In case you haven't been paying attention, we are coming up on #100 of the Hand Of The Day series. For this milestone, I've been looking for something special over the last few months, whether it's a huge money pot, or something truly bizarre that happened.
Unfortunately, there haven't been many hands to choose from. I've decided to present a hand from Las Vegas that I think is worthy of #100, so I'll use this post for my other option.
Right now, we jump into the Way-Back machine, and present two separate hands from a .25/.50NL home game that I use to play back in Ohio. These two hands are from a few years ago, so the details are a little fuzzy.
The first hand is proof that Live Poker is rigged. It was the 2nd hand of the night, and we had eight or nine players at the table. We had an AA vs AA vs QQ vs QQ vs JJ trainwreck extraordinaire.
Showing posts with label Home Poker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Poker. Show all posts
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Hand Of The Day #56
09.25.10 - Dave's Poker Pit - Mixed Hold'em Tournament Level 5 (300/600 Limit)
I'm in the Hyjack, and I raise (600) with Kd Ks. Five players see a Flop of Jh 9h 6s. It checks to me, and I bet (300). The Button (El Diabl0) raises (600). SB (Jamie), BB (Silent Dave), and Mid (Cindy) call. I 3-Bet (900), and the Button caps it (1200). The SB and Mid call, but the BB folds.
Turn [Jh 9h 6s] Qc - SB and Mid check. I bet (600). The Button raises (1200). The SB cold calls, but the Mid folds. My instincts are telling me that I'm behind. If it was just against the Button, then I would just go into Check & Call mode. But with the SB cold calling everything so far, I'm rather concerned about him. But with an Overpair and a Gutshot, I just call the extra 600.
River [Jh 9h 6s Qc] 3s - SB checks, and so do I. Button bets (1200). SB folds, and I think for a moment. My instincts are to fold. But it is possible that he's got a hand like QTh with the monster draw and a pair. Plus, it's Limit. There's a huge pile of Purple (500) and Black (100) chips in the pot, so I gotta call. He says, "You're good," and shows 32h. SB had T7h for Flush Draw and Gutshot on the Flop, and picked up a Double Gutshot on the Turn.
I'm in the Hyjack, and I raise (600) with Kd Ks. Five players see a Flop of Jh 9h 6s. It checks to me, and I bet (300). The Button (El Diabl0) raises (600). SB (Jamie), BB (Silent Dave), and Mid (Cindy) call. I 3-Bet (900), and the Button caps it (1200). The SB and Mid call, but the BB folds.
Turn [Jh 9h 6s] Qc - SB and Mid check. I bet (600). The Button raises (1200). The SB cold calls, but the Mid folds. My instincts are telling me that I'm behind. If it was just against the Button, then I would just go into Check & Call mode. But with the SB cold calling everything so far, I'm rather concerned about him. But with an Overpair and a Gutshot, I just call the extra 600.
River [Jh 9h 6s Qc] 3s - SB checks, and so do I. Button bets (1200). SB folds, and I think for a moment. My instincts are to fold. But it is possible that he's got a hand like QTh with the monster draw and a pair. Plus, it's Limit. There's a huge pile of Purple (500) and Black (100) chips in the pot, so I gotta call. He says, "You're good," and shows 32h. SB had T7h for Flush Draw and Gutshot on the Flop, and picked up a Double Gutshot on the Turn.
Monday, September 27, 2010
End Of An Era
Level 2 (50/100 NLHE) 9800 - For our Saturday night Home game, we do a Variety night tournament on the last Saturday of each month. This month, we tried a Mixed Hold'em tournament. One level is NLHE, and one level of Limit Hold'em. I completely forgot that it started early, so I arrived at the end of the 2nd level. When I bought in, there was 18 players on three tables. I was seated at Table 3, and had a horrible seat draw. Two of the most experienced Limit players (DougPoker and Meat) were on my Left.
Level 3 (200/400 Limit) 8700 - Being so early in the tournament, I'm trying to play tight in the Limit levels, so I can see how everyone is playing. I only won one pot. I raised on the Button with AJh, and took it down on the Flop.
Level 4 (100/200 NL) 8400 - Very card dead. It folded to me in the SB. I look down at AA, and raise to 500. The BB insta-folded.
At the end of the Level, our table broke. I got seated at Table 1, and it was a much better table draw. All of the experienced Limit players are at Table 2.
Level 5 (300/600 Limit) 21475 - I won a monster pot with KK that will be a future HOTD.
BREAK - 22 total Buy-Ins, and 19 players are left.
Level 6 (150/300 NL) 23550 - I only played one hand. I was in the SB with ATh, and I called a 900 raise. Four players saw a Flop of K T x. It was checked around. I bet 2500 on the Turn, and all folded.
Level 7 (500/1000 Limit) 19725 - Last hand of the level, a few players limped in. The Button (GrayDay) raised (2000). I'm the BB and look down at AQ. I decided to 3-Bet (3000) to isolate against the Button. The limpers fold, and Button capped it (4000). I call, and the Flop is K-high. I check, he bet (2000), and I call. Turn is another K. I check, and he bets (4000). Right now, the only hand that I'm ahead of is AJ, and I really doubt he would cap it preflop with AJ, so I fold. He shows KK for Quads.
Level 8 (250/500 NL) 20400 - Still really card dead. I did raise in the Cutoff with K3o to 1600. The BB (Jamie) called, and I won it with a Flop bet.
Level 9 (800/1600 Limit) 23100 - I won a pot in which I 3-Bet preflop with 88, bet the Flop, and it got check down on Turn and River. I lost a couple of other pots that I took a stab at. There is still way too much limping for this stage of the tournament. Some of the stacks are really getting short. They're just limping in trying to spike something, but they don't have the implied odds because it's Limit. That makes it really hard for me to steal blinds.
Level 10 (400/800 NL) 29000 - I was able to finally start to "Step On The Gas" a bit. I raised a couple of times to 2100, and won the Blinds. I also limped in the SB with J9o. Four players saw a J-high Flop. I check-raised from 2600 to 7600, and won the pot.
BREAK - 11 players are left, and we are one away from the Final Table.
Level 11 (1200/2400 Limit) 27400 - UTG (Jamie) raised (2400). Mid player (Boz) 3-Bet (3600). If folded to me in the SB, and I look down at 6d 6c. Both players are short stacked, and I'm guessing they're looking to get their chips in the middle. I figure their range of hands is on the wide side. My pair might be good, or not. Since I've got a good chip stack, I decided to gamble, so I capped it (4800). Both players call, and Mid is All-In. The Flop was A-high, so myself and UTG check it down. UTG has KJs, and missed. Mid had K9o, and hit the 9 on the Turn. I picked up a Flush Draw on the Turn, but missed. Mid ends up winning the large pot.
Shortly after this hand, we get to the Final Table. I've got 27400 chips, and I'm 3rd or 4th in chips. I have a good seat draw because all of the bigger stacks are on my Right, including the Chip Leader who is on my direct Right.
Level 12 (600/1200 NL) 19000 - One player limped in. I'm Mid with AQs, and raised to 4100. Three players called, and one other players goes All-In for just 1000. The Flop was J-high, and the limper (Data) wins the pot with AJ. Later, I stabbed at a pot out of the BB, but I got called and lost.
Level 13 (2k/4k Limit) 13000 - I didn't play a single hand, and blinded out. This is getting very frustrating because I have no cards to play. I need to stay patient, and keep grinding. Because of the Mixed format, I'm definitely the favorite at this table, if I can get a hold of some some chips.
Level 14 (1k/2k NL) 0 - One player limped in. I'm on the Button, and look down at KJo. I normally don't like to ship All-In when there is a limper, but this is the closest thing to a real hand that I've seen since AQ two levels ago. I ship it for 13k. And just like what has happened so many times in the last few months, the SB (GrayDay) looks at his cards, and quickly calls with QQ. Of course, I completely miss my 3-outer, but he does hit Queens Full just to add some salt into the wound. I finish in 7th place.
This tournament, and the following Cash game that went just as well as the tournament, was my final Event in the CPMG. I really, really want to win this one, and go out with a Bang, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
Even though I did go out with a Thud, my five year run in the CPMG has been a good one. I have 21 tournament wins, which I believe puts me in 2nd place behind Data, our esteemed Tournament Director, who is somewhere in the mid 20's for wins. I also hold the record for largest tournament cash with $3900 back in Feb, 2007. I'm sure that I'm in the Top 3 for Total Tournament Winnings, but nobody keeps track of that stuff.
Level 3 (200/400 Limit) 8700 - Being so early in the tournament, I'm trying to play tight in the Limit levels, so I can see how everyone is playing. I only won one pot. I raised on the Button with AJh, and took it down on the Flop.
Level 4 (100/200 NL) 8400 - Very card dead. It folded to me in the SB. I look down at AA, and raise to 500. The BB insta-folded.
At the end of the Level, our table broke. I got seated at Table 1, and it was a much better table draw. All of the experienced Limit players are at Table 2.
Level 5 (300/600 Limit) 21475 - I won a monster pot with KK that will be a future HOTD.
BREAK - 22 total Buy-Ins, and 19 players are left.
Level 6 (150/300 NL) 23550 - I only played one hand. I was in the SB with ATh, and I called a 900 raise. Four players saw a Flop of K T x. It was checked around. I bet 2500 on the Turn, and all folded.
Level 7 (500/1000 Limit) 19725 - Last hand of the level, a few players limped in. The Button (GrayDay) raised (2000). I'm the BB and look down at AQ. I decided to 3-Bet (3000) to isolate against the Button. The limpers fold, and Button capped it (4000). I call, and the Flop is K-high. I check, he bet (2000), and I call. Turn is another K. I check, and he bets (4000). Right now, the only hand that I'm ahead of is AJ, and I really doubt he would cap it preflop with AJ, so I fold. He shows KK for Quads.
Level 8 (250/500 NL) 20400 - Still really card dead. I did raise in the Cutoff with K3o to 1600. The BB (Jamie) called, and I won it with a Flop bet.
Level 9 (800/1600 Limit) 23100 - I won a pot in which I 3-Bet preflop with 88, bet the Flop, and it got check down on Turn and River. I lost a couple of other pots that I took a stab at. There is still way too much limping for this stage of the tournament. Some of the stacks are really getting short. They're just limping in trying to spike something, but they don't have the implied odds because it's Limit. That makes it really hard for me to steal blinds.
Level 10 (400/800 NL) 29000 - I was able to finally start to "Step On The Gas" a bit. I raised a couple of times to 2100, and won the Blinds. I also limped in the SB with J9o. Four players saw a J-high Flop. I check-raised from 2600 to 7600, and won the pot.
BREAK - 11 players are left, and we are one away from the Final Table.
Level 11 (1200/2400 Limit) 27400 - UTG (Jamie) raised (2400). Mid player (Boz) 3-Bet (3600). If folded to me in the SB, and I look down at 6d 6c. Both players are short stacked, and I'm guessing they're looking to get their chips in the middle. I figure their range of hands is on the wide side. My pair might be good, or not. Since I've got a good chip stack, I decided to gamble, so I capped it (4800). Both players call, and Mid is All-In. The Flop was A-high, so myself and UTG check it down. UTG has KJs, and missed. Mid had K9o, and hit the 9 on the Turn. I picked up a Flush Draw on the Turn, but missed. Mid ends up winning the large pot.
Shortly after this hand, we get to the Final Table. I've got 27400 chips, and I'm 3rd or 4th in chips. I have a good seat draw because all of the bigger stacks are on my Right, including the Chip Leader who is on my direct Right.
Level 12 (600/1200 NL) 19000 - One player limped in. I'm Mid with AQs, and raised to 4100. Three players called, and one other players goes All-In for just 1000. The Flop was J-high, and the limper (Data) wins the pot with AJ. Later, I stabbed at a pot out of the BB, but I got called and lost.
Level 13 (2k/4k Limit) 13000 - I didn't play a single hand, and blinded out. This is getting very frustrating because I have no cards to play. I need to stay patient, and keep grinding. Because of the Mixed format, I'm definitely the favorite at this table, if I can get a hold of some some chips.
Level 14 (1k/2k NL) 0 - One player limped in. I'm on the Button, and look down at KJo. I normally don't like to ship All-In when there is a limper, but this is the closest thing to a real hand that I've seen since AQ two levels ago. I ship it for 13k. And just like what has happened so many times in the last few months, the SB (GrayDay) looks at his cards, and quickly calls with QQ. Of course, I completely miss my 3-outer, but he does hit Queens Full just to add some salt into the wound. I finish in 7th place.
This tournament, and the following Cash game that went just as well as the tournament, was my final Event in the CPMG. I really, really want to win this one, and go out with a Bang, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
Even though I did go out with a Thud, my five year run in the CPMG has been a good one. I have 21 tournament wins, which I believe puts me in 2nd place behind Data, our esteemed Tournament Director, who is somewhere in the mid 20's for wins. I also hold the record for largest tournament cash with $3900 back in Feb, 2007. I'm sure that I'm in the Top 3 for Total Tournament Winnings, but nobody keeps track of that stuff.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Hand Of The Day #55
Today's hand is a classic from days gone by. It's from my very first CPMG Home game back on the day after Christmas of 2005.
I found out about the CPMG by accident. I was look for something on the Web, and I stumbled upon the Meetup.com website. I looked through it, and came across the Cleveland Poker Meetup Group. I was into poker through TV, and playing a bit online (mostly Play Money), so I thought I'd give it a try.
There weren't many games back then. But one of the players, El Diabl0, held a $1-$5 Spread Limit Dealer's Choice game. There was just one table (maybe eight players), and all of the silly games were played like Follow The Queen, Acey Duecy, Roll Your Own, and a bunch of other games which I don't remember the names. I ended up winning around $125 that night. I would like to think that it was due to skill and cunning, but it probably was due to hands like this...
I was the Dealer, and I picked 5-A Triple Draw. No particular reason, but I picked a different game each time. The Cutoff (Bricker) raised it to $5. My hand wasn't very good with the only good card being a 5. But I was the Button, so I called. After all, I did have three draws to improve. A few other players called as well. Naturally, I kept the 5 and drew four cards. Those cards were 4 3 2 A. Yeah, I drew four cards, and hit the Wheel. That's how I roll.
After the first draw, he bet out $5, and I raised to $10. Everyone else folded, and he raised to $15. I then raised, and he raised. This went on for a bit, and neither one of us draw a card. Then there was even more Betting and Raising.
By the time we finally got to Showdown, there was a large pile of Red chips in the middle. Sorry, but I don't remember how much was in the pot. It was five years ago. He was dealt a 6-Low, something like 6 5 3 2 A, which is a damn good hand to be dealt. But it didn't beat my Nut 5-Low.
I found out about the CPMG by accident. I was look for something on the Web, and I stumbled upon the Meetup.com website. I looked through it, and came across the Cleveland Poker Meetup Group. I was into poker through TV, and playing a bit online (mostly Play Money), so I thought I'd give it a try.
There weren't many games back then. But one of the players, El Diabl0, held a $1-$5 Spread Limit Dealer's Choice game. There was just one table (maybe eight players), and all of the silly games were played like Follow The Queen, Acey Duecy, Roll Your Own, and a bunch of other games which I don't remember the names. I ended up winning around $125 that night. I would like to think that it was due to skill and cunning, but it probably was due to hands like this...
