What now???

Unlike my normal posts, this will be short (I may post something later). I was at work past midnight last night and I put in a very long day today again. I'm exhausted but I just received this email from Fulltilt. Does anyone know what this is about? It's a cash deposit made by them so I must have qualified for some other bonus or something? Bayne, I'm basically looking at you for guidance since you seem to be in tune with the promotions that they run over at FTP.



I'm not complaining or anything about free money... I'm just curious to see what I did to deserve this.

EDIT - As soon as I posted this, I got this email from Fulltilt. Do they read my blog???



Very interesting considering the scandal that seems to be surrounding the world of online poker these days. Good for them to take the initiative!

Couple of 6 max hands where I'm dealt AA

Work sucks. I am so freakin busy, I'm working late, sometimes weekends, and that's taking time away from poker. Being the degenerate that I am, it really irks me. Which is also why I haven't posted too many HHs. It also doesn't help that there's no good software like PT or the new Hold'em Manager for Macs. I will say this. If you are buying a new computer and your primary use of that computer will be to play poker (which might only be a handful of degenerates), don't buy a Mac. Having said that, in every other aspect, I love my Mac. Just poker-wise, it's not ideal. I did hear though that Pokertracker3 and Hold'em Manager, once they are out of beta testing, will also release a Mac version. That would be sweet. I haven't really had a chance to analyze my game in the past month or so. For what it's worth, I'm up a good bit this month so I guess that's good... but it would help to also analyze the leaks that I clearly have in my game. Having said that, here are few hands where I was dealt AA.

1) Is folding AA in a 6 max game too weak?

Wow, and I just noticed that we were 5 handed... maybe that was a bad fold...

Full Tilt Poker Game #4824066049: Table El Camino (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:44:50 ET - 2008/01/11
Seat 2: RecessRampage ($1,280.10)
Seat 3: spongato ($360)
Seat 4: jordiepop02 ($493.40)
Seat 5: Burnt Mur ($120.30)
Seat 6: syntaxeror ($745)
syntaxeror posts the small blind of $2
RecessRampage posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #5

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ac Ah]
spongato raises to $8
jordiepop02 calls $8
Burnt Mur is sitting out
Burnt Mur folds
syntaxeror folds
Burnt Mur stands up
RecessRampage raises to $34
spongato calls $26
jordiepop02 folds

*** FLOP *** [8d Jh 6h]
RecessRampage bets $65
spongato has 15 seconds left to act
spongato raises to $155
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage calls $90

*** TURN *** [8d Jh 6h] [5d]
RecessRampage checks
spongato has 15 seconds left to act
spongato bets $171, and is all in
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME
RecessRampage folds
Uncalled bet of $171 returned to spongato
spongato mucks
spongato wins the pot ($385)

Now that I look at this HH after over a week, I am thinking that this was a terrible, terrible fold/play on my part. This is as donkish as I could have played this hand. For what it's worth, my thought process was that when the guy made a min raise and then called my reraise, I assumed he had a medium pocket pair. When the flop came and he checkraised me, I was almost convinced that he flopped a set. The problem is, if I'm convinced that he flopped a set, why did I call? I don't know much about this player so I didn't have that going for me either. I don't know. Now that I look at this, this is kinda disappointing. I think I should either shove or fold on the flop. There was no reason for me to call the flop, even though I know that at the time it made sense. Sometimes, I can be such a fish.

2) Getting tricky with AA

I don't always reraise with AA. As you can see from above (regardless of whether it was a good or a bad fold), I can fold aces. So, sometimes, I have no problem disguising my hand by smooth calling a raise (I never limp aces though - there's a clear distinction there) especially at a 6 max table where it could induce a squeeze.

Full Tilt Poker Game #4876193234: Table Reflex (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:22:31 ET - 2008/01/15
Seat 1: theASHMAN103 ($419)
Seat 2: big work ($563)
Seat 3: Donkitover ($386)
Seat 4: chuz2001 ($404)
Seat 5: RecessRampage ($482.20)
Seat 6: Shady Poker ($411.90)
theASHMAN103 posts the small blind of $2
big work posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #6

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ad As]
Donkitover folds
chuz2001 raises to $14
RecessRampage calls $14 <--- from the CO
Shady Poker folds
theASHMAN103 calls $12 <--- SB
big work has 15 seconds left to act
big work raises to $52 <--- perfect opportunity for a squeeze
chuz2001 has 15 seconds left to act
chuz2001 calls $38
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME

So here, I had to think of what to do. I don't mind getting tricky with aces but if the opportunity presents itself, I'd like to be heads up instead of seeing a multiway flop. If I call here, the other two would also have pot odds to call. Now that doesn't mean that they would but I knew that if I called, I would entice the other two to come in, almost guaranteeing a loss with my AA. The initial raiser calls the reraise even though he's got 3 players behind him. That means he must have a fairly strong hand (if he has AA or KK at this point, I'm sure he woulda shoved). So, I thought about reraising again but they all say that the 3rd or the 4th raise are always AA. So, instead of putting in another pot sized raise that would look real strong, I decided to do shove since the pot is already huge. Plus, since I initially called, it would be hard to give me credit for AA or KK, I think. Plus, shoving sometimes looks weak. If I get everyone to fold, I win a $100+ pot. But because of how strangely I played this hand, a guy could put me on more like a medium pair like TT or JJ or a hand like AK and call me with a hand like AK or QQ.

RecessRampage raises to $482.20, and is all in
theASHMAN103 has 15 seconds left to act
theASHMAN103 folds
big work has 15 seconds left to act
big work has requested TIME
big work folds
chuz2001 calls $352, and is all in
RecessRampage shows [Ad As]
chuz2001 shows [Jh Js] <--- perfect, just what I want him to have
Uncalled bet of $78.20 returned to RecessRampage

*** FLOP *** [Kh 7d Kc]
*** TURN *** [Kh 7d Kc] [Qc]
*** RIVER *** [Kh 7d Kc Qc] [9d]
RecessRampage shows two pair, Aces and Kings
chuz2001 shows two pair, Kings and Jacks
RecessRampage wins the pot ($871) with two pair, Aces and Kings
chuz2001 is sitting out

Just a little variation to how you can play AA. Again, this only works if you are at a table where some people are showing tendencies for 3 betting. Considering that the reraiser actually had to think a while before folding and considering how the board came, I'm probably glad he folded... This isn't how I always play aces. Obviously. There's really no one way to play them. But it never hurts to show that sometimes you call a raise with a strong hand. That may (or may not) discourage the blinds to try a squeeze when you're in the hand.

Here's a bonus hand... this was fun. Nothing like trying a squeeze resteal and sucking out for a win.

