UNCOMFORTABLE

Self confidence is a huge asset to have with you, when you’re playing, whereas cockiness is usually the first step on the way to self-destructing. I just added up my rolls on all the sites I play and was dumbfounded to discover that I’m in the red, since my last blog update. I knew I hadn’t been making a killing lately, but still – a loss? – damn. Time for a reality check.

As I write this, I’ve requested tournament statistics from stars and am reviewing stats from other sites as well – I seriously need to find out whether my loss was the result of poor play, variance or bad beats. I’m happy to fess up to any shortcomings, once I get all the facts – yet I hope I won’t have to.

This is a compounded overview of my latest results:

MTTs
Number played: 13
Average buy-in: $ 21.84
Cashed: 4 (31%)
Result: $ -155.33

180-person $4.40 sitngos
Number played: 17
Cashed: 2 (12%)
Result: $ -8.16

Other Sitngos
Number played: 10
Average buy-in: $ 15.20
Cashed: 3 (30%)
Result: $ 13.60

Pretty discouraging results, if I have to say so myself. MTTs will always be fickle in the sense that, even though I’m cashing in a substantial number of them, if that elusive big score keeps escaping me, all of my minimum cashes will do nothing but delay me on the road to becoming a pauper.
The 180-person-sitngos are new to me. The above 17 are literally the first 17 I’ve ever played and I feel I might need to make some adjustments, if I want to do well. I’m beginning to think the buy-in-amount skewed my perception of the opposition and perhaps I need to start giving them more credit for hands, when I’m in marginal situation.
As for the remaining sitngos, the profit gives me an ROI of 9% which is lower than the figure I aspire to, but overall I suppose I can’t complain – especially in the context of my other “body of work”.

As promised, I’ve gone through all of my tournaments and looked at especially my final hands (or the ones in which I lost the bulk of my stack). A large percentage is actually bad-beats and coin-flips/marginal +EV spots, which was a relief. Not all though. I’ll take you through a few of them here and give you my comments along the way.


$27.50 MTT Freezeout - VARIANCE
I’m in the BB with Ad4s (stack 5827) and the villain is UTG+1 (stack 7942). Blinds 100/200. Folds to UTG+1 who limps, folds to HJ who limps as well and fold to me – I check. 3 players:

(Pot 700) FLOP: 4c – Td – 3d
I think I’m best here A LOT and I fire 450 at the flop. UTG+1 calls and HJ folds.

(Pot 1600) TURN: 4d
I don’t see how I’m getting away from this hand now, considering the tournament I’m in, the structure and the time-spent/reward ratio it offers.

I decide that if UTG+1 has anything other than a flush, I’ll probably lose him if I bet and I still feel there’s a good chance I’m ahead here, so I check to him. He bets 2000 fairly quickly. Hmmm… from experience I think he has a flush in this spot very often, which I was kind of hoping he didn’t.

I use my time bank and consider my outs. The time bank running down is actually borderline stressful, to the extent that I’m having trouble counting all of my outs. I figure I’ve got so many though; that a shove is sufficiently +EV, if there’s only a 10% chance he doesn’t have a flush here. I shove for 5177 total and he snap-calls to show Qd2d (limped from UTG+1 – LOL). I don’t manage to hit one of my – what I now know was – 17 outs and I go out in 734th place.

When I move in, he’s obviously got me, so I can’t consider this a bad beat. I still think I have to be happy with the hand though and after having reviewed it now, I’ve decided, I am. The 4d is a great card to bluff at and although my gut told me I was beat, it has been wrong before (!). (*shrug*)


$11 MTT re-buy – POOR PLAY
On the button, I pick up Qh7h (stack 8910). Villain in the hand is the SB (stack 14647). Blinds 250/500/a60. 9-handed, it folds to me on the button, I raise to 1550, the SB calls and the BB folds.

(Pot 4140) FLOP: Jc – 2c – 4c
Villain checks to me and mysteriously I decide to bet 3000 (more than my standard, 2750 – again inexplicably) – meaning I’ve now committed 51% of my stack with Qh7h. Villain calls.

(Pot 10140) TURN: Qc
Villain checks again. What do I do? Wait for it… I move all-in. For fucks sake, who was I trying to outsmart here – myself? Must have been (!) – seeing as I’m the ONLY one who’s paranoid enough to buy the elaborate hoax I was trying to sell here! Villain snaps with AcQh and I’m out in 643rd place (1904 to start).

No further comments necessary. Completely avoidable.


$5.50 MTT re-buy – GOOD PLAY
Started out 645 for this tourney and at the beginning of this hand, we’re well into the money with approximately 36 left. I’m in the BB with Ah5h (stack 48731) and villain is the HJ (stack 93021) with blinds at 600/1200/a125. There’s a bit of history with villain (aggressive and semi-loose) as I’ve 3-bet him twice – one of which he folded pre-flop and the other where he folded to my c-bet on the flop. Also, the hand that preceded this saw me raising 77 from UTG and going up against the BB (BIG stack), which ended with me picking off a bluff on a 2d-Kd-2h-Ks-6d board.