I was the Dealer, and I picked 5-A Triple Draw. No particular reason, but I picked a different game each time. The Cutoff (Bricker) raised it to $5. My hand wasn't very good with the only good card being a 5. But I was the Button, so I called. After all, I did have three draws to improve. A few other players called as well. Naturally, I kept the 5 and drew four cards. Those cards were 4 3 2 A. Yeah, I drew four cards, and hit the Wheel. That's how I roll.
After the first draw, he bet out $5, and I raised to $10. Everyone else folded, and he raised to $15. I then raised, and he raised. This went on for a bit, and neither one of us draw a card. Then there was even more Betting and Raising.
By the time we finally got to Showdown, there was a large pile of Red chips in the middle. Sorry, but I don't remember how much was in the pot. It was five years ago. He was dealt a 6-Low, something like 6 5 3 2 A, which is a damn good hand to be dealt. But it didn't beat my Nut 5-Low.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Those Who Can... Do. Those Who Can't... Deal
Even though I've retired from running the Saturday night poker game, I made a guest appearance as TD this week. Sort of a "One for the Road" thing.
At 8pm, we had "Shuffle Up & Deal" with about 16 players, and we ended up with 45 players for the tournament. You know, the usual.
Due to the steady flow of players walking in, and having 45 players getting their AddOn later, I didn't get to play much Poker before the first break. My starting stack of 8000 was down to 6300 at the first break (before the 200/400 level).
After the break, I got moved to a different table, and was able to start to slowly build my stack. I flopped a Straight, and got some value from one of the Calling Stations at the table. I also knocked out a short stack with my T8o from the BB.
In the 400/800 level, there was one player (Eric W) who was doing a lot of raising. It folded to him on the Button, and he raised. I was the BB with 22, and 3-Bet All-In for 8200. He called with AQ. He hit the A on the Flop, and I was out in 29th place.
After doing some TD stuff, I say down in the Cash game. I knew that I wasn't gonna play that long, and have to get up occasionally for TD stuff, so I decided to buy-in short ($50) and play like a Super Nit. I only played for about an hour, and was completely card dead. I started to gamble a bit towards the end, and ended up losing the whole $50.
After dealing the rather long Final Table, I sat down in a rare Chinese Poker game ($3/point). For those who haven't played Chinese Poker before, the game is 90% luck. There is a bit of skill in setting hands, and watching for patterns with the other players. But the players who gets the best cards will win. Some of my cards were good, and some of my cards were bad. I was down $3 when we finished for the night.
At 8pm, we had "Shuffle Up & Deal" with about 16 players, and we ended up with 45 players for the tournament. You know, the usual.
Due to the steady flow of players walking in, and having 45 players getting their AddOn later, I didn't get to play much Poker before the first break. My starting stack of 8000 was down to 6300 at the first break (before the 200/400 level).
After the break, I got moved to a different table, and was able to start to slowly build my stack. I flopped a Straight, and got some value from one of the Calling Stations at the table. I also knocked out a short stack with my T8o from the BB.
In the 400/800 level, there was one player (Eric W) who was doing a lot of raising. It folded to him on the Button, and he raised. I was the BB with 22, and 3-Bet All-In for 8200. He called with AQ. He hit the A on the Flop, and I was out in 29th place.
After doing some TD stuff, I say down in the Cash game. I knew that I wasn't gonna play that long, and have to get up occasionally for TD stuff, so I decided to buy-in short ($50) and play like a Super Nit. I only played for about an hour, and was completely card dead. I started to gamble a bit towards the end, and ended up losing the whole $50.
After dealing the rather long Final Table, I sat down in a rare Chinese Poker game ($3/point). For those who haven't played Chinese Poker before, the game is 90% luck. There is a bit of skill in setting hands, and watching for patterns with the other players. But the players who gets the best cards will win. Some of my cards were good, and some of my cards were bad. I was down $3 when we finished for the night.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Dave's Saturday Night
"Shuffle Up & Deal" 5000 - At our Saturday night home game, we started with three tables (19 players). I'm at Table 3, and we're six handed.
End of Level 1 (25/50) 4025 - We now have four tables with 9 players at ours. I raised to 300 with AQ in the Hyjack, and only the SB (Crazy Mike) called. Flop was J 9 7. We both checked. Turn [J 9 7] Q. He checked. I bet 525, and he called. River [J 9 7 Q] 5. SB led out for 1000. I thought about it for a minute. I decided that this isn't a spot he would bluff, and folded. He said he had KTh, but didn't show.
Level 2 (50/100) 4100 - We now have 44 players on five tables. I'm really card dead to the point that I didn't have a hand to raise preflop. I did win a Blind vs Blind hand with a bet on the Flop.
Level 3 (75/150) 4275 - The CO (Matt G) limps in. I'm the Button with AA, and raise to 525. The SB (Dawn) and CO call. Flop Jh 9d 7d. They check, and I bet 1025. SB folds. CO thinks, and asks how much I have left (under 2000). He counts out the chips, thinks some more, and finally folds.
Later, I did 3-Barrel Bluff in a multi-limp pot with KQ on a AJ6 9 6 Board. The SB (Crazy Mike) checked and called the whole way with just A7o. I get my 3000 AddOn.
Level 4 (100/200) 3975 - Cards really suck. That's what I get for trying to bluff. The only hands I played were the Blinds.
Level 5 (150/300) 4275 - I got moved to Table 1, and won my first pot in the SB. The cards still sucked, although I did raise with ATd on the Button and won the Blinds.
Break Time - 39 players left on five tables.
Level 6 (200/400) 11400 - We are down to four tables now. I shoved a few times, but just won the Blinds. In the last hand of the level, I raised to 1100 UTG with KK. The SB (Mike T) raised enough to put me All-In with 88. Naturally, I called and a K on the Flop sealed the deal.
Level 7 (300/600) 12000 - I raised with A9s and AA, but just won the Blinds.
Level 8 (400/800) 0 - We are down to three tables. Card dead until the final hand of the level. I raise to 2100 UTG+1 with TT. The SB (Colin) 3-Bets to 6200. I count down the rest of my chips, and have 6400 behind. If I fold, then I've got 6400 going in the next level (600/1200). Having 5 Big Blinds just ain't gonna cut it, so I reluctantly call. Of course, he has AA, and the Board is total Air for me. I'm out in 25th place.
End of Level 1 (25/50) 4025 - We now have four tables with 9 players at ours. I raised to 300 with AQ in the Hyjack, and only the SB (Crazy Mike) called. Flop was J 9 7. We both checked. Turn [J 9 7] Q. He checked. I bet 525, and he called. River [J 9 7 Q] 5. SB led out for 1000. I thought about it for a minute. I decided that this isn't a spot he would bluff, and folded. He said he had KTh, but didn't show.
Level 2 (50/100) 4100 - We now have 44 players on five tables. I'm really card dead to the point that I didn't have a hand to raise preflop. I did win a Blind vs Blind hand with a bet on the Flop.
Level 3 (75/150) 4275 - The CO (Matt G) limps in. I'm the Button with AA, and raise to 525. The SB (Dawn) and CO call. Flop Jh 9d 7d. They check, and I bet 1025. SB folds. CO thinks, and asks how much I have left (under 2000). He counts out the chips, thinks some more, and finally folds.
Later, I did 3-Barrel Bluff in a multi-limp pot with KQ on a AJ6 9 6 Board. The SB (Crazy Mike) checked and called the whole way with just A7o. I get my 3000 AddOn.
Level 4 (100/200) 3975 - Cards really suck. That's what I get for trying to bluff. The only hands I played were the Blinds.
Level 5 (150/300) 4275 - I got moved to Table 1, and won my first pot in the SB. The cards still sucked, although I did raise with ATd on the Button and won the Blinds.
Break Time - 39 players left on five tables.
Level 6 (200/400) 11400 - We are down to four tables now. I shoved a few times, but just won the Blinds. In the last hand of the level, I raised to 1100 UTG with KK. The SB (Mike T) raised enough to put me All-In with 88. Naturally, I called and a K on the Flop sealed the deal.
Level 7 (300/600) 12000 - I raised with A9s and AA, but just won the Blinds.
Level 8 (400/800) 0 - We are down to three tables. Card dead until the final hand of the level. I raise to 2100 UTG+1 with TT. The SB (Colin) 3-Bets to 6200. I count down the rest of my chips, and have 6400 behind. If I fold, then I've got 6400 going in the next level (600/1200). Having 5 Big Blinds just ain't gonna cut it, so I reluctantly call. Of course, he has AA, and the Board is total Air for me. I'm out in 25th place.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Giving The Term "Blowout" A Whole New Meaning
The tournament ended up with 62 players. No, that's not a typo. We actually had 62 players for a basement tournament, and that's a CPMG record. Not all were seated at the same time. We started with 49 players at five tables. As late players came, the 6th table was opened up to seat 8 players, and other seats opened up due to bustouts.
As most of you know, I'm moving to Reno next month, so I'm no longer the Tournament Director of this game. Since this is the first event that I haven't had to run, I did a Running Log of it. However, I busted out in Level 4, so it's just not worth printing.
With such a big crowd, I didn't think that a "Fold To The Final Table" strategy was a good idea. My JJ ran into KK for my first 5k buy-in. I rebought with my 3k Add-On. I ended up shoving All-In with an Open-Ender against Two Pair, and missed.
Since I was out so early, I helped out running things for a bit before I jumped into the Cash games. The first Cash table ($1/$1 NL) was opened up on the 7th table, a small octagon table that was set-up in the garage. The second table ($1/$1 NL) was set up after Table 6 was broken in the tournament. The third table was started after Table 5 was broken by the tournament. That table was something new for our game, a $1/$3 ($400 max). We tried it out for the first time because the $1/$1 ($150 max) is just too small for some of our Action Junkies. It was a success, as both the $1/$3 and a $1/$1 game ran until we shut down at 4:30am.
As for my Cash game, I bounced between the $1/$1 tables and the $1/$3 table. I finished the night down $160, thanks mostly to one hand at the $1/$3 table...
As it turns out, I was right. He wouldn't raise to $40, but he would 3-Bet to $40. One minor detail that I didn't notice was the player between us (Caveman) raised to $12. And Caveman went All-In immediately after I did. When I realized what had just happened, my first thought was, "I am SO dead." GrayDay thought for a bit, and finally folded TT. As you've probably already figured out, Caveman showed his AA. He flopped an A on the Flop, and a T on the Turn might have cost GrayDay a chunk of chips if I didn't screw up.
I'm sure he'll thank me someday.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Seems Like Old Times
I haven't been blogging much about Home Games for one simple reason. I have been going to them lately. Part of the reason is the Home Game schedule is lighter in the summertime. My regular Saturday night game that I used to run has been on hiatus for the summertime, although it starts back up next week. There has been a decent amount of Friday night games. But as a mailman, I have to work on Saturday morning at 7:30, so playing until 2am on Saturday morning isn't a good idea.
Last night, Julie had a $80 Deepstack Bounty Tournament ($20 goes to the Bounty) that started at 3pm. Since I didn't get off of work until 4pm, I arrived to buy-in late at 5pm. The tournament started with 18k chips, and 30 minute levels. So I got there at the first break, and received a starting stack of 16500.
Even though I'm moving to Reno, and will be playing poker 3-5 times a week, one of the things that I will be missing about our Home Games is the great tournament structures. Even our quicker structures are much better that the daily casino tournaments that I will be playing. However, this tournament was a Deepstack with extra levels added. After the first break, I started in Level 5, which was 125/250 (That's a level I will never see in a casino). There was only two tables, and 23 total players with the late buy-ins. But this was not a tournament where "Folding To The Final Table" was a good strategy.
There is another thing that I will miss about playing in Home games. I've been with the CPMG for almost five years, and been playing with some of these players for the entire time. We've got a lot of stories together, and a bunch of inside jokes. Last night was a blast, with a lot of laughs and goofing around. In a casino, you just don't get that same level of entertainment sitting at a table full of 60 yr old men hoping to hit the Bad Beat Jackpot so they can fund their retirement.
As for my tournament, I ended up finishing in 13th place. The main reason was due to two Hero calls that didn't work out. I really should cut the Hero call out of my game, because my win percentage just plain sucks.
The first was against Linda. I called her preflop raise with 99, and had position against her. The Flop was J-high and rainbow. She made a small bet (1600, I believe), and I called. The Turn brought a Spade draw. She made another bet (3200ish) that was about 40% of her stack. After thinking about it for a bit, I figured that she either had a Set of Jacks or something like AQs. I had chipped up nicely to well over 25k, so I decided to put her All-In, and take a shot at the Bounty if she was on the Spade draw. Instead, she was on the Boat draw with her JJ, and I was drawing dead. I lost around 7700 with the Turn bet. But I was able to eventually get those chips back, and got to the second break with 28600 (next level after Break was 300/600).
The second Hero call was against Cheryl. It was a limp pot in the 400/800 level. A couple of players limped, and so did I on the Button with A9o. Flop was Ac 6h 3c. Cheryl lead out from UTG with 1500. I called, and so did the BB. Turn (Ac 6h 3c) 7h. She bet around 2500 (don't remember exactly). I thought for a moment, and called. The BB folded. River (Ac 6h 3c 7h) 3h. She stacks up all of her chips, and goes All-In for 12800.
This bet really confused me. She's a fairly tight player, so an All-In from her looks really strong. I'm less likely to call the All-In rather than a bet of 4000. It was a limp pot, so she probably doesn't have a Big Ace (AK, AQ, etc). She could have had something like KQc or KJc, and was betting the Draw. Earlier in the night, I did make a big semi-bluff on her, showed her the bluff, and she was visibly "not amused" with me. So she could be trying to bluff me. She could have also have limped with 66, and is trying to look like a bluff with her Full House. Plus, this would be a Bounty for me if I pick her off. I really went deep into the tank with this one, and started thinking out loud. Someone called Clock on me, and it almost got the 10 second countdown before I made the crying call. She said "Ace", and turned over ATo. I got that "Are you serious?" look on my body, and turned over my card to show that I was out-pipped. I still think that shoving there with AT is a bizarre play, but maybe I'm just out-thinking myself. Later in the night, she did make a River bluff on a missed Flush draw, but it wasn't an All-In.
That Hero call left me with 12k at the 400/800 level. It hurt, but I had time to rebuild with this great structure. But I went card dead for a while, and just maintained my stack in the 12k-14k range.
In the 500/1000 level, it folded around to Chris (?) who raised in the Cutoff to 2500, and had about 10k behind. It folded to me in the BB, and I looked down at Td 9h. I hadn't been playing many hands lately, so this seemed like a good time to make a move since she's a tight passive player. I went All-In for 13k. She thought for a minute, counted her stack, and said, "I'm feeling lucky with this hand." ( I love to hear that when I'm bluffing.) She calls, and shows ATh. I miss my 3-outer, and I'm left with 1500 chips and the SB next hand. Naturally, I go All-In in the SB, and was eliminated.
I did manage to win one bounty early in the night. Meat went All-In on a Flush draw, and got called by JJ. He hit his Flush on the Turn. The 4th Heart hit the River, and the JJ won it with a 4-Card Flush. This left Meat with just 1600, and he went All-In on the next hand from Early Position. He got two callers. I was in the SB, and looked down at AKo. I made it 6000, and the two callers folded. Meat showed T8o, and airballed the Board.
Last night, Julie had a $80 Deepstack Bounty Tournament ($20 goes to the Bounty) that started at 3pm. Since I didn't get off of work until 4pm, I arrived to buy-in late at 5pm. The tournament started with 18k chips, and 30 minute levels. So I got there at the first break, and received a starting stack of 16500.
