Celebrating Friend's Success

A couple of my local poker buddies flew to Lake Tahoe this weekend to play in the $365 buy in turbo WSOP circuit event.  I haven't gotten the update on Michael, but Bob Turk came in 5th for a $3000 win.  Good job, Bob.  Looking forward to hearing all the war stories on Wednesday.

Winning Week, Bad Shoves, Hero Calls and Fear The Fedora

Interesting poker week for me.  On Wednesday I managed to get money back on the bubble. Had I played it differently (i.e. folding rather than shoving) would have moved up one place on the payout ladder.  Here is what went down.  I am rather short stacked (around 3500 with blinds at 300/600) and am in the big blind.  There is one limper (Kyle a.k.a. "Juicy") when the extremely aggressive button (Scott) who has a big stack raises to 1800.  I consider his raising range and knowing that he plays very loose aggressive style and also we are 5 handed.  I shove.  Previously he folded to my shoves when I had big hands, QQ, KK, etc.  Kyle gets all thoughtful, and with a similar stack to Scott's, mucks his cards, but holds them aside for possible later viewing.  Scott calls and as I table my A/8, he rolls over A/J.  I comment that "8's are lucky for me, you are in real trouble".  And he is as the flop is 5/2/8 !!!!  But then he hits his 2 outer jack on the turn and I am out.  Kyle turns over 5/5. Had I folded, Kyle would have called the original bet and Scott would have been out when the jack hit on the turn for sure if not sooner.  Oh well, a cash is a cash.

That brings me to Friday's game.  Early on I got stung by a hero call.  Kurt, in the big blind with 2/3 and me on the button with 4/8 suited get a flop of 2/3/k with 2 clubs.  Kurt, a tight player min-bets.  I am definitely priced in and I call.  The turn is a brick for me, Kurt bets 2 min-bets and again I call. The river is a great card for me to bluff, another king.  When he checks, I bet 3 min-bets (around 125 as I recall) and unbelievably he calls.  There is absolutely nothing that I have other than air that he can call with his counterfeited 2 pair.  Hero Call!!!!

Later I hit a big jackpot with 6/6.  I am seated to the left of "Junior" a very loose aggressive player. He has chipped up nicely, nearly knocking a player out on the first hand of the tournament.  I limp under the gun, several other players limp as well, and Junior uses this opportunity to punish us limpers by betting big on the button.  I consider folding briefly, but then decide to shove just cause I think he will fold on a steal.  Nope, he ponders briefly and calls with......10/5 suited!!!!! Wow!!!  So the flop comes down with a 6 for my set, the board pairs for a full house and I am now pretty deep in chips.  Not too many hands later I have 6/6 in the big blind (blinds at 50/100) when the good young player Chris to my immediate left raises big (500) with A/K suited.  I call for the additional 400 and the flop comes down perfect for me, 6/A/x.  I check, he shoves, I call.  Player down.

At the break I am up about 3x initial chips and already thinking about the final table.  I win a few and lose a few after we get down to 2 tables, and easily make the final table with a healthy chip stack. I lose a big blind vs. blind hand to Robert (a.k.a.RB...or Rat Bastard) for a healthy chunk of my chips when he rivers a flush vs. my top pair.  He also short stacks the dealer when he had K/10 vs. K/J on a king high flop by rivering a 10.  He is one very lucky player we all concede.  Later I get most of those chips back from him.  We play down to 6, agree to pay the bubble, then 2 more players are eliminated.  Now 4 handed I am chip leader, we take a break, and at the end of the break agree to a 4 way chop which gives us all 2nd place money.  I take the silly points for 1st place, which absolutely no one cares about except me who has been point deficient all year.  Total win, $237 less buy-in and tip netting $177.  Hey, nobody said you get rich playing this stupid game.

Oh yes, I was dressed all in black, wearing my black fedora.  Might be my new poker look.   

Hand Classifications

Doing some studying lately on James "splitsuit" Sweeney's website (www.splitsuit.com), came across this interesting thoughts.  Hands can be classified into several varieties.

1.  Bluff Hands.  You have no pair, perhaps no draw.  You are purely bluffing.

2.  Semi-Bluff Hands.  You have a draw.  Perhaps you are 4 to a straight or flush.

3.  Showdown Hands.  You have a hand with "showdown" value.  Ace high, top pair no kicker.  You would like to see a cheap river.

4.  Value Bet Hands.  You have the probable best hand and are looking to extract an extra bet from your opponent.  Say you have top pair, top kicker or maybe random two pair, even a flush that is not the nuts.

