I don't know why but I am always amazed at how much worse the level of play is at the Gila River Casino versus Casino AZ. Last Saturday, Robert called me during the U of A basketball game and said Jon and himself would be heading out to play poker and that I should join them.
For some reason I thought the casino would be dead on a Saturday afternoon with bad weather outside but it was packed. After signing up, Jon got seated first and me and Rob were still waiting. Finally they decided to open up a new table. Rob wanted to sit on my left because he wanted to get out if I decide to raise. We don't collude, but if Rob folding when I am in a hand is what it takes to have some company at the table than so be it.
I patiently waited for some decent starting cards and took mental notes on the other players. The two players to my right were buddies and obviously didn't know much about the game. They would play any 2 suited cards, any face card, and would call down with any piece of the flop. One of the guys had a cowboy hat so I'll refer to him as Cowboy. Anyways after watching for 30 minutes, I whispered to Rob that the Cowboy was an ATM machine and I was planning on making a withdrawal.
Finally I get JJ on the button. The details on this hand are a little sketchy, but I'll do my best. There were 5 or 6 callers and I raised. Cowboy is two seats to my right and had already limped in. He reraises and I cap it at 4 bets. A couple of the players drop out. The flop is Queen, Jack, 7 all different suits. There is an early bet, and a couple of calls including one from a player who was actually somewhat decent and the Cowboy raises. I reraise, the decent player calls two more, and Cowboy calls. The turn is harmless, but it does match one of the suits on the board. Decent player checks, Cowboy bets and I raise. Decent player calls (hmmm) and the Cowboy raises me again. Now 90% of time if someone reraises before the flop and then raises after the flop comes out Queen high he probably has AA or KK. Maybe he has AQ. I figure if he's got pocket Queens I am just going to lose a lot of money. Knowing how bad this player is, I am willing to take the chance that I can get a lot more money out of him if my initial read is right. So I reraise and one more call and Cowboy calls. Finally the river comes and it's an Ace there is no flush possible, but there is a straight out there. I am not too concerned about the straight because it would be incredibly dumb for someone to have stayed in preflop with King - 10. What concerns me is the possibility of trip Aces. The pot is absolutely huge. First player checks, and Cowboy checks. I briefly think about checking. I am sure the good player missed his draw or he would have bet. I decide the Cowboy needs to be value bet so I bet. The good player folds his busted draw and the Cowboy check raises me! I say out loud that I didn't think he even knew how to do that. I have to call because I am getting something like 30 to 1. Here's the best part.....the Cowboy turns over Ace-King for a pair of Aces. Wow! He had nothing, but an inside straight draw until the river when he hit his Ace. The check raise was a way for him to lose even more money. I am not sure how big the entire pot was, but my profit was $120.
After that I just played textbook poker and won $42 more dollars and left up $162.
I also played a lot of online poker over the weekend. I have noticed that my tournament play has sucked lately but my ring game has been pretty good. I think I am suffering from fancy play syndrome in the tournaments. I make a play that works against a good player, but the bad players call me down with 2nd pair or a flush draw and hit it.
Overall the poker has been good lately and my bankroll is back up to $1200 after my Vegas setback last month.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Has my luck turned at Casino AZ?
Last night was one of those perfect situations at a low limit table. One loose aggressive player to pump up the pot. A bunch of loose passive calling stations who will call down to the river with 2nd pair or underpair.
The loose aggressive player in the 1 seat was really hot. He hit runner-runner at least 3 times in the first 30 minutes that I sat down. Luckily I was not in any pots with him.
My strategy coming in was to tighten up and try not to let myself get sucked in to loosening my starting hand standards. I also wanted avoid making any tricky plays and play straight ahead poker for at least the first couple of hours. If I was winning and the players at my table appear to notice that I am playing tight aggressive, then I might loosen up a little.
It's really great when you can read everyone's hand and lady luck smiles upon you to help avoid getting trapped. For example:
I was dealt A10 off late position. This is a sketchy raising hand. If there is only a couple of players in I might raise to try and force out the blinds. In this case there was a new player to my right and I didn't know how she played. She called so I decided to just call. The flop has an Ace and two low cards, with no straights or flush possibilities. First player bets, and then the woman to my right raises. Wait a minute, I was getting ready to do that. I call for time and think about it a little. I have found that many of these players will not raise preflop with A-J or A-Q. Sometimes they don't even raise with A-K. With a bet and a raise in front I decide to fold. Sure enough, the first better had A-3 for a pair of aces and low kicker. The raiser had A-J. I told her thanks for saving me at least $12.
Another interesting hand.
Ace King of diamonds on the button. 3 limpers and I raise. The blinds fold so 9 bets in the pot to the flop. Flop is King(sp) 8 (d) and 8(c). Remembering that I often play stupid with paired boards I start to concentrate a little more. First player bets. He is an awful player but he usually just calls. He almost never raises or bets first. Now he's betting into 3 other people after I raised the flop. Second player raises. She is a little more solid. I have not seen her get out of line yet. Third player folds and it's 2 bets to me with 12 bets in the pot. I call. Then the first player reraises. The second player calls and I fold.
The first call was questionable. 6-1 pot odds. Maybe 12-1 implied odds. At least one of them has an 8. My only outs are the other 2 kings and a backdoor flush draw. The last fold, I probably should have called because my odds were even better, but even if I hit my flush I could be up against a full house. Any way my read was right and they both had 8-9 in the hole and they chopped the pot. My diamonds or kings did not come on the turn or river.
As for the winners, they were all pretty straight forward. Including one nice kill pot where I had raised AK and had the loose aggressive guy calling me down.
I finished up $92 and I don't think I could have done any better. In fact it was hard to leave except for the fact that I hadn't been to my house in nearly 2 days and I wanted to get home to feed the dogs. If it wasn't for that, I might have stayed all night.
I also wanted to comment on Tilt, the new show on ESPN. I am enjoying it so far. Yes the portrayal of the poker is pretty bad, but I see the potential in the show. My only concern is the fact that they portray every card game as crooked. This can't be good for the long term health of the game. I still think that we are going to see a big cheating scandal in the game soon at one of the big tournaments. There is too many players buying pieces of each other that there is bound to be some chip dumping eventually.
The loose aggressive player in the 1 seat was really hot. He hit runner-runner at least 3 times in the first 30 minutes that I sat down. Luckily I was not in any pots with him.
My strategy coming in was to tighten up and try not to let myself get sucked in to loosening my starting hand standards. I also wanted avoid making any tricky plays and play straight ahead poker for at least the first couple of hours. If I was winning and the players at my table appear to notice that I am playing tight aggressive, then I might loosen up a little.
It's really great when you can read everyone's hand and lady luck smiles upon you to help avoid getting trapped. For example:
I was dealt A10 off late position. This is a sketchy raising hand. If there is only a couple of players in I might raise to try and force out the blinds. In this case there was a new player to my right and I didn't know how she played. She called so I decided to just call. The flop has an Ace and two low cards, with no straights or flush possibilities. First player bets, and then the woman to my right raises. Wait a minute, I was getting ready to do that. I call for time and think about it a little. I have found that many of these players will not raise preflop with A-J or A-Q. Sometimes they don't even raise with A-K. With a bet and a raise in front I decide to fold. Sure enough, the first better had A-3 for a pair of aces and low kicker. The raiser had A-J. I told her thanks for saving me at least $12.
Another interesting hand.
Ace King of diamonds on the button. 3 limpers and I raise. The blinds fold so 9 bets in the pot to the flop. Flop is King(sp) 8 (d) and 8(c). Remembering that I often play stupid with paired boards I start to concentrate a little more. First player bets. He is an awful player but he usually just calls. He almost never raises or bets first. Now he's betting into 3 other people after I raised the flop. Second player raises. She is a little more solid. I have not seen her get out of line yet. Third player folds and it's 2 bets to me with 12 bets in the pot. I call. Then the first player reraises. The second player calls and I fold.
The first call was questionable. 6-1 pot odds. Maybe 12-1 implied odds. At least one of them has an 8. My only outs are the other 2 kings and a backdoor flush draw. The last fold, I probably should have called because my odds were even better, but even if I hit my flush I could be up against a full house. Any way my read was right and they both had 8-9 in the hole and they chopped the pot. My diamonds or kings did not come on the turn or river.
As for the winners, they were all pretty straight forward. Including one nice kill pot where I had raised AK and had the loose aggressive guy calling me down.
I finished up $92 and I don't think I could have done any better. In fact it was hard to leave except for the fact that I hadn't been to my house in nearly 2 days and I wanted to get home to feed the dogs. If it wasn't for that, I might have stayed all night.
I also wanted to comment on Tilt, the new show on ESPN. I am enjoying it so far. Yes the portrayal of the poker is pretty bad, but I see the potential in the show. My only concern is the fact that they portray every card game as crooked. This can't be good for the long term health of the game. I still think that we are going to see a big cheating scandal in the game soon at one of the big tournaments. There is too many players buying pieces of each other that there is bound to be some chip dumping eventually.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Fantasy Football and Poker
Last night was our Fantasy Football Party. I came in 3rd place this year because I drafted Peyton Manning and Curtis Martin. I basically made my money back and drank for free at the party.
It was a given that a poker game was going to be played at this party since none of the wives or girlfriends were invited. Somehow the guys have the idea that playing Pot Limit Hold'em or No Limit Hold'em is to their advantage because they can discourage those crazy draws that beat them in limit hold'em. I hope they keep believing that. None of them have any idea what the odds are to draw to a straight or flush and they do not know how much to bet to make it a mistake for someone to draw to the straight or flush. We decide to play Pot Limit Hold'em with $1 and $2 blinds and a $40 buy in.
Here is a brief summary of my reads on my friends:
Jon - probably knows more than any of my other friends because he has read at least one book on poker. He is a talker in that he trys to throw you off reading his hand by making comments about it. Usually he has a classic tell in that he acts strong when he's weak.
Rob - The tightest player of the bunch. Plays straight forward poker. Was the first to notice that I mix up my play with my friends because everyone thinks I play supertight.
Carlo - Has no idea what he's doing. Will stay in to the end if he has any chance of getting a hand or hits any part of the flop.
Chris - Pretty tight player. No idea about position. Will only stay in with top pair or better. He never raises unless he has an unbeatable hand. Be worried if he calls a big bet.
Bill - Understands how to play tight, but gets bored easily. He will tend to blow off his chips late when it's close to him going home. He wants to win big or go home broke.
On to some specific hands last night.
