I marked 15 hands for review on my night of hell last Thursday (see EV graphs from previous post). I want to analyze these and find mistakes that I can correct. Hopefully it won't be too difficult to read seeing that I'm mostly writing this for myself to help me walk through the hands properly.
Hand #1 400PLO8:
I've got AhQsJh7h in the SB/BTN playing HU against S2D (VPIP=40, PFR/25). I raise to $12 PF, and he calls. Flop is 7c Tc Kh. I've got a pair plus a wrap. Odds are my opponent missed that flop (unless he's got a flush draw), so I'm likely ahead, but want to win this here. I bet $20 and get check-raised pot ($84). This bet is screaming FD to me, so I call $64 (pot is $192 and opponent has $115 behind). I'm either ahead or have draws to be ahead. The turn is the Qh, giving me the nut straight and the heart nut flush draw (NFD). My opponent moves all-in, to which I gladly call. He spikes his club on the river.
Flop: http://twodimes.net/h/?z=7508940
Turn http://twodimes.net/h/?z=7508939
Analysis: Almost everything here, except the call of the check/raise, is standard. My starting hand is a poor raising hand full table, but a good raising hand HU. The cbet on the flop is right in that most opponents are playing low draws and it has plenty of fold equity. Now, should I have called the check-raise? I have 3 options: fold, call, or push him all-in. I've only got a straight draw+ at this point, and am a definite dog to a FD+ at this point (which happens to be his actual hand with Kc9c5d4d), but a favorite to a simple FD (change Kc to Ac or Qc). I'm a dog to a set, though I'm getting the right price ((64+115)/(64+115+115+128)). Apparently, this is a borderline push. Given the amount he has left after the check/raise, I'm thinking now that I've got 0 fold equity in this spot. So, I think I've got a 0EV situation on the all-in push. As for the call, I've got position, which will help me assuming he doesn't shove every turn. Even then, I've got 11 cards (non-club A, Q, J, 9 and 7) which give me a solid hand against his range. In reality, I think I'm only folding the 9 clubs and 6 K's or T's left in the deck, since I already believe that I'm ahead or close to it at this point.
Conclusion: Nothing wrong with the way it was played, I'd do it again.
Hand #2 400PLO8:
I've got Kd5d2s2h in the SB/BTN HU against S2D. I raise to $12 PF, and he calls. I flop the nut flush on a AdQd8d board. He checks, I bet $18 and he calls (pot now $56). The tells me he has a flush as well with some low cards. He's trying to scoop when he hits his low. The turn is the 3h. This is a good turn for me, since it may have counterfitted his low. I now have nut/second-nut. He checks, I bet out $36 and he calls (pot now $128). The river is the 9d. A blank for all intents and purposes. He all of a sudden leads out for $128, I have nut/second-nut so I push my remaining $278 to the middle, and he calls. Oh, wait, I don't have nut/second-nut, I have second-nut/second-nut. The MF'er just rivered a straight flush to escape with half the pot. I was so far ahead on the turn.
Conclusion: As played, I think I got the most money in the pot as I could. However, that hand pissed me off, and kind of stuck to me. It started my negative thought spiral.
Hand #3 400PLO8:
In the SB/BTN against S2D. I limp with 8dTc4h3d. S2D raises from the BB to $12 and I call. He's telling me he has an A with some other good cards. The flop comes Js9dQd. I've got second-nut straight with a weak FD. He checks and I bet pot ($24) and he calls. I'm not liking that call. He's got something that works with that flop. I'm either beat or he's drawing better than me. The turn is a Kh. He checks, and I check as well. The card makes a bunch of hands that he can have now beat me (AT, KT, QT, JT, T9), and I don't think I'm ahead enough times to bet. The river is a Qh. If I wasn't beat on the turn, I'm pretty sure I'm beat now. It's possible he had a naked FD on the flop, but I doubt that. He checks, which actually tells me that he didn't boat up, but I check behind him and he tables Ad4c6hTh. Turned a 3 outer straight.
Conclusion: This guy is nuts. The only thing that makes sense is that he's drawing to a 3 outer + naked Ace bluff. Sucks that I had to lose this hand on the 3 outer though. This hand continues my anger spiral even if I only lost $36...
Hand #4 400PLO8:
5 handed with UG1 (VPIP=14,PFR=4), TWP (VPIP=33,PFR=15), RD (VPIP=25, PFR=7), and OMGD (VPIP=36, PFR=27). UG1 is uber tight, and very predictable. I like playing against him. RD is not as tight, but still predictable enough that I don't mind him at the table. TWP is a tough hombre. I lost $800 HU to him one night, but figured out how he plays me, and which hands he wants to push against me. As such, I got my money back in a few rings games against him a few days later when I caught him in bad spots. Since then, he's been playing tighter against me, so it seems he is respecting my play and when he bets into me, he means business. OMGD is new. I only have 250 hands against him, but he seems to be too loose and can be caught in bad situations. I want to play against him and try to flop a huge hand.
I'm on the BTN with Ks6sQdJc. It folds (TWP, RD) to me, so I pop it to $14. OMGD in the SB re-pops it to $46, and UG1 folds. He's loose enough that I call. Actually, this is a mistake, and one of the biggest problems I have. Clearly I can find a better spot to put my money in against this guy. I need to be more judicious when calling 3-bets, and this hand only has 1-way value with no low. It's a piss poor candidate for calling a 3-bet with.
The flop comes Kc3s6d. Ok, not so bad for my holding. I'm likely ahead for high. Against random AA hands, A2 hands, I'm even money. I'm a slight dog against AK2*, and probably the worst against A45*. So when he bets the pot ($96) on the flop, which is consistent with an AA** play, I see an opportunity to take his stack so I jump on it and re-pop it to $311, which is what he has left. He tables As3d9dKh for flopped top-bottom 2-pair and backdoor low, which is behind my hand. He turns his 9h, and I blank on the river (2h).
Conclusion: I got myself into this mess, by calling a 3-bet with too weak a hand PF. I should control that more, even against super aggro players. I don't think my flop play is bad. It's a fold or push play, and I'm getting 311/717 which is good enough odds (even assuming 0 fold equity) for most of my opponents range except A45*.
Hand #5 400PLO8:
In the BB HU against S2D with AhKh7s3s. We both have about $400. He min-raises to $8, and I re-pop it to $24 and he calls. I don't like 3-betting OOP from the blinds very often, as it gives away the strength of my hand. But given the way S2D has been playing, he's calling my bet with significantly weaker hands often enough to compensate for the fact I've announce how strong my hand is. The flop comes Qs8s7d. I've got a strong hand HU: pair + weak FD + 2nd nut low draw. I have to bet out here, especially since I'm either going to be called or re-raised. No point in check-raising, if I can get all his chips in the middle by betting first. I make a pot sized bet ($48) and he gladly re-pops it to $192. I move in for $388 and he calls showing Qh7h3c4d. I'm a 3:2 favorite at this point. The turn is the 9s and river is the 2d and I scoop the pot.
Conclusion: Good hand, played well, good result. So few of those during that session.
Hand #6 400PLO8
7-handed (SB= opp1, BB=GURC, RD, opp2, me, opp3, UG1), holding Ah6hTc9d with $143 behind. This is the same table as hand #4, but about an hour later. RD limps, opp2 folds, I call, opp3 calls, UG1 folds, SB completes and GURC checks. Flop comes Ts 3d 5h, Everyone checks, to opp3 who makes it $20. Everyone else folds, but I decide to re-pop it on a check raise, to $80, opp3 gladly makes it $140 for the rest of my chips. I call, and find out I'm actually ahead of Kd7d4h2s. However, the turn is a Jc and the river is a 6s, completing their up and down straight draw.
Analysis: What was I thinking on the check-raise? I'm not sure... I didn't check with the intention of raising. I checked because I had no idea where anyone was at that point in time and my hand was so-so. But once opp3 bet and everyone else folded, my hand got stronger. However, in retrospect, it still wasn't strong enough to warrant a check-raise. I have TPTK, and 4th best low draw, and any card that improves my low draw, makes a straight possible on the board. I'm putting up $80 to win $40 if opp3 folds or $140 to win $160 if they call/raise. The opponent is unknown, so I should have assumed that they had something. Their actual hand was at the worst part of their possible range, and since they re-raised with it, I now know I had zero fold equity. Against stronger hands, like 246X and sets I'm not getting the right price.
Conclusion: This was a bad play. I gambled on the flop rather than try to think through the situation. Even though this exact situation was +EV when the money was in, for all possible situations taken together, this was a -EV play.
