Friday I played another decent session at the Chuck - $800+. I'm rolling along. This follows a downer of a session on Sunday, where I wound up in the hospital with abdominal pain immediately following a loss. It was determined that I have a hernia and need surgery. Fortunately, a friend of mine is an abdominal surgeon and will be getting me under the knife on Friday. Wish me luck, but that's not the point of this post:
I called a raise of $6 in the BB with 8s5s after 2 callers (MP opened & semi-tight BTN and CO called), which encouraged a host of limpers to call the nominal raise - I think we were 6 way to the flop of 8d 5c 3d and I charge the flop with a $15 donk bet, wanting to ensure that draws are charged and overpairs are emboldened to raise. In retrospect, I should have bet larger - $20-25, but at the time, I wanted to give others enough rope to hang themselves. Nevertheless, I want and encourage the action. The super loose EP overcaller calls as does the semi-tight BTN, and we see a turn 7d, completing the 3 flush and wonky straight. Looking at the 2 players, I did not get the feeling that they were chasing flushes; it just seemed as though they were trying to hit an over, or some random pair... in other words, I felt as though I still had the best hand. These players were the kinds of players to raise their draws given such a weak bet, hoping to push the better hands off and play position. Both players called the flop bet with some thought - indicating to me that they were not necessarily chasing draws like flushes. Therefore, I wanted to continue charging for whatever pair / draw they were on and this time led for $35, wanting to ensure the payment for a 4 flush. Again, in retrospect, I think I'd like this bet to be larger; there is now $15x3 + $6x6 in the pot - ~$81 - a $40-50 bet seems more appropriate. However, given the 3 flush and 3 straight already out there, and that I'm not 100% sure on my read, I want to make a cautious bet but still get value. What I'm not thinking about in this spot, though, is what happens if I get raised. It's very easy at this point to raise me off of my hand, though the following happened: the super loose guy sighed unhappily and folded. The BTN simply called again. The Qd on the river shut me down. With a 4 flush out there, I can't possibly bet, because I'm only getting called by a good diamond. On top of that, I have a nominal showdown hand and there is a chance the BTN will bluff. Bet he did, as he tossed out $45, a small bet compared to the pot, just as I had led the two prior streets. Here's where I'm getting both as a live player and a poker player:
I took ample time in wading through the hand in my head. He called the flop bet of 2 diamonds, and simply smoothed the turn bet. This guy was fairly straightforward and would likely raise his turned flush if had hit it, and my read didn't jive with the fact that he had a turned flush. Also, he would have raised the turn in order to not only get value out of his hand, but to ensure value in the unlikely event that a diamond river shut down his action. So if I assume that he didn't hit is flush on the turn, what could he call the flop bet with that had a Q+ of diamonds? Well, the Qd is out there, so he had to call the flop with a combo of Kd / x or Ad / x. He's not likely to call Kd5x, or Kd8x, but it is somewhat possible for him to call Ad8x or Ad5x, but I have to believe that he's shutting down the turn bet - though perhaps not. It's not easily in his range to make an A/X offsuit call as being a semi-tight player. Sticking with my read, there simply are more bluff / weird hands that don't hold a diamond than do have a diamond and a strong diamond (enough to bet the river and not go to showdown), so I made the call and was surprised to see Ts6s as a very odd and unexpected showdown - a floated flop, turned open-ender.
At any rate, I learned two things from the hand: there is no auto-fold at the Chuck. I should never mentally click that "fold to any bet" that I so often do. The Chuck is full of player whose hands don't entirely add up, and sniffing through the BS is tantamount to my success there. Second, I need to make my decisions slowly and deliberately, and piece together the hand and reads as they played out. I have written that before, but this is confirmation that I'm staying the course.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
There's that little something you pick up on...
Can't explain it, as I wanted to detail a few more hands from my monster session the other day. I stacked a guy on the river (which was such a bad board), but still went ahead and stacked him with QQ vs. JJ:
I pick up QQ on the button / hijack and raise to $15 which was typical for me to charge the limpers. Anything more, I get folds, but less and everybody and their brother come along. In this case, I get 5 callers and a flop of 8 6 3 - two diamonds. Checks around to me and I push out $45 into $65, hoping that the little baby pairs didn't hit their sets. Decent, semi-tight player calls in the BB and grandma pushes her remaining $~5, creating a side pot (BTW, nice call - $15 pre and get it in with $5 on the flop LOL). Turn is an off suit 8, and I rarely put a semi-tight/ okay player on A8 or suited connectors & random 8's in his range. If that's the case, he was first to call $15 in the BB and it would be somewhat uncharacteristic of him to make that kind of call with that marginal holding. I push out $85 and he takes a good long time before making the call (for some reason, I pick up on the fact that he is not on a diamond draw, not on an 8, and place his range squarely on TT, JJ - his mannerisms, his thoughtful call, his hesitation, can't put my finger on it - that squarely strikes his range in this spot; I think he's raising intending to get it in if the trips hit him) but he has around $170 behind. FWIW, I think he check / raises me on the flop or leads the flop with a set of 6's or 3's (and certainly tries to get it in on the turn given my sizable turn bet). River is a 6 of diamonds and I push out the $170 figuring if he calls $85 on the turn he'll call $170 river thinking nothing has changed by the river other than the 3 flush... I'm fairly certain he has me on a not-believing AA which is what I am "trying" to represent / he's playing level 1 poker based on the strength of his hand and his hand alone. He calls and shows JJ, precisely what I put him on, and I scoop a large side pot to grandma's $90 quadruple up when she hits her AJ diamond flush. Bummer I couldn't scoop overall, but good read.
The reg next to me could not believe that I pushed the bad board like that with QQ, and I just had that feeling that he was not drawing. By the 6 double-pairing the board, it all but eliminates the set combos down to 3's. That fact, coupled with my read of non-draw sets up the river for a shove. In retrospect, I don't know what I'm going to do if the river is a J or T - I'll be incredulous and disbelieving and I'm not quite sure whether we get it in on the river in that situation.
For what it's worth, I'm still bemoaning the lack of online poker... If I were playing online poker tournaments, I'd be much happier :-).
