Not a great week in poker, that’s for sure. I lost like $300 and I’m back below my goal of $1000 for the month. I’m at about $825 right now. My aces and kings have been running up to flopped sets quite regularly. It is getting really old. I’m overall playing pretty solid poker, but reaping no rewards. I am going to play some $25NL for a while until this downswing subsides a little. Maybe I’m just a $25NL kinda guy. No, I don’t believe that, but this crap is getting on my nerves. I have 2 days left after work and 2 days off to get back above $1000 and meet that G goal.
Friday Chris and I are going to the casino and play in a holdem tournament. It will be a first for us both. I played at the elks once, but no a real tourney where everyone knows the game. It is a $30 buyin with $10 rebuys. And I’m guessing a $10 addon. You can buy back in anytime during the first 3 rounds. The guy said that usually around 40 people enter. We will see. I really know nothing about the tourney structure. I don’t expect to cash but I think I should go kinda deep. Not because I’m a great player or anything but because I plan to sit and wait for some nice hands. I’ll play hard when I hit, but I’ll not get in a lot of hands. I’ll play my usual cash game strategy during the early going. I’ll loosen up in the middle some if I have chipped down. If I get to the push game, I will tight right up and pick my spots, depending mostly on my stack and If I can isolate. Also I will be semi-playing the HOH M-game, but I don’t see mixing it up with total crap as early as he suggests. But when my stack starts looking bad I will look for a place to make a stand. Hopefully if I get caught-up in the losing end of a nice hand it is early on when the blinds are small and I have time to try at a comeback. All I can really hope for is to have fun this first time, gain a little live tourney experience, and not lose to a suckout. I’ll try to keep good mental notes and give a thorough update next week. I am looking forward to playing in a live tourney. I’ve heard some of the players at the cash games at a different casino talk about playing in this tourney. So I will get to see experienced players play. Hopefully they take me for an ESPN watching fish-boy and call me down or bluff me with TPSK’s, not respecting my game and thinking I over-value hands.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
The Fish Bowl
Fish bowl game didn’t workout in my favor as usual. Ouch. I didn’t actually lose a lot. The lost profits are what really hurt. Crazy night. Biggest game yet. 9 people showed up. The usual and 2 new guys were in attendance. A regular’s younger brother and his young friend; I’m guessing 21 to 23 year’s old. One sucked like his brother. LOL.
The brother’s friend AJ knew how to play, but was a fish no less, just not small fry. The thing was I could spot that he was the 2nd best player at the table besides me. I stayed away from him and watched his game. I really had nothing to fight with anyway. He might have pushed me off a hand or two. He knew how to check-raise and value bet, so he had some skills. The kid’s big problem was trying to muscle out the fish bowl’s calling-stations. He would play solid poker and then blow it all on a huge semi-bluffs, which were called with marginal holding and taken down. I saw him have A8 and reraise allin, which was a huge overbet, with 3 spades on the flop. His Ace was a spade, plus he had middle pr with the 8. EP bet. MP raised. He pushed with his marginal hand + the possible. EP dropped. MP thought about it for merely a second and tossed in the huge call with TPSK. The kicker was like a 3 or something sad like that. I would have folded to that bet in a heartbeat. But Phil called, no spade came and he took down the pot. AJ kinda ran his mouth about the call, but of course I said good call Phil, way to not let him bluff you. It was a horrible call but, but hey that is how I usually make my money. He did a similar semi-bluff move later in the night and was called down. He bought in for $30 and ended up buying back in for $20 or$30 more. He ended around $40 up for the night because he won the last 2 hands of the night. All in all, he was an alright player. He was the only guy at the table that I would have to watch really close if we got in a hand together. I’m sure it will happen sooner or later, because he won some money and he saw the soft game, where he sees some easy money potential. He’ll be back. Kinda sucks having someone else with skill horning in on my fish game. LOL. Oh yea, he won the last 2 hands both on the river to boot. He was the aggressor the whole time and came from behind on the river to win it. One I would have been raising also just like him, but the other one was a strong-armed bluff hand that ended with a nice river.
We played for 4 hrs and I won 4 hands all night. That is super card dead. One of the hands I won was a nice pot. I had 2 horrible hands that took my total for the night to $52 in the hole. 10 min into the game I look down at AA. Phil to my immediate right raised PF. I triple that bet. My ISO works and everyone folds back to Phil who calls. Flop comes K-high. He bets out and I raise big; he calls. Turn is x-small. He bets again. I push and he calls. He turns over pocket cowboys and shoots my $30 down with a flopped set that cracked my Aces. With him leading out every street I probably should have just called him down and took a semi-small ass-whippin’. But with some of the crap these guys play and bet with I just had a hard time slowing down here. I watched him lose a huge pot later where he kept leading out the whole hand with pocket ducks. When the other guy scooped the pot he didn’t see his play as folly. Once again that is why I usually cash every game. The other hand that totally killed me was where my nut straight got river by a paired board. Flop comes 987rainbow. I check, Chris bets, and I raise a nice smite. He calls. Turn comes an A. I lead out big-time. He calls. River comes another 8. I push the last little amount that remains in my stack. He calls and turns over 98 for the 2 paired boat special. The 4 outer. That really hurt. So if, if, if, I would have won those 2 hands I likely would have been up $75 or so. I am happy with my play. My loss was due more to two tough hands than me playing poorly.
Quick rundown of the night’s winners. AJ sucked out 2 big hands on the every last 2 hands of the night to go from do $40. AJ, if he comes back will win more often than lose, I think. He’ll win a lot if he learns to not bluff the calling-stations. Chris was the big winner with about $120. He rivered that huge hand off me. He also rivered a few more hands throughout the night with crap that panned-out in the end. But most of his money came because he had good cards all night and played them hard. He is the one player that is getting better every time we play. And then there is Philly-Dilly-Dilly-My-Boy. He won $75. That is only like the second time that he has won. They remember their wins more than the pain of tons of loses, so he will be back often. Phil is a fish that will never get better and I don’t have the patience to teach him. He still tries to check from every position PF. Oh, I forgot, so I have to put in $.50 to see the flop, damn.
One key hand was the last hand of the night. I was not in this hand. Flop comes AJx. AJ had AJ. Maki had JJ. VH had A8. Bets. Turn x with bigger bets. River A. Everyone went allin. VH with trip Aces. Maki with JJJAA. AJ with AAAJJ. Ouch.
The brother’s friend AJ knew how to play, but was a fish no less, just not small fry. The thing was I could spot that he was the 2nd best player at the table besides me. I stayed away from him and watched his game. I really had nothing to fight with anyway. He might have pushed me off a hand or two. He knew how to check-raise and value bet, so he had some skills. The kid’s big problem was trying to muscle out the fish bowl’s calling-stations. He would play solid poker and then blow it all on a huge semi-bluffs, which were called with marginal holding and taken down. I saw him have A8 and reraise allin, which was a huge overbet, with 3 spades on the flop. His Ace was a spade, plus he had middle pr with the 8. EP bet. MP raised. He pushed with his marginal hand + the possible. EP dropped. MP thought about it for merely a second and tossed in the huge call with TPSK. The kicker was like a 3 or something sad like that. I would have folded to that bet in a heartbeat. But Phil called, no spade came and he took down the pot. AJ kinda ran his mouth about the call, but of course I said good call Phil, way to not let him bluff you. It was a horrible call but, but hey that is how I usually make my money. He did a similar semi-bluff move later in the night and was called down. He bought in for $30 and ended up buying back in for $20 or$30 more. He ended around $40 up for the night because he won the last 2 hands of the night. All in all, he was an alright player. He was the only guy at the table that I would have to watch really close if we got in a hand together. I’m sure it will happen sooner or later, because he won some money and he saw the soft game, where he sees some easy money potential. He’ll be back. Kinda sucks having someone else with skill horning in on my fish game. LOL. Oh yea, he won the last 2 hands both on the river to boot. He was the aggressor the whole time and came from behind on the river to win it. One I would have been raising also just like him, but the other one was a strong-armed bluff hand that ended with a nice river.
