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

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?

Wow, sometimes I am cool!

The POST


The MEME

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.

Rush Poker Tournaments

Just a race to run KK into AA?

BBT5

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?

Weekend of decent finishes

In what I like to call small-field events, I had some good but no cigar finishes this weekend.  In the AIPS on Saturday, I had a chance to win it after coming from behind early, only to get sucked out on with 3 left by the very person I came from behind on (sucked out on) in the middle levels.  I finished second.

Sunday, I punched a Main Event Shootout ticket (satellite) and then in the BBT5, won a ridiculous 3 out of 3 races to be right in it after the bubble, only to run into a must call situation.  There are 16 left and its raised up and I have 66 in position.  There can be lots of stealing at this point, and lots of raising with Ax, so I call and the flop is 678.  He shoves instantly.  This is an EASY call.   Why?  He does not have 9T raising this late from EP.  If he has 77 or 88, he is looking to get my stack, not get me to fold.  No.  He has 99-AA.  I HOPE he has AA here, but I expect 99 or TT, which clearly would explain the shove. 

I call to see the TT, meaning I have to sweat 6 outs instead of 10 (if he had 99), but BOTH hit as a Ten comes on the turn and send me home from a great run.  Bummer.  But, played well.  In these 100 player events (just like with a shootout) you are often forced to fold to most re-raises or large river bets, something I had been working on for the last two weeks.  I did make 1 hero call, and I was correct.  Much better than making all the calls and bleeding chips away.  Progress.

Poker Tracker to the rescue

I lost 90% of my losing hands in cash games online this year from the blinds.  OMG.  I have a new strategy.

First week of BBT5 in the books

And I have little to show for it but stories.  Ran into Quads, Ran into Quads, AK could not outlast AQ.  If the laws of variance hold up, I have already cashed in next week's events. 

We shall see...

In other news, I continue my "training" for the WSOP, trying to get in at least 1 SnG and 1 MTT a day.  Not easy, but I hope its time well invested.  Again, we shall see...

Raging Bull

"I want you to hit me in the face Joey".  I need to learn to take a punch.  Really.  I have developed a very fatal habit and not wanting to take a punch and give up a hand where I could realistically have run into the nuts. 

Thanks again to high stakes poker for their 2 most recent episodes, where a pro demonstrated this in action.   Even after all this time, I needed to watch and soak it up. 

I feel like I am so very close to a breakout, that I am amazed at how bad of a decision I can make at times.

There is a word for this.  Discipline.

I need me some.

Kill Me Now

I continue, even after all these posts, to have difficulty getting away from big hands when my opponent make a large (significant) turn or later bet.   And the bigger the bet, the longer I tank. WTF?   What do I need to do here to learn a simple lesson?

I donked off a DEEP STACK here when I made my second losing straight in level 1.  But this time, even though the bets were large, I make a terrible hope-a-tron amateur call.   Woe (and self flagellation) is me.

IT... IS... COMING...

Friday's hand revisited

I cant stop thinking about this hand... You are chip leader with 36 / 1800 left and have JJ in MP. You raise to 15k (2.5x) with 500k behind. The cutoff makes it 40k. With $300k, the cutoff has an above avg stack and is the second largest stack at the table.
OPTIONS:

1. Chip value (DV) is very high now. The avg stack at the final table should be about $500k, which you already have. There are plenty of shorter stacks at the table. You can fold here with little loss. But what does that say to yourself? To your opponent?

2. You can call, avoiding running JJ in QQ, KK, AA. But will have to play post-flop OOP. You could also check-fold the $40k and still be the chip leader.

3. You could raise to $120k, but this creates a pot odds issue. Unless he is on a re-steal, he calls here and now you are playing a $250k pot OOP. In the case he is on a re-steal, he may (probably) fold.

As I weighed my options, I did not give enough credit to #3. AFTER the bubble, especially "down the stretch" (as they say in horse racing) with 5 tables or lss remaining, players start using the re-steal more often. But I did not think of this for a couple of reasons:

A. I had not been re-raised like this yet at the table, nor had I observed any re-steals.

B. We did not have similar stack sizes. Its rare for the second largest stack to re-steal from the big stack.

As reported, I opted for Option 2. I wanted option 1, but did not want to be weak, be perceived as week, or fold a premium pair because I didn't have a pair. Not the best of thinking, but honest. But I picked #2 OVER #3 because I did not want to get re-re-re-raised all-in by AK and be forced to race.

The flop was, as reported, 443 (two toned).

Now, I have an over pair and the pot is $90k or so. Again, I have options:

1. I can bet out my overpair and expect hands like AK to shrivel up and fold.
2. I can check and wait for the aggressor in position to make his play.

I opted for #1. I feel this was the real, fatal mistake.

A. I bet $50k, and made the pot $140k. The pot is becoming epic. All I have is a pair that may or may not be bigger than my opponents hand.

B. I did not respect position enough in this hand. I really believed he had Ax and I was ahead. My hand read was good, but my luck was bad.

He moves all in now. Options:

A. I can fold and keep my chips, avoiding throwing valuable money away. I have lost $90k and still have $400k and be 2nd or 3rd in chips.

B. I can call because I beat so many hands here and I feel he is resigned to his fate.

Before the late stages of +EV. But LATE in the tournament, down the stretch, one must look for these potholes. The EPIC bloody hand that may be a turned set, or top-two played tricky, where players are trying to trap and extract max value.

I think I need to continue thinking about this...

Harder to escape your hand if opponent plays bad?

Full Tilt Poker Game #19952806168: $42,000 Guarantee (152632857), Table 24 - 2500/5000 Ante 600 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:48:07 ET - 2010/04/09
Seat 1: a463993 (176,127)
Seat 2: columbo (434,208) <2nd overall in chips
Seat 3: Zipp125 (183,813)
Seat 4: Gouranga (246,699)
Seat 5: teac1 (93,860)
Seat 6: HansBy (98,568)
Seat 7: Terpfan21 (168,500)
Seat 8: yashka (206,118)
Seat 9: Hoobody (171,352)

antes 600

HansBy posts the small blind of 2,500
Terpfan21 posts the big blind of 5,000
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Jd Jh]
yashka folds
Hoobody folds
a463993 folds
columbo raises to 12,500
Zipp125 folds
Gouranga raises to 40,000
teac1 folds
HansBy folds
Terpfan21 folds
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo has requested TIME (I contemplated options here)
columbo calls 27,500
*** FLOP *** [4s 4d 3d]
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo bets 50,000
Gouranga raises to 206,099, and is all in

Put him on a hand here! You are beating ALOT of hands here and 2:1 on the call.

Still, he did shove on your lead bet. But I have to think that in the LONG RUN, this is better being called than folded?

The flop eliminates the Ax hands. TT doubles you up. QQ, KK, AA? can you really fold to just that?

My brain is melting... Do I really want to re-raise preflop here? (If I was willing to call off my stack, I fear the answer was YES. Lesson to be learned there.)

An important lesson. Understand that your leverage with JJ comes pre-flop, not post-flop. I think I ahead the whole way in this hand...

I know, you wanna know...

As Maxwell Smart would say, "Would you believe A4 sooooted" (with 36 left no less)!

Lions News: Matt Millen confused by Lions moves, team improvement.

"I don't understand what they are doing. It's almost as if there is a concerted effort to improve the roster through logical moves. Do they really expect to be successful by drawing up and executing a plan?" -Millen starting at Lions press releases and thinking to himself.

The Lions are arguably the most improved team this off season (they also had the most room to improve) as they have already cemented 4 new starters before the draft even begins.

Trading day THREE picks for a STARTING LEFT Guard and a STARTING CORNER, Trading for Corey Williams to play DT, and the big signing of Nate Burelson at WR. Assuming the Lions draft "insert future DT that can actually block out the sun here", they are going actually look respectable. And Yes, there is Kyle VandenBosch who was the first free agency signing. And this is huge, as last year, the Lions played a cardboard cutout of a right DE (and not surprisingly had zero sacks). So, ANY signing was a starter, but to get a guy who can anchor that position was more than we could have hoped for.

Brutal exit from the $22k 6-max

$22,500 Guarantee
Seat 1: a463993 (8,140)
Seat 2: arrondubai0108 (5,230)
Seat 3: priviet85 (4,242)
Seat 4: KronicKiller (2,675)
Seat 5: vanner56 (1,820), is sitting out
Seat 6: columbo (2,765)
a463993 posts the small blind of 25
arrondubai0108 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [2d 2c]
priviet85 calls 50
KronicKiller folds
vanner56 folds
columbo calls 50
a463993 folds
arrondubai0108 checks

ok, call with a pair. How hard is that?

*** FLOP *** [4s Tc Td]
arrondubai0108 checks
priviet85 checks
columbo checks

no flop, no hand

*** TURN *** [4s Tc Td] [6s]
arrondubai0108 checks
priviet85 checks
columbo bets 175 (maybe I actually have the best hand?)
arrondubai0108 calls 175

ha, nope. Someone has a T (perhaps a 4 or 6)

priviet85 folds
*** RIVER *** [4s Tc Td 6s] [2h]
arrondubai0108 bets 525

Pot sized bet and I made my hand on the river. He will never see it coming.

columbo raises to 2,540, and is all in
arrondubai0108 calls 2,015

*** SHOW DOWN ***
columbo shows [2d 2c] a full house, Twos full of Tens
arrondubai0108 shows [Th 4c] a full house, Tens full of Fours

oops, it was me who never saw it coming.

arrondubai0108 wins the pot (5,605) with a full house, Tens full of Fours
columbo stands up

Seriously? I hit the 2 outs the will break me here? I dont even call the river bet without that 2 here. ARGH.

Even more seriously. Could ANYONE have escaped this? Could you REALLY make an argument that I should have CALLED here????

League night recap and important notes

Despite never winning a league night, I am in second place, making the final table 8 months in a row. I play much tighter in a league, as this is rewarded by the long term prize. Last night, despite being a lock for a top 6 spot, I played my usual game, not a reckless loose game and some others did who wanted to finish high or mentally checked out.

