I went to the East Side club this past week and played some solid poker. I was patient and waited for my opportunities and made them work.
In a stupid hand (by the other players), I was dealt pocket 8s and had 5 players in for a $10 raise. Flop was A-5-7, checked all around. Q on the turn and again checked all around, which I found odd that nobody had hit anything, but with that many players, I did not feel like leading out into it. The river was an 8 giving me the set. Player to my right leads out $20, I raise to $40, another player goes all-in for $54, the first raiser goes all-in for about $110 and I call. Initial raiser was slow playing an A, the other player was slow playing A-Q and because neither of them bet until the river, I ended up taking the pot when they probably could have gotten me out on either street with a good bet. Took in almost $350 on that pot.
One hand I did not like how I played. I am on the button with 3-2. It is me, SB and BB. Flop comes 3-4-J. SB checks, BB throws out $10. I fold, SB calls. What I don't like about my play is that if I am going to play more advanced hands, I need to think of a few things here. Another 3 gives me a set. A 2 gives me 2 pair, an A, 5 or 6 gives me at least a straight draw. And the initial raiser could have been playing nothing and stealing or maybe a weak J (which ended up to be what he had). With the SB calling, I was getting the odds, but more so, it was cheap and I was up. The turn came a 3 and the river was a 2. I would have had a boat and probably would have taken a $100 pot. I need to think more about those types of plays and not be as scared to mix it up.
I ended up leaving up $170 and I was happy.
But then there was the Internet. Ugh. My on-line play has been SO BAD. Not to mention the cards are simply not connecting at all. I am usually a pretty solid player, but I have been having a terrible run. I was up about 250% for awhile and now I am down to where I need to reload. It is really frustrating. It is as if every play I make fails, every good hand I get does not connect or gets bested. This evening I had AK probably 5 times and lost every one. 3 times I did not connect at all and when I pushed with the continuation, either I got caught or re-raised and had to much. 1 time I hit an A on the flop (A-Q-8) in a sit-n-go and my opponent had A-Q. The final time I hit the K on the flop (K-2-7) and the other player had a set of 2s. Other hands have been fairing just as bad. Looked at KK in a 90 person tournament in the SB. The button pushes a small raise, I figure he is trying to steal, I call. Flop comes Q-7-2. He bets 300, I push to 600, he goes all-in, I call figuring A-Q and he turns over AA. In a 1-2NL game I go from up 40% to busted in 30 minutes as virtually no flop hits me with good starting cards or the other players draw out. Lost $163 tonight alone. That is too much for casual wasting time on a Friday.
Not sure what to do with this. I think I am gonna lay off the on-line play for a while. Re-read some of the strategy books and get my head back in it. In the live games I can focus and enjoy it, but I do not think I am enjoying playing on-line and I am doing it out of habit, doing it while distracted and I am losing consistently right now. Time to break.
Going to Chicago next week, if I can I may take a night at a casino near there as I have had some luck at the casino tables in the last few outings.
Showing posts with label Hold-em. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hold-em. Show all posts
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
A bizarre win, a good read and a big suckout.
So I went back to the east side club last night and as usual some wild play. being a $1-2 table, there was a raise on almost every hand. To play you had to assume you were going in or $15-20 minimum. Every once in a while there would be a cheap flop but in general, a lot of action. I decided to play tight as this was a table that you could make some good money at and people were making plays all the time, strong hands had good potential. 3 stand out in particular for me.
I called a $10 raise with Ac-7c. 3 others in the pot. Flop comes Kc-9h-7c. First to act this quiet younger guy who has lost a few hundred already making plays and getting caught. He raises $25. Next to act is the short stack, who calls. I call with my draw. Next card out is the 4c making my nut flush. First player checks, short stack goes all in for $37, I call. The quiet kid goes all in for another $57 on top. I am happy with this and call. I then turn over my hand and show the flush, he looks crushed. As the river comes out the quiet kid throws his hand into the muck, the river is another K. The short stack folds but the quiet kid just looks sick. Someone says to him 'did you hit that'? He nods. His cards are still on top of the muck as the dealer asks if she can turn over. I say 'ok but the hand is dead'. She turns over his cards, a K-9 which would have given him the full house. She pushes the pot towards me. I feel bad for the kid so I take out $75 of the pot and throw it too him. As I have written before, I think it pays dividends to present a sportsmanlike, nice image. He is stunned that I would give it to him. I say to him that he had the best hand, he just made a mistake. He gives $25 back to me and says thanks. I get a lot of props from the table for being a gentleman about it. But it goes to prove, always turn up your hand in case you read it wrong! A little while later when the quite kid wins a big hand he throws me another $25 and says that as he wins big pots he will give it back. Dividends!
This next hand was interesting for me as I used some good deduction to make a solid read. I had pocket Js in mid position. There were already 3 callers and I felt that if I raised everyone may call anyway the way it was going, so I limped for $2. Someone on a short stack made it $10, 6 callers. Flop comes J-Q-K with 2 spades. First to act is the same quiet kid who I had the hand with before. He bets $25, next to him is a short stack who goes all-in for about $60. I call, it folds to the kid who calls. I figure I may be behind here with my set, but i start to get a feeling that perhaps I am not. Turn brings the 10c. This is the worst card for me. It makes any A into a straight and there now 2 clubs and 2 spades. The kid throws out $75 and I go into the tank. Almost anyone else at the table I would be in the muck, but I start to think back. This is someone who was frequently raising pre-flop. He only limped in on this one, very out of character if he was holding a hand. He also struck me as the exact kind of player who uses aggression to buy pots regardless of his cards. I look at him and for some reason I feel like he does not want a call. I am sitting on about $225 at this point. I come over the top and go all-in. He thinks for a second and throws his hand away. It didn't hurt that the river came out another Jack giving me quads, but I was proud and got more props from the table for a sick read of the kid. I felt really good about this one.
