Hole In One!!!!

I scored my first hole in one on Sunday. It was on the 8th hole at Phoenix Country Club. The pin was in the back of the green and it was playing 188 yards from the white tees. I hit a five iron and it started out high and a little left. It faded back towards the pin, took one bounce and went in the hole.

I saw the ball disappear, but I was not sure that it went in. It could have easily gone off the back of the green. I looked through my range finder to see if I could spot the ball, and it definitely was not on the surface of the green.

When we drove up to the green, I grabbed my wedge and putter because I did not want to jinx it. As I walked up, I kept looking over the back of the green to see if my ball was there. Finally I reached the hole and there it was.

I'm glad my first hole in one, was a well struck shot. I'd hate to hit a ball thin with a 20 yard fade and get that lucky. At least now I can say it looked good the whole way. It was also part of a great round of golf where I finished with a 75 which is 4 over par. I believe it's my best round at Phoenix Country Club. My best round ever is one over par which I did at Ventana Canyon and Whirlwind-Devil's Claw.

Since I was so lucky in golf that day, I decided the time was right to play my Step 5 Sit and Go to the World Series. Surprisingly it took a long time to fill up, but eventually we got underway.

This was the tightest sit and go I have ever seen. Through 30 hands, there were two players that had yet to play a hand and two others with a vpip of less than 10%. When I saw how tight everyone was, I made some selective blind steals with any two cards. It did not do much good since the blinds were small and I was not picking up any premium cards.

There was not much interesting about the tournament and I finished 5th after running Ace rag into Kings in a small blind vs big blind shove.

On Monday I played my step 4 and was bounced back down to step 2. Fuck! I have run so bad in poker this month. I can't afford to have a month this bad, this close to the World Series.

Almost There

I bought into a Poker Stars Step 2 a few days ago. I did not want to mess around trying to win the $7.50 Step One, so I figured the $27 was worth avoiding the hassle.

I have not been able to play every day, but I have managed to move all the way up to step 5 without having to take any steps backwards. Tonight's step 4 was a shining example of my luck box skills.

I started out a little more active than usual, because the table was extremely tight. I had added a couple hundred to my stack, when I got involved in a pot that I shouldn't have and lost it all back. I raised an utg limper with A5o on the button. He called the 4x raise to 120. The flop was 7c-5c-Qc. I did not have a club. It was checked to me and I bet 180. My opponent min raised to 360 and I was done with the hand. This dropped me down to 1175.

My least favorite hands in SNG's are low pocket pairs. You never really have a big enough stack to play them for set value. I hate raising them, because I always have to fold like a little girl if I am reraised out of position.

I had a weird stretch where in 3 consecutive hands I was dealt 77, 77, and 88.
I raised the first time and won the blinds. I folded the second time because I felt like I would get raised or have to play them out of position. Good thing I did, because two players ended up all in with QQ and AKs. Then I had 88 under the gun and just limped. It was folded through the blinds and the flop came KK4. I made a small probing bet and won that pot.

So I am almost back up to my starting stack with 8 left.

A couple of hands go by and I get 88 in the cut off and raise. This time the big stack at the table smooth calls behind me on the button. The flop is Tc-9h-3h. I check and fold to a bet of 200. I was actually cursing my card luck because if I was going to catch pocket pairs, it was going to need to be bigger than 8's.

After a couple of rounds of blinds at 50-100, I am in the big blind with 1010 in chips and there are still 8 players left. I am dealt KhTd. Miniatus in middle position makes it 300 to go with 1945 left behind. I decide to resteal since I need chips bad and unless he has a monster like AA, KK, QQ, or AK I will be in ok shape to suck out, or he folds. He takes the maximum time to consider and then calls with KcJd. I guess he was getting 2-1 but it seems like a loose call.
Anyway, I build the drama and wait until the river to spike my ten and double up.

The very next hand on the small blind I pick up pocket Aces. Cards Speak (chip leader at 4290 in chips) raises to 250 under the gun. It's folded to me and I raise to 600. Cards Speak calls and we have 1300 in the pot.

The flop is 6h-8c-5s. I check hoping he has an over pair and wants to bet to protect his hand. Instead he checks it through. The turn is a beautiful Ace. I check again, hoping for some action. He checks again. Shit! The river is a 5 and pairs the board. I have the nut full house. I make a weak looking bet of 500. Cards Speak min raises to 1000 and I put the rest of my 970 in for the last raise. Cards Speak shows 66 for 6's full of 5's. I had him crushed preflop, he had me squished on the flop, and I re-sucked out on the turn.

Suddenly I am the chip leader with 4240 in chips.