Even though I'm moving to Reno, and will be playing poker 3-5 times a week, one of the things that I will be missing about our Home Games is the great tournament structures. Even our quicker structures are much better that the daily casino tournaments that I will be playing. However, this tournament was a Deepstack with extra levels added. After the first break, I started in Level 5, which was 125/250 (That's a level I will never see in a casino). There was only two tables, and 23 total players with the late buy-ins. But this was not a tournament where "Folding To The Final Table" was a good strategy.
There is another thing that I will miss about playing in Home games. I've been with the CPMG for almost five years, and been playing with some of these players for the entire time. We've got a lot of stories together, and a bunch of inside jokes. Last night was a blast, with a lot of laughs and goofing around. In a casino, you just don't get that same level of entertainment sitting at a table full of 60 yr old men hoping to hit the Bad Beat Jackpot so they can fund their retirement.
As for my tournament, I ended up finishing in 13th place. The main reason was due to two Hero calls that didn't work out. I really should cut the Hero call out of my game, because my win percentage just plain sucks.
The first was against Linda. I called her preflop raise with 99, and had position against her. The Flop was J-high and rainbow. She made a small bet (1600, I believe), and I called. The Turn brought a Spade draw. She made another bet (3200ish) that was about 40% of her stack. After thinking about it for a bit, I figured that she either had a Set of Jacks or something like AQs. I had chipped up nicely to well over 25k, so I decided to put her All-In, and take a shot at the Bounty if she was on the Spade draw. Instead, she was on the Boat draw with her JJ, and I was drawing dead. I lost around 7700 with the Turn bet. But I was able to eventually get those chips back, and got to the second break with 28600 (next level after Break was 300/600).
The second Hero call was against Cheryl. It was a limp pot in the 400/800 level. A couple of players limped, and so did I on the Button with A9o. Flop was Ac 6h 3c. Cheryl lead out from UTG with 1500. I called, and so did the BB. Turn (Ac 6h 3c) 7h. She bet around 2500 (don't remember exactly). I thought for a moment, and called. The BB folded. River (Ac 6h 3c 7h) 3h. She stacks up all of her chips, and goes All-In for 12800.
This bet really confused me. She's a fairly tight player, so an All-In from her looks really strong. I'm less likely to call the All-In rather than a bet of 4000. It was a limp pot, so she probably doesn't have a Big Ace (AK, AQ, etc). She could have had something like KQc or KJc, and was betting the Draw. Earlier in the night, I did make a big semi-bluff on her, showed her the bluff, and she was visibly "not amused" with me. So she could be trying to bluff me. She could have also have limped with 66, and is trying to look like a bluff with her Full House. Plus, this would be a Bounty for me if I pick her off. I really went deep into the tank with this one, and started thinking out loud. Someone called Clock on me, and it almost got the 10 second countdown before I made the crying call. She said "Ace", and turned over ATo. I got that "Are you serious?" look on my body, and turned over my card to show that I was out-pipped. I still think that shoving there with AT is a bizarre play, but maybe I'm just out-thinking myself. Later in the night, she did make a River bluff on a missed Flush draw, but it wasn't an All-In.
That Hero call left me with 12k at the 400/800 level. It hurt, but I had time to rebuild with this great structure. But I went card dead for a while, and just maintained my stack in the 12k-14k range.
In the 500/1000 level, it folded around to Chris (?) who raised in the Cutoff to 2500, and had about 10k behind. It folded to me in the BB, and I looked down at Td 9h. I hadn't been playing many hands lately, so this seemed like a good time to make a move since she's a tight passive player. I went All-In for 13k. She thought for a minute, counted her stack, and said, "I'm feeling lucky with this hand." ( I love to hear that when I'm bluffing.) She calls, and shows ATh. I miss my 3-outer, and I'm left with 1500 chips and the SB next hand. Naturally, I go All-In in the SB, and was eliminated.
I did manage to win one bounty early in the night. Meat went All-In on a Flush draw, and got called by JJ. He hit his Flush on the Turn. The 4th Heart hit the River, and the JJ won it with a 4-Card Flush. This left Meat with just 1600, and he went All-In on the next hand from Early Position. He got two callers. I was in the SB, and looked down at AKo. I made it 6000, and the two callers folded. Meat showed T8o, and airballed the Board.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Hand Of The Day #48
Here are two hands from Julie's tournament a couple of weeks ago.
Level 2 (50/100) - UTG (Julie) raises to 400. I'm the Hyjack, and call with A2c. Four players see the Flop of 7c 6h 2d. UTG bets 1200. She's probably got an Overpair, but it could also be a hand like AK. I've only got Bottom Pair and a Backdoor Flush Draw. But that's a rather dry Flop for this situation. Since we started with 10k, and I've got around 8500 left, I make the call. All others fold.
Turn [7c 6h 2d] 8c. She pauses for a moment, and bets 2300. Time for me to go into deep thought. OK, now I know she's got an Overpair. I did pick up the Flush Draw, which she might not see coming. I'm assuming that I've got 14 outs (nine for Flush, two 2's, and three A's), which means I'm around 30% to win, or 2.5/1 odds. The pot size is around 6500, so with the 2300 call, I'm getting 35% pot odds + whatever I can win get on the River. Even though this would only leave me with just 4950 if I miss, I make the call. Besides, if this go badly, I can always head over to Nautica to play some $1/$2.
River [7c 6h 2d 8c] Kc - Yahtzee! She pauses for a moment, and checks. I instantly go All-In for my remaining 4950, hoping it looks a little bluffy. She thinks for a moment, and says, "I don't believe you." She calls, and shows 9 9, I show my Nut Flush, and she is left with under 1000 chips.
To be fair, Julie was dealing with some "Real Life" Tilt that day which certainly affected this hand.
Level 13 (700/1500) - We are at the Final Table with around seven players left. UTG+1 (Brad, who is the healthy Chip Leader) limps, which was very unusual for this stage of the tournament. I'm the Cutoff with 8 8, and raise it up to 3500. Only UTG+1 calls.
Flop 7s 6h 3d. He checks. I make a standard bet of 6500. He thinks for a bit, and check-raises to 14k. OK, I didn't see that coming. I count down my stack, and I have 20k-ish right now. So if I just call the 7500 raise, it would leave me with just under 13k, which means that I can't call this raise. It's a "Pump It or Dump It" situation.
So what kind of hand does he have in this spot? Brad is a loose Cash game player who rarely plays tournament. And so far, he's been playing like a loose Cash game player who rarely plays tournament. Limping UTG+1 is a good example of this.
Did he limp with a Big Pair, trying to trap? Doubtful, because this is such a bizarre way to play it.
Did he limp with a smaller Pair, and hit a Set. It's possible.
Did he limp with 54s, and flop the Straight? Maybe, but why not just call, and raise on the Turn.
Did he limp with a Cash game hand like 75 or 64, and flop a Pair with Straight Draw? It's possible.
Did he limp with JTs, and just decided to make a move instead of folding? Maybe, who knows.
After thinking about it for a minute, I finally asked myself the only question that really matters ... Do I want to broke with 8 8 in this spot? The answer is No. With 20k, I've still got around 13BB, which is still a decent stack at this Final Table. I fold face up, hoping that he will show his hand. He just flashes 5s.
After we finished the Heads-Up part of the tournament, I find out what he had. As it turns out, he limped UTG+1 with 52s, and check-raised with just a naked Gutshot.
Level 2 (50/100) - UTG (Julie) raises to 400. I'm the Hyjack, and call with A2c. Four players see the Flop of 7c 6h 2d. UTG bets 1200. She's probably got an Overpair, but it could also be a hand like AK. I've only got Bottom Pair and a Backdoor Flush Draw. But that's a rather dry Flop for this situation. Since we started with 10k, and I've got around 8500 left, I make the call. All others fold.
Turn [7c 6h 2d] 8c. She pauses for a moment, and bets 2300. Time for me to go into deep thought. OK, now I know she's got an Overpair. I did pick up the Flush Draw, which she might not see coming. I'm assuming that I've got 14 outs (nine for Flush, two 2's, and three A's), which means I'm around 30% to win, or 2.5/1 odds. The pot size is around 6500, so with the 2300 call, I'm getting 35% pot odds + whatever I can win get on the River. Even though this would only leave me with just 4950 if I miss, I make the call. Besides, if this go badly, I can always head over to Nautica to play some $1/$2.
River [7c 6h 2d 8c] Kc - Yahtzee! She pauses for a moment, and checks. I instantly go All-In for my remaining 4950, hoping it looks a little bluffy. She thinks for a moment, and says, "I don't believe you." She calls, and shows 9 9, I show my Nut Flush, and she is left with under 1000 chips.
To be fair, Julie was dealing with some "Real Life" Tilt that day which certainly affected this hand.
Level 13 (700/1500) - We are at the Final Table with around seven players left. UTG+1 (Brad, who is the healthy Chip Leader) limps, which was very unusual for this stage of the tournament. I'm the Cutoff with 8 8, and raise it up to 3500. Only UTG+1 calls.
Flop 7s 6h 3d. He checks. I make a standard bet of 6500. He thinks for a bit, and check-raises to 14k. OK, I didn't see that coming. I count down my stack, and I have 20k-ish right now. So if I just call the 7500 raise, it would leave me with just under 13k, which means that I can't call this raise. It's a "Pump It or Dump It" situation.
So what kind of hand does he have in this spot? Brad is a loose Cash game player who rarely plays tournament. And so far, he's been playing like a loose Cash game player who rarely plays tournament. Limping UTG+1 is a good example of this.
Did he limp with a Big Pair, trying to trap? Doubtful, because this is such a bizarre way to play it.
Did he limp with a smaller Pair, and hit a Set. It's possible.
Did he limp with 54s, and flop the Straight? Maybe, but why not just call, and raise on the Turn.
Did he limp with a Cash game hand like 75 or 64, and flop a Pair with Straight Draw? It's possible.
Did he limp with JTs, and just decided to make a move instead of folding? Maybe, who knows.
After thinking about it for a minute, I finally asked myself the only question that really matters ... Do I want to broke with 8 8 in this spot? The answer is No. With 20k, I've still got around 13BB, which is still a decent stack at this Final Table. I fold face up, hoping that he will show his hand. He just flashes 5s.
After we finished the Heads-Up part of the tournament, I find out what he had. As it turns out, he limped UTG+1 with 52s, and check-raised with just a naked Gutshot.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Hand Of The Day #48
$1/$1 NLHE - Dave's Poker Pit - 07.28.10
It limps to me on the Button, and I limp with 95h. The SB (Danny C) raises to $7. BB (Chan) folds. I call only because I'm on the Button. As I grab the card to start dealing the Flop, he checks in the dark. I don't understand why players raise preflop, and then check in the dark. It just seems like they were trying to make a move. So I set the deck down, and bet $15 in the dark. He waits for me to deal the Flop of Ad Td Ts, and calls.
Turn [Ad Td Ts] 3h. He checks. Since he gave me control of this hand, I might as well use it. I bet $25, and he calls.
River [Ad Td Ts 3h] 7s. He checks again. Well, I've come this far, so I might as well "Empty the Clip" since I doubt 9-high will take down this pot. So how much do I bet? He's a loose player, and not a big fan of folding. I decide to make the same $25 bet. It will look like a Value Bet. Plus, I will only lose another $25 rather than $40 or $50 when he calls.
But he doesn't call. He thinks about it for a moment, looks back at his hand, and folds Jc Js face up. Naturally, I show my 9-high.
He didn't say a word.
It limps to me on the Button, and I limp with 95h. The SB (Danny C) raises to $7. BB (Chan) folds. I call only because I'm on the Button. As I grab the card to start dealing the Flop, he checks in the dark. I don't understand why players raise preflop, and then check in the dark. It just seems like they were trying to make a move. So I set the deck down, and bet $15 in the dark. He waits for me to deal the Flop of Ad Td Ts, and calls.
Turn [Ad Td Ts] 3h. He checks. Since he gave me control of this hand, I might as well use it. I bet $25, and he calls.
River [Ad Td Ts 3h] 7s. He checks again. Well, I've come this far, so I might as well "Empty the Clip" since I doubt 9-high will take down this pot. So how much do I bet? He's a loose player, and not a big fan of folding. I decide to make the same $25 bet. It will look like a Value Bet. Plus, I will only lose another $25 rather than $40 or $50 when he calls.
But he doesn't call. He thinks about it for a moment, looks back at his hand, and folds Jc Js face up. Naturally, I show my 9-high.
He didn't say a word.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
How Do You Defeat Someone Who Is "Having A Good Day"?
On Sunday, Julie had another $40 afternoon tournament. Even though it's July, we had a good crowd of 19 players. (She only has two tables.) I did start a Running Log of this tournament, but I fell behind early on. This was mostly due to a future Hand Of The Day against Julie when I did her a little dirty, and busted her out of the tournament in Level 2. I stayed active for a few levels because of my good cards. I got to the first Break (End of 100/200 Level) with 23125 chips.
After the Break, I wasn't playing many hands. Partially because my cards went quiet, and partially because of who was on my direct Left. I have a small list of players that I never try to steal their Blinds because they will always call me. Chan is one of those players, and he was on my direct Left. But he got his KK cracked with QQ (Donkey Dawn), and was out of the tournament.
Now the player on my direct Left (Mike T) was the other big stack at the table, so I just stayed patient. Fortunately, the cards got a little better. I picked up a few hands (most notably was a Set of 3 against Donkey Dawn). I got some value with them and even knocked out a few players.
When we got to the Final Table (400/800), I had 37525 chips, which was the Big Stack. There were two other players over the 30k mark (Mike T & Brad). I also had a wonderful seat draw. All the players on my Left had small or medium stacks, and would fold to my steal attempts. Both of the 30k stacks were on the other end of the table.
I slowly worked my stack to just over 40k, when I hit a bump in the road. The Cutoff (Mike T) raised to 3000 in the 600/1200 level. I was the BB, and was the only caller with KQ. Flop was Qh Js 6h. I checked. He thought for a bit, and then went All-In. I insta-called, and he had AQ. I lost 20k in that hand. Ouch!
That got me down to just over 20k, but I was now 4th in chips. I kept working my great seat draw, and building back my stack to over 30k. Most hands went well, but there were a few bumps in the road. At this point we were still 9 handed, and I started to knock out some players. The only suckout was when I raised on the Button with QTc. The SB (Cheryl) went All-In for not much more. I called, and she showed AQo. I missed the Flop, but hit a backdoor Flush on the River.
The Bubble popped in the 1k/2k level. I was 2nd in chips behind Brad, who had a ton of chips. He's a loose Cash Game player who rarely plays tournaments. So far, he's been playing like a loose Cash Game player who rarely plays tournament. A lot of questionable play, but he's having a very good day with the cards.
I knocked out the 4th place finisher (Donkey Dawn) in the 1200/2500 level. In a Blind vs Blind hand, she shoved on the Flop with a Flush Draw, and I called with Top Pair. She missed, and this gave me 60600 of the 190k chips in play.
The very next hand, I'm Button, and raise it up to 7500 with AQd. Because of the knockout, there was only a BB (Brad), and he thought for a moment before raising to 30k. I had to stop for a minute and think. AQd is a damn fine hand with just three players left. As I've already mentioned, Brad isn't a Tournament player, and has been doing some bizarre things. But what made me pause and think was the third player at the table (Mike T) who only has around 5 BB left. Finally, I decided that Brad's range is just too wide to fold AQ, and I shove for the 60k. Brad snap calls with AK. DRAT!! But the Lovely Lady appears on the Flop, and I doubled up.
