OneGreenChip

The Problem with Implied Odds

2010-08-19T13:46:00.002-05:00

cross posted from 2+2: Random guy is talking about a live 2/5 hand.

...I just sat down on table no reads on anyone and noone has reads on me hasnt even been 1 orbit.

Hero Button (300) A7s
Villain UTG+1 (650)

Villain raises UTG+1 to $20 (on previous hands I seen him raise to $40 and $35) 3 callers in front of me. I call, SB and BB call. (Pot $147). How many of you guys fold with A7s preflop?

my answer:

firstly, let's look at the types of flops that help us. We want a flop that helps us VS the possible range of hands he has {AA-TT, AK, AQ} = supernitty, I know, but whatever...

-flushed flop (probability=0.8% = 11/50*10/49*9/48)
-77x flop (probability=0.2% = 2/50*1/49)
-A7x flop (probability=0.4%) = 2/50*2/49)
-I'm purposely discounting a 2-flushed board, as we complete our hand sometimes and not others and it muddies the discussion.

total probability for A Flop That Helps Us: (1.4%)

THEREFORE, those flops don't happen nearly often enough. Now, if he had 1000bb....sure, make the call, as it's an insignificant % of his stack that approaches the % of time that one of these flops happens. However, this is not the case. He's calling on this flop with about 7% of his stack, and the above cases happen less than 7% of the time, making this a losing play.

This is the big trap of implied odds hands. Most of us understand "AXs!! so easy to get away from if I don't flop big! I CAWL!" never realizing how the formula works:

you have to win enough the times you DO hit to make all the other times worthwhile.

With 60bb, you don't have enough in your stack. You simply can't win enough with that stack size to balance out all the many times you'll be folding otherwise.

The Last Hands of Vegas

2010-07-26T12:25:00.000-05:00

So Josh left the Aria, and I continued to run $600 into $1300. Got some pho, sat down at the Hard Rock at midnight, and just cashed out for $1500.

The session involved Digs and I cracking jokes, and giving each other a TON of action and showing all our big bluffs. We were seated in #5 and #10; where we could do the least damage positionally to the other.

Table's response was interesting -- the 4 on my left were all about 100bb deep, tightened up, and played super ABC. I responded by widening my 3betting range and limp/rr range, and kept my 3bet-calling range super tight and always watching for odds. Results from that side of the table were optimal, both Mike and I bled them dry, winning the majority of the small/medium pots while they waited for a haymaker hand to drill us with.

The players on my right were looser, deeper, and more aggressive, but I had positional on FullTilt (online wonderkind LAG) and Chicago (increasingly drunk 28 year old trader, aggrodonkey).

Two hands of note:

I have $600 in front of me, Chicago covers. He's watched us 3bet bluff 72o and laugh about it and is feeling decidely less macho, so he's compensated by never folding preflop. Ever. Because his ego won't let him -- he's a trader and makes in 5 minutes what these poker players are throwigg around, goddammit!

EP villain raises to 10, one caller, Chicago calls with an 800 stack, FullTilt calls. Sitting on a $600 stack, I see 97o. Do I call and see a pot multiple ways, or do I 3bet to 55 and either a) take it down b) iso Chicago while keeping my 3betting frequency high? 3betting gives me more options, as I have the button. 97s I probably flat behind more as it flops better.

Chicago calls. Pot: ~160, we each have about 525 left.

Flop: T86r. Thank you God. He leads for 60, I think about it, and call. Don't pair, board. Pot is 280, 465 remaining.

Turn: 7x, he checks, I bet 125, he calls. Pot is 430, 340 remaining. We are committed!

River: 9x. He open-jams. I panic, and frantically go over the action to see if he could have a J. How? HOW?! How could that fucking river come? I call, table my hand, and say "I flopped it"

He is in shock and shuffles his cards. The entire table is caught up in the spectacle of two big stacks colliding with the flopped nuts getting split, so they were too slow to react when he slowly

Mucks

His

Hand.

It hits the muck and the dealer buries the hand as the tight players jump up shrieking, desperate to keep the money in the hands of the donkey, but it's too late and the dealer awards me the monster pot.

Epilogue: i've been chatting with the guy for the last two hours. I know his name, where he went to school, his job, and his girlfriends name. Not once has he reciprocated. So when he asks me, "dude, is this really going down like that?it should have been split," I reply: well, Darryl the stock options trader from Chicago, you did suck out on me for a split, but I had you the whole way, and you're the one who messed up, not me. But I don't think this is right, so I'll rebate you $300 (the dealer interrupts me to tell us that this was not allowable), if you can tell me what name is, or what my job is, or anything about me except for the fact I'm from Dallas. I'm not giving free money to a guy who doesn't even know who I am."

He blurts out, "you're Michael!" and I toss him my ID and lol.

Ship it.

The last hand of the night. I'm about 1100 deep at this point, and have been using position to crush FullTilt. His stack has dwindled from 900 to 450 or so, and he's clearly on tilt, making terrible hero calls with ace-high and second pair.

We're 5-handed and I'm playing hyperloose and aggro. He's still tilting, still losing, but open limps on the button. I find black ducks in the SB and raise to 15. He comes to life and 3bets me to 45! Effective stacks are 450. I have 3bet liberally but I have 4bet one other time only. 4betting to 90ish would build a 180 pot with 360 behind, which isn't what I want to do with a sm PP, but he folds some percentage of the time, and when he does call, it'll be with a supertight range and he'll lose the lead in the hand. Bam. He calls quickly with a a twist in his mouth, like he'd bitten into something bitter.

Flop: 8d 2d 8h

What would I do with a bluff? He's a second level thinker, and I've got him on QQ,JJ, or AKs, AA or KK possible but less likely due to my read on his mouth.

Less than a second passes, before I throw 6 hundos into the middle and announce all-in. He thinks for 5 seconds, announces a call, shows QQ, and turns white. Everybody else (how can you raise to 90 with 22) starts yelling and he staggers out shellshocked.

I announce that I'm not interested in playing 4 handed and the table starts whining how can you leave you just won all that money....

And I make the best decision yet at the table and rack em up at 8am. Mission accomplished.

- Colin

Interesting Hand?

2010-02-20T10:41:00.002-06:00

Late night 1/2nl at the Winstar. Hero is armed with a $275 stack and a loose aggressive image.

Preflop, 7-handed:

3 limps to Hero, on button, who raises to $12 with 79hh. SB, tired and whining, pushes all in for $25. I go to autofold, but the MP1 limper cold-calls, as does the MP2 limper. As they both cover me, and neither fold preflop (why did I raise again?), I call.

Flop: Ks 7s 3c (~$100 in the pot, effective stacks $250). It checks to me. While weak kings are of course in both MPs' ranges, they won't fold them here. I can't bet middle pair for value, and no better hands are folding (maybe 88/99/TT?) so I elect to check behind.

Turn: 6c. MP1 comes alive and bets $40 at the pot. MP2 instajams all in for $125. While I think MP1 has me beat, he shouldn't be strong if he checked the flop out of position, and he'll have to be REALLY strong to call an all-in by me with two other all-ins already in the pot. MP2's play isn't terrifying: earlier play by him has convinced me that most of his range here consists of strong draws, as he'd have bet a set/two pair/strong K on the flop, and a weak K just doesn't play it this way. So I jam $250 into the $265 flop and feel pretty good about it. MP1 hews/haws/folds.

River: Jh

MP1: AQss
Me: 79hh
BB(ss): 78o

I drag a good-sized pot.

Winstar Trip Report: 09/06/09

2009-09-09T23:29:00.003-05:00

One will note that some time has elapsed between the trip and the report. Consequently, most of the details (valuable as they may be) have been lost due to my travels in Arkham Asylum. Seriously, the new Batman is a fucking ridiculously good game. The gameplay is good to great, the cutscenes are phenomenal, and the artwork is astonishing. We'll have to see whether it has replay value.

Wait, I'm supposed to be talking about poker. Back to that. Arrived at the casino with 3 buyins at 9pm. Waitlist was amazingly short - 8 people. And the Holy Grail of table selection fell upon me: THEY OPENED A NEW TABLE AND CALLED MY NAME.

I wonder if anybody realizes how valuable this is in a live setting? Nominally, it's ridiculous -- brand new donks buy in, and the more experienced players can eat up their money, and be relatively deepstacked by the time other good players get to the table. Getting in at the ground floor does the most for us in terms of the natural evolution of table dynamics, as retards don't survive long. So you can imagine that I was pretty psyched, and it showed.

I established myself as the verbal table captain ASAP, after identifying each players with tight/loose vs strong/weak, and mentally assessing the best way to attack these foes in position and out of position. And wow was I licking my chops when seeing some donkeys win 45bb pots with 95o and J6o in the early going.

Reality bit in when I realized that I was going on fucking TILT. WHY??!!

1) Rookie fucking players couldn't move the game along. They had to be constantly told that it was their turn, that no, they couldn't raise, that a straight loses to a flush, etc. One can only gently prompt the biggest fish even twice before the table catches on that you're a shark, so after a few smiling comments I had to stew in my own impatience.

2) Incompetent dealers that were holding up the game by regaling stories and teasing players instead of DEALING CARDS. It didn't help that this brand-new table lacked an automatic shuffler, slowing the pace down even more

3) I moved positions to sit behind the only big stack at the table (300bb), and he left 45 minutes later, leaving me with 125bb amongst 90-50bb stacks.

4) I couldn't catch a hand, which was the ONLY WAY I was going to get paid against a table of mostly loose-passive rookies that couldn't understand why their middle two pair was no good on a four flushed board.

So after 2.5 hours at this table (OMG AS SOON AS I MAKE TOP PAIR I'M GONNA BUST A FOOL!! damn, 72o again?!!), I busted over to a new spot with a competent dealer, automatic shuffler, deep stacks, and better players. ahhhh.

Sitting in the 1 seat (to the dealer's left), I resolve to move as quickly as possible, as I can't observe opponents! Naturally, I move behind a 500bb stack ASAP, and proceed to see an Asian LAG sit in my seat and THREE TIMES cold call a PF 3bet with AXs, get it all in on the flop vs a 3bettor, catch his flush, and run his $100 stack up to $800 in 45minutes. Nearly shit myself with the "omg i would have had those cards!" thought, but then I realized that I would NEVER have played them like that.

No real pots. Pretty much took down the few pots that I raised and fired Cbets with, and the combination of blinds + the times that I missed kept me floating at 125-150bbs for most of the night. Combination of the (incorrect) looseness of the 4 deep stacks at the table and cold decks kept me mostly in line.

However, by 2am, the usual insane limpfests had started. Compounding the situation was the New Guy at the table, who had won $2700 at 2/5nl earlier and was now open raising to $20 and 3betting to $40 with air at our table.

So after folding my evening away, I was sitting on a 200bb stack and find TdTc UTG. Balla. UTG (a math teacher TAG, decent player) with 400bb opens to $7, and I reraise to $35.

LatinoLAG calls in LP (100bb), New Guy calls in SB (400bb stack), UTG calls (400bb stack). With a pot of $140, we see a flop of 742r. Not a bad flop. In fact, I'd definitely be committed if I were in a HU pot, as this flop is the best possible flop I could hit, lacking a T. Factors for post-flop play

- SPR (excluding the LatinoLAG) is 2.6, which is perfect for an overpair (i have ~$370 behind).
- LatinoLag has $160 left. Obviously, if the LL gets all in with no other callers, I'm in there with him.
- New Guy (~$700) is ridiculously wide here. He just wants to play huge pots. Any suited, any pair, any broadway is good enough for him to cold call my 3bet. I CRUSH his range.
- UTG (~$760) is frustrated, and wants to catch New Guy and Latino Lag. He's a competent player, and understands the value of position. I expect him to 4bet QQ+ and maybe AK when he's OOP vs other deepstacks, so when he flats here I'm only really worried about JJ.

So really, what I want is to get the money in the pot as quickly as possible, as there isn't really a turn/river card that I want to see with this vulnerable overpair. Obviously, I would be treading much more carefully vs TAG-type players, but I felt that the ranges of the players I was involved with were WAYYYYY behind me.

So I fire $75 into the $140 pot. This bet leaves me (assuming 1 caller) with just a PSB behind, yet I'll have the option to fold if I get RR'd here. (although for the record I don't think I could EVER fold, given how much I had committed to the pot and the others' ranges. Maybe if I bet, got two callers and the last guy shoved over all of us, MAYBE).

LatinoLAG calls, New Guy calls, UTG grumbles and folds. Turn 6d, $365 pot, I have ~$290 remaining. I jam, LatinoLAG calls, New Guy folds, he shows A7o, river K, both folded players flip AKo, I drag monster pot (~$600). Now I'm trying to drum up a situation that I could have folded on, but OPs on a raggedy board when I've 3bet and gotten 3 callers? Dicey. Especially OOP.

That was pretty much it. Table broke shortly after and got filled up by fresh players, who started chatting me up and nearly licking their lips. Realizing my best was almost behind me (I was still playing my B game but felt imminent doom), I left with a $400 profit and drove back to Dallas.

Winstar Trip Report: 082109

2009-08-22T07:32:00.003-05:00

Shit was hot.

Things That Went Well

The Mental Game: Relaxed, excited, and happy. The realization that I was rock solid came in the following hand:

I open Js9s in UTG+3 (with a $400 stack) to $10, and get two callers downhill. The BB checks to me on a Jc9s8c flop, I fire out $25. Folds back to the BB, a loose passive older player with a $200 stack (CALL!!), and the others fold. After weighting his considerable calling range PF to draws and weak J-hands based on the flop action, we see a turn.

6d. Not too bad.

He checks, I fire for $75 and he thinks and calls again. River 7s. He looks at me wide-eyed, and says, "I check...you can bet if you want," and before the second phrase is out of his mouth, I'm checking my top two back to him and getting shown KdTd. He rakes in the ~$225 pot, getting some snarky comments from the peanut gallery about 'pot odds', to which he stalks off for a smoke break.

As he leaves, I smile and say to them, "That's fine. I was ahead the whole way. I WANT him to play exactly like that," and I mean it. A slight flinch, a ding to the scarlet towers, but back on the balance beam straightaways. This is when I felt invincible.

Another note came from a TAGfish-type who liked to berate people and show off his knowledge (poor as it was). In a straddled, bloated pot, I called his C-bet on a T72r board with ATs in position, caught an A on the turn, and shoved over his turn lead. I put my head down as he started going over his thought process out loud, ending with him folding his JJ face up (getting 4:1 pot odds on my last $70, lol).

As he'd done before, he started to berate, telling me that I needed to work on my handreading if I was going to be calling his bets on the flop when he OBVIOUSLY HAD AN OVERPAIR. Unfortunately, I told him that I had his chips, he didn't know my holdings, and berating people lacked class. Then I snidely said his thought processes were wrong, but he still needed to practice them until he wasn't saying everything out loud like a sixth-grader doing his multiplication tables.

This didn't go over well.

I had to make sure that I forgave the guy before I lost my mental balance again. This didn't involve kissing his ass or shaking his hand, but understanding where he was coming from, and chastising myself internally for getting drawn into his tilty little world. By buying into his "i'm right" mindset, I ended up making a withdrawal from this man's Personal Checking Account of Tilt. We don't need investments like this.

After sending him back what was rightfully his (unbeknownst to him), I was free to focus on the whole table and not on a personal nemesis. Cue the end of the "Fuck That Guy" story.

Technical Stuff

I adjusted well. Didn't get involved in the everlasting family limpfests that happen late-night. Kept my image squeaky clean with zigs. ONLY ZIGS. Once a few of the better, more observant players saw me make +EV plays and drag pots, only then did I start to zag. Manipulating my image (and playing directly to the left of the aforementioned loudmouth that BROADCAST my image to the table) let me pick up some pots without the benefit of premium holdings...because really, we can wait all day for those.

My experiments in limpfests OOP indicate that players just won't fucking fold to Cbets late night; they start to chase. So I've start checkraising the everloving fuck out of the loose-passive ones, who aren't likely to come back over the top with their draws and TPWK-type hands. This resulted in some good profit, but we also have to realize that I ran into the optimal part of their range, and that my player-type assessment had to be spot on. So it's both luck- and strong-mental-game-dependent.

I also started to abuse players' bluffs. Case in point:

I check my option in the BB with Qc9c, creating a 5-way pot. Flop comes Qs3c5s. I lead for $10, and get a call from the loose passive older player, others fold. Turn comes 8h. I lead against for $25 into the $30 pot, and he calls. River hits with an Ah.

Huh. All draws missed. And I have him (based on prior play, he'll raise to protect his Qx / two pair / sets) again on a missed draw. So I check. And he fires $50 out.

Damn. Cold feet. I tell him out loud, "The only hand I'm afraid of has the Ac," and call. And he shows Tc6c, and the entire table becomes a little more afraid of me. And my avalanche gains strength, and my footsteps rain terror, and my hands rake chips, until it's time to change tables again, now with a $1k stack.

Quitting Well

My last seat, 5:30am. Got here at 9pm. I'm sorta tired, but high on octane. This last table has bubbly people with HUGE stacks. Directly to my left, a $350 stack, then a $1.5k stack, then a $6k stack. AT 1/2 NL. WTF. Two 100bb stacks finish off the table at my right, and I take my spot, knowing that it will be EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to establish the loose-aggressive image necessary to succeed with super-deep stacks, out of position and only at 75% efficiency.

Fortune smiles on me. I flop a flush and liquidate one of the 100bb stacks who blearily gets it all in on a mono board with the NFD. Blammo. The other 100bb stack loses 25bb in a confrontation with the Big Stack, then 4bets all in PF, HU with me.

She's tired, loose, and Asian (sorry baby). I call with AhJh for 80bb, and run out a KJJAT board to crush her QQ. And that's it. I'm done. That's a fine call for 40bb, but NOT 100bb, as my 'read' is over only 20 minutes and 5 pots, just one which I'm involved in. I've only got one foot on the balance beam, but I got lucky...time to go.

Gas to get to Winstar: $10
Money used to bankroll: $600
Taking people's money: cool
Crushing people's souls: PRICELESS

food for thought

2009-07-25T18:43:00.001-05:00

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/117/medium-high-stakes-full-ring/cleaning-house-live-1-2-2-5-nl-369739/

2009-04-22T14:17:00.001-05:00

Another Leak

2009-02-27T10:35:00.002-06:00

I've noticed that I don't make the best use of stats.

Meaning that there's a disconnect between: recognizing that the guy on my left has a 57% VPIP and actually putting that on a range of hands.

i.e. 57% VPIP means any AX, any suited, any pair, down to 1-gap nonsuited connectors.

I don't really see how I can be making +EV decisions without this information?? I mean, whether we are earning value or not in a hand depends on the play we're making against the opponent's perceived range, right?

ie I have bottom set vs opponent's fd, IP, 100bb deep. I'm nearly 75% on flop, assuming he has a FD, 5& vs bigger set, 85% over a bigger set, 96% vs TPTK, etc.

I think right now, I'm operating qualitatively (he's loose, he's tight, he's weak) as opposed to quantitatively (he plays 45% of his hands from this position, that means he could have { hands that = {set/2pr/FD/TPTK}).

Need to keep in mind that putting somebody on TPTK is inferior to putting them on exactly two cards. Had too many episodes pop up lately when turns/rivers improved opponent hands and I didn't account for that when I put them "on a FD", and the river A ended up giving them something more than that. Get specific, OGC.

So what's the best way to do this? Start practicing %s with PokerStove? I was wondering about reviewing some of my hands with PStove open, and putting a range of hands into it when I looked at them, them comparing my hands and adjusting as the hand went on.

Might give me a better idea of whether or not I'm +EV. And it will definitely help focus decisions on "is this a good decision NOW" vs "What play will help me win this pot?". Process-based decisions.....

...ok, coffee-rant over. Enjoy your Friday.

On the subject of Tilt

2009-02-19T22:48:00.003-06:00

So

Today I shattered some personal misconceptions about tilt.

Old Paradigm: Tilt is when I'm pissed off and not thinking clearly!!! HOW COULD I LOSE WITH A STRAIGHT FLUSH DRAW VS TOP PAIR TOP KICKER!!! RAAAAR.

New Paradigm: Tilt is when I've ceased analyzing myself or my opponents.

Here's the difference: prior to recognizing this, I would set out a 3 hour block to play. Let's do this. 3 hours. I can handle this, I can focus this long. This is the time I've set up to play, and I'm GETTING THESE HOURS IN.

Well, at some point, tilt happens. Maybe a fish that I've been setting up stacks me. Maybe I'm getting 3-bet relentlessly by a LAG on my immediate left. Maybe I'm tired and my best poker is behind me, but I'm not ready to quit.

POW. Here we are again.

The surprising part: it has NOTHING TO DO with my currently emotional state (happy/sad/angry). Nor is it entirely dependent on my win/loss for the session. It's a state of mind, determining process, not outcome.

We can easily recognize extremely negative tilt: My ears are red and flushed. My face feels hot, and my neck is tense. That's difficult, but not impossible to get away from, because I have physical tells on being upset. What I didn't recognize before the relationship between emotional state and logical state!

So when I was winning pots through a combination of skill/luck, with a positive mental state, yet not thinking analytically....I was never aware of the situation.

Of course, I would lose a huge pot, and point to THAT MOMENT, as when I Tilted. No. Not at all. Actually, half an hour earlier, I removed my proverbial seatbelt, and then complained when a car hit me out of nowhere.

If I'm not tilting, I recognize that I got my money in as a favorite with the straight flush draw, shrug it off, and keep on playing. If not, my emotional state drops out in addition to my lack of logical thought. Bankroll bloodbath.

Next:

How best to recognize the absence of analytical thought? Penny Arcade, as always, is best here. I'll have to work on a solution of my own.

more later

-OGC

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T09:59:00.003-06:00

Been mucking around at 50nl for the last few weeks -- the last time I moved up, I got slaughtered via tilt and over-aggression. Had the mistaken idea that players were going to be 'better' and I had to be extra-tricky!! Resulted in jamming into the nuts time and time again.

LoL not this time.

Before I play again, I'm going to have to keep reading and analyze some of the hands that I played over break. Too much catch-up to do at work to get hands in. Best to spend the time in studying/review, I'd say.

I leave you with your Zen of the day before I get cracking, alone in the office, on this, the first Friday of 2009.

Godspeed.

túrána hott kurdís by hasta la otra méxico! from Till Credner on Vimeo.

Poker Posting Fail

2008-11-25T16:24:00.003-06:00

Picture Posting Win??

Positive Mistakes

2008-10-10T18:47:00.002-05:00

Made some errors getting max value out of my hands.

Straight fail. - Hate my bet sizing OOP. Should have an OOP betting progression of 3x -> 12x -> 36x. Then when he flats I can jam my remaining 64bb into the 72bb pot and get a call. Instead I panic and bet by the IP progression (3x -> 12x -> 24x). Then I Cbet the only type of flop I'm afraid of!! Villain was 26/22/4, and must have been 3betting light?

Aces again. Need to lead this flop, even sandwiched between two people. Got trappy and it could have cost me a nice pot. Don't mind the check on the flop as a "<10% of the time" play, but I need to bet this river for value 100% of the time, when check flop and bet turn.

If I just flat call this turn, I probably stack this guy. doh.

still ran at 90bb/100, but I wasn't thinking in hands 2 or 3. Guess it was time to quit, even after a mere 250 hands....

Back on Track

2008-10-09T22:45:00.004-05:00

so.

in my interim, I gave up posting in 2p2's BBV and OOT. Funny places, but they don't advance my understanding of the game. Have played live a bit, and my problems with live play remain the same: maintaining focus / extending mental duration / avoiding tilt.

having internet colleagues and coaches makes for an interesting glimpse into the world of +25nl stakes. i've given up on chastising myself for mistakes that i shouldn't make -- instead, i'm just going to stop making them instead of beating myself up over it. should i come to the realization that i simply cannot stop making mistakes when i know better, then i'll realize this game isn't for me and switch to limit.

lol, unlikely.

having a job i really like, a great girlfriend, family i can talk to, social life, etc...really makes for great anti-tilt. my goal over the next week is to continue the pattern i've been on: work, come home, play 1k hands, work out, pass out. I bet I can get about 4k hands in per week doing this. in addition, i'm really going to work at defining the moment where the wheels come off. knowing when i'm going from THINKING PLAY to AUTOMATIC PLAY. not tilt, but the autopilot that leads to mistakes that leads to tilt.

it's this non-thinking state that i type to you from now -- and i don't feel bad about it. there is a finite amount of willpower in the brain, and i've spent mine on learning some reverse engineering software, lifting heavy weights (harder on the brain than one might think) and getting in about 800 hands.

It's really nice to be back. I'll be sure to update my 'about me' portion of the blog tomorrow -- just want to find some hands to discuss for now.

- not to be results oriented, but I'm kinda happy that this guy made this play. setting up this image with him resulted in 2 buy ins later down the line.

- this is a habit i've since broken. Fold preflop! I am soooo fucked against this cat's range as a TAG. And there isn't a line that I really like. flat the flop, fold the turn if I miss? don't have odds for it. Better to stay out of trouble with this suited connector. MAYBE flat the flop, fold the turn...

- villain here is 32/17/3, and this is just about the bottom of my calling range. was surprised to NOT see a boat. I won't call off here against a nit, but this player was tilty and laggy....

- LOVE my line on this hand. I feel like it maximizes return from TP-type hands, and villains that are scared of the flush draw. almost stabbed my eyeballs in at showdown :) don't be results-oriented!!

- free monies ftw

- kind of a light river call. villain was 40/17/5 over 500 hands. Standard reraise of a perceived poorly playing LAG PF. Not sure whether leading out is a good idea, as he is capable of RR'ing with air here, but when he flats IP, I think I have the best hand. was more worried about 99 on the turn, but i was pot committed at that point.

more later? maybe i should blog more from work, now that i can.

-

More 2p2 wisdom...

2008-08-30T01:54:00.000-05:00

"Most of you guys have no basic technical problems when it comes to this game. You understand pot control, way ahead / way behind, position, equity, pot odds, 3-bet equity, etc. The reason you struggle with the more subtle technical aspects is that they usually require a good and clean state of mind whilst playing and analyzing. If you are on constant subtle tilt you will never understand your own image, your opponents projected image vs the way they actually play, what your history with a specific opponent really means and CORRECT adjustments (as opposed to a couple of 3 bets and now you´re waiting to shove any 2), and what all this basically boils down to; hand reading and putting your opponent on accurate ranges, and knowing what to do with those ranges. These qualities will separate a 2 ptbb winner, from a 5 ptbb winner. I believe that although I display a 4,7 ptbb winrate, I could have easily avoided many situations where I KNEW I was making the wrong play and made it anyway, and could easily have had a 5,5 - 6 ptbb winrate. I take responsibilty for these results."

BoyWonder - new poster on 2p2 - in a thread about his recent heater.

Maybe He's Not a Moron

2008-08-19T00:33:00.000-05:00

"It takes a while to lose your ego in this game. You'll think that everyone will be happy for your success, but they're not. You'll run into someone from high school who was really smart and went to an Ivy League school and is working at a $200K per year job. You think he's going to be happy for you when you tell him that you cleared $200K last month? No way. He just thinks, "Kahn what a lucky scrub" Even other poker players they'll be on the rail and they'll all talk amongst themselves, "How could he get it all in with AQ there, what an idiot." What you have to realize is that nobody cares about you. Nobody wants to see you do well in poker. Nobody wants you to be successful in life. Just remember that and you'll be an all-star."

- Hevad Khan

*head asplode*

1000 BB day + tournament win

2008-08-17T04:43:00.003-05:00

Live players are super nits.

