A Little Update

I played a $200+16 HORSE SNG today with David Singer. Bubbled in 4th. I have a video with commentary up, so check out the forums at Pokertips for the link (yes, I am trying to pimp the site). Made 2 stupid plays, but overall happy with my play.

So I've decided that I am going to play a WPT event this month. My choices are the World Poker Challenge at the Reno Hilton and the Foxwoods event. I would prefer the Reno event because that's closer to me, but I would like to check out Foxwoods. No biggie either way, if I qualify, I will be very happy.

Thank God For Cash Games!

I've been in a real tournament rut for the past few months. My highest finish this year has been 12th. To be honest, I haven't been playing that much in tournaments (about 4-5 a week on average I think), so I think I might step up my participation. I have a bankroll that can support me buying to a few $200 tournaments (though I would prefer to Satellite, so I will probably try that soon).

My big new project right now is to tune my game. I am probably going to reread a lot of books and play smaller stakes to try some new things out. I am probably going to pour over my hands stored on Poker Tracker. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I have the feeling that I am on a hot streak right now and I want to plug any leaks that I might have before the downward spiral begins.

The other big thing on my plate is for me to try and qualify for a WPT event. I am actually very dissapointed that I didn't think to try this sooner for the Bay 101 Shooting Stars that is starting tomorrow. Still, if I qualify, I am willing to fly across country (like to Foxwoods) , so I will keep you all abreast of this.

I do play almost every game, so if you want to see hands from a certain game/level (up 15/30 and 3/6 NL), then give me a shout out in the comments section and I'll try to oblidge.

Whew, made it through that one!

Every few months or so, I go through what I call "bankroll tilt" (BT). That is when I take a shot at higher stakes, WHICH IS FINE, but when I come out loser, instead of calling it quits, I put some more money down. So the last 18 hours have been my recent "bankroll" tilt session. At about 1 AM this morning, my internet connection went golden so I signed in and saw that 20/40 Razz game still going. So I sat down. 3 hours later, I'm stuck $1300, which isn't the end all for my bankroll, but it does sting. I did get a bit unlucky, but I lost about $300 of that to stupid river bets against calling stations, though I did get a QT to call my river bet with my JT. To be honest, I did learn a lot, though the lessons were expensive.

So this morning, still on BT, I sit at a 30/60 SH Hold'em table, hit two pair my first hand and got it capped on the turn against a pair of Aces. My hand holds up for a $1000 pot. I start running hot and get up about $750. The guy to my right is playing like a maniac and by then I knew variance was going to bite me one way or another against this guy and I took my money and left. I saw the 20/40 Razz game still going with Gavin Smith playing and some of the same horrible players from last night so I decided to sit down. I played only one hand to showdown where I had a board lock (A stud term for knowing your opponent can't possibly beat you), didn't run any bluffs and left a decent winner.

After that I sat down at a 15/30 SH Limit Hold'em game (which is within my bankroll, so the tilt had subsided) and proceeded to destroy it. So, since waking up yesterday, I am now up $300 bucks.

Now before y'all get the impression that this was good and you should all jump up to twice your normal limit, I got lucky to dig myself out of this one. I usually don't survive BT very well (I think it is the cause of me busting at least once), but this time worked out well, luckily. Hopefully the next time it happens, I will have the bankroll to properly play 30/60 and 50/100 and this won't be tilt, but just the limits I normally play.

Why Hold'em is For Losers

Everyone plays Texas Hold'em. I mean EVERYONE. You could fill a library on the books that are out there on Hold'em. The other games...not so much. There are probably a good deal of books on Omaha since it is so popular in Europe and you can maybe find some books on Stud games, though most of those are probably out of print. In the US (and most of the rest of the world), Hold'em is King. However, there is some big profit to be made in learning other games, especially the stud games. In Omaha, there are really only post flop mistakes, but Stud is great because you can make major mistakes on the first card. The fact that there is an ante means more people will chase with their 479 rainbow because, well, they're chasing their anted money (I think I just used every form of "there" [their and they're] in the previous sentance properly. I just blew my mind)

This Blog, though, about a form of Seven Card Stud called Razz, where the worst hand wins (flushes and straights don't count). It was late and I scoured Full Tilt for any games I really felt like playing and I saw a 20/40 Razz game going. I witnessed the following hand when I opened up the table:

Everyone antes $3
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to Arar [Kd]
Dealt to yuvee04 [5s]
Dealt to ifishharder [Ad]
Arar brings in for $6
yuvee04 completes it to $20
ifishharder raises to $40
Arar folds
yuvee04 raises to $60
ifishharder calls $20
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to yuvee04 [5s] [Td]
Dealt to ifishharder [Ad] [Ah]
yuvee04 bets $20
ifishharder calls $20
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to yuvee04 [5s Td] [9d]
Dealt to ifishharder [Ad Ah] [Ac]
yuvee04 bets $40
ifishharder calls $4
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to yuvee04 [5s Td 9d] [Js]
Dealt to ifishharder [Ad Ah Ac] [5d]
yuvee04 bets $40
ifishharder calls $40
*** 7TH STREET ***
yuvee04 checks
ifishharder checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
yuvee04 shows [Qd 4d 5s Td 9d Js As] (T,9,5,4,A)
ifishharder shows [Ts 4s Ad Ah Ac 5d 3h] (T,5,4,3,A)
ifishharder wins the pot ($347) with T,5,4,3,A


How does anyone call anything with AAA showing? For my hapless reader, that meant this guy needed 2 running cards lower than a T to win based on the other guy's board. This is like chasing a running straight, you just don't do it. Seeing this I pulled up a chair. For Stud games, playing tight usually works, especially at Razz and H/L. Most players have no idea what they are doing and are just playing because they can. After seeing that last hand, that is the approach I took.

Unluckily for me, my connection decided to crap out after I had lost a "small" $370 pot to not a bad beat, but just one of those hands that plays out like it did. Here's the hand and I'll point out my decision process at the end of it.

Everyone antes $3
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to XA_kid [8c 7s] [2h]
Dealt to DOUGIE POOR [Jh]
Dealt to PearlJammed [2c]
Dealt to Arar [6c]
Dealt to relentless1958 [9d]
Dealt to yuvee04 [7c]
Dealt to ifishharder [3d]
Dealt to vengven [Ah]
DOUGIE POOR is high with [Jh]
DOUGIE POOR brings in for $6
PearlJammed calls $6
Arar calls $6
relentless1958 calls $6
yuvee04 folds
ifishharder folds
vengven completes it to $20
XA_kid calls $20
DOUGIE POOR folds
PearlJammed calls $14
Arar calls $14
relentless1958 calls $14
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to XA_kid [8c 7s 2h] [3s]
Dealt to PearlJammed [2c] [6d]
Dealt to Arar [6c] [Qh]
Dealt to relentless1958 [9d] [Ts]
Dealt to vengven [Ah] [Js]
XA_kid checks
PearlJammed checks
Arar checks
relentless1958 checks
vengven checks
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to XA_kid [8c 7s 2h 3s] [9s]
Dealt to PearlJammed [2c 6d] [9c]
Dealt to Arar [6c Qh] [3c]
Dealt to relentless1958 [9d Ts] [7h]
Dealt to vengven [Ah Js] [5s]
XA_kid bets $40
PearlJammed calls $40
Arar calls $40
relentless1958 folds
vengven calls $40
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to XA_kid [8c 7s 2h 3s 9s] [8s]
Dealt to PearlJammed [2c 6d 9c] [Jd]
Dealt to Arar [6c Qh 3c] [8d]
Dealt to vengven [Ah Js 5s] [Tc]
XA_kid bets $40
PearlJammed folds
Arar calls $40
vengven folds
*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to XA_kid [8c 7s 2h 3s 9s 8s] [2s]
XA_kid checks
Arar checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
XA_kid shows [8c 7s 2h 3s 9s 8s 2s] (9,8,7,3,2)
Arar shows [Jc 7d 6c Qh 3c 8d 4h] (8,7,6,4,3)
Arar wins the pot ($367) with 8,7,6,4,3
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $370 | Rake $3
Seat 1: XA_kid showed [8c 7s 2h 3s 9s 8s 2s] and lost with 9,8,7,3,2
Seat 4: Arar showed [Jc 7d 6c Qh 3c 8d 4h] and won ($367) with 8,7,6,4,3

3rd Street: There was a lot of money in the pot, so I decided to take a shot with an 8, that being my highest card. I'm not quite sure if this was correct, but it is akin to calling a raise in Hold'em with a small pair or suited connectors when it looks like it might be a big pot. A lot of small cards were also out, so if I make my low, people will be drawing slim. Anyways, I wanted to see the next card.

4rth Street: I Caught good, someone who showed no preflop aggresion caught good and everyone else caught bad. I decided to check because everyone is going to call a bet and I sometimes like to wait for 5th Street before betting and see what develops. This might be a mistake, but it's how I like to play what I consider a marginal hand.

5th Street: I bet with what is the current best hand. One caller with a Q showing and 2 low cards.

6th Street: This is tricky. He could've made a better hand than me, or he could still be drawing. If he made a hand, any card lower than a 7 makes me a better low. I decide to bet just in case he still has a draw and if I'm beat, I have a good amount of outs.