I pick up QQ on the button / hijack and raise to $15 which was typical for me to charge the limpers. Anything more, I get folds, but less and everybody and their brother come along. In this case, I get 5 callers and a flop of 8 6 3 - two diamonds. Checks around to me and I push out $45 into $65, hoping that the little baby pairs didn't hit their sets. Decent, semi-tight player calls in the BB and grandma pushes her remaining $~5, creating a side pot (BTW, nice call - $15 pre and get it in with $5 on the flop LOL). Turn is an off suit 8, and I rarely put a semi-tight/ okay player on A8 or suited connectors & random 8's in his range. If that's the case, he was first to call $15 in the BB and it would be somewhat uncharacteristic of him to make that kind of call with that marginal holding. I push out $85 and he takes a good long time before making the call (for some reason, I pick up on the fact that he is not on a diamond draw, not on an 8, and place his range squarely on TT, JJ - his mannerisms, his thoughtful call, his hesitation, can't put my finger on it - that squarely strikes his range in this spot; I think he's raising intending to get it in if the trips hit him) but he has around $170 behind. FWIW, I think he check / raises me on the flop or leads the flop with a set of 6's or 3's (and certainly tries to get it in on the turn given my sizable turn bet). River is a 6 of diamonds and I push out the $170 figuring if he calls $85 on the turn he'll call $170 river thinking nothing has changed by the river other than the 3 flush... I'm fairly certain he has me on a not-believing AA which is what I am "trying" to represent / he's playing level 1 poker based on the strength of his hand and his hand alone. He calls and shows JJ, precisely what I put him on, and I scoop a large side pot to grandma's $90 quadruple up when she hits her AJ diamond flush. Bummer I couldn't scoop overall, but good read.
The reg next to me could not believe that I pushed the bad board like that with QQ, and I just had that feeling that he was not drawing. By the 6 double-pairing the board, it all but eliminates the set combos down to 3's. That fact, coupled with my read of non-draw sets up the river for a shove. In retrospect, I don't know what I'm going to do if the river is a J or T - I'll be incredulous and disbelieving and I'm not quite sure whether we get it in on the river in that situation.
For what it's worth, I'm still bemoaning the lack of online poker... If I were playing online poker tournaments, I'd be much happier :-).
Friday, August 31, 2012
The Nuts! I mean, "Do you have the nuts?"
Anyone who knows me knows that I can't keep my trap shut for very long. I have the equivalent of the runs when it comes to my mouth. It makes for some interesting poker situations, to say the least. I don't know; when I sit down at the live table, I have an ADHD that suddenly turns on - like a dog who's nose is picking up every scent and hearing everything and is having sensory overload. Okay, well maybe it's not quite that bad, but I'm fidgeting in my chair, talking to anyone who will listen, trying to move the game along. I guess I'm far more comfortable with online poker because it draws my entire attention in to keep me focused on the 10-15 tables I have running at the given time.
I've noted some bad habits since I've been playing live - some perhaps downright rude - all of which I'm working on. On occasion, I know when I make a raise to get other players folded out, I am 100% sure that it will work, and have my cards ready to muck. I've played enough to know when someone calls a $6 bet on a limped pot and I raise to $20, for example, when the action folds back around to them as the last player to act and they're looking at their cards once again, it's a given that they're folding their 2 overs or at best, bottom pair. While they're re-assessing the situation, I have my cards (with my hand on them) half-way to the muck as an encouragement to move the game along, though I'm not quite sure my opponents see it the same way, but I digress from the original point: speaking too much.
Last night, as I had a record session (both at Charles Town and for live poker overall - $1300+), I raised 5 limpers with KJo in late position to $15. Welcome to Ctown - I get 3 callers and a juicy pot to boot. The flop comes a very blank - Q 8 3 rainbow. ~50 year old calling station, which I had been noticing was a calling station, but not in the way that wouldn't know when he's beat (assumption mistake FWIW), leads for $17 into the $60+ pot. He gets a decent Asian player to call and I come along, floating and thinking I'll take it away on the turn. The turn is an Ace, which is a decent card to rep - I expect a check but station leads for $16 this time into the now-ballooning pot (that kind of bet from a station says to me that he still wants value, but is clearly afraid of the Ace and tells all sorts of weakness). Asian guy folds (he saw me grab a large chip stack intending to raise (mistake because I should have trapped an additional $16) and I decide to push it to $55. Betting less on the turn than on the flop is a pretty decent sign of weakness IMO. Station quickly and thoughtlessly calls, which has me instantly checked out of the hand - 25BB lost on the turn is the mental calculation; bluff did not work; DO NOT BLUFF STATIONS DESPITE YOUR DUMB READ!!!! However, the river bails me out with a beautiful Ten (no flushes, etc.), making my backdoor straight. Emboldened and upright, station now carves out $40 of his $~180 behind and puts it across the line. Pretty big sign of strength is my read, and I stop, take my time (been working on that - need to stop acting instantly like I do online), and push out two stacks of red (1 stack of red = 20 chips x $5 = $100 x 2 stacks) putting him all-in and to a decision. Almost instantly he takes his chips and starts to move them forwards, motioning a call. As soon as I see this, I call out "Nuts!" and in the same instant, realize that he did not call, but was kinda playing around with the chips, contemplating still... Quick thinking, quick witted me, I change my exclamation to "Do you have the nuts?" but I knew it wasn't going to pass muster by anyone... the whole table knew what just happened. Well, the whole table, except one person, who was STILL considering a call. Looking around the table, and trying as best I could to stifle a laugh (the whole table was putting on their best poker faces too - shout out to the table "THANKS!") he sighs and says "Well, I guess I should call you - I call." I instantly flip the goods and he shows Ace Ten for the rivered 3 outter 2 pair. Everyone busts out laughing (except calling station) and as those internet kids say, "hilarity ensued." Well, hilarity ensued for everyone except the station, who sulked off, embarrassed, and beaten down.
I guess that's part of running well...
P.S. It's interesting when people see you make moves like raising the turn on a draw. The more attentive players at the table gave me a quizzical look, which shows they misread me in general. I think that's a good think; it balances my range of bluffs / monsters such that they are aware that they feel more comfortable calling me light in those kinds of spots. The reality is that I'm infrequently making that kind of move with bluffs; probably an 80/20 split, but it certainly serves to loosen my opponents' calling ranges.
