Limping With Aces, Part Two - Getting Away From Them

The inherent danger of limping with aces in early position is that you could end up in a multi-way pot and have to make some very difficult decisions after the flop. But one of the best feelings in poker is making the big fold and finding out on the end that it was the right play. Here's an example from last night's 25c/50c NL game.
I was in the small blind with Jc8c, UTG limped, a couple of players called, and I called as well. The flop came 9s-Jd-8s, giving me two pairs. Since there were about 5 players in the pot and the flop was very coordinated, I bet out $1.50, mainly to find out where I was at. The UTG immediately made it $5 to go, it was folded around to me, and I was faced with decision time. The UTG player only had another $10 and change behind, so if I called his raise I would basically be committing myself to the hand. I decided that he did not have Q-10 for the nut straight, as I didn't think he would have played it that fast with 3 people left to act behind him, so I put him on the flush draw, possibly with a ten, or a hand like Jack-ten which was top pair with a open-ended straight draw. I called, with the intention of moving all-in if the turn card was not scary (a spade, Q, 10, or 7). The turn was the 3d, and I pushed in. UTG sat there for a minute, typed "AA" in the chat box, and folded. I did not show my hand, but wrote "If you really had AA that was an excellent fold" and then said "two pairs". He replied "was worried about the straight" and I replied "put you on the flush draw - couldn't give you a free river card." I thought he played the hand excellently after the flop - just I had bet my strong hand to find out where I was at, he raised with his strong hand to find out where he was at. Once he got called by me and I pushed the non-threatening turn card he made an excellent read that he was beaten, but even if he had not been way behind at the time I could easily have had one of the hands I had put him on and thus would have had myriad river outs. He didn't put me on the correct hand, but he did know he was beat, and made a big-time fold.

Limping With Aces, Part One - Pick The Right Spot

I RARELY limp with Aces. I RARELY flat-call a raise with Aces. But in certain situations I am willing to do it. Here are three examples, one of which is from my play.

My wife told me about a hand of 25c/50c NL she played the other day. She had AA in late position, a couple of people had limped, and then another player made it $3 to go. She flat-called the raiser and I believe all the other players folded. I really like this play for two reasons. Since the raiser had raised a significant amount, it was unlikely that anyone else would be able to call the raise without a very big hand, so there was no reason for her to reraise to drive the other players out. Also, if she had reraised to $8-9, I think the other player would have to put her on at least KK and most probably would have to fold. The flop came A-9-7, the raiser bet out, and my wife called. The turn was a blank, he bet out again, and she called again. The river was another blank, he fired a third shell, and my wife reraised him the minimum. He called, and it turned out that he had flopped trips as well, as he held 99, and my wife scooped a very nice pot. I was actually surprised he didn't push over the top of her raise on the river, but he must have sensed that she either had AA or that she would have to fold a lesser hand to his push. Well-played hand by all parties involved - I don't know that the guy with 99 could have played it much differently since there was really only one hand that could beat him.

I was playing 25c/50c NL at a table where there had been a lot of limping and mini-reraising going on, so I decided to limp UTG with AA. I had already limped a couple of times in early position with smaller pairs and hands like QJ suited and folded to big reraises. There were a couple of smallish stacks ($15-20) at the table, and one of them mini-raised my limp to $1, another small guy called the mini-raise, and a third guy called as well. When it got back to me I reraised, making it $5 to go, hoping that at least one of the small stacks would call, and was pleasantly surprised when they both did and everyone else folded. The flop came 10-8-4 with two diamonds, and since neither of the other players had more than about the size of the pot in front of them, I pushed all-in and watched them both fold. (As an aside, these guys were really terrible - I don't know how or why you would put only $5 of your $18-20 stack in the pot at any time UNLESS you have Kings or Aces and are slowplaying, like in the next example - if you are gonna play for that % of your stack push it all in pre-flop or fold.) I think I did about as well as I could on this hand - if I raised pre-flop I might not have gotten any action, and if I had it would have been for less money. And there was no reason to slow-play the flop - if they had two diamonds or any kind of draw they would probably have called and I certainly wasn't folding to any bet so I might as well just get it in there and make them make the hard decision.

