Seeing as I haven't posted for a while, I thought I would just provide an update on my current status and note some recent events:
My personal objectives have changed slightly, but are still on track. I'm no longer playing cash as it is such a time consumer and takes my focus away from MTT's; also my finances are a little less fragile now so I don't need to sit up all night playing low stakes cash just to sustain myself lol...
I've been busy the last few months with Pokerisk and as a reward they want to make me a mentor, scoop! I think it is because; I have been running alright (6k, 6k and this month currently 4.5k, my biggest win in a single tournament is still only 3k$ tho), I'm over-active on the forum / been helping players with their HEM and generally have been involved with the Pokerisk community.
This is good opportunity for me, not only for the financial benefits but also to improve my own game and teach those that will be in my team; sounds fun and should be an interesting challenge!
Pokerisk said an area for me to focus is experience in higher value games, so I have been playing more 50 rebuys and 100 freezeouts this month and they upped my limit to $1500 a day accordingly...the variance obviously is exaggerated in these games, but I still play the small games and I've had some pretty near misses for epic payouts (sitting 1/5 in 50 rebuy, and lose all in TT vs 44 preflop arghhh..cudda been an 8k payday :( still got 1.5k for finishing 5th in the end though so can't complain)
Lately I've been going to a few live games, I won a satellite to the £150 game in Stoke (as you can see in my interview on nutz tv lol) and I also won a satellite to a £150 game last weekend in Birmingham...unfortunately I didn't cash either games, since I have been playing lots of games simultaenously online, I find it hard to concentrate in live games (1 game is just boring compared to 12, pretty sure I got ADHD lol!), especially if I have had a beer d'oh. For example, somehow I ended up all in with A7 vs JJ preflop in the Brum £150, despite having over 50 BB's...go figure
Anyway I'm going to be stereotypical and say that the standard in live games is very bad and predictable. Everyone appears so honest in the style that they play (they don't even disguise their emotions!), and lots of people make mistakes that they just consider coolers (flatting jacks in small blind in an already 3 bet pot, then running into aces on a 9 high flop, is not a cooler...thats bad play). I must commend their patience though ;)
I feel that the understanding of position is limited to only preflop actions at best, and that most players are overattached to an ace (even unsuited aces!). I can't imagine how a live player who, even if he played a tournament every night, can ever obtain as much experience as an online player, who can play up to 10 or 20 games as night, whilst also reading blogs/forums on poker and reviewing hands with HEM etc. Also, I'm not sure if live players realise how huge the element of "variance" really is in poker!
Safe poker (like it's the last tournament they will ever play) appears to be the norm, rarely making thin value bets on rivers or putting pressure on their opponents with (albeit sketchy lol) 3-bets, and they suggest that everyone should play in the same manor, likes its an honest game?!?! I expected the standard to be better in the games I saw, in fact I was quite disappointed - especially as I would consider £150 a lot of money.
ooo~shoutout to my brother Andy who came 14th for £550 in the Birmingham tournament, nice1 bro, especially as his usual game is very low stakes (10cent big blind) cash lol :)
Anyway I'm going to Clacton this weekend with Highlander (Ali Baba) and the newly romanced Dr Zoidberg (Izzard), hopefully I can get some good results/late finishes so that I sound less like a bitter mug in this blog post
I've stopped playing online for the rest of this month, as I'm feeling conservative and would like to ensure my paycheque to help towards paying my debt. Lots of stuff I need to catch up on anyway (e.g. updating my blog)
Below is a video I made on a 55e turbo about 2 months ago with another Pokerisk mentor (Nunny - PkrM4gic), we both comment on the game over skype and you can download it from this url:
http://cid-79c2fa6b03380853.office.live.com/self.aspx/.Documents/hopepkrmagic.rar
fish
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Monday, 8 November 2010
Hand Discussion 5 "tricky spot or not?"
ipoker 10k rebuy final 2 tables, raiser had solid stats, this was possibly a very crucial hand in the tourny and had a good discussion about it with a friend of mine, wanted ur guys opinions on the next step and why/
Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $3,000(BB) Replayer
SB ($33,866)
Hero ($74,168)
UTG ($32,352)
UTG+1 ($71,562)
UTG+2 ($35,413)
CO ($51,937)
BTN ($90,525)
Dealt to Hero
: 
:
fold, UTG+1 raises to $7,000, fold, fold, fold, fold,
wwyd? why?
---
My response:
I don't like shoving here - as you said he was a tight player which makes me think he will only call off a better hand such as TT+ (or AQ/AK for a race)
Against a looser player I would shove, as I feel they would have a large opening/calling range (better equity for you) and that a tight player would not 4 bet light in the current (complicated!) situation.
There is a lot of interesting points about his raise here:
1) He is raising your blind (i.e. you and him have same stack size which appears to be around 3rd to 6th position), he may feel like your the best blind to steal as you are less inclined to be involved in pot with him near the FT bubble whilst there are shorter stacks at the table, or counter to that he may feel that way himself, and hence will only raise your blind with premium...which leads me to
2) His bet size is 7000 which is just under 2.5x big blinds. This is a very strange size as it is quite inviting for others (including yourself) to call or reshove on. I feel that if he only wanted to play a pot with a premium but not monster hand against your stack (e.g. he has a hand range in the AQ or TT area) he would bet a larger amount to protect his hand such as 3x (9k) or even 4x bb (12k), especially as he is a tight player who has solid stats.
7000 to me feels like either a cheap attempt to steal (or weakish holding like KJ), or a monster inviting a 3 bet shove. By putting in 7000 I feel he is not commited to a re-shove made by any of the players behind (if the smallest stack behind him shoved it would make the bet 35k total, which is 28k more for him to call). He may have planned this intentionally or he may not even be aware of this.
3) He is a tight player with solid stats and raising from an early position. This generally means strength. His early position raise leaves him vulnerable to a reshove from a lot of players behind him on the table (including you) so technically he is representing strong hand.
Seeing as you have 99 and your 6 handed facing a single raise, there is a good chance you have the best hand. Like I said before, I feel like your deep enough and the situation is right to warrant a re-raise without shoving, and somewhere around 22-23k feels right to me. By betting 22-23k it means:
If he re-shoves you can fold, based on the information you have given that he has solid stats and is a tight player - I don't feel like he would 4 bet light and most likely your 99 is behind or racing. This would leave you in 50k which is a good position in the tournament.
If he calls then the pot will be around 50k, and you will have around 50k behind which means you can (based on the flop texture) either shove the flop or check-fold the flop, due to the size of the pot the disadvantage of playing the flop out of position is lessened for you (because your either shoving or folding)
There are 2 unknowns though that might impact my thought process however:
1) Your image at the table
2) How regular his pre flop bet size raises are
Being a massive fish I would probably make the same raise with a wide range of hands here, feeling that there is a good chance he will fold to a 3 bet and that you will still have a good stack if you have to fold to a 4 bet.
Hope
----
Someone replied:
Just to point out, theres nothing that says hes tight, just that he has solid stats.. As in a solid player. So to say 7k is an odd raise size is wrong. It is standard for a good player to open this size with his whole range.
No 'solid' player would open more with the weaker part of his range to protect his hand unless hed decide the table was so poor it was more profitable to play exploitably and vary the raise size with the strength of his hand.
Also, a shove will almost always be profitable against a decent player unless hes extremely tight.
From fpppro.com's fold equity calculator, going off a calling range of AQ, TT+
Effective Stack: 71000 (How much you push)
Estimated Equity %: 37% (How much equity you have when called)
Pot Size: 15550 (Current pot size) assuming 150 ante
Facing Bet? 7000 (Size of bet you are shoving over)
Villain must fold at least 50% of the time.
So he only needs to fold half the time to make it profitable. Given hes solid, and should know when to apply pressure in the later stages of a game, then hes going to be opening a lot wider than than just his calling range.
I would never normally 3bet/fold with 23BB, but you could make a case for it ICM wise I suppose.
It seems pointless to do it with a hand as strong as 9s though when youre just bluffing preflop.
He flats so rarely, so you may as well do it with a hand with blockers (some sort of Ace..etc, or some trash QJo, K10o..etc.
Without the benefit of more stats over a large sample, then Id say Shove > flat >>> 3bet/fold.
---
My response:
I think you are missing some important factors with the fold equity analyse.
Even if it is a positive EV situation for chips (which would make it a very reasonable shove in a cash game), it may not be a positive EV situation for $ as you have to consider other factors, such as the payout structure, your position in the tournament and the standard of play in the tournament.
For example if you were to take the different scenarios and the potential payday from each, we can assume which course of action is most profitable, seeing as we can't predict the future I have estimated and rounded the numbers (these numbers could definately be open to discussion but I just want to get the idea across, I assumed that if you have more chips you would win more as the payout structure is top heavy)
Case 1: You 3 bet shove
a) 3 bet shove, he calls and you win
New chip count: 150k
Estimated average Pay Day: $2100
So I'm saying if this happens (you 3 bet shove, he calls and you win the showdown) then you will on average win $2100 in the tournament.
Assuming you win the showdown on average 33% of the time (I'm estimating that you win half the flips 99 vs aq and ak, and 1 out of 5 times vs an overpair 99 vs TT+) and he only calls your shove 50% of the time, then your total average for this scenario is:
Total average payday is:
33% of 2100 = $700
50% of 700 = $350
b) 3 bet shove, he calls and you lose
New chip count: 3k
Average Pay Day: $240
So I'm saying if this happens (you 3 bet shove, he calls and you lose the showdown) then you will on average win $240 in the tournament.
Assuming you lose the showdown on average 66% of the time (I'm estimating that you lose half the flips 99 vs aq and ak, and 4 out of 5 times vs an overpair 99 vs TT+) and he only calls your shove 50% of the time, then your total average for this scenario is:
Total average payday is:
66% of 240 = $160
50% of 160 = $80
c) 3 bet shove and he folds
New chip count: 85k
Average Pay Day: $1300
Assuming he calls the remainding 50% of the time:
Total average payday is:
50% of 1300 = $650
So your total average payday for 3 bet shoving is (by my estimate):
Total average payday for case 1, 3 bet shoving preflop:
350 + 80 + 650
= $1080
Case 2: You 3 bet to 20k
a) 3 bet raise he folds
New chip count: 85k
Average Pay Day: $1300
Assuming this happens 40% of the time
Total average payday is:
40% of 1300 = $520
b) 3 bet raise he shoves you fold
New chip count: 50k
Average Pay Day: $1000
Assuming this happens 30% of the time
Total average payday is:
30% of 1000 = $300
c) 3 bet raise he calls
For the sake of argument, I am going to say that 50% of the time you shove the flop, he folds and you win the pot, and 50% of the time you check-fold the flop and lose the pot.
Shove the flop, he folds and you win the pot:
New chip count: 100k
Average Pay day: $1700
50% of 1700 = $850
Check-fold the flop, and lose the pot:
New chip count: 50k
Average Pay day: $1000
50% of 1000 = $500
Sub-total average payday = 850 + 500 = $1350
Assuming this happens 30% of the time
Total average payday is:
30% of 1350 = $405
So your total average payday for 3 bet raising to 20k preflop is (by my estimate):
Total average payday for Case 2, 3 bet raising 20k preflop:
520 + 300 + 405 = $1225
-----
Case 1: You 3 bet shove $ EV: $1080
Case 2: You 3 bet to 20k $ EV: $1225
So this questions whether a positive EV situation for chips represents a positive EV situation for $, but this is just one factor.
Maybe if Rip felt the standard of play in the tournament was very high and everyone was outplaying him, then he may have taken the shove using the thought process:
When playing against players better than you, try to enhance the luck factor (e.g. bigger pots preflop)
When playing against players weaker than you, try to reduce the luck factor (e.g. smaller pots preflop)
I do this especially heads up in a tournament if I'm playing a person who has a lot better stats than me on sharkscope and there is a few $1000 up for grabs between 1st and 2nd place (cheap I know..but I don't would rather gamble for big money than get outplayed, although its obviously good experience I would rather find a cheaper opportunity to improve)
---
So the point I'm trying to make is that there is lots of factors to consider when making a decision (hand strength, stack sizes, opponents, standard of play, foresight, payout structure, etc.), and I feel the difference between a good poker player and a great poker playing is being able to identify and weigh which factor's are most important in each given situation, then make the right decision based on these factors.
It's not somewhere I am at, but it's somewhere I want to be! I can't process all the information in time (especially with the lack of timebanks) and the accuracy of my analyse is hopefully becoming more accurate/faster over time with experience/study - this just my opinion
Another plan is to just run really well lol
Steve
ipoker 10k rebuy final 2 tables, raiser had solid stats, this was possibly a very crucial hand in the tourny and had a good discussion about it with a friend of mine, wanted ur guys opinions on the next step and why/
Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $3,000(BB) Replayer
SB ($33,866)
Hero ($74,168)
UTG ($32,352)
UTG+1 ($71,562)
UTG+2 ($35,413)
CO ($51,937)
BTN ($90,525)
Dealt to Hero
: :fold, UTG+1 raises to $7,000, fold, fold, fold, fold,
wwyd? why?
---
My response:
I don't like shoving here - as you said he was a tight player which makes me think he will only call off a better hand such as TT+ (or AQ/AK for a race)
Against a looser player I would shove, as I feel they would have a large opening/calling range (better equity for you) and that a tight player would not 4 bet light in the current (complicated!) situation.
There is a lot of interesting points about his raise here:
1) He is raising your blind (i.e. you and him have same stack size which appears to be around 3rd to 6th position), he may feel like your the best blind to steal as you are less inclined to be involved in pot with him near the FT bubble whilst there are shorter stacks at the table, or counter to that he may feel that way himself, and hence will only raise your blind with premium...which leads me to
2) His bet size is 7000 which is just under 2.5x big blinds. This is a very strange size as it is quite inviting for others (including yourself) to call or reshove on. I feel that if he only wanted to play a pot with a premium but not monster hand against your stack (e.g. he has a hand range in the AQ or TT area) he would bet a larger amount to protect his hand such as 3x (9k) or even 4x bb (12k), especially as he is a tight player who has solid stats.
7000 to me feels like either a cheap attempt to steal (or weakish holding like KJ), or a monster inviting a 3 bet shove. By putting in 7000 I feel he is not commited to a re-shove made by any of the players behind (if the smallest stack behind him shoved it would make the bet 35k total, which is 28k more for him to call). He may have planned this intentionally or he may not even be aware of this.
3) He is a tight player with solid stats and raising from an early position. This generally means strength. His early position raise leaves him vulnerable to a reshove from a lot of players behind him on the table (including you) so technically he is representing strong hand.
Seeing as you have 99 and your 6 handed facing a single raise, there is a good chance you have the best hand. Like I said before, I feel like your deep enough and the situation is right to warrant a re-raise without shoving, and somewhere around 22-23k feels right to me. By betting 22-23k it means:
If he re-shoves you can fold, based on the information you have given that he has solid stats and is a tight player - I don't feel like he would 4 bet light and most likely your 99 is behind or racing. This would leave you in 50k which is a good position in the tournament.
If he calls then the pot will be around 50k, and you will have around 50k behind which means you can (based on the flop texture) either shove the flop or check-fold the flop, due to the size of the pot the disadvantage of playing the flop out of position is lessened for you (because your either shoving or folding)
There are 2 unknowns though that might impact my thought process however:
1) Your image at the table
2) How regular his pre flop bet size raises are
Being a massive fish I would probably make the same raise with a wide range of hands here, feeling that there is a good chance he will fold to a 3 bet and that you will still have a good stack if you have to fold to a 4 bet.
Hope
----
Someone replied:
Just to point out, theres nothing that says hes tight, just that he has solid stats.. As in a solid player. So to say 7k is an odd raise size is wrong. It is standard for a good player to open this size with his whole range.
No 'solid' player would open more with the weaker part of his range to protect his hand unless hed decide the table was so poor it was more profitable to play exploitably and vary the raise size with the strength of his hand.
Also, a shove will almost always be profitable against a decent player unless hes extremely tight.
From fpppro.com's fold equity calculator, going off a calling range of AQ, TT+
Effective Stack: 71000 (How much you push)
Estimated Equity %: 37% (How much equity you have when called)
Pot Size: 15550 (Current pot size) assuming 150 ante
Facing Bet? 7000 (Size of bet you are shoving over)
Villain must fold at least 50% of the time.
So he only needs to fold half the time to make it profitable. Given hes solid, and should know when to apply pressure in the later stages of a game, then hes going to be opening a lot wider than than just his calling range.
I would never normally 3bet/fold with 23BB, but you could make a case for it ICM wise I suppose.
It seems pointless to do it with a hand as strong as 9s though when youre just bluffing preflop.
He flats so rarely, so you may as well do it with a hand with blockers (some sort of Ace..etc, or some trash QJo, K10o..etc.
Without the benefit of more stats over a large sample, then Id say Shove > flat >>> 3bet/fold.
---
My response:
I think you are missing some important factors with the fold equity analyse.
Even if it is a positive EV situation for chips (which would make it a very reasonable shove in a cash game), it may not be a positive EV situation for $ as you have to consider other factors, such as the payout structure, your position in the tournament and the standard of play in the tournament.
For example if you were to take the different scenarios and the potential payday from each, we can assume which course of action is most profitable, seeing as we can't predict the future I have estimated and rounded the numbers (these numbers could definately be open to discussion but I just want to get the idea across, I assumed that if you have more chips you would win more as the payout structure is top heavy)
Case 1: You 3 bet shove
a) 3 bet shove, he calls and you win
New chip count: 150k
Estimated average Pay Day: $2100
So I'm saying if this happens (you 3 bet shove, he calls and you win the showdown) then you will on average win $2100 in the tournament.
Assuming you win the showdown on average 33% of the time (I'm estimating that you win half the flips 99 vs aq and ak, and 1 out of 5 times vs an overpair 99 vs TT+) and he only calls your shove 50% of the time, then your total average for this scenario is:
Total average payday is:
33% of 2100 = $700
50% of 700 = $350
b) 3 bet shove, he calls and you lose
New chip count: 3k
Average Pay Day: $240
So I'm saying if this happens (you 3 bet shove, he calls and you lose the showdown) then you will on average win $240 in the tournament.
Assuming you lose the showdown on average 66% of the time (I'm estimating that you lose half the flips 99 vs aq and ak, and 4 out of 5 times vs an overpair 99 vs TT+) and he only calls your shove 50% of the time, then your total average for this scenario is:
Total average payday is:
66% of 240 = $160
50% of 160 = $80
c) 3 bet shove and he folds
New chip count: 85k
Average Pay Day: $1300
Assuming he calls the remainding 50% of the time:
Total average payday is:
50% of 1300 = $650
So your total average payday for 3 bet shoving is (by my estimate):
Total average payday for case 1, 3 bet shoving preflop:
350 + 80 + 650
= $1080
Case 2: You 3 bet to 20k
a) 3 bet raise he folds
New chip count: 85k
Average Pay Day: $1300
Assuming this happens 40% of the time
Total average payday is:
40% of 1300 = $520
b) 3 bet raise he shoves you fold
New chip count: 50k
Average Pay Day: $1000
Assuming this happens 30% of the time
Total average payday is:
30% of 1000 = $300
c) 3 bet raise he calls
For the sake of argument, I am going to say that 50% of the time you shove the flop, he folds and you win the pot, and 50% of the time you check-fold the flop and lose the pot.
Shove the flop, he folds and you win the pot:
New chip count: 100k
Average Pay day: $1700
50% of 1700 = $850
Check-fold the flop, and lose the pot:
New chip count: 50k
Average Pay day: $1000
50% of 1000 = $500
Sub-total average payday = 850 + 500 = $1350
Assuming this happens 30% of the time
Total average payday is:
30% of 1350 = $405
So your total average payday for 3 bet raising to 20k preflop is (by my estimate):
Total average payday for Case 2, 3 bet raising 20k preflop:
520 + 300 + 405 = $1225
-----
Case 1: You 3 bet shove $ EV: $1080
Case 2: You 3 bet to 20k $ EV: $1225
So this questions whether a positive EV situation for chips represents a positive EV situation for $, but this is just one factor.
Maybe if Rip felt the standard of play in the tournament was very high and everyone was outplaying him, then he may have taken the shove using the thought process:
When playing against players better than you, try to enhance the luck factor (e.g. bigger pots preflop)
When playing against players weaker than you, try to reduce the luck factor (e.g. smaller pots preflop)
I do this especially heads up in a tournament if I'm playing a person who has a lot better stats than me on sharkscope and there is a few $1000 up for grabs between 1st and 2nd place (cheap I know..but I don't would rather gamble for big money than get outplayed, although its obviously good experience I would rather find a cheaper opportunity to improve)
---
So the point I'm trying to make is that there is lots of factors to consider when making a decision (hand strength, stack sizes, opponents, standard of play, foresight, payout structure, etc.), and I feel the difference between a good poker player and a great poker playing is being able to identify and weigh which factor's are most important in each given situation, then make the right decision based on these factors.
It's not somewhere I am at, but it's somewhere I want to be! I can't process all the information in time (especially with the lack of timebanks) and the accuracy of my analyse is hopefully becoming more accurate/faster over time with experience/study - this just my opinion
Another plan is to just run really well lol
Steve
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Hand Discussion 4 "9k 54$ DS SH"
DS=deepstack, SH=short handed, ITM=in the money
ALready ITM last 15
***** Hand History for Game 1111111111 ***** (On Game)
Tourney Hand NL Texas Hold'em - Saturday, September 25, 10:57:32 ET 2010
Table Table 5 84776349 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Seat 4: Player4 ( $67636.00 USD ) - VPIP: 22, PFR: 16, 3B: 2, AF: 1.3, Hands: 193
Seat 9: Player9 ( $46481.00 USD ) - VPIP: 24, PFR: 8, 3B: 0, AF: 2.3, Hands: 102
Seat 10: Player10 ( $54943.00 USD ) - VPIP: 20, PFR: 15, 3B: 9, AF: 3.0, Hands: 184
Seat 3: Hero ( $55692.00 USD ) - VPIP: 24, PFR: 17, 3B: 8, AF: 2.3, Hands: 72174
Player4 posts ante of [$120.00 USD].
Player9 posts ante of [$120.00 USD].
Player10 posts ante of [$120.00 USD].
Hero posts ante of [$120.00 USD].
Player4 posts small blind [$600.00 USD].
Player9 posts big blind [$1200.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Kh As ]
Player10 raises [$3000.00 USD]
Hero ????????
so whats the plan here I have a healthy stack flat in pos 3bet? R we playing for stacks here if we 3bet?
if we 3bet whats the optimal betsize here?
----
My response:
I'd 3 bet here but probably a bit bigger than easyeasyeasy - more like 10 or 11k as the pot is pretty big alrdy with the antis, 3k to 8k gives him pretty good odds to call (5k to win about 13.5k) with ur deepstacks.
If he shoves then your almost always calling 4 handed with AK and for probably a first place pot late in the tourny - unless you have some sort of awesome read on him (if he does shove it would feel pretty flippy to me like JJ or QQ, I'd go for it at this point of the tourny)
If he flats and checks to you on the flop, with a 20-25k pot and you both having 45k behind, most times I would shove the flop - this makes your life a lot easier and because you built a big pot pre your close to the odds even if he has an overpair and elects to call (e.g. the flop is 628 and he has JJ)...you were planning on calling his shove pre anyway so whats the difference? Only this time you got a bigger pot to win without a showdown. I don't like the idea of making a weak C bet then potentially folding....epic leak in my opinion
Also if he has a hand like JJ, he will probably think along the lines of "I'll call pre and check raise a low flop", then if you flat shove it makes his decision a lot harder
P.s. this is a lot more effective late in a tournament than early in a tournament as people will call off a lot lighter early in a tourny
I don't think shoving preflop is that awful (although not my preferred route) for a couple of reasons:
1) Your AK is very likely to be the best hand so your taking the 5.5K pot down that is rightfully yours (which is 10% of your stack)
2) It's inviting your opponents to make mistakes, there is nothing more annoying than having some mug shove on you everytime you raise when you have deepstacks and coming up to a crucial time relative to the payout structure and competition end, especially Shorthanded when it is more noticable and you know you need to raise more than a full ring game as the anti's and blinds will eat you.
It's awesome when you have a good run of cards and keep shoving on your opponents and eventually they give way and make a bad call ("this donk shoves all the time! if he shoves now im calling this AJ/99 pre despite having 40bbs!!" - ever done that before and ran into AA/KK or AK? lol i have...
)
The other factor to consider is your table image and your read on him, e.g. if he is a calling station then obviously don't shove any flop without an A or K, or if you have been 3 betting/contiuation betting a lot then your shoves going to get a lot less respect
ALready ITM last 15
***** Hand History for Game 1111111111 ***** (On Game)
Tourney Hand NL Texas Hold'em - Saturday, September 25, 10:57:32 ET 2010
Table Table 5 84776349 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Seat 4: Player4 ( $67636.00 USD ) - VPIP: 22, PFR: 16, 3B: 2, AF: 1.3, Hands: 193
Seat 9: Player9 ( $46481.00 USD ) - VPIP: 24, PFR: 8, 3B: 0, AF: 2.3, Hands: 102
Seat 10: Player10 ( $54943.00 USD ) - VPIP: 20, PFR: 15, 3B: 9, AF: 3.0, Hands: 184
Seat 3: Hero ( $55692.00 USD ) - VPIP: 24, PFR: 17, 3B: 8, AF: 2.3, Hands: 72174
Player4 posts ante of [$120.00 USD].
Player9 posts ante of [$120.00 USD].
Player10 posts ante of [$120.00 USD].
Hero posts ante of [$120.00 USD].
Player4 posts small blind [$600.00 USD].
Player9 posts big blind [$1200.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Kh As ]
Player10 raises [$3000.00 USD]
Hero ????????
so whats the plan here I have a healthy stack flat in pos 3bet? R we playing for stacks here if we 3bet?
if we 3bet whats the optimal betsize here?
