My last two cash game sessions went really well. I probably ran above normal, but I also extracted max value and used my image to pull off a few well timed bluffs as well. I was up $600 online the other night and left with $505 ($200 buy-in) from Snow's .50/$1 game last night.
I feel like I'm adjusting to cash games, and specifically 6-max online much better now. I'm not forcing situations as much, I'm going with my reads and I'm adjusting to the table and player dynamics. It is definitely improving my poker skills by playing more turns & rivers, which will ultimately help my tournament play.
It's a little weird though since I haven't played a tournament in like 3 weeks. I know 3 weeks isn't that long of a time, but it's probably about 15 sessions or so. I'm probably going to start shifting back to tournaments over the next couple of weeks to get ready for Biloxi.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Daily Recap 12/07/09
About to start a session of 1/2 6 max. I'm ready to make adjustments from last night and play solid poker. I know the things I need to work on, so I'm gonna just play my best and make +EV decisions.
...I'm letting my emotions ride with the size of my current stack, which by nature is being results oriented. This is something I'm really going to have to get over, no matter how much money it is.
Wow....all I can say is wow. I started playing great and was up about $400, then I was still playing decent and next thing you know I'm down $300. Then I made a really bad play and went 100% against my strong read. Brazza was super tight and is NOT raising here with AJ, but I convinced myself that he could have it (even though it was really that I was tilting and couldn't fold KK). Playing 6max 1/2 is really different than tournaments. Not only am I involved in way more hands, I am getting affected emotionally with the ups and downs of my stack size. I am determined to adjust to this game and I think this is going to be huge for my overall game. Not only in terms of tilt control (which I didn't realize I had a problem until now), but also in terms of my ability to make read and plays in deep stacked situations.
Full Tilt Poker Game #16625861301: Table Weave (6 max) - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:37:45 ET - 2009/12/08
Seat 1: DP388 ($406.95)
Seat 2: BrazzaNivel ($412.70)
Seat 3: mark857 ($61)
Seat 4: KyleGass ($306.45)
Seat 5: ziggyjer21 ($164.10)
Seat 6: pointnutter ($97.25)
ziggyjer21 posts the small blind of $1
pointnutter posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [Kd Kc]
DP388 raises to $6
BrazzaNivel calls $6
mark857 folds
KyleGass has 15 seconds left to act
KyleGass folds
ziggyjer21 calls $5
pointnutter calls $4
*** FLOP *** [5c Jc 8h]
ziggyjer21 checks
pointnutter has 15 seconds left to act
pointnutter bets $10
DP388 raises to $30
BrazzaNivel has 15 seconds left to act
BrazzaNivel raises to $112
ziggyjer21 folds
pointnutter has 15 seconds left to act
pointnutter calls $81.25, and is all in
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 has requested TIME
DP388 raises to $400.95, and is all in
BrazzaNivel has 15 seconds left to act
BrazzaNivel has requested TIME
BrazzaNivel calls $288.95
DP388 shows [Kd Kc]
BrazzaNivel shows [5h 5d]
pointnutter shows [6d 7s]
*** TURN *** [5c Jc 8h] [As]
*** RIVER *** [5c Jc 8h As] [Ks]
DP388 shows three of a kind, Kings
BrazzaNivel shows three of a kind, Fives
DP388 wins the side pot ($619.40) with three of a kind, Kings
pointnutter shows Ace King high
DP388 wins the main pot ($294.75) with three of a kind, Kings
BrazzaNivel adds $194.25
pointnutter is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $917.15 Main pot $297.75. Side pot $619.40. | Rake $3
Board: [5c Jc 8h As Ks]
Seat 1: DP388 showed [Kd Kc] and won ($914.15) with three of a kind, Kings
Seat 2: BrazzaNivel showed [5h 5d] and lost with three of a kind, Fives
Seat 3: mark857 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: KyleGass (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: ziggyjer21 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: pointnutter (big blind) showed [6d 7s] and lost with Ace King high
...I'm letting my emotions ride with the size of my current stack, which by nature is being results oriented. This is something I'm really going to have to get over, no matter how much money it is.
Wow....all I can say is wow. I started playing great and was up about $400, then I was still playing decent and next thing you know I'm down $300. Then I made a really bad play and went 100% against my strong read. Brazza was super tight and is NOT raising here with AJ, but I convinced myself that he could have it (even though it was really that I was tilting and couldn't fold KK). Playing 6max 1/2 is really different than tournaments. Not only am I involved in way more hands, I am getting affected emotionally with the ups and downs of my stack size. I am determined to adjust to this game and I think this is going to be huge for my overall game. Not only in terms of tilt control (which I didn't realize I had a problem until now), but also in terms of my ability to make read and plays in deep stacked situations.
Full Tilt Poker Game #16625861301: Table Weave (6 max) - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:37:45 ET - 2009/12/08
Seat 1: DP388 ($406.95)
Seat 2: BrazzaNivel ($412.70)
Seat 3: mark857 ($61)
Seat 4: KyleGass ($306.45)
Seat 5: ziggyjer21 ($164.10)
Seat 6: pointnutter ($97.25)
ziggyjer21 posts the small blind of $1
pointnutter posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [Kd Kc]
DP388 raises to $6
BrazzaNivel calls $6
mark857 folds
KyleGass has 15 seconds left to act
KyleGass folds
ziggyjer21 calls $5
pointnutter calls $4
*** FLOP *** [5c Jc 8h]
ziggyjer21 checks
pointnutter has 15 seconds left to act
pointnutter bets $10
DP388 raises to $30
BrazzaNivel has 15 seconds left to act
BrazzaNivel raises to $112
ziggyjer21 folds
pointnutter has 15 seconds left to act
pointnutter calls $81.25, and is all in
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 has requested TIME
DP388 raises to $400.95, and is all in
BrazzaNivel has 15 seconds left to act
BrazzaNivel has requested TIME
BrazzaNivel calls $288.95
DP388 shows [Kd Kc]
BrazzaNivel shows [5h 5d]
pointnutter shows [6d 7s]
*** TURN *** [5c Jc 8h] [As]
*** RIVER *** [5c Jc 8h As] [Ks]
DP388 shows three of a kind, Kings
BrazzaNivel shows three of a kind, Fives
DP388 wins the side pot ($619.40) with three of a kind, Kings
pointnutter shows Ace King high
DP388 wins the main pot ($294.75) with three of a kind, Kings
BrazzaNivel adds $194.25
pointnutter is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $917.15 Main pot $297.75. Side pot $619.40. | Rake $3
Board: [5c Jc 8h As Ks]
Seat 1: DP388 showed [Kd Kc] and won ($914.15) with three of a kind, Kings
Seat 2: BrazzaNivel showed [5h 5d] and lost with three of a kind, Fives
Seat 3: mark857 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: KyleGass (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: ziggyjer21 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: pointnutter (big blind) showed [6d 7s] and lost with Ace King high
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Daily Recap 12/06/09 - Tough Day
Tonight's recap is going to be a bit sporadic. I contains some tilty notes from my 1/2 6 max session where I lost about $450. I started off playing well and then it kinda went to crap. I was doing some things that I would never do in a tournament thinking it was what I was supposed to do in a cash game. I experimented (which isn't horrible) and I did my best to go with my reads, but in many cases I didn't adjust and I spewed a lot of chips in marginal situations.
What are some of the things I did wrong?
....calling too much with no plan for future streets; people double and triple barrel way more in cash games. I am check-calling out of position WAY too much and I know that is bad, but for some reason I am trying to float them with what I think the best hand is hoping they won't bet the turn, but the reality is (AND I KNOW THIS), I should be check-raising not check-calling unless I can stand to call multiple streets.
....trying to manuver and win everypot instead of letting some hands go
...didn't change gears and play abc poker vs. loose bad spewy stations/aggros
...didn't really read the player like I normally do. I mean I was putting people on hand ranges somewhat, but I was trying to make plays like I've been seeing in videos instead of using my gut to make decisions about how that particular player will respond.
I may be forcing a few things too, raising all my mid suited connectors from the 2 seat, etc.
It seems like I'm starting to run really bad too. I was running good earlier in the session and playing well and now even if I have showdown value, I'm running into bigger hands or they have the one hand that can beat me.
I'm not going to lie...the guy to my left has me a little tilted. I can't seem to win a pot against him no matter how I play it. But he is a huge fish and I think I can use our history to win a few nice pots off of him. I'm close to the 2 buy-in stop loss, so I'm kind of tightening up a bit since he is a station and is difficult to bluff. There's a guy on my other table who is a huge aggro fish too, so I'm reluctant to stop playing even though I am a bit tilted. I'm trying to control my tilt in order to play at these profitable tables. I just need to stay patient and keep focusing on putting players on hand ranges, even though they are playing every pot and very non-traditional.
Fish left and I have one other table open with another fish. So far tonight has been a humbling transition into 1/2 6 max. I tried a bunch of plays that didn't work (some did) and then I made a bunch of turn calls with showdownable hands only to have them fire the river. I don't think I got outplayed per se, I just didn't play my best. Taking some hits while experimenting and learning about 6max is part of the learning process. But I definitely stayed too long at the tables. There was about an hour of the session early on when I was playing really good poker and making really good reads and then I think I just started to force plays without making solid reads and narrowing hand ranges. Then I stopped getting any semblance of playable situations and stopped making reads.
I still have that one table open hoping something miraculous will happen. I've had a hard time in cash games in the past not chasing my losses. I think that's one reason I play tournaments. BUT, if I want to be the best, I have to adjust my game to different situations. I think tonight will be a good learning experience.
...45 min later and I'm still trying to chase losses. It's really hard to get up from the table. As soon as you try to, it starts dealing another hand and you think "just this last one", then "just one more orbit", then "ooh, I'm up a bit now...maybe I can ride this heater". JUST GET UP AND LEAVE!
Finally, I left. But not before I changed a gear that I mentioned in this above post. Instead of check/calling the aggressive button's c-bet with middle pair, I decided to check-raise and he folded. Still a big time losing session, but I have a lot of hands to analyze in the next day or so.
What are some of the things I did wrong?
....calling too much with no plan for future streets; people double and triple barrel way more in cash games. I am check-calling out of position WAY too much and I know that is bad, but for some reason I am trying to float them with what I think the best hand is hoping they won't bet the turn, but the reality is (AND I KNOW THIS), I should be check-raising not check-calling unless I can stand to call multiple streets.
....trying to manuver and win everypot instead of letting some hands go
...didn't change gears and play abc poker vs. loose bad spewy stations/aggros
...didn't really read the player like I normally do. I mean I was putting people on hand ranges somewhat, but I was trying to make plays like I've been seeing in videos instead of using my gut to make decisions about how that particular player will respond.
I may be forcing a few things too, raising all my mid suited connectors from the 2 seat, etc.
It seems like I'm starting to run really bad too. I was running good earlier in the session and playing well and now even if I have showdown value, I'm running into bigger hands or they have the one hand that can beat me.
I'm not going to lie...the guy to my left has me a little tilted. I can't seem to win a pot against him no matter how I play it. But he is a huge fish and I think I can use our history to win a few nice pots off of him. I'm close to the 2 buy-in stop loss, so I'm kind of tightening up a bit since he is a station and is difficult to bluff. There's a guy on my other table who is a huge aggro fish too, so I'm reluctant to stop playing even though I am a bit tilted. I'm trying to control my tilt in order to play at these profitable tables. I just need to stay patient and keep focusing on putting players on hand ranges, even though they are playing every pot and very non-traditional.
Fish left and I have one other table open with another fish. So far tonight has been a humbling transition into 1/2 6 max. I tried a bunch of plays that didn't work (some did) and then I made a bunch of turn calls with showdownable hands only to have them fire the river. I don't think I got outplayed per se, I just didn't play my best. Taking some hits while experimenting and learning about 6max is part of the learning process. But I definitely stayed too long at the tables. There was about an hour of the session early on when I was playing really good poker and making really good reads and then I think I just started to force plays without making solid reads and narrowing hand ranges. Then I stopped getting any semblance of playable situations and stopped making reads.
I still have that one table open hoping something miraculous will happen. I've had a hard time in cash games in the past not chasing my losses. I think that's one reason I play tournaments. BUT, if I want to be the best, I have to adjust my game to different situations. I think tonight will be a good learning experience.
...45 min later and I'm still trying to chase losses. It's really hard to get up from the table. As soon as you try to, it starts dealing another hand and you think "just this last one", then "just one more orbit", then "ooh, I'm up a bit now...maybe I can ride this heater". JUST GET UP AND LEAVE!
Finally, I left. But not before I changed a gear that I mentioned in this above post. Instead of check/calling the aggressive button's c-bet with middle pair, I decided to check-raise and he folded. Still a big time losing session, but I have a lot of hands to analyze in the next day or so.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Daily Recap 11/27/09
Haven't posted on the blog in a while so I'll just give a quick recap since I'm playing right now.
As noted with a couple of the more recent posts, a week went by where I was having some hiccups making a few bad calls. I re-watched a few great video series on Cardrunners about the difference between good and great players and it helped me re-set my head. Since then I've only played a few times, but I took down a 90 man for over $1k and had another final table.
My goal tonight is to make my read, decide on an action based on my read and then pull the trigger confidently without second guessing. That decision may be to fold a big hand or it may be to raise on a bluff. But whatever it is, I'm going to make an ego-free, unemotional decision and act on it. I'm not going to force results. I'm just going to play good poker.
----
First break....hit a set and was fortunate to have 2 people give me their stacks with top pair in the $150. Down to 1/2 my stack in the $24. I don't think I'm playing bad...was able to make a pretty easy laydown with 2 pair when both possible straight cards hit so lost a few chips there. So far so good. Lots of soft spots, so should be able to chip up in the $24. No big names at my tables in the $150 so far. One guy I've heard of "SaulGood", but other than that only a few guys who have had decent results.
---
Lost a few chips in a pot when I raised on a draw and got 4bet all-in. Need to separate emotion and not second guess my decision to raise. I can analyze the hand later.
A few orbits later and I have this nagging feeling to get involved in a pot and "prove" that I can outplay people. I'm writing about this in order to recognize that this is a form of tilt so I can control it and prevent it. After this next break I am going to get myself into more of a soft focus and just concentrate on the table dynamics and not worry so much about myself.
---
I just realized that the feelings I had before were also a form of jealousy. There is an aggro player on my right who has had great results based on OPR. He's the player that I lost the earlier hand to. I need to focus on playing my game based on my reads and not try to play like someone else. Smart decisions and not FPS for the sake of FPS. Like always, narrow the range and make the decision from all the hands in the range not the need to outplay someone. I'm also not going to force results for the win. I feel a little like I'm thinking about the results of cashing deep and winning instead of postive expectation.
---
Was top 10 in chips in the $150 and was playing really well and then misplayed my hand. I 3bet a lose player and flopped the nut straight with 2 hearts on board. I checked instead of leading, even though my gut said to lead. I got a little greedy and another heart hit the turn. I bet into it to see his reaction and then he insta-shoved. I still called for some reason when I still had about 25bb left drawing dead to his 5h6h. The problem is that I didn't stop long enough to put him on a hand. I got caught up the emotion of flopping a straight that I couldn't let go of it once he shoved. I wanted to put him on a draw or some sort of 2 pair or something as opposed to just stopping for a second and thinking about his hand range. Pre-flop I put him on a smallish pair or a weaker Ace, so him shoving with the Ah and a straight draw is certainly possible but I don't think he insta-shoves...I don't know really. He was the chip leader and I hadn't played enough hands with him to know what he was capabale of. Overall I'm a little disappointed that I didn't go deeper, but mostly because I made an emotional decision vs. a logical one. I had been making emotionless decisions most of the night, but I guess because we were getting deeper into the money and I was starting to taste a big cash I slipped a little. Good lesson learned.
As noted with a couple of the more recent posts, a week went by where I was having some hiccups making a few bad calls. I re-watched a few great video series on Cardrunners about the difference between good and great players and it helped me re-set my head. Since then I've only played a few times, but I took down a 90 man for over $1k and had another final table.
