I started strong, winning a decent pot early. People were raising regularly so I mostly called with a variety of drawing hands...medium suited connectors, stuff like that...and after the first blind level I was up 25 chips. Hmm. The first real change came with blinds at 50/100 when everyone limped and I picked up Kings in the big blind. I raised 500. One caller (Tor). Another 500 on the flop and I had picked up over 1000 chips on that pot.
The one hand I did get, I knew Dee would overplay two pair. I caught a Queen High flush and after she bet the turn I went all-in, she called, and that was it for Dee.
By never showing my cards I made myself a mystery. I won with straights, flushes, trips, without ever showing and they were convinced I was bluffing. So they kept folding. But that did lead to probably the biggest mistake I made of the night.
I had q/9, a hand I play from the big blind. The flop was q/k/q, two hearts. The guy to my right bet out, I called (quickly...I should have "thought" for a while to make it seem I was on a draw), a couple more callers. Turn brought a second spade, giving 2 flush draws. He raised again, I briefly considered, knew I should call and keep everyone in, but thought he might call if I went all-in so did so. Probably cost myself 4 - 6 thousand with that impetuous move. They thought I was bluffing but did not have hands strong enough to call.
Kept rolling along building a stack of about 10K by the time the final table came around. Due to a huge all-in involving 4 people we only had 6 people. I made a few 4 times the blind raises, got paid off a few times but could not get above 10 - 12K, never short stack but never a threat, either. By the time we were down to 3 one guy had 23K, the other about 14K and I was still about 10K. 14K took out the 23 and it was heads up. I sucked out a couple times but never made any real headway and went out in second. Other than that one hand I played fairly solidly and doubt I could have done much better.
Wednesday
Tuesday
Lydias, 5/21
Just 13 people. I determined to play tight, only enter for a raise. Of course, things often don't work the way you would like.
For example, the first few hands I folded and everyone else limped. On my blind I had horrid cards and someone raised to 400. I folded. The first hand I was going to play was pocket deuces. However, before it got to me I saw something in the way one guy acted that let me know he had a big hand. He limped anyway...but another guy raised. Suspecting the first guy was coming over the top I folded. He just called. Flop had an Ace and a Deuce. The first 2 guys got in a raising war and got it all int. First guy had pocket Aces...so my set was no good.
Finally I got to where the blinds were coming so fast I played a couple connectors, some suited, some not. I went ahead and limped since multiple people called every raise and every hand went to the river, being shown down over and over. Twice I hit 2 pair but both times someone else had a higher 2 pair. The one hand I would have won had I stayed I would have had a K/2...and paired my King. Hardly inspiring. Not worth playing.
Finally I got to 1275 and figured once I got even a lowly pair I was going all-in. In the big blind I picked up Q/6 of spades. Flop came A/9/rag of Spades...I had flopped the flush and only someone holding the King/rag of Spades was ahead at that point. Lady to my right raised 300. A couple people were behind me so I decided to let her do the betting for me. They all folded. Turn was a blank. She wanted to raise me all-in, then thought better of it...back and forth she went. Finally she did. Of course I called in a hurry...had she not, I would have raised it to there anyway. She had trip 9s. I was ahead...until the river paired the Ace on the board, giving her a boat and me the door without having won a hand.
For example, the first few hands I folded and everyone else limped. On my blind I had horrid cards and someone raised to 400. I folded. The first hand I was going to play was pocket deuces. However, before it got to me I saw something in the way one guy acted that let me know he had a big hand. He limped anyway...but another guy raised. Suspecting the first guy was coming over the top I folded. He just called. Flop had an Ace and a Deuce. The first 2 guys got in a raising war and got it all int. First guy had pocket Aces...so my set was no good.
Finally I got to where the blinds were coming so fast I played a couple connectors, some suited, some not. I went ahead and limped since multiple people called every raise and every hand went to the river, being shown down over and over. Twice I hit 2 pair but both times someone else had a higher 2 pair. The one hand I would have won had I stayed I would have had a K/2...and paired my King. Hardly inspiring. Not worth playing.
Finally I got to 1275 and figured once I got even a lowly pair I was going all-in. In the big blind I picked up Q/6 of spades. Flop came A/9/rag of Spades...I had flopped the flush and only someone holding the King/rag of Spades was ahead at that point. Lady to my right raised 300. A couple people were behind me so I decided to let her do the betting for me. They all folded. Turn was a blank. She wanted to raise me all-in, then thought better of it...back and forth she went. Finally she did. Of course I called in a hurry...had she not, I would have raised it to there anyway. She had trip 9s. I was ahead...until the river paired the Ace on the board, giving her a boat and me the door without having won a hand.
Monday
Starving Crazed Weasels League May Edition
We had an excellent turnout this month...13 people. We started with a table of 6 and a table of 7. At my table were Emily, Phillip & Tracy, Kevin & Cassie and myself. They were doing a lot of limping. I limped on some hands, raised twice with pocket pairs (3s and 6s), winning both. Meanwhile, the other table was playing retard poker. With blinds at 5/10 someone raised to 1100 pre-flop. 110 times the blinds. No matter what hand you have that is just stupid. Equally stupid, they got not one caller, not 2, but 3. And they all managed to get all-in on that hand. They not only called, they kept raising. Frankly, they deserved what they got. And on a night bad poker like that was being played of course a 2/7 won the hand, beating the initial raiser's pocket Kings, one caller's pocket Aces, and another hand that was better than 2/7 and worse than the others. I am laughing that the 2/7 won, sad that such horrid poker was being played.
In no time at all we were down to 9 people and collapsed to one table.
Prior to the collapse I was having a good time. It was a fun table. After the collapse...well, here we go.
By now the blinds were 10/20. Still a lot of limping but then as soon as the flop hit the raises were insane. With 60 chip in the pot the STANDARD raise was 500 chips. Huh? If you don't want to play...don't play. Even better, people then started raising it even more...so I was done playing for the night. From then on I was just waiting for a hand to go out on that was respectable so I could go watch Shrek II again (I had watched it earlier that day but when poker is being played this badly...I really prefer not to play. It just isn't fun.)
