wow this month went pretty fast. im ending the month in the black again - and even higher than last month. (actually almost 2.5 times more) woo woo. that is exactly the kind of traction I'm looking for to keep me moving in the direction towards poker as a means of support.
level two has been a little more challenging than level one which i guess is the way its supposed to be. although im cashing at about the same rate, (39% this level vs 38.16% 1st level) the cashes are evenly spread throughout 1st, 2nd and third instead of being weighted in first. this means my roi is good, just isn't quite as robust (9.66% now vs. 13.16% then)
enough about the numbers. i made some great calls today - i was in the zone and the logic of the players i was up against was so clear it was almost like they were playing with their cards face up. actually it was because the players were over betting when they were scared. i made 3 great calls today using this information and was able to win 2 of them. in all three instances, the calls i was ahead of the other players and they were hoping the big bets were scary to me. the even better news for me was that i was not superbly strong when i made these calls, i just knew i was ahead of them based on their bets.
that's about it. hope things are well for all of you.
peace and love and happiness -
k-
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
live by the donkey play - die by it
i had built a little bit of a chip lead up and got pocket JJ with 8 players remaining.
of course i raised, as i do most of the time. someone a couple of spots behind me reraises. i considered what they had - AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ, TT. I'm ahead of half and behind half. i could lay down - but no, ive forgotten my lessons about pocket jj and need to relive the torture again. of course i call and they have pocket AA and it holds up. im not out, but my stack is down to 220 chips. time to buckle down and pick my spots to see how far i can go...
buckle down i did, when the game was over, i had 13,500 chips and found a way to come back and win the game.
of course it only lasted for a minute... then i made a donkey call early in the next game. limped with pocket 44 on the button with several others. flop comes out 9 high with two clubs and the pot is 180. the blinds check and the person in first bets 40 chips. i have no idea what he is betting, but it could be A high at this point or he could have caught a pair. i call the 40 chips and everyone else folds. turn is 6h and the river is a 4c. he checks to me and i put out a value bet and he raises me all in. of course i called and of course he had the flush and of course i saw it but didn't believe him.
the funniest thing about this is i was just talking to a friend at dinner about the over bet and watching people fall for it. the thing is if i hadn't tripped up, i think i could have gotten away from my hand -it was that i caught it and then didn't get away from it. now i need to learn to get away from it even when i get the trips.
sigh.
then i cashed in the next game at second.
up and down. if i would lay a damn hand down - then maybe it would be up and up...
lets hope.
talk to you soon.
peace and love and happiness
k-
of course i raised, as i do most of the time. someone a couple of spots behind me reraises. i considered what they had - AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ, TT. I'm ahead of half and behind half. i could lay down - but no, ive forgotten my lessons about pocket jj and need to relive the torture again. of course i call and they have pocket AA and it holds up. im not out, but my stack is down to 220 chips. time to buckle down and pick my spots to see how far i can go...
buckle down i did, when the game was over, i had 13,500 chips and found a way to come back and win the game.
of course it only lasted for a minute... then i made a donkey call early in the next game. limped with pocket 44 on the button with several others. flop comes out 9 high with two clubs and the pot is 180. the blinds check and the person in first bets 40 chips. i have no idea what he is betting, but it could be A high at this point or he could have caught a pair. i call the 40 chips and everyone else folds. turn is 6h and the river is a 4c. he checks to me and i put out a value bet and he raises me all in. of course i called and of course he had the flush and of course i saw it but didn't believe him.
the funniest thing about this is i was just talking to a friend at dinner about the over bet and watching people fall for it. the thing is if i hadn't tripped up, i think i could have gotten away from my hand -it was that i caught it and then didn't get away from it. now i need to learn to get away from it even when i get the trips.
sigh.
then i cashed in the next game at second.
up and down. if i would lay a damn hand down - then maybe it would be up and up...
lets hope.
talk to you soon.
peace and love and happiness
k-
Sunday, September 21, 2008
to quote a good friend....
poker is a stupid game. tell me again why we play it?
my sentiments exactly.
im not sure if it makes me feel better or not that a lot of my losses come when im getting in ahead. had an up and down day today, which means i started up and ended down. (just a few dollars, but not the direction i want to go.)
we were talking last night about how you have to play an almost perfect game and then it still doesn't guarantee a win. with the chip stacks that we start with, if you chase one flush or straight and miss it, you are playing the rest of the game short stacked - which makes your decisions easy, but it means you are playing even tighter than you might have been.