I've noted some bad habits since I've been playing live - some perhaps downright rude - all of which I'm working on. On occasion, I know when I make a raise to get other players folded out, I am 100% sure that it will work, and have my cards ready to muck. I've played enough to know when someone calls a $6 bet on a limped pot and I raise to $20, for example, when the action folds back around to them as the last player to act and they're looking at their cards once again, it's a given that they're folding their 2 overs or at best, bottom pair. While they're re-assessing the situation, I have my cards (with my hand on them) half-way to the muck as an encouragement to move the game along, though I'm not quite sure my opponents see it the same way, but I digress from the original point: speaking too much.
Last night, as I had a record session (both at Charles Town and for live poker overall - $1300+), I raised 5 limpers with KJo in late position to $15. Welcome to Ctown - I get 3 callers and a juicy pot to boot. The flop comes a very blank - Q 8 3 rainbow. ~50 year old calling station, which I had been noticing was a calling station, but not in the way that wouldn't know when he's beat (assumption mistake FWIW), leads for $17 into the $60+ pot. He gets a decent Asian player to call and I come along, floating and thinking I'll take it away on the turn. The turn is an Ace, which is a decent card to rep - I expect a check but station leads for $16 this time into the now-ballooning pot (that kind of bet from a station says to me that he still wants value, but is clearly afraid of the Ace and tells all sorts of weakness). Asian guy folds (he saw me grab a large chip stack intending to raise (mistake because I should have trapped an additional $16) and I decide to push it to $55. Betting less on the turn than on the flop is a pretty decent sign of weakness IMO. Station quickly and thoughtlessly calls, which has me instantly checked out of the hand - 25BB lost on the turn is the mental calculation; bluff did not work; DO NOT BLUFF STATIONS DESPITE YOUR DUMB READ!!!! However, the river bails me out with a beautiful Ten (no flushes, etc.), making my backdoor straight. Emboldened and upright, station now carves out $40 of his $~180 behind and puts it across the line. Pretty big sign of strength is my read, and I stop, take my time (been working on that - need to stop acting instantly like I do online), and push out two stacks of red (1 stack of red = 20 chips x $5 = $100 x 2 stacks) putting him all-in and to a decision. Almost instantly he takes his chips and starts to move them forwards, motioning a call. As soon as I see this, I call out "Nuts!" and in the same instant, realize that he did not call, but was kinda playing around with the chips, contemplating still... Quick thinking, quick witted me, I change my exclamation to "Do you have the nuts?" but I knew it wasn't going to pass muster by anyone... the whole table knew what just happened. Well, the whole table, except one person, who was STILL considering a call. Looking around the table, and trying as best I could to stifle a laugh (the whole table was putting on their best poker faces too - shout out to the table "THANKS!") he sighs and says "Well, I guess I should call you - I call." I instantly flip the goods and he shows Ace Ten for the rivered 3 outter 2 pair. Everyone busts out laughing (except calling station) and as those internet kids say, "hilarity ensued." Well, hilarity ensued for everyone except the station, who sulked off, embarrassed, and beaten down.
I guess that's part of running well...
P.S. It's interesting when people see you make moves like raising the turn on a draw. The more attentive players at the table gave me a quizzical look, which shows they misread me in general. I think that's a good think; it balances my range of bluffs / monsters such that they are aware that they feel more comfortable calling me light in those kinds of spots. The reality is that I'm infrequently making that kind of move with bluffs; probably an 80/20 split, but it certainly serves to loosen my opponents' calling ranges.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Back in the saddle
I've been miserable at the tables lately - every session for, for the last 3 (excluding last night), I've experienced an awful suckout, culminating in a bottom set vs. top two situation at the 2/5 tables for a full buy in. Naturally, the limp pot / smooth caller responds to the check raise on the draw-heavy 2 spade 2 straight board by shoving all in for a full buy in with his top two. I sat and thought for a few seconds, disbelieving that he could limp the button pre with 8's or Jacks, but so be it; my set of 3's from the BB are likely good here. Low & behold, they're good until the river Jack sets him up for the win.
Nobody wants to hear about bad beats and bad runs - I certainly don't, but it's all I can think about going into last night. AA overpairs all in on the flop vs. QQ overpairs (turn queen, natch), backdoor flushes getting there, etc. and I've experienced losing in all manners of new ways. It sucks. Last night was different, though. I ran really well, my hands held up, and I was sitting at a table with an Austrian woman who was learning how to play. She was simply running over the table with her rivered two pairs or trips, continually either smashing the flop or getting there before the river. Moreover, she'd almost always invariably get value when she was ahead. Now I'm not saying that she was a good player - in fact, she's anything but that. She was a megafish. However, that very megafish was sitting on EASILY $1k in chips at 1/2 and raising / calling / playing seemingly randomly - but almost always getting there.
Not one to shy away from a goldmine (not to mention that she had totally tilted a heavy-set reg Asian lady), I realized upon sitting that I was at an AWESOME table, and simply needed cards. The formula for last night was simple: get cards, get paid. Unfortunately, I can't report that I had a bankroll-breakout session, but I did have a very nice session. I rarely ever got into a big pot with the Austrian, but definitely doubled through more than once off of the tilted Asian lady, which felt EXCELLENT. I love when people experience karma, but have no idea how or why. This lady was 100% trash - dressed very nicely, but the the outward appearance thin veneer could not hide the fact that this lady had zero clue about societal norms and behaviors. She would casually slow roll when the mood struck her, taking her time to stare at the board and then back at her cards before flipping over the winner. She was constantly snorting snot with her nose, lest she use a tissue like a normal human. She would continually pick her teeth - that horrible act she would at least perform with her other hand covering her mouth so that we were protected from seeing that cavern of despair. She was a downright noxious human being. It was unbelievable to me that a reg could act in such an abhorrent manner - she was also downright rude to players, particularly the newbie Austrian fish. I got all in with her twice - both with the best of it (KK vs. JJ - shoved into me), and AA vs. 99 (not quite all in, but we're $500+ deep and she's committed $350+ to the pot folding a $150 turn raise / shove by me. I'm pretty certain that she purposely miscounted the first all in for $237, giving me only $227 while counting in front of the dealer. The dealer, BTW, did not re-count her stacks as he should have. It was up to me to realize her "error" and call her on it. I did not tip the dealer for that hand.