We played for 4 hrs and I won 4 hands all night. That is super card dead. One of the hands I won was a nice pot. I had 2 horrible hands that took my total for the night to $52 in the hole. 10 min into the game I look down at AA. Phil to my immediate right raised PF. I triple that bet. My ISO works and everyone folds back to Phil who calls. Flop comes K-high. He bets out and I raise big; he calls. Turn is x-small. He bets again. I push and he calls. He turns over pocket cowboys and shoots my $30 down with a flopped set that cracked my Aces. With him leading out every street I probably should have just called him down and took a semi-small ass-whippin’. But with some of the crap these guys play and bet with I just had a hard time slowing down here. I watched him lose a huge pot later where he kept leading out the whole hand with pocket ducks. When the other guy scooped the pot he didn’t see his play as folly. Once again that is why I usually cash every game. The other hand that totally killed me was where my nut straight got river by a paired board. Flop comes 987rainbow. I check, Chris bets, and I raise a nice smite. He calls. Turn comes an A. I lead out big-time. He calls. River comes another 8. I push the last little amount that remains in my stack. He calls and turns over 98 for the 2 paired boat special. The 4 outer. That really hurt. So if, if, if, I would have won those 2 hands I likely would have been up $75 or so. I am happy with my play. My loss was due more to two tough hands than me playing poorly.
Quick rundown of the night’s winners. AJ sucked out 2 big hands on the every last 2 hands of the night to go from do $40. AJ, if he comes back will win more often than lose, I think. He’ll win a lot if he learns to not bluff the calling-stations. Chris was the big winner with about $120. He rivered that huge hand off me. He also rivered a few more hands throughout the night with crap that panned-out in the end. But most of his money came because he had good cards all night and played them hard. He is the one player that is getting better every time we play. And then there is Philly-Dilly-Dilly-My-Boy. He won $75. That is only like the second time that he has won. They remember their wins more than the pain of tons of loses, so he will be back often. Phil is a fish that will never get better and I don’t have the patience to teach him. He still tries to check from every position PF. Oh, I forgot, so I have to put in $.50 to see the flop, damn.
One key hand was the last hand of the night. I was not in this hand. Flop comes AJx. AJ had AJ. Maki had JJ. VH had A8. Bets. Turn x with bigger bets. River A. Everyone went allin. VH with trip Aces. Maki with JJJAA. AJ with AAAJJ. Ouch.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Quickies or Live at the Fish Bowl
I’ve played only a few hrs in the last 2 days. I played online and live both days. Online I made $50 and $50. Live with my fishies I made $16 and $18. I have a big game planned for Tuesday night. Tuesdays at the fish bowl. Nothing real big happened the last 2 days, just normal tight poker. I play looser at the fish game obviously. Pretty easy to read them. They are getting better though. Occasionally I will misread 2pr that they didn’t bet hard. They also don’t value bet often, which saves me a little bit when my reads are off. Online I played the $50 games usually 3 or 4 tables have been going at 7:30 when I get home in the morning. I’ve been putting in an hr or 2, then calling it quits, opting for sleep. I’ve been having some issues getting click2pay going. I missed the phone call that usually comes soon after signing up, so they locked my account. I couldn’t get a hold of them via phone for 2 days now and they didn’t respond to my e-mail. Just when I was about to give up they finally answered their phones. They needed more info to verify my identity. I actually had to fax them a copy of my phone bill. They said that they already sent 2 small deposits to my bank account. Monday I should be able to verify my account and get that bonus I’ve been waiting for on UB. Hopefully I don’t have to deposit first from my bank account. I’d like to transfer money to them from UB and then put it right back on. Time’s running out on my bonus. That’s $650 free bucks that I don’t want to miss.
Friday, January 19, 2007
GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL or Ahhhh, I Love the Smell of Poker in the Morning
Take a minute to imagine 30 Spaniards at the World Cup of Poker - GOOOOOOAL
I have officially surpassed my January goal of getting my stack to $1000. Doubling the old roll in a month ain’t bad. Now I just need to tow the line and keep’er above that mark.
I am going to move back up to the $50 tables again. I won that $500 at the $25’s, but it is time to move up. Hell I’m at 20x buyin rule anyways. When I get up a couple hundred more I’m likely to take a night and give $100NL a whirl. If I cash well I stay; if not I drop back to the minors. I’ve proven myself at these stakes before, so I can afford taking more chances this time around. I’m not ever going to achieve my 10-Grand goal for the year if I don’t take some risks. My roll fluctuated more these last few weeks and I ended up on top, so I should be able to handle myself. Pep-talk complete – on to next paragraph.
Another change that I’ve made is to only play 5 tables at a time, which now gives me time to view the forums and internet while playing. This I’ve found in the last 2 weeks of playing non-stop helps to keep me from getting bored. And with that one less table going I have more time to make the tough decisions without as many tables popping up. It still makes me fold sometimes even with only 5 tabs going. I accidentally folded AA PF once and I hit the fold and show button once with the nut straight when my opponent was betting into me. I’m sure people at the table either thought that I was slightly retarded or that there was some collusion going on.
Neteller gave the online poker community a scare this week. Them and Citadel both backed out of the US market for online gaming. Effective immediately they both stopped making transfers to or from online gaming sites. So if you have monies on sites you will have to find an alterative means of getting it off of those sites. Anything left on Net or Cit can just be withdrawn to your B&M bank or possibly transferred to a new online bank account. This happened like 2 days after some Neteller bigwigs got arrested in US territories on, I think, money laundering or something to that affect. I really am starting to worry a little about the future of my online get rich scheme. I read around for a new online intermediary bank and found that I liked Click2Pay the best. All the sites take them, plus they have debit card and ATM functionality. So no more waiting days to get my money. And with the way it is looking you never know when I might need to get my money. Now if I can just get the poker sites to transfer my money to my online bank a little quicker life would be just peachy. Another thing that would be cool to find is an online bank that has interest bearing accounts. Yes, I know I’m a greedy little bastard. Another unexpected bonus to this whole situation is that UB is running a nice offer until the 26th of this month. If you deposit money to UB byway of one of these other online banking institutions they will give 100% in bonus dollars up to the equivalent of $650. All I have to do is cashout $650 to Click2Pay and the deposit it right back to UB and I have lots of BD’s to turn into cash. That’s good because I am currently out. That actually cost me a few hundred dollars over my vacation merely because my BD account was depleted. I was knocking down a $40 to $50 conversion a night and that was at the $25 tables.
