How to go deep in a tournament with only one double up

I tried another Battle of the Bloggers tourney on Monday night. It was frustrating to say the least. I have copied most of the hands I actually played into this blog to show my strategy throughout the tournament. I appreciate any feedback from my handful of readers.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6038387309: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:01:00 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool (3,000)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (3,000)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (3,000)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,000)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (3,000)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,000)
OMGitsPokerFool posts the small blind of 15
cemfredmd posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Jh 9h]
Joanne1111: hola all
twoblackaces has 15 seconds left to act
twoblackaces folds
twoblackaces: hi folks
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 90
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman has 15 seconds left to act
emptyman is sitting out
emptyman has timed out
emptyman folds
OMGitsPokerFool has 15 seconds left to act
OMGitsPokerFool is sitting out
OMGitsPokerFool has timed out
OMGitsPokerFool folds
cemfredmd folds
Uncalled bet of 60 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (75)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 75 Rake 0
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: cemfredmd (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: twoblackaces didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 collected (75), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman (button) didn't bet (folded)


I like to raise the first hand to set the tone and usually half of the players are not paying attention or know that the tournament has started. Now I am table chip leader 



Full Tilt Poker Game #6038429366: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:04:11 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool (2,985), is sitting out
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,940)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (3,075)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,045)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (3,000)
Seat 6: emptyman (2,955), is sitting out
twoblackaces posts the small blind of 15
Poker_Bully1 posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Ah 8d]
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
OMGitsPokerFool folds
cemfredmd folds
twoblackaces raises to 90
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 300
twoblackaces has 15 seconds left to act
twoblackaces folds
Uncalled bet of 210 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (180)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 180 Rake 0
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (big blind) collected (180), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

It was folded to the small blind and he raised in a steal attempt. I am still trying to establish my image as someone you don’t fuck with, so I reraise in position. Twoblackaces folds and hopefully he will leave my blind alone when it gets bigger.




Full Tilt Poker Game #6038458895: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:06:24 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool (2,985), is sitting out
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,925)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (3,060)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,120)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (3,000)
Seat 6: emptyman (2,910), is sitting out
twoblackaces posts the small blind of 15
Poker_Bully1 posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [2h 3s]
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
OMGitsPokerFool folds
cemfredmd folds
twoblackaces folds
Uncalled bet of 15 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (30)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 30 Rake 0
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (big blind) collected (30), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

One rotation later, twoblackaces gives me a walk in the big blind.



Full Tilt Poker Game #6038467394: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:07:04 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool (2,985), is sitting out
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,970)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (3,045)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,120)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (2,970)
Seat 6: emptyman (2,910), is sitting out
Joanne1111 posts the small blind of 15
emptyman posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [3s Ac]
OMGitsPokerFool folds
cemfredmd folds
twoblackaces folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 90
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
Uncalled bet of 60 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (75)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 75 Rake 0
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: twoblackaces didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (button) collected (75), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: emptyman (big blind) folded before the Flop

I steal on the button.



Full Tilt Poker Game #6038477556: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:07:50 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool (2,955), is sitting out
Seat 2: cemfredmd (3,015)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (3,045)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,165)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (2,955)
Seat 6: emptyman (2,865), is sitting out
OMGitsPokerFool posts the small blind of 15
cemfredmd posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Ah Kh]
twoblackaces folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 90
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
OMGitsPokerFool folds
cemfredmd folds
Uncalled bet of 60 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (75)
OMGitsPokerFool has returned
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 75 Rake 0
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: cemfredmd (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: twoblackaces didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 collected (75), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman (button) didn't bet (folded)

This table seems tight, I get no action with big slick.



Full Tilt Poker Game #6038488156: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:08:38 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool (2,985)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,970)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (3,045)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,180)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (2,955)
Seat 6: emptyman (2,865), is sitting out
Poker_Bully1 posts the small blind of 15
Joanne1111 posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [7s 7d]
emptyman folds
OMGitsPokerFool folds
cemfredmd calls 30
twoblackaces folds
Poker_Bully1 calls 15
Joanne1111 checks
*** FLOP *** [Ah Qd Ad]
Poker_Bully1 checks
Joanne1111 bets 90
cemfredmd calls 90
Poker_Bully1 folds
*** TURN *** [Ah Qd Ad] [Ac]
Joanne1111 checks
cemfredmd checks
*** RIVER *** [Ah Qd Ad Ac] [8c]
Joanne1111 checks
cemfredmd checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Joanne1111 shows [4h Kh] three of a kind, Aces
cemfredmd shows [Ks Ts] three of a kind, Aces
Joanne1111 ties for the pot (135) with three of a kind, Aces
cemfredmd ties for the pot (135) with three of a kind, Aces
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 270 Rake 0
Board: [Ah Qd Ad Ac 8c]
Seat 1: OMGitsPokerFool didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd showed [Ks Ts] and won (135) with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 3: twoblackaces (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (big blind) showed [4h Kh] and won (135) with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

I am set mining with my pocket 7’s in the small blind. The flop looks good as since there are 2 Aces on the board there is less chance that one of them has one. I think about betting the flop, but I wuss out. Since there was a follow up bet and a call, I decide I am hopelessly behind and fold. Bad decision, since I was up against 4hKh and KsTs. I’m sure the 270 was all I could have won, so not a huge mistake.





Full Tilt Poker Game #6038585375: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:15:57 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (3,895)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (3,035)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (1,075)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,190)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (6,855)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,845)
cemfredmd posts the small blind of 20
twoblackaces posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [3d 3h]
Poker_Bully1 raises to 100
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
cemfredmd folds
twoblackaces folds
Uncalled bet of 60 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (100)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 100 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory is sitting out
Seat 2: cemfredmd (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: twoblackaces (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 collected (100), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman (button) didn't bet (folded)

Another example of tight table. I like to raise 2.5x the BB utg since I lose less if I get reraised and have to fold. Plus to a lot of people it looks like a stronger play. They think I am raising small because I have a big pocket pair and want action.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6038589997: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:16:18 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (3,895)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (3,015)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (1,035)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,250)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (6,855)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,845)
twoblackaces posts the small blind of 20
Poker_Bully1 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [6h 6s]
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
hellory raises to 120
cemfredmd folds
twoblackaces folds
Poker_Bully1 calls 80
*** FLOP *** [9s 8c 4c]
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 bets 120
hellory raises to 440
Poker_Bully1 folds
Uncalled bet of 320 returned to hellory
hellory mucks
hellory wins the pot (500)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 500 Rake 0
Board: [9s 8c 4c]
Seat 1: hellory collected (500), mucked
Seat 2: cemfredmd (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

The very next hand I get another pocket pair. Once again I am looking for a set. The flop looks dry, so I decide to lead out and see where I am at. Hellory tells me pretty quick, and I fold.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6038615299: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:18:12 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (4,175)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (3,015)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (1,075)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (2,970)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (6,875)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,785)
hellory posts the small blind of 20
cemfredmd posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [5d 4d]
twoblackaces folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 120
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
Uncalled bet of 80 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (100)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 100 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: cemfredmd (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: twoblackaces didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 collected (100), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman (button) didn't bet (folded)

Another successful steal attempt.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6038706812: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:25:05 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (4,955)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,835)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,020)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (7,470)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,615)
Poker_Bully1 posts the small blind of 25
Joanne1111 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Tc 9h]
emptyman folds
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
Poker_Bully1 calls 25
Joanne1111 checks
*** FLOP *** [Th Js 3d]
Poker_Bully1 bets 75
Joanne1111 folds
Uncalled bet of 75 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (100)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 100 Rake 0
Board: [Th Js 3d]
Seat 1: hellory didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (small blind) collected (100), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

I edited a couple of other hands out, but this is getting ridiculous. There is no action on this table.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6038743994: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:27:53 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (4,605)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (3,110)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (2,970)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (7,520)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,690)
Joanne1111 posts the small blind of 25
emptyman posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [9s 9c]
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 150
Joanne1111 calls 125
emptyman folds
*** FLOP *** [2c 8c 7c]
Joanne1111 checks
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 bets 250
Joanne1111 folds
Uncalled bet of 250 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (350)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 350 Rake 0
Board: [2c 8c 7c]
Seat 1: hellory didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (button) collected (350), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: emptyman (big blind) folded before the Flop

Still no action


Full Tilt Poker Game #6038776590: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:30:19 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (5,055)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,935)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,195)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (7,370)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,340)
Poker_Bully1 posts the small blind of 25
Joanne1111 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Jd 9d]
emptyman folds
hellory has 15 seconds left to act
hellory raises to 150
cemfredmd folds
Poker_Bully1 calls 125
Joanne1111 folds
*** FLOP *** [4c Qc 8s]
Poker_Bully1 checks
hellory bets 200
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 650
hellory folds
Uncalled bet of 450 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (750)
The blinds are now 30/60
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 750 Rake 0
Board: [4c Qc 8s]
Seat 1: hellory folded on the Flop
Seat 2: cemfredmd (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (small blind) collected (750), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

I am in the small blind and hellory has been pretty active preflop. I call hoping to flop something. The flop is very dry and I decide to throw in the check raise with the inside straight draw. What do you know, it worked!


