Sweet, Sweet Victory

My poker life this year has been very disappointing.  I have been plagued with bad beats, making the final tables often but with few chips, and then finding a new way to lose.  I mentioned in the last blog that my "too tight" thing might not be working.  So, determined to loosen my game up some and also ramp up my aggression, last night it paid off for me with a win at Wheeler.  The highlights included making a very good call and a couple of good folds.

The good call came fairly early.  Playing a J/5 from the unraised big blind, the flop came J/4/4.  I bet out and was called.  The turn was a 10, putting 2 diamonds on the board.  I bet again, bigger, and was called again.  The river brought a third diamond, the 5, giving me 3 pair.  I checked, he bet big, and I thought it through.  Did he runner runner a flush?  Don't think so.  Was he slow playing an A/4?  Maybe, but think the 2nd diamond would have elicited a re-raise on the turn.  My final conclusion was that he had a jack with a good kicker, but that I had just beaten him with my better two pair.  Call!!!!  He turns over KJ for the losing 2 pair hand.  The player to my left gave me a nice compliment.

One frustrating hand was on the final table.  I was in the big blind (150/300), when the UTG min-raised.  With one caller (small blind), I considered calling with my 8/9 off, but he is a fairly solid player and with bad position decided to fold.  Bad fold.  The flop came 9/9/x and was checked.  The turn was another 9, which would have given me quads, he bet all-in, she folded.  I moaned audibly, and he said, "I had a full house".  Yep, and you would have lost all your chips.

We discussed chopping at various points, but the chip leader was dead set against it, even later when he was about the same stack as the remaining players.  He was playing lucky and aggressive, winning a couple of big pots when his bluffs went astray and were called, only to suck out.  He was talking smack to the end about how he was going to win.  Heads up he had me severely outchipped and he was playing aggressively.  I played back at him and won a big pot to draw us even.  The final hand was his move all-in with J/8, my call with Q/9.  I hit the Q on the flop but also a 10 came.  If I hit my 9 he would have beaten me with a straight. A king hit the turn, and  I begged the dealer not to give me two pair, but she did anyway when a king rivered, giving me the winning 2 pair, kings and queens.  Whew, always a sweat.

My loyal reader Don (how about more comments?  Be more like 7 Dewey!!!), asked me to elaborate something we talked about.  Basically, it was playing more aggressively by always raising if first to enter the pot.  If there were multiple limpers, it is o.k. to call, but raising helps to thin the field, and buy better position by getting later players to fold.  Also, if someone open raises before you, the best plays are to re-raise or fold.  A call is usually not the right play here.  That is about it, read a short article about this which is linked below.  I was already trying this, so just reinforced my idea.  Nothing earth shattering, just solid advice.

  http://thepokeracademy.com/aggression-leads-to-position/

Conversations at Home Depot

The fake rock on the foundation of my house fell off during construction repairs 2 years ago.  I kind of hate it anyway, so I painted the south side black.  Unfortunately it extends around to the front, and matches the rock on the driveway entry.  So, I needed to repair it.  That led to a trip to Home Depot where I wandered aimlessly in the construction materials area until I bumped into an American Legion poker regular shopping for ladders.  We chatted for a few minutes about poker and I of course whined about my latest bad beats.  He said, "You play too tight".  I argued a bit about this, saying that of course I do bluff and perhaps craftily was using my tight image to steal pots.  We talked some about the "value" of advertising by showing your hand featuring the nuts.  Lately my argument is that no one should ever show a hand unless called under penalty of buying the entire table a drink.

So, thinking of being a tight player brought up the words of "China Bob", who claimed that he did not play "tight", but played "right".  He is one of the tightest players in the morning crew who are nearly all basically as tight as bark on a tree.  That got me thinking about the wisdom of tight play.  Tight/aggresive play has always seemed to be the best route to poker success, but it seems that the game has evolved into loose calls with trash hands that snap the big holdings with some regularity.  Lost a bunch of chips this morning playing a SNG with AQ raise and call by K9 off.  Could not get the king high flop to fold despite my big chip stack and repeated bets.  So much for big bluffs!  But seriously, how do these players rationalize calling big raises from the tightest player at the table?  Implied odds????

Every once in a while, I try playing loose/aggressive poker and honestly have had some mixed success.  Raises UTG with medium suited connectors, QJ, and such with decent continuation bets have often paid off.  Humph.


 

Why I Hate The Pendleton Poker Roundup

Yesterday morning I cooked eggs for the monthly American Legion fundraiser breakfast.  One of our customers was a poker player from the Friday night game.  During a "lull" in the cooking I chatted with him for a bit.  He mentioned the poker roundup and his plans to attend.  That got me to thinking about all of the bad beats I have suffered there.  If you have previously suffered from a post about this topic, I apologize.  Just too lazy to go through all of them to find it.  So here they are, not in any particular order:

1.  Turned a straight (which was due to be chopped with another player, who jammed it), we were both rivered by a random 2 pair hand that filled up.
2.  Shoved from the big blind pre-flop with A/A, and was called by 3 limpers.  Flop was paired, checked to river, and won by AJ hitting a flush.
3.  Turned a queen high straight, all-in called, beaten by the two pair which filled up on the river.
4.  Flopped top pair with flush draw.  Beaten by flopped top set when flush did not come in.
5.  Same player, the next year (some random "pro" woman), hit her straight on the river against my flopped 2 pair.
6.  Lost with AQ vs. AK on an ace high flop.

