The Poker Meister #42

Stackage (though not full stackage :-( )!

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 Pot Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/447814
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $16.52
UTG+1: $50.03
MP1: $13.80
Hero (MP2): $34.50
CO: $17.23
BTN: $19.47
SB: $7.51
BB: $28.86

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is MP2 with Jc 9c
UTG calls $0.25, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.35, 2 folds, SB calls $1.25, 1 fold, UTG calls $1.10, UTG+1 calls $1.10

Flop: ($5.65) 4s Qc 2c (4 players)
SB bets $2.50, UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, Hero calls $2.50

Turn: ($10.65) 7c (2 players)
SB bets $3.66 all in, Hero calls $3.66

River: ($17.97) 2s (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $17.97
Hero shows Jc 9c (a flush, Queen high)
SB shows Qh Jh (two pair, Queens and Twos)
Hero wins $17.08
(Rake: $0.89)

What would you do? #42 - AKs high vs. [small] river shove

The facts: 50/17 @ 6 hands. No particular read, except for the fact that he seems a little off in his play.

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/439586
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $4.25
Hero (BB): $31.30
UTG: $17.40
UTG+1: $32.15
MP1: $21.70
MP2: $5.60
CO: $36.50
BTN: $16.65

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with Kc Ac
UTG raises to $0.75, 1 fold, MP1 raises to $1.25, 4 folds, Hero raises to $3.25, 1 fold, MP1 calls $2
MP1 has raised 2 out of the 6 hands. He's also been in 3 of the 6 I've spent with him. He just sat down.

Flop: ($7.35) 9s 7h 3h (2 players)
Hero bets $4, MP1 calls $4
With the exception of the spades, this is a pretty dry flop.

Turn: ($15.35) 6s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks
His flop call / turn check behind is strange. I'm narrowing his range down to a flush draw. Suited connectors or perhaps AKs like me?

River: ($15.35) 9c (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $14.45 all in, Hero ???
His story does not seem to make sense. He checks through the turn, but shoves the river? What do you do here? Call or fold?



Click to see results

Hero calls $14.45
Final Pot: $44.25
Hero shows Kc Ac (a pair of Nines - Ace kicker)
MP1 shows Jd Kd (a pair of Nines)
Hero wins $42.10
(Rake: $2.15)
In retrospect, this is probably not all that difficult of a call. The only reason I put it up here is because I always marveled at the people who call A high... Tonight, I was one of those people.

Quads FTW!!!

The case against limping AA or other premium pairs. It's too easy to not know where you are in the hand... Had he raised, PF, I would have been off the hand fast. BTW, villain is a semi-solid player; ultra tight (over 40 hands, he's a 5/2.5) In fact, I've seen him show down 3 hands total, 2 of which were in the blinds, and showed down very strong (he got 2-paired over 2-paired in a blind, and the hand below) and won with JJ. However, if you limp a good pair, be able to get away from it:

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 Pot Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/441660
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $24.90
Hero (BB): $49.00
UTG: $13.40
UTG+1: $25.00
MP: $30.25
CO: $41.35
BTN: $4.55

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with 5s 8h
5 folds, SB calls $0.15, Hero checks
Crap beer hand...

Flop: ($0.50) 5h 5c 4s (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks
- Nice flop. Hopefully, the SB catches up.

Turn: ($0.50) 6s (2 players)
SB bets $0.50, Hero calls $0.50
- And we have a nibble. I am not going to raise because I will fold out any bluff in his range.

River: ($1.50) 5d (2 players)
SB bets $1.45, Hero raises to $4.25, SB raises to $10, Hero raises to $31.45, SB calls $14.15 all in
- Hmmm... Quick check for a straight flush - no possibility. Does he have a straight? With a straight, are you stacking off here? It is too easy to be beaten by a boat. The only likely conclusion I can draw is a set of 4's bettered by running 5's full or 6's full. Needless to say, I am surprised:

Final Pot: $49.80
SB shows Ac Ad (a full house, Fives full of Aces)
Hero shows 5s 8h (four of a kind, Fives)
Hero wins $47.35
(Rake: $2.45)
If I'm him, I just have to consider the possibility that my opponent is stronger than me. The way I've played this hand is not exactly tricky. I carried him along the whole way, completely passively. I think he could have saved himself quite a headache by calling the raise. Obviously, he's not maximizing his return overall, but there is any infinite combination of hands that I can be checking a BB with. Besides that, I am flatting his lead on the turn. I have to think that I am raising his lead on the turn if I have 6's (i.e. two pair) or 4's. If I have 4's, am I raising / shoving his lead / 3bet on the river? Again, I was very surprised that he limped AA in the SB, but different strokes...

