Took first place in a 6-person 10K sit and go.
Took seventh place in a 90-person 10K sit and go. I'm not happy with my play at the final table, I could've done a lot better. I took the chip lead after the first two hands, but the blinds were so big compared to everybody's stacks that the chip lead quickly started moving around. Two hands did me in.
Hand #1:
Blinds 2000/4000, I'm in the BB with 5h9h. The button doubles the blind to 4000. The SB calls, and I call.
Flop: A A J
Checks all around.
Turn: 5
The short stack in the SB moves all in. I think about it and decide that it's worth the it. I call. The button folds.
My opponent has pocket 10s and they hold up on the river.
Hand #2:
I have pocket eights in the SB. I plan on raising it, but UTG+1 doubles the blind to 4000. I decide to just call, so does the BB.
Flop 4 10 7 rainbow.
I move all in. BB folds. UTG+1 calls and shows pocket aces. I don't improve and I'm out.
I originally thought that he had a big a hand like that, but there was 12K in the pot and I only had 7K left. If he has AK he has to fold. No such luck though.
There were a few hands at the final table that I should have raised preflop to try to steal the blinds and I didn't take the chance. I had A6 UTG at one point and the whole table was playing fairly tight and a raise there probably would have taken the blinds for me. Oh well, live and learn. At least I still cashed which means in the last 7 sit and go's I've played in, I've cashed 7 times with 4 first place finishes.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
No Worries
After all the stuff that happened in the last post I went on to play 3 more sit and go's, here's how I placed in each: 1st place (9-person), 2nd place (6-person), 1st place (6-person).
I'm playing amazing poker, I seem to understand every opponent I play. My reads are great, my selective aggression is perfect. I wish poker was always like this!! Unfortunately, if you think of poker as a game of ups and downs, I'm definitely at the peak of my "up" which means the only way to go is down... :(
I'll enjoy it while it last though!!
I'm playing amazing poker, I seem to understand every opponent I play. My reads are great, my selective aggression is perfect. I wish poker was always like this!! Unfortunately, if you think of poker as a game of ups and downs, I'm definitely at the peak of my "up" which means the only way to go is down... :(
I'll enjoy it while it last though!!
Tough Break
I won a 9-person 10K sit and go pretty easily. I didn't play spectacular, but it was good enough to win it all.
Then I got involved in a 6-person 10K sit and go and played AMAZING! Everything I did was perfect and it was only a matter of time until I won. Then all my opponents started sucking out on me left and right.
I had Ah8h and this guy who is absolutely the worst player in the world was in the pot with me. He was so easy to read and predict... this guy was basically my bitch. We were even stacked, but that's because he managed to knock out two players in 3 hands (they were all playing badly). Flop comes down ace high and with two hearts. That's a great flop for me. I bet, he moves all in like an idiot, and I call him. He has A2. The turn pairs the board and the river is a Q. He gets really lucky and we split the pot. He should have been out there... but whatever.
Then the other guy who was left in the game was playing really tight and would only play back at you if he caught some part of the flop. I raise his BB with J4 in the small blind, he calls. Flop is 4 4 7. I check (to set up a play that would look similar to a bluff he had caught me in earlier). He checks. Turn is a 5, and I bet half the pot. He moves all in... he was fairly short stacked, so it's not such a horrible move. He has 7 5. I can't even believe he called my preflop raise with that crap but I guess that he got tired of me raising him. Who cares though? I'm about to knock him out---- no wait, the river was a 5 and he doubles through me. Sick, huh?
Then I'm against the loose idiot again and I'm short stacked now. I have 22. The flop comes 6 10 10. He minimum bets, I raise, he moves all in. I think about it, but call. He actually has a hand this time with 88 and I don't suck out.
I was running over that table and they just kept getting lucky against me when they were dominated. I find it hard to be upset though because I played so well and that makes everything all right.
Then I got involved in a 6-person 10K sit and go and played AMAZING! Everything I did was perfect and it was only a matter of time until I won. Then all my opponents started sucking out on me left and right.
I had Ah8h and this guy who is absolutely the worst player in the world was in the pot with me. He was so easy to read and predict... this guy was basically my bitch. We were even stacked, but that's because he managed to knock out two players in 3 hands (they were all playing badly). Flop comes down ace high and with two hearts. That's a great flop for me. I bet, he moves all in like an idiot, and I call him. He has A2. The turn pairs the board and the river is a Q. He gets really lucky and we split the pot. He should have been out there... but whatever.
Then the other guy who was left in the game was playing really tight and would only play back at you if he caught some part of the flop. I raise his BB with J4 in the small blind, he calls. Flop is 4 4 7. I check (to set up a play that would look similar to a bluff he had caught me in earlier). He checks. Turn is a 5, and I bet half the pot. He moves all in... he was fairly short stacked, so it's not such a horrible move. He has 7 5. I can't even believe he called my preflop raise with that crap but I guess that he got tired of me raising him. Who cares though? I'm about to knock him out---- no wait, the river was a 5 and he doubles through me. Sick, huh?
Then I'm against the loose idiot again and I'm short stacked now. I have 22. The flop comes 6 10 10. He minimum bets, I raise, he moves all in. I think about it, but call. He actually has a hand this time with 88 and I don't suck out.
I was running over that table and they just kept getting lucky against me when they were dominated. I find it hard to be upset though because I played so well and that makes everything all right.
Monday, July 2, 2007
No Title
Quick update...
Took THIRD place in two different HORSE games. I play well to start and then I just can't keep my concentration and focus. Once we hit the money my mind seems to loosen up and my play slacks a little. I also think I might be playing too tight in general.
I went out 6th in a 6-Person NLHE sit and go. It was brutal. This one guy was a total luck box and hit everything, it was ridiculous. I had pocket queens and I don't know what he had, but I had to give it up at the end with the board showing 4 6 6 2 5. He played the hand like he was slow playing trips or chasing a draw, either way, I was beat by the end. He moved all in on the river, a typical amateur play from somebody who knows their stack isn't at risk and is just hoping to be called. I folded of course. I have no doubt I was beat.
I saw just a couple flops with "marginal" hands and didn't manage to hit anything substantial. I won one pot when I flopped top pair but it was small because I had no action.
Then I got pocket aces and it was the perfect time. The guy from the queens had just took a brutal beat (trips losing to trips with better kicker) and lost over half his stack. Considering how he had played so far, I knew he'd be steaming. He called in early position, everybody folded to me in the BB, and I knew the best way to play him would be to play it hard. I raised, he called. Flop was 9 4 9. I bet, he raised, I didn't have too much left and just went all in. He called... he had 9 8. It was so sick. I make the perfect read on somebody, I knew he was steaming and I knew he would call with any two cards... and he flops trips... in the previous hand he had trips... in the hand when I had pocket queens he might have flopped trips. Apparently this guy just had the grace of God on his side.
I want NLHE to be less frustrating!!
Took THIRD place in two different HORSE games. I play well to start and then I just can't keep my concentration and focus. Once we hit the money my mind seems to loosen up and my play slacks a little. I also think I might be playing too tight in general.
I went out 6th in a 6-Person NLHE sit and go. It was brutal. This one guy was a total luck box and hit everything, it was ridiculous. I had pocket queens and I don't know what he had, but I had to give it up at the end with the board showing 4 6 6 2 5. He played the hand like he was slow playing trips or chasing a draw, either way, I was beat by the end. He moved all in on the river, a typical amateur play from somebody who knows their stack isn't at risk and is just hoping to be called. I folded of course. I have no doubt I was beat.
I saw just a couple flops with "marginal" hands and didn't manage to hit anything substantial. I won one pot when I flopped top pair but it was small because I had no action.
Then I got pocket aces and it was the perfect time. The guy from the queens had just took a brutal beat (trips losing to trips with better kicker) and lost over half his stack. Considering how he had played so far, I knew he'd be steaming. He called in early position, everybody folded to me in the BB, and I knew the best way to play him would be to play it hard. I raised, he called. Flop was 9 4 9. I bet, he raised, I didn't have too much left and just went all in. He called... he had 9 8. It was so sick. I make the perfect read on somebody, I knew he was steaming and I knew he would call with any two cards... and he flops trips... in the previous hand he had trips... in the hand when I had pocket queens he might have flopped trips. Apparently this guy just had the grace of God on his side.
I want NLHE to be less frustrating!!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
MIA
I placed 2nd in the HORSE game I was ranting about earlier. The guy who had been a complete idiot in the first hand ended up being a sort of ATM for me. He took chips off of other people and I took them away from him like taking candy from a baby. He just gave me his chips... it was great.