The third example happened at this same table earlier in the evening. A very small stack ($9) limped UTG, and I reraised to $2 in middle position with KK. The guy to my left called, and when it got back to the small stack he reraised it to $3.50. At this point, I felt pretty sure he had AA, but since he only had another $5.50 behind I called the raise willing to risk another $7 on the hand, also taking into account that the guy to my left probably couldn't ALSO have AA and so if I lost the main pot to the small stack I might still be able to win a good-sized side pot from him. The flop came small, 2-3-4 or 2-4-5 with two hearts, and the small stack checked. I immediately bet his remaining $5.50, and was surprised when the guy to my left, who I had covered but still had $30 or so, repopped it up to $11. The small stack obviously called, and since I was now positive he had to have AA, I put the other player on a lower pair like tens or jacks or queens, and so I pushed all-in. He called with what turned out to be 10 10 and I was able to scoop the side pot when no ten came, but lost the main pot to the small stack and his Aces. I benefited greatly from the small stack's limp, because if he had come in for a raise, I certainly would have reraised enough pre-flop to put him all in, and I seriously doubt that the guy with the 10 10 would have called that reraise. And he benefited as well - he tripled up !

KK Stacks AA AGAIN !!!

Like the two examples in my Cardplayer thread weren't enough ! Here's the scenario - 25c/50 NLHE, I'm in the big blind with KK and about $44 when a player in middle position who has just bought in for $50 makes it 2 bucks to go. The small blind calls and I obviously call as well. Flop comes K-9-7 with two spades, and I check to the raiser, who bets out 5 bucks. SB folds and I smooth call. The turn is a blank, doesn't help the flush draw or straight draw, and I once again check to the raiser, who makes it $11. At this point I figure he's got one of four hands: AA, AK, or 99 or 77 for trips, and since I'll have $25+ left after this bet I once again smooth call, feeling that an all-in move at this point would still be a bit of an overbet and might scare him off. The river is another small blank, once again I check, and the other player does not disappoint, firing $20 into the pot. I check-raise him with my last $5+ and of course he calls with his AA and discovers the grim news.

I actually had one heck of a run in the hour I played tonight:

- I slow-played AsTh on an AhTs4s flop which I got to see for free from the big blind. The small blind bet out $1.50 on the offsuit 6 turn and when the river came another Ace, he bet $4, which I raised to $9, causing him to go all-in for about $10 more with his AK offsuit.

- I reraised a bunch of limpers on the button with QQ, and stacked a guy who called my raise with 9-8 offsuit and couldn't fold on a J-9-7-x board when I put him all-in on the turn.

- And I beat AT with KK on a ten-high flop, but I had to check on the river as the flush draw and a gutshot straight draw both got there.

We're havin' gravy with our biscuits tonight !

Controlling Pot Size In Limit Hold 'Em - A Tip From Mike Caro

I received a few poker books for Xmas this year, and in one of them, Championship Hold 'Em, TJ Cloutier and Tom McEvoy pass on a good tip from Mike Caro regarding managing pot size and effective pot odds in limit hold 'em. Most of us who are playing in a limit hold 'em cash game and wake up with AA or KK in one of the blinds would raise and reraise pre-flop no matter how many people had entered the pot in front of us. However, Caro thinks this is not always the best play. Caro says that if several people are in the pot already, your raise/reraise is not going to drive any of them out, because the pot odds for a call will be so high that a call is really mandatory with any two cards. Once the flop comes, they will also be forced to call a flop bet with any piece of the board or any kind of draw, again because they are getting such a huge price. In addition, if several people are seeing a flop, there is a very good chance that at least one of the Aces or Kings is already out of the deck, leaving you with only one card to catch to make your hand a big favorite. Caro advises flat-calling pre-flop and then betting out on the flop to get a good idea of where you stand in the hand, unless the flop is very threatening to your hand, for example 3 cards of a suit you don't hold or three connecting cards like 7-8-10. With a big pair and several people in the pot you cannot expect your hand to hold up very often without improving, and if you have provided your opponents with significant pot odds to call with their draws the chances of your hand holding up are small indeed. The flip side of this is that if you do reraise pre-flop, flop a monster, and bet it, opponents who are paying any attention at all will have to put you on a monster hand and most of them should drop out. Yes, you have made more money in the sense that you built a bigger pot pre-flop, but you have lost the ability to disguise your hand and possibly make even more money by check-raising on later streets. I have always been one to flat-call raises in the blinds with JJ, QQ, and even AK, as I have always felt that the best way to make money on those hands when out of position is through the check-raise, and I think I'm gonna add KK and AA to the list.