My goal tonight is to make my read, decide on an action based on my read and then pull the trigger confidently without second guessing. That decision may be to fold a big hand or it may be to raise on a bluff. But whatever it is, I'm going to make an ego-free, unemotional decision and act on it. I'm not going to force results. I'm just going to play good poker.
----
First break....hit a set and was fortunate to have 2 people give me their stacks with top pair in the $150. Down to 1/2 my stack in the $24. I don't think I'm playing bad...was able to make a pretty easy laydown with 2 pair when both possible straight cards hit so lost a few chips there. So far so good. Lots of soft spots, so should be able to chip up in the $24. No big names at my tables in the $150 so far. One guy I've heard of "SaulGood", but other than that only a few guys who have had decent results.
---
Lost a few chips in a pot when I raised on a draw and got 4bet all-in. Need to separate emotion and not second guess my decision to raise. I can analyze the hand later.
A few orbits later and I have this nagging feeling to get involved in a pot and "prove" that I can outplay people. I'm writing about this in order to recognize that this is a form of tilt so I can control it and prevent it. After this next break I am going to get myself into more of a soft focus and just concentrate on the table dynamics and not worry so much about myself.
---
I just realized that the feelings I had before were also a form of jealousy. There is an aggro player on my right who has had great results based on OPR. He's the player that I lost the earlier hand to. I need to focus on playing my game based on my reads and not try to play like someone else. Smart decisions and not FPS for the sake of FPS. Like always, narrow the range and make the decision from all the hands in the range not the need to outplay someone. I'm also not going to force results for the win. I feel a little like I'm thinking about the results of cashing deep and winning instead of postive expectation.
---
Was top 10 in chips in the $150 and was playing really well and then misplayed my hand. I 3bet a lose player and flopped the nut straight with 2 hearts on board. I checked instead of leading, even though my gut said to lead. I got a little greedy and another heart hit the turn. I bet into it to see his reaction and then he insta-shoved. I still called for some reason when I still had about 25bb left drawing dead to his 5h6h. The problem is that I didn't stop long enough to put him on a hand. I got caught up the emotion of flopping a straight that I couldn't let go of it once he shoved. I wanted to put him on a draw or some sort of 2 pair or something as opposed to just stopping for a second and thinking about his hand range. Pre-flop I put him on a smallish pair or a weaker Ace, so him shoving with the Ah and a straight draw is certainly possible but I don't think he insta-shoves...I don't know really. He was the chip leader and I hadn't played enough hands with him to know what he was capabale of. Overall I'm a little disappointed that I didn't go deeper, but mostly because I made an emotional decision vs. a logical one. I had been making emotionless decisions most of the night, but I guess because we were getting deeper into the money and I was starting to taste a big cash I slipped a little. Good lesson learned.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Daily Recap 11-19-09
Went to the Thursday game at the American legion tonight and made a couple nice reads and picked up some good pots. Then I got involved in a hand where I used faulty logic to make a decision on the turn. Now that I think about it, the reason why I made this particular turn decision was because I let the lingering effects of a previous hand affect me...but not how you think.
I had made a good read and good river blocking bet a few hands earlier and I guess I got a little cocky. Without going to deep into the hand, I raised a pot after two limpers with AQs. I flopped a flush draw on a ten high board and bet when they checked to me. In my mind, I completely shut off any thought of what they had and said to myself "I'm going with this hand no matter what." Mathematically that is probably the right decision, but I didn't even try to put anyone on a hand. So one of the players called me and this guy is a HUGE calling station. He likely had a ten and he was likely not going to fold no matter what his kicker was. He checked a blank turn and there was 14K in the pot, with both of us having about 8k in our stacks. I decided to shove, mainly because I was still feeling cocky and convinced myself that I was going to hit anyway so it didn't matter. There was like a 5% chance he was folding. Of course he snap called me with KT and I didn't hit. My decision to shove wasn't necessarily the worst in the world, but my logic for shoving was. It was based on being cocky and assuming I was going to hit. My decision to shove should have been because I had a read that the player was capable of folding. In this case against this player, checking was superior. He would have paid me off regardless and I still had plenty of chips if I missed the river. Now if he had shoved the turn, I was getting the right odds to call but that isn't how the action went.
It just goes to show that emotion effecting your decisions swings both ways. It can be because of tilt and it can also be because of ego & pride in the positive sense of things.
I had made a good read and good river blocking bet a few hands earlier and I guess I got a little cocky. Without going to deep into the hand, I raised a pot after two limpers with AQs. I flopped a flush draw on a ten high board and bet when they checked to me. In my mind, I completely shut off any thought of what they had and said to myself "I'm going with this hand no matter what." Mathematically that is probably the right decision, but I didn't even try to put anyone on a hand. So one of the players called me and this guy is a HUGE calling station. He likely had a ten and he was likely not going to fold no matter what his kicker was. He checked a blank turn and there was 14K in the pot, with both of us having about 8k in our stacks. I decided to shove, mainly because I was still feeling cocky and convinced myself that I was going to hit anyway so it didn't matter. There was like a 5% chance he was folding. Of course he snap called me with KT and I didn't hit. My decision to shove wasn't necessarily the worst in the world, but my logic for shoving was. It was based on being cocky and assuming I was going to hit. My decision to shove should have been because I had a read that the player was capable of folding. In this case against this player, checking was superior. He would have paid me off regardless and I still had plenty of chips if I missed the river. Now if he had shoved the turn, I was getting the right odds to call but that isn't how the action went.
It just goes to show that emotion effecting your decisions swings both ways. It can be because of tilt and it can also be because of ego & pride in the positive sense of things.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Bad Call
I made an uncharacteristically bad call on Saturday night. And when I say that, I don't mean it was bad because of the result. And I also don't mean so much that the call was bad because of the card situation (although it was probably bad too). Why it was bad was because of some of the justification I used to make my decision.
Here's the hand:
Villain has been projecting a laggy image during the rebuy period showing down a few bluffs. Blinds are 100/200 and both of us are sitting around 6,500K. He raises to 450 utg and I call with TdTh on the button. So the pot is 1,200.
Flop is Qs3s5h. He checks and I check behind for pot control, to let him bluff the turn, etc. The turn is 7s and he checks again. I figure my hand is best at this point and I can get some value from smaller pairs and protect against hands with overcards. I bet 800 and he says "you bet into me? I'm all in.".
So now there is 2K + his remaining 6,000 out there for a pot of $8,000 and $5,200 to call, so I needed about 39% equity against his range. I put him on a hand like AK with a single spade and decided to call, even though I was left with plenty of chips if I folded.
Why it was bad:
Here's the hand:
Villain has been projecting a laggy image during the rebuy period showing down a few bluffs. Blinds are 100/200 and both of us are sitting around 6,500K. He raises to 450 utg and I call with TdTh on the button. So the pot is 1,200.
Flop is Qs3s5h. He checks and I check behind for pot control, to let him bluff the turn, etc. The turn is 7s and he checks again. I figure my hand is best at this point and I can get some value from smaller pairs and protect against hands with overcards. I bet 800 and he says "you bet into me? I'm all in.".
So now there is 2K + his remaining 6,000 out there for a pot of $8,000 and $5,200 to call, so I needed about 39% equity against his range. I put him on a hand like AK with a single spade and decided to call, even though I was left with plenty of chips if I folded.
Why it was bad:
- My decision was partly influenced by not wanting to look like I was being pushed around. He used a line that really should have been obvious to me that he was strong by saying "You bet into me? You can't bet into me?" That's really kind of a line used on beginners and it slightly affected my decision.
- Part of me wanted to prove that I am capable of making sick hero calls. And not necessarily to the table, but more to the person since he's been around the poker scene and has an way of talking that is as if he is constantly judging the skills of those around him. The concept that I would want to "prove" anything to anyone is what makes the decision bad. Good poker is played with unemotional decisions and I have nothing to prove to anyone.
- I had rebuy lag. I was still feeling kind of loose and willing to gamble for a big stack since we just got done with the rebuy period.
- I didn't follow my first gut instinct. I tried to read into verbal and physical tells too much instead of simplifying the situation and using the betting pattern and tournament situation to dictate my decision. I should have just shut off my ears and focused more on what the bets were telling me and not all the verbal chit chat.
- As far as the chips/stack goes, I didn't take the time to really think about how much of an overbet it was. I just kept thinking about my hand and all the hands that I was beating that he could do this with...I didn't factor in hands I was behind in his range.
- It was one of the first hands after the rebuy period, so even though he had been projecting a really laggy image, he is good enough to switch gears and wasn't going to be putting his stack at risk in a huge overbet situation on a bluff. If he was bluffing, he would have raised an amount that still left him with plenty of chips behind.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Daily Recap 11/01/09
I'm getting ready for a long night of poker. I just registered for the Sunday Million on Poker Stars for the first time in a while. Jenni gave me the green light to play, so I took it. I'm coming off of a win at the VFW tournament on Thursday so I'm feeling pretty good. I played well and got lucky a few times to take it down for $1,200 including the last longer bet.
Before starting the Million, I have a little bit of anxiety but I'm not sure where it's coming from. I think mostly from spending the day with the kids and constantly having to correct behaviors. I guess I'm a little worried that that stress will carry over into my play. But that's one of the reasons I use this Daily Recap. I like to clear my head of any lingering thoughts in order to get focused and be ready to play my A-game.
As far as today's tournaments go, I'm just gonna play poker. I'll fire up a couple of events and just play my best. While I guess there is always a little bit of extra "this would be awesome if I won or cashed big" associated with the Million, it's really not anything I can concern myself with until I get really deep. I've got at least 6 more hours until that happens and even then, I'm just gonna focus on making +EV decisions. If I get to the bubble, I'm going to do my best to chip up against the tight players and I'm going to play for the win. I'm not going to force anything or try and make fancy moves. I'm just going to make reads and make decisions based on those reads.
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First real break and I'm down about 6k in the million. I'm not playing bad or anything, I'm just getting caught in spots where I have to make laydowns. Just gonna look for good 3 bet spots and should be right back in it.
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Bleh, out of the million. I just couldn't get anything going. I had a very loose active table and I was card dead for most of the tournament. Finally got it in good with 55 vs. Q2 and they flopped a Q. Oh well. Even though you can't put too much stock into one tournament, it's still a little dissapointing since I never get to play it and Jenni gave me carte blanch to play tournaments today. All I can do is just play my best in the others that I play and not put much stock into getting knocked out of a single tournament.
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Wow, that was ugly. Just got runner runnered with QQ on a 234 flop when someone bluffed a massive overbet with KJs...they hit 2 more diamonds and we were both very deep. Lost a flip with AK in the $70K guaranteed. Gonna eat something and reset before the 7pm full tilt tournament.
I definitely feel a sense of dissapointment because it seems like everytime Jenni says she'll watch the kids and I get excited about playing a bunch of MTTs, and end up running bad. However, I realized that the way I am feeling right now is because I really want to make deep runs and I put a sense of pressure on myself. I don't feel it too much when I play, but if I didn't address it now, it would definitely turn into tilt and affect my future play. I did notice a couple of times I started focusing more on my cards than the situation as a result. The reality is that this session shouldn't be any different than any other session. Nothing is different and I don't "deserve" to win big because I'm starting to play earlier than normal. I have a full tilt tournament starting so I'm going to use this as an opportunity to practice re-focusing and putting past emotional baggage behind me.
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Got out of the funk and I'm playing really well in a 6 max tournament. Was 2nd in chips for a while out of like 80 left and I think I'm still around the top 10. The player to my right has been giving me fits. He started out really tight and then changed gears. I made a huge laydown bvb after 3 betting him (which I had not done before) and he 4bet 1/2 his stack. We were both around 80-100bb deep, so I wasn't ready to play such a big pot yet. Right now I still have a very healthy stack, so I just need to not play with my ego against him and go with my reads.
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Disappointing is the word for the night I guess. After having that massive stack, I ended up losing a big pot against that same villain. I'm not sure it was a good call or not, but I think based on all the dynamics of the tournament and the way he shoved, it may have been good. I called an all in with JJ after he called my 3.5x re-raise bvb and insta shoved an AQx board with 2 hearts on it. I was right that he didn't have an Ace. He had QT and I got knocked down to a little over 20bb. I did make the money, but busted in 36th when I shoved 69 on the button and the BB called with KT. Dissapointing to go from 2nd in chips to out in 36th place. But I can't focus on results obviously. I need to go back through this hand history to look at EV and see if I could have made better decisions. I'm obviously happy at the way I chipped up and made bluffs at the right times and extracted from my big hands. It just all started falling apart toward the end, so I'll focus on analyzing those hands.
Before starting the Million, I have a little bit of anxiety but I'm not sure where it's coming from. I think mostly from spending the day with the kids and constantly having to correct behaviors. I guess I'm a little worried that that stress will carry over into my play. But that's one of the reasons I use this Daily Recap. I like to clear my head of any lingering thoughts in order to get focused and be ready to play my A-game.
As far as today's tournaments go, I'm just gonna play poker. I'll fire up a couple of events and just play my best. While I guess there is always a little bit of extra "this would be awesome if I won or cashed big" associated with the Million, it's really not anything I can concern myself with until I get really deep. I've got at least 6 more hours until that happens and even then, I'm just gonna focus on making +EV decisions. If I get to the bubble, I'm going to do my best to chip up against the tight players and I'm going to play for the win. I'm not going to force anything or try and make fancy moves. I'm just going to make reads and make decisions based on those reads.
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First real break and I'm down about 6k in the million. I'm not playing bad or anything, I'm just getting caught in spots where I have to make laydowns. Just gonna look for good 3 bet spots and should be right back in it.
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Bleh, out of the million. I just couldn't get anything going. I had a very loose active table and I was card dead for most of the tournament. Finally got it in good with 55 vs. Q2 and they flopped a Q. Oh well. Even though you can't put too much stock into one tournament, it's still a little dissapointing since I never get to play it and Jenni gave me carte blanch to play tournaments today. All I can do is just play my best in the others that I play and not put much stock into getting knocked out of a single tournament.
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Wow, that was ugly. Just got runner runnered with QQ on a 234 flop when someone bluffed a massive overbet with KJs...they hit 2 more diamonds and we were both very deep. Lost a flip with AK in the $70K guaranteed. Gonna eat something and reset before the 7pm full tilt tournament.
I definitely feel a sense of dissapointment because it seems like everytime Jenni says she'll watch the kids and I get excited about playing a bunch of MTTs, and end up running bad. However, I realized that the way I am feeling right now is because I really want to make deep runs and I put a sense of pressure on myself. I don't feel it too much when I play, but if I didn't address it now, it would definitely turn into tilt and affect my future play. I did notice a couple of times I started focusing more on my cards than the situation as a result. The reality is that this session shouldn't be any different than any other session. Nothing is different and I don't "deserve" to win big because I'm starting to play earlier than normal. I have a full tilt tournament starting so I'm going to use this as an opportunity to practice re-focusing and putting past emotional baggage behind me.
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Got out of the funk and I'm playing really well in a 6 max tournament. Was 2nd in chips for a while out of like 80 left and I think I'm still around the top 10. The player to my right has been giving me fits. He started out really tight and then changed gears. I made a huge laydown bvb after 3 betting him (which I had not done before) and he 4bet 1/2 his stack. We were both around 80-100bb deep, so I wasn't ready to play such a big pot yet. Right now I still have a very healthy stack, so I just need to not play with my ego against him and go with my reads.