When it was four handed, I was in complete control of the table. I had more chips than the other 3 players combined. Unfortunately, I had to leave and thus I had to sit out. I figured I would have no trouble sliding into the money. I was gone for about 30 minutes. I came back just in time to see that it was heads up. His 11.1K to my 900. I managed to battle back to 4200 before the blinds got too high to allow for any movement. The luck shifted his way and that was that.
I almost pulled off the greatest comeback ever. Almost. There's no doubt in my mind that I would have won the game quite easily if I hadn't had to leave for 30 minutes. Oh well.
When it was four handed, I was in complete control of the table. I had more chips than the other 3 players combined. Unfortunately, I had to leave and thus I had to sit out. I figured I would have no trouble sliding into the money. I was gone for about 30 minutes. I came back just in time to see that it was heads up. His 11.1K to my 900. I managed to battle back to 4200 before the blinds got too high to allow for any movement. The luck shifted his way and that was that.
I almost pulled off the greatest comeback ever. Almost. There's no doubt in my mind that I would have won the game quite easily if I hadn't had to leave for 30 minutes. Oh well.
Unbelievable
Playing a 10K HORSE 8-Person SnG (of course) and I just got crippled on the first hand by the worst bad beat I've ever seen in a limit game. I'm so confused and angry, I really don't know what to think. I know I did nothing wrong, but the whole situation just makes my head spin.
UTG, I'm dealt AA. I raise.
Guy #1 reraises.
Everybody folds to Guy #2, he calls.
I reraise.
Guy #1 RERAISES. Guy #2 calls. I call.
Flop: 4 10 Q rainbow
I bet.
#1 raises. #2 calls.
I reraise.
#1 reraises. #2 calls. I call.
Turn: 7 still rainbow.
I bet.
#1 raises. #2 calls. I elect to just call.
River: 10
I bet.
#1 raises. #2 calls. I call.
I show my aces.
#1 shows JACK TEN suited!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!! (the other guy had KQo)
The only conclusion I've come to is that this guy made a conscious choice to just bet and raise no matter what. He decided that he doesn't really care and therefore will just throw his money away. Clearly, if he was playing without any amount of experience at all, there's no way he'd think middle pair was good with all the raising going on. Not to mention that there were 3 people in the hand and the other guy seemed content to call with his top pair. Even an amateur won't RERAISE preflop with J 10.
I can't believe that donk poker like that gets rewarded. It's ridiculous. There's no justice in the world when something like that happens. I did nothing wrong and completely had the best hand. You might say that I should have been worried about him having pocket queens. Well I wasn't, not in the least. I could just feel what was going on, I can't explain it.
Regardless, I'm such a great HORSE player that I've pulled almost back to even after flopping trip jacks in Omaha Hi/Lo (I had pocket jacks).
UTG, I'm dealt AA. I raise.
Guy #1 reraises.
Everybody folds to Guy #2, he calls.
I reraise.
Guy #1 RERAISES. Guy #2 calls. I call.
Flop: 4 10 Q rainbow
I bet.
#1 raises. #2 calls.
I reraise.
#1 reraises. #2 calls. I call.
Turn: 7 still rainbow.
I bet.
#1 raises. #2 calls. I elect to just call.
River: 10
I bet.
#1 raises. #2 calls. I call.
I show my aces.
#1 shows JACK TEN suited!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!! (the other guy had KQo)
The only conclusion I've come to is that this guy made a conscious choice to just bet and raise no matter what. He decided that he doesn't really care and therefore will just throw his money away. Clearly, if he was playing without any amount of experience at all, there's no way he'd think middle pair was good with all the raising going on. Not to mention that there were 3 people in the hand and the other guy seemed content to call with his top pair. Even an amateur won't RERAISE preflop with J 10.
I can't believe that donk poker like that gets rewarded. It's ridiculous. There's no justice in the world when something like that happens. I did nothing wrong and completely had the best hand. You might say that I should have been worried about him having pocket queens. Well I wasn't, not in the least. I could just feel what was going on, I can't explain it.
Regardless, I'm such a great HORSE player that I've pulled almost back to even after flopping trip jacks in Omaha Hi/Lo (I had pocket jacks).
Few More Games
GAME 1 - 10K HORSE 8-Person
Nothing much to report. I misplayed a hand badly at the wrong time which cost me an early chip deficit. I called to draw cards that I should have never played, cost myself some chips. I was a little more card dead than normal, but I blame my loss on lack of focus. If you imagine a straight line that represents perfect focus and strategy, my game was off that line about 50% or so: a nice acute angle (remember geometry?).
I came in 5th. No cash.
GAME 2 - 10K NLHE 18-Person
This entire game was just the definition of bad beat. I took a bad beat early when I had A2 suited in the big blind. I flopped two pair. I got one guy to commit all of his chips with A8 (he only had the one pair of aces). The turn was a sick 8. I'm pretty immune to bad beats, but I couldn't help but scream "No!" That hurt my chip stack pretty badly.
The cap things off, I went out when I had J7 suited in position against 2 players. The flop was 6 7 7. I won't bore you with the details, but I lost because one of my opponents had 6 7. That's an even worse bad beat than the first one, but I didn't say anything this time. I was out.
I went out 11th or 12th or somewhere around there.
GAME 3 - 10K HORSE 8-Person
I didn't get too much going early and it was a pretty uneventful game until the end. I dropped about 1/3 of my starting stack early, but clawed my way back up with small pots.
When it was four handed, I was the short stack almost the entire way. I made some great plays, some great laydowns, and had a little bit of luck. I managed to push into 3rd place and the new short stack eventually busted. I was happy just to cash since I had been having such a slow game.
I turned things around in the Stud Hi and Stud Hi/Lo rounds. I didn't take first, since the chip leader was well out of my grasp, but I did slip into second. Eventually all the chip stack evened up as money passed around the table. We were never more than a few hundred apart although I still don't think I ever managed to grab the chip lead.
Eventually, one of the guys lost a big pot to the other guy and was on the brink of elimination.
In the hold em round, I was dealt AJ suited and raised it up. One guy called, the other guy reraised me. I just called and so did the other guy. The flop was J 6 6. I bet, the second guy called, and the third guy raised. Despite how great my hand looked, I didn't like the situation and I folded.
On the turn, they managed to get all of their money in. The second guy had KJ, the third guy had pocket 10s!! It turned out I had folded the best hand. This was bad news, I had put in 3 bets which was a lot considering the blinds were getting rather high by this point. Not only that, but the guy with pocket 10s was about to ship his entire stack to the other guy, putting me at a severe disadvantage heads up. Needless to say, I was a little peeved. It's impossible to predict when somebody is going to go crazy and make an overly aggressive and stupid play, but had I stuck with my hand I would have had a huge chip lead going into heads up.
As it was, however, the guy busted and put me at 3-1 chip disadvantage. Still, I was prepared for the fight. I had just recently fought a tough battle when I had an 8-1 chip disadvantage. I had almost won that (see below) and if I can do that, this should be nothing. Right?
Well... the heads up battle was very very long. He seemed to want to be very aggressive early, but I wasn't going to have any of that. I became very aggressive myself and beat him back. I stole all the dead pots in the hold em round and made quite a few good hands to boot. I had 2 4o at one point and flopped the wheel. I had been so aggressive that this was no time to slow play. Plus, with the A 3 5 on the board and two spades, he could very well have some draw he might want to chase and pay me off. I bet, he called. Turn was a spade, that bothered me, but I bet anyway. He called. His lack of a raise increased my spirits. River was a blank. I could have done the safe check, but I was confident I had the best of it. I bet, he called, I won.
I had managed to take a chip lead before we got into Omaha! I was very pleased with my hold em play. Omaha, however, was a different story. At first, everything was going well. I seemed to carry my luck and aggression with me from the previous round. Slowly, however, things started to turn. Then he nearly scooped a pot. He won the high and the low and I only tied for the high. This put him back in the lead, but just barely. I made a few flushes and two pair, but every time I had a good high, he won the low. Eventually, I slipped into a very very slim chip lead. I had made the nut low with a 23 in my hand and an A 4 7 on the board. I raised and raised him. I knew that he had the high hand all locked up, but I was hoping to move him off his hand, after all, I had nothing to lose. It didn't work, however, and it was just another split pot.
I had managed a nice buffer chip lead in the last few minutes of omaha. Razz was not kind to me. FIVE of the first SIX hands, I was forced with the bring in. I think he won five of those and I won one. This completely evened the stacks back up. I was running really badly too and he managed to take the chip lead back. All in all, there were probably about 10 lead changes. I'm just guessing, but it really did happen quite a bit.
