I'm pulling a bait and switch here... well, not really. I am gonna talk about a couple of situations I encountered when playing deep stack tables but I've just been running so bad that I feel like if I wanted to, I can compile a bad beat post every night (even though, after I saved this hand, I stacked off a guy who had KK with my AJ sooted when the flush hit the river)...
But you know you're running bad when on this flop, I actually cringed when our cards are flipped. Fortunately, this guy was ubershort... I have no idea why he didn't jam me pre. And yes, obv, I raised pre.
9 players 2-4NL
*** FLOP *** [5s 2h 9d]
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage bets $26
teabag2512 calls $26, and is all in
RecessRampage shows [Ad Ac]
teabag2512 shows [7c 7h]
*** TURN *** [5s 2h 9d] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [5s 2h 9d 6c] [8s]
RecessRampage shows a pair of Aces
teabag2512 shows a straight, Nine high
teabag2512 wins the pot ($83) with a straight, Nine high
RecessRampage adds $9.70
The dollar amount is next to nothing but it just fucks with your mind. I don't blame him for calling the flop. I mean I'm betting out there with ATC if I'm raising for only $26 more but it's more an illustration of how Fulltilt likes fucking with my head... that still doesn't stop me from coming back so I apparently like... woah, I'm not even gonna finish that sentence.
Ok, on to the thoughts I had when playing the deep stack tables. One thing I am kinda struggling with right now is figuring out where the line is in terms of playing aggressively vs cautiously when I have a decent draw. I have no problem playing aggressively but I don't want to be an aggrotard either. So, I always feel like I need to check myself to make sure that I am correctly being aggressive as opposed to just being reckless.
Also note, I'm using the hands below as examples BUT I am gonna change or edit out the results because I want more of a situational thought... hmmmm, let me see. How can I explain that better. Whether I won or lost the pot is irrelevant and actually, how the hand ends is also irrelevant. My question, as you will see, came more out of while the opponent was thinking, I thought to myself "what am I gonna do if my opponent does (raise or call)?" (folding obv ends the hand so I don't have to ask myself that question)
Also assume I have no information on the player in this first hand.
Deep 2-4NL Full Ring
Relevant stacks
Seat 4: lvis2000 ($570.50)
Seat 7: RecessRampage ($885)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [6d 5d]
UTG calls $4
1 fold
lvis2000 has 15 seconds left to act
lvis2000 calls $4
2 folds
RecessRampage raises to $22 from CO
button, SB, BB all fold
UTG folds
lvis2000 calls $18
Someone is inevitably gonna ask why I raised pre with 56s. I have no good answers that will satisfy you so I'm not even gonna go there. If I say "to punish the limpers" some people will be happy so I'll say that.
*** FLOP *** [3d 4h 8d]
lvis2000 has 15 seconds left to act
lvis2000 checks
RecessRampage bets $42
lvis2000 has 15 seconds left to act
lvis2000 calls $42
The flop, considering my cards is a pretty awesome one, obviously. I think based on this board, I should be willing to stack off right? That's obvious to all, I'm assuming, even if we're deep. Yes or no?
Better yet, if lvis2000 checkraises me, what would you do? Would you just call or ship it in?
*** TURN *** [3d 4h 8d] [Kd]
lvis2000 has 15 seconds left to act
lvis2000 checks
RecessRampage ???
Now your flush card hit. What do you do here? Bet for value? Or check to induce value on the river? I think that's easy.
But the question is, what if you bet and he jams? Granted, since he only started with $570, it's not as much but are you willing to call off that much with a 6 high flush (yes, I know it's K high but for all intensive purposes, I think you know what I mean)? What if he also started the hand with $800. Let's say you bet like $105 (pot is $120ish) and he raises you to like $500, effectively committing himself (by leaving himself $135). Do you ship it in? In other words, on the flop, you thought you flopped gold. And on the turn when the card that made your hand comes, all of a sudden the opponent acts like he hit it bigger which is also possible. Does being ddep make a difference?
Just curious as to the thoughts and how different it might be at a deep table.
Ok, the next one, the BB is a little more aggressive but probably solidly so. Nothing too crazy or out of line so his reraise range is decent but so is my button raising range so I don't think either one of us are going out of line.
2-4NL Deep full ring
Relevant stacks
BB ($961.90)
Seat 7: RecessRampage ($794)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Kh Jh]
everyone folds to me on the button
RecessRampage raises to $14
SB folds
BB has 15 seconds left to act
BB raises to $48
RecessRampage calls $34
We're both deep but anyone let this hand go here? What's your calling range if you fold here? I would assume that your calling range would be polarized so you can list them out. If you say JJ+ or something ridiculous like that... well, that's just ridiculous. Again, keep in mind that the BB here is RRing me fairly light. Another question here would be would you 4 bet here? I wouldn't and I have my reasons that I could go into but I won't for now just so I don't taint anyone else's thoughts first.
*** FLOP *** [6h 8c 2h]
BB has 15 seconds left to act
BB bets $64
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME
RecessRampage xxx
Raise or call here? If raise, to how much? If you raise and he reraises you, do you ship it in?
*** TURN *** [6h 8c 2h] [Td]
BB xxxx
Now what? I'm not gonna tell you what the BB did but instead I'll offer you a few scenarios.
What would you do if he checks? Check behind or bet? What if he checkraises you? Ship it in?
What if he fires out another bullet? Raise with the intent of calling a shove? I guess this depends on the previous street's action. Let's say you raised him and he just called but he bets out again. Now what? Shove? Just call?
These are some questions that were swirling in my head as I played this hand out. Again, this may not be the same questions I would have if we were only 100BBs deep. But with 200BBs deep, I wasn't sure if that changes a lot in these situations or not. Thoughts would be appreciated. And since Brue will respond if I link him cuz he's a link whore, Brue, here's my linkage to you. Comment away you math geek.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Getting it both ways
This concludes my night of bad beats. I mean KK < AK, AA < AQ all for full buyin+. Yes, I know and I'm sure you've all been there so if you don't want to hear it, you can leave now. But I am running so fuckin bad it's fuckin unbelievable. I can't get any fuckin traction on anything. I would win $100 and then my stack that grew to $500 gets stacked off in a sick beat. I mean fuckin aye. I'm showing a $700 difference between my actual winning and my $EV for tonight's session. SEVEN HUNDRED FUCKIN DOLLARS. And to boot (and hence my title), I don't get rakeback but I continue to play chasing losses. Bayne suggested I opt out (self exclusion) to show displeasure to fulltilt but that goes against everything I believe in (like online is actually not rigged). Plus, I'm getting it in ahead so even though I'm tilting, I'm fuckin playing well. Man, I haven't felt like I wanted to break something as much as I do right now in a long fuckin time.
At least this hand was fun and pretty much a flip (though I was still allegedly the favorite to win) as opposed to others which were just sick beats.
Full Tilt Poker Game #8480968312: Table Brooks - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:25:47 ET - 2008/10/14
Seat 1: AK_N8tive ($160)
Seat 2: Bobz2433 ($443.50)
Seat 3: nm_21 ($407.40)
Seat 4: AdmiralTwill ($488)
Seat 5: degtine ($323.80)
Seat 6: MCV88 ($1,197.30)
Seat 7: LegacyRik ($451.20)
Seat 9: RecessRampage ($478.40)
MCV88 posts the small blind of $2
LegacyRik posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Tc Qc]
RecessRampage raises to $14
Bobz2433 folds
nm_21 folds
AdmiralTwill folds
degtine folds
MCV88 has 15 seconds left to act
MCV88 folds
dhde1328 sits down
LegacyRik calls $10
dhde1328 adds $80
*** FLOP *** [Jc Qh 9c]
LegacyRik checks
RecessRampage bets $23
LegacyRik raises to $72
RecessRampage raises to $464.40, and is all in
LegacyRik calls $365.20, and is all in
RecessRampage shows [Tc Qc]
LegacyRik shows [Kc Kh]
Uncalled bet of $27.20 returned to RecessRampage
*** TURN *** [Jc Qh 9c] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [Jc Qh 9c 6h] [5h]
RecessRampage shows a pair of Queens
LegacyRik shows a pair of Kings
LegacyRik wins the pot ($901.40) with a pair of Kings
RecessRampage adds $372.80
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $904.40 | Rake $3
Board: [Jc Qh 9c 6h 5h]
Seat 1: AK_N8tive is sitting out
Seat 2: Bobz2433 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: nm_21 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: AdmiralTwill didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: degtine (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: MCV88 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: LegacyRik (big blind) showed [Kc Kh] and won ($901.40) with a pair of Kings
Seat 9: RecessRampage showed [Tc Qc] and lost with a pair of Queens
At least this hand was fun and pretty much a flip (though I was still allegedly the favorite to win) as opposed to others which were just sick beats.
Full Tilt Poker Game #8480968312: Table Brooks - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:25:47 ET - 2008/10/14
Seat 1: AK_N8tive ($160)
Seat 2: Bobz2433 ($443.50)
Seat 3: nm_21 ($407.40)
Seat 4: AdmiralTwill ($488)
Seat 5: degtine ($323.80)
Seat 6: MCV88 ($1,197.30)
Seat 7: LegacyRik ($451.20)
Seat 9: RecessRampage ($478.40)
MCV88 posts the small blind of $2
LegacyRik posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Tc Qc]
RecessRampage raises to $14
Bobz2433 folds
nm_21 folds
AdmiralTwill folds
degtine folds
MCV88 has 15 seconds left to act
MCV88 folds
dhde1328 sits down
LegacyRik calls $10
dhde1328 adds $80
*** FLOP *** [Jc Qh 9c]
LegacyRik checks
RecessRampage bets $23
LegacyRik raises to $72
RecessRampage raises to $464.40, and is all in
LegacyRik calls $365.20, and is all in
RecessRampage shows [Tc Qc]
LegacyRik shows [Kc Kh]
Uncalled bet of $27.20 returned to RecessRampage
*** TURN *** [Jc Qh 9c] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [Jc Qh 9c 6h] [5h]
RecessRampage shows a pair of Queens
LegacyRik shows a pair of Kings
LegacyRik wins the pot ($901.40) with a pair of Kings
RecessRampage adds $372.80
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $904.40 | Rake $3
Board: [Jc Qh 9c 6h 5h]
Seat 1: AK_N8tive is sitting out
Seat 2: Bobz2433 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: nm_21 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: AdmiralTwill didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: degtine (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: MCV88 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: LegacyRik (big blind) showed [Kc Kh] and won ($901.40) with a pair of Kings
Seat 9: RecessRampage showed [Tc Qc] and lost with a pair of Queens
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Boo ECU
I went to Charlottesville today with the best man from my wedding. Since he is a UVA grad, I figured it would be fun if we went to the game together. However, I did have visions of ECU crushing UVA... but ever since they lost a few players on defense, they just haven't been the same team... you know, the team that beat VATech and WVU...
Anyways, the game got pretty exciting towards the end but I had to listen to the UVA touchdown song too many times for ECU to recover. We parked on the other side of the campus so we got to walk across the campus and I'm not gonna lie... It was a very pretty campus. And lots of hot chicks... And even though the game did not go the way I wanted it to, at least we had great seats and it was a beautiful day.
Some picture dump from our seats. Go Pirates!
Anyways, the game got pretty exciting towards the end but I had to listen to the UVA touchdown song too many times for ECU to recover. We parked on the other side of the campus so we got to walk across the campus and I'm not gonna lie... It was a very pretty campus. And lots of hot chicks... And even though the game did not go the way I wanted it to, at least we had great seats and it was a beautiful day.
Some picture dump from our seats. Go Pirates!
Friday, October 10, 2008
F*ckin bloggers...
It's quarter end and I got shit to do!!! But, this was fun...
You are The Emperor
Stability, power, protection, realization; a great person.
The Emperor is the great authority figure of the Tarot, so it represents
fathers, father-figures and employers. There is a lot of aggression and violence
too.
The Emperor naturally follows the Empress. Like an infant, he is filled with enthuiasm, energy, aggression. He is direct, guileless and all too often irresistible. Unfortunately, like a baby he can also be a tyrant. Impatient, demanding, controlling. In the best of circumstances, he signifies the leader that everyone wants to follow, sitting on a throne that indicates the solid foundation of an Empire he created, loves and rules with intelligence and enthusiasm. But that throne can also be a trap, a responsibility that has the Emperor feeling restless, bored and discontent.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Playing the blame game
Lots of finger pointing going on these days... that's what happens when things are not going well. The latest is the blame on the CFOs and CEOs of the companies that "caused" the demise of this economy... like Lehman Brothers and AIG. The funny thing about all this to me is why these people are being blamed. Funniest argument I heard so far is "they got paid too much."
Oh my fuckin god.
This is the same garbage I hear about athletes. I'll tell you what. If you hate that the athletes and pretty much any other celebrities make that much money, everyone, stop watching TV. Stop going to games. Stop buying their shoes. Or shirts. No really. Stop. Please. If you hate that the corporate executives make so much, go run your own business. Stop working for the companies where your top execs make that much money. Stop investing in the stock market.
The CEOs and CFOs at the time of robust growth are being paid to take risks so that they can get ahead of the curve. If they didn't, they would have gotten replaced by someone who would. And if someone is willing to and is able to pay them the amount of money they got paid (hundreds of millions of dollars), I see nothing wrong with that. Of course, I don't come close to sniffing that kind of money. But I don't add nearly the value that they add to the company. Of course, if I fuck up, it's unlikely that I will bring the company down.
I am assuming it's plain jealousy but really, why do everyone get so upset when someone makes a lot of money? I remember when A-rod signed his original deal... $250 million over 10 years, I think it was. Everyone was commenting on how ridiculous that was. The way I see it, if someone is willing to pay, I don't understand how the guy getting paid has to get shit for it. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I mean part of his compensation comes from the fact that he could get shat on. But you know what? If someone came up to you today and told you to come work for them and that they will give you 10x the pay of what you currently make to do the exact same thing you are doing, how many of you will say "you know what? That's just too much money. I am not that valuable so please, take some of it back."
Not me. I'll take the fuckin money and run with it. So will most of you. So while everyone is playing the blame game on who got paid too much and who caused the "need" for this stupid ridiculous bail out bill, I just laugh at everyone who is pointing the fingers at everyone else but themselves. Sure, my portfolio is not laughing in the sea of reds but I'm not blaming anyone but myself for that. If you're out of a job, I'm sorry. If you're nearing retirement and your portfolio is decimated, I'm sorry too (though maybe perhaps you should have made a better choice in terms of the mix of investments). But whatever energy you spend trying to blame someone can surely be put to better use. We can't just count on someone else to fix the problem. Haven't you seen what the government has done the last 8 years? Do you really want to count on them now?
Oh my fuckin god.
This is the same garbage I hear about athletes. I'll tell you what. If you hate that the athletes and pretty much any other celebrities make that much money, everyone, stop watching TV. Stop going to games. Stop buying their shoes. Or shirts. No really. Stop. Please. If you hate that the corporate executives make so much, go run your own business. Stop working for the companies where your top execs make that much money. Stop investing in the stock market.
The CEOs and CFOs at the time of robust growth are being paid to take risks so that they can get ahead of the curve. If they didn't, they would have gotten replaced by someone who would. And if someone is willing to and is able to pay them the amount of money they got paid (hundreds of millions of dollars), I see nothing wrong with that. Of course, I don't come close to sniffing that kind of money. But I don't add nearly the value that they add to the company. Of course, if I fuck up, it's unlikely that I will bring the company down.
I am assuming it's plain jealousy but really, why do everyone get so upset when someone makes a lot of money? I remember when A-rod signed his original deal... $250 million over 10 years, I think it was. Everyone was commenting on how ridiculous that was. The way I see it, if someone is willing to pay, I don't understand how the guy getting paid has to get shit for it. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I mean part of his compensation comes from the fact that he could get shat on. But you know what? If someone came up to you today and told you to come work for them and that they will give you 10x the pay of what you currently make to do the exact same thing you are doing, how many of you will say "you know what? That's just too much money. I am not that valuable so please, take some of it back."
Not me. I'll take the fuckin money and run with it. So will most of you. So while everyone is playing the blame game on who got paid too much and who caused the "need" for this stupid ridiculous bail out bill, I just laugh at everyone who is pointing the fingers at everyone else but themselves. Sure, my portfolio is not laughing in the sea of reds but I'm not blaming anyone but myself for that. If you're out of a job, I'm sorry. If you're nearing retirement and your portfolio is decimated, I'm sorry too (though maybe perhaps you should have made a better choice in terms of the mix of investments). But whatever energy you spend trying to blame someone can surely be put to better use. We can't just count on someone else to fix the problem. Haven't you seen what the government has done the last 8 years? Do you really want to count on them now?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Ode to Waffles
This has nothing to do with anything... but this clip reminded me of Waffles and his WOW quest. Funniest shit I've seen in a while, me thinks.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
I shoulda bought a lottery ticket...
