As usual for April, poker play was a bit sporadic, and cash tourneys were few and far between. Ran pretty bad (for me) in World Tavern the first few games after our regional championship - although I can't really complain about my actual play. That usual "play well, don't get results" syndrome.
Went to a home game a couple of weeks ago, and cashed in 2 of the 3 tourneys (30+ in first 2 games, 13 in 3rd game) for neat little profit of $155. Couple that with more than a few Canadian beers, and it was a good night.
Last week, finally saw a turnaround in my World Tavern results...will detail some below.
First game had 38 players, so a nice little 10.5K for first was in play. Started out the first level a little slow, even semi-open folding J-J pre-flop when faced with raises by both tight UTG and tight button players...mad props to me given for laying it down after players in all-in showed K-K and A-A...but really, wasn't terribly hard to put it down there. Got a nice little BB special when my 6-2 flopped trips, and got paid off 2 streets by 2 people. Soon after, took down a huge pot after my slowly-played A-K flopped trip kings against a PF raiser holding A-J who decided to bet 3 streets at me...nice!
Really took off after Q-Q knocked out a player holding A-Q, then proceeded to knock out 3 more players in the next 4 hands before the break...sat at 74K at the break, which is a ridiculous amount to have in this tourney. Played pretty consistent poker for next few levels, and by time of final table merge, sitting at 125K.
Once down to 9, proceeded to either bust out or cripple 6 of the other 8 players, and after a short heads-up period, I scored my first WTP win of this season...only 9 weeks in, ugh.
Second game, yo-yo'd up and down the first hour, including losing half my chips on an A-Q vs A-K hand where my preflop 3-bet with A-Q was called by a loose player holding A-K. A king on flop with a couple of hearts slowed me down considerably after my continuation bet was smooth-called after the flop. Luckily, check-check on next 2 streets saved me some chips...although this paid off for me on the next hand I'll detail out.
Shortly after the break, got A-A UTG at 500/1000 level, and raised to 3500. Old man William thinks about calling me, Loose Lois calls, and we have a 3-way flop. 9-6-J rainbow doesn't scare me, and a bet of 5500 seems right. Lois folds, William thinks for a minute and shoves to put me at risk. Fairly quick call, and William flips over 7-7. No help on turn or river, and William is crippled. I look at him and say, "I think that A-Q hand I had a while back set that play up, didn't it?", which got a smile and a nod from him. Ability to recall prior hands, no matter how far back, is a great thing to do - didn't work out for him this time, but I liked his thinking.
Got down to another final table, and after another roller-coaster run (including flopping a straight with K-Q and having Big Larry bluff-shove me with 4-2 - real tough to play those hands, heh), was on the short-end of a fairly long HU battle with Andy - but I'll happily take a 2nd to go with my 1st. Can never say that I've clinched anything, but I've certainly strengthened my hold on the season points lead - haven't been below first since the first rankings came out after week 4. 2 national championships to play in during November? We'll see!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Time to plan another trip?
After taking 2nd in Overtyme WTP TOC last month, I've been on fire in the live and online poker arena. First 3 weeks at Overtyme, 3 TOC finishes - even if they were all second-places, meh! The last one stung, only because my opponent is crippled HU if my A-A doesn't get cracked by the ol' runner-runner straight hitting his K-9...but what can ya do?
I'm pretty sure I'm a shoo-in, after 2 more games, of qualifying to defend my Tavern Championship in 3 months...so some great chances of getting more hardware is coming up. This past Sunday was our Winter Regionals at Overtyme, and I was feeling pretty good about my game going into it...and was looking to go on a deeper run than last Regionals, when I busted out less than an hour into the festivities.
143 players for 15 seats to the National Championship in Atlantic City in June - let's go!
Seated at one of the outer tables, I recognize a couple of players from past regionals, but most of my mates were from Western and Central bars. Luckily, there's not much of a minefield, and my opponents help me out by overbetting their made hands - betting 2x the pot with nut flushes, for example.
Started out good on the first level, going up to 16K (10K starting stack) by only showing one hand, but slowly dwindled down to 12K at end 300/600 level, when I got moved to a new table. Again, only 1 or 2 players I recognized, but before the end of the 500/1000 level, I had 19K in chips...all from preflop raises that got no resistance. While this wasn't a great position to be in, with about half the field remaining, I was still at average stack, and I figured that my natural short-stack aggression would pay off for me.
Unfortunately, my juicy new table lost 3 players in no time, and I was moved to another table. 2nd hand in, got K-K in the cutoff (blinds at 1000/2000 now), and with 19K in tow I tried to induce an all-in by making a modest raise to 6K (knowing any shove was being called by me, or any flop with no ace)...which Stacie (regular I know) obliged by shoving over me to 14K. Snap-call, and after the board stays clean, I have over 36K.
