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Don't copy this one at home

Date: Tue, Jun 10, 2008 Internet

This villain was playing 31/4/6 over 46 hands, which basically tells me that he limps into a lot of pots and then plays them hard postflop. Given that you don't hit the flop that often, that means he bluffs a lot. A 6 aggro factor is enormous for 31 VPIP.

PokerStars Game #18055396986: Tournament #91625194, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/06/10 - 21:39:36 (ET)
Table '91625194 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: FR Vessant (1495 in chips)
Seat 4: mp576 (2535 in chips)
Seat 5: JontyG_uk (3525 in chips)
Seat 6: remoney (2710 in chips)
Seat 9: GARZ 3 (3235 in chips)
GARZ 3: posts small blind 50
FR Vessant: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Jh Qs]
mp576: calls 100
JontyG_uk: folds
remoney: calls 100
GARZ 3: calls 50
FR Vessant: checks


This table hasn't actually been all that loose.

*** FLOP *** [Js 4s 2s]
GARZ 3: checks
FR Vessant: checks
mp576: bets 100
remoney: folds
GARZ 3: folds
FR Vessant: calls 100

I think I'm probably good here. If by some chance he has KJ, I probably have outs to the three remaining Qs as well as flush outs, so I am calling this. Also, his bet is very small, so it does look a lot like he's trying to steal it.

*** TURN *** [Js 4s 2s] [7h]

The turn bricks, so I'm still in the same spot I was on the flop.

FR Vessant: checks
mp576: bets 300

That's a more respectable bet, so I'm a little more worried. Still, I think I am likely good here. I more or less decide at this point that I won't fold unless another spade comes on the river.

I just feel that he never has a flush here. His bet on the flop was way too small for a flush smaller than the nuts, and he still hasn't bet enough on the turn to make me go away.

FR Vessant: calls 300
*** RIVER *** [Js 4s 2s 7h] [6c]

Another brick and we're not folding.

FR Vessant: checks
mp576: bets 600
FR Vessant: raises 395 to 995 and is all-in
mp576: calls 395
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FR Vessant: shows [Jh Qs] (a pair of Jacks)
mp576: shows [As 3c] (high card Ace)

My read was good. I credit him some for threebarrelling, but I don't think many players will fold the river when they've called the turn.


***

Another read. I don't think this guy is a/ ever folding to a threebet preflop, b/ thinking enough to realise what my bet means, c/ folding much postflop. So I prefer how I played it to a shove preflop.


PokerStars Game #18055680699: Tournament #91625194, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/06/10 - 21:54:29 (ET)
Table '91625194 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: FR Vessant (2165 in chips)
Seat 4: mp576 (4740 in chips)
Seat 5: JontyG_uk (2500 in chips)
Seat 6: remoney (1835 in chips)
Seat 9: GARZ 3 (2260 in chips)
GARZ 3: posts small blind 100
FR Vessant: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Ah Ad]
mp576: folds
FR Vessant said, "or a pair"

Chatting with mp576 about a hand he sucked out on me on!

JontyG_uk: folds
mp576 said, "ok"
remoney: folds
GARZ 3: raises 400 to 600
FR Vessant: raises 400 to 1000
GARZ 3: calls 400
*** FLOP *** [Qd 8h 7c]
GARZ 3: bets 1260 and is all-in

This just sucks. He is very unlikely to have anything.

FR Vessant: calls 1165 and is all-in

He has KJs and is drawing very thin.

Uncalled bet (95) returned to GARZ 3
*** TURN *** [Qd 8h 7c] [2h]
*** RIVER *** [Qd 8h 7c 2h] [8s]
mp576 said, "nh"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
GARZ 3: shows [Jh Kh] (a pair of Eights)
FR Vessant: shows [Ah Ad] (two pair, Aces and Eights)
FR Vessant collected 4330 from pot
FR Vessant said, "ty"

I would only rarely min3bet, but that was as good a spot as you're going to find, I think.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Ups and downs

Date: Wed, Jun 4, 2008 Internet

Up:

PokerStars Game #17922725366: Tournament #90902527, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2008/06/04 - 22:50:36 (ET)
Table '90902527 1' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 2: FR Vessant (1695 in chips)
Seat 6: shuggen (2283 in chips)
Seat 8: ampg74 (3787 in chips)
Seat 9: bababoyey125 (5735 in chips)
FR Vessant: posts the ante 25
shuggen: posts the ante 25
ampg74: posts the ante 25
bababoyey125: posts the ante 25
FR Vessant: posts small blind 200
shuggen: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [9d 2d]
ampg74: folds
bababoyey125: folds
FR Vessant: raises 1270 to 1670 and is all-in

Have to shove any two here.

shuggen: calls 1270

He has JT. I think that's a bad call but I'm not sure. I haven't been shoving that light (passed a couple of ATC shoves at t200a25 that wouldn't have changed my position much to preserve fold equity for this level and bababoyey125 keeps limping in front of me, making it impossible to shove trash for fear of the limp/call) so he has to expect a reasonably standard range. Most villains will shove any A, K, Q or pair and some connectors, but not enormously wide.

*** FLOP *** [6s 6h Ks]
FR Vessant said, "woah"
*** TURN *** [6s 6h Ks] [3h]
FR Vessant said, "awful call"

I should stop berating the idiots but it adds to my enjoyment so what can you do?

*** RIVER *** [6s 6h Ks 3h] [2c]

Niiiiiice.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
FR Vessant: shows [9d 2d] (two pair, Sixes and Deuces)
shuggen: shows [Jh Td] (a pair of Sixes)
FR Vessant collected 3440 from pot
FR Vessant said, "nice"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3440 | Rake 0
Board [6s 6h Ks 3h 2c]
Seat 2: FR Vessant (small blind) showed [9d 2d] and won (3440) with two pair, Sixes and Deuces
Seat 6: shuggen (big blind) showed [Jh Td] and lost with a pair of Sixes
Seat 8: ampg74 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: bababoyey125 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)



PokerStars Game #17922735749: Tournament #90902527, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2008/06/04 - 22:51:08 (ET)
Table '90902527 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: FR Vessant (3440 in chips)
Seat 6: shuggen (588 in chips)
Seat 8: ampg74 (3762 in chips)
Seat 9: bababoyey125 (5710 in chips)
FR Vessant: posts the ante 25
shuggen: posts the ante 25
ampg74: posts the ante 25
bababoyey125: posts the ante 25
shuggen: posts small blind 200
ampg74: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [6d 9d]
shuggen said, "probably the best call you've ever seen"

They always think they're wonderful when they guess right or suck out.

FR Vessant said, "no"
bababoyey125: folds
FR Vessant said, "I haven't been pushing that light"

Don't coach them, you fool.

shuggen plays tightish and was breakeven when I Scoped him a while back. This hand probably shows why. In his shoes, I'd have folded and shoved myself next hand.

FR Vessant: folds
shuggen: raises 163 to 563 and is all-in
ampg74: calls 163
FR Vessant said, "QT, maybe"
FR Vessant said, "JT bad"

Which I think is about right. I'm not certain though. Maybe he has to call with any reasonable hand. I should check it out.

