Miniature HORSE

Played some HORSE tonight. Maigrey let me know a $5 HORSE tourney was about to start on Full Tilt so I figured it would get me some good practice at small price. It would also help me exercise some patience; a discipline of mine that has been lacking when playing poker lately.

During the first session, I took my time, playing only the hands I liked. Sound simple enough, huh? To be more specific, I was watching all the raising going on early in hands. If my hand was ok to see a flop but not strong, I would wait. If I tried to see a flop cheaply just to see it raised twice behind me, I would fold instead of calling like the other 4 people in the pot would do. When I had a hand, I hit it hard. With 5 people in the pot, it was easy to trap people between bettors.

By playing such a simple strategy, I found myself leading at the first break with 5512. A straight in Stud hi/lo got me a scoop and vaulted me to the top. Now the trick was to continue to be patient and let the players fall aside. Only 15 of 74 were eliminated in the first round. This was far from over.

I got sloppy in the second session by playing too many O8 hands. But I clamped it back down. I got a full house in stud to push me back to the top but then lost a huge pot with another full house in Stud hi/lo. That one hurt. Just about put me on tilt. On the next hand I found myself all in with 5678x and with two cards to come, both flush and straight draws. I was shocked when my 8 low was good for half the pot.

Then the Mookie started and I had to balance the two of them. It wasn't hard at first. I was card dead in the HORSE tourney and the Mook was still in the feel out stage. Thus I played exactly one hold em hand during the rotation. Raised with A 5 on the button and got the blinds. That made it easier to listen to Waffle rant on about basically nothing.

Then O8 hit and I went down fast. Nut draws that just did not hit. Again and again. Probably shouldn't have been chasing but if I hit any of those pots, I am in a great spot. Ironically at the second break of the HORSE tourney, I am in last place. First to worst.

Meanwhile at the Mook, I bluffed at a decent size pot to get above 2000. Then stole the blinds with the big lick. Then missed an OESD and was right back where I started. I don't mind that too much as I am confident I can usually build right back up. Afterall, it isn't a huge drop to begin with.

Meanwhile, I go for it in Razz and manage to get a full house! Ain't that a kick in the ass! Done at 20. Four out of the money which would have earned me a whole nickel.

Back at the Mook, I was finally getting a read on the table when I got moved. I had just slow played A A and A K to get up to 2500. I folded and folded til I got A A in the SB. There were 3 limper so I popped it to 500 (50/100). Get one caller. Flop is J high. He pushes. Of course I instacalled. He shows K J. Huh? Turn is a 9 but he spikes a K on the river. Mother F&@$#&!!!!

Uh...yeah...sure

Wow!

I don't know quite what to make of this comment. Helluva spam job. I was laughing wondering what the hell set this person off. Is there something in the water at Los Medanos Community College? Then I saw the place was just outside of San Francisco. Ok, that explains quite a bit.

I found quite of bit of the comment funny. Hilarious in fact.

But then this clown crossed the line and pissed me off. I quote:

"Beer is a corruptor and a dumping ground 4 men"

He didn't say that. Tell me he didn't just say that.

That sir, is fighting words! Don't, and I repeat, don't insult beer like that!

WPBT- A new season

A new season of the WPBT player series started tonight. With some good success last year, I was hoping to somehow make a good run at it again this year. Though my play sucked throughout the weekend, I still had to play no matter how bad I was running.

I had an interesting table to start. There were more names that I did not recognize compared to those I did. Hoyazo, Fuel55, and Irongirl have played in a number of the other tournies. But who were these other people? bayne_s, Papi Justify, Patchmaster, ThePokerRules, and BuddyDank. No clue. That would make play just that much more interesting to start I guess.

I take a quick lead with the first hand. I get 9 9 UTG and I raise it up. Get one caller. Flop is 10 10 3. I like that and bet. Turn is a 10. I bet again and get called. I am fearing J J at this point but feel it isn't likely. The river is a 6. I play it safe and check. It is checked behind me as well. My 9s are good. Turns out he had 8 8. Yeah, probably should have tossed a value bet on the river but I didn't want to go out on the first hand.