Promptly lose 10K over the next orbit, until another table move puts me next to Eve (uber-tight, but very solid player) on my left...and 2 wild cards on my right. A couple of hands in while in the BB, and sitting at 28K (2000/4000), I get J-10 sooooooted, and faced an all-in raise to 10K. Not the kind of hand I want to call off 6K with, but 4-1 odds was an easy, and I find I'm up against my bugaboo, A-9. I tell the player that A-9 is a loser, and when the flop shows a 10, I'm in great shape. Another 10 hits the turn, ending the hand...then the Jack hits the river for further insult. Player gives me good-natured grief about it, and I'm sitting decent shape at about 40K here, with just under 30 players to go.
An orbit or so later, my big hand of the tournament happens. Carolyn, a very solid player in our league, open-shoves the first hand of the 3000/6000 level for 36K, and in the cutoff I look down and see A-K...and have a decision to make for my tournament, in reality. I see we have 26 players at this point, so with 60K or so being the average stack, I figure that we're in a coinflip, so I shove all-in. After the button and blinds fold, I see I'm up against 5-5...and am very happy (but reserved) when a king is the door card. No help for Carolyn, and a big knockout for me takes place.
Build my stack up to 100K, and with the blinds up at 5K/10K, we get down to 2 tables of 9...3 more eliminations to go. 1 player goes out, and then a long 10-minute break takes place before we get down to 15. I scan the room and see 3 uber small-stacks (including 1 who only 1/2 BB left), and the blinds will be hitting them in a couple of hands (10K/20K), so I feel safe at 105K.
Me in zone-mode just before the break when down to 17:
Poor guy on my right (Gray hair and beard in pic above) open shoves UTG with J-J, and is called by one of the shorties...only to see him flop a set, then lose to A-10 on a runner-runner straight...bringing him down to 30K in chips. The very next hand, his 6-5 cannot catch up to A-K, and with another bustout on the other table, we're down to 15 - Atlantic City, here we come! Errrr, that is, if I want to go.
Uneventful few hands later (for me, at least), and we get down to 1 table of 9 - official final table is 8. After Eve busts out, we have another stoppage of play, and the final table receives T-shirts: get a group photo or 2, and then get back to action. Down to 7, open-shoved my last 100K UTG (15K/30K blinds, yikes!) with A-J, where I get called by 9-9. Flop is low, but I hit a Jack on the turn...only to see a 9 hit the river, and I'm out in 7th place. Would have loved a win (or at least top 3, where travel expenses are paid for), but I came to get a seat in Nationals, and I accomplished my main objective.
Good to see my friend, Andy, also get his seat, along with 3-4 other regulars in my Tuesday game. Congrats to Dan Park for winning a $1500 WSOP earlier Sunday, as well!
I'm pretty sure I'm a shoo-in, after 2 more games, of qualifying to defend my Tavern Championship in 3 months...so some great chances of getting more hardware is coming up. This past Sunday was our Winter Regionals at Overtyme, and I was feeling pretty good about my game going into it...and was looking to go on a deeper run than last Regionals, when I busted out less than an hour into the festivities.
143 players for 15 seats to the National Championship in Atlantic City in June - let's go!
Seated at one of the outer tables, I recognize a couple of players from past regionals, but most of my mates were from Western and Central bars. Luckily, there's not much of a minefield, and my opponents help me out by overbetting their made hands - betting 2x the pot with nut flushes, for example.
Started out good on the first level, going up to 16K (10K starting stack) by only showing one hand, but slowly dwindled down to 12K at end 300/600 level, when I got moved to a new table. Again, only 1 or 2 players I recognized, but before the end of the 500/1000 level, I had 19K in chips...all from preflop raises that got no resistance. While this wasn't a great position to be in, with about half the field remaining, I was still at average stack, and I figured that my natural short-stack aggression would pay off for me.
Unfortunately, my juicy new table lost 3 players in no time, and I was moved to another table. 2nd hand in, got K-K in the cutoff (blinds at 1000/2000 now), and with 19K in tow I tried to induce an all-in by making a modest raise to 6K (knowing any shove was being called by me, or any flop with no ace)...which Stacie (regular I know) obliged by shoving over me to 14K. Snap-call, and after the board stays clean, I have over 36K.
Promptly lose 10K over the next orbit, until another table move puts me next to Eve (uber-tight, but very solid player) on my left...and 2 wild cards on my right. A couple of hands in while in the BB, and sitting at 28K (2000/4000), I get J-10 sooooooted, and faced an all-in raise to 10K. Not the kind of hand I want to call off 6K with, but 4-1 odds was an easy, and I find I'm up against my bugaboo, A-9. I tell the player that A-9 is a loser, and when the flop shows a 10, I'm in great shape. Another 10 hits the turn, ending the hand...then the Jack hits the river for further insult. Player gives me good-natured grief about it, and I'm sitting decent shape at about 40K here, with just under 30 players to go.
