My Bro played that Horse tourney freeroll on Sun. He started at 3:10pm and when I got off of work he was still playing. I think it was about 8pm when he finally busted out. He made it to 4th place and cashed for $335, which we split for a nice payday of $167 apiece.
As luck would have it we both lost around $130-$140 that day and won a buy-in, LOL. He didn’t have his account at Tilt open yet so I let him use my roll while he was on my account playing the tourney. He didn’t use my preferred bankroll management strategy, for which I was only rolled for $50NL, and instead opted to play $100. He got the old PF all-in battle of KK VS AA and dropped $100. He also lost $40 more just playing, so He ended up winning $26 for the day. Me, well I just sucked that night and made some iffy calls, to which I lost $130 at the $50 tables. 2 ½ buy-ins ain’t that bad really; it is going to happen at times, hopefully due to bad beats so you can at least have the solace of feeling justified in your good plays. But no, I really did suck and played like total shit.
But on the bright-side we both ended up for that day’s session.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Being a Poker Player Doesn't Mean Being a Gambler
This post is my advice to fellow blogger's post yet was too lengthy to put in his comments section, so I will leave him a linky-link to this post. I think it is sound advice if you want to stay in the game. If you think not, leave me a rebuttal or your theory, and we can have a conversation on the matter. I have an open mind. lets talk. Am I high-strung?
I can’t disagree with you more XXXX on your BR management theory. Your friend got lucky if he was risking 1/4 of his roll at once and made money. I will bet it wasn’t long-term with that percenage of his roll on the table everytime he played. Plus you said he made money on his “last roll!” You want to talk physics of poker, lets talk about variance. You can play perfect poker and be the best poker player in the world and still lose 4 buy-ins in a row. I know I’ve had 4 bad beats in a row before, not to mention adding in a few hands are made to take your buy-in also, like set-over-set and AA VS KK. That is just an inherent aspect of poker’s odds. Playing with that much of your roll on the table, you are destined to go belly-up; you can’t support a downswing. And obviously if you scooped it up to $400 you would give $100NL a shot with this theory. At that pace, staying on that path, you won’t be heading up the ladder for long. Yea, you’ll have a huge rush while your climbing that ladder on a heater, but with risking that much you statically will be back to nothing before long, so you better enjoy that success while it lasts. I’m not trying to be a nay-sayer here and tell you how to live your poker life, I am just trying to save you some bumps in the road. I went bust a few years back, with 2 small buy-ins of $25 when I first started out, because I sucked and didn’t know how to play, but once I read a few books and frequented forums I gained some skill and became a winning player. I won enough to take off my original money so I could play with sheer profits. That was at the beginning of last year and I have never gone bust again. This is because I’m a winning player that uses BR management. Once I had a 3 month downswing, but although I lost money over and over and over, I was never near going broke because I didn’t put a large percentage of my BR at risk.
The reason why most players go broke is because they won’t take advice and learn the whole game from wiser more accomplished players. (Not me – Pros) And when I say the whole game I don’t mean only the cards, hand odds, and outs; I mean the business, the lifestyle, and how to safely go pro. If you listen to the pros, it is a methodical systematic process, not taking risk after risk. Being a poker player doesn’t mean being a gambler.
Most Pros say to always have 15 to 20x the max Buy-in at the NL stakes you are playing. I used that system last year and went from the Penny tables on UB to playing $200NL and cashed out $4500 last year. This year as of yet, I suck and am playing like a punk and dropped down to $60 playing and having to play $10NL on Tilt, but in the last month and a half I’ve built that back up to $600 and playing the $50NL tabs again. If I would have stayed on tables with 1’4 of my roll, I would be working over-time to get some more seed money.
Most Pros say no matter what, never have more than 10% of your total roll on the table at once. I will say that I have junked both of those theories just because I have already crushed these stakes before and have already learned the differences between each level on my up the 1st time. But I am doing something close the 10 buy-in rule. I am playing tables if I have 8 buy-ins. Ex: to play $50NL I reached $400. If I lost 1 buy-in and hit $350 I would drop back down to $25NL and get that $50 back. That means if I lose 1 buy-in at the start of a new level and have to drop down I have 3 full buy-ins at that level that I’d have to lose before dropping down again. That is pretty safe if you ask me. With this system I get the best of both worlds: I am conservative enough to sustain downswings due to variance, yet willing and ready enough to move up stakes quickly. I think this hyper-minimized-management strategy is the most liberal you should ever be with your BR. Any looser with your roll and guaranteed you will go broke. Try this management system at least, if you can’t conform to the Pros more conservative management systems and you will be able to move up stakes quickly enough for your gambler’s spirit if you do well and secure enough that if you do badly, you will still have enough of a roll for another shot when the downswing is over. It takes discipline, but you will find it hard to go broke using BR management system.
