Rob's Poker Dynasty (and hopefully discussion) Thread

[robbgmaier]

God help me, I just can't stand it any longer. I came home after midnight, figured out how to send money to partypoker through my checking account, and played in my first real money event tonight. ($5/$1 Limit Hold 'em) I got to the final two, down to 550, then up to 7000, and finally back to zero for second place. Yeah, I'll take it, woo hoo. Probably the most interesting hand was....

Just barely in 2nd chip position, 9 players still in the game, I'm dealt 8c 7c in the small blind. 3rd to act raised, and rightly or wrongly I called with 4 others. Flop comes 9s 6d 4d. An open ended straight draw. I check, someone bets, everyone calls. The turn is the 5d. Well, I made my straight.....I check under the gun, next hand folds..(good play), 3rd bets and 4th raises, the button folds and it's back to me.

Well?

I let my time run down under 5 seconds, and finally decided to fold, quietly grind my teeth, and try and win it later. One more fold, one call. The river was 7s, check bet call.

It turned out that the original better had a pair of queens, one of them a diamond, and the other had raised on two pair 5's and 4's. I grind my teeth some more and move on.

How big of a pansy am I? What finally pushed me out was that I would really really AND I MEAN REALLY steamed if one of these bozos has caught yet another diamond on the river to make the flush. I'm not quite sure how to quantify how many chips that steam is worth.



Here's another dilemma (is this how you spell dilemma?) I had. Pocket Aces, I call in second position (doesn't raising in second position with 7 folks in front of me sort of give it away?) and 4 of us see the flop Ts Tc 5c (my aces were red, FWIW). Two checks to me. Betting seems normal here, next hand raises, fold, call, back to me. Maybe I'm just naturally wimpy, but with no raise to begin with it seems like I should put this guy on a ten rather than an over pair or (god help me) a 5. Maybe a couple of clubs? I just call and the three of us see the turn 7s. The raiser checks to me, and I check, confused, probably should have bit and thrown some chips in, but the button now saves me by betting, call, and I just call, hoping I don't fall over the room is spinning so fast. The river is an uninspiring 4s. Anyone who has that flush can fucking well have it. It goes check check again, again a bet, and again two calls.

The original raiser did indeed have merely a five. The other guy had pocket queens. I looked at both hands again, and not seeing a ten, I picked up the chips. Anyone think it was clear for me to just bet the aces until it capped?

I guess I'll go drink now, then maybe play again :)

[Radii]

Originally posted by robbgmaier
Here's another dilemma (is this how you spell dilemma?) I had. Pocket Aces, I call in second position (doesn't raising in second position with 7 folks in front of me sort of give it away?) and 4 of us see the flop Ts Tc 5c (my aces were red, FWIW). Two checks to me. Betting seems normal here, next hand raises, fold, call, back to me. Maybe I'm just naturally wimpy, but with no raise to begin with it seems like I should put this guy on a ten rather than an over pair or (god help me) a 5. Maybe a couple of clubs? I just call and the three of us see the turn 7s. The raiser checks to me, and I check, confused, probably should have bit and thrown some chips in, but the button now saves me by betting, call, and I just call, hoping I don't fall over the room is spinning so fast. The river is an uninspiring 4s. Anyone who has that flush can fucking well have it. It goes check check again, again a bet, and again two calls.

The original raiser did indeed have merely a five. The other guy had pocket queens. I looked at both hands again, and not seeing a ten, I picked up the chips. Anyone think it was clear for me to just bet the aces until it capped?
[/B]

You have to raise pre-flop with pocket aces. Someone with A5 might not fold(you're a huge huge favorite over this guy though and you don't want him to), but Q5, T5(ten+5), 75, etc, they probably all fold, random suited cards probably fold. If you don't raise and let cards that can catch crappy flushes and low/mid straights stay in the hand cheaply, your aces won't win nearly as often.

Once the pair flops, then you probably don't want to go capping the bet every round, but perhaps a powerful play like a check-raise on the flop and see if that causes people to back off. If they back off, keep betting on the turn and river. If someone re-raises, then you've got to decide how confident you are of that person having a 10, either lay down your aces or drop back into check-and-call mode.


