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.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
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.
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.
Friday, November 11, 2011
WinStar (Unknown Dates)
There are two entries of poker I have failed to update on as one made me mad and the other I was too busy at work to post.
The first trip to WinStar was a three-hour-and-forty-five-minute event that ended with a $180 loss when my pocket kings battled pocket aces. Nothing ever came higher than a jack and we got all our money in the middle by the turn. I was busted and left angry.
That trip netted me a negative $48 hourly rate and put me at $415 in the black for 2011.
My second trip was much more thrilling and lucrative, which normally go hand-in-hand. I started with $160 and left with $815, resulting in a $655 profit for the day.
As 2011 was called the Year of the Napoli for the Texas Rangers, this game of poker was the Day of the Profitable Pocket Pair for me. My first big pot won was with pocket nines. It was a very poor call on my part, but it ended up resulting in a lucky catch on the flop.
I called for $2 with my middle pocket pair hoping to see a cheap flop. The guy on my left raised it to $8. I am obviously calling this bet. An older player calls the $8 and the guy on his left goes all-in for $36 total. It folds around to me and I have a decision to make. As long as it is only going to cost me another $34, as I already have $2 out in the pot, I was willing to see a flop with two or three players and pray for a miracle. The all-in re-raise is half the time a move of desperation from a guy holding A-X suited or even a low pocket pair.
After several agonizing moments of contemplation, I decided to go for it. In hindsight this was stupid. I usually never would make that call, but something about the situation felt like a gambling moment. I had come to make a lot of money that day and I knew I would have to make some questionable calls to see this plan come to fruition. However, this wasn’t a questionable call, it was a just plain dumb one. But wait, there’s another dumb call coming.
The guy on my left called the raise and there were now three of us with $36 in the pot. The older player who called the initial raise prior to the all-in bet moved all-in himself for an additional $45. With the fourth player already all-in, action moved to me. I again suffered over what to do with my mediocre hand, which is obviously beat at this point, and ultimately decided to take another chance with a call. I had the $45 covered and wouldn’t go broke with the call. I had chased bad money with bad money. This is not a winning strategy.
The player on my left, who started all of this with an $8 raise, opted to sit out and watch.
In addition to my earlier call of $36 with pocket nines being a bad play, this too was a bad play because I couldn’t have the best hand and even if I did by some miracle at this moment have the best hand I would most likely have to avoid, at best, three overcards. When it was my turn to make the $45 call from the second all-in player, the pot had $192 in it. I was getting a slight bit more than 4-1 odds to call the bet and see it play out, however, the guy after me had more money than me, so had he gone all-in after I made my call I would have been in for more money that I didn’t want to put in the middle. But by that point it would have been far too late to cut bait and I would have just had to put the rest of my money in the middle and pray for a miracle.
With my call and the initial raiser’s fold, the pot had $237 in it. We were done with any betting and I flipped up my nines at the end of the hand, good enough for a set when a nine came on the flop. I beat kings, which was what the older player had when he smooth called the $8 raise and then moved all-in after an all-in re-raise and two calls. The first all-in didn’t show his hand.
Had the guy with kings played his hand more aggressively, which I am a fan of, he would have easily won the hand. Calling a re-raise from him would be way different from calling an all-in re-raise. The man with kings would have re-raised, the first all-in would have either taken his stand anyway or waited for another opportunity and that would have resulted in me folding my pocket pair. Since the guy decided to be deceptive he ended up losing to a player who made two bad calls.
I built my stack up after that with winning some medium-sized pots that don’t necessarily need to be dissected. Once I had amassed about $350 I came across this gem of a hand.
I held pocket kings and it was straddled for $4 total pre-flop. I was first to act and decided not to mess around. I made it $16 to go. I was called by three players and we saw a flop with $64 in the pot.
The flop was K-8-7 with two spades. After a check from the big blind and straddler, I bet $30. I figured this was a perfect opportunity to disguise the strength of my hand and if a player was going to draw for the flush he would at least have to pay something for it. The player after me, who was the older gentleman who misplayed his kings earlier and lost to my nines, raised it. I was ecstatic at the way things were unfolding. I would simply call his raise and let it play out. He made it $95 to go.