i had a good friend watching me play all day and we often saw the suckout coming from a mile away. for example: i have pocket QQ and a person raises to 210 in front of me. i reraise 740 and he calls. the flop was Jxx. he bets and i made a pot sized raise - although my friend can attest that i actually thought - he probably has AJ, but he might have pocket JJ. well i got my wish and he had AJ and went over the top of me for all his chips which put me all in. i called and the the turn puts me out of misery right away with the A. on one hand im happy that they dont stop to think that two reraises means they might be beat, but on the other hand AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH. fold a damn hand, wouldya?!!!
sigh..
why do we play this game again? that is just a sample of how the day seemed to go. well, thats not completely true. the first game had me winning all the coin flips i was in - so i knew the rest of the day was going to be tough and felt like i didn't win too many of them after that.
hope everyone had a good weekend, i sure did. we celebrated a friends birthday last night by playing beach volleyball and having a rowdy time. it was really fun.
off to softball.
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
my sentiments exactly.
im not sure if it makes me feel better or not that a lot of my losses come when im getting in ahead. had an up and down day today, which means i started up and ended down. (just a few dollars, but not the direction i want to go.)
we were talking last night about how you have to play an almost perfect game and then it still doesn't guarantee a win. with the chip stacks that we start with, if you chase one flush or straight and miss it, you are playing the rest of the game short stacked - which makes your decisions easy, but it means you are playing even tighter than you might have been.
i had a good friend watching me play all day and we often saw the suckout coming from a mile away. for example: i have pocket QQ and a person raises to 210 in front of me. i reraise 740 and he calls. the flop was Jxx. he bets and i made a pot sized raise - although my friend can attest that i actually thought - he probably has AJ, but he might have pocket JJ. well i got my wish and he had AJ and went over the top of me for all his chips which put me all in. i called and the the turn puts me out of misery right away with the A. on one hand im happy that they dont stop to think that two reraises means they might be beat, but on the other hand AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH. fold a damn hand, wouldya?!!!
sigh..
why do we play this game again? that is just a sample of how the day seemed to go. well, thats not completely true. the first game had me winning all the coin flips i was in - so i knew the rest of the day was going to be tough and felt like i didn't win too many of them after that.
hope everyone had a good weekend, i sure did. we celebrated a friends birthday last night by playing beach volleyball and having a rowdy time. it was really fun.
off to softball.
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
Friday, September 19, 2008
variance variance variance
wednesday was good. thrursday was bad. friday was good again.... that is variance.
i played 5 games this afternoon before getting ready to go out with some friends, and cashed in all 5 - (won 3, 1-2nd and 1- 3rd) that sure makes the bankroll look healthy and at its highest point. i found a site that allows you to look up your user name for poker sites and it tells me that my most profitable days of the week are wed and fri, and that my losing days are tuesday and sunday. the other days are profitable, but not to the extreme of wed and fri. as i get more games under my belt, i may use this info to design my schedule - for now - if im home, im usually playing, i figure thats the fastest way to build it up.
thats it for now - on my way out the door.
hope everyone has a good weekend.
peace and love and happiness always.
k-
i played 5 games this afternoon before getting ready to go out with some friends, and cashed in all 5 - (won 3, 1-2nd and 1- 3rd) that sure makes the bankroll look healthy and at its highest point. i found a site that allows you to look up your user name for poker sites and it tells me that my most profitable days of the week are wed and fri, and that my losing days are tuesday and sunday. the other days are profitable, but not to the extreme of wed and fri. as i get more games under my belt, i may use this info to design my schedule - for now - if im home, im usually playing, i figure thats the fastest way to build it up.
thats it for now - on my way out the door.
hope everyone has a good weekend.
peace and love and happiness always.
k-
Thursday, September 18, 2008
discipline is key
should have been out of the tourney on the second hand, but discipline helped me stay in.
i had KT of spades on the button and the flop came K2K. Everyone checks to me and i make a pot sized bet of 150 knowing it looks like a steal. i get two callers. one is the small blind - i put him probably on the 2 or a couple of clubs since there were two clubs on the board.
the other caller probably has the other K. the turn is a 4. everyone checks including me.
the river is an A. small blind checks, 2nd player bets 390 into 600 chip pot. which could look like he was chasing an A high hand and is betting it on the river. however, there was no preflop raising, so its hard for me to put him on an A (although i want that to be what he has). i still think he has the other K, and i'm a little worried about how big his kicker is. its possible he limped with KQ or KJ which would both beat me. now, normally i would raise all in here to value bet what i usually think is the best hand, but instead i smooth call because i'm feeling like i may be beat here, but i have to call since i have 3kings and if there is a chance im not beat, the amount is worth it.
