No Longer a Hobby? Check call it down or fold on river?

Terrible weekend. I lost 12 cents. Ok, that was from poker playing; but from my rakeback payment and a little Blackjack, I was up about $75. Not real good; but a winning weekend from a dollars perspective.

Well, for the first time in my 5 year online poker career, I have decided to start withdrawing money. I've always stated that this is just a hobby and didn't want to withdraw to change that; but I've decided to change that. Part of the reason is just to show Mrs Wonka that something tangible is coming from all of my poker playing which is again only about 1 hour a day. The second thing is we bought a new car and how cool would it be to have poker monies pay for a new car. Don't get me wrong, I don't have enough money online to pay for a new car; but I have enough to help with payments. Speaking of payments, how said it is to have a car payment. I've gotten used to not having one.

I am really getting the football itch as opening day is only a couple of weeks away. Fantasy drafts are happening so the fever is getting high. I still have to wait until a week from tomorrow until we have our draft. I'm going to have to start looking at the preseason stuff at some point. I've really on watched the Cowboys who are ready for their Super Bowl Run!!!

OK, for the hand of the day.

Villain is 32/29/6.0 over just 30 hands. Steals 100%.

Absolute Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/258477
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $19.50
MP1: $28.65
MP2: $53.50
CO: $97.05
BTN: $37.00
Hero (SB): $52.90
BB: $52.20
UTG: $28.50
UTG+1: $43.80

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with Th Kh
5 folds, CO raises to $1.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($3.50) Jd Tc 3c (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $2, Hero calls $2

Turn: ($7.50) 9c (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $5.50, Hero calls $5.50

River: ($18.50) 5s (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $16.50, Hero ??

My plan was to check call this down. Should I be giving up by the river? Should I be raising somewhere along the line (including preflop)?

Have a nice day!!!

non nut straight on flush board and C-Betting

A couple of things before I get to the hand.

I get to play golf tomorrow which is a rare occasion these days. I'm really looking forward to it. It's a scramble; but that is probably best for somebody who has only played a couple of times this year.

My 9 day winning session streak came to an end last night; albeit, it was only a $6 loss. Once I got my 200 pts, I went to watch some TV with Mrs Wonka with the plan of coming back to the tables after that; but as usual, fell asleep and didn't make it up. I still sit in the top 10 of the PL50 players according to Poker Table Ratings.

One quasi theme lately has been my propensity to NOT continuation bet. Looking at this month which is about 16500 hands, I am c-betting at a 54% clip. On the surface, that is probably a little low. One thing I have adopted; especially after my big losing streak towards the beginning of the year is a lower variance style of play. While it may not be optimal, it seems to work at these limits. At some point, I will need to get a little more aggression back into my game. Currently my Aggression Factor for the month is 2.02 which again is on the low side.

Also one reminder. I always go back to the previous days hands and put what my action was so in case you don't go back and look and was wandering how the hand played out, you can look at the comments from the previous day.

Now onto today's hand.

Villain is a 56/0/2.3 guy over only 32 hands (which was probably less than that during this hand).


Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/255308
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $22.00
BTN: $89.25
SB: $53.45
BB: $15.00
UTG: $107.35
UTG+1: $20.90
Hero (UTG+2): $147.50
MP1: $100.00
MP2: $118.95

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is UTG+2 with Th 9h
2 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, 1 fold, MP2 calls $3.50, 4 folds

Flop: ($8.50) Ad 8d Jh (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks

Turn: ($8.50) Qd (2 players)
Hero bets $5, MP2 calls $5

River: ($18.50) 5c (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $5, Hero ??

Again, no C-bet. I really have no idea why here. I then bet when the flush comes up and only get called. Now a harmless 5c comes on river. My first thought was to bet; but was trying to figure out what was going to call me that I beat. I decided to go the check/call route depending on the bet sizing. So he puts a small bet on the river. I'm obviously not folding to that bet; but does anybody put a raise in here? If so, what is your raise size? Do you fold to re-raise?

Have a good weekend!!!

What a difference an opponent makes

What a difference an opponent makes. In the hand below (which was one of my first ones of the night, by the way). I couldn't wait to get it all in.

He was a 89/56/3.4 guy over 37 hands.


Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/253746
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $149.60
Hero (SB): $100.00
BB: $100.00
UTG: $290.95
UTG+1: $195.50
UTG+2: $54.00
MP1: $55.10
MP2: $50.00
CO: $113.40

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is SB with 2d Ac
6 folds, BTN raises to $3, Hero raises to $10, 1 fold, BTN calls $7

Flop: ($21.00) 5h 4s As (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $7, Hero calls $7

Turn: ($35.00) Th (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $35, Hero calls $35

River: ($105.00) 9h (2 players)
Hero bets $48 all in, BTN calls $48

Of course, it didn't actually turn out the way that I wanted it to. The good news is that I got my stack back and more a few hands later when I hit a flush on the river and he hit a straight and he called the huge overbet. Sometimes, I really love No limit (as opposed to Pot Limit). I'll stick with PL though.

Now, on the other hand, I played the below hand with a good player.

He is a 14/6/3.4 over 9.6K hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/253750
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (MP2): $100.00
CO: $142.75
BTN: $93.75
SB: $100.00
BB: $120.15
UTG: $105.45
UTG+1: $23.00
MP1: $80.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is MP2 with As Ks
3 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, 3 folds, BB raises to $10, Hero calls $6.50

Flop: ($20.50) Kh Qs 7d (2 players)
BB bets $12, Hero calls $12

Turn: ($44.50) 5d (2 players)
BB bets $26, Hero ???

Now, this hand, I'm not so eager to stick it in. His range here has to be pretty tight when he fires a second bullet. What do you do? Also give me your thoughts on preflop. Obviously, I could have re-reaised; but I often opt with calling with position.

Have a nice day?

Tim Hawkins and

No real interesting hands last night. I started off bad with set over set and lost a few more; but ending getting my own set over set and came back and won 20.58 bb/100 over 589 hands so we have a happy ending.

As I believe I mentioned before, I had a really busy weekend. The last thing we did was get a babysitter and went out for dinner and a comedy show. The guy we saw was Tim Hakwins . I'm not one to really roll over laugh; but I had tears from laughing so hard. The opening guy was funny as well. One of the things he does is redo songs ala Weird Al. This video below just came out yesterday and is pretty good. I was surprised to see that is was on the "what's being watched" list on YouTube.




I have not intent getting all political on here, I just thought it was funny.

Have a nice day!!!

Losing value on limiting losses

I finished up $8 yesterday. Wahoo!!!


Villain was 22/13/2.8 guy over 28K hands. Regular winning player.

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/251205
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $123.55
CO: $129.05
BTN: $105.50
Hero (SB): $138.80
BB: $66.00
UTG: $100.00
UTG+1: $91.65
MP1: $229.65

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is SB with Ad Ks
UTG raises to $3.50, 1 fold, MP1 calls $3.50, 3 folds, Hero raises to $15, 2 folds, MP1 requests TIME, MP1 calls $11.50

Flop: ($34.50) 6h Kd Qc (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks

Turn: ($34.50) 7c (2 players)
Hero bets $19, MP1 calls $19

River: ($72.50) 8c (2 players)
Hero ????

I really have no idea where I'm at on this one. What's your play here and how much if you are betting?

Have a nice day!!!

Thanks for not stacking me and Hit my set, now what do I do?

I had a so so weekend pokerwise. Otherwise, it was on of my busiest weekends on record. Nothing real exciting, just constant stuff. Pokerwise, it was a winning weekend online so I can be thankful for that. A 4.99 bb/100 is always better than a negative bb/100.

This first hand idea is stolen from Bruechips Thanks for not Stacking Me, Bro! (Part xx). Brue, if I owe you and copyright royalties, let me know.


Villain in this hand is a 13/2/1.5 guy over 45 hands.

Absolute Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/250072
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $57.15
BTN: $25.55
SB: $88.30
Hero (BB): $60.40
UTG: $19.40
UTG+1: $67.15
MP: $96.36

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with Ac Qc
2 folds, MP raises to $1.75, 3 folds, Hero calls $1.25

Flop: ($3.75) Kh 7s Qd (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $2, Hero calls $2

Turn: ($7.75) Qh (2 players)
Hero checks, MP checks

River: ($7.75) 3c (2 players)
Hero bets $5.75, MP raises to $16, Hero calls $10.25

Final Pot: $39.75
Hero mucks Ac Qc
MP shows Kc Ks (Full house, kings full of queens)
MP wins $37.30
(Rake: $2.45)

I'm not positive; but I probably would have got it in; especially on the turn.

This next hand, I was a little confused on what to do after hitting my set.

