When I last left this humble blog I had mentioned that I was having a lucky day on Monday. I really did not have any comprehension of how lucky I was about to get.
After qualifying in the $55 satellite, I played in the $215 WSOP satellite on Party Poker.
In the early rounds I played a little loose and aggressive when in position. I wasn't doing much until I managed to double up when I flopped a set of 8's over my opponent's set of 5's.
For the next 3 or 4 levels, I really did not play very many hands but I managed to keep my chip stack between 8 and 12 BB by restealing a few times from the tight passive guy on my right. I was really happy with my play, because this was something I wanted to concentrate on after reading numerous posts on 2+2 about restealing and how vital it is to last in tournaments when you go card dead.
Finally, I had a big hand to give me some breathing room. After folding for what seemed like 3 rounds of blinds, I found myself with Ah Ks in the small blind. The blinds were 300-600 and I started with 4,310 in chips. Our starting stacks were 3,000 so as you can see, I really had not done much yet.
Rosieace, one of 3 stacks over 12,000 at the table open raised in middle position to 1925. My best friend, TlewA, who I had survived 3 blind levels by stealing liberally from, raised all in on the button. I of course moved my 4,310 into the middle. The big blind folded and Rosieace called.
Rosieace turns over Kc Qs and TLewA turns over Ac 3s. Huh??? I can understand the call by Rosie, since she's getting good odds and can afford to gamble. I guess TLewA had somewhere else to be.
The flop was Tc 9c 4s. The turn is 4c. So now TLewA has the nut flush draw. I need to dodge 4 jacks, 8 clubs, 3 threes, and 3 Queens. 18 bad cards and 26 good cards. The river was a harmless 8s and I triple up!
I am at 12,931 in chips and only 2700 chips behind the chip leader at my table.
Soon after, the blinds moved up to 400-800 with 25 antes. So once again, my stack is not all that large. I steal the blinds once. I miss stealing the blinds and lose it right back. Then I steal again, but now I need to move all in for around 10,000 each time.
Time for another rush. I am dealt Tc 9h on the button. It's folded to me and with a starting stack of 12,306, I raise to 2400. The small blind pushes all in for 3037. Luckily the big blind folds so I don't have to make a real decision. I call the other 600 and the flop comes down
Ac 9s Kd. My opponent has Ks Jc so he is ahead. My good fortune strikes again and I turn a 3rd nine. The very next hand on the button I receive Jd Jc. Rosieace with 6200 in chips raises to 2600 under the gun. It's folded to me and I raise all in to protect my hand. Rosie calls. My Jacks hold up against her KQ. Now I am up to 23,905 and almost leading my table again.
I bled off a few chips after calling a short stack's all in with pocket 5's and losing the race. Then I got caught in fancy play syndrome. With the blinds at 600-1200 and 50 antes we are playing 7 handed. I am one off the button with As 9h. Utg folds and eagerearl limps in. Eagerearl has been tagged as a fish by me. It will be very easy to get some chips off of him if I hit a hand. I raise to 3600 to isolate him, which works. He calls as expected so now there is 9,350 in the pot and I have 17,266 left. Eagerearl has 17,522 left.
The flop is Js Qd Qh. This is a decent board to bluff at, except that Eagerearl loves to call and I bet he has flopped at least a drawing hand. He checks and I check behind. The turn is a 3h. It's checked through again. The river is the Jc. We check it down. Luckily Eagerearl has Ace 6 and we chop the pot. Wow he's even worse than I thought.
I float through a few more rounds staying around 25k. We are at the final 2 tables. Finally on the big blind I am dealt Qh Qc. Bajawa with 51,115 raises to 4050 in middle position. It's folded to me and I push all in. For some strange reason, he calls and flips over Ah 9h. "It was sooooted!" I can hear him saying as he prays for an Ace he doesn't get. Now I am pumped up to 52,982 and I officially have a big stack.
I go card dead for a little while, but I do get a chuckle from one hand. Mr. Uni Q has been raising all in for 2 or 3 levels now. It's his only move even though he has 30,000 chips and the blinds are 1000-2000 with 75 antes. So it's folded to him on the button and of course he raises all in. I am in the small blind with Ah 9h. Luckily if he had just put in a small raise, I may have tried to resteal. Instead I fold, but the big blind ishosta with 57,172 in chips calls with his pocket 9's. Mr Uni Q turns over QQ and it looks like he will double up and cause me trouble for a while. Instead, ishosta hits the last and only 9 in the deck to eliminate Mr Uni Q and make the table 6 handed.
Eventually I make the final table with 48,807 in chips. I am in 4th place. The chip leader has 96,247 and it's eagerearl so I figure those chips are in play. The top 2 places receive the WSOP tickets and 3rd, 4th, and 5th split up the rest of the money in a 50-30-20 split.
With 9 left and I am on the big blind, I am dealt TT. Eagerearl min raises at UTG+1. So now I am licking my chops. It's folded to nikzad who min raises again to 3x the blind or 6000. I don't want to play a pot with nikzad out of position because he seems like a decent player. I decide to fold. Eagerearl then pushes all in. Did I avoid pocket Aces? Nikzad folds so I'll never know.
I am UTG + 1 with Kh Jc and 50,257. The blinds are 1000-2000 with 75 antes and we are 9 handed. I raise to 5000 hoping to steal. It's folded to Nikzad who pushes in his last 8481. It's 4500 more to call into a 16,000 pot, so I have to call. He turns over Ks Qc and turns a straight. Now I am down to 40,776.
