First Hand Out

Playing in the "Morning Moose" today, I limped in early position with 8/9 of hearts.  Probably 7 limpers total...typical of this $25 tournament.  Flop was awesome, 6/7/10.  Under the gun player bets 200.  With two diamonds out there I decide to reraise all-in to either induce the flush draws to fold or let them call on the draw.  Everyone folded to the original raiser who pondered a bit, then said, "I call, if you have the 8/9 you have me".  I said "Yep", and turned it over and he showed 10/10 for top set. Turn was a brick, then the board paired with a 6 on the river.  Player down.

Moving over to the cash game (a second one had just started), I watched aces get cracked by a flopped set of 8's (Dougy), then the very next hand I have the aces, and when it is raised to $8 to me, and the guy whose aces were cracked tilt/calls with 4/8, I reraise to $28.  Both players call.  Flop is small and slightly connected but with a 4 and I bet $20.  Both players call.  Turn is a brick, I bet $20 again, and both call, with the tiltman going all-in for less.  River is an 8, I bet $20, am called by original raiser who tables JJ.  I take the side pot, and the main pot goes to the 4/8.  Sick.  Aces are cracked the next time they are dealt (by 8/3 no less) who makes the dumb end of the straight on a A/9/10/J/Q board.  Very sick.

I end up cashing out for $315 on my $100 buy-in, so good day for me.  It was one wild table I gotta tell you.  Saw some major league chip stack swings (Hal up $500 to the felt for example).

Royal Today

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Playing in a NL Omaha tournament today I hit my royal flush after shoving on the flop with the open ended straight flush draw.  Nice river card.

Picking on Roland

Felt very fortunate to have the $100 bounty player land on my table this morning, particularly since I had doubled up.  Roland got the seat to my immediated left, which meant that he had position on me.  I limped the first hand, mostly because he was forced to post.  I caught a piece of the flop and bet, he raised big and forced to fold.  This was the pattern that continued until he knocked me out!  I raised his big blind with 2/6 suited, he defended heads up with 7/3 suited.  Flop was 7/3/5, and when I bet he raised and I folded my gutshot straight draw.  Later, I raised with J/Q, he called with A/10, another player shoved and we both folded.

Last hand, I was extremely short having called a short stack shove from my blind with 9/2 suited only to see A/9 suited.  In the big blind, with only 100 behind, Roland min raised Brian who called (very loose player).  I found A/10 so I am in it to win it.  Roland shoves blind before the flop, and turns over A/A.  Player down.

Be careful what you wish for.  I wanted him on my table, and honestly raised or called a couple of times just to punish him or try to short stack him.  Bad idea. 

Thought Provoking Article

http://regressing.deadspin.com/why-its-hard-for-poker-pros-to-make-a-living-playing-l-1526098295

Swept Away by The Tsunami

Playing in the tournament above the Tsunami Grill in Wheeler last night decided that it just wasn't for me.  For starters, it is about a 20 minute drive in the dark, raining, around scary curves with elk and deer lurking in the woods, ready to wreck your car at any moment.  It is the same guys who play Friday night at the Legion, so that part is fine.  They are mostly the usual suspects and am familiar with their play.  You get extra chips (100) for showing up early but the bad news is that you definitely need them.  Starting chips is only 1000 with 15 min. blinds starting at 10/20.  You can become alarmingly short stacked very quickly, as I quickly discovered.

Entering a couple of pots early on with AQ, 66, 89 suited I folded to the preflop raiser when I failed to connect on the flop.  Now down to about 800 in chips, blinds up, folded some blinds and down to around 600, shoved with AK, picked up blinds, won another hand and eventually down to 525 two under the gun.  Blinds were 25/50, but going up next hand to 50/100 so when I discovered KQ I quickly shoved my 10 big blinds which were about to be 5 big ones.  Everyone folded to the big blind, Robert, who had won several pots and quickly called with 7/7.  Robert, you may remember from earlier posts is my nemesis who I always lose to (except for the first hand of a tournament where I flopped quad 2's vs. his nut flush draw (and I do mean nut flush as he had a draw to straight flush).  Surprised to win that one.  Anyway, following my recent pattern I failed to hit my coinflip draw and was out.  Good news was I got home in time to watch most of American Idol, but got distracted watching Grimm Season 1, which is my latest binge watch tv show.

I am not a big fan of horror shows, so I turned it off when originally aired, but found it very humorous, good acting, good plots, music and manageable gore.  It is an engaging storyline and will have to now finish season 1 and move on to seasons 2 and 3.  My binge watching is getting seriously behind as I have a few others going.
  

Some Practice Tournament Ideas

Because I play on several free sites, Pokerstars, Zynga (facebook), and Cardplayer Poker, I have a fun way to experiment with different styles of play.  Some things I will be trying this week:

1.  Never calling.  Either re-raising or folding every hand.
2.  Raising 100% of the time from the button (unless raised before me).
3.  Raising 100% of the time from the small blind if folded to me.
4.  Raising 100% of the time from the big blind if no-one has raised, particularly if small blind is only caller.
5.  Calling raises from early position, then shoving after the flop with any two cards.
6.  Min-Raising when I am the big stack on every hand (from late position).

These are all excercises in ramping up my aggression, which is one of the problems I have as a TAG (tight aggressive) player.  This type of play is the LAG (loose aggressive) style which many players use today.  When I am playing in real money games I intend to mix up my style more which should make me less predictable.

I will let you know how this experiment works out.  I tried it in a free tournament this morning on CP by open shoving with 5/6 suited.  I turned two pair but was eliminated when the board paired 8's...my opponent had A/A.  LOL.