The Poker Meister #41

This time, for [near] stacks... I think he wound up with $2.00 left. Funny thing was that he was on total tilt afterwards. I wound up stacking him again on the very next hand! Good times had by all (except him)!

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 Pot Limit Hold'em - 7 players - 7
http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/440719
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $5.00
SB: $4.00
BB: $27.81
UTG: $32.49
Hero (UTG+1): $39.61
MP: $25.00
CO: $25.82

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is UTG+1 with 9h Jh
1 fold, Hero raises to $0.85, MP calls $0.85, 4 folds

Flop: ($2.05) Js 9s 6d (2 players)
Hero bets $1.25, MP calls $1.25

Turn: ($4.55) 2c (2 players)
Hero bets $3, MP raises to $7.75, Hero calls $4.75

River: ($20.05) 7h (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $12.75, Hero calls $12.75

Final Pot: $45.55
Hero shows 9h Jh (two pair, Jacks and Nines)
MP shows Qh As (Ace Queen high)
Hero wins $43.28
(Rake: $2.27)

A quickie run down of Poker Tracker / PT3

Jordan over at HighOnPoker has requested a quick summary of Poker Tracker 3.0 (PT3) and its affects on my decision making during play. Since winning his hand ranging contest a few weeks back, I feel obliged to respond... hopefully it will help some of my readers, though, hopefully it will help me. You know what they [who is "they"?] say: you know when you truly know something if you can teach it to someone else. Happy belated Hanukkah to you & your family, Jordan (even though you say you're a self-hating Jew)!

Online, particularly when multi-tabling, it is hard to notice who is playing a loose style and who is playing tight. In the same vein, it is equally hard to evaluate who is playing aggressively and who is playing passively. Therefore, PT3 includes, by default, two primary pieces of information a new user should be referring to: the Voluntary Put Into Pot (VPIP) and Preflop Raise (PFR). The two gauges make up part of the default HUD setup for PT3. The two data points should be your entrance criteria for a hand against an opponent. Therefore, I have come to rely on PT3's two aforementioned stats to help assist me with my decisions. Granted, these stats are not perfect; i.e. you want to have an adequate hand sample size of 50 or more (BARE MINIMUM), and those numbers, on the surface, don't give scenario descriptions (such as raising position, tendency to steal, etc.). However, they do give a good idea as to the holdings and style in which the opponent is playing.

For example, if I see a player with a VPIP 35 / PFR 6 over an adequate hand sample size, I can safely assume that although his limping range is wide (likely including all Aces, suits, connectors, and the standard pairs, suited connectors and broadway) and his raising range is very tight (limited to pocket pairs TT+ and / or AK & AQ). When I see that 35/6 player limp, I generally want to raise him pre flop because if he calls, I generally know I'll be able to able to push him off the hand post flop (with the knowledge that his wide range misses a lot more than my more clearly defined range). When I see him raise, I'm going to be folding out everything but the very top of my range (referring back to his raising range of 6 PFR). Is this perfect? No. In live poker, I can visualize my opponent, and make reads based on what I see his physical actions are, coupled with his bet sizing and timing. However, online, we are not blessed with such tells. Therefore, we are forced to go with the hard data we have, which is the hand histories.  Hand histories are automatically saved on your hard drive when you're playing a hand.  Several sites also give you a chance to buy hand histories.

Another stat in the default HUD configuration includes a stat called aggression factor which measures a player's tendency to bet or raise vs. check or call. It is a basic measure of his or her tendencies. I put little stock in this number, however, because if a player is a 4/4 and has an AF of 20 over an adequate sample size, he's clearly playing AA, KK, QQ and should be leading / betting most flops, turns and rivers (thus making that type of player exploitable because he'll bet my sets for me, or I can dump the hand when I miss).