Side note: live play averages 30 hands/hour. I get dealt AA 6 times in the course of 2 hours. I expect to see AA once every 220 hands, instead I get it once in every 10 hands. AND IT HOLDS UP EVERY TIME :O

lolbulletseverywhere

Crush a $40, 20 person tournament, and the $50nl cash game afterwards. Momentous occasions include:

- flopping a flush with AcKc AIPF vs AA of buddy out playing for the first time w/ us
- beating on roommate in 3-bet pots
- getting dealt AA directly after event #2, and tilting him into a 4bet bluffshove with 99 200+bb deep
- using no glasses or iPods, and inspiring extreme fear

lol sick rush of cards.

the funniest part was the end of the night, as we cashed out, and agreed to play one hand of 7-card stud to match stack sizes with cash availability. Naturally, finishing off my rush, I get dealt quad 6s and walk off + $600 at $50nl.

June = SUPERFAIL

2008-07-02T15:18:00.002-05:00

hands:
25NL - 27,236
50NL - 283

Amount won:
25NL - ($0.66)
50NL - $13.57

BB/100:
25NL - (0.00)
50NL - $9.59

Total Rake: $783.27

Some incredible suckouts, but mostly overplaying TPTK for me when +200BB deep.

Lifetime 25NL: $1,151.89 @ 6.79 BB/100 over 67.7k hands
Lifetime 50NL: ($480.62) @ (21.66)BB/100 over 4.4k hands

lol

Lifetime 10NL: $35.03 @ 2.31 BB/100 over 15.1k hands

can't beat 10nl! rofl

S1M1THR44R4TCH1 HUM0RZ: the sound of fail

2008-06-23T08:29:00.007-05:00

I don't usually post chat logs. Nor do I talk about the sense of humor that my brother and I both share. Drawn from odd, shared experiences, and more than a little twisted, both of us are used to people looking at us with an eyebrow cocked, and a 'wtf is WRONG with you' on their face.

So I can rarely, if ever, be all: OMG WE WERE TALKING IT WAS SOOOO FUNNY; because most people look at me the same way as when I crack about mandatory sterilization of trailer parks, the ethics of being a hitman, or how big a douchebag a pizza-delivery guy must be before you are 'allowed' to boot him in the nuts. Personally, I'm not happy until the subject is on the cusp between LOL and 'Im not sure Im comfortable taking it this far'.

This is not one of those times. Enjoy the chat log, which references the Epic Sound of Failure, which everybody should know.

Mark: omfg
i would do catherine bell
so hard
Catherine Bell Looking Sexier than Diamond Covered Steaks
hawtttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt"
12:06 AM tits = real
real, and therefore, unreal.
WIN
me: AAAA IT'S CHER
Mark: ew no
me: cher has been drinking the blood of virgins
Mark: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DONT RUIN IT FOR ME
fights to maintain
12:07 AM me: I SEE BUTT TATTOOS
DEF CHER
(don't go limp damn you!! ignore!! maintain!!)
Mark: inserts "going limp" sound effect
12:08 AM i think that would be a slide whistle.
me: /price of right sound effect
Mark: price is right?
me: Price Is Right Losing Horn
LOL
12:09 AM bwaaaaaaaaaaa
Mark: lmao

the hand of God

2008-06-21T12:45:00.003-05:00

I can't watch this video without eldritch legends of Creation welling up in my brain -- seeing entropy reverse and watching form come from Chaos is really blowing my mind.

Maybe I just need breakfast.

i want to do this

2008-06-21T12:12:00.001-05:00

HCwD.com

2008-06-19T15:28:00.002-05:00

title: Hot Chicks with Douchebags.com

Some funny shit there. One of my life's goals is to make it to this page and be hated on by internet basement-dwellers. My currently favorite piece of prose is in response to the horror below.

"I'm building an ark and these two poopheads will be the first ones on. I was down at the 7/11 picking up my daily supply of beef jerky and a 12-pack of extra large condoms when God grabbed me by my popped collar and said "Listen you greasy choad, I love you because I'm God, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it. I'd love you alot more if you built an ark and on that ark you filled it with the slimiest douchebags and their bleethy hangers-on-- emo 'bags and Euro 'bags, old farty 'bags and 'bags with orange tans. And when you've filled the ark with this menagerie of human swill I want you to take them out to the middle of the Black Sea, douse the ship with Tag Body Spray and set that mofo on fire." These two deserve to be the first pair on the good ship Douchey Slop."

lololol

Dammit

2008-06-17T21:34:00.003-05:00

I made a shitload of fudge sunday night. 4.5 lbs. 1.5 each of peanut butter, choc/walnut, and butterscotch fudge.

It's like a sweet, tasty, brick of flavored fat. Kick ass. Also perfect for a brief sugar rush during 1000 hand sessions. This could be problematic!

OWND

2008-06-17T19:55:00.004-05:00

I posted my best-polished rant on 2p2, in the BBV section. Within 4 posts, they had googled it, found my blog, and were heckling my ass for

a) 'stealing' the rant
b) being a pussy
c) etc

I <3 2p2's beats, brags, and variance forum. Not for the poker part, but the pure frickin hilarity of people heckling each other to hell and back. Screw all that warm fuzzy shit!!

Since I last posted: 2804 hands : 8.10 bb/100 : just over 2 BIs

My graph is swongy as fuck. I tried 6-tabling as an exercise, and got slammed over a 400 hand stretch with ups and downs. Best to stick with 4, I suppose.

UGLY STUFF

This villain is a bit looser (37/16/1.33), but opening this strong UTG narrows everybody's range. This hand is proof that I, OneGreenChip, have no balls. While my flop line is a little suspect, I get lucky and nobody else comes along. Effective stacks are 200bb, I cover, and so my flop and turn lines are great. MY RIVER PLAY IS ATROCIOUS. I saw the third diamond, got a check-call, and got scared.

Opinions on missed value?

In my last post, I rambled about not stacking off in an unraised pot. Yet I almost do it here. Villain has one of the few hands I beat. For 100BB stacks, when my c/r is minraised, and I have middle pair and a gutshot, I gots to fold, sonnnnn.

This nit had 3bet me 4 times in the last 10 hands. I was fed up. Thank u jesus.

Maybe I could have stacked this guy. I put him on a steal, as he'd lost some big pots lately with suckouts and was starting to loosen up from his standard 40/1/0.3 game.

I messed up here and don't know how. the card I want comes in on the turn, and then I get scared of a bigger flush and flatcall the river. I KNOW i could have had more value here, but reasoning doesn't support it. I'M WEAK.

THE GREAT

Lately I haven't been getting a lot of value from the river, as 95% of my river bets have been value bets. This session I made sure to put in some bets on the for value, and some for bluffs. It ended up confusing a number of the regs I played with. This TAG (18/12/3.0) and I have over 10k hands of history, so when I float his c/r and bet the river, he's got to put me on a hand. Player dependent, but... I like it.

I should just lead out, but it takes a real donk to stack off w/ TT here.

Another reg. Not sure that I like my play OOP, but it's easy to put this particular player on a hand, and I get paid off.

THE AWFUL

230 BB pot!! I make the PF call from the SB -- speculative, but not too bad. My hand is easy to ditch. The flop is just what I'm looking for, but really draw-heavy. The plan is to check raise the PF raiser, who's loose and aggressive. I'm happy getting all in with him.

But the loose-passive on my right raises before I can get there. Raise (and commit to the pot?) or fold? I think a shove is OK if I had flopped the straight. Two pair just cannot be good against these opponents, but I marry my crappy two pair. I LOVE YOU!!! WAIT! YOU SUCK! BITCH WHY ARE YOU FAT AND HORRIBLE I CAN'T BELIEVE I PICKED YOU ARRGHHHHHH

All Day

was sure I could fold out any non-K hand with a shove.

This river shove didn't work out, but I don't agree with his call at all. Made a note on the guy and stacked him later.

I guess that's enough for now. This blog is turning into a notepad of hands. I'll have to do more expounding on the game itself, and what I'm noticing from 25nl at AP. Maybe it's time to move again? Bonus-whore? With the winrate I'm sustaining now (34K hands @ 13.31 bb/100), I can't see moving. It's too bad that I finally got 4-tabling down well and now don't have any bonuses to take advantage of.

Maybe I should redeposit and start a new name. Screw this ironeagle guy, right? :D

AA finally gets paid

2008-06-15T11:16:00.004-05:00

Seriously. Feels like the last 30 times I've had AA/KK, I get a walk. Today was the flip side of that. I'll just POAST, as I'm hongray and want mah brakefaist.

$0.1/$0.25 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:

UTG	RAIN_KING_10	($38.20)
UTG+1	Hero	($60.80)
CO	MOBILJAN	($8.94)
BTN	ROB1954	($38.82)
SB	2GOOD2B_TRU	($12.32)
BB	ABSOLUTEFW	($7.25)

Pre-flop: ($0.35, 6 players) Hero is UTG+1

1 fold, Hero raises to $1, 1 fold, ROB1954 calls $1, 1 fold, ABSOLUTEFW calls $0.75

Flop: ($3.10, 3 players)
ABSOLUTEFW bets $3.10, Hero calls $3.10, ROB1954 raises to $7.45, ABSOLUTEFW goes all-in $3.15, Hero goes all-in $59.80, ROB1954 goes all-in $30.37

Turn: ($110.07, 3 players)

River: ($110.07, 3 players)
ROB1954 shows:
ABSOLUTEFW shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $103.97 ( won +$40.07 )
ROB1954 lost -$38.82
ABSOLUTEFW lost -$7.25

What do I think about my flop play? I don't mind my call of ABSOLUTEFW's lead-out, as I'm way ahead of ROB's range. After the minraise and shove, it's a $4.35 call for a ~$25 to me, and Rob has $30 left. Do I want a smaller raise here? KK-TT is probably getting it in regardless. I got carried away because this second hand was going on at the same time.

I love my 3bet size PF. I also like my flop check, letting others take a shot, as only a PSB remains. Weeee

$0.1/$0.25 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:

UTG	RAIN_KING_10	($47.65)
UTG+1	PBSSB1	($10.00)
CO	ALLINKING5	($17.47)
BTN	STOKESY1966	($46.51)
SB	Hero	($24.50)
BB	RYEKABE111	($29.00)

[PBSSB1 posted $0.25]
Pre-flop: ($0.60, 6 players) Hero is SB

RAIN_KING_10 raises to $1, PBSSB1 calls $0.75, 1 fold, STOKESY1966 calls $1, Hero raises to $5, RYEKABE111 calls $4.75, RAIN_KING_10 calls $4, PBSSB1 folds, STOKESY1966 calls $4

Flop: ($21.25, 4 players)
Hero checks, RYEKABE111 checks, RAIN_KING_10 checks, STOKESY1966 bets $21, Hero goes all-in $19.50, RYEKABE111 folds, RAIN_KING_10 folds

Turn: ($61.75, 2 players)

River: ($61.75, 2 players)

Final Pot: $60
STOKESY1966 shows:
Hero shows:

STOKESY1966 wins $1.50 ( lost -$24.50 )
Hero wins $57 ( won +$32.50 )
RYEKABE111 lost -$5.00
RAIN_KING_10 lost -$5.00
PBSSB1 lost -$1.00

for perspective
Biggest pot lost yesterday. 5 BI = not bad

Ugh, I am Terrible

2008-06-12T23:13:00.004-05:00

Today, I played past my fatigue limits. Graph looks like a horseshoe. Damn.

Stacking off in a unraised pot is not acceptable. Third best hand.

Don't know if I can lay this down. I lead two streets, and then he beats me into the pot? Kinda expected to be shown a boat here.

Turn card is awful. We can't shut down here for stack sizes.

Die. You too.

I think this might be a bad fold. Villain said he had JJ. He's 43/4/2.5 over 4k hands, so his minraise screamed big pocket pair to me. Takes stupid lines and bluffs postflop, but since his pf range is so damn wide i have to respect him for random 2pairs and the like.

EDIT:
OK, the harsh light of day helps a lot here. Even if I given him a range of [AQs+, 99+], I still am ahead of most of his range. BUT, this guy takes weird lines, like I said, and gets paid off when people with TP-type hands run into his CONNECTED SHIT. Anyway, in retrospect I hate my 3bet from the blinds, especially now that I'm verbally addressing his range.

But (most importantly), I played it like AK. My line looks weaker than my hand, so not calling is even more of an error than I thought.

was at a table with three of these guys (30/3, 40/5, 43/4) and they were just floating me into oblivion when I couldn't hit the flop. I can deal with weak/tight players, but these loose/stations got me good this session. suppose it's just variance, and them hitting flops.

basically, once my image went to shit they got all brave and floaty, and then I couldn't connect. in the future, i'll have to just flee from these tables when my image is in tatters and i can't scrounge up any fold equity. don't have a better solution right now.

yay

i don't respect you PokerStove gives me a a half percent edge!! SHOVEZZ

down half a buying over 3 days, 2600 hands. poor play.

Positive Thinking

2008-06-10T10:35:00.002-05:00

I like how this hand turned out. lol. I think I played it ok, too. Villain is 32/4/3.67. Seems like a real donkey -- gets TPWK and overvalues it to the river.

Flop play is meh, as board doesn't get much scarier. Personally, I raise bigger w/ two pair / set / straight / flushdraw (only IP). So his donkraise doesn't look strong to me.

Great turn card. I pulled ahead of [AA, AK, AT, KQ, KT, QQ]. Still trail [AQ, KK, TT, KJ/JT(unlikely), and made flushes.]

With such a great turn card on this board, I think that this donkey is going to pay me off with all the hands I just pulled ahead of. +EV!

$0.1/$0.25 No Limit Holdem
3 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:

BTN	Hero	($35.94)
SB	SLOPEZ2005	($25.29)
BB	BIGPAPA6	($17.16)

Pre-flop: ($0.35, 3 players) Hero is BTN

Hero raises to $1, SLOPEZ2005 calls $0.90, 1 fold

Flop: ($2.25, 2 players)
SLOPEZ2005 checks, Hero bets $1.50, SLOPEZ2005 raises to $3, Hero calls $1.50

Turn: ($8.25, 2 players)
SLOPEZ2005 bets $8.25, Hero goes all-in $31.94, SLOPEZ2005 goes all-in $13.04

River: ($61.48, 2 players)

Final Pot: $50.83
Hero shows:
SLOPEZ2005 shows:

Hero wins $59.48 ( won +$23.54 )
SLOPEZ2005 lost -$25.29

Hardware Update

2008-06-09T23:41:00.002-05:00

Originally:

HP Pavilion ZV5410us lappy.
15.4" lcd screen, xtrabrite bitches.
shitty ass touchpad
Athlon x64 chip
80gb of space
1.25 mb RAM

:(

Then I got my 24" Soyo screen (balla). Was outputting the laptop to that. Made for some supreme neck pain.

NOW

HP Pavilion Elite m9077c Desktop
Core 2 Quad Q6600
TV tuner card
3 GB DDR2
400 GB SATA
16X DVD(+/-)R/RW 12X RAM (+/-)R
DL LightScribe SATA drive
Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g
15-in-1 Memory Reader
Vista Home Premium Windows Media
Pimped out w/ a Logitech mouse.
factory recertified <---- key

$800. most of the Quad Cores are going for $2k new. awwww yeah. Upgraded with pirated Vista OS (thanks piratebay!), poker software, etc.

I can run 12 tables with this monitor real-estate.

no more lagging DB. Compressions / icon updates / defrags are matters of seconds, minutes at most.

No more tilt due to crappy tools.

shout out to www.dealnews.com for the hot link. BALLA

Finally, Poker Content

2008-06-09T22:27:00.012-05:00

Last poker content posted: 4/25/08

Stuff has gone way wrong since then.

1) job stuff. standard.
2) ended 25nl Poker Heater with 50nl Poker cooler. >CLICKY<
3) cashed out half of bankroll to deal with RL stuff
4) stopped watching poker videos, WTF?
5) STOPPED POSTING.

Some stuff has gone right.

1) have run OK at 25nl since...Monday
2) stayed healthy - gym every day, eating right every day
3) spent <$20/week socializing
4) developing great contacts
5) offered two jobs already, turned both down
6) have flopped quads 9 times, winning nearly 10 BIs, wtf??

So destroying donkeys has been less and less of a priority for me, and more something to do in my spare time when I can't do any more calling/interview/searching. Which is good -- I don't think I play my best game when I'm mentally worried about the monies.

anyway, some of the fun hands that led me into destruction!!!

Obviously, some of it is just plain running badly, but some hands show suprising stupidity by yours truly. I guess that heater made me retarded, lol.

$0.25/$0.5 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:

UTG	NJSEABASS	($45.31)
UTG+1	BRUSHB	($6.83)
CO	JAHBIRD	($15.97)
BTN	NAGARJUNA	($97.45)
SB	TOURISTTRAP1	($76.28)
BB	Hero	($56.35)

Pre-flop: ($0.75, 6 players) Hero is BB

NJSEABASS calls $0.50, 2 folds, NAGARJUNA calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero checks

Flop: ($1.75, 3 players)
Hero checks, NJSEABASS checks, NAGARJUNA bets $1.20, Hero calls $1.20, NJSEABASS folds

Turn: ($4.15, 2 players)
Hero checks, NAGARJUNA bets $3, Hero raises to $9, NAGARJUNA raises to $28, Hero goes all-in $54.65, NAGARJUNA calls $26.65

River: ($122.45, 2 players)

Final Pot: $113.45
NAGARJUNA shows:
Hero shows:

NAGARJUNA wins $109.95 ( won +$53.60 )
Hero lost -$65.35
NJSEABASS lost -$0.50

in retrospect, checking the flop was stupid. checking the turn is ATROCIOUS OOP, as is 4betting here. how does he ever, ever, ever have less than a set, much less a straight?

$0.1/$0.25 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:

UTG	PEONS_STRATA	($55.74)
UTG+1	Hero	($50.63)
CO	PAT1953	($50.83)
BTN	FBOARDER	($47.40)
SB	CUEMAN2	($29.99)
BB	MBOLZMAN	($17.18)

Pre-flop: ($0.35, 6 players) Hero is UTG+1

1 fold, Hero raises to $1, PAT1953 calls $1, 1 fold, CUEMAN2 calls $0.90, 1 fold

Flop: ($3.25, 3 players)
CUEMAN2 checks, Hero checks, PAT1953 bets $1, CUEMAN2 calls $1, Hero calls $1

Turn: ($6.25, 3 players)
CUEMAN2 checks, Hero bets $6.25, PAT1953 calls $6.25, CUEMAN2 folds

River: ($18.75, 2 players)
Hero bets $18.75, PAT1953 goes all-in $42.58, Hero goes all-in $23.63

Final Pot: $103.51
Hero shows:
PAT1953 shows:

PAT1953 wins $100.71 ( won +$49.88 )
CUEMAN2 lost -$2.00
Hero lost -$50.63

Here I got greedy, and checked the flop, hoping for action.

Wow, that's not a good turn card. Wow, that's a HORRIBLE river card. Please don't have QJ. &#*$

$0.1/$0.25 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:

UTG	MUCHDABEST	($41.41)
UTG+1	FOLDEMAWAY	($87.59)
CO	PHIL196363	($46.07)
BTN	WILDSNIPER	($30.58)
SB	NASTYMRPIKE	($25.44)
BB	Hero	($42.04)

Pre-flop: ($0.35, 6 players) Hero is BB

1 fold, FOLDEMAWAY raises to $1.50, 1 fold, WILDSNIPER calls $1.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.25

Flop: ($4.60, 3 players)
Hero checks, FOLDEMAWAY bets $4.60, WILDSNIPER calls $4.60, Hero raises to $14.70, FOLDEMAWAY calls $10.10, WILDSNIPER folds

Turn: ($38.60, 2 players)
Hero checks, FOLDEMAWAY goes all-in $71.39, Hero goes all-in $25.84

River: ($135.83, 2 players)

Final Pot: $90.28
Hero shows:
FOLDEMAWAY shows:

FOLDEMAWAY wins $132.83 ( won +$45.24 )
WILDSNIPER lost -$6.10
Hero lost -$42.04

Here I see a large PF raise, hit the flop hard, and opt to checkraise against the opener and a caller. I'm scared when he calls, but am curious that he shoves to me. Marginal call at best. Nothing to do but make a note that he stacks off 200bb deep w/ TPTK. Sadly, I do so with LESS. BAD.

So yeah, I'm digging my way out of a pile of shit. I must have been blessed on my last heater, because the bad beats are piling up. Sadly, I am definitely affected by bad play / bad beats. I want to move up and reach my goals sooooo badly, and a few of the first-posted hands threw me into a spewy mindset.

Definitely let tilt get to me at 50nl. Expected better play by the opponents, saw some HORRIBLE players, then tried to run over everybody (respect my LAGGINESS) and got owned.

*sigh*

not that lots of great play didn't happen, I just don't feel like dwelling on it now. I'll be back to posting w/ mah sparkly new template. hope it doesn't burn your eyes.

Still No Poker Content

2008-05-06T13:06:00.002-05:00

I am getting HOSED at work. Details unimportant. Cannot play any online poker lately. Jeezus. Blog still needs to be updated

So instead, enjoy a tale from Hell Week pledging at my Penn State fraternity.

The Nastiest Thing I Have Ever Done, pt 1.

It was during Hell Week when I was pledging. We are continually drinking, stoned, sleep deprived, subjected to isolation, loud music and strobe lights. The effect is downright hallucinatory. Constantly repeating chants and songs keeps your conscious mind occupied, and you're being forced through increasingly insane games to keep you continually exhausted.

Eventually, you get so screwed into a state of WTF that you would do anything: You might even eat poo.

!!!

I am ripped out of the 100+ dB closet, blindfolded, and dragged to the bathroom. My captors throw me on my knees in front of a toilet. I smell shit, sweat, and dirt all around. My 'big brother', whom I have observed being ridiculed/ostracized for doing a terrible job 'raising' me, is hurriedly whispering in my ear, while four of my disappointed nemeses scream in the other:

"REACH YOUR HAND IN THAT TOILET AND GRAB THAT TURD, MAGGOT!!" 'dude, you have to do it, we all had to do it, just take a bite and spit it out' "YOU'RE SHIT AND YOU'RE GOING TO EAT SHIT HAHAHA PERFECT ISN'T IT" 'i've got an apple right here, and a toothbrush, just take a bite and spit it out hurry up do it fast' "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!! DO YOU WANT TO EAT TWO?!" 'don't let them make you eat two, Ogre is holding one in right now, they'll do it, just take the bite'

...until, adrenaline-charged, hackles-raised, and half-crazy, I SLAM my hand into the toilet and root around until I feel the hideously soft dooker rattling around in the bottom. I grab it, take a DEEEEEEEP breath AND JAM THE SHIT INTO MY MOUTH. OMG I AM EATING SHIT. My head almost explodes.

Cheers of victory all around, as I retch and puke into the toilet. My mouth, numb from hours of eating raw onions and lemons, is covered in butt-chunder. I want to wipe it away, but I'm being dragged off again by my arms. Finally, the taste begins to seep into my cracked lips and tongue.

Peanut Butter and Bananas. You Fuckers.

When Your Best is Behind You

2008-05-02T08:05:00.002-05:00

....fatigue. My bugbear. Being tired puts me on tilt. :D

I wonder how long a session I can pull off with optimal play. Had the conscious realization last night that I was starting to play weak-tight around the 6th hour of live play @ the LongHorn.

After donkeying (I have an OESD!! You're all-in! I callz and winzz LOLOL) into chipleader position in a $60 freezeout, I found QQ in MP with 5 left and limped. Two other players limped, and both shorties in the blinds shoved. My chips left a smoking line on the felt as I rammed them into the pot and tabled Sigfried & Roy. Up against A6o and KT0, my Hoes found a third friend on the turn, and I was the overwhelming chipleader as we broke the bubble.

More interested in getting to the cash game, we split it inequally. Fuggit. It's more +EV to keep playing than battle it out over the final $90 or whatever.

Anyway, I love being fresh. Rested. Creative. Involved. Observant. Exactly the qualities that I lose come the 5th or 6th hour of poker.

I take that back.

It's when I start to become crushed by negativity that I get mopey and fatigued. When I chastise myself internally by making a poor play, or when I'm bored with my 15th hand of Q3sooooooooted.

I hate to say it, but there are times that live poker bores me. Bores the SHIT out of me. Mostly when the table isn't interacting, and people have their shades/iPod plugged in, and are trying to 'outplay' each other, or not give off tells or some other wannabe WSOP shit. Bitch, please.

When I'm bored, I tire faster. When I'm tired, I sometimes play first-level, weak-tight. I don't feel badly admitting this because everybody else follows the same pattern. Limp-calling PF and check-calling postflop increases by 300% after 12am. One play that I would make at 9:30p had a 75% chance of working, and maybe only a 30% chance after midnight as people would get tired, stop thinking and call off their chips in bad spots.

There were a few times I felt frustrated by the table dynamics, but I couldn't verbalize this concept to myself and take advantage of it by adjusting to the game. It's very hard for me to tell when I'm reverting to weak-tight play -- it's almost comparable to a drunk's inability to comprehend his reduced reaction time.

lol.

I spend so much time thinking about this game that I sometimes refuse to admit that I'm getting bored. Subconscious refusal to spit upon a subject so heavily invested in. BUT, there's nothing wrong with admitting boredom or fatigue. Sometimes, your best is just behind you, and there's no shame in getting up from a table -- even when you feel that you're one of the smarter players there.

I Don't Understand

2008-04-25T14:53:00.004-05:00

NL50 207 hands - 23/18/2.6 - $11.31 @ 10.93 bb/100

NL25 1208 hands - 26.5/18/2.3 - $86.69 @ 28.71 bb/100

Have been following up all sessions since last post by reviewing my previous blogpost. Aiming to capitalize/improve upon strengths, and eliminate/adjust for weaknesses. Very glad that I'm using this blog for something productive, and not just for BBV. Naturally, BBV is a part of poker, but it's not value-added to discuss it. Instead, I'd rather focus on leaks and plugging them, instead of writing everything off as a cooler.

cuz DAMN some hands can seem like coolers when you casually ignore the multiple mistakes you made on the way to 5th street.

Again, I apologize for having hands in full text format.

Seat 4 - xxx($53.44 in chips)
Seat 5 - xxx($61.35 in chips)
Seat 6 - Hero ($63.04 in chips)
Seat 1 - xxx($28.85 in chips)
Seat 2 - xxx($13.42 in chips)
Seat 3 - Villain($71.56 in chips)
xxx- Posts small blind $0.10
Hero- Posts big blind $0.25

*** POCKET CARDS ***Dealt to Hero[7d 7c]
2 Folds
Villain - Raises $1 to $1
2 Folds
Hero - Calls $0.75

*** FLOP *** [9h 7h 8d]
Hero - Bets $1.75
Villain - Raises $7 to $7
Hero - Raises $18.50 to $20.25
Villain - All-In(Raise) $63.56 to $70.56
Hero - ?

Villain above is a 19/17/5.7 over 2.6k hands. Taggy. He's also a 9 BB/100 winner.

We have deep stacks, about 250bb effective, I'm covered. Standard preflop action, and I hit a flop that I love. I have the option of two lines - checkraising the inevitable Cbet or leading out, and I choose the latter due to the super wet board.

When he raises, it's time to put him on a range [AA-88, AhKh-JhTh, Ah8h+, T9s-78s]. *what do you think of this estimate?* Pokerstove gives it as 60/40 equity for me, so I raise (too small).