The Austrian was a piece of work herself. I was mentally counting her chips in my head, but could not seem to get ahold of them. The table, and especially the Asian lady described above, could not figure out that she could not fold pairs. I saw them frequently try to bluff her off of her middle pairs only to find out the obvious: she doesn't fold. It was astounding that they could not figure out something as simple as this. To my pleasure, the fat Asian lady lost all of her $~900 to the Austrian. More than twice, she would walk off, steaming from the "move" that she had just made. To top things off, the Austrian was a heavy drinker - could hold her liquor - but still drinking heavily at a game where you've never played before is of questionable judgement. More than once, I caught the Austrian cheering when she dragged a nice sized pot.
Anyway, big post and rambling with not much more to say other than I had a nice session and my hands held up for the first time in a month. I figure that from an EV perspective, I'm looking at a $1500 difference. Last night was hopefully the start of my way back to earning back that equity. Only another $1300 in EV to go.... :-)
Nobody wants to hear about bad beats and bad runs - I certainly don't, but it's all I can think about going into last night. AA overpairs all in on the flop vs. QQ overpairs (turn queen, natch), backdoor flushes getting there, etc. and I've experienced losing in all manners of new ways. It sucks. Last night was different, though. I ran really well, my hands held up, and I was sitting at a table with an Austrian woman who was learning how to play. She was simply running over the table with her rivered two pairs or trips, continually either smashing the flop or getting there before the river. Moreover, she'd almost always invariably get value when she was ahead. Now I'm not saying that she was a good player - in fact, she's anything but that. She was a megafish. However, that very megafish was sitting on EASILY $1k in chips at 1/2 and raising / calling / playing seemingly randomly - but almost always getting there.
Not one to shy away from a goldmine (not to mention that she had totally tilted a heavy-set reg Asian lady), I realized upon sitting that I was at an AWESOME table, and simply needed cards. The formula for last night was simple: get cards, get paid. Unfortunately, I can't report that I had a bankroll-breakout session, but I did have a very nice session. I rarely ever got into a big pot with the Austrian, but definitely doubled through more than once off of the tilted Asian lady, which felt EXCELLENT. I love when people experience karma, but have no idea how or why. This lady was 100% trash - dressed very nicely, but the the outward appearance thin veneer could not hide the fact that this lady had zero clue about societal norms and behaviors. She would casually slow roll when the mood struck her, taking her time to stare at the board and then back at her cards before flipping over the winner. She was constantly snorting snot with her nose, lest she use a tissue like a normal human. She would continually pick her teeth - that horrible act she would at least perform with her other hand covering her mouth so that we were protected from seeing that cavern of despair. She was a downright noxious human being. It was unbelievable to me that a reg could act in such an abhorrent manner - she was also downright rude to players, particularly the newbie Austrian fish. I got all in with her twice - both with the best of it (KK vs. JJ - shoved into me), and AA vs. 99 (not quite all in, but we're $500+ deep and she's committed $350+ to the pot folding a $150 turn raise / shove by me. I'm pretty certain that she purposely miscounted the first all in for $237, giving me only $227 while counting in front of the dealer. The dealer, BTW, did not re-count her stacks as he should have. It was up to me to realize her "error" and call her on it. I did not tip the dealer for that hand.
The Austrian was a piece of work herself. I was mentally counting her chips in my head, but could not seem to get ahold of them. The table, and especially the Asian lady described above, could not figure out that she could not fold pairs. I saw them frequently try to bluff her off of her middle pairs only to find out the obvious: she doesn't fold. It was astounding that they could not figure out something as simple as this. To my pleasure, the fat Asian lady lost all of her $~900 to the Austrian. More than twice, she would walk off, steaming from the "move" that she had just made. To top things off, the Austrian was a heavy drinker - could hold her liquor - but still drinking heavily at a game where you've never played before is of questionable judgement. More than once, I caught the Austrian cheering when she dragged a nice sized pot.
Anyway, big post and rambling with not much more to say other than I had a nice session and my hands held up for the first time in a month. I figure that from an EV perspective, I'm looking at a $1500 difference. Last night was hopefully the start of my way back to earning back that equity. Only another $1300 in EV to go.... :-)
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Lego Wire
I'm a HUGE fan of The Wire. If you haven't watched it, definitely check it out. I've probably gone through the 5 seasons x ~15 episodes around 4 times now. I'm currently on Season 5 on the 5th iteration. Anyway, I found this spoof on yahoo this morning; perhaps you'll enjoy it as I did:
Friday, July 13, 2012
Frustration turns to success at the Chuck...
I went and played a little 1/2 at Charles Town as I've been wont to do on Thursday nights. It started out nicely enough; I was at a mostly loose passive table, the 2 gamblers to my right and the more passive players to my left. I built my starting stack up from $200 into $400 in short of an hour before I left for dinner with my buddy. This was the kind of night I needed, given the variance that I experienced last Saturday - KK into AA, AK into QQ, etc. Nothing irregular, mind you, but a lot of losing end on the coin flips can drive you insane. So I come back from dinner and notice that a person I haven't seen in over 5 years sitting across from me at the sitting at the table - my old Tae Kwan Doe instructor - who I had no idea knew how to play poker. Other than him, the table hadn't drastically changed.
To make a long story short: I get sucked out on with AA vs. QQ vs. my buddy, AI on the flop - turn Q natch - down $200. I get sucked out on my SB when my 72 hits two pair on a K high board against a limped AK who CANNOT lay down to a shove on the turn (my long-time buddy had KJ which was folded on the turn) and now I'm down $400.
My final $200 in play, and I watch a fish go on a massive heater and what I'd like to call "win tilt." He started by calling a $50 3bet with 33 and flopping 3's full of 6's to get it all in against the AA 3bettor and a 77 overpair who could not lay down, for a $800 pot, and continued with another hand which escapes me. He starts raising nearly every hand to $17 plus & I could sense the table start to tighten up & catch him. I caught a few pieces of him when I called a $15 bet with A4hh and flop a Q high 2 heart board. He leads for $25, I min raise to $50 and he calls. As on the turn and I lead for $75, hoping for a call and he folds. I proceed to take a few more hands, building my stack back up to over break even... prolly around $700 when the following happens:
KK in the SB and the whole table limps. I raise to $35 with my fish in sight... and it works; he calls $35 on the button with a limp. His stack has dwindled from a peak of maybe $1200 to approx. $600. The flop is 3 7c Qc and I lead the safe flop for $45, wanting him to call anything that he may have had preflop but limped (which essentially rules out most Q's and pocket pairs... yeah, he's raising a wide range but included in that range is 22+ and broadway). He flats. There's about $170 in the pot and I lead a turn 8 for $85. He calls yet again - $330 in the pot. The river is a Q and I check, hoping he'll represent the rivered trip queens. I realize fully that there's almost 100% chance that he's never limping broadway hands here; there are very few Queens in his range. But, as planned, he leads out for $175 and I think for a few seconds before snapping him off to see his 7 5o. Nice ending to a 6 buy in swing night.
