30 July 2007
The Poker Mindset
I've added a new poker book to the list off to the right there (assuming you're reading at blogspot), The Poker Mindset: Essential Attitudes for Poker Success. (What is it with these poker authors and their titles that are longer than my arm?) I haven't actually finished reading it yet, but since I got a free review copy I figured it only fair to add it to the list. I'll be posting a full review when I finish.
The Weekend
The weekend is a bit of a blur in my mind, which is to say there was little of special note that occurred. Friday I went to dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant. We got there in time for "happy hour", which included two-for-one tap beers. Four Peronis and a Sambuca later, I was very much in the mood for the Friday Donkament.
I don't remember too much of the donkament. I recall more people showed up than the week before, I again didn't have to rebuy (other than the initial top-up and the add-on), and I didn't repeat my win from the previous week. And I fell asleep almost as soon as I busted out. Yeah, I'm a real lightweight when it comes to alcohol these days.
Saturday I played a HORSE tournament at Stars. My recollection is of being mostly card dead and never getting anything going. I finished well out of the money.
My successes this weekend were at the cash tables. I played a bit of 6-max NL and did pretty well. There was one guy at my first table who was raising almost every hand. He was clearly pushing the table around and I immediately started looking for a hand I could use to play sheriff. I found it in A9s. I limped, expecting him to raise, and he didn't disappoint. The flop came 8 high with two of my suit. I checked, he bet, I check-raised, he re-raised me all-in. I hate calling all-ins with just a draw, but I figured I had at least 12 outs, possibly 15. That priced me in. Turn was an ace and the river brought a 9. I doubled up and Mr. Raise Every Hand started playing a bit tighter after he bought in again.
My other really big hand was surrounded by odd circumstances. The guy sitting to my right had been playing ultra-tight for a long time. I had almost 100 hands on him and he was about 18% VP$IP at 6-max. I mostly stayed out of his way. Then, all of a sudden, he starts making pot-sized raises almost every hand. It was like he'd been on autopilot, folding to any action, and then switched over to maniac mode. The table had been playing very tight for a while so it's possible he was just trying to take advantage of that.
I finally get a decent hand, AQ. He makes his pot-sized raise from UTG. AQ not exactly being a monster, I decide to just call and see what the flop brings. No help. He puts in a small bet. I've got nothing, but given the number of times he'd been raising lately, I figured I might actually be ahead. I call. The turn brings an ace. I end up all-in and he calls. Turns out he's got KK. Maybe the guy was still playing just as tight and happened upon a great run of cards. I almost felt sorry for him as I was stacking his chips.
It's probably just a short run of decent luck, but 6-max NL in the shallow end of the pool is looking like fairly easy pickings. Play pots cheap when you can. Mostly wait for good cards. Take a stab at orphaned pots, especially when you can do it cheap. Then just sit back and watch as your opponents make mistakes.
For those who haven't already heard, Neteller is finally releasing money to US players. Get it while you can.
I don't remember too much of the donkament. I recall more people showed up than the week before, I again didn't have to rebuy (other than the initial top-up and the add-on), and I didn't repeat my win from the previous week. And I fell asleep almost as soon as I busted out. Yeah, I'm a real lightweight when it comes to alcohol these days.
Saturday I played a HORSE tournament at Stars. My recollection is of being mostly card dead and never getting anything going. I finished well out of the money.
My successes this weekend were at the cash tables. I played a bit of 6-max NL and did pretty well. There was one guy at my first table who was raising almost every hand. He was clearly pushing the table around and I immediately started looking for a hand I could use to play sheriff. I found it in A9s. I limped, expecting him to raise, and he didn't disappoint. The flop came 8 high with two of my suit. I checked, he bet, I check-raised, he re-raised me all-in. I hate calling all-ins with just a draw, but I figured I had at least 12 outs, possibly 15. That priced me in. Turn was an ace and the river brought a 9. I doubled up and Mr. Raise Every Hand started playing a bit tighter after he bought in again.
My other really big hand was surrounded by odd circumstances. The guy sitting to my right had been playing ultra-tight for a long time. I had almost 100 hands on him and he was about 18% VP$IP at 6-max. I mostly stayed out of his way. Then, all of a sudden, he starts making pot-sized raises almost every hand. It was like he'd been on autopilot, folding to any action, and then switched over to maniac mode. The table had been playing very tight for a while so it's possible he was just trying to take advantage of that.
