I recently scored a bonus on Full Tilt Poker & am in the process of 'earning' it. Of course the challenge remaining is to complete the entire bonus. As it stands I have roughly $70 left to earn of the bonus, with 6c earnt per FTP. This means that I need to earn roughly another 1150 FTPs to complete the bonus. The difficult part about it is that I now have 13 hours left to complete the bonus! At present I'm playing primarily 25/50c limit holdem, playing anywhere from 4-8 tables at a time. Hopefully I'll be able to get the entire bonus & give the bankroll a decent boost. At present I have around $300 on Full Tilt & am hoping to double this before moving up to 50c/$1 games.
Lets see how it goes ...
Showing posts with label online. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online. Show all posts
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
A poker update: Online & live
I've tried playing a lot more online this week, with varying degrees of success. Overall I'm slightly ahead (and by slightly I mean <$20 ahead), but I'm really struggling to come to grips with the differences between live & online play. The extra hands & multi-tabling hasn't been much of a problem as I've only been playing limit poker (mostly holdem, though I did manage about an hour of 2-7 triple draw as well), so its simply fold, call/check, bet/raise ... no need to concern myself with how much to bet or raise, stack sizes, stack-to-pot ratios, and other assorted issues of no limit holdem. The main issue for me at the moment is using a HUD. I briefly used a HUD when I was playing about 1.5-2 years ago, but I was only playing one table at a time then & online poker developed into more of a thing to pass the time rather than a serious money-making venture, so I didn't feel there was much of a need. Obviously since then, and adding the fact that I want to take my online poker more seriously, I realised that a HUD would be something necessary in order for me to progress online. With this new development comes issue ... yes, I now have a bunch of numbers on my opponents at the table ... the issue is how to use that information - what do the numbers mean, how do they help categorise opponents, how can they be used to develop ranges for opponents, etc. I feel like I need to re-learn poker for this 'new' environment.
Guess its something for the future ...
The other issues with online poker are two-fold ... I'm on a computer with the internet running ... this means that distractions are literally a mouse-click away ... whether it is Facebook, YouTube, ICC (chess), Settlers of Catan or something else, there's always the possibility of doing something else immediately ... I suppose this issue can be solved by discipline & making sure that when I'm playing poker, that is all I'm doing!
The other issue is that live poker is so much more profitable! Add in the fact that its something I'm far more comfortable with & it seems like a no-brainer! Why slave away in front of a computer for hours, only to come away say $30 to the good (and of course the money is 'online', with further hoops & hurdles to overcome before it becomes cash in hand), when you can go for a drive to the casino & do nothing special & almost definitely lock up a win of some kind, which is often in the $300+ mark.
This leads me into a big hand I played tonight at Crown int he $2/3NL game.
There was a limp from UTG+1, limp from the hijack & I raised in the cutoff to $12 with AcQd. The button, SB, BB & the two limpers all called to make it 6 to the flop. KcJc6s & it is checked through. I didn't feel the need to c-bet on this flop as I'm only going to get called by a hand that I'm behind & there are a lot of cards that could get me in trouble on the tun if I were to bet & inflate the pot with just ace-high.
Anyway, the turn is the Tc, so there is a flush possible, though I now have a broadway straight (with the re-draw to the nut straight). Of course at the time I didn't realise I had the Ac ... I just knew I had Aqo & had turned broadway. Anyway, it is checked to the hijack (an old guy who had been playing fairly snugly) who bet $15. I raised to $35 & was called by the SB (a regular in the 2/3 game who is a decent, solid player, but also capable of making a move from time to time). The old guy folds & we are heads-up to the river.
The river is the 2c, making the final board KcJc6sTc2c. The SB now leads out for $60! I tried to remain composed as I re-raised to $130. The SB thought for a little while and then moved all-in! I had about $275 behind & he had me covered! I considered my options ... I had the nut flush right? No paired board ... what could beat me? Qc9c? That was it. Could he have the straight flush? I actually said out load 'do you *really* have Q9 of clubs?' & after another 10 seconds thought said 'call' ... only to be shown the hand I feared ... Qc9c for a straight flush! Ouch!
