"Fortune favors the bold. Nobody ever said fortune favors the greedy, for good reason. World history and poker history are littered with people who wanted everything --- sometimes even when they had almost everything. Wanting everything is the quickest way to having nothing that I know."
-------------Steve Badger
Friday, August 03, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
1/3 NL Tuesdays
It was another two-table night at D-N-K-Y. I got the feeling early that any time I was involved in a pot it was going to be interesting a fun and the night didn't disappoint!
On one hand, there was a $15 dollar raise from the small blind and about 4 callers, I called with KJos and the flop comes QJT rainbow. The original raiser bet 20 dollars and it folded around to me. I pushed all in for about $100 more and he ended up folding. A little rabbit hunting showed I would have spiked the A on the river to give me the nut strait, thinking I pulled off a pretty slick bluff I showed my hand. I was sorely disappointed to see that the original raiser actually just had a pair of 9's, so I wasn't even bluffing. There I thought I was being all coy making a great play and it ended up that i had the best hand! Shucks!
One thing I hate is getting outplayed. Not that I claim to be a great player, but from a competitive aspect that draws me to this game...I hate being outplayed. Sup, as everyone knows is a fairly tight player, I had AsQs in late position and raise it up to 16, sup re-raises me to 50 in the bb. Everyone reluctantly folds, and sup shows his hand. We rabbit hunt again (pretty much a norm for all us donkeys at this game) and showed that I would have turned the stone cold nuts......damnit sup! No more respect for your raises!
At one point in the evening, Chen (Or Shen...however you spell it?!?) re-raises frank to around $65, Frank pushes all in and Chen calls off all his chips....remember this detail...Chen calls off ALL HIS CHIPS to Frank's push. The boardcomes 8x 3x 10x Kx Kx, Frank flips over AQ and Chen shows.......8x3x....that's so sick. What's even more hilarious (besides the fact he-reraised then called off all his chips) is that just a few weeks ago, he took a big pot off of Chad when Chad had KK, Chen called $75 flop bet (after calling preflop of course) with 8x3x on an 8-high board, the spiking another 8 on the turn. Ever since then Chad has had a bounty on whoever can bust Chen out. Just when we all thought Chen was going to start playing solid poker!
Later on in the evening Brennan makes it $13 to go in an unopened pot from the cutoff, I wake up with KcKh from the small blind and raise to $50. He gives me a long, glaring stare and cold calls the raise. I already feel like I'm up against the nuts after this, the flop comes A-high with two clubs. I lead out for a pitiful $25 bet and Brennan makes a few more comments and cold calls it. It's now obvious what he has and I'm done with my hand. I check the turn (another spade) and he bets like $60, I tell him he has aces and fold my kings and sure enough....he has aces. While the river would have given me a K, I was pretty much done with the hand after his smooth call on the flop. Had the flop come A-K-X, I would have still mucked, in fact, I wish it had come that, cause that would have been damn spiffy of me to muck middle set to his aces...but when you know, you just know!
Cause every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loser, and the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep!
-CA
On one hand, there was a $15 dollar raise from the small blind and about 4 callers, I called with KJos and the flop comes QJT rainbow. The original raiser bet 20 dollars and it folded around to me. I pushed all in for about $100 more and he ended up folding. A little rabbit hunting showed I would have spiked the A on the river to give me the nut strait, thinking I pulled off a pretty slick bluff I showed my hand. I was sorely disappointed to see that the original raiser actually just had a pair of 9's, so I wasn't even bluffing. There I thought I was being all coy making a great play and it ended up that i had the best hand! Shucks!
One thing I hate is getting outplayed. Not that I claim to be a great player, but from a competitive aspect that draws me to this game...I hate being outplayed. Sup, as everyone knows is a fairly tight player, I had AsQs in late position and raise it up to 16, sup re-raises me to 50 in the bb. Everyone reluctantly folds, and sup shows his hand. We rabbit hunt again (pretty much a norm for all us donkeys at this game) and showed that I would have turned the stone cold nuts......damnit sup! No more respect for your raises!
At one point in the evening, Chen (Or Shen...however you spell it?!?) re-raises frank to around $65, Frank pushes all in and Chen calls off all his chips....remember this detail...Chen calls off ALL HIS CHIPS to Frank's push. The boardcomes 8x 3x 10x Kx Kx, Frank flips over AQ and Chen shows.......8x3x....that's so sick. What's even more hilarious (besides the fact he-reraised then called off all his chips) is that just a few weeks ago, he took a big pot off of Chad when Chad had KK, Chen called $75 flop bet (after calling preflop of course) with 8x3x on an 8-high board, the spiking another 8 on the turn. Ever since then Chad has had a bounty on whoever can bust Chen out. Just when we all thought Chen was going to start playing solid poker!
Later on in the evening Brennan makes it $13 to go in an unopened pot from the cutoff, I wake up with KcKh from the small blind and raise to $50. He gives me a long, glaring stare and cold calls the raise. I already feel like I'm up against the nuts after this, the flop comes A-high with two clubs. I lead out for a pitiful $25 bet and Brennan makes a few more comments and cold calls it. It's now obvious what he has and I'm done with my hand. I check the turn (another spade) and he bets like $60, I tell him he has aces and fold my kings and sure enough....he has aces. While the river would have given me a K, I was pretty much done with the hand after his smooth call on the flop. Had the flop come A-K-X, I would have still mucked, in fact, I wish it had come that, cause that would have been damn spiffy of me to muck middle set to his aces...but when you know, you just know!
Cause every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loser, and the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep!
-CA
Chip preserve!!!!
