It's been a lazy summer so far, and not entirely by choice.
Injured my foot somehow; haven't been able to run for past ten days or so. Disappointing, because I'd broken through a plateau and was chewing up more distance in my 30 minute runs. I hope to be back at it either Wednesday or Friday, though.
My nephew will reach the 6-month mark tomorrow, and as a doting uncle I babysit every chance I get to spoil him shamelessly and leave all the responsibilities to the parents.
Poker hasn't been so fun lately - I used up some of my unused stockpile of FTP points to earn T$, and proceeded to bubble a slew of SNGs for zero profit, but I'm reminded why I like Rush Poker when I play just long enough to hold up in spots like this (having 55% equity in a 3-way AIPF pot is hard to do in Omaha!):
Showing posts with label cash games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cash games. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
A game of mistakes
The Canucks lost game two in disappointing fashion. They nearly had the Hawks buried in the opening minutes, going up 2-0 but failing to put the game out of reach despite several glorious chances to blitz the home team into oblivion; Chicago was lucky not to be blown out of their own building for the second straight contest. Chicago slowly rallied and showed a lot more speed and grit once they shook off their bout of nerves, and the Canucks suffered a few bad bounces and compounded their bad luck by making several sloppy errors leading to three unanswered goals for the resurgent Hawks giving them a 3-2 lead late in the 3rd period. The go-ahead goal was particularly agonizing as it came with less than 3 minutes left in regulation time. An empty-net goal completed the final score of 4-2. I still remain confident that Vancouver has the requisite talent and experience to win the series, but a 1-1 split coming home feels like a golden opportunity lost by the Canucks to take full control of the series given the balance of play in the first two games.
After that demoralizing loss, I proceeded to fire up the virtual poker tables and promptly lost a half-dozen buy-ins. I would feel much more disheartened but for the fact I got the money in good in all three large pots that I played; of course I lost all three since AA < QQ (AIPF), KK < A8 (all the money went in on a rainbow 847 flop), and so on. So I lost despite not making any big mistakes, it seems.
Bad news comes in threes, they say. I'm waiting for the unholy trinity to strike at any moment.
Edit: I spoke too soon. I was making a small modest comeback and then this happened. I know to listen when the poker gods are telling me to quit. It's pretty soul-destroying to consistently run so far below expectation ... I suspect it would hurt less if I didn't have concerns about running my bankroll down to the red zone because of all this variance. I'm almost at the point where I just want to take my last hundred that I currently have on FTP and play some tournaments in an attempt to make a big score and not care so much if I take a really bad beat or two, since those are more common (and somewhat less painful methinks) in the shallower-stacked play found in tournament poker.
After that demoralizing loss, I proceeded to fire up the virtual poker tables and promptly lost a half-dozen buy-ins. I would feel much more disheartened but for the fact I got the money in good in all three large pots that I played; of course I lost all three since AA < QQ (AIPF), KK < A8 (all the money went in on a rainbow 847 flop), and so on. So I lost despite not making any big mistakes, it seems.
Bad news comes in threes, they say. I'm waiting for the unholy trinity to strike at any moment.
Edit: I spoke too soon. I was making a small modest comeback and then this happened. I know to listen when the poker gods are telling me to quit. It's pretty soul-destroying to consistently run so far below expectation ... I suspect it would hurt less if I didn't have concerns about running my bankroll down to the red zone because of all this variance. I'm almost at the point where I just want to take my last hundred that I currently have on FTP and play some tournaments in an attempt to make a big score and not care so much if I take a really bad beat or two, since those are more common (and somewhat less painful methinks) in the shallower-stacked play found in tournament poker.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
A game of edges
Poker is a cruel game. You can manipulate and outmaneuver your opponents such that you get all the chips in the middle with a big advantage. But there's always a chance that your patience and cleverness will go unrewarded. In the grand scheme of things, however, this is actually a necessary evil.
The non-zero frequency that the deck bails out bad players is a feature of the game that keeps poker alive, since without the suckouts and bad beats the bad players would go broke without a chance to keep their bankrolls intact enough to keep donating to better players in the long-term.
I just wish it didn't hurt so much in the short-term when I keep losing after getting myself in situations where I play four or five big pots as a 9:1, 4:1, etc. favourite and lose every single one of them. That's just plain old variance at its cruelest, but I have to keep a proper perspective: if you keep putting yourself in good situations, you are going to take more than your share of bad beats.
Consequently, the lesson here is to keep playing this particular game because the players are so transparent in their play: but only after I've rebuilt my bankroll enough to withstand the variance. Taking shots at juicy games at higher stakes is one thing, but I still need to keep ten or fifteen buy-ins saved for this particular game.
Here's an example of what's been going wrong for me lately. This was a hand where the effective stack sizes were over 200BBs, and the preflop action let me find out just what sort of hand my opponent likely had whilst I had sufficient implied odds to see a flop. And it just so happened that I flopped well enough to play for a 400+BB pot (since postflop I am well ahead of two of the three possible hands he could have, as my opponent's range was polarized to QQ+). Sadly, this did not have a good ending for our hero. (NB. I would fold preflop if the stacks were shallower but I had very good implied odds, enough to see a flop with in my opinion when I was able to invest less than 10% of my stack preflop with a chance to win more than ten times my initial investment.)
I might have lost two buy-ins here with 4d5d, but I can take solace in all of the Galfond bucks I earned in this hand. My opponent's call here with aces was extremely unprofitable if you estimate the equity a pair of aces has against the range of hands I have for making this big check raise: sets, two pair, KK+, and drawing hands with 14+ outs. My strategy on this flop was to try to make myself appear like a shove-monkey making a play for the pot; and I induced a big mistake by my opponent who got stubborn with an overpair and couldn't lay it down.