I had 2-3 in the big blind. There were 4 callers before the flop. The flop had a 3 and a couple of medium cards. It was checked all around. The turn had an another 3. There were two of the same suit on the board and there was a straight possibility out there as well. I bet the pot and Carlo and Jon took their time trying to decide whether to call. They both did so now the pot is huge. The river is a blank and I move all in. They both fold and curse that they missed their straight and flush draws. Bill tells me I made a bad bet. Again proving that no one in this game knows the concept of pot odds. Since I am among friends I decide to teach and tell Bill that the odds of making that straight are 5-1 and that I will make that bet every time if I know that's what my opponent has.
Another had I am dealt K-8 of hearts on the button. I limp in with about 5 other players. The flop is A hearts, A diamonds, 10 hearts. The small blind (Mike) bets $4 and there are three other callers. I decide against raising because I want to be deceptive. I just call. I think the pot was about $32. I was already up a good amount so I could afford to make a big bet if I had to. The turn was the Jack of Hearts giving me the nut flush. Mike bet again, this time $15. This scared out the other guys except for me. I am a little worried about a full house since Mike has not really been that aggressive before. I just call. I now have an the Ace flush with a Royal Flush draw. Well wouldn't you know it, the Queen of Hearts came on the river giving me the Royal Flush. My first one ever! I have checked in different places and it is somewhere between 60,000 and 120,000 to one in hitting that hand. Anyway Mike checks because it's obvious now that he is afraid of the flush. I try to come up with an amount that he will call. I bet $15 and he ponders for a while and he calls. I rake in a $92 pot and nobody at the table can believe they are seeing a Royal Flush. Poor Mike had 3 Aces.
At one point in the night I had over $200 in front of me after starting with $40. I ended the night up $115. I am so glad my friends like Pot Limit.
It was a given that a poker game was going to be played at this party since none of the wives or girlfriends were invited. Somehow the guys have the idea that playing Pot Limit Hold'em or No Limit Hold'em is to their advantage because they can discourage those crazy draws that beat them in limit hold'em. I hope they keep believing that. None of them have any idea what the odds are to draw to a straight or flush and they do not know how much to bet to make it a mistake for someone to draw to the straight or flush. We decide to play Pot Limit Hold'em with $1 and $2 blinds and a $40 buy in.
Here is a brief summary of my reads on my friends:
Jon - probably knows more than any of my other friends because he has read at least one book on poker. He is a talker in that he trys to throw you off reading his hand by making comments about it. Usually he has a classic tell in that he acts strong when he's weak.
Rob - The tightest player of the bunch. Plays straight forward poker. Was the first to notice that I mix up my play with my friends because everyone thinks I play supertight.
Carlo - Has no idea what he's doing. Will stay in to the end if he has any chance of getting a hand or hits any part of the flop.
Chris - Pretty tight player. No idea about position. Will only stay in with top pair or better. He never raises unless he has an unbeatable hand. Be worried if he calls a big bet.
Bill - Understands how to play tight, but gets bored easily. He will tend to blow off his chips late when it's close to him going home. He wants to win big or go home broke.
On to some specific hands last night.
I had 2-3 in the big blind. There were 4 callers before the flop. The flop had a 3 and a couple of medium cards. It was checked all around. The turn had an another 3. There were two of the same suit on the board and there was a straight possibility out there as well. I bet the pot and Carlo and Jon took their time trying to decide whether to call. They both did so now the pot is huge. The river is a blank and I move all in. They both fold and curse that they missed their straight and flush draws. Bill tells me I made a bad bet. Again proving that no one in this game knows the concept of pot odds. Since I am among friends I decide to teach and tell Bill that the odds of making that straight are 5-1 and that I will make that bet every time if I know that's what my opponent has.
Another had I am dealt K-8 of hearts on the button. I limp in with about 5 other players. The flop is A hearts, A diamonds, 10 hearts. The small blind (Mike) bets $4 and there are three other callers. I decide against raising because I want to be deceptive. I just call. I think the pot was about $32. I was already up a good amount so I could afford to make a big bet if I had to. The turn was the Jack of Hearts giving me the nut flush. Mike bet again, this time $15. This scared out the other guys except for me. I am a little worried about a full house since Mike has not really been that aggressive before. I just call. I now have an the Ace flush with a Royal Flush draw. Well wouldn't you know it, the Queen of Hearts came on the river giving me the Royal Flush. My first one ever! I have checked in different places and it is somewhere between 60,000 and 120,000 to one in hitting that hand. Anyway Mike checks because it's obvious now that he is afraid of the flush. I try to come up with an amount that he will call. I bet $15 and he ponders for a while and he calls. I rake in a $92 pot and nobody at the table can believe they are seeing a Royal Flush. Poor Mike had 3 Aces.
At one point in the night I had over $200 in front of me after starting with $40. I ended the night up $115. I am so glad my friends like Pot Limit.
Monday, January 03, 2005
You Gotta Get Lucky!
I played a 20+2 sit n go on Sunday. I was playing really tight and didn't have any cards to start with for the first two rounds. I saw one crazy play where one guy bluffed all in about twice the amount of the pot with absolutely nothing, but got called by another guy with King high who only had about 100 more in chips. In other words it looked a lot like chip dumping. I made a note not to bluff that guy since he may call with anything. That wasn't good for me though because he was on my left so I was going to need to get by him if I wanted to steal any blinds.
Players kept hanging on and the blinds were up to 50-100 and they were going up to 75-150 in two hands. I had 500 left and needed to make a move soon. Since there were still like 8 people left with stacks at least my size I decided I needed to get lucky. I went all in with Jack-3 suited. If nobody calls, fine. If I get called it's a roll of the dice. Of course Mr. Unbluffable called me with crap, and I got one other caller as well. Well wouldn't you know it but I ended up with 4 of a kind in 3's and tripled up. Suddenly I was second in chips.
The blinds went up and I won a couple of hands and everyone was forced into all in mode. I only played good cards until there were 4 left. The other large stack was on my immediate left followed by the two short stacks. They only had enough for their next blinds. I was dealt KQ offsuit under the gun. I raised all in because I wanted to isolate the blinds. The button (bigstack) took way too long to get out the way (why take that risk?) and the blinds both called. I flopped a king and suddenly there were only two left.
Heads up play in online poker is really a crap shoot. I wonder what edge a professional really has. Maybe 10%. There are no visual reads or tells only betting patterns. And with blinds increasing so fast, you can't really depend on those either. Anyway I battled and eventually got my opponent down to his last 800 with the blinds at 200-400. Sure enough he doubled up and then doubled up again and actually took the chip lead. Finally I got some good cards and eventually took the lead again, put him all in and won the thing.
I also played some no limit holdem at a guy's house in South Phoenix on Saturday. There were only 4 of us so I thought I would try to bully people around since the buy in was $20 and the blinds were $.25 and $.50. One of the players was Josh Stanley who really doesn't know the game and got incredibly lucky when I saw him play in Yuma (see Yuma trip report). I knew enough that if he calls a big bet, that he has a good hand. He never raises. For some reason he kept calling my bets and I kept losing money to him.
Another lost hand when I had top pair with a good kicker. I read my opponent for top pair with a bad kicker. I didn't even notice the straight possibility on the flop. Which he happened to hit on the flop. Luckily I didn't do anything too crazy since I was trying to bet small to keep him calling.
Anyway I finished down $10, but Josh must have won at least $60. If I ever play with him in the future here's my strategy. If I have good cards preflop, raise with them because he will pay anything to see the flop. If he stays for the flop, bet small to feel him out or even check to him once in a while. If it looks like he is going to stay with the hand then make sure you can show down the best one. If the flop doesn't hit you, then get the hell out.
Players kept hanging on and the blinds were up to 50-100 and they were going up to 75-150 in two hands. I had 500 left and needed to make a move soon. Since there were still like 8 people left with stacks at least my size I decided I needed to get lucky. I went all in with Jack-3 suited. If nobody calls, fine. If I get called it's a roll of the dice. Of course Mr. Unbluffable called me with crap, and I got one other caller as well. Well wouldn't you know it but I ended up with 4 of a kind in 3's and tripled up. Suddenly I was second in chips.
The blinds went up and I won a couple of hands and everyone was forced into all in mode. I only played good cards until there were 4 left. The other large stack was on my immediate left followed by the two short stacks. They only had enough for their next blinds. I was dealt KQ offsuit under the gun. I raised all in because I wanted to isolate the blinds. The button (bigstack) took way too long to get out the way (why take that risk?) and the blinds both called. I flopped a king and suddenly there were only two left.
Heads up play in online poker is really a crap shoot. I wonder what edge a professional really has. Maybe 10%. There are no visual reads or tells only betting patterns. And with blinds increasing so fast, you can't really depend on those either. Anyway I battled and eventually got my opponent down to his last 800 with the blinds at 200-400. Sure enough he doubled up and then doubled up again and actually took the chip lead. Finally I got some good cards and eventually took the lead again, put him all in and won the thing.
I also played some no limit holdem at a guy's house in South Phoenix on Saturday. There were only 4 of us so I thought I would try to bully people around since the buy in was $20 and the blinds were $.25 and $.50. One of the players was Josh Stanley who really doesn't know the game and got incredibly lucky when I saw him play in Yuma (see Yuma trip report). I knew enough that if he calls a big bet, that he has a good hand. He never raises. For some reason he kept calling my bets and I kept losing money to him.
Another lost hand when I had top pair with a good kicker. I read my opponent for top pair with a bad kicker. I didn't even notice the straight possibility on the flop. Which he happened to hit on the flop. Luckily I didn't do anything too crazy since I was trying to bet small to keep him calling.
Anyway I finished down $10, but Josh must have won at least $60. If I ever play with him in the future here's my strategy. If I have good cards preflop, raise with them because he will pay anything to see the flop. If he stays for the flop, bet small to feel him out or even check to him once in a while. If it looks like he is going to stay with the hand then make sure you can show down the best one. If the flop doesn't hit you, then get the hell out.
Friday, December 31, 2004
Golf and Party Poker Step
I took the afternoon off yesterday to play golf at Phoenix Country Club with Bill and Glen. Bill and I had the standard bet of $50 on the round. I have to give him one stroke as I am a 10 handicap and he is an 11.
According to Bill, it was the best round of golf he has ever seen me play. I shot 75. Being a golfer, naturally I can think of 5 or 6 shots that I left out there, but yes I did play very well. The aggravating part was the bet. Bill was not playing all that well so I was beating him by 10 strokes going into the last hole. Invariably Bill or I will press on the last hole if we are down to try and win back our bets, all at once. Bill had bogeyed or double bogeyed the last 6 holes so I was feeling really confident going into 18 and I proclaimed, "Bill you can do what you want on 18, but there is no way I am losing to you on this hole."
