Well I played me another one of them there Foxwoods daily tourneys today and gol-durnit I actually cashed this time ! My wife and I headed on down to the 'Woods Tuesday, played a few slots, went to the "Price Is Right" show, and didn't win anything (but didn't lose much either). Today we both entered the 11am daily $100+20 tourney they run, the same type of one referenced in the previous entry. In that previous tourney, I finished 12th out of exactly 100 entrants, missing the money by 2 spots. Sadly, if there had been ONE more entrant in that tourney it would have paid 15 spots and I would have cashed. Today's tourney attracted about 73 entrants and also paid 10 places, with a top prize of over two grand. Unfortunately my wife finished in the middle of the pack after having built up a nice chip stack early, but I survived long enough to make it to the final table. I played great and had a lot of good hands that essentially played themselves, and I was only involved in one raised pot that I can recall where I folded post-flop.
In the first level I was able to amass a pretty good stack early, once making the nut flush and getting someone else to bet it for me and also repopping limpers with AA in the blinds and getting flop and turn calls on a 10d-8d-2x-2x-10x board. I then went card dead for an entire level + but won a late pot to carry about 10k (we had begun with 5000) to the first break.
The second 4 levels started with me folding for about 20 minutes and then picking up a bunch of pots, usually with a pretty good hand. I was fortunate to pick up a lot of premium pairs today, get action on them, and get them to hold. I beat an all-in from the button's K-8 when I woke up with JJ in the small blind, and just before the second break repopped a "serial" limper on the button with KK and got the shorty next to me to shove with 77. I obviously called and he was drawing dead on the K-K-3 flop :). He was a nice enough older guy who methinks was tilting a little after I beat him with 6-4 suited on a 6-3-5-K-4 board (he had bet the turn when the king came and checked the river) a few hands earlier. I went to the second break with over 20k.
Once we got to level nine, there were about 23 players left and I was probably in the middle of the pack. I hunkered down and maintained my stack as the shorties fell one by blessed one. When we got down to about 13 left, 2 of the 3 shortest stacks were to my immediate left, and I turned into a card rack, waking up with KK, QQ, AJ, 88, and JJ everytime they were in the blinds and just shoving and getting folds. I finally did double up the very shortest stack when I shoved 77 on the button and he called with 10h8h in the blinds and hit a 10, but that was a small hit. I felt pretty good about cashing until I raised AK off to 8k at 1.5/3k with about 22k behind, got a call from the chip leader in one of the blinds, and had to fold when he shoved the 10-9-4 flop. He showed QJo for some reason, probably to get back at me for having been very active recently, but in hindsight even if I had KNOWN what his cards were I might not have made the call as we would have been flipping (he had 3 K's, 3 Q's, 3 J's, and 4 8's as outs), so I was not upset about the fold. After that dent to my stack I was forced to re-tighten to ensure that I made the money, and was very pleased to see the shortest stack at the other table finally bust a few hands later, sending me to the final table.
At the final table the two shorties from my earlier table were all-in in a three-way pot and both got eliminated by the chipleader's Ace-Ten when he spiked a Ten on the turn after an Ace-high flop and beat 66 and AQ. The chipleader had been running like Usain Bolt, really, having hit a two-outer set in one hand, having tripled-up with KK vs. QQ and JJ, and of course he made me his next victim. Blinds 2000-4000, I'm most likely the shortest stack with 11,900, chipleader limps in early position, I look down at 10h10c, and instashove. They guy next to me ponders for a few seconds and flat-calls my all-in, and the chipleader calls as well. I am 100% sure that my hand is good and am just hoping it holds up. The board comes Qd-3d-2x-4d-Qc, they both check it down, and just as I am about ready to sit back down and start stacking my chips, the chipleader says "flush", and flips over 6d7d. I uttered a few choice obscenities (I think "you gotta be f'ing kidding me" was one), talked about donkeys for a minute, and then went to the window to collect my 8th-place prize of $283. "At least I got my money in good..."
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Call Me "Bubble Boy"
This past weekend the wife and I went to Foxwoods. On Sunday my father-in-law and I both entered a $100+20 poker tourney which attracted exactly 100 entrants and paid 10 places. Unfortunately neither of us cashed, as I was knocked out in a very frustrating 12th place and he lost with AQ vs KJ on a Q-T-x-x-9 board to finish 24th. I am constantly amazed at how bad most live players are, although I realize that a lot of the folks in a tourney like this are "gambling", which obviously makes me so +EV it's not funny. As usual I was killed by the blind increases - we had 5000 chips and 20 minute levels, so the first 10 or so levels had reasonable blinds but once they got up to 500-1000 instead of continuing to increase incrementally they moved right up to 1000-2000, 1500-3000, 2000-4000, 3000-6000, etc. You're able to play solid, low-risk poker for 8-10 levels and then it becomes a shove-fest. On to the hands...
Very first hand at my table - flop comes with 3 low hearts, and a player in early position with Kh3h bets all 3 streets and 3-bets the river only to ship all his chips to the player to my left, on the button, with Ah9h.
I raised hands like Ace-9 and K-J a couple of times but got 3 bet every time and had to fold. At least it happened with easy-fold hands. Once I raised AhQs UTG and got reraised by the very active player two to my left who was then flat-called by a low stack. I chose to fold, and the reraiser shoved QQ (no diamond) on the flop and lost to low stack's Kd-Jx on a d-d-d-x-d board.
