Today's Sunday tournament finished in my now standard non-cash after running QQ into AA (and of course still losing in spite of flopping a set of queens, because another ace managed to appear on the river) and then losing my remaining stack when I took 88 up against TT. However the highlight for me was provided by Peter Aristidou. Midway through level 3 or 4 he wandered over to my table to say hi ... asked me if I'd won any hands yet (I was slightly below starting stack) & when I said I'd only won one, he said he had a good feeling about this one & that I would make it two! There was a raise and a call in front of me & I looked down to see AQo! I had the 'Aristidou factor' on my side, so I 3-bet & everyone folded & I took down a decent sized pot pre-flop! Peter later came over to see me after losing a big pot (this was just after I lost the QQ v AA hand) & we briefly lamented our plights. Shortly afterwards I busted & decided to join the rail to watch Peter in action for a while. He was joking around in spite of his short stack & folded for an orbit or two without finding a suitable spot to put his chips in. He eventually found one & was called by both blinds & they saw a flop of AJ6. The SB then shoved all-in, prompting a fold from the BB. Peter turned over his KJ0, to be up against his opponent's KQo! In spite of the domination, Peter manages to find the jack he needs to take the lead! Of course the BB said he folded 33 ... and what arrives on the turn ... a 3! Not only does he spike a 3-outer against a dominating hand, but the guy with king-high decides to semi-bluff the flop, forcing the hand that would have knocked Peter out, to fold ... what a charmed life Mr Aristidou leads! That triple-up (plus change) got him back to starting stack & he was never headed from there, eventually taking the tournament down (though I think there was some sort of deal made when it was three handed).
The session I played on the $2/3 table following the tournament bustout was successful, but was my now-standard slow grind, with no huge hands of note that I was involved in (though there was a crazy 5-way all-in at one point, with the big stack claiming three victims before chopping the main & one side pot with a short stack).
I'm hoping to eventually get Peter on the podcast ... though I'm not sure he's keen to divulge his run good secrets!
Showing posts with label 2/3 NL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2/3 NL. Show all posts
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Victorian Champs so far ...
0 for 5 ... and my wish for some run good has only been fleeting.
Opening Event - Just got nothing going & was out before the first break.
PokerPro Freeroll - A new promotional tourney for Crown this series. Not quite sure what the angle is, but they're offering PokerPro credits for the top few finishers each day ($50 each for the top 10% or thereabouts), as well as a freeroll for a Victorian Champs Main Event seat at the end of the fortnight's promotion. Needless to say the structure is horrible (10 minute levels using the super-fast Tuesday Turbo structure) & I made it to the last two tables before losing the inevitable flip.
Morning Series tourney - This was the best of my tournaments so far. I finished in 24th out of the 133 starters (with top 20 being paid of course). Strangely enough my downfall came very shortly after I doubled up with AA to become one of the chip leaders. The next hand I picked up ATo & raised, only to be called by the big stack in the SB. He check-called my continuation bet & then lead out at the turn on a J62J board & I folded. The very next hand I picked up 99 & again raised, only to have a player re-raise all-in behind me. I called & he showed JJ & I didn't improve, which meant I was now a short stack! I eventually got it in with 87o against JTo but a pair which became trips on the turn for my opponent meant I was doing the walk of shame without a stopoff at the cashier.
PLO - Again, not much happening here. Managed to get my chips in both times with AAxx on the flop ... once in front facing a draw (AA86o v AKJTds on a J53 two-tone flop where he made his flush on the river) & another time when I was in horrible shape (AAJ9ds v 5678ds v A422o on a 732 rainbow flop & the board ran out 55 to give the 5678 the bigger boat). Again I didn't make it to the first break ...
It seems as though the big hurdle in these low buy-in Omaha tournaments is surviving the first few levels. This is the time when there are many multi-way pots (blinds being small relative to stack size) & people are more inclined to gamble with the 'second chance' format now being standard at Crown. Obviously it also helps to run good ... but I don't seem to be able to do that much of late!
Teams event - Played with Angelo this time & we made it through 5 levels before Angelo ran TT into QQ (complete with an apparent slowroll). Highlights included:
* Angelo's Oscar nomination worthy performance for toughest decision ever with aces, which lead to a pre-flop showdown with some broadway hand (possibly QQ but I'm not 100% sure - Crown isn't exactly built for spectators) & a much-needed double up for the good guys.
* The guy who claimed to have folded A4 on a board of 446A8 with three hearts when he only had 700 behind in a pot of roughly 5000 during level 1. He folded & his opponent showed AA (to apparently turn a one-outer) & he then proceeded to walk off in a huff, only to return a few minutes later & claim the inspired fold of a full house!