I can’t disagree with you more XXXX on your BR management theory. Your friend got lucky if he was risking 1/4 of his roll at once and made money. I will bet it wasn’t long-term with that percenage of his roll on the table everytime he played. Plus you said he made money on his “last roll!” You want to talk physics of poker, lets talk about variance. You can play perfect poker and be the best poker player in the world and still lose 4 buy-ins in a row. I know I’ve had 4 bad beats in a row before, not to mention adding in a few hands are made to take your buy-in also, like set-over-set and AA VS KK. That is just an inherent aspect of poker’s odds. Playing with that much of your roll on the table, you are destined to go belly-up; you can’t support a downswing. And obviously if you scooped it up to $400 you would give $100NL a shot with this theory. At that pace, staying on that path, you won’t be heading up the ladder for long. Yea, you’ll have a huge rush while your climbing that ladder on a heater, but with risking that much you statically will be back to nothing before long, so you better enjoy that success while it lasts. I’m not trying to be a nay-sayer here and tell you how to live your poker life, I am just trying to save you some bumps in the road. I went bust a few years back, with 2 small buy-ins of $25 when I first started out, because I sucked and didn’t know how to play, but once I read a few books and frequented forums I gained some skill and became a winning player. I won enough to take off my original money so I could play with sheer profits. That was at the beginning of last year and I have never gone bust again. This is because I’m a winning player that uses BR management. Once I had a 3 month downswing, but although I lost money over and over and over, I was never near going broke because I didn’t put a large percentage of my BR at risk.
The reason why most players go broke is because they won’t take advice and learn the whole game from wiser more accomplished players. (Not me – Pros) And when I say the whole game I don’t mean only the cards, hand odds, and outs; I mean the business, the lifestyle, and how to safely go pro. If you listen to the pros, it is a methodical systematic process, not taking risk after risk. Being a poker player doesn’t mean being a gambler.
Most Pros say to always have 15 to 20x the max Buy-in at the NL stakes you are playing. I used that system last year and went from the Penny tables on UB to playing $200NL and cashed out $4500 last year. This year as of yet, I suck and am playing like a punk and dropped down to $60 playing and having to play $10NL on Tilt, but in the last month and a half I’ve built that back up to $600 and playing the $50NL tabs again. If I would have stayed on tables with 1’4 of my roll, I would be working over-time to get some more seed money.
Most Pros say no matter what, never have more than 10% of your total roll on the table at once. I will say that I have junked both of those theories just because I have already crushed these stakes before and have already learned the differences between each level on my up the 1st time. But I am doing something close the 10 buy-in rule. I am playing tables if I have 8 buy-ins. Ex: to play $50NL I reached $400. If I lost 1 buy-in and hit $350 I would drop back down to $25NL and get that $50 back. That means if I lose 1 buy-in at the start of a new level and have to drop down I have 3 full buy-ins at that level that I’d have to lose before dropping down again. That is pretty safe if you ask me. With this system I get the best of both worlds: I am conservative enough to sustain downswings due to variance, yet willing and ready enough to move up stakes quickly. I think this hyper-minimized-management strategy is the most liberal you should ever be with your BR. Any looser with your roll and guaranteed you will go broke. Try this management system at least, if you can’t conform to the Pros more conservative management systems and you will be able to move up stakes quickly enough for your gambler’s spirit if you do well and secure enough that if you do badly, you will still have enough of a roll for another shot when the downswing is over. It takes discipline, but you will find it hard to go broke using BR management system.
The Solace of Losing
I was down $50 at one point while getting my 200 points. I was actually all over the place. I was never up any money though; bad play and a suck-out made sure of that. Right out the gate, even before all of my 8 tables where around to the BB so I could begin playing, I get dealt QQ. I reraise a guy PR and he pushes. It was only $15 to call, ergo I disregard my usual fold in this situation due to the fact that it was less than half my stack, plus it was $15 to call $22. He turns over 88. The flop comes with an 8 for his 2-outer and I’m down $20 to start my session.
After that hurtful event I fight back grinding small pots and then I donk off a nice pot where I knew I was beat but couldn’t make the lay-down. I really have been good about the dumb calls lately since I changed my game, but the last few nights I have been making some bad moves and calls. I grind back a little and win one nice pot to put me back within $10 of where I started the session.
I get in a hand with AK from LP. I raise it to $2 and get 2 callers. Flop comes K75. EP bets $8. MP raises to $15. I have $40 or so at the time and I jam. Original flop bettor calls with the $15 he has left and so does MP guy who has me covered by a few bucks. EP guy shows AJ whom I have crushed. 2nd guy has 75s for a spiked junker. The board doesn’t pair, nor does an A or K and I’m down close to a full buy-in on the hand. This was a horrible play IMO. Not because I lost, thus just being a results oriented bastard, but because with a pot-sized bet and then a raise before me, I have to think that my TPTK isn’t good here. It screams trips actually. I only had $2 total invested in the had at that point and with double-aggression before me on the flop, I definitely should have folded and waited for a better opportunity.
I have had an issue in the last few days with these kinds of plays, where I will call or bet when I am pretty positive that I’m beat. I luckily haven’t lost a lot much because of my grinding and a few un-sucked big pots to put me back close to even – slightly up or slightly down. I have just wanted to get my chips in there and hope for the best. I think the problem here is that I also win some of these hands. So by getting rewarded on occasion, it is hard to extinguish the bad habit. (It’s a lot like trying to teach your dog to stop begging for food at the dinner table, but occasionally handing him a little snack off your plate. This intermittent reward will ensure that the bad habit will never become extinct.) It is the reason why fish keep coming back for more; they suck-out and think they played it well or at least they were rewarded with a nice pot here and there. Make sense? And since I understand what is going on, I have the opportunity to change. Now I just have to follow through. I’ve been so good lately. I honestly think this is where my game went earlier this year; I was playing like shit, doing exactly this bad habit. I will now make a conscious effort to stop and hopefully at least alleviate the issue. Of course I will make some bad plays and bad calls, but if I think through the big decisions on the monster pots and be willing to fold, I will make more profits because I am already coming out close to even, even with these bad plays and suck-outs. I just don’t want to revert back to my lemur big hand style. I fixed that leak over a month ago and I will fight tooth and nail each time I see it rearing its ugly head. I’m positive that if I would have just folded my iffy calls and bad all-in raises, I’d be up around $300 more last week. That is huge. I’m not talking normal calls and raises where you likely have the best hand and just were wrong; no, I’m talking stupid plays were if you think about how the hand was played out or looked at the scary board, you know your most likely beat.
