In the 19k today just for some practice. Playing well, but had to release many hands and I am behind avg.
If you are going to be in Vegas this week, say hello. I will be the ONLY person in Vegas with a Lions hat on.
MGM Tuesday night, WSOP #8 Wed. WSOP #11 Friday (unless I play one of the DS casino MTTs).
and twitter updates after each level (I'll try to remember to tag with #wsop #bbt #anteup)
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I dont know nothin about nothin if its not about me.
Quote courtesy of Santonio Holmes (NFL WR). I was out 4th in the BBT Rail event last night. I lost a big race with AQs vs. 55 at the end and was crippled. I can't complain though, since my earlier AQ cracked KK.
There were times I played too tight, but no times where I played too loose. I again 3-bet all-in my aces with 6 or less left. So be it. It's easy to be a Monday morning QB.
But there were some very interesting situations. With 5 left, Mike Mahoney had like 90k in chips and to his left Buddy dank (SB) had like 1200 and Sell the Kids had like 7300 in the BB. It folded around to MM in the button and he folded. I thought about that for a while. I am betting 8k in the dark there.
Buddy raised my BB next hand with 2300 in chips and its the 500/1000 level. So its 1300 more for me to call with my 74o. I wanted to fold, but figured I had two live and the math said call. Impossibly, he has K4 and I am dead to a 7. I double him up.
Eventually, Dank will go broke and the 4 of us will play for close to 30 minutes before I go out on the AQs vs. 55 hand. With 3 stacks around 30k, that is alot of stealing going on at the 500/1000 level.
I really, really wanted that top 2 spot, but in the end its down to a clash of two hands where I came out on the short end.
Good Luck to everyone in the ToC, there is but 1 qualifying MTT left on Wed. (the tournament formerly known as da Mookie)
There were times I played too tight, but no times where I played too loose. I again 3-bet all-in my aces with 6 or less left. So be it. It's easy to be a Monday morning QB.
But there were some very interesting situations. With 5 left, Mike Mahoney had like 90k in chips and to his left Buddy dank (SB) had like 1200 and Sell the Kids had like 7300 in the BB. It folded around to MM in the button and he folded. I thought about that for a while. I am betting 8k in the dark there.
Buddy raised my BB next hand with 2300 in chips and its the 500/1000 level. So its 1300 more for me to call with my 74o. I wanted to fold, but figured I had two live and the math said call. Impossibly, he has K4 and I am dead to a 7. I double him up.
Eventually, Dank will go broke and the 4 of us will play for close to 30 minutes before I go out on the AQs vs. 55 hand. With 3 stacks around 30k, that is alot of stealing going on at the 500/1000 level.
I really, really wanted that top 2 spot, but in the end its down to a clash of two hands where I came out on the short end.
Good Luck to everyone in the ToC, there is but 1 qualifying MTT left on Wed. (the tournament formerly known as da Mookie)
Monday, May 24, 2010
Got my act together?
Although I did not fare well in the $100k (did not win a single showdown), I felt like I did not play poorly. So I guessed I was not shocked when I finally made a deep BBT run last night. But with 18 left through 10 left, I rode a rollercoaster of chips up and down.
With 12 left, I had AA and somehow, FTrain managed to lay down AK pre-flop to my 3bet. Based on the stack sizes and being short handed (and his perpetual 5ht place finishes) I did not think he could lay it down. I win, but miss value.
I also opted to 3 bet all-in my KK which I knew would result in the hand ending, but did not know what I would do when a Ace flopped. The hand that force me to take on racing was with FUEL. Now we are SIX handed and he makes a cutoff raise. I think, but decide to CALL on the button with KsQ. The flop comes King high and when he makes his c-bet (and I have him covered), I shove. In retrospect, this is not a great play as he folds all but AA, KK, AK (or a set) which beat me. But its still awful luck that he has AA, I get KQ AND flop a King high TP.
The rest of the game was races, and I eventually lost one (AJ vs. TT?) and thus I was final table bubble boy.
BUT. I am playing smart again.
With 12 left, I had AA and somehow, FTrain managed to lay down AK pre-flop to my 3bet. Based on the stack sizes and being short handed (and his perpetual 5ht place finishes) I did not think he could lay it down. I win, but miss value.
I also opted to 3 bet all-in my KK which I knew would result in the hand ending, but did not know what I would do when a Ace flopped. The hand that force me to take on racing was with FUEL. Now we are SIX handed and he makes a cutoff raise. I think, but decide to CALL on the button with KsQ. The flop comes King high and when he makes his c-bet (and I have him covered), I shove. In retrospect, this is not a great play as he folds all but AA, KK, AK (or a set) which beat me. But its still awful luck that he has AA, I get KQ AND flop a King high TP.
The rest of the game was races, and I eventually lost one (AJ vs. TT?) and thus I was final table bubble boy.
