The Nuts

2009-02-27T20:37:00.003-05:00

SILLY ME

I joined an 8-Game Tournament to hone my all-around poker skills. There were 12 players and only 3 were paid. With 4 players remaining, I was the runaway chip leader. Then I played a hand of deuce-to-seven lowball as if it was razz. I stood pat with an ace in my hand as if it was low, not high. At the end, I merely checked and watched the pot go to the other guy who would have gladly folded his queen-high hand had I bet. Soon after, I invested a lot of money into a pot-limit Omaha hand as if we were playing hi-lo. I thought I had half the pot locked up but instead, I was scooped. Once I realized what a knucklehead I was being, I played another hand against that same player that I just doubled up. This time, I had the best hand when the money went in - I had an overpair to the board with a flush draw against his top pair with two overcards. He went on to hit one of each of his overcards without giving me the flush, so he doubled up again. I was crippled and I wound up busting in fourth place, out of the money.

2009-02-16T18:31:00.003-05:00

PLAY LESS WIN MORE

So, I can pretty much only play tourneys on the weekends now. Last weekend, I made two final tables, bubbled another, and profited $1k. This weekend I did my taxes, but being off on Presidents' Day, I entered three tourneys Monday morning. I busted early from two of them, then finished third in the other, profiting $2.5k. I had a hunch that going back to work would not only improve my psyche but also my poker game.

2009-02-01T11:15:00.002-05:00

HOME GAME

I have not been blogging because I have not been playing much in the past month. I finally broke down and got a real job, so I am no longer at home at all times, looking for action. I love the new job and plan to stay with it for many years, so poker goes back to being a leisure pursuit.

Last night, I got the call for a home game at my neighbor's house, where I played a tournament a few years ago, finishing second. I made for a game of six and we agreed on a $50 buy-in cash game with $.50/1.00 blinds. I established the limp early on, so as a result, most hands were four or five-way action with only the occasional preflop raise. I threw a lot of money at flops I had no business seeing, but I figured with my experience, my best chance at a big win would come by understanding where I'm at as the hand progresses, so I wanted to be involved in as many hands as possible.

My first buy-in was short-lived. The big blow came when I took a flop with T-5 and the flop came 9-7-5. There was some action, but I wasn't buying it. The turn was a 9 and there was a bet and a call. I made the call again, thinking neither guy had a nine. The river was a T and I figured I just beat whichever guy has a seven, so I called a $15 river bet and fell to Q-9.

I bought in for another $50 and immediately got A-A on the big blind. When the limpfest got around to me, I put in small raise, looking for a couple of callers, which is what I got. The flop was 7-5-4 and I led out with a bet. There was a call and then the small blind raised it up. I called. The turn was a J and he bet into me. Well, if he's not scared of the jack, then he's already got two pair or trips. I just had to hope it was two pair or a pair of sixes. I wasn't folding, so I went ahead and shoved and he showed trip fives. The river was another jack, so I would have beaten 5-4, but instead, I was rebuying again. I threw a $100 bill into the middle and was given a stack of green $5 chips. At this time, I was looking like the patsy at the table, but what nobody realized is that being $200 into a cash game for me is like being $50 in for them and I had no concerns that I wouldn't be able to get it back.

Almost imediately, my luck turned. I tried to shake things up by min-raising with Tc-4c in first position. I got one caller and the flop came Q-T-6. I bet out and he called. The turn was a 4, giving me two pair. I reached for chips which made him reach for chips so fast, that I decided to check to him. He bet $5 and I bumped it to $20, which he called instantly. The river was an 8 and I bet another $20. He folded and said he had nothing. I couldn't resist showing the T-4 and claiming I got lucky. I figured he had nothing so I was happy to have made the extra money on the turn.

I won another big pot when my third pair held up against a bettor and a caller. I called with my pair and straight and flush draw but checked the end when I didn't improve. My pair of eights were good enough. The hand of the night came when I limped utg with Kc-Qc, looking for a big multi-way pot with a superb multi-way pot type of hand. The flop came Q-9-6 and I led out, getting called, then raised. The turn was a K and I checked. The next guy bet out, which surprised me, then the third guy raised him. In a tougher game, I probably muck my hand at this point, but unless I'm getting burned by trips again, then I'm likely up against a lesser two pair. I had concerns about the J-T but I doubt if the raising guy would have been raising a draw on the flop. The other guy was more likely to have me beat but he had a smallish stack, so he was getting paid off regardless. The third guy, raising guy, with the big stack either has trip sixes or something he is overplaying, so I cold called the raise, as did the middle guy.

The river was a blank, so the strength of my hand now was the same as when I cold called on fourth street. I checked with the intention of calling a bet. The middle guy bet a measly $10 and the third guy proclaimed all-in. He didn't expect anybody to call him, so he thought I was just wasting time when I asked for a count. It turned out to be $108 to me. That's a lot in this game, but it's not enough to make me fold top two pair, so I called and the middle guy tossed in his remaining chips. The all-in guy had A-K and the middle guy had flopped two pair with Q-6. I took a huge pot, bringing me into the black.

I won some other more boring pots and redistributed some money back into the game with loose calls rather than locking up my win and ended the night up $220. There was one missed opportunity that went down like this: I raised to $3 with Ah-Kh and got called by two players. The flop came A-3-3. I checked, to allow somebody else to either get greedy or overplay their lesser ace, but it checked around. The turn was a 6 and one player bet $3. I just called, hoping the third guy would call as well, and instead he declared all-in. It was a crazy bet. These guys just like to say all-in, I guess. It was a $90 bet into a pot with less $20 in it. That guy had been a fan of the all-in move all night and had always shown the goods, so I was thinking of laying down my hand anyways, but when the other guy called him, I couldn't imagine that one of them didn't have a three, so I mucked my A-K. Turns out the all-in guy had A-Q and the caller had A-K like me. I guess my slowplay worked, but I didn't get to benefit from it.

There was one other notable hand. Three of the guys had come to the game contingent on Dave, the host, ordering the pay-per-view UFC match, which he had on in the other room. Two guys left the game to watch one of the undercard matches and the four of us who remained played some hands with a $1 ante. I got dealt an ace in every hand and so I saw every flop. On the last of these hands, I min-raised with A-4 and got some calls. The flop came 5-3-2 and I made the continuation bet. It folded to Dave, who pushed all-in with a pair of sixes. Again, it was a crazy $60 bet into a small pot. I relieved him of his stack, the same as if I would have had a pair of nines. It's easy to make money in home games like this where the opponents are so enamored with the all-in move that they think it's a device to ensure everybody else folds. The turn/river came 7/J so he would have saved money by seeing I was still interested on later streets if he had left himself the opportunity.

Well, the game broke for the UFC main event and I walked home to chat with Marci and the Jacksons, who were in my jacuzzi. When I got back, the match was soon decided and we got back to the game, but with the match over and me taking all their money, there was little reason for these guys to stick around, so the game busted at 10PM and that was that.

2008-12-14T23:24:00.002-05:00

TRANSFER OF WEALTH

I haven't posted anything in awhile. I've still been playing, but more sporadically than usual. I served on a jury in November, and then I whipped my resume into shape and got back into the job hunt. I had my first interview last Friday, so we'll see where it leads. I've been playing mostly cash games the past six weeks, and mostly PLO of late. It's a game that can see some chips fly across the table. I play at the $2/4 stakes, but I'm seeing some hearty swings in the sessions I play.

Today, I got into a full ring game as opposed to my usual six-handed preference. I bought in for $250, then $300, then $250, then another $250, then $200 more before the table broke while I sat with $381 remaining. That was a big swing in the wrong direction. I wasn't chasing anything outlandish either. It was one of those sessions where one particular player had my number and busted me over and over.