Besides the default HUD configuration, I am constantly looking at other data, which I sometimes include in my posts. This data can be viewed by clicking on the player's associated HUD window:

• Cbet flop: The percentage of time the player will lead a raised flop. This number is useful in determining whether I can check / raise the flop if I'm out of position, and take note of my opponent's action when in position (i.e. if his cbet = 100% and he checks the dry flop, does that mean he hit a monster or missed entirely).
• Attempt to Steal (ATS): The percentage of time a player will attempt to steal the blinds, pre-flop. This number is an assessment of any time a pot is folded around to the player in the CO, BTN or SB and opens the pot. At the level I play ($25NL / $50NL), this number does not seem to be all that important, as I have taken the tact of stealing north of 50% lately, without any pushback from my opponents. They either don't notice the constant steal, or don't care. Once can actually make a living (not literally) off of stealing blinds. On the flip side, I have noticed that the bigger ATS I've seen is in the neighborhood of 30%, which leads me to believe my opponents are not doing the same. However, I've seen opponents around 50%, and I know that if it's against my blinds, I can re-raise or call / lead and usually take down the pot for extra profit.
  NOTE: If you are going after blinds continually, you should note that it is tough to steal from short-stackers. Their response is a simple shove, which they can employ quite effectively. They know you're stealing, and they know you can't call a 20BB 3bet with T2o.
  
• 3bet pre-flop: The percentage of time a player will 3 bet pre-flop. Critical for certain situations; I have found players who will 3bet my ATS's and I know are coming up with air, making it safer to 4bet them back. I have found players who are 3betting every raise, which tells me that they are 3betting light (and getting lots of folds). I have found players who 3bet 1-2% of the time... they're only 3betting AA, KK.
• Folds SB / BB to steal: If I find a lot of resistance from my targeted steals, I will give up raising my BTN with 72o and range upwards, limiting my steals to a more restrictive QTo steal instead.

All of that said, I am in the process of [lazily] switching over to Holdem Manager (HEM). I have it all set up, but am experiencing a bout of technophobia because I don't want to move away from what I know and love. However, HEM can get me tendencies for each street, based on position, in a nice table, where the default PT3 layout falls short. Regardless of the tool you select, if you're playing online, you're playing at a disadvantage by not using data mining software.

Suckout of the day

After getting continually sucked out on for the past 3 months...I'm entitled to a pretty brutal suckout of my own, right? I mean, come on... I'm allowed to be proud of this when it happens, right? So I hit a 6 outter with my QQ vs. KK vs. AA. I never post suckouts, but this was a pretty awful one:

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/439142
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $10.05
MP: $5.00
CO: $24.65
Hero (BTN): $43.09
SB: $42.46
BB: $5.65
UTG: $4.65

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with Qh Qd
UTG raises to $1, UTG+1 calls $1, 2 folds, Hero calls $1, 2 folds

Flop: ($3.35) Tc 8h 8s (3 players)
UTG bets $1.50, UTG+1 raises to $3, Hero calls $3, UTG raises to $3.65 all in, UTG+1 calls $0.65, Hero calls $0.65

Turn: ($14.30) 9d (3 players - 1 is all in)
UTG+1 bets $5.40 all in, Hero calls $5.40

River: ($25.10) Jh (3 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $25.10
UTG+1 shows Ac As (two pair, Aces and Eights)
Hero shows Qh Qd (a straight, Queen high)
UTG shows Kc Kh (two pair, Kings and Eights)
Hero wins $10.26
Hero wins $13.59
(Rake: $1.25)

The Poker Meister #40

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/438723
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $11.44
Hero (MP): $33.53
CO: $7.18
BTN: $15.00
SB: $30.26
BB: $5.00

Pre Flop: ($0.25) Hero is MP with Jc 9c
1 fold, UTG calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1, CO calls $1, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.75
Donkey alert for UTG!

Flop: ($3.25) Qh 4d 7s (3 players)
UTG bets $0.25, Hero raises to $1.25, CO calls $1.25, UTG calls $1

Turn: ($7.00) Jd (3 players)
UTG bets $0.25, Hero raises to $1.50, CO folds, UTG calls $1.25

River: ($10.00) 2c (2 players)
UTG bets $2, Hero calls $2

Final Pot: $14.00
UTG shows 5d 6s (Queen Jack high)
Hero shows Jc 9c (a pair of Jacks)
Hero wins $13.30
(Rake: $0.70)

What would you do? #41 - Rivered baby flush vs. pot lead

The facts: VPIP 73/ PFR 13/ @ 16 hands. No particular direct reads against this player. What are you doing with the pot-committing river lead?