As is often the case playing tight, I went to the final table with a paltry 15k in chips (1/2 of average). I bluffed only once on the way, because it was an optimal spot.

Now at the final table, we are down to 6 and I have just won a big hand from the opponent 2 to my right. He frequently plays the same way from late position, and I took to coming over the top pre-flop with decent hands and raking his raise in.

In this critical hand, I come into a pot with a big pair for $10k, and I had maybe $44k to start the hand. SOLID Player from the blinds calls. Now we are at the bubble, so this is doubly interesting. The flop comes and we are staring at each other and not the flop. He checks, I bet, he check-raises me all in and I freeze. I look at the jack high flop and look back at my QQ and stare in disbelieve. ANY other player at this table I snap call here. But I know this guy. He plays a very solid, mistake free game by and large. And I remember how he plays Kings. He will always raise, but may call a big raise and move in with a flop with no Ace. And with him knowing I will make a c-bet with my big hand, he check raises. It was the perfect play and I would give few players this much credit. I toss away the QQ. He mucks and I survive. After the hand, the player to his right comments that either one of us could have AJ. NOTHING could have been farther from the truth and I was amazed that someone could read that hand so poorly. But then again, this was a clash of players who play big hands strong, and he did not have our familiarity.

Later on, he said he actually had AA. If so, and based on the facts that we are 6 handed and he is in the blind, I can not argue with the pre-flop call (vs. raise). He is going for my stack and its a really good play with a 7 in 8 chance of success. NOTE: IF he did bluff here, it was perfectly timed and I will just admit to being outplayed. so be it.

I was also amazed that the remaining players doubted I had QQ because I did not show. THERE IS A LESSON TO BE LEARNED HERE. NEVER SHOW. You can be honest, but never show. If you want your opponent to know what you had, tell him. There is no reason not to be honest! But let the rest of the table double guess you to death.

Perhaps this is why I got called more than I expected? Someone called my UTG raise with 88 earlier and commented that "I had noting" when I showed KQ. I won the race, but was surprised he SNAP called my all-in raise with 88 for 25% of his stack. (And since when is KQ, 7 or 8 handed, garbage? Especially when its maybe the first hand I played at the final table.)

Later on, when we are past the bubble and FOUR HANDED, I ran AKs into AA and my 88 was called by AQ and I lost a race I needed to win. So I exit 4th, even though I did not make a stupid mistake. All in all, I an thrilled with my play as I enter the final month of training for the WSOP. The 88 hand was interesting in that it was my coming over the top of another one of those pre-flop raises from that same guy, and I expected to just take it down. But the BB surprises us both by CALLING. So now, the original raiser is calling based on odds and I am against 2 players with a middle pair. UGH. But I still think I played it correctly. How many pocket pairs do I wish to laydown 4 handed to a raise from a guy who loves to raise pre-flop. In the end, I lost a race as a tiny favorite, so I have to think "that's poker".

Burning a Line

It's a term I coined when you decide your post-flop line pre-flop based on the opponent. Today, this guy kept raising my blind and putting in big C-bets. I decided I was going to check-raise him on the next flop no matter what fell.

Well, the first time an interloper came in and raised pre-flop and he fled. Much later, when I was no longer a short stack, I decided that 6d7d would defend and planned on a check-raise with any decent flop.

9d9h5d was closer than I even hoped for. Pot is $1300 and I check, he bets $1k and I move all in for $6k. He calls with AsQs???

Qd is the turn and I take a big pot. But how does he call the check raise with just two overs?

(He went back to raising my blinds too, and with hands like JTo. Is there a target on my head that reads "donk"?)

Can you make this fold?

Call a raised pre-flop bet in just level 1 or 2 with 77. 3 see the flop.

Flop is 789 (2 clubs). check, I bet pot. Button shoves. Other guy folds.

Now, I am SURE he has either TT or a club draw. Lets say 100% just for clarity.

And lets say you have about 400 in the pot, and 22 behind.

When he shoves, can you fold knowing you are the favorite because its hour 1?



(*by the way, he did have TT. So its 10 outs (2 tens, 4 sixes, 4 jacks) twice or 40%-ish.)

Rush Poker tip

Wanna watch the hand play out instead of being whisked to the next table?

Click "sit out next hand" and you can watch the hand play out!!

Anyone else in Vegas for week 1 of the WSOP?

In Event #8 and probably #11. Late night cash games at MGM.
Early knockouts may result in Venetian or Caesar daily tournament.

and then, tragedy...

Not 24 hours after I decide I am going to go to Vegas for the WSOP, I run into AA five times and while my car goes in for an oil change, it dies right there (fuel pump fuse) in the bay.

Undaunted, I book the flight and book my MGM room...

Not 5 hours later its announced that my daughter's recital is going to be that same weekend.

Somehow the cosmos is trying to tell me that I am dead money?

AND I am in the doghouse despite everything being outside my control. Sigh...

Anyone play this differently?

Full Tilt Poker Game #19498739356: $42,000
Seat 1: bat779 (3,460), is sitting out
Seat 2: TIBIGS (230)
Seat 3: Xmachine888 (2,840)
Seat 4: Ronin1917 (4,335)
Seat 5: columbo (5,705)
Seat 6: Da Pleaser (2,755)
Seat 7: mrflipflap007 (6,685)
Seat 8: RiverRat916 (225), is sitting out
Seat 9: Butleren (3,945)
Ronin1917 posts the small blind of 15
columbo posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [As Ac]
Da Pleaser folds
mrflipflap007 folds
RiverRat916 folds
Butleren folds
bat779 folds
TIBIGS raises to 230, and is all in
Xmachine888 folds
Ronin1917 calls 215
columbo raises to 888
Ronin1917 has 15 seconds left to act
Ronin1917 has requested TIME
Ronin1917 calls 658
*** FLOP *** [4h Qh 8c]
Ronin1917 checks
columbo bets 500

NOTE: The SIDE POT is 658 and I base my bet on that amount instead of the entire pot for 3 reasons.

1. Its early and I think I am extracting value.
2. Unless he flopped VERY well, he will be way behind. A heart draw at best.

Ronin1917 calls 500
*** TURN *** [4h Qh 8c] [3h]
Ronin1917 checks
columbo checks
*** RIVER *** [4h Qh 8c 3h] [7h]
Ronin1917 has 15 seconds left to act
Ronin1917 bets 750
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo folds

I escape here, knowing he has at least 1 heart. Based on his check turn, I bet he has 2 hearts.

Uncalled bet of 750 returned to Ronin1917
Ronin1917 wins the side pot (2,316)
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Ronin1917 shows [Th Ah] a flush, Ace high
TIBIGS mucks

Stars $ for Tilt $ anyone?

How do you best move money between sites?

waiting...

I have two things that are going to get me back to my training / weekend grind. Thw WSOP events and the YouRock Guitar. I am finalizing my events for the WSOP and its looking more and more like I will be there the first week in June, playing two NL $1500 events. I have two practice events scheduled locally so far and now is the time where I will start playing hands every single day online. I still think that the "turned set" is the most diabolical hand in poker.

As for my weekend activity, I must admit that after a couple of years, RockBand can get a bit stale. That's why I PRE-ORDERED the YouRock Guitar. Alas, as my friends start to make "vaporware" jokes, I see no arrival date in site. The PS3 version is late (delayed until May) because... wait for it... its late from CHINA. GEZ people, can we get past "cheaper" over "quality" please. And don't even TRY to tell me that the quality is the same, I am not listening and have personal experiences to the contrary. The worst part is I don't have a PS3, I have an XBOX and that version is NO WHERE TO BE SEEN. So I don't expect to be learning guitar until after the WSOP. Just as well I guess.

Did Phil Hellmuth actually reveal the secret to his success?

It sounds like a tabloid headline for a supermarket poker and aliens paper, but I really do believe that recently Phil has revealed in 10 minutes more than he did in 5 DVDs and a book. Phil is currently working on his "Kinder and Gentler" image, and doing the dog & pony interview circuit starting on ESPN. I really, really enjoyed (and am somewhat obsessed with) his recent description of his meta-strategy.

I have to fill in some pieces from other interviews and his recent tournaments, but it flows like this.

Phil plays poker like a boxer. He is going to jab and jab and jab at you. As he does, he is playing solid, but always betting when you give up the lead in the pot. And he is applying that pressure, letting you escape, and then telling you he "had a hand". His famous image help here.

Now, when it does not work, he "marks you" and wants to "set you up". He is going to bet into you, but he is never going to get all-in without the goods. No elaborate bluffs, no Ace high hero calls. When you play back at him, he is going to fold and set up an image (in the past accompanied by verbal denial) that he can be pushed around. He does this because he wants to win a BIG pot against this type of player. And he is patient enough to set this up over the course of hours if necessary.

You can hear bit and pieces of this in recent WPT interviews. "I was only all-in once in the entire tournament." "That is what I do, I set him up to take a big pot from him." The knock-out roundhouse punch.

"Eh. So What? We all knew that." I hear you say. Yeah, maybe. But I find it riveting when combined with Phil defending himself vs. criticism that he is no longer great. "The young internet guys think after they are successful that their way is the right way. I've been playing 30 years and they really believe I don't know what I am doing?"

It's such a simply strategy and does not take into account Phil's tactical ability to read a player, but it certainly a solid strategy.

ok, enough of the Phil love fest. I am not writing this as an "ode to Phil". But I do really appreciate the overall power of this simple to recite strategy. Play poker like a boxer. Jab and find your opponents weakness. If its the jab, jab a lot. If it isn't the jab, look for an opportunity for a knock-out punch.

Still thinking about Vegas dates

In the meantime, I fired up some online poker figuring I could play Omaha with the Europeans today. Could not find an O8B limit game, so I decided to play O8B-PL.