* Same guy who auto-tilted after seeing a flop. He had folded to my raise pre-flop & there was a call & a shove from a short stack behind. I overshoved to get heads-up & my 88 held against A8. He claimed to have folded 66 ... and as soon as he saw the 6 as the first card of the flop he again stormed off and returned a few minutes later as with the previous hand.
Cash games haven't been much better. To give you an idea here are three of the hands I have played recently:
$1/2NL. UTG limps & I raise to $8 in UTG+1. UTG+2, UTG+3, button & blinds call. I have QQ. Flop is A33 & its checked to me. I bet $15 & it folds to the SB who moves all-in for about $80. I sigh & fold & he slams down 77 like its the nuts!
$2/3NL. UTG & UTG+1 limp & I raise to $15 in UTG+2. UTG+3, button, BB & both limpers come along for the ride. I have AA. Flop is J93 with two hearts (I have Ah) & I bet $22 after it is checked to me. Only UTG+1 calls. Th on turn & I bet $45, which he calls. River is 9c & he bets $55 into me. I call & he shows 89o (with the 8h) for rivered trips.
$2/3NL. I raise to $12 in UTG+2 with JJ. UTG+3 & button call. Flop is 457 two-tone & I lead for $22. UTG+3 calls. Turn is 6, putting two flush draws on board. I check & UTG+3 bets $150 (enough to put me all-in). I hate JJ on this board & fold & he shows an offsuit 4 ...
I suspect that much of the remaining Victorian Championships will be spent on the rail. I'm going to play the 8-game & might manage another midday event or PokerPro freeroll, but much of the second week is not to my liking & I'm not going to fork out the cash for the main event when I'm running so badly (and not playing my best all the time). On a more positive note I hope to get another episode of the Donkcast out shortly (currently I've recorded some segments, but will probably wait a few days before finalising & uploading it - currently I have capped internet, which is horrible) & I also hope to get a few interviews with players while I'm at Crown. Will see how things go!
Opening Event - Just got nothing going & was out before the first break.
PokerPro Freeroll - A new promotional tourney for Crown this series. Not quite sure what the angle is, but they're offering PokerPro credits for the top few finishers each day ($50 each for the top 10% or thereabouts), as well as a freeroll for a Victorian Champs Main Event seat at the end of the fortnight's promotion. Needless to say the structure is horrible (10 minute levels using the super-fast Tuesday Turbo structure) & I made it to the last two tables before losing the inevitable flip.
Morning Series tourney - This was the best of my tournaments so far. I finished in 24th out of the 133 starters (with top 20 being paid of course). Strangely enough my downfall came very shortly after I doubled up with AA to become one of the chip leaders. The next hand I picked up ATo & raised, only to be called by the big stack in the SB. He check-called my continuation bet & then lead out at the turn on a J62J board & I folded. The very next hand I picked up 99 & again raised, only to have a player re-raise all-in behind me. I called & he showed JJ & I didn't improve, which meant I was now a short stack! I eventually got it in with 87o against JTo but a pair which became trips on the turn for my opponent meant I was doing the walk of shame without a stopoff at the cashier.
PLO - Again, not much happening here. Managed to get my chips in both times with AAxx on the flop ... once in front facing a draw (AA86o v AKJTds on a J53 two-tone flop where he made his flush on the river) & another time when I was in horrible shape (AAJ9ds v 5678ds v A422o on a 732 rainbow flop & the board ran out 55 to give the 5678 the bigger boat). Again I didn't make it to the first break ...
It seems as though the big hurdle in these low buy-in Omaha tournaments is surviving the first few levels. This is the time when there are many multi-way pots (blinds being small relative to stack size) & people are more inclined to gamble with the 'second chance' format now being standard at Crown. Obviously it also helps to run good ... but I don't seem to be able to do that much of late!
Teams event - Played with Angelo this time & we made it through 5 levels before Angelo ran TT into QQ (complete with an apparent slowroll). Highlights included:
* Angelo's Oscar nomination worthy performance for toughest decision ever with aces, which lead to a pre-flop showdown with some broadway hand (possibly QQ but I'm not 100% sure - Crown isn't exactly built for spectators) & a much-needed double up for the good guys.
* The guy who claimed to have folded A4 on a board of 446A8 with three hearts when he only had 700 behind in a pot of roughly 5000 during level 1. He folded & his opponent showed AA (to apparently turn a one-outer) & he then proceeded to walk off in a huff, only to return a few minutes later & claim the inspired fold of a full house!