5.  Stone Cold Coconuts Hands.  Do we really need to talk about this?

So, the important thing to do is to figure out exactly what kind of hand we really have and proceed from there.  When you are raising an early position bettor with your ace high flush draw, this is obviously a semi-bluff situation.  You may indeed have the best hand (value), but it is not a pure bluff either.  It could develop into a showdown hand if you do not (heaven forbid) get re-raised off your nut draw.  You are raising to help define your hand, get a free or cheap card on the turn, or even take the pot down now.

For me, the value bet is where things get dicey.  Often with top pair top kicker for instance you think you are value betting, but in reality you have at best a showdown hand.  It will often be the best, but if you bet and are either called or check-raised you will probably lose.  A lot of "value" is lost on the river either from overplaying the hand or failing to bet it.  You have to know your opponent and figure out his range.  For instance, say you have QJ and a board something like J/3/5/9/2.  You have bet and/or raised all the way vs. a tight player.  You really have to believe that at best you have a showdown hand.  His calling range is just too tight to see him continuing with a worse kicker.  On the other hand, a loose player may call with a worse kicker.  However, being loose he may have a random 2 pair hand that is just looking for the river bet to check raise with.  That for me is the dilemma.  On the one hand we want to extract value, but on the other we don't want to give away more money than we are losing anyway.  I see the latter happen probably more than the former.  The guy just can't help betting his queen high flush only to lose to the king high.  The king high will always call (or some will re-raise) but will seldom bet, fearing the ace and looking for the donkey bluff or bet with a worse hand.  So, to me the value bet is really a very high skill talent and my hat is off to those who successfully read the players to accomplish it.

Bad Calls? The Nature of Lucky Players

Here are a couple of examples of what I consider bad calls and the player getting lucky.  Last night at the Legion, I frankly was running very card dead.  Near the break I was down to about 1/2 the starting stack of 2150 (around 1125), with blinds at 60/120 I raised 2 UTG to $250 with A/K. It was folded to the big blind who called.  The flop came down 3/3/2, and when he checked to me I shoved $875.  He called.  I am in shock to see what he called my raise with, 10/2 off suit.  He had a good but not great stack.  He explained that  it was "not that big a raise".  Hmm.  Guess he was feeling lucky as he had over-called a shove and a previous caller earlier with K/10 off and had won the pot with his king (vs. 10/10 and AQ).  So, I was prepared to walk but got a river reprieve when a king hit the board.  Yowza!

So, again running cold after the break, I am down to $900 on the button with blinds at 200/400.  I am dealt A/9 and after the table folds to me I naturally shove.  The short stack small blind folds and the chipped up big blind calls with 7/5 off.  He hits a pair on the flop, 2 pair on the turn, and a flush on the river with his 5 of diamonds.  Unbelievable.  It is true that I was too short stacked to have any fold equity and may have made the same call in his position, but sheesh.

Heading home early, decide to play in America's Card Room $10 freeroll (that is the total prize pool, with 10 spots paid).  Over 3 hours later, still playing and down to the final table.  I am 3rd in chips, running very good when I raise UTG with AQ.  One player calls, who has me outchipped.  The flop comes down K/Q/x and as 1st action I shove.  The other player snap calls with J/J.  Sweet!!! With only 2 outs against me I am looking to double up and be the massive chip leader, also laddering up one step on payouts. The turn is a 10.  Rut Row!  He now has an open ender but I am partially blocking the top with my ace.  Sure enough, the ace comes on the river giving him the runner runner straight and I am out in 8th place.  Un-freaking-believable.  A horrible call pays off big for the villain.

The screenshot below was taken maybe 10/15 minutes before the hand.

Pokerstars

I am frustrated with Pokerstars website.  I really enjoyed my daily omaha games and small buy in sit n goes.  So, when they eliminated those it was disappointing and so far have not researched other sites where I could enjoy these guilty pleasures.  Yesterday decided to enter the 50K tournament just cause I am so done with the site that I don't care about my bankroll.  There were 782 players and frankly I just wanted to min cash (however the min cash didn't even pay back your buy in.  Bastards! They have upped the rake so much it is just stupid.  They were paying 136 players, which is also dumb.  So, anyway, just putzed along and decided to play very tight thanks to some youtube videos I have been watching......will write about that soon.  Seizing a couple of opportunities I got it in bad (lower pair over higher pair, dominated hands, etc.) several times but got lucky.  Eventually I was eliminated in 5th place for a total win of $638,000.  It is fun to work your way through a huge field and only wish that could happen in a live game.

