WTFrog Do You Think I Have?

Date: Tue, Jun 17, 2008 Internet

I only put in a short session, playing slightly over an hour and putting in slightly over 400 hands. Yet people absolutely gave me no respect at all and tried to treat me like Holland treated Italy and France earlier. Good strategy, but not failing to take one little detail into consideration: I am Dutch.

These were my largest pots for the hour:




• Preflop: Leviathan1 seems a solid aggressive player. I had a quite aggressive image at this table as well and his limp here surprised me a bit. Some fish limped, and he did not make an isolation raise? I had the feeling that if I were going to make an isolation raise myself I'd get slapped in the face by him, so I elected to just limp along in position. Another very aggro player in the BB decides to squeeze here, but his range here should be huge. Even while my hand is not that great, I get decent odds to call and see a flop in position.

• Flop: Villain cbets around pot size here. I do expect him to cbet here with his entire range, but I am not sure about what size he'd use OOP. I have no backdoor draws, but there's a somewhat decent chance my bottom pair is still good here. Even if it's not, I decide to float and see what happens on the turn.

• Turn: So I hit two pair, could still be behind to a few sets and AK but I have to assume vs a very aggro player that I hold the best hand here almost always. When he shoves, I hardly see him doing so with anything which beats me so the call here is standard.



• Preflop: Standard, a minraise here can mean a bunch of things, I do not really care though with a second player in and somewhat nice implied odds.

• Flop: I can't wait to check-fold here.

• Turn: I love free cards. Villain who is not the PFR, but who runs like 41/8, pots this turn. I have little idea about his range here to be honest. He could have the nuts, top set, air, but I am very eager to get the stacks in. I decide to just call though to try to keep the initial PFR in.

• River: I still think I need to raise for value here. I missed out on 0.55 worth of value though.





• I just started at this table, and had no clue what the minraise meant. It could be a draw, set, bluff and I'll be OOP for the rest of the hand. I decided to not fool around and just try to get my chips in the middle. Villain actually just had top pair second kicker here and misplayed it in a pretty terrible way. If hands like these are in the range he'll raise and shove this flop with, I need much less strong hands to continue vs him in the future.




• Another hand vs an unknown who seemed a bit aggressive in the small sample so far. I really dislike how I played this hand though. On the flop I had no clue about his range, so I guessed it could be bluffs, sets, draws, TP etc. I decided to just raise for value here because I had no backdoor draws left. If I held a Q of diamonds, I would just have called. But villain made a very small 4-bet here which screams strength. Correct turn play would probably have been to slam my head into the wall, yet fold regardless since this is rarely a bluff. But I'm a fish so decided to get it in.

Overall I managed to win 3.3 buyins in slightly over an hour, Holland gave Romania the 1-2 Teddy, so nothing to complain about today at all.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Week 24

Date: Mon, Jun 16, 2008 Internet

So why have there been no updates since last sunday a week ago? For the same reason people are silent in non-poker related events: I had nothing to talk about.

I only managed to put in around 6k hands, running at a measly 2.16ptBB/100. Not really something I can brag about on my blog.

One thing I've been wondering about is how I approach my game. I keep making some very high variance plays, probably due to the Fancy Play Syndrome, and a discussion on the Cardrunners forums made me realize the errors of my ways: I should keep the fancy plays for higher limits, bluff much less, and just grind my way up from the toe-itch limits so I can eventually reach the nose-bleed limits.

The hand in question was this one:



Flop: I made a standard cbet here and got called. One thing was certain when facing this player, which is that he does not have two pair here nor TPTK. Turn: I do not want to two-barrel since I expect to get called by his whole range here. So I decide to check, to either get a free card, or to CR him off his marginal hand. The nice thing about CR'ing here is that even if he shoves, I get the correct odds to call. BUT...the equity of my hand would also have allowed me to just check-call here. There was absolutely no need to CR here vs a fish since the pot odds I received were already great, and if I could earn a few more bucks on the river, check-calling here would already have been very +EV, without the variance.

That does not mean I will stop bluffing completely though, nor 3-betting light, though 4-betting light is something I only do now vs people who are really asking for it. I am trying to reduce my light 3-betting frequency when out of position, but when I do so, I do with hands that will make me look like a spewmonkey:



I obviously did not make a value bet on this river even while it's a standard spot to do so, but I really wanted to show down 72o here. Villain will probably give me MUCH less respect when 3-betting vs him when I do so occasionally with total junk, compared to doing so with 56s/33 etc.

Semi-bluffing stays insanely profitable though, and it will stay an important part of my game, be it a check-raise with an underpair (semi-bluffing to 2 outs) on dry boards OOP, but people give me no credit anyways when I have relatively loose stats at a table. If people play so bad at NL100, I got no need to really go fancy, since they'll pay off anyways as long as I show I occasionally make some moves (for much smaller pots):





The difference with this hand compared to the earlier 67s hand is that this is a semi-bluff where I can fold to a shove, AND lack the implied odds since I do not know whether hitting two pair is good here.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Date: Mon, Jun 9, 2008 Internet

Just like any sunday the day starts looking for juicy tables full of fish. And there were tons of them.

This only leads to one problem. When there are like a hundred tables, and like a million fish, why can't I get one of those tables for myself? Every juicy table I manage to find there are atleast 1 or 2 sharks who just don't allow me to bust the fish by myself.

Contrary to the title, I actually did quite decently. Managed to put in around 3k hands, won 2.4 buyins and ended 23rd in a freeroll donkament from my Rakeback site, which sadly only earned me $55.

It was one of those days where KK runs into AA from half-stack fish constantly, sets do not hold up over half the time, AA loses a bunch of times after getting most the money in good, and the large bluffs never seem to work. You know what I'm talking about, those days are sundays.

There were quite some interesting hands but the most interesting ones were vs other cardrunners members.

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

3 folds, BTN raises to $3.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $12.50, BTN calls $9



Villain in question is a CR member, is very solid and observant. He probably also knows who I am, yet that didn't stop him from attacking the blinds almost every time he was on the CO or button. I do not mind that, except when I am the BB. I expect him to know I will 3bet him often because of that, so I chose to do so at first with a polarized range to see if he'll start 4-betting me or calling in position.

Flop: ($25.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks



Not a bad flop, but not one I can cbet. Villain will probably be raising me here with tons of hands, regardless of if he actually hit it. So I decided to just check, call a flop bet and check raise all-in on most turns. Villain checked behind though which tells me he has a hand with showdown value.