I finally get a decent hand, AQ. He makes his pot-sized raise from UTG. AQ not exactly being a monster, I decide to just call and see what the flop brings. No help. He puts in a small bet. I've got nothing, but given the number of times he'd been raising lately, I figured I might actually be ahead. I call. The turn brings an ace. I end up all-in and he calls. Turns out he's got KK. Maybe the guy was still playing just as tight and happened upon a great run of cards. I almost felt sorry for him as I was stacking his chips.
It's probably just a short run of decent luck, but 6-max NL in the shallow end of the pool is looking like fairly easy pickings. Play pots cheap when you can. Mostly wait for good cards. Take a stab at orphaned pots, especially when you can do it cheap. Then just sit back and watch as your opponents make mistakes.
For those who haven't already heard, Neteller is finally releasing money to US players. Get it while you can.
27 July 2007
That's Mr. Donkey to you
Still somewhat riding the high of my weekend wins, I sat down to play a bit last night. I managed to Gigli+1 from a FTP ticket tourney when some clown showed no respect for my TP, calling with bottom pair on the flop and catching trips on the turn.
Since that had taken only five minutes, I immediately signed up for another. I left this one even sooner when I again seriously overplayed TP.
Then, realizing I needed a real donkey event if I was to do anything worthwhile, I signed up for a $1 rebuy. Just like on Friday, I was able to get through the rebuy with just my initial two buy-ins and the add-on.
I was doing okay considering how bad my cards were. I more than doubled on the one good pocket pair I caught. But much of the rest of my little bit of success was due to suckouts.
The guy sitting to my immediate right was playing pretty tight, but every time it folded to him in the SB he'd toss in a raise. I was getting nothing so there wasn't much I could do to fight back without taking a big risk. Finally I'd had enough and pushed back with a massive J2. He had KJ, but I managed to catch runner-runner for a small straight.
This type of thing happened several times. He'd put in a raise, I'd push back, and he'd have something better than I did. Every time. Sometimes I'd get lucky, sometimes not. Nearing the money -- a whopping $6 -- I was getting short and needed to build my stack to get beyond the bubble. After what seemed like an eternity I finally got a hand worth pushing with: AQ. I'm in the BB. There's one limper and then my "friend" in the SB makes it 3BB to go. I push, he calls (which he probably would have done regardless of his cards given the massive 2BB raise my push represented), and turns over AK. It's deja vu all over again, except no suckout for me this time. I hit the rail just a few spots short of the money.
I was kind of surprised at this rebuy. A $1 rebuy is usually a total donkfest. Five-way all-ins with only one guy having anything resembling a real hand. But not this one. There were some rebuys, but not nearly the number I'd expected and very few of them as a result of totally crazy play.
There's something unsettling about this. I've noticed a similar trend in the last several rebuys I've played. I'm not entirely sure what it means, but I have a suspicion it's not good.
Since that had taken only five minutes, I immediately signed up for another. I left this one even sooner when I again seriously overplayed TP.
Then, realizing I needed a real donkey event if I was to do anything worthwhile, I signed up for a $1 rebuy. Just like on Friday, I was able to get through the rebuy with just my initial two buy-ins and the add-on.
I was doing okay considering how bad my cards were. I more than doubled on the one good pocket pair I caught. But much of the rest of my little bit of success was due to suckouts.
The guy sitting to my immediate right was playing pretty tight, but every time it folded to him in the SB he'd toss in a raise. I was getting nothing so there wasn't much I could do to fight back without taking a big risk. Finally I'd had enough and pushed back with a massive J2. He had KJ, but I managed to catch runner-runner for a small straight.
This type of thing happened several times. He'd put in a raise, I'd push back, and he'd have something better than I did. Every time. Sometimes I'd get lucky, sometimes not. Nearing the money -- a whopping $6 -- I was getting short and needed to build my stack to get beyond the bubble. After what seemed like an eternity I finally got a hand worth pushing with: AQ. I'm in the BB. There's one limper and then my "friend" in the SB makes it 3BB to go. I push, he calls (which he probably would have done regardless of his cards given the massive 2BB raise my push represented), and turns over AK. It's deja vu all over again, except no suckout for me this time. I hit the rail just a few spots short of the money.