honestly, i think he bet that amount to try and entice me to come over the top since he knew i had the 4th K and he knows he is ahead. i smooth call and he shows K4 for a full house. while aggression is very important in poker, sometimes caution wins the day. there was definitely a time in my game where i would have shoved everything, im pleased to know that at least today is not one of those days.
back to the felt.
peace and love and happiness
k-
i had KT of spades on the button and the flop came K2K. Everyone checks to me and i make a pot sized bet of 150 knowing it looks like a steal. i get two callers. one is the small blind - i put him probably on the 2 or a couple of clubs since there were two clubs on the board.
the other caller probably has the other K. the turn is a 4. everyone checks including me.
the river is an A. small blind checks, 2nd player bets 390 into 600 chip pot. which could look like he was chasing an A high hand and is betting it on the river. however, there was no preflop raising, so its hard for me to put him on an A (although i want that to be what he has). i still think he has the other K, and i'm a little worried about how big his kicker is. its possible he limped with KQ or KJ which would both beat me. now, normally i would raise all in here to value bet what i usually think is the best hand, but instead i smooth call because i'm feeling like i may be beat here, but i have to call since i have 3kings and if there is a chance im not beat, the amount is worth it.
honestly, i think he bet that amount to try and entice me to come over the top since he knew i had the 4th K and he knows he is ahead. i smooth call and he shows K4 for a full house. while aggression is very important in poker, sometimes caution wins the day. there was definitely a time in my game where i would have shoved everything, im pleased to know that at least today is not one of those days.
back to the felt.
peace and love and happiness
k-
i'm movin' on up - to a deeeluxe apt. in the skyyy
woo woo!!
today i finally surpassed my first goal of moving up to the next level. then - after moving up, i played 8 games at the 6.50 level and cashed in 4 of them with three of the cashes being 1sts. the payout for first at this level is $27 whereas it was only $9 at the other level, so i'm hoping it will move a little faster at this level. i'm already up $45 at this level - now only $150 to go to move up to the next level. although i would love to knock out nearly 20% of the difference each day - i expect i will have a few losing days too, but hope that within a month i can keep moving up that pay grade.
too early to tell if there are differences between the players at this level and the 2.25 level. time will tell.
let's see - i ended the first level with an overall ROI of 13.92% and i've played 304 games since 8/12. my strongest finishes are still first and second place with 54 and 37 respectively and 116 cashes overall for a 38.16% cash rate. i don't know what is considered normal - but i feel pretty good about a nearly 40% cash rate especially since that allows me to show a profit.
well - it was a good day. i started the day off with a win and ended the day with one - so after 22 games, i'm going to call it a night.
peace and love and happiness to all.
ps.. went and saw the journey concert on Monday night, and it was fabulous. they rocked all their old songs and the crowd was really into it and i was surprised that i didn't leave with my voice hoarse. definitely a show i would recommend.
nite all
k-
today i finally surpassed my first goal of moving up to the next level. then - after moving up, i played 8 games at the 6.50 level and cashed in 4 of them with three of the cashes being 1sts. the payout for first at this level is $27 whereas it was only $9 at the other level, so i'm hoping it will move a little faster at this level. i'm already up $45 at this level - now only $150 to go to move up to the next level. although i would love to knock out nearly 20% of the difference each day - i expect i will have a few losing days too, but hope that within a month i can keep moving up that pay grade.
too early to tell if there are differences between the players at this level and the 2.25 level. time will tell.
let's see - i ended the first level with an overall ROI of 13.92% and i've played 304 games since 8/12. my strongest finishes are still first and second place with 54 and 37 respectively and 116 cashes overall for a 38.16% cash rate. i don't know what is considered normal - but i feel pretty good about a nearly 40% cash rate especially since that allows me to show a profit.
well - it was a good day. i started the day off with a win and ended the day with one - so after 22 games, i'm going to call it a night.
peace and love and happiness to all.
ps.. went and saw the journey concert on Monday night, and it was fabulous. they rocked all their old songs and the crowd was really into it and i was surprised that i didn't leave with my voice hoarse. definitely a show i would recommend.
