Bang Your Head

Poker will drive you mad.

I spent last night ramming my head against the wall in 3 MTT. In all three, lack of cards and opportunities left in position where I had to race. I went 0 for 3.

Here is a situation I hate. BB with 88 and a q of .5 where I need to double up. A stack about the same size shoves with ATC when its folded to him in the cutoff. You know he has some hand like KJ and would normally be dominated by the person calling, but instead the best I can do is race him. (He actually had QTo). If I have more chips, I can choose to pick a better spot.

But it was spots that just did not materialize for me last night. And it is due to the fact that I am playing ABC poker and avoiding marginal situations. Well, that is all well and good, but its also like medieval bloodletting.

Changing of the guard

It seems that the regular blogger games are temporarily breaking up. The demise of the Hoy at first really bothered me as it was my favorite event and a Monday night staple for me (especially the 6-max era). But its retirement is fortuitous for me. I have gained a new sense of my place in the poker landscape. I have an opportunity to work on moving my game up instead of just playing 4 events a week. So I am.

I played the 24k the last two days. The first one, I went out early when I got caught up in the race 66 vs. AK. The second one, I finished 115 out of 1200. A cash, albeit a weak one. I have started to aggressively tracking results the likes of which I have not done since last year. In summary, I am getting serious again.

I was so busy talking about hands last night, I forget to enter my Wed night events. When is that last time I can say that?

Do you stand for badness or goodness?

"oh, I wanna be good"
"good" (laughs) "good"

I wish we could get this whole online play in the US thing cleaned up. Look I get the money laundering argumenst. Ok, fine. You cant let a gambling site operate as an unregulated bank. But fine, put down some regulations and taxes. So be it. Do you really thinkg Party Gaming (a PUBLIC company) or Harrah's would not rush to conform?! And if you are worried about the money leaving the country, then state that the company has to be US owned. Whatever. But to make it illegal just makes less and less sense. How long does this have to drag out?

NOT off to a great start

I played the DOUBLE A/B last night on full tilt and just could not accumulate chips. Once time I did get my money in over pair vs OESD, but the other I just waiting and waiting for hands, and when I did hit something, no one challenging me.

I continue to struggle with the balance between playing the correct hands and sitting around watching the avg stack size climb.

Psychology and Poker

Why do we play poker? A psychiatrist often has to deal with people who are experiencing loss. Sometimes that loss is career based. Like a kid who can't play football anymore. And it pains him so much, his mom takes him to a psychiatrist. Now, if that psychiatrist has never experienced this type off loss, he may not able to appreciate the situation. And if the psychiatrist has never played football, he might not appreciate how playing it is a way of life. And when that starts to slip away from you, it can be very hard to deal with. Take Dante Cullpepper (ouch). Ok, take Farve. He just can't bear to not play. Even though he hates training camp, practice, the toll on his body, and other pain he began to think was getting to much of a weight to bear, he found the pain of not playing greater. Only a few (Barry Sanders comes to mind) could walk away and never look back, but Barry was different in that ironically he never liked football. (he often compared it to a job with 12 hour days).

So why do we play poker? For some it may be a way of life. But removing that from the equation, why do we play poker? Its a competitive game. People like to find competitive activities. So that might explain the attraction to the game, but why do we PLAY? I think its because once we decide on an activity or hobby, the next part of the journey is the desire to be better than everyone else. I hate the cliche' "the desire to be the best" because it lacks context. We actually strive to be better than who is in our defined universe. in 2007, I became somewhat obsessed with the Monday night Hoy game. At the end of the year, I lead the money standings. Was I the best player? I doubt it. But at that goal, I worked harder and smarter and putting the hours. And I really loved my work.

I think the best advice I have received in 2008 is simply this. I was asked if I track my results on Official Poker Rankings. And I said no. So the question is, "then why am I playing poker?" Do I want to just play for the social aspect and because I have nothing else to do and I achieved a basic level of comfort? I think for the last few months, the answer is yes. I took a real hard look at my results. In 2007, I won a ton of money. Ironically, online I was break even. All my winnings were mostly home game and table based. In 2008, my results are downright dismal.

So now to complete this written journey. What is so different about playing at a table vs. online. For me, its patience. I have far more patience (and time to make decisions too) at a real table. Online, I play too many hands. Sure, I can get away like Houdini, but I still bleed chips in small pots. I railed some playings in the FTOPs yesterday and watched. I had not done that in a while. And guess what it was... Long stretches of boredom interrupted by brief moments of tough decisions for big pots. And mostly, the big hands won. (mostly, haha). Big Hands for Big Pots. Just that simple.