After his bet, the pot is 10.75, and I 3bet to make the pot 29.25; 11.5 for him to call [2.5:1]. At this point, I have committed 1/3rd of my stack, and have ~$40 left behind. And he shoves over the top, making it another $41 for me to call for a chance to double up.

Obviously, w/ 100BB effective stacks I am committed all day. But 240bb deep? I really felt like I should be 3-betting here to get value from AA-TT, heart draws, and two pair. Also feel the villain is aggressive enough to pull this move with all of the above.

As y'all know, my deepstack game is shaky, so I'd like some feedback here.

This second hand involves my FAVORITE villain, a TagFish. 23.5/18.7/3.5 over 7k hands @ ($15.84)bb/100. Our history revolves around me taking advantage of: his wide range for raising (by widening my 3betting range IP) and his high Cbet % (by widening my floating range).

Haven't seen him play non-ABC poker too often, and my note on him is that he marries his overpairs and TPTKs.

Seat 3 - Hero($52.03 in chips)
Seat 4 - Moron($23.17 in chips)
Seat 5 - xxx($26.45 in chips)
Seat 1 - xxx($15.45 in chips)
Seat 2 - TagFish($122.34 in chips)
Moron- Posts small blind $0.10
xxx- Posts big blind $0.25

*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero[10c 10s]
xxx- Folds
TagFish- Raises $1 to $1
Hero- Raises $4.25 to $4.25
Moron- Calls $4.15
x- Folds
TagFish- Calls $3.25

*** FLOP *** [5s 9d 8d]
Moron- Checks
TagFish- Bets $11
Hero- Calls $11
Moron- Folds

*** TURN *** [5s 9d 8d] [4h]
TagFish- Checks
Hero- Checks

*** RIVER *** [5s 9d 8d 4h] [Kd]
TagFish- Checks
Hero- Bets $12.75

Here I'm meh about my 3bet PF. TT isn't quite good enough from MP against an UTG raiser, and our history means he will understand that I'm 3betting lighter than [JJ+, AKo+]. When he doesn't squeeze, I put him on [QQ-22; AQo, possible some big SCs].

Therefore, I don't like my turn action. I should be either be pushing or folding here, as his action screams [qq-tt]. However, I choose to be indecisive and call. Poor.

Then he checks out of position and I check behind. Poor.

Then a decent card comes to bluff at. I don't consider this a good card to bluff on any more. It just doesn't make sense. PF/Flop I'm repping a big PP. That is incongruous w/ my river actions.

So, do I 3bet the flop? Bet the turn? Or just check the river?

Lol see if you can guess my hand in this one.

Seat #2 is the dealer
Seat 2 - xxx($20.53 in chips)
Seat 3 - xxx($34.72 in chips)
Seat 4 - Hero($61.29 in chips)
Seat 5 - xxx($25 in chips)
Seat 6 - TagFish($50.57 in chips)
Seat 1 - xxx($23.71 in chips)
xxx- Posts small blind $0.10
Hero- Posts big blind $0.25
xxx - sitout (wait for BB)

*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero[XX]
TagFish- Raises $1 to $1
xxx- Folds
xxx- Folds (Timeout)
xxx- Folds
Hero- Calls $0.75

*** FLOP *** [Qs Ks 10d]
Hero- Checks
TagFish- Bets $2
Hero- Raises $6.50 to $6.50
TagFish- Calls $4.50

*** TURN *** [Qs Ks 10d] [10s]
Hero- Bets $8
TagFish- Calls $8

*** RIVER *** [Qs Ks 10d 10s] [Ah]
Hero- All-In $45.79
TagFish- All-In $35.07
Hero- returned ($10.72) : not called

*** SHOW DOWN ***
Hero- Shows [10h 10c] (Four of a kind, tens)
TagFish- Mucks
Hero Collects $98.24 from main pot

*** SUMMARY ***Total Pot($101.24) Rake ($3)Board [Qs Ks 10d 10s Ah]
Seat 4: Hero(big blind) won Total ($98.24) All-In HI:($98.24) with Four of a kind, tens
Seat 6: TagFish HI: [Mucked] [Ac As]

yeah, yeah, brag hand, asdfjkl;

My really big pots all follow the same logic
- best hand played strictly ABC
- horrible suckout (ATs > QQ AIPF)
- monster vs monster

I dunno. I really need to say to myself THAT IS OK THERE IS NO NEED FOR FPS AT 25NL. But... when I have hands like the one below....villain is 52/17/1 over 200 hands

Seat #2 is the dealer
Seat 2 - xxx ($58.99 in chips)
Seat 3 - xxx($41.67 in chips)
Seat 4 - xxx($31.30 in chips)
Seat 5 - Hero($24.69 in chips)
Seat 6 - ATC($40.17 in chips)
xxx- Posts small blind $0.10
xxx- Posts big blind $0.25

*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [10h Kh]
Hero - Raises $1 to $1
ATC- Calls $1
xxx - Calls $1
xxx- Folds
xxx- Calls $0.75

*** FLOP *** [5s 5c 6c]
xxx- Checks
Hero - Bets $4.05
ATC- Calls $4.05
xxx - Folds
xxx- Folds

*** TURN *** [5s 5c 6c] [9d]
Hero - Checks
ATC- Bets $4
Hero - Raises $11 to $11
ATC- Folds
Hero - returned ($7) : not called

*** SHOW DOWN ***
Hero - Does not show
Hero Collects $19.21 from main pot

*** SUMMARY ***Total Pot($20.20) Rake ($0.99)Board [5s 5c 6c 9d]
Seat 5: Hero collected Total ($19.21) HI:($19.21) [Does not show]
Seat 6: ATCFolded on the TURN

I have a few hands like this -- where I 'feel' the villain is weak and shove him off the hand. Going on 'feel' like this is a huge fucking leak. Why did it work? Do I need more examples? Help.

How Do I Win Moar Monies?

2008-04-17T16:16:00.001-05:00

"...Postflop play is about maximizing value and minimizing losses. Here are some attributes of the top postflop players:

1) They control pot size

2) They seem to know when they have the best hand and how to keep a worse hand around

3) They take chances that they will sucked out on in order to extract more value from a worse hand

4) They save their big bets for the turn when a drawing opponent has half the dream he had on the flop

5) They bluff/semi-bluff a lot and when they do the bluffs are consistent with a made hand"

the redoubtable Fuel55

No Pokerz all Week!!

2008-04-17T09:56:00.003-05:00

Hands: 0
Winrate: 0 bb/100
Net Win: 0

Super busy week. Had some HR drama previously, and have been pushing to hit my weekly goals. Let's brag.

Hit the 1800 calories mark every day, 6 meals, 180 oz H20.
Planned out new lifting schedule 3x weekly
Got new kicks and crushed cardio / abs
Blasted a push set yesterday (all compound exercises: dips/bench/incl bench/mil.press)
SUGAR INTAKE = Og = HOOJ WIN

It's been almost 3 weeks off, and my metabolism has reset to its former slacker level. Perfect. Time to shock it back into the red. Smaller, frequent meals, compound exercises (more muscles activated = higher metabolic boots; pullups > curls), loads of water, right amounts of calcium, vitamins, and sleep...all of these contribute to burning more calories as I sit here typing.

I'll probably end up adding a bit of muscle, but this is really an all-out assault on the gut. Happy to report that the gut has been losing the war over the past 5 years, but it hasn't quite given up, due to frequent reinforcement by its allies. But, as I've cut the supply chain off on Red Bull and Cookie Dough, it's only a matter of time.

on topic: the long & the short of it is that I haven't had the energy to get hands in after getting home at 7.30p (avg) and getting my shit done. I don't want to be sitting down at the tables at 10pm at night, post-workout and exhausted, and expect to A) play well and B) make it to work on time. So I watch a vid and pass out.

money saved = money earned?

ARTERIES EXPLODING

2008-04-16T13:57:00.001-05:00

you got to be fucking kidding meeeeeee

MOAR

2008-04-14T08:16:00.017-05:00

...of the same:
50 NL
318 hands
($43.69) / (27.48)

25 NL

1092 hands
$140.36 / 51.41
actually seems to be sustainable, due to 40BB stacktards at AP ?!?!?

Cliff's notes:

Continuing to flirt with the cusp of 50NL. Playing relatively solid, lost a few flips and made a few obvious mistakes of the gee, i'm pretty sure i'm not good here, but can't help myself variety. Nothing I'm really concerned about for the 50NL hands.

25NL is so so so beatable right now. Having an enormous PT database doesn't help -- once upon a time I was giving too much respect to the 19/14, 22/18, 14/10 types. I would make efforts not to get into pots with them, would leave the table, etc and consider it 'good game selection'.

Since my datamining is so much easier at AP (thanks Absolute Solution!!), I have exponentially more data than before. Now I look forward to dealing with the above spectrum of players, provided they are marginal winners or losing players. I really haven't seen that many truly TAG players at AP -- most think they are, but are actually weak/tight.

In the midst of this heater, it's probably a good time to assess some things that I'm doing correctly -- I'd like to be able to look back at this post during the Doomswitch Days and revisit some good habits, like:

Datamining. A LOT. My laptop is my bitch, and the best-informed people are the best-armed.
Table selection. I've been actively filtering my PT Database, auto-rating it, finding the fish, and sitting to their left whenever possible. Also have been attempting to get full, loose stacks in the 3 seats to my right, and weak, tight, short stacks in the 2 seats to my left.
Opening up against weak/tight/marginal regs. I've been opening up my range preflop against known entities when I feel I have a read on their range
Running HAWT: I catch outs like it's my fucking job. I'm the King of Catching my Gutshot after a Cbet gets called. Also, I have a condo in Valuetown, and I takes u there.

some hands? in this one, I take money, and throw it on the bonfire. one cannot profitably take a Cbet/fold line in a 4-bet pot. If I'm going to bet here, I have to commit, and JJ is likely a dog vs his range here.

Seat 5 - Solid TAG($50 in chips)
Seat 1 - xxxx ($41.35 in chips)
Seat 2 - HERO ($37.85 in chips)
Seat 3 - xxxx ($28.30 in chips)
Seat 4 - xxxx ($21.20 in chips)

xxxx - Posts small blind $0.10
HERO- Posts big blind $0.25

*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to 1R0NEAGLE [Jc Js]

one limper to
Solid TAG - Raises $1.19 to $1.19 <--- wide range for BN open

folds to
HERO - Raises $3.63 to $3.88 <--- std for BB play

folds to
Solid TAG - Raises $7.87 to $9.06 <--- wtf range for 4bets

HERO - Calls $5.18 <---- no range assessment? suck.

so at the flop, we've got an $18 pot, effective stacks are $29, he covers me, and I'm out of position against an aggressive opponent. This is bad.

*** FLOP *** [Qd As 6d]

Hero - Bets $10

Solid TAG - Raises $30 to $30

Hero - Folds

Terrible. As I already said, for the stack sizes, I can't flat his 4bet w/o a plan to shove the flop. Without more history, I can't narrow his range better than [AA/KK/maybe QQ or AK/ air]. The flop narrows it to [AA/QQ/air], and when I bet enough to commit myself, and he comes over the top, air doesn't have much in the way, there....

..but a huge part of playing profitably is staying out of marginal situations. Against this player, in this situation, I like my PF 3-bet, but unless I've seen him 4bet w/ AK/AQ/SC-type hands, I can't call with JJ OOP there. Unless I have odds to set-mine (like when I'm 1200bbs deep lol).

I have another blog for nonpoker content AHEM AHEM FUCKING AHEM, but these are poker relevant, as he's obv braggin' about his ballerdom. My blog consists of 100% poker content, nobody cares about vacations, clubs, hot chicks, house music, pickup, etc. Poker is all. Therefore, review these poker-related pics.

here malfaire is discussing hand strategy with a donk

here i was trying to manipulate my loose image in da club. instead I get caught out with one pair, when I was trying for two pair. unreal. fuckin' rigged.

My champagne glass is gutshot, but I get a free card and get filled up. over and over again.
I'll post some non-poker related pics at my other blog. Maybe I'll even link it.

Live Poker isn't Rigged

2008-04-06T03:18:00.002-05:00

...i'm just not at good at it as I thought.

I had my KK run into a flopped set of tens on a raggedy board early on...neutered my proud starting stack to a measly $75. After tripling up when AA turned a full house, I ran it to $550 in a straddled pot when I flopped a flush OOP. Led out + called a min c/r, c/c'd a PSB, then shoved the river. Valuetown, you goes there. Fare is $275, thank you come again.

Feeling cocky, I began to vaccuum the red nickels in front of me, ignoring my BB to create intimidating scarlet towers. The jealous throng finally convinced me to keep the game moving, and I check the napkins.

AcAd. Nuts throb with joy.

The four limpers in the pot look like absolue snack food. I cover them all, so I bump it to $16. This dissuades live donkeys very little. Three of them, OBVIOUSLY NOT FEARING THE POWERFUL IRON EAGLE, hee-haw their way to the flop.

Which come Tc 9c 7d. Fuck.

I bet $30 into the $46 pot. Zany comes along, a loose-aggressive, skilled player. He understands position and stack sizes, plays Omaha Hi-Lo, and never seems to shut up. Maybe he figures he can outplay me on this flop. Shit. 1 fold to Dumbo, who hasn't done much yet. He's got a real country-soundin' voice, dontch'yall know how we play dis hear game. I don't have a read on him.

Turn Kc. Effing F. Both players have about $100 left, and the pot has mushroomed to $156. However, I can't see their stacks, as they are hidden behind their cups. All I am seeing right now is the board that I am now WA/WB, and out of position on. Not even thinking about their stacks (which are fucking committed right now durrr). I check. They check.

River bricks a 5d. I'm pissed. OOP against two players? Can I lay this down? I resolve to check/call a small bet (still not thinking about stack sizes). Zany checks, insisting he has us both beat. Nothing new under the sun there. Dumbo quietly shoves all-in.

FUCK. I should call. I call if there is one person here. But Zany is still behind me! Would either check a made flush on the turn? I shit blood and fold. Zany calls, putting him all-in, and shows 8c8d, and scoops a huge pot.

the good: recognized a WA/WB situation, OOP in 3-way pot
the bad: didn't take stack sizes into account
the ugly:

I figured at least ONE of them had straight or flush. When Dumbo pushed in, I was thinking about Zany calling behind me -- never realizing that my equity doesn't change in that situation!! Calling the bet puts him all-in; he can't reraise me for any more of my stack.

I had pot odds of 7:1, and I folded. Live poker isn't rigged, I'M JUST A MORONNNNN

Heater Runs Into Buzzsaw

2008-04-03T22:17:00.004-05:00

50NL
331 hands
$83.13 / 25.11 BB/100

25NL
2049 hands
$276.73 / 27.01 BB/100

So I came back from my incredible vacation and continued to tear 25NL a new asshole. Righteously running hawwwt. I reached the 20 BI mark for the next level, and decided to take a 4-BI shot at 50NL, as my game is so sick tight.

fail. That enormous W is my time at 50NL, which was marked by LAGs either taking adv of me or running hot, and missing every flop. Such is life. I admit that the constant pressure threw me into a bit of tilt, too. :(

Licked my wounds, went back to 25NL, and continue to crush. Sadly, I think it's more because of my table selection than anything. I can count at least three times when I noted that one of my tables had 5 TAGs, and one fish. The other 4 TAG regulars were all there because everybody had full stacks. Fuck that.

I skedaddled off to other tables, where 75bb - 50bb stacks were being horribly wielded by terrible players. Made at least 20 new fishy friends, who were willing to call off their stacks with TPGK and worse on the flop. Weeee.

Some hands? I'll try to keep these in chronological order, and make sure interesting hands only are posted. There are ~2400, so bear with me...

Here's a pretty standard scenario. I've always had the tournament mentality of 'raise to protect my hand'. Forget the fact that I have TPWK + NFD. I know that I should have just called and prayed to hit the flush.

When I have just TPWK here, it looks like a major leak. Should I be calling and re-evaluating his action on the turn/river? His raising range includes both flush draws and better aces, so I'm guessing the answer is yes. The problem is when he bets out his flush draw after the c/r, and I have to fold the best hand. Value is definitely being lost here, and I've had this type of situation backfire on me before, so obviously my thought process needs revision.

This is just a crappy spot to double-barrell. I don't know what I was thinking.

I took the worst line possible in this hand. Either I lead out or I c/r. This is just too drawy a board. Don't really know what he was thinking on the turn.....

Is KK OOP on an A-high flop a bet/fold situation? Should I even be leading out against two villains? I guess it's read-dependent. Thank God he showed.

I don't mind my PF / flop play, but on the turn, I had a read that he was on a flush draw. Villain is a complete donk, and never has a 7 here ever. I should have just taken the free card, and pushed on the river, where he would have folded. Didn't stop to think...

tilting and spewing

I stack off here all day -- I destroy his range.

totally lost here. Villain is 55 / 20 / 1.5, and has been splashing around constantly.

That's all I can take right now. Edits and updates tomorrow. You can see my last few entries are not very productive. I'm not talking about ranges or anything, just posting results. More thought is necessary.

Hotter than God's Vagina

2008-03-23T23:26:00.002-05:00

1325 hands
running at 37.17 bb/100
$246.25 = 10 BIs
coolered only twice (AA < AQ; QQ < 72o)
sweet

Strong Strong Strong

2008-03-23T11:47:00.002-05:00

March 18-23

1,006 hands
+8 BIs
40.95 bb/100

averaging 24/15/2 over this run. There's something to be said for having a goal -- as in, I want to be playing a 17/15 style, or a 30/25 style, but I'm dipping in and out of both.

Sadly, it's not due to table dynamics, game flow, or image, but just the run of cards I happen to be getting. I'm cool with that -- we can't even say for sure that your average 60bb donk at Absolute is paying attention to metagame, mining, using PokerTracker, etc.

Well, during this mini-heater, I need to be cognizant of What I'm Doing Correctly. Just so I can look back at this post in colder times and warm my hands on it :D

1) buying in at 100BBs. Thanks M0niker and malfaire. It keeps me out of really tough spots like this (villain: 18/13/3.5/2k). Villain had been cashing in on his image to splash around with some substandard hands in the previous orbit. This was a good opportunity to play back at him. He check/calls my Cbet, and leads the turn. Previously, villain has used this line to float OOP and take pots away from opponents with high Cbet frequencies. This time, he open-shoves the river; it's the first time I've seen this from him. I would LOVE feedback on this one.

2) Running hot. Really hot. Super hot. Deck smacking your face hot. It helps so much.

3) Playing AA/KK/QQ optimally. Unfortunately, every time I got these during this stretch, I got a walk. Frustrating. Except for this time, where I made a genius check on the river so the donk could bluff-shove me.

4) Exercise pot control with my medium-strength hands.

5) Occasionally overplay strong hands to set up big calls and big villain laydowns.

6) Don't play sets in multiway pots like this. I probably left a some value on the table, but I doubt either of the other two had a hand...

mt ratio ~3.25

Positive Reinforcement

2008-03-18T06:39:00.002-05:00

Despite yesterday's spiral into oblivion, this hand made me happy.

Because I got to value-shove, and see my opponent nearly time out, obviously puking on himself, and make a crying-god-I-know-I'm-beat call.

LOL

Today's Graphs

2008-03-17T22:55:00.005-05:00

Right after I came home from work. Fed. Rested.

approx +3 BI, ~600 hands.

Felt good. Got coolered twice in small pots so I called it a day. This was the first 4-tabling session I've had that I felt comfortable. It helped that I was running...well...warm.

Then I went to the gym, played some Smash Brothers Brawl, and decided to ADD TO MY WINNINGS. I could feel the fatigue when I sat down again. Maybe this isn't such a good idea...

just over -4 BIs. 167 hands.

Nope.

Not even coolers. Got JJ/QQ/KK/AK/TT and stacked off every time with them -- I would miss the board, and refuse to fold against donkeys, who would call me down with a weak A or terrible odds to catch flushes.

So easy to just stop after the first session!!!!

Instead of bitching

2008-03-14T13:10:00.002-05:00

...I'll do something productive.

I'd like to dissect the 12 hands I picked out of my last 3.5K, but I CAN'T. So instead I'm updating my goals.

previous: run at 6-10 bb/100 at 400NL (at undetermined date)
current: be bankrolled for 50NL at date X, be bankrolled for 100NL at date Y.

Current bankroll is STILL at ~$750. Since moving a $500 roll to Absolute, I've profited $192 in 10K hands, at 5.54BB/100. I am not happy with this, but KNOW that it's 40% variance and 60% bad play. Really. Not exaggerating.

I've taken shots at 50NL before, and I think there are more fish at that level than at 25NL, probably because of the jackpot tables. As long as I'm sufficiently rolled, I don't see it being a real problem -- not that my game is ready now, but it will be by the time my bankroll hits $1500 total. (I'm happy with 20 BIs for this level, but I think it'll be that long before I'm ready to move up. Gotta withdraw sometime to pay myself back :D)

So where do I see leaks right now?

- playing deep in general.
- playing my AA/KK/AQ for optimal value. These three hands mess with me.
- not openshoving enough on the river
- playing suited connectors when PF odds or position don't allow for it.
- GIVING OPPONENTS CREDIT FOR MOVES THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN THEM MAKE
- semi-bluff timing with draws
- translating HUD stats into ranges (will link a great 2p2 post later)
- optimizing my lines for value. still trying to get fancy on people when i have a weak read

FUCK FUCK FUCK

2008-03-14T13:05:00.003-05:00

weaktight.com is now blocked from work.

I feel it welling up in me.

RAGE.

Unfortunately, I'm no longer going to be able to talk/think poker during the day. Here are the list of sites I can not view.

Cardrunners
2+2
LeggoPoker
flopturnriver
pocketfives
deucescracked
liquidpoker
pokerhand.org
weaktight.com

Unmotivated

2008-03-05T12:33:00.002-06:00

I don't think I've logged more than 2k hands in the past two weeks. Part of it is slowly coming off tilt. Part of it is due to increased hand analysis, leak-locating and -plugging, and reading poker books. In fact, I don't think I'm spending any less total time on poker.

I'm just not spending that time playing.

I guess that's a good thing? Since I discovered a datamining program for Absolute Poker, I've been letting it run (and run and run) on my computer. My database has finally cracked the million-hand mark...even though I'm only recorded in about 70K hands myself. LOL.

The flipside of this: I'm starting to hit a bottleneck for my rig:

hardware side
Since I got my new monitor, I've been plugging it in externally to the laptop, exporting the tables to it, and leaving the monitoring program on the laptop screen. This necessitates a 3-minute period of plugging in mice, A/C, and monitors into the laptop, then playing setup with the video. Slightly annoying, but I dealt with it, knowing that in the future I would get myself a desktop and simplify.

software side
It looks like the future is approaching more rapidly than I thought, as my lowly Athlon 6400+ laptop is starting to complain about DB crunching. GRRRR. I'm not sure if that's why PokerAceHUD is crashing my Absolute Poker, if it's Absolute itself, or some other unrelated issue, but I have -- on average -- a crash a session, where I must restart everything anew.

It could be time to format my laptop again -- I know it's always ultra fast whenever I clear out the digital algae, reset the registry, and go from there. Just a temporary solution, though.

so I'll soon be getting:

new CPU
new motherboard
new graphics card

and i'll ram them into an older tower that a roommate has laying around. Probably a $250 investment.

then I'll worry about a 2nd monitor. I mean, I'm juuuuust starting to get 4-tabling under my belt. I've got a raging urge to drop down to 10NL and try 6-8 tabling, and start really sucking in volumes of poker.

wow, motivation. cool.

ACME'd

2008-03-04T14:32:00.004-06:00

Villain is running 19/13/4 over 200 hands. Really aggressive on the first two streets, but won't triple barrell (River AF = 0).

I like my lead out on the first street, and I think the call is OK. Then I lead the 2nd street, and he minraises me. I'm behind AA/KK/JJ/AK/QT, and drawing dead to the sets. I'm ahead of AQ/AT/QQ/TT.

The problem is that I expect the villain to play his entire range of hands with flop and turn bets. AA and JJ are fairly improbable at this point. AK/AQ/AT/KK/QQ/TT are more likely, and the first 4 choices would fit his actions well, but I've seen him Cbet and double barrell every board he's involved in. I just don't believe him. I call the turn and prepare to check/call the river, but he gives up.

I'm very happy with my decision to NOT lead the river, and just check/call. I might get a call from AQ, but not likely.

Likewise, I was very happy with my decision to check/fold the river here, tough to do with a turned two pair.
-----------------------------------------------------

I wish I was as proud of the next series

Villain is 57/17/1.4. Seems like a complete and total retard.

The Setup:

Standard line, I couldn't believe what he showed up with.
Next time I tangle with him, I decline to play a big pot. Fish sighting confirmed.
Look at the river play. He's really, really not a good player. I'm salivating.
I'm not in this hand, but I've closed all tables but two and am waiting to crush him.
I make a terrible play here, against a player whom I know can't fold. He doesn't protect his TPGK against the draws out there? MADNESS. HAS to be a donk.

The Delivery

Don't get your hopes up. I finally get a hand to catch the fish, and I screw it all up. Watching the previous sequence of hands turned me into Wile E. Coyote. He has the brains, but hunger regularly overpowers his superior intellect.

Fuckin' roadrunner. This is such a horrible board for me, but I'd see this guy 3bet with suited connectors, call river bets with A high and missed flush draws, and generally donk off chips like mad. His willingness to get it all in on the scary flop should have alerted me.

But I was too hungry.

WEEKEND RECAP

2008-03-04T09:23:00.003-06:00

thursday:

Dallas Stars Game. Brad Richards traded in from Tampa Bay. 1st game. 5 assists. I think he's the real deal. Apparently he has the record for game-winning goals in a playoff series. I was like, "wtf, fluke LOL". Nope. Natural center, great vision, good hands, and makes his teammates BETTER. A rare quality. I'll be watching

Mark Farina @ Ghostbar. My favorite house DJ comes to the ritzy ultralounge atop the W Hotel, conveniently located right next to my apartment complex. Even better, the party host comped me a bottle of Grey Goose and got us a table. $300 value. BALLA. We left the hockey game, annihilated Red Bull and Vodka at the apt, walked over & jumped the line at GhostBar, and rolled 15 strong to our private table at the edge of the dance floor. Awesome -- especially because GB is super-snooty and exclusive, exactly the type of place that I turn my nose up at...unless Mark Farina is there, garnished w/ a free bottle. I own that place on Thursdays. Bless you, Red Bull & Vodka.

friday

Pain at work. Like, all day. Damn you, Red Bull and Vodka.

Kaskade @ M'inc. Delicious deep house madness at the re-engineered "Men Inc". Yeah, it's a gay club most of the time. Yeah, probably a third of the men there knew what other men taste like. BUT...gay people are more fun to party with than straight people. They dance harder, drink more, talk more, and generally have a better time. We theorized that it was because of the homogenous mindset of both parties -- dating the same gender is EASY, because both people want the same thing. You don't have to play the Game (aka Martian-to-Venetian translation). Sounds like less fun to me. Anyway, the vibe was much better at this show, even if the music was only 95% as good. The crowd bumped, Kaskade's track selection was decent, and his mixing was A+. I got crunked, and found $40 on the floor on the way out. WIN.

saturday

Ran errands, bought some RollerBlades, taught Kim some moves, and went to a hypnotist/comedy show in Arlington. Not as informative as I thought it would be, but still entertaining. The hypnotist had excellent induction methodologies, and correctly chose his subjects from the audience, and had HILARIOUS stunts for them to do (smelling phantom smells, hearing phantom sounds, acting like a policeman, pole dancing / chippendale dancing, singing, spanking people, humping random people in the crowd, thinking the crowd was in their underwear) -- but his poor co-ordination with his audio guy gave the whole show a stop/start feel. Wait for the music, wait for it, wait for it....zzzzzzzzzzz. On the plus side, watching a girl rip off her blouse and be convinced that her titties are filling up with helium is GOT DAMN FUNNEH. ("help! i'm floating! get me down!")

sunday

Lazed / cooked / cleaned. Defended my champion belt in chess. I'm better than ever at this game -- I wonder if poker has had some effect on it? Possibly it's just greater experience and familiarity with certain situations. Still refuse to read a book or do any classical learning on the subject -- the only game that I have ever denied myself outside information on.

poker

NONE. Go me. Back on it this week.

