We actually played a poker tournament Monday night at my apartment. I played ridiculously loose, leading to Ian busting me twice and Derek once. I dropped $15 and went to McDonald's.
Full Tilt offered me a $75 bonus that I could redeem over a span of ten days, so late in the evening I sat on the couch between Ian and Derek and played some .25/.50 NLHE. It is important for me to note that I NEVER play at stakes this high in an internet cash game. I have played higher stakes live, but on the internet I feel that competition in these games is above my level. I was wrong- at least tonight. I can't lie though, I caught cards CONSTANTLY, allowing me to make plays and build an image.
I made over $60 in less than an hour. This hand was the highlight of my night. Can you dream of anything working out more awesomely?
Feeling invincible, I moved on to .10/.25 PLO. I took over $30 in a very brief session, a lot of it coming from this wet dream of a hand.
I'm sitting at a .25/.50 Stud table right now. I'm up 4 big bets. Can I lose money tonight?
Who knows.
One thing is for sure; I'm having fun playing poker again.
-The Gerk-
Showing posts with label hold'em. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hold'em. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
A Sit-and-Go Just for the Purpose of an Update
I haven't updated this blog in a month.
Let me rank the reasons why:
1. Guitar Hero (I, II, and III)
2. Other work on the site Arabianmonkey.com
3. Work
4. Stuff around the apartment
5. School
Yet I digress- it's not like I just chose not to update. I have seriously played less that 12 hours of poker in 2008. Crazy, isn't it? I theorize that I will eventually get sick of Guitar Hero and my playing ability will plateau, leading me back to the poker table.
But since that hasn't happened yet, I purposely sat my ass down with my hand generator and this blog window specifically to write about a Sit-and-Go. So here it is, nothing fancy, just some simply hand analysis of a meat-and-potatoes $5+.50 NL Hold'em 9-player Sit-and-Go. I had to use the old hand generator because I forgot my password to the new-fangled one.
I folded through the first level. I took a flop with 66, whiffed and let it go. The table seemed pretty standard- nothing crazy happening. Then I picked up AsQs in my BB. UTG limped, so did the cutoff. SB makes it 200 to go, 5x the BB. UTG then shoves. What the fuck? Cutoff folds, SB thinks a while and calls. Easy fold for me, right? UTG must be looking for that classic limp and trap play with AA or KK. SB must have at least AK, right? It's been a while since I've played, so I guess I'm impatient. I call. SB has QQ, UTG has 88. Board bricks. I'm out. Did I say I was only going to play one tournamet? Hahahaha... LET'S TRY AGAIN!
ROUND 2
Things started out much the same, playing Texas Fold'em. I took a small pot in my SB with J9. Then in the second level a confrontation arose that nearly made this blog unworthy of posting. Check out the action...
I figured we might be racing. Shit, it was almost 2:30am- sleep isn't such a bad consolation prize.
Two hands later I woke up in the BB with AQ. The short-stacked button minraised, the SB called and I jammed it. It folded to the button, who promptly called, and I was racing again. Here's how it turned out.
With almost 4,500 chips under my belt, I was pretty set. We very quickly became 5-handed and things tightened up. I called a raise on the button with QsTs, hoping to hit a good flop against a pretty TAG player. It came down with the As and the Ks. I had a royal flush draw and a gut shot. He continuation bet, and I called, with the intention of jamming the turn no matter what fell and how he acted. The turn was an 8, giving me an extra 4 outs. He timidly checked, and I decided to push and take it down.
A little while later, this hand came up. I nearly folded the turn; I swear to God my poker senses kicked in and almost saved me some money. He made it so affordable that I had to pay him off though. The short stack played the hand perfectly.
I made it back later though. I wasn't too scared of AK here, so when I pushed I felt pretty safe. He seemed to pretend to think about a call before letting it go.
Ugh. This always seems to happen. I wish he had just folded.
You might say I had a pretty good read on the guy on my right. Check out the river action on this baby.
The blinds got higher and my opponents' stacks got smaller. Out of necessity I called the all in of the 4th place finsher, and the next hand I took out the 3rd place guy for the same reason- he was just too short stacked for me not to call.
After some back and forth heads-up action. I noticed my opponent was getting frustrated. I raised three straight hands and then picked up AA. He raised from the button, trying to steal his thunder back. I, of course, declared that this was my table and re-raised. He cold called and I checked him the flop to see if he would hang himself. Not yet. I even gave him a free river card when he opted out of suicide again. But I jammed the un-important river card and he called VERY quickly with King-high. What a bitch. Check out the hand- there's nothing better than ending a tourney with AA.
-The Gerk-
Let me rank the reasons why:
1. Guitar Hero (I, II, and III)
2. Other work on the site Arabianmonkey.com
3. Work
4. Stuff around the apartment
5. School
Yet I digress- it's not like I just chose not to update. I have seriously played less that 12 hours of poker in 2008. Crazy, isn't it? I theorize that I will eventually get sick of Guitar Hero and my playing ability will plateau, leading me back to the poker table.
But since that hasn't happened yet, I purposely sat my ass down with my hand generator and this blog window specifically to write about a Sit-and-Go. So here it is, nothing fancy, just some simply hand analysis of a meat-and-potatoes $5+.50 NL Hold'em 9-player Sit-and-Go. I had to use the old hand generator because I forgot my password to the new-fangled one.
I folded through the first level. I took a flop with 66, whiffed and let it go. The table seemed pretty standard- nothing crazy happening. Then I picked up AsQs in my BB. UTG limped, so did the cutoff. SB makes it 200 to go, 5x the BB. UTG then shoves. What the fuck? Cutoff folds, SB thinks a while and calls. Easy fold for me, right? UTG must be looking for that classic limp and trap play with AA or KK. SB must have at least AK, right? It's been a while since I've played, so I guess I'm impatient. I call. SB has QQ, UTG has 88. Board bricks. I'm out. Did I say I was only going to play one tournamet? Hahahaha... LET'S TRY AGAIN!
ROUND 2
Things started out much the same, playing Texas Fold'em. I took a small pot in my SB with J9. Then in the second level a confrontation arose that nearly made this blog unworthy of posting. Check out the action...
I figured we might be racing. Shit, it was almost 2:30am- sleep isn't such a bad consolation prize.