The other day, I was playing flag football and I tweaked my hamstring... so, no morning basketball for me for a few weeks while I try to recover. Getting old sucks. And yes, "the other day" is post bash. I guess I coulda gotten drunker... though I sounded pretty drunk after hearing myself on the BDR last night. How funny was that? I'm a funny drunk.
Anyways, knowing that I don't have to wake up at 6am to get ready for bball, I decided to make it a long poker night. And what can I say? I was running awful good. Early in the session, I got bad beated in a hand and I was like "jeez, I run so bad." But then, I went on a rush and my session ended like this.
On a last minute whim, I decided to play the Mookie also. I was playing uber aggro and was still catching lightning in a bottle. Too bad it was a $10 tourney... I shoulda been playing 5/10NL instead. This hand was funny too. I have my reasons of why I did what I did but no matter what I say here, people will already have their own opinions so I'm not even gonna bother explaining.
Full Tilt Poker Game #8310987608: The Mookie (62483964), Table 3 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:00:28 ET - 2008/10/01
Seat 1: riv3r maker (2,675)
Seat 2: hoyazo (5,680)
Seat 3: iam23skidoo (2,150)
Seat 4: Chippy McStacks (7,869)
Seat 5: MiamiDon (5,880)
Seat 6: xkm1245 (2,930)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (7,963)
RecessRampage posts the small blind of 50
riv3r maker posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [8h 9s]
hoyazo raises to 300
iam23skidoo folds
Chippy McStacks folds
MiamiDon folds
xkm1245 folds
RecessRampage raises to 1,000
riv3r maker raises to 2,675, and is all in
hoyazo folds
RecessRampage: crap...
RecessRampage: sry if I suck out <--- very polite, likeable, good looking man
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage calls 1,675
bayne_s sits down <--- donkey alert!
bayne_s adds 4,975
madbrooklyn sits down
madbrooklyn adds 3,700
riv3r maker shows [Qs Qd]
RecessRampage shows [8h 9s]
*** FLOP *** [Ad 9c 8c] <--- lightning in a bottle
*** TURN *** [Ad 9c 8c] [Jh]
*** RIVER *** [Ad 9c 8c Jh] [3s]
Chippy McStacks: wow <--- in awe of my amazing "skillz"
riv3r maker shows a pair of Queens
RecessRampage shows two pair, Nines and Eights
RecessRampage wins the pot (5,650) with two pair, Nines and Eights
RecessRampage: at least I apologized <--- couldn't have said it better myself
Too bad with all that lucksackery, I still couldn't close it out... Congrats to willwonka for his first mookie win. I mean he maintains the spreadsheet for crying out loud. He was due.
PS. Just in case... Bayne and I were going back and forth last night at the tables and I got an impression that some thought maybe we were somewhat serious??? Um... def not. We have fun giving each other shit. So it's all in fun... until he places a bet on the "don't pass" line in December and I have my monster roll... and 50 minutes later (and me still rolling), he switches to pass line bet and I immediately crap out...
Anyways, knowing that I don't have to wake up at 6am to get ready for bball, I decided to make it a long poker night. And what can I say? I was running awful good. Early in the session, I got bad beated in a hand and I was like "jeez, I run so bad." But then, I went on a rush and my session ended like this.
On a last minute whim, I decided to play the Mookie also. I was playing uber aggro and was still catching lightning in a bottle. Too bad it was a $10 tourney... I shoulda been playing 5/10NL instead. This hand was funny too. I have my reasons of why I did what I did but no matter what I say here, people will already have their own opinions so I'm not even gonna bother explaining.
Full Tilt Poker Game #8310987608: The Mookie (62483964), Table 3 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:00:28 ET - 2008/10/01
Seat 1: riv3r maker (2,675)
Seat 2: hoyazo (5,680)
Seat 3: iam23skidoo (2,150)
Seat 4: Chippy McStacks (7,869)
Seat 5: MiamiDon (5,880)
Seat 6: xkm1245 (2,930)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (7,963)
RecessRampage posts the small blind of 50
riv3r maker posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [8h 9s]
hoyazo raises to 300
iam23skidoo folds
Chippy McStacks folds
MiamiDon folds
xkm1245 folds
RecessRampage raises to 1,000
riv3r maker raises to 2,675, and is all in
hoyazo folds
RecessRampage: crap...
RecessRampage: sry if I suck out <--- very polite, likeable, good looking man
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage calls 1,675
bayne_s sits down <--- donkey alert!
bayne_s adds 4,975
madbrooklyn sits down
madbrooklyn adds 3,700
riv3r maker shows [Qs Qd]
RecessRampage shows [8h 9s]
*** FLOP *** [Ad 9c 8c] <--- lightning in a bottle
*** TURN *** [Ad 9c 8c] [Jh]
*** RIVER *** [Ad 9c 8c Jh] [3s]
Chippy McStacks: wow <--- in awe of my amazing "skillz"
riv3r maker shows a pair of Queens
RecessRampage shows two pair, Nines and Eights
RecessRampage wins the pot (5,650) with two pair, Nines and Eights
RecessRampage: at least I apologized <--- couldn't have said it better myself
Too bad with all that lucksackery, I still couldn't close it out... Congrats to willwonka for his first mookie win. I mean he maintains the spreadsheet for crying out loud. He was due.
PS. Just in case... Bayne and I were going back and forth last night at the tables and I got an impression that some thought maybe we were somewhat serious??? Um... def not. We have fun giving each other shit. So it's all in fun... until he places a bet on the "don't pass" line in December and I have my monster roll... and 50 minutes later (and me still rolling), he switches to pass line bet and I immediately crap out...
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
dfljafjasdjfkljaljfkljasdklfjdjl $700B tilt package
I mean isn't that what this $700B bail out package is??? McCain, call it whatever the fuck you want, it's still a bail out package. What does he care. He already knows that the biggest mistake he made was putting Palin as VP. Her responses are akin to Miss Teen South Carolina, don't you think?
Those who are too lazy to go check out the youtube link, here's the vid. Sarah Palin first, then Miss Teen South Carolina.
And now, they are making changes to the bail out package to make it more passable? Oh my god... I'm on total politics tilt. But you know what? Go read this. He does a much better job ranting about it than I could.
Oh, and one more thing... they're getting rid of mark to market? I mean... get rid of all accounting standards and no more auditors. Let the Wall Street name its own price. Who cares if the assets are valid or not?
What a fuckin joke. I'm so pissed off I don't even know what else to say.
Those who are too lazy to go check out the youtube link, here's the vid. Sarah Palin first, then Miss Teen South Carolina.
And now, they are making changes to the bail out package to make it more passable? Oh my god... I'm on total politics tilt. But you know what? Go read this. He does a much better job ranting about it than I could.
Oh, and one more thing... they're getting rid of mark to market? I mean... get rid of all accounting standards and no more auditors. Let the Wall Street name its own price. Who cares if the assets are valid or not?
What a fuckin joke. I'm so pissed off I don't even know what else to say.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The Bash trip report - Part 2
"It's a marathon, not a sprint."
What the fuck does that mean anyways?
I ran track in college but my events were 400m and 4x400m relay, with a mix of 200m dash (more for warm up/loosening up - I did NOT have the speed to compete in collegiate level 200m). So, I was always a sprinter. And that's just my personality. Even at work, I either go all out and work really hard... or I do nothing... like not a damn thing. I've spent a full day reading blogs and doing absolutely nothing productive in the past... but in a crunch time, believe me, I'm good to have in the work force. That's just how I roll. So, when it comes to drinking, most of my friends could attest to the fact that when it comes to drinking I am balls to the wall as well... so, on Saturday, after I completed my Part 1 of the Bash trip report in the cafe, I headed back to the room to shower and get ready for what I figured to be an unbelievable drunken haze.
I got ready and sauntered over to this fine establishment where I would end up spending the next 10+ hrs drinking.
Now, the funny thing about me drinking is that I keep thinking I remember everything... until someone points out something that I don't remember... at which point I realize how drunk I was. But I will say this. I was pretty hammered at certain points but not to the point where I was plastered like I would be when I am with my friends here. I think it was all because I started to listen to the mantra.
"It's not a sprint, it's a marathon."
Once I got to the bar a little before 2pm on Saturday, I decided to kick things off with a beer... and a soco shot with none other than Al. Well, that's when I discovered that the shots you get here are twice as big as the ones I'm used to. Apparently, that's the "Al shot." But hey, whatever. A shot is a shot. I'm not gonna lie though. I was a little disappointed when I downed my shot in one gulp and noticed that Al was just taking a little sip here and there. But that's when he told me that this was not a sprint. And boy, was he right.
During the pub olympics, numerous prop bets were made (Buddy, I fuckin crushed you in pinball! And Evy, great game on the air hockey... I was so close to pwning you). I even played shuffleboard for the first time, which was a blast. CK does a much better job describing what went down but we had numerous pairings... first one being the jew vs non-jew.
(The cross is misleading since I'm not Christian but minor details)
Then, after CK and I noticed that Jordan and Astin (Jew and non-Jew, respectively) were bringing us down, we decided to go the round-eye vs slant-eye round... where we totally pwned them... When CK got a 9 pointer!!! Who says we can't see????
After that is where it gets kinda blurry for me but I don't think I was ever really hammered. I was drunk for sure, but not like falling apart drunk. I know we went to eat pizza across the street or something... wait, no, it was a sub... or a burger... yeah, it was a burger... where Riggs and I were utterly shocked at all the college football scores they were showing with upsets left and right...
And then we went back to the bar and the band was starting to set up... I don't remember the early goings but I do know that towards the end, we had a blast because the band was a good cover band... however, I pulled a lame one and decided to call it a night around 1am or so. It was getting to the point where I was somewhat sobering up and then feeling the fatigue and then realizing I would have to drive home the next day... blah blah blah... god, I feel like such a pussy just writing this. Oh hell. It is what it is.
I had a great time meeting everyone/seeing everyone once again. Getting to spend more time talking to the people I met back in December was definitely good too. I can't wait to see all of you (and those that didn't make it to the bash) in December.
Here are some pictures of Phoenixville:
The breakfast joint right next to the hotel:
Inside the coffee shop I blogged from:
And outside the coffee shop:
What the fuck does that mean anyways?
I ran track in college but my events were 400m and 4x400m relay, with a mix of 200m dash (more for warm up/loosening up - I did NOT have the speed to compete in collegiate level 200m). So, I was always a sprinter. And that's just my personality. Even at work, I either go all out and work really hard... or I do nothing... like not a damn thing. I've spent a full day reading blogs and doing absolutely nothing productive in the past... but in a crunch time, believe me, I'm good to have in the work force. That's just how I roll. So, when it comes to drinking, most of my friends could attest to the fact that when it comes to drinking I am balls to the wall as well... so, on Saturday, after I completed my Part 1 of the Bash trip report in the cafe, I headed back to the room to shower and get ready for what I figured to be an unbelievable drunken haze.
I got ready and sauntered over to this fine establishment where I would end up spending the next 10+ hrs drinking.
Now, the funny thing about me drinking is that I keep thinking I remember everything... until someone points out something that I don't remember... at which point I realize how drunk I was. But I will say this. I was pretty hammered at certain points but not to the point where I was plastered like I would be when I am with my friends here. I think it was all because I started to listen to the mantra.
"It's not a sprint, it's a marathon."
Once I got to the bar a little before 2pm on Saturday, I decided to kick things off with a beer... and a soco shot with none other than Al. Well, that's when I discovered that the shots you get here are twice as big as the ones I'm used to. Apparently, that's the "Al shot." But hey, whatever. A shot is a shot. I'm not gonna lie though. I was a little disappointed when I downed my shot in one gulp and noticed that Al was just taking a little sip here and there. But that's when he told me that this was not a sprint. And boy, was he right.
During the pub olympics, numerous prop bets were made (Buddy, I fuckin crushed you in pinball! And Evy, great game on the air hockey... I was so close to pwning you). I even played shuffleboard for the first time, which was a blast. CK does a much better job describing what went down but we had numerous pairings... first one being the jew vs non-jew.
(The cross is misleading since I'm not Christian but minor details)
Then, after CK and I noticed that Jordan and Astin (Jew and non-Jew, respectively) were bringing us down, we decided to go the round-eye vs slant-eye round... where we totally pwned them... When CK got a 9 pointer!!! Who says we can't see????
After that is where it gets kinda blurry for me but I don't think I was ever really hammered. I was drunk for sure, but not like falling apart drunk. I know we went to eat pizza across the street or something... wait, no, it was a sub... or a burger... yeah, it was a burger... where Riggs and I were utterly shocked at all the college football scores they were showing with upsets left and right...
And then we went back to the bar and the band was starting to set up... I don't remember the early goings but I do know that towards the end, we had a blast because the band was a good cover band... however, I pulled a lame one and decided to call it a night around 1am or so. It was getting to the point where I was somewhat sobering up and then feeling the fatigue and then realizing I would have to drive home the next day... blah blah blah... god, I feel like such a pussy just writing this. Oh hell. It is what it is.
I had a great time meeting everyone/seeing everyone once again. Getting to spend more time talking to the people I met back in December was definitely good too. I can't wait to see all of you (and those that didn't make it to the bash) in December.
Here are some pictures of Phoenixville:
The breakfast joint right next to the hotel:
Inside the coffee shop I blogged from:
And outside the coffee shop:
Saturday, September 27, 2008
The Bash trip report - Part 1
So here I am doing a quick trip update... I am sitting in this fine cafe in Phoenixville, PA after a great breakfast (pictures to come later) because even though my hotel claims to have an internet connection, the wireless signal is so weak that my laptop just doesn't pick it up. After a great breakfast at Irish Joe's Cafe, I decided to sit here with a cup of coffee and set my fantasy football line up, check the news, and of course... blog. (BaconMary and Alceste just walked in... man, do I feel like a dork). At least I'm not playing online poker right now... though I did seriously consider it...
So, yesterday, I left Richmond around 3:30pm, hoping to make it to Phoenixville, PA, the site of the Bash by like 7:30pm... of course, stupid google maps direction made me take I-95 to I-395... where I got totally lost in the DC area... man, the roads there get so confusing, as does the directions... Anyways, I eventually find my way back on track and when I get to PA, I am thoroughly confused. Now, the directions were surprisingly awesome but the roads here are weird in the sense that a lot of street signs are really hard to see and there would be like two right hand turns (one sharper than the other) so when the directions say to turn right, it's really hard to tell which "right" I'm supposed to go to... having said that, I eventually found my way to the MainStay Inn in Phoenixville, PA where I was staying.
Earlier in the day, my friends, who were trying to decide what to do on a Friday night, were giving me a hard time (good naturedly) about going to a bloggers gathering. One guy asked if we were just gonna stay in our hotel rooms and IM each other with the awesome internet acronyms... LOL, LMAO, WTF, All in, Bad beat!, FU! I thought it was funny.
Well, once I checked in to the hotel, I realized it was way past the time the poker tournament was supposed to start. The poker tournament was at a place that was about 15 minutes away so I was contemplating catching a cab so that I could drink there and not worry about driving back... when I ran into the legendary Bobby Bracelet. We didn't know each other but he heard the lady at the front desk referring to the poker tournament so he asked me if I were here for Al's gathering. Kindly enough, he offered me a ride there which I gratefully accepted.
Once I got to the banquet hall, the tournament was well under way but they still said that I could buy in if I wanted to... strangely enough, even though I am at a poker blogger's gathering, I wasn't in the mood to play in a tournament... actually, I wasn't in much of a mood to play poker. I might be the total opposite of Jordan... live poker is just ok for me... I feel like the game is too slow, it's not like I can get a better read on the players from the way they twitch or anything... I mean the only reads I have on a player always comes from the betting pattern, the size of their bets, etc... which is probably a trait that I have developed over the several hundred thousand hands I've played online. So, in that sense, live poker is too slow for me. Don't get me wrong. There are aspects of live poker I enjoy but it just wasn't high on my list. So, I just bounced from table to table, greeting old friends, putting more faces to the familiar screennames (like Riggs and Vinnay), etc.
I was also giving Jordan a hard time as he was talking into his phone to recap a hand history... saying that you know it's a poker blogger's gathering when someone is trying to recap a hand by either taking notes on the phone or leaving verbal notes on to the phone. It's all in fun though. I do hope to come up with a list of "You know it's a blogger's gathering when..."