With the value of hindsight, I should have been able to either a) just call the river (yes, a sick call, but a good one); or b) fold to the shove (and be really sick & fold the Ac face-up!). What makes me say this? Simply because we have played with each other before & I respect his game & he seemed to respect my game. With the Ac in my hand & the K, J & T of clubs on the board ... what POSSIBLE hand could he be betting the river with? After I have shown strength from the turn & river (as well as pre-flop), could he REALLY be confident betting the river with just the bare Qc? Possible, but unlikely. With no paired board, there is no full house possibility ... and he did just check-call 2 bets on the turn & lead the river ... end result: he MUST have either the straight flush or air ... and is looks like a really bad board to be betting air! Guess that was my Mike McDermott moment for the evening ... I didn't properly think through the hand at the time & it cost me a big pot. I managed to win much of what I had lost in that pot back by the end of the night, but still left slightly down for the evening. Oh well ... guess I'll think it through better next time!
Guess its something for the future ...
The other issues with online poker are two-fold ... I'm on a computer with the internet running ... this means that distractions are literally a mouse-click away ... whether it is Facebook, YouTube, ICC (chess), Settlers of Catan or something else, there's always the possibility of doing something else immediately ... I suppose this issue can be solved by discipline & making sure that when I'm playing poker, that is all I'm doing!
The other issue is that live poker is so much more profitable! Add in the fact that its something I'm far more comfortable with & it seems like a no-brainer! Why slave away in front of a computer for hours, only to come away say $30 to the good (and of course the money is 'online', with further hoops & hurdles to overcome before it becomes cash in hand), when you can go for a drive to the casino & do nothing special & almost definitely lock up a win of some kind, which is often in the $300+ mark.
This leads me into a big hand I played tonight at Crown int he $2/3NL game.
There was a limp from UTG+1, limp from the hijack & I raised in the cutoff to $12 with AcQd. The button, SB, BB & the two limpers all called to make it 6 to the flop. KcJc6s & it is checked through. I didn't feel the need to c-bet on this flop as I'm only going to get called by a hand that I'm behind & there are a lot of cards that could get me in trouble on the tun if I were to bet & inflate the pot with just ace-high.
Anyway, the turn is the Tc, so there is a flush possible, though I now have a broadway straight (with the re-draw to the nut straight). Of course at the time I didn't realise I had the Ac ... I just knew I had Aqo & had turned broadway. Anyway, it is checked to the hijack (an old guy who had been playing fairly snugly) who bet $15. I raised to $35 & was called by the SB (a regular in the 2/3 game who is a decent, solid player, but also capable of making a move from time to time). The old guy folds & we are heads-up to the river.
The river is the 2c, making the final board KcJc6sTc2c. The SB now leads out for $60! I tried to remain composed as I re-raised to $130. The SB thought for a little while and then moved all-in! I had about $275 behind & he had me covered! I considered my options ... I had the nut flush right? No paired board ... what could beat me? Qc9c? That was it. Could he have the straight flush? I actually said out load 'do you *really* have Q9 of clubs?' & after another 10 seconds thought said 'call' ... only to be shown the hand I feared ... Qc9c for a straight flush! Ouch!
