A quick brag post...

I played Thursday night 1/3 at the 'Shoe and then was able to come back and play a session today, Friday.  Both sessions were very successful.  One hand was a particular standout as one of my opponents so poorly played their hand that I was just stunned.  I guess I have so many hands under my belt at this point that nothing should surprise me, but still, I'm always amazed...

A little background: 65-75 year old gentleman, always well dressed, likes to splash around a bit and does not have a fold button.  Usually, if he calls for $3 and someone raises, so long as there's money in the pot, he's calling the raise.  I've hit him up a number of times where he'll limp and I raise to between $20-25 eliciting a call followed by a check / fold.

A bit more background on our fish of the day:  I played with him last night where the board turned a 4 flush with me holding the Ace.  I lead out a monotone flop for $10 or something (limped pot) and he called from one of the blinds.  Turn completed my flush and I led out for another $10 or so - he c/r'ed me to $30 and I thought for a bit --- called.  River was another flush card so the board was a flush.  It was something like Q 2 3 6 9 so a straight flush was possible with the 4 5, buy I wasn't too worried.  Any who, our friendly scamp leads out for $100 with like $90 behind.  I raise all in and then he starts talking about how I have the Ace and how bad he runs, etc.  He ends up calling and I stack him.

Fast forward to today: I raise A Q hh from EP.  I get called in about 5 spots and we see a flop of... ho hum...  K J 3 - all hearts.  Easy game, I know...  Well, old man in SB checks, BB leads for $35 and my read is precisely that he flopped a flush too.  Action is on me and I waffle between check and raise - the last thing I want to see on the turn is another heart so he can be scared away, after all.  I come to my senses, though, thinking about the pending 4 other players yet to act and decide to call the $35.  Alas, it folds around to our lovable loser in the SB who decides to execute an ill-timed check / raise... except he c/r's all in for about $170.  BB thinks for about 5 seconds and verbalizes a call.  The whole time, I'm thinking: "I want him to think that I am pondering a call, but all I'm really think'in about it Vegas and the fuckin' Mirage."

Action to me and I have the BB covered (he has around $350).  Is there any point of screwing around with so much in the middle already - he's committed almost half his stack and the last thing I want is the board to pair or another heart to drop?  I do my best Matt Damon and verbalize all in.  BB is now in a panic... he wasn't thinking I had already flopped the flush, and went through the stages of grief right before my very eyes in the span of about 10 seconds: surprise, then disbelief, then finally acceptance with the call!  Well, what do you think old man holds?  Go on!  Take a guess - what do old men have when the c/r all in?  AA of course - drawing nearly dead to runner runner with 1 Ace and / or running trips on the board.  Needless to say, my hand holds for the 98% favorite and I scoop a nice pot!

Odds & ends - nothing much to write about

In no order of importance, only items that I'm remembering:

• Had my biggest session ever last night - a session on the shorter side, but very profitable!
• Went through a streak of 9 winning sessions in a row (longest streak ever) from around my trip to Vegas through mid-August.
• Lost 1 or 2 sessions after that streak, and then had a streak of 7 winning sessions.
• It's pretty cool that seemingly no matter what happens with poker, there's always regression to the mean:
• 62% of my sessions are winning sessions - 2 plus 2 reports ~60% of sessions should be winners.
• My hourly rate at 1/2 is ~$19/hr, my hourly rate at 1/3 is ~$33/hr - 2 plus 2 reports ~10x BB / hr is handily beating the game.
• The hourly rates for 1/2 include a terrible run at Maryland Live! where I average a measly $1.49 / hr.
• I've put in more hours this year than any other year, with less sessions than the prior years' maximums.  In other words, I'm averaging more hours per session.  If I keep to the pace I'm on right now, I should end the year with the most sessions eve
• It's pretty cool (or pathetic depending on which side of the coin you're on) that we play and win at a game that requires no formal degree nor education, no resume nor any job interview, yet we can make more per hour than a skilled laborer or degree'd career job.
• It's a nice fallback plan that if the economy goes to the dumper, there's always gambling and poker!
• I've been thinking about moving back into the 2/5 games, yet the 1/3 games are so juicy it's tough to justify an additional $200 on the table.
• I met a few regs that I've seen around the room since I've been playing at the 'Shoe, yet never sat down at the same table with them.  Nice folks!
• I think I got labeled a 1/3 donk because I called 3 streets + checked a river against an aggro 2/5 player who: PF raised $25 (called with 99), bet $35 on a Ts 7s 2 board (I called), bet $75 on a 5 turn (call) and checked the J river - I was shown AQo.  I was checking for value the whole way and debated betting the river, figuring she could potentially call A high as a bluff catcher against my missed spade draw, but in the end, couldn't find the fortitude to bet it (it would have been for naught since she claimed she would have folded any bet there).

