Radii's Poker Dynasty, take 2 [Archive] - Front Office Football Central

Radii

04-30-2004, 08:55 PM

We start 4 handed

Hand 1: QQ in the big blind. The little blind limps, I raise, folded to me.

Hand #6 - we're up to 5 handed, biggdogg369 has joined the table and raises and bets hard with K7o out of position. Mmmmm.

Hand #7: Up to 6 handed, KINGKULL is with us.

Hand #8: Biggdogg369 has just lost his first $100 in a raising war with nothing vs pocket 9s... He rebuys for $250 and keeps going at it, capping the turn and river the very next hand, this time he had a real hand though(67o for a straight)

Hand #10: A6 clubs from UTG, I raise it up, get re-raised by the small blind, I call and fold on a ragged flop. SB had QQ.

Hand #15: A6 spades in the cutoff, folded to me, I raise, and I take the blinds

Biggdogg is trying to run over the table, but he's catching cards too. People have called down his ace-high 3 times in a row with nothing.

Hand #16: I decide to fold A5s UTG. Sometimes I'll mix it up here, sometimes I won't, and with biggdogg behind me, I think I won't think time.

Hand #19: Biggdogg raises UTG, folded to me in the SB, where I see jacks, I re-raise and he calls, we are heads up. Flop is Qxx, I bet, turn is another rag, I bet and take down a $53 pot.

Hand #20: 1 limper to me on the button, I've got ATo and raise, 3 way on the flop. I hit an ace, and bet when its checked to me. Flop is A73, two hearts. Down to heads up as one folds. On the turn (Qc) and River (Qd) I bet out and am called (by biggdogg), who called my raise with 63 and hit bottom pair w/ a 6 kciker and called it down. I take down an $80 for my efforts.

Hand #21: folded all the way around, first time I have seen that tonight

Hand #24: Q2o in the BB, 4 of us see the flop for the single bet, but I get out when the flop misses me totally.

Hand #25: A6o in the SB, biggdogg raises UTG again and I'm tempted to make a play at him, but he has shown down enough hands when he's raised that I stay out of the way. I was hoping he'd have to show this one down, but he wins it on the turn with two aces on the board.

Hand #26: AQo on the button, ODD6268 raises(he's been in a lot of flops) and I push hard, re-raising, biggdogg calls, odd caps it. Flop is Qxx and I have hit a nice one, odd bets, I raise, biggdogg is out and odd calls. Turn and river are undercards to the jack, and I bet and am called. I take down a very nice $120 pot. ODD was playing with pocket 6s that didn't hit.

Hand #28: A8s in the middle somewhere. I raise it, and get 3 callers, including the in most every hand biggdogg and odd6268. The flop comes down 6T3 with 1 spade. I decide to check instead of bet it out, something about 3 opponents... Biggdogg bets, the other two call and I make a very questionable call. the turn hits my 8, I have 2nd pair now. I bet out, biggdogg raises, kingkull calls in between us, and I just call, prepared to call down 2nd pair but I won't be betting. The river changes that with an ace, I now have two pair. I bet, biggdogg calls and kull folds. Dogg had JT for top pair, I rivered him, and I learn to be a bit more careful around him, he so far has just called with his worse hands but bet out his better ones, I need to respect his raises. My river nets me a $138 pot.

Hand #37: A5o in the SB, one limper to me, I complete and biggdogg calls the big blind. Aces are good today, I flop one, A67, and I bet it, dogg calls me. The turn is another ace and I bet again, and again dogg calls me. The river completes a backdoor heart flush, I bet into it and dogg calls me down, he had 56, bottom pair crap kicker. Again, he calls with any piece of the flop, but raises with good ones. My pot is $63, and I am up to $460 from my $250 buyin in about 20 minutes.

Hand #41: we are 4 handed for now, biggdogg to my left, kingkull and odd6268 follow them. None of these players worry me at all, any sort of cards at all and I feel very good here.

Hand #44: QTo in the small blind. all four of us are in for the small bet The flop is JT5 and I have middle pair. I bet out as the first to act, ODD6268 raises me, and I go into check/call mode unless I catch more of the board. Turn is another 5, river is a blank. Odd bets the turn, checks the river and I learn that he was betting on T7, I outkick him for the $68 pot.

Sysreq joins the table to my right. The name is vaguely familier but he's not in tracker.

Hand #50: I get Q7o in the SB, I'm willing to complete the blind with this, but when biggdogg raises behind me, I'm not interested in playing for another bet, I fold. This is one of the improvements I've made in my game, in the past I would not have been able to give up this hand since I'd already invested in it. Turns out biggdogg had AQ and I would have gotten destroyed.

Hand #52: A2o UTG, I don't like that even 5 handed, fold (I'm trying to at least mildly highlight any hand where I had a decision to make, even if it was a free one).

Hand #59: AKo in the SB. A new player, PokSaw raises, odd6268 calls, I re-raise and its called. Flop is QT4. I bet and he raises, I call. Turn is a 2nd ten. I check, and he checks. That confused me enough to bet the river. The river was a blank, I bet, he raised and I called. He showed down T9 suited to take down a nice pot. that little hit drops me to $411 and I'm not sure what to make of my new friend poksaw. His check worked, as I tried to take the pot on the river. but I was calling him down no matter what, so he didn't get any extra money out of me.

Hand #67: Q5 in the big blind. it's folded to the SB, who raises me. I call, prepared to bet hard with any piece of it. The flop comes J65, bottom pair. SB bets, I raise, he folds. I AM THE MANLIER OF THE TWO.

Hand #68: A8s in the small blind. I raise when a few limp to me, and get 3 callers. The flop misses me completely, 664, I bet, get raised, and I call, I don't trust ODD6268(the raiser). The turn is a jack, and I fold when Odd bets again. Turns out he bluffed me on the flop, but he caught a pair w/ J9 on the turn. I drop down to $397.

Hand #73: JJ in the big blind, familiar faces as biggdogg raises, odd calls, and I raise. Flop comes 876 with two diamonds, a scary one. I bet, and biggdogg raises, odd6268 calls, I call. He's been passive with his worse hands so I put him on a good draw or top pair, I may still be best and actually should have re-raised in retrospect, but visions of 88 flashed through my mind enough to make me hit the call button. The turn, a jack! I bet out, and now dogg just calls, odd6268 is still in as well. The river is a terrible card, a 4, giving any single 5 a straight. I bet out anyway(genearlly bad to fear the single card), biggdogg raises, odd6268 calls again, I sigh as I press the call button, and grin when he turns over pocket 4s, he rivered trips to lose to my turned trips. Odd6268 had J9, flopped the straight draw, turned top pair, a reasonable hand to stay in on. The pot of $165 puts me over $500, I've doubled my buyin.

We're 6 handed again, golfjoynt is now to my immediate left, best friend biggdogg369 is now two to my left.

My fiancee comes home from an excursion and I log off with $500.50.

NET: +$250.50

The cards hit me pretty well tonight, but this is a good example of reading people in 6 handed play. You can tell that I was focusing mainly on biggdogg and odd6268, they were in most of the hands so they were my opponents most of the time, but their play was so random and atrocious that I had no problem calling them down with middle pair, or betting with ace high hoping just to catch a pair, feeling I may well be best at the time. If those reads are off I lose a lot, but tonight, they were spot on.

Radii

04-30-2004, 08:57 PM

That was a stream of consciousness writing while I was playing. Comments and suggestions are welcome, I want this to be readable. If some of the "i bet, I bet I bet they eventually fold" hands clutter it up too much, i will be more selective. If it needs to be edited more, let me know, I want this to be useful and to generate discussion, so whatever I should do to get that, let me know.

RPI-Fan

04-30-2004, 09:03 PM

Great work, Radii - love the style you're doing, giving some info on the other players.

Radii

05-01-2004, 12:55 AM

This'll probably be a short session, but we'll see if its worth posting

5 people at the table, 4 + me, I don't recognize anyone.

Hand #1: Q2s in the big blind, and I get a free flop along with two others. Hooray for free flops: QQJ. I bet and get a call from the player to my left, bullmoos. The turn is a blank, I bet and get raised... new table, new players, I should re-raise here, yes I lose to a queen, but I don't want to set an image of being able to be pushed around so easily. In spite of my reasoning, I call. The river is checked, and the bullmoos had 9T, trying to raise the turn on his draw. I'm off to a good start, opening with an $88 pot.

Hand #5: AKo UTG. I raise, get one caller. The flop misses me, J62, I bet and am called. The turn pairs the 6, I raise, get re-raised, and I decide to back down here and fold. This was TORMIS I was up against, and I lose a bit in this hand.

Hand #7: I steal bullmoos' blind with K7o(I'm SB, he's the BB) with a raise pre-flop after it was folded to me.

Hand #13: Bold play, or stupid luck? rounder1979 has raised 4 straight hands, I have 85 suited in the big blind. It's raised by rounder and I decide to call him and see if I can hit. Flop is A52. I bet my 2nd pair, he raises, and I call. The turn is a 5, I check-raise, get called, get called on the river and my trip 5s take down a $90 pot. He had a good suited ace. Blind luck i suppose. Don't think I should mess around like that anymore.

There's a combination of stupid things going on here... on another poker board I read, there is a common observation that references to the movie Rounders immediately signal poor play. Silly numbers(although this is a birth year probably) and slang add to that. It has been decided that Someone using the name "RounderDawg69" would be the single worst poker player on the planet. Also, 85 is a 'named hand' for silly reasons in my cheap, but entertaining dealers choice home game. How could I not play!?

Hand #20: I have A2o on the button. Folded to me, I raise, the big blind calls. Flop misses me, 499. BB checks, I bet, BB folds. I love poker.

Hand #24: folded to me in the small blind, pure steal with 69o, I'm called, and re-raised on the flop by rounder1979, I am out of there.

Hand #25: A9 hearts on the button, limped to me, I raise both the blinds call. The flop is a good one, AJ6, two hearts. Checked to me, I bet and only a new player, serling, calls me. Turn is a queen, not a heart, serling bets, I raise, and I win the pot right there. A modest $68 pot(partypoker counts my raise in there though, it's not as good as it looks)

Hand #27: ok, so the deck is hitting me over the head tonight. Pocket 3s in teh big blind, I get a free flop, flop is T43 for the set. Too bad everyone folds to me when I come out betting.

Hand #28: AJo in the small blind. Serling raises from UTG+1, I call as does the big blind. Yeah, the cards are hitting me over the head tonight. J43, two hearts. My ace is a heart. I don't check-raise often, but this is a great spot to, serling has the button and is morally obligated to bet if checked to him. He does bet and I raise, getting heads up. He calls me down from that point on, and I learn that the pre-flop raise came with KTo. A terrible, terrible raise IMO. I take down the $88 pot.

Hand #31: ATo, I raise and get heads up with Serling on the flop. The flop comes 664. Serling check/calls my bet on the flop, and then check raises me on the turn. I give back some of my money to him.

Hand #33: A7 in the big blind, 2 others with me in this flop. Flop comes 997, not a bad flop for me, though I might get in some trouble if I'm too agressive and the 9 is out there. I bet, and get called by both opponents. The turn is a king, the first player bets, and he has stayed out of the way until now so I have no idea what he has... a bad move heer but I call, as does my other opponent(named jax2003husky). The river brings a jack, now the first guy checks, i take the lead and bet again(the mantra here is, if you would call a bet, might as well be the one making the bet... one of these guys could easily have me beat but I don't see myself getting raised here). jax2003husky indeed calls me with KTo for the pot.

Hand #40: I try to steal with KJo from the button, and rounder1979 re-raises me, I call. Flop is Kxx, I bet and get called. Turn a blank, I bet, get raised, re-raise, cap, and I'm beat. I call the river to see pocket aces. This hand knocks me down to $268(buyins being $250 here).

At this point a very tight/agressive player joins the table. jasonmiska I have sat with for 100 hands accoding to pokertracker. He is a bit to tight for these tables(17% VP$P (that's voluntarily putting money into the pot)) but he is very agressive.

Hand #45: 3 limpers and me, with KJ suited, in the big blind. the flop comes 4TJ, I bet and get two callers. The turn is a king, giving me two pair, I bet out again and get just one caller. The river pairs the ten, but I can't stop for fear of that, I bet out and my one remaining opponent folds, giving me a $58 pot and putting me back up to $291.

Hand #54: I get pocket 9s and make the mandatory raise UTG+1, I get one caller, "YeahTerps" from annapolis, out of the big blind. The flop comes 853, a good one for me. yeahterps bets out, and I raise, terps re-raises me and i worry, but I call with my overpair. The turn is a ten, terps bets, and I call, and the river a queen, another bet, and I call, expecting to see pocket 8s, or a pair higher than mine(or hopefully A8 for the win), but instead, I see Q8, a rivered 2 pair to beat me. This hand takes me down a ways, I am down to about $210

Hand #58: Its late and I must be tilting, you never do realize until its too late do you? I have 78s, and I play it, but it's raised and re-raised behind me, but like I said, I'm tilting. I decide this is my last hand. The flop hits me, but it hits an ace too, and there are 3 other people in the flop. A72. I watch the others bet, and I stupidly call. The turn is a 4. I again stupidly call, the river is a Q. YeahTerps bets, and I see the other two bow out of the pot. I make one last crying call, and I see, I was not tilting as badly as she was. J3o. Nothing at all. I take down a monster $170 pot.

I'm embarrassed to say that I just finished ahead $65, leaving with $315. I quit despite winning that hand. I should have quit when I lost to Q8. I wasn't on tilt because of that I don't think, but I am too tired to be playing right now, and I know myself, when I get too tired, I get passive and call a lot of bets that I shouldn't have. That just happened there, and amazingly, it worked out in my favor. It usually doesn't.

Worth noting, is that rounder1979 was a solid player. He was consistantly showing down very good hands. They just weren't winning many pots for him(he was down a small amount).

Radii

05-01-2004, 12:48 PM

Saturday 1pm

I join a full 6 man table, I have never seen any of these players before. I probably have only 30-45 minutes to play, so we're looking at 50-70 hands.

I go through the blinds once just watching. the guy to my left, bchum, has been in 4 of the first 5 hands, he hasn't raised yet. The guy to my right, malmohuset, has been agressive, raising 2 of the first 5 hands, but he's shown down AT and AA with them too.

Hand #10: AT clubs UTG+1, malmohuset raises UTG, and I decide to re-raise, I buy the button and take control, one other person calls. I bet into the 294 flop (after its checked to me) and both call. The turn pairs me with a ten, and I bet out again after its checked to me. The river is an 8, and I decide to check this one down. I was up against pocket 5s(from malmohuset) and AJ(from dneshevski), I take down a nice $93 pot with a nice suckout against a hand that dominated me

Hand #20: I raise UTG with A7 diamonds, two call. The flop is AQ4, with two hearts. the callers were the blinds so I'm last to act, and I bet when checked to me. Jaybird6276 stays in with me. The turn brings the flush, the J of hearts. Checked to me, I bet, jaybird folds and the $48 pot is mine.

malmohuset leaves the table, whether or not he was a good player I dunno, but he was up a ton and was pretty agressive, so I'm more comfortable with him gone. We are 5 handed for now.

Hand #26: Jaybird limps into the blind, I check with 83o. Flop is AA8, he checks, I bet, he folds.

Hand #28: AKo on the button. one limp to me, I raise, and both blind + the limper call. I bet into the ragged flop, no one folds. I catch an ace on the turn and bet again, and again no one folds. the river brings a queen, and I dunno what I'm up against here. I decide to bet my top pair, two people call me and my aces are good. I take down a $128 pot against aces w/ lower kickers.

Hand #29: Very next hand, I get AKs, I raise, get re-raised, and I cap it. The flop has 3 spades, 478. I bet into it and dneshevski calls. The turn is another blank, dneshevski bets and I decide to call this one down, river is another blank and dneshevski turns up pocket aces, I give back a bit of my winnings from the last AK hand, and am just glad in retrospect that no ace or king hit the board.

Hand #36: AJo on the button. A new player posts out of turn behind me(Elmerz), he checks and then calls my raise as does a guy named stuperville behind me who seems to be somewhat of a calling station. I bet out on a rags flop, but I fold to a turn bet when a king hits the board. No showdown so I don't know what people had there.

Hand #40: A free flop with K5 diamonds in the big blind, along with 3 others. The flop comes JT4 with two diamonds and I call a bet by the small blind. The turn is a king, giving me top pair, SB now checks, I bet and he calls. The river is a low non-diamond, I bet and he folds, giving me a pot of about $55. I am now sitting with $325 at the table.

We drop to 3 handed, me, xxChicago7xx and elmerz.

elmerz leaves quickly, Chicago and I go heads up and break even after about 10 hands when he leaves the table.

I sit around for a bit and civmas joins with only $60, and then TNFEVER joins with just $90, we are 3 handed again.

Hand #60: I limp with 68 clubs in the small blind, and 3 of us see the flop. I hit two pair, J68 flop, and I bet out, both opponents call. The turn is a scary card for me, another jack, but I keep betting into it, one person calls, and I bet out the river and my opponent folds and I take down a nice pot of $83.

Hand #63: A9o, I open-raise and the big blind calls. I flop top pair, bet/call, bet/call, bet/call and my opponent flopped 2nd pair. My opponent was also all-in on the river and my river bet just netted me an extra $4, I take down a $58 pot.

I take a break due to a 6 year old band-aid emergency in the other room

Hand #64: pocket 6s in the big blind. I just call a raise pre-flop and there are 3 other callers. I bet into a 347 flop and the original raiser just calls me. I bet the turn(a 9) and the river(I forget). The raiser was on AQ and my 6s take down the $75 pot.

The table looks great now, but alas, I can't stay. I see a flop with T8 in the big blind and end up winning a $75 pot with top pair, one guy called me all the way down with bottom pair.

Overall, I like my play today, my biggest mistake in these hands was staying in with my AK suited when my opponent was screaming pocket pair to me. Other than that I feel I played well.

NET: +$205 (left the table with $455) in almost exactly 1 hour. At the risk of jinxing myself, I notice in pokertracker that this is my 8th straight winning session, though I have a couple of multi table tournament entries that knock my total profits down just a touch.

Radii

05-01-2004, 10:32 PM

I join a 3 handed table at 8:15, it's 6 handed after 10 hands though.

Hand #12: I try to steal the blinds with 78s, the SB calls me(JNJSEA). I flop an open-ended straight draw and bet it the entire way, JNJSEA calls me down with bottom pair and I am down $45 early, but hopefully have made a decent advertising play and my good hands will be paid off nicely.

Hand #21: I have ATo in the big blind, with 3 limpers to me I just check. Flop is QTx, I bet out with second pair and end up heads up after the flop. I bet into a king on the turn, and I'm called, I just check down the river, possibly a mistake but I learn that my opponent had 45 and had flopped bottom pair.

After 40 hands I've only seen 20% of the flops, a very very low number when fluctuating from 4-6 players.

Hand #42: AJo in the small blind, I raise and get called, I bet the flop and turn, check the river as its total rags, have to call a bet and pay off pocket 9s.

The player to my right joez11 is raising an awful lot, I consider leaving the table but decide to hold off for now.

Hand #52: I raise UTG with AJ, I'm called by 3 players, and the flop comes Q55, I get raised when I bet into the flop and I get off the hand. joez won the hand with K5o, the other callers had 77 and 44, all three calling all the way down.

Hand #59: I raise on the button with ATs, both blinds call me, and the flop comes QQT, I bet and both fold.

Joez leaves the table and we are 3 handed, jamesbond007 and knight1 are my opponents.

Hand #61: I lose a very big hand to bond, I have JT, he has QJ, and the flop contains a J, I lose bad as I'm dominated. I am down about $150 now.

Hand #64: I get a free flop with 84 in the big blind with 3 opponents. The flop comes J87, and I bet out, turn is a 6, river a 2, I bet it all the way and I take the $78 pot when both opponents fold on the river. I am back to $140, down $110.

We jump back to 5 handed, triplep6 and cbass24 at the table with me.

JamesBond appears to be putting the entire table on tilt, he's just won 3 big hands in a row, inside straight on the river twice and two pair to beat a hand that dominated him. Profanities are flying and I'm staying out of the way (my cards are total crap, making that easy anyway)

Hand #74: One of the tilters has $19 left and raises pre-flop, I re-raise to try to isolate him with A8, and we end up all in pre-flop. I don't pair, and his J2 beats my A8 with a pair of twos. I am down to $113

Hand #81: I limp with JT from the cutoff along with the blinds. I hit a ten on the flop, bet into it, and take the small $22 pot right there, putting me at $118.

Hand #85: I check K2s and flop top pair. I bet, and there is a raise behind me. I go into check/call mode and drop down to $76 as I lose to a flopped two pair.

Hand #89: AJo from the big blind, 3 limp to me and I try to raise to take control, of course all 3 call and the flop misses me. TWo drop out on the flop, and I bet the turn and river into an 84555 board. I take down an $88 pot from punko, my jack outkicks him with A2

Hand #91: AA on the button, I raise and get two callers. The flop comes down K84, two hearts, and no one wants to play, I take down a $38 pot on the flop

Hand #92: I give back all my winnings on AA, as I get AJ, raise, bet the flop and get one caller, bet the turn and get raised, I fold and my opponent shows me AQ, he hit top pair on the turn and let me know in a very straightforward manner. I'm hanging at $111

Hand #96: KQo in the small blind. Punko raises and I re-raise, we're heads up, the flop is a good one for me, Q74, I bet and get called, the turn is a blank, and I take down a $54 pot when I bet the turn. Up to $129.

Hand #98: AJo in the cutoff. TWo limp to me and I raise. The flop comes 39J, cbass bets before me, and I raise. Two call. The turn is another 3, I bet and both call. The river, a 5, I still have top pair. I bet ,both call (punko and cbass), and that was the hand I was waiting for. I see JT and T9 for 2nd pair and an outkicked top pair. The $130 pot brings me back to $220.

Hand #114: A3 on the button, a weak limp on my partr and we have a family pot. I flop bottom pair(348) but I fold to a bet and raise in front of me.

Hand #116: AQ spades, I raise and get 3 callers. The flop is J65 with one spade. dj_deakon, a very straightforward player, bets out. everyone else calls, and I figure(perhaps erroneously) that this is an ok spot to call with two overcards. The turn gives me a flush draw, and with 2 others already in, I call another bet, the river gives me a queen, and its checked to me, I bet and get both callers, and I take down a $113 pot. I'm now slightly ahead on the session.

Hand #119: AJ in the big blind, its a family pot and I don't know what I'll accomplish with a raise here so I just call. I get a good flop, J85, and bet out, two people call. The turn is a 4, I bet and get one caller. The river is another 4, I bet and get raised. I call to see 67, a turned straight.

Hand #123: AQ in the big blind, the small blind limps, and I raise him back. He calls and I flop top pair. He calls me all the way down and I take about the biggest pot I could hope for in this situatoin, a $68 pot.

Hand #125: I cold call a raise with 9Ts, the raiser, flaggs, was UTG, and the big blind calls. The flop is J24 with just one of my suit. Both check(raiser included) and I sense weakness and bet out. The raiser calls. The turn is the King of spades, giving me the flush draw and inside straight draw. I bet again and flaggs folds, a small pot but one I'm happy with. I'm up to $290.

Hand #130: I raise pre-flop with AJs, getting called by only the big blind. The flop comes 9QK, and I bet and get called. I bet a blank on the turn, called. The river is another blank and I decide to just check on the river, I lose to pocket 8s.

Hand #133: A7 clubs in the small blind, one limp to me and I raise. The big blind and one other calls. The flop is one I like, 347, I bet, and the BB raises, I re-raise and he caps it. I go into check/call mode, and I end up losing to pocket kings. I'm back down to $222 and I note dj_deakons play with those kings.

Hand #134: 79o, I complete from the small blind with three opponents. The flop is a pretty bad Q36, but luckily, its checked around. The turn is a 5, giving me a double-bellybuster straight draw. I call a bet along with one other(I only had 4:1 odds, not really good enough to call there, oops). The river gives me the straight with an 8. I go ahead and bet out, one caller and I take down a $68 pot, back ahead just a little bit.

I watch dj_deakon lose to A3 as he slowplays pocket jacks, slowplay is just a mistake more often than not.

Hand #150: AQo in the small blind. There's two frequent limpers, an dI raise. I get out the big blind. The flop comes KT7, a dangerous one, I bet and get called. Turn is my queen, I bet and get called. The river is a blank, I bet and get raised, and lose to K7, flopped two pair, I was behind the entire way though.

Hand #154: Another AQ, this one suited, UTG. I raise and land6457 calls behind me. Broom, the SB, re-raises(don't know much about him), and we have 4 way action for $15 each pre-flop. The flop misses me totally, and I get out of the way to see AA take down $93. $93?? he had aces on 4 way action and a non-scary board... but he check/called the flop. WHYOWHY. Just betting and getting called down with that much pre-flop action should net him $130 or more

I am back down to $181 here, but I feel I'm playing pretty well.

Hand #158: KK, but we're only 3 handed. I push hard with it, even though my opponent just wanted to limp, I take it down on the turn, a $39 pot, I could have tried to slowplay it and see if I could get a bigger pot later, but that backfires too often, I'm happy with what I got.

we're back to 6 handed around hand 170, 4 familier faces and a new guy to my right, johnnieringo.

Hand #177: Antoher AQ Suited. Look at that action, 4 callers to my raise. The flop comes AAK, dear god let there not be AK on the table. There's a bet before me, I raise, dj_deakon re-raises behind me, and we both call. The river brings the second king, barring pocket kings I am safe. dj_deakon and I split the others money, both showing down AQ. I am back up to $191.

A discussion on pot odds and kickers almost forces me to leave the table, and maybe I should, but I am just seeing too much passive play from half the table(flaggs/broom/johnnieringo appear to be very straightforward and easy to read most of the time).

Hand #183: I have AKo UTG. I raise and get a call from flaggs. He folds to my flop bet, on a board that missed me(Qxx), I take down $31.

Hand #185: 89 in the big blind. I check when the SB limps to me, we are heads up. The flop of 66T appears to miss both of us, we both check. The turn brings an ace and I deside to represent it with a bet. I am called, and the river actually gives me a hand, pairing my 8. I bet again and he folds to me, back up to $215 with the two quick pots.

Hand #189: I limp with QJ, flops have been free for awhile. Not this time, whee. I go ahead and call the raise from flaggs, I'll know quickly if I'm beat on the flop so I'll play. The flop comes down AAT, and I don't need to see a bet to assume I'm beat here(action is 4-way). Flaggs had pocket 10s and picked up a nice pot with the flopped house.

land6457 limps from the SB, bets the flop, checks the turn and the river with the big blind with no overcard on the board with pocket kings. Weird, wacky stuff. A monster $19 pot with his kings.

Hand #197: 24 diamonds in the big blind. I get a free flop with 3 other opponents, and the flop is a pretty friendly one, A25 with two diamonds. I call a bet on the flop, raise the turn when a second two hits, and no one calls the river. Thanks to the 3 opponents the pot got up to $107, pushing me once again slightly ahead, I'm at $257

Hand #201: I keep getting AQ, I raise it from the small blind, two people call, and I bet into the KQ6 flop, winning a $39 pot.

Hand #202: We're just 4 handed, and I raise A2s from the button. The big blind calls, and the flop misses me completely, 79Q. The blind is the first to act, and he folds... I wasn't looking forward to trying to push him out of the pot with such a weak ace, so I appreciate it!!

Hand #205: I call a raise with JTs from the small blind, looks like a steal attempt ot me. The big blind calls too, and I flop top pair, J45. from early position this is one of the few times I'll check raise, and I go ahead and do it on the flop, raising when the steal raiser bets. I take the pot right there, $43 and I am up to $314, up above $300 for the first time in my two hours at this table.

Any thoughts on a check raise there? top pair is solid short handed, should I bet into the raiser instead of the more powerful check-raise? top pair is not big enough to slow play(can you tell, I don't like slowplaying very often at all)

Hand #211: I limp from the SB with K7o(one early limper before us). The flop is KT4 with two diamonds, I bet my top pair and get one caller. Turn a blank, bet/call, river completes the diamond flush, I bet, and he folds. I take down $53.

Hand #212: very next hand I have QQ on the button. I open-raise(folded to me) and the BB calls, dj_deakon. The flop comes 56A. He bets, I raise, he re-raises and I call. The turn is another ace. He bets, I think a bit and fold. I say "nh" and he says "47" indicating the open ended straight draw and indicating that I very clearly folded the best hand and back down under $300 by a bit.

Hand #213: I have pocket 7s in the big blind. dj_deakon raises, flaggs calls, and I re-raise. If I'm going to play a middle pocket pair, I am going to be in control of the betting. Both call. The flop is pretty nice, 884. I bet, both call. The turn is a 2, I bet, one call, the river is the 3rd 8. I bet out again, flaggs calls me with AQ, and I take down $95 to put me up to $367.

Hand #219: JTs early. I limp and end up heads up with a new player in the big blind, bad2004boy. I flop a good draw, Q94, I bet, he raises me, I re-raise to try to keep control, he caps me, I end up folding on the turn, wishing I had more info on him, and I fall back down to $320 or so.

Hand #223: I get QQ on the button, one limp to me, I raise, and the limper is the only caller. Aces seem to follow my queens around, AA9 flops. I bet and my opponent folds, I take in the $31 pot.

Hand #226: A4 early, I'm suited, I limp, which is usually a mistake and I immediately regret it, but it doesn't hurt me. We get a free flop, 3-way, and I flop 2nd pair on a T42 flop, I bet and oldbill70 calls me(the same guy who folded on my QQ hand). The turn completes the flush and puts another overcard, a 7, on the board. I keep pushing and oldbill calls. The river is the 4th spade, a jack. I have no spade. I bet out, if he has a spade I lose, if he doesn't he'll fold. And, he folds and I take down a $55 pot.

Hand #227: NExt hand, ick. maveric_uk is new to the table, to my right. It's folded to him and he raises from the SB. I have AT and I raise back at him. He caps it. The flop comes J64, he bets and I go into call mode, I still wonder if he's on a steal and I'll see if I can't hit something. I call him down, the board ends up with two pair, and I lose to his pocket aces, down to $321.

Hand #229: I limp with 67s. I like the flop, K45, open ended draw, but it has two clubs. The entire table is in the pot, so I have the odds to bet my draw, and I do indeed get enough callers. The turn is a 3, making my straight, but it also makes the flush. I bet, and get just one caller. The river a 7, so any 6 ties me. I go ahead and bet, get called(yet again by oddbill70) and I take down $83, taking out his 47, bottom pair on the flop, inside straight draw on the turn, two pair on the river. TY. back to $374.

Hand #231: pocket 5s UTG. If I'm going to play, I have to raise, and I do. maveric_UK calls out of the BB. Flop has two overcards, KJ4, I bet into him and he calls. The turn is a 3rd overcard, all broadway cards, and I check, I make a crying call on the river, and I see J7, I was behind the whole way, interesting to see him defend his blind with that though.

Hand #235: AKo, I raise behind one limper. I bet out on a T87 flop. Maveric_uk is the only one left in on the turn. He check-raises me when I bet out again on a 6. The river is an ace, and I just call his bet. He turns over T6s, he turned two pair. I am down to $297 and baffled by this guy's play, but ready to catch him when I have good cards.

NEVER SLOWPLAY PEOPLE (see below)

Hand #237: I limp on the button with KT suited. 3 others see the flop. Flop comes down AT4. I bet and get two callers. River is a queen, dj_deakon check-raises me and I go ahead and call the re-raise. The river is a jack, I hit an inside straight. dj_deakon bets, I raise and he calls. He had pocket aces, limped and just called when he flopped trips, and I busted him on the river bad. I take down $113.

I lose a fair amount on 67 suited, I flopped middle pair and got called down by top pair, then made a nice win with AT that never improved, betting hartd all the way and getting a fold on the river, I am up to $396 at this point.

Hand #250: I complete from the small blind with QTo. The flop is as pretty as it gets, 9JK rainbow, I flopped the straight. I bet the flop, and get one caller. The turn is a 9, somewhat of a scare card. I bet, my one opponent, dj_deakon, raises, I re-raise and he calls. The river is a blank, I bet and he folds, he must have been bluffing, or had a pair and believed me for trips. I take down $97.

Hand #252: I llimp from the button with J8 suited. I flop top pair, J63, and bet out. On the turn(a ten) maveric_uk bets. I should have re-raised, but he's had my number otnight, and I just call. I make a mistake on the river, clicking "check/call" expecting him to bet. He checks, I would have bet were I thinkingm, but instead I check, and I take down a $47 pot against ace high.

the two hands push me to $450.

Hand #258: I raise from the button with QT suited, my only caller? maveric_uk. I bet the flop, we check the turn and the river, and I lose to his AT with all undercards on the board, down to $418.

Hand #261: Sometimes its ok to slowplay. I limp in the SB with 76. Flop? 776. I'll check that on the flop, free card, a 4. I bet out, and land6457 raises me, slowplay time over, maybe I lucked out and he hit a straight? He calls my re-raise, and calls my river bet, showing down 64. My $93 pot puts me back over $450 by a little bit.

I decide that 3 hours is quite enough and that I'm starting to get tired, and log off before my play starts to suffer.

I am extremely happy with my play tonight, dropping down fast, but not tilting, and reading the table as a table that I can beat, and sticking with it, coming back and finishing up with a very nice win. One of my best sessions ever, even though I've won more in less times, I am very satisfied with this win.

Net: +$187 over 3 hours

Radii

05-01-2004, 10:33 PM

More comments on the style are welcome. Anything more/less/different that would make the read better? Espicially on a very long session like that one(though most of mine are not nearly that long, I usually sit down for about an hour at a time).

RPI-Fan

05-02-2004, 08:52 AM

Great work, Radii!

I don't have much to add to the discussion, but just letting you know that I'm enjoying reading.

Radii

05-02-2004, 09:25 AM

Thanks RPI-Fan, I appreciate the kind words!

Radii

05-02-2004, 10:45 AM

A little Sunday Morning poker. Start time: 10:25am

No 3 hour marathon this time, I probably have 45 minutes or so til I'll need to help with the groceries.

I start at a full 6 man table with 5 names I have never seen. iamdwalrus is to my left, follwed by westlaw, indyrunner, cattycreep and sasandersno.

Westlaw leaves before my first 5 hands are up. Sasanderson has made two very very questionable plays in two hands, raising 3rd pair that he hit on the turn into someone clearly betting an ace, and, calling down a pre-flop steal attempt w/ jack high(only to see pocket queens)

Hand #5: AJo UTG, 5 handed. I go ahead and raise pre-flop, my first action at the table that wasn't a fold. I get 3 callers... I bet into the Q74 flop and everyone calls... the turn gives me middle pair with a jack, I bet and only cattycreep calls. The river is a blank, I bet out again and I take the $88 pot.

Hand #6: 92o in the big blind, I see it for free with 2 others. Flop comes Q92. I bet, get called by only indyrunner. The turn is a 4, I bet, get called. The river a king, I bet, get raised, I call and I see pocket Queens for flopped trips, and I grumble something about slowplaying big hands to myself.

We fall to 4 handed before I play another hand, a new player, LILET to my left, followed by Indyrunner and another new player, mskimike709.

Hand #17: 5 handed again, IAMDWALRUS is back. I get AJo UTG again and raise, getting two callers, the flop isn't pretty, 997. I decide to check it down when a queen hits the turn, and both my opponents check the turn and river, and QT takes it with a pair of queens.

People are coming and gonig like crazy here, 5 handed with another new guy, DSCollins37. No one is staying long enough to read anyone.

Hand #22: I get a free flop with T5o in the big blind along with two others. The flop comes T42, and I bet out, getting one caller(SlowplayIndyrunner). The turn is another ten, I bet and take a $40 pot when Indy folds.

Hand #37: I make a mistake limping with KTs early, and I end up heads up against the big blind. The flop comes out 245 all hearts(I have diamonds), I bet and get called. The turn pairs the two, and we just check it, the river pairs the 5 and I fold to a bet. Weak.

Hand #41: pocket 9s on the button, one limp to me and I raise. Only teh limper calls. I don't like the flop, QT3, but I bet into it and mskimike folds to me, giving me a $31 pot, keeping me at $225, only $25 down.

Hand #51: Q7 suited in the big blind. I see it for free with DSCollins, an early limper who has been very weak/passive. The flop comes AKJ, and we both check. I pair my 7 on the turn, and based on DSCollins earlier play, figure he'll fold possibly even a jack if I bet. I bet, he folds, and I take a $22 pot. He has been checking down top pair heads up, and doing a lot of folding. He appears to need a monster hand to bet.

Hand #58: Pocket tens in the big blind. Another weak move on my part, I just check after 3 people limp to me. The flop comes K74, and I lead out the betting, and take it right there, a $24 pot.

Hand #63: I complete in the small blind with Q8o, we have 5 way action on the flop. I hit middle pair with J83 on the flop. I bet out and only DSCollins calls me. The turn is another low card, I bet and I take the $44 pot. I'm ahead for the first time in quite awhile, sitting with $263 at the table now.

Hand #67: I raise UTG with JTs. DSCollins calls me and raises me when I bet on the flop. Given his past play I respect this and fold.

The table has been so passive that I felt JTs was a good enough hand to try to push people around with. Didn't work out this time.

Hand #72: I call a raise on the button with 9Ts, a hand that I can make a lot on if I hit and can get out of if I miss. The raiser was EXMAN, who I've hopefully correctly read as someone who is trying to push people around as well. The flop is a nice one, T84 with two of my suit(hearts). EXMAN bets, and I raise, he just calls. I take control, betting into the queen on the turn, and the two on the river. Flush never hits, but, EXMAN folds to me on the river and the $77 pot is mine.

Hand #77: I get a free flop with J5o, with 4 opponents. The flop comes down J33, and I take it right there with a bet.

Hand #79: AQo on the button, one of my best hands pre-flop so far. I raise it and 3 people are in the flop with me. The flop comes down all low cards, I bet and end up heads up with slovog. I bet it all the way down with all low cards, and he calls me down, I was going to slow down the turn but I hit 4 to a flush so I kept going. He shows down pocket 7s to take the pot.

Hand #82: AA in the small blind, it's folded to me and I just limp. I'm not slowing down any more than that though. I forget the board, but I bet the flop, turn, and river, and win a decent pot as DSCollins calls me down.

Hand #84: Just two hands later, pocket jacks. I raise pre-flop and buy the button, but get 3 callers. I like the flop, T92. I bet, and I get check-raised by MSMike, I re-raise and all 4 are still in, calling my re-raise. The turn comes down a queen, msmike bets again and I wonder if I might be beat, just calling hoping to hit the straight. The river is a blank, everyone gets scared and we check it down. I see JT from msmike, the guy playing hard at me(he played it pretty well IMO), J9 from another, and unfortunately, KQ from EXMAN to take down the $140 pot.

Hand #89: A9o in the big blind. slovog limps and I raise out of the blind. He calls and fold on the flop when an ace hits.

Hand #91: A9o again, on the button(four handed for now). I raise and get two callers. I bet the flop(all low cards) and its down to me and EXMAN. He check-raises me on the turn when the board pairs twos, and I just call, but I decide to fold on the river when he bets again and I still haven't hit anything. He may be bluffing the two, but I am convinced he has something.

Hand #93: pocket tens in the big blind. Two limp to me, I raise out of the blind and both fold, giving me a $20 pot.

testdog1 joins us and we're 5 handed again, I am at $213, having given away my profits on the JJ and the second A9 hand recently.

Hand #96: AKo in the cutoff, I raise and get two callers. I bet the flop of 665, and get raised by slovog. I fold when the turn comes down with a 4, completing a flush. slovog is kind enough to show me KJ hearts for the flush.

Hand #99: T2 in the big blind. I check when EXMAN completes the blind. The flop comes J92, I bet when exman checks to me, and he check-raises me. I call, and the turn gives me two pair with a ten. He checks, I bet and he just calls. The river pairs the 9 on the board, and now a single jack beats me, or a ten b/c of my kicker problems. We check it down and I see that he had the jack, and runner-runner'd a flush to top it off.

Hand #103: I get pocket 5s. PRESTO. I just limp pre-flop along with 4 others. I love my flop, T65. EXMAN bets, and I raise(the core rule with not slowplaying is to NEVER SLOWPLAY TRIPS, too many ways to beat them. Like or dislike the rest of Lee Jones book, that one rule has made ti worth the $10 for the book). The turn? have faith in presto... I've got quad 5s now. I continue to bet and EXMAN just calls me down, I take down a nice pot.

Ok only 9 hands have occured since the quad 5s, but we're 4 handed. My cards got better and I started running oer the table, specifically over DSCOllins, the one guy I feel good about my read on. I've won 3 straight hands with me in the SB and him in the BB, usually for a couple of bets on the flopp and turn, I keep getting Ax against him.

I also took down an $80 pot against EXMAN, I had KQ and he had QJ and a queen hit the turn.

DSCollins tried to bluff me off a pot when I flopped top pair, a capped flop on that gave me $60.

That brings me up to current(took longer than I wanted to write up hands 99/103), and that rush of 5 or 6 wins in 15 hands has put me up to ~$350.

Hand #122: DSCollins raises pre-flop, I call from the big blind with A9 suited, as does slovog. The flop comes down AJ4, and I go for my check-raise here, taking the pot on the flop(that suprises me a bit, I expected it to at least go to the turn even if he didn't have an ace). My pot is $45, taking me up to $380.

Two people join and our four handed stretch is over. I'm disappointed as I just won $150 in about 20 hands against that lineup.

Hand #131: I limp early with 87 suited, get 3 other opponents, but I fold when the flop misses me.

Hand #134: I get a free flop with J4, the flop comes 4T9 and I decide to call 1 bet when I can kill the betting and have a backdoor flush draw. The turn is an ace though and I give up my hand.

Groceries are home, and I leave the table with $352

NET: +$102 in 80 minutes.

Radii

05-02-2004, 03:38 PM

with some sort of shower planning going on, it looks like I have the time to play as much poker as I want today. Rested up and focused after a lunch break, I sit back down starting at 1:15.

I recognize no one here, dimva, doubleslab, moses39, Its0219, and PSTARFISH are my opponents, starting to my left and going around.

On the first two hands I see pre-flop raises and 3 or 4 way action after the raise. Raises get called pre-flop with Q6 suited and J9 suited(this one in the big blind, at least that's excusable in most situations).

I'm drooling after 5 hands. AJ and K9 get in a raising war on a turn with a board of KK62. Staying in that raising war is J2(pair of twos), giving the trip kings a monster pot.

Hand #6: I have A7o in the big blind. Moses39 raises on the button, and I call. An ace flops and I lead out, moses calls my flop bet, and folds to the turn bet.

Hand #7: AT in the SB, moses limps to me and I raise, doubleslab re-raises behind me and moses and I call. I love the flop, AT4 rainbow. I bet, doubleslab raises, and I re-reaise. moses exits the hand, doubleslab calls me down and I take the $113 pot.

The table has some attrition, and doubleslab and I go heads up for a few hands. I run all over him, raising every hand pre-flop in the SB, with him folding on the turn.

back to 4 handed quickly

UGH. TWo bad hands... I was up to $350 right away. I have pocket 8s in the big blind. The SB raises and I re-raise. The flop and turn are pretty ragged and I bet and my opponent calls. I bet the river, an ace, and get re-raised. I lose to A6o, a big pot for heads up on the flop.

Soon after I get A8 in the SB, I raise pre-flop and get heads up with doubleslab. An ace hits the flop, I bet, doubleslab raises, and I re-raise. I remain in control of the hand, bet/call, bet/call. The problem? A 2 on the river... I lose to A2, rivering a 2nd pair. That plus a few blinds and after 25 hands I'm at $253, right back where I started.

We are back to 6 handed 25 hands in. doubleslab is 2 to my left, all of my other opponents are new.

Hand #26: A3o in the small blind. There's 1 limp to me, I complete the blind and the BB checks. Flop is 732, I bet the pair of 3s, and get one caller(luhar), i bet again on the turn when a ten hits, and again on the river when the 2nd 7 hits. Luhar folds on the river.

Hand #27: Very next hand, I have 87 suited on the button. I limp and doubleslab checks his BB. The flop comes 844, I bet, doubleslab check-raises me, and I call. The turn is a 7, I have two pair but I fear a 4 in the blind, I call him down on the turn and river, and my 87 two pair loses to his T4, flopped the 3 of a kind, and I am down to $238.

Hand #33: I raise QJs on the button when its folded to me. doubleslab re-raises me, I call and I fold on the flop when an ace flops and he bets again. Good play by doubleslab, whether he had the ace or not.

Hand #40: I raise ATo UTG 5 handed. The SB re-raises me, the BB calls and I call. The flop is all undercards and I call a bet. The turn is a ten, I've got top pair but have convinced myself I'm up against an overpair, I decide to call it down to see what he has. The river makes me two pair, my opponent checks for the first time, and I bet, he calls and my two pair takes it. He was making a move with 9T suited. I had him dominated and had him the entire way. The $93 pot takes me back up to $260. That was AcesFull80 that hand.

Hand #44: ATo in the button. Its folded to me and I raise. doubleslab calls me in the big blind. The flop is all rags, I bet and he folds and I take down $26.

doubleslab appears to be a solid player, I have yet to see him show down a bad hand or a bluff, so it appears he should be respected at this point.

Hand #48: doubleslab raises UTG, I have 78 suited in the big blind. I call the raise, as do two others. The flop comes three broadway cards and I fold. doubleslab was raising with A4 suited. Good info.

The two players to my right, grumpy46 and luhar, seem to be in most every flop, and certainly more than their fair share.

Hand #60: I get AQo on the button. Luhar raises before me, and I re-raise. Luhar just calls. I don't like the flop, KT7, but I bet into it on the flop anyway. we check the turn, and Luhar bets the river. I call for the info, and he had KJo, I'll be happy to play that against him any day, but this time it works out for him, and I am down to $194.

Hand #64: I have pocket 3s on the button, and I try to raise it pre-flop, I get heads up with luhar. I bet the flop and turn, and we just check down the river. I see T4o, I lose to a pair of 4s.

Hand #65: I limp early with KT suited. Ronald33, a newer player, raises right behind me. I call, and see AJ4, two clubs(including the ace), I bet, ronald calls. The turn makes my flush with a 9, I bet again and ronald calls. The river is a ten, I bet, ronald raises, I have the nuts and re-raise ,and I take down a very nice sized pot of $115.

Hand #66: The very next hand I get pocket aces in the big blind. Two limpers to me and I raise, both call. The flop comes 952, I bet, acesful80 raises, and I re-raise, aces calls. I bet a blank on the turn and he folds and I take down $80.

HAnd #67: An exciting 4 hand stretch here. I have QJo in the small blind. I limp and we have a 3-way flop. I bet into the AQ7 flop, and luhar raises it, I just call. I check, and he bets the turn, I again call. The river gives me two pair with a jack, I check, he bets, and I raise. He calls me and I see that he had Q7 and flopped two pair. I rivered him for a very nice $103 pot.

I take about 10 hands off as the family comes home and the leadoff man show for the Cubs game starts. When I come back BadBoyCK has joined the table two to my right. The rest of the table is the same, ronald33, doubleslab, acesfull and grumpy around us.

Hand #71: Doubleslab raises UTG, and I decide to defend my blind with T9 suited. The flop comes Q94, and I'll bet that. doubleslab calls, and calls the turn and river when I bet out the rest of the way into a second queen and a low card. doubleslab had pocket 5s and I get a nice $70 pot.

Hand #72: Pocket 6s in the small blind. We are down to 4 handed here, and aces full and doubleslab raise twice around me, I weakly call $15 between them. The flop is great, T64, I just check, letting the two raisers play. doubleslab bets, the other guy folds, and I raise. The turn gives me a full house, pairing the 4 on the board. doubleslab raises me this time, and I re-raise, he just clals, and he calls my river bet, giving me a very nice pot($113)

I take a big $115 pot off of acesfull 3-way when we have a capped flop and turn when I have AK and flop top pair.

After that I have about $450, and go heads up with doubleslab for about 15 hands. We go back and forth until 1 very big hand when I flop trip 7s, and he flops a pair and 4 to a flush. We raise each other like mad, and he hits his flush on the river, taking about $60 off of me. We jump back up to 4 handed and I have $400 at the table.

its still me and doubleslab, and to our left is blcat123 and quartzgold.

blcat has capped eveyr betting round for 3 straight hands. doubleslab finally has a hand tgo call him down on, beating pocket queens iwth two pair, so maybe he isn't a maniac.

Hand #97: folded to me in the SB, I raise KTo, doubleslab calls me and I get a good flop, T97, I bet and he calls. I bet the turn(a 5) and he calls. I have a feeling I've lost on the river, the 8 putting 4 to the straight on the board. I check and call when he bets and I see 67 for the rivered straight. I am down to $353.

We are back to 6 handed on hand 99, and I remind myself to slow down on the agression a little bit, after a good 20+ hands of nothing more than 4 handed.

Hand #101: I have A3 suited in the cutoff. I raise it, and get two clalers. I bet into the Q84 flop and get raised by milkman13, the player to my left. I call it but fold when the turn gives me no help.

The table turns quite agressive, and milkman is playing a lot of hands, but seems to be good at getting out of the way when his hands miss. He just busted up JJ with Q3 suited, turning a flush. Our other big agressor, blcat123 is in most every hand also, but doesn't seem to know when to fold. He's turned $150 into $27 in about 15 hands.

And just like that blcat is gone, going "all in" (auto-raising until all in) on T4 suited. We are 4 handed again, milkman, doubleslab, michaeltran and myself.

Now we're 3 handed.

I drop $20 to milkman raising pre-flop with A9, I fold when he continues to bet hard on the flop that contains a king and queen, and I'm down to about $290.

BOY what a comeback.

I call a raise with 89 suited 3 way. The flop? 567, with two of my suit. We cap the betting on the flop, and I am called down on the turn and river, winning a $108 pot with the nut straight.

Very next hand I take down $58, pushing pocket 7s hard against a short stack who folds on the turn into a board of

Very next hand? pocket 7s. I raise, it's re-raised and capped behind me. 3 handed with one of the raisers a short stack, I will call. My flop could not be better, AT7 with an agressive player in with me. We cap the flop, and he just calls me down on the turn and river. My trip 7s beat AJ and J3 for a monster $148 pot.

I steal a few blinds taking advantage of my rush/hot streak/respect/opponents cold cards(whyever they folded to me) and after that 20 hand stretch 3 and 4-way, I am now up to $493.

As of hand #125 we are back to 6 handed. milkman and doubleslab remain to my left, with new players in the other 3 seats.

Hand #125: I have 78o in the big blind, getting to limp along with 3 others. The flop comes 8AA, and I bet, one of the new players, BlondMike, raises me, and myself and milkman are the only two left in after we call the raise. The turn is a 6, putting 3 to the flush ont he board, and my 8 is of the flush suit. We all check. The river brings the 4-flush, and I bet, get called by BlondMike and I take down the $68 pot.

This brings up an intersting point. Many times, you see a raise into a board over one of my bets. I will rarely fold to that raise, but I'll often call and fold on the next street. The reasons for this are many. One is that I almost always have some sort of backdoor draw to go with my hand, so even if I'm second best, I'm willing to see the next card, backing into my draw + sometimes having the best hand makes it worth it. The other reason is shown here. BlondMike represented the ace. If he has it, this runner-runenr flush is my only way to win, but I call to see the next card and to see what mike will do. Here? A semi-scare card came out, Mike had the chance to bet from last position when it was checked to him, and what did he do? He checked. Looking in the history, he had the ace. Why in the world did he check? He let me runner-runner him for free. But that's why I call the raise on the flop. If he was bluffing the ace, usually he'll slow down on the turn. And sometimes he'll do something monumentally stupid like that.

We go heads up, me vs Doubleslab for another 10 hands or so, breaking even this time, before two more join the table.

Back to four handed, no, five handed, no, six handed as I type... I feel like doubleslab and myself are ringers just watching the tourists come and go. I'm up $250, he's up $500, we're ripping through all comers.

Hand #150: I have 69 suited on the button, I limp and we see 5 way action. The flop is friendly, Q69. I raise an early bet and two stay in. On a jack on the turn, jcs6153 bets before me, I raise again and he just calls. He bets yet again on a blank river, and I call. He shows down J9, beating me with a turned two pair. I fall to $454.

Hand #153: I have A9 suited in the big blind. folded to the SB, jcs6153 limps and I raise him. He calls, I bet into the 234 flop, and then into the 8 on the turn(giving me the flush draw + inside straight). The river makes nothing for me, and I check it down, jcs was playing with K5, and I take down the pot.

Hand #161: I have AKo in the cutoff, I raise and get two callers. I like the flop, K95, and I bet, keeping one caller in, srxman. The turn completes a flush with a 6, I bet and he calls. The river makes it even scarier, with a second 5. I bet again and srxman check-raises me. I call to see his 85, rivered trips and I am down to $410 on that beat.

srxman, doubleslab and jcs6153 are going at each other like crazy, one of the three has raised pre-flop in what seems like every one of the last 10 hands.

Hand #178: I decide to mix it up in the SB with pocket 8s. srxman raises pre-flop, I re--raise it and he calls. I boggle when I see this showdown. I bet all the way, I forget the board order, but it ends up 79TJ giving me a straight with the 8. After lots of betting on the river we split the pot, what does srxman show down? 84 suited, no flush draw no nothin.

Hand #181: I play T8 suited from the button, srxman raises, and 4 people are in the flop. I love my flop, 889. I decide to slowplay this on the flop, and I just call srxman's bet, along with one other. I re-raise him on the turn, and he folds when I bet the river. I take down $108 and am back up to $468.

Hand #186: I have JTo on the button. we have us a family pot. Everyone limps/checks. The flop comes AJ6. All 5 others check to me, and I bet. Only srxman and jcs call. jcs bets the turn when an 8 falls. On the river (another 8) I decide that I'm likely beat and fold. I was beat but not how expected. jcs6153 shows Q8.

Hand #188: My first legitimately good hand in awhile. AJ in the big blind, with 3 opponents I just check, and I fold to a bet on the flop after everyone else already called. Too many people here to think I'm good, and who knows if my outs are even good if these guys have legit hands.

srxman leaves the table, and I think I am glad for this. He was betting with crap, but he was way up too, and you got burned when you ran into one of his good hands. Probably a pretty good player. doubleslab has fallen from $900 down to $715, and jcs6153 has $725 now, he's on quite a rush. ME? I'm stuck at $434, waiting for another rush.

Hand #193: A7s in the big blind. the SB limps to me and I just check. The flop is a beauty, A74. I just call a bet(another dangerous slowplay) on the flop, and the SB checks the turn, folding when I bet, giving me a small $29 pot.

jcs61xx has left the table, the other big winner next to srxman, and it's back to me and doubleslab and 4 random guys. doubleslab is down to $690, he's taking a beating, having dropped nearly $250 from his max winnings at the table on the day.

Hand #197: pocket 10s UTG. the BB calls, a new player vaheha, but he folds to my flop bet into a Kxx flop. Another small win($26)

Hand #199: I limp from the SB with KT, but I give it up to a flop bet on a flop that misses me totally.

Hand #201: pocket kings in the cutoff. I'm only called by the BB. He folds to my flop bet, bleh. $26 pot.

Hand #211: pocket jacks on the button. I raise, and both blinds and one early limper call. I bet into one overcard on the flop (QT6) and all 3 call. The turn is an ace and I'm ready to give this one up. I check, and the river brings a 3rd heart, and the flush wins(I folded but others stayed in).

Hand #212: pocket 5s costs me some more, I raise it pre-flop and bet into overcards on the flop and turn, giving up on the river and losing to pocket 8s. The two hands have dropped me back to $376.

Hand #217: I have TJs in the cutoff. I raise and get heads up on the flop. I miss the flop totally but bet and get called, the turn gives me an inside straight draw, I bet out again and I take the pot of $40.50. Back to $379.

