515 wins the pot ($4.75) with two pair, Tens and Nines

oh yea, freerolls

2008-01-20T04:33:00.000-08:00

Well, since I'm still on emotional tilt, and it would not be responsible of me to put any real money on the line, what better to feed my poker itch than a couple Poker After Dark freerollls on FTP? Nevermind the "grand prize" for the 180 or 360-seat sit n go's is entrance into a 100 full tilt point tourny, "Why not?" I said. I quickly busted out of 2, then fired up 2 more: 1 180-seater, and 1 360 seater.

180 seater I busted in 6th. 360 seater, I'm now 4 of 7. This coming from someone who hadn't played in any tournament in over a month, closer to 2 months.

If I got paid off on hands in ring games like I did in these, I'd be quite a .... well, probably not wealthy, but I'm sure at least my bankroll would be very comfortable!

Preflop: JJ in SB. A couple limpers; I pot-raise. Button calls.
FLOP:8c 6d Jd

I 1/2-pot bet; button min-raises, I shove - INSTAcall:

ahh, that's the best on really. I'll spare you the silliness of more screen caps and HH's from a PAD freeroll.

Let's just say I was pretty happy with how I played. Sure, the fields are donk-filled, but to navigate through 352 or 174 people takes a little more than card catching. Cards help, but so does shoving or re-popping at the right times.

want to, but can't

2008-01-20T00:23:00.001-08:00

It's late, it's my prime playing time, but I can't. Well, I physically could, but I won't. Why?

SERIOUS life tilt. And playing on tilt is -EV; playing on THIS emotional tilt could be putting my roll in danger. Seriously.

Sure, it'd be fun to go be an aggressive bull trying to push the table around. I also know better: I'm HIGHLY emotional right now, and staying away from the tables is the most +EV thing I can do right now.

Sad thing is I've got so much coffee going through my veins that I'm going to be up for hours; it's a damn shame, as these are historically my biggest money winning hours (after midnight on the weekends).

What to do? Damned if I know...

call?!!

2008-01-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

...courtesy of PokerNews.com:

Antonio Casale has the button in Seat 3. Alexander Kostritsyn raises to 72,000, Antonio Casale re-raises to 277,000, Kostritsyn three-bets to 677,000 total, Casale four-bets to 1,277,000, Kostritsyn moves all in and Casale calls. There is nearly 5 million in the pot.

Casale
Kostritsyn

JJ? JJ?! I'm sorry, but with $1.65 million AUD on the line, I don't call off the remainder of my stack with JJ. I don't get the dude's 4-bet: if he's pot committing himself, why not try to get some fold equity out of it and shove there? Sure it wouldn't affect this hand, as he'd get called in a heartbeat, but it could get QQ and AK to fold.

I just hate the idea of calling off my stack preflop with JJ ...then again, I'm the guy who posts about being on a bad run at $0.05/$0.10 NL :)

1st in 11 days

2008-01-16T21:59:00.001-08:00

First winning session in 11 days. Some big pots, too:

Called a min-raise preflop with 44 in the BB. SB leads out min-betting the flop, I pop to $0.50, called by LP. Turn was a blank, I bet, LP1 shoved, LP2 shoved, I called:

Had to call another min-raise with J10o in the SB. This isn't the best hand to play OOP by any means, but for an extra bet I'll see a flop 4-way. I lead out 1/2 pot bet on the flop with my OESD, button min-raises (I was expecting any raise to be a min-raise: I lead out with 1/2 pot so any raise would make what would have been pot-sized, which is fine for an OESD on the flop). Turn gives me the nuts, I bet and get 1 caller; I shove the river and get called:

Lucked out on this hand: I call a min-raise from the BB with J7s. Yes, yes, no powerhouse, but the table is so passive post-flop that if I hit and bet, I'm probably good. 5-way made it too hard to throw away anything for one BB. I call a $0.20 bet from the SB, one caller comes along. On the turn, SB checks, I bet $0.30 (trying to control the pot size from OOP); LP raises to $1.00. I make a loose call here: their flop, turn, and river agression is infinite over 500+ hands, so the raise doesn't necessarily mean anything. Turns out I rivered him, and bet enough to put him all in:

Felt good to get a winning session again. I'm sure 11 days without a winning session isn't too bad; and I don't know how many buy ins is a big loss, but I was down $150 in those 11 days, which felt like a lot, especially since I worked for 2+ months building the roll. Granted it's still healthy, still way above where I started back in Oct/Nov, so I'm happy. It's an inevitable part of the game, I know, and I was lucky to have such a long run of mostly profitable sessions. It's good for me to be reminded of the variance inherent in the game.