Finally, 3 hand histories for thought:

•  This one is from last night and deals with a mega aggro (maniac) at 1/3:
  
  He's at my table for around 14 hands and has straddled at every chance.  He's on my left, so that's nice so far as straddles are concerned, but he's totally unpredictable, and within the 8 hands, he's shown QQ and KK as well as a ton of bluffs and non-value hands.  Outside of me, he's running the table over with his $300 buy in because he's forcing folds out of discomfort from the rest of them - his stack is up to around $360.  I don't remember the details, but I took a pot off him by raising one of his straddles and cbetting which nets him back down to $320 to start the hand (I have him easily covered as this is my all time winningest session).
  
  He's straddling the BTN for $8 and I'm in the hijack with KQo.  Not normally a hand I'd limp a straddle (that's a raise IMO, particularly from late position like that), but I suspect he'll raise on queue with 3 other limpers and perceived dead money.  Well, this Yogi may be smarter than the average bear since he checks through the option - perhaps thinking one of the limpers is laying in wait to limp / raise him.
  
  Well, all that said, we see a flop of K 8 2 - rainbow.  All check to the aggro who leads for $20 into the $40 pot.  He gets 2 calls and action is to me - $100 in the middle now.  I'm debating thinning the herd:
  1.  I don't know what kinds of hands the callers have, so I'm not going to be happy with any turn card - particularly a non-King board pairing.
  2.  I think Mr. Aggro will take my move as an indicator that I'm trying to "make a move on him."  He's somewhat scared of me - if nothing else he respects me, and wouldn't expect me to check / raise such a dry board.  After all, "what am I scared of?"
  3.  I don't want to raise too much here; I want action because I'm likely way ahead here - Mr. Aggro and the rest of the field are drawing to 25% hands most likely, since there aren't any draws and very few backdoors (mainly T9s).  I want value out of at least one person so Mr. Aggro is my target.
  
  $100 is too much to check / raise, from a limped pot - as I think it's too dissuasive for seeing another card if I'm looking for my 2 pair / 3 of a kind outs...  Min raise ($40) is a snap call from all parties, so that's too little.  Therefore, I decide on between $60-70 - I check / raise to $65.  Mr. Aggro snaps it off and lets me know that he "hopes I have better than just 1 pair, because I'm gonna need it!"  Turn is an off suit 4 completing the rainbow.
  
  I debate going for a check / raise once again, but just go with the most direct route: I lead for $100 and he folds, showing 2 5 and lecturing me that the 4 missed him by a 'pip and how lucky I was...  Critical thought to the hand: Should I be trying for a c/r again, or should I have bet less?  More?  Thought at the time was he can call a c/r to $65 and the pot now has close to $200 - half pot on the turn should be a snap call, no?  Guess not...
• A few nights ago, again 1/3:
  
  I'm dealt 88h as my first hand, facing a $15 raise from an early position raiser.  No data on the guy except he's in his late 30's / early 40's.  I call along with one full time player who's always at the 'Shoe.
  
  Flop comes As 4h 5h - EP cbets $20.  It seems like such a weak cbet - to the tune of nuts or air.  $20 into $45?  Weak sauce.  I call to take one off and take it away on the turn, and the reg to my left folds.
  