After thinking for probably 45 seconds, the big blind moved all of his chips into the middle without saying anything. The straddler folded and I didn’t wait more than 10 seconds before declaring all-in, not even needing a count from the big blind. I had the big blind covered by about $80 and the older gentleman was the short stack amongst the three of us.
He eventually called, which scared me a lot as now I had to avoid more cards. The turn was a red six and the river was the 10 of clubs, creating a board of K-8-7-6-10 and although the flush was off the table, now a player needed only a nine to beat me. Nobody had that nine and I had about $800 in my stack.
The final hand worthy of noting was another pocket pair hand. I held jacks and saw two jacks on the board of community cards, one on the flop and one on the turn. I had raised pre-flop with one guy calling. I bet the flop, again to disguise the strength of my hand. Was called. We both checked the turn, which holding four-of-a-kind is the correct play to do at that point. The river completed an ace-high straight. I bet $25 and was raised the minimum. I came back over the top for another $75 and was reluctantly called. I showed my quads and he let an obscenity fly, although not at me but instead the situation. He held the straight that hit at the end. By checking the turn I allowed him to catch what he thought was the best hand.
For another 15 minutes I played a lot of hands I wouldn’t normally, but holding more than $800 results in making a lot of questionable calls pre-flop. I walked away after four-and-a-half hours of play up $655, resulting in a $145.56 hourly rate.
Two quick notes about some folds I made.
After flopping bottom two pair and betting it, I folded after betting again to a high raise on the turn from the older gentleman who continued to lose to me as I felt my hand was either not good anymore or the call was so much I would have to avoid many scare cards to feel good about it on the river. This hand took place prior to my set of kings that busted two players and put me up in the $700s.
My other fold was with A-K. I raised pre-flop and received a few calls. The flop came A-6-4. I was first to act and made a continuation bet with top pair-top kicker. It folded around to the button, who raised me $50, which was a normal-sized raise considering the action that had come before. I opted not to continue playing because who knew how much more money it would cost me to keep playing and being out of position I didn’t want to have to check-call all the way down with a single pair, no matter how big it was.
For the year I have won $1,070 and played for 48 hours total. This equates to an hourly rate of $22.29.
I hope to play two or three more times before the end of the year and get my total profits up to more than $1,500 and maybe even more than $2,000. However, the $5,000 goal I set at the end of the year definitely isn’t going to happen.
The first trip to WinStar was a three-hour-and-forty-five-minute event that ended with a $180 loss when my pocket kings battled pocket aces. Nothing ever came higher than a jack and we got all our money in the middle by the turn. I was busted and left angry.
That trip netted me a negative $48 hourly rate and put me at $415 in the black for 2011.
My second trip was much more thrilling and lucrative, which normally go hand-in-hand. I started with $160 and left with $815, resulting in a $655 profit for the day.
As 2011 was called the Year of the Napoli for the Texas Rangers, this game of poker was the Day of the Profitable Pocket Pair for me. My first big pot won was with pocket nines. It was a very poor call on my part, but it ended up resulting in a lucky catch on the flop.
I called for $2 with my middle pocket pair hoping to see a cheap flop. The guy on my left raised it to $8. I am obviously calling this bet. An older player calls the $8 and the guy on his left goes all-in for $36 total. It folds around to me and I have a decision to make. As long as it is only going to cost me another $34, as I already have $2 out in the pot, I was willing to see a flop with two or three players and pray for a miracle. The all-in re-raise is half the time a move of desperation from a guy holding A-X suited or even a low pocket pair.
After several agonizing moments of contemplation, I decided to go for it. In hindsight this was stupid. I usually never would make that call, but something about the situation felt like a gambling moment. I had come to make a lot of money that day and I knew I would have to make some questionable calls to see this plan come to fruition. However, this wasn’t a questionable call, it was a just plain dumb one. But wait, there’s another dumb call coming.