The blinds go up to 1500-3000 with 75 antes now. I lose some chips trying to defend my blind against a min raise. I call preflop and lead out on the ragged flop. Nikzad raises all in and I fold like a little girl.
Later I have raised three different times all in preflop to steal and have yet to be called. My chips are back up to 42,000.
On the button with Kd Js and the blinds are now 2000-4000 with 100 antes. 8 players left. The short stack with 12,619 goes all in. It's folded to me and I figure he could have a pretty wide range of hands. I don't think Kd Js is a good enough hand to protect so I just call. Maybe the others will join in to try and eliminate a player? Sure enough, Eagerearl in the big blind with 57,847 behind him joins in the fun. The pot is 40,657 and comes down Kh 9s 2s. Eagerearl checks and I push. I did not want to get out drawn, but maybe I should have bet less to see if Eagerearl would call with a worse hand? Eventually my hand holds up and now I have 69,239 in chips.
I hold steady and finally with 6 players left, Eagerearl makes a really dumb move and busts himself and now we've all made money. 5th place pays $1,360. I HAVE NOW WON MORE MONEY IN THIS TOURNAMENT THEN I EVER HAVE BEFORE!!!! I have 74,639 in chips and the blinds are 3000-6000. I am in 3rd place.
It all goes bad in a hurry. I have 76off in the small blind. It's folded to me and I raise to 18k. Ishosta who has me covered moves all in to defend and I have to lay down. Now I am down to 50,400. The next hand on the button I am dealt pocket 5's. Olijenab with 90,000 in chips limps in under the gun. I don't want to see a flop, but I don't want to go broke either. I raise to 25,000 figuring that should be good enough to get a fold if he's fooling around.
Instead of the hoped for fold, he raises me all in. FUCK!!!! I lay it down and he's nice enough to show me the pocket Aces. I fold until it gets to me in the small blind. I am dealt Q5 suited and I raise all in after it's folded to me. Ishosta makes a good call with 89 of diamonds. I am ahead, but not by much. He turns the 9 and rivers an 8 to eliminate me 5th.
I was really happy with the way I played. I was very patient and picked my spots at the right times. I hope this is a springboard to bigger and better things.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
It's a Lucky Holiday
I played golf this morning with the normal gang down at the Country Club. I shot my usual 82 with a terrible front 9 and a pretty good back 9. I had two really lucky shots on the back nine that should have gone in the water, but somehow stayed up on the embankment instead of rolling into the lake. This was an omen.
After coming home and resting for a bit, I decided to fire up the computer for some poker. Somehow I won both of the $55 sit n go's I played by getting lucky a few times in each game to suck out.
Now I am about to qualify for another WSOP satellite. I ran up a huge stack when my JJ rivered a straight to beat two Kings. Then I had KK and won and then AA and won in 3 successive hands. I went from out of the tournament to chip leader in 3 hands!
I'll be back to post more on the bigger tournament.
After coming home and resting for a bit, I decided to fire up the computer for some poker. Somehow I won both of the $55 sit n go's I played by getting lucky a few times in each game to suck out.
Now I am about to qualify for another WSOP satellite. I ran up a huge stack when my JJ rivered a straight to beat two Kings. Then I had KK and won and then AA and won in 3 successive hands. I went from out of the tournament to chip leader in 3 hands!
I'll be back to post more on the bigger tournament.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Another WSOP attempt
On Sunday I tried to qualify again for the WSOP main event. I won my way in with a $55 satellite. The first satellite was pretty boring except for one hand.
There were 23 spots available and there were 24 players left. Blinds were 400-800 with 25 ante. I had 8500 in chips. There was one player at another table with 300 in chips and about 4 hands to go until he hits the blinds.
I was dealt pocket Aces in the big blind. It was folded to the small blind, who raised me. He had about 16k in chips. He could fold his way in easily, but he was fucking around.
I hemmed and hawed for a while and then called. Mathematically this is an easy fold. I knew that, but for some reason I still felt uncomfortable with my chip stack because the next closest to elimination after the mini stack was around 4000 in chips. I felt like if I called, he probably would not bet again. If he did, I would base my decision on the texture of the flop.
The flop was 3-4-5 with 2 suits. The small blind pushed in and I called. The small blind had 8-7 and my hand was good. I have no idea why he would push in there? That's almost as bad as my decision preflop. I guess he had chips and could afford it.
After that little scare, I coasted in and sat down for dinner. The next tournament started at 6:00 PM. I will run through the hands I played and see if I could have played them any better.
1. 3260 in chips. I am dealt 6s 5s in middle position. One limper in front. I limp for 60. 2 other callers.
The flop is 3d, 2h, 6d. It's checked to me and I bet 150. Everyone folds.
2. 3380 in chips. I am dealt Ac, Ah in the cutoff. It's folded to me and I raise 3x the blind to 180. Button folds and both blinds call.
The flop is a beautiful Ks Kc Ad. The blinds both check and I check it through setting the trap. The turn is a 9s. This time the Big Blind bets 450 into the 540 pot. I smooth call and the small blind folds. The river is a 2c. Now the Big Blind bets 2595 which basically puts me all in. I raise my last 155. He calls and flips over Kh 2h for Kings full of 2's. My Aces full is a winner and I double up.
3. 6730 in chips. Blinds are 50-100. I am dealt 6s, Js. 5 folds to me and I decide to try and steal the blinds by raising to 300. Button folds, but both blinds call. Ugh.
Flop is 4d, 7d, 8d. The small blind bets 375 and BB calls. I fold.