Hand #7 400PLO8:
HU against S2D. I have $750 and he has $400. I'm in the BTN/SB with Tc4d7c5c and I raise to $12 and he calls. The flop comes 5s6d5h. He checks, and I bet pot ($24). This is standard, because, I likely have the best hand here, and want to take the pot down before a low on the turn hits chopping the pot. However, he check-raises me to $96. This is where I make a mistake. I did not stop and think. He's saying he has a 5. His 5 has to be better than mine. I mean, I'm playing T5 right now, so A5, K5, Q5, J5, and 65 all beat me (as does 66). Instead, I ignore the fact that I could just call and play the turn accordingly, I re-pop it to $312, knowing his c/r means he's ready to go to war with his hand. He puts the rest of his chips in and shows Qh6hQd5d for a full house. I'm still +EV at this point, though barely. The cards run Jd Td, and I river a better full house.
Conclusion: This hand should show that I'm not thinking straight this session. I'm lucky to have the better low draw at this point, but in reality, I could have been up against A5[baby]X and been in serious trouble. I need to realize that when I'm more willing to gamble on the flop, it's because it's the easier option than outplaying my opponents. In that case, I should be quitting the game. S2D has shown that he's willing to get in with weak hands, so means that there are going to be plenty of opportunities for me to get his stack and I don't need to jump on any of the marginal opportunities.
Hand #8 400PLO8
4 handed. SB=FN (VPIP=30, PFR=17), BB=opp1, S2D, BTN=me. Folds to me with As5s5cAd. Easy raise to $14. SB min raises to $28. I opt to call, as 4-betting makes it obvious I have AA. Pot is now $60, and FN has $370 behind and I have $825 . Flop comes 6h7d9c. This flop should not have hit my opponent (hands with T8 or 86 are not 3-betting hands typically). A 3-bet from the SB usually means A23, or AAbaby, which is also what I have, so I'm thinking I'm tied or ahead of A23. FN bets $38, and I think I'm ahead, so I push to $174, and then he moves in. Oops. WTF?! I have to call as I'm getting 3:1 on my money at this point. I do, and he flips Ah7h4c7c. I'm WAY behind. I need an A or an 8 for high, and a 4 for low. The board runs Qc Jc, and I lose $400 on the hand.
Analysis: This one is tough for me. I'm a slight dog to AAxx, but in good shape against A23*. I just did not see him waking up with a made hand there. Did I also have to lose $400 in this hand? If my read is right, then I'm +EV. I guess what I learned from this hand is that my 3-bet range for FN is incorrect. It is much wider, and should include a variety of double suited A-baby combinations. If I take that into account, I think the prudent play there would have been to merely call the flop as that is no longer a safe flop for my hand and I still have position. I probably call the turn as well in this case, though can now fold many rivers. In that scenario, I save chips. Now if my opponent has A23x, then he likely checks the turn, and I bet, so I miss out on some equity there if he folds. If he's got AAxx, then I don't think I lose anything as he bets the turn, though I guess I fold that river, so I save some chips there.
Conclusion: Updated FN 3-betting range, and play accordingly. Also, this is another hand where I pushed/gambled the flop rather than played poker.
Hand #9 400PLO8
Same table as above 4 hands later, I'm on the BTN again. Folds to me, I make it $14 with QcJcJh8s. FN in the SB calls. and opp1 folds. $32 in the pot, I have $441 and FN has $785. Flop comes Qd9c7c. FN checks, and I bet the pot. He re-pops it to $128. I make it $416, and he puts the rest of my chips in. He turns over Qs4c3c7s. The river runs 4h 3d, and he scoops the $912 pot. I was actually a favorite when the chips when in.
Analysis: None to be made. I was not playing smart poker here. I wanted to get my chips back from the previous hand, and found myself a flop to do just that. I have top-pair + FD + gut shot straight draw. In reality, we are too deep for me to be calling the check-raise here, but I wasn't thinking about his hand at all. All I saw were my cards and the potential for a huge pot.
Conclusion: If I wasn't on tilt before, losing $900 in the span of 5 minutes has definitely brought me there now.
Hand #10 400PLO8:
Same table as above, I've re-bought and am back up to $536 UTG. I raise with Ks5cJs6c (yes, I'm on tilt, not a good raise). Everyone calls. Pot is $56. Flop comes 5s6s5d. Checked to me, so I bet pot with the underfull. FN folds, opp1 calls, and S2D check-raises to $280, I'm on tilt so I gladly push the rest of my stack in. opp1 folds and S2D calls with Ad4d5hQs. I just need to fade an A or a Q. Even still, I'm a dog because he has the low draw with his hand. I don't get unlucky as the cards run 8h and 3d.
Conclusion: I profit $30 on a hand I should never have been playing in the first place.
Hand #11 200PLO8:
I've opened up a 200PLO8 table to try and reverse my luck. 7 handed, except S2D is also at my table. S2D opens to $7m and I call from the BTN with As5h8cQh. Not actually a bad play. The blinds get out of the way. The flop comes 7d Js Th. He checks, which I believe to mean that he has a good low hand that missed with only 7 low card on the flop. However, I only have a double belly-buster (9 or K for straight), so I check behind. Turn brings the Jh. He bets out $12.50 to a $17 pot. I suspect he is buying the pot (I'm on tilt, so my reads aren't too good). I raise him to $54.50, at which point he calls. When he does this, I have to read that he's either got AA or AhXh. The river comes Td. He checks, I bet out for $96 to a $128 pot. After a long time, he calls. Unfortunately, he hit trips on the river, as he was holding AhAd2cTc.
Analysis: Is that a bad river bet? He knows I'm out of control, so he's going to be calling me light, and it wouldn't be the first time that he's called me with AA to a paired board. The fact that he hit his T was a bonus for him.
Conclusion: If I can face S2D again, I need to remember how light he is going to call my rivers, and milk them for all their worth. As for this hand, it's becoming pretty clear to me why I lost so much money that night.
Hand #12: 400PLO8
4 handed. SB=opp1, BB=S2D ($607), NE14D, me ($670). Folds to me on the BTN, and I make it Ah5h3s6c. S2D re-pops it to $44 and I call. Given the way we've been playing each other for the last 2.5 hours, I have to call, as my hand has good value, though I still have to be careful. Flop comes 2s 4h Jc. A pretty decent flop. I've got nut low draw, and a pair. If I'm against AA2 or A2PP (where PP is a pair), I'm drawing to low. If I'm up against A23X (X not a J), then I'm ahead and looking to quarter my opponent. Given this, and I'm on tilt, I looking to be pushing this flop. He checks, I bet, he check/raises (again!) and I push the rest in. He tables As2c3dTc. Turn is 2h and river is 7c and I'm the one who is quartered.
Analysis: Even though I'm far ahead in this hand, but get unlucky, I shouldn't be moving in on the flop. I should be calling and evaluating the turn. His check/raise means he's willing to go all the way with the hand, so why not take a second to protect yourself against some bad cards on the turn. Also, I'm still behind AA2X, so I should be protecting myself in case that's what I'm up against.
Conclusion: Another hand where I rush to gamble the flop, when in this spot, I could have saved $100 by calling the flop and folding to that 2. I don't see him betting the turn if it comes K or Q unless he has AA2 in this spot, rather than A23, so he'd be telling me if I'm ahead or behind. Any low card and he's committing his chips regardless.
Hand #13 200PLO8
4 handed. SB=me ($255), opp1 ($261), UG1, NE14D. Folds to me, I call with Kc6c9d2d, and opp1 raises to $8 and I call. I should have folded here. This is not a good hand to go against an Ababy hand. Flop comes Kd 2s Qh. I check to check/raise (not a good idea with my hand, but I'm not thinking right), and he bets $12, I raise to $48 and he calls. The turn is the 4d. I have a FD with my 2 pair. I think I'm now solid, so I bet out, and he moves in and I call. He tables Ad Kh 4h 4c, and I'm in trouble. I wasn't even a favorite on the flop, which is the perils of playing top/bottom two pair in this game. However, him turning his set sucked royally! I'm I'm really far behind.
Conclusion: When I'm on tilt, double suited hands look very pretty and playable, when in fact they are simply a money drain unless they had some other merits!
Hand #14 400PLO8
3 handed. SB=opp1, BB=TWP, me ($300). I raise with KsTs9sQd, which is fair 3 handed. SB calls, and TWP re-pops it to $56. My hand plays well against TWP's 3-betting range here. I can double up with the right flop, so $56 to implied $600 is worth it. I call and SB calls. Flop comes KhJdJs. opp1 checks, TWP bets $116 to the $168 pot. I'm trying to break him, so I re-pop to $243 (all-in). He c-bets a lot, so he may very well fold. Unfortunately, opp1 calls in the SB, which means he has a J, which causes TWP to fold. I'm behind to Ad3dJc6h, turn is 4s, giving me hope, and the river is the 3s absolutely breaking my heart because I see winning flush before I realize it's losing flush to full house.