Unfortunately for me, Galfond bucks can't buy anything in the real world.
The non-zero frequency that the deck bails out bad players is a feature of the game that keeps poker alive, since without the suckouts and bad beats the bad players would go broke without a chance to keep their bankrolls intact enough to keep donating to better players in the long-term.
I just wish it didn't hurt so much in the short-term when I keep losing after getting myself in situations where I play four or five big pots as a 9:1, 4:1, etc. favourite and lose every single one of them. That's just plain old variance at its cruelest, but I have to keep a proper perspective: if you keep putting yourself in good situations, you are going to take more than your share of bad beats.
Consequently, the lesson here is to keep playing this particular game because the players are so transparent in their play: but only after I've rebuilt my bankroll enough to withstand the variance. Taking shots at juicy games at higher stakes is one thing, but I still need to keep ten or fifteen buy-ins saved for this particular game.
Here's an example of what's been going wrong for me lately. This was a hand where the effective stack sizes were over 200BBs, and the preflop action let me find out just what sort of hand my opponent likely had whilst I had sufficient implied odds to see a flop. And it just so happened that I flopped well enough to play for a 400+BB pot (since postflop I am well ahead of two of the three possible hands he could have, as my opponent's range was polarized to QQ+). Sadly, this did not have a good ending for our hero. (NB. I would fold preflop if the stacks were shallower but I had very good implied odds, enough to see a flop with in my opinion when I was able to invest less than 10% of my stack preflop with a chance to win more than ten times my initial investment.)
I might have lost two buy-ins here with 4d5d, but I can take solace in all of the Galfond bucks I earned in this hand. My opponent's call here with aces was extremely unprofitable if you estimate the equity a pair of aces has against the range of hands I have for making this big check raise: sets, two pair, KK+, and drawing hands with 14+ outs. My strategy on this flop was to try to make myself appear like a shove-monkey making a play for the pot; and I induced a big mistake by my opponent who got stubborn with an overpair and couldn't lay it down.
Unfortunately for me, Galfond bucks can't buy anything in the real world.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Slowplay to Oblivion, episode two
This hand more or less demonstrates -- to a large degree -- why I never seem to be able to get an online bankroll into a healthy state. I should be able to find a fold at the end because the villain is supposed to have aces or queens. I will admit that I cursed when I saw what he actually beat me with.
In happier news, I will donk it up in the Mookie tonight and I have a pristine hardcover copy of Guy Gavriel Kay's new novel on my bedside table. The finer things in life more than make up for having a big pocket pair cracked on the virtual felt.
In happier news, I will donk it up in the Mookie tonight and I have a pristine hardcover copy of Guy Gavriel Kay's new novel on my bedside table. The finer things in life more than make up for having a big pocket pair cracked on the virtual felt.
I believe in presto
Sadly, it can be hard to get action with flopped quads, especially when you have 4-bet preflop in position.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Slowplay to Oblivion
I lost a big pot here, but I still think my raise at the end is correct, because my opponent could have quite a few flushes and Ax hands in his range that I beat, and he's priced in to call with all of them. I'd be interested to hear what others have to think about how I played this hand.
Having most of my session's profit wiped away like that stings but so long as I feel I am making correct decisions I will not be too disappointed with the results of any one hand.
Having most of my session's profit wiped away like that stings but so long as I feel I am making correct decisions I will not be too disappointed with the results of any one hand.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Presto is gold, exhibit 43798
Only because he's actually blogging again will I extol the virtues of presto.
I guess this also is an example of why jacks suck.
I guess this also is an example of why jacks suck.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Honing the overbet
After the better part of a year not playing much at all online I have been shaking off some rust playing some cash games. I've had a lot of success with NL10 Rush Poker as a BR builder. Nut-peddling seems to be by far the path to victory; however, I have noticed that my bet-sizing needs work. Let's take this hand for example.
As you can see, I was dealt black aces in first position and I made a standard 3x open (the ol' limp re-raise play can sometimes work, but I'm not a big fan of it because you get so many dominated hands to fold that you want action from). A MP sooted ace donk then proceeded to call off his stack after flopping top pair. At these levels I have found that it is best to just bet your monster hands right out and hope your opponent has a piece because if they are at all stubborn, you will get maximum value, and if they don't have anything they will just fold, so you can mix in some continuation bets with big aces that don't improve as well to balance your own range.
What I don't like, after reviewing the hand, is the bet-sizing I used. I bet two-thirds pot when I really should have bet full pot or even a bit over full pot to set up the hand properly. I had to overbet the pot on multiple streets to get my opponent's entire stack in. I need to improve on this going forward by making a bigger bet on the flop to properly manipulate the pot size so I can play for stacks in a less suspicious manner by the end. In this particular instance I was saved by the fact that my opponent just didn't believe me and thought top pair was gold.
It's easy to nit-pick on the best way to play very strong hands but it's important to set up lines that work well for other hands in your range too.
What do you think?
[Edit] Here is another example of an overbet for value where I get a top pair hand to call off their stack after I've turned a flush:
As you can see, I was dealt black aces in first position and I made a standard 3x open (the ol' limp re-raise play can sometimes work, but I'm not a big fan of it because you get so many dominated hands to fold that you want action from). A MP sooted ace donk then proceeded to call off his stack after flopping top pair. At these levels I have found that it is best to just bet your monster hands right out and hope your opponent has a piece because if they are at all stubborn, you will get maximum value, and if they don't have anything they will just fold, so you can mix in some continuation bets with big aces that don't improve as well to balance your own range.