Turn: ($25.50, 2 players)
Hero bets $17, BTN calls $17



Now I got a pair + flushdraw, and I do not expect him to bluffraise me here. If he was going to bluff, he was going to do so on the flop. So I just lead out.

River: ($59.50, 2 players)
Hero goes all-in $72, BTN calls $70.50



On the river, what will villain be thinking? I checked the flop on a drawy board, so I never have an overpair. Both the turn and river are 'blanks' so if he was ahead on the flop he must still be. Also, he must realize I know he has a hand with showdown value, so something worse than AQ, probably a lower pair. I decided my best play would be to just shove, since that line screams bluff.

Final Pot: $200.50
Hero shows:
BTN shows:

Hero wins $199 ( won +$97.50 )
BTN lost -$100.00



Hand 2 vs same villain. This hand is more interesting because villain knows exactly what kind of hand I have and makes a great play vs the wrong opponent:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:BTN Hero

UTG		($112.25)
UTG+1		($114.30)
CO		($299.80)
($101.50)
SB		($100.50)
($189.00)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is BB

3 folds, BTN raises to $3.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $2.50



TT is a monster vs villain's range, but I do not like to 3-bet it at this time because of the last hand. Villain will probably not fold to a 3bet, and may start 4-betting me to put me in a tough spot, especially after seeing me 3bet him with 63s earlier.

Flop: ($7.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $5, Hero calls $5



My hand is generally ahead on that board but vs this player I am not checkraising there. It's a good board to CR with hands like sets, marginal pairs which include a gutshot and perhaps some random hands without much equity here, like KQ. But I do not think doing so with hands like TT and JJ is optimal play vs this villain. It will be tough OOP vs him, but that's no reason to turn my hand into a bluff. So I just check-called.

Turn: ($17.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks



I check here hoping to keep the pot small and villain checks behind. I think he never holds an overpair if he checks here, and obviously also never a set. That means my hand must still be good.

River: ($17.50, 2 players)
Hero bets $14, BTN raises to $45, Hero calls $31



I make a value bet on the blank river and villain decides to make my life hell by making a substantial raise here. But what is villain representing here after checking the turn?
How does my hand look to villain? I called him OOP preflop, which can mean multiple things except a strong overpair. I check-called the flop, which implies I either have a weak pair or a draw. So when I bet the river here, how strong could my hand possibly be?
Villain's river raise here is not bad because he knows the strength of my hand, but he should realize his line makes no sense vs players who will be thinking about their hands as well. So after raising here the only hands he can represent here are dueces or bluffs.

Final Pot: $107.50
Hero shows:
BTN shows:

Hero wins $104.50 ( won +$51 )
BTN lost -$53.50


Hand 3, this one is vs another cardrunners member:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:UTG+1 Hero

UTG		($100.00)
($100.00)
CO		($100.00)
($135.60)
SB		($99.00)
BB		($81.50)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is BTN

1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $3.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $3.50, 2 folds



This villain is also quite aggressive preflop, and instead of stealing my blinds constantly, this one keeps stealing my button, which is even worse. vs most aggro players I would 3-bet here with a hand like this, but villain knows who I am, knows I could be 3betting him light, and could possibly do something annoying like 4-betting me here. So I elect to just call. It's my button after all.

Flop: ($8.50, 2 players)
UTG+1 bets $6, Hero calls $6



I totally miss the flop, it's a dry one, and vs a solid player I do not really like bluffraising here. If I raise I am representing 33, 44 or the nut flush draw. I would also be raising KQ here, but villain probably does not know that. But it's still my button, so I call.

Turn: ($20.50, 2 players)
UTG+1 bets $15, Hero calls $15



Another K arrives making it less likely for villain to hold a K here. But he also knows that I could be floating the flop with some random junk so decides to 2-barrel me. Standard play here is to fold, but villain may still have total air, so I call again. Even while I do not have anything yet, I still have the button and I'm not giving it up yet...

River: ($50.50, 2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $36, UTG+1 folds



Villain checks, and because he's solid, I know he will be inducing bluffs from me here with hands like JJ/QQ/AA perhaps even TT. I do not expect him to fold many made hands to a river bet. So I make a small enough bet here to get a fold out of hands like 22 or ace high, but large enough so 88 and 99 will probably also fold.

Final Pot: $50.50

Hero wins $84 ( won +$23.50 )
UTG+1 lost -$24.50

Read Full Poker Blog Post

6 Tabling

Date: Sat, Jun 7, 2008 Internet

I've been 6-tabling for the last few days, and it really is addicting. The first thing is that when I have little time to play I can easily put in quite some hands, and the second thing is that I can play slightly more straightforward.

It actually is quite more relaxing as well since the variance seems lower. Today I managed to get AK allin vs KK, and get into a 3-way allin with a set vs overplayed aces and an OESD and lost both of them within a 2 minute timeframe. Oddly it didn't seem to bother me at all since I were running over the other tables quite well.

And because I'm slightly less prone to make donkey moves because I am occupied on more tables, I can exploit the other people who like to make donkey moves vs me. I simply lack the time to make too many stupid mistakes.

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

2 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, SB raises to $10, 1 fold, Hero calls $6.50

Flop: ($21, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $14, SB raises to $33, Hero calls $19

Turn: ($87, 2 players)
SB goes all-in $85.90, Hero calls $85.90

River: ($258.80, 2 players)

Final Pot: $258.80
Hero shows:
SB shows:

Hero wins $255.80 ( won +$126.90 )
SB lost -$128.90


Preflop call was quite standard for me. Villain liked to 3bet light and uses pretty bad 3bet sizing OOP.

Also cutting down on 4-bet bluffing preflop and making too many large bluffs postflop seems to lower my variance a bit, though I do like to make a somewhat spewy bluff at times when I think it's neutral EV but great for my image:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:Hero SB

UTG		($49.00)
($128.60)
CO		($74.60)
BTN		($23.50)
($168.50)
BB		($17.90)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is UTG+1

1 fold, Hero raises to $3.50, 2 folds, SB raises to $11.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $8

Flop: ($24, 2 players)
SB bets $16, Hero calls $16

Turn: ($56, 2 players)
SB bets $36, Hero goes all-in $101.10, SB folds

Final Pot: $128

Hero wins $190.10 ( won +$61.50 )
SB lost -$63.50


Another reason to like 6-tabling is that when running pretty good (slightly over 12ptBB/100 in the last few days) that translates to $135 per hour excluding rakeback. Even with half that winrate, which should be sustainable, it's nothing to complain about.