The guy on my left called the raise and there were now three of us with $36 in the pot. The older player who called the initial raise prior to the all-in bet moved all-in himself for an additional $45. With the fourth player already all-in, action moved to me. I again suffered over what to do with my mediocre hand, which is obviously beat at this point, and ultimately decided to take another chance with a call. I had the $45 covered and wouldn’t go broke with the call. I had chased bad money with bad money. This is not a winning strategy.
The player on my left, who started all of this with an $8 raise, opted to sit out and watch.
In addition to my earlier call of $36 with pocket nines being a bad play, this too was a bad play because I couldn’t have the best hand and even if I did by some miracle at this moment have the best hand I would most likely have to avoid, at best, three overcards. When it was my turn to make the $45 call from the second all-in player, the pot had $192 in it. I was getting a slight bit more than 4-1 odds to call the bet and see it play out, however, the guy after me had more money than me, so had he gone all-in after I made my call I would have been in for more money that I didn’t want to put in the middle. But by that point it would have been far too late to cut bait and I would have just had to put the rest of my money in the middle and pray for a miracle.
With my call and the initial raiser’s fold, the pot had $237 in it. We were done with any betting and I flipped up my nines at the end of the hand, good enough for a set when a nine came on the flop. I beat kings, which was what the older player had when he smooth called the $8 raise and then moved all-in after an all-in re-raise and two calls. The first all-in didn’t show his hand.
Had the guy with kings played his hand more aggressively, which I am a fan of, he would have easily won the hand. Calling a re-raise from him would be way different from calling an all-in re-raise. The man with kings would have re-raised, the first all-in would have either taken his stand anyway or waited for another opportunity and that would have resulted in me folding my pocket pair. Since the guy decided to be deceptive he ended up losing to a player who made two bad calls.
I built my stack up after that with winning some medium-sized pots that don’t necessarily need to be dissected. Once I had amassed about $350 I came across this gem of a hand.
I held pocket kings and it was straddled for $4 total pre-flop. I was first to act and decided not to mess around. I made it $16 to go. I was called by three players and we saw a flop with $64 in the pot.
The flop was K-8-7 with two spades. After a check from the big blind and straddler, I bet $30. I figured this was a perfect opportunity to disguise the strength of my hand and if a player was going to draw for the flush he would at least have to pay something for it. The player after me, who was the older gentleman who misplayed his kings earlier and lost to my nines, raised it. I was ecstatic at the way things were unfolding. I would simply call his raise and let it play out. He made it $95 to go.
After thinking for probably 45 seconds, the big blind moved all of his chips into the middle without saying anything. The straddler folded and I didn’t wait more than 10 seconds before declaring all-in, not even needing a count from the big blind. I had the big blind covered by about $80 and the older gentleman was the short stack amongst the three of us.
He eventually called, which scared me a lot as now I had to avoid more cards. The turn was a red six and the river was the 10 of clubs, creating a board of K-8-7-6-10 and although the flush was off the table, now a player needed only a nine to beat me. Nobody had that nine and I had about $800 in my stack.
The final hand worthy of noting was another pocket pair hand. I held jacks and saw two jacks on the board of community cards, one on the flop and one on the turn. I had raised pre-flop with one guy calling. I bet the flop, again to disguise the strength of my hand. Was called. We both checked the turn, which holding four-of-a-kind is the correct play to do at that point. The river completed an ace-high straight. I bet $25 and was raised the minimum. I came back over the top for another $75 and was reluctantly called. I showed my quads and he let an obscenity fly, although not at me but instead the situation. He held the straight that hit at the end. By checking the turn I allowed him to catch what he thought was the best hand.
For another 15 minutes I played a lot of hands I wouldn’t normally, but holding more than $800 results in making a lot of questionable calls pre-flop. I walked away after four-and-a-half hours of play up $655, resulting in a $145.56 hourly rate.
Two quick notes about some folds I made.
