This is what happens when you don't knock a player out

Bad things can happen when you don't knock a player out when you have a chance.  Playing today in a $25 guaratee rebuy tournament I ended up re-buying 3 times.  The first re-buy happened when I raised with KK and was re-raised all-in by QQ.  Naturally, he hits a queen in the door.  Re-buy, I turn top pair with my KQ (flop was 10/J/2).  I shove with my top pair and open ender to be called by 9/2.  He hits a 2 on the river and I re-buy.  Now I get deep and this hand comes up.  I have around 10K, with blinds @ 200/400 and I am in big blind with garbage, J/4.  A short stack shoves for around 1400 and is called by the small blind...a very loose player.  I consider calling but we are near the money bubble and I have garbage.  Understand that if the other player folds, I am calling as there are antes involved and I am getting pretty good pot odds.  So, the all in player doubles up plus antes and my blind with his 10 high.  This player not getting eliminated is important to me later.

So, now on the button, the chipped up player shoves.  I have 6/6 and call only to see his 7/7 hold up.  Now short stacked, but in the money (16 players left...paying 18), I limp on the button with K/10.  The flop is 9 high and checked to me so I shove.  Everyone folds except the loose player to my right who calls with a 5/7 open end draw.  Naturally, he hits his 8 on the river to eliminate me in 16th place.  I get back almost 2 buy-ins, but a losing tournament for me.

The tournament pictured below was a disappointment.  I played for 2 1/2 hours and missed cashing by 6 people (42/36).  There were over 600 re-entries and add-ons.  I only bought in once with no add-on.  Was eliminated by runners to make a straight...had him all the way.

   

Don't Forget About the Button!!!!

Last night's "adventure in pokerland" included my dealing table 2 as usual.  I almost didn't, telling people I had a 30% better chance of cashing by concentrating solely on playing, but on the other hand, a 100% chance of my poker not costing me as much by dealing.  Plus, I am coming down with a monster cold.  I made a couple of mistakes dealing, including shoving a pot to a player before I dealt the river card (don't laugh, have seen the "professionals" do this several times).  Anyway, the all-in player did not improve and was gone.

Had to make a couple of monster laydowns early, including one where I flopped a 5 high straight (playing A/5 spades, flop was 234 with 2 clubs).  I bet big, about pot size of 600, with 1100 behind me and got one caller...my nemesis Robert.  The turn brought a very bad card for me, a 5, and I bet only $350 (sign of weakness if you are paying attention).  Robert then went all-in and I folded face-up.  It may have been a chopped pot, but he is known to draw for gutshots.  The player next to me had a sour look and said, "I folded 6/7"....he did not draw to a gutshot which would have been very bad for Robert.

Luckily for me, the very next hand I had KK, shoved was called, and recovered a big chunk of my chips, still below starting stack. Then, on the last hand before the break, I ran into trouble.  Limping in the hijack with 8/9 of hearts, the flop came Q/8/9 with 2 clubs.  The UTG player bet $300 and I re-raised all-in putting him on a flush draw.  The button, who I had forgotten was even in the hand, shoved over the top of me.  The original bettor tanked, and finally folded, turning over A/8 of clubs.  It probably helped him find the fold when the button said "I think we are going to chop".  I immediately knew he had 10/J for the flopped straight, and worse,  the UTG had one of my outs!  So, I was gone (but still had to deal) until the final table formed.  I left without collecting my tips.  Oh, yeah, the final table was down to 4 players and Robert had a monster stack......

2 Bad Beats, 2 Poker Chips & a Plate of Christmas Cookies

After spending a day in Portland & 2 days in Seattle, I barely made it back to the beach in time for the American Legion tournament last night.  I blew all of my cash during the trip and had to borrow a twenty from my daughter to enter the tournament.  Luckily, I had $21 waiting for me from my last dealing so no longer in debt.  Even though I was sooooo tired from the drive, decided to sign up for table 2 dealing.  They are having lots of trouble getting dealers (I like it...almost free poker) and could have dealt table 1 for 50% of tips but didn't want to stay if knocked out early.  That almost happened.  We were at the 100/200 blind level when the short stack next to me (had him covered by 2, $100 chips) shoved.  I called with JJ and was happy to see 99 against me.  Ooops, forgot that I suck as a dealer for myself delivering him his 2 outer in the door.


Now the short stack at the table with blinds going up to 200/400 next hand, I called a shove, re-shove, and overcall with my J/9 suited in this "volume" pot.  Faced with a small pair, and a couple of over-cards in the other 2 hands I managed to nail a jack on the river to quadruple up.  Nice.  Later I would get involved with another shove with KJ suited and triple up plus some (blinds) when I hit my king.  Managed to go from 2 chips and a chair to the final table with above average stack of around 7,000.


I lost a third of my chips on a ridiculous hand.  AQ biggest stack raises, I call with 4/4, then another player shoves and we both call.  With one all in, the flop is small, but no 4 and the big stack bets big.  I look at him, think for a while, then say "I hope you are not bluffing into a dry pot".  I then fold face-up.  He turns over AQ for no pair, while the all-in shows K/7, and a pair of 7's.  The river of course delivers an ace and the player is down but the whole table gets after the big stack.  He is an idiot we surmise.  Later, he shoves with 6/6 and is called by a bigger stack who has AK.  His small pair survives and the big stack now has exactly as many chips as me, 2500.  He is small blind, I am big blind at the 600/1200 blind level.  Surprisingly, it is folded to us and he shoves, as I expect having just lost most of his chips and probably on tilt.  I have enough to fold and get through the blinds, but we are all in the money with 5 players remaining and I look down to see....A/6.  While not my favorite calling hand on a shove I figure to be ahead of the tilted one....who coincidentally is the one who got lucky earlier with his 9/9 against me!  I call and shit....he has K/K.  Oh well, but karma is a sneaky bitch and an ace hits the door!  Nice.  I only have to dodge a king or running hearts as he has the king of hearts and there are 2 hearts on the flop.  What was I saying about karma?  Running hearts has me running for the door in 5th place for a $77 win (plus $31 in tips, less $5. tip for a $73. net win).  Plus I collected a plate of Christmas cookies from the tournament organizer, Mary, as I headed for home.

Posting for Don

Due to popular demand, here is a new post.  My job in the Tri-Cities has ended, and with it my frequent poker games.  The past week I played in about 10 tournaments, cashing in 2 and final tabling all but 1.  My luck has been running pretty sour so the cash games have drained most of my winnings in tournaments.  Had a couple of particularly disappointing outings there and lost my maximum stop/loss.  The winning sessions were generally small, so overall negative cash game sessions.  I estimate a very small profit for the trip, close to break even....which according to Kenny Rogers is the best you can hope for.



Thinking about this song I think it sums up the decision to close our Tri-City business venture.  It has been a good 9 year run and has allowed me to meet a lot of nice folks, play some poker and supplement my retirement income.  Doesn't get any better than that.  So, I think it is time to "know when to fold 'em."

I will continue to write my poker blog, because that is what I do.  My poker will probably be limited to Friday nights at the Legion, but there is plenty to write about there.  The online stuff kind of is not real poker (despite my giant wins, lol) and may screw up my "real" game, so am planning to curtail that some.  Until next time.......

Busting The Tight Players

Playing in the 3/20 spread game at the Moose last night there were 3 very tight players.  One who shall remain unnamed, is the most legendarily tight player ever.  He buys in for the minimum and nurses his stack like it is a wounded eagle.  If he limps in he has a very good hand.  If he calls a raise, he has a great hand.  If he calls a bet after the flop, he has the nuts.  Simple as that.  Also, he has a very bad temper when he loses a hand (after waiting all night for the nuts).  So, this hand came up:  I limped in with AJ, he limped in with 8/8.  The flop had both an Ace and an 8.  It was checked to me in late position and I put in around an $8.  bet.  He calls.  Rut Row, thinking my kicker is no good at this point (which it definitely was not).  However, the turn is an excellent card for me (I think) a jack, giving me aces up.  I bet larger this time (probably 20).  He calls for all of his chips...remember he buys short, so he had only about $8.  We turn over our cards  and I get the bad news.  The river, halleluja brings another ace for my Aces full over his 8's full!  This also wins me the high hand for the hour, which unfortunately is no longer $399, but only $100.  I split with my buddy Ron on a 75/25 and then they bring me the dreaded IRS form to fill out.  I have gone over $600 for the year and will be taxed!!!