Two hands later I woke up in the BB with AQ. The short-stacked button minraised, the SB called and I jammed it. It folded to the button, who promptly called, and I was racing again. Here's how it turned out.
With almost 4,500 chips under my belt, I was pretty set. We very quickly became 5-handed and things tightened up. I called a raise on the button with QsTs, hoping to hit a good flop against a pretty TAG player. It came down with the As and the Ks. I had a royal flush draw and a gut shot. He continuation bet, and I called, with the intention of jamming the turn no matter what fell and how he acted. The turn was an 8, giving me an extra 4 outs. He timidly checked, and I decided to push and take it down.
A little while later, this hand came up. I nearly folded the turn; I swear to God my poker senses kicked in and almost saved me some money. He made it so affordable that I had to pay him off though. The short stack played the hand perfectly.
I made it back later though. I wasn't too scared of AK here, so when I pushed I felt pretty safe. He seemed to pretend to think about a call before letting it go.
Ugh. This always seems to happen. I wish he had just folded.
You might say I had a pretty good read on the guy on my right. Check out the river action on this baby.
The blinds got higher and my opponents' stacks got smaller. Out of necessity I called the all in of the 4th place finsher, and the next hand I took out the 3rd place guy for the same reason- he was just too short stacked for me not to call.
After some back and forth heads-up action. I noticed my opponent was getting frustrated. I raised three straight hands and then picked up AA. He raised from the button, trying to steal his thunder back. I, of course, declared that this was my table and re-raised. He cold called and I checked him the flop to see if he would hang himself. Not yet. I even gave him a free river card when he opted out of suicide again. But I jammed the un-important river card and he called VERY quickly with King-high. What a bitch. Check out the hand- there's nothing better than ending a tourney with AA.
-The Gerk-
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Through the Muck
I would like to post some hands, but it's not worth your time or my own.
I've won a couple of 5.50 9-players the last few days.
I finished 22nd in a 180 person when I couldn't get my KJ to hold up against JT all-in preflop for 7 BBs.
I played decent in a 90-person HORSE SNG but got coolered twice immediately after the first break, and I couldn't make my money back despite getting it all-in good in hold'em.
Last night I finished 2nd in a SNG where I thought I played about as close to perfect as ever, then got my money in facing three outs with two pulls against A4. Turn 4, river A. Heartbreak.
In the last week I'm up a small amount online, but I think I'm playing tremendously. When I'm in the zone, the decisions make themselves- abstract concepts become crystal clear and it feels like play slows down to the point that I become attached to no hand. I think a lot of this has been because of some extra aggression I've instituted in my play since my last bad run of cards. If you asked Paul the poker player a year ago whether he would bet out with two pair in the SB on a ragged flop, he would give a resounding "no." Today... ABSOLUTELY.
But despite what I consider solid play, I've been taking some rough beats lately. Not unexpected beats, but tough ones that cost me my tournament life in many cases. I can't race or win a 60/40 to save my life, and it seems like every time I get my money in facing three outs the dude turns or rivers his miracle. Since I started playing five years ago, I've never cared all that much if I was beaten as the result of being outplayed. In fact, that's the way I want to bust, knowing I can improve and fix something in my game. But over the last year it feels like most of my beats and bankroll drainers have not been the fault of getting outplayed, but rather getting outdrawn. Like I said, usually those outdraws fall under the category of "expected variance," but it still sucks when you're making a solid push with your bankroll and you hit a series of speed bumps when AK can't hold against AQ and JJ can't best AJ.
Either way, I'm happy with my play. In hold'em, anyway. I took too long of a break in Omaha and my game has suffered noticeably. It sounds funny, but I am really fond of my razz game. Stud... er, not as much.
I'm gonna end the blog here because I'm in a big Omaha pot that I should actually win!
-The Gerk-
P.S. I did win that pot, but didn't get the action I anticipated. I apparently don't have the reads I thought I did.
I've won a couple of 5.50 9-players the last few days.
I finished 22nd in a 180 person when I couldn't get my KJ to hold up against JT all-in preflop for 7 BBs.
I played decent in a 90-person HORSE SNG but got coolered twice immediately after the first break, and I couldn't make my money back despite getting it all-in good in hold'em.
Last night I finished 2nd in a SNG where I thought I played about as close to perfect as ever, then got my money in facing three outs with two pulls against A4. Turn 4, river A. Heartbreak.
In the last week I'm up a small amount online, but I think I'm playing tremendously. When I'm in the zone, the decisions make themselves- abstract concepts become crystal clear and it feels like play slows down to the point that I become attached to no hand. I think a lot of this has been because of some extra aggression I've instituted in my play since my last bad run of cards. If you asked Paul the poker player a year ago whether he would bet out with two pair in the SB on a ragged flop, he would give a resounding "no." Today... ABSOLUTELY.
But despite what I consider solid play, I've been taking some rough beats lately. Not unexpected beats, but tough ones that cost me my tournament life in many cases. I can't race or win a 60/40 to save my life, and it seems like every time I get my money in facing three outs the dude turns or rivers his miracle. Since I started playing five years ago, I've never cared all that much if I was beaten as the result of being outplayed. In fact, that's the way I want to bust, knowing I can improve and fix something in my game. But over the last year it feels like most of my beats and bankroll drainers have not been the fault of getting outplayed, but rather getting outdrawn. Like I said, usually those outdraws fall under the category of "expected variance," but it still sucks when you're making a solid push with your bankroll and you hit a series of speed bumps when AK can't hold against AQ and JJ can't best AJ.
Either way, I'm happy with my play. In hold'em, anyway. I took too long of a break in Omaha and my game has suffered noticeably. It sounds funny, but I am really fond of my razz game. Stud... er, not as much.
I'm gonna end the blog here because I'm in a big Omaha pot that I should actually win!
-The Gerk-
P.S. I did win that pot, but didn't get the action I anticipated. I apparently don't have the reads I thought I did.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Gerk Wins Full Tilt $5.50 Deep Stack 90-Person SNG
So, here's a long awaited update...