What I don't like, after reviewing the hand, is the bet-sizing I used. I bet two-thirds pot when I really should have bet full pot or even a bit over full pot to set up the hand properly. I had to overbet the pot on multiple streets to get my opponent's entire stack in. I need to improve on this going forward by making a bigger bet on the flop to properly manipulate the pot size so I can play for stacks in a less suspicious manner by the end. In this particular instance I was saved by the fact that my opponent just didn't believe me and thought top pair was gold.
It's easy to nit-pick on the best way to play very strong hands but it's important to set up lines that work well for other hands in your range too.
What do you think?
[Edit] Here is another example of an overbet for value where I get a top pair hand to call off their stack after I've turned a flush:
Thursday, April 22, 2010
FTP doomswitch is "off"
I guess FTP is trying to make up for some of the bad kharma. It's been quite a while since I've been involved in a hand like this.
This time I will adhere to proper bankroll management and quit my Rush poker bonanza with a 600 BB stack intact.
[Edit] As for hand analysis, the original raiser's range is polarized and narrow; I put him squarely on one of two hands: QQ or KK. The MP who shoved could show up with 66+ or 7x, so again I had no hesitation in overcalling because I am crushing a large amount of his range.
This time I will adhere to proper bankroll management and quit my Rush poker bonanza with a 600 BB stack intact.
[Edit] As for hand analysis, the original raiser's range is polarized and narrow; I put him squarely on one of two hands: QQ or KK. The MP who shoved could show up with 66+ or 7x, so again I had no hesitation in overcalling because I am crushing a large amount of his range.
Monday, February 15, 2010
I felt a rush
I now see the appeal. About thirty hands into my first foray at FTP's Rush Poker, single-tabling a low stakes NL table, this happened:
Later I won another buy-in off someone who felt like gambling with AQo vs. my QQ.
And then another when someone shoved into me with a crappy ace, like so:
Sometimes, poker is easy.
Then, a lucky villain escaped a cooler situation with half of the pot:
NB: don't engage in fancy traps like I did here:
But do punish overpairs like this:
Finally I sucked out pretty nicely when I decided to gamble it up with AKs preflop against a couple of short stacks. I didn't figure on being in such bad shape, but I got there:
Overall, my initial impressions of Rush Poker are very positive; a common theme should be apparent from the hand histories above which is that nitting it up and taking good gambles when you have the proper overlay is very +EV. Once I built a big stack I consistently tried to play big pots only when I felt it was correct; I often employed small flop re-raises as a defensive tactic and I would often fold trouble hands (eg. top pair, third kicker) to real heat. I shall be sure to try some PLO tables next. I hear from reliable sources that they are as equally profitable as the NL tables I was playing tonight.
Later I won another buy-in off someone who felt like gambling with AQo vs. my QQ.
And then another when someone shoved into me with a crappy ace, like so:
Sometimes, poker is easy.
Then, a lucky villain escaped a cooler situation with half of the pot:
NB: don't engage in fancy traps like I did here:
But do punish overpairs like this:
Finally I sucked out pretty nicely when I decided to gamble it up with AKs preflop against a couple of short stacks. I didn't figure on being in such bad shape, but I got there:
Overall, my initial impressions of Rush Poker are very positive; a common theme should be apparent from the hand histories above which is that nitting it up and taking good gambles when you have the proper overlay is very +EV. Once I built a big stack I consistently tried to play big pots only when I felt it was correct; I often employed small flop re-raises as a defensive tactic and I would often fold trouble hands (eg. top pair, third kicker) to real heat. I shall be sure to try some PLO tables next. I hear from reliable sources that they are as equally profitable as the NL tables I was playing tonight.
Monday, December 14, 2009
A WPBT substitute
Sadly, I didn't get to go to the WPBT this year. I had so much fun last year in my first appearance, that I was really gutted that I couldn't make the trip. However, family duties prevented a weekend in Las Vegas.
Oddly enough, I did manage to play some online poker hands and my own personal Ferguson experiment is going well (I've turned $5 into $250 during the past two weeks). I've been steadily crushing the low-stakes mixed games, with some occasional time put in at the micro-stakes PLO tables. Here is an example of the latter, where I actually hit one of many redraws on a nice freeroll opportunity:
In the second hand, I scooped a nice Stud eight-or-better pot (by far my most profitable game in the 7-game mix) and spent five minutes in chat baiting an apoplectic victim who didn't understand why I capped the betting on fourth street vs. multiple opponents ...
Limit Stud H/L
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to Noobitronix [4s]
Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah]
Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad]
Dealt to Brizzy23 [3h]
Dealt to KGB_05 [8d]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h] [7d]
Brizzy23 is low with [3h]
Brizzy23 brings in for $0.05
KGB_05 folds
PirateLawyer calls $0.05 - I want to see a flop cheaply with many opponents in the hand
Noobitronix folds
Lefty_Two3 completes it to $0.20
DJrabibit calls $0.20
Brizzy23 folds
PirateLawyer calls $0.15 - I can still see a flop profitably three-handed at this price
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah] [7c]
Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad] [6c]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d] [6h] - boom! time to get busy with a disguised OESD; this is now quite a scooping hand opportunity
Lefty_Two3 bets $0.20
DJrabibit calls $0.20
PirateLawyer raises to $0.40
Lefty_Two3 raises to $0.60
DJrabibit calls $0.40
PirateLawyer raises to $0.80
Lefty_Two3 calls $0.20
DJrabibit calls $0.20
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah 7c] [Jc]
Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad 6c] [3d]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d 6h] [Ks]
Lefty_Two3 checks
DJrabibit checks
PirateLawyer bets $0.40
Lefty_Two3 calls $0.40
DJrabibit calls $0.40
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah 7c Jc] [As]
Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad 6c 3d] [9s]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d 6h Ks] [4h] - Eureka!