Just like learning anything, poker is a process. I really like the new aggression strategy that I’ve recently implemented. I know this isn’t new to a lot of players, they think anyways. Yes I’ve read tons on aggression and position play, but it was never fully developed in my game. It’s still not, but it is quickly becoming another weapon in my growing arsenal. I am still a bit in awe of how effective position aggression in general is at taking down pots that I otherwise would not score. And even if they know what you are doing, if they haven’t caught a piece, they usually give it up. These are position raises on the flop BTW. I still usually don’t blind steal. Hell, maybe that will be the next advancement in my overall game. It’s a process. I have noticed that the blinds like to defend PF more than they do on the flop. Taking down these small pots add up quick and more than make up for the blinds that you are paying in the long-run at the table. Putting in these long sessions, I noticed that more often than not I was up on most tables. The longer I had been at one, the more I was up. I was even overcoming medium deficits incurred from a bad beat or a hand with a lot invested that I have to drop due to a scare-card on the river followed by a big bet. That means that I will be consistently making money over the rake in the long-haul. I need to put in a little more time in to totally prove the fact to myself, but as of right now it is looking pretty promising. Another factor to think about is just how effective is this strategy going to work at $50 and $100 stakes. Likely it is well-known at those stakes and thus must get countered to some degree. That’s the cool thing, as you move up the trickier it gets and the more you have to adapt and learn to make money at the same rate. Another quick thought with this technique is how effective will it prove in tourney play. Is this how some players consistently have a growing stack that seems to be impervious to the blinds. OK, not impervious, but partially immune to their vampiric lusting for chip stacks. Something to think about anyway.
While on vacation I stopped my habit of rat-holing after getting up a bit. Rat-holing: gaining money on a table then leaving and jumping onto another table minus the profit earned. I used to do this over and over. Honestly I believe it was partially due to a lack of confidence in my game. I could only lose what was at the table you know. Well, I realized that just like my max buyin rule, the more I have at the table means more that I can take from the big stacks. And I am surprised at how loose a lot of big stacks are. They seem to have the mentality that, heck, I’m up, I can raise this guy off the hand and if not my weak kicker will still probably win at showdown. I have found myself frequently the big stack at the table. They seem to fold even more often to my aggression when I am sitting with 3 buyins. Respect for my game maybe. I don’t know. But this will be something else I will begin to learn: playing with the big stack at the table. Hopefully I learn how to put pressure on the table and bully some extra chips. Ahhh, I love the smell of poker in the morning!
I have officially surpassed my January goal of getting my stack to $1000. Doubling the old roll in a month ain’t bad. Now I just need to tow the line and keep’er above that mark.
I am going to move back up to the $50 tables again. I won that $500 at the $25’s, but it is time to move up. Hell I’m at 20x buyin rule anyways. When I get up a couple hundred more I’m likely to take a night and give $100NL a whirl. If I cash well I stay; if not I drop back to the minors. I’ve proven myself at these stakes before, so I can afford taking more chances this time around. I’m not ever going to achieve my 10-Grand goal for the year if I don’t take some risks. My roll fluctuated more these last few weeks and I ended up on top, so I should be able to handle myself. Pep-talk complete – on to next paragraph.
Another change that I’ve made is to only play 5 tables at a time, which now gives me time to view the forums and internet while playing. This I’ve found in the last 2 weeks of playing non-stop helps to keep me from getting bored. And with that one less table going I have more time to make the tough decisions without as many tables popping up. It still makes me fold sometimes even with only 5 tabs going. I accidentally folded AA PF once and I hit the fold and show button once with the nut straight when my opponent was betting into me. I’m sure people at the table either thought that I was slightly retarded or that there was some collusion going on.
Neteller gave the online poker community a scare this week. Them and Citadel both backed out of the US market for online gaming. Effective immediately they both stopped making transfers to or from online gaming sites. So if you have monies on sites you will have to find an alterative means of getting it off of those sites. Anything left on Net or Cit can just be withdrawn to your B&M bank or possibly transferred to a new online bank account. This happened like 2 days after some Neteller bigwigs got arrested in US territories on, I think, money laundering or something to that affect. I really am starting to worry a little about the future of my online get rich scheme. I read around for a new online intermediary bank and found that I liked Click2Pay the best. All the sites take them, plus they have debit card and ATM functionality. So no more waiting days to get my money. And with the way it is looking you never know when I might need to get my money. Now if I can just get the poker sites to transfer my money to my online bank a little quicker life would be just peachy. Another thing that would be cool to find is an online bank that has interest bearing accounts. Yes, I know I’m a greedy little bastard. Another unexpected bonus to this whole situation is that UB is running a nice offer until the 26th of this month. If you deposit money to UB byway of one of these other online banking institutions they will give 100% in bonus dollars up to the equivalent of $650. All I have to do is cashout $650 to Click2Pay and the deposit it right back to UB and I have lots of BD’s to turn into cash. That’s good because I am currently out. That actually cost me a few hundred dollars over my vacation merely because my BD account was depleted. I was knocking down a $40 to $50 conversion a night and that was at the $25 tables.
Just like learning anything, poker is a process. I really like the new aggression strategy that I’ve recently implemented. I know this isn’t new to a lot of players, they think anyways. Yes I’ve read tons on aggression and position play, but it was never fully developed in my game. It’s still not, but it is quickly becoming another weapon in my growing arsenal. I am still a bit in awe of how effective position aggression in general is at taking down pots that I otherwise would not score. And even if they know what you are doing, if they haven’t caught a piece, they usually give it up. These are position raises on the flop BTW. I still usually don’t blind steal. Hell, maybe that will be the next advancement in my overall game. It’s a process. I have noticed that the blinds like to defend PF more than they do on the flop. Taking down these small pots add up quick and more than make up for the blinds that you are paying in the long-run at the table. Putting in these long sessions, I noticed that more often than not I was up on most tables. The longer I had been at one, the more I was up. I was even overcoming medium deficits incurred from a bad beat or a hand with a lot invested that I have to drop due to a scare-card on the river followed by a big bet. That means that I will be consistently making money over the rake in the long-haul. I need to put in a little more time in to totally prove the fact to myself, but as of right now it is looking pretty promising. Another factor to think about is just how effective is this strategy going to work at $50 and $100 stakes. Likely it is well-known at those stakes and thus must get countered to some degree. That’s the cool thing, as you move up the trickier it gets and the more you have to adapt and learn to make money at the same rate. Another quick thought with this technique is how effective will it prove in tourney play. Is this how some players consistently have a growing stack that seems to be impervious to the blinds. OK, not impervious, but partially immune to their vampiric lusting for chip stacks. Something to think about anyway.
While on vacation I stopped my habit of rat-holing after getting up a bit. Rat-holing: gaining money on a table then leaving and jumping onto another table minus the profit earned. I used to do this over and over. Honestly I believe it was partially due to a lack of confidence in my game. I could only lose what was at the table you know. Well, I realized that just like my max buyin rule, the more I have at the table means more that I can take from the big stacks. And I am surprised at how loose a lot of big stacks are. They seem to have the mentality that, heck, I’m up, I can raise this guy off the hand and if not my weak kicker will still probably win at showdown. I have found myself frequently the big stack at the table. They seem to fold even more often to my aggression when I am sitting with 3 buyins. Respect for my game maybe. I don’t know. But this will be something else I will begin to learn: playing with the big stack at the table. Hopefully I learn how to put pressure on the table and bully some extra chips. Ahhh, I love the smell of poker in the morning!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Over-due Update: Lengthy Sessions Increase Poker Aptitude
I haven't felt like updating my blog on purpose lately. It is kinda a superstitious thought that just appeared in my sad neural unit. Every night lately that I wrote a positive account of my advancement towards my monthly goal or even that I was up for the last session, disaster would occur like clockwork. Say how well you are doing and Bamm right back to square-one. It's time for the foil-hat I think.