We played three tournaments at my apartment Monday night. I took the first two, and in last one I dropped two buy-ins from erratic play induced by slight drunkenness. Oh well, it had been a while since I had tasted the sweet nectar that is Blue Moon. The highlight of the evening occurred in the first tournament when Max called my all-in with a four card straight, 6 to 9. This would normally be really embarrassing, but it was doubly so because moments before it happened he was talking about when he first played the game years ago, and how he used to call his brothers with four card straights and flushes. WOW. It was one of the most entertaining moments our game has ever had.
I haven't been playing much internet poker lately. I partook in a 1200 person Knock-Out tournament (where each player has a bounty on his head) a few days ago, when I busted in the 400's and only took out two players, both on the same hand.
This morning I woke up early to do some science labs, and entered a 90 person deep-stack tournament to bide the time. The damn thing lasted almost four hours, but it was well worth it. I won the tournament and it's $112.50 first prize.
Here's the last hand: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1698047
I don't have any other hands to post, but there were other highlights. I doubled up to over 6000 very early, and played Texas Fold 'em while keeping a tight image through the first hour and a half. I was playing patiently, and it worked out. I got sucked out on in a big pot only once, in a 7k pot where we got it all in on a Q-9-7 flop. I had QJ and he had JT. The turn was an 8 and I was hammered down to about 3k. I rebuilt my stack, and got it up to around 12k before I two-outered a short stack. I raised from the cutoff with QK, he minraised on the button with KK. I just called, and the flop was Q-high. He only had about 1000 left, so we got it in and the turn fell a queen.
We played ten handed for almost an hour, and at one point I was down to only 3200 with the blinds at 200/400. I pushed with AJ, was called by K-x, and it held. The very next hand I pushed my 7.5k with 44, and it held against AT. I was back in business.
At the final table I played pretty well, but I made one crucial mistake that ended up working out in my favor. With around 45k, I raised to 3200 UTG with 88 (we were 7-handed). Everyone folded to the BB, who called. The flop was 6-4-4. He bet out 9000, and I just called instead of pushing, despite thinking he was kind of LAGgy, and had a wide range. The turn was a Q, and he bet the pot. I moved in over the top, and he called... with AQ. I had given him a turn he didn't need to see. It was a huge mistake that would have left me with only hundreds of chips, but the fates aligned and the turn fell an 8. I was catapulted into the chiplead with 93,000 chips.
I laid low for a while, and eventually ended up busting 5 of 7 players to get myself heads-up. I had a 2:1 lead, but he played a stellar LAG style two-handed. He had me on the ropes, but I made the nut straight with 79 and took half of his stack. We exchanged blows until the final hand, which I posted earlier.
112.50 is cool with me, I'm pumped about another tournament win. I should seriously stop playing ring games, I am a much better MTT player.
-Peace out, and good luck at the tables!-
Monday, September 17, 2007
A Full Tilt Tournament
I played in a 90 person Sit-and-Go today on Full Tilt. I started by doubling up with 99 in the third level. Then I lost a huge pot when I got it all-in with 7h9h on a board of Th-Jh-Ts-6h. He had Ace-Ten and checked the flop. Of course he rivered an ace.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491653
I moved to a new table, this was the second hand. The first hand I jammed the 7-J-7 flop with 44 and took it down.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491662
Three hands after the KKKK hand, this happens. I was ready to give it up on the turn, which I was surprised he checked. I guess I can fold the river to a minraise, but it is possible he would be betting that flop with the lower straight draw. Idk, I'm not folding here.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491694
I was sure I had the MP caller, but I was just praying the blind didn't have it.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491724
Eeeeewwwwwww... I feel bad for him, but I'm not folding Blind v. Blind for 2BBs. Sorry.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491759
The good ol' limp-re-raise. One of the best moves in my poker game. My style makes this look like a steal... but in reality, I'm stealing your chips.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491778
He's not supposed to be button limping with JJ on such a short stack lol. But either way, better to be lucky than good.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491802
Haha luck's way of letting me know I can't always win. Ride that 5% baby! I guess I was lucky it was a short stack.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491921
This was the hand that burst the bubble. He ridiculed me for calling his tiny stack in my BB with A8. Moron.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491948
My last hand. I should've raised preflop, but seeing how he played the hand postflop, he would've just called me and I would've busted anyway. At such high blinds, it's almost impossible to know that he's getting sneaky with AQ.
15th place is okay, but I wanted to win it. Damn.
-The Gerk-
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491653
I moved to a new table, this was the second hand. The first hand I jammed the 7-J-7 flop with 44 and took it down.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491662
Three hands after the KKKK hand, this happens. I was ready to give it up on the turn, which I was surprised he checked. I guess I can fold the river to a minraise, but it is possible he would be betting that flop with the lower straight draw. Idk, I'm not folding here.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491694
I was sure I had the MP caller, but I was just praying the blind didn't have it.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491724
Eeeeewwwwwww... I feel bad for him, but I'm not folding Blind v. Blind for 2BBs. Sorry.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491759
The good ol' limp-re-raise. One of the best moves in my poker game. My style makes this look like a steal... but in reality, I'm stealing your chips.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491778
He's not supposed to be button limping with JJ on such a short stack lol. But either way, better to be lucky than good.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491802
Haha luck's way of letting me know I can't always win. Ride that 5% baby! I guess I was lucky it was a short stack.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491921
This was the hand that burst the bubble. He ridiculed me for calling his tiny stack in my BB with A8. Moron.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1491948
My last hand. I should've raised preflop, but seeing how he played the hand postflop, he would've just called me and I would've busted anyway. At such high blinds, it's almost impossible to know that he's getting sneaky with AQ.
15th place is okay, but I wanted to win it. Damn.
-The Gerk-
Monday, August 27, 2007
Tilt Talk, A Huge Hand
My PLO excursion over the last week has been filled with ups and downs. Some days I felt like I was playing pretty well, given my relative skill level, and I would squeeze out a buy-in or two profit. Other days, I would be tilting pretty hard, without ever taking a beat to encourage such bad play, and I would drop 2, 3, maybe 4 buy-ins before I finally signed off in shame.