I won a very nice pot a few levels in when I held Q-9 offsuit in the big blind and check-called 3 bets by a late-position player on a Q-9-x-x-Kd board with 3 diamonds. I was going to raise on the river but the Kd filled both the straight and the flush so I could only call his 1500 bet. He claimed top pair, I believe meaning the Q.
In another blind hand, I was in the big blind with Jx5d and 4 of us saw a 5h-3c-2c flop. The small blind bet 400, I called, and the other two players folded. The turn was a delicious 5s, he bet 400, I made it 1000, and he called. The river was the 9h, he shoved about 2950, and I called to find that he had 9c8c. I love me some blind hands !
I limped 7-7 behind a few limpers early, bet 400 on a 10-7-6 flop, and got called by a player on my left. I bet 500 on the 5 turn and 500 more on the Jack river and got paid off by J-T. After he told me what he had I knew I had missed some value on the river.
Several hands later I had an easy isolation reshove over a small stack's early position all-in with 7-7. The player to my left hemmed and hawed for a good two minutes, saying "I don't think I can fold this hand" and such. The last thing I wanted was for him to call. I couldn't see him calling with a hand I was way ahead of, because earlier he had been adamant about his preference for two paints over a small pair, and when he finally called he indeed showed K-Q offsuit, while the small stack showed KhTh. I was able to scoop that pot though, flopping trip 7's again and surviving the 9-7-6-J-9 board. Afterwards I commented to the guy next to me "For future reference, K-Q is NEVER ahead of my all-in".
Soon after, we got entangled in another hand, one which I will never forget. A couple of players limped in at 200-400, so I decided to complete the small blind with 7-6 offsuit, and 4 of us saw a 7-6-3 rainbow flop. I checked, the guy next to me bet 500, it folded to me, and I called. The turn was a Q, and I checked to my neighbor, who bet 1500 this time around. I IMMEDIATELY overshoved all-in for about 10k chips, and once again he went into the tank. After about two minutes, he FOLDED Qd6d face up. I think I turned ghost-white. The funny thing is, 90% of the time against me, that's a great fold, because I either have a set or a 4-5 for the straight. The dealer pulled my cards into the muck and I admitted that I had 7-6, further tilting my new best friend on my left. He said that since it was a limped pot I could easily have the 4-5 or a set, and the dealer also commented that he put me on 3-3.
I felt like Daniel on this hand. With 20 or so players left a guy with a good stack raised it up preflop and got flat-called by a player in the blinds who had only about twice as many chips as the size of the bet. I commented to the guy sitting next to me "boy that's a weird call - maybe he's got a mid-pair and wants to stop-and-go." Well sure enough, the flop came 7-4-3 and the blind shoved all-in, eventually getting a fold from the original raiser who claimed overcards. I said to the guy next to me "he must have 9's", and lo and behold he flipped over two black 9's !
When we got down below 20 players the blinds were going up fast, the tables became short, and my stack was not improving. I was able to tread water though, picking up a few pots by shoving Ace-x-type hands and not getting called. I also shoved AcKc UTG and took that one too, flipping my cards over while saying "best hand I've seen all day" (I had 10-10 once and took the blinds with a raise, and had earlier reraised a short stack's all-in with AK off and beat his KT on a K-hi flop).
On my final hand, my earlier admonition came back to haunt me. We were down to 12 players, playing two tables of 6 players each, meaning the 2000-4000 blinds were coming around fast and furious. I was in the small blind with 21200 chips (19200 plus the 2000 blind) putting me in about 11th place. I knew at least that I was the short stack at my table. It was the last hand before the break, so the blinds would be 3000-6000 next hand. The big stack at the table, who had been raising about every other hand and who had been at the table with me the whole tourney, made it 12000 to go. It folded around to me and I looked down at 8-8. Decision time. If I call, I have 9200 chips left. I can't really stop-and-go and I certainly can't check-fold, so a call is out. If I fold, I have 19200 left, but will be in the 6000 big blind in 4 more hands. If I shove, the pot will be roughly 40k and he will have to call 9200 more, meaning I should have no fold equity. But if I win the pot I'll have about 50k which should ensure that I cash, and I am probably ahead preflop. After pondering my decision for about a minute I decided to shove. My opponent goes into the tank. After a minute he says "I know I'm not ahead but I don't think I can fold for these odds". I say something like "Well at least I am sure that I am ahead" and he says "Oh I KNOW you are ahead," so now I'm hoping he's got something like Ace-rag, and still praying that he somehow makes a terrible fold. Eventually he calls, and obviously flips over the ol' K-Q offsuit !!! He was right, he wasn't ahead, but sadly the board came K-9-x-9-x and I was out. Can't complain though - I played great poker, almost cashed despite getting few good hands, and got my money in good on my final hand with a chance to move way up on the leaderboard.
Very first hand at my table - flop comes with 3 low hearts, and a player in early position with Kh3h bets all 3 streets and 3-bets the river only to ship all his chips to the player to my left, on the button, with Ah9h.
I raised hands like Ace-9 and K-J a couple of times but got 3 bet every time and had to fold. At least it happened with easy-fold hands. Once I raised AhQs UTG and got reraised by the very active player two to my left who was then flat-called by a low stack. I chose to fold, and the reraiser shoved QQ (no diamond) on the flop and lost to low stack's Kd-Jx on a d-d-d-x-d board.
I won a very nice pot a few levels in when I held Q-9 offsuit in the big blind and check-called 3 bets by a late-position player on a Q-9-x-x-Kd board with 3 diamonds. I was going to raise on the river but the Kd filled both the straight and the flush so I could only call his 1500 bet. He claimed top pair, I believe meaning the Q.
