Rookies

It seems like many tournaments have a few players who kind of wander in off the streets and decide to play poker.  Since our Friday night tournament is mostly regulars they are easy to spot.  Dealing table 1 last night I had one 2 seats to my right.  He entered virtually every pot, whether raised or not, and would call to the river most hands, busting some bluffs or catching lucky.  He even limped in with aces in a multi-way pot which is probably one of the most dangerous things you can do.  Yet, they held up to his beginner's luck.  I lost about half my stack to him while playing A/8 in an unraised big blind.  The flop came 9/9/8, and when checked to him he made a 200-300 bet which I called.  The turn was another 8 which he also bet 300, and which I called.  On the river, I bet small, 200 into him as a "blocking" bet as I wanted a showdown but not for a lot of chips.  He flat called and turned over....9/2 unsuited.  Wow.

His luck continue with really crappy hands and even inspired another player to start playing crap, which they also won with.  We had a total of 42 players and I managed to make it to #10, the final table bubble.  Very short (one blind plus 100), I shoved from the button with 6/6.  The small blind (aforementioned inspired player) who had the chip lead called with k/4 of diamonds.  A four on the flop and runner runner diamonds put 2/3/4/5 on the table making my straight but losing to the backdoor flush.

My point about rookies is this.  First of all, they play way too many hands.  Second, they never raise. Third, they seldom recognize the nuts, and fourth, they call too much.  Another rookie near the final table with a good stack failed to shove with his AQ suited, letting the inspired player play the unraised blind with a crap hand, only to lose with top pair vs. 2 pair that would not have played to a raise. They just flat out do not know how to play!!!!  However, this makes them dangerous as they also will never fold to a bluff with any pair, overcard, or ridiculous draw so they are essentially unbluffable and often run you down when a more prudent experienced player would wait for a better spot.

While the rookies often accumulate big stacks through luck and great cards, they also are a virtual goldmine when you are strong against them.  The frustrating part is when you cannot get in a hand against them and instead watch them donk off to another player.. 

2 Outers & One Armed Bandits

Wednesday night at Wheeler did not go as planned.  I was playing tight and good, with over starting stack after the break.  A one armed player at my table (arm in sling), was catching lucky knocking a player out with 2/2 vs. J/10 who shoved all-in.  He hit is jack on the flop, but the turn brought the 2.  Nice.  I found K/K 3 UTG with two limpers.  With blinds at 50/100, now $350 in the pot, I raised to $400.  Everyone folded except the first limper, our one armed friend.

With a flop of 10/9/4 and a check to me, I shoved about $900 which was quickly called.  He had pocket 10's and had hit his 2 outer set.  I am very sure after playing with this guy for a while that he would have called any bet with his pair of 10's, so big missed opportunity.  My friend Mike reports that he also eliminated him in a blind vs. blind final table hand when the guy had aces.  Some days some people just run lucky.

My focus in this tournament was paying more attention to limping.  I recently watched some youtube videos on the subject.  Essentially, I am never "open limping", or overlimping except in late position with multiple limpers and then only with good quality hands, small pairs, suited big connectors, etc.  It worked well for me as I raised with some small pairs that I would have previously been tempted to limp with, but as open limper raised instead.  Worked every time as it isolated or took the pot uncontested.  The continuation bet took the pot if one caller. 

Poker Leaks and Insanity

We are all familiar with the now trite saying about the "definition of insanity" (doing the same thing and expecting different results).  I think that this applies to my poker game.  We all have some "leaks" in our game, actions that do not optimize results, or simply mistakes we frequently make.  I am on a quest to identify my leaks and plug them up.  So, here are a few of my usual suspects.  The truth hurts.

1.  Calling big bets (and sometimes even re-raising) when I have only a medium strength hand, and the board is super scary.  Example:  board is paired or possible flush/straight and I have something like top pair/top kicker or two pair.

2.  Folding too often to continuation bets.

3.  Not raising/betting often enough when in position when no strength has been demonstrated.

4.  Not bluffing enough.

5.  Overvaluing top pair when there is significant action.

6.  Failing to take enough time when calling or going all-in.

7.  Putting too much money in the pot with draws.

8.  Not defending my blinds often enough (including small blind vs. big blind).

9.  Either not slow playing enough or blowing people off the hand with the nuts.

Sadly, there are probably more, but this is what I need to deal with right now. For those of you who may play against me, I have just given you ammunition to take me down.  However, since I am aware of these problems, and can think on several levels, be careful trying to exploit the information.  I may be defending my big blind with aces, or seeming to be bluffing while holding the nuts, etc.   

Altercations

Dealing table 2 at the legion yesterday there was an uncomfortable situation which I could not figure out how to handle.  One player was plugged in with earphones, hoodie up, sunglasses on and not really paying attention to the game.  He missed some bets, raises, etc.  The young player next to him asked him to pay attention and things got ugly.  It was trading a lot of words, "don't tell me what to do", physical jabs, threats to punch, etc.  Everyone had enough of it.  The wise pro next to me, Ray, told me to just ignore them.  I gave them a verbal warning which did not have any effect.  They finally did settle down, but I think a discussion with the tournament director is due.  If they should happen to be seated next to each other or at the same table and start the same stuff I would like to deal them out until they both STFU!!!  There should be consequences for this type of behaviour.