*** FLOP *** [Tc Qh As]
shuggen said, "a fine jest, sir"
*** TURN *** [Tc Qh As] [5c]
*** RIVER *** [Tc Qh As 5c] [3d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
shuggen: shows [2d 7h] (high card Ace)
ampg74: shows [5h Qd] (two pair, Queens and Fives)
FR Vessant said, "gg"
ampg74 collected 1226 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1226 | Rake 0
Board [Tc Qh As 5c 3d]
Seat 2: FR Vessant (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: shuggen (small blind) showed [2d 7h] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 8: ampg74 (big blind) showed [5h Qd] and won (1226) with two pair, Queens and Fives
Seat 9: bababoyey125 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Down:

PokerStars Game #17922749948: Tournament #90902527, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2008/06/04 - 22:51:53 (ET)
Table '90902527 1' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 2: FR Vessant (3415 in chips)
Seat 8: ampg74 (4400 in chips)
Seat 9: bababoyey125 (5685 in chips)
FR Vessant: posts the ante 25
ampg74: posts the ante 25
bababoyey125: posts the ante 25
bababoyey125: posts small blind 200
FR Vessant: posts big blind 400
ampg74 said, "gg"
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Ks Ah]
ampg74: raises 3975 to 4375 and is all-in
bababoyey125: folds
FR Vessant: calls 2990 and is all-in

Snapcall obviously. He has A5. Hooray!


Uncalled bet (985) returned to ampg74
*** FLOP *** [7c 8s 9d]

Oh noes!


*** TURN *** [7c 8s 9d] [6s]

Booo.


TTTTTTTTT.

*** RIVER *** [7c 8s 9d 6s] [7h]

Fuck.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
FR Vessant: shows [Ks Ah] (a pair of Sevens)
ampg74: shows [5c Ad] (a straight, Five to Nine)
ampg74 said, "lol"

You laugh now, son, but you'll be the one depositing more money at the end of this month.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

BvB

Date: Tue, Jun 3, 2008 Internet

This happens a lot more than you'd expect. You have to bear in mind that the BB has essentially a random hand:

PokerStars Game #17898396593: Tournament #90779403, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2008/06/03 - 20:37:51 (ET)
Table '90779403 1' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 2: MrSwanee (6995 in chips)
Seat 3: Sdanby (2525 in chips)
Seat 5: FR Vessant (3155 in chips)
Seat 6: Loki_068 (825 in chips)
FR Vessant: posts small blind 75
Loki_068: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [As Jd]
MrSwanee: folds
Sdanby: folds
FR Vessant: raises 3005 to 3155 and is all-in

I would expect him to call quite a lot but to be ahead nearly always.

Loki_068: calls 675 and is all-in

But he has 66, which makes him favourite here.

Uncalled bet (2330) returned to FR Vessant
*** FLOP *** [2c 5c 3s]
*** TURN *** [2c 5c 3s] [6s]
FR Vessant said, "jeez"

Now that was a bit much. A set even!


*** RIVER *** [2c 5c 3s 6s] [Qs]

These things really do cut into your ROI. I should have been ITM here with a very decent stack. Instead, I end up really up against it and BB steals a couple of pots and gets level with me.

It doesn't help either that I have the two bigger stacks to my left, so that I am BB when the 7K stack is button. He raises my blind often but does not raise from the CO into the other shorty's blind. He occasionally limps, which is horrible. I also cannot raise from the button much, because bigstack is in the BB. Sucks.

Read Full Poker Blog Post

Hands

Date: Tue, Jun 3, 2008 Internet

Here's one I played super badly.

PokerStars Game #17880604960: Tournament #90690102, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/06/03 - 01:41:02 (ET)
Table '90690102 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: lowstackzac (1490 in chips)
Seat 3: papamig2 (1480 in chips)
Seat 4: JKM124 (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: nalbax (3030 in chips)
Seat 6: FR Vessant (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: DaRamsFan (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: CrazyJZ 01 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: Double BID (1500 in chips)
papamig2: posts small blind 10
JKM124: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Td Ts]
nalbax: folds
FR Vessant: raises 40 to 60

Standard raise although I've been tending to put more in.

DaRamsFan: folds
CrazyJZ 01: folds
Double BID: folds
lowstackzac: folds
papamig2: folds
JKM124: calls 40

No reads or anything on this guy so I'm assuming he's calling pretty wide.

*** FLOP *** [4c 8h 5c]

I should be way ahead on this flop.

JKM124: bets 130

That's a big bet. Usually, I'd raise here and I should have done in this instance.

FR Vessant: calls 130

Very weak. Maybe playing a bit gun shy.

*** TURN *** [4c 8h 5c] [6d]
JKM124: bets 190

That card likely did not improve his hand and his bet is reasonably weak too. Having missed a bet on the flop, I should definitely put one in here.

FR Vessant: calls 190

but no. I have decided to call it down. I will not be folding the river unless it's really really bad.

*** RIVER *** [4c 8h 5c 6d] [6c]

Well, that's pretty bad, but I don't think you can put him on a 6. The flush is possible but if he has it, I guess I'm paying it off.



JKM124: bets 350
FR Vessant: calls 350
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JKM124: shows [8d Jh] (two pair, Eights and Sixes)
FR Vessant: shows [Td Ts] (two pair, Tens and Sixes)

They really do bet TPNK as though it was AA sometimes. This is why you shouldn't be too scared of bets and should not fold overpairs often.


***

Now check this out for weird.

Villain is a complete idiot. He's played every hand and will call with literally nothing.

PokerStars Game #17880705454: Tournament #90690187, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/06/03 - 01:49:23 (ET)
Table '90690187 1' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 2: learch1234 (2290 in chips)
Seat 3: FR Vessant (3800 in chips)
Seat 4: Leonites300 (1270 in chips)
Seat 5: jimmyc4 (1410 in chips)
Seat 6: BLUF18 (560 in chips)
Seat 7: jcplouf (1090 in chips)
Seat 8: wickedchops (1600 in chips)
Seat 9: Freewill1978 (1480 in chips)
Freewill1978: posts small blind 10
learch1234: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Ah Ks]
FR Vessant: raises 60 to 80
Leonites300: folds
jimmyc4: folds
BLUF18: calls 80

As usual, BLUF18 calls.

jcplouf: folds
wickedchops: folds
Freewill1978: folds
learch1234: folds
*** FLOP *** [Tc Js 7h]

This is a decent flop for AK if you are going to miss one. Villain will not often fold, so I could just check, but I am afraid that he will bet if I do, and it will be more than I want to call. So I put in a probe bet, I guess.

FR Vessant: bets 100
BLUF18: calls 100

Of course. In hindsight, checking was much better. He probably does bet though.

*** TURN *** [Tc Js 7h] [Ts]
FR Vessant: checks
BLUF18: bets 60
FR Vessant: calls 60

Can't fold to that weak bet. He can have something or nothing here.

*** RIVER *** [Tc Js 7h Ts] [2h]
FR Vessant: checks
BLUF18: bets 120
FR Vessant: calls 120

Against nearly all players, I'd give up here, but this guy is retarded enough to have bluffed. Probably not often enough to make this a call, I suppose.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
BLUF18: shows [Th 3d] (three of a kind, Tens)

wat. Even in BLUF's world, that was a baaad call pre. His flop call is okay, obviously, because I miss that more than I hit it and he has middle pair. With his short stack, there's something to be said for shoving though. He bets the turn too small, I think. I have implied odds to hit my straight against his hand, because he'll certainly pay me off with what he has. On the river, he accidentally makes a decent value bet.