I was kind of surprised at this rebuy. A $1 rebuy is usually a total donkfest. Five-way all-ins with only one guy having anything resembling a real hand. But not this one. There were some rebuys, but not nearly the number I'd expected and very few of them as a result of totally crazy play.
There's something unsettling about this. I've noticed a similar trend in the last several rebuys I've played. I'm not entirely sure what it means, but I have a suspicion it's not good.
24 July 2007
An old story
I was checking for new stuff on Julius Goat's blog and re-read one of his very funny player profiles -- Pvt. Pooosh. On this reading I was reminded of a live game I played in at Darval's a long while back.
There was a new guy in the game who was bragging about how he played online poker all the time and totally killed the game. In Darval's game we would always buy in for $5 and get $50 in chips. We all knew each $1 chip was only ten cents, but we tried to play like they were real dollars. For some reason, the new guy and one other player had bought in for $20 instead of the usual $5. No biggie.
So we start with the usual $0.50/$1 blinds. First hand the new guy raises to $25. $1.50 in the pot, and he raises to $25. Of course, everyone folds. A couple hands later he does the same thing. And again. And again. Finally he says, "I thought you guys were poker players." Someone responded, "We are. That's why we're folding. Your bets are way out of proportion to the size of the pot."
He understood we thought his bets were too big, but it was pretty clear he didn't understand why. He toned it down a bit after that, once or twice slipping back into gigantically oversized bets.
After a while I asked him where he liked playing online. Based on what I'd seen of his play, I figured I'd go look him up online. He said he only played at Yahoo. Yahoo? Suddenly it all made sense. He was used to betting fake chips that had no value, so it didn't matter if he bet $5 or $5000. Both bets were actually worth $0.
I may have told this part of the story before. I'm too lazy to go back and search my own blog. Fairly early we get in a hand where I had something like A4 and there were two aces on the board. We get to the river and I make a small value bet. He comes over the top big. At this point I figure he's got an ace and is almost sure to have a better kicker. I even said out loud, "I think you have me outkicked." So I folded.
He very proudly turns up something like 97, which paired with the board. He wasn't turning it up to wave his bluff in my face. He was proud of his big two pair. There's a pair of aces on the board, and he was pushing hard with aces and sevens. Okay, noted. I also noted that he seemed a bit confused at my comment.
I won't attempt to discuss any of the rest of the action except to say that most of his chips were sitting in front of me before we were finished. And it was pretty easy pickings once I knew what he thought of as a really good hand.
The moral of the story, if there is one, is to be patient when you run into Pvt. Pooosh. Time your action just right and all his chips will become yours.
There was a new guy in the game who was bragging about how he played online poker all the time and totally killed the game. In Darval's game we would always buy in for $5 and get $50 in chips. We all knew each $1 chip was only ten cents, but we tried to play like they were real dollars. For some reason, the new guy and one other player had bought in for $20 instead of the usual $5. No biggie.
So we start with the usual $0.50/$1 blinds. First hand the new guy raises to $25. $1.50 in the pot, and he raises to $25. Of course, everyone folds. A couple hands later he does the same thing. And again. And again. Finally he says, "I thought you guys were poker players." Someone responded, "We are. That's why we're folding. Your bets are way out of proportion to the size of the pot."
He understood we thought his bets were too big, but it was pretty clear he didn't understand why. He toned it down a bit after that, once or twice slipping back into gigantically oversized bets.
After a while I asked him where he liked playing online. Based on what I'd seen of his play, I figured I'd go look him up online. He said he only played at Yahoo. Yahoo? Suddenly it all made sense. He was used to betting fake chips that had no value, so it didn't matter if he bet $5 or $5000. Both bets were actually worth $0.
I may have told this part of the story before. I'm too lazy to go back and search my own blog. Fairly early we get in a hand where I had something like A4 and there were two aces on the board. We get to the river and I make a small value bet. He comes over the top big. At this point I figure he's got an ace and is almost sure to have a better kicker. I even said out loud, "I think you have me outkicked." So I folded.
He very proudly turns up something like 97, which paired with the board. He wasn't turning it up to wave his bluff in my face. He was proud of his big two pair. There's a pair of aces on the board, and he was pushing hard with aces and sevens. Okay, noted. I also noted that he seemed a bit confused at my comment.
I won't attempt to discuss any of the rest of the action except to say that most of his chips were sitting in front of me before we were finished. And it was pretty easy pickings once I knew what he thought of as a really good hand.