Full Tilt Poker Game #4824071335: Table Dawley (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:45:17 ET - 2008/01/11
Seat 1: powA_h0use ($592.70)
Seat 2: EyePwnU ($426.80)
Seat 3: Pilequinha ($519.65)
Seat 4: oly1236 ($388)
Seat 5: RecessRampage ($446.50)
Seat 6: chacer5555 ($75.60)
RecessRampage posts the small blind of $2
chacer5555 posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #4

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [7d 8h]
powA_h0use folds
EyePwnU folds
Pilequinha raises to $14 <--- this guy was open raising light + CO never has anything, right?
oly1236 calls $14 <--- what a weakling. He calls, must have nothing.
RecessRampage raises to $60 <--- HEE HAW
chacer5555 raises to $75.60, and is all in <--- oops... forgot about the BB...
Pilequinha folds
oly1236: what the hell
oly1236 has 15 seconds left to act
oly1236 folds
RecessRampage calls $15.60 <--- I love the "no choice calls"
chacer5555 shows [Ad Kd]
RecessRampage shows [7d 8h]

*** FLOP *** [4h Qc 6h]
*** TURN *** [4h Qc 6h] [5d] <--- like magic
*** RIVER *** [4h Qc 6h 5d] [Jd]
chacer5555 shows Ace King high
RecessRampage shows a straight, Eight high
RecessRampage wins the pot ($176.20) with a straight, Eight high
chacer5555 is sitting out

Needless to say, I tightened up after this hand since I figured my image was shot... Good times.

Looks like I cleared my bonus

This morning, as I was eating my cereal for breakfast, I checked my treo for emails. As has been usual for the past week, I had an email from Fulltilt Cashier. I figured it was another transfer notice telling me that someone else sent me $30 to sign up for HUC 6 (btw, 7 spots remain - check out link for details). Instead, I get this email...



For a second, in my half asleep/half awake state of mind freaked out. I can't remember the last time I deposited any money into Fulltilt. I was worried that there was some fraudulent transaction happening to my account... more importantly to my bank account. Well, then I remembered that the amount seemed eerily familiar. And then I realized I must have cleared my bonus. Phew. Disaster averted. Granted, this whole process took like 5 seconds. I don't do mornings, what can I say? And I know, some of you might have though if there's fraudulent activity which involves you getting more money, who cares? Well... again, it was early in the morning... Anyways, nice to see $1,175 come my way for "free." I mean I feel like I earned it but any bonus on top of the normal winnings is always good. Makes my Monday not quite as bad.

Mondays still suck though.

Looks like I'm in at least one of them...

This weekend, I decided to switch it up a bit and play some tournament poker instead of cash games... of course, I did play some cash games but just not to the extent that I played last few weekends. My bonus is pretty much cleared (I have like $8 remaining) so I'll clear that just by playing like I normally do. To say that I hardly ever play tournaments is an understatement. Here's a screenshot from officialpokerrankings.com filtered by all the tournaments I played in the past 30 days...



That's 12... total... for the whole month.

Nonetheless, since one of my goals this year is to do well in MTTs, I figured I need to start increasing the amount of tourneys I play. I also enjoy playing in bigger tourneys so I tried my luck in one of these things to see if I can win. The play at this level is fairly atrocious and when it was down to 3-4 handed, I was basically killing the table. Amazing how the experience at the 6max cash tables really came to help me at this stage of the tournament. I was stealing and restealing like crazy and I never was in jeopardy of busting out when it was down to like 3-4 players. As a result, I'm in FTOPS #1!

HUC 6 Entrants Update - Down to 8 spots

As most of you are aware, the sign ups for HUC6 is under way. You can find the rules for HUC6 here. All you have to do is transfer $30 to me on FullTilt under RecessRampage (city name starts with G) or Dirty Vizzer (on Pokerstars). We got 23 so far.

- Me, RecessRampage, of course
- Fuel55
- PvanHaribo
- Mike_Maloney
- HighOnPoker
- Lifesagrind
- Lucko21
- Kajagugu
- Bluechips
- Schaubs
- ck31
- PirateLawyer
- TwoBlackAces
- Riggstad
- Katitude
- Bone_Daddy84
- smizmiatch (gnome)
- thepokergrind
- NumbBono
- emptyman
- Pouringreign
- jmathewson_III
- Loretta8
- cmitch

Like I said before, keep them coming. 32 would make for a nice prize pool and definitely great bragging rights. So come on out. The more the merrier. And sweeter when I brag about how I beat out the rest of you for the title of HUC 6 Champion.

And special thanks to Mookie for the banner. It's sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

EDIT - As of Sunday, 1/27 at 9:00pm EST, we got 8 spots open. Let's get them filled so we can start!

HUC 6

Alright, so as I posted on this headsup challenge website, the sign ups for HUC6 is underway. All you have to do is transfer $30 to me on FullTilt under RecessRampage (city name starts with G) or Dirty Vizzer (on Pokerstars). So far, here are the brave souls that signed up so far.

- Me, RecessRampage, of course
- Fuel55
- PvanHaribo
- Mike_Maloney
- HighOnPoker
- Lifesagrind
- Lucko21
- Kajagugu
- Mdemontecristo
- Schaubs
- ck31

Look at all this dead money!!!! What are you waiting for!? Sign up already. Where are the ones that played in HUC5? Did I beat up on you guys that bad???? Come on out. Take a shot. Bring it!!! :)

Oh, and you don't have to be a blogger to play in this thing. Just thought I'd throw that out there too.

Ok, quick update. While I was typing this, two more signed up. Keep em coming.

Before someone has to put a gun to my head...

Here's what I posted on the headsupchallenge site.

Somehow, I got cleverly manipulated into doing this but anyways, even though I'm a schlub who actually has a real job and such, I am now the commissioner for HUC 6 (being the runner-up in HUC5 and still being appointed commish is truly a BAD BEAT). Last time, we got 16 players to come out but I think there was some confusion as to which site you had to play on and such. There are no such rules. It's whatever the two players who are going heads up want to do. Hell, if they want to play it live, go at it for all I care. Just tell me who won so I can update the spreadsheet.

Number of Players: 32* (first pay, first served)

Entry Fee: $30 (paid in advance to RecessRampage at FullTilt (city name starts with G)) - Let me know if you only have money in other sites. We can work something out.

Places Paid: 4 (1st thru 4th will be paid $432, $288, $144 and $96, respectively) - assuming 32 players, of course.

Structure: Preliminary rounds will be best of 3 and Final 4 will be best of 5

Organization: Players will have 5 days per round to organize and complete their match - the winner will give me the match results. Also, the buy-in for the HU games should cater to the ones with smaller bankrolls. If you wanna play a $100 HU game but the other guy can only afford $5, don't try to "negotiate" into doing $20. Since this is an attempt at making it fun but a test of skill, I don't want anyone to have to play with scared money.