I did not really tighten up that much preflop though, still running around 23/18 with an attempt to steal of around 35%. I did notice though that my postflop game has been simplified a bit, and most plays I make which differ from standard ABC poker is just because of known opponent tendencies, but not much else.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Tilty Business

Date: Thu, Jun 5, 2008 Internet

The last few days I've again managed to run quite bad. I do not like to post bad beats much, since I do not believe in them (every hand which has some equity no matter how small is supposed to suck out now and then) but the last days were again quite bad in this order. I lost over 10 buyins just in June (though I did manage to put around 10k hands in so far).

Examples are getting AA vs KK/QQ cracked a few times all in preflop for large amounts, or having a possibly tilting image at the table (losing 2 huge pots in a single orbit) and managing to get AK vs AQ in preflop and again get sucked out.

But the problem is even after quitting a bit and playing a bit later, I often made some very high variance plays. For instance, check-raising a gutshot vs a regular who I see around quite often in a 4 bet pot 150BB deep and getting called by top set. These plays are not that terrible in themselves, since I want regulars to know I can do some crazy stuff so they put their money in lighter, but the frequency of doing total donkey moves was a bit to high. Check-raising total air or a gutshot allin like 0.5% of the time in a certain spot is fine for your image and in the long run is probably +EV, but when running bad I make such moves way too often.

One bad psychological disadvantage of running bad is the effect on your bankroll. When you manage to get AA allin preflop vs KK for $250, even while you lost 250BB's, the difference for your bankroll is $500 compared to when your hand would have held up. Get AK AI vs AQ 3 times in a row for 100BB and lose all 3, the losses are $300, but it seems mentally as if you are $600 down compared to hands 'holding up'.

Today I decided to 6-table a bit to keep myself from overthinking situations and playing a bit tighter than usual, and I noticed a well kept secret which the best winning players in poker try to keep for themselves:

People suck at poker.

Seriously, I was playing on 6 tables while the loosest table was somewhere about 32% vpip, and while most players had somewhat decent stats, most players at NL100 just play terrible. So why should I bother to spew chips around making fancy moves too often when people just lack fundamental preflop and postflop skills?

My profit does not come from large multistreet bluffs or great hero calls/folds. My profit comes mostly because I do not forget to make that 18BB valuebet on the river in a 43BB pot with middle pair when I think villain holds an underpair most of the time or second pair worse kicker while many other players fail to extract value vs me in that same spot. It comes from inducing tons of bluffs from other people by taking a bit more passive line with marginal TP hands or marginal overpairs, instead of overplaying them, while when the situation is reversed, many people deny me the mandatory river bluff in some situations because they try to protect their marginal hands too much.

Same counts for overplaying hands, which I do quite often as well when tilting, and the general reason for completely misplaying a hand in such a situation is probably because of the mindset tilt gives. Look at the following hand for instance, villain ran pretty bad, and probably was thinking 'My hand must be good this time. Finally a board without overcards, let's get it in!' instead of 'How do I extract most value from villain's overcard holdings or bluffs and keeping my losses vs overpairs small?'

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

2 folds, BTN raises to $3.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $12.50, BTN calls $9

Flop: ($25.50, 2 players)
Hero bets $17, BTN goes all-in $91.50, Hero calls $72.15

Turn: ($206.15, 2 players)

River: ($206.15, 2 players)

Final Pot: $203.80
BTN shows:
Hero shows:

BTN wins $2.35 ( lost -$101.65 )
Hero wins $200.80 ( won +$99.15 )


Villain held a strong hand here, but shoving this flop only causes overcard holdings to fold and only gets called by better. Villain complained for 5 minutes about what a cooler that flop was, instead of realizing he misplayed his hand here.

Another hand from yesterday was also quite interesting. It was a spot where I could be vs a fullhouse, but I expected villain to never fold a J here if I made a somewhat silly play. I also expected a J to be much more likely for villain to hold then a fullhouse, because of the flop play. I cbet there because people without a J or fullhouse could simply not continue when I bet into a million callers, which pretty much locks down villain's hand as a single set or a J. So I raised to 444 on the river, which pretty much means I represent a fullhouse 4's full of jacks, and villain is smart enough to not believe that I hold a fullhouse (so stacked of with weak trips):

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:UTG+1 inyoung BTN Hero SB coimbra83 BB Schefflowski

UTG	AO1715	($133.70)
($56.50)
CO	BRONCOAA	($37.75)
($612.35)
($159.10)
($100.00)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is BTN

1 fold, inyoung calls $1, 1 fold, Hero raises to $4.50, coimbra83 calls $4, Schefflowski calls $3.50, inyoung calls $3.50

Flop: ($18, 4 players)
coimbra83 checks, Schefflowski checks, inyoung checks, Hero bets $10, coimbra83 calls $10, Schefflowski folds, inyoung folds

Turn: ($38, 2 players)
coimbra83 checks, Hero checks

River: ($38, 2 players)
coimbra83 bets $17, Hero raises to $444, coimbra83 calls $127.60

Final Pot: $327.20
coimbra83 shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $623.60 ( won +$165.10 )
coimbra83 lost -$159.10
Schefflowski lost -$4.50
inyoung lost -$4.50


If other people make bad plays like shoving or calling in these spots, why should I bother?

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Butchering Hands for Dummies

Date: Mon, Jun 2, 2008 Internet

Sunday was pretty terrible both in luck and me making some pretty stupid plays. Started the session with a nice KK vs AA for 150BB, where I held the KK, and from there on it went downwards for a bit.

There was one hand where I butchered it quite a bit, which was a hand where I floated the flop with nothing but backdoor draws in a 3bet pot 170BB deep, and bet the turn large when checked to while holding 15 outs instead of taking a free card, getting myself committed to call the shove.

After that it was time to get some revenge though. These were the most interesting hands:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
4 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

2 folds

Flop: ($8.50, 2 players)
Hero bets $6, BTN calls $6



Villain in question played quite odd. He did seem to float me quite a bit and loved representing hands, but there was little consistency in his game. He was hard to figure out. He also called raises with almost any suited K or Q, and played way too many hands preflop. On the flop, I made a standard cbet and villain instacalled my cbet. This is generally a weak hand which is not folding, but rarely a king. I do not know this opponent well enough to know if this timing tell is the same for him, but I decide to keep in mind that I probably hold the best hand, and need to extract value from his bluffing range.