It folds to the HJ who raises to 3600, folds to me – I call.

(Pot 8925) FLOP: 7h – 5d – 9s
I decide to lead at this flop for some of the obvious reasons. Seems like a flop a player in the blinds would’ve hit, villain has been pretty loose and in case I was behind to AK-AT, I now have the best hand. I do however also see villain as a tricky player and don’t expect him to give up on the flop. I lead for 5500.

Villain ponders this for a little bit and minimum-raises me. I actually like my hand a lot now. Apart from a flopped straight, I don’t see what hands minimum-raise here. Some players might do this with a set, but most often they raise more to protect against draws. On the other hand, if I move all-in now, I’m turning my hand into a bluff, as I’m basically trying to sell the story of ME flopping a straight. I just call.

(Pot 30925) TURN: 7c
This is a good card for me. I still like my hand, but again it doesn’t make sense for me to move in, when the board pairs like that. So, I check. Almost immediately, villain bets 7200. ??? I think this is him playing the player, with complete disregard for his own hand. It’s real situational poker. Basically a game of chicken and this is no time to flinch. NOW, was the time to sell my story. I moved all-in for 34006 total. He tanked (could’ve been fake-tanked) and finally mucked his hand. Table dynamics completely changed after that hand.

Adrenalin-surge for sure during this hand – In a live setting, I would’ve been giving off a million physical tells. Thank god for the comfort of online!


Starting bankroll: USD 6,025.95
Session result: USD -149.89
New bankroll: USD 5,876.06
Days left until Aussie Millions 2010: 265

Thanks for reading.

THEY'RE OUT TO GET ME

Nobody likes a whiner and that is exactly what I equate anyone in the poker community to, if they start telling me a bad-beat story.

Annoying Whiner (AW): “Hey there. It’s nice to meet you!”
Mindful & Enjoyable (ME): “Uhmm hi – likewise.”

AW: “So, how long’ you been playing?”
ME: “About 4 years or so. (feign interest) You?”

AW: “Umm yeah, something like that as well. What’s your favorite hand?”
ME: (sighing deeply and rolling eyes indiscreetly) “Suited aces, I guess. Listen, I’ve gotta go return some videotapes, so I can’t really…”

AW: (excessive laughing, knee-slapping and tears ensue) That’s a GOOD one! I’ve never heard that one before! No no, stick around! Listen, you’ll never believe what just happened to me. I pick up KK in MP and just smoothcall some donk who raised in earl…”
ME: (somebody shoot me now…)

Anyone who knows anything about the game, will know how frequently bad beats occur (yes, even 1-outers for any doubters still left among you – they happen on a daily basis) and how – as is the nature of bad beats – you usually played pretty well to get yourself into a potential bad-beat-spot. So be happy the next time you get sucked out on.

The point of this blog was not to provide yet another unnecessary commentary on how one ought to deal with bad beats. Seems to me, that’s been done enough as it is. It was actually to address a challenge I’m currently facing. Since I write a blog about poker, I’m forced to relay what happens to me and that goes for the good as well as the bad. Since I don’t want to be the “bearer of bad beats”, I’ve come up with the following alternate solution:

BadBeat Codes. I don’t think all bad beats are created equal and therefore propose that – for this blog at least, as an experiment – I begin to use the following codes to describe bad beats:

- “55/45”, preflop. Not sure many players would consider this a bad beat per se, but technically it is a hand with a statistical edge losing to the inferior counterpart. (We’ll call this BB1)
- “70/30”, preflop. You get it in with KK, get called by AQ and lose. (BB2)
- “80/20”, preflop. AA moves in, 66 calls and hits. (BB3)
- “3-outer”, postflop. You’ve made top-pair on the flop, move in and get called by an underpair. (BB4)

I’m sure I’ll think of a few others once I get this blog going, but the above should serve me well to begin with. The whole reason why I would even dream-up the above concoction is because it didn’t go very well for me the last time I played! I say this, even though I actually final-tabled one of the tournaments, a $10 rebuy event. We’ll kick things off there with my final hand:

3-handed and I find Js2d in the BB (stack 15335). Villain is on the button (stack 46735) with the blinds at 600/1200/a120. Villain limps, SB completes and I check.

(Pot 3960) FLOP: Jc 4h Jd
SB checks and I check to the dealer who – as the chipleader – has been betting everything. He obliges and leads out for 1200. SB folds and I raise to 4800.

** ALERT ** BB4 ** ALERT ** BB4** ALERT ** BB4 ** ALERT ** BB4 ** ALERT **

I went out in 3rd place.