I had picked up something on Kenneth's betting patterns which I will not reveal here lest it be read by someone who hasn't picked it up. Suffice it to say on my last hand he raised 200 pre-flop (by then the blinds were 50 so it was a reasonable 4 times the blinds). That let me narrow his hand down quite a bit. As I like to do from the small blind position, I blind checked with my A/4 suited. There was an A/Q/rag, the rag being diamonds. He raised it 200 which let me know he either had a set or 2 pair. I re-raised to see what he would do. He merely called. I checked the turn. It was another diamond. He raised enough that if i called I might as well go all in. Now, if I were having fun I would first off not have called his initial raise. I was beat and knew it. Second, with the incorrect pot odds I would not have called the second raise. However, I wanted out of that game, so announcing, "I am gone if I don't get a diamond I called. The river was a Jack of spades and I was out of the stupidity.
It really makes me sad. Early, it was as much fun as I have had playing poker. On top of that, I was getting solid reads (Emily talked about one lay-down I made where I had led the betting until the river where I checked, she raised, got a caller, and I folded saying, 'okay, Em, show us your flush' which, of course, was what she had...a King high heart flush. Much like Kenneth, I had something on her betting pattern) on most people. Kevin and Phillip are the hardest to read. Phillip because he tends to occasionally play maniacally, kevin because he bet quite deceptively. I have Tim and Kenneth figured.
Additionally, it is cool watching people improve. Cassie has gotten better by leaps and bounds. I was especially impressed that she noticed Emily had changed her game up. Tracy can be a real threat. Kevin is changing his game up. For the most part, the group is improving their play.
On the dark side, the whole point of having deep chip stacks and slow blind raises was so everyone could play for a while, not feel like they made the trip for 10 minutes. I guess I will have to stop that. Next time we play I think the chip values will change to 25, 100, 500, and 1000 and the start will only be 3000 chips with blinds of 25 and 50. No point to setting up for long play if people are just going to make ridiculous raises. That makes me sad but I guess sometimes having a good game just isn't possible.
The worst part is...the horrendous poker being played makes it extremely easy to beat. To win it, just wait for a premium hand, let others bet it for you, take their chips. The problem is...that is boring. So here is hoping next month the revised blind structure makes it more fun.
In no time at all we were down to 9 people and collapsed to one table.
Prior to the collapse I was having a good time. It was a fun table. After the collapse...well, here we go.
By now the blinds were 10/20. Still a lot of limping but then as soon as the flop hit the raises were insane. With 60 chip in the pot the STANDARD raise was 500 chips. Huh? If you don't want to play...don't play. Even better, people then started raising it even more...so I was done playing for the night. From then on I was just waiting for a hand to go out on that was respectable so I could go watch Shrek II again (I had watched it earlier that day but when poker is being played this badly...I really prefer not to play. It just isn't fun.)
I had picked up something on Kenneth's betting patterns which I will not reveal here lest it be read by someone who hasn't picked it up. Suffice it to say on my last hand he raised 200 pre-flop (by then the blinds were 50 so it was a reasonable 4 times the blinds). That let me narrow his hand down quite a bit. As I like to do from the small blind position, I blind checked with my A/4 suited. There was an A/Q/rag, the rag being diamonds. He raised it 200 which let me know he either had a set or 2 pair. I re-raised to see what he would do. He merely called. I checked the turn. It was another diamond. He raised enough that if i called I might as well go all in. Now, if I were having fun I would first off not have called his initial raise. I was beat and knew it. Second, with the incorrect pot odds I would not have called the second raise. However, I wanted out of that game, so announcing, "I am gone if I don't get a diamond I called. The river was a Jack of spades and I was out of the stupidity.
It really makes me sad. Early, it was as much fun as I have had playing poker. On top of that, I was getting solid reads (Emily talked about one lay-down I made where I had led the betting until the river where I checked, she raised, got a caller, and I folded saying, 'okay, Em, show us your flush' which, of course, was what she had...a King high heart flush. Much like Kenneth, I had something on her betting pattern) on most people. Kevin and Phillip are the hardest to read. Phillip because he tends to occasionally play maniacally, kevin because he bet quite deceptively. I have Tim and Kenneth figured.
Additionally, it is cool watching people improve. Cassie has gotten better by leaps and bounds. I was especially impressed that she noticed Emily had changed her game up. Tracy can be a real threat. Kevin is changing his game up. For the most part, the group is improving their play.
On the dark side, the whole point of having deep chip stacks and slow blind raises was so everyone could play for a while, not feel like they made the trip for 10 minutes. I guess I will have to stop that. Next time we play I think the chip values will change to 25, 100, 500, and 1000 and the start will only be 3000 chips with blinds of 25 and 50. No point to setting up for long play if people are just going to make ridiculous raises. That makes me sad but I guess sometimes having a good game just isn't possible.
The worst part is...the horrendous poker being played makes it extremely easy to beat. To win it, just wait for a premium hand, let others bet it for you, take their chips. The problem is...that is boring. So here is hoping next month the revised blind structure makes it more fun.
Wednesday
Mixers 5/15/07
feeling pretty blah coming in and really did not feel like playing, particularly with the group I was playing with. One guy was doing the 2 ear I-pod thing and had no clue what was going on...several times people had to clarify raises had been made, what they were...or that someone had only called. Meanwhile there was a LOT of aggression at the table.
At one point I got involved in a hand with i-pod...I had A/J, followed the trend and raised it, hit an Ace on a pretty soft flop, raised, he called. Turn was a blank, we both checked. River must have been a nine, he raised 500, I called. He flipped up something...I glanced at his hand, glanced at the board, he had nothing, I flipped up my A/J...and they pushed the chips to him. "What did he have?" I asked. "Trip 9s." someone replied. I still don't know if he had 8/9 like I read his hand (and read it COMPLETELY missing...) or pocket 9s and a third on the board...bad sign. Took me under 2000 chips and I was reading poorly.
A few hands later everyone limped in, I picked up pocket 10s in the big blind and went all-in. Guy immediately to my right called, he was one who had been doing lots of raising. He had A/8 or so, just one out. My 10s held up and I got back to about 3800 or so.