The Further Adventures of Pocket Kings

Rather than re-type the story of my latest adventure with KK, here's a link to a thread about it I started on CardPlayer.com. You don't need an account to read it, but if you don't have a CardPlayer account you can click here to open one - it's free and comes with e-mail.

Maximizing Profit On Your Big Blind Special

Whenever you play poker for more than a few rounds of blinds you inevitably catch one or two "Big Blind Specials". That's when you get to see a flop for free from the big blind with a trash hand and flop a monster. The problem with BB specials is that most of the time they're hard to squeeze any money out of, because once you check and call on the flop , you opponent will usually slow down on the turn if you check (unless he also has a monster), forcing you to value-bet the river hoping to get a crying call and make a few extra bucks. So when I got to see a free flop of 6-A-6 with 6-5 off in the big blind today I tried a different tack. There were several people in the pot and we all checked to the button, who bet about half the pot (it was No Limit). I was next to act, and instead of flat-calling with my trips, I min-raised, doubling his bet. This drove everyone else out, and the button called. I bet about half the pot on the turn and about a third of the pot on the river, and I got the button to call me down with Ace-Ten. I'm sure that if I had not raised on the flop he would not have bet the turn, and then I would have been forced to make that tiny value-bet on the river to try to squeeze a few extra bucks out of him. The other very positive aspect to this play is that by raising immediately I found out right away whether anyone else had a 6, as that player would obviously have also called my raise (and probably with a better kicker than my 5), and I also prevented anyone who might have called the original bet with a medium pair from getting any kind of odds to catch their two-outer later in the hand.
I've also recently lost a couple of hands with medium pairs like 8's when the flop was along the lines of 6-3-3 and one of the blinds value-bet his 4-3 offsuit all the way to the river. Since so many players will bet an Ace-six or even a draw like 4-5 in this spot it's very tough to get away from that kind of flop when you have an overpair, and especially so when the bets you have to call are all small in relation to the size of the pot. I like this strategy of betting out right away as well, especially when you have kicker trouble and really can't stand much of a raise. By betting out you are controlling the size of the pot, and if by chance you do run into a full house or trips with a bigger kicker and get raised on the end, you can call for a smaller price or even throw away your hand because the pot might not be big enough and you feel your hand just can't be any good.

On Second Thought...

Kings are still terrible. I played some 25c/50c NLHE tonight and I got Kings at least 5 times. Twice my opponent called my bet on a rag flop and check-raised me on the turn when an ace hit. Another time, I raised with Kings and got no action, and on the VERY NEXT hand I got 'em again, and the same scenario spins, my opponent calls my garbage flop bet and check-raises me on the turn ace. (I soon discovered he was just a donkey in wolf's clothing - he called a river bluff-raise from me with only Ace-Ten high and my Ace-Queen hi was good). AK was a big loser tonight too - kept missing flops and getting my bets called or raised. The one time I DID hit the flop (K-5-5), I put the other guy (a small stack) all in on the turn and he caught a river Queen to win with King-Queen. I lost with KQ to Q-10 on a Q hi flop when a 10 turned, etc, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Amazingly enough, despite the bad beats, terrible showdown stats, and general carnage, I managed to not lose any dough on the night, because I took a lot of mid-sized pots on the flop and turn. Oh and because Kings did hold up one time !

