What would you do? #237 - Gotta be beat, right?

Bodog $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $26.75 - 9/2/ 7.1%3bet @ 45 hands
BTN: $27.35
SB: $27.90
BB: $22.85
UTG: $20.10
UTG+1: $11.45 - 35/19/ 4.2%3bet / 1.2AF @ 202 hands
Hero (UTG+2): $28.10
MP1: $17.79
MP2: $33.00

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is UTG+2 with Kd Jc
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1.25, 2 folds, CO calls $1.25, 3 folds, UTG+1 calls $1

Flop: ($4.10) 2h Kc 6d (3 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $1.50, CO calls $1.50, UTG+1 calls $1.50

Turn: ($8.60) 5s (3 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks, CO bets $8.60, UTG+1 raises to $8.70 all in, Hero ???


Click to see results

In my mind, I think I'm already far behind, given the action.  Given CO's flat on the flop, I can't imagine him floating / calling with any draws.  Given the fact that he's played exceedingly tight (over a small sample, granted), I have to assume I'm behind, especially after his pot-sized turn bet.  The turn check is intended to pot control.  Anyone fault me here?

Hero folds, CO calls $0.10

River: ($26.00) 3h (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $26.00
CO shows Th As
UTG+1 shows 9s Ks
UTG+1 wins $24.70
(Rake: $1.30)

Things I've been doing lately

I wanted to get a few items off of my chest, as the void left by "Black Friday" begins to be filled with other pokery- and non-pokery related things:

• Business trip to Norway
  I am going to Norway from Saturday to Thursday.  I will be an hour north of Oslo.  I have been Googling constantly, but I can't seem to find a casino / poker room in or around Norway as a whole.  Does anyone know if it's even legal there?
• Atlantic City
  I am heading up to New Jersey this Thursday.  My wife & I are dropping off the kids with my parents and we're going to make a quick overnight trip in Atlantic City.  She booked a room for my birthday, knowing that I would enjoy both spending time with her and playing poker.  If anyone is going to be in AC over the weekend and wants to meet up, leave a comment.
• Getting an MBA
  I have decided to go back to college to get a graduate degree.  I will pursue obtaining an MBA.  It all starts with the The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), for which I have been diligently studying.  Let me tell you...  this GMAT business is 60% reasonable and 40% deciet.  I don't know how many of you have taken the GMAT, but it is disheartening to find questions in the data sufficiency section like the following:
  
  Which of the following tells a definitive duration of time for a given event?
  (1) The event started at 11:58AM and ended at 12:02PM.
  (2) The event lasted exactly 4 minutes.
  
  (A) Statement (1) and only statement (1) is necessary to tell the duration of given event.
  (B) Statement (2) and only statement (2) is necessary to tell the duration of given event.
  (C) Both statements (1) and (2) are necessary to tell the duration of given event.
  (D) Either statements (1) or (2) are adequate to tell the duration of given event.
  (E) Neither statements (1) nor (2) are adequate to tell the duration of given event.
  
  I have paraphrased the question from memory, but I have included what I believe to be the necessary details.
  
  Click to see results
  
  
  Under "normal English circumstances," (D) would be the correct answer because each statement stands on its own. Both state the event was 4 minutes. However, (B) is the correct GMAT answer because (A) does not specify the date at which the event started or ended.
  
  I will state that I was originally correct in my answer, but I honestly fail to see how knowing the answer to this question will indicate to a graduate school that I am adequately prepared to attend their school. Give me a break! The above simply indicates that I am good at crafting words like a lawyer (apologies to my lawyer readership, but this simply smacks of legalese).
  
  Also, what's with the sentence correction section? HOLY COW, I do not know the English language anywhere near as well as I thought I did! Although I agree that the sentence correction section adequately tests the knowledge of a student in written English, I fail to see how being a grammarian makes me a better candidate for business school. I anticipate that I will have to write a few papers - yes - but I highly doubt that the professors will be knowledgeable enough to point out grammatical mistakes such as the example questions I have read. A quick example (which I got wrong):
  
  Scoliosis, a condition when the spine curves abnormally and throws the body out of line, can cause heart and lung problems as well as physical deformity.
  (A) a condition when the spine curves abnormally and throws the body out of line
  (B) an abnormal curvature of the spine that throws the body out of line
  (C) a condition of the spine curving abnormally and in which the body is thrown out of line
  (D) where the body is thrown out of line by an abnormal curvature of the spine
  (E) a condition of an abnormal curvature of the spine throwing the body out of line
  
  The correct answer is (B), FWIW.  I'm having issues with the sentence correction because the way they "fix" the sentences aren't necessarily the way I would fix them.
  