Another cute little hand happened deep in a Stars 180-man sitngo ($4.40). As follows:

33 players left. I’m in the SB with KsKd (stack 2220). Villain is in the CO seat (stack 13480). Blinds 100/200. UTG raises to 800, folds to villain who min-raises to 1400 (might be cautious here sometimes, but with my stack and this hand, my decision has been made for me). Folds to me and I push all-in for 2220 total. UTG folds, but villain calls.

** ALERT ** BB3 ** ALERT ** BB3** ALERT ** BB3 ** ALERT ** BB3 ** ALERT **

I go out in 33rd place.

This next one, I won’t be needing my BB-groups for, as it was more a cold-deck (not GREAT play either, that’s for sure) than anything else. Again, I’m deep in a 180 sitngo ($4.40) as only 26 players remain. I am in the BB with QsQh (stack 7163). Villain is UTG (stack 21640) with blinds at 150/300/a25. Villain opens to 799 and at an 8-handed table it folds around to me. I usually don’t muck about here and I make it 2440. He considers briefly and calls.

(Pot 5230) FLOP: 10s 4s 7h
I’ve got 4698 left and elect to push it all-in. Clearly the easiest option with no additional thinking required. However, even with additional thinking and I’m trying to keep myself honest here, I don’t think I’m ever folding in that spot. I think at this level a lot of players are still calling from his position with most of their pairs (55-JJ) looking to set-mine or pick off AK, QQ and KK re-shove and AA calls/re-shoves about 30/70. The better option might however have been to check to him, feign an unpaired AK and hope he bets with 99 or JJ.

Anyway, obviously he had me all along with a well-played AA and I went out on the hand. Well played sir.

Splashed around with sitngos a few low buy-in MTTs that never really got going and booked a miniature loss. Ah well – just one of those BB4 days.

Starting bankroll: USD 6,042.95
Session result: USD -17.00
New bankroll: USD 6,025.95
Days left until Aussie Millions 2010: 273

THIS IS WHY I'M HOT

I’m hot – cause I’m fly;
You ain’t – cause you not;
This is why;
This is why;
This is why I’m hot!

So…uhmm, I’m running HOT right now, as the above summation denotes (wondering slightly now why I’m explaining a MIMS citation, which is as self-explanatory as those signs you see at the zoo, indicating crocodiles as being ‘dangerous creatures’). This blog will encompass two playing sessions and both include TOURNAMENT WINS, albeit the first one feigns slightly in comparison to the second.

Was playing on Stars, looking for any tournaments that were about to begin, when I came upon a 6-handed Pot Limit Hold’Em, $11 rebuy. It was starting in 8 minutes and I signed up as only the 13th player – expecting it to fill up towards the end, like most tourneys do. When it got underway, I was genuinely surprised to see that only 18 had signed up.

Does the Pot Limit aspect scare off players? I never understood that. It’s not like all you do during NLHE tournaments is come over the top of others with MORE than a full pot bet? Mostly a pot bet is exactly what you need for a re-raise and sometimes even less will do, so if you feel the need to shove 40BBs over a 4BB raise, you probably don’t understand the concepts of stack sizes (Tony ‘bond18’ Dunst is happy to enlighten you on tworags.com about exactly that, if what I just wrote makes no sense to you at all). I’m not saying it never comes up, especially in late tournament play spots do occur – just curious as to the apparent timidity from other players, when Pot Limit Hold’Em is concerned. I LIKE mixing it up with PLHE and what follows here goes to show that change is a definite good thing.

Unlimited rebuys until the first break and they were being taken advantage of, by pretty much everyone else but me. Kept it clean this time with my obligatory instant rebuy and of course the addon, but no I-just-got-felted-rebuys needed. As noted though, everyone else was generously adding to the total pot, so we ended up putting together a $220 1st place prize. Also, with all those rebuys, the amount of chips in play allowed for some serious deep-stack playing. By the time I made it to the final table, the average stack was roughly 60 BBs and I was sitting with more than 100 BBs – as the chip leader.

For once it was absolutely clear who the illustrious and highly sought after ‘table sucker’ was. This guy was – for lack of a better definition – heinously moronic when it came to poker. Suffice to say, I made sure I was in the pot almost every time he was. How he had managed to get to the FT only the sacrificial chicken I presume lay slaughtered in his backyard will know. He would call anything on the flop with no pair, no draw (I’m talking J2 on an A73 board), would check-call all the way to the river if he was on a draw and limp-call raises preflop & out of position with monsters such as K4 off suit. With every weak-tight play my bankroll smiled, while my poker-loving and fine-play-appreciating heart suffered a little each time.