BUT. I am playing smart again.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Probably the WORST time to ask
...based on how I ran the last two weeks... But does anyone want to buy/swap 5% of my second $1500 event (event 11)?? If I don't play for any reason, then your money is 100% refunded. I'll be twittering at the end of every level for both tournaments (including #anteup).
Thursday, May 20, 2010
I wish I had a better excuse
Last night, chipped up with a SET vs. 2 pair, and then gave it back an hour later when I ran TPTK into a set.
There is just no more to say... Poker is not about hitting sets and dodging sets, its about concentration and performance and I had neither last night. End of story.
There is just no more to say... Poker is not about hitting sets and dodging sets, its about concentration and performance and I had neither last night. End of story.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Interesting results
I played the 62 player RAIL MTT last night and I was committed to ONLY getting my money in ahead. And I succeeded. The results?
With 16 left, I was 16th. QJs out-flopped my Ax and I was done.
As you all know (especially Otis), if you only get your money in ahead, then you are playing too tight.
But it was therapeutic to not run a pair into AA for once.
With 16 left, I was 16th. QJs out-flopped my Ax and I was done.
As you all know (especially Otis), if you only get your money in ahead, then you are playing too tight.
But it was therapeutic to not run a pair into AA for once.
Monday, May 17, 2010
In shock
Wow, another crash-and-burn in the BBT5 last night. Check out this run.
Hand 1: Flopped a flush draw. On the turn, pick up a gutshot and still have one over. I decide to bet. My thinking is that I am out of position and the board looks scary. If I bet and my opponent folds, fine. If he calls, I may be able to bluff the river. It was a calculated backwards play, trying to disguise a draw. It failed and I had to fold to a check raise.
Hand 2: I Raise with JJ. The Flop is Qxx. I call three small but increasing bets (the turn was a blank also). villain reveals QT. I dont know if a big bet would have worked when the K fell on the river. But since the villain fired the 3rd bullet, I just called.
Hand 3: JJ again. 1 opponent. Flop is T73 rainbow. I bet pot and get check raised. I have 1000 chips left now of the starting 3000 and this player saw me fold to the previous check -raise.
Can you fold? Before you answer, think about this: The MTT only pays top 2% (top 2 places only).
Hand 1: Flopped a flush draw. On the turn, pick up a gutshot and still have one over. I decide to bet. My thinking is that I am out of position and the board looks scary. If I bet and my opponent folds, fine. If he calls, I may be able to bluff the river. It was a calculated backwards play, trying to disguise a draw. It failed and I had to fold to a check raise.
Hand 2: I Raise with JJ. The Flop is Qxx. I call three small but increasing bets (the turn was a blank also). villain reveals QT. I dont know if a big bet would have worked when the K fell on the river. But since the villain fired the 3rd bullet, I just called.
Hand 3: JJ again. 1 opponent. Flop is T73 rainbow. I bet pot and get check raised. I have 1000 chips left now of the starting 3000 and this player saw me fold to the previous check -raise.
Can you fold? Before you answer, think about this: The MTT only pays top 2% (top 2 places only).
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Dunning-Kruger Effect and Poker
Have you ever noticed how incompetent people are often incredibly confident while the highly-skilled underestimate their ability to perform. That's called the Dunning-Kruger Effect named for Justin Kruger and David Dunning of Cornell University who published their study of said cognitive bias in 1999.
You see this on reality TV all the time. And you see it at the poker table often enough. I dont have some brilliant tie-in, just happy to see someone went out of their way to prove it exists.
You see this on reality TV all the time. And you see it at the poker table often enough. I dont have some brilliant tie-in, just happy to see someone went out of their way to prove it exists.
Lost at Sea
I have no coherent thoughts on yesterday. Somehow, someway, I seem to find the most ingenious ways to get my money in behind. Last night, I folded AQ 4 times pre-flop and even folded 88 to a 3 bet, but in the end still ran 1/2 my stack into AA and then again ran the rest in vs. AA. Wow. I feel as LOST as, well, serial TV writers...
I'll continue to look for answers, after all. I am somehow compelled not to give up. But man, this is a dark time for my game.
I am looking forward to the Old West immersion of Red Dead Redemption next week on the XBOX to give me a distraction.
I'll continue to look for answers, after all. I am somehow compelled not to give up. But man, this is a dark time for my game.
I am looking forward to the Old West immersion of Red Dead Redemption next week on the XBOX to give me a distraction.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Bubble play
Did I misplay this hand?
Avg. is $25k, pays 189.
Should I be putting MUTANT on bigger hand here?
