Happy Accident-2nd Cash win Online

On Sunday accidentally clicked on the $2000 tournament buy-in, using 100,000 almost half my credits....tried to unregister but it was too close to the starting time, so it was not allowed.  3 hours later, finished in 42nd place, with 60 places paid out of 670 or so players.  Not sure how much I won as could not see the prize pool screen, but probably only $5 or $6.  Not a very efficient use of my time.  First prize was $750, which would have been nice.  Basically, as short stack decided to shove with Q9 suited, 3 callers, flopped a queen, ace on river knocked me out.  No real pay increase until final table so I was happy with the results and if my hand had held up could have made a run for the bigger bucks.

Queens

I had forgotten about my love hate relationship with queens until last night.  Playing in the packed Legion tournament (dealing table 2), I played fairly loose at first since it was a "limpfest" on most hands.  Could not catch a flop.  I raised with AQ and got one loose caller.  Flop is good with A/2/K, she bets $500, I raise to $1000, she calls.  Turn pairs the 2, she bets 1000.....I think for a moment and fold face up.  Now down to half my starting chip stack, I pick up A/9 in early position.  I raise, AK calls and another player calls.  Flop is A/9/x with 2 diamonds, I go all-in AK calls and I double up to starting chips.  Good.

Now I pick up Q/Q and raise with A/10 calling.  Flop is Q/5/x and I check.  He bets 200, call.  Turn is another 5, check, bet $200, call.  River is an ace, check, he bets $600, I check raise all-in, he tanks then calls....courtesy double up, thank you.

I get QQ once again, winning a small pot.  Then manage to lose half my stack when an aggressive loose player open shoves with 8/6 and I call with AQ.  He hits his 8.

Later, on the final table I do my usual "card dead on the final table" routine.  Super short stacked and on the bubble I get QQ yet again.  Unfortunately for me another very bad player has 10/10 and only 2000 more than me.  Also, the big blind is one of the loosest player in poker history and is a big stack.  (Blinds at 1,000/2000, I have 4,000, bad player has 6,000).  I go all-in, and like the ignorant player he is (had to be told several times not to take his cards off table...rookie!!!), simply calls with his 10's rather than re-shoving to isolate me.  That prices the big blind in with 8/10 offsuit....at least in his mind getting 5/1 on his money vs. 3/1 if the other player had shoved.  Flop looks good to me, which shows how unlucky you can be......8/8/5.  The 10's are drawing to one out, I am drawing to 2 and I lose with the best starting hand.  A few chips more and I am back in it to win it as the BB would have folded to a bigger raise.  I collect my bubble money, the other player takes 6th place for $79 and I go home as sadder but wiser man.

Couple of side notes:  I shoved once, blind vs. blind on final table, no call.  Two other times, wanted to shove but pre-shoved before me and did not have a calling hand.  Both times I had weak suited aces, one shover showed A/3 suited (I had A/4 suited), the other had A/7, I again had A/4 suited.

Unluckiest play I saw at FT was a shove by a great player with 4/4, called by A/K and A/K.  3 spades on the flop, he had the only spade.  The AK's were drawing to combined 2 outs since A spades or K of spades completes his flush.  They hit the non-spade king on the river.       

Flawed Decisions

Sometimes, you just make the wrong decisions.  Playing in an online qualifier for a year's free VIP membership (let's you play more cash games), we were down to 15 players, and I am in 7th place with 10 players moving to finals when I pick up pocket jacks on the button.  With several limpers, including the massive chip leader, I just call.  The big blind then min-raises, a short stack shoves, the big stack shoves and it is around to me, sandwiched between the original out of position raiser.  It looks like an easy fold to me.  With the 3 players all in, I see the blind with pocket 5's, the first shover with A/7, and the big stack with A/10.  The flop is small and the 5's end up winning, tripling up.  Opportunity missed.

A few hands later I have pocket 9's.  With several bigger stacks playing I limp.  The flop is A/Q/x, and action is checked to me.  I check behind.  The turn is a 4, but puts two clubs out.  When it is checked to me I shove.  The big stack calls with a flush draw and hits it on the river.  Player down.

 I really feel that I misplayed both hands, with the worse play on the last one.  With a preflop shove I probably win, or at least a raise with a shove on the flop.  At the very least, just a small bet on the turn and fold against the big bet when the flush hits.

A small comment on this type of tournament.  It is usually smarter to play for a seat than to try to "win" as the top 10 all earn the same.  This however can backfire when you throw away the best probable hand preflop.  Sometimes better to get knocked out early rather than play timidly.    

Who Says I Never Win Money Online?

Variance

I appreciate the comment about playing loose in the loose game, and to some extent that is true.  However, you must play tighter than most of the loose players and expect more variance.  What is variance?  It is simply the swings in your bankroll that you experience.  In a high variance game, like any loose game, you will see the very loose players amass vast amounts of chips while they happily crack aces with their crap hands and hit two pair playing any two suited cards, or make a really bad flush that holds up.

But, on the other side of the coin, these players will also suffer some real reversals of fortune, losing the big stacks they so easily accumulated.  On other days, they will buy in repeatedly trying to capture that magical day when all of their crap was successful.  They experience high variance, both from day to day and within a single session.

My goal by playing tight is to have very little variance.  I am happy to buy in for $100, play for 5 hours, have a "nice" meal and cash out for $150.  It may only be a $10 an hour win rate, but heck, that is better than minimum wage.  The best poker books say that you shouldn't expect to win much more that one or two big blinds per hour.

Great link below:
http://www.cardschat.com/poker-variance.php

Have I finally figured out the cash game?

Wow, I could get used to this.  Last night I won $120 in the 2/20 game.  My secret?  If I told you it would no longer be a secret would it?  O.K. since you are pressuring me, here it is:  I play super squeaky tight.  When I say tight, this is what I mean.  Folding 99% of hands in early position.  This includes connectors, suited or not, weak aces (described as anything worse than AJ...and that hand must be suited), I am raising with big pairs or AK, limping with small pairs which I will fold to big raises (more than $5).  Late position am open to more hands including suited connectors, weak aces if there are tons of limpers.....otherwise they are probably folds.  Also, folding nearly all small blinds, even with the whole table limping.  I did not see a single hand that I would have won from small blind,  and the $3 and hour you spend does add up.  Also, folded nearly all straddles, even from the big blind with reasonable hands.  Again, lots of straddles, so saved quite a bit.  My attitude is well known about straddles and even got up once to prevent "La Thief" from doing it to my big blind.  Ha-Ha!  If I have a "real" hand with a straddle on, will always raise $20.