Later I would try to jam the JackHammer though but the A on the flop was good. I made a continuation bet but the call told me Irongirl had one so I knew it was check time. Sure enough, A Q. Surprised she never did bet at the pot. Time for me to slow down a bit.

I get big slick a couple hands later. Guy on my right raises and I decide to just call. Flop isn't good though. Q Q 6, two spades. I toss it when he makes a continuation bet of 300.

But I chip up nicely against Fuel. With A Q in the small blind, I just call his bet. Flop is A A K. I go with a check raise on his continuation bet. He may have the case A but I am certain he does not have A K for the boat. I bet the turn when a 3 hits. When an 8 comes on the river, I am hoping he didn't get lucky and catch on his A. I bet about a third of the pot. My Q is good over his 5!

Tens are next but no action. With K J suited, I raise it up because the table is feeling a bit tight. I do get a caller though from the BB. Flop is A K x. Ugh. It gets worse when he bets out. But it doesn't seem right. I raise him, figuring he may have a K or a small kicker for his ace. Thankfully he folds right away.

I then dump half of my chips. I raised with K Q. There is a re-raise. I think a bit and call. Flop is K high. My opponent bets 900 into a 1300 pot. I feel he may have J J or Q Q. A K is a possibility but I don't think so. So I re-raise to put him all in. He shows A A. Ah..forgot that possibility. I take a hit. Lose some more when I call the maniac raiser on my right with J 10 clubs. Flop gives me an open ended straight and a flush draw. I just call his bet. Should have raised. I fold when a 4 of hearts his the turn and he pushes. Damn I hate it when I misplay a hand.

I finally get a chance to eliminate the guy on my right. I call his push of 415 with A J. Turns out he has A J as well. But suited. Of course, he gets the flush. This is getting worse by the minute.

After the break, I realize I am at the bottom. I figure I should kick it up a notch. Raise with A $ suited and get the blinds. Try again with 8 8. But this time Otis calls. Damn. But then the chip leader bumps it to 1200. Those 8s are pretty tiny now. I drop 420 chips that I cannot afford to really lose. I am now in push mode.

Suddenly I get a good spot. I have A Q suited in the BB. The button goes for a steal. Biggestron calls from the SB. I push all in for my remaining 1510. The button folds, but Big calls and shows....A J! No! I hate that hand. It always beats me. Always. Flop comes K Q J. Looks good so far. Turn is a heart giving me a flush draw as well. But the river spikes a J and I am out.

Gone at 42. Not totally happy with how I played. Should not have called that re-raise with K Q early on. That hurt. Smarter play would most likely still have me in the game. Oh well, there is always next time.

PokerStage: A Not Very Modest Proposal

Falstaff has a great idea.
From Midnight on February 8th (EST) through Midnight on Sunday February 11 (PST), do not play any internet poker.

The companies that stand to benefit the most aren't really doing much to help in our plight. If they see the revenue drop, it should open their eyes. Join the boycott!

PokerStage: A Not Very Modest Proposal

Better

I had some fun in the WWdN last night. Made the final table, but went out in 9th. I made a bad play but am not overly upset with it. Took a chance putting my money in when I knew I was behind and going to be called and it didn't pay off.

Wondering if anyone else would play it the same way. I believe I was in 7th at the time with only 5 places paying off. Chip count was around 4.8k or so, blinds 100/200/25. UTG+2, I have 10 10. I raise to 750. MP re-raises to 2400.

I thought for a while. My gut told me I was behind to a bigger pair, but because he was a bigger stack, he may have been making a play at it. It was only the 4th or 5th hand at the final table and I had no read on his style of play. My decision was simple. Do I want to gamble. If I call, I am basically committed. I would have about 1700 left and would be playing push poker. With the payout limited, I also realized I need to make a move to ensure I would cash.