***

But this was better. If you're wondering why you play small pairs, here's why:

PokerStars Game #17880810897: Tournament #90689872, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2008/06/03 - 01:58:22 (ET)
Table '90689872 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: plfellows (1390 in chips)
Seat 2: jerseyru702 (1755 in chips)
Seat 3: killjoy247 (3280 in chips)
Seat 4: CrazyJZ 01 (3115 in chips)
Seat 5: FR Vessant (1690 in chips)
Seat 8: dwiele (1320 in chips)
Seat 9: AltarInUrBox (950 in chips)
killjoy247: posts small blind 25
CrazyJZ 01: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [5s 5d]
FR Vessant: calls 50

Many players fold here, but this table has played much more aggro postflop than pre.

dwiele: folds
AltarInUrBox: folds
plfellows: folds
jerseyru702: folds
killjoy247: calls 25
CrazyJZ 01: checks
*** FLOP *** [Kd Td 5c]
killjoy247: bets 500


This is a ridiculous overbet. There's only 150 in the pot. Obviously I will be continuing with the hand.

Sometimes you can just call with a set, but there are too reasons not to here. First, a very likely hand for him is Ad5d because the overbet is rarely a particularly strong hand. Ad5d has a lot of outs against top pair. I probably don't want to give him a "free" card. I dunno. More importantly, the rest of his range is a scared two pair/top pair hand and having put in this many chips, he will quite likely call off another K with a lot of that.

CrazyJZ 01: folds
FR Vessant: raises 1140 to 1640 and is all-in
killjoy247: calls 1140

And he does. He has KJ. A modest bet would have been okay for him, but his huge bet is stupid. It's conceivable that I will go crazy with a flush draw but mostly anything that is interested in that flop after he bets is very likely to beat TPJK.

*** TURN *** [Kd Td 5c] [4d]
*** RIVER *** [Kd Td 5c 4d] [Kh]

No way back from there.


***

No need to get excited or to start thinking we're running well, but this didn't hurt.

PokerStars Game #17880935046: Tournament #90690137, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2008/06/03 - 02:09:18 (ET)
Table '90690137 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: SparkyBet (2270 in chips)
Seat 2: dkmgmc (1795 in chips)
Seat 3: Banana_in_PJ (1375 in chips)
Seat 4: FR Vessant (1550 in chips)
Seat 5: Scorsese102 (2725 in chips)
Seat 6: Fishbitten2 (1300 in chips)
Seat 7: Smooth 1176 (825 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 8: wolfcal (1660 in chips)
dkmgmc: posts small blind 25
Banana_in_PJ: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Qc Qd]
FR Vessant: raises 100 to 150

Standard raise at this level.

Scorsese102: folds
Fishbitten2: folds
Smooth 1176: folds
wolfcal: folds
SparkyBet: folds
dkmgmc: folds
Banana_in_PJ: raises 350 to 500

That's often a big pair. It's a raise I can call, not a shove.

Smooth 1176 has returned
FR Vessant: raises 1050 to 1550 and is all-in

But I am not going to credit an unknown with a big hand just because they repop.

Banana_in_PJ: calls 875 and is all-in

Whoops. He shows AA.

Uncalled bet (175) returned to FR Vessant
*** FLOP *** [Td 5d 2h]
*** TURN *** [Td 5d 2h] [Qh]

Niiiiice.

*** RIVER *** [Td 5d 2h Qh] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Banana_in_PJ: shows [Ah As] (a pair of Aces)
FR Vessant: shows [Qc Qd] (three of a kind, Queens)


I did get KK cracked straight afterwards though, to restore the balance. And then on another table, I had K4 in the BB on a QJT flop. I had 800 chips after posting the blind and when someone bet 200 I didn't feel like surrendering my equity. I should have done. It was borderline retarded to push. He had QJ and I didn't improve. I'd make more money if I didn't translate "play tough" into "dicksize the fuckers".


***

I think I'm tilting a bit because I have been playing weakly. This morning I missed a lot of BvB shoves because I "felt" they would be called light. No reason to think that beyond having been called light a few times, and running into a few biggies too. So, at last, a BvB shove that worked.

PokerStars Game #17881062806: Tournament #90689887, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2008/06/03 - 02:20:59 (ET)
Table '90689887 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: PapaD!ddyPop (5975 in chips)
Seat 2: fbron25 (1300 in chips)
Seat 3: FR Vessant (1285 in chips)
Seat 4: Cleetuz (2040 in chips)
Seat 5: smack36 (1465 in chips)
Seat 6: RugbySteve2 (1435 in chips)
FR Vessant: posts small blind 75
Cleetuz: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Th Jc]
smack36: folds
RugbySteve2: folds
PapaD!ddyPop: folds
fbron25: folds
FR Vessant: raises 1135 to 1285 and is all-in

Less than 10BB, easy shove.

Cleetuz: calls 1135

Whoops. He has AQ.

*** FLOP *** [5s 2d 9h]
*** TURN *** [5s 2d 9h] [Jh]

Yay me!

*** RIVER *** [5s 2d 9h Jh] [8d]


Not playing all that well this afternoon, but not going too badly. Lost with AQ to KK, but then sucked out against JJ with the same hand.

Check this out though:

PokerStars Game #17881147419: Tournament #90690187, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2008/06/03 - 02:29:08 (ET)
Table '90690187 1' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 3: FR Vessant (3430 in chips)
Seat 5: jimmyc4 (4680 in chips)
Seat 7: jcplouf (660 in chips)
Seat 9: Freewill1978 (4730 in chips)
Freewill1978: posts small blind 75
FR Vessant: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Qh As]
jimmyc4: folds
jcplouf: folds
Freewill1978: raises 150 to 300

He's been quite aggro so I could push here. I decide to take a flop though because he might be retarded enough to call with something like KJ.

FR Vessant: calls 150
*** FLOP *** [2s 9s Js]
Freewill1978: bets 300
FR Vessant: calls 300

I'm obviously not folding. I have the nut flush draw and most likely the best hand.

*** TURN *** [2s 9s Js] [6d]
Freewill1978: checks
FR Vessant: checks

I am sure that I have the best hand. He took a stab and now he gives up. I check behind because I have no pair and want to keep it small. Betting would be okay, but he could just about call with a pair and that would be awkward.

*** RIVER *** [2s 9s Js 6d] [6c]
Freewill1978: bets 600
FR Vessant: calls 600

I'm not folding though. His hand can't have got better and this is just a bluff a lot of the time.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Freewill1978: shows [Ad 5d] (a pair of Sixes)
FR Vessant: shows [Qh As] (a pair of Sixes - Ace+Queen kicker)
FR Vessant collected 2400 from pot

Nice.

Sadly, at another table, I snap off a shove with AJ and I'm dominating A7, but he rivers a 7 to cripple me. So the luck is not really better, just up and down.

***

This is bad:

PokerStars Game #17881228119: Tournament #90690187, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/06/03 - 02:37:11 (ET)
Table '90690187 1' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 3: FR Vessant (3355 in chips)
Seat 5: jimmyc4 (3285 in chips)
Seat 9: Freewill1978 (6860 in chips)
FR Vessant: posts small blind 100
jimmyc4: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [As 3s]
Freewill1978: raises 400 to 600

He's been raising a LOT.

FR Vessant: raises 2755 to 3355 and is all-in

But this is far too loose, I think. I suppose I am ahead of his range, but probably not by enough to risk my equity here.

jimmyc4: folds
Freewill1978: calls 2755

He has 99.

*** FLOP *** [Th Ac 8c]

Yay.

*** TURN *** [Th Ac 8c] [9c]

Booooo.

*** RIVER *** [Th Ac 8c 9c] [7c]


***

And retards still win the day:

PokerStars Game #17881249989: Tournament #90690102, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/06/03 - 02:39:25 (ET)
Table '90690102 1' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 4: JKM124 (9190 in chips)
Seat 5: nalbax (2665 in chips)
Seat 6: FR Vessant (1645 in chips)
FR Vessant: posts small blind 100
JKM124: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Tc As]
nalbax: folds
FR Vessant: raises 1445 to 1645 and is all-in
JKM124: calls 1445

He has 98s. I don't like his call. He's basically always behind, and losing a fair bit of equity. He has a big stack but that doesn't really mean that you should make bad calls. It's not really worth it to knock out other players. Let them knock themselves out.