Truly Bad Beat O' The Day

I'm just glad I wasn't involved in this hand ! halijedi had JUST sat down at the table too...

PokerStars Game #7859360831: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2007/01/10
Table 'Ganymede II' 9-max - Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: Yoshin ($31.40 in chips)
Seat 2: ridedc ($34.35 in chips)
Seat 3: djelove1 ($33.60 in chips)
Seat 4: halijedi ($50 in chips)
Seat 5: Mooshta ($89.80 in chips)
Seat 6: thedon10048 ($49.90 in chips)
Seat 7: King Ming ($30.55 in chips)
Seat 8: Drake_Wolf ($25.65 in chips)
Seat 9: asp1177 ($108.30 in chips)
Drake_Wolf: posts small blind $0.25
asp1177: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djelove1 [3s 2c]
Yoshin: folds
ridedc: folds
djelove1: folds
halijedi: calls $0.50
Mooshta: folds
thedon10048: folds
King Ming: raises $0.50 to $1
Drake_Wolf: calls $0.75
asp1177: folds
halijedi: calls $0.50
*** FLOP *** [Kh Qh 4d]
Drake_Wolf: bets $2
halijedi: raises $3.50 to $5.50 [WITH ONLY A LOW FLUSH DRAW]
King Ming: raises $20 to $25.50 [WITH TOP TWO PAIRS]
Drake_Wolf: folds
halijedi: raises $20 to $45.50
King Ming: calls $4.05 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [Kh Qh 4d] [6d]
djelove1 said, "my my my"
[I figured one player had KQ and the other had either a set, Aces, or maybe JhTh for the open-ended straight-flush draw]
*** RIVER *** [Kh Qh 4d 6d] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
halijedi: shows [5h 6h] (three of a kind, Sixes)
King Ming: mucks hand
halijedi collected $61.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $64.60 Rake $3 Board [Kh Qh 4d 6d 6c]
Seat 1: Yoshin folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: ridedc folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: djelove1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: halijedi showed [5h 6h] and won ($61.60) with three of a kind, Sixes
Seat 5: Mooshta folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: thedon10048 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: King Ming (button) mucked [Ks Qs]
Seat 8: Drake_Wolf (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 9: asp1177 (big blind) folded before Flop

Maybe Kings aren't SO bad...