4. 6430 in chips. Blinds are 50-100. I am in the big blind with Ac, 5s. It's folded to the button who min raises to 200. I call. The flop is 5c, 8c, 5h. I check and the button bets 360 into the 450 pot. I try to do some math to figure out how much I should raise to charge him a high price on a flush draw. I raise to 1400. The button reraises all in. It's 1847 more to call so I do. Button turns over Qs, Ah and my hand is good. My stack is up to 9927.
5. 10,827 in chips. Blinds are 100-200. I am in late middle position with Ad, Js. It's 4 folds to me and I open for 600. Everyone folds except the big blind who calls. The flop is 2h, Ks, 3s. I continuation bet for 700. He folds.
6. 11,027 in chips. Blinds 100-200. I am dealt Ac, Kc in the big blind. Middle position (emigo) calls. Cutoff (H2Oman23) raises to 625. I just call. Emigo had 3179 chips at start and H20man23 had 5833. Should I have raised? This looks like a decent push. I am not in good position and it would be nice to take it down here. The other side of the coin is that I have a big chip lead at the table and why risk it on a possible coin flip?
The flop is 4h, 6h, 8c. I check, emigo bets 200. H20 man raises to 825. I fold. Emigo called the raise. The turn was Ah. That puts up a possible flush. Emigo min bets 200 again. This time H20 folds. I'd love to know what Emigo had there. The min bet on the flop looks like a flush draw blocking bet, but who knows?
7. 10,202 in chips. Blinds 150-300. I have Kh, 7h on the button. It's folded to me and I try to steal and raise to 900. The small blind raises all in to 4622. The big blind folds and I fold. The small blind(titlegambler) has been a bit crazy.
8. 9302 in chips. Dealt 7h, 7c in middle. I raise and win the blinds.
9. 9752 in chips. Blinds are 200-400. I have As, Kh in the small blind. UTG raises all in to 716. It's folded to me. I reraise all in. Titlegambler in big blind folds.
Is this right? Should I just call or put in a smaller raise? If I raise smaller, maybe it entices the crazy big blind to play a weaker hand.
My hand does not improve and the UTG pair of 7's wins the race.
10. 9036 in chips. I have Kd, Js in the cut off. The blinds are 200-400. The big blind is all in for 320. It's folded to me and I raise to 800. Everyone folds and it's another race. I pair my Jack on the turn and win a small pot.
11. 9556 in chips. I have 9s, 9h utg. The blinds are 200-400. I raise to 1000. One fold, then a call. Wedgewood who has me covered 2-1, raises to 5200. I fold and the other caller folds.
The big blind was all in so I get to see Wedgewood's pocket Kings. Nice escape I must say.
12. Down to 7756 in chips. Blinds are still 200-400. I have 6d, 6c in the small blind. Folded to the button who raises to 1300. I reraise all in. The BB folds and the button folds. This is a nice steal reraise. I may need to learn how to do this more often with a wider range of hands.
13. 8556 in chips. Blinds are 300-600. I am dealt Jh, Ks two off the button. There is an UTG (Bestdeal2222) min raise to 1200. Bestdeal has 22383 in chips. I just call. This is probably a mistake. I have some protection in that there are probably not a lot of people looking to play a pot with the 2nd biggest chip stack at the table. But I still have 4 players left to act behind me. I think now that this is a raise or fold situation. Sure enough, the big blind calls.
The flop is 7d, 9h, 2d. The pot is 4200. The BB checks and bestdeal min bets 600. I just call hoping to take it away on the turn. This is screaming for a big raise here.
The turn is 6s. Bestdeal bets the minimum again and I fold. Very vaginal.
14. 6756 in chips and blinds are 300-600. I am dealt pocket 9's in middle position. There are 3 folds in front of me and I raise to 2000. There are two folds and then Braves77 raises all in for 6343. I call praying for Braves to turn over big unpaired cards. No such luck as I see pocket Aces. I was left with less than the big blind after that and played a few more hands before getting knocked out by 4 Kings.
I finished 42nd out of 187.
Overall, I started out very fast and was getting some great hands. When things slow down and I go card dead for awhile, I need to learn how to maintain or continue to build up my stack. I was looking for open steal attempts, but one thing I have never really done is resteal.
I definitely think that I need to resteal every once in a while to build up my chips. Look at the math. If I open steal, then I only win 1.5 bets. If I resteal, then I win the initial raise of 3-4 bets plus the blinds. That's 4.5 to 5.5 bets. If I am at 15-20 BB in my stack, then that is a great increase. I would only have to do this move once every 3 rounds to be the same effectiveness as open stealing.
I also did some more digging at 2+2 in the MTT Anthology section. I looked at the hand histories of some of the winning tournaments. One move I noticed a lot was check raising a paired board on the flop. I think this is a pretty successful bluff, especially if it's heads up or 3 handed. There are not a lot of hands that decent players are willing to call with on these boards if someone shows aggression and represents the three of a kind. I'll just keep working to get better.
There were 23 spots available and there were 24 players left. Blinds were 400-800 with 25 ante. I had 8500 in chips. There was one player at another table with 300 in chips and about 4 hands to go until he hits the blinds.
I was dealt pocket Aces in the big blind. It was folded to the small blind, who raised me. He had about 16k in chips. He could fold his way in easily, but he was fucking around.
I hemmed and hawed for a while and then called. Mathematically this is an easy fold. I knew that, but for some reason I still felt uncomfortable with my chip stack because the next closest to elimination after the mini stack was around 4000 in chips. I felt like if I called, he probably would not bet again. If he did, I would base my decision on the texture of the flop.