When he busted I was delighted to find out that - in his absence - the others at the table were happy to fill his shoes. Especially one play seemed to be a favorite at this table (and largely prevalent in most tournaments online) – the “postflop minimum bet lead-out into the raiser”. Here’s the example:

We’re 4-handed. I’m first to act with 8c9c (stack 26370). Villain is in the SB (stack 6185). Blinds 100/200. I open to 550, folds to the SB who calls.

(Pot 1300) FLOP: Qd 5c 7h
SB bets out 200.

Huh??? What do you mean you bet out 200? No, seriously – WHAT…IS…THAT…SUPPOSED…TO…MEAN? You’re trying to sell me on something, right? Is the bet supposed to scare me? I just don’t get it and my response is always the same. I RAISE! AL-FUCKING-WAYS! WHETHER I’VE GOT IT OR I HAVEN’T!

I made it 1200. SB folds. Such an easy way of picking up chips – when they’re practically giving them away.

I took the tournament down after 2 hours and 15 minutes and even though I’m small-ballin’ here, I was pretty excited about the win. I basically outplayed the 17 other guys and I felt it bode well for the future. I was about to find out just how right I was.

The second tournament win in two days happened when I saw a $5 NLHE rebuy event getting ready to start on Mansion Poker. A total of 159 players signed up and I was amongst them.

I got off to a crappy start though. No real hands and I was forced to fold through the first 15-20 hands, but it did give me an opportunity to witness an incredibly aggressive and overly spewy table. I mentally made notes on a few of the players who I thought were especially imbecilic and that would prove useful a bit later.

My first playable hand was As4s which I picked up in the BB (my stack 2935). The villain was in the HJ seat at a 9-handed table (stack 2875) with blinds at 20/40. My stacksize was due to an instant rebuy, whereas the villain had doubled up early – and quite fortuitously so – when his 66 pushed all-in on a flop of A52, was called by AK and then spiked a 6 on the river.

UTG+1 limped, UTG+2 limped along, then fold to villain who made it 240 and fold to me. Given his weak post-flop play and the fact that we were deep, I called here (normally wouldn’t) not giving him credit for much of a hand. UTG+1 called as well, whereas the second limper folded.

(Pot 780) FLOP: 10c 6s 2s
UTG+1 checks, villain bets 600 and given the tournament structure I saw no reason not to shove here with my overcard and flush draw. All-in from me for a total of 2695. UTG+1 folded, but villain snap-called with two queens which held up. Guess I got schooled by the donk (*shrug*) although I’d probably do the same again if the situation were to arise like that once more.

I did a double rebuy and decided to sit back a little and wait for the good cards to find me. My restraint was working perfectly until I found myself in a situation – ripe for exploitation – and had to go for it.

I’m in the SB with 6h5s (stack 2910) and a whole range of villains are in the pot as well with varying stack sizes. 10-handed with blinds at 30/60. Went like this: UTG limps, UTG+1 limps, 1 fold, MP1 limps, 3 folds, button limps, I complete and BB checks. 6 players.

(POT 360) FLOP: 4c Ks 5h
I check, BB minimum bets, UTG calls, UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls and the button folds. Back to me.

Something just didn’t feel right. The BB minimum bet lead out was strange. What hand does that I was asking myself and figured it had to be either a monster (set of 4’s possibly) or something weak. Everyone else I wasn’t too worried about. As I said before the table was generally weak and I had no doubts likely holdings for UTG and MP1 could be 22 and Q10. I therefore decided to raise, wanting to see how the BB was going to react. I made it 570 total. The BB folded immediately, whereas the two others called. Now I just needed a good card to follow through.

(POT 2190) TURN: 9d
A fairly innocuous looking card and perfect for me to fire at again with my stack of 2280. I shipped it all in and both players folded fairly quickly. Paying attention pays off; apologies for the pun – and it was going to pay off for me again.

An orbit or so later I pick up KsQs in MP2 (stack approximately 4500) with blinds at 40/80. It folds to me and I raise to 220 and am called solely by the SB with a stack of 1300. The SB was one of the feeble-minded opponents that I’d made mental notes on at the beginning. Since then he had re-bought twice, but refused to change gears. He had spunk, I’ll give him that.

(POT 520) FLOP: 3s 10h 8d
He checked to me and I put out a continuation-bet of 360. He called quickly.

(POT 1240) TURN: 10d
He moves all-in for 720. I’m perplexed. Doesn’t make sense – truly doesn’t make sense dude. If you have a 10, I expect you to raise the flop considering your stack, so I can rule that out. If you have an 8, you’re probably not unhappy about the second 10, yet you should still be wary about my holding. I can’t have a 10? – or an overpair? You gain nothing from shoving here. Looks like a draw to me. I called with K-high and felt good about it. He showed Qd9h for a gut-shot straight draw and one overcard to the flop. FISTPUMP ONCE! 7d on the river to ship me the pot with K-high = FISTPUMP TWICE!

