Sunday, February 13, 2005

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Starting with the good.
Last night, I decided to play some drunken .25/.50 NL HE while my friend watched. I win a big hand early with 9Ts, and switch tables. I don't always hit and run, ut this seemed like a good time to.
At the second table I am getting nothing. My friend wants me to play everyhand like it's the nuts, but I'm more picky than that. Finally, I pick up T4o in MP. He urges me to play it, so I do. There are two limpers, so I make it $1.50 to go. The BB calls and the first limper calls. The flop is a pretty little QJ9. They both check. I bet pot, and take it down.

Then I show. Advertising is great, especially when you pick up a big hand later. And I do. AA in the SB. There are several limpers and the button makes it 2.50. Big hand, no doubt. How doe the table WADB play it?
I tell my friend that I should push. He disagrees, but when I push my slider to the top he realizes I have exatly $44. 4 is his lucky number, so the correct play was obvious. I re-raise from $2.50 to $44. The button has $25 and calls with AK. He gets no miracle and I take down a big pot.

The Bad.
PS has been killing me lately. BR is WAY down. We won't dwell on this.

The Ugly.
Dealt to MK (5c 7s)
Dealer: Hand #57650195
Dealer: jabgr81 posts the small blind of $2
Dealer: mk posts the big blind of $4
Dealer: New Guy 24 calls $4
Dealer: Motown calls $4
Dealer: BCAM74 calls $4
Dealer: jabgr81 folds
Dealer: mk checks
Dealer: The flop is [4♣][Q♦][8♠]
Dealer: quadg35 stands up
Dealer: mk bets $18
Dealer: New Guy 24 folds
Dealer: Motown calls $18
Dealer: BCAM74 folds
Dealer: The turn is [3♣]
Dealer: mk bets $53
Dealer: Motown raises to $144
Dealer: mk calls $91
Dealer: The river is [10♠]
Dealer: BCAM74 stands up
Dealer: mk checks
Dealer: Motown bets $250
Dealer: mk calls $250
Dealer: Motown shows Queen Ten high (5d 6d)
Dealer: mk shows Queen Ten high (5c 7s)
Dealer: mk wins the pot ($840) with Queen Ten high

This hand took place between to good players I know. "Motown" was on a pure bluff, while MK was feeling under the weather and misread her hand for a straight, allowing her to make the ridiculous call.
That's Poker...
No, no it isn't. I don't know what that is.

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Things are looking way down : (

I've taken an ass-whooping in the cash games lately. It is bad enough that I've dropped down to $10 SnGs. I'll be out of ring games for awhile.

But the SnGs have still been consistent, but I got killed in this one. Check it out.

*********** # 1 **************
PokerStars Game #1206193872: Tournament #5292998, Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2005/02/12 - 15:39:43 (ET)
Table '5292998 1' Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: bltwithu4now (1670 in chips)
Seat 3: XCuse71 (4795 in chips)
Seat 4: dinger (1530 in chips)
Seat 5: Jackoman1 (1445 in chips)
Seat 7: MetsFan92771 (880 in chips)
Seat 8: Mr._Two_Putt (1705 in chips)
Seat 9: BurntOrnge (1475 in chips)
BurntOrnge: posts small blind 15
bltwithu4now: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BurntOrnge [Ad Ah]
XCuse71: folds
dinger: folds
Jackoman1: calls 30
MetsFan92771: raises 850 to 880 and is all-in
Mr._Two_Putt: folds
BurntOrnge: raises 595 to 1475 and is all-in
bltwithu4now: folds
Jackoman1: folds
*** FLOP *** [2h Jh 4d]
*** TURN *** [2h Jh 4d] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [2h Jh 4d 3d] [5d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BurntOrnge: shows [Ad Ah] (a straight, Ace to Five)
MetsFan92771: shows [6c 6h] (a straight, Deuce to Six)
MetsFan92771 collected 1820 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1820 | Rake 0
Board [2h Jh 4d 3d 5d]
Seat 1: bltwithu4now (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: XCuse71 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: dinger folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Jackoman1 folded before Flop
Seat 7: MetsFan92771 showed [6c 6h] and won (1820) with a straight, Deuce to Six
Seat 8: Mr._Two_Putt (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: BurntOrnge (small blind) showed [Ad Ah] and lost with a straight, Ace to Five