Some examples of hands that I limped with...and folded post flop:  AK, QQ....both from the blinds with a lot of limpers.  These are hands that I want to see a flop cheap and either dump or pump according to the board.  Saved me a lot of money.

My aces were snapped once.....short stack with 5/5 insisted on calling his last $18 on small flop with a gutshot....which he hit.

My biggest pot was A/9 suited in late position, calling a small (frequent) raiser who had A/2 suited.  Flop was A/9/2 and he insisted on raising and re-raising me on every street.  I got my whole stack in good and doubled up.

Bottom line is this:  Extreme tight play is working for me where nothing else has.  My variance is way down and have had profitable days the last three sessions.  The old adage:  play loose in a tight game, and tight in a loose game is very true.  And, by nature, the 2/20 at the Moose is as loose a game as I have ever seen.  Lots of gamblers, donks, aggression, dumb calls, calling stations, chasers, ATC's, etc.  The only way to beat that is to only enter pots under great conditions:  last to play, very strong cards, good reads.

Close, but no cigar

Playing this morning in the Moose tournament started really well, winning 3 of the first 4 hands dealt.  Chipped up nicely, knocking two players out when I was dealt back to back aces.  Also got lucky against a weak ace who called my BB raise with KK when he spiked an ace, but I runnered a straight.

Final table, bad early seat draw and average chip stack.  Because there were tons of alternates, the blinds were big on the FT, starting at 500/1000.  With only 3,000 and blinds at 1/2000 and in the big blind, I have A/8 suited.  Another player, on the button, shoves his last 3000 with A/5 offsuit.  The big stack at the table calls with A/3 and we are 3 way all-in.  The A/5 catches a 5 on the river and I am out in 7th place.  Really bad luck as there was a 7 on the flop with 2 big cards, and my kicker plays if small cards and/or an ace hits, otherwise we are looking at chop chop 3 ways.

Anyway, too bad cause with as many players in the tourney, they would have paid at least 4 places, so just missed the money.

More Like It

Well, this is more like it.  Playing the "Morning Moose" today I tripled up on the second hand when my queen high flush knocked out two players, one with a jack high flush, the other with 2 pair.  I like to believe that I am really dangerous when I chip up early, but that is not really true.  I still try to play my own game, loosening up only slightly.  When our table broke I began giving chips back, but got lucky with an all-in of A/6 suited vs. A/K suited when I spiked the 6.  I was destined to get lucky once more when down to 4 players on the final table I knocked out 2 with my 7/7 vs. A/Q & J/J.  Managed to hit a 7 for my second flopped set of the tournament.  With the chip lead heads up we agreed to chop for $240 each!!!

Playing for just a short time on the cash table I added another $30 to my winnings.  My best outing for a week, glad to quit ahead.

Idiot!!!!

O.K., so I am on a major "cooler", as opposed to a "heater".  I can accept that fact.  But what I cannot accept is that I am a certifiable imbecile.  Playing in the Steve Stark tournament this afternoon I was on cruise control.  Getting some decent cards, playing them pretty well, chipping up.  Reaching the final table with a great chip stack, we got down to 5 players, 2 with short stacks, and two bigger stacks than mine.  Then, this hand came up.

Under the gun, with blinds at 1,000/2000, I limp with K/10.  The small blind completes, the big blind, the chip leader, checks.  The flop is J//8/x, with 2 diamonds.  It is checked to me, and I bet 2000.  Small blind, 2nd chip leader calls.  The turn is a 10, and for some unexplainable reason I believe that I now have a straight.  When is is checked to me, I go all in.  The opponent quickly calls after looking at the board for a minute.

She tables the Q/9 for the straight and I am looking for a queen on the river for the king high straight.  Nope, I am gone in 5th place instead of cruising into the money (paid 3 places).  Idiot!!!!  

Worst Table In The World

Nightmare table last night at the Moose.  Dirt Farmer raising early & often, usually with garbage.  Joe calling every big raise with his garbage.  Lucky players to my right and left, who both were raising very light.  Here are some beat examples:

Dirt raises with ???, I have pocket 10's including the 10 diamonds, Joe calls.  Flop is 8/9/J diamonds.  I have open ended straight flush draw with only one possible overpair (not including pocket pairs).  Dirt bets $7, I raise to $27, Joe calls, Dirt folds.  Turn is another diamond, Joe wins with king of diamonds.

I have 8/Q in big blind, lucky donk (horrible player), limps in with 8/5 offsuit 2 UTG (great choice).  Flop is 8 high, I bet $5, he raises to $15, I call.   Turn pairs 3's, I check, he bets $20, I call.  River is a 5, which puts 3 spades, possible straight out, I check, he says, "I really should value bet now", but checks (dipshit comment).  He wins with his two pair.

Same player, I am small blind, he raises big, $16 UTG, it is folded to me, I reraise $20 with AQ suited, he calls.  flop is something like 4/5/6, I bet $20, he calls.  Turn is a jack, I bet $20, he calls.  River is a 3, I bet my last chips (around $20), he calls.  Turns over the winning hand....A/5 offsuit....pair of 5's.  I declare "seat open" and leave.

Desperately wanted to re-buy, but as I was already stuck over my daily limit (3 rebuys), I left.  I welcome these players and will destroy them with any average luck on my part.  Overall, just a toxic table with too many weak raisers who caught lucky and too many calling stations.    

Bad Tournament Luck (Not Mine, Particularly)

Friday night was a blood bath of bad luck.  I dealt table #2 and "Mike", one of the good guy players had accumulated a good chip stack.  Another player, who I will not name, not nearly as universally popular or nice, raised big with AK offsuit.  Mike reraised all in with JJ.  The flop was small, so far so good, but with 2 clubs.  Turn again a brick, but another club.  The all-in villain had the king of clubs.  So, naturally, the river was a club.  Dumb luck prevails.  I had folded AK offsuit the hand before to mr. lucky's all in raise with 7/7.

Making the final table, Mike raised in late position with K/Q, and calls a very short stack all-in with K/4 suited.  He hits his 4 to double up.  The next hand, Mike raises with AK and calls the all-in who has K/J.  Two jacks hit the flop.

The very next hand, Mike goes all-in with Q/Q and is called by Q/10, who rivers a straight.  Three sick beats in a row, plus the earlier one. 

How F'd is the Card Player Tournament Website?

• Chat Transcript with melvin of General Support‏

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melvin (melvin@evansindia.com)

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8:20 AM

To: fliphall@msn.com

Hello phil hall,
 
 
 
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us.  Below is the complete transcript for your reference:
 
 
 
===
 
Question: Hello, I won the card player direct qualifier 11/28 7:45 p.m. tournament.  I started with 187577 points.1st prize, 49,207 pts.not showing up yet
 
===
 
melvin has joined the chat.
 
