Not much poker the last week

Haven't played all that much since my last post. I'm up over 4 buy-ins though in the few hands I have played. Went to a concert last Wednesday night (Breaking Benjamin), so I didn't play the next day or so since I was pretty tired.

And I also didn't play much this weekend either. We had some friends from Colorado stay at our house for the holiday weekend.

The only poker I played, was for about a half an hour on Monday to show him what this online poker thing is all about. And in that half an hour, I won $280. Ding! He was quite amazed at how easy this poker thing looks. Ha!

Here are the two big hands that I played.

I decide to just complete with my pocket 7's from the SB. Most of the time I raise here with Pocket Pairs, but I sometime just complete with the smaller PPs. BB, who is a decent regular, raises it up. The other limper calls, and I make the easy call. The rest is pretty standard I think, but I suppose another good line to take would be to lead out on that flop and go for a Bet-3Bet.

Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.50/$1 Blinds - 6 Players -

Hero (SB): $109.15
BB: $103.00
UTG: $55.85
MP: $99.50
CO: $66.00
BTN: $111.85

Preflop: Hero is dealt [7s] [7c] (6 Players)
2 folds, CO calls $1.00, BTN folds, Hero calls $0.50, BB raises to $4.00, CO calls $3.00, Hero calls $3.00

Flop: ($12) [Ks] [7h] [6d] (3 Players)
Hero checks, BB bets $9.00, CO folds, Hero raises to $27.00, BB calls $18.00

Turn: ($66) [Td] (2 Players)
Hero bets all-in for $78.15, BB calls all-in for $72.00
Uncalled bet of $6.15 returned to Hero

River: ($210) [Js] (2 Players - 2 All-In)

Pot Size: $210.00 ($3 Rake)

BB had [As] [Ac] (a pair of Aces) and LOST (-$103.00)
Hero had [7s] [7c] (three of a kind, Sevens) and WON (+$104.00)

*********************************

Then the other big hand was this one. the button was really bad, and I was trying to play as many pots with him as possible. He was running at about 75/20. Not too much of a read on UTG, but he was running about 25/11 or so.

Both these guys played it really bad. For one, UTG raises way to little. I definitely have odds to call and hit my straight, especially when you consider the button is going to call too. And then he checks on the turn. Huh? I have no idea what he had.

What do you think of my turn play? Just push it all in (I have 78 left and the pot has 103 left in it)? Or is what I did good too? I was really hoping UTG would come along too, especially with him raising on the flop. Button has AK. LOL

Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.50/$1 Blinds - 6 Players -

SB: $119.75
BB: $180.00
UTG: $100.40
Hero (MP): $112.00
CO: $183.15
BTN: $196.75

Preflop: Hero is dealt [Kc] [Qc] (6 Players)
UTG calls $1.00, Hero raises to $4.50, CO folds, BTN calls $4.50, 2 folds, UTG calls $3.50

Flop: ($15) [Jc] [Ts] [7d] (3 Players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $11.00, BTN calls $11.00, UTG raises to $29.50, Hero calls $18.50, BTN calls $18.50

Turn: ($103.50) [9s] (3 Players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $45.00, BTN raises all-in to $162.75, UTG folds, Hero calls all-in for $33.00
Uncalled bet of $84.75 returned to BTN

River: ($259.50) [7s] (2 Players - 2 All-In)

Pot Size: $259.50 ($3 Rake)

BTN had [Kd] [Ac] (a pair of Sevens) and LOST (-$112.00)
Hero had [Kc] [Qc] (a straight, King high) and WON (+$144.50)


There you have it. I am having Poker withdrawal, so I one of these next few night I'm going to put in a big session.

Cheers!

Trying out 200NL

Uggg. I did not play good this weekend. Made quite a few mistakes, plus had a couple nasty beats.

For the whole weekend, including this morning, I made 3 buy-ins at 100NL, but lost 2.5 buy-ins at 200NL, for a net loss of about $270 or so on the weekend.

I played 200NL for the first time in a couple months, and for the first time at Full Tilt. There are still plenty of bad players at 200NL. It's just too bad that I was on the losing end of things this time. I lost 3 big hands at 200NL to a 5 outer, 6 outer, and a 3 outer (Well, really a 12 outer on that one, but I don't pay off if the flush card hits. Too bad his Inside St draw card hit)

Here is the biggest one. This one sucked, because I definitely should have bet more on the flop. Plus, I usually raise all my pocket-pairs, but The button was one of the biggest fish I've seen and knew he would call any PF raise, so I limped. He was running at 80/30.

I didn't anticipate the button cold-calling my re-raise on the flop. With him cold-calling, the UTG player definitely had odds to draw. A pot sized raise would have been a raise to 27 (UTG would have to call 21 into a 42 pot). But I raised to 23 instead. But then button cold-calls the 23, so UTG only has to call 17 in a pot that already has 61 in it (3.6:1 instead of 2:1). If I would have raised to 27, and if button cold-calls, UTG is still getting 3.3:1 on his call. So raising more on the flop probably didn't make that much of a difference (Though I suppose raising to 30 or 35 gets both of them to fold ????)

