Finished second last night in my online league, and I have to say beating out 15 other players felt damn good.
Finally, all of my hands held-up. I only got my money in bad a couple of times, and those times, thankfully the damage wasn't too bad. Most every time I did push or call - I was ahead pre-flop, or even ahead after the flop. It was really cool that I didn't get hit with the Gawd awful flush draw suckouts or middle pair turning into trips on the turn.
I did get into trouble a couple of times, with the resident league calling stations. Snow White is probably one of the easiest players to deal with in the league; she only leads out with premium hands, overbets her top pairs, and refuses to let go of pocket pairs in the face of overcards. Should be simple right? Well, she is. My only problem is that I still find it hard to believe that she will keep calling with a pair of nines when a King and Ace are on board. Well, I need to believe it - and next time when I have one of those overcards, I'll get paid.
Thankfully, other players propensity to call me down worked heavily in my favor last night. I was even able to go all in on the river with a full house - and get called by two pair! Awesome.
I think I finally realized this, that my reputation as a super aggressive semi-donkey, can be used to great advantage to make my made monster hands hugely profitable.
The second part of my success then - with big pots coming my way, was to hold on to my chip stack and not push, push, push on every hand. In an ocean of calling stations, who think that 2 to 1 pot odds is a GREAT price for a 4 to 1 flush draw - I've finally learned not to bother applying leverage, or giving the wrong price. In marginal situations - I just fold. Then two hands later, when I push, they get spanked.
The second half of this season is looking pretty dang good so far.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Cashing in.
Last Friday night saw the return of cash game play to my humble home game.
But for one other player at the table (Svengolly), save for myself, I have to say - I sat down and saw a lot of dead money. Of course, as I've said on this blog before, and I will repeat again; this opinion of mine has no bearing on my poker opponents as people. Indeed, as it is my personal home game, there were and will probably always be fellow players beside me who are some of my oldest and dearest friends.
Still, thankfully for my bankroll, not a wit of them know how to play poker. (Again the lone exception being Sven) Poker is, simply, war - and one must prey on the weak to succeed. But with a smile of course.
Quite simply, I knew by betting for value against the weak passive lot of them, and staying out of Sven's way - it was all but short of automatic for me to make money.
I didn't have the greatest night that I could have imagined, I was fairly cold decked, and yet when I cashed out at the end of the night, I had nearly sixty more dollars in my wallet. Crazy.
Sven was the big winner, finishing with nearly a c-note in the black.
I have to say, when I cashed out, I was surprised. I didn't feel I played especially great, and like I said, I wasn't exactly on a heater when it came to the cards. But I guess it always boils down to game and opponent selection.
Firstly, we played mixed games. As much as my NLHE skills have leaped and grown, I'm still an old school limit stud player at heart. I crushed in Razz, as well as the very wacky 2-7 Triple Draw. I also have to say I got paid handsomely in the limit version of Hold-Em as well as good old evil Omaha/8.
The games that kept me from moving up an income bracket or two were the high version of seven stud (always my weakest stud game) and believe it or not Pot Limit Omaha (that's high only folks!) and Pot Limit Hold-Em as well. I didn't exactly take a beating in these games, but I definitely felt much rockier.
Good times. Looking very much forward to a probably very chaotic mixed game tournament at home next Saturday.
But for one other player at the table (Svengolly), save for myself, I have to say - I sat down and saw a lot of dead money. Of course, as I've said on this blog before, and I will repeat again; this opinion of mine has no bearing on my poker opponents as people. Indeed, as it is my personal home game, there were and will probably always be fellow players beside me who are some of my oldest and dearest friends.
Still, thankfully for my bankroll, not a wit of them know how to play poker. (Again the lone exception being Sven) Poker is, simply, war - and one must prey on the weak to succeed. But with a smile of course.
Quite simply, I knew by betting for value against the weak passive lot of them, and staying out of Sven's way - it was all but short of automatic for me to make money.
