Well the streak continues my friends. Just took down #5 out of 6, boosting the ROI for $10 games to nearly 241%. It was another solid victory in what has been an incredibly hot run. Hopefully this post will be followed with a 6-out-of-7 celebratory announcement.
Also, this past game provided me with some interesting hands to reflect on, particularly when it comes to playing pretty tight-passive opponents in short-handed or bubble situations. Some of these would seem like pretty bizarre moves, but when you take the reads I had on these players into effect, they not only become a little easier to understand, but you can see how some of these moves were essential in nailing down the win.
HAND #1: THE PREFLOP RERAISE STEAL
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 40/80 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BTN: 2,130
Hero (SB): 1,365
BB: 3,730
UTG: 1,180
MP: 1,700
CO: 3,395
Pre-Flop: (120) Ts As dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG folds, MP raises to 160, 2 folds, Hero raises to 420, 2 folds
Results: 400 Pot
Hero mucked Ts As and WON 400 (+240 NET)
So here you can see we're down to 6-handed, with blinds at 40/80. This is a common middle-stage setting to find yourself in, and a point at which I feel little trick plays really start to make a difference. By this point you should have some solid reads on your opponents, and I generally use the early stages to take record notes about each player at the table.
As you can see my stack wasn't great, but I wasn't exactly in need of life-support quite yet either. At this point I had only come into one pot, raising before the flop with QQ (50 to 175, 1 limper) and taking it down then and there. To the other players, I was probably seen as a pretty tight-solid type.
The MP player had min-raised before the flop like this a number of times, with or without a limper or two, and on most hands he seemed to miss the flop and slowed down quite a bit rather than making continuation bets. I suspected he was putting the min-raises in with a variety of mediocre hands like middle pairs, weak aces, and any two paint cards. For the most part he seemed to have loose-passive tendencies when leading the betting, but very tight-passive when meeting resistance.
My raise from out of position here, particularly when combined with my tight play up to this point, is meant to signify strength. While it is quite likely that I do have the best hand, it tells the MP player that I definitely have him beat, and that he should fold and save his medium stack for a better spot. At the same time, it serves to get the BB out of the pot, which would be less likely if I had smooth-called. So instead of getting in a 3-way pot with a mediocre hand in the worst position, I manage to take down a decent-sized pot before the flop with a little aggression. I should note though, that without my read on the MP player, and gut feeling that he'll most likely fold here, I would most likely call here and see the flop.
HAND #2: THE SHORT-STACK-COGNISANT BLIND STEAL
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 60/120 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
MP: 4,980
Hero (CO): 1,775
BTN: 3,560
SB: 800
BB: 1,290
UTG: 1,095
Pre-Flop: (180) 9c 7c dealt to Hero (CO)
2 folds, Hero raises to 280, 2 folds, BB calls 160
Flop: (620) 7s Ad Ah (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets 220, BB folds
Results: 620 Pot
Hero mucked 9c 7c and WON 620 (+340 NET)
Still at 6-handed here, and although my stack isn't spectacular, it's doing better after the aforementioned re-steal and another quick blind steal in between. We also have 3 stacks that are fairly crippled and may be looking to make a move with the blinds now at 60/120. Here we have two such players in the blinds, and each player has been very tight-passive during the last few stages. We also have a big stack right to our left, though for the most part they have been content to stay out of hands and may just be waiting things out. There have been almost no re-raises before the flop, with most raises resulting in winning the blinds, or a quick call and check-bet-fold on the flop.
My hand here is nothing spectacular, but I hadn't put a raise in for a few hands, and was relying on the passiveness of the blinds to pick up some extra chips and keep pecking away at them. Still there is the possibility that either player will pick up some sort of hand and will come over the top of me. So I don't want to raise too much and commit myself to what will most likely be doubling them up. At the same time I'm a little weary of the big stack to my left, and I don't want to commit too much of my own stack in taking a stab at this. A raise to 280 is just a little above a min-raise and could do the trick given the blinds extremely tight play, while it'll also allow me to get away in the event of a push.
Our BB, who is the same player as the MP guy in Hand #1, makes the call, and checks to me on the flop. Thus far we haven't seen him slowplay or check-raise anything, so it's unlikely that he has an Ace. Likewise, we paired our 7 and quite possibly have the best hand right now. Let's put out a bet that's part semi-bluff and part value-bet. My bet of 220 is about 1/3rd of the pot, and really is meant to say "I hit trip Aces and am hoping to suck you in." Against a player that hasn't shown to be very tricky, or most likely just doesn't have much of anything, this bet is often going to work. At the same time, the small size of the bet allows us a little wiggle room if we feel like getting away in the event that the BB check-raises and throws his remaining 1,000 or so into the pot. Fortunately he does just what we want, we continue to chip up and chip away at the short stacks, and we don't have to sweat those Aces.
HAND #3: THE STONE COLD STAB
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 6,320
Hero (UTG): 2,295
BTN: 3,060
SB: 1,825
Pre-Flop: (240) Th Qh dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to 400, BTN calls 400, SB folds, BB calls 240
Flop: (1,280) 7d 2h 8s (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks
Turn: (1,280) 6d (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks
River: (1,280) 8d (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets 800, 2 folds
Results: 1,280 Pot
Hero mucked Th Qh and WON 1,280 (+880 NET)
Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures, and this hand is one such example. We're playing 4-handed now and things had still been fairly tight-passive, with most of my opponents playing pretty straightforward poker. I put in a little steal attempt, but get a not-so-great call from the Button player, and then an ensuing call from the BB that could've been pretty easy to make with the odds he was being offered. No signs of incredible strength from anyone, but I'll have to tread lightly since both players have me out-stacked.
The flop is a barren desert of hope for me, as I completely miss. Chances are my opponents also missed though, especially if they're on paint cards. I decide to be a wuss though and abandon my steal attempt rather than trying to follow it up with a foolish continuation bet into this 3-way mess. However, after all players check through the flop and turn, I'm starting to reexamine things.
No one seems to have a piece of any of this, unless someone's seriously slowplaying something, or if the 3 diamonds made a flush for someone. But even a flush or straight draw would have probably put out a bet on the turn, and the 8 on the river most likely helped no one since they would have bet with top pair on the flop. Chances are we're all sitting on air here. At the same time I don't think my Queen-high is going to take it down. This is a fairly sizable pot that my opponents don't seem very interested in, though it would greatly help to boost my stack. I decide to put out 800 of my last 1,800 or so chips - a bet that either player will find hard to call with just Ace or King-high. Given that only one player was yet to act, and that it had been checked through to this point, I had to man-up and take a stab at this. It's just one of those hands where you forget what you have and look at all the cues that your opponents are giving you. My opponents actions here told me to bet and I took down a very significant pot that boosted me into 2nd stack.
HAND #4: THE BROW-WIPER
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 100/200 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 5,555
Hero (BB): 3,475
UTG: 2,600
BTN: 1,870
Pre-Flop: (300) 6c 7d dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, BTN raises to 400, SB folds, Hero calls 200
Flop: (900) Js 8h Td (2 Players)
Hero bets 400, BTN calls 400
Turn: (1,700) Jd (2 Players)
Hero bets 1,200, BTN folds
Results: 1,700 Pot
Hero mucked 6c 7d and WON 1,700 (+900 NET)
So you're probably thinking something along the lines of "W...T...F?" right now. Well let me try to explain this one. First of all - the pre-flop call. I called here since our opponent (same as MP in Hand #1 and BB in Hand #2) has been doing these little min-raises all game and will quite often give it up after the flop to a little resistance, even a little probe bet should do. So that explains the call and the little bet on the flop. Normally after he makes the call on the flop, I'm totally done with this hand, and will check-fold it down. Against a tight-passive player the one quick stab is usually worth it, but after that it's pretty hopeless without a hand.
However, the Jack on the turn gets me thinking real quick. I've seen the BTN here make small calls on flops with overs and draws, then fold it to a bigger bet on the turn. I also can assume by his flat call that he really didn't hit much on this flop, and that he certainly doesn't have a Jack, otherwise he would've raised the flop. He could be on AK, AQ, possibly KQ, A9, A8, or some sort of weak but not entirely hopeless on the flop type of hand. The Jack on the turn, coupled with his tight play, gives me the green light to go ahead and put my instincts to the test here. I have him covered by a good bit and am putting his bubbly tournament existence on the line... he'll be hard-pressed to make a call with any of the variety of overcards and draws that I put him on after the flop. Against a looser player that's become pretty reckless around the bubble, I'd be much more cautious, but I feel comfortable putting the pressure on here since I'm able to disregard my own hand and narrow in on what he may have. I don't make very many moves like this, but this is one instance in which I feel I really had the read to make such a bold bet.
