Great book... just wish it was full of hands and cut down a lot on the rest of it. I am lucky that my money management skills are developed from my typical line of work so no problems for me there. I will take the spend time with the family notice to heart as it is the most important thing in my life.
It was kind of cool to think through a hand playing against Gus Hansen and I am sure I would have messed up a few of the other hands. A few of the tips about playing late in tournaments will also come in handy. I have improved to the point where I can get to the final table with some chips, but then I start to spew them as I run into big hands.
Played live last Wednesday night and was down $40 mostly to a buddy who I was messing around playing against. Silly to do but costly in long run until I beat him out of some cash first.
It was good to take the weekend off from playing and focus on some reading and watching some WPT events on TV. I watch them after I tape them so I can fast forward to tough spots where I have to think through a hand. Good experience and it feeds the hands which feed into the mental database that we use when we are playing. The idea of modelling successful players is one which poker players don't mention enough. Take a close look at guys who are winning and see what they are doing to gain all those chips.
Over the next couple days I am going to post about a e-wallet that I think can challenge Neteller for our business. Think of no deposit fees and hopefully soon they will allow multiple currencies to be held inside your account. Let me know if there is anything that your current e-wallet is missing in terms of functionality that you would like to see.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Learning - when to avoid playing
Well last night I was heading home hoping to watch a movie with the wife. She had to study and since things needed to be quiet I ended up playing poker online. That was the first mistake of an evening where I went out of my way to make every mistake I knew to avoid. Here is a quick list:
1. Be ready to play. Not just play but show up knowing that you can beat the game and put your mind to that goal.
Last night I was careless and sat down to put in some hands and wasn't focused.
2. Play conservative until you know your opponents. I am not saying that you should not try a move on someone but don't put your stack on the line until you are sure it is +EV
Last night I lost my first buy in trying to push a guy off a hand by reraising all in. How could I put a good read on a guy after 10 hands? He might be able to lay down an overpair if he thinks your raise is AA or he could call with the nuts.
3. Play very conservative while on tilt. This rule keeps me in a situation where I am only supposed to play AA, KK, QQ and AK from any position and AQ from late position until things cool down a bit. After losing a big hand you almost want to get back in the game and mix is up which is how most people get in trouble.
I convinced myself that I wasn't on tilt and ended up losing about 1/3 of my next buy in by calling pre flop raises with garbage hoping to catch someone. This resulted in my VPIP to soar so my raises and calls had less respect than before.
4. Don't lose a stack to TPTK. How many times do we see the K on the turn with all low cards and then figure that we have the best hand. Keep the pot small as you only have one pair but still bet to make the flush draw pay to see that next card.
4a. Very big red flags should go up when passive players start reraising on the turn. Watch out for sets and two pair as most at low levels don't reraise with just draws.
I had TPTK on turn vs. a guy who was a bit crazy pre and postflop. VPIP was 53% and pre flop raise was 23%. My mistake vs. this guy was only calling his min raise preflop instead of reraising him. The lack of info of how he would react to being reraised would cost me later in the evening. I figure that his reraise (since he is nuts!) has to be with a worse K. Instead he had two pair since his 72o hammer hand hammered me for him to double up.
5. Once you identify the maniac put him on your buddy list and take your time to take that stack. Just because bad players are out there doesn't mean you will have an opportunity this time to take them out.
5a. Bad players get hands just like everyone else.
My buddy from my TPTK hand min raises (he was just to my right so perfect table position for me) and I have AK again. Well he isn't going to get away with min raising with junk so I put in a 6xbb raise. Everyone else folds but my buddy is stubborn and he reraises me. I figure that at worst I am a coinflip and a push should get my money in with the best of it so I push. He calls with AA and I do a great job of doubling him up again.
6. If you have broken more than one of these rules in an evening don't continue to play.
I took the last $26 I had on Full Tilt (damn site is making me live up to their name!) and followed my friend to his next table. Right idea but again I wan't to force the situation. So he limps from UTG and I am in CO and see 72o. Figure that since I have sacrificed so much it would be nice to get back at him with the hammer. So I raise to 4xbb to isolate (which is easy on Full Tilt as most are so tight on this site) and he reraises me to 8xbb. I call and the flop is 7 8 10 and he puts me all in. I call because I am sure my 7's are ahead right now. He shows 56o and hits the 9 on the turn and a 7 on the river. So my set loses to my buddy while I get to explain to my brother what happened to his Full Tilt account!
Well it was a humbling experience but the positives were that I know who I want to be playing against but I have to remember the fundamentals that built the bankroll.
Just got my copy of Ace on the River from Amazon today so that will give me something to read when my wife doesn't want to watch a movie!
1. Be ready to play. Not just play but show up knowing that you can beat the game and put your mind to that goal.
Last night I was careless and sat down to put in some hands and wasn't focused.
2. Play conservative until you know your opponents. I am not saying that you should not try a move on someone but don't put your stack on the line until you are sure it is +EV
Last night I lost my first buy in trying to push a guy off a hand by reraising all in. How could I put a good read on a guy after 10 hands? He might be able to lay down an overpair if he thinks your raise is AA or he could call with the nuts.
3. Play very conservative while on tilt. This rule keeps me in a situation where I am only supposed to play AA, KK, QQ and AK from any position and AQ from late position until things cool down a bit. After losing a big hand you almost want to get back in the game and mix is up which is how most people get in trouble.
I convinced myself that I wasn't on tilt and ended up losing about 1/3 of my next buy in by calling pre flop raises with garbage hoping to catch someone. This resulted in my VPIP to soar so my raises and calls had less respect than before.
4. Don't lose a stack to TPTK. How many times do we see the K on the turn with all low cards and then figure that we have the best hand. Keep the pot small as you only have one pair but still bet to make the flush draw pay to see that next card.
4a. Very big red flags should go up when passive players start reraising on the turn. Watch out for sets and two pair as most at low levels don't reraise with just draws.