 
 
melvin:
 
Hello. Thank you for contacting ZEN Customer Support.
 
 
 
melvin:
 
Please allow me a moment to review your concern.
 
 
 
melvin:
 
 Thank you for waiting.
 
 
 
melvin:
 
We show you finished 1st in the Card Player Cruise Direct Qualifier & won an invite to the Card Player Cruise Championship.The points are not awarded for this tourney.
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
Why does it show points for final table then?
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
when you look at tournament prizes
 
 
 
melvin:
 
We apologize for the inconvenience. Please take a screen shot of this and send us the screen shot. We will investigate.
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
it clearly stated 49,207 points for 1st
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
i can't take a screen shot
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
of something already done
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
look at any tournament similar to this that is active now.
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
This keeps happening.  You need to clean up the software program if you are not going to award points, then don't show that you are.....
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
please investigate and email back to me....
 
 
 
melvin:
 
We need screen shot to investigate this. Please send a screen shot to support@zenentertainment.com
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
again, how can i take a screen shot of something that no longer exists?  
 
 
 
melvin:
 
If you face same problem next time. Please send a screen shot.
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
Please take some responsibility for your own programming and investigate.
 
 
 
melvin:
 
Sure
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
I will in the future, but this is just not right.
 
 
 
melvin:
 
I apologize, I'll let the tech team know about this.  
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
How do you expect players to continue if they do not trust your integrity?  We all know about the issues of other sites.   
 
 
 
phil hall:
 
Thank you.
 
 
 
Disconnected by the visitor. Chat session has ended.
 
=== END OF CHAT ===
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thank you,
 
melvin
 
melvin@evansindia.com

Solving The $2-20 Puzzle

One of my biggest frustrations the past year is going from a winning 3/6 and 4/8 game player to being a losing $2/20 player.  The losses are somewhat bigger, and when I do win, it is generally for smaller amounts.  What to do, what to do?  I have tried several different approaches, and sometimes they work o.k., and some go horribly wrong.  I try to watch the winning players and figure out why they are winning.  The losing players are easy.  In general, here are my observations, in the hope that my loyal & disturbed follower might find some useful tidbit of information.

Tight vs. Loose.
The traditional wisdom states that you should "play loose in a tight game, and tight in a loose game".  I think that this is probably the bedrock of good play in this game.  The problem is that sometimes it is difficult to figure which game you are playing in.  A quick example:  I was playing "Randy tight" in a moderately tight game.  My raises, which were damned few, were met with folds most of the time.  Inexplicably, I raised fairly big (maybe to $10) with aces, and the big blind decides to call heads up with garbage.  Now, here is a situation where you are playing heads up, out of position with garbage against a hand which figures to be ahead of you 100% of the time.  On one hand, you have to love that call, but then he flops a full house and I lose $80.  How could this have been prevented?  I will discuss later.
In general, I would describe the game as loose most of the time.  How else can you explain 7 or 8 players to a flop.  Lots of limping, then if a late position player raises, everyone calls.  This is the worst thing that can happen to a strong preflop hand.  Suddenly, the pot has swelled, and even $20 bets can provide decent odds for calling on both immediate and implied odds.  Now, there are lots of players, lots of draws, and a couple of made hands with bottom & middle pairs.  Even small pairs may join the war on the dream of their 2 outer.  Let's look at the pot:  6 limpers (counting the small blind) = $11, you raise to $10, which makes it $21 to the small blind, who folds.  The big blind, stubborn fellow, calls which now makes the pot $31 to the first limper (who should have one of the stronger hands out there since it takes a pretty strong one to limp in early position) who calls.  Now it is $41 to the next limper now getting 4/1 on his money.  Tempting to call with his pair of 2's "just in case he gets lucky".  The next two are no-brainers getting 5/1 & 6/1 on their money.  Any two cards time.  We now have a $71 pot (less rake), and the most you can bet is $20, giving any caller 3.5/1 on their money.  Is it any wonder it is difficult to win?  And of course, the more who call the first bet provide even better odds to the others, with improving odds on later streets.  Youch!!!!

So, what do you do with the big hand in late position with tons of limpers?  One answer is to raise big, like $20 big.  This will elicit folds from nearly all players and at least give you heads up or 3/way action with position and the best hand.  Much better.  If everyone folds, you have won $10 (after toke), which is far better than minimum wage.  Another possible strategy is to just call, not raise if you know that a middle size raise will not thin the herd.  Now, if the middle or top pair bets, you can raise to isolate if he is a late position player, or re-evaluate your hand if it goes raise, call, re-raise, etc.  Aces may be headed for the muck if you are wise beyond your years.     

In a very tight game, which I actually prefer, it is possible to raise more often with a wider range in various positions.  Due to the tightness of the players, their range is much more defined than in a loose game.  If I raise from the button with my suited connectors, or small pair (which I will raise with very often from this spot)  and only Randy, Bob F. and Bob P. call, then I know that I have to connect very strongly or my hand is headed for the muck if there is any calling from my continuation bet (which in a tight game, I will nearly always do).  It is possible to bluff in any game, but easier in a tight one.  Loose players will call with any pair or any draw, and usually with overcards.  Tight players will release those 3's when they miss the flop.

This brings up the next topic:  Bluffing

In general, don't.  But, be prepared to call some players light, as there is sometimes a lot of bluffing. Pay attention to bet sizing.  Some players will overbet the pot when they bluff or semi-bluff draws.  I have won some pretty good pots through bluffs, but have totally given up the practice of running a bluff all the way....preflop to river.  Just too expensive given the calling station nature of the game.

Monte Board Effect

One of the main reasons that the Moose game is such a colossal suck out bad game is the presence of the Monte Carlo board & to some extent, the high hand board.  Both of these are very appealing to the "gambler", not the good poker player.  Consider that the $1. drop is lost money down the rathole for most players (I say that despite having "won" more than $2500 this year).  Most of my wins have been given back in session losses and hey with the new system I have to pay taxes on all the money.

What the monte & high hand board does is encourage the gamblers to play hands better mucked.  Yes, 2/6 suited will make a straight flush, but I play a heck of a lot and can count my straight flushes on two hands.  Where it hurts you is they incorrectly call your preflop raise and hit paydirt with a 2/2/7 flop which cracks your aces.  The high hand encourages the play of weak aces, which is o.k. against my strong ace unless they hit their kicker, or against my  k/k when they hit their 3-outer ace.  Again, mixed blessing to get their call, and overall they lose with these hands, but in the meantime they cause you great variance.  My good friend, Bob P. says he hasn't hit a straight all year with suited connectors.  And, as a special bonus when you hit your flush you are usually behind a big flush.