I didn't have the greatest night that I could have imagined, I was fairly cold decked, and yet when I cashed out at the end of the night, I had nearly sixty more dollars in my wallet. Crazy.
Sven was the big winner, finishing with nearly a c-note in the black.
I have to say, when I cashed out, I was surprised. I didn't feel I played especially great, and like I said, I wasn't exactly on a heater when it came to the cards. But I guess it always boils down to game and opponent selection.
Firstly, we played mixed games. As much as my NLHE skills have leaped and grown, I'm still an old school limit stud player at heart. I crushed in Razz, as well as the very wacky 2-7 Triple Draw. I also have to say I got paid handsomely in the limit version of Hold-Em as well as good old evil Omaha/8.
The games that kept me from moving up an income bracket or two were the high version of seven stud (always my weakest stud game) and believe it or not Pot Limit Omaha (that's high only folks!) and Pot Limit Hold-Em as well. I didn't exactly take a beating in these games, but I definitely felt much rockier.
Good times. Looking very much forward to a probably very chaotic mixed game tournament at home next Saturday.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Bubbly Fun
Okay, so technically I wasn't the bubble; I went out 7th; but I had a really good feeling when there were ten people left.
Then I looked and saw the chip count.
I just couldn't seem to get a foothold in the crucial final table stages and here's why.
A new player, Ro, had a mountain of chips and decided she was going to play every hand.
After watching her in a few hands, I quickly surmised that Ro was a fishy calling station who had luck-boxed her way into her chips. This was bad news. It meant she wouldn't respect any of my raises, which would have to be uncomfortably big for me anyway - and she was unlikely to lay down to any aggression.
Because she now had over 18K, and I had about 8K, I was literally unable to get involved in a hand unless I was ready to gamble for all of my chips. A crap situation.
Timmytimmy had some stones though, and gave Ro a good run for her money. He was the only player building a stack before luck finally caught up with him.
On the opposite side of the spectrum was Cali, who had also found himself with more chips than he knew what to do with. I knew I didn't have to worry about him. He would passively fold unless he had a piece. If he fired and I had zip, I'd just go away with minimal damage. If he did have a piece and I had a monster, I would still get paid.
Ro on the other hand, with her mountain of chips didn't even understand the value (yes, there is a small amount of value in this) of folding to the money. Nor did she grasp the power that she had to bust players. She routinely "value bet" into short stacks, instead of just putting them all in. I still don't understand why players short change themselves this way.
I took a wild guess that she would spew off her chips before it got to the money. My read was right on - as she did just that.
But before this happened, I took my leave.
As the blinds escalated, I had to suck it up and push when I felt the time was right. Three times I took the plunge and was successful at stealing the healthy blinds and antes. The fourth time I did it, I got called by a pair of tens. My king high failed to improve and I was on the rail.
I think if luck had been with me I had a real shot at taking it down. Especially after Ro imploded in Scotty Nguyen (Main Event 2007) fashion.
The best player remaining, Sven, had all the moves and tools, he just ran into better hands against SSB who mounted an impressive comeback from a faulty internet connection and a tiny stack to take the whole thing down.
After all of my low finishes this season, I felt some solace in a statistic that the league moderator Nacl released last weekend. I sit (or rather sat until last night) at the very top of the list of the percentage of all time cashes in the league, over 34%!
If I look at it this way, the way I'm supposed to, as a LONG game of poker: I'm having a great run! And if I start cashing again regularly, there is no way I won't bust this league!
All Time Cash %
% name
40.0% Dan P. (I DON'T INCLUDE DAN P. BECAUSE HE DOESN'T PLAY ANYMORE, AFTER ONLY PLAYING A HALF DOZEN TOURNAMENTS!)
34.0% Chris M.
33.3% Chris R.
33.3% Willie F.
32.0% Noah S.
31.3% Yano R.
30.0% Dustin N.
30.0% Marleena R.
29.4% Allen Q.
29.4% Tohn S.
27.8% Jake L.
27.7% Timmy Y.