Played about an hour of 25/50 cent NL on Pokerstars and absolutely crushed, in no small part thanks to Kings! 3 hands did the damage:
- On one table, I held KsKh in late position with about 28 bucks in front of me. The big stack (over $200) standard-raised to $2 and the player next to me, with about $18, made it $4 to go. I decided to isolate and take my chances, figuring the big stack couldn't call without exactly AA, and pushed all-in. The big stack folded and the other player took time, so I knew I was in great shape, and then called. On the river, the board showed 4 diamonds with a 10 and a Jack but fortunately for me the caller had QsQh and I scooped a very nice pot.
- On my other table, I got three big hands in a row and made the most of them. I had 10 10 in the big blind and checked a six-way limped pot. The flop came K-J-4, UTG bet out, and everyone folded, including me. No harm no foul !
Very next hand I had JJ in the small blind and the player on the button, who ALWAYS raised on the button if first to act, made it $2 to go. I decided to call and see a flop, once again thinking I could fold if overcards came. The button had fewer chips than I did, so I was willing to pay him off if he did indeed have an overpair, and in addition I had out-finessed him in an earlier hand when I flat-called his button raise with 10 10, flat-called his flop bet when 3 undercards came, and check-raised him on the turn when a Queen came, causing him to fold. In this hand, the flop came 8-7-5 rainbow and I decided to bet out $3, figuring him for overcards. To my surprise he raised it to $7, and I quickly called. The turn was a 3 and I bet out again, but kept it a small $4. Again I was surprised when he pushed in for his remaining stack, about $16, and I briefly went into the tank before calling. My reasoning was that he had to be on a draw of some sort, because I just didn't think he would play a big hand like trips, a BIG pair, or even two pair that fast, or that maybe he had 99 or 10 10 and thought he was ahead and wanted to get me off MY draw. It turned out that my first impression was correct, as he actually had 7-6, so he had hit the flop hard and actually made a pretty good play on the pot with a hand that he really couldn't fold. Fortunately for me the river was a blank and I was able to scoop a very big pot.
Amazingly, on the very next hand, I got KINGS on the button! An early position player made it $1.50 to go and I decided to reraise to $4.00, which he called. The flop came K-9-7, all diamonds, and the other player bet out $3.50, which suggested to me that he had at least the Q or Ace of diamonds in his hand but probably hadn't made a flush. I immediately raised it up to $8, figuring there was no way either one of us could fold and so I might as well get my money in while I was ahead, and he called. The turn was an offsuit 3, and he checked to me, so I made another $8 bet, giving him the proper odds to call with his flush draw while at the same time KNOWING that I could fold to his river bet if another diamond did come. Magically, the river was the case King, giving me quads, but making it impossible for him to call my $9 river bet. I showed the Kings and commented "10 10 JJ and KK in a row" and got a couple of "nh"s for my effort.
The Kings weren't all good today though, as in a later hand I raised UTG with KK and the same guy who was in my previous hand called in late position. I bet the Ace-rag-rag flop, and he called, so I shut it down on the turn and folded to his turn bet. They can't ALWAYS win...but you knew that.

Bad Reads + Kicker Trouble -> Bad Raises and Dumb Plays

Since I've been playing mostly NLHE lately I've seen myself make some real donkey plays thanks to not fully thinking through the action in the hand. Yesterday, very early in the Bodog tourney, I was in late position with KcJc and called behind several limpers. The flop came King-x-x, and the player immediately to my right bet out about the size of the pot. I called, the turn was another little card, he bet out roughly the pot again, and I called again. Right away, bells should be going off in my head telling me I'm beat. He's repesenting a King, and the only hands with Kings in them that I have beat at this point are King-ten and lower. I could see betting King-ten (or less) on the flop, but it seems less likely on the turn after I had called. The river came an 8, which paired the board, and my opponent made a BRILLIANT bet - he only bet 75 chips into what was now a 600+ chip pot. Since the river bet was so weak, I felt there was a possibility that my hand was good, but rather than just call the weak bet with my mediocre holding, I raised another 100 chips. He of course called with KQ and his kicker played and he scooped the pot. My failure here was twofold - I did not raise nearly enough to make him even think about folding, and I raised with virtually no possibility that my hand was good. The size of his river bet was key: since he had bet so little, it was hard for me to pick a raise-size that would get him off his hand - a small raise had to be called and a big raise would look like a bluff, because after all, if I DID have that big a hand wouldn't I WANT to be called ? A great play by my opponent and a lesson learned.

In a NLHE cash game the other day I had tripled up my starting stack and had started raising with lesser hands than is my usual wont when this hand came up. I raised 3x the blind with A2 off and got flat called by one player. The flop came J-10-x and I correctly checked, figuring that my opponent had some kind of hand and would bet and I'd get away with a minimal loss. To my surprise, he also checked. The turn was an ace, and I again checked. My opponent proceed to bet out about the size of the pot. Again, the bells should be ringing, but like a donkey I reraised him with my feeble ace, and he called. The river paired the 10, and I bet out $4, about 1/4 of the pot, and he reraised me to $8. I called, like a dummy, and he of course had Ace-ten for a full house. I made multiple mistakes on this hand:

- When he checked the flop behind, I should have put him on Ace-big (he would have bet any decent pair) and just resigned myself to folding the hand if he bet.

- When the ace came and he bet, I should have put him on Ace-big, because after all he did call my preflop raise and then bet the ace. My turn check-raise was totally without merit, and when he called I should have known I was way behind.