Lesson learned: When I was down 2 buy ins, coupled with Saturday's performance, I took a walk for a bit to think things over and confer with the friend I had driven up with. There are two questions to ask yourself when you're running crappy: Am I at a good table? Am I playing my A game? The answer was "yes" to both of those questions & I proceeded to stack my opponents.
To make a long story short: I get sucked out on with AA vs. QQ vs. my buddy, AI on the flop - turn Q natch - down $200. I get sucked out on my SB when my 72 hits two pair on a K high board against a limped AK who CANNOT lay down to a shove on the turn (my long-time buddy had KJ which was folded on the turn) and now I'm down $400.
My final $200 in play, and I watch a fish go on a massive heater and what I'd like to call "win tilt." He started by calling a $50 3bet with 33 and flopping 3's full of 6's to get it all in against the AA 3bettor and a 77 overpair who could not lay down, for a $800 pot, and continued with another hand which escapes me. He starts raising nearly every hand to $17 plus & I could sense the table start to tighten up & catch him. I caught a few pieces of him when I called a $15 bet with A4hh and flop a Q high 2 heart board. He leads for $25, I min raise to $50 and he calls. As on the turn and I lead for $75, hoping for a call and he folds. I proceed to take a few more hands, building my stack back up to over break even... prolly around $700 when the following happens:
KK in the SB and the whole table limps. I raise to $35 with my fish in sight... and it works; he calls $35 on the button with a limp. His stack has dwindled from a peak of maybe $1200 to approx. $600. The flop is 3 7c Qc and I lead the safe flop for $45, wanting him to call anything that he may have had preflop but limped (which essentially rules out most Q's and pocket pairs... yeah, he's raising a wide range but included in that range is 22+ and broadway). He flats. There's about $170 in the pot and I lead a turn 8 for $85. He calls yet again - $330 in the pot. The river is a Q and I check, hoping he'll represent the rivered trip queens. I realize fully that there's almost 100% chance that he's never limping broadway hands here; there are very few Queens in his range. But, as planned, he leads out for $175 and I think for a few seconds before snapping him off to see his 7 5o. Nice ending to a 6 buy in swing night.
Lesson learned: When I was down 2 buy ins, coupled with Saturday's performance, I took a walk for a bit to think things over and confer with the friend I had driven up with. There are two questions to ask yourself when you're running crappy: Am I at a good table? Am I playing my A game? The answer was "yes" to both of those questions & I proceeded to stack my opponents.
Friday, June 29, 2012
What goes down must go up....
Short post: I had a very very decent session at the 1-2 Ctown tables last night. I was dealt Aces 4 times within 6 hours, got dealt 2 sets and a nice sprinkling of flushes and straights. I got paid on nearly all of my hands, and more than overcame the run bad I experienced the other night at Ctown. My table was absolutely TERRIBLE - 2 competent regs and the rest totally loose passive players who would fit or fold the flop - a great setup.
Charles Town opened their newly relocated poker room on Wednesday, so I was playing in it on the second day that it was open. What a difference! They situated it downstairs, steps away from the table games, with plenty of slot machines within eye shot. The location is SO MUCH better than before; there were a TON of walk-ins from slots / tables, which is precisely what I want as a player. The result was a ton of action without any tough decisions. They kept the old poker room upstairs for tournaments - 30 tables - while the new poker room holds 26 tables or thereabout. Needless to say, I was extremely happy with the new setup and the results.
Charles Town opened their newly relocated poker room on Wednesday, so I was playing in it on the second day that it was open. What a difference! They situated it downstairs, steps away from the table games, with plenty of slot machines within eye shot. The location is SO MUCH better than before; there were a TON of walk-ins from slots / tables, which is precisely what I want as a player. The result was a ton of action without any tough decisions. They kept the old poker room upstairs for tournaments - 30 tables - while the new poker room holds 26 tables or thereabout. Needless to say, I was extremely happy with the new setup and the results.
Monday, June 25, 2012
2-5 Recap & a taste of Caesars AC poker room
This post is a few days late; I've been busy going from one vacation to the next. I was in Ocean City at the beach last week, while this past weekend, my family & I made our way up to Long Island, NY for a birthday party for my wife's aunt who turned 80 years old. We stopped at AC along the way up to NY, and I was able to get in a 5 hour session at Caesars (their bad beat jackpot was north of $500k, and they pay out all of the Harrah's / Caesars properties when someone hits it).
2-5 @ Charles Town: Not much to report here. I lost around $50, short stacking, trying to find a hand to shove with good equity. I made a limp / raise plays when the money in the pot got decent (i.e. limp - limp - limp - raise - call - call I raise 3-4x and get folds), but other than that, in the 2 hours I played, it was fold fold fold for me. I sat down at the 1-2 table, realizing that I wanted to play a little poker rather than sit & wait for a hand with a 40BB stack. I sat down and ran into two hands where I was favorite and got crushed (one was an OESFD + overcard, AI on the flop & instasnapped by a donkey with nothing more than top pair, and one was AI on the turn with AA vs. TP improved to top two on the riv). This was the first time I had ever run through my pocket bank roll at a casino, and could not rebuy as I had expended all of my money (of course I could have hit the ATM, but it was late and I didn't really want to do that).
I think the 2-5 game played a little more aggressively than the 1-2 game; I saw a lot more check / raises and slow played medium strength hands; I'm not really sure what to make of that. I suppose the players give each other a bit more respect for their folding capabilities and allow each other to "catch up" a little bit, but there was a certain trickiness to the element of play. I was able to read each player fairly accurately, though - just as other players were able to do to each other. It remains to be seen whether I'll go back to play 2-5 again; it may become an every-so-often type of thing as opposed to a regular thing.