BBV Post

2008-03-03T21:52:00.002-06:00

Duck

Duck

Duck

Goose!

(BBV = beats, brags, and variance. no real thinking in these hands, i'll sift for better ones)

Damn

2008-02-25T23:52:00.002-06:00

had a pretty solid session today. getting back to the old habits. most importantly, i felt myself getting tired at the 600 hand mark, and decided to call it a night.

GG, me.

I only had one really interesting hand come up in this session, and it was a -2 BI hand for me :(

I hadn't played a hand in about 4 orbits on this table -- both villains in this hand are tight, sharp, and aggressive. Primary villain just got sucked out on in a 200bb pot by 2nd villain. Others at the table are loose, weak, and not in this hand. Darn :D

I make a looser-than-usual raise from EP, since I've been rocky for a bit, and find myself playing a pot with suited connectors, out of position, against two TAGs. Suboptimal, but at least their lines will be a little more transparent.

I give the first villain a range of 22-TT/78s/45s/34s/maybe 65s
I think the 2nd villain, based on his overcall, is on a drawing hand as well.

Could have made my flop bet a little larger, 75% of pot instead of 50%.

The turn card only helps 99 and 78s. I feel pretty good about my PSB, and even better when I get a smooth call and a fold on this increasingly drawy board. I think an overpair or a set would have reraised me already to protect their hand.

River is dicey, and the villain makes a huge bet. I can't see this TAGgy villain calling two streets with a gutshot draw (although in retrospect, he might have done so with gutshot + pair).

So am I looking at 78? a smaller two pair? a set? or is this just a bluff, because he just got sucked out on in that 200BB pot?

I decided that I'm ahead of a decent part of his range, realize that this bet commits me, and get it all in. I don't think I like the play any more....not because of results, but because 99/78s/gutshot+pair combo weren't prevalent in my mind -- it looked to me like he was drawing to an OESD and got desperate on the river.

Bad read.

And a Gem re: 4-bets

2008-02-21T14:23:00.001-06:00

The most profitable play comes down to which is larger, the opponent's shoving range if you 4bet, or your opponent's calling range if you 4bet shove. Then you have to take into consideration pot odds and frequencies.

Three Betting with Deep Stacks

2008-02-21T13:50:00.002-06:00

...so I've been playing around with light 3betting and 4bet bluffs, as my standard 20/18/4 style means that my villains start playing back at me, sometimes with the goods, and sometimes w/ shyt. My experiences at Ultimate Bet got me comfortable in 80-130BB pots with 3bets PF. I understood when I should be setmining, not to be playing broadway-type cards, how to put different opponents on ranges, and proper bet sizing.

Maybe it's more precise to say that I was beginning to be aware of the implications of the above topics. Padawan, rather than Jedi. (although I do love the mind tricks)

Anyway, I came across this discussion at LeggoPoker, and thought it was relevant.

"As a general rule, your 3bet calling range should get progressively wider and your 3bet betting range should get progressively smaller as the stacks get deeper."

"The problem here is that as we get deeper, the number of situations where we want a much bigger pot on the flop decrease considerably. With 100BB stacks hands such as high TPTK and overpair hands do well in 3-bet pots since the SPR is such that we can get all of the money in fast enough that RIO and Villain's odds of having flopped two pair/set aren't great enough that we need to account for it.

With deeper stacks we face the problem that even after a decent size 3-bet we could still have offered villain implied odds preflop for flopping sets and we also find ourselves on the flop with enough money behind to offer decent implied odds for draws. Also, since we will be more likely to enter 3-bet pots with cards such as suited connectors, we want to make sure that the postflop pot is large enough to make it easier to get villain's chips in on the turn/river when we hit our draws but small enough that we have the implied odds necessary to call to those draws."
http://www.leggopoker.com/forums/theory/three-betting-deep-stacks-100.html

Definitely need to add this into my game. Especially now that I'm defaulting w/ a 200BB stack, and hopefully greater!!

Absolutely Wack

2008-02-15T13:18:00.005-06:00

Well, since my last hand update:

25NL 2,419 hands 28.17 BB/100

can't complain

Tough Turn Decision
Villain hasn't raised yet, and is sitting on a larger stack. Seems passive. He calls on the button and calls my Cbet in position. I'm sure I'm ahead. Turn isn't great for me, and I get cold feet when he min-raises me, but I've already got a third of my stack in, and I have an overpair/OESD. If he's got a set, I have 10 outs. If he's got 2 pair, I have 18 outs. I have pretty much no fold equity here, but I feel that there's too much money in the pot and get it all in, as I can't put him on a straight already.

And I suck out massively. thoughts?

Great Board of Limpness
I get it in here all day. Expected to see a set, two pair, or an overpair here. WTF.

SB vs BB Straight Flush
no reads on opponent. Kinda of a loose call, but w/e, I haven't shown down a hand in a while. Flop of victory, I get it all in here all day. Love my 3bet size...what a river.

Possible MisPlay
Question here about my flop play. Here, I called the SB leadout to represent a flush draw. I reasoned that the PF raiser (CO) would push with his overpair. If he flat calls, I have to re-evaluate on a turn diamond, but I called to induce a shove, which I would call. Is this too dangerous a move in a multiway pot, when the SB has led out? I think I have to play this hand differently from early-, mid-, and late-positions....

Fuck Your MinRaises
Here, my pot odds are pretty good PF, but I really should be calling only with JTs. JTo can't continue on too many flops OOP, right? I suck out on the turn, but get it all in ahead, and dodge a boat. I don't like this hand.

JTo AGAIN
God damn it. Here I am, LAGgin it up again. PF is meh. Flop is good. Turn is awful, river is awful.

Awful
This villain buys in for full. I haven't seen him play a hand yet, so I give him a mental tag of 'rocky'. He raises UTG, I call with a meh drawing hand. I have the 2nd nut flush draw, and float his Cbet, as if I hit, I can get tons of value from AK/AQ/AJ/88/TT/AA. When he checks a brick turn to me, it looks like a Cbet with air, and I fire, expecting to take it down vs JJ/QQ/KK/KQ. Surprisingly, he calls! What hands fire on the flop and check call the river? My mind is racing. Is he just getting stubborn with a big pair smaller than an A? (note that I didn't even consider AhXh, and that looks like the most likely line!!!) The river comes, no flush draws complete, my line is strong, and his is weak. I shove and totally lose my shit.

Tough Tough Fold
40/15.6 villain. Pretty tight raising range, esp UTG. I 3bet from SB, and he flat calls. My Cbet is met with a shove. I think he shows up with AA/KK/QQ here more often than not, and he's definitely not intimidated by my 3bet range. Thoughts?

Semi-Tough Fold
I'd been pushing the table around for a bit with hyperaggro play. Not sure if he was just making a move on me or not, but I AM LISTENING TO MY COMMENTERS, and TPTK isn't enough to go to the felt with for this SPR.

Whew. I love Absolute. Retards abound. You should see how many hands I had where people bluff off or shove w/ marginal hands. Unreal.

And now for delicious Valentine's leftovers.

Valentine's Day and Breaking Up

2008-02-15T11:20:00.003-06:00

The day-to-day passion just wasn't there any more. I would give my full effort, and only sometimes be satisfied. That's just not FAIR. Was she fucking with me? Playing mind-games? I mean, you think you know somebody after a year or so of being with them. Then you look back and realize that it's complete shit. I know this is a crappy time for a breakup, 2/14, but if you can't ditch somebody that's not doing you any good, you're just going to go down with them.

Memories are never good for this thing. You need your friends around you. Objectivity. Maybe a diary. Or a database.

And so, Ultimate Bet, I'm ditching you. It's been a good run, but you're not what I wanted you to be. I've left a couple hundred in your account, lest I feel the need for some post-breakup action, but I'm banging (profits out of) your younger, looser, less-intelligent sibling, Absolute Poker, after M0niker and Malfaire bragged about her. Sloppy thirds?

Brag: Tripled UB cash investment, ran strong in last 2/3 of time there. 50NL is beatable.
Beat: Not rolled for 50NL. Low winrate. Too many breakeven stretches. Still at 25NL.
Variance: can now 4 table.

My REAL Valentine's Day was key. I told my girl that I wasn't suffering through overpacked restaurants for lesser-quality food. And she understands. Kim's appreciates it when I spend $250 on a good dinner, but like me, it had better be a $250 experience. That means good atmosphere, service, AND food.

That shit does not happen on V-day. Restaurants add more tables, overbalancing the delicate equation that governs the relationship between raw materials, restaurant workers, and happy customers. Too much throughput/WIP and not enough worker bees = unhappy, crowded diners.

Instead I made a bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin (DOUBLE PIG BIATCH!) slathered in mangoes and peaches, crab macaroni/cheese, Bananas Foster, and a decent bottle of Spanish Malbec (sorta dry red). Effin' tasty. Bonus points from appreciative girlfriend. And very little hassle, as we cook together at least once a week.

advice: Do this. Seriously. Get a recipe from allrecipes.com. Spend $30-50 on ingredients. Find a girl that likes to be involved. Print out the recipe, and then highlight stuff she can do. Like chopping or mixing. Respect the rule: you must be drinking while you're cooking. Make sure that you're the one doing the seasoning/finishing touches. And make out with her while it's in the oven, so she's thinking about dessert (you) during dinner. Then baste her.

lolz

nooooooooooooooo

2008-02-12T14:41:00.000-06:00

Cow Eats Chicken?!!

Godswitched Again (edit: updated for some hands)

2008-02-08T02:21:00.001-06:00

These days that I don't lift weights leave me with so much leftover energy. Especially when I have Friday OFF.

BOOYAH.

So I get about 1k hands in, 2-tabling 25NL, for +6BI. God, that felt so good. Finally hitting some flops, showing down winners, and getting enough table image in to make some moves. There's something to be said for sparing use of Fancy Play Syndrome, when you have the image to pull it off.

Then there is Fancy Play Syndrome's retarded cousin, that I'm good friends with. This is the guy that walks up to the cops and asks them if they want to take a hit off his joint. Yeah. We all know him.

So, since it's 2:24am, I'll just make a rough draft and put the hands in tomorrow.

Stacked fool early with QJ vs JT on a AQJr board. Value bet the first two streets, river brings another jack, he leads and calls my shove. Standard.

Rivered Quads, overbet the pot 2x, villain calls all-in. Valuetown. You is here.

Raised AA UTG, 1 caller, board 4cQd2c. I bet point, he minraises, I shove, he calls, shows AcQc, turn Q, river c. Double outtered. :D Who cares, I got it in a slight favorite, and lots of hands were wayyyy behind me.

Missed lots of value. Cold call a 3bet on button w/ KK. Flop comes KQQ 3 ways. Checks to me, I CHECK THE NUTS. mistake. mistake. mistake. turn checks to me, I BET DA POT. Foldzors oh noessss

Weak play continues. Laggy, floaty, big stack doesn't respect me PF. I call a CO raise w/ KhJh on button, blinds come along. Flop Kd8c2s. Chk to PFr, who bets. I call on BTN. Laggy calls along in SB. BB folds. Turn 9d. Checked to me. I don't want to play a big pot with TPGK. I check. River 7s. Laggy makes his expected steal move. I make a crying call, and he turns over two pair that I let him get? I can't bet the turn here, my biggest leak is overplaying TPGK/TPTK. Forced to conclude that this is just variance that happened to help him out and not me. Right??

Nut flush draw in 3-bet pot, two of my suit on flop, we get it all in, I miss.

AK in 3bet pot, Kxx board, we get it all in, oops, he hit his set. ASS!

UTG minraises, MP minraises, I call BTN w/ Qc9c. Flop JcTd8c. YES. checks to MP, who bets pot. I minraise!!! Genius!! Nope, everybody folds. I want all the money in the pot now!! Do I a) raise and hope somebody has two pair? b) call and hope that somebody is drawing to the flush? c) call and hope that I look like I'm drawing?

Raise AK IP. Flop comes AAx. Value bets on three streets. Nobody believes me :D

KcJc IP from UTG raiser. Flop brings two clubs. He raises. I shove. He calls w/ overpair, board bricks. DAMN.

AT vs J2o on T72r board, all in. AT no good :(

AJ > QQ AIPF. :D Not good. I 3-bet bluffed, and then committed myself when IT WASN'T NECESSARY. But I run good.

AA > JJ on raggedy flop

Played this horribly. I've been leaking quite a bit on draws OOP. I try to play them strongly, betting out or checkraising, and it's losing me quite a bit of $$. I hate my line here. I have the nut flush draw OOP in a 4-way pot. Don't mind a bet/fold on the flop, but I take a less-optimal line of check flop and check/raise the river. It just smacks of desperation, and the bet on the river doesn't help at all. What, I was checkraising with 57? Bad.

JJ > 66 + Q6s(?) on 235r board.

this is sick. I put him on an midpair or maybe T9s here. My image is now set to smash the shit out of this table. Time to tighten up.

Flopped stack vs TPTK = more stacks

Genius hand. I love my line, and I think he would have gotten it in even light. Coolered!!

Raised 22 UTG, Cbet Khigh board, two floaters. Turn comes 2. I bet out again, both call. River pairs the board(!!!). They both swing on my nuts, all the way to VALUETOWN, WHERE I OWN A FUCKING CONDO.

My big aggro pot: I raise one limper w/ 66, folds back to him. He calls. Flop is 7c7hQh. I have a 340BB stack, he has 95BB. He overbets $4 into a $3 pot, and I shove on him. No limping hand has a Q, I'm not worried about that. I don't think he can put me on a 7 w/ my raise, and I don't put him on one, the way he bets out. I have stacked this guy twice in the past 30 minutes. He decides HE DOESN'T WANT ANOTHER PIECE OF ME YARRRR. and folds.

ok, I really liked that play. it was image-savvy, it was the right board, I had the right hand, and it was the right opponent-mindset. He'd seen me overbet two boards already, one with the nut full, the other with quads.

Last hand of the night, I get KK, and again overbet a QJx board, but nobody caught a piece and I call it.

I'll post the hand histories tomorrow, hopefully with some more coherent commentary. Christ I sound like a caffeinated 4chan reject. 6bi days will do that

25nl
1006 hands
avg 2 tables, sometimes 3
$144.63
28.75 bb/100 <--- sustainable imo
it's 2:57am

weeee

Good Spot for River Bluff?

2008-02-03T16:02:00.000-06:00

edited for correct math, woops

effective stax $250, he covers me.

MP is loose and open limps. I call with 7d9d on button. Both blinds come along.

flop Js8h7s. pot $8 (4bb)

SB checks, BB bets pot. He's $600 deep. MP calls, I call (with 6 outs, wtf). SB folds.

turn 3h. $32 pot. (16bb)

BB leads out, bets almost-pot. MP calls, I call.

river As. $122 pot. (61bb)

BB leads out w/ $100 bet. MP folds (a straight). $222 pot. (111bb). I have $205 still (102bb). tank time.

I deliberate, and FOLD.

my image: tight, aggressive. been involved in 2 hands (in position, aggressive, won w/ no showdown) in past 20 minutes early in a session.

got any guesses on estimate equity on this river bluff? or should i wait for better spots?
variance: not rolled for $1/2NL, weak-looking table

Re: Michael Jackson's Alleged Comeback

2008-01-31T12:46:00.000-06:00

I like to maintain that we owe MJ a few little boys, for all the wonderful things he's given the world. What's the worth of a few spoiled little white brats when stacked up against Thriller, or Smooth Criminal or even Billie Jean?I submit we should offer those children to him as a sacrifice.

They give him power.

My Fucking Birthday Roolz

2008-01-31T02:21:00.000-06:00

...yeah. I keep another blog. If you read anything of what I put here (and dear Reader, I know you don't. Bloggers all know that their apparently-public thoughts are SHUNNED BY THE MASSES), you can see that I like to talk.

And type.

And MSPaint.

Quite often I run off and do insane stuff. Like on my birthday.

And In All Seriousness, I can say: WHEEEE. Check it out if you need a break from poker and want to see A) OGC as Captain Morgan B) hot pirate bitches C) A 6'4" parrot D) OGC bloody and drunk.

lolz

Responsibility

2008-01-31T01:37:00.000-06:00

(note that tonight's results were rolled up into the last post)

dammit, my roll is shit. $300. I had to drop down tonight.

results
NL10: 1,260 hands / ($18.15) / (7.20)BB/100
spent most of the time 4 tabling. didn't get anything really great going.

hands over 30BB.

First, the Bad

Suited Connectors in Position, hit on the River
(villain: 46/2.6/1.6)

Easy enough time putting villain on TT+, AK+ on the flop when he calls my huge raise. He waits on the turn to see if I'm going to hang myself, and then the perfect storm comes on the river. I've got him dead set on an overpair, but am slightly worried about TT/KK/AhKh. I call and pray to see AA. No love.

Super Weird Line
(villain: 49/3.6/2.5)

alarm bells should have been going off on the turn. he donkleads the flop and calls my raise, then DONKLEADS the turn? what. i really thought I was ahead, and hate the way he played his KK. I remember expecting to see some sort of draw here, but that doesn't explain the flop. I'm ahead of 79, behind T9....his limpcall from UTG really threw me. regardless, as played I think I have to fold to his turn 3bet, as a competent player shows up here with a straight, two pair, or a set most of the time.

It's Not the Nuts
(villain 54/2/.78)

I flopped trips! My kicker sux. Doh. Played weak, and got carried away when a bad card came for me. Had he not bet the flop, I think I could lay down on the turn....

????
same villain. am I the donkey here? or is he??!!

Two others were flopped bottom 2 vs flopped top 2, AJ vs AK against 40BB smallstack, and AK vs 99 on AK9 board. yechh

The Good

OverPair vs TPGK
standard

Floated a 93% Cbettor, Card Comes In
I'm a button LagTard

Aces Hold Up 4 Ways
interestingly enough, I'm at least 70% at every stage in this hand. Weee

Alternate Line
this guy has been watching me be superaggressive, and pound away at pots. the perfect card comes on the river for me, as well. PWND.

T-t-t-t-t-t-t-that's all folks. It's 2am. I need to make this more of a habit if I'm going to get back to my post-Thanksgiving heaters. I'm disturbed by some of my colleagues' analysis and find mine lacking. Hopefully I'll pick up some pointers and aim my thoughts the right way. I also hope to go back to my earlier posts and comment from more-and-more enlightened perspectives. as much as you can do for NL10 anyway.

OGC out

Please Let January Be Over

2008-01-31T00:14:00.000-06:00

*sigh*

NL 50: 498 hands / ($104.05) / (20.89)
NL 25: 8,568 hands / ($27.46) / (0.64)
PL 25: 12 hands / ($26.70) / (445.00) <-- lolz
NL 10: 2,989 hands / ($27.55) / (4.61)
NL 2: 38 hands / $0.90 / 59.21 <---- pwnd NL2, bitches

some bad play and some suckouts, imo. I took a shot at 50nl at one point on a Friday night, and found, shit you not, the WORST PLAYERS I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED. Seriously. I don't know what they were doing there. All were unknowns, all had 300BB stacks, none knew how to play, constantly putting me on bluffs, shoving their 3rd pair, and turning/rivering cards to crush me. I made millions of Sklansky dollars. lol. It gives me a lot of hope for the future, if I can discipline myself to solid play, and listen to my intuition...I don't see a whole lot of difference between 25NL and 50NL. Actually, it seems like there are MORE fish at 50NL...possibly because players who are lifelong 'depositors' probably can't discipline themselves to drop any farther down than that?

or maybe I have a good nose for fish. that was basically what made up the 2nd spike in the graph. The first spike was when I ran into a Good Lag player at 25nl, and he took me for over 5 buyins. I thought I could outplay him, based on his stats, and finally realized he was the shark and I the fish. We had some great sessions....you'll see his name fluvium in a few of my hands to be reviewed.

and I'm not posting the suckouts, either. Fuck that. I'm posting hands where I made mistaaaaaakes. BTIMM, I'm emulating your posting style, because I think it's the most value-added. Bless you, weaktight.com :D

On the good side: 13K hands!! I <3 my new monitor. Now if only I can start winning with it....

january before monitor (1/1 - 1/15): 3.4K hands / $103.83 / 6.02 bb/100
january after monitor (1/15 - 1/31): 8.8K hands / ($255.86) / (5.34)bb/100

Holy crap. I'm in the midst of a 10BI downswing? wowowow.

hands like this are why!

Lose A Big Pot / Win a Small One
(villain is 31.5/17.5/2. AFt = 3, AFr = 5)

For January, I am (23.12) with AA 35 times. I'm fucking bananas when I get them here. What do I do? The crucial mistake for me here is the turn. Flop line I like. Turn line I'm a little stressed -- what raises here? AQ+, two pair, a set, the flush, or the straight. Looking back on this now, I wouldn't hate a A shove completely, but the line I took looks conflicted.

I don't like a call here. A shove is getting value from 2pr/set, and losing to straight/flush, which both just got there. Dammit.

Me Run Goot

I don't mind my call from the SB here, as I've got a concealed hand and can get away from it. And then I flop second nuts. I can't slowplay this. I'm quite happy getting it all in with 2nd nuts and a backdoor draw to a flush, and am amazed when the flush hits. weeeee

50NL fishies
um, thanks? these types of players/plays were STANDARD. i can't wait to find this guy again.

nightmare donking
sadly, sometimes I am capable of it myself. this was my biggest lost pot of January, and I don't know what the hell I'm doing here. I don't hate my PF call too much...maybe I could flop a strong draw or something. I have to put the 3better on (JJ+, AK+), and that's why I was willing to play against him, because I had his range narrowed so well.

It's not even too bad leading out at this board when I catch a piece, but wtf am I doing calling his raise? This is horrible. I'm getting value only from AK, and were he to try to C-raise me off with AK, it'd be MUCH bigger.

Basically, I decide to represent a set, he doesn't buy it, and I drop almost 3 BIs in this pot. Horribly, horribly played. Certainly a set is in my range, but it's just a small part of it. I can't expect him to believe that I've got one, even though my PF play suggests it. Terrible read and terrible play.

entitlement
villain is 21/18/4 over 422 hands.

Here i 3bet standard from the BB. Sizing is a little off, as we're almost 200BB deep. I wouldn't might a 3bet to 12BB ($3). He 4bets me to 27BB, which is a little small, so I'm less likely to think it's a 4bet bluff.

options now are to 5bet, 5push, or call and commit to a non-A board. I choose the third option, not wanting to let the fish off the line. And the board is the worst possible board I have ever seen, and he leads out on it. I tank, put him on QQ/JJ, and stack off. Embarrassingly bad.

sense of entitlement (OMG COWBOYS) + failure to think hand through = stacked like a jackass.

you know what? For the MONTH, I think that's it!!! Very few of my hands were errors as serious as these...they were just standard variance hands. Getting it all in with top two vs a flush draw and the flush came in, or sucking out on somebody when i made a bad read and push. Nothing too interesting that I have to change up. My errors are so incredibly serious and obvious in my big hands...putting people on bluffs when they have the nuts, etc that there is only BIG tuning, and not fine-tuning, to be done on my game.

quizzically,

OGC

lol failaments

2008-01-24T22:48:00.000-06:00

brag: new 24" widescreen monitor

Soyo Topaz S. Retails for ~$450, found it for $299.

beat: since I got it: 6000 hands (10 days, 3 sessions) running at (6.49) for (178.18).

variance: 4-tabling.

Nice, I Found a Leak

2008-01-18T13:48:00.002-06:00

"you're developing an ugly habit of making bad plays, hoping to stack somebody on the river. well, guess what's happening. You're not getting away from your hand when their cards come in, and you're not making a lot of money with your hand when their cards DON'T come in."

ex 1

ex 2

ex 3

yay for homework.

Bitches Di'int Know It Was My Birthday

2008-01-15T08:10:00.000-06:00

Brag: ISS MAH BIRFDAY, as established in the title.
Beat: It's Monday.
Brag: There's a birthday package waiting from Mom.
Beat: If I don't pick it up by 5pm, I won't get a chance to until Wednesday.
Variance: I work an hour away from home. And birthdays w/o presents are like gutshot straights -- SOMETHING IMPORTANT IS MISSING.

So I charge home at 4pm, grab my present (thanks Mom), and get ready to go to the gym for a leg-busting session of the Rock Hard Challenge. HURRRRRR!!! But Alas! My exotic, ultrasexy girlfriend has been preparing me a birthday dinner! and you know what comes with birthday dinner.

BIRTHDAY SEX.

Therefore, the gym might not be the best idea...need mah legs. With the interest of the cook in mind, I decide instead to find some donkeys on the UB...and the GodSwitch was thrown on me. :D

25NL, 2 tables

208 hands

$131.87

129.92 BB/100

21.67 / 15.76 / 2.2

(reread the title now)

this is the first hand I played at the table. kinda sets me up for later, when i started crushing the board. villain is 33/7/1.7

rboj078 is at seat 0 with $25 (sitting out).
Brets is at seat 1 with $67.27.
Eephus On 3-0 is at seat 2 with $21.81. BTN
bancopapyrus is at seat 3 with $98.14. SB
onegreenchip is at seat 4 with $25.60. BB
PODMANRP is at seat 5 with $38.24.

Pre-flop:
PODMANRP calls. Brets raises to $.75. Eephus On 3-0calls. bancopapyrus folds. onegreenchip calls (4h 4s). PODMANRP calls.

Flop (board: 3h 8d Qh):
onegreenchip checks. PODMANRP checks. Brets bets$.90. Eephus On 3-0 folds. onegreenchip calls.PODMANRP folds.

Turn (board: 3h 8d Qh 8s):
onegreenchip checks. Brets bets $1.25. onegreenchipraises to $4.25. Brets calls.

River (board: 3h 8d Qh 8s 4c):
onegreenchip bets $6. Brets calls.

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows 4h 4s.
onegreenchip has 4h 4s 8d 8s 4c: full house, fours full of eights.
Brets mucks cards.
(Brets has Qc Kc.)

onegreenchip wins $24.40 with full house, fours full of eights.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The player had been Cbetting a decent amount prior, and I liked the 8 as a good card to bluff. when he called the turn, I figured he had a good Q, and so my river bet sizing was much too small when my 2 outer hit. lol. I am glad I bet out, as I don't think he would have bet the river with his hand after I C/Rd. My image is now SHIT.

rboj078 is at seat 0 with $24.65.
Brets is at seat 1 with $53.77.
Eephus On 3-0 is at seat 2 with $22.21. BTN
bancopapyrus is at seat 3 with $100.25. SB
onegreenchip is at seat 4 with $37. BB
PODMANRP is at seat 5 with $36.90.

Pre-flop:
PODMANRP calls. rboj078 folds. Brets calls. Eephus On 3-0 calls. bancopapyrus calls.onegreenchip checks (9d 9h).

Flop (board: 4d Qs Qd):
bancopapyrus checks. onegreenchip checks. PODMANRPbets $.55. Brets folds. Eephus On 3-0 folds. bancopapyrus folds. onegreenchip calls.