Final hand to talk about was a total suck-out on my part. As I said, this table was kind of nuts. There was this younger russian guy who was playing a alot of hands and was acting pretty loose. I had Ac-4c and he raised it to $20. 4 callers. Having seen him try and make plays with rags, I call. Flop comes out Jc-Ah-2d. He throws out $60 and it gets folded to me. I look at him and think he is making a move so I ask what he has behind him, he says another $60. I throw out $150, it folds to him and he calls all-in. He asks if I want to do business (run the turn and river 2 or 3 times), I say 'I don't know what you have.' He turns over A-J for top 2 pair, I say I don't think he wants to do business as I show only the A. He looks and says, no business. I am pissed that I made the incorrect read although figuring what he had played before I do not think it was such a bad move. The guy next to me, a loud, somewhat over the top player says "with this table, watch runner runner come out". And sure enough the next card is a three. I need the 5 for the straight and when the river hits with it, I cannot believe it. I collect the chips, the russian goes for a cooler and later comes back to say nice hand.
All in all, finished up about $365 (after tips and time) for the night and it was wild and fun getting there.
I called a $10 raise with Ac-7c. 3 others in the pot. Flop comes Kc-9h-7c. First to act this quiet younger guy who has lost a few hundred already making plays and getting caught. He raises $25. Next to act is the short stack, who calls. I call with my draw. Next card out is the 4c making my nut flush. First player checks, short stack goes all in for $37, I call. The quiet kid goes all in for another $57 on top. I am happy with this and call. I then turn over my hand and show the flush, he looks crushed. As the river comes out the quiet kid throws his hand into the muck, the river is another K. The short stack folds but the quiet kid just looks sick. Someone says to him 'did you hit that'? He nods. His cards are still on top of the muck as the dealer asks if she can turn over. I say 'ok but the hand is dead'. She turns over his cards, a K-9 which would have given him the full house. She pushes the pot towards me. I feel bad for the kid so I take out $75 of the pot and throw it too him. As I have written before, I think it pays dividends to present a sportsmanlike, nice image. He is stunned that I would give it to him. I say to him that he had the best hand, he just made a mistake. He gives $25 back to me and says thanks. I get a lot of props from the table for being a gentleman about it. But it goes to prove, always turn up your hand in case you read it wrong! A little while later when the quite kid wins a big hand he throws me another $25 and says that as he wins big pots he will give it back. Dividends!
This next hand was interesting for me as I used some good deduction to make a solid read. I had pocket Js in mid position. There were already 3 callers and I felt that if I raised everyone may call anyway the way it was going, so I limped for $2. Someone on a short stack made it $10, 6 callers. Flop comes J-Q-K with 2 spades. First to act is the same quiet kid who I had the hand with before. He bets $25, next to him is a short stack who goes all-in for about $60. I call, it folds to the kid who calls. I figure I may be behind here with my set, but i start to get a feeling that perhaps I am not. Turn brings the 10c. This is the worst card for me. It makes any A into a straight and there now 2 clubs and 2 spades. The kid throws out $75 and I go into the tank. Almost anyone else at the table I would be in the muck, but I start to think back. This is someone who was frequently raising pre-flop. He only limped in on this one, very out of character if he was holding a hand. He also struck me as the exact kind of player who uses aggression to buy pots regardless of his cards. I look at him and for some reason I feel like he does not want a call. I am sitting on about $225 at this point. I come over the top and go all-in. He thinks for a second and throws his hand away. It didn't hurt that the river came out another Jack giving me quads, but I was proud and got more props from the table for a sick read of the kid. I felt really good about this one.
Final hand to talk about was a total suck-out on my part. As I said, this table was kind of nuts. There was this younger russian guy who was playing a alot of hands and was acting pretty loose. I had Ac-4c and he raised it to $20. 4 callers. Having seen him try and make plays with rags, I call. Flop comes out Jc-Ah-2d. He throws out $60 and it gets folded to me. I look at him and think he is making a move so I ask what he has behind him, he says another $60. I throw out $150, it folds to him and he calls all-in. He asks if I want to do business (run the turn and river 2 or 3 times), I say 'I don't know what you have.' He turns over A-J for top 2 pair, I say I don't think he wants to do business as I show only the A. He looks and says, no business. I am pissed that I made the incorrect read although figuring what he had played before I do not think it was such a bad move. The guy next to me, a loud, somewhat over the top player says "with this table, watch runner runner come out". And sure enough the next card is a three. I need the 5 for the straight and when the river hits with it, I cannot believe it. I collect the chips, the russian goes for a cooler and later comes back to say nice hand.
All in all, finished up about $365 (after tips and time) for the night and it was wild and fun getting there.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Losing Patience
I have started to lose patience with the game and that means it is time to re-focus or take a break. I have mainly been playing on-line these days as I am taking a break from the club due to other obligations. It has mainly been sit-n-go's and here is the basic gist. I continually have been losing the high percentage plays.
After awhile it gets truly annoying and what I notice is that it makes me lose patience which in turn makes me play more hands I shouldn't or play more mediocre strength catches.
For example, night I was playing a $20 SNG as well as the Fifty-Fifty on FullTilt. In the $20, there were 7 of 9 left. Blinds were 50/100 and I had about 1800 (started with 1500). An aggressive player pops to bet to 250, I am in BB with A-7suited. I call the bet. Flop comes Ad-8h-5h. Aggro bets 400, I figure him on a draw or maybe pocket pair so I go all-in. He ends up calling with Kh-Jh. So at this time I am about 65% to win. But of course, the next card to come out is the Qh, giving him the flush and I am busted out of the SNG.
In the 50-50, we stared with about 940 players. We are down to 450 or so and I have AcKc on the BB. I have a mid-stack of about 3800 (about average) and the button minus one pushes all in for about 1900. Figuring he is short stacked I make the call. I am way ahead (about 4 to 1) at this point. The flop comes out rags, the turn is no help and the River hits a Q, giving him the hand. I do my best not to go on tilt, but I can tell it affects virtually every hand I play after as I just get sick of getting sucked out on constantly. I end up going broke at 276th with AJ against AK. The issue I have is that after a beat like that, where I should have been in the top 20% of chipstacks, I then get into the bottom 30% which changes my style of play and frankly, is a place I need to work on. I usually am very patient with this game, but the sheer amount of low percentage plays that are hitting against me is staggering.