  Turn is an 8s.  EP now checks to me.  It's annoying to hit a nut card on the turn and now "value bet" instead of bluff take it away as planned.  $85 in the pot and I know he's not calling any bet unless he turned a flush draw / flopped a flush draw.  Unless he's extremely tricky (unlikely for 1/3), he's signaled the classic "give up" on the turn by checking the A high board.  How do you get value out of a board that you planned to bluff but now want value?  I felt compelled to bet here, but I don't know if I did the right thing; perhaps checking nets a small value bet on the river - but I bet $40 and he snap folded.
• Last night, 1/3 - pressing up against my session maximums (winningest session ever):
  
  Not entirely happy with this hand, though I don't know if I'm going to take a lesson learned.  I'm effectively running the table over by combinations of value and bluffs.  $11 cbets on limped pots (non- Ace high, in position) seem to continually take it down.  These dogs won't hunt without top pair minimum.  Good for me.  Limp more often, bet more often.
  
  I'm dealt 66 from mid position with a 50's woman (weak / tight) who limped to my right.  I raise to $16 and get a 2-3 callers.  Moves around to a short stack who shoves for $43.  Lady to my right thinks for a while and just calls.
  
  Action to me:
  
  Lady has flat called twice now and betting is re-opened.  I want to capture dead money and get heads up with the all in.  I think the lady is always raising QQ+, most of the time JJ+.  I can mostly exclude that from her range.  The part I'm not thinking about is that she's super frustrated with taking a beating the whole night.  I want her to fold, so I put $100 on top for $143 to go which folds out everyone except for the woman (and the all-in).  She thinks for a very long time before sighing and finally shoves her remaining $170 total.  I snap call and am shown 88 (lady) vs. J9.  88 holds to scoop a nice sized pot.  I gave her too much credit that she could fold her hand - she had showed a prior fold for $20 on the turn with a flopped trip Aces, deuce kicker against another player (with $50 in front of her), she had continually folded out of fear of kicker problems, etc.
  
  Again, don't know if there's a lesson learned here.  Flatting $3, then $43?  Perhaps I need to expand her range even though her range was exactly what I suspected it would be...?

Alright - too long of a post after not posting for about a month...  Hope you enjoy :-)

Graduate school acceptance!

I got in!  Go me!

Still here...

I'm a little rusty on the poker front; I've been studying for the GMAT and putting a most of my time into the college application process (essays, etc.).  I finally took the GMAT this past Saturday (scored greater than the necessary minimum for entrance to JHU - FTW!) and was able to put a bit of time into online poker games.  I guess I shook the rust off fairly quickly, because I put a death grip on the Bodog 25NL ballers.  I pushed my bankroll up 8+ buy ins in 2 somewhat short sessions.

The upswing is a huge relief to me because in limited time (approx. 4400 hands over the past month), I've been on such a terrible downswing.  I hope that this recent upswing will translate to live poker, as I'd like to get in a few live sessions at a B&M poker room.  We'll see; I'd like to head over to Charles Town with Heffmike, if we can both agree on a date / time.  Anyway, brag for the day below:

Of course, after posting entry, I fully expect to run like poop again.  See the "Rules of Run Good."

While the sky is falling...

I finally achieve leader board for the day on Bodog.

The DOJ sucks.  I'm out around $3k in working capital, which, fortunately, is not the end of the world.  However, I feel truly sorry for the players out there who depend on this game to make ends meet, or those who had a majority of their net worth frozen.  In this economy, why literally turn people out on the streets by eliminating self employed jobs?

I really don't know what to think; I fail to see how the action by our government makes our world a better place.  I'm a taxpayer who plays poker online as well as live; is that wrong or immoral?  In the eyes of the federal government, I guess it is.

Life will go on; I have faith that everyone will get their money back - perhaps I'm a helpless optimist.  It just sucks that I and many others have put many hours into this game, achieving bonuses, racking up points, learning how to become better players, etc., and right now, it feels like it was all for naught.  I'm sure this fight isn't over yet, so stay tuned...