Villain is a 27/15/2.5 guy over 74 hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/250073
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $51.25
BB: $50.25
UTG: $49.50
UTG+1: $39.80
MP: $10.50
CO: $9.25
BTN: $67.45

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with Qh Qc
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $1.75, 3 folds, Hero raises to $5.75, BB raises to $9.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $4

Flop: ($21.25) Tc Qd Js (2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks

Turn: ($21.25) 4s (2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks

River: ($21.25) 7s (2 players)
Hero ??

OK. I hit my set. AK is obviously a huge part of villains range so I check and checks behind. Of course AK might check behind. So I check again and he checks again. OK, my set is probably good. How much do you bet? If you are betting? Is everybody betting here? Does anybody donk out on flop? If so, if he raises or pushes, am I forced to fold?

Have a nice day!!1

Oh well Fold and Nice Flop, Not so nice Turn

I've been having disconnect issues on Full Tilt again. I just wish I knew if it was my connections or issues with the software again. It stinks, I will tell you that.

Two hands today.

MP1 is 71/33/2.0 over 22 hands
MP2 is a 14/7/3.1 over 21K hands He 3 bets 2.1%, CBets 71% Folds to 4 bet 33%


Hand #1
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/246991
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $54.25
SB: $100.00
BB: $183.25
Hero (UTG): $100.00
UTG+1: $60.50
UTG+2: $18.10
MP1: $122.35
MP2: $106.00
CO: $102.65

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is UTG with Qh Qd
Hero raises to $3.50, 2 folds, MP1 raises to $6, MP2 raises to $23, Hero??

Is this an obvious isolation move by steady regular against a loose player?

What's best here, call? raise? fold? What's better than what?


Villain is 71/14/3.5 over 7 whole hands.

Hand #2
Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/246992
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $70.25
Hero (CO): $50.50
BTN: $50.00
SB: $28.25
BB: $10.00
UTG: $86.80
UTG+1: $48.60
MP1: $52.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with Qs Js
4 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, 1 fold, SB calls $1.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($4.00) Kh Ah Tc (2 players)
SB bets $0.50, Hero raises to $3, SB calls $2.50

Turn: ($10.00) Th (2 players)
SB bets $3, Hero calls $3

River: ($16.00) 9s (2 players)
SB bets $16, Hero ??

SB only has $4 more after this bet. Do I just raise and cross my fingers? Call? Fold?

What about turn?

Have a good weekend!!

Inauspicious Start to League and an Aces Hand

Well, Well. A rather inauspicious start to my Monthly Poker League. I'm not really sure what that means; but I used to always hear Al Michaels say it on Monday Night Football and it was never a good thing for the team that he was talking about. Of of 36 Players, I finished 25th for the 2nd straight time. Last night, I did the old fold when I should be calling and calling when I should be folding. That never bodes well for your results.

I did play with Mike Eise last night. He is the guy from the league who won a bracelet in Vegas this year. At the end it was losing another big coin toss that did me in. I only had KT; but I was against Mike Eise's poket 8s and somebody elses mid pocket pair. Mike, being the expert player that he was flopped a set. I picked up a straight draw on the turn; but Mike rivered quads to send me home.

Anyway, here is a quick aces hand. What to do on river?

Villain is a fishy 73/3/0.9 over 73 hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/246058
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $45.45
CO: $39.70
BTN: $7.25
Hero (SB): $59.30
BB: $15.60
UTG: $135.05
UTG+1: $50.00
MP1: $65.65

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with Ah Ad
1 fold, UTG+1 requests TIME, 3 folds, CO calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $2, 1 fold, CO calls $1.50

Flop: ($4.50) 4s 6d 3h (2 players)
Hero bets $4, CO calls $4

Turn: ($12.50) 4c (2 players)
Hero bets $10, CO calls $10

River: ($32.50) 5h (2 players)
Hero ???

I don't think I'm ever folding against this guy; but do I go the check/call route for a possible cheap showdown or bet out route for thin value?

Have a nice day

winning Perspective and a couple of 200PL hands

OK, so I think I am having a pretty good month; but then I look at Poker Table Ratings and see that Durrrr won almost 2 Million dollars yesterday and the guy he was playing lost around 2.5 Million. I can't remember his name; but something like maturnas. Yep, that puts things in perspective a bit.