Turn: ($20.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $20.50, Hero calls $20.50

River: ($61.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $45, Hero calls $45



This probably looked quite odd for villain since I checkcalled two streets with just a pair of 9's, but he gave his hand away on the flop.

Final Pot: $151.50
BTN shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $149.50 ( won +$74.50 )
BTN lost -$75.00


This hand was vs another CR member:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:UTG UTG+1 Hero

($98.50)
($119.55)
CO		($169.90)
($100.00)
SB		($81.40)
BB		($116.75)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is BTN

UTG raises to $3.50, UTG+1 calls $3.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $16, 2 folds, UTG calls $12.50, UTG+1 calls $12.50



UTG+1 is a Cardrunners member, and is very solid. He knows who I am, and he will recognize this as a good spot to squeeze. Obviously very thrilled to hold a strong hand here, since he'll give me less credit. The other person, well, he's just dead money anyways.

Flop: ($49.50, 3 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $31, UTG folds, UTG+1 calls $31



If I did not hold an ace here I'd probably cbet here a decent amount of the time, especially with hands that have no chance on winning if called. So I may check KK here, but will be betting 67s etc. Villain knows this probably, so I bet.

Turn: ($111.50, 2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks



If I were bluffing the flop I would rarely continue on the turn in a 3bet pot. So decided to check behind, hoping to get some value from JJ or so on the river.

River: ($111.50, 2 players)
UTG+1 goes all-in $72.55, Hero calls $53



I do not like villain's play here. TT could be best but he's never getting called by worse, so it seems he's turning TT into a bluff hoping I fold QQ or so. But vs my squeezing range, TT does pretty good so if he knows me well a check-call would have been a better play by him.

Final Pot: $217.50
UTG+1 shows:
Hero shows:

UTG+1 wins $19.55 ( lost -$100 )
Hero wins $214.50 ( won +$114.50 )
UTG lost -$16.00


Hand 3:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:Hero BB

UTG		($137.80)
UTG+1		($100.00)
CO		($73.30)
($100.00)
SB		($126.10)
($153.80)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is BTN

3 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, 1 fold, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($7.50, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $6, BB calls $6



New table, I do not know villain well but he insta-checked the flop to me and instacalled my cbet. After this he leads the turn for around half-pot. The hands that seem the most likely for him to hold here are hands like 89, which hit the flop and improve on the turn. I do not expect a pair + open ended straight draw to fold to a raise here that often if he's bad enough, so decide to make a small raise allowing me to have enough money left to make a reasonable river bluff.

Turn: ($19.50, 2 players)
BB bets $10, Hero raises to $33, BB calls $23

River: ($85.50, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero goes all-in $57.50, BB folds

Final Pot: $85.50

Hero wins $140 ( won +$40 )
BB lost -$42.50


For the rest I did pretty well and when one table broke up I was playing heads-up vs the last one who refused to leave. He played pretty weak, and I had quite an edge on him. Took me 5 minutes to get his stack, though he started with only 70BB. All in all I ended the day 1.8 buyins down, which is not bad considering I lost a few pots of over 150BB's at the start of the session.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

I Love Full Tilt

Date: Sun, Jun 1, 2008 Internet

Haven't played a single hand last week since monday, generally because of lack of time or being a bit too tired to play after work. Spewing off chips while not playing my A game is something I try to prevent. Yesterday on the other hand I decided to put in a short session. It was 1am, I would probably be playing my C game, but it was saturday, which means my C game is +EV at the tables.

Some interesting hands:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

4 folds, BB calls $2.50



UTG with T9s, pretty standard open. Well, not really, but table seemed weak.

Flop: ($7.50, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $5, BB calls $5



BB insta-checked to me, making it pretty obvious he does not have a K or has a weak K, but he's probably not going to fold to a cbet here. This asks for a multistreet bluff or checking and giving up. I do have some backdoor outs, so I chose the first option. After betting, villain called nearly instantly. Seems very unlikely he holds a K here.

Turn: ($17.50, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $11, BB calls $11



Villain thought for a bit, probably like 2 seconds or so, and checked again. I picked up a backdoor draw, and think this is a mandatory 2 barrel. I could check behind here, but since I'm quite sure he does not hold a king, I prefer the second barrel.

River: ($39.50, 2 players)
BB goes all-in $22.10, Hero calls $22.10

Final Pot: $83.70
Hero shows:
BB shows:

Hero wins $80.70 ( won +$39.10 )
BB lost -$41.60


Hand 2:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:UTG Hero

($138.15)
UTG+1		($43.60)
($120.75)
BTN		($90.40)
SB		($103.10)
BB		($130.05)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is CO

UTG raises to $3.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $3.50, 3 folds



Villain plays like 33/30, and his UTG range will be pretty huge. Other notes about villain is that he loves to two-barrel regardless of board texture. Easy preflop call with this hand vs him, since I could get two streets of value out of him with top pair should I hit.

Flop: ($8.50, 2 players)
UTG bets $8, Hero calls $8



VS his total range I flop a monster, but it's not one I want to build a huge pot with yet. I assume any spade, T or J will be good for my hand so I elect to just call here.

Turn: ($24.50, 2 players)
UTG bets $16, Hero raises to $45, UTG folds



He loves to two-barrel, and here I expect any spade, T, J or 8 will be good for my hand, but since he still does not need to hold a hand here that often I think a semi-bluff here is fine.

Final Pot: $56.50

Hero wins $82.70 ( won +$26.20 )
UTG lost -$27.50


Hand 3:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:Hero BB

UTG		($130.60)
CO		($116.45)
($101.35)
SB		($119.85)
($146.95)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 5 players) Hero is BTN

2 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, 1 fold, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($7.50, 2 players)
BB bets $2, Hero raises to $10.50, BB calls $8.50



Villain in question is a total nutcase, running somewhere around 71/31. Him leading into me here makes it very unlikely he actually holds something, since he's the type to slowplay when he holds something. Further, it's not polite to donklead into me, and I probably hold the best hand and I'll do the backdoor-flush-draw-own if not. So pretty standard raise and two-barrel most non-spade turns.

Turn: ($28.50, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $21, BB calls $21



My hand improved, and I think villain is on a draw here, so I still want to charge flush draws and make a second bet.

River: ($70.50, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks



He called $21 with a gutshot OOP, wtf? Added him to buddy list.