Winner winner, chicken dinner

Well, it's done.  I'd like to thank my wife, children, the academy, my mom...  Count me among those who are a winning player at 100NL.  A combination of running good and playing even better has allowed me to overcome what I felt like was an insurmountable deficit of 12 buy ins at that level prior to the beginning of the month.  Tonight marks the completion of the final step in the journey to become a true poker degenerate :-).  Of note, not only did I overcome the remaining $-57 from yesterday's 100NL session, but I smashed today's session with a 4.5 buy in win.  I am marginal (1.75 PTBB/100) winning 100NL reg, which I expect will continue to increase over time.

All told, I think the biggest difference in my play from a month or so ago and now is that I have concentrated on my blue line, otherwise known as "Won money at Showdown, W$SD."  Prior to this month, I have never had a positive blue line - let alone a break-even blue line.  In fact, it has always been a linear downward slope - in direct contrast to my red line, otherwise known as "Won money without Showdown."  It's nice to look at my monthly graph and see both lines converge towards similar points - with my blue line, in fact, overcoming my red line!  To be honest, being the aggressive player I am, I never thought I'd see the day.  I can't credit all of it to spectacular play, though; I've been getting hit by the deck, my hands are holding when I'm all in, and I'm table selecting like a fiend.  I am making a point to work on note taking, so I am slowly marking all of the decent / good regulars, which leaves the non-noted and noted "green / fish" players as my targets for tables.  Finally, I've reduced my tables to 6-7 instead of the usual 9.  I'm having more time to make solid decisions and less pressure to act quickly.  All of the above amounts to a win rate of nearly 9PTBB/100 - ~16 buy ins for the month so far.

An excerpt from my PTR page, winnings & win rate by stake

Going forward, the only thing I would like to change is time.  I'd like to be able to eventually spend more time at the virtual felt to see if I can truly make a consistent coin at this game.  I'm just shy of 23 hours in 13 days, with 9100 hands completed.  9100 hands is what some regs do in a single day!  I've been looking at the top grinder board on PTR - the top regs at 100NL earn $10K+ per month!  I need to get back on track and pump up the volume.  I need to quit my day job.

I leave you with my September graph thus far:

Disturbing for me to look at.  Quite a turnaround.

Sorry for the brag; I'm proud of the fact that I'm no longer a losing 100NL player.  Go me!

Running good, playing good, feeling good

First: Happy Rosh Hashanah to my Hebes out there - you know who you are, my tribal members!

I haven't posted graphs / stats / win rates on myself in a LONG time...  However, I feel compelled to post this up, as I'm proud of the fact that I'm working off my "debt" at 100NL...  At my peak, I was $-1,200 at 100NL.  Now, I stand at $-570 (see circled).  I can't wait to post the official break-even player post!  Admittedly, I'm running about a buy-in better than EV, but that has been fluctuating back & forth to positive / negative.

The coaching / leakfinder session helped SO MUCH!  It didn't feel like it at the time, but I have definitely improved my game based on suggestions from Mpethy & SplitSuit.  I've also improved my confidence.  I highly recommend both of their services.

What would you do? #160 - Facing river bet holding Ace high

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $100.65
BTN: $45.25
Hero (SB): $50.25 - I have 11 hands at this table, but I do have history with this player.  He knows I'm a perpetual blind stealer.
BB: $50.00 - 14/11 / 26% steal / 6.3% 3bet / 2.4 AF / 288 hands
UTG: $53.15
MP: $16.75

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with Ad 5d
4 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, BB raises to $4.50, Hero calls $3
This guy has shown in the past that he's not afraid to defend 3bets and will defend light at that...  Therefore, I call the 3bet OOP and we see a flop.

Flop: ($9.00) 6c 7s 7d (2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks
Is a PP ever *NOT* leading this flop, with position?  Against a known blind stealer?  I immediately drop his range down to complete BS, or broadway cards.

Turn: ($9.00) 4h (2 players)
Hero bets $6, BB calls $6
Great card; I turn an open ender.