*** FLOP *** [9s Jd 2d]

But why not when you can get lucky lucky lucky.

*** TURN *** [9s Jd 2d] [5s]
*** RIVER *** [9s Jd 2d 5s] [5d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FR Vessant: shows [Tc As] (a pair of Fives)
JKM124: shows [8c 9c] (two pair, Nines and Fives)
JKM124 collected 3290 from pot
JKM124 said, "gg"


I told him to fuck off. Don't tell people gg when you make a really atrocious play and suck out. It makes them angry. Actually, don't chat at all. I don't know why I do it. It helps me not tilt but it's not making me feel good about poker or myself.

***

Just to top it off. This guy has been superaggro throughout heads up but he hasn't actually made any money. He's pretty exploitable. Most superaggro guys are. They steal a lot of blinds but they also pay you handsomely when you have something.

PokerStars Game #17881366671: Tournament #90690137, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2008/06/03 - 02:51:40 (ET)
Table '90690137 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: SparkyBet (8195 in chips)
Seat 4: FR Vessant (5305 in chips)
SparkyBet: posts the ante 25
FR Vessant: posts the ante 25
SparkyBet: posts small blind 200
FR Vessant: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [9s As]

This is the first hand at t400 and I'm delighted. I'm getting it in without any question. There's no point playing it slow with 13BB.

SparkyBet: raises 800 to 1200
FR Vessant: raises 4080 to 5280 and is all-in

Easy push. I will have the best hand nearly always.
SparkyBet: calls 4080

Horrible. He has Q7. This is just a terrible call. His raise in the first place is dodgy, but it's okay if I'm folding a lot, which I am. You can't call the shove though. That's just awful.

It's okay to gamble sometimes. If you're saying to yourself: I'm very short and have to gamble, well fair enough. If you're saying, I am getting great odds and this won't hurt much, that's okay (note that the bigstack who called with 98s was not getting great odds at all and his call sucked a shitton against anything I could realistically be shoving there).

*** FLOP *** [Kc 5c Jd]
*** TURN *** [Kc 5c Jd] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Kc 5c Jd 3d] [Qd]

Fucking doomswitch.

So I scored one second and three thirds from six. It's okay, but I deserved better and it's those kind of tourneys that really cut into your winnings. I had my fair share of luck but no more in the earlier running (sucking out on QQ and AQ pretty much evens out with the big hands I lost -- and anyway, how can it be lucky to run into Ax when you shove BvB?) Would have liked to win one (this last one would have been reasonable), but meh. Onwards and upwards.

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All you can eat, baybeee

Date: Mon, Jun 2, 2008 Internet

I am tired of whining. With most things, I eventually stop and then try to fix the problem. Well, I can't fix my luck, but I can fix my attitude to it.

Poker is not like bridge. Best play does not always win, and the best player can often go home emptyhanded. We mostly know this, but we don't actually feel it.

It's actually like you're in a leaky boat on a huge ocean. You cannot do anything about the ocean. All you can do is try to stay afloat. You'll sometimes have flat calm and easy sailing, sometimes you'll be riding the waves, but sometimes you'll plunge, almost sinking.

For this post, I'm going to show you an exercise I did today. Basically, I looked at all my allins, to see how I actually ran. I think I'll do this a bit when I am feeling unlucky, so that I get a grip on how I'm going. I won't be considering times people suck out on me in crappy pots (although this is a big component in how you do) but just look at allins for now.

To read the following, you need to know: the first hand is mine; the second his. Then I note the action and the result. I should have noted when these hands happened, but they are actually almost all at t150 or t200, with I think only the first two at t100. Hopefully, seeing the action might give you some glimmering of why I felt it was worthwhile to go in. If I'd been playing fewer tables, I'd have noted stack sizes and action a bit more fully, but the basic idea is clear.

33 QJ all in on Q32 flop: I win. Standard for a set. I bet, he raised, I got it in and he called.

AK 99. He raised small, I shoved over: I lose and bust out. I'm a 45% underdog.

KK 99. J753 board: I win. I raised pre, bet the flop and turn and he shoved over. I snapcalled.

KQ A2. BvB for 10BB. I would have been shoving a lot lighter than KQ. I was pissed off to be behind, because his call was horrible (I covered him), but KQ is obv. the nuts. I was a 42% underdog. That's not so bad.

QQ 77. I pushed over three limpers in the BB. I had about 9BB or something like that: I won with a flush on the river. I was an 80% favourite.

A8 99. I pushed over a limper. I don't know whether he was "trapping" or just stupid, and in this spot, I never really know what they're thinking. He should have pushed with this hand. You don't actually want to be allin unless you have a monster, and 99 is not a monster. I was quite short, so I felt it was worth trying to fold the guy out. Anyway, I flopped an ace. I was a 29% underdog. You are usually about 29-31% if you are basically drawing to one card.

AA J7. J93 flop. I raised pre and the big blind, who had a big stack, called. I think he bet the flop and I shoved. Pretty standard and I won. I was mildly surprised he didn't turn a 7.

A8s 77. I shoved from the button with about 10BB. He had me covered by a bit so fair enough. I was a 46% underdog. You're generally in good shape with suited overcards vs an underpair, more so if your cards connect. ATs is 48%, QJs is a favourite. If that strikes you as odd, think it through. With overcards, it really doesn't matter what they are, except that the 7 stops a straight for the lower overcards. Both hands make flushes, but QJs makes more straights. It's a connector without gaps, and can make several different straights with cards on either end. ATs needs to be filled and can only make one straight. Generally, you'd prefer to have ATs when you push, but when you see the pair, you wish you'd had QJs! This thinking explains why QJs is such a good pushing hand. I lost this one and busted.

AT KQs. A99 flop. This is the same guy who paid my AA on the J high flop. His play was inexplicable. He led the flop and called a shove. I couldn't believe his hand. I had raised pre and was strongly repping an ace. Not believing me is just dumb. Yeah, I could be bluffing, but many of those bluffs are pairs, and to tell the truth, this will only rarely be a bluff, never by me. My hand obviously held up.

AK AJs. I pushed from the button. His call was bad because he surrendered all his equity with a shorty in the game. Dominating villains is great. I'm a 70% favourite (again, the guy who needs to hit a particular card is about a 30% shot). He missed.

JJ AT. I was in the BB and pushed over limpers. The guy who called had a decent sized stack but he shouldn't have limped in the first place. My hand held up. I was a 71% favourite (again, he's in the 29-31% range because he's basically drawing to an A. He has some equity from straights, but not much because I block his straight.)

QJ K9. JT5 flop. I was pretty short so I was more than willing to get it in with an aggro player with TP decent kicker. I don't like his play. I am never folding when I bet, and he has only 7 outs vs top pair. As it happens, he didn't even have that, because I held one of the Qs. I won.

A6 QQ. BvB. We were at t400 and I shoved a decent stack into a shorty. Sometimes they pick up a hand. I'm a 28% dog and the poker gods gave me the cold shoulder this time. I lost and was desperate.

76s 83s. Next hand, I pushed from the button with about 2BB. I'm getting called by BB whatever he has, but my hand should play okay vs a random hand: I'd be a 46% dog. 83s is a bit worse than average so I was 47% to win. I looked like doing it too, making two pair on the turn, but he rivered me and I busted.