In another blind hand, I was in the big blind with Jx5d and 4 of us saw a 5h-3c-2c flop. The small blind bet 400, I called, and the other two players folded. The turn was a delicious 5s, he bet 400, I made it 1000, and he called. The river was the 9h, he shoved about 2950, and I called to find that he had 9c8c. I love me some blind hands !
I limped 7-7 behind a few limpers early, bet 400 on a 10-7-6 flop, and got called by a player on my left. I bet 500 on the 5 turn and 500 more on the Jack river and got paid off by J-T. After he told me what he had I knew I had missed some value on the river.
Several hands later I had an easy isolation reshove over a small stack's early position all-in with 7-7. The player to my left hemmed and hawed for a good two minutes, saying "I don't think I can fold this hand" and such. The last thing I wanted was for him to call. I couldn't see him calling with a hand I was way ahead of, because earlier he had been adamant about his preference for two paints over a small pair, and when he finally called he indeed showed K-Q offsuit, while the small stack showed KhTh. I was able to scoop that pot though, flopping trip 7's again and surviving the 9-7-6-J-9 board. Afterwards I commented to the guy next to me "For future reference, K-Q is NEVER ahead of my all-in".
Soon after, we got entangled in another hand, one which I will never forget. A couple of players limped in at 200-400, so I decided to complete the small blind with 7-6 offsuit, and 4 of us saw a 7-6-3 rainbow flop. I checked, the guy next to me bet 500, it folded to me, and I called. The turn was a Q, and I checked to my neighbor, who bet 1500 this time around. I IMMEDIATELY overshoved all-in for about 10k chips, and once again he went into the tank. After about two minutes, he FOLDED Qd6d face up. I think I turned ghost-white. The funny thing is, 90% of the time against me, that's a great fold, because I either have a set or a 4-5 for the straight. The dealer pulled my cards into the muck and I admitted that I had 7-6, further tilting my new best friend on my left. He said that since it was a limped pot I could easily have the 4-5 or a set, and the dealer also commented that he put me on 3-3.
I felt like Daniel on this hand. With 20 or so players left a guy with a good stack raised it up preflop and got flat-called by a player in the blinds who had only about twice as many chips as the size of the bet. I commented to the guy sitting next to me "boy that's a weird call - maybe he's got a mid-pair and wants to stop-and-go." Well sure enough, the flop came 7-4-3 and the blind shoved all-in, eventually getting a fold from the original raiser who claimed overcards. I said to the guy next to me "he must have 9's", and lo and behold he flipped over two black 9's !
When we got down below 20 players the blinds were going up fast, the tables became short, and my stack was not improving. I was able to tread water though, picking up a few pots by shoving Ace-x-type hands and not getting called. I also shoved AcKc UTG and took that one too, flipping my cards over while saying "best hand I've seen all day" (I had 10-10 once and took the blinds with a raise, and had earlier reraised a short stack's all-in with AK off and beat his KT on a K-hi flop).
On my final hand, my earlier admonition came back to haunt me. We were down to 12 players, playing two tables of 6 players each, meaning the 2000-4000 blinds were coming around fast and furious. I was in the small blind with 21200 chips (19200 plus the 2000 blind) putting me in about 11th place. I knew at least that I was the short stack at my table. It was the last hand before the break, so the blinds would be 3000-6000 next hand. The big stack at the table, who had been raising about every other hand and who had been at the table with me the whole tourney, made it 12000 to go. It folded around to me and I looked down at 8-8. Decision time. If I call, I have 9200 chips left. I can't really stop-and-go and I certainly can't check-fold, so a call is out. If I fold, I have 19200 left, but will be in the 6000 big blind in 4 more hands. If I shove, the pot will be roughly 40k and he will have to call 9200 more, meaning I should have no fold equity. But if I win the pot I'll have about 50k which should ensure that I cash, and I am probably ahead preflop. After pondering my decision for about a minute I decided to shove. My opponent goes into the tank. After a minute he says "I know I'm not ahead but I don't think I can fold for these odds". I say something like "Well at least I am sure that I am ahead" and he says "Oh I KNOW you are ahead," so now I'm hoping he's got something like Ace-rag, and still praying that he somehow makes a terrible fold. Eventually he calls, and obviously flips over the ol' K-Q offsuit !!! He was right, he wasn't ahead, but sadly the board came K-9-x-9-x and I was out. Can't complain though - I played great poker, almost cashed despite getting few good hands, and got my money in good on my final hand with a chance to move way up on the leaderboard.
Monday, August 18, 2008
I've Played a LOT of Hi-Lo Stud...
...but I've never seen this happen. First, though, I have a couple of basic rules for Hi-Lo Stud -
1) Don't play pairs from 99-KK. They can't help you make a low hand and when an opponent catches an Ace it's always hard to tell where you stand in the hand. I will play them if they are hidden, or with a suited connecting card (like QdQhJh), but only if a bunch of folks have limped in to the pot giving me a good price to hit trips or a connected flush card on 4th. I will not play these hands if one of my pair cards is out.
2) Unless your table is filled with very solid players ALWAYS raise rolled-up trips coming in. (Solid players will "know" you have trips and will not pay you off.) It is the best way to get value for your hand and get money in the pot before everyone catches 9's on 4th street and folds. I will sometimes make an exception to this policy with 999-KKK if a bunch of folks are already in the pot with low cards and/or if my case card for quads is already out.