The moral of the story, if there is one, is to be patient when you run into Pvt. Pooosh. Time your action just right and all his chips will become yours.
23 July 2007
A long time ago, at a poker site far, far away, a friend had won a seat in a freeroll. He was unable to play and asked me to play in his stead. I agreed before realizing what I was getting myself into.
Turns out it was a limit tournament. I feel very strongly that limit Hold'em does not lend itself well to tournament play and try to avoid limit tournaments like the plague. But I'd already agreed to play, so I did.
I was doing regular email maintenance and came upon a message to my friend narrating the progress in the tournament. Think of it as tape-delayed live-blogging. You may find it amusing. You might find just a wee bit of sarcasm here and there. You've been warned.
Started out doing pretty good. Won a couple decent pots. Then I get TP aces on a ATx board. I bet, two callers. Turn is a blank. I bet, one fold, one call. River is a K. I figure I'm still ahead so I bet. Raise. TP isn't that strong so I call. The bloody calling station turns over QJ. She's stayed through all that on an inside straight draw. Idiot.
We're midway through level 4 now and I've been card dead ever since losing to the calling station. Not even anything remotely playable. If the cards don't improve this is going to be over soon. I hate limit.
First break. Blinded down to 750. Meantime, the calling station, down to 500, pushed hard with ATs from UTG+1 and was rewarded with two callers holding air. She's up to 1600. There is no justice.
The calling station just got eliminated. Without me having a chance to get back any of your chips.
Just got my best hand so far -- 33 -- and had to fold to a raise.
We just tripled up with A8 that completely missed. A-high with the 8 playing as kicker. Up to 1350 now. Maybe I should just play the junk.
Two hands later I get 66. Folds to me. There's a sit-out in the BB, so I raise hoping to scoop. Big stack calls. Flop is QQ6. More than double again.
Just rode AJ to victory over same big stack. We're back in this. 4300. Average is 2800. Amazing what getting some cards can do.
Dropped 1000 on some good starters that didn't pan out. 3300. Blinds at 100/200. Average up to 3900.
I just noticed, they're paying 20% of the field in this thing. 564th gets $0.70. We got a shot at the money! Unfortunately, serious money doesn't start until... uh, 1st? Why are we playing in this?
Just got moved to a table of big stacks. This should be fun. Still card dead. Haven't seen a winner since that AJ hand. Did dodge a stacker when I folded AJ to a raise. Raiser had AQ and two A's fell on the flop.
Oh, great. Finally caught a hand, AK, raise UTG, and it folds around.
Just picked up a small pot with KJs. Then lost it all back when I raised from the SB with K4o, not noticing someone had already called. Ack. Gotta pay more attention.
100 more eliminations and we're in the money!
Just got moved again, but we dodged the blinds. A free round. Weehee!
KK in the SB. Up to 6300.
I can't believe it. These idiots are slowing play trying to be sure they get $0.70. OMG, we've gone to hand-for-hand. For $0.70? This is torture. 64 tables still in play and we're hand-for-hand. Arggggghhhhhh!!!!
We made the money! And, more importantly, we're out of hand-for-hand for another 100 eliminations.
Second break. We've got 5700 with blinds going to 300/600. 45 more eliminations and we're up to $0.80!
I tried a couple well-situated bluffs that fell completely flat. Folds to me in the SB. BB is very short. I raise, he re-raises, I call. Turns out he's got T3. Okay, so I was bluffing, but what the hell is he doing coming back with T3o? He went all-in and the pot was laying about 40:1, so I called with air just hoping to catch something. I didn't. Down to 2600. But we made the next money level! Another 100 eliminations and we move to $0.90.
We're on the ropes -- down to 1400 -- but we're gonna make the next money tier. $0.90!!!
We've got less than 2BB. I pushed with A8s. No help on flop, or turn, but we win anyway. Up to $6k! Half the average stack, but off life support. We may make the $1.00 payout!
We're up to $1.00, but it's not looking good. Haven't had a hand since the Hoover administration. Oh, wait, AKo on the button. We're all-in against QQ. Rivered a K! Crap, at this rate I could be here all night making $0.10 an hour. Just got moved again.
We're up to $1.10. This is getting exciting.
Shit! I just doubled up. 13.5k. We could be looking at some serious money in this thing. I'm talking $2.00, maybe $2.20.