In the end, I decided to gamble and called. Flop was K Q J. Not quite the flop I wanted to see. I now know I am behind to a set, two pair at the very least, but I highly doubt it. With 1700 behind, I figure I have to push and get lucky to catch 1 of 8 outs and fill the straight. My opponent calls showing K K. I don't catch and go home.

For once I wasn't unhappy about this play. I don't like getting in when I am behind. This time though, I knew I was behind and was willing to gamble. Curious to know if anyone else would have gambled here or just folded to the pre-flop re-raise.

Forgot to mention Pauly's travels yesterday. Well worth reading.

Not much

Played some poker over the weekend but not too much. The usual: Triple Draw, some Hold Em, some SnGs. Overall the weekend was profitable by $150. Not huge, but compared to the last couple of days, much needed.

Spent more time just relaxing and taking a break. I also envied reading of some of the trips others just took.

Iggy went to Mexico.
BadBlood went to Tunica with the UpForPoker gang.
Maudie and Gracie were in Tunica as well.

All the while, I was shoveling snow in Milwaukee. Yeah, I am a tad jealous.

Go read about their adventures or I will blog about shoveling.

Daily Double Pay Out

Played my first Full Tilt Daily Double last night. Though I usually do not like two tabling tournaments, this did not seem to be a problem.

However, when I had 3 tables going, adding in the Mookie and a TD SnG, I found that a bit annoying. In one spot I tried to fold a hand on FTP and ended up raising on the TD game. That pretty much put me in the crapper there.

But I did good. Finished in the money in both Daily Doubles. In A finished 72 out of 1083 (?) and in B, I finished finished 123 of 950ish.

By finishing in the money in both tournaments, I got a bonus of $16.86! Add that on to the 8 bucks I made by finishing in the money and I am rolling in the dough! I will probably give it another whirl sometime next week as it felt good to play a tournament in a serious manner once again.

The whole Neteller taking a dump on us Americans had people ticked off in the chat box yesterday. Yeah, it is going to suck trying to get money if you need to. I don't think moving money to someone else to deposit is such a good idea. It could be possible for the feds to go after them for doing the same thing Neteller was doing. Just something to consider.

Bad draws

In case you are not keeping up to date with Pauly and the Aussie Millions, go check out the video. They look like they are going to call some professional wrestling for us. I could have sworn they would be go up to the ring for the next match.

I also can't help but try to find some of this James Boag's that he keeps talking about. I have to try this brew.

I had a horrible weekend at the TD tables. I may have made some loose plays, but overall I couldn't make a draw to save my life. Knowing people would stay in, I changed my betting patterns and slowed down, sped up, tried to get people to fold. Instead they would draw two and beat my 8 6. I would start with 2 3 4 5 and proceed to either pair up, draw a face, or complete a straight.

All along watching people stay pat with a 10.

Now, I don't proclaim to be a good TD player, but I think I understand the basics and can play better than most of the people at the table. There are times you know you are good until that last draw. The cards just go against you.

On the other hand, I am running well at the limit tables (3/6).

I will have to look at what this really means over the next couple of days. Until then, I think I will take a good luck at the Daily Double over at Full Tilt. Interesting concept I must say.

Also, I think that listening to something I have seen described as "German Folk Metal" and "Viking Metal" can help one play better. In Extremo. Sure I don't have a clue what they are singing unless I look it up, but the music rocks. The song Spielmannsfluch is pretty good. Especially when the bag pipes kick in.

Smoker, Take 3

About an hour into the smoker, I was pretty much disgusted with myself.

I have a good feel for how the tournament runs. Most players are loose and passive. They are willing to call down with bottom pair, not bet the nuts, and generally not have a clue on realizing they are way behind. They have no clue about pot odds, or being committed when short stacked. A good player should make the money every time they play as long as they elude the bad beat. They can control the table with strong hands and big bets.

But I wasn't doing much of anything but folding. My cards were pretty damn bad. If I had something I could possibly play, it was in early position and a raise wasn't going to keep people out of the pot. Thus going maniac wasn't a smart option.

Thus, I played the waiting game. My plans of being active early were gone. Instead I needed to catch one hand and make it pay off.