Another thing I need to work on is value beating the river when the only way I get called, most of the time anyways, is if I’m beat. You know what I’m talking about. Where someone checks to you on each street, and when they check to you on the river, and you don’t have the nuts or even real close, but still bet the river. Or when the river pairs the board or completes the flush or straight draw, making your strong hand weaker and more vulnerable. I have improved substantially, but I still need to work on it. I don’t want to be overly passive either and miss out on extra profits. I’m just saying that I need to think about it a little harder.
A solace last night at least is that I came back from being down $50 and ended the session down only $20. I can live with that. Being down ½ a buy-in on a losing day truly isn’t bad at all. I am currently sitting at $445. That is after taking off $60 and BR’ing one of my Bros. I also still have my $130ish coming sometime soon from RakeBreak. So I am finally up for the year again and that truly is a solace to me. I have mentally been so negative about poker for most of the year, feeling defeated and unskilled, so this really has given me a much-needed psychological boost. I can honestly say that I once again feel in control of my game. I feel that I once again can and should be earning money the majority of the sessions like I used to. As I play now I check the cashier pop-up and watch my status every so often and my trend is always positive. If I lose a nice hand I drop of course, but then it starts climbing again steadily earning above the blinds and rake. So I know if I can keep the iffy big pots under control and I don’t get too many bad beats I will always end sessions in the black for the most part. I finally have a winning style again like last year’s and I don’t want to stray too far from grace. I honestly think my current game has more earning potential than last year’s tried and proven style, plus I’m not playing like a robot. I am currently out-playing opponents with my aggressive flop play with marginal hands and taking down a lot of smallish pots, where my old style I always waited and waited for a nice hand and then rammed and jammed a tight-weak-aggressive game. It worked but I wasn’t really learning anything new and I was earning less over the same amount of hands. I think once I made it up the ladder too much further the players at those stages of the game, with their higher poker thinking levels, they would have seen right through my uncomplicated and robotic style, and I would have found it difficult to make a profit at those levels. I would have been stuck at $100NL or maybe $200NL forever. Not that I couldn’t make a nice profit at those stakes, but I truly do have aspirations to go higher. I mean shit, some under-aged kids are playing on their father’s accounts or finding other ways around it and are pulling in so much money that they will never even think about going to college or if they do, it will be totally for educational purposes and not to find a decent paying career. I know a kid that sold his Stars’ freemoney, starting out with $10 that he made from those free dollars, and in his senior year in high school, made $100,000. Could you imagine being 17 year’s old with 100G’s of your own money. It is likely a good thing that I didn’t, because I’d probably be dead. But anyways, I am happy with my game and if I stop with the shitty big-pot play, I think I can start to make some nice coin and continue to learn more aspects of the game. One of the reasons that I took the time to write an in-depth account of my current style, is in case I start losing again, like up until just recently, I have something to go back and reference, so it hopefully doesn’t take as long to fix the leaks like it did this time.
Lastly, today is the day for the HORSE tourney. As I stated yesterday, my Bro is playing for me. It starts at 3:10pm. I get off at 7pm and I hope he is still in it. Being limit I’m guessing it is longer than a 4 hr tourney. I don’t really know, because I don’t play many tournaments. Total cash pool is $5000, with 1st place paying out a cool $900. $450 would really boost my BR. $90 places pay out. If the previous 3 freerolls that I’ve qualified for were any indication of how this tourney’s turnout will be, I’d say 400 out of the 1000 will register. Well since this one is for $5000 instead of $2 Grand more players will likely make time. Plus it is on Sunday in the middle of the day, so that might also increase the turnout. I hope not, because they pay 90 places no matter the turnout, so the less the better.
After that hurtful event I fight back grinding small pots and then I donk off a nice pot where I knew I was beat but couldn’t make the lay-down. I really have been good about the dumb calls lately since I changed my game, but the last few nights I have been making some bad moves and calls. I grind back a little and win one nice pot to put me back within $10 of where I started the session.
I get in a hand with AK from LP. I raise it to $2 and get 2 callers. Flop comes K75. EP bets $8. MP raises to $15. I have $40 or so at the time and I jam. Original flop bettor calls with the $15 he has left and so does MP guy who has me covered by a few bucks. EP guy shows AJ whom I have crushed. 2nd guy has 75s for a spiked junker. The board doesn’t pair, nor does an A or K and I’m down close to a full buy-in on the hand. This was a horrible play IMO. Not because I lost, thus just being a results oriented bastard, but because with a pot-sized bet and then a raise before me, I have to think that my TPTK isn’t good here. It screams trips actually. I only had $2 total invested in the had at that point and with double-aggression before me on the flop, I definitely should have folded and waited for a better opportunity.