Mike T is eliminated soon after by Brad, and I start the Heads-Up match with the Chip Lead. The first big hand we play ended up being his A9 vs my A7 on a A-high board. I was in the BB, so I just Checked & Call the whole way. This gave Brad back the Chip Lead.
We play for a while before the next big hand. I called a raise in the BB with 53o. Flop was Jc 5c 4d. I checked Middle Pair, and Brad bet 10k, which has been his regular bet. I decided to check-raise to 25k. I don't know if I had the best hand, so this was sort of a semi bluff, but I want to slow him down. He just called. The Turn was [Jc 5c 4d] 8h. Because of the check-raise, I now had to shove All-In for around 45k - 55k, Brad calls, and shows 84o for Two Pair on the Turn. I miss my 2-outer, and finish in 2nd place for $220.
So back to my original question, how do you defeat someone who is "Having a Good Day"? Well, I had a Good Day at the table, but Brad had a Better Day. And in a poker tournament, sometimes that's all that matters.
After the Break, I wasn't playing many hands. Partially because my cards went quiet, and partially because of who was on my direct Left. I have a small list of players that I never try to steal their Blinds because they will always call me. Chan is one of those players, and he was on my direct Left. But he got his KK cracked with QQ (Donkey Dawn), and was out of the tournament.
Now the player on my direct Left (Mike T) was the other big stack at the table, so I just stayed patient. Fortunately, the cards got a little better. I picked up a few hands (most notably was a Set of 3 against Donkey Dawn). I got some value with them and even knocked out a few players.
When we got to the Final Table (400/800), I had 37525 chips, which was the Big Stack. There were two other players over the 30k mark (Mike T & Brad). I also had a wonderful seat draw. All the players on my Left had small or medium stacks, and would fold to my steal attempts. Both of the 30k stacks were on the other end of the table.
I slowly worked my stack to just over 40k, when I hit a bump in the road. The Cutoff (Mike T) raised to 3000 in the 600/1200 level. I was the BB, and was the only caller with KQ. Flop was Qh Js 6h. I checked. He thought for a bit, and then went All-In. I insta-called, and he had AQ. I lost 20k in that hand. Ouch!
That got me down to just over 20k, but I was now 4th in chips. I kept working my great seat draw, and building back my stack to over 30k. Most hands went well, but there were a few bumps in the road. At this point we were still 9 handed, and I started to knock out some players. The only suckout was when I raised on the Button with QTc. The SB (Cheryl) went All-In for not much more. I called, and she showed AQo. I missed the Flop, but hit a backdoor Flush on the River.
The Bubble popped in the 1k/2k level. I was 2nd in chips behind Brad, who had a ton of chips. He's a loose Cash Game player who rarely plays tournaments. So far, he's been playing like a loose Cash Game player who rarely plays tournament. A lot of questionable play, but he's having a very good day with the cards.
I knocked out the 4th place finisher (Donkey Dawn) in the 1200/2500 level. In a Blind vs Blind hand, she shoved on the Flop with a Flush Draw, and I called with Top Pair. She missed, and this gave me 60600 of the 190k chips in play.
The very next hand, I'm Button, and raise it up to 7500 with AQd. Because of the knockout, there was only a BB (Brad), and he thought for a moment before raising to 30k. I had to stop for a minute and think. AQd is a damn fine hand with just three players left. As I've already mentioned, Brad isn't a Tournament player, and has been doing some bizarre things. But what made me pause and think was the third player at the table (Mike T) who only has around 5 BB left. Finally, I decided that Brad's range is just too wide to fold AQ, and I shove for the 60k. Brad snap calls with AK. DRAT!! But the Lovely Lady appears on the Flop, and I doubled up.
Mike T is eliminated soon after by Brad, and I start the Heads-Up match with the Chip Lead. The first big hand we play ended up being his A9 vs my A7 on a A-high board. I was in the BB, so I just Checked & Call the whole way. This gave Brad back the Chip Lead.
We play for a while before the next big hand. I called a raise in the BB with 53o. Flop was Jc 5c 4d. I checked Middle Pair, and Brad bet 10k, which has been his regular bet. I decided to check-raise to 25k. I don't know if I had the best hand, so this was sort of a semi bluff, but I want to slow him down. He just called. The Turn was [Jc 5c 4d] 8h. Because of the check-raise, I now had to shove All-In for around 45k - 55k, Brad calls, and shows 84o for Two Pair on the Turn. I miss my 2-outer, and finish in 2nd place for $220.
So back to my original question, how do you defeat someone who is "Having a Good Day"? Well, I had a Good Day at the table, but Brad had a Better Day. And in a poker tournament, sometimes that's all that matters.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Balancing The Scales
There was a Cash game at El Diabl0's on Thursday night starting at 7pm. It was the standard $1/$1 NLHE ($160 max). On weeknight games, I only play until 10-10:30, so I only brought $200.
I bought in for $100, and got off to a good start. I won a nice pot with AJ by flopping Top Pair. That was the highlight of the evening for me, because things starting going downhill after that.
I limped in Mid position with KTo in a Straddle pot ($2). The BB (Mike K) raised to $12, and I was the only caller. The Flop was Kd 6d Th, so I have Top Two Pair on a very Wet board. BB bets $20. I know that he C-Bets about 114% of the time after he raises, so I just call. I figure if he wants to keep betting, I'll keep calling. Turn [Kd 6d Th] Qh. He thought for a moment, and checked. I quickly bet $30, and he called. River [Kd 6d Th Qh] Jd. He quickly went All-In for about $60, and had me covered. That River card was what I call a Joker because it completed all possible draws. At this point, all I could really beat was a bluff. I didn't think he would shove with QJ, which was the highest hand that I could beat. So I thought for a moment, and folded. He said that he flopped a Flush and Straight draw, but who knows.
This left me with around $50 - $55, and I decided not to reload yet. However, I went very card dead for a while. Finally, I looked down at at AK in Mid position, and limped in a Straddle pot hoping that someone would raise. The Button did raise to $12. He's a new player who's playing a lot of pots. One player (Colin) called. I back-raised All-In for $44. The Button quickly and calmly called, which I wasn't happy about. Colin folded ATs. I showed my hand, and Button showed A6d. One of the other players (Chan) said that he folded 66. So you know what that means... Flush Draw on the Flop. The Turn was a Brick, but the River was the Qd, and I lose my first buy-in.
It's only 8:30, but I decided to leave. I could tell that this just wasn't my night. Plus I was getting tired. Delivering mail in the 90 degree weather lately has not been fun.
I bought in for $100, and got off to a good start. I won a nice pot with AJ by flopping Top Pair. That was the highlight of the evening for me, because things starting going downhill after that.
I limped in Mid position with KTo in a Straddle pot ($2). The BB (Mike K) raised to $12, and I was the only caller. The Flop was Kd 6d Th, so I have Top Two Pair on a very Wet board. BB bets $20. I know that he C-Bets about 114% of the time after he raises, so I just call. I figure if he wants to keep betting, I'll keep calling. Turn [Kd 6d Th] Qh. He thought for a moment, and checked. I quickly bet $30, and he called. River [Kd 6d Th Qh] Jd. He quickly went All-In for about $60, and had me covered. That River card was what I call a Joker because it completed all possible draws. At this point, all I could really beat was a bluff. I didn't think he would shove with QJ, which was the highest hand that I could beat. So I thought for a moment, and folded. He said that he flopped a Flush and Straight draw, but who knows.
This left me with around $50 - $55, and I decided not to reload yet. However, I went very card dead for a while. Finally, I looked down at at AK in Mid position, and limped in a Straddle pot hoping that someone would raise. The Button did raise to $12. He's a new player who's playing a lot of pots. One player (Colin) called. I back-raised All-In for $44. The Button quickly and calmly called, which I wasn't happy about. Colin folded ATs. I showed my hand, and Button showed A6d. One of the other players (Chan) said that he folded 66. So you know what that means... Flush Draw on the Flop. The Turn was a Brick, but the River was the Qd, and I lose my first buy-in.
It's only 8:30, but I decided to leave. I could tell that this just wasn't my night. Plus I was getting tired. Delivering mail in the 90 degree weather lately has not been fun.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Me & Mrs B
"Shuffle Up & Deal" 10000 - I got home from work on Saturday, and expected to spend a quiet night catching up on Netflix. Instead, I find out that one of our Home game hosts (Julie) just scheduled a tournament that starts in about an hour. So I quickly scarf down some dinner, and head over to her place.
We started out with 12 players. I am seated at Table 2. I like my seat draw, since four of the six players are women. The only other guy is Adam, and he's on my direct Right. Host Julie is on my Left.
End of Level 1 (25/50) 9850 - So far, the play has been normal for the first level. I called two preflop raises, but airballed the Flops. Towards the end of the Level, I limped with AT, hit Top Pair on Flop, and won it on the Turn.
Level 2 (50/100) 9900 - Currently, we have 13 runners for the tournament. I raised to 250 with KQo. Won it on a Q-high Flop. With the small field tonight, I'm trying to play patiently until we get to the Final Table, then I can work my magic.
Level 3 (75/150) 10775 - The 14th player (Morgan) just walked in, and is at our table. I limped on the Button with 92s. Four players see a Flop of Kh 3c 3s. It checks to me, and I make a stab of 225. Only the BB calls.
She is a new player named Mrs B, and this is the first time I've played with her. She an older lady who is a very "recreational" player. So far, she's been playing a lot of pots. If she raises preflop, it's always a min-raise. She will call with a very wide range post-flop, but she will check Top Pair on the Flop.
Turn [Kh 3c 3s] 8s. She checks. She seemed rather reluctant to call the 225, so I fire again for 525 with my Flush Draw. She quickly folds.
Level 4 (100/200) 12025 - I limped in SB with Ah 2d. Four players saw the Flop of 7s 5c 3c, and all checked. Turn [7s 5c 3c] 5s. Since nobody showed much interest on the Flop, I lead out for 325. The BB (Julie) and the Button (Adam) called. River [7s 5c 3c 5s] Qh. Everybody checked, and my A-high was good.
Level 5 (125/250) 12950 - We are now up to 16 runners, but only 14 are left. I raised with KJ on the Button. I won the pot by hitting the K on the River.
BREAK TIME.
Level 6 (150/300) 11475 - I limped on the Button with T8c. Five players see the Flop of Kc Ks Qc. It checks around to me, and I bet 625 with my Flush Draw. Only the BB (Mrs B) calls. I hit my Flush on the Turn, and we both check. On the River, she bets 1000. This surprised me. She either got a K or a Full House. I decide to do a Min raise to 2000. If she goes All-In, then I will make the easy fold. But she just calls with a K.
Later, I limped on the Button with 64o. Three players see the Flop of Q 6 4. A Mid player (Morgan) bets 1000. Since I know that he likes to bet, I just call. Turn [Q 6 4] J. He bets 2000. I grab my stack of 500 chips, and push it forward. Unfortunately, it's only 8 chips, or 4000, so he calls the min-raise. River [Q 6 4 J] J. He checks. I turn my hand over in disgust at getting counterfeited. He wins the pot with QTs. I'm not sure he would have called if I made a "real" raise on the Turn.
Level 7 (200/400) 12575 - Blind vs Blind against Adam, who is the SB. We both limp. Flop J 8 3. He bets 500, and I call. Turn [J 8 3] 2. He checks. I bet 700, and he calls. River [J 8 3 2] 5. He checks, and I bet 1000. He says that his Pair is no good, and folds. I show 97o for a missed Gutshot. Gotta love the Value Bluff.
Level 8 (250/500) 18050 - I start bleeding chips. Not from any big pots. But calling a min-raise preflop, or getting check-raised after stabbing at a pot is starting to add up now that the Blinds are getting up there.
Morgan's been raising a lot against my Blinds, and I need to slow him down. After he raised in Mid position, I pushed back on the Button with A6. He snap called with TT. This was a mistake by me because he had less chips then I realized. However, my mistake was rewarded with an A on the Flop.
That sent Morgan home, and us to the Final Table shortly before the Level ended. I've got a slightly above average stack at this point. On my direct Right is Meat, and my direct Left is Mrs B.
Level 9 (300/600) 21550 - UTG+1 (Adam) make it 1700 to go. Two players call. I'm on the Button. I look down at AJo, and decided to squeeze it up to 7000. All fold.
Next hand, it folds to me in the Cutoff. I raise to 1600 with 65o. Only the BB (K-Tina) calls. Flop Tc 3h 2c. She leads out for 2200, and has about 4k behind. I decide not to gamble with my Gutshot, and fold.
Level 10 (400/800) 9700 - Mid (Jack) limps. CO (Linda) raises 2200. SB (Meat) calls. I'm the BB, and I look down at Ad Qh. I really can't call here, so it's a Push or Fold situation. I look over at Linda, and she's checking out her chip stack like she's counting it. I think she wants to get her chips in the middle, so I fold. Flop Qc Tc 8c. They both get the chips All-In. Linda has Ac Kh for the Nut Flush draw, but she's drawing dead. Meat called with J9c for a Straight Flush, and Linda is left with about 2k in chips. If I had shoved, I would hit my 3-outer against her. So I made the right move at the wrong time.
Since she's so short-stacked, she starts going All-In every chance she gets. I call the 2nd one for 4500 with 76c. She has 55, and wins the Race. This was a mistake by me. The Blinds are to high to start gambling at the Final Table.
Later, I raise to 2100 on the Hyjack with JTo. CO (Mrs B) and BB (Jack) call. Flop Ac 9c 7h. I make a C-Bet of 4100. Mrs B calls. The Flush came on the Turn, and we both check. I hit my J on the River, but I just check. She has A5d and wins the pot. Making that C-Bet was a mistake against someone who doesn't like to fold, especially when they will call my preflop raise with any A.
BREAK TIME. We've got 8 players left.
Level 11 (500/1000) 11200 - UTG (Mrs B) min-raised to 2000. Mid (K-Tina) calls. SB (Meat) folds. I'm the BB, and call with 85d. I flop a Flush draw, and quickly ship it All-In for 7700. Everyone folds.
Later, I raised to 2500 with QTh in Mid, and get two callers. The Flop came out K-high. I checked and folded.
Level 12 (600/1200) 28900 - I doubled up with KK.
Later, Mid (Jack) raises to 3600. The next player (McLovin') goes All-In for 5900. It folds around to me in the SB. I've got AQo, and ship it for 18400 total (12300 more). Jack goes deep in to the tank. He counts his stack, which is around 42k. After almost two minutes, he folds AK face up. I turn my hand over, and McLovin' shows 55. The Flop comes KQX, and I win the pot. We are now 6 handed.
Level 13 (700/1500) 57500 - Five players left, which is the Bubble. It folds to the Button (Meat), who raises to 4500. I'm the SB, and look down at KK. I see no reason to get cute here, so I raise to 12000. Meat quickly goes All-In with AK, and I call. The last remaining K hits the Flop, which seals the deal. We count down our stacks, and he's got about 4k left. He hangs around for a bit, but eventually is the Bubble Boy.