----
My response:
I'd 3 bet here but probably a bit bigger than easyeasyeasy - more like 10 or 11k as the pot is pretty big alrdy with the antis, 3k to 8k gives him pretty good odds to call (5k to win about 13.5k) with ur deepstacks.
If he shoves then your almost always calling 4 handed with AK and for probably a first place pot late in the tourny - unless you have some sort of awesome read on him (if he does shove it would feel pretty flippy to me like JJ or QQ, I'd go for it at this point of the tourny)
If he flats and checks to you on the flop, with a 20-25k pot and you both having 45k behind, most times I would shove the flop - this makes your life a lot easier and because you built a big pot pre your close to the odds even if he has an overpair and elects to call (e.g. the flop is 628 and he has JJ)...you were planning on calling his shove pre anyway so whats the difference? Only this time you got a bigger pot to win without a showdown. I don't like the idea of making a weak C bet then potentially folding....epic leak in my opinion
Also if he has a hand like JJ, he will probably think along the lines of "I'll call pre and check raise a low flop", then if you flat shove it makes his decision a lot harder
P.s. this is a lot more effective late in a tournament than early in a tournament as people will call off a lot lighter early in a tourny
I don't think shoving preflop is that awful (although not my preferred route) for a couple of reasons:
1) Your AK is very likely to be the best hand so your taking the 5.5K pot down that is rightfully yours (which is 10% of your stack)
2) It's inviting your opponents to make mistakes, there is nothing more annoying than having some mug shove on you everytime you raise when you have deepstacks and coming up to a crucial time relative to the payout structure and competition end, especially Shorthanded when it is more noticable and you know you need to raise more than a full ring game as the anti's and blinds will eat you.
It's awesome when you have a good run of cards and keep shoving on your opponents and eventually they give way and make a bad call ("this donk shoves all the time! if he shoves now im calling this AJ/99 pre despite having 40bbs!!" - ever done that before and ran into AA/KK or AK? lol i have...
)The other factor to consider is your table image and your read on him, e.g. if he is a calling station then obviously don't shove any flop without an A or K, or if you have been 3 betting/contiuation betting a lot then your shoves going to get a lot less respect
Hand Discussion 3 "Badly played monster"
I know I played the hand pretty poorly.. but I was just wondering if most people would:
a) Take the same line on the flop in checking, or bet out (How much?)
b) I am assuming most people would be raising here.. but do you raise less to try get both to call?
c) I know my river bet was poorly sizes (I bet pot hoping he obv had a 4 and couldnt lay it down).. but how much are you valuebetting.
TY
Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $1(BB) Prima
SB ($96.81)
BB ($59.50)
Hero ($165)
UTG+1 ($134)
CO ($102)
BTN ($33.41)
Dealt to Hero
: 
:
Hero raises to $3, UTG+1 calls $3, fold, BTN calls $3, SB calls $2.50, BB calls $2
FLOP ($15)
: 
: 
:
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks, UTG+1 checks, BTN checks
TURN ($15): : : 
:
SB bets $5, BB calls $5, Hero raises to $18, UTG+1 folds, BTN folds, SB calls $13, BB folds
RIVER ($56): : : : 
:
SB checks, Hero bets $55, SB folds
Hero shows: :
Hero wins $52.70
-----
My response:
With 3 callers pre and such an awesome flop (straight draw. flush draw, no high cards), I think you should be C betting here.
How much you bet is interesting - you basically want to represent either AK/AQ or a big hand such as a AA KK in my opinion to align with your preflop raise!
However in doing this though I think you want to represent a big hand that is played by a Scared of big pots player to either the flush draw hitting, or the straight hitting (not scared as in shove the flop so noone has the odds)
If someone has the a 4 (e.g. A4 or 45) most likely the money's going in anyway so not really worth worrying about.
With a multiway pot it builds up very quickly and half pot or 3/4 pot bets like 6 or 8$ will, in my opinion, scare away a lot of opponents (basically you will need the first guy to call to give the other guys the odds) and not achieve your objective - which is to undercharge the fish who think they can make a bigger hand than yours even though they can't, and if they hit their draw (e.g. a straight or flush draw) - then they can get overexcited about it and commit their stack, or miss and potentially bluff.
With a weaker holding you would obviously have to charge accordingly as if they hit their draws their hand will become stronger than yours. (e.g. if you had AA then you don't want the pot to continue multiway)
So I would bet the flop, but I would do a scared bet like a 3rd or just under half the pot (3-5$) and try to induce as many callers as possible. Then again the same bet on the turn - give them too good odds so they can't refuse their flush or straight draw and then over charge value bet them on the river when the pot is alrdy big!! They might even intepret your turn or flop bet as weak and re raise..premium
It's unlikely anyone will overtake your 77 so you don't need to protect your hand with a big bet here (someone with e.g. 88 or 99 might re raise your flop bet anyway and build the pot which is the main goal, or some fish might reraise 56 suited thinking -hes drawing to lots of premium hands)
It might even get to the river and you can make an overvalue bet (like pot) representing a missed flush draw (e.g. AK suited, remember you raised in UTG) and get a big value bet called on the river from a hand like 22,33,66,88 etc.
As always it depends on your table and your image at the table, if you bet every flop then bet again, if they are all fish and love calling any draw regardless of size, then just overvalue bet - if they are super aggresive and love raising draws then check to them.
If they are reasonably logically players TAG or you don't have much information on them, then I would persue the route above as I think this is extracts the maximum value.
a) Take the same line on the flop in checking, or bet out (How much?)
b) I am assuming most people would be raising here.. but do you raise less to try get both to call?
c) I know my river bet was poorly sizes (I bet pot hoping he obv had a 4 and couldnt lay it down).. but how much are you valuebetting.
TY
Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $1(BB) Prima
SB ($96.81)
BB ($59.50)
Hero ($165)
UTG+1 ($134)
CO ($102)
BTN ($33.41)
Dealt to Hero
: :Hero raises to $3, UTG+1 calls $3, fold, BTN calls $3, SB calls $2.50, BB calls $2
FLOP ($15)
: : :SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks, UTG+1 checks, BTN checks
TURN ($15)
: : : :SB bets $5, BB calls $5, Hero raises to $18, UTG+1 folds, BTN folds, SB calls $13, BB folds
RIVER ($56)
: : : : :SB checks, Hero bets $55, SB folds
Hero shows
: :Hero wins $52.70
-----
My response:
With 3 callers pre and such an awesome flop (straight draw. flush draw, no high cards), I think you should be C betting here.
How much you bet is interesting - you basically want to represent either AK/AQ or a big hand such as a AA KK in my opinion to align with your preflop raise!
However in doing this though I think you want to represent a big hand that is played by a Scared of big pots player to either the flush draw hitting, or the straight hitting (not scared as in shove the flop so noone has the odds)
If someone has the a 4 (e.g. A4 or 45) most likely the money's going in anyway so not really worth worrying about.
With a multiway pot it builds up very quickly and half pot or 3/4 pot bets like 6 or 8$ will, in my opinion, scare away a lot of opponents (basically you will need the first guy to call to give the other guys the odds) and not achieve your objective - which is to undercharge the fish who think they can make a bigger hand than yours even though they can't, and if they hit their draw (e.g. a straight or flush draw) - then they can get overexcited about it and commit their stack, or miss and potentially bluff.
With a weaker holding you would obviously have to charge accordingly as if they hit their draws their hand will become stronger than yours. (e.g. if you had AA then you don't want the pot to continue multiway)
So I would bet the flop, but I would do a scared bet like a 3rd or just under half the pot (3-5$) and try to induce as many callers as possible. Then again the same bet on the turn - give them too good odds so they can't refuse their flush or straight draw and then over charge value bet them on the river when the pot is alrdy big!! They might even intepret your turn or flop bet as weak and re raise..premium
It's unlikely anyone will overtake your 77 so you don't need to protect your hand with a big bet here (someone with e.g. 88 or 99 might re raise your flop bet anyway and build the pot which is the main goal, or some fish might reraise 56 suited thinking -hes drawing to lots of premium hands)
It might even get to the river and you can make an overvalue bet (like pot) representing a missed flush draw (e.g. AK suited, remember you raised in UTG) and get a big value bet called on the river from a hand like 22,33,66,88 etc.
As always it depends on your table and your image at the table, if you bet every flop then bet again, if they are all fish and love calling any draw regardless of size, then just overvalue bet - if they are super aggresive and love raising draws then check to them.
If they are reasonably logically players TAG or you don't have much information on them, then I would persue the route above as I think this is extracts the maximum value.
Hand Discussion 2 "JJ 60 BB deep"
So ok this is not my hand though but a discussion of a friend of mine. He has no stats. Ill give his thoughts and my thoughts but would like to hear yours. I know I get a lot of these situations myself and I also know that in these situations its often a tough spot and thise situations definately needs fine tuning on my part.
so WWYD?
Seat 1: Sveden House (3,710)
Seat 2: DoyleBrownStain (10,171)
Seat 3: scumm3r (4,250)
Seat 4: Hero (9,682)
Seat 5: weebettle1 (3,140)
Seat 6: Dagon84 (5,550)
Seat 7: Predator2211 (6,380)
Seat 8: malin_j (3,195)
Seat 9: crakovik (5,805)
weebettle1 posts the small blind of 80
Dagon84 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Js Jh]
Predator2211 folds
malin_j folds
crakovik folds
Sveden House has 15 seconds left to act
Sveden House folds
DoyleBrownStain raises to 480
scumm3r folds
Hero calls 480
weebettle1 folds
Dagon84 folds
*** FLOP *** [2s 8s 5s]
DoyleBrownStain bets 875
Hero calls 875
*** TURN *** [2s 8s 5s] [8c]
DoyleBrownStain bets 1,499
Hero calls 1,499
*** RIVER *** [2s 8s 5s 8c] [9c]
DoyleBrownStain bets 3,256
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero folds
Uncalled bet of 3,256 returned to DoyleBrownStain
DoyleBrownStain mucks
DoyleBrownStain wins the pot (5,948)
Heros thoughts/question: after I doubled him up with my JJ vs his KK ive seen no showdowns execpt 1 decent pot which he won with AA. Could I hve fold the turn
My thoughts: I would prefer raising flop to about 1899 or so. This way youll
A) get a fold which is good imo
B ) get a call which gives you the opportunity to use potcontrol on turn and see a free river cause most opponents will check their hands 2 ya after B/C a flop
C) get a raise, this way agains a tight player which he assumes he is will more than likely have U beat than have a AsXx FD.
at least U have a more clear ideay where U stand
Another player adds: If ur going to call turn the 9 river is an obv blank so ull have to call river aswell
----
My Response:
Not a nice scenario
Heres my thoughts:
I agree that you should be re-raising the flop (or preflop, although in this scenario I like the flat pre because of the stack sizes and position) to define your hand / become the aggresor...flatting all the way is very passive and gives you no info on your opponent and also allows for him to hit free cards if he did have e.g. AK or AQ (esp of spades suit)
If he shoves after your re-raise on the flop or preflop then you need to seriously consider your options based on what information you have on him and the pot odds/etc (i.e. is he capable of making this shove with a bluff or semi bluff, e.g. AK with 1 spade and how likely is it that he has an overpair bigger than JJ?)
---
Regarding your river dilema:
If we review the hand from his perspective (seeing as we don't know what he had let's assume he had KK, although his holding doesn't necessarily matter as much as the thought process behind it):
He bets pre and you call...not much information on your hand yet expect that it is unlikely you have AA or KK or AK as you didn't re raise him pre.
The flop comes
and it has a flush (spades) and straight (could be holding 67 or 34 with or without 1 spade) draw, he does a standard C bet of around 3/4 pot - this doesn't really give away much info about his hand and charges appropriately the fishy flop - he can assume at this point his KK is most likely the best hand as it's 1v1.
You call his bet, but you don't re raise him. This probably means to him that you have most likely a draw (flush or straight) or a small part of the flop...e.g. a single pair (87 or 77 or 54, etc.). There's also a slight chance you have a big part of the flop (e.g. set or made flush) and am slow playing it, the chances of this are obviously lower as its so rare you flop a set and it is only 1 opponent And you would be more inclined to re raise on such a dangerous flop.
The turn comes
and doesn't complete any draws but pairs the 8.
Seeing as you didn't re raise the flop and the turn card does not complete any of the draws (which he most likely put you on after your call on the flop), he value bets again to protect his hand.
You call his turn bet again, but don't re raise him. At this point he must be concerned because you are willing to persue the pot despite it getting expensive - and should be considering that it is a lot less likely you are on a draw (more likely at least a semi draw e.g. an additional pair to the 88 and a flush draw) and tread carefully on the river - he only has 2 pair and there is 1 pair already on the board, you could feasibly be holding an 8 (e.g. 87), I doubt he has put you on 99 TT or JJ at this point as he would have expected you to raise by now! (nothing majorly wrong with flatting thus mixing up your game to trick your opponents - keep em guessing!)
The river comes
and doesn't complete the flush draw but does complete a straight draw (5-67-89)
Its a very strange bet he makes on the river: If he has a hand like KK or AA its quite a thin value bet as if he believes you have a missed draw it's very unlikely you are going to call a 3rd big bet for a big portion of your stack with a weaker holding than his assumed AA or KK - it would make a lot more sense for him to check-call here with an overpair (or make a smaller "blocker" bet e.g. 1-1.5k) as it controls the pot size (which is now pretty big) and allows you the opportunity to make a mistake...i.e. pay him off with a weaker holding or bluff (people seem a lot more inclined to bluff missed draws as they feel its the only way they can win the pot)
Which makes me think he has here either a very strong hand, or a very weak hand and is hoping you missed your draw ("aswell").
So I believe his holdings could be:
22, 55, 88, 89 or 99 for a full house / quads - These hands he could certainly bet out the river and would align with the betting to date (88 least likely)
AK or AQ with one spade - with this hand he might feel that the only way to win the pot is to persue his bluff and 3rd barrel the river (less likely) and could align with the betting to date
AK or AQ with two spades - betting the river makes sense as he has just been value betting every street
Or a complete bluff with any 2 cards (e.g. 77 with one spade), you can never rule it out - happens in poker completely unexpectedly from time to time lol guess that is what makes it an interesting game.
TT QQ KK AA I think he would check-call or do a smaller bet on the river.
Being a donk I would probably call the river bet after I have persued the hand thus far, because the way I (I mean..."we") played the hand looks very much like we have been persuing a flush draw and will fold to a river bet with only our missed draw in hand (why value bet into someone who has a missed draw on the river?)....If reraising had occured on the flop or turn and he had called and then bet out the river, I would consider it very differently and most likely fold to the river bet.
Hope there is some sense in there!
so WWYD?
Seat 1: Sveden House (3,710)
Seat 2: DoyleBrownStain (10,171)
Seat 3: scumm3r (4,250)
Seat 4: Hero (9,682)
Seat 5: weebettle1 (3,140)
Seat 6: Dagon84 (5,550)
Seat 7: Predator2211 (6,380)
Seat 8: malin_j (3,195)
Seat 9: crakovik (5,805)
weebettle1 posts the small blind of 80
Dagon84 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Js Jh]
Predator2211 folds
malin_j folds
crakovik folds
Sveden House has 15 seconds left to act
Sveden House folds
DoyleBrownStain raises to 480
scumm3r folds
Hero calls 480
weebettle1 folds
Dagon84 folds
*** FLOP *** [2s 8s 5s]
DoyleBrownStain bets 875
Hero calls 875
*** TURN *** [2s 8s 5s] [8c]
DoyleBrownStain bets 1,499
Hero calls 1,499
*** RIVER *** [2s 8s 5s 8c] [9c]
DoyleBrownStain bets 3,256
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero folds
Uncalled bet of 3,256 returned to DoyleBrownStain
DoyleBrownStain mucks
DoyleBrownStain wins the pot (5,948)
Heros thoughts/question: after I doubled him up with my JJ vs his KK ive seen no showdowns execpt 1 decent pot which he won with AA. Could I hve fold the turn
My thoughts: I would prefer raising flop to about 1899 or so. This way youll
A) get a fold which is good imo
B ) get a call which gives you the opportunity to use potcontrol on turn and see a free river cause most opponents will check their hands 2 ya after B/C a flop
C) get a raise, this way agains a tight player which he assumes he is will more than likely have U beat than have a AsXx FD.
at least U have a more clear ideay where U stand
Another player adds: If ur going to call turn the 9 river is an obv blank so ull have to call river aswell
----
My Response:
Not a nice scenario
Heres my thoughts:
I agree that you should be re-raising the flop (or preflop, although in this scenario I like the flat pre because of the stack sizes and position) to define your hand / become the aggresor...flatting all the way is very passive and gives you no info on your opponent and also allows for him to hit free cards if he did have e.g. AK or AQ (esp of spades suit)
If he shoves after your re-raise on the flop or preflop then you need to seriously consider your options based on what information you have on him and the pot odds/etc (i.e. is he capable of making this shove with a bluff or semi bluff, e.g. AK with 1 spade and how likely is it that he has an overpair bigger than JJ?)
---
Regarding your river dilema:
If we review the hand from his perspective (seeing as we don't know what he had let's assume he had KK, although his holding doesn't necessarily matter as much as the thought process behind it):
He bets pre and you call...not much information on your hand yet expect that it is unlikely you have AA or KK or AK as you didn't re raise him pre.
The flop comes
and it has a flush (spades) and straight (could be holding 67 or 34 with or without 1 spade) draw, he does a standard C bet of around 3/4 pot - this doesn't really give away much info about his hand and charges appropriately the fishy flop - he can assume at this point his KK is most likely the best hand as it's 1v1.You call his bet, but you don't re raise him. This probably means to him that you have most likely a draw (flush or straight) or a small part of the flop...e.g. a single pair (87 or 77 or 54, etc.). There's also a slight chance you have a big part of the flop (e.g. set or made flush) and am slow playing it, the chances of this are obviously lower as its so rare you flop a set and it is only 1 opponent And you would be more inclined to re raise on such a dangerous flop.
The turn comes
and doesn't complete any draws but pairs the 8.Seeing as you didn't re raise the flop and the turn card does not complete any of the draws (which he most likely put you on after your call on the flop), he value bets again to protect his hand.
You call his turn bet again, but don't re raise him. At this point he must be concerned because you are willing to persue the pot despite it getting expensive - and should be considering that it is a lot less likely you are on a draw (more likely at least a semi draw e.g. an additional pair to the 88 and a flush draw) and tread carefully on the river - he only has 2 pair and there is 1 pair already on the board, you could feasibly be holding an 8 (e.g. 87), I doubt he has put you on 99 TT or JJ at this point as he would have expected you to raise by now! (nothing majorly wrong with flatting thus mixing up your game to trick your opponents - keep em guessing!)
The river comes
and doesn't complete the flush draw but does complete a straight draw (5-67-89)Its a very strange bet he makes on the river: If he has a hand like KK or AA its quite a thin value bet as if he believes you have a missed draw it's very unlikely you are going to call a 3rd big bet for a big portion of your stack with a weaker holding than his assumed AA or KK - it would make a lot more sense for him to check-call here with an overpair (or make a smaller "blocker" bet e.g. 1-1.5k) as it controls the pot size (which is now pretty big) and allows you the opportunity to make a mistake...i.e. pay him off with a weaker holding or bluff (people seem a lot more inclined to bluff missed draws as they feel its the only way they can win the pot)
Which makes me think he has here either a very strong hand, or a very weak hand and is hoping you missed your draw ("aswell").
So I believe his holdings could be:
22, 55, 88, 89 or 99 for a full house / quads - These hands he could certainly bet out the river and would align with the betting to date (88 least likely)
AK or AQ with one spade - with this hand he might feel that the only way to win the pot is to persue his bluff and 3rd barrel the river (less likely) and could align with the betting to date
AK or AQ with two spades - betting the river makes sense as he has just been value betting every street
Or a complete bluff with any 2 cards (e.g. 77 with one spade), you can never rule it out - happens in poker completely unexpectedly from time to time lol guess that is what makes it an interesting game.
TT QQ KK AA I think he would check-call or do a smaller bet on the river.
Being a donk I would probably call the river bet after I have persued the hand thus far, because the way I (I mean..."we") played the hand looks very much like we have been persuing a flush draw and will fold to a river bet with only our missed draw in hand (why value bet into someone who has a missed draw on the river?)....If reraising had occured on the flop or turn and he had called and then bet out the river, I would consider it very differently and most likely fold to the river bet.
Hope there is some sense in there!
Hand Discussion 1 "Should I have folded pre?"
I wrote quite a few detailed responses on the Pokerisk forum to hands people had posted and asked for input on.
Seeing as I wouldn't mind keeping a record of them for myself (hey its my work!) and they are pretty interesting hands I decided to copy a few onto the blog...needs an update anyway
----
"Should I have folded pre?"
Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $5,000(BB) On Game
SB ($156,794)
Hero ($194,622)
UTG ($94,435)
CO ($95,867)
BTN ($176,366)
Dealt to Hero
: 
:
fold, CO raises to $12,500, BTN calls $12,500, fold, Hero raises to $37,000, fold, BTN calls $24,500
FLOP ($91,500): : 
:
Hero bets $45,250, BTN raises to $138,866 (AI), Hero folds
BTN wins $182,000
----
My response:
I don't think you can ever fold preflop without some sort of amazing read on the players (like if their stats were 0/0/50 then you could fold).
I am less against flat shoving preflop, however it is a bit of an overshove - granted at this time you feel you have the best hand so it could be considered an over value bet....there is a slight chance the button did slowplay aa kk qq jj tt 99 in which case he stacks you and that could be considered an unnecessary exit to the tournament
My preference though is to, as you did, 3 bet preflop. I think your bet size was good - maybe a little on the short side, going a little bit bigger like 40-45k might be better as that makes it easier for you to call the original raiser if he does choose to shove (as he had about 95k total), and charges that little bit extra for your opponents to play you when your out of position.
If the button re-shoved after this 3 bet, you have a very tough decision and I think you would have to go with your instinct....I'd probably tell myself I should fold and either; timeout, or call at the last second then be bitter when he turns over TT
Back to hand:
After you 3bet, the original raiser folds and the button calls, which means he must have a reasonably good holding to stick around in a 3 bet pot, even when short handed and with position. Your getting quite late into the tournament, so you'd expect people to be less inclined to fish here with weak holdings (i.e. he has called twice preflop now and not raised, I'm assuming its late in the tournament going by the blinds).
The flop, QT5 with a flush draw, is very ugly for 88, and worse still connects with a big range of hands that he could have called your 3 bet with.
Further to this there is a lot of draws he may be willing to persue all in with, such as a flush or straight draw.
Seeing as he had 2 chances to raise preflop and just called both times, we can assume he doesn't have a monster hand such as a AA KK QQ AK AQ - as it is shorthanded you could probably add a few more hands to that list but for now and simplicity's sake lets just keep it as it.
So his possible holdings are (with or without flush draw):
AJ, AT
KQ, KJ, KT
QJ, QT,
JT, J9
T9
98 97
87
JJ TT 99 88(unlikely) 77 66 55
In my opinion.
After reviewing that list and the QT5 flop with a flush draw, it's obvious that he connects in someway with nearly all of the potential holdings.
By betting out 45k when he has 130k (and you 150k) behind, you leave plenty of margin for him to re-raise all in believing their is a high chance you will fold, which he would do with a big portion of the hands from the list I have put him on.
So I don't like this c-bet at all - I think there is not enough hands you are potentially ahead of that he will fold (it's certainly not a value bet, it is basically a bluff)
Therefore I feel here you should either:
1) Shove All In or check raise all in
Preferrably straight up shove all in as he may feel committed to the pot after betting.
This gives no information away on your hand and gives him a very tough decision.
Like I just stated above, this shove turns your hand into a complete bluff (granted the pot, is big so the rewards are high). It is very unlikely he will call with a weaker hand than 88 (even for example KJ suited is marginally ahead of 88 here), but is a very hard bluff to call as AQ AA KK would take the same line.
2) Check fold
Considered nitty, but you re-raised pre because you felt you had the best, and now that the flop has hit, it is most likely you don't have the best hand....the pot is very expensive due to the preflop action so cutting your losses here and check folding is a viable option
Being a nit, I would go for the check fold option - I think there are too many hands he would call on the flop and too many scenarios where you would be behind...not worth losing the whole game on. Just a unlucky flop if u ask me!
As always though, your image at the table and your opponents playing style should impact your decision (e.g. if they are super loose I would check fold the flop, if they are super tight I would shove)
Seeing as I wouldn't mind keeping a record of them for myself (hey its my work!) and they are pretty interesting hands I decided to copy a few onto the blog...needs an update anyway
----
"Should I have folded pre?"
Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $5,000(BB) On Game
SB ($156,794)
Hero ($194,622)
UTG ($94,435)
CO ($95,867)
BTN ($176,366)
Dealt to Hero
: :fold, CO raises to $12,500, BTN calls $12,500, fold, Hero raises to $37,000, fold, BTN calls $24,500
FLOP ($91,500)
: : :Hero bets $45,250, BTN raises to $138,866 (AI), Hero folds
BTN wins $182,000
----
My response:
I don't think you can ever fold preflop without some sort of amazing read on the players (like if their stats were 0/0/50 then you could fold).
I am less against flat shoving preflop, however it is a bit of an overshove - granted at this time you feel you have the best hand so it could be considered an over value bet....there is a slight chance the button did slowplay aa kk qq jj tt 99 in which case he stacks you and that could be considered an unnecessary exit to the tournament
My preference though is to, as you did, 3 bet preflop. I think your bet size was good - maybe a little on the short side, going a little bit bigger like 40-45k might be better as that makes it easier for you to call the original raiser if he does choose to shove (as he had about 95k total), and charges that little bit extra for your opponents to play you when your out of position.
If the button re-shoved after this 3 bet, you have a very tough decision and I think you would have to go with your instinct....I'd probably tell myself I should fold and either; timeout, or call at the last second then be bitter when he turns over TT
Back to hand:
After you 3bet, the original raiser folds and the button calls, which means he must have a reasonably good holding to stick around in a 3 bet pot, even when short handed and with position. Your getting quite late into the tournament, so you'd expect people to be less inclined to fish here with weak holdings (i.e. he has called twice preflop now and not raised, I'm assuming its late in the tournament going by the blinds).