So thanks to hands like these, love em or hate em, I was able to eventually take down the tournament. The above hands mainly helped to boost my stack and put me in a good position when we got down to 3-handed. Then after I hit the ridiculous flop below, it was pretty much over...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 120/240 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 7,355
Hero (BB): 6,145
Pre-Flop: (360) Ks 6s dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 600, Hero calls 360
Flop: (1,200) Ts Js 9s (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets 800, Hero calls 800
Turn: (2,800) 4c (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets 1,800, Hero raises to 4,745 and is All-In, SB calls 2,945
River: (12,290) 5c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 12,290 Pot
SB showed Kh Kd (a pair of Kings) and LOST (-6,145 NET)
Hero showed Ks 6s (a flush, King high) and WON 12,290 (+6,145 NET)
So I definitely got a little bit of help there, but I think my play overall is improving, and should hopefully help me to keep this 200%+ ROI streak going...
Do I hear 6 out of 7?
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Ups, Downs, and Comical Poker Names
Alright, let's go in chronological order here, starting with last night...
Last night I arranged a rare live cash game featuring myself, the lady friend, my sis and her husband, and three friends. We just played some standard nickel-dime no-limit, with a $15 max buy-in, or as my sister's husband would describe it, "enough to make it interesting, but not painful," which, as my friend pointed out, "could refer to a lot of fun things." But anyways, to sum the night up for me, it was freaking brutal. I took a beating like none other, with solid starting hands either completely missing flops or connecting well only to get drawn out on time and time again on wicked turns and rivers. Meanwhile the brother-in-law was playing crap like J4o and hitting crazy boards... he seriously hit quads at least three times during the night, and without a pair in the hole. To give you a feeling on how ridiculous the night got, I'll recount one of the wildest hands from the night, though I was not personally involved in this one...
(Names have been changed to protect the innocent/guilty)
Preflop:
"Sticky Chips" Malloy: raises it up from $0.10 to $0.60
"Sloppy Deuce" Stevenson: reraises to $1.20
"Big Flop" Johnson: calls $1.20
Sticky Chips: reraises to $3.70
Sloppy Deuce: reraises to $7.40
Big Flop: groans and calls $7.40
Sticky Chips: calls $7.40
Flop: (something like 7h-8h-xh, where x was a 2 or 3... also about $23 in the pot)
Sloppy Deuce: checks
Big Flop: checks
Sticky Chips: goes all-in for $21-change
Sloppy Deuce: calls $21, with chips remaining
Big Flop: calls $21, also with chips remaining
Turn: (random low heart) both Deuce and Flop check
River: (another low heart) both players check again
Outcome:
So there's a flush on the board, with the highest card being the 8h, about $85-90 in the pot. Hands are flipped over...
Sticky Chips: KcQc
Sloppy Deuce: KsKd
Big Flop: Jd7d
All 3 players play the board and split the biggest pot of the night. Deuce was about a 69% favorite before the flop, about 74% on the flop, and about 69% again on the river, with a 21% chance to tie. Big Flop was 17% preflop, 20% on the flop, and about 10% going to the river. Sticky Chips was 13% before the flop, and pretty much dead (0.33%, with 1% tie) when he pushed the rest of his chips in.
But yeah, this kind of stuff was going on all night, just in smaller amounts, and it kept eating away at my stack beat after beat. All-in-all it was a fun night, but sweet hey-zeus did I ever get hosed...
... which is why the online win I squeezed out earlier today was even more satisfying. Not only was it much needed in restoring my confidence as a poker player to its previous level of sub-amateur mediocrity, but it was also my 4th win in the first 5 $10 SNG's I've played... a streak I hope to continue but will realistically fail to do so. Still a fairly impressive beginning to this new stage of my bankroll building process. Here's a summary...
$10 SNG's:
1st place - 4
6th place - 1
Total: 5
Average Finish = 2.00
Invested: (10+1) x 5 = $55
Return: 45 x 4 = $180
Net Profit = 180-55 = $125
ROI = 227.27% (not too shabby)
... and a comparison to the $5 SNG data, for which I have a more decent sample size...
$5 SNG's:
Average Finish = 3.94
Total: 101
Invested: $555.50
Return: $720.00
Net Profit = $164.50
ROI = 29.61% (more realistic, and decent I suppose)
Funny enough my start at $5 SNG's was straight into the red, and I didn't even have a dollar of profit to show until after my 17th game. Up to +$32 at game 22, back down to +$8.50 at 32, and then things finally took off (learning curve?) at 34, with gradual upswings. Hopefully I can keep the sharp climb of this one going. For now I'm just gunning for 5 wins out of 6... my bankroll is loving this swing.
Last night I arranged a rare live cash game featuring myself, the lady friend, my sis and her husband, and three friends. We just played some standard nickel-dime no-limit, with a $15 max buy-in, or as my sister's husband would describe it, "enough to make it interesting, but not painful," which, as my friend pointed out, "could refer to a lot of fun things." But anyways, to sum the night up for me, it was freaking brutal. I took a beating like none other, with solid starting hands either completely missing flops or connecting well only to get drawn out on time and time again on wicked turns and rivers. Meanwhile the brother-in-law was playing crap like J4o and hitting crazy boards... he seriously hit quads at least three times during the night, and without a pair in the hole. To give you a feeling on how ridiculous the night got, I'll recount one of the wildest hands from the night, though I was not personally involved in this one...
(Names have been changed to protect the innocent/guilty)
Preflop:
"Sticky Chips" Malloy: raises it up from $0.10 to $0.60
"Sloppy Deuce" Stevenson: reraises to $1.20
"Big Flop" Johnson: calls $1.20
Sticky Chips: reraises to $3.70
Sloppy Deuce: reraises to $7.40
Big Flop: groans and calls $7.40
Sticky Chips: calls $7.40
Flop: (something like 7h-8h-xh, where x was a 2 or 3... also about $23 in the pot)
Sloppy Deuce: checks
Big Flop: checks
Sticky Chips: goes all-in for $21-change
Sloppy Deuce: calls $21, with chips remaining
Big Flop: calls $21, also with chips remaining
Turn: (random low heart) both Deuce and Flop check
River: (another low heart) both players check again
Outcome:
So there's a flush on the board, with the highest card being the 8h, about $85-90 in the pot. Hands are flipped over...
Sticky Chips: KcQc
Sloppy Deuce: KsKd
Big Flop: Jd7d
All 3 players play the board and split the biggest pot of the night. Deuce was about a 69% favorite before the flop, about 74% on the flop, and about 69% again on the river, with a 21% chance to tie. Big Flop was 17% preflop, 20% on the flop, and about 10% going to the river. Sticky Chips was 13% before the flop, and pretty much dead (0.33%, with 1% tie) when he pushed the rest of his chips in.
But yeah, this kind of stuff was going on all night, just in smaller amounts, and it kept eating away at my stack beat after beat. All-in-all it was a fun night, but sweet hey-zeus did I ever get hosed...
... which is why the online win I squeezed out earlier today was even more satisfying. Not only was it much needed in restoring my confidence as a poker player to its previous level of sub-amateur mediocrity, but it was also my 4th win in the first 5 $10 SNG's I've played... a streak I hope to continue but will realistically fail to do so. Still a fairly impressive beginning to this new stage of my bankroll building process. Here's a summary...
$10 SNG's:
1st place - 4
6th place - 1
Total: 5
Average Finish = 2.00
Invested: (10+1) x 5 = $55
Return: 45 x 4 = $180
Net Profit = 180-55 = $125
ROI = 227.27% (not too shabby)
... and a comparison to the $5 SNG data, for which I have a more decent sample size...
