Because, as we all know, it would clearly be in Rachael Ray's AND Dunkin Donuts' best interests to deliberately introduce a subtle yet poignant display of their support of terrorism into their advertising campaign. Thank God we've got the Michelle Malkin's of the world to root out such heinous attempts at influencing the American Idiots. After all, that's Malkin's job (among others).
I won't link to it because it doesn't deserve to be cross-referenced anywhere - even in a blog as trivial as this one - but the thing that's even scarier than Malkin and her anal-cranial clouded viewpoints is the mindless sheep that flock to her and buy into her line of crap. Same goes for O'Reilly, Hannity, Fat Deaf and Drugged up Rush, and the always and forever #1 on the list of bitches I'd love to hate f*ck - Laura Ingraham.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
More Rebuy Madness
14 Entrants in CHIMPS so we start seven-handed. These people must view me as a complete and total rock, as most of my raises/shoves were met with nothing more than quick folds.
Other than one limp from the button, I don't play a hand for the first seven minutes. Meanwhile, people are picking up hands and getting callers. The player three to my left has 10k chips before I've even made a move.
The painful summary of a lot of key hands is below. I walked away from this with a few thoughts:
1) There seemed to be a LOT of UTG raising - especially from warrendc and rascony. Food for thought.
2) It shocked me the number of times I went into a pot and had the entire table stick their tail between their legs - particularly in the rebuy period. I took advantage of this a few times, but not nearly enough.
3) I continued playing a bit too tight as I started to get short. Granted, you'd love to wake up w/ a monster and get action, but theres' times where TP will do. I need to think through these better as they come.
4) The ideal strategy here is to chip up big early and just secure a big stack for the post-rebuy period. Short of that, you have to get action.
-----
Here's a summary of my action in the rebuy period.
* Shove from button w/ 88, UTG raiser folds (WTF are you raising with UTG and then folding when you have a 5:1 chip advantage?)
* 4x raise very next hand from cutoff w/ 99. Everyone folds.
* Shove from UTG+1 w/ JJ a couple hands later. UTG limper and everyone else folds.
* An interesting hand w/ Snuffy where I read the situation right, made a tough but correct call, got sucked out on...and then resucked on the river.
Full Tilt Poker Game #6590995840: CHIMPS 3 - Event #3 (48190880), Table 1 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:14:16 ET - 2008/05/27
Seat 1: djm182 (2,055)
Seat 2: warrendc73 (1,865)
Seat 3: gadzooks64 (1,895)
Seat 4: khanwoman (10,725)
Seat 5: rascony (2,000)
Seat 6: SmBoatDrinks (730)
Seat 7: scottc25 (2,730)
scottc25 posts the small blind of 20
djm182 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djm182 [Ts 9d]
warrendc73 folds
gadzooks64 folds
khanwoman folds
rascony folds
SmBoatDrinks folds
scottc25 calls 20
djm182 checks
*** FLOP *** [Th Ac 4d]
scottc25 checks
djm182 bets 80
scottc25 raises to 250 <<He's raising from SB if he has an Ace
djm182 has 15 seconds left to act
djm182 raises to 2,015, and is all in
scottc25 calls 1,765
djm182 shows [Ts 9d] <<Nice
scottc25 shows [Tc 7h]
*** TURN *** [Th Ac 4d] [7c] <<Three-outer
*** RIVER *** [Th Ac 4d 7c] [As] <<Counterfeited!!
djm182 shows two pair, Aces and Tens
scottc25 shows two pair, Aces and Tens
djm182 wins the pot (4,110) with two pair, Aces and Tens
* Seventeen minutes later, I make a pot size raise UTG+2 w/ AQo and get no action.
* A non-descript hand where I check the BB, river a gutshot, and try but fail to extract a value bet.
* 38 minutes in, I raise UTG+2 w/ JJ and get re-popped by the BB. I come over the top of that and he has QQ. Oooof. From 3900 down to 1900.
* 43 minutes in, I wake up w/ AK in the SB. With a pot-size raise in front of me, I shove and get two callers, including the original raiser. AK up against AQ and TT, and I flop an A to triple up. Sweet.
* The very next hand I get frisky and button shove w/ A4s. No takers. Again.
* Right after that I cutoff shove with AQo. Seriously, isn't someone at least starting to think I'm playing like a maniac here? Guess not. All folds.
* At 46 minutes in, this one hurt. I limped UTG w/ AJ - probably a mistake. On an AT8 rainbow flop, the SB leads out, after having limped preflop. I put him all-in and he calls w/ AK. Dammit, that's my play - limping from the blinds w/ AK. Grrrrr. Back down to 3500 chips. More importantly, the rebuy window is closing fast and the big stacks are now playing like complete rocks. I really need to double up before the window closes.
* The very next hand w/ JTo in the BB, the SB limps, I repop it and take it down there.
* 48 minutes in, I have KK UTG+1. I tease a 4x raise out there hoping and praying to get action. Again - nothing.
* Three hands after that, I have 88 in the BB. UTG goes all-in for about 2500. It folds to me. I sit and think and finally muck, respecting the position of this move. Mistake? Probably.
* Then I get AQo in the button. Hopefully a 4x raise might look like a steal. Nah. All folds.
* Now it's 50 minutes in and I have JJ UTG. I shove and gawdammit it folds around.
* Ah, wait, 53 minutes in it's AA UTG. Once again a 4x raise hoping to induce action. All folds.
* 55 minutes in, I screw up. I have Ad8d OTB. UTG+1 makes a 3.5x raise and I just call. The flop is Ks 8s 5h and he leads for 400 - a smallish bet. I think and call. The turn is a blank but he makes a pot-size bet. I'm either shoving or folding and I can too easily see him having a K or a pair > 8s so I fold and am down to 3k. Not the short stack at the table, but much shorter than I'd like with the window closing fast.
* Two hands later I shove w/ 88 in MP. Again, no action.
* 57 minutes in I have AK in the SB. The button calls, I raise it from 100 to 1000 - hoping it looks like an odd bet. Fold.
* 58 minutes in it's KK UTG+1. I shove. Everyone. Just. Folds.
And that's it. After the rebuy period, I have a pittance of 3452 chips. The good news is that I never rebought - just did the original max buy-in plus the add-on. The bad news is that I'm short stacked into the deep stack portion of the event.
At 18 minutes into the 2nd hour, with AK UTG+1, I got no action. Five minutes later, same story with AQ from the cutoff. After that I raised w/ J9o from the button. Again. Nothing.
It took until 10:35 to finally get something going:
Full Tilt Poker Game #6592077896: CHIMPS 3 - Event #3 (48190880), Table 1 - 100/200 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:34:56 ET - 2008/05/27
Seat 1: djm182 (2,582)
Seat 2: warrendc73 (8,028)
Seat 4: khanwoman (10,006)
Seat 5: rascony (10,380)
Seat 6: SmBoatDrinks (8,880)
Seat 7: scottc25 (3,624)
rascony posts the small blind of 100
SmBoatDrinks posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djm182 [Kc Ks]
scottc25 folds
djm182 raises to 700
warrendc73 calls 700
khanwoman folds
rascony folds
SmBoatDrinks folds
*** FLOP *** [8c 2h 9h]
djm182 bets 1,882, and is all in
warrendc73 calls 1,882
djm182 shows [Kc Ks]
warrendc73 shows [9s As]
*** TURN *** [8c 2h 9h] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [8c 2h 9h 3s] [2s]
djm182 shows two pair, Kings and Twos
warrendc73 shows two pair, Nines and Twos
djm182 wins the pot (5,464) with two pair, Kings and Twos
For the life of me, I don't understand why I did what I did in this next hand. I'm in the BB w/ QTo and see a free flop of T86 rainbow. I check to see what the UTG preflop caller will do. He makes a pot sized bet at it...and I fold? WTF?? Top pair w/ a decent kicker when I need the chips. I can't kill myself if I go out on this hand if he's got a monster. Bad play.