* Last time, we tried for 32 but only got 16. It was Fuel that was trying to get people... He has no friends... wait, maybe that means I can only get like 8 people???

** These SNGs come in a variety of entry price points ($105, $52.50, $31.50, $21, and $10.50)

Once you pay please email me your full name, blog, user name on Stars and Tilt so that I can compile a player database. I probably should create a new email account for just poker related stuff but I'm lazy... so anyways, my email address is atachikawa AT gmail dot com. Wait, am I like giving away waaaaay too much info???

My 2 cents on Deepstack AA

Cmitch just posted this hand history where it involved him and another deepstack. Go to his site for the full hand history. I left him a fairly lengthy comment but the situation was so good that I wanted to discuss it more.

Basically, the situation was that at a 6 max 2-4NL table where the max buy-in was $400, Cmitch had everyone covered and the villain had a little over $1,000. Cmitch finds himself AA in the small blind. They were playing 5 handed and UTG+1 (the villain) puts in a standard pot sized raise of $14. Cmitch reraises the standard pot sized amount to $46 and gets called by the villain. The flop comes J high with all clubs. Cmitch has the A of clubs. Pot is now $96 after the flop.

So, here's what happened on each street and my thoughts on them.

Flop : J-4-5 with all clubs and Cmitch has AA with a A of clubs. He bets out $65 and the villain smooth calls.

To me, this bet is a little small. I really want to define my hand here to the opponent. Of course, one may argue pot control but on a scary board like this, I think it's important to let the villain know that you are willing to go to war with this hand in this situation. Keep in mind that even the villain (without much data) doesn't want to tangle with the only other guy who could totally stack him of his initial buy-in and his winnings so far. So, having said that, I think a bigger flop bet was in order. I probably would have bet around $81. Well, either way, let's say the villain still smooth calls. That brings us to the turn.

Turn : off suit 9. Board is J-4-5-9 with 3 clubs still. Pot $226. Cmitch bets $125 and gets called by the villain again.

The turn always seem to be a defining moment in NL hold'em cash. Maybe tourneys too but I don't know that for sure. The reason why I think this could be the turning point is that this could be the place where you can really build the pot with one more card to come or you choose to give up control to the villain. Here, Cmitch bets about half the pot. I'm not sure about that bet (and it seems like he's not either). He mentioned that maybe he could have bet more there. That's one thought but then the only hand that he could possibly get to fold is a guy holding top pair here. But this is where in his comment section, I suggested a check/call route on the turn. And here's why.

At this point in the hand, if I'm Cmitch, I don't even know if my hand is good here anymore. It would be very hard for me to put the villain with top pair because quite frankly, I'm not exactly sure what holdings he could have that would involve a J. Why? Because he raised from UTG+1 then called a full reraise. Unless he's stupid, he wouldn't call a reraise from a big stack with a hand like AJ, KJ, QJ... the only reasonable holdings for a hand that would raise with a J. He's better off raising/calling with a hand like 67s or something like that where it's unlikely that he's dominated and if he hits the flop hard could double through the largest stack at the table. With a hand like AJ, KJ, or QJ, unless you hit two pair, you won't know where you stand even if you do hit. So, in my mind, I'm eliminating any J from his holding except for one that has me beat. JJ. Other possible holdings from him would include QQ or KK with maybe a club but those, you already beat and I think this board is so dangerous that I'm not quite sure I want to go to war in this situation. I think I would prefer giving the villain control of the pot by checking to him to see what he does. Again, I'm just not a big fan of playing a big pot against a big stack when I'm out of position. Maybe I'm a little too passive when I'm OOP but I'd rather be that than stack off with an overpair.

Now the downside of checking is that you now look like you are giving up so that may be an incentive for the villain to try to take the pot away. But this is where your reads and your feel become very important. Let's say you check and the villain tosses out a similar sized bet to what Cmitch did. I would call. What does that tell the villain? It tells him that I got something. Sure, it could be a draw to the nut flush or it could be top pair. But again, it sends the message that I have something and that he has to decide what I have. This is useful information to have going into the river. Why? Let me explain after the river card.

River - J. Board is now J-5-4-9-J. Pot $476. Cmitch posts the question here for what the readers would do.

Very interesting spot. But in all honesty, I guess as a tight passive player that I seem to be in this situation, I check and decide depending on what the villain does. If the villain bets half the pot, I would be compelled to call. Could it be a value bet? Sure. But again, it's really hard to put him on a J here and if that's what he has, I'll pay half the pot. However, if he shoves, I would fold. Because if he shoves on a board like this when it's checked to him, 9 times out of 10, it's an overbet for value. Even a potsized bet, I think I would fold. Why? Because what would he do that with? In other words, why bet so much in a situation like this unless you wanted a call? If he is shoving/pot betting, I have to assume he has a boat. I mean if he had QQ or KK, there's no way he would put in a pot sized bet because based on the action, he's gotta be scare of the J. Also, that's a typical situation where the only hand that calls you will be the one that beats you. So, a bet in this situation would generally indicate a monster, hoping you had the flush and can't fold to a paired board. The only reason I would call the half pot bet is because I'm getting 3:1 and even though I hate that call, I just couldn't find the fold button there. Call it a leak of mine. But anything beyond that, I would find the fold button.

Now let's say we took the check/call route on the turn. With the J coming out, now I would fire out a bet for approx 30-50% of the pot. Basically, this would be a blocking bet but now, unless the villain has a monster, he can't raise here. Now of course the argument would be that at this point, the only hand that calls you will be the one that beats you. That's very true but at least you're not the one being put to the test for a much bigger bet amount. There's still a chance that you are ahead and so I'd rather try to keep the pot small and go to showdown than have to fold to a bigger size bet by checking again on the river.

Either way, the bottom line is this. The pot is very big so it's worth fighting for. Having said that, you only have one pair against another deep stack on a very dangerous board and you are out of position. I mean it's just like that saying "lose a battle but win the war" or something like that right? If you get too much heat, just let it go and find a better spot. At least that's what I would do.

Bayne... You just got PWNED!

I don't even know where to start. Yes, I know I said my next post will be about HUC6 but that will have to wait a day or two. As most of you know, there's been a little prop bet going on between me and Bayne. He had $1050 in bonuses to clear and I had $1175 to clear. Well, in the beginning of this month, we agreed to see who can clear the bonus first. Well, obviously, it would take me longer to clear so we came up with an arrangement. At the time of the conversation, Bayne had cleared $50 in bonuses. So, if by the time he clears his bonus, if I were within $50 of him, I win. In other words, I had to clear $1,000 in bonuses before he finished clearing his. Over the next few weeks, he would put me on points tilt by telling me he's playing during his lunch break or how much he's already accumulated that day (because he's west coast time, anything after 9pm his time is credited to the new day).