So by my calculations, I have lost over $1000 where I got my money in good.  No wonder I am sour on Wildhorse.  My best day there was the Omaha game where I won over $500 on one hand.  Still love the picture of those chips:) .

Stupid Things To Do in Poker

We are all guilty, I believe, at some time or another doing stupid things at the poker table.  Was thinking of a few this morning.

1.  Chasing straights and flushes with insufficient odds.
2.  Chasing flushes and straights on a paired board, particularly against big bets/insufficient odds.  This is more true in omaha than hold em, but I think both apply.
3.  Playing big/little cards because they are suited.  Particularly if the highest one is a queen or worse.
4. Calling with all your chips too quickly.  My new rule is counting to 20.
5.  Shoving with small/medium pairs when there is no money in the pot and you have 20+ blinds.  Example, blinds at 2nd level, you are under the gun with 4/4.
6. Making "crying calls" when you are obviously beat.
7.  Overcalling called shoves with hands that are "obviously" behind, prime example my 6/6 of last week, and even worse, KJ overcalling that.
8.  Trying to bluff calling stations.
9.  Betting amounts that price players in.  Examples:  Min-bet semi-scary board with top pair (say 2 of a suit or 2 to a straight on the board), Min-raising from blinds after several players have limped in.
10.  Folding too often to a frequent button raiser.
11.  Failing to recognize when you are pot committed.
12.  Failing to recognize when you are not pot committed.
13.  Calling or raising small rather than shoving when you are in the red zone.
14.  Trying to trap multiple limpers with premium hands (failing to raise).
15.  Playing this stupid game.  

Road Trip

I really miss playing poker in the Tri-Cities.  For one thing, it has omaha cash games available 3 days a week.  Also, with multiple casinos there are always tournaments or hold em cash games going.  And, more importantly, I have a lot of poker friends there as well as other friends.  So, Friday morning I packed up and headed over to Pasco.  Arriving fairly early in the afternoon was able to visit my friend Bob, drop my stuff off at Ron's and get to Joker's in time for the omaha game at 6:00.  Bob was able to join me there and was seated to my immediate left.  Good times.  Bob is an excellent omaha player and showed lots of patience early unlike me who was in virtually every pot, and losing most of them.  Later Bob caught on fire and cashed out up over $200.  I eventually got hot, but too late as many players had left and short handed omaha is not easy to make money.  Stuck $117 after 5 hours of play when the table broke down.

The next day was back to back tournaments with my buddy Dewey at 8:00 and 10:00.  Managed to break even on the first one by bubbling in 4th, but no cash in the second one.

Final tournament, the $60 buy-in Sunday 10:00.  Most notable hands, raised in early position with AQ, lots of limp/callers.  Ace high flop I bet out, am raised all-in by a shorter stack with AK.  Now short (2400 with blinds @ 300/600) it gets raised to 4000 by the biggest stack at the table.  Dewey, sitting on my right calls all-in for 3800.  I have 6/6 and figure to give my bounty to Dewey or hope to see AQ and AK.  To my surprise, after my call, the 2nd biggest stack also shoves.  The original raiser calls him and still has chips.  We turn over in order, 9/9, 10/10, 6/6, and KJ.  Three pots are formed and the board runs with small cards and a 6 on the river.  I win the main pot, Dewey the first side, and the big stack the 3rd pot.  But, this takes about 10 minutes as the dealer combines two pots and gives to me, then the floor has to recreate all of the action.  Glad I am not the dealer as no way do I remember who had how much to start.  Ironically, the 9/9 wins the bounty as he is the only one covering the other big stack. Now in decent shape with 10,500, I move to the outer table and end up losing a coin flip AK vs. 8/8.  I was just lucky to get that far.

All in all a good trip, visiting some friends, playing some poker.  Life is good.   

Mis-Playing The Player

There is an adage in poker, that it is a people game played with cards.  I llike that idea.  If you frequently play with the same folks you have a pretty good idea how they play, including tendencies and tells.  Many times you are far better off by playing the player rather than playing your cards.

Last night I got caught mis-playing the player.  Our resident pro was on the button with me in the big blind with 5/2.  He is an aggressive and tricky player, so when he open limped on the button I should have clicked in the tricky part when he did not raise.  I enjoyed a big stack, probably 2nd or 3rd at the table so perhaps that was why?  I know that he "credits" me for being "a tight ass player" as he has called me that, as well as folding big bets to my 3 bets.  So, when the flop came down A/A/5, my immediate thought was that I had the best hand.  I checked, he bet, I called. The turn was a 9, I led out as my earlier call screamed strength, and he flat called.  With around 1200 remaining in my stack, and 750 in his, I shoved the river when a jack came.  He called, saying "If you have AJ, you got me", and showing A9 for the full house.  I sheepishly folded.

Knowing what I know about him and his assessment of my game, I think I would probably play the same way the next time, perhaps factoring in "trickiness" more.  Later on I saw him lose a big chunk of my chips calling down a board with 2 kings....he didn't have one, but the other guy did.  They seemed to have some history, with Pro calling him his nemesis.

My remaining chips were lost on my shove with A/10 middle position (450 chips, blinds at 75/150), to the big blind who is definitely the most conservative tight player in our game. He would fold anything but huge ace or big pairs.  Rut Row!, he had me dominated with AK.