Level 14 (1k/2k) 75k-85k ish - Still four handed. Jack is the Button, and limps again. SB (Linda) calls. I'm the BB with ATo, and check. Flop is T 8 6. SB checks. I check my Top Top, because I'm sure that Jack will fire at it. He does for 5k. SB folds. I check-raise to 15k. Jack quickly goes All-In. Crap, I hope he didn't hit a monster. I ask how much, and he's got 19k more. I gotta make the call, and say I've got AT. He gets the "Are you serious?" look on his face, and turns over KT. He misses his 3-outer, and is out in 4th place. I've now got the dominant stack at the table.
Level 15 (1200/2500) 85500 - Been three handed the whole level. I started off as the dominant stack, with well over 100k. I'm trying to play small pots, and not give away any Courtesy Double-Ups. But at any Final Table, sometimes you just gotta call. I double up both of them with Coin Flips, like 88 vs Linda's AK. This evens things up a bit, but I'm still chips leader.
Since we're three handed, most of the pots are Heads-Up. I'm playing pots against Mrs B very differently then the pots I play against Linda. As I've said before, Mrs B is a recreational player, and is not a fan of folding. Linda is an experienced grinder, and has no problem folding.
Level 16 (1500/3000) 160k - I raise on the Button to 8000 with A4o. Mrs B (SB) goes All-In. Linda folds her BB. It looks like she's got around 15-18k, so I call. She has KJ, and hit her card. After counting her chips, she actually had 27k more, and she is now the chip leader. If I knew she had that many, I wouldn't have called with just a baby Ace. Another mistake by me.
Shortly after, Mrs B min-raises to 6k on the Button. Linda calls in the SB. I look at A9 in the BB. A9 is a rather good hand with just three players left. I consider shipping it All-In, but there is no Fold Equity because Mrs B doesn't like to fold. I am the best player at this table, so why get into a Coin Flip if I don't have to? I just call the extra 3k. All three of us end up checking it down. Mrs B win the pot with AT-high. I pat myself on the back for being disciplined.
Shortly after, Linda goes All-In from the SB. I look down at AK, and call. She's got 66. I win the Race, and Linda finishes in 3rd. This give me back the chip lead, but only by 2k over Mrs B.
Linda decides to stick around, and shuffle the cards while Julie deals Heads-Up. The hands were coming faster then we could post our blinds. I'm playing Super Small Ball against Mrs B, with an occasional preflop raise or a stab at a pot. I'm just waiting to hit something big, and end this tourney. Finally, in the last hand of the level. I flop Bottom Pair, turn Bottom Two Pair, and river a Boat. Mrs B calls the All-In, and the tourney is over.
This was my first Home tourney win of the year. Being that we are halfway through this year, it's a little pathetic.
We started out with 12 players. I am seated at Table 2. I like my seat draw, since four of the six players are women. The only other guy is Adam, and he's on my direct Right. Host Julie is on my Left.
End of Level 1 (25/50) 9850 - So far, the play has been normal for the first level. I called two preflop raises, but airballed the Flops. Towards the end of the Level, I limped with AT, hit Top Pair on Flop, and won it on the Turn.
Level 2 (50/100) 9900 - Currently, we have 13 runners for the tournament. I raised to 250 with KQo. Won it on a Q-high Flop. With the small field tonight, I'm trying to play patiently until we get to the Final Table, then I can work my magic.
Level 3 (75/150) 10775 - The 14th player (Morgan) just walked in, and is at our table. I limped on the Button with 92s. Four players see a Flop of Kh 3c 3s. It checks to me, and I make a stab of 225. Only the BB calls.
She is a new player named Mrs B, and this is the first time I've played with her. She an older lady who is a very "recreational" player. So far, she's been playing a lot of pots. If she raises preflop, it's always a min-raise. She will call with a very wide range post-flop, but she will check Top Pair on the Flop.
Turn [Kh 3c 3s] 8s. She checks. She seemed rather reluctant to call the 225, so I fire again for 525 with my Flush Draw. She quickly folds.
Level 4 (100/200) 12025 - I limped in SB with Ah 2d. Four players saw the Flop of 7s 5c 3c, and all checked. Turn [7s 5c 3c] 5s. Since nobody showed much interest on the Flop, I lead out for 325. The BB (Julie) and the Button (Adam) called. River [7s 5c 3c 5s] Qh. Everybody checked, and my A-high was good.
Level 5 (125/250) 12950 - We are now up to 16 runners, but only 14 are left. I raised with KJ on the Button. I won the pot by hitting the K on the River.
BREAK TIME.
Level 6 (150/300) 11475 - I limped on the Button with T8c. Five players see the Flop of Kc Ks Qc. It checks around to me, and I bet 625 with my Flush Draw. Only the BB (Mrs B) calls. I hit my Flush on the Turn, and we both check. On the River, she bets 1000. This surprised me. She either got a K or a Full House. I decide to do a Min raise to 2000. If she goes All-In, then I will make the easy fold. But she just calls with a K.
Later, I limped on the Button with 64o. Three players see the Flop of Q 6 4. A Mid player (Morgan) bets 1000. Since I know that he likes to bet, I just call. Turn [Q 6 4] J. He bets 2000. I grab my stack of 500 chips, and push it forward. Unfortunately, it's only 8 chips, or 4000, so he calls the min-raise. River [Q 6 4 J] J. He checks. I turn my hand over in disgust at getting counterfeited. He wins the pot with QTs. I'm not sure he would have called if I made a "real" raise on the Turn.
Level 7 (200/400) 12575 - Blind vs Blind against Adam, who is the SB. We both limp. Flop J 8 3. He bets 500, and I call. Turn [J 8 3] 2. He checks. I bet 700, and he calls. River [J 8 3 2] 5. He checks, and I bet 1000. He says that his Pair is no good, and folds. I show 97o for a missed Gutshot. Gotta love the Value Bluff.
Level 8 (250/500) 18050 - I start bleeding chips. Not from any big pots. But calling a min-raise preflop, or getting check-raised after stabbing at a pot is starting to add up now that the Blinds are getting up there.
Morgan's been raising a lot against my Blinds, and I need to slow him down. After he raised in Mid position, I pushed back on the Button with A6. He snap called with TT. This was a mistake by me because he had less chips then I realized. However, my mistake was rewarded with an A on the Flop.
That sent Morgan home, and us to the Final Table shortly before the Level ended. I've got a slightly above average stack at this point. On my direct Right is Meat, and my direct Left is Mrs B.
Level 9 (300/600) 21550 - UTG+1 (Adam) make it 1700 to go. Two players call. I'm on the Button. I look down at AJo, and decided to squeeze it up to 7000. All fold.
Next hand, it folds to me in the Cutoff. I raise to 1600 with 65o. Only the BB (K-Tina) calls. Flop Tc 3h 2c. She leads out for 2200, and has about 4k behind. I decide not to gamble with my Gutshot, and fold.
Level 10 (400/800) 9700 - Mid (Jack) limps. CO (Linda) raises 2200. SB (Meat) calls. I'm the BB, and I look down at Ad Qh. I really can't call here, so it's a Push or Fold situation. I look over at Linda, and she's checking out her chip stack like she's counting it. I think she wants to get her chips in the middle, so I fold. Flop Qc Tc 8c. They both get the chips All-In. Linda has Ac Kh for the Nut Flush draw, but she's drawing dead. Meat called with J9c for a Straight Flush, and Linda is left with about 2k in chips. If I had shoved, I would hit my 3-outer against her. So I made the right move at the wrong time.
Since she's so short-stacked, she starts going All-In every chance she gets. I call the 2nd one for 4500 with 76c. She has 55, and wins the Race. This was a mistake by me. The Blinds are to high to start gambling at the Final Table.
Later, I raise to 2100 on the Hyjack with JTo. CO (Mrs B) and BB (Jack) call. Flop Ac 9c 7h. I make a C-Bet of 4100. Mrs B calls. The Flush came on the Turn, and we both check. I hit my J on the River, but I just check. She has A5d and wins the pot. Making that C-Bet was a mistake against someone who doesn't like to fold, especially when they will call my preflop raise with any A.
BREAK TIME. We've got 8 players left.
Level 11 (500/1000) 11200 - UTG (Mrs B) min-raised to 2000. Mid (K-Tina) calls. SB (Meat) folds. I'm the BB, and call with 85d. I flop a Flush draw, and quickly ship it All-In for 7700. Everyone folds.
Later, I raised to 2500 with QTh in Mid, and get two callers. The Flop came out K-high. I checked and folded.
Level 12 (600/1200) 28900 - I doubled up with KK.
Later, Mid (Jack) raises to 3600. The next player (McLovin') goes All-In for 5900. It folds around to me in the SB. I've got AQo, and ship it for 18400 total (12300 more). Jack goes deep in to the tank. He counts his stack, which is around 42k. After almost two minutes, he folds AK face up. I turn my hand over, and McLovin' shows 55. The Flop comes KQX, and I win the pot. We are now 6 handed.
Level 13 (700/1500) 57500 - Five players left, which is the Bubble. It folds to the Button (Meat), who raises to 4500. I'm the SB, and look down at KK. I see no reason to get cute here, so I raise to 12000. Meat quickly goes All-In with AK, and I call. The last remaining K hits the Flop, which seals the deal. We count down our stacks, and he's got about 4k left. He hangs around for a bit, but eventually is the Bubble Boy.
Level 14 (1k/2k) 75k-85k ish - Still four handed. Jack is the Button, and limps again. SB (Linda) calls. I'm the BB with ATo, and check. Flop is T 8 6. SB checks. I check my Top Top, because I'm sure that Jack will fire at it. He does for 5k. SB folds. I check-raise to 15k. Jack quickly goes All-In. Crap, I hope he didn't hit a monster. I ask how much, and he's got 19k more. I gotta make the call, and say I've got AT. He gets the "Are you serious?" look on his face, and turns over KT. He misses his 3-outer, and is out in 4th place. I've now got the dominant stack at the table.
Level 15 (1200/2500) 85500 - Been three handed the whole level. I started off as the dominant stack, with well over 100k. I'm trying to play small pots, and not give away any Courtesy Double-Ups. But at any Final Table, sometimes you just gotta call. I double up both of them with Coin Flips, like 88 vs Linda's AK. This evens things up a bit, but I'm still chips leader.
Since we're three handed, most of the pots are Heads-Up. I'm playing pots against Mrs B very differently then the pots I play against Linda. As I've said before, Mrs B is a recreational player, and is not a fan of folding. Linda is an experienced grinder, and has no problem folding.
Level 16 (1500/3000) 160k - I raise on the Button to 8000 with A4o. Mrs B (SB) goes All-In. Linda folds her BB. It looks like she's got around 15-18k, so I call. She has KJ, and hit her card. After counting her chips, she actually had 27k more, and she is now the chip leader. If I knew she had that many, I wouldn't have called with just a baby Ace. Another mistake by me.
Shortly after, Mrs B min-raises to 6k on the Button. Linda calls in the SB. I look at A9 in the BB. A9 is a rather good hand with just three players left. I consider shipping it All-In, but there is no Fold Equity because Mrs B doesn't like to fold. I am the best player at this table, so why get into a Coin Flip if I don't have to? I just call the extra 3k. All three of us end up checking it down. Mrs B win the pot with AT-high. I pat myself on the back for being disciplined.
Shortly after, Linda goes All-In from the SB. I look down at AK, and call. She's got 66. I win the Race, and Linda finishes in 3rd. This give me back the chip lead, but only by 2k over Mrs B.
Linda decides to stick around, and shuffle the cards while Julie deals Heads-Up. The hands were coming faster then we could post our blinds. I'm playing Super Small Ball against Mrs B, with an occasional preflop raise or a stab at a pot. I'm just waiting to hit something big, and end this tourney. Finally, in the last hand of the level. I flop Bottom Pair, turn Bottom Two Pair, and river a Boat. Mrs B calls the All-In, and the tourney is over.
This was my first Home tourney win of the year. Being that we are halfway through this year, it's a little pathetic.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Looks Like I Picked The Wrong Week To Quit Sniffing Glue
Sunday:
Since my usual Saturday night game went on hiatus for the summer, the Home games have kinda dried up. One of our regular hosts, Julie, decided to have a Sunday afternoon $40 tournament. She has two tables in her basement, and we ended up with 16 players. Things went badly for me early on, and never really got better. I finished in 12th place.
I ended up hanging around because Host Julie was also out of the tournament, and she wanted to play some Heads-Up. After the Final Table was set, we sat down at the other table and threw together a simple $10 Sit-N-Go. I got off to a great start by getting all the cards, and it looked like I was cruising to a victory. But somebody flipped the Doomswitch, and the all the cards started going Julie's way. I eventually lost the first match.
We ended up playing two more $10 matches before the main tournament finished up. I lost all three games. I must admit that it's not easy to lose three straight Heads-Up matches. I could easily blame it on the Cards, but I'm not sure that's the reason. Heads-Up is all about making adjustments, and maybe I just wasn't making the proper adjustments.
Or maybe it was just one of those days.
Monday:
After work, I headed down to Mountaineer for my usual overnight trip. As it turned out, they had a $2/$5 game going on a Monday night, which was quite a surprise. Unfortunately, I didn't bring enough money to play in that game.
So I got a seat at a $1/$2 table around 7:30pm. The table was rather soft with a lot of limpy play. There were no Action Guys, nor were there any "Players" at this table. I was really cards dead for the first couple of hours, but it didn't matter. I was able to steal various pots, and my stack was floating between +$75 and +$140.
For the last hour or so, I started to get a few hands. Some went very well, and some were very annoying. At 11:30pm, I cashed out +$121.
Tuesday:
I played in the 12:15 $65 tournament which had 40 players. Mountaineer is having a "Double Stack" promotion for their tournament this month, so we started with 14k chips which included the Dealer AddOn.
I was really card dead in the beginning, and only won one pot that was Blind vs Blind. After a few levels, I got moved to another table right after somebody knocked out three players. This player was playing a lot of hands, and trying to bully the table. He was also very willing to give out some "Courtesy Double Ups". I shoved All-In from UTG+1 with ATh, and he called me from the SB with QTo. By the first break, I had 13k chips, just 1000 below my starting stack.
After the break, things went better for me. I picked up a few hands, and got some chips. Action Guy dusted off his big stack, and I got some of it. I had around an average stack of 31k when we got to the Final Table at the 2nd break.
In the 2k/4k/500 level, I went All-In for 35k with JJ in Mid position. An Old Guy on the Button called with AK. The King on the Flop knocked me out in 8th place four hours after the tournament started, and three spots away from the Money.
I headed over to the main casino to check out the new Buffet, but it was closed. So I decided to try my luck at some 3-Card Poker. I haven't been playing the game lately because I've been running ice cold in that game. Since I've been running so bad, I decided to try a minor change to my "system". It's too complicated to explain here, but was successful. In hands that this change affected, I was up $70. Unfortunately, this only meant that I got to play a couple of extra hand before going busto. The Dealer was having a very good day, which has been normal for me over the last few months.
Wednesday:
Even though my regular Saturday night game is off for the summer, Host Dave does have an occasional weekday Cash game, starting at 7pm and ending around Midnight. I was only planning on staying until 10-10:30, so I just brought $150 and put all of it on the table.
I was really tired, and I shouldn't have even gone. I played horrible. I was very weak and passive. I really brought my C- game to the table. I made a horrible call with AQ on a Q76 5 8 board even though I couldn't beat anything. He end up with Two Pair.
As the night went on, I was just going through the motions, and slowly bleeding chips. Finally at 9:30, my stack was down to $60. I cashed out, and went home to crash in my bed.
