Shell Shocked (aka Bubble Boy)

I don't play many tournaments; but I decided to concentrate and only play 2 tables. The Big Game and the Big Game Mulligan.

Big Game... 7 Pay.. 1st place is 1,284.78. We are on the bubble. All in Preflop. I have KK vs AQ. Ace on the Turn and I am out on the bubble in 6th place.

Big Game Mulligan. 3 pay. 1st place $500. We are on the Bubble. All in Preflop QQ vs AKs. Runner Runner clubs for Smokee and I am out on the bubble (4th) AGAIN!!!!!!

I can't remember feeling this shell shocked in a long, long time.

How Not to play pocket eights

I had a good session yesterday mostly on a few good hands towards the end of the day. I'll still take it.

Looking at my stats, the blinds continue to me my biggest problem. Of course, it is not unusual to lose money in the blinds; but I believe that I am losing too much and need to work on that. I've started a 3 part video on Holdem Manager from Stoxpoker by Jason Ho. Hopefully, that will help a little bit.

Speaking of the blinds, here is how not to play a mid pocket pair from the blinds.

The villain in BB is a 12/8/4.3 player over 2.1K hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/136814
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $50.00
CO: $29.95
BTN: $81.95
Hero (SB): $50.75
BB: $55.30
UTG: $24.10
UTG+1: $90.70
UTG+2: $49.05
MP1: $58.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with 8h 8s
6 folds, BTN calls $0.50, Hero calls $0.25, BB checks

Flop: ($1.50) 6s 7d 2d (3 players)
Hero bets $1.50, BB raises to $6, BTN folds, Hero calls $4.50

Turn: ($13.50) 9s (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $10.40, Hero calls $10.40

River: ($34.30) 2h (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $21.95, Hero ??

Does the BB have a set? two pair? Is there anything here that I beat? Thoughts on the hand?

Have a nice day!

A Tale of Two Tournies

Later in the year, I am going to be doing a monthly WSOP tourney thing with 32 people including our St Louis Blog Buddy, Jamyhawk. He is actually heading out to the WSOP soon to try his luck due to this monthly game. Best of luck to you Jamy.

Anyway, I don't play live very much anymore so I decided to head down to Harrahs for their daily $40 tourney. As an aside, how much of the $40 goes to the tourney? Any guesses? I'll leave the answer in the comments at a later time. Anyway, there were 90 players and to make a longer story short, we got down to 2 tables where I proceeded to lose to coin flips, one with the pair and one with the over cards and I go out in 13th. Ten people paid.. Dang.

Conversely, I played in the Mook last night and was one of the first ones out when I get set over setted. Truthfully, I should not have called the reraise preflop with pocket sixes; but I was tilting a bit.. see below.

After I lost the tourney, I wondered over to the Blackjack pit. I had won $100 there last week and thought I would try my luck again. Down to my last $10 bet, I build it back to $100, 3 straight 21's for the dealer including a hand where I split and doubled more than doomed me and I lost the hundo as well. I did win $20 playing 1/2 so I have that going for me.

After that I was heading towards the exit and somehow gravitated over to the craps table. I had about $25o on me and was thinking about it. There was definitely a couple of high rollers there (now that we don't have loss limits in Missouri). He would start by spreading $235 over all the numbers and put down something like $15 on the pass line and then putting odds on top of that for a couple hundy. He just kept building his number bets as they hit (sorry, I don't know the terminology). There were a couple of good rolls and this guy was just raking it in. In fact, they brought out the pumpkin chips for him ($500 chips). At one point, he had to have over $2,000 on the table. After the 2nd crapped out, I almost said, I'll do what he is doing... only greatly minimized; but it was getting late in the afternoon and I needed to leave.

One thing we talked about was the tale of the person in Atlantic City who had one roll that lasted 4 or 5 hours. That is incredible. This guy at Harrah's said he would have easily made 2 or 3 million dollars on that roll with the AC stakes. I actually believe him after watching how he was betting. Of course, I didn't understand what he was doing; but it was fun to watch.

So I went home a loser for that day. Oh well.

Here is the hand that put me on tilt.