Full Tilt Poker Game #6038876985: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:37:48 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (5,005)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,455)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,723)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,715)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (6,900)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,280)
cemfredmd posts the small blind of 30
pvanharibo posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [8s 8c]
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 150
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman raises to 420
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 folds
Uncalled bet of 270 returned to emptyman
emptyman mucks
emptyman wins the pot (390)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 390 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman collected (390), mucked

I had raised two hands preflop in the previous 10 and won the blinds. Emptyman reraises a little less than 3x my bet. Its 270 to call in a pot of 660 and I am out of position. Emptyman has about 2800 left after his raise. I decide that he doesn’t have enough chips for the implied odds to call. I think it’s raise or fold, so I fold and wait for a better spot. Is this too tight?



Full Tilt Poker Game #6038916651: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:40:44 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (5,335)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,245)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,843)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,445)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (6,810)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,400)
hellory posts the small blind of 30
cemfredmd posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [9h Th]
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 calls 60
Joanne1111 raises to 220
emptyman folds
hellory calls 190
cemfredmd folds
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 calls 160
*** FLOP *** [2d 4h 2h]
hellory checks
Poker_Bully1 checks
Joanne1111 bets 720
hellory has 15 seconds left to act
hellory calls 720
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 calls 720
*** TURN *** [2d 4h 2h] [9d]
hellory checks
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 checks
Joanne1111 bets 5,870, and is all in
hellory calls 4,395, and is all in
Poker_Bully1 folds
Joanne1111 shows [Kd Ks]
hellory shows [4d 4s]
Uncalled bet of 1,475 returned to Joanne1111
*** RIVER *** [2d 4h 2h 9d] [5d]
Joanne1111 shows two pair, Kings and Twos
hellory shows a full house, Fours full of Twos
hellory wins the pot (11,670) with a full house, Fours full of Twos
The blinds are now 40/80
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 11,670 Rake 0
Board: [2d 4h 2h 9d 5d]
Seat 1: hellory (small blind) showed [4d 4s] and won (11,670) with a full house, Fours full of Twos
Seat 2: cemfredmd (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 folded on the Turn
Seat 5: Joanne1111 showed [Kd Ks] and lost with two pair, Kings and Twos
Seat 6: emptyman (button) didn't bet (folded)

I try to limp in with suited connectors and call a raise behind me along with one other player. Since I am in bad position and the pot is already a little big, I check the flop hoping to hit my flush cheaply. Instead there is a pot sized bet and a call. The flop is pretty dry, so I am assuming that one or both players have over pairs and I could win a good amount of money if I hit.

I catch my 9 on the turn, but I am not too excited. I check and all hell breaks loose. It’s an easy fold. Avoided disaster on this hand.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6038969412: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:44:41 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (11,790)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,145)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (6,683)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (2,385)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (1,475)
Seat 6: emptyman (4,600)
emptyman posts the small blind of 40
hellory posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Ks Ad]
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 240
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman calls 200
hellory folds
*** FLOP *** [2h Kc Jc]
emptyman checks
Poker_Bully1 bets 400
emptyman folds
Uncalled bet of 400 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (560)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 560 Rake 0
Board: [2h Kc Jc]
Seat 1: hellory (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: cemfredmd didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: pvanharibo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 collected (560), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman (small blind) folded on the Flop

I get a little action with AK, but not much. I am still below my starting stack.



Full Tilt Poker Game #6039008792: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:47:38 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (11,790)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (1,865)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,203)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (2,705)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (1,395)
Seat 6: emptyman (4,120)
Joanne1111 posts the small blind of 40
emptyman posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Tc 9c]
hellory has 15 seconds left to act
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 240
hellory: ugh. nh
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman calls 160
*** FLOP *** [9s 5c Th]
emptyman checks
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 bets 350
hellory: did you just see my JJ < QJo
emptyman folds
Uncalled bet of 350 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (520)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 520 Rake 0
Board: [9s 5c Th]
Seat 1: hellory didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: pvanharibo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (button) collected (520), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: emptyman (big blind) folded on the Flop

I hit my flop and I guess I bet too much. 520 in the pot and I bet $350 on the flop. Maybe I should be extra tricky and try checking it through? Seems a little risky with the straight draw out there. Hmmm.





Full Tilt Poker Game #6039074699: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:52:30 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (11,760)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (1,825)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,213)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,035)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (1,235)
Seat 6: emptyman (4,010)
Poker_Bully1 posts the small blind of 50
Joanne1111 posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Ah 3c]
emptyman folds
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 300
Joanne1111 raises to 1,235, and is all in
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 folds
Uncalled bet of 935 returned to Joanne1111
Joanne1111 mucks
Joanne1111 wins the pot (600)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 600 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (big blind) collected (600), mucked
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

I had raised a couple of hands and won the blinds in the previous rotation. Joanne1111 seemed to really be nursing her short stack. I was hoping to win her blind and she came over the top. It’s 900 to win 1235 so I don’t think I had the odds to make the crying call.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6039089857: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:53:38 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (11,760)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (1,825)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,563)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (2,735)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (1,485)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,710)
emptyman posts the small blind of 50
hellory posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [3h 3d]
cemfredmd has 15 seconds left to act
cemfredmd calls 100
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 calls 100
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman calls 50
hellory checks
*** FLOP *** [Qs 8s 6d]
emptyman checks
hellory checks
cemfredmd checks
Poker_Bully1 bets 300
Joanne1111 has been disconnected
emptyman folds
Joanne1111 has reconnected
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
Uncalled bet of 300 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (400)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 400 Rake 0
Board: [Qs 8s 6d]
Seat 1: hellory (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: cemfredmd folded on the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 collected (400), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman (small blind) folded on the Flop

I am still waiting to hit my set. Since I was in position I figured a bet would take it down on the flop and I was right.



Full Tilt Poker Game #6039114564: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:55:30 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (11,760)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (1,575)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,463)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,035)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (1,485)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,760)
pvanharibo posts the small blind of 50
Poker_Bully1 posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [5c Ah]
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo raises to 300
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 1,000
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo folds
Uncalled bet of 700 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (600)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 600 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (big blind) collected (600), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

I decide to defend my big blind again, and it works again.



Full Tilt Poker Game #6039185560: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:00:55 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (12,360)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (1,425)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,613)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,135)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (1,085)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,460)
emptyman posts the small blind of 50
hellory posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [8d 8s]
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 300
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman has 15 seconds left to act
emptyman folds
hellory folds
Uncalled bet of 200 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (250)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 250 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: cemfredmd didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: pvanharibo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 collected (250), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman (small blind) folded before the Flop

I have edited a few hands out, but I think this is the 4th time I have picked up this hand. 3 times I win the blinds and one other time, I get reraised and fold preflop.

On a side note, while reviewing this hand history I am noticing that hellory was raising a ton preflop and seemed to be playing quite well.



Full Tilt Poker Game #6039264618: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:06:57 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (12,380)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (1,305)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,613)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,285)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (1,085)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,410)
cemfredmd posts the small blind of 60
pvanharibo posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [5s 6s]
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 300
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo raises to 960
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 folds
Uncalled bet of 660 returned to pvanharibo
pvanharibo mucks
pvanharibo wins the pot (660)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 660 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo (big blind) collected (660), mucked
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

I get caught trying to be a little tricky. Instead of chasing my hand out of position, I decide to fold and wait for a better spot. I am still at my starting stack level.