Like I have mentioned before, I am play a little 200PL as they are available. They aren't going very often; but when they I do, I am playing. This first hand I misclicked and open limped from the cutoff (Yikes!!! can you say fish?). Anyway, a solid regular raises from sb. Here's the hand.

BTW, his stats are 22/13/2.9 over 3.6K hands.
He squeezes (even this isn't a squeeze situation) 3% and CBets 77%
There is a stat called Fold CB to Raise which is 47%. Is this him folding to a raise after he cbets?

Hand #1
Full Tilt Poker $1/$2 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/240710
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $143.00
MP1: $353.60
MP2: $171.50
Hero (CO): $372.20
BTN: $309.10
SB: $200.00
BB: $209.15
UTG: $408.00
UTG+1: $205.00

Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is CO with 6s 6h
5 folds, Hero calls $2, BTN calls $2, SB raises to $10, 1 fold, Hero calls $8, BTN calls $8

Flop: ($32.00) 9s Td 9c (3 players)
SB bets $21, Hero calls $21, BTN folds

Turn: ($74.00) Kh (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($74.00) Js (2 players)
SB checks, Hero ???

I'm ok with the preflop call. Flop is up for discussion? Do I bet here on the river?

Hand #2

This hand played somewhat standardly if it were lower limits; but give me your thoughts.

Villain stats are 26/7/2.5 over 42 hands.
Goes to showdown 42% over this small sample and wins 60% at showdown


Full Tilt Poker $1/$2 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/240711
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $158.20
UTG+2: $163.00
MP1: $197.20
Hero (MP2): $200.00
CO: $52.10
BTN: $181.80
SB: $188.20
BB: $500.70
UTG: $200.00

Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is MP2 with Qh Qs
UTG raises to $7, UTG+1 calls $7, 2 folds, Hero raises to $31, 4 folds, UTG calls $24, UTG+1 calls $24

Flop: ($96.00) 2d 5h 7c (3 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $60, UTG folds, UTG+1 calls $60

Turn: ($216.00) 9h (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $67.20 all in, Hero ???

It seems like our 3 choices are (not necessarily in any order):

A) Set
B) Bluff
C) Smaller Pair

I didn't put AA or KK on here as I was thinking during the hand that most likely (especially at the higher limits than I usually play), that anybody would play aces or kings this way.
Anyway, pot is pretty big, do you have to call?

Have a nice day!!!

I guess you can't win everybday and is Villan being tricky?

Unfortunately, you just can't win everyday. It does seem that I have a losing day everytime I mention have a winning day or days. Coincidence? I think not.

Anybody watch 2 Months, 2 Million? I wouldn't say it was great; but it was a good first show and set a few things. I'm looking forward to watching.

One thing I failed to mention yesterday maybe even more amazing than Tiger losing was Bolt breaking the world record again in the 100 meters shaving .11 seconds off of the record. Amazing.

Here is a spot from yesterday where I was check raised from a rockish type player. He then checks to me. What do you do?

The villain's stats are 13/7/2.4 over 12K hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/237408
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $9.25
BTN: $67.40
SB: $9.95
BB: $59.30
UTG: $19.50
UTG+1: $50.00
UTG+2: $13.10
Hero (MP1): $50.95
MP2: $10.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP1 with Jd Jh
UTG calls $0.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $2.25, 2 folds, BTN calls $2.25, 1 fold, BB calls $1.75, 1 fold

Flop: ($7.50) 8c 9h 5h (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $4.50, BTN folds, BB raises to $12.50, Hero calls $8

Turn: ($32.50) 2d (2 players)
BB checks, Hero ??

Do we check behind here? Bet? If so, how much? What hands to we put him on? Flush or straight draw?

Have a nice day!!!

Shocked, profitable weekend and another OBFV call?

Is anybody else shocked that Tiger lost the PGA Championship? I know I am. Even after Yang chipped in for Eagle, I was still pretty confident that Tiger would make the big shot or putt. Instead, it was Yang making the big shots. Oh well, the streak had to end sometime. I'm sure that Tiger will somehow get by.

A rare profitable weekend for me. I mixed in some 200PL this weekend when it was running. So far, it doesn't seem too much different. Of course, I have gotten lucky so far. I hit a set once against AK on an Ace high board. I flopped top two pair against a guy that flopped top and bottom. I made a hero call against a LAGgy type guy. I don't expect my 58.9 bb/100 win rate to continue at that level, LOL.

This one goes into the better to be lucky than good category.