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/437166
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $19.60
UTG+1: $17.35
UTG+2: $5.23
MP1: $5.00
MP2: $12.19
Hero (CO): $38.68
BTN: $31.04
SB: $44.02
BB: $13.21

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is CO with 5s 3s
UTG raises to $0.50, 4 folds, Hero calls $0.50, 1 fold, SB calls $0.40, BB calls $0.25
I'm getting to see a flop, with 80BB effective stacks, for the price of 2BBs with suited connectors. Not the best SCs, but they'll do. Particularly, I'd bet a 5 or 3 paired would be good. I'm not putting this player on a great / strong hand.

Flop: ($2.00) 2s Js Th (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets $0.25, Hero calls $0.25, SB calls $0.25, BB folds
So I hit the spade draw + backdoor flush draw. I'll definitely float, in position, with that kind of draw.

Turn: ($2.75) 8c (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets $2.25, Hero calls $2.25, SB calls $2.25
Now UTG gets serious, but he still has around $15 behind. I have the implied odds to make a call in this spot. PLUS, I have the SB coming along with me, which gives me extra odds.

River: ($9.50) 6s (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets $9.50, Hero ???

Do you fold here? Do you push here? What about SB's hand? Call? Why?


Hero calls $9.50, SB folds
Clearly, the lead for pot surprised me. I wasn't sure what to make of it. I certainly missed value here; we were deep stacked and I only took about 1/4 of his total stack. I quickly ruled out folding. The problem I have with raising is this: I can really only min raise without committing my stack. The bet he makes is so large that there is no room for anything other raise than essentially a shove. Am I willing to put my stack on the line for a bottom flush? Anyone disagree with the logic?


Final Pot: $28.50
UTG shows Qd 9d (a straight, Queen high)
Hero shows 5s 3s (a flush, Jack high)
Hero wins $27.08
(Rake: $1.42)

What would you do? #40 - Top pair Q kicker vs. turn shove

The facts: VPIP 25/ PFR 13 @ 8 hands. Nothing otherwise special about this player.

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/437164
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $24.05
SB: $5.00
BB: $5.35
UTG: $4.20
UTG+1: $16.80
Hero (UTG+2): $33.55
MP1: $18.60
MP2: $20.60
CO: $11.80

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is UTG+2 with Ad Qs
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.85, MP1 calls $0.85, 2 folds, BTN calls $0.85, 2 folds

Flop: ($2.90) Js Ac Jh (3 players)
Hero bets $1.75, MP1 calls $1.75, BTN calls $1.75

Turn: ($8.15) 9h (3 players)
Hero bets $2.50, MP1 calls $2.50, BTN raises to $21.45 all in, Hero ???


Click to see results

Too tight? Should I be folding in this spot? With $10 in the pot, and the way BTN had flatted 2 streets, I can't imagine he has anything else other than a Jack. The heart draw puts a bit of fear into him, so he ends it right there. Bad fold?Hero folds, MP1 folds

Final Pot: $15.65
BTN wins $14.90
(Rake: $0.75)

What would you do? #39 - Flsuh vs. running trips

The setup: I've been getting KILLED on this table. Everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong; my KK vs. a 42/x LAG - LAG rivers 2 pair on me. My AK vs. same LAG's K8, LAG turns trip 8's on me. I'm sure you're familiar with the luckbox of the idiot LAG. Why is it always that I seem to pay off the loser players? Why is it that they always luckbox on me?

Anyway, this was another donkey at the table... After 80-someodd hands, he was a 33/8 / AF 8.0/ cbet 100%/ steal 20%. He's a donkish player; in my prior experience, his bets don't make a lot of sense and he seems to steal at a good clip:

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/430452
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $74.95
BTN: $50.00
SB: $78.65
Hero (BB): $50.00
UTG: $50.20
UTG+1: $50.00
MP1: $50.45
MP2: $85.80

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with Td Qd
3 folds, MP2 raises to $1, CO calls $1, BTN requests TIME, 1 fold, SB calls $0.75, Hero calls $0.50
I'm normally not making this call, out of position, but there is a bevvy of players already involved in the pot, over-limping, and I have a suited 1-gapper. For $0.50 more, I'll see a cheap flop.