After flopping bottom two pair and betting it, I folded after betting again to a high raise on the turn from the older gentleman who continued to lose to me as I felt my hand was either not good anymore or the call was so much I would have to avoid many scare cards to feel good about it on the river. This hand took place prior to my set of kings that busted two players and put me up in the $700s.
My other fold was with A-K. I raised pre-flop and received a few calls. The flop came A-6-4. I was first to act and made a continuation bet with top pair-top kicker. It folded around to the button, who raised me $50, which was a normal-sized raise considering the action that had come before. I opted not to continue playing because who knew how much more money it would cost me to keep playing and being out of position I didn’t want to have to check-call all the way down with a single pair, no matter how big it was.
For the year I have won $1,070 and played for 48 hours total. This equates to an hourly rate of $22.29.
I hope to play two or three more times before the end of the year and get my total profits up to more than $1,500 and maybe even more than $2,000. However, the $5,000 goal I set at the end of the year definitely isn’t going to happen.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Weatherford (August 20)
My favorite poker game to play in was this past weekend and I got to bring my buddy Danny out with me for his second time. He did better than I, winning $140 for the evening’s effort, and it was because of a loaned $100 from Danny that I was able to turn a profit.
I had planned on taking $200 with me but ended up having an extra hundred in my wallet when I went to the game. Even with three $100 buy-ins I could not do anything productive and was sitting on the couch watching preseason football after a couple of hours.
My first buy-in was spent little by little until I made an all-in stab at a pot with second highest pair on the river only to be slow-rolled by a new player holding a straight. I had a momentary burst of anger that was directed toward the kid when he claimed he didn’t have “a” nine to give him a straight but then flipped over a pair of nines.
I regretted my outburst later, not because he didn’t deserve it, which he did, but because he truly had no clue that the sort of thing he did was frowned upon. He barely had a clue as to what hands beat what and his $300 was spent rather quickly to learn the game of Texas Hold’em. While I never directly apologized to the young man, I was joking about it shortly afterward and during the brief time he spent with us I was very nice toward him about when it was his turn and what his options were.
My second $100 was nearly all spent on pocket aces after a flop of Q-8-6 with two clubs. I raised it pre-flop to $8 and got two callers. Jared bet $15 after the flop, I raised it another $30, and Jared re-raised me to what would be all-in. I didn’t think I was up against a set, so that left a crazy two pair that Jared is capable of playing out of boredom or a flush draw. One of my aces was a club, so that took out the possibility of Jared holding A-X of clubs. I should have let the pair go but figured even if I was beat by 8-6 then I could get lucky and hit either an ace, queen, or second pair with whatever card came on the turn, as long as it didn’t make Jared’s hand better.
After calling I found out I was up against two pair, but it was against a Q-8. The turn was a club giving me many more outs, but none of them came and I was re-buying again.
My final buy-in went like the first one with a little here and a little there being divided up among many pre-flop and flop bets that never resulted in improvement. I finally gave it all away when I held pocket sixes and a flop of 5-4-4 was the opportunity I was looking for to steal a pot from the guy who had raised it pre-flop. Unfortunately he was not holding two overcards, but instead had pocket kings. I lost that hand and was sent to the couch of shame waiting on Danny to finish up.
About 15 minutes later Danny saw me sitting on the couch and offered to lend me another $100. I jumped at the opportunity hoping to win some of my money back. I would have been happy recovering half of the $300 I had lost.
Not only was I able to recoup my original three buy-ins, but I ended up profiting $15. I started with my fourth buy-in by losing about $30 of it the same way I had lost most of my money, which was seeing flops go nowhere and chipping away at it $2, $5, and $8 at a time. I finally started winning some pots and never looked back.
There was no individual hand that won me a ton of money. Instead, it really was winning a medium-sized pot one at a time until I eventually had $400 in front of me.
The final hand I won was a bluff against the host, Jason. The flop came A-K-K and everyone checked it. The turn was a three and again people checked it. I was in late position and decided to see if I could win with a bet. I put in about half the pot and was called by Jason only. The river was an eight, giving a board of A-K-K-3-8. I held 10-9. I was first to act and knew I could only win with a bet. I led out with a $20 bet and Jason contemplated for at least a minute. He finally showed the eight in his hand and folded. I asked if he wanted to see and after he confirmed that he did want to know what I held I showed the bluff.