Hand #221: 78s in the small blind, I limp and we see a flop 3-way. The flop gives me a flush draw, and we check it around. The turn brings the flush and puts an ace on the board. I bet and get one caller. The river makes a 4-flush on the board, I bet and they fold.

Hand #224: AKo, I raise and get two clalers. The flop comes 67T all diamonds. I don't have a diamond. I bet into it and fold immediately to a raise. The other two take it all the way down and I see A8(ace of diamonds) and Q3 diamonds for a flopped flush.

Hand #227: 47 clubs in the big blind. the button limps and we are heads up on the flop. I flop bottom pair, bet out and badger46 folds, my pot.

Hand #229: KQo on the button. I raise pre-flop and only the big blind calls. I flop top pair in a Qxx flop. I bet on the flop and turn, and my opponent folds to my bet on the river.

Hand #230: QJ suited very next hand. I just limp and we have 4-way action. The flop comes down QTx, 3 spades, I have diamonsd. I bet into it and get one caller. The turn is a second Ten, I bet and get one caller. The river gives me two pair, but I imagine I was either ahead or behind the entire way. I bet, get called and I take the pot, my opponent had Q6 for top pair with kicker issues.

I am bcak to $431 at this point.

Hand #241: I have QQ in the SB. I raise and get two callers, but one is all in. The flop comes down A83, all hearts, I have no heart. I bet the flop, and decide to check/call the turn and river. I lose to ATo.

Right after that I play A8 suited, flop 4 to the flush and have the odds to draw, but I never hit, right back to $352.

Back to $360, UTG raise with jacks and everyone folds to me.

Hand #254: A9 suited in the SB. I call a raise from the button and we are 5 handed. I flop bottom pair and 1 heart, KJ9. its checked all the way around, I assume the origional raiser just gave up with a small pocket pair. The turn pairs the jack and puts a 2nd heart on the board. I bet and all but talicco folds. The river is a blank, I invoke the "if you're going to call a bet, go ahead and make the bet" rule, bet out, and am pleasantly surprised when talicco folds and I take down the pot of $78, putting me back just slightly over $400.

I take a big hit defending my big blind to a raise, I flop a straight and the raser runner-runners a higher straight, next hand I bet pocket 8s hard into 5 undercards, and give up even more to pocket 10s that called me down. Down to $320 on those two bad hands, then back up to $340 when I win a tiny pot with pocket kings.

Hand #262: A9 hearts UTG, I raise pre-flop and badger46 calls me(same guy that called me down with TT earlier). The flop misses me totally, I bet and he calls. On the turn we both check it down, and I river a 9, the only overcard is a king, I bet and he folds, and I am back to $360 as he folds to me there.

Hand #265: I have 89o in the small blind and limp with 3 others. I flop bottom two pair, Q98. I bet, get raised, and I re-raise, two opponents call. The turn brings a two and I bet again and am called. The river pairs the two and that's the danger of bottom two pair. A single queen beats me. I check/call and lose to that single queen, a big $123 pot that would have pushed me way up again... instead, $326.

Hand #270: I limp in the SB with 56 spades, 2 opponents. I flop four to the flush, QJ2, QJ are spades. I take the lead, betting on the flop and turn, and win on the turn when badger and doubleslab fold to me.

A new player to my right, imtgo, tries a steal raise in the SB his first time, I call with a suited king but fold when the board misses and puts an ace out there.

imtgo leaves as fast as he arrives, oh well. jostahlman is now to my immediate right adn we're still 4 handed.

The cards have gone totally cold and I fall down to $305.

3 handed now, talicco, myself, and doubleslab(who has maintained his stack better than I, he has $900)

nono, 4 handed! bouncy bouncy. TNFEVER has joined to my right.

Hand #284: I raise out of the big blind with KQ when its limped to me. TNFever calls me, I bet the flop and turn, check the river and I lose to pocket 4s.

Hand #285: I get a little back when I push hard with pocket 9s.

Hand #286: We're 6 handed all of a sudden, and I get a little more bakc when I push A5 suited on the turn and river against some passive play, I missed totally but induce folds on the river. I am at $320 now.

Hand #288: ATo UTG, I raise, doubleslab raises, TNFEVER and a new player(wg1951 call). I just call, and the flop comes rags. I fold to doubleslab's bet when no one else gets out of the way, unlikely I can improve to beat them all. doubleslab took it on the turn with another bet.

Hand #289: I call a raise with JT suited in the big blind, I'm in it with two others. The flop comes QT4 and I take the lead, raising the pre-flop raiser, and getting everyone to slow down. Both opponents call me on the flop and turn, and the original raiser wg1951 calls on the river. He was betting pocket 6s, and I take a $108 pot, putting me back to $371.

The new table lineup feels good, TNFEVER and wg1951 to my right I feel I can push with my decent hands.

Hand #292: I raise with pocket 9s, and only wg1951 calls. The flop comes AT9, I hit trips. I bet on the flop and wg1951 calls. The turn brinsg an ace and a full house for me. I bet, wg1951 check-raises... if he has aces full I'm just screwed, and I re-raise. He just calls, he's got trips, no full. The river is a blank, and he calls my bet. Ohhh, I was wrong. He had T7o, 2nd pair, trying to bluff the ace. My pot is $115 and I'm back to $426.

Hand #296: wg1951 goes all in with a raise pre-flop. I re-raise with AQo behind him, we both miss the flop but I'm better.

Hand #302: I limp in the SB with KTo, and see the flop 4-way. Flop comes ten high, I bet and get one caller. Another ten on the turn and I win the pot with a bet.

Hand #306: I defend my blind against tallico, raising on the button. I have KTo. Flop comes all undercards and I think he's on a pretty pure steal attempt, I bet out. The turn gives me a hand with a king, I bet and he calls, and he calls another bet on the river. Turns outs tallico was on pocket 5s, glad to see him call me down with 4 overcards on the board and I win a $70 pot.

I play a bit more, win a couple of nice pots and log out with $474 after about 3 hours and 15 minutes. Deifnitely happy with the win but the last 90 minutes were a wash basically, I was as high as $502 during the session, fell back down to $290 and fought back up to $474, I can deal with that.

NET: +$224.50.

dixieflatline

05-03-2004, 01:59 PM

I really like that you are adding in the names of your opponents. It adds a lot. Keep it up we will keep reading.

Radii

05-03-2004, 02:19 PM

Thanks dixie for the comments.

I played a bit last night without recording everything like the above. The streak of winning sessions is most definitely over. I ended up losing about a buyin's worth of cash at two tables(total, not at each) before bouncing to a third table and winning about $100 of it back, ending the night down ~$150.

I may play for a little bit today, not sure just yet.

Radii

05-03-2004, 03:55 PM

It's 3:30, I felt horrid this morning and stayed home from work, I am a little tired and will be quick to log off today if my play is not up to par.

I join a table with all new players to me.

Hand #1: I limp in my big blind with the dealer, ericpark. I have T7 suited and have no interest in this hand. The flop and turn are checked, I get an open ended straight draw on the turn but with just $12 in the pot I'm folding to any sort of a bet. Checked still and I river a 3-7 straight, I bet, ericpark calls me and I open up the session up $13.

To my left is Lucky_Lawson, a seemingly familier name but he's not in tracker. RUNBMC, tttt34, ericpark, and BELLSofBKLYN round out the table in order to my left.

Hand #8: I have AT suited on the button. ericpark limps, I raise, both blinds and eric call. The flop comes 622 and the BB comes out betting(RUNBMC), I decide to give this up, I don't know what people have but AT unimrpoved vs 4 people I don' care to play. We don't see a showdown so I don't know what anyone had.

ericpark busts out, dropping $125 in the 11 hands I've watched. I'm seeing lots of 4 and 5 way pots here. RUNBMC flops two pair and doesn't bet(I assume b/c there's 3 to the flush on teh board)... that kind of fear is usually good to be up against.

Hand #15: JJ UTG, I bet and get heads up with bellsofbklyn on the flop. 384 is the flop, I bet and he calls, the turn is a 5, I bet and he folds, I take down $41.

Hand #16: I call a raise out of the BB with A5 suited, the raiser was tttt34, who has been sitting out some. I fold to a flop bet, but I get to see AJo as the SB calls him down.

New player DADADADA at the table(love these names), two to my right.

Hand #18: I limp with KTo in the SB with two opponents, the flop comes down with 3 hearts including QJ. My king is a heart, giving me a flush draw and straight draw, I bet and take the pot right there.

This table is moving real fast, 20 hands in about 12 minutes. 100 in an hour at a 6 man table isn't unusual but this is on pace for 120.

Hand #22: I make a pretty loose call with KTo in the BB, calling a raise from lucky_lawson. I give it up when I miss the flop, but bellsofbklyn is in there to help me get any info I need, lucky had pocket 9s.

Hand #23: Here's a pretty interesting hand. I have 43 suited in the small blind. With lots of limpers I'll play that, 4 of us see the flop. The flop comes Q34 with two spades(I have diamonds). I bet my two pair, and lucky_lawson and bellsofbklyn call, the turn is the ten of spades, completing the flush. I bet and only lucky_lawson calls. The river is the ace of spades. What to do? I go ahead and bet, and lawson calls me, my two pair beats his Q9(top pair flopped) for a $73 pot. I'm not sure the bet is the right move there, though in that case it did win me an extra bet.

Hand #28: I tighten up in the BB this time, folding K9o to a raise by the dealer.

Hand #30: I have A6o on the button, I raise when its fodled to me. lucky_lawson calls, and immediately bets into the Q97 flop. I either have to raise or fold here, and I decide to fold and not risk any more of my chips, I lost that steal attempt.

Hand #35: I limp in the SB with J9o, and flop 2nd pair, QJ5. I lead out the betting and get two callers, tttt34 and Mr Brooklyn. The turn is another 5. Anyone playing much of anything has me beat here, but I bet out anyway, ready to fold to a raise. Instead, just tttt34 call. The river helps me a ton, a jack, I've got jacks full. I bet, he calls and I rivered him to beat his queen pair, I take a $73 pot and notice tttt's lack of agression(top pair is almost always worth a raise on the flop, try to prevent that 5 from catching the best hand on the turn, etc)

Hand #36: On the button again with A5 suited. I try to steal again when its folded to me. lucky_lawson exits but runbmc calls. I forget the flop, it missed me, but I bet and runbmc folds, my pot.

Hand #39: I am UTG and I get pocket kings. I raise and get two callers, runbmc and brooklyn. The flop is 9 high, I bet, runbmc raises me, I re-raise and he probably figures me for something close to what I actually have, and he folds. I could slow down and try to win more on pots like this, but that clearly isn't in my overall strategy. I much prefer to play all my hands equally hard instead of trying to slowplay my big ones, this works well for me as long as I slow down/give up at the right time when I don't have the best hand(or in the J9 example above, when I river the hell out of my opponent).

Hand #43: I get 78 clubs in the big blind and check along with lucky_lawson, we're heads up. The flop is A92 and i'm ready to get out of this one. He doesn't let me though, and I turn a ten, the straight draw. I bet, hoping to induce a fold. lawson doesn't fold, and I miss my straight. We check it down and I lose to QT. I am sitting at $331 after this hand.

Hand #58: AKo in the SB. Brooklyn calls in the button, I raise and end up heads up with him. I bet into the jack-high flop and take the pot.

Side Note: ESPN classic just started a show on the curses inflicting the cubs and red sox, showing ome sort of "alternate" world where the bartman play doesn't happen and the Cubs make the world series. I nearly pull a muscle jumping out of the chair to get to the remote to turn this off.

Hand #62: I get queens int he big blind. Brooklyn limps from teh SB and I just check, we're heads up. The flop is 7-high, and I just call a bet, attempting the dreadful slowplay. The turn is a 9, brooklyn checks, I bet and he folds. The small $29 pot keeps me up at $340.

There's billiards on ESPN. Anything but Bartman and Alex Gonzalez plz.

tttt34 has left the table and has been replaced by Hallelujah. tttt34 appeared to be quite the solid player, so this is a good change.

The table just got much tighter. In the last 15 hands we've gone from 3-5 people in every flop to 2-3, a signifigant difference if it stays this way.

Hand #72: Pocket jacks UTG, I raise and only brooklyn calls out of the big blind. The flop comes A89, he checks, I bet, and he folds, I take down $26

Hand #73: A6o in the BB, I call a raise by the button after brooklyn calls the small blind. three hearts on the flop, and I have the ace and call a single bet. The turn pairs the board and I'm heads up now, I don't know why I feared this but I folded. I think I almost had the odds to draw to my flush too. Oh well.

Hand #75: pocket 6s on the button, I raise after its folded to me. Both blinds call. Flop is KQQ, both blinds check, I bet, and I take the pot, $33.50.

A long series of small wins and small losses leaves me steady at $345 after 75 hands.

Hand #81: I limp with 2 others with K7 suited from the button(brookly and the BB runbmc). The flop comes Kxx, one club. I bet after its checked to me, and only brooklyn is left in the hand. The turn is another low card, I bet, brooklyn calls. The river is a queen, I bet again and brooklyn folds. I take a $55 pot and am up to $365.

Hand #82: I try to limp with 78 suited(I should have raised or folded, but the table had been passive enough that I felt like I might get a free flop here). I didn't, runbmc raised me. I called but folded to a high card flop bet.

Hand #83: I limp with K9 suited in the SB. 3 others see it, and I bet into the AK2 flop, with two spades. hallelujah calls. The turn is a blank, I bet and he calls again. The river is the third spade. Fearing the ace, I decide to check and see if we can check it down. A bet *immediately* comes. One of the few online tells. He clearly had "bet/raise any" checked. SCREAMING flush at me. One of my weaknesses... there is a difference between a crying call and this call here.. this was a "had to see it" call... I called and lost to the queen high flush.

Hand #84: Very next hand, I have AQ diamonds on the button. I raise, and get both blinds and hallelujah calling me. The flop is 9 high, two diamonds. Lucky_lawson bets, its folded to me, I raise, and he re-raises. I just call. The turn makes my flush. He bets, I raise, he re-raises all in for his last $5 or so, and I call. He had 85 diamonds and almost hit a straight flush. The $117.50 pot is my biggest on the night.

I take $30 pots with AQ in the big blind(pushing back at brooklyn who tried to raise me pre-flop, I re-raised and then bet out on the flop and took the pot) and AJ suited in the small blind, raising RUNBMC, he calls but folds on teh flop, two consecutive hands.

this series of hands puts me up to about $400.

hoonslice joins to my left, and katehudson across from me.

Hand #97: I have AK suited and raise pre-flop, both new players are in the hand with me. The flop comes jack high and katehudson comes otu betting. I just call, ready to fold if I don't improve the turn. That's excatly what happens.

Hand #98: I cold-call a raise with QJ suited by brooklyn, a big mistake, katehudson makes it a 3rd bet, which I call and get out on the flop. This time there's a showdown and kate shows pocket Tens.

Those two quick losses drop me back to $360.

Hand #104: A hand I'm starting to think is a problem hand for me, JT I limp early with it and call a raise from RUNBMC. I get out on a flop bet though, and see a big $110 pot (that I would ahve won, but that is irrelevant) go to pocket queens.

I call this a problem hand because I catch myself wanting to limp with it to see what happens every single time I get it. Q quick look into pokertracker shows me that I've gotten JTs 18 times, JTo 44 times and have played it almost 70% of the time I get it, losing almost 1 BB per occurance if its suited, and 0.04 BB/hand for JTo.

KateHudson leaves, and I am happy, a very agressive player who was clearly throwing me off.

4 handed now with runbmc, dadadada and brooklyn.

Hand #113: AQo UTG, I raise and brooklyn calls. Flop is JT5, I bet and brooklyn calls. The turn gives me an open-ended straight draw with a 9. I just check though(brooklyn rarely calls the flop after I've raised, I assume he's got something now). We check down a blank river and I see 67 suited from him, and I take the $30 pot.

Brooklyn and runBMC are raising a lot of pots now, but digdug1958 has joined to make it 5 handed and I decide to not loosen up too much against them to try to catch them just yet.

Hand #120: back to 4 handed. I raise on the button with K5 suited. digdug calls and bets the flop, which is Q32. I decide to call him down for info here, turn is a 4 giving me a straight draw, the river misses, digdug checks, I check,he was bluffing the entire way with J5 and I'm up to $347 with the small win.

Hand #123: I limp with J6o in the SB, runbmc calls, I bet into a crap flop and take it. I don't like limping there often, I'm not sure why I chose to do it.

Hand #125: A9o on UTG, I raise, brooklyn calls. Flop comes 459, I bet, brooklyn raises, I re-raise and he calls. The turn is antoher 5, and he checks, Ib et and he calls. The river, a jack, he checks, I go ahead and bet otu again, he calls and I win a nice pot, he had 92o, top pair. I win $90 and push back up to $394.

Hand #130: free flop with Q2. Flop comes KQ4, brooklyn comes out betting. I think he likely has a king but i decide to call him down. I probably should have tried a raise at some point, but I just call him down and he does have a king. I either need to raise to try to push him off the pot, or just go ahead and fold.

I play two hands where I push with AK and then 44 4 handed, losing both and falling down to $313. I'm not happy with how I played any of those three hands(but the AK and 44 flew by as I was trying to catch up in my writing).

We get back up to 5 handed. JDAFORE is at the table. I've loaded my first 100 hands into tracker, runbmc was raising 7% of the time over that 100 hands. His raise % has shot way way up, either he's catching cards of his style has changed for some reason.

Back to 6 handed. giggsydan is to my left. I am back down to $298, the 4 handed play was not kind to me. I was pushing and calling at all the wrong times.

Hand #148: After a bad run of starting cards, I get pocket 10s and raise in the cutoff. Only digdug calls me. the flop comes A43, and I bet, digdug calls. The turn is an ace, and I freeze. I have been getting hit pretty hard and making the wrong decisions. I freeze and check. The river gets checked too and I win a $30 pot vs Q3.

Hand #159: AKo UTG, I raise and only brooklyn calls me. I bet into the 268 flop, he calls, I bet again into the 5 on the turn and he check-raises me. I call and fold to the river that helps me none. I'm back down to $252.

Hand #163: A7 suited. I raise pre-flop, get one caller. The flop misses me, I bet, JDAFORE raises me and I decide to re-raise to try to catch him bluffing. He calls and bets out on the turn. I fold and leave the table down $20, my play against that lineup just totally fell apart.

NET: $230, -$20.

dixieflatline

05-03-2004, 04:58 PM

Hand #73: A6o in the BB, I call a raise by the button after brooklyn calls the small blind. three hearts on the flop, and I have the ace and call a single bet. The turn pairs the board and I'm heads up now, I don't know why I feared this but I folded. I think I almost had the odds to draw to my flush too. Oh well.

So by my counting there were 10 sb in the pot and you would have had to call one BB to call. Assuming the flush is good if you hit(it wouldn't be the nuts but a good bet) then you had 9 outs and a very small, but positive, expectation value. I am also assuming if the four flush hit the board that your opponent would have folded to a bet so you wouldn't make any more money of the river. I wouldn't beat myself up over a fold here.

Radii

05-04-2004, 07:40 AM

Back to a normal schedule... 7:40 am, I usually play for an hour or so before heading off to work in the morning.

whee, first hand I watch as I sit down, Q9 crushes AA, AA "f u terrible player f u f u f u"

Ok, Swepe101 is to my left(the Q9), sideline, janwee, eugen1(mr FU) and weiganghuang round out the board.

Morning play is often better than evenings in general... that is, the competition is often tougher, not that the games are better or easier.

Hand #6: AQ suited, I raise and get 1 caller, the button, sideline. He folds to a ragged flop that I bet out on.

eugen1 is still pissed at swepe101 for the aces hand "sweep[sic.] I will stick it in u" this is great.

Hand #14: I get a free flop vs limper janwee in the big blind. I have 95 suited. Flop comes KT5 with one of my suit, and I take a stab at it. and win the small pot right there.

Hand #15: weiganghuang(huang from now on) raises from the button, he has raised a lot in position like that, I call, so does swepe, I have KQo. Flop comes J92 and I fold when swepe comes out betting. I learn later that huang had pocket 7s and lost to swepe's 89o.

Hand #18: I raise early with pocket 6s. Tight table, I pick up the blinds.

Hand #23: I raise in the cutoff with KQ suited. huang had limped behind me, and he calls. Flop comes K38 rainbow, I bet, he calls, turn is a 2, I bet, he folds. The $45 pot is the biggest I've been involved in yet. I squeak up to $276

Hand #29: My old nemisis, JTs. At this tight table? I'm raising. I get called by janwee, and the flop comes QT5, with two of my suit. jan bets out and I raise, he just calls. The turn is a blank, he bets and I decide to call down his queen if I miss the flush. River another blank, he bets, I call, and I am pleased to see he called my raise with 8T. The $80 pot is mine.

Hand #33: folded to me in the SB with 68 suited. I raise, trying to steal swepe's blind. He calls, but folds when I flop a 6 and bet.

Hand #45: I have T9 suited in the SB. I get a cheap flop along with eugen1 and swepe. Flop comes JQx, I check, swepe bets and eugen1 and I call. The turn makes my straight with a Q, I check, swepe bets, eugen1 calls, I raise, swepe calls, eugen1 re-raises, and I cap. swepe calls. The river is another blank. I bet, swepe raises, and I call. He indeed has the AT and I get demolished by his higher straight, a $168 pot.

Hand #48: I raise A7 from the button, sideline re-raises me, and I call but fold on the flop. Down to $211, ick.

Shortly thereafter, I limp with QT, flop top pair and end up losing another pretty big pot to AQ. Argh.

As of hand #55 I'm at $180.

Hand #56: I call a raise out of the big blind with 89 suited. The flop comes 8 high, I bet out and janwee calls. The turn is an ace, and I relaize I may be screwed, but I bet and he folds. Back to $195 with that pot.

Hand #62: Free flop with Q6o. Flop comes Q77, I bet out, and one of the two others left with me stays in. Turn is a 6, I bet and he folds.

Hand #63: K7s in the small blind. Huang raises on the button, I put him on a steal attempt again and I call. Flop misses me completely, but I decide to bet out into him. He thinks and just calls. Same on the turn, he thinks about it and calls. The river is a final blank card, I bet into him a final time, he thinks for a very long time, I am convinced he'll fold and give me the pot. He calls, and he shows down K8o. Bleh. I am down to $150 after that failed bluff.

Hand #71: My first legitimately good hand in ages. I have AQo. I just call a raise from Huang though, and I catch top pair on the flop. He bets and I just call him, on the turn he checks, I bet into him and he folds. The pot takes me to $156.

Hand #72: Two good ones in a row. AKo, Huang limps, I raise, and he is the only caller. The flop is total rags, I bet and he calls. The turn is another rag, he checks, I check and we get a free river card. He bets on the river, I call him down and he has a weaker ace than I do. I am back to $190.

Hand #76: I limp with 34s on the button, in a monster hand with 4 opponents. The flop is a good one for me, AQ5 with two of my suit. I call a bet on the flop, and turn my straight with a deuce. Its checked around to me this time, I bet and the entire table folds. Come on! That should have been my big hand to get back up to even! Well, I am back up to $212.

Hand #81: I have KQ suited in the small blind. I raise when its folded to me, swepe re-raises and I cap him. Teh flop comes KT9 with one of my suit. I bet out and he folds, the $43 pot puts me back to $225

Hand #88: A3o on the button. I limp into a big field, hoping my post-flop play won't make me regret the move. But oh it does, as an ace flops and I just call it down. I don't lose to the ace, I lose to a turned two pair, but I was near-dead to the ace. Back down to $188 on that mistake.

I win one last pot, a crappy $30 with KK, to finish the morning with $205.

NET: -$45

Subby

05-04-2004, 01:28 PM

Great read...really enjoying this!

primelord

05-04-2004, 02:29 PM

Radii,

I just now have started to read through your sessions so hopefully it is ok if I go back and ask questions on hands from earlier sessions.

From Session #1
Hand #59: AKo in the SB. A new player, PokSaw raises, odd6268 calls, I re-raise and its called. Flop is QT4. I bet and he raises, I call. Turn is a 2nd ten. I check, and he checks. That confused me enough to bet the river. The river was a blank, I bet, he raised and I called. He showed down T9 suited to take down a nice pot. that little hit drops me to $411 and I'm not sure what to make of my new friend poksaw. His check worked, as I tried to take the pot on the river. but I was calling him down no matter what, so he didn't get any extra money out of me.
This hand was interesting. Certainly you started out with a very strong hand, but when the pre-flop raiser raises you on the flop that missed you I am surprised that didn't put you into check fold mode. From the description of the players at this level I got the impression that they will only make a play like that if the flop hit them. And when he checks through the paired T's that just made me think he had a Q and was afraid you were trying to check-raise your T.

I think I would check fold this river. Maybe check call. If you want to see the show down check/calling seems to be the better option as you are most likely going to only get called/raised by hands better than yours since you can only beat a bluff. Interesting hand.

This is a great read so far!

Radii

05-04-2004, 02:58 PM

This hand was interesting. Certainly you started out with a very strong hand, but when the pre-flop raiser raises you on the flop that missed you I am surprised that didn't put you into check fold mode. From the description of the players at this level I got the impression that they will only make a play like that if the flop hit them. And when he checks through the paired T's that just made me think he had a Q and was afraid you were trying to check-raise your T.

I think I would check fold this river. Maybe check call. If you want to see the show down check/calling seems to be the better option as you are most likely going to only get called/raised by hands better than yours since you can only beat a bluff. Interesting hand.

Any comments/questions about older hands are more than welcome, I re-read these things once myself later to evaluate my own play and am more than happy to re-think/re-visit old hands.

I got confused on that hand by poksaw's play. At that point he was the last to act. After the re-raise on the flop I was ready to give up my hand, maybe I'll check-call maybe I'll check fold(the inside straight draw + getting info from a new player + just maybe he's bluffing, sometimes agressive players at this level play like a maniac at the start to generate an impression... that possibility alone isn't enough to keep me hanging on but all of the above made it seem reasonable enough for me to check/call).

Then the board pairs the Ten. He can kill the betting, and after pushing the flop and turn he checked. Why would he do that? Why would he push pre-flop and on the flop and then check the turn when the board paired? If he was trying to scare me off with bottom pair, maybe he does that, or, if he has a draw of some sort and doesnt' really have a hand, or, a middle pocket pair. I think it's pretty poor play for him to check down a queen or a ten at that point, so I don't put him on either of those at all.

On the river, *maybe* a bet pushes him off of a much lower pocket pair(which are often raised pre-flop in these games, by me and others) or bottom pair. And I think that was my reasoning at the time. Quite simply I expected him to bet the turn and river, and when he killed the betting on the turn with a check, I said to myself, "That's a sign of weakness, I'm betting again"

In the heat of the moment, that's really all I thought, and fired at him. If I had thought about it more(certainly to the level of detail you and I both have in our posts now) I would have come to the conclusion that a check/call is the better play here.

Often, as you can see from many of the hands I've posted, if I raise with ace high pre-flop, I will bet the flop/turn/river if I'm heads up, whether I hit or not. And very often, I will get called to the river and then my opponent will fold on the river.

The differences here are two-fold. 1) My opponent was raising. 2) I didn't bet the turn, my own sign of weakness, giving the river bet less weight. None of that mattered with the hand he actually did have, but, if he had pocket 3s or a straight draw w/ a good high card, those kinds of things would have mattered.

Radii

05-04-2004, 03:02 PM

holy crap that was a long reply, kudos to anyone reading all of that :P

Radii

05-04-2004, 08:01 PM

I sit down at ~8:30, having lost my last few sessions, most of the time after having been noticibly ahead. I hope to put an end to that tonight.

I sit at the far left of the table, to my left is an empty sead, then westlaw, snuggs628, insipid, and bilie. All new to me I believe(I do not have all my tracker notes on this laptop, working on that.

before i play a hand sports09 joins to my direct left.

I fold QTo on my first button... I'm starting off tight here(I'll often play that on the button in a short game).

Westlaw and snuggs go raise-crazy on a board of TT55x, they both havce a ten. Westlaw comments that he had the "better hand" since he had AT vs snuggs' KT. Hrrms.

Hand #8: My first pretty good hand, AT suited. I call a raise from insipid (I'm in the SB), sports09 calls as well. I flop the 4 flush and the inside straight draw(KQ4 clubs). I check, sports09 bets, insipid folds and I call. I call a blank on the turn, and we both check the blank on the river. I lose to sports09's QJ pair.

Hand #11: I raise UTG with AJo, only the BB calls(billie). The flop sucks, KQ3 with two hearts. I bet out when checked to me, and I take the small pot.

We fall quickly to 3 handed here, myself, insipid and new player herb700.

Insipid is quite agressive.

Hand #19: pocket 9s, herb raises, I re-raise, and end up taking a $54 pot betting the J-high flop/turn.

That didn't last long, insipid and I are heads up now.

I take about $30 off insipid in about 5 hands, all totally on bluffs, he seems to respect me. snuggs is now back for a 3-way.

I get heads up w/ insipid with A9, flop top pair, and we raise it up to $75 before he folds on me on the turn, he was trying to represent the ace and I guess didn't have it. Nice of him, he folded right when I was ready to check/call the rest of the way.

rmrichards joins and we are now 4 handed...

30 hands in I have $263.. with blinds moving by so fast its hard to tell just from the posts whether I'm up or down I'm sure.

more weird 4 way... I call a raise from the big blind with 57 suited. I flop bottom pair, bet out and end up taking about $60 off him.

MrVodka joins and we are back up to 5 handed.

I raise UTG with AQ, 3 people call... The flop is nice, AT5, checked to me, I bet out and all 3 call. The turn is a 2nd ten. I bet out again, only MrVodka calls. The river eases my fear of the ten... Ace! I take down about $90

Hand #40: AK suited 4 handed. I raise pre-flop and get heads up with MrVodka. I bet into the 9TJ flop, he calls. I bet the 5 on the turn, he calls. The 8 on the river puts 4 to the straight out there, and we check it down... I think he wanted to check-raise... Q2 beats my AK.

Hand #42: I see Kt suited from the small blind(limp), the flop has two tens. I try to slowplay, it doesn't work, no bet on the flop, I bet the turn and they all fold.

4 handed again, jhevey, snuggs, mrvodka in order to my left. Lots of small pots back and forth and I have $326 after 45 hands.

jhevey runs through $100 in about 10 hands, back to 3 handed.

First 3 handed hand I flop a straight with QJ and take down about $65 from MrVodka.

2nd 3 handed hand I take a $105 pot from snuggs with 7s full of kings.

I take a break to watch 24, leaving the table with $379, much of my gain from two lucky hands w/ action at the end, but up regardless.

NET: +$129

Radii

05-05-2004, 07:37 AM

Wednesday Morning poker

I join a short table, to my left is Shpeelkeys, but he has $11 left, he doesn't look to be around long, showst0pper is to his left, and then Rikers(with a boatload of money, though it doesn't mean he's been winning). RSox1918 is sitting out.

We do start 3 handed, shpeel goes broke before I start playing.

Hand #2: I raise pre-flop with pokcket 8s, flop the low end of a straight draw with 9TJ on the board, and watch it get capped on the flop, I finally have the sense to get out on the turn. My straight never would have hit and pocket 9s from rikers flopped the set.

route63 joins to my left, and tschang1 to my right, we're 5 handed once they both post.

I steal the blinds with QJ on the button on hand #4

Hand #7: I play 45 sutied from the small blind, flop middle pair(K53) and bet out, route63 calls me on the flop but folds on the turn. The $38 win gets me back up to $235.

Route63 calls down two pair on the board with ten high(he had bottom pair, not anymore)

Hand #9: I call a raise with JT suited, I am heads up with Rikers. Flop comes KKQ, and we both check on the flop and turn(a low card). The river comes out with a ten, I debate checking, but I go ahead and bet, rikers just calls, and shows AT to have me beat.

Hand #10: pocket deuces in the small blind. I limp along with 3 others, and the big blind(route63) throws out a raise, which we all call. The flop gives me a set, 267 flop. I lead out betting, and get called all the way down by route63, I take down a $80 pot.

Hand #11: Very next hand I raise on the button with 6's and get heads up with route63. The flop and turn bring only one overcard, so I bet and he calls. The river is a jack, I bet, he raises, I call, and I see his KJ for the win.

Hand #15: Pocket Jacks on teh button, I raise and the entire table calls(4 handed right now). The flop gives me a straight draw, 9TQ. I bet and only rikers calls me. The turn gives me the set, but also puts 4 to the straight on the board, I bet and rikers calls. The river eases my fears of a straight, the board pairs the ten and I've got a full house. I bet again, rikers calls and turns over pocket 8's, the low straight. My full house takes down an $88 pot.

After 21 hands I have $290. I have gotten 5 pocket pairs so far... (folded deuces early once + the four listed above)

Hand #24: I raise in the SB with T9, trying to steal from route63. He calls, and calls the ragged 862 flop. A king on the turn, and he folds to my aggression this time. I take down $38 for my efforts and am up to $306.

Hand #26: 3 handed for now, rikers/me/showstopper. I have A5 suited, I just check when rikers limps to me pre-flop. On the flop I call when I pair my aces(AK9 on the board). I bet out the turn, and take the pot.

Hand #27: K5o on the button, I limp and we see the flop 3 handed. The flop is blank and we all check. The turn is a king, rikers bets out and for some reason I believ he has a better king. I just call. The river is a blank and I call another bet, he was totally bluffing, the pot is mine.

Hand #31: 76 suited in the big blind. We see a 3 way flop, which comes 744, rikers bets out, I raise, and only he calls. The turn is a king, he checks, I bet, he folds.

Hand #32: 99 on the button. 4 handed now(uscrulez to my left). rikers raises, I debate re-raising, and certainly should have, but I don't. uscrulez calls. The flop comes Q88, and agani, I just call a bet. King on the turn, same thing, and the river gets checked down. I played this hand absolutely horribly, but, I was up against AT and AJ, they both missed and I take down the pot.

Back to 5 handed, alz021 to my right. Rsox1918 is still sitting out. I have $395 at the table.

Hand #40: I get a free flop with K7 suited in the big blind, 3 handed. Flop comes Q72, one of my suit, I bet out from middle position and both opponents call. The turn is another 7, giving me a very strnog hand, I bet again and only uscruelz calls. The river is a 6, I bet, he calls, and I beat his QT(top pair on the flop) for a nice $68 pot. He mumbles something about morons and leaves the table. Agression gets you everywhere my friend.

DUBLINSHARK joins in his place to my left.

Hand #49: I make a pretty bad move with AJ. Well, lack of a move perhaps. Showstopper raises, I call out of the big blind with AJo, and the early limper dublinshark also calls. The flop is all low cards, 345. showstopper bets and we both call(bad call on my part, take over the pot if I think I'm best, or fold). The turn is another 3. showstopper seemingly gives up, he checks it down. The river is a jack, I have top pair now, and I feel I'm best, I bet, dublinshark raises, I call and he turns over 83o for trip 3s. I drop a fair amount playing that hand very poorly.

Hand #54: Another interesting one. I have AJo again in the big blind. 3 limpers to me. Raise or check? I check. Flop comes J93, two diamons(I have no diamonds). alz021 leads out betting, I raise. Showstopper raises behind me... rikers and alz folds. What do I do here? Showstopper has been reasonably tight at the table. trips of some sort? a middle pocket pair trying to buy it? Based on his play so far I decide to believe he has me beat. I just call. The turn is a 3rd diamond. I check, showstopper.... checks. The river is a jack. He doesn't have the flush, if I can really put him on two pair or trips I might be behind... screw that, I'm betting. showstopper calls and I see pocket kings. Possibly the most horribly played pocket kings in history?

I catch dublinshark twice. I raise on the button with JTs, dublinshark calls. I flop a straight. Bet it all the way, he calls til the river. I win a nice pot. A few hands later I raise with KJ suited from a middle position, flop the nut straight, rainbow board. I bet it all the way, dublinshark calls til the river, where he raises me, I re-raise, he calls and I take down a very nice $115 pot. He had AQ, flopped two pair when I flopped my straight.

The cards just hit me over the head for awhile. JTo, I limp in the cutoff, flop two pair, someone calls me down, $80 pot. No big losses anywhere, and 71 hands in I have a profit of over $300, I am sitting at $562.

Hand #75: AJo in the small blind.. two limp, I raise, and the big blind and both limpers call. The flop comes 553, I bet into it and all 3 call. The turn is an 8 and I'm ready to give up my hand. I check... and watch this sequence: dublinshark bets, showstopper CALLS, rikers raises, dublinshark calls, showstopper RERAISES, rikers calls. the river, a 4. Now: dublinshark checks. showstopper checks, rikers bets, dublinshark calls, showstopper check-raises, rikers re-raises, showstopper caps... a really odd sequence of betting there... The pot ends up being $270, rikers pocket 4's river a full house to beat showstoppers pocket 3's flopped full house

Hand #78: KQo in the big blind. 3 limp to me and I just check(knowing when to raise out of the big blind is clealry one of my weak points). Flop comes QJJ, I bet and showstopper and rikers call me. Turn is a ten, I bet, and here we go again. showstoppers calls, rikers raises, I call, showstopper RERAISES(what the hell is a call-reraise anyway?), rikers just calls, I fold. I later learn, rikers just wanted me to call, he didn't want me to have to cold-call two. He had JT, full house. showstopper had A8. He had nothing.

That hand drops me down near $500, and I decide to call it a morning soon after.

I play 84 hands, and I dont think my play was really spectacular or anything, in fact many points I felt I was being too passive, but the deck ran over me nicely and I got all the action I needed while it was happening(though one of those $230 pots would have been nice on one of my flopped straights, I can't really complain though ;) )

I leave with $506.50.

NET: +$256.50

After that great run when I first started posting, I had 6 straight losing tables, I had lost $290. I am very pleased to see that when I'm losing, I'm not handing away ALL my chips, and when I'm winning, I'm winning larger amounts than when I lose.

This was a big problem of mine. My first foray into 5/10, I went on a major rush, turning a profit of $1200 over 1 weekend, I would sit down and 2 hours later turn $250 into $750. I tripled my money multiple times. Then, I ran cold. I lost $300+ in single sittings. I gave back almost all of that $1200 profit in about 5 days. At that point I took some time off and played some tournaments(see my posts about $50+$5 tourneys that I was playing for awhile on the general board). After 3-4 weeks I decided I had the bankroll to try out 5/10 again and have been much much more controlled. Big swings can and will happen at times, I am well aware of this, but I have been more in control of my play. I can lose $100 and not chase it with antoher $200 while tilting. I can win $300 when everything goes right and get hyperagressive, and slow down and even leave the table when I see things swing the other way. I am much, much, much happier with my play in general this time around, and think this can be long term profit for me.

primelord

05-05-2004, 11:01 AM

From session #2
Hand #28: AJo in the small blind. Serling raises from UTG+1, I call as does the big blind. Yeah, the cards are hitting me over the head tonight. J43, two hearts. My ace is a heart. I don't check-raise often, but this is a great spot to, serling has the button and is morally obligated to bet if checked to him. He does bet and I raise, getting heads up. He calls me down from that point on, and I learn that the pre-flop raise came with KTo. A terrible, terrible raise IMO. I take down the $88 pot.
Did he open raise with that KTo? If it was folded to me on the button with KTo I would raise that every single time without hesitation. With only the blinds to act behind you it is very possible you will get called bya worse hand in the BB thinking you are just trying to steal. And then if one of your cards pair you are likely going to be good.

In addition I would have 3 bet with your AJ when raised by the button. He could be raising a very wide range of hands in that situation (including KTo :)). You likely have the best hand here and even though you are out of position you probably want to shut the BB out of the action. I like the check-raise there. The button is going to bet nearly 100% of the time in those situations and if you get 3 bet then you know you are probably in real trouble and can fold unimproved on the turn.

Radii

05-05-2004, 11:25 AM

Did he open raise with that KTo? If it was folded to me on the button with KTo I would raise that every single time without hesitation. With only the blinds to act behind you it is very possible you will get called by a worse hand in the BB thinking you are just trying to steal. And then if one of your cards pair you are likely going to be good.

In addition I would have 3 bet with your AJ when raised by the button. He could be raising a very wide range of hands in that situation (including KTo :)). You likely have the best hand here and even though you are out of position you probably want to shut the BB out of the action. I like the check-raise there. The button is going to bet nearly 100% of the time in those situations and if you get 3 bet then you know you are probably in real trouble and can fold unimproved on the turn.

He wasn't on the button, no. I don't remember and its not clear from the history if it was 5 or 6 handed at this point. He was at best 1 off the button, possibly two.

When I say later in the hand that "serling has the button and is morally obligated to raise" etc etc, I meant that he had bought himself position with his raise, as the people after him (outside the blinds) folded.

I don't remember any details other than that as to position, etc. I can look the hand up in tracker tonight though.

I don't like KTo off the button personally, even in one of these games, and even just one off the button. With the button I'd raise that too most of the time(depends on how agressively the people behind me will defend their blinds). If I thought he was on a steal I should definitely re-raise w/ AJ in a blind, but from the looks of things, I seemed to be putting him on a real hand.

If he's one off the button, what do you think of an open-raise with KTo?

RPI-Fan

05-05-2004, 11:36 AM

when I'm winning, I'm winning larger amounts than when I lose.

You, my friend, have figured out the key to regularly playing mid-limit poker.

In one of Vic's posts in GD, he's said that his win rate is like $40/hour (in 15/30) with a StDev of +/-$240. That means he loses more than $200 16.5% of the hours that he plays, if my udnerstanding of SD is correct.

primelord

05-05-2004, 11:37 AM

He wasn't on the button, no. I don't remember and its not clear from the history if it was 5 or 6 handed at this point. He was at best 1 off the button, possibly two.

When I say later in the hand that "serling has the button and is morally obligated to raise" etc etc, I meant that he had bought himself position with his raise, as the people after him (outside the blinds) folded.

I don't remember any details other than that as to position, etc. I can look the hand up in tracker tonight though.

I don't like KTo off the button personally, even in one of these games, and even just one off the button. With the button I'd raise that too most of the time(depends on how agressively the people behind me will defend their blinds). If I thought he was on a steal I should definitely re-raise w/ AJ in a blind, but from the looks of things, I seemed to be putting him on a real hand.

If he's one off the button, what do you think of an open-raise with KTo?
Ah my mistake. You did say he was UTG+1 so when you later mentioned he was on the button I just assumed you were 4 handed at that point. I should have realized you would have just labeled him as the button in the first place if that is where he started.

You're right that changes pretty much everything I wrote. :) I might raise it one off the button, but that because a lot more game specific and in most cases I would probably let it go as the button still may raise a very wide range of hands behind me trying to get it heads up with me and with position.

Considering he wasn't the button to start like I thought I think I would have played the hand exactly as you did. :)

Radii

05-05-2004, 05:25 PM

session start: 5:22 pm

All new guys here, smart_y to my left, ggreenie, joshkatz, and DeafASL after that, in order, we are 5 handed when I sit down.

smart_y has pushed early with a couple of very bad hands.

Hand #1: 78 suited in teh big blind. I get a free flop and we are 5 handed. Flop comes 79T with two of my suit. Not bad... I bet out and everyone calls. Now it gets interesting. 2 on the turn gives me 4 to the flush, to go with my 4 to a straight and flopped bottom pair. DeafASL bets before me, I call, smart_y raises... luckily I get to kill the betting, and I do. river is a second ten. I'm out of this hand. WHOA. deafasl and smarty paired 2s on the turn. That's what they bet and raised. I just folded the winner in a $148 pot. This is going to be interesting.

This might be a table where I either win a ton or lose everything, in very short order depending on the cards.

deafASL just won a $160 pot w/ 62, played for a raise in the cutoff... whew.

Hand #5: I have AKo in the cutoff. I raise and get 4 callers. The flop comes 234, I decide to check. Smarty bets and I call along with the rest of the table. The turn? a 5, I've got a straight, but hey, who doesn't now? I get stuck between deafASL and smart_y, both raising, I end up calling $30, ready to lose badly to a 6 at this point. The river? a 6, there is a made straight on the board. smarty and deaf asl cap it, I cannot believe they both have 7's, and I call it all the way. What'd they have? Q5 and J5, pairs on the turn. I should have folded, even to this play, but, I am glad I called, as I'm sitting at $215 right now.

Please dear lord give me a hand before these wackos bust out.

Hand #8: I raise KQo on the button, a new player (JennaOO), along with smarty and deafASL, call me. the flop comes 646, and I fold when smarty bets and deafASL raises.

So the strategy is clear here I think. I have to raise my good hands pre-flop, to get out the good players, but I still need a hand to beat these two maniacs. But if I can take them down on a hand or two I will win an absolute ton. asl just won a $310 pot capping it with smarty, a flopped two pair vs nothing. JennaOO mentions reporting them. I can see a suspicion of collusion as well, that's for sure, but I don't believe it based on the insane play with single pairs.

Smarty is down to his last $3, but wins a big hand.

deafASL leaves the table, claiming offense at the collusion comments(can't say I blame him, if he is not cheating).

The table basically falls apart and I end up heads up with JennaOO with about $200 at the table for a short while.

My cards turn to crap short handed. I lose a few blinds and lose a little on second pair and am down to $155.

smart_y comes back, and we are 5 handed again, the lineup is:

me, smart_y, jennaOO, btherria, and caillou

Hand #29: I get my best hand so far, KT suited in the SB. I raise and smarty calls, I flop a flush, hope him to be oblivious and bet out, and he folds.

After 30 hands I'm at $145.

Hand #31: AQo UTG, I raise it, and get heads up with smarty. I catch an ace, but the most I can get out of it is a $65 pot. He folds on the river.

Hand #32: AQ suited UTG (a new player just posted). I raise and we have 3 way action w/ smarty and caillou. I flop top pair, bet and get both callers. The turned 8 gives me a flush draw, I bet and get both callers. The river brings a 4, no flush, I bet, both call, and I take down $108 with top pair. caillou had AJ(2nd pair), smarty had 59 (high card queen).

Hand #33: I get a free flop heads up against smarty, I have J6, he has $17. I flop middle pair, bet, he raises, I put him all in. He has QQ and takes me for about $35, and leaves the table.

Anyone catching good cards against that table could have won $500 in 30 hands. I lost $25 and can't be too disappointed about it.

same table, new faces:

changeup, jennaOO, btherria, caillou, and easyduzzit2, in order to my left.

Hand #36: I have QQ and raise pre-flop, I get heads up with JennaOO, flop is a perfect Q45 rainbow. I decide to slowplay(EEP), and check. jenna checks too. Turn is a jack. I bet and she calls. River is an ace. I bet, she raises, I see visions of KT but really cannot be afraid of KT at this point, I re-raise, jenna caps, and it's KT for the straight. Wonder if she would have folded had I not slowplayeD? I drop about $70 on that hand.

Hand #37: QQ two times in a row, this time I raise and get heads up with btherria, flop comes 332, I bet, he calls, turn is a 9, I bet, he folds. I now have $177.

Hand #47: Unsure of what to do with a face card in my hand, I limp in mid position with J9 suited. I fold when the flop misse me completely. The cards I'm seeing are total junk right now

Hand #51: I limp with A5 suited in the SB, flop comes down A66 and I bet into it, the BB folds but btherria, another early limper, hangs around. The turn is the 4 of hearts, giving me a heart draw, I bet and he folds. I am up to $181.

Hand #55: free flop with K9o, 3 opponents. The flop comes 972. I bet and the SB(easyduzzit2) check-raises me. I call and decide to call him down, as I've seen nothing from him so far. He bets the turn, then checks a jack on the river... he has pocket tens.

Hand #56: A5o in the SB. I raise to steal when its folded to me. ignoman, another new player, calls. I bet the flop, and get raised. I call, and catch an open-ended straight draw on the turn. We check it down after that, and I lose to A7.

Those losses hurt bad, after a small win I push back up to $130. eek.

Hand #67: bad cards bad cards... JTo in the cutoff, Surely my image is tight, and the table has tightened up a lot, I raise pre-flop. I get two callers(both blinds). The flop gives me an inside straight draw, all low cards, and I bet, jenna folds and btherria calls. The turn gives me the flush draw(3 clubs, I have the jack), i bet again and btherria calls. The river is another blank and I fire at it one last time, he's folded befoer... and, he folds again. The pot of $68 pushes me back to $150.

I flop top pair after raising on the button with KTo and betting both blinds to call, I bet the flop, on the turn btherria raises me, and I call a bet of his on the river to see 53o, he turned two pair, T653X...

I am down to $70 at this point, but still feel I am one of the better players at this table.

Hand #83: with btheriia limping UTG, I put in a raise with A6o, I get 3 callers and give it up on a flop with two high cards that misses me totally.

Hand #90: I push with A7o into the big blind and give up about $40 when I see AJ...

I am not tilting at this point, so I decide to find another table, this one is too tight to make up any losses at.

NET: -$240 (ouch!)

Radii

05-06-2004, 07:55 AM

I joined two more tables yesterday and very quickly lost signifigant amounts, I got frustrated and stopped writing it up, and also stopped playing. I was definitely on tilt towards the end, making a lot of very loose calls. So much for not suffering any big losses! I ended up down over $500 on the evening, part of it was definitely bad play but I dno't think all of it was really, the cards were just very cold and you drop blinds so fast at this level, and if you aren't picking up small pots here and there, you are in trouble.

Hand #2: I get KQo 3 handed, vs Luv2sandbag and donnypie. I raise out of the SB and donnypie calls. Flop comes JT4 with two hearts. I bet an get called, the turn is an 8, I bet and get called. The river is the 9, making my straight, but it also makes the flush. I bet it, and donny raises. I hope he has just a queen or 7, with 4 to the straight on the board, but he has the flush, ace high even(a5 hearts), I was behind the entire way. A quick $50 is gone.

Hand #13: A4 suited in the BB, we are 4 handed now. JVZman, donnypie and I see a flop, which comes down great for me, A45. I just call donnypie on the flop, jvzman calls as well. The turn is a queen, donnypie bets and I raise, jvzman calls along, as does donnypie. The river is a 2, giving any 3 a straight, so when donnypie bets out I just call. Turns out he had 25 and caught his 2nd pair on the river, I am back up to $245

Hand #15: A5 suited in the cutoff, I raise, two call then luv2sandbag re-raises... I don't like being 4 way with this hand, I call to see the flop but fold to the first bet.

Hand #20: A4 suited on the button, donnypie limps, I raise, JVZMan and donny both call. The flop brings an ace and donnypie comes out betting, I hope I don't have kicker problems against him but I'm willing to call it down to find out after seeing the 25 hand. He actually had nothing, caught a king on the turn to give him a pair, and I take down the $93 pot.

Hand #22: Boomboom54 is different, I caught an ace against him but when he started betting out and I decided to call it down, he turned over AK, dropping me back down to $215.

totally new lineup here really... boomboom54 to my left, rvppi, davidliu, sspol99, and donnypie around the table.

At this point I reset the stats and tighten up a lot. I know I've gotten too loose with weak aces, and that was working when I had a good chance to get people to fold with any bet when I was hot, but that isn't happening right now.

Hand #14: here's a good hand... KK on the button. sspol99 raises, and I decide to just call, boomboom calls behind me. The flop comes 553, and I raise when sspol99 bets, boomboom folds and sspol calls. The turn is a queen. sspol check-raises me, I re-raise and he calls. On the river I bet and he calls, he has QJo and I take down a $133 pot with my kings beating his queens. That gets me back up to even($241 after the blinds pass)

Hand #23: I have QT suited in the big blind and call a raise from sspol99, raising out of the SB. The flop is great, AKJ, and I just call sspol's bet. The turn is another ace, and i hope sspol's hand wasn't *that* good when he raised pre-flop. He bets, I raise and he calls. The river is a blank, I bet and he calls. He had K4o, I take down $88 and am up to $280.

It falls to 4 handed on hand #29, me boomboom54, rvppi and davidliu. I have $273.

Never mind! Back to 6 handed before I play again... JH0715 and rickneville round out the table.

Hand #33: A5o in the big blind, I flop an ace against boomboom and rickneville... I bet out on the flop and boomboom folds, rick is still in. The turn brings a pair of twos to the board, and the river another low card. I bet the turn, but just check the river, not wanting to dump the farm on ace-bad kicker anymore, but rick just had KQ, nothing, and I take down the $43 pot.

Hand #34: I have T7 suited int eh SB. The entire table limps, so I limp along. I flop top pair, and bet out (T64 flop), with boomboom and rvppi calling me. The turn is a queen, I bet into it and boomboom raises. I've given him a ton of respect so far, and for some reason decide to call here. I'm rewarded for my (likely) bad call, a 7 on the river. I bet out again and boomboom calls me, I see his KQ, top pair on the turn, and my rivered two pair takes down a big $113 pot.

Hand #40: 57 suited in the big blind. JH0715 limps from the button and I check. The flop comes 356. I bet, he calls. The turn is a 4, I have the top end of the straight with my 7 now. I bet, he calls. The river is an ace, I bet, he calls. He limp/called all the way down with pocket kings. I've slowplayed a couple of hands today, and luckily none screwed me like that. I feel bad for the guy as I take down $60, I am up to $390.

Hand #43: davidliu raises pre-flop, rickneville calls and I look down to see pocket jacks in the SB. I re-raise and both call. The flop comes ten high, I bet out, only davidliu calls. The turn is another low card, I bet, he calls. The river is a king. Does anyone check here? I bet, he raises, I call and his AK rivered my jacks. I am back down to $337.

Hand #46: I raise UTG with pocket Kings. I get three callers... Flop comes 962, I'm third to act and I bet out here. davidliu and jh0715 call me. The turn pairs the two, I bet, and davidliu raises. I debate what to do for a little while, and decide to re-raise. davidliu folds, and I take down $103. I am back to $388.

Hand #52: I get AKo in the big blind, JH0715 limps to me from the SB, I check. A king flops, I bet and he folds.

Hand #57: rvppi and jh0715 limp to my big blind, I have A2. The flop comes out K72, and I decide to try a bet, both fold and I take down $20, up to $399.

Hand #59: I open-raise on the button with pocket 6s. rvppi is my only caller. The flop is great, T64. I decide to try the dreaded slowplay again. the flop is checked. The turn is a jack, and I get chec-raised by rvppi. I re-raise and he calls. HE calls the river and he had J4, turned two pair. I take down $100 for my efforts.

Hand #61: I raise UTG(4 way) with KJo. I get two callers, and flop a king. I bet out on the flop and turn. I check the river after it puts four to the straight on the board, but I didn't need to fear, I was up against 53o that turned bottom pair(inside straight on the flop). I take down $50.

Hand #62: another free flop, this one with J2. The flop comes KJT, and I bet into it, its the smae rvppi and jh0715 field as before. Both call. The turn is another jack, I bet again and both call. The river is my miracle river, a deuce giving me a full house. I bet and both fold. I take down $68.
That flurry puts me up to $480.

I give back just a little bit and leave the table when it gets back to 6 handed. Espicially after last night, I am very happy with the result today. I am still annoyed about last night's play, I lost $150 more than I should have, at least(possibly I should have quit when I lost that $250 that I posted about, but I honestly felt that my play was fine there).

Today i was able to back off a little, tighten up and wait for better hands until I found a couple of people I could very easily push around, and it paid off.

NET: +$197

Radii

05-08-2004, 03:54 PM

I start playing at 2:16... the first 13 hands go back and forth between 3 and 5 handed, when I start writing there are 6 at the table and I have $247.

To my left: aceking12, arubadonna, bystromgolf, bigfred17, and johnny2003.

In my first 13 hands I've gotten QQ and KK, no action on either.

I tighten up 6 handed, my only decisio through 20 hands was KJo UTG, I decide to fold it.

Hand #23: AQ suited in the big blind, I just check when two limp to me(a mistake I know). I try a bet on the ragged flop but both call, its checked down after that.