I think about it like this. If you knew that all the things that have a low chance of happening, getting in a car accident, losing your job, having a child with defect, getting robbed, whatever they may be, if those started happening more frequently to you specifically, while still working within the odds of them happening in life, it would change how you lived every day. I feel that that is an extreme example, but if I am consistently making high percentage plays, and they end up getting busted, it makes me feel that there is little I can do to beat this game, despite getting my chips in the middle as the favorite. I know in the long run it should work to my advantage but almost 35% of my online bankroll has evaporated because of these beats and admittedly, how they make me play after.
Hopefully, I can re-focus and get back on track as I do not want to give up the game and yet want to enjoy it as well.
After awhile it gets truly annoying and what I notice is that it makes me lose patience which in turn makes me play more hands I shouldn't or play more mediocre strength catches.
For example, night I was playing a $20 SNG as well as the Fifty-Fifty on FullTilt. In the $20, there were 7 of 9 left. Blinds were 50/100 and I had about 1800 (started with 1500). An aggressive player pops to bet to 250, I am in BB with A-7suited. I call the bet. Flop comes Ad-8h-5h. Aggro bets 400, I figure him on a draw or maybe pocket pair so I go all-in. He ends up calling with Kh-Jh. So at this time I am about 65% to win. But of course, the next card to come out is the Qh, giving him the flush and I am busted out of the SNG.
In the 50-50, we stared with about 940 players. We are down to 450 or so and I have AcKc on the BB. I have a mid-stack of about 3800 (about average) and the button minus one pushes all in for about 1900. Figuring he is short stacked I make the call. I am way ahead (about 4 to 1) at this point. The flop comes out rags, the turn is no help and the River hits a Q, giving him the hand. I do my best not to go on tilt, but I can tell it affects virtually every hand I play after as I just get sick of getting sucked out on constantly. I end up going broke at 276th with AJ against AK. The issue I have is that after a beat like that, where I should have been in the top 20% of chipstacks, I then get into the bottom 30% which changes my style of play and frankly, is a place I need to work on. I usually am very patient with this game, but the sheer amount of low percentage plays that are hitting against me is staggering.
I think about it like this. If you knew that all the things that have a low chance of happening, getting in a car accident, losing your job, having a child with defect, getting robbed, whatever they may be, if those started happening more frequently to you specifically, while still working within the odds of them happening in life, it would change how you lived every day. I feel that that is an extreme example, but if I am consistently making high percentage plays, and they end up getting busted, it makes me feel that there is little I can do to beat this game, despite getting my chips in the middle as the favorite. I know in the long run it should work to my advantage but almost 35% of my online bankroll has evaporated because of these beats and admittedly, how they make me play after.
Hopefully, I can re-focus and get back on track as I do not want to give up the game and yet want to enjoy it as well.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Flip Flop On-line/Live
Well last week I wrote about how I had been shut down in live play, but was running well in on-line play. That seems to have switched for me of late.
Not to say that I have not been running pretty card dead in general but at least I left up. I bought in for $140, brought it up to about 275 on a flush and 2 pair against a particularly aggressive player and then the cards started to abandon me. I was getting some good cards, but nothing was hitting as usual, so I just tried to tighten up. I lost the rest of the stack when I had A-Ksuited and pushed a bluff on a few streets against someone with pocket 6s. I re-bought for 200 and that too went up and down for awhile and I ended up getting chopped away when I look down and and I have about $105 of the $340 left. I also am meeting some folks in about 40 minutes so I decide that if I am going to play, might as well get aggressive.
I straddle for $5 at one point and get 3 callers and look down on A-7off. I raise to $20, all go out except one player. a 7 comes on the flop and I pop it $50 and she goes out. A few hands later I look down on a pair of nines. I raise to $20, the same player calls. She is generally a somewhat tight player and when an A hits the board, I think I am done. I test the waters and throw another $20, she calls. a K comes on the turn, we both check, making me think that either I am good or she is trapping. A nine comes on the river to give me a set. I throw $50, get a call and win the pot. It is about time for me to leave. I am taking the last few hands and I see AA. There are a few players in and I raise to $20 to keep consistent. The same player calls again. Flop comes 7-6-3. I throw another $20 and she calls. Turn comes a Jack, I throw another $20 and she calls. The river comes a 2 and I bet $60, she folds, I show her the hand as I am leaving and as a courtesy, I pay her 'time' (the $5 per half hour that we pay to rent the seat) and leave with $370. So all in all, I only won $30 (not including the $40 in time i have payed over the course of the day) but it felt good to leave up rather than down.
On the on-line front it has been the opposite. After playing well last week, I have lost about 6 sit-n-go's and also gotten hit at the cash games. Now the stakes are not the same but still, I am down about $160 in the last few days. Additionally, my percentages usually run about %40 for cashing in the sit-n-go's so it is just off. In 2 of them I got run over by sets. In another, I took a big blow to my stack when my two-pair got beaten by a flush. I am not playing crazy, in fact, I have been playing tighter, but it just seems like everyone I play is hitting their cards. I guess it happens, but damn if it is not frustrating.
Live - $30
On-line - $160
Not to say that I have not been running pretty card dead in general but at least I left up. I bought in for $140, brought it up to about 275 on a flush and 2 pair against a particularly aggressive player and then the cards started to abandon me. I was getting some good cards, but nothing was hitting as usual, so I just tried to tighten up. I lost the rest of the stack when I had A-Ksuited and pushed a bluff on a few streets against someone with pocket 6s. I re-bought for 200 and that too went up and down for awhile and I ended up getting chopped away when I look down and and I have about $105 of the $340 left. I also am meeting some folks in about 40 minutes so I decide that if I am going to play, might as well get aggressive.