Cards Speak makes a come back and with 5 players left, he takes 900 of my chips after I raise AJo in small blind to his Big Blind. The flop has an Ace and 3 hearts. None of my cards are red, but I make the continuation bet and get called. The turn is an offsuit 6 and I check and he bets 975. I can't stand the heat and fold. He says in the chat that it's a good fold. I guess I believe him.

I tread water for a while and there are now 4 of us left. Top 3 get their money back. 4th place goes back to Step 3. The blinds are 100-200 and I have 2290 in the small blind. It's folded to me and I push Qs8d. I'm pretty sure this is an ok play according to SNG Power Tools. For some reason Cards Speak calls me with As8s and only 2520 in his stack. This time I end the suspense on the turn and hit my Queen. Now I have 4500 in chips and I'm in second place with 4 left and one shorty.

I eliminate Cards Speak the next hand when I pick up Ace-Jack on the button and limp in so I can include the Big blind when Cards Speak pushes in the rest of his chips in the small blind.

Three of us left and now it's truly a free roll. The end comes when my opponents square off with AhQs vs. KcJc. Lucky for me, the flop comes Ks-Kd-Kh and the larger stack eliminates the other player and I am on to step 5!

On an unrelated note, my golf game has been struggling lately. My Driver has been really wild and I bought the Leadbetter Interactive DVD set to try and correct some things at the top of my swing. I recorded my swing on my video camera and noticed that I was taking the driver back way inside and flat and then moving it more upright at the top. It looked pretty bad.

So now I am trying to concentrate on taking my arms back in more of an upward motion and less around my body. I want to use the software in the DVD's to analyze my swing in more detail but so far I have been unable to get the damn thing installed on my laptop.

On Monday of this week my country club had a US Open qualifying tournament. 86 players shooting for 6 spots. The USGA set up the course and the pins. Bill and I decided to test our games against the pros and see how far back we are.

We both birdied the first hole which is a Par 5 down wind. Man this is easy! Oops. It all fell apart after that. I shot an 88 with 5 double bogeys. Worse yet, Bill shot a 91. This was a week after he shot 74 on a course in Prescott.

This morning I left Bill a voice mail, rubbing in my ugly victory and asked him what was going through his head seeing the vast difference in his game from week to week. Bill blamed it all on the fact that he missed too many fairways. In Prescott, the course was wide open and even if you were off the fairway from the tee, you still had an open shot at the green. At Phoenix Country Club, you are constantly fighting the trees if you are the slightest bit off line. Hell there are some fairways, where you need to be on the right side or you have trouble with the trees.

Bill stated, "If I can play from the middle of the fairway on every hole, I will shoot 74 every time." I sense a bet coming. Bill did miss some fairways, but his bigger problem was his wedge game. I believe if you miss the fairway, that a good golfer should be able to make bogey from just about anywhere. Bill had a few double bogeys and worse, due to missing the fairway, and then hitting bad wedges to the green. Maybe we'll play for fun and I'll give him a ball in the fairway on every non par 3 and bet him if he can shoot the 74. Or maybe he gives me 10 strokes and I play my ball against his. We'll see.

Up and Down the Steps

I think I have found the way I am going to try and qualify for the Sorld Series Of Poker Main Event. The Poker Stars steps seem to be the way to go.

I can never find the time to play in a satellite and then another satellite. The Steps are 5 minute round turbo Sit and Go's so if you make it to the final two or 3 players it lasts no more than an hour.

I went on a bit of a run and made it to step 4. That left two more to get through for the seat. What is cool is that even if you don't win step 6, you can win a large amount of cash for some of the other top places. Unfortunately, my luck ran out and went back to step 3, then step 2 twice, and now out.

I have also noticed a lot of atrocious play, so I think I have an edge. The problem is that even with an edge, you need to get very lucky to make it all the way through.

I haven't counted for sure, but I would guess that you need to be all in at least 8-10 times in each Sit and Go. The blinds go up so fast and you need to steal the blinds to keep up. So you have to be lucky and not run into a good hand and you need your rare pocket aces or kings to hold up.

I guess I'll have to buy the activation code for my old Sit and Go Power tools and run some scenarios. One thing I figured out from Card Runners is that if there are 3 players left and the top two move on to the next round, then you need a 67% favored hand to make a call of an all in bet. There are not too many hands that meet that criteria. That also means that you should be able to push almost any two from the small blind. Then the luck comes back into play because after the third time in a row of shoving, the BB will make the fuck you call and try and get lucky. For some reason that always seems to work against me.