I'm still pretty new to this so don't take my advice as anywhere near gospel. I also don't play limit as much so I could be way off :)

[robbgmaier]

Well, this is a trend that feels good to me. My second low stakes limit hold 'em tourney, another second place finish. I guess this means inside of a year I'll be living on the street, cashing in aluminum cans to pay for a gallon of cheap wine and a couple of scratch of tickets, loitering near the strip clubs to catch a glimpse of cookie, before the bouncers come out and beat me up and throw me in the gutter....I guess I should probably seek therapy.

Anyway, 8 players left, I'm just under the 3rd chip leader, 5th to act with pocket red queens. There's a bet and a raise to me, I call, the blinds fold, and 5 of us see the flop. Jd Kd As. Two checks, and the original raiser bets. What do you do here? I feel like I'm beat, but I've got 6 near winners, not to mention the runner runner diamond draw, so I check, and no one raises. The turn is 7s. I'm pretty sure I should get out, but hubris forces me to call again, and again there is no raise. The river is the 9d. With 900 in the pot, and last to act after checking initially, I foolishly throw 60 more chips in to avoid the rage of losing to pocket tens over pocket eights. I need not have worried, as the original raisers pocket aces lost to a flush :)

Does anyone know a good rule(s) of thumb for when to place ace-little off-suit?

later

[Airhog]

Its all about the odds man. I would have personally played that straight. It was a good hand. You can eliminate the first play as having a great hand, definately not a hand that beats a straight. With a pair of queens, it would have been in his best interest to raise pre-flop I think and try to force weak hands out of the pot.

Now the other player is more interesting. You have no way to really know if he had a flush or just two pair. Im not sure, but I would have raised under the gun, and made him show his hand. I think he would have folded otherwise, because It would have been obvious you held the straight.

I honestly think the above players just made bad plays and got lucky.

Personally, I only play the A- low suited, from the blinds or from the end if there are not many people in the pot. A2 on up to A5 are probably poor starting hands, but if you can see the flop cheaply you could always wind up with a low straight.

I think alot of playing weak hands comes down to knowing how many people are in the pot. If your playing with just 2 or 3 other people you have much better odds with an Ace low card

[robbgmaier]

A long long day today. I start out in $5/$1 limit hold 'em tournies again. I follow up my 2 seconds yesterday with an early exit, followed by 3 straight wins! I've instantly gone from life on the street to wednesday nights on the travel channel. Of course, I don't stop there, and get booted out of the next 4 tourney's, plus 1 $10/$1 Omaha Hi/Lo for good measure. It's all because of the rain, I would have been out umpiring instead of blowing my winnings.

So, after two days, I'm +$34, although today was much more volitile. Wish me luck, and please, toss me some spare change if you see me on the street...

[TredWel]

Originally posted by robbgmaier
Well, I made my straight.....I check under the gun, next hand folds..(good play), 3rd bets and 4th raises, the button folds and it's back to me.

You'll find a lot of people on the lower limit tables who will bet pairs in the face of boards that are extremely dangerous. I figure that I have no choice but to pay off the flush here, if one exists. If a fourth diamond comes on the river, I'm out of there, but for the meantime, I figure I'm a 50-50 shot to win.

Originally posted by robbgmaier
Here's another dilemma (is this how you spell dilemma?) I had. Pocket Aces, I call in second position (doesn't raising in second position with 7 folks in front of me sort of give it away?)

What's wrong with giving it away? Firstly, you're at low stakes, and I don't think people have equated "raising" with "having a big hand". Secondly, you need to knock out people with drawing hands who are going to come back and bite you on the ass when they make their hand while you still think they're clueless SOBs.

Plus, raising pre-flop is great for leverage. People who remember that you have a big hand later on in the hand when you bet out will be more inclined to move off of hands that might beat you.

Past that, I think your play was fine. People shouldn't have flush draws after the strong betting on the flop, so your main concern is the ten. Once he raises, it's a good possibility, however, after he checks the turn when a blank falls, you've got to wonder. If he had a ten, he's still got the nuts (barring a small spiked pair) - it just comes down to the kicker. I don't know many people who wouldn't bet the functional nuts on the turn after raising them on the flop. That would have inclined me to place him on a single five, and bet the turn.