I had TPTK on turn vs. a guy who was a bit crazy pre and postflop. VPIP was 53% and pre flop raise was 23%. My mistake vs. this guy was only calling his min raise preflop instead of reraising him. The lack of info of how he would react to being reraised would cost me later in the evening. I figure that his reraise (since he is nuts!) has to be with a worse K. Instead he had two pair since his 72o hammer hand hammered me for him to double up.
5. Once you identify the maniac put him on your buddy list and take your time to take that stack. Just because bad players are out there doesn't mean you will have an opportunity this time to take them out.
5a. Bad players get hands just like everyone else.
My buddy from my TPTK hand min raises (he was just to my right so perfect table position for me) and I have AK again. Well he isn't going to get away with min raising with junk so I put in a 6xbb raise. Everyone else folds but my buddy is stubborn and he reraises me. I figure that at worst I am a coinflip and a push should get my money in with the best of it so I push. He calls with AA and I do a great job of doubling him up again.
6. If you have broken more than one of these rules in an evening don't continue to play.
I took the last $26 I had on Full Tilt (damn site is making me live up to their name!) and followed my friend to his next table. Right idea but again I wan't to force the situation. So he limps from UTG and I am in CO and see 72o. Figure that since I have sacrificed so much it would be nice to get back at him with the hammer. So I raise to 4xbb to isolate (which is easy on Full Tilt as most are so tight on this site) and he reraises me to 8xbb. I call and the flop is 7 8 10 and he puts me all in. I call because I am sure my 7's are ahead right now. He shows 56o and hits the 9 on the turn and a 7 on the river. So my set loses to my buddy while I get to explain to my brother what happened to his Full Tilt account!
Well it was a humbling experience but the positives were that I know who I want to be playing against but I have to remember the fundamentals that built the bankroll.
Just got my copy of Ace on the River from Amazon today so that will give me something to read when my wife doesn't want to watch a movie!
Monday, February 20, 2006
Party NL200
Got in 300 hands at the NL200 level tonight... I was just feeling on my game this evening. Ended up +278 over 300 hands which should have been higher.... works out to 22.9 ptbb / 100, which is incredible since one broken bluff cost me $75. Most of my cash came from one crazy player who bet into me when I had nut flush but straight flush was possible. Since it was impossible to put him on any hand I called him down (I know very weak). He was shocked that I would just call in that situation so I knew he would try to do the same thing again if possible. Here is the fun hand of the evening.... I know my limp utg with A2s is sort of bad but I was trying to look not so tight at the table.
Party Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $1/$2
10 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
Hero: $306.55
UTG+1: $237.73
UTG+2: $200
MP1: $190.65
MP2: $191.65
MP3: $29
CO: $303.82
Button: $178
SB: $177.35
BB: $49.40
Pre-flop: (10 players) Hero is UTG with :2c :ac
Hero calls $2, 6 folds, Button calls $2, SB folds, BB checks.
Flop: :kd :6c :3c ($7, 3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $5, Button calls $5, BB folds.
Turn: :5c ($17, 2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $10.18, Hero raises to $20.36, Button calls $10.18.
I only raised here to make it seem like I was trying to push him off of the hand. He liked to call so it also helped to build the pot.
River: :8s ($57.72, 2 players)
Hero bets $25, Button raises all-in $150.64, Hero calls $125.64.
I put in a good 1/2 pot value bet thinking that he won't raise me unless he thinks his flush is good. Again it is the situation where a straight flush draw is possible so part of me is expecting his push....
Results (in white):
Final pot: $359
Hero shows 2c Ac
Button doesn't show 4c 4d
So he leaves the table after that hand. He was telling me about how he usually plays much higher levels but if that is the case then I can't wait to move up! I have met one guy who is so dominant at the NL100-200 levels that if it can be helped I won't sit at a table with him again!
I also had the opportunity to pull this crazy move on my first hand at another table. The guy I was against was a complete maniac who called every raise I made after this!
Party Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $1/$2
10 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $123.50
UTG+1: $176.60
UTG+2: $51.70
MP1: $101.50
MP2: $287.12
Hero: $198
CO: $197
Button: $92.52
SB: $296.05
BB: $714.03
Pre-flop: (10 players) Hero is MP3 with :kc :qc
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls $2, 3 folds, Hero raises to $8, 2 folds, SB calls $7, BB calls $6, UTG+1 calls $6.
Flop: :ah :6h :8c ($32, 4 players)
SB bets $6, BB folds, UTG+1 calls $6, Hero raises to $35, SB calls $29, UTG+1 folds.
Turn: :4h ($108, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $55, SB calls $55.
River: :4d ($218, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero raises all-in $100, SB folds.
Uncalled bets: $100 returned to Hero.
Results:
Final pot: $218
So another nice bluff for me and a good way to sit down at a new table. It sure doesn't feel like the NL25-50 tables where I can stay cool even when pushing all in. I guess the fact that the dollar amounts are bigger gets the heart pumping. After another 5-10k hands I should be in fine form. Going to take another run at the live game this week so I needed some experience playing with blinds of 1/2 instead of 0.50/1.
Party Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $1/$2
10 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
Hero: $306.55
UTG+1: $237.73
UTG+2: $200
MP1: $190.65
MP2: $191.65
MP3: $29
CO: $303.82
Button: $178
SB: $177.35
BB: $49.40
Pre-flop: (10 players) Hero is UTG with :2c :ac
Hero calls $2, 6 folds, Button calls $2, SB folds, BB checks.
Flop: :kd :6c :3c ($7, 3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $5, Button calls $5, BB folds.
Turn: :5c ($17, 2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $10.18, Hero raises to $20.36, Button calls $10.18.
I only raised here to make it seem like I was trying to push him off of the hand. He liked to call so it also helped to build the pot.
River: :8s ($57.72, 2 players)
Hero bets $25, Button raises all-in $150.64, Hero calls $125.64.
