What would you do? #120 - Facing 3 flush river shove

Have you ever been scared of poker?  I'm somewhat frightened of the cards; the turn card, the river card, the flop, etc.  I think I'm broken as a poker player. For the last month and a half, the cards have totally gotten inside of my head. It seems as though whatever I do, it's the opposite of what I should have done. As a point of reference, without my luckbox cash in the BBT5, I would have had a HUGE loss of a month last month. Going from having never had a losing month to having a 20+ buy-in losing month is pretty tough to wrap my head around

I think I'm finally coming out of this terrible rut; I *KNOW* I'm playing far better than I was a month or so ago, though I'm still not making great reads. I'm seriously questioning myself constantly, because, yet again, my opponents always seem to be at the VERY TOP of their ranges.  EVERY TIME.  I had to quit playing Rush poker because of that very fact; if I have a "monster," then they have a bigger monster.  And when I have the nuts, they fold.  I wasn't getting paid when I had it, and I was certainly paying off when they had it.

Today's WWYD is an example of a misread (perhaps).  What is my problem here?  What do you think?

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

BTN: $31.50
SB: $50.00
BB: $70.20 - 9 / 7 / 11% steal / 1.2% 3bet / 4.7 aggression factor @ 282 hands
Hero (UTG): $95.30
UTG+1: $65.90
UTG+2: $60.40
MP1: $23.45
MP2: $54.30
CO: $31.90

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG with As Ad
Hero calls $0.50, 6 folds, SB calls $0.25, BB raises to $2, Hero raises to $7, 1 fold, BB calls $5
At this point, what range do you put a 9 / 7 who just called a limp / raise from UTG?

Flop: ($14.50) 3h Th 5c (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $7, BB calls $7
Probably too light here.  However, my thought is that I want to keep stringing BB along.  I don't put him on a draw at all and don't want to lose his business.  I'm kinda expecting a check / raise here and I'm happy to stack off with this flop.

Turn: ($28.50) Td (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $25, BB calls $25
He's being about as passive as a player can be.  The second Ten is a great card for me; only one combo of quads, unless he can't fold 55 or 33 pre-flop, which I doubt.  Obviously, he has QQ, KK.

River: ($78.50) 2h (2 players)
BB bets $31.20 all in, Hero ???
Is there even a question at this point?  I'm committed, right?

Hero calls $31.20


Final Pot: $140.90
BB shows Ah 8h (a flush, Ace high)
Hero mucks As Ad
BB wins $137.90
(Rake: $3.00)

So is this a top-of-the-range type hand for me, or am I terrible?  I really question myself after crap like this, because a month-and-a-half of this seems to be really getting to me.  I've been biting my tongue with posting hands like this, because I've been trying to be ignorant about it - saying to myself "standard cooler."  However, over 40K hands and 1.5 months - how many "standard coolers" can I have with it still being "standard?"  Am I doing something wrong?

It turns out, that for this session, despite this hand, I had my first "significant" win in a long time of 1.5 buy ins.  This is how poker messes with your head: I'm now considering a 1.5 buy in win as "significant."  It used to be that 1.5 buy ins was considered noise.

Watch hilarity ensue at Phil Hellmuth's expense!

Ripped from Pokerati.

Cross-blog pimpage; Play the McLovin' the kids tournament for charity

I'm not sure whether I'll have the time to play, but I certainly will attempt to do so.  I've been incredibly busy with family and work lately.

The details:

Date: June 16
Time: 9PM CDT (Same time as Mookie)
It will actually be running in place of the Mookie. BDR will be broadcasting it.
Charity: Ronald McDonald House
$5 + $5(Tournament, charity)
Password: vegas1
Tournament#: 164273435

What would you do? #119 - 5bet shove re-steal

BTW - I've been posting full ring, standard poker lately. I've moved away from Rush.

I love this hand... I am rarely doing this type of move, but it's quite effective. I'm 99% sure he's 4betting light. He's well aware that I know how to steal, and he's seen me 3bet, but not completely out of line.