There is something I learned in stand-up that is relevant here. The better rehearsed you are, the more free you are to deviate from the script. Because you always can make a smooth transition out and back into the script. In poker, the better your base fundamental game is, the easier you can deviate for brief forays into tricky play. The basic issue for me over the last 6 months (and you can just look at the rudimentary posts of this blog for evidence), is that I deviated from the things that make a great poker player, and never came back to the script.

You cant have it both ways Not even Farve. You want to be good, you have to know the playbook inside and out. and you have to practice it, every day. And sometimes it hurts. suck it up buttercup.

Back to the Fundementals

What do I have in common with a losing football team? I'm going back to the basics. Tackling, blocking, executing patterns, etc. Do the easy stuff well and then you can do the hard stuff. I needed someone to swap me in the head with that. So, for the next week, its back to ABC poker. Let's see how that works out...

Like the nostalgia of pulling into an A&W where they still have the window car service, I am playing with my trusty starting hand chart.

I can worry about adjustments late in the tournaments. For now, I'll start with some SnG action.

Not so stumped

Instead of playing last night, I took some time to listen to some wisdom and study my game. I have come to 2 big conclusions. These may seem obvious to you (and to me now), but when you hit a wall often times the sting prevents you from thinking clearly.

1. I am not concentrating when I play online, but I am able to concentrate when I sit at a poker table. This has led to a divergence in my results. +EV at the felt, -EV in the ether. This may be related to my personal situations (job related). Even yesterday, I went on personal tilt when I discovered that I did not HAVE to relinquish my season tickets. I might have anyway, but to find out I had a choice to keep them was quite a jolt to the system.

2. Probably because I have been running bad, I have started to be much more passive at the table. When I read how young guns exploit players online, I was reading a synopsis of my play for the last 3 months. Brutal. WAY, WAY too much calling post-flop best. CALLING. Raise or fold post-flop is poker 201. Seems obvious right? Well, I can tell you I don't think it was for the past months.

and maybe
3. I am not tracking ranges well for other players. I am not sure on this one, because I have gone broke from out of position players lately, including the blinds, with showdowns like top and bottom pair vs. bottom two pair. I am not reading danger as well as I did when I had a smoking 2007.

My SnG play has been mostly a variance issue, getting my money in ahead and watching it ship the other way. But now that I see the above, it is easier to take. And those are my words of wisdom for August. When you get knocked out getting your money in ahead, it can really affect you if you are running bad because you lose perspective. Its like those idiots on survivor or big brother and you say to yourself, "How can they be so stupid?" Well, they aren't. They are just in isolation and lose perspective on what is important and what is noise.

I'm stumped

I just cant get a handle on this. I understand beats, but is it a given that in any given tournament, that you can only put your tournament at risk against stacks you have at least twice as many chips as your opponent because eventually a QQ will take down your KK when all the money gets in? If that is the case, how does one GET a 2-1 chip lead if they are unwilling to get all their chips in with a huge edge?

And in a SnG, with 4 left, how do you NOT try to break the 4th place stack with KK? And after losing and now being the short stack, how do you not play 99 against only a BB? What are the odds he not only wakes up with AK, but the flop is AKK?

I just cant see that my play can be altered to adjust for this downturn without sacrificing solid +EV play. So how does on just continue to "take it in the cakes"??

Should I be playing more cash game to adjust for this?

Most Obvious WORDS OF WISDOM ever for poker

When you are running bad, DONT PLAY RAZZ. And if you are playing HORSE, good freakin luck.

Interestingly enough, I did cash in a SnG. My secret this time? Dont get sucked out on until there are 3 left.

Ok, I'll admit it

Just like when I was 10. I am watching the live launch. spacex.com begins the commercial space age... History is made?

UPDATE: No history today. I think I jinx them. At T-minus 10 restart I mentioned to a friend, "I hope they recall how much trouble NASA had with stage separations." Guess not. At about 1:40 post launch, the camera stopped transmitting. (Time to cover you head.)

Is it true?

Is the only escape from variance to play 1000s on cash hands and just skip tournaments? I refuse to believe it. Yet... Tonight I picked up a short stack desperation move when its folded around the her in the SB. she shoves and I know its a move. That and I look at AJ. Even though its the chips I quietly accumulated in the first 4 levels, I figure her for either a lame Ace of a blatant steal. It was 9T. Too bad the flop give her two pair.

I avoid tilting (no easy task) and call a raise from the button with Q2s when 2 others make the mistake of limping. 4 players see the flop of QdJh2h. First to act checks, next player bets 2000. (I have 10k behind). I figure the pot to be about $3500 and have two others to act, so I just move in. Fold, but then the last player tanks. I realize that he probably has KQ or AQ. Awesome. He eventually expecting me to have QhXh. The original better figures he is beat and folds. Easy peazy. Somehow I lose the hand.

