Weatherford (December 8)

Last Saturday was the final game in Weatherford for the year, and I ended on a high for 2012.  Winning $210 for the evening put me in second place for most money won this year among the group who plays in my favorite home cash game.  A guy named Brandon earned more than $2,200 this year and I finished with a profit of $1,690 in a total of 12 games.

For the entire year thus far I have profited $1,365 and am hoping to play one more time before 2013 rolls around.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any great hands from the night to discuss.  I did make one really good call with top pair, seven kicker on the river against a player I read as bluffing.  My call paid off as he didn’t have the pair of aces beat.  It was a good read on my part and I was proud of myself for trusting my gut.

On Saturday, I played for 8.25 hours, resulting in a $25.46 hourly rate.  I’ve had a good year, but didn’t play as many hours as I planned or won as much money as I would have liked.

Whether I play one final time or not, I will do a yearly recap on my games and update how much I won and the hourly rate for the year.  It will be interesting to see how this year compares with the past three years that I have been keeping up seriously with my poker play.

Casa de Cook ($20 re-buy tournament)

In an attempt to bring poker back to Arlington, we held a home game tournament last night at my new house and had eight players show for the event. That is the most we have had for a game like this in a long, long time.

The structure was slightly different than our old games in that we only started with $7,500 in chips ($10,000 is the norm) and the blinds started at $25-50 with re-buys being allowed for the first four rounds. Rounds lasted 30 minutes each.

I want to start keeping track of who re-buys, who goes out when, and other things about these games to see if there is a pattern. The following is the structure of the tournament, when re-buys took place and players eliminated.

$25-50: No rebuys
$50-100: 2 re-buys (Josh, Matt)
$75-150: 1 re-buy (Hector)
$100-200: 4 re-buys (Bart, Slope, Bart, James)
$150-300: Hector eliminated
$200-400
$250-500: Josh eliminated, Slope eliminated
$300-600: Bart eliminated, Danny eliminated
$400-800: Matt eliminated

James had the lead going into heads-up play with Clint, so they chopped the pot $175-125. It was supposed to be split $200-100.

The official standings look like this:
1st - James
2nd - Clint
3rd - Matt (same bubble spot as always)
4th - Danny
5th - Bart
6th - Slope
7th - Josh
8th - Hector

We had a good time and everyone said they want to make this a normal thing. Hopefully we can get a game together once or twice a month.

Give Thanks For Poker

One of my new favorite things about Thanksgiving is playing cards that night in Weatherford.  In 2010, I won $120 on Thanksgiving and this year I more than doubled that.

The most interesting thing to happen at this year's game was I flopped four aces while holding pocket aces.  I've had four aces before and I've flopped quads before as well, but I've never flopped the biggest of pairs while holding the only other two in the deck.  The overwhelming mix of emotions I felt is near undescribable.  To see a pair of aces in your hand is already a great boost to one's confidence, but to then see the final two aces roll over in the first three cards makes your mind go crazy.

However, the best part of flopping my four aces was that I actually made some money off of it.  My buddy Jay bet the flop and the turn.  I then made a bet that would have put him all in on the river and out of friendship and mutual respect talked him out of calling.  He wasn't going to call anyway, but it was still a nice gesture on my part.  I ended up making about $70 on the hand.

I profited $245 in four hours.  This gave me an hourly rate of $61.25 and brings my total for 2012 to $1,155.

Weatherford (November 3)

With plans to go to Canton this past Sunday, my wife was expecting plenty of money to buy Christmas presents for the family and decorative things for the new house.  We've had a few unexpected expenses with our new home, but I was (begrudgingly) willing to give Joanna $300 to spend.  However, after my bountiful win in Weatherford on Saturday night I had no qualms about giving her $400 to have fun and get what she needed to make our house a home.

I was able to win $600 in Weatherford, playing for only five hours.  My hourly rate of $120 raised my year-to-date statistics considerably.

It would be nice to say that my amazing skill at poker is what won me all the pots, but in all honestly I had a lot of luck going for me.  I had the Broadway straight twice, once against the second nuts which resulted in an all-in, and another all-in hand where my quad fives beat a flush.  It was a lucky night.