Later, the super tight couple leaves only to be replaced by a younger super tight couple.  As opposed to the other couple, I like this one, so not so happy to bust the wife with my raise of her two pair bet with my flush draw.  With only $30 behind I was o.k. to gamble.  Would have folded if she had a bigger stack.  That brings me to the discussion of short stack vs. big stack play.  Big stacks seem to always have more gamble whether they bought the chips or won them.  Short stack play has some pluses, like being able to chase draws very cheap when all-in but cannot maximize earnings with big hands.  Overall I like the strategy of having a deep stack in a cash game but playing pretty tight.

Bottom line on my game:  Bought in for $100, cashed out for $296 after giving Ron his $25.  A good night of poker.

http://www.pokerology.com/lessons/playing-tight-players/

Another Freeroll Win

Playing the $10 guarantee freeroll tonight, I was chip leader for a while, took some beats, but ended up in 4th place for 95 cents.  This will pay for almost two entries in the $25 guarantee tournament which can pay over $13 for first place.  Yee Haa!

 The first screen shows me near my peak (had around 300k at one time. Second screen is final results for me.  I still feel pretty good outlasting 473 other players.

Comments

Someone quoted John Harrington during the tournament last Friday.  "Poker is a betting game played with cards".  I have been pondering that this week, and after playing a ton of freeroll tournaments would have to agree.  We have all been the "victim" of the aggressive big stack who raises with squadoush and nails the flop or bets better hands off.

I have also been pondering how it seems that "the worst hand always seems to win".  I keep seeing this, and have been the victim much more than the beneficiary. This is because as a relatively tight player I normally play better cards than my opponents start with (cooler shown below as an arguement against this statement).   A great example was a freeroll I played a few minutes ago.  I raised 3x big blind with A/J.  A player shoved (had me covered as I had just done late registration) with A/10 off and naturally hit a 10 to eliminate me.  Wow.  But I saw 3/3 beat 8/8 two hands earlier when he flopped the 3.  Just sayin' that if my AK is against AQ there is a high likelihood that he will flop trip queens.

Here is the real life example of the cooler I experienced today.  How sick is KK vs. AA?  On a positive note, did cash in this small buy-in tournament (12th place out of 80 or so).  It was a $.50 + .05 buy-in and I won $1.10.  This is an on-demand tournament that runs pretty continuously as soon as 18 players sign up.  There is a $25 guaranteed payout, with 18 players getting at least their money back as normally 80-90 sign up.  I plan to build my online bankroll with this tournament as you can coast near the end with not many chips, or if lucky win 1st for $12.00 or so.  My goal is like the Ferguson challenge to build up to $10,000 from nothing.

Patience, Aggression and Judgement

I have been thinking about the qualities that make for a great poker player.  These three came to mind first.  I have been playing in a bunch of freerolls lately (trying to duplicate my "big" win) with little success.  I am getting my money in good but the loose luckboxes have been doing what they do best...getting lucky.  So, thinking about the super loose players I see online, what usually propels me to final tables is patience.  Often the hyper-loose player is also the hyper-aggressive player too.  I like to sit back and wait for a great opportunity to double up by trapping them by limping in with monsters, or calling with good hands like pairs or big aces.  It works nearly every time.

Lately in the $10 freeroll I have been just getting my ass kicked.  Some first hand all-ins with pairs facing bigger pairs, massive draws not arriving (good example this morning, pre-flop raise by another player (A/A), I call the smallish raise in position with 10/J of clubs.  The flop is K/Q clubs/ 8.  So I have open ended straight flush draw.  The turn is another 8, and we get all our chips in.  Whiff!

America's Cardroom

After having my computer crash a couple of times on one of my free poker sites (Zen Entertainment), decided to download America's Cardroom, a site one of my Legion friends plays on.  He was telling a group of us last week about his small wins on the freerolls so I decided to have a go at it.  My first tournament was pretty brief.  They begin with 270 players, then you can late register for the 1st hour.  My second tournament this morning ended up with 492 entrants.

I really like this site, it has good graphics, smooth play, lots of choices of bets (1/3 pot, 1/2 pot, 3/4 pot, etc) that make it easy to use.  Also, the lobby has tons of information....big stack size at each table, smallest stack, average chips, next blinds, etc.  I have played at many sites, including pokerstars, ultimate bet, pokerroom, zen, full tilt, etc. and this one ranks at the top.

So, anyway, playing my 2nd tournament I hung in there, got some double up opportunities, and was in the top 1/4 of chips.  I took a huge hit with my QQ when I was re-raised all-in pre-flop by 5/7 who caught a river 6 for a gutshot straight.  Ouch!  Then I almost lost my tournament seat when KK slowplayed my JJ preflop raise.  I hit a straight on the river to survive (who says I never get lucky?).  My big breakthrough came with QQ when I raised, then was re-raised all-in by AX, over-shoved by AX, and called by some total crap hand.  We all had a lot of chips, and when the dust settled my queens held up and I was 2nd in the tournament.  I just hung in there to the final table, occassionally knocking a short stack out and ended up heads-up with the massive chip leader.  He had me about 4/1.  We went back and forth, changing leads a couple of times.  I had him cold twice but he sucked out with garbage.  The final hand I had something like A10 vs. 9/10.  The winning prize was only $2.50 out of the total prize pool of $10, but it now allows me to play some micro buy-in tournaments or cash games to run it up.

  

WTF Online

I must admit that I would much prefer to be playing "real" poker, but despite the lack of skin in the game, many online events play much as live poker.  Guess that is why I stick with it.  The key, I have found is to play very tight at first due to the high percentage of donks who like to attempt quick double ups with garbage.  They can destroy you, or propel you into the early lead if you have a big hand.  I prefer to sit back and wait for good opportunities.  My favorite game is the $1000 buy-in 45 person SNG on Pokerstars.  The prize pool is good and it plays similarly to the morning moose tournament.  They pay 7 places, so if you can make the final table with decent chips you stand to make a few bucks.

This morning I played 2 tournaments due to waking up at 4:30 a.m. and being unable to go back to sleep.  That time of day you mostly get European and Russian players because of the time zone difference.  The Russian players I like to call "Comrade Bluffski" due to their giant bluffs.  They can be tough because, let's face it, anyone can wake up with a real hand.  You get lulled into complacency watching them bet with bottom pair and winning big pots, then they get aces and you give all your chips to them calling light.  I have found the Spanish players a wild bunch.  I like to think that they think that they are "muy macho" when they bet.

So, anyway, this morning I was cruising to a cash with average chip stack and 10 players remaining.  I am playing A/J with the ace of clubs.  The flop is 8/9/10, all clubs.  I love the flop with my open ender and draw to the "nut" flush.  I bet, and am called by a larger stack. The turn changes nothing, I bet 1/2 pot, and am called again.  The turn is the queen of clubs.  I bet pot and am raised for nearly all my chips.  I re-raise all-in.  He turns over 10/J with the jack of clubs for the straight flush!!!!! WTF!!!!!  Bubble the final table.

Next up, new 45 person SNG, long story short, I play very few hands, getting one double up and am short stacked with 12 players remaining.  It is folded to me on the button with blinds @ 75/150, the small blind is sitting out.  I have J/8 with about 1000 in chips.  The big blind is sitting on one of the largest stacks (around 10K).  I elect to shove, and he calls with.....2/4!!!!!  WTF!!!!!  Flop brings a 2 and a 4, the turn does not hit me, leaving me drawing dead.  Unbelievable. 

Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Returning from Maui, I was asked to deal the final table at the Legion tournament.  Not a problem being fully rested and ready for some poker.  My table was somewhat unusual in that I had a father/son combination seated, one of whom was the "wild child" I have previously written about.  I was in for an evening of practically nonstop talking and bluffing and huge overbets.  Great.  The son I learned did not fall far from the tree.  They got involved in at least 3 pots together and the son generally folded to the raises from pop, showing huge respect in that he had raised first and folded to the 3-bet, showing a pair of 8's each time.  I later had the huge luck to knock pop out with my least favorite hand, 5/10 off. It was a situational thing in my big blind vs. his small stack with limpers.