I really wanted hoodie boy to go bust as he was playing super aggressively, shoving early.  He got hurt once with his QQ going down to A8, but he came back strong, eliminating 2 players with AA vs. 8/8 and K/K.  What is ironic is that he busted aces earlier with 8/8 vs. A/A.  It pays to be lucky catching 2 outers.  The KK was Ray who also was eliminated on Wednesday with the same hand and same matchup against AA.  Very cold deck.

Needless to say, I again failed to cash or even FT.  Can't even remember my last hand, it was that bad. 

Get Back Up

In my new spirit of "not whining", I will simply report that things did not go well for me on Wednesday night.  I raised the first hand of the tournament with 9/9 and check folded when the inevitable over cards-flopped.  My most disappointing hand was J/7 of hearts.  There was a pre-flop raise (min) by a player holding 6/6 which I called from the big blind.  The flop had two hearts and was paired.  I bet around $120 as I recall, and was called.  The turn was a blank, I fired $120 again, call.  The river was the 6 of hearts, giving me the flush and him the full house.  I bet $120, he raised to around $500, and due to the pot size, called.  Damn.

My last hand of the evening was down to $350 in chips, on the button with AQ.  Blinds were $50/100, and of course I shoved when folded to me.  The small blind (one of my worst nemeses in Wheeler) re-raised.  Rut-Row!  He always has me "notched" with a bigger kicker or a bigger pair. This time, AK, what else?  Player down.

Victory, Sweet Victory

After definitely not cashing in the quarterly $100 tournament, I was bummed but had at least broken even with my tip money.  So, playing online yesterday got all the luck that was missing on Sunday.  Placed 13th in $25 Guaranteed prize pool after very late registration.  The .50 buy-in paid off to the tune of $1.04.  While in the midst of this one, had signed up for a later one, and for a while playing both simultaneously.  After busting in the first one, concentrated on the second.  Here is the result:

My bankroll is now up over $40, so planning on playing some bigger buy-in tournaments soon.

Luck Runs Out

Thinking about Friday's tournament today I have decided that I really got lucky multiple times.  The first piece of luck was calling 7/7's shove with my AK.  I was lucky to outdraw him and catch an ace. Had him covered so not at risk.  Later, I lost a big chunk of my chips with AQ vs. KK.  Thinking later about it, unfortunately I was motivated by the person I was calling as really felt he is not as good as his opinion of himself.  I should have paused a moment, checked his chip count and probably folded. He had way more chips than I thought.  He had been cocky earlier, hitting a full house against trips but had lost a lot of the chips.

I ended up extremely short stacked just prior to a break to consolidate tables, and folded my 4/7 of spades which would have won a volume pot.  My re-draw seat worked out o.k. and was able to accumulate enough chips to make the final table.  One player (Ray, our resident pro) was first out on a cooler, his KK vs. AA.  I had only one blind but tripled up with my 7/7 vs. 4/4 on a 7/4/x/8/8 board. My main pot was smaller than the side as someone else had trips, so the 4/4 did well.

One more triple up, again with only one blind, with K/10 on a great flop of J/Q/A.  So, lucky multiple times.  Our resident calling station in the meantime was crushing the table.  He absolutely could not miss, calling big raises and taking it down with weak hands.  He was my only caller with a 2.5 blind shove with my 4/4.  He had A/5 and flopped 2 pair.  The flop was this:  A/5/x, there were two hearts. He had no hearts, mine was the 4.  The turn brought the two of hearts to give me lots of outs, including a straight flush with the 3 hearts:

2-4's
4-3's
8-hearts  (the ace did not count since that would give him a full house)
Total:  14 outs

Naturally, the river card was the ace of hearts, giving me a flush and him the full house.  It pays to be lucky.  Down in 8th place, paying 5 places with 28 players.  At least I did not bubble.  Oh yes, the player I mentioned earlier with his KK did not make the final table.

Oregon Aces, Re-Thinking my Position

When I first began regular live tournament play I had a "secret" pre-flop raising hand.  There were conditions that had to be met.  First, I had to be the first to enter the pot.  Second, the cards had to be off-suit.  Third, they had to be 2/3.  Call it my bluff hand if you will, but it worked out very well for me on several occasions.  The reason I liked the hand is because it is so well hidden when you hit big.  I first saw an Asian guy play it that way in a cash game at Spirit Mountain casino.  He flopped a wheel and won a giant pot with big aces paying him off.  It of course has failed me miserably at times as well, like once when I flopped two pair and was counterfeited on later streets.

