Okay month, bad day...
Date: Thu, Jul 24, 2008 Professional Internet
This month has been pretty good for me, until today where I dropped 70k playing 200/400 PLO. I was up about 130K in only 2K hands for the month until tonight. Still winning 50K in about 2500 hands is not bad either. I haven't been playing much with all the WSOP travel. I have been buying in for 16K instead of 40K at 200/400 PLO for a few reasons. One is that I only have a little more than 300K online right now so 40K buy ins take a toll. But beyond that I think the games are really good for having a 40BB stack for reraising preflop and potting any flop all in. I don't know I will experiment with it for awhile and see how it goes. Anyways here are the more interesting hands of the day.
Sucks to get raised here, but I don't think there is any other way to play it.
Not to interesting of a hand, though I will take getting it in good anytime, even if I am only a small favorite.
Geting it in good here against Gus.
This weekend is goign to be very crazy. My good friend is getting married Saturday and all our old rugby buddies are going to be there. I have about 15 guys staying with me this weekend and my kidneys are already begining to hurt with all the alchol I am going to be consuming. Anyways it should be a really great weekend as I haven't seen many of the guys in quite awhile.
Heads up for Hawii
Date: Tue, Jul 22, 2008 Professional Internet
CardRunners is putting on a special tournament which pits eight of the NLH instructors against each other in a HU 400BB match with the winner getting a free trip for two to Hawaii. The people playing are myself, Brian Hastings, Taylor Caby, Cole South, Eric liu, Ryan Daut, Isaac Baron, and David Benefield. We are all recording our play and will do commentary on our actions to provide some insight to our HU style.
I played my first match today against Eric Liu and it went well for me. We played 50/100 NLH to spice things up and it took about 50 min for me to win that 400BB, though I must say I did get very lucky in one large pot where I sucked out on his pocket kings. I think my first video against Eric will turn out really well as he was playing very very aggressively putting me in a ton of tough spots. I had to use a lot of floats and loose peals to counter his constant aggression. He did a good job of putting me out of my game with his aggressive style.
I really didn’t have a great idea of how Eric played and I felt that he would have a better handle on my HU game than I did on his. That said I had watch him and Taylor play some HU in Vegas last month and there were a few things I picked up about his game which helped me play him.
The first big pot we played happened about 5 hands into the session. I felt that Eric would want to set the tempo early with a lot of aggressive raises and reraises, so when he 4 bet me I decided to call with AJo for two reasons. One was I had watched him play Taylor HU and I knew he could 4 bet lightly and two was that when he did four bet and Taylor flat called he correctly put Taylor on a huge hand and checked behind a monster draw in a huge 4 bet pot. So that led me to play this hand like I did and I will discuss it in much greater detail in the video because I think it’s an incredibly interesting hand.
I will discuss this hand in much greater detail when I do the audio commentary. I expect the videos to begin going up within the next week or two.
While one table had no action to begin with the other table had tons of it. Here I deciede to 4 bet Eric lightly. When he just flats my 4 bet oop that deep I really felt that he had a big hand, so I opted to check behind with my strong draw. I was debating bet calling, but felt that he was jamming 90%+ of the time, so I opted for a free card.
weaktight.com/287969
I really like how Eric played this and I love his river value bet as I might look him up very lightly not thinking he would valuebet a big pair in that fashion. This ended the first table and on the 2nd little had happened. I think I had a small lead on the 2nd table of about 25K to 15K, but I don't remember exactly.
The first big hand we played on the 2nd table occurred when Eric decided to attack a low flop. I held top pair top kicker and felt that this was a good flop for him to put pressure on me. I think though if he had fired the river I would have folded, but who knows, sometimes I get stubborn.
We played a few smaller pots until I someone managed to play a big pot with J4s out of position. I was completely lost this hand and really don't like how I played it. I don't mind my turn bet fold as I am really only beating a KQ or spades type of hand which floated the flop. I dunno maybe I played it fine, I will have to give it some more thought. I can't wait to watch his video and see what he had.
I am notorious for my misclicks and I used it to my advantage in the next hand. I actually did misclick at first and once I realized that I had typed the wrong number I decided to bet it anyways since I thought Eric might try to take advantage of it. I was right and he shoved his draw. I actually really like Erics play in that spot and would probably do it the same way. After we spoke and the reason he thought it was a real misclick was that I did it so quickly.