The flop, QT5 with a flush draw, is very ugly for 88, and worse still connects with a big range of hands that he could have called your 3 bet with.
Further to this there is a lot of draws he may be willing to persue all in with, such as a flush or straight draw.
Seeing as he had 2 chances to raise preflop and just called both times, we can assume he doesn't have a monster hand such as a AA KK QQ AK AQ - as it is shorthanded you could probably add a few more hands to that list but for now and simplicity's sake lets just keep it as it.
So his possible holdings are (with or without flush draw):
AJ, AT
KQ, KJ, KT
QJ, QT,
JT, J9
T9
98 97
87
JJ TT 99 88(unlikely) 77 66 55
In my opinion.
After reviewing that list and the QT5 flop with a flush draw, it's obvious that he connects in someway with nearly all of the potential holdings.
By betting out 45k when he has 130k (and you 150k) behind, you leave plenty of margin for him to re-raise all in believing their is a high chance you will fold, which he would do with a big portion of the hands from the list I have put him on.
So I don't like this c-bet at all - I think there is not enough hands you are potentially ahead of that he will fold (it's certainly not a value bet, it is basically a bluff)
Therefore I feel here you should either:
1) Shove All In or check raise all in
Preferrably straight up shove all in as he may feel committed to the pot after betting.
This gives no information away on your hand and gives him a very tough decision.
Like I just stated above, this shove turns your hand into a complete bluff (granted the pot, is big so the rewards are high). It is very unlikely he will call with a weaker hand than 88 (even for example KJ suited is marginally ahead of 88 here), but is a very hard bluff to call as AQ AA KK would take the same line.
2) Check fold
Considered nitty, but you re-raised pre because you felt you had the best, and now that the flop has hit, it is most likely you don't have the best hand....the pot is very expensive due to the preflop action so cutting your losses here and check folding is a viable option
Being a nit, I would go for the check fold option - I think there are too many hands he would call on the flop and too many scenarios where you would be behind...not worth losing the whole game on. Just a unlucky flop if u ask me!
As always though, your image at the table and your opponents playing style should impact your decision (e.g. if they are super loose I would check fold the flop, if they are super tight I would shove)
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
My Theory
gonna update this later..lol
My theory on plans
For cash the "Four Factor theory"
Every decision shud be based on four factors:
Card Strength
Position
Opponents
Odds (including implied odds)
For MTTs the "Six Factor theory"
Card Strength
Position
Opponents
Odds (including implied odds)
Stack Sizes /Blinds
Payout Structure
The weighting of each factor depends on the scenario and I'll need to explain what each factor consists of in detail (tbd); the key is to weight each factor correctly (and proportionally) to come to a decision of whether to check fold call or bet and how much to bet if applicable
When people say things like "you shud check raise draws", or "you should bet out sets" etc, they are sometimes right / sometimes wrong - what they shud actually say is "you should review the situation and all the important factors then decide whether its better to bet out or check raise, etc." because every scenario is completely different (thats what makes poker so interesting!)
You can use programs to support these factors - e.g. HEM and sharkscope provide more information on your opponents (although sometimes the weighting of your opponent factor might be 0% so it wont matter anyway, like if you have AA pre and someone has gone all in for your whole stack then your cards will have 100% weight)
or e.g. a list of starting hands to play preflop might support your cards factor (however you might change your opening or calling range based on who your opponent is or what your position is so this would affect the weighting accordingly)
anyway updatesss:
sponsored accounts last month down 3.5k arghh this month up 7k scoop
The plan I put in place a few months ago I'm still following for sessions and studying, currently reading "Harrington on cash" and having reg sessions with my mentor - we had an awesome one start of this month on game selection where I made a list of the games that are most profitable for my style (advanced searched on sharkscope to find out) and then went thro the sites and put all those games into a list which I now use to decide what games to play before every session.
Only part of the plan I'm not doing is updating my blog lol
Cash paid for my pc/3 monitors/ gfx card and wireless card and is currently on about 500 and owed about 150 in RB (it started on 100$ lol) - Slowing down until paycheuq then i can top up roll to 1k and play 25 50 scoop
cash is harder than MTTs not only cos your battling the rake but because there is a lot less Turn and River play in MTTs especially the later stages where there is a lot less deepstacks (more all-ins or stack commitment preflop and postflop which means results are a lot more luck orientated)
My theory on plans
For cash the "Four Factor theory"
Every decision shud be based on four factors:
Card Strength
Position
Opponents
Odds (including implied odds)
For MTTs the "Six Factor theory"
Card Strength
Position
Opponents
Odds (including implied odds)
Stack Sizes /Blinds
Payout Structure
The weighting of each factor depends on the scenario and I'll need to explain what each factor consists of in detail (tbd); the key is to weight each factor correctly (and proportionally) to come to a decision of whether to check fold call or bet and how much to bet if applicable
When people say things like "you shud check raise draws", or "you should bet out sets" etc, they are sometimes right / sometimes wrong - what they shud actually say is "you should review the situation and all the important factors then decide whether its better to bet out or check raise, etc." because every scenario is completely different (thats what makes poker so interesting!)
You can use programs to support these factors - e.g. HEM and sharkscope provide more information on your opponents (although sometimes the weighting of your opponent factor might be 0% so it wont matter anyway, like if you have AA pre and someone has gone all in for your whole stack then your cards will have 100% weight)
or e.g. a list of starting hands to play preflop might support your cards factor (however you might change your opening or calling range based on who your opponent is or what your position is so this would affect the weighting accordingly)
anyway updatesss:
sponsored accounts last month down 3.5k arghh this month up 7k scoop
The plan I put in place a few months ago I'm still following for sessions and studying, currently reading "Harrington on cash" and having reg sessions with my mentor - we had an awesome one start of this month on game selection where I made a list of the games that are most profitable for my style (advanced searched on sharkscope to find out) and then went thro the sites and put all those games into a list which I now use to decide what games to play before every session.
Only part of the plan I'm not doing is updating my blog lol
Cash paid for my pc/3 monitors/ gfx card and wireless card and is currently on about 500 and owed about 150 in RB (it started on 100$ lol) - Slowing down until paycheuq then i can top up roll to 1k and play 25 50 scoop
cash is harder than MTTs not only cos your battling the rake but because there is a lot less Turn and River play in MTTs especially the later stages where there is a lot less deepstacks (more all-ins or stack commitment preflop and postflop which means results are a lot more luck orientated)
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Stacked a Pro (low stakes cash)
lool awesome can't wait to write about this, this guy doubled me up tho cos i completely outplayed him
3 bets set up (multi tbl) i know how fustrating it can be!
overbet pot to look like bluff
2 hours had just above broken even til that hand lol
will update soon super busy!:(
3 bets set up (multi tbl) i know how fustrating it can be!
overbet pot to look like bluff
2 hours had just above broken even til that hand lol
will update soon super busy!:(
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Video with commentry
Haven't updated for a while because I have been super busyehhh
will update soon - made a video for pokerisk, url to download it below:
http://www.esnips.com/doc/c34616a7-3c59-4658-975a-0c5ecfe6b0a9/Test1
if anyone knows somewhere decent where i can upload please advise!
warning it has bad language in it (lol) over 18's only!
any comments appreciated plz email me stephenfburt@gmail.com ;)
update cash details - I actually think the standard is higher in 10 25 cash than 25 50 cash...table selection v important finding the fish, changing style for the regulars. Played 6 tables of 10 25 for 4 hours tonight and made -20$, did some reading and played 3 tables of 25 50 for an hour and made 100$, which included a 40$ error (can't fold QQ pre..i'm a mug)
was reading about how multitable players and their stats are usually 15/10/3 range (15% hands played, 10% hands raised, 3% 3 bet raise), and how u can abuse them...then realised that was me!!!!!!!!!! bitter, still lots to learn unreal, spent the last few hours reading about cash veryyy interesting stuff!
running horribly in MTTs, keep getting late then losing the epic pot which is difference between mini cash and super cash (e.g. in video the 2 games im late / in cash, i lose 50-50 in both of them to go out, and both for epic stacks that would sit me comfortably on Final Table, so fustrating!) - makes me wonder about how much is about luck and how much is about skill...running good at the right time can make a difference of $$$$'s!!
so gotta battle on, will put a proper update soon...however its 7am so bed for me
will update soon - made a video for pokerisk, url to download it below:
http://www.esnips.com/doc/c34616a7-3c59-4658-975a-0c5ecfe6b0a9/Test1
if anyone knows somewhere decent where i can upload please advise!
warning it has bad language in it (lol) over 18's only!
any comments appreciated plz email me stephenfburt@gmail.com ;)
update cash details - I actually think the standard is higher in 10 25 cash than 25 50 cash...table selection v important finding the fish, changing style for the regulars. Played 6 tables of 10 25 for 4 hours tonight and made -20$, did some reading and played 3 tables of 25 50 for an hour and made 100$, which included a 40$ error (can't fold QQ pre..i'm a mug)
was reading about how multitable players and their stats are usually 15/10/3 range (15% hands played, 10% hands raised, 3% 3 bet raise), and how u can abuse them...then realised that was me!!!!!!!!!! bitter, still lots to learn unreal, spent the last few hours reading about cash veryyy interesting stuff!
running horribly in MTTs, keep getting late then losing the epic pot which is difference between mini cash and super cash (e.g. in video the 2 games im late / in cash, i lose 50-50 in both of them to go out, and both for epic stacks that would sit me comfortably on Final Table, so fustrating!) - makes me wonder about how much is about luck and how much is about skill...running good at the right time can make a difference of $$$$'s!!
so gotta battle on, will put a proper update soon...however its 7am so bed for me
Friday, 6 August 2010
More than just a plan: August
Ok this make sense I'll keep track of my goals of a monthly basis, heres a reminder of them:
Poker Objectives:
5 MTT sessions per week, each MTT session usually lasts around 6 hours (on sponsored accounts)
2 Cash sessions per week (on own accounts)
30 Mins per session (before or after, or 15 min before, 15 min after) to review results - exit hands, big pots, etc.
5 Hours study a week, forums, articles, books, mentor sessions
1 Blog update a week
OK I'm happy with my progress because I have done all these, the only one that is maybe slacking is the blog posts - however I'm going to change that to 1 update per fortnight minimum anyway (no point posting if nothing to write about)....
tbd
more cash sessions
4x max games when playing MTTs
review MTT (game selection)
update with notes from session with Ric (mentor)
Curent book is good read - "winning poker tournaments one hand at a time"
cash going well steady 20$ per hour (usually higher), MTT's going terrible (amount of set up's, late mug's kk into aa, unreal! -fortnately on sponsored accnt)
Pokerisk weekend, only person to cash in both games scoop
New PC so good! not 100% following the plan, user accnt on sky for bonus (such a good bonus and good to have 2nd accnt on diff site)
Poker Objectives:
5 MTT sessions per week, each MTT session usually lasts around 6 hours (on sponsored accounts)
2 Cash sessions per week (on own accounts)
30 Mins per session (before or after, or 15 min before, 15 min after) to review results - exit hands, big pots, etc.
5 Hours study a week, forums, articles, books, mentor sessions
1 Blog update a week
OK I'm happy with my progress because I have done all these, the only one that is maybe slacking is the blog posts - however I'm going to change that to 1 update per fortnight minimum anyway (no point posting if nothing to write about)....
tbd
more cash sessions
4x max games when playing MTTs
review MTT (game selection)
update with notes from session with Ric (mentor)
Curent book is good read - "winning poker tournaments one hand at a time"
cash going well steady 20$ per hour (usually higher), MTT's going terrible (amount of set up's, late mug's kk into aa, unreal! -fortnately on sponsored accnt)
Pokerisk weekend, only person to cash in both games scoop
New PC so good! not 100% following the plan, user accnt on sky for bonus (such a good bonus and good to have 2nd accnt on diff site)
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Nutty Cash
Okkkk I just finished reading an awesome book on Poker 'Leatherass' by the ultimate cash game grinder (he has played like 7 million hands lol). It explains a lot about the elements that surround poker aswell as a few tips on strategy, mainly bankroll management and respecting your poker career as a business to minimize the risk of bankruptcy I guess.
Back on the MTT's now that the month has ended, I seem to be putting a lot of hours in (which isn't too much of a problem because I haven't much else to do at the moment) - Usually playing a MTT session (4-5 hours), then a short break and an epic Cash session (4-5 hours also). However those hours do include breaks inbetween and studying, e.g. I spent only 3 hours playing cash today (made 100 bucks woohoo) and then another 2 hours reading Leatherass and reviewing my hands in Hold Em Manager.
I finally feel like I have filtered out about 90% of my mistakes in cash, and for the last 10 hours or so I have consistently made a profit per hour of average 15-20 bucks per hour playing 8 tables at 10:25. Very happy with this..altho granted it took me about 100 hours and 35000 hands to get to it (lol), however I'm confident it is a good long term investment and will hopefully reap the rewards for the rest of my Poker Career. However I still want to invest in Leak Buster to see how I can optmize my game....I love stats. I'm also thinking of moving up to 10 tables as I'm usually bored between hands and often have to entertain myself by replaying hand historys and putting notes on people, or I chat on IM/open IE whatever which is not good because then it becomes a distraction!!!!!!!
It seems silly that you can play so many tables and not be entertained but if you can see every table (and hence plan ahead, can read the notes on people who have limped etc, check out their stats) it isn't too tricky. Once you have played so many hands most decisions become automatic and require only a small amount of processing...its only a small percentage that does, nightmare when 2 or 3 of them come in at the same time haha, smash up timebank! smash smash smash. MTTs are different because the environment is forever changing (blinds).
I'm looking forward to getting to 1000 nugs in my account (its on 400 now however I'm owed 100 from my bro and a fellow Pokerisk'er, and I took out 150 last week for my birthday lol and I'm also owed rakeback around 150 bucks also), and then I can finally play 25:50cent without worry. I figure it might take 2 or 3 attempts until I am actually profitably at that level (being very pesimistic tbh), however I can always drop down to the safe lower level if things go wrong to regroup!
On the sponsorship side, MTT's have been very fustrating - it's driving me nutty that there is such a big element of luck involved that you just cannot manage, I don't think I'm the most skilled player in every tournament but it seems like I can't cut a break lately! Consistently getting late and mini-cashing; feels like I'm either epically set up or can't win the inevitable showdowns at the final stages, its very annoying but I know I just gotta stick with it - it'll come good.
I was down about 1000 in 2 days this week, but won a small tournament today for 350 and 2nd in another for 100e, and urghhh bubbled 350$ worth of games today so bitter...(worst one where I'm going well in the 6 man 25e rebuy on Microgaming and small blind shoves all in preflop for just over half my stack, I call with KK and he shows K7 and hits a mofo straight, then a few hands later I bubbled with AK grrrrrrrrrrrr).
Anyway got to stick with it, it will be good if I can consistently make money from playing cash and then I can take more risks in the sponsored MTT bigger stake games, thus being win win for everyone. Pokerisk emailed me some interesting research from today which showed that I am lot more profitable in rebuy/deepstack than freezeout tournament (in fact freezeouts hardly profitable at all relative to rebuys/deepstacks). So the freezeouts are being chopped! Funnily enough the tourny I won today was a 25 buck deepstack.
I'm going to see the Pokerisk crew next week in Birmingham, should be fun.
Think I'm going to aim to update the blog every other sunday minimum (or by every other sunday), had a crazy weekend for my birthday and spent the week at Baba's so hardly got anything done..but at least one a fortnight is a good amont and realistic.
Here are some interesting points I learnt from cash (for Cash not for MTTs!!), in a very high level summary in case anyone is interested:
There is so much I could write about cash since the last month's work, I could probably populate a book on it - I guess we will see what happens over the next 10-20k hands to see whether I've learnt anything useful lol
I also just downloaded loads of books to read over the next few months (useful links provided from the Pokerisk site), so this should help towards my goal of studying for 5 hours ever week.
However...its 7am and I need to walk the dog (or the dog needs to walk me)
I love plansssssssss
Back on the MTT's now that the month has ended, I seem to be putting a lot of hours in (which isn't too much of a problem because I haven't much else to do at the moment) - Usually playing a MTT session (4-5 hours), then a short break and an epic Cash session (4-5 hours also). However those hours do include breaks inbetween and studying, e.g. I spent only 3 hours playing cash today (made 100 bucks woohoo) and then another 2 hours reading Leatherass and reviewing my hands in Hold Em Manager.
I finally feel like I have filtered out about 90% of my mistakes in cash, and for the last 10 hours or so I have consistently made a profit per hour of average 15-20 bucks per hour playing 8 tables at 10:25. Very happy with this..altho granted it took me about 100 hours and 35000 hands to get to it (lol), however I'm confident it is a good long term investment and will hopefully reap the rewards for the rest of my Poker Career. However I still want to invest in Leak Buster to see how I can optmize my game....I love stats. I'm also thinking of moving up to 10 tables as I'm usually bored between hands and often have to entertain myself by replaying hand historys and putting notes on people, or I chat on IM/open IE whatever which is not good because then it becomes a distraction!!!!!!!
It seems silly that you can play so many tables and not be entertained but if you can see every table (and hence plan ahead, can read the notes on people who have limped etc, check out their stats) it isn't too tricky. Once you have played so many hands most decisions become automatic and require only a small amount of processing...its only a small percentage that does, nightmare when 2 or 3 of them come in at the same time haha, smash up timebank! smash smash smash. MTTs are different because the environment is forever changing (blinds).
I'm looking forward to getting to 1000 nugs in my account (its on 400 now however I'm owed 100 from my bro and a fellow Pokerisk'er, and I took out 150 last week for my birthday lol and I'm also owed rakeback around 150 bucks also), and then I can finally play 25:50cent without worry. I figure it might take 2 or 3 attempts until I am actually profitably at that level (being very pesimistic tbh), however I can always drop down to the safe lower level if things go wrong to regroup!
On the sponsorship side, MTT's have been very fustrating - it's driving me nutty that there is such a big element of luck involved that you just cannot manage, I don't think I'm the most skilled player in every tournament but it seems like I can't cut a break lately! Consistently getting late and mini-cashing; feels like I'm either epically set up or can't win the inevitable showdowns at the final stages, its very annoying but I know I just gotta stick with it - it'll come good.
I was down about 1000 in 2 days this week, but won a small tournament today for 350 and 2nd in another for 100e, and urghhh bubbled 350$ worth of games today so bitter...(worst one where I'm going well in the 6 man 25e rebuy on Microgaming and small blind shoves all in preflop for just over half my stack, I call with KK and he shows K7 and hits a mofo straight, then a few hands later I bubbled with AK grrrrrrrrrrrr).
Anyway got to stick with it, it will be good if I can consistently make money from playing cash and then I can take more risks in the sponsored MTT bigger stake games, thus being win win for everyone. Pokerisk emailed me some interesting research from today which showed that I am lot more profitable in rebuy/deepstack than freezeout tournament (in fact freezeouts hardly profitable at all relative to rebuys/deepstacks). So the freezeouts are being chopped! Funnily enough the tourny I won today was a 25 buck deepstack.
I'm going to see the Pokerisk crew next week in Birmingham, should be fun.
Think I'm going to aim to update the blog every other sunday minimum (or by every other sunday), had a crazy weekend for my birthday and spent the week at Baba's so hardly got anything done..but at least one a fortnight is a good amont and realistic.
Here are some interesting points I learnt from cash (for Cash not for MTTs!!), in a very high level summary in case anyone is interested:
- Be super patient (easy on 8 tables haha - don't let bad beats or being outdrawn or consistently missing affect your play, it definately has less affect if your multitabling because the variance is lowered and also you just think...bitter oh well "next", "mina mina aces")
- Rarely slow play - take the pots that are rightfully yours as thats your money in the middle that your letting people have free cards to claim
- Rarely fish without premium odds / implied odds (make sure your the person charging the fish and not the fish! it's easy to get them mixed up lol and give up if you think the fish has hit, don't pay him off!!)
- Bet out when you hit and re raise draws (subject to opponent)
- Avoid check-raising as most people fold to it and are super suspicious (Use check-raise mainly for bluffing - people are a lot less suspicious of a bet out and it builds a pot quicker..e.g. you call in BB with 33 after button raises with JJ, flop is 378 you bet out he re raises = big pot with his cash and he think he is strongest and most likely willing to put more money in....same situation except you check raise and he becomes very sceptical about his JJ and most likely not to put more money in, and the pot is mainly your cash)...best to have your opponent as the aggresor when you have the stronger hand!
- Analyse every flop individually - figure out a list of hands they could be calling /raising with and determine from that list the chances of them improving on later streets and whether you need to charge them again or not with a value bet
- Dont defend blinds...it aint worth it, only call if valued in or if you have a strong hand
- In the absence of information on opponent - always value bet and rarely bluff!
- Game selection (fish on right, tight players on left), try and get in a lot of hands with the weaker players and avoid hands with the stronger players. As with woman, if you don't like the situation just get up and leave, go find a better one...plenty more fish in the sea
- Position (basically never play out of position) - Fold small pairs pre unless good position
- Bank roll management - read leatherass ;)
- Make detailed notes on opponents, figure them out and try to understand how they are thinking (why did they bet here? are they capable of doing a river 'value bet' bluff? if not would could they have to be value betting with?)
- Use stats to back up assumptions (e.g. I think he could be 3-betting light here, stats say he has 3-bet 20% of time out of 50 hands in the small blind, so 4-bet the mug!)
- Review/study hands after every session, you can use Hold Em Manager to mark hands very easily (just click on the hand then click the tick box), then you can select "show marked hands only" in Hold Em Manager when your reviewing your hands later, better than bimbling trying to replay the hand when your in 8 tables and seeing where it all went nutty. Good to play the hands back through and especially with someone else who is clued up watching to discuss
There is so much I could write about cash since the last month's work, I could probably populate a book on it - I guess we will see what happens over the next 10-20k hands to see whether I've learnt anything useful lol
I also just downloaded loads of books to read over the next few months (useful links provided from the Pokerisk site), so this should help towards my goal of studying for 5 hours ever week.
However...its 7am and I need to walk the dog (or the dog needs to walk me)
I love plansssssssss
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Bimble Bimble
So after a review of my appoach to poker (more than just a plan post), I had a scout for the optimal time I can play plans - and with the best conditions.
It seems like at the moment (cos I'm at my parents house) the best time is late at night when they have gone to bed....which isn't very social hours but suits the needs must best. So I have been starting at about 10:30-11pm and finishing around 5am for the last few days - either sleeping or just bimbling in the day.
It has turned out pretty well so far, I've been really happy with my play. For my sponsored accounts I made 100 bucks 2 nights ago and last over 1000 bucks where I came 3rd in the 25e rebuy for 900e, making up for my bad weekend at Baba's lol.
Funny though, because I played 4 games last night. 30 buck doublestack, 25e rebuy, 55e freezeout and 50 buck freezeout (sticking to the plan no more than 4 games). Within 5 minutes I was out of two games...I shoved all in first hand on the 50 buck preflop with AA after a few limpers trying to represent a mad gambler and AT called (awesome result ), obviously he hit a 4 carded flush and knocked me out, 90% plays 10% although I'm sure I get mugged more than 1 in 10 times lol - I guess better to get mugged off 1 second into the game that 1 hour in.
The 55e I reshoved all in preflop with AK vs a weak raise and the guy called with A5...then he hit a 5 so I went out (about 5 minutes in, oh my days thought it was going to be a short night)
However the 30 buck double stack I made final table (7th) for around 170 nugs which covered my buy ins (always a treat).
And the 25e rebuy 6 seater, which I seem to be running well in at the moment (I made a post about it a few days ago regarding mentors, KJ vs TJcc and again came last 12 in it yesterday for 180e), I came 3rd and with top pair vs a straight draw..so bitter as 3rd 900e, 2nd 1500e, 1st 2300e.......bitttttttttteeeeeeeeerrrrr I sharkscoped the other 2 aswell and they had rubbish stats.
Think I'm about 3.5k up for month now on my sponsored accounts (so glad I reviewed my standings and recovered my bad weekend at baba's) and still got a 200 ticket to use.
For my own accounts I just been playing cash with premium rakeback and bonus on full tilt. I don't have much money so my account had only a starting bank roll of 100 nugs, and I began playing only playing 2 tables at 10:25 cent blinds. Now it has moved up to 350 nugs due to grinding the tables and I usually do 4 or 6 tables at 10:25 cents - however when I get to 500 nugs bankroll I'm going to start playing 4 table 25:50 cent blinds (500 nugs equates to 10 buy ins at 50 nugs which is a 100 big blinds).
It's good to have a mix of cash and MTT them you can use the advantages of both relative to the time you have. E.g. cash you can start and finish whenever you want, MTT's you need to have 5 hours spare ahead.
It seems like at the moment (cos I'm at my parents house) the best time is late at night when they have gone to bed....which isn't very social hours but suits the needs must best. So I have been starting at about 10:30-11pm and finishing around 5am for the last few days - either sleeping or just bimbling in the day.
It has turned out pretty well so far, I've been really happy with my play. For my sponsored accounts I made 100 bucks 2 nights ago and last over 1000 bucks where I came 3rd in the 25e rebuy for 900e, making up for my bad weekend at Baba's lol.
Funny though, because I played 4 games last night. 30 buck doublestack, 25e rebuy, 55e freezeout and 50 buck freezeout (sticking to the plan no more than 4 games). Within 5 minutes I was out of two games...I shoved all in first hand on the 50 buck preflop with AA after a few limpers trying to represent a mad gambler and AT called (awesome result ), obviously he hit a 4 carded flush and knocked me out, 90% plays 10% although I'm sure I get mugged more than 1 in 10 times lol - I guess better to get mugged off 1 second into the game that 1 hour in.
The 55e I reshoved all in preflop with AK vs a weak raise and the guy called with A5...then he hit a 5 so I went out (about 5 minutes in, oh my days thought it was going to be a short night)
However the 30 buck double stack I made final table (7th) for around 170 nugs which covered my buy ins (always a treat).