I don't know if I would have come to that conclusion at the table in 30 seconds, however, so I can't fault your play. Better to be unwisely cautious than unwisely aggressive at tournament play.

[Airhog]

Omaha Hi-Lo is definately not the same game as Hold'em

It has much more defined strategy. If you can learn to play Omaha Decently you can clean up online at the lower limits. The problem is that its such a boring game.

[robbgmaier]

I'm already having nightmares, and it's only Day 3. I've always known that I was a gambling addict waiting to happen, and I guess I should consider myself lucky that I managed to stay away from it for as long as I did.

I managed to erase the shitty taste from my mouth. but not the soreness and gunk from my eyes, with a 3rd in $5/$1 Omaha Hi-Lo, followed by a hard earned 1st in $5/$1 Limit Hold 'em. The +23 on the day brings me up to a 3 day total of +57. It also begs a question. Am I really any good, or am I only a shark compared to the guppies in the $5/$1 tank? I'm not leaving the tank for a while, that's for damn sure.

Another question. Being a novice when it comes to poker tournaments and poker in general, I know I'm probably making several silly mistakes that fall into general classes that have been expounded upon by various poker experts in print. So, if you were going to go and buy 1 poker book, one that says, "Don't do that you dumbass, it's silly, and here's why, in easy to understand graphic examples, it's so damn silly..." what would it be?

[Radii]

"Am I really any good, or am I only a shark compared to the guppies in the $5/$1 tank? I'm not leaving the tank for a while, that's for damn sure."

I'd say neither. There can be huge swings in poker. I have no idea whether I'm good at it or not, just that I feel more confident about my play every day.

I had one day last week where I played in about 4 tournaments and about broke even, one day where I played in 7 tournaments and ended up about $95, and one horrid day where I played in 17(yes, 17) tournaments and lost about $50. As for that day, let me say that if you and your girlfriend are on the verge of breaking up with each other, poker is not the best place to try to go drown out your worries. But, in addition to being a reasonably serious venture, it's my hobby of the moment, so there I went.

ANYWAY, what I read on the poker newsgroups is mainly in regards to limit ring games(as opposed to tournaments), and the advice there is to play a few thousand hands, make a record of your performances, see how you're correcting your mistakes, and then decide... How does that relate to tournaments? I dunno, play for maybe 3 weeks to a month consistantly online like this and rate your performances.


As for books, "The Theory of Poker" by Sklansky, "Hold 'Em for Advanced Players" by Sklansky and Malmuth are my two favorites. Theory of poker is not specifically geared towards hold 'em but strategies that apply to all poker games. Sklansky and Malmuth also have a game on Tournament Poker that i'm interested in reading... Tournaments and regular ring games play very differently so the strategies vary drastically.

[robbgmaier]

I started this fine day with 3 bounces from the limit 5/1 arena, including a nasty fight between myself an another, trying to catch the 3rd place money. Both of us were around 500, while the other two were around 3500. Somehow, we both managed to survive about 4 orbits when the other guy caught a river card to survive his forced all-in, and in desperation, I got bounced on the next hand.

After some much needed cursing, the next three went 1st/bounce/1st, bringing me to +14 for the day, +71 overall, my biggest plus so far.

Long term, I'm cautiously optimistic that my first derivative is going to be positive. I've already begun thinking the nasty thought that's going to soon see me selling plasma and semen twice a week (I hope I remember which goes where). How plus should I get before I move up to the next weight class? I'm determined that if my balance ever zeroes out, I'm done. Maybe, around +200, I'll try the $10/$1 for a while, and try and stay above +100, at which point I'll grumpily move back down.

later

[Airhog]

well ring games reccomend 20 times the big blind so for a 10/1 game that would be about 200 dollars. Just remember that you wont necessarily find better competition by going to the 10/1 tourneys.

[robbgmaier]

Originally posted by Airhog
well ring games reccomend 20 times the big blind so for a 10/1 game that would be about 200 dollars. Just remember that you wont necessarily find better competition by going to the 10/1 tourneys.

between you me and the door post, I'm quietly hopefull the competition won't be any better, so I can double my income :)

[robbgmaier]

Is there anything more frustrating than getting into a tournament on partypoker, and THEN finding out after you've paid that their connection status is currently SUCK THE BIG ONE!?