I’m not going to take you through the rest of the hands that led to my #1 finish as none of them were quite that spectacular. Overall I benefited from everyone else’s mistakes throughout the tournament and played sound poker from start to finish. I came into the final table in 5th place and did actually go on a bit of sweet run, when we were down to 7 (picked up KK and flopped a set with 22) but other than that no suckouts and I attribute my win mainly to grinding it down and staying patient.

First place was $544.05. The first of hopefully many.


Starting bankroll: USD 5,399.22
Session result: USD +643.73
New bankroll: USD 6,042.95
Days left until Aussie Millions 2010: 276

Thanks for reading.

I'M SO EMBARRASSED

I completely morphed into a newbie-donk last night. All of my poker wisdom went down the drain when I committed my chips with my no-pair-no-draw-hand. To make it worse, 338 of us had started the $33 MTT Freezeout and when I committed the aforementioned sin, we were down to 19. Idiotic.

Everything up until that point had been going my way. I started the tournament in a splashing mood, probably just a little too excited to be playing, but settled down quickly after losing a couple of mini-pots and then found my groove. Well, sort of. I put myself in a horrible spot in the beginning, when I didn’t raise AhJs from the blinds. Went like this:

I’m the BB with AhJs (stack: 2300). Villain is UTG+1 (stack 2820). Blinds 10/20.

Villain, UTG+2, dealer and SB all limp. I check my option.

(Pot 100) FLOP: 2h Ad 5d
Check to me, I bet 65. Villain and SB smooth call.

(Pot 295) TURN: Ac
Check to me, I bet 190. Villain and SB smooth call again. (DING-DING-DING! Alarm bells should be going off right about now – like BIGTIME!!)

(Pot 865) RIVER: Qc
Check to me and I put out a defensive bet of 390. Almost immediately villain raises to 1140 and the SB gets out of the way. Any hands do that, which I have beat? A10 raise on the river in that spot? OF COURSE NOT! Like the donk I am, I pay him off and he shows 2,2. I even muttered “fives?” to myself, when I called so why I actually did is beyond me. A lot of players nowadays can fold aces when the board comes down 7,8,9 with a flushdraw, but trusting your read and folding STRONG trips in the above spot is still a move reserved for the really good players out there. I want to count myself amongst them, but obviously can’t yet.

This hand left me with a stack of 885 and put me on the defensive right from the beginning of the tournament. Everyone was toying around with 150BBs, whereas I had to be careful about what I did with my pitiful 40BB stack. For the next 20 or so hands I stayed quiet. Picked up 88 and won a decent raised pot, where the flop came down 6,2,9 and no one seemed to be interested. Even raised a few limpers out of LP with 9,10 offsuit and took down the pot with a c-bet on a 2,J,6 board. Then I caught lightning in a bottle.

I’m UTG+1 with 3h3s (stack 1455). Everyone covers me at the table. Blinds 30/60.

UTG limps, I limp, as does UTG+2. Folds to the CO who minraises (?). EVERYONE calls (obviously). 7 players:

(Pot 420) FLOP: 3c 2d Jc
SB checks, BB bets 150 and it folds to me. Because I’ve got so many players after me (including the original raiser) I elect to just call here and hope to get it in, when somebody raises. To my dismay, 3 of them just call and the original raiser folds!

(Pot 1170) TURN: 4h

SB bets 345, BB calls and I’m getting a little worried what might be out there. Clearly, I’m not folding here and I raise all-in, total of 1245. It folds to the dealer who re-raises all-in for a total of 2145. At this point I’m thinking… “No way… it can’t be”. Everyone folds and what am I looking at? A straight. Of course. He called the flop with 56 and hit. I start to mouth the word MO-THER-FU… but never managed to complete my thought, before a 2nd 4 lands on the river.

Still in it. Got real lucky there, but who cares – STILL IN IT! I now have a stack of 4005 and am above average. My next big spot comes up a couple of orbits later, now with blinds at 25/50. I’ve been chipping up a little bit, but haven’t been very active.

I’m the button with JhJc (stack 4435).

UTG, MP1 and the CO all limp and I raise it up to 290 total, which is my standard here (140 normal raise + 3 limpers at 50 á piece). The SB (stack 2505) immediately pushes all-in and the limpers get out of the way. In my experience, this is AK almost all of the time. Not many people play AA and KK that fast and although there’s a slight possibility that villain has QQ in his range here, I think I’m most likely to be up against AK or a baby-pair. I elect to go for the small-equity play (in case he has AK) and call. He shows big-slick and I move up to 7140 chips, when the board runs out 8-high. Now normally, I try not to take these flips too early in a tournament, as I feel confident I’ll be able to chip up with less risk, but I was so confident in my read that I just had to go with it.