7th Street: I check because the only thing that can call me is something beats me. I like his check because I do show a board that if I caught, I could beat him and be going for the check raise. If you know me, I very rarely go for the check raise on the river, he should've bet.

I had to try relogging a hand after that, and after a few tries, I did and I ended making a profit before I was done from constant disconnects. The big hand I won with wasn't that interesting, just me playing tight and aggresive and a guy paying me off big time.

Ok, this has gone on long enough, so I am going to end this with some advice for those looking to play other games. Read up on them, study them, and start off playing low stakes. The bit on Razz I've read was from "Play Poker Like the Pros" by Helmuth which overall isn't the greatest book, but his advice on Razz ends up being solid. Go to Barnes and Noble and leaf through it. I would also recommend Super System II as it has a lot on other games that are not Hold'em. It's not the end-all-be-all, but it is a good start.

I Will Hunt You to the Ends of the Earth!

There's been this guy named ChpLdr8 who sometimes sits by himself at one of the 5/10NL 6 Max tables at Full Tilt Poker for $200. Just sits there. So a couple days ago, I was like "ok", sat with $200 and decided to have a little fun. In one contested hand where I can a pair and a OESD (Open-Ended-Straight Draw), he takes $80 off of me and then leaves. I'm annoyed at this point, but I close the window before I can take down his name, so I stew for a bit and then go and do...something...I dunno.

Anyways, late last night I see him again, by himself with $200 at a 5/10NL table. So I sit down. THIS time, he jets after being up $30. And I immeadiatly see him open up a new table with (drumroll) $200. So I sit down and I change gears this time, playing very aggresively, putting his whole stack on the line when I thought I had even the slightest edge and he, predictably, folded. Then something interesting happened. Other people sat down!

Me and Chp played about 20 hands, but after he was down $100 (not much at these stakes), he got up and started a new table with $200. So I got up and joined him. I would take a few bucks off of him, other people would sit down and he would get up and I would follow him and his fresh stack of $200. This went on for about 20 minutes. We must have migrated to every Short Handed 5/10 NL table on Full Tilt. Eventually, he stopped moving, and I gave up the chase.

Funnily enough, I saw him play at the 25/50NL table with Layne Flack and he didn't do so well. Somebody just made the buddy list. Also watching John D'agostino play heads up 100/200 Seven Card Stud is fun, especially when it's full house over full house.

Interesting 15/30 Hand

I'm going to start posting more hands here so as to not waste so much space elsewhere. Here's the hand and my analysis for it:

Full Tilt Poker Game #452558929: Table Pacific Harbors - $15/$30 - Limit Hold'em - 20:06:29 ET - 2006/02/20
Seat 1: XA_kid ($1,201)
Seat 4: bagel2 ($502), is sitting out
Seat 5: DRUNKGOOSE ($703.50)
Seat 6: notsniw ($506)
Seat 7: slopoker805 ($300)
DRUNKGOOSE posts the small blind of $10
notsniw posts the big blind of $15
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to XA_kid [4h 4s]
XA_kid raises to $30
DRUNKGOOSE folds
notsniw calls $15
*** FLOP *** [Kd 8d Jd]
notsniw checks
XA_kid checks
*** TURN *** [Kd 8d Jd] [Jh]
notsniw checks
XA_kid bets $30
notsniw raises to $60
XA_kid calls $30
*** RIVER *** [Kd 8d Jd Jh] [9h]
notsniw bets $30
XA_kid calls $30
*** SHOW DOWN ***
notsniw shows [6d Qs] (a pair of Jacks)
XA_kid shows [4h 4s] (two pair, Jacks and Fours)
XA_kid wins the pot ($249) with two pair, Jacks and Fours
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $250 | Rake $1
Board: [Kd 8d Jd Jh 9h]
Seat 1: XA_kid (button) showed [4h 4s] and won ($249) with two pair, Jacks and Fours
Seat 4: bagel2 is sitting out
Seat 5: DRUNKGOOSE (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: notsniw (big blind) showed [6d Qs] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 7: slopoker805 is sitting out

Preflop: Nothing Special Here.

Flop: This guy has been very aggresive and would check-raise me with a draw. I don't want to be faced with a tough decision, so I checked to see what he did on the turn

Turn: A blank hits in the form of pairing the board. He checked to me and I bet, confident I was ahead. When he raised me, I went over the possibilities in my head: A King? No he would've reraised me preflop. A Jack? Well, they are two on the board, so he would've needed two in the deck. I also think he would've bet out here with a King or Jack. An 8 he would not've played this hard. So it's either a made flush or a flush draw. I decided that his play was strange enough that I put him on a semi-bluff. No diamond on the river meant I was calling.

River: No diamond, I win.