It was great to see a lot of people that I've met in the winter gathering. I'm not gonna lie. It's a bit of a bummer that some of the other bloggers that I talk to/drunk text more often (you know who you are) couldn't be here. Whether it's some gay ass birthday trip to San Francisco to meet up with the #1 waffles fan or you just opened a new business or you live in Hawaii, the excuses are rampant. I guess I will just have to wait 2.5 months until the winter gathering. At that point, I am hoping to meet couple of other guys who I talk to/comment on their blog that I haven't met. You also know you who you are.
Oh and one more thing... Despite what Schaubs or Fuel tries to tell you, I am not Ken. I'm kicking both of your asses next time I see you.
Alright I'm out. Drinking commences in less than an hour.
So, yesterday, I left Richmond around 3:30pm, hoping to make it to Phoenixville, PA, the site of the Bash by like 7:30pm... of course, stupid google maps direction made me take I-95 to I-395... where I got totally lost in the DC area... man, the roads there get so confusing, as does the directions... Anyways, I eventually find my way back on track and when I get to PA, I am thoroughly confused. Now, the directions were surprisingly awesome but the roads here are weird in the sense that a lot of street signs are really hard to see and there would be like two right hand turns (one sharper than the other) so when the directions say to turn right, it's really hard to tell which "right" I'm supposed to go to... having said that, I eventually found my way to the MainStay Inn in Phoenixville, PA where I was staying.
Earlier in the day, my friends, who were trying to decide what to do on a Friday night, were giving me a hard time (good naturedly) about going to a bloggers gathering. One guy asked if we were just gonna stay in our hotel rooms and IM each other with the awesome internet acronyms... LOL, LMAO, WTF, All in, Bad beat!, FU! I thought it was funny.
Well, once I checked in to the hotel, I realized it was way past the time the poker tournament was supposed to start. The poker tournament was at a place that was about 15 minutes away so I was contemplating catching a cab so that I could drink there and not worry about driving back... when I ran into the legendary Bobby Bracelet. We didn't know each other but he heard the lady at the front desk referring to the poker tournament so he asked me if I were here for Al's gathering. Kindly enough, he offered me a ride there which I gratefully accepted.
Once I got to the banquet hall, the tournament was well under way but they still said that I could buy in if I wanted to... strangely enough, even though I am at a poker blogger's gathering, I wasn't in the mood to play in a tournament... actually, I wasn't in much of a mood to play poker. I might be the total opposite of Jordan... live poker is just ok for me... I feel like the game is too slow, it's not like I can get a better read on the players from the way they twitch or anything... I mean the only reads I have on a player always comes from the betting pattern, the size of their bets, etc... which is probably a trait that I have developed over the several hundred thousand hands I've played online. So, in that sense, live poker is too slow for me. Don't get me wrong. There are aspects of live poker I enjoy but it just wasn't high on my list. So, I just bounced from table to table, greeting old friends, putting more faces to the familiar screennames (like Riggs and Vinnay), etc.
I was also giving Jordan a hard time as he was talking into his phone to recap a hand history... saying that you know it's a poker blogger's gathering when someone is trying to recap a hand by either taking notes on the phone or leaving verbal notes on to the phone. It's all in fun though. I do hope to come up with a list of "You know it's a blogger's gathering when..."
It was great to see a lot of people that I've met in the winter gathering. I'm not gonna lie. It's a bit of a bummer that some of the other bloggers that I talk to/drunk text more often (you know who you are) couldn't be here. Whether it's some gay ass birthday trip to San Francisco to meet up with the #1 waffles fan or you just opened a new business or you live in Hawaii, the excuses are rampant. I guess I will just have to wait 2.5 months until the winter gathering. At that point, I am hoping to meet couple of other guys who I talk to/comment on their blog that I haven't met. You also know you who you are.
Oh and one more thing... Despite what Schaubs or Fuel tries to tell you, I am not Ken. I'm kicking both of your asses next time I see you.
Alright I'm out. Drinking commences in less than an hour.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
busy, busy...
I really need to go to bed but I'm gonna get a quick post in. Problem is, my "quick" post is never really quick. There's so much I want to talk about with the economy being what it is and me working in a top 10 bank in the country, I obviously have a lot to say. Political race is heating up, they have the $700B communism package (er, I mean the bail out package), nfl/fantasy football is obviously a fun topic, etc etc. And yet I just haven't had a chance to talk about any of that because I am so busy...
Work has been real good. I was selected to be in the first class of a "rotation program" which would mean starting 1/1, I will be in a new department. This seems to be a pretty big deal with a bunch of people congratulating me for it even though I seem to fail to recognize the significance... or maybe it just hasn't sunk in yet. I know that I am one of the top performing managers in my overall department and I've heard rumors of me being in high demand for some of the departments that's part of this rotation program so that's exciting... I guess... if you get excited by stuff like that. Having said that, there's a perception that I am bailing out on my current group which is definitely not my intent... this was an opportunity too good to pass up but really, doesn't everyone say that. I really hate the perception that I'm bailing but amongst the finance group, our team gets a bad rep in terms of work load... but I'm not gonna complain because I got a lot of compliments/high marks for turning the morale of the team around. I was always good at stuff like that.
So, job is going great which in this economy, it seems like I should be grateful for. But it's keeping me uber busy and so I don't get the chance to post during the day. And now it's past midnight and I need to wake up in 6 hrs so that I could go play ball in the morning. Man... I hate myself every morning.
Seriously though, I have opinions on a lot of things and I want to dump them out here as soon as possible but time has been an issue. Hopefully, I'll get to catch up at some point.
Everyone, have a good weekend. For some of you out there, I guess I will see you at the Bash!!!!!
Work has been real good. I was selected to be in the first class of a "rotation program" which would mean starting 1/1, I will be in a new department. This seems to be a pretty big deal with a bunch of people congratulating me for it even though I seem to fail to recognize the significance... or maybe it just hasn't sunk in yet. I know that I am one of the top performing managers in my overall department and I've heard rumors of me being in high demand for some of the departments that's part of this rotation program so that's exciting... I guess... if you get excited by stuff like that. Having said that, there's a perception that I am bailing out on my current group which is definitely not my intent... this was an opportunity too good to pass up but really, doesn't everyone say that. I really hate the perception that I'm bailing but amongst the finance group, our team gets a bad rep in terms of work load... but I'm not gonna complain because I got a lot of compliments/high marks for turning the morale of the team around. I was always good at stuff like that.
So, job is going great which in this economy, it seems like I should be grateful for. But it's keeping me uber busy and so I don't get the chance to post during the day. And now it's past midnight and I need to wake up in 6 hrs so that I could go play ball in the morning. Man... I hate myself every morning.
Seriously though, I have opinions on a lot of things and I want to dump them out here as soon as possible but time has been an issue. Hopefully, I'll get to catch up at some point.
Everyone, have a good weekend. For some of you out there, I guess I will see you at the Bash!!!!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
So last night was the premiere of Heroes Season 3. I was fairly disappointed with Season 2 and there's MNF on so I debated not watching it but since I don't watch much TV, I figured I should tune into what used to be one of my favorite shows. Don't worry, I am not gonna go into the show and how it was but just giving you a quick glimpse at my mindset going into poker last night.
So, there I am, about to watch Heroes and I decide that I'll need to play some poker to get my 200 points. I started by asking myself, what tables would be best for me to play at if I'm only gonna half ass it and not give it the full attention? Easy. 1-2NL full ring. I could play like a bot, hope to break even and get my 200 points while most of my attention goes to my TV. Sure enough though, suckouts were bound to happen and I drop like couple of buyins early... But, since I wasn't tilting and they were BAD BAD beats which I won't recap, I decided to chase my losses. Next thing I knew, I was up till like midnight chasing my losses. I was down like $400+ and I really wanted to make some of it back up. I got to a point where I was only down a buy-in so I almost quit when I got to this point, thinking I'll post about how bad I've been running.
Note, that the thick line is the actual and the thin line is my $EV. At least I'm getting my money in good. And not tilting. So I figured I'd play few more orbits and call it quits. Good call on my part...
DQB!!!!
That put me solidly from down a buy in to almost up a buy in. I did end up staying up close to 2am... at least I made back my losses for the session... But come on... look at the graph... I run so bad... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
So, there I am, about to watch Heroes and I decide that I'll need to play some poker to get my 200 points. I started by asking myself, what tables would be best for me to play at if I'm only gonna half ass it and not give it the full attention? Easy. 1-2NL full ring. I could play like a bot, hope to break even and get my 200 points while most of my attention goes to my TV. Sure enough though, suckouts were bound to happen and I drop like couple of buyins early... But, since I wasn't tilting and they were BAD BAD beats which I won't recap, I decided to chase my losses. Next thing I knew, I was up till like midnight chasing my losses. I was down like $400+ and I really wanted to make some of it back up. I got to a point where I was only down a buy-in so I almost quit when I got to this point, thinking I'll post about how bad I've been running.
Note, that the thick line is the actual and the thin line is my $EV. At least I'm getting my money in good. And not tilting. So I figured I'd play few more orbits and call it quits. Good call on my part...
DQB!!!!
That put me solidly from down a buy in to almost up a buy in. I did end up staying up close to 2am... at least I made back my losses for the session... But come on... look at the graph... I run so bad... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Friday, September 19, 2008
Erase 9/18
It's almost as if yesterday didn't happen...
3 tabling .50/1.00 6 max and 1 table of 1-2NL apparently was the secret recipe that the poker gods liked. Plus in hindsight, most of the calls that I got on yesterdays posts are the ones I want... sick beats are the ones I don't want...
Have a good weekend all. I have a friend's wedding to go to tomorrow. I imagine we're gonna get trashed...
3 tabling .50/1.00 6 max and 1 table of 1-2NL apparently was the secret recipe that the poker gods liked. Plus in hindsight, most of the calls that I got on yesterdays posts are the ones I want... sick beats are the ones I don't want...
Have a good weekend all. I have a friend's wedding to go to tomorrow. I imagine we're gonna get trashed...
The Beats just keep coming (nonpoker)
So I go through my usual morning routine... well, not quite usual because I didn't wake up early enough to go play basketball this morning but I do the usual work routine. I plop myself in my chair, boot up my laptop and the first thing I do? Go to my brokerage site to see what the market is doing. The past few weeks have been super crazy to say the least. Well, I check our company stock and what do you know? It's up 25% from yesterday, 10% above my the weighted dollar cost average of my employee purchase plan shares that I own and yet I can't do a damn thing about it... And believe me, because I put in 15% (max amount allowed) of my paycheck every paycheck into this employee purchase plan (where the employer gives you another 15% on the amount you are contributing), needless to say, I have a lot of eggs in one basket (hey, I'm young enough that if this goes away, it would hurt but it really wouldn't affect me one bit). So, it would be awesome if I can liquidate some of this but no... we are currently in the lockout period so I can't do a damn thing...
And being a CPA AND in the financial reporting department, I would assume that faking ignorance is a bad bad thing... especially since I know that Hugh Duffy, another employee of this fine institution, reads this blog, it would not be good for me to even hint that I would do such a thing. And I obv wouldn't... but man... that's such a bad beat.
And being a CPA AND in the financial reporting department, I would assume that faking ignorance is a bad bad thing... especially since I know that Hugh Duffy, another employee of this fine institution, reads this blog, it would not be good for me to even hint that I would do such a thing. And I obv wouldn't... but man... that's such a bad beat.
This is what it must feel like in prison...
Nothing like losing 10+ buyins in one night. This is freakin awesome. And yes, this is a whine fest of bad beats and set ups. If that's not your thing, then stop reading now. I'm in a foul mood and I'll post whatever the fuck I want to.
Full Tilt p0ker Game #8132310730: Table Reba (deep 6) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:22:58 ET - 2008/09/18
Seat 1: tnrider50 ($209.60)
Seat 2: PHILIVEY9563 ($233.80)
Seat 3: El Feugo ($88.45)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($131.50)
Seat 5: Scarface0767 ($258.15)
Seat 6: DonKFisH8 ($175.15)
RecessRampage posts the small blind of $0.50
Scarface0767 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Kh Kc]
DonKFisH8 raises to $3.50
tnrider50 folds
PHILIVEY9563 folds
El Feugo folds
RecessRampage raises to $11.50
Scarface0767 folds
DonKFisH8 calls $8
*** FLOP *** [6h 5h 2s]
RecessRampage bets $21
DonKFisH8 raises to $42
RecessRampage raises to $120, and is all in
DonKFisH8 calls $78
RecessRampage shows [Kh Kc]
DonKFisH8 shows [9c 9d]
*** TURN *** [6h 5h 2s] [9h]
*** RIVER *** [6h 5h 2s 9h] [3s]
RecessRampage shows a pair of Kings
DonKFisH8 shows three of a kind, Nines
DonKFisH8 wins the pot ($261) with three of a kind, Nines
RecessRampage adds $100
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $264 | Rake $3
Board: [6h 5h 2s 9h 3s]
Seat 1: tnrider50 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: PHILIVEY9563 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: El Feugo (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: RecessRampage (small blind) showed [Kh Kc] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 5: Scarface0767 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: DonKFisH8 showed [9c 9d] and won ($261) with three of a kind, Nines
Full Tilt p0ker Game #8132480755: Table Bunn (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:36:02 ET - 2008/09/18
Seat 1: tony park ($322.55)
Seat 2: joshuaashtondzl ($100)
Seat 3: number143 ($100)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($128.15)
Seat 5: osemouzel ($146.20)
Seat 6: KR8MONEY ($96)
number143 posts the small blind of $0.50
RecessRampage posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [As Ah]
osemouzel folds
KR8MONEY folds
tony park folds
joshuaashtondzl raises to $3.50
number143 adds $0.50
number143 folds
RecessRampage raises to $11
joshuaashtondzl raises to $34.50
RecessRampage raises to $128.15, and is all in
joshuaashtondzl calls $65.50, and is all in
RecessRampage shows [As Ah]
joshuaashtondzl shows [Ac Kd]
Uncalled bet of $28.15 returned to RecessRampage
*** FLOP *** [Jd Qc 4d]
*** TURN *** [Jd Qc 4d] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [Jd Qc 4d 5d] [Td]RecessRampage shows a pair of Aces
joshuaashtondzl shows a flush, King high
joshuaashtondzl wins the pot ($197.50) with a flush, King high
RecessRampage adds $71.85
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $200.50 | Rake $3
Board: [Jd Qc 4d 5d Td]
Seat 1: tony park didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: joshuaashtondzl (button) showed [Ac Kd] and won ($197.50) with a flush, King high
Seat 3: number143 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: RecessRampage (big blind) showed [As Ah] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 5: osemouzel didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: KR8MONEY didn't bet (folded)
This against a guy who's RR% is 10...