River: ($21.00) Ts (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $10, Hero calls $10
I have Ace high.  I'm not calling very often at all in this spot - perhaps not often enough.  However, he represents such weakness on the river that I simply cannot put him on a hand that beats me.  I think even AK, AQ leads that flop; it's such a dry flop.  Therefore, I call behind.

Final Pot: $41.00
Hero shows Ad 5d (a pair of Sevens)
BB shows 8s Js (a pair of Sevens)
Hero wins $38.95
(Rake: $2.05)

First 100NL session of the new month - WIN!

I just finished up my first "solid" 100NL session of August.  I played 637 hands, and won $70.  This is the first time that I've overcome running bad to make a nice profit there.  I started off about 40 hands in - turning a nut flush and getting all in ($75 behind at the time) on the turn - only to see a paired board and the flopped set take the pot on the river.  Ouchie!  I immediately got sucked out again, and was facing a $150 deficit from early play.  I am proud of the fact that I overcame that deficit to run 5PTBB/100!  Booyah!  I simply played very well.  Good poker is the solution to running bad!

Sorry for the brag; I'm just proud that I'm working off (in the right direction) the huge blemish I have on my PTR stats.

I expect to continue 100NL play (if only I can overcome the poor variance).  :-)

Here's a question for everyone, though: Who knows what the "$ (EV adjusted)" stat is on the Holdem Manager reports represents?  It shows that I ran +$195 in EV, but I have a terribly hard time believing that.  I never sucked out, rarely got all in, and when I did get all in I seemed to get sucked out on.  Why would my HEM show a positive EV for the session - and of 2 buy ins, no less?  WTF?

2010-08-07 EV Graph

When is a poker face not a poker face?

Somewhat embarrassed to mention this, but I got a mention on the Freakononmics blog today.  I read Poker Grump's post on Research on the Best Poker Face, and started investigating down the link chain.  I sent them an email encouraging them to check it out.  BTW, the reason I'm embarrassed is because Grump didn't get credit.  Sorry Grump.

Check out my new-found fame: 
When Is a Poker Face Not a Poker Face?


Here's what I sent Levitt:
I know that Steven Levitt is [or used to be] big into poker - online and otherwise.  I am a part-time professional player - thus I keep up on blogs and such.  I came across this study today and figured you may be interested in blogging about it:

http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2010/07/poker_face_science.html
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0011663

Edit:  I guess the non-mention of Grump is okay, because Lifehacker didn't give me credit: Use a Slight Smile Instead of a Poker Face.  Just kidding; two wrongs don't make a right :-).

Just lovin' expressed weakness

Had a nice +3.5 buy in night last night.  Always nice to win money - even better when you're starting to run terribly and then you go on a decent upswing.

If you're interested in hearing what a degenerate dedicated poker player I am, the power at my house has been out since Sunday's storms hit our area.  Yeah, we're one of the homes affected by the "violent DC storms."  Don't worry; we're okay - I'm sure you all were very concerned :-).  Regardless, I'm anxious because I couldn't play online Sunday night - we had a live game (which I couldn't host due to power outages).

Why is this important?  Over at Full Tilt in the online world, we're in the middle of the mid year bonus cycle for Iron Man and I'm trying to recover the $500 that I have waiting for me in bonus money.  See, the more days I miss playing online, the deeper hole I dig for myself in getting those FPPs and releasing the bonus by the 14th of August.  I worked my way down to needing ~150 FPPs for the remaining time, but I want to get the bonus done early and out of the way.

Well, I'm such a dedicated poker player that I went out, left my wife at home (literally in the dark), and found free wifi over at the University of Maryland Shady Grove campus, and got my points in.  I'm such a bad husband - but I figured, what else are we going to do?  We're both going to just fall asleep on the couch trying to fight closing our eyes in the dark talking to each other anyway...  why not make the evening a little productive, right?

Note:  That's exactly the state I found Mrs. Meister in when I got home; asleep and dazed on the couch. 