An orbit or so later, my big hand of the tournament happens. Carolyn, a very solid player in our league, open-shoves the first hand of the 3000/6000 level for 36K, and in the cutoff I look down and see A-K...and have a decision to make for my tournament, in reality. I see we have 26 players at this point, so with 60K or so being the average stack, I figure that we're in a coinflip, so I shove all-in. After the button and blinds fold, I see I'm up against 5-5...and am very happy (but reserved) when a king is the door card. No help for Carolyn, and a big knockout for me takes place.
Build my stack up to 100K, and with the blinds up at 5K/10K, we get down to 2 tables of 9...3 more eliminations to go. 1 player goes out, and then a long 10-minute break takes place before we get down to 15. I scan the room and see 3 uber small-stacks (including 1 who only 1/2 BB left), and the blinds will be hitting them in a couple of hands (10K/20K), so I feel safe at 105K.
Me in zone-mode just before the break when down to 17:
Poor guy on my right (Gray hair and beard in pic above) open shoves UTG with J-J, and is called by one of the shorties...only to see him flop a set, then lose to A-10 on a runner-runner straight...bringing him down to 30K in chips. The very next hand, his 6-5 cannot catch up to A-K, and with another bustout on the other table, we're down to 15 - Atlantic City, here we come! Errrr, that is, if I want to go.
Uneventful few hands later (for me, at least), and we get down to 1 table of 9 - official final table is 8. After Eve busts out, we have another stoppage of play, and the final table receives T-shirts: get a group photo or 2, and then get back to action. Down to 7, open-shoved my last 100K UTG (15K/30K blinds, yikes!) with A-J, where I get called by 9-9. Flop is low, but I hit a Jack on the turn...only to see a 9 hit the river, and I'm out in 7th place. Would have loved a win (or at least top 3, where travel expenses are paid for), but I came to get a seat in Nationals, and I accomplished my main objective.
Good to see my friend, Andy, also get his seat, along with 3-4 other regulars in my Tuesday game. Congrats to Dan Park for winning a $1500 WSOP earlier Sunday, as well!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Time to plan a trip...
Last Tuesday (2/21) I celebrated my 42nd birthday not with my family, but rather spent it at Overtyme in Waterford with the WTP gang for the season TOC championships. If you don't know how it works, you qualify by getting a top-3 finish in any tournament a bar designated as a TOC bar hosts during the season. The more top 3s you get, the more chips you get.
While I finished 2nd in the season points title (top 8 scores count for tavern ranking), I had the most TOCs for the season (8), so I started out with the big stack of 24K in chips (10K minimum, 2K for every additional top-3). Based on my table draw, I decided that I was going to a fairly loose game early and push my chip stack around. Played a solid first level, and built my stack up to 40K after the end of the level by only having to show down a couple of hands.
Got to the break (about 2 hours in) with 70+K in chips, and easily the chip leader at this point. Lost a few chips to get down into the low 60K range when the final table merge happened. Played a steady game, continuing to build my chip stack without getting involved in any big pots, and soon enough we were to the bubble at 4-handed.
Went for a couple of killshots against Jane, but the river was unkind both times, and my stack went from over 170K to about 130K. Audie finally took out Jane when his Q-Q held up against her small pair, and Audie, Mike Shafto, and me were the final 3 standing...and qualified for the National TOC tournament in Vegas this fall.
With only a TOC coin to play for, I managed to soon get to HU against Audie. Promptly got my ass handed to me in this matchup, but that's ok - I came to get no worse than 3rd, and mission accomplished.
Vegas, Baby! Vegas!
While I finished 2nd in the season points title (top 8 scores count for tavern ranking), I had the most TOCs for the season (8), so I started out with the big stack of 24K in chips (10K minimum, 2K for every additional top-3). Based on my table draw, I decided that I was going to a fairly loose game early and push my chip stack around. Played a solid first level, and built my stack up to 40K after the end of the level by only having to show down a couple of hands.
Got to the break (about 2 hours in) with 70+K in chips, and easily the chip leader at this point. Lost a few chips to get down into the low 60K range when the final table merge happened. Played a steady game, continuing to build my chip stack without getting involved in any big pots, and soon enough we were to the bubble at 4-handed.
Went for a couple of killshots against Jane, but the river was unkind both times, and my stack went from over 170K to about 130K. Audie finally took out Jane when his Q-Q held up against her small pair, and Audie, Mike Shafto, and me were the final 3 standing...and qualified for the National TOC tournament in Vegas this fall.
With only a TOC coin to play for, I managed to soon get to HU against Audie. Promptly got my ass handed to me in this matchup, but that's ok - I came to get no worse than 3rd, and mission accomplished.