Flop: ($4.00) 3d Kd 7d (4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP2 bets $3.50, CO folds, SB folds, Hero raises to $7, MP2 calls $3.50
Only one hand beats me... I think my raise was not nearly enough (if I'm going to raise this flop). However, my goal is not to push him off his hand, but to keep him drawing on me.

Turn: ($18.00) 7c (2 players)
Hero bets $5, MP2 calls $5
Another stupid bet size. I should have bet out for around $10 or so... Regardless:

River: ($28.00) 7s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $17.50, Hero requests TIME, Hero ???
Is this an auto-fold? What hands do you put him on?



Click to see results

Hero folds

Final Pot: $28.00
MP2 wins $26.60
(Rake: $1.40)

What would you do? #38 - Top pair vs. river shove

The facts: 34/3/ AF .8/ with no cbets or steals... @ an "adequate" sample size. Basically, he appears to play loose PF poker with weak / tight post flop play. What do you think here?

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/428363
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $46.40
SB: $56.55
BB: $10.00
UTG: $52.45
UTG+1: $50.00
Hero (UTG+2): $62.70
MP1: $54.75
MP2: $10.00
CO: $41.30

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+2 with Js 9s
2 folds, Hero calls $0.50, 2 folds, CO calls $0.50, BTN calls $0.50, SB calls $0.25, BB checks
The Poker Meister

Flop: ($2.50) 8d 5h Jh (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $1.25, CO calls $1.25, BTN folds, SB folds, BB folds
Flop top pair.

Turn: ($5.00) 2d (2 players)
Hero bets $3, CO calls $3


River: ($11.00) 8s (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $36.55 all in, Hero requests TIME, Hero ???
Are you making this call? Smells like a busted flush draw, but it could also be a float of 8's rivered trips. I feel like this is uncharacteristic of him to push, given his low AF.



Click to see results

Hero folds

Final Pot: $11.00
CO wins $10.45
(Rake: $0.55)

Yeah, they're that bad....

I'm currently finding the $25 games at Poker Stars are incredibly easy and loose. The following is somewhat of a cooler, but how can you call a push of about 180 BBs with QQ?

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/427013
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $24.75
MP2: $5.00
CO: $21.75
BTN: $6.25
Hero (SB): $56.90
BB: $5.00
UTG: $25.00
UTG+1: $13.05
UTG+2: $42.75

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is SB with Ac Ad
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $1, 2 folds, CO raises to $21.75 all in, 1 fold, Hero raises to $56.90 all in, 1 fold, UTG+2 calls $41.75 all in
Deep stacked, ~180BBs, is it an EV+ move to call a shove? I thought for a long time, waffling between shoving and calling here, but I wanted to iso the CO. The two players had the best cards possible - eliminating the worry of possible straights, and 2 outs each...

Flop: ($107.50) 7d 4d Ks (3 players - 3 are all in)

Turn: ($107.50) 8h (3 players - 3 are all in)

River: ($107.50) Td (3 players - 3 are all in)

Final Pot: $107.50 - Winner! 258 BBs! Weee!!!
CO shows Jh Js (a pair of Jacks)
Hero shows Ac Ad (a pair of Aces)
UTG+2 shows Qd Qh (a pair of Queens)
Hero wins $42.00
Hero wins $62.50
(Rake: $3.00)

What would you do? #37 - Rivered flush vs. shove

16/9/1.6/43/33 @ 457 hands

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/419683
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $2.15
CO: $25.00
Hero (BTN): $25.00
SB: $27.75
BB: $27.71
UTG: $24.88
UTG+1: $10.42
MP1: $44.79

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with 5s 2s
2 folds, MP1 raises to $0.75, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.75, SB calls $0.65, BB calls $0.50
I call a 16/9 with a hand that has a lot of potential to either hit hard or miss entirely. I'm also in position.