Well, I was doing fairly well keeping pace with him by 4 tabling 2-4NL 6 max until something critical happened. As we got closer to the end, this past Thursday, I made what some pts devotee might call a questionable move. I chose to join my nonpoker playing friends for happy hour... and didn't play at all that night. 0 pts. Zilch. Nada. Meanwhile, rumor had it that Bayne accumulated over 1,000 pts that night. I thought I was done. But deep inside, I knew I still had a chance because I was going to commit my entire weekend to playing nothing but 6 max games. And boy I did. I've never played so much poker in one weekend. How much? Check out the points I accumulated even in the past 3 days.



However, as a result, at precisely 10:15pm on Sunday, January 20th, 2008, I send Bayne an email with two words in the subject line... I win.



I have to admit though... I'm exhausted after all this poker playing so the moment I saw on the FTP site that the pts were updated, I closed all tables. My eyes are bugging out, my brain is fried, and yet I'm feeling stoked. So what exactly did I win from Bayne? The coveted Mookie buy-in of course. For those nonpoker bloggers, that's a whopping $11 buy-in. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!

Damn, I am a degenerate...

Now, some might wonder, during this "points challenge" in my attempt to clear my bonus, did I make any money? Or even worse, did I lose money and if so, is the loss at least less than the bonus? Well, as you all know, I just switched over to 6 max and there was somewhat of a learning curve. Having said that, I had a monster weekend... I don't have the exact numbers because I don't have PT on my Mac (I have what's called Mac Poker Pro which is an insanely crude version of PT so don't buy unless you're an uber degenerate like I am). However, from Friday night to today, I made approximately $6k... no joke... I'll have more details of the hands played and stuff later. But needless to say, it was a VERY GOOD weekend for me. I think I was up 10 buy-ins just today alone. Good times.

Plugging Leaks

Being busy at work sucks. Having to clear a huge bonus in one of the busiest months of the year (for work) sucks. Having a prop bet against this luckbox who actually gets to play at work (oh yeah, only during lunch break and after hours or something) sucks too. And yet I somehow managed to convince myself that it would be a good idea to join my friends for happy hour yesterday. It was. By the third or the fourth tall glass, I pretty much decided that there will be no poker played. That also means I'm basically gonna turn into a hermit this weekend so that I can put in ridiculous hours to make up for my lack of playing last night. Which is fine... It's been done before.

I've had this post brewing for a little while and I just haven't had a chance to finalize it... but I also noticed it's already mid January so if I don't post now, there's a good chance I won't post anything the rest of the month... Anyways, so as I continue to play more at 6 max tables, I started noticing some of my significant leaks. I think part of it has to do with me adjusting my strategy a little too drastically from full ring to 6 max. I mean an adjustment is required but I think I was going a little overboard on my adjustments. I was a little too aggressive and probably a little too retarded. I don't have any specific HHs on this one but hopefully I'll come up with a few examples in the upcoming posts.

1. Hero overcalls

This happened especially once I start accumulating chips. Overbet for value is starting to become an increasingly popular tool... at least that's what it seems at 2-4NL 6 max tables because I've fallen victim to it numerous times. I don't have the HH to illustrate but one donkey move I made was call a $200 bet on the river into a $150 pot with top pair (I don't even know if I had top kicker or k kicker)... he shows 33 for quads (he flopped it - I caught my Q on turn). When I was calling, I had a bad feeling about the call. I need to listen to my instincts. As much as 6 max sometimes becomes a game of chicken (whoever flinches first loses), not everyone is betting with air. If you think through the hand sequence, there are lots of tells on when they might have something and when they don't. If my gut says I'm losing, I need to learn to fold. And if in fact you just got bluffed, that's ok too. When you have the goods, the guy might still bet hard into you remembering that you folded to his bet last time. Not winning a pot is better than losing a big pot. Which leads to...

2. Fighting for pots I have no business being in

I noticed that with my "adjustment" to 6 max, I'm starting to play a lot more hands. That's probably normal but the part where I failed to adjust is to take into account the other players and the way they play. Even at a 6 max table, there are players who are tighter and there are others who are a lot looser. Reraising in position against a player with a very wide range of opening hands is ok. Reraising in position with marginal hands against a tight player who put in an open raise from early position is just a bad play. And yet I would sometimes notice playing for a good sized pot and I have like 8 high... with no draws and probably no outs. That's just retarded. I don't have to win every pot and I have to remember that. Sometimes, you can check with the intent of folding to any bet if you completely missed. Or take one stab and be done instead of firing out three bullets with nothing. I mean that could help establish a maniacal image but that's an expensive way to establish that image...

3. Overdefending my blinds

Similar to the concept above but not every button raise is with garbage hands. If you notice that for 3 orbits, you got a walk when you were in the big blind and then all of a sudden in the 4th orbit a button raises you, most likely, he's got a hand. There's no reason to pop him back at that point unless he gives you any reason to (based on your observation of the player).

4. Overstealing the blinds

Another one is be careful of the button raises. Because it's 6 max, people already give you less credit for a hand no matter where you raise from. That also means that your button raise is hardly ever respected. Which is great when you have a hand but when you have marginal hands like K-10 or something and then someone reraises you, what do you do? This again is situational but if the player hasn't played back at you in your previous button raises and then he does that all of a sudden, you have to give him credit for a hand. Playing big pots with marginal hands is a recipe for disaster. Also, unless you're raising from the button to maintain an aggressive image, stealing the blinds in a cash game is really not that important. I mean there's not as much value in stealing the blinds in cash game as there is in a tournament because the blinds never increase. Rather, you want to play your big hands aggressively and you just want to put yourself in a situation where you can hit it big and make a lot of money.

5. Position is everything

In a 6 max table, there are one or two guys at the table that you just don't want to have on your left. I think you will know fairly quickly who those players are. It's those guys that seem to reraise you every time you raise, who seems to be in the hand every time when he's got position on you and seems to be making great bets at great times where you just can't call. Well, then just leave the table. There are plenty of other tables available. It's not about egos and it's not about playing better competition to get better. Sure, that aspect is there but isn't it better to play against better competition but also have position on them? I'm not gonna preach table selection cuz I honestly don't do any of that. But, whenever I see an open seat, I open the table just to see where that open seat is. If it's to the right of an aggro player, I just wait for another open table. I think there are more "moves" and bluffs made at a 6 max table. In that case, I always want to have position on better players. Being involved in a big pot with a marginal hand against a good player and being out of position is a recipe for disaster. Scratch that. It IS disaster.