* Same guy who auto-tilted after seeing a flop. He had folded to my raise pre-flop & there was a call & a shove from a short stack behind. I overshoved to get heads-up & my 88 held against A8. He claimed to have folded 66 ... and as soon as he saw the 6 as the first card of the flop he again stormed off and returned a few minutes later as with the previous hand.
Cash games haven't been much better. To give you an idea here are three of the hands I have played recently:
$1/2NL. UTG limps & I raise to $8 in UTG+1. UTG+2, UTG+3, button & blinds call. I have QQ. Flop is A33 & its checked to me. I bet $15 & it folds to the SB who moves all-in for about $80. I sigh & fold & he slams down 77 like its the nuts!
$2/3NL. UTG & UTG+1 limp & I raise to $15 in UTG+2. UTG+3, button, BB & both limpers come along for the ride. I have AA. Flop is J93 with two hearts (I have Ah) & I bet $22 after it is checked to me. Only UTG+1 calls. Th on turn & I bet $45, which he calls. River is 9c & he bets $55 into me. I call & he shows 89o (with the 8h) for rivered trips.
$2/3NL. I raise to $12 in UTG+2 with JJ. UTG+3 & button call. Flop is 457 two-tone & I lead for $22. UTG+3 calls. Turn is 6, putting two flush draws on board. I check & UTG+3 bets $150 (enough to put me all-in). I hate JJ on this board & fold & he shows an offsuit 4 ...
I suspect that much of the remaining Victorian Championships will be spent on the rail. I'm going to play the 8-game & might manage another midday event or PokerPro freeroll, but much of the second week is not to my liking & I'm not going to fork out the cash for the main event when I'm running so badly (and not playing my best all the time). On a more positive note I hope to get another episode of the Donkcast out shortly (currently I've recorded some segments, but will probably wait a few days before finalising & uploading it - currently I have capped internet, which is horrible) & I also hope to get a few interviews with players while I'm at Crown. Will see how things go!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The joys of running badly ...
I like to think of myself as a reasonably level-headed person. I am a calm person by nature who rarely gets visibly upset. I play poker knowing that there are elements of skill and luck to the game. I know that many of my opponents do not think about poker the way I do. I rely on this difference, and the resulting mistakes, to make money.
But sometimes you just run bad ...
The last few days have been horrible in the grand scheme of poker as a money-making venture. It doesn't seem to matter what the game or the stakes, there is a way for me to buy-in for chips that end up somewhere other than a rack headed to the cashier before I leave the game.
In the last few days I have been on the wrong end of the following:
$1/2 no limit holdem
I raise to $7 UTG; new player who has posted $2 to play his first hand calls; player to his left announces 'raise to $10' & places two $5 chips in front of him. The dealer then corrects him & says that it must be $12 as he cannot raise to $10 after I have already made it $7. The player on the button calls. I re-raise to $45 total. The new player says 'I'm short-stacked ... fuck it I'm all-in' & slides his remaining chips towards the middle (he had bought in for $50). The 'accidental' raiser also calls, the button folds & I toss the additional $5 chip into the middle. The flop comes down AJ4 ... I check & the other player checks ... we check both the turn & river (6 & 3 respectively) before the all-in player proudly shows his A8 SOOOTED. The other player mucks his KQ offsuit & I throw my hand into the muck as well ... oh, I had KK by the way ... FML!
$5 two card Manila
I have played tight for a few hours. Previously I'd shown down a flush where I had called a bet on '1st' (Manila is played with 32 cards - Aces to 7s - and starts with 2 hole cards to each player & 1 community card, followed by a round of betting. Another community card & round of betting continues until there are 5 community cards in the middle. The best 5-card hand, using both hole cards & three community cards win. Being a 'short deck' game, flushed beat full houses), checked '2nd', raised '3rd' & bet '4th' & '5th' before showing my winning hand.
In this hand a checked my option with AcQh with the 8c on board. I also check-called on '2nd' which was the Qc. I then bet '3rd', the 9c, '4th' Th & '5th' 7c. The final board is 8Q9T7 with four clubs. In my mind it looked exactly like the previous hand ... and I obviously had the flush ... and of course my opponent called me down with KhJd for a straight. My one bluff for the evening doesn't work. FML!
$2/3 no limit holdem
A player raises to $15 UTG, UTG+1 calls, I re-raise to $40, a player two to my left calls the $40, the original raiser moves all-in for $108, I 'tank' & move all-in for $95 & the other player calls (having both of the all-in players covered). We decide to show our hands pre-flop. The UTG player has KhQh, the other player has QcQs & I have AcAs.
The flop comes K43 ... turn 3 ... river Q! FML!