I have always been one of the guys that can play all night long and end up within half a buyin up or down for most of the time. Then every few sessions I would bust my harness and pull down a nice session. Rarely did in lose 3 buyins in a sitting. So my roll was always slowly but surely going up. Occasionally a down-swing would come in, but for the most part even poker with a gradual upward curve. Basically my roll doesn't normally fluctuate much and psychologically I can handle that.
Well, a few months back I cashed out almost everything and loaned out most of what was left. I then went on a huge heater and turned $12 into $950 in little more than a month. I know for everyone that reads this blog, you have already lived it with me, but I just am trying to bring you into what I view as emotional poker trauma. How it insidiously crept in and changed my game for the worse and yet ultimately how just like the saying goes, "What ever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger," has changed my game for the better. I'm sorry, I digress, now back to it. I then went on a major downturn; I couldn't win anything. It actually became depressing. The bad beats were mounting. I had a few early super-tight sessions I played great, but sadly the big hands where my whole buyin went in the middle, the underdog won almost exclusively. And no I wasn't the underdog; i was the guy going in with great odds most of the time. It just seemed that I wasn't supposed to win. The negativity started working its way into my game. I started going for big coin-flop hands, which isn't my style, and was losing more than my share of those it seemed. Then my game got worse; I started chasing draws and going to showdown with weak kickers. These bad tendencies were somehow getting incorporated into my tight-semi-weak/semi-aggressive game. I wasn't oblivious to the fact that it was now mostly me playing badly that was the cause of my plight. Amazing what a down-swing can do to the psyche. I tried moving up stakes to get it back quick, but as we all know, that didn't work because my game was currently in the hole. I dropped all the way back down to $400. I decided that it was time for a break. Good thing I decided this while I still had some cash left. Most poker epiphanies come to gamblers when they are broke; just like an addict doesn't seek help until they hit rock bottom. I took off a month from poker. After about two weeks of not even thinking about poker the urge to play was back, but until I dissected my issues I vowed not to play. I didn't even update my blog. I totally zoned poker out. Well now that the urge was back I decided to read instead of play. I hit my forums again. I started watching TV poker for that rush that it imbues in me. I started thinking about poker again. I started talking about it; some people I think started avoiding because I answered questions with poker analogies and turned conversations towards poker. I'd get the look, you know the look, the STFU, you are aggravating the hell out of my with your weird sort of happiness, look. I still didn't really know what my problem was but it had been a month and it was time to get back in there. I did decide to try to play tight at first.
I started playing a little over 2 weeks ago. I have been on vacation for the past 10 days and have played non-stop all-nighters. What I've noticed since coming back is that I am swinging horribly. I'm up and down, up and down. That isn't normal progression. I have noticed also that my game hasn't been what it used to be. I am still making big calls or raises with draws. Yes there is a place for it but I am using it to excess. Overall I am gambling more, if you get my drift. I'm hoping for luck. I am getting into tight situations and am hoping to get the best of it. That's big-winner/big-loser poker and not really a good business strategy. I am still making unusually bad plays and calls that I normally could rationalize much better and get away from. Two positives that has come out of this is pure unadulterated aggression and a new understanding for the power of position. OK maybe not unadulterated, but I am quite aggressive now. I am taking down tons of pots that I normally would just check. I am taking down hands while in position with absolutely nothing; I am purely betting because of position. How did I make $5000 last year and not understand this aspect of the game. I am genuinely excited about this. I'm tweaking my game nightly right now by slow increments. The reason I can evolve my game so quickly is because of how much I am playing. I am playing so many hands per night (over 4000) that I have like an inflated view of how my style is affecting the outcome of hands. I think that this is normally a very slow process and is so subtle that it is hard to figure out what aspects of your style changes what at the table. These increased hands nightly has put me into a flow, win or lose, to the point that it magnifies for me what exactly is going on at the table. I have increased some of the new aggressive positional tendencies to my game and have diminished a few bad habits that I see costing me money. This flow is cool to say the least. I almost feel like taking another vacation just to see where I end up.
So no matter how the sessions go for now on, I will try to not let it invade my game again. I will hone my own game. I have enough bad tendencies in my game without letting tilt add to them. OK, it is time for a test of my superstition. I'll state something positive and see if it has any negative immplications. I have done really well the last two nights and only stand $100 away from my monthly goal of making it to $1000. Let's see if I have a good night. Later all.
I have always been one of the guys that can play all night long and end up within half a buyin up or down for most of the time. Then every few sessions I would bust my harness and pull down a nice session. Rarely did in lose 3 buyins in a sitting. So my roll was always slowly but surely going up. Occasionally a down-swing would come in, but for the most part even poker with a gradual upward curve. Basically my roll doesn't normally fluctuate much and psychologically I can handle that.
Well, a few months back I cashed out almost everything and loaned out most of what was left. I then went on a huge heater and turned $12 into $950 in little more than a month. I know for everyone that reads this blog, you have already lived it with me, but I just am trying to bring you into what I view as emotional poker trauma. How it insidiously crept in and changed my game for the worse and yet ultimately how just like the saying goes, "What ever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger," has changed my game for the better. I'm sorry, I digress, now back to it. I then went on a major downturn; I couldn't win anything. It actually became depressing. The bad beats were mounting. I had a few early super-tight sessions I played great, but sadly the big hands where my whole buyin went in the middle, the underdog won almost exclusively. And no I wasn't the underdog; i was the guy going in with great odds most of the time. It just seemed that I wasn't supposed to win. The negativity started working its way into my game. I started going for big coin-flop hands, which isn't my style, and was losing more than my share of those it seemed. Then my game got worse; I started chasing draws and going to showdown with weak kickers. These bad tendencies were somehow getting incorporated into my tight-semi-weak/semi-aggressive game. I wasn't oblivious to the fact that it was now mostly me playing badly that was the cause of my plight. Amazing what a down-swing can do to the psyche. I tried moving up stakes to get it back quick, but as we all know, that didn't work because my game was currently in the hole. I dropped all the way back down to $400. I decided that it was time for a break. Good thing I decided this while I still had some cash left. Most poker epiphanies come to gamblers when they are broke; just like an addict doesn't seek help until they hit rock bottom. I took off a month from poker. After about two weeks of not even thinking about poker the urge to play was back, but until I dissected my issues I vowed not to play. I didn't even update my blog. I totally zoned poker out. Well now that the urge was back I decided to read instead of play. I hit my forums again. I started watching TV poker for that rush that it imbues in me. I started thinking about poker again. I started talking about it; some people I think started avoiding because I answered questions with poker analogies and turned conversations towards poker. I'd get the look, you know the look, the STFU, you are aggravating the hell out of my with your weird sort of happiness, look. I still didn't really know what my problem was but it had been a month and it was time to get back in there. I did decide to try to play tight at first.