Full Tilt Poker Game #6039298310: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:09:34 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (12,350)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (1,245)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,973)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (2,805)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (1,115)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,590)
pvanharibo posts the small blind of 60
Poker_Bully1 posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [5s As]
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
hellory raises to 360
cemfredmd has 15 seconds left to act
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 folds
Uncalled bet of 240 returned to hellory
hellory mucks
hellory wins the pot (300)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 300 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory collected (300), mucked
Seat 2: cemfredmd (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

This was probably an opportunity to move all in and resteal. I missed it. Probably because “How I Met Your Mother” was on TV and I was laughing my ass off.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6039305865: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:10:09 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (12,530)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (1,245)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,913)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (2,685)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (1,115)
Seat 6: emptyman (3,590)
Poker_Bully1 posts the small blind of 60
Joanne1111 posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Qc Qh]
emptyman has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo has been disconnected
emptyman folds
hellory folds
pvanharibo has reconnected
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 360
Joanne1111 folds
Uncalled bet of 240 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (240)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 240 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (small blind) collected (240), mucked
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

I really need to get action on these hands if I am going to have any chance of winning this tournament.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6039365344: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:14:44 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (11,810)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (3,390)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (7,733)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,045)
Seat 5: Joanne1111 (755)
Seat 6: emptyman (2,345)
hellory posts the small blind of 60
cemfredmd posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [6s 6d]
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 360
Joanne1111 folds
emptyman folds
hellory raises to 1,200
cemfredmd folds
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 folds
Uncalled bet of 840 returned to hellory
hellory mucks
hellory wins the pot (840)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 840 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (small blind) collected (840), mucked
Seat 2: cemfredmd (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: emptyman (button) didn't bet (folded)

Good old hellory is pushing around the table. Should I have pushed all in? I have no fold equity on the reraise. I am not ready to race for my stack yet.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6039411545: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:18:19 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (12,050)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (3,130)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (9,048)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (2,505)
Seat 6: emptyman (2,345)
pvanharibo posts the small blind of 80
Poker_Bully1 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Ac Jh]
emptyman folds
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo raises to 480
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 2,505, and is all in
pvanharibo calls 2,025
Poker_Bully1 shows [Ac Jh]
pvanharibo shows [4s 4d]
*** FLOP *** [6h Jc 7h]
*** TURN *** [6h Jc 7h] [Tc]
*** RIVER *** [6h Jc 7h Tc] [9s]
Poker_Bully1 shows a pair of Jacks
pvanharibo shows a pair of Fours
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (5,010) with a pair of Jacks
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5,010 Rake 0
Board: [6h Jc 7h Tc 9s]
Seat 1: hellory didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (small blind) showed [4s 4d] and lost with a pair of Fours
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (big blind) showed [Ac Jh] and won (5,010) with a pair of Jacks
Seat 6: emptyman didn't bet (folded)

I defend my blind again. I would not have put pocket 4’s in pvanharibo’s calling range, but oh well. I get a little lucky and finally have a little breathing room and I am above my starting stack.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6039442232: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:20:41 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (12,050)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,890)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (6,543)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (4,770)
Seat 6: emptyman (2,825)
Poker_Bully1 posts the small blind of 80
emptyman posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [9h Jh]
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 calls 80
emptyman checks
*** FLOP *** [3h 4h 2s]
Poker_Bully1 checks
emptyman bets 320
Poker_Bully1 calls 320
*** TURN *** [3h 4h 2s] [Jd]
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 bets 350
emptyman has 15 seconds left to act
emptyman has requested TIME
emptyman folds
Uncalled bet of 350 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (960)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 960 Rake 0
Board: [3h 4h 2s Jd]
Seat 1: hellory didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (small blind) collected (960), mucked
Seat 6: emptyman (big blind) folded on the Turn

I limp in the small blind with a decent hand. Usually I would raise, but I wanted to see a flop, since I had seen so few in this tournament. It looks good since I picked up the flush and overcards. Emptyman could have anything when he bets that flop, so I call. I hit the Jack and now I am ready to get my whole stack in if necessary. I lead out trying to build the pot. Emptyman folds.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6039489037: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:24:16 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (12,050)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,730)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (9,288)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (5,010)
Seat 5: willwonka (4,155)
cemfredmd posts the small blind of 80
pvanharibo posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Jd As]
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 480
willwonka has 15 seconds left to act
willwonka folds
hellory folds
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo folds
Uncalled bet of 320 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (400)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 400 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 collected (400), mucked
Seat 5: willwonka didn't bet (folded)


Ace Jack is very good to me this tournament.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6039540710: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 100/200 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:28:15 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (12,410)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (3,000)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (9,548)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (4,710)
Seat 5: willwonka (3,565)
willwonka posts the small blind of 100
hellory posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [6h 6s]
cemfredmd folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 600
Evy35 sits down
Evy35 adds 3,870
willwonka has 15 seconds left to act
Evy35: hello
willwonka folds
hellory folds
Uncalled bet of 400 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (500)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 500 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: cemfredmd didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: pvanharibo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (button) collected (500), mucked
Seat 5: willwonka (small blind) folded before the Flop

No action again.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6039569161: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 100/200 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:30:29 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (12,410)
Seat 2: cemfredmd (2,700)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (8,548)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (4,710)
Seat 5: willwonka (3,265)
Seat 6: Evy35 (5,470)
willwonka posts the small blind of 100
Evy35 posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Ad Qh]
hellory folds
cemfredmd raises to 2,700, and is all in
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 folds
willwonka folds
Evy35 folds
Uncalled bet of 2,500 returned to cemfredmd
cemfredmd mucks
cemfredmd wins the pot (500)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 500 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: cemfredmd collected (500), mucked
Seat 3: pvanharibo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: willwonka (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: Evy35 (big blind) folded before the Flop

Cembredmd pushes 13x the big blind in early position. I had not seen him get out of line yet and he had not been raising too many hands preflop. I decide to let AQ go.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6039676261: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:39:00 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (14,950)
Seat 2: ScottMc (6,855)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (11,573)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (4,975)
Seat 5: willwonka (3,065)
hellory antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Poker_Bully1 antes 25
willwonka antes 25
pvanharibo: evy
Poker_Bully1 posts the small blind of 120
willwonka posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Jc Kh]
hellory folds
ScottMc folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 700
willwonka folds
Uncalled bet of 460 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (605)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 605 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory folded before the Flop
Seat 2: ScottMc folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (small blind) collected (605), mucked
Seat 5: willwonka (big blind) folded before the Flop

I hate KJo but I have to raise it if it’s folded to me in the small blind. No action is good here.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6039691327: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:40:12 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (15,000)
Seat 2: ScottMc (6,030)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (11,498)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (5,265)
Seat 5: willwonka (3,625)
hellory antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Poker_Bully1 antes 25
willwonka antes 25
ScottMc posts the small blind of 120
pvanharibo posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [As Jc]
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 raises to 700
willwonka folds
hellory folds
ScottMc folds
pvanharibo has 15 seconds left to act
pvanharibo raises to 2,222
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 folds
Uncalled bet of 1,522 returned to pvanharibo
pvanharibo mucks
pvanharibo wins the pot (1,645)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,645 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: ScottMc (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo (big blind) collected (1,645), mucked
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 folded before the Flop
Seat 5: willwonka folded before the Flop

Probably not the best time to raise AJ under the gun. Folded before I make a bigger mistake.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6039700333: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:40:56 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (14,975)
Seat 2: ScottMc (5,885)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (12,418)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (4,540)
Seat 5: willwonka (3,600)
hellory antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Poker_Bully1 antes 25
willwonka antes 25
pvanharibo posts the small blind of 120
Poker_Bully1 posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Jh Ac]
willwonka folds
riggstad (Observer): should've stayed on the PLO tables Scott
hellory raises to 560
ScottMc folds
pvanharibo folds
ScottMc: you bust it up?
Poker_Bully1 calls 320
*** FLOP *** [3d Qd 9h]
Poker_Bully1 checks
hellory bets 720
riggstad (Observer): well that and this friggin tourny blows
Poker_Bully1 folds
Uncalled bet of 720 returned to hellory
hellory mucks
hellory wins the pot (1,365)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,365 Rake 0
Board: [3d Qd 9h]
Seat 1: hellory collected (1,365), mucked
Seat 2: ScottMc (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: willwonka folded before the Flop

OK now I am playing like a pussy. The min raise to 560 concerned me, since he had been raising to 3x the blind all the other hundred times hellory raised. I just call and fold the inside straight draw to his continuation bet.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6039723519: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:42:46 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (15,465)
Seat 2: ScottMc (4,320)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (12,708)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,785)
Seat 5: willwonka (5,140)
hellory antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Poker_Bully1 antes 25
willwonka antes 25
hellory posts the small blind of 120
ScottMc posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [As Qc]
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 700
willwonka folds
hellory folds
ScottMc folds
Uncalled bet of 460 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (725)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 725 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: ScottMc (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 collected (725), mucked
Seat 5: willwonka (button) folded before the Flop