I won't bore you with everything from here on out, just a few more things. I managed to push him all the way back down to the very dangerous chip stack. He had only 2 bets in him. He said "good game" prematurely. I've seen this game really turn around on people though, me particularly, so I said, "it's not over yet." True to my prophecy, he managed to quadruple his stack and pull almost even again. Fortunately, he never managed to regain the chip lead. I beat him back down again, and he came back up again, but just to be beaten back down worse than ever. He had less than half a bet left. It took two hands to eliminate him, but it happened.
I took first place after a slow start and an impressive comeback. My absolutely superstar performance in heads up play is what won me the match. It had been almost survival up to that point.
This was perhaps one of my best HORSE heads up performances ever. My experience at the game really shown through and it was obvious that he was overmatched. Barring some horrible luck, it was only a matter of time until I won. All I had to do was stick to my game plan and keep my focus. I did just that and completely outplayed him. I challenge anybody who thinks that poker is more luck than skill to watch my heads up play in this game and dare to tell me that it was anything but skill that won me the match. I played the perfect levels of applied aggression, never felt uncomfortable stealing a pot, never found myself all in, managed to make great lay downs in even marginal situations, and hit the right cards when I needed them. There's always luck in poker, but skill won the battle today!
Nothing much to report. I misplayed a hand badly at the wrong time which cost me an early chip deficit. I called to draw cards that I should have never played, cost myself some chips. I was a little more card dead than normal, but I blame my loss on lack of focus. If you imagine a straight line that represents perfect focus and strategy, my game was off that line about 50% or so: a nice acute angle (remember geometry?).
I came in 5th. No cash.
GAME 2 - 10K NLHE 18-Person
This entire game was just the definition of bad beat. I took a bad beat early when I had A2 suited in the big blind. I flopped two pair. I got one guy to commit all of his chips with A8 (he only had the one pair of aces). The turn was a sick 8. I'm pretty immune to bad beats, but I couldn't help but scream "No!" That hurt my chip stack pretty badly.
The cap things off, I went out when I had J7 suited in position against 2 players. The flop was 6 7 7. I won't bore you with the details, but I lost because one of my opponents had 6 7. That's an even worse bad beat than the first one, but I didn't say anything this time. I was out.
I went out 11th or 12th or somewhere around there.
GAME 3 - 10K HORSE 8-Person
I didn't get too much going early and it was a pretty uneventful game until the end. I dropped about 1/3 of my starting stack early, but clawed my way back up with small pots.
When it was four handed, I was the short stack almost the entire way. I made some great plays, some great laydowns, and had a little bit of luck. I managed to push into 3rd place and the new short stack eventually busted. I was happy just to cash since I had been having such a slow game.
I turned things around in the Stud Hi and Stud Hi/Lo rounds. I didn't take first, since the chip leader was well out of my grasp, but I did slip into second. Eventually all the chip stack evened up as money passed around the table. We were never more than a few hundred apart although I still don't think I ever managed to grab the chip lead.
Eventually, one of the guys lost a big pot to the other guy and was on the brink of elimination.
In the hold em round, I was dealt AJ suited and raised it up. One guy called, the other guy reraised me. I just called and so did the other guy. The flop was J 6 6. I bet, the second guy called, and the third guy raised. Despite how great my hand looked, I didn't like the situation and I folded.
On the turn, they managed to get all of their money in. The second guy had KJ, the third guy had pocket 10s!! It turned out I had folded the best hand. This was bad news, I had put in 3 bets which was a lot considering the blinds were getting rather high by this point. Not only that, but the guy with pocket 10s was about to ship his entire stack to the other guy, putting me at a severe disadvantage heads up. Needless to say, I was a little peeved. It's impossible to predict when somebody is going to go crazy and make an overly aggressive and stupid play, but had I stuck with my hand I would have had a huge chip lead going into heads up.
As it was, however, the guy busted and put me at 3-1 chip disadvantage. Still, I was prepared for the fight. I had just recently fought a tough battle when I had an 8-1 chip disadvantage. I had almost won that (see below) and if I can do that, this should be nothing. Right?
Well... the heads up battle was very very long. He seemed to want to be very aggressive early, but I wasn't going to have any of that. I became very aggressive myself and beat him back. I stole all the dead pots in the hold em round and made quite a few good hands to boot. I had 2 4o at one point and flopped the wheel. I had been so aggressive that this was no time to slow play. Plus, with the A 3 5 on the board and two spades, he could very well have some draw he might want to chase and pay me off. I bet, he called. Turn was a spade, that bothered me, but I bet anyway. He called. His lack of a raise increased my spirits. River was a blank. I could have done the safe check, but I was confident I had the best of it. I bet, he called, I won.
I had managed to take a chip lead before we got into Omaha! I was very pleased with my hold em play. Omaha, however, was a different story. At first, everything was going well. I seemed to carry my luck and aggression with me from the previous round. Slowly, however, things started to turn. Then he nearly scooped a pot. He won the high and the low and I only tied for the high. This put him back in the lead, but just barely. I made a few flushes and two pair, but every time I had a good high, he won the low. Eventually, I slipped into a very very slim chip lead. I had made the nut low with a 23 in my hand and an A 4 7 on the board. I raised and raised him. I knew that he had the high hand all locked up, but I was hoping to move him off his hand, after all, I had nothing to lose. It didn't work, however, and it was just another split pot.
I had managed a nice buffer chip lead in the last few minutes of omaha. Razz was not kind to me. FIVE of the first SIX hands, I was forced with the bring in. I think he won five of those and I won one. This completely evened the stacks back up. I was running really badly too and he managed to take the chip lead back. All in all, there were probably about 10 lead changes. I'm just guessing, but it really did happen quite a bit.
I won't bore you with everything from here on out, just a few more things. I managed to push him all the way back down to the very dangerous chip stack. He had only 2 bets in him. He said "good game" prematurely. I've seen this game really turn around on people though, me particularly, so I said, "it's not over yet." True to my prophecy, he managed to quadruple his stack and pull almost even again. Fortunately, he never managed to regain the chip lead. I beat him back down again, and he came back up again, but just to be beaten back down worse than ever. He had less than half a bet left. It took two hands to eliminate him, but it happened.
I took first place after a slow start and an impressive comeback. My absolutely superstar performance in heads up play is what won me the match. It had been almost survival up to that point.
This was perhaps one of my best HORSE heads up performances ever. My experience at the game really shown through and it was obvious that he was overmatched. Barring some horrible luck, it was only a matter of time until I won. All I had to do was stick to my game plan and keep my focus. I did just that and completely outplayed him. I challenge anybody who thinks that poker is more luck than skill to watch my heads up play in this game and dare to tell me that it was anything but skill that won me the match. I played the perfect levels of applied aggression, never felt uncomfortable stealing a pot, never found myself all in, managed to make great lay downs in even marginal situations, and hit the right cards when I needed them. There's always luck in poker, but skill won the battle today!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Struggle
Placed 2nd in an 8 person HORSE SnG. It was a struggle all the way to the end though.
I couldn't get anything going in the beginning. I would win a medium sized pot and then go card dead for twenty hands. Basically, my stack stayed pretty much even from the beginning through the first 5 levels of play (which is all 5 games). Eventually though, patience once again proved to be the best virtue as I managed to slip into second place as people around me started to get knocked out. I had a particularly good round of razz and then a good stud hi/lo round.
Into heads up play, I was a huge underdog, somewhere in the vicinity of a 8-1 chips stack underdog. The blinds weren't great for my stack either as I was floating somewhere around the 10 bet range.
I managed to battle back to a 2-1 underdog thanks to a good run in stud hi and stud hi/lo. I was pretty amazed and started to really give it my all. I knew that he had to be feeling pretty shitty after letting me catch up so drastically.
Unfortunately, things started to slow down in the hold em round and eventually I just couldn't hit a flop to save my life. It was becoming dangerous to attempt to steal too because if I was wrong, then I lost a good portion of my stack. Near the end of the round, however, things started to go back my way. Going into the Omaha Hi/Lo round, I was a little worse than a 2-1 underdog again.
This was bad though because the blinds were so high that by this point I needed to have evened things up if I hoped to push through to a win. Since that wasn't the case, however, I was going to need some pretty good luck. On the first hand of Omaha Hi/Lo I managed to turn an ace high straight and I got him to pay me off. Things were looking up. Then I lost a pretty sizable pot with queens up with threes because he also had queens up threes but with a better kicker.
All of a sudden, I was an 8-1 chip underdog again and this time, I only had about 2 or 3 bets in me. Basically, I could really only get involved in one hand.