3) Bet your big draws hard. You have to gamble with these kinds of hands, and you can sometimes get late folds and/or force out better hi hands giving you a greater chance to scoop.
Ok, here they are. These hands were back-to-back on the same table.
PokerStars Game #19716645645: 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Limit ($1/$2) -
Seat 1: tomovermeers ($24.95 in chips)
Seat 2: franknew ($33.85 in chips)
Seat 3: vegasmissy ($12.75 in chips)
Seat 5: oeycsu ($54.20 in chips)
Seat 6: cps4712 ($35.20 in chips)
Seat 7: djelove1 ($38.90 in chips)
Seat 8: friederike_a ($38.95 in chips)
*** 3rd STREET ***
Dealt to tomovermeers [6s]
Dealt to franknew [8c]
Dealt to vegasmissy [Qs]
Dealt to oeycsu [5h]
Dealt to cps4712 [Jd]
Dealt to djelove1 [As Ac Ad] [WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE]
Dealt to friederike_a [3s]
friederike_a: brings in for $0.50
tomovermeers: folds
franknew: folds
vegasmissy: folds
oeycsu: calls $0.50
cps4712: folds
djelove1: raises $0.50 to $1 [ALWAYS]
friederike_a: calls $0.50
oeycsu: calls $0.50
*** 4th STREET ***
Dealt to oeycsu [5h] [4c]
Dealt to djelove1 [As Ac Ad] [4d]
Dealt to friederike_a [3s] [7s]
djelove1: bets $1 [I'M NOT HAPPY THAT THEY BOTH CAUGHT LOW]
friederike_a: calls $1
oeycsu: calls $1
*** 5th STREET ***
Dealt to oeycsu [5h 4c] [9d]
Dealt to djelove1 [As Ac Ad 4d] [3c]
Dealt to friederike_a [3s 7s] [9h]
djelove1: bets $2 [THEY BOTH COMPLETELY MISS]
friederike_a: calls $2
oeycsu: folds
*** 6th STREET ***
Dealt to djelove1 [As Ac Ad 4d 3c] [6d]
Dealt to friederike_a [3s 7s 9h] [2d]
djelove1: bets $2 [SHE COULD VERY EASILY HAVE A MADE LOW BUT I HAVE THE BEST HI HAND AND VERY SOLID LOW REDRAWS]
friederike_a: calls $2
*** RIVER ***
Dealt to djelove1 [As Ac Ad 4d 3c 6d] [8h] [I'M PRETTY PSYCHED TO HAVE MADE A LOW HERE]
djelove1: bets $2
friederike_a: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
djelove1: shows [As Ac Ad 4d 3c 6d 8h] (HI: three of a kind, Aces; LO: 8,6,4,3,A)
friederike_a: mucks hand
djelove1 collected $9 from pot
Djelove1 collected $8.95 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $18.70 Rake $0.75
Seat 5: oeycsu folded on the 5th Street
Seat 7: djelove1 showed [As Ac Ad 4d 3c 6d 8h] and won ($17.95) with HI: three of a kind, Aces; LO: 8,6,4,3,A
Seat 8: friederike_a mucked [7h 6c 3s 7s 9h 2d 2s]
very next hand...
PokerStars Game #19716664317: 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Limit ($1/$2)
Seat 1: tomovermeers ($24.85 in chips)
Seat 2: franknew ($33.75 in chips)
Seat 3: vegasmissy ($12.65 in chips)
Seat 5: oeycsu ($52.10 in chips)
Seat 6: cps4712 ($35.10 in chips)
Seat 7: djelove1 ($48.75 in chips)
Seat 8: friederike_a ($30.85 in chips)
*** 3rd STREET ***
Dealt to tomovermeers [Kh]
Dealt to franknew [As]
Dealt to vegasmissy [Kc]
Dealt to oeycsu [Ks]
Dealt to cps4712 [Th]
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qs Qh] [I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS HAPPEN BEFORE]
Dealt to friederike_a [Ac]
cps4712: brings in for $0.50
djelove1: raises $0.50 to $1 [WHILE PRAYING THAT SOMEONE HAS ACES OR A LOW DRAW]
friederike_a: calls $1
tomovermeers: folds
franknew: raises $1 to $2 [THIS RAISE MAKES MY DAY]
vegasmissy: folds
oeycsu: folds
cps4712: folds
djelove1: raises $1 to $3 [OBV]
friederike_a: calls $2
franknew: calls $1
*** 4th STREET ***
Dealt to franknew [As] [Td]
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qs Qh] [5s]
Dealt to friederike_a [Ac] [9c]
franknew: checks
djelove1: bets $1
friederike_a: calls $1 [MAYBE SHE HAS A FLUSH DRAW]
franknew: calls $1
*** 5th STREET ***
Dealt to franknew [As Td] [Kd]
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qs Qh 5s] [8d]
Dealt to friederike_a [Ac 9c] [Ts]
franknew: checks
djelove1: bets $2
friederike_a: raises $2 to $4 [NOW I THINK SHE HAS SLOW-PLAYED ACES]
franknew: folds [WHICH IS FINE WITH ME]
djelove1: raises $2 to $6 [I CAN'T BE BEHIND]
frederike_a: calls $2
*** 6th STREET ***
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qs Qh 5s 8d] [6s]
Dealt to friederike_a [Ac 9c Ts] [5d]
friederike_a: bets $2 [THIS IS LIKE AN XMAS GIFT - I STILL CAN'T BE BEHIND]
djelove1: raises $2 to $4
friederike_a: calls $2
*** RIVER ***
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qs Qh 5s 8d 6s] [4d]
friederike_a: checks
djelove1: bets $2 [I KNOW I'M NOT BEAT - IF SHE HAD BET INTO ME I CAN'T RAISE]
friederike_a: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
djelove1: shows [Qd Qs Qh 5s 8d 6s 4d] (HI: three of a kind, Queens)
friederike_a: mucks hand
djelove1 collected $36.20 from pot
No low hand qualified
franknew said, "wow"
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $37.20 Rake $1
Seat 1: tomovermeers folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 2: franknew folded on the 5th Street
Seat 3: vegasmissy folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 5: oeycsu folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 6: cps4712 folded on the 3rd Street
Seat 7: djelove1 showed [Qd Qs Qh 5s 8d 6s 4d] and won ($36.20) with HI: three of a kind, Queens
Seat 8: friederike_a mucked [Tc Ah Ac 9c Ts 5d 6d]
As I had suspected friederike_a did indeed raise Aces Up on 5th. Since a 10 and an Ace were both gone I knew she had two outs and was thankful she didn't hit them.