The thing that sucked, is that I was pretty much spot on with my read. The button was so bad, that he could have any two cards really. I wasn't worried about what he had, and I was sure I was way ahead of him. But when UTG flat called the re-raise, I knew he was on heart draw. If he has two pair, or a higher set, He probably raises there, because it would look like to him that either me or the button would be on a draw. So when the innocent looking 8 fell on the turn, I felt my hand was still good.

I was right on my read. He had hearts. Too bad he had 67 of hearts, and that 8 hit his inside st draw. If a heart falls on that turn, I am not betting that turn and hoping for a paired river card. Uggg, I learned my lesson on that hand though.

Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $1/$2 Blinds - 6 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $198.00
BB: $273.05
UTG: $390.55
Hero (MP): $200.00
CO: $198.00
Super-Mega-Fish: $251.50

Preflop: Hero is dealt [2d] [2s] (6 Players)
UTG calls $2.00, Hero calls $2.00, CO folds, Super-Mega-Fish calls $2.00, SB folds, BB checks

Flop: ($9) [9s] [5h] [2h] (4 Players)
BB checks, UTG bets $6.00, Hero raises to $23.00, Super-Mega-Fish calls $23.00, BB folds, UTG calls $17.00

Turn: ($78) [8c] (3 Players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $65.00, Super-Mega-Fish folds, UTG raises all-in to $365.55, Hero calls all-in for $110.00
Uncalled bet of $190.55 returned to UTG

River: ($428) [Qd] (2 Players - 2 All-In)

Pot Size: $428.00 ($3 Rake)

UTG had [6h] [7h] (a straight, Nine high) and WON (+$225.00)
Hero had [2d] [2s] (three of a kind, Twos) and LOST (-$200.00)

*****************************

A couple other hands that I butchered at 100NL and ended up losing included:

Me having Aces, and a decent player calls with position. Flop is 994 rainbow, and he calls my cont bet. Turn is a Queen, and I decide to keep the pot small since I am OOP and check(MISTAKE!). He checks behind. River is a another 4. I check call a 2/3 pot sized bet and he has 43s. Oops

And then me hitting a set from MP with 22 after calling UTG's (A half stack) bet. Flop was 932 with two diamonds. I Just called his lead on the flop, cause I didn't think he was on a diamond draw. Turn was a diamond, and we get it all-in and he has K5 of diamonds (so he raised UTG with K5s. Huh???)

AA vs KK all-in PF against a half stack and lost.

Those hands were all on Saturday. On Sunday, I actually ended up a few bucks. I worked my way back to even after suffering a couple nasty beats.

The worst was this hand, at 200NL.

SB: $136.00
BB: $200.00
UTG: $163.60
CO: $199.00
Hero (BTN): $200.00

Preflop: Hero is dealt [Ah] [Ad] (5 Players)
UTG calls $2.00, CO folds, Hero raises to $9.00, SB folds, BB calls $7.00, UTG calls $7.00

Flop: ($28) [Tc] [3h] [6s] (3 Players)
BB checks, UTG bets $28.00, Hero raises all-in to $191.00, BB folds, UTG calls all-in for $126.60
Uncalled bet of $36.40 returned to Hero

Turn: ($337.20) [9d] (2 Players - 2 All-In)

River: ($337.20) [Qc] (2 Players - 2 All-In)

Pot Size: $337.20 ($3 Rake)

UTG had [Th] [Qs] (two pair, Queens and Tens) and WON (+$170.60)
Hero had [Ah] [Ad] (a pair of Aces) and LOST (-$163.60)

******************************

Then there was this one, at 100NL. This guy had a big stack, but was really bad, running at 60/20. He was a master suckout artist. So he calls my flop bet with an inside st draw, and hits runner-runner two pair. Awesome.

Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.50/$1 Blinds - 5 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $65.25
BB: $520.40
Hero (UTG): $169.50
CO: $78.05
BTN: $101.00

Preflop: Hero is dealt [Ac] [As] (5 Players)
Hero raises to $3.50, 3 folds, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($7.50) [9d] [7s] [Js] (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $6.00, BB calls $6.00

Turn: ($19.50) [Ks] (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $14.00, BB calls $14.00

River: ($47.50) [8c] (2 Players)
BB bets $47.50, Hero calls $47.50

Pot Size: $142.50 ($3 Rake)

BB had [8h] [Kh] (two pair, Kings and Eights) and WON (+$68.50)
Hero had [Ac] [As] (a pair of Aces) and LOST (-$71.00)

**********************************

So then I struggle my way back to even. And then this hand happens. I had to close down all my tables after this one, as I went on tilt when I saw what he had. I made the crying call, expecting for him to show two pair, or a made straight, or a big draw or something like that. uggg. First time I've been on mega-tilt in a while

Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $1/$2 Blinds - 5 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $113.00
BB: $196.65
UTG: $254.15
CO: $344.50
Hero (BTN): $196.65

Preflop: Hero is dealt [Kc] [Kh] (5 Players)
2 folds, Hero raises to $7.00, SB calls $6.00, BB folds

Flop: ($16) [Tc] [8c] [9s] (2 Players)
SB bets $6.00, Hero raises to $30.00, SB calls $24.00

Turn: ($76) [2h] (2 Players)
SB bets all-in for $76.00, Hero calls $76.00

River: ($228) [6d] (2 Players - 1 All-In)

Pot Size: $228.00 ($3 Rake)

SB had [6h] [6s] (three of a kind, Sixes) and WON (+$112.00)
Hero had [Kc] [Kh] (a pair of Kings) and LOST (-$113.00)

*************************************

So then later on, I logged back on, and actually climbed my way out of that hole. No memorable hands from that quick session. AK vs KK on an ace high flop. For some reason, he didn't believe I had an ace. AJ vs KJ against a donk and won his stack. etc...