1-2 @ Caesars / Atlantic City: Wow. This was a calling station fest. I didn't really hit any hands here either, though I did walk away +$50. I was able to run a play or two (check / raise 2 players on an A high board on the turn where I knew both scared of Aces up; had a OES draw). These players were the antithesis of Charles Town players - totally readable and ABC. I saw one player limp everything, hit 2nd set (Jacks) on an Ace high board and check / call a river bet vs. bottom set (no draws on the board, just the second stone nuts), limp KK and get paid by the same player, and hit all manners of odd straights and flushes but never bet / raise and get paid the minimum. He walked, or I believe was in a wheelchair, so rolled away with +$400 or so. It is maddening to watch donkeys luckbox their way into hands and then not get paid. Give me those hands! Regardless, I did not hit the bad beat, nor did anyone at the other properties. Oh well.
2-5 @ Charles Town: Not much to report here. I lost around $50, short stacking, trying to find a hand to shove with good equity. I made a limp / raise plays when the money in the pot got decent (i.e. limp - limp - limp - raise - call - call I raise 3-4x and get folds), but other than that, in the 2 hours I played, it was fold fold fold for me. I sat down at the 1-2 table, realizing that I wanted to play a little poker rather than sit & wait for a hand with a 40BB stack. I sat down and ran into two hands where I was favorite and got crushed (one was an OESFD + overcard, AI on the flop & instasnapped by a donkey with nothing more than top pair, and one was AI on the turn with AA vs. TP improved to top two on the riv). This was the first time I had ever run through my pocket bank roll at a casino, and could not rebuy as I had expended all of my money (of course I could have hit the ATM, but it was late and I didn't really want to do that).
I think the 2-5 game played a little more aggressively than the 1-2 game; I saw a lot more check / raises and slow played medium strength hands; I'm not really sure what to make of that. I suppose the players give each other a bit more respect for their folding capabilities and allow each other to "catch up" a little bit, but there was a certain trickiness to the element of play. I was able to read each player fairly accurately, though - just as other players were able to do to each other. It remains to be seen whether I'll go back to play 2-5 again; it may become an every-so-often type of thing as opposed to a regular thing.
1-2 @ Caesars / Atlantic City: Wow. This was a calling station fest. I didn't really hit any hands here either, though I did walk away +$50. I was able to run a play or two (check / raise 2 players on an A high board on the turn where I knew both scared of Aces up; had a OES draw). These players were the antithesis of Charles Town players - totally readable and ABC. I saw one player limp everything, hit 2nd set (Jacks) on an Ace high board and check / call a river bet vs. bottom set (no draws on the board, just the second stone nuts), limp KK and get paid by the same player, and hit all manners of odd straights and flushes but never bet / raise and get paid the minimum. He walked, or I believe was in a wheelchair, so rolled away with +$400 or so. It is maddening to watch donkeys luckbox their way into hands and then not get paid. Give me those hands! Regardless, I did not hit the bad beat, nor did anyone at the other properties. Oh well.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Shotting 2-5 @ CTown
I'm getting ready to take a shot at the 2/5 game at Charles Town. From my limited research throughout the web, I've concluded that 10x BB per hour is considered "crushing the game." While my averages are not quite $20 / hr at 1/2, they're within ~10% of that mark. With a decent sample size under my belt, and my recent work getting me back in the black for Ctown, I think I owe it to myself to try it out. My plan is to short stack the game, buying in for $200, to get a feel for how different it plays. I intend to look for spots to 3-bet shove, playing the spoiler of short stacker, but mainly want to see what it's like. The lure of $50 / hr is calling my name. I'm ready to answer the call.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Finally... Profitsville...
I am proud to announce that I am finally a break-even player at Charles Town! It has been 33 sessions - almost 2 years in the making - but I got there! I knew I would eventually, and knew I was close going into last night's session (~$450), but I'm officially done. Time to move on. It just goes to show how much I've won at Delaware Park in the [limited] 10 sessions I've played there. The DP winnings have more than made up for the losses at Ctown, and now I can look forward to profitsville at Ctown as well.
A few hands to share from last night's session:
First hand: I hold KQo in the hijack, facing 4 limpers. I am coming in for a raise with this hand, nearly always, from this position. However, I look to my left (as is good practice and any live poker should almost *ALWAYS* be looking to their left to see what the action ahead of them will be doing) and see the #1 see (BTN) with chips in hand, ready to raise the pot. From the looks of it, he will be raising to $15, as is typical for this particular player - loves to position raise, decent player, lays down when he's beat and bets when he's ahead. I decide that instead of coming in for the raise myself, I will let him raise and get trappy with the numerous over callers, as they are wont to do at CTRS. As expected, he picks up 2 [I believe, if memory serves me] callers for the $15 raise, and I face a decision for the ~$54 pot. After taking a look at the 2 limp / over callers, and finally peeking at seat #1 (I'm in seat #10, so this is no easy task given the dealer's positioning), I decide to keep with the original plan and limp / raise to $50 even. Watching #1's genuine discomfort, he motions to call and then looks at his cards for a few moments. After some deliberation, he folds his hand, as do the over-callers. I have played my first non-traditional live hand, and won - read the situation for exactly what it was, executed the move and was rewarded perfectly.
Second hand:
UTG with JJ - I again, decide to get trappy. I know full well that if I raise to ~$11, I'm going to get a host of callers where, with a hand that's going to flop overcards somewhere near 45% of the time, I'm going to be miserable playing a large pot from out of position. I decide, given the table dynamics (nearly every hand is raised and/or 3bet), to limp / raise as I did with the KQ hand. To make such a move from UTG says a much stronger hand than from the other positions, but I'm happy taking a flop with 1 or 2 people instead of the 20 that would normally call the $11 raise. As if scripted, seat #1 (same dude as above) raises to $12 and picks up 2 callers to the BB, an ABC player who, though a nice guy, tried to act and portray a more experienced player than he actually was. He decides to 3bet to $45 (a bit small for my tastes, but a sizable 3bet which forces me to reconsider my plans). People are folding out of turn, assuming I had made a move, while I sat and thought about the hand and the player. In fact, everyone folded back to the 3bettor and I got a ton of information as to odds (if I'm calling this bet, I'm assuming I'm set mining, and will need about 3 callers + the 3bettor in order to make it immediately profitable). Now I'm faced with an even easier decision, whereby I'm likely behind and getting terrible odds (20% of the effective stacks). I fold and ask him to show - he shows AA and I pat myself on the back for losing $2 :-).