nite all
k-
Monday, September 15, 2008
reading skills
i love that my reading skills are getting better in this game. with time comes experience and that is why i am loving working my way up through the ranks. here is a hand stands out for me -
i had pocket 66 from the big blind with the small blind in and one other person who had limped. im willing to see a cheap flop, so i check preflop since there was no raise. the flop comes 975. small blind checks, i check, planning to raise if the third player bets - cuz I'm figuring its probably a position bet based on that board - and he does bet about the size of the pot. so i bump him a little and he goes all in over the top of my bump for another 505 chips. truthfully he could have a 9 or a 7 and have me beat, but it smells like high cards to me and i think he thinks im just representing the flop and doesn't know i actually have something or maybe he has a draw of some type, so i call his all in (i had him covered, so i wasn't at risk for going out) and sure enough, he has j10 for an inside straight draw with two over cards to my pair and he wanted the chance to see all 5 cards and figure he could either get me to fold a winning hand, or maybe out draw me. unfortunately for him, he didn't have enough chips to push me out of the pot. my 66 holds up and just like that he is out and im chipping up.
i also made a fairly easy and correct call with pocket KK to someones over the top shove on a board with no Aces only to see him catch one on the river to take me out. he typed in something like - whatever it takes to win. i told him i was ok with his move and i would take that call from him all day. and truth is, i would. he had A5 in his hand, so with only one over, he was drawing to at most 3 outs unless the board got tricky and straighted for him. i guarantee you, 9 out of 10 times, I will win that match up, so i would take it all day long. in the long run - i will make money from a player like that, and his reckless play suits me just fine.
my favorite hand though was when i had pocket 88. i raised preflop from early position, and the big blind came along. the flop came out A610 with two spades. he checks the flop and i check the flop. turn is an A of clubs and he bets. im 80% positive he doesn't have the A. there is a chance he slow played me, but more than likely he thinks i don't have anything, or he is betting the spade draw and thinks i will fold. i go all in over the top of him to make him pay maximum price for his draw and i was right, he has 23 of spades for the spade draw. lucky for me, no spade on the river - but for me to bet my eights and feel as confident as i did that he didn't actually have an Ace made me feel pretty good. obviously he didn't think i had an Ace there either - or if he did, he decided he was willing to pay as much as needed to get that last spade.
one last thing - i have a love/hate relationship with the continuation bet. (for those that don't know, if you show strength before the flop and raise, you are supposed to bet on the flop most of the time as a continuation of your strength, many times regardless of the cards that come) a lot of times the c-bet wins me the pot even if i haven't hit - but when i get in trouble is when i c-bet, haven't hit anything and someone pushes over the top of me. im much better about laying my hand down but there are times when i think they are just playing the odds that i didn't hit anything and sometimes i think they haven't hit either. maybe i should call a few times while im in the micro levels to see what they have. i guess it would either make a believer out of me or reinforce my reading skills. i need to give it some thought, right now im folding hands to a reraise most of the time if i didn't hit the board unless im just convinced somehow that they are full of crap...
onward and upward...
peace and love and happiness -
k-
i had pocket 66 from the big blind with the small blind in and one other person who had limped. im willing to see a cheap flop, so i check preflop since there was no raise. the flop comes 975. small blind checks, i check, planning to raise if the third player bets - cuz I'm figuring its probably a position bet based on that board - and he does bet about the size of the pot. so i bump him a little and he goes all in over the top of my bump for another 505 chips. truthfully he could have a 9 or a 7 and have me beat, but it smells like high cards to me and i think he thinks im just representing the flop and doesn't know i actually have something or maybe he has a draw of some type, so i call his all in (i had him covered, so i wasn't at risk for going out) and sure enough, he has j10 for an inside straight draw with two over cards to my pair and he wanted the chance to see all 5 cards and figure he could either get me to fold a winning hand, or maybe out draw me. unfortunately for him, he didn't have enough chips to push me out of the pot. my 66 holds up and just like that he is out and im chipping up.
i also made a fairly easy and correct call with pocket KK to someones over the top shove on a board with no Aces only to see him catch one on the river to take me out. he typed in something like - whatever it takes to win. i told him i was ok with his move and i would take that call from him all day. and truth is, i would. he had A5 in his hand, so with only one over, he was drawing to at most 3 outs unless the board got tricky and straighted for him. i guarantee you, 9 out of 10 times, I will win that match up, so i would take it all day long. in the long run - i will make money from a player like that, and his reckless play suits me just fine.