I put in a good 1/2 pot value bet thinking that he won't raise me unless he thinks his flush is good. Again it is the situation where a straight flush draw is possible so part of me is expecting his push....
Results (in white):
Final pot: $359
Hero shows 2c Ac
Button doesn't show 4c 4d
So he leaves the table after that hand. He was telling me about how he usually plays much higher levels but if that is the case then I can't wait to move up! I have met one guy who is so dominant at the NL100-200 levels that if it can be helped I won't sit at a table with him again!
I also had the opportunity to pull this crazy move on my first hand at another table. The guy I was against was a complete maniac who called every raise I made after this!
Party Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $1/$2
10 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $123.50
UTG+1: $176.60
UTG+2: $51.70
MP1: $101.50
MP2: $287.12
Hero: $198
CO: $197
Button: $92.52
SB: $296.05
BB: $714.03
Pre-flop: (10 players) Hero is MP3 with :kc :qc
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls $2, 3 folds, Hero raises to $8, 2 folds, SB calls $7, BB calls $6, UTG+1 calls $6.
Flop: :ah :6h :8c ($32, 4 players)
SB bets $6, BB folds, UTG+1 calls $6, Hero raises to $35, SB calls $29, UTG+1 folds.
Turn: :4h ($108, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $55, SB calls $55.
River: :4d ($218, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero raises all-in $100, SB folds.
Uncalled bets: $100 returned to Hero.
Results:
Final pot: $218
So another nice bluff for me and a good way to sit down at a new table. It sure doesn't feel like the NL25-50 tables where I can stay cool even when pushing all in. I guess the fact that the dollar amounts are bigger gets the heart pumping. After another 5-10k hands I should be in fine form. Going to take another run at the live game this week so I needed some experience playing with blinds of 1/2 instead of 0.50/1.
Canadian Hockey - horrible weekend
Well I have managed to lose about $300 on betting that the US could beat Latvia and that Canada could beat Switzerland. Horrible results both times but the play at the tables has been good. Tiger gaming was nice enough to offer me a 50% reload bonus so I put $200 into that site and ended up $50 with 15 mins of play.
I am also trying out Full Tilt using my brothers account and I was up $110 playing NL50 for a couple hours. Players on that site just love to push chips in the middle with nothing at that level so it was easy to pick people off. My favorite guy was running with 45/25/0.8 stats. He ended up giving me $45 of my winnings because I started reraising him almost every time he raised. He fought back against my KK hand where I landed a full house and 4 clubs on the board! I wish he had the A and reraised me but no luck so ended up $25 on that one hand. The only move I pulled on a guy was with 99 from MP2 and a raise from UTG who was running with 40/20/3. Flop was Q high and he checks so I figure I can get AK or a pocket pair lower than Q's to lay down with a pot sized bet. He calls and an A falls on turn.... now if you have been reading my blog you will know that I will fire at these pots again and represent AQ. So I bet 1/2 pot and get called. River is a 2 so I bet out $25 (this is NL50) so his push won't get me to lay down the hand and it looks like a large value bet. He folds and I show... set him up for later! He started calling me down to river with middle pair and left after losing a couple more hands to me.
My very initial FTP stats show me at 24/8/3 and win rate of 28 ptbb / 100. I keep thinking that this is unsustainable but then I continue to run at these levels at NL50 and winning at NL100 with a 15 ptbb / 100. I just need more hours at the tables.
UB was also working well for me and I managed to push my balance up to $300 with one hand at the NL100 tables. Again this site has so many very aggressive players that patience becomes the name of the game.
I am also trying out Full Tilt using my brothers account and I was up $110 playing NL50 for a couple hours. Players on that site just love to push chips in the middle with nothing at that level so it was easy to pick people off. My favorite guy was running with 45/25/0.8 stats. He ended up giving me $45 of my winnings because I started reraising him almost every time he raised. He fought back against my KK hand where I landed a full house and 4 clubs on the board! I wish he had the A and reraised me but no luck so ended up $25 on that one hand. The only move I pulled on a guy was with 99 from MP2 and a raise from UTG who was running with 40/20/3. Flop was Q high and he checks so I figure I can get AK or a pocket pair lower than Q's to lay down with a pot sized bet. He calls and an A falls on turn.... now if you have been reading my blog you will know that I will fire at these pots again and represent AQ. So I bet 1/2 pot and get called. River is a 2 so I bet out $25 (this is NL50) so his push won't get me to lay down the hand and it looks like a large value bet. He folds and I show... set him up for later! He started calling me down to river with middle pair and left after losing a couple more hands to me.
My very initial FTP stats show me at 24/8/3 and win rate of 28 ptbb / 100. I keep thinking that this is unsustainable but then I continue to run at these levels at NL50 and winning at NL100 with a 15 ptbb / 100. I just need more hours at the tables.
UB was also working well for me and I managed to push my balance up to $300 with one hand at the NL100 tables. Again this site has so many very aggressive players that patience becomes the name of the game.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
What starting hand am I quiz?
 | You scored as Big Slick. You are the comrades in arms, best buddies Big Slick - Ace-King. Not prone to rash decisions, you are impeccable, recognize a good opportunity, but won't procede unless the conditions aren't just right and you have gathered all the evidence.
What starting Hold 'Em hand are you? created with QuizFarm.com |
Kind of a neat thing to try out .... pretty good description of how I play. Guess that is why I love Poker Tracker!
Friday, February 17, 2006
Finished the Titan Bonus
Well PSO is hearing from me a lot these days. I just finished the bonus and I have just ordered a set of Copag cards and the book "Ace on the River". My brother is going to trade me his 300 pc set of Nevada Jacks for a 500 pc set. Next week I should receive my set of Nevada Jacks giving me 600 pcs which should make a for a good home game.
So ended this promo only up $300 but I did a lot of messing around trying out shorthanded tables which is where I am weak. It should improve my overall level of play but it was putting me in tougher situations more often.