Lefty_Two3 bets $0.40
DJrabibit calls $0.40
PirateLawyer raises to $0.80
Lefty_Two3 calls $0.40
DJrabibit calls $0.40
*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d 6h Ks 4h] [Qh] - bonus flush!
Lefty_Two3 checks
DJrabibit checks
PirateLawyer bets $0.40
Lefty_Two3 calls $0.40
DJrabibit has 15 seconds left to act
DJrabibit folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
PirateLawyer shows [Qh 8h 7d 6h Ks 4h 5h] a flush, Queen high, for high and 8,7,6,5,4, for low
Lefty_Two3 mucks
PirateLawyer wins the high pot ($3.63) with a flush, Queen high
PirateLawyer wins the low pot ($3.62) with 8,7,6,5,4
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.63 | Rake $0.38
Seat 1: Lefty_Two3 mucked [Kh Kc Ah 7c Jc As Tc] - HI: two pair, Aces and Kings
Seat 2: DJrabibit folded on 7th St.
Seat 3: Brizzy23 folded on 3rd St.
Seat 4: KGB_05 folded on 3rd St.
Seat 5: PirateLawyer showed [Qh 8h 7d 6h Ks 4h 5h] and won ($7.25) with HI: a flush, Queen high; LO: 8,7,6,5,4
Seat 6: Noobitronix folded on 3rd St.
I'm sure those of you who went to Vegas had a lot more fun than I did, but I had to make lemonade with the lemons I was dealt. I'm anxiously awaiting all the trip reports to hear about all the debauchery I missed out on.
Oddly enough, I did manage to play some online poker hands and my own personal Ferguson experiment is going well (I've turned $5 into $250 during the past two weeks). I've been steadily crushing the low-stakes mixed games, with some occasional time put in at the micro-stakes PLO tables. Here is an example of the latter, where I actually hit one of many redraws on a nice freeroll opportunity:
In the second hand, I scooped a nice Stud eight-or-better pot (by far my most profitable game in the 7-game mix) and spent five minutes in chat baiting an apoplectic victim who didn't understand why I capped the betting on fourth street vs. multiple opponents ...
Limit Stud H/L
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to Noobitronix [4s]
Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah]
Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad]
Dealt to Brizzy23 [3h]
Dealt to KGB_05 [8d]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h] [7d]
Brizzy23 is low with [3h]
Brizzy23 brings in for $0.05
KGB_05 folds
PirateLawyer calls $0.05 - I want to see a flop cheaply with many opponents in the hand
Noobitronix folds
Lefty_Two3 completes it to $0.20
DJrabibit calls $0.20
Brizzy23 folds
PirateLawyer calls $0.15 - I can still see a flop profitably three-handed at this price
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah] [7c]
Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad] [6c]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d] [6h] - boom! time to get busy with a disguised OESD; this is now quite a scooping hand opportunity
Lefty_Two3 bets $0.20
DJrabibit calls $0.20
PirateLawyer raises to $0.40
Lefty_Two3 raises to $0.60
DJrabibit calls $0.40
PirateLawyer raises to $0.80
Lefty_Two3 calls $0.20
DJrabibit calls $0.20
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah 7c] [Jc]
Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad 6c] [3d]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d 6h] [Ks]
Lefty_Two3 checks
DJrabibit checks
PirateLawyer bets $0.40
Lefty_Two3 calls $0.40
DJrabibit calls $0.40
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah 7c Jc] [As]
Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad 6c 3d] [9s]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d 6h Ks] [4h] - Eureka!
Lefty_Two3 bets $0.40
DJrabibit calls $0.40
PirateLawyer raises to $0.80
Lefty_Two3 calls $0.40
DJrabibit calls $0.40
*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d 6h Ks 4h] [Qh] - bonus flush!
Lefty_Two3 checks
DJrabibit checks
PirateLawyer bets $0.40
Lefty_Two3 calls $0.40
DJrabibit has 15 seconds left to act
DJrabibit folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
PirateLawyer shows [Qh 8h 7d 6h Ks 4h 5h] a flush, Queen high, for high and 8,7,6,5,4, for low
Lefty_Two3 mucks
PirateLawyer wins the high pot ($3.63) with a flush, Queen high
PirateLawyer wins the low pot ($3.62) with 8,7,6,5,4
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.63 | Rake $0.38
Seat 1: Lefty_Two3 mucked [Kh Kc Ah 7c Jc As Tc] - HI: two pair, Aces and Kings
Seat 2: DJrabibit folded on 7th St.
Seat 3: Brizzy23 folded on 3rd St.
Seat 4: KGB_05 folded on 3rd St.
Seat 5: PirateLawyer showed [Qh 8h 7d 6h Ks 4h 5h] and won ($7.25) with HI: a flush, Queen high; LO: 8,7,6,5,4
Seat 6: Noobitronix folded on 3rd St.