my favorite hand though was when i had pocket 88. i raised preflop from early position, and the big blind came along. the flop came out A610 with two spades. he checks the flop and i check the flop. turn is an A of clubs and he bets. im 80% positive he doesn't have the A. there is a chance he slow played me, but more than likely he thinks i don't have anything, or he is betting the spade draw and thinks i will fold. i go all in over the top of him to make him pay maximum price for his draw and i was right, he has 23 of spades for the spade draw. lucky for me, no spade on the river - but for me to bet my eights and feel as confident as i did that he didn't actually have an Ace made me feel pretty good. obviously he didn't think i had an Ace there either - or if he did, he decided he was willing to pay as much as needed to get that last spade.
one last thing - i have a love/hate relationship with the continuation bet. (for those that don't know, if you show strength before the flop and raise, you are supposed to bet on the flop most of the time as a continuation of your strength, many times regardless of the cards that come) a lot of times the c-bet wins me the pot even if i haven't hit - but when i get in trouble is when i c-bet, haven't hit anything and someone pushes over the top of me. im much better about laying my hand down but there are times when i think they are just playing the odds that i didn't hit anything and sometimes i think they haven't hit either. maybe i should call a few times while im in the micro levels to see what they have. i guess it would either make a believer out of me or reinforce my reading skills. i need to give it some thought, right now im folding hands to a reraise most of the time if i didn't hit the board unless im just convinced somehow that they are full of crap...
onward and upward...
peace and love and happiness -
k-
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday was good
i'm really excited... september is going well over all.. - my guess was that i would be moving up to the next level around mid month. im definitely on track to make that happen. as a matter of fact im only $10 short of my first goal and about $20 higher than my previous entry about how high my bankroll has gotten. i could easily accomplish this goal over the weekend. (right on time!) its exciting for me and i'm feeling pretty good about how im playing right now.
i did get lucky in a couple of games and saw pocket aces way more than i should have - and better yet they held up - but that doesn't account for all my success. its true there is a small amount of luck involved when you both have your money all in and its down to who catches their card to win the pot, but there are pots that i win because i can sometimes tell what the person is betting with and i can get them to fold or put more chips in the pot when they are behind or there are times that i bet position and win unexpected small pots. im really liking my aggressive nature and tightening my game up early has really helped me -
im curious to experience the skills at the next level.
well - i'm off to bed.
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
i did get lucky in a couple of games and saw pocket aces way more than i should have - and better yet they held up - but that doesn't account for all my success. its true there is a small amount of luck involved when you both have your money all in and its down to who catches their card to win the pot, but there are pots that i win because i can sometimes tell what the person is betting with and i can get them to fold or put more chips in the pot when they are behind or there are times that i bet position and win unexpected small pots. im really liking my aggressive nature and tightening my game up early has really helped me -
im curious to experience the skills at the next level.
well - i'm off to bed.
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
Thursday, September 11, 2008
my bankroll is at highest point
i realized i hadn't written in awhile - so what better time than when my bankroll is at its highest point. started the day today pretty card dead and ended up losing in 4 games in a row. then the end of my session, something happened and i won 3 in a row - and that was fun - after the third win, my bankroll topped its previous high.
i did have an interesting hand happen to me. i had been against a specific opponent a couple of times in one game where he was limping in on my big blind and we were heads up - on three different occasions, we would check the flop, i would bet the turn, usually with nothing or second pair, and he would call and then bet the river after i checked and i would fold. knowing this, i had KJ in the big blind and this same person and another limped on my blind so i checked to see what would happen.
the flop came out J8T,i checked and they checked. the turn was a J, so i bet 160 into a pot of 480, and they both called. the river is a K , so i have a full house. they both have less chips than me and i think that if i check, i can get at least one. if not both of them, to go all in. so i checked and the one who had been betting each time, went all in and the other one went over the top of him and i called them both. i had the full house, the first bettor had T8 and had flopped two pair and the other had K8 and had rivered a bigger two pair. even without the K, i would have gotten all their money. it was a huge pot and it was cool to use my knowledge about how they were perceiving my previous bets against them.
til next time
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
i did have an interesting hand happen to me. i had been against a specific opponent a couple of times in one game where he was limping in on my big blind and we were heads up - on three different occasions, we would check the flop, i would bet the turn, usually with nothing or second pair, and he would call and then bet the river after i checked and i would fold. knowing this, i had KJ in the big blind and this same person and another limped on my blind so i checked to see what would happen.