That would take a while. Close to 2 hours into the night to be exact. I would get A K in the BB. There were 2 limpers and the SB in the pot. With the option, I pushed all in, about 5 times the blinds. Everyone folded. Though I was happy to finally win a hand, I wonder if I should have see a flop to maximize the hand.

That would sit in my mind for a while as I would post blinds and bleed them off for another 30 minutes until I would get a decent hand. Then with K Js, I would someone quintuple up when I flopped the nut straight. Somehow the board did not pair up and no one connected for the flush. I would be back in the game. Just a bit later, I would double up with 10 10.

The structure at this tournament is weird. It is suppose to be 30 minutes levels early on. You get a good amount of play for the first 3 hours. But once they get down to the last 2 tables, the blinds seem to go up on a whim. Plus they are doubling. It ends up being a crapshoot at the end. Before you know it, blinds are going 2000/4000 and the chip leader has maybe 10xs the blinds.

At the end, anyone with ice water in their veins can push every hand and scoop up the blinds. I didn't make the final table but I was willing to try it. Most people fold just hoping to move up one more spot.

Considering how the night went, I should have been content getting my buy in back. But yet I was disgusted by folding so much. -

Smoker, Take 2

I developed quite a strategy last night. I am thinking with some practise, I could write a book. With the way the tournament was unfolding, making the money was a distant possibility. As long as I stayed disciplined to my strategy, it would happen.

I call it Table Changing Your Way to the Final Table.

My cards were beyond sucking. I folded for close to 2 hours before I won a hand. Seeing that I was going to be short, I knew I would have to find a spot and push.

With the blinds coming, I felt screwed. But then the TD threw some cards down.

Table change!

I drew my spot, table 7, seat 5. I sat down on the button. Sweet! I get another round. With the suckage of the cards hitting a new high, I folded for an orbit. Blinds were hitting me again.

But wait, the TD walks up again and throw cards down again. Yes!

I draw table 6, seat 8. Hmm...I notice the pattern here. I started table 8 and keep getting moved. Don't need to be a rocket scientist to know this table will be broken next.

I sit down ON THE BUTTON AGAIN! Yes! Short stack gets a free orbit!

I realized that if I get drawing the next sequenced table and moved in on the button, I could make the money and the final table! A strategy no sane person had ever thought of. Sure, people can fold their way to the money, but I was going to table change my way to a payday.

Alas, that got screwed up when I was moved to table 2, skipping 3,4, and 5 completely. It will take another day and another tournament to perfect a strategy that can take over the poker world in 2007.

Smoker, Take 1

7:00: Cards are in the air.
7:40: Food. Polish, Slovenian, and Hot Croatian sausages. With sauerkraut and green beans.
8:45: Table change.
8:55: I win my first pot. With A Ko in the BB (100/200), I move all in on 3 limpers. No one calls.
9:00: Table change.
9:10: Table change.
9:20: I win my second pot. Blinds are 200/400, I have 1000 left. UTG+2, I see K J diamonds and decide now is as good as any time to push. Worse comes to worse, I can sit back and drink beer. Flop the nut straight. Just need to avoid the flush potential. Then need to avoid the full house. Straight holds up and suddenly I have 4900. I notice 2 hands later that I was shortchanged a black chip on the pot.
9:25: I steal the blinds! Hey, I finally had a chance to do so and one can destroy this tournament by stealing at this stage.
9:40 Push with 10 10. Loose guy in big blind calls with K J. I double up and now can make a move to the final table.
9:45: Win six pack of beer.
10:00: Win third pot. With A Q in the BB, I call the short stack's push for another 1500. He has 8 8. A hits the turn, Q on the river. "I hope I never see you again" he says as he leaves the table. Had played with this guy at two other tables. Every time I dealt, he had a good hand cracked and lost big pots. Collect $10 bounty.
10:25: I lose a big pot, crippling me. Blinds are 1000/2000. Friend of mine pushes from MP. I have A Q in the BB. I know him pretty well and figure he has just an A, nothing big. I call leave just 1000 behind. Sure enough, he has A J. I immediately tell him I will lose this pot. A J always beats my A Q. Yep, J on the flop. Not a shock.
10:30: I am out in 13th place. I was all in by posting the SB. Don't look at my cards as two other guys battle it out. One guy gets a straight from the BB with 4 2. Guy is a prick, too serious. I turn over K 6. Two pair. I get my buy in back.

