Got dealt AA four times tonight!! Unbelievable!!
Entered a freeroll with 188 entrants where top 10 places are paid, top prize $300. I busted out in 56th after a sticky moment with QQ, losing to a straight. I was gutted as I was in really good shape and playing well. It was this freeroll where I got dealt AA three times (the other time was in a cash game) and I was able to treble up twice and pick up a semi-big pot the other time. Its amazing how many people call you when you shove all in during the early stages of a tourney. I suppose the fact it was a freeroll means the play is a lot more loose.
Despite busting out in 56th in the freeroll I picked up a profit of $12 in ring games. I am now at $102. Only $53 to go to reach my target of $155!!
It's good to see so many people from so many areas of the world reading my blog!!
Thursday 11 October 2007
I got called a fish last night...
...perhaps correctly.
I was dealt with TT in mid-position and raised. Everyone folded but a chap who was in late position who called. The flop brought x A x. I checked and the other guy bet the pot. The other guy had been raising and stealing quite often so this made me think that he did not necesserily have an Ace. I called.
The turn brought a 10, completing my set. I checked to induce action and he stuck me all-in. I called and won the pot. I then received a whole host of abuse (which I ignored).
What should I have done? Should I have folded my hand because of the overacard or was I correct to assume he may have been stealing and did not have the Ace? Perhaps I should have bet a small amount at the flop to test the waters?
I think I need to read up on overcard play, as if he did have an Ace I was a massive outsider, drawing to only 2 outs.
I was dealt with TT in mid-position and raised. Everyone folded but a chap who was in late position who called. The flop brought x A x. I checked and the other guy bet the pot. The other guy had been raising and stealing quite often so this made me think that he did not necesserily have an Ace. I called.
The turn brought a 10, completing my set. I checked to induce action and he stuck me all-in. I called and won the pot. I then received a whole host of abuse (which I ignored).
What should I have done? Should I have folded my hand because of the overacard or was I correct to assume he may have been stealing and did not have the Ace? Perhaps I should have bet a small amount at the flop to test the waters?
I think I need to read up on overcard play, as if he did have an Ace I was a massive outsider, drawing to only 2 outs.
Wednesday 10 October 2007
A bad beat - the explanation
After waking up this morning feeling a bit brighter about the bad beat I thought I would make the effort to describe the hand in detail.
The other guy (lets call him 'Mr. Jack River'), raised in mid-position. He had been fairly quiet up to then so I knew something was in the air. He must have had a decent hand. The raise was too large to suggest AK, AQ, AJ or indeed any of those hands suited. Moreover, his raise was too big to suggest 99,88,77 etc. I put him down as KK, QQ, JJ or TT (or even another pair of Aces - its happened before!!)
So I think for a minute.....
If Mr. Jack River does have a big pair, he will surely call a big raise. I raise. Mr. Jack River calls. For me, this makes it almost certain he has a big pair.
The flop:
I was first to act and the flop brought nothing. Again, I thought for a few seconds and decided to go all in. I decided to do this for two main reasons:
Firstly, the flop produced two spades. I had the Ace of spades. If things do go wrong or I have mis-read him, I have the added insurance of a back-door flush. I understand that there was only a very small chance of that happening but it was significant nonetheless.
Secondly, and more importantly, I wanted to protect my hand. Mr. Jack River must be pretty sure that I have a very strong hand. An all in move must surely suggest to him that I have Aces, or even Kings. An all-in raise (putting him all-in also) would surely make him lay down his hand, preventing me from losing to a miracle turn or river card.
No. He called with a pair of Jacks and hit trips with an aforementioned miracle river card.
Did I play this correctly? Did he play this correctly?
I am seeing the positive side of it though. I could play that hand the same way a hundred times and make a lot of money in the long run!!
I also had two other notable bad beats last night. Losing with 999 to an opponent who happened to have a heart on an eventual board containing four hearts and losing with 777 to a guy who made a miracle gut shot straight on the river. Despite these three heavy losses I broke even for the night, could have been so much better though....
Oh well, thats poker I suppose!
The other guy (lets call him 'Mr. Jack River'), raised in mid-position. He had been fairly quiet up to then so I knew something was in the air. He must have had a decent hand. The raise was too large to suggest AK, AQ, AJ or indeed any of those hands suited. Moreover, his raise was too big to suggest 99,88,77 etc. I put him down as KK, QQ, JJ or TT (or even another pair of Aces - its happened before!!)
So I think for a minute.....