Let's talk about tilt for a minute. "Tilt" is a word generally used to describe the frustration of a player due to any number of causes, and the resulting effect on the way he plays. Most times, a particularly bad beat will send a player into tilt mode, causing him to try to recoup his losses as quickly as possible, by playing more hands and pushing all-in with very modest holdings. Sometimes, when a player is tilting badly, he just wants to bust and get away from the table. It is important for a successful player to understand who at his table is steaming so that he can adjust his play against that player. When a bad beat doesn't tilt a player, any number of things might alter the way he plays- fatigue, boredom, hunger, frustration, table talk, or the need to be somewhere else are just some of the factors that can cause tilt.
Back to my talk about PLO. In Hold'em, I find that I only tilt when I'm frustrated or take a big bad beat that would've greatly changed my chances of winning a tournament/ making money in a cash game. However, in Pot Limit Omaha, I sometimes find myself tilting IMMEDIATELY upon sitting down at a table. I'm playing too loose, making too many crying/hero calls, and just all around not playing the game the way I need to play it in order to win. I'm unsure what causes this- maybe it is the huge emphasis on draws as opposed to legit hands like in Hold'em. When I sit down, I feel like the best way to make money is to get my stack in with the nut flush draw and suck out- but clearly that is not the best way to profit in Omaha. It feels like I'm tilting in one way or another 75% of the time at a PLO table. But that other 25%, I don't think I'm a bad player, just inexperienced.
I had worked my roll on UltimateBet up to 105.00, from the 75.00 I started with. I have played almost exclusively .10/.25PLO, but I have also sat down at a .25/.50 NL Hold'em table and a .01/.02PLO table (While I was waiting for a .10/.25 to open up). I lost a couple buy-ins Wednesday, a couple buy-ins Thursday, a couple buy-ins Friday, made a little on Saturday, and lost 2.5 buy-ins Sunday before making a push. I was down to like 20.00 in my account besides the 10.00 I took to the PLO table. I had about an hour to screw around, and before long I had doubled up. Then, just like that, I turned a set and completed my full-house to bust a guy and was up to 35.00 at my table. Common sense told to me to just leave the table- I had to be at my parents at 7:00 for my dad's birthday and I hadn't even gotten him a card yet. It was 6:15 and I needed to shower, but I felt like I was running well so I didn't leave the table. Then a monster hand came up, an incredible only-in-Omaha hand... that I will break down in it's entirety during my next blog posting. :)
(A CLIFFHANGER ENDING?!?!? WTF?!?!?)
-The Gerk-
Let's talk about tilt for a minute. "Tilt" is a word generally used to describe the frustration of a player due to any number of causes, and the resulting effect on the way he plays. Most times, a particularly bad beat will send a player into tilt mode, causing him to try to recoup his losses as quickly as possible, by playing more hands and pushing all-in with very modest holdings. Sometimes, when a player is tilting badly, he just wants to bust and get away from the table. It is important for a successful player to understand who at his table is steaming so that he can adjust his play against that player. When a bad beat doesn't tilt a player, any number of things might alter the way he plays- fatigue, boredom, hunger, frustration, table talk, or the need to be somewhere else are just some of the factors that can cause tilt.
Back to my talk about PLO. In Hold'em, I find that I only tilt when I'm frustrated or take a big bad beat that would've greatly changed my chances of winning a tournament/ making money in a cash game. However, in Pot Limit Omaha, I sometimes find myself tilting IMMEDIATELY upon sitting down at a table. I'm playing too loose, making too many crying/hero calls, and just all around not playing the game the way I need to play it in order to win. I'm unsure what causes this- maybe it is the huge emphasis on draws as opposed to legit hands like in Hold'em. When I sit down, I feel like the best way to make money is to get my stack in with the nut flush draw and suck out- but clearly that is not the best way to profit in Omaha. It feels like I'm tilting in one way or another 75% of the time at a PLO table. But that other 25%, I don't think I'm a bad player, just inexperienced.
I had worked my roll on UltimateBet up to 105.00, from the 75.00 I started with. I have played almost exclusively .10/.25PLO, but I have also sat down at a .25/.50 NL Hold'em table and a .01/.02PLO table (While I was waiting for a .10/.25 to open up). I lost a couple buy-ins Wednesday, a couple buy-ins Thursday, a couple buy-ins Friday, made a little on Saturday, and lost 2.5 buy-ins Sunday before making a push. I was down to like 20.00 in my account besides the 10.00 I took to the PLO table. I had about an hour to screw around, and before long I had doubled up. Then, just like that, I turned a set and completed my full-house to bust a guy and was up to 35.00 at my table. Common sense told to me to just leave the table- I had to be at my parents at 7:00 for my dad's birthday and I hadn't even gotten him a card yet. It was 6:15 and I needed to shower, but I felt like I was running well so I didn't leave the table. Then a monster hand came up, an incredible only-in-Omaha hand... that I will break down in it's entirety during my next blog posting. :)
(A CLIFFHANGER ENDING?!?!? WTF?!?!?)
-The Gerk-
Friday, August 17, 2007
The End, and a New Beginning
In case any of you are curious, here's the pot that the rest of my bankroll went into: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1380872
Although it's not a total cooler, that is a very, very bad spot to run into, seeing as my two pair is virtually dead (no redraw for a full house, only quads). I still had nine hearts though, but none came.
So now that your Pokerstars Cashier says that you have exactly $0.00, what are you going to do now? Well, I'm going to deposit two checks into my account today and then take some of that and deposit it on at least two, maybe three sites. Pokerstars for certain, UltimateBet is probable, and so is FullTilt. If you have any suggestions or bonus codes, now would be a good time to leave them in the comments. I'll see you at the tables again this weekend. :)
-The Gerk-
Although it's not a total cooler, that is a very, very bad spot to run into, seeing as my two pair is virtually dead (no redraw for a full house, only quads). I still had nine hearts though, but none came.
So now that your Pokerstars Cashier says that you have exactly $0.00, what are you going to do now? Well, I'm going to deposit two checks into my account today and then take some of that and deposit it on at least two, maybe three sites. Pokerstars for certain, UltimateBet is probable, and so is FullTilt. If you have any suggestions or bonus codes, now would be a good time to leave them in the comments. I'll see you at the tables again this weekend. :)
-The Gerk-
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Analysis of a Hand
If you haven't read the comments section of the previous blog post, refer to them first before reading this one. In summary, this particular hand decided a 5-handed NL Hold'em tournament that some friends and I played on Friday. My opponent seems to believe that the call he made was correct, and that I shouldn't "gripe," but the objective of this analysis is to prove that it was not only an incorrect call, but a VERY incorrect call.