Thank goodness for full-size screen layouts. Pre-flop O8B raises always interest me, as they really show how udnerstands the game and who is just "kinda there". Really, who calls a RE-RAISE with 3 4 6 3 ? What are you expecting to flop to put you ahead in EITHER hand?

And I understand raises, but if you have AA69 rainbow, do you really want to RE-RE-RAISE POT?

I think in O8B, sometimes winning HIGH and splitting LOW is better than a scoop because no matter how high you bet, he is calling for 1/4 of the pot!

WSOP schedule

Looks like there are less options for players "flying in" for a single NL $1500 event this year. If you play one that starts Saturday, you could be playing on Monday. and I think Wed at noon is too early, you have to fly out Tuesday and be in Vegas almost a week...

Fri, Jun 4th 12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #11: No-Limit Hold'em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Fri, Jun 25th 12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #45: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Thu, Jul 1st 12:00 PM (prior to main event day 1, but only $1k) Event #54: No-Limit Hold’em - But since I have an obligation to my satellite league, it must be a $1.5k event.

So this leaves me June 3rd-7th or June 24th-28th, in which I would book a flight back for Monday morning. Since I would fly out Thursday night, I can get away with just 2 days off of work.

Anyone else of a like mind?

ADDENDUM:

Wed, Jun 2nd 12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #8: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

(or) Thu, Jun 3rd 12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #9: Pot-Limit Hold'em

and if I am playing well, but get eliminated, I can play this:
Fri, Jun 4th 12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #11: No-Limit Hold'em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Suddenly, this looks best because IF I decide to play TWO events, this is the best shot at it. I would fly out Tues and back Sun (or miss flight if I made day 3 of second tournament.)

Harrington Revisited

Talked about a vague title for a post, eh? I had quite a tough time in mid 2008-mid 2009 working through some rough patches, and creating repeatable success. But much of it came down to how I was changing how I played hands based on M. And these adjustments were killing me.

I now enjoy much more success in terms of MTT and some of that success it directly in relation to my adjustments (and somewhat getting away from) in how I address M.

For example: I have an M of 20. Does this mean I can play small-ball? I used to think the answer was YES. But its not. Far from it. What I want to know is, if I raise 3xBB (or call 3xBB from position), is that 5% or less of my stack? So, if blinds are 100/200/25 and thus a rotation at a full table is 500, I would need 10k for an M of 20. and if I raise it to 3xBB, I am making it 600. This is MORE than 5%. You see? For ME personally, the so called Green zone is where my M is 30+. Then I am going to play comfortable small-ball (i.e. 15k).

From an M of 30 down to 20, I can maybe play some small-ball hands from position, but I am going to have to give them up on the turn (because of chips) if I get played back at. I am sticking to suited 1 gaps and unsuited connectors at worst. I can also play baby pairs safely.

When my M is between 20 and 10, I am playing long-ball, but perhaps with open ranges.

When my M is below 10, I am not only playing ONLY long-ball, and now also willing to RACE.

When my M is 7.5 or less, I am usually looking to make all-in bets pre-flop depending on the size of the antes, because I feel the pressure is the BEST way to get the job done. You just lack the chips to maneuver post flop and when picking up the blinds is 10%+ of your stack, you should want to do that without a clash as many times as possible. So at 100/200/25 again (500 a rotation), if my stack is 3500 or less, and shoving is going to net me 500 in chips, I am not looking to "see a flop". I would rather add the chips and move forward. This, of course, assumes that I can either be first in there or hold a top 10 hand. I will ESPECIALLY open my range to make this move if there are Limpers in front of me! (Limpers ask to be punished!)

I have a mantra I use now at the table when I hit an lower inflection point. "The time for small-ball is over." I say it as I fold 56s or JT or even 88.

I have also learned recently that it is a pretty big mistake to worry about Q. I have just 1 test involving Q. If my Q is .25 or lower, I wont fold AK pre-flop.

I am pretty happy with this formula and as I move forward in experience, I am looking to maximize how well I play in the M 30+ green zone, where the widest array of decisions come into play post-flop.

Confessions of a Talentless Person

Over the years, separated from my fragile childhood and young adult ego, it has become easier to state one of the defining traits of my development. I am talentless. Really. I have zero natural talent for anything. (I could dive into a list right now, but it would end before you stopped reading. And it would be an incomplete list, since I have a questionable memory.) Yet, as a "normal" human being, I am driven to purpose and meaning. And unless I was willing to devote my life to religion (something I have no talent for), I am forced to do things the hard way. I am forced to learn.

Now, I am not talking about basic learning. I can tie my shoes after all. But in a great example, I had taken nearly 3 years of French and yet can speak better German from watching Hogan's Heroes. No, I am talking about immersive learning. Where I really have to apply myself for longer periods of time and effort than anyone with even an iota of talent for the particular skill.

Even my current pursuits in poker or music continually re-demonstrate my lack of nature talent, forcing me to work on my morale as much as my focus. Progress is incremental and in elongated time frames, making serious endeavors a "life's work" so to speak.

All throughout though, I have had some success. I even wrote a one day seminar on "How your technology shop could be of more value to your business" and I believe that its very, very good. But that took nearly 30 years.

So I guess I take the good with the bad that I did not cash in Event #39 last year after playing poker for nearly 5 years. I remain committed to improving and learning new facets and getting over humps and et al.

Now don't get me wrong. This is not a "woe is me" post. I have had my share of successes and victories in life. And I have a good life, good family, decent health, etc. that others might kill for. But it is a "spring is coming" type post. Sometimes the winter gets to us and we think about our setbacks, our challenges, and our lack of progress towards nirvana. But then spring comes and we brighten up and forge on!

I am going to the WSOP this year and I may just play two $1500 events this year. It seems silly, but recently I have begun to look at the table as if I am looking through glass at an operating room. Doubt and second guessing giving way to a perspective of time and place. Perhaps all the experience is paying off? Perhaps its just perspective that comes with age. Perhaps its just spring.

One thing is certain. I'll never be afraid of hard work and I'll never "throw it all away" stupidly, because nothing has come that easy to me skill wise. I appreciate how far I have come so perhaps I am just worried that I could run out of time!

Oops, gotta go. Just dealt the hammer...

Time to get back to it!

After a week out, and a horrendous week at work, its time to play some poker.

I did play some $1/$2 at a poker-pro table on the ship. Perfect place for such a table. But, very few players and they were all playing flop-trap, so it took too long to grind away their money. (although I did). Plus the rake was 10%/$7max at a $1/$2 table!

Ugh.

Cigar aficianado

Is cigar aficianado the 21st century equivalent in impact as playboy was?

Seriously. Take a look at this magazine and replace nude with cigar, and see what I see.

Add an additional social commentary column about poker and it's a slam dunk.

Cashed in $42k

Finally got back to MTT play today and cashed in the $42k. Interesting and not so unusual is that at one key point in hour 2, I came from behind to double up.

Its those type of hands that can propel you to ill gotten gains!

Its a small retribution for the suckouts laid on me... right?

Imaginary Hand

Lets say you are at a relatively typical 1-2 or 2-5 table and the UTG makes it 3x and the UTG+1 makes it 9x BB. Folds around to you on the button with JJ.

Easy fold? (I think so)

Good to Great

Here it is for the millionth time. A perfect example of what is keeping my from being an elite player.

3 table MTT (league night). I have played well all night, making only 1 poor decision. Folded when I should have called, so a minor mistake. There are 4 left and the blinds are 1500/3000/100 and I have 6ok, tied for second in chips.

LOTS of raise, all fold action, so I make a comment about flops and limp with JT. The blinds both call.

Flop is 886 and all players check. The turn is a TEN. check, small bet, and I look at the player on my right with only $33k behind. The pot is $10k. I bet $33k, to put the player on my right (BB) all in. I do this as a signal to the SB that this hand is ending here and I am going to knock the BB out.

But the SB ruins my plans and CALLS $33k. Now I have $30k behind and a blank falls on the river. But I am stuck. He smiles and says all in. He obviously has an 8 and I call anyways because the pot is big and I have 60% of my chips in there.

I could not have played this hand worse. The $30k bet is amateurish, and the crying call when I had 15BB left was atrocious.

Still, we try and learn and soldier on.

Felted in RUSH

Totally pwnd by KQ vs AJ on flop of JTx when turn brings a 9 and *I* volunteer my stack. Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life son.

Hope I am not so stupid later this evening.

Lean week after win

A bit of rush, no major news. League night on Saturday and Next Online League Night starts next Wed, so things should pick up here quickly.

WBCOOP mis-step

After an hour, I have doubled up twice and have about $6500 in chips. There are SEVEN post-and-folds at my table now and the remaining player on my left is from Finland. He is not only stealing the blinds, but doing it to me. I am 2 to his left however, and when I realize he isnt going to share (or alternate), I start playing back HARD. I play it as a heads-up battle and we are fighting on every hand.

I call him all the way down with a pair of aces and now I have $8k and he has probably $12k. BIG stacks compared to the avg of just under $4k. But the battle rages on. Twice I call him down and take a pot. Then, I call his pre-flop with AK and an ace flops. (A85). The money goes in and he has 85 and I am out.

Where did it all go wrong?

I got into a competitive situation even though it was not time to do so.
With a way above avg stack, I stacked off with TPTK.

But most important of all, I repeated my most common mistake. I dont respect the 3 bet post-flop enough. Once I re-raise, I am mentally committed and RARELY then fold to the 3bet shove. This has been fatal to me and I have got to get it corrected.

I don't get American Idol

Really. I don't get it. Is Carrie Underwood the Apex of Talent?

I remember the show that American Idol is based on being better and funnier. It was called "The Gong Show".

"Pants on the ground!" Perfect.

Chuck Barris, the godfather of Idol and Letterman.

The $84k ?!?!

I went to register for the $32k $42k today and it came up as the $82k! And its DOUBLE STACKS. The guarantee is done (it seems) by expanding the payout field to 20%.