That's a rhetorical question, of course there isn't.

Ho-hum, another day, another bounce/1st/1st, another $32, and $103 for the week, assuming I take the weekend off, which I probably won't :).

This shit is pretty cool, even if the last one did take 2 hours to play 70 hands.

WOOT!

[robbgmaier]

After directing bridge games all day on line, I decided I deserved just one tourney before retired for the day, having to get up early tomorrow as well. I sauntered my way to 3rd place, my A3o found an ace on the turn, which led to my pissing all my chips away against ATo. Boo hoo. +4 for the day, +107 for the week.

Hey tredwel, what have you been doing, spending time with the family, something silly like that? :)

[RPI-Fan]

Played with two other people last night (were supposed to have more) in a no-limit ring game with $5 buy-ins and re-buys.

Won $40 on the night. That's paying for the poker chips I'm buying on EBay (really, really nice).

~rpi-fan

[robbgmaier]

a very mediocre and annoying week, as I'm just bouncing around even. I started playing omaha hi/lo tournies exclusively the last couple of days, and it doesn't seem to matter, same result, up ten, down ten, yada yada.

maybe I'm just supposed to join a ring game, but I'd like to get up another $100 before I start that. patience.....

[RPI-Fan]

The $1-2 games at Pokerroom seem very easy to beat. Not sure how it'd be at Party, but can't imagine it'd be much more difficult.

But yea', you're right, it'd be a good idea to get a bankroll you're comfortable with before you start trying a ring game.

[sabotai]

Question from a poker n00b.

What's a ring game?

[RPI-Fan]

<i>ring game - n. - not a tournament</i>

Seriously though, it's a game with set limits ($1-2, $2-4, $3-6 etc.) that remain the same throughout the entirety of the table's existence. Players are free to sit and stand up (vacating their seat) as they please, and cash out with however many chips they have left.

This differs from a tournament, where you pay a set fee to get X chips, and then the finishers are awarded money prizes in a preset fashion.

If you need more explanation (this has been, admittedly, a tad weak), feel free to ask and I'll try harder.

[sabotai]

No, that explaination was very sufficiant.

(After reading through Tred's dynasty, I kind of picked up what a ring game was, but thanks anyway. :D )

[robbgmaier]

After Oriol "double stuff" Villaver's stoppage time game winner to keep the goldurnears perfect season alive, I decided I simply had to start playing ring games tonight, so at 1:05 local time, I stepped into my first ever online ring game, $0.5/$1 Omaha Hi/Lo. I think I'm glad I gave this game a shot instead of sticking to Hold 'em. I say that, because I managed to go +$21.75 over a 2 hr period. Woot! It's funny, none of the hands seem particularly interesting, the strategy I've come up with over the last several days (rolls eyes) doesn't leave a lot of room for flights of fancy, and I never found myself caught out with the second best hand at the showdown.

Ooooh, the fall is going to be SO painful when it comes....

[QuikSand]

The key to effectively playing Omaha Hi/Lo against dummies is to properly understand the nature of low hands. That's it, really. When plenty of your opponents simply don't "get it" when it comes to low, this game can be the most profitable of any low-limit ring game out there.

That advantage slips away as the skill of opposition increases, though. But at low levels, Omaha can really be fish in a barrel.

[Radii]

QS/Rob/whoever,

where did you guys learn Omaha strategy? I keep reading that Omaha can be more consistant and more profitable than Hold Em but I've not seen the numerous recommendations on Omaha books like on the Hold Em side of things... I guess I'm probably looking for simple things like good starting hands, etc. Unless I have A234 in a hi/lo game I really have no idea how to tell if I've got a good hand.

[QuikSand]

My regular "home" poker game happens to be centerd on Omaha - we play quite a lot of Omaha, and a lot of other hi/lo games which are clearly derivative of Omaha. So, I personally have learned to play that game simply by playing it. I have yet to read anything geared to playing Omaha specifically.

My limited experience with Omaha in open company suggests that there are a lot of people playing that game simply because it seems to have more "action" that Hold 'Em (the high/low options, and the ability to select from a wider array of your own cards). Those people are generally just pleading for you to take their money.