If Mr. Jack River does have a big pair, he will surely call a big raise. I raise. Mr. Jack River calls. For me, this makes it almost certain he has a big pair.
The flop:
I was first to act and the flop brought nothing. Again, I thought for a few seconds and decided to go all in. I decided to do this for two main reasons:
Firstly, the flop produced two spades. I had the Ace of spades. If things do go wrong or I have mis-read him, I have the added insurance of a back-door flush. I understand that there was only a very small chance of that happening but it was significant nonetheless.
Secondly, and more importantly, I wanted to protect my hand. Mr. Jack River must be pretty sure that I have a very strong hand. An all in move must surely suggest to him that I have Aces, or even Kings. An all-in raise (putting him all-in also) would surely make him lay down his hand, preventing me from losing to a miracle turn or river card.
No. He called with a pair of Jacks and hit trips with an aforementioned miracle river card.
Did I play this correctly? Did he play this correctly?
I am seeing the positive side of it though. I could play that hand the same way a hundred times and make a lot of money in the long run!!
I also had two other notable bad beats last night. Losing with 999 to an opponent who happened to have a heart on an eventual board containing four hearts and losing with 777 to a guy who made a miracle gut shot straight on the river. Despite these three heavy losses I broke even for the night, could have been so much better though....
Oh well, thats poker I suppose!
Tuesday 9 October 2007
A bad beat
There is not a word in the English dictionary that can describe my frustration.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1569207
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1569207
Monday 8 October 2007
A recovery
Back up to $90!!!
Played for a while in cash games yesterday, and won a few dollars. Nothing spectacular, just plodded along picking up odds and sods. I entered a free roll but didnt last long, busted out holding top 2 pair! Decided to enter a sit and go, $2 entry, 15 entrants WHICH I WON!!!
I started fairly badly though. Got involved in a large pot playing an open-ended straight draw. I ended up folding on the river having commited over half of my chips. Over-playing drawing hands is a big weakness of my game and something I need to think hard about. After starting with 1500 chips, I was down to about 680.
The table was tight, and I was able to pick up smallish pots by bluffing when seeing the flop for free whilst in the big blind. A few times I picked up small pots by chucking in smallish bets on innocuous looking flops. I managed to get up to around 1000 chips using this strategy. Sometime tight tables are difficult to play on, but the advantage of them is that players only tend to bet when they really do have a hand - bluffing is much easier. It is also much easier to fold on a tight table, as you are pretty sure that your opponent has something if he does bet/raise.
For the next 15/20 minutes I sat tight. Not much happened really. A few players exited the tournament, and I found myself bottom of the pile for quite a long time. Again, I continued to pick up smallish pots when I was allowed to see a free flop by semi-bluffing, and there was the odd occasion where I put in a bigger bet as a result of having a good hand.
Then came the first crucial moment. I was dealt with pocket queens in early position. As I was in early posiiton I did not know what to do. I did not have a very big stack and a raise could have prompted a re-raise to put me all in. Although QQ is very strong, i was in early position and simply did not have the chips to play with. Also, the table was tight, and I was concerend that if I was to go all in, everyone would have folded. I opted to call the big blind. Three of us saw the flop. I had top pair, and put in a medium-sized bet. one guy folded, and the chip-leader called. Could be trouble I thought. I put in another medium sized bet and he raised. I was all in and the queens held up. It was great to double up!
I carried on sitting tight and picked up the occasional pot. I knocked a couple of people out with flushes and straights and I eventually found my self heads up. We both had around 11,000 chips and he nudged ahead after winning a few medium-sized pots, pushing me down to about 8,000; then came crucial moment number 2. I looked down at rockets!! He raises and I re-raised. My raise was sensible. If I had put in a massive raise he may have folded. I wanted to create the impression that I was either trying to steal, or had a semi-good hand. Luckily, he re-raised - it was not huge. I then re-raised twice the size of the pot and he put me all-in! He must have had a fright when he looked at my AA with his own AJ off suit! The Aces held up, in fact, they made trips on the turn and he was down to around 3,000 and I was up to the dizzy heights of 18,000 or so!!
I was now playing very tight. I never called any of his raises pre-flop and even managed to pick up small pots post-flop with strong hands. The game was ended when I limped in on the BB with 85 suited. The flop brought me top pair and I called his bet. The turn was a five and I raised his bet putting him all-in. My two-pair won and I picked up the $15 dollar first prize!!!
I feel great about it. I played some really intelligent poker, when I doubled up to 3,000 I looked assured and when I started to pick up chips on the final table I never really looked like losing!! I am going to continue entering this free roll on Stan James I have seen. 10 places are played and it looks like there is a field of only around 150!! Worth a pop.