Q4s AJ. Heads up and I was quite short, so I shoved. He happened to have a hand and I busted. I was about 39% to win, which at least gives me a chance. When short HU, you should be looking to push a lot. You're rarely that badly behind.

AK A2. HU. I raised, he pushed, I snapped it. No one improved and I busted him. I was a 74% favourite. This time he's not 30% because his pair can so easily be counterfeited.

T4 QQ. HU. This guy was super annoying. He was spanked by the deck and hit the flop with monotonous regularity. Earlier he had gained a big stack by turning a straight with an AK he had not bet for the whole hand, while I hit trip jacks on the river. Meh. Here he limped the SB and I passed the shove. The flop came XX4, he bet weakly and I shoved over. I put him on a steal because he had tried to trap with every decent hand he'd had. He made a big fuss when he showed his hand, but whatever. I often get called a donkey by players who see the play that doesn't work and not the five similar plays that do work. Hilariously, yesterday, some guy called me a donk when I was knocked out by a guy who called my shove with a dominated hand. This same guy had called a push for 10BB with Q9s. It's funny: bad players think pushing light is much worse than calling light. They have it exactly the wrong way round.

So that wasn't bad. I was lucky a couple of times, and never actually lost an allin when ahead. If I ran like that every session, I'd be a millionaire before long.

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sighing

Date: Mon, Jun 2, 2008 Internet

Villain is a 60 VPIP fish.

PokerStars Game #17860525592: Tournament #90586520, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2008/06/02 - 06:36:11 (ET)
Table '90586520 1' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: FR Vessant (1375 in chips)
Seat 2: DaddyBear84 (1075 in chips)
Seat 4: 888roger (1965 in chips)
Seat 5: ussro (1740 in chips)
Seat 6: fergaus (2040 in chips)
Seat 7: QuistisTrepe (1865 in chips)
Seat 8: mrp123 (1230 in chips)
Seat 9: 68olegnA (2210 in chips)
FR Vessant: posts small blind 25
DaddyBear84: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [As Ts]
888roger: folds
ussro: folds
fergaus: folds
QuistisTrepe: folds
mrp123: folds
68olegnA: folds
FR Vessant: raises 100 to 150

Have to raise his blind with this holding. It's for value rather than stealing because he'll often call.

DaddyBear84: calls 100
*** FLOP *** [Ah 3h 4h]

Good and bad flop, obv.

FR Vessant: bets 200
DaddyBear84: raises 200 to 400

The minraise is kind of ominous but he's liable to do this with an ace, particularly if he also has a heart.

FR Vessant: raises 825 to 1225 and is all-in
DaddyBear84: calls 525 and is all-in

He has Jh7h. Nice flop for him. And I guess that's why these horrible fish call with their trashy suited hands. They get paid off once in a blue moon. And these days, it's me paying them off every fucking time. What can you do though? Not only did he flop the flush but it came A high, which encouraged me to stack off. He was just aggro enough for me not to fold the flop, but I probably should have done. These fish don't raise too often. When you see someone who's playing 60/5 and he's quite aggro, he's getting the aggression by betting, not by raising.

***

There's worse though. Next tourney some complete retard calls my ATC push with J8. I had QT but he sucked out. His excuse was that I pushed on his blind the last time. Yeah, I said, but that doesn't actually make J8 a good hand.

Then another guy calls for all his chips with Q9s. Again I had a better hand, and again he sucked out. This time, he claims he needed to chip up and had a "better than average" hand. You have to remind yourself sometimes that you actually want these people to be retarded.


Same tourney. Sigh:

PokerStars Game #17860757048: Tournament #90586164, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/06/02 - 07:03:24 (ET)
Table '90586164 1' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 2: merc450se (1795 in chips)
Seat 3: crazymaniac3 (3160 in chips)
Seat 4: FR Vessant (1195 in chips)
Seat 5: Forkbeard (1890 in chips)
Seat 6: KingCur (1510 in chips)
Seat 7: coucousky (1753 in chips)
Seat 9: noruga (2197 in chips)
merc450se: posts small blind 100
crazymaniac3: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Ad Qs]
FR Vessant: raises 995 to 1195 and is all-in
Forkbeard: folds
KingCur: folds
coucousky: folds
noruga: folds
merc450se: calls 1095
crazymaniac3: folds
*** FLOP *** [Kh Kd 2s]
*** TURN *** [Kh Kd 2s] [5s]
*** RIVER *** [Kh Kd 2s 5s] [Js]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
merc450se: shows [Ts As] (a flush, Ace high)
FR Vessant: shows [Ad Qs] (a pair of Kings)
merc450se collected 2590 from pot
merc450se said, "wow"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2590 | Rake 0
Board [Kh Kd 2s 5s Js]
Seat 2: merc450se (small blind) showed [Ts As] and won (2590) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 3: crazymaniac3 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: FR Vessant showed [Ad Qs] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 5: Forkbeard folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: KingCur folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: coucousky folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: noruga (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

So I lose back everything I won yesterday, and I'm losing for the month.

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FR on teh luck lollercoaster

Date: Sun, Jun 1, 2008 Internet

Fuckuckuckuck the world

PokerStars Game #17833623493: Tournament #90446020, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/06/01 - 01:40:53 (ET)
Table '90446020 1' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 2: thwack315 (1868 in chips)
Seat 3: roadplyr (1350 in chips)
Seat 4: oryx_3 (4867 in chips)
Seat 7: kryptaker (4020 in chips)
Seat 9: FR Vessant (1395 in chips)
oryx_3: posts small blind 50
kryptaker: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Qh Qd]
FR Vessant: raises 200 to 300
thwack315: folds
roadplyr: folds
oryx_3: calls 250
kryptaker: folds
*** FLOP *** [Tc 9s 4s]
oryx_3: checks
FR Vessant: bets 500
oryx_3: raises 500 to 1000
FR Vessant: raises 95 to 1095 and is all-in
oryx_3: calls 95
*** TURN *** [Tc 9s 4s] [Ks]
*** RIVER *** [Tc 9s 4s Ks] [9d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
oryx_3: shows [Ah Kh] (two pair, Kings and Nines)
FR Vessant: shows [Qh Qd] (two pair, Queens and Nines)
FR Vessant said, "omg"
oryx_3 collected 2890 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2890 | Rake 0
Board [Tc 9s 4s Ks 9d]
Seat 2: thwack315 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: roadplyr (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: oryx_3 (small blind) showed [Ah Kh] and won (2890) with two pair, Kings and Nines
Seat 7: kryptaker (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: FR Vessant showed [Qh Qd] and lost with two pair, Queens and Nines


His play is so bad, it's a joke. He has six outs on the flop, and he has to put me on a made hand there. I am just guessing he thinks I had AK/AQ. They always do!

There's worse though:

PokerStars Game #17833923317: Tournament #90445829, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2008/06/01 - 02:04:14 (ET)
Table '90445829 1' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: rffhs (4590 in chips)
Seat 2: WolfenAround (400 in chips)
Seat 3: RaiseThis5 (1280 in chips)
Seat 4: agenbite (2980 in chips)
Seat 5: coachfoot20 (1960 in chips)
Seat 9: FR Vessant (2290 in chips)
rffhs: posts the ante 25
WolfenAround: posts the ante 25
RaiseThis5: posts the ante 25
agenbite: posts the ante 25
coachfoot20: posts the ante 25
FR Vessant: posts the ante 25
rffhs: posts small blind 100
WolfenAround: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [4h 4s]
RaiseThis5: folds
agenbite: folds
coachfoot20: folds
FR Vessant: raises 400 to 600
rffhs: folds
WolfenAround: calls 175 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (225) returned to FR Vessant

Against guy who must call with any two, 44 is more than good enough. I just raise, because I don't want to be called by SB and if he shoves, I'll fold.

