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.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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.
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.
Friday, January 13, 2012
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.
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.
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