- When the board paired and he raised my river bet, I couldn't beat anything, and could only tie Ace-9 or less, which is a doubtful holding again since he had called the preflop raise and my turn check-raise.

Remember that when you come in stealing with raggy aces most of the time you DON'T want to see an ace flop and you certainly don't want to call any bets with the ace on the board.

Sunday's Results - The Land Of Kings

My wife played in a low buy-in tourney on PokerStars this morning and played very well, finishing in the top 3% and winning more than 4x her buy-in. The key to her success was patience, especially late in the tourney. At one point she was short-stacked (about 9 big blinds) with about 90% of the field out and held KJ suited in the big blind. The big stack on her left made a standard 3x the BB raise pre-flop and she was tempted to push, but realized that the big stack would have to call a push because of the 2:1 odds and that the only hands she could be ahead of at this point were King Ten and Queen Jack, so she passed. The patience paid off as she got KK about 3 hands later, went over the top of an all-in from the UTG player, and actually got an overcall from another small stack. the UTG had AQ suited, so no fault with that play at all, but the other caller had 99, which is a terrible call vs. two all-ins. The kings held, she tripled up, and went on to a great finish, which would have been higher had she not gone 0-3 in coin-flips for chunks of her stack in the next couple of rounds.

I played a $5 value-added tourney on Bodog later in the afternoon and did not finish in the money but I did have a hand that reinforced a lesson previously learned. My wife played in the Ladies NLHE Championship at Foxwoods late last year and got bounced when her Kings fell victim to Aces. She had raised, got reraised by the big stack (who had been loose reraising a LOT and had just had aces several hands before), and pushed all-in. The unfortunate fact about the hand was that an ace flopped, so if she had flat-called the reraise she most likely could have gotten away from the kings on the flop. We discussed this, and she then went on to play a $200 sit & go in which the same hand - almost - developed. She raised with KK, got reraised, and flat-called instead of pushing. The flop came Ace high and she folded the Kings face up to the other player's bet. He was kind enough to flip over AA, and she went on to chop first and second. So today I had a similar hand develop: my stack was about average at 2100+, blinds 75/150, UTG limped for 150, I had KK and made it 500 to go. The player two to my left pushed all in for 1400+, and then the big stack, new to the table and with 8000+ chips, flat-called. What to do? I of course pushed the rest of my stack in a heartbeat and the big stack called with AA (other guy had 99). Could I have played it differently ? YEP. Consider:
- The big stack had a reraise and an all-in in front of him and he flat-called. Whay would he want to put 20-25% of his chips at risk vs. two likely opponents without a HUGE hand? And wouldn't he most likely push over the top with AK or QQ? AA was the only hand it made sense for him to flat call with, with AK suited a slight possibility, but since I have KK it's unlikely.
- If I fold I still have 1600+ chips meaning I still have room to maneuver a little.
- If I flat call pre-flop I still have 700+ chips AND WHEN THE ACE FLOPPED I could have gotten away from it KNOWING that one of the two players had to have an ace.
If I had had a bigger stack I probably call pre-flop and fold on the flop, and if I had a smaller stack I'd have been pot-committed and most probably would have pushed all-in in the first place rather than just reraise to 500. Overall, it's DAMN hard to fold Kings. But they SUCK.