And the 25e rebuy 6 seater, which I seem to be running well in at the moment (I made a post about it a few days ago regarding mentors, KJ vs TJcc and again came last 12 in it yesterday for 180e), I came 3rd and with top pair vs a straight draw..so bitter as 3rd 900e, 2nd 1500e, 1st 2300e.......bitttttttttteeeeeeeeerrrrr I sharkscoped the other 2 aswell and they had rubbish stats.
Think I'm about 3.5k up for month now on my sponsored accounts (so glad I reviewed my standings and recovered my bad weekend at baba's) and still got a 200 ticket to use.
For my own accounts I just been playing cash with premium rakeback and bonus on full tilt. I don't have much money so my account had only a starting bank roll of 100 nugs, and I began playing only playing 2 tables at 10:25 cent blinds. Now it has moved up to 350 nugs due to grinding the tables and I usually do 4 or 6 tables at 10:25 cents - however when I get to 500 nugs bankroll I'm going to start playing 4 table 25:50 cent blinds (500 nugs equates to 10 buy ins at 50 nugs which is a 100 big blinds).
It's good to have a mix of cash and MTT them you can use the advantages of both relative to the time you have. E.g. cash you can start and finish whenever you want, MTT's you need to have 5 hours spare ahead.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Mitigating Loses without Comprising Value
Here's an interesting poker hand I thought I would write about:
It was from earlier tonight when I was playing cash on Full Tilt, I was sat at 4 tables during this hand all 0.25c BB stakes:
Fortunately I use Hold'Em Manager now (awesome tool highly recommended) so I can give the exact details of the hand using the Hold'Em Manger replayer; usually I write hands from memory so some details are blurry - although granted I think I have a good talent for remembering poker hands! ;)
So we are in an 8 man Cash table, small blind 0.10c and big blind 0.25c
I started on $25 and have worked up to $46.89 after about an hours play (currently on 4 separate tabs)
It folds round to me and I do my standard raise of 0.85c on the cut off with 67cc. I have a tight table and raising with hands like 67cc is good for a long list of reasons....to ensure I get paid of when I do have a premium hand, to hit a disguised monster on the flop for a premium payday, to take advantage of position, etc. etc.
A tight player on the button with $28.89 re raises to $2.50 dollars and the small/big blind fold.
I'm very confident at this point that he has a top 5 holding, minimum JJ or AQ, but most likely AK / KK / AA. He has been very tight and a straight forward player.
Folding here is not a bad option, 67cc is not a great holding and is probably about 20-25% vs AA? But it is a very easy hand to fold post flop, whereas AA is not. So if I don't hit a big hand I can easily fold, whereas if I do hit a big hand then I doubt he can easily fold (hence implied odds). At this moment in time I expect I have a much better read on his hand, than him on mine. Just as importantly, we are both deepstacked relative to the blinds, so I elect to call and hope for a fishy flop for a big payday.
The flop brings 8KQ, all clubs.
I check my made flush, expecting him to bet out his top 5 hand and then I can re-raise him all in. Betting out myself would also be a good play as it is highly likely he will re raise which aligns with our objective (to get all the chips in the middle) - it's generally bad practise to slow play out of position.
He bets out the pot, $5.35 leaving $21 behind and I instantly go all-in (which covers his stack) knowing he has a high pair that he won't fold.
He calls and shows AA, with the ace of clubs included
The turn brings J clubs to give him a higher flush....so I lose the pot.
Seem's like a pretty straight forward mug-off, and the play cannot be faulted (got all my chips in ahead and it's a cash game so losing all the chips is not an issue, in a MTT it might not be worth the risk as you can't rebuy into the tournament).
However, although a good play - it could have been changed into an excellent play (and in the process potentially saved me $20)
Instead of re raising all in on the flop, I could have just called to the see the turn and then if another club card came (and if he continued betting with strength) folded accordingly. This strategy only has two flaws which are:
1) It allows him the opportunity to bluff me if another club card appears on the turn. If he bets into the turn representing a high club I would have to fold (although I don't think this would be an issue as I did not believe the player to be capable of making such a bluff)
2) If the turn card brings a club and he doesn't have a club card, he might not put any more chips into the pot that he would have put it on the flop, impacting our potential profits
However in both of the 2 scenarios listed above, I do not lose the additional $20 he has behind.
If the same scenario occurs, and I just call his bet on the flop as above - except this time the turn card is not a club, then in most cases he would still raise or call an all in bet with his premium hand AA KK AK (which we are sure he has - it's very doubtful he knows out holding).
In which case, I have a 2x more chance of winning (or more accurately 1/2 chance of losing) because the turn card is not a club. He only has 1 chance to hit a club, which is on the river - not 2 chances, which would be on the turn or the river.
So by just calling the flop bet and not re-raising all in, I change my options from:
Winning his whole stack or losing his stack 31.5% of the time (chances of a club on the turn or the river), to
Winning his whole stack, losing only my flop bet or losing his stack 16% of the time (chances of a club on the river)
*Assuming the amount of times he bluffs into a club on the turn and the amount times he checks down a club on the turn are equal and don't impact the hand
Obviously the latter being a lot more profitable (or seeing as we are always getting mugged off, a lot less expensive).
---
Similiar situations to this occur very often in Poker and are often overlooked / disregarded, for this play to be effective it has to be complemented with a solid read on the opponent (in this case it was quite obviously he had a big hand).
Another major factor that should be considered when faced with a situation like this is the position in the hand, if you will have to act first or last after the next card.
In this scenario I was out of position, which gave me the disadvantage and allowed more justification for re-raising all in on the flop (takes away the disadvantage of being out of position because there are no more actions to take place after a player has gone all in) - the top players are always aware of their position on the table and who will act in front/behind them when the cards drop, this has major influence in the choice of which cards they will play and which they won't - worth considering!
So hopefully this is a lesson learnt and next time we will able to lower the risk of being outdrawn, without comprimising our premium value ;)
back to the plans
It was from earlier tonight when I was playing cash on Full Tilt, I was sat at 4 tables during this hand all 0.25c BB stakes:
Fortunately I use Hold'Em Manager now (awesome tool highly recommended) so I can give the exact details of the hand using the Hold'Em Manger replayer; usually I write hands from memory so some details are blurry - although granted I think I have a good talent for remembering poker hands! ;)
So we are in an 8 man Cash table, small blind 0.10c and big blind 0.25c
I started on $25 and have worked up to $46.89 after about an hours play (currently on 4 separate tabs)
It folds round to me and I do my standard raise of 0.85c on the cut off with 67cc. I have a tight table and raising with hands like 67cc is good for a long list of reasons....to ensure I get paid of when I do have a premium hand, to hit a disguised monster on the flop for a premium payday, to take advantage of position, etc. etc.
A tight player on the button with $28.89 re raises to $2.50 dollars and the small/big blind fold.
I'm very confident at this point that he has a top 5 holding, minimum JJ or AQ, but most likely AK / KK / AA. He has been very tight and a straight forward player.
Folding here is not a bad option, 67cc is not a great holding and is probably about 20-25% vs AA? But it is a very easy hand to fold post flop, whereas AA is not. So if I don't hit a big hand I can easily fold, whereas if I do hit a big hand then I doubt he can easily fold (hence implied odds). At this moment in time I expect I have a much better read on his hand, than him on mine. Just as importantly, we are both deepstacked relative to the blinds, so I elect to call and hope for a fishy flop for a big payday.
The flop brings 8KQ, all clubs.
I check my made flush, expecting him to bet out his top 5 hand and then I can re-raise him all in. Betting out myself would also be a good play as it is highly likely he will re raise which aligns with our objective (to get all the chips in the middle) - it's generally bad practise to slow play out of position.
He bets out the pot, $5.35 leaving $21 behind and I instantly go all-in (which covers his stack) knowing he has a high pair that he won't fold.
He calls and shows AA, with the ace of clubs included
The turn brings J clubs to give him a higher flush....so I lose the pot.
Seem's like a pretty straight forward mug-off, and the play cannot be faulted (got all my chips in ahead and it's a cash game so losing all the chips is not an issue, in a MTT it might not be worth the risk as you can't rebuy into the tournament).
However, although a good play - it could have been changed into an excellent play (and in the process potentially saved me $20)
Instead of re raising all in on the flop, I could have just called to the see the turn and then if another club card came (and if he continued betting with strength) folded accordingly. This strategy only has two flaws which are:
1) It allows him the opportunity to bluff me if another club card appears on the turn. If he bets into the turn representing a high club I would have to fold (although I don't think this would be an issue as I did not believe the player to be capable of making such a bluff)
2) If the turn card brings a club and he doesn't have a club card, he might not put any more chips into the pot that he would have put it on the flop, impacting our potential profits
However in both of the 2 scenarios listed above, I do not lose the additional $20 he has behind.
If the same scenario occurs, and I just call his bet on the flop as above - except this time the turn card is not a club, then in most cases he would still raise or call an all in bet with his premium hand AA KK AK (which we are sure he has - it's very doubtful he knows out holding).
In which case, I have a 2x more chance of winning (or more accurately 1/2 chance of losing) because the turn card is not a club. He only has 1 chance to hit a club, which is on the river - not 2 chances, which would be on the turn or the river.
So by just calling the flop bet and not re-raising all in, I change my options from:
Winning his whole stack or losing his stack 31.5% of the time (chances of a club on the turn or the river), to
Winning his whole stack, losing only my flop bet or losing his stack 16% of the time (chances of a club on the river)
*Assuming the amount of times he bluffs into a club on the turn and the amount times he checks down a club on the turn are equal and don't impact the hand
Obviously the latter being a lot more profitable (or seeing as we are always getting mugged off, a lot less expensive).
---
Similiar situations to this occur very often in Poker and are often overlooked / disregarded, for this play to be effective it has to be complemented with a solid read on the opponent (in this case it was quite obviously he had a big hand).
Another major factor that should be considered when faced with a situation like this is the position in the hand, if you will have to act first or last after the next card.
In this scenario I was out of position, which gave me the disadvantage and allowed more justification for re-raising all in on the flop (takes away the disadvantage of being out of position because there are no more actions to take place after a player has gone all in) - the top players are always aware of their position on the table and who will act in front/behind them when the cards drop, this has major influence in the choice of which cards they will play and which they won't - worth considering!
So hopefully this is a lesson learnt and next time we will able to lower the risk of being outdrawn, without comprimising our premium value ;)
back to the plans
More than just a Plan
I'm sure there is a lot more to being successful at poker than just being a good poker player. There are a lot of factors that influence a player's performance and, as with any activity, the performance can be affected by the surrounding environment. I'm always open to new ways of improving my game, even if not directly linked to the Poker game itself.
After a harsh day at the tables today (about 700 down in MTTs on my sponsored accounts and my laptop broken sigh - although about 100 up in cash on my own account is a bit of relief), I took some time out to review my playing environment and professional strategy. It is always a good idea to review the current situation after a bad spell (even if you have just had a mug off day or week) in case your missing something important, and on a personal level, it also re-inspires me to play poker.
So after various discussions with Baba, Kam and Iz, I decided to start by making a basic list of requirements for my preferred (and I think optimal) poker playing conditions:
Dual Displays:
Dual display is key when multi-tabling. It allows you to be able to see everything at the same time as well as (if required) have programmes such as MSN open without intefering or overlapping your games. If you can see all your games it is a lot easier to concentrate, more relaxing to play and hence easier make decisions - having games overlap and flash up on top of each other causes a disorganised and rushed environment which affects the amount of information you can process and the way your brain processes it.
Reliable and High Performance Hardware/Software:
A high quality specification computer and reliable internet provided, with a back up of both in case there are any technical difficulties. Poker is hard enough by itself; additional technical problems, internet delays and computer performance issues are an unnecessary burden that should not affect playing!
Quiet and Comfortable Environment:
A quiet and comfortable location to play is important, as it should be with any work that requires high levels of concentration. It is very easy to get distracted when playing poker - especially if there is not much action on the tables or a game is in the early stages. However it is imperative to stay focused in the games being played, otherwise valuable information is missed. Often when not focused, players revert to just playing the own hole cards without much regard for the surrounding factors such as blind sizes, stack sizes, oppenant playing styles, table dynamics, etc. etc. Poker players definately perform best when they are "in the zone" and are very aware of the table and it's players, it's easier to get "in the zone" in a quiet and comfortable environment.
Regular Intervals:
It's not possible to perform consistently at your highest performance level over long periods of time, regular breaks are required. This could be a break every 2 hours from the screen and also a day or two's break (e.g. every week) to empty the thoughts of playing Poker and give the player some time off to relax.
Well Nourished and Rested:
A good result almost always follows a good nights sleep and a good meal. As with any other activity, plenty of sleep and a decent diet is required to ensure top performance.
Nice simple list of requirements.
*When I stayed at my parents house last week, whilst they were on holiday, all of above were requirements were met and I finished the week nearly 4k up!
-----
Next I made a list of ideas that could improve the way I manage my Poker playing:
Organisation and Time Management:
Playing poker/studying poker/having time off / regularly update blog
Game Selection and Bankroll Management:
Additional bank account (just for poker) / playing stakes relative to amount of cash available / optimising the sponsorship accounts
Avoiding Negative Emotions:
It is easy to think the whole world is against you when playing poker - especially if you have had a few moments of bad luck, or are fustrated with a mistake. However what makes the Poker game interesting, potentially profitable and fun is the element of luck and if your on the wrong end of it...Suck it up soldier and move on! Cos your a pro and have seen it a million times. If you make a mistake, you review it, discuss it, analyse it, and move on knowing that next time in a similiar situation you will be better prepared and more confident. Try this for a day...don't tell anyone about any of your bad beats (in fact just pretend none of them ever happened)!
And finally, with the above in mind; I have made a list of objectives that are realistic and achievable with hard work and discipline:
Financial Objectives:
Short Term (3 months):
Payoff Credit Card: £4K
Long Term (6 months+):
Rent own pad (incl deposit & 3 months rent): £2K
Build own bankroll (low stakes): £1K
Buy new PC / Desk / Display: £1K
Payoff Sultan Mates: £3.5K (sorry guys bottom priority! however if any of you need the money back please let me know ASAP and I will make sure you get it, I have means to do so it won't be a problem for me!)
Although it seems to make more sense to invest in a professional set up and have my own bankroll available before paying of my debt so that I can make more money to pay of the debt (left my locker key in the locker/chicken or egg paradox...), after discussing with my mentor and friends I have decided that my primary objective should be to pay off the credit card debt.
Once the debt is payed I can play poker without this burden on my shoulders and have some means of funds available if required.
However, I do have a small bankroll of just over 400$ in my Full Tilt Poker account (which has another 100$ pending from rakeback), simply because I am addicted to plans and as soon as I got paid last month I put a 100 bucks in there lol - especially after having invested 80 nugs in Hold Em Manager and spending so much time researching into Cash games.
I was reading today online (and also in Letherass) that I should not play any higher stakes than 10:25c Cash games with this bankroll of 400$....which ironically is the limit I started at to get to $400 lol (I originally put 100$ in) and the advice also states that if I get to $1000 dollars then I will have enough bankroll to consider playing 25:50c Cash games.
However when I make it to $1000 I will re-review and decide at the time whether I want to move up to 25:50c, or cash out 600$ and keep playing 10:25c
Cash has been going quite well, you can use Hold Em manager to see your EV (basically how much profit or loss you would have if the element of "luck" was perfectly fair). I've been playing after hours once my parents have gone to bed (like 3am to 6am when my MTT's are all finished), so that I can use their monitor and play without distractions. With the second display I'm comfortable playing 8 games at the same time...I'd like to try more but that would require additional real estate (i.e. another monitor), although I doubt many more than 8 would be profitable as I would not be able to give each table enough attention.
Anyway thats the financial objectives, here are the (minimum) Poker objectives:
Poker Objectives:
5 MTT sessions per week, each MTT session usually lasts around 6 hours (on sponsored accounts)
2 Cash sessions per week (on own accounts)
30 Mins per session (before or after, or 15 min before, 15 min after) to review results - exit hands, big pots, etc.
5 Hours study a week, forums, articles, books, mentor sessions
1 Blog update a week
Personally I reckon I can do 1.5x the above [no sweat;)] but anyway that's a good baseline and something realistic and fair to work with. I've written these objectives down in my personal poker book so I will see them everytime it is opened (which is very regularly!)
So, looking forward to starting - I'll probably write my first (1 per week) blog post about the progress!
plans plans plans plans plans plans plans plans plans plans
After a harsh day at the tables today (about 700 down in MTTs on my sponsored accounts and my laptop broken sigh - although about 100 up in cash on my own account is a bit of relief), I took some time out to review my playing environment and professional strategy. It is always a good idea to review the current situation after a bad spell (even if you have just had a mug off day or week) in case your missing something important, and on a personal level, it also re-inspires me to play poker.
So after various discussions with Baba, Kam and Iz, I decided to start by making a basic list of requirements for my preferred (and I think optimal) poker playing conditions:
Dual Displays:
Dual display is key when multi-tabling. It allows you to be able to see everything at the same time as well as (if required) have programmes such as MSN open without intefering or overlapping your games. If you can see all your games it is a lot easier to concentrate, more relaxing to play and hence easier make decisions - having games overlap and flash up on top of each other causes a disorganised and rushed environment which affects the amount of information you can process and the way your brain processes it.
Reliable and High Performance Hardware/Software:
A high quality specification computer and reliable internet provided, with a back up of both in case there are any technical difficulties. Poker is hard enough by itself; additional technical problems, internet delays and computer performance issues are an unnecessary burden that should not affect playing!
Quiet and Comfortable Environment:
A quiet and comfortable location to play is important, as it should be with any work that requires high levels of concentration. It is very easy to get distracted when playing poker - especially if there is not much action on the tables or a game is in the early stages. However it is imperative to stay focused in the games being played, otherwise valuable information is missed. Often when not focused, players revert to just playing the own hole cards without much regard for the surrounding factors such as blind sizes, stack sizes, oppenant playing styles, table dynamics, etc. etc. Poker players definately perform best when they are "in the zone" and are very aware of the table and it's players, it's easier to get "in the zone" in a quiet and comfortable environment.
Regular Intervals:
It's not possible to perform consistently at your highest performance level over long periods of time, regular breaks are required. This could be a break every 2 hours from the screen and also a day or two's break (e.g. every week) to empty the thoughts of playing Poker and give the player some time off to relax.
Well Nourished and Rested:
A good result almost always follows a good nights sleep and a good meal. As with any other activity, plenty of sleep and a decent diet is required to ensure top performance.
Nice simple list of requirements.
*When I stayed at my parents house last week, whilst they were on holiday, all of above were requirements were met and I finished the week nearly 4k up!
-----
Next I made a list of ideas that could improve the way I manage my Poker playing:
Organisation and Time Management:
Playing poker/studying poker/having time off / regularly update blog
Game Selection and Bankroll Management:
Additional bank account (just for poker) / playing stakes relative to amount of cash available / optimising the sponsorship accounts
Avoiding Negative Emotions:
It is easy to think the whole world is against you when playing poker - especially if you have had a few moments of bad luck, or are fustrated with a mistake. However what makes the Poker game interesting, potentially profitable and fun is the element of luck and if your on the wrong end of it...Suck it up soldier and move on! Cos your a pro and have seen it a million times. If you make a mistake, you review it, discuss it, analyse it, and move on knowing that next time in a similiar situation you will be better prepared and more confident. Try this for a day...don't tell anyone about any of your bad beats (in fact just pretend none of them ever happened)!
And finally, with the above in mind; I have made a list of objectives that are realistic and achievable with hard work and discipline:
Financial Objectives:
Short Term (3 months):
Payoff Credit Card: £4K
Long Term (6 months+):
Rent own pad (incl deposit & 3 months rent): £2K
Build own bankroll (low stakes): £1K
Buy new PC / Desk / Display: £1K
Payoff Sultan Mates: £3.5K (sorry guys bottom priority! however if any of you need the money back please let me know ASAP and I will make sure you get it, I have means to do so it won't be a problem for me!)
Although it seems to make more sense to invest in a professional set up and have my own bankroll available before paying of my debt so that I can make more money to pay of the debt (left my locker key in the locker/chicken or egg paradox...), after discussing with my mentor and friends I have decided that my primary objective should be to pay off the credit card debt.
Once the debt is payed I can play poker without this burden on my shoulders and have some means of funds available if required.
However, I do have a small bankroll of just over 400$ in my Full Tilt Poker account (which has another 100$ pending from rakeback), simply because I am addicted to plans and as soon as I got paid last month I put a 100 bucks in there lol - especially after having invested 80 nugs in Hold Em Manager and spending so much time researching into Cash games.
I was reading today online (and also in Letherass) that I should not play any higher stakes than 10:25c Cash games with this bankroll of 400$....which ironically is the limit I started at to get to $400 lol (I originally put 100$ in) and the advice also states that if I get to $1000 dollars then I will have enough bankroll to consider playing 25:50c Cash games.
However when I make it to $1000 I will re-review and decide at the time whether I want to move up to 25:50c, or cash out 600$ and keep playing 10:25c
Cash has been going quite well, you can use Hold Em manager to see your EV (basically how much profit or loss you would have if the element of "luck" was perfectly fair). I've been playing after hours once my parents have gone to bed (like 3am to 6am when my MTT's are all finished), so that I can use their monitor and play without distractions. With the second display I'm comfortable playing 8 games at the same time...I'd like to try more but that would require additional real estate (i.e. another monitor), although I doubt many more than 8 would be profitable as I would not be able to give each table enough attention.
Anyway thats the financial objectives, here are the (minimum) Poker objectives:
Poker Objectives:
5 MTT sessions per week, each MTT session usually lasts around 6 hours (on sponsored accounts)
2 Cash sessions per week (on own accounts)
30 Mins per session (before or after, or 15 min before, 15 min after) to review results - exit hands, big pots, etc.
5 Hours study a week, forums, articles, books, mentor sessions
1 Blog update a week
Personally I reckon I can do 1.5x the above [no sweat;)] but anyway that's a good baseline and something realistic and fair to work with. I've written these objectives down in my personal poker book so I will see them everytime it is opened (which is very regularly!)
So, looking forward to starting - I'll probably write my first (1 per week) blog post about the progress!
plans plans plans plans plans plans plans plans plans plans
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Nutty days as a sponsored pro
first month 1.5k up
second month 2.6k up
third month 2.6k up
fourth month (so far)...
---
what another nutty day
spent all day playing (4pm to 4am)
finished 300 up - was 600 down at one point (obv was still in games tho). Cashed in loads of stuff, and lots of late positions but no epic premium cash, closest was:
200e in the 55e fo (5th) went out tj vs ak but fair enuff grr,
250e in the 20e fo (4th), was looking awesome then lost AT vs KT for 100k pot mugged! (i raise sb he shoves bb i call - awesome call punished!) then won AQ vs KQ to get back to 50k, then lost AJ vs TT for another 100k pot grrr and out
and 550$ in the 50 buck ds (3rd) - me and cl were basically same stack 3 handed other guy low, then i got a2 button, raised pre and other big stack re raised, i called.
flop 225 (euphoria) he bet flop I call, 6 turn, he bet I call, J river he shove I call...not really thinking what he had lol obv the pot was epic now anyway never folding - there was 2 clubs on flop so i was just calling behind all the way to pretend i had fd and praying it wudnt come in and slow him down lol .
He had 66 in hand. sick. had alrdy loaded my pants, as other guy was so low - basically the winner of that pot was gtd fist place which was 1.3k.
bitter however i also won a 200 ticket and a 50 ticket so i guess technically 550 up (200 ticket, game is 50k for first mina mina)
anyway this month im about 3.2k + got 2 tickets, up for month so far (1 week in lol). nutty
intending to update blog regularly now (current post rough to be edited)
second month 2.6k up
third month 2.6k up
fourth month (so far)...
---
what another nutty day
spent all day playing (4pm to 4am)
finished 300 up - was 600 down at one point (obv was still in games tho). Cashed in loads of stuff, and lots of late positions but no epic premium cash, closest was:
200e in the 55e fo (5th) went out tj vs ak but fair enuff grr,
250e in the 20e fo (4th), was looking awesome then lost AT vs KT for 100k pot mugged! (i raise sb he shoves bb i call - awesome call punished!) then won AQ vs KQ to get back to 50k, then lost AJ vs TT for another 100k pot grrr and out
and 550$ in the 50 buck ds (3rd) - me and cl were basically same stack 3 handed other guy low, then i got a2 button, raised pre and other big stack re raised, i called.
flop 225 (euphoria) he bet flop I call, 6 turn, he bet I call, J river he shove I call...not really thinking what he had lol obv the pot was epic now anyway never folding - there was 2 clubs on flop so i was just calling behind all the way to pretend i had fd and praying it wudnt come in and slow him down lol .
He had 66 in hand. sick. had alrdy loaded my pants, as other guy was so low - basically the winner of that pot was gtd fist place which was 1.3k.
bitter however i also won a 200 ticket and a 50 ticket so i guess technically 550 up (200 ticket, game is 50k for first mina mina)
anyway this month im about 3.2k + got 2 tickets, up for month so far (1 week in lol). nutty
intending to update blog regularly now (current post rough to be edited)
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Crazzzzzzzzzzy day
wow...what a day
So yesterday, I bubbled in the 120 at Aria and went out preflop KQ vs KT (so harsh after 5 hours)
Then went out first hand of the 160, set over set unreal.
Then I got a contract through to be sponsored playing online poker through my mentor, the sponsors would bankroll me (and hence take all the risk) in return for a percentage of profits...awesome
So depressed and very low on nugs, I book a last minute flight home for Thursday to the UK.
Hence today was my last day of playing poker in Vegas...and guess what, I play the 160 and split pot 3 way for 1400 (after playing awesome, I had only one showdown where i had QQ and him A3, and he hit the ace classic!!!! but i still won the tourny)
Then afterwards and on euphoria I played cash, sat down with 300 and finished with 750 after some superb poker playing (if I don't mind saying so myself)....premium
So i think what the hell I got cash again, and I call Kam/Izzard...go for it they say!!! So I decide to cancel my flight!!!