Final Pot: $70.50
BB shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $67.50 ( won +$32.50 )
BB lost -$35.00


Hand 4:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:Hero SB BB

UTG		($112.65)
UTG+1		($146.25)
CO		($117.45)
($100.00)
($97.50)
($121.15)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is BTN

3 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, SB calls $3, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($10.50, 3 players)
SB checks, BB bets $10.50, Hero calls $10.50, SB folds



BB is again a total nutcase, running somewhere around 81/40. I flop the nuts here in my mind, even though he could have a 5 here. If he does I'll find out on later streets. There's no value in raising here obviously.

Turn: ($31.50, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks



The K is a nice card to two-barrel and get him to fold worse hands than mine and stay in with better. Obviously not a good thing to do, and he could be trying to CR-own me. I decide to check behind and evaluate river.

River: ($31.50, 2 players)
BB bets $25, Hero calls $25



He bets quite large, so he's representing a strong hand here. I induced the bluff though so think I have to call here.

Final Pot: $81.50
Hero shows:
BB shows:

Hero wins $78.50 ( won +$39.50 )
SB lost -$3.50
BB lost -$39.00

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Results:

Date: Mon, May 26, 2008 Internet

So my vacation is over, and only managed to play for about 42 hours during those two weeks.



Add rakeback to this and it comes down to around $2300 in 42.4 hours. I'm quite happy about both the hourly rate and how I approached it. Even while I played for way less hours than I could have put in, I never played when I was not in the right mood, and generally stopped sessions as soon as I noticed I was not playing my A game, even if I were sitting at juicy tables. My hourly rate could be a lot higher by playing more tables, but I have little interest in becoming a grinder, so I'll stick to 4 tables at the moment.

Oddly I won more per hour at NL50 than at NL100. The rakeback makes NL100 slightly better, but the players at NL50 are in general way less good than at NL100, which explains the difference.

My plans for now are quite simple. I will only be withdrawing rakeback which should be a nice supplement to my normal job, and will keep building my roll to get towards the higher limits. Bankroll management and tilt control are the key to this, and I think just withdrawing rakeback is a nice way to do so. The winnings or losses per day/week/month etc don't really matter, since I'll still be making money thanks to the rakeback I'll be withdrawing, and the limit I play at effects that. The bankroll itself should not be treated as money, but more as an investment capital.
Should I have to move down I earn less, and when I move up I make much more. I do however hope to move up to NL200 and higher relatively soon, but I do think that thanks to Cardrunners I'm capable to beat those limits should my bankroll be sufficient to play there.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Sunday - Being a Crazy Nit

Date: Mon, May 26, 2008 Internet

Last day of my vacation, so decided to grind it up a bit to end the vacation with nice result. One thing I noticed a lot during my vacation is how the games have changed at NL100. Everyone seems to know nowadays that a reraise does not always mean a strong hand. And it seems that every time there's a raise and a call everyone and their mother squeezes with any two cards. People are 4-betting with all kinds of trash hands and polarizing their ranges.

Some people try to exploit that by being a Nit. Never getting into marginal spots, only playing strong hands and never getting out of line. Only while that seems a good play, everybody who's somewhat decent uses a HUD nowadays which means those 15/11 players just don't get any action. They still beat this game for marginal winnings in general, so something like 2-3ptBB/100.

I decided to experiment a bit on sunday. I was not going to 3-bet light that often, never was going to squeeze or 4-bet bluff, never were going to call a 3-bet with a marginal hand, but I was going to play in such a way that my table image, at least the stats people got on me in their HUD's were still going to be somewhat crazy.

So I played like a total nit other than a few minor adjustments:
- Nits don't steal enough preflop, generally around 20% or less. I kept my attempt to steal as high as possible and on some tables I raised every single button when folded around to me. My attempt to steal was 52% for the day.
- Nits play too tight. I ran around 24/21 for the day, which quite disguises that I'm trying to be a Nit.
- Nits don't do crazy stuff. That's good, I didn't either. Other than some random large river bluffs when having a decent read about opponent's hand strength.
- Nits don't defend their blinds enough. I didn't either, I played extremely tight from small blind, never stealing or restealing, same for the big blind. Yet if the SB even so much as glanced at my BB fireworks were going to show at the table. I think I 3-bet every single hand in the BB if the SB opened a bit too often into me. Play me out of position? Pay for it!

So my stats were going to be all in the red for people who trust their HUD stats, and my table image should be somewhat of a total nutcase, even while I played an extremely standard postflop game with only a few bluffs tossed in. I valuebet thinner, in one pot even with ace-high getting called by a worse ace-high, which was quite funny:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

2 folds, CO raises to $3.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $12.50, CO calls $9

Flop: ($25.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: ($25.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: ($25.50, 2 players)
Hero bets $16, CO calls $16

Final Pot: $57.50
Hero shows:
CO shows:

Hero wins $54.65 ( won +$26.15 )
CO lost -$28.50


This was pretty standard vs that opponent though. The villain in question is a pretty moody player, hates to fold, and cbetting that board with AK is something you only do vs that player when you dislike money. But on the river it was pretty obvious villain either held nothing or dueces. As played, I expected my river bet to get called by a worse ace-high or even a king. Villain in question is also prone to tilt, so I cannot let such an opportunity pass.

Another fun hand was vs a player who played quite solid, but I think he thought I was a total nutcase. It was pretty obvious that he either had AK or AQ in this spot, perhaps AJ, and was slowplaying vs me to extract more value. So I decided to pot the turn and overbet the river, not really expected villain to fold much:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:Hero BB

UTG		($108.75)
UTG+1		($105.95)
CO		($115.60)
BTN		($63.85)
($217.10)
($113.05)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 6 players) Hero is SB

4 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($7, 2 players)
Hero bets $5, BB calls $5

Turn: ($17, 2 players)
Hero bets $17.50, BB calls $17.50

River: ($52, 2 players)
Hero bets $101, BB calls $87.05

Final Pot: $226.10
Hero shows:
BB shows:

Hero wins $237.05 ( won +$110.05 )
BB lost -$113.05


I managed to drag in over 3 buyins in 1.5 hours or so and quit for the day. I think I'll experiment with the Crazy Nit style a bit more often.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Early Weekend

Date: Sun, May 25, 2008 Internet

Friday and saturday were pretty much a disaster. Started friday losing 3 buyins over two sessions, and made some quite stupid plays. Decided I wasn't playing my A game so spent my time doing more useful things, like watching the latest "Rambo" movie for new ideas on how to deal with fish.