To make matters worse, the player who won the hand decides to leave the table two hands later, and two hands after that when the hourly time charge is collected, two of the big ($500+) stacks also leave ... this prompts the remaining player with over $500 to also leave ... and the table breaks! FML!
$2/3 no limit holdem
5 players limp in pre-flop & I raise to $15 on the button. Every limper, except one, calls the raise, so its 5-ways to the flop. The flop is 822 rainbow. A player who has been betting at flops that he has 'hit' bets $25. I re-raise to $75. Everyone else folds. He eventually calls. At this stage I know he has exactly one 8 in his hand. The turn is a J & he moves all-in for around $130. I don't think he has a J or a 2, so I call. The river is a Q. He turns over Q8. I have 99. FML!
The same game becomes short-handed after all the big stacks leave (deja vu anyone) ... I procees to get 22 & the flop is Q72 & my $5 bet takes it down. Same again on an 885 board when I have A8 ... and then I run my K4 (in the BB) into KJ (in the SB) on a KJ4 flop ... and he put all his chips in the middle ... and I didn't fold ... FML!
Maybe I need to listen to Tommy Angelo's 'Eightfold Path to Poker Enlightenment' series again, or perhaps learn from blog posts such as How to Tilt. Perhaps I need to Enjoy a Bad Beat like Joe Tall ... or maybe just have some favourable short-term variance!
Lets hope things improve before the Victorian Championships!
At this stage I'm going to play the opening event & the 8-game, as well as some (if not all) of the midday series & the PLO. Will see how things are going before deciding on playing any other events ... needless to say some run-good would be appreciated.
But sometimes you just run bad ...
The last few days have been horrible in the grand scheme of poker as a money-making venture. It doesn't seem to matter what the game or the stakes, there is a way for me to buy-in for chips that end up somewhere other than a rack headed to the cashier before I leave the game.
In the last few days I have been on the wrong end of the following:
$1/2 no limit holdem
I raise to $7 UTG; new player who has posted $2 to play his first hand calls; player to his left announces 'raise to $10' & places two $5 chips in front of him. The dealer then corrects him & says that it must be $12 as he cannot raise to $10 after I have already made it $7. The player on the button calls. I re-raise to $45 total. The new player says 'I'm short-stacked ... fuck it I'm all-in' & slides his remaining chips towards the middle (he had bought in for $50). The 'accidental' raiser also calls, the button folds & I toss the additional $5 chip into the middle. The flop comes down AJ4 ... I check & the other player checks ... we check both the turn & river (6 & 3 respectively) before the all-in player proudly shows his A8 SOOOTED. The other player mucks his KQ offsuit & I throw my hand into the muck as well ... oh, I had KK by the way ... FML!
$5 two card Manila
I have played tight for a few hours. Previously I'd shown down a flush where I had called a bet on '1st' (Manila is played with 32 cards - Aces to 7s - and starts with 2 hole cards to each player & 1 community card, followed by a round of betting. Another community card & round of betting continues until there are 5 community cards in the middle. The best 5-card hand, using both hole cards & three community cards win. Being a 'short deck' game, flushed beat full houses), checked '2nd', raised '3rd' & bet '4th' & '5th' before showing my winning hand.
In this hand a checked my option with AcQh with the 8c on board. I also check-called on '2nd' which was the Qc. I then bet '3rd', the 9c, '4th' Th & '5th' 7c. The final board is 8Q9T7 with four clubs. In my mind it looked exactly like the previous hand ... and I obviously had the flush ... and of course my opponent called me down with KhJd for a straight. My one bluff for the evening doesn't work. FML!
$2/3 no limit holdem
A player raises to $15 UTG, UTG+1 calls, I re-raise to $40, a player two to my left calls the $40, the original raiser moves all-in for $108, I 'tank' & move all-in for $95 & the other player calls (having both of the all-in players covered). We decide to show our hands pre-flop. The UTG player has KhQh, the other player has QcQs & I have AcAs.
The flop comes K43 ... turn 3 ... river Q! FML!
To make matters worse, the player who won the hand decides to leave the table two hands later, and two hands after that when the hourly time charge is collected, two of the big ($500+) stacks also leave ... this prompts the remaining player with over $500 to also leave ... and the table breaks! FML!
$2/3 no limit holdem
5 players limp in pre-flop & I raise to $15 on the button. Every limper, except one, calls the raise, so its 5-ways to the flop. The flop is 822 rainbow. A player who has been betting at flops that he has 'hit' bets $25. I re-raise to $75. Everyone else folds. He eventually calls. At this stage I know he has exactly one 8 in his hand. The turn is a J & he moves all-in for around $130. I don't think he has a J or a 2, so I call. The river is a Q. He turns over Q8. I have 99. FML!