As an update, my friend Mike says that Pokerstars has reinstated the small buy in SNGs.  Will check it out today.  

Don't Give Rides To Good Players and Don't Eat Fried Foods and Drink Coffee Late at Night

It could have been worse.  Only in the sense that I could have been knocked out of the game early. Very uncharacteristically of me, I phoned a local friend and asked if he wanted a ride to the Bayway poker Wednesday night game.  I know that he hates to drive at night, so yes, he would love it.

We are seated at different tables and my cards are running so bad.  Lots of blackjack double down hands.  You know the ones, 9/2, 8/3, 7/4.  I chase a flush draw and lose 20% of my stack.  My bad, particularly early.  The other table is knocking out player after player (20 original entrants).  Players from my table are moving over constantly.  Finally I win the lottery ticket and get to move.  Yay!!! My cards do not improve.  At least immediately.  Finally, as a short stack I get them all in against a shorter stack with a king high flush draw.  As I turn my cards over I apologize that "I am on a draw", but when he tables his J/7 of spades (no pair) vs. my K/9 of spades he is in trouble.  I hit a king, not that I needed it, on the river.  Player down.  Now with a few more chips I again get them all in against a shorter stack and knock out another player.  This table really is dangerous, the other table has not lost anyone except the dealer.

I shove several times with premium hands picking up only the blinds and lose a couple of pots with QQ and AQ.  Down to 10 players I am under the gun with AJ off and only 3+ big blinds.  An obvious shove situation so that is what I do.  I am called by the player next to me, who would have been very short had he not made a hero call on a monster bluff a few minutes before with king high.  He has AK and I am out when he hits a king on the turn.  A player on the other table gets knocked out the same time and the final table is set with 8 players.  I would love to drive home now but guess what?  My "good karma" friend who I gave a ride to is one of the chip leaders!!!  They play down to 2 players and the guy who knocked me out refuses to chop, but is eliminated in just 4 hands.  I spend the time visiting with a couple of other players hanging out and watch the staff clean the floors and prepare to close.


Home much later than usual unless I have won the tournament I lie in bed with indigestion and insomnia due to the consumption of fried foods and coffee very late in the evening.  On the positive side I have some leftover broasted chicken to eat for lunch today.

Collateral Storm Damage

The big storm this weekend was kind of a dud in some ways.  Yes, we did lose power for 12 hours.  Yes, there are some trees down in town and branches and leaves everywhere.  However, the really damaging stuff managed to avoid us.  The collateral damage I sustained was missing Friday night poker.  Despite living only 4 blocks from the Legion, was really uncomfortable leaving the house with the weather so sketchy.  They had a light turnout, only 24 players, so prize pool was way down (of course there were also fewer players to get past).  Also missed the Wednesday tournament at our new place, the Bayway Tavern.


Downtown Nehalem suffered from some major flooding, but I heard that there was no damage to any of the businesses.  Thank goodness.  If we had to find yet another place to have our Wednesday game that would be very tough.

So, in summary, Nehalem flooded but o.k., just North, Manazanita torn up by tornado.  Cannon Beach, in good shape.  We were lucky.

Staycation vs. Spousecation

I used to travel.  A lot.  Nearly always for business as I was District Sales Manager for a furniture company, then later as a Regional VP for Macy's, and finally as Marketing Manager for Homes and Land magazine.  The first job required nearly constant travel, at least 1/2 the time.  The second only sporadically, but fairly regularly.  The last, one week every month.  I will have to say that I never loved travelling or being away from home, but you accept that when you take the job.  Interspersed with these jobs were others that did not require any or little travel.  You can normalize your life then, doing stuff on a regular basis, taking classes, having a schedule.

Is there a trend towards doing "staycations"?  You know, when you just stay home and do stuff you would on a vacation like eating out, movies, seeing local stuff for the first time.  Personally, I am finding that staying home is like a vacation to me.  All my "stuff" is here, tv has all my favorites, I sleep in a comfortable bed, I get to play poker and see friends, fish, stay up late.  Somehow all of that seems to be interrupted when I vacation.  Not to mention the extra expense.