27.3% Dan S-R
26.3% Scott C.
25.6% Chris L.
25.0% Jason H.
22.2% Max E.
21.7% Joe F.
20.0% Gary N.
19.2% Phil D.
16.7% Rick J.
16.7% Steve F.
14.3% Joe M.
14.3% Sam R.
13.8% Jake R.
13.3% Sam B.
11.1% Al B.
4.8% Dan L.
0.0% Bruce C.
0.0% Dave W.
0.0% Jay F.
0.0% John M.
0.0% Marc F.
Then I looked and saw the chip count.
I just couldn't seem to get a foothold in the crucial final table stages and here's why.
A new player, Ro, had a mountain of chips and decided she was going to play every hand.
After watching her in a few hands, I quickly surmised that Ro was a fishy calling station who had luck-boxed her way into her chips. This was bad news. It meant she wouldn't respect any of my raises, which would have to be uncomfortably big for me anyway - and she was unlikely to lay down to any aggression.
Because she now had over 18K, and I had about 8K, I was literally unable to get involved in a hand unless I was ready to gamble for all of my chips. A crap situation.
Timmytimmy had some stones though, and gave Ro a good run for her money. He was the only player building a stack before luck finally caught up with him.
On the opposite side of the spectrum was Cali, who had also found himself with more chips than he knew what to do with. I knew I didn't have to worry about him. He would passively fold unless he had a piece. If he fired and I had zip, I'd just go away with minimal damage. If he did have a piece and I had a monster, I would still get paid.
Ro on the other hand, with her mountain of chips didn't even understand the value (yes, there is a small amount of value in this) of folding to the money. Nor did she grasp the power that she had to bust players. She routinely "value bet" into short stacks, instead of just putting them all in. I still don't understand why players short change themselves this way.
I took a wild guess that she would spew off her chips before it got to the money. My read was right on - as she did just that.
But before this happened, I took my leave.
As the blinds escalated, I had to suck it up and push when I felt the time was right. Three times I took the plunge and was successful at stealing the healthy blinds and antes. The fourth time I did it, I got called by a pair of tens. My king high failed to improve and I was on the rail.
I think if luck had been with me I had a real shot at taking it down. Especially after Ro imploded in Scotty Nguyen (Main Event 2007) fashion.
The best player remaining, Sven, had all the moves and tools, he just ran into better hands against SSB who mounted an impressive comeback from a faulty internet connection and a tiny stack to take the whole thing down.
After all of my low finishes this season, I felt some solace in a statistic that the league moderator Nacl released last weekend. I sit (or rather sat until last night) at the very top of the list of the percentage of all time cashes in the league, over 34%!
If I look at it this way, the way I'm supposed to, as a LONG game of poker: I'm having a great run! And if I start cashing again regularly, there is no way I won't bust this league!
All Time Cash %
% name
40.0% Dan P. (I DON'T INCLUDE DAN P. BECAUSE HE DOESN'T PLAY ANYMORE, AFTER ONLY PLAYING A HALF DOZEN TOURNAMENTS!)
34.0% Chris M.
33.3% Chris R.
33.3% Willie F.
32.0% Noah S.
31.3% Yano R.
30.0% Dustin N.
30.0% Marleena R.
29.4% Allen Q.
29.4% Tohn S.
27.8% Jake L.
27.7% Timmy Y.
27.3% Dan S-R
26.3% Scott C.
25.6% Chris L.
25.0% Jason H.
22.2% Max E.
21.7% Joe F.
20.0% Gary N.
19.2% Phil D.
16.7% Rick J.
16.7% Steve F.
14.3% Joe M.
14.3% Sam R.
13.8% Jake R.
13.3% Sam B.
11.1% Al B.
4.8% Dan L.
0.0% Bruce C.
0.0% Dave W.
0.0% Jay F.
0.0% John M.
0.0% Marc F.
Monday, September 8, 2008
HORSE-ing Around
After spending the day with my beautiful wife and daughter at the Santa Monica Pier (see, I'm a good dad and not a degenerate gambler) I headed off to Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood - a fine, fine, establishment, for some exciting mixed game tournament action.