My first buy-in left me when I lost with queens full against kings full for a $686 pot. A third guy appeared to have flopped the straight, but he made a sweetener bet on the flop and got both of us who tripped to call. He made a pot-sized bet on the turn and now was the time to release the hand, but I stubbornly called since I also had the queen-high diamond draw. The river paired fives and I had only $93 behind, so in it went. I had the third best possible hand behind 5-5 and K-K. When the kings called behind me (rather than push), the straight guy knew to save his money and fold. I don't know if he had the nut diamond draw, which would have been disastrous for me. I'd like to think I had diamonds and the lone queen for wins at least. I thought the five was a good card, but I was not happy to see the kings.

Twice more, I played big pots with the kings guy and both times he sucked out on me after the money got in. Our next big pot was a $611 payday for him. I had (A-6-5-5) and he had (A-K-J-9) with a flop of J-5-3. He reraised me on the flop, so I cold called him with my 92% win rate and we saw the J turn. I now had the boat but my winning percentage fell to 78%. He was still happy to get it all in so I obliged. Of course, I didn't know my win rate at the time, but I've looked up the numbers since. I knew at the time that I had a full house and he had A-J. I wasn't too concerned that he had quads or a 3 in his hand, so I was happy to get all in. The river was a K to give him the pot and send me to the ATM.

Not long after, and this is at a full table, mind you, we got it all in again. Again, I had the advantage, and again he sucked out on me for a $445 pot. I began with (Qh-Jh-Td-5c) versus his (Kh-Ks-8h-7c). He had raised preflop and I called to see the flop, which came Jc-6h-2h, giving me top pair with a flush draw and a backdoor straight draw. He bet and I called in position. The turn was the Qc and at this point, with me as the 63% favorite, we got all in. I wasn't happy to see the higher flush draw when the cards were exposed, and it was the 7h that did me in.

When the table broke, I settled into a short-handed table, and stayed patient and grinded back to within $100 of even on the day. There was one player who always seemed eager to get it in on the turn. After awhile, he got cocky and showed me his hand twice in a row after I folded to him. One time he had the ace on a suited board, getting me to fold top two with an all-in lead-out on the turn. About ten minutes later, I had all his chips. The first time, I called his flop bet, turned two pair, and shoved to his turn bet. He had nothing more than an up-and-down straight draw, which he called with and lost. Soon after, I limped with A-A and he put in his usual button raise, which was followed by a call from the small blind. I reraised and he repopped it, committing himself to the hand with little more than a suited ace. The blind went away and my aces held up. That's the thing with PLO - you can win a lot of pots by being aggressive, but it doesn't take much to get you broke if you tangle with a better hand in the wrong spot. I was pleased as punch to be nearly even on the session and called it a day.

2008-10-23T23:59:00.002-04:00

BACK IN ACTION

I went through one of my periodic hemorrhage periods, during which I was simply throwing money away at the cash tables. After a series of stupid plays that cost me over $300 in public, a railbird called me out and told me that I was nothing but a stupid fish. I realized that he was right so I closed shop and took the next two days off to get my head straight. I came back today, refreshed and focused. I got into a $2/4 NLHE game and although I dropped $200 at first, I kept plugging and turned a $900 profit on the day.

This was the key hand of the session: I'm at a six-handed table and I'm dealt 7s-7h. I raise preflop to $12 and the button makes it $36. When I'm hemorrhaging, I call automatically because I'm merely gambling, but when I'm actually using my brain to make winning decisions, I use the size of my opponent's stack to determine whether the implied odds of winning his entire stack make it worth my while to chase the 7:1 odds against hitting my set. In this case, I need to call an additional $24, so I want to see at least $240 in his stack. I like to see a potential 10:1 return on investment to make up for all the times I hit my set but fail to win his entire stack. He's got well over $600 so I make the call.

The flop is 3d-9h-9d and I decide to take a stab at the $78 pot with a $55 bet. I'm in good shape against any unpaired hand and I don't fancy check/calling in this spot, so I want to announce that I've got a decent pair and attempt to win the pot right here. He makes the call, so my strategy immediately shifts to check-it-down mode. That is, until the gin card - 7d - arrives on the turn.

The pot is $188 and now I have a full house, which is the nuts in every instance except the one in which he flopped quad nines. It was such a deceptively good card for me that I quickly determined that the proper way to play it was to check/raise. If I bet out, then I'm representing a diamond flush, and he would likely just call with an overpair to the board, and he may even fold black tens or jacks. I figured my better play was to check and try to get him pot-committed, assuming my show of weakness would encourage him to bet to protect his hand. He indeed bet out $130, after which, I raised it up to $300 (with $245 behind). He had just the hand I needed him to have to shove all in - Ad-Kd. He's drawing dead for the $1299 pot.

I locked down that win and was content to play small pots for the next hour, before quitting. There was one hand in which the above scenario nearly played out again, but with an evil spin. I could have lost a lot more than the $84 I wound up losing on the hand. I called a small blind raise from the big blind, holding 3c-3h. The flop came Jc-Jh-5h and he made the continuation bet. It took him a long time to bet, leading me to believe it was more than a routine c-bet. I thought he might actually have the jack and had to talk himself into playing it fast, but still, I made the call with my small pair to see what would transpire on the turn. Fourth street brought my 3s, once again the gin card. He bet strongly into me and I was fairly certain he had the jack at this point, but I just flat called because I was looking ahead to the third bullet. The river was the 5s which completely counterfeited my full house. He made a strong value bet and I folded.

2008-10-10T01:14:00.003-04:00

THE PENDULUM SWINGS BACK

I took a drubbing yesterday, but kept my positive mental state. I played really well and just got super unlucky. I was ready today with three hours of free time to try to win it back. Well, I got $800 of it back and here are the two hands that mattered:

The first key hand was a continuation of yesterday's luck. I had As-Ac and called a raise preflop. It is important to note that in the previous hand, I had lead into an ace-high flop only to fold to a reraise. So the same situation came up here - the flop was Ad-6c-5d and I lead right out into it. I figured he had some sort of pair between sixes and aces and I needed to convince him that I didn't have an ace, because if I had an ace, why on earth would I be leading out rather than check/raising. He fell for it and tried to raise me off my hand. Out of position, I didn't wish to get tricky and see the action freeze when another diamond falls, so I just shoved right then. He gave it a think and called with 9h-9d. Running diamonds fell and I lost the $700 pot.

I was pissed, but I didn't let it tilt me. He apologized profusely and rationalized "I knew you had an ace but I had so much money in by then that I figured I could try to catch a third nine." He was still apologetic a few hands later and said, "I'm sorry man, that must have been a 2% shot." I told him, no worries, I'm used to it. And besides, I want that call every time. I plugged the situation into the online calculator and discovered he was 5.25%. It's not often I can get $350 in as a 95% favorite, so I felt a zen-like serenity about the outcome. After all, it wasn't 100% and there will be that one time in twenty that it goes the other way. I'm just glad it was only $350 and not my mortgage on the line because I would have bet all I had and all I could borrow on those three aces in that spot.

I bought back in and plugged away, getting even, and then was rewarded with this beauty:

What I love most about this hand is who it came against. I won't say his name, but I referenced him some weeks back as the guy who could not lose - he hit every river on me time and again and fleeced me for a large amount. Ever since that day, he's been popping into games as if he's got software designed to seek me out. He's a solid player, so I haven't been able to put the hurt on him like he did to me, until today.

I respect his raises, because he plays strong hands and he plays his hands strong. He puts out a continuation bet every time, but he will slow down on the turn if his opponent shows interest. If he has a hand, he is not afraid to play a big pot. I've been waiting forever to get into the situation against him when I could check into him twice, because I know that if he fires the turn, then he's basically committed to the hand. So, in this instance, he raised my big blind and I defended with Jc-9c.