The evening started out well for me, winning 3 small pots on the first 5 hands dealt.  But, alas, they were very small pots.  I missed a huge opportunity to knock out the wild child with a 5/8 early on when he almost doubled up with 2 pair, then definitely would have gotten him with a 6/7, both making straights.  I would regret this later on.  I had the good fortune to knock several players out, including a short stack with my 9/2, flopping a full house, and pocket kings of wild child's pop and another shorty with my 10/5 making 2 pair.

So, my downfall came on the button with A/Q.  I had a nice stack, with only 12 players remaining, and I slightly overbet wild child's big blind.  He had stacked up big, getting double dog lucky several times with the worst hand, and stared at me then said something like "you must want me to fold", then re-raised me all-in.  I snap called and he turned over A/9 soooooted, which he had earlier maybe 2-3 times and declared his "favorite hand".  Great, I love to play against dominated hands....that is until they spike a 9 on the river and knock me out of the tournament.  Now, here comes the ironic part.  He knocked at least 2 more players out with.....A/Q.  Snap calling both times, and behind on at least one.  What a donkey.

So, he ends up heads-up against the tournament director, who had chipped him up earlier (the director was leader on the final table), the director getting most of them back, then  QQ (wild child) vs. weak ace on the last hand.  He wins the tournament.  Lucky door to door.  

Back in CONUS (Continental United States)

Well, back from my Hawaii adventure intact.  I had a great time (pictures attached) but I have some things that I really don't like about it.

1.  Cost.  Everything there is darned expensive.  The first morning there we went out for breakfast (3 adults and one small child) and the bill was $58 plus tip.  Excuse me!  Because we were a captive audience there were few inexpensive options.  We bought groceries at the Safeway but hard to cook/plan so not many meals were prepared at the condo.

2.  How much time can you spend at a swimming pool?  The kids thought it was great, but other than the hot tub, really don't enjoy sitting poolside (fair skin easily burnt) and how much do you really want to splash around in a 3' deep pool?

3.  No poker options (except free site online)

4.  I don't think the natives really like us much.  Sometimes I feel the same way here in my resort community.  Lots of traffic, feeling overrun with tourists.  Restaurants full, long lines.

Now for the positives.

1.  Unbelievably nice weather, 85 every day.  Harsh to come back here where it looks like winter has begun.

2.  Snorkeling.  One of my favorite ocean activities.  Beautiful fish, coral, warm water.  Only drawback was wearing mask for extended time.  Kinda pinched around ears.  Also, had to cut my moustache to get a seal.

3.  Time with family.  Nice to hang with the kiddos.

4.  Did I mention the unbelievably nice weather?

Poker in Maui

There ain't none.

Wheeler. Who's your daddy?

O.K., yes I said I was not planning to play there again.  But, decided to risk the bad beats and bad drive to play.  It turned out to be a good decision as I practically owned the game!  There were only 2 tables, 14 players @ $40 buy-in, so only 2 places plus the bubble were going to be paid.  I got on fire early, knocking 3 players off my table, then another on the final table.  Ace/4 shoves with a short stack?  No problem, got this covered with my A/A.  Flush draw calls my preflop bet with 9/9.  No problem, flop a set, turn a boat.  Having knocked both dealers out, I agreed to deal when 5 handed.  Dealt myself KK, AK, AJ, AJ in short order.  We got down to 4 players (I knocked the 5th out too as I remember) and I went card dead.  A short stack got hot and blinds went up to 300/600.  As we started out with only 1100 in chips and at that point we all had at most 5 or 6 big blinds and fairly equal stacks, I suggested that we chop 4 ways.  Done deal, $140 each.  Not a big payday after buy-in and dealer tip, but had fun on my night out and really felt that I had played well and definitely getting great cards. 

Wheeler

Well, it has been a long time since I have played at the Tsunami Bar & Grill game in Wheeler, Or.  As I may or may not have posted before, it is similar to our Friday night Legion game.  Same buy-in ($40), same players, similar structure.  I am on my own this week as my lovely wife is grandkid sitting in Portland this week.  I have several tasks to complete, including sanding all of my kitchen cabinets, car in for service, cleaning house, etc.  Leaving on Sunday for my trip to Maui.  I am prepared with new swim trunks, swimming shirt (sunblock protection material), reef walkers, and a new Kindle with built in cameras (all the better to blog you with).  Will add some photos from the beach!  My only real downer about the trip is the sad news this week about an old friend drowning in Maui while snorkeling on the same beach I am going to.  Here is a link about the death.

http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/27147889/dick-sanders-is-remembered-by-our-community

Dick Sanders was a good friend, going back to the 70's.  He was the assistant pastor at our church and a great guy who "walked the walked" as an inspiration to all of us.  I had not seen him for a few years, but when we bumped into each other at the Dairy Queen a couple of years ago, it was as if only yesterday, not the 18 years or so since I had seen him last.

Draws & Rivers

Maybe I am just whining here, but why does it seem that the river never helps me, but makes someone else's hand?  Playing online Omaha today I flopped sets at least 5 times only to lose on the river when someone's straight or flush draw came in?  I was on a freaking draw too, but for a full house or quads!!!!

So, here is a bad beat from an online tournament.  I am in 3rd place, raise with AJ, and am re-raised all-in from A/10 with fewer chips.  I call, he hits a 10 on the river.  Dominated hand got lucky.  Very next hand I have A/J again and shove.  Same player calls with K/J and hits a king.  Again the dominated hand got lucky.  Sheesh Kabeesh!

It has been said that poker is a game of incomplete information.

You can have the best hand and simultaneously have the best draw.  Since you don't know what the other hands hold, we "experts" are always looking to build a pot when we have this situation.  The problem is, the other players don't know that they are drawing to a miracle 2 outer.  It always amazes me.  I bet when I have trips, other players call with overpairs, flush or straight draws.  The board is paired with 3 hearts and some idiot is calling with a straight draw!  Then wins!  In my omaha game, have seen the "underfull" raising and even re-raising.  Wow.

Since I share my bad beats, here is one of my very few awesome flops.  I am playing a J/Q of clubs (along with other cards..Omaha game), and the flop comes 8/9/10 of clubs.  I check call the flop with multiple players, the board pairs on the turn, a player bets, I raise, he re-raises and I cap.  Same action on the river.  He has the "nut" full house with his 9/10.  Sweeeeet! 

This is Why I Hate Poker (online today, live most other days)

First online tournament of the day.  I am in the small blind with QQ.  A couple of players limp, then a player raises to $60 (blinds @ 10/20).  The button goes all-in.  I snap call.  The middle position raiser uses most of the clock, then calls with.....9/4 of clubs!!!  The button has aces (of course...first hand of the tournament), and the flop has two 4's and we are both eliminated by....the donkey!  Unfortunately for me, the "chat" is turned off so I cannot unload on him.

Cashing In

This last trip to the Tri-Cities was not a productive one in tournaments with only one small cash.  Probably played in 7 of the morning turbos, so definitely not a winner.  Trying the cash game turned into a mixed bag for me.  On Wednesday did very well, cashing out for a $233 win but ended up giving half of it back on Thursday.  My worst hand...well hard to pick one out, but raising to $23 with pocket kings preflop with one caller (8/6 off ????) ended up losing $120 when he flopped 2 pair.  He later whined when he lost a similar amount with his A/A vs garbage.  Had some winning hands, but the table was pretty loose/wild and ended up losing about $120.  I have been pretty down about the cash game but have made some adjustments in my game that have improved my results.  I am expecting a lot of variance in my chip stack, but key is getting your share of the big pots.

Drove back home on Friday and too tired to play the Legion tournament.  Will have company next week so that game may be off the table as well.  Do they have poker in Maui????