My first big pocketpair came along during the 50/100 level, when I picked up kings. There’s always that excitement for a player, when he/she picks up aces or kings during a tournament. Is someone going to raise? – can I get it in before the flop? – can I fold my big pair if the flop is ugly and there’s too much action? – and if you’re holding kings, at least for me – there’s the old classic: God, I hope someone doesn’t have aces. The hand played out like this:

I’m MP1 (stack 8000) with KhKs. Villain is UTG+1 (stack 6165). Blinds 50/100.

UTG folds and villain minraises to 200. As I’ve stated before, I usually hate playing against a minraise, but obviously a lot changes when I’m holding kings. I re-pop him and make it 650 total (which, when I look at it now, should’ve been 750… hmmm, not sure what went wrong there). Everyone else folds and villain calls.

(Pot 1450) FLOP: 8h 2h 6h
I can’t hate that flop, since I am holding the king of hearts, but since I put his min-raising-range on small pairs a lot of the time, this might have hit him. He checks to me and I bet 950. He just calls. At this point, I know he doesn’t have a set, but his range includes medium pairs Ah-X type hands and obviously a flopped flush, if someone really has it in for me.

(Pot 3350) TURN: 7s
He checks to me again. I don’t mind the 7 at all, especially since it was black. A strange 87 type hand is not part of his range, I think, so I confidently bet again. This time 1900. He calls again.

(Pot 7150) RIVER: 4c
He checks a third time and now I know I’m good. I’ve got 4500 left in my stack, constituting roughly 60% of the stack and as a value-play I stick it all in. He ponders briefly and then folds. My new stack stands at a hearty 11650 and I’m quite happy with the way I played the hand. He only had approx 2600 left by the time we got to the river, so I’m not sure I could have extracted more out of him than I did. I have to wait a bit again for my next spot, but in general my patience is very good and I’m staying away from marginal hands.

I’m the BB with QhJh (stack 11500). Villain is in the SB and is the same guy from the last hand (the KK hand), but he has managed to double up in the meantime, so now sits on 4590 chips. Blinds 100/200.

It folds to the SB who completes and I decide to disguise my hand a bit and just check.

(Pot 400) FLOP: 9s 7h Tc
He leads with 200 (minimum bet) and I figure I’ll just end the hand here with a raise, so I make it 700. To my surprise he calls the extra 500. Guess he has something.

(Pot 1800) TURN: 4h
Well that just got me a flushdraw to go along with my straightdraw. There’s no way I’m folding now. Again he bets the minimum of 200 into me and I instantly move my stack in. I figure I’ve shown strength on the flop already and he’s been pretty weak up until now, so I should have a decent amount of fold equity. He surprises me once again and calls almost immediately. He shows 5c8s (must have been steaming since the KK hand?) which actually gives me the best hand at that point. The Ah on the river is therefore irrelevant. My new stack is a respectable 16090 and I’m amongst the leaders of the tournament.

I pull off my first 3-bet-steal of the tournament during the next blind level. The guy one to my right has been really active, coming into pots with a variety of limps, minraises and standard raises. When I pick up Ac8c on the button, I decide this might be a good time to slow him down a bit. Surely enough, it folds to him (blinds 100/200/a25) and he makes it 650 to go. I decide to make it a little less than 3 times his raise, as I know that a lot of players perceive it as a sign of strength. I make it 1850. He thinks for a while, using up some of his timebank and finally lays down his hand. Even acknowledged me with a ‘nh’ in the chat afterwards! Safe to say I was probably behind in that hand.

I tangle with the same guy once more, not too long after the above hand. Blinds are now 125/250a25 and I’m in the HJ (stack 16790) with Ah5h. Villain is still next to me (stack 17475). We are the two biggest stacks at the table. It folds to villain who raises to 600. Given our history and his general activeness, I elect to smooth call.

(Pot 1800) FLOP: Qd 6c Qh
He checks and I see no need to get pushed off my hand right now, so I check back.

(Pot 1800) TURN: 3c
This time he puts out a small bet of 750 and something doesn’t feel right. It’s the sort of bet most guys would make after seeing the flop go check-check. I elect to call and see a river, before I make up my mind – also, I’ve got position.

(Pot 3300) RIVER: Ac
The ace on the river is fine, I guess – as it does give me a better hand against some smaller pairs, but at this point I’m really just concerned with whether he’s sandbagging a queen or whether he’s got air. He bets out again, but it’s only 1250. A blocking bet, as I see it now (didn’t think that far ahead while I was playing). Obviously, a spot for me to raise here as I most likely have the best hand. I didn’t do that though – instead I just called. He shows J,10 and was basically full of it.

Analysis afterwards: I should’ve raised the river. I don’t see him playing a queen that way (turn, maybe – but not the river) so when the ace hits, I should be confident about having the best hand. Pair of 4’s, 5’s or maybe even something like 9’s might call me off on the river.