I did make one bad fold that is worth mentioning.  I had A-K and after the flop came out with A-Q-4 I made a $10 bet and was check-raised to $30 from the guy on my right.  I called the additional $20 to see the turn, which was a 4.  This doesn't help me at all because if I was beating him before, I am most likely beating him now.  He likely doesn't have a single four to be beating me with three-of-a-kind because he wouldn't check-raise with bottom pair.  The only thing I can imagine him having now is A-4 for a full house, A-Q for two pair, or A-X with a high card for the kicker, which if it isn't the king then it doesn't matter what the card is as the queen is now his kicker.  I can only beat the A-X.

He bets another $30.  I can take this one of two ways.  Either he was making a semi-bluff with his check-raise and my call has scared him but he has to bet something to not look entirely weak, or he still has a big hand and isn't worried about being drawn out on.  I made a snap call without really thinking things through.

The river came with a card that didn't change much.  It was lower than a queen and didn't create any flushes or straights.  My opponent made another bet of $30.  At this point I figured I was beat and he was begging for a call.  Sometimes I will make a call like this when I know I am beat but the pot odds are worth calling, and other times no amount of money can get me to make a call if I know I am beat.  I elected to fold the hand as I didn't want to throw good money after bad.  It turns out I had the best hand as my opponent held A-9 and his kicker with the two pair was the queen.

That was a disappointing hand that would have ended up giving me more than another $150 in my stack with the money I would have won from him and gotten back from my calls on the flop and turn.  Oh well.  You can't expect to make every correct call or fold in a game.  In fact, if you do end up making no mistakes you are probably playing too few hands in a night and gambling too little to make any considerable money.

There may be a game on Thanksgiving that I will be going to.  That will likely be my second-to-last game for the year.  I am currently up $910 for the year and making about $11 an hour playing cards.  Not great, but better than losing.

Weatherford (September 22 & October 6)

I haven't had time to update this like I should. In September I lost $300 at the Weatherford game and this month I won $310. Not a good way to play.
I hit a two-outer early in the night to prevent a re-buy and was able to continue to build on my stack throughout. I won the final two pots of the night that resulted in $100 extra dollars that I wouldn't have had.
For the year I am up $310, which is odd because after the $300 September loss I was at a break-even point for the year. I am earning $4.29 an hour playing cards. This is not near the amount I want to be at.

WinStar (July 27 & August 1)

Two successful trips were made recently to WinStar, where I was able to win $60 and $225 respectively. Both times I started slow, losing about $125 in the first hour and having to build my way back.
The night I won $225 was mostly from three hands. The first win was my biggest, and it was an all in. I hit a set of dueces on the flop and we got all the money in on the turn. I then flopped two pair and was able to get a nice pot out of that.
My last winning hand was with K-J offsuit. I hit a king on the flop and called a small bet after another player's call with high pair-jack kicker. The turn didn't help, but the river was the ace of hearts and resulted in four hearts on the board. It checked around to me and I almost checked but decided to see what suit my jack was. It turned out to be the heart, so I bet $10, which was an obvious value bet. One player folded and the other called. That pot was about $60 that I lucked into because I don't think my pair of kings with a jack was good anyway.
For the year, I have won only $245 and am making a measly $4.34 an hour. Hopefully things will look better for the latter half of 2012 when it comes to poker.

Weatherford (July 7)

I had my first loss in a long time out in Weatherford this past weekend.  My pocket kings were taken down by 8-7 of diamonds when he flopped a flush and I couldn't catch up.  I made a frustrated call when he went all in and deserved to lose my money.

I played for five hours and lost $40 an hour.  I will try to get things back on track soon with a trip to WinStar maybe, if I can find time to do so.

Weatherford (June 16)

The greatest part of no-limit hold’em, and the equally most frustrating aspect, is how your night can completely change with the results of a single hand.  Winning a giant pot or getting sucked out on the river could make the difference in an otherwise uneventful and boring session of poker.  This element of the game was a key component to my night of cards in Weatherford this past weekend.  I played for nine hours and other than the good company of friends around me, it was an utterly tedious night of poker minus one single hand that led to a profitable game.