$5 SNG's:
Average Finish = 3.94
Total: 101
Invested: $555.50
Return: $720.00
Net Profit = $164.50
ROI = 29.61% (more realistic, and decent I suppose)
Funny enough my start at $5 SNG's was straight into the red, and I didn't even have a dollar of profit to show until after my 17th game. Up to +$32 at game 22, back down to +$8.50 at 32, and then things finally took off (learning curve?) at 34, with gradual upswings. Hopefully I can keep the sharp climb of this one going. For now I'm just gunning for 5 wins out of 6... my bankroll is loving this swing.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Playing the Big Stack (HA)
Squeezed in another 2 SNG's tonight and have now won 3 out of the past 4 after that never-ending streak of 2nd's and 3rd's. In the 4th game I finished 6th when I came over the top of a button steal with JJ, raising his 280 up to my last 1k or so, and got called by A7o... you can guess the rest. The most recent win though was an intesting case in that I had more than tripled-up after the 3rd hand, so it was an experience in how to play the big stack, particularly how to play the big stack when you have an M of over 100 (over 160's Big Blinds), and you're still 7-handed with payouts going to the top 3. Here's how it all began...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 15/30 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BTN: 1,470
SB: 1,590
Hero (BB): 1,500
UTG: 1,500
UTG+1: 1,500
UTG+2: 1,500
MP1: 1,470
MP2: 1,500
CO: 1,470
Pre-Flop: (45) Ad Ac dealt to Hero (BB)
6 folds, BTN raises to 90, SB calls 75, Hero raises to 210, BTN calls 120, SB calls 120
Flop: (630) Ts 9c 3h (3 Players)
SB bets 30, Hero raises to 450, BTN folds, SB raises to 1,380 and is All-In, Hero calls 840 and is All-In
Turn: (3,210) 2c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (3,210) 7c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 3,210 Pot
SB showed 7d 8s (a pair of Sevens) and LOST (-1,500 NET)
Hero showed Ad Ac (a pair of Aces) and WON 3,210 (+1,710 NET)
I had actually played against the SB donk in the earlier game and watched him call a preflop raise and 3 solid bets afterwards with bottom pair (A3o on a flop of 3QK). Moving along... the very next hand...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 15/30 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
CO: 1,260
BTN: 90
Hero (SB): 3,210
BB: 1,500
UTG: 1,500
UTG+1: 1,500
UTG+2: 1,470
MP1: 1,500
MP2: 1,470
Pre-Flop: (45) Kd Ks dealt to Hero (SB)
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to 90, 2 folds, CO calls 90, BTN calls 90 and is All-In, Hero raises to 360, BB folds, UTG+2 raises to 1,470 and is All-In, CO folds, Hero calls 1,110
Flop: (3,150) 5d 7d 3h (3 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (3,150) 3s (3 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (3,150) 4d (3 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 3,150 Pot
BTN showed 8h Ad (a pair of Threes) and LOST (-90 NET)
Hero showed Kd Ks (two pair, Kings and Threes) and WON 3,150 (+1,680 NET)
UTG+2 showed Qs Qh (two pair, Queens and Threes) and LOST (-1,470 NET)
Wasn't involved in this one, but man it looked painful...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 25/50 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (UTG): 5,330
MP: 990
CO: 1,595
BTN: 1,075
SB: 1,670
BB: 2,840
Pre-Flop: (75) 5s 2s dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero folds, MP raises to 150, CO folds, BTN raises to 450, 2 folds, MP raises to 990 and is All-In, BTN calls 540
Flop: (2,055) Td 3c Kd (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (2,055) Ac (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (2,055) 9c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 2,055 Pot
MP showed 9d 9h (three of a kind, Nines) and WON 2,055 (+1,065 NET)
BTN showed Ah Kh (two pair, Aces and Kings) and LOST (-990 NET)
The entire 5-handed bout lasted 47 hands, during which I added about 800 chips to my stack with little pots and blind steals. Four-handed play lasted 35 hands in all, during which, on the 2nd hand, I took a fairly big hit...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BB): 6,250
UTG: 3,250
BTN: 2,300
SB: 1,700
Pre-Flop: (240) 8h 8c dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, BTN raises to 400, SB folds, Hero calls 240
Flop: (880) 5c Qd 8s (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN checks
Turn: (880) 9h (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 450, Hero calls 450
River: (1,780) 2s (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 1,450 and is All-In, Hero calls 1,450
Results: 4,680 Pot
Hero mucked 8h 8c (three of a kind, Eights) and LOST (-2,300 NET)
BTN showed Qh Qs (three of a kind, Queens) and WON 4,680 (+2,380 NET)
I felt safe slowplaying this, given that the villian had been playing solid and most likely wouldn't have raised with JT, QT, KT, 67s or anything that could've drawn out on me after the turn. Problem is I figured that QQ was his most likely holding, but in this situation there's no getting away from middle set on a board like that. So I was down to 3,950 in chips and sitting 2nd after this hand. Got down a little lower (3.3k or so), but managed to scrap back with hands like this one...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 100/200 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BB): 3,370
UTG: 3,130
BTN: 4,680
SB: 2,320
Pre-Flop: (300) As Ks dealt to Hero (BB)
2 folds, SB calls 100, Hero raises to 600, SB calls 400
Flop: (1,200) Ah Ac Qc (2 Players)
SB bets 600, Hero raises to 2,770 and is All-In, SB folds
Results: 2,400 Pot
Hero mucked As Ks and WON 2,400 (+1,200 NET)
Obviously I was done messing around, but I was clearly hoping for a short-stack desperation call, possibly a weaker Ace. I was a little surprised by his fold here, and thought maybe I should've just flat called and sucked him in, though I'm not sure how much more action I would've generated by letting him have the lead. Plus I didn't want a club draw or some goofy inside straight draw getting there on a big pot like this. After a blind steal on the next hand I was back into the lead, though only by a small margin, and by the time the SB above went out I was back on top with 5.8k to 4.7 and 3.1. Blinds were at 100/200 and it was still anyone's game. I had solid reads on my opponents as very tight-passive players, but the only thing that remained to be seen was whether or not their style would change after making the money. For the most part they didn't change, and as you can see on this hand I really had to tread lightly to try to suck chips out of them...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 120/240 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BB): 6,570
BTN: 3,030
SB: 3,900
Pre-Flop: (360) Ah Ad dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN calls 240, SB folds, Hero raises to 650, BTN calls 410
Flop: (1,420) 7h 2s 5d (2 Players)
Hero bets 480, BTN folds
Results: 1,420 Pot
Hero mucked Ah Ad and WON 1,420 (+770 NET)
After the break, with blinds at 150/300 and my stack at a healthy 7.5k versus 3.4 and 2.6, I really started putting the pressure on, trying to take advantage of their passiveness and blind them away. I straight pushed Pocket 10's from the SB, took a small pot down with nothing on the flop two hands later, then pushed AKs from the button, then this hand came next...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 150/300 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BB): 8,360
BTN: 2,020
SB: 3,120
Pre-Flop: (450) Kc As dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to 800, SB folds, Hero raises to 3,300, BTN calls 1,220 and is All-In
Flop: (4,190) 9s 3c 6h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (4,190) Th (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (4,190) 4s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 4,190 Pot
Hero showed Kc As (Ace King high) and WON 4,190 (+2,170 NET)
BTN showed Qc Kd (King Queen high) and LOST (-2,020 NET)
Then 3 hands later I set a nice little trap for an opponent that I could sense was getting a little antsy with my bullying antics...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 150/300 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (SB): 10,530
BB: 2,970
Pre-Flop: (450) Ad Kh dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero calls 150, BB raises to 2,970 and is All-In, Hero calls 2,670
Flop: (5,940) Js Qs 5c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (5,940) Td (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (5,940) 6d (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 5,940 Pot
Hero showed Ad Kh (a straight, Ace high) and WON 5,940 (+2,970 NET)
BB showed As 9h (Ace Queen high) and LOST (-2,970 NET)
And so that was that. Third win in the past four games - I'm finally feeling back on track and hoping to keep this hot-streak alive. I may make this one into a hand-history lesson on the old ZipRake site, now that I have a little more free time to dust the cobwebs off of it and add some new material. The way things are going now though I kinda want to just keep playing poker.