POT: $39
FLOP: Qh-Tc-5d
ACTION: * / B $30 / C
ANALYSIS: I hit just the right kind of flop. I've got a draw to a big hand. His bet seems like more than a continuation bet. He's either trying to protect against a draw or he's trying to build a pot, hoping I've got a piece of it. I make the call and pray for an eight or king.

POT: $99
TURN: Qh-Tc-5d / Ks
ACTION: * / B $84 / C
ANALYSIS: I hit my gin card, giving me the second nuts. I have to check to see if he's going to fire the second bullet. He bets strong and for a moment, I begin to fear the A-J, but then I remember the big bet on the flop and completely discount that possibility. He's either got a set or K-Q. Whatever he's got, he loves it, and with no flushes possible, thus very few cooler cards, I decide that we're taking this to the river so I can try to get him pot-committed.

POT: $267
RIVER: Qh-Tc-5d / Ks / 6c
ACTION: * / B $174 / AI $568 / C
ANALYSIS: A perfect blank. I've got the nuts and he loves his hand. I could bet and he'd pay me off, but I have a grander plan. I check and let him stick out a value bet. It turns out he's got a set of queens and he instacalls my shove for a $1538 pot and the best result I've gotten in ages.

I haven't been able to play any tournaments in awhile as we just wrapped up two solid weeks of house guests. First, my wife's mother was in town for a week, and just as she left, we got an aunt and uncle for the week. All this while we're having our bathroom redone, as bad timing would have it. So, we were a family of six this week, all sharing the kids' bathroom. I had to stay at home all day with the workers and was able to squeeze in some poker while our guests were out exploring Hollywood and Malibu.

The past week was a blast with the random relatives around. Aunt Sally is my father-in-law's older sister and she's been married to Uncle Tom since 1964. He is quite a storyteller and I haven't laughed so much in a long time. I call him Uncle Jody (Joe D) because he's the spitting image of Joe DiMaggio. He grew up in Brooklyn and used to go to 50 games a year at Ebbets field before the Dodgers moved west. He told me about how his social circle revolved around the basketball court at the public playground. He was very athletic and good at ball so he had some social standing. The kids who couldn't play wound up buying heroin from the thugs and were ostracized from the courts. When he moved to Delaware, he went to see the all-state team play and was amused at what passed for all-state in Delaware. They couldn't even dribble with both hands.

Aunt Sally is pushing 70 but petite and spry. She went to the hospital ten years ago with some sort of minor ailment and wound up having one of those hospital-induced strokes. She's healthy now but still has enough aphasia that holding a conversation with her is an adventure in patience. Her mind works perfectly but she can't always get the correct words out which frustrates her, so a lot of times she just gives up. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to decipher what she was really trying to say and I was never sure whether or not I should try to finish her sentences for her. Tom is so laid-back, he doesn't get frustrated at all and waits her out, helping her when she looks to him for assistance. They've both had health debacles and it's obvious that they still dig one another.

Tom was always a runner, even way back before it was cool. In fact, his son, Tom, runs a cross-country training program up north of San Francisco. So all that running finally gave him a sore foot, which he took to a doctor several years ago, only to find that the real problem was with his heart. So he wound up with a pacemaker, but the model he had implanted was soon recalled, so they had to open him up to get it out. This of course lead to an infection in one of his heart valves which put him in the hospital for some time. During his stay, his kidneys failed so he's put on dialysis, which he describes as by far the worst thing ever. After months of rehab to get healthy enough to walk again and go home, that's when Sally had her episode. Talk about your rough patches.

I was at their house in Old Saybrook, CT one time when I was freshly married into the family and before we had kids. Their daughter, my wife's cousin, was getting married, and it must have been October '95 because I remember watching Tom Glavine throw a one-hitter in the World Series at their house. There was an old guy, whom everyone referred to simply as Ghecas, watching the game with us, and I was honored when Ghecas told me in front of everyone that I know more about baseball than anyone he's ever met, based on my in-game analysis.

Ghecas, it turns out, was a college football hero for Georgetown back in the late '30s. He played pro football with the Eagles for one game back in 1941, returning kicks. When football didn't work out, he switched to baseball, but never made it to the bigs because, as the story goes, he was a minor-league centerfielder for the Yankees behind Joe DiMaggio. So, Ghecas traded in his cleats for a sidearm and became a special agent for the FBI. My wife's grandfather - father of Aunt Sally - and Ghecas served together as g-men for decades.

So there you go, you're up to date.

2008-10-08T19:25:00.002-04:00

RIVER QUEEN OF DEATH

I played great, I really did, but still the ledger shows a $1120 loss on the day. I remember hearing a long time ago that most of the professional baseball players in the minor leagues are just being paid to provide competition for the prospects who have a real chance of making the majors. The poker equivalent that I was reminded of today is that most of the hands you play in any given session are just there to set up the occasional huge pot and it is how you perform in the big pots that defines the session.

I was chipping up steadily with my $600 buy-in until the first big pot brought an untimely river queen to kill me in a $450 pot. I was heads-up with A-K and position. The flop was Th-Ts-9h, and I checked behind him. The turn was the Kd and I put in a healthy bet after he checked. He pushed and I called. After checking twice, he wasn't about to convince me that he had trips or better. I figured he had either K-Q or K-J and either one beat me once the queen came. It was K-J.

I lost the remainder of my initial buy-in when I got comped into a three-way flop and caught top/bottom with two random cards. There was significant action and it all got in. I lost to top two from the random cards in the small blind.

I was down $600 but not discouraged. But the next beat was brutal. I was in the small blind with A-K and there was an early limper. I figured my best way to play it was to merely complete the bet and disguise the strength of my hand. The big blind took the bait and bumped it up to $30. I considered my trap a success and repopped it to $125, looking to take it down out of position. He comes back with his entire stack, which I called for my remaining $600. The board came 7-3-2-5-Q. There were no flushes but as the cards fell, I was still thinking I needed to connect or else I can only beat A-Q. When the queen fell, I knew I was dead, and indeed he had A-Q. So, there is some solace that I got over $600 in with way the best of it, but it still sucks when the result is so wrong.

2008-09-29T19:59:00.003-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY 09.29.08

I think I've established by now that I am destined to lose money at poker and the only excitement derived from the game lies with experiencing the variety of ways the abuse is metered out. Today, I chased a hand, caught it, then was reminded that nothing is a sure thing.

PREFLOP: $2/4 NLHE ring game.
HAND: Js-9s
ACTION: It folds around to me and I raise to $12. The button raises to $36. I call.
ANALYSIS: I had bought in for $400. I was up and down over a few hours and currently I was at $240 after taking a couple of tough beats. I make a standard late position raise and the button plays back at me. I make a lot of late position raises so I like to defend in this spot sometimes with suited connectors unlikely to be dominated and hope to catch big and hopefully make the next guy think twice about reraising me. I make the call and look for a friendly flop.

POT: $78
FLOP: Qs-Td-2c
ACTION: * / B $56 / C
ANALYSIS: He puts in a healthy bet so I don't doubt that he has something, but I flopped something too. It's not enough that I want to get into a raising war right here, but I could catch my card or a scary Q or T could enable me to move him off of an overpair. I call and hope to catch lucky on the turn.

POT: $190
TURN: Qs-Td-2c / Kh
ACTION: B $145 all-in / C
ANALYSIS: I caught lucky. If he has anything at all, he's bound to either really like the king or really dislike it, so I decide to just move in and hope for a call. He calls with As-Qh, which has been reduced to second pair with a gutshot. He would have certainly checked behind me so I was right to shove and have him go with what used to be top pair, top kicker, but now is a 7% longshot.