I straddle for $5 at one point and get 3 callers and look down on A-7off. I raise to $20, all go out except one player. a 7 comes on the flop and I pop it $50 and she goes out. A few hands later I look down on a pair of nines. I raise to $20, the same player calls. She is generally a somewhat tight player and when an A hits the board, I think I am done. I test the waters and throw another $20, she calls. a K comes on the turn, we both check, making me think that either I am good or she is trapping. A nine comes on the river to give me a set. I throw $50, get a call and win the pot. It is about time for me to leave. I am taking the last few hands and I see AA. There are a few players in and I raise to $20 to keep consistent. The same player calls again. Flop comes 7-6-3. I throw another $20 and she calls. Turn comes a Jack, I throw another $20 and she calls. The river comes a 2 and I bet $60, she folds, I show her the hand as I am leaving and as a courtesy, I pay her 'time' (the $5 per half hour that we pay to rent the seat) and leave with $370. So all in all, I only won $30 (not including the $40 in time i have payed over the course of the day) but it felt good to leave up rather than down.
On the on-line front it has been the opposite. After playing well last week, I have lost about 6 sit-n-go's and also gotten hit at the cash games. Now the stakes are not the same but still, I am down about $160 in the last few days. Additionally, my percentages usually run about %40 for cashing in the sit-n-go's so it is just off. In 2 of them I got run over by sets. In another, I took a big blow to my stack when my two-pair got beaten by a flush. I am not playing crazy, in fact, I have been playing tighter, but it just seems like everyone I play is hitting their cards. I guess it happens, but damn if it is not frustrating.
Live - $30
On-line - $160
Friday, September 14, 2007
Absolute Insanity and Recent Online MT
The last few times i have gone to the club (the other club, not the one shut down by the POlice) have been wild. Not sure why, but the tables I have been at have been totally wild. People playing really random hands and calling and catching miracle cards over and over. I am probably down about $500 from the trips as I have not been able to make the adjustment to this wild style of play. I will admit, it is a weakness in my game that I can get thrown off by what seem to be very low percentage calls that end up catching. But - I have a new theory after doing some thinking and reading on the 2+2. I am going to go with more money, be patient, tighten up a bit, but hit hard when my opponents either are on a draw or when I hit mine. Mainly make them pay for making low percentage plays and exploit when I hit mine.
The online has been treating me pretty well. New style, do 2-3 simultaneous Sit-N-Go's ($20 or $30) and play high percentage until I get in the money and then get more aggressive. Seems to be working in my favor. That and a good run at .50-1NL on FTP has my bankroll up about $400.
The online has been treating me pretty well. New style, do 2-3 simultaneous Sit-N-Go's ($20 or $30) and play high percentage until I get in the money and then get more aggressive. Seems to be working in my favor. That and a good run at .50-1NL on FTP has my bankroll up about $400.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Various games
It has been an up and down week with alternating wins and losses. Some games I have been completely in the zone and reading players and potential very well, other times I have been playing complete donky poker and literally handing other players my money.
In one session I had quads and 2 players went all in against me on the turn and it only got better. Finished that session up about $400. The next session I had some early successes and made some great strategic plays that paid off and I was up about 200 in less than an hour. Only to then have just about every draw I played not connect. I think I subtly went on tilt and did not have the forethought to either leave or take a time out. That session I ended up losing $500. I played 2 sit n go's and won both for about 225. I am going to focus on being more consistent and tightening up when I see myself playing too many draws or losing on bad plays.
Tomorrow is the Monday $300+30, so let's see how that works out and if I can work my plan. I want to cash high of course, but mainly I want to focus on simply playing solid game.
In one session I had quads and 2 players went all in against me on the turn and it only got better. Finished that session up about $400. The next session I had some early successes and made some great strategic plays that paid off and I was up about 200 in less than an hour. Only to then have just about every draw I played not connect. I think I subtly went on tilt and did not have the forethought to either leave or take a time out. That session I ended up losing $500. I played 2 sit n go's and won both for about 225. I am going to focus on being more consistent and tightening up when I see myself playing too many draws or losing on bad plays.
Tomorrow is the Monday $300+30, so let's see how that works out and if I can work my plan. I want to cash high of course, but mainly I want to focus on simply playing solid game.
Friday, August 3, 2007
$50+10 Wednesday Tourney
Fresh off the 2nd place win on Monday, I venture back to the club for the small stakes Wednesday tourn. About 70 people, bring my friend C, I think this is her first multi-table tournament. About 7 tables. Here is the big difference with this one, while the monday has a starting stack of 6,000 and 25-50 blinds, this is starting with 500 and 5-10 blinds. So the stack to blind ratio is much lower. Each chip is worth more and you have less to play with. @ a $60 buy-in, with no rebuys, I think I need to get looser with this one. I waited, was down to about 400 and UTG puts out 60, I call with A-Qoff and the BB raises all-in for about 300. UTG calls. I wait and muck. A-Q has gotten me in trouble so many times and I have to put them on hands. BB turns over Jacks, UTG turns Kings. Next five cards come 7-A-10-8-4 rainbow. I would have taken it with the Ace. Normally, I would not care, but as I as thinking about it, for a tournament with so few chips and such a low buy-in, I feel maybe I should have gambled more. If I hit, I suddenly have a stack I can work with, if not, no big deal. Just something to think about for the next one. I went about about 15 minutes laters with pocket 6s vs pocket As, we both hit a set on the flop for extra pain.
In better news, C made the final table and while she went out 10th, she still doubled her money and got great experience. Way to go C!
In better news, C made the final table and while she went out 10th, she still doubled her money and got great experience. Way to go C!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
$300+30 Monday Tournament
Played the $300+30 last night with some success. I got to the club early trying to make enough for the buy-in. Ended up down on a suck-out and built myself back to about $80 up playing $1-2 before the tournament started.