As this is the 1st blog post I have done on my own I will be to the point unlike Rick & Charles who have way to much time on their hands!! If their Boss new how much time they spent blogging then I think they would be working for me!!! I would just like to say "If any of you homo's touch my stuff I'll kill you!!! That being said, stay the F away from my stack, and if you are lucky enough to get some of the towering mountain of power then stay the F off of chip preserve!!!!!! You little faggity porkchops. Just for the record on Ricks last post, I had no chips to cash out Monday night... I, unlike Charles, Dean, Shirk, Tom, Frank,& Rick go for the GUSTO!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes your the Big winner, or you are Charles!!! Anyone who feel they would like blog lessons, you call the "Juice"
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
2007 WSOP (Question)
Has there been a rules change regarding use of profanity at WSOP tables?
I am watching the final table of a PL Omaha event on ESPN and Dave Elliott just let the explicatives fly. Of course, the network bleeped them all but I am pretty sure he used the "F" word ten or so times in less than a minute. He has said F&$* several more times in the few minutes I've been typing this post. I remember Mike-the-Mouth being penalized time last year for saying it twice.
Have the rules been relaxed? Is it something that only applies to the Main Event due to the wide exposure? Just curious.
Anyone know anything about this?
Scott R
I am watching the final table of a PL Omaha event on ESPN and Dave Elliott just let the explicatives fly. Of course, the network bleeped them all but I am pretty sure he used the "F" word ten or so times in less than a minute. He has said F&$* several more times in the few minutes I've been typing this post. I remember Mike-the-Mouth being penalized time last year for saying it twice.
Have the rules been relaxed? Is it something that only applies to the Main Event due to the wide exposure? Just curious.
Anyone know anything about this?
Scott R
Monday with The Juice
Since one of our dealers was going to be out of town, our usual $5/10 NLO8 Tuesday game got moved to Monday. Absent were many of the action players like Eli, Elvie and Bill. Like a good host, however, Dave almost single-handedly provided the evening’s entertainment. And, as I have trained him so well to do, my scout went out into the field, gathered chips from most of the others, then brought them back home to me. Good boy, Davey – remind me to give you a biscuit!
I did a decent job of not committing too many chips while drawing, trying to keep the pots as small as possible. This is not always an easy task in a game featuring His Juiciness. I don’t believe I was involved in any make-or-break hands throughout the session, and in those inevitable hands where I got corn-holed on the river, I was able to escape with only flesh wounds.
Most of the hands I was involved in were relatively uneventful, and I just steadily built my stack throughout the night. The one hand that sticks out wasn’t a monster by any means, but I found it interesting in how it played out. I believe we had the usual pre-flop straddle, with most of the table calling. I look down to find Ax-4x-5d-8d, and we see a flop of 6d-7d-Qx. I like the flop, as I have a lot of different draws (wrap, decent low, open-end straight flush, etc). Dave must like it also, because he leads out with a fairly large bet. I forget the exact amount (all the hands run together after a while…) but $140 somehow rings a bell. I make the call, as does John S.
While Dave can have anything from top set to some goofy runner-runner crap, I know John must have a very good draw to call a large bet. Having a relatively shorter stack, he would most likely push in or fold with a smaller set, and definitely push in with top set. My initial read is that he has a good low draw, and possibly a flush draw along with it. It’s funny all the different scenarios that can go through your mind in just a couple seconds. Usually I’m thinking of the card I want to see, but in this case I was thinking of cards I don’t want to see, such as a 2 or 3. These cards give me a good low, but not the nuts. I wouldn’t mind it if I was in position, but I don’t want to end up being the “sucker in the middle” facing a large turn bet from Dave, with John yet to act behind.
As I’ve said before: Easy decisions - gooood. Tough decisions - baaaad.
At any rate, my decision gets a lot easier when a beautiful little 9x comes on the turn. Almost a perfect card, as I now have a straight and there’s no low out there. Sure, it’s only second-nut, but it’s hard to put either opponent on a big wrap or gutshot, and if so, I’ve still got plenty of outs. Dave leads out with a $300 bet, and now the decision is whether to raise or smooth-call. This decision turns out to be a fairly easy one (gooood). If John has a good low draw, I definitely want to bet him out an isolate Dave. Then if a low card comes, I have a good chance of winning the entire pot. If he wants to risk his entire stack on just a draw, then I’ll leave him his own tough decision (baaaad) to make. Also, I want to get more of Dave’s chips into the pot, but since I have redraws, I don’t want to bet him out.
I decide that a min-raise should accomplish both goals, and I raise to $600. John grumbles a bit before folding, and Dave makes the call. There are a lot of cards I don’t mind seeing, but the board-pairing 6x is not one of them. Luckily, Dave checks to me, and I’m not forced to make a tough decision (baaaad). I’m more than happy to check behind with my straight, which by now is like the 23rd nut... He turns over Q-7 for a flopped top two-pair, and (I believe) a busted queen-high flush draw. I think John said he folded something like A-2-4-5, and I scoop a nice little pot of over $1,700.
The night ended a little earlier than usual. This was bad for everyone, as Dave still had chips left. Anytime Dave cashes out, two words come to mind – missed opportunity! Dave had amassed a lot of chips earlier, but as usual, his stack disappeared faster than the fried chicken at a Compton Golden Corral. Most of that chicken found its way onto my plate, and I ended up cashing out for a $3,500 profit. Not bad, but not near what I’m going to take from The Juice this Saturday night! That’s right, Dave. Break out your K-Y Jelly™ - it’s going to be painful!!
See ya at the tables…
Rick
I did a decent job of not committing too many chips while drawing, trying to keep the pots as small as possible. This is not always an easy task in a game featuring His Juiciness. I don’t believe I was involved in any make-or-break hands throughout the session, and in those inevitable hands where I got corn-holed on the river, I was able to escape with only flesh wounds.