I hit another killer hand where I thought I would win both the high and the low, but managed to lose my 8-7 low to his 8-6 low and then we split the high pot. The next hand was my last, as I managed to flop top pair with a jack, but he turned a queen. With no low on the board, he scooped it and I was out.
I was rather happy with my play though. For a while there, it looked like I was about to overcome crazy odds. I battled back very well and hung on for an entire rotation despite my stack size compared to the blind size. In the end though, his chip lead was too much to overcome in too little time. I got unlucky at the worst moments but played an amazing heads up game that I feel really good about.
I couldn't get anything going in the beginning. I would win a medium sized pot and then go card dead for twenty hands. Basically, my stack stayed pretty much even from the beginning through the first 5 levels of play (which is all 5 games). Eventually though, patience once again proved to be the best virtue as I managed to slip into second place as people around me started to get knocked out. I had a particularly good round of razz and then a good stud hi/lo round.
Into heads up play, I was a huge underdog, somewhere in the vicinity of a 8-1 chips stack underdog. The blinds weren't great for my stack either as I was floating somewhere around the 10 bet range.
I managed to battle back to a 2-1 underdog thanks to a good run in stud hi and stud hi/lo. I was pretty amazed and started to really give it my all. I knew that he had to be feeling pretty shitty after letting me catch up so drastically.
Unfortunately, things started to slow down in the hold em round and eventually I just couldn't hit a flop to save my life. It was becoming dangerous to attempt to steal too because if I was wrong, then I lost a good portion of my stack. Near the end of the round, however, things started to go back my way. Going into the Omaha Hi/Lo round, I was a little worse than a 2-1 underdog again.
This was bad though because the blinds were so high that by this point I needed to have evened things up if I hoped to push through to a win. Since that wasn't the case, however, I was going to need some pretty good luck. On the first hand of Omaha Hi/Lo I managed to turn an ace high straight and I got him to pay me off. Things were looking up. Then I lost a pretty sizable pot with queens up with threes because he also had queens up threes but with a better kicker.
All of a sudden, I was an 8-1 chip underdog again and this time, I only had about 2 or 3 bets in me. Basically, I could really only get involved in one hand.
I hit another killer hand where I thought I would win both the high and the low, but managed to lose my 8-7 low to his 8-6 low and then we split the high pot. The next hand was my last, as I managed to flop top pair with a jack, but he turned a queen. With no low on the board, he scooped it and I was out.
I was rather happy with my play though. For a while there, it looked like I was about to overcome crazy odds. I battled back very well and hung on for an entire rotation despite my stack size compared to the blind size. In the end though, his chip lead was too much to overcome in too little time. I got unlucky at the worst moments but played an amazing heads up game that I feel really good about.
Woo Hoo!
Took first place in a 8-Person HORSE SnG. It's nice to be back to my winning ways.
I played a very very slow and patient game to start. It was obvious that there were only 2 or 3 people at the table (myself included) who really knew how to play HORSE. It seemed people were just throwing their chips away. Obviously these people are probably more used to no limit hold em and just couldn't grasp the subtle art of a limit game. More than that though, at least one person didn't even know how to play any of the games except hold em. One guy actually asked the table how to play Omaha H/L. All I could do was groan to myself and wonder why I was stuck playing with such primitive players. I'm not trying to sound like Phil Hellmuth here, but I know that I'm a great player and I can play all the games well. Most people don't even know that there are other forms of poker beside no limit hold em. I don't understand why people would buy in to a sit and go when they don't know how to play the game. Sure, it's free money, but why would they want to waste their time?
ANYWAY... sorry for the rant. The point was, I just was very patient and waited for good hands. When I got those hands, I played them hard and got paid off big time. This type of strategy is kid's stuff when it comes to poker. I easily took an early chip lead and managed to maintain it despite the few hands I played. The biggest issue that novice players have is playing too many hands in HORSE. They only think of their bets one limit at the time, not realizing how easily it all adds up.
When we got down to four handed, two of the people left weren't even there. Fortunately, they had been chipped away pretty well already and it didn't take long to get down to heads up.
It was clear that the two of us left in heads up had been th best players at the table. My opponent was a real class act and I wouldn't mind playing with him again. He started with a 2-1 chip lead, but I knew the stack were deep and it was going to be a long battle. I prepared myself for the long grind. Usually the long grind gets on my nerves after a while, but I was ready for it this time and I stuck with it the entire way without even thinking about it. My strategy was to play small pot poker and steal the blinds/antes whenever possible. This strategy turns a slow game into and even slower one. I was fairly passive before the flop/4th street. I raised preflop only a few times in the hold em round, quite a few times more in the omaha round, but I never completed my bring in during the razz or stud rounds. I played all of my bets after the flop or 4th street, definitely if he showed weakness.
He tried to trap me a few times, but I picked off every single one. He flopped trip threes in one of the omaha rounds and I had flopped two pair. He bet, I was about to call, but then it hit me. I has almost acted without thinking and I realized just it time and folded instead. He showed me the trips.
The most notable hands were near the end in the Stud H/L rounds. I had just taken two big pots off of him, one of them was a complete bluff with J Q 10 showing and I had to fire two bullets to get him to lay it down. The other one was a hand where I started with split aces and he started with split kings. He stayed for the ride all the way until seventh street. Despite never improving to two pair, he was showing so much weakness, I had trouble putting him on anything better than a pair of kings. In the end, that's exactly what he had. He had started with split kings. He claimed that he just "had to see."
He had gotten pretty low in chips by that point (compared to the blinds) and I tried to take him out when he had a pair of 3s showing and I had three face cards. He never improved past his pair of threes, but I never improved past ace high.
Finally, I started with (4)(5)6 and two spades. Since it was high low, I was planning on playing the hand as hard as I could. He was showing a face card, so I figured I would win the low if I could just draw two more cards under 8 with 4 cards to go (without pairing of course). Since the low seemed pretty likely, I knew that I could play the hand without fear of losing what I put in. At the very least I could get back half the pot. The advantage to playing it hard is that he might also fold, giving me the whole pot. He went with me, and 4th street was a 2. Great card, almost guaranteeing me the low now and with the inside straight draw which would almost guarantee me the high too. We got all of the money in here, since he didn't have much left. He had a pair of queens. On 5th street I pulled a 10. On 6th street I pulled the 3. He was drawing dead from there and he had no low draw at all. I scooped the pot and won the game.
I played a long long heads up match, never lost my composure or patience and came back from a 2-1 chip deficit to win it all.
Lately, when I get into heads up matches, I've been losing my confidence. I get this feeling like the other player is a superstar and knows exactly what I'm thinking. I feel trapped, like there's no way that I can win. This is a very very bad thought process. I used to love heads up, the battle and the mind games. This heads up match really helped me. I'm feeling the thirst for battle again. Confidence in heads up is key... above all else, confidence is key.
I played a very very slow and patient game to start. It was obvious that there were only 2 or 3 people at the table (myself included) who really knew how to play HORSE. It seemed people were just throwing their chips away. Obviously these people are probably more used to no limit hold em and just couldn't grasp the subtle art of a limit game. More than that though, at least one person didn't even know how to play any of the games except hold em. One guy actually asked the table how to play Omaha H/L. All I could do was groan to myself and wonder why I was stuck playing with such primitive players. I'm not trying to sound like Phil Hellmuth here, but I know that I'm a great player and I can play all the games well. Most people don't even know that there are other forms of poker beside no limit hold em. I don't understand why people would buy in to a sit and go when they don't know how to play the game. Sure, it's free money, but why would they want to waste their time?
ANYWAY... sorry for the rant. The point was, I just was very patient and waited for good hands. When I got those hands, I played them hard and got paid off big time. This type of strategy is kid's stuff when it comes to poker. I easily took an early chip lead and managed to maintain it despite the few hands I played. The biggest issue that novice players have is playing too many hands in HORSE. They only think of their bets one limit at the time, not realizing how easily it all adds up.
When we got down to four handed, two of the people left weren't even there. Fortunately, they had been chipped away pretty well already and it didn't take long to get down to heads up.
It was clear that the two of us left in heads up had been th best players at the table. My opponent was a real class act and I wouldn't mind playing with him again. He started with a 2-1 chip lead, but I knew the stack were deep and it was going to be a long battle. I prepared myself for the long grind. Usually the long grind gets on my nerves after a while, but I was ready for it this time and I stuck with it the entire way without even thinking about it. My strategy was to play small pot poker and steal the blinds/antes whenever possible. This strategy turns a slow game into and even slower one. I was fairly passive before the flop/4th street. I raised preflop only a few times in the hold em round, quite a few times more in the omaha round, but I never completed my bring in during the razz or stud rounds. I played all of my bets after the flop or 4th street, definitely if he showed weakness.