Flop: ($3.00) As Qd Ks (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $1.25, SB folds, BB calls $1.25, MP1 calls $1.25
I throw out a feeler - does MP1 have a set or two pair? Perhaps JJ, TT, but I think he'd fold here.

Turn: ($6.75) 4h (3 players)
BB checks, MP1 bets $4.50, Hero calls $4.50, BB folds
Best non-spade card in the deck; I now have an inside draw to go with my flush draw.

River: ($15.75) 8s (2 players)
MP1 bets $38.29 all in, Hero ???
Spades get there, and MP1 shoves. What do you do here?


Click to see results

Hero calls $18.50 all in - Bad play? Is this bad luck that he shows up with two spades? I'm thinking he has a set here, but I'm not sure whether I did anything wrong (other than arguably calling the pre flop raise).
Final Pot: $52.75
Hero mucks 5s 2s
MP1 shows Js Ts (a flush, Ace high)
MP1 wins $50.12
(Rake: $2.63)

What would you do? #36 - Middle pair facing large river lead

21/8/inf AF /0% cbet / 18% attempt to steal

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/417175
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $23.30
MP1: $53.47
MP2: $6.41
CO: $150.16
Hero (BTN): $26.45
SB: $13.50
BB: $32.67
UTG: $25.93

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with 8d 9d
UTG calls $0.25, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 3 folds, Hero raises to $1.35, 2 folds, UTG calls $1.10, UTG+1 calls $1.10

Flop: ($4.40) Jd 5d 5c (3 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $2.50, UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to $7.50, Hero calls $5
This particular check / raise is suspicious. For a 21/8, AJ is certainly within the realm... But this feels more like a diamond draw or a naked bluff. I'm certain he's not showing up with a 5 here, but why is he check raising so strong? Limped overpair?

Turn: ($19.40) 8h (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks
I add to my outs with the paired 8.

River: ($19.40) 6s (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $12, Hero ???
Am I the only one where this line is not making sense? What are you doing here?


Click to see results

Hero calls $12 -He checks through the turn, but then takes a HUGE stab at the river. This is an utterly confusing hand and confusing play. I think he has certainly polarized himself to monster / air. However, I have to feel that given the c/r 'ed flop, he's making me pay for a draw on the turn.

Final Pot: $43.40
UTG+1 shows Ad Tc (a pair of Fives)
Hero shows 8d 9d (two pair, Eights and Fives)
Hero wins $41.23
(Rake: $2.17)

The Poker Meister #39

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/415908
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $4.82
MP: $4.54
CO: $81.72
Hero (BTN): $25.00
SB: $5.16
BB: $31.95

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with 9h Jh
UTG calls $0.25, 1 fold, CO raises to $1, Hero calls $1, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.75

Flop: ($3.35) Jd 6s 3h (3 players)
UTG checks, CO checks, Hero bets $1.50, UTG calls $1.50, CO calls $1.50
Top pair + Backdoor heart draw.

Turn: ($7.85) 9s (3 players)
UTG checks, CO checks, Hero bets $3.75, UTG calls $2.32 all in, CO calls $3.75
Turned two pair.

River: ($17.67) Qs (3 players - 1 is all in)
CO checks, Hero bets $4, CO folds

Final Pot: $17.67
UTG mucks Td 6c -??? WTF ???
Hero shows 9h Jh (two pair, Jacks and Nines)
Hero wins $14.07
(Rake: $0.88)

What would you do? #35 - Overpair facing decent river bet

13/6/9.0 AF/100% cbet /0% attempt to steal @ 63 HANDS

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/415901
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $5.00
UTG: $24.15
UTG+1: $19.62
UTG+2: $16.27
Hero (MP1): $27.50
MP2: $12.87
CO: $5.15
BTN: $24.94
SB: $24.53

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is MP1 with Ks Kc
3 folds, Hero raises to $0.85, 2 folds, BTN calls $0.85, 2 folds
Crappy position, but 2nd best pair.

Flop: ($2.05) Qd Jd 4h (2 players)
Hero bets $1.25, BTN raises to $3.50, Hero calls $2.25
So right here, what am I doing? Am I making a mistake calling here?

Turn: ($9.05) Ah (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $4, Hero calls $4
Getting deeper into the hand, and I've gone into shell mode, calling down.