Conclusion: Given my stack size, and no knowledge about opp1, this hand was played correctly to extract maximum from TWP. opp1 just had the right hand at the right time.
Hand #15 400PLO8
5 handed. SB=me ($323), BB=opp1, TWP, opp2, opp3. Fold, call, call, I complete with QsQc4h3h, and BB checks. Flop is Qd Tc 4d. I bet $12 into the $16 pot. BB raises to $24, opp2 calls, opp3 folds, so I decide to protect my set here, and make it $112 to continue. BB folds, but opp2 calls. I put him on a FD. The turn is the 8s. I put the rest of my chips in the middle, only to see that I walked into a massive wrap on the flop: AhJsKs9c. We were even money on the flop, but he now hit his straight on the turn and I have to catch up on the river. Nope, as the Jh falls.
Analysis: I should be calling this flop not 3-betting it. On a non-descript turn, I should bet again, and check any straight or flush card. In PLO/PLO8, people LOVE their FD. They will go all the way with it on the flop. However, these same people are much more hesitant to do so on the turn. So with opp2 called, I was pretty sure I was against a FD. I was wrong, but he's not calling with any straight draws other than the complete wrap he has there.
Conclusion: Another flop gamble. His call with a straight draw to a flush draw board is a mistake so I need to note that about this player.
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Well, that took 3 complete days to write. It has given me plenty of insight into the mistakes I made last Thursday. The biggest one is my desired to gamble the flop. I can play this game very well using pot control. I don't need to leave things up to chance as I did in many of the hands that played out that night.
As an aside, I'm not posting any of these hands on the 2+2 forums. Most of the people there advocate the "get it in on the flop" strategy I was using when I was on tilt. I'm just tired of the same feedback from the guys who play at the .10/.25 levels. I haven't gotten any useful feedback to any of the questions or hands I've posted. It's too bad, some people say they've gotten great feedback. I just have not....
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Running cold
The laws of averages have started to catch up with me. I had a session last Thursday where, in the span of 2 hands, I lost 800 in between expected and actual. As you can see, after that, my play deteriorated and even my "Net expected Won" graph is showing a downward trend.
Ladies and gentlemen, I WENT ON TILT. I lost control. I was so pissed that on one hand I lost on another shitty river, I screamed FUCK so loud from my basement, my wife heard it on the second floor as she was falling asleep. Needless to say, she wasn't too pleased about that.
I was out about $4000 at one point (the graphs show only all-in EV) and brought it back to a $2000 loss for the night. It was bound to happen. I had gotten unstuck so many times before, that I was tempting fate doing it over and over again.
I've got another graph for you:
My super aggro game isn't working too well at the higher level likely because of the other super aggro players there too. I'm super aggro PF, but I tend to tighten up after and may be folding too many good situations post-flop. I'll have to revisit my 400PLO8 strategy. There are some fish there, but I should study all the opponents and figure out which ones are targeting me and adjust my play to counteract theirs.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
UBOC summary
8 qualifiers: 4 entries + $215 TD - 28840UPs -$44
4 events: 1 cash ($550)+ 5 bounties (5*$20)
If we convert UPs to $, for the sake of reference, then we have
$550+$100+$215-$44-$285 = $536
I'll take it. On an hourly rate, it's not that great, but tourneys are not about hourly rate. They are about the one big score. It's nice if you can stay profitable until the big one comes.
Having that deep run in event #4 tells me I can get that big one, but it also shows me that it won't be easy and I've got some areas to improve.
Looking forward to hitting the felt again soon :)
4 events: 1 cash ($550)+ 5 bounties (5*$20)
If we convert UPs to $, for the sake of reference, then we have
$550+$100+$215-$44-$285 = $536
I'll take it. On an hourly rate, it's not that great, but tourneys are not about hourly rate. They are about the one big score. It's nice if you can stay profitable until the big one comes.
Having that deep run in event #4 tells me I can get that big one, but it also shows me that it won't be easy and I've got some areas to improve.
Looking forward to hitting the felt again soon :)
UBOC event #10 and #12
Event #10: $300+20 PLO8 100k guaranteed, 3k starting stack.
Not so good. I finished 147/294. I played pretty poorly.
Ok, I didn't play that poorly early. I got lucky one hand and doubled through my opponent to get to 7.5k. I worked it up to almost 10k, then I got sticky fingers. I couldn't let go of second best hands. It shouldn't be too hard to let got of a decent hand when you are 3-bet PF in these tournaments. Most of these players will not 3-bet light. However, I was still in my 400PLO8 cash game mentality, where a 3-bet PF is a lot wider and I was calling their raises with mediocre hands. As is with PLO8, the flop invariably gives you some sort of a draw, and usually after the opponent has 3-bet PF, you are getting the right odds to call his all-in on the flop. So I found myself in 2 such hands within the same orbit and my 10k stack was drubbed back down to 3k. From there, I just tried to find a good spot to get my chips in, but ended up second best again.
Event #12 $200+15 HORSE 50k guaranteed, 3k starting stack.
I finished 68/227.
I played very well for the first 2 1/2 hours. I was folding tough hands, knowing that I was going to find spots later which would be more advantageous. For as little as I play these games, I think I'm a pretty good stud player. I used to play the occasional .10/.25 Stud8 game on UB, back when I was grinding 50PLO8, so it's not like I have no experience. The irony is that I lost most of my cash in the LO8 portion of the game.
I worked my stack up to 11k at one point, and was the chip leader, but that's quite deceiving. There were still 200 players left after 2 hours (avg stack 3405) but the level was 300/600 LHE. It wasn't taking a lot of bets for players to end up all in. Therefore, 11k wasn't going to do me much good if I sat on it. I had to stay in there and keep playing. The hand that crippled me the most was at 400/800 LO8, late in the 3rd hour of play. I had A39K run into A346 to a 45927 board to get quartered severely.
Another hand that sucked was: I raise first in from the CO with AAA2 and get called in 2 places. Flop comes 764, check, check, I bet, call call. The turn is the fucking 2. I mean seriously? I'm pretty fucking sure that the last A is out, so that's a 3 outer to counterfit. There goes 1200 chips as I have to fold to the bet.
After that, I had few chips, so I waited for the razz game to try and pick some hands that I was going to play for my stack. Since PT3 doesn't track the stud game hands, I don't remember, but I believe I had a 9 low get beat by an 8 low.
I might start looking for more of those tourneys online as they were fun. They forced me to concentrate and not go on auto-pilot, and I really like the way I play when I'm truly focused. However, it took 3.5 hours to get down to 68, and although eliminations were coming fast, I'm sure it was another 1.5 hours to the money. That's a pretty long time. ROI not looking so good there.
That's the end of UBOC for me. None of the other events interest me. I'd like to play in the main event (#20) but it's at 4PM on a Sunday, and I can't do that to the family. Poker, for the most part, is on my own time.
I'll publish a UBOC summary in my next post
Not so good. I finished 147/294. I played pretty poorly.
Ok, I didn't play that poorly early. I got lucky one hand and doubled through my opponent to get to 7.5k. I worked it up to almost 10k, then I got sticky fingers. I couldn't let go of second best hands. It shouldn't be too hard to let got of a decent hand when you are 3-bet PF in these tournaments. Most of these players will not 3-bet light. However, I was still in my 400PLO8 cash game mentality, where a 3-bet PF is a lot wider and I was calling their raises with mediocre hands. As is with PLO8, the flop invariably gives you some sort of a draw, and usually after the opponent has 3-bet PF, you are getting the right odds to call his all-in on the flop. So I found myself in 2 such hands within the same orbit and my 10k stack was drubbed back down to 3k. From there, I just tried to find a good spot to get my chips in, but ended up second best again.
Event #12 $200+15 HORSE 50k guaranteed, 3k starting stack.
I finished 68/227.
I played very well for the first 2 1/2 hours. I was folding tough hands, knowing that I was going to find spots later which would be more advantageous. For as little as I play these games, I think I'm a pretty good stud player. I used to play the occasional .10/.25 Stud8 game on UB, back when I was grinding 50PLO8, so it's not like I have no experience. The irony is that I lost most of my cash in the LO8 portion of the game.
I worked my stack up to 11k at one point, and was the chip leader, but that's quite deceiving. There were still 200 players left after 2 hours (avg stack 3405) but the level was 300/600 LHE. It wasn't taking a lot of bets for players to end up all in. Therefore, 11k wasn't going to do me much good if I sat on it. I had to stay in there and keep playing. The hand that crippled me the most was at 400/800 LO8, late in the 3rd hour of play. I had A39K run into A346 to a 45927 board to get quartered severely.
Another hand that sucked was: I raise first in from the CO with AAA2 and get called in 2 places. Flop comes 764, check, check, I bet, call call. The turn is the fucking 2. I mean seriously? I'm pretty fucking sure that the last A is out, so that's a 3 outer to counterfit. There goes 1200 chips as I have to fold to the bet.