Third hand:
Simply a whining hand but evidence of the BS that goes on at CT. Late in the night, I decide to raise TT from middle position after 1 limper; I toss in $13 and get 4 or 5 callers. Flop comes Kd 7s 3s - pretty decent for my hand. SB leads for $30 into the ~$60 and I'm faced with a decision (my worst annoyance as described above; out of position with non top pair holding). There are 3 players ahead of me yet to act, with a flush draw board and an overcard. There are PLENTY of kings in each of the caller's ranges: 2 calling stations and an aggro decent player. The 2 stations do as they do: call, while the aggro folds his BTN. They trio go to the turn and see the 8c; brick city. The SB continues to bet $50 and both call (one particularlybad terrible station is short and calls his $45 remaining stack). The river is an offsuit 2 and it checks through. I'm going to begrudge my crappy luck at CTRS and show the hands: Ks5s for the SB, KJ for the better of the 2 calling stations and the particularly bad calling station: K2 for the semi-scoop and KJ wins the $10 side pot. WTF? Case K? I have 50%+ equity pre-flop! Facepalm. I just love the super bad station's comment afterwards: I knew I was beat there but I had to call. "I knew I was beat but had to call." LOL. Oh yeah, then he changed his story to: "I felt like the 2 was coming... I knew it was coming." Sure... 2 outter on the river... too bad I couldn't capture any of your money which was clearly on fire.
That's it. I'm improving at live poker. I'm definitely utilizing my reads. I find myself acting more boldly, trusting my instinct, and watching players more intently. I love the limp / raise move for nothing more than reading the situation. I'm trying to think out of the box more often, instead of just trying to peddle nuts. I believe there are a bunch of spots where I can be profitable if only I take advantage of them.
A few hands to share from last night's session:
First hand: I hold KQo in the hijack, facing 4 limpers. I am coming in for a raise with this hand, nearly always, from this position. However, I look to my left (as is good practice and any live poker should almost *ALWAYS* be looking to their left to see what the action ahead of them will be doing) and see the #1 see (BTN) with chips in hand, ready to raise the pot. From the looks of it, he will be raising to $15, as is typical for this particular player - loves to position raise, decent player, lays down when he's beat and bets when he's ahead. I decide that instead of coming in for the raise myself, I will let him raise and get trappy with the numerous over callers, as they are wont to do at CTRS. As expected, he picks up 2 [I believe, if memory serves me] callers for the $15 raise, and I face a decision for the ~$54 pot. After taking a look at the 2 limp / over callers, and finally peeking at seat #1 (I'm in seat #10, so this is no easy task given the dealer's positioning), I decide to keep with the original plan and limp / raise to $50 even. Watching #1's genuine discomfort, he motions to call and then looks at his cards for a few moments. After some deliberation, he folds his hand, as do the over-callers. I have played my first non-traditional live hand, and won - read the situation for exactly what it was, executed the move and was rewarded perfectly.
Second hand:
UTG with JJ - I again, decide to get trappy. I know full well that if I raise to ~$11, I'm going to get a host of callers where, with a hand that's going to flop overcards somewhere near 45% of the time, I'm going to be miserable playing a large pot from out of position. I decide, given the table dynamics (nearly every hand is raised and/or 3bet), to limp / raise as I did with the KQ hand. To make such a move from UTG says a much stronger hand than from the other positions, but I'm happy taking a flop with 1 or 2 people instead of the 20 that would normally call the $11 raise. As if scripted, seat #1 (same dude as above) raises to $12 and picks up 2 callers to the BB, an ABC player who, though a nice guy, tried to act and portray a more experienced player than he actually was. He decides to 3bet to $45 (a bit small for my tastes, but a sizable 3bet which forces me to reconsider my plans). People are folding out of turn, assuming I had made a move, while I sat and thought about the hand and the player. In fact, everyone folded back to the 3bettor and I got a ton of information as to odds (if I'm calling this bet, I'm assuming I'm set mining, and will need about 3 callers + the 3bettor in order to make it immediately profitable). Now I'm faced with an even easier decision, whereby I'm likely behind and getting terrible odds (20% of the effective stacks). I fold and ask him to show - he shows AA and I pat myself on the back for losing $2 :-).
Third hand:
Simply a whining hand but evidence of the BS that goes on at CT. Late in the night, I decide to raise TT from middle position after 1 limper; I toss in $13 and get 4 or 5 callers. Flop comes Kd 7s 3s - pretty decent for my hand. SB leads for $30 into the ~$60 and I'm faced with a decision (my worst annoyance as described above; out of position with non top pair holding). There are 3 players ahead of me yet to act, with a flush draw board and an overcard. There are PLENTY of kings in each of the caller's ranges: 2 calling stations and an aggro decent player. The 2 stations do as they do: call, while the aggro folds his BTN. They trio go to the turn and see the 8c; brick city. The SB continues to bet $50 and both call (one particularly
That's it. I'm improving at live poker. I'm definitely utilizing my reads. I find myself acting more boldly, trusting my instinct, and watching players more intently. I love the limp / raise move for nothing more than reading the situation. I'm trying to think out of the box more often, instead of just trying to peddle nuts. I believe there are a bunch of spots where I can be profitable if only I take advantage of them.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Growing confidence and angle shooting from the prior post
Growing confidence
I'm definitely becoming more confident at the table - both with my reads and my play. I want to share a little HH with you where I called with the sole intention of taking away the pot on a later street (a move that I don't ordinarily feel comfortable with in live poker):6 limpers (including me in the UTG+1) face a $15 raise from the BB (table had turned passive; more limps / less raises). I call his raise (he's a competent, by-the-book player), along with 3 (loose passive SB and BTN) others with JdTd. We see a flop of A 9s 4s. He cbets $17 into the $~65 pot and I call, wanting to see what the BTN would do. My plans are upset when the BTN folds but the loose passive SB calls and we see a turn card of Ac. SB checks and BB continues, but bets $5 into the growing pot. I sit and think for a few moments - and realize that SB is likely leading all Aces in this spot, as she's out of position and realizes that if she turned trips, BB will likely check through giving us all a free river look. With BB leading so small, he's so polarized towards pocket pairs scared of the trip Aces, but wants to give the small bet means strong impression (i.e. I dare you to raise me, bro). Realizing the situation - SB is likely drawing or nipped a small piece of the flop - and BB likely has JJ or TT - I raise it to $35. SB instafolds, as does BB, but shows QQ.