So. there it is. getting my money in ahead is -EV.

One Time!

I walked a mile in everyone's shoes who has screamed that for legitimate reasons. AGAIN, bubble boy when my AA suckers the QQ into shoving and flops a set. I know, just another bad beat, right. But talk about cliche's, what about WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS?

Back in the Saddle

So I was playing poker last night and I was in quite a mood. Sullen and detached, I played fewer hands than usual and played more weak-tight than I typically do. Well, at least I did in the Mookie and went out 7th when A9 sucked out on my AQ. Happens. The good news was that I cashed. Despite running into suckouts, I did win not one but TWO races, which made the difrerence.

How did I GET sullen? Well, I am playing in my Wed night league and I pre-flop raise with 72o. Not just to be cute, but because I played so few hands. The flop comes J9x and I make a continuation bet, which is called by a player who usually does not call when he misses the flop. I figure he has a 9 here. On the turn, I cant even recall the card, I make a 1/2 pot bet. I think it was a K? I would expect the 9 to let go here. Playing few hands, continuation bet, firing second bullet. But his read on me sees to be that I am a big donk. So he calls and I am sure he has a 9. But I am also pretty sure he will call a river bet for anything short of all-in. And maybe there too. So I let it go. (and of course have to watch the abuse pour in from the chat box. Doesn't anyone just win a pot and shut up anymore?). Anyway, that is not the point. I obviously did not have a good enough read on this guys style to run this gambit.

Lesson learned.

Rockband hat

Ok, I got to hand it to myself. My daughter wore this to school and it was a big hit!
My Dad can beat your Dad at Rockband hat

Note the gold icon. It means completion of the entire world tour...
Beats a Columbo hat, eh?

Maybe its not ALL me??

Went out in the 32k with KK into the AA UtG limper. I might be able to get away there. But the "I run bad" curse is firmly here:

First I get a great read that a guy floated me and I am going to take it on the turn. and the turn is an innocent 9. I bet and he crushes me as he hit the 9 and his turn call left me checking the river. So, I come into the final 4 as the shorty.

Table 1 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:09:01 ET - 2008/07/28
Seat 1: LetsBully (3,690)
Seat 2: mwhiii (3,115)
Seat 3: bradleyPHX (4,905)
Seat 8: columbo (1,790)
mwhiii posts the small blind of 60
bradleyPHX posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [2h 2c]
columbo raises to 360
LetsBully folds
mwhiii calls 300
bradleyPHX folds

*** FLOP *** [Qs Kh 3c]
mwhiii checks
columbo checks
*** TURN *** [Qs Kh 3c] [2s]
mwhiii checks
columbo bets 120 <= even if I dont hit the two
mwhiii raises to 360

columbo has 15 seconds left to act <=for effect. I am going to catch him slow playing to break me.
columbo raises to 840 <= what a sucker bet. will he fall for it?

mwhiii raises to 2,755, and is all in <= yup.
columbo calls 590, and is all in
mwhiii shows [Qd Kd]
columbo shows [2h 2c]

*** RIVER *** [Qs Kh 3c 2s] [Ks]
Are you kidding me?

Reality Check

I got some real bad news when I installed a newer version of poker tracker. It was a graph. Not bad news in itself, except it quickly displayed my 2008 poker downward spiral. Results wise, I am playing the worst poker of my life.

It culminated yesterday in a $30 SnG when with FOUR left, I went broke with trips. My Houdini skills have been destroyed by game adjustments and I am grasping at ideas to stop the bleeding.

As the say on the battlefield, "Time to fall back!!"

Shallow Thoughts

In which I bubble not 1 or 2, but FOUR events over the last 2 days. Out of 4! Sad. Including a second place finish in the HOY, which paid just 1st. It happens, I know. But while digesting my results, I floated a hypothesis.

Let's say you were FORCED to play as follows:

Before the money:
1. Whenever you raise pre-flop and are re-raised, or two raises proceed your action, you must fold everything by AA, KK. If its raised once, you can call but only with position (up to say 3.5xBB)
2. Post flop, any bet by your opponent after the flop that would push the pot to 3X the pot size (at the opening of betting) forces you to fold without the current nuts. (You are free to do this, however. But if he re-raises, you are done.)
3. Being re-raised on the turn or river is an auto-fold. As is your opponent betting (VP$P) on the river > 1/2 pot(unless you have the nuts).

Now, if we played this way all the time, the theory is that your play would become predictably weak-tight and fast.