If I recall, he stopped stealing after this one...

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

CO: $50.00 - 18/14 / 43% steal / 6% 3bet / 4.5 Aggression Factor @ 151 hands
BTN: $50.50
Hero (SB): $55.10
BB: $50.75
UTG: $51.00
UTG+1: $50.00
MP1: $63.70
MP2: $66.35

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with Tc Ah
4 folds, CO requests TIME, CO raises to $1.75, 1 fold, Hero raises to $5.50, BB raises to $13, 1 fold, Hero raises to $55.10 all in, 1 fold

Final Pot: $27.75
Hero wins $27.75
(Rake: $-0.00)

What would you do? #118 - Facing river shove with the second nut straight

Funny... This comes on the heals of a previous post...

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

SB: $59.10 - 25 / 13 / 25% steal @ 16 hands
Hero (BB): $52.60
UTG: $29.65
UTG+1: $50.00
MP1: $51.35
MP2: $28.30
CO: $65.25
BTN: $48.65

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with 7s 9h
2 folds, MP1 raises to $1.50, MP2 calls $1.50, 2 folds, SB calls $1.25, Hero calls $1
I call given the players seeing the flop.

Flop: ($6.00) 4c 8s 6s (4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP1 checks, MP2 checks

Turn: ($6.00) 7d (4 players)
SB bets $4, Hero calls $4, MP1 folds, MP2 folds

River: ($14.00) 5h (2 players)
SB bets $53.60 all in, Hero ???
So this is a slightly different than the other post, in that I do have the second nut straight.  What would you do?


Click to see results

Hero calls $47.10 all in

Final Pot: $108.20
SB shows 9d Td (a straight, Ten high)
Hero mucks 7s 9h
SB wins $105.20
(Rake: $3.00)

What would you do? #117 - Overpair facing flop shove and flop call

Clear fold, right?  Just surprised at the results:

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (UTG): $66.05
UTG+1: $25.35 - 20/7 / 25% steal / 7.7% 3bet / 41 hands
MP1: $25.00
MP2: $35.25
CO: $20.00
BTN: $25.00 - 0/0 / 0% 3bet / 8 hands
SB: $24.50
BB: $25.35

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is UTG with Qd Qs
Hero raises to $0.85, UTG+1 calls $0.85, 3 folds, BTN calls $0.85, 2 folds
I hate being out of position with 2 flatters, but we go the flop 3-way...

Flop: ($2.90) 5d 6c 2s (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $1.75, BTN raises to $4, Hero calls $4, UTG+1 raises to $24.50 all in, BTN calls $20.15 all in, Hero ???


Click to see results

Hero folds
Weird action, but not enough to fold to BTN's raise.  When UTG+1 [overbets for value LOL] shoves, I don't think anyone can call it, can they?  What hands do you put him on?


I'm thinking set over set situation, not even factoring in the remote possibility of what the guy has!  This has to be a set of deuces vs. a set of fives or something like that!

Turn: ($55.20) Jc (2 players - 2 are all in)

River: ($55.20) Kd (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $55.20
UTG+1 shows 4h 3c (a straight, Deuce to Six) - WTF?  Over call [first in] with 43o?  LOL!!!
BTN shows Td Ts (a pair of Tens)
UTG+1 wins $52.45
(Rake: $2.75)

LOL

I'm not seeing too many players stack off like this anymore.  Apparently, there are a few floating around though...

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $23.79
MP2: $25.26
CO: $27.13
BTN: $24.12
SB: $35.17
Hero (BB): $25.00
UTG: $34.25
UTG+1: $25.35
UTG+2: $17.62

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with Qc Kc
7 folds, SB calls $0.15, Hero raises to $0.75, SB calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.50) 8c Tc Ah (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1.25, SB calls $1.25

Turn: ($4.00) 7c (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2, SB raises to $11, Hero raises to $23 all in, SB calls $12

River: ($50.00) Th (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $50.00
SB shows 2h Js (a pair of Tens) - No club, just an inside straight draw on the turn...
Hero shows Qc Kc (a flush, King high)
Hero wins $47.50
(Rake: $2.50)

Those poor little 25NL players...