Throughout the night I hovered between even and down $50.  I did re-buy once, which it was really more like an add-on because when I lost half of my initial $100, I bought in for another $100 to keep up with the rest of the players at the table and not be on a short stack.  After probably seven hours of play I finally hit a big hand. I had pocket fives and hit a third five on the flop.

What gave the hand such drama was that the three flop cards were all clubs.  It came out Q-8-5.  The hand was raised to $7 pre-flop and with five of us seeing the flop the first guy to bet was the big blind.  Prior to realizing he was the big blind he was going to fold.  But then he put his $2 out, which was followed by the extra $5 after four players also had put their money in.  So, wanting to fold but then deciding to pay another $5 after $30 was already in the pot, he led out with a $50 bet on the flop.  Knowing all of this information, the original raiser went all in for about $250.  I was next to act and had roughly $180.

It doesn’t really matter what I think everybody has here, because with what I am holding and the possibility of improving it I am going to make the call.  But let’s break down the thought process for fun.

The guy in the big blind likely doesn’t have me beat, but if he does it is with a baby flush no higher than with a seven in his hand.  I probably would have put him on two pair or a pair with a high flush draw.  His bet is one that he wants to just win the hand right now, but if he is called he is willing to go the distance with it.

The second player, who raised it pre-flop, is the one that scares me the most.  He doesn’t have the nut flush because if he did he would simply call hoping to get someone else behind him to come along for the ride, but he has the most potential to be the best hand at the end.  My thinking is he has one of three types of hands.  A higher set than me (improbable but possible so I won’t rule it out), a high flush with K-Q or Q-J of clubs and he wants anyone with the ace to not pay the high cost of drawing for a fourth club, or a pair with the nut flush draw.

No matter what these two guys have and even risking what could happen from the two players who act after me, I am still sending all my chips to the middle.  I had less money than the original raiser who went all in, so therefore it is simply a call on my part.

The two other players folded and it was back on the big blind.  He thought for a long time and eventually showed his hand, top two pair with Q-8, while contemplating his option.  By him showing a queen and an eight I no longer feared the other player having a higher set.  The odds were just too slim he would have the last two queens or eights to give him a better hand.  The big blind finally elected to fold.

I flipped up my hand and my opponent showed A-Q with the ace being a club.  This gave him two chances to hit a club.  It didn’t come and I more than doubled up.

There is a second hand worth discussing, but I wasn’t involved.  With three players in the hand that had been raised prior to the flop, the first two checked a board of J-9-2 with two hearts.  The third player, who made the pre-flop raise, has aces, one being a heart.  He bet $20 and was met with a check-raise from the first player, who made it $60 to go.  The second guy, an intensely tight player who is only starting to open up his bluffing game but isn’t one to make calls to set up a bluff down the road, called the $60.

It is now back to the guy with aces, who has to decide what to do here.  There is approximately $160 in the pot and it is $40 to call.

In my opinion, you have to either fold or raise at this point.  Calling is the worst possible option because it gives you absolutely no information about what the other two are holding.  Suppose you call the $40 and after the turn doesn’t present an ace, what amount are you willing to call now when somebody bets?  If the turn is a heart you at least have a flush to draw for, but the price has to be right to pay for that.  If it isn’t a heart then do you give up at this point, so long as they don’t bet a measly amount?  You just can’t know for sure if you have the best hand by calling the check-raise on the flop.

If you think you are beat on the flop, which is a real possibility since the tight player has called a check-raise, then folding is the correct move.  If you think you are still in the lead, make a raise on the flop and if you get called or re-raised by one or both players then you know where you stand and you can get away from it.  Calling is the biggest mistake in my opinion.

Also by raising on the flop, should you get called then it is likely your opponent(s) will check to you on the turn.  That will give you a chance to take a free card and see the river at no cost if you don’t improve or the board makes it obviously clear you are now beat, which makes your re-raise on the flop essential become a turn bet.  It sort of evens out and you are still in control of the hand.