After that, I had few chips, so I waited for the razz game to try and pick some hands that I was going to play for my stack. Since PT3 doesn't track the stud game hands, I don't remember, but I believe I had a 9 low get beat by an 8 low.
I might start looking for more of those tourneys online as they were fun. They forced me to concentrate and not go on auto-pilot, and I really like the way I play when I'm truly focused. However, it took 3.5 hours to get down to 68, and although eliminations were coming fast, I'm sure it was another 1.5 hours to the money. That's a pretty long time. ROI not looking so good there.
That's the end of UBOC for me. None of the other events interest me. I'd like to play in the main event (#20) but it's at 4PM on a Sunday, and I can't do that to the family. Poker, for the most part, is on my own time.
I'll publish a UBOC summary in my next post
Saturday, August 21, 2010
UBOC5 event #4 - the hands
Patience and poise.
This is a phrase I repeated over and over and over again to myself as I played. In event #1, I played too many pots for too much money. I have noticed that a lot of the raises were less than 3x BB, with some being between 2x and 2.5x BB. This seemed to be giving the aggressors much more slack in their post flop bet sizing to bet opponents off pots. I had been raising 3.5xBB, which is my standard PLO8 cash game PF raise. So, my goal was to be more patient (lower my VPIP from 35 to 20 ish) and show some control in the hands I played while learning from those around me. Also, not to rush into my decisions, and to give extra thought where possible.
Now for the (relatively) condensed version of my tournament showing my critical hands where I was putting myself at risk.
Things didn't look too good when I lost half my stack around the 40 minute mark of the tournament. I raised from late position with QQ, after 1 limper had entered the pot. The SB shoved 1306, limped folded and I called. SB had KT and spiked a K on the turn.
http://twodimes.net/h/?z=2272691
After 30 more minutes of nothing, and watching my chip stack dwindle, I open shove 915 with 7c2h and get called by AhQd from the BB. OOPS! I get lucky and spike a 2 on the river (953K2)
http://twodimes.net/h/?z=7490918
I'm still only at half my original chip stack at this point, but I'm in a less precarious position compared to the blinds.
20 minutes later, blinds at 50/100, I have 1650 and I'm in the BB with 2d5c. This should have been an easy fold (*) to any raise, but it got interesting. MP raises 2xBB, and the cutoff (CO) and SB call. I'm now getting 7:1 on my call. As bad as my cards are, I have to call, so I do. The flop comes 3h 5d 2h. SWEET two pair! I check, hoping to check-raise the initial raiser. The SB checks, I check, MP bets, CO and SB fold and I successfully get to check-raise all-in. He calls me with AsQh and I double back up to slightly above starting stack.
http://twodimes.net/h/?z=7490923
(*) In my friendly NLHE cash games, 2x5x has become a favorite starting hand of mine. I've been winning quite a few pots with it. As such, it's gotten to the point where I play it like AA. Another funny thing is that, according to my stats, it was the hand (along with JT) that I was dealt the most times in this tournament.
15 minutes later, blinds at 75/150, and I have 2912. I'm UTG with TT. I decide a very odd play of open shoving here. It's a risky play, but the table is pretty passive so I'm likely getting called somewhere if I bet anywhere up to 3.5xBB and then I'm scared if any A, K, Q or J flops. Raising any more than 3.5xBB and I think I'm committed to put the rest in on the flop no matter what the flop, so I just open shove instead. I'm hoping that a weaker hand may call because they've seen me open shove with 72o already. So, it folds to the BB who calls with 99 and I am able to successfully double up.
Just after the 2nd break, 2 hours in, the blinds are still 75/150, and I have 6724 in chips. I have KcQh in MP, and I raise 3xBB (450). The button re-raises all-in for 3310. I'm getting 4:3 odds on my money. Horrible odds if he has AA, KK QQ, AK, AQ but good enough if he's got any other pair, AX and smaller. Then there's the possibility I'm actually ahead. Therefore I call. He has AhJh but I manage to flop a K and get my first bounty.
In the next 20 hands, I end up playing 4 pots. I check-raise bluff a flop and win $1200. I raise, and c-bet bluff the turn, but get called and lose $1400. I raise from the CO with 95o, and get called by the button. I flop 2 pair (T95) and I c-bet 1/2 pot and get called. Turn is another 5 and I bet again, this time 1/3 pot, but my opponent folds. This was likely a mistake. I probably had my opponent dead. I could have given him the chance to hit a card on the river to make big 2 pair or a straight and win a bigger pot. As is, I win $1650 in that pot. The exact next hand,
I raise 2xBB with Ac7c, and get re-raised from the SB. I think I'm folding, but I accidentally click call. Flop is 952, and he bets and I fold. Bye bye $2300 on a careless play.
For the next hour, it was pretty quiet. I'd win or lose a couple of hands, but in general I stayed about even. Then after the 3rd break, I get AA in MP, and raise 2.5xBB. I get called by BB and the player to my left. Flop comes Q73, so I bet 1/3 pot (1200), and the player to my left min raises to 2400. The BB folds. I'm either dead or way ahead in this spot, but I'm putting forward 8k if I shove to win either 7k if he folds, or 15k if he calls. So if I think I'm ahead more than 1/3 of the time, it's the right move. He does call with QT. and I win.
http://twodimes.net/h/?z=7492486
I'm now sitting pretty strong with 22k in chips. Over the next 20 minutes I drop about 3k to be at 19000, when at 250/500/50 (50 ante to go with 250/500 blinds), the CO open shoves for 6.1k. I have AdTh and I call. He has QdTd and I win. This is a spot where my opponent is likely to have a very large range and I will be ahead often. Not to mention the bounty incentive compensates a little. I don't re-raise because I only have to protect against the blinds, and if one of them comes over the top, I need to fold.
http://twodimes.net/h/?z=517427
I'm back up to 26k and at this point, it is time to be more aggressive. You can see that some stacks are trying to preserve their chips to make the money. As long as I don't cripple myself by abusing much larger stacks, I have the opportunity to chip up. At 400/800/100 I'm in the CO with 24k in chips. MP with 48k limps, then the player to his left (MP+1) makes it 3333. I'm in an interesting spot with KdQd. Do I raise, call or fold? An argument can be made any way. I decide to call given the pot odds , but will fold to a re-raise from MP. Interestingly enough, MP folds despite the odds. Therefore, I note that he is very tight. Now the flop comes AsJdQc. If he checks, he's likely got a small pair and I'm ahead. If he cbets, I think I'm folding since it's not worth being in this tough spot. Thankfully he checks. Turn is a Jc, and I'm feeling pretty good about the strength of my hand. He checks again, and I bet 1/3 pot, and he mucks. I'm not up to 31k.
It's now 4 hours in, and I believe we are in the money if not very close. The blinds are 500/1k/100. I'm in the SB with Qs9s. Fold to me and I call. The BB has 84k so I don't want to do anything stupid, especially with a hand I want to see a flop with. He checks his option. Flop comes Ac9c6d. At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm ahead. Any hand that beats me, except 96, I suspect he would have raised from the BB with. So I bet 1/2 pot (1400). He calls. Hmm... what does that mean? He hit a 9, a 6? Dunno... The turn is the Qd giving me 2 pair. I make a stronger bet 2/3 pot-ish (3200), and he raises to 7775. I shove the rest (20k) and he mucks. I'm wondering if there is a smaller bet size here I can make that will get him to try and get my chips in, but I'll take the 10k gain regardless. My only mistake was not taking a little longer to think about his hand at that point.
Now that I have chips >40k, and we are in the money. At this stage, you need to be careful of the small stacks that are trying to get big or go home, so they play a lot more looser and aggressive in this spot. Thankfully, I go card dead and only play 4 of the next 20 hands, winning 2 and losing 2 for small amounts <4k. Then, in MP I get 33, raise 3xBB and every one folds. Next hand, I have AcJc and raise 3xBB and everyone folds. I fold the next hand, then next hand UTG, I find AdJs, and raise 3xBB again. This time it folds to the big stack in the SW who makes it 80k! WTF! The bet size is too large to mean a big pair or AK. It is screaming small pair, Ax or big stack push, which is very likely given that I've raised 3 of the last 4 pots. I'm getting the right odds, when all taken together so I call, and he tables AcQh. Oops, bad spot. I get lucky and flop 7dKhJc, and he missed a Q or a T on the next two cards (2d Ks) and I get lucky to win a 91k pot.
Next hand, I have AdTd in the BB, and UTG+1, who has been active raising PF, makes it <2.5xBB to go. Everyone folds and I call. Flop comes 8dTc9c, and I check-raise him off the pot for another 8k. My stack is now 100k.