And now the antes kick in and they're quickly killing me. We're playing five handed for most of this time and the ever increasing blinds are racing around the track quite fast.
At 10:47 I pick up 44 in the BB. It folds to the SB (now SmBoatDrinks) who makes a 3x raise. This wasn't the first time. I shove, he thinks and thinks and folds. He probably had two overs at worse - maybe a better pair.
Then I pick up a couple of smallish pots and am back to 6500 chips at the 150/300/25 level. I turn a free flush draw from the BB w/ 72s, connect on the turn and take a decent pot thereafter to get up to 7200 chips. I'm *thisclose* to being back in business.
Then with 78 in the BB, I see a free 3c 5s 7c flop. I check-call a standard bet. Turn is a K and I get called this time. We check down the river and he hit the K. Grrrrr. Back to 5k chips.
Finally I get it in w/ a flopped 2nd nut flush draw, but it never connects.
Other than one limp from the button, I don't play a hand for the first seven minutes. Meanwhile, people are picking up hands and getting callers. The player three to my left has 10k chips before I've even made a move.
The painful summary of a lot of key hands is below. I walked away from this with a few thoughts:
1) There seemed to be a LOT of UTG raising - especially from warrendc and rascony. Food for thought.
2) It shocked me the number of times I went into a pot and had the entire table stick their tail between their legs - particularly in the rebuy period. I took advantage of this a few times, but not nearly enough.
3) I continued playing a bit too tight as I started to get short. Granted, you'd love to wake up w/ a monster and get action, but theres' times where TP will do. I need to think through these better as they come.
4) The ideal strategy here is to chip up big early and just secure a big stack for the post-rebuy period. Short of that, you have to get action.
-----
Here's a summary of my action in the rebuy period.
* Shove from button w/ 88, UTG raiser folds (WTF are you raising with UTG and then folding when you have a 5:1 chip advantage?)
* 4x raise very next hand from cutoff w/ 99. Everyone folds.
* Shove from UTG+1 w/ JJ a couple hands later. UTG limper and everyone else folds.
* An interesting hand w/ Snuffy where I read the situation right, made a tough but correct call, got sucked out on...and then resucked on the river.
Full Tilt Poker Game #6590995840: CHIMPS 3 - Event #3 (48190880), Table 1 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:14:16 ET - 2008/05/27
Seat 1: djm182 (2,055)
Seat 2: warrendc73 (1,865)
Seat 3: gadzooks64 (1,895)
Seat 4: khanwoman (10,725)
Seat 5: rascony (2,000)
Seat 6: SmBoatDrinks (730)
Seat 7: scottc25 (2,730)
scottc25 posts the small blind of 20
djm182 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djm182 [Ts 9d]
warrendc73 folds
gadzooks64 folds
khanwoman folds
rascony folds
SmBoatDrinks folds
scottc25 calls 20
djm182 checks
*** FLOP *** [Th Ac 4d]
scottc25 checks
djm182 bets 80
scottc25 raises to 250 <<He's raising from SB if he has an Ace
djm182 has 15 seconds left to act
djm182 raises to 2,015, and is all in
scottc25 calls 1,765
djm182 shows [Ts 9d] <<Nice
scottc25 shows [Tc 7h]
*** TURN *** [Th Ac 4d] [7c] <<Three-outer
*** RIVER *** [Th Ac 4d 7c] [As] <<Counterfeited!!
djm182 shows two pair, Aces and Tens
scottc25 shows two pair, Aces and Tens
djm182 wins the pot (4,110) with two pair, Aces and Tens
* Seventeen minutes later, I make a pot size raise UTG+2 w/ AQo and get no action.
* A non-descript hand where I check the BB, river a gutshot, and try but fail to extract a value bet.
* 38 minutes in, I raise UTG+2 w/ JJ and get re-popped by the BB. I come over the top of that and he has QQ. Oooof. From 3900 down to 1900.
* 43 minutes in, I wake up w/ AK in the SB. With a pot-size raise in front of me, I shove and get two callers, including the original raiser. AK up against AQ and TT, and I flop an A to triple up. Sweet.
* The very next hand I get frisky and button shove w/ A4s. No takers. Again.
* Right after that I cutoff shove with AQo. Seriously, isn't someone at least starting to think I'm playing like a maniac here? Guess not. All folds.
* At 46 minutes in, this one hurt. I limped UTG w/ AJ - probably a mistake. On an AT8 rainbow flop, the SB leads out, after having limped preflop. I put him all-in and he calls w/ AK. Dammit, that's my play - limping from the blinds w/ AK. Grrrrr. Back down to 3500 chips. More importantly, the rebuy window is closing fast and the big stacks are now playing like complete rocks. I really need to double up before the window closes.
* The very next hand w/ JTo in the BB, the SB limps, I repop it and take it down there.
* 48 minutes in, I have KK UTG+1. I tease a 4x raise out there hoping and praying to get action. Again - nothing.
* Three hands after that, I have 88 in the BB. UTG goes all-in for about 2500. It folds to me. I sit and think and finally muck, respecting the position of this move. Mistake? Probably.
* Then I get AQo in the button. Hopefully a 4x raise might look like a steal. Nah. All folds.
* Now it's 50 minutes in and I have JJ UTG. I shove and gawdammit it folds around.
* Ah, wait, 53 minutes in it's AA UTG. Once again a 4x raise hoping to induce action. All folds.
* 55 minutes in, I screw up. I have Ad8d OTB. UTG+1 makes a 3.5x raise and I just call. The flop is Ks 8s 5h and he leads for 400 - a smallish bet. I think and call. The turn is a blank but he makes a pot-size bet. I'm either shoving or folding and I can too easily see him having a K or a pair > 8s so I fold and am down to 3k. Not the short stack at the table, but much shorter than I'd like with the window closing fast.
* Two hands later I shove w/ 88 in MP. Again, no action.
* 57 minutes in I have AK in the SB. The button calls, I raise it from 100 to 1000 - hoping it looks like an odd bet. Fold.
* 58 minutes in it's KK UTG+1. I shove. Everyone. Just. Folds.
And that's it. After the rebuy period, I have a pittance of 3452 chips. The good news is that I never rebought - just did the original max buy-in plus the add-on. The bad news is that I'm short stacked into the deep stack portion of the event.
At 18 minutes into the 2nd hour, with AK UTG+1, I got no action. Five minutes later, same story with AQ from the cutoff. After that I raised w/ J9o from the button. Again. Nothing.