A bit later he raised again, I looked down at Q/rag. I almost folded but randomly called. Flop was Q/J/Q. He raised again. I called. Turn was a jack, he went all in, I called. I though he might have the queen. He didn't...he had J/k. Uh-oh, he had the boat...Jacks over queens. Now read that paragraph again. I am still reading the board like an idiot...yes, he had Jacks over queens...but I had queens over Jacks. I was ahead! To add insult to injury a Queen fell on the river giving me quads. Another nice double up and now I was sailing.
A couple hands later the EXACT same situation came up...he raised 400, I had the q/9 diamonds. Flop gave me 2 more diamonds. He raised 725. I thought and thought and thought. I almost folded. Then I decided to see one more card. It gave me the flush. He went all in. I called, knowing he might have a higher flush but reading him for a pair. He had a pair, the board had a pair...but the river was a blank and I was up oper 10,000.
Nothing else of note as we soon hit the final table.
Early on I was quiet, then I raised 800 (blinds at 200) with A/j. Guy to my left came over the top all in. I folded. He later said he had A/7. A couple other times one guy would raise, he would go over the top all in. Finally I picked up A/10 diamonds and limped in. Several other limpers. Flop was K/J/7 of diamonds. I flopped the nut flush with the draw to the Royal Flush. I was planning a call or small raise when the first guy, a regular bluffer and maniacal better, went all in. Guy to my right called. I came over the top all in and guy to my right called. First dude had like 3s? Guy to my right had pocket queens. Neither had a diamond. I was WAY up.
Melted off a few chips raising and then folding when they came over the top or else chasing weak draws. Tightened up. Went all-in with A/K, everyone folded, I showed. Down to 4. I raised, Roman went all-in, I called with A/J. He had pocket 6s. I hit an Ace and he was gone. 3 left. Just the guy to my left who kept going all-in whenever I raised and the guy to my right who had called with the queens.
I had K/7 and called a pre-flop raise. Flop came King, 9, rag. I checked, he went all-in. I thought for a while, then looked at him. "I know you have pockets." no reaction. "They are lower than a king. Is it a 9?" He blinked and as soon as he did I knew the only thing he could have that was ahead was a King with a better kicker...maybe big slick? But the more I think about it...not thought, think...he only raised pockets. I thought I might be beat but wasn't sure and was tired of being puched around. I called and he had the fishhooks. He got no help and we were down to heads up. I had a huge chip lead, about 3 -1.
After a couple hands I had J/9 suited, raised it 4000. He went all-in. I had seen him make that move repeatedly and called. He had K/10. Both his paired, I had only a open ended straight. He had a slight lead.
I picked up A/2 diamonds. Flop was A/2/5, all black. I thought about going all in but instead raised 4000. He called. Turn was a 4. I went all in. He looked at his cards, hesitated...and called. He had the 3. I waited one card too long, let him hit the gutshot and just like that I was done. I played stupidly (big pots, weak hands) and got smacked around for it. Total choke job to finish 2nd.
At one point I got involved in a hand with i-pod...I had A/J, followed the trend and raised it, hit an Ace on a pretty soft flop, raised, he called. Turn was a blank, we both checked. River must have been a nine, he raised 500, I called. He flipped up something...I glanced at his hand, glanced at the board, he had nothing, I flipped up my A/J...and they pushed the chips to him. "What did he have?" I asked. "Trip 9s." someone replied. I still don't know if he had 8/9 like I read his hand (and read it COMPLETELY missing...) or pocket 9s and a third on the board...bad sign. Took me under 2000 chips and I was reading poorly.
A few hands later everyone limped in, I picked up pocket 10s in the big blind and went all-in. Guy immediately to my right called, he was one who had been doing lots of raising. He had A/8 or so, just one out. My 10s held up and I got back to about 3800 or so.
A bit later he raised again, I looked down at Q/rag. I almost folded but randomly called. Flop was Q/J/Q. He raised again. I called. Turn was a jack, he went all in, I called. I though he might have the queen. He didn't...he had J/k. Uh-oh, he had the boat...Jacks over queens. Now read that paragraph again. I am still reading the board like an idiot...yes, he had Jacks over queens...but I had queens over Jacks. I was ahead! To add insult to injury a Queen fell on the river giving me quads. Another nice double up and now I was sailing.
A couple hands later the EXACT same situation came up...he raised 400, I had the q/9 diamonds. Flop gave me 2 more diamonds. He raised 725. I thought and thought and thought. I almost folded. Then I decided to see one more card. It gave me the flush. He went all in. I called, knowing he might have a higher flush but reading him for a pair. He had a pair, the board had a pair...but the river was a blank and I was up oper 10,000.
Nothing else of note as we soon hit the final table.
Early on I was quiet, then I raised 800 (blinds at 200) with A/j. Guy to my left came over the top all in. I folded. He later said he had A/7. A couple other times one guy would raise, he would go over the top all in. Finally I picked up A/10 diamonds and limped in. Several other limpers. Flop was K/J/7 of diamonds. I flopped the nut flush with the draw to the Royal Flush. I was planning a call or small raise when the first guy, a regular bluffer and maniacal better, went all in. Guy to my right called. I came over the top all in and guy to my right called. First dude had like 3s? Guy to my right had pocket queens. Neither had a diamond. I was WAY up.
Melted off a few chips raising and then folding when they came over the top or else chasing weak draws. Tightened up. Went all-in with A/K, everyone folded, I showed. Down to 4. I raised, Roman went all-in, I called with A/J. He had pocket 6s. I hit an Ace and he was gone. 3 left. Just the guy to my left who kept going all-in whenever I raised and the guy to my right who had called with the queens.
I had K/7 and called a pre-flop raise. Flop came King, 9, rag. I checked, he went all-in. I thought for a while, then looked at him. "I know you have pockets." no reaction. "They are lower than a king. Is it a 9?" He blinked and as soon as he did I knew the only thing he could have that was ahead was a King with a better kicker...maybe big slick? But the more I think about it...not thought, think...he only raised pockets. I thought I might be beat but wasn't sure and was tired of being puched around. I called and he had the fishhooks. He got no help and we were down to heads up. I had a huge chip lead, about 3 -1.
After a couple hands I had J/9 suited, raised it 4000. He went all-in. I had seen him make that move repeatedly and called. He had K/10. Both his paired, I had only a open ended straight. He had a slight lead.