the flop came out J8T,i checked and they checked. the turn was a J, so i bet 160 into a pot of 480, and they both called. the river is a K , so i have a full house. they both have less chips than me and i think that if i check, i can get at least one. if not both of them, to go all in. so i checked and the one who had been betting each time, went all in and the other one went over the top of him and i called them both. i had the full house, the first bettor had T8 and had flopped two pair and the other had K8 and had rivered a bigger two pair. even without the K, i would have gotten all their money. it was a huge pot and it was cool to use my knowledge about how they were perceiving my previous bets against them.
til next time
peace and love and happiness to all.
k-
Sunday, September 7, 2008
variance can be good too
today was a good day on the felt. took my laptop over to some friends who also play poker online and we spent the day playing and talking about poker. we got so dorky the husband even brought out a vga cord and tv, and hooked one of our monitors up so we could see all the games in one centralized place. it was fun. and what made it even more fun was that i brought my month back into the black. (not that i was very far down - its just good to see the recovery this fast). i played 12 games today and cashed in 7 of them for 58% cash rate. with 4 of the 7 cashes being 1st. i'll take that most any day.
no really exciting hands to discuss. i did have KK against AA and flopped quads... that was fun. in another game, i made a really good call for all my chips when we were 4 handed with pocket nines after raising and being reraised. i did consider laying them down because the shortstack might have gone out soon, but i also play to win, not just play to cash and laying them down there didn't feel right. went on to win that tournament and think the extra chips there helped out.
thats about it. i don't know about anyone else, but im already cold and we haven't even gotten to winter yet.
til l8r
peace and love and happiness
k-
no really exciting hands to discuss. i did have KK against AA and flopped quads... that was fun. in another game, i made a really good call for all my chips when we were 4 handed with pocket nines after raising and being reraised. i did consider laying them down because the shortstack might have gone out soon, but i also play to win, not just play to cash and laying them down there didn't feel right. went on to win that tournament and think the extra chips there helped out.
thats about it. i don't know about anyone else, but im already cold and we haven't even gotten to winter yet.
til l8r
peace and love and happiness
k-
Friday, September 5, 2008
getting in ahead
today was an interesting one. i had some errands to run and some computer maintenance to do, so ive only had a chance to play 4 games so far. actually feel like i played well in all of them, but i was out in the first hand on one and the second hand on another. came in second on one and won one.
i don't feel bad about going out early in the two tourneys where it happened. i was cautious, didn't over play and got my chips in while i was ahead of both players.
game 1: pocket AA on the second hand. im in fourth position, and the guy in third position was taking a long time to decide to play his hand. he came in for a limp at 30 chips and i make a standard pot sized raise to 135 chips. one of the blinds calls, and the person in third position (after thinking again for a bit) calls as well. the flop comes 8 6 3, all different suits. the blind checks and the person in third position bets 150 into the pot. i have him on either big cards taking a stab or something like A8, A6, or 89,78 etc. i think hes hit the board, but don't think he has tripped up. i make a pot size raise while i think i have the best hand to 900 chips. other person folds and third position guy pushes all in for the remainder of his chips. (remember how ive talked about people over playing their top pair hands - this is a prime example). of course i call. he turns over K8 (which wasn't even in my range for him honestly) and ive got him crushed until the river bails out his bad play and shows a K to give him two pair - and just like that, I'm out. its ok - he keeps overplaying like that - someone will eventually get his chips.
game 2 - i came in 2nd - no exciting hands to share that i remember - so i'll spare you.
game 3 - pocket JJ on the 1st hand. im in middle position at the table again - so i make a standard pot sized raise and the dealer bumps it to 420. ok, what does this mean he probably has - his range from the button is a little broader, but not much and most people dont get too out of line on the first hand of a tourney, so i have to give him credit for a good hand with showdown value - i think he has this range - AA,KK, QQ, JJ, and maybe TT also any AK, AQ, AJ and maybe AT. so i decide to smooth call his hand and see what the flop brings. right now im leaning toward him having AK or AQ. the flop comes out T high and i make a pot sized bet for 800 since i have an overpair to the board and no scare cards came. im feeling certain i have the best hand. he pushes in for the last 305 chips and i call - just as i suspected he had AK and i got him to commit all his chips when he is drawing only to 6 cards (any of the remaining three aces or three kings). good news for him is he hit the A on the turn card and out drew me. oh well. you remember what they say about pocket jacks. three ways to play them and they are all wrong.