[robbgmaier]

following my opening salvo, I played in two more omaha ring game sessions last sunday night / monday morning, and was pretty quickly up over $70 in less than a day. Sadly, the rest of the week was a spasmaodic decline, and I ended the week up about $40, with omaha tournies thrown in to the mix. I think most of the losses can be attributed to "steam", as I had a session of minus over $30, something that wouldn't have happened if I was paying attention to tredwel :)

Hopefully I can avoid poker all together tomorrow, and start fresh on monday with the ring games again, with no distractions, and plenty of coffee. cheers

[robbgmaier]

I am a lazy bum. In order to make myself work a little harder at this, and maybe, god forbid, learn something, I am going to brazenly copy TredWel and post reports of my endeavors. Mostly I play tournaments. I am actually not in love with the format, as the blinds (this is limit Hold em) go up to quickly for my tastes. On the other hand, I am a little scared of the ring games, because I notice myself steaming too often. In a tourney, if I start to steam, there is no additional money to be thrown away, besides the entry fee which is already gone. Not the mention, I seem to be good enough to make money at them. Anyone, to my first tourney report.

The game is limit Hold em, 10 handed to start, level 1 blinds are 10 and 15, and increase every ten hands. Everyone starts with $800 worth of chips. I’ll be fourth for the first big blind.

Hand 8 - $770 – 5th(10) – My strategy in these tournaments oscillates quite a bit. I lean heavily toward solid bordering on rockish. I have been known to not win a hand in the first four levels, only to take the chip lead on the first one I do play. It is fairly stressful though, and I have come to recognize that you have to get into a few hands when you’re in position. It is all a work in progress, but not relevant here, as I get Ac Kc in middleish position. I have learned the hard way not to go nuts with these hands, so I just limp in, and 7 of us see the flop (Qc 4h 7h). We have an early better, I call, and some idiot behind me raises. Someone convinced that he is eventually going to knock 6 other people out with a bluff. I hate these players. Anyway, 6 of the 7 eventually call the 30, including me, and the turn is the 4c. The same better who opened the flop opens here, and 5 of us pay to see the river. The guy who raised last hand folded here. I can not even imagine what hand that was. Anyway, the river does not really impress me, the Ad. I pay the extra $30, and find the original better has turned her Qd 4d into a boat. What can you do? I’m now at $665, 7th out of 10.

Hand 14 - $650 – 7th(10) – The blinds are now 15/30. I’m greeted with 5h Tc, and we have two limpers and the small blind completing, and the four of us get to see (4c 3s Ac). No one sees any reason to bet, (in fact, someone decides to fold) and the turn comes 9s. I haven’t seen much in the way of slow play yet, and in case the idea of me being a bluffer is useful later on, I decide to spend $60 when the small blind checks. Only the small blind calls, and the river is an unexpected treat, the Th. When the small blind checks, I check as well, and my tens stand up. Maybe I’m supposed to bet my tens, but it is worthwhile to protect yourself against crazies in this game. The extra $60 isn’t going to win the event for me, but losing another $120 on the check raise is one less flop that I get to see if I have to scramble later. My first pot puts me back where I started, $800, 6th out of 10.

Hand 19 - $755 – 6th(9) – I get Ks Qs in middle position, and four limpers and both blinds see a nice little flop, (Kd 3h Qh). The table checks to me, and anyone who wants to hang around and wait for their flush will have to pay for it. Two players accept, and the turn is the 6c. I bet again, and only one hangs around. The river is the 8d. Fearless, I bet again, and win my first showdown with two pair. The other guy had KT of clubs. The next +$330 puts me at $1085, 5th out of 9.

Hand 29 - $955 – 5th(7) – The blinds are now 25/50. We had a couple casualties in the early part of the level, but I didn’t get any of their chips. I get dealt 7h Js in the big blind. UTG calls, and everyone else folds. The flop comes (Ac 9d 3s). I quickly fire at the pot since I now have a huge hand (don’t look at me like that), and whatever UTG had that was good enough to call is scared off, and I net $50. I’m now at $1055, 4th out of 7.