I cashed out two hands later with $415, giving me a $15 profit on the night. My hourly rate was $3 as we were there for five hours.
For 2011 I have won $595 and played for nearly 40 hours. My hourly rate is $14.97.
I had planned on taking $200 with me but ended up having an extra hundred in my wallet when I went to the game. Even with three $100 buy-ins I could not do anything productive and was sitting on the couch watching preseason football after a couple of hours.
My first buy-in was spent little by little until I made an all-in stab at a pot with second highest pair on the river only to be slow-rolled by a new player holding a straight. I had a momentary burst of anger that was directed toward the kid when he claimed he didn’t have “a” nine to give him a straight but then flipped over a pair of nines.
I regretted my outburst later, not because he didn’t deserve it, which he did, but because he truly had no clue that the sort of thing he did was frowned upon. He barely had a clue as to what hands beat what and his $300 was spent rather quickly to learn the game of Texas Hold’em. While I never directly apologized to the young man, I was joking about it shortly afterward and during the brief time he spent with us I was very nice toward him about when it was his turn and what his options were.
My second $100 was nearly all spent on pocket aces after a flop of Q-8-6 with two clubs. I raised it pre-flop to $8 and got two callers. Jared bet $15 after the flop, I raised it another $30, and Jared re-raised me to what would be all-in. I didn’t think I was up against a set, so that left a crazy two pair that Jared is capable of playing out of boredom or a flush draw. One of my aces was a club, so that took out the possibility of Jared holding A-X of clubs. I should have let the pair go but figured even if I was beat by 8-6 then I could get lucky and hit either an ace, queen, or second pair with whatever card came on the turn, as long as it didn’t make Jared’s hand better.
After calling I found out I was up against two pair, but it was against a Q-8. The turn was a club giving me many more outs, but none of them came and I was re-buying again.
My final buy-in went like the first one with a little here and a little there being divided up among many pre-flop and flop bets that never resulted in improvement. I finally gave it all away when I held pocket sixes and a flop of 5-4-4 was the opportunity I was looking for to steal a pot from the guy who had raised it pre-flop. Unfortunately he was not holding two overcards, but instead had pocket kings. I lost that hand and was sent to the couch of shame waiting on Danny to finish up.
About 15 minutes later Danny saw me sitting on the couch and offered to lend me another $100. I jumped at the opportunity hoping to win some of my money back. I would have been happy recovering half of the $300 I had lost.
Not only was I able to recoup my original three buy-ins, but I ended up profiting $15. I started with my fourth buy-in by losing about $30 of it the same way I had lost most of my money, which was seeing flops go nowhere and chipping away at it $2, $5, and $8 at a time. I finally started winning some pots and never looked back.
There was no individual hand that won me a ton of money. Instead, it really was winning a medium-sized pot one at a time until I eventually had $400 in front of me.
The final hand I won was a bluff against the host, Jason. The flop came A-K-K and everyone checked it. The turn was a three and again people checked it. I was in late position and decided to see if I could win with a bet. I put in about half the pot and was called by Jason only. The river was an eight, giving a board of A-K-K-3-8. I held 10-9. I was first to act and knew I could only win with a bet. I led out with a $20 bet and Jason contemplated for at least a minute. He finally showed the eight in his hand and folded. I asked if he wanted to see and after he confirmed that he did want to know what I held I showed the bluff.
I cashed out two hands later with $415, giving me a $15 profit on the night. My hourly rate was $3 as we were there for five hours.
For 2011 I have won $595 and played for nearly 40 hours. My hourly rate is $14.97.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
WinStar (August 16)
Spent my evening up at WinStar last night and while it was mostly uneventful, excluding the very first hand I sat down to play, the trip was slightly profitable.
Prior to ever getting my chips from the cage I was dealt pocket kings and had bet and re-raised all but $26 of my stack when the red and blue clay coins finally made it to my table. My opponent folded on the turn allowing me to start off with about $100 more than when I had sat down after only one hand.