I continue to be active. Over the next 27 hands, I lose 27k going in and out of 12 of the pots. The biggest mistake I had was targeting a loose player, who seemed to be making all the right plays against me and I lost 14k against him.
I'm now at 73k, and the blinds are 1k/2k/200 when MP raises 2.25xBB and I call from the CO with KsQc, Button calls. The flop comes Qd9s5h, with the pot now 21k. MP checks, I bet 14.5k and button calls, and MP folds. I'm either behind to AQ, 99 or 55, or ahead of QJ or QT. My opponent has me covered, so I'm now basically playing for all my chips after that call. The turn is a 7j, so I bet 1/2 pot, which also happens to be 1/2 my stack, and he pushed me all in at which point I call. He tables QhJd and the river 8d gives me the pot. I'm now at 160k.
Over the next 30 hands, I'm playing quite a few pots, and still making mistakes against that loose aggro player. At 1.5k/3k/300, I find myself with KdTs UTG, and I raise 3xBB. It folds to my nemesis in the BB who 3-bets to 27.5k. Notice how he didn't overbet this time. He likes his hand, and thus it is pretty good. I'm getting over 2:1 to call, so I simply call in position to see what the flop brings. BINGO! AhKhKc. It he has Ax, x not being a K, I've got him. He bets 15k, and I push and he calls, and tables AsQs and I win a 185k pot.
After that, my stack becomes a bit of a yo-yo. Up and down, up and down. Then it starts to go only down. Still at 1.5k/3k/300, on the button with JcJh, loose-aggro raises 2xBB, the CO puts in almost 1/2 his stack at 30k, I decide to re-pop it to 76k, and the blinds fold and so does loose-aggro, and the CO goes all-in. He tables KK. D'oh. I did not read the re-raise correctly, This player was tight enough that his 3-bet should have meant something strong. I did not need to put in 76k in that spot. I miss and am down to 85k in chips.
10 hands later, 1.75k/3.5k/350 blinds, we're 6-handed and I'm UTG with 8c8d. I open for 10.5k and get pushed all-in by loose-aggro in the SB. Again, he has shown that with a hand as good as AsQs he will 3-bet smaller, so I'm thinking I'm ahead, and I call. I'm right, but his hand is still plenty good with AdQh. Flop comes 4cAhKh5c2s and I'm done.
When you look through these hands, I think I made some nice plays, had some places for improvement, and played some of them completely wrong. However, it is clear that I made some hands at some critical junctions which enabled me to survive and/or thrive. So I'm ecstatic with the results.
s
This is a phrase I repeated over and over and over again to myself as I played. In event #1, I played too many pots for too much money. I have noticed that a lot of the raises were less than 3x BB, with some being between 2x and 2.5x BB. This seemed to be giving the aggressors much more slack in their post flop bet sizing to bet opponents off pots. I had been raising 3.5xBB, which is my standard PLO8 cash game PF raise. So, my goal was to be more patient (lower my VPIP from 35 to 20 ish) and show some control in the hands I played while learning from those around me. Also, not to rush into my decisions, and to give extra thought where possible.
Now for the (relatively) condensed version of my tournament showing my critical hands where I was putting myself at risk.
Things didn't look too good when I lost half my stack around the 40 minute mark of the tournament. I raised from late position with QQ, after 1 limper had entered the pot. The SB shoved 1306, limped folded and I called. SB had KT and spiked a K on the turn.
http://twodimes.net/h/?z=2272691
After 30 more minutes of nothing, and watching my chip stack dwindle, I open shove 915 with 7c2h and get called by AhQd from the BB. OOPS! I get lucky and spike a 2 on the river (953K2)
http://twodimes.net/h/?z=7490918
I'm still only at half my original chip stack at this point, but I'm in a less precarious position compared to the blinds.
20 minutes later, blinds at 50/100, I have 1650 and I'm in the BB with 2d5c. This should have been an easy fold (*) to any raise, but it got interesting. MP raises 2xBB, and the cutoff (CO) and SB call. I'm now getting 7:1 on my call. As bad as my cards are, I have to call, so I do. The flop comes 3h 5d 2h. SWEET two pair! I check, hoping to check-raise the initial raiser. The SB checks, I check, MP bets, CO and SB fold and I successfully get to check-raise all-in. He calls me with AsQh and I double back up to slightly above starting stack.
http://twodimes.net/h/?z=7490923
(*) In my friendly NLHE cash games, 2x5x has become a favorite starting hand of mine. I've been winning quite a few pots with it. As such, it's gotten to the point where I play it like AA. Another funny thing is that, according to my stats, it was the hand (along with JT) that I was dealt the most times in this tournament.
15 minutes later, blinds at 75/150, and I have 2912. I'm UTG with TT. I decide a very odd play of open shoving here. It's a risky play, but the table is pretty passive so I'm likely getting called somewhere if I bet anywhere up to 3.5xBB and then I'm scared if any A, K, Q or J flops. Raising any more than 3.5xBB and I think I'm committed to put the rest in on the flop no matter what the flop, so I just open shove instead. I'm hoping that a weaker hand may call because they've seen me open shove with 72o already. So, it folds to the BB who calls with 99 and I am able to successfully double up.
Just after the 2nd break, 2 hours in, the blinds are still 75/150, and I have 6724 in chips. I have KcQh in MP, and I raise 3xBB (450). The button re-raises all-in for 3310. I'm getting 4:3 odds on my money. Horrible odds if he has AA, KK QQ, AK, AQ but good enough if he's got any other pair, AX and smaller. Then there's the possibility I'm actually ahead. Therefore I call. He has AhJh but I manage to flop a K and get my first bounty.
In the next 20 hands, I end up playing 4 pots. I check-raise bluff a flop and win $1200. I raise, and c-bet bluff the turn, but get called and lose $1400. I raise from the CO with 95o, and get called by the button. I flop 2 pair (T95) and I c-bet 1/2 pot and get called. Turn is another 5 and I bet again, this time 1/3 pot, but my opponent folds. This was likely a mistake. I probably had my opponent dead. I could have given him the chance to hit a card on the river to make big 2 pair or a straight and win a bigger pot. As is, I win $1650 in that pot. The exact next hand,
I raise 2xBB with Ac7c, and get re-raised from the SB. I think I'm folding, but I accidentally click call. Flop is 952, and he bets and I fold. Bye bye $2300 on a careless play.
For the next hour, it was pretty quiet. I'd win or lose a couple of hands, but in general I stayed about even. Then after the 3rd break, I get AA in MP, and raise 2.5xBB. I get called by BB and the player to my left. Flop comes Q73, so I bet 1/3 pot (1200), and the player to my left min raises to 2400. The BB folds. I'm either dead or way ahead in this spot, but I'm putting forward 8k if I shove to win either 7k if he folds, or 15k if he calls. So if I think I'm ahead more than 1/3 of the time, it's the right move. He does call with QT. and I win.
http://twodimes.net/h/?z=7492486
I'm now sitting pretty strong with 22k in chips. Over the next 20 minutes I drop about 3k to be at 19000, when at 250/500/50 (50 ante to go with 250/500 blinds), the CO open shoves for 6.1k. I have AdTh and I call. He has QdTd and I win. This is a spot where my opponent is likely to have a very large range and I will be ahead often. Not to mention the bounty incentive compensates a little. I don't re-raise because I only have to protect against the blinds, and if one of them comes over the top, I need to fold.
http://twodimes.net/h/?z=517427
I'm back up to 26k and at this point, it is time to be more aggressive. You can see that some stacks are trying to preserve their chips to make the money. As long as I don't cripple myself by abusing much larger stacks, I have the opportunity to chip up. At 400/800/100 I'm in the CO with 24k in chips. MP with 48k limps, then the player to his left (MP+1) makes it 3333. I'm in an interesting spot with KdQd. Do I raise, call or fold? An argument can be made any way. I decide to call given the pot odds , but will fold to a re-raise from MP. Interestingly enough, MP folds despite the odds. Therefore, I note that he is very tight. Now the flop comes AsJdQc. If he checks, he's likely got a small pair and I'm ahead. If he cbets, I think I'm folding since it's not worth being in this tough spot. Thankfully he checks. Turn is a Jc, and I'm feeling pretty good about the strength of my hand. He checks again, and I bet 1/3 pot, and he mucks. I'm not up to 31k.
It's now 4 hours in, and I believe we are in the money if not very close. The blinds are 500/1k/100. I'm in the SB with Qs9s. Fold to me and I call. The BB has 84k so I don't want to do anything stupid, especially with a hand I want to see a flop with. He checks his option. Flop comes Ac9c6d. At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm ahead. Any hand that beats me, except 96, I suspect he would have raised from the BB with. So I bet 1/2 pot (1400). He calls. Hmm... what does that mean? He hit a 9, a 6? Dunno... The turn is the Qd giving me 2 pair. I make a stronger bet 2/3 pot-ish (3200), and he raises to 7775. I shove the rest (20k) and he mucks. I'm wondering if there is a smaller bet size here I can make that will get him to try and get my chips in, but I'll take the 10k gain regardless. My only mistake was not taking a little longer to think about his hand at that point.