Flushmasters

This brings me to the next subject, the players who will play ATC suited cards.  Kids, they just haven't looked at the stats.  Being suited only adds a little benefit to the hand.  My strategy is to muck them unless in a blind with lots of limpers (or sometimes on the button), but always with at least connection and/or high card strength.  So, KQ, J, 10, suited, good to go.  Q/2 suited, not so much.  Again, where the flushmasters hurt you is when they flop their random 2 pair, or trip hands and it is very hard to put them on it.  My best advice is watch the hands they show down and classify them as flushmasters or acemasters and play accordingly.

Checking it Down

Oh, the stories I can tell about this.  Suffice it to say, have written about this before, but I am checking it down with damn few people these days.  This is costing me money, but even heads up, you cannot get people off draws.  In a legitimate no-limit game it would be easy to do so.  In the spread game, no.  I have seen a couple of regulars who will call a $20 preflop raise, heads up and then check it down with you.  About 1/2 the time they will draw out on you, so net/net there is no profit for you.  I would prefer they fold, and then go on to the next hand.

Well, don't know if there is any "new" information here, but suffice it to say, I have still not figured this game out.  All I can do is try to minimize my losses and "play the heaters".

  

Why I Didn't Deal at The Legion Last Night

Sitting around yesterday, "practicing" online for the Legion tournament I ended up getting very deep in 3 tournaments.  Playing heads up for the one seat in a $500 tournament we went back and forth forever, but my luck finally prevailed when I flopped two pair and he flopped an open ender with a flush draw.  Betting big, he called and hit his straight on the turn.  Unbelievably I hit my full house on the river. Hooray for me!

Anyway, not really watching the clock pictured above, I sat around chatting with wifey for a bit and even though had volunteered for dealing duty felt no urge to leave, even though it started at 7:00 and the clock said 7:05.  Why you ask?  We had some discussion about the correctness of the time, and I had noticed that it was an hour fast (never got reset from "fall back" daylight time).  But, had also not noticed that wifey had reset it.  Oops.  Fortunately decided to go to the Legion "early" and was totally surprised to walk in and see the tournament in full action.  After profusely apologizing to Mary, the organizer, I took my seat, sheepishly.

There were some real rookies at my table, which always makes things interesting.  I watched a very nervous, very pretty young lady who admitted to "reviewing hold 'em rules, etc on the drive there" and had in her possession a cheat sheet on what beats what totally rack up chips merely calling with the immortals.  Anyone else would have knocked two players out.  Anyway, she had accumulated some chips, which she cheerfully refunded at every opportunity with horrible calls.  So, I won a couple of pots and had about the same number of chips when this hand came up.  Sitting 2 under the gun, the UTG player, an Asian kid I had never seen before with face tattoos and seemingly good poker skills raised to 3 times the blinds.  I looked down to discover pocket aces.  I re-raised 3 times his bet to isolate, and the lady comes along too.  The flop was A/Q/10, and the UTG bets all-in, which I re-raised all-in.  The lady calls.  He shows Q/J for second pair plus a gutshot.  She has Q/10 for 2 pair which is drawing dead.  My aces hold up and eliminate both players.

After donking off about a third of my chips to loose callers who cannot lay a hand down, I settle down, tighten up and make the final table in good chip condition.  I read a game changing email this week about tournaments.  It told the story of a couple who attended a poker training camp because they never cashed in tournaments.  After attending, they were happy to report that they were now cashing consistently, but not winning.  Their coach told them that was bad news.  The math of it works out that unless you win tournaments, you will usually be a net loser.  One $1000 win is a lot of buy-ins which you usually never make up with 4th place finishes.

Anyway, I decided to play with more aggression and the attitude that one big win is worth more than a lot of little wins.  Happy to report that I chopped 3 ways last night ($280 each on a $40 buyin, less $25 dealer tip, netting $215).  This was despite a late in the game disastrous hand becoming the short stack (A/4 vs my 7/7).  Ended up chip leader (I think....it was very close).  With 2/4000 blinds and only $65000 in chips in play no-one had more that 5 big blinds.  Excellent decision by us to chop as luck now the only factor.

There Are Beats, Then There Are Beats

Playing in a Card Player freeroll for $100 this morning I gave a super bad beat, then received one (Poker Karma).  The first one, I called an all-in raise with my K/Q offsuit.  Horrible call, tell me about it.  The flop was A/A/K with the other player having an ace/jack, I think.  The turn,king.  The river, case king for quads.  Double ouch one outer4.

My karmic revenge came with playing 2/5 (suited!!!) in the small blind with one limper.  The flop was 2/2/A.  I naturally checked, the limper bet with his A/J, I reraised, he went all-in, I called.  The turn was an ace and I was eliminated in 78th place out of 650 players.  Ouchy 2 outer!

 

Bad Beats

Now, here is a topic we can all sink our teeth into.  I have been accused in the past of boring people with stories of my bad beats.  I can name names, but choose not to.  I plead guilty as charged, sir!  Ultimately, poker at its very core is all about bad beats.  You start with the best hand (think aces), and then some idiot calls you with 8/2 offsuit and flops a full house.  Bad Beat!  Idiot!  Fonk!!!

But when you look a little closer, you come to realize the truth about the beat, and about poker.  IT IS ALL ABOUT GETTING YOUR MONEY IN GOOD.  IT IS ALL ABOUT GETTING WORSE HANDS TO CALL.  IT IS ALL ABOUT SELECTING BETTER STARTING HANDS IN THE FIRST PLACE.

I read a very powerful statement recently.  It said, "Good players receive bad beats.  Bad players give them".  Wow, when you look at it that way it really underlines the importance of being on the receiving end.  Honestly, it does!  

The "lesson" you must learn to take away from your poker session is this:  When you give a bad beat to someone you got your money in with the worst of it and got lucky.  Where you must learn from this is two-fold.  First, you must learn that what luck served you does not license you to push your luck again with those same "lucky cards".  Just because you flopped quads with your pocket 2's against kings doesn't mean that the next time someone raises big or goes all-in that you need to try to re-create history by calling them with your deuces.  You got lucky once with your two outer, but it was a donk call.

The other lesson here is to not place some mystical value on a hand and start playing it because you think it is your special lucky hand.
I would be willing to bet that lots more money has been lost by players who always play (fill in the blank) than has been won by them.  Bad starting cards are always bad, even if they have won big pots for you or have a name, or are suited, etc.  Remember that hold 'em is a game of position, chip strength and card strength.  That 7/2 can be a powerhouse if you have the chips, position, and table image.  Or, if you are in an unraised blind and flop huge.  Otherwise, it is the worst starting hand in poker.  If you play it, and win due to a great flop and crack aces....you are the bad player who got lucky....and to make matters worse, you have just gotten positive reinforcement on your play, which can lead to more bad play in the future.