Running Bad

You know you are running bad when you get your chips in with the best hand and are drawn out on by someone who probably should not have been in the pot in the first place.  Sunday $60 tournament was a prime example.  I played pretty well, got some decent cards, and we were down to 5 players (paying 3...with bubble boy probably getting money back).  I am 3rd in chips, but very short stacked with only 6500 (blinds @ 1/2000).  The other short stacks have 2-3 blinds at most.  I am in the big blind, the button calls (Marco who has had 3 major suck outs or would have been gone...example being all-in with 3/3, called by QJ, Tony hits queen, 2 diamonds on flop, Marco has 3 of diamonds...you know the rest).  I have A7 suited, and shove, Marco calls with J10 offsuit and hits a 10 on the river.  I should not complain about the 10/J as it has been a monster lately, even for me, cracking aces with it on a jack high flop with another on the turn.

Anyhow, the tournament this morning was looking very good for me early.  In small blind with A/9, tons of limpers, we take an unraised flop.  The flop is great for me, A/9/3, but two clubs.  I bet around 200 if I recall correctly, and half the table called.  The turn is another ace, and I bet 300.  John, the player to my left in the big blind re-raises me all-in and has me covered by 100.  Everyone else folds and I call...he is drawing dead (except for a 9 to chop) with the A/8.  Sick.  Later, I knock Donna out from the big blind with the same hand (she shoved with only 100 more than my blind).  I flopped an ace, turned another ace, and rivered the case ace.  Quads!!!!  Told her that after the 2nd ace was just "showing off"...she of course appreciated the remark.  LOL.

Despite my early chip advantage, went card dead, lost 800 to pocket aces with my 4/4, and raised from the button with K/10 and was re-raised by Dave with J/J.  I was mostly in, definitely pot committed and failed to find a king.  He would have been gone earlier but had a couple of major suck outs that had gotten him back in the game (biggest being all-in with A/little hearts vs. AK....one heart on the flop then runner/runner hearts.

When you are running good this happens.  When running bad you can never be safe with any hand.  First time I have not made the final table in a week.  

Double Bubble Toil & Trouble

Bubble trouble this week.  Played 3 tournaments and cashed only once for $70 (4th place).  With any luck....and some stupid calls that would have turned out genius, could have won all 3.  Starting with the Moose Wed. a.m., went out 8th on a shove with 7/7, earlier had folded my 7/7 to a bet and re-raise.  On that hand flopped a 7 and turned quads.  This hand, with 5 big blinds, was called in 2 places, with the big blind having AA.  Oops, 2 players down.

My other tournament, we are down to 5 players, I shove 6500 (blinds at 1/2000) with the small blind all in for 1000.  The big blind is hyper aggressive and the chip leader, calls with 4/5 suited.  The small blind has J/9.  I have AK.  A five hits on the flop, a 9 on the river, the short stack takes the main pot and I am out.

Today's tournament we are  down to 4 players.  I have 2,000 in the small blind with Q/5 while the big blind (10/4) has only 3000 with blinds @ 2/4000.  The giant stack on the button elects to call with 8/2 off.  The flop hits both of them, 2/10/x.  The turn, Hallelujah, is the queen.  then the river is another 2 knocking us both out.  Because she had one more chip....I get 4th for $70, she gets $100.

Boom Poker

http://www.boomplayer.com/en/poker-hands/Boom/11112605_0226FBD738

Cut and paste this link to see the s**t I put up with on these stupid online games.  If you load Boom poker you can see all of my bad beats (and good ones too).

What Type of Player Are You?

In doing some reading today in one of my old poker books, I got to thinking about the different types of players:

Tight/Aggressive
Loose/Aggressive
Weak/Tight
Loose/Passive

Read no further, if you are not a tight aggressive player you cannot be my friend!!!!  LOL!!!!  Actually, reading about the "types", I sometimes fall into the weak/tight category.  Let me elaborate.  A weak/tight player will call when they should be raising or folding.  They will fold good holdings to aggression if they do not have near nuts.  They will fold draws, even when presented with good implied odds.  They see monsters under the bed.  They will not value bet at the end without the nuts.  They will overbet when they have premium holdings.  Yikes!  I sometimes play like this.  This is a major problem for me.  In other words, I can be exploited by aware players who put me to the test.

I wrote the above before playing the Friday night tournament.  I decided to not be that player.  It almost got me in trouble early on.  The player to my right was on a roll, winning several good pots and had probably more than doubled up.  On the other hand, I was down a bit from starting chip count (part in thanks to the LAG young player I have previously written about).  This hand came up:  playing AK suited (I raised, thank you), the flop came with two clubs and jack high.  My AK was clubs.  The big stack bet small enough to give me good calling odds with two overcards and the flush draw.  I believe that technically I was ahead of his pair of jacks.  The turn was a brick for me and he bet bigger.  This is where I had to do a weak/tight check.  Do I fold now and be even more chip challenged?  Or do I gamble?  Determined not to quit, I called to see my miracle club on the river, but did I mention the board was paired?  He checked, and fearing the worst (monsters under the bed), but determined to break out of my weak/tight mold....I went all-in.  He called to show the A/J and I took a very nice pot, doubling up.  So much for my theory that everyone's draws come in but mine.

Doubling up once more on a two pair (A/10) hand, I became the chip leader, despite losing a stack to QQ vs. my 5/5 vs. the wild child's preflop 3 bet and shove on the flop (ace/king showing).  Due to his spewey nature I made the call, only to be overcalled by the queens.  We both check checked and he won.

I was feeling pretty good, chip leader and all when this hand came up.  A very loose and passive woman limped (or maybe was in big blind...I forget) when I raised with KK.  Blinds were 80/160 and I had made it 500 to go.  She called, everyone else folded.  The flop came 10/10/3 and she bet 600 with about 550 behind.  I tanked for a moment, asked her, "really, you called with a 10 in your hand?".  She didn't answer, and I re-raised her all-in.  She called to show......A/K off.  Sweet, except for the ace on the river.  We had our break just after that, and I was down to about 500 over starting stack.

My last hand was at the 200/400 level with 18 players remaining.  We had just formed the final 2 tables and I drew the small blind, which I figured was a good thing with only 4 big blinds in my stack.  I totally misplayed the first hand, with A/2 of spades in the small blind I should have shoved with only one limper and the big blind in the hand.  My thought process was that I would like to see the flop cheap and fold to a bad flop or shove with a good one.  That would leave me with 3 1/2 blinds and able to see 8 more hands.  The flop was beautiful for me, Q/Q/8 with 2 spades.  I thought it unlikely that anyone had a queen and with a flush draw plus 1st action could get a fold easily...representing the queen and no possible better flush draw possible.  Wrong!  I shoved, the big blind called and the limper folded.  He turns over.....8/4 off.  WTF!  Guess he could not put me on a queen, and despite having a player to act behind decides to be a hero.  I hit a 2 on the turn, but no more 2's, aces, or spades appeared and I was gone.

First The Scorecard then The Story

American Legion Friday Night Tournament

4th Place   $113
High Hand (JJJJA)   $54  -  $2 from every buy in goes to high hand of night
Table 1 Dealer tips  $56
Less $40 Buy in
Less $10 tip
Net Win  $173

How I got there.

Arriving early, decided to mix it up a little by doing some drinking.  I was not planning on dealing, so thought I could sacrifice some concentration.  O.K., just one beer.  When 7:00 arrived, they announced the drawing for seats, and I was just about to choose a card when the organizers asked me if  I would deal table 1, final table, since the guy who had asked to had not arrived yet.  O.K. I guess, not really my plan.

Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but played a lot looser than my normal game, doing more limping early, raising some, and dealing myself some really good hands.  I quickly chipped up and was the leader at the table.  Dealt myself:  AA twice, KK 3 times, JJ, and some other pairs and nice big cards.  Won a few with loose calls and amazing flops like A/3 on the button flopping trip 3's (they never see that one coming).  I would have won the whole tournament but was plagued with draws coming in against me.  I lost 2 giant pots with a turned straight vs. my flopped 2 pair, and a rivered straight against my top pair.  I paid particular attention to bet sizing and at no time did any draw get correct odds.  It was just that type of chasing table.  Also lost 3 big pots to chased flushes on the river.  Almost any other player would have been knocked out by any of these hands, but had won so much that it did not cripple me.  Also, did not make crying calls when I bet on the river and was raised.