Then won another stack this morning at 100NL. So to be down only $270 or so from this weekend after some of these hands is actually kind of amazing.

Cheers!!

I fixed the comments

Haloscan was acting weird lately, so I got rid of them.

So commenting should be working now. So comment!!!!

************************

Quick update: Lost a few buy-in last night, but won it all back this morning. Check out these crazy hands!

SB: $80.60
BB: $171.95
UTG: $112.85
MP: $100.00
CO: $146.30
Hero (BTN): $101.00

Preflop: Hero is dealt [5d] [8d] (6 Players)
3 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, SB calls $3.00, BB folds

Flop: ($8) [6c] [7d] [7s] (2 Players)
SB bets $4.00, Hero calls $4.00

Turn: ($16) [4d] (2 Players)
SB bets $9.00, Hero raises to $29.00, SB calls $20.00

River: ($74) [Td] (2 Players)
SB bets all-in for $44.10, Hero calls $44.10

Pot Size: $162.20 ($3 Rake)

SB had [6h] [Qh] (two pair, Sevens and Sixes) and LOST (-$80.60)
Hero had [5d] [8d] (a flush, Ten high) and WON (+$78.60)

**************************************

SB: $102.05
BB: $90.15
UTG: $100.00
MP: $77.95
CO: $222.50
Hero (BTN): $106.50

Preflop: Hero is dealt [7h] [7s] (6 Players)
3 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, SB folds, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($7.50) [2c] [8h] [6h] (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $6.00, BB calls $6.00

Turn: ($19.50) [7c] (2 Players)
BB bets $5.00, Hero raises to $20.00, BB calls $15.00

River: ($59.50) [7d] (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $30.00, BB calls $30.00

Pot Size: $119.50 ($3 Rake)

BB had [8s] [Ah] (two pair, Eights and Sevens) and LOST (-$59.50)
Hero had [7h] [7s] (four of a kind, Sevens) and WON (+$57.00)

***********************************

Lost was damn good last night. I was really surprised to see people in the underwater station. Wow! When the show started, I thought for sure Charlie was a goner. But now I am not so sure. From the preview, it looks like Desmond goes down there too. It should be interesting. Oh, and I'm sick of Jack. I think he should kick the bucket. Then Sayid or Sawyer can be the leader. They are much more interesting.

Cheers!

Minutes to Midnight

Last couple days have been pretty decent.



The first half of this graph, I don't think I played all that particularity good. I found myself bluffing more than usual. I semi-bluff frequently, but I very rarely bluff with air. A few examples:

A solid 19/11 player raises it up to $3. I call in the SB with pocket 4's. Flop is JJ7 rainbow. I check, he bets $4 into the $7 pot. I check-raise thinking I can steal the pot. He calls. Turn is a blank, and I decide to lead out, because I don't think he can call without a Jack. He does indeed call. River is an Ace, and it goes check-check, and he has J9o. Oops

I raise 54s from the CO. BB calls. He is running at 31/3. Flop is 26T with two hearts. He checks, I throw out a cont bet, and he calls. Turn is offsuit 9 and it goes check/check. River is an offsuit Jack. He checks, and I decide I can steal this pot and bet 2/3 pot. He calls with 76o, 4th pair no kicker and wins. Oops.

I did have one successful bluff though. I raise Pocket 8's in the CO. The 22/4 button calls. Flop is [Td] [9c] [4d] rainbow. I cont bet, and he calls. Turn is [Kh]. I fire a 2nd barrel (2/3 pot) and he calls again. River is [Ah]. I fire a 3rd barrel and he folds.

I usually don't do these types of plays, but within 300 hands or so, I did all three of these. Weird.

------------------------------------

The one big pot from this 3 day session was this hand.

Bet-The_Pot Forum Post

I raise JJ Pre-flop. Loose player calls. Flop is 89T. He leads, I raise, he pushes. Uggg.

I called, and he had 98 (Bottom Two Pair), and I hit a 7 on the turn to give me the straight.

I had some really strange hands with my mid-high pocket pairs

CO was a solid TAG running at 18/14/4.

SB: $99.00
Hero (BB): $95.50
UTG: $21.85
CO: $100.15
BTN: $168.50

Preflop: Hero is dealt [Jd] [Jc] (5 Players)
UTG folds, CO raises to $3.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $11.00, CO calls $7.50

Flop: ($22.50) [Ac] [3d] [4d] (2 Players)
Hero bets $17.00, CO calls $17.00

Turn: ($56.50) [4h] (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: ($56.50) [9d] (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Pot Size: $56.50 ($2.80 Rake)

CO had 5s 5d (two pair, Fives and Fours) and LOST (-$28.00)
Hero had Jd Jc (two pair, Jacks and Fours) and WON (+$25.70)

I thought for sure he had an ace. What did he put me on? KQ? He could have easily stolen that pot from me.