Then I folded. A LOT. For the longest time that I can remember ever having to continually fold. Absolutely no playable hands and when there were, someone had raised in front of me. By the time the next hand came up, my stack had dwindled a bit, but I was still in good shape. Once again, I chose not to believe:

I’m the SB with As6s (stack 12715). Villain is on the button (stack 12530) with blinds at 200/400/a50. It folds to villain who raises to 1100. I elect to call and the BB folds.

(Pot 3050) FLOP: Ad Jd Js
I check to him, expecting the mandatory c-bet. He obliges, but only puts out 900. I just call. At this point, I’m not putting him on a jack as I don’t think anyone would play it that way. A smallish bet, when you flopped trips gives your hand away, so either you check it or you bet properly (half or 2/3 of the pot).

(Pot 4850) TURN: 3c
I lead out this time with 1200 once the “safe” card hits. If he has an ace and has me outkicked, perhaps he’ll buy that I have the jack. He raises after a bit of thought to 3200. I’m still not buying that he has a jack, but I am a little concerned about my kicker. What I don’t understand though is why he doesn’t buy me having a jack? If he has a hand like A10, wouldn’t he – in position – just call my turn bet to keep the pot small and then evaluate on the river? I call.

(Pot 11250) RIVER: 9d
So the flushdraw got there and I’m a little thrown off. Had almost forgotten about that. I check. He thinks for a while and I get the feeling he wants to move in on me (I’d have to call, the way I played it) but eventually checks. When I shove my hand, he mucks and the pot slides my way. I check the history and he raised me on the turn with 2,2. Gutsy. New stack: 18665

Again I go back to folding. I’ve checked my hand history and as I noted in one of my previous blogs, a lack of aggression late in tournaments is something I need to work on. There were however no +EV spots that I missed out on since my last hand – either there was a raise in front of me, or someone was coming over the top. In particular one guy, I noticed, was being very active. He was calling a lot preflop and taking stabs postflop, which was working well for him. I waited until I had position on him and a decent hand to do battle.

We’re 7-handed and I’m the HJ with 9c10c (stack 17440). Villain is the BB (stack 33945) with blinds at 400/800/a75. It folds to me and I raise to 2100. Both the SB and the BB call.

(Pot 6825) FLOP: 9s 5c 6d
The SB checks and the villain bets out 3200. I had seen him do that on one other occasion where he was subsequently raised and then called all-in with a strong hand. However, if I’m raising a suited 9-10 at that point in a tournament, I have to go with it, when I flop top-pair. So I shoved for 15265 total. The SB folded quickly and the BB let me sweat a bit before he too let it go.

Nothing too special about that hand, other than I was happy with my aggression at that point. In previous times I might have folded preflop and I might even have folded post-flop (or just called) – both of which are horrible, IMO. I saw a total of 190 hands in this tournament before busting and I’ve now fast-forwarded to # 180. From here on I play 3 more hands. 1 well and the last two are the basis of today’s blog-title.

Hand #180. I’m the BB with 9cTh (stack 22165) and villain is SB (stack 32774) with blinds at 500/1000/a100. It folds to the CO who limps in with only 861 chips behind. He had just lost his entire stack in the previous hand, but why he doesn’t shove it all in, I don’t know. It folds to the SB who raises to 3000. That’s an isolation-raise, clear and simple and I bloody hate them. Plus I don’t like people messing with my BB. I therefore elect to call, expecting the limper to put his last few chips in and then I’ll have a chance of outplaying the SB. Unexpectedly (VERY FUCKING unexpectedly), the limper folds. Hmmm… ok champ.

(Pot 7800) FLOP: 8c 3c Jh
The SB bets 4000 and I am giving him credit for absolutely nothing. The bet is weak (considering the drawy type of board) and I’ve got my own draw, so I confidently move all-in for a total of 19065. He folds. Stack 30865 and on to a poorly played hand.

Hand #182. 7-handed with blinds at 600/1200/a125. I’m the button with 5h5s (stack 30140). The villain is the same guy from the last hand, this time in the CO (stack 25549). Folds to the CO who raises to 3300. I call and the blinds fold.

(Pot 9275) FLOP: 4h 3d Qd
The CO checks and I check behind for pot control. Not willing to commit myself just yet.

(Pot 9275) TURN: 9s
Now he bets, but only the minimum of 1200. Every single bone in my body is telling me to raise. Make it 4200 and win the hand right there. He clearly has nothing. I can’t make myself do it though. My mind starts playing tricks on me, convincing me that he’s trapping with some HUGE hand and instead I just call (again – why call if he has a “HUGE HAND”? To hit a set? Yeah, that’s real clever).

(Pot 11675) RIVER: Ts
Oh God how I hate that card. Does it get any uglier? Villain bets 1200 again and I feel forced to call. He shows Kh10h and takes the pot. I curse myself (literally and out loud) for being such a dweeb and look for something to throw from my desk. I find nothing.