Bill decided to add a twist and asked if he can make the bet after he sees his tee shot on the par 5 18th. Since Bill always hits 2 iron off the tee, I didn't think that would make much of a difference so I agreed. Bill hit his tee shot about 190 yards in the middle of the fairway. I hit my 3 wood about 220 down the middle. We both laid up. Bill somehow hit his pitching wedge to 6 feet. I hit my 52 degree wedge very well, right over the flag and it stopped 20 feet from the pin.
The last time we played at Phoenix Country Club, I started out horribly and eventually got to playing better and started winning some of the bets. We pressed again on 18 and I birdied the hole by sinking a 30 foot putt. This is after 3 or 4 rounds in a row where I had not scored better than a 7 on this difficult hole.
Needless to say, Bill was having flashbacks of me making this putt again. I gave it a good run, but it broke a little more to the right than I thought and left me with an easy tap in for par. Bill confidently strode up to his ball. He then made a tentative stroke at it, but somehow it found the bottom of the cup and he finished even for the day. This game is so unfair! I shoot my all time best score at Phoenix CC by 5 strokes and I finish even for the day!
Now for Poker:
I decided to give the one table step tournaments at Party Poker a try. My ROI on the 10+1 and the 20+2 sit and go's has been between 30-40% so I thought I would give it shot as you can win in the thousands if you make it through the 5 steps.
I finished in second place in the 10+1 step one table. I played my normal game and just reminded myself over and over that you need to finish in the top 2. Once I made the final 2 I just went all in and lost because it doesn't matter if you win or lose.
I immediately started the level 2 step. The guy who finished in first place was on the table as well. This one I started out really well, winning a few pots early and building up to 1500 by level 2. Then I lost a pot and was down to 1000. In level 2 you need to finish in the top four to get anything. 4th place you go back to step 1 for free plus you win $3. 3rd place gives you another shot at step 2. 1st and 2nd move on to step 3. I started to get blinded down a little but I had 800 left with 6 players left. That's when the table got really weak tight. I was stealing a few blinds and then doubled up when I went all in with my pocket fours preflop and a big stack called me with A-9. There were 4 players left when the guy that one the first step I played in was eliminated.
Now with 3 left, I had about 1700 along with one other guy at 1700. The chip leader had 5600. I figure he's going to fold his way to the finals so I need to steal his blinds often. We go a few hands with that strategy when I get dealt AJ offsuit on the button. This time I only call because I want the other short stack to raise me. He raises me from the big blind, and I come over the top all in. He calls with A2. The flop is A-3-5. Turn is a King. I am one card away from step 3!!
The river is the fucking 4! He rivers the straight and I am out in third.
On the bright side, I get another free roll at step 2.
Another quick question for my small audience.....Does anyone know how to make the avatar show up when posting on 2+2. I can't for the life of me get that thing to work.
According to Bill, it was the best round of golf he has ever seen me play. I shot 75. Being a golfer, naturally I can think of 5 or 6 shots that I left out there, but yes I did play very well. The aggravating part was the bet. Bill was not playing all that well so I was beating him by 10 strokes going into the last hole. Invariably Bill or I will press on the last hole if we are down to try and win back our bets, all at once. Bill had bogeyed or double bogeyed the last 6 holes so I was feeling really confident going into 18 and I proclaimed, "Bill you can do what you want on 18, but there is no way I am losing to you on this hole."
Bill decided to add a twist and asked if he can make the bet after he sees his tee shot on the par 5 18th. Since Bill always hits 2 iron off the tee, I didn't think that would make much of a difference so I agreed. Bill hit his tee shot about 190 yards in the middle of the fairway. I hit my 3 wood about 220 down the middle. We both laid up. Bill somehow hit his pitching wedge to 6 feet. I hit my 52 degree wedge very well, right over the flag and it stopped 20 feet from the pin.
The last time we played at Phoenix Country Club, I started out horribly and eventually got to playing better and started winning some of the bets. We pressed again on 18 and I birdied the hole by sinking a 30 foot putt. This is after 3 or 4 rounds in a row where I had not scored better than a 7 on this difficult hole.
Needless to say, Bill was having flashbacks of me making this putt again. I gave it a good run, but it broke a little more to the right than I thought and left me with an easy tap in for par. Bill confidently strode up to his ball. He then made a tentative stroke at it, but somehow it found the bottom of the cup and he finished even for the day. This game is so unfair! I shoot my all time best score at Phoenix CC by 5 strokes and I finish even for the day!
Now for Poker:
I decided to give the one table step tournaments at Party Poker a try. My ROI on the 10+1 and the 20+2 sit and go's has been between 30-40% so I thought I would give it shot as you can win in the thousands if you make it through the 5 steps.
I finished in second place in the 10+1 step one table. I played my normal game and just reminded myself over and over that you need to finish in the top 2. Once I made the final 2 I just went all in and lost because it doesn't matter if you win or lose.
I immediately started the level 2 step. The guy who finished in first place was on the table as well. This one I started out really well, winning a few pots early and building up to 1500 by level 2. Then I lost a pot and was down to 1000. In level 2 you need to finish in the top four to get anything. 4th place you go back to step 1 for free plus you win $3. 3rd place gives you another shot at step 2. 1st and 2nd move on to step 3. I started to get blinded down a little but I had 800 left with 6 players left. That's when the table got really weak tight. I was stealing a few blinds and then doubled up when I went all in with my pocket fours preflop and a big stack called me with A-9. There were 4 players left when the guy that one the first step I played in was eliminated.
Now with 3 left, I had about 1700 along with one other guy at 1700. The chip leader had 5600. I figure he's going to fold his way to the finals so I need to steal his blinds often. We go a few hands with that strategy when I get dealt AJ offsuit on the button. This time I only call because I want the other short stack to raise me. He raises me from the big blind, and I come over the top all in. He calls with A2. The flop is A-3-5. Turn is a King. I am one card away from step 3!!
The river is the fucking 4! He rivers the straight and I am out in third.
On the bright side, I get another free roll at step 2.
Another quick question for my small audience.....Does anyone know how to make the avatar show up when posting on 2+2. I can't for the life of me get that thing to work.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
A Scrappy Win
Last night I played in a 20+2 two table tournament. I was hoping it would be kind of quick, since I only had an hour until Michele was supposed to come over and hang out.
This tournament officially qualifies as the coldest cards I have ever seen. I went two full orbits before playing a single hand. I waited until level three before I even raised a hand. I did not receive a single pocket pair until I was heads up at the end.
Once the blinds got to 50-100 and I had about 800 left, I started to steal. I still had crappy cards but I was counting on my tight image. I went all in a couple of times with nothing and slowly got over 1000. Then I got moved to the other table. So much for my tight image. Finally my cards got a little better and I continued to get lucky with my steals.
In the 2 table tournaments, only the top 4 pay. When it got down to 6, the table was really tight because 2 guys had really big chip stacks, I was average with another guy, and there were two short stacks. It really made for good stealing and I built my chips up rather quickly.
Suddenly we were down to four and the two chip leaders tangled. One got busted out and the other guy had 75% of the chips left. I busted out the last short stack and it was heads up and I only had about 6000 in chips compared to 14000 for the leader. He was aggressive and kept putting me all in on the flops. I slow played him once and doubled up, but my cards were ice cold and I didn't have the chips to scare him. I thought by going all in a few times preflop he may play conservative. I raised all in with 9-10 offsuit and he called with King-9 and it was over.
Still to win $100 with almost no cards was quite satisfying.
This tournament officially qualifies as the coldest cards I have ever seen. I went two full orbits before playing a single hand. I waited until level three before I even raised a hand. I did not receive a single pocket pair until I was heads up at the end.
Once the blinds got to 50-100 and I had about 800 left, I started to steal. I still had crappy cards but I was counting on my tight image. I went all in a couple of times with nothing and slowly got over 1000. Then I got moved to the other table. So much for my tight image. Finally my cards got a little better and I continued to get lucky with my steals.
In the 2 table tournaments, only the top 4 pay. When it got down to 6, the table was really tight because 2 guys had really big chip stacks, I was average with another guy, and there were two short stacks. It really made for good stealing and I built my chips up rather quickly.
Suddenly we were down to four and the two chip leaders tangled. One got busted out and the other guy had 75% of the chips left. I busted out the last short stack and it was heads up and I only had about 6000 in chips compared to 14000 for the leader. He was aggressive and kept putting me all in on the flops. I slow played him once and doubled up, but my cards were ice cold and I didn't have the chips to scare him. I thought by going all in a few times preflop he may play conservative. I raised all in with 9-10 offsuit and he called with King-9 and it was over.
Still to win $100 with almost no cards was quite satisfying.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Another Almost at Fort McDowell
Traffic was horrible as I was trying to get my last minute Christmas shopping done. Instead of fighting it, I decided to head up to Fort McDowell until it subsided.
The tournament is a $20 entry and I think I started with 1650 in tchips with my early bird bonuses. 1st round of blinds is 0-25 and 25-25 so at least it gives you a little time.
I started out well. I got some good starting cards and missed a couple of flops, but bet ath them anyways and took them down.
One guy bought in 3 times and kept moving all in with middle pair or top pair and getting beat by an overpair. Including once by me when I had KK.
I won another big pot when I had 9-10 of clubs on the button. The flop had a 9 and 7 and 8 of clubs clubs. So I have top pair, a (straight)flush draw, and a normal straight draw. I made a small bet on the flop and got two callers. The reason for the small bet, was I didn't like my reverse implied odds and also I didn't mind if these guys came along for another card. If a high card that's a club hits I might get some action later. An Ace hit the turn so we all checked. The river was a 6 which made the board 6-7-8-9-A. One guy went all in for a small amount and the next person called. I didn't like this because I thought there might be a Jack-10. I couldn't talk myself into folding so I called and one person had the 5 and the other had two pair. I won a huge pot and was now chip leader at my table.
Here's a mistake??? Later I had A-10 of diamonds on the button. A woman doubled the blind early and I reraised. She called and we went to the flop. I believe the flop was Q-10-8 all clubs. She checked and I thought about putting her all in. When I was counting her chips, she grabbed them all and was threatening to call me. For some reason, I believed her, so I checked. The turn was a non club and she checked again and I checked. The river was an Ace of spades. This time she bet the 1800 she had left and I called because I had 2 pair. Of course she had K-J for the straight. This took away my chip lead. I guess she was willing to put her chips in with an open ended straight draw against a flush board?
Another hand I had AQ unsuited. I had just won two hands in a row with raises preflop so I didn't want to raise a third time and have someone come over the top so I just called. There were 3 to the flop. The flop was Q-5-3. The old man on the end went all in with just a few chips. The next guy went all in as well. Fuck, I have top pair top kicker and a lot of the table has been playing like idiots. The problem was I didn't have a read on the 2nd all in as he was pretty new to the table. I folded. The first guy turned over Q-9 and the second guy turned over 5-3. The first guy hit his 9 for two pair and won a big pot. I avoided a train wreck.