I'm sure those of you who went to Vegas had a lot more fun than I did, but I had to make lemonade with the lemons I was dealt. I'm anxiously awaiting all the trip reports to hear about all the debauchery I missed out on.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
7-Game Mix Experiment
I guess it's time for my monthly poker post. I certainly hope to revitalize this blog, once I get the time to decide what topics I'd like to focus writing about in this space. For now, a mildly interesting poker hand history will have to suffice in the interim.
I recently began dabbling in microstakes mixed games online, as I haven't had much time recently to hit the local cardrooms for any live play. So far, the results have been very good even though the profits are trifling in magnitude. I've enjoyed experimenting with alternate strategies and practicing hand reading fundamentals against a lot of really bad players.
I decided to get tricky here with a premium hand. Comments? (For all four of you LHE enthusiasts still reading this blog, do you think the line I took here was good exploitive play against an unsophisticated villain (it certainly wasn't optimal!), or was it a fancy play which I should purge from my arsenal?
Edit: Bonus material
Hand #2 (pure brag):
I wish this hand had been at higher stakes! It's nice to get paid off on the proper side of a cooler for a change.
I recently began dabbling in microstakes mixed games online, as I haven't had much time recently to hit the local cardrooms for any live play. So far, the results have been very good even though the profits are trifling in magnitude. I've enjoyed experimenting with alternate strategies and practicing hand reading fundamentals against a lot of really bad players.
I decided to get tricky here with a premium hand. Comments? (For all four of you LHE enthusiasts still reading this blog, do you think the line I took here was good exploitive play against an unsophisticated villain (it certainly wasn't optimal!), or was it a fancy play which I should purge from my arsenal?
Edit: Bonus material
Hand #2 (pure brag):
I wish this hand had been at higher stakes! It's nice to get paid off on the proper side of a cooler for a change.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
More proof that presto is gold
It's not gold merely for this mostly silent blogger.
I wasn't in love with this hand on the flop, so I opted to call the half-pot lead in position since my opponent was able to bet here with high wraps (KJTx, JT8x, etc), aces, as well as middle set of nines (I could discount top set since I was holding a queen) and I wanted to re-evaluate on the turn and potentially run a bluff if he checked to me. Needless to say all the money went in on the turn as my opponent led out again and wasn't able to get away from middle set, to my great glee and profit.
I wasn't in love with this hand on the flop, so I opted to call the half-pot lead in position since my opponent was able to bet here with high wraps (KJTx, JT8x, etc), aces, as well as middle set of nines (I could discount top set since I was holding a queen) and I wanted to re-evaluate on the turn and potentially run a bluff if he checked to me. Needless to say all the money went in on the turn as my opponent led out again and wasn't able to get away from middle set, to my great glee and profit.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
An Easter Egg, s'il vous plait?
Sadly, the 5 of clubs didn't appear on 7th street to let me scoop this pot. An unworthy rival showed up with it. Sniff. Half of the pot was pretty profitable, though. I was happy to fill up at the end as a consolation for missing my steel wheel.
Friday, March 27, 2009
My range beats your range
I figured this was a good example of a simple yet powerful post Gnome recently put up.
This 6-max HA table was ridiculously loose and aggressive so I opted to make a small re-raise out of the blinds rather than a full re-pot, because I didn't want to scare off my customer. I made a smaller-than-normal continuation bet on a fairly unthreatening flop and decided I was willing to felt here against my opponent's wide range. So when the board paired on the turn (a very good card for me) I opted to make another weak-looking turn bet (complete with pause to let my 15-second warning go off) hoping to induce a bluff-raise. Sure enough, villain took the bait and raised, and I have a trivially easy call to make. His bluff doesn't tell a coherent story: I can't put him on a trey or bottom set; he would have 4-bet with AA, so ... he either has me crushed with the overfull, he's drawing to a flush, he's got TPTK or he has complete air. I think he has the second-best hand way more often than not, so I happily call and discover that he's drawing to three outs. Fortunately for me, an ace didn't spike on the river.
Another possible scenario here would have been my opponent flat-calling the turn. If he then spiked a queen on the end, I'm fairly confident that my opponent would have called off his stack, too, because he would have persuaded himself that I only had a ten or a busted flush draw.
The other line I could have taken is to bet closer to full pot on the flop, and check the turn hoping to induce a bet from worse hands.
This 6-max HA table was ridiculously loose and aggressive so I opted to make a small re-raise out of the blinds rather than a full re-pot, because I didn't want to scare off my customer. I made a smaller-than-normal continuation bet on a fairly unthreatening flop and decided I was willing to felt here against my opponent's wide range. So when the board paired on the turn (a very good card for me) I opted to make another weak-looking turn bet (complete with pause to let my 15-second warning go off) hoping to induce a bluff-raise. Sure enough, villain took the bait and raised, and I have a trivially easy call to make. His bluff doesn't tell a coherent story: I can't put him on a trey or bottom set; he would have 4-bet with AA, so ... he either has me crushed with the overfull, he's drawing to a flush, he's got TPTK or he has complete air. I think he has the second-best hand way more often than not, so I happily call and discover that he's drawing to three outs. Fortunately for me, an ace didn't spike on the river.
Another possible scenario here would have been my opponent flat-calling the turn. If he then spiked a queen on the end, I'm fairly confident that my opponent would have called off his stack, too, because he would have persuaded himself that I only had a ten or a busted flush draw.
The other line I could have taken is to bet closer to full pot on the flop, and check the turn hoping to induce a bet from worse hands.