Point is, I'm feeling very comfortable making this kind of move. I'm definitely improving as a live player. I will be posting a WWYD later in the week - as soon as I have time to get to it.
Angle shooting
Clearly, I'm conflicted by my prior post, A quick hand... and an update. I've been thinking about it, talking with a few poker buddies, and racking my brain as to whether it was ethical to verbalize a false hand in order to induce a call and get an extra bet on the river. I'm still unsure whether it's ethical or not - I'm not sure where my ethical line is drawn on this issue. On the one hand, if I'd had this happen to me, I'm not even thinking twice about it... I consider it a good play to get the intended action. However, the reality is that I'm likely not allowing my opponent's act to influence my decision. I'm not so concerned about the hand itself; I won the pot, I'm not giving it back to the guy - move on mentally. However, the question still remains whether this is acceptable behavior in the future.
A friend pointed out to me that this is the kind of action that gets someone to wait for you outside, and on some level, I agree with that thought. He pointed out that the issue is the verbalization of the false tell - not the actual act. One can engage in false physical tells - well within the ethical rules, but verbalizing a false statement under a false pretense (i.e. "thinking the guy was making the call") is what makes this issue a gray area.
I am still considering the action - this is not something I'd ever do among friends at a home game, clearly. My intent is to maximize my wins at the casino, not be Mr. Nice Guy. When I'm playing among friends, my intent is have a good time, and enjoy the company.
Ultimately, though, I think my conundrum is based on how others perceive me. Everything in life has a price tag - is my reputation worth $50 in this instance? Clearly, no. I do not want to be known as an angle shooter or cheater in any game whatsoever. Although I don't view my actions as angle shooting, I truly wonder how some of the more experienced live players perceive my action. Is this acceptable at the poker table filled with strangers I'd likely never see again? I can't assume that because I'm okay with the action - both on the receiving end and the giving end - that others will be. Thoughts?
Thursday, May 3, 2012
A quick hand... and an update
In the post- Black Friday world, I am continuing to struggle along - learning more about live poker than I ever thought I would, and actually improving. I'm around $400 away from break-even at Charles Town, but more importantly, I'm far more comfortable with playing there. I've found the nights that I should be going (where the players are less inclined to act aggressively, and are mostly passive fish), and the nights to avoid (Friday / Saturday) where the players are aggro and less fishy. Finally, I've been learning how to take advantage of reads and comprehend what players' bet sizing indicates.
On the point of taking advantage of situations, I have a quick hand to share which I feel as though I played very well:
I'm in the SB with Kd6d and I complete to see a 8-way flop at 1/2. The flop comes A 6 2 monotone diamonds - I flopped the nuts. Being the Panicky Pete that I am, I am ultra-concerned about a 4th diamond on the turn and want to get value when and where I can. I lead for $15 into the $16 pot and get one caller, a middle-aged gentleman who has shown the willingness to call bets light and bluff. All else fold :-(. Naturally, a 4th diamond falls on the turn and I feign disappointment. I check and he bets for me - $25 I think. I think for awhile and call, trying to represent a weak Ace or weak diamond. A 5th diamond rivers and the board shows a flush. I snap bet $50 into the growing pot, fearing that the villain, uncomfortable with the turn of events, will check through the river. Clearly, this surprises him - the speed at which I bet the river board flush card - and the bet in the first place. He hadn't expected that bet and I knew it prior to betting the river. As expected, he took his time in considering the situation. He counted out a few chips and went back to his cards picking them up as if to muck. I "interpreted" his move as a call- he did take a long time to act - and claimed, "I play the board... errr..." and quickly shut up and looked down in "embarrassment." This action on my part to set his wheels in motion - spinning ever more quickly... he even said, exasperated, to me, "I don't know what you were doing - whether that was intentional or not..." In my mind, he's going to fold anyway - at least his actions said fold. I figured that by blurting that out and acting embarrassed, I would at least get a higher percentage of calls than allowing him to fold quietly. Finally, he worked up the gall to make the call and I instantly showed him the bad news. He was *NOT* happy and exclaimed "What a dick!" True - it was a dick move, but I love the move and will definitely look for an opportunity to do it again!
I'm in the SB with Kd6d and I complete to see a 8-way flop at 1/2. The flop comes A 6 2 monotone diamonds - I flopped the nuts. Being the Panicky Pete that I am, I am ultra-concerned about a 4th diamond on the turn and want to get value when and where I can. I lead for $15 into the $16 pot and get one caller, a middle-aged gentleman who has shown the willingness to call bets light and bluff. All else fold :-(. Naturally, a 4th diamond falls on the turn and I feign disappointment. I check and he bets for me - $25 I think. I think for awhile and call, trying to represent a weak Ace or weak diamond. A 5th diamond rivers and the board shows a flush. I snap bet $50 into the growing pot, fearing that the villain, uncomfortable with the turn of events, will check through the river. Clearly, this surprises him - the speed at which I bet the river board flush card - and the bet in the first place. He hadn't expected that bet and I knew it prior to betting the river. As expected, he took his time in considering the situation. He counted out a few chips and went back to his cards picking them up as if to muck. I "interpreted" his move as a call- he did take a long time to act - and claimed, "I play the board... errr..." and quickly shut up and looked down in "embarrassment." This action on my part to set his wheels in motion - spinning ever more quickly... he even said, exasperated, to me, "I don't know what you were doing - whether that was intentional or not..." In my mind, he's going to fold anyway - at least his actions said fold. I figured that by blurting that out and acting embarrassed, I would at least get a higher percentage of calls than allowing him to fold quietly. Finally, he worked up the gall to make the call and I instantly showed him the bad news. He was *NOT* happy and exclaimed "What a dick!" True - it was a dick move, but I love the move and will definitely look for an opportunity to do it again!
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