POT: $480
RIVER: Qs-Td-2c / Kh / Jd
ACTION: all-in on turn
ANALYSIS: Ouch, the three outer. Time to rebuy.

2008-09-25T13:27:00.002-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY 09.25.08

It's been rough waters since my two cashes a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday delivered a painful dose of suck when I sat down to play PLO8 and promptly went up $800 before a sick turnabout made for a huge downswing and a $400 loss on the day. I ran into the guy who could not lose and lost pot after pot to him when he consistently hit the river card after the money was in. I do think there is profit to be made at that game though, as the day before, I was the guy who could not lose, which means the other guy was missing the river card after the money went in.

Today, I waited until the 10AM $109 MTT before jumping into a game. I was ready for a long day of patient poker but was instead served the rich irony of being the first player to bust. Here it is in its entirety. It is the first deal of the $10/20 level. The table has not even filled up yet. There are two empty seats. It folds to me on the cutoff with Kd-Jh and I pop it to $60. The small blind calls and the big blind folds.

POT: $140
FLOP: Qs-Tc-9h
ACTION: * / B $100 / C
ANALYSIS: I've flopped the stone nuts. There is no flush draw. He's either got none of it, or some of it, but I've got to bet to build a pot, so I make the standard continuation bet after he checks to me. He calls, which leads me to think he's got some of it, or at least a jack for the straight draw.

POT: $340
TURN: Qs-Tc-9h / 2s
ACTION: * / B $200 / R $1280 / C
ANALYSIS: The deuce changes nothing. I've still got the nuts. Now there is a spade draw to go with the straightening flop, but he is still checking to me. I don't want to lose him, so I double my bet to $200, hoping he will call again and pad my stack in the early going. He surprises me by check/raising me half his stack. The obvious play here is to reraise all-in but since I'm holding the nuts and he will be forced to act first on the river, I opt for the delayed shove to allow better odds that he will commit all his chips. He probably would commit them on the turn if he thinks he's strong enough to check/raise but I just don't want to take the chance that he will fold to my shove. I decide it is a better play to show weakness and let him continue applying pressure on the river. Sure, I'm giving him the free card, but there's really no difference whether the card comes first or not since my prime directive is to get his chips in the pot. If he beats me on the river, then he was going to beat me anyways if we had gotten all in on the turn. I'm basically deciding to go with my hand regardless of what comes on the river, whether the board pairs or if another spade comes. If either of those cards helps him, then he was destined to suck out on me. If he's got J-8 or Q-T, then I'm figuring his money is going in on the river regardless of what comes.

POT: $2900
RIVER: Qs-Tc-9h / 2s / 9c
ACTION: B $620 / R $1560 all-in / C
ANALYSIS: I'm not loving the nine on the river, but I'm not going to chicken out now. I already decided on the turn that I was going with the hand on the river. I expected him to shove, but he instead only bets half his stack, so I complete the bet by raising all-in. He calls and shows a pair of deuces for the full house. Yuck. The old runner-runner boat over the nut straight routine.

2008-09-18T19:10:00.003-04:00

TREADMILL

I thought I had some sort of momentum after last week but I've been busy outside the house without much chance to test it. Yesterday, I got into a cash game, played well, but had terrible luck. I folded my first A-A on the turn when my opponent called quickly on the flop then led into me on the turn. The flop was something like T-9-8 or 9-8-7 which made it easy to see I was being suckered. I got aces again towards the end of my session but it folded around. The big blow came when I flopped a set of sixes versus top pair and got all the money in on the flop. I lost when two hearts came to give the guy a four-flush and the $650 pot. I did have a nice payback when I beat a set of sixes later by catching a straight on the river against a different player for $380.

Another big hand played out sort of strangely: I raised to $18 ($3/6 NL) from utg with As-Ks and was called in three spots for a $81 pot. The flop came 5s-3s-3d which I didn't mind at all. I bet $48 into the field and got two callers. At this point, I'm thinking of course they have overpairs, but I'm playing it strong from first position so how comfortable can they be. The turn is the Td which I figure is a scare card for most of the pairs they could be holding, so I shove my final $156 into the $225 pot. One of the players calls me, the guy to my left who was first to call preflop. I'm thinking he could be as strong as 5-5 for the flopped full house, but anything else and I can still catch a spade, ace, or king. The river is the Ts and I think I've bagged it until he turns up Kh-Th. Wow, I can say okay to the preflop call but what's he doing calling me on the flop with two players behind him? I can't say I understand that play at all unless he knew what was coming. I've got no problem with how aggressively I played the hand - I certainly got unlucky that he called me on the flop then went on to suck out on me. There's no way he thinks his hand is good at that point, and it wasn't, so he needs to first catch a pair and then have it be the best pair, all the while avoiding the spade draw that he must have put me on. It was a losing play but it sure got all my chips.

I made a note of a couple of other hands: I was playing Stud8 for cash and raised the button from the small blind when he open-called, looking to go heads up with Ad-Qd-Qh-8h. The big blind called and we played three-way. The flop was Jh-Th-9d giving me the second nut straight with the third nut flush draw and even a backdoor nut flush draw. I bet and the big blind called. The turn was the 5c which changed nothing. It was a pot-limit game so I hate to build a monster pot with less than the nuts but I'm beating trips and don't care to see another heart come off and put me to a tough decision, so I bet out. He raises me and I take another look at my hand. Hmm, he's saying he's got the K-Q. I'm holding two queens so I don't wholly buy that line. He may have some sort of 8-7 with the A-2 of hearts. If it is true he has the nut straight, I'm just going to have to catch that heart and win it with the flush. I don't have the stone nuts, but I do have the heart draw in case he does, so I put my last chips in. He not only turns out to have the K-Q for the nut straight, but he's also got the J-9 and fills up when the 9h comes on the river. Lucky for me, I've got a straight flush and a $496 pot.

That hand was definitely the high point. It was all downhill from there and I don't think I ever won another pot. The other hand is just kind of a cute hand in a NLHE tourney in which I later busted without getting paid. A player raises to $90 from two off the button and I call with 9s-8s from the big blind. The flop is Ks-Th-8h and I check. He checks behind me, so my pair figures to be good. The turn is the 5s giving me a spade draw with my third pair. I check again just so I can get crafty on the river if another spade comes. He checks behind. The river is the beautiful As and I check a third time. Finally, he bets $60 into me. I raise to $420 and he calls with a measly A-7. I was proud of that hand because I managed to win a big pot at an early level just by extending the hand against a weak player when I could have easily won a small pot on either the flop or turn with a bet. Early in a tournament, it pays to give the other guy more chances to make mistakes.

My final seminar of the day is on a hand that just busted me out of a $150 MTT near the bubble. I have A-K in first position with a below-average stack, yet plenty enough chips to coast to the money. I make a standard 3x raise from utg at my 7-handed table and the player in fourth position raises me from $1.5k to $7k. There is $15k in my stack and $25k in his, which is just a tick above average. I am put to a big decision when it folds back around to me. I consider all three options. I can fold, coast to the money, then try to get lucky. I don't like that option because I need chips to make a deep run and Big Slick is just the kind of hand I'm looking for. I'm most likely even money to win the hand, so why run away, even if it means busting on the bubble. I could instead play the coin flip and take the 50% chance of coming away with an above average stack in an event in which I can really make some decent cash.

I think about calling and taking a flop which would cost me half my stack and only allow me to see three of the five board cards. Obviously, if I pair up, I'm going with it, and if I miss, then I let it go. If I had more chips, I could have played it this way, but since folding to the flop would make me an underdog anyways to cash in the event, I decided to go ahead and shove it in and take the coin toss. Even though he had plenty of chips compared to me, I thought there was a slight chance that he may fold to my raise since I made it in the face of a certain call. It would not be unheard of for a player to consider folding jacks or tens in this spot since he is likely to be only a slight favorite or a massive underdog against a hand I'm willing to die with.