I was intending to raise on another table when this table gained focus on me and it raised on this table. One bad thing with Absolute Poker is that don't auto load your table to 100 big blinds so sometimes I'm a little behind on changing the amount I'm sitting with.

Absolute Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/236510
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $48.70
MP1: $20.20
Hero (MP2): $38.35
CO: $31.68
BTN: $20.50
SB: $11.80
BB: $53.58
UTG: $98.75

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP2 with 5c 6c
UTG calls $0.50, 1 fold, MP1 raises to $2.25, Hero raises to $10, 5 folds, MP1 calls $7.75

Flop: ($21.25) 5h 2s Tc (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $21.25, MP1 calls $10.20 all in

Turn: ($41.65) 6s (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($41.65) Jc (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $41.65
MP1 shows Kh Kd (One pair, kings)
Hero shows 5c 6c (Two Pair, sixes and fives)
Hero wins $39.10
(Rake: $2.55)


And finally a hand against a bad player.

He was a 69/15/2.7 over just 13 hands. This is probably a an easy call; but just wanted to check. It's a big bet some I have to at least take some time and think about it.

Absolute Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/236520
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $100.50
MP1: $111.75
Hero (MP2): $86.75
CO: $197.05
BTN: $155.50
SB: $207.02
BB: $135.61
UTG: $41.80
UTG+1: $64.68

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is MP2 with Ac Kc
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $1, 2 folds, Hero raises to $4.50, 1 fold, BTN raises to $9, 3 folds, Hero calls $4.50

Flop: ($20.50) 3d Ah 7d (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: ($20.50) 2c (2 players)
Hero bets $12, BTN raises to $146.50 all in, Hero ??

Have a nice day!!

Playing Bonusless and too tricky on river

Thanks to Full tilt for the $800 of bonuses this month. Every time I think about starting to play on other sites, FTP comes out with some promotion to keep me grinding there. One of the only reasons that I look to play on other sites is the rewards store. PokerStars is better than FTP. Absolute Poker is better than both. Now, I only get rakeback on AP. Speaking of rakeback and bonus, I can't tell that the $600 Affected MGR at all so it may have been a TRUE $600 bonus. It looks like the "best bonus ever" did count towards MGR. These are just guesses looking at my rakeback stats.

It seems strange not playing with bonuses now.


Here is a hand that I tried to get tricky on the river.

Villain is a 14/7/3.2 guy over 21K hands. He is a regular and a winning player.

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/232852
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (MP2): $100.00
CO: $103.75
BTN: $199.45
SB: $18.45
BB: $163.80
UTG: $100.00
UTG+1: $39.60
MP1: $100.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is MP2 with Qd Ac
2 folds, MP1 raises to $3.50, Hero calls $3.50, CO calls $3.50, 3 folds

Flop: ($12.00) 6c Td Jc (3 players)
MP1 checks, Hero checks, CO bets $8, MP1 folds, Hero calls $8

Turn: ($28.00) Kh (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $18, Hero raises to $45, CO calls $27

River: ($118.00) 2c (2 players)
Hero checks, CO ???

I won't say what the CO does right at the moment. What is CO calling on the turn with? My thoughts on the hand was that the flush got there so two things could happen. He would bet with the flush and I would have to decide based on bet amount; but the plan was to check/call or it gives him the opportunity to bluff and represent the flush. Again, this guy is a regular and capable of doing this. If I push on the river, what kind of hands are calling me? Certainly a flopped set. A flush obviously calls me. 2 pair is not likely. Anyway, give me your thoughts.

Have a nice day!!!

More explanation to Hand #1, Odds call? OBFV?

Yesterday, I posted this hand:


Villain is 23/14/inf over 44 hands.

Hand #1
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/229516
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $126.95
BTN: $111.55
Hero (SB): $178.00
BB: $201.15
UTG: $74.55
UTG+1: $100.00
MP1: $41.35
MP2: $102.30

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is SB with 9d 9h
5 folds, BTN raises to $3, Hero calls $2.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($7.00) Ad Qd 9s (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $4, Hero calls $4

Turn: ($15.00) Td (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $7, Hero calls $7

River: ($29.00) 6s (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $20, Hero folds

I don't remember where I read it, it might have been Gnome; but the gist is why get the chips in as a 60/40 fav when you can get them in as a 75% fav. As it turned out, one of the scare cards that I didn't want to see turned up. Now, of course, all the chips weren't going in a this point.
I don't know. It just seemed closer than everybody is saying.