Vegas, Baby! Vegas!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
First post of 2012?
Really? Has it been that long? Lots been going on with my main job and my seasonal business (taxes), so haven't been doing much of playing poker...or blogging about my play, for that matter.
Went through about a 3-4 week rut recently where I played some shitty poker at various venues for World Tavern. Got away from my general TAG-style, played too many hands, didn't play hands strong enough when I needed to, overplayed top pairs...in other words, played like a total donkey. As a result of this, lost some confidence in my game, which caused a general unwillingness to trust my reads and pull the triggers on moves when I should have been making moves...a vicious cycle.
Changed venues for a couple of weeks, and concentrated on playing more deliberately, trusting with my first instinct and general reads, and then working on tournament endgames. Out of 4 games at Clancy's Pub, had 3 top-3 finishes (including a win), and got in a pretty nice groove over there. Traveled to Overtyme for the late game last Tuesday, and had a solid 3rd place showing in the last game of the regular season.
Gave me confidence to go to Four Aces this week, and while I did not cash (16th out of 84 players - out on a 1-outer, ouch!), felt very confident about my game after leaving, and had a good feeling going into our Tavern Championship last night.
Only 10 of us in the championship, and started at 2 tables. Got my butt kicked around pretty good for one level at 5-handed, but then we get an elimination, and merged to one table of 9. Seemed to work wonders, and built my stack up to 13K (From 10K starting, and 8K at merge), when my first big hand of the night happened.
Raised under the gun (6-handed - 500/1000) with A-A, and snap-called when Wayne 3-bets me with 9-9 - Aces held, and a big double-up for me. After losing about 40% of my stack, was 3-bet all-in again with 10-10, but my K-K held.
Back and forth the chips went between 4 of us, and in my only time where I was all-in with my tourney on the line and behind, my A-9 outflopped 5-5, and after this point I never really looked back...and after this point played pretty much mistake-free poker.
Crippled Rob when his semi-bluff on the turn was met with a check-raise from me...and after watching me play big-stack poker for a couple of orbits too many 3-handed, George made his stand with Q-J...but couldn't catch up after my K-J flopped a king to get down to heads-up. George deserved better - had Aces, kings, and queens cracked after getting the chips in the middle as a heavy favorite.
Luckily for me, none of my big hands got cracked, and after flopping 2-pair with the monster J-6, Wayne's all-in push with J-9 put him on the brink...and with no help on the turn or river, I survive to win the Tavern Championship!
Went through about a 3-4 week rut recently where I played some shitty poker at various venues for World Tavern. Got away from my general TAG-style, played too many hands, didn't play hands strong enough when I needed to, overplayed top pairs...in other words, played like a total donkey. As a result of this, lost some confidence in my game, which caused a general unwillingness to trust my reads and pull the triggers on moves when I should have been making moves...a vicious cycle.
Changed venues for a couple of weeks, and concentrated on playing more deliberately, trusting with my first instinct and general reads, and then working on tournament endgames. Out of 4 games at Clancy's Pub, had 3 top-3 finishes (including a win), and got in a pretty nice groove over there. Traveled to Overtyme for the late game last Tuesday, and had a solid 3rd place showing in the last game of the regular season.
Gave me confidence to go to Four Aces this week, and while I did not cash (16th out of 84 players - out on a 1-outer, ouch!), felt very confident about my game after leaving, and had a good feeling going into our Tavern Championship last night.
Only 10 of us in the championship, and started at 2 tables. Got my butt kicked around pretty good for one level at 5-handed, but then we get an elimination, and merged to one table of 9. Seemed to work wonders, and built my stack up to 13K (From 10K starting, and 8K at merge), when my first big hand of the night happened.
Raised under the gun (6-handed - 500/1000) with A-A, and snap-called when Wayne 3-bets me with 9-9 - Aces held, and a big double-up for me. After losing about 40% of my stack, was 3-bet all-in again with 10-10, but my K-K held.
Back and forth the chips went between 4 of us, and in my only time where I was all-in with my tourney on the line and behind, my A-9 outflopped 5-5, and after this point I never really looked back...and after this point played pretty much mistake-free poker.
Crippled Rob when his semi-bluff on the turn was met with a check-raise from me...and after watching me play big-stack poker for a couple of orbits too many 3-handed, George made his stand with Q-J...but couldn't catch up after my K-J flopped a king to get down to heads-up. George deserved better - had Aces, kings, and queens cracked after getting the chips in the middle as a heavy favorite.
Luckily for me, none of my big hands got cracked, and after flopping 2-pair with the monster J-6, Wayne's all-in push with J-9 put him on the brink...and with no help on the turn or river, I survive to win the Tavern Championship!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Interesting bit of Friday news....