Hand #24: 89 suited in the SB, I limp with 3 others. Flop comes 89T all spades. I bet, arubadonna raises, and I call. The turn is the ace of spades, and I have to assume I have 4 outs here. I can't call a bet. Fold. Arubadonna has been very conservative so far.

Hand #29: J5 in the big blind. johnny2003 limps to me, I check. Flop is QJ3, he checks, I bet, he calls. Turn a king, I bet, he folds. That pot keeps me up at $222.

arubadonna leaves the table, feliks joins in his place.

Hand #39: After a lot of folding, I catch 93o in the big blind, johnny again limps to me, and I check. Flop A92, I bet, he calls, turn a 4, I bet he calls, river a 9, I've got 3 of a kind, I bet and he folds.

Hand #40: ATo in the small blind, folded to me, I raise, aceking12 calls. I bet the flop of Qxx and he folds. The two wins take me back up to $246.

Hand #47: JJ in the cutoff, bigfred limips, I raise, aceknig and felicks call. The flop sucks, A98. I bet anyway and get everyone calling. The turn is my jack, I bet and all 3 call. The river gives me the house with another 8, it also completes the flush. I bet, feliks calls, fred raises, I re-raise, feliks folds, fred re-raises me(all in for $9 more) and I can only call. fred hit the flush, and my full house takes down a monster $191 pot. I am up to $350.

Hand #50: 55 in the small blind, I raise after only johnny limps, and the big blind folds, johnny calls. I bet the flop of QJ4 and johnny raises me. He only has $8 left, normally I'd fold to that raise(or call the raise but fold the turn if I don't hit my set). I call, and call the guy's last $3 on the turn. He had nothing and I take down $45 or so, I am up to $380.

a new player joins, leeg33, and we are 5 handed. He bluffs J8 all the way in his first hand, losing to feliks who just calls w/ two pair.

Hand #54: A3 suited on the button, I open-raise and only feliks calls from the BB. Flop comes K93, I bet and feliks called. After that we both check it down, and we had both paired 3s, but my ace tops his queen. Up to $388

Hand #58: I raise early w/ AQo, bystromgolf (who had been sitting out) calls, and leeg re-raises. HE's been a bit hyper agressive but I just call. He bets the rags on the flop/turn/river and I decide to call him down b/c of his past agression. He has AK and beats my AQ. I fall to $348.

Hand #60: another new guy, MrVodka(a familier name). feliks and leeg cap it pre-flop and mrvodka is in too. leeg had AA, so his early action seems to have been an advertising play(or he's a nut who plays a lot like it's AA). MrVodka called th capped pot with Q7 though, and he hit trips.

I win a small pot from aceking12 when I hit two pair on KT after raising from the button. Then I lose most of it back when I call a leeg raise w/ AJ and don't hit anything and give up my hand.

MrVodka sucks out on leeg again, 96 clubs hitting runner-runner flush to beat AT trip aces from leeg(leeg is catching some cards here)

I fall to $316 pushing against leeg when I have QT suited, he has AT again in the big blid and catches an ace.

Back up to 6 handed. Allyo, dontommaso, bystromgolf, leeg33, and MrVodka in order to my left.

dontommaso caps a flop of 237 against legg, don had 44, leeg K7, both agressive.

Hand #70: I have AJ in the BB. leeg raises before me, I call and allyo limp-calls UTG. Flop comes 972. I call a flop bet from allyo, then the turn brings a jack. I call again(a mistake, I intended to check-raise, and when I saw allyo bet and leeg call again, I feared ... well, something?). I bet the river, both call, and my jacks beat ally's 9s and leegs AT(called AT w/ two opponents?)

leeg plays good hands, and is very agressive, but he overplays a bit I think.

Hand #73: A8o in the big blind(my hand #'s may be off here, we're not 3 handed). dontommaso raises pre-flop, he's been a bit loose and I decide to re-raise him. He caps it. The flop comes JJ2, and I bet out, one last attempt to push him back, and he just calls. The turn pairs my ace, I bet out and he calls. Teh river is a blank, I start to second guess myself(fearing kicker problems) and decide to check/call. don checks too, he had KQo. I take down $70.

I win a hand off a new player, panday_pera, raising Kxs from the small blind and betting all the way when a king flops. I am up to $430 after 80 hands.

Habd #84: AJo on the button, I raise and the only caller is MrVodka behind me, flop comes KJx, I bet the flop and turn, he calls the flop and folds on the turn. I am up to $455.

4 handed again. panday_pera, dontommaso and bystromgolf to my left in that order.

I win two small pots with AKo and AKs, two hands in a row, raising pre-flop, one caller that folds on the flop. I am up to $480.

inthewall joins to my right on hand 90. dontommaso leaves though, 4 handed still.

Hand #94: 45o on the big blind. Everyone sees the flop and I flop a draw, K23 flop. I call a bet on the flop, but check/fold the turn after losing my odds heads up.

3 handed now, bystromgolf and inthewall.

I push a little with KQo but give it up vs inthewall when it misses me totally (ace high is light years above king high to me at these tables.

6 handed now, kuntzie2001, jjc1998, bystromgolf, bluffersvow, and inthewall in that order to my left.

Hand #100: AKo in the cutoff, I raise pre-flop and get two callers. FLop comes QQ8. I bet and kuntzie raises. I fold on the turn, down $400 even at this point.

Hand #103: 77 in the SB. inthewall limps, I raise and he calls. I push this one when J83 hits the flop. I decide to push this one down since I have no read and really no info on inthewall. I bet into the king on the turn and he calls. The river saves me, a 7. I bet and he raises. There's a possible straight but I am nt going to fear that at this point. I re-raise, he calls and he has top pair with a king. The pot puts me back up to $455.

Hand #106: I limp with A2 suited. I flop a 4 flush, and hit the flush on the turn, but the turn card paired the board. I bet the turn and bystromgolf is the only one left in the hand. The river puts two pair on the board and he bets out. I figure he's got it but I make the crying call, anyway, and he does have it, KJ for jacks full of 5s. I fall back to $420

Hand #110: I raise with AJ suited. only bluffers vow calls. I flop an inside straight and a four flush, KQ3, two hearts. The turn gives me the flush, I bet out the entire way ad bluffersvow calls. He has QJ for 2nd pair, and the $70 pot puts me back to $440.

still 5 handed but some changes, Lasha_von, jjc1998, bystromgolf, and bluffersvow in that order make it 5 handed.

Hand #118: ATo in the cutoff. I raise and only the button calls. I bet the flop(which comes 9 high) and lasha_von folds to me, giving me the small pot.

bluffersvow busts out and leaves the table, but juggler joins in his place to keep us 5 handed.

Hand #123: I raise UTG wit AK suited... steal the blinds. dang.

Hand #124: I check w/ 66 in the BB, heads up w/ lasha_von. Flop comes K32, I bet, he calls, turn pairs the 3, I bet and he folds.

Hand #126: I cold-call with AQo after juggler raises. One other in the pot. I call him down on the flop and turn when an ace hits the board. He check/folds the river and I take down a $70 pot.

4 handed now as lasha_von leaves... NM, 5 handed, jhevey joins in his place.

No action on KK :(

jhevey sounded familier... he's in tracker, 11 hands, loss of $77, saw 7 flops. Not much to go on there. We were 4 handed, 7 out of 11 flops isn't necessarily a bad thing.

lamit591 joins to my right, we are 6 handed again.

jhevey, jjc1998, bystromgolf, juggler, and lamit591 in order here. 136 hands into this session, and I have $512.50.

back to 6 handed, I don't want to push too hard against a new lineup and give back a lot of my gains, so I tighten up signifigantly(but not afer I lose abuot $25 trying to steal/represent a good hand against jhevey from the SB, back to $490).

Hand #144: 99 in the big blind. I don't like this hand at all after 3 limp to me. I check and fold to the AQJ flop when its bet. I don't like a raise there because I do'nt think it thins the field any after the limpers, and costs me a lot if I'm 2nd best.

Hand #152: Ugh, I have Q9 suited in the SB, and try a steal against jhevey again. He calls me down after I bet my 4-flush on the flop. He has A5 suited, same suit as mine, thank god the flush never hit, but I am down to $430 after a few blinds and that hand.

Hand #155: I raise UTG wit AKo, and I could really use a good flop and a gain here. Only jhevey calls. I flop a king and he folds on the flop when I bet. I am back to $441 and happy to have won a pot, its been 15-20 hands(awhile 6 handed).

Hand #162: I call a raise from juggler with Q9 suited, he was raising out of the button. Flop comes ten high with two of my suit. I call a bet. The turn brings a 9, giving me 2nd pair, and I decide to just call again. We check the river and I take down a $50 pot. Too passive on my part I think(juggler had 4s).

Hand #165: I raise early with ATo, juggler calls out of a blind. He check-raises me on a Q22 flop, I call his raise but fold the turn.

Hand #169: I limp with A9o on the button, 2 ppl in before me, should I fold this? I don't like raising this when I have almost no chance of ending up heads up on the flop, and will very often be 4 handed. A raise is probably correct, but a limp on the button isn't terrible I think. Anyway, we end up 5 handed here. Flop comes KQ2 and its checked around. The turn is an ace, checked to me, I bet and take the pot.

Hand #172: I limp with 78 suited, and get punished for it, juggler raises. I call as does jjc1998. Best... flop... ever. Well, almost. Just needed one more spade. Anywya, 569, 56 spades. I just call the flop, and bet the turn and river when checked to me. I win a nice sized pot and get back to $500 here.

Hand #174: pocket kings. juggler raises pre-flop, and the guy behind him(who is new) re-raises... I decide to just call here and hope they will bet my kings for me. Flop? AT4. I bet out, juggler calls, other guy folds. What to do now? check/call? check/fold? bet out unless he raises? I really have no idea, espicially short-handed. i check/call and lose to A6

Hand #175: pcoket tens very next hand. I raise, bystromgolf re-raises, I cap. Flop comes 9 high and I bet, he calls. No card higher than a ten ever comes out, I bet out and he folds to me on the turn, I take down a nice sized pot anyway thanks to the pre-flop cap. The loss and win essentially wash each other out and I am back to $480.

We fall to 4 way and I am at $465 after 185 hands.

jc1998, bystromgolf and juggler.

Hand #189: bystrom golf limps on the button, I raise out of the blind with pocket 8s, and take the pot with a bet on a 6-high flop.

we go back to 6 handed, acamaca56, jjc1998, bystromgolf, juggler, and bmw1533. I decide to once again play a pretty tight style, and am ready to leave if the new guys aren't signifigantly fishy. bystrom and juggler just don't give away a ton of money, and they are agressive and hard to read.

Well, back to 3 handed pretty fast. I take a nice sized pot with K4, I raised and got called all the way down after flopping a king and a 4-flush.

I give a bit of that back and jjc1998 sits out, leaving me with no one to play with. I have $479.

bystromgolf comes back and we go heads up for a little while. He's very tight, and doesn't seem to loosen up much heads up.

unfortunately, I'm getting dealt 5 high or worse repeatedly.

He tries a move w/ 69 suited in the SB, lucky for me I have A7 and flop a pair. Next hand I hit two pair with A5, those two hands put me up about $70 over bystromgolf.

back to 3 handed. bystromgolf and gr728.

gr leaves. bystromgolf limps (w/ 85 suited I find later), flops a 4 flush and bets into me on flp and turn. We check the river and I beat him again. What'd I have? 23o. I paired a deuce.

Another hand over bystrom heads up where I flop top pair and he calls me down on it.

quickly back to 6 handed. table order is: tinkernuts, allbrick33, bystromgolf, tinymite, and chikagoh in order to my left. After running over bystrom heads up, i have $569.

Hand #229: Tinkernuts has only $38 left at the table. I raise with AQo and he re-raises, I go ahead and cap him, and he's got $18 left. I decide to put him all in no matter what flops. flop is jack-high, we end up all in, and he had pocket 9s, I never catch a pair, and I drop to $525 and double him up.

Hand #238: pocket 7s on the button, folded to me, I raise, and a new player(edardna) in the BB... thinks... thinks... calls. I flop the set, and slowplay it, we check the flop. edardna bets into me on the turn and I raise, and then he folds the river. That slowplay didn't buy me any extra bets, that is for sure. But I did win an ok pot with the turn raise($70). Back to $542.

Hand #243: I see the rockets in the small blind. two limpers to me, I raise and get 3 callers. I hate the flop, it's got two jacks in it. I bet, and two opponents fold, one calls. I win the pot on the turn with a bet. After a high pair ont he board on the flop, I'm just happy to win with AA. $60'ish pot puts me at $570.

Hand #249: A3 suited in the SB. I raise when folded to me and edardna calls. edardna has about $20 left. the flop has an ace, so I bet, he calls. The turn is a seeming blank, I bet, he raises (all in, just another $3 or so) and I call. I lose to 69o, turned a straight. It was certainly well hidden, but after flopping an ace pair against a guy that had $20 left, i wasn't looking to see what might be out there. Back to $530.

Hand #254: AKo in the SB. tinymite raises pre-flop, I just call, pjloch(a new player who has raised 4 of the last 5 hands or so) re-raises, tinymite and I just call. Flop is 7-high, pjloch bets and tinymite and I both call(pot odds at that point, 11:1 odds on that to try to hit an ace/king which I assume will be good still). The turn is my ace. i check, pjloch checks(giving up his hand I assume) and tinymite bets. I check-raise him and pjloch is gone. bet/call on the river and a very nice $118 pot is mine... tinymite had AQ, kicker issues.

The pot brings me up to $593.

Hand #260: 78 suitd in the small blind. Flop comes T86, I've got bottom pair and an inside straight draw. I bet out and drdrizzee calls. Turn is a 2, bet/call, river is an 7. Hopefully drdrizze had top pair and didn't have the 9. I bet, he calls, he had JT top pair, I rivered him.

Hand #266: I limp with a pretty questionable hand, 87o on the button, 4 handed action on this one... flop comes 56Q, two hearts. The flop is checked around. The turn gives me a pair of 7s but also makes the heart draw. two checks, drdrizzee bets, and I decide to call it down. The river is the 4 to give me a straight. I call another $10 bet and I see that drdrizze was semi-bluffing, AJ with 1 heart. The pot puts me at $650.

I give back a little cold-calling a raise with KT suited and flopping a draw. I have $615 again.

I make a very loose call with K8o agains bystromgolf(who is playing with about $35), catch runner runner straight against him and he says "I had JJ, what the heck were you calling with?). I think for a minute and say "way way too loose, need a break after 3 hours here I suppose huh?"

While that conversation is going on, drdrizzee limps to my BB, I have QTs. I flop top pair and he calls me all the way down. Those two wins push me up to $673, and I do sit out for a short while to get a soda and watch the end of the Cubs.

I come back after a 10 minute break or so, but right when I get back I time out off the table. It fills up immediately behind me. Oh well.

That's a good place to stop this post anyway:

Hands: 277 NET: +$423

RPI-Fan

05-08-2004, 04:45 PM

Great work, Radii, sounds like you had a nice session!

Do have a question -

Hand #100: AKo in the cutoff, I raise pre-flop and get two callers. FLop comes QQ8. I bet and kuntzie raises. I fold on the turn, down $400 even at this point.Did you call the raise on the turn just so you aren't backing down TOO easily? Basically, I'm guessing you don't just want to build an image of someone who can be raised out of a pot easily? You'd rather fold to a bet than to a raise of your bet?

~rpi-fan

Radii

05-08-2004, 09:07 PM

Great work, Radii, sounds like you had a nice session!

Do have a question -

Did you call the raise on the turn just so you aren't backing down TOO easily? Basically, I'm guessing you don't just want to build an image of someone who can be raised out of a pot easily? You'd rather fold to a bet than to a raise of your bet?

my description wasn't clear there at all. I called a raise on the flop, and then folded to a turn bet when an ace or a king didn't come out

I didn't have a read on the guy at all. At that point I was down $80 from my max during that session and was fearing getting into a habit of calling people down "just to see if they have it" and giving back all my profits. There are times when I call that down, and times when I won't, and sometimes they are admittedly pretty random when I dont' really have any idea if I'm being bluffed or not.

That session was great, but I kept playing a little too long, still up signifigantly on the day but I should have just logged off at that point(a definite problem of mine, where the fact that I have an afternoon to do whatever I want and want to entertain myself with poker crosses with my ability to play when my heads is fully in the game and I'm playing my best)

And... after a break I am getting my ass kicked by a total fish and the most straightforward player ever tonight. URGH.

RPI-Fan

05-08-2004, 09:13 PM

my description wasn't clear there at all. I called a raise on the flop, and then folded to a turn bet when an ace or a king didn't come out

I didn't have a read on the guy at all. At that point I was down $80 from my max during that session and was fearing getting into a habit of calling people down "just to see if they have it" and giving back all my profits. There are times when I call that down, and times when I won't, and sometimes they are admittedly pretty random when I dont' really have any idea if I'm being bluffed or not.

That session was great, but I kept playing a little too long, still up signifigantly on the day but I should have just logged off at that point(a definite problem of mine, where the fact that I have an afternoon to do whatever I want and want to entertain myself with poker crosses with my ability to play when my heads is fully in the game and I'm playing my best)

And... after a break I am getting my ass kicked by a total fish and the most straightforward player ever tonight. URGH.
You were plenty clear.:)

Obviously, you don't have "odds" so to speak, to call that raise on the flop. So a large part of that decision was to make sure you didn't get an image of a weak player, right?

Radii

05-08-2004, 09:35 PM

You were plenty clear.:)

Obviously, you don't have "odds" so to speak, to call that raise on the flop. So a large part of that decision was to make sure you didn't get an image of a weak player, right?

my image is definitely part of it, but I had been playing for 100 hands, even though there was a lot of attrition, my image wasn't really something I was thinking about. Quite possibly I should have been, yeah.

As to calling the raise on the flop, I think I have mentioned that a couple of times in the past but I'm sure its hidden in my hand descriptions. There are a noticible number of players who will bet/raise/check-raise the original raiser in that situation with a scary board, but when the turn comes decide that I called the raise on the flop and they're giving up. They'll check the turn despite having taken the lead on the flop. So in most circumstances I call that flop raise and see the next card, the combination of a) the possibility of catching one of my outs and b) the possibility of catching a draw, giving me runner-runner possibilities that make the hand look better, and c) the chance that he is bluffing the raise on the flop and will give it up on the turn after I call, make that call very often worth it.

In this case, none of those things happened on the turn, and I might have had the best hand but I decided it wasn't worth 2 more BB to find out in that situation.

Radii

05-08-2004, 09:45 PM

after staying too long at the tables and giving back too much of that massive profit from earlier(really that is a problem of mine, not knowing when to stand up and quit... wanting entertainment vs wanting to maximize profits are butting heads here), I take a break for dinner and rest up a bit and get back to it.

I sit at a full table with the following lineup:

radii, leonard55, anyacewilldo, thenutt, mittykit, st33lnuts, though mittykit is sitting out.

I intend to start out tight.

Hand #10: AKo in the cutoff. I open-raise, anyacewilldo goes all in for $10.50, and thenutt calls. Flop comes Q63, thenutt bets, I call. turn brings the 3rd heart(I have the king), and I call another bet, assuming my ace, king and hearts are probably all good. River is none of the above and we check it down. thenutt had pocket 5s and takes the pot.

Hand #13: A5o in the big blind. two limp and I check. Flop brings an ace, along with a king and a low card. steelnuts bets, I raise, anyace calls, steel calls. I bet a blank on the turn and anyace folds, steel calls. Fearing kicker issues, i check the river, and my ace beats steel's KJ flopped 2nd pair.

Hand #21: KQo UTG. I raise and TMMABA(new guy) and steelnuts call. Flop comes J86. steelnuts bets, and I just call. He seems to bet when he has it and fold when he doesn't... i decide to just play straight and bet if I get a good card next. Turn is an ace and we all check. on the river steelnuts bets agian, tmmaba calls him, and steelnuts was playing very straighforward poker. KJ, he bet top pair on the flop, checked fearing the ace, bet when no one bet the ace...

I win two nice hands in the next 10. Pocket 8s with a flop of 777 nets me about $50 off of TMABA, and I turn a flush and take a $100 pot against... someone who isn't here anymore.

After 39 hands, , I have $325, and am heads up against steelnuts, hoping is play is straightforward heads up too.

oh my god. He took a fair bit off of me when I had AK and never hit anything and he had a pocket pair, and he absolutely ripped me a new one on another hand. I have K5 and raise pre-flop, flop comes T5x. I bet, he raises, I call. Turn is another 5. we cap it at this point. I bet the river, he raises and I just call. He had pocket 10s. That took me down to about I lost well over $100 heads up against this guy just trying to play straightforward poker. He had a hand whenever he showed down so I don't think I played it bad, but damn.

Over another 10 hands as the lineup increases I play one hand for a raise and lose another $30 or so... here's the new lineup.

radii, armybarbie, rodeo2, deafasl, steelnuts (now with $573, he's cleaning up).

SAKLJFEI. I have played against deafasl before. He's in every single hand. He bets almost every hand. He's down $100 in 15 hands. Even more amazing is that he's won $80 from me and is still down $100. top pair on the flop, he betgs all the way, I raise a couple of times nad then fall into check/call mode. He has AQ and catgches an ace on the river. I flop 2nd pair and just clal him down after he checks the flop and re-raises my bet. He has KK. Against anyone else at the table? Betting all the way and showing down 47o for bottom pair on the flop.

I have $80 after 66 hands.

Hand #69: I raise in the cutoff with pocket 6s, only deafASL calls. only one overcard, I bet the flop and turn, a second overcard hits the river, I bet and deafasl folds. I am back up to $103.

DeafASL leaves the table, and I am sad, because he gave all his money away, took some of mine, and left.

Hand #74: I limp with 89 suited, have to call a raise from armybarbie, and see a 3-way flop with steelnuts and armybarbie. Flop contains two of my suit. The flop gets checked all the way around. On the turn, I make my flush, the board is jack high. I bet, army raises me, I re-raise and army caps. The turn is another jack. Now I fear two things. army had trips and just boated up, or has a higher flush. Perhaps I should have bet here, but we just check it down. Army slowplayed kings and got caught. I take down $105.

Hand #75: free flop with j4, I catch 2nd pair and give about $20 to steelnuts, he is begging me to believe he has top pair but I of course don't. This guy plays veru straightforward. Believe his bets. I sit at $136 after this.

we are now 6 handed as two more have joined. New lineup:

radii, armybarbie, unclerico, rodeo2, papawilander, steelnuts.

Hand #80: I get a free flop with Q2 suited, and flop top pair. I bet out and get heads up with rodeo2. I bet the turn, and check/call the river when rodeo bets out. His Q5 outkicks me (how often do 2 and 5 kickers come into play here? Bleh). I am back down to $108.

Hand #87: I take a small pot raising out of the SB with AJo and betting the flop, $112.50.

Hand #89: I call a raise from steelnuts with AJo, so do two others. I fold to a flop bet with that many people still in, my overcards aren't enough for me here.

Over the next 20 hands I have jacks full of 3s that get zero action, and pocket queens that lose a $100 pot to AQ, the ace doesn't hit until the river. Antoher loss on a straight/flush draw and I have had it for the night, the cards just hate me right now.

NET: -$175

QuikSand

05-12-2004, 11:07 AM

Radii

05-12-2004, 01:27 PM

Inspired by your writing here, I have switched gears and have started playing the $5/$10 6-seat game at Party Poker for a change of pace. Very wild swings up and down, but I'm getting a better feel for it even after just a couple of sittings.

The swings can be pretty astounding. One of the toughest things for me to flesh out is that there are some tables where the proper strategy is to push-push-push with any hand you like, whether it hits or not, because you'll be heads up on the flop and your opponent *will* fold if he doesn't hit, and will tell you he hit whenever he does.

At some tables I get eaten alive with that strategy, and I end up playing as tightly as I would at a 10 man table(with success), knowing I must have the best hand to win and that a raise with A8 gets me nowhere.

Nothing hurts my ego more than betting like crazy on 2nd pair or on ace-high trying to force someone out of a pot, only to get re-raised on the turn or river to find out that I've been betting my opponent's hand for him.

I'd love to hear your results after playing at these tables for a bit, how the play fits in with your style and how you adjusted to the different conditions found here.

I should get back to writing soon, I've been playing but haven't been writing up my play in the past few days. My fiancee is (ironically) going to be in Vegas for the weekend so I should have a wealth of time to spend at the online tables if I feel like i'm on my game.

Radii

05-12-2004, 08:26 PM

In the past few days, after going ahead by a bit, I decided to take a small foray into 10/20. There is no way in the world I can handle the swings there, but, a session here and there to see how I can do doesn't scare me. I have played 10/20 for a few hours and am up about $570 in 10 hours.

I join a table and sit down with $500. CHEX2, owtovdet, and DCW123 are my only opponents when I start out.

Hand #4: A mammoth, scary hand to start out the session. I have KK in the SB. folded to me, I raise. CHEX2 re-raises out of the BB, and I cap it. The flop sucks. A4J with two diamonds. I do have the king of diamonds. I bet, and CHEX raises. I think he has the ace, but I will call him down anyway. The turn? A king! I have trips. I bet, he raises, I re-raise, and CHEX calls me. The river is the 7, no flush out. I lose to AA or QT. I bet out, CHEX calls, and I turn over my trip kings for the win. CHEX voluntarily shows his AQ suited, a very very strong hand as well. My pot? $278, I am up $130 4 hands in. Whew.

We move up to 6 handed pretty quickly. CHEX2, owtovdet, DCV123, CWCTN, and montecenere in order to my left. CWCTN looks familier, I pull up tracker, but by the time I look, he's busted out the $150 he put ont he table. (He is a terrible player, sees almost every single flop, never raises pre-flop and is more than willing to cold-call with pretty much anything.

alz021 joins in his place.

Hand #15: I have T8o in the BB. folded around, montecenere limps to me. I check. I flop an inside straight draw, and we check it down. I make my straight on the turn, and I bet and he calls. He bets into the river, and I don't have the nuts, KT would beat me, but I of course raise, get called, and I take down the pot. I am up to $666.

Hand #18: I raise with A9 suited in the cutoff, getting two callers. One is giando, a new player in his first BB. Flop comes K85, with two diamonds(my suit). Giando bets out, I raise, and he calls. he checks to me on the turn, and I bet, he calls. We check down the river when I miss my flush, and his K2o takes the pot with kings.

Hand #20: I limp UTG with JTs, get raised and call. I fold to a flop bet that has a king and two random junk cards. I have $571 after these two hands.

CHEX is gone, busted out. He got down to $1.50, didn't reload and caught pocket kings, went all in, hit a full house that would have beaten a flush, he could have won a $400 pot. Instead, he takes down $4.50. He busts out next hand.

mdlandau joins to my left.

Hand #25: The cards are good to me again, KK in the BB. 4 limpers to me, I raise it up, and of course all four call. And of course, there's an ace on the flop. All four call when I bet. No way I'm best here. I check/fold the turn, one of the first times I've folded KK with such little in losses. Two people show down single aces that would beat my kings. I am back to $526.

Hand #33: The pocket pairs keep rollilngo n. JJ on the button, 2 limpers to me, I raise, and get 3 callers. Flop comes 744. giando bets out, and I raise. giando just calls. The turn brings a queen, river an 8. I bet all the way, he calls me down and my pocket jacks beat his pocket 9s, I take down $203 and have $634 on the table.

Hand #41: i get to limp with 57 suited in the cutoff 5 way. The flop gives me 2nd pair, but I'm just not interested in taking on the world with that. we check it around and a queen hits the turn, I fold to a bet.

Hand #43: I have 97o in the BB. a free flop 3-way brings 745, I have top pair! I bet out and both call. I bet into the queen on the turn and take the $78 pot, back to $642.

We are 4 handed now. giando, alz021, and montecenere. In my estimation giando is the best player of the three. He is certainly the most agressive.

Back to 6 handed almost immediately. mdlandau comes back from sitting out, jschmoe joins, and then giando, alz021, and montecenere in that order.

Hand #48: we have a family pot, I limped with QJo in the SB. The flop comes KKT. I have the straight draw but the board is paired. I call a bet on the flop, I miss, and the turn is giving me 5:1 pot odds when its my turn to call. I go ahead and make the call, a 3rd king hits the river and I fold.

Hand #50: I raise in the cutoff with ATo. giando cals. The flop comes 972, giando check/calls me. The turn brings a jack, and giando bets. I decide to save myself 2 BB and I fold. At $562.

Hand #54: I have AJs in the SB. I raise after only the button calls. The flop misses me king high, and I bet out, both call. I bet the 2 on the turn, but check the river. a pair of 8s takes it.

Wild agression doesn't work at this table. I need to raise my good hands pre-flop, but I can't make people fold afterwards. I'm getting called down by ace high, bottom pair, that kind of thing. The hand before that one, I got a free flop with 83o, flopped bottom pair, watched one person bet and two call on every street, only to see that my pair of 3s was good, AJ vs queen high and an inside straight draw.

Hand #58: A6 in the BB, free flop with montecenere and landau. I hit an ace, bet on the flop and get one caller, bet the turn and take the pot. The small win keeps me afloat at $520.

lyonsbill joins in giando's place, he brings a massive 5 BB to the table.

alz021 leaves and matt35120 joins in his place, ALSO with 5 BB.

Hand #65: I have A8 suited on the button. montecenere limps, as usual, I raise, jschmoe calls and montecenere calls. I bet into the 7-high flop. montecenere calls. I decide to check on the ten on the turn. He'll call me with bottom pair(maybe I should bet to find out, but I am not sure). The river brings my ace, and I bet and win the $123 pot.

Hand #66: A9 suited in the cutoff. I just limp, and we have 4 way action. The queen high flop gets checked around. The turn is an ace, lyonsbill bets, and I raise. no one calls, and I take down $98.

I am back to $645.

Hand #70: I have Q8 in the SB. I limp with 2 others and see a K88 flop. I bet into it and get one caller, mdlandau. He again calls on the turn, and I check the river, fearing now the kings or the flush that has come out. He bets, I call, and I see the awesome JTo. Nothing of any sort, called down.

Hand #71: A6 suited. I limp on the button with a bunch of others.. I flop an ace and decide I'll just call if there's no raises. landau bets out, EVERYONE calls. Turn a blank, landau bets everyone calls. The river is a king. landau checks, jschmoe bets, I am the only caller. He had K4o. I win a $208 pot.

Hand #72: I lose a little on 99. I raise pre-flop, the flop comes ten high, I bet the flop and turn, montecenere calls me, we check the river down and he has a 10.

Hand #73: A8o in the BB. lyonsbill raises pre-flop, and montecenere and I call. The flop comes AQJ. I check-raise lyonsbill to see what he'll do. He calls. The turn is a 6. I bet, lyons bill raises all-in($18 more) and montecenere and I both call. We check the river, lyons had pocket 6s and beat me on the turn.

After that 4 hand flurry I've shown a little gain up to $698(I maxxed out at $841 after hand #71 but the other two took about 7 BB out of me)

Hand #80: I have J5o in the BB and end up winning a boring pot from montecenere when a jack hits and I get one bet out of him.

Hand #81: A5s in the SB. I limp with montecere and landau. The flop comes K62, two hearts. I decide to call a bet with these two and see the turn. It's an ace, I bet out and both call. The river is a 5, giving me two pair, but also bringing the flush. I bet out, montecenere calls(he had KQ for a pair of kings) and I take down $158.

I drop back down just a touch on hands 82 and 83. I raise A6s on the button, then JTs in the cutoff, neither hit and I fall a bit, I now have $784 at the table.

After loading my hands into tracker, I see that montecenere sees a good 80% or more of all hands(I had figured that out of course). mdlandau is terribly passive, seeing abuot 50% of all flops, having never raised pre-flop a single time.

adn as (hopefully) luck would have it, I end up 3 handed against montecenere and mdlandau for a time, with $714 on the table starting with hand 98.

In my first BB I get a free flop and flop a queen high flush. I check/call hoping they'll build the pot a bit. a 4th heart hits the turn though, and I bet out, and both fold.

I lose one hand, the only one I seriously try to play, and fall to $672, when TheNutsS323 joins and we go 4 handed. Soon after chironomid joins and we're 5 handed.

Hand #109: 34o in the BB. landau and montecenere in it with me. Flop comes 833. I check, landau bets EVERY TIME he's the last to act and checked to him on the flop. We both call, but they fold to my turn bet.

Hand #110: AJo in the SB. I raise pre-lfop and landau and montecenere call. Flop is all undercards, I bet and only montecenere calls. Against just one of them I have the balls to keep pushing, when a queen hits the turn, but he calls again. The river is a jack, and I really don't fear a queen too terribly, I bet again, he calls on 78o, 2nd pair on the flop. I take down $158 and am back up to $778.

Hand #114: I have Q3s in the SB. Again I am surrounced by landau and montecenere. I flop top pair and bet the flop and turn. The river brings 4 to a straight, I check, montecenere bets and I decide to call. He shows 97, bottom pair on the flop and runner-runner'd the straight with the 9.

Soon after I see a cheap flop with T9 suited. I stay in until the turn and give it up, back down to $678 after the blinds and those two hands.

Hand #119: Free flop with A2. I hit an ace but the flop comes A77. I bet on the flop, everyone calls. I bet the turn(a king) and thenut raises me. I call but give it up ont eh turn.

Hand #120: OWOWOWOWOWOW. I raise pocket 9s. montecenere limp-reraises me.. I cap it and we are heads up. The flop comes K93, 3 clubs. I bet, he raises, I re-raise, and he calls. The turn is a blank, I bet and he calls. The river is a 4th club. I assume I'm beat but I call to see it. He shows me the 7 and 4 of clubs. If I had re-drawn to a full house I'd have been back up near. Instead I'm back to $500 as that was a $253 pot.

I win two quick hands against thenut to get back up to $589. montecenere leaves the table after that hand, and I end up leaving very soon after with $574. I can't complain about winning, but damn that flush at the end was a killer.

NET: +$74

After 11.88 hours and 1229 hands at 10/20 this week, I am showing a 2.66 BB/hr profit. If only that could/would continue indefinitely.

Like I said earlier, there is no way I have the bankroll to support this play long term(I have 175 BB as of right now for 10/20, enough for a temporary foray but not enough to sustain swings of any kind).

Radii

05-12-2004, 10:46 PM

I join a 5 man table, an empty seat to my left, followed by kp161, Zorin, tonya2376, and BASSSHELTON. These guys are all new to me. kappybw fills the spot to my left early on.

I win $9 in my opening BB with 7 high, limped to me from an EP player, we check it down, my 75o beats his 43s! I am up $9 on hand 1.

I open up pretty conservative, folding A5 and A7 in my first 5 hands.

Hand #6: I raise with 99 UTG+1. all 4 ppl behind me call. The flop comes AT7, and I give up on the hand.

Hand #9: I have AJ in the SB. the button limps, I raise pre-flop and get the BB and dealer to call. I bet on the ten high flop and take the $68 pot.

Zorin appears to be a tight/agressive player, pretty selective and I've seen him come out raising a couple of times now.

I get 5 crappy Ax hands in bad position in my first 15 hands and don't try to play any of them.

Hand #16: A3s on the button. the cutoff limps to me, I raise and get only the one caller, basshelton to my right. I flop bottom pair, QT3. Basshelton checkraises me, and I call. I decide to call him down for the information(and the chance of catching an ace). He has pocket 3s and hit a set. Good thing an ace never came. I am down to $422.

kp161 is an interesting character, he's gone 1 on 1 with zorin 3 times now, the board has gotten scary every time(3 9s on the flop once, 2 9s on the turn, and a pair + flush possible after the turn) and every time the board gets scary he goes nuts raising. He's induced two folds from zorin and once folded himself, we've yet to see what he's playing with.

we've also now seen him lose his shirt capping two pair on the river (QJ on a KQJxx board) to see AT kill him with a straight. He bets real hard when he's got something.

Hand #24: I raise early with A8s, only getting a call from the BB. I hit an ace, bet/fold, I take down $53 and am sitting at $425 now.

for those familier with pokertracker's agression factor, I can't wait to see Zorin's. I think maybe he's called 2 times in 25 hands. Bet/raise/fold with every other action. He appears to take "raise or fold, never clal" to the extreme, which makes him tough to play against.

Hand #30: I am dealt the solution to all problems, AA. I raise UTG, and both blinds call me. I bet every round, getting tonya2376 to call me all the way down in a jack-high total ragged board. tonya had pocket 7s, and I take down $158 and am back to $498 with the blinds ready to hit me.

I go through the blinds a few times, fall to $458, and leave the table. 3 tight/agressive opponents, that is just not the table to make money at. I try another table.

NET: -$42

Radii

05-13-2004, 07:21 AM

I try again, sitting down at a full table. PIMPBOY, JoeBlob, mavenjohnson, StrykeOne and Gregg69 at the table in order to my left.

How could I not want to play with PIMPBOY and gregg69?

I have exactly 1 hand in tracker for mavenjohnson. He lost $20 on it.

Hand #1: I get ATo in the BB, I check along with 3 limpers. The flop comes 982, and we check it around. The turn is an ace, I bet and only PIMPBOY calls. The river pairs the 9 on the board, I bet and he calls. I beat his A4 for the $118 pot, starting me off up a little quickly.

pimpboy played A3o to the river with an inside straight draw on hand 2(256 flop, 6 turn) winning with an ace on the river.

gregg, pimp and maven have been in all of the first 3 hands each. Maven wouldn't bet/raise with top pair while gregg69 agresively played 2nd pair inot him, catching 3 of a kind on the river. That usually gives me a lot of hints about both players(maven isn't gonig to take a lot of money off me without a well-hidden monster, while gregg might be decent).

two leave, two join. New lineup:

pimpboy, scottdvs, maven, merlin_578, gregg.

hand 4 I'm the only one that doesn't see the flop, 3 people stay in all the way. pimpboy had another weak ace.

Hand #6: I hate this hand. I have pocket 10s in the big blind. I check, and bet into the Q62 flop with pimpboy and maven in the flop with me. I bet when the board pairs twos on the turn. pimpboy raises. Many people will bluff there, and I decide to call him down. He was not bluffing, K2s UTG. I am down to $478. I didn't play this well. I should have raised pre-flop to find out who had the ability to fold, and to find out how tied pimpboy would get to a pair of 2s in the face of my obviously good hand and my agression.

BASSHELTON has joined this table. He was the weakest of the tight/agressive players at my last table.

Hand #11: Free flop heads up against maven with 93o. Flop comes K94, I bet out, maven raises and I call, folding to another overcard to my 9 on the turn. Just too many ways to be beaten to pay 2 more BBs.

Very next hand maven flopped bottom pair and just check/called it down against someone else. I think his play is pretty straightforward, and way too loose.

Hand #16: I have Q8o in the big blind. 4 people see the flop counting me, and it comes A98. We all check it around, bottom pair early isn't enough for me. With the turn though, I've got enough, a queen gives me two pair. Gregg69 bets out, I raise, everyone else folds and he calls A low card on the river, gregg check/calls me and I take down the nice $158 pot. gregg had A2, top pair worst kicker.

That puts me at $521 after the SB in the next hand.

rock1974 joins for 3 hands, wins $110, says "thanks guys" and leaves. He didn't get any of it from me.

frgtabit joins where rock just left.

Hand #27: 43 in the big blind. 5 people see the flop, K83. No one bets the flop, and we get a free turn. It's another 3. gregg bets out as the 1st to act. I call, hoping to get some callers behind me. No one calls. Gregg bets the river, which made a flush and a straight possible, I wuss out and just call, beating his Q8, 2nd pair on the flop for a $128 pot. After the blinds pass me I am at $583.

Hand #30: AKo in the cutoff. two limp to me, I raise and maven calls from the BB, and both limpers call. Flop comes QT5, all hearts... I bet when checked to me, everyone calls. The turn is a king, but, it's the 4th heart. I have no heart. I fold to a bet, and see the 8 of hearts win the pot.

Hand #33: I keep flopping mediocre hands with my crappy big blinds. 74s, 5 way action, flop is Q43. I fold though after we check it around(5 way action keeps getting checked around on the flop... should I bet betting this? no way?).. anyway, checked around and a ten comes out, a bet and I fold.

Hand #36: I raise KJo in the cutoff, and get both blinds calling me. I bet into the ragged flop(722), maven raises, I re-raise and he caps. The turn helps none and I fold to a bet. He is nice enough to show me that he was playing 26o. I am down to $488.

Hand #40: AQo in the small blind. there's a limp/raise/cold-call before me. This is going to be 4 or 5 way. Do I want to cold-call with AQo 4 or 5 way? re-raise? I don'g really like either of those options. I fold. Flop comes KQT, another K on the turn and frgtabit wins it on the turn. I think I likely saved myself some bets.

a couple of bad rivers leads to a "river rat. No skill losers" conversation, etc etc. BASSSHELTON complains even though the one time he starting shouting bullshit, he was behind all the time. Hilarious.

Hand #49: I raise AQo UTG. maven and frgtabit call. Flop is good, Q55, Ib et, maven calls. I bet the turn and river and get calls there too. Maven had 77, and had been raising so hard whenever he had a hand, I was quite sure I was best there. the pot puts me back up to $531.

Despite just typing this out, I pull a very dumb move. A7 in the SB, I limp, catch 7 as middle pair. I bet, maven raises me(Q72 flop), and I call, I decide to call him down, despite every indicatino for the last half hour that he only makes that kind of strong play on top pair or better. He of course, had top pair. Right back to $466, and I feel like an idiot.

frgtabit catches a lucky set on the river to beat someone, BASSSHELTON complains "god, thsi is so unrealistic." I have visions of Front Office Poker, with the detractors talking about how it's never this way "in real life" I ask him why he chooses to put os much money at stake in an unrealistic poker simulation, he doesn't answer.

In the mean time I blind down to $451.

Hand #58: I catch AA in the cutoff. frgtabit limps, I raise, both blinds and frgitbtitiasjlf call. J72, two clubs on the flop. frgtabit bets, I raise, he calls, no one else does. Turn is a rag, I bet he calls, river is a jack, he bets, I call and he flips over KJ to river my aces. HEy, all the talk was right! I am down to $371.

Hand #67: after seeing maven raise the last hand with J7o, I make a pretty weak cold-call of his raise this hand, I have JTo in the SB. pimpboy also calls. The flop comes K79, giving me the double bellybuster draw, an 8 or a Q gives me the straight. maven bets, we all call. On the turn, I catch a jack, and pimpboy bets and we all call. The river hits the straight, an 8, but it also completes a runner-runner flush. I lead out betting, and both call. Maven shows TT and we split pimpboys money. the win nets me about $45 and puts me back up to $377 after a long cold spell.

Hand #71: I have A5 in the BB, maven and frgtabit limp. I bet the Q52 flop, maven calls. The turn gives me a solid 2 pair with an ace. I bet and maven had check/fold clicked. I am back up to $400.

Hand #75: I raise after a limp from frgtabit with AK suited. pimpboy raises behind me, and maven and frgtabit are both in. I cap it. I hate the flop, 834 all hearts. I bet out, pimpboy raises, and I fold when maven also calls. pimpboy ends up winning with TT. I am back to $340 on that one.

Hand #94: I've limped with some trash but haven't played much... blinded down to about $240. I get 78 suited in the BB, folded to vostok, a new player to my right. He raises, I call him. The flop is great for me. Q56, two clubs. vostok bets, I raise, and he calls. The turn is the 4 of clubs, I've got the flush(and the straight, but anyway). I bet, he calls. The river is an unfortunate 4th club. I make a mistake by betting when I could have checked it down. vostok raises and shows me the ace of clubs. I get rivered in a bad way and am down to $140.

I get back to $187 hitting an ace with AJo, and we go four handed for a bit.

Not much to say, I blind out a bit and lose one more hand and end up leaving with $77. Ouch, not a good night at all.

NET: -$423

This is from last night, not this morning.

Radii

05-13-2004, 08:05 AM

I join a 4 handed table for a little play in the morning.

Mr_Zeldar, shrksfan, and trictrac to my left.

Hand #1: shrksfan raises on the button, I call with A7 as does trictrac. Flop coems 874. I bet out, shrksfan raises, trictrac folds and I call. The turn and river both bring overcards, I check/call the turn and check the river. He shows A6 and I take the pot with my sevens.

Hand #2: I picke up KK on my 2nd hand. I raise and only shrksfan calls. Flop comes jack high, J86. I bet, shrksfan raises, I re-raise and he just calls. The turn is a blank, I bet and he calls. The river is an ace. I bet, he raises, and I call, and he turns over A6 to crush my kings. I am down about $40 now.

Hand #4: A8s early, I raise and trictrac re-raises. I just call. Teh flop brings an 8, but its 2nd pair. I call trictrac down and see his pocket kings, dang.

Hand #6: AKs in the big blind. I raise and get heads up with shrksfan. Long story short here b/c this is flying by. I hit a pair of kings on the flop, bet out and shrksfan calls me down, catching runner runner club-flush with his 46s to beat me down.

Hand #9: I raise with AQs early. a late position player raises and I call. The flop is bad for me, I end up folding to a bet and raise behidn me(which ended up being AA)

By hand #20 I've played in 10 hands, raising about half of them with great starters like the above, and have only won two(I backed into a straight checking it down w/ QJo.. ace flop runner runner King/ten). I am sitting at $219, down about 14 BB in about 11 minutes. That's what happens when good cards go bad real fast.

At some point in here we go 6 handed, adding tomoyasu and faderen to the ends of hte table.

Hand #39: The cards go to crap, which gives me a nice break, though I would have loved a run of aces to get me back ahead. Here I get K9 suited on the button. Folded to me, I raise and MR_Zeldar plays back at me. I call. I flop a 9, and bet, he raises, I re-raise and he folds.

Hand #41: I have pocket kings UTG. I raise, and tomoyasu re-raises me. faderen calls behind and I cap it. The flop sucks. AJ4. I bet, tomoyasu calls and faderen folds. I bet into the turn and the river, seeing all my money disappearing before my eyes, but nope! tomoyasu has QQ. My KK takes down $223.

Hand #42: I get a free flop against Zeldar with J4, flop comes AQx diamonds, I have the jack of diamonds. I act first and bet out, zeldar folds and this little flurry gets me back up to $354.

Hand #45: This will either make me or break me. I have aces in the cutoff. I raise, and FOUR call me. Flop comes 553. faderen bets out before me, I raise and trictrac cold calls/faderen calls. I bet the 6 on the turn(checked to me), and the 9 on the river. fadeern calls me down. He had A4, crap on the flop, turned an open-ended straight draw, and the odds went my way.

45 hands, a 20 hand drop from $500 to about $180 followed by a 6 hand climb back to $512. Amazing.

Hand #54: I have ATo in the BB. faderen raises out of the SB(folded to him) and I just call. The flop comes 97x, he bets and I call. The turn is a ten, he bets, I raise and he calls. The river is an 8, putting 4 to the straight on the board. He checks, and I'm not willing to risk the check-raise if he had J7 or some crap. I check. He had A7, my ten on the turn wins a $138 pot for me and puts me at $560.

Hand #64: I win a couple of rounds of blinds back when I limip in the SB with Q2 suited, flop a queen, bet out and take a small $38 pot from zeldar and shrksfan

Hand #71: Really I should be ahead by a ton with these starting hands. I get AA again, raising it UTG, watching the entire table fold to me. Bah!

Hand #75: KJs in the cutoff. one limps to me(a new player, diflo), and I raise, I buy the button and get heads up with diflo. I flop a king, bet and diflo folds, I take down the pot and am up to $577.

At almost exactly 9am, I get a sign from the poker gods to go to work(and to quit while I'm a bit ahead, perhaps?). Party pretty much crashes and I leave with $567.

NET: +$67

I had such amazing cards, there are days where those cards are a $500 win in 75 hands. After that start, however, I am quite pleased to have pulled out a $67 gain today.

Radii

05-13-2004, 09:00 AM

test, bump? Two updates and I can read them but they don't register.

hoopsguy

05-13-2004, 09:43 AM

Can read them here. Have enjoyed following your dynasty. I don't play enough limit, so this is an interesting read for me.

AnalBumCover

05-20-2004, 05:20 PM

Whew. Took me a while, but I finally caught up reading this dynasty. Great stuff Radii!

Been a while since your last post though. Taking a break?

Radii

05-20-2004, 06:00 PM

yeah, I got my ass handed to me over a about 8 straight sessions(including the one I posted in the general board about losing a buyin in about 20 minutes), and took about 5 days off. I am switching back down in limits a ways, and am currently working on a ultimate bet bonus. Once I'm more comfortable with the site(first time I've played there) I plan on writing up whatever kind of play I settle in on. Right now it's $1/$2 6 man tables.

RPI-Fan

05-20-2004, 09:58 PM

I've had a lot of swings in poker lately...

First weekend back at my regular live game, I win $47 ($25 NL cash game with usually ~6-7 people). Next weekend, I lose $46 at the same game. The next day I lose $160 in maybe 90 minutes playing $3/6 at Turning Stone. I don't really know how that happened - I didn't play poorly - I only really dumped money into two hands (QQ with rainbow undercards on the flop where a flush rivered me in the end and Q2d where I turned a flush and my 2nd-best hand lost to the nuts). It just all happened so fast - I'm not really upset with what happened; it was just not my day. That same day, I won $40 playing Roulette for nearly an hour - so clearly it wasn't just bad luck I was having. Then tonight, I go to my normal cash game, and win fucking $76. I have no idea what to think of my play right now.

Chappy

05-21-2004, 06:37 AM

Right now it's $1/$2 6 man tables.

That explains where all my money is going. :)

Radii

05-22-2004, 05:52 PM

I have been working towards a bonus on ultimatebet.com. I'm over halfway there now. They double your bonus points if you start a new table, so I find blank 6 man tables, sit down an wait for an opponent.

Today I'm at a 2/4 table. After a short while, kjo1333 jonis and we go heads up. He seems a terribly straight forward player early on. I lose AT vs his J2 when I flop middle pair and he flops two pair. That takes a decent chunk out of me and I have $80 (out of my original $100) after some back and forth.

Scratch that, I ahve $66, after kjo rivers a flush against my top pair.

After 17 hands we end up 3 handed, CalvinsAKQJ10 joins, I'm taking a bad beating though, my solid A-high hands are not hitting or losing to rivered flushes.

20 hands in we are four handed.

Hand #20: I have AK suited UTG, I raise and only kjo calls. The flop c omes QJ5 and he bets out. I have yet to see him bluff... I call his flop bet but fold on the turn when I get no help. This is a serious beating, down $50 after 20 hands.

25 hands in, we're 5 handed.

CalvinsAKQJ10, kb78, kjo1333, empty seat, and Kyman in order.

Hand #25: I get AQo, and just check in my BB. I flop two pair, bet out and its folded to me.

Hand #26: kb78 raises, I call with QJs in the SB, but fold on a flop bet that just gives me an inside straight. kb had A9o.

Hand #29: AKo UTG, I raise and get 3 callers. The flop comes J49, all hearts(I have no heart). I throw out a single bet to see if I can take the pot, Kyman calls. The turn makes a 4-flush. We both check. The river puts a flush on the board. We both check again and split a $19 pot, $9.50 for me. I'm holding steady at $50.

Nixons Twin joins in the empty seat, 6 handed 33 hands in.

Hand #35: UTG again, with AQo this time. I raise and only Kyman calls me. Flop comes 678, I bet, he calls. The turn brings a king, and I go ahead and fold when he bets.

Hand #48: I finally have a playable hand, QJs, and I get a free flop with it along wit kj and kyman. Flop comes TT4, two clubs(no clubs in my hand). We check, turn is the ace of clubs, and I'm out to a bet. I'm down to $33, bleeding out after an early beating and now a cold run of starting cards.

Some changes. To my left: Empty seat, ChuckLuck76, kjo1333, Nixons Twin, and kyman.

kyman and kjo limp into virtually every pot if its unraised. Nixons is agressive when he's got good cards, and I'd love to get good enough cards to punish these guys. kjo is calling down ace high pretty consistantly, nixons tearing him up w/ 2nd pair, things like that.

mudcat18 joins to my left. mudcat's opening play, calling a raise w/ 63o, satying in on an inside straight draw, seems a bit questionable. His second play of limping 56o seems questionable too. Course, he's up $33 after those two hands, so hey, how bad can it be?

My cards have totally gone to crap. I haven't played a hand outside my big blind since hand 35, 22 hands ago.

mudcat just isn't folding pre-flop, T7s pre-flop for a raise? no problem. He's catching like a madman though, flushes on the river to beat a higher pocket pair.

Hand #60: I limp with 9To in the SB, with 3 opponents. Flop comes JT4. I bet out, and get heads up with ChuckLuck. Turn brings an 8, open straight draw for me, I bet, he calls. I check/call the river(a king) and lose to JT, flopped two pair, and I am now down to $16, down about 21 BB.

Hand #66: I catch AA in the SB. Nixons raises pre-flop, I re-raise, he calls. Flop comes king high. I bet out, he calls. The turn is a non-scare card, I bet, he raises me all in, and I call, of course. Nixons had KQ and I double up to $29. I let myself fall a bit short there, I need to keep more on the table than $15, that is a big mistake on my part. Always have enough money that you can come out firing and win big when you have the nuts.

Nixons and Kayman leave the game. lineup is: monarchos1, ChuckLuck, kjo1333, and flyfisherak, and an empty seat.

I flop top two pair with A9 from the big blind but get no action, $28.75.

Timglas joins in the empty seat.

flyfisherak opens up pretty agressively, but hasn't shown down anything, so who knows if he has a hand or not.

monarchos goes nuts capping bottom full house on a board that has two pair. Top full house gladly caps with him and monarchose is down to ~$12.

Hand #79: I have KJo in the SB. folded to me, I raise, monarchos re-raises and i call. Flop is all low cards, and I decide to call him down(He only has $6 left at this point anyway), he has pocket 8s and I never catch my pair. I fall back down to $16.

Hand #81: I raise pre-flop with ATo and flyfisherAK calls. I take a small pot when I flop an ace and he folds.

I buy back up to $100.

I lose a few blinds and fall down to $92 by hand #100

Hand #100: KJo in the cutoff. I raise pre-flop(I've been so tight, will I get respect?) Q86 flop, kjo is my only caller. I have position. I bet, he calls. The turn is a blank, so is the river, and we check it down. I see his 37s, my king high takes $13.50 and I'm back up to $99

If thee is a positive to this session its that I'm working off my bonus money like crazy, the pots between everyone else is getting larger and larger.

Hand #106: Reading people and paying attention pays off: I have QQ. I raise, only kjo calls me. Flop comes AA4. I bet, he calls all the way down, and I take down $27.75 with my solid hand.

Hand #107: 55 UTG+1. I raise and get two callers. I fold to a lot of overcards and a bet on the flop.

Hand #108: AJo UTG. I raise, both blinds call me. The flop comes down ten high, and I call a bet from flyfisherak. A blank on the turn, and we check, and I fold to a river bet.

Back to $95 after that nice win followed by two quick losses.

Hand #116: I have A7s on the button. A couple of limpers before me and I also limp. Chuck raises behind, the entire table is in. Flop comes KQ5, two spades. I easily have the odds to chase the flush, and call flop and turn bets. Chuck ends up all in and there is no river bet. The flush never hits but I hit a pair of 7s on the river. Chuck's pocket 9s take a $38 pot and I'm down to $80.

Hand #120: A4s in the BB. I check when timglas(SB) limps into me, bet the ace on the flop and take down $4.

Hand #121: Pocket 7s. I raise out of the SB and monarchos(BB) and kjo(limper) call Flop has one overcard, I bet, and both call. Turn pairs the overcard, I bet and only monarchos calls. The river is an ace. I check/call, monarchos had J5, trip jacks. I am down to $66 after dropping $14 on that hand.