  Finally, studying for the GMAT is time consuming!  I'm putting in 2-3 hours after work, which leaves little time for online poker.
  
  If you're interested, I am pursing Johns Hopkins University (JHU) for my MBA.
• Letters of recommendation
  One of the application requirements for admission to JHU is 2 letters of recommendation.  The site does not give any more information than that; "Two letters of recommendation."  I am toying with ideas as to who I should ask.  Choices are as follows (keeping in mind that career-wise, I'm an engineer by trade, but moving in the direction of management of both money and people over the past 4 years):
• An up-and-comer in the business side of the company; he was formerly a Program Manager, but is now advanced to working business development and capture management for the division.  He is well-respected within the company, and holds an adjunct teaching position at a local university.
  I have worked closely in the past with this person and he knows me well.
• My supervisor's supervisor, who is responsible for approx. 700+ engineers.  Clearly, he is on the engineering side of the company.  Prior to his current position, he was my immediate supervisor, responsible for perhaps 100 engineers.
  I currently work closely with this individual, and he knows me well.
• The Director of the division.  He's on the business side, well-known, a retired Colonel or Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army.  Going to him would be going after what I would consider to be "name-dropping."
  Although he and I know each other, I don't work with him and we don't know each other well.  However, asking him would be easy, as I would present it to him such that writing a letter would strengthen his core business by giving me an advanced education.
• Vice President of the division.  See arguments for the Director.  Subtract the Army experience.
• A personal friend who is CEO of a large insurance company.
  Although I have never worked directly with him in a professional environment, I have worked charity events with him through our temple, and he is a close friend of mine who knows me well.
  Using him would also be what I consider to be "name-dropping."

Lots of content here.  Sorry if this bores my regular readership; I just needed a place to get it all out onto virtual paper.

When is the losing hand not a loser?

When it's a winner and you don't realize it!

Bodog $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $23.65
UTG+2: $25.00
MP1: $23.15
MP2: $4.95
CO: $17.56
BTN: $23.40
SB: $59.11
BB: $24.75
Hero (UTG): $49.92

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is UTG with 9h Qh
Hero calls $0.25, 5 folds, BTN calls $0.25, SB calls $0.15, BB checks

Flop: ($1.00) 5h 9d Qs (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $0.75, SB calls $0.75, BB folds, Hero raises to $3.00, BTN calls $2.25, SB folds

Turn: ($7.75) 4h (2 players)
Hero bets $6.00, BTN calls $6

River: ($19.75) Kh (2 players)
Hero bets $15.00, BTN calls $14.15 all in

I was *HOPPING* mad when I saw his hand - and that he had sucked out on a 3 outter on the river.  I couldn't believe that he hit his King kicker to take the pot away from me, when I realized that the pot was being shipped my way.  I had to actually go into the hand history to realize that I had hit my backdoor flush!

Final Pot: $48.05
BTN shows Kd Qc
Hero shows 9h Qh
Hero wins $45.65
(Rake: $2.40)

What would you do? #236 - Finally, a hand!

Been running *TERRIBLY* lately, coupled with the shutdown of Full Tilt / Stars, means I've been somewhat avoiding the virtual felt. I've been working a ton, so I haven't exactly had time to grind, but for the past few nights, I've sat down to pound out a few hands. Bodog has sweetened the pot by having a promotion of up to $30 / week for 25 points / day.