game 4: won this one. one interesting hand when i had AK of diamonds i will share. once again early in the tournament and i make a standard raise. once again the button (different player this time) pops it up. i decide to smooth call and see what happens. flop comes out with a Q 9 6 rainbow. i check and for some reason when he bets, i think he is betting position and hasn't really hit the Q, so i smooth call his bet for 700 planning to bet later. the turn is another Q and i check again giving him a chance to bluff again and if he doesn't, i'll probably bet the river. he does bet his remaining 505 chips. i have him covered by around 200, but if i call and am wrong, i will be shortstacked in the game. i still dont think the Q hit him and honestly its even less likely now that he has it and i don't think he has the 9 or the 6 either, so i call his all in with AK high and he was bluffing with KJ. (which wasn't in my range for the reraise either) i would very rarely call that down like that - and if im wrong, i look like a donkey, but if im right its a helluva call and im pretty proud of it.
one other interesting thing that happened in this game was when we got down to 5 players, one player went into shut down mode and decided to fold his way into the money - after a few orbits 5 handed, i figured out he was sitting out and started raising almost every time he was on the big blind. i managed to steal a lot of dead money in the pots by playing this way - the even funnier thing is that he DID make the money. i must have been the only one that figured it out, because when we were 4 handed, i folded a bad hand when the absentee player was on the big blind, giving the small blind a chance to raise and steal the blind and he didn't - he folded his hand to an absent player and was busted out a couple of hands later when he was blinded out. THEN on the first hand of the three handed game with the absentee player to my left and an active player to my right (i have about 10,000) in chips at this point, the active player pushes all in from the small blind for about 2500. (keep in mind the absentee player only had about 220 chips, and all the active player had to do was fold or check and make second - but no, he put his tournament at risk by moving all in - i had KQ and called - he showed 9T and i hit a K and knocked him out in third. what an idiot. if he folds that one hand he moves up in the money to second instead of cashing third. needless to say - it was easy to win over the absentee player and i had my first win of the day. definitely the weirdest game in a while.
gotta hop in the shower to get ready to go out
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
i don't feel bad about going out early in the two tourneys where it happened. i was cautious, didn't over play and got my chips in while i was ahead of both players.
game 1: pocket AA on the second hand. im in fourth position, and the guy in third position was taking a long time to decide to play his hand. he came in for a limp at 30 chips and i make a standard pot sized raise to 135 chips. one of the blinds calls, and the person in third position (after thinking again for a bit) calls as well. the flop comes 8 6 3, all different suits. the blind checks and the person in third position bets 150 into the pot. i have him on either big cards taking a stab or something like A8, A6, or 89,78 etc. i think hes hit the board, but don't think he has tripped up. i make a pot size raise while i think i have the best hand to 900 chips. other person folds and third position guy pushes all in for the remainder of his chips. (remember how ive talked about people over playing their top pair hands - this is a prime example). of course i call. he turns over K8 (which wasn't even in my range for him honestly) and ive got him crushed until the river bails out his bad play and shows a K to give him two pair - and just like that, I'm out. its ok - he keeps overplaying like that - someone will eventually get his chips.
game 2 - i came in 2nd - no exciting hands to share that i remember - so i'll spare you.
game 3 - pocket JJ on the 1st hand. im in middle position at the table again - so i make a standard pot sized raise and the dealer bumps it to 420. ok, what does this mean he probably has - his range from the button is a little broader, but not much and most people dont get too out of line on the first hand of a tourney, so i have to give him credit for a good hand with showdown value - i think he has this range - AA,KK, QQ, JJ, and maybe TT also any AK, AQ, AJ and maybe AT. so i decide to smooth call his hand and see what the flop brings. right now im leaning toward him having AK or AQ. the flop comes out T high and i make a pot sized bet for 800 since i have an overpair to the board and no scare cards came. im feeling certain i have the best hand. he pushes in for the last 305 chips and i call - just as i suspected he had AK and i got him to commit all his chips when he is drawing only to 6 cards (any of the remaining three aces or three kings). good news for him is he hit the A on the turn card and out drew me. oh well. you remember what they say about pocket jacks. three ways to play them and they are all wrong.