*********** # 1 **************
PokerStars Game #1206221192: Tournament #5292998, Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2005/02/12 - 15:45:42 (ET)
Table '5292998 1' Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: bltwithu4now (2075 in chips)
Seat 3: XCuse71 (4660 in chips)
Seat 4: dinger (1350 in chips)
Seat 5: Jackoman1 (1190 in chips)
Seat 7: MetsFan92771 (2355 in chips)
Seat 8: Mr._Two_Putt (1330 in chips)
Seat 9: BurntOrnge (540 in chips)
XCuse71: posts small blind 15
dinger: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BurntOrnge [As Ah]
Jackoman1: calls 30
MetsFan92771: calls 30
Mr._Two_Putt: folds
BurntOrnge: raises 70 to 100
bltwithu4now: folds
XCuse71: folds
dinger: calls 70
Jackoman1: calls 70
MetsFan92771: calls 70
*** FLOP *** [4s Jh 6d]
dinger: bets 1250 and is all-in
Jackoman1: folds
MetsFan92771: folds
BurntOrnge: calls 440 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [4s Jh 6d] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [4s Jh 6d 5d] [8s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
dinger: shows [7h 7d] (a straight, Four to Eight)
BurntOrnge: shows [As Ah] (a pair of Aces)
BurntOrnge said, "lol"
dinger collected 1295 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1295 | Rake 0
Board [4s Jh 6d 5d 8s]
Seat 1: bltwithu4now (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: XCuse71 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: dinger (big blind) showed [7h 7d] and won (1295) with a straight, Four to Eight
Seat 5: Jackoman1 folded on the Flop
Seat 7: MetsFan92771 folded on the Flop
Seat 8: Mr._Two_Putt folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: BurntOrnge showed [As Ah] and lost with a pair of Aces

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Make your mistakes work for you

Playing poker, mistakes are going to happen. You can't play perfect all the time, blah blah blah.

But I don't always think of mistakes as a bad thing. Especially when I'm HU, they can be very useful. These three hands show what I mean. I had been playing with this guy long enough to know he was pretty tight HU. I could take a lot of pots from him.

But then I tried to get to good for myself, and gave him a big advantage. Oops. But, as you'll see, my screw up really changes the dynamic of this game, to my advantage.

*********** # 8 **************
PokerStars Game #1172080056: Tournament #5109663, Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2005/02/05 - 04:35:28 (ET)
Table '5109663 1' Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: BurntOrnge (9150 in chips)
Seat 7: playboi469 (4350 in chips)
BurntOrnge: posts small blind 100
playboi469: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BurntOrnge [4c 2c]
BurntOrnge: raises 400 to 600
playboi469: calls 400
*** FLOP *** [4h 9h 8c]
playboi469: checks
BurntOrnge: bets 800
playboi469: calls 800
*** TURN *** [4h 9h 8c] [Jd]
playboi469: checks
BurntOrnge: bets 2950 not so smart, but that's me
playboi469: calls 2950 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [4h 9h 8c Jd] [Kh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
playboi469: shows [9s 8s] (two pair, Nines and Eights)
BurntOrnge: shows [4c 2c] (a pair of Fours)
playboi469 collected 8700 from pot
BurntOrnge said, "vnh"
playboi469 said, "ty"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 8700 | Rake 0
Board [4h 9h 8c Jd Kh]
Seat 2: BurntOrnge (button) (small blind) showed [4c 2c] and lost with a pair of Fours
Seat 7: playboi469 (big blind) showed [9s 8s] and won (8700) with two pair, Nines and Eights


Ok, well he just learned a lot about me, right? File that away, from here on, it'll only hurt him.

*********** # 6 **************
two hands later
PokerStars Game #1172081457: Tournament #5109663, Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2005/02/05 - 04:36:18 (ET)
Table '5109663 1' Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: BurntOrnge (4600 in chips)
Seat 7: playboi469 (8900 in chips)
BurntOrnge: posts small blind 100
playboi469: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BurntOrnge [7s 9s]
BurntOrnge: calls 100
playboi469: checks
*** FLOP *** [2d 9c 3c]
playboi469: bets 400
BurntOrnge: raises 4000 to 4400 and is all-in only because I'm crazy
playboi469: calls 4000
*** TURN *** [2d 9c 3c] [Qs]
*** RIVER *** [2d 9c 3c Qs] [6h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
playboi469: shows [Td 3h] (a pair of Threes) three hands ago, this guy was playing tight, now look what he did
BurntOrnge: shows [7s 9s] (a pair of Nines)
BurntOrnge collected 9200 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 9200 | Rake 0
Board [2d 9c 3c Qs 6h]
Seat 2: BurntOrnge (button) (small blind) showed [7s 9s] and won (9200) with a pair of Nines
Seat 7: playboi469 (big blind) showed [Td 3h] and lost with a pair of Threes

So I take back the CL. I was bound and determined to win this SnG.