Since my usual Saturday night game went on hiatus for the summer, the Home games have kinda dried up. One of our regular hosts, Julie, decided to have a Sunday afternoon $40 tournament. She has two tables in her basement, and we ended up with 16 players. Things went badly for me early on, and never really got better. I finished in 12th place.
I ended up hanging around because Host Julie was also out of the tournament, and she wanted to play some Heads-Up. After the Final Table was set, we sat down at the other table and threw together a simple $10 Sit-N-Go. I got off to a great start by getting all the cards, and it looked like I was cruising to a victory. But somebody flipped the Doomswitch, and the all the cards started going Julie's way. I eventually lost the first match.
We ended up playing two more $10 matches before the main tournament finished up. I lost all three games. I must admit that it's not easy to lose three straight Heads-Up matches. I could easily blame it on the Cards, but I'm not sure that's the reason. Heads-Up is all about making adjustments, and maybe I just wasn't making the proper adjustments.
Or maybe it was just one of those days.
Monday:
After work, I headed down to Mountaineer for my usual overnight trip. As it turned out, they had a $2/$5 game going on a Monday night, which was quite a surprise. Unfortunately, I didn't bring enough money to play in that game.
So I got a seat at a $1/$2 table around 7:30pm. The table was rather soft with a lot of limpy play. There were no Action Guys, nor were there any "Players" at this table. I was really cards dead for the first couple of hours, but it didn't matter. I was able to steal various pots, and my stack was floating between +$75 and +$140.
For the last hour or so, I started to get a few hands. Some went very well, and some were very annoying. At 11:30pm, I cashed out +$121.
Tuesday:
I played in the 12:15 $65 tournament which had 40 players. Mountaineer is having a "Double Stack" promotion for their tournament this month, so we started with 14k chips which included the Dealer AddOn.
I was really card dead in the beginning, and only won one pot that was Blind vs Blind. After a few levels, I got moved to another table right after somebody knocked out three players. This player was playing a lot of hands, and trying to bully the table. He was also very willing to give out some "Courtesy Double Ups". I shoved All-In from UTG+1 with ATh, and he called me from the SB with QTo. By the first break, I had 13k chips, just 1000 below my starting stack.
After the break, things went better for me. I picked up a few hands, and got some chips. Action Guy dusted off his big stack, and I got some of it. I had around an average stack of 31k when we got to the Final Table at the 2nd break.
In the 2k/4k/500 level, I went All-In for 35k with JJ in Mid position. An Old Guy on the Button called with AK. The King on the Flop knocked me out in 8th place four hours after the tournament started, and three spots away from the Money.
I headed over to the main casino to check out the new Buffet, but it was closed. So I decided to try my luck at some 3-Card Poker. I haven't been playing the game lately because I've been running ice cold in that game. Since I've been running so bad, I decided to try a minor change to my "system". It's too complicated to explain here, but was successful. In hands that this change affected, I was up $70. Unfortunately, this only meant that I got to play a couple of extra hand before going busto. The Dealer was having a very good day, which has been normal for me over the last few months.
Wednesday:
Even though my regular Saturday night game is off for the summer, Host Dave does have an occasional weekday Cash game, starting at 7pm and ending around Midnight. I was only planning on staying until 10-10:30, so I just brought $150 and put all of it on the table.
I was really tired, and I shouldn't have even gone. I played horrible. I was very weak and passive. I really brought my C- game to the table. I made a horrible call with AQ on a Q76 5 8 board even though I couldn't beat anything. He end up with Two Pair.
As the night went on, I was just going through the motions, and slowly bleeding chips. Finally at 9:30, my stack was down to $60. I cashed out, and went home to crash in my bed.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Dave's Summer Blowout & Team Tournament
Normally for our Saturday night tournaments, I have to run them, so I never get to do one of my Running Logs. But since I'm not the Head Honcho tonight, I thought I would give you one of these reports.
This is an $80 Team Tournament, using a similar format to the Dream Team tournaments that ran with the Pros a couple of times last year, including the WSOP. There are three players on a Team. 60% of the Prize Money goes to the Team, and 40% goes to the Individual. The Team score is your top Two finishes, while the 3rd player's finish doesn't count. Each teammate also gets a Help Chip. At any time, you can ask a teammate for help, as long as they are not still in the same hand that you are playing. Also, you can get more Help Chips by knocking out a player, and getting their Help Chip.
Shuffle Up & Deal 12000 - Looks like we've got 48 players (16 Teams). I'm at Table 5, and I've got a good seat draw. I'm surround by women, and the Action Players are on the other side of the table.
End of Level 1 (25/50) 11500 - I won the very first pot. I was the BB, and it was checked down. Chip Leader! I splashed around in position, but I didn't win any more pots. The table is playing normal for this early stage of the tournament. A decent amount of splashing around, but no big pots.
Level 2 (50/100) 11250 - Didn't really play a hand. Cards suck right now. T Gross has the most chips. He's doing a lot of check-raising into multiple players, and they are usually folding. Hopefully, I can take advantage of this later.
Level 3 (75/150) 11750 - UTG (Monsignor) limps. Next player (Matt G) raises to 400. Next player (Donkey Dawn) calls. I'm the next player. I look down at 77, and decide to 3-Bet to 1500. Everyone folded. The cards still suck, but this is a deep structure. Being patient, and waiting for opportunities is the key.
Level 4 (100/200) 13825 - I limped with 44 in the CutOff. The SB (Super Grrrl) raises to 600. Only the Hyjack and myself call. Flop Jc Ts 9c. SB & Hyjack check. I bet 1100. SB thinks, and calls with a funny look on her face. It could be her Hollywooding a big hand. Hyjack folds. Turn is [Jc Ts 9c] 8h. SB checks, and so do I. River is [Jc Ts 9c 8h] 8s. She checks. I'm fairly sure that she's got AK here, so I just turn over my 44, and it's good.
Level 5 (125/250) 13225 - Different level, same crappy cards. Players are starting to bust out of the tourney, but no one from our table yet.
Level 6 (150/300) 16500 - I hit Straights on back to back hands in the Blinds. First one was on the River; second on the Turn. I bet 2500 on the River of the 2nd one to look like a missed Flush Draw, but both players folded. We are now on Break.
Level 7 (200/400) 16000 - Shortly after the Break, my table got busted, and I was moved to Table 2. In my first hand, I limped in the CutOff with Q9o. I stabbed at the QJ8 Flop, and took it down.
Level 8 (300/600) 23600 - UTG (Eddie J) limped. Mid player (some new guy) raised to 2100. CutOff (R Rufe) calls. I'm the Button. I look down at AKo, and 3-Bet to 7000. Both Blinds eject. UTG thinks for a bit, and folds. Mid guy folds. CutOff thinks for almost two minutes before folding. I found out later he had 99.
Later, I tried to steal from the Button with 33. Only the BB called. The pot got checked down, and my 33 was good.
Level 9 (400/800) 22000 - Back to playing no hands. This table is playing rather calm, with more walks than there should be. It looks like it's time to step on the Gas.
Level 10 (500/1000) 20000 - I started to raise more preflop, with mixed results. The player on my direct Left (Mike T) has over 60k, and is really cramping my style by playing a lot of pots, and calling most of my raises.
Level 11 (600/1200) 25700 - Last hand of the Level, it folds around to me in the SB. I've got Ks Kh, and just limp in, trying to trap the Big Stack. He checked. Flop Qs 5h 6h. I lead out for 1500. He calls. The Turn is [Qs 5h 6h] Th. I check. BB bets 2500. I call. River is [Qs 5h 6h Th] Ah. Sweet, I now have the Nut Flush. I check. BB bets 3300. I hesitate for a moment, and push All-In for 8700 more. He thinks for about two minutes, before reluctantly folding. He probably had the Qh for the 2nd Nut Flush.
Break Time.
Level 12 (800/1600) 12000 - We are down to two tables now, and one of my teammates (HostDave) has be eliminated a short while ago in 22nd. I raised with TT and won the Blinds. Later, I raised from UTG+1 with KQs. A Mid player (McLovin') uses one of his Help Chips. After a quick talk with his Teammate, he ships his entire stack for 8300 more chips. It folds around to me. I have to assume that he doesn't have my KQ crushed, due to the use of the Help Chip. Since this probably a Race, I call. He shows JJ, and I lose the coin flip.
Level 13 (1000/2000) 23000 - I got moved to Table 1. My teammate (Data) is across the table, but only has around 22k chips. Later, after it folded around to me, I ship on the Button with Q4 for 11000. The SB folds, but the BB (Karl MF) snap calls with 77. I flip my cards over, and say, "I thought I had AQ.". Fortunately, the Door card was the Qh, and get a little lucky.
Level 14 (1200/2400) 0 - We are 7-handed now. I look down at 33 in Early Position, and shove All-In for 23000. A Mid player (McLovin' again, who just moved to this table) tanks, and wants to use a Help Chip. But his teammate is the BB in this hand, so he can't get any Help. He finally calls, and flips over JJ. WTF? I miss my Set Draw, and finish in 14th place.
My last remaining teammate (Data) was knock out right after me in 13th place. His AQ ran into QQ. We ended up out of the Team Money, even though we were the last team to have all three players alive in the tournament. None of us made it to the Final Table, and that is usually important in tournaments.
This is an $80 Team Tournament, using a similar format to the Dream Team tournaments that ran with the Pros a couple of times last year, including the WSOP. There are three players on a Team. 60% of the Prize Money goes to the Team, and 40% goes to the Individual. The Team score is your top Two finishes, while the 3rd player's finish doesn't count. Each teammate also gets a Help Chip. At any time, you can ask a teammate for help, as long as they are not still in the same hand that you are playing. Also, you can get more Help Chips by knocking out a player, and getting their Help Chip.
Shuffle Up & Deal 12000 - Looks like we've got 48 players (16 Teams). I'm at Table 5, and I've got a good seat draw. I'm surround by women, and the Action Players are on the other side of the table.
End of Level 1 (25/50) 11500 - I won the very first pot. I was the BB, and it was checked down. Chip Leader! I splashed around in position, but I didn't win any more pots. The table is playing normal for this early stage of the tournament. A decent amount of splashing around, but no big pots.
Level 2 (50/100) 11250 - Didn't really play a hand. Cards suck right now. T Gross has the most chips. He's doing a lot of check-raising into multiple players, and they are usually folding. Hopefully, I can take advantage of this later.
Level 3 (75/150) 11750 - UTG (Monsignor) limps. Next player (Matt G) raises to 400. Next player (Donkey Dawn) calls. I'm the next player. I look down at 77, and decide to 3-Bet to 1500. Everyone folded. The cards still suck, but this is a deep structure. Being patient, and waiting for opportunities is the key.
Level 4 (100/200) 13825 - I limped with 44 in the CutOff. The SB (Super Grrrl) raises to 600. Only the Hyjack and myself call. Flop Jc Ts 9c. SB & Hyjack check. I bet 1100. SB thinks, and calls with a funny look on her face. It could be her Hollywooding a big hand. Hyjack folds. Turn is [Jc Ts 9c] 8h. SB checks, and so do I. River is [Jc Ts 9c 8h] 8s. She checks. I'm fairly sure that she's got AK here, so I just turn over my 44, and it's good.
Level 5 (125/250) 13225 - Different level, same crappy cards. Players are starting to bust out of the tourney, but no one from our table yet.
Level 6 (150/300) 16500 - I hit Straights on back to back hands in the Blinds. First one was on the River; second on the Turn. I bet 2500 on the River of the 2nd one to look like a missed Flush Draw, but both players folded. We are now on Break.
Level 7 (200/400) 16000 - Shortly after the Break, my table got busted, and I was moved to Table 2. In my first hand, I limped in the CutOff with Q9o. I stabbed at the QJ8 Flop, and took it down.
Level 8 (300/600) 23600 - UTG (Eddie J) limped. Mid player (some new guy) raised to 2100. CutOff (R Rufe) calls. I'm the Button. I look down at AKo, and 3-Bet to 7000. Both Blinds eject. UTG thinks for a bit, and folds. Mid guy folds. CutOff thinks for almost two minutes before folding. I found out later he had 99.
Later, I tried to steal from the Button with 33. Only the BB called. The pot got checked down, and my 33 was good.
Level 9 (400/800) 22000 - Back to playing no hands. This table is playing rather calm, with more walks than there should be. It looks like it's time to step on the Gas.
Level 10 (500/1000) 20000 - I started to raise more preflop, with mixed results. The player on my direct Left (Mike T) has over 60k, and is really cramping my style by playing a lot of pots, and calling most of my raises.
Level 11 (600/1200) 25700 - Last hand of the Level, it folds around to me in the SB. I've got Ks Kh, and just limp in, trying to trap the Big Stack. He checked. Flop Qs 5h 6h. I lead out for 1500. He calls. The Turn is [Qs 5h 6h] Th. I check. BB bets 2500. I call. River is [Qs 5h 6h Th] Ah. Sweet, I now have the Nut Flush. I check. BB bets 3300. I hesitate for a moment, and push All-In for 8700 more. He thinks for about two minutes, before reluctantly folding. He probably had the Qh for the 2nd Nut Flush.
Break Time.
Level 12 (800/1600) 12000 - We are down to two tables now, and one of my teammates (HostDave) has be eliminated a short while ago in 22nd. I raised with TT and won the Blinds. Later, I raised from UTG+1 with KQs. A Mid player (McLovin') uses one of his Help Chips. After a quick talk with his Teammate, he ships his entire stack for 8300 more chips. It folds around to me. I have to assume that he doesn't have my KQ crushed, due to the use of the Help Chip. Since this probably a Race, I call. He shows JJ, and I lose the coin flip.
Level 13 (1000/2000) 23000 - I got moved to Table 1. My teammate (Data) is across the table, but only has around 22k chips. Later, after it folded around to me, I ship on the Button with Q4 for 11000. The SB folds, but the BB (Karl MF) snap calls with 77. I flip my cards over, and say, "I thought I had AQ.". Fortunately, the Door card was the Qh, and get a little lucky.
Level 14 (1200/2400) 0 - We are 7-handed now. I look down at 33 in Early Position, and shove All-In for 23000. A Mid player (McLovin' again, who just moved to this table) tanks, and wants to use a Help Chip. But his teammate is the BB in this hand, so he can't get any Help. He finally calls, and flips over JJ. WTF? I miss my Set Draw, and finish in 14th place.
My last remaining teammate (Data) was knock out right after me in 13th place. His AQ ran into QQ. We ended up out of the Team Money, even though we were the last team to have all three players alive in the tournament. None of us made it to the Final Table, and that is usually important in tournaments.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
POY III Main Event
"Shuffle Up & Deal" 66300 - We actually managed to start on time at 7pm. But do to the steady flow of "Almost On-Time" players, I didn't get to buy-in.
End of Level 1 (100/100) 64700 - I finally got to buy-in. Ended up doing more TD stuff then playing cards. My table draw is good. Only 8 players at our table. I'm the Big Stack, with two other close behind. Also a few Action Players with smaller stacks.
Level 2 (100/200) 24600 - I'm away from the table, doing my TD stuff. It's a standing policy that if I'm not at the table, then fold my hand no matter what. I walk by the table and see the cards are dealt. I take a quick peek before going to do more TD stuff, and look at Ad Ac. So I sit down, and raise it to 700 from Mid position. Two or three players call. Flop Kc Td 9d. It checks to me, and I bet 1500. The Button (Gary K) calls. The UTG+1 player (Yosh) check-raises to 4200. I decide to just call, and the Button folds.