He tried to trap me a few times, but I picked off every single one. He flopped trip threes in one of the omaha rounds and I had flopped two pair. He bet, I was about to call, but then it hit me. I has almost acted without thinking and I realized just it time and folded instead. He showed me the trips.
The most notable hands were near the end in the Stud H/L rounds. I had just taken two big pots off of him, one of them was a complete bluff with J Q 10 showing and I had to fire two bullets to get him to lay it down. The other one was a hand where I started with split aces and he started with split kings. He stayed for the ride all the way until seventh street. Despite never improving to two pair, he was showing so much weakness, I had trouble putting him on anything better than a pair of kings. In the end, that's exactly what he had. He had started with split kings. He claimed that he just "had to see."
He had gotten pretty low in chips by that point (compared to the blinds) and I tried to take him out when he had a pair of 3s showing and I had three face cards. He never improved past his pair of threes, but I never improved past ace high.
Finally, I started with (4)(5)6 and two spades. Since it was high low, I was planning on playing the hand as hard as I could. He was showing a face card, so I figured I would win the low if I could just draw two more cards under 8 with 4 cards to go (without pairing of course). Since the low seemed pretty likely, I knew that I could play the hand without fear of losing what I put in. At the very least I could get back half the pot. The advantage to playing it hard is that he might also fold, giving me the whole pot. He went with me, and 4th street was a 2. Great card, almost guaranteeing me the low now and with the inside straight draw which would almost guarantee me the high too. We got all of the money in here, since he didn't have much left. He had a pair of queens. On 5th street I pulled a 10. On 6th street I pulled the 3. He was drawing dead from there and he had no low draw at all. I scooped the pot and won the game.
I played a long long heads up match, never lost my composure or patience and came back from a 2-1 chip deficit to win it all.
Lately, when I get into heads up matches, I've been losing my confidence. I get this feeling like the other player is a superstar and knows exactly what I'm thinking. I feel trapped, like there's no way that I can win. This is a very very bad thought process. I used to love heads up, the battle and the mind games. This heads up match really helped me. I'm feeling the thirst for battle again. Confidence in heads up is key... above all else, confidence is key.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Update
Placed 6th in an 18 person NL SnG tournament. I more than doubled up on the first hand after I got in on the big blind with Ac 2c and flopped the wheel. I rode that to the final table. My stack got chipped away at for a while since every time I entered the pot, I was hit with reraises and forced to fold. Eventually a guy I had been watching raised all in. It was a pretty random move from him, but I didn't think he had a premium starting hand because he wouldn't want to waste it. I had pocket 9s and read the situation for a coin flip. Usually I prefer to avoid coin flips, but for the situation I was currently in, I had to take it. I called and it was my 9s against his AJ suited. I haven't been able to win any coin flips in a long time (not that I've seen very many though) and this time was no exception. He flopped an ace, I never caught up, and I was done.
No cash, but I'm still play relatively well. I may be playing too tight, but considering the primitive players I'm up against, I have no choice. My hands are tied and I'm forced to play games for play money. If I had it my way, I'd be at the casino whenever I could and I'd be playing SnGs for some real $$.
One day...
No cash, but I'm still play relatively well. I may be playing too tight, but considering the primitive players I'm up against, I have no choice. My hands are tied and I'm forced to play games for play money. If I had it my way, I'd be at the casino whenever I could and I'd be playing SnGs for some real $$.
One day...
Monday, June 18, 2007
Back In Action
I found a loophole/glitch in the Full Tilt Poker program. I would say that I've exploited something that is purely an oversight by the programmers. Either way, it's allowed me to garner play chips without having to play any sort of poker game. I'm only going to use it to keep me playing in the 10K buy-in games. Eventually I'll have enough money to never use the exploit again. The exploit is very very slow and only gets little bits at a time. I don't want to explain it because I don't think people should know about it.
Anyway... I played in another 10K HORSE tournament. I finished second.
For the first time in a long time, I wasn't completely card dead in Razz. Most surprisingly, however, was how well I played in Stud Hi when we were 3-handed. I completely turned everything around in that round and took a great chip lead.
Yet... I only had a slight chip lead going into heads up. The match was slow because the stacks were fairly deep unless both players took their hands deep. It was very back and forth for a long time and I'm sorry to admit that I was the first one to start to lose my focus and concentration. I was bored with the stalemate and tried to make some moves that didn't work out for me.
In the end, during Omaha Hi/Lo I turned a king high straight and there was no low on the board. I tried to slow play it and he caught a flush on the river.
Still, I played well for the most part and I cashed again. Most importantly, I feel that I cashed because I played well and not because everybody else played poorly or because I caught a lot of hands. There's a very fine distinction, of course, but a huge psychological difference when it comes to evaluating the game once it is over.
Anyway... I played in another 10K HORSE tournament. I finished second.
For the first time in a long time, I wasn't completely card dead in Razz. Most surprisingly, however, was how well I played in Stud Hi when we were 3-handed. I completely turned everything around in that round and took a great chip lead.
Yet... I only had a slight chip lead going into heads up. The match was slow because the stacks were fairly deep unless both players took their hands deep. It was very back and forth for a long time and I'm sorry to admit that I was the first one to start to lose my focus and concentration. I was bored with the stalemate and tried to make some moves that didn't work out for me.
In the end, during Omaha Hi/Lo I turned a king high straight and there was no low on the board. I tried to slow play it and he caught a flush on the river.
Still, I played well for the most part and I cashed again. Most importantly, I feel that I cashed because I played well and not because everybody else played poorly or because I caught a lot of hands. There's a very fine distinction, of course, but a huge psychological difference when it comes to evaluating the game once it is over.
World Series of Poker
I love following the World Series of Poker coverage online. I've been rooting for my favorite players, but they've only seen moderate success.
Daniel Negreanu - He's been very anti-poker lately. You can feel it in his writing. Yet, he also seemed to have a certain amount of resolve when the WSOP started. I could sense that he was hungry for the competition and the chance to prove he is the best. So far he's only made one final table and somehow managed to blow a massive chip lead. He's not playing his best, but he's still my favorite player and I have faith in him.
Phil Hellmuth - He's enjoyed plenty of success at this year's WSOP. He won his record breaking 11th bracelet and cashed a few more times along the way. He's currently in good chip position in the 3K NLHE event. I wouldn't be surprised if he took down his 12th bracelet there.
Phil Ivey - He's made two final tables and quite a few cashes. No bracelet though. When he got heads up in the Stud event, I thought he would win it for sure. Clearly, Chris Reslock is not to be underestimated. He also took 4th in the 5K HORSE event. If he continues on like this, he's bound to win a bracelet.
Dutch Boyd - He's been pretty quiet and I haven't seen his name popping up a lot lately. He did recently place 3rd in the World Championship Stud Hi/Lo event though. It would be great to see him pick up his 2nd bracelet because there was a lot of muttering going on when he beat Hachem to win his 1st last year.
Joe Hachem - Where have you been? I haven't even seen his name on any chip count lists and he hasn't cashed in any event so far. He could easily win a bracelet, but I'm not sure he's even playing.
Allen Cunningham - Won his 5th bracelet! This gives him 5 bracelets in 7 years, nobody has a better ratio than he does! I'd love to see him go deep into the main event again.
David Williams - He has at least one cash and he may have cashed again last night, I'm not sure. Despite only moderate success at the WSOP so far, he did win an event at the Bellagio III Cup a couple days ago.
Toto Leonidas - I've seen his name on quite a few chip count lists and he always seems to drop a lot of his chips really fast (but that's not surprising when it comes to Toto). According to Hendon Mob, he has one cash so far.
Paul Wasicka - He seems to have dropped off the face of the planet. He participated in the first few events, I saw his name on a few chip count lists. Since that time, however, I haven't seen his name anywhere and he hasn't written a blog in two weeks. Where did you go Paul?
Joe Sebok - I've been trying to keep track of him, Gavin Smith, and Jeff Madsen because they have a very interesting bet going on between them based on who does better at the WSOP. I want Sebok to win obviously and at this moment, I'm pretty sure that he is. He already has a couple of cashes.
Daniel Negreanu - He's been very anti-poker lately. You can feel it in his writing. Yet, he also seemed to have a certain amount of resolve when the WSOP started. I could sense that he was hungry for the competition and the chance to prove he is the best. So far he's only made one final table and somehow managed to blow a massive chip lead. He's not playing his best, but he's still my favorite player and I have faith in him.