The last chase was my big blind on the final table with 4 players remaining.  I was 3rd in chips.  It was limped to me and I checked my 5/8 off.  The flop was 5/5/9 with 2 clubs.  I bet 2500, was raised to 5000 by the button, and I shoved 9200 more.  He called with J/3 of clubs and hit a club on the turn.  He had me covered by 500 and I was out.  Wow!  He eventually won the tournament despite getting all in a couple of times with the worst hand and majorly sucking out.

My high hand was a thing of beauty.  Playing AJ on the button (no raises), and probably 4 players, the flop was JJJ.  Bingo!!!!  Then the big blind bets 200 and one player calls.  I flat call.  The turn brings a 10, we all check.  The river is a (brick..revised) jack, everyone checks to me and I bet $600.  One player folds and the cutoff calls to see the bad news.

Terrible Play or Terrible Luck? Too Close to Call

Playing in a 45 person SNG this morning, I am cruising along nicely in third place.....until I lose a ton of chips to the Ukranian sitting next to me when my top pair good kicker rivers his flush draw....despite my bets that should have priced him out.  I recover, become chip leader, but he is 2nd.  Then I limp with J/2 (JT!!!!) suited on the button.  The flop is J/J/6 and a guy I wounded the hand before bets big.  I shove and am snap called by the Ukranian who has A/J.  Wow!!!  One hand later I raise with 5/5 and am called by Q/10.  With a queen high flop and 2 under cards I am all-in and lose.  Player down.

This brings me one of my favorite topics:  bet-sizing and over/under playing your hand.  All too often I see really bad bet-sizing which sometimes includes pre-flop shoving with only blinds in the pot.  This type of hand is so easy to read that I can almost predict the small pair which is shoving.  Sometimes I am surprised (and sometimes I do the surprising), when it is done with AA or KK.  But usually it is JJ or worse.  People just do not see the value of raising for value, and hopefully getting some action when AK flat calls your 2/2 raise, then committs all of their chips on a A/Q/2 flop.  I for one will only call the small pot pre-flop shove with about 3 or 4 hands, AA, KK, QQ, AK suited.  Exception of course with the small stack shove and me with the chip lead.

The other mistake I see a lot is the min-raise from most positions (will talk about an exception later).  This normally just creates a "protected" pot with lots of callers and very poor equity post flop.  Also, you are seldom able to raise people off draws with a large pot created as they are often getting correct calling odds.  The only time I kind of like the min-raise is from the small blind with a monster, inviting the early limpers to re-raise with inferior hands.  Even if you are flat called by the world, I often see an aggressive bet on the flop take down a nice pot.  That said....WTF are they thinking?  Nobody folds, protected pot, you are out of position.  Yikes!

The bet sizing errors that I see at times are the small raises on "wet" boards.  Because of the draws out there it is critical that you bet top pair or two pair hands on a board like A/10/9 with two spades.  The important part is the size of your bet.  Too small and you give great odds for draws like J/Q, J/8, A/J, etc.  Too large (think shove here), and you give up too much future value.  You must give people a chance to make a mistake by giving the 3/1 or 4/1 drawing odds only 2/1 on their money.  We all know that some players will call with incorrect odds but that is a fundamental poker error and we should welcome that call.  I have seen people bet like $40 into a wet board with $240 in the pot.  Don't be that guy.

There are a few players at my Friday night game who I believe are masters at bet sizing.  They seldom overbet or underbet a pot, but will accurately bet to give poor drawing odds.  My hat is tipped to you sirs!

And speaking of betting, in my Omaha games, you frequently flop 2 pair, top pair with top kicker, flush or straight draws, and low draws.  I am coming around to the opinion that you must bet all of these hands.  It may seem like a stupid thing to comment on from a hold 'em perspective, but with all of the draws possible you must get money into the pot when you are ahead.  You will never get the flush, straight or low draws to fold, but it is super important to build the pot now either while ahead or with a giant draw.  You will find it much easier to collect a large pot when your nut flush draw comes in if you bet before it hits. If your hand deteriorates (other folks' draws came in), you can always take your foot off the accelerator, but trust me on this, you must always bet and raise to protect your made hand.  Wow, after writing that I am amazed that I would even think you would not already, dear readers, be doing this......that said, how often do we check call in hold 'em with top pair and questionable kicker?  The aggressor always has the advantage in this game, so bet, bet, bet!

Omaha Lessons

Sometimes you learn lessons that harm you.  Remember the first time you touched a hot stove?  I am constantly learning lessons from playing Omaha, some that harm me, others that help me in my Texas hold 'em game.

1.  In Omaha, when there are three spades on the board and there is betting and raising on the river, your 3 of a kind or straight are definitely not good.  This information does not always translate well to a hold 'em game as many people will use the texture of the board to bluff.  In the Omaha game, it is virtually never a bluff, with the only possible exception the "dry ace" bluff, where the bluffer knows due to his single ace of spades holding that the bettors cannot have the nut flush.  Unfortunately for this bluffer, Omaha players are reluctant to fold 2nd nuts and pot odds usually mean they are correct to call.

2.  In the Omaha game it is a huge advantage to have great board reading skills.  Particularly of advantage is correctly seeing the texture of the flop.  While this pays huge dividends in Omaha due to the massive draw potential of many hands, it is not as much of a factor in hold 'em, although still important.  We all can raise our spidey senses to a higher degree on a 8/9/10 flop in hold'em, but still pursue our hands with a jack (not a 7...shudder), or a four flush with some wariness but not an insta-fold.  In Omaha, that flop gets an immediate muck without holding the J/Q or a set.  Two pair usually just pays a huge price chasing, and believe it or not, I would not raise with the nut straight here due to the probabilility of the chop (and it gets worse if a small card comes on the turn as now the low draws have a goal).  Nothing like taking 1/4 of a multi-way pot.

The texture of the flop in Omaha also bears looking deeply as something like a 4/5/A flop gives you a wheel and straight draws, while a 6/8/10 gives low draws, flopped straights, and open ended bigger straights some traction.  Danger Will Robinson!!!

That said, in hold'em, you need the same awareness but the danger level is not as high.  You see few straight over straights, big flush vs. small flush, and set over set hands.  In short, it is much easier to see monsters under the bed after playing a lot of Omaha.  Top pair with a crap kicker wins a lot in hold'em but virtually never in Omaha.  There are sometimes monsters under the bed in hold'em, but they are thankfully fairly rare....but usually expensive.

3.  Starting hand selection in both games needs to be carefully examined.  My general conclusion is that most of us play way too loose in both games.  I particularly tend to loosen up my starting hand selection in Omaha.  It is just too tight (in my humble opinion), to fold medium pairs pre-flop.  I try to throw away the real garbage hands, but will play most suited aces, runs of 4 cards (6/7/8/9), double suited hands, and most pairs 7/7 up.  Still not a fan of danglers (2/3/7/K) where one card does not "work" with the others.  Just puts you at a disadvantage against hands where pairs can work together, like 2/3/J/Q.  In the games I play, there is seldom much pre-flop raising, but I am willing to go along with it as the pots can get huge, protected, and winnable with a variety of holdings.

Hold 'em hands to me are much easier pre-flop as you mainly have to worry about position, pot size, and general starting requirements.  Position is not as big a factor in Omaha, but still is nice.  I still see people really over-valuing certain hands...in both games.  I seldom raise pre-flop with A/2 (Omaha), as too easy to either not flop a low hand/draw, and also frequent chops.  I want lots of people in the hand so a chop will still be profitable.         

Dealing Final Table

I was asked to deal table 1 last night....the final table.  This basically means that you are there until the bitter end, usually between 10:30 and 11:00.  A little late for me, and way too much dealing, but...I had a nap and will basically never turn down a dealing request as too few people want to do it and it is my little part of supporting the main organizers.

The table had the wild child from last week who ran up his chips then busted out.  I had a little better cards than last week, but not much, and lost my tournament seat when down to about 12 players.  I open shoved with KQ off and was called by a big stack with A9 suited.  Could not find a pair and his high card prevailed.  I only had about 4 big blinds having come back from 1.5 blinds on a shove with AJ, turning a broadway straight with three callers.  Nice try for a comeback but not this week.  I watched the big stack who knocked me out try to make a deal with 3 players left....offering to take 1st and have them chop the balance.  They refused the deal, one was eliminated, then he went on a big losing streak heads up and ended in 2nd place.