Came home last week and my main TV wasn't working so we almost went out and got a 40" LCD to replace it but luckily the set turned on tonight. Whew! Wife almost got away with a 3.2k purchase... I am in a good mood today as I got my yearly bonus number and a good raise. Now I just have to spend the weekend working on taxes so probably not much poker time for me this weekend.
Looking forward to watching our Canadian hockey teams win gold in the Olympics...
So ended this promo only up $300 but I did a lot of messing around trying out shorthanded tables which is where I am weak. It should improve my overall level of play but it was putting me in tougher situations more often.
Came home last week and my main TV wasn't working so we almost went out and got a 40" LCD to replace it but luckily the set turned on tonight. Whew! Wife almost got away with a 3.2k purchase... I am in a good mood today as I got my yearly bonus number and a good raise. Now I just have to spend the weekend working on taxes so probably not much poker time for me this weekend.
Looking forward to watching our Canadian hockey teams win gold in the Olympics...
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Live vs. Online - I suck vs. getting better
I have to say that I suck at playing poker live. That is hard to accept since when I play online I feel like I can dominate most hands that I play. The worst hand I played last night was with AA. Six people limp in a 1/2 NL table with 100 max buy in and I only raise it to $8... what the hell was I thinking? If I am online I would make it 3xbb + 1bb per limper = 9 bb or $18. So that was my first mistake. So I get 4 callers and flop is 8d 5d 3 x. Since I am in the small blind do I bet pot like I would online.... no... I wimp out and bet $12 which gets called by three people. Now I really know that I have messed up... so I bet $40 on a 10x turn and acted like I just hit a set. One fold... second guy is thinking and says out loud "So you hit your set." I figure this is working in my favor as he can get the other guy to believe that then hopefully both fold their flush draws and I can get away from this bad dream. He folds and the last guy only has $40 left and says he has to call and my set is probably good. He shows two pair 10 8 and takes down a nice pot. Blah.... I felt like puking. The hand was a good smack in the face and I did play better afterwards.
I raise to $8 pre flop (QcJc) with everyone folding to me in late position. BB calls and flop is Ax 9c 4c. BB leads out for $10 and I ask how many chips he has left (another $30) so I raise it to $40. He thinks but doesn't like his kicker and folds. Good play.
K10o I just limp from MP2 and would have folded to a large raise. 5 callers and flop is KQJ. BB pushes all in for $14 and it folds around to the guy on my right. He just calls which was weird since he had been aggressive all night and he had $70 left in front of him. I raise it $40 more and he folds along with the two guys behind me. I end up heads up against K8 and I catch a 10 on the turn and luckily no A on river so I win another nice hand.
K10d with me in utg+1 so I limp (I was playing weak tight) and the flop is QdJd10. No raise pre flop so I don't think anyone has AK. I bet $10 and got a caller who only had about $45 in front of him. So on the turn of an 8 he pushes all in but I figure he would do that with almost any card that came down. I call since I have quite a few outs and catch the A on the river. Sort of good hand but I should have raised a bit preflop. Also on flop I should try to take it down at that point which might have been possible if someone thought that I would raise with AK.
So ended the night up $47 but it should have been a much larger win with this table full of loose aggressive players. Instead I folded a few hands that I should have taken down but after a few more nights playing live I am sure I will get the hang of it.
I think I will add a live tab under my left column but I might have to withdraw something from neteller to keep things legit!
I raise to $8 pre flop (QcJc) with everyone folding to me in late position. BB calls and flop is Ax 9c 4c. BB leads out for $10 and I ask how many chips he has left (another $30) so I raise it to $40. He thinks but doesn't like his kicker and folds. Good play.
K10o I just limp from MP2 and would have folded to a large raise. 5 callers and flop is KQJ. BB pushes all in for $14 and it folds around to the guy on my right. He just calls which was weird since he had been aggressive all night and he had $70 left in front of him. I raise it $40 more and he folds along with the two guys behind me. I end up heads up against K8 and I catch a 10 on the turn and luckily no A on river so I win another nice hand.
K10d with me in utg+1 so I limp (I was playing weak tight) and the flop is QdJd10. No raise pre flop so I don't think anyone has AK. I bet $10 and got a caller who only had about $45 in front of him. So on the turn of an 8 he pushes all in but I figure he would do that with almost any card that came down. I call since I have quite a few outs and catch the A on the river. Sort of good hand but I should have raised a bit preflop. Also on flop I should try to take it down at that point which might have been possible if someone thought that I would raise with AK.
So ended the night up $47 but it should have been a much larger win with this table full of loose aggressive players. Instead I folded a few hands that I should have taken down but after a few more nights playing live I am sure I will get the hang of it.
I think I will add a live tab under my left column but I might have to withdraw something from neteller to keep things legit!
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Titan Sized Calling Station!
Working through a PSO bonus on Titan is a bit harder than other bonuses but I like the sites interface. No pokertracker but the hand history tool is quite useful for looking back at hands. Any site with no pokertracker usually ends up with much looser play as we can't see ourselves deviating from our standard line... I know I play more hands on this site.
Early results on the site are mixed but I am up almost $300. I am starting to get a bit too used to winning most of my races but that hasn't been the case over the last couple days. I had one maniac raise his fifth hand in a row at nl50 to $4 (he had a $20 stack) and called my reraise to $20 (I had pocket 9's) with J3 and of course he spikes a J to double up. Short stack play seems to be a big part of the player pool at this site.