Monday, March 9, 2009
An interesting PL08 cash game situation
I had been playing at a soft microstakes PL08 table for a while but had not accumulated any notable hands until this one came up. Since it features some interesting preflop decision points, and some interesting hypothetical postflop decisions I figured it was blog-worthy.
Pot Limit Omaha H/L
Seat 3: Villain #1 ($18.25)
Seat 5: Villain #2 ($48.05)
Seat 7: Hero ($48.25)
SB posts the small blind of $0.25
Hero posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [2d As Qs Qc]
Villain #1 raises to $1.75
Villain #2 raises to $6
SB folds
Hero calls $5.50 - I am anxious to see a flop with AQQ2 ss and my hand plays well against Villain #2's range.
Villain #1 raises to $18.25, and is all in - It looks as if he has managed to get his stack in with AAxx
Villain #2 calls $12.25 - This cold-call almost certainly means he doesn't have KK
Hero raises to $48.25, and is all in - It's time to build a side pot with an equity edge for the high half and a nut low possibility
Villain #2 calls $29.80, and is all in
Hero shows [2d As Qs Qc]
Villain #1 shows [Ah Ad 2c 8c] - a nice hand to be sure, but his sidecards are marginal against two opponents
Villain #2 shows [Qh 2s Tc Ac] - sure enough, he was raising light preflop with AQT2 ss
*** FLOP *** [Kh 7d Ts]
*** TURN *** [Kh 7d Ts] [Js] - boom! high lock shared with V#2, but I have a spade freeroll
*** RIVER *** [Kh 7d Ts Js] [6s] - gin! a scoop
PirateLawyer shows a flush, Ace high, for high
Villain #2 a straight, Ace high, for high
PirateLawyer wins the side pot with a flush, Ace high
Villain #1 shows a pair of Aces, for high
PirateLawyer wins the main pot with a flush, Ace high
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
If this hand had been played more slowly preflop and I see the turn, all my money goes in. But I could be pushed off the hand on the flop, unless I am brave enough to bet out and price myself into calling V#1's shove. It was odd to see all three of us with an A2.
Overall it seems as if I made a +EV play vs. Villain #2's range to salvage the best of an awkward situation where a villain with short chips was able to get it in with the best of it. I was very fortunate to scoop the side pot the way the cards fell, but if money was deep I would have been in the catbird seat with the freeroll on the turn with the current nuts + nut redraw vs. the bare straight.
Pot Limit Omaha H/L
Seat 3: Villain #1 ($18.25)
Seat 5: Villain #2 ($48.05)
Seat 7: Hero ($48.25)
SB posts the small blind of $0.25
Hero posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [2d As Qs Qc]
Villain #1 raises to $1.75
Villain #2 raises to $6
SB folds
Hero calls $5.50 - I am anxious to see a flop with AQQ2 ss and my hand plays well against Villain #2's range.
Villain #1 raises to $18.25, and is all in - It looks as if he has managed to get his stack in with AAxx
Villain #2 calls $12.25 - This cold-call almost certainly means he doesn't have KK
Hero raises to $48.25, and is all in - It's time to build a side pot with an equity edge for the high half and a nut low possibility
Villain #2 calls $29.80, and is all in
Hero shows [2d As Qs Qc]
Villain #1 shows [Ah Ad 2c 8c] - a nice hand to be sure, but his sidecards are marginal against two opponents
Villain #2 shows [Qh 2s Tc Ac] - sure enough, he was raising light preflop with AQT2 ss
*** FLOP *** [Kh 7d Ts]
*** TURN *** [Kh 7d Ts] [Js] - boom! high lock shared with V#2, but I have a spade freeroll
*** RIVER *** [Kh 7d Ts Js] [6s] - gin! a scoop
PirateLawyer shows a flush, Ace high, for high
Villain #2 a straight, Ace high, for high
PirateLawyer wins the side pot with a flush, Ace high
Villain #1 shows a pair of Aces, for high
PirateLawyer wins the main pot with a flush, Ace high
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
If this hand had been played more slowly preflop and I see the turn, all my money goes in. But I could be pushed off the hand on the flop, unless I am brave enough to bet out and price myself into calling V#1's shove. It was odd to see all three of us with an A2.
Overall it seems as if I made a +EV play vs. Villain #2's range to salvage the best of an awkward situation where a villain with short chips was able to get it in with the best of it. I was very fortunate to scoop the side pot the way the cards fell, but if money was deep I would have been in the catbird seat with the freeroll on the turn with the current nuts + nut redraw vs. the bare straight.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
PL08 Missed Opportunity
Sadly, my opponent didn't have anything here, and I won a small pot.
Later on I flopped the overfull with AA58 and had to make a low on the turn to chop vs. flopped quad sevens. Sigh. It was that kind of session.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Stud8 exercise, part four
This hand demonstrates -- and this is not about the profitable result for your hero -- how and why you should push edges and generate a lot of dead money in low-level Stud8 games. In this situation, I had only been playing at this table for four hands until I picked up a premium hand, (2d3d)Ah. The bring-in, with a 2c showing, completed immediately. A 7c called. As did another player with the 2s as their upcard. With the ace showing and last to act, I took the conservative route and just called, since a lot of low cards were clearly out already and I was going to need a good card on 4th street to feel comfortable about continuing. Also, representing split aces would not get anyone to fold. Finally, if I caught good on 4th I was going to be able to generate an awful lot of dead money and a nice overlay to make my hand.