Best of luck. - B
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 15/30 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BTN: 1,470
SB: 1,590
Hero (BB): 1,500
UTG: 1,500
UTG+1: 1,500
UTG+2: 1,500
MP1: 1,470
MP2: 1,500
CO: 1,470
Pre-Flop: (45) Ad Ac dealt to Hero (BB)
6 folds, BTN raises to 90, SB calls 75, Hero raises to 210, BTN calls 120, SB calls 120
Flop: (630) Ts 9c 3h (3 Players)
SB bets 30, Hero raises to 450, BTN folds, SB raises to 1,380 and is All-In, Hero calls 840 and is All-In
Turn: (3,210) 2c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (3,210) 7c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 3,210 Pot
SB showed 7d 8s (a pair of Sevens) and LOST (-1,500 NET)
Hero showed Ad Ac (a pair of Aces) and WON 3,210 (+1,710 NET)
I had actually played against the SB donk in the earlier game and watched him call a preflop raise and 3 solid bets afterwards with bottom pair (A3o on a flop of 3QK). Moving along... the very next hand...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 15/30 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
CO: 1,260
BTN: 90
Hero (SB): 3,210
BB: 1,500
UTG: 1,500
UTG+1: 1,500
UTG+2: 1,470
MP1: 1,500
MP2: 1,470
Pre-Flop: (45) Kd Ks dealt to Hero (SB)
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to 90, 2 folds, CO calls 90, BTN calls 90 and is All-In, Hero raises to 360, BB folds, UTG+2 raises to 1,470 and is All-In, CO folds, Hero calls 1,110
Flop: (3,150) 5d 7d 3h (3 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (3,150) 3s (3 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (3,150) 4d (3 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 3,150 Pot
BTN showed 8h Ad (a pair of Threes) and LOST (-90 NET)
Hero showed Kd Ks (two pair, Kings and Threes) and WON 3,150 (+1,680 NET)
UTG+2 showed Qs Qh (two pair, Queens and Threes) and LOST (-1,470 NET)
Wasn't involved in this one, but man it looked painful...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 25/50 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (UTG): 5,330
MP: 990
CO: 1,595
BTN: 1,075
SB: 1,670
BB: 2,840
Pre-Flop: (75) 5s 2s dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero folds, MP raises to 150, CO folds, BTN raises to 450, 2 folds, MP raises to 990 and is All-In, BTN calls 540
Flop: (2,055) Td 3c Kd (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (2,055) Ac (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (2,055) 9c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 2,055 Pot
MP showed 9d 9h (three of a kind, Nines) and WON 2,055 (+1,065 NET)
BTN showed Ah Kh (two pair, Aces and Kings) and LOST (-990 NET)
The entire 5-handed bout lasted 47 hands, during which I added about 800 chips to my stack with little pots and blind steals. Four-handed play lasted 35 hands in all, during which, on the 2nd hand, I took a fairly big hit...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BB): 6,250
UTG: 3,250
BTN: 2,300
SB: 1,700
Pre-Flop: (240) 8h 8c dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, BTN raises to 400, SB folds, Hero calls 240
Flop: (880) 5c Qd 8s (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN checks
Turn: (880) 9h (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 450, Hero calls 450
River: (1,780) 2s (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 1,450 and is All-In, Hero calls 1,450
Results: 4,680 Pot
Hero mucked 8h 8c (three of a kind, Eights) and LOST (-2,300 NET)
BTN showed Qh Qs (three of a kind, Queens) and WON 4,680 (+2,380 NET)
I felt safe slowplaying this, given that the villian had been playing solid and most likely wouldn't have raised with JT, QT, KT, 67s or anything that could've drawn out on me after the turn. Problem is I figured that QQ was his most likely holding, but in this situation there's no getting away from middle set on a board like that. So I was down to 3,950 in chips and sitting 2nd after this hand. Got down a little lower (3.3k or so), but managed to scrap back with hands like this one...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 100/200 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BB): 3,370
UTG: 3,130
BTN: 4,680
SB: 2,320
Pre-Flop: (300) As Ks dealt to Hero (BB)
2 folds, SB calls 100, Hero raises to 600, SB calls 400
Flop: (1,200) Ah Ac Qc (2 Players)
SB bets 600, Hero raises to 2,770 and is All-In, SB folds
Results: 2,400 Pot
Hero mucked As Ks and WON 2,400 (+1,200 NET)
Obviously I was done messing around, but I was clearly hoping for a short-stack desperation call, possibly a weaker Ace. I was a little surprised by his fold here, and thought maybe I should've just flat called and sucked him in, though I'm not sure how much more action I would've generated by letting him have the lead. Plus I didn't want a club draw or some goofy inside straight draw getting there on a big pot like this. After a blind steal on the next hand I was back into the lead, though only by a small margin, and by the time the SB above went out I was back on top with 5.8k to 4.7 and 3.1. Blinds were at 100/200 and it was still anyone's game. I had solid reads on my opponents as very tight-passive players, but the only thing that remained to be seen was whether or not their style would change after making the money. For the most part they didn't change, and as you can see on this hand I really had to tread lightly to try to suck chips out of them...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 120/240 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BB): 6,570
BTN: 3,030
SB: 3,900
Pre-Flop: (360) Ah Ad dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN calls 240, SB folds, Hero raises to 650, BTN calls 410
Flop: (1,420) 7h 2s 5d (2 Players)
Hero bets 480, BTN folds
Results: 1,420 Pot
Hero mucked Ah Ad and WON 1,420 (+770 NET)
After the break, with blinds at 150/300 and my stack at a healthy 7.5k versus 3.4 and 2.6, I really started putting the pressure on, trying to take advantage of their passiveness and blind them away. I straight pushed Pocket 10's from the SB, took a small pot down with nothing on the flop two hands later, then pushed AKs from the button, then this hand came next...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 150/300 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BB): 8,360
BTN: 2,020
SB: 3,120
Pre-Flop: (450) Kc As dealt to Hero (BB)
BTN raises to 800, SB folds, Hero raises to 3,300, BTN calls 1,220 and is All-In
Flop: (4,190) 9s 3c 6h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (4,190) Th (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (4,190) 4s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 4,190 Pot
Hero showed Kc As (Ace King high) and WON 4,190 (+2,170 NET)
BTN showed Qc Kd (King Queen high) and LOST (-2,020 NET)
Then 3 hands later I set a nice little trap for an opponent that I could sense was getting a little antsy with my bullying antics...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 150/300 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (SB): 10,530
BB: 2,970
Pre-Flop: (450) Ad Kh dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero calls 150, BB raises to 2,970 and is All-In, Hero calls 2,670
Flop: (5,940) Js Qs 5c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (5,940) Td (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (5,940) 6d (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 5,940 Pot
Hero showed Ad Kh (a straight, Ace high) and WON 5,940 (+2,970 NET)
BB showed As 9h (Ace Queen high) and LOST (-2,970 NET)
And so that was that. Third win in the past four games - I'm finally feeling back on track and hoping to keep this hot-streak alive. I may make this one into a hand-history lesson on the old ZipRake site, now that I have a little more free time to dust the cobwebs off of it and add some new material. The way things are going now though I kinda want to just keep playing poker.
Best of luck. - B
Friday, June 20, 2008
Back to Back
Just took another one down for back to back wins. This time the heads-up match took 139 hands to play out, from blinds at 60/120 all the way to 250/500. Feels damn good to be back in the saddle and actually winning though, especially since my odds are holding up and the bad-luck-beats seem to be dying down for the meantime. These tooth-and-nail heads-up matches are killing me though... time for a nap.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Finally... (HA)
Yes.
Yesssss...
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!
Finally... after what seemed like an endless series of close-but-no-cigar SNG finishes, with countless bad beats and river suckouts... the curse is over... I did it... I freaking won a single-table tournament. It's a miracle. Given the dry spell I've been in it was a super sweet victory, but even sweeter given that it was my first time making the move up to $10 games. Here are some highlights...
Things were fairly slow-going, just small ups and downs, until this hand. Finally I get a little river revenge! (Also, note the SB's giant stack... believe it or not he somehow managed to go out in 3rd)
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 60/120 Blinds, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 7,560
BB: 1,360
UTG: 1,930
CO: 940
Hero (BTN): 1,710
Pre-Flop: (180) Jh Jc dealt to Hero (BTN)
UTG folds, CO raises to 940 and is All-In, Hero raises to 1,710 and is All-In, 2 folds
Flop: (2,060) Ad 9c 5d (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (2,060) Ts (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (2,060) Js (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 2,060 Pot
CO showed 9s As (two pair, Aces and Nines) and LOST (-940 NET)
Hero showed Jh Jc (three of a kind, Jacks) and WON 2,060 (+1,120 NET)
Alright, so sure enough my luck turns a few hands after that. I thought this was the beginning of the end for me, and that a 4th place finish was imminent. Lesson learned from this... never select the "auto-call" option... it's apparently bad luck.