This is my long way of saying that I've actually tightened up my game a little more and so far, the adjustment has been a profitable one for me. Of course, I don't just stay tight either because then your raises get too much respect and once again you only end up with blinds. Situational analysis is even more key in a 6 max game and I trust that my reads would get better over time as I gain more experience at these 6 max table.

Oh, and I have to make this public service announcement. Coming up next is the Heads Up Challenge 6. Fuel has been bugging me for a while about me starting this up and somehow, as a second place finisher in HUC5, I was given the responsibility of starting up HUC6. (I think he doesn't realize that some of us have jobs) Anyways, more details to follow in the next post but in addition to all the new games that you all are trying to learn via the "Skills" series and such, don't forget to brush up on your heads-up skills as well.

Runner runner flush draws are gold

I'm not one to moan about bad beats because I realize it's part of poker. But this hand happened two hands after my KK got cracked by 88 on the river (preflop all in) against a shorty... and admittedly, it stung a little... Nothing like a bad beat post when I haven't posted in a while.... but this one is comical, IMO.

Full Tilt Poker Game #4887762642: Table Triest (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:53:16 ET - 2008/01/16
Seat 1: blackjacksucks ($77.60)
Seat 2: RecessRampage ($720.50)
Seat 3: UMD Tennis ($457.05)
Seat 4: bmwfund ($74)
Seat 5: prago ($712.45)
Seat 6: cerilloin ($441)
cerilloin posts the small blind of $2
blackjacksucks posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ah Ad] <--- KK two hands earlier (though cracked) and now AA??? Is my name Astin???
RecessRampage raises to $14 <--- UTG
UMD Tennis folds
bmwfund calls $14
prago folds
cerilloin folds
blackjacksucks calls $10

So two shorties call. I'm getting this all in pretty much on any flop.

*** FLOP *** [4d 8d 9c]
blackjacksucks checks
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage bets $37
bmwfund folds
blackjacksucks calls $37

Shorty commits over half his stack to call. Who knows, maybe a set? I mean what doesn't he shove here with???? If it's good enough to call, should be good enough to raise... right????

*** TURN *** [4d 8d 9c] [3c]
blackjacksucks bets $26.60, and is all in
RecessRampage calls $26.60
blackjacksucks shows [Tc 6c]
RecessRampage shows [Ah Ad]

My thought??? When he shoved, I thought "ok, so NOW he shoves his diam.... what the fuck??? back door club draw???"

*** RIVER *** [4d 8d 9c 3c] [5c]
blackjacksucks shows a flush, Ten high
RecessRampage shows a pair of Aces
blackjacksucks wins the pot ($168.20) with a flush, Ten high

Before I can even complete my thought, the club gets there... I guess he was waiting for a 7 when he called the flop... I don't care how you spin it, that was gross...

Actual HHs from 6 max

In following up from yesterday's post about my thoughts on 6 max, one thing I also noticed was that if you play aggressive poker to counter the aggression of others, it really lends itself to some huge variances. In other words, so far, one thing I've done is heavily commit myself on draws. I'm raising and reraising solid drawing hands (like two over cards and a flush draw or something). So, when I actually have a hand, I get paid off but I also noticed a few players are now starting to play back at me. But if you have the roll and the mental toughness to fight through these variances, I still think 6 max can be a very profitable place to be.

I think the following hands might best illustrate the points I made about being aggressive.

1. Defending your blinds

Full Tilt Poker Game #4776726713: Table Poppy (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:45:19 ET - 2008/01/07
Seat 1: mrhenriksen ($175.70)
Seat 2: UMD Tennis ($425)
Seat 3: alwaysfulltilt ($694) <--- button
Seat 4: graz77 ($593.30) <--- SB
Seat 5: RecessRampage ($304.60) <--- BB
Seat 6: AttackYouStack ($458.90)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [5s 4s]
AttackYouStack folds
mrhenriksen folds
UMD Tennis folds
alwaysfulltilt raises to $14
graz77 calls $12
RecessRampage raises to $56
alwaysfulltilt has 15 seconds left to act
alwaysfulltilt folds
graz77 folds
Uncalled bet of $42 returned to RecessRampage
RecessRampage mucks
RecessRampage wins the pot ($42)

Fairly standard squeeze play. The player was fairly active from the button so that was probably why the SB called. That gave me the opportunity to pull a squeeze play. If the button is very active, you're just gonna have to make a stand with or without cards at some point, even if it's just to send the message that they can't steal your blinds all night.

However, this leads to the next hand where what if YOU were the button that's been raising fairly actively?

2. Responding to a resteal raise

Before the HH, I want to point out that the opponent involved in this pot was also a very active player. I don't use any software so I don't have numbers to illustrate but I could tell that he's been very active... as have I. I have folded to some of his reraises before when this hand came up...

Full Tilt Poker Game #4778747822: Table Vintners (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:36:45 ET - 2008/01/07
Seat 1: RecessRampage ($317.60) <--- button
Seat 2: SakiSaki ($471.60) <--- SB
Seat 3: tonrouj ($367) <--- BB
Seat 4: imawhale26 ($1,132.80)
Seat 5: Peter Pantz ($381)
Seat 6: Lvl18Wizard ($656.50)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Jd Qd]
imawhale26 folds
Peter Pantz folds
Lvl18Wizard folds
RecessRampage raises to $14
SakiSaki raises to $50
tonrouj folds
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage calls $36

Before you start making judgments about whether calling with QJ is a good idea here or not, again, keep in mind that the player has been fairly active. Also, in this instance, I'm not really looking to hit a pair even though if I did, that's ok too. In actuality, I'm looking for an ace to hit. Why? Here's my thought process (no matter how flawed it may be). I don't raise from the button every time but more often than not, I do. Which means he knows that my range is wide but probably not ridiculously so. So, my raising requirements would be any PP, A-x, and maybe a few face cards. The fact that he reraised me and that I called generally should mean that I have a high pocket pair or A-x (can't be low to mid pp since I lose my set mining odds after the reraise). So, if an A hits, it makes my decision making easy.

Let me digress on this thought a little more. If he's reraising me with Ax, it can't be a bad x because that's actually a very dangerous spot to be in. Even if you hit, you won't know where you are. So, you either have a decent A, you have two face cards, a pocket pair, or air. If an ace comes on the flop, since I have position, I have a lot more options on what to do as opposed to him. If he bets out on the flop with an ace, I can float him to see what he does on the turn. If he is tough enough to throw out another bullet on the turn, I'd have to let it go but it would be very tough to do so (fire out a second bullet) without an ace. Floating the flop I think is a very common tool used in 6 max. Anyways, let me get back to the hand... So, we were looking for that ace... except this happens...