Anyways, saturday I was quite happy about my game and put tons of hands in, probably somewhere around 3k. Many large pots where I went in as favorite kept moving in the wrong direction but the other hands I played slowly made up for it.

There was one interesting hand on friday though vs another Cardrunners member:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

2 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, 1 fold, SB calls $3, BB calls $2.50



Got a monster so standard open...not really, but I expect my steals from the CO to succeed more often than from button with solid player in BB. My steal attempt was around 49% so perhaps this was a fold preflop.

Flop: ($10.50, 3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $7.50, SB folds, BB raises to $28, Hero raises to $94.50, BB goes all-in $234.10, Hero calls $3.50



I think villain would be CR'ing me here with pretty much anything he holds, be it a gutshot, overcards with A of hearts, some total air, small PP etc. This board looks to miss me quite often, so I would do so to in his spot. But because this is such a good spot to bluffraise, I think a bet/3bet is in order here and I should have pretty much folding equity left here. There is another reason to shove here instead of call like I would do vs more taggy players with a disguised draw: I think his checkraise size here seems to be too large for a set, so I put him on air or a draw much more than a genuine hand he wants to get it in with.

Turn: ($342.60, 2 players)

River: ($342.60, 2 players)

Final Pot: $206.50
Hero shows:
BB shows:

Hero wins $203.50 ( won +$102 )
BB wins $136.10 ( lost -$101.5 )
SB lost -$3.50


Anyways, saturday started out well. This was the largest pot for me from the day:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:Hero SB

($200.00)
CO		($328.60)
BTN		($154.95)
($198.35)
BB		($108.50)

Pre-flop: ($1.50, 5 players) Hero is UTG

Hero raises to $3.50, 2 folds, SB calls $3, 1 fold



UTG with TJo, but it's only 5-handed and but pretty much everyone has a large stack. I had a normal TAG image so far, and think my UTG opens should get decent respect. Because of stack sizes, I thought this was a decent enough hand to open with and hope to get the blinds or steal the button.

Flop: ($8, 2 players)
SB bets $8, Hero raises to $21, SB raises to $34, Hero calls $13



SB donkleads into me. I do not know what it means, but with an open ended straight draw I made a semi-bluff here to either get him to fold some random junk or fold. Also don't mind building the pot a bit in case I hit. Villain made a very small 3bet here which made me think he probably had a set here. My hand is well disguised, there's enough money left behind so obviously called here with these odds.

Turn: ($76, 2 players)
SB bets $76, Hero calls $76



I hit the nuts, and my hand is still underrepresented. I either have an overpair here or AQ. With the pot size, and thinking villain had a set, I almost shoved but decided against it. What if villain was overplaying AQ here?

I decided to just flat and get the rest in on the river. Would suck if the board paired, but I was still going to get the rest in should it happen. No need to give villain a chance to make a hero laydown now.

River: ($228, 2 players)
SB goes all-in $84.85, Hero calls $84.85

Final Pot: $397.70
SB shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $394.70 ( won +$196.35 )
SB lost -$198.35


And the most fun hand so far. UTG posted out of position, CO limps behind, I obviously raise, and CO does the 'limp-reraise' trick, which is something I never understood. Obviously I'm weary about aces, the CO should know me well enough to know I do not need much as cards to take advantage of dead money in the pot, but if he got aces that's fine. I got kings!

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:UTG CO Hero

($24.40)
UTG+1		($128.15)
($174.60)
BTN		($103.55)
SB		($99.00)
($146.90)

[UTG posted $1]
Pre-flop: ($2.50, 6 players) Hero is BB

UTG checks, 1 fold, CO calls $1, 2 folds, CO says "ok jag", Hero raises to $6, UTG calls $5, UTG+1 says "jag", UTG+1 says "lol", CO raises to $24.50, Hero raises to $65, UTG folds, CO says "jag off", CO calls $40.50

Flop: ($136.50, 2 players)
UTG+1 says "dont loose all my monmey", UTG+1 says "please", Hero goes all-in $81.90, CO calls $81.90, UTG+1 says "omg"

Turn: ($300.30, 2 players)

River: ($300.30, 2 players)

Final Pot: $300.30
CO shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $297.30 ( won +$150.4 )
CO lost -$146.90
UTG lost -$6.00

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Thursday Hands

Date: Fri, May 23, 2008 Internet

Not that many interesting hands on thursday. This one stood out a bit though, where I would often miss some value with AA.

I just entered villain's stats, mine were about normal for me, so somewhere between being a nit, lag, maniac and total spewmonkey.

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: 888allin888 ($101.50) (16.67% / 9% / 2.7/ 1)
Seat 2: smallbanger ($123.75) ( 0.00% / 0.00% / 0.00/ 1)
Seat 3: Soultwister ($182.75) ( 100.00% / 100.00% / 0.00/ 1)
Seat 4: Gervais ($187.60) - ( 0.00% / 0.00% / 0.00/ 1)
Seat 5: Yas80 ($100.50) - ( 0.00% / 0.00% / 0.00/ 1)
Seat 6: SuperBad22 ($47.35) - ( 0.00% / 0.00% / 0.00/ 1)


PRE-FLOP:

Yas80 posts small blind $0.50
SuperBad22 posts BIG blind $1
Dealt To: Soultwister


RAISE 888allin888($3.50)
FOLD smallbanger
RAISE Soultwister($12)
FOLD Gervais
FOLD Yas80
FOLD SuperBad22
CALL 888allin888($8.50)




Pretty standard offcourse. Villain seems pretty tight with only a 9% PFR, so his range must be pretty strong here, so I put him on either a high pair or AK/AQ.

FLOP:

Pot: $25.5


CHECK 888allin888
BET Soultwister($18)
CALL 888allin888($18)




Pretty standard. Villain may hold AK here, may peel one off perhaps even with QQ or JJ.

TURN:

Pot: $61.5


CHECK 888allin888
BET Soultwister($35)
CALL 888allin888($35)




Villain checks to me again and another set is possible for him. He does not tell me he got a set though so I make another value bet here. I decided to make it small so he's pot stuck with any pair.

RIVER:

Pot: $131.5


CHECK 888allin888
BET Soultwister($82.40)
CALL 888allin888($36.50)
UNCALLED Soultwister($45.90)




So pretty much any high pocket pair he could have called with has hit a set, but his line seems pretty much like AK. Because he checked, and because of stack sizes, this is a standard value shove. I do not think I have to be worried too much about being against a set here or even two pair, and if he checked a set/two pair to me in a spot like this, I obviously do not mind. Villain played this hand pretty odd. Even if his flop turn call was pretty bad, he pretty much has to shove for value here if he thinks he got a decent chance of his TP being good here. What hand would I bet the river with which are beat by KT? Villain had to shove or check-fold here, even with these stack sizes.