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Disappointing is the word for the night I guess. After having that massive stack, I ended up losing a big pot against that same villain. I'm not sure it was a good call or not, but I think based on all the dynamics of the tournament and the way he shoved, it may have been good. I called an all in with JJ after he called my 3.5x re-raise bvb and insta shoved an AQx board with 2 hearts on it. I was right that he didn't have an Ace. He had QT and I got knocked down to a little over 20bb. I did make the money, but busted in 36th when I shoved 69 on the button and the BB called with KT. Dissapointing to go from 2nd in chips to out in 36th place. But I can't focus on results obviously. I need to go back through this hand history to look at EV and see if I could have made better decisions. I'm obviously happy at the way I chipped up and made bluffs at the right times and extracted from my big hands. It just all started falling apart toward the end, so I'll focus on analyzing those hands.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Daily Recap 10/21/09
Played at the VFW last night and took 3rd out of 36. It was a small field compared to normal, but I'll take the cash. I also chopped the last longer 3 ways, so it added some profit to the night. The thing about it though is that I was only dealt one pocket pair the entire night and I couldn't play it. I got 55 and was facing a shove from a tight player. So for the whole time, I accumulated chips with either steals, one good big blind flop and well timed shoves. I made good decisions based on my opponents ranges, whether or not the actual hand was best at the time. So I'm really happy about how I played.
Gonna play tonight both because I want to, but also because of my new focus to play as much volume as possible while I'm running good and playing good. I'm starting off a little tired, but I think I'll be fine once I get going.
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Okay, so I'm starting to feel a little tilted mainly because I'm questioning a couple of my plays that ended with bad results...the KQ hand was a little coolerish because there was only one hand that I was worried about. The AQ hand miffed me a little because I'm not sure my pf raise size was good, even though I had a reason for it...but I was thinking more about "what do 'they' say I should do here...by "they" I mean books, forums, etc. instead of me putting my opponent on a range and proceeding from there. Then on the flop I made kind of an emotional decision vs. a logical one. The result may have been the same, but I want to make good decisions. But I need to snap out of it...I can't make a couple of marginal plays and beat myself up. That will only make things manifest into something worse...back to focusing on good decisions.
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I feel like I'm starting to make emotion based plays vs. logical ones. I'm forcing plays to happen because I think I'm trying to keep a win streak going vs. just observing and making decisions based on my reads.
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Glad I recognized that last thing I wrote. Understanding that helped me come back to earth a bit and start opening up my mind to poker situations, not emotions. I also decided that since I'm not playing my A game I would only play the remaining table I was on and then judge how I felt after that. I ended up playing a lot better, but busted in 20th out of 90. I decided that since something was off tonight that I would minimize my losses and not chase a win. If had been playing better and still lost 4 tournaments I would likely keep playing, so this was a judgement call. I have a few hands to go over tomorrow when I am a little more focused.
Gonna play tonight both because I want to, but also because of my new focus to play as much volume as possible while I'm running good and playing good. I'm starting off a little tired, but I think I'll be fine once I get going.
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Okay, so I'm starting to feel a little tilted mainly because I'm questioning a couple of my plays that ended with bad results...the KQ hand was a little coolerish because there was only one hand that I was worried about. The AQ hand miffed me a little because I'm not sure my pf raise size was good, even though I had a reason for it...but I was thinking more about "what do 'they' say I should do here...by "they" I mean books, forums, etc. instead of me putting my opponent on a range and proceeding from there. Then on the flop I made kind of an emotional decision vs. a logical one. The result may have been the same, but I want to make good decisions. But I need to snap out of it...I can't make a couple of marginal plays and beat myself up. That will only make things manifest into something worse...back to focusing on good decisions.
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I feel like I'm starting to make emotion based plays vs. logical ones. I'm forcing plays to happen because I think I'm trying to keep a win streak going vs. just observing and making decisions based on my reads.
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Glad I recognized that last thing I wrote. Understanding that helped me come back to earth a bit and start opening up my mind to poker situations, not emotions. I also decided that since I'm not playing my A game I would only play the remaining table I was on and then judge how I felt after that. I ended up playing a lot better, but busted in 20th out of 90. I decided that since something was off tonight that I would minimize my losses and not chase a win. If had been playing better and still lost 4 tournaments I would likely keep playing, so this was a judgement call. I have a few hands to go over tomorrow when I am a little more focused.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Daily Recap 10/19/09
It's been about 4 days since I played last and it feels like an eternity. I wasn't able to play on Friday or Saturday due to previous obligations and I was just too tired last night from wrestling during the day. I still feel a little physically beat up, but I really wanted to play. One thing that I am going to be focusing on is playing as much volume as I can while I am running good and playing good. I felt like I was playing my A game last week and I was fortunate to run good at the same time.
So I'm starting the session tonight a little physically tired, but I'm drinking some coffee and I think I'll be okay. I know from previous experience that if I get really tired, I fall into a rhythm of nitting up too much or blindly betting without putting someone on a range. So my focus tonight is to find spots where I can be selectively aggressive and find the rhythym of accumulating chips.
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67s hand...didn't put him on a range..just gave up b/c fd. check/folding isn't horrible on the river and my line was probably okay, but I should have probably c-bet and maybe double barrelled...results oriented..but my reasoning for not cbetting wasn't good...it was scared
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That's always annoying. Made it deep in 3 tournaments with 2 final tables and no cashes. Twice a called all-ins with AK and AQ where I was 65% and 60% respectively...flop 2 pair and get runnered for straights and flushes. I made good shove decisions getting there though where sometimes I would shove any two cards when the situation was right. I shoved 42s in the bb when the sb limped and I shoved 94os into the BB when I was the sb. I was going to fold the latter, but getting those chips allowed me to survive a rotation.
It's only 10:30 and I want to keep playing, but I don't want to stay up too late tonight. I might play some head's up or something.
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Played a 4 person HU tournament just for the fun of it. Only a $20 buy in. It was fun. The first person was frustrating because they didn't bluff and was somehow a station only when I was bluffing, not when I had big hands. Still, I felt like I adjusted pretty well to both players and ended up taking it down.
So I'm starting the session tonight a little physically tired, but I'm drinking some coffee and I think I'll be okay. I know from previous experience that if I get really tired, I fall into a rhythm of nitting up too much or blindly betting without putting someone on a range. So my focus tonight is to find spots where I can be selectively aggressive and find the rhythym of accumulating chips.
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67s hand...didn't put him on a range..just gave up b/c fd. check/folding isn't horrible on the river and my line was probably okay, but I should have probably c-bet and maybe double barrelled...results oriented..but my reasoning for not cbetting wasn't good...it was scared
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That's always annoying. Made it deep in 3 tournaments with 2 final tables and no cashes. Twice a called all-ins with AK and AQ where I was 65% and 60% respectively...flop 2 pair and get runnered for straights and flushes. I made good shove decisions getting there though where sometimes I would shove any two cards when the situation was right. I shoved 42s in the bb when the sb limped and I shoved 94os into the BB when I was the sb. I was going to fold the latter, but getting those chips allowed me to survive a rotation.
It's only 10:30 and I want to keep playing, but I don't want to stay up too late tonight. I might play some head's up or something.
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Played a 4 person HU tournament just for the fun of it. Only a $20 buy in. It was fun. The first person was frustrating because they didn't bluff and was somehow a station only when I was bluffing, not when I had big hands. Still, I felt like I adjusted pretty well to both players and ended up taking it down.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Daily Recap 10/15/09
I'm starting tonight's session after busting from the Thursday live tournament I play in. I played fine and actually made a couple of non-standard plays. One of which was a blocking bet, but the guy was probably going to check behind so I lost a few extra chips there. One was when I shoved 9xTh on a all heart board with top pair after I was check-raised. I went with my gut that he was actually putting a move on me and I was kind of right. I was actually freerolling against an offsuit 9T. I didn't hit, but I was happy that I went with my read even though it was kind of early on.
I ended up busting when my KK was all in pre vs. 99 and he hit a 9 on the turn. I wanted to keep playing tonight hoping that I can continue my run from Wednesday. Just gonna focus on solid play and making good reads.
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Got exactly what I wanted tonight...jump in, play a couple of quick turbos and walk away with some cash. I took 2nd in a $60/45 man on Stars. I put myself in a position to take a massive chip lead head's up but unfortunately suckouts happen. But prior to that I am really happy with the way I played. I picked a few really nice spots near the bubble where I put pressure on everyone even though I wasn't a massive stack yet. I c-bet into 3 players with an Ace on board because I knew that they would have 3bet me with an Ace and they didn't want to bust with a couple of super short stacks still in. I also chose to raise a few marginal hands when the short stacks were about to be committed into the blinds. Of course I lost my fair share of sucked out pots and I was able to hit a big suckout 4 handed when I shoved KQ from the SB into a 9bb stacked BB. He woke up with AK and I hit a straight on the turn. My play was absolutely correct, but you do have to get lucky sometimes to win a tournament. Overall I felt like I played my A-Game. I took gambles when I needed to and was able to change gears from being aggressive and conservative.
I ended up busting when my KK was all in pre vs. 99 and he hit a 9 on the turn. I wanted to keep playing tonight hoping that I can continue my run from Wednesday. Just gonna focus on solid play and making good reads.
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Got exactly what I wanted tonight...jump in, play a couple of quick turbos and walk away with some cash. I took 2nd in a $60/45 man on Stars. I put myself in a position to take a massive chip lead head's up but unfortunately suckouts happen. But prior to that I am really happy with the way I played. I picked a few really nice spots near the bubble where I put pressure on everyone even though I wasn't a massive stack yet. I c-bet into 3 players with an Ace on board because I knew that they would have 3bet me with an Ace and they didn't want to bust with a couple of super short stacks still in. I also chose to raise a few marginal hands when the short stacks were about to be committed into the blinds. Of course I lost my fair share of sucked out pots and I was able to hit a big suckout 4 handed when I shoved KQ from the SB into a 9bb stacked BB. He woke up with AK and I hit a straight on the turn. My play was absolutely correct, but you do have to get lucky sometimes to win a tournament. Overall I felt like I played my A-Game. I took gambles when I needed to and was able to change gears from being aggressive and conservative.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Daily Recap 10/13/09
I haven't played in a few days it seems. I finally got over being sick and I've been crazy busy and have been pretty tired lately. I didn't want to play when I wasn't able to focus. Today it was still hectic at work, but I was able to get a major project done and felt the relief of the big part being over. I was able to get the kids to bed and start playing around 8pm, so it was nice to start early.
I started the night misplaying QQ pretty badly in the Stars nightly $27.50. I'll review it tomorrow, but the jist is that I went broke with a set that had both a flush and 4 card straight showing. I could have easily check/folded or even check/called the river, but I decided to bet/call the guys shove trying to convince myself he had AK for 2pr. But that is what I WANTED him to have, not what my read was. So...I'm in 2 tournaments right now and I've started playing much better. Although I do have to admit that I'm not 100% clear headed for some reason. I'm gonna relax a bit and find a focus.
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Got 3 tables going and one is a final table of a $48/90 man. I'm sitting around average at 32K at the 1200/2400 level. I was down to nothing earlier and trippled up, then I chipped up really nice on the bubble only to have a couple of hands go bad and I lost some chips. But I'm happy with the way I played the bubble. We're down to 8 in this one, so I'm going to just pick my spots and go for the win using my reads. Need to pick up some chips in the nightly $35K. Gotta find some re-steal spots.
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So I take the chip lead and have over 100K going into 5 handed play. I played every hand pretty much perfectly and got crushed when a SS woke up with AK vs. my AT 4 handed, then my AK lost a huge race to 77, then I have 30k left at 3000/6000 and shove 97s...same 77 guy wakes up with AQ...gg me in 4th place. Definitely gonna look at that HH to see if tomorrow I still like the way I played. I feel like all the spots were standard, but it being a turbo I just hit a downswing at the wrong time. I do wonder if I should have shoved the 97s though. I had been super active already and there was another short stack. Don't get me wrong, I am playing for the win. But I wonder if the jump from 4th to 3rd is enough to consider ICM.
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btw...really happy with my reads when calling all ins with semi-marginal hands like KQ or suited middle Ace. They are solely player based reads and not an attachment to my hand. I used to be afraid of making calls like that, but when there is a super aggressive player on your right, those hands go way up in value because you are so ahead of their range.
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I just took 2nd in a crazy up and down $48/90 man where I lost a massive pot and was down to being forced all in by the blinds 3 handed. I ended up doubling up a few times and then took the chip lead going into head's up play. Then I called a min raise, hit top pair, check-raised strong and he shoved. I was forced to call and he showed BOTTOM PAIR...and hit a 3 outer for 2pr on the river. That river was worth about $400, so that kinda sucked. I still had some chips left, but not many...about 6bb. Overall I felt my short-handed push-bot play was good and just got unfortunate head's up. I got lucky a few times and then got unlucky as well. That was definitely a wild tournament so I'm happy to have 2 final table and deep cashes tonight, but first would have definitely been sweet. Just gonna keep grinding and try to play some during the day tomorrow.
I started the night misplaying QQ pretty badly in the Stars nightly $27.50. I'll review it tomorrow, but the jist is that I went broke with a set that had both a flush and 4 card straight showing. I could have easily check/folded or even check/called the river, but I decided to bet/call the guys shove trying to convince myself he had AK for 2pr. But that is what I WANTED him to have, not what my read was. So...I'm in 2 tournaments right now and I've started playing much better. Although I do have to admit that I'm not 100% clear headed for some reason. I'm gonna relax a bit and find a focus.
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Got 3 tables going and one is a final table of a $48/90 man. I'm sitting around average at 32K at the 1200/2400 level. I was down to nothing earlier and trippled up, then I chipped up really nice on the bubble only to have a couple of hands go bad and I lost some chips. But I'm happy with the way I played the bubble. We're down to 8 in this one, so I'm going to just pick my spots and go for the win using my reads. Need to pick up some chips in the nightly $35K. Gotta find some re-steal spots.
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So I take the chip lead and have over 100K going into 5 handed play. I played every hand pretty much perfectly and got crushed when a SS woke up with AK vs. my AT 4 handed, then my AK lost a huge race to 77, then I have 30k left at 3000/6000 and shove 97s...same 77 guy wakes up with AQ...gg me in 4th place. Definitely gonna look at that HH to see if tomorrow I still like the way I played. I feel like all the spots were standard, but it being a turbo I just hit a downswing at the wrong time. I do wonder if I should have shoved the 97s though. I had been super active already and there was another short stack. Don't get me wrong, I am playing for the win. But I wonder if the jump from 4th to 3rd is enough to consider ICM.
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btw...really happy with my reads when calling all ins with semi-marginal hands like KQ or suited middle Ace. They are solely player based reads and not an attachment to my hand. I used to be afraid of making calls like that, but when there is a super aggressive player on your right, those hands go way up in value because you are so ahead of their range.
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I just took 2nd in a crazy up and down $48/90 man where I lost a massive pot and was down to being forced all in by the blinds 3 handed. I ended up doubling up a few times and then took the chip lead going into head's up play. Then I called a min raise, hit top pair, check-raised strong and he shoved. I was forced to call and he showed BOTTOM PAIR...and hit a 3 outer for 2pr on the river. That river was worth about $400, so that kinda sucked. I still had some chips left, but not many...about 6bb. Overall I felt my short-handed push-bot play was good and just got unfortunate head's up. I got lucky a few times and then got unlucky as well. That was definitely a wild tournament so I'm happy to have 2 final table and deep cashes tonight, but first would have definitely been sweet. Just gonna keep grinding and try to play some during the day tomorrow.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Daily Recap 10/09/09
I'm starting this entry during the first break tonight. I started playing a little later than normal (about 9pm) and I am not playing in optimal conditions. I had a big dinner and drank a couple of beers, so I was already a little tired. I felt okay when I started but now I'm a little drowsy. I also chose to play longer tournaments tonight as well instead of the 45 and 90 man ones. So I guess my motivations for playing tonight were more because I haven't played much this week and not because I felt like I would play my A game. So...now going into the rest of the session, I am going to have to work doubly hard to stay focused and make +EV decisions. I'm going to be conscious about tendencies to make loose calls because I'm tired or tripple barrel bluff without a read. I will be more focused on making reads and putting players on a hand and I will also not nit up like I used to do when falling back to B game tendencies. I will trust my instincts and act on them and not make emotion based decisions.