How to play junk OOP

2008-01-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

Battle of the blinds; I'm in BB with AKo. Folds to SB who completes; I raise to $0.30, he calls.

FLOP:
Js Ac 4s

SB bets $0.60
I pop to $1.20
SB calls $0.60 (awesome)

TURN: [Js Ac 4s] Qh
SB bets $1.65
I min-raise (would be all-in for SB to call); SB instacalls.

From this, what do you expect SB to have? QJ? AQ? K10?

Watch and learn, my friend, watch and learn:

Next time there are two overs and a straight draw on the board, I'll try to remember to make a committing bet on the turn so I can hit my 5-outer...

limits, & discipline

2008-01-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

So I broke a bit of a cardinal rule the other night: I played a limit above what my bankroll can safely withstand. I didn't go all Rounders and put my whole stake at the table or anything silly. I only played at $0.10/$0.25. My bankroll is just way too light to sustain any swings at this level, and I knew that if I busted here that I would have to permanently banish myself from this limit until I've built back up.

Good news: a) I didn't bust, and b) I ended about $10 up.

Bad news: I played like a pussy.

Due only to my own idiocy as I have been on a big downswing, I sat at a $25 NL table the other night, with a $20 buy in. I justified this as "OK" since I typically 2-table at $10NL, so I have the same amount on the line (and no, in a much more lucid frame of mind I don't buy this!). It's really amazing the difference in play at these two levels, and if anything I think that $25NL may even be easier to beat.

Why? Because the players at $25 NL seem to "know a little bit" about what they're doing, which if you use to your advantage can let you steal pots you don't even have the right to be in in the first place.

I'm torn over this, though. My online bankroll is too light to safely play there right now, BUT I enjoy playing there much more than $10NL. It's a more interesting game, whereas $10NL feels more like robot-poker.

I've got to have discipline, though, or else my online roll will be at a great risk.

Awesome time for 2 pair

2008-01-13T02:25:00.001-08:00

Keep the beats coming

2008-01-13T02:04:00.000-08:00

*** HOLE CARDS ***
gsw61515 raises to $0.30 with [Ac Jc]
REYN14 calls $0.30
BuffBills044 calls $0.25

*** FLOP *** [5d As Js]
BuffBills044 checks
gsw61515 checks (to induce a bet)
REYN14 bets $1
BuffBills044 folds
gsw61515 raises to $3
REYN14 calls $2, and is all in
gsw61515 shows [Ac Jc]
REYN14 shows [Ad Qd] <-- nice setup

*** TURN *** [5d As Js] [Ah]

*** RIVER *** [5d As Js Ah] [Qh] <-- I got 2-outered!!!
gsw61515 shows a full house, Aces full of Jacks
REYN14 shows a full house, Aces full of Queens <-- I LOVE boat-over-boat!

more stats

2008-01-12T14:51:00.000-08:00

...if you ever had doubts about how important position is in NLHE, consider my stats:
- I've won more money from the button than any other position.
- 2nd most profitable position: CO
- 3rd most: CO-1
- 4th most: CO-2

My stats read like a text book. And though I've won a higher percentage of hands from the BB than any other position (probably due to a large number of walks), I've lost more money from the BB than any other position.

Also:
My most losing hand (besides high card, which is probably from a combination of checking down from the BB and bad bluff attemtps) is one pair. I'm reminded again of The Little Green Book: don't go broke with one pair! I have more times than I'd like to admit.

Conversely, I've won more money with flushes than any other hand. I'm betting that's due strongly to the fact that at micro-limits I will limp in with any suited ace (and, if stacks are deep, will call a standard-size raise in position as well), and at these limits anyone with a flush thinks their golden: in other words, when I have a flush I most often have the nut flush (outside of the suited connectors that I play, and play a flush carefully).