I gotta go for it, I'm here to make cash for me and my mates, they took a risk by investing in me (an awful risk, clowns haha) and I gotta take the risk for another week of epic euphoria's and suicide watch....this place is so stressful it is unreal and i'll actually be either bald or going grey by the time i return (and physically 60 years old)
So I call up the flight company aeroplane business people and they say it will cost 375$ to rebook or I can cancel but lose my 575$ (cost of the flight)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... then the guy says, "wait you booked yesterday? oh you can cancel for 75 bucks"
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS....flight cancelled, hotel booked for another (400 nugs) and I got another week of buy-ins available.
So another week of madness, and I'll keep you updated
So yesterday, I bubbled in the 120 at Aria and went out preflop KQ vs KT (so harsh after 5 hours)
Then went out first hand of the 160, set over set unreal.
Then I got a contract through to be sponsored playing online poker through my mentor, the sponsors would bankroll me (and hence take all the risk) in return for a percentage of profits...awesome
So depressed and very low on nugs, I book a last minute flight home for Thursday to the UK.
Hence today was my last day of playing poker in Vegas...and guess what, I play the 160 and split pot 3 way for 1400 (after playing awesome, I had only one showdown where i had QQ and him A3, and he hit the ace classic!!!! but i still won the tourny)
Then afterwards and on euphoria I played cash, sat down with 300 and finished with 750 after some superb poker playing (if I don't mind saying so myself)....premium
So i think what the hell I got cash again, and I call Kam/Izzard...go for it they say!!! So I decide to cancel my flight!!!
I gotta go for it, I'm here to make cash for me and my mates, they took a risk by investing in me (an awful risk, clowns haha) and I gotta take the risk for another week of epic euphoria's and suicide watch....this place is so stressful it is unreal and i'll actually be either bald or going grey by the time i return (and physically 60 years old)
So I call up the flight company aeroplane business people and they say it will cost 375$ to rebook or I can cancel but lose my 575$ (cost of the flight)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... then the guy says, "wait you booked yesterday? oh you can cancel for 75 bucks"
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS....flight cancelled, hotel booked for another (400 nugs) and I got another week of buy-ins available.
So another week of madness, and I'll keep you updated
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Interesting hands $160 CP (20/03/10)
So I played the 85$ today and cashed in that woo (500 return for 85)
Then I played the 160$ afterwards and just got back from it, unfortunately I didn't do very well:( my game only consisted of only 4 or 5 (key) hands that I've discussed below:
J3 vs KK:
So we've just got back from the break and the blinds are 100-200, with 25 anti. I started on 10k and have steadily built up to around 12k
The table is full of limpers, and first hand back from the break everyone limps round to me, and I, convinced by position and pot odds, elect to call with J2 suited (Hearts) - there has been very little preflop raising so I'm not too worried about anyone raising behind.
The button limps and the blinds check
The flop brings K34 with 2 hearts
It checks round to me and I decide to check, I don't want to raise and get re-raised (then lose my opportunity to see a free card) and I also want the pot to stay small until I have a made hand.
The button raises to 1100 which is just under the pot, I decide I need at least one caller with a deep stack (the button also has around 12k) to justify my implied odds for calling and fishing for the flush.
The UTG limper calls and he has around 20k, it folds round to me and I decide that one additional caller is enough for me to justify a call. If I miss and lose the 1k I will be on around 10.5k, which isn't much different from 11.5k. However, if I hit I could potentially get up to 20 or 25k, which is a lot different from 11.5k.
At this point I figure both oppenants have a king, most likely with a K or J. Part of me is worried that someone may also be fishing for a better flush than me, so I'm hoping for the Ace of hearts next card to decrease the chances.
If UTG had a set or an (unlikely) 2 pair I would have expected him to re-raise the flop bet. As he didn't I assume for now he has KQ. The button limper could have any hand as he was last to act, I figure I will get more information on his possible holdings on the turn betting round.
The turn brings 9 hearts and completes my jack high flush. The UTG limper checks and I bet out 3300, the pot is around 4500 at this point so it is quite a value bet. Seeing as my flush isn't that strong I want to charge anyone expensive odds to see the next card (in case they have e.g. KQ with the queen of hearts).
The button folds (I guess he didn't have much of the flop or was scared by the flush) and the UTG limper calls.
To call the 3300 bet the UTG limper has to be pretty brave and have a good holding or drawing to a good holding. At this time I now think he also has the flush (probably ace high) and is slow playing it, he doesn't seem amazingly confident though and his call was semi relunctant....this could mean he has a strong hand but not as strong as the flush (e.g. trip 444 or 333 or even 999)
The river card is an offsuit 9 which pairs the board, and the UTG limper bets 4k. My stack is around 7.5k so an unsuccesful call would leave me cripled with around 3.5k and soon 200-400 blinds.
He seems a lot more confident now, he is sitting up straight and leaning forward, he also makes eye contact with me without flinching, which is a sigh he has a very strong hand. I'm not sure what it is though, I figure either a set (which is now a full house) or a higher flush (most likely ace high).
I re-review my holding and considering what hands I'm beating....and it is not a lot.
After a long think, I fold my Jack high flush and show him my cards;
"I don't know what you got bud, but I'm sure you got me beat!"
He shows KK and says "no way, how can you fold the flush?!!?", he keeps talking about the hand for ages, about how he disguised his monster, slow-played the flop, then got sucked out by the flush but re-sucked out on the river board pair and how amazed he was that I didn't call the river bet.
The way he played the KK does make sense, limping UTG hoping someone will raise, flopping a well hidden top set (it would be hard to get any chips in the pot at this point, because the king i the highest card on the flop and he has 2/3 of them!), then check-calling to the flush draw and value betting the river.
So I'm happy with my fold and remaining 7.5k...although I wish they would give you chips for folding rather than just not take away chips lol.
AA vs QQ:
Not long later we're on 200-400 blinds and I pick up QQ with around 7.5k. I raise to 1200 and the player after me instantly min raises to 2400...sigh he has about 10k chips, this means he either has AK or AA. Everyone else folds so I call to see the flop.
The flop brings T64 and I bet out 2k, he takes half a moment then goes all in. I'm pretty sure he has AA now. He's sitting comfortably and nodding his head slowly up and down**.
I fold and show my queens: "well you obviously have aces..."
He shows his aces. Part of me thinks I should have just folded preflop, but surely I can't fold queens pre flop to a min raise,that's just pathetically weak?!?
**In my experience there are two times when players slowly nod their head up and down, the 1st is if you bet into them and they think they are beat - they slowly nod their head up and down then fold. The second is when they bet into a pot and they think they have the best hand, then they nod to themselfs.
I'm not sure why people do this, maybe it is a natural reaction and they are nodding to themselfs in agreement with their thoughts. Either way I've seen it dozen of times in live poker.
78 vs A7:
I pick up a pot but am still I'm short from the hands mentioned above and have only around 3.8k Chips after putting my SB and anti in. The big blind is 400 at this point.
It folds round to me on the small blind and I have 78 offsuit, the big blind is a tight player and has around double my stack (he has already donked the chips away I gave him AA vs QQ) - I figure if I push all in here there is not a lot of hands he will call with (only top 10 most most likely) as it can do so much damage to his stack and is an unecessary risk. I also prefer raising all in with a hand like 78 as it has a reasonable percentage vs most hands pre flop. (Where-as if you pushed all in with Ace2, any person who calls you with an Ace, like AceTen will have you dominated. 67 vs At has a much better chance)
I push all in, I hate going all in so early in the tournament - but it has to be done unfortunately, theres a potential 1k in chips up for grabs which is 25% of my stack!
He calls with A7, so much for my not being dominated theory...lol, however I got lucky and hit an 8 on the flop. This hand doubles me up to around 8k.
AQ vs JJ:
Not very long later a new player joins the table and raises from middle position to 1200 (BB 400) I'm still on 8k and he has around 14k behind)
I have AQ and just call behind, I haven't much information on the player because he has just joined the table and AQ isn't a good enough hand for a large preflop pot so raising isn't an option (in my opinion). The raiser has around 14k and me 8k.
The player immediately to my left, takes a while to think about his action and then calls. I'm pretty sure he has does not have AA or KK because earlier in the game he min raised me with AA (the hand discussed earlier in this post) and his manorisms seem completely different to last time. He also spent a long time thinking before he called - which he didn't do last time with AA.
I list a few hands in my head I think he may have, and the most likely holdings are around AQ stength (AQ, KQ, TT, JJ) which makes sense and reference to the same solid tournament strategy I'm applying, by calling with AQ in position.
The flop brings QT9 rainbow and the original raiser checks. It looks like he has given up on the hand already and is most unlikely willing a bet. I assume he has a hand like AK or 88 and is very unhappy with the flop.
I bet out 2500, the pot is just below 3k and I add a few more chips than normal to my continuation bet of around half pot (e.g. 1700) to ensure the straight draw is overcharged (any jack).
The player behind me calls and the original raiser folds, I take a few more moments to consider his holdings. I figure if he had TT or AQ he would have re-raised the flop because of the straight draw, if he had JJ he would just flat call, and if he had QK he would flat call. I can't think of any other possible holdings (maybe 99 but that follows the same route as the TT) and I don't believe he is slow playing an overpair like AA or KK
I figure he has then either JJ or QK - so as long as the turn isn't a 9, Jack or King then I'm in good shape and can throw the rest of my chips in. If it does come a 9, Jack or King then I'm almost certainly behind.
The turn brings a K, and I check. He bets all in which has me covered and I fold, showing the AQ...I say: "pocket jacks yea?"
He asks how I always know what he has, and shows the pocket jacks. Again no additional chips for folding :( It just means I lose less than another player might. This puts me down to around 4.5k.
AJ vs AK vs J7:
The blinds are now 300-600 and I'm looking pretty desperate. I've picked one up my set of blinds since the AQ hand discussed above and am on around 6k (the blinds are pretty big, 600+300+Antis).
A player limps under the gun and another in middle position - I have AJ suited one before the cut off. The UTG limper is pretty deep, but has been limping lots (probably 1 in 3 hands) and the other limper has limped almost every hand - despite it being such a big proportion of his stack, he has around 4k left.
I put all in with AJ suited, hoping to take down the pot right there which is about nearly 3k (600+600+BB 600+SB 300+Antis). Everyone folds round to the UTG limper who calls, and then the other limp also calls....bummer
The UTG limper shows AK, and the other limper J7...the UTG limper was the same guy who limped UTG earlier with KK vs my J3 so maybe I should have figured this out, however he has been limping so much I think this was just unlucky timing.
The J7 call was just terrible I don't know what he was thinking lol
The flop is 44T, turn T, then river an A which is a shame because any card but an Ace or K on the river would have split the pot (or a jack would have even won it for me)
So that was a pretty harsh tournament for me, pretty happy with how I played though
Then I played the 160$ afterwards and just got back from it, unfortunately I didn't do very well:( my game only consisted of only 4 or 5 (key) hands that I've discussed below:
J3 vs KK:
So we've just got back from the break and the blinds are 100-200, with 25 anti. I started on 10k and have steadily built up to around 12k
The table is full of limpers, and first hand back from the break everyone limps round to me, and I, convinced by position and pot odds, elect to call with J2 suited (Hearts) - there has been very little preflop raising so I'm not too worried about anyone raising behind.
The button limps and the blinds check
The flop brings K34 with 2 hearts
It checks round to me and I decide to check, I don't want to raise and get re-raised (then lose my opportunity to see a free card) and I also want the pot to stay small until I have a made hand.
The button raises to 1100 which is just under the pot, I decide I need at least one caller with a deep stack (the button also has around 12k) to justify my implied odds for calling and fishing for the flush.
The UTG limper calls and he has around 20k, it folds round to me and I decide that one additional caller is enough for me to justify a call. If I miss and lose the 1k I will be on around 10.5k, which isn't much different from 11.5k. However, if I hit I could potentially get up to 20 or 25k, which is a lot different from 11.5k.
At this point I figure both oppenants have a king, most likely with a K or J. Part of me is worried that someone may also be fishing for a better flush than me, so I'm hoping for the Ace of hearts next card to decrease the chances.
If UTG had a set or an (unlikely) 2 pair I would have expected him to re-raise the flop bet. As he didn't I assume for now he has KQ. The button limper could have any hand as he was last to act, I figure I will get more information on his possible holdings on the turn betting round.
The turn brings 9 hearts and completes my jack high flush. The UTG limper checks and I bet out 3300, the pot is around 4500 at this point so it is quite a value bet. Seeing as my flush isn't that strong I want to charge anyone expensive odds to see the next card (in case they have e.g. KQ with the queen of hearts).
The button folds (I guess he didn't have much of the flop or was scared by the flush) and the UTG limper calls.
To call the 3300 bet the UTG limper has to be pretty brave and have a good holding or drawing to a good holding. At this time I now think he also has the flush (probably ace high) and is slow playing it, he doesn't seem amazingly confident though and his call was semi relunctant....this could mean he has a strong hand but not as strong as the flush (e.g. trip 444 or 333 or even 999)
The river card is an offsuit 9 which pairs the board, and the UTG limper bets 4k. My stack is around 7.5k so an unsuccesful call would leave me cripled with around 3.5k and soon 200-400 blinds.
He seems a lot more confident now, he is sitting up straight and leaning forward, he also makes eye contact with me without flinching, which is a sigh he has a very strong hand. I'm not sure what it is though, I figure either a set (which is now a full house) or a higher flush (most likely ace high).
I re-review my holding and considering what hands I'm beating....and it is not a lot.
- A very unlikely KQ or KJ (he would have surely checked the river with KQ or KJ),
- A very unlikekly 9 holding (e.g. K9 or A9, I doubt A9 would have called the bigflop bet)
- A lower flush (e.g. 67 hearts) which he still may have checked on the river, or
- A complete bluff, this seems highly unlikely and doesn't align with the bettings.
After a long think, I fold my Jack high flush and show him my cards;
"I don't know what you got bud, but I'm sure you got me beat!"
He shows KK and says "no way, how can you fold the flush?!!?", he keeps talking about the hand for ages, about how he disguised his monster, slow-played the flop, then got sucked out by the flush but re-sucked out on the river board pair and how amazed he was that I didn't call the river bet.
The way he played the KK does make sense, limping UTG hoping someone will raise, flopping a well hidden top set (it would be hard to get any chips in the pot at this point, because the king i the highest card on the flop and he has 2/3 of them!), then check-calling to the flush draw and value betting the river.
So I'm happy with my fold and remaining 7.5k...although I wish they would give you chips for folding rather than just not take away chips lol.
AA vs QQ:
Not long later we're on 200-400 blinds and I pick up QQ with around 7.5k. I raise to 1200 and the player after me instantly min raises to 2400...sigh he has about 10k chips, this means he either has AK or AA. Everyone else folds so I call to see the flop.
The flop brings T64 and I bet out 2k, he takes half a moment then goes all in. I'm pretty sure he has AA now. He's sitting comfortably and nodding his head slowly up and down**.
I fold and show my queens: "well you obviously have aces..."
He shows his aces. Part of me thinks I should have just folded preflop, but surely I can't fold queens pre flop to a min raise,that's just pathetically weak?!?
**In my experience there are two times when players slowly nod their head up and down, the 1st is if you bet into them and they think they are beat - they slowly nod their head up and down then fold. The second is when they bet into a pot and they think they have the best hand, then they nod to themselfs.
I'm not sure why people do this, maybe it is a natural reaction and they are nodding to themselfs in agreement with their thoughts. Either way I've seen it dozen of times in live poker.
78 vs A7:
I pick up a pot but am still I'm short from the hands mentioned above and have only around 3.8k Chips after putting my SB and anti in. The big blind is 400 at this point.
It folds round to me on the small blind and I have 78 offsuit, the big blind is a tight player and has around double my stack (he has already donked the chips away I gave him AA vs QQ) - I figure if I push all in here there is not a lot of hands he will call with (only top 10 most most likely) as it can do so much damage to his stack and is an unecessary risk. I also prefer raising all in with a hand like 78 as it has a reasonable percentage vs most hands pre flop. (Where-as if you pushed all in with Ace2, any person who calls you with an Ace, like AceTen will have you dominated. 67 vs At has a much better chance)
I push all in, I hate going all in so early in the tournament - but it has to be done unfortunately, theres a potential 1k in chips up for grabs which is 25% of my stack!
He calls with A7, so much for my not being dominated theory...lol, however I got lucky and hit an 8 on the flop. This hand doubles me up to around 8k.
AQ vs JJ:
Not very long later a new player joins the table and raises from middle position to 1200 (BB 400) I'm still on 8k and he has around 14k behind)
I have AQ and just call behind, I haven't much information on the player because he has just joined the table and AQ isn't a good enough hand for a large preflop pot so raising isn't an option (in my opinion). The raiser has around 14k and me 8k.
The player immediately to my left, takes a while to think about his action and then calls. I'm pretty sure he has does not have AA or KK because earlier in the game he min raised me with AA (the hand discussed earlier in this post) and his manorisms seem completely different to last time. He also spent a long time thinking before he called - which he didn't do last time with AA.
I list a few hands in my head I think he may have, and the most likely holdings are around AQ stength (AQ, KQ, TT, JJ) which makes sense and reference to the same solid tournament strategy I'm applying, by calling with AQ in position.
The flop brings QT9 rainbow and the original raiser checks. It looks like he has given up on the hand already and is most unlikely willing a bet. I assume he has a hand like AK or 88 and is very unhappy with the flop.
I bet out 2500, the pot is just below 3k and I add a few more chips than normal to my continuation bet of around half pot (e.g. 1700) to ensure the straight draw is overcharged (any jack).
The player behind me calls and the original raiser folds, I take a few more moments to consider his holdings. I figure if he had TT or AQ he would have re-raised the flop because of the straight draw, if he had JJ he would just flat call, and if he had QK he would flat call. I can't think of any other possible holdings (maybe 99 but that follows the same route as the TT) and I don't believe he is slow playing an overpair like AA or KK
I figure he has then either JJ or QK - so as long as the turn isn't a 9, Jack or King then I'm in good shape and can throw the rest of my chips in. If it does come a 9, Jack or King then I'm almost certainly behind.
The turn brings a K, and I check. He bets all in which has me covered and I fold, showing the AQ...I say: "pocket jacks yea?"
He asks how I always know what he has, and shows the pocket jacks. Again no additional chips for folding :( It just means I lose less than another player might. This puts me down to around 4.5k.
AJ vs AK vs J7:
The blinds are now 300-600 and I'm looking pretty desperate. I've picked one up my set of blinds since the AQ hand discussed above and am on around 6k (the blinds are pretty big, 600+300+Antis).
A player limps under the gun and another in middle position - I have AJ suited one before the cut off. The UTG limper is pretty deep, but has been limping lots (probably 1 in 3 hands) and the other limper has limped almost every hand - despite it being such a big proportion of his stack, he has around 4k left.
I put all in with AJ suited, hoping to take down the pot right there which is about nearly 3k (600+600+BB 600+SB 300+Antis). Everyone folds round to the UTG limper who calls, and then the other limp also calls....bummer
The UTG limper shows AK, and the other limper J7...the UTG limper was the same guy who limped UTG earlier with KK vs my J3 so maybe I should have figured this out, however he has been limping so much I think this was just unlucky timing.
The J7 call was just terrible I don't know what he was thinking lol
The flop is 44T, turn T, then river an A which is a shame because any card but an Ace or K on the river would have split the pot (or a jack would have even won it for me)
So that was a pretty harsh tournament for me, pretty happy with how I played though
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Steve Burt: Every Hand Revealed
Ok this is going to be a long post, so make sure your sitting comfortably/make a cup of tea before you read ha.
Last night I wrote down every hand I played (and my thoughts) in the Ceasers Palace 160$ deepstack. It was actually quite hard work doing so and I think I made 3 or 4 mistakes (at least) I wouldn't usually make because of it....not to mention any information I missed on the table.
Anyway so I actually had a pretty bad game (in fact I think I made more mistakes in this game, than the last 10 games put together)...but anyway here goes:
160$ buy in
10000 starting chips
30 minute blinds
70 entrants
top 9 paid
Blinds 25-50, my stack 10k - 7 players at table
1. AK offsuit
Someone raises to 175 from mid position and I call on the button, everyone else folds.
Flop brings A42 and he bets 200, I just call
Turn brings 6 and he bets 500, I just call
River brings 7 and he checks, I figure him for a weaker ace here and would probably call a value bet - but seeing as it is the first hand and I have no info on him I just check behind. I show AK and he mucks
2. 67 off suit
2 players limp before me and i limp one before the button, I could raise here to narrow the field / oppenants holdings but seeing as we are so early on I just limp. The small blind completes and big blind checks.
Flop brings 779, but with 2 hearts. It checks round to me and bet out 300 which is bigger than the pot - my 67 not that strong here and I want ot charge out draws. The 2 limpers call, I assume they have either flush draw/straight draw or a pair in hand.
Turn brings 2 offsuit. It checks round to me and I bet again, half pot - everyone folds.
3. J7
Someone raises to 125 and I call
Flop brings 356 and the initial raiser makes a large overbet (500 into a 275 pot) so I fold assuming he has overpair.
4. J6
I limp after 1 limper with J6, a couple of players limp behind me.
Flop brings QJ6, and the first limper bets 125 and another limper calls behind - I raise to 450 and they both call....worrying I assume they have either straight draws (KT, T9) or a queen or some sort (QT, QJ, QK). Unlikely they have 666 as I already have a 6 and one on the board, and unlikely AQ as no raise preflop.
Turn brings 8 and everyone checks, I could bet here but I'm worried about them both calling my flop raise, and the 8 completes one of the hands I was worried about (T9) for a straight - best to keep the pot small and see what happens on the river. I have position also. I check.
River brings a K and the first limper checks, the second bets 1500 so I fold. My hand doesn't beat many holdings anymore, not with the king on the board, and 1500 is a pretty big bet, people only generally bluff if they have missed a draw (e.g. a flush or straight draw) and there isn't any draws that he could have missed here so I don't think he is bluffing. The other limper also folds so we will never know what he had.
5. J6
I fold preflop, someone goes out on the table flush vs straight
6.95 (spades)
I call in middle position and a few players limp.
Flop brings 77T with 2 spades, the first limper raises to 125 and another player calls. I also call behind. At this point I'm not sure of my oppenants holdings, I'm a little bit worried that I might be drawing to a weaker flush draw than the other caller, or that the original raiser might have a monster on BB (7T)
Turn brings an offsuit 2 and the original raiser bets 300, me and the other limper fold....I could call here but I don't think a spade will pay me off much and I could even be drawing to the second best hand
7. 9T
UTG raises to 150 and I call in the next position, she is very tight and hasn't played a hand yet so I figure my 9T can smash up her AK or overpair. Kinda risky because someone might raise behind but the table is very tight so the chances are low, everyone folds behind.
Flop brings 376 and we both check, not much to play with here - I think she would call with AK also if I bet, woman can't help but call every hand...its like playing Knighty.
Turn brings K and she bets 300 I have to fold
8. AQ suited
I limp with AQ suited under the gun, I could raise here but it isn't a made hand and I don't like the position. the blinds are pretty small still also so I think I'll see what happens on the flop.
A few players limp behind.
Flop brings 3K5, the big blind bets so I fold - rubbish
9. Big Blind: 23 suited
A tight mid position player raises to 175, I fold
10. Small Blind: 87
The person limps and I call, the big blind checks.
The flop brings 865 and i bet 125 to build a pot, both players fold
11. Q7
2 players limp and I limp on the button, there's not much pre flop raising going on and the flop play is pretty weak from what I've seen so far so worth getting involved here.
Flop brings 89T, and everyone checks. I'm open ended but I'll wait until I hit before I bet this early in the game.
Turn brings 6 and everyone checks , I bet out 200 and 1 limper calls, I figure him for a jack at this point (e.g. KJ) and fishing for a straight) - he limped in middle position.
River brings A, he checks and I bet half pot - he folds, don't think he would have called any river value bet unfortunately.
12. 57
The lady to my right raises to 125, its so cheap I can't resist - especially with position. I figure at this point she has a small pair or 2 pretty cards (e.g. KJ suited). This is consistent with a beginner / woman play, they think they should raise but don't know how much, so do a min raise.
Flop brings Q74 and she bets 200, I call - noone else is in the hand...not an amazing flop, but I could be ahead or get lucky with a disguised 2 pair/trips. If she bets the turn then I'm probably behind to a queen or pair in hand, if not then I'm probably ahead to a small pair in hand.
Turn brings J and we both check, no point betting here, it won't achieve anything.
River brings 6 and we both check again, she shows 33 and I take the pot
13. 37 off suit
I fold preflop
14. A8
A loose player raises to 125, I figure he is weak, and the lady calls. I'm sure they are both weak/medium strength and re-raise to 400 to execute an early squeeze play.
Everyone else folds and they both call, not too worrying: I still think they have weak holdings, I'm representing a big hand, and the pot isn't too big at this point.
Flop brings A87, they both check and I bet 400, the first guy folds and the donkey woman calls (she looks a little bit like a donkey). The flop made this hand 10x easier for me, I'm sure I have the best hand now against a weak ace or a pair in hand...for some reason woman just cannot lay down pairs in hand!!!
Turn is K, she checks and I bet 800 figuring I still have the best hand and am going to get paid off vs a weaker ace. she calls.
River is a 4, she checks and I bet 1200 for the same reason as above, I also want to bet here to disguise what I was raising with (remember I raised after a raiser/caller pre flop, then raised every street). She calls and shows 99, what a donkey. I take down the pot.
15. AQ
I raise in an early position to 225, someone re-raises me to 500 (he did it by mistake, he hadn't seen that I had raised but said the word "raise" so had to), another guy re-re-raises to 1300, he is tight and has only played 1 hand so far, so its a pretty easy fold. The other guy folds also so we dont get to see what he had.