It took until 10:35 to finally get something going:
Full Tilt Poker Game #6592077896: CHIMPS 3 - Event #3 (48190880), Table 1 - 100/200 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:34:56 ET - 2008/05/27
Seat 1: djm182 (2,582)
Seat 2: warrendc73 (8,028)
Seat 4: khanwoman (10,006)
Seat 5: rascony (10,380)
Seat 6: SmBoatDrinks (8,880)
Seat 7: scottc25 (3,624)
rascony posts the small blind of 100
SmBoatDrinks posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djm182 [Kc Ks]
scottc25 folds
djm182 raises to 700
warrendc73 calls 700
khanwoman folds
rascony folds
SmBoatDrinks folds
*** FLOP *** [8c 2h 9h]
djm182 bets 1,882, and is all in
warrendc73 calls 1,882
djm182 shows [Kc Ks]
warrendc73 shows [9s As]
*** TURN *** [8c 2h 9h] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [8c 2h 9h 3s] [2s]
djm182 shows two pair, Kings and Twos
warrendc73 shows two pair, Nines and Twos
djm182 wins the pot (5,464) with two pair, Kings and Twos
For the life of me, I don't understand why I did what I did in this next hand. I'm in the BB w/ QTo and see a free flop of T86 rainbow. I check to see what the UTG preflop caller will do. He makes a pot sized bet at it...and I fold? WTF?? Top pair w/ a decent kicker when I need the chips. I can't kill myself if I go out on this hand if he's got a monster. Bad play.
And now the antes kick in and they're quickly killing me. We're playing five handed for most of this time and the ever increasing blinds are racing around the track quite fast.
At 10:47 I pick up 44 in the BB. It folds to the SB (now SmBoatDrinks) who makes a 3x raise. This wasn't the first time. I shove, he thinks and thinks and folds. He probably had two overs at worse - maybe a better pair.
Then I pick up a couple of smallish pots and am back to 6500 chips at the 150/300/25 level. I turn a free flush draw from the BB w/ 72s, connect on the turn and take a decent pot thereafter to get up to 7200 chips. I'm *thisclose* to being back in business.
Then with 78 in the BB, I see a free 3c 5s 7c flop. I check-call a standard bet. Turn is a K and I get called this time. We check down the river and he hit the K. Grrrrr. Back to 5k chips.
Finally I get it in w/ a flopped 2nd nut flush draw, but it never connects.
Full Tilt Poker Game #6592445409: CHIMPS 3 - Event #3 (48190880), Table 1 - 200/400 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:02:37 ET - 2008/05/27
Seat 1: djm182 (4,209)
Seat 2: warrendc73 (14,255)
Seat 4: khanwoman (4,861)
Seat 5: rascony (10,450)
Seat 6: SmBoatDrinks (9,725)
djm182 antes 50
warrendc73 antes 50
khanwoman antes 50
rascony antes 50
SmBoatDrinks antes 50
SmBoatDrinks posts the small blind of 200
djm182 posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djm182 [Kd 5d]
warrendc73 folds
khanwoman folds
rascony folds
SmBoatDrinks calls 200
djm182 checks
*** FLOP *** [4d Jd 9h]
SmBoatDrinks bets 1,050
djm182 raises to 3,759, and is all in
SmBoatDrinks calls 2,709
djm182 shows [Kd 5d]
SmBoatDrinks shows [8h 9d]
*** TURN *** [4d Jd 9h] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [4d Jd 9h 8c] [Kc]
djm182 shows a pair of Kings
SmBoatDrinks shows two pair, Nines and Eights
SmBoatDrinks wins the pot (8,568) with two pair, Nines and Eights
djm182 stands up
Sunday, May 25, 2008
PLHE Strikes Back
More appropriately, the idiots playing PLHE.
Full Tilt Poker Game #6565286715: Table Tomsik (6 max) - $0.05/$0.10 - Pot Limit Hold'em - 22:50:25 ET - 2008/05/25
Seat 1: WJP84 ($3.75)
Seat 2: dubie318 ($1.90)
Seat 3: double5 ($3.85), is sitting out
Seat 4: djm182 ($6.50)
Seat 5: esmal ($15.75)
Seat 6: B-flat Major ($5.80)
B-flat Major posts the small blind of $0.05
WJP84 posts the big blind of $0.10
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djm182 [Ks Ac]
dubie318 folds
djm182 raises to $0.35
esmal folds
B-flat Major folds
WJP84 has 15 seconds left to act
WJP84 raises to $0.70
djm182 raises to $2.15 (Yeah it's just AK, but I see this guy as being pretty weak)
WJP84 has 15 seconds left to act
WJP84 raises to $3.60
djm182 raises to $6.50, and is all in
WJP84 calls $0.15, and is all in
djm182 shows [Ks Ac]
WJP84 shows [Qs Jd]
Uncalled bet of $2.75 returned to djm182
*** FLOP *** [7s Qd 8c]
*** TURN *** [7s Qd 8c] [Qh]
*** RIVER *** [7s Qd 8c Qh] [8h]
djm182 shows two pair, Queens and Eights
WJP84 shows a full house, Queens full of Eights
WJP84 wins the pot ($6.80) with a full house, Queens full of Eights
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.55 | Rake $0.75
Board: [7s Qd 8c Qh 8h]
Seat 1: WJP84 (big blind) showed [Qs Jd] and won ($6.80) with a full house, Queens full of Eights
Seat 2: dubie318 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: double5 is sitting out
Seat 4: djm182 showed [Ks Ac] and lost with two pair, Queens and Eights
Seat 5: esmal (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: B-flat Major (small blind) folded before the Flop
Full Tilt Poker Game #6565286715: Table Tomsik (6 max) - $0.05/$0.10 - Pot Limit Hold'em - 22:50:25 ET - 2008/05/25
Seat 1: WJP84 ($3.75)
Seat 2: dubie318 ($1.90)
Seat 3: double5 ($3.85), is sitting out
Seat 4: djm182 ($6.50)
Seat 5: esmal ($15.75)
Seat 6: B-flat Major ($5.80)
B-flat Major posts the small blind of $0.05
WJP84 posts the big blind of $0.10
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djm182 [Ks Ac]
dubie318 folds
djm182 raises to $0.35
esmal folds
B-flat Major folds
WJP84 has 15 seconds left to act
WJP84 raises to $0.70
djm182 raises to $2.15 (Yeah it's just AK, but I see this guy as being pretty weak)
WJP84 has 15 seconds left to act
WJP84 raises to $3.60
djm182 raises to $6.50, and is all in
WJP84 calls $0.15, and is all in
djm182 shows [Ks Ac]
WJP84 shows [Qs Jd]
Uncalled bet of $2.75 returned to djm182
*** FLOP *** [7s Qd 8c]
*** TURN *** [7s Qd 8c] [Qh]
*** RIVER *** [7s Qd 8c Qh] [8h]
djm182 shows two pair, Queens and Eights
WJP84 shows a full house, Queens full of Eights
WJP84 wins the pot ($6.80) with a full house, Queens full of Eights
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.55 | Rake $0.75
Board: [7s Qd 8c Qh 8h]
Seat 1: WJP84 (big blind) showed [Qs Jd] and won ($6.80) with a full house, Queens full of Eights
Seat 2: dubie318 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: double5 is sitting out
Seat 4: djm182 showed [Ks Ac] and lost with two pair, Queens and Eights
Seat 5: esmal (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: B-flat Major (small blind) folded before the Flop
Friday, May 23, 2008
AIPS Rebuy
I don't have much to say about this because the sooner I strike it from my memory, the better.
I chipped up quite nicely early on when I saw a flop w/ JsQs, and what a flop it was: AKT. EP bet, I raised and we got it all in. He had AK. Ouch. I slowly built that stack until about the :40 minute mark when I made a horrific play. With a standard raise in front, I called w/ 77. Late position shoved. The EP leader folded. Now the LP guy had openly expressed amazement at some of the play so far - clearly not familiar with a low $ rebuy format. I should've put him on something good, but instead I prayed he had AK or something. He had QQ and I was down to <2000 chips.