Reraising pre-flop with unmade hands

I have been playing NLHE for several years and until recently my tight, straightforward style has seen me loathe to reraise limpers or raisers pre-flop with anything but top pairs (AA, KK, and QQ) and occaisionally AK suited or JJ. With lower aces and middle pairs I've been happy to flat-call and see a flop. However, I have long noticed that top players reraise much more often preflop than would be possible if they were only raising with these top-top hands. In addition, I have always been one of those players who wants to put the pressure on my opponents to make the tough decisions, whether it's pre- or post-flop. (If I am the first one into a pot I nearly ALWAYS raise coming in). Thus, I have started to loosen my requirements for reraising preflop, especially in NL cash games, and I have found it to be a very effective strategy, for a lot of reasons.
- Position: Reraising preflop from late position serves to re-establish one's position in the hand and once again puts the onus of decision-making on the other player.
- Narrowing the field: I generally don't want more than two other players in the hand pre-flop - the reraise serves to shut out those players who would have limped in with small pairs or medium suited connectors (and could only play beyond the flop if they hit their hands) and hopefully get only the hands that I would want to face to call - medium pairs and lesser aces.
- Gaining info: If I reraise and get a caller or two I "know" that they must have some strength. Plus if they reraise me and I am in with a less-than-premium hand I can toss it away for a minimal loss. If I hit the flop and bet and get a caller I can slow down on the turn and river if I think I have kicker trouble or reel them in if my hand is truly huge. And of course if they bet into me and my hand is no good I have an easy fold - I don't have to wonder if they are betting an actual hand: since I raised them and they are betting into me they've just gotta have something good.
- Building a pot/stealing a "plus" pot: A reraise builds bigger pots when you are representing a big hand and can steal a pot that contains not just the blinds but the chips of a couple of limpers as well. Even stealing one "plus" pot like this every round or two can make a big difference in your stack.
- Value: The preflop reraise gets you more value for your lesser hands. It's very difficult to tell where you stand post-flop with medium pairs like 77 up to 10 10, but if you have reraised pre-flop and only one overcard comes it makes it easier for you to represent that your hand is at least as good as the top card on the flop.
In my view the pre-flop reraise is most effective in position. If I am in the blinds with a hand lower than AK or JJ and several folks have limped or called a small raise I am much more likely to play a trapping style with these lesser hands and just call, hoping to hit my hand hard and trap the other players for at least one round of bets. I also find this play more effective in cash games. In tourneys or sit & go's , especially when the stacks are still deep in relation to the blinds, it's difficult to get people off half-decent hands if your reraise represents only a small portion of their stack, whereas in cash games people seem to want to have a big hand before they risk several blinds on a flop.

Another good session

Thursday is my one regular day off from work, so Thursday late-night is the one time during the week when I have 3-4 uninterrupted hours to play poker. Sometimes I will play in a tourney with a small field, but generally I'll play one or two sit & go's and maybe a cash game for an hour or so. Last night, after saw the Boston Bruins get their asses whupped by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Gahden, I came home and played a $20 9-player sit & go on Pokerstars. I hadn't played a sit & go in several days (I had been playing mostly cash games because of the Pokerstars anniversary celebration) but I played well and cashed in third for $36.00. I actually got lucky to cash as when we were 4-handed there was one player who had the majority of the chips while the other 3 had basically their starting stacks and I made a donkey call vs. the big stack with Q4 vs. his Q 10 but hit a 4 on the river to double up.

After that I decided to play a 25/50 cent NL cash game. I have not really played NL cash games until recently but have found that my game is well-suited for low-limit NL. I think the reason for this is my betting style. I am a standard-raise, continuation bet type of player. I will make the same 3x the BB raise the vast majority of the time when entering a pot, and will make a half to 2/3 of the pot bet post-flop no matter what I have. This strategy works for me in several ways. First, it is very hard to put me on a hand when I make the same raise with AA or JJ as I would make with KQ suited or even 75. If I get reraised and my hand isn't that good I can easily toss it, but by massaging the size of the pot I can also call small reraises if I feel that my hand is playable. Post-flop, consistently betting 1/2 to 2/3 of the pot allows me to take down pots when I don't have much of a hand with minimal risk but also allows me to bet flops when I have hit them big and frequently get paid off. An example from last night - I was in the BB with KK and 4 limpers. I reraised to $2.00, trying to build a good pot with my strong hand and also blow out the weak aces that a lot of people will play for a minimum bet. We went to the flop 3-handed and it came K J 9. MOST players who are first to act in this spot would check their trip kings, and this is where my consistent betting style works for me. The pot was about 7 bucks so I made a standard continuation bet of $4.00. I got a call and a fold. The turn was garbage, so I lead out again for about $5, which was only about 1/3 of the pot, but again the size of the bet made it manditory for my opponent to call with any kind of hand or draw, and of course I was hoping he had trips jacks or nines. On the river, which was more trash, I got my opponent to call me all they way down with only 10 10 and I won a very nice pot. This strategy also worked on several other occasions where I raised in late position with hands like KQ and AT, got one caller, and missed the flop, but the combination of my position and the equity I had developed with the KK hand meant that my 2/3 pot continuation bets were not getting called unless someone had a hand. I was able to win 4 or 5 juicy pots in that session and wound up with a profit of over $60!