Found this on the wires today...Merry Christmas to us online degenerates?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration appears to have softened a U.S. ban on Internet gambling.
In a legal opinion posted Friday, the Justice Department said online betting unrelated to sporting events falls outside the reach of federal law.
The U.S. government has long considered such gambling illegal when it crosses state lines.
The gambling industry is worth billions worldwide but many operators are based overseas. Washington has cracked down on some of them, and a 2006 law forbade financial institutions from processing funds for most online wagering.
Because of the difficulty in enforcing age and other requirements, the issue has divided lawmakers and the industry. But several states have been studying plans for web betting within states.
The opinion letter was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration appears to have softened a U.S. ban on Internet gambling.
In a legal opinion posted Friday, the Justice Department said online betting unrelated to sporting events falls outside the reach of federal law.
The U.S. government has long considered such gambling illegal when it crosses state lines.
The gambling industry is worth billions worldwide but many operators are based overseas. Washington has cracked down on some of them, and a 2006 law forbade financial institutions from processing funds for most online wagering.
Because of the difficulty in enforcing age and other requirements, the issue has divided lawmakers and the industry. But several states have been studying plans for web betting within states.
The opinion letter was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Friday, December 16, 2011
A sick week of poker - punctuated by a wild finish to it
Played 6 games of World Tavern this week at 4 venues - solid week all around:
4th and 2nd at Buckshots
2nd at Clancy's
2nd at Hatchy's
1st and 18th (first out) at Airway Lanes.
Last night at Airway, I think I may have had my finest final table performance in a long time. Not so much because I won, but because it seemed like every read and decision I was making was the correct one...it was kind of a sick zone I got into. Too many hands for me to talk about today...maybe another time.
Greg Raymer said it best, this game is about information, and making the best decisions based on the information. If you make the correct read and play, and get drawn out on...nothing you can do about that. That pretty much describes how I went out in the second game so quickly...
Near the end of the first level, and UTG+1 I see A-K, which I raise (100/200) to 700. I get 2 call from players on my left, then Lois (a loose player) 3-bets me to 3200. After staring her down for a few seconds, I just couldn't buy any of her story, so I shoved the rest of my 6,000 starting stack into the middle. After Lois went into the tank for a minute and said that has too many chips already in to fold, I *knew* I was in great shape...and after she called I immediately flipped over my cards, which got a disgusted look from Lois as A-2(!?! - but soooooooooted) was flipped over.
Flop of A-4-4 rainbow was great for me, but then runner-runner diamonds hit turn and river to cripple me. Lois apologized for the sick beat, and I think I took it pretty well...although I did make a "Hee Haw!" sound at her when I told her "Nice hit". Busted out the next hand, which was fine - if I'm busting out of a game in World Tavern early, make it the second game so I can get home earlier.
4 Top 2s in a row - pretty solid, by any standard!
4th and 2nd at Buckshots
2nd at Clancy's
2nd at Hatchy's
1st and 18th (first out) at Airway Lanes.
Last night at Airway, I think I may have had my finest final table performance in a long time. Not so much because I won, but because it seemed like every read and decision I was making was the correct one...it was kind of a sick zone I got into. Too many hands for me to talk about today...maybe another time.
Greg Raymer said it best, this game is about information, and making the best decisions based on the information. If you make the correct read and play, and get drawn out on...nothing you can do about that. That pretty much describes how I went out in the second game so quickly...
Near the end of the first level, and UTG+1 I see A-K, which I raise (100/200) to 700. I get 2 call from players on my left, then Lois (a loose player) 3-bets me to 3200. After staring her down for a few seconds, I just couldn't buy any of her story, so I shoved the rest of my 6,000 starting stack into the middle. After Lois went into the tank for a minute and said that has too many chips already in to fold, I *knew* I was in great shape...and after she called I immediately flipped over my cards, which got a disgusted look from Lois as A-2(!?! - but soooooooooted) was flipped over.
Flop of A-4-4 rainbow was great for me, but then runner-runner diamonds hit turn and river to cripple me. Lois apologized for the sick beat, and I think I took it pretty well...although I did make a "Hee Haw!" sound at her when I told her "Nice hit". Busted out the next hand, which was fine - if I'm busting out of a game in World Tavern early, make it the second game so I can get home earlier.
4 Top 2s in a row - pretty solid, by any standard!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Legend of A-9
Some people have their favorite trash hands they like to play...within reason, of course. Harry Dixson loves him some of that 6-4 action, I've been partial to 9-7, and I know everyone has their personal favorites they like to mess around with from time to time. On the other hand, I also have a particular "least favorite" hand, and it's not one that immediately come to mind.
If anyone reading this has played at World Tavern with me over at Buckshots or at Overtyme (or even Clancy's, Hatchy's, or Airway this past week) over the last month or so, you may have noticed a recurring bit/inside joke with me regarding the hand Ace-9, and it's been interesting watching this bit evolve and spread to other WTP venues I've played at over the last few weeks.