In the tournament in question, there were five players and two rebuys, with each player starting with 20.00 in chips. Therefore, there are 140.00 of chips in play. We are heads-up at this point, and I have just doubled up to take a VERY slight chiplead when my TT held up against Ax all-in preflop. After I lost the pot in question, I was all-in with my BB the very next hand- my opponent called in the dark and we played the hand with the hole cards face up. Therefore the stacks were approximately even, with me having a 6.00 (or one BB) chiplead. The hand went as follows.
The Douginator (67.00): Posts BB (6.00)
The Gerk (73.00): Posts SB (3.00)
The Gerk: Moves all-in (73.00 total)
The Douginator: Calls all-in (67.00 total)
The Gerk shows Ac7d
The Douginator shows QhJd
Flop: 9-x-T
Turn: 8
River: Q
Board reads: 9-x-T-8-Q
The Douginator takes the pot (134.00) with a straight, 8 to Q.
Since some of you may not understand what "pot odds" are, let me explain them to you. Pot odds are calculated, generally when making a call with a draw, to determine whether or not a player has the proper equity (or return on investment) to commit a certain amount of money to a pot.
For example, lets said you had a flush draw on the turn of one particular hand, and would thus have 9 outs to the best hand. If the pot was 10.00, and I bet 8.00, you would not have the proper equity (ROI) to call the bet, seeing as calling 8.00 into a 18.00 pot would only be giving you a 2.5:1 ROI. The odds for you to make your hand are roughly 18% (or 4:1), making it improper to call. I would have to bet a maximum of about 3.25 in order for it to be a proper call with your draw (and you should always look for situations when you're getting BETTER than the proper odds on your money, i.e. getting 5:1 on a call with a 3:1 lead)
In our example, The Douginator had committed exactly 6.00 into a pot that became worth his entire stack. In other words, he had to call 61.00 in a 73.00 pot (the BB is considered no longer his). He was getting roughly 2.2:1 on a call, that is to say, you need to be 100% sure that your QJ is AT LEAST a 66% favorite in the hand in order to call (we'll ignore the fact that he is making the call for his tournament life, or 15.00 real money.) Pot odds do not necessarily imply to to this pot, because he is calling off his entire stack before the flop. But if they did, he would still not have the right price to call- QJ is a favorite against only about 50% of hands (Q8 is the exact median), not even close to the 2/3 advantage you would be looking for.
And he certainly wasn't pot committed, seeing as after his BB he still had 61.00 (10+BBs). While this would be a relative short stack in many tournaments, if I had just stolen the blinds, I would only have 12BBs.
You may be asking, but what should he have done with QJ in that spot?
FOLD.
If he had any read on me whatsoever, he would know that I was never pushing with less than QJ. Although I was being very aggressive with the blinds so high, and I was moving with QK, Kx, Ax, any pair, as well as any big hand, I was certainly not going to risk my tournament with a dead average hand. He would need to put me on a completely random hand in order to justify a call (not based in any way on pot odds, as he assumed). My range would have to include smaller Jacks and smaller Queens, as well has hands he had a smaller advantage over, like 8-5 and 3-4. If you would like to input a range of hands to determine whether or not a call was justified, please google poker odds calculator or visit flopturnriver.com and have at it.
In the comment post he claimed he "needed to make a play." A play implies that he is the one doing the betting, not calling off his stack with a very average hand. If he wanted to make a play, he could have very easily folded QJ and pushed all-in in position when he had the button the next hand, and 9 times out of 10 taken his BB back.
And to say that the QJ hand did not decide the tournament is completely ignorant- a hand that gives one player a 134.00 to 6.00 chiplead is a pretty consequential hand. And it would have been avoided had he not fallen in love with two facecards.
I'm not saying QJ is not playable- but it is definitely not playable when facing an all-in. It should be folded in EP and MP at a full table. In LP, it is acceptable to limp with it as long as there are other limpers and hope to flop a set or a straight. On the button, it is profitable to raise with it in hopes to steal, but if you are reraised, you are almost certainly way behind. In blind v. blind confrontations, raising is best since many SBs complete with inferior hands as bad as J2 or 83.
For more on pot odds, getting proper ROI, implied odds, and the minimum starting requirements to call an all-in bet, please look up ZeeJustin's blog (I'm too lazy to provide a link). He goes into great detail about how and why it is not only profitable but essential to push in blind v. blind confrontations. He also breaks down what hands you would need to call such a bet, and QJ is obviously not among them.
And a note to all:
Although I am more than willing to admit my mistakes, especially in a game of incomplete information such as Hold'em, make sure you know that you are correct before you post about it. Before you reply on my blog and accuse me of not knowing what I'm talking about, get your facts straight and MAYBE learn what the terms you're using actually mean.
-The Gerk-
In the tournament in question, there were five players and two rebuys, with each player starting with 20.00 in chips. Therefore, there are 140.00 of chips in play. We are heads-up at this point, and I have just doubled up to take a VERY slight chiplead when my TT held up against Ax all-in preflop. After I lost the pot in question, I was all-in with my BB the very next hand- my opponent called in the dark and we played the hand with the hole cards face up. Therefore the stacks were approximately even, with me having a 6.00 (or one BB) chiplead. The hand went as follows.
The Douginator (67.00): Posts BB (6.00)
The Gerk (73.00): Posts SB (3.00)
The Gerk: Moves all-in (73.00 total)
The Douginator: Calls all-in (67.00 total)
The Gerk shows Ac7d
The Douginator shows QhJd
Flop: 9-x-T
Turn: 8
River: Q
Board reads: 9-x-T-8-Q
The Douginator takes the pot (134.00) with a straight, 8 to Q.
Since some of you may not understand what "pot odds" are, let me explain them to you. Pot odds are calculated, generally when making a call with a draw, to determine whether or not a player has the proper equity (or return on investment) to commit a certain amount of money to a pot.