*** FLOP *** [2h 3d 9d] <--- Q high diamond draw
SakiSaki checks
RecessRampage bets $65
SakiSaki raises to $299
RecessRampage calls $202.60, and is all in
SakiSaki shows [7d 6d]
RecessRampage shows [Jd Qd]
Uncalled bet of $31.40 returned to SakiSaki
*** TURN *** [2h 3d 9d] [Jh]
*** RIVER *** [2h 3d 9d Jh] [Th]
SakiSaki shows Jack Ten high
RecessRampage shows a pair of Jacks
RecessRampage wins the pot ($636.20) with a pair of Jacks

Funny thing is, I actually read his checkraise to be that of weakness. Now the way the flop came out, I was committed to this hand. If he had bet out, I woulda shoved. Instead, he checked to me so I bet out, maybe trying to convince him that I had a pocket pair and with all low cards, I was trying to take the pot away. When he came over the top, I thought like he was looking for me to fold because he didn't have anything. Of course, he could be ahead here with any ace but at this point, I had too many outs to fold. I mean if I fold on this type of board with this action, I should be folding preflop.

One other thing this hand did for me was the mental aspect of the other players. After this hand, I got reraised A LOT less when I raised from the button. Why? Because now, the whole table saw me as this maniac that will call with a WIDE range of hands so now, if they're gonna reraise, they wanted to make sure they had a hand. And this was probably the bigger gain than the actual money won. However, also keep in mind that if this player was not an active player, I probably woulda folded QJ to his reraise. The only reason this hand went down the way it did was because I knew I was active (I was playing close to 30% of my hands) and I knew he was very active (again, no idea on his numbers but he was in a lot of hands).

3. Flop bets mean nothing...

Now, in the above example, I also mentioned how depending on the flop and if you have position, floating the flop bet becomes a very common tool. I probably use that a little too much so far and so in most instances, that's probably one area where I need to plug my leak. However, to an extent, I think I'm making up for it by taking the pots away on the turn. But sometimes, it helps to get lucky...


Full Tilt Poker Game #4778912112: Table Cranwood (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:50:07 ET - 2008/01/07
Seat 1: philuva ($394)
Seat 2: sexycas ($120) <--- button
Seat 3: RecessRampage ($384.20) <--- SB
Seat 4: Slappz ($441) <--- BB
Seat 5: babayaro ($819.20)
Seat 6: Trugambla55 ($151.80)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [6d 6h]
babayaro has 15 seconds left to act
babayaro calls $4
Trugambla55 folds
philuva raises to $18
sexycas folds
RecessRampage calls $16
Slappz folds
babayaro folds

*** FLOP *** [2d Ks 5c]
RecessRampage checks
philuva bets $32
RecessRampage calls $32

I called here because I didn't believe that he had a K. If he did, I need him to prove it to me by firing out another bullet on the turn...

*** TURN *** [2d Ks 5c] [6c] <--- gin!
RecessRampage checks
philuva has 15 seconds left to act
philuva bets $75
RecessRampage raises to $150
philuva has 15 seconds left to act
philuva raises to $344, and is all in
RecessRampage calls $184.20, and is all in
philuva shows [5d 5s]
RecessRampage shows [6d 6h]
Uncalled bet of $9.80 returned to philuva
*** RIVER *** [2d Ks 5c 6c] [Th]
philuva shows three of a kind, Fives
RecessRampage shows three of a kind, Sixes
RecessRampage wins the pot ($773.40) with three of a kind, Sixes

In reviewing this hand now, I actually hate how I played this hand. I called with a low pocket pair out of position. Even though I was pretty much floating the flop bet, I need to bet out the turn if I'm representing that I have the king. Now, admittedly, I may have done that if I didn't flop a set (since I didn't think he had a king, I now wanted him to fire out another bullet so I can checkraise him). I obviously got extremely lucky in this hand...

But don't worry, FullTilt has a way of reminding me that karma is a bitch.

4. 5th pair is gold...

Full Tilt Poker Game #4778987841: Table Harris (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:56:13 ET - 2008/01/07
Seat 1: Sakid23 ($154.50)
Seat 2: melonator_81 ($94)
Seat 3: RakebackSTAT ($545)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($429) <--- button
Seat 5: Th3120ck ($402) <--- SB
Seat 6: imawhale26 ($1,016) <--- BB

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Qd Qc] <--- getting good hand in button is very key!!!!
Sakid23 folds
melonator_81 folds
RakebackSTAT folds
RecessRampage raises to $14
Th3120ck raises to $51
imawhale26 folds
RecessRampage calls $37

Standard here. Button raise, blind reraises, I call. I can of course, put in another raise but I have a monster here so I just chose to call. I will sometimes repop it here but more often than not, I will just smooth call as long as it's heads up and I have position.

*** FLOP *** [Qs 7h 9c] <--- gin!
Th3120ck bets $72
RecessRampage calls $72

The SB follows through with his preflop reraise, trying to indicate he's got aces. Since reraises from the blinds against a button raise doesn't mean anything, I am not convinced that he has anything at this point. Being that I have top set, I am not eager to get him to lay his hand down so I just continue to let him get aggressive.

*** TURN *** [Qs 7h 9c] [Ts]
Th3120ck has 15 seconds left to act
Th3120ck has requested TIME
Th3120ck bets $279, and is all in
RecessRampage calls $279
Th3120ck shows [6h 6d]
RecessRampage shows [Qd Qc]

I obviously call here. If he has KJ for a straight, I would consider this a set up hand. In 6 max, on that board, with the action given, there's no way you lay down this hand here. When the cards were flipped over, I actually did a fist pump in the air... and that's probably why this happened...

*** RIVER *** [Qs 7h 9c Ts] [8d]
Th3120ck shows a straight, Ten high
RecessRampage shows three of a kind, Queens
Th3120ck wins the pot ($805) with a straight, Ten high

Gross river... I actually couldn't even tell for a second why he had won... I thought he was drawing dead. But there are tons of players like this that pushes with mediocre to shit holdings. So, the inevitable variance aside, there are tons of profitable situations that can be generated. Sorry this became an uber post but I hope this illustrates some of the play.

For the experience 6 max gamers, I'd love to get some pointers on my play or my thought process. These hands are just used to describe my thoughts but I'm in now way trying to preach to anybody about how to play 6 max. I mean remember, I am a 6 max newbie. So any thoughts, criticisms, encouragements, whatever are all welcome.