28 players were in, and unlike last week, I reminded myself to keep very patient. I was not going to make moves unless I had the cards or the read on the players and just try to accumulate slowly. We started with 6000 in chips and things were going well. Pocket kings held up on an all-in and I had around 14k in chips when I looked down on the button with A-Jsuited. Nobody was in the pot and I pushed 900 (blinds were 100-200). SB calls. BB folds. Flop A-K-4. SB goes all-in for about 5500 and I call. He turns over J-J to my A-J. I have him dominated since I have one of his outs. Turn is a blank and then, of course, he hits his third J on the river for trips. A one-outer. ugh. I am down to about 8K and I am pissed. I had not made any mistakes until that point and this one was a freak catch. I took a minute, said nice hand and moved on. The main thing I did, and I think this was a turning point in the game for me, was to take remind myself that I still had a fair amount of chips and that I should not go on tilt. I put on the iPod (Bach's Cello Suites are great to keep you focused) and waited for hands and position.
Luckily, the patience worked out. I was sitting in the BB with K-9 offsuit and it luckily was checked to me with 2 callers. I checked and the flop came out K-9-4. SB checks, I check, other payer (the one who caught the luck might I add) pushes in the rest of his chips (7000), SB calls, and I go All-In with 7500. We turn them over and the aggressor has nothing A-7. SB has bottom 2 and my hand holds up. Now I am sitting with about 24K and am back in the game. 8 players left.
At this point the final table looks like this. Chip Leader -about 50k, me and 2 others about 25k, two with about 15k and 2 small stacks. One short stack falls and after a few hands I am mid-position and looking at A-A. Luckily, the player to my right bets out about 6K (he has about what I do), I think and want to isolate so I push All-In. Short stack to my right goes All-In for about 8K. It is folded to the first aggressor who folds. I show and the short stack shows K-K. Aces hold up and I know about about 45k in chips, second to the leader who has about 65 at this time.
The tournament pays 4 places, there are 6 left. The director comes over, asks if we want to make a deal. We end up agreeing and I take second with $2k to show for it.
What I liked about how I played was I did not make any moves that I regretted. I waited for the cards and when I saw weakness, I pushed on it, whether I had the cards or not. I also did not tilt, even though I got a very bad beat that could have sent me over the edge.
Final tally was this. +$80 for the initial round, +1500 tournament (after tips and buy-in), -$300 for stupidly returning to the tables after the tournament (it is hard to shift back to the $1-2 game after playing tournaments I have found).
+ $1280
28 players were in, and unlike last week, I reminded myself to keep very patient. I was not going to make moves unless I had the cards or the read on the players and just try to accumulate slowly. We started with 6000 in chips and things were going well. Pocket kings held up on an all-in and I had around 14k in chips when I looked down on the button with A-Jsuited. Nobody was in the pot and I pushed 900 (blinds were 100-200). SB calls. BB folds. Flop A-K-4. SB goes all-in for about 5500 and I call. He turns over J-J to my A-J. I have him dominated since I have one of his outs. Turn is a blank and then, of course, he hits his third J on the river for trips. A one-outer. ugh. I am down to about 8K and I am pissed. I had not made any mistakes until that point and this one was a freak catch. I took a minute, said nice hand and moved on. The main thing I did, and I think this was a turning point in the game for me, was to take remind myself that I still had a fair amount of chips and that I should not go on tilt. I put on the iPod (Bach's Cello Suites are great to keep you focused) and waited for hands and position.
Luckily, the patience worked out. I was sitting in the BB with K-9 offsuit and it luckily was checked to me with 2 callers. I checked and the flop came out K-9-4. SB checks, I check, other payer (the one who caught the luck might I add) pushes in the rest of his chips (7000), SB calls, and I go All-In with 7500. We turn them over and the aggressor has nothing A-7. SB has bottom 2 and my hand holds up. Now I am sitting with about 24K and am back in the game. 8 players left.
At this point the final table looks like this. Chip Leader -about 50k, me and 2 others about 25k, two with about 15k and 2 small stacks. One short stack falls and after a few hands I am mid-position and looking at A-A. Luckily, the player to my right bets out about 6K (he has about what I do), I think and want to isolate so I push All-In. Short stack to my right goes All-In for about 8K. It is folded to the first aggressor who folds. I show and the short stack shows K-K. Aces hold up and I know about about 45k in chips, second to the leader who has about 65 at this time.
The tournament pays 4 places, there are 6 left. The director comes over, asks if we want to make a deal. We end up agreeing and I take second with $2k to show for it.
What I liked about how I played was I did not make any moves that I regretted. I waited for the cards and when I saw weakness, I pushed on it, whether I had the cards or not. I also did not tilt, even though I got a very bad beat that could have sent me over the edge.
Final tally was this. +$80 for the initial round, +1500 tournament (after tips and buy-in), -$300 for stupidly returning to the tables after the tournament (it is hard to shift back to the $1-2 game after playing tournaments I have found).
+ $1280
Friday, July 27, 2007
What Would You Do?
I played the other day in the clubs new $50+10 tournament. It was frustrating as usual. I had had a great run for about a month, leaving with 2-3x what I bought in at consistently, but recently, the poker gods and my own misplays have been costing me.
But in this case, what would you do?
500 chips to start. Up and down for about 40 minutes and I am sitting on about 440 with the blinds 10-20.
I am in the BB with Qs+3d. 2 players in and I check. 10h was exposed on the deal.
Flop comes Ks+10d+10s. Check all around. turn is the 3s. SB bets 65, I call with my spade draw and small pair. 3rd player doubles the bet. I call, putting him on a K or maybe a 10 but figure if the spade comes, I am good. 6s comes on the river making my flush. I am first to act and push all in for about 300. Let me first say that the other player in the hand seems a little green. I have never seen him at the club before and he is not on top of all the etiquette. So, to continue,
he flips over his cards, without saying anything and then pushes his chips in. I initially thought it was a fold. Then I look down and he is holding K-10 for the boat. I am sitting there, waiting for the dealer and he pushes him the chips. Another guy at the table says that his hand is dead as he did not make the verbal call or push his chips in before turning over the cards.