Most of the hands I was involved in were relatively uneventful, and I just steadily built my stack throughout the night. The one hand that sticks out wasn’t a monster by any means, but I found it interesting in how it played out. I believe we had the usual pre-flop straddle, with most of the table calling. I look down to find Ax-4x-5d-8d, and we see a flop of 6d-7d-Qx. I like the flop, as I have a lot of different draws (wrap, decent low, open-end straight flush, etc). Dave must like it also, because he leads out with a fairly large bet. I forget the exact amount (all the hands run together after a while…) but $140 somehow rings a bell. I make the call, as does John S.
While Dave can have anything from top set to some goofy runner-runner crap, I know John must have a very good draw to call a large bet. Having a relatively shorter stack, he would most likely push in or fold with a smaller set, and definitely push in with top set. My initial read is that he has a good low draw, and possibly a flush draw along with it. It’s funny all the different scenarios that can go through your mind in just a couple seconds. Usually I’m thinking of the card I want to see, but in this case I was thinking of cards I don’t want to see, such as a 2 or 3. These cards give me a good low, but not the nuts. I wouldn’t mind it if I was in position, but I don’t want to end up being the “sucker in the middle” facing a large turn bet from Dave, with John yet to act behind.
As I’ve said before: Easy decisions - gooood. Tough decisions - baaaad.
At any rate, my decision gets a lot easier when a beautiful little 9x comes on the turn. Almost a perfect card, as I now have a straight and there’s no low out there. Sure, it’s only second-nut, but it’s hard to put either opponent on a big wrap or gutshot, and if so, I’ve still got plenty of outs. Dave leads out with a $300 bet, and now the decision is whether to raise or smooth-call. This decision turns out to be a fairly easy one (gooood). If John has a good low draw, I definitely want to bet him out an isolate Dave. Then if a low card comes, I have a good chance of winning the entire pot. If he wants to risk his entire stack on just a draw, then I’ll leave him his own tough decision (baaaad) to make. Also, I want to get more of Dave’s chips into the pot, but since I have redraws, I don’t want to bet him out.
I decide that a min-raise should accomplish both goals, and I raise to $600. John grumbles a bit before folding, and Dave makes the call. There are a lot of cards I don’t mind seeing, but the board-pairing 6x is not one of them. Luckily, Dave checks to me, and I’m not forced to make a tough decision (baaaad). I’m more than happy to check behind with my straight, which by now is like the 23rd nut... He turns over Q-7 for a flopped top two-pair, and (I believe) a busted queen-high flush draw. I think John said he folded something like A-2-4-5, and I scoop a nice little pot of over $1,700.
The night ended a little earlier than usual. This was bad for everyone, as Dave still had chips left. Anytime Dave cashes out, two words come to mind – missed opportunity! Dave had amassed a lot of chips earlier, but as usual, his stack disappeared faster than the fried chicken at a Compton Golden Corral. Most of that chicken found its way onto my plate, and I ended up cashing out for a $3,500 profit. Not bad, but not near what I’m going to take from The Juice this Saturday night! That’s right, Dave. Break out your K-Y Jelly™ - it’s going to be painful!!
See ya at the tables…
Rick
Monday, July 30, 2007
Poker Players Getting Money Back from Neteller
Copied from the Triangle Poker Journal
Poker Players Getting Money Back from Neteller
Online money handler and payment processor Neteller ran afoul of the US government last year, and as a result millions of dollars of poker players' funds were frozen in their accounts. Thanks to a new agreement reached with the US prosecutors, Neteller will begin distributing those funds back to their rightful owners on Monday. The company will be retuning "$94 million to hundreds of thousands of U.S. customers" according to a recent statement. Those US customers that can expect their funds should be on the lookout for an email from Neteller.
Thanks again to the "advanced" heads up from a couple of our regular bloggers!
Copied from the Triangle Poker Journal
Poker Players Getting Money Back from Neteller
Online money handler and payment processor Neteller ran afoul of the US government last year, and as a result millions of dollars of poker players' funds were frozen in their accounts. Thanks to a new agreement reached with the US prosecutors, Neteller will begin distributing those funds back to their rightful owners on Monday. The company will be retuning "$94 million to hundreds of thousands of U.S. customers" according to a recent statement. Those US customers that can expect their funds should be on the lookout for an email from Neteller.
Thanks again to the "advanced" heads up from a couple of our regular bloggers!
Copied from the Triangle Poker Journal
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Neteller
Tomorrow could be the beginning of Christmas in July at least for some of us. Neteller is supposed to be implementing their distribution plan for the return of funds to US players. US players should be able to login and request withdrawals beginning tomorrow. According to this interview
http://www.roundersradio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=762
from a few days ago with a Neteller VP the money is in one of their bank accounts in the US now and ready to be transferred back to US players. The process by EFT is supposed to only take a few days. This is probably overly optimistic as their may very well be problems with a massive number of players making withdrawals. Anyway this appears to potentially be a very good thing for those of us owed a significant amount of money by Neteller as well as a good thing for the poker economy in general. Quite a bit of the $94 million owed to US players should find it's way back into the online games some of which are in need of an influx of fresh cash. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for no more bad beats from Neteller.
http://www.roundersradio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=762
from a few days ago with a Neteller VP the money is in one of their bank accounts in the US now and ready to be transferred back to US players. The process by EFT is supposed to only take a few days. This is probably overly optimistic as their may very well be problems with a massive number of players making withdrawals. Anyway this appears to potentially be a very good thing for those of us owed a significant amount of money by Neteller as well as a good thing for the poker economy in general. Quite a bit of the $94 million owed to US players should find it's way back into the online games some of which are in need of an influx of fresh cash. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for no more bad beats from Neteller.