Cheerio.
Played for a while in cash games yesterday, and won a few dollars. Nothing spectacular, just plodded along picking up odds and sods. I entered a free roll but didnt last long, busted out holding top 2 pair! Decided to enter a sit and go, $2 entry, 15 entrants WHICH I WON!!!
I started fairly badly though. Got involved in a large pot playing an open-ended straight draw. I ended up folding on the river having commited over half of my chips. Over-playing drawing hands is a big weakness of my game and something I need to think hard about. After starting with 1500 chips, I was down to about 680.
The table was tight, and I was able to pick up smallish pots by bluffing when seeing the flop for free whilst in the big blind. A few times I picked up small pots by chucking in smallish bets on innocuous looking flops. I managed to get up to around 1000 chips using this strategy. Sometime tight tables are difficult to play on, but the advantage of them is that players only tend to bet when they really do have a hand - bluffing is much easier. It is also much easier to fold on a tight table, as you are pretty sure that your opponent has something if he does bet/raise.
For the next 15/20 minutes I sat tight. Not much happened really. A few players exited the tournament, and I found myself bottom of the pile for quite a long time. Again, I continued to pick up smallish pots when I was allowed to see a free flop by semi-bluffing, and there was the odd occasion where I put in a bigger bet as a result of having a good hand.
Then came the first crucial moment. I was dealt with pocket queens in early position. As I was in early posiiton I did not know what to do. I did not have a very big stack and a raise could have prompted a re-raise to put me all in. Although QQ is very strong, i was in early position and simply did not have the chips to play with. Also, the table was tight, and I was concerend that if I was to go all in, everyone would have folded. I opted to call the big blind. Three of us saw the flop. I had top pair, and put in a medium-sized bet. one guy folded, and the chip-leader called. Could be trouble I thought. I put in another medium sized bet and he raised. I was all in and the queens held up. It was great to double up!
I carried on sitting tight and picked up the occasional pot. I knocked a couple of people out with flushes and straights and I eventually found my self heads up. We both had around 11,000 chips and he nudged ahead after winning a few medium-sized pots, pushing me down to about 8,000; then came crucial moment number 2. I looked down at rockets!! He raises and I re-raised. My raise was sensible. If I had put in a massive raise he may have folded. I wanted to create the impression that I was either trying to steal, or had a semi-good hand. Luckily, he re-raised - it was not huge. I then re-raised twice the size of the pot and he put me all-in! He must have had a fright when he looked at my AA with his own AJ off suit! The Aces held up, in fact, they made trips on the turn and he was down to around 3,000 and I was up to the dizzy heights of 18,000 or so!!
I was now playing very tight. I never called any of his raises pre-flop and even managed to pick up small pots post-flop with strong hands. The game was ended when I limped in on the BB with 85 suited. The flop brought me top pair and I called his bet. The turn was a five and I raised his bet putting him all-in. My two-pair won and I picked up the $15 dollar first prize!!!
I feel great about it. I played some really intelligent poker, when I doubled up to 3,000 I looked assured and when I started to pick up chips on the final table I never really looked like losing!! I am going to continue entering this free roll on Stan James I have seen. 10 places are played and it looks like there is a field of only around 150!! Worth a pop.
Cheerio.
Friday 5 October 2007
Carnage
What a disaster. An abomination.
Played last night, started off with $110. Now have $65. Wounder. It could have been much worse, I was at $40 at one point. I don't know what went wrong, in fact I really didn't play that badly, and that is the truth. I suffered some horrendous bad beats, e.g. losing on the river to a straight when holding top trips and losing with a straight on a river to a full house. These two incidents both consisted of massive pots.
OK, I did struggle after these issues, but I was by no means on tilt or anything. I kept getting shit hands, not hitting flops and only winning tiny pots with huge pre-flop hands. Perhaps I was on the wrong tables. Whenever I had pocket kings or aces and raised pre-flop everyone folded, even if the raise was one big blind. Seriously though, this was a bad bad night. I am at work at the moment so cannot access my hand history, but will do so when I next log on at home (will be Sunday as am away for the weekend).
Maybe this is variance, for all, the damage was done by a series of narrow losses in big pot situations. Either way, I am extremely pissed off and am even considering only playing in freeroll tourneys for a while. My aim is to get to $155 and then but poker tracker, if I have another evening like that, I will have no bankroll at all.
Stupid game.