I get up and tell him, 'I thought you were folding, but you had the better hand and I don't want to be a prick about it.'
I figured it was a tiny buy-in, he did not know the table/tourny rules and as well, I had been up for 35 hours straight and my heart was not in it. On the other hand, I technically won the hand when he showed before committing. For a bigger game/bigger stakes, I would have made a fuss, it just did not seem worth it on this one.
Would you have done the same?
-$60
But in this case, what would you do?
500 chips to start. Up and down for about 40 minutes and I am sitting on about 440 with the blinds 10-20.
I am in the BB with Qs+3d. 2 players in and I check. 10h was exposed on the deal.
Flop comes Ks+10d+10s. Check all around. turn is the 3s. SB bets 65, I call with my spade draw and small pair. 3rd player doubles the bet. I call, putting him on a K or maybe a 10 but figure if the spade comes, I am good. 6s comes on the river making my flush. I am first to act and push all in for about 300. Let me first say that the other player in the hand seems a little green. I have never seen him at the club before and he is not on top of all the etiquette. So, to continue,
he flips over his cards, without saying anything and then pushes his chips in. I initially thought it was a fold. Then I look down and he is holding K-10 for the boat. I am sitting there, waiting for the dealer and he pushes him the chips. Another guy at the table says that his hand is dead as he did not make the verbal call or push his chips in before turning over the cards.
I get up and tell him, 'I thought you were folding, but you had the better hand and I don't want to be a prick about it.'
I figured it was a tiny buy-in, he did not know the table/tourny rules and as well, I had been up for 35 hours straight and my heart was not in it. On the other hand, I technically won the hand when he showed before committing. For a bigger game/bigger stakes, I would have made a fuss, it just did not seem worth it on this one.
Would you have done the same?
-$60
Hooded Man Vs. Machine
I guess machine is not yet up to the task of beating man in poker, although it was close.
Here is an article about how Phil Laak took on an Artificial Intelligence computer at a poker game and almost lost. The thing that scares me is with all the on-line play, we are more susceptible then ever to bots coming and taking our money. We are not all Phil Laak.
LINK: Unibomber beats Polaris
Here is an article about how Phil Laak took on an Artificial Intelligence computer at a poker game and almost lost. The thing that scares me is with all the on-line play, we are more susceptible then ever to bots coming and taking our money. We are not all Phil Laak.
LINK: Unibomber beats Polaris
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Just giving it away
It just gets worse. Last night was one of those nights where everything was off. I would probably have saved some cash and just sat on the corner and gave out money for 4 hours. That was how badly I was playing.
The pinnacle of my first explosion was in the $300+30 tourney. I have played it before, and have cashed a bunch of times, so I know it pretty well. I generally do pretty good in tournaments and sit-n-go's because I have patience and wait for my opportunities. This one was going ok. It was into the second hour and I was up to about 9500 in chips (started at 6K). There was one player, who I have played before, who was playing alot of hands and winning, but mainly because he was getting cards, not because he was outplaying people. I had not seen a decent hand in awhile, and I got impatient. I looked down in MP with A-5 suited. I throw out 450 (3x the blinds), it folds to him and he raises to 1450. It comes back to me and on a hand that I should have laid down, or at worst just made the call and play it after the flow, I struggle for like a minute and then throw in all my chips, thinking that if he is on mid-pair or A-10 or something he will fold it. He calls and shows me K-K. I don't improve and am out.
It was such a stupid play that I really got frustrated. If I was going to come over the top, don't struggle (not that he would not have called with K-K). If I know I am an underdog, I can fold. If I think I am an underdog who can improve, then call. I make the complete BAD play. At least I can take away to stick to my guns and play tight in the beginning, loosen up with chipstack and later rounds. UGH.
I then proceeded to donk off $250 more at the tables through bad calls and suck-outs.
Not a good night at all.
-$580.00
The pinnacle of my first explosion was in the $300+30 tourney. I have played it before, and have cashed a bunch of times, so I know it pretty well. I generally do pretty good in tournaments and sit-n-go's because I have patience and wait for my opportunities. This one was going ok. It was into the second hour and I was up to about 9500 in chips (started at 6K). There was one player, who I have played before, who was playing alot of hands and winning, but mainly because he was getting cards, not because he was outplaying people. I had not seen a decent hand in awhile, and I got impatient. I looked down in MP with A-5 suited. I throw out 450 (3x the blinds), it folds to him and he raises to 1450. It comes back to me and on a hand that I should have laid down, or at worst just made the call and play it after the flow, I struggle for like a minute and then throw in all my chips, thinking that if he is on mid-pair or A-10 or something he will fold it. He calls and shows me K-K. I don't improve and am out.
It was such a stupid play that I really got frustrated. If I was going to come over the top, don't struggle (not that he would not have called with K-K). If I know I am an underdog, I can fold. If I think I am an underdog who can improve, then call. I make the complete BAD play. At least I can take away to stick to my guns and play tight in the beginning, loosen up with chipstack and later rounds. UGH.
I then proceeded to donk off $250 more at the tables through bad calls and suck-outs.
Not a good night at all.
-$580.00
Sunday, July 22, 2007
1-2NL, 2 Hours, NY Club
Went to the club this afternoon to kill a few hours. Only 1 table of 1-2NL going. I try a new strategy, buy in small ($150) and try and use some over top all-in moves to double it up.
About 15 hands in I look down with AQ off-suit UTG. I throw in $13. 2 Callers. Flop comes A-10-8 rainbow. I throw out $20, one fold, the guy to my right (who is an older, but often aggressive type player) makes it $45. I have another $97 left if I make the call and figure at this point I am probably good, but you never know with what this guy playes so I push all in. He thinks for a minute, makes the call. A Jack comes on the turn, King on the river, I make a straight. He murmurs to himself 'that was a lucky river for you', but he never shows his hand. I think i was good the whole time, but he threw his cards into the muck. Doubled to about $320.