Phil Hellmuth - He's enjoyed plenty of success at this year's WSOP. He won his record breaking 11th bracelet and cashed a few more times along the way. He's currently in good chip position in the 3K NLHE event. I wouldn't be surprised if he took down his 12th bracelet there.
Phil Ivey - He's made two final tables and quite a few cashes. No bracelet though. When he got heads up in the Stud event, I thought he would win it for sure. Clearly, Chris Reslock is not to be underestimated. He also took 4th in the 5K HORSE event. If he continues on like this, he's bound to win a bracelet.
Dutch Boyd - He's been pretty quiet and I haven't seen his name popping up a lot lately. He did recently place 3rd in the World Championship Stud Hi/Lo event though. It would be great to see him pick up his 2nd bracelet because there was a lot of muttering going on when he beat Hachem to win his 1st last year.
Joe Hachem - Where have you been? I haven't even seen his name on any chip count lists and he hasn't cashed in any event so far. He could easily win a bracelet, but I'm not sure he's even playing.
Allen Cunningham - Won his 5th bracelet! This gives him 5 bracelets in 7 years, nobody has a better ratio than he does! I'd love to see him go deep into the main event again.
David Williams - He has at least one cash and he may have cashed again last night, I'm not sure. Despite only moderate success at the WSOP so far, he did win an event at the Bellagio III Cup a couple days ago.
Toto Leonidas - I've seen his name on quite a few chip count lists and he always seems to drop a lot of his chips really fast (but that's not surprising when it comes to Toto). According to Hendon Mob, he has one cash so far.
Paul Wasicka - He seems to have dropped off the face of the planet. He participated in the first few events, I saw his name on a few chip count lists. Since that time, however, I haven't seen his name anywhere and he hasn't written a blog in two weeks. Where did you go Paul?
Joe Sebok - I've been trying to keep track of him, Gavin Smith, and Jeff Madsen because they have a very interesting bet going on between them based on who does better at the WSOP. I want Sebok to win obviously and at this moment, I'm pretty sure that he is. He already has a couple of cashes.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Ugh
That was the most disgusting game of HORSE ever. One guy was a complete idiot and raised every hand. He then proceeded to lose 5 hands in a row and then went on the sickest run of luck that I've ever seen. It was ridiculous... such bad play should never be rewarded with good luck.
Again, I couldn't get anything going in the Razz rounds. Yet, I knew that when we switched to Stud Hi that I would start getting good Razz hands. As predicted, the first hand of Stud Hi, I was dealt (A)(4)5.
Nobody there had any respect for the game nor do I think they really knew how to play. I went out on the bubble in 4th place and thus I get no money. The blinds were so high because the raise-raise-raise idiot managed to keep everybody in the game but get lucky at just the right times to keep his chip stack up. Money just passed around the table.
I need to start playing games for REAL MONEY... where people are actually interested in the game and, more importantly, RESPECT the game.
It is games and people like this that made me quit playing poker for a few months. I get discouraged because of the idiots in play money. I'm good enough to sit at any casino poker table in the world, too bad I don't have the resources to prove it.
Again, I couldn't get anything going in the Razz rounds. Yet, I knew that when we switched to Stud Hi that I would start getting good Razz hands. As predicted, the first hand of Stud Hi, I was dealt (A)(4)5.
Nobody there had any respect for the game nor do I think they really knew how to play. I went out on the bubble in 4th place and thus I get no money. The blinds were so high because the raise-raise-raise idiot managed to keep everybody in the game but get lucky at just the right times to keep his chip stack up. Money just passed around the table.
I need to start playing games for REAL MONEY... where people are actually interested in the game and, more importantly, RESPECT the game.
It is games and people like this that made me quit playing poker for a few months. I get discouraged because of the idiots in play money. I'm good enough to sit at any casino poker table in the world, too bad I don't have the resources to prove it.
NLHE again
I played in a 9-person 10K NLHE SnG. I've never been more card dead in my life. The only moderately good hands I got were AQ, A9 suited, and pocket 6s. I had to fold the AQ preflop due to a raise/reraise situation. The A9 I had in the BB, there were only 2 other people in the hand, so I took the flop which bricked out. I was eliminated on the pocket 6s.
I couldn't get anything going and it would have been foolhardy to try to steal. The whole table were the worst players ever, raising 5x the BB when they had their good hands and calling other people's huge raises with hands like K 10 off. The obvious strategy was to wait for a good hand, raise it, and get all my money from the idiotic calling stations. It would have worked too if I had gotten any hands.
There wasn't a single person at the table that I couldn't read. I knew when people were strong, I knew when they were weak. Much of the time I succeeded in calling their exact hands.
In the end, I was dealt pocket 6s, the best hand I had seen so far. I was down to 900 and the big blind was at 100. There were 5 people left. Some guy in early position raised it. I felt fairly certain that we were in a coin flip situation which is exactly what I need to win if I'm going to get back into the game. I moved all in behind him, everybody folded. He called with AK suited, flopped an ace, and I was done.
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I'm playing in a 10K HORSE tournament right now and I'm easily the best player at the table. I'm winning with about double my starting stack. I would have more except for this Omaha Hi/Lo hand:
I had JJA8 and I was two suited. 6 people went to the flop which came J 4 9 rainbow. A simple raise was bound to chase out the people hoping to make a low, and it did. Only two people stayed in the hand with me. I felt that straight draws or two pair were the most likely hands. This meant that if I could also make runner-runner low I could scoop the pot. Before we saw the turn, we went to a 3 bet.
The turn card was a beautiful 2. It put a flush draw on the board with two diamonds. The turn was another 3 bet.
River was a K. I hated this card as I had previously put one of my opponents on pocket Ks and just playing stupid. I checked, there was a bet and two calls (including my own). It turned out that I was right and one of the players had trip kings.
I congratulate myself for a dead on read since it's just more confirmation that I'm playing some of my best poker lately. Still, I couldn't help but be a little peeved. The girl with the trip kings had foolishly held on to her over pair despite all the evidence they were no good. With all the raising that was going on, there was no way that kings would ever be the best hand in that situation (especially since there was no low on the board). Her reasoning for her bad play was that she turned a king high flush draw. Of course, she had to call a 3 bet on the flop with a hand she knew was rubbish.
I then won the next pot with a full house, 8s full of aces. I scooped the entire thing since I had already chased out the low draws. There are six people left and I have 1K more than the nearest person. It's not over yet though and anything could still happen as the blinds go up. I'll keep you informed.
I couldn't get anything going and it would have been foolhardy to try to steal. The whole table were the worst players ever, raising 5x the BB when they had their good hands and calling other people's huge raises with hands like K 10 off. The obvious strategy was to wait for a good hand, raise it, and get all my money from the idiotic calling stations. It would have worked too if I had gotten any hands.
There wasn't a single person at the table that I couldn't read. I knew when people were strong, I knew when they were weak. Much of the time I succeeded in calling their exact hands.
In the end, I was dealt pocket 6s, the best hand I had seen so far. I was down to 900 and the big blind was at 100. There were 5 people left. Some guy in early position raised it. I felt fairly certain that we were in a coin flip situation which is exactly what I need to win if I'm going to get back into the game. I moved all in behind him, everybody folded. He called with AK suited, flopped an ace, and I was done.
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I'm playing in a 10K HORSE tournament right now and I'm easily the best player at the table. I'm winning with about double my starting stack. I would have more except for this Omaha Hi/Lo hand:
I had JJA8 and I was two suited. 6 people went to the flop which came J 4 9 rainbow. A simple raise was bound to chase out the people hoping to make a low, and it did. Only two people stayed in the hand with me. I felt that straight draws or two pair were the most likely hands. This meant that if I could also make runner-runner low I could scoop the pot. Before we saw the turn, we went to a 3 bet.
The turn card was a beautiful 2. It put a flush draw on the board with two diamonds. The turn was another 3 bet.
River was a K. I hated this card as I had previously put one of my opponents on pocket Ks and just playing stupid. I checked, there was a bet and two calls (including my own). It turned out that I was right and one of the players had trip kings.
I congratulate myself for a dead on read since it's just more confirmation that I'm playing some of my best poker lately. Still, I couldn't help but be a little peeved. The girl with the trip kings had foolishly held on to her over pair despite all the evidence they were no good. With all the raising that was going on, there was no way that kings would ever be the best hand in that situation (especially since there was no low on the board). Her reasoning for her bad play was that she turned a king high flush draw. Of course, she had to call a 3 bet on the flop with a hand she knew was rubbish.