I started playing a little over 2 weeks ago. I have been on vacation for the past 10 days and have played non-stop all-nighters. What I've noticed since coming back is that I am swinging horribly. I'm up and down, up and down. That isn't normal progression. I have noticed also that my game hasn't been what it used to be. I am still making big calls or raises with draws. Yes there is a place for it but I am using it to excess. Overall I am gambling more, if you get my drift. I'm hoping for luck. I am getting into tight situations and am hoping to get the best of it. That's big-winner/big-loser poker and not really a good business strategy. I am still making unusually bad plays and calls that I normally could rationalize much better and get away from. Two positives that has come out of this is pure unadulterated aggression and a new understanding for the power of position. OK maybe not unadulterated, but I am quite aggressive now. I am taking down tons of pots that I normally would just check. I am taking down hands while in position with absolutely nothing; I am purely betting because of position. How did I make $5000 last year and not understand this aspect of the game. I am genuinely excited about this. I'm tweaking my game nightly right now by slow increments. The reason I can evolve my game so quickly is because of how much I am playing. I am playing so many hands per night (over 4000) that I have like an inflated view of how my style is affecting the outcome of hands. I think that this is normally a very slow process and is so subtle that it is hard to figure out what aspects of your style changes what at the table. These increased hands nightly has put me into a flow, win or lose, to the point that it magnifies for me what exactly is going on at the table. I have increased some of the new aggressive positional tendencies to my game and have diminished a few bad habits that I see costing me money. This flow is cool to say the least. I almost feel like taking another vacation just to see where I end up.
So no matter how the sessions go for now on, I will try to not let it invade my game again. I will hone my own game. I have enough bad tendencies in my game without letting tilt add to them. OK, it is time for a test of my superstition. I'll state something positive and see if it has any negative immplications. I have done really well the last two nights and only stand $100 away from my monthly goal of making it to $1000. Let's see if I have a good night. Later all.
I'm sorry for all the Hand Histories lately, but I figured they would give a little more insight to what I was trying to express. I will calm down on them for now. Um... after this one, OK.
This is just another point to my max buyin post. This sums it up right up. It is a little on the extreme side but you get idea. Both of these guys are sitting at a $25 No Limit table with less than $5. The reason this is bad is because they can't protect their hands. They both get a nice piece of the flop. I'm the aggressor in the hand. They call my PF raise with marginal holdings. I CB the flop and they both go allin. I am totally priced in the hand; I have to call their raises. If either had enough to raise over-top of me properly I am forced to cut my loses and fold my over-card-gut-shot-draw. They both would likely call this a bad beat, but it is one of their own doing.
Hand #37040479-68399 at West Fargo (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 16/Jan/07 06:07:16
alcyon is at seat 0 with $26.75.
teleben is at seat 1 with $10.70.
t1mber is at seat 2 with $44.10.
RunKQ is at seat 3 with $44.65.
biglimit4051 is at seat 4 with $24.45.
BB100 is at seat 5 with $32.75.
mcash2 is at seat 6 with $27.05.
truebasic is at seat 7 with $15.35.
kizerslowplay is at seat 8 with $3.75.
1_forthemoney is at seat 9 with $4.90.
The button is at seat 4.
BB100 posts the small blind of $.10.
mcash2 posts the big blind of $.25.
alcyon: -- --
teleben: -- --
t1mber: -- --
RunKQ: -- --
biglimit4051: -- --
BB100: -- --
mcash2: As Ks
truebasic: -- --
kizerslowplay: -- --
1_forthemoney: -- --
Pre-flop:
truebasic folds. kizerslowplay calls. 1_forthemoney
calls. alcyon folds. teleben folds. t1mber folds.
RunKQ folds. biglimit4051 folds. BB100 folds.
mcash2 raises to $1.10. kizerslowplay calls.
1_forthemoney calls.
Flop (board: Td 4d Jh):
mcash2 bets $1.50. kizerslowplay goes all-in for
$2.65. 1_forthemoney goes all-in for $3.80. mcash2
calls.
Turn (board: Td 4d Jh 5c):
(no action in this round)
River (board: Td 4d Jh 5c Qs):
(no action in this round)
Showdown:
1_forthemoney shows Jd 9s.
1_forthemoney has Jd 9s Td Jh Qs: a pair of jacks.
mcash2 shows As Ks.
mcash2 has As Ks Td Jh Qs: straight, ace high.
kizerslowplay shows Jc Qc.
kizerslowplay has Jc Qc Td Jh Qs: two pair, queens and jacks.
Hand #37040479-68399 Summary:
$.65 is raked from a total pot of $13.65.
$.55 is raked from the main pot of $11.35.
$.10 is raked from side pot #1 of $2.30.
mcash2 wins the main pot $10.80 with straight, ace high.
mcash2 wins the side pot $2.20 with straight, ace high.
This is just another point to my max buyin post. This sums it up right up. It is a little on the extreme side but you get idea. Both of these guys are sitting at a $25 No Limit table with less than $5. The reason this is bad is because they can't protect their hands. They both get a nice piece of the flop. I'm the aggressor in the hand. They call my PF raise with marginal holdings. I CB the flop and they both go allin. I am totally priced in the hand; I have to call their raises. If either had enough to raise over-top of me properly I am forced to cut my loses and fold my over-card-gut-shot-draw. They both would likely call this a bad beat, but it is one of their own doing.
Hand #37040479-68399 at West Fargo (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 16/Jan/07 06:07:16
alcyon is at seat 0 with $26.75.
teleben is at seat 1 with $10.70.
t1mber is at seat 2 with $44.10.
RunKQ is at seat 3 with $44.65.
biglimit4051 is at seat 4 with $24.45.
BB100 is at seat 5 with $32.75.
mcash2 is at seat 6 with $27.05.
truebasic is at seat 7 with $15.35.
kizerslowplay is at seat 8 with $3.75.
1_forthemoney is at seat 9 with $4.90.
The button is at seat 4.
BB100 posts the small blind of $.10.
mcash2 posts the big blind of $.25.
alcyon: -- --
teleben: -- --
t1mber: -- --
RunKQ: -- --
biglimit4051: -- --
BB100: -- --
mcash2: As Ks
truebasic: -- --
kizerslowplay: -- --
1_forthemoney: -- --
Pre-flop:
truebasic folds. kizerslowplay calls. 1_forthemoney
calls. alcyon folds. teleben folds. t1mber folds.
RunKQ folds. biglimit4051 folds. BB100 folds.
mcash2 raises to $1.10. kizerslowplay calls.
1_forthemoney calls.
Flop (board: Td 4d Jh):
mcash2 bets $1.50. kizerslowplay goes all-in for
$2.65. 1_forthemoney goes all-in for $3.80. mcash2
calls.
Turn (board: Td 4d Jh 5c):
(no action in this round)
River (board: Td 4d Jh 5c Qs):
(no action in this round)
Showdown:
1_forthemoney shows Jd 9s.
1_forthemoney has Jd 9s Td Jh Qs: a pair of jacks.
mcash2 shows As Ks.
mcash2 has As Ks Td Jh Qs: straight, ace high.
kizerslowplay shows Jc Qc.
kizerslowplay has Jc Qc Td Jh Qs: two pair, queens and jacks.
Hand #37040479-68399 Summary:
$.65 is raked from a total pot of $13.65.
$.55 is raked from the main pot of $11.35.
$.10 is raked from side pot #1 of $2.30.
mcash2 wins the main pot $10.80 with straight, ace high.
mcash2 wins the side pot $2.20 with straight, ace high.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Always Buyin For Max
IMO you should always buyin for max at a cash game. That is how you get max value when you hit. If you drop 1/3 of that original buyin, you need to chip back up to max for that added value. Too many times I watch short stacks go allin with the nuts and the side pot is triple his earnings. That is stupid poker and bad business.