The villain here was a 76/37/4.3 over 167 hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/136231
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BTN): $50.00
SB: $109.25
BB: $54.25
UTG: $66.90
UTG+1: $149.15
MP1: $82.05
MP2: $50.00
CO: $55.20

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with Ac Kc
2 folds, MP1 calls $0.50, MP2 raises to $2.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $2.50, 2 folds, MP1 calls $2

Flop: ($8.25) Td 6c Kh (3 players)
MP1 bets $1.50, MP2 folds, Hero raises to $4.50, MP1 calls $3

Turn: ($17.25) Kd (2 players)
MP1 bets $2.50, Hero raises to $8, MP1 calls $5.50

River: ($33.25) 3d (2 players)
MP1 bets $33.25, Hero calls $33.25

Final Pot: $99.75
Hero mucks Ac Kc
MP1 shows 3h 3c (a full house, Threes full of Kings)
MP1 wins $96.75
(Rake: $3.00)

I got some of it back from him; but not near all of it.

Dang!

Queens, Have a nice day!!

Break even and dealing with a habitual squeezer

After about 39 hands, I found myself up almost 2 buyins; but as usual, reality set in.

Here is a hand dealing with a habitual squeezer.

BB (the squeezer) is a 46/20/1.7 who squeezes 16% which is very high.
SB is a 38/0/inf over just 10 hands.
Button is a 12/9/4.0 guy over 7.3K hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/135321
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $50.00
BTN: $50.00
SB: $17.05
BB: $47.75
UTG: $51.80
Hero (UTG+1): $55.45
MP: $49.25

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with Ac 9c
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.75, 2 folds, BTN calls $1.75, SB calls $1.50, BB raises to $9, Hero raises to $30.50

Truthfully, A9s from EP is probably not the best hand to open with; but against this table, I was ok with it. I get 2 callers and then the BB puts in a pretty sizable squeeze. I am almost always ahead of this kind of player so I decided to repop it. Thoughts?


Have a nice day!!!

1 on 3.2 Million Chance and Bad Weekend

What are the odds of flopping a set of kings in two consecutive hands at the same table. That's one in 3.2 million. Yikes, I should have bought a lottery ticket that day. The odds supplied by our friendly neighborhood twoplustwo poker forum.

The first hand I had an interesting decision to make.

Villain is a 32/3/1.3 over just 34 hands.

Full Tilt p0ker $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/132671
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BTN): $50.00
SB: $48.50
BB: $44.60
UTG: $54.90
UTG+1: $41.10
UTG+2: $54.55
MP1: $42.65
MP2: $52.85
CO: $60.35

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with Kh Kc
2 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.50, MP1 calls $0.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $2.75, 2 folds, UTG+2 calls $2.25, MP1 calls $2.25

Flop: ($9.00) 9s Ks Tc (3 players)
UTG+2 bets $3, MP1 folds, Hero raises to $11.50, UTG+2 calls $8.50

Turn: ($32.00) Js (2 players)
UTG+2 bets $11.50, Hero ??

Can I just call? Or do I push and pray? Or just fold.

The second hand, I took it down with a continuation bet.

-------------

For the most part, the weekend was pretty bad. I lost a little over 3 1/2 buyins. According to the Allin EV calculations (which don't really take everything into consideration), I should have about broke even.





Here is a chart.







Have a nice day!!!

Losing Value if you don't bet?

Yesterday was one of those bad to worse days. Lost a few hands right away to start off in the red. I made my way back to the positive; but then proceeded to lose 5 buyins only to make about 3 of them back.

Part of the problem and it seems to be an ongoing problem is losing value; especially on river bets. Here are two hands where I tried to figure out if I should be betting / raising on river.

Villain is 49/1/6.8 guy over 70 hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/130088
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $89.40
BB: $70.40
UTG: $53.95
UTG+1: $109.75
UTG+2: $56.00
MP1: $150.45
MP2: $53.15
CO: $50.40
Hero (BTN): $73.75

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with Jd 9d
5 folds, CO calls $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, SB calls $0.25, BB checks

Flop: ($2.00) 6d Ac 5d (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, CO bets $2, Hero calls $2, SB raises to $8, BB folds, CO folds, Hero calls $6

Turn: ($20.00) 6s (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($20.00) Td (2 players)
SB bets $12, Hero ??

Calling or Raising?


