Casa de Cook ($20 re-buy tournament)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Give Thanks For Poker

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

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

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

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

Weatherford (November 3)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weatherford (September 22 & October 6)

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

WinStar (July 27 & August 1)

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

Weatherford (July 7)

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

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

Weatherford (June 16)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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