A couple of quick observations:
1.  People play way too loose early in a tournament.  Saw lots of limping, calls with garbage, unplayable early position hands, etc.
2.  That said, I missed a huge opportunity by not limping in small blind (lots of limpers, so great pot odds) with 3/8.  Flop came down 3/3/8 and it was bet by wild child and raised big by the eventual tournament winner.  My shove there would have either eliminated him (or me if he caught his kicker).

Finished the tournament around 10:30 and got exactly $40 in tips, so it was a cost free evening for me.  The talk was about the "big" tournament in Seaside this week.  $200 buy-in with 23 players.  The wild child got 3rd for about $800 and two of the other guys chopped $3200.  I chose not to play as that is a pretty expensive tournament for so few players.  Would rather save the money for Wildhorse later this fall.

Crazy Moose Poker Rules

I came up with these several years ago and planned a prank by buying a frame for this, pasting their logo on top and hanging it on the wall by the coffee pot.  Still thinking of doing it.

Crazy Moose Poker Rules

1. You must play any two suited cards despite any action before you.  After all, you could flop quads, a flush, or two pair!
2. If you are in a blind you must defend it with any two cards despite any raises before you.
3. If you flop a pair you must call to the river in case you get runners for two pair, trips, a straight, or a flush.  This will be referred to as “flop a pair and go from there.”
4. If you flop any hand that could go runner-runner for a straight or flush you must call to the river.
5. If you flop a gut-shot draw you must call to the river despite any action or board, including double paired, 4 flush, etc.
6. If the board is paired and there is a lot of action you must chase to the river with a flush or straight draw, somebody probably doesn’t have a full house or trips.
7. If you are in a blind and you have a hand like king/jack off-suit, or any weak ace you must raise pre-flop, after all, you are out of position with a marginal hand, but hey you are showing strength and everyone will probably fold, especially if there are 7 callers.
8. You must play any “weak ace” against any action.  The ace is the highest card.  You might flop two pair or hit your kicker (and then you must chase to the river…see rule #3.
9. You must play any cards that have a name.  Some of these powerhouses are:  10/2 The Brunson, 9/3 Matilda, 10/4 Broderick Crawford, 9/2 Montana banana, j/5 Motown, q/3 San Francisco Busboy, 6/9 Big Lick, 4/5 Jesse James, 9/5 Dolly Parton.
10. You must play any cards that are your personal favorites, 7/2 Lynne, J/10 JT, etc.
11. If you are the worst player at the table and win a pot over $30 you must tip the dealer several dollars to keep it safe from the grasping hands of the other players.  After all, he did do you a special favor by giving you the winning hand with your marginal cards.
12. If you have been very lucky and have a big chip stack, you must begin raising every pot with any two cards “just in case”.
13. If someone raises, you must reraise with any two cards to “build a pot” just in case you get lucky (especially true if you are stuck).
14. If the board is double paired with possible straights or flushes, you must call a bettor with your king high “to keep him honest”. 

Didn't....Win....A.....Single.....Hand

It is pretty unusual for me to play in a tournament and not drag a single pot.  Playing @ the American Legion Friday night and dealing table 2, I was getting very bad hands.  Was also not happy with the players at my table, with 2 very aggressive and sometimes wild players, the worst sitting to my immediate left.  Seat change!!  Oops, forgot that I am the dealer, and it is a tournament.  Never mind.  So, with the blinds at 20/40, I pick up 10/10 in the cutoff with one limper.  I raise to 120 and of course the button wild child calls plus another player or two.  This is so early in the tournament and I will have to deal until the final table forms, so I am not looking to get out of line right now.  You will have to believe me that nothing sucks worse than being out of the tournament and having to deal for a couple more hours.

The flop comes down, 7/4/3 with two hearts.  When it is checked to me I fire a bet of 275 into the roughly 400-500 pot.  The kid next to me re-raises to $500.  The other players fold, we discuss what amount constitutes a raise (not $500, but $550), and I tank for a bit.  I muse out loud, "well, you probably have one of three hands.  Either a flush draw with top pair, something like A/7 hearts, or suited connectors like 5/6 in which case you flopped a straight, or even two pair like a 3/4".  I briefly flirted with the idea of shoving over the top of him, but for the above mentioned reason I chose to fold my 10's face up.  Also, he is very capable of calling a raise with any two cards.  Thinking more about it, I think he probably put me on AK as he views me as being a very tight player, and certainly would fold with no pair.  Due to his raise, I do not think that he had either a flush draw or a made straight as that would not maximize his chips on future streets.  It is also possible that he put me on big cards and caught total air but felt he could get the fold with his aggression.  Anyway, had I not been dealing would have looked him up for all my chips as I think that I was ahead.

To Recap his possible hands:
1.  5/6:  probably not as he would allow me to continue betting
2. A/7:  strong possibility but I am way ahead
3. 3/4:  also a possibility, but think he would just call to trap
4. small pair:  not likely as he probably would have 3 bet, but possible
5. A/X:  very likely, and could have had A/3, A/4 which would have made him think he was ahead
6. Total Air:  With him, yeah a possibility


Later on, he shoved with 10/7 , was called by AJ and 7/7, caught a 10 on the river and tripled up his small stack.  He moved tables shortly afterwards and was eliminated before we consolidated to 2 tables.  Like I say, a wild man.  My last hand was AJ shove with only 3 blinds, called twice, lost to K10 suited who caught a king on the turn, and a straight on the river.  

Respectable Sunday, Disaster?? Monday

Sunday was a mixed day for me.  Went early and played the 8 a.m. tournament, chopping 3 ways for $130 each.  Good start.  The big 10:00 tournament went well, but finished on the bubble, which we agreed to pay entry fee of $60.  Earned one bounty, so just a wash.

Monday played in the 10:00 tournament, bubbling the final table.  My undoing was my AK call of a shove with A/4.  He hit a 4 on the door card and I was down to 300 in chips.  I went all in UTG the next hand, tripling up, but could not recover from the hit.  Can't complain as I busted QQ with my AK earlier.

Because I made a pretty early exit, the cash game was just starting up with double hours towards the $7000 freeroll next month.  Jumped in for $120, lost it, rebought for $40 and cashed out for $25.  It was one of those games that you needed to put your tray table up, and your seat in the upright and locked position with seatbelt firmly fastened.  What a wild ride.  There were several pots over $150 pre-flop.  I won one big hand heads up with QQ vs. 1010, but no other big ones....that one was over $100.  Lots of pre-flop raising with non-premium hands, but just could not connect with the flops.  Would have won a few massive ones if I had stuck around to the river, but just can't play that type of game.

Oh Yes, the Worm has definitely turned

Despite my difficulties with AQ yesterday, today has been another good poker day.  Starting off with the Morning Moose, I hit the final table with a good chip stack and managed to win an unchopped 1st place for $280.  I then moved over to the bridge casino for their 12:00 tournament, finishing on the money bubble (my last hand, 7/7, called by 8/8).  Felt that I played really good all day...even learning my lesson with AQ, folding it to a shove and call...one had 7/7, the other j/j, with the jacks holding up...no ace or queen.

Net winnings today:   $280  gross
                                  -  55.   entry fees
                                   - 20.   dealer tip
                                   $205  net winnings.

Add this to my early winnings this week and I am up over $500, with 2/5 tournament wins, for a 40% win rate.

The Turned Worm

Finally, I believe the worm has turned for me in poker.  Wednesday, after suffering a bad beat in the tournament (KK vs. AQ...he made a straight on the turn when I hit my trip kings), sat down in the cash game.  Hit the high hand for $399 and left up $200.  Today in the "Morning Moose" I chopped 3 ways for $175.  No notable hands, just tried to play solid poker and not get stupid.  My biggest disappointment was chopping with KK vs. KK which was all-in pre-flop.  However, glad not to hit the rails like I did with my kings earlier.

Bad Decision?

Playing fairly well last night, I was dealing table 4 and really lighting up one kid who is abnormally aggressive anyway.  In short order I dealt him pocket aces, pocket kings twice, a flopped set of 2's, and pocket queens as well as some other AK various big hands.  He was on a roller coaster ride, his aggression chipping up and then giving back.  The player next to me doubled up by getting lucky against his kings when he flopped top pair of jacks, then hit another on the river with his AJ.  Before our table broke down he had been eliminated.  Just too aggressive.  And unlucky.