HPC actually, is a dingy den of degenerates. Adjacent to a failing racetrack, it's where you're most likely to run into players too busy checking their race forms to realize that they should fold. Still, there is a shoddy charm to the place, and they run the most (and cheapest) regular tournaments in town. The floor staff is very friendly as well, and they are pretty good about keeping a lid on outbursts.
This was my very first card room HORSE tournament, which isn't that surprising - HORSE, Hold-Em, Omaha/8, Razz, Seven Stud and Eight or Better Seven Stud, is only recently gaining popularity as NL Hold-em burnout/backlash grows.
Technically, I cashed. I finished 7th out of four tables, 32 players - but all I got was my entry fee back. I also had a lot of fun.
Most reassuring to me was that the dealers were just about as befuddled as we are at my home games. Dealing five different varieties of poker in one setting can be a little confusing to say the least. There were numerous instances of players correcting dealers, players incorrectly correcting dealers, and just a general random good natured frustration all around in trying to keep up. Just like at my games!
Early on I won a big pot in Omaha/8, I turned over my cards and didn't realize that I had a full house - a lady to my left also had a boat, a smaller boat, and the dealer started to push the pot her way. Another player, much to my delight, mentioned that I had a bigger boat. The lady screeched at him "Sir, you aren't supposed to say anything! One player to a hand!" etc. etc. He vigorously defended himself stating (in fact, correctly) that every player was ethically obligated to point out a mistake by the dealer if the winning hand is missed.
This is absolutely the case. People often get confused by the rule "One player to a hand" but in this kind of instance, it simply does not apply. The best hands win, the cards speak, period.
I didn't say one word during this whole exchange, except to apologize to the lady for not knowing what I had - the lady and man continued to bicker, culminating with her calling the floor. The TD said what I knew he would, that the winning hand wins. In fact he went on to add, that if there is a dispute and the cards are mucked, they will go to the security camera tapes and make sure that the pot is awarded correctly.
Players are not out of line to speak up if they see a mistake, in fact they are ethically obligated to see that the best hand wins. I'd also go so far to say that I would want players doing this, and I would do it for them in return.
Unfortunately, even after the lady had conceded the point, the man had to keep needling for a longer period than necessary. Five minutes of silence would pass, and then he would start up again. She would get angry and jibber jabber back. I just ignored it, and eventually, it did die down.
Other than that mild unpleasantness, which is pretty minor for HPC standards, it was a very fun evening. I look forward to going again, hopefully next month. If I can actually cash, then this might become my tournament of choice.
HPC actually, is a dingy den of degenerates. Adjacent to a failing racetrack, it's where you're most likely to run into players too busy checking their race forms to realize that they should fold. Still, there is a shoddy charm to the place, and they run the most (and cheapest) regular tournaments in town. The floor staff is very friendly as well, and they are pretty good about keeping a lid on outbursts.
This was my very first card room HORSE tournament, which isn't that surprising - HORSE, Hold-Em, Omaha/8, Razz, Seven Stud and Eight or Better Seven Stud, is only recently gaining popularity as NL Hold-em burnout/backlash grows.
Technically, I cashed. I finished 7th out of four tables, 32 players - but all I got was my entry fee back. I also had a lot of fun.
Most reassuring to me was that the dealers were just about as befuddled as we are at my home games. Dealing five different varieties of poker in one setting can be a little confusing to say the least. There were numerous instances of players correcting dealers, players incorrectly correcting dealers, and just a general random good natured frustration all around in trying to keep up. Just like at my games!
Early on I won a big pot in Omaha/8, I turned over my cards and didn't realize that I had a full house - a lady to my left also had a boat, a smaller boat, and the dealer started to push the pot her way. Another player, much to my delight, mentioned that I had a bigger boat. The lady screeched at him "Sir, you aren't supposed to say anything! One player to a hand!" etc. etc. He vigorously defended himself stating (in fact, correctly) that every player was ethically obligated to point out a mistake by the dealer if the winning hand is missed.