I then won the next pot with a full house, 8s full of aces. I scooped the entire thing since I had already chased out the low draws. There are six people left and I have 1K more than the nearest person. It's not over yet though and anything could still happen as the blinds go up. I'll keep you informed.
Oops
Fell asleep waiting for a 10K HORSE SnG to stat. I woke up to find that I had finished in 4th. So apparently I'm just throwing money out the window now...
The Hand
Well I went out in third place in the HORSE SnG. The girl who was on short stack actually won quite a few all ins in multi way pots. The hand that knocked out 4th place was between me, her, and the new short stack guy.
It was Omaha Hi/Lo and I flopped trip aces and filled up on the turn. There were a lot of three bets and four bets, which left my pretty sure that I wasn't the only one with an ace in my hand. There was also a low on the board, so somebody probably had that too. The short stack guy ended up being the one with the ace, but he didn't have a full house like I did. He also had a low, but it couldn't compete with the girl's wheel. We split the pot and he was out in 4th.
I took a beating when we got into razz. I would start with great hands, but get outdrawn along the way. After a while, I just started stealing pots with good up cards but crappy (face) down cards. Unfortunately, I started this tactic too late and was only able to get myself up to around 1900 when we started the Stud Hi round.
I'll be the first to admit that Stud Hi is not my best game. I can compete in Stud Hi/Lo with the best of them, but I'm only average at best with it comes to Stud Hi. I generally try to ride the level out playing super tight. Since it was three handed though, I was going to actually have to get my chips in there.
I kept getting a lot of split and wired medium pairs that were killing me. I couldn't seem to hit much of anything. There were even quite a few time where I would have something like (7)(5)7 and my opponents would be showing a 7 and a 5. That happened more than once, no joke. If you know anything about stud, that's never good.
I was whittled down to about 800 and picked up split kings. I raised it up and one guy called me We saw 4th street, he called, I raised, he reraised and I pushed all in. He showed (Q)(J)10 J to my (K) (2) K 5. He drew another 10 on 6th street and 7th street bricked out. His two pair beat my kings. Rough way to go out since he had to KNOW that I had the kings before he helped me get all my money in. I got it all in with the best hand though, not much more I can do.
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Anyway, I wanted to share a hand that happened in the ring game I was playing. It was Omaha Hi/Lo and is perhaps the best hand of the game that I've ever played.
I was down about 1K and was dealt Ac 7s 2c 5s. I love this type of hand in Omaha Hi/Lo since there's a very good chance of grabbing the nut low. I was also double suited, which was nice. Getting the nut low is only a great advantage when you can get three or more people to play the pot, otherwise you're just splitting with whoever wins the high and you're not actually winning much of anything.
SIX people went to the flop after some guy in mid-position raised it to 200 (100/200 limit obviously).
FLOP:
8c Qc 6d
It took me a second to realize exactly how great this flop actually was for me. I've never seen a more draw heavy flop in my life. I had the open ended straight draw, the NUT flush draw, and the NUT low draw. Somebody in early position bet and when it got around to me, I didn't hesitate in raising to 200. I don't have a made hand yet, but there's no doubt that no matter what anybody has (even trip queens) I'm a favorite to not only win the pot, but to SCOOP the pot.
All 5 people called my raise.
TURN
7c
This was the most beautiful card in the deck. It completes my NUT low with A 2 6 7 8 and it completes my NUT high with the ace high flush. All I needed now was for the river to not pair the board and to not be a two (which would effectively erase my nut low).
So, the guy in early position now bets 200. Gets one call, then one fold, then another fold. I then raise to 400. Original bettor pops it up to 600, then 2nd guy caps it at 800. I call and the first guy calls which puts him all in.
RIVER
5h
Perfect card. It improves my nut low while avoiding hurting my hand in any way.
The guy who isn't all in bets 200, I raise him to 400, and he calls.
My hand is shown, nut flush and nut low. They both muck and I scoop a pot worth 4800. I'm well over my starting stack now. I unfortunately kept playing until I was only 1K above my starting stack.
Still, the 1k I won at the ring game and the 16K for my 3rd place finish in the HORSE, gives me a profit of 7k, which is much preferred to losing 14K (had I busted in both the ring game and the SnG).
It was Omaha Hi/Lo and I flopped trip aces and filled up on the turn. There were a lot of three bets and four bets, which left my pretty sure that I wasn't the only one with an ace in my hand. There was also a low on the board, so somebody probably had that too. The short stack guy ended up being the one with the ace, but he didn't have a full house like I did. He also had a low, but it couldn't compete with the girl's wheel. We split the pot and he was out in 4th.
I took a beating when we got into razz. I would start with great hands, but get outdrawn along the way. After a while, I just started stealing pots with good up cards but crappy (face) down cards. Unfortunately, I started this tactic too late and was only able to get myself up to around 1900 when we started the Stud Hi round.
I'll be the first to admit that Stud Hi is not my best game. I can compete in Stud Hi/Lo with the best of them, but I'm only average at best with it comes to Stud Hi. I generally try to ride the level out playing super tight. Since it was three handed though, I was going to actually have to get my chips in there.
I kept getting a lot of split and wired medium pairs that were killing me. I couldn't seem to hit much of anything. There were even quite a few time where I would have something like (7)(5)7 and my opponents would be showing a 7 and a 5. That happened more than once, no joke. If you know anything about stud, that's never good.
I was whittled down to about 800 and picked up split kings. I raised it up and one guy called me We saw 4th street, he called, I raised, he reraised and I pushed all in. He showed (Q)(J)10 J to my (K) (2) K 5. He drew another 10 on 6th street and 7th street bricked out. His two pair beat my kings. Rough way to go out since he had to KNOW that I had the kings before he helped me get all my money in. I got it all in with the best hand though, not much more I can do.
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Anyway, I wanted to share a hand that happened in the ring game I was playing. It was Omaha Hi/Lo and is perhaps the best hand of the game that I've ever played.
I was down about 1K and was dealt Ac 7s 2c 5s. I love this type of hand in Omaha Hi/Lo since there's a very good chance of grabbing the nut low. I was also double suited, which was nice. Getting the nut low is only a great advantage when you can get three or more people to play the pot, otherwise you're just splitting with whoever wins the high and you're not actually winning much of anything.
SIX people went to the flop after some guy in mid-position raised it to 200 (100/200 limit obviously).
FLOP:
8c Qc 6d
It took me a second to realize exactly how great this flop actually was for me. I've never seen a more draw heavy flop in my life. I had the open ended straight draw, the NUT flush draw, and the NUT low draw. Somebody in early position bet and when it got around to me, I didn't hesitate in raising to 200. I don't have a made hand yet, but there's no doubt that no matter what anybody has (even trip queens) I'm a favorite to not only win the pot, but to SCOOP the pot.
All 5 people called my raise.
TURN
7c
This was the most beautiful card in the deck. It completes my NUT low with A 2 6 7 8 and it completes my NUT high with the ace high flush. All I needed now was for the river to not pair the board and to not be a two (which would effectively erase my nut low).
So, the guy in early position now bets 200. Gets one call, then one fold, then another fold. I then raise to 400. Original bettor pops it up to 600, then 2nd guy caps it at 800. I call and the first guy calls which puts him all in.
RIVER
5h
Perfect card. It improves my nut low while avoiding hurting my hand in any way.
The guy who isn't all in bets 200, I raise him to 400, and he calls.
My hand is shown, nut flush and nut low. They both muck and I scoop a pot worth 4800. I'm well over my starting stack now. I unfortunately kept playing until I was only 1K above my starting stack.
Still, the 1k I won at the ring game and the 16K for my 3rd place finish in the HORSE, gives me a profit of 7k, which is much preferred to losing 14K (had I busted in both the ring game and the SnG).
NLHE
After foolishly losing hundreds of thousands of dollars by playing in the 100K SnGs, I nearly lost my entire bankroll. This is the first time I've been below 100K in about a year. I don't know why I risked such a large percentage of my roll, but I can only assume it has something to do with the fact that it's not real money. I seem to have forgotten that the play in the lower level games is so atrocious that it makes me want to kill myself.
I only have 30K left, but I'm playing in the 10K SnG's nonetheless. I realize that it would be only too easy to go broke, but my play has been stellar lately and I can't bring myself to drop down to the 2K level. I've been keeping myself afloat the last few days with cashes in nearly every SnG I've played, including a couple wins. I lost 20K yesterday playing the HA cash game (which is half PL Hold Em and half PL Omaha Hi). I was about to break back to even and just leave the game when my A8 got out drawn by A6 when the guy hit a 6 on the river. The flop had come with an A and I knew I had the best hand based on the history of hands he plays and how he plays them. I tried to force him out of the hand after the turn, but to no avail. I give hi credit on the river though, because he checked it to me and instead of going for the safe check, I bet into him and he raised me. There was little doubt I was beaten, but I had so little left and I had put so much in that I decided to satisfy my curiosity. Needless to say, I was a little peeved.