I got lucky once myself playing against the dealer on table 1, who is an excellent WSOP player.  I raised from the button with QJ, he defended his big blind with A/5.  The flop was A/Q/x, and he check called my all-in bet.  The river brought another queen and I was in great shape.  As blinds went up, I noticed that the big blind was going up next hand from 1000 to 2000.  Being under the gun, I currently had 7 big blinds which would be down to 3 1/2 next hand, so when I saw A/J I shoved my stack all-in.  It was folded to the small blind who is aggressive and had a bigger stack.  He shoved.  The big blind was short and he called as well.  We turned over my A/J, small blind's A/Q, and big blind's A/7.  The flop turn and river missed everyone (the case ace was on the flop!!!!), and the AQ knocked two of us out.  Unbelievable that everyone had an ace and only two over cards that could beat me.  I finished in 12th place.

Analyzing my play, I think that it was the right decision based on the blind progression.  If it was not going up I would have folded with too much action behind me.  Basically, I am not in love with AJ, but it is worth playing given the right circumstances.

Decisions Decisions Decisions

Have been doing some reading lately about the bad effects of making too many decisions.  This relates to a poker game big time.  How often have you found that late in a tournament or cash game marathon that your bad decisions really hurt you?  There is a lot of stuff on the web if you google it, here is one article relating strictly to poker:

http://www.readingpokertells.com/2011/08/decision-fatigue-in-poker/

You can also look under "decision fatigue" to see more.  The thing about poker that I have come to realize (read Annie Duke's "Decide to Play Great Poker", is that the best decisions don't necessarily always have the best outcome, but making the right decisions is in itself the guide to playing better.  We are constantly bombarded by decisions in our life, do I try to beat the yellow light or stop?, What do I choose from the menu?  Which brand of coffee (or anything else) do I buy?  Do I go for the price or the size or the strength of the coffee?  decaf or regular...lol not a decision for me.  Basically, consumerism today has given us a bewildering array of choices.  I have been online shopping for some furniture and trust me, the choices are legion.  This of course leads to "paralysis by analysis", which is why my new tv is sitting on on old cabinet.  Throw in another decision maker (wife), and it further complicates things.

So, that is why we sometimes pine for the "good old days".  Think of the 3 tv channels to "choose" from vs. cable today.  Think of clothes shopping?  Will that be Levis or Wrangler?  Not slim fit, boot cut, full cut, faded, torn, distressed, umpteen brands from umpteen retailers.  Think about beer.  Bud anyone?  Would like a Coors, but have to drive to Colorado to get it.  Think about car brands, good luck finding a foreign car dealer in the early 60's.  Don't get me started on models.  Or colors.  Or options.  It is no wonder that we think of those times as simpler.  Fewer decisions mean less stress and fatigue.  So, voila, you have the reason we are so danged tired today!!!

Still Running Bad

For a while I thought perhaps my extended nightmare was over.  Dealing table 2 at the Legion Friday night I dealt myself pocket aces.  The woman who knocked me out of last week's tournament made a big raise with pocket 8's and I quickly shoved, which she just as quickly called.  My aces held and I knocked her out, having her covered by about $100.  Played a few more hands, we consolidated tables, and found myself with AA again in the big blind.  The UTG big stack player raised with AQ and it was folded to me.  Shove.  He calls and I double up.  Sweet!

Moving to the final table, I am not the short stack, but only about $8000 in chips.  There are a couple of massive stacks and they quickly knock two players out and reduce one large stack to the short one.  We are paying 5 places tonight and there are 7 of us left when the biggest stack min-raises from the button with a limper and me in the big blind @ 500/1000 blinds.  I have A/A and 6000 in chips.  Shove!  The raiser doesn't really take long to call and reveals his J/10 off-suit.  The flop has a queen as the door card and I get a bad feeling which is confirmed when the next two cards are 8/9 for the flopped straight.  There are two clubs and I have the ace, so when the turn is another club my hopes raise for a moment.  The river is a diamond and I am out.  As I walk away from the table I hear them discussing paying the bubble.

Two Stories About Why I am Getting Senile and another bad beat story

This week was a tough one for me.  In Seattle my car suffered this scrape on the post in my daughter's condo while backing up.  Returning to Cannon Beach enjoyed the other grandkids for a few days, returned them to Portland, then made a quick run to Costco.  Forgot that I had placed my Kindle and Ipod on the roof of the car.  They flew off when I entered the highway.  My good luck was that a local saw it happen, retrieved them and contacted Amazon.  Recovered and unbroken.

My bad beat was at the Legion last night.  Dealing table 2 I was down to starting chip stack after the break.  After surrendering both blinds (100/200 level), had only 1800 when I dealt myself 10/10.  Raising to $500, I was re-raised to $1000 by a lady who I had not seen play here before.  RB called the raise and re-raise.  The flop was a monster for me, 3/10/J.  With only $800 behind, I went all-in.  The lady then re-raised all-in for $1000 more.  RB tanked, and finally folded.  I put her on a big pair, and was correct, A/A.  The turn brought a queen, rut-row, don't do this......river was the king for her ace high straight on the runner runner.  Player down.

Fortunately I was able to knock out several players and the final table formed by 9 p.m. and I drove home with my tail between my legs.

Peace Shattered in Cannon Beach

The past week has been disturbing here.  Friday a toddler was discovered dead in a hotel room very near our house (about 5 blocks) and her sister was severely injured with life-threatening cuts.  The mother was missing, and as the story unfolded, it was found that she was in a custody fight with her husband.  Eventually an arrest warrant was issued for her, and she was captured yesterday and charged with murder and attempted murder.  There has not been a murder in our town for over 50 years, and almost any crime is rare (though 2 banks have been robbed within recent years).

I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop Sunday when newsmen came in from one of the Portland TV stations (Katu 2 ) and asked if there were any local residents they could interview.  Since I was the only one there they had to settle for me.  I caught the brief segment last night, but unfortunately no DVR so could not record it.  I was interviewed a short time later by another station but could not find it (FOX12) on my channels.  I thought that it was a better interview having had the earlier experience.  They basically asked me how this affected the locals.  "Not much", I replied.  Crime is everywhere and it touches us every once in a while.  It affected me mostly because of the age of the youngest victim (2)....same age as my youngest granddaughter.  The older girl is 13, just a little older than my oldest granddaughter.  It is a horrible thing to contemplate hurting children, and this connection was too close to home.

Hug your kids and your grandkids.

http://www.katu.com/news/local/Jessica-Smith-Cannon-beach-children-found-dead-269747141.html

My Problems are Legion

Playing poker at the Legion last night I was disappointed in my table draw.....table 4.  It is the first to break, so that is no good, plus the players were a bad mix of LAGs, Calling Stations, and clueless with a decent player or two thrown in the mix.  My first hand was a portent of the future.  Sitting in the small blind with KQ, I completed the blinds with several limpers.  The flop was king high, 9/10/k to be precise.  I went ahead a bet out with the probable best hand but a very "wet" board.  I was called in at least 3 spots.  The turn was a brick, but put a flush draw on board.  Another bet saw 2 callers.  At this point I had invested about 20% of my starting chip stack.  The river was a queen, which gave me two pair, but was also the completion of both  flush and straight draws.  I checked, the big blind bet $300, and had one caller.  I folded.  He raked the pot with KJ, for the straight, the other player commented that he had 2 pair.  I was drawing dead!!!  Nice start to the evening.