Well, he called, showed jacks, I caught an ace on the flop, and he caught a jack on the river. It was a heartbreaking exit for me since obviously, if I would have merely called his raise, I could have probably won the hand with a shove on the flop and avoided the river disaster. Of course, that's easy to say now, and I can't even be sure he would have folded had it played out that way. I guess it was just a tough situation. Since he reraised my utg raise, and thus is announcing a big pair, should I give more consideration to folding in this spot rather than calling or shoving?

2008-09-11T16:27:00.002-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 09.11.08

I busted out of a MTT this morning and moved over to a cash game. I won nearly $300 spending a couple hours at a couple of $3/6 NL tables. Here is the craziest hand of the session:

I open-raise in 5th position with Ad-3d; the bb calls.

POT: $39
FLOP: 7h-6d-6c
ACTION: * / *
ANALYSIS: He checks which tells me nothing. I'm going to get check/raised often enough in this spot that I prefer to take a free card, so I check behind.

POT: $39
TURN: 7h-6d-6c / Ac
ACTION: * / *
ANALYSIS: I catch my ace but still see no reason to bet. Maybe he calls me with a straight or flush draw, but if he has a playable hand at this point, it likely has me beat. I would rather wait to put in a small bet at the river if he checks it to me a third time. Then he might call me with an underpair to my aces.

POT: $39
RIVER: 7h-6d-6c / Ac / As
ACTION: B $30 / R $60 / R $180 / x
ANALYSIS: I waited long enough to see my ace-high transmuted into a full house. And better yet, he's betting into me. I had some suspicions that he may have flopped trips and now I think he is making a desperation bet after seeing the hand slip away. I suppose I could just call here and close the action since I don't exactly have the nuts, but I've made this min-raise on the river in this spot so often that my fingers executed the action before my brain even got involved. The other guy nearly always begrudgingly calls, shows a six, then curses his luck. One thing that has never happened to me before was having an opponent re-raise me instead. If he would have min-raised me instantly to $120, I'm sure my fingers would have obliged him with the call. But, he took a moment to think through the situation and then put out a meaty 3x raise. There's no way he puts that money in with less than quads, since I obviously have at least aces full. At the $3/6 NL level, I would expect a player to call me with an ace, probably call with a pair of sevens and maybe even call with a six, but never would I expect to get raised by any of those hands. He must have 6-6. I don't think I've ever put an opponent on quads before and folded, so I broke new ground by mucking my boat.

2008-09-09T20:07:00.002-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 09.08.08

This hand was not played by me, but rather something I witnessed while watching the final table of a $10k event at PokerStars. I had been railing Orel Hershiser for a few hours while I played in my own penny-ante games. Orel made it all the way to the final table but busted with A-A when Jonathan Little flopped a set of sixes. This hand came soon after, with seven players remaining.

Little is on the bb with Ac-5h; the antes are $2k and the blinds are $12k/22k. I'm not sure why not $24k but these are the numbers that were showing onscreen. There is a first-position raise to $50k and Little calls.

POT: $120k
FLOP: 5c-4s-2c
ACTION: B $72k / R $240k / C
ANALYSIS: Little flops top pair, top kicker, with a gutshot and bets out with it against an opponent likely playing two overcards. The raise may indicate that his opponent holds two high clubs or an overpair or maybe just doesn't believe. Little calls.

POT: $600k
TURN: 5c-4s-2c / Qd
ACTION: * / B $420k / C
ANALYSIS: Little check/calls the turn when a club doesn't materialize. It's a big bet from a guy who doesn't seem to mind the queen. It's possible the queen hit his opponent who may be playing two high clubs and now has caught top pair. In hindsight, this seems to be the time to get away from the hand, but Little thinks his fives are good and hopes to check the hand down to victory.

POT: $1.44m
RIVER: 5c-4s-2c / Qd / Ts
ACTION: * / B $2.5m all-in / C $1.2m
ANALYSIS: Little checks the river and tanks for a long time when his opponent shoves the river. I think Little expected to win this pot at showdown but now his opponent is not allowing him to go to showdown for free. He either has a monster or complete air. He has shown nothing but strength throughout the hand and can very well have a set of queens, but Little is convinced that it is a multi-street bluff and he makes the hero call for all his chips. His opponent shows 5d-4d for a flopped two pair. Little goes from second place to out 7th while the other guy becomes the massive chip leader and later wins the event and $618k. Little cashes $108k and lies awake that night.

As for me, I followed up my big win with another run in a $109 MTT in which I got a bunch of chips before misfortune struck. I got sly in a sb/bb confrontation with Kd-Jd v 8s-8d and checked third and fourth streets with a Q-J-x-x board before letting my opponent catch his set on the river and paying him off. Very soon after, I raised with K-K and got played back at from a guy shoving Q-8. I'm supposed to be able to say "ha! I've got kings." but he made the longshot straight and I was not for long, busting before the money.

Today, however, I made the final table in another $109 MTT, dying in fifth place for a $3k score. We were five-handed forever and I was the chip leader, with another playing gaining on me. He raised the button and I reraised the sb with Q-Q. When he didn't fold right away, I got worried as he was the only player at the table who could really hurt me. He went all-in and even gave a speech first: "time for bed" or something similar. I knew I was in trouble. I prayed I would see J-J, hoped I might see A-K, but feared I would see K-K. I called and saw kings. I busted the next hand.

I think it is possible to fold queens in that spot but I have never been one to do it. It is just my luck that I finally pick up the third best hand and run into a better one. I thought for a moment about letting it go after the speech. I could have folded and still been in third place. Even better, I wish I had merely called preflop to save such a monster decision. I could have gotten away once the king flopped. I think with time, I may be able to find a fold there facing a third raise, but today, I found the call and was eliminated.

2008-09-07T12:18:00.002-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 09.06.08

$109 MTT; I got some chips early, stalled for awhile, then when the antes kicked in, I tried to steal whenever the situation looked decent. Moments ago, I open-raised from the small blind then called a reraise with K-6. I got lucky enough to hit trip sixes on the flop and felted the big blind who had Q-Q for a $12k pot. Two hands later, with the player on the button sitting out, I open-raise with J-9 and get called by the small blind who has a $14k stack:

POT: $2325
FLOP: Td-8c-7c
ACTION: B ($1200) / R ($3600) / R ($12.2k all-in) / C
ANALYSIS: Okay, nothing terribly surprising here as the hand plays itself when you flop the joint. The surprising thing is that my opponent shows A-K. Rather than pop it up preflop, he decides to slowplay Big Slick. I suppose if I have A-J and an ace comes, then he looks like a genius when we get into a raising war. When he misses the flop, however, I think his hand plays better as a check-raise than a lead-out. Once I raise him, with that board, he should have cursed his luck and mucked. Thankfully for me, he decided to represent a monster while I was harboring the nuts. It goes to show you that a big part of winning poker is just avoiding the total collapse of reason. I am guilty of making bad bluffs often at this stage in tournaments. I usually wind up muttering to myself "bluff into weakness, not strength." This player had enough chips to coast for awhile. It is okay to sometimes slowplay big cards in a situation where you are not expected to have such a strong hand, but you must be prepared to get away cheaply if the other guy indicates that he's got ace-high beat. I benefitted by the combination fortuitous flop and opponent's catastophic blunder, vaulting me into the chip lead.