My first impressions of 6 max

When Mike first got me the banner, I didn't realize how appropriate the slogan was. "An intimate look at one man's downward spiral into poker degeneracy." In looking at my recent posts where I went from a points slut to a points whore and logging in crazy amount of hands with little to no time spared for anything else besides work, it's so true it's almost scary...

To boot, my nonpoker playing friend hit me with this email... "I read your blog ( I think it was the 1/4 post) and realized that you're going to be busy this month. You need to show up to basketball this Wednesday since I know we will not have LA and Josh for this game. And no, you won't get any points besides the ones during the game." touché

Amazingly, even in the midst of my poker degeneracy, I find time to do some stuff that's actually healthy for my body... like working out. I did go to the YMCA last night because as you recall, there are points involved there as well. I earn points for every pound I lift and after I accumulate certain amount of points, I get cool stuff like key chains and water bottles... And if there's one other vice aside from poker, it would be playing basketball. I still play ball on Tuesday and Friday mornings and Wednesday night's county league b-ball will be no exception.

Well, having said all that, I am in the midst of my total degeneracy so let me get the post back to poker, just as I have intended. I had a few people mention to me that they would be interested in my take of 6 max and the differences between 6 max and full ring cash games. So, I tried to give it some thought and keep in mind that this observation is based on a very small sample of hands. Sure, I've been logging in a lot of time and tables and hands over the past week but it's only been a week... For more posts about 6 max, you're better off going to the more known 6 max abusers... I think you know who they are.

Based on what I've seen however, the biggest difference is the one you have probably heard from everyone else. The game is a lot looser. And generally, more aggressive. And now, I remember why it took me a long time to venture over to 6 max. Loose aggressive style generally seems to be the successful style for a lot of NLHE players. And though I consider myself to be fairly aggressive, in my mind, I was still picturing myself as the pre-blog RecessRampage. I wasn't nearly as loose and aggressive as I am today and so I thought, why venture over to the tables where the players are playing looser and more aggressive (what I understood as winning poker)? But, if that's what's stopping some of you from moving to 6 max, let me see if I can clarify what this whole "looser and more aggressive" translates into.

Now even in 6 max, you still run into a similar mix of players that you see in full ring. There are some that are over the top aggressive, others who are solidly aggressive, and others who are tight nits. Except I think the ratio is heavily skewed towards looser players rather than nits. But don't let this scare you. As a matter of fact, this should make you excited. Your big hands tend to get paid off and because the table is looser, you can play more hands. There's also a lot of "mind games" that I think are played.

Generally, here are some things from the 6 max tables that I think are critical. First and foremost, be aggressive. There's not much value for being passive. Especially if you are out of position. I know pot control is important but when everyone is playing shittier cards than usual, personally, I'm not seeing much value in controlling the pot size. If I have to sacrifice aggression for pot control, I've been abandoning the latter so far. For example, let's say you have AQ in the BB and a button raises you. In my mind, this is an automatic reraise. If you simply call, you're going to have to play out of position against a more-often-than-not aggressive opponent. Unless you are willing to make a play on the flop or hoping to hit the flop, there's not much value in calling. At least if you repop it preflop, you're taking control of the aggression and in a 6 max game, so far, I think that's more important.

Another key thing in that above example is the concept of a resteal in tournaments. In other words, in a cash game, there's really not much value in stealing the blinds, aside from setting the image. In other words, at a 2-4NL table, a pot sized preflop raise is $14. So, you're betting $14 to win $6. Not much value there unless you really have a hand. Now, having said that, if you are out of position and someone raises you to $14 and you're in the BB, instead of calling the additional $10 and hoping to hit, you could repop it to 3x more to $42 and hope to take down the now $20 pot, and at the same time, establishing the image that you're not gonna get run over and that if they want to try to steal your blinds, they better be ready for some resistance.

Above example though, is a fairly common move from a lot of players. So, the next point would be to not back down from the reraises. Especially if you have position on the player and you know that the player who just reraised you is capable of making plays like that. Because just like in the above example, you don't want to look like the guy who would raise in late position but fold to a reraise. In other words, in many different levels, you are playing mind games with each other and feeling out how much aggression your opponent can take and how much aggression your opponent thinks you can take.

Since this post is becoming super long, I'm gonna break this post up into several installments. I'll post some hands highlighting some of the things in 6max. But as of right now I think the above paragraphs certainly summarize my thoughts on 6 max. Now, don't get me wrong. That's not to say that there aren't spots for just calling. But if you want to get a glimpse of what solid, aggressive players do, check out this post by cmitch and also, read through the comments. Here are the links to the 2 part posts that cmitch did. Initial post and follow up post.

Giving Bayne a run for his money

Yesterday (Sunday), I played what I would consider an insane amount of poker... Amazingly, I'm loving every minute of it. It's weird how much I actually love this game. It also helps that I made the switch to 6 max. I don't know what took me so long but 6 max is so much more fun. I can unleash my inner aggro donkey and still get some free passes... of course, sometimes, I turn into a crazy spew monkey too...

I know I've mentioned here before but Bayne and I decided to bet a Mookie buy-in to see who clears their bonus first. Now admittedly, January is one of the worst months in terms of work because of the year end reporting and shit we have to do... but then again, it's only a job... Certainly not worth the Mookie buy-in that I may win from Bayne (and of course, the infinite bragging rights that will come with said win).

On 1/1 and 1/2, I was enjoying my last moments in Japan. As soon as I got back though, I was back to playing poker... and a lot of it. See below.



The 2,200 points I earned yesterday I believe surpasses my previous high of 1,088... which I got the day before. Ok, I may have had another 1,000 pt day before but it's a very rare occurrence. I can hear FullTilt execs just laughing at me. Taunting me, even. Pointing at my silly asian avatar and laughing as they swim in the tub of rake that I am generating for them. I can hear it. "There's that sucker that TOTALLY fell for our promotion! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!"

And yet... I don't care. I'm so determined to a) clear that bonus and b) beat Bayne and c) get enough experience in 6 max games that under normal circumstances would take me 3 months to gain. The new pokertracker for Mac needs to come out soon so I can see how many hands I've logged in and such. It should easily be the most ever...

What I also want to do is analyze my hands. I really miss that part. Of course, one may wonder why I haven't restored my Dell. Well, I got a new HD for it. But I'm having problems loading everything on to it... and since my Mac works ok (even though its wireless is continuing to give me problems), I can't be bothered with fixing a computer right now. But I know there are some hands I played well, others where I spewed chips for no reason and I really would like to be able to differentiate the two.

Well, with or without HHs, I will start posting my thoughts on 6 max soon. In the meantime, I really hope Cmitch and Gnome continues posting some solid cash strategies since as of right now, I'll take whatever free help I can get. (Yes, Cmitch, I swear, I will eventually sign up for CR).