Turn [Kc Td 9d] As. Bingo! UTG+1 bets 8500. Right now I have the 2nd Nuts, behind the QJ Straight. Yosh has a good chip stack, and likes to splash around somewhat aggressively early in tournaments. With this being such a draw heavy board, he could have a Combo Draw like KQd or KJd. He could also have Two Pair or a Set. So I decide to raise to 20k.
Yosh instantly shoves All-In. After we count it down, it was 21k more to win around 76k. Now a I'm positive that he's got a made hand. Obviously, the Straight is likely, but a Set is also possible. With me getting around 3.5/1, I feel I'm pot committed with the Full House Draw, so I call. He shows QJ for the Straight. The River doesn't pair the Board, and I'm down to 16500.
Later, I win a decent pot against him with AK to get a few chips back.
Level 3 (200/400) 23200 - I lost some small pots, and got down to 17k. In the last hand of the Level, I picked up AA, and they held up.
Level 4 (300/600) 28500 - Up and down all level. My best win was calling a raise in the SB with AK. I check-raised a C-Bet on a K-high pot.
Level 5 (400/800/100) 23100 - I don't think I won a single pot. One of the Action Players (Gary K) is intentionally playing retarded, and catching cards.
Level 6 (500/1000/100) 21500 - Very card dead.
Level 7 (600/1200/100) 14400 - I called a raise with 66. I took a stab at the 3-way pot on Turn, but I was a distant 3rd place in the hand. The hand ended up being a Flopped Set (Caveman) vs a Turned Straight (ProWest) that was over 100k chips. One or two hands later, ProWest was given a gift of 60-70K from Gary K, who knocked himself out with a horrible River call. ProWest has over 200k, and is on my direct Left.
Level 8 (800/1600/200) 0 - Limped pot, and I'm the BB with 73c. The Flop of J 9 7 was checked around. The Turn [J 9 7] A was checked around to the Button (Monsignor). He bet 3000. I called because I think it's likely that he would have raised with an A on the Button. River [J 9 7 A] 7. I check. He bet 4000. I raised to 10k with my Trip 7. He grabbed a stack of 5k chips, and put me All-In. I've only got 13k left. I think for a minute. I'm now positive that he's got a real hand, and my Kicker doesn't play. I think that he would have bet Two Pair or a Set on the Flop. Another 7 is likely. With the A and J on the Board, there is a decent chance of a chop pot. A7 is also a possibility.
As I said, I've only got 13k left if I fold, and were only a few minutes from the end of this level. I kinda want to fold, because it's unlikely that I have the best hand. Either we're chopping or I'm beat. But I think my raise pot-committed me. I call, and say, "I hope you don't have A7."
He did, and I was out in 18th place.
I think that my undoing in this tourney wasn't just bad luck. I certainly don't think that dusting off chips in my two ugly hands was Donk-a-riffic. But the reason that I lost so much was because I raised, rather than just called.
One of the fundamental difference between Cash games and Tournaments is your state of mind. In Cash games, you should have the mindset of "How do I win the most in this situation?" With Tournaments, your mindset should be, "How do I lose the least in this situation?" I think that is especially true in longer Deep Stack structures, rather than the average $50 Casino daily tournament.
I came into this tournament with the wrong mindset. I mentioned before that I had a gameplan for this Main Event. That gameplan was to splash around with part of my starting stack to accumulate more chips, but keep some if it in lockdown. I think that was the wrong approach to this tournament. The players who finished 1st & 2nd in this tournament went with the ultra-small ball approach for most of the tournament, or "losing the least". I think that's what I should have done, especially since there were other players at my table who just love to splash around.
This concept isn't revolutionary, nor is it something that I didn't already know. But maybe in our Poker growth, we need to re-learn some concepts that have gotten away from us. This tournament was a bit of an epiphany in that respect.
Next Saturday is our end of season Summer Blowout. It's a cook-out, followed by a Team Tournament. It is loosely based on the Dream Team tournaments that ran at last year's WSOP. There should be between 45-50 player this week, and the structure should be decently long. I will go into it with the "Losing the Least" mindset, and hopefully end this lousy season on a high note.
End of Level 1 (100/100) 64700 - I finally got to buy-in. Ended up doing more TD stuff then playing cards. My table draw is good. Only 8 players at our table. I'm the Big Stack, with two other close behind. Also a few Action Players with smaller stacks.
Level 2 (100/200) 24600 - I'm away from the table, doing my TD stuff. It's a standing policy that if I'm not at the table, then fold my hand no matter what. I walk by the table and see the cards are dealt. I take a quick peek before going to do more TD stuff, and look at Ad Ac. So I sit down, and raise it to 700 from Mid position. Two or three players call. Flop Kc Td 9d. It checks to me, and I bet 1500. The Button (Gary K) calls. The UTG+1 player (Yosh) check-raises to 4200. I decide to just call, and the Button folds.
Turn [Kc Td 9d] As. Bingo! UTG+1 bets 8500. Right now I have the 2nd Nuts, behind the QJ Straight. Yosh has a good chip stack, and likes to splash around somewhat aggressively early in tournaments. With this being such a draw heavy board, he could have a Combo Draw like KQd or KJd. He could also have Two Pair or a Set. So I decide to raise to 20k.
Yosh instantly shoves All-In. After we count it down, it was 21k more to win around 76k. Now a I'm positive that he's got a made hand. Obviously, the Straight is likely, but a Set is also possible. With me getting around 3.5/1, I feel I'm pot committed with the Full House Draw, so I call. He shows QJ for the Straight. The River doesn't pair the Board, and I'm down to 16500.
Later, I win a decent pot against him with AK to get a few chips back.
Level 3 (200/400) 23200 - I lost some small pots, and got down to 17k. In the last hand of the Level, I picked up AA, and they held up.
Level 4 (300/600) 28500 - Up and down all level. My best win was calling a raise in the SB with AK. I check-raised a C-Bet on a K-high pot.
Level 5 (400/800/100) 23100 - I don't think I won a single pot. One of the Action Players (Gary K) is intentionally playing retarded, and catching cards.
Level 6 (500/1000/100) 21500 - Very card dead.
Level 7 (600/1200/100) 14400 - I called a raise with 66. I took a stab at the 3-way pot on Turn, but I was a distant 3rd place in the hand. The hand ended up being a Flopped Set (Caveman) vs a Turned Straight (ProWest) that was over 100k chips. One or two hands later, ProWest was given a gift of 60-70K from Gary K, who knocked himself out with a horrible River call. ProWest has over 200k, and is on my direct Left.
Level 8 (800/1600/200) 0 - Limped pot, and I'm the BB with 73c. The Flop of J 9 7 was checked around. The Turn [J 9 7] A was checked around to the Button (Monsignor). He bet 3000. I called because I think it's likely that he would have raised with an A on the Button. River [J 9 7 A] 7. I check. He bet 4000. I raised to 10k with my Trip 7. He grabbed a stack of 5k chips, and put me All-In. I've only got 13k left. I think for a minute. I'm now positive that he's got a real hand, and my Kicker doesn't play. I think that he would have bet Two Pair or a Set on the Flop. Another 7 is likely. With the A and J on the Board, there is a decent chance of a chop pot. A7 is also a possibility.
As I said, I've only got 13k left if I fold, and were only a few minutes from the end of this level. I kinda want to fold, because it's unlikely that I have the best hand. Either we're chopping or I'm beat. But I think my raise pot-committed me. I call, and say, "I hope you don't have A7."
He did, and I was out in 18th place.
I think that my undoing in this tourney wasn't just bad luck. I certainly don't think that dusting off chips in my two ugly hands was Donk-a-riffic. But the reason that I lost so much was because I raised, rather than just called.
One of the fundamental difference between Cash games and Tournaments is your state of mind. In Cash games, you should have the mindset of "How do I win the most in this situation?" With Tournaments, your mindset should be, "How do I lose the least in this situation?" I think that is especially true in longer Deep Stack structures, rather than the average $50 Casino daily tournament.
I came into this tournament with the wrong mindset. I mentioned before that I had a gameplan for this Main Event. That gameplan was to splash around with part of my starting stack to accumulate more chips, but keep some if it in lockdown. I think that was the wrong approach to this tournament. The players who finished 1st & 2nd in this tournament went with the ultra-small ball approach for most of the tournament, or "losing the least". I think that's what I should have done, especially since there were other players at my table who just love to splash around.
This concept isn't revolutionary, nor is it something that I didn't already know. But maybe in our Poker growth, we need to re-learn some concepts that have gotten away from us. This tournament was a bit of an epiphany in that respect.
Next Saturday is our end of season Summer Blowout. It's a cook-out, followed by a Team Tournament. It is loosely based on the Dream Team tournaments that ran at last year's WSOP. There should be between 45-50 player this week, and the structure should be decently long. I will go into it with the "Losing the Least" mindset, and hopefully end this lousy season on a high note.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Hand Of The Day #40
$1/$1 NLHE - 5.22.10 - Dave's Poker Pit (Home Game)
It's a straddle pot to $2, and basically everyone limped. I'm the SB, and I look down at Ad As. I decide to just call. If I raise to anything less than $20, then there will be many callers at this table. I would rather play a small pot out of position with AA, then a larger preflop pot with 4-5 players. Also, it is still possible that the BB or Straddle could get frisky. They don't.
7-8 players see a Flop of 5d 4d 2d. I decide to lead out for $11 with my Pair + Straight Flush Draw. A couple of players call. The Button (DougPoker) raise to $51, $40 on top. Being a Home game, many of us have played a lot of poker together over the past few years. I know that he's got a strong hand, probably a Flush. So I quickly ship it All-In for $96 on top of his raise, $147 total. Everyone folds around to the Button.
He goes into deep thought, and starts doing a combination of thinking out loud and talking to me. He also turns his hand over to get a read on me, K9d. He's much better at Tells and stuff than I am. So I try to be as Neutral as possible, especially since he's sitting right next to me. I do a little talking back to him, but not much. I know that too much talking can be considered a Tell, as well as being dead quiet. But on the inside, I'm thinking, "Fuck! I just lit a match to $150."
After about two minutes of thinking and talking, he grabs his cards, and folds. Now the question is to show or not to show. I decide to just show the Ad. I could have show both of them to try to put him on Tilt. But it was early in the session, and I'm not sure that he would have Tilted from that. Plus, I didn't want to show that I just limped with AA.
Showing just one card was the right choice. He was thinking out loud about this hand for at least the next 15 minutes. Plus it was the topic of conversation at out table for the next hour.
He did run out the Board after he folded, and another Diamond was nowhere to be found.
As for his laydown, even though he had the K-high flush, it was the 3rd Nuts at the time, or the same as the Q-high Flush. 63d was the Straight Flush. A3d was also a Straight Flush, but it's the same as an A-high Flush in this situation. This was a limped pot, and I'm the SB. So having the 63d or the Axd was a possibility. Plus, this was certainly not my normal play, so it threw off his radar.
Even though he was getting a decent price to call ($96 to win around $235-$245), I don't think it was a terrible fold. He went with his gut. He is not known for the Hero Fold, so I must say that I was impressed (and grateful).
It's a straddle pot to $2, and basically everyone limped. I'm the SB, and I look down at Ad As. I decide to just call. If I raise to anything less than $20, then there will be many callers at this table. I would rather play a small pot out of position with AA, then a larger preflop pot with 4-5 players. Also, it is still possible that the BB or Straddle could get frisky. They don't.
7-8 players see a Flop of 5d 4d 2d. I decide to lead out for $11 with my Pair + Straight Flush Draw. A couple of players call. The Button (DougPoker) raise to $51, $40 on top. Being a Home game, many of us have played a lot of poker together over the past few years. I know that he's got a strong hand, probably a Flush. So I quickly ship it All-In for $96 on top of his raise, $147 total. Everyone folds around to the Button.
He goes into deep thought, and starts doing a combination of thinking out loud and talking to me. He also turns his hand over to get a read on me, K9d. He's much better at Tells and stuff than I am. So I try to be as Neutral as possible, especially since he's sitting right next to me. I do a little talking back to him, but not much. I know that too much talking can be considered a Tell, as well as being dead quiet. But on the inside, I'm thinking, "Fuck! I just lit a match to $150."
After about two minutes of thinking and talking, he grabs his cards, and folds. Now the question is to show or not to show. I decide to just show the Ad. I could have show both of them to try to put him on Tilt. But it was early in the session, and I'm not sure that he would have Tilted from that. Plus, I didn't want to show that I just limped with AA.
Showing just one card was the right choice. He was thinking out loud about this hand for at least the next 15 minutes. Plus it was the topic of conversation at out table for the next hour.
He did run out the Board after he folded, and another Diamond was nowhere to be found.
As for his laydown, even though he had the K-high flush, it was the 3rd Nuts at the time, or the same as the Q-high Flush. 63d was the Straight Flush. A3d was also a Straight Flush, but it's the same as an A-high Flush in this situation. This was a limped pot, and I'm the SB. So having the 63d or the Axd was a possibility. Plus, this was certainly not my normal play, so it threw off his radar.
Even though he was getting a decent price to call ($96 to win around $235-$245), I don't think it was a terrible fold. He went with his gut. He is not known for the Hero Fold, so I must say that I was impressed (and grateful).
Saturday, May 22, 2010
It's All About The Points, Baby
For my regular Saturday home game, we have a "season" which goes from Labor Day to Memorial Day. We take the summer off due to a lack of A/C in the basement. This is our third season that we've been running with this format.
This season, we decided to have a Player of the Year (POY) Points Race. Players earn points by cashing, $200 equals 200 points. They can also earn points for bubbling, usually an amount just under the buy-in. Bubbling in our standard $30 tournament would earn you 25 points.
In order to participate in the POY, you need to pay $1 at the Buy-In, and $2 for the $50 Deeper Stack Tournaments. Participation in the POY is optional.
At the end of the season, there will be a POY Main Event. Your points determines how many chips you start with. The points leader starts with 100000 chips, and it goes down proportionally. A player who just has one Bubble ends up with around 11000 chips.
The structure for the Main Event is super deep stacked. I estimate that there will be between 12-14 hours of play. It's a 2-Day event. Day 1 starts on this Saturday at 7pm, has 30 minute levels, and should end around 2am. Day 2 starts on this Sunday at 3pm, has 45 minute levels, and should end around 8-9pm.
The Main Event has a buy-in of $60. The money paid into the POY pool (POY$) will be paid out to the Top 3 spots of the Main Event. It will be distributed with a 60%, 30%, 10% payout. We ended up with $975 POY$, and will be paid out $590 for 1st, $290 for 2nd, and $95 for 3rd. This money is in addition to the normal payouts for a $60 tournament.
As I already mentioned, the Main Event is tonight. There are 58 players eligible to play. I expect there to be 35-40 players. Some players have rather small stacks, and feel they don't have a chance. A few others have had some Real Life issues pop up, and will be unable to make it.
As for me, in spite have having what I consider to be a crappy season, I've got 1300 points and 66300 chips. The chip leader, Colin, has 2080 points, and 100000 chips. I've got the 6th biggest stack, but someone above me might not make it.
Since I'm likely to be either the Big Stack at my starting table, or the 2nd Big Stack, I do have a starting strategy in mind. I'm not going to publish the details in this post, just in case someone reads it before tonight. But, as with all tournaments, it will all depend on my table draw. The 2-4 players on my Left will determine exactly how I play tonight. Factors include if they have a very big stack, if they a very small stack, and if they're on my list of players to never steal from because they will not fold to me.