3 1/2 hours, get buy in back and "donation" to church back in form of a bounty. Also win 6 pack of Lite. I am ahead for live play in 2007.

A step away from poker to settle a score

"License to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations.
Man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in
this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're
like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior
firepower and superior intelligence. And that's all she wrote."

Time for the NCAA Men's Hockey Champions to rise to the occasion. Beating the Gophers this weekend will be sweet. I hope Drizz has enough Captains to console himself this weekend.

Badger Badger Badger.

Wisconsin Badgers 2
Minnesota Gophers 1
Badgers win!!!

I am not the only one

I noticed Chilly isn't happy with the guy either. I am talking about the guy who does the voice overs for NBC's Poker After Dark. While I like the action- showing every single hand may be boring to some but I love it- the guy should just shut up. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to hire the class valedictorian from Norm Chad's School of Poker Broadcasting?

Was Phil Gordon not available?

A proud moment

I was beaming with pride early in the WWdN tonight.

On back to back hands, I dropped the hammer. One doesn't get too many opportunities in life to do so thus I place it on the trophy shelf with the other accomplishments. And no, there are no pics. I am not Hoy.

Of course, things would go sour later. I went from just over 3k to 190 in two hands when I first ran Q Q into A A, and then the very next hand, J J vs A A. Cruel part was on the hand with the Hiltons, I flopped a set. But the rockets flopped one as well.

Of course, I went out to J J when I pushed with A 8 on the short side. Oh well.

I think I may be playing in a smoker on Friday. Haven't done that in a while so it should be a good time. At the very least, I will have some great food and lots of cold beer.

Stuck, unstuck, and stuck again

Triple draw is like that hot girl you know at the bar. She flirts with you, makes you feel good, and you buy her drinks. The conversation goes well and you think you are going to score. Then some ass walks in, gets her attention and she is gone. Out the door. You are left with half of the money you had and wondering if your game sucks.

You see her the next day and go through the whole routine again. This time, however, some ass doesn't come in, you spend more time with her and get a number. You think you know her. You think it is a sure thing, that you will see her again tomorrow and you will be a winner.

But tomorrow comes and she walks in with another guy. You try to move in and buy some drinks, but she is cold. You get no where and are left scratching your head again.

I felt that way playing TD on Saturday. I was playing 2/4 and 3/6. My notes show me doing very well at 2/4. 3/6 is a slightly different story. Good session followed by bad session. I made a bit on the 2/4 table after being stuck. 3/6 had me bouncing all over the place. It was tougher because the cards I were getting stunk. Lots of paint. I felt I was in a virtual Louvre. I would get myself in a bad spot when I wouldn't hit a good draw after raising and leading out. Of course some guy would keep drawing and catch. It was frustrating but I wasn't allowing it to tilt me.

I thought I would make it all back and then some when an extremely aggressive player sat down. Raised pretty much every hand, even when drawing 4. Even on the hands where he wasn't the aggressor, he would bet as soon as he smelled weakness as the bettor stopped. Funny thing though, he kept making hands. Draw 4, then 1, stand pat. Show a 7 and win. Show an 8 and win. Win with 22. Again and again.

I tried to play my game. I thought I had him caught. Raised it pre flop, drew 1 and stayed on an 8 6. He kept drawing two all the way to last draw. Drew two cards, raised my bet and showed 7 6.

After swearing up a storm, I logged out. I was down about $80 at that point after being unstuck for the same amount a half hour earlier. I thought about how I had played and was content. Didn't make any loose stupid calls or draws. Just didn't get some good cards for orbits at at time. That is how that game goes.