SHOWDOWN:
Soultwister:

MUCK 888allin888

Soultwister collected $201.5 from main pot with a pair of Aces

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $204 Rake: $3

Final Board:


Seat 1: 888allin888 mucked [Ks Ts] - a pair of Kings - Net Gain/Loss: ($-101.5)
Seat 2: smallbanger didnt bet folded - Net Gain/Loss: ($0)
Seat 3: Soultwister showed [Ac Ah] and won 201.50 with a pair of Aces - Net Gain/Loss: ($100)
Seat 4: Gervais button didnt bet folded - Net Gain/Loss: ($0)
Seat 5: Yas80 small blind folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-0.5)
Seat 6: SuperBad22 big blind folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-1)


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners


Hand 2:


$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Profiles and Stacks:

	UTG		($116.55)	[color#cc0000]8.3[/color]/[color#cc0000]5.0[/color]/2.0 ([color#0000cc]60[/color])
	Hero		($113.50)	[color#cc0000]16.3[/color]/15.3/[color#cc0000]4.0[/color] ([color#0000cc]98[/color])
	CO		($100.00)	37.2/23.3/[color#cc0000]7.0[/color] ([color#0000cc]43[/color])
	BTN		($121.80)	21.3/16.0/[color#cc0000]4.5[/color] ([color#0000cc]75[/color])
	SB		($135.35)	21.8/21.8/[color#cc0000]7.0[/color] ([color#0000cc]55[/color])
	BB		($81.40)	27.7/13.9/0.3 ([color#0000cc]101[/color])

1 fold, Hero raises to $5, CO calls $4, 3 folds



CO posted OOP so I assume he will be calling down light, or fold. I remember CO as being somewhat of a nutcase so this was clearly for value.
Pretty good/bad flop, middle pair + backdoor flushdraw. I also expected villain to bluffraise here with a decent range so bet/called here.

Flop: ($11.50, 2 players)
Hero bets $7, CO raises to $24, Hero calls $17




His check here made it less likely that he is bluffing, but I'm not sure.


Turn: ($59.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks



This was a pretty marginal spot, I decided to give him respect for a better hand here, but I think I induced a bluff here from a missed draw or total air here here a decent amount of the time. Especially his betsizing makes me lean more towards missed weak draws like gutshots or air. I do not think I have to be too worried about the flushdraw hitting him, since he'll probably be representing it with his whole bluffing range. This is a spot where I assume I was ahead a good portion of the time and should have called.


River: ($59.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $40, Hero folds

Final Pot: $59.50

CO wins $96.55 ( won +$27.55 )
Hero lost -$29.00

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Some Boring Hands

Date: Mon, May 19, 2008 Internet

Just a few more hands from the last few days. Let's start with the one I misplayed the most:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

1 fold, BTN raises to $15.5, 2 folds, UTG folds, Hero raises to $39, BTN goes all-in $116.7, Hero calls $77.7

Flop: ($238.4, 2 players)

Turn: ($238.4, 2 players)

River: ($238.4, 2 players)

Final Pot: $238.40
Hero shows:
BTN shows:

BTN wins $235.4 ( won +$118.7 )
UTG lost -$3.50
Hero lost -$116.70


Villain in question is a regular Nit. Playing like 13.6/11.5. The UTG raiser is playing around 19/14. I can raise AK here obviously, but it's less profitable vs his tight range since he'll just 4-bet or fold, and should I get 4bet by him, I actually have to fold in this spot.

An alternative option here was to just call and play the hand postflop, and possibly induce a squeeze from someone behind me. Especially the SB was pretty squeeze happy but overall people were pretty aggressive behind me, so I elected to take that option.

Only I got raised by the only real Nit at the table, who plays so bloody straightforward that he always has a hand in this spot. But I second guessed myself, assumed his range could be wider here because of me coldcalling and got it in.

Not a bad result at all, since we were just flipping with some dead money in the pot, but his range just crushed me here.

Another one:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:Hero SB BB

UTG		($225.95)
($127.50)
BTN		($83.95)
($99.85)
($313.20)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 5 players) Hero is CO

1 fold, Hero raises to $3.5, 1 fold, SB calls $3, BB raises to $17, Hero calls $13.5, SB folds



Villain is playing around 25/25, me around 24/21 with an attempt to steal of around 41%. This seems a spot in which I can both 4bet or take a flop, and I almost 4-bet here because villain could just be squeezing here. But even while villain is pretty aggressive, this is the first time he actually 3-bet me from the blinds. In position I mix it up here.

Flop: ($37.5, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks



Villain let's me know here that he has a hand or absolutely nothing, since if he isn't cbetting a K-rag board as a bluff, what boards will he cbet? It's also pretty obvious I got a good hand, or I would not have called him preflop. If I bet here I probably get 1 street of value out of a hand like QQ/JJ, 0 out of bluffs. Checking behind gives him a chance to bluff the turn and under represents my hand.


Turn: ($37.5, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $20, BB calls $20



His second check here makes me think a hand like QQ/JJ is the most likely, just hoping to get to a cheap showdown. I think he would lead TT or worse here, and a lot of air, so I make a bet here which I expect to get called by QQ/JJ.

River: ($77.5, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $44, BB calls $44



Him calling the turn bet pretty much narrowed his range down to QQ/JJ so I made another bet not too large to get some value here.

Final Pot: $165.50
BB shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $162.5 ( won +$81.5 )
BB lost -$81.00
SB lost -$3.50


And hand number 3:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:BTN Hero

UTG		($102.70)
CO		($66.60)
($165.30)
SB		($14.50)
($100.00)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 5 players) Hero is BB

2 folds, BTN raises to $3.5, 1 fold, Hero raises to $12.5, BTN calls $9



First hand at this table. Always nice to get AK vs a button open in very first hand. I do not know anything about the player though, but this is a 3bet 100% of the time.

Flop: ($25.5, 2 players)
Hero bets $17, BTN raises to $50, Hero goes all-in $87.5, BTN says "oops", BTN calls $37.5



Even while this hand plays itself, since I'm definitely not folding TPTK with backdoor flush draw vs an unknown in a 3bet pot for 100BB's, one thing is interesting here. Even while it's an unknown, the bet size he uses to raise me with is for many people quite a tell. Round numbers are often draws/bluffs, while the more odd numbers are more like value bets. Another tell was that he raised this nearly instantly. If I were sitting in this spot with AQ, I would snapcall here too.