Full Tilt p0ker Game #8133123110: Table Jerry (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:29:26 ET - 2008/09/19
Seat 1: tylercow ($110.85)
Seat 2: Amped Monkey ($124)
Seat 3: powermihau ($170.20)
Seat 4: The Lion ($102.95)
Seat 5: RecessRampage ($114)
Seat 6: Bear10 ($120.35)
tylercow posts the small blind of $0.50
Amped Monkey posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [As Ks]
powermihau raises to $3.50
The Lion folds
RecessRampage calls $3.50
Bear10 calls $3.50
tylercow has 15 seconds left to act
tylercow raises to $14
Amped Monkey folds
powermihau folds
RecessRampage raises to $50
Bear10 folds
tylercow has 15 seconds left to act
tylercow raises to $110.85, and is all in
RecessRampage calls $60.85
tylercow shows [Kd Kc]
RecessRampage shows [As Ks]
*** FLOP *** [8c 2s Qd]
*** TURN *** [8c 2s Qd] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [8c 2s Qd 3d] [Ts]
tylercow shows a pair of Kings
RecessRampage shows Ace King high
tylercow wins the pot ($226.70) with a pair of Kings
RecessRampage adds $96.85
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $229.70 | Rake $3
Board: [8c 2s Qd 3d Ts]
Seat 1: tylercow (small blind) showed [Kd Kc] and won ($226.70) with a pair of Kings
Seat 2: Amped Monkey (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: powermihau folded before the Flop
Seat 4: The Lion didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: RecessRampage showed [As Ks] and lost with Ace King high
Seat 6: Bear10 (button) folded before the Flop
Full Tilt p0ker Game #8133202577: Table Bunn (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:36:28 ET - 2008/09/19
Seat 1: Dental Donkey ($124.60)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($147.60)
Seat 5: sharkflush ($63)
RecessRampage posts the small blind of $0.50
sharkflush posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Jd Ac]
Dental Donkey folds
RecessRampage raises to $3
sharkflush calls $2
*** FLOP *** [6c Ts 6s]
Dental Donkey is sitting out
RecessRampage checks
sharkflush checks
*** TURN *** [6c Ts 6s] [Js]
RecessRampage bets $6
sharkflush calls $6
*** RIVER *** [6c Ts 6s Js] [Jh]
RecessRampage bets $138.60, and is all in
sharkflush calls $54, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $84.60 returned to RecessRampage
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RecessRampage shows [Jd Ac] a full house, Jacks full of Sixes
sharkflush shows [6h 6d] four of a kind, Sixes
sharkflush wins the pot ($125) with four of a kind, Sixes
RecessRampage adds $15.40
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $126 | Rake $1
Board: [6c Ts 6s Js Jh]
Seat 1: Dental Donkey (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: RecessRampage (small blind) showed [Jd Ac] and lost with a full house, Jacks full of Sixes
Seat 5: sharkflush (big blind) showed [6h 6d] and won ($125) with four of a kind, Sixes
Full Tilt p0ker Game #8133334772: Table Bunn (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:48:40 ET - 2008/09/19
Seat 1: Dental Donkey ($135.75)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($113.15)
Seat 6: walako ($35.90)
walako posts the small blind of $0.50
Dental Donkey posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ah Ad]
RecessRampage raises to $3.50
walako raises to $6
Dental Donkey has 15 seconds left to act
Dental Donkey folds
RecessRampage raises to $113.15, and is all in
walako calls $29.90, and is all in
RecessRampage shows [Ah Ad]
walako shows [9d 8d]
Uncalled bet of $77.25 returned to RecessRampage
*** FLOP *** [Tc 9s 9c]
*** TURN *** [Tc 9s 9c] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [Tc 9s 9c 5d] [6c]
RecessRampage shows two pair, Aces and Nines
walako shows three of a kind, Nines
walako wins the pot ($71.80) with three of a kind, Nines
RecessRampage adds $22.75
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $72.80 | Rake $1
Board: [Tc 9s 9c 5d 6c]
Seat 1: Dental Donkey (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: RecessRampage (button) showed [Ah Ad] and lost with two pair, Aces and Nines
Seat 6: walako (small blind) showed [9d 8d] and won ($71.80) with three of a kind, Nines
Full Tilt p0ker Game #8132310730: Table Reba (deep 6) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:22:58 ET - 2008/09/18
Seat 1: tnrider50 ($209.60)
Seat 2: PHILIVEY9563 ($233.80)
Seat 3: El Feugo ($88.45)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($131.50)
Seat 5: Scarface0767 ($258.15)
Seat 6: DonKFisH8 ($175.15)
RecessRampage posts the small blind of $0.50
Scarface0767 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Kh Kc]
DonKFisH8 raises to $3.50
tnrider50 folds
PHILIVEY9563 folds
El Feugo folds
RecessRampage raises to $11.50
Scarface0767 folds
DonKFisH8 calls $8
*** FLOP *** [6h 5h 2s]
RecessRampage bets $21
DonKFisH8 raises to $42
RecessRampage raises to $120, and is all in
DonKFisH8 calls $78
RecessRampage shows [Kh Kc]
DonKFisH8 shows [9c 9d]
*** TURN *** [6h 5h 2s] [9h]
*** RIVER *** [6h 5h 2s 9h] [3s]
RecessRampage shows a pair of Kings
DonKFisH8 shows three of a kind, Nines
DonKFisH8 wins the pot ($261) with three of a kind, Nines
RecessRampage adds $100
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $264 | Rake $3
Board: [6h 5h 2s 9h 3s]
Seat 1: tnrider50 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: PHILIVEY9563 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: El Feugo (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: RecessRampage (small blind) showed [Kh Kc] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 5: Scarface0767 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: DonKFisH8 showed [9c 9d] and won ($261) with three of a kind, Nines
Full Tilt p0ker Game #8132480755: Table Bunn (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:36:02 ET - 2008/09/18
Seat 1: tony park ($322.55)
Seat 2: joshuaashtondzl ($100)
Seat 3: number143 ($100)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($128.15)
Seat 5: osemouzel ($146.20)
Seat 6: KR8MONEY ($96)
number143 posts the small blind of $0.50
RecessRampage posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [As Ah]
osemouzel folds
KR8MONEY folds
tony park folds
joshuaashtondzl raises to $3.50
number143 adds $0.50
number143 folds
RecessRampage raises to $11
joshuaashtondzl raises to $34.50
RecessRampage raises to $128.15, and is all in
joshuaashtondzl calls $65.50, and is all in
RecessRampage shows [As Ah]
joshuaashtondzl shows [Ac Kd]
Uncalled bet of $28.15 returned to RecessRampage
*** FLOP *** [Jd Qc 4d]
*** TURN *** [Jd Qc 4d] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [Jd Qc 4d 5d] [Td]RecessRampage shows a pair of Aces
joshuaashtondzl shows a flush, King high
joshuaashtondzl wins the pot ($197.50) with a flush, King high
RecessRampage adds $71.85
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $200.50 | Rake $3
Board: [Jd Qc 4d 5d Td]
Seat 1: tony park didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: joshuaashtondzl (button) showed [Ac Kd] and won ($197.50) with a flush, King high
Seat 3: number143 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: RecessRampage (big blind) showed [As Ah] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 5: osemouzel didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: KR8MONEY didn't bet (folded)
This against a guy who's RR% is 10...
Full Tilt p0ker Game #8133123110: Table Jerry (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:29:26 ET - 2008/09/19
Seat 1: tylercow ($110.85)
Seat 2: Amped Monkey ($124)
Seat 3: powermihau ($170.20)
Seat 4: The Lion ($102.95)
Seat 5: RecessRampage ($114)
Seat 6: Bear10 ($120.35)
tylercow posts the small blind of $0.50
Amped Monkey posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [As Ks]
powermihau raises to $3.50
The Lion folds
RecessRampage calls $3.50
Bear10 calls $3.50
tylercow has 15 seconds left to act
tylercow raises to $14
Amped Monkey folds
powermihau folds
RecessRampage raises to $50
Bear10 folds
tylercow has 15 seconds left to act
tylercow raises to $110.85, and is all in
RecessRampage calls $60.85
tylercow shows [Kd Kc]
RecessRampage shows [As Ks]
*** FLOP *** [8c 2s Qd]
*** TURN *** [8c 2s Qd] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [8c 2s Qd 3d] [Ts]
tylercow shows a pair of Kings
RecessRampage shows Ace King high
tylercow wins the pot ($226.70) with a pair of Kings
RecessRampage adds $96.85
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $229.70 | Rake $3
Board: [8c 2s Qd 3d Ts]
Seat 1: tylercow (small blind) showed [Kd Kc] and won ($226.70) with a pair of Kings
Seat 2: Amped Monkey (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: powermihau folded before the Flop
Seat 4: The Lion didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: RecessRampage showed [As Ks] and lost with Ace King high
Seat 6: Bear10 (button) folded before the Flop
Full Tilt p0ker Game #8133202577: Table Bunn (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:36:28 ET - 2008/09/19
Seat 1: Dental Donkey ($124.60)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($147.60)
Seat 5: sharkflush ($63)
RecessRampage posts the small blind of $0.50
sharkflush posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Jd Ac]
Dental Donkey folds
RecessRampage raises to $3
sharkflush calls $2
*** FLOP *** [6c Ts 6s]
Dental Donkey is sitting out
RecessRampage checks
sharkflush checks
*** TURN *** [6c Ts 6s] [Js]
RecessRampage bets $6
sharkflush calls $6
*** RIVER *** [6c Ts 6s Js] [Jh]
RecessRampage bets $138.60, and is all in
sharkflush calls $54, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $84.60 returned to RecessRampage
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RecessRampage shows [Jd Ac] a full house, Jacks full of Sixes
sharkflush shows [6h 6d] four of a kind, Sixes
sharkflush wins the pot ($125) with four of a kind, Sixes
RecessRampage adds $15.40
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $126 | Rake $1
Board: [6c Ts 6s Js Jh]
Seat 1: Dental Donkey (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: RecessRampage (small blind) showed [Jd Ac] and lost with a full house, Jacks full of Sixes
Seat 5: sharkflush (big blind) showed [6h 6d] and won ($125) with four of a kind, Sixes
Full Tilt p0ker Game #8133334772: Table Bunn (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:48:40 ET - 2008/09/19
Seat 1: Dental Donkey ($135.75)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($113.15)
Seat 6: walako ($35.90)
walako posts the small blind of $0.50
Dental Donkey posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ah Ad]
RecessRampage raises to $3.50
walako raises to $6
Dental Donkey has 15 seconds left to act
Dental Donkey folds
RecessRampage raises to $113.15, and is all in
walako calls $29.90, and is all in
RecessRampage shows [Ah Ad]
walako shows [9d 8d]
Uncalled bet of $77.25 returned to RecessRampage
*** FLOP *** [Tc 9s 9c]
*** TURN *** [Tc 9s 9c] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [Tc 9s 9c 5d] [6c]
RecessRampage shows two pair, Aces and Nines
walako shows three of a kind, Nines
walako wins the pot ($71.80) with three of a kind, Nines
RecessRampage adds $22.75
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $72.80 | Rake $1
Board: [Tc 9s 9c 5d 6c]
Seat 1: Dental Donkey (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: RecessRampage (button) showed [Ah Ad] and lost with two pair, Aces and Nines
Seat 6: walako (small blind) showed [9d 8d] and won ($71.80) with three of a kind, Nines
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Playing your opponent's hands
Last night was an interesting night. I was gonna play until I got my daily 200 points but then the fulltilt website was not working so it doesn't show me how many points I have... so, not knowing how many points I had for the day, I just kept playing, just to be on the safe side (in the end, I ended up with 360 points by the time the website was back up). I say interesting because I was on the bad end of a set up quite a few times... but sucked out on almost every single one of them. On my HEM, I believe my $EV was like -$36 but I ended up with +$360. I felt so dirty...
Well, in order to continue with my attempt to watch more vids, I watched a 2-4NL 6 max vid on DeucesCracked by Whitelime... and then I realized why I wasn't making much money there. Watching his play was... jaw dropping to say the least... After watching this vid, I am now convinced... if you are serious about wanting to get better, watching the pros play is a must. I am probably way late on the bandwagon (after all, I never joined CardRunners) but I am now realizing how crazy awesome some of these vids are. It's gonna take time for me to soak in everything that happened on that one hour vid but this hand illustrates the thought process that whitelime has and he uses it to exploit his opponents.
Basically, we all know that we should always be thinking in terms of what the opponent has. And I generally do... the problem is, I don't necessarily think in terms of "if I'm the opponent and I have a range of x, what hands within that range would I be able to do this with?" What do I mean? Let me illustrate:
From the DeucesCracked vid: Lime-Aid Part Deux (episode 1)
6 max 2-4NL deep stack
Whitelime has the villain (who has 200BBs) covered. The villain is a familiar name if any of you play 2-4NL. I'm not saying the villain is really good or anything (though, he is a solid player, I think) but the villain is definitely a regular.
Whitelime to this point was very active. And once again, on the button, he raises with 84s. Villain calls from the SB, BB folds. Heads up pot.
Flop K-J-6 rainbow.
Whitelime cbets and gets checkraised by the SB. At this point, I know that I would instamuck. I mean I was bluffing, I was caught and I am done. But this is why he makes the vids while I watch in awe...
He repops him.
Let me recap this. When the flop comes, the pot is $30. Whitelime bets approx $24 (I think) and gets checkraised to like $90). Keep in mind they both start with $800+. Whitelime, as he discusses his thoughts on the vid, then elects to repop to like $280 or something where basically, the only move that is available for the SB is shove or fold... shove and play a $1600 pot or fold.
And this was his reasoning. On a board like KJ6r, there are only two hands out of the whole range of hands that the villain has where he can shove. 66 or KJ. Why only two? Well, his thought was that KK or JJ would have repopped him preflop. So, with no reraise, the only two hands here that the villain could credibly have is 66 or KJ. The villain again is a fairly solid player so K6 or J6 would not be in his calling range preflop. In a spot like this, whitelime knows that it would be incredibly tough for the villain to 4 bet shove here on the flop and think he has any fold equity so it would be a bad play by him to do it with an OESD. So, basically, the opponent's range is extremely limited on what he can shove with which is why whitelime decided to put him to the test there. Sure enough, the villain folds and whitelime takes down a good sized pot with 84s.
Again, this is where his thought process clearly incorporates playing the opponent's hand. Let's say the opponent has KQ (even though I would think even KQ would have repopped him pre). Or QJ. He checkraises, thinking his top pair is good against a loose button raiser. Except all of a sudden, you're 3 bet on the flop when you already announced that you have at least top pair. That has got to be extremely scary and the question is, are you willing to risk your entire stack with KQ? You have to think that if you call here, if a blank falls, you're gonna be put to the test for your entire stack on the turn. Can you take that pressure? And again, keep in mind, this is 200BBs. Getting stacked with top pair that deep is just very unprofitable in the long run.
Talk about reading the flop texture and the opponent's hands... and this is just one example. Very sick.
Well, in order to continue with my attempt to watch more vids, I watched a 2-4NL 6 max vid on DeucesCracked by Whitelime... and then I realized why I wasn't making much money there. Watching his play was... jaw dropping to say the least... After watching this vid, I am now convinced... if you are serious about wanting to get better, watching the pros play is a must. I am probably way late on the bandwagon (after all, I never joined CardRunners) but I am now realizing how crazy awesome some of these vids are. It's gonna take time for me to soak in everything that happened on that one hour vid but this hand illustrates the thought process that whitelime has and he uses it to exploit his opponents.
Basically, we all know that we should always be thinking in terms of what the opponent has. And I generally do... the problem is, I don't necessarily think in terms of "if I'm the opponent and I have a range of x, what hands within that range would I be able to do this with?" What do I mean? Let me illustrate:
From the DeucesCracked vid: Lime-Aid Part Deux (episode 1)
6 max 2-4NL deep stack
Whitelime has the villain (who has 200BBs) covered. The villain is a familiar name if any of you play 2-4NL. I'm not saying the villain is really good or anything (though, he is a solid player, I think) but the villain is definitely a regular.
Whitelime to this point was very active. And once again, on the button, he raises with 84s. Villain calls from the SB, BB folds. Heads up pot.
Flop K-J-6 rainbow.
Whitelime cbets and gets checkraised by the SB. At this point, I know that I would instamuck. I mean I was bluffing, I was caught and I am done. But this is why he makes the vids while I watch in awe...
He repops him.
Let me recap this. When the flop comes, the pot is $30. Whitelime bets approx $24 (I think) and gets checkraised to like $90). Keep in mind they both start with $800+. Whitelime, as he discusses his thoughts on the vid, then elects to repop to like $280 or something where basically, the only move that is available for the SB is shove or fold... shove and play a $1600 pot or fold.
And this was his reasoning. On a board like KJ6r, there are only two hands out of the whole range of hands that the villain has where he can shove. 66 or KJ. Why only two? Well, his thought was that KK or JJ would have repopped him preflop. So, with no reraise, the only two hands here that the villain could credibly have is 66 or KJ. The villain again is a fairly solid player so K6 or J6 would not be in his calling range preflop. In a spot like this, whitelime knows that it would be incredibly tough for the villain to 4 bet shove here on the flop and think he has any fold equity so it would be a bad play by him to do it with an OESD. So, basically, the opponent's range is extremely limited on what he can shove with which is why whitelime decided to put him to the test there. Sure enough, the villain folds and whitelime takes down a good sized pot with 84s.
Again, this is where his thought process clearly incorporates playing the opponent's hand. Let's say the opponent has KQ (even though I would think even KQ would have repopped him pre). Or QJ. He checkraises, thinking his top pair is good against a loose button raiser. Except all of a sudden, you're 3 bet on the flop when you already announced that you have at least top pair. That has got to be extremely scary and the question is, are you willing to risk your entire stack with KQ? You have to think that if you call here, if a blank falls, you're gonna be put to the test for your entire stack on the turn. Can you take that pressure? And again, keep in mind, this is 200BBs. Getting stacked with top pair that deep is just very unprofitable in the long run.
Talk about reading the flop texture and the opponent's hands... and this is just one example. Very sick.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Is QT > T9?