It started innocently enough a month ago or so over at Buckshots, when Anna Kelly and I starting talking about hands that look good, but more often than not just end up getting you in trouble. Anna brought up A-Q, but I focused more on A-9 (at least from my view) as the hand that often looks good, but many times just gets you in trouble. This observation was based mainly because that was a hand that busted me out of my last 3 tournaments, but it was something I had really been picking up on recently with many other players in games, as well.
Where the discussion turned into a running gag happened during the course of play soon after that discussion started, as both Anna and I were either shoving or having to make a decision to call an all-in with A-9 in four of the next ten hands. Each time, A-9 was either folded face up, or shown by the winner of the hand after the table had folded...each time to a little more laughter as happened.
What did I get out of this? I realized pretty quickly that overplaying A-9 was (emphasis on "was") a major leak in my game. And it's pretty easy to get in trouble in these types of hands, when you think about it. For example, call someone's PFR out of position, then you flop an ace...what do you do? You can check it, but then when your initial raiser bets out, where do you stand? Do you really want to go into passive/calling station mode against someone who could have a higher kicker? Check-calling a lot of your chips away with top pair-weak kicker tends to leave bad tastes in my mouth, but that's just me.
Or, same scenario, except this time you get a 9-high rainbow flop...worth a bet, but then you see another player (let's say he's a fairly tight player) come over the top with a large (relative to the pot) raise. Could this player have limped in with a hand, like, 10-10 or another over pair, and gotten his dream flop?
Obviously, I'm not advocating open-folding this hand without thinking...I'm just arguing that calling PFR raises (especially when out of position) with this hand is going to be -EV in the long-term. Of course, any 2 cards can be playable, and before acting out a hand you have to consider your chip stack relative to the blinds, your position on the table, your position in a tournament, and the players at your table. This is an auto open-raise from the cutoff or the button, but not so much from the UTG position on a full table. Short-stacked, and open-folded to me, I'm also more than willing to shove my chips in the middle with this hand - but have to think a long time before calling off a sizable portion of my stack with it.
As the weeks have gone on, I've noticed that my A-9 hands are not costing me as many chips, and most of the time the correct decision is being made by me with this hand...but hey, none of us around these parts are perfect. If I am folding this face-up to somebody's large raise or all-in shove, I usually give a derivative of the "This hand looks really good, but is going to get me in trouble" speech before folding. I've noticed a few more players giving similar comments, which I'd like to think I had a small part in doing - it's good to see some real thinking going at the tables, rather than the "I have ace-rag, but it's suited - let's gambul!!" attitude we've all seen at WTP and charity poker rooms across the state.
If anyone reading this has played at World Tavern with me over at Buckshots or at Overtyme (or even Clancy's, Hatchy's, or Airway this past week) over the last month or so, you may have noticed a recurring bit/inside joke with me regarding the hand Ace-9, and it's been interesting watching this bit evolve and spread to other WTP venues I've played at over the last few weeks.
It started innocently enough a month ago or so over at Buckshots, when Anna Kelly and I starting talking about hands that look good, but more often than not just end up getting you in trouble. Anna brought up A-Q, but I focused more on A-9 (at least from my view) as the hand that often looks good, but many times just gets you in trouble. This observation was based mainly because that was a hand that busted me out of my last 3 tournaments, but it was something I had really been picking up on recently with many other players in games, as well.
Where the discussion turned into a running gag happened during the course of play soon after that discussion started, as both Anna and I were either shoving or having to make a decision to call an all-in with A-9 in four of the next ten hands. Each time, A-9 was either folded face up, or shown by the winner of the hand after the table had folded...each time to a little more laughter as happened.
What did I get out of this? I realized pretty quickly that overplaying A-9 was (emphasis on "was") a major leak in my game. And it's pretty easy to get in trouble in these types of hands, when you think about it. For example, call someone's PFR out of position, then you flop an ace...what do you do? You can check it, but then when your initial raiser bets out, where do you stand? Do you really want to go into passive/calling station mode against someone who could have a higher kicker? Check-calling a lot of your chips away with top pair-weak kicker tends to leave bad tastes in my mouth, but that's just me.
Or, same scenario, except this time you get a 9-high rainbow flop...worth a bet, but then you see another player (let's say he's a fairly tight player) come over the top with a large (relative to the pot) raise. Could this player have limped in with a hand, like, 10-10 or another over pair, and gotten his dream flop?