With the value of hindsight, I should have been able to either a) just call the river (yes, a sick call, but a good one); or b) fold to the shove (and be really sick & fold the Ac face-up!). What makes me say this? Simply because we have played with each other before & I respect his game & he seemed to respect my game. With the Ac in my hand & the K, J & T of clubs on the board ... what POSSIBLE hand could he be betting the river with? After I have shown strength from the turn & river (as well as pre-flop), could he REALLY be confident betting the river with just the bare Qc? Possible, but unlikely. With no paired board, there is no full house possibility ... and he did just check-call 2 bets on the turn & lead the river ... end result: he MUST have either the straight flush or air ... and is looks like a really bad board to be betting air! Guess that was my Mike McDermott moment for the evening ... I didn't properly think through the hand at the time & it cost me a big pot. I managed to win much of what I had lost in that pot back by the end of the night, but still left slightly down for the evening. Oh well ... guess I'll think it through better next time!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
A weekend of highs & lows ... and an online self-challenge
Spent some time at Crown this weekend, playing cash games & a tournament ... and it was chalk & cheese ... swings & roundabouts ... or whatever your favourite cliche is for such a situation.
Saturday turned into a horrible session of $2/3 NL. After getting off to a reasonable start, I managed to find a number of second-best hands (which is never good for the chip stack) & was treading water slightly down when a novice player sat down at the table. As seems to happen so often, he managed to run like God & in no time had his $150 buy-in up to around $700! Given the number of 4 (or less) outers he hit, myself & the others at the opposite end of the table could not wait to get our hands on some of this, when the inevitable end to the run good happened. Of course the other problem that the beginner's presence created was that everyone else wanted to get in on the action. I managed to find myself on the wrong end of this in a big hand where I had TT in the big blind. After most of the table (including the beginner) limped, I made it $20 to go, which was called by 6 players! The flop came down J43 & I lead into the field for $40. The only callers were the beginner & the player to his immediate right. Although not the ideal situation, it was still not such a bad result, though obviously the jack was a little concerning. The turn brought a 5 & I bet $60 this time, which was called by the beginner & the other player moved all-in for just over $90. Obviously this was not ideal, but I called the extra amount (as did the beginner) & checked the repeat jack on the river. I showed my TT, the beginner showed 87 (yes, he called the flop with 87 & the turn with a gutshot!) & the all-in player showed his A2o for the wheel to take the $400+ pot! FML! I played poorly for the remainder of the session, getting more frustrated by the horrible play of the beginner, as well as his chipping up, then redistributing these chips around the table. My final hand for the evening saw my horribly misplay AK. It was folded to middle position (this was about an hour after the beginner had left ... with no chips & a lighter wallet) & a tight player raised to $15. This was the first time he had raised pre-flop & only a few hands earlier he had called a pre-flop raise & called flop & river bets in position with QQ to take down a pot worth around $100 on a K-high board, so I thought he had to have something pretty reasonable to be doing this. The button, who had been playing solidly & was the major beneficiary of the recently-departed novice player, called & I decided to just call from the small blind. I generally do this for a few reasons - it disguises the strength of my hand; AK can be a difficult hand to play out-of-position with the betting lead if you miss the flop; it keeps the pot size manageable - technically my hand is just a big drawing hand at present, so I don't feel the need to make the pot overly big (yes, I tend to go for the 'big hand, big pot; small hand, small pot' type of mentality). Three to the flop & it was KT7 with two diamonds. Expecting a c-bet from the pre-flop raiser, I decided to check, only to see it check around. The turn brought an offsuit 4 & I bet $30, which was called by the PFR, only to be min-raised by the button! Of course because I had played the hand so strangely/badly to this point I had no idea what kind of a hand he might have (although I knew it was decent), though it could be anything from a combo straight/flush draw (QJdd, 89dd) to top pair, two pair or a set. I decided to call, as did the PFR. The turn was a horrible card for me (in hindsight), an offsuit ace, giving me top two pair. I only had about $90 left, so shipped it, to see the PFR insta-muck & the button insta-call ... and I knew he had a set & I was heading home. Of course when he showed his 44, it simply made me more frustrated with myself for playing the hand so badly, as he most likely would have folded the hand on the flop to a bet. Oh well ...