Two other hands of note today. In the first one, I played KcQcJc behind several limpers, caught the 9c on 4th, blanked 5th, caught 5c on 6th, and got paid off by an obvious straight (he had something like J-10-8-7 showing). The interesting part of that hand was that I was in 1st position and the button caught the 10c on 4th street, meaning if he had folded pre-4th I would have made a straight flush on 5th. In the other hand, I called with 4 low cards on 4th and made an 8-low on 5th, so I started raising, and I got my lone remaining opponent to fold when I bet 7th st with only a pair of deuces for hi. Now 9 times out of 10 I will make a (rake-saving) check behind on the river in this spot, because 9 times out of 10 my opponent has been calling with a big pair or two and isn't going to fold getting 9:1 (or 4.5:1 if they don't have low and "know" I have low), but in this spot I knew my opponent was a total fish and was confident she could fold a lot of crappy hi hands on the river.
1) Don't play pairs from 99-KK. They can't help you make a low hand and when an opponent catches an Ace it's always hard to tell where you stand in the hand. I will play them if they are hidden, or with a suited connecting card (like QdQhJh), but only if a bunch of folks have limped in to the pot giving me a good price to hit trips or a connected flush card on 4th. I will not play these hands if one of my pair cards is out.
2) Unless your table is filled with very solid players ALWAYS raise rolled-up trips coming in. (Solid players will "know" you have trips and will not pay you off.) It is the best way to get value for your hand and get money in the pot before everyone catches 9's on 4th street and folds. I will sometimes make an exception to this policy with 999-KKK if a bunch of folks are already in the pot with low cards and/or if my case card for quads is already out.
3) Bet your big draws hard. You have to gamble with these kinds of hands, and you can sometimes get late folds and/or force out better hi hands giving you a greater chance to scoop.
Ok, here they are. These hands were back-to-back on the same table.
PokerStars Game #19716645645: 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Limit ($1/$2) -
Seat 1: tomovermeers ($24.95 in chips)
Seat 2: franknew ($33.85 in chips)
Seat 3: vegasmissy ($12.75 in chips)
Seat 5: oeycsu ($54.20 in chips)
Seat 6: cps4712 ($35.20 in chips)
Seat 7: djelove1 ($38.90 in chips)
Seat 8: friederike_a ($38.95 in chips)
*** 3rd STREET ***
Dealt to tomovermeers [6s]
Dealt to franknew [8c]
Dealt to vegasmissy [Qs]
Dealt to oeycsu [5h]
Dealt to cps4712 [Jd]
Dealt to djelove1 [As Ac Ad] [WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE]
Dealt to friederike_a [3s]
friederike_a: brings in for $0.50
tomovermeers: folds
franknew: folds
vegasmissy: folds
oeycsu: calls $0.50
cps4712: folds
djelove1: raises $0.50 to $1 [ALWAYS]
friederike_a: calls $0.50
oeycsu: calls $0.50
*** 4th STREET ***
Dealt to oeycsu [5h] [4c]
Dealt to djelove1 [As Ac Ad] [4d]
Dealt to friederike_a [3s] [7s]
djelove1: bets $1 [I'M NOT HAPPY THAT THEY BOTH CAUGHT LOW]
friederike_a: calls $1
oeycsu: calls $1
*** 5th STREET ***
Dealt to oeycsu [5h 4c] [9d]
Dealt to djelove1 [As Ac Ad 4d] [3c]
Dealt to friederike_a [3s 7s] [9h]
djelove1: bets $2 [THEY BOTH COMPLETELY MISS]
friederike_a: calls $2
oeycsu: folds
*** 6th STREET ***
Dealt to djelove1 [As Ac Ad 4d 3c] [6d]
Dealt to friederike_a [3s 7s 9h] [2d]
djelove1: bets $2 [SHE COULD VERY EASILY HAVE A MADE LOW BUT I HAVE THE BEST HI HAND AND VERY SOLID LOW REDRAWS]
friederike_a: calls $2
*** RIVER ***
Dealt to djelove1 [As Ac Ad 4d 3c 6d] [8h] [I'M PRETTY PSYCHED TO HAVE MADE A LOW HERE]
djelove1: bets $2
friederike_a: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
djelove1: shows [As Ac Ad 4d 3c 6d 8h] (HI: three of a kind, Aces; LO: 8,6,4,3,A)
friederike_a: mucks hand
djelove1 collected $9 from pot
Djelove1 collected $8.95 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $18.70 Rake $0.75
Seat 5: oeycsu folded on the 5th Street
Seat 7: djelove1 showed [As Ac Ad 4d 3c 6d 8h] and won ($17.95) with HI: three of a kind, Aces; LO: 8,6,4,3,A
Seat 8: friederike_a mucked [7h 6c 3s 7s 9h 2d 2s]
very next hand...