So, you gotta ask yourself.  Would you rather be the guy with aces or with deuces?

Dealing at the Legion

Another Friday night dealing at the American Legion.  Fortunately, this time it is table 3 which is the first to break down.  Memorable hand dealt:  player 1 pocket 8's, player 2 pocket 5's, player 3 pocket 3's.  Flop is 8/5/3.  Pocket 5's leads the betting and everyone calls.  I still don't understand why there was never an all-in but it was a very large pot and the 8's won.  You don't see set over set over set very often.

When my table broke down was just a little over starting chip stack.   Playing snug, I make the final table but one of the short stacks.  A few double ups and back in contention.  With 5 players remaining (paid 6) and in the money I pick up 10/10 on button.  All-in called by small blind with A/10....not a good call for him until the ace spikes.  Now short stacked I triple up but still the short stack.  Blind vs. blind I have 7/2.  Small blind limps in with 10/5 and on a flop of 2/5/x he bets, I call and am gone in 5th place for a $77 win (less 40 for buy-in, netting $30 after tip).  I also get $14 in dealer tips, so a total win of $44. 

Player who called my shove chops 1st & 2nd with another player, who stiffs the dealers.  

All Your Base

This used to be my favorite on the computer.

This Pretty Much Sums up My Poker Lately

Wildhorse Roundup- A Brief History

I have been playing at least one event at the roundups for the past 5 years.  My results have been dismal.  I like to call it the "annual $200 buffet" as that is my usual benefit from it.  I would like to run through my last hands played to the best of my memory to illustrate the beats I have taken.

Q/10-  Turned straight beaten by full house on river  (2 times)
Q/10- 2 pair beaten by straight on the river (yes, I know quit playing Q/10)
A/A- Beaten by A/J on river (flush)
A/K- Beaten by A/Q
Beaten in horse tournament on razz round with nearly identical hands

Anyway, you get the idea.  Last night was my best ever showing by lasting until 7:30 (started at noon).  There were 560 players and came in around 150th.  I was doing well at my table, but it was tight and only one elimination, so not a lot of chips in play.  Got moved to a table with very aggressive players who had a lot more chips.  Short stacked, was forced to call all-in with 9/9.  Raiser had K/K and I was done.  I felt that I played well with a couple of lapses, but overall did not make any major mistakes..  Just went card dead at the wrong time.

Hands I Luv

O.K., I have discussed hands that I hate, now it is time to talk about the ones I love.  This shouldn't take long.



Surprisingly, I think my current favorite is KQ suited.  The "royal couple" as it is called seems to win an inordinately large percentage of the time.  Even though it is a sometimes dominated hand, with AQ and AK coming to mind, it will make two straights, not one, and the flush you make with it is usually good.  Two pair is great with this hand, and usually spells doom for AK or AQ when you nail the flop.



For reasons known only to my analyst, another prohibitive favorite is 8/9 suited.  For some reason this hand does well for me, and I sometimes play it out of position, or with a raise.  Goodness knows it can be dominated easily, so one pair hands are not usually good.  However, many people will put a lot of chips in with their 6/7 suited (which I also like), or 10/J.  If they "nail" the flop i.e. two pair, I like my chances. 





Favorite pair, the snowmen (in Omaha mostly).  Strangely, it is not aces, kings, queens, etc.  For some unknown cosmic reason I seem to hit my pocket 8's for a set more often than not.  Weird, huh?  This is weird too, just as I am typing this involved in tournament and guess what I have?  Yes!!  Just won, board double paired with 551010 and ace on river.  Bet it the whole way.  Way to go little buddies.



Now, you may find this a bit weird, but a few years ago this was my favorite preflop raising hand.  Had a couple of hard and fast rules.  #1 rule, had to be first action after blinds.  #2 rule, had to be offsuit so no one could accuse me of playing it because it was suited.  Won some monster pots in the old 4/8 game either from bluffs when the flop had an ace, or when I nailed the flop.  No one ever sees it coming.

That's it for now.  Comment about your favorites.  As you can see, logic has little to do with it.

Domination

O.K., I am not talking about this kind of domination, but could if you prefer.  What I am referring to is a hand which has a shared rank, but one hand has a bigger kicker.  Thus, hitting your top card is a loser for you, giving you only 3 outs and poor prospects.  Tonight playing in a $25 tournament online I kept getting snapped by hands that I dominated.  I lost a big chunk of chips to KJ with my AJ.  Then, lost again to a QJ vs my AQ for all of my chips when we were down to 15 players (started with 476).  This particular player that knocked me out had lost a large pot to a hand that he had dominated (AK vs. KJ), then got those chips back plus mine when the KJ guy went all-in with 10/10 and I re-raised with my AQ.  How you get that many chips in the pot late in the tournament with QJ puzzles me, but I am the guy sitting out.  He was the original raiser too, so I called because of the size of the pot with the other player's push.  Suspected he was weak and just tried to isolate the other player.  He had raised to 6,000 in a 4000 pot (1,000/2,000 blinds plus $100 antes.  The reraiser had 33,000, and I had over 40,000.  I think he started with about 60K.  I would have lost anyway, but still would have had some chips had that guy folded.

Again, my point is:  stay out of big pots with easily dominated hands.  I probably should have folded my AQ as that is one of the highest dominated possibility hands, but just felt that I had a good read on the situation.  Had I suspected the original raiser would call, would probably fold AQ.

BEATEN by Royal Flush

Happy Halloween!  New granddaughter, Eva & her dog, Lola  (Eva is the one on the right side)

Well, if you are going to get knocked out of a tournament, it might as well be with the mother of all monsters.  Flopping top pair, K/3 in big blind (and a really bad flush draw with the 3), I went all in, being called by A/10 offsuit, the ace was diamonds.  With both a king and queen of diamonds, he "only" needed running 10 and jack of diamonds, which he got.  Sick.

Next online tournament, fairly short stack, about 1/2 of original chips, flop two pair (K/5) in big blind, with 2 spades up I shove.  Called by Q/10 ...there was a 10 on the flop, runners for straight, J, A.  Again, sick.

Now playing in a very weird game, Royal Hold 'Em.  This is a game played 6 handed.  All of the cards below 10 have been removed.  Minimum hand to win, 2 pair , but more common minimum is straight.  You see quads, royal flushes, and full houses beaten by bigger full houses.  It is a very strange game.  Back to back hands won with quads, my jacks vs. queens full, and quad kings by another player.  This is a beatable game, but luck plays a huge part.