This site also has an abundance of calling stations but I met the one that leads to my tip of the week.... never *EVER* try to bluff a calling station - wait until you have it and then bet them into the ground! Playing NL100 and I get 64s in MP2 and it folds to me, I raise to $4 and superstar in the big blinds calls. Flop is As 10x 8x so not a great flop for me but my caller checks. I bet $8 to see if he has an A and he flat calls. Turn is 8s which makes things better and worse for me... flush draw but that could be drawing dead... I decide to fire the second barrel and see if I can take this down now or worst case hopefully the flush hits. So I bet $15 and he calls so pot is now approx. $54 and I have $73 left. River is a Qx so no help to me so when it is checked to me the third time I review the hand. I have been representing strength the entire time and no way does he have the straight. If he was slowplaying AK the Q has to scare him and he will probably fold. AJ and A10 must also fear that Q so the only way I can see this call is with an 8 in hand or a slowplayed set. So I push in for another $70 and he thinks and finally pulls off the call of the century with 10 7!!! ACK! I almost shit myself when I saw that.... he has been added to my buddy list and I will hunt him down until he makes the call with his last real money chip!
He went from the big stack with approx. $260 to less than $175 when he left the table. I managed to get back a few dollars when he called me down on another hand. At the river I would have normally value bet $8 into a $20 pot... instead I bet $25 and he called again!
So in the end I learned my lesson and it burned deep... good thing is that solid play made back that lost stack and then some over a couple hours. I am even trying some of the NL200 tables for short periods but they aren't available often with full ring games.
Early results on the site are mixed but I am up almost $300. I am starting to get a bit too used to winning most of my races but that hasn't been the case over the last couple days. I had one maniac raise his fifth hand in a row at nl50 to $4 (he had a $20 stack) and called my reraise to $20 (I had pocket 9's) with J3 and of course he spikes a J to double up. Short stack play seems to be a big part of the player pool at this site.
This site also has an abundance of calling stations but I met the one that leads to my tip of the week.... never *EVER* try to bluff a calling station - wait until you have it and then bet them into the ground! Playing NL100 and I get 64s in MP2 and it folds to me, I raise to $4 and superstar in the big blinds calls. Flop is As 10x 8x so not a great flop for me but my caller checks. I bet $8 to see if he has an A and he flat calls. Turn is 8s which makes things better and worse for me... flush draw but that could be drawing dead... I decide to fire the second barrel and see if I can take this down now or worst case hopefully the flush hits. So I bet $15 and he calls so pot is now approx. $54 and I have $73 left. River is a Qx so no help to me so when it is checked to me the third time I review the hand. I have been representing strength the entire time and no way does he have the straight. If he was slowplaying AK the Q has to scare him and he will probably fold. AJ and A10 must also fear that Q so the only way I can see this call is with an 8 in hand or a slowplayed set. So I push in for another $70 and he thinks and finally pulls off the call of the century with 10 7!!! ACK! I almost shit myself when I saw that.... he has been added to my buddy list and I will hunt him down until he makes the call with his last real money chip!
He went from the big stack with approx. $260 to less than $175 when he left the table. I managed to get back a few dollars when he called me down on another hand. At the river I would have normally value bet $8 into a $20 pot... instead I bet $25 and he called again!
So in the end I learned my lesson and it burned deep... good thing is that solid play made back that lost stack and then some over a couple hours. I am even trying some of the NL200 tables for short periods but they aren't available often with full ring games.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Done in Paradise
Well finished my Paradise bonus and managed to earn $450 at the tables and cleared $90 in bonus money. Overall the competition on that site was very easy to read but the tie in to poker tracker really sucked. You have to get emails of hand histories and then upload it into your computer. I don't think I will be back at the site until they fix that issue or unless they offer an amazing reload bonus.
I am currently thinking of starting a rakeback program so if anyone wants to refer me that would be appreciated... looking at absolute and full tilt for rakeback. At Absolute Poker (AP), you can earn a bonus and also earn rakeback... so that should be a nice way to double dip but it is probably hard to find games. I also like that it will work with poker tracker and hopefully it is easier than the method used by Paradise. FTP just seems to get great reviews and it would be cool to earn some of the prizes that they have on the site as well as get used to playing at 9 handed tables. Shorthanded is something that I will have to spend more time on in the coming year to improve my game and that is one step in that direction.
In the meantime I am working through a tougher bonus to clear at Titan poker. I got a 100% deposit bonus to $500 so will work on that for a while (clears in $10 increments so not sure how far I will go). In addition, I am also getting 9k from PSO to clear 3500 points. That won't be too difficult to finish and it gets me a few points to add to the pile... still trying to figure out what exactly I want to purchase with them in the end.
Still playing mostly NL50 and NL100 but once I build up some gains on this site I will make another stab at the NL200 level. Still trying to get used to the Titan interface but overall it is easier to use than most.
I am currently thinking of starting a rakeback program so if anyone wants to refer me that would be appreciated... looking at absolute and full tilt for rakeback. At Absolute Poker (AP), you can earn a bonus and also earn rakeback... so that should be a nice way to double dip but it is probably hard to find games. I also like that it will work with poker tracker and hopefully it is easier than the method used by Paradise. FTP just seems to get great reviews and it would be cool to earn some of the prizes that they have on the site as well as get used to playing at 9 handed tables. Shorthanded is something that I will have to spend more time on in the coming year to improve my game and that is one step in that direction.
In the meantime I am working through a tougher bonus to clear at Titan poker. I got a 100% deposit bonus to $500 so will work on that for a while (clears in $10 increments so not sure how far I will go). In addition, I am also getting 9k from PSO to clear 3500 points. That won't be too difficult to finish and it gets me a few points to add to the pile... still trying to figure out what exactly I want to purchase with them in the end.
Still playing mostly NL50 and NL100 but once I build up some gains on this site I will make another stab at the NL200 level. Still trying to get used to the Titan interface but overall it is easier to use than most.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Live free buyin event
Got invited to a no buy-in event where first prize was a nice bottle of scotch (16 yrs). We played the first round as a limit game, and I figured I only had to win one hand to move to the final table. We are getting closer to the end of that round and I raise with 72d in late position... perfect flop of 723 and I decide to bet and raise every chance I get. We had 6 callers all the way to the river and I ended up being the big stack at the table.