For example, lets said you had a flush draw on the turn of one particular hand, and would thus have 9 outs to the best hand. If the pot was 10.00, and I bet 8.00, you would not have the proper equity (ROI) to call the bet, seeing as calling 8.00 into a 18.00 pot would only be giving you a 2.5:1 ROI. The odds for you to make your hand are roughly 18% (or 4:1), making it improper to call. I would have to bet a maximum of about 3.25 in order for it to be a proper call with your draw (and you should always look for situations when you're getting BETTER than the proper odds on your money, i.e. getting 5:1 on a call with a 3:1 lead)
In our example, The Douginator had committed exactly 6.00 into a pot that became worth his entire stack. In other words, he had to call 61.00 in a 73.00 pot (the BB is considered no longer his). He was getting roughly 2.2:1 on a call, that is to say, you need to be 100% sure that your QJ is AT LEAST a 66% favorite in the hand in order to call (we'll ignore the fact that he is making the call for his tournament life, or 15.00 real money.) Pot odds do not necessarily imply to to this pot, because he is calling off his entire stack before the flop. But if they did, he would still not have the right price to call- QJ is a favorite against only about 50% of hands (Q8 is the exact median), not even close to the 2/3 advantage you would be looking for.
And he certainly wasn't pot committed, seeing as after his BB he still had 61.00 (10+BBs). While this would be a relative short stack in many tournaments, if I had just stolen the blinds, I would only have 12BBs.
You may be asking, but what should he have done with QJ in that spot?
FOLD.
If he had any read on me whatsoever, he would know that I was never pushing with less than QJ. Although I was being very aggressive with the blinds so high, and I was moving with QK, Kx, Ax, any pair, as well as any big hand, I was certainly not going to risk my tournament with a dead average hand. He would need to put me on a completely random hand in order to justify a call (not based in any way on pot odds, as he assumed). My range would have to include smaller Jacks and smaller Queens, as well has hands he had a smaller advantage over, like 8-5 and 3-4. If you would like to input a range of hands to determine whether or not a call was justified, please google poker odds calculator or visit flopturnriver.com and have at it.
In the comment post he claimed he "needed to make a play." A play implies that he is the one doing the betting, not calling off his stack with a very average hand. If he wanted to make a play, he could have very easily folded QJ and pushed all-in in position when he had the button the next hand, and 9 times out of 10 taken his BB back.
And to say that the QJ hand did not decide the tournament is completely ignorant- a hand that gives one player a 134.00 to 6.00 chiplead is a pretty consequential hand. And it would have been avoided had he not fallen in love with two facecards.
I'm not saying QJ is not playable- but it is definitely not playable when facing an all-in. It should be folded in EP and MP at a full table. In LP, it is acceptable to limp with it as long as there are other limpers and hope to flop a set or a straight. On the button, it is profitable to raise with it in hopes to steal, but if you are reraised, you are almost certainly way behind. In blind v. blind confrontations, raising is best since many SBs complete with inferior hands as bad as J2 or 83.
For more on pot odds, getting proper ROI, implied odds, and the minimum starting requirements to call an all-in bet, please look up ZeeJustin's blog (I'm too lazy to provide a link). He goes into great detail about how and why it is not only profitable but essential to push in blind v. blind confrontations. He also breaks down what hands you would need to call such a bet, and QJ is obviously not among them.
And a note to all:
Although I am more than willing to admit my mistakes, especially in a game of incomplete information such as Hold'em, make sure you know that you are correct before you post about it. Before you reply on my blog and accuse me of not knowing what I'm talking about, get your facts straight and MAYBE learn what the terms you're using actually mean.
-The Gerk-
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Run Badly, Break Even
Survival.
Not one word is more important in the grand cosmic ideology of poker.
One must always keep his head above water, if nothing else. That should be his primary concern; not to win big, not to play a certain style, or to play his cards. Surviving is always paramount, and not just in tournaments, but in cash games too. If your bankroll is in trouble, then you need to do whatever you have to do guarantee its immediate survival- lower your stakes, change your playing style, or switch games.
I have become a master of survival in the last few weeks. I have been consistently (probably 75% of the time) beating the .10/.25 NL game on Pokerstars since my bankroll train-wrecked. Winning in a game filled with so many loose players is quite a task, and to do so I've had to tighten up many loose ends strewn throughout my game. I am only taking about .75-1 buy-in every hour and a half or so on average- but I am surviving. I am being forced to take huge chances by accepting 5:1 edges before the flop in order to make money- but I am surviving. I am playing boring, tedious poker- but I'm surviving.
UPDATE: I just dropped 2 buy-ins. In the first, I made an all-in call after a flurry of betting on an 8 high, all-spade flop, with 9d9s. He had me drawing close to dead with AcAs. Then I rebought, won a couple of pots, and then gave it all back in one dramatic hand. I called a min-raise from the cut-off with 8cTc, and in a three-way pot the flop fell 9c-Jc-3h. EP bet .25, and the min-raiser made it 1.25 to go. I called with my monster draw, and EP folded. The turn was the As, and he checked it to me. I fired 3.00, and he called. The river was a blank, the 6d. He checked again, and I put him on exactly QJ. I pushed my last 12.60 into a pot of 8.00+ and he took only a second before calling with...QJ. I'm not sure how he can make that call and think he had the best hand, but to each his own I suppose.
That's the synopsis of my online play- just .10/.25NL Hold'em, and it's enough to make a man go mad. Until I work my way up quite a ways again, I will be staying away from other games, as well as tournaments that aren't 4.40 180's. Although playing in those donkament 180's has very low equity, I consider myself to be pretty damn good at them, and a win would bolster my bankroll tremendously.
I am thinking about putting some money on UltimateBet and Full Tilt once I get my bearings back on Pokerstars- any thoughts?
Me and the guys have had some good live games lately. My hot streak in those shorthanded Hold'em tourneys has ended, but I've been doing well overall. We played a razz tournament the other day that got totally sick- Drokk busted out early, and Ian and I both told him he couldn't rebuy. But after some coaxing we allowed him back in, and he went on his usual sick rush of cards. We got it heads-up between us, and he had a lead until I made an 8-6 and nearly doubled up. He verbally conceded the match, but went on to steam roll me until I was nearly felted. I made another comeback, and the heads-up dragged on for what felt like years. I think it finally ended when Drokk caught an eight-outer on 6th street when we were all-in at 400/800 (50).