PokerStars Game #19716664317: 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Limit ($1/$2)
Seat 1: tomovermeers ($24.85 in chips)
Seat 2: franknew ($33.75 in chips)
Seat 3: vegasmissy ($12.65 in chips)
Seat 5: oeycsu ($52.10 in chips)
Seat 6: cps4712 ($35.10 in chips)
Seat 7: djelove1 ($48.75 in chips)
Seat 8: friederike_a ($30.85 in chips)
*** 3rd STREET ***
Dealt to tomovermeers [Kh]
Dealt to franknew [As]
Dealt to vegasmissy [Kc]
Dealt to oeycsu [Ks]
Dealt to cps4712 [Th]
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qs Qh] [I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS HAPPEN BEFORE]
Dealt to friederike_a [Ac]
cps4712: brings in for $0.50
djelove1: raises $0.50 to $1 [WHILE PRAYING THAT SOMEONE HAS ACES OR A LOW DRAW]
friederike_a: calls $1
tomovermeers: folds
franknew: raises $1 to $2 [THIS RAISE MAKES MY DAY]
vegasmissy: folds
oeycsu: folds
cps4712: folds
djelove1: raises $1 to $3 [OBV]
friederike_a: calls $2
franknew: calls $1
*** 4th STREET ***
Dealt to franknew [As] [Td]
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qs Qh] [5s]
Dealt to friederike_a [Ac] [9c]
franknew: checks
djelove1: bets $1
friederike_a: calls $1 [MAYBE SHE HAS A FLUSH DRAW]
franknew: calls $1
*** 5th STREET ***
Dealt to franknew [As Td] [Kd]
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qs Qh 5s] [8d]
Dealt to friederike_a [Ac 9c] [Ts]
franknew: checks
djelove1: bets $2
friederike_a: raises $2 to $4 [NOW I THINK SHE HAS SLOW-PLAYED ACES]
franknew: folds [WHICH IS FINE WITH ME]
djelove1: raises $2 to $6 [I CAN'T BE BEHIND]
frederike_a: calls $2
*** 6th STREET ***
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qs Qh 5s 8d] [6s]
Dealt to friederike_a [Ac 9c Ts] [5d]
friederike_a: bets $2 [THIS IS LIKE AN XMAS GIFT - I STILL CAN'T BE BEHIND]
djelove1: raises $2 to $4
friederike_a: calls $2
*** RIVER ***
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qs Qh 5s 8d 6s] [4d]
friederike_a: checks
djelove1: bets $2 [I KNOW I'M NOT BEAT - IF SHE HAD BET INTO ME I CAN'T RAISE]
friederike_a: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
djelove1: shows [Qd Qs Qh 5s 8d 6s 4d] (HI: three of a kind, Queens)
friederike_a: mucks hand
djelove1 collected $36.20 from pot
No low hand qualified
franknew said, "wow"
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $37.20 Rake $1
Seat 1: tomovermeers folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 2: franknew folded on the 5th Street
Seat 3: vegasmissy folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 5: oeycsu folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 6: cps4712 folded on the 3rd Street
Seat 7: djelove1 showed [Qd Qs Qh 5s 8d 6s 4d] and won ($36.20) with HI: three of a kind, Queens
Seat 8: friederike_a mucked [Tc Ah Ac 9c Ts 5d 6d]
As I had suspected friederike_a did indeed raise Aces Up on 5th. Since a 10 and an Ace were both gone I knew she had two outs and was thankful she didn't hit them.
Two other hands of note today. In the first one, I played KcQcJc behind several limpers, caught the 9c on 4th, blanked 5th, caught 5c on 6th, and got paid off by an obvious straight (he had something like J-10-8-7 showing). The interesting part of that hand was that I was in 1st position and the button caught the 10c on 4th street, meaning if he had folded pre-4th I would have made a straight flush on 5th. In the other hand, I called with 4 low cards on 4th and made an 8-low on 5th, so I started raising, and I got my lone remaining opponent to fold when I bet 7th st with only a pair of deuces for hi. Now 9 times out of 10 I will make a (rake-saving) check behind on the river in this spot, because 9 times out of 10 my opponent has been calling with a big pair or two and isn't going to fold getting 9:1 (or 4.5:1 if they don't have low and "know" I have low), but in this spot I knew my opponent was a total fish and was confident she could fold a lot of crappy hi hands on the river.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Love Me Some Donks
I think I am the king of the value-bet...