I'm not gonna lie. The past few months on the poker front has been brutal for me. It's not so much that I'm losing money as it is more that I'm not making money... uh oh, do I sound like the well known "breakeven" player? Hell, he's probably better off... I mean he's got ad revenues and rake back. I got neither. 2-4NL 6 max has been brutal and there would be days I would make a killing... and then there are days I would lose like 5 buy-ins... that's a lot of money... Couple that with the fact that my entire work paycheck is still going straight to savings/stock market (ie, gone) and I'm using my poker fund to pay for my daily expenses, my account balance is a lot lower than where it was last year. In an effort to turn that around, I decided to start watching some videos on DeucesCracked.com and also, I started playing a lot more 1-2NL FR games instead of 6 max games where I just knew that the additional hands I'm playing was not making up for the difference in the edge that I'm giving up. And then I remembered how ridiculously soft 1-2NL FR games are... especially since the aggro level at 2-4NL 6 max is fresh in my memory.
I think it was Don that pointed this out but these days, the blogs are definitely low on strategy posts... well, it may be that it's not... I currently show 600+ in unread posts so I guess there's a good chance that there are some out there that I'm not seeing... I'll catch up to them though... But anyways, I'm hopefully gonna be back to posting some more strategy posts or at least poker thought posts since I've been getting away from them for some time.
So, last night, I watched Late Night Coaching series on DeucesCracked and the first vid I decided to watch was a 5 star rated vid of a 6 max NL game, coached by Chaostracized. Even though there were a few interesting concepts in it, it was very very elementary for me. I did post something to that effect in the forums there and I was pleasantly surprised when Joe Tall (founder of DeucesCracked) responded to my post with another recommendation. So, I decided to give that a shot as well. It was the Late Night Coaching series by DogIsHead. Once again, it was pretty elementary even though this one did a little bit more of a deep dive into some strategies. After I posted another comment in the forums, I did discover that the Late Night Coaching series is catered for more of an amateur + crowd who is still trying to grasp some concepts and the vids try to answer the questions that maybe some people might be afraid to ask. Let me clarify one point. The vids are great. The concepts covered was not as interesting or new to me as I wanted but that's not a knock on the quality of the analysis or the questions addressed so if any of you are playing .50/1.00 NL or lower (6max) and you want to learn to kill it, I think these vids will be a tremendous help.
Nonetheless, I take all vids seriously so one thing I was interested in was a discussion about QTs. There was a hand where a MP taggish player put in a standard 3.5x raise and the hero (the one that is being coached by DogIsHead) called with QTs. Joe Tall who is also part of the vid discussion asked if he would rather be calling here with a hand like T9s instead of QTs and DogIsHead thought about it, talked about it, and basically concluded that QTs is almost always better than T9s in that instance.
This stuck with me because I can't seem to get it out of my head. My thought (as Joe also described) is this... QTs shares so much more in terms of the hands that you are beaten. In other words, if you hit a Q, what do you do? In other words, I feel like a hand like QTs is worse than T9s against a tag because it's more likely to be dominated. Of course, if you hit your Q, then you beat a hand like JJ or TT which are two more hands that would be beating you if you only had T9. But when you hit your Q, do you call a double barrel? Do you raise the flop? If you raise the flop and you get called, what do you do? I just feel like QT puts you in a far worse spot than T9 is... but maybe that's more indicative of my lack of post flop play. I really don't know. In the example, the hero hits the Q but gets stacked off and the initial raiser has AQ. And I feel like you're more likely to run into situations like that with a hand like QT. Anyone disagree? What am I missing?
I'm gonna write this out to see. Let's say a TAG's MP raising range is any pair, AK, AQ, AJ, maybe ATs, KQ, KJ, QJ, JTs. I think that's fairly normal for a normal TAG's MP range in 6 max. Maybe a little too tight? I don't know. But let's say that's the range. If you have QT, if you hit your Q, you are behind AA-QQ, AQ, KQ, QJ. That's a lot of the range. If you hit the ten (either QT or T9), you are behind AA-TT and the maybe ATs. Of course, you are ahead against JTs with QT but not with T9. But besides that, it's easy to get away from. So the fact that it beats out two more pairs in the raising TAG's range is enough to make QT better than T9? I'm not so sure. What are everyone else's thoughts? Are middle connectors easier to play in position rather than the two broadway one-gappers?
I'm gonna have to think through this one some more. I just wanted to get it down on virtual paper.
I think it was Don that pointed this out but these days, the blogs are definitely low on strategy posts... well, it may be that it's not... I currently show 600+ in unread posts so I guess there's a good chance that there are some out there that I'm not seeing... I'll catch up to them though... But anyways, I'm hopefully gonna be back to posting some more strategy posts or at least poker thought posts since I've been getting away from them for some time.
So, last night, I watched Late Night Coaching series on DeucesCracked and the first vid I decided to watch was a 5 star rated vid of a 6 max NL game, coached by Chaostracized. Even though there were a few interesting concepts in it, it was very very elementary for me. I did post something to that effect in the forums there and I was pleasantly surprised when Joe Tall (founder of DeucesCracked) responded to my post with another recommendation. So, I decided to give that a shot as well. It was the Late Night Coaching series by DogIsHead. Once again, it was pretty elementary even though this one did a little bit more of a deep dive into some strategies. After I posted another comment in the forums, I did discover that the Late Night Coaching series is catered for more of an amateur + crowd who is still trying to grasp some concepts and the vids try to answer the questions that maybe some people might be afraid to ask. Let me clarify one point. The vids are great. The concepts covered was not as interesting or new to me as I wanted but that's not a knock on the quality of the analysis or the questions addressed so if any of you are playing .50/1.00 NL or lower (6max) and you want to learn to kill it, I think these vids will be a tremendous help.
Nonetheless, I take all vids seriously so one thing I was interested in was a discussion about QTs. There was a hand where a MP taggish player put in a standard 3.5x raise and the hero (the one that is being coached by DogIsHead) called with QTs. Joe Tall who is also part of the vid discussion asked if he would rather be calling here with a hand like T9s instead of QTs and DogIsHead thought about it, talked about it, and basically concluded that QTs is almost always better than T9s in that instance.
This stuck with me because I can't seem to get it out of my head. My thought (as Joe also described) is this... QTs shares so much more in terms of the hands that you are beaten. In other words, if you hit a Q, what do you do? In other words, I feel like a hand like QTs is worse than T9s against a tag because it's more likely to be dominated. Of course, if you hit your Q, then you beat a hand like JJ or TT which are two more hands that would be beating you if you only had T9. But when you hit your Q, do you call a double barrel? Do you raise the flop? If you raise the flop and you get called, what do you do? I just feel like QT puts you in a far worse spot than T9 is... but maybe that's more indicative of my lack of post flop play. I really don't know. In the example, the hero hits the Q but gets stacked off and the initial raiser has AQ. And I feel like you're more likely to run into situations like that with a hand like QT. Anyone disagree? What am I missing?
I'm gonna write this out to see. Let's say a TAG's MP raising range is any pair, AK, AQ, AJ, maybe ATs, KQ, KJ, QJ, JTs. I think that's fairly normal for a normal TAG's MP range in 6 max. Maybe a little too tight? I don't know. But let's say that's the range. If you have QT, if you hit your Q, you are behind AA-QQ, AQ, KQ, QJ. That's a lot of the range. If you hit the ten (either QT or T9), you are behind AA-TT and the maybe ATs. Of course, you are ahead against JTs with QT but not with T9. But besides that, it's easy to get away from. So the fact that it beats out two more pairs in the raising TAG's range is enough to make QT better than T9? I'm not so sure. What are everyone else's thoughts? Are middle connectors easier to play in position rather than the two broadway one-gappers?
I'm gonna have to think through this one some more. I just wanted to get it down on virtual paper.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
To cbet or not to cbet
If you're the preflop raiser, I am assuming that your initial inclination would be to cbet. If it's not, it definitely should be. However, the question is, how often? The answer is somewhere between all the time to once in a while. The problem with cbetting too often is that these days, a lot of players are starting to play back or float the cbets because so many players do it too often. So, cbetting requires further understanding of the texture of the flop. For example, if you raise preflop with 77 from MP and there are two callers behind you, it's probably not a good idea to bet when the flop comes A-Q-9. Maybe it is, depending on the opponent but given no other information, betting on that flop in this situation I think is a leak because more often than not, the board is likely to have hit one of your opponents.
One school of thought is that if you don't bet, how do you find out where you stand? This is the frequently mentioned "betting for information." And in general, betting for information is a leak. A fellow blogger mentioned that betting for information is worthless because the information obtained is never worth the price you pay to find out. I agree with this statement more and more. Having said that, I'm not advocating that you cbet only when you hit your hand. The idea is you have to understand the texture of the flop and the likelihood of your opponent hitting the board in order to make it profitable. So in other words, in the above example, if I raised with 77 and the board came A-Q-7, I would cbet 100% of the time. If someone is calling a raise, it's very likely that they hit the piece of the board. So, it's very profitable to play it that way. Again, if your thought is that if the opponent is paying attention, they might fold their ace. Perhaps, but keep in mind, you're not just betting when you hit. You're just being a little more selective on when to cbet and when not to.
Another example of when it would be more profitable not to cbet is if you have a big pocket pair but a higher card shows up. You know, your typical raise with KK from the CO, one of the blinds call and the flop comes out A high rainbow. I mean that happens like 80% of the time right? It sure seems like it doesn't it? I know that in the past, if it got checked to me, I would cbet. Sometimes I would take it down, sometimes I wouldn't. The thing is, this is a big leak. Why? Because you're turning your big hand into a big bluff. If you have position, there's no problem checking behind. At that point, you're not trying to hit the K. You're actually enticing the opponent to bet into you. In other words if you cbet on that board with your hand, you don't stand to make a lot of money. You're betting for information and that is it. If you check, then on the later streets, it becomes more likely that the opponent will try to steal this pot away from you. In other words, you go from only winning a small pot when you have the better hand to possibly increasing the pot because the opponent's range will include more hands rather than just the A. Plus, by not cbetting the flop, you keep the pot small so you're saving yourself money on the flop to call the bets on the later streets.
Here are some HHs that I thought I could use to illustrate my thought process on cbetting.
Hand 1: 1-2NL Full ring - both players involved have a full buy-in
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [6h 6s]
4 folds
RecessRampage raises to $7 from MP
3 folds
BB calls $5
*** FLOP *** [Ts 8d Ad]
BB checks
RecessRampage bets $10
BB raises to $34
RecessRampage folds
Uncalled bet of $24 returned to BB
BB wins the pot ($33.25)
Even though this contradicts what I said earlier about having a middle pocket pair and not betting out, this is a little different. I have position and since it was checked to me, I felt that the bet here is a must. With 66, you can only win if you bet here. The board is too draw heavy that I felt I will bet out once and try to take it down. Once I get checkraised, I'm obviously done with the hand.
Hand 2: 1-2NL 6 max
both players involved have full stacks
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ac Jc]
4 folds
RecessRampage raises to $6 from the SB
BB calls $4
*** FLOP *** [4d Td 4s]
RecessRampage checks
BB checks
*** TURN *** [4d Td 4s] [Ts]
RecessRampage checks
BB bets $4
RecessRampage calls $4
*** RIVER *** [4d Td 4s Ts] [6d]
RecessRampage checks
BB checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BB shows [Js Qd] two pair, Tens and Fours
RecessRampage shows [Ac Jc] two pair, Tens and Fours
RecessRampage wins the pot ($19) with two pair, Tens and Fours
This was an instance where in a blind v blind battle, I like my hand. And, even after the flop, I like my hand. Ace high is a decent hand in a xxy flop so here, I figured I would let the opponent take control of the pot. Of course, I only got one bluff out of him but again, if I cbet here, if the opponent is good, he could raise, knowing that it's very unlikely that I hit the ten and steal the pot away. Or, he can fold and either one would be ok for the opponent since they both could be argued that it's the right play. So, instead, I tried to give him the rope so he can hang himself. Of course, there are times the opponent shows up with a ten here but you can't fear the less likely instances IMO.
Hand 3: 5-10NL Full ring
RecessRampage ($1,230)
Villain ($505.70)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [6s 6h]
4 folds
Villain calls $10
RecessRampage raises to $45
3 folds
Villain calls $35
*** FLOP *** [3d Tc 9h]
Villain checks
RecessRampage bets $80
Villain raises to $345
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage folds
Uncalled bet of $265 returned to Villain
Villain wins the pot ($262)
This is an instance where I hate my cbet. Since I have position, I am now thinking that maybe I should have just peeled another card to see if a card that would benefit me more would show up. In other words, I want to see an A high flop whenever there is a limper ahead of me and I raise preflop. It's easier to rep the A. On a board like this with a bunch of middle cards, it's more likely to hit my opponent who limped then called my raise.
Hand 4: 5-10NL Full Ring
RecessRampage ($1,231)
Villain 1 ($1,000)
Villain 2 ($1,078)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ac Qd]
RecessRampage raises to $35 from UTG
2 folds
Villain 1 calls $35
1 fold
Villain 2 calls $30 from SB
BB folds
*** FLOP *** [4h Qs Qc]
Villain 2 checks
RecessRampage bets $70
Villain 1 folds
Villain 2 has 15 seconds left to act
Villain 2 raises to $210
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME
RecessRampage raises to $520
Villain 2 has 15 seconds left to act
Villain 2 has requested TIME
Villain 2 raises to $1,043, and is all in
RecessRampage calls $523
Villain 2 shows [4d 4s]
RecessRampage shows [Ac Qd]
*** TURN *** [4h Qs Qc] [5s]
*** RIVER *** [4h Qs Qc 5s] [8c]
Villain 2 shows a full house, Fours full of Queens
RecessRampage shows three of a kind, Queens
Villain 2 wins the pot ($2,198) with a full house, Fours full of Queens
I'm not gonna lie... that one hurt. The reason I cbet on this flop is because with two players, I felt that one or both of them could have a pocket pair. On a xxy board, at this level, I thought a middle pocket pair might fight me for this pot so I went ahead and put in what looks like a normal cbet. The big blind almost on cue checkraises me. So I thought about my options here to determine what the best way to make money is. I can call and see if he fires out another bet or I can put in another raise here to see if the BB would overplay his pocket pair. And you know that saying (I don't know the exact quote) where on a xxy board, the 3rd bet is almost never a monster? Well, I figured I'll play along with that quote and put in a 3rd bet on the flop. Of course, after that, when he shoved, I did not like it because I felt that he might have 44. However, folding there would obviously be a mistake since he can easily have KQ or something like that and 44 would be the ONLY hand that beats me. Sure enough, that's what he has and I lose a big pot. But I like the cbet here because it balances out my range in terms of when I cbet, I can be doing it with a complete whiff or I will still cbet with a monster. It would be hard for my opponents to narrow down my range when I cbet.
This post got a lot longer than I intended... I have some more hands but I think this post is long enough so I'll stop here for now. Good luck at the tables!
One school of thought is that if you don't bet, how do you find out where you stand? This is the frequently mentioned "betting for information." And in general, betting for information is a leak. A fellow blogger mentioned that betting for information is worthless because the information obtained is never worth the price you pay to find out. I agree with this statement more and more. Having said that, I'm not advocating that you cbet only when you hit your hand. The idea is you have to understand the texture of the flop and the likelihood of your opponent hitting the board in order to make it profitable. So in other words, in the above example, if I raised with 77 and the board came A-Q-7, I would cbet 100% of the time. If someone is calling a raise, it's very likely that they hit the piece of the board. So, it's very profitable to play it that way. Again, if your thought is that if the opponent is paying attention, they might fold their ace. Perhaps, but keep in mind, you're not just betting when you hit. You're just being a little more selective on when to cbet and when not to.
Another example of when it would be more profitable not to cbet is if you have a big pocket pair but a higher card shows up. You know, your typical raise with KK from the CO, one of the blinds call and the flop comes out A high rainbow. I mean that happens like 80% of the time right? It sure seems like it doesn't it? I know that in the past, if it got checked to me, I would cbet. Sometimes I would take it down, sometimes I wouldn't. The thing is, this is a big leak. Why? Because you're turning your big hand into a big bluff. If you have position, there's no problem checking behind. At that point, you're not trying to hit the K. You're actually enticing the opponent to bet into you. In other words if you cbet on that board with your hand, you don't stand to make a lot of money. You're betting for information and that is it. If you check, then on the later streets, it becomes more likely that the opponent will try to steal this pot away from you. In other words, you go from only winning a small pot when you have the better hand to possibly increasing the pot because the opponent's range will include more hands rather than just the A. Plus, by not cbetting the flop, you keep the pot small so you're saving yourself money on the flop to call the bets on the later streets.
Here are some HHs that I thought I could use to illustrate my thought process on cbetting.