The big thing that tipped me off was that he played this hand very differently than he usually does. Something didn't smell right here and I called him on the bluff.

The lesson here? If you are bluffing, make sure your bluff is consistent with the rest of your play or warning bells will go off in other player's heads.

Tilt!!!

Well, I ended up missing the HORSE tournament because I had other pressing matters, so that sucked. I still pulled out a 7th place finish, but I love playing HORSE, so I am bummed that I missed it.

So I went on destruction tilt yesterday night. Played some 2/4 NL and destroyed myself against this one calling station. Then I played a $200 Headsup NL match and lost that. Then I went to go play some 15/30 3-handed, was down $900 at my lowest point and pulled out a $270 loss overall. By then my game was on, but I was going to chill with some girls for a Blunts and Fourties night, so I called it quits.

SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: The following is a semi-rant about substance abuse so for those with strong opinions about said subject, just skip this. Please.

I am going to lay down my feelings on substance abuse. People who drink/smoke/whatever too much annoy me. People who don't drink/smoke/whatever at all annoy me. In the first case, these people come to depend on that activity to relate to other people and if I can't have fun with those people without a substance on hand, then I don't really want to hang out with them (unless they are offering said substance for free). People who do the opposite are generally, in my experiance, closed off anyways and very uptight. I'm not talking about people who only drink a beer a week, but those who just DON'T. They don't know how to loosen up and tend to be very controlling when you are around them. I feel that, like most things in life, substances should be used in moderation. I don't feel the need to drink every night, but if some friends are like "Let's hit this" then I'm like "Ok." I don't need a substance in my alone time because my normal mental state is just spiffy the way it is. Too much, and you're and idiot, too little and you are boorish.

EDIT: I am not bagging on people who have absolved themselves from substances because they were abuser and then quit because of the negative effects. Those people I respect. It's those who are so stuck up that they refuse to even try a beer. Yes, I know people like that.

Whew. Done with that. To wrap this up, I'm thinking of putting some money of Party Poker (my money is mostly tied up on Full Tilt Poker and a bit on Poker Stars), so I will be watching those tables. I think it might be good for my NL game to be able to play a more straightforward game most of the time. One of my biggest problems (which a friend of mine who is a very good NL player pointed out) is that I like to switch gears a lot, which will probably serve me well down the line, but is hurting me now.

Pokerips Monthly NL Tourney

I just finished in 3rd in the Monthly tournament for Pokertips. Not a big one for 10+1, but the money didn't matter, but I enjoy playing with this group of people. I'm feeling mixed emotions because overall I played great, yet I made two big mistakes, one of them very big. It comes down to me playing a big pot without having a big hand, especially with a shortstack about to bust out 3 handed. It was a very bad move that cost me big time. However, I did learn a few things from this tournament and I will hopefully not make a mistake like that again.

On the ring game side, I played 20 minutes of 15/30 Limit Hold'em before the tournament and made a few bucks. I will probably play a bit more today, but I am freezing and need a hot shower.
I might just take it easy since I am going drinking with some friends tonight and I've already made my daily "nut" so to speak, which is $50. Not a lot, but if I at least clear that a day, I pay for my monthly expenses. So right now, only a small portion of the money I average a day goes to my living expenses, so everything is quite comfortable now.

Tomorrow is a friendly HORSE (Hold'em Omaha 8 Razz Stud Stud 8) tournament with many of the same people I played with today, so it should be fun.

All About Me

As a way to post silly stuff and random thoughts poker related without wasting webspace at my forum home, Pokertips.org , I have created this blog so I can look back on this and see how I've improved.

A little history:

I picked up poker when I found out I had a brain tumor and decided that I wanted to go to a casino before my operation as I had just turned 21. I won a bit, the operation was a success and I spent the next 6 weeks of recovery going to cardrooms near my family's place at Lake Tahoe. Before you assume that I come from good money, this was a cabin on State Park Property that we got for dirt cheap since my mom is a park ranger. So I played 2-6 spread Limit Texas Hold'em and I busted after a night of serious tilt that ended with me blowing a lot of my overall winnings at Black Jack. I soon busted my entire bankroll.

A few months later, I put some money on Full Tilt Poker and that led to some interesting developments. Those will have to wait as I need some sleep. I will fill in the bits and pieces as I go along with this blog.

For those keeping count, I play 1/2 NL - 2/4 NL (with the occasional stabs at 5/10 NL), 5/10 - 15/30 Limit, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and 1/2 PL Omaha. I also do the tournament and Sit and Go (SNG) thang. My consistent best game is Heads Up Limit Hold'em and just Limit Hold'em in general followed with Razz and Seven Card Stud. My NL game is either really on or really off. PL Omaha I am just getting into.