I Have A Case of the Run-Goods

I started the month of July with $4,880 in the Poker Bankroll. I had made a steady climb from my low in May of $3,293. I had only taken out $136 in my plan to skim any money over $5,000 for the year of 2010 and I was getting a little discouraged. Everytime I got a little over 5k in a month, a bad session would knock me back down.

That all changed this month. As of July 30, I have $5,804 in the poker bankroll plus I have already withdrawn $800 this month. To celebrate, I bought a new set of Callaway Irons, which I am totally in love with.

The really big winnings have come from the 1-2 No Limit game at Casino Arizona. Last Friday I won an additional $420 in a session plus the $800 I won during my "Pro for 2 days" experiment after my vacation. I don't know if I am playing any differently, but I do know that I have been having good hands and the bad players keep calling my value bets without sucking out on me.

As for online play, the main highlight has been a good run at the Rush No Limit tables at Full Tilt. For the month of July, I am up $459 over 1643 hands. Obviously it takes a little luck to run good over that few hands, but I have also made an adjustment that has helped my game.

I watched a couple of videos on Cardrunners that went over strategy for Rush poker. Even though the videos were for full ring, I was surprised at how tight the instructor would play. Especially when he was out of position, he was folding hands like Ace-Queen suited. His reasoning was that Rush poker allows you to play so many hands, that why should you take the chance of putting yourself in an awkward position post flop, when you can fold and get another good hand in a matter of seconds. He would rather look at more hands per hour and play the ones with a significant edge rather than take the time to play hands where the edge is small.

Now I do not play enough volume of hands for this to make a huge difference, however I do know that one of the leaks in my game at Rush is my tendency to bluff too much and push weak hands. Using the philosophy of patience and waiting for the big edges, I have managed to avoid the bad spots and have been lucky enough to get paid off when I have made a good hand post flop. Here are a few examples:

Full Tilt, $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash, Rush, 6 Players

Poker Tools by CardRunners - Hand Details





The Nutulas: $101.05 (101.1 bb)

Aedaa: $152.80 (152.8 bb)

omerat: $32.55 (32.6 bb)

busanmilk: $113.90 (113.9 bb)

Hero: $144.40 (144.4 bb)

sharpia1: $223.05 (223.1 bb)



Preflop: Hero is BTN with K A

Aedaa calls $1, omerat raises to $5.50, busanmilk folds, Hero calls $5.50, sharpia1 folds, The Nutulas raises to $23.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $144.40 and is all-in, The Nutulas calls $77.55 and is all-in



Flop: ($209.10) K T 8 (2 players, 2 are all-in)

Turn: ($209.10) 5 (2 players, 2 are all-in)

River: ($209.10) K (2 players, 2 are all-in)



Results:

Spoiler:

$209.10 pot ($3 rake)

Final Board: K T 8 5 K

Hero showed K A and won $206.10 ($105.05 net)

The Nutulas showed Q A and lost (-$101.05 net)

Since the initial raiser was a little short, I didn't see the need to put him all in for now. Plus I had the button and sometimes, these tables get very squeeze happy. If one of the blinds decides to squeeze, I am pretty confident in 4 betting all in against their range.

Sure enough someone takes the bait and they are crushed.

Full Tilt, $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash, Rush, 6 Players

Poker Tools by CardRunners - Hand Details





jpfish75: $100 (100 bb)

thedudelb: $100 (100 bb)

Im Indie: $100.50 (100.5 bb)

Hero: $104.40 (104.4 bb)

WowLucky: $597.65 (597.7 bb)

AnkoXI: $104 (104 bb)



Preflop: Hero is SB with 9 9

AnkoXI folds, jpfish75 raises to $3.50, 2 folds, Hero calls $3, WowLucky folds



Flop: ($8) 7 6 9 (2 players)

Hero checks, jpfish75 checks



Turn: ($8) 7 (2 players)

Hero bets $4, jpfish75 raises to $16, Hero calls $12



River: ($40) 5 (2 players)

Hero checks, jpfish75 bets $80.50 and is all-in, Hero calls $80.50



Results:

Spoiler:

$201 pot ($3 rake)

Final Board: 7 6 9 7 5

jpfish75 showed 8 8 and lost (-$100 net)

Hero showed 9 9 and won $198 ($98 net)

I have a medium pair in the small blind. There is a school of thought that says re-raising is ok here. Sometimes I do that, but lately I have been more conservative waiting for better spots.

The flop is good in that I have top set, but obviously there are draws out there and there is a remote possibility he has 10-8 for the nuts. I check, hoping to check raise, but he checks it through. Leading out is probably better here, but it's so rare someone does not c-bet in these games.

The turn is perfect as it fills me up. I bet a little small hoping to induce a raise. I get one. Now I think he may have an over pair like TT or JJ and checked the flop to keep the pot small. The river is a 5 which puts 4 to a straight out there. Any bet I make here, probably scares off most players. I'll let him try and get value or bluff since he might think I am scared. Instead of a little bluff, he over bets the pot. I snap call and fist pump as he roll over 8's for a straight to lose to my full house.

Full Tilt, $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash, Rush, 6 Players

Poker Tools by CardRunners - Hand Details





Hero: $99.90 (99.9 bb)

deez1233: $434.10 (434.1 bb)

Sonny88: $20.15 (20.2 bb)

Im Indie: $136.90 (136.9 bb)

craigulator19: $41 (41 bb)

dbc3131: $101.55 (101.6 bb)



Preflop: Hero is CO with K K

craigulator19 folds, dbc3131 raises to $2, Hero raises to $7, deez1233 calls $7, 2 folds, dbc3131 calls $5



Flop: ($22.50) 3 9 7 (3 players)

dbc3131 checks, Hero bets $14, deez1233 calls $14, dbc3131 calls $14



Turn: ($64.50) A (3 players)

dbc3131 bets $55, Hero folds, deez1233 raises to $110, dbc3131 calls $25.55 and is all-in



River: ($225.60) 3 (2 players, 1 is all-in)



Results:

Spoiler:

$225.60 pot ($3 rake)

Final Board: 3 9 7 A 3

deez1233 showed K A and lost (-$101.55 net)

dbc3131 showed 9 9 and won $222.60 ($121.05 net)

Here is one where I lost the minimum. The min raise in front of me is a little fishy, but when the button calls my raise behind me, I don't feel too comfortable. The flop looks good, but again I get called behind and the initial raiser calls as well. I am putting someone on at least an Ace-King, possibly Aces, or a set. I don't think both players have me beat, but I would not be surprised if one did. My plan is to get to showdown as cheap as possible. Well an Ace rolls off on the turn and the initial raiser preflop now makes a big bet into two players on the turn. It's an easy fold for me.

Once I see what the cards were, I really like the bet my opponent made on the turn. If he is trying to put his opponents on a hand range, that Ace hits a lot of their range and it definitely makes it easier to get all the money in by the river. I might have bet a little less, to see if KK or QQ calls, but he got lucky in that the button had the best Ace possible and was not going away. I'm happy because I lost the minimum.