I picked up A/2 diamonds. Flop was A/2/5, all black. I thought about going all in but instead raised 4000. He called. Turn was a 4. I went all in. He looked at his cards, hesitated...and called. He had the 3. I waited one card too long, let him hit the gutshot and just like that I was done. I played stupidly (big pots, weak hands) and got smacked around for it. Total choke job to finish 2nd.
Tuesday
Mixers, 5/10
It has been a while since it happened so I have forgotten a lot. I was playing the aggressive pseudo-doker...any premium hand, any connectors, suited or not...and away we went. Early on I was not hitting much but I hit a couple straights, a couple flushes and boom, I had a boatload of chips. Finaly table got down to Roman, Leti and I. Twice I raised with something like A/10 suited, Leti came over the top all-in and I folded. Both times they ran it and I would have put her out. But I didn't...and didn't. I did put Roman out 3rd and then I took second.
We then played a 7 person consolation game...some "consolation"...the top 3 finishers, a guy who went out about 9th (and a really, really annoying guy at that!) and 2 people who had not played at all that night...
I folded the first 2 or 3 hands, then limped with everyone else from the small blind with 2/5 off. The flop came 5,5,2. I checked my full house. A couple more checks, a raise of 200 (at the consolation table you only start with 1000 chips so that is a significant raise), a call, and I re-raised to 400. A couple folds, the caller raised all in. It was the guy I don't like. I called. He flipped up a K/4 of diamonds...he had a backdoor flush draw that was meaningless...anything but runner runner 9s or kings and he was dead.
Got down to final 2 and I completely misread a hand, thought my opponent missed the flush when he in fact hit a higher flush. I gave him a bunch of extra chips because I thought he just wanted to match up to see if he was alive...so instead of having still plenty of chips I was all but out so I just went all in every hand until he called and I was out in 2nd.
We then played a 7 person consolation game...some "consolation"...the top 3 finishers, a guy who went out about 9th (and a really, really annoying guy at that!) and 2 people who had not played at all that night...
I folded the first 2 or 3 hands, then limped with everyone else from the small blind with 2/5 off. The flop came 5,5,2. I checked my full house. A couple more checks, a raise of 200 (at the consolation table you only start with 1000 chips so that is a significant raise), a call, and I re-raised to 400. A couple folds, the caller raised all in. It was the guy I don't like. I called. He flipped up a K/4 of diamonds...he had a backdoor flush draw that was meaningless...anything but runner runner 9s or kings and he was dead.
Got down to final 2 and I completely misread a hand, thought my opponent missed the flush when he in fact hit a higher flush. I gave him a bunch of extra chips because I thought he just wanted to match up to see if he was alive...so instead of having still plenty of chips I was all but out so I just went all in every hand until he called and I was out in 2nd.
Wednesday
Poker musings; playstyles
I have done a great deal of reading. I understand the concepts they have about only playing premium hands from early position, good hands from middle position, and decent hands from late position. I also understand the reluctance to limp.
I have studied how much to raise and when, how often to bluff...and when to call the bluffs.
I have also worked very hard at putting people on hands, knowing when to call, when to fold, when to reraise...and I am accurate more often than not.
I am able to both put people on a range of hands and occasionally even on the exact hand. I see the potential flushes and straights. I can pick up on it when someone is afraid of those and willing to fold to it.
But "correct" poker does not suit me. To be sure, sitting back and waiting for premium hands can work for me...I can get to the final table almost at will. But I often get there with so few chips it becomes a matter of find a hand, push and hope.
Meanwhile, when I play a lot of hands, even if they are sub-par hands I am more effective. To be sure, sometimes I bust out earlier and my results vary widely...last night was a good example as I got down under 2000 and climbed back to over 4000 several times early on...but it also allows me to build large stacks much more often as I hit odd flops harder and take people for a ride.
I think what works best for me is playing any pair and any connectors, suited or not. Of course, I call connectors anything either adjoining or separated by 2 places...I.E. a 7/10 is connected for me. Give me a flop of 6/8/9 and I am raising it up! I hit a lot of flops that way.
I also demonstrate aggression. As often as not I will bet my draws like a made hand. Sometimes this causes my opponents to fold...other times it does not. It does, however, make me appear to be a maniac and scares them off of hands they might otherwise bet. Thus I am found in a lot of wierd hands...4/7, 6/8, etc. and hit enought of them hard to make it very successful. This works very well in a limping environment.
I am tempted to change my overall style exclusively to this. Of course, I would modify it a lot when, for example, I am in a place where people either bring it in for a raise or fold. It means I could play fewer hands...so I would tighten them up slightly. After all, with 3000 starting and 25/50 blinds if people limp in I could see 20 flops and only lose a third of my stack...on the other hand, if they are bumping to 300 I can only see 3 - 4 flops before going into super tight mode.
So from now on I will play my connectors the same way I play a premium hand and might even add suited Aces to the mix. It is more fun, I am more involved in the game and thus get better reads on people, and I have better success. I think I have a plan.
I have studied how much to raise and when, how often to bluff...and when to call the bluffs.
I have also worked very hard at putting people on hands, knowing when to call, when to fold, when to reraise...and I am accurate more often than not.
I am able to both put people on a range of hands and occasionally even on the exact hand. I see the potential flushes and straights. I can pick up on it when someone is afraid of those and willing to fold to it.
But "correct" poker does not suit me. To be sure, sitting back and waiting for premium hands can work for me...I can get to the final table almost at will. But I often get there with so few chips it becomes a matter of find a hand, push and hope.
Meanwhile, when I play a lot of hands, even if they are sub-par hands I am more effective. To be sure, sometimes I bust out earlier and my results vary widely...last night was a good example as I got down under 2000 and climbed back to over 4000 several times early on...but it also allows me to build large stacks much more often as I hit odd flops harder and take people for a ride.
I think what works best for me is playing any pair and any connectors, suited or not. Of course, I call connectors anything either adjoining or separated by 2 places...I.E. a 7/10 is connected for me. Give me a flop of 6/8/9 and I am raising it up! I hit a lot of flops that way.
I also demonstrate aggression. As often as not I will bet my draws like a made hand. Sometimes this causes my opponents to fold...other times it does not. It does, however, make me appear to be a maniac and scares them off of hands they might otherwise bet. Thus I am found in a lot of wierd hands...4/7, 6/8, etc. and hit enought of them hard to make it very successful. This works very well in a limping environment.