Turn (board: 4d Qs Qd Kh):
onegreenchip checks. PODMANRP bets $1.50. onegreenchip raises to $4.75. PODMANRP re-raises to$8. onegreenchip calls.

River (board: 4d Qs Qd Kh Kc):
onegreenchip checks. PODMANRP checks.

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows 9d 9h.
onegreenchip has 9d Qs Qd Kh Kc: two pair, kings and queens.
PODMANRP shows Td 7h.
PODMANRP has Td Qs Qd Kh Kc: two pair, kings and queens, ten kicker.

PODMANRP wins $17.63 with two pair, kings and queens.
----------------------------------------------------------------
this really pisses me off. right read, and awful card on the river. I can't bet again here. Look what he shows down. I stand by my river check, though, to be there is spewtastic...except maybe against this opponent. This was 20 hands in, and my first real hand with him, and I didn't have the stats I had by the end : 67 / 10 / 1.5 over 100 hands ( <3>

Then I get into another hand with the Villain from Hand #1. (33/7/1.7)

rboj078 is at seat 0 with $24.30. BB
Brets is at seat 1 with $53.98.
Eephus On 3-0 is at seat 2 with $23.88.
bancopapyrus is at seat 3 with $97.27.
onegreenchip is at seat 4 with $28.08. BTN
PODMANRP is at seat 5 with $45.99. SB

Pre-flop:
Brets raises to $.50. Eephus On 3-0 folds. bancopapyrus folds. onegreenchip re-raises to $1.75 (Ac Qs) .PODMANRP folds. rboj078 folds. Brets calls.

Flop (board: 9c Th 8c):
Brets checks. onegreenchip bets $3. Brets calls.

Turn (board: 9c Th 8c As):
Brets checks. onegreenchip bets $7.50. Brets goesall-in for $49.23. onegreenchip goes all-in for$23.33. Brets is returned $25.90 (uncalled).

River (board: 9c Th 8c As 5d):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
Brets shows Ah 7h.
Brets has Ah 9c Th 8c As: a pair of aces.
onegreenchip shows Ac Qs.
onegreenchip has Ac Qs 9c Th As: a pair of aces, queen/ten kickers.

onegreenchip wins $54.25 with a pair of aces.
----------------------------------------------------------------
villain didn't strike me as particularly adept: 33 / 7 / 1.6 . saw him come to bat with 2nd best hand more than a few times early on.

Looking back at this hand, I kinda don't know what to think. His UTG minraise could mean a lot of things. He floats me, but he's capable of that on the flop. What I really think is shit is the CRAI on the turn. What could he possible have here that wouldn't want to see a river card and maybe extract another bet? Does he think I'm drawing (I RR'd him PF!!).

It basically looks to me like he doesn't want me to see the river? That's what I decide, and I think TP2K is good enough and call him...and he made a terrible play when his card hit. He SHOULD have raised me, but not all in. I can have AK too easily here, too often. I fold on the flop to a raise here as well, and check/fold the river when called on the turn. A pretty marginal spot, I think I'm only slightly ahead here in the long run.....

And then the villain from Hand #2 comes back: 67 / 10 / 1.5 over 100 hands

rboj078 is at seat 0 with $24.55. BB
Brets is at seat 1 with $24.76.
Eephus On 3-0 is at seat 2 with $34.90.
bancopapyrus is at seat 3 with $109.27.
onegreenchip is at seat 4 with $48.05. BTN
PODMANRP is at seat 5 with $50.91. SB

Pre-flop:
Brets folds. Eephus On 3-0 folds. bancopapyruscalls. onegreenchip raises to $1.25 (Qh Js). PODMANRPre-raises to $2.25. rboj078 folds. bancopapyrusfolds. onegreenchip calls.

Flop (board: 9s Jc Qc):
PODMANRP checks. onegreenchip bets $3.75. PODMANRPcalls.

Turn (board: 9s Jc Qc 3d):
PODMANRP checks. onegreenchip bets $8. PODMANRPcalls.

River (board: 9s Jc Qc 3d 5s):
PODMANRP checks. onegreenchip goes all-in for $34.05.PODMANRP calls.

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows Qh Js.
onegreenchip has Qh Js 9s Jc Qc: two pair, queens and jacks.
PODMANRP mucks cards.(PODMANRP has Ts Td.)

onegreenchip wins $93.60 with two pair, queens and jacks.
----------------------------------------------------------------
I note that in previous hands, he has shown down T7o and T6s, playing these hands for bluffs on all streets with multiple bets. definitely a loose cannon. No respect + large stack = high variance situation...

This was the 1st 3bet I'd seen from him, and it didn't seem especially large, so I decided I could see a flop. I hit a monster (for a 3bet pot). If he were a standard TAG, his range would be JJ+/AK+, but his range is way larger. Instead, I love my river shove, given that he's made no effort to protect a hand by this point. He tanked on the river and nearly timed out before calling. Book 'em, Dan-O.

I continue to play strictly ABC tag, and pick up ~7 pots in succession with Cbets/dbl barrels w/ no showdowns. Multitabling TAG villain shows up on my right. We have history, he's very aggressive (20/6.7/2)

JensDiamonds is at seat 0 with $42.04.
spinders1118 is at seat 1 with $2.65.
nddavedog33 is at seat 2 with $20.55. BTN
IMBACKKKKKKK is at seat 3 with $25.92. SB
onegreenchip is at seat 4 with $97.89. BB
PODMANRP is at seat 5 with $55.41.

Pre-flop:
PODMANRP calls. JensDiamonds folds. spinders1118folds. nddavedog33 folds. IMBACKKKKKKK raises to$1. onegreenchip re-raises to $3.50 (As Kc). PODMANRPfolds. IMBACKKKKKKK calls.

Flop (board: 3c Ad 7d):
IMBACKKKKKKK checks. onegreenchip bets $7.25.IMBACKKKKKKK goes all-in for $22.42. onegreenchipcalls.

Turn (board: 3c Ad 7d 5c):
(no action in this round)

River (board: 3c Ad 7d 5c 6d):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
IMBACKKKKKKK shows Ah Jh.
IMBACKKKKKKK has Ah Jh Ad 7d 6d: a pair of aces.
onegreenchip shows As Kc.
onegreenchip has As Kc Ad 7d 6d: a pair of aces, king/seven kickers.
onegreenchip wins $50.01 with a pair of aces.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Standard.

JensDiamonds is at seat 0 with $41.69.
hajawata is at seat 1 with $25.
nddavedog33 is at seat 2 with $20.20. BTN
IMBACKKKKKKK is at seat 3 with $23.78. SB
onegreenchip is at seat 4 with $122.23. BB
PODMANRP is at seat 5 with $58.96.

Pre-flop:
PODMANRP calls. JensDiamonds calls. nddavedog33calls. IMBACKKKKKKK calls. onegreenchip checks (Qd Jh).

Flop (board: Kh Tc 9h):
IMBACKKKKKKK checks. onegreenchip checks. PODMANRPchecks. JensDiamonds bets $1.25. nddavedog33 raisesto $2.50. IMBACKKKKKKK folds. onegreenchip calls.PODMANRP folds. JensDiamonds calls.

Turn (board: Kh Tc 9h Td):
onegreenchip bets $8.75. JensDiamonds folds.nddavedog33 calls.

River (board: Kh Tc 9h Td 3d):
onegreenchip bets $26.25. nddavedog33 goes all-in for$8.70. onegreenchip is returned $17.55 (uncalled).

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows Qd Jh.
onegreenchip has Qd Jh Kh Tc 9h: straight, king high.
nddavedog33 shows Qh Ks.
nddavedog33 has Qh Ks Kh Tc Td: two pair, kings and tens.
onegreenchip wins $41.91 with straight, king high.
----------------------------------------------------------------
wow QJ again. both players are around 35/10/1.2. I check in BB.

Really dangerous flop. I should be raising to isolate one player, but I'm greedy. This is not a board to be greedy on. Both players stay in.

crap turn. I can put V1 on a K, what is V2 minraising with? If it's a set or 2pr, I'm in serious trouble now. Especially when he calls me on the turn. That's pretty much what I put him on at this point, but I'm also representing a flush draw with my flop play (+huge stack +superaggressive postflop play).

I recognize that he's committed on the river (nearly 2/3s of stack), and think I'm better than a coinflip vs his equity. Shove it. Wow, awful minraise, man. Thanks.

wow. way to start being 29.

Sir Neb Broke My Brain

2008-01-14T11:34:00.000-06:00

"While facing a PSB on a particular street, if your equity is 33%-49%, you should be calling. If your equity is >50%, you should be raising. And if <33%, you should be folding."

i THINK i get it....

I Own In Live Poker

2008-01-12T03:42:00.000-06:00

Played some live $200NL tonight. Walked with +$150 after 3 hours of play. 3 hours = 180 minutes * 1 hand / 3 minutes = about 60 hands? and I won 75 BB?

= 125 BB / 100. I wonder if that's sustainable, lol.

Ways in which live poker is so much fucking weaker:

bet sizing is a lost art. people just throw in an accepted amount to raise.
people are afraid to stack off. they CARE about the money in ways that online players DO NOT, and it affects their play drastically.
you are a fucking sinner if you flop a monster and don't check it immediately. I stacked 3 players tonight flopping trips and betting out with them, IP or OOP. "Don't scare them off! Try to make some money on this hand!!"
Combine this with constant aggression and you have people playing back at you constantly.
reraising is only allowed with AA/KK/AK. anything else and you are labeled a maniac.
people think that reads are crucial : "play the person, not the cards!" is the mantra. Bitch, play my nuts like a xylophone with your face. awful.
it's much easier to tell when somebody is on tilt. or put somebody on tilt.

Jeez, list your own. I got labeled a maniac in my second hour, when I was squeezed from the BB after a 4BB button raise w/ JJ. It was raised from $8 to $18 (lol), and that, coupled with his check on a Kc Qh Ts board, gave him a nice, narrow range {AA, KK, QQ, AK}. He checks OOP to me. I check.

Turn 7h. He leads for $15 into a $36 pot. What a fucking donkey. You obviously have a set or AA, and you are trying to get me to bluff at you with my AQ. Fuck you. I have a shitload of implied odds, as we're both full stacked. I call.

River 9s. Haha. He bets $20 into the $66 pot with his 2nd best hand. If I call, we'll both have $150 left. lol. Fuck calling. Raise $60. He says, SAYS: "maybe someday I'll be good enough to lay this down." I give him a scared look, and he insta-shoves over me. I call, he tables QQ, I show a straight, and the bitching starts. HOW DO YOU CALL THAT TURN!!!

An hour later, I raise 6x from the button with 6c3c, having not played a pot in 4 orbits, and with a tight, superaggressive image. Don't fuck with my pots. I will blow you out of them if I have position on you. A new donkey is on my left, who bears an AMAZING resemblance to Sklansky. In fact, I call him Sklansky, which simultaneously gratifies and insults him, as our Beloved Professor will never win a beauty contest.

Lol tiltaments.

Anyway, Sklansky has made enough comments about my button raises in the past, but now he does something about it. He smooth calls my big raise from the SB, and the field of limpers fold.
Flop 4c 5s 5c. He bets out $20 into the $32 pot (leftover from limpers). I lol'd, used X-ray vision to see his TT-QQ, and called, having sufficient outs and implied odds to take his $300 stack, which I have covered.

Turn 7h. Looks pretty safe to him. He bet $50. I wait for 45 seconds, shuffling chips, and raise to $100, and he announces all-in. My chips leave a smoking skidmark in the tabletop as I RAM $300 in chips into the pot and table my straight. For a brief second in his agony of disappointment, I see how he'll look in 15 years, when the sagging face is due to gravity and not to OVERPLAYING YOUR QQ HORRIBLY LOL. suck it.

The night continues. People start thinking they can take chunks out of me, but I'm onto them. I flop top two to their TPTK and they take it to the river. I bet out with my nut flushes and straights, and continue betting when they hit. I rape their wallets, and fire sticky love juice in their hair, wipe my ass on the curtains, and take their sisters out to dinner.

On the flip side: they can't get away from their hands and they sometimes hit. Nut flushes don't do too well against 6-outered full houses, etc.

I think the key is: nobody walks into the place to play true No-Limit. They are all overprotective of their stacks. OMG I MIGHT LOSE THIS. It makes them super weak/tight. Tonight I ran over people constantly by making them crucially decide for their stacks on the river.

And this is my own biggest change from a year ago: After one bad beat, I had an $80 stack left. I pulled out $100, and added it on RIGHT THERE. I hit that hand with the straight not 20 minutes later, and I would have only had $220 had I not. Lesson learned :D

Welcome to the Rest of Your Life

2008-01-08T23:50:00.000-06:00

Ways in which 2008 is going right

- i am cruisin' on the Rock Hard Challenge. FUCK am I sore.
- i am eating right. Correct proportions of lean meat, complex carbs, good fats, and h20
- i am following through on my poker goals

Check me out, sonnnnn. I'm not being results-oriented. So, after cardio and abs today, I hung out with roommates, fired up two tables of UB, got 270 hands in, did my review, commented on my hands....and now I'm gonna post them nearly verbatim here, and crash by midnight. I have 7 minutes. Shit.

So.

Overpair CheckRaised on Flop

standard raise.

I want to Cbet this pot right away, to build a pot with an overpair, but he checkraises. Alarm bells.

Ranges that he check-calls preflop with, and subsq checkraises the flop
{JJ-99, 66, 22, AK, 78, A9} I'm 63/37 but that's being very generous.

Then the T comes: I'm 48/52

Regardless, as soon as he checkraises, my head went "SET!!!". I didn't THINK: ok, "AA-99, 66, 22, 78, maybe A9 or AK"

I just said, I have an overpair, and called with NO PLAN FOR THE TURN. A plan for the turn would have involved a thought process on his cards, and ...on the turn....JJ is the only hand that I beat. 78 made the straight, TT made trips. I committed myself to going broke with the hand, and did just that (as played, I can't fold after betting the turn).

Always have a plan for the next street. Had I done that: I would still need to recognize that the T is a really bad card for me.

I think the right line here is to check/fold the turn. I'm now only ahead of JJ and A9.

Scary River Card

I guess I could have shoved the turn, but I miss out on a fuck-ton of value. Definitely hate his play, but I think a check-call is optimal on the river.

Overpair on Suited Board

TPTK + Nut Flush Draw vs Overpair = 36.5 / 63.5 Maybe I would lay this down if we were a helluva lot deeper, but not for these stacks.

That's it. It was just 270-odd hands. I ran at 7.7 BB/100 for an 0.5 BI profit. No biggie. Missed my bedtime though, it's 12:15am. Possibly tomorrow I'll get into some of my other goals but I kinda doubt it.

postscript

i ran 27.5 / 18.5 / 3.75 for this session. WHEN (not IF) I get to 100NL, i think this might be acceptable. At 10NL / 25NL, IT IS NOT. I want to be 18-22 / 15-18 / 5. yessssss.

More Long Term Thinking

2007-12-17T15:28:00.000-06:00

Need to get these goals out while they're fresh in my head. (thought process courtesy of malfaire and his email regarding The Steps AKA How to Never Go Broke).

Basically, the process is:

1) Have the minimum of 30 buy ins
2) Win 20 BIs
3) Cash out 10 BIs
4) Repeat 4x
5) Now you have 60 BIs, and a shitload of experience. Move up.

So let's see here. Let's just consider November. Even though it was a heater month, December is going much the same way (but is only half over).

November stats

NL 10 5.4K hands 12.58 BB/100
NL 25 2.2K hands 14.38 BB/100
Total 7.6K hands 13.29 BB/100

Bankroll to date: ~$560

So in November I gained X BIs =
[(13.29 BB/100 hands)*(1 BI / 50 BB)*(7600 hands / month)]

where X ~ 20.2

This means that, all things remaining the same (sick winrate, very little working out, 2-tabling at UB, X amount of hours/day), I'll be at NL25 by FEBRUARY.

reality bites.
I guess that's why they call this a grind...

things to think about changing: poker sites, # of tables played, life scheduling (restrict/expand playing time), tournament skill, playing SnGs/MTTs if I find myself with extra time, etc.

Suckouts, I Has Them

2007-12-06T11:12:00.000-06:00

(thinly veiled brag/variance post, for kicks only)

Here, I was 20-1 when the money went in....LOLLL

onegreenchip is at seat 0 with $15.74.
Leotheel is at seat 1 with $3.31.
pokeriffic is at seat 2 with $15.11.
proimage is at seat 3 with $11.89.
QuattroFour4 is at seat 4 with $18.78.
fish1954 is at seat 5 with $10.82.
The button is at seat 4.

fish1954 posts the small blind of $.05.
onegreenchip posts the big blind of $.10.

onegreenchip: Kd Td
Leotheel: -- --
pokeriffic: -- --
proimage: -- --
QuattroFour4: -- --
fish1954: -- --

Pre-flop:
Leotheel folds. pokeriffic calls. proimage folds. QuattroFour4 folds. fish1954 calls. onegreenchip checks.

Flop (board: 8s 2h Th):
fish1954 bets $2.75. onegreenchip goes all-in for$15.64. pokeriffic folds. fish1954 goes all-in for$10.72. onegreenchip is returned $4.92 (uncalled).

Turn (board: 8s 2h Th Tc):
(no action in this round)

River (board: 8s 2h Th Tc Ks):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows Kd Td.
onegreenchip has Kd Td Th Tc Ks: full house, tens full of kings.
fish1954 shows 2c 2s.
fish1954 has 2c 2s 2h Th Tc: full house, deuces full of tens.

onegreenchip wins $20.66 with full house, tens full of kings.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Here I'm getting decent pot odds to call w/ any hand. Flop is checked, I turn two pair. Weee!! I am preparing to raise any bet. One villain minreraises -- indicator of strength at this level. I don't care, and donkpush. Poker god loves meeeeee

onegreenchip is at seat 0 with $31.94.
MrBlunt2You is at seat 1 with $40.49.
quarVAX is at seat 2 with $45.55.
johnnyd73 is at seat 3 with $38.53.
pretty24 is at seat 4 with $22.51.
The button is at seat 4.

onegreenchip posts the small blind of $.10.
MrBlunt2You posts the big blind of $.25.

onegreenchip: 4c 7s
MrBlunt2You: -- --
quarVAX: -- --
johnnyd73: -- --
pretty24: -- --

Pre-flop:
quarVAX calls. johnnyd73 calls. pretty24 calls.onegreenchip calls. MrBlunt2You checks.

Flop (board: Tc 9s 4s):
onegreenchip checks. MrBlunt2You checks. quarVAXchecks. johnnyd73 checks. pretty24 checks.

Turn (board: Tc 9s 4s 7c):
onegreenchip checks. MrBlunt2You checks. quarVAXbets $1.25. johnnyd73 raises to $5. pretty24 folds.onegreenchip goes all-in for $31.69. MrBlunt2Youfolds. quarVAX calls. johnnyd73 goes all-in for$38.28. quarVAX calls.

River (board: Tc 9s 4s 7c 4d):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
johnnyd73 shows 8c 6s.
johnnyd73 has 8c 6s Tc 9s 7c: straight, ten high.
onegreenchip shows 4c 7s.
onegreenchip has 4c 7s 4s 7c 4d: full house, fours full of sevens.
quarVAX shows 8h 6h.
quarVAX has 8h 6h Tc 9s 7c: straight, ten high.

onegreenchip wins the main pot $94.32 with full house, fours full of sevens.
quarVAX wins the side pot $6.60 of a $13.18 pot with straight, ten high.
johnnyd73 wins the side pot $6.58 of a $13.18 pot with straight, ten high.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Villain's first hand at the table...multitabling TAG that saw me sitting 300BB deep and came to get a piece...I 3bet in position, Cbet/float the flop, and my card hits on the turn. He had me so dominated pre-flop....less of a suckout than the others, though.

QuintupleWar is at seat 0 with $36.28.
riverton75 is at seat 1 with $34.07.
Irishone76 is at seat 2 with $24.75.
onegreenchip is at seat 3 with $74.47.
Mr Paris is at seat 4 with $4.59.
_DrAzTiK_ is at seat 5 with $32.24.
The button is at seat 4.

_DrAzTiK_ posts the small blind of $.10.
QuintupleWar posts the big blind of $.25.

QuintupleWar: -- --
riverton75: -- --
Irishone76: -- --
onegreenchip: As Qh
Mr Paris: -- --
_DrAzTiK_: -- --

Pre-flop:
riverton75 folds. Irishone76 raises to $.85.onegreenchip re-raises to $3. Mr Paris folds. _DrAzTiK_ folds. QuintupleWar folds. Irishone76calls.

Flop (board: 5h Th Jd):
Irishone76 checks. onegreenchip bets $5. Irishone76calls.

Turn (board: 5h Th Jd Kc):
Irishone76 checks. onegreenchip bets $16.35.Irishone76 calls.

River (board: 5h Th Jd Kc 9c):
Irishone76 checks. onegreenchip bets $.40.Irishone76 goes all-in for $.40.

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows As Qh.
onegreenchip has As Qh Th Jd Kc: straight, ace high.
Irishone76 shows Ks Ac.
Irishone76 has Ks Ac Th Jd Kc: a pair of kings.

onegreenchip wins $47.87 with straight, ace high.
----------------------------------------------------------------

I turn quads after getting it all in on the flop vs a flopped baby flush. Standard.

jl815 is at seat 0 with $9.59.
thurobredED is at seat 1 with $19.42.
Humper 2 is at seat 2 with $12.46.
MANIACCCCC is at seat 3 with $30.56.
onegreenchip is at seat 4 with $22.20.
duckym is at seat 5 with $9.85.
The button is at seat 5.

jl815 posts the small blind of $.05.
thurobredED posts the big blind of $.10.

jl815: -- --
thurobredED: -- --
Humper 2: -- --
MANIACCCCC: -- --
onegreenchip: Ks Kh
duckym: -- --

Pre-flop:
Humper 2 folds. MANIACCCCC folds. onegreenchipraises to $.40. duckym calls. jl815 folds. thurobredED folds.

Flop (board: 2c Kc Qc):
onegreenchip checks. duckym bets $.95. onegreenchipraises to $2. duckym re-raises to $6.95. onegreenchip goes all-in for $21.80. duckym goesall-in for $9.45. onegreenchip is returned $12.35(uncalled).

Turn (board: 2c Kc Qc Kd):
(no action in this round)

River (board: 2c Kc Qc Kd 5h):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows Ks Kh.
onegreenchip has Ks Kh Kc Qc Kd: four kings.
duckym shows 4c 7c.
duckym has 4c 7c 2c Kc Qc: flush, king high.

onegreenchip wins $18.86 with four kings.
----------------------------------------------------------------

the next post will have more hands where I took a bad/wrong line, and what I should have done differently. BUT....I need to be reminded that variance works in my favor sometimes.

A View from My Opponents' Eyes

2007-12-06T10:34:00.000-06:00

Yeaaaaaaaah. Ain't it grand when the Poker (devil) God decides that he's working for you?

So, the graph since Thanksgiving. 7.5K hands

And the graph of all time. 36K hands.

See the contrast? The CHANGE?? THE RUNNING HOTTER THAN SUPERMODEL THIGHS?!!

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
ready for even MORE weee??

yesterday's results:

10NL: 350 hands / $57.05 / 81.5 BB/100
50NL: 130 hands / $64.00 / 49.23 BB/100

fdajsdjf;laksdjfals!!! you say!! OGC, what exactly are you doing playing 50NL?!! you KNOW you're not rolled for it. what, you're going to play stakes you're underolled for? but you can't play your standard, aggressive style!! you can't shove over the top with impunity!! your playbook will be crippled!! etc!!

yes.

yes. I know all this. but I felt the need to gambooooool.

so I said to myself. "Self, you just ripped through these 10NLers pretty hard. You have an hour before you have to meet your girlfriend for dinner. Why don't you (mis)implement your blackjack card counting skillz0rs, take today's winnings, and play for them only at 50NL? DUZZNT THAT SOWND LIK A GRATE IDEEEAAAHHH??!!"

self: "fuck these bitches, let's see if they're ready for the 10nl balla styleeeeeee."
OGC: (high fives self, puts black sabbath on, pwns 50nl)

*do not attempt*

Sometimes It's Thanksgiving. Sometimes You're the Turkey.

2007-12-04T12:27:00.000-06:00

Long, long time since I posted last. I've been running super, super, super hot.

NL25: 3,088 Hands / $228.84 / 14.82 BB/100hands
NL10: 4,379 Hands / $173.22 / 19.78 BB/100hands

I wish I could say it was more of my doing. I want to say that using REM and SPR ratios are having a positive influence on my game. I want to say that having Malfaire sweat me over Thanksgiving made my game grow by leaps and bounds.

The sad truth is that I'm winning enormous pots by 4-outers (bad), finding superfish (good), and generally getting myself involved in these lapses of he knows that I know that he knows that I know and putting money in while I'm behind.

However, this is seven thousand fucking hands in. I think I'll rake over the data now and try to post ONLY FIVE hands. No suckout hands, just ones where I made a wrong decision and why.

2000 Hands Later

2007-11-14T13:43:00.000-06:00

Hey

I was playing excessively badly in the end of October. I decided to take a break, and not play until I had finished Professional No-Limit Hold 'Em. Err, bought it. Heh.

2/3s of the way through right now, and I really like it. I'm dubious about the value of SPRs as of yet -- I think people are pretty aware when they're in danger of committing their stack based on pre-flop action -- but I really enjoyed the Target SPR section re: how certain hands play better in terms of SPR ranges. The REM section is also invaluable. I plan on copying a certain bad-luck player in addressing my hands for Range, Equity, and Maximizing.

Hopefully by hardlining a mathematical approach now, I'll have a better 'feel' for it at the tables. Which is basically what people do for pot odds and implied odds right now...you have a good idea based on bet sized; certainly nobody is number crunching at the table. Let's do the number crunching here, now, and try to approximate later on, in the thick of the action.

Almost makes me want to hide my PAHud, and see how my assessment pan out against the hard data. Certainly, I'm always cognizant that the tools we use online to play retard our live skills. I'm not knocking PAHud, it's excellent, and a necessity for multitabling. One simply cannot keep track of the tendencies of 50 villains. Possibly the next time I'm single-tabling, I'll start hiding my stats, and rely on the pop-up window. Good plan.

Back to PNLHE. Since I've gotten the book, I've had a +1 BI day, and yesterday. God, yesterday. I sat a table with two big donks, and a shit-talking, positively tilted LAG player with a 700BB stack. Need me a piece of that action!

Here's a particular play of mine that I'm not sure about.

Hero: 101BB, Kd Ah
V1: 37BB
V2: 153BB
V3: 700BB

V3 raises 3.5BB. Hero reraises to 12BB. V1 reraises all-in, 37BB. V2 folds. V3 calls 37BB all-in. Hero raises 101BB all-in. V3 calls 101BB all in.

V3 shows TT, V1 shows 55, Hero shows AKo, board all blanks, V3 wins 239BB (- rake).

So did I make a bad call?

Ranges PF
V3(initial): 22+, ATo+, KQo+, QJo+ / V1: 55+, A7s+ / V3(final): 55-QQ, AQo+, KQs

Final Equity
(Hero: 35.96% vs V3: 36.96% vs V1: 28.01%)

Pretty goddamn close. Let's see what happens when I confine their ranges to pocket pairs only.

Ranges PF: V3(final): 77-QQ / V1: 55+ / Hero: AhKd
Final Equity: 33.3% / 32.3% / 34.3%

again, pretty goddamn close.

My ROI isn't awesome. 1/3 of the time, +239BB. 2/3 of the time, -101BB. So avg ROI is 36%. Invest 101BB to gain 36BB. Worth it?