We Want You to BLOG!
We Want YOU to Blog!
We have a core group of repeat bloggers, but we want YOU to blog.... Why should you blog? There's a lot of great reasons.... entertainment, bragging rights, ridiculing your own play and those.... I-can't-believe-you-called-me-with-that-donkey-plays that not only hit, but when they hit, they raise you..... whoever heard of such a thing! Probably the best reason is that when you listen to the winners of bracelets and major tournaments, most of them speak of being a part of a "think-tank" ... a place or a group of like-minded friends who play poker together and then dissect and analyze the hands. Of course, you would never do this at the poker table.... that would be poor etiquette! But to dissect and analyze for learning purposes is exactly what we are striving to create with this blog. Of course, you will be able to ridicule each other for the obvious "TILT" plays that we all make from time to time. And.... HORNS BLARING.... it's all FREE! Blogging on this site is by invitation only and you are cordially invited to join, blog, poke-fun, ridicule and learn with the group! Some of the best players in the area frequent our site and we want you to be part of it! Just email me at ncpokerblog@gmail.com and I'll forward you the invitation to join us.
We have a core group of repeat bloggers, but we want YOU to blog.... Why should you blog? There's a lot of great reasons.... entertainment, bragging rights, ridiculing your own play and those.... I-can't-believe-you-called-me-with-that-donkey-plays that not only hit, but when they hit, they raise you..... whoever heard of such a thing! Probably the best reason is that when you listen to the winners of bracelets and major tournaments, most of them speak of being a part of a "think-tank" ... a place or a group of like-minded friends who play poker together and then dissect and analyze the hands. Of course, you would never do this at the poker table.... that would be poor etiquette! But to dissect and analyze for learning purposes is exactly what we are striving to create with this blog. Of course, you will be able to ridicule each other for the obvious "TILT" plays that we all make from time to time. And.... HORNS BLARING.... it's all FREE! Blogging on this site is by invitation only and you are cordially invited to join, blog, poke-fun, ridicule and learn with the group! Some of the best players in the area frequent our site and we want you to be part of it! Just email me at ncpokerblog@gmail.com and I'll forward you the invitation to join us.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Thanks!
I wanted to say a huge THANKS to all those who have continued to visit, read and especially those of you who have posted over the past couple of weeks. You have probably noticed a decline in the quantity of posts and it was unfortunately unavoidable as I have been dealing with a health issue that prevented me from aggressively posting. Good news! (At least for me!) I'm back! Although the content has been waining, many of you have continued to visit the site daily and for that I am very grateful.
And I'm still very excited about the blog site and the newly acquired Triangle Poker Journal. I realize that it is all about content and keeping the information real-time enough to make you want to visit regularly so I'm committed to bringing fresh information and activities that will entertain and inform!
Well, again thanks for your patience over the past couple of weeks. Now to the task at hand... making the TPJ a useful and informative site!
Back to the felt!
And I'm still very excited about the blog site and the newly acquired Triangle Poker Journal. I realize that it is all about content and keeping the information real-time enough to make you want to visit regularly so I'm committed to bringing fresh information and activities that will entertain and inform!
Well, again thanks for your patience over the past couple of weeks. Now to the task at hand... making the TPJ a useful and informative site!
Back to the felt!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Another downswing
I had a great start to this week, turning $0.50 into over $1500 but have been on an incredible spiral downwards since last night. I should have quit but I didn't and lost just about all of it back. Still in decent shape but just frustrating to see alot of it go away by hit & run donks sitting down and getting lucky and leaving the table. I know I can win against them over a long session but there is nothing I can do about that. I need to move on and not let it effect me after it happens, which is does most of the time.
However.....I guess that I can feel better after reading about sbrugby's past week....ouch
downswing
I am currently on my largest downswing of my life. It very depressing and today the total hit 3 million dollars. It began the last two days of live play when I lost 1.8 million dollars and has continued online by losing another 1.2 million. I have been getting destroyed by pretty much everyone I play. I think overall I have played pretty well in this downswing besides one night where I was very tired. I have almost completely busted my FTP account and may have to wire more money which would be very depressing. If this happens I will probably take a few weeks off poker to cool off. This downswing is made easier by the fact that I had a big upswing before but still its not fun to lose 3 million dollars. Often when I am in a downswing I need to rework my game but I think I have been playing well. I know things will turn around as this has happened to me a million times before just not on the same scale. As a side note I have been doing very well in the Omaha 8 games. When I first began playing them I thought I wouldn't have a lot of success but I have really hit the ground running. I hope that I am not just running hot and that this success continues. I do feel that I have a good idea of my equity in hands. I will have to see how I do in the next few months. But now I feel comfortable playing NLH, PLO, limit holdem, razz, and O8. Edited: 07/24/2007 at 09:46 PM by Brian
However.....I guess that I can feel better after reading about sbrugby's past week....ouch
downswing
I am currently on my largest downswing of my life. It very depressing and today the total hit 3 million dollars. It began the last two days of live play when I lost 1.8 million dollars and has continued online by losing another 1.2 million. I have been getting destroyed by pretty much everyone I play. I think overall I have played pretty well in this downswing besides one night where I was very tired. I have almost completely busted my FTP account and may have to wire more money which would be very depressing. If this happens I will probably take a few weeks off poker to cool off. This downswing is made easier by the fact that I had a big upswing before but still its not fun to lose 3 million dollars. Often when I am in a downswing I need to rework my game but I think I have been playing well. I know things will turn around as this has happened to me a million times before just not on the same scale. As a side note I have been doing very well in the Omaha 8 games. When I first began playing them I thought I wouldn't have a lot of success but I have really hit the ground running. I hope that I am not just running hot and that this success continues. I do feel that I have a good idea of my equity in hands. I will have to see how I do in the next few months. But now I feel comfortable playing NLH, PLO, limit holdem, razz, and O8. Edited: 07/24/2007 at 09:46 PM by Brian
Monday, July 23, 2007
Check it down?