Sudden realization:  These online players are awful!  With little or no "skin" in the game ($19.99/mo) they are often playing any two cards hoping to get lucky.

The other game on this site is "No River Hold'em".  You are dealt 3 cards.   In this game you see a flop and turn only.  Like omaha, you can play 2 cards, or one card like hold'em, or you can play all 3. so, in my opinion the strongest hands are in order of strength:  trips (pretty rare, but have seen it), suited connectors (all 3 cards), 3 of a suit (cause you only need 2 on the board to have a flush), and finally big pairs.  Most other hands are garbage, but you can always come up with 2 pair or better.  Both of these games are not for the faint of heart, and luck plays a much bigger part than hold em.

Hands I Hate

I have this irrational hate of some hands.  Maybe I always lose with them or against them.  For whatever reason here they are:

KJ-  The mother of all hands I hate.  Why you may ask?  It is probably the hand I get knocked out of more tournaments with than any other hand.  If I shove with A/K, some jackass always seems to call with this dominated hand and spike a jack.  I shove with A/Q, no problem with K/J, I flop two pair he rivers the 10 for the straight.  If I put the shoe on the other foot and get randy with it myself I lose the the dominating K/Q, A/K or any pair.  Go figure.

My next least favorite hand is Q/10.  Also one that is so easily dominated it is ridiculous, yet has knocked me out of more tournaments than I like to remember.  Playing at Wildhorse a couple of years ago, I flopped two pair and was knocked out when called by.....wait for it........K/J who had an open ender which hit on the turn.  The very next year at Wildhorse I flop two pair with my Q/10 and yes get knocked out by J/9 two pair who fills up on the river.

Next, a really bad hand that I will never play in any position except the unraised big blind.  10/5.  This is such a miserable piece of work, never making the nuts (oh, except for maybe a freakish 10/10/10 or 5/5/5 flop.  Call me irrational (just don't call me late for dinner), but I really hate these cards.  

Oh, close to this subject....plays I hate.  There always seems to be some jackass who either shoves or raises from the blinds after there are like 5 limpers.  What the hell?  Most of the time he assuredly does not have aces.  So, he gets to play the hand, out of position, against a huge field with his raise which seldom gets rid of many players because, duh, they have position. 

Gapped Unsuited Connectors

Do you have that love-hate relationship with gapped unsuited connectors like so many of us?  Frequently I hear the "love" part of it at the poker table regarding these.  For example, Paul, the dealer, "loves" J/9, says it is his favorite hand.  Kevin, for reasons unknown, "loves" K/9 but only in cash games.  It is almost a stretch to call this connected as it will make only one straight (not counting using one card).  Others I hear as favorites are:  7/5, K/J (in a special category by itself), Q/10, and even 6/9...the happy meal.  I think that as responsible adults and poker players that we should examine these hands.

There are really different categories of gapped connectors.  1-gap, 2-gap, 3-gap.  I think that you would agree that the gap quantity makes a huge difference, but for different reasons.  First, let's look at  one gaps.

A/3
2/4
3/5
4/6
5/7
6/8
7/9
8/10
9/J
10/Q
J/K
Q/A

I would like to suggest that (extenuating circumstances notwithstanding), that most of these hands are garbage.  Beginning with A/3 you have a very weak ace.  I think you know the perils of playing this hand.  The 2 through 9 has the problem of needing to flop the "in between card" to form a straight (as do all of the one gappers).  But, they have the additional problem of never being assured of having the nut straight, plus the liability of low "high card strength".  Beginning with 10/Q we have the additional strength of high cards plus the ability to reach the nut straight.  However, the peril of these cards is simply the old problem of bad kicker.  How happy are you, really, when you flop the top pair with your hand and get a lot of action?  Unless it is A/Q, probably not so much.

What is a person to do?  Well, for starters I would suggest eliminating the unsuited one gappers below 10/Q from your repertoire.  They can always be played from the big blind, the small blind with tons of limpers, or from the button on a steal.  Otherwise, I think it prudent to avoid them.  And, when they are played, just make sure that you have the nuts or near nuts.

Now, let's explore the two gappers:

A/4
2/5
3/6
4/7
5/8
6/9
7/10
8/J
9/Q
10/K
J/A

Essentially, you have the same problem with 1 gappers.  You must flop perfect/perfect however for your straight, and it gets worse, you seldom have the nuts (though you can).  Again, high card strength trumps connectedness so the 10/K and J/A are playable under the right circumstances, with A/J third highest kicker with the ace.  We all have stories of monster pots won with these hands:  mine involves the lowly 3/6 which drug a huge 4/8 game pot against a set and two pair.  Also, you may recall my Vegas story of the folded K/10 which turned quads.  Most of the time, though, these hands are pretty unplayable.

Now, for the mother of bad hands:  the 3 gap connectors.

A/5
2/6
3/7
4/8
5/9
6/10
7/J
8/Q
9/K
10/A

We all recognize the inherent weakness of these hands, as only the A/10 can make the nut straight and with the exception of A/10 they are all pretty unplayable.  Even A/10 is right on the borderline of weak kicker territory.  What is ironic about these hands is how often you will be snapped by players who are playing the one or two gap connectors.  You get that "magic" flop of 2/3/4 playing your offsuit A/5 and get knocked out of the game by someone playing 4/6 who can't fold top pair, when the 5 hits on the turn, or worse, the player with 5/6 connectors who just lets you bet your sweet little heart out. 

So, since that knocks out a ton of hands we will be dealt in a session, next time around let's talk about suited gapped connectors. Just kidding!!!  They have the same problems plus they almost never make the nut flush!!!!!  Until next time, "May the nuts be in your hand, not surrounding you at the table" (a new saying I just made up for when I become a poker announcer replacing Norman Chad, who I can match for wittiness but perhaps not gayness).

Here is another analysis (a real one) of connectors: 

http://pokerstove.com/site/analysis/unsuited.php
  

Finally, Online Victory

For the third time since I started playing "Card Player" poker online I ended up heads-up with the lead in a big tournament.  The previous 2 times I went down in flames, always running into a monster or my opponent getting dumb lucky.  Today, I finally won (a field of around 200 players) by getting lucky against a monster flop for my opponent.  He limped, then called my A/8 button raise all-in with Q/6.  The flop was horrible for me, 5/6/Q !!!!  The turn brought some relief with a 5, then blessed river ace!  My aces up beat his queens up.  The prize you ask?  Well not really that great, just a 30 day VIP upgrade, worth about $20.  This allows me to play in some bigger $ tournaments plus some that I was excluded from.  