Played last night, started off with $110. Now have $65. Wounder. It could have been much worse, I was at $40 at one point. I don't know what went wrong, in fact I really didn't play that badly, and that is the truth. I suffered some horrendous bad beats, e.g. losing on the river to a straight when holding top trips and losing with a straight on a river to a full house. These two incidents both consisted of massive pots.
OK, I did struggle after these issues, but I was by no means on tilt or anything. I kept getting shit hands, not hitting flops and only winning tiny pots with huge pre-flop hands. Perhaps I was on the wrong tables. Whenever I had pocket kings or aces and raised pre-flop everyone folded, even if the raise was one big blind. Seriously though, this was a bad bad night. I am at work at the moment so cannot access my hand history, but will do so when I next log on at home (will be Sunday as am away for the weekend).
Maybe this is variance, for all, the damage was done by a series of narrow losses in big pot situations. Either way, I am extremely pissed off and am even considering only playing in freeroll tourneys for a while. My aim is to get to $155 and then but poker tracker, if I have another evening like that, I will have no bankroll at all.
Stupid game.
Wednesday 3 October 2007
My short term goals as a poker player
Hiya,
I thought for my second blog I would tell you all about my short-term goals.
At the moment, my bank roll stands at $110. This has grown somewhat from the original $10 deposit. I reckon overall, I am down by about $150 dollars, but I am not entirely sure. I am getting to the point where I think I can start making money playing poker so I have decided to keep an eye on my bankroll.
Furthermore, I would like to get hold of poker tracker software. A full version of Poker Tracker costs $55. My first short-term goal however is to achieve a bank roll of $155, and then buy this software. I could buy it now if I wanted, either from my bank roll or my regular bank account, but I think it would be a good incentive to play well over the next few weeks! I think that by having this software I will be able to identify weaknesses in my game.
My second goal is to stop betting silly bets!! Fuck me, I really do do some silly things sometimes! I have been tilting lots and undoing some really good play. I can be patient, but it seems that the more I win, the stupider I become!! Does anyone else have this problem?!
I got lucky earlier.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1547892
I was dealth with AK. This is the kind of hand I find hard to put down, even if it is clear that I am behind. I kept calling the other guy's bets and when the river came he checked. I noticed that he only had around $5 worth of chips and if I was to represent the straight with a big bet he may fold. This is what I did, and it worked!! But before you all comment, I do know that it was a bad bluff. The board was so dangerous, but nonetheless, it shows the importance of looking at your opponents stack. If he had had a bigger stack he may have called or even raised (or bet the river). I used his small stack against him.
I am also reading a book called Small Stakes Hold 'Em, by Ed Miller, David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth, and one of their tips was to bet liberally on the river when the pot is big. I know the pot was not massive, but I guess that advice paid off in this instance.
Oh yeah, I lost a fairly big pot with jjjkk versus kkkjj. That was shit.
CW
I thought for my second blog I would tell you all about my short-term goals.
At the moment, my bank roll stands at $110. This has grown somewhat from the original $10 deposit. I reckon overall, I am down by about $150 dollars, but I am not entirely sure. I am getting to the point where I think I can start making money playing poker so I have decided to keep an eye on my bankroll.
Furthermore, I would like to get hold of poker tracker software. A full version of Poker Tracker costs $55. My first short-term goal however is to achieve a bank roll of $155, and then buy this software. I could buy it now if I wanted, either from my bank roll or my regular bank account, but I think it would be a good incentive to play well over the next few weeks! I think that by having this software I will be able to identify weaknesses in my game.
My second goal is to stop betting silly bets!! Fuck me, I really do do some silly things sometimes! I have been tilting lots and undoing some really good play. I can be patient, but it seems that the more I win, the stupider I become!! Does anyone else have this problem?!
I got lucky earlier.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1547892
I was dealth with AK. This is the kind of hand I find hard to put down, even if it is clear that I am behind. I kept calling the other guy's bets and when the river came he checked. I noticed that he only had around $5 worth of chips and if I was to represent the straight with a big bet he may fold. This is what I did, and it worked!! But before you all comment, I do know that it was a bad bluff. The board was so dangerous, but nonetheless, it shows the importance of looking at your opponents stack. If he had had a bigger stack he may have called or even raised (or bet the river). I used his small stack against him.
I am also reading a book called Small Stakes Hold 'Em, by Ed Miller, David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth, and one of their tips was to bet liberally on the river when the pot is big. I know the pot was not massive, but I guess that advice paid off in this instance.
Oh yeah, I lost a fairly big pot with jjjkk versus kkkjj. That was shit.
CW
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