The player eventually folded what was the best hand.  One player held A-J (top pair, top kicker) and another had a pocket pair of tens.  While the outcome resulted in a mistake made by the guy holding aces, I think it was still correct in that particular situation.  Being able to lay down aces is something good players do.  Sometimes it is going to be the wrong decision, but having the capability to do so will save you money in the long run.  In fact, with no scientific statistics to back this claim up, I dare say those who fold aces will do so with it being the correct decision more often than it is the incorrect one.

For my nine hours of play and $260 profit, I was able to log a $28.89 hourly average.  For the year, I have won $160 playing hold’em and $770 in the Weatherford game alone.  Casinos have not been good to me this year.

WinStar (May 30)

My triumphant return to the poker tables after being on a break for a couple of months resulted in a $250 loss.  It was a tough night, as it took me two-and-a-half hours to win my first pot.

There weren't many hands interesting enough to discuss, as I could hardly get past the flop with any of my holdings.  The only one worth mentioning is a bluff I lost with when I flopped second pair and bet it hard throughout the hand, losing about $90 total on the hand.  That was the biggest loss or win I had all night, so most of my pots were on the small side.

I played for five hours, equating to a $50 loss per hour rate.  Thus far for the year I have lost a total of $100 and played for 35 hours, amounting to losing $2.86 an hour.

Weatherford (March 3)

It was a profitable evening in Weatherford this past weekend.  I won $215 after playing for six-and-a-half hours, resulting in earning $33.08 an hour.

There were no hands of consequence worth mentioning here.  Sorry for an uneventful post.

For the year I have played for 21 hours and won only $100.  This is an hourly rate of $4.76.  Pathetic, I know.

Weatherford (February 11)

Following my putrid gaming at the Horseshoe Casino in Shreveport, I bounced back in the monthly Weatherford game but not without some drama of its own.

Due to some budget cuts in my playing after the $360 loss in Shreveport, I could only take two $100 buy-ins with me on Saturday night.  I normally have $300 in my wallet during these games and can find another $100 from someone at the game to borrow from if needed, but this game wasn’t going to result in more than $200 lost in a worst-case scenario.

I started well by winning about $70 in the first hour-and-a-half, flopping a king-high flush early in the night.  That lead didn’t last though, as I lost to an all-in player when his A-K sucked out on the river to my A-7.  I had flopped two pair and all the money went in at that time.  A king came on the river giving him a higher two pair and leaving me with $35.  I opted to use my second $100 and add-on at that point rather than trying to double that small amount up to get back to a reasonable chip stack.

The add-on didn’t help much because after about another two hours I was again down to a small amount.  The lowest I ever got was $39.  However, I made an aggressive move on a check-raise all-in that wasn’t called and got me in the $60 range, and then made a complete bluff on the river with king high when my opponent seemed to be drawing throughout the hand.  I don’t recall exactly what was on the board, but I had been going for a straight and didn’t get it.  At the river, my opponent, who was a timid player, had $35 remaining and I had $36.  He checked to me and I decided to either win the medium-sized pot with an all-in or call it a night.  I said all-in and he quickly folded.  From that point on I started winning my fair-share of pots and was able to make some moves with a good-sized stack.

At one point in the night I made a foolish bluff on the river when I bet $45 and was quickly called.  I didn’t even require the guy to show and threw my cards in the muck.  The bluff came at a poor time when I was upset about letting a guy suck out on me a few hands previously.  I had turned a set with pocket kings and checked.  I was in early position and with an ace on the board I was hoping somebody else would bet it.  It checked around and the third spade came on the river.  I bet, was raised by a player I don’t particularly like, and paid off his flush, even though I was sure I couldn't beat him.

Because I slow-played my set I then lost the bluff hand later, but after that I was able to compose myself and get things back on track.

I ended up winning $195 for the night and played for seven hours.  This resulted in a $27.86 hourly rate.  I am still down $115 for the year, but hopefully I can get some wins in to get things back in the black.

Horseshoe Casino (January 29)

Whereas before I was really looking forward to playing $1-3 at the Horseshoe Casino, I left the poker room after only about two hours of playing down $360 and hating the my former tablemates.