Today I turned up late for the $125 Sunday tournament ... and it made no difference! I didn't even survive a round! After folding my first few hands, I looked at 66 in the BB & checked my option after 5 limpers. I check-folded the J75 flop & was just about settling into my table, which had quite a few familiar faces at it (yes, the Sunday tournament definitely brings out the regulars!). Of course on the very next hand there were again 5 limpers to the big blind (a regular who tends to overplay marginal hands) who made it 1300 to go (blinds were 100/200). I looked down at AK in the SB & re-raised to 3200 (we started with 10,000 & I'd only lost 350 in blinds prior to this hand, so pretty much had a full starting stack, with the button having me covered). It folded back around to the button, who moved all-in fairly quickly. I called & he showed his QQ. The dealer dealt the flop ... ACE! ... queen, four ... groan, FML, etc ... Of course I was drawing dead by the turn, but picked up a consolation ace on the river (what a lovely book title Mr Greenstein) before heading to the cash games.
The cash game proved to be great. In my first 2 orbits at the table I picked up AA twice! The first time I doubled-up (with change) on an AJ9 flop when I got it all-in against 99. I then stacked an opponent on a king-high flop when he got it all-in with K6 & did not improve. Obviously this was a great start to have my $200 buy-in up to over $600 within 30 minutes! I kept my stack around the $600 mark for the next few hours, with a few minor fluctuations, until another big hand came my way. This time I picked up AK in the big blind after 7 people had limped in, so made it $20 to go. Two players called to see a flop of A75 with two hearts. I bet $35 & they both called. The turn was an 8 & I bet $55 & was again called by both opponents. The river was a T (flush did not complete) & I checked, intending to check-call (I had the ace of hearts, but was concerned about one of my opponents having two pair). It checked to the player in the cutoff who bet $75 (about half of his remaining stack). With the pot being so big, I could not possibly fold, so I called his bet. After the other player mucked, the bettor insta-mucked & I took down the $450+ pot uncontested! I left about an hour later with a healthy profit that well and truly made up for the previous night's forgetable performance.
I've also decided that this week I will play a minimum of 25 hours of online low-limit holdem, playing at least 4 tables at a time. I was hoping to do this by Wednesday (roughly 8 hours per day on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday), though this may not be possible, as I am actually going to be playing chess (for Elwood) on Tuesday night. Will see how things go (both the poker and the chess) & I will update my progress here. Lets hope it turns out well!
Saturday turned into a horrible session of $2/3 NL. After getting off to a reasonable start, I managed to find a number of second-best hands (which is never good for the chip stack) & was treading water slightly down when a novice player sat down at the table. As seems to happen so often, he managed to run like God & in no time had his $150 buy-in up to around $700! Given the number of 4 (or less) outers he hit, myself & the others at the opposite end of the table could not wait to get our hands on some of this, when the inevitable end to the run good happened. Of course the other problem that the beginner's presence created was that everyone else wanted to get in on the action. I managed to find myself on the wrong end of this in a big hand where I had TT in the big blind. After most of the table (including the beginner) limped, I made it $20 to go, which was called by 6 players! The flop came down J43 & I lead into the field for $40. The only callers were the beginner & the player to his immediate right. Although not the ideal situation, it was still not such a bad result, though obviously the jack was a little concerning. The turn brought a 5 & I bet $60 this time, which was called by the beginner & the other player moved all-in for just over $90. Obviously this was not ideal, but I called the extra amount (as did the beginner) & checked the repeat jack on the river. I showed my TT, the beginner showed 87 (yes, he called the flop with 87 & the turn with a gutshot!) & the all-in player showed his A2o for the wheel to take the $400+ pot! FML! I played poorly for the remainder of the session, getting more frustrated by the horrible play of the beginner, as well as his chipping up, then redistributing these chips around the table. My final hand for the evening saw my horribly misplay AK. It was folded to middle position (this was about an hour after the beginner had left ... with no chips & a