In other news, I think live play has had the exact intended effect I hoped it would on Mrs. Meister.  The way we work things in our house is that I am the primary financial planner and she takes care of the ancillary activities like vacations, purchases, etc.  She keeps a separate account from our main bank account, so that she knows her exact budget and can plan accordingly.  To me, I couldn't care less how much is in there, because it only affects me when she plans a vacation for our family.  All I know is that there is no spending that comes out of our main account, so I'm blissfully ignorant.  Well, back when we went up to AC at the beginning of July, I made a deal with her that she could stake me the money out of her "special" accounts and I would give her any winnings I earned.  The contrary would hold true; i.e. if I lost, she'd be on the hook for the difference.  For the past few live sessions, though, she's only seen her account grow - and as a result, I think Mrs. Meister has been coming around a TON lately - she's becoming a supportive poker player's wife.  For the first time, she actually suggested that I go & play this Friday over in Delaware...  I think I got her hooked on the new income stream :-).

Anyway, I leave you with this hand.  I think it was a pretty easy hand to play, but I like the way I played it:

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $50.00
MP2: $86.30
CO: $16.00
BTN: $43.70
SB: $66.75 - 18/16 / 54% steal / 9.0% 3bet / 5.3 AF / 81% cbet flop / 230 hands
BB: $75.95
UTG: $48.70
Hero (UTG+1): $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with 4s 4d
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.75, MP1 calls $1.75, 3 folds, SB raises to $7.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $5.75, 1 fold
With a 9% 3bet, there's no sense in 4betting with a weak hand.  However, I'm not going to let him blow me off of my hand, PF.  I think we're 50/50 here.

Flop: ($17.25) Ah 8c 2s (2 players)
SB bets $5.50, Hero calls $5.50
This is pretty standard, but a very *WEAK* bet here.  HUGE WEAKNESS!  Either he's playing weak to rep strong, or he just wreaks of weakness.

Turn: ($28.25) 5d (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks
I'm not sure whether this is to induce a bluff bet here so he can c/r me off the hand, so I check behind.  This is altogether weird.

River: ($28.25) Kc (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $14.75, SB requests TIME, SB folds
I think by this point, I put him on a hand that beats me, but I've played the part of "afraid of the Ace" long enough.  I want to bet to make sure that he folds and not show down a crappy small pair that beats me.

Final Pot: $28.25
Hero wins $26.85
(Rake: $1.40)

Guess his hand!

Let's see if you can guess his hand.  MP1 is a player who hasn't raised since the Carter administration!  (For those who don't know, that's all the way back into the late 1970's!)

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $102.35
UTG: $37.05
UTG+1: $50.00
UTG+2: $20.50
MP1: $44.85 - 18/0/ 0% 3bet / 0% steal / 3.0 AF - 448 hands
MP2: $147.05
CO: $50.75
BTN: $71.45
SB: $44.60

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with Jc Kc
3 folds, MP1 raises to $1.50, 4 folds, Hero calls $1
So what does he have?  I give you one guess!

I call with the full knowledge of what I'm dealing with; I could flop many different ways to the winner and I am pretty sure I will get paid.

Flop: ($3.25) 2c 7c 2s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $2.50, Hero calls $2.50
So I'm 199% certain that he does not have a set.

Turn: ($8.25) 3c (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $2.50, Hero raises to $11, MP1 calls $8.50
Now how to extract maximum moneys for my turned flush.  I don't think he's going to fold my raise here.  I can get away from the hand if an Ace hits.  Correction:  I am ABSOLUTELY getting away from the hand if an Ace hits.

River: ($30.25) Kh (2 players)
Hero bets $14, MP1 calls $14
I got a little scared - I wanted value on the river here, but I am afraid of a rivered boat (perhaps my read is wrong and he has KK).  I still want value because he's always checking through the river given my turn raise.  This is half blocker bet, half value bet.  If he raises, I fold.

Final Pot: $58.25
Hero shows Jc Kc (a flush, King high)
MP1 mucks As Ac
Hero wins $55.35
(Rake: $2.90)

Back to back stacks, Jack!

This happened in back to back hands at the same table...  I felt bad [only a little] for the first, but the second...  LOL!