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
UTG: 7,500
BTN: 1,000
SB: 2,170
Hero (BB): 2,830
Pre-Flop: (240) As Ah dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, BTN raises to 1,000 and is All-In, SB folds, Hero calls 840
Flop: (2,080) 9c Kh Td (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (2,080) Js (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (2,080) Jd (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 2,080 Pot
BTN showed Kc Qd (a straight, King high) and WON 2,080 (+1,080 NET)
Hero showed As Ah (two pair, Aces and Jacks) and LOST (-1,000 NET)
The villian in this next hand is the aforementioned SB chipleader who just took a wicked beating with JJ going down to a slowplayed AA. He's apparently tilting a little bit, and on the turn I'm fairly certain I got him. His shoddy call gets me back into it.
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 3,330
UTG: 2,320
BTN: 6,020
Hero (SB): 1,830
Pre-Flop: (240) Ts Jd dealt to Hero (SB)
2 folds, Hero calls 80, BB raises to 320, Hero calls 160
Flop: (640) Js Qc 4s (2 Players)
Hero bets 480, BB calls 480
Turn: (1,600) Th (2 Players)
Hero bets 1,030 and is All-In, BB calls 1,030
River: (3,660) 9d (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 3,660 Pot
BB showed Jh 6h (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-1,830 NET)
Hero showed Ts Jd (two pair, Jacks and Tens) and WON 3,660 (+1,830 NET)
Few hands later I feel like gambling a little. Villian here had doubled up way early and had been very passive in the middle stages, only lately getting really aggressive. I had a feeling I was ahead of his range... and finally I had another rare occurence... actually dodging some bullets and winning a coinflip on a big hand...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BTN: 1,420
SB: 2,400
BB: 6,020
Hero (UTG): 3,660
Pre-Flop: (240) Jh Js dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to 480, BTN folds, SB raises to 2,400 and is All-In, BB folds, Hero calls 1,920
Flop: (4,960) 3c Tc 7h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (4,960) 3s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (4,960) 9s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 4,960 Pot
SB showed Kc Ac (a pair of Threes) and LOST (-2,400 NET)
Hero showed Jh Js (two pair, Jacks and Threes) and WON 4,960 (+2,560 NET)
And here's me taking out the previously massive chipleader...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 100/200 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 1,300
BTN: 6,460
Hero (SB): 5,740
Pre-Flop: (300) Jd 9h dealt to Hero (SB)
BTN folds, Hero calls 100, BB checks
Flop: (400) Jc Td 8d (2 Players)
Hero bets 200, BB raises to 400, Hero raises to 1,600, BB calls 700 and is All-In
Turn: (2,600) 4h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (2,600) Qs (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 2,600 Pot
BB showed Qh 6s (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-1,300 NET)
Hero showed Jd 9h (a straight, Queen high) and WON 2,600 (+1,300 NET)
I go into heads-up play with a very small lead, against a player that's been very passive and wanting to play small-ball for the most part. Our bout lasted 62 hands in all, with a number of lead changes, with my stack dwindling down under 3000 at one point in time, against his 10k or so. This happened after the break, when the villian seemed to take the same strategy I was about to take on - getting super aggressive rather than playing little pots. Of course it was working better for him, since he must have had decent cards.
Here's comeback #1... a dominating hand actually holding up... how bout that...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 150/300 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 9,580
Hero (BB): 3,920
Pre-Flop: (450) As Ks dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 900, Hero raises to 3,920 and is All-In, SB calls 3,020
Flop: (7,840) 9d Ah 9h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (7,840) 7h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (7,840) Tc (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 7,840 Pot
SB showed Kc 7c (two pair, Nines and Sevens) and LOST (-3,920 NET)
Hero showed As Ks (two pair, Aces and Nines) and WON 7,840 (+3,920 NET)
Needless to say the tide turned a little after that... and I managed to stay alive with a little luck of my own for once. Comeback #2:
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 10,810
Hero (BB): 2,690
Pre-Flop: (600) Ad Ts dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 1,200, Hero raises to 2,690 and is All-In, SB calls 1,490
Flop: (5,380) 9c 9s 2c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (5,380) Td (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (5,380) 5h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 5,380 Pot
SB showed Jh As (a pair of Nines) and LOST (-2,690 NET)
Hero showed Ad Ts (two pair, Tens and Nines) and WON 5,380 (+2,690 NET)
After this I'd had enough of his antics. Time to get aggressive myself and play to win... (warning: probably not the best hands below...)
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 9,120
Hero (BB): 4,380
Pre-Flop: (600) As 4h dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 800, Hero raises to 4,380 and is All-In, SB folds
Results: 1,600 Pot
Hero mucked As 4h and WON 1,600 (+800 NET)
Next hand, let's keep pouring it on...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 8,320
Hero (SB): 5,180
Pre-Flop: (600) Ah 2s dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero calls 200, BB checks
Flop: (800) 8s As Kh (2 Players)
BB bets 800, Hero raises to 4,780 and is All-In, BB folds
Results: 2,400 Pot
Hero mucked Ah 2s and WON 2,400 (+1,200 NET)
Next hand... not done yet...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 7,120
Hero (BB): 6,380
Pre-Flop: (600) Ks Qs dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 1,200, Hero raises to 6,380 and is All-In, SB folds
Results: 2,400 Pot
Hero mucked Ks Qs and WON 2,400 (+1,200 NET)
And two hands later... for the win...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 6,320
Hero (BB): 7,180
Pre-Flop: (600) Ac Kd dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 1,200, Hero raises to 7,180 and is All-In, SB calls 5,120 and is All-In
Flop: (12,640) 3h Ad As (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (12,640) Qc (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (12,640) Jh (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 12,640 Pot
SB showed Qd 3d (two pair, Aces and Queens) and LOST (-6,320 NET)
Hero showed Ac Kd (three of a kind, Aces) and WON 12,640 (+6,320 NET)
And that's all she wrote boys and girls. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to retire from poker forever and live happily for the rest of my days.
Peace.
Yesssss...
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!
Finally... after what seemed like an endless series of close-but-no-cigar SNG finishes, with countless bad beats and river suckouts... the curse is over... I did it... I freaking won a single-table tournament. It's a miracle. Given the dry spell I've been in it was a super sweet victory, but even sweeter given that it was my first time making the move up to $10 games. Here are some highlights...
Things were fairly slow-going, just small ups and downs, until this hand. Finally I get a little river revenge! (Also, note the SB's giant stack... believe it or not he somehow managed to go out in 3rd)
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 60/120 Blinds, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 7,560
BB: 1,360
UTG: 1,930
CO: 940
Hero (BTN): 1,710
Pre-Flop: (180) Jh Jc dealt to Hero (BTN)
UTG folds, CO raises to 940 and is All-In, Hero raises to 1,710 and is All-In, 2 folds
Flop: (2,060) Ad 9c 5d (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (2,060) Ts (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (2,060) Js (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 2,060 Pot
CO showed 9s As (two pair, Aces and Nines) and LOST (-940 NET)
Hero showed Jh Jc (three of a kind, Jacks) and WON 2,060 (+1,120 NET)
Alright, so sure enough my luck turns a few hands after that. I thought this was the beginning of the end for me, and that a 4th place finish was imminent. Lesson learned from this... never select the "auto-call" option... it's apparently bad luck.
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
UTG: 7,500
BTN: 1,000
SB: 2,170
Hero (BB): 2,830
Pre-Flop: (240) As Ah dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, BTN raises to 1,000 and is All-In, SB folds, Hero calls 840
Flop: (2,080) 9c Kh Td (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (2,080) Js (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (2,080) Jd (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 2,080 Pot
BTN showed Kc Qd (a straight, King high) and WON 2,080 (+1,080 NET)
Hero showed As Ah (two pair, Aces and Jacks) and LOST (-1,000 NET)
The villian in this next hand is the aforementioned SB chipleader who just took a wicked beating with JJ going down to a slowplayed AA. He's apparently tilting a little bit, and on the turn I'm fairly certain I got him. His shoddy call gets me back into it.