Like I said earlier, the rest of the game was pretty boring from the card’s point of view. I had a good time with the people who were seated around the table, apart from a 15-minute window where two regulars were biding their time until a satellite tournament started by raising and re-raising one another to the point that the rest of us were sidelined as spectators.
I made one bad fold with middle two pair, but it was very early in the night and I was up against two opponents who had called on the river. I was willing to let this one go and save some money in order to have a little extra information and money for later. Had the second player not called and it was heads-up I probably would have called, both because I would have been more confident in my hand and it would have been the only way to see the guy’s hole cards. It turned out both guys were overplaying their top pair.
I ended up winning $60 for the evening after playing for five-and-a-half hours. This equates to $10.91 an hour. For 2011, I have won $580 and made an hourly rate of $16.69 after playing for nearly 35 hours total.
On a side note, I saw this story today on MSN.com about the upcoming demolition of a brand new hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. If you are interested, this link will take you to the article.
Prior to ever getting my chips from the cage I was dealt pocket kings and had bet and re-raised all but $26 of my stack when the red and blue clay coins finally made it to my table. My opponent folded on the turn allowing me to start off with about $100 more than when I had sat down after only one hand.
Like I said earlier, the rest of the game was pretty boring from the card’s point of view. I had a good time with the people who were seated around the table, apart from a 15-minute window where two regulars were biding their time until a satellite tournament started by raising and re-raising one another to the point that the rest of us were sidelined as spectators.
I made one bad fold with middle two pair, but it was very early in the night and I was up against two opponents who had called on the river. I was willing to let this one go and save some money in order to have a little extra information and money for later. Had the second player not called and it was heads-up I probably would have called, both because I would have been more confident in my hand and it would have been the only way to see the guy’s hole cards. It turned out both guys were overplaying their top pair.
I ended up winning $60 for the evening after playing for five-and-a-half hours. This equates to $10.91 an hour. For 2011, I have won $580 and made an hourly rate of $16.69 after playing for nearly 35 hours total.
On a side note, I saw this story today on MSN.com about the upcoming demolition of a brand new hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. If you are interested, this link will take you to the article.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Weatherford (July 16)
A triumphant return was made to poker this past weekend as I made it out to the monthly $1-2 Weatherford game where I’ve logged in some great wins in the past two years, but have not been able to attend for about five months.
Saturday night’s results were pleasing, winning $225 on the night. I started off slow, having to re-buy for $100 early in the night. For about the first three hours I was either working my way back to the black or hovering a little above even. But things eventually clicked and significant pots began coming my way.
Two hands of consequence are worth talking about. The first involved the second time I was dealt pocket aces. My first hand of the top pocket pair resulted in a win of about $60 when nearly the entire table called my pre-flop raise in the small blind of $12 but then folded to my continuation bet on the flop. The second time I held aces was a bit more suspenseful.
Again in a blind situation, I made a re-raise to $22 pre-flop after Jason, who was sitting three to my left, initially raised it to $7. Those who called the $7 also called the $22 and we went to the flop with five players and $110 in the pot.
The flop was A-9-4 with two clubs. Neither of my aces were a club. I flopped top set with a potential flush draw out there. At this point in the night I had $235 in front of me, after the $22 pre-flop bet. With four opponents in the hand I should have feared a flush draw, but I was willing to play things a little risky having the best possible hand at the moment. I figured somebody probably had the remaining ace for top pair and I wanted to make a bet that looked like I held kings or queens. So I led out with a $40 bet.
The size of that bet compared to the pot is small and was intended to look like I was making a continuation bet with what I feared was no longer the best hand. Jason was next to act. He pondered things for about 30 seconds and then said he was going to raise. At this point I was screaming joyous noises in my head. He waited another 30 seconds to figure out what he wanted to raise and finally decided on a minimum amount raise.