Hand #2

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/130091
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $101.50
MP1: $50.00
MP2: $125.85
CO: $53.30
BTN: $45.55
SB: $76.15
Hero (BB): $50.00
UTG: $38.40

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with 4h 4d
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $1.75, 5 folds, Hero calls $1.25

Flop: ($3.75) Js 4s 8s (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $3, Hero calls $3

Turn: ($9.75) 7d (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $7.50, Hero calls $7.50

River: ($24.75) Kh (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $21, Hero ??

Calling or Raising or Folding?

Have a nice day!!!

AI Shoulda Woulda Coulda and more river decisions

Ah man!!! I should have bet on Chris Allen to win American Idol like I had mentioned in a few posts early on. 8-1 would have been a nice price to get. Again, I'm not shocked that he won and quite frankly expected him to win. Oh well..

------------

As we know, river decisions are the hardest so here are a couple more.

Villain is a 31/21/5.3 guy over 70 hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/129219
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (CO): $54.40
BTN: $98.15
SB: $51.00
BB: $26.10
UTG: $74.25

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with 2d Ad
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.75, 2 folds, BB calls $1.25

Flop: ($3.75) Td Ks As (2 players)
BB bets $2.50, Hero calls $2.50

Turn: ($8.75) 5h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River: ($8.75) 2s (2 players)
BB bets $7.50, Hero ??

What beats me? 2 pair Aces, spades, straight (not likely)

What do I beat. I now beat KT, non 2 pair aces or a bluff.

What do you do?

---------------------

Villain is a 36/16/2.3 guy over just 27 hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/129220
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP: $50.85
Hero (CO): $78.50
BTN: $28.00
SB: $100.20
BB: $50.95
UTG: $50.00
UTG+1: $50.75

UTG posts a big blind ($0.50)

Pre Flop: ($1.25) Hero is CO with Qc Jc
UTG checks, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.50, BTN calls $0.50, SB calls $0.25, BB checks

Flop: ($2.50) Tc 5c 9s (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $2, BTN calls $2, SB folds, BB folds, UTG folds

Turn: ($6.50) Js (2 players)
Hero bets $4, BTN raises to $8, Hero calls $4

River: ($22.50) 7h (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $17.50 all in, Hero ??

Should I have been re-raising on turn? Turn min raises are typcially pretty strong.

What do you do?

Mookie winner Smokkee, Have a nice day!!!

Ipod Touch and deciding on passive or aggressive lines.

I received my iPod Touch in the mail yesterday (compliments of Full Tilt). Cool!!!

I'm looking forward to playing around with it and the apps that go with it. What apps do people have out there that are pretty good?

------------------------

Choosing passive and aggressive lines is always a struggle for me. Unfortunately, more times than not or at least more times that I probably should, I opt out for the passive line. Take this hand for example.

Villain is a loose 36/18/5.0 guy over just 40 hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/128242
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $14.15
Hero (UTG+1): $52.80
UTG+2: $10.30
MP1: $50.75
MP2: $19.25
CO: $20.30
BTN: $27.95
SB: $109.60
BB: $22.75

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with Jd Qd
UTG calls $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, 4 folds, BTN calls $0.50, SB raises to $3, 2 folds, Hero calls $2.50, 1 fold

I never open limp; but I have been finding myself limping behind to try to get a multi way pot with a suited connector/mid pair type hand. It doesn't necessarily have to be broadway cards. In fact, I would prefer it not to be as the chance of being dominated is great.

OK. This guy is obviously trying to steal the pot. Everybody goes away; but I call anyway. I believe stacks are large enough to warrant this call... plus I'm in position on him.

Flop: ($7.50) Qc Th Kd (2 players)
SB bets $3, Hero calls $3

OK.. pretty good flop. Passive or aggressive?

Turn: ($13.50) Kc (2 players)
SB bets $3, Hero calls $3

The king is actually a good card. His bet sizing is a little off which probably puts me way ahead or way behind. Passive or aggressive?

River: ($19.50) 2d (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

OK.. he gave up. Passive or aggressive?

There's not a lot that beats me giving the betting; but there still is that chance. In the long run, am I losing value here. If I get check raised here, how do you play?

Obviously, I choose passive this hand. I'll hold results until later today.

-----------------

I ended up making about 2 1/2 buyins yesterday. I sucked out one hand. I had AK.. Flop comes AK3 (EDIT: Flop was AA3.. thanks for comments.. my bad) ... Turn was a T.. we get it all in and he has 33, the river is a T and I sucked out. It felt pretty good to win one like that instead of losing one like it usually happens.