I went broke soon thereafter, rebought, got it back up over 3k chips. Then the hand of the night that ruined things. I can't recall if this was late in the rebuy period or early in the post-rebuy period, but I had AKo in EP. I don't remember the action, but two short stacks behind me got it AIPF and I came along as well.
Me: AKo
SS1: 4c5c
SS2: AcTc
And the flop puts an A AND a K out there. Wooot!! Only one problem. Two of the cards are clubs. Are you effing kidding me? The turn is a third club, and I go from a good double-up+ opportunity back to a short stack.
Then I go on a ridonkulous run of starting hands. Actually, the first hand back from break, I just barely made it to the seat in time to see the ticker counting down, and AA staring me in the face. I made a 3x raise from the cutoff, prayed to God that I'd get action, but only got a call and then a check/fold from one of the blinds. Thanks, Sharkey. :)
After that, I never saw a big ace. I only saw three pocket pairs - 44 which I folded to a big reraise, 99 which I shoved with and had it fold around, and 77 which I shoved with from EP when I was real short, got called by the big stack loose bully with Ax suited, and he rivered the Ace to finish me off.
Every other hand in this period was 94, K2, J3, T7, etc. The only marginally playable hands all fell to me in EP. I probably missed a resteal opportunity or two, but I was so short so quickly that I felt I had to at least have something. Only that something never came.
Out, I believe, in 30th of 101. Eh. The last 90 minutes or so were just immensely frustrating. I kept waiting and waiting for my double-up and it never came.
I chipped up quite nicely early on when I saw a flop w/ JsQs, and what a flop it was: AKT. EP bet, I raised and we got it all in. He had AK. Ouch. I slowly built that stack until about the :40 minute mark when I made a horrific play. With a standard raise in front, I called w/ 77. Late position shoved. The EP leader folded. Now the LP guy had openly expressed amazement at some of the play so far - clearly not familiar with a low $ rebuy format. I should've put him on something good, but instead I prayed he had AK or something. He had QQ and I was down to <2000 chips.
I went broke soon thereafter, rebought, got it back up over 3k chips. Then the hand of the night that ruined things. I can't recall if this was late in the rebuy period or early in the post-rebuy period, but I had AKo in EP. I don't remember the action, but two short stacks behind me got it AIPF and I came along as well.
Me: AKo
SS1: 4c5c
SS2: AcTc
And the flop puts an A AND a K out there. Wooot!! Only one problem. Two of the cards are clubs. Are you effing kidding me? The turn is a third club, and I go from a good double-up+ opportunity back to a short stack.
Then I go on a ridonkulous run of starting hands. Actually, the first hand back from break, I just barely made it to the seat in time to see the ticker counting down, and AA staring me in the face. I made a 3x raise from the cutoff, prayed to God that I'd get action, but only got a call and then a check/fold from one of the blinds. Thanks, Sharkey. :)
After that, I never saw a big ace. I only saw three pocket pairs - 44 which I folded to a big reraise, 99 which I shoved with and had it fold around, and 77 which I shoved with from EP when I was real short, got called by the big stack loose bully with Ax suited, and he rivered the Ace to finish me off.
Every other hand in this period was 94, K2, J3, T7, etc. The only marginally playable hands all fell to me in EP. I probably missed a resteal opportunity or two, but I was so short so quickly that I felt I had to at least have something. Only that something never came.
Out, I believe, in 30th of 101. Eh. The last 90 minutes or so were just immensely frustrating. I kept waiting and waiting for my double-up and it never came.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
More PLHE Goodness
I sat at a 6-handed PLHE micro table again last night, and after one ugly beat early on, left up with a slight profit in about 90 minutes worth of play. Two to my left was a very interesting player - his VP$IP was perfectly in line at around 20%, but if this guy saw a flop and connected with it in the slightest, he was NOT folding.
Case in point: I had him targeted, and when he min-raised from UTG+1, I called from the BB w/ K5s. The flop was K-high (KTx, I believe) with only one suited card for me, still I felt I was ahead of him. I checked and he bet pot. I re-popped it for pot again which put me all-in - surely an aggressive (at best) move, but I'd seen this guy constantly C-bet and he can't have it all the time. Well his timer starts ticking down and now I know I'm ahead. All of a sudden he calls and turns over AJo - for a gutshot with an overcard. The turn blanks but he rivers an Ace and I have to dip back into the piggy bank. I asked him what he was thinking and he responded "I just said #(@% it." Indeed.
No worries, as now this guy has some more chips and he's probably not going anywhere.
I ended up taking two pretty sizeable pots off of him - the latter that felted him with a play that I wouldn't make versus anyone who I hadn't IDed as a Grade A mook. I had 99 UTG and made a pot size bet. He re-pots it as next to act. It folds around to me and I call. The flop is 7 3 2 rainbow. God bless him if he has TT+, but I think he's more likely to have some naked ace. I bet pot and he comes over the top for a bit more, going all-in. I instacall and he turns over....wait for it....KQo. Brick, brick, and now I gots all the bastard's chips. Yum. Sadly, he got up and left right then and there, and since it was late and since the blinds were about to pass through me, I did the same.
I turned on RealTime for the first time in, well, a long time. It's a pretty rudimentary but useful tool. Give me simple stats on pre-flop raises, VP$IP, aggression, etc. and it makes it so much easier to focus in on your targets. Late in the session, a player with VP$IP >70 sat to my right. I was never able to take a big pot off this fish, but given enough time to sit there, it could've been a payday.
Tonight is AIPS NLHE Rebuy. This should be verrryyyy interesting. Hopefully the turnout is strong, hopefully nobody bails within the first hour, hopefully I make it deep, and hopefully it doesn't take half the night. With 100+ participants, an hour worth of cheap rebuys, plus a one-hour add-on, there should be a bajillion chips in play. I don't think it's a turbo either. Yikes.
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Sounds like heads may soon be rolling in Flushing. I have no idea who a possible replacement could be, but right now I think just about any change is warranted. This team is lifeless, the pressure clearly got to Willie with his racism comments, and ownership cannot justify this kind of performance with a roster with that kind of talent. Yeah, they're probably a 90-win roster at best, but dropping 6 of the last 7 divisional games is sad, sad, sad.
Case in point: I had him targeted, and when he min-raised from UTG+1, I called from the BB w/ K5s. The flop was K-high (KTx, I believe) with only one suited card for me, still I felt I was ahead of him. I checked and he bet pot. I re-popped it for pot again which put me all-in - surely an aggressive (at best) move, but I'd seen this guy constantly C-bet and he can't have it all the time. Well his timer starts ticking down and now I know I'm ahead. All of a sudden he calls and turns over AJo - for a gutshot with an overcard. The turn blanks but he rivers an Ace and I have to dip back into the piggy bank. I asked him what he was thinking and he responded "I just said #(@% it." Indeed.
No worries, as now this guy has some more chips and he's probably not going anywhere.