FONK

                                                      FONK




This morning was one of those online mornings that make you want to quit playing poker forever.  First tournament, Mr. Big Stack donk raises pre-flop with K/2 offsuit.  I re-raise all-in with A/J.  He hits a 2 on the river to knock me out.

Second tournament worse, sort of.  In the big blind with 3/4 suited, the flop is 2/5/6 with 2 hearts.  Guy raises, I go all-in, he calls with his 3/6 of hearts.  Turn is a 3, river a 6 for the full house.

Last tournament:  I raise preflop with pocket 8's, get one big stack caller.  Flop is 10 high rainbow.  Big stack goes all-in, I call, fearing the 10.  Oh, but I am in luck he has raised with J/6 offsuit...no pair, no draw.  Oh, but look who shows up for the party on the turn, a jack.  I am gone, and he adds insult to injury by typing "Bye".  I respond with my new best made-up word "FONK", which is a combination of "f'...ing" and  "donk".  Great word I think you will agree!!! Seriously considering having a hat or t-shirt made with that on it.  Maybe along the lines of "NICE CALL FONK".  You will never get in trouble with the floor by saying it, but those "in the know" will know exactly what you mean.


                                                         FONK

Chili Recipe

Due to popular request (Lynne) here it is!!!  Just one added tip:  when you deseed the jalapenos, make sure that you carefully wash your hands afterwards.  Under no circumstance should you touch your mouth or eye. LOL

Speaking from sad experience!!!!

Home Early from Legion, Rut Row

Again, I am asked to deal at the Legion, table 2 so not too late.  Collected my dealer money from 2 weeks ago, $30, which nicely offset my $40 buy-in, so with the money I will get this week, am in the black.

I am home early tonight, being knocked out before we got down to 2 tables, which sucks.  A brief recap of my night is in order.  1st hand of the tournament I deal myself A/A, raise to $100 with no limpers and only $60 in the pot.  Everyone folds.  Woot-Woot!

2nd hand I play, I am in the BB with 10/10.  Pocket Q/Q UTG min raises, and A/A on the button re-raises, we both call.  Flop is low, we check to the aces, he bets small, we both call.  Turn is a jack, again check check small bet, we both call.  River, everyone checks and he turns over the winner.

3rd hand I raise in late position with A/6 suited.  One caller.  Flop is ace high with 2 hearts.  I continuation bet and he calls.  Turn is a 6 giving me 2 pair, he checks, I bet pot.  He calls.  River third heart hits, I check he goes all-in.  I wait, he says, I'll show, I fold, he had flopped an open ended straight flush draw.  No bet would have deterred him.

Now short stacked, a player raises my big blind to $300 (blinds at $60/120), I call with KQ of clubs.  Flop is J/J/10 with two clubs, giving me the open ended straight flush draw.  I go all-in for my last $400 or so and he insta-calls with his flopped boat, J/10 offsuit.  Now, as the dealer I need to pull out my two outer but fail. Dealer down!!!  Well that sucked.  Victim of draws.

Blogging is a Tough Life

I am just so thoroughly bored (and boring) lately.  With all of the work being done on the house I just sit around and play on my computer.  Well, and lately cook chili.  Have this great recipe for turkey & bean chili.     Made a huge pot on Tuesday and served it to the workmen on Wednesday.  They really enjoyed it as the weather was awful, pouring rain and cold.  Also made some cornbread muffins....from the box, Trader Joe's.

So, there was just a little leftover for us, so made another giant pot today.  We are freezing half of it and eating the rest.  Sadly, out of cornbread mix, so will have to come up with another side dish.

Playing these crap games on card player poker.  Keep winning entries into the finals but missing the money.  Going deep almost every time but just can't seem to cash.  Right now am in a qualifier for "Thanksgiving Family Feast" final, don't know what the prizes are or when it will be held.  Hold on, just got knocked out in third place with my 10/10 vs. A/J.  Oh, well, still earned a seat for the final and a few chips to boot.....top 8 places qualified.

Vegas Baby!!

This was a "different" Vegas visit for me.  My usual trip consists of planting my fat ass in a poker chair for 14 hours a day and never "visiting" a casino just to sight-see.  On this trip I was accompanied by my son-in-law, Vinay, and his mother, father, and grandfather who were visiting from India.  Determined to be a good host I dutifully escorted everyone to The Venetian, Caesar's Palace, Paris, Bally's, Aria, Cosmopolitan, Planet Hollywood, etc.  I have never walked as much in my life.  We enjoyed the buffet dinners, but could not interest anyone in the breakfast buffet, my personal favorite.  Caesar's was supposed to be the highlight, and it was the most expensive.  We timed it bad, getting in line at 7:30 at the end of the rush and had to wait almost 1 1/2 hours to be seated.  Not my idea of a good time, but the food was excellent and we definitely worked up an appetite waiting so long.

I had suggested that the most beatable game was blackjack, so Vinay studied basic strategy beforehand and really got into it.  He is a disciplined player, not varying from basics and also sticking to good bankroll management practices.  He had several winning sessions, only one or two small losers and finished up for the trip.  Good job Vinay!!  The downside is that he got pretty hooked on both that game and Vegas plus decided quickly that blackjack is a net loss game so is now interested in learning poker (guess blackjack is a gateway drug).  I promised that I would give him so reading material on the game and show him the ropes.  With his discipline, brains, and youth he could be a great player.

How did I do on the trip you ask?  Well, had a couple of small losing sessions, not more than a couple of hundred.  I could tell you the beats but frankly there were just too many.  Played mostly 1/3 no limit with one 4/8 thrown in for good measure and old time's sake (had a $60 win in that session, played only one hand, the first one when I sat down against a monster stack aggressor and rivered a flush against his two pair).  Had my aces and kings cracked by flushes, quad queens, and Q/10.  Pocket aces cracked stacked me twice.  Had a calling station that would not quit on a flush draw despite very incorrect odds.  The queens re-raised me all-in preflop and went runner runner queens for high hand money quads.  double ouch!!!  

I played in two tournamenst at the Mirage.  The first one ($65 buy-in), made the final table short stacked and drew the under the gun seat.  The small blind raised me all-in with AK and I called with A5 suited.  Player down 4 out of the money.  The next day, same tournament I chopped the $1900 pot 5 ways as chip leader.  We were leaving in a couple of hours so just wanted to finish.  Plus there were bad beats aplenty.  My Vegas record now stands at 5 tournament wins/cashes out of last 6 trips.