I also pulled a great OBFV (Over bet for value). In a $5 pot, I pushed $45 with the nut flush (there was a possible straight flush) and got called by the second nut flush. Those rarely work; but when they do, it feels good.

Have a good day!!!

Be Careful what you wish for and River Decision

As we all know, this game can be funny, you can be on you way to a solid session and BOOM!!! gone... Two river beats for stacks and two bad decisions and I found myself a little over one buyin down after being up 1 1/2 buyins.

This first hand goes into the "Be Careful what you wish for category".



The villain in this hand is a somewhat solid; but only break even player after 10K hands.
He is a 22/7/2..


Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/127463
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $50.75
CO: $39.25
BTN: $50.00
SB: $64.25
Hero (BB): $50.00
UTG: $30.30
UTG+1: $50.00
UTG+2: $50.20
MP1: $82.90

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with Ah Ad
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $1.50, 2 folds, CO calls $1.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $5.75, UTG+2 calls $4.25, 1 fold


Standard.
Flop: ($13.25) Qd 3h Ac (2 players)
Hero bets $7.50, UTG+2 raises to $15, Hero calls $7.50


Here is the wishing part. I say to myself... I hope he has pocket Queens as I had just lost set over set not too long ago. I'll just call this turn and get it in on the turn.


Turn: ($43.25) Qc (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+2 bets $20, Hero raises to $29.25 all in, UTG+2 calls $9.25


DOH!!!!! Did he really just hit a one outer??? I'm obviously not giving up here.


River: ($101.75) 6h (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $101.75
Hero shows Ah Ad (a full house, Aces full of Queens)
UTG+2 shows As Kh (two pair, Aces and Queens)
Hero wins $98.75
(Rake: $3.00)

WHEW!!! I thought I was a goner.


The next hand involves a river decision. You know the type. What would he call me with type.

Villain is a bad 62/7/0.0 player over just 30 hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/127466
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $50.00
UTG: $106.00
UTG+1: $30.25
UTG+2: $71.00
MP1: $164.00
MP2: $100.00
CO: $49.90
BTN: $20.30
SB: $64.95

CO posts a big blind ($0.50)

Pre Flop: ($1.25) Hero is BB with 6h Ts
2 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.50, 2 folds, CO checks, 1 fold, SB calls $0.25, Hero checks

Don't you love seeing BB hands for nothing?

Flop: ($2.00) 4s 2c 5c (4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG+2 checks, CO checks

Wow.. even checked down... Give me a 3!!!!
Turn: ($2.00) 3c (4 players)

What? It worked.

SB checks, Hero bets $1, UTG+2 calls $1, CO folds, SB folds

I'll throw out a half pot bet and see if I get any aces to bite.

River: ($4.00) Qd (2 players)
Hero bets $3, UTG+2 raises to $6, Hero ??

Ok.. now, I get min raised by a bad player who could obviously have anything. He obviously could have an ace; but more importantly he could have a flush. Given this kind of player, it's hard to tell. The pot isn't that big so is it worth re-raising? If he does have an ace, he is probably calling. If he has a flush, he is probably re-raising and we are playing for stacks now.

What do you do?

Have a nice day!!!

Extended Vacation

OK.. Today is my first actual day of my "extended vacation". I have a couple of months before I really have to start feeling the impact; but yeah, it feels strange today not getting up and going to work for the first time in my life. I do hope to keep somewhat productive and do some of the following things (in no particular order):

• Housework. It hurts me to say; but this really has to be a no brainer. With my wife working full time, I will need to pick up on the housework
• Poker. I will be playing a bit more than an hour a day that I normally do. How much? Time will tell. There will also be more live play, I think.
• Reading. Two parts to this. I will combine this with video watching as well as I study a little bit more on poker. The other part is getting back to my Bible reading.
• Working out. What? Did I actually say that? Let's call it more like exercising more. I hear that the YMCA may be giving out memberships for the unemployed. I will check into that. If not, there are plenty of ways to exercise, right?

That should do for a start.

So I finally played ring game poker for the first time in a week last night. Some things just never changed as it was an up and down session finishing up one buyin after getting my 200 points.

One hand I flopped the nuts and then there was a scary turn card. What do you do?