I ended up taking two pretty sizeable pots off of him - the latter that felted him with a play that I wouldn't make versus anyone who I hadn't IDed as a Grade A mook. I had 99 UTG and made a pot size bet. He re-pots it as next to act. It folds around to me and I call. The flop is 7 3 2 rainbow. God bless him if he has TT+, but I think he's more likely to have some naked ace. I bet pot and he comes over the top for a bit more, going all-in. I instacall and he turns over....wait for it....KQo. Brick, brick, and now I gots all the bastard's chips. Yum. Sadly, he got up and left right then and there, and since it was late and since the blinds were about to pass through me, I did the same.
I turned on RealTime for the first time in, well, a long time. It's a pretty rudimentary but useful tool. Give me simple stats on pre-flop raises, VP$IP, aggression, etc. and it makes it so much easier to focus in on your targets. Late in the session, a player with VP$IP >70 sat to my right. I was never able to take a big pot off this fish, but given enough time to sit there, it could've been a payday.
Tonight is AIPS NLHE Rebuy. This should be verrryyyy interesting. Hopefully the turnout is strong, hopefully nobody bails within the first hour, hopefully I make it deep, and hopefully it doesn't take half the night. With 100+ participants, an hour worth of cheap rebuys, plus a one-hour add-on, there should be a bajillion chips in play. I don't think it's a turbo either. Yikes.
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Sounds like heads may soon be rolling in Flushing. I have no idea who a possible replacement could be, but right now I think just about any change is warranted. This team is lifeless, the pressure clearly got to Willie with his racism comments, and ownership cannot justify this kind of performance with a roster with that kind of talent. Yeah, they're probably a 90-win roster at best, but dropping 6 of the last 7 divisional games is sad, sad, sad.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The post Memorial Day 2007 - 2008 Mets
Faith and Fear sums it up *perfectly*
"you have to give the 2008 Mets credit: No team does a better job confounding any attempt to figure out what they're really made of. The team's obviously terrible -- can't do a damn thing against a horrible Nationals team that might actually recruit pitchers by taking the guys turned down by the Dallas police after responding to the ads above the urinals in the upper deck. Well, no -- they beat the Yankees in convincing fashion, working counts, having smart at-bats and running up the score. So they're actually pretty darn good, right? No -- after an off-day they come out and play 18 innings of prairie-flat baseball, marked by giveaway at-bats, dimwitted baserunning, indifferent fielding and lousy pitching.
It's easy to be average -- just plod along and win some and lose some. But that's too simple for the Mets of late -- they have to be average by yo-yoing from bad to good and bad again at a truly fearsome velocity. It's no easy thing to be at once fundamentally mediocre and completely exhausting, but they're managing it."
Commitment
Here's something that pisses me off. Let's say a bunch of people make some noise and want something. Someone then picks up the ball, runs with it, and delivers more than anyone could have ever expected - a completely awesome solution. In addition to the work the guy puts forth - voluntarily - to set this up, he routinely maintains what he's created, sends out reminders to make sure people are up to date with the latest, and keeps more than enough variety in it so that it will never get stale.
And then people decide they really don't want what he's offering. So they just stop coming.
People clamored for the return of the Ante Up poker night. It used to be nothing more than a bunch of people meeting in flash chat and finding some tables/SNGs to sit at. It never had any organization and kind of died off. Then the masses spoke up and wondered what happened to it. Snuffy comes along and sets up a 2-3 month long series of events - all affordable - crossing the breadth of available games. People show up. It's fun. It's challenging.
And now the crowds have thinned. Yeah, maybe it's summer or maybe there are other valid reasons, but the change in the turnout the last few weeks is quite disappointing. What a shame, because it's the best routine, affordable option to play tournament poker against quality opponents.
For me, last night's PLO was just more of the same. I chipped up a bit early, then played tight - perhaps too tight as I NEVER got action with a preflop raise, and just held on for dear life as I got a horrendous string of cards once we filled out the full table. I cashed - finishing third - and went out in the worst of ways, shoving into the nuts. I had some middling connected cards, made a small raise and got called by Snuffy. The flop was three middling diamonds giving me a flopped straight. I shoved my short stack into the nut flush. Happens.
But, as always, it was fun. The play was, by and large, very very good. There was a fair share of rivered suckouts, but that's PLO.
After bouncing out, I sat at a micro PLHE table and pulled down about 1.5x my buy-in in profit in under an hour and said good night. Me thinks it's time to bump up a level in the table stakes.
And then people decide they really don't want what he's offering. So they just stop coming.
People clamored for the return of the Ante Up poker night. It used to be nothing more than a bunch of people meeting in flash chat and finding some tables/SNGs to sit at. It never had any organization and kind of died off. Then the masses spoke up and wondered what happened to it. Snuffy comes along and sets up a 2-3 month long series of events - all affordable - crossing the breadth of available games. People show up. It's fun. It's challenging.
And now the crowds have thinned. Yeah, maybe it's summer or maybe there are other valid reasons, but the change in the turnout the last few weeks is quite disappointing. What a shame, because it's the best routine, affordable option to play tournament poker against quality opponents.
For me, last night's PLO was just more of the same. I chipped up a bit early, then played tight - perhaps too tight as I NEVER got action with a preflop raise, and just held on for dear life as I got a horrendous string of cards once we filled out the full table. I cashed - finishing third - and went out in the worst of ways, shoving into the nuts. I had some middling connected cards, made a small raise and got called by Snuffy. The flop was three middling diamonds giving me a flopped straight. I shoved my short stack into the nut flush. Happens.
But, as always, it was fun. The play was, by and large, very very good. There was a fair share of rivered suckouts, but that's PLO.
After bouncing out, I sat at a micro PLHE table and pulled down about 1.5x my buy-in in profit in under an hour and said good night. Me thinks it's time to bump up a level in the table stakes.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Tuesday Thoughts
This is a very funny, yet spot on take about the lapel flag pin controversy that just inexplicably keeps popping up.
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A couple weeks back, we took the boys to see the circus in the TU Center. Same ol' circus - validated by the fact that the lower bowl of the arena was maybe 3/4 full and that the upper level was blocked off. What was most shocking was the concessions. We've all seen $7 beer, $3 water etc. But a single slice of plain generic pizza was $6. SIX dollars. Makes me miss the day of New York Pizza for a buck a slice even more.
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I hate the chat functionality in Full Tilt and Stars for so many reasons. But when my top pair gets outkicked, and someone types "no cigar :)", it just makes me want to reach through the modem and strangle the bastard on the other end.
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Not many things piss me off more than having some aggrodonk take my chips in a cash game - and then immediately leave the table. Get back here you fucker.
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The Mets, fresh off a bitch-smacking of the Evil Empire, now head to the house of horrors for four games. Let's hope they can at least get a split out of this.
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A couple weeks back, we took the boys to see the circus in the TU Center. Same ol' circus - validated by the fact that the lower bowl of the arena was maybe 3/4 full and that the upper level was blocked off. What was most shocking was the concessions. We've all seen $7 beer, $3 water etc. But a single slice of plain generic pizza was $6. SIX dollars. Makes me miss the day of New York Pizza for a buck a slice even more.
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I hate the chat functionality in Full Tilt and Stars for so many reasons. But when my top pair gets outkicked, and someone types "no cigar :)", it just makes me want to reach through the modem and strangle the bastard on the other end.
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Not many things piss me off more than having some aggrodonk take my chips in a cash game - and then immediately leave the table. Get back here you fucker.