I am hoping to do one of my running logs for this tournament. But since I'm the TD, that might not work out the way I want it to.
This season, we decided to have a Player of the Year (POY) Points Race. Players earn points by cashing, $200 equals 200 points. They can also earn points for bubbling, usually an amount just under the buy-in. Bubbling in our standard $30 tournament would earn you 25 points.
In order to participate in the POY, you need to pay $1 at the Buy-In, and $2 for the $50 Deeper Stack Tournaments. Participation in the POY is optional.
At the end of the season, there will be a POY Main Event. Your points determines how many chips you start with. The points leader starts with 100000 chips, and it goes down proportionally. A player who just has one Bubble ends up with around 11000 chips.
The structure for the Main Event is super deep stacked. I estimate that there will be between 12-14 hours of play. It's a 2-Day event. Day 1 starts on this Saturday at 7pm, has 30 minute levels, and should end around 2am. Day 2 starts on this Sunday at 3pm, has 45 minute levels, and should end around 8-9pm.
The Main Event has a buy-in of $60. The money paid into the POY pool (POY$) will be paid out to the Top 3 spots of the Main Event. It will be distributed with a 60%, 30%, 10% payout. We ended up with $975 POY$, and will be paid out $590 for 1st, $290 for 2nd, and $95 for 3rd. This money is in addition to the normal payouts for a $60 tournament.
As I already mentioned, the Main Event is tonight. There are 58 players eligible to play. I expect there to be 35-40 players. Some players have rather small stacks, and feel they don't have a chance. A few others have had some Real Life issues pop up, and will be unable to make it.
As for me, in spite have having what I consider to be a crappy season, I've got 1300 points and 66300 chips. The chip leader, Colin, has 2080 points, and 100000 chips. I've got the 6th biggest stack, but someone above me might not make it.
Since I'm likely to be either the Big Stack at my starting table, or the 2nd Big Stack, I do have a starting strategy in mind. I'm not going to publish the details in this post, just in case someone reads it before tonight. But, as with all tournaments, it will all depend on my table draw. The 2-4 players on my Left will determine exactly how I play tonight. Factors include if they have a very big stack, if they a very small stack, and if they're on my list of players to never steal from because they will not fold to me.
I am hoping to do one of my running logs for this tournament. But since I'm the TD, that might not work out the way I want it to.
Monday, May 10, 2010
A Tale of Two Hands
We had 30 players for our Saturday night home game. I ended up finishing in 4th place for $100. I ended up losing two Races on consecutive hands: AK vs QQ and TT vs AK.
Instead of doing a recap of my skillful rise to the Money, I'm going to share two hands with you. One from the tourney, and one from the Cash game.
Hand #1: Tourney Level 4 (100/200)
I limped in Mid position with JTc. Five players saw a Flop of Ac Qh 4d. UTG+1 (ProWest) lead out for 600. I've got a Gutshot and backdoor Flush Draw. I decide to call because I want to gamble a little to get some chips. Everyone else folds.
Turn: [Ac Qh 4d] Qc - UTG+1 checks. I decide to bet 1100. He thinks for a moment, and check-raises to 2400. Now I go into deep thought. Being a home game, we play with the same group of players on a regular basis. He is certainly on the aggressive side, so he doesn't necessarily have a big hand. He also tends to think that I'm a bit of a Nit. So I decide to call. I still have my Gutshot, and have now picked up the Flush Draw. Although it is possible that neither Draw is any good.
River: [Ac Qh 4d Qc] 6c - UTG+1 bets 3000. I quickly call. I did hit my Flush, but I can't raise in this spot, and risk my tournament life. He says, "You got it." I show my hand, and he is not happy about it. He assumed that I had just Top Pair, and he was trying to bet me off of it. I think he just had a pocket pair, but he never showed.
Hand #2: $1/$1 NLHE
Colin raises to $7 in Mid position. A couple of callers. I'm the SB with Ah Ad. I decide to just call instead of 3-betting. Why? Because GrayDay is the BB, and is very plastered. He's slurring his words, having conversations with himself, and just playing poker like a drunk GrayDay. My Spidey-Sense is telling me that he's likely to do something stupid in this spot.
And he does. He 3-Bets to $27. Meat, sitting right before Colin, cold calls. Colin calls. It folds to me, and I 4-bet to $77 ($50 on top) which leave me $95 behind. GrayDay goes into the tank for what seemed like forever and finally calls. Meat also goes into the tank, and starts counting his stack. At this point, I realize that I didn't raise enough. I probably should have made it an even $100 to go. Meat finally calls the extra $50, and Colin jumps aboard this runaway train. Pot size: ~$320
Flop: Jc 4h 2d. Naturally, I ship my $95 stack in to the pot. Once again, BB tanks. He finally calls the $95, only leaving himself around $20-$40 behind. Meat folds his 55. Colin has 65 for a gutshot, but folds.
I show my hand. GrayDay doesn't. Turn: [Jc 4h 2d] 2s. Now he shows his hand, 52c. With the other 5's being folded, he just hit a true 2-outer. The River was a blank (6, I think), and he scoops a $500+ pot.
Since this hand started the Final Orbit, I just get up from the table, and wait for everyone else to finish up before our usual Breakfast at Denny's this time.
I'm not at all upset about the hand. I actually got what I wanted, which was GrayDay playing a huge pot drawing very thin. It just didn't work out like it should have. In that respect, it was similar to the hand the DP and I played a few weeks ago where he hit a 4-outer on the Turn after all the money went in on the Flop (Bottom Set vs Top Two Pair) for an almost $700 pot.
But between those two hands, that's a $1200 swing.
Ouch!
Instead of doing a recap of my skillful rise to the Money, I'm going to share two hands with you. One from the tourney, and one from the Cash game.
Hand #1: Tourney Level 4 (100/200)
I limped in Mid position with JTc. Five players saw a Flop of Ac Qh 4d. UTG+1 (ProWest) lead out for 600. I've got a Gutshot and backdoor Flush Draw. I decide to call because I want to gamble a little to get some chips. Everyone else folds.
Turn: [Ac Qh 4d] Qc - UTG+1 checks. I decide to bet 1100. He thinks for a moment, and check-raises to 2400. Now I go into deep thought. Being a home game, we play with the same group of players on a regular basis. He is certainly on the aggressive side, so he doesn't necessarily have a big hand. He also tends to think that I'm a bit of a Nit. So I decide to call. I still have my Gutshot, and have now picked up the Flush Draw. Although it is possible that neither Draw is any good.
River: [Ac Qh 4d Qc] 6c - UTG+1 bets 3000. I quickly call. I did hit my Flush, but I can't raise in this spot, and risk my tournament life. He says, "You got it." I show my hand, and he is not happy about it. He assumed that I had just Top Pair, and he was trying to bet me off of it. I think he just had a pocket pair, but he never showed.
Hand #2: $1/$1 NLHE
Colin raises to $7 in Mid position. A couple of callers. I'm the SB with Ah Ad. I decide to just call instead of 3-betting. Why? Because GrayDay is the BB, and is very plastered. He's slurring his words, having conversations with himself, and just playing poker like a drunk GrayDay. My Spidey-Sense is telling me that he's likely to do something stupid in this spot.
And he does. He 3-Bets to $27. Meat, sitting right before Colin, cold calls. Colin calls. It folds to me, and I 4-bet to $77 ($50 on top) which leave me $95 behind. GrayDay goes into the tank for what seemed like forever and finally calls. Meat also goes into the tank, and starts counting his stack. At this point, I realize that I didn't raise enough. I probably should have made it an even $100 to go. Meat finally calls the extra $50, and Colin jumps aboard this runaway train. Pot size: ~$320
Flop: Jc 4h 2d. Naturally, I ship my $95 stack in to the pot. Once again, BB tanks. He finally calls the $95, only leaving himself around $20-$40 behind. Meat folds his 55. Colin has 65 for a gutshot, but folds.
I show my hand. GrayDay doesn't. Turn: [Jc 4h 2d] 2s. Now he shows his hand, 52c. With the other 5's being folded, he just hit a true 2-outer. The River was a blank (6, I think), and he scoops a $500+ pot.
Since this hand started the Final Orbit, I just get up from the table, and wait for everyone else to finish up before our usual Breakfast at Denny's this time.
I'm not at all upset about the hand. I actually got what I wanted, which was GrayDay playing a huge pot drawing very thin. It just didn't work out like it should have. In that respect, it was similar to the hand the DP and I played a few weeks ago where he hit a 4-outer on the Turn after all the money went in on the Flop (Bottom Set vs Top Two Pair) for an almost $700 pot.
But between those two hands, that's a $1200 swing.
Ouch!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
$10 Rebuy-Mania
Being that Saturday night was the last Saturday of the month, that meant Variety Night for our weekly home game. This month is was the $10 Rebuy-Mania. For $10, you start with 1000 chips. It's unlimited rebuys for the first four levels, starting at 5/10. You can rebuy at 500 chips or under. There's an additional AddOn of $10 for 1000 chips.
Traditionally, this has been the least popular of the variety tournaments. Last year, we set the record for a CPMG Rebuy tournament at 26 players. This year, attendance has been up due in part to the POY tournament race. So I expected that it was possible that we might get up to thirty players.
Well, that goal was broken before "Shuffle Up & Deal". We ended up selling out all four table that we had set up, and had alternates waiting to buy-in. Only one of the alternates got seated. The others decided to set up the 5th table, and starting the Cash game.
The official numbers were: 41 Players; 73 Rebuys; 33 AddOns. Those numbers might seem a little ridiculous on the surface. But the number that best tells the story is Average Stack at the Break, which was 3775 with 39 players remaining. That number is consistent with numbers from the previous three times that we have run this event (4000, 4055, and 3675)
The most Rebuys was 7+1 by Brian B. ProWest and Jeri had 5+1. Only two players were invested with their original $10, but neither of them made it to the Final Table. One of those $10 players had over 10k chips at the First Break. One other player had over 10k, but he went on to finish in 2nd place (El Diabl0).
As for my tournament, I didn't get to buy-in until close to the end of the first level due to the steady flow of players arriving. Fortunately, I did have an assistant TD (Data) who did great job of handling the Rebuys so I could play.
With there being four tables, some of them were on the calm side. Some of them had normal Rebuy action. And one of them was a Psycho table. That was the table that I ended up at. It had two of the three Rebuy leaders, along with many other who ended three or four rebuys. The one alternate ended up at our table well into the Rebuy period, and rebought three times. Because there was so much carnage at our table, it was not uncommon for there to be two or three Side Pots for some of the All-Ins. Fortunately, there was another experienced TD at the other end of the table (DougPoker), so we were able to keep things organized and moving as fast as multiple 3-way All-Ins can be.
At first, I was playing very tight for a two reasons. First was the ridiculous action. I don't just start shoving wildly for a Rebuy tournament. Second was because my cards were terrible. It took almost two levels to pick up a real hand (QQ), and get my stack in the middle. But I lost the 4-way All-In. So I rebought, and ended up rebuying a second time before I finally won a 3-way All-In with KK.
This got me up to almost 3000 chips, which slowed down some of the Crazies. They ended up folding to me once or twice because I had too many chips to gamble against. I was able to win one or two more pots, including the Final Hand of the Rebuy period with A9. After I bought the 1000 chip AddOn at the First Break, I had 7500 chips which was double the Average Stack.
After that, it was just a normal tournament, and the normal tournament things happened. I won pots; I lost pots; I got shortstacked; I doubled up. Things were cruising along until this hand in the 200/400 level.
It had folded around to the Button (Eskimo), who raised to 1200. I'm the SB, and I look down at 99. The Button had been doing a lot of raising lately, and winning pots uncontested. So this seemed like a good time to 3-bet to 4000. The BB folds. The Button thinks for a bit, and calls. I'm not happy about this. As the Button grabs the deck to deal the Flop, I push my stack of around 7500 All-In "In the Dark" because I'm probably not gonna like most Flops, and it will hopefully look like I have a Big Pair. The Flop is K T T. The Button is not happy with my shove. He thinks for a bit, and reluctantly calls. He shows AK. Great, he's been raising all these times, and now he wakes up with a real hand. I miss my two-outer, and I finish in 12th place.
Traditionally, this has been the least popular of the variety tournaments. Last year, we set the record for a CPMG Rebuy tournament at 26 players. This year, attendance has been up due in part to the POY tournament race. So I expected that it was possible that we might get up to thirty players.
Well, that goal was broken before "Shuffle Up & Deal". We ended up selling out all four table that we had set up, and had alternates waiting to buy-in. Only one of the alternates got seated. The others decided to set up the 5th table, and starting the Cash game.
The official numbers were: 41 Players; 73 Rebuys; 33 AddOns. Those numbers might seem a little ridiculous on the surface. But the number that best tells the story is Average Stack at the Break, which was 3775 with 39 players remaining. That number is consistent with numbers from the previous three times that we have run this event (4000, 4055, and 3675)
The most Rebuys was 7+1 by Brian B. ProWest and Jeri had 5+1. Only two players were invested with their original $10, but neither of them made it to the Final Table. One of those $10 players had over 10k chips at the First Break. One other player had over 10k, but he went on to finish in 2nd place (El Diabl0).
As for my tournament, I didn't get to buy-in until close to the end of the first level due to the steady flow of players arriving. Fortunately, I did have an assistant TD (Data) who did great job of handling the Rebuys so I could play.
With there being four tables, some of them were on the calm side. Some of them had normal Rebuy action. And one of them was a Psycho table. That was the table that I ended up at. It had two of the three Rebuy leaders, along with many other who ended three or four rebuys. The one alternate ended up at our table well into the Rebuy period, and rebought three times. Because there was so much carnage at our table, it was not uncommon for there to be two or three Side Pots for some of the All-Ins. Fortunately, there was another experienced TD at the other end of the table (DougPoker), so we were able to keep things organized and moving as fast as multiple 3-way All-Ins can be.
At first, I was playing very tight for a two reasons. First was the ridiculous action. I don't just start shoving wildly for a Rebuy tournament. Second was because my cards were terrible. It took almost two levels to pick up a real hand (QQ), and get my stack in the middle. But I lost the 4-way All-In. So I rebought, and ended up rebuying a second time before I finally won a 3-way All-In with KK.
This got me up to almost 3000 chips, which slowed down some of the Crazies. They ended up folding to me once or twice because I had too many chips to gamble against. I was able to win one or two more pots, including the Final Hand of the Rebuy period with A9. After I bought the 1000 chip AddOn at the First Break, I had 7500 chips which was double the Average Stack.
After that, it was just a normal tournament, and the normal tournament things happened. I won pots; I lost pots; I got shortstacked; I doubled up. Things were cruising along until this hand in the 200/400 level.
It had folded around to the Button (Eskimo), who raised to 1200. I'm the SB, and I look down at 99. The Button had been doing a lot of raising lately, and winning pots uncontested. So this seemed like a good time to 3-bet to 4000. The BB folds. The Button thinks for a bit, and calls. I'm not happy about this. As the Button grabs the deck to deal the Flop, I push my stack of around 7500 All-In "In the Dark" because I'm probably not gonna like most Flops, and it will hopefully look like I have a Big Pair. The Flop is K T T. The Button is not happy with my shove. He thinks for a bit, and reluctantly calls. He shows AK. Great, he's been raising all these times, and now he wakes up with a real hand. I miss my two-outer, and I finish in 12th place.
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