Obviously, I'm not advocating open-folding this hand without thinking...I'm just arguing that calling PFR raises (especially when out of position) with this hand is going to be -EV in the long-term. Of course, any 2 cards can be playable, and before acting out a hand you have to consider your chip stack relative to the blinds, your position on the table, your position in a tournament, and the players at your table. This is an auto open-raise from the cutoff or the button, but not so much from the UTG position on a full table. Short-stacked, and open-folded to me, I'm also more than willing to shove my chips in the middle with this hand - but have to think a long time before calling off a sizable portion of my stack with it.
As the weeks have gone on, I've noticed that my A-9 hands are not costing me as many chips, and most of the time the correct decision is being made by me with this hand...but hey, none of us around these parts are perfect. If I am folding this face-up to somebody's large raise or all-in shove, I usually give a derivative of the "This hand looks really good, but is going to get me in trouble" speech before folding. I've noticed a few more players giving similar comments, which I'd like to think I had a small part in doing - it's good to see some real thinking going at the tables, rather than the "I have ace-rag, but it's suited - let's gambul!!" attitude we've all seen at WTP and charity poker rooms across the state.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Hot run continues
Went to my every-other-Tuesday night outing at Overtyme (they actually run every Tuesday, I just go every other week) yesterday, and was determined to have a good week - mainly because I will now have a tavern ranking after getting my minimum number of games in for the season. Had another solid day, so let's get on to it!
First game saw me do what I've doing consistently the last few weeks - building up a decent stack early, and by the end of the first level my stack went from 10K to 26K, without having to show down any hands...great start! Because of this, I was able to play a more LAG game for a couple of levels...and while my chip stack started to yo-yo a little bit, I managed to get to the break (end of 4th level) with 36K in chips.
Went on a little run to start the level right after the break, as I not only doubled-up eliminated 2 players, but I eliminated 4 players...all in a matter of 5 hands. Went to the final table with about 70K in chips, and navigated my way to a truly great final 3...well, 2 out of 3, anyways, since the top 2 ranked players in the state were also remaining. Back and forth among the three of us, until I eliminated Dave in 3rd place, and heads-up we go. Bob, I think, outplayed me for the 20 hands or so we played HU, but I did hit my straight on the turn to double up for a big chip-lead, and then won a race by spiking a king on the river to end it. Win #3 on the season, and the first at Overtyme.
2nd game was a strange game, seeing how loose a couple of players were. Just played a patient game, methodically chipped up, and somehow took 4th - but if not for a horrible river, probably cruise to another HU match. As it stands, I'll be #1 ranked at both Overtyme and Buckshots for the season once this week's games are updated into the system by Debbie (Tournament Director). 5 TOCs in 8 games at Overtyme - a ridiculous run for those fields!
First game saw me do what I've doing consistently the last few weeks - building up a decent stack early, and by the end of the first level my stack went from 10K to 26K, without having to show down any hands...great start! Because of this, I was able to play a more LAG game for a couple of levels...and while my chip stack started to yo-yo a little bit, I managed to get to the break (end of 4th level) with 36K in chips.
Went on a little run to start the level right after the break, as I not only doubled-up eliminated 2 players, but I eliminated 4 players...all in a matter of 5 hands. Went to the final table with about 70K in chips, and navigated my way to a truly great final 3...well, 2 out of 3, anyways, since the top 2 ranked players in the state were also remaining. Back and forth among the three of us, until I eliminated Dave in 3rd place, and heads-up we go. Bob, I think, outplayed me for the 20 hands or so we played HU, but I did hit my straight on the turn to double up for a big chip-lead, and then won a race by spiking a king on the river to end it. Win #3 on the season, and the first at Overtyme.
2nd game was a strange game, seeing how loose a couple of players were. Just played a patient game, methodically chipped up, and somehow took 4th - but if not for a horrible river, probably cruise to another HU match. As it stands, I'll be #1 ranked at both Overtyme and Buckshots for the season once this week's games are updated into the system by Debbie (Tournament Director). 5 TOCs in 8 games at Overtyme - a ridiculous run for those fields!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Here's a hand showing what Douchebag Poker is really about
I only remember seeing a hand like the one I was involved in last night only once before in live poker (when I was at the Dino's game), so it's noteworthy enough for me to post here.
Blinds at 100-200, last hand of the level. UTG Loose-passive chaser raises to 1400, 2 folds to me, who looks down at Q-Q. I 3-bet to 3300, Loose-agressive player on button shoves all-in (has me covered), and small blind shoves for his last 7,000 or so. UTG original raiser just chuckles and mucks her cards, and with 11K back I have a decision to make here...on to the thought process:
First instinct is to muck my cards, since I am pretty sure I am behind...but to who? I initially discount the button, because I remember him 4-betting me off J-J with A-Q earlier this season. I have a pretty good idea I am behind the SB here, but with him having the shortest stack at risk, I am not too worried about that...since as long as I can beat the button I will basically stay even in chips. As I go a little more in the tank, I had a sense that I was really up against it here, and even said so at one time...something like, "Fukkkk, why do I think I have the 3rd best hand here?".