At the final table I realized that there was no one else who had ever played poker much before... so keep it simple and bet when you have something. So I ignore that on the first hand with A3d and win a big pot when I get called down by someone with second pair! I almost lose all my chips when I raise with AJ and flop hits with 443... it checks around and I see the J on the turn and figure I am good... big raise and 4 callers. I push on the river and a lady beside me turns over 104o and I am a short stack. Got lucky pushing with my short stack and tripled up and then won 5 all ins with A high to win the scotch. Glad I won so that I had something to show the wife when I showed up an hour late!
Thanks for the comments guys... looking forward to reading your blogs.
At the final table I realized that there was no one else who had ever played poker much before... so keep it simple and bet when you have something. So I ignore that on the first hand with A3d and win a big pot when I get called down by someone with second pair! I almost lose all my chips when I raise with AJ and flop hits with 443... it checks around and I see the J on the turn and figure I am good... big raise and 4 callers. I push on the river and a lady beside me turns over 104o and I am a short stack. Got lucky pushing with my short stack and tripled up and then won 5 all ins with A high to win the scotch. Glad I won so that I had something to show the wife when I showed up an hour late!
Thanks for the comments guys... looking forward to reading your blogs.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Stepping Up
Not too long ago I was stuck playing the NL25 tables. Then I started to slowly play more and more at the NL50 tables. Well while clearing bonuses I normally need rakes to be $0.25 to count towards the bonus and wanted to speed things up so that got me to try the NL100 tables.
Well last night I took my first attempt at the NL200 tables (outside of nine.com - where players are horrible). On Paradise the NL200 is the highest level of play that has a few tables going (there was a NL500 short handed table open) so these guys should be the best on the site. I sat down for 100 hands and ended up $100. I played my normal game and the only difference is that people play back at you a bit more. But once I got recognized as showing good hands a few times I started getting some respect. I also had a NL50 table open and managed a $60 win on that table. Still need another 160 hands to get to my 1,000 raked hands for my chipset so that won't take long to get to that level.
Continued reading Doubleas archives and his quick jump from NL100 to 200 inspired me. Anyone who is running well would be well served to read his journey through these levels. I also felt like raising with 72o and hammering someone who tried to play back at me. I will post that hand tonight or tomorrow but the guy must have me on his top donk list!
Going to get to that 4k level soon at this crazy win rate I am running at this month. So far at Paradise I am running at 20-22 ptbb / 100 hands which can't be sustainable. I will keep it going as long as I can....
Well last night I took my first attempt at the NL200 tables (outside of nine.com - where players are horrible). On Paradise the NL200 is the highest level of play that has a few tables going (there was a NL500 short handed table open) so these guys should be the best on the site. I sat down for 100 hands and ended up $100. I played my normal game and the only difference is that people play back at you a bit more. But once I got recognized as showing good hands a few times I started getting some respect. I also had a NL50 table open and managed a $60 win on that table. Still need another 160 hands to get to my 1,000 raked hands for my chipset so that won't take long to get to that level.
Continued reading Doubleas archives and his quick jump from NL100 to 200 inspired me. Anyone who is running well would be well served to read his journey through these levels. I also felt like raising with 72o and hammering someone who tried to play back at me. I will post that hand tonight or tomorrow but the guy must have me on his top donk list!
Going to get to that 4k level soon at this crazy win rate I am running at this month. So far at Paradise I am running at 20-22 ptbb / 100 hands which can't be sustainable. I will keep it going as long as I can....
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Bubble Boy - not going to Paradise!
Well I was looking for a change of pace on Saturday and decided to try a $10 rebuy to earn a spot in a $200 MTT to go to Atlantis. When I started playing poker I was doing quite well at SNG's but my ring game sucked. Since a lot of the action at casinos was of the ring type I decided to learn that aspect of the game. Because of the ring focus I was expecting to be a little rusty in a MTT.
Rebuy tournaments are full of idiots for the first hour as people try to give you chips. I took advantage of that and managed to more than double up in the first 15 mins. Then I make a standard raise with KK from MP and the big stack pushes all in... easy call and he shows Q10o!! MHIG and now I am the chipleader at the table and about 15th out of 45 left. All of a sudden I mention to the wife that I might have a shot at qualifying. Next thing I know I am at the final table with a good sized stack and I am wondering if I want to finish in the top 4 (get a seat for the 200 tourney) or to finish 5-6 and get some cash. Since I am rusty I am not too concerned either way but I still ended up in 4th and got a seat to try and get a seat to the live event.
So at 10 pm that night I see 59 people have qualified in similar qualifying events and when registration opens I am shocked that we end up with 133 people fighting for 2 seats with 3 others getting paid. Since so many people actually put cash down I figure I will be out of my league but decide to put on the A game and see how things go. Well half way through the first hour I get doubled up 2x and then I realize that I might actually belong! With about 50 people left I take the chiplead which I hold until the final table. The difference with the players at this level is that they had to protect their blinds much more than I have ever seen in the past. I lost a couple big pots and next thing I knew I had an average stack (my AJ lost to A6s all in preflop - he hit his flush). My A7s lost in a race with JJ and I was crippled with 6 left... pushed next hand with A5 and called by KQ and lost that one as well. So finished on the bubble and no monetary prize for 4.5 hours of playing poker. Time to finish reading Harrington's volume 2 on endgame theory... could have used it as I felt I was a bit weak-tight.
The good news is that I realized that the only thing keeping me from playing higher limits is the size of the bankroll. It isn't that I don't have the cash to deposit to make the bankroll bigger but that I want to earn my way up through the ranks. Once I get a couple rakeback deals setup then I will focus on taking stabs at higher levels when I am playing well.
Luckily the Steelers won and I managed to put some cash down on them to pay me for the next evening. Been a couple nights now for me with no poker but I am feeling good that I was so successful in developing as a player. The financial results will come with time.