I knocked off about $80 later when I pushed with 2 pair against trip 7's (I need to learn how to check with that pair hits the board that aint mine).
Another ridiculous play later on my part, and this one got me annoyed, but I still won the pot. Aggressive player to my left, I am UTG, pot is about $40. 3 players in the hand. I am holding Kh-5c. Flop K-4-8 rainbow. I check , aggressive guy puts out $17. Player to my right calls and I call. Next card is a 2h (2 hearts now on the board). Aggressive guy checks, guy to my right checks, and for some reason, I thought I was on the button (guy to my right was). So I say "All-In", even though I guess I had checked since I was first to act. The dealer says "All-In Blind" to me. I look down and say, "umm...sure". Push all my chips in (like $200 left) but am clearly off. Aggressive folds, but player to my right is thinking. He just looks really confused by my move. He did not realize that I had meant to push on the turn, but got caught up in a mistake. He thinks I went all-in blind before the river. The 10 on the river looks innocent enough. He takes awhile and then asks if I will show if he folds, I say sure. He mucks, I show the K-5 and he looks disgusted since he had me beat, but my off-putting mistake got him into a state where it knocked him off his game (I am assuming 2 pair or A-K). Just goes to show you, if you act out of character, players will not know how to react. Still took down $100 on that mistake.
All in all, for a 2.5 hour session, I hated the way I played but still came out ahead. There is a $300 +30 tourney tomorrow that I have cashed in a few times. Looking at it this way. I can buy in for $150 instead of $330.
+$190
About 15 hands in I look down with AQ off-suit UTG. I throw in $13. 2 Callers. Flop comes A-10-8 rainbow. I throw out $20, one fold, the guy to my right (who is an older, but often aggressive type player) makes it $45. I have another $97 left if I make the call and figure at this point I am probably good, but you never know with what this guy playes so I push all in. He thinks for a minute, makes the call. A Jack comes on the turn, King on the river, I make a straight. He murmurs to himself 'that was a lucky river for you', but he never shows his hand. I think i was good the whole time, but he threw his cards into the muck. Doubled to about $320.
I knocked off about $80 later when I pushed with 2 pair against trip 7's (I need to learn how to check with that pair hits the board that aint mine).
Another ridiculous play later on my part, and this one got me annoyed, but I still won the pot. Aggressive player to my left, I am UTG, pot is about $40. 3 players in the hand. I am holding Kh-5c. Flop K-4-8 rainbow. I check , aggressive guy puts out $17. Player to my right calls and I call. Next card is a 2h (2 hearts now on the board). Aggressive guy checks, guy to my right checks, and for some reason, I thought I was on the button (guy to my right was). So I say "All-In", even though I guess I had checked since I was first to act. The dealer says "All-In Blind" to me. I look down and say, "umm...sure". Push all my chips in (like $200 left) but am clearly off. Aggressive folds, but player to my right is thinking. He just looks really confused by my move. He did not realize that I had meant to push on the turn, but got caught up in a mistake. He thinks I went all-in blind before the river. The 10 on the river looks innocent enough. He takes awhile and then asks if I will show if he folds, I say sure. He mucks, I show the K-5 and he looks disgusted since he had me beat, but my off-putting mistake got him into a state where it knocked him off his game (I am assuming 2 pair or A-K). Just goes to show you, if you act out of character, players will not know how to react. Still took down $100 on that mistake.
All in all, for a 2.5 hour session, I hated the way I played but still came out ahead. There is a $300 +30 tourney tomorrow that I have cashed in a few times. Looking at it this way. I can buy in for $150 instead of $330.
+$190
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Inspiration
I just read this quote by Louis Pasteur.
I do not think you can sum up in better words how the constant learning and re-learning of strategies and situations in our game makes our game that much stronger and can seem to the outsider to influence luck in our favor. I think I am going to run with this for awhile.
CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND
I do not think you can sum up in better words how the constant learning and re-learning of strategies and situations in our game makes our game that much stronger and can seem to the outsider to influence luck in our favor. I think I am going to run with this for awhile.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Yes, I still suck.
It is interesting to me how we as poker players so often don't learn from our mistakes. Take this example from me killing time last night.
$20, 6 player sit-n-go.
Everyone started with about 1500 chips. I am down to about 1100. I am UTG with Aces. I ALWAYS push something in with aces as I have had them cracked too many times with BS. But for some reason, i did not listen to history or my game plan and limped, hoping for a raise. Of course, with a 6 player table, that leaves only 5 behind me and it is easy for people to limp in. The SB and BB limp as well.
Flop 10-7-4 rainbow.
SB pushes in 200. I come over the top All-In. He shows 7-4 for 2 pair. I bust out.
Pretty much any bet I would have made before the flop would have gotten this guy out. It is the usual, winning a small pot is better than losing a big one.
Oy. After the last few weeks, where I have been running pretty strong and making 4 figures in 2 weeks, these small little losses, mainly because of my boneheaded playing, is really annoying to me.
-$20 (plus $2 buy in)
$20, 6 player sit-n-go.
Everyone started with about 1500 chips. I am down to about 1100. I am UTG with Aces. I ALWAYS push something in with aces as I have had them cracked too many times with BS. But for some reason, i did not listen to history or my game plan and limped, hoping for a raise. Of course, with a 6 player table, that leaves only 5 behind me and it is easy for people to limp in. The SB and BB limp as well.
Flop 10-7-4 rainbow.
SB pushes in 200. I come over the top All-In. He shows 7-4 for 2 pair. I bust out.
Pretty much any bet I would have made before the flop would have gotten this guy out. It is the usual, winning a small pot is better than losing a big one.
Oy. After the last few weeks, where I have been running pretty strong and making 4 figures in 2 weeks, these small little losses, mainly because of my boneheaded playing, is really annoying to me.