Question:
At what point do you start to gamble and steal with any two cards and hope to get lucky? I think it has to be before you get to 4-5 times the big blind. With 40 or so left, I was just under the average chip stack, but I could only survive 2 orbits with the blinds and ante's. Is it better to wait for decent starting cards before throwing them all in the middle or do you just take the chance when everyone else was tightening up? The only way I was going to win any money was to double or triple up.
Hey I almost forgot. My cards went cold and there just were not many steal opportunities so I was getting blinded down. When I am in my final desperation mode with about 4 times the blind left, I am sitting in the 10 seat to the right of the dealer. The tournament director is wandering around and happens to be standing right behind me. I am dealt JJ, however while the dealer flings the card to me, it catches on a really bad paint job on the felt and flips up about 45 degrees. It quickly lands face down and I truly believe that no one else at the table saw the card but me. That is except the tournament director who saw it. He says, "Whoa what was that a Queen or some kind of face card? You know the rules, we have to turn that card up and make it the burn card." So of course my replacement card is a 3. I mutter to myself and fold. Of course my jacks would have held up and probably doubled me up as well. I lost my all in bet a few hands later and I was out in about 18th place.
The tournament is a $20 entry and I think I started with 1650 in tchips with my early bird bonuses. 1st round of blinds is 0-25 and 25-25 so at least it gives you a little time.
I started out well. I got some good starting cards and missed a couple of flops, but bet ath them anyways and took them down.
One guy bought in 3 times and kept moving all in with middle pair or top pair and getting beat by an overpair. Including once by me when I had KK.
I won another big pot when I had 9-10 of clubs on the button. The flop had a 9 and 7 and 8 of clubs clubs. So I have top pair, a (straight)flush draw, and a normal straight draw. I made a small bet on the flop and got two callers. The reason for the small bet, was I didn't like my reverse implied odds and also I didn't mind if these guys came along for another card. If a high card that's a club hits I might get some action later. An Ace hit the turn so we all checked. The river was a 6 which made the board 6-7-8-9-A. One guy went all in for a small amount and the next person called. I didn't like this because I thought there might be a Jack-10. I couldn't talk myself into folding so I called and one person had the 5 and the other had two pair. I won a huge pot and was now chip leader at my table.
Here's a mistake??? Later I had A-10 of diamonds on the button. A woman doubled the blind early and I reraised. She called and we went to the flop. I believe the flop was Q-10-8 all clubs. She checked and I thought about putting her all in. When I was counting her chips, she grabbed them all and was threatening to call me. For some reason, I believed her, so I checked. The turn was a non club and she checked again and I checked. The river was an Ace of spades. This time she bet the 1800 she had left and I called because I had 2 pair. Of course she had K-J for the straight. This took away my chip lead. I guess she was willing to put her chips in with an open ended straight draw against a flush board?
Another hand I had AQ unsuited. I had just won two hands in a row with raises preflop so I didn't want to raise a third time and have someone come over the top so I just called. There were 3 to the flop. The flop was Q-5-3. The old man on the end went all in with just a few chips. The next guy went all in as well. Fuck, I have top pair top kicker and a lot of the table has been playing like idiots. The problem was I didn't have a read on the 2nd all in as he was pretty new to the table. I folded. The first guy turned over Q-9 and the second guy turned over 5-3. The first guy hit his 9 for two pair and won a big pot. I avoided a train wreck.
Question:
At what point do you start to gamble and steal with any two cards and hope to get lucky? I think it has to be before you get to 4-5 times the big blind. With 40 or so left, I was just under the average chip stack, but I could only survive 2 orbits with the blinds and ante's. Is it better to wait for decent starting cards before throwing them all in the middle or do you just take the chance when everyone else was tightening up? The only way I was going to win any money was to double or triple up.
Hey I almost forgot. My cards went cold and there just were not many steal opportunities so I was getting blinded down. When I am in my final desperation mode with about 4 times the blind left, I am sitting in the 10 seat to the right of the dealer. The tournament director is wandering around and happens to be standing right behind me. I am dealt JJ, however while the dealer flings the card to me, it catches on a really bad paint job on the felt and flips up about 45 degrees. It quickly lands face down and I truly believe that no one else at the table saw the card but me. That is except the tournament director who saw it. He says, "Whoa what was that a Queen or some kind of face card? You know the rules, we have to turn that card up and make it the burn card." So of course my replacement card is a 3. I mutter to myself and fold. Of course my jacks would have held up and probably doubled me up as well. I lost my all in bet a few hands later and I was out in about 18th place.
Sunday, December 19, 2004
The Vegas Blues
I really need a Vegas trip that is profitable some day. They are so few and far between. Here's the damage.
Poker Tournaments: -200
Blackjack: -100
No Limit Poker: -185
4-8 ring games: approx even
Let's recap my tournament action:
My first tournament was the $60 buy in at the Flamingo at 10:00 AM. You start with 1000 in tournament chips but the blinds start at 25-50 and double every 15 minutes.
I am obviously at a table with at least 1/2 beginners. This is obvious after the first 3 hands. My fourth hand I am under the gun. I am dealt 99. I raise 200 pretty much hoping to win the blinds. It's folded around to the small blind who calls. The flop has a King, and two undercards with 2 clubs. My opponent checks and I bet another 200. He calls. The turn is an Ace and I don't want to spend any more money on this pot. He checks and I check. The river is a blank and we check it through. He turns over A-3 of clubs. So he called on the flush draw. I don't know why he called the preflop raise though.
My very next hand on the big blind I am dealt AJ offsuit. I now have 550 left after my blind and the blinds will be 50-100 in around 5 minutes. There are 3 limpers before it gets to me. I decide to go all in. I'm happy if I win the blinds but I have a good chance to double up if someone calls me. A black guy on the end of the table starts stacking his chips. I have already seen this guy make 2 bad plays in 5 hands so I decide I am happy if he calls. Amazingly he calls with King 5 offsuit. What the fuck?! So flop comes with a King and a Jack, so I am screwed but I still have a chance. The turn is another King and now it's over. My first tournament lasted 10 minutes.
I decide I have now have time to go over to the Golden Nugget and play in their 11:00 AM tournament. I catch a cab and I sign up for $60. This one we at least start with 1500 in chips and there are $40 rebuys for the first hour and a $40 add on. My cards are still cold so I am declining in the blinds. I rebuy with about 5 minutes left before the break and then I take the add on. If I remember that leaves me with about 10 times the blinds after the break. Now I start playing the small stack well and mostly winning the blinds when I move in.
Eventually I make it to the final two tables out of 57 players. The chip leader at our table is calling off his chips left and right and there are a couple of other short stacks at my table so everyone is in that weird place where they want to play tight to make it into the money but the blinds are so high, they have to push their small edges. I basically dont make any mistakes but get blinded down to where I end up all in along with the former chip leader. We both are eliminated at the same time in 13th place.
So even though I feel I have played perfect poker, I am down $200 in tournament entries. Since I haven't been impressed by the quality of poker in the tournament, I decide this would be a good place to play in the $1-$2 No Limit game. I finally get set in the game and it is soft. There were a couple of guys that liked to bluff and also liked to call down with the second best hand. I get a couple of good hands and I am up almost $200 early.
One good hand was when I was on the big blind. There are a couple of limpers and the small blind completes. I decide to raise it to $10. Two of the limpers fold, but the old man on my right calls the bet. He is one of the guys who has called down a couple of bad hands and I have yet to see any aggression from him.
The flop comes King-9-4. He checks and I decide to bet $20. He thinks about it for a little while and calls. Normally I would be done with this hand. With the old man calling me down, I am thinking he's got a King. The next card comes out and it's low again. The old man checks again and I really sense that he's weak. This time I bet $40 and he calls again. The river is another low card. He checks and I check it through. He turns over 5's. What the hell was he thinking? That's a sign about how bad the table was.
The problem was then the cards went cold. I was patient for at least an hour. I made some good laydowns and was still playing tight, by the book poker, like I thought I should against these bad calling station players.
Finally I have Jack 7 in the small blind. The guy on my left is the big blind, he is a lousy player and the button (the old guy on my right is in the hand) also limps in. I figure it's worth a dollar to play a pot against these two. The flop is Queen-10-6. I check, and the others check. The turn is the 9. This gives me a double belly buster straight draw. All I need is a King or an 8. I decide to bet $10. The player on my left folds and the button calls. The eight comes on the river. I bet $20. The button raises me to $60. I reraise all in to about $150 so it's 90 more to call. He calls. I say there is only one hand that can beat me and sure enough, he has it in King Jack. Let's discuss.
First of all, he should have raised before the flop when it was folded to him on the button, but like I said he was not very aggressive. Second I lost my patience and forgot about my read on this guy. When he raised me on the end that should have set off alarms that he might have me beat. I never even thought about it. I was so in love with my hand and thought of making a big score that I missed all the very evident signs.
I did have the good sense to quit and go back to my room at Caesers. Michele tried to cheer me up but I was a little bummed out. We had dinner and went to Zumanity at New York, New York. Zumanity was an excellent show with lots of ooh and aah moments of acrobatics and freaky flexibility.
The next day I went to Bellagio and played in the 4 - 8 game. My cards were still cold. I played for an hour before I won a hand and that was a chopped pot. The good news was that my starting cards were so bad, I was not even tempted to play them. Michele watched me for the last hour. I finally started to bluff a couple of times just so the players at the table wouldn't think I was a total tight ass. It won me a couple of small pots. I finally got up to go to lunch down another $45.
So I left Vegas without a single winning session. Once again I am feeling very far away from being on the World Poker Tour.
That's why it felt so good to come home and play Party Poker on Sunday. I won a 20+2 sit n go and I won $75 in the 2-4 ring game.
Poker Tournaments: -200
Blackjack: -100
No Limit Poker: -185
4-8 ring games: approx even
Let's recap my tournament action:
My first tournament was the $60 buy in at the Flamingo at 10:00 AM. You start with 1000 in tournament chips but the blinds start at 25-50 and double every 15 minutes.
I am obviously at a table with at least 1/2 beginners. This is obvious after the first 3 hands. My fourth hand I am under the gun. I am dealt 99. I raise 200 pretty much hoping to win the blinds. It's folded around to the small blind who calls. The flop has a King, and two undercards with 2 clubs. My opponent checks and I bet another 200. He calls. The turn is an Ace and I don't want to spend any more money on this pot. He checks and I check. The river is a blank and we check it through. He turns over A-3 of clubs. So he called on the flush draw. I don't know why he called the preflop raise though.