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Break #3 - I misplayed a hand when I called a flop bet with 77 on a monotone board looking to spike a 7 high flush. I got there, but so did AA. I didn't bust on the hand, but I lost a fair amount of chips. It was a 3 bet pot and I called to set mine and then called around a 1/2-2/3 pot bet to hit the flush. I think calling was a mistake not because he could have a higher draw, but because I'm not going to get paid when I hit. It's a scary board and I don't have the implied odds to make the call profitable. That's actually a good lesson learned that I don't think people realize sometimes.
I was also able to lose the minimum with KK vs. AA. It was a pretty obvious spot, but still one that many people go broke in because they "aren't going to fold KK".
PokerStars Game #33846077695: Tournament #200031055, $10+$1 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (60/120) - 2009/10/09 22:40:46 ET
Table '200031055 157' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: DDSM31 (945 in chips)
Seat 2: bannedfrmFTP (11310 in chips)
Seat 3: goleafsgo31 (4320 in chips)
Seat 4: DP388 (6230 in chips)
Seat 5: Jestok (2544 in chips)
Seat 6: imgrinding23 (10015 in chips)
Seat 7: gomezdedeye (12765 in chips)
Seat 8: wrios_23 (5090 in chips)
Seat 9: streetpup (8920 in chips)
DDSM31: posts the ante 15
bannedfrmFTP: posts the ante 15
goleafsgo31: posts the ante 15
DP388: posts the ante 15
Jestok: posts the ante 15
imgrinding23: posts the ante 15
gomezdedeye: posts the ante 15
wrios_23: posts the ante 15
streetpup: posts the ante 15
streetpup: posts small blind 60
DDSM31: posts big blind 120
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [Kc Kd]
bannedfrmFTP: folds
goleafsgo31: calls 120
DP388: raises 360 to 480
Jestok: folds
imgrinding23: folds
gomezdedeye: folds
wrios_23: folds
streetpup: folds
DDSM31: folds
goleafsgo31: raises 360 to 840
DP388: calls 360
*** FLOP *** [8d 3d Ah]
goleafsgo31: checks
DP388: checks
*** TURN *** [8d 3d Ah] [Th]
goleafsgo31: checks
DP388: checks
*** RIVER *** [8d 3d Ah Th] [Qd]
goleafsgo31: bets 360
DP388: calls 360
*** SHOW DOWN ***
goleafsgo31: shows [Ac Ad] (three of a kind, Aces)
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4th Break - Looking decent and playing well. I feel like I'm playing my A-game and I'm consciously finding steal spots where I often start nitting up and blinding down during the mid stages. I'm raising JT type hands in earlyish/middle position with like 9M. I think staying active stealing is important with that stack size and I usually completely shut down because I'm afraid of losing 1/2 my stack c-betting. But I think if I just focus on stealing and only stick with high percentage c-bet situations/boards then I'll be fine. I need to keep my stack afloat while I pick other spots to double up. We're getting closer to the bubble in the two tournaments I'm in, so we'll see who tightens up and if I can chip up.
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Just busted in the Stars $70k in 221st. Bubble was 216. Meh, oh well. AK vs. TT. I tried to keep myself from getting to 10bb, but I didn't find enough situations. But the way stacks were, I would have ended up in that race anyway so oh well. I was hoping to cash 2 out of 3 tonight, but I didn't so I'm gonna focus on getting deep in this other one and putting myself in a position to win.
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I just found out something about my play. It can be a good thing and bad thing. I sometimes wait too long before opening up my pre-flop raising range because I don't have reads on the other players. This is fine early on, but when it's late and people keep moving back and forth between tables you can't wait forever. Sometimes you have to just be aggressive and learn for yourself what their tendencies are.
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Break 6 (I think) - Was able to chip up nice at a new table and made some good reads. I almost got to 100k at the 1k/2k level but lost a flip with 88 vs. AK and went to 65K. Picked up a couple of steals, but for the most part I've been kind of dead. I'm staying patient and I'm about 11bb now, so I'm looking for good shoving opportunities. I don't know how deep I am and I really don't want to know yet. I just want to keep playing and making good decisions.
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Grrrr...super aggro table and I can't pick a spot to shove. Finally shove QQ for 5bb and AK wins the race. 37th. I'm happy to get deep don't get me wrong, but it was a $10 tournament too. I can't complain about results. I think I played well, but I think there are a few spots where I needed to probably 3bet shove with trash or open the pot with trash simply to stay alive. Not sure...I felt like I was reading the tables well and I wasn't too nitty, but I still ended up blinding down a good bit towards the end. I'll analyze the HH tomorrow.
Flka;lkdfapoihg...just checked the payout and for getting 37th out of 1900 people it's only $34.20. That's pretty rediculous. I'll have to make a note of that and never play this tournament again.
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Break #3 - I misplayed a hand when I called a flop bet with 77 on a monotone board looking to spike a 7 high flush. I got there, but so did AA. I didn't bust on the hand, but I lost a fair amount of chips. It was a 3 bet pot and I called to set mine and then called around a 1/2-2/3 pot bet to hit the flush. I think calling was a mistake not because he could have a higher draw, but because I'm not going to get paid when I hit. It's a scary board and I don't have the implied odds to make the call profitable. That's actually a good lesson learned that I don't think people realize sometimes.
I was also able to lose the minimum with KK vs. AA. It was a pretty obvious spot, but still one that many people go broke in because they "aren't going to fold KK".
PokerStars Game #33846077695: Tournament #200031055, $10+$1 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (60/120) - 2009/10/09 22:40:46 ET
Table '200031055 157' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: DDSM31 (945 in chips)
Seat 2: bannedfrmFTP (11310 in chips)
Seat 3: goleafsgo31 (4320 in chips)
Seat 4: DP388 (6230 in chips)
Seat 5: Jestok (2544 in chips)
Seat 6: imgrinding23 (10015 in chips)
Seat 7: gomezdedeye (12765 in chips)
Seat 8: wrios_23 (5090 in chips)
Seat 9: streetpup (8920 in chips)
DDSM31: posts the ante 15
bannedfrmFTP: posts the ante 15
goleafsgo31: posts the ante 15
DP388: posts the ante 15
Jestok: posts the ante 15
imgrinding23: posts the ante 15
gomezdedeye: posts the ante 15
wrios_23: posts the ante 15
streetpup: posts the ante 15
streetpup: posts small blind 60
DDSM31: posts big blind 120
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [Kc Kd]
bannedfrmFTP: folds
goleafsgo31: calls 120
DP388: raises 360 to 480
Jestok: folds
imgrinding23: folds
gomezdedeye: folds
wrios_23: folds
streetpup: folds
DDSM31: folds
goleafsgo31: raises 360 to 840
DP388: calls 360
*** FLOP *** [8d 3d Ah]
goleafsgo31: checks
DP388: checks
*** TURN *** [8d 3d Ah] [Th]
goleafsgo31: checks
DP388: checks
*** RIVER *** [8d 3d Ah Th] [Qd]
goleafsgo31: bets 360
DP388: calls 360
*** SHOW DOWN ***
goleafsgo31: shows [Ac Ad] (three of a kind, Aces)
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4th Break - Looking decent and playing well. I feel like I'm playing my A-game and I'm consciously finding steal spots where I often start nitting up and blinding down during the mid stages. I'm raising JT type hands in earlyish/middle position with like 9M. I think staying active stealing is important with that stack size and I usually completely shut down because I'm afraid of losing 1/2 my stack c-betting. But I think if I just focus on stealing and only stick with high percentage c-bet situations/boards then I'll be fine. I need to keep my stack afloat while I pick other spots to double up. We're getting closer to the bubble in the two tournaments I'm in, so we'll see who tightens up and if I can chip up.
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Just busted in the Stars $70k in 221st. Bubble was 216. Meh, oh well. AK vs. TT. I tried to keep myself from getting to 10bb, but I didn't find enough situations. But the way stacks were, I would have ended up in that race anyway so oh well. I was hoping to cash 2 out of 3 tonight, but I didn't so I'm gonna focus on getting deep in this other one and putting myself in a position to win.
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I just found out something about my play. It can be a good thing and bad thing. I sometimes wait too long before opening up my pre-flop raising range because I don't have reads on the other players. This is fine early on, but when it's late and people keep moving back and forth between tables you can't wait forever. Sometimes you have to just be aggressive and learn for yourself what their tendencies are.
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Break 6 (I think) - Was able to chip up nice at a new table and made some good reads. I almost got to 100k at the 1k/2k level but lost a flip with 88 vs. AK and went to 65K. Picked up a couple of steals, but for the most part I've been kind of dead. I'm staying patient and I'm about 11bb now, so I'm looking for good shoving opportunities. I don't know how deep I am and I really don't want to know yet. I just want to keep playing and making good decisions.
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Grrrr...super aggro table and I can't pick a spot to shove. Finally shove QQ for 5bb and AK wins the race. 37th. I'm happy to get deep don't get me wrong, but it was a $10 tournament too. I can't complain about results. I think I played well, but I think there are a few spots where I needed to probably 3bet shove with trash or open the pot with trash simply to stay alive. Not sure...I felt like I was reading the tables well and I wasn't too nitty, but I still ended up blinding down a good bit towards the end. I'll analyze the HH tomorrow.
Flka;lkdfapoihg...just checked the payout and for getting 37th out of 1900 people it's only $34.20. That's pretty rediculous. I'll have to make a note of that and never play this tournament again.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Daily Recap 10/08/09
Gonna head to the Legion tonight. I've been sick for a week so this will be my first time playing since my game on Saturday. My focus tonight is to play a similar game as last week by opening up a little bit. I'm going to also really focus on maximizing my +EV on each street. Part of me was debating staying home and playing online so I could get more tables and hands in, but I really feel like I want to get out of the house and play some live poker. I feel like I'll be able to focus better by leaving since the kids have been kind of a pain lately at bed time. I want to start at an hour when I'm actually fresh.
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Went to the legion and played well. I feel like I was playing my A game but then made a borderline call of a tight player's shove. UTG limped, mp player raised and tight guy shoved. I have JJ in the sb. The shover had 3800 at the 150/300 level so he doesn't have to have a monster hand necessarily, but his shoving range in that spot is going to be pretty narrow. I'm gonna run the numbers and see how close it is tomorrow.
Came home and played a few turbo 45 and 90 man sngs. Took 6th in one of the 90 mans, but I just made another borderline call. 6 handed, I have 66 utg with 32K at the 1,200/2,400 level and I make it 5900. The most conservative player at the table shoves and I'm getting exactly 2-1. If I fold I have 26000. I'm getting the right odds, but this guy was really tight and I am am always either behind or racing here. I'm fine with the race, but his range is weighted toward a lot of pairs. This is another hand I need to run the numbers on.
In both hands, I had a strong feeling that they had overpairs but the situation made it very close in that it could have widened their range. I ended up calling in both spots and in both spots the had KK. I'm gonna approach each hand without being results oriented, but at the same time I have to trust my reads as well.
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Went to the legion and played well. I feel like I was playing my A game but then made a borderline call of a tight player's shove. UTG limped, mp player raised and tight guy shoved. I have JJ in the sb. The shover had 3800 at the 150/300 level so he doesn't have to have a monster hand necessarily, but his shoving range in that spot is going to be pretty narrow. I'm gonna run the numbers and see how close it is tomorrow.
Came home and played a few turbo 45 and 90 man sngs. Took 6th in one of the 90 mans, but I just made another borderline call. 6 handed, I have 66 utg with 32K at the 1,200/2,400 level and I make it 5900. The most conservative player at the table shoves and I'm getting exactly 2-1. If I fold I have 26000. I'm getting the right odds, but this guy was really tight and I am am always either behind or racing here. I'm fine with the race, but his range is weighted toward a lot of pairs. This is another hand I need to run the numbers on.
In both hands, I had a strong feeling that they had overpairs but the situation made it very close in that it could have widened their range. I ended up calling in both spots and in both spots the had KK. I'm gonna approach each hand without being results oriented, but at the same time I have to trust my reads as well.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Daily Recap 10-1-09
Gonna start this post before going to the America Legion tournament tonight. I've been feeling kinda sick today, but just like in any sport you have to sometimes push yourself and train your mind/body to perform in sub-par situations. I mean, I'm not throwing up or anything so I'm fine.
My goal tonight is to try and open up a little earlier. The blind structure is a little fast and the players are really bad so normally I just play super patient and play push fold in the later levels. It doesn't mean that I'm going to go nuts because many of the players are calling stations, so I'll have to pick my spots. BUT, it does mean I'm going to open a little looser in late position (if it folds to me) and not pass up any blind stealing opportunities. It also means I'll probably open a little lighter from early position. Again, not too much, but enough to keep my stack healthy so I can absorb any hits later if need be.
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I played great tonight. I didn't win, but I feel like every decision was +EV. I opened up my game a bit and played the players. I doubled barreled one time and I bluffed the river into a tight player when the board paired Aces. Aside from bluffs, I think I extracted well although I check-raised a set once and I might have been able to get more value by check/calling. The board had a flush draw showing but I put the player on a lower pocket pair. I felt like check/calling might kill my action if another spade hit and I don't think he fires again on the turn anyway. Against this particular player I think I probably made the most. I ended up final tabling and busting in 9th out of 53, but I chopped the last longer and basically broke even for the night.
My goal tonight is to try and open up a little earlier. The blind structure is a little fast and the players are really bad so normally I just play super patient and play push fold in the later levels. It doesn't mean that I'm going to go nuts because many of the players are calling stations, so I'll have to pick my spots. BUT, it does mean I'm going to open a little looser in late position (if it folds to me) and not pass up any blind stealing opportunities. It also means I'll probably open a little lighter from early position. Again, not too much, but enough to keep my stack healthy so I can absorb any hits later if need be.
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I played great tonight. I didn't win, but I feel like every decision was +EV. I opened up my game a bit and played the players. I doubled barreled one time and I bluffed the river into a tight player when the board paired Aces. Aside from bluffs, I think I extracted well although I check-raised a set once and I might have been able to get more value by check/calling. The board had a flush draw showing but I put the player on a lower pocket pair. I felt like check/calling might kill my action if another spade hit and I don't think he fires again on the turn anyway. Against this particular player I think I probably made the most. I ended up final tabling and busting in 9th out of 53, but I chopped the last longer and basically broke even for the night.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Daily Recap 9/28/09
I'm starting this post before I get started tonight. I feel like it would be helpful to clear my mind a bit before settling into playing and I want to chronicle where my mind is at before I start as a way to prevent it from affecting my play and help me start off with a positive mindset.
I had to do a lot of investigation today into accounts that were being billed improperly, so it was part needle in a hay stack, part logic problem. I ultimately like solving problems, but it's also frustrating to know that thousands of dollars have not been billed to our members because of errors we made as a result of a confusing interface. We will be rid of this problem soon, but I still have to solve the immediate issues of getting our accounts straight. I was successful in identifying the problems and realizing that they were not nearly as bad as they could be, so that was satisfying. In addition to this I was working from home and with the basement still in disarray, I had to deal with screaming kids around me. Our 3 year old has been a handful lately, so it takes great patience not to fly off the handle. Normally I'm cool, but I felt myself breaking a bit today since I was trying to concentrate on solving the complex billing problems. On top of everything, the backyard is still a mess from the flooding and the house is messy.
Okay, now that that is out of my system I am going to work on playing my A game and making good decisions tonight. I will say that I am still starting the session with a little anxiety about unfinished business at the house, needing to finish a training manual for new employees that are starting tomorrow and leftover stress from the kids. In the past, I've sometimes transferred these negative feelings into negative thoughts about how I would run...getting sucked out on, missing flops, etc. But at the same time, I need to train myself to push those things aside when it comes time to play. I can't wait for perfect scenarios. Sometimes, you have to teach yourself to focus and become disciplined. So I'm going to step it up and work hard at making good decisions and staying calm while doing it. I'm also going to work on not beating myself up over decisions that might not go as planned or feeling like I'm playing too tight. I'm just going to settle into the rhythm of the game and take in all situational factors before making a decision.