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The Mets, fresh off a bitch-smacking of the Evil Empire, now head to the house of horrors for four games. Let's hope they can at least get a split out of this.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Bizarre Weekend
* Two rounds of golf, both ended up with decent scores, both saw me play better on the back than on the front, and neither had me hit the ball particularly well. I did come alive the last 5 holes on Sunday and hit some good shots. My misses are at least straight. I just need to trust the changes. Finding a repeatable putting stroke wouldn't hurt either.
* Played some PLHE cash Saturday night while generally screwing around on the net at the same time and while overtired. Why I keep playing in situations like this escapes me. Anyway, I just ran very cold for the longest time - getting no premium pairs, and having every big ace miss a flop. I bought in for $5 and added on enough to be committed in total for $10. Then I'm dealt AA, raise it big and actually get a caller. The flop is 4 5 T rainbow. I bet pot and he calls. Turn appears to be a blank. I pot it again and get another caller. Now I only have pennies behind so I shove on the river and he calls. He had 36s for an OESD that never got there. Wham-o, now there's $12 in front of me and I'm up. This is when I should've left, but I saw too much soft play at the table. And it came back to bite me.
Minutes later I'm dealt 77 and get to see a garbage flop with an overcard and two unders. A LAG guy bets out at it weakly, and I call. He makes a bigger move on the turn and I raise him up pot. I've got him on a big ace that missed. He raises that, and I'm committed. He had 99 and neither of us ended up pairing. This took about $6 out of my stack.
Then I get dealt Ah2h in EP and decide I'm going to play this like a donk, so I limp in, it gets popped by a guy behind me and the first thing that came into my head was that he had KK. One guy calls and I finish the action. We see a flop of A2x - all clubs. I pot-it. The initial raiser comes along and the other guy does as well. I am now all-in with top and bottom pair against KK (knew it) and some trash. Alas, one of the kings was Kc and he rivered the flush. Thank you and good night.
* On Sunday night I sit for a $10 HORSE SNG. Second hand in I have AQo in EP and raise it. It's reraised by MP to 90, I believe the button calls and I call as well. The flop is 8 T J giving me a double gutshot. It checks around. Turn is another T. I check and the MP reraiser bets out. I call. The river is the 9 completing my straight. I bet, he stews and calls and flips over AKs. He then berates me in the chat, which I find hilarious - dude clearly missed the flop, so the T on the turn didn't help his cause, and I've got a two way straight draw and possibly the best hand anyway.
Things went along just nicely from there - I made a great hand in Stud Hi first go-around when I started with (QxQd)5d, then turned two more diamonds and represented the flush. Kept getting called. 6th street gave me a third Q and 7th street paired a 4 that I already had for the well-hidden boat. When it got to the second trip through razz, my stack was still strong, though not far above average. The BI is two to my left with a K showing. It folds to me with [J 4]A and I'm completing this 100% of the time. The guy in the middle is squeezed out but the K calls. He gets an 8 on 4th st, and a T on 5th st and keeps calling me. I check 7th street after making a J7 and he ended up with an 86. He started with K8 + some other low card. My God where do these people come from?
This got me short, and when it got to Stud, I had < 2000 chips. Down to 1600 or so I call a bet with Qd showing and two more diamonds underneath. 4th street gives me my 4th diamond. There are three people left in the hand, and it's bet and raised in front of me. I can either fold and be down to ~1200 chips or repop it and pray. And I ain't folding, so I reraise it. Both come along. One guy had [KK]xx. The other had [QQ]88. I'm in decent enough shape, with only one diamond burnt. These two jamokes each bag a diamond on 5th and one of them steals another on 6th. Interestingly, the KK guy went runner runner runner 5 on the last three streets to take it down. I never improved and have to go to the rail watching the aforementioned loudmouth, the razz moron, and these two jamokes play on while I wrap it up in 5th.
But I'll be back. The play is just too bad to stay away.
* Played some PLHE cash Saturday night while generally screwing around on the net at the same time and while overtired. Why I keep playing in situations like this escapes me. Anyway, I just ran very cold for the longest time - getting no premium pairs, and having every big ace miss a flop. I bought in for $5 and added on enough to be committed in total for $10. Then I'm dealt AA, raise it big and actually get a caller. The flop is 4 5 T rainbow. I bet pot and he calls. Turn appears to be a blank. I pot it again and get another caller. Now I only have pennies behind so I shove on the river and he calls. He had 36s for an OESD that never got there. Wham-o, now there's $12 in front of me and I'm up. This is when I should've left, but I saw too much soft play at the table. And it came back to bite me.
Minutes later I'm dealt 77 and get to see a garbage flop with an overcard and two unders. A LAG guy bets out at it weakly, and I call. He makes a bigger move on the turn and I raise him up pot. I've got him on a big ace that missed. He raises that, and I'm committed. He had 99 and neither of us ended up pairing. This took about $6 out of my stack.
Then I get dealt Ah2h in EP and decide I'm going to play this like a donk, so I limp in, it gets popped by a guy behind me and the first thing that came into my head was that he had KK. One guy calls and I finish the action. We see a flop of A2x - all clubs. I pot-it. The initial raiser comes along and the other guy does as well. I am now all-in with top and bottom pair against KK (knew it) and some trash. Alas, one of the kings was Kc and he rivered the flush. Thank you and good night.
* On Sunday night I sit for a $10 HORSE SNG. Second hand in I have AQo in EP and raise it. It's reraised by MP to 90, I believe the button calls and I call as well. The flop is 8 T J giving me a double gutshot. It checks around. Turn is another T. I check and the MP reraiser bets out. I call. The river is the 9 completing my straight. I bet, he stews and calls and flips over AKs. He then berates me in the chat, which I find hilarious - dude clearly missed the flop, so the T on the turn didn't help his cause, and I've got a two way straight draw and possibly the best hand anyway.
Things went along just nicely from there - I made a great hand in Stud Hi first go-around when I started with (QxQd)5d, then turned two more diamonds and represented the flush. Kept getting called. 6th street gave me a third Q and 7th street paired a 4 that I already had for the well-hidden boat. When it got to the second trip through razz, my stack was still strong, though not far above average. The BI is two to my left with a K showing. It folds to me with [J 4]A and I'm completing this 100% of the time. The guy in the middle is squeezed out but the K calls. He gets an 8 on 4th st, and a T on 5th st and keeps calling me. I check 7th street after making a J7 and he ended up with an 86. He started with K8 + some other low card. My God where do these people come from?
This got me short, and when it got to Stud, I had < 2000 chips. Down to 1600 or so I call a bet with Qd showing and two more diamonds underneath. 4th street gives me my 4th diamond. There are three people left in the hand, and it's bet and raised in front of me. I can either fold and be down to ~1200 chips or repop it and pray. And I ain't folding, so I reraise it. Both come along. One guy had [KK]xx. The other had [QQ]88. I'm in decent enough shape, with only one diamond burnt. These two jamokes each bag a diamond on 5th and one of them steals another on 6th. Interestingly, the KK guy went runner runner runner 5 on the last three streets to take it down. I never improved and have to go to the rail watching the aforementioned loudmouth, the razz moron, and these two jamokes play on while I wrap it up in 5th.
But I'll be back. The play is just too bad to stay away.
Friday, May 16, 2008
I'm onto something
Picked up 1/2 of a buyin through maybe 30 minutes of PLHE last night. It always helps to have a maniac to your right. Just fold...fold...fold...fold and watch him raise/reraise from any position with any marginal hand. Just be patient. Then when he pops it, you repop it with JJ, flop top set, and watch the chips fall into your lap. Sadly, the table broke too early for my liking.