Reason #2 - you lose a lot of your tools by playing short. How can you pull off a nasty bluff when warranted? How do you protect your holdings? How do you play and not become pot-committed? In most cases you can't do any of these things because your stack demands no respect.
Reason #3 - Because of the aforementioned negative issues with the short stack, you are not advancing as fast in your game as you be. You can't learn to integrate these elements to your game if they aren't even a part of your hand dynamics.
Often you are left with push-monkey poker. You sit back and wait for a good hand and then push, hoping that someone calls and your hand holds up. You aren't advancing in your level of play. So by in for max and let's play some poker.
He are 2 examples where I just had no respect for their stacks. If they have more money I play them totally different and likely take down neither one.
Hand #37040466-75164 at Ames (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 15/Jan/07 04:02:15
kman333 is at seat 0 with $23.40.
AGSK_REP is at seat 1 with $25.60.
Breppe is at seat 2 with $17.85.
devilbiss is at seat 3 with $26.75.
mcash2 is at seat 4 with $47.65.
spcome is at seat 5 with $27 (sitting out).
teleben is at seat 6 with $8.80.
SlushyBOB is at seat 7 with $6.55.
i_slang_hats is at seat 8 with $9.75.
Ralph Wiggam is at seat 9 with $8.60.
The button is at seat 4.
teleben posts the small blind of $.10.
SlushyBOB posts the big blind of $.25.
kman333: -- --
AGSK_REP: -- --
Breppe: -- --
devilbiss: -- --
mcash2: Kc Qc
teleben: -- --
SlushyBOB: -- --
i_slang_hats: -- --
Ralph Wiggam: -- --
Pre-flop:
i_slang_hats folds. Ralph Wiggam folds. kman333
folds. AGSK_REP folds. Breppe folds. devilbiss
folds. mcash2 calls. teleben calls. SlushyBOB
checks.
Flop (board: 3s 6s 7s):
teleben checks. SlushyBOB checks. mcash2 bets $.75.
teleben folds. SlushyBOB calls.
Turn (board: 3s 6s 7s 7c):
SlushyBOB checks. mcash2 bets $2.25. SlushyBOB
calls.
River (board: 3s 6s 7s 7c 6c):
SlushyBOB checks. mcash2 bets $6.75. SlushyBOB
folds. mcash2 is returned $6.75 (uncalled).
Hand #37040466-75164 Summary:
$.30 is raked from a pot of $6.75.
mcash2 wins $6.45.
Hand #37040459-79043 at Abou-Gerg (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 15/Jan/07 06:15:36
mcash2 is at seat 0 with $21.25.
BlackSee is at seat 1 with $11.85.
kerti is at seat 2 with $19.40 (sitting out).
Global82 is at seat 3 with $5.
hawg-ryder is at seat 4 with $33.90.
Varvinsky is at seat 5 with $18.05.
headz51230 is at seat 6 with $31 (sitting out).
spcome is at seat 7 with $25.05 (sitting out).
teleben is at seat 8 with $10.35.
meastwood98 is at seat 9 with $23.
The button is at seat 4.
Varvinsky posts the small blind of $.10.
teleben posts the big blind of $.25.
mcash2: Qc Jc
BlackSee: -- --
Global82: -- --
hawg-ryder: -- --
Varvinsky: -- --
teleben: -- --
meastwood98: -- --
Pre-flop:
meastwood98 folds. mcash2 calls. BlackSee calls.
Global82 calls. hawg-ryder calls. Varvinsky calls.
teleben checks.
Flop (board: Ah 7c 5c):
Varvinsky checks. teleben checks. mcash2 checks.
BlackSee bets $1.50. Global82 goes all-in for $4.75.
hawg-ryder folds. Varvinsky folds. teleben folds.
mcash2 calls. BlackSee calls.
Turn (board: Ah 7c 5c 2h):
mcash2 goes all-in for $16.25. BlackSee goes all-in
for $6.85. mcash2 is returned $9.40 (uncalled).
River (board: Ah 7c 5c 2h 3c):
(no action in this round)
Showdown:
mcash2 shows Qc Jc.
mcash2 has Qc Jc 7c 5c 3c: flush, queen high.
BlackSee shows 8s Ac.
BlackSee has 8s Ac Ah 7c 5c: a pair of aces.
Global82 shows 9d Ad.
Global82 has 9d Ad Ah 7c 5c: a pair of aces.
Hand #37040459-79043 Summary:
$1.40 is raked from a total pot of $29.45.
$.75 is raked from the main pot of $15.75.
$.65 is raked from side pot #1 of $13.70.
mcash2 wins the main pot $15 with flush, queen high.
mcash2 wins the side pot $13.05 with flush, queen high.
Reason #2 - you lose a lot of your tools by playing short. How can you pull off a nasty bluff when warranted? How do you protect your holdings? How do you play and not become pot-committed? In most cases you can't do any of these things because your stack demands no respect.
Reason #3 - Because of the aforementioned negative issues with the short stack, you are not advancing as fast in your game as you be. You can't learn to integrate these elements to your game if they aren't even a part of your hand dynamics.
Often you are left with push-monkey poker. You sit back and wait for a good hand and then push, hoping that someone calls and your hand holds up. You aren't advancing in your level of play. So by in for max and let's play some poker.
He are 2 examples where I just had no respect for their stacks. If they have more money I play them totally different and likely take down neither one.
Hand #37040466-75164 at Ames (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 15/Jan/07 04:02:15
kman333 is at seat 0 with $23.40.
AGSK_REP is at seat 1 with $25.60.
Breppe is at seat 2 with $17.85.
devilbiss is at seat 3 with $26.75.
mcash2 is at seat 4 with $47.65.
spcome is at seat 5 with $27 (sitting out).
teleben is at seat 6 with $8.80.
SlushyBOB is at seat 7 with $6.55.
i_slang_hats is at seat 8 with $9.75.
Ralph Wiggam is at seat 9 with $8.60.
The button is at seat 4.
teleben posts the small blind of $.10.
SlushyBOB posts the big blind of $.25.
kman333: -- --
AGSK_REP: -- --
Breppe: -- --
devilbiss: -- --
mcash2: Kc Qc
teleben: -- --
SlushyBOB: -- --
i_slang_hats: -- --
Ralph Wiggam: -- --
Pre-flop:
i_slang_hats folds. Ralph Wiggam folds. kman333
folds. AGSK_REP folds. Breppe folds. devilbiss
folds. mcash2 calls. teleben calls. SlushyBOB
checks.
Flop (board: 3s 6s 7s):
teleben checks. SlushyBOB checks. mcash2 bets $.75.
teleben folds. SlushyBOB calls.
Turn (board: 3s 6s 7s 7c):
SlushyBOB checks. mcash2 bets $2.25. SlushyBOB
calls.
River (board: 3s 6s 7s 7c 6c):
SlushyBOB checks. mcash2 bets $6.75. SlushyBOB
folds. mcash2 is returned $6.75 (uncalled).
Hand #37040466-75164 Summary:
$.30 is raked from a pot of $6.75.
mcash2 wins $6.45.
Hand #37040459-79043 at Abou-Gerg (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 15/Jan/07 06:15:36
mcash2 is at seat 0 with $21.25.
BlackSee is at seat 1 with $11.85.
kerti is at seat 2 with $19.40 (sitting out).
Global82 is at seat 3 with $5.
hawg-ryder is at seat 4 with $33.90.