We played some more Hold'em on Friday night, as well as a PL Omaha tournament. I finished third, third, and second in Hold'em, busting in very frustrating situations each time. In the first game, in the 1.00/2.00 round, I pushed in the BB with 88 and got called by Drokk's AKs that he had limped in with. He flopped top pair, a straight draw, and a flush draw. That crippled me to around 12.00, and I pushed with Q8 the next hand. I was called by AT, and I bricked out. So, yeah, it's frustrating to lose a 60/40 on both sides in back-to-back hands, especially for your tournament life. On the plus side, Ian played absolutely amazing en route to a victory. I've never seen him more aggressive. The key pot he took against Roy was when he fired out 15.00 with 33 on a J-9-J-9 board. It was definitely good to see him take one down.
The next game I got it all-in when we were three handed with Kx and was called by Qx. The turn paired my opponents hand (I don't remember if it was Mike or Ian) and I was out.
I decided to play the third tournament a little differently. I decided that if I had to rebuy multiple times, it was not an issue- my only concern was winning. I was going to push in all the spots I thought my opponents were weak, and I was going to play super, super aggressive. It worked out very well, and I had a mountain of chips going into heads-up against Mike. I doubled him up when he got relatively short stacked, and then he took a big pot off of me to take the chip lead. That is when I put my foot back on the gas. With blinds at 2.50/5.00 and with a stack of around 35.00, I pushed almost every hand preflop. After taking a few blinds uncontested, I caught TT and earned a call from an Ace-rag. I doubled through and retook the chiplead. Only this time, I didn't slow down. Three hands later I pushed with A7 from the button, and he called with QJo. That is well below the starting requirement for him to ever have a +EV outcome in this type of hand. It should be an instant fold, unless he is willing to commit his entire stack to a situation where he may be completely dominated. Even if he knows I am pushing with every single hand (which I wasn't), K2 is a favorite to QJ, as well as almost any other hand I would be moving with. I don't know why I am griping- I am more than happy to get it all-in right there, and I should be willing to exploit my percentage advantage over the long run. But when the board ran out 9-T-3-8-Q, I was more disappointed than anything.
The PL Omaha tournament was a blast. We played 15 minute levels with unlimited rebuys for the first three, so it created a game with lots of play and lots of ridiculous chip swings. I built a monster stack in the first level, then doubled Drokk and Ian up in consecutive hands. We were three handed when rebuys ended, and then Ian went out in third. The heads-up match between Derek and I was insane. With a 3:1 chiplead, I flopped the nut straight with J-8 on a T-7-9 board and we got it all in. His TT wasn't behind for long, as the turn came a 7 to leave me drawing dead. I rebuilt my lead and got it all in again, this time with my JJ way ahead on a 3-7-J-T board. The river came a Q to spike him a straight. Eventually I had the lead once again, going into the final hand. I held Js-7s-10d-5d, and bet a flop of Jd-Ts-3h. He called, and the turn came the As. I checked, and he potted. I called, and the river came the Qs. I pushed it all in, and he called with KQ for the turned straight. I took it down with the second nut flush. I would love to sit here and analyze this hand completely, but frankly I haven't the time or the patience, so do it in the Arabianmonkey forums, or in the comment section, and I will chime in with my own thoughts.
-The Gerk-
Not one word is more important in the grand cosmic ideology of poker.
One must always keep his head above water, if nothing else. That should be his primary concern; not to win big, not to play a certain style, or to play his cards. Surviving is always paramount, and not just in tournaments, but in cash games too. If your bankroll is in trouble, then you need to do whatever you have to do guarantee its immediate survival- lower your stakes, change your playing style, or switch games.
I have become a master of survival in the last few weeks. I have been consistently (probably 75% of the time) beating the .10/.25 NL game on Pokerstars since my bankroll train-wrecked. Winning in a game filled with so many loose players is quite a task, and to do so I've had to tighten up many loose ends strewn throughout my game. I am only taking about .75-1 buy-in every hour and a half or so on average- but I am surviving. I am being forced to take huge chances by accepting 5:1 edges before the flop in order to make money- but I am surviving. I am playing boring, tedious poker- but I'm surviving.
UPDATE: I just dropped 2 buy-ins. In the first, I made an all-in call after a flurry of betting on an 8 high, all-spade flop, with 9d9s. He had me drawing close to dead with AcAs. Then I rebought, won a couple of pots, and then gave it all back in one dramatic hand. I called a min-raise from the cut-off with 8cTc, and in a three-way pot the flop fell 9c-Jc-3h. EP bet .25, and the min-raiser made it 1.25 to go. I called with my monster draw, and EP folded. The turn was the As, and he checked it to me. I fired 3.00, and he called. The river was a blank, the 6d. He checked again, and I put him on exactly QJ. I pushed my last 12.60 into a pot of 8.00+ and he took only a second before calling with...QJ. I'm not sure how he can make that call and think he had the best hand, but to each his own I suppose.
That's the synopsis of my online play- just .10/.25NL Hold'em, and it's enough to make a man go mad. Until I work my way up quite a ways again, I will be staying away from other games, as well as tournaments that aren't 4.40 180's. Although playing in those donkament 180's has very low equity, I consider myself to be pretty damn good at them, and a win would bolster my bankroll tremendously.
I am thinking about putting some money on UltimateBet and Full Tilt once I get my bearings back on Pokerstars- any thoughts?
Me and the guys have had some good live games lately. My hot streak in those shorthanded Hold'em tourneys has ended, but I've been doing well overall. We played a razz tournament the other day that got totally sick- Drokk busted out early, and Ian and I both told him he couldn't rebuy. But after some coaxing we allowed him back in, and he went on his usual sick rush of cards. We got it heads-up between us, and he had a lead until I made an 8-6 and nearly doubled up. He verbally conceded the match, but went on to steam roll me until I was nearly felted. I made another comeback, and the heads-up dragged on for what felt like years. I think it finally ended when Drokk caught an eight-outer on 6th street when we were all-in at 400/800 (50).