Wow, first "regular" hand I've played in ages. 77, call from MP. Blinds call. Q high flop. Check, check, bet, fold, fold. Up to 16.7k. Blinds are at 800/1600 though. We're gonna make $1.20.
AKo. Up to 20k. Moving to $1.30.
Third break over. Blinds at 1k/2k and we're down to 15k. And, more good news, the chip leader just sat down on my right. Wonderful.
Got moved. At least no ginormous stack to my right.
$1.50! We made $1.50!!!! Yay!! Only 15 more to $1.60.
Out in 98th on the cooler of coolers. Four pocket pairs. We had the smallest, but it was worth it on the off chance of catching a set. You're now $1.50 richer. Yee hah!
Turns out it was a limit tournament. I feel very strongly that limit Hold'em does not lend itself well to tournament play and try to avoid limit tournaments like the plague. But I'd already agreed to play, so I did.
I was doing regular email maintenance and came upon a message to my friend narrating the progress in the tournament. Think of it as tape-delayed live-blogging. You may find it amusing. You might find just a wee bit of sarcasm here and there. You've been warned.
Started out doing pretty good. Won a couple decent pots. Then I get TP aces on a ATx board. I bet, two callers. Turn is a blank. I bet, one fold, one call. River is a K. I figure I'm still ahead so I bet. Raise. TP isn't that strong so I call. The bloody calling station turns over QJ. She's stayed through all that on an inside straight draw. Idiot.
We're midway through level 4 now and I've been card dead ever since losing to the calling station. Not even anything remotely playable. If the cards don't improve this is going to be over soon. I hate limit.
First break. Blinded down to 750. Meantime, the calling station, down to 500, pushed hard with ATs from UTG+1 and was rewarded with two callers holding air. She's up to 1600. There is no justice.
The calling station just got eliminated. Without me having a chance to get back any of your chips.
Just got my best hand so far -- 33 -- and had to fold to a raise.
We just tripled up with A8 that completely missed. A-high with the 8 playing as kicker. Up to 1350 now. Maybe I should just play the junk.
Two hands later I get 66. Folds to me. There's a sit-out in the BB, so I raise hoping to scoop. Big stack calls. Flop is QQ6. More than double again.
Just rode AJ to victory over same big stack. We're back in this. 4300. Average is 2800. Amazing what getting some cards can do.
Dropped 1000 on some good starters that didn't pan out. 3300. Blinds at 100/200. Average up to 3900.
I just noticed, they're paying 20% of the field in this thing. 564th gets $0.70. We got a shot at the money! Unfortunately, serious money doesn't start until... uh, 1st? Why are we playing in this?
Just got moved to a table of big stacks. This should be fun. Still card dead. Haven't seen a winner since that AJ hand. Did dodge a stacker when I folded AJ to a raise. Raiser had AQ and two A's fell on the flop.
Oh, great. Finally caught a hand, AK, raise UTG, and it folds around.
Just picked up a small pot with KJs. Then lost it all back when I raised from the SB with K4o, not noticing someone had already called. Ack. Gotta pay more attention.
100 more eliminations and we're in the money!
Just got moved again, but we dodged the blinds. A free round. Weehee!
KK in the SB. Up to 6300.
I can't believe it. These idiots are slowing play trying to be sure they get $0.70. OMG, we've gone to hand-for-hand. For $0.70? This is torture. 64 tables still in play and we're hand-for-hand. Arggggghhhhhh!!!!
We made the money! And, more importantly, we're out of hand-for-hand for another 100 eliminations.
Second break. We've got 5700 with blinds going to 300/600. 45 more eliminations and we're up to $0.80!
I tried a couple well-situated bluffs that fell completely flat. Folds to me in the SB. BB is very short. I raise, he re-raises, I call. Turns out he's got T3. Okay, so I was bluffing, but what the hell is he doing coming back with T3o? He went all-in and the pot was laying about 40:1, so I called with air just hoping to catch something. I didn't. Down to 2600. But we made the next money level! Another 100 eliminations and we move to $0.90.
We're on the ropes -- down to 1400 -- but we're gonna make the next money tier. $0.90!!!
We've got less than 2BB. I pushed with A8s. No help on flop, or turn, but we win anyway. Up to $6k! Half the average stack, but off life support. We may make the $1.00 payout!