I have had an issue in the last few days with these kinds of plays, where I will call or bet when I am pretty positive that I’m beat. I luckily haven’t lost a lot much because of my grinding and a few un-sucked big pots to put me back close to even – slightly up or slightly down. I have just wanted to get my chips in there and hope for the best. I think the problem here is that I also win some of these hands. So by getting rewarded on occasion, it is hard to extinguish the bad habit. (It’s a lot like trying to teach your dog to stop begging for food at the dinner table, but occasionally handing him a little snack off your plate. This intermittent reward will ensure that the bad habit will never become extinct.) It is the reason why fish keep coming back for more; they suck-out and think they played it well or at least they were rewarded with a nice pot here and there. Make sense? And since I understand what is going on, I have the opportunity to change. Now I just have to follow through. I’ve been so good lately. I honestly think this is where my game went earlier this year; I was playing like shit, doing exactly this bad habit. I will now make a conscious effort to stop and hopefully at least alleviate the issue. Of course I will make some bad plays and bad calls, but if I think through the big decisions on the monster pots and be willing to fold, I will make more profits because I am already coming out close to even, even with these bad plays and suck-outs. I just don’t want to revert back to my lemur big hand style. I fixed that leak over a month ago and I will fight tooth and nail each time I see it rearing its ugly head. I’m positive that if I would have just folded my iffy calls and bad all-in raises, I’d be up around $300 more last week. That is huge. I’m not talking normal calls and raises where you likely have the best hand and just were wrong; no, I’m talking stupid plays were if you think about how the hand was played out or looked at the scary board, you know your most likely beat.
Another thing I need to work on is value beating the river when the only way I get called, most of the time anyways, is if I’m beat. You know what I’m talking about. Where someone checks to you on each street, and when they check to you on the river, and you don’t have the nuts or even real close, but still bet the river. Or when the river pairs the board or completes the flush or straight draw, making your strong hand weaker and more vulnerable. I have improved substantially, but I still need to work on it. I don’t want to be overly passive either and miss out on extra profits. I’m just saying that I need to think about it a little harder.
A solace last night at least is that I came back from being down $50 and ended the session down only $20. I can live with that. Being down ½ a buy-in on a losing day truly isn’t bad at all. I am currently sitting at $445. That is after taking off $60 and BR’ing one of my Bros. I also still have my $130ish coming sometime soon from RakeBreak. So I am finally up for the year again and that truly is a solace to me. I have mentally been so negative about poker for most of the year, feeling defeated and unskilled, so this really has given me a much-needed psychological boost. I can honestly say that I once again feel in control of my game. I feel that I once again can and should be earning money the majority of the sessions like I used to. As I play now I check the cashier pop-up and watch my status every so often and my trend is always positive. If I lose a nice hand I drop of course, but then it starts climbing again steadily earning above the blinds and rake. So I know if I can keep the iffy big pots under control and I don’t get too many bad beats I will always end sessions in the black for the most part. I finally have a winning style again like last year’s and I don’t want to stray too far from grace. I honestly think my current game has more earning potential than last year’s tried and proven style, plus I’m not playing like a robot. I am currently out-playing opponents with my aggressive flop play with marginal hands and taking down a lot of smallish pots, where my old style I always waited and waited for a nice hand and then rammed and jammed a tight-weak-aggressive game. It worked but I wasn’t really learning anything new and I was earning less over the same amount of hands. I think once I made it up the ladder too much further the players at those stages of the game, with their higher poker thinking levels, they would have seen right through my uncomplicated and robotic style, and I would have found it difficult to make a profit at those levels. I would have been stuck at $100NL or maybe $200NL forever. Not that I couldn’t make a nice profit at those stakes, but I truly do have aspirations to go higher. I mean shit, some under-aged kids are playing on their father’s accounts or finding other ways around it and are pulling in so much money that they will never even think about going to college or if they do, it will be totally for educational purposes and not to find a decent paying career. I know a kid that sold his Stars’ freemoney, starting out with $10 that he made from those free dollars, and in his senior year in high school, made $100,000. Could you imagine being 17 year’s old with 100G’s of your own money. It is likely a good thing that I didn’t, because I’d probably be dead. But anyways, I am happy with my game and if I stop with the shitty big-pot play, I think I can start to make some nice coin and continue to learn more aspects of the game. One of the reasons that I took the time to write an in-depth account of my current style, is in case I start losing again, like up until just recently, I have something to go back and reference, so it hopefully doesn’t take as long to fix the leaks like it did this time.
Lastly, today is the day for the HORSE tourney. As I stated yesterday, my Bro is playing for me. It starts at 3:10pm. I get off at 7pm and I hope he is still in it. Being limit I’m guessing it is longer than a 4 hr tourney. I don’t really know, because I don’t play many tournaments. Total cash pool is $5000, with 1st place paying out a cool $900. $450 would really boost my BR. $90 places pay out. If the previous 3 freerolls that I’ve qualified for were any indication of how this tourney’s turnout will be, I’d say 400 out of the 1000 will register. Well since this one is for $5000 instead of $2 Grand more players will likely make time. Plus it is on Sunday in the middle of the day, so that might also increase the turnout. I hope not, because they pay 90 places no matter the turnout, so the less the better.
My Current Style: Part 4
D-Hands
Now here comes the fun stuff that is here to test my post flop savvy and reading skills. All D-Hands have some things in common: I will not call a PF raise with them and the only way I will limp in PF is if I can get in half price from the SB, although I will try a blind steal with a few. All have some major draw-backs and thus weren’t a part of my old strategy, I now have enough hands under my belt that I have somewhat of a post flop game. But in most cases I expect to hit these hard on the flop or I’m done with them.