The BB picks up AJs. It's just unreal. He must call but just happens to have a great hand. Still I'm ahead.

*** FLOP *** [Kh 9d 5s]

He needs runner runner, so it's gg him, right?

*** TURN *** [Kh 9d 5s] [9s]

Runner.

*** RIVER *** [Kh 9d 5s 9s] [7s]

Runner.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
WolfenAround: shows [As Js] (a flush, Ace high)
FR Vessant: shows [4h 4s] (two pair, Nines and Fours)
FR Vessant said, "omg"

You are very right, FR.

How about if you catch a rubbish bluff?

PokerStars Game #17833999764: Tournament #90446001, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2008/06/01 - 02:10:24 (ET)
Table '90446001 1' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 3: antho46 (3500 in chips)
Seat 4: FR Vessant (10000 in chips)
antho46: posts the ante 25
FR Vessant: posts the ante 25
antho46: posts small blind 100
FR Vessant: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [8c Ah]
antho46: calls 100

He is raising anything decent, so I know he has rubbish.

FR Vessant: raises 600 to 800

Sometimes I'll just check a raggy ace, but I figure this guy will fold. I've played vaaaaaiiiirrrryyy tight since the bubble, which started at t50, so he must think I'm some sort of nit.

BTW, Father Luke, note that even though we say you should loosen up later in the game, sometimes it's right to stay tight. If the opportunities don't come and relative stack sizes dictate tightness, don't feel you have to be over aggressive.

antho46: raises 2675 to 3475 and is all-in

Nah. I don't buy it.

FR Vessant: calls 2675

And he has QT. Obv. this is a terrible bluff. I think I did raise/fold once earlier in the game, but this is different: I'm in the big blind, raising his limp. I won't do that particularly light, and have only done it once or twice to him. I read him perfectly and now he's fuxxord.

*** FLOP *** [8d 2d 5s]
*** TURN *** [8d 2d 5s] [2s]
*** RIVER *** [8d 2d 5s 2s] [Qc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FR Vessant: shows [8c Ah] (two pair, Eights and Deuces)
antho46: shows [Qs Th] (two pair, Queens and Deuces)
FR Vessant said, "god you suck"

Tell him, FR.

Still, I did beat him. I shoved with some raggy ace and he called for his whole stack with KJ and my hand held up. I guess his call was okay and I would have made it too.

At another table. WolfenAround is short again after sucking out three times all in.

PokerStars Game #17834018922: Tournament #90445829, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2008/06/01 - 02:11:58 (ET)
Table '90445829 1' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: rffhs (5940 in chips)
Seat 2: WolfenAround (135 in chips)
Seat 4: agenbite (2680 in chips)
Seat 5: coachfoot20 (1640 in chips)
Seat 9: FR Vessant (3105 in chips)
rffhs: posts the ante 25
WolfenAround: posts the ante 25
agenbite: posts the ante 25
coachfoot20: posts the ante 25
FR Vessant: posts the ante 25
FR Vessant: posts small blind 200
rffhs: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [Qc Ad]
WolfenAround: calls 110 and is all-in
agenbite: folds
coachfoot20: raises 1215 to 1615 and is all-in
FR Vessant: calls 1415
rffhs: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jd Kh 4d]
*** TURN *** [Jd Kh 4d] [2c]
*** RIVER *** [Jd Kh 4d 2c] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FR Vessant: shows [Qc Ad] (high card Ace)
coachfoot20: shows [8h Ah] (high card Ace - lower kicker)
FR Vessant collected 3300 from side pot
WolfenAround: shows [5s Kc] (a pair of Kings)
WolfenAround collected 565 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3865 Main pot 565. Side pot 3300. | Rake 0
Board [Jd Kh 4d 2c 3s]
Seat 1: rffhs (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: WolfenAround showed [5s Kc] and won (565) with a pair of Kings
Seat 4: agenbite folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: coachfoot20 (button) showed [8h Ah] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 9: FR Vessant (small blind) showed [Qc Ad] and won (3300) with high card Ace

Well, okay. He's basically gone and we're on the bubble. So when I pick up 99 against his blind, he's gone right?

PokerStars Game #17834038314: Tournament #90445829, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2008/06/01 - 02:13:34 (ET)
Table '90445829 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: rffhs (5540 in chips)
Seat 2: WolfenAround (590 in chips)
Seat 4: agenbite (2630 in chips)
Seat 9: FR Vessant (4740 in chips)
rffhs: posts the ante 25
WolfenAround: posts the ante 25
agenbite: posts the ante 25
FR Vessant: posts the ante 25
WolfenAround: posts small blind 200
agenbite: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [9s 9d]
FR Vessant: raises 4315 to 4715 and is all-in
rffhs: folds
WolfenAround: calls 365 and is all-in
agenbite: folds
Uncalled bet (4150) returned to FR Vessant
*** FLOP *** [Jc Kc Ac]
*** TURN *** [Jc Kc Ac] [Ks]
*** RIVER *** [Jc Kc Ac Ks] [2s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
WolfenAround: shows [Th Kh] (three of a kind, Kings)
FR Vessant: shows [9s 9d] (two pair, Kings and Nines)
WolfenAround collected 1630 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1630 | Rake 0
Board [Jc Kc Ac Ks 2s]
Seat 1: rffhs (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: WolfenAround (small blind) showed [Th Kh] and won (1630) with three of a kind, Kings
Seat 4: agenbite (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: FR Vessant showed [9s 9d] and lost with two pair, Kings and Nines


Wrong. Five times behind me; five times he sucks out. Each time he's all in. I am gnawing the desk in frustration.

Still, I did go on to win the game:

PokerStars Game #17834190241: Tournament #90445829, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level IX (300/600) - 2008/06/01 - 02:26:29 (ET)
Table '90445829 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: rffhs (6390 in chips)
Seat 9: FR Vessant (7110 in chips)
rffhs: posts the ante 50
FR Vessant: posts the ante 50
rffhs: posts small blind 300
FR Vessant: posts big blind 600
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [9s Kc]
rffhs: raises 5740 to 6340 and is all-in
FR Vessant: calls 5740
*** FLOP *** [9h Qh Ks]
FR Vessant said, "sigh"

Dramatic irony. FR is sighing because he is dominated, but he doesn't know he is going to suck out!

Bravo, FR. We love you bro.

Actually, I had also sucked out on the bubble. Some guy shoved 1.2K and I pushed over with AJ and 2.7K. I flopped a J. I felt a bit sad about it because it meant the suckout merchant who had luckboxed his way from 100 chips to respectability by getting his cards in bad and winning now made the money. I didn't even have the pleasure of knocking him out.

If you sixtable, as I did today, you don't generally know what happens to other players, but this was the last of my set, so I was more aware of what was going on.


*** TURN *** [9h Qh Ks] [5h]
*** RIVER *** [9h Qh Ks 5h] [6s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FR Vessant: shows [9s Kc] (two pair, Kings and Nines)
rffhs: shows [9c As] (a pair of Nines)
FR Vessant collected 12780 from pot

gg FR.

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Fck mi lck

Date: Sat, May 31, 2008 Internet

shoved AJ over a small raise < A6, 7th
33 ran into AA, 3rd
KJ < QT, 3rd
shoved ATC into K6, he rivered trips, 4th
shoved A5s into AA, 6th
shoved 32 into A2, 3rd
shoved over a limp, he called huge shove, Q7s < A5
TT < K7 for 10BB, 4th

That's a set of 8. I actually played well, but ended up -8% ROI. That doesn't tell the story, of course. I lost a big stack when a guy outsucked me with KQ, then the same game did it again with a dominated ace at another table. Meh.