lighter wallet) & a tight player raised to $15. This was the first time he had raised pre-flop & only a few hands earlier he had called a pre-flop raise & called flop & river bets in position with QQ to take down a pot worth around $100 on a K-high board, so I thought he had to have something pretty reasonable to be doing this. The button, who had been playing solidly & was the major beneficiary of the recently-departed novice player, called & I decided to just call from the small blind. I generally do this for a few reasons - it disguises the strength of my hand; AK can be a difficult hand to play out-of-position with the betting lead if you miss the flop; it keeps the pot size manageable - technically my hand is just a big drawing hand at present, so I don't feel the need to make the pot overly big (yes, I tend to go for the 'big hand, big pot; small hand, small pot' type of mentality). Three to the flop & it was KT7 with two diamonds. Expecting a c-bet from the pre-flop raiser, I decided to check, only to see it check around. The turn brought an offsuit 4 & I bet $30, which was called by the PFR, only to be min-raised by the button! Of course because I had played the hand so strangely/badly to this point I had no idea what kind of a hand he might have (although I knew it was decent), though it could be anything from a combo straight/flush draw (QJdd, 89dd) to top pair, two pair or a set. I decided to call, as did the PFR. The turn was a horrible card for me (in hindsight), an offsuit ace, giving me top two pair. I only had about $90 left, so shipped it, to see the PFR insta-muck & the button insta-call ... and I knew he had a set & I was heading home. Of course when he showed his 44, it simply made me more frustrated with myself for playing the hand so badly, as he most likely would have folded the hand on the flop to a bet. Oh well ...
Today I turned up late for the $125 Sunday tournament ... and it made no difference! I didn't even survive a round! After folding my first few hands, I looked at 66 in the BB & checked my option after 5 limpers. I check-folded the J75 flop & was just about settling into my table, which had quite a few familiar faces at it (yes, the Sunday tournament definitely brings out the regulars!). Of course on the very next hand there were again 5 limpers to the big blind (a regular who tends to overplay marginal hands) who made it 1300 to go (blinds were 100/200). I looked down at AK in the SB & re-raised to 3200 (we started with 10,000 & I'd only lost 350 in blinds prior to this hand, so pretty much had a full starting stack, with the button having me covered). It folded back around to the button, who moved all-in fairly quickly. I called & he showed his QQ. The dealer dealt the flop ... ACE! ... queen, four ... groan, FML, etc ... Of course I was drawing dead by the turn, but picked up a consolation ace on the river (what a lovely book title Mr Greenstein) before heading to the cash games.
The cash game proved to be great. In my first 2 orbits at the table I picked up AA twice! The first time I doubled-up (with change) on an AJ9 flop when I got it all-in against 99. I then stacked an opponent on a king-high flop when he got it all-in with K6 & did not improve. Obviously this was a great start to have my $200 buy-in up to over $600 within 30 minutes! I kept my stack around the $600 mark for the next few hours, with a few minor fluctuations, until another big hand came my way. This time I picked up AK in the big blind after 7 people had limped in, so made it $20 to go. Two players called to see a flop of A75 with two hearts. I bet $35 & they both called. The turn was an 8 & I bet $55 & was again called by both opponents. The river was a T (flush did not complete) & I checked, intending to check-call (I had the ace of hearts, but was concerned about one of my opponents having two pair). It checked to the player in the cutoff who bet $75 (about half of his remaining stack). With the pot being so big, I could not possibly fold, so I called his bet. After the other player mucked, the bettor insta-mucked & I took down the $450+ pot uncontested! I left about an hour later with a healthy profit that well and truly made up for the previous night's forgetable performance.
I've also decided that this week I will play a minimum of 25 hours of online low-limit holdem, playing at least 4 tables at a time. I was hoping to do this by Wednesday (roughly 8 hours per day on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday), though this may not be possible, as I am actually going to be playing chess (for Elwood) on Tuesday night. Will see how things go (both the poker and the chess) & I will update my progress here. Lets hope it turns out well!
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