Raise and everyone folds again, sigh.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6039735967: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:43:46 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (15,270)
Seat 2: ScottMc (3,885)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (12,758)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (3,955)
Seat 5: willwonka (5,550)
hellory antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Poker_Bully1 antes 25
willwonka antes 25
Poker_Bully1 posts the small blind of 120
willwonka posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [9s 5s]
hellory folds
ScottMc folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 750
willwonka folds
Uncalled bet of 510 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (605)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 605 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory folded before the Flop
Seat 2: ScottMc folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (small blind) collected (605), mucked
Seat 5: willwonka (big blind) folded before the Flop

Folded to me in small blind and I steal.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6039742924: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:44:19 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (15,465)
Seat 2: ScottMc (3,835)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (12,708)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (4,270)
Seat 5: willwonka (5,140)
hellory antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Poker_Bully1 antes 25
willwonka antes 25
hellory posts the small blind of 120
ScottMc posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [As Qh]
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 750
willwonka folds
hellory folds
ScottMc folds
Uncalled bet of 510 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (725)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 725 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: ScottMc (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 collected (725), mucked
Seat 5: willwonka (button) folded before the Flop

Two hands later and I raise again with no callers.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6039777850: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:47:06 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (15,730)
Seat 2: ScottMc (4,920)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (12,308)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (4,205)
Seat 5: willwonka (4,255)
hellory antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Poker_Bully1 antes 25
willwonka antes 25
willwonka posts the small blind of 150
hellory posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [5c Ad]
ScottMc folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 900
willwonka folds
hellory folds
Uncalled bet of 600 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (875)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 875 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: ScottMc folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (button) collected (875), mucked
Seat 5: willwonka (small blind) folded before the Flop

Another steal on the button. Someone will play with me eventually right?


Full Tilt Poker Game #6039805183: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:49:19 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (15,155)
Seat 2: ScottMc (5,495)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (12,308)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (4,205)
Seat 5: willwonka (4,255)
hellory antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Poker_Bully1 antes 25
willwonka antes 25
willwonka posts the small blind of 150
hellory posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [6c 4c]
ScottMc folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 calls 300
willwonka calls 150
hellory checks
*** FLOP *** [9s Kc 3d]
willwonka checks
hellory checks
Poker_Bully1 checks
*** TURN *** [9s Kc 3d] [Ad]
willwonka checks
hellory checks
Poker_Bully1 has 15 seconds left to act
Poker_Bully1 bets 500
Loretta8 sits down
Loretta8 adds 13,865
willwonka raises to 3,930, and is all in
hellory folds
Poker_Bully1 folds
Uncalled bet of 3,430 returned to willwonka
willwonka mucks
willwonka wins the pot (2,025)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,025 Rake 0
Board: [9s Kc 3d Ad]
Seat 1: hellory (big blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 2: ScottMc folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (button) folded on the Turn
Seat 5: willwonka (small blind) collected (2,025), mucked

I decide to limp on the button, first in the pot because I want to see a flop. The flop is no good. The turn is an Ace and everyone checks to me for the second time. This looks like an orphaned pot so I bet. Willwonka immediately check raises me all in. I have no idea what he had, but I’m sure it was better than 6 high.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6039859039: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:53:44 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (18,330)
Seat 2: ScottMc (5,545)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (11,158)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (2,405)
Seat 5: willwonka (5,380)
Seat 6: Loretta8 (12,465)
hellory antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Poker_Bully1 antes 25
willwonka antes 25
Loretta8 antes 25
Poker_Bully1 posts the small blind of 150
willwonka posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [4c 3c]
Loretta8 folds
hellory folds
ScottMc folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 2,380, and is all in
willwonka has 15 seconds left to act
willwonka folds
Uncalled bet of 2,080 returned to Poker_Bully1
Poker_Bully1 mucks
Poker_Bully1 wins the pot (750)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 750 Rake 0
Seat 1: hellory folded before the Flop
Seat 2: ScottMc folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (small blind) collected (750), mucked
Seat 5: willwonka (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: Loretta8 folded before the Flop

I am now below ten big blinds. Hellory has been raising half of the hands every orbit and no one is putting up a fight. I can’t wait until I get blinded down to 5-6 BB because I lose the ability to reraise one of hellory’s raises. It’s folded to me in the small blind and I push and pray.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6039865213: Mondays at the Hoy (45101284), Table 9 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:54:14 ET - 2008/04/14
Seat 1: hellory (18,305)
Seat 2: ScottMc (5,520)
Seat 3: pvanharibo (11,133)
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (2,830)
Seat 5: willwonka (5,055)
Seat 6: Loretta8 (12,440)
hellory antes 25
ScottMc antes 25
pvanharibo antes 25
Poker_Bully1 antes 25
willwonka antes 25
Loretta8 antes 25
willwonka posts the small blind of 150
Loretta8 posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Bully1 [Kh Ks]
hellory folds
ScottMc folds
pvanharibo folds
Poker_Bully1 raises to 2,805, and is all in
willwonka raises to 5,030, and is all in
Loretta8 folds
willwonka shows [Tc Ac]
Poker_Bully1 shows [Kh Ks]
Uncalled bet of 2,225 returned to willwonka
*** FLOP *** [9c 2h Ad]
*** TURN *** [9c 2h Ad] [9h]
*** RIVER *** [9c 2h Ad 9h] [Ts]
willwonka shows two pair, Aces and Tens
Poker_Bully1 shows two pair, Kings and Nines
willwonka wins the pot (6,060) with two pair, Aces and Tens
Poker_Bully1 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,060 Rake 0
Board: [9c 2h Ad 9h Ts]
Seat 1: hellory folded before the Flop
Seat 2: ScottMc folded before the Flop
Seat 3: pvanharibo folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Poker_Bully1 (button) showed [Kh Ks] and lost with two pair, Kings and Nines
Seat 5: willwonka (small blind) showed [Tc Ac] and won (6,060) with two pair, Aces and Tens
Seat 6: Loretta8 (big blind) folded before the Flop

My plan is working out perfectly. I pick up KK on the button and it’s folded to me again. I push again and they will think I am getting desperate. I get the loose call with ATs and the bastard sucks out on me. That would have put me back at 20 BB with 18 players left. Top 8 get paid.

This seemed to be one of those tournaments where my bad luck was that no one picked up a second best hand against me where I could make a lot of money. All I did was double up once and win a bunch of small pots to stay even.

There are still fish in the sea

This moron had pushed all in preflop a couple of times in the 10-15 hands I had been at the table already. Luckily I picked up Aces at the right time. Instead of isolating, I figured I might throw a little chum in the water and see if someone wanted to try and push me out of the hand.

What do you know? Sometimes a plan works perfectly.

Charity Poker and 5-150 at Casino AZ

My friend Jeff held another charity poker tournament called Aces and Bases last night. The entry fee to this one was a little more reasonable than his Super Bowl week party as this one was only $125. I tried to have my friends over for a tournament at my house, but I could only get 3 other guys. So I canceled my party and played in Jeff''s event instead.

Jeff had been messaging and calling me, trying to get me to play. He had a tough time rounding up a lot of players and offered to put me at the same table as Kim, who won the Super Bowl tournament. Kim is a very attractive woman, who does title work. I know her through Bill and Rob and amazingly she has won two of the charity tournaments that Jeff has put together.

When Kim won the Super Bowl poker tournament, she won a $10,000 seat in the World Series of Poker. I offered to buy it from her for $8,000, but she has not figured out a way to sell it yet. After watching her play, she better find a way, or that money is as good as gone.

Kim relies on a lot of luck to get by in these tournaments. She plays a very typical charity tournament type of game. Call with any 2 cards before the flop. If you hit something and the bets are not big, then call it down to the end. If you miss, but have over cards, call it down until you hit something.

I was two seats to her left and it was a weird coincidence that the few times I picked up hands, I was under the gun plus 1 which put the big blind on Kim. I bluffed her out of one pot with As6s when the flop came 3s-4s-5c. I pushed all in for a little more than the pot and got the guy on my left to fold a weak five and Kim to fold as well.

I busted Kim for the first time, when I picked up pocket Jacks on my big blind. A couple guys limped as did Kim, I pushed all in. One guy called with Ace-King and Kim called with pocket 3's. Somehow my hand held up and tripled up.

A short time later, Reggie Sanders, the ex Diamondback baseball player, was moved to our table. He barely had enough to pay the blind. He was in the small blind and I was the big blind. Everyone folded to Reggie who was all in. I got a slight refund on my Big Blind and turned over Qc3c. Reggie had A-3. I hit my flush on the river to bust him.

Overall there were 50-60 players at the start. I busted out in 12th place when my AhTh got beat by K-9 when a nine spiked on the river. I'm not sure how I lasted this long with the blinds doubling every 15 minutes for the first 4 levels and every 10 minutes after that.