Now that I have chips >40k, and we are in the money. At this stage, you need to be careful of the small stacks that are trying to get big or go home, so they play a lot more looser and aggressive in this spot. Thankfully, I go card dead and only play 4 of the next 20 hands, winning 2 and losing 2 for small amounts <4k. Then, in MP I get 33, raise 3xBB and every one folds. Next hand, I have AcJc and raise 3xBB and everyone folds. I fold the next hand, then next hand UTG, I find AdJs, and raise 3xBB again. This time it folds to the big stack in the SW who makes it 80k! WTF! The bet size is too large to mean a big pair or AK. It is screaming small pair, Ax or big stack push, which is very likely given that I've raised 3 of the last 4 pots. I'm getting the right odds, when all taken together so I call, and he tables AcQh. Oops, bad spot. I get lucky and flop 7dKhJc, and he missed a Q or a T on the next two cards (2d Ks) and I get lucky to win a 91k pot.
Next hand, I have AdTd in the BB, and UTG+1, who has been active raising PF, makes it <2.5xBB to go. Everyone folds and I call. Flop comes 8dTc9c, and I check-raise him off the pot for another 8k. My stack is now 100k.
I continue to be active. Over the next 27 hands, I lose 27k going in and out of 12 of the pots. The biggest mistake I had was targeting a loose player, who seemed to be making all the right plays against me and I lost 14k against him.
I'm now at 73k, and the blinds are 1k/2k/200 when MP raises 2.25xBB and I call from the CO with KsQc, Button calls. The flop comes Qd9s5h, with the pot now 21k. MP checks, I bet 14.5k and button calls, and MP folds. I'm either behind to AQ, 99 or 55, or ahead of QJ or QT. My opponent has me covered, so I'm now basically playing for all my chips after that call. The turn is a 7j, so I bet 1/2 pot, which also happens to be 1/2 my stack, and he pushed me all in at which point I call. He tables QhJd and the river 8d gives me the pot. I'm now at 160k.
Over the next 30 hands, I'm playing quite a few pots, and still making mistakes against that loose aggro player. At 1.5k/3k/300, I find myself with KdTs UTG, and I raise 3xBB. It folds to my nemesis in the BB who 3-bets to 27.5k. Notice how he didn't overbet this time. He likes his hand, and thus it is pretty good. I'm getting over 2:1 to call, so I simply call in position to see what the flop brings. BINGO! AhKhKc. It he has Ax, x not being a K, I've got him. He bets 15k, and I push and he calls, and tables AsQs and I win a 185k pot.
After that, my stack becomes a bit of a yo-yo. Up and down, up and down. Then it starts to go only down. Still at 1.5k/3k/300, on the button with JcJh, loose-aggro raises 2xBB, the CO puts in almost 1/2 his stack at 30k, I decide to re-pop it to 76k, and the blinds fold and so does loose-aggro, and the CO goes all-in. He tables KK. D'oh. I did not read the re-raise correctly, This player was tight enough that his 3-bet should have meant something strong. I did not need to put in 76k in that spot. I miss and am down to 85k in chips.
10 hands later, 1.75k/3.5k/350 blinds, we're 6-handed and I'm UTG with 8c8d. I open for 10.5k and get pushed all-in by loose-aggro in the SB. Again, he has shown that with a hand as good as AsQs he will 3-bet smaller, so I'm thinking I'm ahead, and I call. I'm right, but his hand is still plenty good with AdQh. Flop comes 4cAhKh5c2s and I'm done.
When you look through these hands, I think I made some nice plays, had some places for improvement, and played some of them completely wrong. However, it is clear that I made some hands at some critical junctions which enabled me to survive and/or thrive. So I'm ecstatic with the results.
s
Friday, August 20, 2010
UBOC5 event #4 results
A lot better: 19th out of 732. Cashed for $550, and got an extra $100 in bounties.
Since I just got knocked out and it's 1:50AM, I discuss more later. I plan on walking through my all-in moments. I think I captured them all, and it should give you a little insight as to how I was running.
Hopefully, I'll get them posted tomorrow afternoon.
Since I just got knocked out and it's 1:50AM, I discuss more later. I plan on walking through my all-in moments. I think I captured them all, and it should give you a little insight as to how I was running.
Hopefully, I'll get them posted tomorrow afternoon.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
UBOC event #1 results
740/903 Pfft.
Thoughts:
1) I over play hands. I need to be willing to check fold flops after raising pre-flop.
2) I need to not bluff too early in these tournaments.
I raised from middle position with AhKd, the cut-off calls. Board went Jd 3c 5h, 3h, 9h. I fired ever step of the way and was called down by JhTh. I don't know if he calls that river if his T is not exactly the Th. That mistake took me from 3k in chips to 1k.
Then, with 941 left, blinds at 30/60, UTG raised to 122, and I moved in from late position with TcTd, he calls with AcQd. He hits his Q on the flop, and I'm out of the tourney.
Let's see if I can take these lessons and apply them on Friday in UBOC event #4 for a better showing.
Thoughts:
1) I over play hands. I need to be willing to check fold flops after raising pre-flop.
2) I need to not bluff too early in these tournaments.
I raised from middle position with AhKd, the cut-off calls. Board went Jd 3c 5h, 3h, 9h. I fired ever step of the way and was called down by JhTh. I don't know if he calls that river if his T is not exactly the Th. That mistake took me from 3k in chips to 1k.
Then, with 941 left, blinds at 30/60, UTG raised to 122, and I moved in from late position with TcTd, he calls with AcQd. He hits his Q on the flop, and I'm out of the tourney.
Let's see if I can take these lessons and apply them on Friday in UBOC event #4 for a better showing.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
EV graphs
As promised, here are my cumulative EV graphs for the past few months, as well as the one from the session a few nights ago
As you can see, I'm running a tad (2.5-3x ish) better than expectation, but the expectation is trending upwards as well so I'm doing things right. Some might say that I should be expecting variation to catch up with me soon. I say it actually is, in that this rush is the variation compensation for the awful 2009.
And here is the EV graph of the last session. In the first 200 hands, I should have been down, $200, but not $1200, yet there I was, with that low of ($2100). What I need to channel is the focus I have when I'm there. Seriously, if I could just start a session at that point, and play the next 700 hands, it would be a $2k win night.
But let's be realistic. Once I'm up $1k on the night, I'll be thinking about locking that in, which means I won't be playing my best poker. I'll be tentative on the big pots, and should I get a cooler here or there and lose a big pot, I may lose focus rather than gain it, since I'll be disappointed I didn't walk away when I was good.
Just another thing I need to work on.
As you can see, I'm running a tad (2.5-3x ish) better than expectation, but the expectation is trending upwards as well so I'm doing things right. Some might say that I should be expecting variation to catch up with me soon. I say it actually is, in that this rush is the variation compensation for the awful 2009.
And here is the EV graph of the last session. In the first 200 hands, I should have been down, $200, but not $1200, yet there I was, with that low of ($2100). What I need to channel is the focus I have when I'm there. Seriously, if I could just start a session at that point, and play the next 700 hands, it would be a $2k win night.But let's be realistic. Once I'm up $1k on the night, I'll be thinking about locking that in, which means I won't be playing my best poker. I'll be tentative on the big pots, and should I get a cooler here or there and lose a big pot, I may lose focus rather than gain it, since I'll be disappointed I didn't walk away when I was good.
Just another thing I need to work on.
Worst hand wins
Was playing a friendly .10/.25 game with friends on Friday night and it was one of those games where the worst hand came out on top most of the time.
1) I was short, down to $8 from the initial $20, and I 3-bet all-in into a 3 handed pot, trying to buy it, with 65o (6-5 offsuit). I was called by 77 and proceeded to flop a 6 and river another.
2) Against the same opponent, I flopped top-pair with KJ on J93 board, he 3-bet all-in and I called. He turned over T8o and turned a 7 for his straight.
3) The button was playing aggressive and raising with super strong and super weak hands alike. He 3-bet to $5 pre-flop. The SB, who is generally tight passive, called, and I called from the BB with 5s7s. The original raiser folded. The flop came As5c7d, SB checked, I checked, the button moved in for $28, the SB snap called for his stack and I practically beat him to the pot. I knew by his call pre-flop that the SB hit his A, and was not likely to have AA (would've re-raised PF) or A5 or A7 (too big a raise PF to call there). Most likely was A[KQJT], and it would've been a long shot for 55 or 77, albeit possible. Button turns over KK, SB has AJ. I fade their outs and win an $80 pot.