We're up to $1.00, but it's not looking good. Haven't had a hand since the Hoover administration. Oh, wait, AKo on the button. We're all-in against QQ. Rivered a K! Crap, at this rate I could be here all night making $0.10 an hour. Just got moved again.
We're up to $1.10. This is getting exciting.
Shit! I just doubled up. 13.5k. We could be looking at some serious money in this thing. I'm talking $2.00, maybe $2.20.
Wow, first "regular" hand I've played in ages. 77, call from MP. Blinds call. Q high flop. Check, check, bet, fold, fold. Up to 16.7k. Blinds are at 800/1600 though. We're gonna make $1.20.
AKo. Up to 20k. Moving to $1.30.
Third break over. Blinds at 1k/2k and we're down to 15k. And, more good news, the chip leader just sat down on my right. Wonderful.
Got moved. At least no ginormous stack to my right.
$1.50! We made $1.50!!!! Yay!! Only 15 more to $1.60.
Out in 98th on the cooler of coolers. Four pocket pairs. We had the smallest, but it was worth it on the off chance of catching a set. You're now $1.50 richer. Yee hah!
I'm Donkerific
After a rather trying day at work on Friday, I was definitely in the mood for some donkey poker. The blogger donkament on FT was just the ticket. I got my head into the right place by eating some leftover pizza while downing a few beers.
I'm not going to begin to talk about the play. There were some accusations that a few of the participants weren't exactly into the spirit of the whole donkament. I must admit I didn't wildly push with any two cards whenever the mood struck. I did that last time and ended up re-buying eleven times. This time I was a bit more careful, though still far more risk taking than normal. I ended up just doing the initial rebuy to build my stack and then the add-on at the break.
Two hours later it was down to jeciimd and me. I had a pretty big lead, but jeciimd was getting tired so we agreed to just start pushing until someone won. (There wasn't even close to enough money at stake to go find somebody to chop it.) I get 85s, but push as I promise. Jeciimd showed 44. I catch a 67 on the flop and a 9 on the turn to end the torture. Don't remember how much my big win was, but I don't think it covered the pizza and beer. And the pizza was a sunk cost.
Sunday night was WPBT 07 Event #7. Seems that interest in these has waned just a tad. Only ten runners in a $24 HORSE tournament.
Full Tilt outdid themselves in the card rack department tonight. I got quads four times (and was able to win something with them). I saw at least two other players with quads too. One of my quads was in Stud. I got dealt AAA. Naturally, I was pumping the pot from the beginning and was all-in on 5th street. My opponent had K's, caught a second pair on 6th street and a boat on 7th street, but I caught the 4th ace on 7th street to take down a pot I desperately needed. Pretty sick to fill the full house only to lose to quads filled on the same street.
Despite the good result above, I've decided I really don't like stud. After more years playing it than I care to admit, you'd think I'd feel some comfort with the game. But I feel completely out of my element. I'm okay with Hold'em and am feeling much more comfortable with O8 and Razz, but stud just doesn't feel right. I've decided my best tactic is to play really, really slow and hope to get through that round playing as few hands as possible.
Speaking of slow play, I swear some of these guys play slower than my grandmother, and she's been dead for ten years. Every stinking hand we're waiting on the same people. I'm sure some of them are playing multiple tournaments, but it's just plain rude, especially when it's an invitation-only event like this. If you can't give sufficient attention to the game, don't play. Okay, enough ranting.
iam23skidoo brought his chips to the final table in a wheel barrow. He had 2-1/2 times the stack of the next closest player. And he kept building it. It wasn't until we were down to just four players that a bit of a dent was made.
pvanharibo bubbled when iam23skidoo played big stack poker, calling her down with squat and getting lucky at the river.
Khanwoman, who had been hanging on by a thread for quite a while, was the next to go. She was dealt a pair of tens in Stud Hi, but I caught a third 7 on 4th street and put her all-in. She didn't improve and hit the rail with 3rd place money.
skidoo and I started heads up almost even in chips. I had him on the ropes after taking down a huge pot with quad fours. But skidoo fought back, taking the lead and eventually having me down 3-to-1 in chips.
A couple very good hands got me back in it. We traded the lead several times before I caught a couple good hands in O8 to get him down and finally put it away.
I will say I now understand why at the WSOP last year they switched the HORSE tournament to all Hold'em when they hit the final table. When you're down to just a few players, split games suck big time.