Going over stats is a good thing for me: I'm either playing horribly, or just running really, really badly over the past week. Just the stats for position and the awful numbers for one-pair wins are really telling: I'm committing too much $$ out of position, trying too many bluffs, and paying off too many winners with just one pair.

A little luck never hurts

2008-01-09T23:32:00.001-08:00

The almighty JackAce. Limp/called min-raise from LP. UTG bet pot on the flop, I re-potted it; LP writes "set?" and then mucks. I type "just raise so I can muck," the guy shoves, and I call:

Turns out my shove was a great idea: the LP raiser (who typed "set?) claimed he had AJ as well. My shove avoided a split pot.

Next one is self-explanatory - kind of. A number of limpers preflop, and SB pops it to $0.50. I min-raise to $0.90. He pot-raises; I pot raise (kind of felt like Euro-Rounders, but it worked), he finally shoves, and (of course), I call:

I'm not sure if I continue to raise pre if I'm him: at some point with QQ I think I'd just call and see a flop.

Last one was a bit of a gambool: I raised pre from the CO with 6d7d, button reraises, I smooth call. The flop gives me a flush draw, and unless he has an overpair I'm in good shape. He raises my flop bet, I shove, he INSTAcalls:

Thankfully I didn't have to wait long for the flush, but OMG runner-runner straight frackin' flush!!

Yea, I know, shoving with a 7-high flush draw may not be +EV. Like I mentioned yesterday most all of my mistakes of late have been from being too aggressive. I think this is the first time in a long, long time where my game is at a turning point. I was a smart player, then I became a decent player, and I'm at the point where I'm moving away from "decent" and towards "good." I'd be surprised if I didn't screw up some during this time.

Most every transition is uncomfortable, and I'm sure to stumble some more while I grow. But it'll be worth it in the end.

sink or swim

2008-01-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

Sure, it's a short down swing. It just sucks. I lost a couple buy-ins at $10NL last night. Again, I don't feel like I'm playing poorly, I just...well... I'm bleeding money. I think perhaps I tightened up too much: at $10NL I had good success when I was seeing 35% of the flops; I tightened up a bit at $25NL and see 25-30%, and thought if I carried that trend at the lower level that my win rate would go up.

Two things I both love and hate at $10NL: 1. If someone holds 63o on a 3KQJ9r board, there's a good chance they won't be able to fold (how do you call half-pot and 3/4 pot bets with a 3 on that board?!); AND2. Shoving $6 (read: 60 bb's) or more preflop 10 times in a row.

The first one is usually +EV, as when you have A10 or J10 or such you get paid off. I make plays for pots on occasion too, and boards like that are often perfect for it. The times you bluff at it with say 67s and get called by the monsterous 63o is laughably annoying.

The second one is, for me, just a little annoying and an exercise in patience. When I'm not getting a good price I typically won't call here without KK or AA. Last night a shove-monkey took a bad beat and shoved 13 hands in a row. He's in MP, I'm immediately to his left with QQ. After 13 shoves I figured there's a good chance QQ is good here. Well, he tables KK, and flops a K to boot.

Awesome.

I know one thing I should have done, but did not: shortly after this beat, I noticed my emotions were on a roller coaster. At that point, I should have shut down FTP and watched one of the Lost Season 3 DVD special features (when my emotions are riled it affects my play - yes, even at $10NL). Instead, I tried to play through, and tightened up too much I think. While some people spew when they tilt, I clamp down. Both are -EV.

To end the night, I decided to really torture myself and played some RAZZ. I actually made up some of my losses (which is why I was down only 2, and not 3, buy ins). So tonight if I play I'll either be at Razz or possibly even the teeny SNG's - it's been months since I was in one of those.

Though if I stick to my best game (NLHE) I've got a better chance to curtail the downswing. Yea, I'm down over $120 since Friday. Now I see why playing $25NL too light is dangerous; though an even worse decision was to wait too long to move down.

Movin' on down...