Note that we're 300BB+ deep...

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $17.52
UTG: $112.87
UTG+1: $32.33
UTG+2: $11.90
MP1: $33.17
MP2: $29.80
Hero (CO): $79.49
BTN: $58.88
SB: $24.95

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is CO with Js Kc
UTG calls $0.25, 2 folds, MP1 calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.50, 3 folds, UTG calls $1.25, MP1 calls $1.25

Flop: ($4.85) 9h Qd 7s (3 players)
UTG bets $0.25, MP1 calls $0.25, Hero raises to $3.75, UTG calls $3.50, MP1 folds
What a bullsh*t bet out on the flop.  I want to take down the pot if possible.  If nothing else, I want to pare down the field.

Turn: ($12.60) Td (2 players)
UTG bets $5, Hero raises to $74.24 all in, UTG calls $69.24
Overbet for value, anyone?  He actually thought about the action for a few seconds before calling. 

River: ($161.08) 6h (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $161.08
UTG shows Tc Qh (two pair, Queens and Tens)
Hero shows Js Kc (a straight, King high)
Hero wins $158.08
(Rake: $3.00)

LOL hand

An amusing hand from a few days ago...  I left the chat text in bold:

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $45.75
MP1: $25.53
MP2: $5.70
CO: $26.09
Hero (BTN): $54.42
SB: $7.78
BB: $29.80
UTG: $32.20
UTG+1: $33.65

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with 8c Ac
UTG raises to $0.75, 1 fold, UTG+2 calls $0.75, 2 folds, CO raises to $2.50, Hero calls $2.50, 2 folds, UTG calls $1.75, UTG+2 calls $1.75

Flop: ($10.35) 4d 7h 5s (4 players)
UTG checks,
UTG: here fishies
UTG+2 checks, CO checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($10.35) 5c (4 players)
UTG bets $0.75, UTG+2 folds, CO folds, Hero raises to $5.25, UTG calls $4.50

River: ($20.85) 7d (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero requests TIME, Hero bets $15.75, UTG requests TIME,
UTG: FU comes to mind
UTG: fn idiots on this site
UTG folds

Final Pot: $20.85
Hero wins $19.81
(Rake: $1.04)

What would you do?#116 - Overbet for value

 I came across an interesting spot the other day where I held the nuts, but was trying to figure out the maximum payoff for the river bet.

Full Tilt Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (CO): $37.44
BTN: $25.10
SB: $59.91
BB: $8.50
UTG: $12.01
UTG+1: $25.00
UTG+2: $59.29
MP1: $27.28
MP2: $7.29

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is CO with 7d 6s
5 folds, Hero raises to $0.85, BTN calls $0.85, 2 folds

Flop: ($2.05) 5d 4s Ac (2 players)
Hero bets $1.25, BTN calls $1.25

Turn: ($4.55) 3d (2 players)
Hero bets $2.50, BTN calls $2.50
I get there, but I'm pretty sure BTN is not showing up with a deuce.  However, at this point, I'm putting him on a strong Ace, and I don't believe he's going away.  However, I don't think I'm going to be able to get stacks in.

River: ($9.55) 2h (2 players)
Hero bets $32.84 all in, BTN calls $20.50 all in
What is the best bet to make here?  From my opponent's mind, we're playing the board.  I've bet all the way through; in his eyes, I have a strong Ace as well.  I thought about what will pay the most here and came to the conclusion that a shove very much looks like a frustration bet where I realize the he just sucked out on me.  I can represent a ton of hands that have been relegated to a split.  Therefore, I go from a pot size of $10 to leading all-in ($33).

