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!
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