I am tempted to change my overall style exclusively to this. Of course, I would modify it a lot when, for example, I am in a place where people either bring it in for a raise or fold. It means I could play fewer hands...so I would tighten them up slightly. After all, with 3000 starting and 25/50 blinds if people limp in I could see 20 flops and only lose a third of my stack...on the other hand, if they are bumping to 300 I can only see 3 - 4 flops before going into super tight mode.
So from now on I will play my connectors the same way I play a premium hand and might even add suited Aces to the mix. It is more fun, I am more involved in the game and thus get better reads on people, and I have better success. I think I have a plan.
Mixers, 5/8/07 (Quads and a win)
Just 12 people and it was Roman's b-day so it should be a fun night. To my left was Roman, to his left was his wife, then the comedic dude whose name I don't know, then Eric, then Leti and finally, immediately to my right, a guy I did not know who was also fun. I was in fine form, keeping everyone laughing.
Everyone was limping so I limped along with them. Played a lot of hands. This is good for me and I finally figured out why. When I am in a lot of hands with people I am better at figuring out how they play. I was reading them pretty well, too. Got up to about 4K, down to about 2, back up...I was yo-yoing a lot. And having a great time, I might add. Finally there was a hand I got out of early and the two dudes whose names I did not know got involved in a HUGE hand. Guy to my right won with a stone cold bluff where he fooled his opponent into thinking he had the straight when he actually only had a pair of 5s and a busted straight draw. Of course, his opponent had represented trips Aces and only had a pair...but that was a huge hand.
Now, you would think that would get us to thinking he was a major bluffer. And at first I did. However...something clued me in and I laid down 2 or 3 hands where he would have beaten me and I think he legitimately mis-read his hand...I don't think he meant to bluff.
Meanwhile, I had pocket 7s, limped with everyone from the small blind, hit a set, took them for a ride and took down a nice pot to build back up to 3200. Blinds were 150/300. On the next hand I was the button and Roman's wife (Amanda) was in for half on the big blind. Everyone limped. I looked down at 4/7 and said, "Ah, I will just give her more chips to play with" fully intending to fold to any bet. Flop came King, 4, 7. 2 pair. Roman raised 300. I put him on King/rag. Leti raised to 600. I put her on King...something. I thought about re-raising but did not want to scare them off. Turn was a 7. I had a boat. Roman and Leti both checked...I raised 1000. They both called. River was a 4. 2 boats :-) They both checked, I went all in for 1300 more. They both called. I flipped up my doubel boat and raked the massive side pot (over 10,000). Then Amanda flipped up...the 7. She had the big boat as well, we just gave her the entire side pot.
At that point we combined to the final table. I had a slight chip lead. I played a bit conservatively, raising to 3 times the blinds with pockets, winning them, raising the next hand, winning it, raising and losing the next one, then sitting out a few hands. I took out Amanda. 7 left.
The dude now 2 spots to my left was quite annoying. And wild. With blinds of 4 and 800 I raised to 2400 with A/Q. Everyone folded except him in the big blind. He called. Flop came out 9 high. He raised 2000. I did not believe he had hit and called. He had a pattern of position betting and betting when it seemed unlikely nobody else had hit, even if he himself hadn't. That fed my belief. Turn was a blank. He went all in. I might have him covered...it would be close...but basically I would be calling with Ace High. I thought he might have a small piece...maybe A/9? Maybe nothing, but certainly no better than a pair. I probably would have outs. I thought about it a long time but folded. In his typical jerk-off fashion he flung his cards wildly across the table (he was so careless with his folds that he once "folded" the discard pile onto Eric's live cards in a HUGE pot that, we being friendly, we let Eric get his cards and eventually split the pot; several other times his flung cards escaped the table or landed on other people's cards.) and I saw he had the 8/9 off-suit...so yeah, he had me beat. Tough fold and one that hurt financially...I was down to about 6K after having been the chip lead.
"That'll stop the 2400s" he said. "Sure will," I replied, "Now it is pretty much all in or fold."
Next hand under the gun I picked up K/Q. 6 handed that is pretty strong. I went all-in.They folded around to Eric who called. "Good call" said jerk-boy, "he is steaming. Here comes the 2/7." I laughed and so did Leti and Roman. "Doesn't know me too well, does he?" I asked in general.
Uh-oh...Eric had A/K. I had him covered by about 3K but it was looking grim...until the flop came K/Q/rag. Turn was a Queen and Eric was gone and I was healthy.
A couple hands later got involved with the joik. He was small blind, I was big, he just completed the bet and I checked. Flop paired my 5. He raised. I called. Something about his raise...no. Something not right. Turn paired the board. River was a blank. We had both checked the turn and he raised the river. I went into the tank. I had 2 pair, King kicker. Finally I called him...and he had a pair of 4s. I had him. He could not believe I had called him with just 5s but I had the correct read.
Gave up a couple hands to all-in raises by the guy to Roman's left, got down to about 5K. Roman was lower but survived 4 all-ins to become chip lead. I stold a few blinds with all-in raises, got to about 10. Leti went out. down to 4 of us.
At one point they folded to me in the small blind, I completed and Roman checked. Flop brought 2 3s. We both checked. I felt like I could take the pot down with a bet, but hesitated. Turn was a 3. He was done with the hand but again I did not raise. River was...wait for it...a 3. The board gave us quads...and the ten on the board was higher than the 8 in my hand (I had 8/5 suited). But his queen was higher yet so I lost a hand where I had quads....
Jerk-boy was down to about 2500. I got it all in with him and put him out. Down to 3.
Finally Roman folded, quiet guy raised to 6000, I had the cowboys, raised all-in, he called, I had him covered. He had A/10 of spades. No Ace came and he was gone...it was Roman and I heads up. Woo-hoo!
By this time I had a dominating chip lead and basically ground away at Roman, raising 2K every time he checked until finally I took it down when I paired Aces.
I won! Woo-hoo!