2008-01-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

After horrendous results this weekend (horrendous as in being down $100), I have to step back down to $0.05/$0.10. The vast majority of my losses were a result of too much aggression (which, for me, is a good thing (in a way) as I had become a little too passive at .05/.10).

The biggest one I remember is raising my opponent all-in on a KQx flop when I held pocket tens. He led out OOP with a larger than pot-size bet; I raised to put him all-in. I've seen so many over-raises with draws from so many players that I was convinced he had J10. Turned out he had AA, but he took quite a while to call -- afterwards he said he thought maybe I had KQ. I know this was a dangerous raise; I also don't know whether I would have made the same raise if our stacks were deeper. As it stood I only lost ~$12 on that hand.

I also suffered a bunch of out-draws, especially yesterday. A while back I had sworn off playing on Sundays as I felt like I got outdrawn an unfair amount; however logically I can't believe this would be the case so I've plowed through it... I may heed that thought again, as even if it's untrue I think I'm more prone to tilt on Sundays due to this nagging thought in the back of my brain.

I again lost in a set-over-set deal, this time with 77 on an A-7-10 flop. The 3-way pot got all in on this flop, where my set of 7's was up against a set of ten's and AK. Set over set statistically happens ~2/100 times; I can recall, in the past 60 or so days, losing at least 5 set-over-set's, and winning 1. I have played well over 1,000 hands in that time, though (don't know the exact number off the top of my head, but it's multiple thousands), so while it seems unlikely, statistically it's right in line. Totally sucks when it happens.

Down 4 buy ins over 2 days play... if my roll had been healthier to start I'd be able to stay up there; as it stands I started playing $0.10/$0.25 on the lighter side anyway, so the most prudent move is to head back down.

I played down there last night, and while the play at .10/.25 is far from brilliant, the play at .05/.10 is amazingly horrible. Best example (and unfortunately I couldn't be a part) is when UTG shoves all-in for ~$5 (mind you, there is fifteen cents in the pot prior to this!!!). What two hands call him? 9-10 soooted, and KQo!!! And the best part: guess what UTG was holding? 8-6o!!!

Gotta love shoving a half-a-buy-in to try to collect fifteen cents in blinds! Key to these tables is to not get too fancy too often, and for me - play over 2-3 tables and wait for mostly premiums and position plays.

Back to the basics...

dimes and quarters

2008-01-03T11:34:00.000-08:00

I've moved to the $0.10/$0.25 tables now. I'm not multi-tabling yet. Poker Tracker with PokerAce HUD is awesome. It's even made me realize how static my play often is. I'm trying to mix up my game a bit more now, while I've also tightened up my starting requirements and have become more aggressive with pre-flop raises and raising vs calling post-flop. All this has added to more success.

At .05/.10 I was seeing approx. 35% of the flops; I've reduced that down to 25-30% now (depending on circumstances of course) and have had much beter success: too many questionable limps was a big leak. The .10/.25 tables are generally more aggressive anyway, as most hands don't go to the flop without a raise; limping is rarely an effective strategy (I don't limp unless I'm willing to call a standard raise - say with a hand like 33-88).

When I looked at my stats for the previous 30 days, it was quite clear that the higher level was much more profitable: in 30 days I was up approx $45 in .05/10 (where I played over 95% of my hands), while I was up over $100 at .10/.25 in the other 5% of hands I played. That made me much more interested in sticking around at the higher tables.

Sure, it ain't $50/$100, but it's still a step in the right direction.

I've been so psyched with my play over the past couple months: my confidence has skyrocketed, and it just feels like I'm playing better than I ever have (as the steady bankroll increase has shown). Tournaments have lost their attraction for me (I'd much prefer a cash game), as I believe I'm a MUCH better cash game player.

I also completely cut out live limit playing. I wasn't a very good limit player. Though it would be interesting to play again now as I feel my current style would be quite effective at the local limit tables. Limit just seems like much higher variance than I care for: I'd prefer to drive the extra 35 minutes and go for NL if I'm playing live.

I plan on posting some general goals for 2008 soon.

Awesome time to turn 2 pair

2007-12-31T00:05:00.000-08:00

Oooops....

All the money went in on the turn... UTG supposedly had QQ. Nice setup, FTP.