Winning a big pot later with AK, and later with K10 suited with a flopped flush, I was cruising around 1 1/2 times starting chips just before the break when this hand happened.  The very LAG player raised to $250 in middle position, a clueless player (I will elaborate on this later), called and I called on the button with AQ.  The flop was great (I thought) with queen high, but two diamonds on a coordinated board...something like Q/J/8.  The LAG bet $500, and the clueless called.  I was feeling like the lead bettor had nothing and the caller had a flush draw so decided to re-raise all-in.  The original LAG quickly folded, but the caller quickly called (I had him covered by $600).  He turns over......AA!!!!! WTF!!!!  Definitely the weirdest play of aces I have seen for a while.  I fail to find another queen and he massively chips up while I am left with 3 big blinds after the ensuing break.  I really do not understand his failure to raise at any point in the hand.  Why would he allow other players to enter when he can isolate the LAG preflop?  Why would he allow a flush draw to call on the continuation bet?  All of my chips are going into the pot anyway after the flop ( I would have definitely folded to a pre-flop re-raise from him) even if he had raised, but his flat call was just very poor play.  He even commented that he thought I had a set.  If that was the case, could he not find a fold?  PS, he was the player who had flopped 2 pair on my first hand loss....why in the world would he not raise me to drive out the draws?  Again a passive play that turned out bad for him earlier.

My last hand was in the big blind after the break.  With 1/3 of my chips in the pot, the LAG in the small blind...who had chipped up nicely, went all-in with a calling station limping 2 UTG.  I had A/10 suited, so I called...putting him on a small pair.  The other player also called showing AK, while the all-in had 6/6.  His pair held up and both of us were eliminated. 

Thinking About Poker Basics

The more poker I play the more I seem to get confused.  What constitutes a good hand?  When should you raise?  How much?  I do not seem to get the results I want (although I do make a heck of a lot of final tables) but how do I improve my play/results?  I watch players rake big pots with hands I would cheerfully throw away, then I lose with what I consider premium holdings.  I was thinking about hand selection this morning and have a few comments:

1.  Here is what I consider premium hands.

• Big Pairs.  By that I mean only three hands:  AA, KK, QQ (and am soft on this one)
• Big suited connectors:  AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, QJ, and sometimes J10.  Note that these are all broadway cards.  I could include A10 in this mix, but I am not bullish on it, nor on AJ as I see too many people felted with these holdings.
• Medium pairs:  JJ, 1010, 99, 88.  These pairs often get you in big trouble as any raise you make short of all-in will miss your hand most of the time and find an overcard nearly 100% of the time.  Any time you raise and are called you can expect one of the above mentioned premium hands to call and probably beat you.  An all in bet really is a semi-bluff, though you probably have the best hand pre-flop.
• Suited connectors:  10/9, 9/8, 8/7, 7/6.  The smaller connectors do not seem to me as winners often enough.
• Small pairs:  77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22.  These can be powerful hands, but usually only when they hit sets.  I like to play these very, very cautiously.   

All other hands could be viewed as "situational hands"....those gapped suited connectors like Q/10, J9, etc.  Single gappers can be good, particularly if higher ranks.  The suitedness does not help much if you are counting on winning with a flush.  The do make sneaky straights, but require hitting the gap.  Same goes for two gappers, but you obviously need to hit both cards in the middle.  Two pair hands are pretty good usually when you play these....but consider that you might be in deep straight trouble with people playing the connectors of 6/7 when you have 5/8.  You will probably win most of the time, but playing for a big pot with someone with a lot of outs.  When I speak of situational hands, most of the time I like these in unraised pots in the blinds or button...never in early or middle position.

The only other hands worth mentioning are the suited aces.  I like all of them except A/6 & A/7 due to the low kicker value.  They just get you in trouble most of the time.  The low suited aces are valuable for wheel draws, which add a little something-something.  A/8 and A/9 have fair kicker value.

Why do I list these obvious things?  Just trying to keep in the front of my mind which are playable hands.  We often get drawn into playing stuff that frankly is totally speculative, particularly if playing loose in the blinds.  My tendency is to muck nearly all blind hands unless they are premium, and even some of those against a raise.  I will raise the big blind if folded to my SB with these, but sometimes it is just as good to limp and hope for a raise so I can put in a big re-raise.  That said, limping is usually very lame as you may give the 9/2 a free shot at flopping two pair or trips...and that is not good if he would have folded pre-flop.

    

Seaside American Legion

I had heard about their Monday night tournament for a long time, but never really thought about driving over to try it until yesterday.  A couple of the guys from here talked about it, said it had a little better structure plus more starting chips, so thought I would give it a try since I am going to miss next Friday's tournament in town.

The Seaside Legion is really a bigger and nicer version of ours.  Big open area for bingo, dances, etc., interesting displays (MIA/POW) featuring some M-16's and other cool stuff.  The tournament itself seemed a lot more.....unstructured.  The guy taking money did not take your name, hit me up for an extra $5 because I was a first time player (said it went to replacement equipment, cards, etc.).  There were tons of guys from Cannon Beach there, so I felt pretty much at home.  My table draw was table 2...there were three tables.....and many familiar faces plus some new ones.  The dealer was a young hotshot player who absolutely was the sloppiest dealer I have ever seen.  Once he even mucked his own cards.  It was fairly chaotic.  I survived, chipping up a little before the tables broke.  My best hand was flopping two pair, betting, getting called, betting the turn when a third heart hit, getting flat called, then filling up on the river where I check raised the flush.  Other than that no other outstanding pots.  Which brings me to a subject that really should be reserved for a separate blog post, but here it is:  Donk calls.

I watched a couple of players bust out with really big stacks when they didn't properly appreciate the texture of the board.  Example:  Obvious broadway straight with a 10/K/A showing and all-in over his bet and re-raise....he had AK.  Just really a case of not being able to fold a hand or recognize strength.
Aces lost big to possible straight (he had 2 pair) on a baby flop.  Again, pot control with single pair hand would be called for.  Another big stack fell with JJ vs QQ.  She let herself get drawn into an all-in situation pre-flop.  Just bad judgement in my opinion.

Anyway, I unfortunately was not the beneficiary of any of these donk plays, but the sloppy dealer was.  He donked off a ton of chips with AJ vs. QQ....again, why risk big stacks with a marginal hand?  Saw another player fall with AJ.....when will they learn?

We got down to 5 players with 4 places paid.  Two of us were on life support (2-3 big blinds).  The suggestion was made to pay the bubble boy.  All of us agreed except the big stack.  The other tiny stack reminded him that he had given him a ride there (about 30 miles)...so he changed his mind.  Good for me as the other shorty got them all in bad with A8 vs A9 but spiked an 8.  I was blinded out shortly afterward having won exactly one hand on the final table and put my last chip in with K3 suited vs. 9/9 and managed to hit only my 3.

Things That Drive Me Crazy

I am referring almost exclusively of course to online poker, but some similarities exist in "real" poker.

1.  People shoving preflop with any two cards the first hand dealt.  This happens a lot in "Zynga" poker.

2.  Players calling preflop shoves the first hand with any two cards.

3.  Players overcalling preflop shoves the first hand with any two cards.

Note:  I will sometimes join this donkfest, but typically I will have only one of three hands, AK suited, AA or KK.....sometimes QQ.  All other hands I fold.  That said, I prefer to preflop fold nearly all hands in any position due to the excessive number of players limping.  I prefer to save my chips, let the donks knock each other out and end up "in the money" even if short stacked and outplay 1 or 2 opponents.  I do this a lot.

4.  Players making a min-raise from the small or big blind after nearly the whole table limps.  What is going through their little mini-pea-brain minds?  The pot gets swollen if all call (and they all will) and becomes a drawing nightmare with the initial raiser woefully out of position.  Usually when cards are finally exposed they have raised with garbage hands like weak aces, K10, etc.

This brings me to a play I actually like, which is a big stack who min-raises after lots of limpers from the button.  This accomplishes so much!!!  First, they take command of the hand if no one re-raises.  Second, they put pressure on short stacks, taking some more of their chips.  And, they get reaction from the "real hand" who then raises big, again pressuring short stacks and enabling the big stack to fold.

5.  Out of proportion raises at any time.  O.K., you raised to $500 when the blinds are 30/60, everyone folds, you pick up blinds.  Nice move assmunch, way to waste your big hand.  I see this move way too much even in live games.  I really understand big raises with scary boards, but it is so much better to just give them poor odds for their draws, not crazy raises that if called put your tournament in jeopardy due to the inflated pot size when the draw hits or making them "pot committed" to the river.

6.  The trappers in the world who whine after they sneakily limp with their giant hand and are snapped by 2/6 in the big blind who would have mucked to a min raise.

7.  Trash talk online.  Had two this morning that would not stop.  I personally knocked both of them out.

There will be more as I think about it.  Will add to comments.