The next hand is a small inconsequential hand; but since I'm not really a math guy is this an easy call getting 2 to 1? Villain is a 45/20/3.3 guy over just 56 hands. 3bets 5.3%

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/230933
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $19.50
UTG+1: $100.00
UTG+2: $222.90
MP1: $60.00
MP2: $100.00
Hero (CO): $116.80
BTN: $110.00
SB: $19.00
BB: $14.60

MP2 posts a big blind ($1)

Pre Flop: ($2.50) Hero is CO with Th Qh
4 folds, MP2 checks, Hero raises to $4.50, 2 folds, BB raises to $14.60 all in, 1 fold, Hero ??


And finally, this hand.

One thing for sure when you are playing 12 tables, you don't always play hands optimally and can be put into some tough spots. This is against the same guy as above.

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/230934
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $100.00
CO: $231.70
BTN: $62.75
SB: $94.50
Hero (BB): $112.30
UTG: $106.50
UTG+1: $15.50
MP1: $28.25

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with Kh 9d
2 folds, MP1 calls $1, 3 folds, SB calls $0.50, Hero checks

Flop: ($3.00) Kd 7c 9c (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2, MP1 calls $2, SB folds

Turn: ($7.00) Th (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $4, Hero calls $4

River: ($15.00) 5s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $21.25 all in, Hero ??

I meant to c/r the turn; but since I didn't do you call against this apparent meaningless river card?

Have a nice day!!!

Two Tough Folds and I just can't fold anymore

Yet another roller coaster ride ending up with me winning a little bit under one buyin (17.90 bb/100) over 839 hands in 1.3 hours.

For some reason, I was finding the fold button last night which is never terrible. It may not always be the best or right play; but psychologically, it can certainly help. Losing a little is a whole better than losing a lot and "maybe" winning a lot. Sometimes the maybe isn't worth it.

First, I'm going to show the 1st two folds and then the last one where I couldn't do it. Please note that all 3 of these hands happened within 5 minutes of each other.

Villain is 23/14/inf over 44 hands.

Hand #1
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/229516
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $126.95
BTN: $111.55
Hero (SB): $178.00
BB: $201.15
UTG: $74.55
UTG+1: $100.00
MP1: $41.35
MP2: $102.30

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is SB with 9d 9h
5 folds, BTN raises to $3, Hero calls $2.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($7.00) Ad Qd 9s (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $4, Hero calls $4

Turn: ($15.00) Td (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $7, Hero calls $7

River: ($29.00) 6s (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $20, Hero folds

Why the call on the flop? I wanted to see the turn before I decide on getting the chips in the middle. The scary turn card sealed my deal.

Same villain as above.

Hand #2
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/229517
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $125.45
MP1: $123.85
MP2: $97.65
Hero (CO): $127.00
BTN: $201.15
SB: $65.00
BB: $100.00
UTG: $42.85
UTG+1: $78.50

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is CO with Ad Ac
4 folds, MP2 raises to $3, Hero raises to $10.50, 3 folds, MP2 calls $7.50

Flop: ($22.50) 6d 4s Jh (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets $15, MP2 raises to $35, Hero requests TIME, Hero folds

This one just didn't smell right. I'm not real sure why I am giving this villain so much credit.

Villain in this hand is 29/6/4.5 over 64 hands.

Hand #3
Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/229518
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $125.45
UTG+1: $123.85
UTG+2: $113.05
Hero (MP1): $101.50
MP2: $201.15
CO: $74.55
BTN: $100.00
SB: $41.85
BB: $78.50

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is MP1 with As Ad
3 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, 4 folds, BB raises to $10, Hero calls $6.50

Flop: ($20.50) Jh 8d Jd (2 players)
BB bets $13, Hero raises to $46, BB raises to $68.50 all in, Hero calls $22.50

Turn: ($157.50) Tc (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($157.50) Qd (2 players - 1 is all in)

I don't always 4 bet with Aces... especially in position against an aggressive guy. He cbet 100%

Thoughts?

Have a nice day!!

Bet Sizing on the End

So I watched the 2nd Face the Ace. Truthfully, I think the show has some potential; but something has to change. Watching that guy "lose" 200K was pretty sad to see. I felt bad for him.

I also watched Inside Deal on Espn.com. They interviewed Chris Moneymaker. It was put together pretty good and it worth a watch.