My very next hand on the big blind I am dealt AJ offsuit. I now have 550 left after my blind and the blinds will be 50-100 in around 5 minutes. There are 3 limpers before it gets to me. I decide to go all in. I'm happy if I win the blinds but I have a good chance to double up if someone calls me. A black guy on the end of the table starts stacking his chips. I have already seen this guy make 2 bad plays in 5 hands so I decide I am happy if he calls. Amazingly he calls with King 5 offsuit. What the fuck?! So flop comes with a King and a Jack, so I am screwed but I still have a chance. The turn is another King and now it's over. My first tournament lasted 10 minutes.
I decide I have now have time to go over to the Golden Nugget and play in their 11:00 AM tournament. I catch a cab and I sign up for $60. This one we at least start with 1500 in chips and there are $40 rebuys for the first hour and a $40 add on. My cards are still cold so I am declining in the blinds. I rebuy with about 5 minutes left before the break and then I take the add on. If I remember that leaves me with about 10 times the blinds after the break. Now I start playing the small stack well and mostly winning the blinds when I move in.
Eventually I make it to the final two tables out of 57 players. The chip leader at our table is calling off his chips left and right and there are a couple of other short stacks at my table so everyone is in that weird place where they want to play tight to make it into the money but the blinds are so high, they have to push their small edges. I basically dont make any mistakes but get blinded down to where I end up all in along with the former chip leader. We both are eliminated at the same time in 13th place.
So even though I feel I have played perfect poker, I am down $200 in tournament entries. Since I haven't been impressed by the quality of poker in the tournament, I decide this would be a good place to play in the $1-$2 No Limit game. I finally get set in the game and it is soft. There were a couple of guys that liked to bluff and also liked to call down with the second best hand. I get a couple of good hands and I am up almost $200 early.
One good hand was when I was on the big blind. There are a couple of limpers and the small blind completes. I decide to raise it to $10. Two of the limpers fold, but the old man on my right calls the bet. He is one of the guys who has called down a couple of bad hands and I have yet to see any aggression from him.
The flop comes King-9-4. He checks and I decide to bet $20. He thinks about it for a little while and calls. Normally I would be done with this hand. With the old man calling me down, I am thinking he's got a King. The next card comes out and it's low again. The old man checks again and I really sense that he's weak. This time I bet $40 and he calls again. The river is another low card. He checks and I check it through. He turns over 5's. What the hell was he thinking? That's a sign about how bad the table was.
The problem was then the cards went cold. I was patient for at least an hour. I made some good laydowns and was still playing tight, by the book poker, like I thought I should against these bad calling station players.
Finally I have Jack 7 in the small blind. The guy on my left is the big blind, he is a lousy player and the button (the old guy on my right is in the hand) also limps in. I figure it's worth a dollar to play a pot against these two. The flop is Queen-10-6. I check, and the others check. The turn is the 9. This gives me a double belly buster straight draw. All I need is a King or an 8. I decide to bet $10. The player on my left folds and the button calls. The eight comes on the river. I bet $20. The button raises me to $60. I reraise all in to about $150 so it's 90 more to call. He calls. I say there is only one hand that can beat me and sure enough, he has it in King Jack. Let's discuss.
First of all, he should have raised before the flop when it was folded to him on the button, but like I said he was not very aggressive. Second I lost my patience and forgot about my read on this guy. When he raised me on the end that should have set off alarms that he might have me beat. I never even thought about it. I was so in love with my hand and thought of making a big score that I missed all the very evident signs.
I did have the good sense to quit and go back to my room at Caesers. Michele tried to cheer me up but I was a little bummed out. We had dinner and went to Zumanity at New York, New York. Zumanity was an excellent show with lots of ooh and aah moments of acrobatics and freaky flexibility.
The next day I went to Bellagio and played in the 4 - 8 game. My cards were still cold. I played for an hour before I won a hand and that was a chopped pot. The good news was that my starting cards were so bad, I was not even tempted to play them. Michele watched me for the last hour. I finally started to bluff a couple of times just so the players at the table wouldn't think I was a total tight ass. It won me a couple of small pots. I finally got up to go to lunch down another $45.
So I left Vegas without a single winning session. Once again I am feeling very far away from being on the World Poker Tour.
That's why it felt so good to come home and play Party Poker on Sunday. I won a 20+2 sit n go and I won $75 in the 2-4 ring game.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
I Can't Wait For Vegas!
I leave tomorrow for Vegas with Michele.
I am very short on the poker winnings goal with one day to go. It would take a great session tonight, which is not going to happen since I need to pay the mountain of bills stacked up on my desk at home. Oh well. I did finish up $143 so that's a plus. I am also adding in the $225 I received from my old network group that is basically found money. All I have to do is come away from Vegas a winner. :-)
My friend Jon called me last night from the Bellagio. He said all the stars of the poker world were out last night because the main event of the 5 Diamond Classic for the World Poker Tour started last night. I am going to try and go over and check it out a little bit while I am there.
Now for a couple of No Limit Poker strategy issues.
Tom Keller wrote an interesting article in Card Player about the call and bluff move. Let's say you limp before the flop and there are one or two other callers. The flop comes and someone bets in front of you. You smell weakness because maybe they only bet 1/2 the pot. Instead of reraising them, you smooth call. If another innocuos card comes off and he checks. You bet and take down the pot. This is better than the reraise on the flop because you can see more information with the turn card and the opponet's reaction. It's the same in that the call and bet probably costs you as much as a reraise on the flop. It's dangerous, because the turn could bring another high card that hits your opponet.
The Poker Babe also mentioned her blog that the main thing she has learned in her poker tournament experience is that many tight players have a really hard time learning that they have to put their tournament life at risk a lot in order to win. She mentions that she played hundreds of tournaments before she finally realized this concept. The key is knowing when to do that. You obviously want to do it at the right time so you don't get busted out.
I agree with this because my main problem in the tournaments I have played is that I get blinded off. Or I lose one or two hands and then am stuck going with the all in mode. It really is more about putting your opponet on a hand and deciding if you can move them off of it. There was another article in Card Player about the leak in many good players game of folding to a raise. In my one table sit-n-go's, they go so fast that I don't worry about that too much. There's not much reason to bluff until you get down to the final 4. But in the 3 tables or the big tournaments, it is easy to play for a couple of hours with the same players and they will notice this trend. I just don't know if I have the balls to reraise with the worst hand or to do it to someone else if I suspect they are bluffing. My stack is very rarely deep enough to bully someone that much.
I am very short on the poker winnings goal with one day to go. It would take a great session tonight, which is not going to happen since I need to pay the mountain of bills stacked up on my desk at home. Oh well. I did finish up $143 so that's a plus. I am also adding in the $225 I received from my old network group that is basically found money. All I have to do is come away from Vegas a winner. :-)
My friend Jon called me last night from the Bellagio. He said all the stars of the poker world were out last night because the main event of the 5 Diamond Classic for the World Poker Tour started last night. I am going to try and go over and check it out a little bit while I am there.
Now for a couple of No Limit Poker strategy issues.
Tom Keller wrote an interesting article in Card Player about the call and bluff move. Let's say you limp before the flop and there are one or two other callers. The flop comes and someone bets in front of you. You smell weakness because maybe they only bet 1/2 the pot. Instead of reraising them, you smooth call. If another innocuos card comes off and he checks. You bet and take down the pot. This is better than the reraise on the flop because you can see more information with the turn card and the opponet's reaction. It's the same in that the call and bet probably costs you as much as a reraise on the flop. It's dangerous, because the turn could bring another high card that hits your opponet.
The Poker Babe also mentioned her blog that the main thing she has learned in her poker tournament experience is that many tight players have a really hard time learning that they have to put their tournament life at risk a lot in order to win. She mentions that she played hundreds of tournaments before she finally realized this concept. The key is knowing when to do that. You obviously want to do it at the right time so you don't get busted out.
I agree with this because my main problem in the tournaments I have played is that I get blinded off. Or I lose one or two hands and then am stuck going with the all in mode. It really is more about putting your opponet on a hand and deciding if you can move them off of it. There was another article in Card Player about the leak in many good players game of folding to a raise. In my one table sit-n-go's, they go so fast that I don't worry about that too much. There's not much reason to bluff until you get down to the final 4. But in the 3 tables or the big tournaments, it is easy to play for a couple of hours with the same players and they will notice this trend. I just don't know if I have the balls to reraise with the worst hand or to do it to someone else if I suspect they are bluffing. My stack is very rarely deep enough to bully someone that much.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
A New NL Move?
After coming back from visiting a client in Payson I decided to check out the poker room at Fort McDowell. I knew they had tournaments at 7:00 PM every night for only $30 with rebuys. I showed up at 5:30 and sat in a 3-6 game. There were a couple of fish at the table so I felt pretty confident.
Once again I got in trouble by bluffing. I was in a blind with a 6. No raises preflop. The flop is checked around and is all low cards. The turn gives me an open end straight draw so I bet. The button raises me. The pot only has like 4 bets so I fold. He shows me his 6 and says he hit the inside straight. I still think he misread his hand but I am not 100% sure. Anyways it was a good bet.
Another hand I had A-9 suited on the button. It's folded to me so I raise. The big blind calls. The flop is 9-7-2. He checks and I bet. He calls right away. The turn is another 7. He checks and I call. The river is a blank. He checks again and I decide to value bet because I think he was calling down with over cards. He raises me. Now I am screwed but I can't fold to one bet with top pair, top kicker so I call. He has the hammer (7-2) and pounds me right in the head with a full house.
Overall I saw some bad play but I didn't have enough time/cards to capitalize so I finished down $18.
The tournament was a little strange in that they give all kinds of bonus chips for showing up early. The think you start with 600 and the blinds start at 25-0. I think I got 500 for each hour I showed up early. The rebuys were $10 for another 600 and an add on for 1000 for $20 at the break.
Early on I got dealt pocket Aces. I raised preflop and got two callers. The flop was A-Q-Q. Wow! It was checked to me on the button and I checked it through. The turn was another face card. It was checked to me again and I bet 1/2 the pot hoping someone would think I was trying to buy it. Everyone folded. Little did I realize that they also play bad beat jackpots on the tournament games. I had a qualifying hand all I had to do was get beat by 4 Queens.
Anyway, I was not doing to well because everytime I made a bet on the flop, someone came over the top of me. The last one was very interesting. I had KQ of diamonds in middle position with 1500 in chips left. The blinds were 100-200. I raised to 500 and the button who had me easily covered reraised all in. Now this is a normal play if you have AA-KK-QQ-or AK. All of those hand I am a 4-1 underdog at least. Even if they have an underpair, I am a slight underdog.