I went on to make the final table as the chip leader. I lost a few hands in a row and became the short stack but I never gave up and I waited for my rush. Two hands in particular helped me out tremendously: I min-raised from utg with A-A and got two callers. I flopped a set and waited until the turn to make my move. It wouldn't have mattered as one of my opponents had flopped an underset so it was just a matter of time until the chips went in. Later, with five players remaining, I called an all-in and was delighted to have him dominated A-9 > A-7. The flop came 7-5-2 and I figured my luck had run out until the 6/8 peeled off to bring justice. I had more than half the chips four-handed and the same scenario played out when I busted the fourth guy. I had the A-8 > A-6 and he flopped the pair before I rivered the straight. First you have to play perfectly, then you have to avoid getting unlucky. It was all working for me during this event. I went into heads-up play with a modest chip lead. I lost the lead then got it back, then at 2:30 AM PST, we decided to chop it up evenly: $8560.

2008-09-05T16:31:00.002-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 09.05.08

$22 MTT; already in the money; $200/400/50 level; big stack to my left. It folds to me two off the button. I raise to $1111 with Ad-Qs. The big stack calls and everyone else folds.

POT: $3272
FLOP: As-Jd-2d
ACTION: * / B ($2400) / C
ANALYSIS: I paired my ace but my instincts tell me to check to see what develops. He puts out a 3/4-pot-sized bet as if he's got an ace. The scary thing is that if he does have an ace, there's a real good chance that his kicker is a jack. He very likely would have raised me preflop with A-K as I was raising from late position and he has me easily covered. There would have been no reason for him to play Big Slick cautiously in that spot. I can't fold to what could be a steal attempt, but neither am I anxious to check-raise. I've got the ace of diamonds so I call, looking for a diamond to slow down the action and give me some outs against A-J.

POT: $8072
TURN: As-Jd-2d / 8c
ACTION: * / B ($31k all-in) / x
ANALYSIS: I check, content to give up some value if I'm ahead in order to keep from busting if I'm behind. If he checks behind me, then I can either make a value bet on the river or check-call depending on the card. If he makes a small bet, then I will be faced with a decision. He chooses option c by shoving his monster stack. If I fold, I've still got $6.4k. If I call, I'm almost certainly beat since he is not shoving here with a flush draw. I make the fold and he assures me that A-Q was no good. I can't imagine it was anything other than A-J. See, occasionally, I can fold a hand. I went on to run Q-Q into K-K to finish 133/1584 to nearly double my $22 investment.

2008-09-05T16:00:00.002-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 09.04.08

$2/4 NLHE cash game, six-handed. I am $600 invested and my stack is $780. The player I am up against has a stack of $470. I am dealt Qc-Qh in second position. The utg player raises to $14, I raise to $40. The player behind me calls the $40 and the original raiser folds, leaving us heads up.

POT: $100
FLOP: 7c-4d-2s
ACTION: B ($44) / R ($99) / R ($172) / R ($432 all-in) / C ($260)
ANALYSIS: Obviously, the player to my left has a hand good enough to call me preflop after I had raised the utg player. I am representing a big hand so I think if has aces or kings, he would have popped it up and tried to get it all in pre-flop. I'm left thinking he's most likely got J-J, T-T, or A-K. The flop is safe if I am in the lead because I don't think he invests $40 cold with a pair of sevens or smaller. So, the only hands I am losing to are aces and kings. With this flop, it is likely we both have overpairs, and even more likely I've got the better one, so I want to build a pot. I bet out a little less than half the pot to represent a scared A-K.

He makes a small raise, which is not entirely unexpected. We both know he has a pair and it looks as if he's trying to find out cheaply if it is any good. Well, I'm losing to aces or kings, I'm tied with queens, and I'm beating jacks and tens, and even nines and eights, though I consider those hands less likely. He only called me preflop when he was offered the opportunity to build a pot, so either he doesn't have a giant pair or he was determined even then to create a raising war post-flop on a baby board. I don't really see the point in calling here. I think I need to go to war and test my queens to see if they are good. I put in a healthy reraise to announce that his pair is no good.

I am not happy when he then pushes all-in. It is beginning to appear as if he has played a giant pair for maximum value. It will cost me $260 to win $962. I need to win this showdown around 27% of the time to break even on the call. I make the call for several reasons: first, the table is short-handed, which makes me want to believe there is a better chance that queens are going to be the best hand with only five opponents; second, I think he has either kings, queens, or jacks. I am beating one of those hands and tying another. I'm drawing thin against the kings but I want to believe that it all adds up to a call; third, at the $2/4 level, I would not be completely surprised if he shows A-K suited with his fingers crossed; and finally, I really suck at poker and seem to make it a habit of getting my money in with the second best hand.

I call and he shows Ks-Kc. I go on to run pair into higher pair, and trips into a full house and lose $1200 on the day.

2008-09-02T13:35:00.002-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 09.01.08

$3/6 NLHE cash game. I am $900 invested and my current stack is $535. I've been getting no cards at all and the table is pretty tight, yet I stay because I've been playing a few hours and know the table, plus I am due a flurry of high cards at any moment.

In this hand, I am under the gun and a new player has sat down two seats to my left with a $240 stack. He posts the $6 rather than waiting three hands for the big blind. That is usually the sign of a gambling-type player. The smallish stack also points towards him being a gambler since he's presumably more interested in risking a smaller stack in an attempt to double up quickly than he is in playing deep-stack poker, which takes patience.

I am dealt As-Qc and decide it is in my best interest to limp in and hope for a flurry of preflop action with that extra dead blind sitting out there. I will fly in under the radar and hope to isolate when it comes back around to me.

It doesn't take long for the action to ramp up as the dead blind guy raises to $27 to protect his investment. It folds all the way around to me. I am highly dubious that he's got a hand better than A-Q. I've seen this routine before where a player posts when he shouldn't and then compounds his error by overplaying his hand preflop. I imagine he's got some sort of playable hand like two big cards or two suited middle cards. I think I have the best hand but I'm not ready to announce that just yet. Since he will have position on me for the rest of the hand, I'm satisfied with taking a flop and seeing if he is willing to overplay his hand some more if I continue to show weakness. I call $21, bringing the pot to $63.

FLOP: 2s-6c-2d
ACTION: * / B ($63) / R ($144) / R ($213 all-in) / C $69
ANALYSIS: I love this flop. I haven't hit a flop all day but I couldn't have missed this one better. I'm willing to bet his $240 that my A-Q beats whatever he's holding, so I check with the intention of check-raising. He knows that flop missed me and he needs me to fold ace-high so he puts out an intimidating pot-sized bet to take it down. The bet could mean that he has a low pair but if so, then I'm just going to have to outdraw him because my chips are going in. I raise to $144.

I have effectively put him all in, because I'm not folding at this point. Folding does not seem to be an option for him. He sets his phaser to gamble and shoots it all into the middle. I call and he shows Kd-Jh. The ace on the turn ends it and I win a $486 pot.

This pot got me turned around and I went on to recoup my buy-in with an additional $108 profit before quitting.

2008-08-30T03:48:00.002-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 08.28.08

$100 MTT; $100/200 blind level. I have Ah-Jd in the big blind. Preflop, there is a raise to $600 from third position and a call from fourth position. I call the $400.

FLOP: Js-7s-7d
ACTION: B ($1200) / R ($5245 all-in) / x / C
ANALYSIS: I'm not a huge fan of A-J in a three-way pot but I can't just fold two big boys preflop when I'm already involved in the blind. So when I hit the flop, I've got to play the hand hard and see what happens. The pot is $1900 and I've got the initial raiser covered so rather than play guessing games, I make a strong bet that basically announces that I have a jack.

He raises me and the third player folds. He would certainly want to get all his chips involved with an overpair to jacks but on such a relatively short stack, and a third player still involved, I tend to think he would flat call in this spot and try to build a pot. Because of my strong bet, it is unlikely I have a flush draw so what's his hurry to push me off my hand and drive out the third guy? If he's got queens or kings, I'm still 1:4 to win which beats drawing dead, but his overbet has me thinking that maybe he's the one on a flush draw. All that plus the fact that I still have $4400 behind should I lose this pot leads me to call.