The flop was 3-4-5 with 2 suits. The small blind pushed in and I called. The small blind had 8-7 and my hand was good. I have no idea why he would push in there? That's almost as bad as my decision preflop. I guess he had chips and could afford it.
After that little scare, I coasted in and sat down for dinner. The next tournament started at 6:00 PM. I will run through the hands I played and see if I could have played them any better.
1. 3260 in chips. I am dealt 6s 5s in middle position. One limper in front. I limp for 60. 2 other callers.
The flop is 3d, 2h, 6d. It's checked to me and I bet 150. Everyone folds.
2. 3380 in chips. I am dealt Ac, Ah in the cutoff. It's folded to me and I raise 3x the blind to 180. Button folds and both blinds call.
The flop is a beautiful Ks Kc Ad. The blinds both check and I check it through setting the trap. The turn is a 9s. This time the Big Blind bets 450 into the 540 pot. I smooth call and the small blind folds. The river is a 2c. Now the Big Blind bets 2595 which basically puts me all in. I raise my last 155. He calls and flips over Kh 2h for Kings full of 2's. My Aces full is a winner and I double up.
3. 6730 in chips. Blinds are 50-100. I am dealt 6s, Js. 5 folds to me and I decide to try and steal the blinds by raising to 300. Button folds, but both blinds call. Ugh.
Flop is 4d, 7d, 8d. The small blind bets 375 and BB calls. I fold.
4. 6430 in chips. Blinds are 50-100. I am in the big blind with Ac, 5s. It's folded to the button who min raises to 200. I call. The flop is 5c, 8c, 5h. I check and the button bets 360 into the 450 pot. I try to do some math to figure out how much I should raise to charge him a high price on a flush draw. I raise to 1400. The button reraises all in. It's 1847 more to call so I do. Button turns over Qs, Ah and my hand is good. My stack is up to 9927.
5. 10,827 in chips. Blinds are 100-200. I am in late middle position with Ad, Js. It's 4 folds to me and I open for 600. Everyone folds except the big blind who calls. The flop is 2h, Ks, 3s. I continuation bet for 700. He folds.
6. 11,027 in chips. Blinds 100-200. I am dealt Ac, Kc in the big blind. Middle position (emigo) calls. Cutoff (H2Oman23) raises to 625. I just call. Emigo had 3179 chips at start and H20man23 had 5833. Should I have raised? This looks like a decent push. I am not in good position and it would be nice to take it down here. The other side of the coin is that I have a big chip lead at the table and why risk it on a possible coin flip?
The flop is 4h, 6h, 8c. I check, emigo bets 200. H20 man raises to 825. I fold. Emigo called the raise. The turn was Ah. That puts up a possible flush. Emigo min bets 200 again. This time H20 folds. I'd love to know what Emigo had there. The min bet on the flop looks like a flush draw blocking bet, but who knows?
7. 10,202 in chips. Blinds 150-300. I have Kh, 7h on the button. It's folded to me and I try to steal and raise to 900. The small blind raises all in to 4622. The big blind folds and I fold. The small blind(titlegambler) has been a bit crazy.
8. 9302 in chips. Dealt 7h, 7c in middle. I raise and win the blinds.
9. 9752 in chips. Blinds are 200-400. I have As, Kh in the small blind. UTG raises all in to 716. It's folded to me. I reraise all in. Titlegambler in big blind folds.
Is this right? Should I just call or put in a smaller raise? If I raise smaller, maybe it entices the crazy big blind to play a weaker hand.
My hand does not improve and the UTG pair of 7's wins the race.
10. 9036 in chips. I have Kd, Js in the cut off. The blinds are 200-400. The big blind is all in for 320. It's folded to me and I raise to 800. Everyone folds and it's another race. I pair my Jack on the turn and win a small pot.
11. 9556 in chips. I have 9s, 9h utg. The blinds are 200-400. I raise to 1000. One fold, then a call. Wedgewood who has me covered 2-1, raises to 5200. I fold and the other caller folds.
The big blind was all in so I get to see Wedgewood's pocket Kings. Nice escape I must say.
12. Down to 7756 in chips. Blinds are still 200-400. I have 6d, 6c in the small blind. Folded to the button who raises to 1300. I reraise all in. The BB folds and the button folds. This is a nice steal reraise. I may need to learn how to do this more often with a wider range of hands.
13. 8556 in chips. Blinds are 300-600. I am dealt Jh, Ks two off the button. There is an UTG (Bestdeal2222) min raise to 1200. Bestdeal has 22383 in chips. I just call. This is probably a mistake. I have some protection in that there are probably not a lot of people looking to play a pot with the 2nd biggest chip stack at the table. But I still have 4 players left to act behind me. I think now that this is a raise or fold situation. Sure enough, the big blind calls.
The flop is 7d, 9h, 2d. The pot is 4200. The BB checks and bestdeal min bets 600. I just call hoping to take it away on the turn. This is screaming for a big raise here.
The turn is 6s. Bestdeal bets the minimum again and I fold. Very vaginal.
14. 6756 in chips and blinds are 300-600. I am dealt pocket 9's in middle position. There are 3 folds in front of me and I raise to 2000. There are two folds and then Braves77 raises all in for 6343. I call praying for Braves to turn over big unpaired cards. No such luck as I see pocket Aces. I was left with less than the big blind after that and played a few more hands before getting knocked out by 4 Kings.
I finished 42nd out of 187.
Overall, I started out very fast and was getting some great hands. When things slow down and I go card dead for awhile, I need to learn how to maintain or continue to build up my stack. I was looking for open steal attempts, but one thing I have never really done is resteal.