So, this morning playing in a SNG online, I lost half my chips to 2/3 when he called my pot size bet then hit two pair on the turn.  My final hand in the tournament was also against 2/3.  I limped in late position with K/9 of clubs.  The board was 4/5 clubs/X.  The flop was checked or min bet.  The turn was a blank and I bet out pot size.  The 2/3 of clubs shoved, I called.  The river?  The 6 of clubs, what else?  Straight flush takes it down.

So, anyway, for those of you who read my blog and play against me, BEWARE!!!!!  The Oregon aces may be in play!!!!!  Side note:  many in Oregon have not heard this widely used Washington poker term.

FT CURSE BROKEN?

My consecutive streak of 5 final tables and two bubbles with no cashes has at last been broken.  Last night at Wheeler was able to eke out a 4th place finish for $110.  We were on the bubble and I had a very bad feeling particularly when the short stack shoved and was called in two spots.  Rather than check it down a new player bet into the dry pot, the other player said, "Really?" and folded AJ.  He tabled A/3, the all-in player tabled A/9 and won the hand with his kicker as no one had a pair.  Crap! Later, the same player called my AQ shove with AJ of hearts and rivered a flush.  The short stack went out just before me, and I was in the money.  Whew!  If my AQ had held I would have been 2nd in chips..........  

Additional Resolutions

1.  Take more time for decisions, particularly going all-in.
2.  Defend blinds more.
3.  Don't overcall shoves.
4.  Be more aggressive on the button.

Doo Dah

Off to the races this morning.  Sometimes I just love the players in the low limit turbo play money SNG's.  I lost almost 1/2 my chips with 8/8 called by 9/x unconnected unsuited garbage.  Naturally he hit a 9.  Limping in with Q/10, I was delighted to see a flop of 8/9/J with 2 spades (I had no spades). One of the early limpers open shoved.  Hmmm, I call with the nuts.  One other player called and we see the first shove is J/5 (no spades).  The other player I think had an 8.  Both players had me covered.

Now, here comes the turn, another Jack.  O.K.  Now the river, case Jack for quads. Unfreakingbelievable. Goin' to run all night, goin' to run all day.  I'll bet my mon-ey on the bob-tail nag, somebod-y bet on the bay.

New Week's Resolutions

Hey, it's never too late to make resolutions is it?  Despite being in July, I have been thinking about some good poker resolutions.  Like all of them, they are probably designed to be broken, but I am only human (not cyborg like Arnold).  So, here goes.

1.  I hereby resolve to limp less and raise more (except when trapping, see #2)

2.  I resolve to trap more.  This means that I will not blow people off hands when I flop monsters, nor will I raise out of position with vulnerable middle pairs (up to and including jacks).

3.  Going along with the raising out of position idea, I will resolve not to blow people out of the hand by overbetting huge with small pairs....besides that is one huge tell.

4.  I resolve to commit my chips earlier rather than reach the final table short stacked.  I would rather go home early with no money than go home late with no money.

5.  See more flops early, particularly in multiway limps and late position.

Update on my resolutions thru Friday tournament.

I did really well in gambling before the final table, reaching it with approximately 7,000 in chips.  Not one of the big stacks, but a workable one.

I did see more flops, but made a huge mistake from the big blind on a mult-way limp.  The small blind who characteristically (know your players!!!) plays very passively put in a min-raise.  I folded due to his tightness and passivity with 2 or 3 players behind me.  He had raised with AK suited and the board was checked to the river.  I had folded J/4.  There was a J and a 4 on the flop, with another jack on the turn.  Yikes!

I did well by just calling a small pre-flop raise from a hyper-aggressive young player with my pocket 9's.  I flopped a set on a very dry board (think maybe a queen, and small card rainbow).  I filled up on the turn with another queen, everyone checking the flop and turn.  On the river, as last action, I put in a small bet, all folded unfortunately and my 9's full of queens went on the high hand board for a round (ultimately knocked off by Q/9 full, then quad 6's, then quad 7's).  I thought I played fine, just could not get the young gun to fire some rounds. Side note:  He busted out shortly afterward by open shoving with AJ and called by AK. (Jr. down)

My final hand on the FT with 7 players remaining (paying 6, not the bubble boy), I was completely and utterly card dead the entire time.  Down to 3400 with blinds @ 500/1000 in the small blind, one limper to me so I shove with the best hand I had seen so far, Q/J. The big blind quickly folded and the limper called with.....AK!  Explaining a bit, the limper is a pretty passive player and will lay down a hand against aggression most of the time.  He had also open/shoved a fairly small stack a couple of times and had chipped up with no callers.  He had a medium stack now that would have been pretty crippled if he lost.  The door card was a jack, but followed by a king.  I missed my outs and bubbled out yet again.  Thinking long and hard about my play, would have preferred to shove earlier, but really no cards or opportunities as there had been multiple shoves before me with 2 bustouts.  There was a lot of aggression on the FT from the monster stack and really could not find a spot.  I was frankly surprised to see the AK as I expected something more like a small or medium pair.  With his stack would think a shove would have been better than a limp/call.  I do not think he was trapping, but if so worked out well for him.  If he had raised or shoved my hand would have been an easy fold.