He shows As-Ts and my two pair holds up. This is how I get the chips but the way I spew them later on is much too horrendous to detail in this blog.

2008-08-28T17:06:00.003-04:00

BACK TO SCHOOL

I got schooled today on my first kid-free poker day since early June. The first reality check of the day was realizing that I've got a kid in middle school, which is sort of amazing considering I still have the emotional makeup of a twenty-year-old. The second reality check came when I realized that it doesn't matter how big your hand is, if some other player is designated by the poker gods to lord over you for a day, you can just expect him to wind up with all your chips.

I promised myself slow and steady gains during a long cash session while the kids were in school but my whole day came down to three big pots, all of which I lost. I bought in for $240 at a $2/4 NLHE table and within a couple of hours, I had nearly doubled my buy-in. I was playing ABC pretty much and when I finally got aces, I was able to raise in a spot where it looked like I could be making a squeeze play against a loose-aggressive raiser and a cold caller. I bumped it and the laggy called me, leading the other guy to believe his kings were good enough to go with. He shoved, I called, and the laggart folded, but the king came and I lost out on a $900 pot.

After buying back in and building back up a little, I got aces again and got all-in on the flop against the same player who had a flush draw on a jack-high board. He had the ace of clubs and probably thought he was in good shape, but I had him dead to clubs, so he caught one on the river to bust me. I got back in the game and lost my stack again when I raised the same guy with A-K preflop. He called with tens and spiked the A-T-3 board. I could have maybe avoided going broke with a deeper stack but I had witnessed this guy's affinity for getting his money in with the second best hand, so I just hoped he was on A-Q or A-J and in it went. Not an auspicious start to the new school year.

2008-08-22T22:05:00.003-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 08.22.08

I haven't been able to repeat my success with HORSE since the big day but today I was able to pull in another $1400 with a big NLHE session. It was an eight-handed table at the $3/6 level. I lost a chunk of my initial buy-in the moment I sat down with 8-8 against an all-in from a shorty with A-K. Then after another blow, I bought in for another $240 and built it past $2k before retiring. I actually won a $390 pot with a straight flush against a guy who flopped a set. I made the hand on the turn so it's a shame he didn't fill up on the river, or better yet, hit that final four. It would have been March Madness in late August but even so, he still paid off a $123 bet on the river with the straight and the flush heavy board.

Today's Hand of the Day was that early blow I referenced earlier. Again, I had 8-8, this time in third position with $3/6 blinds. I open-raised to $15 and the next three players all elected to call, as did the big blind for a $78 pot. I was pretty much done with the hand unless I fell in love with the flop.

FLOP: Kd-7s-3h
ACTION: * / * / * / * / *
ANALYSIS: There's a chance my eights are good but with three players left to act behind me, I am content to check/fold. When nobody bets, I become a believer in my hand.

TURN: Kd-7s-3h / 5h
ACTION: B ($60) / C / x / x / x
ANALYSIS: After a table full of checkers on the flop, the big blind decides he has A-K on the turn when a brick falls. I've seen this ruse before and I'm not buying it. He was getting the pot odds preflop to play anything so although he might have just made two pair or a straight, I'm leaning towards thinking he picked up a heart draw or he's sitting on a vulnerable pair of sevens. I really should raise here and try to end it. In my head, I'm thinking someone behind me may have me beat with a higher pair, so I just call, hoping to check it down. Thinking back on it now, if somebody did have a higher pair than mine, then a raise is even more indicated to ensure that I convince that guy to fold. I make the timid call instead, believing I have the best hand and hoping to take it down without further confrontation.

RIVER: Kd-7s-3h / 5h / 6c
ACTION: B ($132) / C
ANALYSIS: I was expecting him to give up on the river, especially when the scare card for the straight falls. He not only bets the scare card but puts in a healthy amount. I should fold my second pair but I'm curious. I just don't think he has a four so the only reason for such an aggressive bet out of position is because he needs me to fold. I don't think he bets two pair in this spot so either he's got some sort of 5-4 or he's got nothing. My curious nature gets the best of me and I call. He shows 9h-8h, aka The Nuts. Oh, it all makes perfect sense now. My instincts were good here but my luck was bad.

2008-08-22T17:23:00.002-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 08.21.08

$55 MTT turbo edition, first hand:

I am utg with 9-9 with a starting stack of $1500 and $15/30 blinds. I limp to see what develops. There are three others who take the flop. I did not record the particulars of the hand at the time but I'm recreating it now from memory. The suits are unimportant as there was no flush draw.

FLOP: 8-7-3
ACTION: * / B ($80) / x / R ($240) / x / C
ANALYSIS: It's a good flop, giving me an overpair with backdoor straight potential. I bet 3/4 of the pot to try to discourage anyone from getting fancy. When I am raised, a part of me wants to get out cheap as this is the first deal and the paltry starting stack coupled with the rapidly increasing blind structure dictates that I must win the first pot I contest or risk being severely crippled. I make the call since the true strength of my hand is pretty well concealed behind my open limp and I am beating him if he thinks A-8 is the nuts.

TURN: 8-7-3 / J
ACTION: * / B ($480) / C
ANALYSIS: The jack doesn't help me other than to bring me closer to that back door straight, but when he bets so aggressively, it makes me suspicious. I'm just not putting him on J-8 and I don't think he'd be so eager to price everybody out if he had flopped a set. I still think he has A-8 but I'm also beginning to think that 8-7 is more than a little likely based on his eagerness to end the hand. I decide to make the call but I will hope to check it down and will be forced to fold to a significant bet on the river, giving him credit for the 8-7.

RIVER: 8-7-3 / J / 3
ACTION: B ($750 all-in) / C
ANALYSIS: Well, I was hoping to see a jack, nine or three on the river and here is the trey. I can now beat 8-7 and half my starting stack is in the pot already so the shove is a no-brainer. If he has 8-7 he will likely call and if he has me beat, I was calling anyways. He calls and shows T-9 for the straight. Wow, I had never really considered that hand since I was holding two nines myself. I guess holding the blockers made me discount his big bet when the draw card came on the turn. I put him on a couple of hands that gave me a 50/50 chance of having him beat before the river and when the board paired the bottom card, then I was confident enough to risk my tournament life. Give me a $3k starting stack and I don't bust out here, but I tend to play my hands fast in a turbo event and this time, I was the first player eliminated.

2008-08-21T01:15:00.003-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 08.20.08

$163 MTT with 662 entrants, 16 remain:

The event paid 63 players. At the bubble, I was short enough that my aim was to linger until I made the money, which I accomplished. After the bubble burst, things went my way and I got a bunch of chips. I was trying to play smart so I could get to the final table where all the real money is. At this point, I had $177k in chips and a new player was moved into the seat to my left. He had $188k, the only other player at the table to have me outstacked. I got dealt Qd-Qh in second position and raised to $9,555. He reraised to $26,666 and I called, figuring it was prudent to take a flop before charging ahead.

FLOP: Ad-8d-3d
ACTION: * / *
ANALYSIS: I hate the ace but I do have the second nut flush draw. There's no reason for me to bet although I will call any bet that he makes. He checks behind me which is fine by me. The only hands that have me are the A-K or K-K with the king of diamonds. Anything else, and I've got at least a fighting chance.

TURN: Ad-8d-3d / 7d
ACTION: B ($32,500) / C
ANALYSIS: I catch my flush and bet for value. He calls, which could be good or not. He's in position, so if he's sitting on the king of diamonds, he doesn't need to let me know right away. If he's sitting on the jack of diamonds, then that's good news for me. He may even have three aces for all I know, and if so, then I've just taken the lead.

