Winning at 100NL

Had a really good session this morning. 310 hands and almost +$250. It could have been a lot higher, but there were two hands that I thought I was ahead on, but didn't turn out the right way. I'll get to those in a second. Here are my PT numbers from this morning. I had between 4 and 5 tables going between Full Tilt and Prima.



Notice how tight I played. 14/11 is really tight, and I still get action. That there is proof that most players at 100NL just play their own cards, and don't even try to get reads on people. Heck, when I play, I try and avoid the tight 14/11 folks who are winners. I got Aces three times this morning, and got action every single time winning 25+ BBs each time.

Here are the interesting hands:

This one I kind of made a marginal call, but I went with my read, and I was right. This guy was really loose aggressive. He was running at 34/10, and his Turn and River aggression factor were over 8.0. I get dealt pocket Aces [Ad] [Ac] in the SB. Villain is UTG and limps, and I raise it to pot. Only villain calls. Flop is [Td] [8s] [7s], a very draw heavy flop. I put out a continuation bet and he calls. Turn is [3s] completing flush draw. I check and he puts out a half pot size bet. This bet seems fishy to me, so I decide to call. The river is a blank and I check. He then bets a pot-sized bet. I don't think he has the flush, so I call. He has [Qs] [Jc]. Not sure what he was doing calling the Flop bet *shrug*

Same table, a couple hands later. I'm in the CO with [Ad] [Jh] and it folds to me, so I put out a standard $3.5 bet. The button and the BB call. Flop is [9d] [Ts] [Qd]. BB checks, and I put out a $7 cont bet. The button thinks for a while, and raises it to $26. My call here is pretty marginal I think. I have an open ended straight draw, with 4 of those outs to the nuts, plus a backdoor flush draw, and one over. I could easily be up against a made hand, a draw or a bluff here I think. Villain was running at 25/17 and pretty aggressive. The turn is my gin card, the [Ks], giving me the nut straight. I check, villain bets $40 and I push all-in and he calls. The river is a blank, and I win against his KJo and his flopped straight. Looks like I was more behind than I thought with only a win percent of 16% after the flop. Sure it was a suckout by me, and everyone in the chat made sure to let me know that. But I just thanked him for calling my PF with KJo.

I also experimented with the delayed continuation bet this morning. This is where you check on the flop with a made hand, and let the other person either catch up, or think he can take the pot from me, and then bet the turn (or flop if they have position). I've read a few posts over at bet-the-pot.com and twoplustwo where people have made the comment "You're betting too often on the flop and letting weak or dominated hands easily get away". I think this play needs the right circumstances to work. You need to have a good hand (at least TPTK) on a non-draw heavy board, and up against someone you think will try and steal pots from you. There are people like this all over at Prima. If you check after you have bet PF, there is an 80% chance that person will bet on the turn.

First one was with me having AJ in the BB. Its folded to the SB, who completes, and I raise it up. Flop is AJ7 rainbow. A great flop for me. He checks, and I check behind. What am I afraid of? Pocket 7's is the only logical hand that he can have that beats me. And if he has that, so be it. I'll check behind, and let him think his hand is good. Turn is Kd, putting two diamonds. I think that is a good turn card for me. I think he would have raised AK Pre-flop, so I don't worry about that. This time, he leads out for half pot bet. I raise, and he calls. The river is a blank, the 4s. He leads out again, but this time for really small (only 1/4 pot). I raise here and he calls and I win a nice $91 pot. Prima doesn't show mucked hands, so I don't know what he had.

I also got to do this over at Full Tilt against a fish. This guy was running at 63/8. He would call almost all Pre-flop bets. He had against me a few times, and always folded after the flop. So when he called my PF hand again, I decided to not bet the flop if I hit something. I get AK UTG, and raise it up. Mr. fish obviously calls on the button and we are heads up. Flop is AJ4 rainbow. I check, and he checks behind. I think my check here makes him think I do not have an Ace. The turn is a blank, and this time I lead out for a continuation size bet, and he calls. River is another blank, and I fire out another value bet, and he calls with QJ and I win a nice $50 bet.

Here are the two big losers. This first one is over at Prima. I'm in Middle position, and get pocket Jacks. I raise it up standard to 4x BB, and only the BB calls. He is running at about 22/14 or so and has $105 and I cover. Flop is A, 8, 7 rainbow. He checks, and I throw out a continuation bet of $6. He calls. I'm pretty sure he has an Ace now. Turn is another Ace. He checks, and I check behind. The River is a Jack, giving me Jacks full of Aces. AA, AJ, A8, and A7 beat me. He leads out a full pot bet. I decide to push all-in because I think he will call with any Ace, and I can win a big pot. Maybe I should have just called there, but he calls and shows AJ. What I though was me hitting my two outer ended up being a one outer to the worst possible outcome. If anything else falls, I don't put in another dime. Ugg, what a cooler.

The last one I think I'll just post the Hand History, because both of my opponents played it terrible. They both were fishy half stacks. Downtown was running 55/1, and shadowstalker was at 60/7. I had TPTK and the nut flush draw on the turn, so I think I played this hand ok.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?984474

Fun, huh?