Turn: ($200.5, 2 players)

River: ($200.5, 2 players)
BTN says "lol!!!"

Final Pot: $200.50
BTN shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $197.5 ( won +$97.5 )
BTN lost -$100.00


High card 4 on turn:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:UTG UTG+1 Hero

($114.75)
($96.00)
CO		($100.00)
BTN		($305.05)
SB		($117.40)
($232.75)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is BB

UTG raises to $3.5, UTG+1 calls $3.5, 3 folds, Hero calls $2.5



UTG is a pretty solid TAG, UTG+1 is a total nutcase, so I call here to see if I can spot a 4 on the flop.

Flop: ($11, 3 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 checks



No 4, but this flop misses most A high holdings which UTG can have, and his opening range also includes many lower pocketpairs. So standard play here is to checkraise since my 4's are never good if called. Villain takes the sensible route, probably because of the nutcase behind him, and does not cbet here.

Turn: ($11, 3 players)
Hero bets $8, 1 fold, UTG+1 calls $8



Checkraise failed, and my hand has absolutely 0 showdown value here, so I choose to take a stab here. Villain surprisingly calls, but with my image (running 24/21 here) it's possible he sees through it and realizes a pocket pair higher than the 6 could be good here, or even ace high. Plan is to bet any river after he calls.

River: ($27, 2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 checks



A pretty annoying spot here. If I bet here ace high will fold and so will any pocketpair, and I will only get called by better hands. If I check here, all those hands will check behind. I do not think villain will ever be betting the river with less than a jack, which is extremely unlikely for him to have here. Nothing I can do here except checking. And villain played this hand perfectly.

Final Pot: $27
UTG+1 shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $25.65 ( won +$14.15 )
UTG lost -$3.50
UTG+1 lost -$11.50

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Some Boring Hands

Date: Mon, May 19, 2008 Internet

Just a few more hands from the last few days. Let's start with the one I misplayed the most:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

1 fold, BTN raises to $15.5, 2 folds, UTG folds, Hero raises to $39, BTN goes all-in $116.7, Hero calls $77.7

Flop: ($238.4, 2 players)

Turn: ($238.4, 2 players)

River: ($238.4, 2 players)

Final Pot: $238.40
Hero shows:
BTN shows:

BTN wins $235.4 ( won +$118.7 )
UTG lost -$3.50
Hero lost -$116.70


Villain in question is a regular Nit. Playing like 13.6/11.5. The UTG raiser is playing around 19/14. I can raise AK here obviously, but it's less profitable vs his tight range since he'll just 4-bet or fold, and should I get 4bet by him, I actually have to fold in this spot.

An alternative option here was to just call and play the hand postflop, and possibly induce a squeeze from someone behind me. Especially the SB was pretty squeeze happy but overall people were pretty aggressive behind me, so I elected to take that option.

Only I got raised by the only real Nit at the table, who plays so bloody straightforward that he always has a hand in this spot. But I second guessed myself, assumed his range could be wider here because of me coldcalling and got it in.

Not a bad result at all, since we were just flipping with some dead money in the pot, but his range just crushed me here.

Another one:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:Hero SB BB

UTG		($225.95)
($127.50)
BTN		($83.95)
($99.85)
($313.20)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 5 players) Hero is CO

1 fold, Hero raises to $3.5, 1 fold, SB calls $3, BB raises to $17, Hero calls $13.5, SB folds



Villain is playing around 25/25, me around 24/21 with an attempt to steal of around 41%. This seems a spot in which I can both 4bet or take a flop, and I almost 4-bet here because villain could just be squeezing here. But even while villain is pretty aggressive, this is the first time he actually 3-bet me from the blinds. In position I mix it up here.

Flop: ($37.5, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks



Villain let's me know here that he has a hand or absolutely nothing, since if he isn't cbetting a K-rag board as a bluff, what boards will he cbet? It's also pretty obvious I got a good hand, or I would not have called him preflop. If I bet here I probably get 1 street of value out of a hand like QQ/JJ, 0 out of bluffs. Checking behind gives him a chance to bluff the turn and under represents my hand.


Turn: ($37.5, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $20, BB calls $20



His second check here makes me think a hand like QQ/JJ is the most likely, just hoping to get to a cheap showdown. I think he would lead TT or worse here, and a lot of air, so I make a bet here which I expect to get called by QQ/JJ.

River: ($77.5, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $44, BB calls $44



Him calling the turn bet pretty much narrowed his range down to QQ/JJ so I made another bet not too large to get some value here.

Final Pot: $165.50
BB shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $162.5 ( won +$81.5 )
BB lost -$81.00
SB lost -$3.50


And hand number 3:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:BTN Hero

UTG		($102.70)
CO		($66.60)
($165.30)
SB		($14.50)
($100.00)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 5 players) Hero is BB

2 folds, BTN raises to $3.5, 1 fold, Hero raises to $12.5, BTN calls $9



First hand at this table. Always nice to get AK vs a button open in very first hand. I do not know anything about the player though, but this is a 3bet 100% of the time.

Flop: ($25.5, 2 players)
Hero bets $17, BTN raises to $50, Hero goes all-in $87.5, BTN says "oops", BTN calls $37.5



Even while this hand plays itself, since I'm definitely not folding TPTK with backdoor flush draw vs an unknown in a 3bet pot for 100BB's, one thing is interesting here. Even while it's an unknown, the bet size he uses to raise me with is for many people quite a tell. Round numbers are often draws/bluffs, while the more odd numbers are more like value bets. Another tell was that he raised this nearly instantly. If I were sitting in this spot with AQ, I would snapcall here too.

Turn: ($200.5, 2 players)

River: ($200.5, 2 players)
BTN says "lol!!!"

Final Pot: $200.50
BTN shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $197.5 ( won +$97.5 )
BTN lost -$100.00


High card 4 on turn:

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:UTG UTG+1 Hero

($114.75)
($96.00)
CO		($100.00)
BTN		($305.05)
SB		($117.40)
($232.75)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is BB

UTG raises to $3.5, UTG+1 calls $3.5, 3 folds, Hero calls $2.5



UTG is a pretty solid TAG, UTG+1 is a total nutcase, so I call here to see if I can spot a 4 on the flop.