16. 46
I fold pre flop
17. Q5 suited
I fold pre under the gun
18. BB, blinds are up to 50-100 (always goes up on me...) T3
Someone raises to 200, another 500 so I fold my T3
19. SB, K4
Two people limp so I complete with K4.
Flop brings Q73, and someone raises to 400 - not worth doing anything tricky here so I fold, not very exciting
20. K7
I limp on the button after two limpers (one under the gun, suspect)
Flop brings AQ8 and the under the gun limper raises to 700 so I fold
21. J8
It folds round to me and I raise to 325 to try and make it 1v1, expecting to just continuation bet a nice flop and take down the pot if noone shows any strength.
The player behind me calls, he hasn't played many hands so either has a pair in hand or 2 high cards (e.g. KQ AQ). everyone else folds
Flop brings 662 and I bet 400, he calls - ok I'm done with the hand unless I hit now, there's nothing I can represent on the board and he doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
Turn brings 7, I check and he bets 1000, I fold
22. T2
I fold T2
23. A7
I call in mid position with a7 and a couple others limp.
Flop brings 52K and a tight player raises to 200, I fold. Feel like I should have raised pre flop there and not just limped, but doesnt matter.
24. J9
It folds round to me and I raise to 350 and the big blind calls. He is a tight player and I'm unsure of what he would call with in big blind, maybe a strong ace - 2 high cards or a pair in hand.
Flop brings 7KK and we both check.
Turn brings T, he checks and I bet 400 (Q or 8 gives me a straight), he raises to 1025....I call. I'm unsure of his holding here and wasn't paying much attention because I was writing notes grrrrrrrrrr
River brings a 3 and he checks, the only way I can win the pot is by betting and he is only going to call with a K which seems unlikely like at this point, I bet 1500 to represent a value bet with AK. He calls and shows AK....d'oh.
I think because I was taking notes I missed out on a few tricks in that hand and would have usually checked the turn to take the free card and try and hit a disguised straight, although saying that the hand wasn't played too badly - it was pretty unfortunate he hit the trip kings.
*He was a pretty good player and was at the final table with me at the end.
----
Quick chip count, I started with 10000 and have 10800 now, after losing just over 2k on the last hand
25. 26
I fold
26.76
I fold
27. Big Blind K8
Everyone folds round to the small blind who calls, I check - not worth doing anything tricky here vs donkey woman
Flop brings QQ2 and we both check
Turn brings an 8,she checks and I bet 100 and she folds
28. SB K5
Someone raises to 400 so I fold
29. A6
1 person (who limps every hand) limps so I raise to 450 on the button, the big blind calls which is worrying. He hasn't played many hands. The limper folds.
Flop brings AK7 with 2 spades, I have no spades. He bets 600 and I call
Turn brings 6 (another spade), he checks and I bet 800 and he folds. I definately can't slow play my 2 pair here as there are so many dangerous cards that the river can bring, any spade, any card higher than a 6, best to end the pot right there and then. Not sure of his holding, probably a King by the way he played it (e.g. KQ).
30. A2
I limp after a few other limps, I've been raising a lot so figure I would just limp with this hand.
Flop brings K53 and we all check
Turn brings T and one of the limpers bet 325 - I fold, too expensive to persue the crazy straght draw or a ragged ace
Chip count 11850
31. 7T
I fold, a new guy has just joined the table - we're 10 handed, this changes the dynamics of the table (basically hand strength decreases)
32. J9
A tight player raises to 250 and I call with position, another player calls behind
Flop brings A72 - horrible flop for me, the original raiser puts in 500 and he gets re-raised to 1500. There's nothing for me here, so I fold. They both end up all in (AK vs AJ)....terrible play
33. KJ
3 players who limp a lot...limp. I raise to 450, pretty big raise for 100 blinds but my objective is to make it 1v1 and then take the pot down post flop if nothing dangerous appears - I probably have the best hand right now anyway. 2 players call, I figure them for medium straight hands, pair/suited connectors, weak ace, etc.
Flop brings K73, lovely flop. they both check I bet 650, one calls and the other folds. Just a call makes me think he has a 7, like 78 or A7, I've seem this same guy call a flop and tun bet with just middle pair in an earlier hand.
Turn brings 2 and he checks, I bet 1100 and he calls. The 2 couldn't have helped him, but the second call for 1100 means he must be pretty happy with his hand, so I add a weak king (like KT) to his holdings - it doesn't feel like he is slow playing a monster.
River brings another 2 and he checks, I could value bet here (in fact I should value bet here) but I just check behind. I think again, because I was taking notes it made me act quicker than I usually would and not think about his possible holdings/if he would call a value bet. Anyway I check and show KJ and he mucks, I take the pot.
----
Blinds gone up 75/150
34. Q9
I fold, this gives me a chance to count my chips - 14500
35. Q4
I fold
36. J4 UTG
I fold
37. Big blind KK
4 players limpes and I have KK on big blind, I raise up to a total of 875. This is a massive raise, and after I put the chips in I thought (ohhh..too big) - the other bad factor about betting so big is it gives away your holding - its easy to put me now on a big pair like AA KK QQ or JJ, or AK.
Anyway the bet obviously wasn't too big because the loose limper calls and the donkey woman call.
Flop brings 697, the woman checks and I bet out 1600, the button calls and donkey woman folds. This is a very worrying call, I'm basically done with the hand now unless a King hits, he has invested a lot of chips in this pot and although he plays a lot of hands, he isn't an amazingly bad player, he looks pretty excited and interested in the hand also - I think now he has 2 pair or trips - he figures me for a big overpair (its kinda obviously) and is slow playing a monster of some sort. Only a king will help me now!
Turn brings an 8, I check and he bets 2000, I fold and show KK. He shows 58 and says "the 8 ruined me". It didn't really because I had already figured it out by the flop call....geez calls 6x big blind raise pre flop with 85?!?!! then flops a straight!!!! haha oh well didn't cost me too many chips fortunately...i guess he had position
38 Small Blind 46
Someone raises to 450 so I fold
Chip count 11950
39 J9
Tight guy raises to 700 so I fold
40 AJ (suited)
A tight guy raises to 450, I'm a little bit worried but have position so I call
Flop brings 789 rainbow, he bets 650 so I call. There's not much information we can decypher from this raise, it is just a standard continuation bet - I've played a lot of hands and in different styles so my call behind also gives away little information. At this point I'm unsure of his holding, the only information available is that he didn't massively overbet so doesn't have a hand like AA or KK.
Turn brings J and he bets 1200. I call, I'm not convinced that he has a ten here (the straight), in fact my read on him is that he has nothing and is making a poor bluff. No point raising though as he may re-raise me which would be very tricky and the pot is already pretty big (and also my read could be wrong)
The turn brings J and he checks, I also check. I dont think it is worth value betting here as there are not many hands that would call a river bet (maybe an overpair, but we already decided he doesn't have that). I dont think he would raise with A9 or A8 or A7 so none of those hands will call. I show my AJ and he mucks, I'm sure he had AQ or AK
41. T4
I fold
42. 94
I fold
43.Q8
I fold...exciting
44. 98
One person limps and I raise to 475, another guy goes all in for an additional 1000....I decide it is just about too much and also don't want to show the rubbish I'm raising with and fold
45. J6
I fold
46. 67 UTG
I fold
---------Made the first break woohoo-----
Blinds 100-200, anti 25
47. Big blind (I'm sure blinds always go up on me!) Q2
Loose guy on button (58 vs my KK guy) raises to 900 after a person limps (the person who limped only had 1000 behind....super suspect), I fold and limper goes all in, button raiser calls.
The loose guy shows 46 and the limper 44, the 44 holds up
48. Small blind 85
It folds round to me and I call, the big blind is a pretty sensible player and he checks
Flop A85, I bet 225 and he folds
49. T2 suited
Lots of people limp and it comes round to me on the button, I'm about to call but then I notice that the big blind can't wait to raise...lol! So I fold, the big blind did raise and UTG called. The flop came AKJ and they both went all in, the Big Blind had AA and the UTG limper AJ, whooooooooops. River was a queen so I would have won with a straight...lol
50. KJ
The big blind was crippled from last hand and I'm sure he is gong to all in this hand, the loose guy raises to 900 (big raise) and I fold my KJ as I don't like the scenario I know I would have to hit or be very brave to win a pot vs this guy, and with a dead pot (I think the bb is going to go all in it mades things a lot more complicated, even with position....so I elect to fold
The big blind did go all in, and the raiser called with J9 (bah) vs Q3, the queen hit though so all good.
51. A3
I fold to a preflop raiser
52. A8
I fold to a tight preflop raiser and tight caller behind (JJ vs AK, nice fold)
53. 25
I fold
54. 7T
I fold, the loose guy goes out when he pushed all in with 44 on a T733 board, the blind called with 32
Chip count: 14025
55. Q2 UTG
I fold
56. Big blind T5
Button raises to 600 I fold (sure he is stealing)
57. Small blind 28
I fold to a preflop raiser
58. Q3
I fold to a preflop raiser
59. K9
It folds round to me and I raise with K9 to 725 after one guy has limped....the small blind calls which is worrying and the limper folds
Flop AK2, he bets 900 and I call, I'm unsure of his holding at this point but I played a pot with him before and he bet out a similiar flop then folded to the turn bet i made (it was hand 29 when I had A6)...so I figure he has a medium holding like KJ or KQ
Turn brings an 8, he checks and I check aswell, I should have bet here - I would have won the pot outright or found out if he had an ace.
River brings a 2 which is good because it nulls my 9 kicker (KK22A now) so I'll split any pot vs a king with higher kicker. He bets 900 again and after a while of thinking about it, I go with my initial read that he has KQ or KJ, as it aligns with the betting also. So I call and he shows KJ, we split the pot.
53 players left, 13775 chips
60. BB 8T
Someone raises and another all in, I fold. The all in goes out and we're 7 handed
61. SB 28
Someone raises I fold
62. 69 UTG
I fold
63. BB Q3
1 Limper and everyone else folds, the small blind completes and I check
Flop brings 496 check, check, the limper bets and I fold. No point doing anything crazy here
64. SB Q9
Same limper and everyone else fold, i complete on small blind (could raise here) and bb checks
Flop brings 3TJ, I could bet out here but elect to check - i'm worried if I bet the limper will go all in, he seems on edge and is playing a lot of hands. The BB checks and the limper raises to 1000, he only has another 5k behind so it isn't worth fishing for the straight, also there is 2 hearts on the board and my straight isn't even a nut straight (he could have QK). So I fold
65. 12725 chips 38
Someone raises to 1200 so I fold
66. T5...full table again
Someone raises I fold
67. K3
Folds round to me, I could open but decide to fold
68. 86
As above
69. KK
A tight player raises to 1200, I've got 7 players to act behind me, so if I raise its look so obvious I have KK or AA and everyone will fold. So I just call, the pot is already getting big the table is pretty tight so I don't think we will get more than 1v1 (which is the objective) and my hand is disguised with just a call. 2 Other players call aswell, this is worrying - I don't have much info on these guys as I've been writing notes also.
flop brings 2T5 rainbow, this is an awesome flop for my KK. No flush or straight draws, no overcards, highly unlikely someone has 2 pair - the only thing I need to worry about is if someone has trips.
The tight raise bets 1200, this is quite a small bet into a big pot but there isn't much people can call with. I'm not sure of his holdings at this point, maybe AT? or 99...I think he would have bet more with an overpair. I just call, I figure by his raise that he isn't willing to commit any more chips to the pot unless he puts them in first, I also don't know what the 2 players behind are going to do. Technically I should probably raise here and take the pot down.
The player behind me calls also (what could he had???) and the other caller raises to 3200!!
The original raiser folds, and its 2000 extra to me, I take a while to think of the oppenants possible holdings - it's highly unlikly that the person who raised has trips as this would be a perfect flop to slow play, and I don't think he would have slow played AA pre flop (especially not 4 handed). So I think he has a hand here like AT or TJ or maybe even JJ and is attempting to take the pot down/find out where he is. I just call, figuring I have the best hand and maybe able to extract more chips from this guy on a later street, the guy behind me just calls again!!! Now online I would figure the guy behind me to definately have trips at this point, as there is nothing on the flop that he could be chasing or have hit (no straight, no flush, no two pair), however when I look at him I'm just not convinced that he has a strong hand. Also he took a lot of time to think about his play and was reluctant at calling every bet. Now I think HE has AT (OK I think everyone has AT lol..) and keeps calling cos he is can't let it go.
Turn brings 6, this puts 2 spades on the board and a straight draw (256T), I only have around 8k chips left now and the pot is around 14k...time to end this hand, I push all in and everyone folds. Any bet is commiting all my chips and anything less than all in (e.g. 3k) gives my oppenants opportunity to draw out if they had a hand like AT spades.
This was a really big hand, chip size wise and afterwards I felt kinda lucky that I didn't get caught out as I slow played it so much. I never really knew where I stood at any stage of the hand and I think because of writing all these notes I've missed out on a lot of reads and information at my table! But can't complain, up to 24k odd.
70 42
I just fold
71 24575 chips A6
I fold
72 KT UTG
I fold
73 BB AJ
Button raises to 1200..he has around 7k behind
I'm sure he is stealing, but haven't got enough information to back it up. I dont want to waste 7k chips I just got on a mis-read, and playing AJ out of position is tricky business.
I just fold, and show AJ - he shows AQ
74. SB JJ
The same guy raies to 1600 and I re-raise to 4000 on the SB, this is enough so that I can call his all-in if he pushes. If I was on the button I would just call here and play the hand with position, but can't do that in small blind, wouldn't know where I was on the flop - best just to get them in preflop and not worry about it, I have him way covered anyway. He folds
75. 58
I fold
Blinds gone up to 300 600, 75 anti
76. 27625 chips 45
1 person limps and I call with 45 offsuit in a late position, the small blind and big blind check
Flop brings J75 with 2 diamonds and eeryone checks, I could bet here..kinda gutted I didn't, people are only going to call with a flush draw, or raise if they have a Jack (because they are scared of the flush draw)....in fact I should have raised pre flop to narrow the field/holdings.
Turn brings 3d and the small blind bets out, everyone folds
77. K8
I fold to a preflop raiser
78. 29
I fold
79. 89
It folds round to me, I'm not going to make the same mistake before and just limp, I raise to 2k and everyone folds (note the big blind was a tight player)
80. 28300 chips 26
I fold
45 people left, we're around 2:15 hours in.
81. J7
I fold
82. 27 UTG
I fold
83. BB T7
Someone raises and I fold
84. SB 4j
Someone raises and I fold
85. 72
I fold
86. TJ
It folds round to me and I raise to 1800, everyone folds
87. A8
Folds round to me and I raise to 1800, everyone folds
88. A5
UTG moves all in for 6.5k so I fold
89. 29875 chips J2
I fold
90. 46
I fold
91. 36
I fold
Blinds go up to 400-800, anti 100
92.BB 26
I fold to a raiser
93. SB 76
It founds round to me and I just call, the big blind checks
Flop brings 38J and we both check
turn 4 we both check
River 2 we both check, he wins with 92...should have bet the turn?
94. 27900 chips 89
It folds round to me and I raise to 2500, everyone folds
95. KK
A tight player in middle position raises to 2500, I elect to not slow play my kings this time and raise to 7000, everyone folds. This would have been a good time to just call and slow play my kings because I know the guy was tight (and hence a top 10 holding), the pot was already big and I had position. Nothing wrong with winning the pot right there though.
96. TJ
It folds round to me and I just call (silly I should have raised), the big blind pushes all in and I have to fold
97. Q9
I fold
31 people remaining
98. KJ
It folds round to me and I raise to 1800, the button calls which is worrying because he has position on me and I don't have a very strong holding with KJ - he is also quite deep so can damage my stack. The small blind moves all in for 4600 and despite the good pot odds I can't call as I'm worried about the guy behind me, and I can't raise for the same reason (don't want to be in a big pot with a mediocre hand!)
The button calls and shows AT, the small blind had TT and the TT holds up.
99. 29400 chips 73
I fold
100. QK UTG
I raise to 2000 and the small blind calls
Flop brings 663 and he bets 4k so I fold...no point doing anything wreckless here I don't have a very good read on the small blind and my holding isn't very strong
101. BB 66
The button raises to 2500, he has more chips than me (we are both deep) so I elect to call and hope to flop a set for a potential big payoff. If he was a smaller stack I might re-raise him all in here or just fold and avoid the situation, especially seeing as I'm out of position on the flop (with 66 I won't have a clue if I'm ahead or not on a flop like JT3)
Flop brings 46K with 2 diamonds, awesome flop - the flush draw is a little bit worrying, but 1v1 I'm not to concerned about it. I check to try and induce a bet, hopefully he has a hand like AK or KQ and is willing to commit a lot of chips. He bets 3k and I just call
Turn brings A offsuit, another awesome card - if he has an ace of any sort I'm going to get a good payoff here, Im only worried if he has a hand like KQ and is scared by the card. I check again to try and let him bet into the pot, he checks behind.
River 2 Diamonds, not a great card as it completes the flush draw which might scare him off - I'm quite confident he doesn't have the flush but I can't check again in case he checks behind with a hand like AT or KQ, so I have to value bet. I bet 7000 which is a bit of an overbet but I think he will call with an ace. He calls and when I show the trip 6's he mucks his hand.
102. SB KT
Someone raises to 3200 so I fold
103. 46000 chips and 25 people left 9J
Someone raises to 2200 and another person calls, I could call her with positon (the button) but neither of the players have many chips in the hand so I figure the implied odds can't justify a call withmy weakish holding. I fold
104. 89
Someone raise so I fold
105. 58
I fold
106. AJ
It folds round to me and I open for 2500 and everyone folds
107. J3 UTG
I fold
108. BB 3T
I fold to a raiser
Blinds up 600-1200 with 100 anti
109. SB T3
Everyone folds to the button who limps and I call, the big blind checks
flop brings Q78 and everyone checks
Turn brings 8 and the big bets 4000, everyone folds
110. 69
I fold
111. 49400 chips Q3
I fold
112. 95
I fold
113. K8
I fold
114. 75 UTg
I fold
115. BB 3T
The small blind raises to 3600 after everyone else folds, I fold and he shows AJ
116. SB KQ
A tight player raises UTG to 4200 so I fold, no need to play out of position with a weakish hand vs a strong raiser - even if I hit a Q or a K on the flop I won't know if I'm ahead
117. K7
I fold
22 Left
118. 2J
I fold
119. 46700 chips Q8
I fold
120. 58
I fold
121. 52
I fold
122.BB JQ
Someone raises to 4000 so I fold
123. SB K8
It folds round to me so I call on the small blind and the big blind checks
flop brings KJ9 and I bet out 1200 to try and end the hand there, I've been quite passive on my small blind so I'm not expecting him to call with a weak holding - the BB calls
Turn brings 7, I check and he bets 3300, I'm a bit worried he has some sort of crazy 2 pair but he doesn't seem very confident with his hand and my top pair vs Big Blind is quite a strong holding - no point raising because I don't want the pot to get too big (and it can get big quick at this stage of the game!)
River brings 6 and I check again, hopefully this will either induce a bluff or I might have to pay off a value bet - either way I'm trying to keep the pot small, he checks behind and I win the pot (he doesn't show)
124. 25
I fold
125. 51300 Chips AJ
One person raises to 3200 and another calls
With position and big stack I could easily call here and play the flop...however I choose to fold. i think they are raising /calling with bigger aces than because they are quite tight players and could find myself paying off value bets. There's nothing wrong with calling AJ is a good hand and position/big stack definately makes it worth while.
The big blind called also and the flop was J76, one player bet another all in....will never know if AJ was the best holding
126. 76
I fold
Blinds 800 1600 200 anti
51000 chips
127. 8T
i raise to 3400 and a tight player goes all in...so I fold, there was no pot odds for a call despite most likely having 2 live cards
128. 7T
i fold
129. 45600 Chips BB K8
folds round to the small blind who completes, and i check
Flop brings 43Q and he checks, I bet out 1600 figuring my king high might be the best hand and he calls
Turn brings a K, he checks again, I'm sure he has some of the flop (otherwise only 25 or 56 are his holdings) and figure to value bet my king - it's very unlikely he will put me on a king here if I bet again, although obviously a check makes it look like I'm scared of the king. Unfortunately he folds
130. 38 SB
someone goes all in and I fold
Last 2 tables, 20 left
131. 5T
I fold my button - online or vs weak players it is good to raise your button with any 2 cards, but vs good players its actually better to save your button raises for premium hands as your most likely to get paid...everyone suspects the button raise
132. 50500 Chips J7
I fold
133. 96
I fold
134. K8
I fold
135. Q7
I fold
Foldings so boring..but so crucial at this late stage of the game - one mistake could cost me my game or a large portion of my chips. You just can't make mistakes this late in a tournament (especially not v good players and especially not if your as unlucky as me lol)
136. 49600 Chips QQ
I raise to 4k in an early position and get 2 deepstack callers from solid players, this is worrying.
flop brings A84 and i make an EPIC mistake....I check. I should always continuation bet here, if I have any 2 cards, any Ace included, only a set can be checked here (and 88 or 44 I should prob bet also as there is a high chance someone has the ace). By betting I know exactly where I am, and leave my oppenants with the hard decision.
Check-folding is not a bad play if you think there is a high chance your oppenants will hold an ace, but I think betting is the ultimate play - you know instantly if you are beat or not.
Everyone checks behind
Turn 6 I check again, and one big stack bets 3k, the other folds and I call in no-mans land...3k is a strange bet, either a cheap shot at the pot or a pot builder for a monster - again I could have re-raised to 9k and found out exactly where I was but I just call..urgh I'm sure writing notes made me do these mistakes lol:p
River 7 and I'm still clueless with my holding, I check and the big stack bets 10k...I take some time to think of the possible holdings and I'm sure an ace would have bet the flop and/or checked the river here, which means they either have a monster or it is a bluff. There was a flush draw on the board so a hand like KQ suited may have missed the flush but bet the river in hope that I have a big pair but will fold. I call and show my QQ, he shows 66 for trip 666. I played that hand so bad, and so fustrating that literally the hand before I had written about how crucial it is to not make mistakes. aaaaaaaaggggggggggggghhhhhhhhh
137. KT
Despite being a prime opportunity to raise, I fold and walk away from the table to regain some composure after playing the previous hand bad. Made a mistake but gotta forget about it and move on, no point doing anything stupid.
138. AQ UTG
I raise to 3600 and someone re-raises me to 10k
He is a very good player who I have played with in the past and rarely makes moves with weak holdings, I fold and he shows KK
139. BB (1600) TT New table
Someone raises to 6k and I call with TT
What a stupid call...out of position with a mid pair - this is either an all in push or fold, and seeing as I just moved table and have no information on the players it should be a fold - i've enough chips to wait for a better opportunity. unfortunately I was writing down notes from the last hand and didn't concentrate as hard as I would and just looked at my cards then said call...so silly I didn't even realise the bet was so big (6k for 1600 bb)
Flop brings A88 and I bet out 8k figuring he can only call/raise with an ace - he shoves all in and I fold, he shows AK....not too upset about how I played this hand in heinsight, kinda unlucky flop but still expensive either way and not using my strengths/ reads to my advantage like I normally do
140. 14000 Chips SB 2Q
Urgh can't believe I'm down to 14000, I've had pretty harsh flops (2x Ace when I had pair in hand) but would have been very big if I had played the hands better....but not too worry I'm still good and have a chance, a few pushes here and there and one double will make me in a great position to win again - in my notes I've put don't be stupid but don't be scared either, make sure you take the right opportunities!! which basically refers to attacking the right blinds and taking my chances with weaking holdings if the odd's are going to be in my favour
Someone raises pre flop and I fold
141. JT
I could have pushed here but after losing quite a few of the last few hands I thought it would look tilty and there was a loose big stack on BB
142. 83
I fold
143. Q8
I fold
Blinds 1000-2000 300 anti
Ok I haven't got much time left at all now and need to push very soon!
144. 7T
I fold
145. 6T
I fold
146. J6
I fold
147. BB K9
A short guy pushes all in on my big blind, he just about has me covered.
I know he could be pushing with any 2 cards here as there is a very high chance I will fold with mediocre holdings and I have quite a tight image (folded last 4 hands where I could have pushed first in the pot). If I win also it shows I will protect my big blind with mediocre holdings and make people hestitate when pushing or raising my bb in the future, which could be key at final table.
I call with K9 and he shows AJ...bit strong than I hoped but 2 live cards about 2-1 underdog I figure
6Kt55 and I river a flush although my top pair was strong enough...phew
148. SB K9
Someone goes all in and I fold (funny same hand as last hand but I fold this time)
149. 22100 AJ
I raise to 4500 on the button and the small blind goes all in - he has me covered and is quite a tight player...I think I have the best hand but fold, marginal - 5k less I would definately call. I show my AJ and announce I probably have the best hand, he doesnt show
150. 17300 TJ
I fold...could have pushed here but I just folded last hand and 2 big stacks on SB and BB...might look tilty?
151. K5
I fold
152. 62
I fold
153. 57 UTG
I fold...starting to wish I pushed with the TJ now
154. 56 BB
Someone raises all in so I fold
155. SB QT 12800
Someone goes all in so I fold
156. 93
I fold to an earlier raiser
157. 7T I fold
158. 11900 chips 95
I fold...super desperate now under 6 BBs - should have definately pushed the TJ lol
159. 11600 AQ
I go all in and everyone folds
160. A3 UTG
I fold...tempting but I'd rather push with 78 than A3 as it is likely someone will call with a big ace rather than 79
161. BB A4
Someone raises all in I fold
162. 12800 Chips 32
Everyone folds to me on SB and I've noticed the BB isn't interested in the hand / shuffling the cards so I push all in and he sighs/folds
163. 17600 Chips 79
I fold to a raise
blinds up 1500/3000 anti 400
Still desperate and in push all in/fold mode
164. 67
someone raises all in I fold
165. 89
UTG raises all in and I fold
166. Q8
I raise all in UTG and everyone folds, the big blinds stack size was perfect for me to steal - i figure it was my best chance
167 20000 chips AJ BB
Big stack goes all in...and I fold, marginal fold but I figure there is a lot of people that will fold to my all in so I won't risk it on a showdown vs a big stack who has no need to push...i probably had the best hand
168. J7 SB
Raiser all in so I fold...someone goes all in every hand
169. 17600 Chips QQ
Someone Raises all in and I call
He has AK....3rd worst case scenario (after AA or KK) but there's no way I can fold here, that would just be epic negative equity as I'd be dominating or good favourite against so many hands
Flop brings QT456 and I double up...phew 2 showdowns I won (wow!)