Look at the sequence. UTG raise, I 3bet, SS 4bets all-in, UTG coldcalls (uh oh). I love my play with AA/KK, and that's what I was representing. Plenty of fold equity there, as V3 is superdeep.

Goddamn. This is too tough to do at work right now. Let's just say that I am ambivalent about my play, love the V1's play, and mildly dislike V3's play. He was definitely tiliting positively, hitting everything in sight, and counting on hitting everything. I guess I'd do it again.

Post Halloween Pain

2007-10-29T12:55:00.000-05:00

Ugh. What an awesome weekend.

The poker lately, though, has been up & down.

NL50: 180 Hands / $58.85 / 32.69
NL25: 996 Hands / ($19.94) / (4.00)
NL10: 1688 Hands / ($64.86) / (19.21)

What seems to be the problem here?!! Besides the fact that I logged my first hands at NL50, chasing a tilting fish, who paid me off, and loosened the rest of the table up, also paying me off. Nice. But I am still a losing player. AT 10NL!!!!

Going back over my hands, it looks like I'm either A) stupid (i.e. not paying enough attention because I'm 2- or 3-tabling) or B) falling prey to 'fancy play syndrome'

Even at NL50, the money come when you let people overplay their hands. Stop overplaying yours, Colin!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flopped Top Two>

IMBACKKKKKKK is at seat 0 with $22.67.
JORDAN60 is at seat 1 with $20.28.
parrottlover is at seat 2 with $30.88.
7iron is at seat 3 with $14.75.
bigj99678 is at seat 4 with $22.02.
Kant_Bluff is at seat 5 with $30.06.
The button is at seat 5.

IMBACKKKKKKK posts the small blind of $.10.
JORDAN60 posts the big blind of $.25.

Pre-flop:

parrottlover (Qh As) raises to $.85. 7iron folds. bigj99678folds. Kant_Bluff calls. IMBACKKKKKKK folds.JORDAN60 calls.

Flop (board: Qc Jc Ah):
JORDAN60 checks. parrottlover checks. Kant_Bluff checks.

Turn (board: Qc Jc Ah 3s):
JORDAN60 checks. parrottlover bets $1.75.Kant_Bluff raises to $5. JORDAN60 folds.parrottlover re-raises to $11.75. Kant_Bluff goesall-in for $29.21. parrottlover calls.

River (board: Qc Jc Ah 3s 6c):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
Kant_Bluff shows Qs Kd.
Kant_Bluff has Qs Kd Qc Jc Ah: a pair of queens.
parrottlover shows Qh As.

parrottlover has Qh As Qc Jc Ah: two pair, aces and queens.
parrottlover wins $58.63 with two pair, aces and queens.

standard raise PF. Kant Bluff is a thinking TAG, Jordan60 is a donk with a WtSD of +75 and W$%DC of -20%. Regularly comes to fight with 2nd/3rd pair.

Flopped top two. Cbet (parrottlover) > 75% right now. I check to induce a move at the pot. Doesn't happen, but the turn card is a brick and the action starts. Kant_Bluff has routinely protected his two pairs and sets on drawy boards in the past. He also would have RRd anything JJ+ PF. I put him on AQ/AJ/QJ after his 3bet, and elect to get it all in on the turn. Ship it.

----------------------------------------------------------------

NonStandard Line w/ Aces

parrottlover is at seat 0 with $24.99.

Fewl_house is at seat 1 with $31.81.

JPAR4C is at seat 2 with $19.76.

roll the dice is at seat 3 with $35.36.

Bsk183 is at seat 4 with $33.67.

ImBeatICall is at seat 5 with $55.64.

The button is at seat 4.

ImBeatICall posts the small blind of $.10.

parrottlover posts the big blind of $.25.

Pre-flop:
Fewl_house folds. JPAR4C calls. roll the dicefolds. Bsk183 calls. ImBeatICall raises to $1.35. parrottlover (Ac As) calls. JPAR4C calls. Bsk183 folds.

Flop (board: 7h 9s 6s):

ImBeatICall bets $4. parrottlover goes all-in for$23.64. JPAR4C folds. ImBeatICall calls.

Turn (board: 7h 9s 6s 2s):
(no action in this round)

River (board: 7h 9s 6s 2s 7s):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
parrottlover shows Ac As.

parrottlover has As 9s 6s 2s 7s: flush, ace high.

ImBeatICall mucks cards.

(ImBeatICall has Qh Qs.)

parrottlover wins $49.52 with flush, ace high.

Looking back, I'm not sure what I think of this place. TAG-statted villain raises in the small blind. Standard play for AA in BB is to raise OOP in an attempt to isolate. I fall prey to Fancy Play Syndrome, and call to conceal the strength of my hand. He looks like he has AQ+, TT+. Unfortunately, a donk calls as well. I'm now in mid position for the flop....

...and it is wet as hell!! Villain cbets, I put him on a high pocket pair and push. Looks like a draw. Luckily villain2 folds, I hold up. I love my line heads=up. In the position I was, I'm not so sure

----------------------------------------------------------------

We Are Now Boarding (but I can squeak this last hand in)

Morestere is at seat 0 with $9.66.

Nathan C is at seat 1 with $19.02 (sitting out).

onegreenchip is at seat 2 with $20.45.

Suralex is at seat 3 with $0 (sitting out).

mmmsc is at seat 4 with $17.30.

profELMO is at seat 5 with $21.06.

The button is at seat 5.

Morestere posts the small blind of $.05.

onegreenchip posts the big blind of $.10.

Pre-flop:
mmmsc raises to $.35. profELMO calls. Morestere folds. onegreenchip (Tc Ad) calls.

Flop (board: 5d 8d 3d):
onegreenchip bets $1.10. mmmsc folds. profELMOcalls.

Turn (board: 5d 8d 3d 8s):
onegreenchip checks. profELMO bets $2. onegreenchipgoes all-in for $19. profELMO calls.

River (board: 5d 8d 3d 8s 9d):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows Tc Ad.

onegreenchip has Ad 5d 8d 3d 9d: flush, ace high.

profELMO shows 3h 3c.

profELMO has 3h 3c 8d 3d 8s: full house, threes full of eights.

profELMO wins $39.30 with full house, threes full of eights.

They had just called my group to board. Last hand syndrome time! I hate my PF call, horrible. I see a suited board! I have the A! YES!! Money goes in!! Drawing dead. There is no thinking to correct here.

There is no thinking here. As played, I like a reraise on the turn, but not AI. Fold to a push, as I'm not getting odds to draw.

This is not ABC poker. ABC says after the first barrell, 'there are better places to get the money in against one of the top 5 players at UB for this level'.

Fucking stupid.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FlopFcked

parrottlover is at seat 0 with $36.80.

JoseIrineuC is at seat 1 with $21.86.

JPAR4C is at seat 2 with $21.75.

roll the dice is at seat 3 with $51.69.

Bsk183 is at seat 4 with $40.33.

ImBeatICall is at seat 5 with $40.96.

The button is at seat 2.
roll the dice posts the small blind of $.10.

Bsk183 posts the big blind of $.25.

Pre-flop:

ImBeatICall folds. parrottlover (TsKd) raises to $.85. JoseIrineuC calls. JPAR4C folds. roll the dicefolds. Bsk183 calls.

Flop (board: 4d Kc Ks):
Bsk183 checks. parrottlover bets $2.65. JoseIrineuCfolds. Bsk183 raises to $10. parrottlover goesall-in for $35.95. Bsk183 calls.

Turn (board: 4d Kc Ks As):
(no action in this round)

River (board: 4d Kc Ks As Jh):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
parrottlover shows Ts Kd.

parrottlover has Kd Kc Ks As Jh: three kings.

Bsk183 shows 4c 4s.

Bsk183 has 4c 4s 4d Kc Ks: full house, fours full of kings.

Bsk183 wins $71.57 with full house, fours full of kings.

I finally remembered not to slowplay. Bet out at the flop, hoping to represent a PP. I get raised, which is what I want. Hate my push right there. Should have called and led on the flop. Still think I'm getting stacked here if he calls a turn bet...I might be able to lay down to a turn push.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Nearly 3K Hands Later

2007-10-17T13:46:00.000-05:00

10NL : 2559 hands / (1.72) BB/100 / ($8.82)
25NL : 149 hands / (12.38) BB/100 / ($9.22)

Feelin' pretty good. Mostly the winrate has been owned due to poor PF decisions -- I looked at my HH for these sessions from 10/9 until now, and the big hand losses are:

KK > AA aipf
KK > QQ aipf
AQ > AK: 3bet PF, he calls in position, board comes KJT. I bet, he shoves. EZ fold. I call. Doh.
89 > JJ on 9 high flop. AI, straight. GG
K9 > A9. We get it all in on a 9-high flop. K river. GG.
AQ > KK aipf
AQ > JJ aipf

thats about ($80) right there. Obviously not running hot. Been sitting down to tables and going down 2-3 BIs and then digging myself out. Obviously not spending enough time breathing in / building image before playing for big pots. Sometimes it's unavoidable, though.

Three times a tilting DONKEY came to bat AIPF and actually had a hand. I've watched a guy obviously steaming and shoving, steaming and shoving, and waited for my piece of the pie. QQ, finally!! Nope, he's got AA this time. He continues to shove any ace, and any king PF, in a desperate effort to recoup his losses. KK!! Dammit!! He showed up with AA again!! AKs!!! DAMMIT! AA again!!

LOL

I had my own suckouts, though.

JJ > AA, was 3bet PF, call in position and flop a J. Weeee.
AK > QQ AIPF

Wow, I'm looking back over my HH and seeing how many times I'm stacking people for like, half a stack. Or 2/3 a stack. But when I'm getting stacked, it's usually for a full stack. Goddamn halfstackers. I guess it makes sense -- the people most likely to beat me in a hand are the ones with MORE MONEY.

Is that table selection? Maybe it's time for me to leave the UB and go to Full Tilt or Stars to play. 10nl is not where the action is, it's dominated by about 10 regulars, myself included. They're the ones that always make sure they have a full stack in play. I end up busting the donks, who roll with their 30-70BB stack in the hope of 'saving money'.

Seriously considering dumping more loot in to jump to 25NL. Game has so many holes right now, though. I mean, I can't guarantee a winrate at 10nl? shit.

P.S.

I'm successfully 3-tabling with a buttload of overlap on my laptop. Lols.

Post Script to U-turns

2007-10-09T12:47:00.001-05:00

Hand #46805540-10256 at Janesville (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 09/Oct/07 00:15:18

go4redoak is at seat 0 with $9.83. onegreenchip is at seat 1 with $46.35. riverton75 is at seat 2 with $24.53.ph00man is at seat 3 with $6.98. jodawg is at seat 4 with $8.92. JOBENDER is at seat 5 with $11. The button is at seat 5.

go4redoak posts the small blind of $.10.
onegreenchip posts the big blind of $.25.

go4redoak: -- --
onegreenchip: Ah As
riverton75: -- --
ph00man: -- --
jodawg: -- --
JOBENDER: -- --

Pre-flop:
riverton75 calls. ph00man calls. jodawg folds.JOBENDER folds. go4redoak folds. onegreenchipraises to $1.10. riverton75 calls. ph00man folds.

Flop (board: Jd 8h 3c):
onegreenchip bets $2. riverton75 calls.

Turn (board: Jd 8h 3c Ts):
onegreenchip bets $6.55. riverton75 calls.

River (board: Jd 8h 3c Ts 2h):
onegreenchip bets $19.65. riverton75 folds.onegreenchip is returned $19.65 (uncalled).

onegreenchip opts to show Ah As.
onegreenchip has Ah As Jd 8h Ts: a pair of aces.

onegreenchip wins $18.87.

He was definitely on tilt. We were 3handed previously and I called his 3bet from the button with K8o. The flop came J88 and he got it all in with QQ. LOL. Here, he said he had AJ. My line is strictly for value, and I hammer the pot on all streets. He kinda looks he has a set here, but de-tilted himself on the river. If I made a feeler bet here, I think he comes over the top and represents a flopped set (which I'd have to pay off, due to his not RR the turn).
----------------------------------------------------------------

Hand #46805802-6442 at Bethany (No Limit Hold'em)Started at 08/Oct/07 17:37:26

Freedy3 is at seat 0 with $23.48.onegreenchip is at seat 3 with $35.04.mad1337ness is at seat 4 with $31.62.white_rice is at seat 5 with $40.83.The button is at seat 3.

mad1337ness posts the small blind of $.10.
white_rice posts the big blind of $.25.

Freedy3: -- --
onegreenchip: Qd 9d
mad1337ness: -- --
white_rice: -- --

Pre-flop:
Freedy3 raises to $.85. onegreenchip calls.mad1337ness folds. white_rice folds.

Flop (board: 8h 3s 7c):
Freedy3 bets $1.50. onegreenchip calls.

Turn (board: 8h 3s 7c Ts):
Freedy3 checks. onegreenchip bets $3.25. Freedy3raises to $6.50. onegreenchip calls.

River (board: 8h 3s 7c Ts 6h):
Freedy3 checks. onegreenchip bets $18.05. Freedy3folds. onegreenchip is returned $18.05 (uncalled).

onegreenchip wins $17.33.

Here I float the river (due to his 95% Cbet freq) , call a min. checkraise on the turn, and hit my runner-runner gutshot straight on the river. I don't think he's putting another bet in after I call him on two streets.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Hand #46805540-10307 at Janesville (No Limit Hold'em)Started at 09/Oct/07 00:48:09

uofm_canes is at seat 0 with $13.23.onegreenchip is at seat 1 with $45.80.riverton75 is at seat 2 with $14.28.faccipo is at seat 3 with $8.99.jodawg is at seat 4 with $22.66.CDNDONKK is at seat 5 with $13.59.The button is at seat 0.

onegreenchip posts the small blind of $.10.
riverton75 posts the big blind of $.25.

uofm_canes: -- --
onegreenchip: 6d 6c
riverton75: -- --
faccipo: -- --
jodawg: -- --
CDNDONKK: -- --

Pre-flop:
faccipo calls. jodawg calls. CDNDONKK folds.uofm_canes folds. onegreenchip calls. riverton75checks.

Flop (board: 4h 6s 2h):
onegreenchip bets $1. riverton75 folds. faccipocalls. jodawg calls.

Turn (board: 4h 6s 2h Jh):
onegreenchip checks. faccipo checks. jodawg bets$2.25. onegreenchip calls. faccipo calls.

River (board: 4h 6s 2h Jh 2d):
onegreenchip checks. faccipo checks. jodawg checks.

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows 6d 6c.onegreenchip has 6d 6c 6s 2h 2d: full house, sixes full of deuces.
faccipo mucks cards.(faccipo has 3d 3c.)
jodawg mucks cards.(jodawg has 7c 7s.)

onegreenchip wins $10.33 with full house, sixes full of deuces.

Here I flop top set OOP with 3 others. I bet the flop (two hearts), get a call, and a heart hits on the turn, with a LP player last to act. He represents the flush after we check to him on the turn. I figure I might be good, as this player bluffs, and I have 11 outs on the river, so I call. I hit on the river, and know that I'm good. I expect LP to bet the river if I check/call to him because that's what he does. Doh.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Hand #46805540-10213 at Janesville (No Limit Hold'em)Started at 08/Oct/07 23:55:22

onegreenchip is at seat 1 with $28.06.riverton75 is at seat 2 with $18.50.JOBENDER is at seat 5 with $10.19.The button is at seat 5.

onegreenchip posts the small blind of $.10.
riverton75 posts the big blind of $.25.

onegreenchip: 6c 7d
riverton75: -- --
JOBENDER: -- --

Pre-flop:
JOBENDER folds. onegreenchip calls. riverton75raises to $.75. onegreenchip calls.

Flop (board: 3s 8h 5h):
onegreenchip bets $1.50. riverton75 calls.

Turn (board: 3s 8h 5h 9d):
onegreenchip bets $4.50. riverton75 calls.

River (board: 3s 8h 5h 9d 5d):
onegreenchip bets $13.50. riverton75 folds.onegreenchip is returned $13.50 (uncalled).

onegreenchip wins $12.96.

3 handed again. I flop an OESD and try to blow my opponents out on the flop. Doesn't work, but I hit the turn. Pot-sized bet is called on the turn. River pairs the board, I fire a pot-sized bet on the river. Villain folds. Same guy as two hands above.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Hand #46804059-8399 at Addison (No Limit Hold'em)Started at 08/Oct/07 23:59:50

zjxgzl is at seat 0 with $25.87.stolen base is at seat 1 with $5.04.Igotubeattoo is at seat 3 with $0 (sitting out).Crazy Cotzo is at seat 4 with $5.73.onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $26.34.The button is at seat 1.

Crazy Cotzo posts the small blind of $.05.
onegreenchip posts the big blind of $.10.

zjxgzl: -- --
stolen base: -- --
Crazy Cotzo: -- --
onegreenchip: As 6s

Pre-flop:
zjxgzl calls. stolen base folds. Crazy Cotzo calls.onegreenchip checks.
Flop (board: Qs 4s Ks):

Crazy Cotzo checks. onegreenchip bets $.10. zjxgzlraises to $.60. Crazy Cotzo folds. onegreenchipre-raises to $2.10. zjxgzl calls.

Turn (board: Qs 4s Ks 7d):
onegreenchip checks. zjxgzl bets $2.25.onegreenchip goes all-in for $24.14. zjxgzl folds.onegreenchip is returned $21.89 (uncalled).

onegreenchip wins $8.55.

unraised pot, I flop the nuts against a TAG. I love my line on the flop. It looks like I have the ace of spades. On the flop I put him on K?Xs. THOUGHT he would only call my reraise with a smaller flush, and his turn bet looks like he puts me on a single spade. I thought this meant that he had the flush already. Looks like he had a king. GRRRR
----------------------------------------------------------------

Hand #46803758-10445 at Westerville (No Limit Hold'em)Started at 08/Oct/07 17:48:36

oldirtybasti is at seat 1 with $6.91.Harvemax is at seat 2 with $4.35.onegreenchip is at seat 3 with $12.51.benze55amg is at seat 4 with $14.56.tozeke is at seat 5 with $5.The button is at seat 4.

oldirtybasti posts the small blind of $.05.
Harvemax posts the big blind of $.10.

oldirtybasti: -- --
Harvemax: -- --
onegreenchip: Kd Jh
benze55amg: -- --

Pre-flop:
onegreenchip raises to $.35. benze55amg calls.oldirtybasti folds. Harvemax calls.

Flop (board: 3s Kc Kh):
Harvemax bets $.10. onegreenchip raises to $.80.benze55amg folds. Harvemax calls.

Turn (board: 3s Kc Kh Th):
Harvemax checks. onegreenchip bets $1.25. Harvemaxcalls.

River (board: 3s Kc Kh Th 9s):
Harvemax checks. onegreenchip bets $5.20. Harvemaxfolds. onegreenchip is returned $5.20 (uncalled).

onegreenchip wins $4.94.

Here I cbet my trips (strong means STRONG), and fire again on the turn. Pot sized bet on the river, and the opponent folds. Incorrectly sized bet?
----------------------------------------------------------------

Hand #46803758-10180 at Westerville (No Limit Hold'em)Started at 08/Oct/07 14:35:09

duckym is at seat 0 with $8.54.Heist Man is at seat 1 with $12.78.FuglyHand is at seat 2 with $9.69.onegreenchip is at seat 3 with $20.45.unreal32 is at seat 4 with $9.75.jainey is at seat 5 with $10.The button is at seat 1.

FuglyHand posts the small blind of $.05.onegreenchip posts the big blind of $.10.jainey posts out of turn for $.10.

duckym: -- --
Heist Man: -- --
FuglyHand: -- --
onegreenchip: 2d 3d
unreal32: -- --
jainey: -- --

Pre-flop:
unreal32 calls. jainey checks. duckym calls.Heist Man folds. FuglyHand calls. onegreenchipchecks.

Flop (board: 2s Ad 2c):
FuglyHand checks. onegreenchip checks. unreal32bets $.10. jainey folds. duckym folds. FuglyHandfolds. onegreenchip calls.

Turn (board: 2s Ad 2c 4s):
onegreenchip bets $.70. unreal32 raises to $1.40.onegreenchip re-raises to $4.70. unreal32 folds.onegreenchip is returned $3.30 (uncalled).

onegreenchip wins $3.33.

Here I call a min bet on the flop, and 3 bet the turn for value when he minraises. Looks like he folded his small pcket pair..

U Turns and Vomiting on my Day Off

2007-10-09T11:47:00.000-05:00

So yesterday, I came down with a bad case of Monday-itis. can't....make it.... Took the entire day off, and logged about 1600 hands. (mental note: 1600 hands is some pussycat shit for an all-day session).

It didn't go so well at first.

10NL : 529 hands / (22.68)BB/100 / ($22.68)
25NL : 344 hands / (30.90)BB/100 / ($53.14)

Dipped down into the -300 BB region, and was starting to stage a comeback -- built myself up a 200 BB stack at 25NL, and then flopped an underset in a RRd pot to an even bigger stack. Bye bye, money.

Did the best possible thing, once I realized that I had A) gone on tilt B) gone off tilt C) got coolered. I went to the gym. And I threw up at the gym, twice, for the first time in six months. Brutal, brutal leg workout gave me no mercy. Pounding music gave me no chance to think. Hot gym bunnies gave me a chance to think about something other than must win back money must win back must get unstuck must must.

So nice.

Came back, thought three times about it, and re-fired up UB. Started chasing my fish. And catching them.

10NL : 147 hands / 53.50 BB/100 / $58.09

25NL : 525 hands / 22.13 BB/100 / $15.73

Both sessions were characterized by LAG / LP players pushing me around. Yes, I realize that they have an extremely high variance in their play, but I've been on the wrong end of it, lately.

Like I mentioned before, they are just not respecting continuation bets at all. They'll either float with air in position, check-call the turn, and crush the river, forcing me to surrender or make a hero call. Or they'll play their premium pairs the same way, and I end up overplaying TPTK. Or they'll float with air and hit the next two streets hard.

Frustrating. In the second session a LP would check/call me on every street, and bet the pot on the river. I watched him river enough sets/two pairs/gutshot straights to realize that this guy couldn't fold. Too bad he never tried it on me when I had a premium pair myself.

Got my comeuppance when I filled an OESD on the turn, and he rivered two pair and got his 160 BB stack in against mine. After being bullied out 2/3 of the pots we were in, that felt soooooo goooooood. I wonder what was going on in his head....I know he had no respect for my play, as I watched him call my checkraises on two streets and show up with 2nd pair. Patience is the key here? There's just been too many times that HEY!! FINALLY! Here's the hand I'm going to crush him with!! And that's the time they either meekly fold or fill some ridiculous straight.

....or maybe I'm just remembering that because it's so much more painful. Objectivity, Colin. Trust PokerTracker, not your memory.

I'm not going to bother posting hands, unless I think I made a great play or an awful one. Like this...my last hand of the day. Note the stack sizes.

25NL

BN: xxxxx w/ $21.39
SB: Hero (Ad Ac) w/ $91.73
BB: $11.44
xxxx w/ $y
Villain (21 / 6 / 5 : standard TAG) w/ $27.10
xxxx w/ $y

Preflop:
Folds to Villain, who raises to $.85. Folds to Hero, who calls. BB folds.

Flop (As 3s Qs):
Hero checks. Villain bets $1.95 (pot). Hero calls.

Turn (As 3s Qs Ks):
Hero checks. Villain bets $5.85. Hero folds.

Here was the table situation at the time. I was sitting on a huge stack, and my opponents were salivating for a piece of it. There was a lot of light 3betting preflop, as they were trying to build huge pots with draws and suck out on me. My stats were on the nitty side of TAG, and I'd shown a tendency to put people all-in on the turn/river in pots I was in. I'd pushed people out of three previous pots without showing down, and so I was ready to change gears and slowplay when pocket aces came along.

preflop: perfect, i'm concealed.

flop: SHIT. I have a set. I don't think he bets the pot with a made flush here. I'll let a card come off. If it's not a spade, I shove the turn.

turn: SHIT. Ok, let's see. I expected him to slow down on the turn with a nonflush. Doesn't it look like I called him with one spade? He's not worried about that? My set must not be good.

maybe i'll post some more hands later. they'd be ughhhh ones, though :D

Couldn't Last Forever

2007-10-02T13:11:00.000-05:00

Sat down for a session early yesterday evening, standard, 2-tabling 10NL. Ran awful, but stayed afloat for the most part. Then decided to take a shot at 25NL for an hour. The table I sat at had 3 TAGs, one LAG with a 500BB stack, and myself. The LAG guy was easily the best person at the table, using his stack to force people to lay down the best hand again and again, while hitting just enough ridiculous two pairs, draws, or premium hands to keep the rest of us in line.

In retrospect, it was really a mistake to stay there, as I was A) taking a shot and B) playing LAGs is high variance. Maybe it would have been profitable to stay if BRM supported it. Goddamn Tuesday morning quarterbacking.

Got home after the gym and fired up two more tables of 10NL, where I ran into a superLAG, who proceeded to destroy me. I know I stopped playing 'my game', but I need to get back to CR and see how to adjust for these players that use the LAG style effectively. This is now 3 sessions in a row where I get no respect, and it makes the rest of my game fall apart. I think if I had a normal night's sleep, I would have had patience, which is the best weapon against a LAG. I mean, he shows down wins by filling gutshot straights / random two pairs, puts a player on tilt, and ends up stacking them when they emotionally shove their 2nd best hand. I fell in the bear trap. Doh.

Patience, young Skywalker. Maybe I should wear my Mexican wrestling mask while I play. And since I'm waiting on people to call me back for work stuff, I can post hands old school style today. I love this part.

P.S. Check it out. Perific Ergonomic Mouse. Been getting wrist issues from work + laptop use. This lil beastie will let me use my mouse from anywhere, in a number of different positions. Because we all know you gotta switch up those positions to keep it fresh, and a REAL player never falls out during -- what, wtf am i talking about.

hottest nonblonde to come out of sweden

P.P.S. The Damage.

10NL : 654 hands / (17.84)BB/100 / ($23.33)

25NL : 162 hands / (63.75)BB/100 / ($51.64)

ugh. well, if I talk myself through the hands in chronological order, maybe that'll help.

Opened the Door

Hand #45630341-24777 at North Little Rock (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 01/Oct/07 19:39:31
lakecay is at seat 0 with $4.75.

Life Tilt is at seat 1 with $13.53.

altaman53 is at seat 2 with $0 (sitting out).

td929 is at seat 3 with $10.89.

Stan da man is at seat 4 with $9.74.

onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $12.89.

The button is at seat 2.
td929 posts the small blind of $.05.

Stan da man posts the big blind of $.10.

lakecay: -- --

Life Tilt: -- --

td929: -- --

Stan da man: -- --

onegreenchip: 5d 5h

Pre-flop:
onegreenchip raises to $.35. lakecay folds. LifeTilt calls. td929 folds. Stan da man folds.

Flop (board: 5s 9h Th):
onegreenchip checks (greedy, wanted his stack) .Life Tilt bets $.60. onegreenchip raises to $1.75. Life Tilt calls.

Turn (board: 5s 9h Th 2s):
onegreenchip bets $2.25. Life Tilt raises to $11.10. onegreenchip goes all-in for $10.79. Life Tilt is returned $.31 (uncalled). (this is a great result. i am ahead undoubtedly, and he's got all his money in the pot.)

River (board: 5s 9h Th 2s Ah): (fuck.)
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
Life Tilt shows 2h Kh.