Full Tilt Poker Game #20735063092: $42,000 Guarantee (159284141), Table 3 - 500/1000 Ante 125 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:14:15 ET - 2010/05/10
Seat 1: coinsaregold (24,215)
Seat 2: PJShark (50,662)
Seat 3: FatStax7 (51,720)
Seat 5: columbo (13,528)
Seat 6: GeeRaff1 (9,271)
Seat 7: SNNikk (6,872)
Seat 8: kudi66 (11,433)
Seat 9: MutantVirus (38,425)
antes 125
columbo posts the small blind of 500
GeeRaff1 posts the big blind of 1,000
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Th Tc]
SNNikk raises to 6,747, and is all in
kudi66 folds
MutantVirus calls 6,747
coinsaregold folds
PJShark folds
FatStax7 folds
Jblaich sits down
columbo raises to 13,403, and is all in
GeeRaff1 folds
MutantVirus calls 6,656
columbo shows [Th Tc]
SNNikk shows [Ad 6s]
MutantVirus shows [Qc Qh]
*** FLOP *** [8s 2c 5h]
*** TURN *** [8s 2c 5h] [4c]
*** RIVER *** [8s 2c 5h 4c] [8h]
columbo shows two pair, Tens and Eights
MutantVirus shows two pair, Queens and Eights
SNNikk shows a pair of Eights
MutantVirus wins the main pot (22,241) with two pair, Queens and Eights
Avg. is $25k, pays 189.
Should I be putting MUTANT on bigger hand here?
Full Tilt Poker Game #20735063092: $42,000 Guarantee (159284141), Table 3 - 500/1000 Ante 125 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:14:15 ET - 2010/05/10
Seat 1: coinsaregold (24,215)
Seat 2: PJShark (50,662)
Seat 3: FatStax7 (51,720)
Seat 5: columbo (13,528)
Seat 6: GeeRaff1 (9,271)
Seat 7: SNNikk (6,872)
Seat 8: kudi66 (11,433)
Seat 9: MutantVirus (38,425)
antes 125
columbo posts the small blind of 500
GeeRaff1 posts the big blind of 1,000
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Th Tc]
SNNikk raises to 6,747, and is all in
kudi66 folds
MutantVirus calls 6,747
coinsaregold folds
PJShark folds
FatStax7 folds
Jblaich sits down
columbo raises to 13,403, and is all in
GeeRaff1 folds
MutantVirus calls 6,656
columbo shows [Th Tc]
SNNikk shows [Ad 6s]
MutantVirus shows [Qc Qh]
*** FLOP *** [8s 2c 5h]
*** TURN *** [8s 2c 5h] [4c]
*** RIVER *** [8s 2c 5h 4c] [8h]
columbo shows two pair, Tens and Eights
MutantVirus shows two pair, Queens and Eights
SNNikk shows a pair of Eights
MutantVirus wins the main pot (22,241) with two pair, Queens and Eights
Is it a Discipline issue or do I just have the wrong goal?
I went out in the BBT5 the worst way possible last night, stacking off with TP. So bad. But out of it again comes a realization: I have note been making decisions well.
I am terribly confused by this, as one of my greatest attributes until recently was the great escape. But recently, I seem happy to drive my hands into oncoming walls and complain that its bad luck that the wall is there. Ok, sometimes the wall does fall from the sky. But not always. Not every time.
Am I missing the discipline of folding, or is is a misguided goal? I wonder. Today, my goal is simply to be "right". I am not going to "try to win the tournament", but rather attempt to simply make the correct decisions, or by putting my opponent on the correct hand, I can take a risk. But in either case, I need to concentrate on being right, not the tournament. Lee has tried to convey this to me at times also. As was the case with the "biggest hand of all time" post and podcast.
Let's see what happens, shall we?
I am terribly confused by this, as one of my greatest attributes until recently was the great escape. But recently, I seem happy to drive my hands into oncoming walls and complain that its bad luck that the wall is there. Ok, sometimes the wall does fall from the sky. But not always. Not every time.
Am I missing the discipline of folding, or is is a misguided goal? I wonder. Today, my goal is simply to be "right". I am not going to "try to win the tournament", but rather attempt to simply make the correct decisions, or by putting my opponent on the correct hand, I can take a risk. But in either case, I need to concentrate on being right, not the tournament. Lee has tried to convey this to me at times also. As was the case with the "biggest hand of all time" post and podcast.
Let's see what happens, shall we?
Friday, May 07, 2010
Ironic or Iconic?
Not so much as an accurate title for the post, but it flows off the tongue well...
Right after having a discussion with another player who told me (correctly) that I have been very results oriented as of late, I AGAIN run KK in LP into AA in a turbo, and then in the $42k tighten way up and have to win two races just to get to $10k in chips (avg is now 12.5k) and I see a min-raise from my right and I am in the cutoff with JJ. Great spot to shove and take down $2k in chips. Despite only having to get through the button and blinds, someone wakes up with KK (not the min-raiser who bailed as predicted) and knocks me out.
If I play small-ball, I am not winning big pots. When I play long-ball, I continue to run into monsters as critical times.