Hand #128: I have QTs on the button, and raise it. monnarchos and chuckluck both call me. The flop is almost perfect, AJx, all my suit, I flop a flush. Chuckluck comes out betting, and I just call on the flop. I raise him on the turn, and monarchose is still in. I bet the river, he calls and I take down $44.50, back to $90, nice to get a solid win on that one.

Hand #135: Can AA hold up again? I raise, buy the button, and get two callers. I flop an ace, a totally non scary board. The turn pairs bottom pair on the board after I bet and get one caller, I only lose to presto at this point(A855 on the board), I bet and melech folds, I take down $17.25. A good case to slowplay there, perhaps I should have.

New lineup, btw:

monarchos, Chuckluck, melech, flyfisherak, and timglas.

I have 78s in the BB, limped to me, melech and timglas in so far. I check. Flop comes AKx, two clubs. I call a bet. The turn is a blank, and its checked around. I hit my flush on the river, timglas bets, I raise, he calls and I take the pot.

I am back to $110 at this point.

Hand #141: presto UTG. I raise and chuckluck and timglas call. I bet into the flop of A83, chuck is gone but timglas is still in. I keep control with a turn bet when a 4 comes down, and the river is checked. timglas called the turn bet with a pair of 4s. Presto wins(presto is 55 btw).

I am back up to $124 with that win.

I drop two hands against a short stacked timglas

Hand #150: I raise on the button with KJs and get 3 callers. Flop comes Kxx. I bet, new player Clodius re-raises, and I decide to call him down. He has KQ to outkick me. I am back to $96.75 losing that $38 pot.

Hand #153: K9s in the small blind. 2 others in the pot after I limp. I bet the flop, which has two of my suit. OR DOES IT. Turn is the two of clubs, third of my suit, and I realize that sometimes I have to double-take at the black suits to tell the difference between spades and clubs. There was only one club on the flop, one spade. Oops. I bet out anyway and take the pot. Back up to $103.

First time I have made that mistake.

4 handed around hand #165: clodius, akdadof2, and melech, followed by two emtpy seats.

Hand #165: I limp on the button with J9 suited. Flop comes QT2 rainbow. With three opponents I have the odds ont he flop for a call. I don't on the turn, but I make it anyway. Implied odds probably made it close. $14 in the pot, $4 for me to call. Ok maybe not. 3.5:1 when i'm about 5:1 is a bad call. My mistake.

MickYank777 joins the table. I'm down to $84.25 again.

Hand #177: Down to $78, I get AQo in the BB. MickYank raises out of the SB, I re-raise and he calls. The flop is all around me, KT9, but it missed. I bet out and he folds. Back to $85 with that small win.

TIM I joins to my right and we are full again.

Hand #183: I get a free flop with J8s. I end up getting raised on the flop by MickYank when J53 flops. I call him down to see J9, outkicking me for the pot.

Hand #185: JJ on the button. TIM raises before me, and I re-raise. The flop comes AQx, and I decide to fold to a bet here. I am down to $66 again.

Hand #187: 88 UTG + 1. I raise, both blinds call me. The flop comes King high, and I bet into it. I bet into the 9 on the turn, only Melech left, and we check the river. I beat his A8 for a $23 pot and am back to $80.

Hand #195: AQo on the button. I raise and MickYank limp/calls me. Flop comes down AKx. I bet and he calls. Turn is a jack. I bet, he raises, and I callh im down. He has KJ and hit two pair. I am down to $60. Just not going well at all.

Hand #199: AQo again on the button. I win with a raise this time pre-flop. $63.75!

We're 4 handed right now, Clodius, Dakota Jack, MickYank77.

Hand #202: KTs in the SB. I limp, flop top two pair, and both my opponents fold to my bet. $65.50! Clawing my way back.

akdadof2 is bac, he had been sittingout.

We go 4 handed again. akdadof2, dakota jack, and mickyank77.

A small win with a pair of aces puts me back up over $60 after getting blinded out for awhile.

Hand #222: I raise pre-flop with A7 suited. Only dakota calls. He is in a large number of pots. Flop comes 984, Dakota bets, I raise, and he calls. The turn is a king, I bet and he calls again. We check the river, ad I lose to his 34s, flopped bottom pair.

That hand knocks me down to $40 or so. I get back up to $70 with a couple of nice wins over MickYank, 2nd pair short handed, and a hand where I raise pre-flop with an ace and hit it and get called a bit.

Back to 6 handed now, lineup in a sec.

Hand #230: I have AKs and raise pre-flop. akdadof2 re-raises and I cap it. Flop comes KJ4. He bets, I raise, he re-raises and I just clal. From that point forward I just call him down, and see his JJ, he takes a large pot off of me and I am down to $45 after losing the $43 pot.

Full table again: pttrpro, akdadof2, dakotajack, mickyank77, and evildrummer.

I lose one last huge hand here. I have T8s in the SB and its folded ot me. I raise and pttrpro calls. The flop comes T87. I bet, he calls. Turn is a blank but puts the flush out. I bet, he calls. River is the 4th heart. I bet, he raises, I call and I lose to A9, one heart. I get crushed again and am down to $14.50.

Bah.

I leave the table, I never felt my play went to shit, so I wasn't disappointed to stay, and I always felt I was better than my opponents, but, I was pushing at the wrong time and watching the worst possible cards hit all day.

NET: -$160

The one positive is that I worked off about half of my remaining bonus. The negative, of course, is that I am now up at ultimate bet less than my bonus :P I deposited $500 for a $100 bonus. I have released $79 of that bonus so far, and am up $66.75 at the site, basically breaking even and picking up the bonus.

That's it for today, but I am trying my hardest to work of this bonus ASAP b/c party has a random bonus good until about Wednseday if I can get this money out and moved back over soon enough.

Radii

05-22-2004, 05:54 PM

test

Radii

05-22-2004, 05:55 PM

Strange. I couldn't see page 2 until just now when I posted my test update.

Thanks for reading chappy :) I assure you I've been back and forth lately, as shown by my losses today on UB,making me even basically there while grinding out my bonus.

Radii

05-23-2004, 12:14 PM

I start out at a 2/4 table headsw up against ubet713 at a $2/$4 table.

I need 160 "ultimate points" to finish earning my bonus here. I'm also essentially even at this site(I'm ahead by the amount of the bonus I've earned), and would love to finish with a profit at this site.

ubet713 limps every hand, he'll call my raises sometimes too.

One big hand, I have 77 preflop and raise, ubet re-raises and I cap it. Flop has a king, I bet, he raises and I call him down from there. He was bluffing w/ queen high and I take down a nice pot.

a couple of bad hands drop me way down. His AT vs my , he catches two pair, and I bet an open-ended straight draw after he already had a made straight.

UGH, my top pair just got beat by ubet's runner runner flush after I bet it all the way, I am down to $47 and getting beat pretty hard here.

I push back over $50 w/ trip 8s, but this guy is rock like, absolutely is not calling without some sort of hand. I catch a couple of lucky hands(runner runner types) to push back ahead of $60. I miss out on a $26 pot, ubet pushes AKs after my Q7 hit top pair, the board makes a straight and my pair is worthless.

a 3rd person finally joins, floptdanutz is to my left. I have $68.

ubet has been so passive, it'll be interesting with a 3rd person here now.

I take a $19.50 pot slowplaying trip 3s against ubet, but give it right back to floptdanuts after I flop an open ended straight flush draw that doesn't hit.

Soon after I catch floptdanutz, I hit top pair on the turn w/ QT, so did he, with a weaker kicker, and he raised me when I bet. I get back to $89 with that win.

We jump quickly to 6 handed, here's the table:

floptdanutz, shnovel, ubet713, Bri5150, and Lazy Jim. I have $88, and we are 72 hands in.

Hand #79: I have 79s in the SB and limp along with the entire table. I bet into the 752 flop and get 3 callers. A ten hits the turn and i decide between the overcard, my kicker, and 3 opponents, that i have no interest in this pot. ubet713 caught the tens(another ten on the river) to win it with QT.

I have $80 after 80 hands.

Hand #82: I raise pre-flop with A7s, the flop sucks, king high with none of my suit ?I bet the flop, check the turn/river w/ one caller, and see pocket 5s to lose the pot.

Hand #83: A\K suited UTG. I raise and only Bri5150 calls(the pocket 5s guy) I push push push into the crap on the board and am rewarded with a king on the river, winning a $28 pot and putting me back to $87.

Hand #89: I make a loosae limp with 47s in the SB. 2 opponents. Flop comes 46K and we check it around. I bet the turn, another 4, and iwn a small pot, back to $87.50.

Hand #93: AK suited in the small blind. I raise pre-flop and get two callers. I bet into the 557 flop and both call. I bet the turn(another 7) and fold when I get raised.

Hand #96: I have pocket 7s in the big blind. belizejules(SB) limps to me, and I raise to take contorl of this one. He calls and folds when I bet the flop.

Hand #97: pocket 10s, belizejules raises, I re-raise behind him and we are heads up. He check/calls me on the flop(9 high) and turn (another low card) and bets out when the ace hits the river. I go ahead and call, and he has A2, flopped bottom pair, rivered top pair. I am down to $66 with that loss.

Hand #99: I have AQo in the BB. I just check with two limpers. Flop comes QJ4, I call a bet, then raise the turn when another blank comes. My slowplay pays off this time, I take the $30+ pot and am back up to $84.

Hand #105: I limp in the BB with A7o with 3 others. I bet into the T74 flop and all call. The turn is a 2 and I bet out again. Only belize calls. I check the 9 on the river, he checks and my middle pair on the flop takes down $23. I am back to $95, almost back to where I started.

The table is full again: BigAl1021, 54Woody, ubet713, Bri5150, and belizejules in order. I have $93.75.

Hand #110: I have A8o and limp in the SB. This looks familier, Q84 flop, middle pair. I bet, bigal and bri5150 call. The turn makes it easy, an ace. I bet, only bri calls. I bet the blank on the river and bri calls. The $26.75 pot puts me up to $108, up 2 BB on the session!

Hand #127: After taking a break to make lunch and blinding down a bit to under $100. I get AJo here in the SB, with a new player posting out of turn. I raise from the SB and new guy(Willys52) and Doormat825(a limper) call. Flop comes AQx. I bet and both call. Both again call my turn bet. The river is a king, , I bet and get called again by both. I beat A2 and KJ(inside straight on the flop) to win a big pot and push up to $133.

Hand #129: I raise and push a little bith with KQo heads up vs Bigal. I never hit anything and he beats me iwth Q5.

Hand #137: I check my big blind with AJs with 4 others in the pot. I bet when I flop top pair with the jack, and get two callers. The turn is an overcard, a queen, I bet and bigal folds, leaving me heads up with willys52, who calls. The river is a blank, I bet and he folds and the $22 pot pushes me up to $134.

I sit out a couple more hands, and we're 4 handed when 'i come back. Bigal, doormat825, and belizejules. b elize only has $3 left and goes all in on the first hand back though.

belize rebuys for $16.75.

I win a $23 pot with A6o, raising on the button, betting a crappy flop, checking the turn and catching my ace on the river to get up to $145.

Oh, bad hand. #148: I have QJs in the SB. belize raises, and I have no respect fo rhim at all.. I call. Flop comes KQ4. I bet, belize calls. Turn is an 8, I bet, he raises, I call. I call him on the river and he shows pcoket 8s for the set. Back down to $122.

Hand #154: KT in the big blind, free flop. AQJ, bingo! there were two callers and 2 spades on the flop. I get one caller on the flop but folds on the turn, and I take down $10.

I have to head out, engagement pictures today, but I'm almost done with my bonus, hopefully I can finish it up tonight before bed and get this money back over to party/empire for more free money.

NET: +$32

That's enough to put me ahead at ultimate bet while earning my bonus, by a whole $27 (+ my bonus of $100, so no complaints here).

Radii

05-23-2004, 09:43 PM

I start a $2/$4 table to finish up my bonus. Hutchy Kid joins, first hand I have Q9 suited vs his A7 suited. Top pair on the flop, he hits bottom pair, but turns trips w/ his bottom pair.

We're up to 4 handed almost immediately. I win a small pot when KQ hits top pair. Ok, back to 3 handed.

THE IT, PeteM are my opponents, hutchy took $20 off me and left.

I have $80.75.

Hand #9: AA UTG. I raise, get re-raised by PeteM, and I just call. I call ont he flop, and raise on the turn. PeteM folds when I raise him on the turn.

Hand #11: AQ on the button. I raise and both call. I flop an ace, A57. One caller on the flop, folded on the turn.

Hand #12: AK in the BB, I hit an ace, win a small pot and am up to $98 again.

Hand #13: KT in the SB. I raise, get re-raised and fold to a flop bet.

Hand #14: AK on the button. I raise, two callers. I bet the flop, check the turn, fold the river when it misses and no one goes away. I am sitting at $85.75 now.

Nice run of cards, but I'm still stuck at $85.

Hand #17: A8 on the button. I raise, BB calls, folds to a flop bet.

Hand #18: 77 UTG (4 handeD). I just limp, a mistake. I fold to J94 flop when there's a bet and a raise before me.

Up to 5 handed now. THE IT, illiquid, 244, PeteM, and myself.

Hand #25: KJs in the BB. THE IT raises UTG. I call. Flop has just one of my suit, a queen. THEIT has been raising too much, I decide to take control here, and bet out. He calls. Turn gives me the flush draw, I bet/he calls. I river the top pair, a king. Bet/fold, and I take down $20 and am up to $91.50. The bonus points are flying in at this table. I'll finish up my bonus in about 30 more minutes at this rate. I'd love to finish it with a profit though.

Hand #29: AKs in the cutoff. I raise, two callers(both blinds, one is Monarchos, a guy I played w/ earlier.) The flop of 899 scares me off. We check it allll the way down, I take the pot as everyone else missed totally, and I have $99 now.

THE IT appears to play any two suited cards. Playing a lot of total junk.

I call a raise from him in the BB w/ 57 suited, but fold when I miss. NExt hand I raise w/ A4s in the SB and take a small pot on the flop.

Very next hand(#34) AKs on the button. I raise on the button, illiquid calls. Flop has a pair, 9 high, I bet, illiquid calls. I give it up after that, checking the turn/folding the river. $92.75.

Hand #40: AK for the 19th time. I bet and get two callers. This time I flop a king, bet out, THEIT folds, monarchos... thinks... thinks... calls. K26 flop, 8i on the turn, thinks, folds. $15.25 pot and I once again have $99.

Hand #42: JJ in the BB. 3 limpers to me. I make a mistake here. I check. Flop comes QTT. I bet, only a new guy, kb78(very familier name) calls me. Turn is a 7, I bet again, and take down the pot. Whew. I'm not happy w/ the flop check. I have $106.50

Hand #47: 99 UTG. I raise, THEIT and mo]narchos call(see a pattern here). I hate the flop, KT4. I bet and no one goes away. These guys will call me all the way down with a top hand, I decide its not worth it with two overcards and two opponents. I check the turn and fold to a bet after an ace hits the river.

Hand #54: I have A3o in the BB. There's a limp, a raise, and 3 calls before me. I figure I have the odds to call one bet to try to hit something huge here. The flop is good, 3 hearts, my ace is the heart. I call a bet on the flop, the turn gets checked around. I miss the flquid, kb78 and myself all call. I flop a four flush, and call a bet(with 3 opponents should I consider a raise here?) The turn gets checked around. The river hits my flush. illiquid bets, kb78 calls, I raise and both call. The $49.50 pot is a nice one. I am up to $124.

Hand #68: I raise on the button with KJo, ... nm, won the blinds.

Hand #71: I have 86 in the big blind. kb78 raises pre-flop, I have the odds to call again w/ all the opponents in. (I'm suited!) I flop top two pair, 864 flop. I bet out, THEIT re-raises, I re-raise, and theit and kb call. The turn is a 2, 2 clubs now. I bet, and both call. The river is the 9 of clubs. I bet, kb78 raises, I call, and the $61 pot goes to the jack-high flush, kb78 raised pre-flop and then called w/ J6 clubs. That hurts real real bad.

A push with AJo on the button drops me down to $90.

New lineup at the table: THEIT, empty seat, Hutchy Kid, Bucky1, PeteM.

I've earned my bonus, but I like this table still and decide to stay awhile longer.

Hand #84: 77 UTG. I raise and a new player, Leo Jr, and PeteM call. I hate the flop, 89Q. I bet out anyway, Leo calls, pete is gone. I bet a blank on the turn, leo calls again. I give up on the river, and check. Leo checks, and I win the hand.

After a dumb call chasing a straight with T9 I have $89.75.

Hand #96: back to my roots, AKo, in the big blind, I just limp with 3 others though. I decide to lead out betting on the ragged flop. Bucky1 is my only caller. The turn hits my king and bucky folds when I bet. Back to $85 (took a couple of small losses in the last 12 hands or so).

Hand #106: 4 handed now, I raise with K9s and only peteM calls. I bet the flop which has two of my suit, pete raises, I call. The turn makes my flush. I re-raise when pete bets, and he calls me down, I take down a nice sized pot and am back to $103.

I drop a pretty bad hand with 88 vs KK, then win two decent sized pots, AJs and 33(AJ hit hard on the flop and gave me a $15 pot, 33 I raised and pushed on the flop and leo folded). I sit with $98.25.

Leo beats me up on a steal attempt and I have $80 (J9s, flop had an ace, so did leo).

LeoJr1158 is a very good agressive player it appears. I hope to find a good spot to use his agression against him.

I win the blinds with KK against PeteM, slowplayed as much as I could, he just didn't want to be in the hand.

I get a big hand against PeteM, AJs, I raise and he callspre-flop. I flop a four flush, queen high. I bet, pete raises, I re-raise and he calls. I catch the flush on the turn and he calls me down, I take down $35 or so and am at $104.

KK again, I raise, since Leo defends his blinds hard when he has a little something. He folds.

a new player, tbag3d joins in between Leo and PeteM.

I have $95, 149 hands in.

Hand #151: A very familier hand. AKo. Pete raises, I re-raise, and tbag and pete both call. I fold when pete bets the flop, not sure about that one, but, tbag caught a flush anyway.

Hand #152: UGH. I raise A9s, leo calls, tbag re-raises, we both call. Flop is rags and leo bets, tbag raises... I'm out. tbag did have AJ, leo 66.

ARGH. two hands later I catch top pair with QJ, tbag destroys me when he calls me down with A4(bottom pair) and hits the ace on the river.

Whew. Ok, that was fast. I fell down to $50, won two very quick, but small hands to get me back to $60, then took a $48.75 pot fro LeoJr with AT that hit two pair.

AJo, I raise pre flop and 3 call. Flop comes A23. I bet and mabel(new guy) and tbag call. Turn is a jack. I bet and tbag calls. Rier is a king, tbag bets out and I just call. 45o. FOUR-FIVE OFFSUIT. I'm back down to $70.

tabg is not a bad player(seems like a pretty good one even) but motherfucker is he catching cards right now. I've had a few nasty suckouts at this table and am pretty pissed off that I don't have $140 or more and instead am down $30.

Hand #177: KK in the SB. I raise and get two callers, Mabel and tbag. Flop comes Q99. I bet and both call. Turn is a blank, I bet and both call. River is a king, I've got the 2nd nuts(99 beats me). I bet, mabel folds, tbag raises, I re-raise, tbag caps, and I call. My kings full of 9s win the $59 pot over tbag's JT straight. That pot brings me back to $96.75, and I immediately leave the table. Yeah I could go on a roll here, but I know I'm damn close to tilting here and am not playing with a clear enough head.

NET: -$3.25

Radii

05-23-2004, 09:47 PM

Well, I bought in for $500 at ultimate bet, and cashed out $624.70 after about 5 days. Not a bad return, but I can't say I'm totally thrilled with the result, that means I was just up $24 in actual play over that period.

Hopefully that cashout goes through in time for me to take advantage of a bonus opportunity at party and/or empire, I'll check the details of those and power through those hands in the next couple of days.

Radii

05-25-2004, 09:01 PM

Bought in for $624 to partypoker, and cashed out for $654, after a $100 bonus. I was trying to power through the hands and hopefully not lose much(if any at all), but I lost about $70 leaving me just ahead $30.

The reason for doing that is that the Partypoker Bonus was only good through last night, so I got that cleared, but there is an empire bonus that's only good through Thursday, so now I've got that clear too and don't have to rush anything anymore.

Next up, working off a $100 bonus at empire, that's an easy task though, 450 raked hands, and I will not worry at all about the bonus, just about winning.

Radii

05-25-2004, 10:32 PM

I sit down at a 1/2 6 man table on empire. My oppoenents opening up are MRClean415, COBBERS, empty seat, chipjh, and davpat, in order to my left.

davpat and chipjh both look somewhat agressive, capping the river against each other(AQ vs A9, both hit two pair).

mrclean pushes A5s hard, raising out of the SB and pushing all the way after hitting a pair.

Hand #9: My first action, A7o on the button, folded to me and I raise. Both blinds call and the flop comes KQ9. I go ahead and get out of the way when they start betting.

boltu43 joins in the empty seat.

we're getting a lot of pots that are 3 and 4 handed going to the turn and river, and a lot of $15-$20 or more pots. Just saw chipjh and mrclean go at each other w/ AA vs KK for a $21 pot. I am staying out of the way so far. I have played AJ very passively and haven't played anything else at all, gotten a couple of crappy aces out of position through 18 hands is it.

Hand #19: I hate this hand. A2o in the BB. I get a free flop with 4 opponents, and I hit an ace, AJ4. I bet out and 3 call. I bet the turn(a queen) and 3 call. The river pairs the 4, I bet, chipjh raises, and yup, 34o, 3 of a kind on the river. COBBERS was in the whole way too and had AT. I need good hands here.

hand #21: KQo on the button, chipjh is the only one in with me after I raise(Ihe limped early). I bet the T28 flop, check the 9 on the turn, and call a river bet when a queen gives me top pair(but 4 to a straight on the board). chip has The Charlie again(34), no piece of anything anywhere, and I take down $11.

next hand chip calls down 45o, calling a river bet with ... 45o(nothing) with two pair on the board. I need to isolate this guy any time I have any sort of hand if possible. I am two to his left. He is in every hand. He does play agressively when he hits.

Hand #26: sometimes it just works out when it shouldn't. I have T9s in the small blind. only chip is in so far. I raise, trying to isolate(if I hit at all I can push against chip, but w/ the BB in I dunno)... but, the BB calls. I flop a gutshot draw, 776 flop. I bet, mrclean folds, and chipjh calls. The turn is my miracle card, an 8, I've got the straight. I bet, chip raises, I re-raise and he calls. The river is a jack, and I bet, he raises, I re-raise, and he caps. Perhaps a bad/dumb/dangerous move with a pair on the board, but it pays off, a $35 pot comes my way and I'm up to $55.

There's the strategy. If I have any chance to isolate chipjh with any sort of hand, raise. If I don't hit, its not worth it b/c he won't fold, if I do hit, get as much out of him as I can.

Hand #34: I raise w/ AJo UTG, chip and davpat call. I flop top pair, J52 flop, I bet after its checked around and davpat folds. Turn is a 3, making a couple of weird straights possible. I bet and chip calls. River is a king, checked to me, normally I check, but I get bold and bet out knowing chip has any 2. He folds and the $13.25 pot is mine, up to $58.75.

chip is still in every hand but he's making a lot of river folds now.

Hand #45: My best hand of the night so far, JJ. boltu raises pre-flop, and 3 of us call(I don't see the point in a raise there, it won't thin the field and if overcards hit they aren't going anywhere). I hate the flop, AA9. All four check it around. The turn is a queen, I bet and only boltu calls. The river is a 7, I check, boltu bets I call, and he turns over 99 for the flopped boat. I am down to $49.75.

Hand #50: K9s in the BB, 4 limpers and I check. Flop comes AKQ, all hearts(not my suit). Its checked around and chip bets. I have the chance to raise to try to isolate, something tells me I'm not ahead though, and there's just too many to act behind me, so I fold. That's a mistake, chip had T4, got called by Q7 and ended up losing.

chipjh is now sitting out.

Hand #53: I raise UTG + 1 with KJ diamonds. mrclean calls. Flop comes T75, two diamonds. I bet and mrclean calls. Turn is my jack, I bet and mrclean calls all in. I win the $10'ish pot and am back to $52.97.

back to 5 handed now, valmaha, COBBERS, boltu, chipjh(sitting out now, not counted in the 5), davpat, and myself.

oh oh chipjh is back.

Hand #57: I have 89s on the butotn, I limp and we are 5-way. I miss totally and get out on the first opportunity. COBBERs tries to bluff chip w/ King high and chip has bottom pair, calls. some people don't learn.

Hand #58: davpat raises pre-flop, I call as does chip. The flop isn't pretty, KQ5, I'm last to act though and bet out when the raiser checks, ready to let it go to a check-raise. There is none though. Turn is another blank, this time we check it down. River is a 9, chip bets out and I go ahead and call. He had KJ and beats me w/ top pair.

Hand #67: Well that was easy. K8 in the big blind. chipjh is now directly to my right with an empty seat between us. I flop top pair, turn two pair, and river a full house. chip calls it down all the way. I have $47.25 after the win + a small giveaway next hand.

full table again: MikeQQQ, COBBERS, anna67, chipjh, and sthief09 in order

Hand #78: AA UTG. I raise, and two new players call. Flop comes 935, I bet out, MikeQQQ raises, sthief folds and I just call(hoping to start a raising war on the turn). The turn is a ten and I bet out, and mike just calls me down. I wasn't going to give a free card but some people will just keep raising anyway. The $17.75 pot puts me back up to $53.97, slightly ahead.

chip just went nuts woith top pair against sthief09. Board of A65T6, capped turn, capped river. chip has AK. thief? 66. $45 1/2 pot w/ quads.

HAnd #95: I raise early with TT and get 3 callers. flop comes J98 rainbow. I bet, anna raises. chip and I call. Turn is a blank but puts two hearts out there. anna bets and we both call. River makes the straight w/ a 7, I bet ,anna raises, I call. anna shows down T4, we both rivered chip(he had J5), and we take down $15 each.

Hand #96: AA in the BB. anna raises, it's just me so far, and I re-raise. The flop is 976, two hearts. I bet, anna calls. She folds the turn, and I am up to $59.

Hand #104: I raise in the SB with QTo to isolate chip, but mikeQQQ calls too. flop comes King high and I get out of there.

we are 4 handed, mikeQQQ, chipjh and sthief.

mikeQQQ doesn't get it either, betbetbet with a busted draw, chpi calls w/ king high and wins.

Hand #108: I have ATo in the BB. chip and sthief limp to me, I just check. Flop comes Txx, all spades. My ace is a spade, and I have top pair. I bet out, chip calls, sthief is gone. Turn is an ace, two pair, I bet, chip calls. River is a jack, I bet, chip calls, and I take down $12.25 to push up to $62.

you know, chip is winning. When he hits a hand, he gets all kinds of action. chip bets hard when he hits, he's very easy to play(I'm not getting great cards and taking a lot of money, but I am playing him well I believe). When he has a hand, you know it and you get out of the way. I think too many of his opponents see him play every hand and call too much and refuse to believe it when he has something good. He just took down $37 w/ trip 5s.

Deeznts007 just busted out after about 10 hands.

Hand #115: 9T in the BB. chip and sthief are in this with me. Flop comes T42. I bet, chpi calls/thief folds. Turn is another low card, I bet/chip calls. River an ace, I bet/chip calls. He flopped 2nd pair w/ Q6o and I take down a $12.25 pot, I'm up to $67.97.

Hand #121: KTs UTG, I raise it and chip calls. I flop a 4 flush,I bet it, chip calls. Turn gives me top pair with a king, I bet and chpi calls. River is an 8. Chip bets out... haven't seen that in awhile, but I see it for the one bet. He shows a T9 bluff and I take down $14.25.

Hand #124: A6s in the SB. I limp with chip and mikeQQQ. Flop misses me, we check it around. Turn is an ace, I bet and chip calls. River brings 3 to a flush, and 4 to a straight on the board(A245, a 3 makes it), so I just check this one... chip doesn't even try a bluff this time and I take it with my pair.

I am up to $76.72 now.

I've taken about $25 off of chip myself to put myself up $25(have I won a pot against anyone else? ... I won a couple against annysomething but that's it), yet chip is still ahead $40 himself he has $90.

MikeQQQ flops a flush w/ K9 to destroy chipjh's pocket rockets for a $30 pot, chip's down to $80

I leave the table after 138 hands when the big blind hits me, and I am ahead $25.22.

I also was messing around with some .5/1 omaha hi, and was up $2.50 there :P

NET: +$27.72

Its no massive 5/10 win, but it's a nice solid profit for 1/2, 12.5 BB in 2 hours.

I am somewhat stuck in a quagmire. I don't want to keep a bankroll big enough to play 5/10(once I build it up to that level at least) and be able to not worry at all bout the swings. I need more than the bare minimum bankroll suggested to be comfortable. But there aren't short tables on party at 2/4 or 3/6. I have some money in pokerstars and have been winning there at 1/2 shorts with a lot of consistancy as well. The play at Stars is generally much much tougher though an dI don't know if I want to do that, so I have been thinking about that.... it's still a week or two before I have all bonuses I plan on going after, by then I will have enough to go to 2/4 or 3/6 if I want(assuming no massive losses at 1/2 here) and I'll have to decide where to play, and if I want to continue the short tables or try to grind it out at the fulls.

Radii

05-26-2004, 07:05 PM

I sit down at a full 1/2 short table.

To my left: lorno8, DaggerLee, Srkelley, bauser, kanattack.

bauser has only $15 but everyone else is between $40 and $60. I haven't ever seen any of them before.

before i really do anything, bauser and kanattack leave. 4 handed for now.

Hand #10: My first playable hand really. ATo in the BB, I check w/ two others, flop comes A7x, two clubs. I bet, Srkelley calls. Turn is a blank, I bet and win the pot.

Hand #12: I limp with KJo and fold when an ace flops and people start betting.

Quickly back to 6 handed: lorno, daggerlee, Srkelley, treymaggie, and Froff.

I'm at $47.50 after 15 hands, only the AT hand worth mentioning so far.

Hand #18: a dangerous one, I limp in the SB with KTo along with 3 others. Flop comes JT4, two spades, my ten is a spade. I bet out and only DaggerLee calls. The turn brings 3 to the flush and I bet and DAgger folds, back to $49.50 after that one.

After 20 hands I've played 50% of them, which is sort of insane considering that my cards are so bad. The big blinds have been free and the small blinds have been playable, the Kj in hand 12 is my only non-blind hand I've played so far, haven't found a hand to raise yet. The table is obviously pretty passive pre-flop.

I have A4s in the big blind. 3 limp, Froff raises from the SB... I don't like my chances with that and I fold pre-flop.

Hand #23: AJs in the SB, I raise pre-flop after one limper, the BB and dscolen(a new guy) call. Flop is AJx, I bet and dscolen is my only opponent. he calls the flop and turn, folds the river and I'm up to $54.75 with the win.

Dinner break, might time out and need a new table.

By the time I get back I've time out of the table, so that's it here:

NET: +$4.75

Radii

05-27-2004, 06:22 PM

I join a full 6-top, hoping to finish off my bonus today(but moreso hoping to post a nice win).

At my table: Robbr25, SSW335, MWarman, young_gun, and maddog5858.

Hand #1: 46o in the BB. i flop an open ender, K35 on teh flop. I call a bet from young_gun, maddog also calls. The turn pairs the king and we check it aroudn. The river is a 2, I hit my straight. maddog bets, I raise, he re-raises and, fearing the boat, I just call. maddog shows A4 for the low straight and the $18.25 pot is mine, I'm up to $59.75 on hand one.

Hand #15: KJs in the SB. I limp and we are 5-way. Flop comes 57Q, one of my suit. with 3 callers and the chance to kill the betting, I call a bet on the flop. The turn is the best possible card for me I think, the ten of clubs, giving me a straight and a flush draw. I again call a bet. The turn gives me my flush, but it paired the top card... robbr25 bets, SSSW335 raises, I re-raise, and both of them call. Robb has Q8 for 3 of a kind, and SSW has 96 clubs for a lower flush. I take down a $32 pot and am up to $78.75.

Hand #25: I raise UTG with KQo. The entire table calls. GOOD STUFF. Flop comes jack high-3 spades. I have the queen, and bet out, 3 call. turn is a blank, and we check it around. The river is a king. I'm 2nd to act. 1 before me/2 behind me. Do you bet? I didn't, I checked, and we checked it around. My kings were good and I take down $15.25.

Hand #26: T9o in the big blind. I get a free flop and flop an open-ended straight(78x). I call a bet on flop/turn and never hit, and give it up on the river.

Hand #30: I have KJs in the BB. SSW335 raises pre-flop and 3 of us call. Flop comes jack high, rainbow. SSW is right after me and I decide this is a good spot to check-raise, I'll find out if SSW has an overpair probably. SSW bets, both others call, and I raise. all just call. I bet the turn(blank) and SSW drops out, the other two stay in. The river is a queen and we check it down, I take down the pot w/ my pair of jacks.

Hand #33: QJo in mid-position. I limp and there are 4 of us. I flop top pair, Qxx two clubs. SSW bets out, and I just cal. I dunno why. I'm dumb I think. Turn brings a club, but I still have top pair. Again I just call. River is a 4th club. I call since my jack is a club. I lose to A7, SSW had flopped middle pair and his ace is a club. I absolutely hate how I played that. I talked myself out of raising on the flop and the turn. I probably wasn't winning the hand anyway but dang.

Hand #40: 67s on the button, with 2 limpers, I limp too. Flop misses totally and I'm ready to fold but we check it around. Turn is a 6. I have middle pair(flp was J34). I go ahead and bet out when its checked around again. Two people call. The river is another 6, I bet and win the pot right there.

Hand #41: I raise with AQo after one limper, SSW re-raises all in, maddog calls and I call. I didn't notice SSW was all in until we check the flop(T22) and SSW has no action. Whoops. The turn is a queen, I bet and maddog calls. River a blank, I bet and maddog folds. SSW had pocket 3s, I take the enitre pot.

In that flurry(talking to the fiancee, those 15 hands feel like a flurry), I am up to $102.25, I've doubled my buyin.

SSW is gone.

Hand #57: I have A2s in the cutoff. I raise and only the BB MWarman calls. Flop comes AJ9. MWarman bets, I raise and he calls. Turn is another ace... I'm not as worried about my kicker now, I bet and he calls. the river is a 7 and I go ahead and check, I win $11.25 over JT, I am up to $105 after some blinding down.

Hand #61: Tons of limpers, I limp w/ KQo on the button, the BB jiggins raises and all 4 of us call. The flop comes K76. jiggins bets, maddog calls, I raise, and jiggins calls. The turn pairs the 6, checked to me, I bet and jiggins folds, maddog calls. I bet the jack on the river and maddog folds. The $20 pot puts me up to $116.75.

Hand #63: I lmp with KTs, 5 players again. Flop comes Q32, two spades. I call a bet along with 3 others. Turn makes my flush, I raise when maddog bets, and he's my only caller. River is a king, he calls my bet and my flush beats his Q5 top pair on the flop. I am up to $127.25.

Hand #75: KK early, luckily there weren't any tough decisions on this one, as I was talkign w/ my fiancee during the hand. bet/raise at every opportunity. The decent sized pot takes me up to $132.

Hand #83: I open-raise on the button with A8s. Both blinds call me. Flop comes T93, I bet and only pokersize, the BB, calls me. Turn brings antoher ten, and we check. River is a 7, poekrsize bets out. I don't know anythign about him, and many will automatically bet after the checked turn. I call him down to see his 89s, he has middle pair to win the pot.

Hand #85: I raise UTG with A9s, and win the pot right there.

Hand #87: I limp w/ 67o in the SB with 3 opponents. Flop comes Q62, and I check, robbr25 bets and pfxy raises, I am not cold-calling 2 with that, I fold.

Hand #94: I limp w/ JTo in the cutoff, the button raises, and me and pfxy call. Flop comes T94, I have top pair. For some reason I check/call the flop. 2nd time I've knowingly made a weak decision with a good hand. I bet out on the turn and river, he calls me down and I beat AJ to win the hand. Wish a jack had come :) The $16.75 pot takes me up again to $135.

Hand #103: I limp ont he button with QJo. 3 opponents, including both blinds. Flop comes jack-high, checked to me and I bet, only pokersize calls. I bet the turn, then check a king on the river. Pokersize shows ATo and I take down $10 to keep me up at $135.

I'm checking down a lot of rivers tonight. At full tables that's often a good idea(I've been reading Sklansky!) but I think at a short I need to keep betting out. I've won every single hand that got checked down that way, I dont' think I'm up against many check-raisers here.

HAnd #110: I have QJo in the BB. 2 limp to me and I check. Flop coems AQ9. I bet out and only landman calls. The turn brings 3 to a flush, I have the queen of clubs and I bet out, landman calls again. River makes 4 to a flush, I bet, landman raises and I just call. He shows KJ with the king of clubs.

The table falls down to heads up, me and robbr25, I ahve $128 at the start of heads up play.

I clean out robbr quickly(he only had $10). I'm up to $138 when he leaves, but a couple others join.

shock09009 and tlindy at the table.

I bust out shock09009 in one hand. I have KK and slowplay the hell out of them. in the end there is a flush and two queens on the board. There's also a king :) shock had trip queens and I move up to $148 after we 3-bet the river.

Back up to 6 handed.

Hand #135: I raise AQs UTG. sayimage and keamdo call. Flop comes 776. I bet out and sayimage is my only caller. Turn is a 9, I bet and he calls. I'm ready to give this one up on the river until a queen falls. I bet out again, sayimage calls and I rivered his pocket deuces. The $15.75 pot pushes me up over $150.

Hand #138: AKo UTG. I raise and two call. Flop comes 457 and I bet out, both call. Turn is an ace, keamdo bets, I raise, tburd and keamdo call. River is a 6, 4 to a straight on the board. We check it down and tburd has 47 for 2 pair on the flop. Very passive, I note that.

Table is: sayimage, tburd28, landman11, keamdo, tlindy(sitting out for now)

I don't have a read on anyone and have some stuff to do so this is a good time to leave the table.

A great session, nearly tripled up over 141 hands.

NET: +$93.13.

Radii

05-28-2004, 10:37 AM

In my biggest success yet, I completed my bonus at Empire and cashed out last night. I bought in for $654, and cashed out for $878, a net gain of $224.

There is another bonus at UBet I can get. My last bonus was an 'initial buyin' bonus, as I apparently had created an account last year sometime but never made a deposit. So I should still be eligible for the general bonus they have going on right now. I plan to deposit the minimum required to earn that bonus(I believe that will be $500), and will be playing 2/4 shorts at UB to work off the bonus.

After getting destroyed down to about $600 total(in large part thanks to a giant tilt during a losing streak, something I have *hopefully* learned a big lesson about and can prevent from happening again), this bonus bouncing has helped me build my bankroll back up a bit, it's currently at ~$1050 between the money I just cashed out of Empire and the money I have on pokerstars(that's a small amount).

I have found the bonuses to be a very very nice cushion to help me break out of what was a very bad spell. Dropping in limits, and playign with the cushion of bonus money behind me has helped me regain my confidence.

Radii

06-12-2004, 02:45 PM

I haven't written up anything in awhile... I played two 3 table SNG's last night and placed 5th in one(11th in the other, terrible cards and 2 misplayed hands left me a short stack early).

I like these, blinds increase every 10 minutes, the two I played last night both dropped to the final table by the end of an hour, so it is looking like a ~2 hour committment.

I look to play ultra-tight early, playing only the most premium of hands, trying to be the agressor whenever possible, rarely if ever cold calling any sort of raise.

Oh, and this is no limit.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

Starting chips are 1000 for all.

I'm raised out of A3o in my big blind on the first hand. Q9o in the second hand, I get a flop for 5 chips, but fold when it misses.

5 minutes in no one has busted out, this is a marked difference from the two I played last night where 3 or 4 people would bust out in the first 10 minute level.

Our first all in comes on hand #9, post-flop, a very loose tx54 goes all in on a J72 flop that has 5 people in it. Only vghorton calls. It's 22 vs KJ, and tx54 dobules up to 1480 to take the early chip lead at our table.

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

I start level 2 with 970 chips, but the blinds hitting on the next hand. All 30 players are still in.

Big hand on my BB, but not for me, I've got 94o. tex54 raises, heinekendark calls, vghorton goes all-in behidn them both. tex54 calls. tex54 shows KK, vghorton 55. The flop? 567. PRESTO. Note that these are the same two from the previous all-in hands.

3-5 people are seeing most flops, but this just doesn't matter to me as I need hands beter than 94o to play, and I'm not getting them.

THBeginner goes out on table 1 15 minuets in, our first casualty. I'm on table 2.

I resist the urge to limp T8s in late position. 5 people see the flop, but a flop bet takes it(I thought that one was going to get interesting).

The next hand 6 people limp, UTG, UTG+1, UTG+2, UTG+3, and the blinds.... I have 6-high and am in middle position, it's not worth it.

Table 1 loses another, and we're down to 28.

The last few hands there's been 5 or 6 in the flop, sometimes for the min raise, sometimes limping, a big bet on the flop and all fold.

I get JTo UTG+2 but can't play it(shouldnt anyway) after UTG raises.

A8o UTG+1, the cards are improving, but we'er not quite there yet.

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

I have 940 in chips, with the blinds coming up in 2 hands. 28 people are still left. All 10 still left at my table, chipleader has 1425, short stack 695.

We drop to 27 players and los the first casualty from table 3.

One player is moved and we are 9 handed. The player that was moved was the SB for the next hand. I'll pay my BB and skip the SB, woot, it's like making 15 chips!

I get a free flop with 85o, but it goes nowhere. It does lead to heinekenDark doubling up off of Grellex w/ top pair vs a flush draw that never hit. Grellex is left w/ 65 chips and goes all in on the next hand. He gets 4 callers. He wins with AJ and is still alive for now.

Hand #29: I have Q2s in the big blind... raise to 100, multiple callers already, bleh. A9/QT on an ATx flop end up all in and BluesKid has 1970 chips, and TAWH1265 is out 27th.

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

I am down to 855 chips and have only seen two flops. There remain 26 players in the tournament after 30 minutes. After 10 more minutes the blinds jump to 50/100 and we'll start to see some attrition there(myself included if I don't start getting some cards or something in some position so I can do something).

Hand #38: I get a free flop with J7o with 3 opponents. I flop two pair, J97. All clubs. Scary board. I bet the pot(200) and HeinekenDark goes all in over me for 370 additional chips. If I call I'm down to 200ish chips. But I think at this point its a call that I have to make. The pot is too big and if I am behind, I do have outs. I make the call. I'm up against Q5 of clubs, ouch. The turn and river come though, and my miracle 7 falls on the river, I knock out HeinekenDark.

Hand #41: PRESTO. I'm in the cutoff and there's 1 limper before me. I raise 3x the blind to 150, and all fold, including the limper. I'm up to 1675.

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

I have 1675 chips. 23 players remain, and I'm a bit above the average chip count. There are 7 players at my table. I expect lots of attrition this level, the magic 100 big blind will start to scare a lot of those in the 400-800 range of chips.

Hand #45: I have J9o in the big blind. k7jdw, the big stack at the table, limps and we are heads up. The flop comes 578, two clubs, I have a double bellybuster straight draw, the ten or the 6 make my straight. I lead out for 200 chips(into the 250 pot). k7jdw calls. The turn is a ten, and I've hit my straight. I bet 400 into the 650 pot, and win it there.

Hand #47: I have 88 on the button, folded to me, I raise 3x the BB to 300. MBold goes all in for 700 more in the SB, and k7jdw calls. No way I can call there, I fold and it's MBold's AQ vs A9. It looks like MBold is out when KJ9 hit the flop, but the turn jack and river king nullify the pair of 9s, it's a split pot. I'm down to 1675.

On hand 49 we merge to 2 tables, down to 20, and during the merge mbold and vghorton go all in against each other, K9s(vghorton) vs 88, vghorton hits his flush to knock out mbold.

5 minutes left in this level and we're down to 19.

84s in my next big blind, still at the 50/100 level, the blinds are going to go through me before the increase. I fold to a crazy big stack all in.

Hand #55: BluesKid raises to 200, I have QQ in the SB. I re-raise to 500, and blueskid calls. The flop comes A99. I don't have position. I hate my hand. Can I get away from this? I have ~1000 chips and there's ~1000 in the pot. I can't make a small bet here. I let the time run a long way down before finally checking. I expect BluesKid to go all in, and I'll fold. BluesKid bets 200 chips. 200?! Ok if he's suckering me in, well it worked. I come over the top of him all in. He folds immediately, and I am up to 2375 chips. His terribly weak bet let me out of a hand I had practically given up on, though I'm not sure it wasn't an awful mistake not to go all in on the flop regardless.

Level 6 - 75/150

We're already 3 minutes in by the time I finish that writeup.

Only 14 players remain out of the original 30, we still have a shot at hitting the final table before the break. I have 2375 chips, 2nd at the table, AcesWerk has 3960, and 3 of us are in the 2000-2300 range(myself, k7jdw, and vghorton). There are two with more than my chipcount at the other table, making me 4th but not in any sort of commanding position at all really, just in a safe spot.

AcesWerk plays the big stack very well. I have seen his name in a very very large number of multi-table tournaments and I assume he has some signifigant experience in them. He has more than a 2:1 chiplead over most of the field and he has made a couple of bluff all-ins that have gotten called, but done it against short stacks, and he's also made a couple of legit all-ins and knocked out a few people. He appears to play very well and I intend to stay out of his way.

Hand #62: I have K3o in the big blind. Studta limps to me and I get a free flop heads up vs the small blind. Flop comes 843, bottom pair for me. We check it. The turn pairs the 8 on the board, stud checks, I bet the pot, and I take it.

Hand #66: I raise to 3x the BB UTG with pocket 7s. Steal the blinds, woo.

The hand goes fast enough that I hit my BB before the level goes up too(under a minute to go). A pre-flop all in gets me to the SB before the break too, which won't matter if we don't drop to 1 table, but if we do could give me a bunch of extra hands.

And in fact we do fall to 10 people on the last hand before the break.

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds

10 left.

holdem2000 - 5535 chips
AcesWerk - 5060 chips
BluesKid - 4889 chips
BigSlim0518 - 2555 chips
radii - 2450 chips
vghorton - 2238 chips
kidsneedcash - 2118
k7jdw - 1940
studta - 1665
crazyneub - 1550

Top 5 get paid. I'm in 5th but a lot will change very very fast at the final table I am sure.

The table opens up very tight. The blinds go through me about halfway through the first orbit and my 2150 chips is a middle stack.

Hand #76: A big change at the table, AcesWerk goes all in with a straight draw and is called by top pair. He is down to 2342 chips with the rest of us mortals. He's out on the next hand... no wiat, down to 245 chips, bluffing all in representing a queen on a QQx flop, only to be called by the actual queen.

1 time around the table I remain 5th in chips.

AcesWerk goes out 9th on hand 78. BluesKid takes the rest of his stack and the two big stacks are now directly to my right.

I hit my big blind on the final hand before the level goes up. Small victories. Unfortunately it's 35o and I'm raised off it.

studta goes out on the last hand of the level.

Level 8 - 150/300 blinds

Down to 8 of us. I'm still in 5th but with only 1800 chips. the top 4 all have over 5000 chips and the bottom 4 are all between 1000-2000.

k7jdw takes a small pot to push up to 2200.

Hand #86: crazyneub(shortest stack, 650) goes all in, bigslim0518 re-raises to limit the field, but blueskid also calls. There's 3200 in the pot(2550 in the main pot for crazyneub). neub has 66, bigslim QQ. a 6 hits the flop but a four flush hits for slim! crazyneub is out and there are 7 left.

vghorton, k7jdw, and myself are all short stacked, but one of us has to make the money, and if I can get a spot to double up here, I can still do a lot better than 5th, but I know I need a lot of luck right now.

87o in my big blind. free flop 3-handed. I flop middle pair but decide to fold to an all in with the ace on the board. Maybe I'm just too scared of aces.

I'm down to 1350 chips, and thinking I made a mistake by not calling that all in. We'll see.

BluesKid, a former big stack, has AA, but he just limped, and he paid. The BB flopped two pair with 25o and knocked him out. We're down to 6, next spot pays. The blinds hit me first and I have 1350 chips, vghorton has 1219.

It's obvious I'm playing to make the money right now, and not really playing to win. I have to work on this.

Hand #98: AJo in the SB. I'm ready to go all in until the big stack raises, and a shortish stack calls. I would have gotten destroyed, and now there's two other short stacks.

holdem2000 is playing his big stack very well, raising pre-flop nearly every hand and building up nicely. Everyone is afraid of being the next one out.

Level 9 - 200/400 blinds

I have 900 chips. vghorton has 769. k7jdw has 867.

I am UTG with AJo. I'm all in for 900 chips. The short stack thinks... thinks... thinks(vghorton, 769, I actually have him covered :P)... I win the blinds. I'm up to 1500 chips.

Next hand I'm in the BB with J8s. vghorton goes all in. It's only 370 more for me to call. I'm under 1K if I lose. But for less than a SB, I have to call. I do, and I suck out on A6s, and I have made the money!

Hand #105: AA on the button. The two big stacks are behind me, so I go ahead and make a modest raise to 1000 chips. the chipleader, holdem2000 goes all in over me. I call of course, and I see his A7s. My aces are good, and I am all of a sudden in great shape, I am 3rd in chips with 4738!!

Hand #106: holdem goes all in in the SB over the short stack, j7jdw. Deja Vu all over again... Holdem has A3s this time, k7jdw has pocket aces. The two short stacks double up with aces in two hands.

holdem makes another stand, this time against kidsneedcash, all in pre-flop. holdem has pocket deuces, kidsneedcash has A7s. The flush comes, and another double up off the big stack.

Hand #112: I make it 1100 to go with pocket 6s UTG. I steal the blinds.

bigslim knocks out kidsneedcash, kids raises pre-flop with A7 and gets called by slim, he goes all in on the QQx flop, only to see bigslim actually have the queen. I'm 3rd in chips out of 4 left. slim and holdem have dominant chipleads.

bigslim and holdem go at a pot together, at the end 4 to a flush are on the board, bigslim goes all in and says "fold, holdem" and then shows the nut flush when hodlem folds... that's a bit fishy to me.

k7jdw goes all in over a holdem2000 steal attempt and takes a nice pot, I'm the short stack now.

Hand #119: I raise to 1000 chips on the button with K9s, bigslim calls me. Flop comes K46, I bet 1500 into the 2500 pot and I win the hand.

Hand #120: I have KJs UTG and raise to 1100. holdem2000 goes over the top all in. I still have 3500 chips, I will get a better spot, I fold.

Level 10 - 300/600 blinds

Hand #123: I have A8s on the button. I raise to 1500 and holdem2000 calls me. I end up folding to a large bet on the turn when the flop misses me totally, I just wasn't ready to bluff all-in there. I probably should have, I'm pretty short now, 2200 with 300/600 blinds hitting.

Hand #125: This could be it. AQo in the BB. holdem goes all in. I call. He shows J9o. I hit an ace, he hits an open-ender but I hold up to double up+300. I am back up to 4500 chips.

Hand #127: k7jdw goes all in with K6s, bigslim calls with KJo, neither improve and I'm in the final 3!

bigslim has 17,000 chips, holdem2000 8000, I have 4500.

Blind are 300/600 for 6 more minutes, then up to 400/800.

Hand #131: I call the min raise out of the BB with 87s from bigslim. The flop is about as nice as I coudl hope for, 843. I immediately go all in, he calls. He shows AJs, and never hits, I double up to 8900 chips!

BigSlim has 12300, holdem and I are essentially even with 8500ish.

Hand #144: I have pocket 7s. holdem2000 raises pre-flop top 2000, I go over the top all in for about 5500(I'd been blindign down, not stealing any, something I need to work on in that position clearly). holdem thinks a second, and calls. He had a pretty easy decision there, he has pocket tens and my miracle 7 doesn't hit this time. I bust out 3rd.

I pay $33 to enter, and take out $180, a very nice win in about 2 hours time.

that's 3 of these 3 tables, I've spent $99 entering, and won $270 in prize pool money(a 3rd and a 5th place finish).

Radii

06-12-2004, 03:00 PM

To update, once I got every bonus I could, I returned to partypoker and started playing .5/1 full tables to get in the swing of full table action. It has taken quite awhile. I now have a pokertracker database dedicated to these full games.

I play 2 tables at a time, I seem to play noticibly worse when I try 3 tables.

I've got 3481 hands in tracker at .5/1 and am only up $60.79. But I was dead even after about 3000 hands so I've finally started making some headway. I'm just over 1 BB/hr per table, or 2.40 BB/real hour. At .5/1 this is not an acceptable win rate. I plan on playing at least a few thousand more hands at .5/1, and will definitely not try to jump up in full table games until I can get myself up to 2 BB/hr/table for a signifigant period of time. I don't expect this to be difficult, I just have to tone down the agression that is sometimes very profitable at short tables, realizing that I have to show down the best hand to win.

Also to update my bankroll, since this is to track my total poker progress. If you remember from an earlier post, I was up well over $3000 for a short time and playing games slightly over my head. I went on a losing streak, didn't drop down in levels fast enough, and dropped all the way down to $600. After that, I finally got ahold of myself, took a small break and started bonus hunting to help build myself back up a bit.

I am very very pleased to report that my current poker bankroll has recovered quite a bit and is now back up to $1850. Certainly enough to play at a higher level than .5/1, but I won't move up until I prove to myself I can consistantly win full games again. It is a little hard playing so far under my bankroll like that sometimes, and these fun 3-table tourneys are a big help when I get a little bored.

Radii

06-12-2004, 10:39 PM

I enter another 3 table $30+$3 NL tourney, lets see how this works out the 4th time around.

I start out at table #3.

There are a few more early all-in's here, we've lost 2 in the first 5 minutes.

At my table, BillieOcean and greekjimbo, sitting next to each other, each appear to be very very loose and very chasey, if that's a word. Well, I'm sure its not, but it should get the point across :)

Hand #6: I call the min raise with T9o, with 4 opponents I figure I have the odds to try to flop a big hand. I miss, and I fold.

sinjin69 goes out w/ JJ vs greekjimbo's KK.

Hand #9: 2 limpers to me on the button, and I raise 3x the BB with A9s, both limpers call. The flop has a king and misses me, I bet out 100 chips, and get one caller... I guess I time out on the turn and check, establishing connction... then I see the turn and river. There was an ace on the turn, and I call a 100 bet, and lose to KK that flopped trip kings. Very strange. I overplayed this hand pre-flop and on the flop, I liked my position but shouldn't have tried to push the flop w/ 2 callers, it is too early to try that.

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

5 people busted out in the first round, we're down to 25, and down to 8 at my table.

Hand #12: I steal the blinds with a pre-flop raise w/ AJs.

I have 740 chips, down a bit after my unfortunate A9s hand.

Hand #17: QQ on the button. buzmeg(KK earlier) raises the min raise, one calls, and I re-raise to 150. gusto1128 calls out of the blind, as do both early players. The flop comes K86, and gusto1128 bets 350 into the pot. I have to all-in or fold. Calling isn't an option.

I make one last bad decision, and I make the all-in. I also had a runner-runner flush draw possible. gusto calls, shows K7s(glad he respected my raise), and I am out 23rd after two very poor decisions, one to knock me down a little early with A9s, and one to knock me out with QQ.

I am out 23rd, and that was fast enough that I have time to enter one more of these, hopefully with better results.

Radii

06-12-2004, 11:11 PM

I enter another $30+$3 multi-table. I am at table 2.

One guy busts out on hand one at another table. Hooray.

AQ vs QQ all in knocks out the 2nd person on hand 3, this one at my table.

Level 2 - 10/20 Blinds

I've yet to play a hand. Blinds through me once, I have 975 chips. 26/30 are still left.