Those of you who haven't read Doubleas archives are missing out. I feel we are almost in line but he jumped levels a lot faster than I will be able to jump. That is fine... at least shows us that it can be done... hopefully I will be able to do the same.
Rebuy tournaments are full of idiots for the first hour as people try to give you chips. I took advantage of that and managed to more than double up in the first 15 mins. Then I make a standard raise with KK from MP and the big stack pushes all in... easy call and he shows Q10o!! MHIG and now I am the chipleader at the table and about 15th out of 45 left. All of a sudden I mention to the wife that I might have a shot at qualifying. Next thing I know I am at the final table with a good sized stack and I am wondering if I want to finish in the top 4 (get a seat for the 200 tourney) or to finish 5-6 and get some cash. Since I am rusty I am not too concerned either way but I still ended up in 4th and got a seat to try and get a seat to the live event.
So at 10 pm that night I see 59 people have qualified in similar qualifying events and when registration opens I am shocked that we end up with 133 people fighting for 2 seats with 3 others getting paid. Since so many people actually put cash down I figure I will be out of my league but decide to put on the A game and see how things go. Well half way through the first hour I get doubled up 2x and then I realize that I might actually belong! With about 50 people left I take the chiplead which I hold until the final table. The difference with the players at this level is that they had to protect their blinds much more than I have ever seen in the past. I lost a couple big pots and next thing I knew I had an average stack (my AJ lost to A6s all in preflop - he hit his flush). My A7s lost in a race with JJ and I was crippled with 6 left... pushed next hand with A5 and called by KQ and lost that one as well. So finished on the bubble and no monetary prize for 4.5 hours of playing poker. Time to finish reading Harrington's volume 2 on endgame theory... could have used it as I felt I was a bit weak-tight.
The good news is that I realized that the only thing keeping me from playing higher limits is the size of the bankroll. It isn't that I don't have the cash to deposit to make the bankroll bigger but that I want to earn my way up through the ranks. Once I get a couple rakeback deals setup then I will focus on taking stabs at higher levels when I am playing well.
Luckily the Steelers won and I managed to put some cash down on them to pay me for the next evening. Been a couple nights now for me with no poker but I am feeling good that I was so successful in developing as a player. The financial results will come with time.
Those of you who haven't read Doubleas archives are missing out. I feel we are almost in line but he jumped levels a lot faster than I will be able to jump. That is fine... at least shows us that it can be done... hopefully I will be able to do the same.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Maniacs in Paradise
It was a fun night on Paradise last night. Spent the first hour without seeing any playable hands and watching my villian steal pot after pot with big bets. He was also calling to the river and then pushing and lots of people were folding. When I sat down he had $280 and if you read the post you will see where he ended up *grin*.
Villian vpip/pfr/pfa/hands was 77%/14.6%/1.50/75 but his aggression doesn't show that when he raised or reraised it was always big (3/4 pot at least). He had a 38% W$WSF mostly because of his big raises.
I was playing my usual 19%/6%/6.4/282... so I am either betting or folding! Add to this the information that was given to me by a great post from Doubleas on pressure points. Only way to really learn this stuff is to put it in practice and the first attempt he called my pot sized reraise with a KQ on the flop with pocket 8's. So on to the pressure points....
Paradise Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) converter
Button ($73.50)
SB ($87.00)
BB ($147.25)
UTG ($187.00)
UTG+1 ($72.00)
MP1 ($100.00)
MP2 ($39.00)
Guin (Hero) ($86.50)
CO (Villian) ($115.50)
Preflop: Hero is MP3 with 8h, Th. SB posts a blind of $0.50.
UTG calls $1, 3 folds, Guin (Hero) raises to $4, CO (Villian) calls $4, Button calls $4, 2 folds, UTG calls $3.
I raised here to isolate the Villian who would call most pre-flop raises and then try to steal any low card flop. He did it to me 2x already when my AKs found a low all heart flop.
Flop: ($17.50) Jh, 8d, 2d (4 players)
I figure I should lead out to build the pressure on Villian.
UTG checks, Guin (Hero) bets $10, Villian raises to $35, Button folds, UTG folds, Guin (Hero) raises to $82.5, Villian folds.
He reraises which was a little early in the hand but due to his stack size he must have felt it necessary to put pressure on me. So my choices are fold or raise because calling lets him push on almost any card that comes down. That is why I choose to push in this situation... make him feel the pressure. Doubleas thanks for the push forward in my teenage game.
Final Pot: $135
Results in white below:
No showdown. Guin (Hero) wins $135.
In the next hand I ended up chatting and telling him what I had. The goal was to tilt him and make him think that I would bet into him with nothing. Same orbit with Villian in the big blind (I had stacked someone else in the meantime and then lost $10 to Villian in the hand after that... so a nice little battle has developed).
Paradise Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed) converter
UTG ($98.00)
UTG+1 ($64.50)
MP1 ($86.50)
MP2 ($145.75)
CO ($181.00)
Button ($74.00)
Guin (Hero) ($165.50)
BB (Villian) ($85.75)
Preflop: Hero is SB with As, Kc. Guin (Hero) posts a blind of $0.50.
6 folds, Guin (Hero) (poster) raises to $4.5, BB (Villian) raises to $11.5, Guin (Hero) raises to $165.5, BB (Villian) calls $73.75.
He seemed a little ticked at me during our chatting so that is why I pushed instead of called as he could have any two cards. And I figure I am ahead often enough to make this +EV. Again he is in the tough spot and he makes the mistake and calls this time. Before you check the results what hand do you put him on?
Flop: ($251.25) Ac, 4c, Qd (2 players)
Turn: ($251.25) Jh (2 players)
River: ($251.25) 2c (2 players)
Final Pot: $251.25
Results in white below:
Guin (Hero) has As Kc (one pair, aces).
Villian has Qh Kd (one pair, queens).
Outcome: Guin (Hero) wins $251.25.