AJ, AT, KT, KJ,QJ, QT, JT
A lot of people love paint. Paint is made to be dominated. Often you would have better odds of winning the hand with mid-suited-cons or even 2 medium unsuited cards because at least both cards are usually live. These are the kinds of hands that pay me off. People hit a pr and are then willing to get in a kicker fight. I really don’t get it, but hey, it makes me money. I will not raise or call a raise PF, hell, I don’t even limp with these hands. I will occasionally try to steal the blinds in an unraised pot from the button or steal the BB from the SB with these hands, because they likely have junk that they will fold or if they call, I likely can steal on the flop even if I don’t pair-up. The other time I will enter the pot PF is from the SB where I get in for a discount. They do have straight potential after all, or likely will be TP if you hit the board, plus you could always spike 2pr or trips. But ultimately I play these very cautious post flop. Depending on how many players are in the hand with me dictates how I play it on the flop. I will most often be 1st to act so I’m out of position. If I hit a pr on the flop it is most likely TP or 2ndpr, so if it’s 1-3 players with me I will lead out a pot-sized bet, and if I get RR’d I drop. If I am called I usually C/C or C/F the remaining streets depending on how aggressive the betting gets. So position is huge factor on how I play these paint cards. So basically it is thrifty SB call, blind steal or fold. It’s that simple.
King anything suited – KTs, K9s, K8s, K7s, K6s, K5s, K4’s, K3s, K2s
There are some obvious drawbacks here with K-suited. With the A-suited hands you know you have the nut flush, but with K-high flushes you can stand to lose a few big pots. But most of the time 2nd nut is usually good. With the KTs and K9s I also have the straight possibility as a bonus. Also Kings-up is a monster when it hits, so overall I am willing to throw in the other half of the blind. But as with most of my hands I won’t fight too hard without a good certainty that I’m good or that there is a good indication that they will drop before I fold and wait for a better play to risk my stack. I refuse to get into a kicker fight with a pebble in my hand if the stakes get high.
Suited-Connectors – 65s, 54s, 43s, 32s
These are total junk hands, but they are so concealed when they hit that they can make you some good money. But they have some major drawbacks so I will only see them for half price from the SB. Here’s what makes these SC’s so much worse than their SC big brothers. They are almost always the bottom pr, the low end of a straight, and a vulnerable flush. If you hit your flush on the flop and make a pot-sized bet you are often called with 1-card flush draws and if that 4-flush hits on the turn or river you are usually forced to lay it down before the showdown along with all the money that you already invested. They are also real susceptible to being counterfeited on the turn and river even when you hit a strong hand like 2pr. So you really have a lot of stressful decisions to make when playing these cards. And sadly sometimes even when you hit your hand you are already nearly drawing dead. But it’s almost worth all the risk solely because of how bad it tilts some players when you reveal these cards at showdown and scoop the pot. I can see the chat box light up now expletives comments about my intelligence.
Suited –Gappers – KTs, K9s, QTs, Q9s, Q8s, J9s, J8s, J7s, T8s, T7s, T6s, 97s, 96s, 95s, 86s, 85s, 84s, 75s, 74s, 73s, 64s, 63s, 62s, 53s, 52s, 42s
And last but not least – uh actually they do rank least – we have the Suited-Gappers. These cards totally suck, but they do have both straight and flush possibilities, and they are so well concealed that you can snipe off some nice pots when you hit hard. With these holdings I hit hard or I saying bye. Sometimes hitting the flop I can push out 1 or 2 opponents that whiffed. I try not to spend much on the draws either.
Summary
I would say that most of my big pots come from A and B hands, but C and D Hands are well concealed and bring in good money when they occasionally hit really hard. My A-hands also win a lot of smallish pots where everyone drops to my PF raise or they fold the flop to my CB. Position isn’t a big aspect of this current strategy PF except for the frequent blind steal attempts. If I hit any part of the board with any hand that I’m in I will bet it against 1 or 2 opponents on the flop. I am quite aggressive against few opponents because they are just as likely to have missed or barely hit as myself. If I am in position against 1 or 2 players and get checked to, I bet pot. I take down many smallish pots this way also. Often because I am limping in pots from lots of positions PF I find myself on the flop with only the blinds and I’m in position. Likely they check to me and I take the hand with a pot-sized bet. Often the blinds are folding hands where they hit BP or 2ndpr but figure I paired the over-card to their pr, especially when an A or K comes on the flop and I bet from position, they figure I stayed PF with A or K rag which is an extremely common occurrence. So the big concepts of this strategy are: 1 - Play only hands where you know how strong you are when you hit. 2 - Play mostly hands that aren’t at a disadvantage due to bad kickers. 3 - Play lots of hands that you can get in with cheaply, but pack a powerful punch when they hit. 4 - Win lots of small pots due to blind steals and aggressive short-handed flop aggression.
My game has changed enormously from last year, with me adding more starting hands and being a little more aggressive on the flop when putting in a bet isn’t killing my stack but is surely scary to players that missed their holdings. I am still fairly weak with some hands and my aggression with them, so hopefully I can at some point move some more of those hands up in my rankings. My current style is a mere semblance of last year’s, so who knows what another year will hold for my game?
Now here comes the fun stuff that is here to test my post flop savvy and reading skills. All D-Hands have some things in common: I will not call a PF raise with them and the only way I will limp in PF is if I can get in half price from the SB, although I will try a blind steal with a few. All have some major draw-backs and thus weren’t a part of my old strategy, I now have enough hands under my belt that I have somewhat of a post flop game. But in most cases I expect to hit these hard on the flop or I’m done with them.