I'm pretty sure I am done playing in charity tournaments. I know that I should not take the poker so seriously, but I'm not wired that way. It annoys me when I see players not follow the buy in rules. Many players at my table were allowed to rebuy after the deadline had passed. And not only were they allowed to rebuy, but they finagled a way to buy 2 to 3 times the original starting stack. Theoretically I could have rebought for $5 twenty times until I was one of the last remaining four players and won a prize. This drives me up the wall.

After my exit, I decided to hit Casino Arizona. On the way there, I decided to take another shot at the 5-150 game since it was a Saturday night and I might run into a few donkeys at my table. The stakes of this game are larger than I should be playing with my bankroll rules, but I felt like taking a stab at it.

When I arrived the entire parking lot was full and I had to park in an auxiliary lot down the road. The poker room was packed with lists running for every game. The poker boom is not showing any signs of slowing down here in Arizona. Luckily the list was not too long for 5-150 since they had about 10 tables of it running.

I decided to buy in for $300 and that was my loss limit. One bullet only. I came in at utg + 1 and folded my first hand. My second hand utg was AdKd. I did not even have my chips yet from the runner. I signaled to the dealer that my bet was $25. A young blond haired kid who had just lost the last hand when the drunk on my left hit his flush with Qc3c, called my bet. Everyone else folded. The flop was a beautiful 7d-Qd-8d. Yahtzee!!!

I bet $30 to build a bigger pot, hoping he had at least flopped a pair. He called. The turn was a blank. I go for my Academy Award and act weak. I sigh and check. Now it looks like I am on the draw and since he just got beat by the flush on the last hand, he is sure to make me pay to draw on this one. He bets $65 and I think for a little bit then call.

The river is the 10 of diamonds. Not exactly the card I want since it will probably kill my action. I decide not to risk him checking through, so I bet $75. He whines and moans as he throws away his pocket 10's. Even with that card to give him trips, I think he was too gun shy to fire a bet on the river into a board with 4 diamonds.

I am off and running with a $125 profit on my second hand. I fold for the next 20 minutes when I pick up two black Queens in the cutoff. I open raise to $25 and the drunk on my left (the Qc3c guy from earlier) calls. The flop is Kc-Qh-9c.

Since "Shrek" on my left has been calling big bets a lot, I decide that I need to be ready to put everything in on this hand. I bet $40 and he raises me the $150 max. That only leaves him with $35 and it's $190 to call. I immediately reraise all in, hoping that he did not luck into a straight. Shrek calls and tables A-K. The turn and river do not give Shrek any hope and I win another huge pot!

I won two other small pots and called it a night after two hours of playing. My net profit was $407. Definitely one of my better nights in that casino and it has been long over due. The poker bankroll is over $2,200 now and climbing steadily.

Proper Bluffing Frequency

I suddenly had a thought while playing No Limit online a few days ago. Is it worth it to run naked bluffs when playing low limits?



I don't do it very often. I make frequent semi bluffs with straight and flush draws, but rarely do I raise someone with air.



You bluff for two reasons. 1) To win the pot and 2) To build a bluffing image so you get paid off with your good hands.

I was playing a weird session where every bluff I ran was called or raised. I would lose a little here and there until half my buy in was gone. Then I would pick up Aces or Kings and manage to get it all in preflop or on the flop and double back up to even. It was hard to tell if I was getting the action because of my bluffing, but that is what it felt like.

The problem with bluffing online is that the only one who notices that you bluffed is the player who is in the pot with you. Even then, they may not see the hand if you are set up on auto muck. They have to go through the effort of looking up the hand history. The other players at the table probably are not even paying attention. They either have 4 other tables open or they are watching internet porn in another window.

I think once you get to the higher limits, you run into the same players more often and it may make sense from a meta strategy sense. At the limits I play at, I'm lucky if I run into a player I have notes on, once every three or four sessions.

My favorite move is when some donkey runs a crazy bluff at the table and loses all their money. Then instead of reloading and using their well established goof ball image against us, they run away from the table like a dog that just got caught shitting on the rug. It makes absolutely no sense.

Jake is Walking, Weird Tournament

Here is a video I made of my son learning to walk.




I played in the Mookie as part of the BBT3. It was strange in that for the first 10 levels I only saw the river once and that was a small blind vs big blind where I called a flop bet and checked it down.

Other than that hand, everyone folded to me preflop or after a continuation bet on the flop. It was a slow and steady climb in chips, but it's never fast enough to keep up with the blinds unless you double up a couple of times.

I finished 20th out of 105 which was two from the money. No money but I think I got a couple of points for the leaderboard. If I had just won a couple of races with Ace-King I might have done something really good.

Live Blogging the "Big Game"

Tonight is the first in the BBT series where Full Tilt is giving away some World Series of Poker seats to the Tournament of Champions winners. The only way you get into the TOC is to win one of the Blogger Series of Tournaments.

I spent $25 of my last $32 on Full Tilt to satellite into the $75 Big Game. The $75 token 2 table satellite paid 6 places and 7th would receive $54. I must say it was some of the worst bubble play in a satellite that I have ever seen. I saw two different guys with 20 BB stacks go all in with flush draws on the bubble. Idiots!

Tonight I will try to live blog my tournament and see if anything interesting comes of it.

Opening table starting to my left: Dr.Pauly, weak_player, garthmeister, Maudie, LAprivileges, Schaubs, scurvydog.

I start with $5,000 in chips and the blinds are 15-30 and go up every ten minutes. 105 players to start. First place is $1,956.

JJ and I raise to 90. Everyone folds.

AhKc in BB. LAprivileges limps on cutoff and scurvy dog limps in sb. I raise to 120. Both call. Flop is A-K-J with two diamonds. I bet 360 and they both fold.

I always wonder in these tournaments if I need to be more tricky because the bloggers supposedly know poker. I guess we'll find out.

Blinds 20-40. LAprivileges raises to 140 utg, gets called by Schaubs. I fold ATo.

KcJh in BB. weak_player raises to 120, garthmeister reraises to 400. Everyone folds including me.

Blinds 25-50

AsAd on button. LAprivileges limps first in, I raise to 150 on button. Blinds fold, it's heads up. Flop is 2-2-9 with two spades. I'm pretty sure that missed LA so I only bet 250 into 325 pot. He folds. I think it's right to bet here. If he has a pair that he was trying to slow play before the flop, I may get all his chips if he is incapable of folding an over pair. Plus there was a flush draw possible. Can't let'em draw for free.

Garthmeister is early chip leader at table with 7400 in chips. Claims are made that deck is hitting him hard. I don't know, I can't think of a single hand that has been played to river yet.

Dr. Pauly drops the hammer from the big blind. First hand anyone has shown.

The scurvy dog raises first in. I call with KhQh in cutoff. Everyone else folds. Flop is Qd5c6d. scurvy bets pot of 425 and I call with top pair. Turn is another club and he bets pot again. I min raise and he calls. River is 4 of diamonds putting one card to straight out there. He checks and I check behind. He shows Ac8c and I rake in a monster.

Two hands later I pick up Aces again and raise to 150. I get called by Pauly and garthmeister. The flop is As-Jh-7c. I bet and everyone folds. Damn! I am up to 8800. I am chip leader for the entire tournament, even ahead of professional player, Scott Fischman.

Blinds up to 30-60.

AhKd and I raise to 180. Garthmesiter calls in cutoff. Flop is 3-4-5 with two diamonds. I check. Garth bets 300 and I call. Turn is 8d. I bet 500 and Garthmeister folds. Stack up to 9420.

Blinds 40-80.

5c4c and I decide to get frisky. I raise first in to 240. Maudie calls in BB. Flop 4-7-3 two spades. I cont bet and she folds.



Next hand is KJo. I raise and everyone folds.



QQ under the gun. I limp and LA privileges limps on button. Both blinds call.

Flop is Js6s9d. Schaubs leads out from the small blind for 320. I call. Turn is another Jack. Schaubs bets 720 and I min raise to 1440. He calls. River pairs the 6. He checks and I check behind to see his J-8. Stupid fucking move on my part limping with the Queens.



I call Schaubs raise in cutoff with Ad8d. Fold to his cont bet on flop.



Blinds 50-100 now and I have 7,660 in chips.



JhJs utg plus one. I raise to 300 and get called by garth and Maudie. Flop is AcTh3c. I continuation bet for 500 and get called twice. I'm done with hand. Turn is a club. I check and they check behind. River is 4th club. I decide to take a stab at it for 1000. garthmeister raises to 3000 and I fold quickly.