Life Tilt has 2h Kh 9h Th Ah: flush, ace high.

onegreenchip shows 5d 5h.

onegreenchip has 5d 5h 5s Th Ah: three fives.

Life Tilt wins $24.64 with flush, ace high.

----------------------------------------------------------------

I don't play it like that every time, that's for sure. He gets there less than a third of the time. I'll take it all day.

Scared to Raise

Hand #45622885-74833 at Upper Saint Clair (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 01/Oct/07 20:25:54
robdagr8 is at seat 0 with $23.

blueeagle888 is at seat 1 with $10.18.

Fiction_Mania is at seat 2 with $13.52.

rmoney6969 is at seat 3 with $1.74.

onegreenchip is at seat 4 with $10.09.

CHiLLu is at seat 5 with $11.77.

The button is at seat 3.

onegreenchip posts the small blind of $.05.

CHiLLu posts the big blind of $.10.

robdagr8: -- --

blueeagle888: -- --

Fiction_Mania: -- --

rmoney6969: -- --

onegreenchip: Tc Th

CHiLLu: -- --

Pre-flop:
robdagr8 calls. blueeagle888 raises to $.45. Fiction_Mania folds. rmoney6969 folds. onegreenchipre-raises to $1.55. CHiLLu folds. robdagr8 folds.blueeagle888 calls.

Flop (board: 6c 6h Qd):
onegreenchip checks. blueeagle888 bets $1.75. onegreenchip calls. (If I check, I have to raise/fold here. This is the worst possible line to take, because if I call the flop, I am assuming I'm good. Here, he bets half the $3 pot, committing himself on the river. Plenty of ppl do this with JJ-77. I think only AQ/QQ bet here from the Qx category. I remember thinking that he was just responding to my check with a bet here. If I raise, we're going all-in, and I'm not sure I'm good. I hate my call.)

Turn (board: 6c 6h Qd Jc):
onegreenchip checks. blueeagle888 bets $6.80.onegreenchip goes all-in for $6.79. blueeagle888 isreturned $.01 (well, if I called the flop, I gotta call here, I remember thinking. Probably about 50/50, especially with the passive way I played it. I like this call, even if I hate my flop play.)

River (board: 6c 6h Qd Jc 3d):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
blueeagle888 shows Ah Qc.

blueeagle888 has Ah Qc 6c 6h Qd: two pair, queens and sixes.

onegreenchip shows Tc Th.

onegreenchip has Tc Th 6c 6h Qd: two pair, tens and sixes.

blueeagle888 wins $19.37 with two pair, queens and sixes.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Terrible ShortStack Play

Hand #45623297-59134 at Pinellas Park (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 01/Oct/07 20:34:06

ysleeves is at seat 0 with $14.67.
CHiLLu is at seat 1 with $9.32.
D7Reade is at seat 2 with $2.78.
GoldsChips is at seat 3 with $5.38.
cantholdon1 is at seat 4 with $8.30.
onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $20.27.
The button is at seat 4.

onegreenchip posts the small blind of $.05.
ysleeves posts the big blind of $.10.

ysleeves: -- --
CHiLLu: -- --
D7Reade: -- --
GoldsChips: -- --
cantholdon1: -- --
onegreenchip: 8h 8s

Pre-flop:
CHiLLu folds. D7Reade raises to $.35. GoldsChipscalls. cantholdon1 calls. onegreenchip calls.ysleeves calls.

Flop (board: 3c Th 3s):
onegreenchip checks (early to act, multiple callers, probably not good). ysleeves checks. D7Readechecks. GoldsChips checks. cantholdon1 checks.

Turn (board: 3c Th 3s 4d):
onegreenchip bets $1.75 (nobody wants it?). ysleeves folds. D7Readegoes all-in for $2.43. GoldsChips folds. cantholdon1 folds. onegreenchip calls. (i'm sure I'm not good. but i have to call)

River (board: 3c Th 3s 4d 2c):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
D7Reade shows 2h 3h. <--- ridiculously bad.
D7Reade has 2h 3h 3c 3s 2c: full house, threes full of deuces.
onegreenchip mucks cards.
(onegreenchip has 8h 8s.)

D7Reade wins $6.28 with full house, threes full of deuces.
----------------------------------------------------------------

a few hands later, I was done with that particular dual session of 10NL. I had made about $10, so I decided to take a shot at 25NL. Ran into the aforementioned LAG player with the big stack. He had no respect for anyone. I probably fckd myself by getting caught Cbetting very early in the session, which made him float me all the more in position, and then bet me off the air in my hand. But here? He said he had 77. I don't think I can call very often here.

77 my ass

Hand #45623095-63075 at Kentwood (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 01/Oct/07 21:27:21
sbom333 is at seat 0 with $21.97.

TaoDeLa42 is at seat 1 with $25.

wildfan1 is at seat 2 with $106.42.

rivrat2180 is at seat 3 with $9.26 (sitting out).

5H46Z is at seat 4 with $54.66.

onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $24.30.

The button is at seat 5.

sbom333 posts the small blind of $.10.

TaoDeLa42 posts the big blind of $.25.

sbom333: -- --

TaoDeLa42: -- --

wildfan1: -- --

5H46Z: -- --

onegreenchip: 8h Kc

Pre-flop:
wildfan1 calls. 5H46Z folds. onegreenchip raises to $1.10. sbom333 folds. TaoDeLa42 folds. wildfan1calls.

Flop (board: 8d 2d 5c):
wildfan1 bets $1.50. onegreenchip raises to $5.50. wildfan1 goes all-in for $105.32. (this was ten hands in. I had no reads on this guy at this point. The push smells like a flush draw. I have top pair good kicker. The repush feels more like an overpair than anything else. I think a set tries for more value.) onegreenchip folds. wildfan1 is returned $99.82 (uncalled).

wildfan1 wins $13.01.

----------------------------------------------------------------

horrible. Just horrible. Reason #1-99 I'M NOT ROLLED FOR THIS. I'm taking a shot. So in a situation like this? I'M SCARED MONEY. I remember thinking, "man I don't want to get stacked THIS fast" that should have been my first clue to get up.

at this point I've had AA twice, KK once, QQ twice, and AK once. Every time, it's folded around to me, and I start to assume that the big stack is a 2nd-3rd level thinker.

Clueless

Hand #45623095-63154 at Kentwood (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 01/Oct/07 22:04:36

handbanana21 is at seat 0 with $24.75.

bigj99678 is at seat 1 with $49.49.

wildfan1 is at seat 2 with $93.37.

rivrat2180 is at seat 3 with $39.90.

5H46Z is at seat 4 with $27.17.

onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $28.45.

The button is at seat 5.

handbanana21 posts the small blind of $.10.

bigj99678 posts the big blind of $.25.

handbanana21: -- --

bigj99678: -- --

wildfan1: -- --

rivrat2180: -- --

5H46Z: -- --

onegreenchip: 9h Ad

Pre-flop:
wildfan1 raises to $1. rivrat2180 folds. 5H46Zfolds. onegreenchip calls. handbanana21 folds.bigj99678 folds.

Flop (board: Th Qc 7d):
wildfan1 checks. onegreenchip bets $2. wildfan1calls.

Turn (board: Th Qc 7d 9s):
wildfan1 checks. onegreenchip bets $4. wildfan1calls.

River (board: Th Qc 7d 9s 6c):
wildfan1 checks. onegreenchip bets $8. wildfan1calls.

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows 9h Ad.

onegreenchip has 9h Ad Th Qc 9s: a pair of nines.

wildfan1 shows Jh Jc.

wildfan1 has Jh Jc Th Qc 9s: a pair of jacks.

wildfan1 wins $29.15 with a pair of jacks.

----------------------------------------------------------------

I don't understand how he just calls me down with 2nd pair. WTF.

More Jackassery

Hand #45623095-63183 at Kentwood (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 01/Oct/07 22:18:58

handbanana21 is at seat 0 with $26.11.

bigj99678 is at seat 1 with $52.10.

wildfan1 is at seat 2 with $121.67.

cerealkilr74 is at seat 3 with $12.41.

5H46Z is at seat 4 with $25.78.

onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $26.06.

The button is at seat 5.

handbanana21 posts the small blind of $.10.

bigj99678 posts the big blind of $.25.

handbanana21: -- --

bigj99678: -- --

wildfan1: -- --

cerealkilr74: -- --

5H46Z: -- --

onegreenchip: Td Ah

Pre-flop:
wildfan1 calls. cerealkilr74 folds. 5H46Z raises to$1.10. onegreenchip calls. (a bit loose, but 5h is -3BI and tilting badly) handbanana21 folds.bigj99678 folds. wildfan1 calls.

Flop (board: 5s 8h 2d):
wildfan1 checks. 5H46Z checks. onegreenchip checks.

Turn (board: 5s 8h 2d 6c):
wildfan1 bets $1.50. 5H46Z folds. onegreenchipraises to $5. wildfan1 calls.

River (board: 5s 8h 2d 6c Js):
wildfan1 checks. (i know he's going to call me here, he always does) onegreenchip checks.

Showdown:
wildfan1 shows 7s 6s.

wildfan1 has 7s 6s 8h 6c Js: a pair of sixes. <-- now I"M starting to tilt

onegreenchip mucks cards.(onegreenchip has Td Ah.)
wildfan1 wins $13.11 with a pair of sixes.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Stacked

Hand #45623095-63230 at Kentwood (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 01/Oct/07 22:36:07

handbanana21 is at seat 0 with $24.89.

bigj99678 is at seat 1 with $50.41.

wildfan1 is at seat 2 with $100.42.

5H46Z is at seat 4 with $46.64.

onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $31.42.

The button is at seat 1.

wildfan1 posts the small blind of $.10.

5H46Z posts the big blind of $.25.

handbanana21: -- --

bigj99678: -- --

wildfan1: -- --

5H46Z: -- --

onegreenchip: Td Qd

Pre-flop:
onegreenchip calls. handbanana21 folds. bigj99678folds. wildfan1 calls. 5H46Z checks.

Flop (board: 3h 2h Ts):
wildfan1 bets $.50. 5H46Z folds. onegreenchipraises to $2.25. wildfan1 calls.

Turn (board: 3h 2h Ts 4h):
wildfan1 checks. onegreenchip bets $3. wildfan1calls.

River (board: 3h 2h Ts 4h Kd):
wildfan1 bets $7.50. onegreenchip goes all-in for $25.92. wildfan1 calls.

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows Td Qd.

onegreenchip has Td Qd Ts 4h Kd: a pair of tens.

wildfan1 shows Th Kc.

wildfan1 has Th Kc Ts 4h Kd: two pair, kings and tens.

wildfan1 wins $61.09 with two pair, kings and tens.

----------------------------------------------------------------

I don't even know what to think here. I was completely tilted. Every time I made a play, I would miss the flop. When I got a piece of the flop, he would shove on me, and I couldn't make a hero call with middle pair, nut flush draw, or TPSK. I hate life.

After chastising myself for taking shots, I went back to 10NL, where I worked pretty damn hard to just to stay alive.

One Outer

Hand #45643686-95628 at Broomfield (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 02/Oct/07 00:00:27

trnchct is at seat 0 with $12.95.

razorthin is at seat 1 with $16.47.

onegreenchip is at seat 2 with $9.85.

Cintz is at seat 3 with $7.29 (sitting out).

EPIC4044 is at seat 4 with $10.25.

Cadogan is at seat 5 with $10.39.

The button is at seat 2.

EPIC4044 posts the small blind of $.05.

Cadogan posts the big blind of $.10.

trnchct: -- --

razorthin: -- --

onegreenchip: Kd Kc

EPIC4044: -- --

Cadogan: -- --

Pre-flop:
trnchct folds. razorthin raises to $.20. (my notes tell me that this guy is a RETARD (of the loose calling station variety. SD% 75. Won at SD 25!!) onegreenchip (starts slobbering) re-raises to $.75. EPIC4044 folds.Cadogan folds. razorthin calls.

Flop (board: Qd Ks Td):
razorthin checks. onegreenchip bets $1.65.razorthin calls.

Turn (board: Qd Ks Td Ac): that is NOT a good card for me. He calls with ANYTHING, though.
razorthin checks. onegreenchip goes all-in for $7.45.razorthin calls.

River (board: Qd Ks Td Ac Ts): ARGH
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows Kd Kc.

onegreenchip has Kd Kc Ks Td Ts: full house, kings full of tens.

razorthin shows Th Tc.

razorthin has Th Tc Td Ac Ts: four tens.

$.99 is raked from a pot of $19.85.

razorthin wins $18.86 with four tens.

----------------------------------------------------------------

whatever. I did that to somebody just last week. it happens.

WTFRU thinking

Hand #45643686-95630 at Broomfield (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 02/Oct/07 00:02:25

trnchct is at seat 0 with $12.85.

razorthin is at seat 1 with $24.78.

onegreenchip is at seat 2 with $9.80.

Cintz is at seat 3 with $7.29 (sitting out).

EPIC4044 is at seat 4 with $10.

Cadogan is at seat 5 with $11.40.

The button is at seat 5.

trnchct posts the small blind of $.05.

razorthin posts the big blind of $.10.

trnchct: -- --

razorthin: -- --

onegreenchip: Jd Qd

EPIC4044: -- --

Cadogan: -- --

Pre-flop:
onegreenchip raises to $.35 (loose play). EPIC4044 folds.Cadogan folds. trnchct folds. razorthin calls. (obv)

Flop (board: 2c 6d 7d):
razorthin checks. onegreenchip bets $.75. razorthincalls.

Turn (board: 2c 6d 7d 5h):
razorthin checks. onegreenchip checks.Showdown:River (board: 2c 6d 7d 5h 4d):
razorthin bets $3.50. onegreenchip goes all-in for$8.70. razorthin calls.

onegreenchip shows Jd Qd.

onegreenchip has Jd Qd 6d 7d 4d: flush, queen high.

razorthin mucks cards.(razorthin has 8h Ts.) <--- omg ur terrible (bookmark) onegreenchip wins $18.67 with flush, queen high
----------------------------------------------------------------

I don't Even Know What to Think

Hand #45625138-36241 at Clawson (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 02/Oct/07 00:31:57

MarcoSolo is at seat 0 with $8.19.

onegreenchip is at seat 1 with $13.76.

papa2x is at seat 2 with $3.posum29 is at seat 3 with $.46.

frostymug is at seat 4 with $5.85.

Raygun84 is at seat 5 with $14.63.The button is at seat 0.

onegreenchip posts the small blind of $.05.

papa2x posts the big blind of $.10.

MarcoSolo: -- --

onegreenchip: Kh Qs

papa2x: -- --

posum29: -- --

frostymug: -- --

Raygun84: -- --
Pre-flop:
posum29 folds. frostymug raises to $.35. Raygun84folds. MarcoSolo folds. onegreenchip calls (considered 3betting here, decided that I didn't want to be dominated). papa2x folds.

Flop (board: 4c 5h 8c):
onegreenchip bets $.50 . frostymug calls. (standard OOP Cbet. his call makes me think PP)

Turn (board: 4c 5h 8c As): nobody likes that
onegreenchip checks. frostymug checks.

River (board: 4c 5h 8c As Kd): durrrr i must be good now!
onegreenchip bets $1.80. frostymug raises to $3.60. onegreenchip calls.

Showdown:
frostymug shows Ac 6s.

frostymug has Ac 6s 8c As Kd: a pair of aces.

onegreenchip mucks cards.(onegreenchip has Kh Qs.)

frostymug wins $8.55 with a pair of aces.

----------------------------------------------------------------

then of course I sat down at a table with another superLAG. I swear to God it was the exact same player from earlier -- and i have NEVER seen somebody hit like this guy. Sets on the river. Gutshot straights on the river. Two pair on the river. 23o > AA. Unreal.

Good Laydown?

Hand #45628626-14836 at Texas City (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 02/Oct/07 00:52:23

NORRINRADD is at seat 0 with $25.39. (62 / 16 / 2.57, with a River AF of 8)

izzyed is at seat 1 with $10.

jinou is at seat 2 with $10.

onegreenchip is at seat 3 with $9.95.

DrunkenOlives is at seat 4 with $19.32.

adhj86 is at seat 5 with $4.81.

The button is at seat 4.

adhj86 posts the small blind of $.05.

NORRINRADD posts the big blind of $.10.

NORRINRADD: -- --

jinou: -- --

onegreenchip: Kc Kh

DrunkenOlives: -- --

adhj86: -- --

Pre-flop:
jinou raises to $.35. onegreenchip re-raises to $1.20. DrunkenOlives folds. adhj86 folds. NORRINRADD calls. jinou calls.

Flop (board: Jd 4d 6c):
NORRINRADD checks. jinou checks. onegreenchip bets$3.65. NORRINRADD calls. jinou folds.

Turn (board: Jd 4d 6c 7d): SHIT

NORRINRADD bets $10.95. onegreenchip folds, showing Kc Kh.

NORRINRADD is returned $10.95 (uncalled).

$.54 is raked from a pot of $10.95.

NORRINRADD wins $10.41.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Other People Tilted Too

Hand #45628626-14866 at Texas City (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 02/Oct/07 01:05:29

NORRINRADD is at seat 0 with $33.85.

jinou is at seat 2 with $10.01 (sitting out).

onegreenchip is at seat 3 with $6.52.

DrunkenOlives is at seat 4 with $20.96.

adhj86 is at seat 5 with $2.73.

The button is at seat 4.

adhj86 posts the small blind of $.05.

NORRINRADD posts the big blind of $.10.

NORRINRADD: -- --

onegreenchip: 9s Kc

DrunkenOlives: -- --

adhj86: -- --

Pre-flop:
onegreenchip raises to $.35 (I like this move 4 handed). DrunkenOlives folds.adhj86 calls. NORRINRADD calls.

Flop (board: 4s Jd Kd):
adhj86 checks. NORRINRADD checks. (I know if I Cbet here, I'm getting called by NORRINRADD. I'm SURE I have the best hand.) onegreenchip goes all-in for $6.17. adhj86 goes all-in for $2.38. NORRINRADD folds. onegreenchip is returned $3.79(uncalled).

Turn (board: 4s Jd Kd Js):
(no action in this round)

River (board: 4s Jd Kd Js 2d):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows 9s Kc.

onegreenchip has 9s Kc Jd Kd Js: two pair, kings and jacks.

adhj86 shows Jc As.

adhj86 has Jc As Jd Kd Js: three jacks.

adhj86 wins $5.52 with three jacks. Jesus nothing works

----------------------------------------------------------------

Hero Call

Hand #45628626-14885 at Texas City (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 02/Oct/07 01:12:31

NORRINRADD is at seat 0 with $21.61.

jinou is at seat 2 with $18.92.

onegreenchip is at seat 3 with $8.60.

Birds n Bees is at seat 4 with $13.07.

adhj86 is at seat 5 with $5.08.

The button is at seat 3.

Birds n Bees posts the small blind of $.05.

adhj86 posts the big blind of $.10.

NORRINRADD: -- --

jinou: -- --

onegreenchip: As Tc

Birds n Bees: -- --

adhj86: -- --

Pre-flop:
NORRINRADD calls. jinou folds. onegreenchip raisesto $.45. Birds n Bees folds. adhj86 folds.NORRINRADD calls.

Flop (board: Jc 6c 2c):
NORRINRADD checks. onegreenchip bets $.75.NORRINRADD calls.

Turn (board: Jc 6c 2c 5d):
NORRINRADD checks. onegreenchip bets $1.50.NORRINRADD raises to $7.05. onegreenchip goes all-in for $7.40 (this is just an awful play. i'm cringing looking at it. I only beat a flush draw, and while this doesn't look like a made flush, he's loose as hell). NORRINRADD calls.

River (board: Jc 6c 2c 5d Jh):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows As Tc.

onegreenchip has As Tc Jc 6c Jh: a pair of jacks.

NORRINRADD mucks cards.(NORRINRADD has Ac 4h.)

Hand #45628626-14885 Summary:
$.86 is raked from a pot of $17.35.

onegreenchip wins $16.49 with a pair of jacks.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Stack Sizes?

Hand #45628626-14891 at Texas City (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 02/Oct/07 01:15:13

NORRINRADD is at seat 0 with $16.37.

BungoBungo is at seat 1 with $5.14.

jinou is at seat 2 with $16.45.

onegreenchip is at seat 3 with $15.89.

Birds n Bees is at seat 4 with $12.87.

adhj86 is at seat 5 with $4.33.

The button is at seat 4.

adhj86 posts the small blind of $.05.

NORRINRADD posts the big blind of $.10.

NORRINRADD: -- --

BungoBungo: -- --

jinou: -- --

onegreenchip: Kh Ah

Birds n Bees: -- --

adhj86: -- --

Pre-flop:
BungoBungo raises to $.20. jinou folds. onegreenchip re-raises to $.75. Birds n Bees folds. adhj86 folds. NORRINRADD goes all-in for $16.37. (i'm ready to shove) BungoBungo goes all-in for $5.14. (DAMMIT. he HAS to have a hand. I have to fold here.) onegreenchip folds. NORRINRADD is returned $11.23 (uncalled).

Flop (board: 6s Qs 2c):
(no action in this round)

Turn (board: 6s Qs 2c 7c):
(no action in this round)

River (board: 6s Qs 2c 7c 5s):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
NORRINRADD shows Ac Qc.

NORRINRADD has Ac Qc 6s Qs 7c: a pair of queens.

BungoBungo shows Kd Ks.

BungoBungo has Kd Ks 6s Qs 7c: a pair of kings.

$.55 is raked from a pot of $11.08.

BungoBungo wins $10.53 with a pair of kings.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The End....Yet Another Suckout

Hand #45628626-14918 at Texas City (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 02/Oct/07 01:27:54

NORRINRADD is at seat 0 with $31.01.

hyperactive is at seat 1 with $4.49.

jinou is at seat 2 with $10.80.

onegreenchip is at seat 3 with $13.49.

Birds n Bees is at seat 4 with $14.74 (sitting out).

ToneMontana2 is at seat 5 with $4.51.

The button is at seat 3.

ToneMontana2 posts the small blind of $.05.

NORRINRADD posts the big blind of $.10.

NORRINRADD: -- --

hyperactive: -- --

jinou: -- --

onegreenchip: Ts Qs

ToneMontana2: -- --

Pre-flop:
hyperactive calls. jinou calls. onegreenchip calls.ToneMontana2 folds. NORRINRADD checks.

Flop (board: 5c 3s Th):

NORRINRADD bets $.10. hyperactive calls. jinoucalls. onegreenchip raises to $.95. NORRINRADDcalls. hyperactive folds. jinou folds.

Turn (board: 5c 3s Th 5h):
NORRINRADD checks. onegreenchip goes all-in for$12.44. NORRINRADD calls.

River (board: 5c 3s Th 5h Qc):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows Ts Qs.

onegreenchip has Ts Qs 5c Th Qc: two pair, queens and tens.

NORRINRADD shows 2d 5d.

NORRINRADD has 5d 5c Th 5h Qc: three fives.

$1.37 is raked from a pot of $27.43.

NORRINRADD wins $26.06 with three fives.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The First Rule of Life (As Told By a Stripper)

2007-10-01T10:30:00.001-05:00

it is morally imperative to separate an idiot from his or her money.

Easily applicable to poker, no? I always thought so. Learn the game or get run over. But not everybody agrees.

Got a buddy who WILL NOT play $1/$2 NL with us. He 'doesn't like taking money from friends'. He softplays. (still not sure if it's because he's not a strong player or it's his allegation that he 'just likes the game and not the money'.

I am the opposite. When I'm at the table with people I know, (Chad/Mike/Amir/Josh/Bert/etc you know who you are) the money won is sweeter. It just feels better to know I outplayed somebody on a flop, and I know my friends can play.

Amir and I would play 1/2NL at a local cardroom, and one fine evening, a newcomer saw that we (randomly) sat next to each other in the $50 weekly tournament, talked to each other (looking for tells), and generally had more fun than our stone-faced opponents. He accused us of collusion/softplaying. Before either of us could speak up, the rest of the regulars laughed at him and told him that we competed harder than anybody when it came to poker. Truth.

I can't count the number of time in cash games we get in blind-on-blind battles, stealing and restealing with TRASH hands, and shoving with bottom pair when we smelled blood in the water. Those are my FONDEST memories of this game. Not the robotic nature of online SSNL, but playing people I know well, knowing their reactions, getting reads, and using body language to make borderline calls or folds. It also why I make sure to always talk to my live opponents when I've folded a live hand, just to get a baseline read on how they handle themselves. I guess that's what you have to do when you're 'Breathing In' (vorhaus again) to a new game, which is the perpetual state online.

Anyway, I miss live poker. And I would never, ever softplay people in a game. Dammit, I guess I would hesitate to make excessive value bets with the nuts against a good friend whom I knew was a rookie. Shit. Gotta crush out that last twinge of compassion. :D

My GOD it's early

2007-10-01T08:16:00.000-05:00

Ughhhhhhhh. Fun weekend. Was supposed to end it with a BBQ last night, but a friend needed an airport pickup. And I had to be in here at 6.30am. So I picked him up, drove back to Fort Worth (40m), and crashed out on his couch, where his cat slept on me.

I'm allergic to cats.

I wake up in the morning, super itchy and grouchy, only to find -- I have forgotten my work pants and shoes. Jesus. I remember my gym stuff, work shirt, toiletries, but forget the fucking pants? Priorities, Colin.

Thank god for $20 jeans from Wal Mart. The downside is that my balls are crushed by these sweatshop jeans from China. They're made for dudes with smaller balls (read: everybody else), so I don't plan on smiling at anybody until these nutcrushers come off. Scowly McGrimace reporting for duty, boss.

I got a few more hands in this weekend and figured I keep update my stats:

10NL

Hands: 314

VPIP: 24.52

PFR: 19

AF: 3.7

Net Amount: $20.71

25NL

Hands: 274

VPIP: 22.63

PFR: 14.6

AF: 3.08

Net Amount: $19.56

Well, I think it's safe to say at this point that my stats are where they should be, in terms of aggression...so i'll no longer be posting them as such. I feel like I'm projecting a tight and aggressive image at 90% of the tables that I'm at. The exceptions are when a player is simply not cognizant of my image, or is even tighter or more aggressive than I am. Sure, it's rare.

Pros: I am getting players to lay down better hands, based on my image, and I am consistent outflopping worse players and getting them to call with dominated hands
Cons: I still have problems handling loose/passive players. Loose aggressive players are a secondary concern: they end up overbetting their hands and eventually go busto, but players that are unaffected by my shown aggression remain an issue.

do I

a) continue to keep firing at them?
b) change gears briefly to keep them off balance?
c) modify my style of play completely when these calling stations are in the pot?

Things to keep in mind:

successful players should make use of many styles.
i shouldn't be thrown off my game by donkeys. my game makes money.
this is 10NL/25NL, not 200NL or 400NL
play the fish, not the sharks
make the long term plays, and let the donkeys with their crazy hands, THAT'S PROFIT.

Don't think any of Saturday's/Sunday's hands are worthy of posting. Most of the high BB hands were against L/P or L/AG players.

Friday Nights are Ridiculous

2007-09-29T09:12:00.001-05:00

After my Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday drinking frenzy, I found myself harboring a minor cold and a major hangover come Friday evening. I decide (FOR THE FIRST TIME) that I'll check out the allegedly 'juicy' weekend games. I mean, I don't play poker during Prime Bar Time -- that's crazy! PARTY, man, not Party Poker! Why would I waste the time reserved for cool friends, hot girls, and stiff drinks?

Because the donkeys are out in FORCE. Jesus.