AJ, AT, KT, KJ,QJ, QT, JT
A lot of people love paint. Paint is made to be dominated. Often you would have better odds of winning the hand with mid-suited-cons or even 2 medium unsuited cards because at least both cards are usually live. These are the kinds of hands that pay me off. People hit a pr and are then willing to get in a kicker fight. I really don’t get it, but hey, it makes me money. I will not raise or call a raise PF, hell, I don’t even limp with these hands. I will occasionally try to steal the blinds in an unraised pot from the button or steal the BB from the SB with these hands, because they likely have junk that they will fold or if they call, I likely can steal on the flop even if I don’t pair-up. The other time I will enter the pot PF is from the SB where I get in for a discount. They do have straight potential after all, or likely will be TP if you hit the board, plus you could always spike 2pr or trips. But ultimately I play these very cautious post flop. Depending on how many players are in the hand with me dictates how I play it on the flop. I will most often be 1st to act so I’m out of position. If I hit a pr on the flop it is most likely TP or 2ndpr, so if it’s 1-3 players with me I will lead out a pot-sized bet, and if I get RR’d I drop. If I am called I usually C/C or C/F the remaining streets depending on how aggressive the betting gets. So position is huge factor on how I play these paint cards. So basically it is thrifty SB call, blind steal or fold. It’s that simple.
King anything suited – KTs, K9s, K8s, K7s, K6s, K5s, K4’s, K3s, K2s
There are some obvious drawbacks here with K-suited. With the A-suited hands you know you have the nut flush, but with K-high flushes you can stand to lose a few big pots. But most of the time 2nd nut is usually good. With the KTs and K9s I also have the straight possibility as a bonus. Also Kings-up is a monster when it hits, so overall I am willing to throw in the other half of the blind. But as with most of my hands I won’t fight too hard without a good certainty that I’m good or that there is a good indication that they will drop before I fold and wait for a better play to risk my stack. I refuse to get into a kicker fight with a pebble in my hand if the stakes get high.
Suited-Connectors – 65s, 54s, 43s, 32s
These are total junk hands, but they are so concealed when they hit that they can make you some good money. But they have some major drawbacks so I will only see them for half price from the SB. Here’s what makes these SC’s so much worse than their SC big brothers. They are almost always the bottom pr, the low end of a straight, and a vulnerable flush. If you hit your flush on the flop and make a pot-sized bet you are often called with 1-card flush draws and if that 4-flush hits on the turn or river you are usually forced to lay it down before the showdown along with all the money that you already invested. They are also real susceptible to being counterfeited on the turn and river even when you hit a strong hand like 2pr. So you really have a lot of stressful decisions to make when playing these cards. And sadly sometimes even when you hit your hand you are already nearly drawing dead. But it’s almost worth all the risk solely because of how bad it tilts some players when you reveal these cards at showdown and scoop the pot. I can see the chat box light up now expletives comments about my intelligence.
Suited –Gappers – KTs, K9s, QTs, Q9s, Q8s, J9s, J8s, J7s, T8s, T7s, T6s, 97s, 96s, 95s, 86s, 85s, 84s, 75s, 74s, 73s, 64s, 63s, 62s, 53s, 52s, 42s
And last but not least – uh actually they do rank least – we have the Suited-Gappers. These cards totally suck, but they do have both straight and flush possibilities, and they are so well concealed that you can snipe off some nice pots when you hit hard. With these holdings I hit hard or I saying bye. Sometimes hitting the flop I can push out 1 or 2 opponents that whiffed. I try not to spend much on the draws either.
Summary
I would say that most of my big pots come from A and B hands, but C and D Hands are well concealed and bring in good money when they occasionally hit really hard. My A-hands also win a lot of smallish pots where everyone drops to my PF raise or they fold the flop to my CB. Position isn’t a big aspect of this current strategy PF except for the frequent blind steal attempts. If I hit any part of the board with any hand that I’m in I will bet it against 1 or 2 opponents on the flop. I am quite aggressive against few opponents because they are just as likely to have missed or barely hit as myself. If I am in position against 1 or 2 players and get checked to, I bet pot. I take down many smallish pots this way also. Often because I am limping in pots from lots of positions PF I find myself on the flop with only the blinds and I’m in position. Likely they check to me and I take the hand with a pot-sized bet. Often the blinds are folding hands where they hit BP or 2ndpr but figure I paired the over-card to their pr, especially when an A or K comes on the flop and I bet from position, they figure I stayed PF with A or K rag which is an extremely common occurrence. So the big concepts of this strategy are: 1 - Play only hands where you know how strong you are when you hit. 2 - Play mostly hands that aren’t at a disadvantage due to bad kickers. 3 - Play lots of hands that you can get in with cheaply, but pack a powerful punch when they hit. 4 - Win lots of small pots due to blind steals and aggressive short-handed flop aggression.
My game has changed enormously from last year, with me adding more starting hands and being a little more aggressive on the flop when putting in a bet isn’t killing my stack but is surely scary to players that missed their holdings. I am still fairly weak with some hands and my aggression with them, so hopefully I can at some point move some more of those hands up in my rankings. My current style is a mere semblance of last year’s, so who knows what another year will hold for my game?