And basically it had to do with the 2 hands where I got huge chunks with sub-par hands (pocket 7s, 4/7) and hit the flop hard. That gave me the chips to be a threat at the final table, take a couple hits without being out of it. Playing more hands was also key in helping me make solid, solid reads all night. I called a lot of hands correctly. I missed a few, but I did not miss any important ones. For example, on one hand I had J/10. Board came K/J/Q. Roman checked, I raised. Roman called. Turn was a blank. I raised. He called. River was a King, he checked, and I checked behind him. "Why did you check?" he asked. "Because I can't beat your kings" I replied and sure enough, he had trip Kings. That would have hurt had I raised. So I got away with a few, got lucky against Eric, and went home happy.
Everyone was limping so I limped along with them. Played a lot of hands. This is good for me and I finally figured out why. When I am in a lot of hands with people I am better at figuring out how they play. I was reading them pretty well, too. Got up to about 4K, down to about 2, back up...I was yo-yoing a lot. And having a great time, I might add. Finally there was a hand I got out of early and the two dudes whose names I did not know got involved in a HUGE hand. Guy to my right won with a stone cold bluff where he fooled his opponent into thinking he had the straight when he actually only had a pair of 5s and a busted straight draw. Of course, his opponent had represented trips Aces and only had a pair...but that was a huge hand.
Now, you would think that would get us to thinking he was a major bluffer. And at first I did. However...something clued me in and I laid down 2 or 3 hands where he would have beaten me and I think he legitimately mis-read his hand...I don't think he meant to bluff.
Meanwhile, I had pocket 7s, limped with everyone from the small blind, hit a set, took them for a ride and took down a nice pot to build back up to 3200. Blinds were 150/300. On the next hand I was the button and Roman's wife (Amanda) was in for half on the big blind. Everyone limped. I looked down at 4/7 and said, "Ah, I will just give her more chips to play with" fully intending to fold to any bet. Flop came King, 4, 7. 2 pair. Roman raised 300. I put him on King/rag. Leti raised to 600. I put her on King...something. I thought about re-raising but did not want to scare them off. Turn was a 7. I had a boat. Roman and Leti both checked...I raised 1000. They both called. River was a 4. 2 boats :-) They both checked, I went all in for 1300 more. They both called. I flipped up my doubel boat and raked the massive side pot (over 10,000). Then Amanda flipped up...the 7. She had the big boat as well, we just gave her the entire side pot.
At that point we combined to the final table. I had a slight chip lead. I played a bit conservatively, raising to 3 times the blinds with pockets, winning them, raising the next hand, winning it, raising and losing the next one, then sitting out a few hands. I took out Amanda. 7 left.
The dude now 2 spots to my left was quite annoying. And wild. With blinds of 4 and 800 I raised to 2400 with A/Q. Everyone folded except him in the big blind. He called. Flop came out 9 high. He raised 2000. I did not believe he had hit and called. He had a pattern of position betting and betting when it seemed unlikely nobody else had hit, even if he himself hadn't. That fed my belief. Turn was a blank. He went all in. I might have him covered...it would be close...but basically I would be calling with Ace High. I thought he might have a small piece...maybe A/9? Maybe nothing, but certainly no better than a pair. I probably would have outs. I thought about it a long time but folded. In his typical jerk-off fashion he flung his cards wildly across the table (he was so careless with his folds that he once "folded" the discard pile onto Eric's live cards in a HUGE pot that, we being friendly, we let Eric get his cards and eventually split the pot; several other times his flung cards escaped the table or landed on other people's cards.) and I saw he had the 8/9 off-suit...so yeah, he had me beat. Tough fold and one that hurt financially...I was down to about 6K after having been the chip lead.
"That'll stop the 2400s" he said. "Sure will," I replied, "Now it is pretty much all in or fold."
Next hand under the gun I picked up K/Q. 6 handed that is pretty strong. I went all-in.They folded around to Eric who called. "Good call" said jerk-boy, "he is steaming. Here comes the 2/7." I laughed and so did Leti and Roman. "Doesn't know me too well, does he?" I asked in general.
Uh-oh...Eric had A/K. I had him covered by about 3K but it was looking grim...until the flop came K/Q/rag. Turn was a Queen and Eric was gone and I was healthy.
A couple hands later got involved with the joik. He was small blind, I was big, he just completed the bet and I checked. Flop paired my 5. He raised. I called. Something about his raise...no. Something not right. Turn paired the board. River was a blank. We had both checked the turn and he raised the river. I went into the tank. I had 2 pair, King kicker. Finally I called him...and he had a pair of 4s. I had him. He could not believe I had called him with just 5s but I had the correct read.
Gave up a couple hands to all-in raises by the guy to Roman's left, got down to about 5K. Roman was lower but survived 4 all-ins to become chip lead. I stold a few blinds with all-in raises, got to about 10. Leti went out. down to 4 of us.
At one point they folded to me in the small blind, I completed and Roman checked. Flop brought 2 3s. We both checked. I felt like I could take the pot down with a bet, but hesitated. Turn was a 3. He was done with the hand but again I did not raise. River was...wait for it...a 3. The board gave us quads...and the ten on the board was higher than the 8 in my hand (I had 8/5 suited). But his queen was higher yet so I lost a hand where I had quads....
Jerk-boy was down to about 2500. I got it all in with him and put him out. Down to 3.
Finally Roman folded, quiet guy raised to 6000, I had the cowboys, raised all-in, he called, I had him covered. He had A/10 of spades. No Ace came and he was gone...it was Roman and I heads up. Woo-hoo!
By this time I had a dominating chip lead and basically ground away at Roman, raising 2K every time he checked until finally I took it down when I paired Aces.
I won! Woo-hoo!
And basically it had to do with the 2 hands where I got huge chunks with sub-par hands (pocket 7s, 4/7) and hit the flop hard. That gave me the chips to be a threat at the final table, take a couple hits without being out of it. Playing more hands was also key in helping me make solid, solid reads all night. I called a lot of hands correctly. I missed a few, but I did not miss any important ones. For example, on one hand I had J/10. Board came K/J/Q. Roman checked, I raised. Roman called. Turn was a blank. I raised. He called. River was a King, he checked, and I checked behind him. "Why did you check?" he asked. "Because I can't beat your kings" I replied and sure enough, he had trip Kings. That would have hurt had I raised. So I got away with a few, got lucky against Eric, and went home happy.