4th street was fairly strong:
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to Villain 1 [7c] [2h]
Dealt to Villain 2 [2s] [6c]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [2d 3d Ah] [5d]
Dealt to Bring-In [2c] [3c]
I took the unorthodox route of check-calling. I have four clear outs to the wheel, 3 baby diamonds towards a flush, and the best low draw, but a lot of low cards are out there so it's not quite time to raise. I want to lurk until 5th street where I can make big bets.
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to Villain 1 [7c 2h] [4s]
Dealt to Villain 2 [2s 6c] [Kc]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [2d 3d Ah 5d] [8d]
Dealt to Bring-In [2c 3c] [Td]
PirateLawyer checks
Bring-In checks
Villain 1 bets $4
Villain 2 calls $4
PirateLawyer raises to $8
Bring-In calls $8
Villain 1 raises to $12
Villain 2 folds
PirateLawyer raises to $16
Bring-In calls $8
Villain 1 calls $4
And here the trap springs. Once I make an 8-low with a flush draw, and redraws to the wheel, boom! Nothing is stopping me from jamming the pot and my opponents co-operate by contributing lots of dead money. I'm not unhappy about two of my opponents capping it here with me as we go to 6th street.
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to Villain 1 [7c 2h 4s] [9d]
Dealt to PirateLawyer [2d 3d Ah 5d 8d] [Kd]
Dealt to Bring-In [2c 3c Td] [9s]
PirateLawyer bets $4
Bring-In folds -- I'm happy to get headsup vs. one opponent, this dramatically increases my chances to scoop a monster pot
Villain 1 raises to $8
PirateLawyer raises to $12 -- automatic raise, if I'm not ahead for both halves of this pot I'm freerolling to improve to a better low.
Villain 1 calls $4
*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [2d 3d Ah 5d 8d Kd] [5h]
PirateLawyer bets $4
Villain 1 calls $4
And the result? A fun scoop against Villain 1's unimproved rolled sevens, with a lot of dead money going along from with a low that never got there to boot. Note how many bets Mr. Bring-In contributed once he caught bad on 5th; I was able to get him in a truly horrible sandwich position with the co-operation of Villain 1. That is precious dead money you want to seek out and trap!
It is situations like these that you should seek to find and aggressively push your equity edge against the field.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A beat, a brag, and a whine
Poker content first.
The beat: I find a juicy 6-max LHE game. I open with Q9s in the cutoff and get re-raised by the button. The flop is a nice Q99. Four bets go in. The turn is a blank. Four bets go in. The river is an ace. Two bets go in, and my opponent has ... AA, of course!
The brag: I busted nemesis NumbBono in the Mookie last night, making him cry like the Gigli he truly is. I opened with 8c5c in early position for 2.5 bbs, and called his MP re-raise to 6 bbs. Flop is a dreamy AcQc8c, the money goes in, and I fade some outs as I take out NB's set of queens. I had to laugh at conclusion of his berating me in chat when he said "I guess you like 85s more than I do".
The whine: I played a painful hand of Omaha hi/lo this morning. Nothing can go right for me, it seems, as I endure yet another downswing in cash game poker. I had 6d6h3d2s in the big blind of a juicy full-ring game and get to see a flop in an unraised pot vs. several opponents. The flop is a dreamy KcKd6c. The small blind leads out, I raise, the button calls two cold, the small blind three-bets, and I capped, since I figured both of my opponents had trip kings, and I had a decent backdoor low draw as insurance. The turn was the 8c, and we get two bets in as I put in another raise. The river was a five of diamonds and another bet goes in. I figure to at least get half of this juicy pot, right? I have the third-nut low and a flopped boat ... surely I can't be getting scooped?
No sir! I lost the high pot to kings full of fives (KQQ5) and the low to A3K3. So much for punishing those bare trips on the flop and turn ... sheesh.
I may have to take another week off and shift focus to my PLO experiment. Limit poker is killing me at present.
Non-poker content:
Life away from the felt is treating me well, mostly. I have been gettting some skiing in, and have been making progress in improving my fitness and my diet. A good
friend just moved away for a new job, though, so I won't see much of him except for holiday visits, I would imagine.
The beat: I find a juicy 6-max LHE game. I open with Q9s in the cutoff and get re-raised by the button. The flop is a nice Q99. Four bets go in. The turn is a blank. Four bets go in. The river is an ace. Two bets go in, and my opponent has ... AA, of course!
The brag: I busted nemesis NumbBono in the Mookie last night, making him cry like the Gigli he truly is. I opened with 8c5c in early position for 2.5 bbs, and called his MP re-raise to 6 bbs. Flop is a dreamy AcQc8c, the money goes in, and I fade some outs as I take out NB's set of queens. I had to laugh at conclusion of his berating me in chat when he said "I guess you like 85s more than I do".
The whine: I played a painful hand of Omaha hi/lo this morning. Nothing can go right for me, it seems, as I endure yet another downswing in cash game poker. I had 6d6h3d2s in the big blind of a juicy full-ring game and get to see a flop in an unraised pot vs. several opponents. The flop is a dreamy KcKd6c. The small blind leads out, I raise, the button calls two cold, the small blind three-bets, and I capped, since I figured both of my opponents had trip kings, and I had a decent backdoor low draw as insurance. The turn was the 8c, and we get two bets in as I put in another raise. The river was a five of diamonds and another bet goes in. I figure to at least get half of this juicy pot, right? I have the third-nut low and a flopped boat ... surely I can't be getting scooped?
No sir! I lost the high pot to kings full of fives (KQQ5) and the low to A3K3. So much for punishing those bare trips on the flop and turn ... sheesh.
I may have to take another week off and shift focus to my PLO experiment. Limit poker is killing me at present.