Normally the minimum raise is a scary thing because from amateur players it screams big hand, but I currently had the best hand possible so I wasn’t too worried about him beating me at the moment. Another option that can be concluded from a minimum raise is that a person is trying to set up a check-check on the turn for a free card in case they are on a flush draw. However, Jason isn’t the kind of player who makes that small of a raise on a draw. If he raises a draw it is a raise to end the hand right then or to build a huge pot for later if he hits the draw. The raise he made did not lead me to think I should be worried and depending on what took place with the other three players in the hand I felt like I was in full control of what would take place on the turn and river.
The next three players all folded and it was back to me. I made it look as though I was contemplating what to do, even though I knew full well the play I had in mind, and finally smooth called the $40. There is now $270 in the pot. I have $155 left in front of me.
My choice to not re-raise on the flop was that I didn’t want to scare Jason away. He had raised pre-flop, and raised me on the flop. I wanted him to believe he had me beat but I was refusing to lay down a big hand.
The turn was a non-club seven. The community cards were A-9-4-7. There is still the threat of a club flush, but I didn’t believe Jason to have that hand and was very confident in that my three aces were the best now and would likely be the best after the river.
The next stage in my plan was making a bet relatively small in size both in relation to the pot and the size of my stack. With $155 in my possession and $270 in the middle, I elected to go with $60. The size of this bet is supposed to say, “I think I have the best hand but am not sure and would like to lose as little as possible leaving myself with something should I be wrong.” Apparently it worked.
Following what felt like 30 minutes, but was in reality probably only three, Jason uttered both the sweetest and most devastating words you can hear at the poker table: "I’m all in." Normally I try to give it about two seconds before calling when I have the nuts, but I was so excited I likely insta-called, showing my top set. Jason was at a loss for words and finally stated it didn’t really matter what came on the river as I had the best hand. He never showed what he had and I never asked.
This pot put me at $580 for the night on a $200 buy-in. So you might be wondering what happened that I ended my playing at $425, and the answer to that would be Jay happened.
The last hand of the night, although I didn’t know it was going to be the last hand at the time, was five-handed and I was dealt 9-2 of spades. I raised in late position to $8. Along with Jay, one other player called and we had a $25 pot.
The flop was J-6-2 with two spades. I flopped bottom pair and a flush draw. Jay led out and bet $15. The next player folded. I implemented the “minimum raise to get a free card on the turn” tactic. Making it $30 total, Jay raised me another $50, making the bet $80. I instantly called, showing I would not be backed down. The pot was at $185.
The turn was a red queen, showing a board of J-6-2-Q with two spades. I needed to improve, preferably with a two or a spade. Jay led out with a $50. I hesitated a bit, only pondering whether I wanted to try and push here but ultimately decided on calling and seeing whether I could improve. The pot now had $285 in it.
The river card, which I can’t recall exactly what it was, did not help, giving me neither a nine, two, nor a spade. Jay made another $50 bet and was left with a little less than $100 total. I contemplated whether or not I could push him off his hand for the remainder of his stack. Eventually I decided it was probably not going to work and his bet was for value. I folded, showing my little pair and busted flush draw. Jay flipped up a jack and six for what was top two pair on the flop.
I left for the night after five hours $225 richer, giving me a $45 hourly rate. For the year, I have won $520 and am earning $17.78 an hour.
Saturday night’s results were pleasing, winning $225 on the night. I started off slow, having to re-buy for $100 early in the night. For about the first three hours I was either working my way back to the black or hovering a little above even. But things eventually clicked and significant pots began coming my way.
Two hands of consequence are worth talking about. The first involved the second time I was dealt pocket aces. My first hand of the top pocket pair resulted in a win of about $60 when nearly the entire table called my pre-flop raise in the small blind of $12 but then folded to my continuation bet on the flop. The second time I held aces was a bit more suspenseful.
Again in a blind situation, I made a re-raise to $22 pre-flop after Jason, who was sitting three to my left, initially raised it to $7. Those who called the $7 also called the $22 and we went to the flop with five players and $110 in the pot.