The same game becomes short-handed after all the big stacks leave (deja vu anyone) ... I procees to get 22 & the flop is Q72 & my $5 bet takes it down. Same again on an 885 board when I have A8 ... and then I run my K4 (in the BB) into KJ (in the SB) on a KJ4 flop ... and he put all his chips in the middle ... and I didn't fold ... FML!
Maybe I need to listen to Tommy Angelo's 'Eightfold Path to Poker Enlightenment' series again, or perhaps learn from blog posts such as How to Tilt. Perhaps I need to Enjoy a Bad Beat like Joe Tall ... or maybe just have some favourable short-term variance!
Lets hope things improve before the Victorian Championships!
At this stage I'm going to play the opening event & the 8-game, as well as some (if not all) of the midday series & the PLO. Will see how things are going before deciding on playing any other events ... needless to say some run-good would be appreciated.
Monday, August 2, 2010
A weekend at Crown
Another weekend at Crown, with a mix of results.
Saturday proved largely frustrating, with very little going my way after a decent start. I then went on a run of second-best hands & riverings that became frustrating. Eventually I left the no limit tables & headed to the $10/20 Omaha game (yes, that's limit omaha hi for those who don't know of this game at Crown - yes, its played as hi-lo pretty much everywhere else ... but not Crown!). Got off to a decent start before being moved to the 'main' game (yes, they eventually got two tables going, with the second being a 'must-move' game, so that the first table was always full). I had some ups & downs in the main game, but left with the small profit I had brought from the second table, which somewhat compensated for the earlier no limit losses, but didn't quite make up for it in dollar terms.
I managed to make it through more than an orbit this week in the Sunday Series event this week. I had very few hands early on, and folded 99 pre-flop early when there was a raise to my left after 3 limpers. I called the raise, only for the big blind (a fairly tight woman who is a regular at Crown) 3-bet, putting about half her stack in pre-flop. I decided to wait for a better spot & folded. I picked up some chips with 55 when I c-bet on a flop of AQT & the pre-flop caller in the small blind folded 99 face up. I later picked up AA & returned to above starting stack after winning a decent pot on the turn. As you may have realised, this meant that I had not shown down a hand the whole tournament when I got involved in what would be my final hand. There were two limpers before the button (the big stack at the table who had been involved in a lot of pots) raised to 2000 (200/400/50 level) & I looked down at A8dd in the SB. Figuring he could be doing this with any kind of hand, I thought I had a decent chance to take the pot down with a 3-bet & made it 5200. It folded back around to him & after asking how much I had behind (about 5500) he made the call (he had me covered & had about 25k to start the hand). The flop came down 873 rainbow & I shoved (as I was planning to do with pretty much any flop - top pair top kicker was simply a bonus). He snap called and showed 33 for bottom set! Oh well ... off to the cash games. I guess the move would have worked about 85% of the time ... it just happened that he flopped a set to send me out of the tournament!
The $2/3 cash game proved to be a great success. No huge pots, just lots of smaller pots picked up over the nine hours I was at the table. The biggest pot of my night was a hand that ended up all-in three ways. I was in the BB with KdTd & checked my option after 4 limpers. The flop was Qd7d4c & I check-called a $10 bet from the small blind, which was also called by UTG+1. The turn was the Jc, giving me a straight draw to go with my flush draw & this time I called the $15 bet from the SB, only to have UTG+1 shove for $80 more. The SB then shoved his remaining $90 & after a short think I called (I had a stack of around $900 by this stage) & saw the Ah hit the river to give me the nuts! The SB had Q7 for two pair & the initial shover had 56 for a straight draw. Not much to my play in that hand as I was seeing the river after the flop & turn, but that was how my night was. Nothing remarkable to speak of, but lots of hands that played themselves & took down pots.
Maybe I should just play cash games on Sunday & skip the tournament altogether!
I want to put another podcast out in the next week or so, but would like to have an interview for it, so will see what I can do about finding a guest or two in the next few days.
Saturday proved largely frustrating, with very little going my way after a decent start. I then went on a run of second-best hands & riverings that became frustrating. Eventually I left the no limit tables & headed to the $10/20 Omaha game (yes, that's limit omaha hi for those who don't know of this game at Crown - yes, its played as hi-lo pretty much everywhere else ... but not Crown!). Got off to a decent start before being moved to the 'main' game (yes, they eventually got two tables going, with the second being a 'must-move' game, so that the first table was always full). I had some ups & downs in the main game, but left with the small profit I had brought from the second table, which somewhat compensated for the earlier no limit losses, but didn't quite make up for it in dollar terms.