10NL
Hands: 132
VPIP: 22.7
PFR: 17.4
AF: 3.7
Net Amount: 12.52

25NL
Hands: 272
VPIP: 18.75
PFR: 14
AF: 7.2
Net Amount: 58.70

I committed myself to getting the 100 worst players from my Poker Tracker. All the Showdown Muppets, all the X-Loose players, all the Fish. Made sure to plug them into my buddy program, so I could meet Rule #1 of Good Poker Playing: TABLE SELECTION. This ain't a dick measuring contest. Play with fools whose money you can pry loose.

On to some hands.

Standard. This is a brag hand. Identified the guy as a TAG. Flop call of my CR made me think set/AK/Kx. Flat call of the turn threw out the sets -- have to raise there. River was great as it allowed me to represent a bluff at the 3flush. Textbook. Get a hand, identify your opponent's hand, get the cheddar.

I'd raised the previous 5 hands at this four-handed table, and took all the pots down w/out a showdown. This guy picked the wrong time to play back at me, and was probably convinced that he was good when the river came down, as this move was within my perceived capability. I also could have gotten stacked something great here, but those previous 5 hands were a PERFECT setup.

This hand is noteworthy for a reason not apparent in the HH. I 4bet all-in (AK?) and as he debated, I told him 'go away'. Instacall. LOL. Only posted because it's a great metagame example. I think he calls 40% of the time that I say nothing. Or maybe he calls 100%. it IS KK, after all...

Fuckin' SHAME right here. Villain is (61 / 2/ 1.2) over 300 hands. He makes most of his money with loose preflop calls, and picking off C-bet bluffs in good spots. I play against him as much as possible, because my starting hand requirements are so much better than his. This is a more standard example of his style, but occasionally this happens.

With the latter two examples in mind, I took it upon myself to play this loose/weak player very differently than the other TAGs at my table -- namely I'd hit the flop REALLY hard and just shove it. I KNOW that I'm sacrificing EV here, I mean, what can he call me with? But I was hoping HOPING that I'd get a call with a flush draw or a weird two pair. Flopped sets against him 3 times and played it this way every time, as his style does VERY well against the standard TAGs you see at this level. Is it +EV to mix it up like this against such a loose player? Against an obviously intelligent, thinking player?

What about this hand? I love my 3bet preflop, but leading out here against a big stack puts me in such a horrible position. Hate my line in the retrospect, because I can't stand a call or checkraise. Is it better to check the flop and see what develops on the turn? Because what happened here was that he saw turn weakness and put me all in. Against a TAG player, I know that I'm facing a tweener pair or even a set here. Against a LAG -- could be ANYTHING. Can't call, obviously, but is a different line going to do better in the long term....I just don't know.

Brystmar's SSNL is great against the non-thinking masses, but I'm definitely having trouble adjusting to the good LAGs (and even LTs) that I run into. Or maybe it's just a perception thing, and I need to realize that Villain is just running good and hitting hands against me.

Don't attack the sharks, Colin. Attack the fish!!

Saved by Sweet Suckouts

2007-09-26T00:22:00.000-05:00

10NL
Hands: 361
VPIP: 20.8
PFR: 13.6
AF: 5.3
Net Amount: ($9.69)

25NL
Hands: 146
VPIP: 24.7
PFR: 18.5
AF: 23
Net Amount: 49.24

That is not a joke. I am one aggressive green chip. LoLz

On this eve of a Halo 3 release, i played poker. After work, my roommates picked up the Hallowed Consumer Product, brought me up to speed on the game, chugged some tequila, and grabbed the wireless XBOX 3600000000 controllers!! Menu, set! Co-op controls, set! START BUTTON!

Lo and Behold! Halo 3!!

Doesn't
Fucking
Work!

Yes, this fine Microsoft product was apparently the straw that sent the Xbox into the famed Red Ring of Death shutdown. After we tried to start the campaign a few times, getting the 'unreadable disc' error, the Xbox had a petit mal seizure, and went on permanent strike. Now no CDs, DVDs, or games read in the White Box of Shit. FUCK MICROSOFT AND THEIR CRAPPY, CRAPPY PRODUCT. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST HOW MANY OF THESE THINGS HAVE TO BREAK.

i googled the error message and found hundreds, if not thousands (who can really tell on the Internet) of reports of Halo 3 either bricking the Xbox, arriving in a Limited Edition package, complete with SCRATCHES ALL OVER IT, or just refusing to work (multiple discs all give the same error).

Somebody in Quality Control needs to be raped by Satan's thorny cock. How much money was spent on this marketing campaign? How much time and effort? Microsoft fucked it all up. Badly.

(how's my wii, you ask? perfect! never gave me a problem. and that metroid prime...wow.)

anyway, some hands, all from the very last session of the day, when the deck hit me in the face:

Brystmar's SSNL instruction guide is very specific on when to push pre-flop with KK/AA. He dictates that I am supposed to fold QQ/AK in this spot! Well, maybe not to a minraise (ferthalovaGAWD), but to a standard-sized pf RR. I guess a guy that min3bets from the BB autocalls here. I'd try to get into his head, just to find out if he put me on AK, but I don't want to be infected. EEEK.

This cocktaster had plainly decided that I was trying to run over the table with aggressive play. He is a dumbass. Tore up the comment box with "loLOLOLLL u suckkkkk" afterwards. Homo. Don't you know I'm untiltable? I'm like Thunder in the fucking Joust, numbnuts.

Not two minutes later, THIS gem happened. Same (cocktasting) villain is a solid TAG. I was pretty sure I had the best hand on the flop, and the turn made it look even sweeter. I thought I was money until he shoved in response to my two barrell, then started filling up the chat box with shit-talk. Fuck you pussy. I know you are drawing to the nut flush. Die in a fire.

Ooops.

WOOT! 4 outer!

and afterwards, I silently left -- a true hit n run assassin.

Donkey Crushing

2007-09-24T20:57:00.000-05:00

10NL

Hands: 423

VPIP: 19

PFR: 12.5

AF: 2.83

Net Amount: 46.13

Great session tonight. Was falling asleep on the way home from work, hit the coffee shop, and fired up two tables of 10NL. Spent a half hour getting situated, as tables kept breaking (#$@%@), but got dialed in and ran pretty damn well.

spent the previous hour convincing this guy that I was a hot blonde tennis player. Told him he was getting outplayed by a girl before shoving on the river. How else does he call here if not ego?

Earlier hand, same villain. I asked him what he had on the flop, and he actually told me. We had been e-flirting for a bit at this point. I can't say I played the hand REALLY well, but I definitely wanted to see if he was telling me the truth (aka: buying my tablechat). Turns out he WAS. I concluded at this point that he WAS buying my BS, and I set him for a nice fall. I have no fucking shame.

I put this guy on KQ/QJ/QT on the flop. Wasn't sure if my two pair was compromised on the river, and STILL not sure if I should have pushed. ???

nuthin else suuuuuuper interesting.

time check: 9:20pm.

I planned on coffee + UB, then gym and crash. My workout tonight is KILLER.

4 sets of:
squats
romanian deadlifts
hack squats

then 5+5 tri sets: dumbell lunges, leg extensions, and lying leg curls. (I do 5 reps of each exercise, drop the weight, and do 5 more, then on to the next exercise with no pause. 30 reps, 2m break, and run it again for 4 times total)

followed by 4 sets of calf raises.

finish with: 14 sets of (30 sprints, 60s jog) interval training on the reclining bike, because my legs will be like baloney.

then i will fall on the floor and puke -- it'll be midnight on a monday. LOL. wish me luck.

PS.

blog posts are soooo much easier when I'm not at work. Not sure yet if I like the conciseness of using hand converters, or the longhard layout a la FruityPro. It's EASIER, but is it as +EV??

Ran Bad

2007-09-24T11:23:00.000-05:00

10NL/25NL

Hands: 657

VPIP: 24.05

PFR: 16.29

AF: 4.03

Net Amount: ($25.53)

This aggregate of statistics comes from yet another delicious 3-day weekend. I got some hands in on my off Friday (9/80 workweek whaaaat), and some in on Sunday afternoon. Managed to stick to my TAG guns pretty well for the most part, and was up 2.5 buy-ins until late last night, when I started REALLY running bad.

The hands are pretty standard, so I'll skimp on the text:

AT lost to ss AA when we got all in on an A-high flop.
JJ lost to QQ AIPF (shortstacked villain shoves, QQ calls, I shove with JJ, QQ calls)
JJ lost to Q8 AIPF (shortstacked villain)
QQ lost to AK when we got AI on a rag flop.
AA lost to JJ when we got AI on a QcJc9h flop with full stacks.
AJ lost to QJ when we got AI on a Jxx flop
JJ lost to AK (shortstacked villain)
99 lost to AA on a 9-high flop when we got AI
AK lost to J9 AI pf (shortstacked villain)

This was a fun hand -

10NL

6 full stacks of $10
Loose Donkey calls
fold
Hero raises to .40 with AKo on button
Cockchugger raises to .70 in big blind.
Loose Donkey folds.
Hero calls.

Flop: Ah Jh Qs

Cockchugger checks. Hero, thinking his TPTK might be good, if the Cockchugger didn't protect his possible trips on the draw-heavy board, bets $1.50. Cockchugger minraises to $3. Hero folds, showing Kh As.

Cockchugger shows Ac Ad, and sits out, obviously heading to fridge to get another glass of cock batter. In his frenzied victory dance, he trips on his computer chair, and headbutts his keyboard, which (by a statistical miracle) randomly types "NLD LOL". He recoils in pain, only to slam his face into the Bablyon 5 (naked ladies edition!) calendar on his wall, where the nail embeds itself in his bloodshot eye.

The unexpected disfiguration elicits a scream of agony, and Cockchugger staggers and falls out the full length bay window, landing asshole-first on the fire hydrant below. The world is a better, safer place, as is InterNetPokerLand.

Fuck that guy. It wasn't that nice a laydown.

Found It. Thanks, Brystmar.

2007-09-19T12:15:00.000-05:00

as stated below, I managed to reel off some wins last night.

10NL

Hands: 348
VPIP: 20.98
PFR: 15.52
AF: 5.09
Net Amount: $11.50

25NL
Hands: 94
VPIP: 23.4
PFR: 13.83
AF: 4.75
Net Amount: $68.90

OGC Bankroll: ($90.93)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Worlds better. Amidst some horrendous downswings, I got back to my Cardrunner roots, and analyzed some of the hands that I've been getting stacked on. In MY head, I've been playing tight/agressive. Really tight. I mean, look at those stats. YES.

In reality, I've been playing out of position with suited connectors and easily dominated hands. While this hasn't always directly lost me pots, it has caused an image equity loss. My opponents don't view me the way I want them to, so they don't react the way I want. Caveat: sometimes (especially at 10NL) my opponents aren't viewing me at all. They just don't know any better.

On to some hands. Note that I played 10NL, won about a buyin, came home, and played 25NL with a ShowDown Muppet (40/27/5.7, WtSD%28.21) and a Calling Station (67/4/0.5). God, the potential profit. I remember wondering how I was supposed to handle the Calling Station...well, examples are always best.

This is an orbit or two in...I had JUST made the "loose/passive?" note on lamere (calling station)

Disgused Value Betting a Donkey

deveeqo is at seat 0 with $27.55.

bennylo is at seat 1 with $16.42.

wall_jc is at seat 3 with $72.22.

lamere is at seat 4 with $14.44.

onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $23.83.

The button is at seat 1.

wall_jc posts the small blind of $.10.

lamere posts the big blind of $.25.

deveeqo: -- --

bennylo: -- --

wall_jc: -- --

lamere: -- --

onegreenchip: Ad Kd

Pre-flop:
onegreenchip raises to $.85. deveeqo folds. bennylofolds. wall_jc folds. lamere calls.

Flop (board: 7d 8c 5s):
lamere checks. onegreenchip bets $1.25. lamere calls. (straightdraw? top pair? 2pair? set? This guy doesn't raise. Barely even bets, just calls! I can't count on him to protect his hand, here.)

Turn (board: 7d 8c 5s As):
lamere checks. onegreenchip bets $3. lamere calls. (Great card for me, but what the hell is he calling me down with? A solid player's calls would make me think "straight" or "draw", but he's about as solid as diarrhea. I think he minraises a made hand, here.)

River (board: 7d 8c 5s As 2s):
lamere checks. onegreenchip bets $10.30. lameregoes all-in for $9.34. onegreenchip is returned $.96(uncalled). (I don't like this bet. At the time, I decided that unless he flopped a straight to my top pair, I was ahead. Two pair would raise, and a set would have raised. [Of course, after the entire session with this donkey, I know better now.] Anyway, I thought I was making another value bet here. Ugh.)

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows Ad Kd.

onegreenchip has Ad Kd 7d 8c As: a pair of aces.

lamere shows Js 9s.

lamere has Js 9s 5s As 2s: flush, ace high. (gutshot on the flop? call. plenty of outs on the turn? call. Donk.)

$1.14 is raked from a pot of $28.98.

lamere wins $27.84 with flush, ace high.

----------------------------------------------------------------

I was kind of excited after that hand. I mean hell, all I have to do is outflop this guy, and lean on my %s!! $$$ in the bank!

Then this hand happened.

Stabbing at the River

deveeqo is at seat 0 with $45.26.

bennylo is at seat 1 with $5.

wall_jc is at seat 3 with $71.37.

lamere is at seat 4 with $26.09.

onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $25.

The button is at seat 5.

deveeqo posts the small blind of $.10.

bennylo posts the big blind of $.25.

deveeqo: -- --

bennylo: -- --

wall_jc: -- --

lamere: -- --

onegreenchip: Td Jh

Pre-flop:
wall_jc folds. lamere calls. onegreenchip raises to$1.10. deveeqo folds. bennylo calls. lamerecalls.

Flop (board: Ah Qc Qd):
bennylo checks. lamere checks. onegreenchip checks.

Turn (board: Ah Qc Qd 6h):
bennylo bets $.25. lamere calls. onegreenchipcalls.

River (board: Ah Qc Qd 6h 9d):
bennylo checks. lamere checks. onegreenchip bets $2. bennylo folds. lamere calls.

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows Td Jh.

onegreenchip has Td Jh Ah Qc Qd: a pair of queens.

lamere shows 9h Kh.

lamere has 9h Ah Qc Qd 9d: two pair, queens and nines.

lamere wins $7.83 with two pair, queens and nines.

I don't know if that's a great call or a horrible one. I certainly wouldn't have bet out at the flop if I had a Q. Can't put me on an A, either. Either way, though, I had lamere primed to lose a lot of money if I buckled down.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The next hand played out many times with different cards . I would get a piece of the flop, bet it, get called, and then never know where I was. Thankfully, he was usually nowhere.

Villain Forces Passive Play

deveeqo is at seat 0 with $39.26.

bennylo is at seat 1 with $6.76.

jays2404 is at seat 2 with $20.15.

wall_jc is at seat 3 with $59.67.

lamere is at seat 4 with $34.10.

onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $19.70.

The button is at seat 1.

jays2404 posts the small blind of $.10.

wall_jc posts the big blind of $.25.

deveeqo: -- --

bennylo: -- --

jays2404: -- --

wall_jc: -- --l

amere: -- --

onegreenchip: Qh Qd

Pre-flop:
lamere calls. onegreenchip raises to $1.10. deveeqofolds. bennylo folds. jays2404 folds. wall_jcfolds. lamere calls.

Flop (board: 7c Ts Ks):
lamere checks. onegreenchip bets $2.55. lamerecalls.

Turn (board: 7c Ts Ks 3h):
lamere checks. onegreenchip checks.

River (board: 7c Ts Ks 3h 5h):
lamere checks. onegreenchip checks.

Showdown:
lamere shows Jd 7h. <--- (I can only bet when I'm overwhelmingly strong? He DOES NOT RAISE, and DOES NOT BET. Only chase chase chase. The problem here is that if he hits a K, this is exactly how he plays it. My high aggression factor slays me in those circumstances. So, do I change up my style of play against this loose/passive calling station? Or keep playing tight aggressive and put the pressure on him with a combination of bluffs and value bets?)

lamere has Jd 7h 7c Ts Ks: a pair of sevens.

onegreenchip shows Qh Qd.

onegreenchip has Qh Qd 7c Ts Ks: a pair of queens.

Hand #45624259-33434 Summary:
$.30 is raked from a pot of $7.65.onegreenchip wins $7.35 with a pair of queens.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The ShowDown Muppet apparently noticed the same things that I did about the Calling Station. He raised every hand for nearly three orbits, until I started 3betting light at him, and getting him to back down. Apparently he decided that EVERYBODY was playing exactly like the Calling Station. I wrecked him in two hands.

Muppet Slaying 1

deveeqo is at seat 0 with $30.41.

DealrofDeath is at seat 1 with $16.66.

jays2404 is at seat 2 with $8.04 (sitting out).

wall_jc is at seat 3 with $56.42.

lamere is at seat 4 with $37.95.

onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $37.98.

The button is at seat 5.
deveeqo posts the small blind of $.10.

DealrofDeath posts the big blind of $.25.

deveeqo: -- --

DealrofDeath: -- --

wall_jc: -- --

lamere: -- --

onegreenchip: Ah Qh

Pre-flop:
wall_jc raises to $.85. lamere folds. onegreenchipre-raises to $2.75 (2nd time I've tried this play. His stats (40/27/5.7, WtSD%28.21) don't indicate solidarity. I love my play). deveeqo folds. DealrofDeathfolds. wall_jc calls.

Flop (board: Th Ac 8c):
wall_jc checks. onegreenchip bets $5.85. wall_jccalls.

Turn (board: Th Ac 8c 2s):
wall_jc checks. onegreenchip bets $14. wall_jc goesall-in for $47.82 (crap. This is exactly how I would play a set here. I have TPGK. This is not a solid opponent. He's been raising like crazy (27%?!) and probably called me light. If this were a solid player, the hands I beat are AJ, 22-77, 99, JJ-KK. JJ-KK probably would have reraised. A set would have reraised on the flop, since there were two clubs out there, ESPECIALLY with this guy's aggression factor I think this is a weak looking bet). onegreenchip goes all-in for $29.38. wall_jc is returned $18.44 (uncalled).

River (board: Th Ac 8c 2s Kd):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
wall_jc shows 5h Ad. <---WOW

wall_jc has Ad Th Ac 8c Kd: a pair of aces.

onegreenchip shows Ah Qh.

onegreenchip has Ah Qh Th Ac Kd: a pair of aces, king/queen kickers.

onegreenchip wins $74.31 with a pair of aces.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Muppet Slaying 2

deveeqo is at seat 0 with $25.46.

DealrofDeath is at seat 1 with $23.04.

bdraughon is at seat 2 with $25.

wall_jc is at seat 3 with $21.06.

lamere is at seat 4 with $29.73.

onegreenchip is at seat 5 with $84.47.

The button is at seat 4.

onegreenchip posts the small blind of $.10.

deveeqo posts the big blind of $.25.
deveeqo: -- --

DealrofDeath: -- --

wall_jc: -- --

lamere: -- --

onegreenchip: 5c 5s

Pre-flop:
DealrofDeath folds. wall_jc raises to $.85. lamerecalls. onegreenchip calls. deveeqo folds.

Flop (board: Qc 5d Kc): (I flop a set and get BOTH donkeys in the pot. I think Muppet is steaming, and will bet out, and Calling Station will do his monkey trick. I'll minraise them. I WILL ditch this hand if a club hits, but I'm going to give a free card and hope to stack them both. They'll come after me, as they're both down 1.5 buyins to me, and want them back.)
onegreenchip checks. wall_jc checks. lamere checks.

Turn (board: Qc 5d Kc 9h):
onegreenchip checks. wall_jc bets $2.80. lamerecalls. onegreenchip raises to $12 ("get out of this pot, I'm scared and trying to bully you"). wall_jc goesall-in for $20.21. lamere folds. onegreenchipcalls.

River (board: Qc 5d Kc 9h 4s):
(no action in this round)

Showdown:
wall_jc shows Ts Kh.

wall_jc has Ts Kh Qc Kc 9h: a pair of kings.

onegreenchip shows 5c 5s.

onegreenchip has 5c 5s Qc 5d Kc: three fives.

onegreenchip wins $44.18 with three fives

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

----------------------------------------------------------------

two more hands from 10NL

Do I Raise This River?

Hand #45623292-41727 at Rocky Mount (No Limit Hold'em)

Started at 18/Sep/07 23:46:17
Cardbandit10 is at seat 0 with $10.05.

Nklhd is at seat 1 with $10.24.

rakeagain is at seat 2 with $15.78.

khwol55 is at seat 3 with $27.19.

onegreenchip is at seat 4 with $13.85.

gargamel81 is at seat 5 with $21.34.

The button is at seat 5.

Cardbandit10 posts the small blind of $.05.

Nklhd posts the big blind of $.10.

Cardbandit10: -- --

Nklhd: -- --

rakeagain: -- --

khwol55: -- --

onegreenchip: Qd Js

gargamel81: -- --

Pre-flop:
rakeagain calls. khwol55 folds. onegreenchip raises to $.45. gargamel81 folds. Cardbandit10 folds.Nklhd folds. rakeagain calls.

Flop (board: Ts 6h 4s):
rakeagain checks. onegreenchip checks.

Turn (board: Ts 6h 4s Jh):
rakeagain checks. onegreenchip bets $1.05. rakeagain calls.

River (board: Ts 6h 4s Jh Qh):
rakeagain bets $3.15. (hmmm. I have two pair. Did you make your flush? I think if I raise, and you shove, I have to fold. So I'll just call. Not sure if I'm too passive here. Probably player-/stat-dependent (53/19/2.25)) onegreenchip calls.

Showdown:
rakeagain shows Qs 8s.

rakeagain has Qs 8s Ts Jh Qh: a pair of queens.

onegreenchip shows Qd Js.

onegreenchip has Qd Js Ts Jh Qh: two pair, queens and jacks.

onegreenchip wins $8.98 with two pair, queens and jacks.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Right Read, Wrong Play

Cardbandit10 is at seat 0 with $7.12.

Nklhd is at seat 1 with $17.64.

rakeagain is at seat 2 with $18.39.

khwol55 is at seat 3 with $25.

onegreenchip is at seat 4 with $18.70.

gargamel81 is at seat 5 with $14.16.

The button is at seat 2.

khwol55 posts the small blind of $.05.

onegreenchip posts the big blind of $.10.

Cardbandit10 (65/21/2): -- --

Nklhd: -- --

rakeagain: -- --

khwol55: -- --

onegreenchip: 9d Th

gargamel81: -- --

Pre-flop:
gargamel81 calls. Cardbandit10 calls. Nklhd folds.rakeagain folds. khwol55 folds. onegreenchipchecks.

Flop (board: 9c Ah 8h):
onegreenchip bets $.35. gargamel81 calls. Cardbandit10 calls. (you just CALL? a made hand cannot just call here. gargamel81 seems solid, Cardbandit10 is LAG. I'm positive that neither of them have an Ace. But I'm representing one. What hands would they have that hope to beat an A on this board, that they wouldn't raise with? They're probably BOTH drawing, one to a straight, one to a flush.)

Turn (board: 9c Ah 8h 8d):
onegreenchip checks. gargamel81 checks.Cardbandit10 bets $1.40. onegreenchip calls. (at this point, I had convinced myself that he didn't have an A, and my nine was good. Dumb. I decide to 'trap' with MPSK) gargamel81 folds.

River (board: 9c Ah 8h 8d Qc): (terrible river card for me. I am not paying attention)
onegreenchip bets $2. Cardbandit10 raises to $4.onegreenchip re-raises to $6. Cardbandit10 goesall-in for $5.27. onegreenchip is returned $.73(uncalled).

Showdown:
onegreenchip shows 9d Th.

onegreenchip has 9d 9c Ah 8h 8d: two pair, nines and eights.

Cardbandit10 shows Kd 8c.

Cardbandit10 has Kd 8c Ah 8h 8d: three eights.

Cardbandit10 wins $14.01 with three eights.

----------------------------------------------------------------

That's the only hand I think I played really badly. Even if my read was off, the river killed me. If I really thought I was good, I should have raised on the turn. Would have ended up the same, probably....

Goals Sometimes Need to Be Restated

2007-09-19T10:59:00.000-05:00

Soooooo....maybe I never really came out and said it...but I am sharpening my game to the point that I can be a low-limit grinder. My objective in online poker has always been stated, and reachable:

to make at least $550 every 4 weeks of play.

How am I getting there, you ask? Well, I'm glad you did.

I've got my poker library: Sklansky, Vorhaus, Harrington, Hellmuth, and Gordon. These books will give me a solid grounding in BASIC no limit. No super fancy moves. No 5th level thinking. Keep it simple. Put in the hours.

Supplementing this is Cardrunners.com. CR is the shit. Especially Brystmar's Small Stakes No Limit Instruction Guide, which addresses the tight/aggressive style that gives such beautiful results at the microlimits. It's a real shame that I love this guide so much, yet completely abandoned the starting hand list after about a month of use. Pretty sure that's why I had such a stellar downswing. Got myself involved in pots that I shouldn't have been in: out of position with easily dominated hands or suited connectors, never understing where I was in a given hand, winning small pots and losing big ones.

Thank God that's over. :D Check the latest post above.

So I recommitted myself, ditched my old handle, and created a new one. Strictly TAG. Not going to worry about changing gears (outside of the occasional bluff hand to keep me from looking like a total nit) until I am attacking the $1/$2 level.

Right now, I'm bouncing between 10NL and 25NL. I was considering depositing a good $500 a month ago, and leaving 10NL behind forever, but this downswing convinced me that my game has significant leaks that need to be addressed. I will continue this grind to grow my bankroll, my discipline, and my experience.

see you later alligator

Still Lost, but Found a Detour

2007-09-17T11:41:00.000-05:00

took a break from cash games yesterday. full weekend, including:

Grapefest! small town wine festival in Grapevine, TX. Pretty standard walk-around-and-get beef-on-a-stick-while-drinking-and-eating-funnel-cake ordeal, except for the WINE TASTING. I make sure that my group has the best wine tasting experience. check the pic.

fuck yes

It's amazing how a lil bit of side tasties can bring out the flavors in wine. And (more importantly for me) wash the taste of the LAST wine off your palate. Wine, apple, wine, cheese, wine, chocoolate, wine, cracker. My song of the night was 'Hungry Eyes' (I LOOK AT YOU AND I CAN'T DISGUISE, I'VE GOT!) for all the jealous looks I got carrying this cutting board around.

*warning: low poker content*

so my detour from Lostland. I played a 30person MTT on UB last night and whomped people. Pretty standard play when I leverage my all in preflop bet based on a short stack.

-i raise, SS goes all in, evenstacked donkey calls, I shove, ESD shoves, my QQ holds up over AdJd and 66.

This catapulted me into the 11K chip range. Average stack was 2.5K, nearest was 4k. Heh heh.
The deck wasn't done smashing me in the face; I hit flops like Thor's Hammer, won EVERY coin flip, and just generally ran around with my pants off, doing whatever I wanted. Check out the chip distribution as we sat the final table.

Hand #46345241-38 at SnG-MT101a-Final (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 16/Sep/07 16:56:38

parrottlover is at seat 0 with 31175. <---- SUCK ITTTT
surprising is at seat 3 with 1045.
aj31105 is at seat 5 with 4880.
liveatpjs is at seat 7 with 4500.
BIG_BALBOSKI is at seat 8 with 3400.
The button is at seat 0.

that's really it. it was a nice $52.50 win, but this brag post probably feels better. that's one thing about cash games, you don't get the same psychological pay-off that you do with a tournament win -- you just keeping grinding. maybe there's a lesson to be learned there: enjoy your win.

thanks mr. vorhaus.