Down to 5,860. I've fucked up some good hands. Time to lock it down for a little while.



J9o on button. I limp behind LAprivileges. Flop misses and LA bets, I fold.



ATo late position. I raise and win the blinds.



The first break and there are 96 players remaining out of 105. Chip leader is currently Columbo with 24,980. I have 5760 which is just above the average.



Blinds are now 60-120.

KhQs early and I raise to 360. Garth calls. Flop is 2-9-7 rainbow. Turn is Qh. I bet 1500 and garth requests time and then folds. I am up to 6900. He claims to have hit the flop of 2-9-7 rainbow. So that means he will call raises with low suited connectors preflop. But they just moved him to another table so I guess I'll file that away for later.



KsQs utg plus one. I raise to 360. Everyone folds to blinds who both call. Flop is 2dAc3h. Checked to me. I check behind. Turn is 8c. They both check again and I bet 500 to try and take down orphan pot. It works and they both fold. I am up to 7,320.



Blinds 80-160.

I am moved to new table. Starting to my left: Bone_Daddy84, cmitch, RNallin, on_thg, a104l9, Roberto55, garthmeister, and wwonka69.



First hand at new table I get KsKc. I raise to 480 and get no callers. I have 7,560 and am 4th in chips at my table. I have position on wwonka69 and garth but Bone_Daddy is on my left.



I thought Garthmeister was going to double up with a set of 8's versus top pair, Jack kicker by Roberto, but Roberto hit runner, runner for a straight to take Garth down to 4500. Roberto now has 11,500.



Blinds 100-200.

Pocket 5's in BB. Early position raise by cmitch to 500. I call. Flop is 4h3cJd. I think about leading out, but chicken out. cmitch bets 700 and I fold.



6860 in chips now.



Blinds 120-240 ante 25. Garthmeister was moved from our table again. No replacement.



Shabazz Jenkins has joined us two to my right with 9100 in chips.



8hTh on button. I raise to 700 and steal blinds.



Blinds 150-300 25 ante.

KQo in middle position. I raise to 900 and win blinds and antes.

I have had this hand a ton tonight. 7,340 in chips.



Table seems pretty tight. I try raising KhJd utg to 750. I get called by on_thg. He calls 1/4 of his stack so it smells like a trap. However I flop a King and go all in hoping it's not AA or KK. He takes forever and finally calls with QQ. I win the pot and am now up to 11,335.



Remember now the table has seen me raise utg with KJo.



New player is corron10 with 4938 in chips.



AdJc in cutoff. Roberto raises to 900. I call. Flop misses and I fold to his c-bet. I thought about reraising preflop, but seems a little crazy.



pvanharibo has joined the table with 6,334 in chips.



Js9h in middle I raise trying to steal blinds. It works.



200-400 with 50 ante.

10,935 in chips.



AcQd on button. pvanharibo raises to 1150 and has 4484 behind. I raise all in. He turns over AhKh and it holds up. Down to 4,501. Some song on my Itunes called "Cry Out To Jesus" is playing while this hand goes on. Since I am athiest, I don't suck out. I delete the song, I don't know how it got my computer.



JL514 joines our table with 10,775 in chips. My chips that I lost to pvanharibo go to RNallin when she sucks out with 9To vs Ace Jack and she hits three tens after an Ace flops.



Going to second break and I am blinded down to 3,551. Next level will be 250-500 with 50 ante. It's all in or fold time.



First hand back I have 10c7c in cutoff. cmitch is on button with 12,185, then RNallin has 5,000 and corron10 has 3600. This seems like a good spot, since 2 of 3 will risk their tournament life to call. I ship and RNallin wakes up with AK and IGHN. 59TH Place.

I Think I Am Improving

One of the things I have always struggled with in No Limit Hold’em is getting married to top pair or overpairs. I’m sure it comes from my initial training in Limit Hold’em. Top pair in limit will win a high percentage of the time and even if it doesn’t, you usually have the odds to call down to the river.

In No Limit, top pair or an over pair is a medium strength hand. Top pair is good for a small pot. A big pair is great preflop, but gets really tricky the longer the hand lasts.

I have lost many buy ins running top pair into two pair, or more commonly a set. Here is one hand that I felt I lost the minimum and was actually proud of the way I played it.

POKERSTARS GAME #15532662163: HOLD'EM NO LIMIT ($0.50/$1.00) - 2008/02/24 - 22:52:54 (ET)
Table 'Agamemnon IV' 6-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: larryvq ($52.50 in chips)
Seat 2: DrunkenSeouL ($97.80 in chips)
Seat 3: stak1 ($129.50 in chips)
Seat 4: zwieback86 ($98.50 in chips)
Seat 5: limoni ($109.50 in chips)
Seat 6: maxthedog425 ($83.35 in chips)
maxthedog425: posts small blind $0.50
larryvq: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to larryvq [Ah Ac]
DrunkenSeouL: folds
stak1: folds
zwieback86: folds
limoni: folds
maxthedog425: raises $1 to $2
larryvq: raises $6 to $8
maxthedog425: calls $6

I am short stacking here and maxthedog425 has me covered by a little bit. The min raise from the small blind could mean a lot of things. I raise a good amount and he calls. The call tells me he has a high pair. Obviously it’s probably not Aces. Kings would probably push all in. I’m thinking TT, JJ, or QQ. Maybe AK or AQ.
*** FLOP *** [6h 2c Ks]
maxthedog425: checks
larryvq: bets $8
maxthedog425: calls $8

Good flop. No real draw possibilities. I make a continuation bet of ½ the pot. Usually I may bet a little more if there are draws present, but I want to make sure I get a call from AK, QQ, and JJ. He calls so my plan seems to be working
*** TURN *** [6h 2c Ks] [Qs]
maxthedog425: checks
larryvq: checks

The Queen scares me. I actually do think he might have hit a set here. I only have $36 left in my stack. The pot is $32. Now is the time to keep the pot small. I check behind and maybe call a bet on the river.
*** RIVER *** [6h 2c Ks Qs] [Jd]

maxthedog425: bets $11
larryvq: calls $11

The Jack is not a good card either. Maxthedog makes a value bet of $11. I figure there is a chance that he has Ace-King so I make the crying call.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
maxthedog425: shows [Qh Qc] (three of a kind, Queens)
larryvq: mucks hand
maxthedog425 collected $51.40 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $54 Rake $2.60
Board [6h 2c Ks Qs Jd]
Seat 1: larryvq (big blind) mucked [Ah Ac]
Seat 2: DrunkenSeouL folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: stak1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: zwieback86 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: limoni (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: maxthedog425 (small blind) showed [Qh Qc] and won ($51.40) with three of a kind, Queens

I only lost $27 of my original $52 stack with Aces. It’s rare that I am happy after my opponent sucks out on me, but this was one such occasion.


Here was a hand I misplayed last night that actually worked out in my favor.

POKERSTARS GAME #15581155951: HOLD'EM NO LIMIT ($0.50/$1.00) - 2008/02/26 - 23:46:01 (ET)
Table 'Umbriel' 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: larryvq ($73.95 in chips)
Seat 2: luckywinz ($121.35 in chips)
Seat 3: MTHawghunter ($176.10 in chips)
Seat 4: foxhoundzr2 ($100.90 in chips)
Seat 5: desertfox18 ($53.30 in chips)
Seat 6: cdhtrout ($43 in chips)
desertfox18: posts small blind $0.50
cdhtrout: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to larryvq [Ah Qs]
larryvq: raises $2 to $3
luckywinz: folds
MTHawghunter: folds
foxhoundzr2: calls $3
desertfox18: folds
cdhtrout: folds

I like to raise 3x the BB under the gun and 4x the BB everywhere else. The main reason for the small raise is that I put a little less money in the pot when I am out of position. Plus the smaller raise makes people more suspicious that I have a really big hand. I use this to my advantage a lot because I often mix in a medium suited connector in my raise range and I swear it feels like everyone folds to my raise 70% of the time.
*** FLOP *** [8c 6h Qh]
larryvq: bets $6
foxhoundzr2: calls $6

I hit my pair, but I am out of position and there are draws on the board. I have the Ace of hearts so I do have a backdoor flush draw. I would like the hand to be over now, so I bet the pot. Foxhoundzr2 makes the call. He could have a weaker Queen, or some kind of flush draw, maybe a set and waiting for the turn to pounce. The straight draw seems less likely since the “books” don’t recommend calling under the gun raises with 7-9.