I managed to make it through more than an orbit this week in the Sunday Series event this week. I had very few hands early on, and folded 99 pre-flop early when there was a raise to my left after 3 limpers. I called the raise, only for the big blind (a fairly tight woman who is a regular at Crown) 3-bet, putting about half her stack in pre-flop. I decided to wait for a better spot & folded. I picked up some chips with 55 when I c-bet on a flop of AQT & the pre-flop caller in the small blind folded 99 face up. I later picked up AA & returned to above starting stack after winning a decent pot on the turn. As you may have realised, this meant that I had not shown down a hand the whole tournament when I got involved in what would be my final hand. There were two limpers before the button (the big stack at the table who had been involved in a lot of pots) raised to 2000 (200/400/50 level) & I looked down at A8dd in the SB. Figuring he could be doing this with any kind of hand, I thought I had a decent chance to take the pot down with a 3-bet & made it 5200. It folded back around to him & after asking how much I had behind (about 5500) he made the call (he had me covered & had about 25k to start the hand). The flop came down 873 rainbow & I shoved (as I was planning to do with pretty much any flop - top pair top kicker was simply a bonus). He snap called and showed 33 for bottom set! Oh well ... off to the cash games. I guess the move would have worked about 85% of the time ... it just happened that he flopped a set to send me out of the tournament!
The $2/3 cash game proved to be a great success. No huge pots, just lots of smaller pots picked up over the nine hours I was at the table. The biggest pot of my night was a hand that ended up all-in three ways. I was in the BB with KdTd & checked my option after 4 limpers. The flop was Qd7d4c & I check-called a $10 bet from the small blind, which was also called by UTG+1. The turn was the Jc, giving me a straight draw to go with my flush draw & this time I called the $15 bet from the SB, only to have UTG+1 shove for $80 more. The SB then shoved his remaining $90 & after a short think I called (I had a stack of around $900 by this stage) & saw the Ah hit the river to give me the nuts! The SB had Q7 for two pair & the initial shover had 56 for a straight draw. Not much to my play in that hand as I was seeing the river after the flop & turn, but that was how my night was. Nothing remarkable to speak of, but lots of hands that played themselves & took down pots.
Maybe I should just play cash games on Sunday & skip the tournament altogether!
I want to put another podcast out in the next week or so, but would like to have an interview for it, so will see what I can do about finding a guest or two in the next few days.
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!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Welcome home ... here's a one-outer for you!
Don't you love coming home, back to what you know and familiarity?
Since I've been back in Melbourne I've been to Crown twice ... the first time booking a small win & the second running into a one-outer, culminating in a loss which was a bigger swing in the wrong direction.
The hand in question saw me raise to $10 UTG+1 in a $2/3 game with QQ. The cutoff puts in $3 for the call, only for the dealer to tell him its actually $10, so he calls. The big blind comes along for the ride as well. The flop is 998 (with two clubs), which is decent for me (as long as no-one has a 9), so I lead for $17. The cutoff calls & the BB folds. I figure that the caller has some kid of hand - an 8, a flush or straight draw, or possibly a 9. I have about $70 behind at this stage (yes, it had been one of those nights) & am delighted to see a queen on the turn. I decide to be tricky (though in hindsight it would make no difference) & check-call my opponent's $25 bet. The plan is to shove the river for my remaining $40+ & with the pot so big my opponent pretty much has to call, insuring a double-up for me ... but things didn't go according to plan. River ... 9. I slide my small stack forward & as soon as I release it, my opponent says call. I know he has the 9! My heart sinks, I announce 'a 9 is good' as I dejectedly turn over my queens full. Of course he turns over J9o to take the pot, to the 'oooohs' & 'ahhhs' & other comments of those at the table. Of course the villain in the hand then proceeded to tell the table how that sort of thing never happens to him & how he is always on the receiving end of bad beats & never gives them ... of course having played with him on multiple occasions, I know the opposite is true, though perhaps he doesn't consider it a bad beat if his opponent's cards are not shown.
Poker is fun ... for everyone ...
Next: Back in the saddle ... oh & if anyone knows where to find some run good, PLEASE let me know!
Since I've been back in Melbourne I've been to Crown twice ... the first time booking a small win & the second running into a one-outer, culminating in a loss which was a bigger swing in the wrong direction.