Another trend I see is what I am going to call the "spousecation".  This happens when one of the couple takes a trip without the other one.  It happens to me fairly often when I go to Vegas to play poker (spouse invited but does not want to go), visits to family (sometimes she is with me, sometimes not), her visit to sister in New York (don't get me started on why I don't like to travel to NY), poker trips to Eastern Washington, Pendleton, visits to Seattle ( Usually I am on board, but sometimes not). So, lots of different reasons for the spousecation.  Currently my oldest daughter is visiting friends in France and Italy by herself.  While that is o.k. with me and her family, it is a long time to be gone from teenagers at home.  Not sure I would have been up for that.  Anyway, travel is a sometimes necessary evil as I get older and find it more and more challenging.

Melting Pot

In this election year there is a great divide.  Often the discussions revolve around immigration, income inequality, gender and race bias, and taxes.  We are a country that is a giant melting pot (though describing it as a salad bowl may be more accurate) and a land of opportunity which has driven most immigration, whether it be for freedom or economic opportunity. I woke up this morning thinking about the many people I have met around the poker table.  If ever there was a microcosm of America, surely the poker table is a great example.  First of all, there is the economic oppportunity of sitting down with little and leaving with a lot.  But, it depends on many things, including skill, knowledge, and often luck.  There is also the opportunity to go broke, just like in our economy.  Sometimes you just cannot catch a break no matter how smart you are, no matter what skills you have, you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  However, just like in America, you have the opportunity to dust yourself off and come back to try again.  We call it a re-buy, but in our economy it can be a bankruptcy or a billion dollar business loss.

The people I have played poker with represent an amazing cross section of the country.  I have played with recent immigrants (legal and not) from many countries.  I have played with christians, jews, muslims, hindus, and probably many other religions.  It is not a topic that is often discussed.  My opinion is that there are no atheists playing poker because I often see people praying for a card.  And, unlike some prayers in church, you always mean it at the poker table!!!

I have played poker with doctors, lawyers, dentists, construction workers (lots of these guys), business owners, consultants, bookkeepers (for you Dewey), school teachers, migrant workers, drug dealers, felons, cops, farmers, chemists (Mike), jewelry designers (Dave), pot growers, bartenders, gays, lesbians, fishermen, car salesmen, students, millionaires and multi-millionaires, military and retired military, blacks, whites, browns, and any color you care to mention.  Retirees, plant workers, poker dealers, poker pros, corporate vp's and presidents have sat at my table.  We all get along and accept the other players because we realize that they are people just like us, sharing a common goal (get the other guy's money, and keep him from getting ours).  Sure, there are disagreements, sometimes kind of nasty, but not violent, and there is always the next day for paybacks!!  I don't like or respect every player at my table, but can be civil to them.  On the other hand, I have formed many lasting friendships around our common interest.

In conclusion, there is really no reason we cannot come together in this country if we share common goals.  Do I want to "spread the wealth" or inject some economic "fairness" in the poker game.  Hell no!!!  What I do want is to not play in a fixed game which favors some over others, or have the house take too much of my earnings (think taxes).  I just want the opportunity to play the game fairly, in a friendly atmosphere, and hopefully profitably.  My end result will always be in question, but at the end of the day "it is not whether you win or lose but how you play the game".

Suffering

I had a doctor's appointment this morning.  Not to worry, just a change of physicians required a visit.  While in the waiting room I bumped into one of the Cannon Beach poker regulars.  I began our conversation by asking how his game was going.  "Not so good, haven't cashed in a long time".  Now this is a very good young player who has had big wins in big tournaments.  I replied that my luck was so rotten that I constantly was losing to 2 and 3 outers.  I also observed that the game seemed to be a lot tougher than a few years ago.  He attributed it to the wealth of online information available to the "recreational" player.  I disagreed as I feel that very few of these guys spend any time studying and trying to improve their game.  So, I was called into my appointment and our talk ended.  Thinking later it seems to me that the quote about pain being inevitable but suffering being optional applies to my poker thinking.  How often I wake up in the middle of the night agonizing about some bad call or opponent lucky suck out.  My suffering is definitely optional, and often drives my blog posts.

Shifting gears somewhat, I am definitely unhappy with Pokerstars.  Recently logging on and planning to play a little Omaha hi-low limit poker I was disappointed to find that they had removed all of those games, replacing them with only high limit no limit omaha high.  Also, they removed all slower speed SNG tournaments so only turbo and hyper remain with much higher buy-ins. Evidently they were tired of us guys enjoying ourselves and instead are looking to burn through our play money faster.  Turning to WSOP website, that is a joke too.  With a 48% preflop fold statistic I am super tight, with most players folding preflop 20% of the time on average.  Unreal.  This is not poker.
What is a guy to do in this sparse live game environment.  Looks like I am heading back to Americas Card Room.