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.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
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.
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.
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