It feels good to have won one of these, even if there were only 10 runners.
I'm not going to begin to talk about the play. There were some accusations that a few of the participants weren't exactly into the spirit of the whole donkament. I must admit I didn't wildly push with any two cards whenever the mood struck. I did that last time and ended up re-buying eleven times. This time I was a bit more careful, though still far more risk taking than normal. I ended up just doing the initial rebuy to build my stack and then the add-on at the break.
Two hours later it was down to jeciimd and me. I had a pretty big lead, but jeciimd was getting tired so we agreed to just start pushing until someone won. (There wasn't even close to enough money at stake to go find somebody to chop it.) I get 85s, but push as I promise. Jeciimd showed 44. I catch a 67 on the flop and a 9 on the turn to end the torture. Don't remember how much my big win was, but I don't think it covered the pizza and beer. And the pizza was a sunk cost.
Sunday night was WPBT 07 Event #7. Seems that interest in these has waned just a tad. Only ten runners in a $24 HORSE tournament. Full Tilt outdid themselves in the card rack department tonight. I got quads four times (and was able to win something with them). I saw at least two other players with quads too. One of my quads was in Stud. I got dealt AAA. Naturally, I was pumping the pot from the beginning and was all-in on 5th street. My opponent had K's, caught a second pair on 6th street and a boat on 7th street, but I caught the 4th ace on 7th street to take down a pot I desperately needed. Pretty sick to fill the full house only to lose to quads filled on the same street.
Despite the good result above, I've decided I really don't like stud. After more years playing it than I care to admit, you'd think I'd feel some comfort with the game. But I feel completely out of my element. I'm okay with Hold'em and am feeling much more comfortable with O8 and Razz, but stud just doesn't feel right. I've decided my best tactic is to play really, really slow and hope to get through that round playing as few hands as possible.
Speaking of slow play, I swear some of these guys play slower than my grandmother, and she's been dead for ten years. Every stinking hand we're waiting on the same people. I'm sure some of them are playing multiple tournaments, but it's just plain rude, especially when it's an invitation-only event like this. If you can't give sufficient attention to the game, don't play. Okay, enough ranting.
iam23skidoo brought his chips to the final table in a wheel barrow. He had 2-1/2 times the stack of the next closest player. And he kept building it. It wasn't until we were down to just four players that a bit of a dent was made.
pvanharibo bubbled when iam23skidoo played big stack poker, calling her down with squat and getting lucky at the river.
Khanwoman, who had been hanging on by a thread for quite a while, was the next to go. She was dealt a pair of tens in Stud Hi, but I caught a third 7 on 4th street and put her all-in. She didn't improve and hit the rail with 3rd place money.
skidoo and I started heads up almost even in chips. I had him on the ropes after taking down a huge pot with quad fours. But skidoo fought back, taking the lead and eventually having me down 3-to-1 in chips.
A couple very good hands got me back in it. We traded the lead several times before I caught a couple good hands in O8 to get him down and finally put it away.
I will say I now understand why at the WSOP last year they switched the HORSE tournament to all Hold'em when they hit the final table. When you're down to just a few players, split games suck big time.
It feels good to have won one of these, even if there were only 10 runners.
20 July 2007
Win some, lose some
I played in the FTP $24k last night. Not my best performance.
I tried to get something going early, but without any success at all. Every time I'd make a move, somebody moved back even bigger. I dropped almost half my stack on an ill advised move with KQo when the flop came up low and ragged. The other guy pushed all-in and I ran away with my tail between my legs.
A few hands later I sucked out against the same guy when I took my 88 against his KK and caught a set on the turn. That got me back to my starting stack.
I decided it might be in my best interest to wait for some actual cards before making another move on a pot. So I drifted sideways for quite a while.
Then came one of those hands where the action builds throughout the hand until somebody pushes all-in, but by then the pot is so big it's still giving good odds. I limped with a mid-suited ace. Several others limped as well. The flop brought an ace and one card of my suit. There was a min-bet and two calls. My ace didn't feel strong enough to make a move, so I called and hoped for the turn to bring me something good.
The turn brought another mid card of my suit. Unlikely to have been of great help to anyone else. One of the other players put out a weak bet. With TP, four to the nut flush, and nobody showing great strength, it was time to make a move. I raised to slightly less than the size of the pot. The bettor called.