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Okay, in the middle of playing and getting deep in a $48/90 man. I'm having these feelings of inevitably busting by shoving into a monster or getting sucked out on because I'm getting short and I have loose donks to my left. I'm gonna stay positive and just pick good spots without being too nitty.
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Bink. 2nd place for $702 + $32 in bounties. I chipped up nice on the bubble and I got lucky in a couple of spots, but I still think the calls were good vs. some short stack shoving ranges. Once I got a few chips I started putting pressure. Head's up was a standard crap shoot since we both had 10bb. I ended up shoving Q9 with 8bb and he woke up with TT. As far as A game goes, I got into a nice rhythm and I was very decisive about my decisions. I made a few folds that were tempting, but I just made a gut read of the situation.
I had to do a lot of investigation today into accounts that were being billed improperly, so it was part needle in a hay stack, part logic problem. I ultimately like solving problems, but it's also frustrating to know that thousands of dollars have not been billed to our members because of errors we made as a result of a confusing interface. We will be rid of this problem soon, but I still have to solve the immediate issues of getting our accounts straight. I was successful in identifying the problems and realizing that they were not nearly as bad as they could be, so that was satisfying. In addition to this I was working from home and with the basement still in disarray, I had to deal with screaming kids around me. Our 3 year old has been a handful lately, so it takes great patience not to fly off the handle. Normally I'm cool, but I felt myself breaking a bit today since I was trying to concentrate on solving the complex billing problems. On top of everything, the backyard is still a mess from the flooding and the house is messy.
Okay, now that that is out of my system I am going to work on playing my A game and making good decisions tonight. I will say that I am still starting the session with a little anxiety about unfinished business at the house, needing to finish a training manual for new employees that are starting tomorrow and leftover stress from the kids. In the past, I've sometimes transferred these negative feelings into negative thoughts about how I would run...getting sucked out on, missing flops, etc. But at the same time, I need to train myself to push those things aside when it comes time to play. I can't wait for perfect scenarios. Sometimes, you have to teach yourself to focus and become disciplined. So I'm going to step it up and work hard at making good decisions and staying calm while doing it. I'm also going to work on not beating myself up over decisions that might not go as planned or feeling like I'm playing too tight. I'm just going to settle into the rhythm of the game and take in all situational factors before making a decision.
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Okay, in the middle of playing and getting deep in a $48/90 man. I'm having these feelings of inevitably busting by shoving into a monster or getting sucked out on because I'm getting short and I have loose donks to my left. I'm gonna stay positive and just pick good spots without being too nitty.
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Bink. 2nd place for $702 + $32 in bounties. I chipped up nice on the bubble and I got lucky in a couple of spots, but I still think the calls were good vs. some short stack shoving ranges. Once I got a few chips I started putting pressure. Head's up was a standard crap shoot since we both had 10bb. I ended up shoving Q9 with 8bb and he woke up with TT. As far as A game goes, I got into a nice rhythm and I was very decisive about my decisions. I made a few folds that were tempting, but I just made a gut read of the situation.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Daily Recap 9/27/09
The good news is that I barely remember any hands. I felt like I was playing in the zone and I was not afraid to go with my gut in a few marginal spots. I was right in a couple of them and I lost a really big pot in another, but I'm not too unhappy about it. I'm gonna take another look tomorrow to see if it was a good call or not. Basically I called a pot sized all-in on the river with 99 with a board of xKxKx. The way the hand was played he could have had a small/mid pair in his range as well as a slow played King. I had a big stack already and could afford it, but it was still a substantial pot.
The bad news is that I didn't cash in any of the KO tournaments except for a few bounties. I bubbled two of them in 13th and 15th respectively and took like 25th in another. In one of them I was down to 2-3bb twice, came back to a nice stack and then ran into a some coolers like TT vs. JJ. I was picking my spots for shoving and probably nitted in a few situations (albiet I had crap hands). There were two super short stacks on the other table and while I wasn't playing to cash, they were so short that I assumed they would be busting. I kept floating between 3 and 6bb and finally lost when I shoved QJ 5 handed vs. AK.
Overall I felt I played my A game. I was able to chip up really nice in most of the tournaments and lost in pretty standard spots either losing a flip or re-shoving with a mid pp and them waking up with a bigger pair. I stayed in control emotionally when I lost pots and stayed confident in my game.
The bad news is that I didn't cash in any of the KO tournaments except for a few bounties. I bubbled two of them in 13th and 15th respectively and took like 25th in another. In one of them I was down to 2-3bb twice, came back to a nice stack and then ran into a some coolers like TT vs. JJ. I was picking my spots for shoving and probably nitted in a few situations (albiet I had crap hands). There were two super short stacks on the other table and while I wasn't playing to cash, they were so short that I assumed they would be busting. I kept floating between 3 and 6bb and finally lost when I shoved QJ 5 handed vs. AK.
Overall I felt I played my A game. I was able to chip up really nice in most of the tournaments and lost in pretty standard spots either losing a flip or re-shoving with a mid pp and them waking up with a bigger pair. I stayed in control emotionally when I lost pots and stayed confident in my game.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Daily Recap 9/26/09
Played at Bentwater tonight. Started off with a crazy laggy table with 2 really bad players who played every pot. I chose to sit back and play my big hands for max value and not get caught in a bunch of marginal spots or try to bluff them. Good strategy, but I unfortunately had really unplayable cards. They both eventually were knocked out and I was able to make a few key double ups and brought my stack up to 55K at the 1k/2k level. At Bentwater, that is a really nice stack.
Overall I felt like I was playing my B game most of the night before that. Not based on the hands I was playing but the reads I was making. I wasn't fully engaged in each hand and I was feeling a little sick/cloudy headed. In some hands I was thinking through all the factors and some I wasn't. One hand that I fully thought through was right after I doubled up shoving AQ for 9bb. An early passive player limped 7 handed for 1k, Snow (with a big stack) made it 3,500. It folded to me in the small blinds and I had ATs with about 22K. I was still stacking chips and was thinking through my options. I felt like I was ahead of Snow because I know he was going into big stack bully mode. I thought about folding since I was out of position, but I was pretty confident I was ahead. I then thought about calling, but again being out of position sucks and I'm just playing my cards and "hoping" to hit a flop. I decided that shoving was optimal since a normal raise would commit 1/2 my stack. I also felt that with my image, I could get him to fold a small pair or even AJ. I shoved and scooped the pot.
My bustout hand was kinda of crappy and I felt like this was an example of playing my B game and not fully thinking through the hand. I probably thought through 90% of it. We are 5 handed on the final table bubble and Brian Sullivan limps utg for 2k. I have KT and decide to be aggressive and raise to 8k. Brian often limps here with hands like QJ, J9, etc. Brian looks really annoyed and decides to call. At this point I put him also on a weak Ace. The flop is J97 with two spades and he checks. There is 18K in the pot because there was a dead small blind, so I c-bet to 11K. I'm not sure c-betting is the best here because it hits a lot of his range. Not that c-betting is always wrong here, but I felt like I wasn't playing my A game because I blindly c-bet instead of thinking through the optimal line in the hand, stack sizes, etc. I just bet hoping to win. Brian calls and the turn is a blank. He checks. There is 40K in the pot now and I have about 28K behind. I considered shoving, but thought he might have a J. I also thought a flush draw with an Ace was in his range as well. I decided to check behind. The river is the 8 of spades giving me a straight. Brian checks. Here is where I misplayed the hand. I did put him on a range of hands which included a J, maybe a 9 or a flush draw. When he checks the river I thought he didn't have a flush although it was still possible. After thinking through a bit, I decide to shove because..."I have a straight. Maybe he'll call if he has a J. I don't want to lose out on a value bet here." The problem with shoving here is that I'm only getting a better hand to call me. Brian also sees there is a flush out there and would fold in fear that I had it. He could also have QT here for a better straight and checked, but would still call because the pot got so big. So while I thought through the hand, I didn't consider that value shoving had no value and that he only calls with hand that beats me. He could have a small flush or he could even be inducing me to bet. It turns out he had As3s and knocked me out.
So overall, I played decent. Definitely not a C game tournament, but not A game either. In the last hand I needed to think through his entire range to determine if I can get called with a worse hand...not "I have a straight, so I should shove". Why am I shoving if all worse hands fold?
Good lesson learned tonight.
Overall I felt like I was playing my B game most of the night before that. Not based on the hands I was playing but the reads I was making. I wasn't fully engaged in each hand and I was feeling a little sick/cloudy headed. In some hands I was thinking through all the factors and some I wasn't. One hand that I fully thought through was right after I doubled up shoving AQ for 9bb. An early passive player limped 7 handed for 1k, Snow (with a big stack) made it 3,500. It folded to me in the small blinds and I had ATs with about 22K. I was still stacking chips and was thinking through my options. I felt like I was ahead of Snow because I know he was going into big stack bully mode. I thought about folding since I was out of position, but I was pretty confident I was ahead. I then thought about calling, but again being out of position sucks and I'm just playing my cards and "hoping" to hit a flop. I decided that shoving was optimal since a normal raise would commit 1/2 my stack. I also felt that with my image, I could get him to fold a small pair or even AJ. I shoved and scooped the pot.
My bustout hand was kinda of crappy and I felt like this was an example of playing my B game and not fully thinking through the hand. I probably thought through 90% of it. We are 5 handed on the final table bubble and Brian Sullivan limps utg for 2k. I have KT and decide to be aggressive and raise to 8k. Brian often limps here with hands like QJ, J9, etc. Brian looks really annoyed and decides to call. At this point I put him also on a weak Ace. The flop is J97 with two spades and he checks. There is 18K in the pot because there was a dead small blind, so I c-bet to 11K. I'm not sure c-betting is the best here because it hits a lot of his range. Not that c-betting is always wrong here, but I felt like I wasn't playing my A game because I blindly c-bet instead of thinking through the optimal line in the hand, stack sizes, etc. I just bet hoping to win. Brian calls and the turn is a blank. He checks. There is 40K in the pot now and I have about 28K behind. I considered shoving, but thought he might have a J. I also thought a flush draw with an Ace was in his range as well. I decided to check behind. The river is the 8 of spades giving me a straight. Brian checks. Here is where I misplayed the hand. I did put him on a range of hands which included a J, maybe a 9 or a flush draw. When he checks the river I thought he didn't have a flush although it was still possible. After thinking through a bit, I decide to shove because..."I have a straight. Maybe he'll call if he has a J. I don't want to lose out on a value bet here." The problem with shoving here is that I'm only getting a better hand to call me. Brian also sees there is a flush out there and would fold in fear that I had it. He could also have QT here for a better straight and checked, but would still call because the pot got so big. So while I thought through the hand, I didn't consider that value shoving had no value and that he only calls with hand that beats me. He could have a small flush or he could even be inducing me to bet. It turns out he had As3s and knocked me out.
So overall, I played decent. Definitely not a C game tournament, but not A game either. In the last hand I needed to think through his entire range to determine if I can get called with a worse hand...not "I have a straight, so I should shove". Why am I shoving if all worse hands fold?
Good lesson learned tonight.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Daily Recap 9/25/09
I feel really good playing right now. I'm focused and making good decisions. Keeping it light tonight again since I was kind tired. I'm adapting to using the HUD as something in the background for a reference tool as opposed to focusing on the numbers too much, so that's good.
Got 8th in a $69/45 man on Full Tilt and unfortunately busted at the bubble making a standard shove with A9 and getting called by AT. I had like 6bb left and was in the cutoff.
....
Just made a really nice play with KK on a J high board, got it in on the turn vs. tp and a J hit the river...happy with my play though since I got tp to stack off.
....
Got deep in a $48/90 man KO and was playing really well and lost a flip with AK to the chip leader who was winning every single flip. I made a couple of well timed bluffs and I think I picked good spots for the couple of multi-barrel bluffs I made tonight. I was very confident they would work as opposed to betting and hoping.
I made a really strange call earlier in the night with AK on the river and no pair. The guy had been flatting all my raises and betting into me and in this hand he checked flop, min bet turn and potted river when a flush draw hit. I thought for a while and called 1/2 my stack. I'll have to re-look at the hand tomorrow and see if making a big hero call like this was good. I mean obviously committing half my stack isn't good, but I was comfortable with making a big call there. The one thing I'm not sure is if I was making it more out of ego than a solid read...I think a little ego was in there, but my justification was somewhat logical. It wasn't a spite call or anything.
Anyway, no cashes tonight other than some bounties, but bubbled two tournaments and lost in completely standard situations so I felt good about my play.
Got 8th in a $69/45 man on Full Tilt and unfortunately busted at the bubble making a standard shove with A9 and getting called by AT. I had like 6bb left and was in the cutoff.
....
Just made a really nice play with KK on a J high board, got it in on the turn vs. tp and a J hit the river...happy with my play though since I got tp to stack off.
....
Got deep in a $48/90 man KO and was playing really well and lost a flip with AK to the chip leader who was winning every single flip. I made a couple of well timed bluffs and I think I picked good spots for the couple of multi-barrel bluffs I made tonight. I was very confident they would work as opposed to betting and hoping.
I made a really strange call earlier in the night with AK on the river and no pair. The guy had been flatting all my raises and betting into me and in this hand he checked flop, min bet turn and potted river when a flush draw hit. I thought for a while and called 1/2 my stack. I'll have to re-look at the hand tomorrow and see if making a big hero call like this was good. I mean obviously committing half my stack isn't good, but I was comfortable with making a big call there. The one thing I'm not sure is if I was making it more out of ego than a solid read...I think a little ego was in there, but my justification was somewhat logical. It wasn't a spite call or anything.
Anyway, no cashes tonight other than some bounties, but bubbled two tournaments and lost in completely standard situations so I felt good about my play.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Daily Recap - 9/22/09
Light night again. Only played 3 multi-table sngs.
$38/45 man turbo - 38th (ick...lost an early flip with AK to a SS and then lost another flip with an 8bb shove..oh well)
$36/180 man tubo - I got teased by my 2nd place finish so I played again. 21 left I shove 8.5bb (which is a good stack with this many left) with AK. BB snap calls with A8 and hits an 8.
$24/90 man KO - Played really well here and don't really remember any hands. So that's a good thing. I was on complete auto-pilot and didn't have to think much. I had one hand where a big stack randomly shoved the river and I had tp (K) with KJ on the flop. Nothing made sense with the way the hand played out and I was about to call but my time bank ran out. Who knows if I was right or not, but lasted longer than that player and ended up out in 6th place when I shoved A5 and 75 called in the BB and hit a 7.
So overall the night was a profit and I felt good about my play.
$38/45 man turbo - 38th (ick...lost an early flip with AK to a SS and then lost another flip with an 8bb shove..oh well)
$36/180 man tubo - I got teased by my 2nd place finish so I played again. 21 left I shove 8.5bb (which is a good stack with this many left) with AK. BB snap calls with A8 and hits an 8.
$24/90 man KO - Played really well here and don't really remember any hands. So that's a good thing. I was on complete auto-pilot and didn't have to think much. I had one hand where a big stack randomly shoved the river and I had tp (K) with KJ on the flop. Nothing made sense with the way the hand played out and I was about to call but my time bank ran out. Who knows if I was right or not, but lasted longer than that player and ended up out in 6th place when I shoved A5 and 75 called in the BB and hit a 7.
So overall the night was a profit and I felt good about my play.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Daily Recap 9/20/09
I felt good playing tonight. I kept it really light since I was tired and only played 3 45 man turbos. I have been playing under my roll the last few sessions just because I was getting over some tilt and didn't want to be affected by big losing sessions. I've started to run well and I've re-tooled myself so my confidence is high.
At first I wasn't going to play tonight but one thing I have noticed in the past is that I don't ride the upswings enough. I'm not sure I'm on a full upswing yet, but I have started to run better and I've hit a few wins the last couple of days, so I decided to at least play some. I didn't cash tonight, but I played really well. I honestly don't really remember many hands because I was instinctively making reads and plays. So that's a good thing. I'm no longer thinking about things on a conscious level. I did save one hand from tonight which I was proud of.