Varvinsky is at seat 5 with $18.05.
headz51230 is at seat 6 with $31 (sitting out).
spcome is at seat 7 with $25.05 (sitting out).
teleben is at seat 8 with $10.35.
meastwood98 is at seat 9 with $23.
The button is at seat 4.
Varvinsky posts the small blind of $.10.
teleben posts the big blind of $.25.
mcash2: Qc Jc
BlackSee: -- --
Global82: -- --
hawg-ryder: -- --
Varvinsky: -- --
teleben: -- --
meastwood98: -- --
Pre-flop:
meastwood98 folds. mcash2 calls. BlackSee calls.
Global82 calls. hawg-ryder calls. Varvinsky calls.
teleben checks.
Flop (board: Ah 7c 5c):
Varvinsky checks. teleben checks. mcash2 checks.
BlackSee bets $1.50. Global82 goes all-in for $4.75.
hawg-ryder folds. Varvinsky folds. teleben folds.
mcash2 calls. BlackSee calls.
Turn (board: Ah 7c 5c 2h):
mcash2 goes all-in for $16.25. BlackSee goes all-in
for $6.85. mcash2 is returned $9.40 (uncalled).
River (board: Ah 7c 5c 2h 3c):
(no action in this round)
Showdown:
mcash2 shows Qc Jc.
mcash2 has Qc Jc 7c 5c 3c: flush, queen high.
BlackSee shows 8s Ac.
BlackSee has 8s Ac Ah 7c 5c: a pair of aces.
Global82 shows 9d Ad.
Global82 has 9d Ad Ah 7c 5c: a pair of aces.
Hand #37040459-79043 Summary:
$1.40 is raked from a total pot of $29.45.
$.75 is raked from the main pot of $15.75.
$.65 is raked from side pot #1 of $13.70.
mcash2 wins the main pot $15 with flush, queen high.
mcash2 wins the side pot $13.05 with flush, queen high.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Ahhh: The Subsidence of Tilt
I did play any more that night; which was probably for the best. I was not in a good frame of mind at the time. I don't think I have ever tilted that bad. I remembered that Poker After Dark comes on at 2am so I watched that instead of playing. Then I just went to bed.
I got on last night and decided to give $50NL one shot for the night, with the stipulation that if I lost one buyin I would move down. After about 30 min of folding and small hands I look down at KK. It's min-raised in front me, I raise to $3, then a guy a few seats to my left pushes for the rest of my $50. I was still so worried about my luck that I almost just folded. I did figured he probably had Aces but I never fold PF with Aces or Kings. I talked myself into calling. The board came down with AQTxx and my heart sunk. He turns over QQ and takes my money.
I just couldn't take it so I X-off all my tables and get off the computer. Ash-wife wasn't feeling well so I went and laid down with her and watched some TV. We dosed off and I am then awoke by the phone about an hr after falling asleep. My mom was on the phone and she wanted to watch me play on UB.
I got on 6 $25NL tables. As soon as I started playing the hands began coming. I actually won some hands. The clouds began to open up and the sun's rays began shining down. (OK, maybe not, it was night-time.) What was this sensation that I was feeling? Happiness? confidence? Power? I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but whatever it was it was nice to have it back. I went into the zone. I could see what these guys were trying and playing. Most of the time anyway. They still tricked me on some hands, but most of the time my money went in with the best. I made some calls that I truly felt proud about. I started noticing that there are some major differences between the play at $50 and $25. It was almost palpable. The play at $50 is much better than at $25. The $50 guys are thinking rationally about most plays. There is a systematic approach to their game. They can make a laydown. Overall they are more well-rounded and tougher to deceive. And yes, there are still the dumbasses that have more money that brains, but overall much more skilled. Of course, I have made this statement comparing 1 night of $25 against a month of $50NL. So put what stake in my opinion that you can. $25NL players were calling huge raises with nothing other than draws. You get these guys at $50, but the sheer amount of these players was amazing. It was hard to fold anything. They would miss their draws and reraise allin all the time. They were being agro with 2nd and 3rd pr. On multiple occasions I sat in much trepidation worrying over calls, finally giving into the gambler inside me, only to see these people of pure unadulterated BS plays. So times their cards didn't even coordinate with the board. It was total lunacy. I did get sucked-out on quite a few times, but by that time I was up enough that it did no permanent harm to my psyche. With as many draws as they were trying, they had to hit a few at some point. Also they were chasing big raises with gut-shots and A-highs.
But truly last night was utterly horrible to watch. I won 9 buyins off these tards. I can actually afford play $50 again. But this brings on a bad thought; one that I will have to watch closely. Am I just on a downswing at $50NL or am I just not at that level of play yet. I know it is a bad thought, but hell I made more money playing a night at the $25 tables than I have in a long time at $50. Back before I cashed out my roll I had already crushed the $50's, was doing rather well at $100NL, and was just starting to step into $200. So I hope that isn't the case, but it is a feeling that is currently swimming around in my skull.
Tonight I will try the $50 tables, but If I drop 3 buyins, it's back to the Baby tables. My roll is currently at $700 again. What a crazy month so far. I can't take these roller coaster roll. This must be how aggressive players rolls swell and shrink. I can still make my month's goal of $1000 if the coaster finds an apex and stays out of the valleys.
Good luck all and wish me some too. Oh yea, I almost forgot, take a look at this hand. I didn't win much, but you can still bow before me!
Hand #37040502-46122 at Acre (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 12/Jan/07 05:59:11
kevjoe31 is at seat 0 with $10.
7homey7 is at seat 1 with $57.90.
mcash2 is at seat 2 with $73.10.
AGSK_REP is at seat 3 with $16.35.
Kinetix is at seat 4 with $24.60.
Loose Rock is at seat 5 with $13.05.
TobyTwist is at seat 6 with $6.40.
Scarehooker is at seat 7 with $37 (sitting out).
Imur is at seat 8 with $48.80.
vdawg69 is at seat 9 with $13.30.
The button is at seat 4.
Loose Rock posts the small blind of $.10.
TobyTwist posts the big blind of $.25.
7homey7: -- --
mcash2: 9s 9d
AGSK_REP: -- --
Kinetix: -- --
Loose Rock: -- --
TobyTwist: -- --
Imur: -- --
vdawg69: -- --
Pre-flop:
Imur calls. vdawg69 folds. 7homey7 folds. mcash2
calls. AGSK_REP folds. Kinetix folds. Loose Rock
calls. TobyTwist checks.
Flop (board: Ts Qs Js):
Loose Rock checks. TobyTwist checks. Imur bets $1.
mcash2 calls. Loose Rock folds. TobyTwist folds.
Turn (board: Ts Qs Js 8s):
Imur checks. mcash2 checks.
River (board: Ts Qs Js 8s 8h):
Imur bets $1. mcash2 raises to $3.50. Imur calls.
Showdown:
mcash2 shows 9s 9d.
mcash2 has 9s Ts Qs Js 8s: straight flush, queen high.
Imur mucks cards.
(Imur has Qc As.)
Hand #37040502-46122 Summary:
$.50 is raked from a pot of $10.
mcash2 wins $9.50 with straight flush, queen high.
I got on last night and decided to give $50NL one shot for the night, with the stipulation that if I lost one buyin I would move down. After about 30 min of folding and small hands I look down at KK. It's min-raised in front me, I raise to $3, then a guy a few seats to my left pushes for the rest of my $50. I was still so worried about my luck that I almost just folded. I did figured he probably had Aces but I never fold PF with Aces or Kings. I talked myself into calling. The board came down with AQTxx and my heart sunk. He turns over QQ and takes my money.