We had some other interesting hands, but for the sake of brevity I will leave them out. The final hand was completely standard by both sides and I don't see to many other ways either of us could have played our hands.
I must say that luck was definitely on my side this match. Things could easily have gone Erics way if a few cards had come differently. I will let you know when the 2nd match is so that you can rail. I am really looking forward to my next match and winning a trip to Hawaii!
WSOP day two
Date: Tue, Jul 15, 2008 Professional Internet
First sorry about the delay in writing up day two of the WSOP. I had friends come into town and then I traveled home, so I haven't had a minute to catch my breath.
To recap I had a very good day one of the WSOP ending with about 85K in chips. My new table seemed very good with no one that I recognized. I saw people defending J7o out of position and check calling down on very bad boards for there hand. I felt that I had a very large edge at the table. Unfortunatly one of the players one of the players I have played alot of omaha with and is a good high stakes player. He single handedly destroyed my chips stack. He plays under Chufty onine and later I foun out his name to be Richard Ashby.
The first hand we got involved in knocked me down from about 80K to 30K in chips. I raised 4c5c from the cutoff and Richard defended his big blind. The flop was a great one for me coming down Jc 4h 3c. Richard checked and I bet 2/3 the size of the pot. He thought for a moment and called. The turn was the 9c completing my flush. Again he checked and I bet 2/3 of pot. He announced all in and I snap called. The pot was about 100K in chips, but unfortunatly I couln't scoop it up as the river came the 9h giving Richard a fullhouse to beat my flush.
Within a few more orbits Richard got the best of me again. I was still at about 30K in chips, when I picked up A2o from the cutoff. I raised and again he defended his big blind. The flop was amazing for me coming down 2h 9h 2c giving me trips top kicker. He checked and I bet about 3K into a 5K pot which he called. The turn came the 5h and again he checked. I fired about 7-8k into the 11K pot and again he announced all in. At this point I really wasn't in love with my hand but with under 20K in chips left I almost had odds to outdraw a flush and he could easily have a slow played overpair again. If I had more chips I probably could have found a fold, but when I have 23% equity against a flush I just can't fold in that spot. He flipped over Kh 8h and I didn't improve to bounce me out of the tournament.
I ended up spending the weekend in Vegas as my good friends were out for there bachlor/bachlorette party. It was a blast with everyone in Vegas and I am really looking forward to there Wedding at the end of the month.
Day one of the WSOP
Date: Mon, Jul 7, 2008 Professional Internet
I played one of the best tournaments that I have ever played on day one of the WSOP. I ended up with ~85K in chips and remained focused and played well all day. The most challenging thing that I had to deal with was getting reads on my opponents. It’s very hard when most of the people know you’re a good thinking player and you know nothing about them. I didn’t know anyone at my table but I found out that Mike “Timex” McDonalds’ (I hate putting peoples online name in quotes that but you need to know who I am talking about) father was two seats to my left and he was not afraid to mix it up with me, by reraising my button opens liberally. My initial read was that he was going to be playing weak tight and very fit or fold, but this was not the case and he played very aggressively against me. It seemed like Mike had given him some pointers.
Along with Mike’s father I had three Swedish players to my left. When I sat down I thought “great I am going to be getting reraised and bluffed at all day long.” I don’t mind when people try to bluff, but I prefer playing against straight forward passive opponents. At the other end of the able were 4 older gentlemen who I thought would be playing tight and straightforward. Well I sure was wrong with that read. The older guys were bluffing and playing back at me constantly, while the younger euros were playing relatively straightforwardly. Obviously they were bluffing but not nearly as crazily as I was anticipating.
The first large pot I played was in the first round where everyone had about 20K in chips and the blinds were 50/100. The UTG player limped and I limped after with A8 of clubs. We took the flop five ways and it was very favorable for me coming down J65 all of clubs. The player UTG lead into the field for 1K into a 500 chip pot. I decided not to slow play and popped him to 3K. Everyone behind me folded and he snap called the 2K chip raise. The turn came an off suit 3 and he checked. I bet 5200 and he called. The river brought a non club 2 and he insta shoved into me. I quickly checked my hand to make sure I hadn’t misread it and called. Its always nice to win a big pot early as it really helps me focus through the tourney.