Non-poker content:
Life away from the felt is treating me well, mostly. I have been gettting some skiing in, and have been making progress in improving my fitness and my diet. A good
friend just moved away for a new job, though, so I won't see much of him except for holiday visits, I would imagine.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
New Year's Resolutions: Poker, part two
I had another post in mind, but I'll delay it another day as I stomach another day of a rather steep downswing at the cash tables. This hand pretty much sums up how I've been running ... this one happened to be at a 6-max O8 table.
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [Ac Kc 8s 8h]
acvikings has 15 seconds left to act
acvikings calls $2
PirateLawyer raises to $4
QuadSuited folds
StructureK calls $4
hotshot6177 folds
AnonymousLegend folds
acvikings calls $2
*** FLOP *** [5h 5c 8c]
acvikings bets $2
PirateLawyer raises to $4
StructureK calls $4
acvikings calls $2, and is all in
*** TURN *** [5h 5c 8c] [2c]
PirateLawyer bets $4
StructureK raises to $8
PirateLawyer raises to $12
StructureK raises to $16
PirateLawyer calls $4
*** RIVER *** [5h 5c 8c 2c] [6h]
PirateLawyer bets $4
StructureK raises to $8
PirateLawyer calls $1.50, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $2.50 returned to StructureK
*** SHOW DOWN ***
StructureK shows [3h 5d 3s 5s] four of a kind, Fives, for high and 8,6,5,3,2, for low
PirateLawyer shows [Ac Kc 8s 8h] a full house, Eights full of Fives, for high and 8,6,5,2,A, for low
StructureK wins the high side pot ($20.50) with four of a kind, Fives
PirateLawyer wins the low side pot ($20.50) with 8,6,5,2,A
acvikings shows [4d 7c 6c 8d] a flush, Eight high, for high and 7,6,5,4,2, for low
StructureK wins the high main pot ($13) with four of a kind, Fives
acvikings wins the low main pot ($13) with 7,6,5,4,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $70 Main pot $27. Side pot $43. | Rake $3
Board: [5h 5c 8c 2c 6h]
Seat 1: QuadSuited didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: StructureK (button) showed [3h 5d 3s 5s] and won ($33.50) with HI: four of a kind, Fives; LO: 8,6,5,3,2
Seat 3: hotshot6177 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: AnonymousLegend (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: acvikings showed [4d 7c 6c 8d] and won ($13) with HI: a flush, Eight high; LO: 7,6,5,4,2
Seat 6: PirateLawyer showed [Ac Kc 8s 8h] and won ($20.50) with HI: a full house, Eights full of Fives; LO: 8,6,5,2,A
This all happened because I decided to re-raise a donkish short-stack and I knew that the second villain, who was running insanely hot, would call with any four cards, so my range of hands here was well ahead of his. And then we get the cooler of all cooler flops.
This makes three times now in the new year that I've had to activate my stop-loss rule. Sigh.
I also thought there was a rule that Canadian poker bloggers were invulnerable to presto.
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PirateLawyer [Ac Kc 8s 8h]
acvikings has 15 seconds left to act
acvikings calls $2
PirateLawyer raises to $4
QuadSuited folds
StructureK calls $4
hotshot6177 folds
AnonymousLegend folds
acvikings calls $2
*** FLOP *** [5h 5c 8c]
acvikings bets $2
PirateLawyer raises to $4
StructureK calls $4
acvikings calls $2, and is all in
*** TURN *** [5h 5c 8c] [2c]
PirateLawyer bets $4
StructureK raises to $8
PirateLawyer raises to $12
StructureK raises to $16
PirateLawyer calls $4
*** RIVER *** [5h 5c 8c 2c] [6h]
PirateLawyer bets $4
StructureK raises to $8
PirateLawyer calls $1.50, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $2.50 returned to StructureK
*** SHOW DOWN ***
StructureK shows [3h 5d 3s 5s] four of a kind, Fives, for high and 8,6,5,3,2, for low
PirateLawyer shows [Ac Kc 8s 8h] a full house, Eights full of Fives, for high and 8,6,5,2,A, for low
StructureK wins the high side pot ($20.50) with four of a kind, Fives
PirateLawyer wins the low side pot ($20.50) with 8,6,5,2,A
acvikings shows [4d 7c 6c 8d] a flush, Eight high, for high and 7,6,5,4,2, for low
StructureK wins the high main pot ($13) with four of a kind, Fives
acvikings wins the low main pot ($13) with 7,6,5,4,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $70 Main pot $27. Side pot $43. | Rake $3
Board: [5h 5c 8c 2c 6h]
Seat 1: QuadSuited didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: StructureK (button) showed [3h 5d 3s 5s] and won ($33.50) with HI: four of a kind, Fives; LO: 8,6,5,3,2
Seat 3: hotshot6177 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: AnonymousLegend (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: acvikings showed [4d 7c 6c 8d] and won ($13) with HI: a flush, Eight high; LO: 7,6,5,4,2
Seat 6: PirateLawyer showed [Ac Kc 8s 8h] and won ($20.50) with HI: a full house, Eights full of Fives; LO: 8,6,5,2,A
This all happened because I decided to re-raise a donkish short-stack and I knew that the second villain, who was running insanely hot, would call with any four cards, so my range of hands here was well ahead of his. And then we get the cooler of all cooler flops.
This makes three times now in the new year that I've had to activate my stop-loss rule. Sigh.
I also thought there was a rule that Canadian poker bloggers were invulnerable to presto.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)