I folded and made a remark that I don't know if I am getting unlucky that I am running into monster hands or just getting outplayed. One of the other more friendly players said at this stage of the tournament, if you make a raise, you better be ready to put all your chips in the middle. The button was taking advantage of that fact.
I posted this move on 2+2 because I am looking for a math answer. The all in reraise just looks like a move that will work a huge percentage of the time. Just think, I can only realistically call with QQ, KK, or AA. Maybe even AK. I guess that's something I will have to use in the future.
On another note, my poker goal is not going well. Although I received a check out of the blue from my old networking organization for $225. I guess I'll add that to the poker pot to make up for my recent losses. Still I would like to win it on my own.
Once again I got in trouble by bluffing. I was in a blind with a 6. No raises preflop. The flop is checked around and is all low cards. The turn gives me an open end straight draw so I bet. The button raises me. The pot only has like 4 bets so I fold. He shows me his 6 and says he hit the inside straight. I still think he misread his hand but I am not 100% sure. Anyways it was a good bet.
Another hand I had A-9 suited on the button. It's folded to me so I raise. The big blind calls. The flop is 9-7-2. He checks and I bet. He calls right away. The turn is another 7. He checks and I call. The river is a blank. He checks again and I decide to value bet because I think he was calling down with over cards. He raises me. Now I am screwed but I can't fold to one bet with top pair, top kicker so I call. He has the hammer (7-2) and pounds me right in the head with a full house.
Overall I saw some bad play but I didn't have enough time/cards to capitalize so I finished down $18.
The tournament was a little strange in that they give all kinds of bonus chips for showing up early. The think you start with 600 and the blinds start at 25-0. I think I got 500 for each hour I showed up early. The rebuys were $10 for another 600 and an add on for 1000 for $20 at the break.
Early on I got dealt pocket Aces. I raised preflop and got two callers. The flop was A-Q-Q. Wow! It was checked to me on the button and I checked it through. The turn was another face card. It was checked to me again and I bet 1/2 the pot hoping someone would think I was trying to buy it. Everyone folded. Little did I realize that they also play bad beat jackpots on the tournament games. I had a qualifying hand all I had to do was get beat by 4 Queens.
Anyway, I was not doing to well because everytime I made a bet on the flop, someone came over the top of me. The last one was very interesting. I had KQ of diamonds in middle position with 1500 in chips left. The blinds were 100-200. I raised to 500 and the button who had me easily covered reraised all in. Now this is a normal play if you have AA-KK-QQ-or AK. All of those hand I am a 4-1 underdog at least. Even if they have an underpair, I am a slight underdog.
I folded and made a remark that I don't know if I am getting unlucky that I am running into monster hands or just getting outplayed. One of the other more friendly players said at this stage of the tournament, if you make a raise, you better be ready to put all your chips in the middle. The button was taking advantage of that fact.
I posted this move on 2+2 because I am looking for a math answer. The all in reraise just looks like a move that will work a huge percentage of the time. Just think, I can only realistically call with QQ, KK, or AA. Maybe even AK. I guess that's something I will have to use in the future.
On another note, my poker goal is not going well. Although I received a check out of the blue from my old networking organization for $225. I guess I'll add that to the poker pot to make up for my recent losses. Still I would like to win it on my own.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Slumping
I am not having much luck the last few days. I am bluffing too much in limit poker and I am making too many all in calls for all my chips in the tournaments.
Latest example is QJ of diamonds in small blind. Folded to me. I have stolen the blinds of the guy on my left frequently and I don't want to be reraised all in so I just complete the blind. Big blind checks. Flop is 7-5-7 with 2 diamonds. I check and he checks. The turn is a black queen. This time I bet the pot. He raises. I move all in hoping for the flush and pretty much thinking I have it won. He turns over 7-4 and I don't get the diamond. 19th place for the second time in a row on 3 table tourney.
I have also been playing the 2-4 games. There were two instances where I sat there and watched one player at the table just try to give their money away. Crazy bluffs and stupid call downs. Both times I never got the starting cards to even get involved except for one hand. Each time I punish them on every street for their draws and they suck out on the river. $40-$50 pots each time.
On the other hand I was reviewing the year that I have had in 2004. Overall I have to say it's been one of the best ever. Let's review:
Hit my rainy day savings fund goal.
I found myself a great girlfriend.
Trip to Maui.
Trip to Pebble Beach.
Bought a new house.
Bought a rental property.
Saved triple the requirement on my 401k.
U of A beat ASU in football.
5 trips to Las Vegas.
Shot a 73 (one over par) at Whirlwind.
Joined Phoenix Country Club.
Paid off my truck.
It sure looks like the best year of my life.
Latest example is QJ of diamonds in small blind. Folded to me. I have stolen the blinds of the guy on my left frequently and I don't want to be reraised all in so I just complete the blind. Big blind checks. Flop is 7-5-7 with 2 diamonds. I check and he checks. The turn is a black queen. This time I bet the pot. He raises. I move all in hoping for the flush and pretty much thinking I have it won. He turns over 7-4 and I don't get the diamond. 19th place for the second time in a row on 3 table tourney.
I have also been playing the 2-4 games. There were two instances where I sat there and watched one player at the table just try to give their money away. Crazy bluffs and stupid call downs. Both times I never got the starting cards to even get involved except for one hand. Each time I punish them on every street for their draws and they suck out on the river. $40-$50 pots each time.
On the other hand I was reviewing the year that I have had in 2004. Overall I have to say it's been one of the best ever. Let's review:
Hit my rainy day savings fund goal.
I found myself a great girlfriend.
Trip to Maui.
Trip to Pebble Beach.
Bought a new house.
Bought a rental property.
Saved triple the requirement on my 401k.
U of A beat ASU in football.
5 trips to Las Vegas.
Shot a 73 (one over par) at Whirlwind.
Joined Phoenix Country Club.
Paid off my truck.
It sure looks like the best year of my life.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Are Party Poker Players getting better?
Poker Goal $450 by 12/18
Actual $217
Last night I played about 200 hands on a couple of different tables. This was the first time I was worried about the caliber of play on Party. For the first hour or so I did not see one player turn over crappy cards when they were called down. I saw a preflop raise almost every hand. The only reason I was hanging around was because the pots were so big. Are Party Poker players figuring out how to play the game? Have the fish started to lose all their money and given up?
Then to top it off it was one of those nights where every time I made a tight fold preflop, the flop would come and hit me hard. Of course my cards were already in the muck so you can't win if you're not in the hand. The worst one was when I folded King-9 of diamonds in the middle to a preflop raise. The flop came 10-Jack-Queen rainbow. The raiser had Ace-Queen and I think the other player ended up with 2 pair. That would have been a huge pot. I swear it happened at least 5 times. Usually I just tell myself it's the poker gods fucking with me and my discipline will be rewarded later. I wasn't quite buying it because I was down $65.
Later I got a little excited when I was dealt pocket queens. I raised preflop and had 3 callers. The flop came QQA. Four of a Kind! I was playing on the bad beat jackpot table so I had to play carefully. I slow played it and tried to keep everyone in. The board did not pair again but there was a flush possibility on the river. So I did get one raise in on the end. I think my share of the jackpot would have been around $10,000.
Finally I broke even when I called a preflop raise with 88 and hit the third 8 on the flop. The board paired 3's on the river and I took down an $80 pot.
Actual $217
Last night I played about 200 hands on a couple of different tables. This was the first time I was worried about the caliber of play on Party. For the first hour or so I did not see one player turn over crappy cards when they were called down. I saw a preflop raise almost every hand. The only reason I was hanging around was because the pots were so big. Are Party Poker players figuring out how to play the game? Have the fish started to lose all their money and given up?
Then to top it off it was one of those nights where every time I made a tight fold preflop, the flop would come and hit me hard. Of course my cards were already in the muck so you can't win if you're not in the hand. The worst one was when I folded King-9 of diamonds in the middle to a preflop raise. The flop came 10-Jack-Queen rainbow. The raiser had Ace-Queen and I think the other player ended up with 2 pair. That would have been a huge pot. I swear it happened at least 5 times. Usually I just tell myself it's the poker gods fucking with me and my discipline will be rewarded later. I wasn't quite buying it because I was down $65.
Later I got a little excited when I was dealt pocket queens. I raised preflop and had 3 callers. The flop came QQA. Four of a Kind! I was playing on the bad beat jackpot table so I had to play carefully. I slow played it and tried to keep everyone in. The board did not pair again but there was a flush possibility on the river. So I did get one raise in on the end. I think my share of the jackpot would have been around $10,000.
Finally I broke even when I called a preflop raise with 88 and hit the third 8 on the flop. The board paired 3's on the river and I took down an $80 pot.
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Home Poker and Bad Toilets
The home game was crowded last night with 9 players. We had Kurt, Tom, Bill, Rob, Chris, Jon, Dan, and Jeff.
First off I got lousy cards all night. I won one big pot when I had pocket Jacks in one of the blinds. There were 3 callers and I raised. Jeff on my right reraised all in and I capped to trap Kurt and Jon. They both called. There was an Ace on the flop. I led out to test the waters and Kurt folded. Jon called. The other two cards were low and seemingly uncoordinated. The turn was a blank so I checked. Jon bet and I called. The river was the Jack. I still thought Jon had an Ace after calling my flop bet and calling all of those raises preflop. He was acting strong throughout the hand. I checked hoping to check raise him. He checked it through and missed his open end straight draw. That basically got me back to even where I stayed the rest of the night.
Rob and Bill traded a couple of big pots. Bill lost a big pot when his 3 tens with a Queen kicker lost to Rob's 3 tens with an Ace kicker. The Bill won the last big pot when he had pocket Jacks and Rob had pocket Queens. The board at the end read X-7-8-9-10. Bill's straight won the pot.
The other big event was Jeff taking a shit in my bathroom and stopping up my toilet. It was disgusting. I used to have a plunger before I moved, but I have no idea where it's buried in my garage now. I finally had to shame Jeff into buying a plunger and going to work. After the water level went down some, he tried to flush again and the toilet overflowed with crap water onto the tile. Even stink would say, "That Stinks!" Eventually the toiled choked down Jeff's intestines and he mopped up the mess. I immediately threw away the mop. From now on I will make sure Jeff doesn't eat anything for 24 hours before he comes to my house.
First off I got lousy cards all night. I won one big pot when I had pocket Jacks in one of the blinds. There were 3 callers and I raised. Jeff on my right reraised all in and I capped to trap Kurt and Jon. They both called. There was an Ace on the flop. I led out to test the waters and Kurt folded. Jon called. The other two cards were low and seemingly uncoordinated. The turn was a blank so I checked. Jon bet and I called. The river was the Jack. I still thought Jon had an Ace after calling my flop bet and calling all of those raises preflop. He was acting strong throughout the hand. I checked hoping to check raise him. He checked it through and missed his open end straight draw. That basically got me back to even where I stayed the rest of the night.