I definitely think that I need to resteal every once in a while to build up my chips. Look at the math. If I open steal, then I only win 1.5 bets. If I resteal, then I win the initial raise of 3-4 bets plus the blinds. That's 4.5 to 5.5 bets. If I am at 15-20 BB in my stack, then that is a great increase. I would only have to do this move once every 3 rounds to be the same effectiveness as open stealing.
I also did some more digging at 2+2 in the MTT Anthology section. I looked at the hand histories of some of the winning tournaments. One move I noticed a lot was check raising a paired board on the flop. I think this is a pretty successful bluff, especially if it's heads up or 3 handed. There are not a lot of hands that decent players are willing to call with on these boards if someone shows aggression and represents the three of a kind. I'll just keep working to get better.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Quick Hit at Casino AZ
So I had a couple of hours to kill before a 5:30 PM business event in North Scottsdale. I did not feel like working and I couldn't go home, so I went to the casino.
I was seated in a very loose passive 4-8 game and sat in the 3 seat. After folding the first 9 or 10 hands I had reads on at least half the table. There were 4 players that were willing to play any two and call all draws to the river. There was an old lady in seat 8 who would only raise if her hand was unbeatable. I saw her call down with 3 of a kind, twice without raising. I also overheard her saying something about never raising with QQ or KK because an Ace always hits the flop. Ha ha ha ha ha.
Now I only have about 90 minutes so I am looking to make a decent score. Under the gun, I limp with Ace-8 of hearts. Normally I muck this, but I am not afraid of a raise here. After putting my $4 in, the dealer reminds me it's a kill pot. Oh! I put in the other $4. Every other player at the table calls!. I guess we all have odds to chase now.
The flop is As - 8s - Th. A great but vulnerable hand with this many players. The small blind was a younger guy who I had not seen get out of line yet, led out for 8. The BB called. I raise trying to force some guys out. I get a loose call from one guy who is now all in and another call. The blinds also call. The turn is a Jh. Ok that made an inside straight or the weaker straight. However it gives me a nut flush draw.
The small blind leads out again. Now I am thinking he may have a set. The table has been really passive. He has bet into me twice. I don't think he is bluffing, but he may not realize how strong my hand is. The big blind folds, I just call. The all in guy is still paying attention and the last loose guy calls.
The river is a black 2. Now the small blind checks. Ok there's no full house and I don't think he would give up on his set now. He must have top pair. I value bet and get a call from the guy behind me and the small blind. My hand is good as they turn over AK and AQ. The all in guy mucked.
I think my profit was over $120 in the hand. That was an awful lot of chips to stack for the next 3 or 4 hands.
Now that I think about it, I probably should have raised the turn when the flush draw came. I'm pretty sure I had enough equity in the pot to do it. Plus it might have convinced the last guy to fold, although I doubt it.
I should have just got up right there. But of course I had an hour left to kill.
I think I actually played very well for the remaining hour, but I lost most of my gains until I left with a $47 profit. I made some good decisions on the river and saved some bets. Here are some of the interesting hands.
The younger guy in the 1 seat raised under the gun. 2 seat folds and I look at TT. I think about reraising here, but I dread having a bunch of players call 3 bets behind me. I folded. The big blind was the only other caller. The flop came out Ace-Queen-Queen. The BB checked and UTG followed through with a bet and won the pot. He actually showed his cards and had 99.
So the question in hindsight is, should I have reraised? I am definitely sure that I could not call a bet or a raise on that flop. Was my position bad enough, that a fold was the right play?
Later I play Jack 10 off on the big blind for one bet. I think there are 5 people in the pot. The flop is Jack-2-2. I lead out hoping everyone folds. Instead I get 3 other callers. There is no flush draw out there and no possible straight draw. So there's a good chance someone has the 2. The turn is another 2. Maybe there isn't another two in someones hand?? I bet this time and only get one more caller. This guy is very loose and could be calling with a smaller pocket pair.
For some reason, my gut tells me to check the river which was an 8. So he announces, "I think you're bluffing so I'm gonna bet".
I think about it for a little bit. Then I ask him, "How much do you think I'm bluffing? Would you call a raise?" He doesn't give a straight answer but he looks like he is trying to goad me into raising. I just call and he turns over the 4th 2 for 4 of a kind. At least I lost the minimum.
Overall it was nice to book a win in a live game. Now I'm jonesing for another trip to Vegas. Maybe in June.
I was seated in a very loose passive 4-8 game and sat in the 3 seat. After folding the first 9 or 10 hands I had reads on at least half the table. There were 4 players that were willing to play any two and call all draws to the river. There was an old lady in seat 8 who would only raise if her hand was unbeatable. I saw her call down with 3 of a kind, twice without raising. I also overheard her saying something about never raising with QQ or KK because an Ace always hits the flop. Ha ha ha ha ha.
Now I only have about 90 minutes so I am looking to make a decent score. Under the gun, I limp with Ace-8 of hearts. Normally I muck this, but I am not afraid of a raise here. After putting my $4 in, the dealer reminds me it's a kill pot. Oh! I put in the other $4. Every other player at the table calls!. I guess we all have odds to chase now.
The flop is As - 8s - Th. A great but vulnerable hand with this many players. The small blind was a younger guy who I had not seen get out of line yet, led out for 8. The BB called. I raise trying to force some guys out. I get a loose call from one guy who is now all in and another call. The blinds also call. The turn is a Jh. Ok that made an inside straight or the weaker straight. However it gives me a nut flush draw.
The small blind leads out again. Now I am thinking he may have a set. The table has been really passive. He has bet into me twice. I don't think he is bluffing, but he may not realize how strong my hand is. The big blind folds, I just call. The all in guy is still paying attention and the last loose guy calls.