********************************

Ha, I don't know what to say about this one. This guy was pretty terrible. On an earlier hand, he tried to bluff me on the river, and I re-raised all-in. He folded getting like 10:1 on his money.

SB: $311.85
BB: $97.90
UTG: $101.65
MP: $32.70
Hero (CO): $164.50
BTN: $53.80

Preflop: Hero is dealt [Qs] [Qh] (6 Players)
2 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, BTN calls $3.50, 2 folds

Flop: ($8.50) [Kh] [2s] [6s] (2 Players)
Hero bets $6.00, BTN calls $6.00

Turn: ($20.50) [As] (2 Players)
Hero bets $14.00, BTN calls $14.00

River: ($48.50) [2d] (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

Pot Size: $48.50 ($2.40 Rake)

BTN had [6h] [3h] (two pair, Sixes and Twos) and LOST (-$23.50)
Hero had [Qs] [Qh] (two pair, Queens and Twos) and WON (+$22.60)

*******************************

This dudes stats were 52/7/0.7

SB: $171.30
Hero (BB): $98.00
UTG: $99.00
MP: $115.25
CO: $114.00
BTN: $94.50

Preflop: Hero is dealt [Qc] [Qh] (6 Players)
4 folds, SB calls $0.50, Hero raises to $3.50, SB calls $2.50

Flop: ($7) [Ks] [5h] [Td] (2 Players)
SB bets $7.00, Hero raises to $24.00, SB calls $17.00

Turn: ($55) [4s] (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($55) [Js] (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Pot Size: $55.00 ($2.75 Rake)

SB had [Ah] [Jd] (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-$27.50)
Hero had [Qc] [Qh] (a pair of Queens) and WON (+$24.75)

If anyone has any advice on how I could have played these better, please let me know

*******************************

Yesterday, I picked up the new Linkin Park Album, Minutes to Midnight.

I've only listened to it twice through. There are a few decent songs, but it is definitely not as good as their previous two albums. Hybrid Theory and Meteora were albums you could play all the way through, and almost every song was good. Not the case with their new album. Maybe it will grow on me.

There are too many slow/mellow songs. Not enough rockin songs. And I think they got on the ole political rant song bandwagon a little too late. I mean, Green Day did it over 3-4 years ago with American Idiot. Everyone is doing it now, so they don't sound original.

Cheers!

Saturday Is Alright!

Not a bad Saturday



I think this was my best day ever. I won four buy-ins pretty much off the bat. At one point, I was up $750 for the day. As Borat would say, "Niiiiiiiice!"

Here are some of the big hands:

Not sure why I just checked in the BB here. I usually would raise here with 9's. Villain was running at 51/10.

UTG ($364.10)
MP ($187.75)
Button ($105.65)
SB ($145)
HERO ($100)

Preflop: HERO is HERO with 9s, 9d.
UTG calls $1, 1 fold, Button calls $1, SB completes, HERO checks.

Flop: ($4) 9c, Qc, Ad (4 players)
SB checks, HERO bets $3.5, UTG raises to $7, Button folds, SB folds, HERO raises to $22, UTG raises to $37, HERO raises to $99 (All-In), UTG calls $62.

Turn: ($199.00) 8s (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($199.00) 5s (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $199.00

HERO has 9s 9d (three of a kind, nines).
UTG has As Qh (two pair, aces and queens).
Outcome: HERO wins $199.

******************************

Villain was really Loose-Aggressive (38/18/4). I've got 12 outs twice and hit.

Button ($139.10)
Hero ($273)
BB ($155.35)
UTG ($80.40)

Preflop: HERO is SB with Js, As.
UTG raises to $4, 1 fold, HERO calls $3.50, BB calls $3.

Flop: ($12) Ks, 8s, 6d (3 players)
HERO checks, BB checks, UTG bets $12, HERO raises to $48, BB folds, UTG raises to $76.4 (All-In), HERO calls $28.40.

Turn: ($162.80) Ac (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($162.80) 7c (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $162.80

UTG has Kc Qh (one pair, kings).
HERO has Js As (one pair, aces).

***********************************

This guy was crazy (41/14) and was a big loser in my database. I probably could have pushed the flop. I've got a flush draw and a gutshot (12 outs) and hit. Yay me!

BB ($97.35)
UTG ($140.10)
HERO ($102.25)
Button ($342.20)
SB ($67.75)

Preflop: HERO is MP with 5s, 2s.
1 fold, HERO raises to $3.5, Button calls $3.50, 2 folds.

Flop: ($8.50) Ac, Ts, 3s (2 players)
HERO bets $6, Button raises to $26.5, HERO calls $20.50.

Turn: ($61.50) 8s (2 players)
HERO checks, Button checks.

River: ($61.50) Qh (2 players)
HERO bets $72.25 (All-In), Button calls $72.25.

Final Pot: $206

HERO has 5s 2s (flush, ten high).
Button has As Kd (one pair, aces).
Outcome: Hero wins $206.

************************************

Same guy as above. Not sure what he is doing leading that flop. I call cause he is terrible and I have an OESD plus a pair. His turn and river calls are terrible. But thanks anyway!