Overall a good night, and I was even able to transfer some $$$ back into my checking account to pay some bills !

My goals for 2007

My primary goal for 2007 is to actually make some money playing poker. I have been playing online and live for several years now and my results have been decent overall as I am up on PokerStars and Bodog and am even on UltimateBet (I won $100 playing in the CardPlayer freerolls they ran before the recent US gaming legislation but have lost it all). In live poker action I am up for my trips to the Tropicana in Atlantic City, which is a GREAT place to play live ring games because the players are generally pretty good but not aggressive, and am probably down for my time at Foxwoods. I would guess that I am about break-even for all locales combined. So for 2007 I want to actually profit at poker and I plan to do this by focusing on the games I have an edge at and not spending time messing around with Razz, draw games, and Omaha, where I am not as strong.

A good start to the year

So far the year has started on a positive note for me, at least poker-wise ! I was lucky enough to spend the weekend of New Year's with my wife at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. I played three sessions of poker during the trip.
On Friday I played in a $4/$8 limit Hold 'em ring game that had to be the loosest live game I have ever played in. When I first started to play live poker I natually started at the $2/$4 level but I soon discovered that game to be way too fish-y. I play limit poker in a very tight, straightforward manner so I found that the higher limits suited my play better, but this 4/8 table was all about gambling. I got aces on my second hand and found myself in a SEVEN-way capped pot preflop. By the turn the board read 3456 so my aces had shriveled up and I folded them quickly - needless to say 8-7 offsuit won about a $250 pot by the time that hand was over. I also lost with JJ and QQ - in fact the only two decent pots that I won at that table were with 7d4d on the button in a multi-way pot when I flopped the flush and with 6s4s in the cutoff when the flop was 6-4-2. I left that table after about two hours and was down about $85.
On Saturday, New Year's Eve, I once again played $4/$8 but this time around I was seated at the exact type of table I like to play at, one with an even mix of tight and loose players, and my results were good as I pocketed a $111 profit in a two-hour session.
By this time my wife, who usually plays sit & go's while I play limit, had decided that it was time to switch to some limit after having fallen vicitm to 3 bad beats in the 3 sit & go's she had already played. I decided that since she was playing limit I would try a $100+20 one-table sit & go. I don't like to play in sit & go's when my wife is also involved because the expected value declines too much - if I win money I want to win OTHER people's money, not my wife's ! So I sat down for my very first live sit & go, played some very smart and perceptive poker, and was able to come in second, winning $300 for a net profit of $180. (Meantime my wife, after having been down several big bets, hit a nice run of cards at the 4/8 table and won almost as much as I did in my sit & go!)
Overall poker profit in 5-6 hours of play = just over $200.

Weclome to My New Poker Blog

Hello and welcome to my poker blog ! My name is DJELove and I am a small to medium stakes online poker player. I mostly play on Pokerstars.com using the screen name djelove1 and also play on UltimateBet.com and Bodog.com as DJELove. I have been playing online poker for several years and specialize in one-table NLHE sit & gos, low-to-medium limit hold 'em ring games, and medium-limit Stud Hi-Lo ring games. My record as a tourney player is nothing to brag about ( thepokerdb.com ) but my sit & go stats are very respectable ( sharkscope.com ). My goal in this blog is to share and discuss hands and playing strategies as well as keep track of my successes (or failures). Thanks for reading !