Then I took down a $10 HORSE SNG. I've only played a couple of these, but they're strikingly similar to the $5 events. There are at least a couple of people who have no clue. There are a couple of strong players. Last night was made extra special by the presence of an aggrodonk who got tilted in Stud8 when his low draw never connected, and the guy who scooped the pot simply typed "wow" into the chatbox. Aggrodonk went on a rant and predictably busted out when...wait for it...he played a Stud Hi hand as if it were razz. Focus a little more on the board and a little less on the chatbox, slapnuts.
I notice that I'm *Far* more patient in these events than most other participants, and that I'm a bit better of a O8, Razz, and Stud8 player than most others. The real key, though, is patience. So many people see so many flops/4th & 5th streets and have to chuck their hands. If you sit back and wait for the right spots - against the right opponents - you can easily turn profits on these.
Of course, when you get to heads up as a 5:7 dog in chips, it helps to flop quad 3s in O8 and have your opponent bet into you every street. It helps to nail some good razz hands too. We started to slowplay the razz hands as we both were frustrated as hell with the bring-in - complete - fold nature of EVERY razz hand we played. Until the last one, where I ended with a pair on 5th street, but with all five cards 8 or lower. I had to call him and he turned over a made 97 which never improved for him. Mine did, and now the bankroll is back at a healthy level. More importantly, I think I've finally found a couple of niches that I can exploit for more consistent results.
Then I took down a $10 HORSE SNG. I've only played a couple of these, but they're strikingly similar to the $5 events. There are at least a couple of people who have no clue. There are a couple of strong players. Last night was made extra special by the presence of an aggrodonk who got tilted in Stud8 when his low draw never connected, and the guy who scooped the pot simply typed "wow" into the chatbox. Aggrodonk went on a rant and predictably busted out when...wait for it...he played a Stud Hi hand as if it were razz. Focus a little more on the board and a little less on the chatbox, slapnuts.
I notice that I'm *Far* more patient in these events than most other participants, and that I'm a bit better of a O8, Razz, and Stud8 player than most others. The real key, though, is patience. So many people see so many flops/4th & 5th streets and have to chuck their hands. If you sit back and wait for the right spots - against the right opponents - you can easily turn profits on these.
Of course, when you get to heads up as a 5:7 dog in chips, it helps to flop quad 3s in O8 and have your opponent bet into you every street. It helps to nail some good razz hands too. We started to slowplay the razz hands as we both were frustrated as hell with the bring-in - complete - fold nature of EVERY razz hand we played. Until the last one, where I ended with a pair on 5th street, but with all five cards 8 or lower. I had to call him and he turned over a made 97 which never improved for him. Mine did, and now the bankroll is back at a healthy level. More importantly, I think I've finally found a couple of niches that I can exploit for more consistent results.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
On Second Thought...
...this actually kept me up a bit last night. I played the hand that crippled me (AQ vs. KK) poorly.
UTG raises 3x in this hand. It folds around to me on the button. At the time, my thought process was that said player is a bit loose and aggressive at times. I thought about it, didn't like the fold, sure didn't want to just call off 1/5th of my chips. So I shoved.
In hindsight, I definitely didn't pay enough attention to the position of his raise. Also, his aggressiveness is post-flop. He will often bluff and/or check-raise on draws.
I think this should have been a fold. It's hard to just release AQ like that, but against an UTG raiser, I had to assume a pair of paint cards or maybe AK. I'm likely behind to a good chunk of his range.
Poor play by me.
UTG raises 3x in this hand. It folds around to me on the button. At the time, my thought process was that said player is a bit loose and aggressive at times. I thought about it, didn't like the fold, sure didn't want to just call off 1/5th of my chips. So I shoved.
In hindsight, I definitely didn't pay enough attention to the position of his raise. Also, his aggressiveness is post-flop. He will often bluff and/or check-raise on draws.
I think this should have been a fold. It's hard to just release AQ like that, but against an UTG raiser, I had to assume a pair of paint cards or maybe AK. I'm likely behind to a good chunk of his range.
Poor play by me.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
CHIMPS III Kickoff
Quickly because I'm tired and bitter after this one.
My KK < Villain's AQ
Villain's KK > My AQ
I'm short-stacked...my A7 < 79. Rivered straight.
Not much more I can do other than smile and say that I played VERY well. Seriously. I made the most out of the situations I was in. Only one hand that I regret where it folded around to Turley on the button. He limped. I limped from the SB and Gambit put on the squeeze play from the BB. Should've seen that coming. Otherwise I got aggressive in spots where I normally may not have, stole in a lot of spots, and just never hit a big hand.
My KK < Villain's AQ
Villain's KK > My AQ
I'm short-stacked...my A7 < 79. Rivered straight.
Not much more I can do other than smile and say that I played VERY well. Seriously. I made the most out of the situations I was in. Only one hand that I regret where it folded around to Turley on the button. He limped. I limped from the SB and Gambit put on the squeeze play from the BB. Should've seen that coming. Otherwise I got aggressive in spots where I normally may not have, stole in a lot of spots, and just never hit a big hand.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Uneventful Homegame
The highlight, arguably, was that I was able to muster up the energy to stay up for this. Not a heck of a lot of lowlights either. I played looser and chased a few more hands with drawing potential. Only hit one of them and, net-net, I had to lose out on that experiment. I still firmly believe that there's only one or two people in the game whom you can bluff. Your options are pretty much to pick up hands - and at the right times and against the right people.
I think a realistic goal is to make it past the 3.5 hour mark, given our structure. My thought all year is to not take myself out of an event yet. I haven't done that, but I also haven't really put myself in a spot to go real deep either.
I hit a few good hands early, and won a fair amount of small pots in the second hour to get up to an average or slightly above average stack.
I hit top pair/good kicker too many times - even folded a bunch of hands that would've flopped hard. Seemingly every time I put a probe bet out w/ the best hand, it would induce folds. And when I put it out speculatively, it would trigger calls or raises. I must have a tell either in my betting patterns (though I try real hard not to do this) or in my behavior.
I made one weak call from the BB to a minraise when holding K2s. The flop brought an ace and I bluffed at it, got minraised, and chucked those cards as fast as I could.
In one hand, I flopped a gutshot, called a fairly sizeable bet from a good player, then landed the gutshot on the turn, checkraised myself all-in and it held up. Horrendous play on my part. Then again, when in Rome...
As the blinds shot up, I went on a streak of wretched cards. Many steal opportunities were snuffed out by raises/calls by big stacks in front of me. Finally at the 1k/2k level, I'm the SB w/ 5300 chips behind. It folds to me and I take a meaningless look at my cards - I'm shoving with anything here. It was hard to conceal my disdain when I looked down at 92o, but I shoved. The BB thought and (properly) called with pocket 3s and I was through just like that - on the bubble. Hey, that's two events in a row where I didn't go out on a brutal suckout.
The highlight hand of the night - an UTG raise from the host, a pretty loose player. It folds around to the SB who calls. Flop is AKx. SB bets at it, UTG raises (all-in, I believe) and gets called. SB had AT while BB had a set of Kings. SB is now 97% to lose the hand. I think he had a runner runner flush possibility, a runner runner straight possibility, or the two case Aces. Well he hit the straight. Phenomenal.
Once again, the short-handed play in the game was very passive. I believe that I just need to get there and that I can make some hay.