Rob and Bill traded a couple of big pots. Bill lost a big pot when his 3 tens with a Queen kicker lost to Rob's 3 tens with an Ace kicker. The Bill won the last big pot when he had pocket Jacks and Rob had pocket Queens. The board at the end read X-7-8-9-10. Bill's straight won the pot.
The other big event was Jeff taking a shit in my bathroom and stopping up my toilet. It was disgusting. I used to have a plunger before I moved, but I have no idea where it's buried in my garage now. I finally had to shame Jeff into buying a plunger and going to work. After the water level went down some, he tried to flush again and the toilet overflowed with crap water onto the tile. Even stink would say, "That Stinks!" Eventually the toiled choked down Jeff's intestines and he mopped up the mess. I immediately threw away the mop. From now on I will make sure Jeff doesn't eat anything for 24 hours before he comes to my house.
Monday, November 29, 2004
First Win at $20+2 Sit-N-Go
Poker Goal for Vegas 12-16-04 $450
Total won as of 11/28/04 $183
I've recently been taking a stab at the $20 sit-n-go's on Party Poker. I have not noticed much of difference in skill level from the $10 ones. I guess the players are a little tighter in the early going.
I really like the strategy cheat sheet I picked up from the 2+2 website. It's very rare that I finish any worse than 4th using this strategy.
Here were some of the highlights from my first win:
Early going in the big blind I pick up Jack-Nine. I think there were 4 others in the pot that limped in. The flop is 8-10-Queen all diamonds. I have the 9 of diamonds. I push all in on the flop which was about twice the pot. I'm hoping no one has the made flush. I don't want to slow play and give someone a chance to draw at the flush. Plus it looks like I am protecting a pair hand like Queens or two pair. I get two callers, one who had the Ace of diamonds and he gets no help and the other had an open end straight draw which he didn't hit either, so I triple up.
Later a short stack with about 500 goes all in trying to steal my big blind. I have AA so I immediately call. He had K-9. Now I am at 4500 with 3 other players left. I briefly think about trying to bully these guys around but that seems unnecessarily risky since I can fold my way to the final 2.
I basically sit back and wait for hands. I get a couple of Ace-X hands on the button and try to steal but get reraised back, so I fold.
I knock another guy out and the other guy busts out and I am left heads up with a 2-1 chip lead. The last guy left is the guy who has reraised me a couple of times and got me to fold. He immediately goes into all in mode. The blinds are still relatively small so I can be patient. After 4 all ins in a row, I get A-4 in small blind. I just call. He raises all in and I call. He had King - 5. I get an Ace on the flop and it holds up. $100 is credited to my account.
I am trying to get a home poker game together for Tuesday. I have 4 so far so I need a couple more. Hopefully it will be as profitable as the last time.
Total won as of 11/28/04 $183
I've recently been taking a stab at the $20 sit-n-go's on Party Poker. I have not noticed much of difference in skill level from the $10 ones. I guess the players are a little tighter in the early going.
I really like the strategy cheat sheet I picked up from the 2+2 website. It's very rare that I finish any worse than 4th using this strategy.
Here were some of the highlights from my first win:
Early going in the big blind I pick up Jack-Nine. I think there were 4 others in the pot that limped in. The flop is 8-10-Queen all diamonds. I have the 9 of diamonds. I push all in on the flop which was about twice the pot. I'm hoping no one has the made flush. I don't want to slow play and give someone a chance to draw at the flush. Plus it looks like I am protecting a pair hand like Queens or two pair. I get two callers, one who had the Ace of diamonds and he gets no help and the other had an open end straight draw which he didn't hit either, so I triple up.
Later a short stack with about 500 goes all in trying to steal my big blind. I have AA so I immediately call. He had K-9. Now I am at 4500 with 3 other players left. I briefly think about trying to bully these guys around but that seems unnecessarily risky since I can fold my way to the final 2.
I basically sit back and wait for hands. I get a couple of Ace-X hands on the button and try to steal but get reraised back, so I fold.
I knock another guy out and the other guy busts out and I am left heads up with a 2-1 chip lead. The last guy left is the guy who has reraised me a couple of times and got me to fold. He immediately goes into all in mode. The blinds are still relatively small so I can be patient. After 4 all ins in a row, I get A-4 in small blind. I just call. He raises all in and I call. He had King - 5. I get an Ace on the flop and it holds up. $100 is credited to my account.
I am trying to get a home poker game together for Tuesday. I have 4 so far so I need a couple more. Hopefully it will be as profitable as the last time.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Sit-n-Go Strategy update
I have been using the sit-n-go strategy I stole from the 2+2 post and so far it has been pretty effective. It's hard playing that tight in the early going but I guess the positive is that it's rare that I lose a hand in the first 3 rounds. Partly because of the good cards I start with and also because some of the players notice that I haven't played a hand in a full rotation.
Last night I played 2 $20 one table sit-n-gos. The first one included a lot of good cards and I don't think I lost a hand until I got heads up at the end. I took a bad beat and ended up taking second. My opponet was on the button and doubled the blind. I reraised all in with my pocket Queens. He turned over A-9 and called. I would have had a 7-1 chip advantage if I won, but he caught his Ace on the river. Instead I was severely short stacked and eventually he out drew me.
The second tournament seemed to be a rock garden. I really didn't see any incredibly bad plays like you normally do. Maybe the $20 tournaments have a better skill level? I managed to make it to the last 3 and in the money. Part of this new strategy is to gamble for 1st place and settle for 3rd. I started to go all in a lot and steal a lot of blinds. Unfortunately a couple of times I had small pairs and I ran into bigger pairs. The last one I had 77's and called an all in raise. The raiser had JJ and I was out in 3rd.
Still 2 cashes helps recover the losses from the 2 poor showings last night on the 3 table tournaments I played in.
I also recorded the 1998 World Series of Poker. It was won by Scotty Nguyen. The broadcast quality was horrible as they still had not invented the hole card cams yet and they didn't even bother to go back and put in the hole cards for the hands they did turn up. It was funny to hear Vince Van Patten doing the commentary for ESPN. I also chuckled because this was the year that Matt Damon and Ed Norton were given free entries into the tournament because Rounders was coming out. They were projecting what a popular movies this was going to be and how impressed they were that there were 350 entries in the main event. 2004 had over 3,500. I think poker has had quite a boom, eh?
Last night I played 2 $20 one table sit-n-gos. The first one included a lot of good cards and I don't think I lost a hand until I got heads up at the end. I took a bad beat and ended up taking second. My opponet was on the button and doubled the blind. I reraised all in with my pocket Queens. He turned over A-9 and called. I would have had a 7-1 chip advantage if I won, but he caught his Ace on the river. Instead I was severely short stacked and eventually he out drew me.
The second tournament seemed to be a rock garden. I really didn't see any incredibly bad plays like you normally do. Maybe the $20 tournaments have a better skill level? I managed to make it to the last 3 and in the money. Part of this new strategy is to gamble for 1st place and settle for 3rd. I started to go all in a lot and steal a lot of blinds. Unfortunately a couple of times I had small pairs and I ran into bigger pairs. The last one I had 77's and called an all in raise. The raiser had JJ and I was out in 3rd.
Still 2 cashes helps recover the losses from the 2 poor showings last night on the 3 table tournaments I played in.
I also recorded the 1998 World Series of Poker. It was won by Scotty Nguyen. The broadcast quality was horrible as they still had not invented the hole card cams yet and they didn't even bother to go back and put in the hole cards for the hands they did turn up. It was funny to hear Vince Van Patten doing the commentary for ESPN. I also chuckled because this was the year that Matt Damon and Ed Norton were given free entries into the tournament because Rounders was coming out. They were projecting what a popular movies this was going to be and how impressed they were that there were 350 entries in the main event. 2004 had over 3,500. I think poker has had quite a boom, eh?
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
A New Goal
I set a new poker goal yesterday. I want to have $450 to gamble with in Las Vegas when I go with Michele in December. This works out to $15 a day. I also figured out that I could keep the same pace until June and have $3,000. That works out to when the World Series of Poker will be starting in Vegas. I am currently thinking that I would be willing to play 3 one table satellites for the 10k entry fee. Who knows, I may change my mind in a few months on that number. Hell I don't know if I would have the guts to take $10,000 in winnings and then enter the big contest. That would be, by far, the most I have ever won in gambling.
Anyways I tried out a summary of one-table satellite strategy I got off of a 2+2 site. I played 2 Party Poker 10+1 tournaments and one PokerStars 10+1 2 table tournament. I did pretty well in Party Poker as I came in 4th and 2nd. Basically the strategy is play really tight in the early rounds and make pot sized bets. I am always amazed at the bad play I see by some of the players at Party.
The PokerStars site, on the other hand, has really hammered me. I don't think I have had a winning session on that site yet. I joined to play in the blogger tournament. I had $60 left over and have played in some one and two table tournaments. I think I am down to my last $25 now. I don't know if I like the structure as much on PokerStars. They give you 50% more chips to start with so the tournaments last much longer. Normally that would be ok except the beginning levels seem to last forever and the later (higher) levels seem to go very quick.
Plus I seem to get dogshit cards. The top 5 paid on the two table tournament and I busted out in 7th. I waited until I had 1.5 times the big blind before I was finally forced all in. I didn't even have cards that I thought I could bluff with. Plus the chip leader was two spots to my left which made it very hard to play the button when the big blind had me covered five or six times over. Oh well I'm sure the luck will turn soon.
Anyways I tried out a summary of one-table satellite strategy I got off of a 2+2 site. I played 2 Party Poker 10+1 tournaments and one PokerStars 10+1 2 table tournament. I did pretty well in Party Poker as I came in 4th and 2nd. Basically the strategy is play really tight in the early rounds and make pot sized bets. I am always amazed at the bad play I see by some of the players at Party.
The PokerStars site, on the other hand, has really hammered me. I don't think I have had a winning session on that site yet. I joined to play in the blogger tournament. I had $60 left over and have played in some one and two table tournaments. I think I am down to my last $25 now. I don't know if I like the structure as much on PokerStars. They give you 50% more chips to start with so the tournaments last much longer. Normally that would be ok except the beginning levels seem to last forever and the later (higher) levels seem to go very quick.
Plus I seem to get dogshit cards. The top 5 paid on the two table tournament and I busted out in 7th. I waited until I had 1.5 times the big blind before I was finally forced all in. I didn't even have cards that I thought I could bluff with. Plus the chip leader was two spots to my left which made it very hard to play the button when the big blind had me covered five or six times over. Oh well I'm sure the luck will turn soon.