The river is a black 2. Now the small blind checks. Ok there's no full house and I don't think he would give up on his set now. He must have top pair. I value bet and get a call from the guy behind me and the small blind. My hand is good as they turn over AK and AQ. The all in guy mucked.
I think my profit was over $120 in the hand. That was an awful lot of chips to stack for the next 3 or 4 hands.
Now that I think about it, I probably should have raised the turn when the flush draw came. I'm pretty sure I had enough equity in the pot to do it. Plus it might have convinced the last guy to fold, although I doubt it.
I should have just got up right there. But of course I had an hour left to kill.
I think I actually played very well for the remaining hour, but I lost most of my gains until I left with a $47 profit. I made some good decisions on the river and saved some bets. Here are some of the interesting hands.
The younger guy in the 1 seat raised under the gun. 2 seat folds and I look at TT. I think about reraising here, but I dread having a bunch of players call 3 bets behind me. I folded. The big blind was the only other caller. The flop came out Ace-Queen-Queen. The BB checked and UTG followed through with a bet and won the pot. He actually showed his cards and had 99.
So the question in hindsight is, should I have reraised? I am definitely sure that I could not call a bet or a raise on that flop. Was my position bad enough, that a fold was the right play?
Later I play Jack 10 off on the big blind for one bet. I think there are 5 people in the pot. The flop is Jack-2-2. I lead out hoping everyone folds. Instead I get 3 other callers. There is no flush draw out there and no possible straight draw. So there's a good chance someone has the 2. The turn is another 2. Maybe there isn't another two in someones hand?? I bet this time and only get one more caller. This guy is very loose and could be calling with a smaller pocket pair.
For some reason, my gut tells me to check the river which was an 8. So he announces, "I think you're bluffing so I'm gonna bet".
I think about it for a little bit. Then I ask him, "How much do you think I'm bluffing? Would you call a raise?" He doesn't give a straight answer but he looks like he is trying to goad me into raising. I just call and he turns over the 4th 2 for 4 of a kind. At least I lost the minimum.
Overall it was nice to book a win in a live game. Now I'm jonesing for another trip to Vegas. Maybe in June.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
1st chance at the WSOP
I just finished a $55 satellite on Party Poker to qualify for their nightly $215 satellite into the World Series Main Event. In the 55 they give away one seat for every 5 players. I started slow, but got lucky a couple of times when my pocket pairs had another stack about the same size or larger, dominated. I basically cruised into the entry for the last 30 minutes.
I will try to post hands from the $215 later tonight.
The $215 satellite offers one seat for every 55 players. There were 196 players registered so there are only 3 seats up for grabs. I never did see the payout for the remainder of the cash.
Level 1 20-40 blinds
Ok, we're off. I win my first hand when I raise on the button with KQ suited. The blinds fold. I rock!
2 off the button, I am dealt 3s 3c. Folded to me and I call 40. Everyone folds to small blind who completes and button checks. Flop is 6d, Jd, Td. Small blind checks and Big Blind bets 100. I fold.
Very next hand I have Js Td. Folded to me in middle position. I call 40. One caller behind me and Big Blind checks. Flop is 8s, 7s, 6c. BB checks, I check, and late player checks.
Turn is Kc. BB bets 200 and I fold.
I fold 2 hands then I am dealt Qd, Qh in UTG +1. I raise to 120. Everyone folds except the BB. He calls. Flop is Jc, 7s, 5c. BB checks and I bet 200 into a 260 chip pot. BB folds. I have 3100 in chips.
I have 3h 8c in BB and I check fold on flop.
I have 8s 9s in small blind and fold to a preflop raise. He was the only one in the pot. Maybe I should have played it but the flop was 7h, 4s, 2h so I would not have hit anything anyway.
I fold my button and then I am moved to a different table.
First hand at new table and I am dealt 7d 7s in middle position. There is a raise to 80 by the player in front of me (this is the min raise). I call. One more caller behind me and both the blinds call. 5 players in the pot for 400. Flop is 8c, 4h, Jd. Three players check to me. There is only one player behind me. The player in front of me who raised preflop has checked this ragged flop. I decide to see if I can take it down or at least winnow the field. I bet 300.
The BB calls the 300. The turn is Kd. Now there are 3 overcards on the board and I don't think my opponent is on a draw of any kind, so he probably has a Jack or an 8. He checks and I check. The river is the Ks. The big blind goes all in for 830. There is 1830 in the pot and 830 to call. It' s not worth getting crippled on this long shot yet. I fold. I am down to 2660 in chips.
We are now at level 2 with 30-60 blinds.
I fold 3 hands, and then I am in the big blind with 7h 6c. Two limpers and the small blind completes. I check. The flop is Qc, Kd, Ad. No chance for me here.
I have 3h 3c in the small blind. Two limpers, I complete and BB checks. The flop is 4c, 2d, Js. Missed again. I check fold.
I am on the button and am dealt Qd 9h. The table seems pretty tight. It's folded to me on the button so I raise to 120. Both blinds fold. My stack is now at 2630.
I fold 4 hands in a row and then I am dealt 4h 4c in UTG + 3. One caller in front of me, and I call. The cutoff calls and both blinds complete. Flop is Jd, 8d, Td. Another check fold.
I fold another hand and I am moved to another table. I am at 2570 in chips.
I fold 6 hands in a row.
It's now level 3 with blinds at 50-100.