The flop was A-9-4 with two clubs. Neither of my aces were a club. I flopped top set with a potential flush draw out there. At this point in the night I had $235 in front of me, after the $22 pre-flop bet. With four opponents in the hand I should have feared a flush draw, but I was willing to play things a little risky having the best possible hand at the moment. I figured somebody probably had the remaining ace for top pair and I wanted to make a bet that looked like I held kings or queens. So I led out with a $40 bet.
The size of that bet compared to the pot is small and was intended to look like I was making a continuation bet with what I feared was no longer the best hand. Jason was next to act. He pondered things for about 30 seconds and then said he was going to raise. At this point I was screaming joyous noises in my head. He waited another 30 seconds to figure out what he wanted to raise and finally decided on a minimum amount raise.
Normally the minimum raise is a scary thing because from amateur players it screams big hand, but I currently had the best hand possible so I wasn’t too worried about him beating me at the moment. Another option that can be concluded from a minimum raise is that a person is trying to set up a check-check on the turn for a free card in case they are on a flush draw. However, Jason isn’t the kind of player who makes that small of a raise on a draw. If he raises a draw it is a raise to end the hand right then or to build a huge pot for later if he hits the draw. The raise he made did not lead me to think I should be worried and depending on what took place with the other three players in the hand I felt like I was in full control of what would take place on the turn and river.
The next three players all folded and it was back to me. I made it look as though I was contemplating what to do, even though I knew full well the play I had in mind, and finally smooth called the $40. There is now $270 in the pot. I have $155 left in front of me.
My choice to not re-raise on the flop was that I didn’t want to scare Jason away. He had raised pre-flop, and raised me on the flop. I wanted him to believe he had me beat but I was refusing to lay down a big hand.
The turn was a non-club seven. The community cards were A-9-4-7. There is still the threat of a club flush, but I didn’t believe Jason to have that hand and was very confident in that my three aces were the best now and would likely be the best after the river.
The next stage in my plan was making a bet relatively small in size both in relation to the pot and the size of my stack. With $155 in my possession and $270 in the middle, I elected to go with $60. The size of this bet is supposed to say, “I think I have the best hand but am not sure and would like to lose as little as possible leaving myself with something should I be wrong.” Apparently it worked.
Following what felt like 30 minutes, but was in reality probably only three, Jason uttered both the sweetest and most devastating words you can hear at the poker table: "I’m all in." Normally I try to give it about two seconds before calling when I have the nuts, but I was so excited I likely insta-called, showing my top set. Jason was at a loss for words and finally stated it didn’t really matter what came on the river as I had the best hand. He never showed what he had and I never asked.
This pot put me at $580 for the night on a $200 buy-in. So you might be wondering what happened that I ended my playing at $425, and the answer to that would be Jay happened.
The last hand of the night, although I didn’t know it was going to be the last hand at the time, was five-handed and I was dealt 9-2 of spades. I raised in late position to $8. Along with Jay, one other player called and we had a $25 pot.
The flop was J-6-2 with two spades. I flopped bottom pair and a flush draw. Jay led out and bet $15. The next player folded. I implemented the “minimum raise to get a free card on the turn” tactic. Making it $30 total, Jay raised me another $50, making the bet $80. I instantly called, showing I would not be backed down. The pot was at $185.
The turn was a red queen, showing a board of J-6-2-Q with two spades. I needed to improve, preferably with a two or a spade. Jay led out with a $50. I hesitated a bit, only pondering whether I wanted to try and push here but ultimately decided on calling and seeing whether I could improve. The pot now had $285 in it.
The river card, which I can’t recall exactly what it was, did not help, giving me neither a nine, two, nor a spade. Jay made another $50 bet and was left with a little less than $100 total. I contemplated whether or not I could push him off his hand for the remainder of his stack. Eventually I decided it was probably not going to work and his bet was for value. I folded, showing my little pair and busted flush draw. Jay flipped up a jack and six for what was top two pair on the flop.
I left for the night after five hours $225 richer, giving me a $45 hourly rate. For the year, I have won $520 and am earning $17.78 an hour.
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