I didn’t have any other hands until the next blind level where I picked up pocket kings. Mike’s father opened UTG with what he later said was pocket queens and he was reraised by a player in middle position who was playing very aggressively. This player had about 30K in chips. I went ahead and 4 bet to 5200 which he called. The flop was a horrible one for me coming down QJ3. I thought for a minute an went ahead and checked. My opponent instantly grabbed two 5K chips and through them in the middle. At this point I was really torn as I didn’t beat very many hands but I felt that with him betting almost pot he was unlikely to have a set or aces. So I went ahead and check raised him all in and he snap folded. With that hand and a few other hands I had worked my stack up to 60K.
The final large pot I played before the dinner break pitted me against player who played well and I could tell he played a lot online. I opened from middle position with AQ of spades and he defended his big blind with about 30k in chips. The flop came down 56T with two spades. He led into me for a very small bet of 800 chips. I went ahead and raised to 2800. He thought for a moment and called. The turn brought an off suit jack giving me a gutter to go along with it. He quickly checked and I fired 4800 chips. He raised me about 13K more. I thought for a minute and figured I had odds to draw since it would be hard for him to get away if I did make a straight or a flush. I know in a cash game this would be an auto call but I don’t know if the tournament dynamic would affect my decision. I suspect it wouldn’t since it was early and tourneys play similarly to cash games in the early stages. I missed and was back down to about 40K in chips.
At this point I felt my concentration slip. Whenever I lose a sizable pot in a tournament it really affects me and I begin to give up. Luckily it was the dinner break and it gave some time to refocus. I really think I may have done something stupid if the dinner break hadn’t come along.
After the break I begin hitting some hands. The next large pot I played was against an older gentleman who had shown me a bluff earlier in the day. It seemed like he wanted to outplay me and generally be in pots with me. So when he opened from the cutoff I looked down at 84s and went ahead and reraised him. I really hate my play here and should not have been looking to out play this particular opponent but the flop came down 883 making up for my poor preflop decision. I went ahead and led out for ˝ of the pot betting about 4K into what was now an 8k pot. He thought for a moment and called. When he called really felt that he could have any two cards he had called with preflop so I decided to give him some rope and let him bluff when a 9 came on the turn. He obliged and instantly shoved his 25K stack into the middle. I snap called and he showed KTs and was drawing dead. Honestly I really misplayed this hand preflop against this particular opponent.
That pot put me up to about 70K and from there I snapped off a bluff against another very aggressive older gentleman dressed in cowboy cloths. I opened UTG T9c to about 1K at 150/300 blinds with 25 ante. He repoped me to 3K from the small blind. He had about as many chips as me so I went ahead and called. The flop came down K T 8 rainbow. He led for 6K and I called. Turn was a 7 and he checked. I decided to check behind as betting wouldn’t really get any better hands to fold and getting check raised now would really suck. The river was a 2 and he fired out about 16K. I thought for a moment and called. He flipped over AQo went for a walk after the hand. I honestly called just because I felt that guy was trying to make a move on me. I hardly ever call in spots like those, but for some reason I felt like this guy was trying something. This put me in very nice chip position at about 90K.
I continued to build my stack up to 100K but unfortunately on the final hand of the day I lost a decent size pot. A player in middle position opened and I elected to flat call with AQo. I was called by a Swedish player behind me as well as the big blind. The flop came down A93 rainbow and it was checked to me. I fired 3k into about a 4-5K pot. The Swedish player on the button called while everyone else folded. The turn came a T not putting out any flush draws. I checked and the Swedish player checked behind. The river came a 2 and I fired 13K for about a pot size bet. I really hate my bet as I can only get value from AJ here and this player was folding a lot of hands and playing conservatively. I really would have liked a much smaller bet of about 7-8k. Anyways he called and showed me ATo.
Overall it was a great day and I am really looking forward to Wednesday.
3rd times the charm...