I just couldn't take it so I X-off all my tables and get off the computer. Ash-wife wasn't feeling well so I went and laid down with her and watched some TV. We dosed off and I am then awoke by the phone about an hr after falling asleep. My mom was on the phone and she wanted to watch me play on UB.
I got on 6 $25NL tables. As soon as I started playing the hands began coming. I actually won some hands. The clouds began to open up and the sun's rays began shining down. (OK, maybe not, it was night-time.) What was this sensation that I was feeling? Happiness? confidence? Power? I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but whatever it was it was nice to have it back. I went into the zone. I could see what these guys were trying and playing. Most of the time anyway. They still tricked me on some hands, but most of the time my money went in with the best. I made some calls that I truly felt proud about. I started noticing that there are some major differences between the play at $50 and $25. It was almost palpable. The play at $50 is much better than at $25. The $50 guys are thinking rationally about most plays. There is a systematic approach to their game. They can make a laydown. Overall they are more well-rounded and tougher to deceive. And yes, there are still the dumbasses that have more money that brains, but overall much more skilled. Of course, I have made this statement comparing 1 night of $25 against a month of $50NL. So put what stake in my opinion that you can. $25NL players were calling huge raises with nothing other than draws. You get these guys at $50, but the sheer amount of these players was amazing. It was hard to fold anything. They would miss their draws and reraise allin all the time. They were being agro with 2nd and 3rd pr. On multiple occasions I sat in much trepidation worrying over calls, finally giving into the gambler inside me, only to see these people of pure unadulterated BS plays. So times their cards didn't even coordinate with the board. It was total lunacy. I did get sucked-out on quite a few times, but by that time I was up enough that it did no permanent harm to my psyche. With as many draws as they were trying, they had to hit a few at some point. Also they were chasing big raises with gut-shots and A-highs.
But truly last night was utterly horrible to watch. I won 9 buyins off these tards. I can actually afford play $50 again. But this brings on a bad thought; one that I will have to watch closely. Am I just on a downswing at $50NL or am I just not at that level of play yet. I know it is a bad thought, but hell I made more money playing a night at the $25 tables than I have in a long time at $50. Back before I cashed out my roll I had already crushed the $50's, was doing rather well at $100NL, and was just starting to step into $200. So I hope that isn't the case, but it is a feeling that is currently swimming around in my skull.
Tonight I will try the $50 tables, but If I drop 3 buyins, it's back to the Baby tables. My roll is currently at $700 again. What a crazy month so far. I can't take these roller coaster roll. This must be how aggressive players rolls swell and shrink. I can still make my month's goal of $1000 if the coaster finds an apex and stays out of the valleys.
Good luck all and wish me some too. Oh yea, I almost forgot, take a look at this hand. I didn't win much, but you can still bow before me!
Hand #37040502-46122 at Acre (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 12/Jan/07 05:59:11
kevjoe31 is at seat 0 with $10.
7homey7 is at seat 1 with $57.90.
mcash2 is at seat 2 with $73.10.
AGSK_REP is at seat 3 with $16.35.
Kinetix is at seat 4 with $24.60.
Loose Rock is at seat 5 with $13.05.
TobyTwist is at seat 6 with $6.40.
Scarehooker is at seat 7 with $37 (sitting out).
Imur is at seat 8 with $48.80.
vdawg69 is at seat 9 with $13.30.
The button is at seat 4.
Loose Rock posts the small blind of $.10.
TobyTwist posts the big blind of $.25.
7homey7: -- --
mcash2: 9s 9d
AGSK_REP: -- --
Kinetix: -- --
Loose Rock: -- --
TobyTwist: -- --
Imur: -- --
vdawg69: -- --
Pre-flop:
Imur calls. vdawg69 folds. 7homey7 folds. mcash2
calls. AGSK_REP folds. Kinetix folds. Loose Rock
calls. TobyTwist checks.
Flop (board: Ts Qs Js):
Loose Rock checks. TobyTwist checks. Imur bets $1.
mcash2 calls. Loose Rock folds. TobyTwist folds.
Turn (board: Ts Qs Js 8s):
Imur checks. mcash2 checks.
River (board: Ts Qs Js 8s 8h):
Imur bets $1. mcash2 raises to $3.50. Imur calls.
Showdown:
mcash2 shows 9s 9d.
mcash2 has 9s Ts Qs Js 8s: straight flush, queen high.
Imur mucks cards.
(Imur has Qc As.)
Hand #37040502-46122 Summary:
$.50 is raked from a pot of $10.
mcash2 wins $9.50 with straight flush, queen high.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
I'm Fucking Tilting Right Now
My head is spinning and I have a freakin' horrible headache that I just now noticed. Probably a stress headache. I played over 4000 hands last night and ended down a $50 buyin. Not too bad; I could deal with that. But tonight was just sick. Not bad beats either. I seemed to always get the 2nd best hand. I did also get sucked out on like 4 times but they were smaller pots. Out of the 7 allin buyin hands (yea they just kept coming but never to fruitation for me) I only won once. most were allins on the flop. Yea, I'm going to whine - deal with it!!!
AK on a K flop. evil-doer hit set of 8's. Allins. Not bad I seen worse.
KK - dude hit's set of 9's on 9-high flop. Allins. KOD. Ouch that hurt.
KK vs KQ. We see flop of 3 hearts. Allins. He has KQh. KO fucking D.
I flop set of 6's on a 6-high flop. Allins. He flopped 7-high straight. OK, I'm about to snap.
AK, raise, call. A on flop, bet, call. 2, bet, call. 2, he bets, call allin. A2o. FFFFUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK.
JJ vs 66 - flop J6x. Allins. JJJ wins. I just got lucky - a 6 as probably next card if there was a 6th street. I force a smile.
AK - dude hits his set of T's on my A-high flop. Allins. I turn of UB and go find my pills.
I have never dealt with such shit. Yea I was behind when the money went in but come on. This is just horrible luck. Should I fold every time someone wants to duke it out on the flop. Do they always have a set? tonight hell yea. I must have pissed Crom off in Valhala. I haven't even added it up yet. $350 that I lost. $300 tonight and $50 last eve. I have put in slightly over 2000 hands so far tonight. I now have $400 in my roll. I have to move back down to $25NL again. That sucks, but that is the way I get through these bad times. Bankroll management never forget it.
Now that I've sat here and typed this up I have begun to calm down. I'm not ready for bed even though it is 2am. I am getting back in there and play $25NL. I WILL crush some low-rent asses tonight.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Last night's recap
Yesterday and last night went well. I put in some major hrs playing. I put in just over 3000 hands and made a little over $200. Around $6.50/100 hands. That ain't too bad. I actually played pretty weak and tried to stay away from big hands unless I was really strong. I know that I folded the best hand on a few occasions. They were overly aggressive with their bets and I just opted to let it go. It seemed to work out for me, but I will continue an see if it stays that way. I was noticing that I would grind away with tons of small wins and then in a few big hands counterfeit all that work. So unless I am almost positive I'm not gambling on big hands as often.
Oh yea, scroll down the blog and check out that sick 1-outer that cost me half a buyin.
Oh yea, scroll down the blog and check out that sick 1-outer that cost me half a buyin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