Friday, November 12, 2004
Near Miss in Live Tournament
It's Friday afternoon, my Dad is out of the office playing Tennis in Palm Springs, and my assistant is out on vacation. I have virtually nothing to do in the office so I decide to play in the 11:00 AM $60 buy in tournament at Casino AZ. 110 entries and the top 20 pay something.
I won a couple hands early but after a couple of levels I was down to 9-10 times the big blind. I really played my short stack well. I had quite a few all in's and only was called once. I had A-10 of diamonds and he had A-3. I won that one with a pair of 10's.
With 50 players left, I won a couple more hands after all in raises and realized I was the chip leader at the table. I was still only about 15 times the blind but I felt good. Then the tide turned. I raised with K-J on the button and lost to an all in on the blinds who called me. Then with 300-600 blinds I was in late position. Under the gun limped and everyone folded to me. I had pocket Jacks. I raised to 1800. The blinds folded, but the first limper reraised me all in for 2200 more. So that means 6700 in the pot and 2200 to call. I did stop to consider what he would limp reraise me with all in. 3 hands that are way ahead. Overcards I definitely have the odds to call. Lower pairs I have the odds to call. If I win I have an excellent chance to go very far. I decide to call and he turns over QQ. He gets his third Queen on the turn and lose most of my stack and I 'm down to 5,000.
I maintain between 5,000 and 10,000 for a while and it's down to 3 tables of 10. They bring over some new players with a lot of chips.
I haven't bluffed once and every time I have had to show cards I have had good ones. I need to pick up some blinds. I am down to 5,000 in chips and the blinds are going up from 500-1000 in 5 minutes. When the big blind comes and I fold to a raise. The small blind comes and it's folded to me and I am tempted to go all in. I can't limp because the guy on my left hasn't let me do that in 3 attempts. I decide to fold. He shows me AJ. Phew! Avoided that disaster. The next hand I get 5-7 unsuited on the button. It's folded to me again and this time I decide to pull the bluff. My nemesis in the small blind folds, but the big blind calls right away with out even looking up from the magazine he is looking at. Oops. He turns over AQ unsuited.
I get no help and I'm out. I stand up to look around and see where I finished. 23rd. Dammit that was a stupid play. I had eight more hands to get something I could work with. Hell I could have just sat around and probably made it into the money. I was patient the whole tournament until that one hand and then I fucked it up.
I won a couple hands early but after a couple of levels I was down to 9-10 times the big blind. I really played my short stack well. I had quite a few all in's and only was called once. I had A-10 of diamonds and he had A-3. I won that one with a pair of 10's.
With 50 players left, I won a couple more hands after all in raises and realized I was the chip leader at the table. I was still only about 15 times the blind but I felt good. Then the tide turned. I raised with K-J on the button and lost to an all in on the blinds who called me. Then with 300-600 blinds I was in late position. Under the gun limped and everyone folded to me. I had pocket Jacks. I raised to 1800. The blinds folded, but the first limper reraised me all in for 2200 more. So that means 6700 in the pot and 2200 to call. I did stop to consider what he would limp reraise me with all in. 3 hands that are way ahead. Overcards I definitely have the odds to call. Lower pairs I have the odds to call. If I win I have an excellent chance to go very far. I decide to call and he turns over QQ. He gets his third Queen on the turn and lose most of my stack and I 'm down to 5,000.
I maintain between 5,000 and 10,000 for a while and it's down to 3 tables of 10. They bring over some new players with a lot of chips.
I haven't bluffed once and every time I have had to show cards I have had good ones. I need to pick up some blinds. I am down to 5,000 in chips and the blinds are going up from 500-1000 in 5 minutes. When the big blind comes and I fold to a raise. The small blind comes and it's folded to me and I am tempted to go all in. I can't limp because the guy on my left hasn't let me do that in 3 attempts. I decide to fold. He shows me AJ. Phew! Avoided that disaster. The next hand I get 5-7 unsuited on the button. It's folded to me again and this time I decide to pull the bluff. My nemesis in the small blind folds, but the big blind calls right away with out even looking up from the magazine he is looking at. Oops. He turns over AQ unsuited.
I get no help and I'm out. I stand up to look around and see where I finished. 23rd. Dammit that was a stupid play. I had eight more hands to get something I could work with. Hell I could have just sat around and probably made it into the money. I was patient the whole tournament until that one hand and then I fucked it up.
Monday, November 08, 2004
A Win With An Audience
There hasn't been too much to report over the last week. I have a girlfriend now and that has cut into my poker playing a little.
Last Friday I got home from work and then went for a run. I was supposed to meet my girlfriend at my house to go out. After I had showered and recovered from my run, I logged on to Party Poker and started a 3 table sit-n-go. I called the girlfriend and said come over in an hour and "I'm playing in a tournament online so I might be ready to go right away or you may have to wait a while."
By the time she showed up there were still 20 players left. I had shown her some of the basic rules of the game last week so she was interested in what was going on. Once she was there I started catching cards like crazy. I started with pocket 9's and the flop came with 2 nines. I slow played it perfectly and took all of my opponet's chips. Another time I had top pair on the flop and two short stacks had gone all in. I called and busted out both of them with their draws. Another time I decided to try and steal with J-2. One of the blinds decided to call me. The flop was rags and we both checked. The turn was a 2 so I decided to throw a small bet out there to see if I could take it and he called. The river was the Jack! Apparently it hit my opponet because he made a pot sized bet. I raised him all in and he called with his J-10. His one pair loses to my two pair and he's gone.
Finally I made it to the final 2 and I had something like a 6-1 chip lead. It was over in about 6 hands and I won $270 in front of my girlfriend. It was nice to show her that I have some skill in this hobby and it's not just "gambling".
In the mean time I have played two 3 table sit-n-go's since and I haven't cashed. One I got beat by trip nines when I had top pair and top kicker. Another was a little interesting. I was on the blind and the button doubled the blind. I reraised all in with KQ, halfway hoping for him to fold. The raise would put my opponet virtually all in. That small of a raise didn't seem to indicate a made hand. There were 6 players left and only 5 make money. The blinds were high and 3 of the players only had 3-4 times the amount of the small and big blinds left so it was becoming a crap shoot. I had started with about 7 times the big blind. This player seemed kind of loose and I figured I need to get a little lucky if he calls and double up to try and win this thing. He took his full time limit and finally called with 2-2. Wow! That seems like a horrible play to me. Of course I don't get any help and I bust out. Oh well just cashing at the lowest amount doesn't mean much to me so I guess I went out with guns blazing.
Last Friday I got home from work and then went for a run. I was supposed to meet my girlfriend at my house to go out. After I had showered and recovered from my run, I logged on to Party Poker and started a 3 table sit-n-go. I called the girlfriend and said come over in an hour and "I'm playing in a tournament online so I might be ready to go right away or you may have to wait a while."
By the time she showed up there were still 20 players left. I had shown her some of the basic rules of the game last week so she was interested in what was going on. Once she was there I started catching cards like crazy. I started with pocket 9's and the flop came with 2 nines. I slow played it perfectly and took all of my opponet's chips. Another time I had top pair on the flop and two short stacks had gone all in. I called and busted out both of them with their draws. Another time I decided to try and steal with J-2. One of the blinds decided to call me. The flop was rags and we both checked. The turn was a 2 so I decided to throw a small bet out there to see if I could take it and he called. The river was the Jack! Apparently it hit my opponet because he made a pot sized bet. I raised him all in and he called with his J-10. His one pair loses to my two pair and he's gone.
Finally I made it to the final 2 and I had something like a 6-1 chip lead. It was over in about 6 hands and I won $270 in front of my girlfriend. It was nice to show her that I have some skill in this hobby and it's not just "gambling".
In the mean time I have played two 3 table sit-n-go's since and I haven't cashed. One I got beat by trip nines when I had top pair and top kicker. Another was a little interesting. I was on the blind and the button doubled the blind. I reraised all in with KQ, halfway hoping for him to fold. The raise would put my opponet virtually all in. That small of a raise didn't seem to indicate a made hand. There were 6 players left and only 5 make money. The blinds were high and 3 of the players only had 3-4 times the amount of the small and big blinds left so it was becoming a crap shoot. I had started with about 7 times the big blind. This player seemed kind of loose and I figured I need to get a little lucky if he calls and double up to try and win this thing. He took his full time limit and finally called with 2-2. Wow! That seems like a horrible play to me. Of course I don't get any help and I bust out. Oh well just cashing at the lowest amount doesn't mean much to me so I guess I went out with guns blazing.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Please give me some cards!
I played at 3-6 at Gila River last night. One of the worst playing tables I have seen in quite some time. Of the 9 players at the table at 6 had no idea of starting card standards or drawing odds.
Unfortunately the cards were not cooperating. I saw the river once in 3 hours with a busted flush draw. I won exactly 2 pots. My voluntary put money in the pot percentage was probably 15% or lower. My best hand was pocket JJ with 6 other players in a raised pot. The flop had and Ace and a King. See ya!
I even tried to use my really tight image to my advantage. I raised one time with King-10 offsuit early. I got 4 callers! What the f***? After the flop misses me, someone leads out into me and I have to fold. Sure enough one player had Ace King and the other had pocket QQ.
I lost $105 and felt like I never really lost a pot. I just got blinded to death. Ugh!
Unfortunately the cards were not cooperating. I saw the river once in 3 hours with a busted flush draw. I won exactly 2 pots. My voluntary put money in the pot percentage was probably 15% or lower. My best hand was pocket JJ with 6 other players in a raised pot. The flop had and Ace and a King. See ya!
I even tried to use my really tight image to my advantage. I raised one time with King-10 offsuit early. I got 4 callers! What the f***? After the flop misses me, someone leads out into me and I have to fold. Sure enough one player had Ace King and the other had pocket QQ.
I lost $105 and felt like I never really lost a pot. I just got blinded to death. Ugh!
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
More Analysis from Big Tournament
I posted my AK vs. 2 all in hand on 2+2 and it was unanimous that I made the right decision on calling. I went to the Cardplayer.com probability calculator and I discovered that I was a 30-35% favorite to win the hand against the cards my opponets had or even the possible hands I was against. The pot was laying me 2.9 to 1 odds and I was probably 2-1 or better to win the hand. I still hated losing that pot though. Especially to the moron who went in the worst hand. At least comfort me by losing to the pocket Queens. He was smart to move all in.
I wonder if the guy who lost to my one outer, 4 of a kind on the river is still telling his friends that story.
I wonder if the guy who lost to my one outer, 4 of a kind on the river is still telling his friends that story.
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