More No Limit tips

I have been reading the forums at Card Runners and watching more videos. Here is a summary:

1. Poker Tracker stats - I need to be more aggressive preflop. My preflop raise percentage should be much closer to my VPIP. My aggression factor should be above 3. My raise and vpip from the button should be 3-4x as large as when I am UTG.

2. Timing tells - a quick check on the flop after you raise someone before the flop is usually a sign of strength and they want you to bet. A long pause before they check is usually weak and they will fold to a continuation bet. However if you have a medium strength hand, you may want to check behind and induce a bluff to get more value out of the hand.

Beat the Queen

Last Saturday night, my friend Kim decided to host a poker tournament at a friend’s house. Kim is the one who won the WSOP Main Event seat at the Super Bowl Celebrity Poker Tournament that I played in a couple of months ago.

The flyer was pretty funny because they had photo shopped her face into the Queen of Hearts. $20 buy in with free food and drinks. How can I not play?

The structure was a joke, but it’s what I have come to expect from a tournament put together by Jeff. They always want to get it done quick so they can squeeze in another one. There never is another one. 17 of us started with 1000 in chips and the blinds started at 25-50. Ten minute levels. Yes that’s right, 10 minute levels in a live tournament.

Jeff asked me to be a full time dealer to try and move the game along. I think I started UTG+2, and we were in the third level at 100-200 before I had paid the blinds twice. That’s 18 hands in 30 minutes.

Who cares! The food was good and the drinks were free.

Somewhere in the 3rd level, I found pocket fives in early position. Since everyone seemed to be averse to playing for a raise preflop, I raised to 600. I think I started with a little less than 2000. The big stack on my left was the only one to make the call.

I dealt out the flop and it was Q-Q-5. I checked, slow playing my full house. She decided to bet more than half my remaining stack. I moved all in and she called with Ace high. That brought my stack up over 4000.

Since there were only 17,000 chips in play, the eliminations were coming fast. I did not have any hands to play for a while so I was blinded down a bit until we consolidated the table.

For some reason, Jeff decided to consolidate when we had 11 players. The blinds were 400-800 and I was down to 1000 chips. I was lucky enough to have the button, but I was not real interested in being patient since my butt was sore from the metal folding chair and I did not figure I would have much of a chance to win.

So with one early caller and 8-7 offsuit, I decided to put it all in. The big blind called and the limper called and I have a chance to triple up. The flop was 8 high and the turn brought another 8. Both of the other players checked it down and I more than tripled up.

A couple of hands later, I moved all in with Ace Queen and was called by Ace-10. My hand held up and suddenly I had a little room to breathe. The other players started busting at a furious pace and before I knew it, there were four players left and I was the chip leader.

By this time the blinds were 500-1000. This is where my sit and go experience really paid off. That plus an absolute sick run of cards. I think I moved all in 7 of the next 10 hands. Most were won uncontested, and I think I busted one player who decided to make a stand. It looked ridiculous to the other players, but it seemed every hand I was dealt had an Ace or a pocket pair.

We finally made it down to heads up and I had 15,500 in chips and Rob had 1,500. Rob was ready to just give me the first place check, but I convinced him to play it out. (Why I’m so honest, I don’t know). I put him all in and he won. Then he rivered a set of 7’s to win another pot. I was still catching good cards and putting him all in whenever I could, so he was not getting much traction.

I thought I had him beat again, but this time he made a flush on the river and now he had 6000 to my 11,000. Here is the final hand.

I post 1000 in the big blind and Rob posts 500 on the button. He completes the blind and I decide to see a flop with Jack Ten offsuit. The flop is J-7-5 rainbow. I decide to try and slow play my top pair and check the flop. Rob checks behind me.

The turn is a Queen, so now the board is J-7-5-Q. I bet 1,000 and Rob moves all in. Fuck! Did my slow play just bite me in the Ass? Looking back on it, I should have folded. Rob was quiet and not trying to talk me into a call. There’s really nothing I beat except a total bluff. Probably due to my brain being frazzled from doing all the dealing, I called.

Rob said, “How big is your Queen?”

I reply, “I have a Jack”

“Good, I have Jacks and 7’s”, says Rob.

He slowplayed by checking his two pair through on the flop. So now I need a ten.

The river is a Queen to make the board J-7-5-Q-Q. Now Rob has the chip lead. Wait a second! I now have two pair with a 10 kicker and Rob has two pair with the 7 kicker. I win!!!!!!

All Rob could talk about the rest of the night was how lucky I was on the last hand. He keeps forgetting about the times he got lucky to stay alive, but that’s usually how poker players think. You never remember the hands you get lucky on, but you can describe in explicit detail, the bad beats you have taken in your life.