Quite a bit of "heated" discussion at PKR last night after I went all-in on the flop and my 2 callers agreed to "Check it down". As it turned out, I was beaten all the way... so, no-harm, no-foul, right? Actually, I'd say more than half the players saw nothing wrong with the agreement, regardless of how it affected my action already in play. Regardless, I disagree and feel that such an agreement violates common poker regulations and rules of etiquette.
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Thoughts?
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...
PUBLIC CARDROOM RULES (Poker):
While specific rules vary from casino to casino, most public poker cardrooms have similar rules and regulations.
- Players must act in turn
- Players should not telegraph or otherwise indicate intentions to act prior to their turn to act. Players may not advise other players how to play a hand.
From Robert's Rules of Poker, by Bob Ciaffone, a widely referenced set of poker rules:
The following actions are improper, and grounds for warning, suspending, or barring a violator:
- Deliberately acting out of turn.
- Agreeing to check a hand out when another player is all-in.
- Making statements or taking action that could unfairly influence the course of play
On an amazing run...
After some of the worst luck ever online, busting out on Full Tilt to a miracle runner runner as always, I figured it was time to make one last stand playing poker, live or online. I've have been loosing at poker since the day I started and this was it. I figured that I would try my luck at Ultimate Bet since all of the guys I know who play online seriously play and win there. That's actually the reason I never played there before, that and the fact I hated their interface and table layout. Why play were the pros play (the real online pros all started on UB and still play there)? I'd rather play where the donks play which is FullTilt. But there are too many donks at FT that just suckout so it's not worth trying anymore. So my experiment at UB would begin with a $50 deposit. Within a few hours, busto! ReBUY!! Another $50 gets loaded up there and almost busto. I was not playing very good poker and was still trying to get used to the interface and was playing alot of draws that never hit, unlike FT where every draw hit, only someone else would have a bigger suckout then mine.
So I'm down to $0.50 come Sunday afternoon. My experiment is not going so well but it's my fault for playing some of the draws I had. So at noon Sunday, I say a prayer and vow that this is it. No More Poker!! Not live nor online if I go broke (No Pressure). So with that 50 cent, I sit down to play $0.01/$0.02 NL HE and my game plan is to play solid poker, not to get worried or try and force it or put it all in on a draw, just sit back and let things comes to me. So I tripled up after a while and moved up to the .05/.10 tables. I sat back, won some nice pots and just kept moving up as soon as I had enough to buy into the next level. After 5 hour I was at $233.68!!!!!! Talk about a rush. I did not want to quit but I promised a guy I would play at his house and so I had to. Thinking that I would somehow realize that I need bankroll management, I should never go bust again. Guess again!! I'm proud to say that I did not lose it all again...but I tried too! My ego got involved in a few head's up matches tonight and I was up to over $300, down to $50 and up and then down. I worked my way back to $200 and thought that would teach me my lesson. Wrong again! I know only play head's up matches. Lots of action and I can get a better feel of the person I am playing against. Long story short, I was playing $0.25/$0.50 PL HE and was doing great until I sat down to a $0.50/$1.00 match as just ran cold and unlucky to a jerk (as you can tell my ego was involved in that match hence the loosing effort). So I went back down to the .25/.50 and buy in for the standard $25, the max is $50. Thanks to a few bad players and one guys who claimed to be high with $47k bankroll, I rushed my way up to over $400 at this table. With a max buy-in of $50, that's not a bad night's work. However, I do my best to lose it all right back and then some. My last opponent of the night was just playing horribly. He kept buying in with $15 vs my $400 so I just waited and crushed him ever time. After winning $100 off him and having a stack over $500 I asked the guy to leave b/c he really was no match. Now I'm not too sure of what happens, but he sits out for a few minutes talking about how much money he has to play with and blah blah blah and finally comes back with a max stack of 50. MAybe it was the same guy or maybe it was his buddy, you never know online. So I figured I would play for a few minutes, not losing much and hopefully shut this guy up. After losing $250 of my stack to this guy and going on some swings over $300 and down to $200 I was just frustrated with this guy and myself. Finally this hand came up and I knew as soon as he called the flop, every last dollar he had was coming back to me unless some miracle runner runner came. Understand that we both were playing hyper-aggressive and were raising and reraising every pot so me calling with my hand was not out of the ordinary.
www.pokerhand.org/?1294419
After this match, I'm sitting at just under $600. Not bad with starting at $0.50 just a day ago! Hopefully I can play smart, stick to a plan and become successful on UB. The key is to play head's up only, short sessions with breaks every hour of so, patience, and do not tilt. All easier said then done!