Hand #190. We’re now 6-handed with 19 people left in the tourney. I’m sitting on a stack of 21640 which is good for about 14th at the time, but more significantly blinds are still 600/1200/a125, so I’m not in any real predicament yet. I pick up KsQs in the HJ (or UTG+1 – whatever you prefer) and raise to 3200. At this point I’m just looking to pick up the blinds, but I won’t mind if someone calls. The SB obliges (stack 67626).

(Pot 8350) FLOP: As 5d 9h
Talk about completely whiffing that flop. The SB checks and I go to represent an ace with a bet of 4500. Now he minraises me. Already I hate this guy. I haven’t seen him do it yet, but I have seen how minimum raises become part of the arsenal of many players, late in tournaments. And I’ve always wondered…? Is it just a cheap way of testing whether I’m for real? I know I don’t have enough chips to seriously put him to a decision if I were to move all-in and he knows this as well. That way, if I do move in, he’ll know that I have to have an ace in that spot and then he’ll fold even though almost anything he holds would dictate a call? FOR CRYING OUT LOUD WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!!?

I reraise all-in for a total of 18315 and he snapcalls with Ah10c. Of course. What was I thinking. Idiot.

Lessons learned:
- Don’t be an idiot.
- Don’t be an idiot, when you don’t have fold equity
- Just don’t be a fucking idiot

Played a few STTs alongside the above tournament, which resulted in an overall session result of: USD 52.14


Starting bankroll: USD 5,347.08
Session result: USD +52.14
New bankroll: USD 5,399.22
Days left until Aussie Millions 2010: 281

Thanks for reading.

EGO-MANICAL RANT, SOCCER, SURFING AND POKER

My girlfriend is studying for her Master’s degree here in Sydney and from time to time, she seeks my advice on various subjects, when she struggles (she’s pretty smart, so mostly she just takes care of business). The latest example hereof is an accountancy paper that’s due next week. All day Wednesday of last week I spent reading through the bloody thing, trying to make sense of what is still – at least to me – some of the most illogical crap you’ll ever find in the business world! I have a piece of paper from my days at school, certifying that – supposedly – I should know accountancy. Theoretically, I should know all about double-bookkeeping, reading balance sheets, filling in income statements and determining what might be a liability and what is most likely an asset. Here’s the rude awakening: I just BARELY passed that course back in the day and literally had to re-learn it all, just so that I could help my girl out. Result = Less time for poker.

I did play a bit on Thursday and Friday, mostly comprised of STTs, but also a few 18-pp, 27-pp and even regular MTTs in there. I came 14th in a 20+2 MTT which was good enough for an in-the-money finish and I came 2nd and 3rd in 18-pp tourneys, so overall I made a profit, but it wasn’t pretty. In particular one 6-person STT where I finished 3rd (top-two getting paid) still bugs the hell out of me. We came into 3-handed play with me holding roughly 60% of the chips and one of the other two only shoving JJ+. It’s SO easy to play against guys like that and yet I managed to screw it up.

Counting the rakeback I got, the total profit for those two days came to a measly 67.45. I’ll take it, I guess.

So, the plan was instead that I would use the weekend to get a fair bit of playing in. Instead, I decided my time would be better spent enjoying the shit out of myself and simultaneously punishing the crap out of my body. It started Saturday where I played back-to-back season-opener matches (1 for the reserve team, where we won 8-0 and stand-by for the 1st team, where we won 4-3). I scored one hell of a goal in the 1st game, where I lobbed the ball over the keeper from the edge of the 18-yard-box and then turned to face my onrushing teammates, who were rushing to hand out deserved accolades for what will most likely be a goal-of-the-season-contender! Imagine checking the turn, after c-betting the flop and then coming over the top of villain’s river-bet with absolutely nothing (‘cause you just know) – resulting in his fold. Now double that feeling and you’ll get how pumped I was about scoring that goal!

Still left Sunday to get some tournaments in and make some headway towards my goal. Well, never got that far. My girl and I decided to head to Cronulla Beach with some friends of ours to learn how to surf! Our instructors were a couple of happy-go-lucky-blonde-and-long-haired-“dude exclaiming”-and-“sweet wave”-proclaiming-not-a-care-in-the-world-wave-catching-guys who did their jobs well. By that I mean, ultimately we all made it up onto the boards and even managed to stay up for a few seconds, before getting pounded by another wave. I would love to say that I was a natural, at one with the sea and similar crap, but blatantly lying has never been my thing. Instead, stubbornness and crude perseverance is what ultimately brought on some very limited personal success.


Starting bankroll: USD 5,279.63
Session result: USD +67.45
New bankroll: USD 5,347.08
Days left until Aussie Millions 2010: 283

Thanks for reading.