Saturday, July 07, 2007
QQ: The Lemur Hand
I played last night for around 2 hrs. I decided to get 200 points. I was up $60 right as I neared 200 points. I then get dealt QQ. It was raised before me. I reraised his $2 raise up to $5.50 and he called. Flop came TT8. He bet out about $8. I raised it to $15 and he called. Flop came an A. He checked and I pushed. He called and showed AK. OK, so he bluffed the flop. I raised him. I think he made a bad call here, because he took his stab and I raised. You think someone would let AKo go. Shit he didn’t even have a pr. But I admit played the turn like a total donkey. I really couldn’t put him on a hand so I just pushed like a lemur. He raised PF before I reraised and then he just called. Possible hands that would do that. A slow-rolled AA or KK after the initial raise. Most likely they would just reraise again and try to get it all-in PF; so not too likely IMO. QQ, JJ, AK, TT. QQ – very unlikely because I have 2. JJ and TT – both quite likely PF holdings. JJ might try to throw in a flop bet and see where he was at due to the Ten-high board, but you’d think he would have to fold to the raise. But some people can’t fold an over-pr with their tiny little brains; shit some people will even call with just over-cards, obviously. TT – likely PF holding, but why not check to the PF raiser if you spiked quads? I didn’t believe that for a sec. AK – really don’t see how you don’t fold to the flop raise of your ¾ pot bet. I really just couldn’t put him on any hand really. Hmm, ATs or A8s or 88? I don’t know too many people raising with any of these from EP PF and then calling a PF reraise. I don’t know? All I know is that I played it bad. Maybe check the turn and then Check/Call or Check/Fold river? So anyways I got my points about 15 min after that and got off $20 ahead. Hell, at least I won something.
I am now in 8th place in the Full Tilt Fantasy Poker League. Now with only the Main Event earnings standing in my way, I have 2 weeks to wait and see if I get knock out of the Top100, lose my entry to the final freeroll.
I have to work tomorrow so I can’t play in the HORSE freeroll, because it starts at 3:10 PM. I have my Bro playing for me. I told him we’ll split anything he wins for me. SUCKER…no wait…shit I had to give him my ID and password so he could play. I was just kidding Bro, I wasn’t going to renig on our agreement. Jokes, it was all just jokes.
I am now in 8th place in the Full Tilt Fantasy Poker League. Now with only the Main Event earnings standing in my way, I have 2 weeks to wait and see if I get knock out of the Top100, lose my entry to the final freeroll.
I have to work tomorrow so I can’t play in the HORSE freeroll, because it starts at 3:10 PM. I have my Bro playing for me. I told him we’ll split anything he wins for me. SUCKER…no wait…shit I had to give him my ID and password so he could play. I was just kidding Bro, I wasn’t going to renig on our agreement. Jokes, it was all just jokes.
My Current Style: Part 3
C-Hands
There are 3 categories of C-Hands. Each is played a little different, but one thing they have in common is that I intend only to limp in with them PF.
Ace anything suited – AQs, AJs, ATs, A9s, A8, A7s, A6s A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s
A-suited doesn’t hit hard often, but when it does flush you have the nuts on an unpaired board, so it is possible to make some change. Conversely it also put you on a lot of draws to which you can waste a lot of coin. Another adverse problem inherent to A-suited is when an Ace comes on the board or the rag is top pair you are very vulnerable – now you have to really be careful. These are the kinds of things that I don’t enjoy. I like to know where I stand, especially on the flop, before I start putting in a lot of chips, and with A and B hands I usually know right where I stand – not tons of think-tank moments. But hitting TP can really cost you here if you choose to get in a kicker fight. So I play these hole cards sparingly after the flop. I do take some small pots against 1 or 2 players if they check to my position or if I bet out because I paired and they whiffed. But I refuse to lose my stack with A-shitkicker. I limp with these hands. If I already limped and it is min-raised on the way back around I will call also as long as there are at least a few other callers also, giving me a nice pot to look forward to. The more people that get in these hands the better. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button with the AQs, AJs, or ATs.
Suited Connectors down to 65s – KQs, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s
I obviously play these cards because of the triple-threat – straights, flushes, or maybe the 2pr/trip possibilities. These cards can be deadly when they hit, because they are well concealed, and therefore can win you some nice pots. The flushes can be scary at times, but overall you are best when you hit. I currently only limp with these cards, although I have been stacked on many occasion when someone calls my PF raise with them. If I already limped and it is min-raised on the way back around I will call also only if is a multi-wat pot giving me good money to draw for. The more people that get in these hands the better. Unless I hit hard I don’t waste a lot of cash after the flop. Once again this can be a chasing hand and you can chip down if you get greedy. You must be careful not to over estimate you outs when chasing with these holdings, because you could be dead if you hit your flush or your straight at times. You have to be on you game when playing low junk. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button with the KQs, QJs and JTs because even if they call I have position.
AQ, KQ, KJs
I will limp with these hands. I know a lot of players love these hands – shit to some of you they are A-Hands. Now why I don’t hold them in high esteem. If you raise with them and are called you are often dominated, especially when you hit the pr you were looking for. When someone raises PF I fold these cards for the same reason. If I have already limped and someone else then min-raises, I won’t even throw in another BB. Weak you say? Safe I say. I make enough winning small pots with flop aggression that I don’t need to hazard what these cards can bring When someone’s hand is good enough for a PF raise it is possible that you are crushed even when you hit. It is quite possible that you only have 1 live out. That can mean some big losses. Like I have stated before, this strategy is about having a real good idea of where you’re at before getting too much money in the middle. Now don’t get me wrong these are great holdings, I just like their power in unraised pots where if I hit I am usually in good shape. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button.
D-Hands and Summary yet to come...
There are 3 categories of C-Hands. Each is played a little different, but one thing they have in common is that I intend only to limp in with them PF.