$25 Million Double Guarantees Week
Win your share of $25 million in guaranteed tournament prize pools with Full Tilt Poker’s $25 Million Double Guarantees Week.

I never saw the announcement, but sure, sign me up!

Poker Tracker 3 Auto-rate rules

Does anyone have an updated rules import? I used to use IGGY's for PT2, but it doesn't translate to PT3.

RUSH POKER!

After two straight days of RUSH POKER on Full Tilt, I finally feel I have enough information to comment. and not just OMG! I haz more cardz!

RUSH poker is "Virtual Multi-tabling". Each hand, every player without a hand in front of them is whisked to a insta-table to play a hand. When the hand is over, they are instantly whisked to a new one. Think of it as Multi-Tabling but there are not hand conflicts (being in two important hands at once).

For the non-grinder semi-pro, this could be the most important update of your life. Think about it. These phenom players get that way by playing 8 tables (or more), 8 hours a day. As the semi-pro or non-grinder, you can not afford that time nor that punishment. But now, you can "drop into" a multi-table and drop out again AT WILL. That means that I can easily play about 300 hands an hour without that time commitment.

And what do you learn playing that type of volume? The brain is forced to "pattern burn". This is AI term based on pattern recognition. The brain subconsciously becomes better at catagorizing and patterning the data. Assuming you are not donking off all your chips. (big assumption?)

I had quite an adjustment. In the first 3-4 hours, I was down almost $100. Then, something clicked. 3 hours later I had won it all back. And then I entered the $42k. And I won. Coincidence?

Here are the PROs and CONs of crack Rush Poker.

PRO
LOTS of Hands. LOTS. Its really really a lot (Don't Panic!)
Great for working on your SITUATIONAL plays
Poker cheat tools can not be used against you
Much easier to fold to "peppered beef" bet since EVERYONE is grinding.
(another way to say it is that you are "surprised less".)
Exposes Flaws in your game

CON
Random seat. (I would like the whisk to be smarter and draw players to the next logical seat in their rotation)
No hero calls
No results. Once you fold, you are gone.
Forces you to be RESULTS oriented.

PRO & CON
removes some of the finer nuances of the game (stack size, blind defense, setting up a play, etc)

Overall, I am impressed, amazed and in a position to benefit from RUSH POKER more than the pros.

Columbo takes his 2nd $42k!!! (well a deal with 2 left)

This is an automated message sent from Full Tilt Poker.

Full Tilt Poker Tournament #134111189 $42,000 Guarantee NL Hold'em
Buy-In: $24.00 + $2.00
1972 players
Total Prize Pool: $47328.00
Start Date: January 21 2:00 PM ET

Dear columbo,

You made a deal and finished the tournament in 2nd place according to your chip count position.
There has been $7844.49 added to your account.

You have earned leaderboard points for this tournament.
To view your current leaderboard points use the My Promotions button in the Cashier window.

Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.

HERO CALL!!!!

Live Blog post:
Full Tilt Poker Game #17795291622: $42,000 Guarantee (134111189), Table 55 - 6000/12000 Ante 1500 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:44:06 ET - 2010/01/21

THERE ARE 16 left at this point...

Seat 1: columbo (301,760)
Seat 2: lamiffa (312,020)
Seat 3: Anguz (87,070)
Seat 4: villivey (540,670)
Seat 6: PacMan2121 (325,586)
Seat 7: thang911 (310,965)
Seat 8: Troyz68 (1,390,531)
Seat 9: qwerty108 (382,193)
antes 1,500

villivey posts the small blind of 6,000
PacMan2121 posts the big blind of 12,000

The button is in seat #3

thang911 folds
Troyz68 folds
qwerty108 raises to 30,000

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [9h 9s]
columbo calls 30,000

lamiffa folds
Anguz folds
villivey has 15 seconds left to act
villivey folds
PacMan2121 calls 18,000
*** FLOP *** [3h 7c Kd]
PacMan2121 checks
qwerty108 checks
columbo checks
*** TURN *** [3h 7c Kd] [7s]
PacMan2121 checks
qwerty108 bets 36,000
columbo calls 36,000
PacMan2121 folds
*** RIVER *** [3h 7c Kd 7s] [Ts]
qwerty108 bets 48,000
columbo calls 48,000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
qwerty108 shows [Ah Jc] a pair of Sevens
columbo shows [9h 9s] two pair, Nines and Sevens
columbo wins the pot (276,000) with two pair, Nines and Sevens

Call me crazy...

Full Tilt Poker Game #17793754081: $42,000 Guarantee (134111189), Table 79 - 2500/5000 Ante 600 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:44:37 ET - 2010/01/21

At this stage of the $42k, we are down to FIVE tables.

Seat 1: Sick_Ko (179,909)
Seat 2: imonfulltilt420 (34,796)
Seat 3: acryte87 (269,505)
Seat 4: thang911 (254,159)
Seat 5: lobao777 (153,090)
Seat 6: villivey (227,554)
Seat 7: qwerty108 (160,249)
Seat 8: MarcOBR (120,154)
Seat 9: columbo (73,042)
antes 600

Sick_Ko posts the small blind of 2,500
imonfulltilt420 posts the big blind of 5,000
The button is in seat #9
acryte87 folds
thang911 folds
lobao777 folds
villivey folds
qwerty108 folds
MarcOBR folds

Folds around to me on the button with
Dealt to columbo [Qh Ah]

I go to raise, and then I remember that the BB re-raises EVERY TIME he sees a late position limp.

columbo calls 5,000
Sick_Ko raises to 35,000
imonfulltilt420 calls 29,196, and is all in

AND THE SQUEEZE!!!
columbo raises to 72,442, and is all in

Sick_Ko calls 37,442 (surprised? wait until you see the hands!!!)

columbo shows [Qh Ah]

Sick_Ko shows [8c Kc]
imonfulltilt420 shows [Qc Js]

WTF? QJ and K8??? for all the stacks?!?!!?

*** FLOP *** [3d Ts Jd]
ugh. gez.

*** TURN *** [3d Ts Jd] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [3d Ts Jd 6d] [Kh]
ONE TIME!

columbo shows a straight, Ace high
Sick_Ko shows a pair of Kings
columbo wins the side pot (76,492) with a straight, Ace high
imonfulltilt420 shows a pair of Jacks
columbo wins the main pot (107,988) with a straight, Ace high
imonfulltilt420 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 184,480

Brain Exploding... Thought on... well EVERYTHING!

My brain is overloading! I must dump thoughts into text. Here they come... Brace Yourselves!

1. I FINALLY got iTunes to work with windows 7 x64. How? In the words of Justin Bateman on my favorite sitcom of all time It's Your Move, "You're gonna laugh..."
I had to turn on C-State Tech in the BIOS. What is C-State Tech?
"Its a technology by intel which allows the OS to independently lower the frequency of the cores when the need be thus saving power. If it's disabled then both the cores will run at a fixed frequency. Enabling it will allow the OS to make the core's run at different frequencies thus making optimum use of power."
Umm, HUH? Anyway, based on this it should be DISABLED on a desktop, enabled on a laptop. Yet, the iPhone will not tolerate it being off. Gez.

2. Memeo connect (for google apps). A desktop add-in that creates a virtual sync link for google apps. This could be a game changer for google vs. word/excel.

3. RUSH poker from Full Tilt. WOW, I dont even know what to think of this. I am going to test it out today and this week and report back. But think about this: no poker tracking tools are worth a damn during the game. Ha! BUT, the "flash" implementation of "last hand" is killing me on x64. There is no x64 version of flash, although adobe has promised it in v10.2 (10.1 is in beta now).

4. My XBOX is finally fixed and I accept the fact that I will play that in the evernings for a while vs. poker. I just wish I had more friends!

5. The Lions have the SECOND pick in the draft. They need to fill 5 starter positions on Defense. If they draft ANY offensive player on Day 1, just write us off again.

That being said, the CBA is doomed for 2010. Doomed.

6. RockBandNetwork is coming in the next 3-4 weeks. Might be good, might be gosh awful. We shall see. I am going to get a "You rock guitar" when they come out which lets you use a real guitar with Rockband. Should go over like a Lead Zepplin.

7. The White House now has an iPhone app. That is actually BRILLIANT.

Fire in the hole

There has been a recent theme in poker blogs about min-cashes. Feeling like an expert on the subject, I feel the need to comment or contribute.

Thought on the min-cash

1. Depending on your mood, this really really sucks or is a feel-good save of the day. IF you are playing well and then a suck-out happens just inside the money vs. some donk open-shoving with A2, then yes you are going to feel bad. On the other hand, if you have been getting beaten up for 2 hours in the middle levels and still squeak into the money, then it can be quite encouraging.

2. I recently have run up a monster string on min cashes. It almost feels like I can walk into any tournament and finish at the 12% mark. But getting to the real money has been a real challenge in 2009 and its a matter of the A game not coming out in the last stages.

Recently, the hand of the bubble even, a cut-off limp, SB limp and I check the BB with K5o. Flop is King high (K86). Not bad. rainbow even. Everyone checks for their own reasons. Turn is a 5. Check to me and I bet. cutoff folds but the SB raises. What do I do? I re-raise. But I do it without thought, my course pre-determined at this point. He shoves and what do I do? I insta-call! Sad really. Even if I am correct, which I am not, that is a BAD play. Worse, I know it. (He had 97o, aka the nuts).

So, if you have 1 min cash, do not lament what could have been. But if you are having a series of min-cashes as I am, perhaps your B game is getting in the way or your A game...

Satellite math

I have been thinking about this for a while and need a bit of math help here.

Its a satellite that pays the top 25% (like a token frenzy). Starting stacks are $1500. Let say 140 play, so it pays 27.

There are 96 left. How may chips do you expect to need to be better than 27th when there are 27 left.

Asked another way, what is the average chip stack with 27 left? And what chips stack would you need to post and fold with 50 left?

I have been taking the 27th place chip and multiplying by the multiple of 27 players lift. So with 81 players left, I guess I need 27th place chips * 3. Is this a good quick formula or a fatally flawed one?