Hand 30 - $1055 – 4th out of 7 – Feeling my oats, I complete the small blind with 7s 5d. Four of us get to see (9s Td 8h). I initially am quite excited about my open ended straight draw, but manage to check, and when the big blind bets everyone calls. The turn is the Ac. I check again, the big blind bets again, and the next two call again. Finally, the alarm bells start going of in my head. My next $100 would be chasing the $700 that is already in the pot. My initial thoughts were that I was getting good odds on a 6.75 to 1 proposition, especially with a rainbow board. Then I thought, what the hell is everyone calling on? Obviously others are playing the straight draw as well. The sixes look like pretty solid out cards for me, but aren’t my jacks going to lose to a queen in another hand? Still a little unsure, and having taken almost all my 20 seconds, I punch the fold button. It turns out that someone already had the jack high straight, so I was lucky to get out when I did. I lose only $100, now at $930, 5th out of 7.

Hand 35 - $1030 – 5th out of 6 – The blinds are now 50/100. I have 8d Js, and one other player calls and we both get to see the flop, (Ts 7c 9c). DING DING DING DING DING. I am SO totally addicted to the slow play, so I check, and do indeed get to call a bet. The turn is an unfortunate Ad. I think this card scared him, because he did not bet this time. The river is the 3d, and I am not going to turn over my cards unless he puts $200 more into the kitty, so I bet, and he calls, and I show my straight. It turned out my opponent was on K7o. This hand could certainly have turned out better, but any decent win at this point takes a lot of pressure off, even if for only a few hands. I net $450, bringing my total to $1380, a packed 4th out of 6.

Hand 36 - $1380 – 4th out of 6 – Now in the small blind, I’m dealt Ac Ts. One early player calls, I just complete, and the big blind must have been away because they fold. The flop comes (9h 8c 2d). I doubt this is even a bluff, so I bet it, and win the pot. Another $200 brings me to $1580, which puts me in 2nd of 6. It is only now that my opponent from the previous hand notices that I flopped a straight on the last hand, and comments on it.

Hand 41 - $1580 – 3rd out of 6 – Blinds are now 100/200 Back in the big blind with 9c 7d. One early caller and I am heads up again with the flop (7c Tc 2d). I can imagine betting here in a lot of situations, but I believe I have learned the hard way that conservatism is called for when you start getting to high altitude, especially when there are still six players. At any rate, my opponent bets into me, and I call. The river is the 8c. Now I am torn. Third pair with an open ended straight draw with a back door (straight) flush draw. Still, until I somehow get evidence to the contrary, I am staying conservative. Besides, I might be betting into a made flush, a lot of people like to bet their flush draw flops. Somewhat surprisingly, it goes check check. The river is a card I like a little bit, the Qc. I made my flush, and I made it with an overcard, making it less likely that I am beaten by a higher club. Still, I am scared of that higher club, and I do not want to have pay $400 MORE just to see it if I get raised. I check, he bets, and I shrug and call. He shows Js Qd. I guess some of my earlier betting may have paid off, as he decided I had no club. Poor bastard. I net $900 on the hand, bringing me to $2480, and making me the new chip leader.

Hand 48 - $2180 – 2nd out of 4 – We finally had some attrition, but none of the chips went to me. In the small blind, I get Qc 7s, and when it goes fold fold to me, I complete and the blinds get to see (4d Td 6h). It goes check check, and the turn hits 7c. I bet and win the pot. Back to $2380, chip leader again.

Hand 50 - $2380 – 1st out of 4 – UTG, I have 6h As. I fear this part of the game. I detest finishing 4th, as only the top 3 players get paid. While this is at least a decent hand with 4 players, I lack the balls to play it correctly when losing it could knock down to oblivion and winning it does not really make me all that much of an overall favorite. I fold. I will listen to criticism, but please, be gentle.

Hand 53 - $1930 – 3rd out of 4 – Blinds are now 150/300. Now on the button, with 7h Ad. No, the 7 does not sway me over the 6, but I did let the button sway me over UTG, and I call, and the big blind and I see (8d 2h 5s). The BB checks, I punch, and he folds. The net $450 gives me $2380, and puts me on top again.

Hand 54 - $2380 – 1st out of 4 – UTG with a pair of fours. Fold. Still 4 players. If I were UTG with 3, and hence holding the button, I can imagine raising instead.