But how can someone keep drawing two to the end? Seems like suicide. Or maybe it just seems that I don't hit.

Now the grub has been caught

Eastside meets Westside downtown.
No time, no line, the walls fall down.

Can't you feel it coming? EMPIRE!

-Queensryche

I see Grubby is the latest to be snared by Pokerworks. The empire gets bigger. Good to see another great writer getting his due.

I took my first bad TD session yesterday. I say bad because it wasn't me donking off. It was me losing to just slightly better hands. 86 losing to 85. 76 losing to 75. At least I was ramming and jamming to the end. I think the hand that killed me the most was both me and my opponent drawing one all the way to the end. We both checked the river (is is a river in TD?), and my 98 lost to his 97. I doubt he was drawing to a 9 so we likely both caught the 9 on the last card.

The bright side is I am not making a lot bad decisions like I was. More selective on starting hands, and I believe more importantly, when to bet when still drawing. While I am in no position to call some players bad at this game, I can spot those that are terrible. That I like.

Does being a maniac at first help?

I have noticed a trend in my play over the last couple of months. I play more hands, call down more bets, and pay off more players in the first orbit of a game. Not sure why I do it (eager to play maybe?), but I usually find myself in a hole after a couple of hands. I can usually fight back to cut the loss or turn a profit but it would be much nicer to not bury myself to begin with.

There is one benefit. People think you are an idiot. Yeah, some of you think I am an idiot anyway, but it is better when the people at the table think I don't have a clue what I am doing. Thus when I have a monster, they won't give me any credit for it and pay me off. That is how I usually get paid back.

Oh, it also doesn't hurt that big hands have held up. I thought I was sunk when I make it 3 bets to go from the BB with A A. UTG+2 capped it and 3 of us saw a flop come Q high. I thought I was in trouble but bet it out to see what would happen. No raises. Hmmm. Turn was a 3. Bet again and it is just called by both players. River is a K. No straight possibility. No flush. I don't like that K though. I had one of them on K K. I ruled out Q Q so that card didn't matter, but was pretty sure someone held on to hit the river jackpot. I checked. Check. Check. I was up against 10 10 and 7 7. Capped with 7 7 and called it down hoping to hit a 2 outer.

Yep, it is easy to come back when you get paid off.

Played a good amount of TD last night. Started at 1/2 while playing some short handed Omaha hi/lo. Moved up to 2/4 and 3/6 when the table broke. The pace in the 3/6 game was quite faster. Lots of raising going on compared to the 2/4 game where I am more comfortable. Unfortunately, what I made on TD covered my Omaha losses. I really stunk it up there last night.

I think the best part of playing poker over the last 2 weeks is that I have had some fun. Playing very little in December helped to build my interest again. I also think that instead of developing a game plan- something I did last year but never stuck with- is out. I am going with the flow and will play whatever interests me. For now it is TD. Who knows what it might be next.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Interesting things happening in the poker blog world. Linda over at PokerWorks is taking her cues from the business world and acquiring herself some of the best talent on the web. Table Tango has always been one of the best reads on poker and now the rest of the site just got even better.

Starting off the year in their new homes are:
Amy
Joe Speaker
Change 100
Maudie

Congrats on the new digs and gigs.

I wonder if the boys at UpForPoker will start playing Monopoly and sign up some talent? I wonder if I will play a bit more and actually talk about it.

I did play some triple draw over the weekend. Donked off chips to Maigrey like a madman at times. It wasn't until Sunday morning that I realized the leak in my game. Too aggressive early with non-pat hands. I was overly aggressive in one session and was stuck $80 in 10 minutes. having the second nut lose to the nuts hurt, but I was betting out and not making my hands. I changed gears, slowed down and did much better turning a nice profit over the next half hour.

There is more TD on the horizon as I enjoy the change of pace from hold em. But my poker ADD will sprout again soon and I will move on to the next game of the day. If I had half a brain, I would realize that I play more HORSE. The games change as much as my interest in each does so that would seem the perfect spot.

We will see how that works.