So, having the gut telling me how crushed I am, I look at the time, figure that if I go out here I can get home early and watch the football game from my couch, and I make the call. Yup, what do I see turned up: Button has A-A, SB has K-K...great, just as I suspected, yet I still made the call. Douchebag!
Flop of A-rag-rag puts the button seemingly way ahead, but with 3 spades on the board and me the only one holding one, I perk up here. Blank on turn is followed by a spade on the river for a monster suckout - and I let out a loud "WHOOOOOOOOOO!" after this. If you've played with me more than a couple of times, you know that I usually don't get terribly excited one way or another after these hands, so this was unusual, indeed.
Dave, the state champion in our league, didn't where any of us made any missteps here...but I kept saying that it really was a stupid call on my part, seeing how bad of shape I knew I was in. I explained the whole concept of "douchebag poker" - when you call knowing you are way behind, and you aren't getting the proper odds, and yet you call bets, anyways...and eventually suckout and win a hand you have no business being in. To the button's credit, he took the loss in as classy a manner as you could hope for - thanks, James, for not going off on me last night!
I did crack that, with 12 people left in the tourney, I hoped I finished better than 7th or something...and I guess you could say that I did. Chipped up my big stack consistently, until I got to heads-up...and after falling behind about 2-1, adjusted my game against the loose calling station I was against, and roared back to claim my second win in 10 games this season at Buckshots. One lucky hand, but solid play all-around.
Blinds at 100-200, last hand of the level. UTG Loose-passive chaser raises to 1400, 2 folds to me, who looks down at Q-Q. I 3-bet to 3300, Loose-agressive player on button shoves all-in (has me covered), and small blind shoves for his last 7,000 or so. UTG original raiser just chuckles and mucks her cards, and with 11K back I have a decision to make here...on to the thought process:
First instinct is to muck my cards, since I am pretty sure I am behind...but to who? I initially discount the button, because I remember him 4-betting me off J-J with A-Q earlier this season. I have a pretty good idea I am behind the SB here, but with him having the shortest stack at risk, I am not too worried about that...since as long as I can beat the button I will basically stay even in chips. As I go a little more in the tank, I had a sense that I was really up against it here, and even said so at one time...something like, "Fukkkk, why do I think I have the 3rd best hand here?".
So, having the gut telling me how crushed I am, I look at the time, figure that if I go out here I can get home early and watch the football game from my couch, and I make the call. Yup, what do I see turned up: Button has A-A, SB has K-K...great, just as I suspected, yet I still made the call. Douchebag!
Flop of A-rag-rag puts the button seemingly way ahead, but with 3 spades on the board and me the only one holding one, I perk up here. Blank on turn is followed by a spade on the river for a monster suckout - and I let out a loud "WHOOOOOOOOOO!" after this. If you've played with me more than a couple of times, you know that I usually don't get terribly excited one way or another after these hands, so this was unusual, indeed.
Dave, the state champion in our league, didn't where any of us made any missteps here...but I kept saying that it really was a stupid call on my part, seeing how bad of shape I knew I was in. I explained the whole concept of "douchebag poker" - when you call knowing you are way behind, and you aren't getting the proper odds, and yet you call bets, anyways...and eventually suckout and win a hand you have no business being in. To the button's credit, he took the loss in as classy a manner as you could hope for - thanks, James, for not going off on me last night!
I did crack that, with 12 people left in the tourney, I hoped I finished better than 7th or something...and I guess you could say that I did. Chipped up my big stack consistently, until I got to heads-up...and after falling behind about 2-1, adjusted my game against the loose calling station I was against, and roared back to claim my second win in 10 games this season at Buckshots. One lucky hand, but solid play all-around.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Who said you can't play for money online anymore?
In the United States, there's just not as many sites with solid traffic, so I'll take the occasional action where I can get it. Screw around on the low-limit SnGs and MTTs over at 5Dimes.com (I can't even tell you what network that site is on, sorry) on occasion when I'm not betting on gridiron action, and after cashing in 4 SnGs in a row, decided to enter the $5 buy-in, $150 guaranteed (LOL) tourney.
Surprising, 63 people entered, so made for a nice little pot for 12 of us to split up. 20% payouts? What is this, a PokerStars micro tourney? Anyways, played some very good poker, got fortunate when I needed to, and then this happened:
Always feels great to get a win, no matter how big the stakes are. Even better when you can say that you earned it!
Surprising, 63 people entered, so made for a nice little pot for 12 of us to split up. 20% payouts? What is this, a PokerStars micro tourney? Anyways, played some very good poker, got fortunate when I needed to, and then this happened:
Always feels great to get a win, no matter how big the stakes are. Even better when you can say that you earned it!
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