Hand #14: I get Q9s in the big blind. Free flop with many opponents, the flop comes 78T with two diamonds(I have spades). I call a 40 chip bet on the flop, but fold on the turn when the board pairs, no need to chase a straight now.

Hand #15: JJ in the SB. The button limps, and I raise it up to 50. blind/dealer both call. a king flops, and I make a 100 chip bet. The button calls. The board pairs the middle card, an 8, and I try to represent it with a 250 chip bet. I get called, and the river is checked down and I lose to KTs. Any idea how to play that? Do I just have to give it up when an overcard flops?

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

22/30 remain, many have fallen through the first two rounds. I am down to 480 chips after the blinds go through me once more. It's not looking pretty.

Early in level 3 2 more go out and we're down to 2 tables.

The blinds have hit me once and I'm down to about 430 chips.

Hand #35: This is it if I get callers. AKs in mid position, I raise to 3x the BB and get two callers. The flop comes 79T rainbow. It's not a great flop but with my stack I really don't have any choice here, I push all in, and am called by Q7. I never hit my ace or king and that's it, I'm out 17th.

My early luck seems to have disappeared, but I think I've severely misplayed a few hands in these last two tournaments, looking forward to comments, as I know my NL game needs work. Hand #15 here espicially, I'm curious what others might do there.

SirFozzie

06-13-2004, 01:44 AM

with your pairs with an overcard.. you're playing them too aggressively. Especially JJ with K on the board. Odds are pretty good that if there's a couple people in the hand, that one of em has a K in the hole

Radii

06-13-2004, 09:15 AM

thanks foz, that makes sense, seems a difference from limit ring games to no limit tourneys, i'll have to work on that.

Radii

06-17-2004, 08:52 PM

I join a $30+$3 NL Multi-table, hoping to better the results i've gotten in my last few tourneys.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

Three people go out in the first level. I lose my blinds and a limp w/ 33 that goes nowhere. I'm at 955.

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

27 people left at the start of the level.

Q9o in my big blind goes nowhere.

In my SB I get AKo. It's folded to the blinds, and I raise to 3x the blind(60). The BB calls. The flop is rags, two clubs, I bet out 90 and get called. I give it up on the turn, that hand was going to risk breaking me if I took it any further. The BB bets the pot and I fold. I have 785 chips left, still more than enough to be dangerous.

Iveysprotege to my left, and bend123 two to my right have taken the chip lead at my table, bend123 with 2325 chips, iveysprotege 1615. The two chpleaders end up all in on a T54 flop w/ two diamonds. bend had T8, iveys AT... no diamonds for either. iveys doubles up to 3330 and bend590 is down under 600.

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

Still 27 left, no one out in the last 10 minutes.

JMBrown takes out Phil71 with AK vs J8, all in on a Jack high flop... the king hit the river.

Q2 in my big blind goes nowhere. Same with T5o in my small blind.

I fold 56s and 44 to small fields, my stack isn't in good shape but I can still stay away from trouble hands.

Another BB runs through, this one giving me 82s. I get a free 5-way flop that cxomes J77. Bleh.

The SB gives me AJo. I get iveyprotege in the BB and folded to me. I raise into the big stack pre-flop and take the pot.

Level 4 - 25/50 Blinds

Still 26 left, 8 at my table. I have 740 chips, a bit low but not desparate. Iveysprotege is a dominant chipleader. Someone at table 3 has 2400 chpis, iveys has 3280 after a 400 chip loss.

Unfortunately, at table 1, he's not going anywhere.

K6s goes all in for 500 chips pre-flop and, of course, beats AQs by hitting two pair.

iveysprotege takes out mcdavid with 66 vs AK, he's up to 3800 chips and we're down to 25.

TT vs AT vs AK all in and giacoloco triples up to 2575 chips, and another man is gone at my table. 24 left.

BB is junk and I'm out on the flop. The SB is A2o and I fold to a raise bhy klizzyklein, a new player moved due to the attrition here.

We're down to 21, the tourney page isn't updateing well.

I raise with KTs in the cutoff, the blinds are hitting fast now and I have to loosen up some. iveysprotege and JMBrown call. Flop is KQ5, I have to go all in here. iveysprotege calls immediately with QJ, 2nd pair. I am well ahead. Of course, iveys hits one of his 5 outs on the river, and I am gone. Dammit. I am out 21st.

I got my money in as an 80% favorite, I can't ask for much more than that.

Radii

06-17-2004, 09:48 PM

I go ahead and get into one more $30+$3 NL 3-table.

I sit on table #2, in the same seat I sat last tourney.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

On the 2nd hand I get QQ UTG+1. I raise to 50 and pokerinrear4, directly to my left, calls. The flop comes AA6. I make a bet of 90 chips into the 125 pot, and he comes back over me for 225. I think for awhile, and leave myself a bit short right away, I have to fold here. Amazing, i cannot remember the last time I have had more than 1000 chips in one of these tournaments, this after placing in 3 of my first 5.

T5o in the big blind. I get a free flop and we are 7-way. I flop bottom pair, 965 flop, and fold to a pot sized bet.

KQo in my small blind. I call the min raise from the button and we are 5 handed. The flop comes AKQ. What do I do here? ldem020368 bets 100 from mid position, the raiser folds, and I check-raise it up to 300. ldem calls. The worst possible card hits the turn. An ace. I check, but Idem checks too. We check tghe river and I see idem was betting with a flush + inside straight draw, he had J7 of hearts, two hearts on that flop.

I have more than 1000 chips (1265 to be exact)

Suggestions on that hand? from the cold-call of the min raise pre-flop to the check-raise on the flop to the checking it down on the pair of aces on the board.

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

No one got knocked out that level. I have 1265 chips, I am actualyl the chip leader at the table by a small amount.

We're moving very slowly, 12 hands in the first 15 minutes here. Two people bust out at table 1, we're down to 28 now. Looks like one person busted both in some fashion, the chip leader has 3330 chips right now.

I just call a min raise with AK in the big blind, 3 handed, and fold to a large bet on a QTT flop. Deciding how to play this hand in these tourneys has clearly been giving me problems.

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

I limp with A5s 6 handed but fold on the flop.

Here comes a big one. I have KK. lelandy(a big stack) raises the minimum. I re-raise up to 150. The flop comes Qxx, two diamonds. I do have a diamond. lelandy checks, I bet the pot(a little over 300 at this point) and he folds. A relatively small win for KK, but a win is a win. I'm up to 1380 chips.

5 minutes left in this level, we have 24 players left, 8 at each table.

lelandy takes out a player with KQ, the other guy flopped a straight with 8T(9JQ flop), but a ten makes the higher straight for KQ. lelandy is up to 3300 in chips.

I get a free 5-way flop with KJo. It misses, but no one bets. A free turn brings another 9. I'm not bluffing here out of position, sorry.

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

I have 1335 chips, right around the average count. There are still 23 of us left.

I get KK in my big blind. Two limp to me and I just check. The flop comes 89J, two diamonds. lelandy bets 50, I raise to 250, and he calls. The turn makes a flush possible, but also gives me trip kings. I bet big, 700 into the 650 flop, and the pot is mine.

In the SB I get AKo, and just limp with 4 way action. The flop comes A46, two diamonds. I have the ace of diamonds. I bet the pot, 250 chips. guppy82 raises me all in for about 80 more chips. I call, and he shows A6, two pair. The board pairs 4s but is no help to me. I am still ok, 1320 chips. But a win there would have made me a big stack with well over 2000 chips. Ah well.

We drop to two tables after that hand.

Guppy loses JTo to AA and is out 20th. Why couldn't I have those chips instead!

Level 5 - 50/100 Blinds

I have to fold in both of my blinds, with that I'm down to 1170 here, a bit below average(average is 1666).

We lose another soon after and are down to 18 people.

Clemson_fan has 4700 chips at my table, lelandy 3380, no one else over 2000, but I am 5th out of 9 at this table.

I get 99 UTG. I hate this hand but i think I have to raise. This is where I need to learn a lot more about multi-table strategy. I'm out of position and it's a near full table, but the blinds are getting big, so I think I have to loosen up some. pokerinrear4 calls, lelandy goes all in from the big blind. I fold, pokerinrear4 says "small pair" and ends up calling. they go all in, and it's QQ vs 66. A 6 on the turn, and then a queen on the river! damn.

I get a free flop 4 way with 97s. The flop comes 985, rainbow, one of my suit. I have 770, there's 400 in the pot. checked to me, how do you play this? You can't check fold. Do you all in? I bet the pot, 400. I'm committed, but I have been reading about not pushing all in so hard and fast, giving the hand a chance to play out.

lelandy goes all in(a check-raise) and I call. Well, I have him dominated. He only has 67. Of course, that's the nuts. I need a 6 to give me a split, and I can't win without a running full house. Of course none of that happens.

I am out 16th. I think I played that ok. I needed more action on my KKs but they weren't flops I could really slowplay I don't think(thoughts?)

Radii

06-18-2004, 11:57 PM

I said in an earlier post that my poker bankroll was up to $1850. I've been winning a bit, and now I can only find $1803. I wonder if I have a poker account that I am forgetting right now. Whoops!

Of course it is 1am(I'm not playing just goofing around in IRC w/ friends), a more thorough search of all my various poker accounts is in order.

For awhile party/empire were down a lot. Because of that I have money in pokerstars. I also have money in two different neteller accounts for a couple of reasons, waiting for re-up bonuses. So I need to better inventory everything and get an accurate count here. Perhaps my initial count was off.

Anyway, my current count as of this second is(and this is as much for my tracking purposes as anything else, but this dynasty is kida turning into "how radii goes about trying to turn a profit in poker" instead of a detailed hand analysis thing so it fits):

Partypoker: $824
Pokerstars: $168
Neteller #1: $481
Neteller #2: $330

That adds up to $1803. I believe that is an ACCURATE accounting of where I am now. Perhaps I'll try to update this on a weekly basis for a general overview of where I stand in the poker world.

If I am having a brain fart aboutan account somewhere I'll update this tomorrow.

Radii

06-19-2004, 09:19 AM

The information above is correct. I think I simply added wrong in my earlier post and was at 1750, not 1850. Anyway, now that I have everything "itemized" as to where it is, I should be able to more accurately keep up with that.

I'm jumping up to 1/2 today, 2 or 3 tables simultaneously. I've stayed near $3/hr going into about 4500 hands at .5/1 and am confidant that I'm not making any more 'transitional mistakes' going back to full games from short games.

Of coruse with $1800, I'm still playing well under my bankroll at 1/2, and if I absolutely roll over this level over a couple thousand hands i'll make a quick jump up to 2/4.

Radii

06-20-2004, 10:43 PM

I hate laptops. Espicially laptops with batteries that don't work so when you shift on the couch the power cord comes out and you lose the tournament writeup you were doing.

Well, long story short, I entered a $30+$3 single table on party, was hanging around w/ a little more than the starting chips with 6 left. The biggest stack had 2000 chips, to my right. I had AQs in the small blind, and he made a 250 raise pre-flop. I sensed a steal, and pushed all in over him, expecting to win it right there. Well, even better, he called with A8o!

radii@dread:~$ pokenum -h Ah 8c - As Js
Holdem Hi: 1712304 enumerated boards
cards win %win lose %lose tie %tie EV
8c Ah 380813 22.24 1204027 70.32 127464 7.44 0.260
As Js 1204027 70.32 380813 22.24 127464 7.44 0.740

Of course, a four flush hits on the river, hearts, I am gone, and out $33.

Weekend bankroll update. I haven't loaded all my hands into pokertracker yet, but at 1/2 I'm going at a win rate of about $15/hr early on, I'm playing well, and of course my opponents are playing terrible, my good hands have been holding up. I did just lose $33 entering that tourney, so I'm only up about $50 over the weekend.

Partypoker: $876 (was $824)
Pokerstars: $168
Neteller #1: $481
Neteller #2: $330

TOTAL: $1855

I don't intend this to become me posting my bankroll every few days :P I intend at least to play a tournament every few days to continue to work on my tournament play, and may occasionaly single-table it at limit to write up a session here and there. I'm really annoyed at the stupid laptop, had a couple of interesting folds that I wanted to post about, but without the context of the rest of the tournament probably aren't nearly as interesting.

Radii

06-21-2004, 10:45 PM

After dealing with some heavy lag issues, I get into a 3 table $30+$3 tourney, ready to end my crappy streak in them.

I start at table 2, in the big blind on hand 1.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

BB - raised out of K3s.
SB - raised out of J4s.

Someone goes out on table 1 on hand 1.

Hand #6: I limp with A7s from mid position, looking for a big flop or gone. I flop the flush draw, KT3, two diamonds, and I bet the pot(70 chips) and win it right there.

Hand #8: QQ vs JT with a ten-high flop ends up all in and Bturner2367 is gone, RIVER_GHOST to my direct left now has 2195 chips and we are down to 28 with 2 minutes left in the level.

warriorwayne goes all in vs eman1000, a made hand vs an open-striaght draw(that never hit). eman1000 has 10 chips left.

Hand #12: My BB hits before the level goes up. I have 35o and flop middle pair + inside straight draw, not enough to acll a 150 bet into a 70 pot. eman1000 is gone on this hand. We are down to 27.

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

coosaw joins 2 to my right. I have exactly 1000 chips, slightly below average with a few gone.

table 3 loses another and we're down to 26, 12 minutes in.

We'er losing a lot here compared to other 3-table's I've been in, we're down to 25 14 minutes in.

Hand #21: I have A9o in my big blind. The two big stacks plus another are in for 75 chips. Can I call 55 here with A9o? I fold, the flop comes 9 high and there is an all-in on the flop(for 1500 chips, these are 3 stacks bigger than mine going at it). Oof. JJ vs A9. JJ was the bigger stack, that is an exit for warriorwayne. RiVER_GHOST now has 3270 chips.

Hane #22: AQo in the SB. judster limps, I raise to 60, and RIVER_GHOST and Judster fold and I take the small, small pot. I am up to 1020 chips.

Hand #24: in the cutoff, I again have AQo. two limpers, and I raise to 60, only CooSaw calls. The flop coems ATx, 3 hearts. I haev top pair/queen kicker, and my queen is a heart. Coosaw checks, I bet 100 into the 150 pot, and I win it there. I have crept up to 1110 chips.

Hand #27: KQs UTG+1. I limp in after CooSaw also limps. I fold to a 250 raise from the BB.

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

23 people left, my 1090 chips is a 250 below average.

Hand #29: ATo in the big blind. There's a raise to 80, seems like a dealer steal. But do I play back here? I think I should have. I just called, and check/folded to a bad flop. Markhutch had bet-pot clicked.

Hand #31: It doesn't get much better than this, I have AA on the button. One limper, I raise to 75 chips and only the limper, CooSaw calls. The flop comes A87, two diamonds. CooSaw checks, I underbet a bit here, I'm probably giving the flush draw odds to call, 70 into a 180'ish pot. But CooSaw folds. How would people play this? I have position, trip aces, and the ace for the flush, A87, 87 diamonds on the flop. There are too many cards that can come out that will scare me, so I don't think I can give a free card here. Thoughts?

Hand #37: Q8s in the BB. three limp(including BB) and I check. The flop comes 357, two diamonds. I bet 85 into the 120 flop and CooSaw calls. The turn is a blank, the river an 8. I debate a small bet but that's just asking for a check-raise. I check it down and win the pot against J6(inside straight).

CooSaw bluffs all-in on AJ against AQ(pair of queens vs ace-high) and he is out, markhutch has 2400 chips now, big stacks to my right(markhutch/2210 chips) and left(River_ghost 3530 chips).

Hand #43: UTG with AQs, raise to 3xthe blind(to 90) and I steal the blinds.

Raised out of my blind(K2o).

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

21 left going into the 2nd half-hour.

Hand #50: RIVER_GHOST knocks out the 21st player, we're down to 2 tables. I have 1200 chips after the blinds pass, RIVER_GHOST has 3960 to my left, the THREE players to my right all have 2300+ chips. Oof.

Hand #51: A5s in the SB. markhutch has 2500 chips, and raises to 250 on the button. He's probably stealing, but can you play back with A5s there? If I think he's stealing don't I have to go over the top of him all in? He's got double my stack... how do others play this? I folded.

Hand #52: RIVER_GHOST goes allin for 2900 on the turn into a 2000 pot, T424 on the board, hicagojoec folds, river_ghost just made a great 1000 chip pickup. chicagojoe is down to 1600 chips and says he had a pocket pair(doesn't say how high).

Hand #54: JTs in the cutoff, I open-raise for 150 chips(3x BB). AABulletsAA calls me. The flop comes JT7, all hearts. I of course, have no hearts, I have top-two. AABullets bets 100, the pot is now 400 chips. These good hands don't come often enough... if he has me beat I have outs, and if I'm ahead I have great odds to win. I push all in over him. He calls with A7, one heart. We're 50/50, a lot worse than I hoped for. The 4th heart hits the river and I never fill up. I'm down to 465 chips and in trouble. Another one of those "hwo do you guys play this? blinds going up to 50/100 very soon.

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

17 left. I am the short stack at the table, 2nd shortest in the tourney. My blind is hitting soon, I'm going to need a couple of double-ups to stay alive.

52o UTG. I'll take my chances in the blinds.

76o in my BB. please please please free flop. whee. 3-handed. 235 on the flop, two clubs. inside straight draw. Bleh. I don't have enough to pick up the pot, I'll get claled. I decide to just check, we actually check all the way to the river and I never hit anything and fold to a bet on the river.

The SB is 72o and I again fold.

on the button I have KQo. Now I have about 6 hands to see what happens, but this is the best it gets I assume. two limpes before me and I go all in for 315. Both limpers call. Flop comes A67 and I am sure I'm gone. One of them has an ace.

NOPE!! hart7 goes all in on the flop, scares out anan12. hart has 65o. A queen hits the turn, I'M ALIVE.

I now have 1095 chips.

I'm still very low but I'm breathing.

Hand #68: T2o in the BB. folded to the SB who limps, I'm ready to push all in if I hit a ten here, but I don't, total miss and I fold to a bet.

I fold 62s in the SB.

3-way all in, 67s, 77 and AJ pre-flop. 89TJ give 67/77 a split of chicagojoec's money to hart7/southsidesox. chicagojoe had a heavy chiplead over the other two and stays alive though.

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

Hand #73: Ugh. We are 8 handed. I have 945 chips. Avg is up to about 2000, 75/150 blinds coming fast. I'm in mid-position. I have pocket 7s. Shit what to do. I open-raise to 3x the BB, 450. I win the blinds. Woo. I'm up to 1170 chips.

Hand #74: hart7 keeps doubling up. A7 vs anan12's 33. Ace on the river. hart7 has come back from less than what I had to 1150 chips.

Anan doubles up on the next had, TT vs A3 all in.

Hand #76: Q4s in the big blind. Two others limp and I get a free flop. I can't call a bet on the AT7 flop though.

K4o in the SB doesn't help me any, back to 945.

We're down to 13 people after a few all-ins in the last few hands(one out at my table, two at the other).

hart7 is the luckiest MF in the world. KJo all in vs TT after the turn, KJ was two overcards+inside straight, TT was trip tens. the inside straight hits the river. hart7 is a big'ish 2400 stack, while Anan12 is now down under me at 1800.

Blinds coming :( Q4o UTG, bleh.

BB: J9o. There's a raise to 300. Two call. I'm getting 7:1 to call another 150, but if I miss I'm way down. I go ahead and fold. AT9 flop, 3 spades. I had no spade. I would have had no chance here.

SB: J3o, I fold to a big raise.

I'm down to 720 chips.

blinds go up in 2 minutes, I'm going to catch them again at 100/200. 32o UTG + 2. 74o UTG+1. Southsidesox is gone. 12 of us left.

AQ UTG. All-in. How many will call? UGH. Two. Holy crap Icould not be up against worse possibilities. I am so dominated it is silly.

radii@dread:~$ pokenum -h Ac Qd - Kc Kd - Ah Ks
Holdem Hi: 1370754 enumerated boards
cards win %win lose %lose tie %tie EV
Ac Qd 115974 8.46 1234849 90.09 19931 1.45 0.091
Kc Kd 991154 72.31 370987 27.06 8613 0.63 0.726
Ks Ah 240501 17.55 1107128 80.77 23125 1.69 0.183

OOF. I am out 12th. Thoughts on any of the hands above?

I'll probably get the chance to document some ring-game action soon because UltimateBet is offering a 33% bonus up to $500. I am definitely taking that, and at UB I like starting short tables for the double points.

dixieflatline

06-22-2004, 10:15 AM

I don't have any tourney experience so take this with a grain of salt. I did want to respond though as I love your documentation of the hands. Keep posting we(I) will keep reading.

Hand #31: It doesn't get much better than this, I have AA on the button. One limper, I raise to 75 chips and only the limper, CooSaw calls. The flop comes A87, two diamonds. CooSaw checks, I underbet a bit here, I'm probably giving the flush draw odds to call, 70 into a 180'ish pot. But CooSaw folds. How would people play this? I have position, trip aces, and the ace for the flush, A87, 87 diamonds on the flop. There are too many cards that can come out that will scare me, so I don't think I can give a free card here. Thoughts?

I might have pushed a bit harder. He could have a straight or a flush draw and you don't want to get your aces cracked because you didn't bet enough on the flop/turn. If the 87 either weren't suited or weren't connecting I might have tried a slowplay but not in this situation.

Hand #51: A5s in the SB. markhutch has 2500 chips, and raises to 250 on the button. He's probably stealing, but can you play back with A5s there? If I think he's stealing don't I have to go over the top of him all in? He's got double my stack... how do others play this? I folded.

It does smell like a steal but you are out of position and there are a lot of hands where you would be a big dog to if he wasn't stealing. Middle pair even and you're in trouble. Blinds are still low and you're not that short stacked at this point. I would have folded as well

Hand #54: JTs in the cutoff, I open-raise for 150 chips(3x BB). AABulletsAA calls me. The flop comes JT7, all hearts. I of course, have no hearts, I have top-two. AABullets bets 100, the pot is now 400 chips. These good hands don't come often enough... if he has me beat I have outs, and if I'm ahead I have great odds to win. I push all in over him. He calls with A7, one heart. We're 50/50, a lot worse than I hoped for. The 4th heart hits the river and I never fill up. I'm down to 465 chips and in trouble. Another one of those "hwo do you guys play this? blinds going up to 50/100 very soon.

Again I think you did the right thing. You only had 4 outs if he had the flush already but probably the only other hands that he calls with is the Ah which he had or maybe a set(which seems unlikely as he probably would have reraised preflop with a wired pair). You had the bigger stack and the pot was decent enough for you to want to take it down there. Was he in the SB or BB? Seems like his preflop call was maybe a bit lose but maybe he thought you were stealing.

SirFozzie

06-22-2004, 11:33 AM

Your betting pattern indicates that your betting is... less then optimal in that it's not agressive enough. In my view, you have to win 5-10 times as many hands by forcing/bullying the other player off his hand as there is in showing down hands.

It's led to something I call normal/agressive play. You play a lot of calls with marginal hands (the suited connectors, the Kojack, Ace-middle cards).. but if you HAVE a hand, you get agressive, and bet them right out of the pot.

Reasoning: It only takes one-two hands to establish a "rep" in these tournies as a player who will make you PAY for drawing hands and, for example, less then top pair with high kicker at the flop. (say, AJ5 flop.. I want them thinking I have at LEAST a AQ.. even though I might have rags.. because in the first few hands.. I've played it agressive right in their face with a great hand.)

That helps in the being a bully part in the tourney.

If you're in the middle or top levels of the chip count.. you HAVE to make them fear playing you. Especially in the double shootout's first table.. I was fourth about the 25/50 level.. but I had enough chips that for all but one player.. if I decided to push, I was going to make them decide their fate in the tourney on this one hand.

For example, when normally I would have raised the mininum, I raised it four-five times the BB. That usually would nab me the blinds. Yes, it's less then optimal at that point.. but when you get a couple of those, mixed in with one or two bluffs (where you fold if you don't hit, or just try to collect with a bet, but get forced out to a re-raise, or whatever..)

But then comes the hand where you have a huge advantage and you get one (or two) players that say "That bastard's gotta be stealing.." and re-raises you.. thinking he's going to force you out.. and then his jaw drops as they see you go all-in. Most of the time, they are upset with you for trying to disrupt their wonderful, knowing play, and they end up at the rail and wondering what the hell went wrong.

Basically.. the best time to be agressive is pre-flop.. because unless he has AK, AA, KK, or QQ.. he will be looking for ways OUT of the pot rather then into the pot. It's just a matter of varying play so you don't get predictable

Radii

06-22-2004, 01:21 PM

The single-table I was writing up a couple of days ago, I was listing every hand I folded and my position as I was going.

I think the next tourney I play I will try to do that again, and see how many "nono you could have played that"'s I get.

I appreciate the advice from all, I really want to improve my tournament game, I know it's a weakness.

Foz, can you elaborate on how you'd recommend playing the first couple of times around the table? I have always read to play "super tight" very early on but that obviously doesn't seem to get me anywhere. It sounds to me like what you're describing is a strategy where you try to play a lot of hands early, get out when you miss, but when you do catch something to overbet the pot pretty big.

One of the problems I face is that Party's tournament structure is a lot worse than PokerStars. pokerstars gives you 1500 chips and 15 minute levels, party gives you 1000 chips and 10 minute levels. I always feel like one moderate mistake cripples me(maybe I just shouldn't play tournaments on party, huh?).

Anyway, I do appreciate all of the advice. Back to the ring games exclusively for a little while to work off my bonus on UB.

Edit: I can spell, I just choose not to sometimes.

SirFozzie

06-22-2004, 02:02 PM

In a WSOP type event, yes, it is best to be super tight. However, in the 1-3 table tournaments (like the ones I play, and your 3 table SnG).. you have the same crew for the whole tournament most of the time. It's a matter of table image. Especially in the single tables.. where you WON'T get any new blood.. you have to make others think that you will take them to the wall if they want a go. 3 table.. you probably have MOST of the same crew, so it does remain the same unless you get moved.

Take a chance with marginal hands, get out if you don't hit, but bet agressive. Either you'll take it down if they fold, or you'll take down a big pot if they suspect you're stealing. The first couple rounds, you don't steal at all. You want others to think that you are no poker artist.. you use the hammer school of NL Hold Em.

The Hammer School of Poker, you may ask?

It's simple. Any problem.. hit it with a hammer (a bet). If it doesn't work.. hit it with a bigger hammer. (a bigger bet).

That sets your table image as a player who will beat them big if they call his bet.

You will bust out early more (bad beats and people with the nuts), but it will lead to more high finishes (money finishes) because once your table image is set, you will have established yourself as someone you don't get cute with.

Pokerstars is 1500/10 BTW, for SnG.

Radii

06-22-2004, 10:05 PM

I deposit $500 into Ultimate Bet and earn a $165 bonus as a result.

I buy in for $100 to a 2/4 6-max table, I start the table, so I'll earn double points. I need to earn 1650 points to clear up my entire bonus. I'm not going to put myself in a bad situation to earn the bonus but I am confidant enough in my heads up and short play in general to make sure I start every table to get the bonus points.

after a few minutes ifrk325 sits to my right.

5 hands in Bucketsman joins to the left.

These guys both seem real weak/tight for 3 handed. I quickly go up about $10, pots are staying small so that's saying something, all the wins are on flop bets or pre-flop raises

Burger77 joins to my immediate left

I flop top pair out of the big blind on Burger's first hand(he posted out of turn) with J7s and bet all the way down, I end up winning a $25 pot.

A small loss trying to take a pot from a passive ifrk325 drops me a little.

Another $26 pot comes very soon after, I raise/bet with AK all the way heads up against bucketman, hitting an inside straight on the turn.

We go 6 handed 16 hands in. I am up $26.25 at this point.

To my left: Burger77, blue1929, bucketsman, robertob7, and ifrk325.

robertob raises w/ KTo on his second hand, worth noting.

Hand #19: I raise out of the SB with TT, 3 people call me(wto limpers and the BB). The flop has a king, I bet and then call a raise. The turn is a queen and I'm out. I'm down to $114.25 after that one.

Hand #22: I raise UTG+1 with KQo. 3 people call. I love my QQ4 flop. I bet the flop, and burger77 raises me. The other two fold, and I just call, intended to check-raise the turn(refusing to believe there's any way I'm behind here). I do check-raise the turn, and bet the river, both are called and I win a $48 pot.

Hand #24: blue1929 raises pre-flop and I call with AQo out of the big blind. The flop comes A99 and I bet out. Blue just calls. The turn is a king, I bet again, blue folds.

25 hands in, I'm up $48.25, and have earned 21 "ultimate points" Of course, I need 1650 of them, but I love seeing them come in so fast when I'm getting double points for starting a table.

Hand #28: I raise with A9s, only blue1929 calls me. The flop comes 567, the turn a blank. I push on both streets, buth check fold when I don't improve by the river.

I sit out two hands to teach a 6 year old how to raise and lower blinds. When I come back there is a new table lineup:

to my left: Burger77, blue1929, Bucketsman, empty seat, Warrf.

Hand #40: I get a free flop with Q9o. I bet the 9 high flop(954 I believe), and get re-raised by burger77. With A9 I'd re-raise but with Q9 I think I'll just acll here. I call al the way down when running 8's hit the board, and see that I beat pocket 7's for a pot about $20.

Hand #43: I raise from UTG+1 with JJ. I get 3 callers. The dreaded ace flops. I bet it all the way down, getting two callers on teh flop and the turn. Surely an ace would re-raise me? Well of course not, but we've seen burger bet when checked to with nothing so I don't think I have much of a choice unless I'm giving up the hand. I bet it all the way down, burger/blue call the flop turn, blue calls the river after burger folds, my JJ is good for a $45 pot.

At present I'm 45 hands in, up $62 with 50.5 points.

The way ultimate bet works is that every 10 points releses a dollar. Actually, every point releases 10 cents... of your bonus, and after you leave the table that portion of your bonus that you've earned is given to you immediately. Kinda nice really, though I still like PartyPoker's "sit here for 500 hands and you get $100 free" system the best.

Hand #50: Burger has really gotten agressive, raising a lot pre-flop. He raises UTG and I just call after 3 others with JJ. The flop comes 9 high and I know Burger is betting, so I go for the check-raise here. Everyone calls. The turn is a blank low card, I bet out and all call. The river is another blank, I bet and burger and warrf call me. My jacks are good and I win a $50 pot, I'm up to $192 at the table. Burger showed pocket 7s.

Burger busts out soon after, dumping his last $19 on the next two hands. He pushed waay too hard with his middle pocket pairs, something I have been guilty of so I know the feeling, but it just seemed like he couldn't fold them.

New table lineup 55 hands in:

eclipsegsx302, blue1929, Bucketsman, DickieTheWorm, Warrf, and me.

Hand #57: one limper to me, I've got the button and raise with 88, 3 callesr. Flop comes JJ2. Eclipse bets out and I decide to raise, only bucketsman and dickietheworm call. A blank hits the turn and bucketsman check-raises me. I know my call here sucks, but I make it anyway. The river is a 9 and I fold to a bet there.

Hand #62: free flop with QTo. Flop comes Q8x, warrf checks, I bet, warrf calls. Turn is a jack, check/bet/call. I'm erady to check down this river, as there's a flush on the board now(a blank 3rd heart), but warrf bets. People bluff the flush too often here, I feel I have to clal. I am beaten by a straight, not a flush, warrf shows 9T for the win.

Those two quick losses knock me down to $160.

Hand #69: I have AKo. I raise early, bucketsman calls, dickietheworm re-raises and I cap it. 3 way action, I am last to act. The flop comes 877, checked to me, I bet and both call. The turn is a jack, I take a free card here, assuming I'm up against some sort of pocket pair from dickie, and the river, another 8, putting two pair on the board. We check it down, and if either of them had a pocket pair, it was lower than 7s. My ace kicker on the 2 pair on the board wins the $28 hand.

I give a litte back soon after betting 2nd pair into bucketsman. He pushes me harder than i'm willing to go with my T7s(JTx flop) when a second jack hits the turn, and I let him have it.

74 hands in, up $66/94.5 points.

Hand #83: I get a free flop with 64o, 3 handed. It's a beauty. 235. I bet the flop, both call. The turn is another 5. I bet, dickietheworm raises, warrf folds, and I re-raise(low pockets/53/52 beat me here, no backing down that easy). I bet the jack on the river, and i take down a $42 pot with my straight.

Hand #89: Eclipse raises UTG, I have AQo on the BB. warrf and I both call, leaving me in mid-position this hand. Flop comes KJx. I check/call a bet with my inside straight draw, and fold on the turn. I don't like how I played that handat all.

100 hands in, I am up $69 and have 126.50 points.

Table: eclipsegsx302, MagicMartyy, Bucketsman(who has come back to $87 from about $25 recently), DickieTheWorm, and an empty seat.

DickieTheWorm takes a bad beat and leaves as well, 4 handed for now.

I win a small pot with KTs betting a draw on a scary board(2 dimaonds/straight draw for me), $5.75 pot.

G_G has joined to my right.

MagicMartyy busts out. down to 4 again.

Hand #116: QQ on the button. GG limps, I raise, bucketsman/GG call. The flop comes T94. checked to me, I bet they both call. Turn is a 3. I bet/both call. the river pairs the top card, another ten. I decide to check here with two opponents, and I win a $29.50 pot with my queens and tens.

Hand #122: I call a raise out of the BB with 97s. A little loose I suppose but eh. Flop comes QT8, two of my suit. Even if my opponent has QQ I have tons of ways to win here. I bet out, and we end up capping the flop. I call a turn bet, and fold on the river when everything misses. A ten hit the river and bucketsman had QQ for the top boat.

I was still a 60/40 dog to a set there:

Holdem Hi: 990 enumerated boards containing Qc Tc 8h
cards win %win lose %lose tie %tie EV
Qd Qh 591 59.70 390 39.39 9 0.91 0.602
9c 7c 390 39.39 591 59.70 9 0.91 0.398

But, give my opponent two pair, and we're 50/50(ifh e has QT). Give him AA and I'm a 55/45 favorite. I am pleased w/ my flop cap.

Hand #135: I raise UTG with pocket 7s, G_G calls. Flop comes AK4. G_G check-raises me when I bet(he was BB) and I immediately fold.

These losses have knocked me down to $158(up $58.25).

After a 10-15 minute break I sit back in for one round and blind out a bit and play one hand that goes nowhee, and after another short break I'm back for awhile here.

143 hands in, I have $147.25 and 156 bonus points. Table layout: empty seat, punkyd, infallible, Glen-Bo, and Cariola212. A totally new lineup here.

Hand #144: My first hand back, A5o in the BB. Free flop 3-way, flop an ace, win $5.75 by betting it.

Hand #152: I have KK UTG. I raise and two call. Flop comes 943. cariola bets out before me, i raise and both call. Turn is a jack, I bet and both call. River a queen. I bet, punky raises, and I call. Pretty straightforward, Q9o for two pair. I am down to $134 on that loss.

Hand #159: I limp from the SB with pocket 5s, 4-way action. flop comes 895. I bet out, two call. Turn is a blank, but puts a heart draw on the board. cha59 calls my bet. The river is a 7, a 6 makes a straight and ther's a flush on the board. I bet, cha raises, an dI call to see JTo for the nut straight. I am down to $116 after those two very bad drawouts against me.

Hand #167: We're back to 6 handed here, and I raise in the cutoff with KTs, I get 3 callers and fold to a bet on the flop when it doesn't even give me runner runner possibilities.

I'm now down to $107, but I don't think I'm tilting at all, so it's still all good.

Hand #170: Q4s on the BB, free flop 3-way I catch top pair and bet the flop, both opponents call me. The turn makes a straight and a flush, I don't like my kicker and I've got too many hands that i'm drawing dead against, I check/fold it here.

Hand #178: I raise on the button with AQo, only the BB calls. rave, the BB/new player, check-raises me on the flop of JT5. I call, I think he's done this before already and taken down the pot, I end up catching a flush draw on the turn but don't improve on the river. rave shows me J3o, top pair, shitty kicker, but, it's good enough to beat me. I file that one away.

Hand #183: folded to me on the SB, I raise with JJ, bet the flop and win a $7.75 pot.

I am hurtin a bit though, down to $78.75 here.

Hand #187: down to 4-way again, I steal the blinds w/ a raise w/ 55 UTG.

ARGH. Now I have to be careful of tilting.

KTs in the BB. Glen-bo limps to me. Flop comes K-rag-rag. He bets, I raise, he calls. He check-raises me on the turn and I decide to call him down... a slowplayed AA.

Now I am down to $57.75 and hurting quite a bit.

Hand #196: err. I hit a flush on the turn with KTs again but rave hits a full house on the river to CRUSH me. $44.75.

About 50 hands not written up b/c of talking to oliegirl who just got home. I bleed just a bit down to $45.

Hand #245: rave and I cap pre-flop, heads up against each other. I have QQ. Flop has an ace. I decide to call him down, knowing he's agressive with a lot less than an ace there. He ends up showing me JJ as I take down a $32 pot to move back up to $62.25.

This table has gotten really agressive I blind down to $54, there are pre-flop raises, and bluffs galore. 66 vs AJ, neither improve but the pot ends up over $30.

Hand #268: I get a free flop with 35 spades. Flop comes 247 of spades. SOCLOSE. I bet the flop and get two callers. On the turn a 4th spade comes... I go ahead and bet, seen that happen just too often, but fold to a raise.

Hand #271: I raise in the cutoff with AJs. Three call and I fold to a 456 all clubs flop(I had spades)

I may well bust out here, but I feel like if I can catch a couple of hands I can get back up to my buyin real fast too... top pair vs bottom pair just brought us a $60 pot.

I won't rebuy but I'll play this all th way down to bust if I have to to try to turn it around.

Tampa Bay represent. Lou Pinella has joined the table.

Tampa Bay represent. Lou Pinella shows down quad queens. Capped on the turn and river as redskin2 tries to bluff with 5 high and refuses to give up.

Hand #293: I steal the blinds with a cutoff raise with AJs.

About to bust out after I raise with KJs. I flop a flush draw and inside straight draw and push push push and end up winning a $22 pot to a fold.

Hand #305: I double up finally, T8 suited. I flop a ten and the flush draw and push push push, i hit the flush on the turn and end up getting put all in, I win $42.50 with my flush.

We're 3 handed here so the swings could get real big real fast...

never mind, we're 5 handed now and I have $36.50.

Ok so we're 4 handed.

I raise with QJs and get two callers, I flop a queen. YOU ARE ****** ******* ME(adjusted for the youngins here). wired jacks caps the flop, bets the turn and river. Q42 flop. T turn, 9 river, runner runner to make 4 clubs. He shows 43o to take the pot with a ten high flush draw(clearly I have no clubs here). That pot was $51.50 and my only mistake was not capping the turn. That would have put me soooo far back up.

I win two hands again that are virtually all-ins, KT hit hard and 99 flopped a full house, that brings me right back up to $38.

I don't like playing short stacked at a limit table like this, but I don't want to lose more than my buyin here either.

6 handed, I raise with AQs, one caller, and I flop a flush draw against tirepoker(new player). I bet the flop and turn, check the river, and I beat 95o. I am back to $47.25.

I call a raise with T7s in the BB with 4 opponents. I flop a flush, KJ2. I cap the betting on the flop with the raiser, call a bet on the turn when the board pairs the jack on the turn, and check down the river when the 2 paisr also. My flush is good though and I am up to $72!

I raise with 99 UTG, wiredjacks calls, so does captaininsano. I bet, wiredjacks raises, I re-raise, he caps. With all the bluffs I've seen him run I just absolutely do not believe him. I bet the turn, and call his raise. I finally call down the river, and see 67o. The $66 pot just kills me.

I make it back up pretty soon after. I flop top pair with A9o and cap it with wiredjacks. I bet the turn/he calls with a flush on the board, and the river makes a four flush with my 9. I bet anyway, he calls, and shows me 62o, he had middle pair on the flop and never improved.

I lose about $15 with AJ vs a dominated QJ. both a queen and an ace flop but my opponent runner-runner flushes me.

I am right back down to $33 here. This is kinda insane.

I've tailed off a bit here b/c of AFI's top 100 movie songs.

After blinding back down to about $40(after going up to $50'ish again), I get AA, raise pre-flop and get 4 callers. I flop the ace but there's a flush draw as well. I bet out of first position and everyone folds. WTF! Well, the $19 pot gets me back up to $56.

YES. I hit a flush on the turn in a 5-handed pot, I am almost certain there was a made straight and possibly a set going there, I take down a $53 pot and I am back to $85.25!

I steal the blinds with AKs to stay at that $85.

I end up falling back to $66, and earning an astounding 587 points. I'm not sure what to say about my session, quite a marathon, I don't think I could have quit when I was up $80 really, my play stayed solid throughout, minus some goofy play when I was about to bust out, thought I could beat these guys but wasn't willing to risk more than a buyin...

anyway, I now have $524.70 in my money account and $106.30 remaining of my bonus to earn.

I will definitely be a little disappointed if I end up only taking $660 out of this site or less, but hey, stuff happens.

Radii

06-22-2004, 10:06 PM

Thanks for the additional post Foz, when I am back on party/pokerstars(I still have a couple hundred lingering there) and want to try out some tournaments again, I will re-read your posts and see how I can make some adjustments.

Radii

06-25-2004, 06:28 PM

I start up a 2/4 short table on UB, hoping to do better than my last two sittings(the mammoth one I recorded and another loser that I didn't).

It takes awhile before anyone else joins, about 10 minutes, but now, mrcrozan has joined me.

No one else joins, and after 13 hands, Microzan leaves. I played him well and am up $17.75. So now I wait some more, with $117.75 and 6 "ultimate points" at the table.

No big big hands worth mentioning, we rarely went to the river. I won a few $20 pots and didn't lose any big ones. I won a nice hand with 23o which hit two pair on the turn, and AJ with an ace on the board.

lion9 joins as my next challenge.

I score big here, on our first 3 hands I win pots of $23.50/$19.50/$15.50 with a striaght/top pair/bottom pair.

A 3rd player, wambamkam joins. I have $140 when he joins and we go 3 handed.

There's little pre-flop raising from the other two here, they sem to be pretty straight forward. I lose my first $20 pot betting bottom pair with a 2 kicker(92o) into 97o. I'm outkicked and down to $125.

27 hands in, lion9 raises out of the BB, the first sign of major agression from either... too bad there wasn't a showdown.

I lose another pot wtih A2 and then another with pocket 7s, raising pre-flop witht hem only to fall to a pair of 9s made on the turn.

Ok, 36 hands in, we are now 6 handed. I'm down to $93 all of a sudden, as I flop top two pair vs toothpicker(the 4th at the table) but he rivers a flush.

The lineup:

wambamkam, OKslim, lion9, _Slacker_, empty chair(toothpicker leaves before I finish typing this up).

All four of the others are involved in a $79 pot, massive at 2/4. ace/good kicker vs A5 two pair vs a flush draw vs a fish who had no business in the pot.

Hand #42: I check with AKs on the BB(mistake...), we are 3 handed. The flop comes 666. slacker bets, I raise, lion folds, slacker calls. I bet the turn and check the river when they're blanks. My ace high beats K5o, neither of us paired up for the boat.

Hand #43: I push with KQs from the SB, betting the flop and turn, probably very mistakenly when the ace hit the flop. I give wambam a $30 pot.

Hand #46: I raise with KK and win the blinds. Splendid.

sanjaysr2k joins to my right in the final empty seat.

Hand #48: Free flop with J5o, 3 handed. I bet it when it comes J33. Only Slacker calls me. I bet the turn when another 3 hits, giving me the boat. Slacker folds on the river and I'm up to $103.

Hand #50: I limp on the button with 76s. 3 handed with lion and OKslim. The flop comes 773. lion bets and I just call. The turn is a queen, lion bets, I raise, he calls. The river boats me up with a 6, I bet/he calls and I take down a $33.25 pot with my full house, up to $120.

Hand #52: I raise UTG with AQo. wambam calls, OKslim re-raises, lion calls, and me and wambam also both call. The flop comes 337 and 4-handed I don't like my overcards, I go ahead and fold to a bet.

lion9 has gotten very agresive all of a sudden.

slacker has just taken two $40+ pots in a row, one off okslim with a J6 boat and one off of lion9, dunno what with.

and lion takes a $40 pot right back off of slacker, KQ vs KT.

Hand #70: I raise UTG with ATs. wambam comes over me with a re-raise and I call. I bet the flop when it comes A97. I bet the king on the turn, and just call a raise, and check/call the river, which is a second king. wambam shows pocket jacks, for some very curious betting there. Wonder if I should have raised the turn.

Yet another raise/re-raise pre-flop between lion and slacker. OKSlim stays in this time and takes the lead on the flop. lion9 shows AT for a rivered inside straight. OKSlim had KT, and slacker had AQ. Good to see what they're pushing so hard with on occasion.

wambam tilts out totally and busts out. New table lineup after he leaves and one joins:

Empty seat, OKSlim, Lion9, _Slacker_, and JJ66(brand new, bought in for only $40)

Hand #84: I play A2 from the small blind with one limper, and win $5.75 when an ace flops and no one calls me.

h20fam joins to my left and we're full again.

Hand #90: I limp on the button with JTs, KQ of my suit flops and I bet it, winning a small pot.

There's another $50 pot, OKslim has his aces cracked by lion9's K5, two kings hit...

I take yet another $6 pot betting J6o, free flop, free turn and I turned a straight draw with 457 on the board... no one else seemed to want it.

Hand #97: I have T9o in the SB. We are 6 handed, I limp and see QJx flop, I am ready to call a bet here, but slacker bets and JJ66 raises... I can't cold-call two. In the end, I would have hit my straight and won about $60. But I think I made the right fold nonetheless.

slacker leaves, which is a bad thing, you could take a loto f money off of him when you had a hand. eriksen joins in his place.

lion9 also leaves. He played pretty well but was easy to read.

lineup: h20fam, OKslim, empty seat, eriksen, JJ66... I have $99.50 after the BB that hit while I wrote this.

Hand #106: I think I played this terribly. OKslim raises pre-flop, I call out of the BB with 87s. We're heads up on the flop. I flop a straight draw, 699 flop. I bet out, OKslim raises, and I'm out of position and just unhappy here. I basically give it up, but at the same time, so did OKslim..I probably could have bet him out of it, he had A3o.

Hand #109: I raise with pocket 5s, get one caller, and get pushed at hard on the flop which has 3 overcards. I fold and after those two hands I'm down to $80.

Hand #112: I raise with ATs, only eriksen calls. Flop comes AJ9. He bets, I raise, he calls. Turn is a ten, I bet/he calls. The river is an 8... any 7/queen makes a straight. He bets, I have to call this though, I do and I lose a $32 pot to Q9. Three bad hands in a row(though one I think I played fine) and I'm down to $65 and cursing Ultimate Bet.

Hand #121: I have JJ in the big blind. I just limp here, with two opponents, hoping for a good flop. The flop comes T86, not terrible, but it's all clubs. I do have a club, jj66 bets, I raise, hangnman(new player) and JJ66 calls. The turn puts 4 to a straight out with a 7, I bet otu and only hangnman calls. The river is an ace, I bet, and both fold... the $25 pot puts me back up to $75.50.

Hand #134: I get a free flop with J9o, flop a straight draw, and win the $5.75 right there.

Hand #135: I have TT on the button and raise. OKslim and hangnman call. Flop comes 7-high with two spades. hangnman bets, I raise, OKslim calls. The turn is a 3rd spade but tens are still high... hangnman bets again, and I call him down, the river brings a 4th spade, I have a spade and call, I lose to K8s.

Hand #139: I make some of that back when I flop a queen out of the blind with Q4, I get a few callers on the flop and folds on the turn, I'm at $69.

Hand #143: I win another pot of about $12 with 66, flop 442, turn 3.

I lose two very very bad hands in a row. One one I open-raise from the cutoff wit A5s. h20fam re-raises and I just call. I flop an inside straight draw and a flush draw. We cap the flop. The turn pairs my 5, I bet/he raises and I call. We both check the river and my pair of 5s loses to pocket queens.

The very next hand I raise with AQs. h20fam calls and OKslim re-raises. we both call. The flop comes Q87 rainbow. OKslim and I cap the betting. On the turn I check/call and on the river h20fam bets/OKslim raises... I still have top pair but I have to be beaten... I fold. OKSlim has AQs. h20fam has 77, trips. He takes down $90.

I am down to $40 after those two crushing losses.

At this second that would put me down $80 at UB even after the bonus money I've released so far, with about $80 in bonus money to go.

Hand #160: I raise UTG with AKo. hangnman and indychild call. The flop comes jack-high, I bet, indychild check-raises all in for .50 more. I bet the turn which is a blank, and check/fold the river when hangnman bets out. AK losing to AJ. Ergh.

At this point oliegirl needs the computer for a bit and I end up logging out.

I log out iwth about $28(I actually timed out while AFK)

I have $425.35 in my UB account with $85.65 in bonus money to go. that's disheartening but I still hope to turn a profit here...

Radii

06-25-2004, 10:13 PM

I join another 2/4 short table, hoping to reverse my fortunes here.

I start out playing against jbrennan17

Immediately we jump to 4 handed(after only 1 hand)

lineup: empty, empty, 619luckster, bucketsman, jbrennan17

Hand #5: AA UTG. I raise, buckets calls, jbrennan raises, I cap, buckets folds. Flop is queen high, I bet/jbrennan calls. Turn is another queen, I bet/he folds, I take the $23 pot.

hangnman joins to my left, he was at my table earlier when I got demolished. rjmoney joins in the final seat.

Hand #12: I have Q4s in the BB. free flop heads up with rjmoney. Flop comes KQ7. I bet out, rj calls. Turn gives me a flush draw plus my 2nd pair. I bet out, rj calls. River is a blank, I bet, he raises... nothign scary came out, and rjmoney just sat down, I go ahead and call there for the information. K3o, had me beat the whole way, dunno why he chose to raise it at the end there.

Hand #17: I limp with KTs. Flop comes AJ7, checked around(3 way). Turn makes my inside straight with a queen, I bet and all fold, $5.75 is mine.

Hand #20: I open-raise in the SB with AQo. hangnman calls. Flp comes king high(ugh). I bet out and he calls. Turn is a blank, I don't have any draws here... I check/call a bet(why call? I dunno). I check/fold the river.

Antoher open raise wit 77 fails, KQs raise takes me nowhere, and then a bad bad hand with JTs. i raise it on the button, flop top pair and bet it hard, only to lose to 89s that rivered a straight. I am down a quick $40.

I push again with AK, raise early, get re-raised and call, we are 4-way. Flop comes 555, I bet out, turn is a lower card than a 5, river an 8, there's a bet/raise from the two blinsd before me and I get out. Dammit. Another killer knocking me down to $40.

I only manage to win a $13 pot with KK and have $50.

This is all going fast... that's right we're only on hand #37.

Hand #37: I raise with JJ, and 3 people call. I go ahead and fold when an ace flops and there's a bet and a call before me, with 3 opponents, no way I have outs.

Hand #42: Free flop with A2o, ace flops and I win $6.75 with my bet.

I am winning $6-$10 on my big hands and all my good hands pre-flop that don't improve are costing me that much or more.

Hand #45: JJ again. I raise and 3 peopel call me. The flop has a king. I bet it and get one caller. I bet the turn and check the river, and I beat AQ for a $26.75 pot(finally! and I think I made a mistake not bettnig the river there). I am back to $60.

HAnd #49: AKs. I raise and get 3 callers again. Flop is Q88. checked to me(I'm on the button), I bet and only rjmoney calls. He check-raises me on the turn and I fold.

I am right back to $47.50.

Hand #61: KK, I raise, rjmoney calls, bucketsman calls. QQ5 flop. I bet/rjmoney calls. Turn is a blank, I bet/get checkraised. This time I've got a hand, I re-raise, and he just calls. We check the river and the fucker has AA. He plays every hand that way if he has anything at all. He's in almost every hand, he folds when he has nothing at all on the turn, and raises if he's got anything... He's up like $200.

I am down $80. I am getting absolutely slaughtered, I'm down almost $225 in just 4 shorthanded sessions here(before bonus money starts coming in)...

I push back up to $30 winning a $17 pot by betting a straight flush draw hard with JTs(these thinngs NEVER hit do they?). I win the pot on the turn.

rjmoney is now only up $90. he is a horrible horrible player(who is taking all my money).

WTF:

Pre-flop:

Bucketsman folds. Bujinin folds. radii folds.
LRN1968 calls. rjmoney calls. KG604 checks.

Flop (board: Jc 6h 6c):

rjmoney checks. KG604 checks. LRN1968 checks.

Turn (board: Jc 6h 6c Qc):

rjmoney checks. KG604 checks. LRN1968 checks.

River (board: Jc 6h 6c Qc 6d):

rjmoney checks. KG604 checks. LRN1968 checks.

Showdown:

rjmoney shows 6s 2d.
rjmoney has 6s 6h 6c Qc 6d: four sixes.
KG604 mucks cards.
(KG604 has 4c 3s.)
LRN1968 mucks cards.
(LRN1968 has 2s As.)

Hand #1853679-4273 Summary:

$.25 is raked from a pot of $6.
rjmoney wins $5.75 with four sixes.
----------------------------------------------------------------

On the river don't you HAVe to at least try to bet??

Back to our regularily scheduled losing.

WOOEEE RUSH:

Hand #1: KJo in the BB. 2 opponents, flop a king. Bucketsman calls me til the river then folds. I take $17.25 unopposed.
Hand #2: 4-way action for a raise, I have A7s. I flop a four flush, all four of us call a bet(bucketman leads out). The turn is an ace. bucketsman bets, I raise and everyone including buckets folds. $27 pot is mine.
Hand #3: Limp with 65s. Flop is 667. buckets bets out again. I just call the flop bet. Turn is a king, I bet out, he raises, I re-raise and he calls. He calls my river bet and my 6s are good for a $49 pot!

In those 3 hands I move back up to $72.

Hand #119: AA. I raise, bucketman re-raises. I cap it. Flop comes J22. he checks/calls me on the flop. The turn is a ten. he bets, I raise, he re-raises I cap it. The river is a queen. I just call his bet and he shows me JJ. He takes a monster $59 pot that knocks me all the way back down to $43.

Soon after, 45s flops a straight and wins me a $39 pot.

About two hands after that, AKs gets capped 3-way pre-flop. I'm up against KQ and QJ, a nice little chain of domination there. The board comes 8 high, and I win another $40 pot.

After 145 hands, I am at $89.

A steal with QQ puts me at $91 as we are 4-handed at the moment.

acligirl, empty seat, KG604(sitting out), bucketsman, and bujinin.

Another small pot, this one with 77 puts me at $93 briefly.

NETELLER joins in the empty seat, and KG604 leaves leaving another empty seat.

A good $17 pot with 99 unimproved pushes me up to $99!

aaaannnd a loss with AK vs bucketsman's 55 drops me to $81.

we go 3 handed but for a brief moment during the back and forth and up and down I have gone over $100 and have $103.25!

And bujinin takes the cake at the end. I get up to $120 before we go heads up. We play for about 15 hands. My cards were much better than his, but he was trying his hardest to make a stand against me. It just worked out that I was folding at all the right times. I made two boats with JJ in those 15 hands, and won $40+ pots each time. AFter the heads up play, I am up to $170 at the table. I go ahead and log off, thrilled at the result.

I now have $517.85 in my UB account with $66.40 remaining in my bonus. That means in actual play i'm down about $80 still. After the last few sessions though I'm thrilled with where I stand.

Radii

06-26-2004, 01:09 PM

I start up a 2/4 short handed table.

dragon2524 joins right after I do. On the very first hand, I have pocket 4s, I raise and he calls. Flop comes T84, two diamonds. I bet out and he calls. The turn is an ace, diamond, flush it out there. I bet, he calls. The river is a queen, I bet, he raises, I re-raise and he calls me. He turns over QJ for the runner runner straight, and I am down $30 after the very first hand.