So that is how I made most of my cash last night. I am slowly moving towards my goal to developing as a player, and getting to the 10k goal for the year. Only 600 hands more to go to clear my chipset... then on to more bonuses! I was happy with my play tonight because I picked the opponent and had a strategy to beat them and then executed. I would have been happy with my play even if I got sucked out on because my thinking was right.
Villian vpip/pfr/pfa/hands was 77%/14.6%/1.50/75 but his aggression doesn't show that when he raised or reraised it was always big (3/4 pot at least). He had a 38% W$WSF mostly because of his big raises.
I was playing my usual 19%/6%/6.4/282... so I am either betting or folding! Add to this the information that was given to me by a great post from Doubleas on pressure points. Only way to really learn this stuff is to put it in practice and the first attempt he called my pot sized reraise with a KQ on the flop with pocket 8's. So on to the pressure points....
Paradise Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) converter
Button ($73.50)
SB ($87.00)
BB ($147.25)
UTG ($187.00)
UTG+1 ($72.00)
MP1 ($100.00)
MP2 ($39.00)
Guin (Hero) ($86.50)
CO (Villian) ($115.50)
Preflop: Hero is MP3 with 8h, Th. SB posts a blind of $0.50.
UTG calls $1, 3 folds, Guin (Hero) raises to $4, CO (Villian) calls $4, Button calls $4, 2 folds, UTG calls $3.
I raised here to isolate the Villian who would call most pre-flop raises and then try to steal any low card flop. He did it to me 2x already when my AKs found a low all heart flop.
Flop: ($17.50) Jh, 8d, 2d (4 players)
I figure I should lead out to build the pressure on Villian.
UTG checks, Guin (Hero) bets $10, Villian raises to $35, Button folds, UTG folds, Guin (Hero) raises to $82.5, Villian folds.
He reraises which was a little early in the hand but due to his stack size he must have felt it necessary to put pressure on me. So my choices are fold or raise because calling lets him push on almost any card that comes down. That is why I choose to push in this situation... make him feel the pressure. Doubleas thanks for the push forward in my teenage game.
Final Pot: $135
Results in white below:
No showdown. Guin (Hero) wins $135.
In the next hand I ended up chatting and telling him what I had. The goal was to tilt him and make him think that I would bet into him with nothing. Same orbit with Villian in the big blind (I had stacked someone else in the meantime and then lost $10 to Villian in the hand after that... so a nice little battle has developed).
Paradise Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed) converter
UTG ($98.00)
UTG+1 ($64.50)
MP1 ($86.50)
MP2 ($145.75)
CO ($181.00)
Button ($74.00)
Guin (Hero) ($165.50)
BB (Villian) ($85.75)
Preflop: Hero is SB with As, Kc. Guin (Hero) posts a blind of $0.50.
6 folds, Guin (Hero) (poster) raises to $4.5, BB (Villian) raises to $11.5, Guin (Hero) raises to $165.5, BB (Villian) calls $73.75.
He seemed a little ticked at me during our chatting so that is why I pushed instead of called as he could have any two cards. And I figure I am ahead often enough to make this +EV. Again he is in the tough spot and he makes the mistake and calls this time. Before you check the results what hand do you put him on?
Flop: ($251.25) Ac, 4c, Qd (2 players)
Turn: ($251.25) Jh (2 players)
River: ($251.25) 2c (2 players)
Final Pot: $251.25
Results in white below:
Guin (Hero) has As Kc (one pair, aces).
Villian has Qh Kd (one pair, queens).
Outcome: Guin (Hero) wins $251.25.
So that is how I made most of my cash last night. I am slowly moving towards my goal to developing as a player, and getting to the 10k goal for the year. Only 600 hands more to go to clear my chipset... then on to more bonuses! I was happy with my play tonight because I picked the opponent and had a strategy to beat them and then executed. I would have been happy with my play even if I got sucked out on because my thinking was right.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Getting lucky
Most times when I read poker blogs it seems everyone is in a downswing. I guess winning players just keep on playing and have less time to blog!
Finished my Party reload bonus last night and turned $733 into $1063 including the bonus. So my neteller account will have never been so large. I was hoping to see some Feb bonus codes at PSO to get 9m points but no luck. I should have signed up a site right before month end but missed out.
So that means that I will end up playing at Paradise earning my chipset which is going slower than I expected. Luckily I keep dealing out bad beats. But I have been switching up my game quite a bit at the NL50 level.
In BB with 64s and it gets raised on by CO to $1.25 (BB is $0.50). SB calls and I reraise to $5. Normally people at this level only reraise with KK or AA but I figure that should work to my advantage.... CO folds but SB calls. Flop is Ks 5 7 giving me an oesd. SB checks and I lead out for $6. He reraises to $12 so I put him on top pair but figure he should lay it down to a push... so I push for another $32. He calls and turns over K 5 for two pair but I hit 8s on turn for the straight and a 10s on river for flush. Wish I wasn't so tired because after that play I am sure that my raises would get callers.
Finished my Party reload bonus last night and turned $733 into $1063 including the bonus. So my neteller account will have never been so large. I was hoping to see some Feb bonus codes at PSO to get 9m points but no luck. I should have signed up a site right before month end but missed out.
So that means that I will end up playing at Paradise earning my chipset which is going slower than I expected. Luckily I keep dealing out bad beats. But I have been switching up my game quite a bit at the NL50 level.
In BB with 64s and it gets raised on by CO to $1.25 (BB is $0.50). SB calls and I reraise to $5. Normally people at this level only reraise with KK or AA but I figure that should work to my advantage.... CO folds but SB calls. Flop is Ks 5 7 giving me an oesd. SB checks and I lead out for $6. He reraises to $12 so I put him on top pair but figure he should lay it down to a push... so I push for another $32. He calls and turns over K 5 for two pair but I hit 8s on turn for the straight and a 10s on river for flush. Wish I wasn't so tired because after that play I am sure that my raises would get callers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