Well, I guess tight passive can work sometimes.

My stats last night were:

16.6/8.5/1.13 over 584 hands
I won 20.19 bb/100
3 bet 3.8%
Flop Cbet only 39%
Hitting sets 16.7% didn't hurt.

In this hands, I have the nuts and I am getting bet into. How much do you raise? Would a shove really get called? This was a No Limit game as opposed to my usual Pot Limit.

Villain is 43/15/2.9 over 357 hands


Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/227695
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $241.15
UTG+1: $255.50
MP: $293.55
CO: $98.50
Hero (BTN): $121.40
SB: $134.80
BB: $100.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BTN with Js As
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $2, 2 folds, Hero raises to $7.50, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls $5.50

Flop: ($16.50) 3s Ts 2s (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $10, UTG+1 calls $10

Turn: ($36.50) 4h (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $23, UTG+1 calls $23

River: ($82.50) Qd (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $10, Hero raises ??

Have a nice day!!!!

Did I get what I deserverd or did I get lucky?

Up and down weekend that actually ended up on the positive side so I have that going for me.

Did I get what I deserved on this hand. Calling on button with KQo is hardly ever a winning proposition. The decision here was to take my losses and fold the river and call the river and see if I got lucky.

The villain in this hand is a 20/2/.7 guy over 566 hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/226481
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BTN): $100.00
SB: $90.30
BB: $124.45
UTG: $42.10
UTG+1: $114.10
UTG+2: $96.80
MP1: $112.65
MP2: $100.00
CO: $111.20

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BTN with Ks Qd
4 folds, MP2 raises to $3.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $3.50, SB calls $3, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($14.00) 6s 5c Kh (4 players)
SB bets $7, BB folds, MP2 folds, Hero calls $7

Turn: ($28.00) 6c (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $16, SB calls $16

River: ($60.00) Jd (2 players)
SB bets $16, Hero ??

Is this a big value bet or little bluff?

Coolers and Bad Beats, such joy.. Turn Decision

I just always follow the same pattern. Win 3 or 4 buyins over the course of a couple of days and then blow it all in one day on various types of beats. Coolers, Bad Beats and Bad Plays.. Dang

Here was a turn decision against a good player.

Villain is 15/12/9.5 over 325 hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/222659
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $30.45
UTG+1: $100.40
MP1: $25.00
MP2: $80.80
CO: $53.75
Hero (BTN): $55.50
SB: $25.00
BB: $130.00

MP1 posts a big blind ($0.50)

Pre Flop: ($1.00) Hero is BTN with Kc Jc
3 folds, MP1 checks, MP2 raises to $2, 1 fold, Hero calls $2, 2 folds

What about the call her on BTN? Is raising better? MP2 folds to 3bets 80%.

Flop: ($5.00) Jd Td 2h (2 players)
MP2 bets $3, Hero calls $3

Turn: ($11.00) 3s (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets $6, MP2 raises to $16, Hero ???

One stat I didn't see until now is this villain check raises 50% on turn (only 3 times out of 6 opportunities). Does that change your decision?

Have a good weekend!!!

Pick another day to fight?

I never know which way to go while playing a hand with a crazy guy.

Villain was 29/13/25 over 84 hands.

Part of me says go to the felt with this hand and part of me says to wait for better spots. What do you do?



Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/221252
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $138.90
UTG: $83.25
UTG+1: $47.05
Hero (MP1): $116.15
MP2: $54.70
CO: $110.85
BTN: $125.50
SB: $18.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is MP1 with As Ad
UTG calls $1, 1 fold, Hero raises to $4.50, 5 folds, UTG calls $3.50

Flop: ($10.50) 9c 9h 8h (2 players)
UTG bets $10.50, Hero calls $10.50

Turn: ($31.50) 6d (2 players)
UTG bets $31.50, Hero ???


One note.. this was his first and only donk bet that I had recorded on him. Very easily could be a draw.

Have a nice day!!

Cheap Showdown?

I fell asleep during the WSOP last night so it must not have been too exciting.

Just a note about the hands I have been posting. I do always go back to the comments at the end of the day to tell what I did and how the hand ended up.

Here's another hand that I massacred. I know everybody hates seeing overcards get flopped when you have a high pair; but at some point, you probably need to push until pushed back.