***

So I load up five more. First one I bust out of I try a retarded trap. It's folded to me in the SB, and I limp with 99. I figure the BB will raise with or without a hand. He minraises and I push over. He snapcalls. AK. Flop K, gg me. Next game, I have AQs, and raise to 150 at t50. Some guy calls and a guy who is playing 33/23 reraises. Looks like a squeeze and I push over. I have 2.7K, so he should fold a lot of his range and I'll be beating most of the rest. After all, he's been raising with shit. Except for this time. He has AK and it's gg me again.

Well, wtf can you do? I had even been lucky in that tourney. I had raised with AA and got one caller. Flop was all rags and I bet. She called. Turn was another rag and I shoved. Snapcalled by a set of 2s, but I rivered the A. Sucked for her, but I'm kind of due one.

Next tourney, some guy with 800 chips raises to 300 from the button. I have 77 in the SB and shove over. He snapcalls with JTs. WTF? If he'd pushed, that would have maybe been okay. But the poker gods do not punish the bad players. They hate you for being too smart for the fish. Flop JT3, and I'm left with 400 chips.

I am hating this so badly. I'm playing really well at the 10s and have played well for the last while. But my ROI is through the floor and shows no sign of improving. It's very hard to stay confident when you are losing money. You start to doubt your play and eventually I think I will end up quitting, even though I probably am a decent player at this level.

So I ended the day after 13 games, 7% ROI. That's disappointing but at least I ended with a couple of decent cashes so I didn't lose for the day (not that it matters over so few games).

So meh. But I feel good enough about my game not to get too disheartened. And I'm still learning.

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Bubblicious

Date: Thu, May 29, 2008 Internet

So I eight-table the 10s.

And bubble four fucking times!

And still won $20.

Imagine if I had run that bit better on the bubble. Sigh.

Still, it's encouraging to play decently when eight-tabling. I think I missed a few things but basically not enough to worry about.

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o.m.g.

Date: Thu, May 29, 2008 Internet

OMG. This is so bad.

PokerStars Game #17768933590: Tournament #90107199, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/05/29 - 06:08:33 (ET)
Table '90107199 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: RagtimeScott (1570 in chips)
Seat 2: loic91 (1220 in chips)
Seat 3: binhnhi914 (1670 in chips)
Seat 4: FR Vessant (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: 13Enrique (1680 in chips)
Seat 6: phileas99 (1660 in chips)
Seat 7: RRR21 (1590 in chips)
Seat 8: def78901 (1470 in chips)
Seat 9: bobvegàs (1170 in chips)
binhnhi914: posts small blind 10
FR Vessant: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to FR Vessant [As Ah]
13Enrique: folds
phileas99: folds
RRR21: folds
def78901: folds
bobvegàs: folds
RagtimeScott: calls 20
loic91: folds
binhnhi914: calls 10
FR Vessant: raises 100 to 120
RagtimeScott: calls 100
binhnhi914: folds
*** FLOP *** [6h Tc Jh]
FR Vessant: bets 180
RagtimeScott: calls 180
*** TURN *** [6h Tc Jh] [8h]
FR Vessant: bets 480
RagtimeScott: calls 480
*** RIVER *** [6h Tc Jh 8h] [Qd]
FR Vessant: bets 690 and is all-in
RagtimeScott: calls 690
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FR Vessant: shows [As Ah] (a pair of Aces)
RagtimeScott: shows [9h Kc] (a straight, Nine to King)

That is totally wtf. This guy gets lucky like once in a blue moon. I am the blue moon. What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck my luck.

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A 10+1 without frills

Date: Wed, May 28, 2008 Internet

I'm going to liveblog a $10 tourney while I play it. I'm not actually watching the table closely (working), so it's all generic. But it might give you an idea of how a 10+1 regular plays out.

Hands I just fold, I will note what they were without any comment. Everything else, I'll explain why I did what I did. I'll also mark when I pay blinds. If I do watch a hand, I might give some notes.


I don't recognise any of the players at the table, which usually means that none of them are any good. You remember the good players' names.

t20
J4
73
QTs -- just about lost a guy there:

ANTES/BLINDS
Mikaa23 posts blind ($10), MaxiNew posts blind ($20).

PRE-FLOP
Wooster_1 calls $20, ricked71 calls $20, ureeek folds, big wonka calls $20, magbigg4336 folds, Dr Zen folds, ARESTANT66 folds, hazemeljisr bets $40, Mikaa23 folds, MaxiNew folds, Wooster_1 calls $20, ricked71 calls $20, big wonka calls $20.

FLOP [board cards: KD 3C 9D ]
Wooster_1 checks, ricked71 bets $190, big wonka folds, hazemeljisr calls $190, Wooster_1 folds.

TURN [board cards: KD 3C 9D 3D ]
ricked71 bets $570, hazemeljisr calls $570.

RIVER [board cards: KD 3C 9D 3D 6D ]
ricked71 bets $700 and is all-in, hazemeljisr calls $670 and is all-in.

SHOWDOWN
ricked71 shows [ KS JC ]
hazemeljisr shows [ QH AD ]
ricked71 wins $30, hazemeljisr wins $3,050.

Her calls on flop and turn are atrocious, but his bet on river is just as bad.
75 -- now we're ninehanded
65
J8s--someone nearly busted last hand, didn't see what happened, don't care
AT -- to weak to play UTG

t30
63BB
K2SB
77 -- I call 100 raise. Q53r flop. Raiser bets 300. I fold. He shows 88.
AJ, I raise to 90 in cutoff. Called by fish on button. 863 flop, I check, she checks behind. Turn 6, she bets small, I call. River K, check check, MHIG. I don't cbet because this player is ultra fishy and will call with anything, so I'd have to twobarrel.
Q6
73s -- down to seven. Fish hit top pair with A7 on AQT flop, but other guy had flopped straight. This is why you don't play shit like A7 of course. But a lot of these fish do and when they get hot and heavy on A high flops, they don't always (or often) have better than top pair.
52

t50
95
83BB -- I check, three to flop. KQ5 two diamonds. Turn Td, river 5d. Checked down and I split pot.
KQSB, one limper, BB is sitting out. I call. Flop Q high, I bet 2/3 pot, he folds. Could have raised pre, but I don't like playing raised pots OOP much.
Q5. I walk BB.
Q3
76
A8
T5s
A7BB, fold to 3x raise. Meh. A high flop, checked round. Raiser had JJ, callers T8s and K4s. Unreal.
82SB
86
JT -- weird, guy limped, some other guy limped, raise to 200, first guy pushed. This would often be a pair actually and I call with anything I raise with. But the raiser had a big stack so maybe he was going fairly light.
Q7
K9

t100
43
J2BB walked.
J9sSB, folded to minraise. Probably would have completed against this table.
84s

I have about 1600 chips at this point.