We played some more Hold'em on Friday night, as well as a PL Omaha tournament. I finished third, third, and second in Hold'em, busting in very frustrating situations each time. In the first game, in the 1.00/2.00 round, I pushed in the BB with 88 and got called by Drokk's AKs that he had limped in with. He flopped top pair, a straight draw, and a flush draw. That crippled me to around 12.00, and I pushed with Q8 the next hand. I was called by AT, and I bricked out. So, yeah, it's frustrating to lose a 60/40 on both sides in back-to-back hands, especially for your tournament life. On the plus side, Ian played absolutely amazing en route to a victory. I've never seen him more aggressive. The key pot he took against Roy was when he fired out 15.00 with 33 on a J-9-J-9 board. It was definitely good to see him take one down.
The next game I got it all-in when we were three handed with Kx and was called by Qx. The turn paired my opponents hand (I don't remember if it was Mike or Ian) and I was out.
I decided to play the third tournament a little differently. I decided that if I had to rebuy multiple times, it was not an issue- my only concern was winning. I was going to push in all the spots I thought my opponents were weak, and I was going to play super, super aggressive. It worked out very well, and I had a mountain of chips going into heads-up against Mike. I doubled him up when he got relatively short stacked, and then he took a big pot off of me to take the chip lead. That is when I put my foot back on the gas. With blinds at 2.50/5.00 and with a stack of around 35.00, I pushed almost every hand preflop. After taking a few blinds uncontested, I caught TT and earned a call from an Ace-rag. I doubled through and retook the chiplead. Only this time, I didn't slow down. Three hands later I pushed with A7 from the button, and he called with QJo. That is well below the starting requirement for him to ever have a +EV outcome in this type of hand. It should be an instant fold, unless he is willing to commit his entire stack to a situation where he may be completely dominated. Even if he knows I am pushing with every single hand (which I wasn't), K2 is a favorite to QJ, as well as almost any other hand I would be moving with. I don't know why I am griping- I am more than happy to get it all-in right there, and I should be willing to exploit my percentage advantage over the long run. But when the board ran out 9-T-3-8-Q, I was more disappointed than anything.
The PL Omaha tournament was a blast. We played 15 minute levels with unlimited rebuys for the first three, so it created a game with lots of play and lots of ridiculous chip swings. I built a monster stack in the first level, then doubled Drokk and Ian up in consecutive hands. We were three handed when rebuys ended, and then Ian went out in third. The heads-up match between Derek and I was insane. With a 3:1 chiplead, I flopped the nut straight with J-8 on a T-7-9 board and we got it all in. His TT wasn't behind for long, as the turn came a 7 to leave me drawing dead. I rebuilt my lead and got it all in again, this time with my JJ way ahead on a 3-7-J-T board. The river came a Q to spike him a straight. Eventually I had the lead once again, going into the final hand. I held Js-7s-10d-5d, and bet a flop of Jd-Ts-3h. He called, and the turn came the As. I checked, and he potted. I called, and the river came the Qs. I pushed it all in, and he called with KQ for the turned straight. I took it down with the second nut flush. I would love to sit here and analyze this hand completely, but frankly I haven't the time or the patience, so do it in the Arabianmonkey forums, or in the comment section, and I will chime in with my own thoughts.
-The Gerk-
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Live Games Are My Specialty
I have had no success whatsoever on the internet lately. Every time I've had a chance to make a splash in an MTT or even a 9-person Sit and Go, something terrible always happens and I bust outside of the money. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I've run QQ into KK, KK into AA, or AK into KK. I feel like even my monster hands are about to be outdrawn or counterfeited. It has been a very long time since I've felt this insecure at the poker table. I am playing scared- and scared poker is losing poker.
My Pokerstars bankroll is very, very low. Dangerously low. Like, I could very soon have no Pokerstars bankroll low. My bad run the last few weeks has absolutely destroyed me- I've switched gears, games, and playing styles and yet nothing can get me out of this internet funk. I'm not sure what I'm doing differently that is resulting in me losing money, but I need to get out of it and save myself before I lose it all.
Meanwhile, I am incredibly happy with my live game. Although I busted fast in the big K of C tournament last week, I know that I played well, and it has carried over into the weekly games I play with the guys. On Saturday we had a crew over at my apartment, playing Hold'em tournaments and NBA LIVE '07 on the Playstation 2. That night I won two out of three. On Monday, we played our usual game, and I won two out of three tournaments that night too. In fact, the only tourney I didn't win was the first one, where I was essentially coolered into busting. The blinds were 1.00/2.00, and everyone limped into me in the BB. I found AcQs, and pushed for 18.00 more. The SB folded and Derek called instantly, turning over the hand he said he had, AhAd. The flop came all spades, giving me outs, but Derek faded the turn and river to bust me. Five handed, I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to do with AQ there.
Today I worked on the website a bit and then hit the .10/.25NL tables where, once again, I could get no momentum. I'd really like to have to go back and edit this blog entry to mention an incredible victory at the tables, but I'm fairly sure that won't be necessary.
-The Gerk-
My Pokerstars bankroll is very, very low. Dangerously low. Like, I could very soon have no Pokerstars bankroll low. My bad run the last few weeks has absolutely destroyed me- I've switched gears, games, and playing styles and yet nothing can get me out of this internet funk. I'm not sure what I'm doing differently that is resulting in me losing money, but I need to get out of it and save myself before I lose it all.
Meanwhile, I am incredibly happy with my live game. Although I busted fast in the big K of C tournament last week, I know that I played well, and it has carried over into the weekly games I play with the guys. On Saturday we had a crew over at my apartment, playing Hold'em tournaments and NBA LIVE '07 on the Playstation 2. That night I won two out of three. On Monday, we played our usual game, and I won two out of three tournaments that night too. In fact, the only tourney I didn't win was the first one, where I was essentially coolered into busting. The blinds were 1.00/2.00, and everyone limped into me in the BB. I found AcQs, and pushed for 18.00 more. The SB folded and Derek called instantly, turning over the hand he said he had, AhAd. The flop came all spades, giving me outs, but Derek faded the turn and river to bust me. Five handed, I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to do with AQ there.
Today I worked on the website a bit and then hit the .10/.25NL tables where, once again, I could get no momentum. I'd really like to have to go back and edit this blog entry to mention an incredible victory at the tables, but I'm fairly sure that won't be necessary.
-The Gerk-
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