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 3,330
UTG: 2,320
BTN: 6,020
Hero (SB): 1,830
Pre-Flop: (240) Ts Jd dealt to Hero (SB)
2 folds, Hero calls 80, BB raises to 320, Hero calls 160
Flop: (640) Js Qc 4s (2 Players)
Hero bets 480, BB calls 480
Turn: (1,600) Th (2 Players)
Hero bets 1,030 and is All-In, BB calls 1,030
River: (3,660) 9d (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 3,660 Pot
BB showed Jh 6h (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-1,830 NET)
Hero showed Ts Jd (two pair, Jacks and Tens) and WON 3,660 (+1,830 NET)
Few hands later I feel like gambling a little. Villian here had doubled up way early and had been very passive in the middle stages, only lately getting really aggressive. I had a feeling I was ahead of his range... and finally I had another rare occurence... actually dodging some bullets and winning a coinflip on a big hand...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BTN: 1,420
SB: 2,400
BB: 6,020
Hero (UTG): 3,660
Pre-Flop: (240) Jh Js dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to 480, BTN folds, SB raises to 2,400 and is All-In, BB folds, Hero calls 1,920
Flop: (4,960) 3c Tc 7h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (4,960) 3s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (4,960) 9s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 4,960 Pot
SB showed Kc Ac (a pair of Threes) and LOST (-2,400 NET)
Hero showed Jh Js (two pair, Jacks and Threes) and WON 4,960 (+2,560 NET)
And here's me taking out the previously massive chipleader...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 100/200 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 1,300
BTN: 6,460
Hero (SB): 5,740
Pre-Flop: (300) Jd 9h dealt to Hero (SB)
BTN folds, Hero calls 100, BB checks
Flop: (400) Jc Td 8d (2 Players)
Hero bets 200, BB raises to 400, Hero raises to 1,600, BB calls 700 and is All-In
Turn: (2,600) 4h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (2,600) Qs (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 2,600 Pot
BB showed Qh 6s (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-1,300 NET)
Hero showed Jd 9h (a straight, Queen high) and WON 2,600 (+1,300 NET)
I go into heads-up play with a very small lead, against a player that's been very passive and wanting to play small-ball for the most part. Our bout lasted 62 hands in all, with a number of lead changes, with my stack dwindling down under 3000 at one point in time, against his 10k or so. This happened after the break, when the villian seemed to take the same strategy I was about to take on - getting super aggressive rather than playing little pots. Of course it was working better for him, since he must have had decent cards.
Here's comeback #1... a dominating hand actually holding up... how bout that...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 150/300 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 9,580
Hero (BB): 3,920
Pre-Flop: (450) As Ks dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 900, Hero raises to 3,920 and is All-In, SB calls 3,020
Flop: (7,840) 9d Ah 9h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (7,840) 7h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (7,840) Tc (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 7,840 Pot
SB showed Kc 7c (two pair, Nines and Sevens) and LOST (-3,920 NET)
Hero showed As Ks (two pair, Aces and Nines) and WON 7,840 (+3,920 NET)
Needless to say the tide turned a little after that... and I managed to stay alive with a little luck of my own for once. Comeback #2:
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 10,810
Hero (BB): 2,690
Pre-Flop: (600) Ad Ts dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 1,200, Hero raises to 2,690 and is All-In, SB calls 1,490
Flop: (5,380) 9c 9s 2c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (5,380) Td (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (5,380) 5h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 5,380 Pot
SB showed Jh As (a pair of Nines) and LOST (-2,690 NET)
Hero showed Ad Ts (two pair, Tens and Nines) and WON 5,380 (+2,690 NET)
After this I'd had enough of his antics. Time to get aggressive myself and play to win... (warning: probably not the best hands below...)
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 9,120
Hero (BB): 4,380
Pre-Flop: (600) As 4h dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 800, Hero raises to 4,380 and is All-In, SB folds
Results: 1,600 Pot
Hero mucked As 4h and WON 1,600 (+800 NET)
Next hand, let's keep pouring it on...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 8,320
Hero (SB): 5,180
Pre-Flop: (600) Ah 2s dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero calls 200, BB checks
Flop: (800) 8s As Kh (2 Players)
BB bets 800, Hero raises to 4,780 and is All-In, BB folds
Results: 2,400 Pot
Hero mucked Ah 2s and WON 2,400 (+1,200 NET)
Next hand... not done yet...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 7,120
Hero (BB): 6,380
Pre-Flop: (600) Ks Qs dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 1,200, Hero raises to 6,380 and is All-In, SB folds
Results: 2,400 Pot
Hero mucked Ks Qs and WON 2,400 (+1,200 NET)
And two hands later... for the win...
Full Tilt Poker, $10 + $1 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 6,320
Hero (BB): 7,180
Pre-Flop: (600) Ac Kd dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to 1,200, Hero raises to 7,180 and is All-In, SB calls 5,120 and is All-In
Flop: (12,640) 3h Ad As (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (12,640) Qc (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (12,640) Jh (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 12,640 Pot
SB showed Qd 3d (two pair, Aces and Queens) and LOST (-6,320 NET)
Hero showed Ac Kd (three of a kind, Aces) and WON 12,640 (+6,320 NET)
And that's all she wrote boys and girls. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to retire from poker forever and live happily for the rest of my days.
Peace.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
And the Streak Continues... (BB)
This is getting absolutely ridiculous. Villian here was once down to 80 chips with blinds at 150/300, then tripled up to 240, then to 720, then got up around 1500 before I put him in with 77, he called with 96s and hit a 9. Next hand he sucked out on the 3rd player out - A3 over AT. Gets down to heads up where he's being super-shovey... and of course FTP still just won't let me win one...
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 4,400
Hero (SB): 9,100
Pre-Flop: (600) Qc Qd dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero calls 200, BB raises to 4,400 and is All-In, Hero calls 4,000
Flop: (8,800) Jc 9c Js (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (8,800) 4h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (8,800) 7h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 8,800 Pot
BB showed Jd Ac (three of a kind, Jacks) and WON 8,800 (+4,400 NET)
Hero showed Qc Qd (two pair, Queens and Jacks) and LOST (-4,400 NET)
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 9,200
Hero (SB): 4,300
Pre-Flop: (600) Kd Ad dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to 4,300 and is All-In, BB calls 3,900
Flop: (8,600) Jh 5s Jd (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (8,600) 8s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (8,600) 9d (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 8,600 Pot
BB showed Ac 9h (two pair, Jacks and Nines) and WON 8,600 (+4,300 NET)
Hero showed Kd Ad (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-4,300 NET)
Overall results for the past 24 SNG's:
Cashes - 15 total
1st's - ZERO!
2nd's - 10
3rd's - 5
Non-Cashes - 9 total
5th's - 5
6th's - 3
8th's - 1
Poker gods... what have I done to displease you?
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 4,400
Hero (SB): 9,100
Pre-Flop: (600) Qc Qd dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero calls 200, BB raises to 4,400 and is All-In, Hero calls 4,000
Flop: (8,800) Jc 9c Js (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (8,800) 4h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (8,800) 7h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 8,800 Pot
BB showed Jd Ac (three of a kind, Jacks) and WON 8,800 (+4,400 NET)
Hero showed Qc Qd (two pair, Queens and Jacks) and LOST (-4,400 NET)
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 200/400 Blinds, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BB: 9,200
Hero (SB): 4,300
Pre-Flop: (600) Kd Ad dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to 4,300 and is All-In, BB calls 3,900
Flop: (8,600) Jh 5s Jd (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (8,600) 8s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (8,600) 9d (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 8,600 Pot
BB showed Ac 9h (two pair, Jacks and Nines) and WON 8,600 (+4,300 NET)
Hero showed Kd Ad (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-4,300 NET)
Overall results for the past 24 SNG's:
Cashes - 15 total
1st's - ZERO!
2nd's - 10
3rd's - 5
Non-Cashes - 9 total
5th's - 5
6th's - 3
8th's - 1
Poker gods... what have I done to displease you?
Saturday, June 14, 2008
How Two Idiots Play a Classic Coinflip (HA)
So I've still been running fairly bad in the past week or two. And by bad I mean pretty much just breaking even with mini-cashes in about every 2 out of 3 SNG's while basically losing 100% of key coinflips. It's been frustrating, but this hand from last night made me smile...
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 15/30 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
UTG+1: 1,560
MP1: 1,410
Hero (MP2): 2,115
CO: 1,665
BTN: 1,470
SB: 1,380
BB: 1,410
UTG: 2,490
Pre-Flop: (45) 4h Tc dealt to Hero (MP2)
5 folds, BTN calls 30, SB folds, BB raises to 60, BTN raises to 90, BB raises to 1,410 and is All-In, BTN calls 1,320
Flop: (2,835) 9h Jc 6s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (2,835) 2s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (2,835) 8h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 2,835 Pot
BTN showed Qs Qd (a pair of Queens) and WON 2,835 (+1,425 NET)
BB showed Kh Ah (Ace King high) and LOST (-1,410 NET)
I think it speaks for itself. There's really nothing I can add to capture the absolute glory in how this hand was played. It's almost as if the Big Blind realized upon being re-raised that he was playing no-limit and not limit, in which case the only logical think to do at this point in a tournament with a hand like AKs is to push all of your chips into the pot, even if it means calling 30 and putting in an extra 1,320. And the button player... open limping with pocket Queens... almost as if he thought he was setting some sort of sneaky trap for when the BB min-raises... all so that he can come over the top with a 3-bet!!! HAHA! Pure poker genius!