PokerStars Game #19408965307: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25)
Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: cap. marb ($27.90 in chips)
Seat 2: djelove1 ($26.60 in chips)
Seat 3: fatedmirage ($9.75 in chips)
Seat 4: nbgen4321 ($23.25 in chips)
Seat 5: PaulWilson ($25 in chips)
Seat 6: ptitlouis38 ($15.45 in chips)
Seat 7: henrik albin ($13.95 in chips)
Seat 8: xaucomet ($25 in chips)
Seat 9: porkygirl ($13.55 in chips)
fatedmirage: posts small blind $0.10
nbgen4321: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qh]
PaulWilson: folds
ptitlouis38: folds
henrik albin: folds
xaucomet: raises $1 to $1.25
porkygirl: folds
cap. marb: folds
djelove1: calls $1.25 [I'm never folding QQ on the button]
fatedmirage: folds
nbgen4321: folds
*** FLOP *** [9s 9h Td]
xaucomet: bets $3
djelove1: raises $3 to $6 [I raised to see where I was at - I wasn't sure if he had anything]
xaucomet: calls $3 [when he flat-calls I know he has nothing - AA and KK shove almost always]
*** TURN *** [9s 9h Td] [Jc]
xaucomet: checks
djelove1: bets $4 [the Jack is absolutely the grossest card that could come, but it does give me a straight draw, and since I am still sure he has nothing I value-bet]
xaucomet: calls $4
*** RIVER *** [9s 9h Td Jc] [Qs] [GIN !!!!]
xaucomet: bets $13.75 and is all-in [I love the -EV shove - maybe if I have KK I call but without a boat I have to fold otherwise]
djelove1: calls $13.75
*** SHOW DOWN ***
xaucomet: shows [As Kd] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
djelove1: shows [Qd Qh] (a full house, Queens full of Nines)
djelove1 collected $47.90 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $50.35 Rake $2.45 Board [9s 9h Td Jc Qs]
Seat 1: cap. marb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: djelove1 (button) showed [Qd Qh] and won ($47.90) with a full house, Queens full of Nines
Seat 3: fatedmirage (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: nbgen4321 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: PaulWilson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: ptitlouis38 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: henrik albin folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: xaucomet showed [As Kd] and lost with a straight, Ten to Ace
Seat 9: porkygirl folded before Flop (didn't bet)
PokerStars Game #19408965307: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25)
Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: cap. marb ($27.90 in chips)
Seat 2: djelove1 ($26.60 in chips)
Seat 3: fatedmirage ($9.75 in chips)
Seat 4: nbgen4321 ($23.25 in chips)
Seat 5: PaulWilson ($25 in chips)
Seat 6: ptitlouis38 ($15.45 in chips)
Seat 7: henrik albin ($13.95 in chips)
Seat 8: xaucomet ($25 in chips)
Seat 9: porkygirl ($13.55 in chips)
fatedmirage: posts small blind $0.10
nbgen4321: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djelove1 [Qd Qh]
PaulWilson: folds
ptitlouis38: folds
henrik albin: folds
xaucomet: raises $1 to $1.25
porkygirl: folds
cap. marb: folds
djelove1: calls $1.25 [I'm never folding QQ on the button]
fatedmirage: folds
nbgen4321: folds
*** FLOP *** [9s 9h Td]
xaucomet: bets $3
djelove1: raises $3 to $6 [I raised to see where I was at - I wasn't sure if he had anything]
xaucomet: calls $3 [when he flat-calls I know he has nothing - AA and KK shove almost always]
*** TURN *** [9s 9h Td] [Jc]
xaucomet: checks
djelove1: bets $4 [the Jack is absolutely the grossest card that could come, but it does give me a straight draw, and since I am still sure he has nothing I value-bet]
xaucomet: calls $4
*** RIVER *** [9s 9h Td Jc] [Qs] [GIN !!!!]
xaucomet: bets $13.75 and is all-in [I love the -EV shove - maybe if I have KK I call but without a boat I have to fold otherwise]
djelove1: calls $13.75
*** SHOW DOWN ***
xaucomet: shows [As Kd] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
djelove1: shows [Qd Qh] (a full house, Queens full of Nines)
djelove1 collected $47.90 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $50.35 Rake $2.45 Board [9s 9h Td Jc Qs]
Seat 1: cap. marb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: djelove1 (button) showed [Qd Qh] and won ($47.90) with a full house, Queens full of Nines
Seat 3: fatedmirage (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: nbgen4321 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: PaulWilson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: ptitlouis38 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: henrik albin folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: xaucomet showed [As Kd] and lost with a straight, Ten to Ace
Seat 9: porkygirl folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
No Respect For My Authorita
Well I put in some volume today but sadly the cards were not with me, so I am gonna have to abandon my quest for a sit-n-go leaderboard spot this week. I played 4 $5 9-player SNG's and finished 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 9th, so I gained 63 more points in that go-round along with a few dollars. In my first-place finish I was trailing in chips a bit when we got heads up (after having basically controlled play) but was able to eek out the win when I pushed 3-3, he called all-in short-stacked with King-ten off, and I spiked a 3 on the turn after a ten came on the flop. In the 9th place finish my QQ lost to his AK off all-in preflop only a few hands in. After that round I decided to play 3 $6 turbo SNG's and unfortunately failed to cash in any of them, finishing 9th to a donk who runner-runnered a flush after calling a big preflop raise with J7 suited, 8th with AK losing to 88 AIPF, and 4th after I tried to bluff a guy with air on a J-J-x-x-x board and he couldn't fold his limped KK. So now I would need to earn some 300 points in 8 SNG's which would require that I come in 1st five times and 2nd three times. Even for me, the low-limit SNG master, that's asking waaaay too much. At least I am up !
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Day Two = Not So Good
I played two $5 sit-n-go's today, an 18-player and a 27-player, and while I managed to final table both of them I finished in 7th in both, winning no money and no leaderboard points. I was dealt pretty much nothing in both games, and was able to stay afloat in one of them solely on my ability to steal blinds with my change-raises and three-barrell bluff a passive guy who called my bets on the flop and turn and then folded to a large river bet when the flush came. Tomorrow I will try a couple of more games and if I fail to earn more points I'll be done with trying to crack the leaderboard this week.