I am always afraid of "fooling myself" into thinking I am playing well when I am tanking, but seriously... I look over the situations and the hands, and I am looking like the ass-end of variance here. I continue to monitor the situation, but gez. It's time to be extra cognizant.
Right after having a discussion with another player who told me (correctly) that I have been very results oriented as of late, I AGAIN run KK in LP into AA in a turbo, and then in the $42k tighten way up and have to win two races just to get to $10k in chips (avg is now 12.5k) and I see a min-raise from my right and I am in the cutoff with JJ. Great spot to shove and take down $2k in chips. Despite only having to get through the button and blinds, someone wakes up with KK (not the min-raiser who bailed as predicted) and knocks me out.
If I play small-ball, I am not winning big pots. When I play long-ball, I continue to run into monsters as critical times.
I am always afraid of "fooling myself" into thinking I am playing well when I am tanking, but seriously... I look over the situations and the hands, and I am looking like the ass-end of variance here. I continue to monitor the situation, but gez. It's time to be extra cognizant.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Monday, May 03, 2010
someone lets me hang myself
Moments after listening to David Williams talk about how he is less likely now to 3-bet AA, this happens to me...
Full Tilt Poker Game #20555219453: $42,000 Guarantee (157799791), Table 30 - 200/400 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 16:22:49 ET - 2010/05/03
Seat 1: columbo (12,560)
Seat 2: grenat_mtp (20,189)
Seat 3: VACATIONBABE (7,104)
Seat 4: ruthless1988 (10,680)
Seat 5: Gazaramataz (10,570)
Seat 7: Zolee21 (8,541)
Seat 8: timur valiev (27,338)
Seat 9: Mojomoj1 (9,527)
antes 50
ruthless1988 posts the small blind of 200
Gazaramataz posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Qc Qh]
Zolee21 raises to 800
macblack0 sits down
timur valiev folds
Mojomoj1 folds
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo raises to 2,000
grenat_mtp folds
VACATIONBABE folds
ruthless1988 folds
Gazaramataz folds
Zolee21 has 15 seconds left to act
Zolee21 calls 1,200
*** FLOP *** [9c 7s 8h]
Zolee21 checks
columbo bets 10,510, and is all in
Zolee21 calls 6,491, and is all in
columbo shows [Qc Qh]
Zolee21 shows [Ac Ad]
Uncalled bet of 4,019 returned to columbo
*** TURN *** [9c 7s 8h] [Ks]
*** RIVER *** [9c 7s 8h Ks] [6c]
columbo shows a pair of Queens
Zolee21 shows a pair of Aces
Zolee21 wins the pot (17,982) with a pair of Aces
Notice how the villain CALLS the $1200 and gets the perfect storm flop. No one giving free cards here, and I am stuck holding a big overpair, which looks good, but is beat.
I don't see how with $4500 in their pre-flop, I am not going to get here after he checks. So I bet what $3500 and then fold to another $3k getting 4:1? Not likely. I think I am stuck here. Do you?
Full Tilt Poker Game #20555219453: $42,000 Guarantee (157799791), Table 30 - 200/400 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 16:22:49 ET - 2010/05/03
Seat 1: columbo (12,560)
Seat 2: grenat_mtp (20,189)
Seat 3: VACATIONBABE (7,104)
Seat 4: ruthless1988 (10,680)
Seat 5: Gazaramataz (10,570)
Seat 7: Zolee21 (8,541)
Seat 8: timur valiev (27,338)
Seat 9: Mojomoj1 (9,527)
antes 50
ruthless1988 posts the small blind of 200
Gazaramataz posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Qc Qh]
Zolee21 raises to 800
macblack0 sits down
timur valiev folds
Mojomoj1 folds
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo raises to 2,000
grenat_mtp folds
VACATIONBABE folds
ruthless1988 folds
Gazaramataz folds
Zolee21 has 15 seconds left to act
Zolee21 calls 1,200
*** FLOP *** [9c 7s 8h]
Zolee21 checks
columbo bets 10,510, and is all in
Zolee21 calls 6,491, and is all in
columbo shows [Qc Qh]
Zolee21 shows [Ac Ad]
Uncalled bet of 4,019 returned to columbo
*** TURN *** [9c 7s 8h] [Ks]
*** RIVER *** [9c 7s 8h Ks] [6c]
columbo shows a pair of Queens
Zolee21 shows a pair of Aces
Zolee21 wins the pot (17,982) with a pair of Aces
Notice how the villain CALLS the $1200 and gets the perfect storm flop. No one giving free cards here, and I am stuck holding a big overpair, which looks good, but is beat.
I don't see how with $4500 in their pre-flop, I am not going to get here after he checks. So I bet what $3500 and then fold to another $3k getting 4:1? Not likely. I think I am stuck here. Do you?
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