River: ($17.05) 2h (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $8, Hero ???
He's clearly not phased by the Ace, nor the backdoor heart draw. Should I be calling this? The only two hands I can put a 13 VPIP on is AQ & 44. Opinions?



Click to see results

Hero folds - Figuring that I already took this hand WAY further than I should have; I have no additional information other than the fact that he likes his hand alot.

Final Pot: $17.05
BTN wins $16.20
(Rake: $0.85)

Been awhile... here's an interesting hand / thought on equity

I was out on vacation, so it's been awhile since I last posted. Sorry about that. I've been running better lately, but I'm starting to learn how to maximize my equity in the hand, as you will see below.

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/415167
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $26.75
SB: $74.65
BB: $6.45
Hero (UTG): $50.51
UTG+1: $19.82
MP: $27.71
CO: $13.42

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is UTG with 6h 5h
Hero calls $0.25, UTG+1 raises to $0.50, 3 folds, SB raises to $2.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $2.50, UTG+1 calls $2.25
I will normally fold this type of hand, 3 bet, squeezed between the UTG+1 LAG & the SB 21/15. However, looking at the stack sizes, SB & I are playing 200BB effective stacks. My sole consideration for calling this hand was exactly that: stack sizes. If I hit with this hand, I am potentially getting paid handsomely. In addition, SB has 3 bet around 1 time in a few hundred hands. Clearly, he has a premium hand - be it JJ+ or AKs.

Flop: ($8.50) 5c 6d 8s (3 players)
SB bets $5, Hero calls $5, UTG+1 folds
This is a decent player... he's not going for the straight with a 3bet PF, and there is no flush draw on the board; he has QQ+. At this point in the hand, I have around a 70% edge. I don't think he's slowing down, though.

Now, I'm not sure what overpair he has here: he could have QQ, KK, or AA - and then again, an 8 could show up to counterfeit my bottom two. Given the way I've been running lately, I've come to expect the 8 to pair on the turn... therefore, instead of getting it all in here, I'd prefer to wait until the turn - to make sure I dodged his outs and increased my equity.

Turn: ($18.50) Th (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $15, SB requests TIME, SB raises to $66.90 all in, Hero calls $27.76 all in
It's a safe turn. I don't think he's 3 betting PF with TT, therefore I can make the call for stacks with 80+% equity.

River: ($104.02) 7c (2 players - 2 are all in)
And I finally fade the set and paired board!

Final Pot: $104.02
SB shows Kc Ks (a pair of Kings)
Hero shows 6h 5h (two pair, Sixes and Fives)
Hero wins $101.02
(Rake: $3.00)

The Poker Meister #38

I think this hand is starting to heat up for me... Look out!

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/404270
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $5.00
Hero (UTG): $28.90
UTG+1: $48.95
MP1: $5.00
MP2: $14.75
CO: $16.80
BTN: $28.75
SB: $14.40

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is UTG with Jh 9h
Hero calls $0.25, 2 folds, MP2 calls $0.25, 2 folds, SB calls $0.15, BB checks

Flop: ($1.00) 5d 7h Th (4 players)
SB checks, BB bets $0.75, Hero calls $0.75, MP2 calls $0.75, SB folds

Turn: ($3.25) Qc (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.25, MP2 calls $1.25, BB folds

River: ($5.75) 5h (2 players)
Hero bets $2.50, MP2 calls $2.50 - I think I maybe missed a bit of value here.

Final Pot: $10.75
Hero shows Jh 9h (a flush, Jack high)
MP2 mucks Ad Tc
Hero wins $10.25
(Rake: $0.50)

November, another mediocre month

Perhaps this is the kind of result I can expect out of $50NL - and my first month at that level was more of an anomaly? I ran my profits up $500 within the first week or two of the month, then went on a big downswing and back up again. Since that point, it has been down hill. I seem to continue to get my money in good but get sucked out on. My head is getting screwed on a bit better, though, so perhaps December will be better. October was difficult, though, with my withdrawal of the bulk of my funds (thus I was under-rolled) plus the holidays, giving my little time to play hands. I also started my Poker Stars account back up, with a $50 swap with a friend + a nice little contest win over on Jordan's blog High On Poker. Thanks Jordan!