Hand 1: 1-2NL Full ring - both players involved have a full buy-in
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [6h 6s]
4 folds
RecessRampage raises to $7 from MP
3 folds
BB calls $5
*** FLOP *** [Ts 8d Ad]
BB checks
RecessRampage bets $10
BB raises to $34
RecessRampage folds
Uncalled bet of $24 returned to BB
BB wins the pot ($33.25)
Even though this contradicts what I said earlier about having a middle pocket pair and not betting out, this is a little different. I have position and since it was checked to me, I felt that the bet here is a must. With 66, you can only win if you bet here. The board is too draw heavy that I felt I will bet out once and try to take it down. Once I get checkraised, I'm obviously done with the hand.
Hand 2: 1-2NL 6 max
both players involved have full stacks
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ac Jc]
4 folds
RecessRampage raises to $6 from the SB
BB calls $4
*** FLOP *** [4d Td 4s]
RecessRampage checks
BB checks
*** TURN *** [4d Td 4s] [Ts]
RecessRampage checks
BB bets $4
RecessRampage calls $4
*** RIVER *** [4d Td 4s Ts] [6d]
RecessRampage checks
BB checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BB shows [Js Qd] two pair, Tens and Fours
RecessRampage shows [Ac Jc] two pair, Tens and Fours
RecessRampage wins the pot ($19) with two pair, Tens and Fours
This was an instance where in a blind v blind battle, I like my hand. And, even after the flop, I like my hand. Ace high is a decent hand in a xxy flop so here, I figured I would let the opponent take control of the pot. Of course, I only got one bluff out of him but again, if I cbet here, if the opponent is good, he could raise, knowing that it's very unlikely that I hit the ten and steal the pot away. Or, he can fold and either one would be ok for the opponent since they both could be argued that it's the right play. So, instead, I tried to give him the rope so he can hang himself. Of course, there are times the opponent shows up with a ten here but you can't fear the less likely instances IMO.
Hand 3: 5-10NL Full ring
RecessRampage ($1,230)
Villain ($505.70)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [6s 6h]
4 folds
Villain calls $10
RecessRampage raises to $45
3 folds
Villain calls $35
*** FLOP *** [3d Tc 9h]
Villain checks
RecessRampage bets $80
Villain raises to $345
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage folds
Uncalled bet of $265 returned to Villain
Villain wins the pot ($262)
This is an instance where I hate my cbet. Since I have position, I am now thinking that maybe I should have just peeled another card to see if a card that would benefit me more would show up. In other words, I want to see an A high flop whenever there is a limper ahead of me and I raise preflop. It's easier to rep the A. On a board like this with a bunch of middle cards, it's more likely to hit my opponent who limped then called my raise.
Hand 4: 5-10NL Full Ring
RecessRampage ($1,231)
Villain 1 ($1,000)
Villain 2 ($1,078)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ac Qd]
RecessRampage raises to $35 from UTG
2 folds
Villain 1 calls $35
1 fold
Villain 2 calls $30 from SB
BB folds
*** FLOP *** [4h Qs Qc]
Villain 2 checks
RecessRampage bets $70
Villain 1 folds
Villain 2 has 15 seconds left to act
Villain 2 raises to $210
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME
RecessRampage raises to $520
Villain 2 has 15 seconds left to act
Villain 2 has requested TIME
Villain 2 raises to $1,043, and is all in
RecessRampage calls $523
Villain 2 shows [4d 4s]
RecessRampage shows [Ac Qd]
*** TURN *** [4h Qs Qc] [5s]
*** RIVER *** [4h Qs Qc 5s] [8c]
Villain 2 shows a full house, Fours full of Queens
RecessRampage shows three of a kind, Queens
Villain 2 wins the pot ($2,198) with a full house, Fours full of Queens
I'm not gonna lie... that one hurt. The reason I cbet on this flop is because with two players, I felt that one or both of them could have a pocket pair. On a xxy board, at this level, I thought a middle pocket pair might fight me for this pot so I went ahead and put in what looks like a normal cbet. The big blind almost on cue checkraises me. So I thought about my options here to determine what the best way to make money is. I can call and see if he fires out another bet or I can put in another raise here to see if the BB would overplay his pocket pair. And you know that saying (I don't know the exact quote) where on a xxy board, the 3rd bet is almost never a monster? Well, I figured I'll play along with that quote and put in a 3rd bet on the flop. Of course, after that, when he shoved, I did not like it because I felt that he might have 44. However, folding there would obviously be a mistake since he can easily have KQ or something like that and 44 would be the ONLY hand that beats me. Sure enough, that's what he has and I lose a big pot. But I like the cbet here because it balances out my range in terms of when I cbet, I can be doing it with a complete whiff or I will still cbet with a monster. It would be hard for my opponents to narrow down my range when I cbet.
This post got a lot longer than I intended... I have some more hands but I think this post is long enough so I'll stop here for now. Good luck at the tables!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Checking the turn and calling the river with an overpair
I am in training all week so I don't have any internet access (well, I do but very limited opportunity to be online) and as such, I won't be able to post much... though admittedly, recently, I haven't really been posting much. I've been pretty busy during the day at work and that was usually when I used to blog so hence the decline... It is great that the football season is back... and I mean, how bout them ECU Pirates!? Funny thing is, on Saturday, when I woke up around 11:30am, I thought about actually driving down to Greenville... but then again, I thought, with the hurricane and stuff, I won't bother... too bad cuz I coulda seen them punk WVU live. Pat Who!? I love it. I mean the mountaineers were pwned. And now, ECU is ranked #14. First time that they're in the top 25 since the David Garrard era. That win against WVU was almost as big as the win against Miami back in 1999... I will say the only difference is that in 1999, the game was actually held at NC State because Hurricane Floyd (or Fran... I can't remember) flooded the campus. To say that that was a memorable win is an understatement... anyways... I feel like I need to post some poker related stuff... after all, this is supposed to be a poker blog... I just haven't had a chance to really sit down and think about what to post and such.
So, following is a situation which I thought might illustrate situations where it's probably a good idea not to go too crazy with an overpair.
1-2NL Full Ring
Relevant stacks:
Seat 3: RecessRampage ($245.05)
Seat 8: UTG ($166.80)
Seat 9: UTG+1 ($220.05)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Qh Qd]
UTG calls $2
UTG+1 calls $2
2 folds
RecessRampage raises to $11 from MP
4 folds
UTG calls $9
UTG+1 calls $9
*** FLOP *** [5s Jd 8h]
UTG checks
UTG+1 checks
RecessRampage bets $25
UTG has 15 seconds left to act
UTG calls $25
UTG+1 folds
So here, pretty standard. I have an overpair, the flop is jack high so I cbet. I get one caller from the UTG who limp called the raise preflop. At this point, I'm putting him on a hand like middle pair, maybe a J, possibly a straight draw and maybe a set.
*** TURN *** [5s Jd 8h] [Kh]
UTG checks
RecessRampage checks
When the K came, I actually wasn't too worried about him hitting a king. I mean there's really only one hand that he could have here that would make sense for him to have a K and that is KJ. Admittedly, above, I mentioned that he could have a straight draw but during the hand, I think I actually felt that he was more likely to have a pocket pair than he would have a straight draw like T9 or 67. I don't really know why, it was kind of a feeling that I had where I felt that this player was more likely to limp/call a raise pre with a pocket pair rather than a connector. Based on that read, I decided that checking here would be ok. With the K hitting, if I bet, I felt that all worse hands would fold (except maybe JT or something, which is only a part of his hand range which includes any pocket pair) and I could be put in an awkward spot if I get checkraised. So, I decided to check behind.
*** RIVER *** [5s Jd 8h Kh] [7d]
UTG has 15 seconds left to act
UTG bets $50
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage calls $50
On the river, I'm not gonna lie. I actually hated that card since it hits another pocket pair that I thought he could have. It also completes a straight draw even though I felt that that was less likely. I really felt that on the flop, it was likely that he either had a set or a middle pair. 7 is right around the spot that would hit also though, if he did float me on the flop with middle pair and the fact that he's betting out the river indicates that he has a hand. The thing is, in this instance, the way I played it, I would have to pretty much call every single time because my hand is so underrepresented. However, this board is actually getting crappier and crappier for my hand so maybe there's a case to be made for folding. But based on the way I played this, there's no way for my opponent to think that I would have an overpair. So, considering that, I made the call. The more and more I think about this hand, I'm just not sure if in the long run I'm losing value here or on the turn.
In this hand though, it turns out I saved some money... of course, that's just results oriented thinking...
*** SHOW DOWN ***
UTG shows [Jc Jh] three of a kind, Jacks
RecessRampage mucks
UTG wins the pot ($183) with three of a kind, Jacks
RecessRampage adds $40.95
Of course, jacks was not a hand that I thought he could have. How he doesn't raise with jacks from UTG is beyond me but, to each their own.
Would you have played it differently? (I'm assuming a lot of you would) Any feedback would be appreciated. Have a nice week. It's very unlikely that I will post anything until the weekend.
So, following is a situation which I thought might illustrate situations where it's probably a good idea not to go too crazy with an overpair.
1-2NL Full Ring
Relevant stacks:
Seat 3: RecessRampage ($245.05)
Seat 8: UTG ($166.80)
Seat 9: UTG+1 ($220.05)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Qh Qd]
UTG calls $2
UTG+1 calls $2
2 folds
RecessRampage raises to $11 from MP
4 folds
UTG calls $9
UTG+1 calls $9
*** FLOP *** [5s Jd 8h]
UTG checks
UTG+1 checks
RecessRampage bets $25
UTG has 15 seconds left to act
UTG calls $25
UTG+1 folds
So here, pretty standard. I have an overpair, the flop is jack high so I cbet. I get one caller from the UTG who limp called the raise preflop. At this point, I'm putting him on a hand like middle pair, maybe a J, possibly a straight draw and maybe a set.
*** TURN *** [5s Jd 8h] [Kh]
UTG checks
RecessRampage checks
When the K came, I actually wasn't too worried about him hitting a king. I mean there's really only one hand that he could have here that would make sense for him to have a K and that is KJ. Admittedly, above, I mentioned that he could have a straight draw but during the hand, I think I actually felt that he was more likely to have a pocket pair than he would have a straight draw like T9 or 67. I don't really know why, it was kind of a feeling that I had where I felt that this player was more likely to limp/call a raise pre with a pocket pair rather than a connector. Based on that read, I decided that checking here would be ok. With the K hitting, if I bet, I felt that all worse hands would fold (except maybe JT or something, which is only a part of his hand range which includes any pocket pair) and I could be put in an awkward spot if I get checkraised. So, I decided to check behind.
*** RIVER *** [5s Jd 8h Kh] [7d]
UTG has 15 seconds left to act
UTG bets $50
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage calls $50
On the river, I'm not gonna lie. I actually hated that card since it hits another pocket pair that I thought he could have. It also completes a straight draw even though I felt that that was less likely. I really felt that on the flop, it was likely that he either had a set or a middle pair. 7 is right around the spot that would hit also though, if he did float me on the flop with middle pair and the fact that he's betting out the river indicates that he has a hand. The thing is, in this instance, the way I played it, I would have to pretty much call every single time because my hand is so underrepresented. However, this board is actually getting crappier and crappier for my hand so maybe there's a case to be made for folding. But based on the way I played this, there's no way for my opponent to think that I would have an overpair. So, considering that, I made the call. The more and more I think about this hand, I'm just not sure if in the long run I'm losing value here or on the turn.
In this hand though, it turns out I saved some money... of course, that's just results oriented thinking...
*** SHOW DOWN ***
UTG shows [Jc Jh] three of a kind, Jacks
RecessRampage mucks
UTG wins the pot ($183) with three of a kind, Jacks
RecessRampage adds $40.95
Of course, jacks was not a hand that I thought he could have. How he doesn't raise with jacks from UTG is beyond me but, to each their own.
Would you have played it differently? (I'm assuming a lot of you would) Any feedback would be appreciated. Have a nice week. It's very unlikely that I will post anything until the weekend.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Slingblade is my hero...
minus the whole "into cartoons and figurines" part...
What am I talking about?
If you fall into any one of the following categories, you must read the book called "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell":
a) you have gotten drunk in the past and considered it a good time
b) you have gotten drunk in the past and you don't remember shit
c) you have gotten drunk in the past and you regretted your decision to drink so much the next morning, only to repeat that same process the following night
d) you woke up glad that you are still alive after a night of drunken out-of-controlness
e) you don't have time to read because you're too busy doing another shot of soco
Ok, I'll be honest. I have not read the whole book yet. But oh my god... so far, I am laughing my ass off as I'm reading this book. To say that I can relate is an understatement. If you go to amazon, you can read most of the first chapter "The famous sushi pants story" as he recounts his night where he gets progressively drunk. The part where his description of the two chicks from Long Island changes from "two 30+ year old Jewish women with fake breasts... she is highly not attractive" to "hot girl #2" after few more orders of double vodka is just hilarious. Seriously, go read on Amazon to get a taste of it. I can't do it justice. Again, only if you fall under the above categories... if not, you probably just won't get it.
So far, my favorite quote is "it only takes me one drink to get me wasted. The problem is, I don't know if it's the 13th or the 14th drink."
Cheers to that.
Anyways, he introduces one of his friends in this book as "Slingblade." This guy is like one of those guys who is very highly intellectual (not in a geeky way) but socially challenged... where he basically refuses to accept the social norm and kinda protects himself from being hurt by being extremely unapproachable to women. The author recounts numerous occasions where Slingblade plays wingman except after a few minutes, he gets bored with the girl he's talking to and so he basically becomes very condescending and sarcastic. Since these are tales from college days or a year or two after college, they are typically hitting on younger girls who also happen to be not so bright. Apparently, he became this way after this girl he was totally in love with cheated on him and ever since then, he was incapable of having a meaningful relationship with a woman. The author describes Slingblade's attitude towards women like this:
You know that saying, "Any club that would let me be a member, I wouldn't want to join?" Slingblade assumed that any girl that he liked enough to want to fuck, wouldn't want to fuck him. But any girl who did want to fuck him without first knowing him and respecting him, he automatically thought was a whore... and he refused to sleep with a girl he regarded as a whore. This absurd Catch-22 pretty much guaranteed that Slingblade got no ass. Add in his low tolerance for stupidity and his utter disdain for whorish female behavior, combine it with the fact that many of the girls I hit on fit right into the dumb or slutty categories that he hated and you have a recipe for hilarity.
Seriously, I can totally relate to that statement. I was always a guy that would do "everything but..." For a guy who loves to drink and party and flirt with women, I was never one to sleep around... of course, one can argue that I don't have as many opportunities... couple that with the fact that I get so drunk I can't even see straight might also have something to do with that... but even when I would get a girl in bed, we would pretty much do everything but... I remember showing a text message from this girl... her direct quote on my text was "wish u hadn't left. waking up together wouldn't have been bad..." Of course, my buddy asked what I did after I got that text. I told him I just ignored it, kept driving home and slept in my own bed. He mentioned that if I need someone to close the deal for me, I could call him. And he would. He's definitely a closer. I, on the other hand, pretty much never talked to her after that. Believe me, that wasn't really what got me turned off... I don't know, maybe I'm more interested in the chase. The moment I know that the girl wants me, I become totally uninterested... it's the girls that blow me off that totally turns me on... god, I am sick...
There was another girl that I met in a diner. She was older... like mid 30s maybe? She wanted me. After a couple of dates and a few makeout sessions, I pretty much ended it. It just wasn't doing it for me. She sent me numerous texts asking me why I no longer wanted to see her. I gave her this bullshit story about how I'm moving so I didn't want to get into a relationship... at which point, she responds that she doesn't care and that she wanted to continue seeing me. I believe my text message to her was "I'm sorry." Then one day, out of the blue, I get a drunk text from her. Funny thing is, I had no idea who it was because I deleted her from my contacts list. Eventually, after a few texts back and forth, I figured it out... well, I asked... However, I found out that she is now seeing someone... and all of a sudden, my interest in her was revived... at least only when I'm drunk. Realizing how bad that was, I deleted her from my contacts... again...
Funny thing is, the girl is pretty hot... she's just not quite my type I guess. I don't know why but I need to be intellectually stimulated or else I'm just not sexually attracted... Which is probably why I can relate to Slingblade... Who knew that there were other sickos like me out there. Maybe there's hope for a guy like me...
and for the record, for those of you that read the book, I do not sleep in Batman sheets or wear Superman t-shirts...
Wow, this is surprisingly personal... seriously, I'm an open book...
Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day weekend!!!!
What am I talking about?