Villain in this hand was a 15/10/2.3 regular over 3.1K hands

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/126426
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $50.00
Hero (MP1): $57.60
MP2: $145.40
CO: $50.00
BTN: $86.55
SB: $105.25
BB: $101.20
UTG: $50.40

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP1 with Jh Th
2 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, 3 folds, SB calls $1.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($4.00) As Qc Kh (2 players)
SB bets $2.20, Hero raises to $6.50, SB calls $4.30

Turn: ($17.00) Ks (2 players)
SB bets $10, Hero ??

Pretty easy raise from MP with JTs. This guy donk bets around 8%. I consider that relatively low; but I'm not slowing down here and put in a small raise. Comments on bet sizing?

He calls and bets out again? What do you do?

Another hand, I kind of got berated by a couple people at the table which of course I don't mind. The fishier that I look, the better. Truthfully, the way I played wasn't that bad. If anything, I erred on taking this to value town.

Villain in this hand was a 66/40/3.9 guy over just 89 hands

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/126427
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $50.00
Hero (BB): $50.00
UTG: $153.35
UTG+1: $50.00
MP1: $89.55
MP2: $100.00
CO: $102.30
BTN: $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with Ah Ks
UTG calls $0.50, 6 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, UTG calls $1.25

Flop: ($3.75) 2s 4s 4c (2 players)
Hero bets $2.80, UTG calls $2.80

Turn: ($9.35) 7s (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $5, Hero calls $5

River: ($19.35) Ac (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks

Final Pot: $19.35
Hero shows Ah Ks (two pair, Aces and Fours)
UTG shows 5s 5c (two pair, Fives and Fours)
Hero wins $18.40
(Rake: $0.95)

I'll go ahead a post the whole hand on this one. Any thoughts? Do I get a call if I bet out on river? I didn't think so. Whether I check raise or check call, I hadn't exactly decided.

Have a nice day!!!

What a tourist and I'm not shocked

Wow, what a tourist I am. I am in Tennessee on vacation this week. We went on a little drive through a national park. First, we hiked a little to see a 80 foot waterfall. Pretty cool. Then we went through a driving loop called Cades's Cove. We saw at least 6 Black Bears and a dozen or so dear and a wild turkey out in the open. The really neat thing is that are almost totally tame so we were able to get out the car and take pictures and they didn't run away (or attack us in the bear's case). To me, that was pretty cool; but then again, I am your typical tourist and pretty easily impressed and entertained.

American Idol. While I am a little sad as I was rooting for Danny, I am not shocked that Chris made the finals. I believe I even posted a little while back that Chris would be the one that I would be betting on. I actually think he has a chance of winning this thing. I think he just has to do a good job during the finals and that will do it. How is that, you say? I think a lot of the people that were voting for Danny did not care for Adam. This is me except for the voting part. I don't actually vote; although my wife did one week. Anyway, the votes that were going to Danny may very well be going to Chris now. If the difference between 1st and 2nd last week was truly 1 million votes, then I think Chris could easily win this thing. I know I will be pulling for him. If he does win, he will just go into a line of champions that will most likely disappear.

I've only played one night of poker while on vacation. I played 4 $11 SNGs. I won one, finished 2nd twice and ran JJ into AA to finish 7th or worse (I don't really remember).

Have a nice day!!

Getting PWNed and Vacation

Wow, what a Friday. Nothing like getting totally PWNed.

What do I mean by that?

If I had AK and the flop was AK2, I got stacked because my opponent had 22.

If I had 55 on a 5JQ flop, my opponent hand JQ and hit his J and turn for another stacking.

If I had JQ and JQ3 board, I got it in against A3.. A on Turn

If I had KQ on a KQ3 board.. I would get it in against AA... 3 on the river gives him a better 2 pair.

Of course, there were the misplaced bluffs; but I can handle those as I'm going to get looked up every once in a while. It just happened more often last night.

What was the damage? over 6 buyins. After about 4, I said, I need to stop; but couldn't pull the trigger... Oops.. AA just got cracked, that's 5 buyins. I better stop. Oh, maybe I'll play a little longer. Ooops, My KK is not good against rivered flush.. I better stop. Ok..Yeah... I stopped; but wow that was painful.

I will probably get a chance to play on Saturday; but we are leaving Sunday for Vacation to the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee so I won't be playing or blogging much. After that my "extended vacation" starts. I have thoughts on how my days will go; but we will have to see.

Have a good weekend and week next week!!!

Last Day and if it smells like a flush....