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $56.90
Hero (BTN): $81.05
SB: $50.00 - 2 hands on villain.  I'm usually giving no credit to villains with no history.
BB: $63.30
UTG: $30.00
UTG+1: $52.25
UTG+2: $46.75
MP1: $50.75
MP2: $48.90

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with 7h 7d
3 folds, MP1 calls $0.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $2.50, SB raises to $8, 2 folds, Hero calls $5.50

Flop: ($17.00) 6c 5h 2c (2 players)
SB bets $9, Hero calls $9
I call the flop because I'm still not convinced he has a hand - I'm still putting him on AK or the like.

Turn: ($35.00) 7c (2 players)
SB bets $33 all in, Hero calls $33
Obviously I'm folding here if I don't hit my set.  By his bet, I'm now a believer that he's legit.

River: ($101.00) 2d (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $101.00
Hero shows 7h 7d (a full house, Sevens full of Twos)
SB shows As Ah (two pair, Aces and Twos)
Hero wins $98.00
(Rake: $3.00)


But this hand is inexcusable... (different player, same table):
Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $56.90
Hero (CO): $129.05
BTN: $50.00
SB: $62.80
BB: $30.00
UTG: $52.25
UTG+1: $46.75
UTG+2: $50.25
MP1: $48.90

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with As Ts
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $1.75, 2 folds, Hero calls $1.75, BTN calls $1.75, 2 folds

Flop: ($6.00) 3h Tc Th (3 players)
UTG+2 bets $6, Hero calls $6, BTN folds

Turn: ($18.00) Jd (2 players)
UTG+2 bets $18, Hero raises to $50.40, UTG+2 calls $24.50 all in

River: ($103.00) 9h (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $103.00
Hero shows As Ts (three of a kind, Tens)
UTG+2 shows Ac Ah (two pair, Aces and Tens)
Hero wins $100.00
(Rake: $3.00)

UTG+2 told me "You're not getting any more of my money!" and promptly got up.  LOL!!!

#12 on today's PTR top winner list!

It's been awhile since I checked PTR's top winners list for all sites, but I had a pretty decent day today.  The short of it is that since I'm going to AC tomorrow, I wanted to get a solid start on my mid-year Iron Man bonus.  I have 10,000 FTPs to generate throughout the next 45 days - at least 2 of which will be absorbed by this trip.  Therefore, I took today and grinded 6 hours worth of poker.  The results were very good to say the least...  Good enough for #12 on all sites at my stakes!  Not too shabby...

(I blocked out my name for privacy-sake.)

Nothing better than the smell of a good bluff in the morning...

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $50.00 - 18 / 17 / 49% steal / 7.1% 3bet / 6.3 Aggression Factor @ 354 hands
Hero (BB): $50.75
UTG: $50.00
UTG+1: $52.55
UTG+2: $33.20
MP1: $54.20 - 35 / 22 / 50% steal / 12.5% 3bet @ 23 hands
MP2: $50.00
CO: $32.75
BTN: $27.70

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with 7s 7c
3 folds, MP1 calls $0.50, 2 folds, BTN calls $0.50, SB raises to $3, Hero calls $2.50, MP1 calls $2.50, 1 fold
With full stacks, and from MP1 has shown (assume that he'll come along, which he does), I'm getting a pretty decent price to set mine.

Flop: ($9.50) Jc Td 4s (3 players)
SB requests TIME, SB bets $6.50, Hero calls $6.50, MP1 folds
I would be *VERY* surprised to see SB raising, out of position, with AJ, AT.  At this point, I believe his range to be weighted towards AK, AQ, QQ-AA.  

Turn: ($22.50) Jh (2 players)
SB requests TIME, SB checks, Hero bets $11, SB calls $11
Great card.  I just turned my hand into a bluff, repping turned trips... in the event that my pocket pair is no good.

River: ($44.50) Ts (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $29.50, SB folds
What else can I do but shove here?  I want to exert maximum pressure on him to fold, and the less I bet than all in gives him more of a chance of calling.

I love successful bluffs.

Final Pot: $44.50
Hero wins $42.30
(Rake: $2.20)