Alright that's it for now... time to get back to sucking...
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 15/30 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
UTG+1: 1,560
MP1: 1,410
Hero (MP2): 2,115
CO: 1,665
BTN: 1,470
SB: 1,380
BB: 1,410
UTG: 2,490
Pre-Flop: (45) 4h Tc dealt to Hero (MP2)
5 folds, BTN calls 30, SB folds, BB raises to 60, BTN raises to 90, BB raises to 1,410 and is All-In, BTN calls 1,320
Flop: (2,835) 9h Jc 6s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: (2,835) 2s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (2,835) 8h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 2,835 Pot
BTN showed Qs Qd (a pair of Queens) and WON 2,835 (+1,425 NET)
BB showed Kh Ah (Ace King high) and LOST (-1,410 NET)
I think it speaks for itself. There's really nothing I can add to capture the absolute glory in how this hand was played. It's almost as if the Big Blind realized upon being re-raised that he was playing no-limit and not limit, in which case the only logical think to do at this point in a tournament with a hand like AKs is to push all of your chips into the pot, even if it means calling 30 and putting in an extra 1,320. And the button player... open limping with pocket Queens... almost as if he thought he was setting some sort of sneaky trap for when the BB min-raises... all so that he can come over the top with a 3-bet!!! HAHA! Pure poker genius!
Alright that's it for now... time to get back to sucking...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Winning the Ones that Matter
Been in a bit of a funk lately... not a losing streak per say, but a frustrating run nonetheless... I suppose you could call it a winless steak. In the past 15 SNG's I've played, I've cashed in 11 of them (73.3%), but have failed to win even 1. I've had 7 2nd place finishes, and 4 3rd's. I don't even want to think about all the times I've been down to heads-up action and have failed to seal the deal, even when going into it with a 2-1 lead. Granted there were a few poor plays in there, but I can't tell you how many suckouts late in the game did me in... river cards in particular have been very unpleasant.
Obviously this isn't the worst streak in the world to be on, as I have maintained a nice profit over the course of it, but in playing tournament poker you have to realize that the difference between 1st and 2nd place finishes is HUGE! Especially in larger tournaments, but even in one-table SNG's. It's what makes or breaks your return on investment. Win one STT out of 4 and you're a profitable player, finish 3rd in twice as many and you're going broke.
On a semi-related note - being a track and field nut as well I have to bring up the parallel of what happened yesterday between Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay (new 100m world record by Bolt over reigning world-champ Gay) - now THAT just goes to show the difference between 1st and 2nd.
Obviously this isn't the worst streak in the world to be on, as I have maintained a nice profit over the course of it, but in playing tournament poker you have to realize that the difference between 1st and 2nd place finishes is HUGE! Especially in larger tournaments, but even in one-table SNG's. It's what makes or breaks your return on investment. Win one STT out of 4 and you're a profitable player, finish 3rd in twice as many and you're going broke.
On a semi-related note - being a track and field nut as well I have to bring up the parallel of what happened yesterday between Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay (new 100m world record by Bolt over reigning world-champ Gay) - now THAT just goes to show the difference between 1st and 2nd.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Work / Love Life vs. Poker
Yeeeeah, I know, it's been a while and the posts are starting to become more and more spread out. I think I've only played 7 or 8 SNG's this entire month as well, and just one $24+2 MTT where I went on the worst tear of hole cards when it mattered the most. Right around the bubble I swear I had 30 hands in a row that looked like the following: 72o, 93o, 84s, T2o, 85o, 72s, 32o, 43s, 52s, J2o, etc...
Anyways, the primary reason for my sporadic posts and play has been due to things going on at work. I swear I put a solid 80 hours in last week, and that includes Saturday and Sunday. Of course this past weekend was nice and long with Memorial Day in there, so I had myself a little mini-vacation. Normally on a weekend like this I'd get a fair amount of pokering in, however for the past month or so I've been seeing a wonderful little lady and had quite a bit of romancing to do instead. Now I certainly don't mind the break from poker given the alternative, bit I have missed the occasional Saturday afternoon SNG that's now been replaced by little day dates in a few instances. All-in-all it's just been more difficult to squeeze in the serious amount of bankroll-building that I'd like to.
There is good news though. First of all, I have 2 more weeks of work and then I'll have a much more flexible summer schedule (yes... I'm in education, and summer vacation is friggin awesome!). Secondly, the lass is aware of my mild poker addiction, and has no problem with it. We even played a few heads-up hands once... though that didn't work out too well since it's largely a lose-lose situation for guys... you win and she's going to be pissed, but if you let her win she catches on and will still be pissed. Especially when your lady friend is tight-passive but will call down your King-high attempts to give her chips with Jack-high. Lesson learned - just don't mix poker and the misses. I still blame her though since she's the one that initially brought it up.
Alright well I must get going for now. I do have the evening free to myself and hope to get a few SNG's in. We'll see if anything post-worthy plays out...
Anyways, the primary reason for my sporadic posts and play has been due to things going on at work. I swear I put a solid 80 hours in last week, and that includes Saturday and Sunday. Of course this past weekend was nice and long with Memorial Day in there, so I had myself a little mini-vacation. Normally on a weekend like this I'd get a fair amount of pokering in, however for the past month or so I've been seeing a wonderful little lady and had quite a bit of romancing to do instead. Now I certainly don't mind the break from poker given the alternative, bit I have missed the occasional Saturday afternoon SNG that's now been replaced by little day dates in a few instances. All-in-all it's just been more difficult to squeeze in the serious amount of bankroll-building that I'd like to.
There is good news though. First of all, I have 2 more weeks of work and then I'll have a much more flexible summer schedule (yes... I'm in education, and summer vacation is friggin awesome!). Secondly, the lass is aware of my mild poker addiction, and has no problem with it. We even played a few heads-up hands once... though that didn't work out too well since it's largely a lose-lose situation for guys... you win and she's going to be pissed, but if you let her win she catches on and will still be pissed. Especially when your lady friend is tight-passive but will call down your King-high attempts to give her chips with Jack-high. Lesson learned - just don't mix poker and the misses. I still blame her though since she's the one that initially brought it up.
Alright well I must get going for now. I do have the evening free to myself and hope to get a few SNG's in. We'll see if anything post-worthy plays out...
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Atlantic City Poker Trip Report
Wow... first of all, it's been a while. Almost a month actually. Things have been pretty crazy, and I actually hadn't even had time to play since my last post until this weekend... when I took off for Atlantic City for my good friend's bachelor party. It wasn't a poker-related trip per say, but I did manage to squeeze in some action and dip my virgin feet into live casino poker.
After grabbing dinner with the group and perusing the boardwalk for a bit we ducked into Caesars (stayed at the Trump Plaza - no poker room) to check out the Casino. Most of the guys went for blackjack, but I went to find the poker room, and one particularly drunk college buddy of my friend decided to come along. We only had an hour or so to look around and then we were going to head elsewhere, so I decided it wouldn't be the best spot to play given the timing and the simple fact that I didn't want this poor drunk sap throwing his money away or vomiting all over the table. As tempting as it was, and not knowing what the rest of the night was going to bring, I just decided to hold off for the time being.
Later that night we wandered down to the Tropicana, where it seemed all the Villanova greek kids were having their graduation shenanigans or something. Basically it was a rampage of frat tools and sorostitute clones that were seemingly taking over the joint. I managed to make it to the poker room around midnight, where I got a quick seat at a new $1/2 NL table, picked up $200 from the cashier nearby, and sat down in my first ever casino poker game. I found myself surprisingly comfortable, though I kept quiet and just observed as much as I could while throwing away a bunch of early crap.