UTG ($140.60)
HERO ($201.50)
SB ($228.85)
BB ($79)

Preflop: HERO is Button with Th, Qh.
1 fold, HERO raises to $3.5, SB calls $3, 1 fold.

Flop: ($8) Qc, Ks, Jd (2 players)
SB bets $8, HERO calls $8.

Turn: ($24) As (2 players)
SB checks, HERO bets $22, SB calls $22.

River: ($68) 6d (2 players)
SB checks, HERO bets $40, SB calls $40.

Final Pot: $148

HERO has Th Qh (straight, ace high).
SB has Ad 8d (one pair, aces).
Outcome: Hero wins $148.

******************************

I finally get on the Crazy table that I've been waiting to get on for a while. And as a bonus, I have position on one of the crazies. He is running at 81/41! This is my first hand of the table. I won't fold to a min-raise PF when I am in the BB, especially when there are others in the pot. My flop call was marginal, but I felt that if I hit, he would pay me off. Oh, and LOL at his turn check. Thanks for that!

Button ($198.40)
SB ($122.55)
HERO ($100)
UTG ($38.20)
MP ($105.95)
CO ($138.80)

Preflop: HERO is BB with Js, 3s.
UTG raises to $2, 2 folds, Button calls $2, SB calls $1.50, HERO calls $1.

Flop: ($8) 6h, 5s, 8s (4 players)
SB bets $8, HERO calls $8, UTG folds, Button folds.

Turn: ($24) Ac (2 players)
SB checks, HERO checks.

River: ($24) Ks (2 players)
SB bets $24, HERO raises to $90 (All-In), SB calls $66.

Final Pot: $204

SB has Ah 8c (two pair, aces and eights).
HERO has Js 3s (flush, king high).
Outcome: Hero wins $204.

*******************************

Villain in this hand was running at 50/18. I probably should have raised on the flop to charge draws. His push leading the turn made my decision pretty easy, especially with the blank that fell.

BB ($305.35)
UTG ($71.35)
MP ($64.05)
HERO ($98.05)
Button ($118.25)
SB ($49.45)

Preflop: HERO is CO with Jc, Jd.
1 fold, MP calls $1, HERO raises to $4.5, 2 folds, BB calls $3.50, MP calls $3.50.

Flop: ($14) Jh, Qs, Ks (3 players)
BB bets $13, MP folds, HERO calls $13.

Turn: ($40) 3d (2 players)
BB bets $111, HERO calls $80.55 (All-In).

River: ($201.10) 9d (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $201.10

BB has Kh Js (two pair, kings and jacks).
HERO has Jc Jd (three of a kind, jacks).
Outcome: HERO wins $201.10.

**********************************

So there is a raise, the button calls, the SB calls, and I decide to put out a big squeeze play with my AQ. First two fold, and then SB re-raises?!?!!? This guy was running at 44/22, so I thought that there was no way a big hand like AA - QQ or AK would play this way. I push and he calls with AT. Niiiiiice!

UTG ($225.50)
Button ($96.10)
SB ($150.20)
HERO ($98.50)

Preflop: HERO is BB with Qh, Ac.
UTG raises to $3, Button calls $3, SB calls $2.50, HERO raises to $15, UTG folds, Button folds, SB raises to $51, HERO raises to $98.5 (All-In), SB calls $47.50.

Flop: ($204) Jd, 6h, 8d (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($204) 3d (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($204) 4h (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $204

SB has As Td (high card, ace).
HERO has Qh Ac (high card, ace).
Outcome: Hero wins $204.

************************************

Those were the big winners. I made a few mistakes, but none of those cost me more than $25. One was where some TAG limps, I raise from the button with TT and he calls. Flop comes Jack high. He checks, I bet, and he raises all-in. I call the $25 extra (probably could have folded), and he showed KK. Huh?

Then there was KQ vs a short stack donk. We get it all-in on the K, 8, 7 flop. Oh well.

So, if you want to make money playing poker, seek out the people playing over 50% of their hands (Oh and hit some of your draws). I did, and it made me a lot of money this weekend.

Cheers!

Sweet, Another Six Buy-in Upswing!

I had my small 2 buy-in downswing on Monday, but the last 2+ days have been pretty good. 964 hands and +$584. What is kind of surprising, is that I have been dealt Aces just once, and Kings twice in that span. And until this morning, there was only one set in there (Played only 4o hands this morning, and won a stack with a flopped set of 8's). Just a lot of small to medium wins. In those 964 hands, there were three hands that I won more than a stack, and one hand where I lost close to a stack. I've really been picking on the really bad short/half stacks that have been out there.



Here are a couple of the more interesting hands:

UTG was really loose. His stats were 55/19. If he had one of those top 55% hands, he would call any PF raise. I had re-raised him at least one other time, which he called PF, but he folded to my flop continuation bet. This is kind of a weird situation. You get a pot sized bet, then THREE people call that. AK does not fair well against many opponents, so I had to re-raise big. And, I would be out of position the rest of the hand, so I am pretty much committing myself to the hand. My flop bet was a little small. I'm not sure why I bet only 2/3 pot. I think I did that to give myself an excuse to fold if villain pushed. But I ended up calling anyway. Doh! There was just too much money in the pot already, and I though I had at least 6 outs and maybe even ahead and getting 2.7:1 on my money.