Full Tilt Poker Game #14832008906: $69 + $6 Sit & Go (108866952), Table 5 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:20:52 ET - 2009/09/20
Seat 1: hdkeisk (1,375)
Seat 2: DP388 (3,725)
Seat 3: vardar14 (1,825)
Seat 4: KRISDRU (1,305)
Seat 5: DIMJR (1,765)
Seat 6: voff voff voff (1,615)
Seat 7: Sando85 (3,285)
Seat 8: Dr_Krimsonn (1,375)
Seat 9: Tinmannohearts (1,325)
hdkeisk posts the small blind of 25
DP388 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [7d 8c]
vardar14 folds
KRISDRU calls 50
DIMJR has 15 seconds left to act
DIMJR has timed out
DIMJR folds
DIMJR is sitting out
voff voff voff folds
Sando85 folds
Dr_Krimsonn folds
Tinmannohearts has 15 seconds left to act
Tinmannohearts calls 50
hdkeisk folds
DIMJR has returned
DP388 checks
*** FLOP *** [3s Jc 8s]
DP388 checks
KRISDRU checks
Tinmannohearts checks
*** TURN *** [3s Jc 8s] [5d]
DP388 bets 100
KRISDRU calls 100
Tinmannohearts calls 100
*** RIVER *** [3s Jc 8s 5d] [Jh]
DP388 checks
KRISDRU bets 200
Tinmannohearts folds
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 calls 200
*** SHOW DOWN ***
KRISDRU shows [Ah Kd] a pair of Jacks
DP388 shows [7d 8c] two pair, Jacks and Eights
DP388 wins the pot (875) with two pair, Jacks and Eights
Him having a jack didn't make since since he checked the flop that had a couple of draws. When he called the turn, I put him on a flush draw or possibly a hand like 89, A8 or A5. After he bets the river and the other guy folds, it just didn't make since. He would likely check behind with an 8 since it had showdown value and he'd be afraid of the other guy having a Jack. So I called and it was a poorly played AK. I did think for a moment before calling to go through a range of hands and once it didn't ad up, I called with confidence.
At first I wasn't going to play tonight but one thing I have noticed in the past is that I don't ride the upswings enough. I'm not sure I'm on a full upswing yet, but I have started to run better and I've hit a few wins the last couple of days, so I decided to at least play some. I didn't cash tonight, but I played really well. I honestly don't really remember many hands because I was instinctively making reads and plays. So that's a good thing. I'm no longer thinking about things on a conscious level. I did save one hand from tonight which I was proud of.
Full Tilt Poker Game #14832008906: $69 + $6 Sit & Go (108866952), Table 5 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:20:52 ET - 2009/09/20
Seat 1: hdkeisk (1,375)
Seat 2: DP388 (3,725)
Seat 3: vardar14 (1,825)
Seat 4: KRISDRU (1,305)
Seat 5: DIMJR (1,765)
Seat 6: voff voff voff (1,615)
Seat 7: Sando85 (3,285)
Seat 8: Dr_Krimsonn (1,375)
Seat 9: Tinmannohearts (1,325)
hdkeisk posts the small blind of 25
DP388 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DP388 [7d 8c]
vardar14 folds
KRISDRU calls 50
DIMJR has 15 seconds left to act
DIMJR has timed out
DIMJR folds
DIMJR is sitting out
voff voff voff folds
Sando85 folds
Dr_Krimsonn folds
Tinmannohearts has 15 seconds left to act
Tinmannohearts calls 50
hdkeisk folds
DIMJR has returned
DP388 checks
*** FLOP *** [3s Jc 8s]
DP388 checks
KRISDRU checks
Tinmannohearts checks
*** TURN *** [3s Jc 8s] [5d]
DP388 bets 100
KRISDRU calls 100
Tinmannohearts calls 100
*** RIVER *** [3s Jc 8s 5d] [Jh]
DP388 checks
KRISDRU bets 200
Tinmannohearts folds
DP388 has 15 seconds left to act
DP388 calls 200
*** SHOW DOWN ***
KRISDRU shows [Ah Kd] a pair of Jacks
DP388 shows [7d 8c] two pair, Jacks and Eights
DP388 wins the pot (875) with two pair, Jacks and Eights
Him having a jack didn't make since since he checked the flop that had a couple of draws. When he called the turn, I put him on a flush draw or possibly a hand like 89, A8 or A5. After he bets the river and the other guy folds, it just didn't make since. He would likely check behind with an 8 since it had showdown value and he'd be afraid of the other guy having a Jack. So I called and it was a poorly played AK. I did think for a moment before calling to go through a range of hands and once it didn't ad up, I called with confidence.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Daily Recap - 9/19/09
AM Session:
So Jenni took the kids to a play date and I figured I'd fire up a few turbo multi-table sngs. I was feeling good from the nice cash the night before and wanted to start riding an upswing. I played only 2 tables at a time so I could concentrate better and played well, but busted out on completely standard shoves. But for some reason, I still felt angry that I busted. I was hoping that the night before would have helped erase some of that but obviously there is still some lingering emotion from the downswing.
While I've felt pretty good, I've only given myself a couple of small 1-2 day breaks. I didn't think I needed it, but it might be time for me to take 3-4 days off to fully reset my head. I still have two tables going so we'll see what happens. Unfortunately I'm sitting at like 8bb because I had to rush to the bathroom and folded JJ when I would have doubled up...oh well.
Bleh...A8 > my AT...one left. I'm cool though.
...Ship it! Had a super passive final table and completely took control. It was just a $24/45 man on Full Tilt, but I played well and did not settle for anything other than first. I pushed back the voices that were telling me to not get too aggressive and it paid off. I just kept raising until people played back and they never did.
PM Session:
Things are starting to click back into focus now. I am kind tired so I only 2 tabled and played just a few turbo multi-table sngs so I could go to be early. I took 7th in a 90 man and was unfortunate to have my AT get beat pre-flop by Q8, but that's how it goes. So overall profit for the last two days is around $1,100 or so.
Here's a pretty big hand that came up:
Full Tilt Poker $24 + $2 KO No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t120/t240 Blinds + t25 - 8 players
CO: t1335 M = 2.38
BTN: t6200 M = 11.07
SB: t11325 M = 20.22
BB: t1125 M = 2.01
Hero (UTG): t6425 M = 11.47
UTG+1: t6740 M = 12.04
MP1: t2360 M = 4.21
MP2: t7480 M = 13.36
Pre Flop: (t560) Hero is UTG with KsJs
Hero raises to t595, 2 folds, MP2 calls t595, 2 folds, SB calls t475, 1 fold
Flop:(t2225) JdKd6s (3 players)
SB bets t960, Hero raises to t2640, MP2 folds, SB requests TIME, SB calls t1680
Turn: (t7505) Qc
SB bets t3840, Hero requests TIME, Hero calls t3165 all in
River: (t13835) 8s
SB shows [7h Kh]
Hero shows [Js Ks]
Opening KJs utg is definitely marginal and loose for me, but my image was tight and I felt I could get away with it and definitely get away from a marginal spot if I needed to. When he bet the flop, it felt like a probe bet to see where he was or possibly a flush draw that was trying to control the action. When he called, it really didn't change his range much. He could have various diamond draws and hands like KT and K9. I think KQ bets out stronger or check-raises here, but either way I'm taking him to value town.
When he bets the turn, it really threw me off. Could he have AdTd? Maybe...but why would he want me to fold here? Why not check and let me shove what looks like AK? I also think a set jams the flop since I showed strength. KQ was definitely something I was worried about but based on the flop play it wasn't as likely so I decided to call. This was the pivotal hand of the tournament.
So Jenni took the kids to a play date and I figured I'd fire up a few turbo multi-table sngs. I was feeling good from the nice cash the night before and wanted to start riding an upswing. I played only 2 tables at a time so I could concentrate better and played well, but busted out on completely standard shoves. But for some reason, I still felt angry that I busted. I was hoping that the night before would have helped erase some of that but obviously there is still some lingering emotion from the downswing.
While I've felt pretty good, I've only given myself a couple of small 1-2 day breaks. I didn't think I needed it, but it might be time for me to take 3-4 days off to fully reset my head. I still have two tables going so we'll see what happens. Unfortunately I'm sitting at like 8bb because I had to rush to the bathroom and folded JJ when I would have doubled up...oh well.
Bleh...A8 > my AT...one left. I'm cool though.
...Ship it! Had a super passive final table and completely took control. It was just a $24/45 man on Full Tilt, but I played well and did not settle for anything other than first. I pushed back the voices that were telling me to not get too aggressive and it paid off. I just kept raising until people played back and they never did.
PM Session:
Things are starting to click back into focus now. I am kind tired so I only 2 tabled and played just a few turbo multi-table sngs so I could go to be early. I took 7th in a 90 man and was unfortunate to have my AT get beat pre-flop by Q8, but that's how it goes. So overall profit for the last two days is around $1,100 or so.
Here's a pretty big hand that came up:
Full Tilt Poker $24 + $2 KO No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t120/t240 Blinds + t25 - 8 players
CO: t1335 M = 2.38
BTN: t6200 M = 11.07
SB: t11325 M = 20.22
BB: t1125 M = 2.01
Hero (UTG): t6425 M = 11.47
UTG+1: t6740 M = 12.04
MP1: t2360 M = 4.21
MP2: t7480 M = 13.36
Pre Flop: (t560) Hero is UTG with KsJs
Hero raises to t595, 2 folds, MP2 calls t595, 2 folds, SB calls t475, 1 fold
Flop:(t2225) JdKd6s (3 players)
SB bets t960, Hero raises to t2640, MP2 folds, SB requests TIME, SB calls t1680
Turn: (t7505) Qc
SB bets t3840, Hero requests TIME, Hero calls t3165 all in
River: (t13835) 8s
SB shows [7h Kh]
Hero shows [Js Ks]
Opening KJs utg is definitely marginal and loose for me, but my image was tight and I felt I could get away with it and definitely get away from a marginal spot if I needed to. When he bet the flop, it felt like a probe bet to see where he was or possibly a flush draw that was trying to control the action. When he called, it really didn't change his range much. He could have various diamond draws and hands like KT and K9. I think KQ bets out stronger or check-raises here, but either way I'm taking him to value town.
When he bets the turn, it really threw me off. Could he have AdTd? Maybe...but why would he want me to fold here? Why not check and let me shove what looks like AK? I also think a set jams the flop since I showed strength. KQ was definitely something I was worried about but based on the flop play it wasn't as likely so I decided to call. This was the pivotal hand of the tournament.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Daily Recap - 9/18/09
So I was inspired by a Cardrunners video to start doing a brief recap of each night's session as a way to evaluate my play while it's fresh in my mind.
Tonight started off brutal as it has for the last couple of months. A flush draw got there on the river leaving me short and my AQ vs. TT ran out QxxxT...weeee. I was okay after that and picked up some really nice pots playing the players tendencies. Then a massive hand occurred where I flopped a straight with J8 in the big blind with a straight flush draw. The pot was only 450 and a guy shoved for 2700 and gets flatted by the button. I shove and the button calls with a king high flush draw! He spikes a gut shot J on the turn (3 outer!) and knocks us both out. I kind of laugh that one off and then play a hand what I feel was very optimal with QT. With the board reading T4x44, I check to induce a bluff or possible chop with another T. He shoves, I call, he shows A4! At this point a really start steaming. It had been like this for a while now and I literally started breathing like a pregnant woman trying to stay calm.
I had one more tournament still going and it was a $36 180 man turbo on Stars. I rarely play these (maybe 5 times total) because the variance was so high. But I was trying to play under my roll tonight and figured I would give it a shot since the payout to buy-in ratio is really high. I won a couple of pots and eventually I calmed down and managed not to tilt-shove my way out. Eventually it got down to about 40 people and as a super short stack I was able to win a crucial flip with 66 vs. KJ. I double up to 10bb and then pick up AA the next hand and build up to $25K. Down to 30 and I win a huge flip with AK vs. QQ and now I'm up to $45K at the 1k/2k level which is huge for this tournament.
I then make a bad play when we are down to 3 tables left I believe. A new player arrives at the table and he min raises the cut off and it folds to me in the BB with Ah8h. Believe it or not, I can often times find a fold here and my instincts were screaming to fold since I did not know how the guy played yet. But I called because of odds, I had a decent stack and the fact that I could have the best hand. The flop is 832 rainbow. I check to evaluate his play and he bets over 1/2 his stack to $16K into a $5k pot. My initial reaction was that people in these tournaments sometimes make these really weird overbet plays with big hands to make it look like they are bluffing even though no one really ever bluffs like this. BUT where I went wrong was not trusting my initial instinct and convincing myself that he had overcards or a hand like AK and he was just trying to take down the pot. I mean there were no draws present, so what is he protecting. So I shove to put him all in and he flips up KK. I guess he assumed that if I had a PP that I would stack off. Well, I hit the 8 and stacked off. So it's not the worst thing in the world, but the main thing is that my instincts are crazy good and I've been so emotional and anxious to win lately that I'm not trusting them because I'm forcing wins.
Well, the good news was that I didn't berate myself and just stayed calm and focused. I ended up taking 2nd for $1,188 which was a much needed win that felt really good. I would have loved to take it down, but I felt like I played well overall.
So this recap was longer than expected. I plan on making them shorter. But evaluating the A8 hand was good because it reminds me to trust my gut even if there is no logical explanation. It doesn't have to be logical at the moment, it just has to feel right.
Tonight started off brutal as it has for the last couple of months. A flush draw got there on the river leaving me short and my AQ vs. TT ran out QxxxT...weeee. I was okay after that and picked up some really nice pots playing the players tendencies. Then a massive hand occurred where I flopped a straight with J8 in the big blind with a straight flush draw. The pot was only 450 and a guy shoved for 2700 and gets flatted by the button. I shove and the button calls with a king high flush draw! He spikes a gut shot J on the turn (3 outer!) and knocks us both out. I kind of laugh that one off and then play a hand what I feel was very optimal with QT. With the board reading T4x44, I check to induce a bluff or possible chop with another T. He shoves, I call, he shows A4! At this point a really start steaming. It had been like this for a while now and I literally started breathing like a pregnant woman trying to stay calm.
I had one more tournament still going and it was a $36 180 man turbo on Stars. I rarely play these (maybe 5 times total) because the variance was so high. But I was trying to play under my roll tonight and figured I would give it a shot since the payout to buy-in ratio is really high. I won a couple of pots and eventually I calmed down and managed not to tilt-shove my way out. Eventually it got down to about 40 people and as a super short stack I was able to win a crucial flip with 66 vs. KJ. I double up to 10bb and then pick up AA the next hand and build up to $25K. Down to 30 and I win a huge flip with AK vs. QQ and now I'm up to $45K at the 1k/2k level which is huge for this tournament.
I then make a bad play when we are down to 3 tables left I believe. A new player arrives at the table and he min raises the cut off and it folds to me in the BB with Ah8h. Believe it or not, I can often times find a fold here and my instincts were screaming to fold since I did not know how the guy played yet. But I called because of odds, I had a decent stack and the fact that I could have the best hand. The flop is 832 rainbow. I check to evaluate his play and he bets over 1/2 his stack to $16K into a $5k pot. My initial reaction was that people in these tournaments sometimes make these really weird overbet plays with big hands to make it look like they are bluffing even though no one really ever bluffs like this. BUT where I went wrong was not trusting my initial instinct and convincing myself that he had overcards or a hand like AK and he was just trying to take down the pot. I mean there were no draws present, so what is he protecting. So I shove to put him all in and he flips up KK. I guess he assumed that if I had a PP that I would stack off. Well, I hit the 8 and stacked off. So it's not the worst thing in the world, but the main thing is that my instincts are crazy good and I've been so emotional and anxious to win lately that I'm not trusting them because I'm forcing wins.
Well, the good news was that I didn't berate myself and just stayed calm and focused. I ended up taking 2nd for $1,188 which was a much needed win that felt really good. I would have loved to take it down, but I felt like I played well overall.