Ace anything suited – AQs, AJs, ATs, A9s, A8, A7s, A6s A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s
A-suited doesn’t hit hard often, but when it does flush you have the nuts on an unpaired board, so it is possible to make some change. Conversely it also put you on a lot of draws to which you can waste a lot of coin. Another adverse problem inherent to A-suited is when an Ace comes on the board or the rag is top pair you are very vulnerable – now you have to really be careful. These are the kinds of things that I don’t enjoy. I like to know where I stand, especially on the flop, before I start putting in a lot of chips, and with A and B hands I usually know right where I stand – not tons of think-tank moments. But hitting TP can really cost you here if you choose to get in a kicker fight. So I play these hole cards sparingly after the flop. I do take some small pots against 1 or 2 players if they check to my position or if I bet out because I paired and they whiffed. But I refuse to lose my stack with A-shitkicker. I limp with these hands. If I already limped and it is min-raised on the way back around I will call also as long as there are at least a few other callers also, giving me a nice pot to look forward to. The more people that get in these hands the better. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button with the AQs, AJs, or ATs.
Suited Connectors down to 65s – KQs, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s
I obviously play these cards because of the triple-threat – straights, flushes, or maybe the 2pr/trip possibilities. These cards can be deadly when they hit, because they are well concealed, and therefore can win you some nice pots. The flushes can be scary at times, but overall you are best when you hit. I currently only limp with these cards, although I have been stacked on many occasion when someone calls my PF raise with them. If I already limped and it is min-raised on the way back around I will call also only if is a multi-wat pot giving me good money to draw for. The more people that get in these hands the better. Unless I hit hard I don’t waste a lot of cash after the flop. Once again this can be a chasing hand and you can chip down if you get greedy. You must be careful not to over estimate you outs when chasing with these holdings, because you could be dead if you hit your flush or your straight at times. You have to be on you game when playing low junk. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button with the KQs, QJs and JTs because even if they call I have position.
AQ, KQ, KJs
I will limp with these hands. I know a lot of players love these hands – shit to some of you they are A-Hands. Now why I don’t hold them in high esteem. If you raise with them and are called you are often dominated, especially when you hit the pr you were looking for. When someone raises PF I fold these cards for the same reason. If I have already limped and someone else then min-raises, I won’t even throw in another BB. Weak you say? Safe I say. I make enough winning small pots with flop aggression that I don’t need to hazard what these cards can bring When someone’s hand is good enough for a PF raise it is possible that you are crushed even when you hit. It is quite possible that you only have 1 live out. That can mean some big losses. Like I have stated before, this strategy is about having a real good idea of where you’re at before getting too much money in the middle. Now don’t get me wrong these are great holdings, I just like their power in unraised pots where if I hit I am usually in good shape. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button.
D-Hands and Summary yet to come...
I was doing a little archiving of my old blogroll and came across this diddy from TripJax. Give it a look-see - you will be glad you did.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Get Your Asses To Bed Kids
This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
shit (17x) fucking (5x) bitch (4x) hurt (3x) fuck (2x) bitches (1x)
Give it a shot you sickos.
What the hell, you can't say hurt! What kind of kiddie party are we talking about here. You know what I say...FUCK IT!!!
Last Night
Well last night didn’t go as well as planned. Within in the first 10 mins on I get dealt pocket K’s. My fuckin’ mouse was dirty for some reason. (You know, the internal wheels that that form the ball socket were built up with junk.) Therefore the mouse was locking up and just being jumpy, thus making it difficult to manipulate. So between the mouse issue and tables popping up, all I got to do was min-raise PF. Well, about 3 callers complete. Pretty innocent looking board so I bet pot. All fold but 1 guy; he goes all-in and I make a crying call. He had hit 2-pr on the flop with total unadulterated shiat. I’m down a buy-in right off the bat. The golden rule is not to go all the way with minor holdings like over-pr or TPTK on the flop when it was unraised PF. They could have anything. And a min-raise is pretty much an unraised pot. Bad play on my part. I suck I know, but man sometimes it is so hard to get off an over-pr. It wouldn’t have been as bad a play if I had put in a nice raise PF like I meant to, but time was running out and I couldn’t get the betting slide bar to move where I wanted due to the dirty mouse. But hey, we have already been through this once already. I suck, lets move on. So after about 10 min I am down around $60 due to that hand and the consumption of blinds at 8 tables. I started worrying that I would have to move back down stakes if I lost another buy-in. But I started winning my normal small pots and they quickly added up. Throw in a few slightly larger pots and I was catching up nicely. I was only on an hr and when I logged out I was only down $16. I’ll live with that after being down right out the gate. So I’m back up to 2 buy-in before I drop down if needed.
At the $50 tables that I am currently playing I get my 100 Ironman points in about an hr. That is nice when I am working, because I work 12 hr days so I need to hit the hay as soon as possible. So an hr is perfect when I am on day shift – eat, shower, poker, and then an hr or 2 for the family.
I looked and I’m currently at 6th overall in FT Fantasy Poker League with only 2 events left. Hopefully the Main Event doesn’t stick it to me and knock me out off the top 100. That would suck.
At the $50 tables that I am currently playing I get my 100 Ironman points in about an hr. That is nice when I am working, because I work 12 hr days so I need to hit the hay as soon as possible. So an hr is perfect when I am on day shift – eat, shower, poker, and then an hr or 2 for the family.
I looked and I’m currently at 6th overall in FT Fantasy Poker League with only 2 events left. Hopefully the Main Event doesn’t stick it to me and knock me out off the top 100. That would suck.
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