It's that time again...

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.

Registration code: 234828

Poker Tracker INIT

So it has come to pass that the PC loaded with XP that has served me well for over half a decade, ate itself. Now, being anal like I am, I had backups of EVERYTHING. I could not save the XP partition, so I bit the bullet and installed windows 7.

I am close to 100% back up and running with everything loaded, but I made a curious choice. I chose to reset PT3 and start from scratch. Lets see how it looks in a month or 2, eh?

Reflections

With the new year ringing in, its time to take a hard look at my progress in 2009. I played in my monthly league game last night, just came back from Vegas, and played in a 1-2 game over the weekend, so I have a good sampling of the Good, Bad and Ugly.

First the good: I play situations well. Many players spend way too much time trying to put players on a hand instead of playing a situation. (and other times it doesn't really matter). Over the weekend, I decided to take a flop short handed which was not typical. UTG I limp with 55 (only 6 seats occupied this hand). Button raises to $20. Now, he liked to button raise, but this was bigger than most raises for the table. The BB calls. So, I expect the implied odds are better than 8-1. I expect that if I do hit a set of fives, I will make $160 bucks. That is a big if. There is $40 opponent dollars in the pot, so I would have to get $120 more opponent dollars into that pot of now $60. The flop is 5d8s9s. BB now bets $92. WTF? I stop and realize that this is a situation that does not require me to put them on hands. Why? If its set over set, I am willing to go broke in this cash game, especially since the BB only has $150 or so. Secondly, I am willing to just take the $92 (Even though I said I wanted $120) because its so close to my mark. And if the BB calls, I get a 9-1 payout. So I move all in for $350. The Button now tanks. REALLY? He really, really wants his Kings to be good, but he has almost exactly $350 left and I eroded that down from the $600 he had when I sat down. After a very long internal debate, he figures he CANT FOLD KINGS and calls. Now the BB tanks! This is ridiculous, because what can the BB BEAT HERE? He eventually folds his JJ. The turn and river are bricks and I win a pot with $500 in opponent monies.

The BAD: I don't put players on cards enough. It is a very important skill and I don't do it enough and therefore don't do it as well as I should for my experience level.

The UGLY: Because I CAN lay down Kings, I have done it 3 times in the recent past. One was pre-flop at a cash game in Vegas against an aspiring player who wanted to play professionally. I put the guy on either QQ or AA. It was his ONLY pre-flop all-in for the session, and he re-raised me so he expected a call. The other two were where I opted out of a c-bet when an Ace flopped. Pathetic and Ugly. In one (if not both cases), the c-bet actually would have won the pot, instead the player in position pwnd me. KK in EP is not as easy as it looks. And in BOTH cases, I had 2 or 3 opponents. BUT, if you are going to play a Big Pair from EP, you HAVE TO C-BET. Sad.

In the end, I am mostly being hard on myself for not putting players on hands enough and only playing the situation and the basic math. I need to at least NARROW ranges on the flop and turn.

Time to get to work.

Time for the Holidays

There is something about having a dinner scheduled later that puts me on a heater. I finished at about 130th yesterday, when my pairs held and I won the race I gladly took in hour 3 (AK vs QQ). But in the end, 88 in the SB. Folded around to the button, who limps. I raise. BB folds and he re-raises. I call and the flop is 992. Unless he has a bigger pair, I am way ahead. But alas, he has Kings and he manipulated to pot to be large enough pre-flop that I went busto. There is a lesson here for raising with big hand (even if its a tricky limp-raise) to make the pot harder to get away from (remember prospect theory?).

Strange Results

How after all these years do I DROP 1/2 buy-in at 1-2, but pick up 3x my buy-in playing 7game mix? Most unexpected.

As I get ready for the holidays, I would like to register a complaint as to how fast this year passed me by. Despite major events, including a broken back, it seems like its all rushed like watching a bullet train pass by.

Looks like for a job I was not sure I wanted, I have quickly become the go-to guy for the CEO, and with good reason. I am amazingly good at what I do, which in all modesty make me shake my head when I miss out on some opportunity I apply for. What are these people/companies looking for? [deleted rest of tirade was here]

Still, things are not bad in any way. As Joe Walsh said, "I can't complain, but some times I still do."

Worst Trip Report Ever !

Going to Vegas is always great, right? Well, there are expectations and there is reality. Thursday, I am already sick before we leave with a head cold. Nasty one. After we checked in, I had a associate who lives in Vegas pick us up and we headed to check out Frankie's Tiki Room.

I REALLY wanted to love Frankie's, as I love tiki and want to support it. But I was sorta let down.

First the good. Nice decor, great music selection, drink mugs are first rate.

The Bad?
I felt like correcting some of the drink recipes (ingredients), air circulation is terrible so its really smokey, small place, was not greeted with the attention I figure I warrant and covet, so dark I could not read the drink menus.

Now its off to the IP to meet and greet. It's great connecting with so many great people again. But just when the tables games started, my body gave out and I had to bow out by midnight. Sad really.

Friday was spent sleeping and it was not until 2pm until I got going again. I played some MGM poker and later transferred to the infamous "table 16". It was a riotous time, with Mark really creating alot of the hilarity. Still, I bowed out after about 2 hours for dinner. I roped the penners and Garth & company into going to Hoffbraus House.

We only had an hour for my favorite beer hall in the world, before walking over to Hard Rock for Pokeratti's famous rotation game, NL/PLO. I won my first PLO hand and spent the next hour donking away 80% of my profits. The game got a bit stale, so we headed back to MGM, where I played HORSE until 1:30 am. I won $25. (Did you like my poker bowling shirt!?)

Saturday was the big tournament and here I will digress a bit. When you play a tournament, you need to understand how fast to play. This was 20 min level. Now I am getting about 3 rotations a level and after two hours the level will be 400/800/100. With $7k in starting chips, what does this tell you?

Answer: To have an M over 10, you need at least 16k. You prefer to have over 30k, obviously. You want to double once per hour. This is not a recipe for deep stack play. It's longball all the way and you certainly need to win a race along the way.

I am down to $4k at 300/600, so my range is big. UtG raises, I shove. F-Train thinks for a while and somehow comes over the top with 55. I dont like his play, as in order to win this hand, he has to be right that the squeeze would work on a UTG raise and that I did not have a pair, and ever if right on both, he is only a small favorite. But KNOWING that he is a larger stack and given what I just said above, who can blame him? My AJ goes nowhere and I am out.

I spent the rest of the evening playing $1/2 at the Venetian. Again, F-Train was right. This is the softest game in the history of poker. Later, I was joined by Chad and Smokee which made it even more fun. Watching Chad roll over the table had me amused, bemused, and envious. I still won over $300. I did let Smokee bluff me out of a hand where the situation and my hand both said call. Yet somehow I folded. I played WAY too tight the entire weekend, and I paid for it. I lost $120 Thursday, Won about $50 on Friday, and Won $300 on Saturday minus $100 for the MTT. So I finish with a marginal profit, far below expectations. Of course, you cant measure fun and if I was there for money, I would have eat and slept at the V $1/2.

Sunday I was mercifully on a plane during the Lions debacle. Perhaps you all understand why the Lions are drafting FOUR d-lineman in the draft.

Hold On, 'Cause I'm comin'

I am already packed and ready to rage-hard.

Itinerary:

Thursday its a dinner time visit to Frankie's Tiki Room to worship the girl-drink gods and hopefully I will then... wait for it... Rum-good. HAHAHA, I rum good! Then its off to the IP for extreme-networking. Its like networking, only EXTREME.

Friday its dinner at the Hoffbaru-House (across from Hard Rock) and YOU ARE INVITED. Come one come all and sing, eat and drink all in German-ish! (I'll be twittering, but assume about 6pm, so we can make MGM later by 9-ish)
Then its severe mixed games at the MGM. Its like mixed games, only SEVERE. (hopefully there will be $1 chips left!)

Saturday its the annual blogger last-longer, knock-out-waffles MTT @ Caesar's and I for one am wearing a bowling shirt! Long live the Hammer!

the $42k (now with more k!)

Wow, the $32k has ballooned to the $42k with 2200 runners instead of the usual 1200-1400. That is a big field folks.

I double up early vs. some dead money and then with a slightly above average stack, had to go pick my daughter at school (unscheduled). I 'sat out' and when I returned I was 20% below average. So.... when it was folded around to the SB and my opponent shoved for $4k (I had about $7k, avg was $9k), I decided to call with A6o. Loose? Maybe, but you know he has ATC. In this case K8o. No one hits jack-squat and I have an average stack again. Then, not a few moments later, I am moved to a new table and dealt JJ in EP. I raise and get a caller from the BB. So the pot is 2k and the flop is 789.

And then he bets POT. I think this was a mistake for 1 reason, I knew his exact hand at this point. TT. I figure he has 8 outs twice, so I shove and he calls... showing the expected TT. No changes on the turn and river and I am sitting pretty with 300 to the money.

I leaked and blinded down to average with 456 left (pays 234) with 14.5k in chips. Staying away from obvious trouble with an M just around 15. The blinds are beginning their squeeze now and its time to get some decent hands. Small ball is coming to a close.

I keep getting 88 in EP. I play it once and fold it once. Tough spot. Getting grind down by the blinds... Down, down, down. I have a tenancy to over react when this happens and shut down, playing only the best cards. But in this case, I was really getting a run of junk. I needed something good to come my way. I try to force something with KJs from EP and my tight image let me pick up the blinds for the first time in 2 rotations. 334 left, 100 to the money. M around 10. Antes killing me now, but BLO (big-little-offsuit) hands are not going to help.

And then, again with the 88, only this time in the SB. Looks like a re-steal hand opportunity. Almost like it was planned, the cutoff makes it 3200 and I shove 10k, which he calls. I look up to see he has KJo! 88 holds and I get to cash today. I am surprised that KJ does not fold to a 3x all-in, but there you are.