Besides netting $120 in profit, there may be an ancillary benefit from this win. I have told Kim that I am willing to pay $8,000 for her WSOP Main Event seat. She claims that she is not allowed to sell it since the sponsor is buying her in directly. I’m sure there is a way around this once you get to Las Vegas.

This win should be another clue that I am serious about more poker game and that I have a much better chance of making her some money in the tournament than she does playing on her own.

New way to play Ace-Jack?

The latest Card Runners video I studied spoke about timing tells. I don’t quite know if you can classify it as quick bet = good hand and slow bet = bad hand, but it’s definitely something to take notes on while I am playing.

I was impressed on how the instructor was very good at reading the hands of his opponents based on how long they took when it was their turn.

I am also going to try and spend 5 minutes after playing a session and review my hand histories on Poker Tracker. He suggests looking at your biggest wins and losses and looking for ways to improve.

On Monday I did some digging in my Poker Tracker stats and found out that my biggest money losing hand in No Limit is Ace-Jack suited. My first instinct was that maybe I was playing the hand too much and losing to AK or AQ. After reviewing all 60 of the hands on replayer, I discovered that my real problem was that I was not aggressive enough.

Most of my losing hands were from either calling a raise in position and missing the flop, or raising the hand and not making a c-bet on the flop. I now think that AJs in position is a re-raising hand. Take control of the pot and fire at 90% of the flops and I should win a lot more of these hands. If I get resistance and I have nothing, it’s an easy fold. If I flop the Ace or the Jack as top pair and my opponent is still in the hand, betting or raising, then the hand becomes tough to play. Depending on the opponent, it may be a fold on the turn or river if they keep betting.

Sharpening The Saw

The title of this post is from the classic book, "7 Habits of Highly Successful People". I purchased a subscription to Card Runners last week in order to improve my cash game play. It's a little pricey, but hopefully it will pay off and get me to a higher level of play.

I have watched two of their videos now and here are some of the things I picked up:

1. I need to raise more often. Raptor will raise almost any two cards on the button. He also raises almost any suited connector from anywhere. He also 3 bets quite often.

2. Position is even more important than I thought ( I already gave it a lot of credit, but I think I need to double it).

3. It's better to play a small pocket pair against a tight player out of position than a loose aggressive one. If I hit the set against a tight player, the chances are greater that the tight player has a big hand since he raised preflop. If my opponent has the big hand then I will make more money on my set.

If it's a loose aggressive player, then many times I may be folding the best hand to a continuation bet on the flop because the LAG will bet almost any flop and it will be really tough to play the pot out of position. Even when I hit the set, I may not make as much because it's likely the LAG doesn't have any type of hand that can stand up to a raise.

4. When you start to move up and play against some of the same players more than once, it can be very profitable to try and make their lives miserable if you have position on them. Every time they limp, raise them. Every time they raise, try reraising them. Eventually they blow up and lose their stack by calling you down with bottom pair.

My theory is getting better, but my practice still needs work. I dusted off two $50 buy ins last night by running my pair of Aces with King kicker into a set and Aces up into a flopped straight.

I should have gotten away from the AK hand after his 3rd raise on the flop. There was not much I could do about the two pair hand.

On a positve note, the Wednesday game seems to be back on. We played at Greg's the first week back, and Scott's last Wednesday. I bubbled in third place the first week and won last week.

The third place finish was about all I could squeeze out of my terrible cards. I don't think I had a pocket pair higher than 8's and flopped nothing better than one pair the whole night. I was just happy to still be in the game with 3 left.

Last week I accomplished a first for me. We had 6 players and I eliminated everyone one of my opponents at the table. It came down to heads up versus Mike. The heads up part lasted a long time for our game. I had him all in a couple of times with the best hand and he sucked out. Another time I had pocket Kings and he got me to lay it down when an Ace hit the flop. He had ten high on that hand and admitted that I had been so aggressive that he felt he needed to make a stand. Finally I won with bottom pair, Ace kicker when he called with bottom pair, terrible kicker.

I also have won my way into Step 3 on the Poker Stars WSOP Step challenge. I got really lucky when with 13x the blind and 5 players left, I pushed all in with Ace-8 on the button and was snap called by pocket 10's. I spiked an Ace and that gave me a comfortable stack that allowed me to wait until the big stack donkey made a critical mistake. I eventually busted him when I flopped a pair of Aces and he decided to bet all of his chips with second pair.

One little wrinkle that I noticed about the steps tournament is that when you get to the final level 6, there is only 1 WSOP package available. You win $2,500 in addition to the seat. I think 2nd through 5th place win money as well. However, if you don't win the seat, you need to take the money and buy back into step. They don't let you back into level 6 or level 5.

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.