The river paired the low card on the board. The other guy pushed all-in. I'm figuring him for a hand like mine -- a weak ace. I can't see him playing bottom pair (now trips) the way he has. Maybe he had bottom two pair and just filled, but pushing all-in doesn't seem a smart way to play that. Nope, I'm thinking we've both got aces and fives and both playing the jack on the board as our kicker. So I call.
I was wrong. He didn't have an ace. He didn't have a five. He had QJ. I took down a very nice pot and was suddenly pretty healthy.
There was a long period of going nowhere. Then I get TT in MP. UTG and UTG+1 both limp. This looks like a good time to make a move with both of them showing weakness. I pot it. It folds back to UTG who thinks a bit and then pushes all-in. He has me covered by a wide margin. It's possible he was weakly playing a big pair hoping to get action, but I'm leaning more toward a simple re-steal. I call. He turns over KJs. The flop is Q6T with one of his suit. The turn is a blank but he rivers a 9, giving him the straight, and I go home in 500th of 1100-some.
I don't normally like to be calling all my chips on just a coin flip, but I figured there was a chance he had a smaller pair and I'd have been going in a big favorite. Plus, I was down to M=10, so I needed to make a move soon anyway. When you add in that the pot was laying me 1.6:1, I guess it was the right move.
Later in the evening I played another Tier One tournament. It was a real roller coaster ride. Up and down and up and down. I was in deep trouble on several occasions, but each time managed to extricate myself, eventually getting past the bubble as the dominant stack. I felt pretty good after that one. It was like I actually had a clue about what I was doing.
I'm not sure yet what's up for the weekend. Maybe I'll check out some of the FTOPs prelims.
I tried to get something going early, but without any success at all. Every time I'd make a move, somebody moved back even bigger. I dropped almost half my stack on an ill advised move with KQo when the flop came up low and ragged. The other guy pushed all-in and I ran away with my tail between my legs.
A few hands later I sucked out against the same guy when I took my 88 against his KK and caught a set on the turn. That got me back to my starting stack.
I decided it might be in my best interest to wait for some actual cards before making another move on a pot. So I drifted sideways for quite a while.
Then came one of those hands where the action builds throughout the hand until somebody pushes all-in, but by then the pot is so big it's still giving good odds. I limped with a mid-suited ace. Several others limped as well. The flop brought an ace and one card of my suit. There was a min-bet and two calls. My ace didn't feel strong enough to make a move, so I called and hoped for the turn to bring me something good.
The turn brought another mid card of my suit. Unlikely to have been of great help to anyone else. One of the other players put out a weak bet. With TP, four to the nut flush, and nobody showing great strength, it was time to make a move. I raised to slightly less than the size of the pot. The bettor called.
The river paired the low card on the board. The other guy pushed all-in. I'm figuring him for a hand like mine -- a weak ace. I can't see him playing bottom pair (now trips) the way he has. Maybe he had bottom two pair and just filled, but pushing all-in doesn't seem a smart way to play that. Nope, I'm thinking we've both got aces and fives and both playing the jack on the board as our kicker. So I call.
I was wrong. He didn't have an ace. He didn't have a five. He had QJ. I took down a very nice pot and was suddenly pretty healthy.
There was a long period of going nowhere. Then I get TT in MP. UTG and UTG+1 both limp. This looks like a good time to make a move with both of them showing weakness. I pot it. It folds back to UTG who thinks a bit and then pushes all-in. He has me covered by a wide margin. It's possible he was weakly playing a big pair hoping to get action, but I'm leaning more toward a simple re-steal. I call. He turns over KJs. The flop is Q6T with one of his suit. The turn is a blank but he rivers a 9, giving him the straight, and I go home in 500th of 1100-some.
I don't normally like to be calling all my chips on just a coin flip, but I figured there was a chance he had a smaller pair and I'd have been going in a big favorite. Plus, I was down to M=10, so I needed to make a move soon anyway. When you add in that the pot was laying me 1.6:1, I guess it was the right move.
Later in the evening I played another Tier One tournament. It was a real roller coaster ride. Up and down and up and down. I was in deep trouble on several occasions, but each time managed to extricate myself, eventually getting past the bubble as the dominant stack. I felt pretty good after that one. It was like I actually had a clue about what I was doing.
I'm not sure yet what's up for the weekend. Maybe I'll check out some of the FTOPs prelims.
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