If you fall into any one of the following categories, you must read the book called "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell":
a) you have gotten drunk in the past and considered it a good time
b) you have gotten drunk in the past and you don't remember shit
c) you have gotten drunk in the past and you regretted your decision to drink so much the next morning, only to repeat that same process the following night
d) you woke up glad that you are still alive after a night of drunken out-of-controlness
e) you don't have time to read because you're too busy doing another shot of soco
Ok, I'll be honest. I have not read the whole book yet. But oh my god... so far, I am laughing my ass off as I'm reading this book. To say that I can relate is an understatement. If you go to amazon, you can read most of the first chapter "The famous sushi pants story" as he recounts his night where he gets progressively drunk. The part where his description of the two chicks from Long Island changes from "two 30+ year old Jewish women with fake breasts... she is highly not attractive" to "hot girl #2" after few more orders of double vodka is just hilarious. Seriously, go read on Amazon to get a taste of it. I can't do it justice. Again, only if you fall under the above categories... if not, you probably just won't get it.
So far, my favorite quote is "it only takes me one drink to get me wasted. The problem is, I don't know if it's the 13th or the 14th drink."
Cheers to that.
Anyways, he introduces one of his friends in this book as "Slingblade." This guy is like one of those guys who is very highly intellectual (not in a geeky way) but socially challenged... where he basically refuses to accept the social norm and kinda protects himself from being hurt by being extremely unapproachable to women. The author recounts numerous occasions where Slingblade plays wingman except after a few minutes, he gets bored with the girl he's talking to and so he basically becomes very condescending and sarcastic. Since these are tales from college days or a year or two after college, they are typically hitting on younger girls who also happen to be not so bright. Apparently, he became this way after this girl he was totally in love with cheated on him and ever since then, he was incapable of having a meaningful relationship with a woman. The author describes Slingblade's attitude towards women like this:
You know that saying, "Any club that would let me be a member, I wouldn't want to join?" Slingblade assumed that any girl that he liked enough to want to fuck, wouldn't want to fuck him. But any girl who did want to fuck him without first knowing him and respecting him, he automatically thought was a whore... and he refused to sleep with a girl he regarded as a whore. This absurd Catch-22 pretty much guaranteed that Slingblade got no ass. Add in his low tolerance for stupidity and his utter disdain for whorish female behavior, combine it with the fact that many of the girls I hit on fit right into the dumb or slutty categories that he hated and you have a recipe for hilarity.
Seriously, I can totally relate to that statement. I was always a guy that would do "everything but..." For a guy who loves to drink and party and flirt with women, I was never one to sleep around... of course, one can argue that I don't have as many opportunities... couple that with the fact that I get so drunk I can't even see straight might also have something to do with that... but even when I would get a girl in bed, we would pretty much do everything but... I remember showing a text message from this girl... her direct quote on my text was "wish u hadn't left. waking up together wouldn't have been bad..." Of course, my buddy asked what I did after I got that text. I told him I just ignored it, kept driving home and slept in my own bed. He mentioned that if I need someone to close the deal for me, I could call him. And he would. He's definitely a closer. I, on the other hand, pretty much never talked to her after that. Believe me, that wasn't really what got me turned off... I don't know, maybe I'm more interested in the chase. The moment I know that the girl wants me, I become totally uninterested... it's the girls that blow me off that totally turns me on... god, I am sick...
There was another girl that I met in a diner. She was older... like mid 30s maybe? She wanted me. After a couple of dates and a few makeout sessions, I pretty much ended it. It just wasn't doing it for me. She sent me numerous texts asking me why I no longer wanted to see her. I gave her this bullshit story about how I'm moving so I didn't want to get into a relationship... at which point, she responds that she doesn't care and that she wanted to continue seeing me. I believe my text message to her was "I'm sorry." Then one day, out of the blue, I get a drunk text from her. Funny thing is, I had no idea who it was because I deleted her from my contacts list. Eventually, after a few texts back and forth, I figured it out... well, I asked... However, I found out that she is now seeing someone... and all of a sudden, my interest in her was revived... at least only when I'm drunk. Realizing how bad that was, I deleted her from my contacts... again...
Funny thing is, the girl is pretty hot... she's just not quite my type I guess. I don't know why but I need to be intellectually stimulated or else I'm just not sexually attracted... Which is probably why I can relate to Slingblade... Who knew that there were other sickos like me out there. Maybe there's hope for a guy like me...
and for the record, for those of you that read the book, I do not sleep in Batman sheets or wear Superman t-shirts...
Wow, this is surprisingly personal... seriously, I'm an open book...
Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day weekend!!!!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Revisiting tricky spots
So I presented a few tricky spots yesterday where I wasn't sure what the best line was. On Hand 1, a lot of you indicated folding or check calling... in looking back, I do agree that that was probably best, mainly because there aren't any hands that would realistically call me with hands that are worse than mine. But... being the 6 max aggro monkey that I am, I ended up jamming in Hand 1.
Full Ring - 2-4NL, relevant stacks
Villain ($486.90)
Hero ($433)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Ah Kh]
2 folds
Hero raises to $14
1 fold
Villain calls $14 from CO
Button and both blinds fold
*** FLOP *** [Kc 5c 5d]
Hero bets $24
Villain calls $24
*** TURN *** [Kc 5c 5d] [Th]
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero bets $65
Villain raises to $130
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero has requested TIME
Hero ???
I jammed here, got instacalled by KK. That was one hand I DID NOT expect to see. Again, I think most of you had it right. Folding or even check calling would have saved me money.
Hand #2
Another full ring table 2-4NL (7 players in hand)
Relevant stacks:
Villain ($253.40) <--- BB
Hero ($416)
One additional info is that villain calls A LOT of hands preflop. I don't have the stats with me but his VP$IP was like 35-40%.
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Jc Tc]
Hero raises to $14
5 folds
Villain calls $10
*** FLOP *** [7s Qs Jh]
Villain checks
Hero bets $22
Villain calls $22
*** TURN *** [7s Qs Jh] [Qd]
Villain has 15 seconds left to act
Villain bets $44
Hero calls $44
*** RIVER *** [7s Qs Jh Qd] [Kc]
Villain bets $162
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero has requested TIME
Hero ???
I ended up making a hero call here. I didn't like my hand enough to make a raise on the turn so I called to keep the pot small. On the river, I felt that he either had T9 that got there or it's a missed flush draw and I have seen him take stabs like that... I mean you kinda have to if you're a loose player... He flips over Q9 and I lose another pot. I was shocked to see a Q in his hand.
See, but then hands like this happen where I kinda hate the spot I'm in and yet I make a call based on the fact that the sequence doesn't make sense and I turn out to be right...
6 max - 2-4NL
Seat 1: tturquoise ($923.10)
Seat 2: SkeetOnQQ ($533)
Seat 3: RecessRampage ($402) <--- SB
Seat 4: Mano Nera ($1,167.95) <--- BB
Seat 5: TooCool4Skool ($613)
Seat 6: slypigdave ($790.50)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Qh Jc]
3 folds
SkeetOnQQ raises to $12 <--- button
RecessRampage raises to $40 <--- SB
Mano Nera calls $36 <--- uh oh
SkeetOnQQ calls $28 <--- adlfkjadklfjljsdfjakljd
*** FLOP *** [6s 5h Jd]
RecessRampage checks
Mano Nera checks
SkeetOnQQ has 15 seconds left to act
SkeetOnQQ bets $35
RecessRampage calls $35
Mano Nera folds
With two players calling my reraise, I got scared so I checked... Mano Nera must have had AK?
*** TURN *** [6s 5h Jd] [9d]
RecessRampage checks
SkeetOnQQ checks
*** RIVER *** [6s 5h Jd 9d] [5c]
RecessRampage checks
SkeetOnQQ bets $100
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME
RecessRampage ???
See, here's where I got confused. But then this board is kinda terrible because now, there are so many hands that would beat me and so few hands that I beat. I mean he smooth called a reraise so he must have a decent hand. But then I thought QQ-AA would have repopped since those are not hands you want to see a 3 way flop with. Middle pocket pairs like 55, 66, 99 all hit the sets but then I thought there's now way a hand like that would check the turn especially after I called the flop bet. Then he fires out a bet on the river? This made no sense. If he had a hand like AJ, he would certainly check on a board like this against a reraiser since the only hand that would realistically call him is a hand that beats his. So, in this instance, I thought it was more often a bluff, thought maybe he has AK (and didn't want to jam preflop into two guys, one of which who smooth called a reraise) so I called.
He flipped over J8 sooted and so I took this pot.
Weird weird spot...
Full Ring - 2-4NL, relevant stacks
Villain ($486.90)
Hero ($433)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Ah Kh]
2 folds
Hero raises to $14
1 fold
Villain calls $14 from CO
Button and both blinds fold
*** FLOP *** [Kc 5c 5d]
Hero bets $24
Villain calls $24
*** TURN *** [Kc 5c 5d] [Th]
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero bets $65
Villain raises to $130
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero has requested TIME
Hero ???
I jammed here, got instacalled by KK. That was one hand I DID NOT expect to see. Again, I think most of you had it right. Folding or even check calling would have saved me money.
Hand #2
Another full ring table 2-4NL (7 players in hand)
Relevant stacks:
Villain ($253.40) <--- BB
Hero ($416)
One additional info is that villain calls A LOT of hands preflop. I don't have the stats with me but his VP$IP was like 35-40%.
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Jc Tc]
Hero raises to $14
5 folds
Villain calls $10
*** FLOP *** [7s Qs Jh]
Villain checks
Hero bets $22
Villain calls $22
*** TURN *** [7s Qs Jh] [Qd]
Villain has 15 seconds left to act
Villain bets $44
Hero calls $44
*** RIVER *** [7s Qs Jh Qd] [Kc]
Villain bets $162
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero has requested TIME
Hero ???
I ended up making a hero call here. I didn't like my hand enough to make a raise on the turn so I called to keep the pot small. On the river, I felt that he either had T9 that got there or it's a missed flush draw and I have seen him take stabs like that... I mean you kinda have to if you're a loose player... He flips over Q9 and I lose another pot. I was shocked to see a Q in his hand.
See, but then hands like this happen where I kinda hate the spot I'm in and yet I make a call based on the fact that the sequence doesn't make sense and I turn out to be right...
6 max - 2-4NL
Seat 1: tturquoise ($923.10)
Seat 2: SkeetOnQQ ($533)
Seat 3: RecessRampage ($402) <--- SB
Seat 4: Mano Nera ($1,167.95) <--- BB
Seat 5: TooCool4Skool ($613)
Seat 6: slypigdave ($790.50)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Qh Jc]
3 folds
SkeetOnQQ raises to $12 <--- button
RecessRampage raises to $40 <--- SB
Mano Nera calls $36 <--- uh oh
SkeetOnQQ calls $28 <--- adlfkjadklfjljsdfjakljd
*** FLOP *** [6s 5h Jd]
RecessRampage checks
Mano Nera checks
SkeetOnQQ has 15 seconds left to act
SkeetOnQQ bets $35
RecessRampage calls $35
Mano Nera folds
With two players calling my reraise, I got scared so I checked... Mano Nera must have had AK?
*** TURN *** [6s 5h Jd] [9d]
RecessRampage checks
SkeetOnQQ checks
*** RIVER *** [6s 5h Jd 9d] [5c]
RecessRampage checks
SkeetOnQQ bets $100
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME
RecessRampage ???
See, here's where I got confused. But then this board is kinda terrible because now, there are so many hands that would beat me and so few hands that I beat. I mean he smooth called a reraise so he must have a decent hand. But then I thought QQ-AA would have repopped since those are not hands you want to see a 3 way flop with. Middle pocket pairs like 55, 66, 99 all hit the sets but then I thought there's now way a hand like that would check the turn especially after I called the flop bet. Then he fires out a bet on the river? This made no sense. If he had a hand like AJ, he would certainly check on a board like this against a reraiser since the only hand that would realistically call him is a hand that beats his. So, in this instance, I thought it was more often a bluff, thought maybe he has AK (and didn't want to jam preflop into two guys, one of which who smooth called a reraise) so I called.
He flipped over J8 sooted and so I took this pot.
Weird weird spot...
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Tricky Spots
Here are a few interesting spots that I got into last night and wanted to know what you would do if you were me. Preferably, include why you would call, raise, or fold and the hand ranges that you think the villain could have that would lead you to the action you would take.
Full Ring - 2-4NL, relevant stacks
Villain ($486.90)
Hero ($433)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Ah Kh]
2 folds
Hero raises to $14
1 fold
Villain calls $14 from CO
Button and both blinds fold
*** FLOP *** [Kc 5c 5d]
Hero bets $24
Villain calls $24
*** TURN *** [Kc 5c 5d] [Th]
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero bets $65
Villain raises to $130
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero has requested TIME
Hero ???
Again, WWYD?
Another full ring table 2-4NL (7 players in hand)
Relevant stacks:
Villain ($253.40) <--- BB
Hero ($416)
One additional info is that villain calls A LOT of hands preflop. I don't have the stats with me but his VP$IP was like 35-40%.
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Jc Tc]
Hero raises to $14
5 folds
Villain calls $10
*** FLOP *** [7s Qs Jh]
Villain checks
Hero bets $22
Villain calls $22
*** TURN *** [7s Qs Jh] [Qd]
Villain has 15 seconds left to act
Villain bets $44
Hero calls $44
*** RIVER *** [7s Qs Jh Qd] [Kc]
Villain bets $162
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero has requested TIME
Hero ???
Again, WWYD? Would you have done something different on the turn?
There was another hand that I thought I saved on here that apparently didn't so that's all for today...
Full Ring - 2-4NL, relevant stacks
Villain ($486.90)
Hero ($433)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Ah Kh]
2 folds
Hero raises to $14
1 fold
Villain calls $14 from CO
Button and both blinds fold
*** FLOP *** [Kc 5c 5d]
Hero bets $24
Villain calls $24
*** TURN *** [Kc 5c 5d] [Th]
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero bets $65
Villain raises to $130
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero has requested TIME
Hero ???
Again, WWYD?
Another full ring table 2-4NL (7 players in hand)
Relevant stacks:
Villain ($253.40) <--- BB
Hero ($416)
One additional info is that villain calls A LOT of hands preflop. I don't have the stats with me but his VP$IP was like 35-40%.
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Jc Tc]
Hero raises to $14
5 folds
Villain calls $10
*** FLOP *** [7s Qs Jh]
Villain checks
Hero bets $22
Villain calls $22
*** TURN *** [7s Qs Jh] [Qd]
Villain has 15 seconds left to act
Villain bets $44
Hero calls $44
*** RIVER *** [7s Qs Jh Qd] [Kc]
Villain bets $162
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero has requested TIME
Hero ???
Again, WWYD? Would you have done something different on the turn?
There was another hand that I thought I saved on here that apparently didn't so that's all for today...
Monday, August 25, 2008
"It's not about the name on the back but the letters in the front"
The Olympics are over and now, I can focus on other important things like fantasy football. I have yet to see a single football game since the Olympics consumed my entire free time. There were obviously tons of stories from this Olympics but the one sport I enjoyed the most was basketball.
Now for some of you, you might think that I would say basketball because I play all the time and naturally, it's my favorite sport... except I hardly watch any NBA games (except for the playoffs) and in the past, I actually did not enjoy watching the US men's basketball team. But this year, it was different. For the first time in a long time, I felt like these guys played like a team and it was actually entertaining as hell to watch. They kept repeating that this was about the team and not about the individual players. "It's not about the name on the back but the letters in the front." Whether they meant that or not, I thought that was really cool and they definitely stuck by it and played like it. I think the biggest proof of that is the fact that of the top 10 scorers (measured by ppg), there is only one US player... in 9th place and that's D Wade. (LeBron in 11th, Kobe in 13th). There are 5 guys averaging double digit scoring closely followed by Bosh with 9.1 ppg. It just shows that they spread the ball around and everyone is contributing to the win. Like I said, I really enjoyed watching all their games and though this is not the "Dream Team", it was the first time in a while that I thought "Man, this is a great team and I can't wait to see their next game."
This may not be the most talented team but a Kobe & Kidd backcourt tandem (or even better is Kobe and Chris Paul) is 10x better than the Marbury and Iverson combo... and this coming from a guy who actually likes Iverson... a lot.
If for some reason you missed the gold-medal game, you can watch the entire game here. As a matter of fact, you can watch every single sport. Personally, I think that's cool as shit.