The hand in question saw me raise to $10 UTG+1 in a $2/3 game with QQ. The cutoff puts in $3 for the call, only for the dealer to tell him its actually $10, so he calls. The big blind comes along for the ride as well. The flop is 998 (with two clubs), which is decent for me (as long as no-one has a 9), so I lead for $17. The cutoff calls & the BB folds. I figure that the caller has some kid of hand - an 8, a flush or straight draw, or possibly a 9. I have about $70 behind at this stage (yes, it had been one of those nights) & am delighted to see a queen on the turn. I decide to be tricky (though in hindsight it would make no difference) & check-call my opponent's $25 bet. The plan is to shove the river for my remaining $40+ & with the pot so big my opponent pretty much has to call, insuring a double-up for me ... but things didn't go according to plan. River ... 9. I slide my small stack forward & as soon as I release it, my opponent says call. I know he has the 9! My heart sinks, I announce 'a 9 is good' as I dejectedly turn over my queens full. Of course he turns over J9o to take the pot, to the 'oooohs' & 'ahhhs' & other comments of those at the table. Of course the villain in the hand then proceeded to tell the table how that sort of thing never happens to him & how he is always on the receiving end of bad beats & never gives them ... of course having played with him on multiple occasions, I know the opposite is true, though perhaps he doesn't consider it a bad beat if his opponent's cards are not shown.
Poker is fun ... for everyone ...
Next: Back in the saddle ... oh & if anyone knows where to find some run good, PLEASE let me know!
Monday, May 24, 2010
USA Day 19
A relatively quiet day. Put the latest episode of the Donkcast together in the afternoon before heading to the Bike for what was supposed to be a short session at the Bike.
Four hours later I left the table with exactly my initial buy-in from a very interesting $2/3NL table. It started with the guy who raised every hand, often showing his bluffs, which got some other players at the table involved in the bluffing (the 'I'll show him how to bluff' mentality). After a number of players left, there was something of a quiet patch, before a player arrived who every now & then decided to tell you exactly what his hand was and what he was doing ... 'I have six-deuce' and when the flop came JT2 all spades, he would bet, saying 'I hit my deuce ... $15'. Of course this didn't happen every hand, and he would sometimes find other ways to announce his hand 'I have a flush and straight draw, I'm not folding this hand' on a board of KQ9 with two diamonds. Sure enough, a ten would hit the turn & he would be big & show his J5 of diamonds for a chop with the poor guy who flopped the straight with JT.
Of course I didn't pick up many hands, with my biggest being pocket jacks ... which ran into pocket jacks to chop the pot. Managed to get even for the night in a hand with the guy who announced his hand. I limped in early position with QJ & he announced 'I have ace ten, I raise to $15'. Of course with 3 others in the hand I called & saw a jack-high flop, which was checked around. On the turn 9 I bet, and was called by the guy with AT. When the ten came on the river I confidently bet again, and was called, showed my QJ & my opponent kindly showed me his AT.
Fun times.
Also this is my last night in Los Angeles. I have an early morning flight to Las Vegas, with lots more poker on the agenda when in town. Vegas also has the best late-night snack option around - The Earl of Sandwich at Planet Hollywood. Its like Subway, but with Foccacia-like bread. They also do a mean tomato soup!
Next on the agenda: Vegas baby!!
Four hours later I left the table with exactly my initial buy-in from a very interesting $2/3NL table. It started with the guy who raised every hand, often showing his bluffs, which got some other players at the table involved in the bluffing (the 'I'll show him how to bluff' mentality). After a number of players left, there was something of a quiet patch, before a player arrived who every now & then decided to tell you exactly what his hand was and what he was doing ... 'I have six-deuce' and when the flop came JT2 all spades, he would bet, saying 'I hit my deuce ... $15'. Of course this didn't happen every hand, and he would sometimes find other ways to announce his hand 'I have a flush and straight draw, I'm not folding this hand' on a board of KQ9 with two diamonds. Sure enough, a ten would hit the turn & he would be big & show his J5 of diamonds for a chop with the poor guy who flopped the straight with JT.
Of course I didn't pick up many hands, with my biggest being pocket jacks ... which ran into pocket jacks to chop the pot. Managed to get even for the night in a hand with the guy who announced his hand. I limped in early position with QJ & he announced 'I have ace ten, I raise to $15'. Of course with 3 others in the hand I called & saw a jack-high flop, which was checked around. On the turn 9 I bet, and was called by the guy with AT. When the ten came on the river I confidently bet again, and was called, showed my QJ & my opponent kindly showed me his AT.
Fun times.
Also this is my last night in Los Angeles. I have an early morning flight to Las Vegas, with lots more poker on the agenda when in town. Vegas also has the best late-night snack option around - The Earl of Sandwich at Planet Hollywood. Its like Subway, but with Foccacia-like bread. They also do a mean tomato soup!