Well, today is my last day of being gainfully employed; although truthfully, it may be Saturday as I'm sure that I won't finish up what I need to. Some people think that I don't owe a company that termed me the right to get things in such a fashion that makes it easier for the transition team; but that is not really how I roll. I still want to help make things go as smooth as possible after I leave.

So I made a couple of low card flushes that the villain was also showing strength. So, if the villain's hand smells like a flush, if he is betting like a flush/flush draw and looks like it could be a flush, do you call at the end? Here are two hands from last night.

Hand #1

Villain is a 27/10/2.8 over 300ish hands.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/116431
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $56.30
BB: $60.15
UTG: $70.10
UTG+1: $89.65
UTG+2: $44.05
MP1: $25.00
MP2: $99.00
CO: $59.95
BTN: $42.00

MP1 posts a big blind ($0.50)

Pre Flop: ($1.25) Hero is SB with 6h 3h
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.50, 1 fold, MP1 checks, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.25, BB checks

Flop: ($2.00) Jh 8h Ts (4 players)
Hero bets $1.50, BB calls $1.50, UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds

Turn: ($5.00) Ah (2 players)
Hero bets $3, BB calls $3

River: ($11.00) Ad (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $6.50, Hero requests TIME, Hero ??


I know some people fold this hand preflop; but I think I still prefer to complete after two limpers. Of course, it brings on decisions like this one. Anybody calling here?

Hand #2

Villain is a 15/5/1.5 over 1K hands

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/116436
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $86.90
Hero (BB): $56.15
UTG: $108.75
UTG+1: $31.75
MP1: $113.85
MP2: $50.00
CO: $73.25
BTN: $45.35

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with 4h 7h
5 folds, BTN calls $0.50, SB calls $0.25, Hero checks

Flop: ($1.50) 5h 7s Jh (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1.50, BTN calls $1.50, SB folds

Turn: ($4.50) 2h (2 players)
Hero bets $2.50, BTN raises to $9, Hero calls $6.50

River: ($22.50) 3d (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $14.50, Hero ???

This one as a little tougher to figure out. His turn raise could have been with an Ace or King of hearts, small pair or more likely a flush. Who calls the turn? Does anybody call the river?

Brack and Brue Chips, have a nice day

Let the Graph do the Talking and interesting Blind Steal Hand

I played the Mook last night. There were about 80 runners. With about 30 or so left, I find myself in the top 2 or 3. I then had 3 straight "oops" moments. I pushed against an EP limper from the button with AQ and he snapped called with QQ. I four bet Jordan who I thought was squeezing with either AQ or AK... Ace on the flop and Ace on the turn; but oh by the way, a K was also on the flop... oops. Finally pushed my small stack with KQs and got a couple of callers. I flopped my flush draw but ultimately lost to AT. Out in 24th. Dang!! Truthfully, I don't play the Mook for the money. I play for the social part of it and to win. Anything from 2nd to last is pretty much the same to me.




Cash games started off great; but then went crazy from there. Up and down and up and down. I'll just let the graph do the talking.






Good Times!!!

I mentioned the other day about people relying on HUDs too much. I still argue that point and here is one hand where I relied on stats.

The villain in this hand was a 19/12/3.8 guy which is fairly standard for a good, aggressive guy. Let's look further. He squeezed 4% and 3 bet 3.8% and 4bet 11%




Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/115732
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $70.80
UTG+1: $50.00
UTG+2: $51.50
MP1: $54.00
MP2: $120.15
CO: $103.05
Hero (BTN): $117.50
SB: $55.15
BB: $114.75

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with Ac Jh
6 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, SB raises to $5, 1 fold, Hero calls $3.25

Standard steal from the button with JackAce. I get three bet; but as the stats show, this is not unusual for this guy. His range is fairly large.

Flop: ($10.50) 7s 5d Kc (2 players)
SB bets $7, Hero raises to $21, SB requests TIME, SB folds

OK.. more stats. He Cbets 91% of the time. The rest is history. Thoughts on the hand?

Final Pot: $24.50
Hero wins $23.30
(Rake: $1.20)


TJ, Have a nice day

Even the LAGtards have hands somtimes and who is "Your" American Idol

Last night was one of those fun nights where the LAGtards actually had hands and for whatever reason, I decided to look them up a few times (see below). I hate it when that happens. Of course as they always do, they gave back the money to the rest of the table.