The table turned out to be wild as anything, and even the apparent regulars in my corner seemed in shock over how a number of players that came and went at the table were playing. My personal favorite was the guy that had his head down on the table as if sleeping, then when tapped by the dealer, woke up real quick, looked at his hand without observing the action before him, and pushed all-in. An early position player had opened for $10, and he came over the top with about $110 more. THEN... (yes there's more) the original raiser thinks about it a little, and makes a relatively quick call with AJ-suited. The drowsy all-in player had pocket 7's, the AJ LAG hit a Jack on the river and took it down. Myself and the few decent players that seemed to be down near my end of the table just kept getting more and more wide-eyed as the night went on, as we saw other players making big calls on the flop with hands like Queen-high (QTo on a 7-3-4 flop), 3rd pair (49o, on a flop of J-K-4), and all sorts of other crap going to showdown. Of course, as my luck would have it, I could barely catch a playable hand in a position I wanted it in all night to rake in some of these crazy pots that were being played. I think I took down one medium pot over the course of 2-3 hours or so, made one bad call on an obvious rivered flush that caught my flopped top-two, and finished the session down $30. There was one hand I would have likely made a killing on, and it went a little something like this...
Complete donk in early position grabs a random stack of whites and throws them in, not even knowing or seemingly caring how much it was (he'd done this at least 2-3 times before). I think the raise was somewhere in the range of $12-15. Cutoff player to my right reraises to $36. I'm on the button with KQo, and I had checked my cards right before the cutoff reraised and was planning on making a call, as I definitely wanted to play a hand with the original raiser, and in position to boot. Once the reraise is thrown in by the relatively solid cutoff, I decide to just wait for a better spot and muck my mediocre hand. So everyone else folds, the original raiser calls, and wouldn't ya know the flop comes K-K-Q (#&$%@#&@!!!!!!!). And of course wouldn't you know that the action only builds, with the cutoff putting in big bet after big bet only to be called by the donk. Believe it or not the hand goes to showdown, and on a board of K-K-Q-8-x, the cutoff player turns over Q4-suited!!! And the original raiser turns over 87-offsuit!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! If I could've just sat in the middle of those two and put some calls in that would've easily been a $250-300 pot, though I realize it probably would've played out differently.
Anyways, that was Saturday... err... Sunday morning. Then after I managed to track down all elements of the drunken bachelor party group, we headed back to the Trump Plaza, got to bed around 5, and woke up around 8:30 thanks to the beautiful Atlantic City sunlight coming through our window. I had been awoken a few times during the night by some loud-ass snoring, someone's cell phone going off, and my good friend (the groom actually) going back and forth to the toilet. Still I felt relatively awake for having gotten such shoddy sleep, and decided to shower and head out since no one else was anywhere near looking awake.
This time I hit up Caesars right nextdoor, which was pretty much vacant compared to Saturday. At 9:30 AM on a Sunday morning there were a few, maybe 4-5, tables going in the poker room, and I sat down at the $1/2 NL again. I only sat there for about an hour or so, but managed to take down a few nice pots with a set of 7's, a big AKs re-raised from the BB hand, and I think there might have been another small one or two, but that was about it. I had to get back to the hotel though for checkout, so I cashed out $257 and took my small profit on home.
All-in-all a fun trip for both poker and bachelor party shenanigans, though I'm not sure how much time I could spend in Atlantic City before I start to feel like I'm developing some sort of salty film all over my skin and showing signs of lung cancer just from watching so many people chain smoke all over the place. Still, I would like to go back sometime and try some of the other casinos and get some longer sessions in. The worst part of it all was sitting at that juicy Tropicana table and getting jack squat to work with, but that... after all... is poker, whether it's at a casino or online. For the time being though I'm just looking forward to getting back into the online action once again, and not having to worry about throwing in an extra buck or two for tip every time you win a pot.
More updates coming soon... I promise. Until then, best of luck.
After grabbing dinner with the group and perusing the boardwalk for a bit we ducked into Caesars (stayed at the Trump Plaza - no poker room) to check out the Casino. Most of the guys went for blackjack, but I went to find the poker room, and one particularly drunk college buddy of my friend decided to come along. We only had an hour or so to look around and then we were going to head elsewhere, so I decided it wouldn't be the best spot to play given the timing and the simple fact that I didn't want this poor drunk sap throwing his money away or vomiting all over the table. As tempting as it was, and not knowing what the rest of the night was going to bring, I just decided to hold off for the time being.
Later that night we wandered down to the Tropicana, where it seemed all the Villanova greek kids were having their graduation shenanigans or something. Basically it was a rampage of frat tools and sorostitute clones that were seemingly taking over the joint. I managed to make it to the poker room around midnight, where I got a quick seat at a new $1/2 NL table, picked up $200 from the cashier nearby, and sat down in my first ever casino poker game. I found myself surprisingly comfortable, though I kept quiet and just observed as much as I could while throwing away a bunch of early crap.
The table turned out to be wild as anything, and even the apparent regulars in my corner seemed in shock over how a number of players that came and went at the table were playing. My personal favorite was the guy that had his head down on the table as if sleeping, then when tapped by the dealer, woke up real quick, looked at his hand without observing the action before him, and pushed all-in. An early position player had opened for $10, and he came over the top with about $110 more. THEN... (yes there's more) the original raiser thinks about it a little, and makes a relatively quick call with AJ-suited. The drowsy all-in player had pocket 7's, the AJ LAG hit a Jack on the river and took it down. Myself and the few decent players that seemed to be down near my end of the table just kept getting more and more wide-eyed as the night went on, as we saw other players making big calls on the flop with hands like Queen-high (QTo on a 7-3-4 flop), 3rd pair (49o, on a flop of J-K-4), and all sorts of other crap going to showdown. Of course, as my luck would have it, I could barely catch a playable hand in a position I wanted it in all night to rake in some of these crazy pots that were being played. I think I took down one medium pot over the course of 2-3 hours or so, made one bad call on an obvious rivered flush that caught my flopped top-two, and finished the session down $30. There was one hand I would have likely made a killing on, and it went a little something like this...
Complete donk in early position grabs a random stack of whites and throws them in, not even knowing or seemingly caring how much it was (he'd done this at least 2-3 times before). I think the raise was somewhere in the range of $12-15. Cutoff player to my right reraises to $36. I'm on the button with KQo, and I had checked my cards right before the cutoff reraised and was planning on making a call, as I definitely wanted to play a hand with the original raiser, and in position to boot. Once the reraise is thrown in by the relatively solid cutoff, I decide to just wait for a better spot and muck my mediocre hand. So everyone else folds, the original raiser calls, and wouldn't ya know the flop comes K-K-Q (#&$%@#&@!!!!!!!). And of course wouldn't you know that the action only builds, with the cutoff putting in big bet after big bet only to be called by the donk. Believe it or not the hand goes to showdown, and on a board of K-K-Q-8-x, the cutoff player turns over Q4-suited!!! And the original raiser turns over 87-offsuit!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! If I could've just sat in the middle of those two and put some calls in that would've easily been a $250-300 pot, though I realize it probably would've played out differently.
Anyways, that was Saturday... err... Sunday morning. Then after I managed to track down all elements of the drunken bachelor party group, we headed back to the Trump Plaza, got to bed around 5, and woke up around 8:30 thanks to the beautiful Atlantic City sunlight coming through our window. I had been awoken a few times during the night by some loud-ass snoring, someone's cell phone going off, and my good friend (the groom actually) going back and forth to the toilet. Still I felt relatively awake for having gotten such shoddy sleep, and decided to shower and head out since no one else was anywhere near looking awake.
This time I hit up Caesars right nextdoor, which was pretty much vacant compared to Saturday. At 9:30 AM on a Sunday morning there were a few, maybe 4-5, tables going in the poker room, and I sat down at the $1/2 NL again. I only sat there for about an hour or so, but managed to take down a few nice pots with a set of 7's, a big AKs re-raised from the BB hand, and I think there might have been another small one or two, but that was about it. I had to get back to the hotel though for checkout, so I cashed out $257 and took my small profit on home.
All-in-all a fun trip for both poker and bachelor party shenanigans, though I'm not sure how much time I could spend in Atlantic City before I start to feel like I'm developing some sort of salty film all over my skin and showing signs of lung cancer just from watching so many people chain smoke all over the place. Still, I would like to go back sometime and try some of the other casinos and get some longer sessions in. The worst part of it all was sitting at that juicy Tropicana table and getting jack squat to work with, but that... after all... is poker, whether it's at a casino or online. For the time being though I'm just looking forward to getting back into the online action once again, and not having to worry about throwing in an extra buck or two for tip every time you win a pot.
More updates coming soon... I promise. Until then, best of luck.
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