RIVER: Ad-8d-3d / 7d / 3s
ACTION: B ($75,800) / R ($128,000 all-in) / x
ANALYSIS: In hindsight, I hate my bet here. After I bet, I knew I put in too much. I only had $45,000 or so in reserve. I had chosen the amount of my value bet based on the size of the pot rather than the size of my stack. I rather wish that I had checked altogether and either called his pot-sized bet or folded to his all-in shove. I was making a value bet with the second nut flush but still, I am losing to Ax-Kd, A-A and Kx-Kd, three of his likely holdings, so I should have been content to play a smaller pot at this point. Once he raised me, I knew I was beat. Either he had the Kd or the full house. I gave it a good think, but the fact that I had put in such a hefty bet on the river and he raised me anyways told me that he wasn't concerned in the least that I had him beat. It was an easy laydown. I told him that I needed to know his hand for my blog and he did indeed own up to the Ax-Kd. Well, at least I didn't shove preflop which would have ensured my demise, and at least I didn't call his shove which would have ended my night. The major mistake came when I value bet the river with such a hefty bet. A smaller amount would have sufficed or even a check/call considering the situation. After 4.5 hours of play, I made a bad bet which cost me most of my stack and I was out soon after, running T-T into Q-Q to finish in 15th place.

In other news, I won over $1400 today playing HORSE at Full Tilt in the ring games. It is actually more fun to play the mixed game than to toil at NLHE all day and since it is a limit game, I can't lose my entire stack on one bad play. I made a number of small mistakes during the session, but small mistakes just reduce the profit, they don't turn a winning session into a losing session like the big mistakes in the no-limit games.

2008-08-13T20:02:00.002-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 08.13.08

Warning: this is a bad beat story in disguise:

Preflop, there are three limpers and I limp from the button with 5c-5s for $30.

FLOP: Kd-7c-5d
ACTION: * / B ($150) / x / C / C / C / x
ANALYSIS: I cold call with trips because I envision much more money going in on the turn if the bettor leads out again. I can slow down if a diamond comes but anything else and there will be fireworks.

TURN: Kd-7c-5d / 9c
ACTION: B ($550) / x / x / R ($1995) / C
ANALYSIS: He leads out big and the other guys muck. He's definitely not on a draw so I could just call here and hope no diamond hits so that we can get all in on the river, but the way he's betting, I'm convinced he's ready to get all-in now, so I shove. He calls and shows 7s-5h. He's got two outs at most, assuming none of those flop callers mucked a seven.

RIVER: Kd-7c-5d / 9c / 7h
ACTION: We are both all in with a $4770 pot.
ANALYSIS: Just because something is unlikely does not make it impossible. He caught the miracle card and my tournament was over.

As a side note, earlier in the day I managed to lose a pot in a cash game in which we were both all-in preflop with tens. He had only $39 so it was a no-brainer call when he shoved. He caught a flurry of clubs to take it down.

2008-08-10T00:57:00.002-04:00

BRUTALITY

Today was my worst day of poker ever. I dropped only $200 in the two tournaments I entered, but I was drained of $2100 at the cash tables. Nothing was going right, as you can imagine. It was cooler after cooler, bad beat after bad beat. Here's a sampling of the brutality:

As-4c-Qc is the flop. I have Ac-Tc and the other guys have A-4 and Q-4. All the money gets in on the flop and I finish third.

8d-2d-3c is the flop. Somehow I manage to lose a $645 pot with K-K versus Ac-Tc who hits the running flush. The turn was the Kc, ensuring a big payoff to my foe with the nuts.

6d-6s-3s is the flop. I hit a monster after calling a raise with 6c-4c. Sadly, the other guy had 5s-4s and beat me twice, first with the deuce on the turn, then with the spade on the river for a $778 pot.

7d-2c-5s is the flop. It is a short-handed table and I defended against a button raise with A-5. He bet then re-raised me all-in and I just didn't buy that he had a big pair so I called off with second pair and I was right. He had Q-9 making me a 3:1 favorite, but he took the $512 pot with a queen on the turn.

Ah-9d-2h is the flop. I've got A-2 but fall to A-7 when the short stack catches for a $197 pot.

My final hand was partial bad play as I pushed and prayed but found myself up against a hand that could call. On the turn, I had top pair (aces) with the nut flush draw but he had trip sevens and I didn't catch my diamond. The end of a sad sad day.

2008-08-08T20:09:00.006-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 08.08.08

Another heroic call from your hero. This is from a tournament in which I failed to cash, but I still like my play here. It was a battle of the blinds and I had the bigger stack. I made a minimum raise to $120 with Kh-7c.

FLOP: Ac-Td-Kd
ACTION: B ($120) / C
ANALYSIS: I want to continuation bet here to represent that I've paired and hopefully take down the pot. I believe I have the best hand so I don't mind his call.

TURN: Ac-Td-Kd / Ts
ACTION: B ($180) / C
ANALYSIS: I don't like the ten because his call on the flop could very well mean he just tripped up. I make a small bet to see how he responds. He merely calls which pretty well clues me in that he doesn't have trips since he wouldn't have been content to merely call with all those draws out there. I also don't believe that he flopped the nuts with Q-J because he would be trying to build a bigger pot by now. He's either got a diamond draw or a weak king for the chop, or possibly an ambitious queen-high.

RIVER: Ac-Td-Kd / Ts / 9h
ACTION: B ($180) / R ($600) / C
ANALYSIS: Again, I make a small value bet, believing I've got the best hand or at least the chop. It is also an evident blocking bet as if I fear that he will make a big play for the pot should I check. He does take the bait and raises my bet. I don't believe the nine helped him because I'm not buying 9-9. You don't see many river bluffs in tournaments because of the inordinate expense involved, but by all appearances, that is what I am facing. There is a chance he has an ace or a monster like K-T, but I think there is more likelihood that he has some sort of queen or failed diamond draw and knows he can't win without making a play. I make the call and he shows Qd-5d. I win $2040.

2008-08-08T15:35:00.006-04:00

HAND OF THE DAY: 08.07.08

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. I played losing poker in June/July and now I think I've got my act together heading into August. I've got a renewed interest in improving my game now that my wife has lost her job because I need to either start making bank or looking for an entry-level job of my own. Don't worry, I thrive on pressure.

I raise $18 preflop from late position in a $3/$6 cash game with Ah-Tc and find a caller on the button and also from the big blind.

FLOP: 5c-7h-4d
ACTION: * / * / * (my action is green and * indicates check; x = fold; Bet/Raise/Call)
ANALYSIS: It checked around. I don't like betting this flop into two players. I'm already raising light from late position and a flop like this could be right in the wheelhouse of a big blind caller. I likely give up the pot if the button bets but his check indicates that I may have the best hand pending the bb's upcoming action on the turn.

TURN: 5c-7h-4d / 9h
ACTION: * / * / B ($26) / C / C
ANALYSIS: If the bb is still checking, then there's a chance my ace-high is the best hand. I'm content to check it down. The button takes a stab and it is an obvious toothless stab unless he's paired his nine. The bb calls quickly but doesn't raise - it looks like a draw. He is not showing enough strength to worry about and there's still a chance my ace-high is the best hand. I'm looking to check down a blank on the river and hope for the best.

RIVER: 5c-7h-4d / 9h / 3s
ACTION: * / * / B ($52) / x / C
ANALYSIS: The river is definitely a blank and I tend to think that I have the button beat. I hope that the bb has missed as well as I am content to check it down. The bb checks, I check, and the button takes another stab. The bb folds, which is a great result for me. I think the button checks A-J or better in this spot, looking for a showdown. His bet indicates to me that he has king-high and wants me off of ace-high. He seems to be looking for me to fold so I make the call and he shows Kd-Jd. I win $239.