Villain in this hand was a 69/16/.8 guy over a 60 hands

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/114863
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $100.00
MP2: $55.00
CO: $25.00
BTN: $66.85
SB: $187.80
BB: $43.40
UTG: $34.15
UTG+1: $50.90
Hero (UTG+2): $102.30

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+2 with Qd Qh
UTG calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $2.25, 3 folds, BTN calls $2.25, 1 fold, BB calls $1.75, UTG calls $1.75

Flop: ($9.25) 4d 6h 7h (4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $7, BTN raises to $14, BB folds, UTG folds, Hero calls $7

Turn: ($37.25) 5d (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $37.25, Hero raises to $86.05 all in, BTN calls $13.35 all in

River: ($138.45) 9c (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $138.45
BTN shows 8h 7c (a straight, Nine high)
Hero shows Qd Qh (a pair of Queens)
BTN wins $135.45
(Rake: $3.00)

Dang.. 87o.. who knew? I should have gotten away; but let his LAGgy tendencies sway me.


After being a few buyins down I was able to scrap my way back up to even for the night thanks to one of the above mentioned LAGs.

No really interesting hands last night so I'll switch topics.

Who is Your American Idol. As a degenerate, I'm not too concerned who wins, I interested in the betting side of it.

Here are the odds (courtesy of BoDog).

Adam Lambart: 4/11

Danny Gokey: 11/4

Allison Iraheta: 15/2

Kris Allen: 8/1

Adam is obviously the odds on favorite to win; but is it worth putting $50 or some amount on one of the others. I know in horse racing that if there was a huge favorite (as in this case), it is not even worth it to bet on the favorite. Kris Allen was somebody I was thinking about putting some money on a few weeks ago; but now I don't know. Who would you be betting on? We know longshots can win... look at the Kentucky Derby this last weekend.

I don't know if I can pull the trigger. We'll see.

With your second TOC seat,

Jordan, have a nice day

Peeling with Gutters

The last few days I've done something that I rarely do regarding the use of Holdem Manager. I usually always have HM up and I am checking out stats throughout the session. The things I am checking are whether or not I am winning or losing, how often I am hitting sets, general VPIP/PFR info, graphs, EV adjusted stats and how many pts I have received. Well, the last couple of days, I haven't checked it at all. I'm not sure if I like it or not; but it definitely makes me concentrate more on the game and the individual hands and not worry about the session. I know how long it takes me to get to my 200 points so I don't really need to keep checking HM to tell me that. So now or at least the last couple of days, I don't look at my HM until x amount of time has gone by where I normally get my 200 pts. It's a small sample obviously; but I have good sessions so I will probably try it a couple more times.

OK, the topic of the day. When is it good to peel the flop with a gutterball straight draw? First, let's take a look at a hand.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 Pot Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/114014
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $20.15
UTG+2: $32.10
MP1: $50.25
MP2: $74.65
Hero (CO): $50.00
BTN: $17.45
SB: $64.45
BB: $33.70
UTG: $53.95

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with 6d 8d
3 folds, MP1 raises to $1.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.75, 3 folds

First, I don't mind playing these suited one gappers in position especially against tight guys as in the case where the villain was a 10/5 guy.

Flop: ($4.25) 7d Jh Ts (2 players)
MP1 bets $3, Hero calls $3

This is not a really bad flop for me in my opinion; but obviously not the best. One, I do have the gutterball straight draw, a backdoor flush draw and generally just a scary board for the preflop raiser. In my opinion, our stacks are deep enough to peel a card here. Thoughts?


Turn: ($10.25) 9s (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $6.60, MP1 calls $6.60

Bingo, I hit my card. Standard bet here, I think... maybe even if I didn't hit my straight. OK, he calls, what are putting him on? Sounds like a big pair, flush draw. Of course not having the nut straight is always scary.

River: ($23.45) 7s (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero ??

Do you bet here? How much do you bet? Does a bet commit your stack here?


This was one of my first hands. Ironically, somebody hit a gutter on me a few hands later; but I finished ahead in the deal by a whopping $1.25 so I have that going for me.

So that should do it for today, short and sweet.

Cmitch, have a good day!!!

98 Dollars an hour and Reliance on HUD

Well, as my days of being employed comes to an end (my last day is May 8th), the more I am going to have to come up with something to do during the off time. Obviously, I will still be out there putting out resumes and making calls and all of that stuff; but.......