My first experience with $1-3 more than a year ago was exquisite. The stakes were perfect, the play was even, and no bets were out of place. But last Sunday night was all-in push after all-in push.

What I liked about the $1-3 limit prior to this game was a $12-15 raise pre-flop was standard (whereas at a $1-2 game that raise, which is a normal one, is too much for customary play). However, this night it was not $1-3, but $1-3-15+. The few hands I was able to be dealt a hand were almost always raised to at least $15 if not $20 or more. There were two players who continually straddled for $6, making it even more to play.

Now that I have seen two completely different styles of play at the $1-3 game in the Horseshoe Casino, I will need to return once more to determine which the normal style of play is, out of control pre-flop raises every hand or a more natural ratio of limping and raising in each round of play.

To recap my night, I lost all my money after re-raising pre-flop with pocket aces and going all-in on the flop to J-6 offsuit when the woman hit two jacks on the flop. Holding J-6, she called a $15 (standard) bet pre-flop, then called my re-raise to $45 and got lucky enough to hit the two jacks on the flop. In the long run I would take every dime she has, but with a limited bankroll I just can’t overcome short-term bad luck. So be it.

The loss puts me down $310 for the year and averaging a loss of $41.33 an hour.

Home Game Strategy

In the past few years our home games have been nearly non-existent.  We will pick things up for a month or two, but eventually it all returns to games being scarce.

During this slow decline of play I have gone from being one of the best players at our home re-buy tournaments, to being the constant bubble boy (going out in the highest spot without winning money), to lasting a few hours and not coming close to the money (or the bubble for that matter).  I knew a change was needed.

Knowing my play needed some work, I pulled a Boase and read a few paragraphs in a few chapters of a few books last night prior to a $20 re-buy tournament at Danny's house.  We have always made fun of the fact that our buddy Chad Boase would do such a thing, leaving the game prior to the re-buy time being over and returning at the last minute claiming he had read the first and last paragraph of each chapter in some poker book he had stashed away in his car.  Not expecting to find some life-altering point in whatever books I could find at a local half-price bookstore, I did come across a tip that wasn't new, but reminded me to implement a strategy I have apparently abandoned.

The idea was to play some questionable starting hands like K-5 suited and not getting caught up in it if you hit a king.  Without a regular game to hone my skills, I have become complacent in my strategy.  Playing the questionable starting hands wasn't a problem, because you can't wait all night for aces only, but my problem had become getting attached to top pair, weak kicker when the strategy going in was to hit the flush.  I needed to revamp my scheme and learn to let go of the hands I thought would improve and ultimately would get me to lose half my stack chasing a second pair to beat my opponent's better kicker.

Following games I would claim it just wasn't my night, blaming the cards for my loss.  How can you win a tournament when you only win two hands?  But the real problem was in siphoning off my chips all night chasing bad turns and rivers, it didn't give me the time needed at the table to ever find the good starting hands that are needed to mix in with the ones you are speculating with.

If I could learn to fold a pair with a weak kicker after the flop, whereas before I would chase to get a better hand knowing I was behind, it would keep my chips with me so when I did hit a big hand I had more to double up with.

All that said, I stuck to my new strategy of continuing the prospecting game of playing lots of hands pre-flop but not committing myself post-flop and it ended up improving my night.  I still didn't make the money, but I did make the bubble.  While that sounds like it is just as bad as busting out in last place, what makes me feel like strides are being made to improve my game is that I really can blame the cards last night.

Prior to becoming a bit of a maniac on the short stack at the end of the night, I only won two legitimate hands, one with pocket aces and another where I flopped trips and turned a full house.  Other than those couple of hands, I either let go of missed opportunities and mediocre hands that were second best after the flop or I bluffed a turn or river bet that I was nearly positive would win the pot.  The only bluff I lost on was my last hand of the night and as it was three handed and I was on the short stack, there wasn't much I could do at the time.  I gave myself every opportunity to improve on speculation hands, but I didn't commit to anything subpar.