In the past few days, I've won two HORSE tournaments, taken a 2nd, and three 3rds. I have three no cashes.
For the first time in months, I decided to play a NLHE SnG. My play has been a little erratic in NL games, but I was feeling pretty good about my play and thought I would give it a shot. I normally go for the short handed or turbo games, but I felt that just a normal 9-person table would be best.
I lingered around my starting stack until we were four handed. I had been playing moderately tight because everybody else was a calling station. I finally won a big pot to get me up to about 2500. Then this hand came along...
I was in the big blind and dealt K8 of spades. My favorite hand is K8 of clubs, but that is just a fun little side note. Two players called the blind, the small blind folded, and I checked. The flop came down with a K and a diamond flush draw.. I was pretty happy with my hand and bet half the pot. I got one caller and the other folded. Turn was a blank. I bet half the pot again and again he called. River was a blank. I put him on a busted draw and fired a 3rd bullet. He popped me for a minimum raise. I was definitely beaten. The old me would have called here since my bluff paranoia would get the best of me. I had about 1200 left and needed to call another 500. Calling would leave me crippled. I was playing well enough that I figured 1200 would be enough to play with for a bit longer. I let the hand go.
That hand, despite losing it, was the highlight of my game. I rallied back and took the chip lead by the time we were 3 handed. The short stack was playing very patiently and folding a lot of hands. He eventually pushed in his small blind after the button folded and I called him with A7. His range of hands was pretty wide despite how patient he had been playing. His chip stack was fairly low (around 500-700 or so). He had A 10 and won the hand. I dropped just under the chip lead. The other guy ended up eliminating him and taking a chip lead into head up play.
Heads up lasted only one hand. I had low suited connectors, flop came Q high with my flush draw. We both checked the flop. Turn was an ace. I fired out, he made a slight raise. I considered and ending up moving all in. He surprisingly didn't give it much thought when he called with his pair of queens. The river bricked out and he took it down.
I probably didn't have to make that move right there, but I felt there was a pretty good chance that he would lay down since I had been playing so tight. I also thought the ace might scare him a bit, although obviously it didn't. Even if he called, I felt I still had a good chance at the flush. I was a little disappointed, since I had played so well, but it was nice to cash regardless.
Later I played a short handed NLHE game and finished in 3rd, which is the bubble in short handed games.
I currently just got up from a HORSE ring game. I sat down with 4K and left with around 5K. I had been up to about 8K, but felt it was better to leave with something, however little. A HORSE SnG table had just started and I wanted to invest all my attention in that.
There was a very interesting hand during the ring game that I was to post after this SnG is over. I'm currently in 3rd place with 4 people left. I have around 2K and the short stack is sitting on 700. Hopefully she'll bust soon and I'll grab another cash.
I only have 30K left, but I'm playing in the 10K SnG's nonetheless. I realize that it would be only too easy to go broke, but my play has been stellar lately and I can't bring myself to drop down to the 2K level. I've been keeping myself afloat the last few days with cashes in nearly every SnG I've played, including a couple wins. I lost 20K yesterday playing the HA cash game (which is half PL Hold Em and half PL Omaha Hi). I was about to break back to even and just leave the game when my A8 got out drawn by A6 when the guy hit a 6 on the river. The flop had come with an A and I knew I had the best hand based on the history of hands he plays and how he plays them. I tried to force him out of the hand after the turn, but to no avail. I give hi credit on the river though, because he checked it to me and instead of going for the safe check, I bet into him and he raised me. There was little doubt I was beaten, but I had so little left and I had put so much in that I decided to satisfy my curiosity. Needless to say, I was a little peeved.
In the past few days, I've won two HORSE tournaments, taken a 2nd, and three 3rds. I have three no cashes.
For the first time in months, I decided to play a NLHE SnG. My play has been a little erratic in NL games, but I was feeling pretty good about my play and thought I would give it a shot. I normally go for the short handed or turbo games, but I felt that just a normal 9-person table would be best.
I lingered around my starting stack until we were four handed. I had been playing moderately tight because everybody else was a calling station. I finally won a big pot to get me up to about 2500. Then this hand came along...
I was in the big blind and dealt K8 of spades. My favorite hand is K8 of clubs, but that is just a fun little side note. Two players called the blind, the small blind folded, and I checked. The flop came down with a K and a diamond flush draw.. I was pretty happy with my hand and bet half the pot. I got one caller and the other folded. Turn was a blank. I bet half the pot again and again he called. River was a blank. I put him on a busted draw and fired a 3rd bullet. He popped me for a minimum raise. I was definitely beaten. The old me would have called here since my bluff paranoia would get the best of me. I had about 1200 left and needed to call another 500. Calling would leave me crippled. I was playing well enough that I figured 1200 would be enough to play with for a bit longer. I let the hand go.
That hand, despite losing it, was the highlight of my game. I rallied back and took the chip lead by the time we were 3 handed. The short stack was playing very patiently and folding a lot of hands. He eventually pushed in his small blind after the button folded and I called him with A7. His range of hands was pretty wide despite how patient he had been playing. His chip stack was fairly low (around 500-700 or so). He had A 10 and won the hand. I dropped just under the chip lead. The other guy ended up eliminating him and taking a chip lead into head up play.
Heads up lasted only one hand. I had low suited connectors, flop came Q high with my flush draw. We both checked the flop. Turn was an ace. I fired out, he made a slight raise. I considered and ending up moving all in. He surprisingly didn't give it much thought when he called with his pair of queens. The river bricked out and he took it down.
I probably didn't have to make that move right there, but I felt there was a pretty good chance that he would lay down since I had been playing so tight. I also thought the ace might scare him a bit, although obviously it didn't. Even if he called, I felt I still had a good chance at the flush. I was a little disappointed, since I had played so well, but it was nice to cash regardless.
Later I played a short handed NLHE game and finished in 3rd, which is the bubble in short handed games.
I currently just got up from a HORSE ring game. I sat down with 4K and left with around 5K. I had been up to about 8K, but felt it was better to leave with something, however little. A HORSE SnG table had just started and I wanted to invest all my attention in that.
There was a very interesting hand during the ring game that I was to post after this SnG is over. I'm currently in 3rd place with 4 people left. I have around 2K and the short stack is sitting on 700. Hopefully she'll bust soon and I'll grab another cash.
Round of Poker
My other blog is called Round of Applause and I just post whatever I want on it. Since most people probably don't care to read about my daily poker adventures, I decided that a poker specific blog was necessary. I don't know who will read this, but it will be a great way for me to organize my thoughts about my play, give a day's recap of games, and analyze my history.
I mostly play Sit and Gos and ring games on Full Tilt Poker under the name Nihlathak. These games are mostly play money as I don't have the funds to make a serious venture into real money. I have played for real money on FTP before, but it was cash won through freeroll tournaments and therefore not much to work with. My account still has $0.35, with which I can do nothing.
Lately, I've been playing mostly mixed games: HORSE and HA. My SnG success has been pretty steady, but my ring game is slipping.
I also have a real money account on USDbet.com. I also won that money through freerolls, but it was substantially larger amounts. I've donked most of it away by this point because I played in ring game limits that were too high for my bankroll despite knowing better. I still have about $20 on that site, but haven't played there in a few months. The players on that site are rather horrible and made it difficult to travel deep into tournament fields although I did rack up a number of final tables, but no wins.
I hope to travel to Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant soon to play in either one of their weekly Monday tournaments or their monthly tournament.
I mostly play Sit and Gos and ring games on Full Tilt Poker under the name Nihlathak. These games are mostly play money as I don't have the funds to make a serious venture into real money. I have played for real money on FTP before, but it was cash won through freeroll tournaments and therefore not much to work with. My account still has $0.35, with which I can do nothing.
Lately, I've been playing mostly mixed games: HORSE and HA. My SnG success has been pretty steady, but my ring game is slipping.
I also have a real money account on USDbet.com. I also won that money through freerolls, but it was substantially larger amounts. I've donked most of it away by this point because I played in ring game limits that were too high for my bankroll despite knowing better. I still have about $20 on that site, but haven't played there in a few months. The players on that site are rather horrible and made it difficult to travel deep into tournament fields although I did rack up a number of final tables, but no wins.
I hope to travel to Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant soon to play in either one of their weekly Monday tournaments or their monthly tournament.
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