Here is the hand:

Villain is 62/17/1.0 over 30 hands

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/219551
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $22.25
MP2: $82.75
CO: $206.70
BTN: $100.00
SB: $128.30
BB: $179.70
Hero (UTG): $104.55
UTG+1: $100.00

CO posts a big blind ($1)

Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is UTG with Qd Qc
Hero raises to $5, 5 folds, SB calls $4.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($12.50) 8s 6c Kh (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($12.50) 5h (2 players)
SB bets $6.25, Hero calls $6.25

River: ($25.00) 2s (2 players)
SB bets $5, Hero calls $5

Thoughts? Obviously the flop is the problem. Let me know what your flop plans would be and what your turn plans would be if he flat called a 2/3 bet on flop.

Have a nice day!!

Pot Control?

I decided to play pot control on this one. Agree or Disagree?

Villain was 35/19/5.4 over 880 hands

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/218189
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (UTG): $142.85
UTG+1: $118.35
MP: $99.00
CO: $108.85
BTN: $20.00
SB: $32.50
BB: $18.50

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is UTG with Ts As
Hero raises to $3.50, 4 folds, SB raises to $6, 1 fold, Hero calls $2.50

Flop: ($13.00) Jd 7c Ac (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($13.00) 3s (2 players)
SB bets $3, Hero calls $3

River: ($19.00) 4s (2 players)
SB checks, Hero ??

Have a nice day!!

Face the Ace and Multi Street Problem

So I watched the first Face the Ace. While I love the concept of the show, the host was terrible. Why not make Ali Nejad the host instead of him just coming out every once in a while to describe the answer. I'll keep watching; but I don't think the show will on very long.

What a terrible weekend. The cards just didn't fall and when they did fall, it wasn't good enough. I did have some winning big hands; but for the most part, things could have been better. Thankfully for you, I won't go into details. I even got to play golf this weekend and it rained the back nine. Dang!!!!

Here is a hand from the weekend where there where multi street options

Stats for villains are below

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/217075
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $237.40
UTG+1: $125.10 16/13/4.5 1.7K hands
UTG+2: $21.70
Hero (MP1): $102.60
MP2: $48.65 29/14/2.1 805 hands
CO: $19.85
BTN: $79.15 31/11/1.7 491 hands
SB: $157.55
BB: $39.00 17/4/inf 54 hands

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is MP1 with 8c 9c
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $3, 1 fold, Hero calls $3, MP2 calls $3, 1 fold, BTN calls $3, 1 fold, BB calls $2

Problem #1:

This was a pretty loose call. As I recall, the table was fairly passive. Ultimately, I decided to call and hope to get other people to come along. The problem here was there were 3 people that followed that had "squeezy" tendencies. Well, I guess it worked out as it ended up 5 handed.


Flop: ($15.50) Tc Qh Jd (5 players)
BB checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero checks, MP2 checks, BTN checks

Problem #2:

Shazam. What to do? Is anybody afraid of AK? Pot Control? The pot is probably big enough to bet out? Thoughts?

Turn: ($15.50) 2c (5 players)
BB checks, UTG+1 bets $8, Hero calls $8, MP2 calls $8, BTN folds, BB folds

Problem #3:

Ok.. Now I get my flush draw. I'm still wondering about AK; but should I be raising here? No way I'm folding obviously.

River: ($39.50) Qc (3 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks, MP2 bets $37.65 all in, UTG+1 folds, Hero requests TIME, Hero ??

Problem #4:

Great!! I hit my flush. I checked? Should I be betting? Now, MP2 pushes, should I be calling?

I played this hand pretty bad. Perhaps I got lucky at the end to hit my flush or maybe not. I'll post results later in the day in the comments.

Have a nice day!!!

Sometimes you just have to wonder about the RNG

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/213978
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $24.25
SB: $34.15
BB: $14.15
UTG: $50.00
Hero (UTG+1): $50.75
UTG+2: $50.00
MP1: $24.15
MP2: $0.50
CO: $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with 2d 3h
UTG raises to $1.75, 5 folds, BTN raises to $3, 2 folds, UTG raises to $9.75, BTN calls $6.75

Flop: ($20.25) Td Ah Th (2 players)
UTG bets $20.25, BTN calls $14.50 all in

Turn: ($49.25) Ad (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($49.25) Ac (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $49.25
BTN shows Ts Tc (four of a kind, Tens)
UTG shows Kc As (four of a kind, Aces)
UTG wins $46.80
(Rake: $2.45)



No comment as I wear my TFH