I work my way back pretty quickly, not really much memorable, but I play very agressively and get him to fold a lot, have a couple ace-high's hold up and hit a pair a couple of times that he raised me... by the time we go 3 handed, about 10 hands in, I am up about $2.

Early in 3-handed play(JBD1 has joined), I have 45 hearts on the button. I just limp and we're 3-way. Flop comes QT6, the 6 is a heart. We all check. the turn is the 3 of hearts, dragon bets out and I just call with my draws. The river is the 2 of hearts, and I have a rare straight flush! Unfortunatley, dragon checks, buthe does call me when I bet, and I win with the nuts.

4paws joins to my right and we're 4-way, 19 hands in. I have $108.75 so I'm up a little. Rick345 and parrotheadcub join, and JBD1 leaves, so actually we are now 5 handed.

Lineup: parrotheadcub, empty seat, dragon2524, Rick345, 4paws.

Hand #22: I raise UTG with AKs. parrot/rick/4paws all call me. Flop comes 883, I bet out when checked to me and only one calls. The turn is a 3rd 8 and I bet again. Rick345 must not have a pocket pair, and he lets me have the $19 pot.

dragon2524 leaves, but barkbbdog2 and hjumper join to fill the table up, 6 handed for now.

Finishing up my bonus is in sight, but it isn't likely to happen today as there is a wedding that I will be attending tonight. I need about 660 more points, I hope to get 100-200 in this session though, while of course hopefully posting a positive session as well.

Hand #36: JTs, I limp, flop top pair and end up calling someone else all the way down... I lose to KTo, and am vvery unhappy with how I played that hand.

Hand #37: I raise with AQo. bark and HC(new guy) call me. Flop comes J93, I have the button here, and I bet out, both call. The turn is a queen, now I've got top pair. I bet again and both call. The river is a ten, 4 to the straight on the board. bark bets out, HC calls and I can't imagine neither of them have me beat... yup, K6 and K9, two straights. Saved myself a bet there.

I am down $4.50 at the moment.

Hand #41: hjumper limps, I raise on the button with AJ, and bark calls, as does hjumper. I don't have a read on hjumper yet but bark is way too loose. Flop comes AKx, I bet and only hjumper calls. Turn is another blank, I bet/he calls, the river is a king and we check it down, his AQ beats my AJ and I am down to $82.50 at the moment.

Hand #45: I get a free flop with 47o with bark and HC. we check all the way to the river, where a 7 hits the board. bark bets/HC folds. After having seen ark blindly bet the river twice already like this, I go ahead and call. He turns over a 6-high and my rivered pair of 7s is good for a $15 pot.

Hand #48: AQs in the cutoff. I raise and only black calls. The flop is 983. I bet/he calls. Turn is my queen, I bet/he calls. river is my ace. He bets out, I raise and he calls. He has 87o for middle pair ont he flop. The $30+ pot is mine.

bark appears to bet EVERY SINGLE RIVER if he's first in the pot, no matter what anyone else has done the rest of the hand, if he's still in it. People haven't caught on(or are betting to the river with absolutely nothing) because this seems to be working really well for him.

I only play two hands in the next 20. J2s in the big blind. I flop top pair and stupidly call down bark with someone else also calling. I lose to QJ.

I limp on the button with J9s, parrotheadcub raises behind me and a ton call. I flop a flush draw and call it down, never hitting. I'm down to $77.50.

Hand #69: I get Q8s in the big blind. I limp with 4 others. Flop is a beauty, Q83. I bet out, bark calls, hjumper raises, and I re-raise. Both call. The turn pairs the 3, I bet out and both call. The river is a jack, I bet and both call again. hjumper had QTo. bark had JT. I take down $47.50 and am back up to $108.

Hand #73: I limp with T8s early. The flop comes ten-high. I click to bet, but mistakenly raise HC... I dunno what I would have done if I wasn't opening the bet. Well, I raised. I continue the agression on the turn and HC folds to me. I now have $117.75.

Hand #77: I open-raise with 66. 4 callers. Oof. I go ahead and bet into the J32 flop but everyone calls again. i give it up on the turn when another overcard + the flush hit.

Hand #86: T3 in the big blind. Free flop and I flop a ten. T67 flop. I go ahead and bet out and both my opponents(HC and bark) call. The turn pairs the 6 and only HC is still in. We check the river and HC had me beat the whole way, T9. He rivered a straight(and didn't bet it, check-raise maybe?)

I again sit wit $99.75, right back where I started.

Hand #92: Red flags galore, I call a raise from the BB with JT. The flop comes jack high. luckily a bet and a raise before me let me get out. Oya. hjumper, the raiser, had JJ for trips.

That hand + blinding down a bit has me back down to $83.75 105 hands in.

Hand #114: I limp with Q9s. We are 4-way. Flop comes AJ5, with the ace and jack of hearts. I bet out and only HC calls. The turn is a queen. I bet and HC check-raises me... I go ahead and call, hoping for the flush. The river is another queen. HC checks again, I figure him for an ace and bet out. He check-raises me AGAIN. I call, and he has KT for the straight. Why the check-raise on the river??

As I'm typing it up I win two quick hands back.. I was down to abuot $55. I win a $25 pot off of bark with JT when I hit two pair, and I win a $42 pot with aces full of queens with my pocket aces.

So in a 5 hand stretch I fall from $80 to $50, and get back to $90.

Terribly cold cards in the next 20 hands see me drop to $76.75 by hand 140.

I hit two pair with 76s in the big blind and win a nice pot to push me back up to $91. Some solid agression with KQo in the small blind the very next hand pushes me back over $100, at a rousing $101.

Hand #151: I get A6o in the SB. I limp and we're 3-way. The flop has an ace and I bet/barkbbdog is the only caller. The turn is another ace and I bet/he calls. He calls again on the river and I take down a $24.75 pot.

Soon after I pick up the top end of a straight draw out of the small blind(56x flop and I have 78), I bet it down and get called all the way, I luck into a 7 on the river and my top pair wins the hand for me.

After 170 hands, I've pushed up to $133.75.

parrotheadcub just won a $76 pot from bark and HC with quad sixes... 66x6T board, bark adn HC capped it with tens, parrot had the 6.

Hand #177: I raise early with JJ. HC and bark call me, and the flop comes queen high. I bet it and get one caller, bark. The turn is my jack, I bet/he calls. The river brings a flush, I bet/he folds and I take down a nice pot.

Hand #180: I have J2s on the BB. the flop coems 89T, and bark bets, I call. The turn is a jack, he checks/I bet/he calls. The river is another jack, I bet/he calls and I win the pot.

That puts me up to $153, and bark goes broke after that. I decide to go ahead and leave with a profit here after my best friend leaves.

I earn 250 points also.

UB account: $575.60. Bonus money left, $41.40.

Radii

07-01-2004, 11:34 AM

To update here:

<i>UB account: $575.60. Bonus money left, $41.40.</i>

I finished down $35 while earning the rest of my bonus here. I deposit $500, earn a $160 bonus, and cash out $580. BLEH.

I also followed cthomer's advice from another thread and looked up InterCasinoPoker. The site sucks. It is TERRIBLE. 3 tables nearly crash my computer. Two slow it down a lot. But the play of my opponents is worse than the site.

I deposited $100 into intercasino. It doesn't mention a poker bonus, but after 300 hands, $50 magically showed up into my account.

What does show up, is $90 that can be used in their non-holdem casino. I'll come back to that.

I played 300 hands at 6-man 1/2 tables against some of the worst poker players I've ever seen. I deposited $100, and after just 300 hands and a $50 bonus, I'll be cashing out $272.

CURRENT BANKROLL STATUS:

Partypoker: $856
PokerStars: $168
InterCasino: $272
Neteller: $782

TOTAL: $2078

Net Change since 6/20: + $223

I haven't played as much in the last two weeks, there have been 3 or 4 days where I didn't get any poker in at all, but Ihave played more than my share of poker, and basically been slightly ahead since a lot of that was bonus money.

JULY 1: $2078

Now, back to intercasino. I deposited $100, they gave me $50 free after 300 hands. That's poker money.

They also gave me $90 to use in their casino. That $90(and whatever I do with it, even if I run it up to $200 before I bet enough) is untouchable until I wager 25x$90, or $2250. If I still have any money left after I've wagered $2250 on their casino site, I can cash it out.

I played about an hour of blackjack last night. $5/hand, and I have $90 left still of my bonus money. I broke exactly even. At the advice of cthomer, I'm going to play 3 $2 blackjack tables instead, that should lower my variance i think. I'm reading up on basic strategy today(I have only played blackjack a few times) and hope to cash out some money from this soon, but if I lose the $90, eh, it was all free to begin with.

InterCasino does this once a month apparently. Every month you can deposit $100, and get $50 free for playing 300 hands, and get $90 to use in their casino. Terrible site aside, that is worth doing every month.

But I have decided, none of the other bonuses are. Ultimate Bet and PokerStars limit players are so much better than PartyPoker players, and the bonuses take so long to earn, that it's just not worth it to me to go get them I don't believe. When I had $500 or $600 it was worth it, but over $2000, I'm not sure that it is, if I can average a solid win rate a partypoker that i can't or don't elsewhere.

And thank you for reading a boring bankroll update, after this fit of blackjack at intercasino, I'll be back to partypoker.

Radii

07-01-2004, 05:51 PM

I'm done with Intercasino now, I won about $70 playing the rest of my blackjack hands, using a basic stragery guide I foudn on the net. So the intercasino value is way up now that I can actually cash out that bonus money.

Partypoker: $856
PokerStars: $168
InterCasino: $439
Neteller: $782

TOTAL: $2245

Woohoo!

I still have to wait to get my PIN snail-mailed to me before I can cash it out, but that's no worry.

Radii

07-04-2004, 05:13 PM

I've been playing well lately and am back up quite a fair amount, I figure its time to go try another tournament or two.

I enter another 3 table $30+$3 tourney.

I read over Fozzie's advice from before and hope to either bust out real early or win the damn thing, not much in between :)

So here's a hand by hand analysis, every fold documented, lets see how many hands I mispaly here.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

63o cutoff - 2, FOLD
56s MP, limp/fold to a crap flop

AKo MP - an early raise to 30(min raise) and a call. I make it 90, a call behind me and the original 2 call.

Flop, K88. I bet out 300 chips(pot was 385) and I win it right there.

I fold two crap hands while kiddo is talkign to em. There's a preflop all in between KK/JJ/A9. A9 wins of course.

83o UTG, FOLD
72o BB, folded to a raise.

75o SB, I limp in(I'll play any two for 5 chips). Flop comes 776. There's 65 in the pot, I bet 50 and get one caller(Hoffsome, the A9 all-in guy earlier). Turn is an ace, I bet 150, he raises to 300 and I call. River is a 2, I check/he bets 500... I debate, and I am in some trouble if I fold here, I decide I have a good hand that I'm not going to risk being bluffed off of, if he has me outkicked I lose. I call the 500, and he shows me pocket 5s. I win the huge pot and am up to 2175.

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

26 players remain, I am 2nd in chips at the moment. The chipleader, TimArm, is also at my table.

Since the big 75o hand i've folded everything preflop..

7To, 95o, T8o, K8o, J6o, and J3o. I just got a free flop with T5o and folded that after the flop missed.

A3s, SB. I make a small move with this, the button is short stacked and limps, I raise it to 50, and only the short stack calls. I bet 100 chips into the flop and win the pot right there, ready to fold to a raise.

KTs button, I fold to a large pre-flop raise(which ended up all in, it was made with KTo by kaynip).
84o cutoff, folded
86o cutoff - 1, folded
A9o MP, folded(too tight?)
92o UTG+1, folded

kaynip goes out, AT vs AK.

62o, UTG folded
A4o, BB, folded after the flop misses to a 100 bet
63o, SB, folded

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

6 players are gone, I have stayed steady at 2190 chips.

69o, button, folded
A3o, cutoff, I open-raise to 80 and steal the blinds
T5s, cutoff-1, folded
KQo, MP, folded to a raise from UTG. I thought I probably had the best hand, but he was a larger stack, I'll open-raise KQ from anywhere now I think but I don't want to go calling raises with it.
K4s UTG, folded

66 BB, free flop 5-way. Flop comes 553, two spades, I bet the pot(150) and get called only by the big stack at the table. The turn is a queen, I slightly underbet the pot(325) and win it there. I am now up to 2490 in chips.

TT button. I hate this hand. Hoffsome raises to 85, I re-raise to 200, he calls. He goes all in for 1500 on the flop, and I have to fold when it doesn't have a ten.

A9o cutoff, folded to a large raise pre-flop
K8o cutoff-1, folded
Q7o UTG+1, folded
Q5o UTG, folded

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

J2s, BB. Free flop for me, it coems Q96, and I bet the pot(200 with 3 limpers) and win the pot right thre.
crap, SB, folded.

chipleader TimArm goes all in with QQ and gets called by BrentPearson's AJ. ace wins.

AKo, button. jlddpv raises to 100, he only has 400 chips left after that, I re-raise to 400. I win the pot right there. Up to 2590 chips.

84o, cutoff, folded.
65s, cutoff - 1, folded
K2s, MP, folded

There are still 24 ppl left, by the way.

K5o, UTG + 1, folded
54o, UTG, folded
Q7s, BB - free flop against sslon. Flop comes KQQ. He bets out 100, and I call. Turn is a jack, he bets 150 and I call. I go ahead and bet out on the river(a mistake probably, but I figure he was getting ready to check ti down if he had nothing), and I win the pot there. I am up to 2865 in chips.
JTo, SB - folded to a raise
Q6o, button, folded

Key hand #1
AQo, cutoff, hoffsome raises to 100, I just call his raise, as do two others. Flop comes QQx, two hearts. I have no heart. hoffsome bets only 50, I raise to 150, and he is the only caller. The pot is 750 by now. The turn is a 3rd heart. I bet out 800, he goes all in for 2100. He goes all in a lot. At the drop of pretty much anything. I honestly feel I'm in the lead ehre. I call. He turns over JJ, but the jack is a heart. A 4th heart hits the river and I am down to 500 chips, with the blinds going up.

How poorly did I play that hand? hoffsome goes all in a ton, that's why I called pre-flop, I knew if I pushed at him I couldn't call an all-in. On the flop perhaps I should have bet more... or perhaps I played ok and just got drawn out on, I'm not sure.

Level 5 - blinds 50/100

I steal the blinds once, then go through the blinds and stay at exactly 500 chips, when we drop to 20 players, and merge tables.

9 men at the table after the merge(19 left total)

J3o cutoff - 1, fold
T7o, MP, fold
T4s, UTG+2, fold
32o, UTG+1, fold

16 left, they started dropping like flies. I need at least two double-ups to have a prayer though.

J3o, UTG, fold

Key Hand #2
96s, BB, two small stacks go all in(but I'm small two). They have 179 and 396 chips total. My hand isn't so good, but their hands aren't likely to dominate mine considering the stack sizes... I let the time run out and figure this is my best shot to triple up. I call. I see 44, and A5s. A 6 hits the flop, and another 6 hits the turn. I am up to 1075 chips after my SB passes, and still alive.

There are 13 players left after that.

I fold some junk to get around to my BB:

A4s. sslon limps from the SB, I check. Flop is all hearts, I fold to a bet.

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

73o, SB, folded

13 left, I am now down to 900 chips, and this table is 6 handed.

64o, button, folded

A7s, cutoff, sslon limps, I raise to 300, sslon cals. The flop misses me, sslon checks, I go all in for my last 600, and he folds. I have 1425.

very next hand.

JJ, I steal the blinds with a 3x blind raise. 1650 chips now.

T5o, UTG, folds

K7o, BB, folded to a large pre-flop raise.

FINAL TABLE

69o, SB, folded
53s, button, folded

SomCallMeTim is our chipleader at 7086, Hoffsome has 6256. Two guys have 3500ish, and its downhill from there.

I am currently 8th in chips.

SomCallMeTim raises pre-flop 3 straight hands. On the 3rd one he shows 72o after the table folds.

I get total crap and keep folding.

SomCallMeTmi raises again next hand, MrKanish goes all in, Tim calls, kanish has KJ, Tim K9, KJ holds up.

Blinds hit 100/200 in 3 minuets, I hope they run through me first.

Tim is gone. He pushes again, A4o, hoffsome plays wit QJ and hits on the flop. Tim goes all in, hoffs calls. Hoffsome has 11,403 chips now, a mortal lock for the money.

Tim going out allows me to skip the big blind. I dump by SB of K2o to a pre-flop raise and have 1350 chips left.

9 of us left, hoffs has 11,000+, two guys in the high 3800s, one guy right at 3000, one at 2900, the rest of us wallowing near 1000 chips.

J6s, button, folded.
Q6s, cutoff, folded.

Level 8 - 100/200 blinds - hour break

9 of us are left.

Hoffsome - 11253
flavorpacket - 4047
Bobsub - 3750
visionsgus - 3005
MrKanish - 2906
sslon - 1431
Me - 1350
clambake - 1173
TimArm 1085

A5o, cutoff-1, folded (AK/KT end up all in) - Clambake doubles up off of flavorpacket.
A4o, MP, folded
K9o, UTG+2, folded to a big raise from hoffsome - hoffsome/timarm go all in, hoffs' AT beats tim's 88, and we're down to 8.
K7s, UTG+1, folded

surely I am too tight here, but bigger hands than mine have turned up each time too, so I can't complain

96s, UTG, folded

Big Hand #3
79o, BB, sslon raises the min out of the SB, and I call. Flop hits my 9, and I go all in on the flop. I am up to 1850 when he folds.

78s, SB. folded to me, I raise and bobsub says "Q2" and folds.

I am up to 2100. I believe I've more than made up for my potentially weak play with aces by pushing my shit hard and winning.

AJo, cutoff-1, I open-raise to 400. I win the blinds again.

A3o, cutoff-2, folds.
T2s, MP, folds

I am now 5th out of 8 people left. We are all jumbled up though.

MrKanish goes all in with KQ spades on a flop w/ 1 spade/2 clubs. BobSub calls with KJ clubs. A club hits and bobsub knocks out kanish.

We are down to 7.

bobsub immediately gives a ton back to visionsguy, top pair vs trips, ouch.

5 places pay:

Hoffsome - 13,000
VisionsGuy - 6800
bobsub - 2751
flavorpacket - 2374
Me - 2150
clambake - 1946
sslon 1000

sslon goes all in, I have KQo behidn him... I fold. I think that is pretty weak but if he's on an ace or a pair I'm 50/50 at best.

I open-raise to 400 with JTs. visionsguy calls me. Flop comes J33, I bet the pot(committing me but not all-in yet)... he folds.

I'm up to 2650, bobsub and I are basically tied for 3rd in chips.

On the last hand at this level, clambake goes all in, sslon calls. JJ vs AQ, JJ holds up and sslon is out 7th.

Level 8 - 150/300 blinds

next place pays. I got to avoid the blinds with that stroke of luck.

hoffs and visions guy are in barring a monster mistake. clambake has pushed up to 4000 chips. I have 2650/bobsub 2500/flavorpacket 1725, one of us are decidedly most likely to go out.

It turns into blidn stealing from here, I make a couple of folds in the blinds that I don't like but with hands I don't want to risk it all with.

bobsub goes all in for 2051 with 99, and doubles up off of hoffs who calls with A6 and doesn't hit the ace.

flavorpacket and I are the two weak stacks now, 2200/1874. I've been folding everything, flavor has played a couple of hands.

UTG+1, I raise with A9o. I steal the blinds to keep up with flavorpacket who just finished stealing a sec ago.

A2o in my big blind, ugh. I left hoffs steal when he puts me all in pre-flop.

clambake and flavorpacket go all in, clambake has him covered. UGH. flavor has AKs, clam AQo. 89TJ on the board and if that suckout didn't win me $90 I'd feel bad.

In the Money

I steal right away with AJo. I then give up a bit with 76s, calling a min raise and folding when the flop misses me.

I am *very* short stacked here.

bobsub and hoffsome go at it, a 3000+ pot. bobsub takes the chiplead when hoffs makes a big bluff that bob has the balls to call.

I raise with A9o on the button, bobsub calls. I go all in when undercards flop. Bob folds, I creep back up to 2200. I am still less than half of the next stack.

I fold J6o in my BB to a raise, AJ6 flops, argh. bobsub and hoffsome go at it again. hoffs goes all in on the flop, these are the two giant stacks. bobsub says he has a hand but it isn't worth that, and folds.

Level 9 - 200/400 blinds

clambake goes at hoffsome and is down to 4000 chips, 2nd smallest to my 1700.

clambake goes all in with KK vs bobsub's 77, a huge pot, too bad for me, that could have knocked one out.

I have A9 UTG. I raise, hoffsome re-raises me the min. I call. I go all in on the flop which is rags but I am pot committed now. hoffsome has 44, and I have a ton of outs. The board pairs the turn and gives me a flush draw. I have 6 outs to pair the board, 8 to flush me(he has the 4 of diamonds, stealing an out), any 9 or any ace. TONS of outs. 19 I think.

I miss. Game over, man.

I net $90 for my 5th place finish, which in additon to my solid play lately at party, puts me over $1000 there. (I was $850 in my last bankroll update).

Not bad, I am curious about what people think of some of the key hand,s espicially the AQ hand.

Radii

07-04-2004, 05:18 PM

Partypoker: $1013
PokerStars: $168
InterCasino: $439
Neteller: $782

TOTAL: $2402

*very* pleased with this, my slow and steady climb has brought me back up almost to my baseline of $2500. That's the level that oliegirl and I have agreed is my starting point every month for poker. Anything I win during the month over that comes out to pay down debt/pay up savings. This is where I want to be. If I don't get greedy and don't try to jump too much, I should be back to where I was when this dynasty started, just playing more steadily at multiple 1/2 or 2/4 tables instead of 1 5/10 table.

Speaking of that, I've played 37 1/2 sessions, won in 23 of them(62%), I've one $155, for a win rate of 2.17 per table hour.

Playing multiple tables at a time that puts me at $11.88/hr in real time. A rate I'm quite pleased with for 1/2. I've played 2250 hands at 1/2. I plan on playing 4000 or 5000 hands and if I'm still winning at a solid($10/hr or more real time) rate I will then make the jump to 3 2/4 tables and see how I do. I'm sure I will do fine, but I am being extra conservative here and allowing myself to continue the slow buildup.

MJ4H

07-04-2004, 06:42 PM

Radii, do you keep any statistics on the sit and gos you enter? I play stars $5+.50 sit and gos exclusively and keep track of my statistics, such as how many times I finish in each place, what my in the money% is, and my return on investment%. I find its a good way to measure skill and progress. I only started doing this recently so I dont have a good sample size yet, but my stats are:

1st - 3
2nd - 3
3rd - 8

Total - 23
ITM% - 60.87%
Winnings - $180
Profit - $53.50
ROI% - 42.29%

the ROI is pretty important. When I look at my stats and see 8 3rd place finishes, I am pretty disappointed. However, many sources report that a 40%+ ROI is about as good as you can expect in sit and gos (most say greater that 45% is "unsustainable). Granted my sample size is very small (by all accounts, you need probably 200 tournaments) but seeing these numbers really helps my confidence, especially when they are still good after I bust out of a few in a row.

EDIT - btw, I have a spreadsheet that does this automatically, if anyone is interested.

Radii

07-04-2004, 09:19 PM

I haven't been for these 3 tables. I spent a signifigant amount of time before the start of this dynasty playing $50+$5 SnG's and I was tracking it then.

I should start trackign the 3-tables that I play for sure. They don't e-mail hand histories for them so I can't load the results into pokertracker like I did for the 1-table ones when I played them a lot.

Radii

07-04-2004, 11:52 PM

I take another shot at $30+$3 NL 3-table tourney, lets see how I can do in this one.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

63o UTG, fold
72o BB, fold to a 100 raise pre-flop

Key Hand #1
Q7o SB, I limp for 5 chips. Flop comes Q49. I bet the pot(60 chips) and get three callers behind. Ick. The turn is an ace. I check, so does everyone else. The river is a 7, I've got two pair now... I bet out 250 chips. A rare board w/ no straights or flushes possible. pdalton calls me. HE WAS THE BUTTON. Why did he check AK on the river when we all checked to him? My Q7 beats his AK and I have 1475 chips.

J4s button, folds
T5o cutoff, folds
44 cutoff-1, limp with 6 others. fold to a bad flop.
QJo MP, folds
T3o MP, folds
82o MP, folds
J8o UTG+1, folds

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

Still 29 left. My 1460 chips is good for 3rd overall, not much separation yet.

64s, UTG, folds
87o, BB, fold to 145 raise from EP short stack all-in.

Key hand #2

AA, SB. short stack won last hand, goes all in again for 320. DINGDINGDING I think. one person calls. That's 620 in the pot. I raise it up to 700. The one caller who has chips left thinks for quite awhile and calls. I go all in on the flop and he folds. I almost went all-in pre-flop. Glad I didn't, I got an extra 400 chips out of him. The all in player had KK, neither of us hit. I am up to 2480.

For now I am the tourney chipleader

6xo, button, folds.
J3o, cutoff, folds.
64o, cutoff-1, folds - a large 3-way pot builds up here, with BBMASTA taking down about 900.
J3o, MP, folds - down to 8 left, the guy that called my big pre-flop raise has been raising every ahnd and finally goes out.
K2s, UTG+1, folds

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

WE are down to 24. I am still 2nd or 3rd in chips with 2480. 2nd at my table is 1725.

T2o UTG, folds
92s, BB, free flop, folds when it missed.

Key hand #3
98o, SB, I limp into 4-way action. flop is good, T74 rainbow. I check and call a 50 chip bet. The turn is a 9. I call a 100 chip bet, I assume I'm best if I hit, and my implied odds are enormous. The river misses me, I check, so does everyone else, and I see pocket 3s, and A4o... I win! That's a shocker. I am up to 2840 there.

J5o, button, folds
J8o, cutoff, folds.
85s, MP, folds
J8s, MP, folds (I considered an open-raise here but didn't)
A8s, UTG+1, I raise to 75, and the BB calls. An ace flops, I bet the pot and I win it.
K3s, UTG, folds

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

22 players remain.

T3o, BB, free flop with only the SB. Flop comes Q55, he checks, I bet the pot(100) and he calls. He leads out on the turn and I fold.
Q8o, SB, folds
Q3o, button, folds

Key Hand #4

KK, Cutoff. wto limpers to me, I raise to 4x the BB, up to 200. eddystone calls out of the SB(he is #2 in chips at the table). Iketowin also calls me as does pdalton. FLop comes QJ6 rainbow. Checked to me. What do you do? two I have heavily covered, eddy I only have covered by 800.I bet big. All in, decide now. I want AQ to call and I don't want an ace calling for cheap. eddy thinks for a long time and call.s WOW, the one I didn't really want action from. Welllll, he shows me Q7s. No 7 hits. At table 3 Apestyles has run himself up to 5500 chips. I now have 4955. 3rd is 2100.

CRAP.

We merge to 2 tables, 19 left. apestyles sits two to my left. I hate that.

85o, UTG, folds

WOO, BB goes all in and loses. I get to skip my SB.

K4o, BB, folds to a large pre-flop raise.
T9s, button - this is tough b/c apes is in the BB when I'm on the button. folded to me, I raise to 150. apes calls. I dont' want this. KT6 flop, I bet 250 into it, prepared to slow down if he stays in, but apes folds. I am over 5000 chips, 5080.
crap, cutoff, folds.

Level 5, 50/100 blinds

We still have 18 left.

KJs, MP, large raise before me and I'm out.
86o, MP, folds
Q7o, UTG+1, folds

Key Hand
K2o, BB. Free flop with three others. flop comes KT3, tow hearts. I have th backdoor heart draw and top pair. I bet out 400, brian8065 goes all in for 667, 267 more to me. Everyone else folds, so of course I call. He has AK, with the ace of hearts. Bleh. The turn pairs the board's 10, so when I pair my 2 on the river its irrelevant. I'm down to 4263, but sitll a dominant second.

84o, SB, folds. QQ vs TT knocks out someone here at my table.
83s, button.
J4o, cutoff

Level 6, 75/150 blinds

We're down to 15 now.

QJs, MP. Two limp before me, I limp and we see a 5 way flop with me being last to act. I fold to a large all in though. Shoulda raised there if I wanted to play.

Down to 14 now.

42o, UTG+1, folds.
K5o, UTG, folds

Key Hand
T2o, BB. I get a free flop. Flop comes T52, all clubs. I bet the pot and (I'm writing this up way in the past now) dude to my left goes all in for about 1200 more. I think for awhile and call, if he's got the made flush I'm just in trouble. He has JJ with the jack of clubs, so he has tons of outs. He never hits them though and I am up to about 5900.

xx
53o, button , folds
T5o, UTG. I might have missed a hand here, or some nasty attrition knocked us down, but now we're down to 10 final table action baby!
... few hands go by
KTo, SB. one limper and I raise the minimum. heads up on the flop. Flop has two aces. I bet into the pot about 500, if he has an ace he'll push me, if he doesn't I'll win. I win.

Level 7, 100/200 blinds - hour break

Ten Left:

apestyles__ - 8016
Me - 6118
robert_graf - 3500
rnasello - 2928
usafruct - 2255
BOOTCASTER - 1808
LION_KING - 1775
mpettitt01 - 1575
BBMASTA - 1405
chnyaman - 620

apes and myself are in great positions. Either of us could fold our way into the money now, though I'm not sure that's really waht I want to do, I do want to win this thing.

A3o, button, folds
35o, cutoff, folds
T5s, cutoff-1, folds
96o, cutoff-2, folds (flop 766, arr)
T6s, MP, folds
J7o, UTG+2, folds - apes busts out two in one hand and jumps up to 9711 chips - down to 8 left
63o, UTG, folds
Q4s, BB, fold to a 1000 raise.
J9s, SB, I raise to steal the blind(folded to me). rnasello calls, but folds to my flop bluff(bluffed 700 into the 800 pot there, a big risk but I would have still been 2nd by a lot).
58o, button, folds
K8o, cutoff, folds
Q2o, cutoff-1, folds
59o, UTG+2, folds
54o, UTG+1, folds
A6s, UTG, folds - maybe should try to steal here, but I'm better off playign position I think
35s, BB, fold post flop to a bet

Level 8, 150/300 blinds

8 remain still.

apestyles still has the dominant chip lead at 9711 chips. I am still solidly in 2nd with 6118. Robert_Graf has 4400, no one else is over 3000, still in great shape to make the money and be a force.

83o, SB, folds - a raise to 800 gets called by 1, then rnasello goes all in, apestyles calls. AA vs 88, apes had no chance.

apes has 7580 now, I have 5968(after SB), rnasello has 5050, robert_graf 4400...

A3s, button, folds to a large raise.
22, cutoff, folds BBMASTA is down to his last 150 chips
A8s, cutoff-2, I open-raise to 800, rnasello calls me(he's the #3 stack, bleh), so does mr 150 chips. we end up checking it all the way down, the board 2-pairs and we split the pot with my A8 and his AQ. We're now down to 7.
AQo, MP, I call the min raise made by robert_graf, rnasello goes all in behind us, and graf and I fold. rna shows AA.

6 left, apes has 7500, rna 6850, me 5660, robert_graf 3500, usafruct 3100, bootcaster 1900, mpettit 825.

I fold my UTG hand, it sucked.

K7o, BB, graf limps, I check. Flop AK2. Graf bets 300, I raise it to 800. He folds and I push back up over 6000, and the top 3 are again totally dominant, I'm 3rd and I double the #4 stack.
J8s, button, folds to an 800 raise. rnasello's AKs flushes to beat mpettit's pocket 6s.

Level 9, 200/400 blinds

I'm 3rd out of 6. rnasello now leads with 9100 chips now. apes 2nd with 6900. I'm 3rd with 6100. 4th is 2900.

J2s, UTG+1, folds

rnasello is stealing a ton, but every time he wins a hand w/o a flop he shows... AA, AK, A7, AK his last 4.

AJo, UTG, I raise the min to 800. BOOTCASTER goes all in for 1558. It's up to me, and I call. He has QQ. 789 flop, x turn, T river. my straight puts us inthe money!

In the Money

apes and I are basiclaly tied for 2nd.

apes steals the first two hands in the money with raises to 1100.

I raise to 1000 with A8o on the button. Good steal.

I fold a weak ace(A3o) UTG. too weak 5 handed probably.

I let apes steal my BB with Q5o.

next time around i have 42o, apes steals again.

I raise with KJo on the button. good steal, staying around 7500.

Level 10, 300/600

usafruct and rovbert_graf are hanging on with 2900/1300 respectivley. apes/rnasello aren't pulling far away.

I get AQo in my first big blind. all fold to me.

T9o in my BB, I try a steal raise and rnasello gives it to me. For the moment, I'm in 2nd with 8376.

usafruct is down to 760 on his BB, he folds to an open raise by apes anyway. usa down to 460 through his blind, and robert graf is down to 1100 on his(folding to me in my BB, another free round).

I limp with pocket deuces on the button. I hope RNA has the sense to check it down with me to knock out usa fruct. He does, and his Q5 wins when the board has two pair.

I have crap in my BB but a short robert_graf folds ot me anyway.

robert_graf doubles up to 1900 with TT.

apes and rnasello go at each other for the first time in a long time, a 3000 pot pre-flop, this could drastically change things. 5000 pot on the turn. if apes wins this rna is hurt(still easily 3rd but way behind me). apes bets 2000 on the turn, AKQ7 board w/ 2 hearts. rna goes all in!! 2100 more for apes to call. Apes is a moron. AK vs KJ. rna iis now a massive chipleader with 13,250. apes has 7600, I have 6100 after I fold my BB to a 5000 raise by rnasello....

robert_graf goes all in for his last 1000, I have 83o on the button. apes calls the 400 left. graf doubles up again, apes had shit(but had to call)

Level 11, 400/800 blinds

apes forces rober_graf all in on the first hand. GRR. apes has J9, rober T7. rober doublesu p to 4200.

I'm still second but its a lot closer now, anyone could go out at any minute but rnasello.

I raise to 1600 with A2s, steal the blinds, up to 8000.

Key Hand
32o in my big blind, bleh. apes limps and I get a free one. UHOH. This could be big. 622 flop. I check/call a 1000 bet. turn is a 3! FULL HOUSE. apes goes all in, I call. Apes shows KK. No king hits and my 2s full of 3s wins the day.

I am chipleader, by about 3000 chips.

A steal of RNAsello's BB puts me up quite a bit.

a weird hand with robert_graf cripples him. I have J6, call a min raise from him, we check to the river, I hit a 6 on the river, he bets 800, I call it, and he had nothing but thought I'd fold.

graf all in against rnasello(oh lord he's thinking... it's 400 chips man). K4 vs 64, doh. two kings on the flop. graf is back up to 2800 and stayin alive.

I win a 6000 pot 3-way for 2000 each, graf's all in. HEADS UO.

I have a 2:1 chip lead, about 20,000 to 10,000

He takes 4800 pot with AT vs my A6.

Next hand I have AT, flop top pair after raising to 2000. 78T fllop. I bet 3000 into the 4000 pot. I win it. Back to 2:1 lead.

Level 12 - 500/1000 blinds

a few steals back and forth.

I raise with A6s, he calls. A55 flop. I bet half the pot, he folds.

23,000:7000 chip count.

free flop with 78. flop is 862. I bet 2000, he calls. Checks on the turn, and I had him misread. I thought he had top pair on me. He had a flush draw that he hit on the river. Terrible play by me.

19,000:11000

I raise with T9s and he comes over the top of me, I fold.

16,000:13,000

I win two straight hands then have a big one where i have K8 and raise, he calls and flop is 3 low spades. I keep the pressure on and win it.

79o, free flop, TT9 flop. I lead out for 2000. He goes all in. Does he have it? I've been raising hard. I gotta think he has it. If not this is a very good steal.

rna finall calls me down, I have A8 and an ace hits the turn, he calls when I bet the river and I beat him and we're bakc to ~20,000:10,000

Level 12 - Blilnds 750/1500

We're at our second break.

I have 19,018 chips, rna has 10,982.

First hand after the BB I have the rockets. AA. I limp. K63, two diamonds flop. I bet the min, 1500. He folds.

Key Hand :)

free flop with QT. Flop is QT8, two spades. I check and then call a 1500 bet. Turn is a blank, rna bets out 1500 again, he's down to about 3500 chips after this, I figure he's committed and if he's on a flush draw I'm not letting him see the last card for anything less than all his chips. I re-raise all in. He calls.

QT83 board. I have QT, rnasello shows J8. He has 6 outs. None of them come.

I finish in 1st place and have $270 to show for my $33 entry fee!!!!!

SirFozzie

07-05-2004, 09:43 AM

Suh WEET!

Grats, man. some iffy plays in there, but in general, solid :)

Radii

07-05-2004, 02:00 PM

I'm on a roll, so lets see if I can keep it going.

Another $30+$3 NL 3-table tourney here.

I get seated at table 1, so there's not likely to be any moving around for me.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

86o, button, folds - the first pot ends up being a 1000 chip pot, with a straight draw and a crappy pocket pair betting hard

Key Hand #1
AQo, cutoff - I raise to 45 and get heads up with rjlacha, the pocket pair from the last hand. Flop comes AKT, two hearts. He bets 15 chips and I just call. Dumb move there, I figure I have him beat but I have to raise, and after his calling last hand I figure he'll call me down no matter what I do. He bets 15 again on the blank on the turn and raise him up to 75 chips total. He calls. The river brings the flush, rjlacha bets 15 chips again. I debate raising, I think I'm likely best, but he could well be trying to sucker me into raising... perhaps I outthought myself here. He has pocket 9s, and I win the pot. Up to 1175. I could have gotten a lot more out of that.

Q7o, cutoff-1, folds - rjlacha busts out rustler1 with a full house made from J9o. our first casualty and the guy that plays every hand has 2800 chips early.
84o, MP, folds
A2o, MP, folds
22, UTG+1, folds - rjlacha has AA and wins another 700 chips. 15 chip bets into a 150+ pot on the flopand turn, then a pot sized bet on the river
T9o, UTG, folds - another casualty, this time fibonacci goes all win with QQ and gets called by AJs on a bad flop
KTs, BB - free flop 3-handed. Flop comes K75, two hearts(I have spades. I bet the pot(45) and dwcbroker calls. Turn pairs the 5, I bet the pot again(135 this time) and dwc folds.

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

I have 1240 chips after winning two small pots on the first round. Two people are gone, both from my table.

xx SB, folds
T8s, button, limp w/ 3 others, the BB raises to 170, and we all fold
83o, cutoff, fold
99, cutoff-1, dwcbroker raises to 40 before me, I just call. I don't want to get terribly involved in this pot without a good flop for me, and I expect more callers to come. I'm the only caller, and the flop is 3 overcards, I fold. I don't like how I played that but I'm really not sure what I could have done differently that doesn't put a ton of chips on the line with a marginal pair.
83o, MP, folds
94o, UTG+1, folds

someone is moved to our table, Gengar, with 1730 chips. 27 left.

T6o, UTG, folds
86o, BB, fold pre-flop to a 3x blind raise.
A2o, SB, limp into 5 way action, fold on a bad flop
Q5o, button, folds
Q9o, cutoff, folds

Key Hand #2
AQo, cutoff-1, rjlacha limps to me, I raise to 60(3x the blind), the SB and rjlacha both call. T92 flop. I bet the pot, 200 chips. rjlacha calls me. HE goes into his "bet 20 chips" mode ont eh turn and river, which I'll call down... he has AK. I am down to 840 chips on that one.

Key Hand #3
AA, cutoff-2, I raise to 60. A short'ish stack, ketsul, raises to 220. I re-raise him all in, he had 420 total going into the hand. Ketsul calls me, he has AJs, my aces hold up. Right back up to 1290

KTo, MP, folds
A8o, UTG+1, folds

Level 3 - blinds 15/30

crap UTG, folds

There's 24 people left, I'm still in fine shape for this level.

J3o, BB. Free flop, I hit top pair on a J97 board. I bet the pot, 90 chips, but fold when seahawk pushes it up to 300.
T8o, SB, folds
QJo, button - tough hand for me. Made easier by an open-raise before me. folds
58o, cutoff, folds
A8o, cutoff-1, folded to me and the table has been very tight... I open-raise. BB gengar calls, I bet the pot ont he flop regardless of what it was, and I win the pot.
xx, MP, folds
KK, UTG+1, raise to 90, win the pot. OUCH.

Key Hand #4
AKo, UTG, raise to 90. all folds to the BB, dwcbroker raises to 220, and I just call. The flop comes down AT7. dwc bets 250, and I raise to 700. He folds.

T5o, BB, folds

Key Hand #5

A6s, SB. The button(dwcbroker) limps, I raise to 90, and he calls. The flop comes KJ3, and for some reason I become a pussy. I check/call it down. Checing the flop and calling 30 bets on the turn and river to see dwc catch a pair on the river with his Q8s. I have no idea why I did that, and I have to play more agressively than that to keep going here. Dumb.

a few hansd folds while I'm writing it up.

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

T9o, UTG+1, folds

some hands undocumented b/c of talking to the fiancee. I win a small pot with A7o out of the big blind when I hit an ace, and I steal the blinds with an open-raise with QJo in the cutoff.

We're down to 19 left, there's 9 at my table now, some new faces. I have 1785 in chips and continue to slowly build and remain just above averrage. I'm 5th out of the 9 at my table in chips, but 2nd is only 400 above me and 8th is only 350 below me... someone needs to break out here, hopefully me.

Q5o, UTG+1, folds
42o, UTG, folds
76o, BB, dwcbroker limps, and we check down a bunch of suited high cards and he wins with a king.
24o, SB, folds

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

J4o, button, folds
AJo, cutoff, I call the min raise made by dwcbroker(200 bet). seahawk goes all in behind me, and dwc goes all in over him, I fold. dwc has QQ vs seahawk's A8. QQ holds up and we're down to 18.

I have 1510 chips at this poitn, a little below average but 7th out of 9 at my table. The toher table has a lot of short stacks, I'd be 4th out of 9 there.

xx, folded in MP
T5o, UTG+2, folds
A6o, UTG+1, folds
QTo, UTG, folds

The short stacks at the other table go fast, we're down to 16. I get to skip my BB thanks to party's player moving system.

Key Hand #6
A8o, SB. folded to me, I raise to steal the blinds. carrie27 thinks hard before caling. Flop comes A63. I bet the pot, 400, which carrie calls. The turn is another ace. Pot size is 1200 now, we're both under 1000. i go all in. I have the better hand pre-flop... but she caught 2 pair. A8 vs A6. Carrie's A6 full house vs my simple trip aces crushes me.

I am crippled with 310 chips.

Key Hand #7

AJs, very next hand, button. I go all in, Two others are in the hand. They dont' check it down... one of them bluffs with king-high to get heads up with me. His KJ vs my AJ. An ace hits the turn and I'm still alive with 1080 chips.

xx, MP, folds
xx, UTG+2, folds
94s, UTG+1, folds
73o, UTG, folds - gengar goes all in with QQ, ERACHustler calls with TT preflop. A ten on the river and gengar is gone.
Q9o, BB, 4-way free flop, KJ4, I fold to a bet on the flop.

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

QTo, SB, folds to a large raise pre-flop

There are 15 left, I am 2nd shortest stack in the game, shortest at my table.

Key Hand #8

What's the cure for short stacks? AA, button. dwcbroker raises to 300. I consider a re-raise but I need to get a big score here. I just call. The blinds both fold(would anyone else just call here? Or is an all-in for 900 the better move? I'm going all in regardless of what flops). The flop comes 345, all diamonds. dwc bets, I raise all in, he calls. UGH. QJ diamonds. I need a diamond. The turn gives me a straight, a deuce, no help. The river, a ten of diamonds! My flush wins!

...

a few folds during the writeup

Key Hand #9
I raise to 425 with AKo UTG. fibonacci goes all in behind me for 2200. We're about even in chips, this is a legit all-in. I think down to about 4 seconds left, and fold. Does anyone call here? I still have 1600 in chips, short, but alive.

Everyone folds to my BB.
K8o, SB, fold to a pre-flop raise.

At this point I have 1610 chips left. There are 14 people left. The average stack is 2100, there's a 1000 stack at each table being short.

97o, button, folds.

blinds will be 100/200 next time they hit me.

KJs, cutoff - a limp + an all in for 1000 by dwcbroker and I fold this one
43o, cutoff-1, folds
T6o, UTG+1, folds - dwcbroker all in for 1330 pre-flop, he's trying to build by stealing the blinds I assume. It works again
Q6o, UTG, folds

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - hour break

14 left, more than the last couple of times I've made it to the break. I expect massive attrition during the next level as the blinds catch up with a lot of us, myself could be included with just 1610 chips. I'm BB on the first hand back, so 2 hands in I'll be down to 1310 if I don't win a hand.

94o, BB, fold to a raise
T7o, SB, folds

That leaves me with 1310 chips, there are 3 of us right around 1000-1400 that are the short ones at this table.

Key Hand #10
68s, button. I make the worst decision in history. I decide I'm going to steal here. Why is that so bad? The two biggest stacks at the table are in my blinds. I raise, ERACHustler calls. Well, I love the flop, open ended straight draw + flush draw, QT9, a 7 or a J give me a straight, two spades ont ehf lop. I go all in for 900 and win the pot. Back to 1810

crap, cutoff, folds - the other two short stacks go all in against each other. 98s vs KQ. 98s wins, and dwcbroker is down to 200 chips, rvest is up to 2100.
crap, next hand, folds
95o, UTG+1, folds - dwcbroker is all in here for his last 220. He goes out 14th.

Q3o, BB, folded to me, YAY
52o, SB, folds

Still at 1810.

K7s, button, I open-raise to 500 chips, I hate this w/ two giant stacks behind but I have to steal sometime. ERAC calls again. A king flops, and I go all in. ERAC calls. He has KT. UGH. but I'm saved! There's a queen on the board, and the board pairs. Our kickers dont' come into play, and we split the money from the SB.

KQo, cutoff, folds to a 1000 chip raise before me(should I play here? I'm basically committed at this point if I do)
xx, UTG+1, folds
73o, UTG, folds

12 left now and we're 6 handed at both tables. I'd love to make a move before we go to one table.

64o, BB, folded to me, WHEE again.
Q5o, SB, folds

Key Hand #11
AKs, button. My 3rd straight steal attempt on the button. Well... this time there are two limpers before me. That's 700 in the pot. I make it 1000 to go. rjlacha calls me. I go all in for my last 800 on the flop, 744. HE FOLDS. w0w0w0w.

I now have 3360 in chips. Holy crap.

xx, cutoff, folds.
K2s, cutoff-1, folds
T6s, UTG, folds
52o, BB, free flop 3-way, AQ5 flop and I fold to a 600 bet.

Level 8 - blinds 150/300

Q2, SB, folds

There is no big chipleader here. There are 5 people with 3000-4000 chips, I have 3010 after my blinds here. This is still anyone's ball game big time.

K8s, button. I make the min raise, ERAC has had enough of me stealing I think. I almost folded b/c I've been stealing so much from this position. He goes all in behind me, and I fold. Down to 2410.
K8o, cutoff, folds.

11 people left. Someone has 375 chips at the other table, final table any second.

Q3o, cutoff-1, folds. On the other table the 375 triples up to 900. On my table rjlacha doubles up to 1540, holding off the final table for another moment.
59o, UTG, folds
72o, BB, folds
64o, SB, folds

We're down to 10 now. I have 1960 in chips, and I am on the button for hand one of full table action.

J6o, button.

Big stack has 4580, 2nd has 3925, 4 total in the 3000's, 3 in the 2000's, and 2 of us under 2000, me and rjlacha.

ATo, cutoff. A big stack raises all in before me. I fold. rjlacha calls. TT vs AQ. rjlacha hits a queen and doubles up to 3080.
69o, cutoff-1, folds

rusty has 1970 now, i have 1960.

J3o, cutoff-2, folds, rjlacha wins a 2100 pot to become the table's chipleader
K2o, MP, folds
72o, UTG+2, folds - rustysea limps UTG. Interested to see what he does that with. Carrie raises to 1200, rusty all in, carrie calls. 66 for rusty, aK for carrie. trip 6s for rusty, carrie is crippled, down to 500 chips. Rusty is new chipleader with 5590
83s, UTG+1, folds
44 UTG, I don't have rusty's balls I guess. Fold. Blinds are big, I gotta loosen up, but this is still UTG at a full table.
73s, BB, free flop, it misses, I fold to a bet
K7o, SB, carrie is down to 200 chips. I'm all in if it's folde to me. NOPE. rvest goes all in, rustysea calls. carrie folds. 88 vs QQ, QQ holdsup and rvest is out tenth.

Level 9 - 200/400 blinds

Carrie goes out on the first hand at this level. 8 let, I'm the shortest stack.

Key Hand #11
A9o, button. rusty limps, I go all in for 1500. rusty calls with KJ. Flop QQJ. Turn 4. River ACE. IM ALIVE.

I go from the short stack to right in the middle. 5th with 3620.
xx, cutoff, folds - fibonacci all in with AK. called by ERACHustler's KK. two aces on the board. ERAC is short stack of the momen with 1830.
62o, cutoff-1, folds
xx, MP, folds. - AK vs AK all in, two giant stacks against each other. This is dangerous. Just bam, all in pre-flop.
A4o, UTG+1, folds
84o, UTG, folds

Key hand #12
K9s, BB. ERAC raises to 1000. I call the 600 to see the flop. Flop misses me and I fold when he goes all in. Questionable? Probably so. I am down to 2420 after the SB passes through me and I have nothing there either.

two hands folded.
K2o, cutoff, folds to large raise
K3o, cutoff-1, folds - 88 vs A8, 88 holds up and rjlacha is over 5000 chips, and keemo is out 8th.
T7o, MP, folds
58o, UTG, folds

two more until the money, but I am short stacked. Tons of us in the 2000-3500 range though, anything could happen.

82o, BB, I have to fold to a raise here. rusty raises to 2000 on the button, shows 77.
J9o, SB. again fold to a large pre-flop raise.
56o, button, folds

1820, short stack by 900 or so now.

73o, cutoff, folds
79o, MP, folds
AJo, UTG+1. All in pre flop, I steal the blinds, up to 2420.
99 UTG. I raise to 1200. I steal again. Up to 3000.
J8o, BB, paco_II raises big before me, I fold.
Q3o, SB, folds - BB short stack calls a raise by rusty, but folds to 800 bet on the flop

Level 10 - 300/600 blinds

I'm on the button. ERAC has 1730, isuquinndo 2580, me 2420. PACO 3145. The other 3have more than 4500 in chips.

J3o, button, folds

Key Hand #13
A6o, cutoff - rjlacha calls my min raise. WOO. A86 flop!!!! Two pair. I go all in for my last 1200. rjlacha calls me. He shows pocket tens. He's got two outs. I hit a 6 on the turn, no ten comes, and I'm in graet shape!!!

I am now 2nd biggest stack with 5400

AKo, UTG, min raise steals the blinds.
79s, BB, ERAC goes all in for 1700. I'm not calling 1100 there.
AA, SB. folded to me, I raise the minimum. I hope I'll get action, ERAC defends his blind hard. Nope, he folds. I win the big blind only.
xx, button, folds. rjlacha out 6th, AQ vs A9, but a 9 hit the board.

6 left, next one out puts us int he money. ERAC has 1730, isuquinndog has 1080. The rest of us are at or over 5000.

a few crap hand folds.

Two key hands #14/#15
82o, BB. isuquinndog goes all-in. It is only 400 more for me to call, I htink I have to. I call he has A8 and he doubles up.
AKs SB. I call the min raise by rustyseas. The flop misses me totally and he bets big. He's the chip leader, and we're very clos to the money. I don't think I can put my tournament life at stake against the big stack here. I fold.

ERAC goes all in for 1730 and no one calls. All of a sudden any of us but rusty is in danger. I have 4060, short stack has 2630. I'm still in 2nd.

I fold crap UTG. rusty/isuquinn go at it, ISU gose all in for 1860 on the flop, rusty says "nut flush draw" and calls. He's up against JJ, and isuquinndog has gone from 1000 chips to 7000.

WOO. paco busts out ERAC with 99 vs A6, and we're in the money.

In the Money

A8s, SB, I steal the BB with a raise.

It's wide open. RustySea 8990, isuquinndog 8500, paco_II 5100, me 4060, fibonacci 3200

Level 11 - 400/800 blinds

3 handed action, the two chipleaders and the short stack for the minimum. The short stack wins it.

KQs UTG. I raise the min to 1600. I steal the blinds.
J8o BB, paco steals right back.
47s SB, folds to a raise
Q6o button, folds

table got tight all of a sudden

42s MP, folds
K8o UTG, folds
KJo BB. Free flop w/ paco. I flop middle pair, QJx. paco bets 800, I raise to 2600, he folds. paco is short w/ 2700 now. everyone else over 5K
xx SB, folded to large raise.
63s button folded.

A8s, MP, steals the blinds w/ min raise.
97o, UTG, folds - paco down to 1940 losing BB to rusty
89o, BB. paco folds to me, yay. Didn't want to have to decide that.
T2o, SB, folds
87o, button, folds to all in from paco. paco vs rusty. KJ/K9. paco has KJ and doublesup+ the blinds.

big stack - 6680. Small stack - 4400. I have 6460.

76o UTG folds
Q5o BB. folds to me, yay
AJ SB. folded to me, I raise the min, steal blinds. I'm 2nd by a fair amount now.
Q4s, button, steal blinds. I'm chipleader for a moment.
Q4s, cutoff, folds - paco raises to 2000, isuqinn calls. paco all in on the flop, ISU very short if he folds. isu says "got the queen(top pair)" I assume he's on a smaller pocket pair. isu folds.

paco and I have near 9000, rusty 6850. fibonacci and isu 2800/1700.

ISU doubles up next hand, A4 vs K9, two aces hit.

64s BB. ryusty raises all in, doh. rusty shows AJo.
QT SB. I raise, isuquinn thinks a lot. HE goes all in. 2240 more for me to call. I fold. big differnce in 6460 and 4000. I fold. Rusty says "you do that move too much, Olie" (I'm playing on my OlieGirl acct).
T8o UTG, folds.

fibonacci is gone. isuquinn all in with JJ, fibonacci TT. JJ wins.

66,BB. rustysea raises min. i go all in for 6500. He folds.

Level 12 - blinds 500/1000

paco 9100, me 8060, isuquinn 7030, rustysea 5750.

23s, BB. fold to a steal.

K7s, SB. steal blinds.

isuquinn down to 5000. Rusty tells us "I go all in or fold on all small pairs" after showing 33 after an all-in raise. Thanks for the info.

isu wins a big pot going all in. We're all tied basically. all of us between 6500-8000

Rusty going all in a lot. Shows KJs this time. He seems to go all in or fold on anything.

I lose a little limping with 87s from SB after button limped too. folded on the flop.

Rusty all in 7250. paco thinking hard. folds :( rusty AKs shown.

I have to fold 62o in my BB to a raise and I'm down to 5000 chips. 4500 after 32o in SB.

I am decidedly short now.

Key Hand #16
fold J2o. Raise KTo UTG. isuquinn re-raises me just 1000. I call and there is 7000 in the pot, I have 1500. I go all in on pretty much anything here. ISU calls when the flop is all undercards. He has AQ. I am out.

I had 4500 chips left, the blinds hit the next hand and would have drained me to 3000 if I didn't get anything. That seemed like the right place to make a move, 4 handed I'm decent to have the best hand I think.

I take $135 home for my efforts, a profit of $102.

That's 3 straight 3-table's in the money, I've very pleased with these results.

SirFozzie

07-05-2004, 04:54 PM

Radii

07-05-2004, 05:01 PM

On a roll, I'll play these until I lose one at least.

$30+$3 NL 3-table tourney.