170. 41700 Chips KT
someone goes all in I fold
171. K9
it folds round to me but with the additional chips and extra time I decide to just fold
172. 40900 A8
Someone goes all in So i Fold
173. BB J6
Someone goes all in So i fold...at this point (and with me donking away such a large portion of my stack earlier on) most of the poker play has gone out of the window for the middle/short stacks and its all about getting ur chips in first and hoping u get lucky with the showdowns.
174. SB 78
Someone goes all in and I fold. the person goes out so we are final table woo.
I think about how I played my QQ earlier vs the 666 with the ace on the flop, and how I would have had a much nicer trip to final table if I had not made that mistake.
But who cares I'm here now
I have a look and see no famaliar faces at the final table which is good as I've played this tournament and finished late many times, I see two of the poor players who have made it this far and am suprised, although they are both short (I bet they haven't been aggressive enough and were hanging out for the cash, clasic amatuer mistake). Theres a couple of big stacks and a solid player who I had on my table at the beginning, I wish him good luck...but I don't really mean it ha!
175. 35600 Q7
Someone raises I fold
176. 99
I raise to 8k and everyone folds
177. 42900 chips J3
Someone raises and I fold
178. 93
I fold
179. K9 UTG
I fold
180. BB KJ
Someone limps (suspect?!?!) and the small blind completes, with KJ I could just push all in and be done with it but decide to check as I am suspect about the limper and have no info on him. People will find it harder to know my holding with a hand like KJ also post flop if I do hit, as I checked preflop
Flop brings A72, check check bet and I fold (worst flop ever?!?! lol)
181. 36800 Chips SB K9
Someone raises all in and I fold
182. J5
Someone raises I fold
I love folding me
Blinds 2000-4000 anti 500
183. 35900 88
It folds round to me and I raise to 10000 in a late position, I could push all in and close my eyes/hope for the best but 10000 leaves me 26000 if I do end up folding and is enough to be push/fold mode with the 4k bb. Everyone folds anyway so I take the pot
184. QQ
A tight player raises to 9k and I re-raise all in.
He folds, and I show the QQ. I show because I figure later I'm gonna be re-raising all in with weaker holdings (when we are short handed), and want to add this QQ to their databank of my possible holdings. Although I had position, theres a 50/50 chance a King or Ace will come on the flop so I don't want to slow play, I'm happy with the pot as it is already big enough to compliment my stack (AA all day long slow play)
185. 64900 Chips JJ
I raise to 12k and all fold, back to back pocket pair at final table!??! rare treat
186. 69
UTG folds and I fold
187 74900 Chips A8 UTG
I raise to 10k and all fold...an under the gun raise looks so strong at the final table and there are no players good enough at the table to see any further past that and realise they should be pushing with weak holdings (e.g. any pocket pair or even suited connectors). I have been raising a lot but also I've been showing premium hands so noone has any evidence to not believe me here also. The table is very tight.
The pots are pretty big at this pot, in fact 10k a hand
188 BB 2J
Someone raises UTG and I fold (same play as I just did maybe...lol)
189. SB 2J
someone raises and I fold
190. 77400 2Q
Someone raises and I fold (every hand comes with a 2?!?!)
191. J4
Someone raises and I fold
192. K7
someone raises and I fold
75900 Chips - I'm 3rd at the table there is one massive stack at about 200k and another at 100k, the rest are pretty short (below 50k)
193. A5
Someone goes all in and I fold
194. KT
Someone goes all in and I fold (won't be tempted by the mediocre hands!!)
195. AT UTG
I fold...this doesn't really make sense as I raised last round with A8 UTG but I felt less confident this time round as the table has got a lot looser in the last few hands (there has been a raiser in the last 7 hands straight?). The table has obviously realised how important it is to be aggressive at this stage of the game and become very loose accordingly.
196. BB 70400 Chips K9
UTG raises and I fold
197. SB J7
Button raises to 12000 and I fold....my mentor would say push with any 2 cards here (tempting but he look pretty confident with his raise)
198. 67400 9Q
An early position raises and I fold
199. A5
Same player raises and I fold
200. 66400 A4
Someone raises and I fold...the table has become very loose
201. J9
I love the last hand before the break, noone ever wants to go out before the break unless it is the first break (where for some reason people love going out then!!?!?)
Before I check my cards I watch to see if anyone is interested in playing, and there seems to be little interest, so I raise to 11000 and everyone folds
BREAK
3000 6000 Blinds 5000 anti, 8 Left. although the table is very loose not many people are going out and there are not many showdowns happening
202. JQ suited
UTG raises so I fold, shame its look pretty ;)
203. 75000 Q4 UTG
I fold
204. BB K7
UTG raises to 30000 so I fold (massive raise!?)
205. SB 47
Someone raises all in I fold
206. 67
Someone raises I fold
64000 Chips, the blinds are so big that one pot can be the difference between chip leader or out - need to stay aggresive here and not get blinded down to a difficult position
207. 47
Someone raises I fold
208. 28
Someone raises I fold
209. 23
Someone raises I fold
210. 85
Someone raises I fold
So much for staying aggresive with no card higher than an 8 in the last 4 hands! I must be getting a tight image at the table after folding so much, made a note to use this to my advantage
211. 62000 Chips, 8T
I fold UTG
212. BB 86
The button limps and small blind completes... I elect to check as I'm suspicious of the limper (first person to limp in last 30 hands or so?!?! on the button?!?!)
Flop brings 2K7, check check Bet and I fold. He shows AK suited, terrible limp - he got lucky that he still had the best hand after the free flop.
213. SB J2
The button raises to 12k and I figure I'm gonna re-raise him here with any 2 semi-good cards as I wasn't convinced by his raise and his stack size is a good amount (60k after raise) for him to fold to my all-in. However I look down to see J2 and elect to fold
214. 33
The monster stack limps in middle position and I limp on the button with 33 for 6k.
This is a terrible limp by me. I haven't enough chips to fish for a 3 and there's nothing else I can hope for (it is very unlikely my 33 will be the best hand by the river, if I get lucky enough to make it that far).
There is also a risk that someone might raise behind me which would mean I would have to fold. A raise here is reasonable, but the best play I'm sure is to fold - no point getting mixed up with the big stack limper with less than a mediocre holding, even if I have the button.
Small blind completes and the BB checks
Flop is 89Q and everyone checks (horrible flop for 33)
Turn is 7 and everyone checks
River is Q and the monster stack bets 10k, the pot is around 45k including his bet so I need a 1 in 4.5 chance to win to make the call profitable...which I figure in my head is about 22.2%?
So is there a 22% chance he has nothing here and betting is the only way he can win the pot?
If he has an ace or king he would probably check the river as there is a chance he could win with ace or king high, so he probably wouldn't bet those.
I'm not beating any holding that has a 9, 8 or 7 or any pair 66, 55 or 44, and he would probably check these hands down also. I'm also losing to TJ and any holding that has a Q (e.g. QK)
If I'm to consider all of the hands he may have, that I CAN beat, it basically includes:
AK, KJ, KT, AJ, AT - however he probably would have raised with these preflop, or any A with a rag lower than a 6, and 54 or 43
I've no physical read on the guy, but my general feeling is that he either has a monster or is on a complete bluff - the only monster I think he can have is TJ or Q9 and he has slow played all the way from the flop (I think he would have bet out if he had just hit a bit of the flop, e.g. QJ and hit the Q) to protect his hand.
So now I have assumed 70% of the time he has a monster, like Q9 or TJ, and 30% of the time he has nothing and can only win the pot by betting. Seeing as 30% is more than the 22.2% I calculated the pot odds for calling were earlier, I elect to call. It also doesn't do too much damage to my stack if I call and lose (35k), but can make me very big if I call and win (90k)
I call and he shows TJ, bah - 70% of the time he has a monster....but thats only 100% of the time (lol)
The river call was a minor mistake that could potentially be profitable in the long run -the major mistake was the preflop call, which led me to the (unnecessary) tricky decision later on in the hand.
215. 35k J5
someone raises and I fold
216. A2
It folds round to me and I push all in, I havent got much time left with the blinds so high so any ace will have to do. Everyone folds
217. 47
I fold
4000 8000 Blinds antis 1000
218. A5
I fold UTG, although this is a stronger holding than 2 hands ago my position is a lot worse, under the gun means I till have everyone to act behind me so there is more chance someone will wake up with a hand. So I fold
219. BB 46
The button raises so I fold
220. 31500 chips after SB (4000) T4
Someone pushes all in and I fold, another person goes out - last 6
221. T7
UTG Raises I fold
222. 76
folds round to me so I push all in and everyone folds
223. 46500 chips 53
I fold
224. 42
I fold
225. BB Q6
The button and small blind limp so I check - I should be a lot more aggresive here, in fact I should have been a lot more aggresive for a long time and not let myself get so low.
flop brings K42, check check bet and fold
225. SB KQ
Someone who has the same size stack as me pushes all in and I call, he has been pushing a lot and I figure there is a good chance my KQ will be ahead and I need to get chips soon or I will be blinded away. The next 2 blinds are both big stacks and will probably call my all in, although I think I should have folded and waited until I got my chips in first.
He shows A7 and flops a flush so I go out in 5th for 710
Didn't play that game amazingly well, in fact probably the worst I've played since I have been here...i'm sure this was because I was taking notes - i missed so much information and took a lot less time than I usually do to think about my hands and plays. Can't complain though, 5th was a good finish I guess
Hope u enjoyed (was hard work for me lol)
Last night I wrote down every hand I played (and my thoughts) in the Ceasers Palace 160$ deepstack. It was actually quite hard work doing so and I think I made 3 or 4 mistakes (at least) I wouldn't usually make because of it....not to mention any information I missed on the table.
Anyway so I actually had a pretty bad game (in fact I think I made more mistakes in this game, than the last 10 games put together)...but anyway here goes:
160$ buy in
10000 starting chips
30 minute blinds
70 entrants
top 9 paid
Blinds 25-50, my stack 10k - 7 players at table
1. AK offsuit
Someone raises to 175 from mid position and I call on the button, everyone else folds.
Flop brings A42 and he bets 200, I just call
Turn brings 6 and he bets 500, I just call
River brings 7 and he checks, I figure him for a weaker ace here and would probably call a value bet - but seeing as it is the first hand and I have no info on him I just check behind. I show AK and he mucks
2. 67 off suit
2 players limp before me and i limp one before the button, I could raise here to narrow the field / oppenants holdings but seeing as we are so early on I just limp. The small blind completes and big blind checks.
Flop brings 779, but with 2 hearts. It checks round to me and bet out 300 which is bigger than the pot - my 67 not that strong here and I want ot charge out draws. The 2 limpers call, I assume they have either flush draw/straight draw or a pair in hand.
Turn brings 2 offsuit. It checks round to me and I bet again, half pot - everyone folds.
3. J7
Someone raises to 125 and I call
Flop brings 356 and the initial raiser makes a large overbet (500 into a 275 pot) so I fold assuming he has overpair.
4. J6
I limp after 1 limper with J6, a couple of players limp behind me.
Flop brings QJ6, and the first limper bets 125 and another limper calls behind - I raise to 450 and they both call....worrying I assume they have either straight draws (KT, T9) or a queen or some sort (QT, QJ, QK). Unlikely they have 666 as I already have a 6 and one on the board, and unlikely AQ as no raise preflop.
Turn brings 8 and everyone checks, I could bet here but I'm worried about them both calling my flop raise, and the 8 completes one of the hands I was worried about (T9) for a straight - best to keep the pot small and see what happens on the river. I have position also. I check.
River brings a K and the first limper checks, the second bets 1500 so I fold. My hand doesn't beat many holdings anymore, not with the king on the board, and 1500 is a pretty big bet, people only generally bluff if they have missed a draw (e.g. a flush or straight draw) and there isn't any draws that he could have missed here so I don't think he is bluffing. The other limper also folds so we will never know what he had.
5. J6
I fold preflop, someone goes out on the table flush vs straight
6.95 (spades)
I call in middle position and a few players limp.
Flop brings 77T with 2 spades, the first limper raises to 125 and another player calls. I also call behind. At this point I'm not sure of my oppenants holdings, I'm a little bit worried that I might be drawing to a weaker flush draw than the other caller, or that the original raiser might have a monster on BB (7T)
Turn brings an offsuit 2 and the original raiser bets 300, me and the other limper fold....I could call here but I don't think a spade will pay me off much and I could even be drawing to the second best hand
7. 9T
UTG raises to 150 and I call in the next position, she is very tight and hasn't played a hand yet so I figure my 9T can smash up her AK or overpair. Kinda risky because someone might raise behind but the table is very tight so the chances are low, everyone folds behind.
Flop brings 376 and we both check, not much to play with here - I think she would call with AK also if I bet, woman can't help but call every hand...its like playing Knighty.
Turn brings K and she bets 300 I have to fold
8. AQ suited
I limp with AQ suited under the gun, I could raise here but it isn't a made hand and I don't like the position. the blinds are pretty small still also so I think I'll see what happens on the flop.
A few players limp behind.
Flop brings 3K5, the big blind bets so I fold - rubbish
9. Big Blind: 23 suited
A tight mid position player raises to 175, I fold
10. Small Blind: 87
The person limps and I call, the big blind checks.
The flop brings 865 and i bet 125 to build a pot, both players fold
11. Q7
2 players limp and I limp on the button, there's not much pre flop raising going on and the flop play is pretty weak from what I've seen so far so worth getting involved here.
Flop brings 89T, and everyone checks. I'm open ended but I'll wait until I hit before I bet this early in the game.
Turn brings 6 and everyone checks , I bet out 200 and 1 limper calls, I figure him for a jack at this point (e.g. KJ) and fishing for a straight) - he limped in middle position.
River brings A, he checks and I bet half pot - he folds, don't think he would have called any river value bet unfortunately.
12. 57
The lady to my right raises to 125, its so cheap I can't resist - especially with position. I figure at this point she has a small pair or 2 pretty cards (e.g. KJ suited). This is consistent with a beginner / woman play, they think they should raise but don't know how much, so do a min raise.
Flop brings Q74 and she bets 200, I call - noone else is in the hand...not an amazing flop, but I could be ahead or get lucky with a disguised 2 pair/trips. If she bets the turn then I'm probably behind to a queen or pair in hand, if not then I'm probably ahead to a small pair in hand.
Turn brings J and we both check, no point betting here, it won't achieve anything.
River brings 6 and we both check again, she shows 33 and I take the pot
13. 37 off suit
I fold preflop
14. A8
A loose player raises to 125, I figure he is weak, and the lady calls. I'm sure they are both weak/medium strength and re-raise to 400 to execute an early squeeze play.
Everyone else folds and they both call, not too worrying: I still think they have weak holdings, I'm representing a big hand, and the pot isn't too big at this point.
Flop brings A87, they both check and I bet 400, the first guy folds and the donkey woman calls (she looks a little bit like a donkey). The flop made this hand 10x easier for me, I'm sure I have the best hand now against a weak ace or a pair in hand...for some reason woman just cannot lay down pairs in hand!!!
Turn is K, she checks and I bet 800 figuring I still have the best hand and am going to get paid off vs a weaker ace. she calls.
River is a 4, she checks and I bet 1200 for the same reason as above, I also want to bet here to disguise what I was raising with (remember I raised after a raiser/caller pre flop, then raised every street). She calls and shows 99, what a donkey. I take down the pot.
15. AQ
I raise in an early position to 225, someone re-raises me to 500 (he did it by mistake, he hadn't seen that I had raised but said the word "raise" so had to), another guy re-re-raises to 1300, he is tight and has only played 1 hand so far, so its a pretty easy fold. The other guy folds also so we dont get to see what he had.
16. 46
I fold pre flop
17. Q5 suited
I fold pre under the gun
18. BB, blinds are up to 50-100 (always goes up on me...) T3
Someone raises to 200, another 500 so I fold my T3
19. SB, K4
Two people limp so I complete with K4.
Flop brings Q73, and someone raises to 400 - not worth doing anything tricky here so I fold, not very exciting
20. K7
I limp on the button after two limpers (one under the gun, suspect)
Flop brings AQ8 and the under the gun limper raises to 700 so I fold
21. J8
It folds round to me and I raise to 325 to try and make it 1v1, expecting to just continuation bet a nice flop and take down the pot if noone shows any strength.
The player behind me calls, he hasn't played many hands so either has a pair in hand or 2 high cards (e.g. KQ AQ). everyone else folds
Flop brings 662 and I bet 400, he calls - ok I'm done with the hand unless I hit now, there's nothing I can represent on the board and he doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
Turn brings 7, I check and he bets 1000, I fold
22. T2
I fold T2
23. A7
I call in mid position with a7 and a couple others limp.
Flop brings 52K and a tight player raises to 200, I fold. Feel like I should have raised pre flop there and not just limped, but doesnt matter.
24. J9
It folds round to me and I raise to 350 and the big blind calls. He is a tight player and I'm unsure of what he would call with in big blind, maybe a strong ace - 2 high cards or a pair in hand.
Flop brings 7KK and we both check.
Turn brings T, he checks and I bet 400 (Q or 8 gives me a straight), he raises to 1025....I call. I'm unsure of his holding here and wasn't paying much attention because I was writing notes grrrrrrrrrr
River brings a 3 and he checks, the only way I can win the pot is by betting and he is only going to call with a K which seems unlikely like at this point, I bet 1500 to represent a value bet with AK. He calls and shows AK....d'oh.
I think because I was taking notes I missed out on a few tricks in that hand and would have usually checked the turn to take the free card and try and hit a disguised straight, although saying that the hand wasn't played too badly - it was pretty unfortunate he hit the trip kings.
*He was a pretty good player and was at the final table with me at the end.
----
Quick chip count, I started with 10000 and have 10800 now, after losing just over 2k on the last hand
25. 26
I fold
26.76
I fold
27. Big Blind K8
Everyone folds round to the small blind who calls, I check - not worth doing anything tricky here vs donkey woman
Flop brings QQ2 and we both check
Turn brings an 8,she checks and I bet 100 and she folds
28. SB K5
Someone raises to 400 so I fold
29. A6
1 person (who limps every hand) limps so I raise to 450 on the button, the big blind calls which is worrying. He hasn't played many hands. The limper folds.
Flop brings AK7 with 2 spades, I have no spades. He bets 600 and I call
Turn brings 6 (another spade), he checks and I bet 800 and he folds. I definately can't slow play my 2 pair here as there are so many dangerous cards that the river can bring, any spade, any card higher than a 6, best to end the pot right there and then. Not sure of his holding, probably a King by the way he played it (e.g. KQ).
30. A2
I limp after a few other limps, I've been raising a lot so figure I would just limp with this hand.
Flop brings K53 and we all check
Turn brings T and one of the limpers bet 325 - I fold, too expensive to persue the crazy straght draw or a ragged ace
Chip count 11850
31. 7T
I fold, a new guy has just joined the table - we're 10 handed, this changes the dynamics of the table (basically hand strength decreases)
32. J9
A tight player raises to 250 and I call with position, another player calls behind
Flop brings A72 - horrible flop for me, the original raiser puts in 500 and he gets re-raised to 1500. There's nothing for me here, so I fold. They both end up all in (AK vs AJ)....terrible play
33. KJ
3 players who limp a lot...limp. I raise to 450, pretty big raise for 100 blinds but my objective is to make it 1v1 and then take the pot down post flop if nothing dangerous appears - I probably have the best hand right now anyway. 2 players call, I figure them for medium straight hands, pair/suited connectors, weak ace, etc.
Flop brings K73, lovely flop. they both check I bet 650, one calls and the other folds. Just a call makes me think he has a 7, like 78 or A7, I've seem this same guy call a flop and tun bet with just middle pair in an earlier hand.
Turn brings 2 and he checks, I bet 1100 and he calls. The 2 couldn't have helped him, but the second call for 1100 means he must be pretty happy with his hand, so I add a weak king (like KT) to his holdings - it doesn't feel like he is slow playing a monster.
River brings another 2 and he checks, I could value bet here (in fact I should value bet here) but I just check behind. I think again, because I was taking notes it made me act quicker than I usually would and not think about his possible holdings/if he would call a value bet. Anyway I check and show KJ and he mucks, I take the pot.
----
Blinds gone up 75/150
34. Q9
I fold, this gives me a chance to count my chips - 14500
35. Q4
I fold
36. J4 UTG
I fold
37. Big blind KK
4 players limpes and I have KK on big blind, I raise up to a total of 875. This is a massive raise, and after I put the chips in I thought (ohhh..too big) - the other bad factor about betting so big is it gives away your holding - its easy to put me now on a big pair like AA KK QQ or JJ, or AK.
Anyway the bet obviously wasn't too big because the loose limper calls and the donkey woman call.
Flop brings 697, the woman checks and I bet out 1600, the button calls and donkey woman folds. This is a very worrying call, I'm basically done with the hand now unless a King hits, he has invested a lot of chips in this pot and although he plays a lot of hands, he isn't an amazingly bad player, he looks pretty excited and interested in the hand also - I think now he has 2 pair or trips - he figures me for a big overpair (its kinda obviously) and is slow playing a monster of some sort. Only a king will help me now!
Turn brings an 8, I check and he bets 2000, I fold and show KK. He shows 58 and says "the 8 ruined me". It didn't really because I had already figured it out by the flop call....geez calls 6x big blind raise pre flop with 85?!?!! then flops a straight!!!! haha oh well didn't cost me too many chips fortunately...i guess he had position
38 Small Blind 46
Someone raises to 450 so I fold
Chip count 11950
39 J9
Tight guy raises to 700 so I fold
40 AJ (suited)
A tight guy raises to 450, I'm a little bit worried but have position so I call
Flop brings 789 rainbow, he bets 650 so I call. There's not much information we can decypher from this raise, it is just a standard continuation bet - I've played a lot of hands and in different styles so my call behind also gives away little information. At this point I'm unsure of his holding, the only information available is that he didn't massively overbet so doesn't have a hand like AA or KK.
Turn brings J and he bets 1200. I call, I'm not convinced that he has a ten here (the straight), in fact my read on him is that he has nothing and is making a poor bluff. No point raising though as he may re-raise me which would be very tricky and the pot is already pretty big (and also my read could be wrong)
The turn brings J and he checks, I also check. I dont think it is worth value betting here as there are not many hands that would call a river bet (maybe an overpair, but we already decided he doesn't have that). I dont think he would raise with A9 or A8 or A7 so none of those hands will call. I show my AJ and he mucks, I'm sure he had AQ or AK
41. T4
I fold
42. 94
I fold
43.Q8
I fold...exciting
44. 98
One person limps and I raise to 475, another guy goes all in for an additional 1000....I decide it is just about too much and also don't want to show the rubbish I'm raising with and fold
45. J6
I fold
46. 67 UTG
I fold
---------Made the first break woohoo-----
Blinds 100-200, anti 25
47. Big blind (I'm sure blinds always go up on me!) Q2
Loose guy on button (58 vs my KK guy) raises to 900 after a person limps (the person who limped only had 1000 behind....super suspect), I fold and limper goes all in, button raiser calls.
The loose guy shows 46 and the limper 44, the 44 holds up
48. Small blind 85
It folds round to me and I call, the big blind is a pretty sensible player and he checks
Flop A85, I bet 225 and he folds
49. T2 suited
Lots of people limp and it comes round to me on the button, I'm about to call but then I notice that the big blind can't wait to raise...lol! So I fold, the big blind did raise and UTG called. The flop came AKJ and they both went all in, the Big Blind had AA and the UTG limper AJ, whooooooooops. River was a queen so I would have won with a straight...lol
50. KJ
The big blind was crippled from last hand and I'm sure he is gong to all in this hand, the loose guy raises to 900 (big raise) and I fold my KJ as I don't like the scenario I know I would have to hit or be very brave to win a pot vs this guy, and with a dead pot (I think the bb is going to go all in it mades things a lot more complicated, even with position....so I elect to fold
The big blind did go all in, and the raiser called with J9 (bah) vs Q3, the queen hit though so all good.
51. A3
I fold to a preflop raiser
52. A8
I fold to a tight preflop raiser and tight caller behind (JJ vs AK, nice fold)
53. 25
I fold
54. 7T
I fold, the loose guy goes out when he pushed all in with 44 on a T733 board, the blind called with 32
Chip count: 14025
55. Q2 UTG
I fold
56. Big blind T5
Button raises to 600 I fold (sure he is stealing)
57. Small blind 28
I fold to a preflop raiser
58. Q3
I fold to a preflop raiser
59. K9
It folds round to me and I raise with K9 to 725 after one guy has limped....the small blind calls which is worrying and the limper folds
Flop AK2, he bets 900 and I call, I'm unsure of his holding at this point but I played a pot with him before and he bet out a similiar flop then folded to the turn bet i made (it was hand 29 when I had A6)...so I figure he has a medium holding like KJ or KQ
Turn brings an 8, he checks and I check aswell, I should have bet here - I would have won the pot outright or found out if he had an ace.
River brings a 2 which is good because it nulls my 9 kicker (KK22A now) so I'll split any pot vs a king with higher kicker. He bets 900 again and after a while of thinking about it, I go with my initial read that he has KQ or KJ, as it aligns with the betting also. So I call and he shows KJ, we split the pot.