I'm still trying to catch up on sleep and get my strength back from last week's ordeal, which is now topped off by this week's sinus infection. Hopefully I can get some more good shut eye tonight. CHIMPS III begins tomorrow. In the summertime, I'm no more than moderately interested in this. Plus I'm more and more interested in pursuing my PLHE cash game experiments.
I think a realistic goal is to make it past the 3.5 hour mark, given our structure. My thought all year is to not take myself out of an event yet. I haven't done that, but I also haven't really put myself in a spot to go real deep either.
I hit a few good hands early, and won a fair amount of small pots in the second hour to get up to an average or slightly above average stack.
I hit top pair/good kicker too many times - even folded a bunch of hands that would've flopped hard. Seemingly every time I put a probe bet out w/ the best hand, it would induce folds. And when I put it out speculatively, it would trigger calls or raises. I must have a tell either in my betting patterns (though I try real hard not to do this) or in my behavior.
I made one weak call from the BB to a minraise when holding K2s. The flop brought an ace and I bluffed at it, got minraised, and chucked those cards as fast as I could.
In one hand, I flopped a gutshot, called a fairly sizeable bet from a good player, then landed the gutshot on the turn, checkraised myself all-in and it held up. Horrendous play on my part. Then again, when in Rome...
As the blinds shot up, I went on a streak of wretched cards. Many steal opportunities were snuffed out by raises/calls by big stacks in front of me. Finally at the 1k/2k level, I'm the SB w/ 5300 chips behind. It folds to me and I take a meaningless look at my cards - I'm shoving with anything here. It was hard to conceal my disdain when I looked down at 92o, but I shoved. The BB thought and (properly) called with pocket 3s and I was through just like that - on the bubble. Hey, that's two events in a row where I didn't go out on a brutal suckout.
The highlight hand of the night - an UTG raise from the host, a pretty loose player. It folds around to the SB who calls. Flop is AKx. SB bets at it, UTG raises (all-in, I believe) and gets called. SB had AT while BB had a set of Kings. SB is now 97% to lose the hand. I think he had a runner runner flush possibility, a runner runner straight possibility, or the two case Aces. Well he hit the straight. Phenomenal.
Once again, the short-handed play in the game was very passive. I believe that I just need to get there and that I can make some hay.
I'm still trying to catch up on sleep and get my strength back from last week's ordeal, which is now topped off by this week's sinus infection. Hopefully I can get some more good shut eye tonight. CHIMPS III begins tomorrow. In the summertime, I'm no more than moderately interested in this. Plus I'm more and more interested in pursuing my PLHE cash game experiments.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
So I had this glorious recap of a HORSE SNG from last Thursday planned to go. Twas a recap where I got short, hit a runner runner suckout to survive, then played some real good poker and freaking won it. I was as happy with this win as I'd been with any SNG triumph (except for the suckout).
Then it hit me.
Six days, several bags of IV fluids, a couple injections of morphine, and a whole lotta rest later ... I'm back.
I dabbled a bit in some micro NLHE cash games while away. Mostly neutral results. It's clear, though, that there's money to be made here, albeit surely not at these limits. I had some favorable HORSE cash game results as well. I capped off my hiatus with a HORSE SNG last night where, at one point, the chip counts looked pretty much like this.
Player A: 3800
Player B: 3800
Player C: 3800
Me: the leftover scraps
Total chips in play: 12000
Somehow, I made the money in this one, only to go out in Razz when my (A 2)3 turned into trash.
Homegame on Friday. The insights I got from my student/teacher hand reviews should be valuable here and in other areas.
Then it hit me.
Six days, several bags of IV fluids, a couple injections of morphine, and a whole lotta rest later ... I'm back.
I dabbled a bit in some micro NLHE cash games while away. Mostly neutral results. It's clear, though, that there's money to be made here, albeit surely not at these limits. I had some favorable HORSE cash game results as well. I capped off my hiatus with a HORSE SNG last night where, at one point, the chip counts looked pretty much like this.
Player A: 3800
Player B: 3800
Player C: 3800
Me: the leftover scraps
Total chips in play: 12000
Somehow, I made the money in this one, only to go out in Razz when my (A 2)3 turned into trash.
Homegame on Friday. The insights I got from my student/teacher hand reviews should be valuable here and in other areas.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Tina Fey Effect
This was four minutes of my life that I'll never get back, but it's worth viewing only to hear the co-host describe the Tina Fey effect.
I wholeheartedly agree with the concept of the Tina Fey Effect, and only wish I had discovered and trademarked it.
I wholeheartedly agree with the concept of the Tina Fey Effect, and only wish I had discovered and trademarked it.
Rough afternoon, good night
How to recover from this? Play three events online, that's how!!
* I've toyed around a bit with Stars, but hadn't played any MTTs there in a long LONG time. So last night I settle in and see a Stud8 MTT. Why not? Well here's why not - it's a $1 buy-in. And I couldn't catch a cold, let alone any decent starting hands. Let's just move on.
*...to a $5 NLHE SNG. In the very first hand, I notice some mook making a big turn or river bet, inducing a fold and showing a pure bluff. Valuable information right out of the gate. Well I chipped up early in this one to around 3000 chips. Next thing you know, I wake up with KK in late position. Said mook makes a 2x raise (to 160) from UTG or UTG+1. It folds around to me and I pop it to 760. He calls. Therefore, any and all logic says he has either a pair of paint cards, or maybe AKs, perhaps AKo. The flop comes 6 9 5 rainbow and he shoves all-in. Well God bless him if he has AA, but I'm calling this 99.9% of the time against a proven knucklehead.
He had 66 for the flopped set. Ugh. I was short, I prayed, and I lost.
* Never fear, we march right into a $6 Turbo NLHE. I was on the winning end of a fairly nasty suckout, chipped up, and found myself heads up against another player who played only the two cards in his hand. It's such a great feeling when you can clearly determine your opponent's tendencies. Wrapped it up when I saw a cheap flop w/ 58o, flopped two pair and got him to call my pot size bet w/ two overs. He paired his Q on the turn and got it all-in, but I held up.
Small profit = good night.
* I've toyed around a bit with Stars, but hadn't played any MTTs there in a long LONG time. So last night I settle in and see a Stud8 MTT. Why not? Well here's why not - it's a $1 buy-in. And I couldn't catch a cold, let alone any decent starting hands. Let's just move on.
*...to a $5 NLHE SNG. In the very first hand, I notice some mook making a big turn or river bet, inducing a fold and showing a pure bluff. Valuable information right out of the gate. Well I chipped up early in this one to around 3000 chips. Next thing you know, I wake up with KK in late position. Said mook makes a 2x raise (to 160) from UTG or UTG+1. It folds around to me and I pop it to 760. He calls. Therefore, any and all logic says he has either a pair of paint cards, or maybe AKs, perhaps AKo. The flop comes 6 9 5 rainbow and he shoves all-in. Well God bless him if he has AA, but I'm calling this 99.9% of the time against a proven knucklehead.
He had 66 for the flopped set. Ugh. I was short, I prayed, and I lost.
* Never fear, we march right into a $6 Turbo NLHE. I was on the winning end of a fairly nasty suckout, chipped up, and found myself heads up against another player who played only the two cards in his hand. It's such a great feeling when you can clearly determine your opponent's tendencies. Wrapped it up when I saw a cheap flop w/ 58o, flopped two pair and got him to call my pot size bet w/ two overs. He paired his Q on the turn and got it all-in, but I held up.
Small profit = good night.
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