... This one we join in progress, I had some laundry folding to do so I wasn't able to write up the earliest stages.

We're 1/2 hour into this one. In the first 30 minutes there were 3 hands worth noting. I made a big steal with TT, blulffing hard into a king high flop with 3 opponents who had called a raise pre-flop. Another steal later with AQ on a king high flop after one person had called my raise.

I had 1200 at that point. I had QQ, I raised to 100 pre-flop(15/30 blinds at the time), a giant stack went all in, he had been making huge plays constantly, no way could Iput him on AA/AK/KK... I call quickly, and I am at ~2500 after I double upa gainst his pocket 7s.

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds[B]

24 people remain, 33 minutes into the tourney.

After i fold my BB to a large raise, I have 2460 chips.

[B]Big Hand #1
A8o, SB, I limp into a 4-way pot. J99 flop. Checked around. An 8 on the turn, I bet the pot(200), one calls and one goes all in behind me for 600. I fold and suprisingly the guy that called me also folded. I drop to 2210 after that one.

xx, button, folded
32o, cutoff, folded
Q7, MP, folded

7 people at my table, 21 left overall. dpark has 2300 chips, I have 2210, we are dominant chip leaders over the rest of the table right now. dpark is 2 to my right.

ATo, UTG+1. I fold it. The table has been too loose for me to push real hard from this position(like i did in my SB). Indeed, 4 people saw the flop for a raise, not many flops I'd like to see there.
9xo UTG, folds - 3 short stacks are all in. AA/JJ/99. JJ hits trips and isn't such a short stack anymore.

Down to two tables now, 17 left after some big attrition. I move to table 1 and see a lot of new opponents. dpark is directly to my right now. there are two very large stacks here, 3920(rhino2112, two to my right) and jynx_ur_hand(3300, about midway across from me).

73s, cutoff-1, folded

couple more crap hands folded

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

82o, BB - I fold to a steal from rhino.
A3o, SB - I make a weak limp, it looks like this is getting checked around, I make a bet on the turn and take the pot.

I have 2310 chips, above average and more than enough to pressure a few of the guys at my table.

A5s, button. I fold this after the two giant stacks raise/call a raise.

Key Hand #2
ATo, cutoff. a short stack limps, I raise to 300. The short stack has about 450 left, if he calls me we're going all in on the flop I'm sure. Everyone else folds and he calls. He has 190 chips left and the pot is 700. The flop comes 992. he checks, I bet 200, he calls all in. DOH. Q9o. Queen on the turn and I'm dead to that.

Down to 1820 after that unfortunate flop.

K7o, cutoff-1, folded
97s, MP, folded
K2o, UTG+1, folds
72o, UTG, folds

92o, BB, free flop 4-handed. hard to get a good flop with 92o though and I fold on the flop.
J9o, SB. jynx_ur_hand has played his big stack well and is up over 5000 chips. He raises here and I fold. - TheFar goes all in, jynx calls, QQ vs A8s. TheFar doubles up.
J8s, button. Folded to a 300 raise from rhino.

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

14 are left. TheFar gets moved and there's 7 at my table now.

My 1670 stack is now below average, the couple of hands I've tried to play haven't worked out well for me at all.

Down to 13 after 58o goes all in on a AK5 flop. 6 at my table.

94o, cutoff, folded. Down to 12, QQ vs 77.

Rhino one both of those all in's, he's up over 5000 chips now, wile jynx has fallen to 4100.

K5s, button(thanks to the all ins and people getting moved.. weird huh?), folded to a large raise from rhino.
37o, cutoff-1(guy that got mvoed got skipped for his button), folded

Key Hand #3
A8o UTG - I raise to 300. I have been silent hopefully I'll get respect. Wellnow. ROOKIE33 all in for 1366, rhino all in over the top of him. I fold. rookie has KK, rhino AA. king on the flop and rookie is looking good.

86o, BB. Folded to a 900 all in raise.
K8o SB, there's an all in before me, I fold, its called. rookie wins another big hand and dpark is gone.

We merge to 1 table during that, dpark is out tenth.

9 are left, unfortunately, I am the short stack here. TheFar, Juneyur and myself are under 1500. one guy as 2500, one has 3100, the rest are over 4K. Chip leader has 6300. I need a big hand to double up here. The blinds will likely be 100/200 when they hit me, I'd have 850 left if I fold through them, and the next time around would be decision time for me.

63s, UTG, folded - 4 people limp early, the button raises to 350, 2 call... 1600 pot pre-flop. jynx gets crippled going all in with KQ, 2nd pair, vs A8, top pair + flush draw. jynx is down to 1500 on the loss.

Level 6 - 100/200 blinds - hour break

bdc17 has 7568 chips
burk2828 - 5611
rookie33 - 4662
rhino2112 - 4284
wildd1 - 3063
jynx - 1502
juneyur - 1205
Me - 1145
TheFar - 960

blinds go through me right after we start back up. I certainly don't like my position but with a full table I feel I am very patient and play a short stack well.

hm, well. So much for having to play a short stack well, just go all in and hope to get lucky.

Key Hand #4
QQ, BB. rookie limps, rhino folds. Do I just go all in here or see a flop? I check to see the flop, afraid he'll just fold if I go all in from the BB. Flop comes 78T. I go all in on the flop and he calls. He has A9o. No ace, no cards to complete his straight. I double up+ a little to 2390. Comments on the pre-flop check?

crap, SB, folds.

I am 6th in chips now. Still short, and still need to improve to make the money, but I have life now.

53o, button, folds
42o, cutoff, folds
Q6o, cutoff-1, folds
32s, MP, folds - very limpy table, 3 ppl see the flop for the blind bet. two short stacks are in this one. and juneyur is gone, AT vs AQ, QTx flop.

Key Hand #5
KK, UTG+1. I raise to 500. wiilldd1 calls. CRAP. A87 flop. Does he have an ace? Can I NOT go all in here? please please comments here... I check. He chekcs. Turn pairs the 7 on the board. I check. He bets 500, into the 1300 flop. I think for a long time and re-raise him all in. He folds.

KTo, UTG, folds
K4o, BB, folds to a large raise.
Q3o, SB, folds

After that big hand I have 3290 chips, still below average, but in much much much better shape, I now expect to make the money unless a break goes against me.

I fold crap on the button and the cutoff. We lose wiilldd1 and are down to 7. Only two stacks are shorter than me. So maybe I'm ont in the great position where I can "expect ot make the money"

a few folds... then

Level 8 - 150/300 blinds

A3o, BB. rhino limps and I check. The flop is all hearts. My 3 is a heart, but that's it. We check to the river, rhino overbets the pot, and I fold. He shows a flopped flush.
75o, SB, folded. - TheFar wins a big pot and I'm the 2nd smallest stack now.

xx button, folded - Jynx (the short stack) goes all in for his last 900. J9 vs 33 when bdc17 calls him. jynx hits a straight with his J9 to double up.

K5o, cutoff, folded
J3o, MP, folded
T4o, UTG+1, folded - TheFar and jynx get involved in a 4 way pot. neither of them give up much though, and our positoins remain the sam.e
52o, UTG, folds. - jynx and thefar both limp again, 4 way pot with two big stacks and them to. jynx goes all in for 1404. Rhino calls. jynx has a straight draw. Rhino has a pair + the same draw. jynx is out.
T7s, BB - limped and checked down against a big stack, I lose to Q7.
J9o, SB, folded to raise.

right now its me and TheFar in the most trouble on the bubble. 2770 for him, 2390 for me. No one else is under 4000.

KJo, cutoff, folded to big raise, TheFar steals the blinds.
Kto, MP, folds
94s, UTG, folds - burk raises, thefar calls the pre-flop raise. TheFar gives it up on the flop though.
76o, BB. TheFar raises to 1000 pre-flop, I have to fold.
32o, SB, folds.
97o, button, folds - 4 limpers, not TheFar though
56o, cutoff, folds - 3 limp to see the flop again, but quick folds post flop

Level 9 - 200/400 blinds

I'm down to 1940. TheFar is at 2770, he's stolen much better than me.

T2s, MP, folds
Q9o UTG, I conisder playing but don't. TheFar has 2170 after blinds pass him.

K6o, BB. TheFar raises, rhino calls and I get outof the way. Rhino check-raises on the flop and TheFar is hurt bad, 970 chips.
J6s, SB, folds to big raise.

looking back up the list I regret not playing that KJ up there, now I'm just hoping to make the money any way I can

34o, button, folds
37o, cutoff, folds
77, MP. TheFar's big blind. I could fold and hope he blinds out, or I can play hard. I go all in. I steal the blinds.
KQo, UTG, I raise pre flop and steal the blinds again.

TheFar has 370 chips, I have 2140.

KK, BB. noooo come on, just give me crap until I make the money. burk2828 raises pre-flop. I call the min raise.

The flop comes JTx. What do I do? 1700 pot, I have 1800 left. I go all in. I'm really very torn here but I just cannot see myself folding in this spot. I go all in. burk calls. He has KQ, straight draw and backdoor flush draw. An ace on the turn gives him the straight and I bust out on the bubble, no money for me.

Thoughts? I almost certainly could have folded into the money after those two steals of the blinds, but I'd have been crippled. With KK I could have put myself in a position to win.

Radii

07-05-2004, 05:03 PM

Key Hand #8

What's the cure for short stacks? AA, button. dwcbroker raises to 300. I consider a re-raise but I need to get a big score here. I just call.

I think you need to re-raise all in here, personally. you want him to PAY for his drawing hands (and face it, any hand is drawing vs AA).. Smack him upside the head for raising you, and make him decide.

I was 50/50 on that decision. I can most definitely see your reasoning there, and it is very possibly what I should have done. At that point, my idea was "My chips are going into the middle no matter what happens here. What's the best way to get his in too." But I can see your point there for sure.

SirFozzie

07-05-2004, 05:12 PM

Key Hand #4
QQ, BB. rookie limps, rhino folds. Do I just go all in here or see a flop? I check to see the flop, afraid he'll just fold if I go all in from the BB. Flop comes 78T. I go all in on the flop and he calls. He has A9o. No ace, no cards to complete his straight. I double up+ a little to 2390. Comments on the pre-flop check?

Giuhhhhhhhhh.. I don't like this play, myself, not from a mechanical standpoint but because I get so snake bit on these. The amount of A-rag K-Rag hands that you'll see will beat your poor Q's when the A or K comes down (which it usually does) I would raise half your remaining chips (of course you are pot committed, but this is not a "information gathering" raise, it's a "here little fishyyy" type thing) I find that people assume you're stealing with that raise (since you didn't all-in, and have chips left), so they'll be more willing to bite

RPI-Fan

07-05-2004, 05:46 PM

RPI-Fan

07-05-2004, 05:47 PM

KK, BB. noooo come on, just give me crap until I make the money. burk2828 raises pre-flop. I call the min raise.

The flop comes JTx. What do I do? 1700 pot, I have 1800 left. I go all in. I'm really very torn here but I just cannot see myself folding in this spot. I go all in. burk calls. He has KQ, straight draw and backdoor flush draw. An ace on the turn gives him the straight and I bust out on the bubble, no money for me.

No all-in preflop?? Kind of surprised you didn't do that; you make it seem like you knew you were committed to the pot anyways - why not just get it in preflop when there's a chance you steal the blinds?

Radii

07-05-2004, 06:21 PM

Good points on the QQ hand. I think youre right, the check there was rather weak.

On the KK hand, I am definitely happy with how I played it pre-flop. On the flop, I'm not as sure but I don't think I did too much wrong here.

Here's my reasoning on the KK hand. This is one of the rare spots where I could lay down KK even though I'm a short stack late in a tourney. If the flop comes straight-flush possible or there's an ace, I can lay my hand down and just play for the money. But with any kind of a decent flop for me, I can go all in and be pretty certain I'm going to have the best hand.

I'm definitely curious about this, I was ready to lay the KK down to an ace flop, but, perhaps there was a better way to play it.

Thanks for all the comments so far.

Radii

07-06-2004, 10:36 AM

No all-in preflop?? Kind of surprised you didn't do that; you make it seem like you knew you were committed to the pot anyways - why not just get it in preflop when there's a chance you steal the blinds?

I posted about this on another poker board I read (over at fool.com, there is an "On Tilt" board, it's not free though, I just love the site in general so I pay for it), and there were a good 10 replies or so... and I've totally reversed my thinking here. All-in or fold, and a fold is pretty weak given that on the bubble of a tournament bigger stacks are going to be willing to steal with a ton of hands, but may not be willing to risk a signifigant amount of chips with very many at all.

I should have gone all-in pre-flop, or maybe, *maybe* considered folding if I really really wanted to make the money more than anything.

Radii

07-06-2004, 11:25 AM

Two things, the first is a question about the 3-table posts... lately I've been attempting to post every single hand, no matter how crappy, when I fold. At first I was doing that b/c I wanted to see if a bunch of hands would jump out as hands I should have played or tried a steal or limped early, things like that. But re-reading through these, it seems it might just clutter things up too much. Any suggestions/thoughts for how I'm posting the tournament play?

2nd, I went through and tracked all my results at these 3-tables, as MJ4H suggested earlier. I don't have them in tracker so I'll just keep my results updated here.

3-table stats:

Entered: 12
Entry Fees paid: $396
1st: 1
2nd: 0
3rd: 1
4th: 1
5th: 2

ITM%: 41.6%
Money Won: $765
ROI: 93%

Sample size is clearly way too small to matter, and a 93% ROI is clearly insane. I'll keep track of this here as I play more of these, while my ring game play is being tracked religously in pokertracker. I am curious how these will compare to single tables, is a 40% ROI good? How often should a good player make the money when the finish has to be top 5 out of 30, compared to top 3 out of 10.

dixieflatline

07-06-2004, 12:06 PM

Two things, the first is a question about the 3-table posts... lately I've been attempting to post every single hand, no matter how crappy, when I fold. At first I was doing that b/c I wanted to see if a bunch of hands would jump out as hands I should have played or tried a steal or limped early, things like that. But re-reading through these, it seems it might just clutter things up too much. Any suggestions/thoughts for how I'm posting the tournament play?

Just getting caught up reading this. Lots of stuff over the weekend which is good but lots to read over as well. I kind of like the idea of posting every hand and I like the comments like "KJo folded to an all-in". Stuff like "83o folded" is very quick to read over so I don't really care if you leave this in or not. I really like the key hands post inside the regular raised to steal the blinds or folded to a raise stuff.

That is a pretty crazy ROI. Even if this comes back to earth it appears like you might be making more in the long run this way than any of the limit tables you were playing. Congrats on the success and keep it up.

Radii

07-06-2004, 01:23 PM

without having something like pokertracker to break down true hourly rates for all various games, it's hard to compare. At 3 1/2 tables I've settled down to about $11/hr, which is about what I'd expect, that's about 2 BB/table/hour. I believe that would be a sustainable win rate over time. That's not my end goal though, I've been stepping it back up in the full games, and am close to jumping up to 3 2/4 tables.

Were I to average $20/hr doing that, then it gets a little fishy as to what's better.

Here's another thought. I first posted that a 93% ROI seems quite insane. But, a 40% ROI is a solid win rate at single table Sit n' Gos. A 3-table takes about twice as long. A single table takes 40 minutes to an hour, a 3-table takes 90 minutes to two hours.

If one could sustain a 35-40% ROI at single table tourneys, wouldn't you need to have a 70-80% ROI to make 3-tables worth playing from a true win rate standpoint?

And then there's the *very* easily defined win rate from limit games that pokertracker can simply spit out for me.

Intersting stuff to think about at least.

And thanks for the comments :)

AnalBumCover

07-06-2004, 01:55 PM

Radii

07-06-2004, 02:17 PM

Speaking of PokerTracker, how best are you using it during "in-game" situations (for both ring games and SnGs)? I mean, I have it running and load up the few familiar faces, but I'm not sure how to interpret the numbers to live situations and make on-the-fly decisions based on those numbers...

I'm not importing my SnG hands. the multi-table ones do not offer me the chance to get a tournament summary mailed to me that will load in the entire tourney.

For ring games, I export notes into partypoker directly. There's a feature in the more recent versions of tracker that allow you to export your pokertracker notes directly into partypoker notes. That way as soon as someone sits at the table I see that there's a note on him and I get all the info I want.

I export:

hands played, win rate, agression factors(all of them, pre/flop/turn/river/total), VP$P %(voluntarily put money into the pot), PFR %, and how often they check-raise.

This gives me a broad overview of how a player plays. Of course, if I only have 40 or 50 hands for a player I won't let it *totally* guide me, but I will take their play style into consideration.

If I sit down at a table and there are 3 players who are all very tight, I may go find another table, so it helps a little with table selection.

If I've got a rock to my left, I may raise more often in strategic positions, knowing he'll fold too many hands. If I've got a maniac nearby, I'll adjust my playstyle accordingly, raising more often along with the maniac to try to isolate him.

You see sooooo many people at partypoker that the notes I have on a player rarely change my playstyle, but it always helps having more information on them the second they sit down, and the few times I see a total maniac sit down and I can confidantly label them immediately b/c of pokertracker notes, it may win me a signifigant number of extra bets.

Radii

07-07-2004, 05:48 PM

With some time to kill I join another 3-table NL #30 tournament, hoping my luck+good enough play of late continues.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

I start in the BB, I'm on table 1, so don't expect much movement.

T6o, BB, folds to a 50 raise. - a call and a 250 reraise later and this pot is 800 chips pre-flop. bowlerz goes all in on the hand(he limp-reraised to 250). InfoWins thinks for a long time before calling. bowlerz has KK, info AJ on a jack-high flop. bowlerz has 2290 and we just started.

65s, SB. I complete, lordlucan(BB) raises to 30, and with 4 callers I call as well. I am out of the way after the flop is all high cards, none of my suit. lucan had QQ and flopped a set.

82s, button, folds
Q5s, cutoff, folds
J7o, cutoff-1, folds - lordlucan has AQ on a QQ9 flop, he slowplayed too much, bowlerz made runner-runner flush for very cheap, now lordlucan is gone. Bowlerz has 3370 chips.
KJo, cutoff-1(since lucan is gone), folds to a raise+call before me.
Q9o, UTG+2, folds
93o, UTG+1, folds
96s, UTG, folds

A7s, BB, 4 limp to me and I check. flop is awful and I fold.
K4o, SB, I complete and we have a 6-way pot. I'll play anything for 5 chips. I fold when it misses me though.

Level 2, 10/20 blinds

4 people went out in the first round. I am down to 925 in chips after the blinds come through twice in the first 10 minutes.

52o, button, folds A6540 goes out with 34o, going all in for 500 chips when he flopped middle pair on a 942 flop...
K9s, cutoff, folds to a raise up to 55 before me. Debated calling but I don't want to bleed away too much. SB re-raises to 100, 3 see the flop. SB, AstroTim wins about 500 chips with a big turn bet.
J3o, cutoff-1, folds
84s, UTG+1, folds (7-handed for now, we'll even out to 8 per table next player out I think)

AQo, UTG, I open-raise to 60, 3x the BB. Two call. I win with a flop bet of 150(pot was 200). Flop missed me totally.

T9o, BB. Free flop, I flop an inside straight with a 776 flop, its checked to the river, I never hit anything but the pot was only 60 chips, so I never considered a steal either(maybe should have thrown otu a pot-sized bet on the turn, but alas)

pastramysand joins to make it 8 at our table, now down to 24 total

K5o, SB. Folds after a pre-flop raise earlier.

52s, button, folds
54o, cutoff, folds

pastramy is gone, all in on a 2nd pair+straight draw flop(he had JT, board was 9TQ). He is called by KJ and is out 24th.

Level 3, 15/30 blinds

I have 1035 chips, 23 remain. 7 at our table, bowlerz still has 3300 to lead the tourney. Everyone else is 900-1600 at my table.

KTo, cutoff-1, folds
J3o, UTG+1, folds
KTo, UTG, folds
K9o, BB, folds to a raise to 75 chips
34o, SB, folds
Q3o, button, folds
Q5o, cutoff, folds
Q9o, cutoff-1, folds

AKo, UTG+1, I raise to 3x the BB. BB calls me. Flop comes KT6, two diamonds. My king is a diamond. checked to me, I bet the pot(195 chips), and I win it there. I remain at 1095.

Some sort of major attrition at the other tables saw us drop from 23 to 20 in a matter of 2 hands. Two tables now, I am ten handed.

Key Hand #1

UTG+1, AKo. I raise to 90. ChemE25(same guy from last AK hand) re-raises to 150. stylcatz calls. I think and I call. stylcatz bets small, just 100 chips, but leading out worries me. I fold. ChemE raises it to 500, this woulda been all in if I had wanted to play. I am down to 945 with my fold, but I have to assume I was beaten there.

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

I have 945 chips, there are 19 remaining, so I am well under average, but still with enough to make a big move if I can catch a hand.

53o, UTG, folds
K3s, BB, folds to a raise
74o, SB, folds - QQ/TT end up all in, QQ wins, down to 18 now, and the two biggest stacks at the table are to my left.

870 chips after the blinds, my table is nearly full so I have a ways to go still. I need to make something happen though.

T9o, button, folds

Key HAnd #2
ATo, cutoff, not the greatest hand but I have position. TWo limp and I raise it up to 150. Only finglas calls me. Flop comes 332. Will he call a bet? I bet the pot, basically committing myself(and parying he folds). He does. I am up to 1145.

76s, cutoff-1. I try to limp here, which is probably a mistake really. But I get a cheap 4-handed flop, I miss, but we get a free turn and I have an inside straight draw. Can we get a free river? Nope, I fold to a pot sized bet.

96o, MP, folds

finglas gets disconnected on every street, that last hand took about 4 minutes to play, and we are moving to the next level sooner rather than later. In the end, Stylcatz went all in with pocket 7s and got called, and busted, by a king. 17 left.

I get my BB out of the way before the level increase though.

K2o, BB, fodls to a 200 raise.

Levle 5 - 50/100 blinds

I have 1045 starting this round, and start in the SB.

17 remain and I am now just over half of the average stack. But boy these cards have been ass.

J9o, SB. bowlerz raises to 250 and I fold this one. - acehole0 goes all in for his last 420. TWo big stacks both call, and they check it down(it's really a little early to be doing that isn't it??) well, neither had great hands, pocket 8s vs ace high, so tht makes some sense.

Quickly down to 15 now. 7 at my table.

J3s, button, folds.

QTo, cutoff, folded to the min raise - AK vs AK splits a 4500 pot, bowlerz lost about 1000 chips donating to the two AK's befoer getting out of the way.
74o, cutoff-1, folds
J6o, UTG+1, folds
75o, UTG, folds
an ace!! A3o, BB. Jesus. 5 limp to me. We see a flop 6-way. It comes Q73, two hearts. I have the 3 of hearts :/ I can't call a 300 bet with this though. I am not that desparate yet.
K8o, SB, folds to a raise

JJ, button, folded to me I open-raise to 300, and I steal the blinds. Back to 995.
J4s, cutoff, folds

Clarksville, to my left, has 6500 chips now, busting AstroTim, who went all in for 1800 with an ace high flush draw(+ overcards on a ten-high flop). Clarksville had QQ and won a big one.

14 left.

AKo, UTG. I raise to 300 and steal the blinds again.
K4o, BB. Free flop with the SB. Flop comes 642, checked to me, I bet 200, I win the pot.

Two small but very helpful wins there to keep me treading water.

52o, SB, folds.
32o, button, folds
Q5s, cutoff, folds
Q7o, MP, folds

Level 6 - 75/150

14 remain, I am still about 950 chips below average, with only one stack lower than me at this table.

J9o, UTG+1, folds
K7o, UTG, folds - mrjslade and finglas build a 2300 pot, finglas CALLING all the way with KK to a ten high very non-scary board... he wins big but that was weird. mrjslade bluffed with A7 the whole way and is down to 400 chips

I clearly have to steal more, a dangerous prospect with the someone who has me covered 7:1 to my left, but I will have no choice soon.

73o, BB, folded to large raise
J7o, SB,folded to large raise - mrjslade all in for 410. finglas and clarksville are still in it with him. clarksville bets big and busts out slade with 78o, bottom pair ont eh flop.

12 left.

crap, button, folded to 700 bet.
T2s, cutoff, folded to big raise
T6o, MP, folded to 600 raise
J4o, UTG, folds

I have 970 as the blinds hit, getting shaky.

Key Hand #3
A4s, BB. Clarksville raises the min to 300. He's been raising a ton. I decide I don't have enough chips to just see the flop, and 6 handed I can't fold here. I go all in. He calls with AJo. I catch a flush on the river to stay alive and double up!

Clarksville: nh
me: heh, glad to still be hre.

crap, SB, folds
KJo, button, folds to a 800 raise from ChemE
T2o, cutoff, folds
T2o(again), MP, folds
Q9s, UTG, folds sharpy all in with T9o, Clarksville K4s(only 150 more for him to call after he open-raised it) Sharpy catches two pair.

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - hour break - FINAL TABLE

The other table lost one to drop to 10 left.

My 1940 is over 1000 short of the "average" 3000. however, with two dominant leaders, clarksville, 7000 even, and CashMeCall, 6070. Plus a solid 3rd TonyBowling with 4235, my 1940 is good for 6th place and I am still in an "anything can happen" mode.

85s, UTG+1, folds - clarks raises out of position again... dude doesn't know how to play a big stack, min raises from god knows where. one call, a 1000 raise, then cashmecall shows em how its down by going all in for 6000. His AK knocks out ChemE25 and we're down to 9.

JTo, UTG, folds
J5s, BB - folded to SB, he limps, I check. flop is 966, we check, he bets the turn and I give him the pot. Bleh.
J2o, SB, not enough to try to steal from the chipleader. I fold.

1640 left after the blinds.

A2o, folds to a big raise from cashmecall
JTo, folds to a big raise from cashmecall - cash takes two big pots off of clarksville and is up to 12,000... clarksville down to 4500.

64o, cutoff, folds clarks wins big w/ a made flush vs ace high draw, finglas(another bigger than me stack) is out, 8 left.

ATo, I fold when cashmecall bets big enough to put me all in pre-flop. he had QQ, an ace hit, but alas.

Key Hand #4
AJo, UTG+1, I open-raise to 600, cashmecall calls me. Flop comes KQx, all one suit. I fold to a large bet. I culd have made a stand with one of these but I seriously thinkg that there are some terrible players here and I have a very good shot at the money. I am playing conservative.

Key Hand #5
AQo, UTG, ok, I contradict myself. I realize I am down to 1000 and no matter how bad the others are I need more chips. I go all in, get called by the BB with KQo, and double up to 2480.

I pass through the blinds with crap and fold. Button too.

FOUR players are under 1K in chips. only 3 need to bust out for the money. I am 4th in chips but not in great shape myself, but I am content to be patient and see hat happens here(though the cards are making this easy, outside of the AJ decision perhaps, which I think was right under any circumstance anyway.

sharpy33 doubles up to 1290 with A7 vs CashMeAll's 77.
C_Kid doubles up with KK vs 88, up to 1960.

Reeden all in with AK, called by AQ. finally, a queen hits, and the suckout drops us to 7 left.

Level 8 150/300 blinds

I am raised out of T6s in the BB, and fold 82o in the small blind.

Sharpy doubles up again, this time off of clarksville, 2680.

One short stack gone, two have surpassed me in chips, and one is hanging to a thread. this sucks.

The other two stacks my size get heads up on a flop but it ends quickly.

Key Hand #6

99 in my big blind. This'll be it I bet. CashMeCall raises the min, I push all in for 1730 behind him. One limper folds. Cash thinks long, long, long and FOLDS.

I am up to 2780, that is a big steal.

QQ in my Big blind. I steal the blind frmo Clarksville.

Up to 3080.

Bowlerz is all in in his BB for 230. Sharpy bets 600, I fold my crap, and Sharpy's AJ beats bowlerz 85 and we are down to 6.

On the bubble:

cashmecall - 10500
clarksville - 5900
TONYBOWLING - 5900
ME - 3080
Sharpy - 3060
C_Kid 1510

WHOA. Tonybowling and clarksville get into a 4500 pot, tony bowling pushes all in, and covers clarksville, who thinks very hard before folding, the curse of the bubble, eh? He still has 3800 but lost a big chunk there.

C_Kid raised on his BB, he's down to 1210 if he folds. He calls, cashmecall bets, C_Kid goes all in and probably has the best hand. Only 610 more for cash but he doesn't doit. 2400 now for C_Kid.

K7s in my BB but all fold to me.
I fold right back to a raise with K2o in my SB.

74o, button, folds - 3 limp, including the two shorter-than-me stacks. Sharpy bets 1300 on the flop and is called by the big stack, tonybowling. All in on the turn. OUCH. trip 5s for sharpy33. No longer a short stack at all, 6300. Tonybowling still has 4800.

C_Kid is at 1960, me at 3080, clarksville at 3835. Blinds jumping 200/400 very soon.

C_Kid 1660 folding to a raise in his BB.

I have A5 in my BB. all fold to me again. C_Kid 1510, Me 3080 still after 34o in the SB. C_Kid all in on the button, clarksville folds.

Level 9 - 200/400 blinds

C_Kid 1960, me 3080, Clarksville8 3385.

I fold 3 hands in a row without a face card.

C_Kid in his BB, I fold 85o UTG. clarksvile raises, this is beautiful, two short stacks. But C_Kid folds. 1560 for him.

Key Hand #7
A2o in my BB. I hate this one, at least, I do if C_Kid tries to steal. He does. All in. C_Kid has folded to me the last 3 BB's in a row. I am tending to think he has a better hand than me. I don't want to risk so much on a 50/50 shot there, even if it could knock him out. Curious if others call here. I love aces but the thoght that he has folded to me 3 times in a row was the kicker for me(along with my deuce :P)

C_Kid 1960, me 2480, clarksville 3385 after the blinds pass us all - Until Clarksville steals the BB on his hand, he is 3985 actually.

C_KID IS OUT. free flop for me, with sharpy and c_kid, i have K5o. blanks all the way down until an ace on the river. c_kid bets, is pot committed, sharpy all in. Sharpy turned a set and waited it down.

In the Money

I have limped into the money, and need a lot of help to do any better than 5th.

I get KQo in my BB, this is an all-iner right here. NM. folded to me. 2080.

K7o, SB. Big raise by tonybowling and I get out of the way. clarksville and tonybowling build a 3000 pot by the turn, tony bets big, 5000 pot. tonybowling was bluffing and is down to my level at 1700.

clarksville raises next hand, with tony in BB. he's committed with 945 chips left. All in, K9 vs K3, tonybowling is OUT.

4 left.

3rd place has me outstacked by 4:1

AKo in my big blind. clarksvile raises, I'm all in. clarksville calls with 58o. 58o > AKo. 8 on the flop.

I am very unsure about some of my late play there. I cannot say whether I felt timid or if it was just my read on the table... So many times I could try to steal with K7o and the like, or, I could get out of the way and let others knock themselves out. Sometimes that will kill me, this time it won me $100. This is, for better or worse, how I typically play a short stack when there are also other short stacks. The big stacks are willing to risk 2K with any ace to try to knock out a little guy. That's what happened here, and I watched everyone else gamble their way out while I hung on. If I'm a bigger stack, I try to steal a lot more. If there are not very many small stacks, I will gamble to try to build up and survive. But when there are 9 left and 5 people have 2000 or less, I am content to be ultra-careful and let them kill each other.

It worked here, but thoughts on this strategy in general? If I get good cards, I'm taking my chance(see the 99 hand), but with hands that are steal hands but aren't likely to hold up if called, I don't risk it.

4th place: In: $33, out: $135

Updated Stats

Entered: 13
Entry Fees paid: $429
1st: 1
2nd: 0
3rd: 1
4th: 2
5th: 2

ITM%: 46.2%
Money Won: $900
ROI: 110%

Radii

07-07-2004, 10:34 PM

Another $30+$3 tourney

I start out at table #2, no names that I recognize here.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

T7o, MP, folds
Q4s, MP, folds
J4o, UTG+2, folds
T4o, UTG+1, folds
J2o, UTG, folds

Key HAnd #1
AQo, BB - I call the min raise from KevDoggy, and we are heads up on the flop. Flop comes K9x, I bluff into the pot, betting 70 chips. Kev raises me to 140 an I call. Turn helps me none and I fold. I think the flop bluff was ok but calling the raise was very dumb. I also should have thrown in a re-raise on the flop to see what he did. Who knows what he had, I just played that poorly.

J4o, SB - I complete but fold on the flop

Down to 815 as a result of that messed up hand.

J6o, button, folds
Q3o, cutoff, folds

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

No one is out yet. I have 815 chips, annoyed at that hand but not in terrible shape or anything.

A3o, cutoff-1, folds
75s, cutoff-2, folds
T6o, MP, folds
32s, UTG+2, folds
T2s, UTG+1, folds - flush vs 2 pair all in on the turn. 2 pair fills up on the river, kuhse1970 down to under 300 chips.
J2s, UTG, folds
K4o, BB, folds to a raise - kuhse is out
95o, SB, folds
A2s, button, I fold to a large raise pre-flop
62o, cutoff, folds
J6o, cutoff-1, folds
J7s, MP, folds

Level 3 - blinds 15/30

Lots went out at the end of level 2, we're down to 25. I have 785 chips and am going nowhere so far.

T3o, UTG+1, folds
63s, UTG, folds
T2o, BB, free flop, fold when it misses
85s, SB, folds
J8o, button, folds
42o, cutoff, folds
QTs, cutoff-1, 3 others had limped already, I give it a shot too. Flop has an ace and misses me totally and I get out of there to a bet.
T3o, MP, folds

Key Hand #2
AJs, UTG+1. I raise to 80, and 2 people call. Flop comes 9TQ. I bet the pot, and tonyvas calls me. The turn is another ten. I am so pot committed right now. I am down to 300 chips and there's about 1000 in the pot and unless eh's got a full house, I have outs. I'm all in, called by KQo. I don't hit my ace or straight and I am out 23rd. My worst finish ever!

I probably played both of these hands terribly. Ick. That is most definitely all for tonight :)

Updated Stats

Entered: 14
Entry Fees paid: $462
1st: 1
2nd: 0
3rd: 1
4th: 2
5th: 2

ITM%: 42.8%
Money Won: $900
ROI: 94.8%

Radii

07-08-2004, 04:28 PM

Ok, time for another $30+$3 NL tournament, I am in a much, much better mindset today than I was last night, last night that tourney I played was a late night distraction after a long night, though I'm not sure I really messed up too bad anyway.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

I'm at table 2, starting in the SB on the first hand.

QJo, SB, I limp, miss, and fold.
A9o, button, folds to a 125 raise by rickenbacker before me.
76o, cutoff, folds
QTo, cutoff-1, folds
A7o, cutoff-2, folds

Key Hand
QQ, MP, captain9414 raises to 45 UTG. I re-raise to 100. captain9414 calls me. Flop comes QJ8, three spades. Now, how do you play here? Top set, but 3 spades? I bet the pot and get called. Pot is now about 425 or so. I have about 680 left. The turn is a total blank. Now what? Do I check top set? Does anyone think all-in is a bad play here?

I all in. I'm called by AK, one spade. Inside straight+flush draw. the ten on the turn knocks me out with my worst finish ever, 28th.

Comments? On the turn I was 3:1 to win, so I think I did the right thing.

Radii

07-08-2004, 05:47 PM

Lets try this again, that just stunk.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

66, MP, limp, but end up folding when overcards flop
Q5o, MP, folds
J3o, MP, folds
T9o, UTG+1, folds
84o, UTG, folds
63o, BB, folds to early raise
34o, SB, complete for 5 chips but fold to a bad flop 3 players to the river on an interesting 6678T board with 4 hearts. The ace of hearts beats the straight. No cool straight flushes or anything.
32o, button,folds

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

Two went out in the first round, none at my table, my table is boring. LION_KING leads with 1455 chips at mine. I have 955 still.

T2o, cutoff, folds
Q4o, cutoff-1, folds
Q7o, MP, folds
KK, MP, I raise to 80 chips(4x the blind). Wow, no one calls. Tight. Damn :(
K9o, UTG+2, folds - AQ vs KK end up all in on a queen high flop. Ace on the turn, KK is hurt.
T5s, UTG+1, folds

down to 9 at our table as a 3rd person goes out elswere and the tables are evened out.

T2s, BB, after two limipers lion_king raises to 200... bodiepal goes all in over him for 640. lionking calls with AA. bodie had 33. bodie is very gone.
A3o, SB, limp with two others, fold to a BB raise
45o, button, folds - most raises here are the min, nto very threatening
K6o, cutoff, folds - 3 limps, a raise to 55, both blinds and two of the limpers call, then a 300 raise from the last limper, fold/fold/fold/one call/fold - 820 pot pre-flop. raiser checks even tho he has only 235 left. LION_KING puts him all in on the turn. THE_Chop(the raiser) calls and shows a nicely slowplayed AA w/ trip aces for a nice win.

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

J9s, cutoff-1, folds

26 left(I've outlasted the last tourney!!)

Key Hand #1
KTs, MP, I raise to 85, two call. Flop comes JJ6 with two clubs. I bet out 200 chips, only petch84 calls me. Turn is the queen, making my flush. I force petch all in, he's about 400 shorter than me. He calls, he has KJ and doesn't fill up, I win to push up to 1575 chips.

couple of crap hands go by

Two Key Hands #2 and #3
T8s, BB. Free flop 4-handed. Flop comes KT6, one of my suit. There'a 30 bet, I call it. The turn is a 2nd heart. I call a 50 bet, 5:1 odds on my flush. I don't hit and a king takes down the pot.
K8s, SB. I limp, 4 handed, and flop a flush draw. Another weak 30 chip bet, I'll call. On the turn I hit an 8, and call a 100 bet. The river is a blank and I call another 100 chip bet, very weak betting that I'm allowying myself to call along on... I see 24o, two pair on the river.

crap, button, folds.

Key Hand #4
KQs, cutoff. there are 4 limps before me. I raise it up to 100. I get tons and tons of action. 6 callers. 715 in the pot. Sheesh. The flop comes JT8, two of my suit. I immediately go all in. The entire table folds to me, and I am up to 1795. Two weak draws played poorly, followed by a strong draw played well, and I am back up nicely.

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

Right as the blinds increase we drop to 20 people, down to 2 tables. I am 2nd in chips at my table, the chipleader, JoeyEvans, is about 4 to my left with over 4K in chips. I have 1795 still.

some crap folded during the writeups.

K5o, UTG+2, folds
83o, UTG+1, folds
xx, UTG, folds
Q2o, BB, folds to a 225 raise, and an 845 all-in behind that. AKs and J9s(845 all-in for J9s??). Of course, J9s wins.
K3o, SB, folds

Down to 19 left.

Key Hand #5
JTo, button. After 4 others limp I limp as well. Great implied odds if I hit hard. Flop comes J77, I don't hit that hard. Checked around to me, I bet 250, prepared to give this one up to a lot of agression, but hoping I have the best hand. Everyone folds. I am up to 1970.

T5o, cutoff, folds

a few crap hands folded

Key Hand #6
AQo, MP, two limpers, I raise to 200. Two people call. Flop is 9-high, I bluff out 500 chips into the 700 pot. Both fold and I win the pot.

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

I am up to 2470, still 2nd in chips at my table, but a couple others are very cose to me. I'm 4th in chips total.

19 remain still.

AKo, UTG. I raise to 300. I win the blinds.
86o, BB - I fold to an all in for 1000 by the button.
57o, SB, folds

18 remain, one is gone on the other table.

65s, button, folds
53o, cutoff, folds
63o, cutoff-1, folds

Down to 16 after we lose two quickly at my table, 50/100 blinds is great for the attrition

76o, UTG+1, folds
Q9o, UTG, folds
72o, BB, folds to a raise
AQo, SB, folded to me, I raise to 250, I steal the BB.
J9o, button, folds

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

There are 15 left at this point, a fe went out real fast last level

K6o, cutoff, folds
A6o, cutoff-1, folds to raise before me
Q4o, UTG+1, folds
32o, UTG, folds
A8o, BB - joeyevans raises to 600, i get out of his way (He's the 3500 big stack at the table)
Q8o, SB, folds to min raise AA vs J9 all in, down to 14 now.
Q5o, button, folds
Q8s, cutoff, folds - small stack tries to steal, lion_king goes all in on the flop and scares small stack off his hand
Qxo, cutoff-1, folds
74o, UTG, folds

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - hour break

I'm at 2245 in chips 13 remain. 2 stacks under 1K and a couple barely over 1K that will probably cause a lot of shakeups right away.

My 2245 is right about at the average. I'm 4th at my table, LION_KING has 4900 after some big gains, JoeyEvans is at 3095, poundtown has 2500, I have 2245, The_Chop has 1780, auburnstud has 640. I'd be 4th at the other table as well, putting me 7th overall at the break. Anything can happen, I'm ina good position to make a move, but not in a great one.

KTo, BB - I fold to a large raise
32o, SB, folds (sux, auburnstud down to 440 left in hsi BB there)
65o, button, folds

Key Hand #7
ATo, cutoff, open-raise to 400. auburnstud goes all in for 645, and lion_king calls. I call the extra 200. Flop has 3 hearts, my ace is a heart. Lion king and I check it down, a heart, ten, ace, never hit. Auburn has AK and wins the pot. I am getting a bit short now with 1305. Ugh.

T9o, UTG, folds
62s, BB, folds
32o(again!), SB, folds

I have 1000 chips, still 13 left, this is starting to look grim.

75o, button, folds
K8o, cutoff, folds

Key Hand #8
99, UTG+1, I raise to 600, one caller(LION_KING). I'm all in on a Q22 flop. hope he has no queen. He goes all in, I call. He shows 77, my 99 holds up and I double up to 2210 chips.

A2o, BB, folds to a large raise. That's probably a bit timid.
crap, SB, folds
Q5s, button, folds
66, cutoff, steals blinds
A5s, UTG+1, raise to 500. poundtown calls. ARGH. AQ6 flop, all clubs. I hate these suited flops. I have to bet it, short table rules now. I bet 800 and win the pot, whew.
98o, UTG, folds

Level 8 - 150/300 blinds

All 13 survived that entire level. Impressive.

92o, BB, SB raises but I can't call with this.
95s, SB, folds to a raise. - LION_KING raises *a lot*

Finally down to 12.

42o, button, folds
53o, cutoff, folds
K2o, UTG+1, folds

Key Hand #9
AQo, UTG, I raise to 800. One of the few shorter than me stacks calls, and a 970 stack goes all in. Another 170 to call, which I do. Other stack only has 300 left. He goes in on the flop, I call. I am down to 990 when my AQ and short stack's AJ don't hit and 77 triples up AuburnStud.

Q4o, BB, fold

Key Hand #10
JTo, SB - I go all in for about 400 extra here. Two are in with me. Flop is jack high, I have top pair, but JoeyEvans has KJ.

I am out 11th.

Updated Stats

Entered: 15
Entry Fees paid: $495
1st: 1
2nd: 0
3rd: 1
4th: 2
5th: 2

ITM%: 40%
Money Won: $900
ROI: 82%

Radii

07-09-2004, 09:37 AM

Oops, my stats are off in that last post, I skipped updating them one tourney:

Updated Stats

Entered: 16
Entry Fees paid: $528
1st: 1
2nd: 0
3rd: 1
4th: 2
5th: 2

ITM%: 37.5%
Money Won: $900
ROI: 70%

Also, a bankroll update since I haven't updated in a bit:

PokerStars: $168
Neteller: $1121
PartyPoker: $1350

Total: $2639

Solid total. neteller acct is down a bit. After my cashout at intercasino I deposited another $100. The blackjack didn't work out with the free $90 for July, but I don't expect that to win w/ that every month or anything, the problem though is that the poker didn't either. I played about 180 hands and lost the entire $100. Terrible streak at the 1/2 short tables, and probably some bad play as well. I'm only 120 hands or so from that $50 bonus now though, so I'll likely deposit some more into intercasino just to finish up that bonus and pull it back out, but I'm showing a net loss there this month(karma after quadrupling my money last month I suppose).

I played 3 2/4 tables for a bit last night, and i've officially jumped up to 2/4 for my ring game play. I've just made that jump though and only have about 250 hands recorded at 2/4. I won't be posting any of those hands since there's no way to record while playing 3 tables and still remain sane, but I'll post up my results every 1000 hands or so to track progress.

Radii

07-10-2004, 02:59 PM

After some 2/4 grinding it out I get the urge to play in a multi-table tourney. I join a $50+$5 pokerstars tourney, ~240 are entered(we'll see exactly how many in a minute.

For now there are 30 tables

Everyone gets 1500 chips, blinds are 10/20, and levels increase every 15 minutes.

Level 1 - 10/20

A4o, cutoff, folds - jack_dawson loses half his stack.
QJo, cutoff-1, folds - jack all in with AJ, called by 99. jack back to starting chips. EarlBry down to 750.
83o, cutoff-2, folds

Late registration closes, we have 270 entrants. 27 get paid

Q9o, MP, folds
53o, UTG+1, folds
33, UTG, folds

Jack Dawson has won 3 of the last 4 pots, he's in there mixing it up a lot.

75o, BB, free flop 3-way, folded on flop
85o, SB, folds to raise
T6s, button, folds
82o, cutoff, folds
K8o, cutoff-1, folds EarlBry/Ckrad all in preflop, A7 vs A6, they split. EARL is short stacked somewhat, ckrad doesn't have an excuse.
82o, MP, folds
K7o, MP, folds
J6o, UTG+1, folds
42o, UTG, folds
J9s, BB, folds to a raise to 60
62o, SB, folds
52o, button, folds
T9o, cutoff, folds

Level 2 - 15/30 blinds

242 out of 270 remain. 27 tables left.

I have 1440 chips. 147th out of 242.

45o, cutoff-1, folds - earlbry all in again, hcor879874 calls. AK vs A7. some very bad all in calls here. Earl back up to 1185 and still kickin

52s, MP, folds
Q9o, UTG+2, folds
A5o, UTG+1, folds
Q4s, UTG, folds

Key Hand #1

KK, BB, 3 limp and I raise to 100. Jack Dawson calls. Flop comes 842. I bet ~the pot, 270, and JackDawson folds.

84o, SB, folds

1585 chips after the SB

92o, button, folds
J2o, cutoff, folds
72s, cutoff-1, folds

Key Hand #2
KQo, MP, open-raise to 90. Button and BB call. Flop comes 3 low cards, I bet hard(200 or so into the 270) and button folds. Turn is an ace. First really hard decision of the day. Ckrad checks to me. Do I bet hard or give it up? I choose to bet here, I bet 400 chips, a pretty big underbet of the pot but ckrad is shorter stacked so I think it's enough to push him out if he doens't have the ace. He folds, and I am up to 1990 in chips.

Coupld of folds in the UTG positions.

J4o, BB, folds to a 270 raise.
KQo, SB - no shot at position here, so not sure how to play this one. ckrad all in for 505 makes it easy. fold.

Key Hand #3

AA, button - two limps, then a raise to 90 by the big stack at the table. Pot is upwards of 200. I raise to 270. Dawwg calls, he has a lot more chips than me. Flop comes Q33. he checks, I bet 500 into the 645 pot, and dawwg folds.

JTs, cutoff, folds to another ckrad all in.
xx, cutoff-1, folds
A4o, cutoff-2, folds

Level 3 - 25/50 blinds

Level 2 was very good to me. I pushed up to 2320 in chips.

203 out of the original 270 remain. 23 tables left. I am 59th out of the 203 left.

crap, MP, folds
KJs, UTG+1, I raise to 3x the blind, and I steal the blinds.
T2o, UTG, folds

Under 200 remain.

J3o, BB, folded to a raise
J2o, SB, folds

No flop in the last 4 hands.

J6, button, folds - big hand, dontbeafraid flops top two pair and backdoor flush draw. The_Lyl flops a set. On the turn dontbeafraid has 4-flush + the two pair. All in, the flush hits the river adn doesn't pair the board, The_Lyl knocked out in a rough way there.

xx,cutoff, folds

Key Hand #4

A8o, cutoff-1, I open-raise to 150 and ckrad calls from the big blind. KJx on the flop. He checks, and I bet 400 to put him all in, he's been making a lot of calls and then folds ont eh flop, and really just staying alive stealing w/ pre-flop all ins. He got me good though, He has AA. I am down to 1760.

crap, folded a couple of times.
AJs, UTG, I raise to 150, and ckrad goes allin for 900. Can I call that? I don't think so. I fold it.

crap, BB, folded to raise.
63o, SB, folds

I am back to the starting chip level, 1535 after those two hits.

xx, button, folds
J8o, cutoff, folds
K4s, cutoff-1, folds
87o, MP, folds
Q4o, UTG+2, folds
A4o, UTG+1, folds

Key Hand #5
AKo, UTG, I raise to 150 - 4 people call. The board comes with a straight draw and a flush draw, I don't see any advantage to betting into this one... I get out of the way.

J2o, BB, folds to pre-flop raise

Level 4 - 50/100 blinds

62o, SB, folds

166 of the original 270 remain. 19 tables left.

After the SB I am down to 1285 and going in the wrong direction. I am now 125th out of 166.

73o, button, folds
85o, cutoff, folds
73o, cutoff-1, folds
J6o, MP, folds
QTo, UTG+2, folds

JTs, UTG+1, I try to limp(dumb w/ 1285 left huh?) - I fold to a 1200 all-in. ckrad calls it, QQ vs 88. 8 on the turn. ckrad is way up now.

72o, UTG, folds

Key Hand #6
T9o, BB, folds - 9-high flop, 986. dawwg bets 300, and I go all in. Top pair+inside straight draw. dawwwg things awhile, and folds. That pot takes me back up to 1685, 1635 after my SB.

crap, SB, folds
85s, button, folds - boink all in for 750ish, honkmyhorn big raise over him. AQo vs AJs. AQ holds up. Everyone around 1000 is starting to try to make moves w/ any decent hand here.
xx, cutoff, folds
Q7o, cutoff-1, folds

4 all-ins in the last 5 hands, all of them called pre-flop. 2 ppl busted out.

K7o, UTG+1, folds

QJs, UTG, I raise to 300. Very happy to win the blinds there.
82o, BB, free flop 4 way, folds on the flop.
65o, SB, folds to a raise
82o, again, button, folds

5 of the 9 guys at the table have 3000+ chips.

Key Hand #7
AKo, cutoff - a raise to 300 and a call before me. 750 pot. I go all in for 1635. Dawwg calls me with AQ. 89T flop, ugh. 789T after turn. Guess what hits the river? Yup, a jack. straight on the board, but Dawwg has the top end of it. Dominated hands no good!

I am out 123rd out of 270. Had that held up I would have had nearly 4000 chips and been in a solid position.

Radii

07-11-2004, 06:01 PM

2/4 1000 hand update

Playing 3 tables the hands rack up pretty fast... that's the whole idea, lower limit multiple tables hoping to even out to a win rate of 6/12 or 7.5/15 standards.

For my last session I played 4 tables and had similar results as with 3, I think if I want to sit down for a solid hour or two of poker if my head is clear I'll try 4 on occasion.

HANDS: 1038
WON: $234.50
per table BB/hr - 3.56
True Win Rate (this is 'real time' not per table): $38.65/hr, or 9.66 BB.

Sample size is terribly small so it doesn't mean much except that I'm winning right now and happy :)

9 BB/hr is a bit high but I think a long term expectation of 1.5-2BB per table per hour is very reasonable, so depending on whether I do 3 or 4 tables most of the time I think a win rate of $18-$25/hr is where I will end up settling in.

I plan on sticking it out here for 5000 hands or so, and if I'm happy with my play, I'll give 3/6 a try, but am a little wary of playing 3 3/6 tables with a "bankroll" that gets reset to $2500 every month. I may well start most months at 2/4 and then only move up to 3/6 once I get ahead.

Radii

07-12-2004, 12:00 PM

Quick weekend update:

PokerStars: $113
Neteller: $1221
PartyPoker: $1301 (cashed out $200, so neteller is higher/partypoker is lower)
InterCasinoPoker: $101 (A cleaning frenzy last week either resulted in the mail with my PIN beign thrown away, or hidden under a stack of scrapbook supplies that is about 45 feet high, so I am going to re-request it, so this money is stuck for a week probably).

Total: $2736

I'd love to get that up over $3000 before the profit cashout at the end of the month. but I'm afraid that talking about things like that will cause a losing streak so pretend I didn't say that :D

Radii

07-13-2004, 11:04 PM

Quick weekend update:
I'd love to get that up over $3000 before the profit cashout at the end of the month. but I'm afraid that talking about things like that will cause a losing streak so pretend I didn't say that :D

Yup, that losing streak started immediately. AFter I posted my first 1000 hand update at 2/4, I've lost the last 3 times I've sat down, down about $150, so just a small little swing over about 750 hands, I'll post details when I hit 2000 hands, hoping for a win next time.

My final session tonight I was down about $45, and got heads up with a guy with $100... he was calling with anything and I was catching good cards, he'd be raising into my 2-pair with 9-high, etc. I took about $50 off him and finished about even for the hour I got to play tonight, maybe that'll signal that this is just a small(only 40 BB) downswing.

MrIllini

07-14-2004, 10:12 AM

I've had a lot of success lately at the 30/3 multis radii

won one last night after coming back from down ~24K to ~6K in chips once we got heads up at the end

took 5th in a tourney right after that

and 12th on a bad beat after that before heading to bed.

really enjoying this read and relating to my own play...keep up the good work!

Radii

07-14-2004, 10:39 AM

congrats MrIllini :) First place in one of those is a great feeling.

I'm back in grind it out multi-tabling 2/4 mode for now, but I'm sure a break for a tournament or two will come along soon enough and I'll write up a few more of them.

Thanks for reading!

Chappy

07-14-2004, 05:05 PM

Any good deposit bonuses going on right now? Came into a bit o' cash and after a short break, I'm gonna throw my cards back into the ring.......

Radii

07-14-2004, 05:39 PM

A big downturn in the 2nd thousand hands, AA/KK

After 1000 hands:

WON: $234.50
per table BB/hr - 3.56

2/4 2000 hand update

Hands: 2010
Won: $99.50
per table BB/hr: 0.81
True Win Rate: $9.24/hr

So the last 1000 hands have been pretty rough. I have broken even in my last 2 sessions though, after having two terrible sessions in a row, hopefully things will turn up.

AKo, 20 times, lost $34.50
AKs, 9 times, lost $29.50
AA is winning big but I've only gotten it 6 times in over 2000 hands
QQ is my best hand, I've gotten it 13 times(that's quite a lot) and has won $123.

53s and PRESTO are my biggest losers.

None of that means anything at all after just 2000 hands, and I'm not worried at all it's a pretty small downturn, $135 is only 30 BB, no sweat.

Radii

07-14-2004, 06:52 PM

Any good deposit bonuses going on right now? Came into a bit o' cash and after a short break, I'm gonna throw my cards back into the ring.......

I like the bonus that InterCasinoPoker offers. $50 free every month after playing 300 hands, and a free $80 or $90 to use in their casino as well(that's freeroll money, if you play a ton with it and don't lose it you can keep it, if you lose it and don't dip into the money you deposited it's no loss).

The only caveat is that they snail-mail you a PIN when you open the account so you have to wait for it to cash out, but it only took about a week to get it for me.

cthomer pointed that one out, thanks to him for that :)

AFAIK, no other great bonuses goijng on now or anything.

I played for another hour and won $90 in about an hour, so it's nice to be on the winning end again

MrIllini

07-15-2004, 01:37 PM

won another $135 playing 3/6 at Party this afternoon on my lunch hour

i'm really enjoying being a profitable poker player :)

radii, we should both play a 30/3 multi soon! :)

petrochile

07-15-2004, 05:00 PM

won another $135 playing 3/6 at Party this afternoon on my lunch hour

i'm really enjoying being a profitable poker player :)

radii, we should both play a 30/3 multi soon! :)

Damn, I wish I could play on my lunch hour, but congrats on the winnings.