*** TURN *** [8c 6h Qh] [9s]
larryvq: checks
foxhoundzr2: bets $13
larryvq: calls $13

I have a brain fart here. My mind says keep the pot small and I instinctively check. After I hit the button, I curse myself because checking is the play I am supposed to make if I have position. Similar to how I played the Aces hand listed above. This time I just gave up control of the pot. The $13 bet into an $18 pot seems strong and concerns me. I should have led into the pot again for about $10. Then if I get raised, I know I should probably let the hand go.

*** RIVER *** [8c 6h Qh 9s] [7h]

What an ugly card! Now the flush and the straight have made it. Or is it ugly? I really want to see what this guy has. I decide to bring out the $15 blocking bet into a $44 pot. I formalize the thought to myself a split second after I bet when I notice that even if foxhoundsr2 has a set, this may be a tough call. I played this like I had Ace-King of hearts and the small bet looks like I want a call.
larryvq: bets $15
MTHawghunter said, "one has a flush one had a 10"
foxhoundzr2: folds
larryvq collected $43.30 from pot
larryvq: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $45.50 Rake $2.20
Board [8c 6h Qh 9s 7h]
Seat 1: larryvq collected ($43.30)
Seat 2: luckywinz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: MTHawghunter folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: foxhoundzr2 (button) folded on the River
Seat 5: desertfox18 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: cdhtrout (big blind) folded before Flop

Foxhoundzr2 took the full time allotted before folding. Maybe he folded a set? More likely it was something like KQ.

Big Tournament Score at Casino Arizona

It is Presidents's day today and a holiday for me so I decided to spend my day off playing poker. After a tough tennis workout in the morning, I cruised over to the casino by 8:00 AM.

During the graveyard shifts they run the Aces Cracked Win A Rack promotion until 9:00 AM. Luckily my Aces were cracked by Jack-3 offsuit when he rivered a 3 to make two pair. That was good for a quick $100.

I folded away about $50 and bought into the 11:15 AM tournament with a $50 profit.

The buy in is $60 with an additional $5 toke to the dealers for an extra $500 in chips. I also earned an additional $1000 for my two hours of cash game play. My starting stack was $3500 with 25-50 blinds. We started with 183 players.

One thing I always wanted to try is raising the very first hand. Everyone always starts out trying to play tight solid poker. The problem is that everyone loses their patience at a different rate. I raised A-7 offsuit in middle position to open the pot. The big blind called. I made a continuation bet for $200 and he called. Uh oh! I had nothing except position. The turn brought a check and I checked behind. The river brought an Ace. He checked for a third time and I made a value bet of $500. He folded and looked a little disgusted. I guess I lucked into it.

A little while later, I picked up Aces under the gun. I decided to pull the old Doyle Brunson Super System play and limp hoping to reraise. It worked out perfectly as another player woke up with pocket Kings and raised. I of course raised and he pushed all in. And miracle of miracles the Aces held up and I had a quick double up.

My next big hand was on the button in the same rotation. I picked up pocket Queens on the button. There was an under the gun raise and everyone folded to me. I reraised and he moved in. I had him covered by about 2-1 so I called. He turns over Aces and now I need to get lucky. No such luck as I miss my two outer and I'm back where I started.

There was a bit of trend at my first table as out of maybe 50 hands we played before we broke up, someone had pocket Aces 10 times. I was lucky enough to pick them up again and make some good money.

The blind structure is pretty quick as I would liken it to a multi table turbo Sit-N-Go on Poker Stars. You never have a big stack after the first 3 levels. I was constantly between 8 and 12 Big Blinds for the middle levels. Occasionally I would pretend to look at my cards, but blink so I would not lose my nerve to raise. I also had some good hands, but I don't recall ever getting called when I was all in.

I continued to scratch and claw my way to survival and we were getting close to the bubble. The top 20 places paid. 11-20 would get $100 which would be a whopping $15 profit for me. I was not sure if people would take the money bubble seriously. After all it's only $100. Boy was I mistaken. When it went hand for hand, everyone at our table was constantly looking at the other tables and trying to find out if anyone was really short. One of the women at my table said she absolutely did not want to bubble since she had already done that at an early tournament.

The first hand at my new table was a little nerve racking. I was moved into the Big Blind for the first hand. Blinds were 500-1000 and I had 12,000 in chips. There was an early raise to $3000 and everyone folded to me. I had King-Queen offsuit. I felt like reraising all in but I did not think I could get him to fold because I did not have that many chips left. I decided to call and see if I could get a good flop.

The flop was Jack-Nine-Eight. I thought for a few seconds and then moved all in. I figured with over cards and inside straight draw, I had outs if I was called. He thought about it for what seemed like a couple of minutes and then told me he folded Ace-Queen. Whew!

I managed to steal the blinds a couple of more times before the bubble burst.

The next highlight was the final table. Once we got there, everyone immediately started talking about a chop. Basically we would each get $1000 and play for the last $640 and the tournament leaderboard points. Everyone agreed except for the chip leader. I can see his point, but he did not even counter with a different deal. He was willing to piss off 8 other players to try for the $3,400 first place. The funny thing was that I think he only had about 15-20x the big blind, so he wasn't exactly dominating.

Very shortly after we got started, I picked up pocket Kings. I raised and the other big stack at the table reraised me all in. He had been a bit loose and aggressive when I had spent some time at his table earlier, so I called believing I would have the best hand by a mile. To my shock, he turned over Aces. So here I am, one dick head away from collecting $1,000 and I run my Kings into Aces and I am going to leave with $350. What a crock of shit!

Then the poker gods shined down on me when I flopped a King. My trips held up and suddenly I had a big stack. I think that had pumped me up to around $120,000 with the blinds at 2000-4000. Maybe I can win this thing?

This is when my luck started to turn. I got a little frisky and raised with Ace-Five of diamonds in early position. The player on my left raised all in for just a little bit more. The player whose Kings I had cracked, moved all in. It was too much to call and I folded. He turned over Ace-Jack offsuit and the guy on my left had 7's. I would have flopped a straight flush draw and rivered the flush. Instead the short stack lived and I lost a chunnk of my stack.

A while later, I got healthy again from my wild friend on the other side of the table. I picked up pocket 10's under the gun. I raised and he moved all in for almost all of my chips. He made a mistake in that he asked me if I was going to make another good call. The way he said that told me that I had the best hand. I called and he turned over King-Ten. My hand held up and I was healthy again.

The last of my unfortunate circumstances happened a short while later. Once again I am under the gun and I have Ace-King offsuit. I raise and my friend on the left goes all in on me again. I believe I had raised to $25,000 and raised all in to $36,000. Then the big stack who did not want the chop, just called in the small blind. Since he did not look that comfortable calling, I figured I could push him off the hand. Plus who are we kidding, I am going all in with this hand any way I can.

I move in, and he thinks for a short while and calls with pocket 3's. My buddy on the left has pocket 9's. If I win this pot I will have at least half of the chips in play with 4 players left. I can jump up two spots in the money as well. By the way, what the hell is that guy doing calling off his stack with pocket 3's?

My luck runs out and I miss everything. My buddy on the left triples up and I think the big stack makes money by beating me out of the side pot. Now I am down to 6 Big Blinds and stepping into the big blind.

I go out soon after to Mr. 3's when I reraise all in from the big blind with Ace-5 and he turns up 7's.

He was probably on his way to victory after picking up my chips. There was one guy left who could make a dent. The other 3 players looked like they were just hoping to move up or talk him into a chop.

Anyway, I walked away with $650 for my effort and an entry for a $12,500 prize pool free roll in March. Although their "free roll" has a $25 service fee.

In summary I felt like I played pretty well. I picked my spots and made some good laydowns. I also stepped up with some aggressive moves when the timing looked right. If I could have just gotten lucky one more time, I might have picked up a big pay day.

Golf Match #7 Larry Establishes His Dominance

Bill and I played match #7 last Sunday. It did not go well for Bill as I closed out our W*****/VQ Cup match 5.5-1.5. The final score on Sunday was 85-87.

I played relatively solid on the front nine and eventually built up a 7 stroke lead before I slid back and Bill started playing better on the back nine. He never led and after the first few holes he was never closer than 2 strokes.

There was not anything special about the round except for the dispute I got into with a golfer named Tom who was in our foursome.

Tom and his friend Larry were paired with us for the round. Tom is a new member of the country club and probably a 15 handicap. I am guessing that he is of Japanese descent. The tee times were set up as a shotgun start because there was a tournament later in the day that the club needed to set up.

We started on the 5th hole and by the 8th hole, Bill and I realized that Tom and Larry were very slow golfers. On the 8th green, Bill and I had finished our putts while Tom and Larry were still reading their putts. Since the group in front of us was already on the 9th green and there was a fivesome waiting on the 8th Tee, we decided to speed up play and tee off on the 9th hole.