Or do I?, Two rotations later, the same guy shoves all-in for 9k from the cutoff and I have JJ in the BB and call. He has K6o and good goes to better when he comes up empty. I know some players steal based on tendencies, but K6o? Do my stats somehow warrant that after I already took half his chips with 88?

10 to the bubble and again JJ in EP. I raise it to 3x and get a caller from a MP. And the flop is AQ9. Gez. I make a very weak, check-fold. This guy has a tight range. I am still 2k above average. Until the blinds come of course. But we are at the actual bubble when someone gets the Kobiashi Naru. AA UTG and the BB is a giant stack that calls most all-ins. The guy shoves his AA and the giant stack calls with 78s. AA becomes the bubble boy, of course. The insanity continues when very shortly thereafter, I call a shorty all-in with my QQ and make DQB! I cant wait to yell THAT in the blogger tournament this weekend. See you soon!

Kicked in the Jimmy!

I finished 8th at league night, going out when my AQ failed to double up against A8. Happens. No news there.

But what happened AFTER that is the stuff of legend...

I am offered a +EV chance of a lifetime. To play and teach Razz to two guys (short-handed) with the nicknames yum-yum and pork-chop at $1/$2 with a $1 ante. Oh my god, pinch me I am dreaming...

Cut to 1 hour later, where said pork-chop has all the chips at the table, including my $60. And even 3 handed, I only recall 3 hands where and 8 or better didn't take the pot. How someone can catch gifts cards like a mother at her baby shower turns out to be far beyond me.

I run goot. See you in Vegas Thursday.

A dusting of snow...

I have not had poker posts here for about 2 weeks as I took the family to visit grandparents in Florida and got hooked on Borderlands (xbox). But I do have my monthly league game on Saturday, followed up by a weekend of poker debauchery.

I noticed something while I was in Florida. The Japanese have a word for it. Of course, I dont know what it is, I dont speak Japanese, but I know they have a word for it. It describes the feeling one gets when they grew up with the seasons changing (as all of Japan does) and then they relocate to someplace like California or Florida where the seasons are all similar. You get this sorta of melancholy angst. It happened to me in Florida and it was a first for me, a cold hater. Yet, as I watch my childhood visions grow old on the TV, and epic movie series relaunches, I realize that its ok. But to halt some unnecessary rambling, I need to hit the satellite circuit in January and start focusing on WSOP 2010. I was so close to cashing in the event 39 donkament (I just had to stave off an insane all-in call from AK with my big pair) that I know I am getting way better at this game.

I closed the monster leak I had, which was getting over involved with good hands pre-flop (ironically, NO ONE I player with at event 39 would, they would just shove and pray and 1 of them would have prayers answered) like AK, AQ, or even QQ when the call would be insanely large (like 50 BB). I hope this is one of the final pieces to the puzzle.

WPBT goals 2009 edition

I love the winter blogger events, mostly because it is very easy to fall into the crowd and just inherit new friends each year. I have had fun, learned about life and poker, and stayed in contact with a group (not easy for me).

But I have been a bit of a corporate prude in my personal life. I was always afraid that there are permanent repercussions to bad behavior, including perhaps SOMEONE FINDING OUT! Being in a entirely new position now, I feel little need for restraint.

Mrs. Columbo just finished her final "junior" semester for her BS-RN (She is an RN now) which assures us an income even in a dour economy. But even with this sad economy, I am working at a small company helping them grow and survive. I even turned down a job last spring! Well, I did fall down the stairs and break my back, so that did have something to do with turning it down also.

So up comes my Vegas weekend and here are some goals:

1. Actually PLAY pai-gow instead of watch.
2. Win the blogger event instead of coming in lame 5th.
3. Drink
4. Go with the flow, even if the flow = "steel panthers".
5. Play poker. (in best Clint Eastwood voice) "Alot of poker". (remember to buy all $1 chips kids!)

See you next Thursday!

What would you do?

Full Tilt Poker Game #16122056455: $38,000 Guarantee (118387707), Table 16 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em
Seat 1: Kryptx00 (1,620)
Seat 2: iLittLe TuNa (5,140)
Seat 3: columbo (10,930)
Seat 4: jnr1j (11,900)
Seat 5: The Hyena (2,495)
Seat 6: Magico77 (2,140)
Seat 7: Odd Hole (3,685)
Seat 8: Ferris Spewler (12,285)
Seat 9: bernardminet13 (3,825)
antes 25
jnr1j posts the small blind of 120
The Hyena posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #3

Magico77 folds
Odd Hole folds
Ferris Spewler folds
bernardminet13 folds
Kryptx00 raises to 1,595, and is all in
iLittLe TuNa folds

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Qs Ac]
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo calls 1,595

jnr1j has 15 seconds left to act
jnr1j raises to 5,040
The Hyena folds
columbo has 15 seconds left to act

What do you think here?
(I have $8500 or so left behind, which is almost exactly avg if that matters)

Small Ball revisited

Its amazing what memory does over time. How we remember things differently depending on what has happened since the original memory occurred.

When I went back and revisited my notes on small-ball, I noticed somethings that I was not doing as part of that process anymore.

Its only 4-6 rules, so how did I go astray???

To recap:

Small raises
Leverage (or respect) position
passive pre-flop, aggressive post flop play
pot control OOP or after then turn without a monster.

But what happens is that the concept of Pot Control seems to consume the memory and "aggressive post flop play" gets buried.

If I turn it sideways, small ball looks like "slightly loose, aggressive solid" (in poker tracker terms).

Best Application Ever

Watch to the end, then imagine the application at the tables...

Enhanced information reality

Aren’t you a little old for an epiphany?

I saw a great BBC special last night about how the brain makes bad decisions. Of particular note was "prospecting theory" where a human can be manipulated into making a bad choice if there is already loss involved. (i.e. doesn't want to fold with chips in the pot). Furthermore, the first-to-act part of the brain is the emotional center, with the Frontal Lobe (logical) waiting to kick in. When you are already vested with the prospect of loss (or assumed loss) your emotional center wishes to make a BAD DECISION. Not an emotional decision, mind you. But rather a BAD decision.

This was RIVETING to me on the heals of making a TERRIBLE decision, where I know better. (for those columbo fans, I ate a BIG CHUNK of PEPPERED BEEF!)

They also made a startling find that you can BREAK the prospecting (or other cycles) through stimulus (intentional or unintentional). For example, temperature. Holding a cold beverage may make me more weary of you, while a warm beverage more comfortable with you. If you fold too much and play too tight, perhaps a warm beverage? If you are making lousy calls, perhaps cooling off literally helps?

Further information points to the same effect for pre-event rituals (even superstitious ones like ball players wearing the same socks every game). Or Johnny Chan and his Orange. It seems that these also help break prospecting (and other) decision cycles.

There is also the idea that when one is "in the zone" where decision making is going so well that one seems to be able to "see the results before they happen", that the brain has managed to shut down the emotional center for a time (SPOCK! I need you Spock! now do Kirk). sorry, obscure reference. Anyways, this is brainiac (sic) stuff, I know. But think about this...

When you see a player on TV with a blank stare and mouth agape, have they then shut off the emotional center for pure logic? and if so, can I do that by training myself and changing my stimulus. The answer is YES.

It could be a drink, gum, choice of ipod music, etc. to break existing patterns, then some ability to "create a moment" where the emotion shuts down. Now do that for long hours on end on demand. Not as easy as it first sounded, is it? But being cognizant of this may make a world of difference in your post decision analysis.

There is an old adage of "counting 10" or "going to a happy place" under the weight of a big decision. But it may be as simple as training yourself to pick up your cold drink before you act.

Gambling Tales Podcast is now available.

Join Falstaff (John Hartness) and Special K (Curtis Krumel) as we take you through the best in lies and legends about gambling today and through the ages. . Show #001 with Badblood and the origins of gambling is available immediately. New shows are scheduled to appear every two weeks. Guests scheduled to appear in future shows include Dr. Pauly, Lee Jones, Dr. David Schwartz (UNLV – Roll the Bones)

The podcast is available at http://www.gtpodcast.com

RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GamblingTalesPodcast

Available on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=339814710.

It will be searchable on iTunes by the weekend.

Email address for Questions, Comments, and Suggestions: gtpodcast@live.com

Subscribe today!

Played like ass

nuff said. Details are typical. Results expected. Gez, after all this time, ass.

You know what? I need a vacation...

Final Table tomorrow

Ok, I'll admit that I followed the final table a bit on Saturday until they lost a player and then decided to wait until Tuesday. Sad but true.

In other news, saw my brother and his family for the first time in a long time. Fun to reconnect.

Was looking at some hands recently, and I noticed that there are some big hands where I think I am ahead despite V$IP coming from my opponent. I am having some problems adjusting at times. In my league game, I bubbled on Saturday picking up points but missing the real victory. And as if I was ramming my head against a wall, had to go up against a guy who just started running good and as you know, I am not a lucky person.

Great final 17 poker in WSOP

Did you appreciate the hand where 99 raises, KK reraises and then some very smart players get away from some VERY big hands: AKs, TT, and JJ!

I can only imagine Begleiter's image with KK there.

Concepts on Small Ball

You are early in an MTT and after a raise you make a button call with AJ and the flop if Jack high. You call a c-bet and on the turn, its an Ace (no flush) and you have top two. First to act raiser bets half the pot, and you call figuring to be ahead. River is a blank and he bets again...