53 players left, 13775 chips
60. BB 8T
Someone raises and another all in, I fold. The all in goes out and we're 7 handed
61. SB 28
Someone raises I fold
62. 69 UTG
I fold
63. BB Q3
1 Limper and everyone else folds, the small blind completes and I check
Flop brings 496 check, check, the limper bets and I fold. No point doing anything crazy here
64. SB Q9
Same limper and everyone else fold, i complete on small blind (could raise here) and bb checks
Flop brings 3TJ, I could bet out here but elect to check - i'm worried if I bet the limper will go all in, he seems on edge and is playing a lot of hands. The BB checks and the limper raises to 1000, he only has another 5k behind so it isn't worth fishing for the straight, also there is 2 hearts on the board and my straight isn't even a nut straight (he could have QK). So I fold
65. 12725 chips 38
Someone raises to 1200 so I fold
66. T5...full table again
Someone raises I fold
67. K3
Folds round to me, I could open but decide to fold
68. 86
As above
69. KK
A tight player raises to 1200, I've got 7 players to act behind me, so if I raise its look so obvious I have KK or AA and everyone will fold. So I just call, the pot is already getting big the table is pretty tight so I don't think we will get more than 1v1 (which is the objective) and my hand is disguised with just a call. 2 Other players call aswell, this is worrying - I don't have much info on these guys as I've been writing notes also.
flop brings 2T5 rainbow, this is an awesome flop for my KK. No flush or straight draws, no overcards, highly unlikely someone has 2 pair - the only thing I need to worry about is if someone has trips.
The tight raise bets 1200, this is quite a small bet into a big pot but there isn't much people can call with. I'm not sure of his holdings at this point, maybe AT? or 99...I think he would have bet more with an overpair. I just call, I figure by his raise that he isn't willing to commit any more chips to the pot unless he puts them in first, I also don't know what the 2 players behind are going to do. Technically I should probably raise here and take the pot down.
The player behind me calls also (what could he had???) and the other caller raises to 3200!!
The original raiser folds, and its 2000 extra to me, I take a while to think of the oppenants possible holdings - it's highly unlikly that the person who raised has trips as this would be a perfect flop to slow play, and I don't think he would have slow played AA pre flop (especially not 4 handed). So I think he has a hand here like AT or TJ or maybe even JJ and is attempting to take the pot down/find out where he is. I just call, figuring I have the best hand and maybe able to extract more chips from this guy on a later street, the guy behind me just calls again!!! Now online I would figure the guy behind me to definately have trips at this point, as there is nothing on the flop that he could be chasing or have hit (no straight, no flush, no two pair), however when I look at him I'm just not convinced that he has a strong hand. Also he took a lot of time to think about his play and was reluctant at calling every bet. Now I think HE has AT (OK I think everyone has AT lol..) and keeps calling cos he is can't let it go.
Turn brings 6, this puts 2 spades on the board and a straight draw (256T), I only have around 8k chips left now and the pot is around 14k...time to end this hand, I push all in and everyone folds. Any bet is commiting all my chips and anything less than all in (e.g. 3k) gives my oppenants opportunity to draw out if they had a hand like AT spades.
This was a really big hand, chip size wise and afterwards I felt kinda lucky that I didn't get caught out as I slow played it so much. I never really knew where I stood at any stage of the hand and I think because of writing all these notes I've missed out on a lot of reads and information at my table! But can't complain, up to 24k odd.
70 42
I just fold
71 24575 chips A6
I fold
72 KT UTG
I fold
73 BB AJ
Button raises to 1200..he has around 7k behind
I'm sure he is stealing, but haven't got enough information to back it up. I dont want to waste 7k chips I just got on a mis-read, and playing AJ out of position is tricky business.
I just fold, and show AJ - he shows AQ
74. SB JJ
The same guy raies to 1600 and I re-raise to 4000 on the SB, this is enough so that I can call his all-in if he pushes. If I was on the button I would just call here and play the hand with position, but can't do that in small blind, wouldn't know where I was on the flop - best just to get them in preflop and not worry about it, I have him way covered anyway. He folds
75. 58
I fold
Blinds gone up to 300 600, 75 anti
76. 27625 chips 45
1 person limps and I call with 45 offsuit in a late position, the small blind and big blind check
Flop brings J75 with 2 diamonds and eeryone checks, I could bet here..kinda gutted I didn't, people are only going to call with a flush draw, or raise if they have a Jack (because they are scared of the flush draw)....in fact I should have raised pre flop to narrow the field/holdings.
Turn brings 3d and the small blind bets out, everyone folds
77. K8
I fold to a preflop raiser
78. 29
I fold
79. 89
It folds round to me, I'm not going to make the same mistake before and just limp, I raise to 2k and everyone folds (note the big blind was a tight player)
80. 28300 chips 26
I fold
45 people left, we're around 2:15 hours in.
81. J7
I fold
82. 27 UTG
I fold
83. BB T7
Someone raises and I fold
84. SB 4j
Someone raises and I fold
85. 72
I fold
86. TJ
It folds round to me and I raise to 1800, everyone folds
87. A8
Folds round to me and I raise to 1800, everyone folds
88. A5
UTG moves all in for 6.5k so I fold
89. 29875 chips J2
I fold
90. 46
I fold
91. 36
I fold
Blinds go up to 400-800, anti 100
92.BB 26
I fold to a raiser
93. SB 76
It founds round to me and I just call, the big blind checks
Flop brings 38J and we both check
turn 4 we both check
River 2 we both check, he wins with 92...should have bet the turn?
94. 27900 chips 89
It folds round to me and I raise to 2500, everyone folds
95. KK
A tight player in middle position raises to 2500, I elect to not slow play my kings this time and raise to 7000, everyone folds. This would have been a good time to just call and slow play my kings because I know the guy was tight (and hence a top 10 holding), the pot was already big and I had position. Nothing wrong with winning the pot right there though.
96. TJ
It folds round to me and I just call (silly I should have raised), the big blind pushes all in and I have to fold
97. Q9
I fold
31 people remaining
98. KJ
It folds round to me and I raise to 1800, the button calls which is worrying because he has position on me and I don't have a very strong holding with KJ - he is also quite deep so can damage my stack. The small blind moves all in for 4600 and despite the good pot odds I can't call as I'm worried about the guy behind me, and I can't raise for the same reason (don't want to be in a big pot with a mediocre hand!)
The button calls and shows AT, the small blind had TT and the TT holds up.
99. 29400 chips 73
I fold
100. QK UTG
I raise to 2000 and the small blind calls
Flop brings 663 and he bets 4k so I fold...no point doing anything wreckless here I don't have a very good read on the small blind and my holding isn't very strong
101. BB 66
The button raises to 2500, he has more chips than me (we are both deep) so I elect to call and hope to flop a set for a potential big payoff. If he was a smaller stack I might re-raise him all in here or just fold and avoid the situation, especially seeing as I'm out of position on the flop (with 66 I won't have a clue if I'm ahead or not on a flop like JT3)
Flop brings 46K with 2 diamonds, awesome flop - the flush draw is a little bit worrying, but 1v1 I'm not to concerned about it. I check to try and induce a bet, hopefully he has a hand like AK or KQ and is willing to commit a lot of chips. He bets 3k and I just call
Turn brings A offsuit, another awesome card - if he has an ace of any sort I'm going to get a good payoff here, Im only worried if he has a hand like KQ and is scared by the card. I check again to try and let him bet into the pot, he checks behind.
River 2 Diamonds, not a great card as it completes the flush draw which might scare him off - I'm quite confident he doesn't have the flush but I can't check again in case he checks behind with a hand like AT or KQ, so I have to value bet. I bet 7000 which is a bit of an overbet but I think he will call with an ace. He calls and when I show the trip 6's he mucks his hand.
102. SB KT
Someone raises to 3200 so I fold
103. 46000 chips and 25 people left 9J
Someone raises to 2200 and another person calls, I could call her with positon (the button) but neither of the players have many chips in the hand so I figure the implied odds can't justify a call withmy weakish holding. I fold
104. 89
Someone raise so I fold
105. 58
I fold
106. AJ
It folds round to me and I open for 2500 and everyone folds
107. J3 UTG
I fold
108. BB 3T
I fold to a raiser
Blinds up 600-1200 with 100 anti
109. SB T3
Everyone folds to the button who limps and I call, the big blind checks
flop brings Q78 and everyone checks
Turn brings 8 and the big bets 4000, everyone folds
110. 69
I fold
111. 49400 chips Q3
I fold
112. 95
I fold
113. K8
I fold
114. 75 UTg
I fold
115. BB 3T
The small blind raises to 3600 after everyone else folds, I fold and he shows AJ
116. SB KQ
A tight player raises UTG to 4200 so I fold, no need to play out of position with a weakish hand vs a strong raiser - even if I hit a Q or a K on the flop I won't know if I'm ahead
117. K7
I fold
22 Left
118. 2J
I fold
119. 46700 chips Q8
I fold
120. 58
I fold
121. 52
I fold
122.BB JQ
Someone raises to 4000 so I fold
123. SB K8
It folds round to me so I call on the small blind and the big blind checks
flop brings KJ9 and I bet out 1200 to try and end the hand there, I've been quite passive on my small blind so I'm not expecting him to call with a weak holding - the BB calls
Turn brings 7, I check and he bets 3300, I'm a bit worried he has some sort of crazy 2 pair but he doesn't seem very confident with his hand and my top pair vs Big Blind is quite a strong holding - no point raising because I don't want the pot to get too big (and it can get big quick at this stage of the game!)
River brings 6 and I check again, hopefully this will either induce a bluff or I might have to pay off a value bet - either way I'm trying to keep the pot small, he checks behind and I win the pot (he doesn't show)
124. 25
I fold
125. 51300 Chips AJ
One person raises to 3200 and another calls
With position and big stack I could easily call here and play the flop...however I choose to fold. i think they are raising /calling with bigger aces than because they are quite tight players and could find myself paying off value bets. There's nothing wrong with calling AJ is a good hand and position/big stack definately makes it worth while.
The big blind called also and the flop was J76, one player bet another all in....will never know if AJ was the best holding
126. 76
I fold
Blinds 800 1600 200 anti
51000 chips
127. 8T
i raise to 3400 and a tight player goes all in...so I fold, there was no pot odds for a call despite most likely having 2 live cards
128. 7T
i fold
129. 45600 Chips BB K8
folds round to the small blind who completes, and i check
Flop brings 43Q and he checks, I bet out 1600 figuring my king high might be the best hand and he calls
Turn brings a K, he checks again, I'm sure he has some of the flop (otherwise only 25 or 56 are his holdings) and figure to value bet my king - it's very unlikely he will put me on a king here if I bet again, although obviously a check makes it look like I'm scared of the king. Unfortunately he folds
130. 38 SB
someone goes all in and I fold
Last 2 tables, 20 left
131. 5T
I fold my button - online or vs weak players it is good to raise your button with any 2 cards, but vs good players its actually better to save your button raises for premium hands as your most likely to get paid...everyone suspects the button raise
132. 50500 Chips J7
I fold
133. 96
I fold
134. K8
I fold
135. Q7
I fold
Foldings so boring..but so crucial at this late stage of the game - one mistake could cost me my game or a large portion of my chips. You just can't make mistakes this late in a tournament (especially not v good players and especially not if your as unlucky as me lol)
136. 49600 Chips QQ
I raise to 4k in an early position and get 2 deepstack callers from solid players, this is worrying.
flop brings A84 and i make an EPIC mistake....I check. I should always continuation bet here, if I have any 2 cards, any Ace included, only a set can be checked here (and 88 or 44 I should prob bet also as there is a high chance someone has the ace). By betting I know exactly where I am, and leave my oppenants with the hard decision.
Check-folding is not a bad play if you think there is a high chance your oppenants will hold an ace, but I think betting is the ultimate play - you know instantly if you are beat or not.
Everyone checks behind
Turn 6 I check again, and one big stack bets 3k, the other folds and I call in no-mans land...3k is a strange bet, either a cheap shot at the pot or a pot builder for a monster - again I could have re-raised to 9k and found out exactly where I was but I just call..urgh I'm sure writing notes made me do these mistakes lol:p
River 7 and I'm still clueless with my holding, I check and the big stack bets 10k...I take some time to think of the possible holdings and I'm sure an ace would have bet the flop and/or checked the river here, which means they either have a monster or it is a bluff. There was a flush draw on the board so a hand like KQ suited may have missed the flush but bet the river in hope that I have a big pair but will fold. I call and show my QQ, he shows 66 for trip 666. I played that hand so bad, and so fustrating that literally the hand before I had written about how crucial it is to not make mistakes. aaaaaaaaggggggggggggghhhhhhhhh
137. KT
Despite being a prime opportunity to raise, I fold and walk away from the table to regain some composure after playing the previous hand bad. Made a mistake but gotta forget about it and move on, no point doing anything stupid.
138. AQ UTG
I raise to 3600 and someone re-raises me to 10k
He is a very good player who I have played with in the past and rarely makes moves with weak holdings, I fold and he shows KK
139. BB (1600) TT New table
Someone raises to 6k and I call with TT
What a stupid call...out of position with a mid pair - this is either an all in push or fold, and seeing as I just moved table and have no information on the players it should be a fold - i've enough chips to wait for a better opportunity. unfortunately I was writing down notes from the last hand and didn't concentrate as hard as I would and just looked at my cards then said call...so silly I didn't even realise the bet was so big (6k for 1600 bb)
Flop brings A88 and I bet out 8k figuring he can only call/raise with an ace - he shoves all in and I fold, he shows AK....not too upset about how I played this hand in heinsight, kinda unlucky flop but still expensive either way and not using my strengths/ reads to my advantage like I normally do
140. 14000 Chips SB 2Q
Urgh can't believe I'm down to 14000, I've had pretty harsh flops (2x Ace when I had pair in hand) but would have been very big if I had played the hands better....but not too worry I'm still good and have a chance, a few pushes here and there and one double will make me in a great position to win again - in my notes I've put don't be stupid but don't be scared either, make sure you take the right opportunities!! which basically refers to attacking the right blinds and taking my chances with weaking holdings if the odd's are going to be in my favour
Someone raises pre flop and I fold
141. JT
I could have pushed here but after losing quite a few of the last few hands I thought it would look tilty and there was a loose big stack on BB
142. 83
I fold
143. Q8
I fold
Blinds 1000-2000 300 anti
Ok I haven't got much time left at all now and need to push very soon!
144. 7T
I fold
145. 6T
I fold
146. J6
I fold
147. BB K9
A short guy pushes all in on my big blind, he just about has me covered.
I know he could be pushing with any 2 cards here as there is a very high chance I will fold with mediocre holdings and I have quite a tight image (folded last 4 hands where I could have pushed first in the pot). If I win also it shows I will protect my big blind with mediocre holdings and make people hestitate when pushing or raising my bb in the future, which could be key at final table.
I call with K9 and he shows AJ...bit strong than I hoped but 2 live cards about 2-1 underdog I figure
6Kt55 and I river a flush although my top pair was strong enough...phew
148. SB K9
Someone goes all in and I fold (funny same hand as last hand but I fold this time)
149. 22100 AJ
I raise to 4500 on the button and the small blind goes all in - he has me covered and is quite a tight player...I think I have the best hand but fold, marginal - 5k less I would definately call. I show my AJ and announce I probably have the best hand, he doesnt show
150. 17300 TJ
I fold...could have pushed here but I just folded last hand and 2 big stacks on SB and BB...might look tilty?
151. K5
I fold
152. 62
I fold
153. 57 UTG
I fold...starting to wish I pushed with the TJ now
154. 56 BB
Someone raises all in so I fold
155. SB QT 12800
Someone goes all in so I fold
156. 93
I fold to an earlier raiser
157. 7T I fold
158. 11900 chips 95
I fold...super desperate now under 6 BBs - should have definately pushed the TJ lol
159. 11600 AQ
I go all in and everyone folds
160. A3 UTG
I fold...tempting but I'd rather push with 78 than A3 as it is likely someone will call with a big ace rather than 79
161. BB A4
Someone raises all in I fold
162. 12800 Chips 32
Everyone folds to me on SB and I've noticed the BB isn't interested in the hand / shuffling the cards so I push all in and he sighs/folds
163. 17600 Chips 79
I fold to a raise
blinds up 1500/3000 anti 400
Still desperate and in push all in/fold mode
164. 67
someone raises all in I fold
165. 89
UTG raises all in and I fold
166. Q8
I raise all in UTG and everyone folds, the big blinds stack size was perfect for me to steal - i figure it was my best chance
167 20000 chips AJ BB
Big stack goes all in...and I fold, marginal fold but I figure there is a lot of people that will fold to my all in so I won't risk it on a showdown vs a big stack who has no need to push...i probably had the best hand
168. J7 SB
Raiser all in so I fold...someone goes all in every hand
169. 17600 Chips QQ
Someone Raises all in and I call
He has AK....3rd worst case scenario (after AA or KK) but there's no way I can fold here, that would just be epic negative equity as I'd be dominating or good favourite against so many hands
Flop brings QT456 and I double up...phew 2 showdowns I won (wow!)
170. 41700 Chips KT
someone goes all in I fold
171. K9
it folds round to me but with the additional chips and extra time I decide to just fold
172. 40900 A8
Someone goes all in So i Fold
173. BB J6
Someone goes all in So i fold...at this point (and with me donking away such a large portion of my stack earlier on) most of the poker play has gone out of the window for the middle/short stacks and its all about getting ur chips in first and hoping u get lucky with the showdowns.
174. SB 78
Someone goes all in and I fold. the person goes out so we are final table woo.
I think about how I played my QQ earlier vs the 666 with the ace on the flop, and how I would have had a much nicer trip to final table if I had not made that mistake.
But who cares I'm here now
I have a look and see no famaliar faces at the final table which is good as I've played this tournament and finished late many times, I see two of the poor players who have made it this far and am suprised, although they are both short (I bet they haven't been aggressive enough and were hanging out for the cash, clasic amatuer mistake). Theres a couple of big stacks and a solid player who I had on my table at the beginning, I wish him good luck...but I don't really mean it ha!
175. 35600 Q7
Someone raises I fold
176. 99
I raise to 8k and everyone folds
177. 42900 chips J3
Someone raises and I fold
178. 93
I fold
179. K9 UTG
I fold
180. BB KJ
Someone limps (suspect?!?!) and the small blind completes, with KJ I could just push all in and be done with it but decide to check as I am suspect about the limper and have no info on him. People will find it harder to know my holding with a hand like KJ also post flop if I do hit, as I checked preflop
Flop brings A72, check check bet and I fold (worst flop ever?!?! lol)
181. 36800 Chips SB K9
Someone raises all in and I fold
182. J5
Someone raises I fold
I love folding me
Blinds 2000-4000 anti 500
183. 35900 88
It folds round to me and I raise to 10000 in a late position, I could push all in and close my eyes/hope for the best but 10000 leaves me 26000 if I do end up folding and is enough to be push/fold mode with the 4k bb. Everyone folds anyway so I take the pot
184. QQ
A tight player raises to 9k and I re-raise all in.
He folds, and I show the QQ. I show because I figure later I'm gonna be re-raising all in with weaker holdings (when we are short handed), and want to add this QQ to their databank of my possible holdings. Although I had position, theres a 50/50 chance a King or Ace will come on the flop so I don't want to slow play, I'm happy with the pot as it is already big enough to compliment my stack (AA all day long slow play)
185. 64900 Chips JJ
I raise to 12k and all fold, back to back pocket pair at final table!??! rare treat
186. 69
UTG folds and I fold
187 74900 Chips A8 UTG
I raise to 10k and all fold...an under the gun raise looks so strong at the final table and there are no players good enough at the table to see any further past that and realise they should be pushing with weak holdings (e.g. any pocket pair or even suited connectors). I have been raising a lot but also I've been showing premium hands so noone has any evidence to not believe me here also. The table is very tight.
The pots are pretty big at this pot, in fact 10k a hand
188 BB 2J
Someone raises UTG and I fold (same play as I just did maybe...lol)
189. SB 2J
someone raises and I fold
190. 77400 2Q
Someone raises and I fold (every hand comes with a 2?!?!)
191. J4
Someone raises and I fold
192. K7
someone raises and I fold
75900 Chips - I'm 3rd at the table there is one massive stack at about 200k and another at 100k, the rest are pretty short (below 50k)
193. A5
Someone goes all in and I fold
194. KT
Someone goes all in and I fold (won't be tempted by the mediocre hands!!)
195. AT UTG
I fold...this doesn't really make sense as I raised last round with A8 UTG but I felt less confident this time round as the table has got a lot looser in the last few hands (there has been a raiser in the last 7 hands straight?). The table has obviously realised how important it is to be aggressive at this stage of the game and become very loose accordingly.
196. BB 70400 Chips K9
UTG raises and I fold
197. SB J7
Button raises to 12000 and I fold....my mentor would say push with any 2 cards here (tempting but he look pretty confident with his raise)
198. 67400 9Q
An early position raises and I fold
199. A5
Same player raises and I fold
200. 66400 A4
Someone raises and I fold...the table has become very loose
201. J9
I love the last hand before the break, noone ever wants to go out before the break unless it is the first break (where for some reason people love going out then!!?!?)
Before I check my cards I watch to see if anyone is interested in playing, and there seems to be little interest, so I raise to 11000 and everyone folds
BREAK
3000 6000 Blinds 5000 anti, 8 Left. although the table is very loose not many people are going out and there are not many showdowns happening
202. JQ suited
UTG raises so I fold, shame its look pretty ;)
203. 75000 Q4 UTG
I fold
204. BB K7
UTG raises to 30000 so I fold (massive raise!?)
205. SB 47
Someone raises all in I fold
206. 67
Someone raises I fold
64000 Chips, the blinds are so big that one pot can be the difference between chip leader or out - need to stay aggresive here and not get blinded down to a difficult position
207. 47
Someone raises I fold
208. 28
Someone raises I fold
209. 23
Someone raises I fold
210. 85
Someone raises I fold
So much for staying aggresive with no card higher than an 8 in the last 4 hands! I must be getting a tight image at the table after folding so much, made a note to use this to my advantage
211. 62000 Chips, 8T
I fold UTG
212. BB 86
The button limps and small blind completes... I elect to check as I'm suspicious of the limper (first person to limp in last 30 hands or so?!?! on the button?!?!)
Flop brings 2K7, check check Bet and I fold. He shows AK suited, terrible limp - he got lucky that he still had the best hand after the free flop.
213. SB J2
The button raises to 12k and I figure I'm gonna re-raise him here with any 2 semi-good cards as I wasn't convinced by his raise and his stack size is a good amount (60k after raise) for him to fold to my all-in. However I look down to see J2 and elect to fold
214. 33
The monster stack limps in middle position and I limp on the button with 33 for 6k.
This is a terrible limp by me. I haven't enough chips to fish for a 3 and there's nothing else I can hope for (it is very unlikely my 33 will be the best hand by the river, if I get lucky enough to make it that far).
There is also a risk that someone might raise behind me which would mean I would have to fold. A raise here is reasonable, but the best play I'm sure is to fold - no point getting mixed up with the big stack limper with less than a mediocre holding, even if I have the button.
Small blind completes and the BB checks
Flop is 89Q and everyone checks (horrible flop for 33)
Turn is 7 and everyone checks
River is Q and the monster stack bets 10k, the pot is around 45k including his bet so I need a 1 in 4.5 chance to win to make the call profitable...which I figure in my head is about 22.2%?
So is there a 22% chance he has nothing here and betting is the only way he can win the pot?
If he has an ace or king he would probably check the river as there is a chance he could win with ace or king high, so he probably wouldn't bet those.
I'm not beating any holding that has a 9, 8 or 7 or any pair 66, 55 or 44, and he would probably check these hands down also. I'm also losing to TJ and any holding that has a Q (e.g. QK)
If I'm to consider all of the hands he may have, that I CAN beat, it basically includes:
AK, KJ, KT, AJ, AT - however he probably would have raised with these preflop, or any A with a rag lower than a 6, and 54 or 43
I've no physical read on the guy, but my general feeling is that he either has a monster or is on a complete bluff - the only monster I think he can have is TJ or Q9 and he has slow played all the way from the flop (I think he would have bet out if he had just hit a bit of the flop, e.g. QJ and hit the Q) to protect his hand.
So now I have assumed 70% of the time he has a monster, like Q9 or TJ, and 30% of the time he has nothing and can only win the pot by betting. Seeing as 30% is more than the 22.2% I calculated the pot odds for calling were earlier, I elect to call. It also doesn't do too much damage to my stack if I call and lose (35k), but can make me very big if I call and win (90k)
I call and he shows TJ, bah - 70% of the time he has a monster....but thats only 100% of the time (lol)
The river call was a minor mistake that could potentially be profitable in the long run -the major mistake was the preflop call, which led me to the (unnecessary) tricky decision later on in the hand.
215. 35k J5
someone raises and I fold
216. A2
It folds round to me and I push all in, I havent got much time left with the blinds so high so any ace will have to do. Everyone folds
217. 47
I fold
4000 8000 Blinds antis 1000
218. A5
I fold UTG, although this is a stronger holding than 2 hands ago my position is a lot worse, under the gun means I till have everyone to act behind me so there is more chance someone will wake up with a hand. So I fold
219. BB 46
The button raises so I fold
220. 31500 chips after SB (4000) T4
Someone pushes all in and I fold, another person goes out - last 6
221. T7
UTG Raises I fold
222. 76
folds round to me so I push all in and everyone folds
223. 46500 chips 53
I fold
224. 42
I fold
225. BB Q6
The button and small blind limp so I check - I should be a lot more aggresive here, in fact I should have been a lot more aggresive for a long time and not let myself get so low.
flop brings K42, check check bet and fold
225. SB KQ
Someone who has the same size stack as me pushes all in and I call, he has been pushing a lot and I figure there is a good chance my KQ will be ahead and I need to get chips soon or I will be blinded away. The next 2 blinds are both big stacks and will probably call my all in, although I think I should have folded and waited until I got my chips in first.
He shows A7 and flops a flush so I go out in 5th for 710
Didn't play that game amazingly well, in fact probably the worst I've played since I have been here...i'm sure this was because I was taking notes - i missed so much information and took a lot less time than I usually do to think about my hands and plays. Can't complain though, 5th was a good finish I guess
Hope u enjoyed (was hard work for me lol)
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