I had an unusually good weekend playing poker. Usually the weekends just chew me up; but this weekend I made $98/hr play NL/PL 50. Seems easy enough to sustain, right? OK, I kid; but it was nice weekend making 33.54 bb/100. See the chart below:




I don't feel like I am playing a whole lot different. It just seems that my hands are holding a little bit more right now. I obviously know that will change at some point; but for now, I will enjoy it while it lasts.


I layed down pocket aces this weekend to a turn check raise. See below:

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/112789
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $79.70
CO: $100.30
BTN: $57.60
SB: $89.85
BB: $29.50
UTG: $50.65
Hero (UTG+1): $55.90
MP1: $48.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with As Ac
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.75, 1 fold, MP2 calls $1.75, 3 folds, BB calls $1.25

Flop: ($5.50) 9c 7h 9d (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $4, MP2 calls $4, BB folds

Turn: ($13.50) Jd (2 players)
Hero bets $10, MP2 raises to $25, Hero requests TIME, Hero folds

I'm not sure if it was the right play or not; but it felt good to be able to do it in the first place. The villain in the hand was a 12/8/3.0 player after 2K hands so he was a solid TAG player. He does check raise on the turn 24% of the time so it may have been the wrong move to fold; but again, it felt good to be able to fold. Not too long ago, I would of been pushing this 100% of the time.

I've listened to a few podcasts lately where the pro says that mid stakes players (and I guess we can include low stakes players) rely on their HUD too much. I think that is pretty easy to say as a high stakes plays a population of people that are fairly limited. At 50NL, there are just tons of new faces. Sure if you pay close attention, you can pick up tendencies; but if you are playing 10-12 tables, it is just not that easy. I can't find the hands now; but there were at least 3 hands where I called down with 3rd pair or worse and won against players who stats were especially LAGgy so to that I say, thanks for the HUD. Over reliance on HUD can be a mistake I guess; but I sure know that I would feel lost without it.

That should do it for now.

Shamus, have a nice day!!

Comments and Free Poker Training

I played an impressive 44 hands last night. I keep on having some internet problems and I didn't feel like dealing with it yesterday. The cable folks say it is something wrong with my wireless router which is fairly new. I don't know. They make cable modem/wiresless router combos these days. Maybe that is my ultimate answer. The good news is that I was gifted over a buyin in those few hands.

So, the month of April was a positive month which feels good that maybe I am finally turning this thing around. See graph below. I had a bad run towards the end of the month which stopped me from having a really good month.

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I wanted to mention that I have added a couple of blogs to my top 15. I have been meaning to add these two for a while now; but have been too lazy. As I've mentioned, I have my top 10 commenters over on the right side. Suffice it to say, if you are commenting on my blog (which of course I love), then I will be linking you up. So go on over to these much better written and interesting blogs:

Card-nal Knowledge

and

Poker and Peaking

One nice thing about blogger commenting is that when you make a comment on somebody blog, it can email you with further comments on that post. I remember the days of having to try and remember what blogs you had commented on to see further comments on that blog. Sometimes, though, the box to email comments is not there because you have not officially signed in yet. Never fear, there is a work around to this. Make your comment and sign on; but don't submit the comment. Simply preview the comment. Now after that, when you go to submit the post, you will see the email me box when you go to submit your comment. Everybody probably already knew about this; but just in case, there you go.

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Does everybody know about the free poker training that you can get from Cardrunners and Stoxpoker? It's called Truly Free Poker Training. It is simply one of the best deals going on out there. The basic gist is that you play and earn points on Full tilt and with those points, you can get CR and Stox video subscriptions. Beginning with May, if you earn 3,000 pts, you can get a month of Stoxpoker. If you earn 5,500 points, then you can get a month of CardRunners. If you earn 8,500, then you can get both. Not a bad deal, eh? Head on over to the website for more details. Oh, by the way, the best thing. It doesn't actually deduct the points from Full Tilt nor does it effect your MGR for rakeback. So, in this case, it really IS Truly Free. Nice job CR/Stox and thank you very much.

I'm going to copy something that I once saw TripJax do in that at the end of my blog, I will link to a blog that I believe deserves mentioning on my ending "have a nice day" part. So given that thought,

LJ, Have a nice weekend.