Full Tilt Poker Game #15749020578: $38,000 Guarantee (115313599), Table 164 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 14:39:54 ET - 2009/11/02
Seat 1: burax (5,320)
Seat 2: columbo (4,720)
Seat 3: jarv_1 (9,190)
Seat 4: marcusmb (2,730)
Seat 5: bluntouze (1,660)
Seat 6: Spree At Last (6,560)
Seat 7: Jonah (9,360)
Seat 8: Dirk Scheringa (5,130)
Seat 9: strizigraz (2,530)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Spree At Last folds
Jonah folds
Dirk Scheringa raises to 150
strizigraz folds
burax folds
columbo calls 150 [Js Ac]
jarv_1 folds
marcusmb folds
bluntouze calls 100

*** FLOP *** [6c Jh 9h] (TPTK)
bluntouze checks
Dirk Scheringa bets 350
columbo calls 350
bluntouze folds

*** TURN *** [6c Jh 9h] [As] (TOP TWO!)
Dirk Scheringa bets 900
columbo raises to 1,800

I know, why the min-raise?

Dirk Scheringa raises to 4,630, and is all in

so, Does he have a set? A flush draw? or sqat?

HERE IS what is really interesting about this One Minute Mystery. When you CALL with the AJ you ARE playing small-ball. (Otherwise you would have raised and taken control of the hand pre-flop with position.) So, if you ARE playing small-ball, can you even make the RAISE? NO. and let's say I dont raise and call and he shoves the river. can I call? NO.

Here is another question... CAN you play small ball successfully holding AJ?

Rolled over a table

I drop down limits because I wanted to play but could not focus my entire attention. Wow, what a difference that can make. It was effortless accumulating money/chips playing ABC poker and occasionally exploiting my opponents tenancies.

Running bad? drop back and gain some free confidence!

Lions must-win game?

Why? Because if the Lions want someone to share the stick of 0-16 with them, there chance this year is the Rams (and Bucs). With the Rams looking at Sunday's match-up as there best chance to go 1-15, expect both teams to clash with epic strength and partial competence. THE BASEMENT BRAWL. ITS ON!

Rambling

Here is a update that offers some glimpse into my state of mind... Am I making good choices??!! You can read much into that, and I think its justified. I am trying to figure out where /what I want to be in a year, and assuming I did nothing, obviously nothing would change. I am not sure that is such a good thing, so thus my state of mind... more to come I am sure.

WSOP thoughts

As we get closer to the November 9, and I read about and watch every hand I can, I have noticed that there seems to be 2 types of pro finishers. One type has an instinct for when the press the action, and the other have a knack for knowing when you have overplayed your hand (or are just bluffing) based on the betting story. Of course, you want to do both and excel at both. Seems obvious right? But like many things in this lifetime, its easier said than done.

I have been playing more aggressive as of late and as a result I find myself more willing to strongly play a weaker hand or even push with TPTK if I have an M of 20 or less. I am not sure its a good thing, but at least I am conscious of it. I am waiting to see what I learn from all this.

Vanquished

Played in a great deep stack tournament on Saturday, and it was the lamest roller coaster ever for me. No hills.

In the first FIVE levels, I was dealt 2 "premium" hands in AJ and JJ. The JJ saw a flop of AKQ and was done. At the first break I somehow had 18k of my starting 20k intact.

To start level 6, I won a hand with AJ, hitting my FIRST BOARD of the day. That's right run bad complainers (See Fuel), I did not hit a flop until LEVEL 6.

It is now 200/400/50 and its folded around to me on the Button with AQ. I raise and the SB calls. I miss the flop but c-bet and the SB calls. We both check the turn and the river and he calls "King high". I show the AQ and take the pot. "I dont know why I called your flop bet", the kid says.

THE VERY NEXT HAND, a limper and then it folds to me in the SB and AGAIN I have AQ. I raise it up and the BB (same kid) calls. The flop is Q75 rainbow... The pot is 3200.

I make a c-bet of 2k and he calls. The turn is a Jack, and I decide this has been my only real chance in 7 levels to accumulate chips. I decide to check raise. I check and he bets 2500. (Its 2500 to call a pot of 9700). I have 17.5k behind.

Now I started the hand with 21k and have an M of about 21, so we are still in a healthy state here. But a raise here to 7500 puts me in an awkward position.

I decide to raise all-in and he goes into the tank. He puts me on a set, and I feer I just ran into a hand like KK in the SB. After about a minute, he calls with bottom set (presto) and I am out.

Did I over-play this hand?

Betting Lines

Ok, fill in the gaps exercise. What is missing? (note: these are generalizations, not rules, that exclude off kilter bluffs)

Betting Lines

Pre-flop
• Limp in EP = pair
• Limp in MP = pair or connector
• Limp in late = any playable holding
• Raise in EP = big pair or AQ+
• Re-raise = attempt to thin field with hands that want fewer opponents like big pairs and AK.
• 3rd raise = AA, KK or maybe AK,QQ

Post flop lines:
• check- call = draw or middle pair
• C-bet size 1/2 is standard, Smaller is typically a probe bet. Larger is pricing out draws.
• check raise often equal semi-bluff
• Call can sometimes be Setting up for a take-away play on the turn
• Betting when someone fails to c-bet or checked to = Trying to end hand not trap, but hand might have value.
• Just Call can still be weak or strong... Tendency towards weak.

Turn:
• OOP player Takes control = looking to end hand or "Chan" play.
• C-better now checks = slowing down with marginal or no hand.
• Continue to bet 1/2 + of pot = driving out draws with something-something
• Check-raise = set (or 2 pair)
• Call is typically weak now, trying to get to showdown.
• Lead bet of 1/3 the pot is now a block bet for pot control
• Checking behind = pot control

River:
• Value bet = thinks he is ahead
• Peppered beef (1/2 to 2/3 pot on river) = thinks you will pay off
• Check = looking to get to showdown
• Raise = big mystery with all but the nuts.

When someone RAISES on turn or river AFTER checking the PREVIOUS street (flop or turn), be suspicious of a bluff or the nuts.

Good news and bad news, Houdini

I've got good new and bad news. The good news is that you are in perfect health. The bad news is that you locked yourself in a tank of water.

Same here. I KNOW why I have been playing poorly in MTTs this week. Its because I dont want to escape. So I wrote myself a note for today that said "fold to every single re-raise". I headed that advise for exactly 3 minutes (2 hands into the 32k) and went out on TPTK. IS DONK=TRUE.

Enough already. I am playing in a big live MTT Saturday, and the spirit of Houdini WILL be there.

Embarassing day

Yesterday, I took a walk on the donk side. I ran AKs into KK and a set into a flush. Sad really. I could have escaped from both if it was a tournament. But it was cash, and I felt the need to "hope" I was good.

In other news, I have spent all my money. I have been updating long outdated things around the house. My treadmill was 14 years old, my TV was square shaped, trees were covering what was once a sidewalk and had to be euthanized, trips were planned to get me out of the house this winter, and even bought my daughter some new pokemon cards. Don't laugh, they are expensive.

Needless to say (I like that expression), I seem a bit listless and internally trying to work my way out of it.

grinding

I took stock of all the money I ever put on sites, and alarmingly I have a LOSS at Stars. I decided to I would grind it back up on principle. But as I started, I remembered why I have a loss on Stars. It's the run-bad center of my universe. Nevertheless, taking some guidance from Ferguson's ability to turn $1 into $10k, I am going to turn $100 into $1000. So far, I am up to $200 despite some brutal... well you know.

Cedar Point trip rained out

Looks like we'll try again during the bye week. That means poker league Saturday. I had better do well after expecting to miss the event.

As for poker in general, I have had less time to play this week, which disappointments me, but after watching the ESPN coverage, I wonder if one can get better just watching Ivey play? I know everyone is anointing him the patron saint of poker plays, but even watching him tell you that he simply makes very few mistakes. Perhaps none.

I am the Lions of the felt

Just like opposing QBs seems to have their best day vs. the Lions defense (especially last year), donks seem to have their best day against me. Stacked last night against all odds. In an hour, have only committed my stack to 1 pot. Other than that, never had more than 8 big bets in a pot. Player on my left, watching the entire time, know this? I raise pre-flop. He re-raises. I push in my 50 BB. What do I have? What does he have?

Its EASY to put me on AA here. But did you put him on KK? Of course, but no. He had AK.
K-y-z-x-K. RIGHT. OK.

Enjoy your big day of stats vs. my 4-3 defense.

NFL and hard times

The Lions did the impossible and won a game on Sunday. But all is not sunny here and I am in the doghouse. Seems no one is immune from the stress of suburban living.

Pacific Poker site

This room has been around for a while now and I've played there before. Traditional poker games are offered, including Omaha, and Seven-card stud. Like other poker sites, Pacific Poker offers free play for players who prefer not to use real money.

What I found out recently, is that they now have a browser based client that works for both MAC and WINDOWS PCs.

This makes it easy to quickly fire up online poker tournaments.

Lions working on 2010 game plan

ok, I think none of us expected the Lions to go from 0-16 to the playoffs. The organization decided to go on a true rebuilding project and are planning for 2010 even before 2009 kickoff. The are playing the rookies, shed "project" players on the DLine and started a 4th round pick at DT. In addition, they married themselves to the idea that they could teach 5 offensive lineman to run block. After week 1, it looked like a train wreck. But in week 2, there were signs of life! The Lions could run the ball and they did often in the first half. It wasn't until in the third quarter when Kevin coughed up the ball that the wheels came off the bus.

Stafford "ran" the offense, but continues to look like the same Stafford in the bowl game last year. The difference is pro defenses dont drop picks nor leave receivers uncovered. Kid better learn faster.

miniFTOPS shootout

3 handed, had AJ and A flops. lost good section of stack to AK.

Worked it back up to competitive and then went out how I OFTEN GO OUT... Losing to a call from two overs POST FLOP!!!! ARGH.

3 handed. AK button raises and I call with T8. Flop is 8 high. I CHECK RAISE his c-bet all-in.

He calls and is rewarded with a KING on the river. Did I mention this is a SHOOTOUT?
ARGH.

Tight Plays and Dark Days

Saturday was league night and I brought my A game. I played my hit good hands well early on, and made it to the final table. With 5 left, I laid down AKs to a tight re-raiser. He had QQ and I ran from the race, like a little girl. Then, when a different player made the same move, I called with AK. He had JJ and on the river I hit the Ace. With 4 left, I laid down an AJs to an all-in pre-flop, only to be shown A8. But I dont feel too bad about that one...