So this recap was longer than expected. I plan on making them shorter. But evaluating the A8 hand was good because it reminds me to trust my gut even if there is no logical explanation. It doesn't have to be logical at the moment, it just has to feel right.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
High Expectations
I've noticed a trend over the last few years. When I make a really deep cash or have big success, I tend to follow that up with a downswing. Now some of this is just the natural ups and downs of poker, but I also realized that the downswings have a much more emotional effect which can start affecting my play.
Case in point - I had a great WSOP this year and hit a few wins right after that building my bankroll up to $11.5K. I then hit a bit of a downswing and I was down about $1600 in August and then had a negative trip to Biloxi. I've hit a few wins here or there online, but nothing major. So far, I'm down in September as well and my roll is down to about $7,500. So that really sucks.
For the most part, I feel like there are parts of my game where I am killing it. And honestly, I feel like I am a better player now than I have ever been. I am going through a rough patch in terms of not winning coin flips and getting 3-outered. BUT, the more important thing is that I have been letting it affect me emotionally. I might play fine in 3-4 tournaments and then the last 2-3 I am either getting anxious or nitting up and afraid to bust or I am not making clear reads.
I think the trend I am noticing is that after a big win I am on top of the world and I start expecting my "superior play" to yield continuous wins and put me in the ranks of poker's elite or something. Am I good? Yes. Do I have things to learn? Absolutely. Do I expect to make big cashes and 5 figure scores online? Yes. BUT...I can't force that to happen. I can't assume I will run like god and because I had a nice WSOP that I "deserve" to keep winning. So therefore I can't get mad when it doesn't happen. I have to keep making +EV decisions and finding edges. I have to keep improving my play. And I have to be consistent about controlling my emotional reaction to situations. If I start the night playing great, I can't let one or two bad outcomes affect the rest of the night or rest of the week. All I can do is control my decision making process and trust my instincts and the results will come.
Case in point - I had a great WSOP this year and hit a few wins right after that building my bankroll up to $11.5K. I then hit a bit of a downswing and I was down about $1600 in August and then had a negative trip to Biloxi. I've hit a few wins here or there online, but nothing major. So far, I'm down in September as well and my roll is down to about $7,500. So that really sucks.
For the most part, I feel like there are parts of my game where I am killing it. And honestly, I feel like I am a better player now than I have ever been. I am going through a rough patch in terms of not winning coin flips and getting 3-outered. BUT, the more important thing is that I have been letting it affect me emotionally. I might play fine in 3-4 tournaments and then the last 2-3 I am either getting anxious or nitting up and afraid to bust or I am not making clear reads.
I think the trend I am noticing is that after a big win I am on top of the world and I start expecting my "superior play" to yield continuous wins and put me in the ranks of poker's elite or something. Am I good? Yes. Do I have things to learn? Absolutely. Do I expect to make big cashes and 5 figure scores online? Yes. BUT...I can't force that to happen. I can't assume I will run like god and because I had a nice WSOP that I "deserve" to keep winning. So therefore I can't get mad when it doesn't happen. I have to keep making +EV decisions and finding edges. I have to keep improving my play. And I have to be consistent about controlling my emotional reaction to situations. If I start the night playing great, I can't let one or two bad outcomes affect the rest of the night or rest of the week. All I can do is control my decision making process and trust my instincts and the results will come.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Baggage & Tilt - Side Effects
I'm usually really good about brushing off beats and staying calm during a down swing, but I've recently had what seems like one of the worst downswings ever and I hit my breaking point on Sunday.
For the week of August 10-16 I played 28 tournaments and I cashed in only two. One of the cashes was just after the bubble and in a $10 tournament, so my net result was about - $1,100 for the week. Am I worried? Do I care about losing the money? No. I'm playing well within my bankroll with really only one tournament that was a stretch, so it's not affecting me financially. But I'm going to take a couple of days off now because it's starting to affect the way I play.
Up through about 25 of the tournaments, I was playing fine. In fact, I was playing some of my best poker ever. I was getting a lot of 2 outers and runner runners against me, but I just brushed it off and moved on to the next tournament. But since I am playing more volume now, I have to be prepared for bigger swings and my tolerance level for taking the blunt end of the variance stick is going to have to increase. So, at about 25 tournaments I was starting to get sick of the nastiness and while I didn't make any tilty donk shoves or anything, emotion was starting to cloud my judgement and decision making.
The following are the ways in which I think running bad was affecitng my play:
For the week of August 10-16 I played 28 tournaments and I cashed in only two. One of the cashes was just after the bubble and in a $10 tournament, so my net result was about - $1,100 for the week. Am I worried? Do I care about losing the money? No. I'm playing well within my bankroll with really only one tournament that was a stretch, so it's not affecting me financially. But I'm going to take a couple of days off now because it's starting to affect the way I play.
Up through about 25 of the tournaments, I was playing fine. In fact, I was playing some of my best poker ever. I was getting a lot of 2 outers and runner runners against me, but I just brushed it off and moved on to the next tournament. But since I am playing more volume now, I have to be prepared for bigger swings and my tolerance level for taking the blunt end of the variance stick is going to have to increase. So, at about 25 tournaments I was starting to get sick of the nastiness and while I didn't make any tilty donk shoves or anything, emotion was starting to cloud my judgement and decision making.
The following are the ways in which I think running bad was affecitng my play:
- Bet sizing, stack size and pot size calculation - for some reason my emotions cloud everything and I don't think on multiple planes. I just think 2-dimensionally (bet or check/fold, call or raise vs. how much, what will my/their stack be on future streets, etc.). This might be coupled with being tired as well, but either way I need to take a couple of breaths and make sure I'm thinking multi-dimensionally.
- Narrowing the range too much and focusing only on the hands that might beat me - After running bad, the baggage/scar-tissue starts to build up and sometimes play in fear of a hand that might beat me vs. playing against my opponents entire range. For example, I raised with KK in ep, the sb calls and the flop is AcTcXd. Villain checks and I check behind for pot control, inducing bluffs, etc. The turn was Qc. So now I have a gut shot and nut flush draw. Villain checks again. Well...because of baggage in a few hands a couple of weeks ago where an Ace checked twice and my KK lost, I decided to check behind again and let 44 catch up to make a set on the river. Now, this doesn't mean that next time I'm going to overshove so that I don't let someone suckout on me. It just means that I need to bet the turn because while he could have an Ace (or even a made flush), he can also have a lot of other hands as well. Some of those hands fold and some weaker hands call. I also have lots of outs if he does have an Ace.
- Folding instead of stealing, 3-betting or bluffing - when I am playing and running good, I am very confident in pulling the trigger when I sense the situation is right for a steal. However, when I'm running bad I start fearing people waking up with hands and talk myself into a fold. I am losing a lot of equity by doing this and while it doesn't mean that I need to play like a maniac, it means that I need to quit worrying about the "what ifs" and pull the trigger when I have a read...even if I have been running bad in those situations....NO BAGGAGE!
- Not assigning a hand range - When the affects of running bad start wearing on me, I start betting based on the value of my hand and stop putting the other guy on a range. I mean, I might think "strong vs. weak", but I really need to think deeper and say to myself the hands he could have played pre-flop that lead us to this situation.
- Betting for thin value - I know there are times I checked behind on the river and left value on the table because I was afraid of losing a bet
- Not c-betting - While I don't think this happened recently, I know in the past I had a tendency to shut down in spots where a c-bet is standard because I didn't want to get check-raised or called.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Wait...I just got check-raised?
So I made a blunder on Tuesday night that almost caused me to be eliminated very early in a live tournament. I was able to grind my short stack all the way to third place, but results aside, I made a really bad and seemingly obvious call in the second level.
Blinds are 50/100 and I still have around the starting stack of 5,500. I haven't played a pot yet, but most of these players aren't really paying attention to anything other than their cards anyway.
So an older gentleman, probably in his late 60s or even older limps in early position and 2 other people limp behind. So far, the older guy has shown to be a calling station. I'm on the button and look down at AQ. I'm sometimes torn as to what the best play in this situation is. I hate limping when I know I'm ahead, but I know that raising can bloat the pot with a bunch of loose limpers at early levels of a tournament. In this case, part of my instinct said to call, but I decided to raise because the tournament only had 20 minute blinds and I couldn't wait forever to accumulate chips. Knowing that I had several limpers behind, I made it 600. Everyone calls!!!
I suppose I could have made it 700 so that it wasn't as easy as just throwing out a single 500 chip to call. But either way, now I have 3 callers and a 2,550 pot. The flop is 2Q9 with two hearts. Old guy postures as if he's going to bet and then checks and everyone else checks. With the possible draws out there, I decide to bet 1,700 and the old guy shoves all in for about 2,800 more. UGHHHH!!!
I honestly think that looking back, this is an easy fold. Old calling stations, don't check-raise on a bluff. I put him on Q9 or 22 since I think he raises 99 pre-flop, but that is not unlikely either. My gut said Q9. He then started talking about wanting me to put my chips in there. Again...RED FLAG. But...the more I thought about it, I convinced myself that his table talk was trying to act strong and really wanting me to fold. But WAIT...I just got check-raised!
I think that sometimes it's easy to forget that the raise itself was a check-raise, which shows a lot of strength from an older player. Not that they aren't capable of check-raising on a semi-bluff, but it's not as likely. Plus, there were 2 other people in the hand left to act. He's not bluffing. He's also not doing this with a hand that I beat like KQ or QJ. He has either Q9, 22 or 99 only. FOLD!
But I talked myself into calling for some reason and I was right...Q9. I got knocked down to 750 chips. Luckily I snapped out of it and played great short-stack poker after that and took 3rd.
Blinds are 50/100 and I still have around the starting stack of 5,500. I haven't played a pot yet, but most of these players aren't really paying attention to anything other than their cards anyway.
So an older gentleman, probably in his late 60s or even older limps in early position and 2 other people limp behind. So far, the older guy has shown to be a calling station. I'm on the button and look down at AQ. I'm sometimes torn as to what the best play in this situation is. I hate limping when I know I'm ahead, but I know that raising can bloat the pot with a bunch of loose limpers at early levels of a tournament. In this case, part of my instinct said to call, but I decided to raise because the tournament only had 20 minute blinds and I couldn't wait forever to accumulate chips. Knowing that I had several limpers behind, I made it 600. Everyone calls!!!
I suppose I could have made it 700 so that it wasn't as easy as just throwing out a single 500 chip to call. But either way, now I have 3 callers and a 2,550 pot. The flop is 2Q9 with two hearts. Old guy postures as if he's going to bet and then checks and everyone else checks. With the possible draws out there, I decide to bet 1,700 and the old guy shoves all in for about 2,800 more. UGHHHH!!!
I honestly think that looking back, this is an easy fold. Old calling stations, don't check-raise on a bluff. I put him on Q9 or 22 since I think he raises 99 pre-flop, but that is not unlikely either. My gut said Q9. He then started talking about wanting me to put my chips in there. Again...RED FLAG. But...the more I thought about it, I convinced myself that his table talk was trying to act strong and really wanting me to fold. But WAIT...I just got check-raised!
I think that sometimes it's easy to forget that the raise itself was a check-raise, which shows a lot of strength from an older player. Not that they aren't capable of check-raising on a semi-bluff, but it's not as likely. Plus, there were 2 other people in the hand left to act. He's not bluffing. He's also not doing this with a hand that I beat like KQ or QJ. He has either Q9, 22 or 99 only. FOLD!
But I talked myself into calling for some reason and I was right...Q9. I got knocked down to 750 chips. Luckily I snapped out of it and played great short-stack poker after that and took 3rd.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Poker Goals Revisited
Now that I've boosted my bankroll over $10k and have had two WSOP cashes, I think it's time to revisit the topic of what role poker plays in my life and where I want to take it.
For the last 5 years poker has been a hobby and a vehicle for me to become good at a skill. The following is from a blog post in November of 2006 about how I got started playing poker (http://poker-reads.blogspot.com/2006/11/how-i-got-started-in-poker.html).
"As I started playing poker, I realized that it could be something that I did for myself and that I could use it as a way to realize my full potential in something that I was passionate about. So now, I have made it my mission to become one of the best. I know that it won't happen over night, but the great thing about poker is that I can play it the rest of my life. "
This statement is still very true and I strive to improve my skills every day. But now that I've finally reached a higher bankroll level, I can start playing at higher stakes than I have been.
Now I realize that winning $15K isn't life changing money or that now I'm rich and can play any tournament I want. In fact that is far from the truth. But this was a major milestone that I've been shooting for for a while and it now enables me to play consistently at higher levels. It is a catalyst that will catapult me to more significant bankroll gains. But even more significantly, cashing twice at the WSOP in pretty tough fields has given me the confidence that I am on the path to reach the levels I am shooting for.
But let's keep things in perspective. My new bankroll isn't even close to "high stakes" or anything like that. But what it means is that it will afford me the ability to change the role poker plays in my life. I will use this to go from "casual part-time low stakes hobby player" to "mid-stakes local player and part-time tournament circuit player". I can now go to the juicy local $2/$5 games if I chose or not feel like I'm playing outside of my bankroll when I get invited to a $200 or $300 local tournament. With proven results at the WSOP, I can also start hitting up 2-3 WSOP Circuit or WPT events each year and play a handful of preliminary events (not just one), feeling confident that will be one of the best players there.
From a financial perspective, I can start using poker as a way to supplement my family's income. I was on that path a couple of years ago when I decided to leave my job and become a partner in X3 Sports. I cashed out all but $250 in Poker Stars and any money I won live was used to pay for groceries while finances were tight. Now, however, X3 Sports is doing well and my monthly paycheck is a little more stable. My plan is to now take a percentage of my poker winnings and use it for semi-regular side income that can be used for extra spending cash, a family trip, etc. Ideally, I would like to use it for fun things that we can do as a family. At the same time, however, my bankroll is not at the point where it needs to be to allow me regularly play the tournament circut and to accomplish my ultimate goal...a WSOP Bracelet. So the majority of my winnings will still go back into my bankroll so that I can continue on the path upward.
So far, my progress has been relatively slow if you compare it to the majority of successful 20-something year old online pros. I simply don't have the time to play 20 tournaments a day. The bankroll gains that they might see in a month will take me over a year. That being said, I know that it will still take some time to reach the $20K & $30K mark. I also know that I will see bigger swings now, but I'm prepared for that. I've always been good about managing my money and I've been playing long enough now that I am mentally prepared for dips. Again, it's not like I'm going to start playing $500 online tournaments or anything. But I can start consistently playing ones like the nightly $150 on Stars where the payouts are much better. I no longer have to subject myself to the $3 rebuy or $27 - 45 man turbo sngs. From a live perspective, I will make more of an effort to regularly play the local tournaments (Tuesday/Thurs night, Bentwater, etc.) and possibly the $2/$5 cash games (although I still enjoy tournaments more).
From a commitment standpoint I also plan to start playing more, both live and online. Whether I needed to or not, cashing in my 2nd consecutive WSOP has proven that I am good enough to use poker as a way to make money for the family. I know my wife has never doubted my abilities, but coming home with cash certainly helps the next time I want to take time away from my family to go play poker. If anything, I think it helps me fee less guilty about it.
For the last 5 years poker has been a hobby and a vehicle for me to become good at a skill. The following is from a blog post in November of 2006 about how I got started playing poker (http://poker-reads.blogspot.com/2006/11/how-i-got-started-in-poker.html).
"As I started playing poker, I realized that it could be something that I did for myself and that I could use it as a way to realize my full potential in something that I was passionate about. So now, I have made it my mission to become one of the best. I know that it won't happen over night, but the great thing about poker is that I can play it the rest of my life. "
This statement is still very true and I strive to improve my skills every day. But now that I've finally reached a higher bankroll level, I can start playing at higher stakes than I have been.
Now I realize that winning $15K isn't life changing money or that now I'm rich and can play any tournament I want. In fact that is far from the truth. But this was a major milestone that I've been shooting for for a while and it now enables me to play consistently at higher levels. It is a catalyst that will catapult me to more significant bankroll gains. But even more significantly, cashing twice at the WSOP in pretty tough fields has given me the confidence that I am on the path to reach the levels I am shooting for.