There were good hands that held up too, on occasion. In the end, we all had a good time, and when playing with these guys, that's all that matters.
1) I was short, down to $8 from the initial $20, and I 3-bet all-in into a 3 handed pot, trying to buy it, with 65o (6-5 offsuit). I was called by 77 and proceeded to flop a 6 and river another.
2) Against the same opponent, I flopped top-pair with KJ on J93 board, he 3-bet all-in and I called. He turned over T8o and turned a 7 for his straight.
3) The button was playing aggressive and raising with super strong and super weak hands alike. He 3-bet to $5 pre-flop. The SB, who is generally tight passive, called, and I called from the BB with 5s7s. The original raiser folded. The flop came As5c7d, SB checked, I checked, the button moved in for $28, the SB snap called for his stack and I practically beat him to the pot. I knew by his call pre-flop that the SB hit his A, and was not likely to have AA (would've re-raised PF) or A5 or A7 (too big a raise PF to call there). Most likely was A[KQJT], and it would've been a long shot for 55 or 77, albeit possible. Button turns over KK, SB has AJ. I fade their outs and win an $80 pot.
There were good hands that held up too, on occasion. In the end, we all had a good time, and when playing with these guys, that's all that matters.
Friday, August 13, 2010
UBOC #10 here I come
Finally won my seat to the PLO8 UBOC tourney (event #10, 100k guaranteed) on the third try. I started out a little too aggressive (again!) but this time, since it was the only table I was playing, I re-focused and targeted the weaker players only. Man that strategy worked well! It worked extremely well when the weak player to my right hit a 1 outer high redraw against a decent player (AA68 vs KK27 on a AK8 flop), and then scooped the other good player two to my left for all his chips. So now my mark had the chips to give away, assuming I don't suffer the same fate as my other two opponents.
I clawed my way back from 750 chips to my starting stack of 1.5k when we got to 4-handed.
I found myself at that point with Weak to my right (7k in chips), uber-tight but aggressive (UTBA - 3.5k in chips) to my left and generally tight-passive (TP-3k in chips) across from me. My plan: UTG, I'm calling with any 4 low cards, 4 high cards and raising with good high/low hands (A+234+KQJ+X), and folding to a raise from UTBA and TP. On the button, raise with anything decent to isolate against Weak when he limps UTG (which was always). Complete in my SB when no raises, if there is a raise, play normal blind protection hands. Same thing from the BB.
If I did manage to isloate against Weak, then I'd simply try to value bet any hand with potential on the flop. If I hit on the turn, I'd continue betting, if not, I'd check. There was no fold equity there, so pot control was a must. Then, I'd play the river the same way. I was fortunate enough to get some great river combinations, which *almost* assuredly got me half if not all the pot, which allowed me to bet strong. For example, I bet a QJ4 flop with only a A2J9. Weak called. Turn came 3. He checked, I bet, he called. The river was a J, and I was able to get a value bet of 2/3 pot on the river paid off with only a Q. He had a weaker low draw on the river too, so if a low comes, it's a split pot. In the span of 6 hands, I was up to 5.5k, and he was down to 3k. I then knocked out UTBA when I limped UTG, and he raised from the button. TP and Weak folded and I called with A34K. The flop came K68, I checked raised him all in expecting him to show me AA, and he obliged with AA67. I was happy to see his weak low. Turn was a 5, guaranteeing me 1/2 the pot, and the river 2 gave me the scoop. You rarely win these tourneys without a little luck. :D
A few hands later, I knocked out Weak, and was HU against TP with a 12k to 3k chip advantage. Since we started HU at 30/60 blinds, there was a lot of play left. My strategy was similar to my regular HU SNG strategy: Raise from Button/SB for almost every hand until he fights back and then figure out what sort of hands he's willing to fight with. Let's just say there was a lot of raising on my part. I would dwindle him down to 1.25k, then I'd gamble with a weak hand and he'd double back to 2.5k, but generally, I was constantly trending his stack downwards. During the break, he was calling me the "luckiest ***** in the world" (UB censorship, not mine), and said "You probably don't even know what game you're playing!" to which I replied "Yes I do. It's called bet and fold!" First hand after the break, I raised from the button/SB totally expecting him to re-raise, but he folded, and I knew I will win this easily.
10 minutes later we were done. I'm now registered for 4 events in 8 days. I'm stoked and looking forward to it!
As for the "all-you-can-satellite" contest I mentionned in my last post, I looked at the results page right now, and there have been a few people who already have won over 10 seats, including multiple seats to the same tourney (extra seats paid back in tournament dollars), so there's no way I can win that contest. Ahh, to be young with lots of time on their hands. Hmm... I guess they could be old, never really thought of that, but I guess it's a lot less likely. Probably some student, and potentially an online "pro". <- I quote that because being a "pro" means you make a living from the game, but does not necessarily mean that they make a fortune from it. I probably make more in my day job than they do from their poker.
Anyway, got friends coming over tonight to play. Should be fun as usual!
I clawed my way back from 750 chips to my starting stack of 1.5k when we got to 4-handed.
I found myself at that point with Weak to my right (7k in chips), uber-tight but aggressive (UTBA - 3.5k in chips) to my left and generally tight-passive (TP-3k in chips) across from me. My plan: UTG, I'm calling with any 4 low cards, 4 high cards and raising with good high/low hands (A+234+KQJ+X), and folding to a raise from UTBA and TP. On the button, raise with anything decent to isolate against Weak when he limps UTG (which was always). Complete in my SB when no raises, if there is a raise, play normal blind protection hands. Same thing from the BB.
If I did manage to isloate against Weak, then I'd simply try to value bet any hand with potential on the flop. If I hit on the turn, I'd continue betting, if not, I'd check. There was no fold equity there, so pot control was a must. Then, I'd play the river the same way. I was fortunate enough to get some great river combinations, which *almost* assuredly got me half if not all the pot, which allowed me to bet strong. For example, I bet a QJ4 flop with only a A2J9. Weak called. Turn came 3. He checked, I bet, he called. The river was a J, and I was able to get a value bet of 2/3 pot on the river paid off with only a Q. He had a weaker low draw on the river too, so if a low comes, it's a split pot. In the span of 6 hands, I was up to 5.5k, and he was down to 3k. I then knocked out UTBA when I limped UTG, and he raised from the button. TP and Weak folded and I called with A34K. The flop came K68, I checked raised him all in expecting him to show me AA, and he obliged with AA67. I was happy to see his weak low. Turn was a 5, guaranteeing me 1/2 the pot, and the river 2 gave me the scoop. You rarely win these tourneys without a little luck. :D
A few hands later, I knocked out Weak, and was HU against TP with a 12k to 3k chip advantage. Since we started HU at 30/60 blinds, there was a lot of play left. My strategy was similar to my regular HU SNG strategy: Raise from Button/SB for almost every hand until he fights back and then figure out what sort of hands he's willing to fight with. Let's just say there was a lot of raising on my part. I would dwindle him down to 1.25k, then I'd gamble with a weak hand and he'd double back to 2.5k, but generally, I was constantly trending his stack downwards. During the break, he was calling me the "luckiest ***** in the world" (UB censorship, not mine), and said "You probably don't even know what game you're playing!" to which I replied "Yes I do. It's called bet and fold!" First hand after the break, I raised from the button/SB totally expecting him to re-raise, but he folded, and I knew I will win this easily.
10 minutes later we were done. I'm now registered for 4 events in 8 days. I'm stoked and looking forward to it!
As for the "all-you-can-satellite" contest I mentionned in my last post, I looked at the results page right now, and there have been a few people who already have won over 10 seats, including multiple seats to the same tourney (extra seats paid back in tournament dollars), so there's no way I can win that contest. Ahh, to be young with lots of time on their hands. Hmm... I guess they could be old, never really thought of that, but I guess it's a lot less likely. Probably some student, and potentially an online "pro". <- I quote that because being a "pro" means you make a living from the game, but does not necessarily mean that they make a fortune from it. I probably make more in my day job than they do from their poker.
Anyway, got friends coming over tonight to play. Should be fun as usual!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Oops
Shouldn't have played last night. I tried 2 more satellites and finished in last place in both. I was tired and distracted playing cash games too. I got stuck in the cash games after a couple of 2 outers helped my opponents scoop some pots, and ended up playing for 5 hours which was 1.5 hours more than I wanted to. I got even, and was preparing to close tables, as I got to the BB in each one. I ended up all-in on one hand and came up short and ended up booking a $350 loss as a result. Here's what happened:
I'm on the button, and I raise with As4sKd7d. Opponent who's been pissed at my "luck" (trust me, I had not really been lucky tonight), re-raises from the SB. He's got nearly $380 total, and I've got him covered. I put him on AA, but potentially a weak AA given how much I'm sure he wants to take a run at me. I call to see a flop. Ks8d6d. Nice. I bet, he raises, and I move all in and he calls (n surprises there any step of the betting). I've got a ton of outs if his low kicker is good. It is as he tables Ac As 6h 3d (I think I've got the suits right). Even money flop. Turn and flop are Qh 6c and he scoops with 3 6's. Dammit! Was even money, and lost all of it (http://twodimes.net/h/?z=7467923)
If I remember, I'll try and post my all-in EV graphs from last night, and for the year. I've been running hot (last night excluded), but I'm actually very happy to see that I'm getting my money in good most of the time (last night excluded).