game 4: won this one. one interesting hand when i had AK of diamonds i will share. once again early in the tournament and i make a standard raise. once again the button (different player this time) pops it up. i decide to smooth call and see what happens. flop comes out with a Q 9 6 rainbow. i check and for some reason when he bets, i think he is betting position and hasn't really hit the Q, so i smooth call his bet for 700 planning to bet later. the turn is another Q and i check again giving him a chance to bluff again and if he doesn't, i'll probably bet the river. he does bet his remaining 505 chips. i have him covered by around 200, but if i call and am wrong, i will be shortstacked in the game. i still dont think the Q hit him and honestly its even less likely now that he has it and i don't think he has the 9 or the 6 either, so i call his all in with AK high and he was bluffing with KJ. (which wasn't in my range for the reraise either) i would very rarely call that down like that - and if im wrong, i look like a donkey, but if im right its a helluva call and im pretty proud of it.
one other interesting thing that happened in this game was when we got down to 5 players, one player went into shut down mode and decided to fold his way into the money - after a few orbits 5 handed, i figured out he was sitting out and started raising almost every time he was on the big blind. i managed to steal a lot of dead money in the pots by playing this way - the even funnier thing is that he DID make the money. i must have been the only one that figured it out, because when we were 4 handed, i folded a bad hand when the absentee player was on the big blind, giving the small blind a chance to raise and steal the blind and he didn't - he folded his hand to an absent player and was busted out a couple of hands later when he was blinded out. THEN on the first hand of the three handed game with the absentee player to my left and an active player to my right (i have about 10,000) in chips at this point, the active player pushes all in from the small blind for about 2500. (keep in mind the absentee player only had about 220 chips, and all the active player had to do was fold or check and make second - but no, he put his tournament at risk by moving all in - i had KQ and called - he showed 9T and i hit a K and knocked him out in third. what an idiot. if he folds that one hand he moves up in the money to second instead of cashing third. needless to say - it was easy to win over the absentee player and i had my first win of the day. definitely the weirdest game in a while.
gotta hop in the shower to get ready to go out
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
the evils of variance
variance is the word poker players use to account for the ups and downs of their career. and thursday was definitely a down day in the variance realm. i played 23 tournaments and only cashed in 6 of them. it actually pushed me below even for the month so i have to get up tomorrow and start back in. the good news is that this is an expected part of poker and this is why you have to have an appropriate sized bankroll to withstand days like this. some pros have talked about how they have a losing session for an entire month or an entire year. lets hope it doesn't last that long.
no real bad beat stories or anything that i can point to as the culprit of the day - just seemed to be the way of the tables. i did manage to string three of those cashes together for a nice little run, but that was about it.
in order to be successful, i have to be able to handle these types of days - so im chalking this one up to variance and calling it a night.
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
no real bad beat stories or anything that i can point to as the culprit of the day - just seemed to be the way of the tables. i did manage to string three of those cashes together for a nice little run, but that was about it.
in order to be successful, i have to be able to handle these types of days - so im chalking this one up to variance and calling it a night.
peace and love and happiness to all
k-
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
fall is in the air
happy september everyone. hope it is a good month for everyone. i had a great weekend. i did not end up playing in the tourney on sunday, as i had plans to go to santa caligon days in independence to see our favorite band, trampled under foot. we had a blast. got to get up and dance with several gents and engaged in more than a little bit of fun and frivolity.
ive been playing on fulltilt a lot lately, keeping tabs on a couple of friends over there. i will probably spread my time between the two - when they are online, i'll play over there, and when they aren't i'll play at poker stars. for the longest time i couldn't even money over there, and have spent the last couple of weeks working through that. my theory is that if you are a good player, you should be able to win where ever you are playing. i've finally proven to myself that i can win there too, and that feels good. i think the change in my game has contributed to that a lot.
i won the first tournament of the month that i played yesterday, which i hope bodes well for the month. i'm 2/3rds of the way to moving up to the next level and fairly certain it will happen this month which as you know is my goal for september (mid month is my prediction).
well back to the felt - i just won another and am ready to play some more.
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk
ive been playing on fulltilt a lot lately, keeping tabs on a couple of friends over there. i will probably spread my time between the two - when they are online, i'll play over there, and when they aren't i'll play at poker stars. for the longest time i couldn't even money over there, and have spent the last couple of weeks working through that. my theory is that if you are a good player, you should be able to win where ever you are playing. i've finally proven to myself that i can win there too, and that feels good. i think the change in my game has contributed to that a lot.
i won the first tournament of the month that i played yesterday, which i hope bodes well for the month. i'm 2/3rds of the way to moving up to the next level and fairly certain it will happen this month which as you know is my goal for september (mid month is my prediction).
well back to the felt - i just won another and am ready to play some more.
peace and love and happiness to all.
kk
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