Tuesday
Dr. Feelgoods, 5/7/07
Smaller turnout, I think 12 people was all. It was a limp-fest for the most part, but I only limped hands I would have played anyway. I first raised pocket queens and further raises on turn and river drove everyone out. My second raise was pocket 10s. Dee was a huge chip leader at the time. Flop was all rags...but possible straight draw. She checked, I raised. Turn was a blank, she checked, I raised. River was a 4, thus completing a possible straight. She checked and I checked behind her. She said, "Why did you check?" I said "Because you just hit your straight and werecoming over the top all in." I saw by her smile that I was right and sure enough she flipped up the A/3. I had her until the river.
Never got over about 5000 all night long but stuck in until 3rd, winning a hand here and there. Finally, with 1400 and blinds at 150/300 I went all in 3 handed with K/9 suited. Mickey called with A/3 off. I hit my 9 on the flop...but she hit her Ace at the same time and I was done.
Overall I played well, decent reads on everyone and no chasing. Just did not have the cards to compete.
Never got over about 5000 all night long but stuck in until 3rd, winning a hand here and there. Finally, with 1400 and blinds at 150/300 I went all in 3 handed with K/9 suited. Mickey called with A/3 off. I hit my 9 on the flop...but she hit her Ace at the same time and I was done.
Overall I played well, decent reads on everyone and no chasing. Just did not have the cards to compete.
Monday
post 50: the 2 month tournament
This was a major tournament. 64 players, winner gets entry into the Lincoln City Super Satellite. I went in with a flexible game plan...if there were players I did not know I would play "proper poker" regardless of what they were doing. If it was people I did know there were 2 ways to play; doker if they were playing that way and I knew I could outplay them or proper if there was raising going on.
Started with 5500 chips.
The first couple hands I folded and people limped. Picked up 9/J off and limped...and one guy raised to 300 (blinds of 25/50). 2 other people called, I called. Flop did not fit my hand, I folded. He ended up having pocket Kings.
Folded a lot of hands, limped in again with J/9. This time nobody raised. Flopped the straight. Bet 200, one fold, everyone else came along. Bet 200 on the turn and 500 on the river. They all folded and I mucked face down. They argued for a bit over what I had. A few hands later I was in the big blind and called a raise of 300 with A/9 suited. Flop gave me 4 to the flush. Checked around. Turn gave me the flush. Bet 200, couple folders, couple callers. On the river I overbet 1000 and everyone folded. That was my first mistake. Should have bet significantly less.
A few hands later I was K/J suited. By now the blinds were 50/100. Flop came J/9/7. I bet 500. Woman to my right called. I had a pretty solid read on her, thought she probably had the 9s. Turn was a blank, another 500. She called hesitantly. I knew she would fold to my river bet as she had both times previously. Ace on the river, another 500...and she called. She had A/7 so her 2 pair beat mine on the river. She was getting the wrong price to call every time so I am okay with that.
Folded my way through the next set of blinds. We almost made it through 3 levels of blinds before the first person (Dawg) went out. I was down to about 4400. Blinds changed to 100/200. Under the gun I picked up A/J. Wanted to go three times the blinds, raised it 450. Oops...should have been 600. Oh, well. 2 callers, Todd and the big blind. Flop came A/9/4. I raised it 600. Todd folded...and the big blind came over the top all in. I had a pretty solid read on him at this point. So I sat back to think. I thought he probably had a pocket pair. I was pretty positive it wasn't Aces. I thought it was fairly low but might be Kings or Queens. The only hands that were ahead of me were A/K, A/Q, pockets 9s and pocket 4s. I actually asked him, "You hit trip 9s?" He was afraid to look at me or answer so I was fairly certain I had him. He had slightly more chips than me. If I called and lost I was out. If I folded I would have about 4000 chips left. Finally I figured I was ahead and called. He flipped up a pocket pair...8s. Cool, I was about to go up to about 10000 chips. He said, "I always hit my 8s". Even better. He made a move on me because of superstition.
Of course, sometimes superstition works...such as when he hit his 8, the river was a nine and I was gone to his boat.
Spent a long time thinking about this. Should I have folded? I keep coming back to this; my read was correct, I was waaaaaaay ahead when I got them all in, I had about a 4-1 advantage. I needed to build chips to have a chance to win the tournament and cannot get them in with much better than that. I would make the same call based on the same read again.
So I was a bit disappointed that I played well and lost to 2 donkeys...but that is how it goes, sometimes. I will do better next time.
Started with 5500 chips.
The first couple hands I folded and people limped. Picked up 9/J off and limped...and one guy raised to 300 (blinds of 25/50). 2 other people called, I called. Flop did not fit my hand, I folded. He ended up having pocket Kings.
Folded a lot of hands, limped in again with J/9. This time nobody raised. Flopped the straight. Bet 200, one fold, everyone else came along. Bet 200 on the turn and 500 on the river. They all folded and I mucked face down. They argued for a bit over what I had. A few hands later I was in the big blind and called a raise of 300 with A/9 suited. Flop gave me 4 to the flush. Checked around. Turn gave me the flush. Bet 200, couple folders, couple callers. On the river I overbet 1000 and everyone folded. That was my first mistake. Should have bet significantly less.
A few hands later I was K/J suited. By now the blinds were 50/100. Flop came J/9/7. I bet 500. Woman to my right called. I had a pretty solid read on her, thought she probably had the 9s. Turn was a blank, another 500. She called hesitantly. I knew she would fold to my river bet as she had both times previously. Ace on the river, another 500...and she called. She had A/7 so her 2 pair beat mine on the river. She was getting the wrong price to call every time so I am okay with that.
Folded my way through the next set of blinds. We almost made it through 3 levels of blinds before the first person (Dawg) went out. I was down to about 4400. Blinds changed to 100/200. Under the gun I picked up A/J. Wanted to go three times the blinds, raised it 450. Oops...should have been 600. Oh, well. 2 callers, Todd and the big blind. Flop came A/9/4. I raised it 600. Todd folded...and the big blind came over the top all in. I had a pretty solid read on him at this point. So I sat back to think. I thought he probably had a pocket pair. I was pretty positive it wasn't Aces. I thought it was fairly low but might be Kings or Queens. The only hands that were ahead of me were A/K, A/Q, pockets 9s and pocket 4s. I actually asked him, "You hit trip 9s?" He was afraid to look at me or answer so I was fairly certain I had him. He had slightly more chips than me. If I called and lost I was out. If I folded I would have about 4000 chips left. Finally I figured I was ahead and called. He flipped up a pocket pair...8s. Cool, I was about to go up to about 10000 chips. He said, "I always hit my 8s". Even better. He made a move on me because of superstition.