Monday, July 21, 2008
It's Been a Looooong Time...
I haven't updated this blog for ages, primarily because I haven't had anything exciting to talk about. I've been playing a lot of 10c/25c cash games and low-level sit-n-go's and have had decent success but am still waiting for that big tourney breakthrough. This week Pokerstars is doubling the cash prizes they award the top finishers on the sit-n-go leaderboard and also doubling the cash being awarded in the Battle of the Planets weekly leaderboard tourney so, since sit-n-go's are my strength, I am going to concentrate on $5-6 sit-n-go's this week hoping to qualify. So far I am doing great. I played 2 $5 9-player SNG's today and was able to grab a first and a third, and also played an 18-player SNG and grabbed a 3rd-place finish there as well, so after 3 tourneys (of the 20 I need to play to qualify) I have 93 leaderboard points, which is an excellent result. I plan to update my results each day this week.
You will also notice that I have added a few clickable "ads" on the left side of this page. These are all for charitable organizations and you are encouraged to check them out, especially the rainforestsite, breast cancer site, and hungersite - all you need to do is click on the page that appears and you will be helping support several great causes at absolutely no cost but a few seconds of your time. GoodSearch is also an excellent site, and if you are planning to purchase something from an online retailer and go through GoodSearch they will donate a % of your purchase to charity. I use it for all my eBay and Amazon purchases.
Also, I would like to congratulate Shannon Shorr and SirWatts on their big victories this month. Links to their blogs are located in the left-hand column as well, and are worth a read. Two young guys who have had much success and will likely continue to pwn.
You will also notice that I have added a few clickable "ads" on the left side of this page. These are all for charitable organizations and you are encouraged to check them out, especially the rainforestsite, breast cancer site, and hungersite - all you need to do is click on the page that appears and you will be helping support several great causes at absolutely no cost but a few seconds of your time. GoodSearch is also an excellent site, and if you are planning to purchase something from an online retailer and go through GoodSearch they will donate a % of your purchase to charity. I use it for all my eBay and Amazon purchases.
Also, I would like to congratulate Shannon Shorr and SirWatts on their big victories this month. Links to their blogs are located in the left-hand column as well, and are worth a read. Two young guys who have had much success and will likely continue to pwn.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Sometimes, You Just Know It's Not Your Day...
I guess today is truly nasty gross beats day...
Hand One - 15/30 blinds I'm down to 600 or so. LP limps, and I reraise the button with AA to 120. He's loose, and a donk, so he calls. Flop K -8-9 rainbow, he checks, I bet 180, he puts me all-in, I call, he has As9s. 9 on turn, gg me.
Hand Two - small limit tourney, 25/50 with 1050 chips, I limp KdJd UTG, there's a caller, and then big stack who min raises every pot and seems loose makes it 100. Couple of callers behind and then I push over top feeling pretty sure I have the best hand. Big stack calls with Ks2h and flops two spades, turns one, and rivers the Jack of Spades just to add insult to injury.
Hand Three - small limit tourney, I hold Q3 offsuit in the small blind. Flop comes A-Q-3 rainbow, I bet out, get called, and then LP makes a big raise. Since it's early, I push, and both players call. Turned out reraiser had AQ and other guy had A3 so I am drawing totally dead.
Hand Four - Double shootout to Sunday Mil, first round, table of 4 players. I get JJ UTG and make it 80 at 10/20, player to my left calls, blinds fold. Flop K-J-4 rainbow, I lead out for 100 to look weak and hopefully get raised by other guy but he smooth calls. Turn is a 3, I check, and he bets 100. Normally, I reraise here, but I had a strong feeling he didn't have much and that I could get more money out of the hand if I just called, so I called. The river was a 10, I checked, and he bets 200 into 590. I value-raise to 500, he pushes, I call, and lo and behold he has AQ and has rivered the NUTS. Thaaaaaat's poker...
Hand One - 15/30 blinds I'm down to 600 or so. LP limps, and I reraise the button with AA to 120. He's loose, and a donk, so he calls. Flop K -8-9 rainbow, he checks, I bet 180, he puts me all-in, I call, he has As9s. 9 on turn, gg me.
Hand Two - small limit tourney, 25/50 with 1050 chips, I limp KdJd UTG, there's a caller, and then big stack who min raises every pot and seems loose makes it 100. Couple of callers behind and then I push over top feeling pretty sure I have the best hand. Big stack calls with Ks2h and flops two spades, turns one, and rivers the Jack of Spades just to add insult to injury.
Hand Three - small limit tourney, I hold Q3 offsuit in the small blind. Flop comes A-Q-3 rainbow, I bet out, get called, and then LP makes a big raise. Since it's early, I push, and both players call. Turned out reraiser had AQ and other guy had A3 so I am drawing totally dead.
Hand Four - Double shootout to Sunday Mil, first round, table of 4 players. I get JJ UTG and make it 80 at 10/20, player to my left calls, blinds fold. Flop K-J-4 rainbow, I lead out for 100 to look weak and hopefully get raised by other guy but he smooth calls. Turn is a 3, I check, and he bets 100. Normally, I reraise here, but I had a strong feeling he didn't have much and that I could get more money out of the hand if I just called, so I called. The river was a 10, I checked, and he bets 200 into 590. I value-raise to 500, he pushes, I call, and lo and behold he has AQ and has rivered the NUTS. Thaaaaaat's poker...
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