-$20 (plus $2 buy in)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Here Is Why I Suck
I suck for the following 2 reasons: 1 Queen and 1 more Queen.
I told myself that I would not play tonight as I had played a almost 4 hours yesterday. Well, here i am sitting at home and decide to play a sit-n-go on FTP. I usually cash in 45-50% of the games that i play, but don't love playing on-line and my a.d.d. gets in the way, so i tend to play small stakes. I ended up playing two for a total of $120 in the span of 1 hour. In both, i raise with pocket queens, get a caller and then push when an overcard hits the board. In both instances the other player pushes back with the overcard, in BOTH situations (note:suck!), I re-raise all-in. Both times I am called and shown the bigger card. Lost both times. That is why I suck and should not mess with the ladies.
-$120 (plus $11 rake)
I told myself that I would not play tonight as I had played a almost 4 hours yesterday. Well, here i am sitting at home and decide to play a sit-n-go on FTP. I usually cash in 45-50% of the games that i play, but don't love playing on-line and my a.d.d. gets in the way, so i tend to play small stakes. I ended up playing two for a total of $120 in the span of 1 hour. In both, i raise with pocket queens, get a caller and then push when an overcard hits the board. In both instances the other player pushes back with the overcard, in BOTH situations (note:suck!), I re-raise all-in. Both times I am called and shown the bigger card. Lost both times. That is why I suck and should not mess with the ladies.
-$120 (plus $11 rake)
1-2NL, 3.5 Hours, NYC, Underground Club
Sat down at the table with 5 other players as they were still trying to build a game. the guy to my right was so nervous (or lit-up) that he could barely stand still. Another few basic grinder types just trying to pass the time are there. 2 younger 20something guys sit down, next to each other and are friends. I always hate when friends sit next to each other to play. 1. They always almost always will just check down pots to each other and more importantly, I always worry that they will change the pot odds by not staying in when they should because their 'boy' is in.
From the minute they sit down, i have already put them as on-line players with not too much table experience. This gets proven quickly with their constant aggressive play, but never in amounts that will change the play too much. From $2 to $7 or $11. Not any moves that are really meant to get people to lay hands down, just constant pot sweetners. I don't mind this as I see them as targets to get outplayed.
I sit down with $200, they have both bought in for max ($300). Both have won some early hands but both also have showed alot of weakness in their game just waiting to be exploited.
Many hands play and I am down about $50 when I look at K-9s on the button. I limp and on-line guy 1 makes it $12. 3 callers so i call to for odds. Flop comes 10c, Js and Qs. OL Guy1 makes it 15. 1 caller and then to me where I pop it to $45 with the straight and straight flush draw. Without thinking for a second OLG pushes all in. This is what I love about these type of players, they see a good hand and they think being aggressive is enough. I call for all my chips and turn over the the straight and he turns over the trip Jacks. He doesn't improve so i take down the pot for $400.
All was going well until nervous guy limps before me and I push $25 with pocket Qs. He is so nervous that when he pushes $50 out for a min raise, I come over the top all-in. He calls and shows pocket Ks. I don't improve and lost my first buy-in. I understand what he was doing in limping with kings, but i think it was a bad move. You can get very hurt that way.
I buy back in for another $200 and am up and down here and there. Funniest hand was this.
5 players in the pot. ON-line guy 2 made it $7 to go so there is a bit of action. I am holding 6-4d and am playing a bit cocky, for no reason as many of my plays have not been working. Flop comes 7d 10d Qd. I have the low straight, it is checked to me, being a bit of a dick, i say 'I will bet my flush' and throw out $35. Folds to another guy with about $70 total left. But here is the thing, he has his iPod on, so he did not hear my statement. He things for awhile and goes all-in with Ac-Qs for top pair. I call immediately and win on the river as everyone around the table starts laughing that if he had not been listening to his music, he may have laid it down as I told him what I had.
All in all, left with $210.
-$190 for the session.
From the minute they sit down, i have already put them as on-line players with not too much table experience. This gets proven quickly with their constant aggressive play, but never in amounts that will change the play too much. From $2 to $7 or $11. Not any moves that are really meant to get people to lay hands down, just constant pot sweetners. I don't mind this as I see them as targets to get outplayed.
I sit down with $200, they have both bought in for max ($300). Both have won some early hands but both also have showed alot of weakness in their game just waiting to be exploited.
Many hands play and I am down about $50 when I look at K-9s on the button. I limp and on-line guy 1 makes it $12. 3 callers so i call to for odds. Flop comes 10c, Js and Qs. OL Guy1 makes it 15. 1 caller and then to me where I pop it to $45 with the straight and straight flush draw. Without thinking for a second OLG pushes all in. This is what I love about these type of players, they see a good hand and they think being aggressive is enough. I call for all my chips and turn over the the straight and he turns over the trip Jacks. He doesn't improve so i take down the pot for $400.
All was going well until nervous guy limps before me and I push $25 with pocket Qs. He is so nervous that when he pushes $50 out for a min raise, I come over the top all-in. He calls and shows pocket Ks. I don't improve and lost my first buy-in. I understand what he was doing in limping with kings, but i think it was a bad move. You can get very hurt that way.
I buy back in for another $200 and am up and down here and there. Funniest hand was this.
5 players in the pot. ON-line guy 2 made it $7 to go so there is a bit of action. I am holding 6-4d and am playing a bit cocky, for no reason as many of my plays have not been working. Flop comes 7d 10d Qd. I have the low straight, it is checked to me, being a bit of a dick, i say 'I will bet my flush' and throw out $35. Folds to another guy with about $70 total left. But here is the thing, he has his iPod on, so he did not hear my statement. He things for awhile and goes all-in with Ac-Qs for top pair. I call immediately and win on the river as everyone around the table starts laughing that if he had not been listening to his music, he may have laid it down as I told him what I had.
All in all, left with $210.
-$190 for the session.
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