I saw improvement last night and think if I can get a little luck on my side and continue to be disciplined at folding the speculation hands when they improve a little but are still not good enough to win then I really think I will start seeing some wins again in the future.

Weatherford (January 7)

Kicking the year off with a win or loss can set the tone for a player’s psyche.  A win will boost confidence that can be carried over for many other games to come and a loss could have the opposite affect, resulting in decisions and doubts during a game.  Luckily I started 2012 in a positive mood with a $50 profit from the monthly game in Weatherford.

I had to re-buy once after my pocket kings went up against pocket aces, but I didn’t let the big loss put me on tilt.  After getting another $100 to work with I focused and won some pots to put myself back in the black.

The biggest win for me during the night was with 7-5 when I turned a straight and won about $120 from one guy.  Other than that it was medium-sized pots that I won most of the night.

In regard to bluffs, I made about three or four that I got away with and one I was caught in.  The only bluff worth mentioning was when the river produced four clubs.  I was going for a straight that didn’t get there and when the woman on my right checked it to me after betting on the flop and the turn I decided she was too afraid of the clubs to make a call.  I bet about a third to half the pot and she folded.  It was a calculated risk of what was on the board and the player I was against that paid off.

The final hand I was a part of involved pocket fours with a flop of 2-3-5.  With an open-ended straight draw I bet a third of the pot and was called by a tight player.  The turn was a seven.  At this point there were two diamonds on the board also.  I made a bet not relative to the pot but a large enough bet in relation to my opponent’s chip stack that if he moved all-in I would be priced in to call.  He did bet it all and I called.  The river was a nine and I flipped up my pair of fours.  My opponent sheepishly said he caught on the river and showed A-9 of diamonds.

It was upsetting to lose the hand, but in hindsight he was going for the straight or flush to beat me.  It just worked out in his favor that a nine also benefitted him.  I had to avoid any diamond, nine, or four.

That hand lost me about $100 and my ill-timed bluff occurred late in the evening also to bring me down to the $50 profit.  I played for five-and-a-half hours, resulting in a $9.09 hourly rate.

There is one final thing to be discussed, but it doesn’t have to do with any hands I was involved in.  Actually, it didn’t even take place at my table.  While stretching my legs during play I was watching the table next to us when two players occupied in an all-in hand decided to run the river twice.  What that means is they deal out the last card two times and split the pot up to the winners for each card.  The community cards were 6-J-4-A and a seven came on the first river.  The player holding K-J beat his opponent, who held Q-J.  The second river card was a six, creating a board of 6-J-4-A-6 and resulting in a split pot.  The pot should have been split in two and the second half split again.  However, the player holding K-J was taking the entire pot for himself (instead of the 3/4th he should have been given) and his opponent, or nobody else at the table for that matter, was speaking up about the gaffe.  As a natural reaction to make sure the fair thing was done I spoke up and asked shouldn’t the second river have created a split pot.  The community cards had already been reshuffled into the deck so my observation couldn’t be verified.  Finally, two players at the table said it was a six on the river and because of what else was out there it was a split pot.  In the end, all the money went to the correct players.

So my questions are these: should I have not said anything as I was not sitting at their table and is it more fair that anyone who sees a mistake happen speak up or should it only be amongst those involved in the hand? My intervention had no outcome on a call, fold, or other type of play prior to the end of the hand. It only regarded the division of money righfully won.

2011 in review

Coming nowhere close to my goal of reaching $5,000 in profits for the year, I was able to win more than a lost.  In total, I logged 49.25 hours of play and won $770, equating to a $15.63 hourly rate.  Sadly, this is more than I make at my 40-hour-a-week occupation (but just barely).

With a new son in the house there has not been ample time to play poker.  Therefore, the goals to be set for this year will need to be a bit lowered.  For 2012 I hope to win $3,000 from poker games and hopefully keep as much of that for my bankroll as possible in order to move up in games in the future.  We will see.  As long as bills continue to stack up, poker winnings will have to go toward putting food on the table and power in the television.

The monthly Weatherford game is coming up this weekend.  Hopefully I can start the new year off right with a big win.