But let's keep things in perspective. My new bankroll isn't even close to "high stakes" or anything like that. But what it means is that it will afford me the ability to change the role poker plays in my life. I will use this to go from "casual part-time low stakes hobby player" to "mid-stakes local player and part-time tournament circuit player". I can now go to the juicy local $2/$5 games if I chose or not feel like I'm playing outside of my bankroll when I get invited to a $200 or $300 local tournament. With proven results at the WSOP, I can also start hitting up 2-3 WSOP Circuit or WPT events each year and play a handful of preliminary events (not just one), feeling confident that will be one of the best players there.
From a financial perspective, I can start using poker as a way to supplement my family's income. I was on that path a couple of years ago when I decided to leave my job and become a partner in X3 Sports. I cashed out all but $250 in Poker Stars and any money I won live was used to pay for groceries while finances were tight. Now, however, X3 Sports is doing well and my monthly paycheck is a little more stable. My plan is to now take a percentage of my poker winnings and use it for semi-regular side income that can be used for extra spending cash, a family trip, etc. Ideally, I would like to use it for fun things that we can do as a family. At the same time, however, my bankroll is not at the point where it needs to be to allow me regularly play the tournament circut and to accomplish my ultimate goal...a WSOP Bracelet. So the majority of my winnings will still go back into my bankroll so that I can continue on the path upward.
So far, my progress has been relatively slow if you compare it to the majority of successful 20-something year old online pros. I simply don't have the time to play 20 tournaments a day. The bankroll gains that they might see in a month will take me over a year. That being said, I know that it will still take some time to reach the $20K & $30K mark. I also know that I will see bigger swings now, but I'm prepared for that. I've always been good about managing my money and I've been playing long enough now that I am mentally prepared for dips. Again, it's not like I'm going to start playing $500 online tournaments or anything. But I can start consistently playing ones like the nightly $150 on Stars where the payouts are much better. I no longer have to subject myself to the $3 rebuy or $27 - 45 man turbo sngs. From a live perspective, I will make more of an effort to regularly play the local tournaments (Tuesday/Thurs night, Bentwater, etc.) and possibly the $2/$5 cash games (although I still enjoy tournaments more).
From a commitment standpoint I also plan to start playing more, both live and online. Whether I needed to or not, cashing in my 2nd consecutive WSOP has proven that I am good enough to use poker as a way to make money for the family. I know my wife has never doubted my abilities, but coming home with cash certainly helps the next time I want to take time away from my family to go play poker. If anything, I think it helps me fee less guilty about it.
2009 WSOP Results
So I just got back from my 2nd trip to the WSOP. I played event #36, which was a $2K NL Hold'em event.
Two years ago I cashed and while I played good, I also ran like crazy hitting 4-5 sets along the way. This time I didn't run especially great, but I played really well. That doesn't mean I ran a lot of fancy bluffs necessarily, but I picked my spots well and I made plays based on my stack size and the situation in front of me.
Out of 1,695 players, I came in 47th place for $9,096. I truly felt like I was going to win the tournament and was playing great. Unfortunately, when I shoved my 8M stack with 88 into an aggressive late position raiser he woke up with 99 and I was out. I still feel like I was one of the best players in the field and had a great chance to take it down.
The next day, I also played in a $300+40 nightly event with 215 players. I made the final table and once we were 6 handed, the blinds were rediculously high (and I had to make my flight) so we chopped it for about $6K each.
So $15K in 3 days...I'll take it.
What were my keys to success? Going into the event, I wrote down a few rules for myself in order to stay focused:
Two years ago I cashed and while I played good, I also ran like crazy hitting 4-5 sets along the way. This time I didn't run especially great, but I played really well. That doesn't mean I ran a lot of fancy bluffs necessarily, but I picked my spots well and I made plays based on my stack size and the situation in front of me.
Out of 1,695 players, I came in 47th place for $9,096. I truly felt like I was going to win the tournament and was playing great. Unfortunately, when I shoved my 8M stack with 88 into an aggressive late position raiser he woke up with 99 and I was out. I still feel like I was one of the best players in the field and had a great chance to take it down.
The next day, I also played in a $300+40 nightly event with 215 players. I made the final table and once we were 6 handed, the blinds were rediculously high (and I had to make my flight) so we chopped it for about $6K each.
So $15K in 3 days...I'll take it.
What were my keys to success? Going into the event, I wrote down a few rules for myself in order to stay focused:
- I will remain calm, focused and aggressive
- I will make my reads first, then consider my cards
- Each player will be a faceless, nameless body with patterns and tendencies
- I will not bring baggage to the table
- I will not force the action
- I will be fluid
- I will fear no man
- I will make plays that I have confidence in
- I will change gears and adapt to table dynamics
- I will make decisions based on my reads, not based on what a book or forum says I should
- I will not worry about what others think about my play
- I believe that I will win
- I will play to win without fear of busting out
- I will always be conscious of how many chips are in the pot
- I will trust my gut feeling
- I will accumulate chips on the bubble
- I will have fun
In addition to the rules listed about, the following are other reasons I played well and lessons I learned from the trip:
- I concentrated on my breathing, especially when not in a hand and getting a dry run of cards/situations to play in. It helped me prevent getting impatient and also helped to keep my head clear and focused
- I allowed myself to get into a state of being relaxed and calm, which allowed me to take the time to trust my instincts and eliminate emotional decisions
- I counted the chips each pot (weather I was in it or not). This allowed me to understand my opponents betting patterns and quickly calculate pot odds. But it also helped keep my mind active and prepared for battle.
- I proactively made reads on each situation, assigning hand ranges, and considering plays before even looking at my cards.
- I stayed disciplined and made tough laydowns, even when I was getting anxious to win a pot
- I took advantage of my image. In one situation I used my tight image to shove 42 off-suit on a re-steal when the small blind was not at the table and the button raised. In other situation, I over-shoved KK to get a call when it looked like I may have been on tilt.
- I followed the same physical routine each hand as to not give off tells
- I was really good about not giving away verbal information about my style, the cards I play, etc. through "casual table talk"
- I stayed confident and never second guessed myself
Sunday, May 31, 2009
New/Old Realizations
Now that I've been playing poker almost 5 years now, there are a few things that I've realized over the last year. A lot of these are things I may have read about a long time ago, but experience is solidifying them.
1. Narrow the range, but not to a single hand - While it's fun to put someone on a specific hand, it's important not to dismiss the other holdings he could have. I've realized that I sometimes pick a specific hand my opponent might have and proceed accordingly, only to find out that I didn't account for the other holdings (some of which beat me). The lesson is that I need to work on assigning a % to the different holdings in a hand range and then make my decisions based on my gut from there.
2. Get into the flow of the game - When you go into a game trying to make pre-planned specific moves they can often blow up in your face. You have to get into the flow of the game and then make decisions accordingly. You can have a certain mindset (i.e. be aggressive), but you have to pick your spots according to your reads.
3. You can't force results - It just doesn't happen that way. If you go in with a results oriented mindset, you lose sight of your reads and you make decisions that can cost several chips. Examples are 2 or 3 barreling on a scary board out of not wanting to lose the pot vs. based on a specific read. You may trick yourself into thinking you are making a good aggressive play, but the reality is you are failing to put the person on a hand range.
4. It's okay to fold sometimes - The goal is to minimize losses and maximize winnings. While sometimes it is appropriate to make a hero call based on your reads, no one knows what cards you hold. It can be sometimes be correct to make a laydown and be bluffed out of a pot. You don't have to win every battle, you just have to win all the chips at the end of the tournament.
1. Narrow the range, but not to a single hand - While it's fun to put someone on a specific hand, it's important not to dismiss the other holdings he could have. I've realized that I sometimes pick a specific hand my opponent might have and proceed accordingly, only to find out that I didn't account for the other holdings (some of which beat me). The lesson is that I need to work on assigning a % to the different holdings in a hand range and then make my decisions based on my gut from there.
2. Get into the flow of the game - When you go into a game trying to make pre-planned specific moves they can often blow up in your face. You have to get into the flow of the game and then make decisions accordingly. You can have a certain mindset (i.e. be aggressive), but you have to pick your spots according to your reads.
3. You can't force results - It just doesn't happen that way. If you go in with a results oriented mindset, you lose sight of your reads and you make decisions that can cost several chips. Examples are 2 or 3 barreling on a scary board out of not wanting to lose the pot vs. based on a specific read. You may trick yourself into thinking you are making a good aggressive play, but the reality is you are failing to put the person on a hand range.
4. It's okay to fold sometimes - The goal is to minimize losses and maximize winnings. While sometimes it is appropriate to make a hero call based on your reads, no one knows what cards you hold. It can be sometimes be correct to make a laydown and be bluffed out of a pot. You don't have to win every battle, you just have to win all the chips at the end of the tournament.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Don't Bring Baggage to the Table
A year or so ago, a very good online player named Soupie said something to me that clicked one night. When referencing a hand where I contemplated raising on the button and didn't because I was afraid that the big blind might re-raise all in, he asked me why I was worried about the big blind shoving. I said that it seemed like lately everyone is shoving to a button raise and his response was, "so was this person re-raising people's late position raises?" I thought for a moment and realized that the particular player had not shown this tendency and I was making an assumption based on other games I had recently played in. He coined this as "bringing the baggage to the table".
But let's be clear...baggage is not tilt. Tilt is a short-term emotional response based on one or two negative outcomes. Baggage masks itself as a logical response that, like scar tissue, has started to build up from recent experiences. These experiences could be as recent as a few hours of play from other tables to as much as a few weeks of play. And like scar tissue, baggage can start to make itself permanent causing the decisions you make to be skewed.
So just because a certain play hasn't worked recently or you've recently gone through a hard patch of variance, it doesn't mean a decision is not +EV.
Examples of Baggage:
But let's be clear...baggage is not tilt. Tilt is a short-term emotional response based on one or two negative outcomes. Baggage masks itself as a logical response that, like scar tissue, has started to build up from recent experiences. These experiences could be as recent as a few hours of play from other tables to as much as a few weeks of play. And like scar tissue, baggage can start to make itself permanent causing the decisions you make to be skewed.
So just because a certain play hasn't worked recently or you've recently gone through a hard patch of variance, it doesn't mean a decision is not +EV.
Examples of Baggage:
- Fear of Negative Variance - "I always lose coin flips, so I'm gonna fold even though I probably have the best hand"
- Negative Assumptions - "I'm not gonna raise since someone will probably shove on me" or "I don't want to get sucked out on, so I'm gonna bet big since people usually suck out on me" or "I might as well not bet since he's probably gonna call"
- Generalizations - "People who play these stakes always play a certain way" or "Pros are always bluffing"
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Found a new groove
Tonight was my first night of grinding out sngs. I played well within my bankroll and stuck with $30 9-handed tables and $25 9-handed turbos. I just played 3 tables at a time and played 7 total. Of those, I had two wins, two 2nds and 3 without cashing for a total profit of $189. And I only played about 2hrs and 15min.
I really felt great playing too. I went into the session focusing specifically on trusting my instinct. This could be making moves based on my reads, making a hero call or extracting chips. I was able to pull off a couple of re-steals and flop check-raise bluffs as a result. If I got caught, no big deal. I didn't go crazy or anything, but I balanced my play much better than I have recently. I was focused and played a good session.
Obviously, I know that not all sessions will be profitable. But I feel like I've found a good niche for now until my bankroll grows and my time frees up. I plan on working my way up to 4 tables next time.
I really felt great playing too. I went into the session focusing specifically on trusting my instinct. This could be making moves based on my reads, making a hero call or extracting chips. I was able to pull off a couple of re-steals and flop check-raise bluffs as a result. If I got caught, no big deal. I didn't go crazy or anything, but I balanced my play much better than I have recently. I was focused and played a good session.
Obviously, I know that not all sessions will be profitable. But I feel like I've found a good niche for now until my bankroll grows and my time frees up. I plan on working my way up to 4 tables next time.
Poker Goals for 2009
I'm not big on new year's resolutions, but now is as good a time as any to set some poker goals. I haven't posted in over a year since I didn't play too much in 2008 and I cashed out everything except $250 on PokerStars. I've been super focused on getting my new business off the ground and I was getting home at 10pm every night so I really never had the energy to play.
I'm really re-invigorated now and I'm ready to take my game to new heights. I've realized that one of the major things that has held me back is volume. I don't play nearly enough to overcome variance in large MTTs. Not having a big cash for long stretches at a time can start to make you question your abilities. I am confident and understand that even the best players only win/final table a small percentage, so I'm cool. But knowing this and the time I can allot for playing poker, I am going to re-distribute my play to the following:
1. Single table SNGs = 70%
2. Multi-table SNGs (45 & 90 man) = 20%
3. MTTs = 10%
I started using PXFs bankroll manager, and although I have a small sample size it's made me realize that in order to get my bankroll where I want it, I'm going to have to grind 3-5 tables of SNGs at a time. Everytime I read something about successful MTT players, they all say they started out grinding SNGs and cash games. I kinda have gone through this stage already, but I've never been focused and consistent. I keep bouncing around and never quite "grind" enough to build up.
So...goals for 2009.
1. Build the bankroll to $5,000: I will do this mainly from multi-tabling sngs and the occasional sprinkling in of multi-table sngs and MTTs. I know this will take some time, but I'm ready to start multi-tabling more.
2. Have bankroll patience: It's not like I used to take a lot of big shots, but I think one thing that has held me back is negative streaks while playing slightly above the "unprotected" bankroll recommended playing level. I know myself and I know that I don't play as confident if I feel like I'm breaking the bankroll rules. It holds me back sometimes and perpetuates the downswings. My sticking closer to the protected level, and only taking a few small shots when I "feel it" it will allow me to reduce the impact of downswings and not affect me mentally.
3. Increase my volume: Since I can't play poker every night, I will start increasing the number of tables I play in a given session. Instead of playing 2-3 at a time, I will start playing 3-4 and eventually 5-6 tables. I'm not going to rush this process, but I'm going to work on getting in 6-12 games a night.
That's it.
I'm really re-invigorated now and I'm ready to take my game to new heights. I've realized that one of the major things that has held me back is volume. I don't play nearly enough to overcome variance in large MTTs. Not having a big cash for long stretches at a time can start to make you question your abilities. I am confident and understand that even the best players only win/final table a small percentage, so I'm cool. But knowing this and the time I can allot for playing poker, I am going to re-distribute my play to the following:
1. Single table SNGs = 70%
2. Multi-table SNGs (45 & 90 man) = 20%
3. MTTs = 10%
I started using PXFs bankroll manager, and although I have a small sample size it's made me realize that in order to get my bankroll where I want it, I'm going to have to grind 3-5 tables of SNGs at a time. Everytime I read something about successful MTT players, they all say they started out grinding SNGs and cash games. I kinda have gone through this stage already, but I've never been focused and consistent. I keep bouncing around and never quite "grind" enough to build up.
So...goals for 2009.
1. Build the bankroll to $5,000: I will do this mainly from multi-tabling sngs and the occasional sprinkling in of multi-table sngs and MTTs. I know this will take some time, but I'm ready to start multi-tabling more.
2. Have bankroll patience: It's not like I used to take a lot of big shots, but I think one thing that has held me back is negative streaks while playing slightly above the "unprotected" bankroll recommended playing level. I know myself and I know that I don't play as confident if I feel like I'm breaking the bankroll rules. It holds me back sometimes and perpetuates the downswings. My sticking closer to the protected level, and only taking a few small shots when I "feel it" it will allow me to reduce the impact of downswings and not affect me mentally.
3. Increase my volume: Since I can't play poker every night, I will start increasing the number of tables I play in a given session. Instead of playing 2-3 at a time, I will start playing 3-4 and eventually 5-6 tables. I'm not going to rush this process, but I'm going to work on getting in 6-12 games a night.
That's it.
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