*********** # 1 **************
PokerStars Game #1172084834: Tournament #5109663, Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2005/02/05 - 04:38:16 (ET)
Table '5109663 1' Seat #7 is the button
Seat 2: BurntOrnge (9850 in chips)
Seat 7: playboi469 (3650 in chips)
BurntOrnge: posts the ante 25
playboi469: posts the ante 25
playboi469: posts small blind 100
BurntOrnge: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BurntOrnge [Kd 4s]
playboi469: raises 200 to 400
BurntOrnge: calls 200 min. raise? Ok, I need to flop two-pair if I'm going to get involved in big pot
*** FLOP *** [4d Kc Ad] well that'll have to do... AA would suck
BurntOrnge: checks
playboi469: checks
*** TURN *** [4d Kc Ad] [5d]
BurntOrnge: bets 9425 and is all-in I can't explain it, I just felt it
playboi469: calls 3225 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [4d Kc Ad 5d] [4c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BurntOrnge: shows [Kd 4s] (a full house, Fours full of Kings)
playboi469: shows [Jh Ks] (two pair, Kings and Fours)
BurntOrnge collected 7300 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 7300 | Rake 0
Board [4d Kc Ad 5d 4c]
Seat 2: BurntOrnge (big blind) showed [Kd 4s] and won (7300) with a full house, Fours full of Kings
Seat 7: playboi469 (button) (small blind) showed [Jh Ks] and lost with two pair, Kings and Fours

So even though my first hand was horrible it gave him an idea of the kind of a WADB I was, and he became unable to lay downs pairs. I knew the instant he saw my cards how that would effect him, and I got lucky, and was able to outflop him and use it.


Anyway, how is my push for Spring Break going?
Well.
Quite well actually. I don't know if I'm geting lucky, or I'l super-focused, but since I've started this, I've played 9 sessions (inclduing 4 SnGs) and they've all been winners.
Streak: $298.27 W9 - I am on a 9 session winning streak for a total of $298.27 over 6 days.
(pokercharts.com)

I've withdrawn $170 of the winnings, and already wrote the check to cover the deposit for this trip.

My current on-line BR is $840.83

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Progress

I haven't played much lately, but I've played well. 4 sessions, each of them a winning one.

I started using pokercharts.com. In the few hours I've played, I'm making a bit over $21/hr. Not enough time in to mean anything, but it sure does look good.

After two consecutive winning sessions on RV, I've withdrawn another $20. So now $50 will be hitting my bank within a few days.

I won $54 for taking second in a $20+2 SnG on Stars. Competition was stiff because i was playing with two DBs. csctiger2, and gooberific, both successful tournamnet players. The rest of the table was comprised of poor players and one passive WADB. it got to 4-handed quickly and there it remained. One minute it looked as if I'd bubble, then Goob, then the WADB. Interestingly enough, said WADB works in some capacity at the University of Texas.

I play one hand a bit crazy. On the shortstack i raise from the button with T7s. csctiger2 pushes and I practically beat him into the pot calling. Not sure how to explain it. A -EV play to be sure, but I felt there was a wide range of hands he could be bullying me with, and with 1/3 of my stack (5xBB) left I wasn't folding. He showed Q8o and I end up making trip Ts to double up.

Finally Goob goes out on the bubble with A9s vs. my 99. HU I play alright, but get out done when it matters, and down I go. I ended up all-in with AQ vs 56. If that hand would have held up, I'd be right back in it. But no worries, I got lucky myself.

I had a wild session of .25/.50 PL HE today. After flopping two pair out of the BB with 64o. I got the DB who had min. raised pre-flop with JJ all-in. He rivered his jack, and knocked me down. Then My AK can't hold up to AQ and AT, and I lose a bit more. Next hand, I pick up AJ. I raise, and am called by the WADB who held AT previously. I bet ut on the flop and turn, and am called each time. I check call the river.
Waddya know? Mr DB just went runner-runner on me to make a straight.
Somehow I still have $24. A few hands later I'm dealt AJo again. I play it even more aggressive than before against the same DB, and I take down a $10 pot. Next hand QQ. I raise it up pre-flop and the DB calls along with one other player.
The flop is 9 high and I bet $5. My faithful DB calls, and we see the turn. It's a lovely Q.... and he bets pot?
WTF?
I'm over the top and all-in. He calls and the river is a rag. His hand is automucked and I double up. Must've had AQ or KQ right? Who knows.
A few hands later I pick up AA and win a small pot. I finish up $12.