TM
So I'm down to $0.50 come Sunday afternoon. My experiment is not going so well but it's my fault for playing some of the draws I had. So at noon Sunday, I say a prayer and vow that this is it. No More Poker!! Not live nor online if I go broke (No Pressure). So with that 50 cent, I sit down to play $0.01/$0.02 NL HE and my game plan is to play solid poker, not to get worried or try and force it or put it all in on a draw, just sit back and let things comes to me. So I tripled up after a while and moved up to the .05/.10 tables. I sat back, won some nice pots and just kept moving up as soon as I had enough to buy into the next level. After 5 hour I was at $233.68!!!!!! Talk about a rush. I did not want to quit but I promised a guy I would play at his house and so I had to. Thinking that I would somehow realize that I need bankroll management, I should never go bust again. Guess again!! I'm proud to say that I did not lose it all again...but I tried too! My ego got involved in a few head's up matches tonight and I was up to over $300, down to $50 and up and then down. I worked my way back to $200 and thought that would teach me my lesson. Wrong again! I know only play head's up matches. Lots of action and I can get a better feel of the person I am playing against. Long story short, I was playing $0.25/$0.50 PL HE and was doing great until I sat down to a $0.50/$1.00 match as just ran cold and unlucky to a jerk (as you can tell my ego was involved in that match hence the loosing effort). So I went back down to the .25/.50 and buy in for the standard $25, the max is $50. Thanks to a few bad players and one guys who claimed to be high with $47k bankroll, I rushed my way up to over $400 at this table. With a max buy-in of $50, that's not a bad night's work. However, I do my best to lose it all right back and then some. My last opponent of the night was just playing horribly. He kept buying in with $15 vs my $400 so I just waited and crushed him ever time. After winning $100 off him and having a stack over $500 I asked the guy to leave b/c he really was no match. Now I'm not too sure of what happens, but he sits out for a few minutes talking about how much money he has to play with and blah blah blah and finally comes back with a max stack of 50. MAybe it was the same guy or maybe it was his buddy, you never know online. So I figured I would play for a few minutes, not losing much and hopefully shut this guy up. After losing $250 of my stack to this guy and going on some swings over $300 and down to $200 I was just frustrated with this guy and myself. Finally this hand came up and I knew as soon as he called the flop, every last dollar he had was coming back to me unless some miracle runner runner came. Understand that we both were playing hyper-aggressive and were raising and reraising every pot so me calling with my hand was not out of the ordinary.
www.pokerhand.org/?1294419
After this match, I'm sitting at just under $600. Not bad with starting at $0.50 just a day ago! Hopefully I can play smart, stick to a plan and become successful on UB. The key is to play head's up only, short sessions with breaks every hour of so, patience, and do not tilt. All easier said then done!
TM
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
What Was I Thinking?!
Many hands are easy to lay down in Omaha 8. The nuts on the flop, and the nuts on the turn are two examples of hands which you’d usually be better off simply tossing directly into the muck, as 99.6% of the time (hey, I just report the stats, I don’t make ‘em up…) they’ll just cost you a large portion of your stack.
Drawing hands are another story altogether, as (using some of my amazing math abilities), they will get there 99.6% of the time. Some examples of good draws in O8 are open-end straight draws (8 outs), flush draws (9 outs), sets (10 outs) and low draws (up to 21 outs!). Great draws would include two-pair (4 outs), or a gutshot straight draw (4 outs). The only real sure-fire lock draw is the gutshot straight flush draw (1 out, which I’ve had hit twice against me in the past six months or so…).
This is why the laydown I made last night was so horrible. Not only did I have a lock one-outer, but there was a bet and a raise in front of me, meaning that as the “sucker in the middle” I probably would’ve had to risk a good portion of my stack to try and suck out. With all that going against me, I don’t know how I folded – I was golden! I haven’t experienced this much of a sure thing since Dave’s wife after half a Zima™…
$5/10 NLO8. I’m on the button, and look down at As-5h-6h-10s. Five of us limp and see a flop of 2h-3h-Kc. Not a bad flop for my hand – I’ve got some possibilities, but nothing’s there yet. Tom is UTG, and leads out with a $40 bet. I’m not sure why, but for some reason I read him as strong. Still, it’s an easy call once it gets to me. Bill is next to act, however, and min-raises to $80. Crap. I want to see a cheap turn card, and Bill just eliminated this possibility. If I were last to act, the implied odds would still make it an easy call, since Bill would most-assuredly bet the turn and river even after getting drawn out on. It folds to me, and I mull it over for a few seconds. Bill obviously has a set, and with Tom (and his fairly big stack) left to act behind me, it’s not hard to envision him with a big hand like a small wrap and the nut flush draw. Nope, I can’t do it – I toss my cards into the muck.
Tom doesn’t take much time to push all-in, and Bill makes the call. Bill turns up his hand to show 2-2 for bottom set, and not much else. Tom, on the other hand, has a monster, A-4-K-K. He has no flush draw, but has top set and nut low draw. About two seconds after I begin patting myself on the back for making a good read on Tom and laying down my hand, the dealer flips over the turn card, the 4h. Aaack!! I would’ve made the wheel and a straight flush, and scooped up both their stacks!
It’s hands like this that make me wish I was a worse player. :-) I was on mini-tilt for the next ten minutes, but luckily didn’t give any chips away. I ended up the night almost $2k to the good, but oh, what could have been! One thing’s for certain – if I ever find myself in that situation again…yep, I’ll probably still fold…
See ya at the tables…
Rick
Drawing hands are another story altogether, as (using some of my amazing math abilities), they will get there 99.6% of the time. Some examples of good draws in O8 are open-end straight draws (8 outs), flush draws (9 outs), sets (10 outs) and low draws (up to 21 outs!). Great draws would include two-pair (4 outs), or a gutshot straight draw (4 outs). The only real sure-fire lock draw is the gutshot straight flush draw (1 out, which I’ve had hit twice against me in the past six months or so…).
This is why the laydown I made last night was so horrible. Not only did I have a lock one-outer, but there was a bet and a raise in front of me, meaning that as the “sucker in the middle” I probably would’ve had to risk a good portion of my stack to try and suck out. With all that going against me, I don’t know how I folded – I was golden! I haven’t experienced this much of a sure thing since Dave’s wife after half a Zima™…
$5/10 NLO8. I’m on the button, and look down at As-5h-6h-10s. Five of us limp and see a flop of 2h-3h-Kc. Not a bad flop for my hand – I’ve got some possibilities, but nothing’s there yet. Tom is UTG, and leads out with a $40 bet. I’m not sure why, but for some reason I read him as strong. Still, it’s an easy call once it gets to me. Bill is next to act, however, and min-raises to $80. Crap. I want to see a cheap turn card, and Bill just eliminated this possibility. If I were last to act, the implied odds would still make it an easy call, since Bill would most-assuredly bet the turn and river even after getting drawn out on. It folds to me, and I mull it over for a few seconds. Bill obviously has a set, and with Tom (and his fairly big stack) left to act behind me, it’s not hard to envision him with a big hand like a small wrap and the nut flush draw. Nope, I can’t do it – I toss my cards into the muck.