Q3
42
93--there's a whole lot of limping going on. The table has been fairly passive, actually. You don't often get one as passive as this, but I haven't had the cards to take advantage.
86
Q8BB, two limpers, I check. AAJ flop. BTN bets, SB calls, I fold. Better had JT, caller bluffed river with 55.
Q4SB
T3
KT--we lose a guy. QJ raised pre, AK reraised small and called push after getting outflopped. Six left.
KJ

t150
QJ
KJ
J3BB. Fold to a minraise. I have 1290 chips.
Q9
JT. Tempted to push with tight BB on 1K chips, but meh.
64
K2
KT
T2BB. Folded to minraise from same guy. Frustrating but what can you do?
T8SB. Standard shove. He folds.
95.
QQ. I raise to 400, hoping to induce a shove. All fold.
87. I have 1440 chips.
96.
85sBB. Fold to 3x raise and minreraise. Minreraiser shoves 722 flop. Raiser calls with JJ < AA.

t200
99SB. I shove over minraise. He has 55 and my hand holds.
A8. I shove because both blinds have less than 10BB. All fold.
62
A3
T6BB. Two limp, I check. It's checked down. BTN wins with pair of 6s, ace kicker.
J2SB. We lost someone somewhere in the past few hands, but I didn't see him go. We're fivehanded now. Make that four. We lost a guy on that hand too.
85
85. I have 2.7K. One guy is shorter on 1.7K. He looks more cluey than most.
42sBB. Fold to SB's minraise. Gaaah.
85SB. Fold to a push.
J7
Q9
87BB walked this time.
74SB
T7s, another minraise
74
Q3BB, limper, push, I fold, limper folds.
63sSB. Shorty pushes again.
KJs. I push. all fold.
87s
K7BB. fold to minraise
82
54, idiot in SB walks shorty.
63s, LOL. Bigstack sucks out on shorty
KTsBB check it out
ANTES/BLINDS
big wonka posts blind ($100), Dr Zen posts blind ($200).

PRE-FLOP
Mikaa23 bets $400, big wonka folds, Dr Zen calls $200.

FLOP [board cards: AC TC KS ]
Dr Zen checks, Mikaa23 checks.

TURN [board cards: AC TC KS QD ]
Dr Zen bets $800, Mikaa23 calls $800.

RIVER [board cards: AC TC KS QD 7D ]
Dr Zen bets $900, Mikaa23 folds.

Preflop I considered shoving over because he is obviously raising my blind very light (has done it several times), but Ax is a big part of his range and he probably won't fold. My hand will play pretty well anyway, so I call. On the flop, I'm ahead always and I would usually bet out--it's very drawy. It's very likely to have hit him though so I check it to him hoping to get some money in. Turn is a horrible card, but he's not all that likely to have a jack. However, he is very likely to have *something* so I bet the pot. I'm hoping to get paid big by hands like Qc9c or T9 even while not betting little enough to encourage calls from weaker but still dangerous hands. On the river, I push for value.

It's a pity he didn't call, but I'd say Q9 is his most likely hand by far, followed by 99, a random Q, suited clubs, T9 and various pairs and other stuff.

T3
94

HU at t300

Won't post hands too hard to keep up.

The other guy is quite aggro when he has something but timid when he doesn't. He outstacks me 11-4 but I should win against a player as bad as this.

Big hand

ANTES/BLINDS
Dr Zen posts blind ($150), big wonka posts blind ($300).

PRE-FLOP
Dr Zen bets $700, big wonka calls $550.

FLOP [board cards: 5C TC JC ]
big wonka bets $10,470 and is all-in, Dr Zen calls $2,830 and is all-in.

TURN [board cards: 5C TC JC 4H ]


RIVER [board cards: 5C TC JC 4H KC ]


SHOWDOWN
big wonka shows [ 9H TD ]
Dr Zen shows [ QC AS ]
big wonka wins $7,640, Dr Zen wins $7,360.

Easy call on the flop. I have tons of outs and he is probably bluffing/has nothing much. And so it turned out. I normally shove pre, but I think raising is okay against this guy because he so clearly announces when he's hit the flop.

A bit of a folding match now. Card dead mostly.

Unreal!

ANTES/BLINDS
Dr Zen posts blind ($150), big wonka posts blind ($300).

PRE-FLOP
Dr Zen calls $150, big wonka checks.

I limp here with QTs. I could raise but I prefer to play pots against really bad players this deep. He's pushed a couple of flops, which is terrible, so I am hoping to hit top pair and stack him.


FLOP [board cards: 6H TH 3D ]
big wonka bets $8,090 and is all-in, Dr Zen calls $6,310 and is all-in.

Job done. He has 65.

TURN [board cards: 6H TH 3D AS ]


RIVER [board cards: 6H TH 3D AS 5C ]


Fucking doomswitch.

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Fuck yer luck

Date: Sun, May 25, 2008 Internet


This says it all. It's really hard not to get despondent when this happens to you.

The pink line is what I could expect to win each time I went all in. The dark blue line is what I actually did win. The yellow line is how lucky I've been. This is in 6.50 games. Over 210 games, I've lost 30 buyins to luck.

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omfg

Date: Wed, May 21, 2008 Internet

This is the worst setup I think I've ever endured. I'm not superstitious but fuck, can I win on PokerRoom with this shit happening? I have 66.

TEXAS_HOLDEM, NO_LIMIT, T4-68190360-2
played at "Mobile" for USD TC from 2008-05-21 21:22 until 2008-05-21 21:23
Seat 1: dwjnou ($1,500 in chips)
Seat 2: reRsr ($1,500 in chips)
Seat 3: ELPUTA ($1,500 in chips)
Seat 4: Euro3d ($1,500 in chips)
Seat 6: alfie1953 ($1,480 in chips)
Seat 7: LittleApeMan ($3,020 in chips)
Seat 8: x sickdog ($1,500 in chips)
Seat 9: Dr Zen ($1,500 in chips)
Seat 10: RobertBruce2 ($1,500 in chips)
ANTES/BLINDS
alfie1953 posts blind ($10), LittleApeMan posts blind ($20).

PRE-FLOP
x sickdog folds, Dr Zen calls $20, RobertBruce2 folds, dwjnou folds, reRsr folds, ELPUTA calls $20, Euro3d calls $20, alfie1953 calls $10, LittleApeMan checks.


I limp for set value.

FLOP [board cards: QD 6H QS ]

Woohoo! Not only have I hit my set but it's on a board that others will bet and get money in.

alfie1953 checks, LittleApeMan bets $150, Dr Zen bets $500, ELPUTA folds, Euro3d folds, alfie1953 bets $1,460 and is all-in, LittleApeMan bets $2,850 and is all-in, Dr Zen calls $980 and is all-in.


Well, obv. I get it in. The only hands beating me are QQ and

LittleApeMan shows [ 6S QC ]
Dr Zen shows [ 6D 6C ]
alfie1953 shows [ KS QH ]

OMFG.

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Doomswitch

Date: Wed, May 21, 2008 Internet

But PokerRoom definitely has the doomswitch on me. Playing a $5 MTT, I pick up aces. It's t30 and I have about 1850. Some guy raises to 400 (!). I flatcall. I'm obviously getting it in on any flop. He has about 4K. He is clearly an idiot.

The flop comes T99, which is really good for me. There's almost no chance he has a 9 and he might be tempted to play some retarded draws hard here. He bets out and I shove. He snapcalls with JJ.

He must have known that I have the doomswitch. The turn is a third nine, which means he is drawing to one of two Js to beat me. Obv. he rivers a J.

His play is terrible. My hand is face up because anything less just pushes or folds.

***

Yet again I am caught by the retarded limp a big pair UTG play. There's nothing you can do about it when you have big cards and play them hard, but some tard has limped KK with 750 chips at t100. This time I had AK. Now, if I did this, they would flop an ace, of course, or the BB would just limp and then hit two pair (which is why you don't make this play). Nothing he did would have ended up any differently. If he raised, I would have shoved. So whatever.

You can't know they're doing this, because the same retard will limp JTs or KQ just the same.

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