DQB sucks... esp when you get stacked by it...

No narration necessary. This HH says it all.

Full Tilt Poker Game #4767119575: Table Woodmore (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:33:31 ET - 2008/01/06
Seat 1: lethalphorce ($496.80)
Seat 2: rakata ($534.30)
Seat 3: 1timedealer ($792.60)
Seat 4: Parra Poker ($547.90)
Seat 5: thyoun ($357.40)
Seat 6: RecessRampage ($777.80)
thyoun posts the small blind of $2
RecessRampage has 5 seconds left to act
RecessRampage posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Qh Qc]
lethalphorce folds
rakata raises to $14
1timedealer folds
lethalphorce is sitting out
Parra Poker folds
thyoun folds
RecessRampage raises to $44
rakata calls $30
*** FLOP *** [9s Qs Ks]
RecessRampage bets $65
rakata calls $65
*** TURN *** [9s Qs Ks] [Kc]
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage bets $110
rakata has 15 seconds left to act
rakata raises to $220
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage raises to $668.80, and is all in
rakata calls $205.30, and is all in
RecessRampage shows [Qh Qc]
rakata shows [Kh Kd]
Uncalled bet of $243.50 returned to RecessRampage
*** RIVER *** [9s Qs Ks Kc] [2s]
RecessRampage shows a full house, Queens full of Kings
rakata shows four of a kind, Kings
rakata wins the pot ($1,067.60) with four of a kind, Kings

DQB is nice... esp when you double up!

Sorry for the lack of hand history posts that I'm sure you all have come to expect. Ever since my Windows went down and I switched over to a Mac, I don't have Pokertracker (though they are coming out with PT3 which is compatible with a Mac) so I can't really post analysis type hands since generally, I don't pick hands to post about during a session but rather, it happens during the review stages. So far, my 6 max results have been mixed... I was doing well last night but as I got caught up in the silly FullTilt promotion (silly because I'm a sucker), I noticed a severe drop off in my performance and started spewing chips like crazy... having said that, this certainly helped...

Full Tilt Poker Game #4758571857: Table Tuscarora (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 9:03:29 ET - 2008/01/06
Seat 1: gomore ($608.40)
Seat 3: Bandit84 ($420)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($410)
Seat 5: Lovenit2 ($76)
Seat 6: jeppg1111 ($745.85)
Bandit84 posts the small blind of $2
RecessRampage posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [8d 8h]
Lovenit2 folds
jeppg1111 raises to $14
gomore folds
Bandit84 folds
RecessRampage calls $10
*** FLOP *** [7d 8c 8s] <--- DQB!!!
RecessRampage checks
jeppg1111 has 15 seconds left to act
jeppg1111 has requested TIME
jeppg1111 bets $15.15 <--- interesting bet
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage raises to $30.30
jeppg1111 has 15 seconds left to act
cHusTLe9 sits down
cHusTLe9 adds $80
jeppg1111 has requested TIME
jeppg1111 calls $15.15

To be honest, that weird bet made me think he actually had a fairly big hand that he was trying to slow play on this fairly safe looking board. And since I've been fairly aggressive with fluctuating chip count, I felt that I could actually make some serious money if he in fact had like an overpair.

*** TURN *** [7d 8c 8s] [Ks]
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage bets $68
jeppg1111 has 15 seconds left to act
jeppg1111 raises to $136
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
cHusTLe9 is feeling angry
RecessRampage has requested TIME
RecessRampage calls $68

*** RIVER *** [7d 8c 8s Ks] [4d]
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage bets $160
jeppg1111 raises to $320 <--- worst raise ever. I only have $70 behind. How would I fold anything?
RecessRampage calls $69.70, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $90.30 returned to jeppg1111

*** SHOW DOWN ***
jeppg1111 shows [Ts Js] a pair of Eights <--- LMAO
RecessRampage shows [8d 8h] four of a kind, Eights
RecessRampage wins the pot ($819) with four of a kind, Eights
jeppg1111 stands up

I was aware of my image but I'm not even gonna try to say I played this right or anything. This guy played his hand horribly, got involved in a pot he had no business being in and made a bluff on the river that made no sense considering I only had $70 left and the pot was like $700... Only thing I fold is A high... And with all that action, how did he think I had nothing???

Points Whore lives here...

Before I forget, Happy New Year to all. I had an unbelievable time in Japan for New Years and such and now, I'm back in the grind...

Like Bayne, I got this email from FullTilt.

Congratulations RecessRampage,

Your play on Full Tilt Poker throughout 2007 has earned you an Iron Man "Year End Bonus" of $1175. (Note - more than Bayne)

For every month that you reached an Iron Man level during 2007, we awarded you with a corresponding number of Bonus Dollars that you can play for starting on January 1st, 2008. Bonus Dollars were awarded on the following scale:

25 Bonus Dollars for every month you achieved Bronze
50 Bonus Dollars for every month you achieved Silver
75 Bonus Dollars for every month you achieved Gold
100 Bonus Dollars for every month you achieved Iron



To receive your bonus, play between January 1st and January 31st to earn the points required to unlock your Bonus Dollars. For every Full Tilt Point you earn in January, $0.05 will be converted into real money.

If you have not earned your entire bonus by the end of January, you will still receive the partial amount you earned on February 1st.

Thank you for your play during 2007 and have a profitable 2008.

Sincerely,

Full Tilt Poker


So this kinda sucked. I had no idea until this email that I would only have one month to clear this bonus... I mean this means I have to earn 23,500 points in a month. That's 783 points per day... That's 3 times what I normally get. To all my friends who live in Richmond... if you don't hear from me or see me in January, it's because I'm going from a points whore to a points slut... wait, which one's worse? Whatever. I'll basically be eating, drinking, and sleeping with Fulltilt on my lap... Don't be shocked if I quit poker for the rest of the year after this month... And even worse, January is one of the busiest times for me at work... god, bad beat all around...

I mean most likely, I won't even show up for the 2008 PAPT until February cuz quite frankly, the $1,175 bonus means more to me... I know, not only am I a points whore, apparently I'm a money whore too... wait... or does that just make me a whore? I've never used the word whore so much in one paragraph.

Even worse is that I did not play any poker on 1/1 or 1/2... I'm already behind here!!!! So, I apologize in advance if the number of posts are reduced or I don't analyze hand histories... I'll be 4 tabling at least (impossible to do more with my laptop screen) and I won't have time to really capture or even think about posting for a while... I think...

One thing I did mention to Bayne though is that this could also be a very profitable month... *knock on wood* I mean this will be the most poker I will play in a month ever so even if I average a much lower PTBB/100 than I'm used to, it could still mean dollar-wise, I can do very well. We shall see.