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.
---
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.
---
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.
---
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.
---
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.
---
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.
---
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.
---
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.
---
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.
---
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.
---
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)