I had several nice winning sessions in the $150-$200 range, coming back once from stuck $200 to cash out for $170.  Overall, came home with about the same amount I left with after taxi rides, meals for 5 people, tips and miscellaneous, so would call it a good 4 days.  Most importantly, the Indian family had a wonderful time and I actually played significantly less poker than normal (one session, the tournament, was while they saw a show).  I sincerely tried to just be a good "host" and tour guide rather than my usual poker junkie self.  

      I believe that if I rid myself of insatiable cravings, lusts, paranoia, deep-seated anger and ill-will towards others, I'll be a much better person.  Chuck Lorre.   

Good Tournament Luck

It is amazing sometimes how luck plays such a major part in your tournament life (or death).  Let me cite a few examples from last night's American Legion tourney.

On a flop of 5/5/K, a very loose and poor player bets a little over min bet with his 5/7.  He is called by K/6, I fold my K/4.  The turn is a blank, the bad player bets another small bet which is called.  The river is a king, he bets again, the nuts raises, he calls and loses the pot.  One outer time for the king and unbelievably poorly played by the 5/7.  I was dealing, and regretting not playing the hand as I would have shoved with the nuts and probably the bad player would have called off all his chips.

Next luck example, on the final table a player raises with J/J, he is called by 10/10.  Another player, one of the deep stacks re-raises all-in with J/J (yes there were two of them).  Everyone calls and the river brings a 10.  Two outer victory.

Later, the same player who won with his 10's is in the small blind with K/K.  One player limps, I have A/10 on the button.  I raise, hoping to take the pot down or isolate the limper.  The kings re-raises all-in and I call, figuring he may be on a squeeze play.  Ooooh, hate to see those kings, but lately they have been trouble for me.  The flop brings no help to me, but the turn offers help, a 10 plus now a flush draw.  The river is another 10 for my lucky win.

Later, the same player is eliminated with A/A when a four flush is on the board and the opponent has the flush card.  Ouch.

Saw several like that, lost to J/8 with my K/J when he hit an 8 when we were down to 5 players.  Good news at the end, as the chip leader (me) proposed a 5 way chop of $205 each (nobody had more that 10 big blinds) with $20 each going to dealers.  Since I was a dealer for table 2, will get 30% of $100 for a net cost in tournament of only $10 and a net profit of $195. 

Seduced by the Bounty

The Monday morning Moose tournament is interesting because it has a $100 bounty on the casino employee playing in it.  Last Monday, Roland, the poker room manager was "it".  I was running entirely card dead, not playing a single hand other than a couple of limp/folds when Roland, who had taken a substantial hit, decided to push all-in with his AQ.  With $100 on the line, he got 5 callers, including me in the big blind with my Q/7 of clubs.  The flop was ace high with one club and a 7.  O.K, but not great and with this many callers figured someone would bet.  Nope.  Checked around.  The turn was a great card for me, another club, giving me flush draw.  Everyone checked around to a lady who declared all-in, and shoved enough chips to cover my call.  The river failed to produce a club and I was gone, while her 2/3 offsuit won the pot plus the bounty.

I don't regret making the call, as I was getting great odds on my draw, both in tournament chips and 4/1 on my $25 buy-in.  What I do regret was not pushing on the flop when I hit my 7 which should have elicited a fold from her.  Roland would then have won the pot but I would have only lost about 1/4 of my chips and he would still be in the tournament for me to knock out later.  Moving to the cash game I played for 1 1/2 hours without raking a pot.  Not a good day of poker.

Quad 8's, A-Hole player

Another marathon session on Thursday.  Running very badly, am down about $300 when I hit quad 8's in a raised pot.  Flopped them, so was able to relax and figure out how to maximize profit.  Check, call, check call, check raise.  Nice hand worth $499 plus a good sized pot.  Despite the win, ended up breaking even.....had a 75/25 split deal with my buddy, Ron and just donkied off some chips with my pocket aces and pocket jacks.  The worst one was with Thuy, I raised with AA, Chris goes all in for $15 more with JJ, and Thuy decides to tag along with 6/9.  Naturally, she hits a 9 on the flop and a 6 on the river.  Oh, well, only a $25 loss....could have been worse.  Also snapped on a 3/3/x flop against A/3, also calling a big preflop raise.  Small wonder both of these players usually are "donating".

Now to the A-Hole story.  Very conservative player sitting to my immediate left, in his '70's.  His wife also playing, same game.  Would call their style tight, passive.  Saw her win several pots with the nuts, but never raised even once (except preflop twice with A/A).  These guys might as well play their hands face up in my opinion, too easy to fold against them.  Anyway, the guy hits quads (I had raised preflop with J/J) on a flop of 10/10/x.  I should have made an easy read and fold but had been playing for 10 hours and just too tired to  figure it out.  Anyway, he makes some comment to me after the hand about how "You have been stealing pots on the button all night, partner" .  I was offended by the use of the word partner, not the stealing part which was technically correct if you call raises in late position and continuation bets stealing, I call it good poker not "low limit showdown".  So, I called him on the use of partner, saying "don't call me partner, I wouldn't want to be your partner in any enterprise".  He then makes some remark about how "the little guys always have the big mouths" which frankly I could not understand since he was both shorter and weighed less than me.  So, I responded with "you got that right".  About this time the dealer was giving me the evil eye and I just quit talking.  He left the game shortly afterwards.  If I ever play on the same table with him and if he ever says a word to me will call for the floor (which I should have done) and have them give him a warning.  Nobody needs to put up with that BS.    

Poker Marathon

Yesterday was a marathon for me.  Driving in from Seattle (fully rested from 4 hour drive), I sit down for some poker.  Playing squeaky tight (think folding small blind in a family pot), I "graduate" to the main table with basically my $100 buy-in intact.  Big mistake moving.  Within an hour at the other table there are quads dealt twice to the same player ($499 Monte for each), and a royal flush ($1500).  Nice table change.  We finally get one at our table, not me, the player to my immediate left.

This table is sooooo beatable.  Watching sick bluffs and folks calling down with bottom pair.  Running very card dead.  Pick up KK and get 4 callers with my raise.  C-bet on a 10/10/2 board and get two callers.  My spidey sense is telling me kings no good.  I check the turn, Jerry bets $20, Anh calls, I fold.  River, Jerry bets, Anh calls, Jerry has pocket aces.  Good fold.  Folded kings earlier to Anh's aggression bad fold then.

Anyway, I eventually lose my $100, re-buy for $50, and eventually cash out for......$150 exactly.  Only problem is the eventually ends up being 2:15 a.m. That's right, 10 hours of poker to break even.  Oh well, got my "free" dinner & coffee all night.  Good Grief!!!