Learning to Embrace My Inner Donkey

I am really trying to get a handle on this donkey thing.  I just keep getting snapped by the luckboxes, so I am trying a new strategy....If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  Almost knocked a player out by calling his raise (he had 9/9) with my 5/3 offsuit.  I flopped a 5, called his bet, turned a 3, shoved, he called but the board paired aces and counterfeited me.  Guess I am not such a lucky donk.  Fortunately, I was chip leader and thus lived to fight another day...coming in 2nd in the tournament.....losing my final hand with Q/9 vs. Q/10 on a flop of Q/10/9.

Lynne, reading your comment on my last post, I feel your pain.  That was donkdom to the Nth degree.  If you look at my rules for donks, you will see that they cannot fold any pair or draw.  And, always remember that an unimproved pair is not the nuts, even if it is an overpair to the board.

So, as I am embracing my inner donk, I have resolved to change my game up a bit.  I am going to experiment with playing position, not cards, and stack size, not cards or position.  Try to think of my "new" game as one of rock, scissors, paper.  We all know the rules on that one.  So:

Position beats cards
cards beat stack
stack beats position

If you think of poker as "playing the player", "playing the stack", "playing the position" rather than simply believing that you must have premium hands, or flops to win, then you have lots more opportunity.  For a while I intend to ignore my cards pretty much and try winning by playing better.  That will include playing some real donkey hands, so will let my dedicated readers know how that turns out.

I am planning on playing tomorrow night at the semi-private game above the restaurant.  Have not had good luck there but time for a change!!!

Donkey Poker

I will be the very first to admit that playing for play money online is the very definition of donkey poker.  Yet, there are moments when the very donkeyness of the players transcends even this definition.  Playing in a 200/400 Omaha game today a player who I know from previous experience raises preflop with some pretty weak shit raised.  Sitting with AK23, I naturally reraised him and got several callers (we are playing 6 handed).  I flop the nut flush draw plus the nut low draw.  He bets, I raise, callers.  Turn does not improve me, everyone checks and I bet my monster draws.  Called everywhere.  River counterfeits my low and a straight comes in with some random crap this guy is playing.  Really?


So, here are a few things that I observe about donkey play.

1. They raise a lot pre-flop.  It can be with a good hand, a favorite hand, a small pair, gapped connectors, or ???? 
2. They raise out of position from the small and big blinds with mediocre hands (see above, but also include hands as weak as A/10, or and suited ace.
3. They will call (or bet) with any pair, including bottom or middle pair.
4. They will chase any draw to the river.
5. They will play any ace combination.
6. They will play any two suited cards.
7. They will accept any bad odds in tournament play, including calling with all their chips on a draw.
8. They will bluff too much, particularly if in position.
9. They will call on super scary boards with weak holdings, including "the dumb end of the straight", with a low suited card with 4 of them on the board, the "under-full".
10. They play too many hands.
11. They play odd combinations of big/little like Q/4, K/2, etc. even unsuited, and from early position.
12. They tend to run very lucky yet never know when to quit when ahead and usually take the chips they have stolen from you and give them to someone else.
13. They are impossible to bluff, as they will call you down super light.

I am sure that other things will come to mind later, but you get the idea.  It is impossible to get into the mind of the donkey, even if you wanted to, but I think the idea of action and gambling are a big part of their psyche.  They seem to be a part of every table, so you just have to be aware that they will snap you with two pair on seemingly innocent boards (think K/2 vs. your aces) and that when a flush comes in one of them will have a weak ass one.  You cannot go far wrong to fold if they are giving you a lot of action and you cannot beat two pair.

Poker Etiquette Tip

https://www.wptbootcamp.com/table-tip-avoid-discussing-hand?utm_source=Newsletter+Issue+%231&utm_campaign=nutsnewsletter1&utm_medium=email


You see this a lot at the table.  Why help anyone?

Joe's least Favorite Hand...Now Mine.

First a word about AQ.  While it is rated among the top 10 hands in poker, I am getting completely wamboozled by it, no matter if I have it or am against it.  Some recent examples for your edification:

Friday tournament:  Called an all in (had him double covered) with my AQ vs. 10/10.  His tens held up.  Later in the same tournament, the same player raises with 10/10 and I call all-in (he now has me covered) with AQ suited.  Player down.
Sunday tournament:  My last hand, shove with AQ suited, called by QQ.  Player down.
Monday tournament:  I shove with KK, called by AQ.  He hits his ace on the river, player down.

May I just make one short comment?  WTF?  Can't win with it and can't win against it.

Additional comments about the big tournament on Sunday.  With blinds at 25/50 I raise preflop with J/J.  I am called in several places.  Flop is J/2/4 with 2 clubs (the 2 and 4).  I bet 1000 (pot is approximately 800), and am called in one position.  Turn is a king offsuite and I go all-in, having the caller covered by over 2000 chips.  He calls and turns over the 3/5 of clubs for the open ended straight flush draw.  River?  No problemo, the 6 of clubs gives him the stone cold nuts.

May I just make one short comment?  WTF?  Can't people lay down a draw, even for all their chips?

I had some discussion with a fairly educated player about the hand, and he said we were a coin flip on the flop.  Wrong.  I ran it through my poker calculator and I was a 60/40 favorite.  On the turn, it was even better for me, 70/30.  This expert claimed 17 outs twice, but he forgot that I chew up a few of them with my full house draw.  My outs to improve are J of clubs, 3-2's, 3-4's and on the turn, whatever hit (king of hearts I think) 3 of those.  So, his king of clubs is gone, as well as the jack of clubs, leaving him 4-A's, 4-6's, 7,8,9,10,Q, and K of clubs.  14 outs on the turn.

We then proceeded to discuss the wisdom of putting all your chips in on a big draw vs. a made hand.  I choose to believe that given a choice I would like to be the one with the made hand, regardless of outs.