I'm on the button, and I raise with As4sKd7d. Opponent who's been pissed at my "luck" (trust me, I had not really been lucky tonight), re-raises from the SB. He's got nearly $380 total, and I've got him covered. I put him on AA, but potentially a weak AA given how much I'm sure he wants to take a run at me. I call to see a flop. Ks8d6d. Nice. I bet, he raises, and I move all in and he calls (n surprises there any step of the betting). I've got a ton of outs if his low kicker is good. It is as he tables Ac As 6h 3d (I think I've got the suits right). Even money flop. Turn and flop are Qh 6c and he scoops with 3 6's. Dammit! Was even money, and lost all of it (http://twodimes.net/h/?z=7467923)
If I remember, I'll try and post my all-in EV graphs from last night, and for the year. I've been running hot (last night excluded), but I'm actually very happy to see that I'm getting my money in good most of the time (last night excluded).
Monday, August 9, 2010
More UBOC satellites
I just entered 2 more satellites. One for UBOC#12, a HORSE event on the 24th and one for UBOC#10, a PLO8 event on the 23rd. I won the HORSE entry and came in second and just missed out on the PLO8 entry.
Not a bad ratio: 3 entries out of 4 satellites. I actually bought into the PLO8 event, for $40+4, and used points for the HORSE tourney, so I've put forth $44 for a total of $697 worth of tournament entries! Kick ass!!!!
The HORSE satellite only had 4 players and the PLO8 only had 7. Ideal conditions for me for the most part except that I didn't pay enough attention to the PLO8 tourney. Was really focused on the HORSE because I could tell the players were really bad and I didn't want to waste that opportunity. I thought I could recover in the PLO8 if I started bad.
The PLO8 tourney was won by a player who basically played every hand and ran hot. I went to heads up a 9:2 underdog in chips and worked back to have the lead for a little while. Then we went all in PF with me having AQQ3 against his A34J and I got quartered when the board ran T86A4. Pfft... After that, I pushed a few hands later with QJ35ds PF and ran into AA97, which held up when the board went Q443K.
Oh well. I'll re-enter that PLO8 satellite a few more times. I may play the HORSE one a few more times as well to try and win extra entries which get paid to me in tournament dollars. UB is running a "all-you-can-enter" contest where the person who satellites into the same tourney the most times wins some extra tournament dollars (money to be redeemed for entries into any tournament on UB).
Not a bad ratio: 3 entries out of 4 satellites. I actually bought into the PLO8 event, for $40+4, and used points for the HORSE tourney, so I've put forth $44 for a total of $697 worth of tournament entries! Kick ass!!!!
The HORSE satellite only had 4 players and the PLO8 only had 7. Ideal conditions for me for the most part except that I didn't pay enough attention to the PLO8 tourney. Was really focused on the HORSE because I could tell the players were really bad and I didn't want to waste that opportunity. I thought I could recover in the PLO8 if I started bad.
The PLO8 tourney was won by a player who basically played every hand and ran hot. I went to heads up a 9:2 underdog in chips and worked back to have the lead for a little while. Then we went all in PF with me having AQQ3 against his A34J and I got quartered when the board ran T86A4. Pfft... After that, I pushed a few hands later with QJ35ds PF and ran into AA97, which held up when the board went Q443K.
Oh well. I'll re-enter that PLO8 satellite a few more times. I may play the HORSE one a few more times as well to try and win extra entries which get paid to me in tournament dollars. UB is running a "all-you-can-enter" contest where the person who satellites into the same tourney the most times wins some extra tournament dollars (money to be redeemed for entries into any tournament on UB).
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
UBOC Entries
So much for sucking at NLHE tourneys! Maybe it's the large field tourneys I'm not so good at, but whatever the case, I just played 2 UBOC satellites and won my entries in both.
Both tourneys had 29 entrants and started within 5 minutes of each other so I was playing them simultaneously. It was good because I did share a table with a couple people in both, which helped orient myself a little more.
The first satellite was an entry to UBOC #1, a $300+20 NLHE bounty tourney ($30 a head) w/ 200k guaranteed prize pool. It was a $40+4 satellite, which I used UB points to enter, so it cost me nothing.
The second satellite was an entry to UBOC #4, a $150+12 NLHE bounty tourney ($20 a head) w/ 100k guaranteed prize pool. It was a $25+2.5 satellite, which again I used UB points to enter, so no cost once again!
The events are on August 18th and 20th at 8:05PM both nights.
I'm still waiting for UB to start the satellites to UBOC #10, a 100k guaranteed PLO8 tournament.
I'll be playing more satellites for the rest of the month. Wish me luck!
Both tourneys had 29 entrants and started within 5 minutes of each other so I was playing them simultaneously. It was good because I did share a table with a couple people in both, which helped orient myself a little more.
The first satellite was an entry to UBOC #1, a $300+20 NLHE bounty tourney ($30 a head) w/ 200k guaranteed prize pool. It was a $40+4 satellite, which I used UB points to enter, so it cost me nothing.
The second satellite was an entry to UBOC #4, a $150+12 NLHE bounty tourney ($20 a head) w/ 100k guaranteed prize pool. It was a $25+2.5 satellite, which again I used UB points to enter, so no cost once again!
The events are on August 18th and 20th at 8:05PM both nights.
I'm still waiting for UB to start the satellites to UBOC #10, a 100k guaranteed PLO8 tournament.
I'll be playing more satellites for the rest of the month. Wish me luck!
Monday, August 2, 2010
July recap
I suck at NLHE tourneys. I played in 8 this month and I don't think I lasted past 1.5 hours in any of them. One night last week, I played in 3 and was out in 45 minutes in each of them. To put it in perspective, these tourneys can run 5 to 7 hours, and the money bubble is close to halfway (2.5-3.5 hours). I'm getting trapped and hosed. I flop TPTK, and I run into overpair. I hit TPTK against an opponent I put on JJ or QQ pre-flop, and the flop comes K92, w/ 2 hearts. The turn is a heart and the river is a heart. I bet flop and turn OOP, but I have to check/fold to his river bet. 1/2 the time he has the heart, and 1/2 the time he doesn't. I'm in the SB with K8, and complete, the BB raises a little and I call. Flop is 832, which is excellent for my hand. I bet, he raises, I call. Turn is a 4, I check/call. River is another 3, I check/call again, only for him to turn over 88. The last 8 in the deck comes on the flop to enable him to suck out max value.
The good news is that I don't suck at PLO8 cash games. Moved up and played a lot of 2/4, aka 400PLO8. I killed it this month.
bonus: $55
400PLO8: $1800+$1110
200PLO8: $885-$35
100PLO8: ($330)
HU PLO8 SNGs: $325
NLHE tourneys: ($710)
Total: $3100
I tried spending some time tonight watching a NLHE tourney to see if not playing would help me observe better and enable me to figure out what my opponents are doing, but it didn't work. I can't tell if a player is making a river call with Q6s (was in the BB and saw the flop for free) because he is good and knows his top pair weak kicker is good, or because he is bad and overvalued a pair in his hand.
I do know this, a lot of players seem to call light on the flop. A lot of continuation bets are called, though I have noticed that the active players are c-betting a lot smaller than I do. They are all better 1/2 the pot, quite possibly to save money to be able to fire again on the turn.
Maybe I did learn something after all....
The good news is that I don't suck at PLO8 cash games. Moved up and played a lot of 2/4, aka 400PLO8. I killed it this month.
bonus: $55
400PLO8: $1800+$1110
200PLO8: $885-$35
100PLO8: ($330)
HU PLO8 SNGs: $325
NLHE tourneys: ($710)
Total: $3100
I tried spending some time tonight watching a NLHE tourney to see if not playing would help me observe better and enable me to figure out what my opponents are doing, but it didn't work. I can't tell if a player is making a river call with Q6s (was in the BB and saw the flop for free) because he is good and knows his top pair weak kicker is good, or because he is bad and overvalued a pair in his hand.
I do know this, a lot of players seem to call light on the flop. A lot of continuation bets are called, though I have noticed that the active players are c-betting a lot smaller than I do. They are all better 1/2 the pot, quite possibly to save money to be able to fire again on the turn.
Maybe I did learn something after all....
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