I am dealt Ad Qd in the big blind. UTG min raises to 200. It's folded to small blind who calls and I call. Flop is 7c, 5c, 6c. Small blind leads out for 100. I fold. Eventually the other two players get it all in. UTG had raised with Jd Kc. Small Blind had called with Ac, Ts. They both played the hell out of their flush draws and the last club hit on the river. Should I have reraised preflop? In hindsight, I would have had to win it preflop, because they would have called a reasonable bet on the flop and I would not have led out again on the turn.
I fold 11 hands in a row! Mostly horrible cards. A couple playable hands but there was a raise in front of me, so I mucked them.
On the button I am dealt Jh Ts. One limper and I call. Both Blinds come along for a flop of 2s, 5c, Qh. Missed again. The limper in front of me bets 100 into a 400 pot. He has 1800 behind. The blinds both have me covered by 2-1. I play tight and fold. Should I raise here with nothing into 4 players?
Next hand I get Ks Jh. There is an early position raise so I fold.
Now we're at Level 4. 100-200 blinds. I have 2070 in chips. I am the short stack at the table. The biggest stack is 17,148. There are 3 others in the 2000's and 4 players in the 4000's.
I fold 11 hands in a row again.
I am dealt Ad Qc at UTG + 2. I am all in for 1770. Everyone folds so I pick up 300.
We are now at Level 5 with 150-300 blinds. I have 1620 in chips so it's getting desperate.
I fold 4 hands. I am dealt Ac Kd on the button. I am starting with 1620 in chips. It's folded to me. I raise all in and the blinds fold. Back up to 2070 chips again.
I fold one hand. The next hand is Ah 9c. I am 2 from the button. It's folded to me again. I raise all in to 2070 and pick up the blinds. I am now at 2520.
I get Ac 7c the next hand. It's folded to me again. I decide not to push in this time since it would be the 3rd time in 4 hands. I fold. The button raises to 750 and the BB called. The flop was 8s, 8c, 7h. The BB led out for 525 and the button folded. Maybe my hand was good, I don't know.
I fold 11 hands in a row again. 3 off the button I am dealt 7s 7h. It's folded to me and I raise all in for 2070. Everyone folds again and I pick up 450 in blinds. I am really starting to wish I could get called just I can have a chance to double up.
I fold one hand.
The level changes to Level 6 and blinds are now 200-400. I have 2520 in chips.
The next hand is Kh Th in UTG + 1. Ok I am two hands from eating 600 in blinds. It's time to get lucky. I push. I get an all in behind me for 3900 and another all in for 2799. This is not good.
One player has KK and the other has AK. Neither of them has a heart and the flop of Qh, 4h, 6s gives me a brief glimmer of hope. But the turn and river are non hearts and I am out in 99th place.
I will try to post hands from the $215 later tonight.
The $215 satellite offers one seat for every 55 players. There were 196 players registered so there are only 3 seats up for grabs. I never did see the payout for the remainder of the cash.
Level 1 20-40 blinds
Ok, we're off. I win my first hand when I raise on the button with KQ suited. The blinds fold. I rock!
2 off the button, I am dealt 3s 3c. Folded to me and I call 40. Everyone folds to small blind who completes and button checks. Flop is 6d, Jd, Td. Small blind checks and Big Blind bets 100. I fold.
Very next hand I have Js Td. Folded to me in middle position. I call 40. One caller behind me and Big Blind checks. Flop is 8s, 7s, 6c. BB checks, I check, and late player checks.
Turn is Kc. BB bets 200 and I fold.
I fold 2 hands then I am dealt Qd, Qh in UTG +1. I raise to 120. Everyone folds except the BB. He calls. Flop is Jc, 7s, 5c. BB checks and I bet 200 into a 260 chip pot. BB folds. I have 3100 in chips.
I have 3h 8c in BB and I check fold on flop.
I have 8s 9s in small blind and fold to a preflop raise. He was the only one in the pot. Maybe I should have played it but the flop was 7h, 4s, 2h so I would not have hit anything anyway.
I fold my button and then I am moved to a different table.
First hand at new table and I am dealt 7d 7s in middle position. There is a raise to 80 by the player in front of me (this is the min raise). I call. One more caller behind me and both the blinds call. 5 players in the pot for 400. Flop is 8c, 4h, Jd. Three players check to me. There is only one player behind me. The player in front of me who raised preflop has checked this ragged flop. I decide to see if I can take it down or at least winnow the field. I bet 300.
The BB calls the 300. The turn is Kd. Now there are 3 overcards on the board and I don't think my opponent is on a draw of any kind, so he probably has a Jack or an 8. He checks and I check. The river is the Ks. The big blind goes all in for 830. There is 1830 in the pot and 830 to call. It' s not worth getting crippled on this long shot yet. I fold. I am down to 2660 in chips.
We are now at level 2 with 30-60 blinds.
I fold 3 hands, and then I am in the big blind with 7h 6c. Two limpers and the small blind completes. I check. The flop is Qc, Kd, Ad. No chance for me here.
I have 3h 3c in the small blind. Two limpers, I complete and BB checks. The flop is 4c, 2d, Js. Missed again. I check fold.
I am on the button and am dealt Qd 9h. The table seems pretty tight. It's folded to me on the button so I raise to 120. Both blinds fold. My stack is now at 2630.
I fold 4 hands in a row and then I am dealt 4h 4c in UTG + 3. One caller in front of me, and I call. The cutoff calls and both blinds complete. Flop is Jd, 8d, Td. Another check fold.
I fold another hand and I am moved to another table. I am at 2570 in chips.
I fold 6 hands in a row.
It's now level 3 with blinds at 50-100.