Tom doesn’t take much time to push all-in, and Bill makes the call. Bill turns up his hand to show 2-2 for bottom set, and not much else. Tom, on the other hand, has a monster, A-4-K-K. He has no flush draw, but has top set and nut low draw. About two seconds after I begin patting myself on the back for making a good read on Tom and laying down my hand, the dealer flips over the turn card, the 4h. Aaack!! I would’ve made the wheel and a straight flush, and scooped up both their stacks!
It’s hands like this that make me wish I was a worse player. :-) I was on mini-tilt for the next ten minutes, but luckily didn’t give any chips away. I ended up the night almost $2k to the good, but oh, what could have been! One thing’s for certain – if I ever find myself in that situation again…yep, I’ll probably still fold…
See ya at the tables…
Rick
A juicy Tuesday evening
Another Tuesday evening and another crazy night of Omaha at the Casa De Juice. It was a strange night as things just seemed to be a half click off for everyone. The juice was gone after about an hour, Charles looked like he was ready for the morgue, and Mikey looked like he just went 3 rounds with Mike Tyson. We had on a live feed of the final table at the WSOP instead of the normal hi caliber academy award winning performers we usually see.
As for the poker; here was a fun hand that pretty much played itself although it could have been very painful for yours truley had just about anyone else had Ricks hand. We have the standard straddle with everyone calling and about $125 in the pot pre flop. I look down and find KKA4. Nice but nothing to get married to...that is until the flop comes 23K...the only thing I did not like about that flop was there was a heart flush draw and yours truly had no hearts. I fire out $40 figuring just about everyone will call. Much to my dismay Bill T doubles my bet to $80 and it folds to Rick who ponders a call. He puts me on a big hand and figures I am going to reraise and does he really want to put all of his chips at risk on a gutshot straight flush/wheel draw? Being the superior player Rick is he knows he is behind...way behind and lays it down. It gets back to me and I figure Senior T is steaming a bit from a previous suck out and I may be able to get him to call my all in....so I move all in. Bill thinks and thinks and finally says what the heck and calls. Bill has some kind of low draw and not much else. The turn comes Ricks gutshot straight flush 4 of hearts card and he lets out a moan knowing he gets all my chips. The river does nothing and I scoop the pot with my Set of Kings. As I drag the pot I smack Mikey in his good eye and tell him nice job.
As for the poker; here was a fun hand that pretty much played itself although it could have been very painful for yours truley had just about anyone else had Ricks hand. We have the standard straddle with everyone calling and about $125 in the pot pre flop. I look down and find KKA4. Nice but nothing to get married to...that is until the flop comes 23K...the only thing I did not like about that flop was there was a heart flush draw and yours truly had no hearts. I fire out $40 figuring just about everyone will call. Much to my dismay Bill T doubles my bet to $80 and it folds to Rick who ponders a call. He puts me on a big hand and figures I am going to reraise and does he really want to put all of his chips at risk on a gutshot straight flush/wheel draw? Being the superior player Rick is he knows he is behind...way behind and lays it down. It gets back to me and I figure Senior T is steaming a bit from a previous suck out and I may be able to get him to call my all in....so I move all in. Bill thinks and thinks and finally says what the heck and calls. Bill has some kind of low draw and not much else. The turn comes Ricks gutshot straight flush 4 of hearts card and he lets out a moan knowing he gets all my chips. The river does nothing and I scoop the pot with my Set of Kings. As I drag the pot I smack Mikey in his good eye and tell him nice job.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Triangle Poker Journal in the N&O
http://www.newsobserver.com/print/tuesday/business/story/639581.html
Poker Web site sold to top editor
From Staff Reports
RALEIGH - The online Triangle Poker Journal has been sold to its top editor. Founder George Smart, who started the poker Web site in 2005, announced the deal to sell the site to senior blog editor Charles Richards on Monday.
Terms were not disclosed, though Smart did say it was a six-figure deal. The Web site, www.trianglepokerjournal.com, features a top 10 list of area poker players ranked by earnings and resources for area poker players.
http://www.newsobserver.com/print/tuesday/business/story/639581.html
Poker Web site sold to top editor
From Staff Reports
RALEIGH - The online Triangle Poker Journal has been sold to its top editor. Founder George Smart, who started the poker Web site in 2005, announced the deal to sell the site to senior blog editor Charles Richards on Monday.
Terms were not disclosed, though Smart did say it was a six-figure deal. The Web site, www.trianglepokerjournal.com, features a top 10 list of area poker players ranked by earnings and resources for area poker players.
http://www.newsobserver.com/print/tuesday/business/story/639581.html
Monday, July 16, 2007
WSOP Main Event - Final Table Set!
- 22,070,000 Philip Hilm
- 21,315,000 Tuan Lam
- 20,320,000 Jon Kalmar
- 16,320,000 Raymond Rahme
- 13,240,000 Lee Childs
- 9,925,000 Lee Watkinson
- 9,205,000 Hevad "Rain" Khan
- 8,450,000 Jerry Yang
- 6,570,000 Alex Kravchenko
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Small Tournament Structure
I really don't think that everyone will ever agree on the structure of any tournament. Either the blinds are driving the action or the game is moving to slow and you can't get the cash game going. Online the games move extremely fast but even at 10 or 15 minute blinds, you're still seeing alot of hands per level and there's always a clock. Around town, there's not always a clock and the dealer could be slow or if you have a side pot late in the tourney where 2 or 3 people are all in and you're trying to figure out the pot if it splits. Those few minutes mean everything to a short stack getting close to the money.