Final Pot: $50.55
Hero shows 7d 6s (a straight, Seven high)
BTN mucks 9s As
Hero wins $48.03
(Rake: $2.52)

WTF Hand - set vs. set vs. 2 pair and straight flush over straight flush

I played a bit over at PokerStars and ran into some interesting hands last night...

I can't believe this hand plays out this way, but a flopped top vs. bottom set vs. two pair are no good against the power of runner-runner.  All three players chop this one up due to a running straight.  How much does this suck?
Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $32.30
Hero (BTN): $28.25
SB: $38.50
BB: $25.00
UTG: $11.30
UTG+1: $25.00
UTG+2: $21.90
MP1: $25.00
MP2: $25.15

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with Td 5c
4 folds, MP2 calls $0.25, 2 folds, SB raises to $1, BB calls $0.75, MP2 calls $0.75

Flop: ($3.00) Jh Qs 9d (3 players)
SB bets $1.50, BB raises to $4.50, MP2 calls $4.50, SB raises to $8.50, BB raises to $24 all in, MP2 calls $19.50, SB raises to $37.50 all in, MP2 calls $0.15 all in

Turn: ($75.30) Kh (3 players - 3 are all in)

River: ($75.30) Ts (3 players - 3 are all in)

Final Pot: $75.30
SB shows Jc Js (a straight, Nine to King)
BB shows 9h 9c (a straight, Nine to King)
MP2 shows Qh Jd (a straight, Nine to King)
SB wins $0.15
MP2 wins $0.15
SB wins $24.00
BB wins $24.00
MP2 wins $24.00
(Rake: $3.00)

And then this doozy; a straight flush over straight flush.  I actually kinda knew it prior to showdown; the board was too coordinated:

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 Pot Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $30.55
Hero (UTG+1): $27.80
MP1: $7.65
MP2: $14.25
CO: $25.80
BTN: $8.90
SB: $19.00
BB: $6.55

MP2 posts a big blind ($0.25)

Pre Flop: ($0.60) Hero is UTG+1 with 3c 7h
3 folds, MP2 checks, 1 fold, BTN calls $0.25, SB calls $0.15, BB checks

Flop: ($1.00) 5s 4s 3s (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, MP2 bets $0.75, BTN calls $0.75, SB folds, BB folds

Turn: ($2.50) 6s (2 players)
MP2 bets $2, BTN calls $2

River: ($6.50) 9s (2 players)
MP2 bets $6.20, BTN calls $5.90 all in

Final Pot: $18.30
MP2 shows 2s 4d (a straight flush, Deuce to Six)
BTN shows 7c 7s (a straight flush, Three to Seven)
BTN wins $17.40
(Rake: $0.90)

What would you do?#114 - A lot of pre-flop action

I've given up on Rush for the time being.  Here's the question, though...  Despite the  actual hand result, are you making this call?  I'm wondering whether this is a bad long-term fold...

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

UTG+1: $60.95
UTG+2: $50.00
MP1: $90.45 - 30/11 / 13% steal / 17.6% 3bet @ 55 hands
MP2: $17.40 - 7/7 / 12% steal / 3.2% 3bet @ 295 hands
CO: $135.60 - 30/9 / 13% steal / 6.7% 3bet @ 49 hands
BTN: $50.00 - 18/11 / 44% steal / 4.2% 3bet @ 249 hands
SB: $51.00
Hero (BB): $62.80
UTG: $16.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with Th Td
2 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.50, MP1 raises to $2.50, MP2 raises to $4.50, CO calls $4.50, 4 folds, MP1 calls $2

Flop: ($14.75) 6h 9c 6d (3 players)
MP1 checks, MP2 bets $12.90 all in, CO calls $12.90, MP1 folds

Turn: ($40.55) Jh (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($40.55) 6c (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $40.55
MP2 shows As Ac (a full house, Sixes full of Aces)
CO shows Ks Kc (a full house, Sixes full of Kings)
MP2 wins $38.55
(Rake: $2.00)