Bill had already teed off and I was into my preshot routine, when Tom called over to me, “Excuse me I don’t mean to be rude, but I believe I have honors.”

I looked at Bill and asked, “Is he serious?” Bill shrugged his shoulders.

I backed off and was going to start my routine again, when Tom explained, “You can’t go against the rules of golf, this is a country club after all.”

I picked up my ball on the tee and explained, “We play ready golf here. The group ahead of us is already on the green and the fastest golfer in the club is waiting behind us. I don’t want to get yelled at by him.”

Tom did not like that explanation and proceeded to put his ball down and tee off. I was in shock. He never raised his voice and he was very polite about it, but I could not believe that he was going to play with honors in a casual round of golf. The reason I brought up his race it that maybe because of the importance of tradition in the Japanese culture that he has this belief about playing in turn.

I teed off and sprayed my shot to the right. I quickly realized that I should just let it go and forget about it, because if I spent my mental energy trying to change Tom’s mind, it was going to hurt my golf game.

Bill and I both decided to bear down and play better and not give up the honors the rest of the round. I think we succeeded for all but one or two holes the rest of the day.

The funny part of the round was on the 16th hole. I hit my tee shot to the right and it cleared the fairway bunker and then disappeared. We looked all over and could not find it. So I had to drive back to the tee where, Bob and 4 others were in the process of teeing off. Bob is the one who puts together the weekly game and is the fastest golfer in the club. I explained that I had a lost ball and had to reload. I then told him the story of Tom and his Honors. Bob’s mouth dropped wide open like I had told him Phoenix Country Club was going to host the Masters.

In the Men’s grill after the round, I told the story again and found out that one of the guys was scheduled to play with Tom on Thursday. He promised to straighten him out.

I really don’t have a problem with following the rules of golf. I wanted to help Tom because if he plays slow and follows it up with playing in the correct turn, he won’t find anyone at the club who will play with him.

Golf Match #6 Bill is in Trouble

Friday, February 1 2008

I was supposed to play a match against my friend Mike for a tournament I entered at Phoenix Country Club. Mike called in the morning to cancel because he had friends flying in to town at the last minute for the Super Bowl and he wanted to hang out with them.

I was all geared up to play so I called Bill to see if he could squeeze it in today. To my surprise, Bill had packed his golf gear in his car and was planning on surprising us at the course and playing with us anyway.

So we start match 6 with the score 3.5 to 1.5. I am coming off once of my worst matches, but I had a good feeling about this match. I had picked up a tip on the Golf Channel and had worked on it with my Leadbetter Swing setter the day before. At the top of my backswing I wanted to concentrate on opening my hips first to start the downswing, while keeping my shoulders closed. This would build up tension that I could unleash at the bottom of my swing. Plus it would keep me from coming over the top and hitting a weak slice. I hit some balls on the range before the round and the move felt good and I was making very solid contact.

I started off the first hole by making a 10 footer for par. Bill missed and I had a one stroke lead. On the second hole, I pushed my 8 iron into the right bunker. I had a horrible downhill lie with a green running away from me and water on the other side. Somehow I hit a perfect shot and left myself about 15 feet for par. I made that one too and Bill made an easy par. Already Bill was a little on tilt as he could see it might be one of those days where I make everything I look at on the greens.

I continued to play well and finished the front 9 with a score of 39 to Bill’s 43. Bill made a comment about how I never shoot two consecutive 9’s in the 30’s so I was motivated to prove him wrong.

I guess I was a little too motivated as I started off #10 with a bogey and I made a bad double bogey on #11 to quickly give him 3 shots back.

On the short par 4 12th, I hit a great drive and wedge to the middle of the green. Bill hit two iron off the tee, but airmailed his approach shot over the green and it settled on the cart path behind the hole. Now the rule is that you take the nearest point of relief, no nearer the hole. In this case that would have been in a flower bed behind the cart path. I felt like if Bill wanted to take a drop then that’s where he would have to do it. Bill did not think that was right and I encouraged him to call the pro shop for a ruling. He did and they said drop the ball behind the flower bed, not in it. So he got a bit of break and made a great pitch shot that eased 12 feet by the hole. Bill’s putt looked good the whole way but lipped out at the very end. So I got one stroke back but Bill was glad that he did not fare worse.

We both made par on 13 and we both played the 14th horribly and made double bogey. On the par 3 15th, I pulled my iron shot into the left back bunker. I hit a terrible sand shot that stayed in the trap. My next one was much better and it rolled to 6 feet. Bill had an easy two putt par. I needed this putt to make sure I only give up one stroke. Once again, my putter saved me as I jammed it in the back of the cup.

So now I still have a one stroke lead. We both hit the fairway with our tee shots on 16. I pulled my approach again into the deep bunker on the left of the green. Bill was in better shape short and right of the green. I hit an ok bunker shot and left myself a big left to right breaking 15 footer for par. While I was raking the trap, Bill somehow managed to 3 putt from 15 feet and made double bogey. I did not see what he did, but I could see the steam coming out of his ears. That is what made it so great when I managed to coax in my par putt and increase my lead to 3.

I absolutely killed my drive on 17 and only had 105 yards to pin for my second shot. Bill was 40 yards behind me and sent his approach over the green. I hit my worst shot of the day and totally laid the sod over my wedge shot. I left it 10 yards short of the green and then hit a bad pitch 15 feet by the hole leaving an extremely fast downhill putt for par. Just to totally jam the knife in Bill, I made this putt too for another unlikely par save. Bill dropped another shot and I had a safe 4 shot lead to cruise on home with.

The final score was 81 to 85 and I now lead the contest 4.5 to 1.5. If I win the next match it will be all over. The only thing left to decide will be if we should put the plaque on the locker or create a trophy. The locker room will be remodeled this summer and I’m sure they will not want us putting our crap on the nice new oak lockers. I will only get 2-3 months of enjoyment out of it that way. I think I should find a nice small trophy that we can engrave the results on every year and let the winner keep it.

Revisiting Predictions from 2006

On October 3, 2006 I made some predictions about poker after the US Government passed the UIEGA and made transferring money to online poker sites illegal. I happened to stumble across my predictions while I was reviewing some of my tournament posts and I thought it would be fun to revisit my predictions and see how they turned out.

Here we go:
1. The World Series of Poker will have its participation cut by at least 60%.
a. The vast majority of the players in the Main Event satellite in online
b. Since no US citizens can satellite in via online poker rooms, the field will be less than 4000

The Main event went down to about 6000 players from over 8000 in 06. It seemed like the rest of the events had more players than 2006. I heard that something like 80% of the players that won online satellites into the Main Event, took the cash put it in their bankroll instead of signing up for the tournament.

2. A Foreign citizen will win since they will outnumber the US citizens

I was close. A Canadien came in second and Jerry Yang came in first. He is American but was born in Vietnam I think. Half of the final table was foreign.

3. Online poker will still be alive in the US, but just barely

I was totally wrong on this one. It seems like it’s as healthy as ever. Party Poker went away and Full Tilt and Poker Stars picked up all their players and continued business as usual. Now Poker Stars has over 150,000 players on their site in the peak hours.

4. The largest online companies like Pokerstars, Partygaming, and 888 will survive and make money in the burgeoning international markets and possibly China.

I got this one right. Their stocks have not recovered but they are still cash flow positive and making huge money in Europe and even Russia.

5. The stock of these companies will not recover to their previous highs.

I’m still right on this one.

6. I will only be playing poker in a weekly home game or in Las Vegas
a. My son is being born soon, taking up a lot of my poker playing time
b. I won’t be able to play online and feel my money is safe.
c. The rake in low limit casino poker is so bad, that it is near impossible to make money in the long term.

Thankfully I was wrong on this one. Since Poker Stars and Full Tilt stuck around, I felt my money was safe. Even though I did have a scare when Neteller went under. I play 6-10 hours a week online and lately we have gone to a once a month home game.
I hardly play any tournaments online anymore because I can’t get the uninterrupted time with Jake running around the house. It’s 90% cash games now.

I once saw the disintegration of the Internet industry in the stock market in 2000 and 2001. There were a lot of people with rosy predictions that their company would never go away. I often heard the quote of, "The internet is not going away". That took 2 -3 years to unwind.
This past weekend is the same thing, except it is all happening overnight. I would not be surprised to hear of a suicide of a top player who loses his sponsorship, players moving out of the country, or small poker sites taking off with their client's money.

Nobody has committed suicide. Some players have moved out of the US. The only name player I had heard of is Liz Lieu. Absolute Poker had a major cheating scandal, but they gave all the players their money back with interest.