This is absolutely the case. People often get confused by the rule "One player to a hand" but in this kind of instance, it simply does not apply. The best hands win, the cards speak, period.
I didn't say one word during this whole exchange, except to apologize to the lady for not knowing what I had - the lady and man continued to bicker, culminating with her calling the floor. The TD said what I knew he would, that the winning hand wins. In fact he went on to add, that if there is a dispute and the cards are mucked, they will go to the security camera tapes and make sure that the pot is awarded correctly.
Players are not out of line to speak up if they see a mistake, in fact they are ethically obligated to see that the best hand wins. I'd also go so far to say that I would want players doing this, and I would do it for them in return.
Unfortunately, even after the lady had conceded the point, the man had to keep needling for a longer period than necessary. Five minutes of silence would pass, and then he would start up again. She would get angry and jibber jabber back. I just ignored it, and eventually, it did die down.
Other than that mild unpleasantness, which is pretty minor for HPC standards, it was a very fun evening. I look forward to going again, hopefully next month. If I can actually cash, then this might become my tournament of choice.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Real money online? Believe it.
So I've put off depositing actual cash into my Full Tilt account. Now I have a laptop, and effective privacy - so there is really no excuse.
But I still hadn't done it though the other night when I sat down to a 2700 player $100 freeroll.
Full Tilt runs these freerolls on their sight several times a day - they are free tournaments that pay real money. The total prize pool is $100. The total number of players paid is 27. Out of 2700.
I finished 16th. I won two actual dollars, deposited into my real money account. Time to start grinding!
I think it would be really cool to build my account without ever having to put any of my own money in! Crazy I know, but crazier things have happened.
I hope, using Chris Ferguson's bankroll guidelines, I can work my way up to having an actual functioning bankroll.
Stay tuned!
But I still hadn't done it though the other night when I sat down to a 2700 player $100 freeroll.
Full Tilt runs these freerolls on their sight several times a day - they are free tournaments that pay real money. The total prize pool is $100. The total number of players paid is 27. Out of 2700.
I finished 16th. I won two actual dollars, deposited into my real money account. Time to start grinding!
I think it would be really cool to build my account without ever having to put any of my own money in! Crazy I know, but crazier things have happened.
I hope, using Chris Ferguson's bankroll guidelines, I can work my way up to having an actual functioning bankroll.
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Not Much to Say
Busted out 10 minutes in when I hit a set of kings on the turn, I had KQ, villain had AK.
Had I been fully alert I maybe, MAYBE, could have seen what he had. Earlier he smooth called with aces pre-flop, and only re-popped it with a raise from the blinds. On the hand above, there was no re-raise to my standard raise preflop, but he was behind me. He re-raised my continuation bet on the flop, and I called it. When the trips came on the turn, I was going broke. Even with full knowledge of his holdings, which in hind-sight reeked of AK, I think I still did right in a tournament such as ours with quick and slippery blinds, and lots of LAG donks.
I feel okay about it, I actually prefer it to grinding for two hours and bubbling.
I'm hoping I get permission from the wife to indulge this Sunday night in a HORSE tournament at HPC, should be a good time, full report to follow.
Had I been fully alert I maybe, MAYBE, could have seen what he had. Earlier he smooth called with aces pre-flop, and only re-popped it with a raise from the blinds. On the hand above, there was no re-raise to my standard raise preflop, but he was behind me. He re-raised my continuation bet on the flop, and I called it. When the trips came on the turn, I was going broke. Even with full knowledge of his holdings, which in hind-sight reeked of AK, I think I still did right in a tournament such as ours with quick and slippery blinds, and lots of LAG donks.
I feel okay about it, I actually prefer it to grinding for two hours and bubbling.
I'm hoping I get permission from the wife to indulge this Sunday night in a HORSE tournament at HPC, should be a good time, full report to follow.
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