Date: Sat, Jul 5, 2008 Professional Internet
I have been trying to play the main event for two days now and hopefully tomorrow I actually play. I was all set to play day one with chips in hand ready to go to the cashiers, but I was late for our member party and McFadden’s so I stopped by there first. The party was great as it let me put faces to some of our members. We even got a little high stakes beer pong action. I ended up winning 4K in beer pong off Brian Hastings when we played 1K a cup with him giving me 2-1 odds. I think that has to be the highest amounts bet on beer pong. If I had sunk every shot and he missed every cup I could have won 20K. Anyways with the combination of beer pong and an open bar I was pretty drunk by midnight when we headed over to the Safire strip club for the Doyle’s room party. Somehow between going from the Rio to Safire I lost my 10K buy in which Taylor had loaned me.
It’s such a weird thing because I am hardly ever that careless. I was a bit disappointed in myself for being so stupid, but I figure someone is going to be very happy. I think the most likely place where I lost the chips was in the limo or possibly getting out to pay for the limo. One thing that I am very good at is not letting stuff like that bother me. I am good at not worrying about things that are outside of my control. So even after losing the 10K I still had a great time. Unfortunately I got so drunk that I couldn't even make it to the bank and the tourney by noon.
So the next evening Nick Wealthall and Kara Scott and I went to the Voodoo lounge on the Rio which has an amazing view. Again I had a bit too much to drink but was still able to get up at 10AM the next morning. I figured when I got up I would have no problems making it the bank and the Rio by the time the tournament started. Except that I forgot that it was the 4th of July and all the banks were closed. So hopefully tomorrow I can get it together and play this tourney. I am going to bed early so I will be nice and rested. I am actually looking forward to playing and am going to really focus, something I am bad at in tourneys.
Vegas....
Date: Wed, Jul 2, 2008 Professional Internet
I am out in vegas and it has been a very hectic last 5 days so I apologize for the lack of updates. We have been having meetings everyday for CardRunners. My one day with no CardRunners meetings I spent doing a video shoot for FullTilt Poker. I did a video on positional statistics which I think will be very popular. It was filmed in the FullTilt house and features me with a screen discussing about 5000 hands of statistics which I have accumulated from playing 5/10 and 10/20 for my videos. I think this will be a very educational video and the producer was very pleased with not only my discussion of the statistics but my on camera presence.
The fulltilt house was pretty nice and I inquired how much the rent was. Iwas shocked when I found out a 3000 square foot house with a pool and very nice backyard in Vegas was renting for $2500dollars a month and could be purchased for 350-400K. I knew that the Vegas housing market was in a slump but I didn't realize it had dropped as much as it has. My father and I have been discussingpurchasing something in Vegas since hes starting to pull money from his retirement funds and I pay way to much in state taxes. I am considering setting up residence in Vegas, but I am not tottaly sure I am ready to leave California just to save 10% on taxes. I have to admit its getting tempting especially after paying taxes last year.
Tonight CardRunners is having a members party at Mcfadens which I am heading over to in a few hours. Its an open bar so I need to use some self control and not get to drunk as I am planning on playing the main event tomorrow, tho I haven't signed up yet. I will give you guys an update on how I do.
200/400 NLH and 100/200 PLO
Date: Wed, Jun 25, 2008 Professional Internet
I played a sesson of 200/400 NLH and 50/100 PLO which resulted in me losng 90k in NLH and losng 67k capped PLO. I think played fine, but just wasn't making any hands.
I actually dislike my preflop decsision in this hand. I think postflop plays itself, but I prefer a fold of KQs. It was early in the match and Pry1nnraid is very aggressve, but I still think calling here wth KQs is a leak albiet a very small one.
That was the largest NLH hand that I played. The rest of them were me not having a hand and getting raised.
The 100/200 PLO game was a capped game where I just didn't win a capped pot. I think my play is very standard in every pot.
Here I am lead into and my opponent could easily have a worse draw.
A favorite on every street...
Here I get it in a bit bad wth 42% equity. This may have been a bit to aggressive of me preflop, but defently not a huge mistake.
Not really to much I can do in a capped PLO game...
I thought most of my plays were very standard. I am getting a bit poor online. After this loss I am down to only 1/4 million online. This entre year I haven't been playing that well/focused. I am gonna take some time and think if I want to redeposit money or try to build back up from what have.