Next on the agenda: Vegas baby!!
Friday, May 21, 2010
USA Day 16
Now with iPod Touch!
Decided to go shopping this afternoon & picked up an iPod Touch. I like the larger screen size, but am particularly interested in the various apps that are available for it. Yes I already have an iPod classic, but that is limited in its uses - it plays music & video, but does little else. I briefly flirted with the idea of buying an iPad, but it just doesn't seem to be anything in particular. Its not portable enough to be an iPod style MP3 player plus, yet its also not sustantial enough to be a laptop substitute. Anyway, iPod Touch it is. I've already put a few useful poker apps on it (as well as some non-poker ones), but any suggestions for other apps that are worth adding would be greatly appreciated.
As for poker, I played a few hours of $2/3 NLHE at the Bike tonight & picked up a tidy little profit of $200, in spite of a few beats & major sweats.
The big beat of the night was with good old Big Slick (suited mind you!). I raised on the button after a few limpers & 4 of us saw a flop of KT8. I bet about 2/3rds pot & got one caller. The turn was the innocent-looking 2d (though it did bring a diamond draw) & I bet a bit over half pot & was again called. The river was the 4d & my opponent lead out for about 1/3rd pot ($45 on the end). The only hands that made sense for him in this spot (check-calling to the river & then leading at the river) were either a rivered flush or a set, with the flush being much more likely. I figured there wouldn't be much else that he could play that way (if he had 2 pair he most lilely would have raised the flop with a hand like KT) & was expecting him to turn over the flush or a worse king after I made the call. Of course he turned over K4 for a rivered 2 pair! FML indeed!
The sweat of the evening was relatively brief, but definitely concerning while it was a sweat. I picked up AA under-the-gun & made it $10 to go. The cutoff raised to $35. I thought for a while & re-raised to $75 & the cutoff snap-shoved his remaining stack into the middle (roughly $140 total). I called (obviously), but was about ready to throw up in my mouth when I saw the flop: KQ9! In my mind the snap-shove would most likely be either the other AA, KK or QQ ... so I'm probably now either crushed or chopping. When the board ran out with two low cards I turned over my aces, expecting to see a set, however the delay from my opponent was something I wanted to see. he reluctantly showed his hand ... pocket jacks! I scooped the pot worth a little under $300. All in all a reasonable evening.
Next on the agenda: California State Champs Main Event at the Commerce!
Decided to go shopping this afternoon & picked up an iPod Touch. I like the larger screen size, but am particularly interested in the various apps that are available for it. Yes I already have an iPod classic, but that is limited in its uses - it plays music & video, but does little else. I briefly flirted with the idea of buying an iPad, but it just doesn't seem to be anything in particular. Its not portable enough to be an iPod style MP3 player plus, yet its also not sustantial enough to be a laptop substitute. Anyway, iPod Touch it is. I've already put a few useful poker apps on it (as well as some non-poker ones), but any suggestions for other apps that are worth adding would be greatly appreciated.
As for poker, I played a few hours of $2/3 NLHE at the Bike tonight & picked up a tidy little profit of $200, in spite of a few beats & major sweats.
The big beat of the night was with good old Big Slick (suited mind you!). I raised on the button after a few limpers & 4 of us saw a flop of KT8. I bet about 2/3rds pot & got one caller. The turn was the innocent-looking 2d (though it did bring a diamond draw) & I bet a bit over half pot & was again called. The river was the 4d & my opponent lead out for about 1/3rd pot ($45 on the end). The only hands that made sense for him in this spot (check-calling to the river & then leading at the river) were either a rivered flush or a set, with the flush being much more likely. I figured there wouldn't be much else that he could play that way (if he had 2 pair he most lilely would have raised the flop with a hand like KT) & was expecting him to turn over the flush or a worse king after I made the call. Of course he turned over K4 for a rivered 2 pair! FML indeed!
The sweat of the evening was relatively brief, but definitely concerning while it was a sweat. I picked up AA under-the-gun & made it $10 to go. The cutoff raised to $35. I thought for a while & re-raised to $75 & the cutoff snap-shoved his remaining stack into the middle (roughly $140 total). I called (obviously), but was about ready to throw up in my mouth when I saw the flop: KQ9! In my mind the snap-shove would most likely be either the other AA, KK or QQ ... so I'm probably now either crushed or chopping. When the board ran out with two low cards I turned over my aces, expecting to see a set, however the delay from my opponent was something I wanted to see. he reluctantly showed his hand ... pocket jacks! I scooped the pot worth a little under $300. All in all a reasonable evening.
Next on the agenda: California State Champs Main Event at the Commerce!
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