MP ($115.35)
CO ($100)
Button ($25.90)
SB ($185.50)
Hero ($127.50)
UTG ($176.30)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Kd, As.
UTG raises to $3.5, MP calls $3.50, CO calls $3.50, 1 fold, SB calls $3, HERO raises to $22, UTG calls $17.50, MP folds, CO folds, SB folds.

Flop: ($53.50) 6d, Js, 9h (2 players)
HERO bets $35, UTG raises to $155.3 (All-In), Hero calls $71.50 (All-In).

Turn: ($266.50) 3h (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($266.50) 7h (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $266.50

Hero has Kd As (high card, ace).
UTG has Ad Qs (high card, ace).
Outcome: Hero wins $266.50.

***************************

This was the one big hand I lost. Once the money went it, it was pretty much a coinflip. Oh well. I probably could have folded, but it was a blind on blind confrontation with a player who was pretty decent and was capable of making moves.

BB ($89.70)
UTG ($126.40)
MP ($249.85)
Button ($281.95)
Hero ($100.90)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9d, 9s.
3 folds, HERO raises to $3.50, BB calls $2.50.

Flop: ($7.00) 7c, 6s, 4c (2 players)
HERO bets $4.5, BB raises to $9, HERO raises to $30.5, BB raises to $86.20 (All-In), HERO calls $55.70.

Turn: ($179.40) 4h (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($179.40) Qc (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $179.40

HERO Shows 9d, 9s (Pair of Nines)
BB shows Ac Jc (Flush, Ace High)
Outcome: BB Wins $179.40

***********************

Here is one of my sets. I raise it up UTG and get 4 callers! Yikes! Then the flop is perfect. I probably didn't play this one optimally. Villain was running 40/15/2.5. He said he had Pocket 9's afterwards. It's hard to get paid off out of position :(

CO ($83.95)
Button ($32.30)
SB ($54)
BB ($81.90)
Hero ($118.30)
MP ($107.50)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 6h, 6c.
HERO raises to $3.5, MP calls $3.50, 1 fold, Button calls $3.50, SB calls $3, 1 fold.

Flop: ($15.00) 5c, 5s, 6d (4 players)
SB checks, HERO bets $8, MP raises to $16, Button folds, SB folds, Hero calls $8.

Turn: ($47.00) Qs (2 players)
HERO checks, MP bets $12, HERO raises to $24, MP calls $12.

River: ($95.00) 2s (2 players)
HERO bets $74.8 (All-In), MP folds.

Final Pot: $95.00

*****************************

My set from this morning. Here I am in position. See how much easier it is to get paid off in position? Villain was pretty agro (25/19/11), and the other two people in the hand were terrible, so I just flat called the Pre-flop betters continuation bet hoping one of them would tag along. There weren't too many draws out there, so I felt it was ok to do this. I probably could have flat called his turn bet too, but he was showing strength so I felt he'd call my push.

Hero ($100)
Button ($85.90)
SB ($24)
BB ($93.50)
UTG ($50.50)
MP ($117.95)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 8d, 8h.
UTG calls $1, MP raises to $4.5, HERO calls $4.50, 2 folds, BB calls $3.50, UTG folds.

Flop: ($15) Ad, Jh, 8s (3 players)
BB checks, MP bets $11, HERO calls $11, BB folds.

Turn: ($37) 9c (2 players)
MP bets $30, HERO raises to $84.5 (All-In), MP calls $54.50.

River: ($206) 6h (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $206

MP has 8c Ac (two pair, aces and eights).
Hero has 8d 8h (three of a kind, eights).
Outcome: Hero wins $206.

****************************

Did you watch Lost last night? Whoa, I won't spoil it for anyone that hasn't watched it yet, but I was surprised at the end of the episode. I have hard time believing they would have that particular character killed off. I am sure that that person will be back. They better, or I'll be pissed off.

Cheers!

Instant Karma!

So on my way home for lunch on Friday, I was waiting at the stop light coming off of the highway, and there was this homeless/hitchhiker guy standing up there with a sign asking for money so he could get something to eat or to get his drink on, whatever :) He looked like a early 70's John Lennon, long beard and all. I was first in line at the stop light, and I actually looked over and said to myself, "Whoa, it's John Lennon!!" The last couple months, I have been back in my classic rock phase, with the Beatles and John Lennon solo stuff being at the top of the list. I had actually listened to some John Lennon stuff earlier that day.

So I took it as a sign, rolled down my window, and gave the guy some money. I said, "Here ya go, Good Luck" and he thanked me and said "You too".

I attribute this to my big winning session at the online tables on Saturday night. Instant Karma!

********************************

Things finally turned around this weekend, as I am now out of the red for the month. Though of course, this morning brought me right back near even, blah.

The weekend started off bad, with me trying 100NL full ring for a little while. Man, was that a mistake. 200 hands and 1.5 buy-ins down quickly convinced me to never play full ring again. Ran QQ into a short stacks Aces, and bet a couple big draw hard that never got there.

So later that night, I was determined to turn things around. I grabbed my Beatles records (I have the Red and Blue Albums on Vinyl), and decided to put in a good session with a few tournaments with as many 6 max cash games as I could play.