The other night, I experimented with 4,000 in chips with blinds every 15 minutes starting at 5/10, doubling up to 40/80 then it went to 50/100 and doubled after that. I think it worked great b/c even though I had the monster chip stack until a horrible call and lucky river (I raised preflop w/ K J, 2 callers, flop comes K 10 8 , I push all in to take the pot down then and there since I have everyone covered, Coach insta-calls with J 9 and gets lucky on the river as always). Still, after that miracle catch (I'm still pissed about it) we still had enough chips to play with. You didn't fee that you had to go all in every hand. We ended up at 800/1600 and when I got head's up (top 2 pay out) I just went all in to end the game and get the side game going. So it ended with a little over 2 hours of play which was nice b/c everyone knocked out didn't have to wait forever to play some cash.
Anyway, I wanted to find out what everyone else did. I like keeping the blinds cheap to start with, allowing more play at the beginning and let the guys have a good time. I also think that the switch from 40/80 to 50/100 makes a big difference in allowing more play since it was more like an extended level with an ante almost. That's another thing, I never put in an ante that way the shorter stacks didn't feel pressure to go all in every road. When you start forcing the action, the more bad beats occur and it just becomes a luckbox fest on who's hand doesn't get unlucky.
Let me know what you guys do for single and multi tables.
Thanks.
The other night, I experimented with 4,000 in chips with blinds every 15 minutes starting at 5/10, doubling up to 40/80 then it went to 50/100 and doubled after that. I think it worked great b/c even though I had the monster chip stack until a horrible call and lucky river (I raised preflop w/ K J, 2 callers, flop comes K 10 8 , I push all in to take the pot down then and there since I have everyone covered, Coach insta-calls with J 9 and gets lucky on the river as always). Still, after that miracle catch (I'm still pissed about it) we still had enough chips to play with. You didn't fee that you had to go all in every hand. We ended up at 800/1600 and when I got head's up (top 2 pay out) I just went all in to end the game and get the side game going. So it ended with a little over 2 hours of play which was nice b/c everyone knocked out didn't have to wait forever to play some cash.
Anyway, I wanted to find out what everyone else did. I like keeping the blinds cheap to start with, allowing more play at the beginning and let the guys have a good time. I also think that the switch from 40/80 to 50/100 makes a big difference in allowing more play since it was more like an extended level with an ante almost. That's another thing, I never put in an ante that way the shorter stacks didn't feel pressure to go all in every road. When you start forcing the action, the more bad beats occur and it just becomes a luckbox fest on who's hand doesn't get unlucky.
Let me know what you guys do for single and multi tables.
Thanks.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Exciting finish at High On the Hog
So far both I've hosted two tournaments at High On the Hog and so far the heads up hands have been ESPN quality hands for certain. Last week I was heads up with a guy named Adam. I held Ac 4d And the flop was 2d 3d 5d giving me the straight. After raising his bet on the flop he pushed all-in with Ad 8h. The queen of diamonds came on the turn and suddenly I found myself with 1,600 in chips....... to his 58,400. I was eliminated three hands later.
Today we almost had a full table (Thank you Raleigh Poker Meet-up!!!!) after only three people showing the first week (my brother, who only dealt today, and I made it five.) I joined six others in a 2 and a half hour journey. It took 50 minutes to knock out the first player and then one player fell about every twenty minutes before I ended up heads up with a young man named Matt. Matt won an early pot to put us about even with chips. Then came the big hand. With blinds of 1500/3000, I raised on the button with KdQs. He then called the 9000 bet and we saw an AsJsrag flop. He coyly checked and I checked my 4 out straight draw. Another rag graced the turn and we both checked again. The came a 10c on the river. He then bets 12K and I immediately announce the all-in. He calls and as I say "nuts" he (justifiably) shows his disgust as he turns over pocket aces.
At the pace we're growing I hope that we can get at least a full table next week. Maybe we'll have full drama just as well. I will be adding a $5 bounty to the buy-in thus making it a $40+5+5 tournament. For those not familiar, "Bounty tournaments" are tournaments in which you can win money by eliminating a player. Plus my cash game will start at 1PM on July 22nd, instead of the previously announced 5PM. It still will be a $1/$3 NLHE.
Today we almost had a full table (Thank you Raleigh Poker Meet-up!!!!) after only three people showing the first week (my brother, who only dealt today, and I made it five.) I joined six others in a 2 and a half hour journey. It took 50 minutes to knock out the first player and then one player fell about every twenty minutes before I ended up heads up with a young man named Matt. Matt won an early pot to put us about even with chips. Then came the big hand. With blinds of 1500/3000, I raised on the button with KdQs. He then called the 9000 bet and we saw an AsJsrag flop. He coyly checked and I checked my 4 out straight draw. Another rag graced the turn and we both checked again. The came a 10c on the river. He then bets 12K and I immediately announce the all-in. He calls and as I say "nuts" he (justifiably) shows his disgust as he turns over pocket aces.
At the pace we're growing I hope that we can get at least a full table next week. Maybe we'll have full drama just as well. I will be adding a $5 bounty to the buy-in thus making it a $40+5+5 tournament. For those not familiar, "Bounty tournaments" are tournaments in which you can win money by eliminating a player. Plus my cash game will start at 1PM on July 22nd, instead of the previously announced 5PM. It still will be a $1/$3 NLHE.
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