Of course, sometimes superstition works...such as when he hit his 8, the river was a nine and I was gone to his boat.
Spent a long time thinking about this. Should I have folded? I keep coming back to this; my read was correct, I was waaaaaaay ahead when I got them all in, I had about a 4-1 advantage. I needed to build chips to have a chance to win the tournament and cannot get them in with much better than that. I would make the same call based on the same read again.
So I was a bit disappointed that I played well and lost to 2 donkeys...but that is how it goes, sometimes. I will do better next time.
Wednesday
Mixers, 5/1/07
Finished my first run at Oregon Trail Poker in 16th place (over 250 players) so I was pleased with that. Still have not decided about playing in their big tourney....we will see. Meanwhile, I am trying to get untracked and start playing good poker again.
The plan going in; no limping, pretty much premium hands only, raise those.
First hand Under the Gun limps, Roman folds, I look down at A/Q. With blinds of 25/50 and 1 in I raise to 300. I meant to do 200 but...whatever. 2 callers including UTG who I read as only calling because he had 50 invested. Flop was Queen and rags. 300. 1 caller. Turn, rag. 300. He folded.
Second hand Roman folded, I had A/J. Raise 200 as first into pot. 2 callers. Flop was rags. Raise 200. Just one caller. Turn was another 200 and he folded.
Third Hand, A/6. From UTG raised. Got couple callers. Raise on flop bought the pot.
Folded a few garbage hands but I had set the tone...everyone was raising so folding was correct anyway. After a while people settled down and were limping. I limped here and there but not consistently. That was a mistake. I had established an aggressive image but with cards to back it up then trashed it away. Worse yet...had I been limping every hand I would have been going to town as I hit numerous flops very, very hard...after I folded. Had I been playing Doker I would have had a HUGE stack but by playing correct I had very little.
The blinds were coming fast and I got down to about 1200. I picked up K/J off and after UTG limped I went all in, 2 callers. Paired them both and tripled up. Then I allowed myself to limp a couple times when I knew better...and every time I got a decent hand the guy to my right went all-in. Stopped limping, still had about 2000.
Picked up A/K. Raised it 4 times the blinds. Guy to my left had limped under the gun. He called. Flop was all rags, 10 high. I had blind checked (as I did every hand I was first to act; that was for consitency). He counted off my last 1175 and put me all in. I thought about it quite a while. I had never seen him raise without a decent hand and watched him fold when he thought he was beat. I decided he had a pair or trips and folded. He flashed pocket 7s. Good read, but was it a good fold? Probably. I thought he might have trips and if so I was drawing dead for all intents and purposes. If not I had 6 outs to his 2 for a net of 4 outs, 2 cards to come, about 8 percent...yeah, I am glad I folded. They went rabbit hunting and I would have hit my ace on the river to double up. Still glad I folded.
Unfortunately, that meant I was down to 1175 and pretty quick went all in with A/10. It got 4 callers so I knew I was in trouble and someone hit 2 pair to put me out.
I actually played pretty well overall, the 4 or 5 limps were all with connectors, whether suited or not...and my reasoning was sound, I want more callers. However, if I am going to limp I need to limp, otherwise I need to play those just as I do my premium hands.
I also learned I am not nearly as good playing the tight, correct hands style as I am playing the more loose play everything style. I am going back to that.
The plan going in; no limping, pretty much premium hands only, raise those.
First hand Under the Gun limps, Roman folds, I look down at A/Q. With blinds of 25/50 and 1 in I raise to 300. I meant to do 200 but...whatever. 2 callers including UTG who I read as only calling because he had 50 invested. Flop was Queen and rags. 300. 1 caller. Turn, rag. 300. He folded.
Second hand Roman folded, I had A/J. Raise 200 as first into pot. 2 callers. Flop was rags. Raise 200. Just one caller. Turn was another 200 and he folded.
Third Hand, A/6. From UTG raised. Got couple callers. Raise on flop bought the pot.
Folded a few garbage hands but I had set the tone...everyone was raising so folding was correct anyway. After a while people settled down and were limping. I limped here and there but not consistently. That was a mistake. I had established an aggressive image but with cards to back it up then trashed it away. Worse yet...had I been limping every hand I would have been going to town as I hit numerous flops very, very hard...after I folded. Had I been playing Doker I would have had a HUGE stack but by playing correct I had very little.
The blinds were coming fast and I got down to about 1200. I picked up K/J off and after UTG limped I went all in, 2 callers. Paired them both and tripled up. Then I allowed myself to limp a couple times when I knew better...and every time I got a decent hand the guy to my right went all-in. Stopped limping, still had about 2000.
Picked up A/K. Raised it 4 times the blinds. Guy to my left had limped under the gun. He called. Flop was all rags, 10 high. I had blind checked (as I did every hand I was first to act; that was for consitency). He counted off my last 1175 and put me all in. I thought about it quite a while. I had never seen him raise without a decent hand and watched him fold when he thought he was beat. I decided he had a pair or trips and folded. He flashed pocket 7s. Good read, but was it a good fold? Probably. I thought he might have trips and if so I was drawing dead for all intents and purposes. If not I had 6 outs to his 2 for a net of 4 outs, 2 cards to come, about 8 percent...yeah, I am glad I folded. They went rabbit hunting and I would have hit my ace on the river to double up. Still glad I folded.
Unfortunately, that meant I was down to 1175 and pretty quick went all in with A/10. It got 4 callers so I knew I was in trouble and someone hit 2 pair to put me out.
I actually played pretty well overall, the 4 or 5 limps were all with connectors, whether suited or not...and my reasoning was sound, I want more callers. However, if I am going to limp I need to limp, otherwise I need to play those just as I do my premium hands.
I also learned I am not nearly as good playing the tight, correct hands style as I am playing the more loose play everything style. I am going back to that.
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