The tournaments went pretty good. It started off with me winning a seat into the nightly $100, 30k guaranteed Full Tilt tournament. I was doing ok for a while, with about 1.5 times the starting stack until I ran KK into AA all-in PF. This is a 6 max tournament, so that hurt even more. What's up with me running KK into AA so often lately? I think it has been at least 5 times in my last 9000 hands or so. pathetic.

Then I played in the $24+2, 26k guaranteed at Full Tilt. I was playing nice and tight and had won a few pots to keep me around an average stack. Then about an hour and a half in, I get AQ and raise it up and get called. Flop is Ace high, and I get it all-in against some donk who flips up AJ. Jack on the river, and I go home. Am I surprised? No. This tournament is chock full of donks.

Then I played in PokerStars $10 Rebuy, 55k guaranteed madness tourney. I didn't get many good starting hands, and I didn't want to play like a maniac and burn through 20 re-buys. I got all-in on an all low cards flop with KK vs AQ, only to have an Ace fall on the river. I did a double re-buy, and right before the end of the re-buy period, I was able to double up with QQ vs AQ against the same guy. I took the add-on, and was in for $50.

I played extremely tight the rest of the way. With re-buys, there are a lot of chips out there, so you still can have a really high M in the 2nd and 3rd hours. I only played my really big hands, and occasionally stole the blinds when it was folded around to me in the CO of Button. And then all of a sudden the money bubble came and went (top 180 out of 1100 or so got money). I was able to double up a few times with Aces once, and Kings once. It seemed that every big hand I got, I was UTG, so I would push, and there was always someone there to call me with their 88 or KQ or 87. It was great.

Down to 55 people left, and I have just over 2 Big Blinds left. I'm UTG, and figure I have to push any two cards now, cause I will for sure be all-in the next hand. Wouldn't you know it, but I get dealt QQ. So I push in my 19,000 ( I think blinds were 4,000/8,000; ante:250) and the CO pushes his small stack in. Then the SB pushes his stack in! Then the BB calls all-in too!!!!!! They show KJo, AKo, and AK0!! Ya baby, I'm going to quadruple up! I'm 66% to win here. There is one Kings, and two Aces left in the deck. If I win this, I'm back up to an average stack, and have a shot at the final table (First place gets over 11 G's). But the flop bring one of the Aces, and I'm done. 55th paid out about $145, so I made a pretty decent $95.

**************************************

Cash games on Saturday went really well. I won just over 5 buy-ins at 100NL. And that was with a couple bad beats too. I was running really well. And it doesn't hurt to play with the drunkards that find their way to the poker tables on a Saturday night. Here are some of the more interesting hands:

Both alphagator and ITguy were total fishes. ITguy was super agro post flop, and alphagator was playing at 95/40. He would limp PF, then when someone would raise, he would min-re-raise. I'm not sure if I should have pushed or raised on the flop there. I had the nut flush draw and two overs. Turn card is a great card for me, and I raise, and ITguy folds, even though it is just $37 more to call.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1071901

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This one is just sick. Again, it is against alphagator. Not sure why he didn't bet river there. I'm glad I checked behind there.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1071917

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Another river suckout. Calls my flop re-raise with top pair, 5th kicker.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1071926

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Yahoo, I win a set over set! First time in a long time. The first I can remember for the year actually. I wonder if I should have just called the flop re-raise and maybe get the donk behind me to tag along? Na, don't get too greedy.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1071941

***********************************

Standard

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1071948
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1071953 (Maybe should raise that river?)

***********************************

Pretty standard. Not sure what he is doing with J9 here. I checked river because it doesn't get a better hand to fold and if I do bet, it lets hands I beat fold. I think 2 pair probably checks behind because of the flush possibility and I save my self $33. And even if he bets, I only need to be right one time in five to make this a profitable call (I'm getting 4:1 on my money). As you can see, he had air, and I won a big pot.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1071957

***********************************

Another standard hand. You can't play KK much worse than how he did. Yikes!

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1071993

***********************************

Nice flop for me. I think I played this one well. After seeing what he had, I could have probably gotten his whole stack. oh well.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1072001

***********************************

This morning it was more of the same though. A couple nasty beats. QQ vs AQ all-in PF against a half stack and lose. JJ vs 87o all-in PF against another half stack and I lose.

And this one takes the cake:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1072026

***********************************

What do you people think of my posting hands over at pokerhand.org? Or should I just post the condensed hand history here (like I was doing in the past). It's possible that some people can't get to that website from work or something, so if that is the case, let me know, and I will post hands like I did in the past.

Cheers!

May is Meh

I finally had a winning session this morning, but I'm still down for the month like a buy-in and a half or so. People flopping the nuts against me sucks. Especially when I have a hand myself. Here are some of the more interesting hands from the week

Dumbass me didn't re-raise AK Pre-flop. CO was 27/11 and the button was a donk. Then CO flops the nuts. Hooray

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1061507
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Another mistake with AK. One should never just call a 4-bet with AK. Either Push or Fold. Yikes!