I eventually went out fourth, when I picked off a steal raise with JJ and his K5 made a boat.

I am not always sure what drives these weird decisions to lay down AK or AJ 4 handed. I may just be way too tight and/or analytical.

But I did have a fun time at the final table breaking a player a few hands after he yelled at me for asking how many places we were paying. Seemed like a fair question to me with 7 left.

As for my Lions, woes be them. QBs continue to put up record numbers, and since we dont play Tampa, Oakland, or the Rams, its going to be a lean season for wins.

Still, 1 game does not a season make, so I will wait one more before crying in my soup.

Heidi!, Heidi ...Grandfather!, Grandfather!

For those of you who saw the title and it brought memories back of a curly mopped girls who sings, this post is not for you.

If you, however, remember the famous Raiders Heidi game where the end of the game was preempted by the evening broadcast of the Sunday night movie, then feel for me now...

Last night, SECONDS before fumble that sends the game into overtime, my local NBC channel was replaced by a YELLOW BOX. Not even show of content, just a color! It lasted far into the night and I had to hear about the victory without watching it.

A big AYKM (or WTF) to Dish Network and/or the Detroit NBC affiliate (WDIV).

AIPS O8B and the Beatles

I consider this one of my better games and so I expected to make a decent run. Alas, I finished in the second bubble, ITM but missing the final table. Like with many/most O8B tournaments, hands were rare and difficult lay-downs came early and often. Towards the end, I made some decent reads where I knew the hands were close enough that I had to ride it out. On the last one, I was against Aces (I knew), but flopped a flush draw, straight draw wrap and a pair. I missed them all and that was that.

I also picked up Beatles Rock Band and so far its ok. The real test comes this weekend with more players and harmony singing, which should prove challenging and comical as the beer flows.

Big OMAHA question

How are you supposed to play a FLOPPED STRAIGHT in PLO with ZERO REDRAWS???

Board is KQT with 2 hearts and you have AJs and a pair like 88. Now, what is the proper play here????

Assume you act first and 4 saw the flop.

Got Balls? How about a cold-cock?

Full Tilt Poker Game #14568578834: $34,000 Guarantee (106895948), Table 57 - 1500/3000 Ante 400 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:24:00 ET - 2009/09/08
Seat 1: fehrio9le (42,829)
Seat 2: Duff McGuire (46,410)
Seat 3: Pede25 (47,244)
Seat 4: PureProfitFour (239,741)
Seat 5: bfstein1 (118,448)
Seat 6: columbo (88,105)
Seat 7: Fisker1810 (77,559), is sitting out
Seat 8: sofa mike (101,162)
Seat 9: JNETS (377,156)
fehrio9le antes 400
Duff McGuire antes 400
Pede25 antes 400
PureProfitFour antes 400
bfstein1 antes 400
columbo antes 400
Fisker1810 antes 400
sofa mike antes 400
JNETS antes 400
fehrio9le posts the small blind of 1,500
Duff McGuire posts the big blind of 3,000
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Jd Jc]
Pede25 folds
PureProfitFour folds
bfstein1 folds
columbo raises to 8,500
Fisker1810 folds
sofa mike folds
JNETS raises to 27,000
fehrio9le folds
Duff McGuire folds
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo has requested TIME
columbo calls 18,500
*** FLOP *** [Ad 8h 8d]
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo bets 60,705, and is all in
JNETS has 15 seconds left to act
JNETS has requested TIME
JNETS folds
Uncalled bet of 60,705 returned to columbo
columbo mucks
columbo STEALS the pot (62,100)



Full Tilt Poker Game #14568665977: $34,000 Guarantee (106895948), Table 57 - 1500/3000 Ante 400 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:28:14 ET - 2009/09/08
Seat 1: fehrio9le (38,929)
Seat 3: Took Your Wife (29,991)
Seat 4: PureProfitFour (296,419)
Seat 5: bfstein1 (111,548)
Seat 6: columbo (116,305)
Seat 7: Fisker1810 (72,159), is sitting out
Seat 8: sofa mike (98,762)
Seat 9: JNETS (405,732)
antes 400
Fisker1810 posts the small blind of 1,500
sofa mike posts the big blind of 3,000
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Qs Ad]
JNETS folds
fehrio9le folds
Took Your Wife folds
PureProfitFour raises to 7,831
bfstein1 folds
columbo calls 7,831
Fisker1810 folds
sofa mike folds
*** FLOP *** [9s Qd Th]
PureProfitFour has 15 seconds left to act
PureProfitFour bets 10,121
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo raises to 27,000
PureProfitFour has 15 seconds left to act
PureProfitFour calls 16,879
*** TURN *** [9s Qd Th] [4d]
PureProfitFour checks
columbo bets 81,074, and is all in
PureProfitFour calls 81,074
columbo shows [Qs Ad]
PureProfitFour shows [8c Jc]
*** RIVER *** [9s Qd Th 4d] [5h]
columbo shows a pair of Queens
PureProfitFour FLOPPED a straight, Queen high

out 49th...

sigh...

65 left in the 32k

Full Tilt Poker Game #14568337265: $34,000 Guarantee (106895948), Table 57 - 1200/2400 Ante 300 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:12:17 ET - 2009/09/08
Seat 1: fehrio9le (30,030)
Seat 3: Pede25 (53,744)
Seat 4: PureProfitFour (187,342)
Seat 5: bfstein1 (161,147)
Seat 6: columbo (111,904)
Seat 7: Fisker1810 (90,759), is sitting out
Seat 8: sofa mike (106,862)
Seat 9: JNETS (341,156)
fehrio9le antes 300
Pede25 antes 300
PureProfitFour antes 300
bfstein1 antes 300
columbo antes 300
Fisker1810 antes 300
sofa mike antes 300
JNETS antes 300
Duff McGuire sits down
Duff McGuire adds 55,710
bfstein1 posts the small blind of 1,200
columbo posts the big blind of 2,400
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Qd Js]
Fisker1810 folds
sofa mike folds
JNETS folds
fehrio9le folds
Pede25 folds
Fisker1810 has reconnected
PureProfitFour has 15 seconds left to act
PureProfitFour raises to 5,799
Fisker1810 has been disconnected
bfstein1 folds
columbo calls 3,399
*** FLOP *** [2c 7c 7s]
columbo checks
PureProfitFour has 15 seconds left to act
PureProfitFour checks
*** TURN *** [2c 7c 7s] [Jh]
columbo bets 7,200
PureProfitFour calls 7,200
*** RIVER *** [2c 7c 7s Jh] [Ah]
columbo checks
PureProfitFour bets 21,600
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo has requested TIME


WELL??? (avg stack is about 85k...)

T-Shirt

http://www.zazzle.com/suckout_shirt_tshirt-235797035312118308

In the "motivational poster" vein:

Suckouts
"You are never as far ahead as you think."

WCOOP

A disappointing showing to say the least in the NLHE event.

Here is the all too familiar scenario:

You are not getting any great run of cards, but are playing solid and after about an 90 minutes you have maybe 4500 in chips. This is about average. The big stack is 23k and there are a whopping 9000+ players LEFT. Blinds are 100/200 and you are forced to surrender both. You are now slightly below average. Terrible hands and active players force another lean rotation. You watch as the cutoff re-raises an MP raiser. The MP raiser shoves in 20 BB with TT only to be shown QQ and he is out.

Its the next hand....

MP limper, button (previous QQ winner now with 8k in chips) raises again to 597 (yup, not 600. this was his habit). You have TT in the BB.

My thought process:
Pot is 1100. I have an M of 10-15, so I am looking for good spots, but not in a panic.

If I fold here, that is way too tight.

If I Call here, I have to play a middle pair OOP. After the flop, I EXPECT to see at least 1 over card. With 4200 in chips, calling 600 puts my stack at 3600 and First action. If I check, I have to expect a c-bet of 900 (into 1700). If I bet (800 ish) as a feeler/blocking/am I ahead? bet, he can simple call, which almost but but not quite commits me to the hand (1400 of 4200 invested).

If I raise here, I can end the hand now or I can take down the pot with a c-bet if 2/3 of the time. (assuming he does not have AA/KK). My raise would be to 1200 (leaving 3000 behind).

I decide I like the 3rd option here and make it 1200.

He shoves.

And its here I make a fatal mistake. I call. There is no way I am good here. He shows KK.

Now, if we BACK UP to the pre-flop decision and think about why I REALLY wanted to raise instead of call...

Its because I dont feel I can play small ball with TT in this spot. I have an M of 14 to start the hand and I let the fact that there are 9000+ players also influence me. How can I continue to bleed chips and hope to win this thing vs. so many players???

Either I can get dealt QQ and KK numerous times (as was the case with my opponent I would find out), or I can take some volatility to keep my M>20. and I decided to play it that way. It did not work out and I went camping.

(btw, the flop was all under cards!)

I talked to a very good player, and he says that he calls. But if he did raise like I did, that he would not fold to the 4 bet. Obviously, I must have agreed.

IF my M is 20+, this is an easy CALL pre-flop with escape route already mapped out.

All the Blogger games gone?

Next week school starts again, which means weeknights at home. I started to look up the old standard blogger games, but it seems they are gone...

Mookie? gone
Riverchasers? gone

I did sign up for the Skillz rotating games on Tuesday the 8th. Last time I signed up, I was the only player :(

The Mookie is kinda replaced by the ANTE-UP series and a new Detroit online league on Wednesdays, so that is ok.

Is the blogger BIG game still around????

I have noticed on Sunday, Gambit may have a pokersoup.tv game at 9pm, but I did not find it on his site.

There is a low buy-in 2+2 forum PLO on Thursday, but its at 7:05pm which is an awful time. There is also the twitter poker tour that I have not tried yet...

Gadzooks used to maintain a google poker calendar, but I dont think its been updated in quite some time...

Any other leads? (See you in December!)