I once again made Iron Man status in the Iron Man challenge / bonus. As with last month:

1. I am eligible for $100 in the mid year bonus.
2. I can convert medals to dollars.
3. All of the poker played allowed me to qualify for free CardRunners training through totallyfreepokertraining.com and stoxpoker.com.

Full Tilt poker profits: $59.72
Poker Stars poker profits: $84.65
Live poker profits: $70.00
Rakeback bonus profits: $301.08
Full Tilt bonus profits: $100.00 (Holiday Hundred Bonus)
Total: $615.45

A quick rundown of my stats: 2K hands played on stars in 16 hours + 39K hands played on Tilt in 97 hours. My hold'em All In Luck calculator says that since the beginning of the month, I've run $-271, which says that I've overcome my negative expected value in all in situations.

The Poker Meister #37

It sure has been awhile since my lucksackery with J9s... This is definitely a small pot, but a nice win for the Poker Meister!

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/401873
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $5.00
SB: $25.00
Hero (BB): $31.40
UTG: $10.20
UTG+1: $33.70
UTG+2: $7.45
MP1: $20.35
MP2: $4.75
CO: $26.80

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with Jc 9c
2 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.25, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.25, 1 fold, BTN calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero checks

Flop: ($1.10) 8s Qc 3c (4 players)
Hero bets $0.75, UTG+2 calls $0.75, MP2 raises to $4.50 all in, BTN folds, Hero calls $3.75, UTG+2 folds
Flush draw + Open ender - this guy isn't pushing me out for $4.50. I'm hoping the UTG+2 comes along for the ride so I opt to flat.

Turn: ($10.85) 6h (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($10.85) 7c (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $10.85
Hero shows Jc 9c (a flush, Queen high)
MP2 shows Ts Qh (a pair of Queens)
Hero wins $10.35
(Rake: $0.50)
I pokerstoved this hand afterwards, and it turns out that I'm a slight underdog on the flop @ 46% equity. Either way, I'm not folding this hand.

What would you do? #34 - Overpair facing turn raise

MP is an 18/9 / aggression factor: 5.0 / 0% 3bet (meaningless) @ 68 hands

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/401205
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $25.35
BTN: $5.00
SB: $5.00
Hero (BB): $27.75
UTG: $5.00
UTG+1: $11.95
MP: $25.35

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with Js Jh
2 folds, MP calls $0.25, 3 folds, Hero raises to $1.25, MP calls $1

Flop: ($2.60) 7h 3h Th (2 players)
Hero bets $1.75, MP calls $1.75

Turn: ($6.10) 7s (2 players)
Hero bets $2.25, MP raises to $7.50, Hero???

Click to see results

Hero folds -I think I misplayed this hand. If he has a set, then he just made a boat. I was convinced of a fold because I just didn't see him with this type of aggression on the turn. I think I was likely ahead, and he was betting a heart draw + 2 overs. In addition, my thought was that I'm not really deep into this hand, and MP flatted the flop bet.

I think my bet was weak here, 1/3 pot. However, my intent is to avoid building a large pot in this spot, with an overpair + paired board. Would an 18/9 from MP flat A7? What about 33, 77, TT? I think I folded this hand without thinking about what realistic hands beat me... I don't want to get it all in on the river (which is where it's heading) with an unimproved overpair.

Final Pot: $10.60
MP wins $10.10
(Rake: $0.50)

What would you do? #33 - Top / bottom pair facing shove on spade draw board

69/12 / 4.0 / 50 @ 26 hands

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/397997
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $15.93
SB: $5.00
Hero (BB): $31.67
UTG: $5.00
UTG+1: $30.13
MP1: $29.02
MP2: $25.00
CO: $29.69

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with Ad 5s
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 5 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.60) 5c Qs Ks (2 players)
Hero bets $0.50, UTG+1 calls $0.50

Turn: ($1.60) As (2 players)
Hero bets $1, UTG+1 raises to $4.60, Hero calls $3.60

River: ($10.80) 4d (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $24.78 all in, Hero ???


Click to see results

Hero folds - Am I getting run over here? Spade draw on the board against my 2 pair... Should I be making this call?

Final Pot: $10.80
UTG+1 wins $10.26
(Rake: $0.54)