Here's a hand from last Thursday:

Bodog $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players
The DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $40.57
UTG: $34.48
UTG+1: $31.65
MP: $6.05
CO: $9.15
BTN: $28.83 - 14/5 @ 7 hands; no other relevant stats
Hero (SB): $27.80

CO posts a big blind ($0.25)

Pre Flop: ($0.60) Hero is SB with 5d 6s
3 folds, CO calls $0, BTN calls $0.25, Hero calls $0.15, BB checks

Flop: ($1.00) 9c Qs 7d (4 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $0.75, CO folds, BTN calls $0.75, Hero calls $0.75

Turn: ($3.25) 8d (3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $1.00, BTN raises to $2.00, Hero calls $2, BB folds

River: ($8.25) 2c (2 players)
Hero bets $4.00, BTN raises to $20.25, Hero ???


Click to see results

Hero folds

Somewhat of a "monster" lay down; only one hand beats me here. I just can't see a bluff raise all in, and on a limp pot, should I ever be going broke in this spot? Clearly, he hit something when the 8d hits.

I opt to lead the river because I don't want him checking it back to me by my flatting his turn raise. However, I'm full aware that if he raises, it's purely for value, with a hand that likely has me beat (i.e. JT, T6). Therefore, I fold the third nuts.

Final Pot: $16.25
BTN wins $15.45
(Rake: $0.80)

This & that from the live poker tables...

I've been working a helluvalot lately - involved in the final push for a large proposal - and had 40 hours in by this past Monday.  Therefore, I decided to take the remainder of the week off, attempting to recapture the lost weekend and weekday nights.  Tuesday and Wednesday were spent doing family things; my daughter was off of school and we did errands / father-daughter things, but Thursday and Friday were completely empty of plans.

Looking at the calendar, I was able to work it out with my wife that I could go and play poker in the afternoon on both days.  Not only was it back-to-back live poker days, but it meant significant time at the tables; Thursday amounted to around 6 hours and Friday added up to around 10 hours.  I decided I would play at Charles Town on Thursday because I had a hard stop time that I needed to be home (Charles Town is around 1 hour away), and I would play Delaware Park on Friday (around 2 hours) since I had an open-ended stop time.

Having had this much consistent time at the live tables, I am beginning to feel a lot more comfortable - not only in my reads, but in what I am playing against and how to extract value.  I have assembled a few notes from this past week's experience below (they are in no particular order).

• I'm surprised that it has taken me this long, but I realized that for the most part, bet sizing has nothing to do with pot size.  Whether the pot is limped PF or raised PF, a bet of ~$20-30 means a mid-strength hand, TPTK or TPGK depending on the player.  The bet size has nothing to do with the pot size, so if there are 4 people in a limped pot, a lead of $20 into a $10 pot is "the norm."  Moreover, in the same pot, if 4 people called a PFR of $12, a $20 bet into $50 is customary.  $50 or more is getting into the territory of strong made hands / bluffs (much rarer though).
• There are a TON of fish / noobs.  If I can make a hand of top pair or better, I'm going to get paid.  Nothing new there, but I need to remember bet sizing; if I want to get people out of the pot, I should bet $50 or larger.  If I want people calling and trying to "catch up," $20-30 is adequate.
• On *FAR* more than 10 occasions, I have seen players call and not raise the 1-off nuts (i.e. top boat on a paired board where only quads beat them).  These players flip over their hands, looking for the dealer to declare them winner, or at least sort out what kind of hand they hold.  On the opposite side, I have seen these same noobs / fish call HUGE bets with nothing more than King or Queen high, thinking that their 4 flush is the winner, and having the dealer explain to them that a 5 card hand is necessary to make a flush or straight.
• There are a TON of players who will call virtually ATC no matter the sizing of the raise pre-flop.  It never ceased to amaze me that a player to my left would call my AKo 3 bet to $40 with J6s (from the SB, no less), only to hit top pair and call my $50 river bet when neither of my cards connected.  SIDE NOTE:  Why the hell can't I hit a hand against these players IN EIGHTEEN HOURS OF PLAY?!?!?!?
• There are a TON of players who simply don't understand that they aren't getting paid by me if their 4 straight or 4 flush hits.  I don't get it...  they see a 3 flush on the board and hold the Ace of whatever - then lead the river when the 4 flush hits and are surprised that I folded.  Dude, you don't need to show me the Ace - I know!  NH, sir.  You just paid $40 into a $50 pot on the turn to see that club or spade on the river.  You charge me $40 on the river to see a showdown, which I fold.  Good value.