I am dealt Ad Qd in the big blind. UTG min raises to 200. It's folded to small blind who calls and I call. Flop is 7c, 5c, 6c. Small blind leads out for 100. I fold. Eventually the other two players get it all in. UTG had raised with Jd Kc. Small Blind had called with Ac, Ts. They both played the hell out of their flush draws and the last club hit on the river. Should I have reraised preflop? In hindsight, I would have had to win it preflop, because they would have called a reasonable bet on the flop and I would not have led out again on the turn.
I fold 11 hands in a row! Mostly horrible cards. A couple playable hands but there was a raise in front of me, so I mucked them.
On the button I am dealt Jh Ts. One limper and I call. Both Blinds come along for a flop of 2s, 5c, Qh. Missed again. The limper in front of me bets 100 into a 400 pot. He has 1800 behind. The blinds both have me covered by 2-1. I play tight and fold. Should I raise here with nothing into 4 players?
Next hand I get Ks Jh. There is an early position raise so I fold.
Now we're at Level 4. 100-200 blinds. I have 2070 in chips. I am the short stack at the table. The biggest stack is 17,148. There are 3 others in the 2000's and 4 players in the 4000's.
I fold 11 hands in a row again.
I am dealt Ad Qc at UTG + 2. I am all in for 1770. Everyone folds so I pick up 300.
We are now at Level 5 with 150-300 blinds. I have 1620 in chips so it's getting desperate.
I fold 4 hands. I am dealt Ac Kd on the button. I am starting with 1620 in chips. It's folded to me. I raise all in and the blinds fold. Back up to 2070 chips again.
I fold one hand. The next hand is Ah 9c. I am 2 from the button. It's folded to me again. I raise all in to 2070 and pick up the blinds. I am now at 2520.
I get Ac 7c the next hand. It's folded to me again. I decide not to push in this time since it would be the 3rd time in 4 hands. I fold. The button raises to 750 and the BB called. The flop was 8s, 8c, 7h. The BB led out for 525 and the button folded. Maybe my hand was good, I don't know.
I fold 11 hands in a row again. 3 off the button I am dealt 7s 7h. It's folded to me and I raise all in for 2070. Everyone folds again and I pick up 450 in blinds. I am really starting to wish I could get called just I can have a chance to double up.
I fold one hand.
The level changes to Level 6 and blinds are now 200-400. I have 2520 in chips.
The next hand is Kh Th in UTG + 1. Ok I am two hands from eating 600 in blinds. It's time to get lucky. I push. I get an all in behind me for 3900 and another all in for 2799. This is not good.
One player has KK and the other has AK. Neither of them has a heart and the flop of Qh, 4h, 6s gives me a brief glimmer of hope. But the turn and river are non hearts and I am out in 99th place.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Another lost month
So my poker bankroll is now down to 2992. It hasn't been this low since June of 05. It was only a $400 loss for the month versus the $1000 and $900 loss the previous two months, but it still sucks.
I made a $300 deposit into Absolute poker to do some bonus whoring. The more I play, the more I realize that it might take a million years to work off this $300. I think I get around $10 for every 1000 raked hands I play. Luckily I signed up with a rake back affiliate, so I get to play at a little discount.
The software at Absolute is not the greatest. I found a color scheme that I can deal with. There is not a great selection of games. They seem to max out around 15,000 players, so I don't think there is a chance for me to 3 and 4 table the low limit games. Plus I have not run into a lot of fish at those levels either.
I lost what was left in my Full Tilt account by playing ill advised No Limit ring games again. I feel like my game is getting better, however I get bored very easily. I want to keep my play to one or two tables to try and get a read on the players. The problem is you never see a showdown in No Limit, so it's hard to get comfortable with what hands my opponents are playing and how they are playing them.
My goal this month is to do my research and pick two sites where I will try to win my World Series seat. My bankroll is not where it needs to be, but let's face it, I am having a new baby in November and my poker play will probably be curtailed considerably in 2007. This may be my last shot for a few years.
I am looking for a site that will let me satellite into their bigger tournaments and use those satellite tokens on any tournament I want. It does me no good to play a tournament to win an entry to another tournament right after, when I can't be there for 10 hours at a time. I think the winners are going to be Full Tilt and Poker Stars, but I need to be sure.
I made a $300 deposit into Absolute poker to do some bonus whoring. The more I play, the more I realize that it might take a million years to work off this $300. I think I get around $10 for every 1000 raked hands I play. Luckily I signed up with a rake back affiliate, so I get to play at a little discount.
The software at Absolute is not the greatest. I found a color scheme that I can deal with. There is not a great selection of games. They seem to max out around 15,000 players, so I don't think there is a chance for me to 3 and 4 table the low limit games. Plus I have not run into a lot of fish at those levels either.
I lost what was left in my Full Tilt account by playing ill advised No Limit ring games again. I feel like my game is getting better, however I get bored very easily. I want to keep my play to one or two tables to try and get a read on the players. The problem is you never see a showdown in No Limit, so it's hard to get comfortable with what hands my opponents are playing and how they are playing them.
My goal this month is to do my research and pick two sites where I will try to win my World Series seat. My bankroll is not where it needs to be, but let's face it, I am having a new baby in November and my poker play will probably be curtailed considerably in 2007. This may be my last shot for a few years.
I am looking for a site that will let me satellite into their bigger tournaments and use those satellite tokens on any tournament I want. It does me no good to play a tournament to win an entry to another tournament right after, when I can't be there for 10 hours at a time. I think the winners are going to be Full Tilt and Poker Stars, but I need to be sure.
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