One thing that I thought was interesting from the gold medal game was what it must be like to be 17 years old and be matched up against guys like Jason Kidd and Chris Paul (how is Chris Paul NOT the starter????). That was the case with Ricky Rubio. He's 17 years old, considered to be the best point guard ever to come out of Europe (really, how big of a compliment is that though?). According to wikipedia, in Slam magazine, he was compared to Magic Johnson... now that's gotta be a joke right? I mean Magic? Really? Only guy who could match up (and possibly school) Magic is LeBron. That kid is damn good. But nonetheless, I thought it had to be crazy wild for a guy who is 17 to be playing against one of the best PGs in the NBA. When he's eligible, he'll obviously be very much sought after. That should be a fun time.
I'm gonna miss the Olympics. For the past few weeks, it's like the playoffs atmosphere the whole time and that was fun. Japan sucked as usual and I lost my prop bet with Schaubs but nonetheless, I just love watching sports and all the drama that unfolds. But thank god, football season is right around the corner. Give it a few weekends and I won't even think about the Olympics at that point.
Now for some of you, you might think that I would say basketball because I play all the time and naturally, it's my favorite sport... except I hardly watch any NBA games (except for the playoffs) and in the past, I actually did not enjoy watching the US men's basketball team. But this year, it was different. For the first time in a long time, I felt like these guys played like a team and it was actually entertaining as hell to watch. They kept repeating that this was about the team and not about the individual players. "It's not about the name on the back but the letters in the front." Whether they meant that or not, I thought that was really cool and they definitely stuck by it and played like it. I think the biggest proof of that is the fact that of the top 10 scorers (measured by ppg), there is only one US player... in 9th place and that's D Wade. (LeBron in 11th, Kobe in 13th). There are 5 guys averaging double digit scoring closely followed by Bosh with 9.1 ppg. It just shows that they spread the ball around and everyone is contributing to the win. Like I said, I really enjoyed watching all their games and though this is not the "Dream Team", it was the first time in a while that I thought "Man, this is a great team and I can't wait to see their next game."
This may not be the most talented team but a Kobe & Kidd backcourt tandem (or even better is Kobe and Chris Paul) is 10x better than the Marbury and Iverson combo... and this coming from a guy who actually likes Iverson... a lot.
If for some reason you missed the gold-medal game, you can watch the entire game here. As a matter of fact, you can watch every single sport. Personally, I think that's cool as shit.
One thing that I thought was interesting from the gold medal game was what it must be like to be 17 years old and be matched up against guys like Jason Kidd and Chris Paul (how is Chris Paul NOT the starter????). That was the case with Ricky Rubio. He's 17 years old, considered to be the best point guard ever to come out of Europe (really, how big of a compliment is that though?). According to wikipedia, in Slam magazine, he was compared to Magic Johnson... now that's gotta be a joke right? I mean Magic? Really? Only guy who could match up (and possibly school) Magic is LeBron. That kid is damn good. But nonetheless, I thought it had to be crazy wild for a guy who is 17 to be playing against one of the best PGs in the NBA. When he's eligible, he'll obviously be very much sought after. That should be a fun time.
I'm gonna miss the Olympics. For the past few weeks, it's like the playoffs atmosphere the whole time and that was fun. Japan sucked as usual and I lost my prop bet with Schaubs but nonetheless, I just love watching sports and all the drama that unfolds. But thank god, football season is right around the corner. Give it a few weekends and I won't even think about the Olympics at that point.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Table selection vs Seat selection
So Gnome and I have been exchanging a few thoughts in regards to game selection. He's a big believer in game selection and from what I can tell, he spends time trying to find the right table where there are bunch of losing players. I, on the other hand, just tend to go find an open table and sit. So, when Gnome asked me why I didn't game select, I thought it was a point worth discussing here and also, I thought that maybe I can share what I do. I mean even though I don't necessarily spend the time to game select, I don't just sit at any table.
Now, one easy way to find the juiciest tables is obviously through tableratings.com. However, when I was first introduced to this site, one thing I noticed was that all the "good" tables had waiting lists that were like 5 or 6 deep. By the time I would get seated, the table would be filled with all the sharks. I just felt like I was spending too much time looking for the game and not enough time playing it. So, I kinda stopped looking.
When the other day, Gnome left me a message about why I don't game select, I decided to give it another go. Just to come to the same conclusion. Here were some of the things I noticed in regards to the highly rated (ie, most donkish) tables:
- waiting list that is as deep as the number of seats for the table
- bunch of short stackers (you mean there's hardly any post flop poker AND the only guys you would be playing a big pot against would be the better players at the table)
So, I went back to my old method... which was looking for tables with the least waiting list or an open seat. However, I don't just sit at any table. One thing I like to make sure when I put myself at the table or the waiting list is how deep the table is. I don't want to be at a table where the full buy-in is $400 and yet half or more of the table only has like $100 in front of them. Once I see that everyone has a fair amount in front of them, I would sit there... but this is what I do (maybe to make up for the lack of game selection)... I seat select.
In other words, I might not be as picky about which table I go sit at but one thing I make sure is whether the seat I'm about to take is a good one. See, the thing with game selection is that you could find a table with a bunch of donkeys which is fine except if your seat sucks, it's not as cool. Let's say you find a highly rated table with a bunch of losers. You get on the waiting list and poof, a seat opens up. You go to the table and you find a few shorties here and there. Then you notice that to your left is a big stack aggro solid player... that's terrible. Almost to the point where it's not worth sitting there.
So, here are things I look for when I look at tables or when I'm seated and I'm deciding whether I really want to buy in or not:
- who is to my left (both immediate and two seats to my left)
- what are the stack sizes in relation to my position
- how deep are the general stacks at the whole table
You obviously want the uber aggro to your right instead of on your left. You also want the deeper stacks to be to your right. In other words, you want the ideal position on any of the stacks that could really hurt you and in a cash game, you are at liberty to choose your seat... at least initially. And obviously, you want the stacks to be fairly deep so that it doesn't just turn into preflop poker.
Do you seat select at all? Do you practice game selection? Have a nice weekend all. I have my fantasy football draft coming up tonight and I am not prepared...
Now, one easy way to find the juiciest tables is obviously through tableratings.com. However, when I was first introduced to this site, one thing I noticed was that all the "good" tables had waiting lists that were like 5 or 6 deep. By the time I would get seated, the table would be filled with all the sharks. I just felt like I was spending too much time looking for the game and not enough time playing it. So, I kinda stopped looking.
When the other day, Gnome left me a message about why I don't game select, I decided to give it another go. Just to come to the same conclusion. Here were some of the things I noticed in regards to the highly rated (ie, most donkish) tables:
- waiting list that is as deep as the number of seats for the table
- bunch of short stackers (you mean there's hardly any post flop poker AND the only guys you would be playing a big pot against would be the better players at the table)
So, I went back to my old method... which was looking for tables with the least waiting list or an open seat. However, I don't just sit at any table. One thing I like to make sure when I put myself at the table or the waiting list is how deep the table is. I don't want to be at a table where the full buy-in is $400 and yet half or more of the table only has like $100 in front of them. Once I see that everyone has a fair amount in front of them, I would sit there... but this is what I do (maybe to make up for the lack of game selection)... I seat select.
In other words, I might not be as picky about which table I go sit at but one thing I make sure is whether the seat I'm about to take is a good one. See, the thing with game selection is that you could find a table with a bunch of donkeys which is fine except if your seat sucks, it's not as cool. Let's say you find a highly rated table with a bunch of losers. You get on the waiting list and poof, a seat opens up. You go to the table and you find a few shorties here and there. Then you notice that to your left is a big stack aggro solid player... that's terrible. Almost to the point where it's not worth sitting there.
So, here are things I look for when I look at tables or when I'm seated and I'm deciding whether I really want to buy in or not:
- who is to my left (both immediate and two seats to my left)
- what are the stack sizes in relation to my position
- how deep are the general stacks at the whole table
You obviously want the uber aggro to your right instead of on your left. You also want the deeper stacks to be to your right. In other words, you want the ideal position on any of the stacks that could really hurt you and in a cash game, you are at liberty to choose your seat... at least initially. And obviously, you want the stacks to be fairly deep so that it doesn't just turn into preflop poker.
Do you seat select at all? Do you practice game selection? Have a nice weekend all. I have my fantasy football draft coming up tonight and I am not prepared...
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Floating 101
Quick nonpoker observation - Usain Bolt is a freakin machine.
For those of you that don't know, this guy crushed the 100m dash in the Olympics, cruising the last 20-30m (that's a fifth to the third of a race!!) with arms wide open as if to say "GET YOUR POPCORN READY!" Some people talked about how he should have ran through the race to really make the world record untouchable. The way I see it, he's running against 8 other allegedly fastest guys on earth. If he can crush them that bad, hell, I wouldn't say shit if he turned around and ran backwards the last 20 meters. Taunt away. I love showmanship. Is that even a word? I don't know. Whatever. And then I watched him destroy the 200m last night. Oh my god. Last night, the 8 others on that field must have felt what it feels like to get up to the tee earlier in the year when Tiger was crushing it. They're fighting for second cuz the top player is so dominant. Just sickening.
Alright... back to poker...
So, today, I wanted to talk about floating. In the past, and maybe still at 1-2NL and below, if you were in position, one of the moves you could make was to float the flop cbet with the intention of taking it away on the turn. For a while, the cbet was like the norm and people were pretty much cbetting any flop. So, one of the things that worked if you were in position is that you can call one bet on the flop to see if the guy actually has a hand. Unless he can double barrell, you can take the pot away on the turn when he checks to you. Now, I'm assuming everyone knows what floating means. Basically, floating is cold calling a bet, usually without really a draw, with the intent of taking the pot away on the turn. Now of course, if you are randomly doing it, it's probably more prone to becoming a leak rather than a move. The key here is to be able to read your opponent as well as understand the texture of the board. For example, let's say a fairly tight MP raises and you call from the CO with a suited connector... let's say, 67s. The flop comes AK9 rainbow. If he cbets, you calling here is certainly called floating but probably not a good idea. I think it's more effective when the texture of the board is unlikely that it hit your opponent. And then the key would be to try to see what hand you can convince your opponent that you have.
Full Tilt Poker Game #7734621116: Table Trails End (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:05:49 ET - 2008/08/21
5 handed
Seat 2: Hero ($400) <--- BB
Seat 6: Villain ($400) <--- SB
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [2s 2c]
3 folds
Villain raises to $16
Hero calls $12
I debated 3 betting here and I think that's fine too. But, the villain is an aggro so I decided that he's more likely to 4 bet here if he had any two face which I obv wouldn't be able to call. Plus, I felt that if I hit a set, I could get paid a fair amount. But I could really go either way. Just one example of a hand where I call instead of 3 betting.
*** FLOP *** [5s Ad Ah]
Villain bets $20
Hero calls $20
Now, this is a standard cbet by the villain. But with the board being what it is, it's very unlikely that the villain hit his hand. Of course, he could have and that's the danger of floating. Now, another thought might be that it's very likely that I have a better hand here than the villain so why not raise? I gave that some thought as well. But, this villain was an aggro but he wasn't completely clueless. So, at this point, regardless of the cards, I decided that I'm gonna play this hand like I have the A. And here, if I had the A, this is how I would play it. So I chose to smooth call here with intent of taking the pot away on the turn. Here, my cards are 22 but really, that's insignificant. It's all about the texture of the board.
*** TURN *** [5s Ad Ah] [4c]
Villain has 15 seconds left to act
Villain bets $56
Hero raises to $156
Villain folds
Uncalled bet of $100 returned to Hero
Hero wins the pot ($181)
The turn card was about as good as I can ask for. Another low card that's unlikely to hit the opponent. Villain was bold enough to fire out another bet, knowing full well that I could be floating the flop with two face cards but without the A or a high pocket pair, he cannot call this raise especially the way it's been played. The only thing I'm noticing now is that my raise size could have been smaller. Here, I make a move to take it away but keep in mind that if the villain shoves, I can't call here. And if he doesn't have the A, he will fold even if I bet like $125. In other words, if smaller bet sizes would accomplish the same goal with the same percentage of risk, making the bet size smaller would obviously save you some money in the long run. Bet sizing is so key in the long term winnings of a player.
Either case, it worked out here. In a tough 6 max game where the players are constant raising, betting, and 3 betting, you're gonna have to really learn to read the texture of the board and make plays at times to keep you afloat. The best players know how to do this which is why if you look up some of the very strong regulars, they will be showing ridiculous BB/100 numbers. That's generally a result of knowing when to turn up the heat and playing their opponents' cards instead of their own.
For those of you that don't know, this guy crushed the 100m dash in the Olympics, cruising the last 20-30m (that's a fifth to the third of a race!!) with arms wide open as if to say "GET YOUR POPCORN READY!" Some people talked about how he should have ran through the race to really make the world record untouchable. The way I see it, he's running against 8 other allegedly fastest guys on earth. If he can crush them that bad, hell, I wouldn't say shit if he turned around and ran backwards the last 20 meters. Taunt away. I love showmanship. Is that even a word? I don't know. Whatever. And then I watched him destroy the 200m last night. Oh my god. Last night, the 8 others on that field must have felt what it feels like to get up to the tee earlier in the year when Tiger was crushing it. They're fighting for second cuz the top player is so dominant. Just sickening.
Alright... back to poker...
So, today, I wanted to talk about floating. In the past, and maybe still at 1-2NL and below, if you were in position, one of the moves you could make was to float the flop cbet with the intention of taking it away on the turn. For a while, the cbet was like the norm and people were pretty much cbetting any flop. So, one of the things that worked if you were in position is that you can call one bet on the flop to see if the guy actually has a hand. Unless he can double barrell, you can take the pot away on the turn when he checks to you. Now, I'm assuming everyone knows what floating means. Basically, floating is cold calling a bet, usually without really a draw, with the intent of taking the pot away on the turn. Now of course, if you are randomly doing it, it's probably more prone to becoming a leak rather than a move. The key here is to be able to read your opponent as well as understand the texture of the board. For example, let's say a fairly tight MP raises and you call from the CO with a suited connector... let's say, 67s. The flop comes AK9 rainbow. If he cbets, you calling here is certainly called floating but probably not a good idea. I think it's more effective when the texture of the board is unlikely that it hit your opponent. And then the key would be to try to see what hand you can convince your opponent that you have.
Full Tilt Poker Game #7734621116: Table Trails End (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:05:49 ET - 2008/08/21
5 handed
Seat 2: Hero ($400) <--- BB
Seat 6: Villain ($400) <--- SB
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [2s 2c]
3 folds
Villain raises to $16
Hero calls $12
I debated 3 betting here and I think that's fine too. But, the villain is an aggro so I decided that he's more likely to 4 bet here if he had any two face which I obv wouldn't be able to call. Plus, I felt that if I hit a set, I could get paid a fair amount. But I could really go either way. Just one example of a hand where I call instead of 3 betting.
*** FLOP *** [5s Ad Ah]
Villain bets $20
Hero calls $20
Now, this is a standard cbet by the villain. But with the board being what it is, it's very unlikely that the villain hit his hand. Of course, he could have and that's the danger of floating. Now, another thought might be that it's very likely that I have a better hand here than the villain so why not raise? I gave that some thought as well. But, this villain was an aggro but he wasn't completely clueless. So, at this point, regardless of the cards, I decided that I'm gonna play this hand like I have the A. And here, if I had the A, this is how I would play it. So I chose to smooth call here with intent of taking the pot away on the turn. Here, my cards are 22 but really, that's insignificant. It's all about the texture of the board.
*** TURN *** [5s Ad Ah] [4c]
Villain has 15 seconds left to act
Villain bets $56
Hero raises to $156
Villain folds
Uncalled bet of $100 returned to Hero
Hero wins the pot ($181)
The turn card was about as good as I can ask for. Another low card that's unlikely to hit the opponent. Villain was bold enough to fire out another bet, knowing full well that I could be floating the flop with two face cards but without the A or a high pocket pair, he cannot call this raise especially the way it's been played. The only thing I'm noticing now is that my raise size could have been smaller. Here, I make a move to take it away but keep in mind that if the villain shoves, I can't call here. And if he doesn't have the A, he will fold even if I bet like $125. In other words, if smaller bet sizes would accomplish the same goal with the same percentage of risk, making the bet size smaller would obviously save you some money in the long run. Bet sizing is so key in the long term winnings of a player.
Either case, it worked out here. In a tough 6 max game where the players are constant raising, betting, and 3 betting, you're gonna have to really learn to read the texture of the board and make plays at times to keep you afloat. The best players know how to do this which is why if you look up some of the very strong regulars, they will be showing ridiculous BB/100 numbers. That's generally a result of knowing when to turn up the heat and playing their opponents' cards instead of their own.
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