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1061512
---------------------
I think I played this hand fine. I fire out a standard cont-bet, and if he called or raised, I was pretty much done with the hand. But the turn give me the straight. I wanted to keep the pot small, so I planned on checking behind and call any blank river. Again, villain flops the nuts with KTo. Dude was 47 VPIP/14 PFR%

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1061513
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Another fun hand against a maniac. He was 55/35. I have a really hard time folding Overpairs against donks. He probably does the same thing with any Queen and probably just air too.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1061557
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Icha-wa-wa. Not sure what to say about this hand. He calls the flop with no pair, no draw, and just two overcards. Him having two spades wasn't anything close to what I put him on. His stats were 42/4 and a big loser. I should have bet the turn, but if he calls the flop with that hand, he for sure is calling anything on the turn with his flush draw

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1061559
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A 30/14/1.13 (Aggression Factor) check-raises with complete air and hits his 3 outer on the turn. I definitely should have re-popped him on the flop.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1061568
---------------------
This hand was really weird. I actually think I was colluded against here, because both the people in this hand left the table and logged off right afterwards. The SBs play is absolutely terrible. There is no way he can think his hand is good after my raise and the CO cold calls. I probably shouldn't have called after the cold-call and raise all-in, but it wasn't that much more, and there was so much in the pot. Oh well.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1061571
----------------------
Lets end on a happy note.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1061582

Cheers!

April Results

April was a pretty decent month. It was shaping up to be one of my best months ever, but the last week or so (Really, a 1200 hand stretch in there) wasn't good. Here is the graph for the whole month of April



That stretch from hand 8300 - 9900 was really brutal. I don't think I played too bad, there were just a bunch of weird hands and coolers in there. In that span, I was shown KQ twice (With me having either AK or AQ), T3o, and J9o in hands where I re-raised them PF, and their crappy hands ended up winning. The T3o hand was the worst. He bet, I re-raised PF and he called. Flop was like 863 rainbow. We got it all-in on the flop, and he ends up winning. Fun Fun!!

*************************************

I'm pretty much just playing at Full Tilt now. I was playing some at Prima, but I haven't logged on there in a couple weeks. The software, plus the ability to datamine 16 tables at once is too big of an advantage. I hadn't played regularly at Full Tilt in the past because I thought that it was mostly made up of tight nit's, but I have definitely been proven wrong on that account.

So lets take a look at the numbers.

• 100 NL 6-max: +843.49
• MTTs: -$60.64
• Prima Rakeback: +$32.11
• Full Tilt Bonus: +$50.00
  

April Grand Total: +$864.96

I didn't include the rakeback I will get from Full Tilt, because I don't get that until later in May. But I figure to make about $170 from rakeback. PokerTracker says I put in a total of 40.3 hours. If you add all that up, I made about $25.68 an hour. Not too bad for 100 NL if you ask me.

Since I will be playing mainly at Full Tilt for the foreseeable future, I want to look a little deeper at my numbers.

• 9617 hands, 33 hours MT Ratio of 3.55 ($26.10 per hour not including rakeback)
• 4.48 PTBB/100 (equivalent to 8.96 BB's, or $8.96 at 100NL)
  
• VPIP = 20.1, PFR% = 14.2
  

All of that is pretty respectable. I wouldn't mind playing a little tighter though, and I am working on that.

I also did a lot of Datamining. I have 5000 hands or more on 42 players, so let's compare me to them. Out of the 42 people, I was the 12th best in terms of PTBB/100. Here is part of that list, with their VPIP and PFR% numbers next to them.

• 14.25 PTBB/100; 16.8/14.5
• 9.13; 21.5/15.8
• 8.73; 19.1/9.6
• 7.65; 24/17
• 6.53; 29/21
• 6.31; 19/15
• 6.24; 18.4/9.6
• 5.61; 17.6/11.4
• 4.97; 22/16
• 4.85; 18/11
• 4.51; 16.5/9.7
• 4.48 - yours truly
• 
  
• 
  
• -5.95; 22/7.6
• -6.25; 21/8
• -6.66; 26/17
• -7.30; 21/12
• -8.30; 26.5/7.6
  

Pretty interesting stuff. Granted, I can't datamine every hand, so everyone on that list for sure has many more hands, but I think after 5000 hands you get a pretty good idea how someone plays or how they are running. And Holy Cow! 14.25 PTBB/100. That's insane. I thought I was running super hot the first 2/3 of the month, and I was only at 10.75 PTBB/100!

************************************

I finally purchased PokerAce HUD this past weekend. I had been getting by by using Gametime+ to display stats, but after watching some of FruityPro's videos at CardRunners, he sold me on the power of PA HUD. I now have a set-up just like him, and I am really liking the extra information it is giving me. Most especially are the continuation-bet numbers that it spits out. I basically can know before hand if someone is going to call my continuation bet, and I think it has saved me a lot of money. Thanks FruityPro!

I thought May was going to start off great this morning, because there was an extra abundance of idiots on the tables. I ran across one guy was running at 95/60 and another at 60/30. I was able to take some money off of the first (I was out of position and just called huge Pre-flop, flop, and turn bets. he didn't bet the river and showed K2o for no pair no draw). But the 2nd guy, I couldn't hit anything against him. And then I lost a few pots to short stacks when they open limped from the CO or button, I raised from the blinds, and then they pushed all-in. AK < TT and AQ < AK

Good luck!