Hand 56 - $2530 – 1st out of 4 – In the small blind with A7o, UTG and the button fold to me. With one less player I would raise, but I just complete, and the blinds see an A52 rainbow. Perhaps I should get cute here, but I just bet, and win the pot. Now at a new high of $2830.

Hand 59 - $2830 – 1st out of 4 – I am in the big blind with Kd Td. UTG calls, the button raises, and the small blind folds. These are the kind of hands I am desperate to stay out of when I still am not in the money. Almost unheard of for four people to still be kicking at the end of level 6. Already in for 1 bet, and sensing the chance to break the bank, while maybe still getting out with enough chips to fight on, I reluctantly call, and UTG calls as well. Nearly one-quarter of the chips in play are now in the pot. The flop comes (4h 2h 8d). I see no sense in bluffing at 2000 with 300 at this point, so I check, UTG checks, and the raiser bets. I drain about 18 of my 20 seconds thinking about this one. The raiser/bettor started the hand with $2100, so he has no reason to be steaming, he obviously thought he had something preflop. Whether or not he has anything now is another story. My call at this point is completely out of character, and against the strategy I prefer to use, but I let the 1 diamond on the board sway me. UTG calls all-in. Over one-third of the chips in play are now in the pot. The turn is a useless 8c. Bluffing here seems ill-advised, since I might just be knocking the third best hand out. It goes check check. The river is the 6d. Fuck all. Check check again. The good news is the raiser had JT of hearts. The bad news is the all in guy had KQ, beating my KT. He goes instantly from last to first in our four handed battle. My $900 loss brings me down to $1960 and 3rd place.

Hand 72 - $2060 – 2nd of 4 – This is unbelieveable. We traversed level 7 almost without incident, and are now in level 8. Blinds are now $250/$500. I am in the small blind with 8c 5c. UTG has fallen down to $400, and calls all-in. The button folds, and I think about it. I decide to complete, and hope the big blind is on the same wavelength, two hands being better than one to knock someone out. The three of us see the flop (Js 3h 3d). I check, and the BB, bless him, checks as well. The turn is the 6h, and I check, and the BB, fuck him, throws in one of those orange $1000 chips. Well, at least I figure he is not bluffing. I throw it away, and the board makes trip threes, giving the BB a full house. His 96o beating the all-ins big slick. I am glad I played the hand the way I did, because if I had bluffed the BB out, I still would have lost the hand, and there would still be four of us. Now I am finally in the money. Down to $1560, last of 3.

Hand 75 - $1060 – 1st of 3 – I got raised out of my big blind, and I now am the SB with ATo. When the button raises, I go all in, and the BB folds. The cards wiz by, and my ATo out kicks his A9s. I am back to $2620 and in second.

Hand 76 – on the buttom with J6s. Possible I should throw a raise in here, but I fold.

Hand 77 – BB with Q6s. The button calls and the SB folds. The flop comes (9c Ad 4s). Perhaps I fell from grace here, failing to bet myself. I will never know, because I had to fold when I was bet into.

Hand 78 – SB with T4s. The button folds. The chip counts are 3775, 1870 for me, and 1605, with 750 already in the pot. I think I should have raised here, but after I thought about it for 2 seconds I just fold.

Hand 80 - $1870 – last of 3. I am the BB with AQo. When the button folds and SB calls, I decide this is the hand and raise. The SB calls, and the flop is (3h 9c Kc). When the SB checks, I hopefully bet, but get called. When the turn is an uninteresting 4h, and SB checks again, I go all in with my last 340. The river is the 6d, and we both have aces. I have the better kicker, but his was a nine, pairing the board, and showing me the door. The second time in 6 hands that I went all in against his A9, both times I had the better pocket, but the only pair made was his. Boo hoo.

The $4 I picked up here brings me to +$159 for the almost month that I have been playing, which is acceptable, although somewhat disappointing. I still have a lot of work to do if I am going to increase my bankroll and move up in stakes.

Hope part of this was interesting, and someone has something to comment on. I think it would be a good habit for me to get into doing these writeups, but I doubt I can be bothered if it is just to slow me down.

[RPI-Fan]

Not much to comment on, but great writeup!

Enjoyed reading it!

~rpi-fan