But, as with all things that are constraint-based, you can find ways to work with the constraints. For example:
1. To avoid this situation, raise at least 3.5x BB with premium holdings. Be glad to release non-premiums.
2. Make bets into a pot of 200 that try to force the pot size near 600. i.e., bet pot on flops where you wish to take it down. That way someone coming over the top forcing you to fold came over you with a pot size bet.
3. Make a pressure bet that you feel your opponent can only trump with a solid holding. avoid dark tunnel bets, especially on the river.

Ok, playing this way, what do you miss?
1. Value bets are off the table.
2. folding TPTK is going to happen.
3. You may not get full value post-flop when you catch an opponent with a second best hand. (Since you cant afford to bet 1/2 pot)
4. Setting up an image for later.
5. There is no escaping being card dead other than patience.

BUT, after you make the money, you can re-introduce value bets, slow-playing, walking the dog, floating bets, re-steals, and broken draw bluffing. i.e., change gears BIG TIME. If this is a giant field MTT, then instead of "making the money", you can change gears after >50% of the field is gone. But you would prefer, for the purposes of this discussion, to wait until 75% of the field is gone.

[results to follow]

trying something newish

When I decide to play a hand until the point I release it, I am asking myself a question. "On what street do I wish to apply the pressure?" It is more than it seems. It's about predicting the pressure point instead of waiting for it to come up.

one of the things I am trying to avoid is letting my opponent have a betting line that does not benefit me in any way, such as call-check-check. He floats my flop bet, maybe with a draw, maybe with bottom pair. Now I have to break his betting line. So I predict that the pressure point is the turn or the river, depending on what the board is. Typically, the turn.

sometimes this line of thinking helps you decide when to come over the top of someone. it also helps to keep the aggression factor in you game. Sure, it can backfire with hands like AQ pre-flop, but you have to work past that.

By the way, check out this site for a great rakeback deal with Full Tilt.

Playing for the win or just stupid?

Full Tilt Poker Game #7254280737: The Mookie (54411549), Table 4 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:47:49 ET - 2008/07/16
Seat 1: cemfredmd (4,430)
Seat 2: PirateLawyer (23,175) <=OMG
Seat 3: emoryiowa (7,025)
Seat 4: Breeze81 (13,360)
Seat 5: -WYLDKARD- (2,665)
Seat 7: bayne_s (5,195)
Seat 8: columbo (6,060) <= got the worst of a hand earlier and fought back.
Seat 9: DDionysus (3,715)
antes 25
-WYLDKARD- posts the small blind of 150
bayne_s posts the big blind of 300

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Jh Js]
UTG columbo raises to 1,000 (1/2 hoping for call, 1/2 not)
DDionysus folds
cemfredmd folds
PirateLawyer raises to 2,200 (this could just be a big stack raise?)

I start to think that I will shove when it comes back around...

emoryiowa folds
Breeze81 folds
-WYLDKARD- folds
bayne_s raises to 4,400
columbo: wtf?
columbo has 15 seconds left to act
columbo has requested TIME

Here is what I start thinking.... There are 24 runners left. Do I want to just eek out my existence or try and get some chips? Its a tough call. But I start to formulate a plan. If I shove here, PL has to fold. He cant think we is ahead with 2 re-raises. So estimate his fold here (even though he has lots of chips) at 90% if I shove. Then I am heads up with Bayne with 2.5k in dead chips.

BUT, Bayne is NOT a steal-y player. He has a hand here, no doubt.

So, do you play this hand, or fold it?

Did I bet to little here?

Table 1 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em
Seat 1: Drinking Buddy (1,945)
Seat 2: msugoose (2,375)
Seat 3: columbo (4,540)
Seat 4: Wirdpear (5,650)
Seat 5: Reegy (1,625)
Seat 6: FishforFive (1,870)
Seat 7: Dogsoldier1 (2,460)
Seat 8: Durand Dirty (5,025)
Seat 9: remysteel (1,510)
Dogsoldier1 posts the small blind of 40
Durand Dirty posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to columbo [Qh Jh]
remysteel folds
Drinking Buddy raises to 225
msugoose folds
columbo calls 225
Wirdpear folds
FishforFive is sitting out
Reegy folds
FishforFive folds
Dogsoldier1 folds
Durand Dirty folds

Pot is about 500 and change
*** FLOP *** [5d Th 2h]
Drinking Buddy bets 285
columbo calls 285
4 to 1, close enough

*** TURN *** [5d Th 2h] [5c]
Drinking Buddy checks
The pot is like 1k and I played this like a big pair. Like TT
I figure him now for Tx, 99, 88,77 and his is finally slowing down.
He has just under 1500 left.

I figure 800 into 1000 and he'll fold. If I am wrong, I have to call an all-in on odds but have the redraw.
columbo bets 800.
Drinking Buddy has 15 seconds left to act
Should I have bet more if I am correct about his hand?