BTW great dynasty Radii, reading you poker dynasty is the closest thing I get to playing while at work! :)

Chappy

07-15-2004, 05:46 PM

I like the bonus that InterCasinoPoker offers. $50 free every month after playing 300 hands, and a free $80 or $90 to use in their casino as well

I don't see anything in the promo about the casino money. Maybe that part is over?

Radii

07-16-2004, 06:02 PM

2/4 3000 hand update

BLECH. 8 of my last 9 tables are small-moderate losers. I don't think I'm playing bad, just need to play through the bad streak.

Cards are probably running a little poor as well. At least I've gotten AA and KK about 7 times total less than I should have, and JJ isn't coming that often either. Someone on 2+2 said in a post I read today that they set up filters for the Sklansky level 1 and 2 hands and look to see how much they're getting those cards over a short run to see if they're running bad or not int erms of simply cold starting cards.

Anyway, enough whining.

2937 hands
up $51.07
up 0.28 BB/hr/table, Making $3.53/hr overall.

Radii

07-16-2004, 06:03 PM

I don't see anything in the promo about the casino money. Maybe that part is over?

It's always running, they do it every month. You don't have a bonus code to enter to get it or anything. Just deposit, play 300 hands and $50 will magically show up in your acct.

Radii

07-16-2004, 11:08 PM

I enter a multi-table tourney on partypoker, a $50 tourney with over 700 entrants. Why? I'm an idiot, that's why! I've been playing the ring games hard in the past few days, it's time for a tourney.

720 entrants, top 80 pay.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

15 minute levels, everyone starts with 1000 chips.

I start at table 7.

maimai goes out before we even get to the flop at my table. looks like 2 went out on the first hand :D

Hand #1: Siviter and placidgolf fight it out in the first hand, a flush hits on the flop, then running 5s put 3 5s on the board, thsi looks dangerous for someone. K7555 board, 3 hearts... Siviter goes all in and gets called. KQ vs J7. Siviter has 2050 chips and is the early leader at the table. That was the first hand, and placidgolf went out 705th (15 out already)

that hand also took about 5 minutes

Hand #3: TT, UTG. I just limp, I'm not making a big move early out of position. Siviter raises to 45 and 3 of us call. The flop comes 3 undercards and I bet out 150(I guess I am making a reasonably big move w/ TT out of psoition...) all fold to me and I take the pot. 1135 chips.

K3o, BB, flop misses, checked around. Turn gives me an open ended straight(245) but puts the flush on the board. checked around... river is an ace. I bet 50 chips, two call. One other has the 3 and we split the pot. I have 1195 chips after SB

JTo, SB, folds
65o, button, folds
QTo, cutoff, folds
45s, cutoff-1, folds to a raise to 50 preflop, 662 flop, siviter/davieter build the pot up to 715 with a big flop bet. Jack on the turn is checked. 3 on the river(no flush), davitater is all in, siviter is the chipleader, but he folds. daviater up to 1265, siviter down to 1660.
Kjo, cutoff-2, folds
T5o, MP, folds - daviater losts most of his chips on a busted straight, while kaos_theory calls a big bet w/ J8, top pair.
ATs, MP, limp/fold to a 150 bet by Sir_Ott Ott busts out with AK, all in vs AJ on a jack high flop. tcb624 now has 1975 chips to my right.
QTo, UTG+1, folds - eagle_i/Siviter/tcb624 enter the pot for a raise, 125 flop bet/250 turn/450 river... eagle_i makes quads on the river with JJ to outdraw siviter's straight that he made on the turn.
crap, UTG, folded - siviter and STEELFISHING go at it, a 750 pot won by pocket 7s, siviter bluffing hard on a flush draw

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

I have 1180 in chips. 597 remain out of the original 720 (holy crap!) - almost 130 gone in 15 minutes

44, BB, folded to 90 raise
J8o, SB, folds
Q6o, button, folds
T3s, cutoff, folds
K5o, cutoff-1, folds - siviter raises to 60, davieter all in for 430, siviter calls. AQ vs A9. A9 is suited and hits a flush, siviter is gone, daviater has 890. Oh, no, siviter has 15 chips left!
J4o, MP, folds - one limp, daviater all in for 890... he ready to go home? he has TT, knocks out siviter for good.
T6s, MP, folds - yup, daviater all in for 935. tcb624 calls him this time. wow, JJ for daivater. AKo for tcb. tcb flops a straight and turns a flush, daviater hit a set but never fills up. he's gone.
crap, UTG, folds
36s, BB, folds to raise pre-flop
82s, SB, folds
K2o, button, folds
Q8o, cutoff, folds

200 are now gone, 520 left.

K8o, cutoff-1, folds
93o, MP, folds

I have 1120 chips after folding the level away.

AJs, UTG+1, I raise to 50 chips, and only STEELFISHING calls me. The flop comes ten high with two hearts. steel leads out for 20 chips, I raise him to 125, and he folds.

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

Blinds are still minimal so I can still afford to be patient, but with so many out I would like to be able to build up my stack some in this level before 25/50 where things hurt a little more.

I have 1200 chips, 5 at the table have 1800+ and 4 over 2000.

495 remain in the tourney, about 225 out.

crap, UTG, folds
J8s, BB, button limps, SB completes, I check. Flop comes J43, I bet the pot(90) and win it right there.
J3o, SB, folds

I am now up to 1245, slowly slowly climbing, and yet to meet any resistance, I have only played 1 hand past the flop so far.

J7o, button, folds
KTs, cutoff, the table gets very limpy all of a sudden and I'm in a 6 way pot for the min bet. It misses me totally and I'm not bluffing off any chips yet, I get out of the way.
2 hands folded while I'm in a minor daze looknig at something else(pay attention, moron!)

A big pot builds between eagle_i, kaos_theory and parisbimbo. eaglei takes 2000+ and knocks paris out, flush over set.

94s, MP, folds

eagle_i has 3640 chips, easily leading the table. he's across from me. tcb624 to my right has 2540, dizzeee two to my right has 2330, kaos_theory 2 to my left has 2310, dekan across the way has 2055... I'm a shortish stack at this table, with 1215. Tourney average is 1596 right now.

JJ, UTG+1. I open-raise to 90. Table folds... sheesh.
A4o, UTG, folds
99, BB, MP limper(dekan17978), tcb limps, and I check. Flop comes AKQ, about the worst I can see wit this hand... it's checked all the way to the river though, and I make a small (50 chip) bet, thinking I have the best hand. dekan calls, he has TT. Oops. Probably a dumb play there.
84o, SB, folds

1165 chips after the blinds and that bet.

66, button, folds to a 90 raise pre-flop w/ 1 caller.
A8o, cutoff, folds to raise
A4o, cutoff-1, folds

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

And this is the level I absolutely must make a move or likely go into the 2nd hour with all in/fold options.

I have 1165 chips, 417 remain, 303 people gone in 45 minutes. Any hand I make a play at hurts my stack bad, and failing to build up in this level will leave me very small and crippled at the 50/100 level.

T3o, MP, folds
A2o, MP, folds
93o, UTG+2, folds
K6o, UTG+1, folds
Q5o, UTG, folds - 3 in for a raise to 325 by eagle_i, procappers all in on the flop for 820, eagle_i calls, AK beats AJ, eagle_i up over 5000 now!
Q3o, BB, folds(to an 800 raise....) eagle raises to 275, dizzeee re-raises to 800, eagle thinks for a long time and calls. 667 flop, two diamonds. dizzee all in for 1120. eagle_i folds, leaving him with 4260, dizzeee up to 2850.
86o, SB, folds

Where are these great raising hands for me?

74o, button, folds
AJo, cutoff-1, raise to 150, eagle_i (big stack) calls. Flop coems king high, eagle_i bets out prety hard and I give him the pot.
62o, MP, folds

I am down to 940 after that loss.

52o, MP, folds
crap, MP, folds

under 360 to go, half of the field is gone. I'm still around, but I need to increase my stack pretty desparately.

K8o, UTG, folds

If I don't get anything through the blinds, I'll be at 865 when the blinds hit 50/100.

44, BB, tough hand here... if there's a raise do I make a stand with it? There's a raise to 200 and two callers before me... I'm not committing myself on this. Flop comes 356 and I curse a bit, but we do get to see eagle_i bullying a bit, and having to show down J9o. Good info.

65s, SB. Another raise to 200... dammit. Lots of raises and multi-way pots here for 200+ pre-flop. I am just going to have to pick a hand and go at this rate.

JTs, button. I call a raise to 150 pre-flop here and we are 4-way on the flop. Flop comes AK2, two of my suit (ace and king). I get to draw cheap, a bet for 100. I just call. The turn is a jack, but I can't imagine that's good for anything now. I need to hit my straight or flush. I call another bet on the turn, thinking I should have gone all-in on the flop, I am playing this the pussy way, and I'm going to totally pay for it. The river is a blank and I know for sure I am dead, and I get out of the hand with what few chips I have left (just 165, I cannot believe how amazingly poorly I played that hand). I think the pre-flop call was ok but when I hit that draw I had to push all in and try to win the pot there, if not pick up my draw and double up + some. Terrible, terrible, terrible play on my part. the cheap flop threw me off and I thought I could try to catch my flush on the cheap. And if you can't tell by how much I'm writing, I've got 5 minutes to dwell on that poor hand.

And that is the very last hand before the break, so I have to wait 5 more minutes until I can give away the rest of my chips(or double up 4 times to get back in this thing!)

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

No more tough decisions... all in or fold, hope I get AA, 9 callers, and AA holds up :D

Anyway, 335 remain at the break.

34o, cutoff, folds
Q4s, cutoff-1, folds
A5o, MP, that's good enough for me. I'm all in. The BB calls, and he has Q2. He catches a queen and I'm out 327th.

Barring that one mistake I think I have a chance to make a run and with 320 left anythign can happen. I cannot believe how terribly I played that JTs.

Radii

07-17-2004, 02:12 AM

up for a late night tonight, I give this one more try, I enter a $30 multi-table on party. 910 others enter, and the top 100 will pay.

ERGH... a crash kills the first 40 minutes of tournament writeup...

I'm playing well, I've made a couple of loose pre-flop calls and hit pretty good, I've doubled up to 2155 chips.

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

This level is almost over. I have 2155 chips, avg is 1558. 584 remain of the original 910.

I'm on table 55, with only 59 tables left I'll be moving very soon.

T4o, UTG
QTo, BB, folds to 90 raise.
86o, SB, folds

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

559 remain at the start of the level. I have 2110 in chips and start the round on the button. I wonder if we'll fall to the 455 required to hit the halfway mark before the hr break.

J4o, button, folds
K7s, cutoff, folds to 150 raise
83o, cutoff - 1, folds
A2o, MP, folds

I am moved to table 52, I won't last long before another move from here...

Rob_Paulsen has 3890 chips to my right. I have 2110. No one else at the table has over 1600.

AQo, UTG+1, raise to 150, I steal the blinds
J2o, UTG, folds
84o, BB, free flop with 2 others, flop misses big time and I fold to a 125 bet.

Moved again! To the cutoff, on table 26. Now here I will last for a good 30 minutes at least. 502 left.

3 very big stacks here, two and three to my left are ohhsht with 5215, wookie32 with 5100, and across the table is gold_tribble with 4790. 2 others are in the 2000 range with me. As the very short stacks disappear off the table, expect this to become a powerful table with a large number of chips.

A2o, MP, folds
72o, MP, folds
KTo, UTG+2, folds
72o, UTG+1, folds

We have our first guy with 10,000 chips. gilley1979 on table 39. Lets see how he ends up.

83s, UTG, folds
K5s, BB, 3 limp, then baldcatfish goes all in for 2000... 225 in the pot, I guess it's nto a bad pickup.
J8s, SB, I limp to see a 4-way flop, but fold when it sucks.

455 remain, half of the original 910, gone by the break.

Q2s, button, folds

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds - 1 hr break

I have 2035 chips at the break, the average is 2091. 435 of the original 910 remain.

At my table, to my left in order:

xXxDragonxXx - 700
ohhsht - 5640
wookie32 - 6136
HJR192 - 505
pokersmylife - 2220
gold_tribble - 4240
esjaykay - 1000
baldcatfish - 2126
empty seat
me - 2035

So I'm right around the mean at the table, with the three large stacks still lingering.

JTo, cutoff, folds
Q6o, cutoff-1, folds
J5s, MP, folds

rdicecco with 1190 chips is to my right now

83o, MP, folds
94o, UTG+2, folds
74o, UTG, folds

We're now under 400 remaining.

K9o, BB, free flop with only the SB limping. I flop a king, he checks, I bet 200, and I win the pot. net up 50 after I fold my crappy SB.
95o, SB, folds

I have 2085 chips, slowly sinking below average(2390 now)

92o, button, folds
73o, cutoff, folds
22, cutoff-1, folds
55, cutoff-2, I open-raise to 300 chips, praying to just take this one b/c I hate this hand. Hooray! I win the blinds.
97o, MP, folds
KTo, UTG+2, folds ohhhsht is a terrible, terrible player, calling bet after bet with jack high. Never making a move on the pot, just calling to see if he's best. No idea how he got 6000 chips at one point, he's down to 3300 now.

QQ, UTG+1, I raise to 300. I again win the blinds.

Level 6 - blinds 75/150

342 remain, almost 100 went out in that level.

I start out in the BB, before I posted, I had 2385 chips, still lingering just below the average in chips.

86o, BB, one limper, I check. I give up the pot on an AJJ flop.
K8s, SB. A large bet by the chpleader at the table pushes me off this one
K5o, Button, folds - a 350 bet/550 raise build a nice pot pre-flop. pokersmylife is all in on the flop, and his A6s loses to ESJAYKAY's KK when KK hits a straight. (AQT flop, jack on the river).

I have 2160 chips now. Stealing pots starts to become very important now.

crap, cutoff, folds - baldcatfish all in pre-flop again... called by a very short 200 stack, bald wins w/ JJ.
A2o, cutoff, folds
73o, cutoff-1, folds

jsewruk joins to my left with 1934 in chips.

J2o, MP, folds
52o, UTG+2, folds
52o, UTG+1, folds

we have less than 300 players remaining. 1/3 of us left will make the money.

K5o, UTG, folds
Q2s, BB, 3 limp to me and we have a free flop, 357 suited, not my suit. I fold.
T4o, SB, folds

I am down to 1935 after that pass through the blinds. The blinds will be 100/200 when they pass me again and I need to look for hands to steal with(like all those great hands I got last orbit)

ohhsht loses a bundle with KJs vs AA, he's under 1500 now.

J9o, button, folds

Here's a hand.

AJo, cutoff, folded to me, I raise it to 400. I'm called by jsewruk. The flop comes AQ8, two diamonds. I bet the pot (1000) leaving me w/ 500 and clearly pot commiting me. Turn is another ace, I go all in for my last 500. I'm called by ATo, no ten and my kicker is in play after a blank on the river!!! I have doubled up!!!

I now have 4095 in chips, good for 3rd at the table. This table is breaking soon though.

Q8o, cutoff-1, folds
69o, MP, folds
66, UTG+2, folds to a raise by baldcatfish

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds

with 4000 chips I am in much, much better shape to handle 100/200 blinds, but I have to build my stack up some more

261 remain out of the original 910.

This table breaks after 5 more people go out.

J2o, UTG. I take my time folding, hoping to get moved before my BB hits. It doesn't work.

A8s, BB. all fold to me, wow.
J4s, SB. fold to a 1200 raise from baldcatfish

I am moved to table #7, on the button. I'll be here for awhile again.

there are lots of big stacks here. flopmasterJ has 11,241 and is probably top 10 in chips out of all left. esjaykay also got moved here, he has 7200. wackyjaxon has 8300, sharpturn has 6485, and luckybadplyr has 4600. I'm next with 4100...

Q9o, cutoff, folds

Key Hand
66, cutoff-1, open raise to 400. two callers. A34 flop. I bet 1000 into the pot of 1200, and I take it down, a very nice pickup that moves me up to 4895 in chips.

Key Hand
AQs, MP. jhburton raises to 400. I just call. danenania goes all in for 1230 behind us, and sharpturn calls it. jhburton then goes allin for 4200.... I think I can safely fold. sharpturn folds as well, jhburton's AK losees to dane's JJ.. with all the extra money in that pot dane is up to 4090, quadrupling up basically.

xx, MP, folds

Key Hand
KK, UTG+1 - I raise to 600, flopmaster calls. luckybadplyr goes all in for 3740. I go all in for 4495. flopmasterJ folds. LuckyBadPlyr turns over QQ. The queen never comes and I nearly double up again!

J6o, UTG, folds
a stroke of luck(a bad player to my left going out) lets me avoid my BB.

A4o, SB. folds to a 425 raise.

Now, I have 9035 in chips. I am 2nd in chips at the table and a very large stack. I have little experience playing with a large stack and am entering a new territory. I have made the money in these kinds of tourneys before but usually fighting the entire way. And with still such a long way to go I know I have to stay agressive and pick up a lot more chips.

I fold a few worthless hands.

97o, MP, folds - two limps, a raise to 600, then flopmasterj raises all in for 12,000... short stack that had raised calls, and flopmaster's KK catches trips on the flop to beat AQ.

88, UTG+2, I raise to 500 and steal the blinds
84o, UTG+1, folds

There are now 198 players remaining out of the original 910. Half of us that are left will make the money.

Level 8 - 150/300 blinds

196 left.

65o, UTG, folds - danenania doulbes up to 7880 off of wackyjaxon, KK vs JJ, both hit sets.
75o, BB. 5 limpers... insane. I check, and hit bottom pair ont he flop, Q85, two diamonds. 6 handed I don't want a piece of this(is this where I should play the big stack and bet?) - well, wackyjaxon bets 650 and gets two callers, glad I didn't throw out a bluff.

AA, SB - damn. Folded to me, i make the min raise and win the blinds. I'm not limping and letting the BB catch something and knock me down. Oh well.

crap, button, folds.
Q7o, button again(guy to my left just went out), folds
QTo, cutoff, folds to 750 raise

We're starting to see an awful lot of all-ins here.

53o, cutoff-1, folds
62o, MP, folds

180 remain

86o, UTG+2, folds
K3o, UTG+1, folds
64o, UTG, folds
53o, BB, folds
83o, SB, folds

I have 8885, and there are 169 left now.

Key Hand
KQo, button, I call a raise to 600 by jhburton. Flop comes AQx. jhburton bets the min, 300, I raise to 1500, and he goes all in for most of the rest of my stack. No way I can call that, and I take a hit there.

crap, cutoff, folds
85o, cutoff-1, folds
T3o, MP, folds

I am down to 6785. Avg stack is 5617. 5 ppl have more than me at the table.

A3o, MP, folds
K6o, UTG+2, folds
J2o, UTG, folds
J7o, BB, folds
A3o, SB, folds to big stack raise to 1100. BB all in's, AK vs QQ, QQ holds up.
J3o, button.
73o, cutoff, folds

Key Hand
QTs, cutoff-1, I open-raise to 600. flopmasterJ calls me. Flop comes J95, two hearts. flop bets out 1200, and I raise him to 3000. He goes all in and I think for awhile and call. He shows J8 for the top pair. I don't make my flush or my straight and I am the very last person out before the break, 151st.

That flop is just too good to pass up. In fact, I'm a 60% favorite on it. I'm not sure about putting all my money in on a draw, but, there you go.

151st out of 910. I am much happier with my play in this one than the last, that's for sure, though, having to make a decision for all my chips on a draw against the big stack at the table in that last hand really sucked.

Radii

07-17-2004, 02:16 AM

I went from 9000 to OUT way too quickly there. I really don't like that last hand. I was still in a very good position and had time to wait for a great hand instead of a draw, no matter how good.

I think, as I learn a little more about multi-table tournament strategy, I find myself improving slightly every tournament, but I still appear to be very prone to that one stupid decision that costs me the tournament. That should cure my tournament fix for awhile though and I need to build myself back up via the ring games. Those two losses + the bad run at the ring game over the last 2000 hands have me down under $2500.

A good run at the 3 2/4 tables would cure all that though :)

Radii

07-17-2004, 02:23 PM

God bless party poker weekend games. :D And a 38 BB win in 1 hour of ring game play.

Radii

07-17-2004, 02:52 PM

uh, yeah, scratch that 38 BB in 1 hour. Make it 74 BB in 1 1/2 hours. What a rush!

I won about 10 BB earlier in the morning before I had to go out as well, so I've played about 2 hours total today(3 tables simultaneously in the morning, 4 tables simultaneously this afternoon), and am up about $330.

And to show just how meaningless stats after 3,000 hands can be, my win rate over my now 3400 2/4 hands just jumped from about $3.50/hr to $22/hr. More detail at 4000 hands of course. That might be all the paly for today, we have a busy evening.

Radii

07-18-2004, 01:02 AM

after the learning experiences yesterday and the massive victory today, I get myself entered into antoher NL multi-table tourney. I really think I can place in these if I play well and don't chase at the wrong times, like I did when I busted out of both tourneys I tried yesterday.

After the early rounds, DONT DUMP OFF YOUR STACK CHASING DRAWS

I'm on table #68, out of 70 tables, so I'll be moving in a matter of minutes.

700 enter, the top 80 pay, and 1st will take $7700.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

J3o, BB, folds to 45 chip raise
72s, SB, folds to 85 chip raise
42o, button, folds
34o, cutoff, folds
95o, cutoff-1, folds
64o, cutoff-2, folds
Q4o, MP, folds

I'm moved to table #47, and open up in teh big blind.

AQs, BB, first hand at the new table. a raise to 250 and a call,and I decide to fold. ATo vs 99.
95o, SB, folds
Q5o, button, folds - lots of limips, a raise to 60, and there's 7-way action... AJ9 flop, a 200 bet into a 420 pot by the PF raiser(jackshigh), called by two. checked turn, checked river, and jackshigh raised 9Ts, mamu35 also had 9Ts, oraciv had Q9... all had middle pair, but mamu rivered his flush.
J3o, cutoff, folds

99, cutoff-1, raise to 30 from EP, called by 2 already, I just call, I think I'm looking for a set here. yeah we are 7 handed again... KJ on the flop and I'm not messing with this. Qjo and J5o get shown down at the end...

T3s, MP, folds - raise to 30, ajckshigh all in for 370, call, another all in for 800ish, another call. AA vs QQ vs QJo. AA hold up and jackshigh triples up.
xx, MP, folds - 4 people in for a raise pre-flop, THREE go all in on the flop of 853. AQ vs 78 vs 8T. T8 holds up. This is INSANE

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

I have 920 in chips after a very dull first 15 minutes. 613 people remain, 87 got knocked out in the first level.

First 100 gone, 18 minutes in.

Q6o, UTG+1, folds - 4 hands to the showdown, 92s, J9o, K5s, and K8o, after a raise to 80.

I'm not sure how to play this table exactly, I have never seen anything quite like it, but I'm going to be here another 15-20 minutes.

76o, UTG, folds
A8o, BB - placidgolf can't deal with the table either it seems. all in for 1055 pre-flop. Maybe he just knew he'd get called. He does, by tigerz. placid has 44, tigerz AKs. 422 flop and placidgolf has lots of chips now.
64o, SB - folds - tigerz all in for 130, placidgolf calls him, oraciv also calls(220 left after the call). T76 suited flop. They end up all in. K2s(different suit), Q8o... tigerz had AQ and wins the pot to stay alive.

T9s, button - a rare set of fold... I limp and we see a flop 4-handed. Flop misses me totally and I fold. If I've leraned anything its that you're going to have to show down the best hand.

I have 870 left now.
82o, cutoff, folds - placidgolf/jackshigh/tigerz again, tigerz all in for about 350. placidgolf all in on the turn for 2000 with 2nd pair/2 kicker. This is just crazy.

65o, MP, folds - a 620 pot on the flop, placidgolf again all in on the flop w/ two opponents left. board Q66. He takes it down.
K6o, MP, folds

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

I have 870 in chips still. 510 remain in the tourney.

42o, UTG+2, folds
Q3o, UTG+1, folds - 5 people in for 150 pre-flop. Three see the turn for 300 more (1850 pot now) - all in on the turn for 855 from jackshigh, mamu has been bleeding away and then folding to the all-in for awhile now. He calls this time, and his AJ is crushed by J9, A9 on the flop, 9 ont he turn

My table will break up during this level. I would love to hit a big hand b/c of the action here, but I'm not going to start mixing it up with junk.

Q5o, UTG, folds
43o, BB, fold to a raise to 125 pre-flop
Q4s, SB, I limp into a huge field of 7. placidgolf raises to 60, and I call 30 more hoping for my big score here. It's not to be, as I fold on the flop. 3 people are all in on the flop with two big stacks still playing. 53s, A8o, 99, 78s, and KTs all get shown down. KTs wins 2610 wih two pair.
K7o, button, folds

After this hand I am moved to table #30. I'm in position to be UTG on hand one, I just paid a blind, hopefully I pass it... shame that I couldn't catch any cards at that wild ass table, but I wasn't going to blindly gamble.

I get cards... blah.

J7o, UTG, folds
84o, BB, free flop, folded when the flop misses me.
65s, SB, I complete and we are 4 handed on the flop, which is 3 paint cards, none of my suit *sighs*

AKo, button, my best hand of the tourney so far - I call a raise to 90 and see a 3 handed flop - J83, two hearts, my king is a heart but I am not ready to call an all-in. Probably needed to re-raise pre-flop there and take control

K6o, cutoff, folds

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

I have 630 in chips left, not looking so hot.

AQo, cutoff-1.. do I risk my tourney life here? a micro stack all-ins or 80, a caller, a re-raise to 400... do you call here? you've got 3 opponents, two legit... well, I fold. Is that a wuss play? I would have won the hand, but would have been up against KK.

Q4o, MP, folds
36o, UTG+2, folds
64o, UTG+1, folds
Q5o, UTG, folds

blinds are going to knock me to the mid-500 range and I really haven't played a hand yet. I've misplayed an AKo but I think that's really it.

Q7o, BB, free flop, fold to a large bet on a bad flop
T7o, SB, folds

I have 555 in chips after that round of blinds. Time to make something happen, cards or not.
T2o, button, folds to a large raise
J6s, cutoff, folds

Key Hand
AKo, cutoff-1, one limper(giant 4000 stack), I raise to 200, big blind goes all in and I have an easy call there. BB shows down AJo. A king hits the flop, a ten on the turn, and the miracle queen never hits, I hold up and double up + a little to 1185, stayin alive.

62o, MP, folds
82o, MP, folds
83o, UTG+2, folds

Key Hand
TT, UTG+1, I open-raise to 150, big stack calls me. Flop isn't pretty, QJ2, but I bet into it, betting the pot of 325, and I take it down.

Briefly up to 1360(blinds hitting soon)

66, BB short stack is all-in for 250. I'll call 200 more if we're heads up here. the SB calls though and I decide to stay out of the way. 55 vs AJ, a jack hits and short stack is gone.

93o, SB, folds

I am left with 1285 in chips after the blinds pass.

Aaaand, we're on break. I survive the first hour again, something I'm getting good at. I think I misplayed one, maybe two hands (AK and AQ) by being too timid with them. I made up for it with the double up and win with TT to keep me alive.

Level 4 - 50/100 blinds - 1 hr break

351 players remain. The average stack is 1994. I have 1285. At table 30, I will move during this level if I stay alive. There are 6 stacks under 1500 at this table, and 3 large stacks of 3500+. Two of them are to my direct right, exactly where I want them.

J7o, button, folds
J7o, cutoff, folds
QQ, cutoff-1, open-raise to 300, short stack of 250 thinks for a long time and folds. I steal the blinds, only a big blind this time b/c of a knockout.

85o, MP, folds
73o, UTG+2, folds
Q8o, UTG+1, folds
J5o, UTG, folds
J8o, BB, folded to me
J3o, SB, folds

I increase my stack by a whole 100 chips that orbit. 1385 chips.

A3o, button, I open-raise to 200. short stack calls all-in for 150. He has KQ, queen on the flop and I never hit an ace.

1235 in chip.

J3o, cutoff, folds

300 remain

T8o, cutoff-1, folds

I am moved to table 29. From table 30. I start UTG+2.

crap, UTG+2, folds
32o, UTG+1, folds

under 280 to go this table should mvoe next.

Aaaand there it goes. I skip UTG and go straight to the BB.

I'm now on table 26, another table that will move quickly.

T5s, BB, an all in for ~150, 2 others call and I'll call that. I fold on the flop though.
Q3o, SB, folds

After that I am now stuck at 996 chips. I need to double up twice to be comfortable at all with my chip position.

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

I have 996 in chips, whichi s not much at all with 270 remaining.

Key Hand
A6o, button. one small-stack limp before me, and this is my spot, I push all in. The small stack calls, showing KQo. An ace on the flop, and he's drawing dead on the turn. I double up to 2052 in chips!

crap, cutoff, folds
63o, cutoff-1, folds

Avg stack is still 2600, but I am at least alive now. I can make one move/raise without being committed all in. I still need lots to go my way though.

85s, UTG+2, folds (moved up to the blinds fast b/c of some eliminations)

Key Hand
55, UTG+1, I raise it to 400. Not the best hand but I have to make some moves here. giant stack calls me. I'm all in on the flop no mmatter what here. If he hit a higher pair I'm just screwed. JTx flop, I go all in for 1500, he folds.

I am up to 2677 before the blinds hit.

crap, UTG, folds

42o, BB, free flop, which, not suprisingly misses me badly, two opponents betting and I am out.

Moved to table #16. I get to skip my SB!

KJs, cutoff - two limp before me and I decide not to push hard here(mistake?) - we end up 4-handed and I get out of the way when the guy w/ 7000 chips starts betting.
T2s, cutoff-1, folds

Key Hand
A2s, MP. I open-raise to 400, really just hoping to win the blinds here. One smaller stack calls my bet and we are heads up. I put him all in on the flop of AQ4, one heart(two clubs). He folds.

I now, for the first time in god knows how long, have an average sized stack. I have 3002, avg is 2953.

two crappy hands folded UTG+1/UTG

KQo, BB - 4 limp... and I check. Flop comes K76 with two hearts. I bet the pot, 750. And I win it right there.
A3o, SB - I decide to fold to a raise and a few callers.

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds

I start the level on the button with 3527 in chips, floating just above the avg(now 3353). 209 remain of the original 700.

54o, button, folds - AA busted up by KQ, KQ on the flop.
85s, cutoff, folds
Q8o, cutoff-1, folds
ATo, MP - ugh, folds to a 1000 chip raise before me. AA is shown.
K4o, MP, folds
94s, UTG+2, folds

Key Hands
KQo, UTG+1 - I open-raise to 500, BB calls. I bet 700 into the 1100 pot when the flop coems K83, and I win it right there.
ATo, UTG - I open-raise to 500, and I steal the blinds.

94o, BB.
J4s, SB, folds

After the blinds pass me I have 4127 in chips. This is about where I was in the 2nd tourney last night when I doubled up to a large stack and pissed it right back. avg chips is 3977. 176 remain, so about 100 to go til the money.

85o, button, folds
Q5o, cutoff, folds
K3o, cutoff, folds (would be dealer just busted out)

160 left, half of those remaining will make the money

TT, MP - here's where I don't know how to play this. 3 limp before me... do I try to push it, or take some great implied odds on a set here? I lmip... we see a 5-way flop, and it comes A23 and I fold to a very large flop bet. No idea how I should play that with those limpers before me and a good but not astounding hand.

Level 8 - 150/300 blinds

gave back just a touch there, and I enter this level with 3927 in chips. Avg stack is up to 4635. I'm still treading along, I need to keep pushing ahead though.

150 remain.
J2o, MP, folds

My table breaks up and I'm moved to table #15, with just 147 left this table won't last long at all either.

A4o, cutoff, I fold to a raise before me. Good thing, AK and AT go all in(AT hits two pair).
Q8o, cutoff-1, folds

Now under 140, this table is about to go.

Heh, one more up, table #14... I won't last here long either. But I got moved from the cutoff to UTG+1. Screw that, I am holding out :P I take my time folding my first hand hoping the needed 7 more will go before my hand comes around.

K6o, UTG+1, folds
K2o, UTG, folds

hah, I WIN.

moved after that hand, to the cutoff again. I am at table 6 now, if I survive long enough to see this table break up, it'll be a great thing for me.

ATo, cutoff - I open-raise to 800. I steal the blinds.
72o, cutoff-1, folds
T3s, UTG+2, folds (8 person table at the moment, until another table breaks up)
T6o, UTG+1, folds
K9o, UTG, folds
92s, BB, to my right is a tourney leader, moptree has 19124. I'm suprised when he folds, but I get a free flop with one other. Flop misses and I decide against bluffing at it, he takes it on the flop.

K3o, SB, folds to a raise

Down to 3927 after the blinds - 5800 is avg now.

93s, button, folds
T7o, cutoff, folds

break is comign soon, thank god, I have to pee :P

74s, cutoff-1, folds
87o, MP, folds

Level 9 - 200/400 blinds

ahhh, much better.

120 remain. 12 tables left. 80 places pay. I have 3927 in chips, the average stack is up to 5833. I am 6th in chips at my table. There are going to be a ton of stacks around my size. Everyone gets timid around this phase. I know I can't fold my way into he money, not 40 places as fast as the blinds come around. I have to open it up a little bit and steal the blinds a few times.

Now, that I know I need to do that, will I actually have the balls to go through with it and do it.

T3o, MP, folds - eatbullets has gone all in the last two hands in a row now(for 3000 chips). This time he's called by TwinkleBone out of the SB. the BB thinks a long time(or is still afk, just after break). JJ vs 77 and twinklebone gets a 3000 chip gift. eatbullets is gone.

72o, UTG+1, folds
T7o, UTG, folds
J5o, BB, I fold to a 2700 chip all in.
T5o, SB, folds

down to 3327 after the blinds hit me. 114 remain, 34 more to go out before the money.

J9o, button, folds to a raise before me. So much for everyone being passive and not risking anything going into the money.

JTo, cutoff, fold to a 1500 big stack raise(JJ). short stack to my left goes out w/ 88.
Q5o, cutoff, folds

110 remain. 30 more to go out before the money. I still can't fold my way there, and wouldn't want to.

There's a 1000-1500 raise *every hand*.

84o, MP, folds.
74o, UTG+2, folds
T6o, UTG+1, folds
J2o, UTG, folds

I'm now half of the average stack, before the blinds hit. only 2 are shorter than me at the table.

87s, BB - a hand i like, but not for 1700 chips. So I fold. AK and QQ all in before me. QQ wins.
62o, SB, folds (2500 raise before me).

I now have 2727 chips. 6666.66 is the average at the second I'm looking :D

103 remain.

A5o, button - I fold to an all in and a call of that all in before me. KJ vs AQ. Sheesh.
K8o, folds to a raise before me

Do I just have to go all in with an average hand here? how logn do I let myself get blinded out before I go on my first Ax or K8+ or whatever?

K5o, cutoff-1, folds to 1000 raise.
T8o, MP, folds

AKs, UTG+2, I open-raise to 1200. I steal the blinds.
AKs, UTG+1, same suit even. That was weird. I open-raise to 1200. I steal the blinds again.
T4o, UTG+1 (empty seat to my right filled), folds

99 remain. 19 left until the money.

82o, UTG, folds

Level 10 - 300/600 blinds

Ugh, right as my BB hits.

A2o, BB. The SB goes all in. He has me covered. I have no idea if I should call or not. He's brand new to the table. I let him have it.

QTs, SB - I fold to another all in, this one for 3100.

After my blinds I am down to 3027.

15 spots til the money.

crap, button, folded to a 1200 raise/call
78o, cutoff, folded

AQo, cutoff-1, my turn to all-in before teh flop, like everyone else has been doing. BB thinks about it for a long time(he has 10K and has it covered easy). He folds and I steal the 900 in blinds.

K6o, MP, folds
95s, MP, folds AA vs QQ all in. QQ wins. QQ guy had 900 three hands ago, doubled up then tripled up to get up to 7532.
Q5s, MP, folds

Now it's 11 til the money.

Now it's 10 til the money as an all-in on my table busts 1 guy. And partypoker hangs.

6 players left til the money.

I make a raise to 1200 with KJo, habs4ever goes over me all in, and I wuss out. I fold. I leave myself UTG with 2700 in chps, with the blinds coming, to try to limp into the money.

With only 86 left, and 80 getting paid, we have gone hand to hand.

83o, UTG, folds.
ugh. T2o, BB - I gotta fold if anyone plays at me. No one does. i win the blinds. RARR.

3027 chips.

The shortest stack in the tourney has 1180 in chips.

A9o, SB - here's a very tough decision. 5 spots out of the money. Button goes all in for 2000 chips. Do you call or fold? He is a short stack, he has to have a hand there IMO. both of us had him covered, and the guy to my left by a lot. I let him have it, clearly now just playing to make the money.

housewolf doubles up on JQ to 10,000 chips, beating habs4ever's TT. Both of them were willing to take the risk!

Level 11 - blinds 400/800

85 remain, 5 more have to bust out befoer we're in the money. I can likely fold my way in now and unless I get a monster will probably try to do that, just to have something to show for my nearly 3 hours of play here.

42s, cutoff, folds

1 busts out, 84 remain, and there are 3 sub-1000 stacks in the tourney.

86o, cutoff-1, folds
K9o, MP, folds

Now down to 83.

92s, UTG+2, folds

Down to 82.

Just watched a 7000 stack go down, going all in on top pair + 4 flush, getting caleld by a giant stack w/ 2nd pair, and catching omore.

It looks like 80 remain, though PP is still going hadn to hand. I think I have made the money.

Key Hand
UTG+1 - AA - all in, easy. OH NO. called by QQ, and a queen hits. UGH. That was my chance to double up to over 5000 and have a chance at minimum of surviving a few levels in the money, and hopefully pushing my way up much higher. Wow. I am crushed. I cannot believe that just happened.

I have 405 chips left and will be all in on the BB in two hands.

Key Hand

I am all in with 54o. I don't hit. WOW haha. People got so nuts after the money was made, that in the two hands at my table, 10 went out.

I place 70th, bumped up to the next money level. (to think what I could have done if I'd won my AA vs QQ).

I make $105, a profit of $50 in the tourney.

I am consistantyl placing well in the top half in these, but I figure a well-trained monkey could do that just by folding every hand.

I have some things to work on but am happy enough with my finishes so far that I think I can cut down on the mistakes and be a little bit more of a threat in these. Certainly pleased with the $50 profit tonight given how much I have to work on.

Radii

07-18-2004, 04:45 PM

After some more success in the ring games today(2 positive ring game sessions) I join a $30+$3 multi table tourney.

1031 people enter, and we're on 103 tables to start. I am on table #78, so over 200 people have to go out before I get moved. 110 places pay. 1st pays $6495 and the top 6 all pay over $1000.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

I fold crap the first two hands while I'm setting up the PC (I registered on the laptop and hopped over here just in time to start the tourney).

42o, UTG+2, folds
66, UTG+1, I attempt to limp in, but fold to a big raise pre-flop - 2 guys end up all in on the turn(Q4T9 double duited board). tigerz(I played with him last night) had two pair, star143 had pocket jacks and a straight draw, he hits his straight.
xx, UTG, folds

star143 now has 2875 in chips.

K7o, BB, free flop, J72 board. I fold to a bet double the size of the pot.
K5o, SB, i complete for 5 chips. I miss and fold to a bet.
43o, button, folds

ESPNguy_ has gone all in against star143, and again he's betting hard into about 4 people. a four flush on the board, 4 ppl in a 965 pot. espnguy bets 800, risking nearly his entire stack on the 3rd straight hand. He wins another big hand this way and has 2215 in chips.

K2o, cutoff, folds

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

893 remain, well over 100 gone in the first level.

44, i again try to limp and have to fold to a big raise, not a passive enough table to try to catch a set with that junk
J9o, MP, folds

Key Hand
JJ, MP, I open-raise to 3x the blinds, to 60. Only the BB calls. flop comes AA2. blind checks, time to find out if he has an ace or not. I bet the pot, 130, and he folds. I am back up to 1005 in chips.

K9o, UTG+2, folds

TT, UTG+1, I open-raise to 60 again. An ace hits again, but this time I got 3 callers on my raise. I'm not nearly as happy with this. I fold to a 250 chip bet from a blind.
K9o, UTG, folds

T3o, BB, folds to a raise to 80.
K7s, SB, folds to 125 bet.
A4s, button, folds to pre-flop raise
K6o, cutoff, folds
87o, cutoff-1, folds
I just pick the worst times to play a hand: A6s, MP, limp and ready to call a small raise, but a guy with 520 ends up all in. Oh well! 99 vs 55 all in.

Key Hand
JJ, MP, another raise hand here. star143 raises to 65 chips, and I re-raise him to 150. ESPNguy calls, as does Fischi... maridavid goes all in for 633. I think I'm either building my stack up big or going into the ring games. Another caller here. there is a short stack who has less than me that also calls. Short stack has QQ, I have JJ, the middle guy has AJ. None of us hit a thing, and I am left with 528 in chips after that weirdness.

I am moved to table #37.

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

KK, first hand at new table. I raise to 90, and get one caller. I bet the pot on the flop and win it there.

I now have 663 in chips. Back to the JJ hand. With 5 callers for 150(including me) and a shorter stack going all in, I just decided this was a chance to hit a huge score or go back to the ring games. Now that I lost that hand and end up short stacked I will try not to do anything stupid, but I saw that as a good double up or not waste a ton of time in this thing opportunity.

Q6s, UTG, folds
K8s, BB, I call a raise to 80 after 4 others have already called... another call tht stands to make me a ton if I hit right, though certainly an overly loose one too. I have to fold when I miss totally.
76o, SB, folds

709 remain in the tourney.

K4o, button, folds
K6o, cutoff, folds

Key Hand
AA, cutoff-1, lets see if I can get some action on this one... 4 very good hands so far and I've gotten no action on 2 and a loss on the 3rd. One limper, I raise to 80. SB calls. BB calls, limper calls. 320 in the pot, I have 488 left. Q72, two spades flop(I do have a spade). There's a 30 chip bet, two calls, and the pot is big enough for an all in here. I all in for 488. One call. The caller has QJ, and catches a 2nd queen on the turn to knock me out.

I am out a disappointing 664th. I had 4 great hands in only 30 dealt. I figure most of the time you get JJ/JJ/KK/AA in the first 30 hands you either get out to a very nice chip advantage or get busted. I got busted.

Radii

07-18-2004, 08:48 PM

After destroying partypoker's 2/4 yesterday, i got my ass kicked tongiht, very very badly. The swings are insane, and I let myself tilt a little before I left tongiht which didn't help.

PokerStars: $93
Neteller: $1221
PartyPoker: $1180
InterCasinoPoker: $101

total: $2595

Blech, a losing week. I had signifigantly more losing sessions at 2/4 than i had winners, though the $300 win I had yesterday certainly helped balance things out a little... hand update as soon as pokertracker finishes reading in the hands.

Radii

07-18-2004, 08:58 PM

~5000 hand 2/4 update

After 3000 hands I was on a cold streak and only up $51.07, making $3.53/hr.

Current:

4838 hands
Up $280.31
0.93 BB/hr/table
1.45 BB/100 hands (what the 2+2 multi-tablers prefer to use)
$12.49/hr.

I have never been down but i've been all over the map here. I was up as much as $25/hr at about 3800 hands, and the cold run tonight dropped it back down to $12/hr.

My biggest hand tonight was a KK hand, I lost an $80 pot to 63o, two pair on the river. i lost AA twice tonight as well, and had a set of jacks busted on the river, I got down via a bunch of bad beats, I fought my way back up to almost even(from down $150) and then never got ahead and finished down about $175 on the night... It wasn't until the very end of the long session tonight where I really felt I was on tilt though, I probably gave away an extra $30 b/c of the tilt factor, after that it was just a bad session.

More later, I don't expect to play any multi-table tourney's during the week, if I do well they just take too long to waste an entire work night, but I hope to get in a couple thousand ring hands.

dixieflatline

07-19-2004, 12:49 PM

TT, MP - here's where I don't know how to play this. 3 limp before me... do I try to push it, or take some great implied odds on a set here? I lmip... we see a 5-way flop, and it comes A23 and I fold to a very large flop bet. No idea how I should play that with those limpers before me and a good but not astounding hand.

I think limping and taking the implied odds is the right thing to do. You seem to have good, steady, advancement in the tourney and if you could add in a couple of big hands to double up I think that would help a lot. Hands like this are a perfect for that. Love the tourney reads so hopefully you can keep up the good play in them.

Radii

07-19-2004, 02:31 PM

I think limping and taking the implied odds is the right thing to do. You seem to have good, steady, advancement in the tourney and if you could add in a couple of big hands to double up I think that would help a lot. Hands like this are a perfect for that. Love the tourney reads so hopefully you can keep up the good play in them.

Thanks for the comments :) I have been thinking about this a little(ok, a lot) and have come up with a plan of action I think.

My bread and butter will continue to be the 2/4 games(and the 3/6 games I plan on moving up to, but I am planning on putting down at least 10,000 more hands at 2/4 before I consider moving up at any of the tables), and I still intend to cash out profits every month and just use the tourneys as a distraction when the 2/4 grind gets to me, but instead of plopping down $20 in a random partypoker tourney I'm going to change my strategy.

i'm going to deposit some additional money on pokerstars and work on the satellites into their monster weekend tourneys. Pokerstars is just a better site for tournaments, and though the players are better in general, but I'll become a better player playing there and learn more about real tourneys. So my multi-table action will at first be the satellites into the $200 weekend tourneys and things like that.

The other goal I have is to play in all four September partypoker million semi-finals. They have $29 sit n go's that qualify you for a partypoker million semi. The next 4 semis are around labor day weekend. I have to double check with oliegirl on the schedule(kiddo's birthday is right after that weekend so I don't want to plan something during a birthday celebration). My goal is to get into all 4 semifinals. That gives me four looooong shots at winning the cruise.

Now, the caveat to this is, my bread and butter is the ring games. But that does get to be a grind and I need something to do when I need a break from the grind. I have to be careful though, and not dump too much of my profits into these MTT's while I realize that I am still dead money for the most part(though I do expect to improve that over time). If I'm running bad and am down in the ring game action I may just play some cheap sit n' gos instead of these slightly more expensive tourneys when I need that distraction.

Continued thanks to everyone that's reading, posting the detail here definitely makes me a better player, and it makes me more accountable for my poker actions.

Radii

07-19-2004, 09:43 PM

I enter a $53 satellite to try to get into the big end of month tourney on pokerstars this weekend. There are some big names in this, at least, 55lucky55 is a name I recognize. 37 people enter. 3 will get entry into the $500 tourney and 4th gets $371.

Level 1 - blinds 10/20

On stars, I get 1500 chips to start and levels go up every 15 minutes.

One player goes out on another table in the first hand. 36/37 left heh.

I fold my first two crappy hands in near UTG positions.

52o, UTG, folds
T3o, BB, free flop 3-way. I hit bottom pair but decide not to get involved this early, I'm out.
A3s, SB, I fold to a raise to 40 and a re-raise to 60 pre-flop. Not strong raises but there's two of them so I'm out.
AQs, button - there's a limp, a raise to 40, a call. I call as do 3 others, this is a 6-way pot here. I go ahead and get out of the way, a bet of 80 on the flop, I have inside straight/backdoor flush possibilities and that's all(KT3/1 of my suit). Good thing, a raise to 300 comes behind. T3 vs 33 all in on the turn, and a DrSessions has a huge chip advantage now, 3990 chips.
J3o, cutoff, folds
95s, cutoff-1, folds
K4o, UTG+2, folds
94o, UTG+1, folds
A2o, UTG, folds
A3o, BB, free flop, folds to a bet on a 567 flop.
Q2o, SB, folds to a raise to 90 pre-flop

Level 2 - 15/30 blinds

3 are gone, I'm in 21st in chips out of the remaining 34 with 1400.

J8o, button, folds
K2o, cutoff-1(new guy moved here after a 2nd is lost) folds
44, jetskill raises to 150, fold
K5o, utg+1, folds
A7o, BB, free flop 3-way, flop comes T73, all hearts. With two limpers I decide to pick this one up, I bet 90 on the flop and take it down, up to 1445.
K5o, SB, folds to big raise pre-flop
32o, button, folds
94o, cutoff, folds

31 remain at this point, I'm in 17th.

Q7o, cutoff-1, folds
53o, MP, folds
J5o, UTG+1, folds
A3o, UTG, folds (should i be trying to play this out of position? I don't think so but I know I need to get more agressiv.e.. but I think that's just way too loose for this early)
64o, BB, free flop, folds to a 180 bet when lots of high cards come out
83o, SB, folds
72o, button, folds
J2o, cutoff, folds

We merge to 3 full tables and I get moved to table #1, UTG+1

84s, UTG+1, folds

Level 3 - 25/50 blinds

27 remain, I have 1400 chips exactly still, and am in 18th place still.

84o, UTG, folds
64o, BB, free flop 3-way, flop comes AQT and I fold to a bet of 150 on the flop.

99, SB - SquareDeal raises to 100 pre-flop, I re-raise to 200. A short stack is allin for 15 also. Square calls. Flop comes Jack high, and I bet out 400 into it, squredeal folds, the short stack has J5 and ends up with trip jacks. I win most of the money though and get up to 1520.

A2o, button, folds to a 200 raise, ends up 4-way and the raiser had KK, he loses to K4s, flush.
93o, cutoff, folds

ATo, cutoff-1 - two limp and I raise it up to 200, gotta get a bit more agressive here I think. short stack calls all in, UTG calls, and Scan goes all in for 1000 more. I fold that one of course. He has KK and finally knocks out the short stack. I am down to 1320.

33, cutoff-1 - I fold to a 150 raise before me

74o, UTG+1, folds
72o, UTG, folds

Key Hand
A5o, BB, E Vail, a short stack, raises to 100. I defend and re-raise to 200, he call. Flop misses me, but it doesn't look pretty, I decide to test him for all his chips. He calls with a four flush, and of course hits it. He had Q2s, so I was at leat right in my estimation that he was stealing.

crap folded in SB/Button/cutoff.

I am not long for this tournament without a double up or two.

J5o, cutoff-1, folds

Level 4 - 50/100 blinds

21 remain, and I am the dead smallest stack.

Key Hand

QQ, UTG - I go all in, as the shortest stack i figure someone will call... no one does and I steal. I needed a call to get a shot at doubling up with that didn't I?

Well, I have 725 chips after my BB, which is 83o and folded on the first opportunity.

Key Hand
A3s, SB. I call the min raise by E_Vail on the button. Flop come A99. I go all in with my pair of aces, and neither calls. I take the pot and am up a bit htere.

Key Hand
66, button, folded to me, I open-raise to 300, and I steal the blinds.

I am now up to 1275, 15th out of the 21 remaining, but I clearly still need to make a big move to have a shot in this thing.

95o, folded
76o, folded UTG+1
64o, UTG, folds
63o, BB, gotta fold if there's a raise. there is and i'm out
J8o, SB, again folds to a large steal raise
J2o, button, folds
T3o, cutoff, folds
62o, MP, folds

18 remain and we've merged down to 2 tables. I'm 16th in chips out of the 18 left.

A9s, UTG+2, I open-raise to 300 and get a call from a big stack in cantrel1. The pot contains a heart, and that's all I need at this point. I just have to hope he missed and will fold. I go all in, he calls with AJ, he hit a pair and I need running hearts. They don't come, and I'm out 18th.

I probably misplayed a few of those hands, but I am ever improving. On the last hand i had 875 chips left after my raise. The flop came jack high with one heart. Any stack at the table was bigger than me, but this one was 5000+, so the 875 bet wasn't much of a threat at all. I would have had to all in on any playable hand after that, as the blinds were about to go up again.

Radii

07-19-2004, 09:48 PM

Radii

07-19-2004, 11:05 PM

My first hand back over at ring games, AA is busted by J9o. The frustration when this kind of shit is happening is amazing(was happening for a solid hour straight before tourney as well, I played 150 hands, winning 1)

I fell behind as much as $140 on the night between the before/after sessions of that tournament, and that AA hand I bitched aboutdidn't start the nigthcap so well, but, two of my tables went shorthanded and I started running over both of them. One of them went heads up and I took $60 off a guy in 5 hands, at my other table I played a great short-handed game and then the table went full and I continued to play very well... net result, up $40 on the night. I am more relieved than excited.

After playing that tourney tonight, i am *DONE* with multi-table tourneys until this weekend. I had fun w/ them for a few days but leaked away most of my profits during those few days and still sit at ~$2590. Getting good at MTT's is a long term goal. I can't sacrafice my 2/4 profits to do it all at once. I need to get up a few hundred more before I try out any more MTT's, and play them consistantly, but in moderation(instead of 5 or 6 of them over a weekend, etc).

Ok, I'm done lecturing myself :)

Radii

07-19-2004, 11:14 PM

Now, a question on hand distribution. I know you get a pocket pair once every ~220 hands. What are the stats on a specific suited connector, or a specific off-suit hand?

I want to see exactly how cold my cards are running, if at all.

I have 5,214 hands in pokertracker at 2/4.

Each poket pair would ON AVERAGE have been received 23.7 times.
I need to look up the other hands to see for sure.

Here's my distribution on Sklansky's group 1/2 hands:

AA - 18
KK - 14
QQ - 27
JJ - 15
AKs - 19

TT - 25
AQs - 14
AJs - 22
KQs - 19
AKo - 49 (and barely winning, $25.50 or .13 BB/hand... a hole of mine for sure, I have been overplaying AK when it misses I know).

So, how am I running over 5214 hands?

AA and KK are coming in low, KK very low. If I had gotten each of those 24 times I would expect an extra $80-$100 in profit at least. But what about the rest, am I running cold overall or just with those top two?

I'm winning almost exactly 1BB/hr/table. I want that to be 1.5 BB/hr/table over the long run definitely. 5K is a short run, so I'm not worried or anything, but 5K hands seems a good time to stop and do just a little analysis and see if there's anything obvious, like my problem with AKo, I hope to improve on that greatly over my next 5K hands.

Subby

07-20-2004, 11:38 AM

Radii -

First off, I just wanted to mention how much I am thoroughly enjoying the retelling of your multitable experiences. Great detail, great writing style, great self-examination. I could care less about ring games - I loathe them - but I find your hand analysis using poker tracker really fascinating.

As you have alluded to in your writing, I think your biggest problem right now in the tourney play is lack of aggression. While I am not getting a sense of the playing styles of your tables, it seems that it might suit you to play more suited connectors and one-gappers out of position. Your tourney style is so tight it seems almost self-defeating at times.

Anyway, take those comments for what they are worth, as I am a marginal on-line tourney player at best. Whatever you do, keep up the great work!

dixieflatline

07-20-2004, 12:05 PM

Now, a question on hand distribution. I know you get a pocket pair once every ~220 hands. What are the stats on a specific suited connector, or a specific off-suit hand?
I am going to run through my calculations for getting JTs in case I made a mistake someone else can correct. The first card can either be a J or a T of any suit(8 choices). Then the second card must be the other one of the same suit(1 choice). So I think it's 8/52 * 1/51 or about 0.3% or once in 332 hands. If you consider playable suited connectors as JT, T9, 98, 87, 76, 65, and 54 you get a suited connector 2.1% of the time or once every 48 hands.
I am not exactly sure what hands you want to look at for the off suit but I'll run through AQo. 8 choices for the first card(All A or Q's) then 3 choices for the second card since you want not suited. That is 8/52 * 3/51 or about 0.9% or once every 111 hands.

dixieflatline

07-20-2004, 12:12 PM

AQs, button - there's a limp, a raise to 40, a call. I call as do 3 others, this is a 6-way pot here. I go ahead and get out of the way, a bet of 80 on the flop, I have inside straight/backdoor flush possibilities and that's all(KT3/1 of my suit). Good thing, a raise to 300 comes behind. T3 vs 33 all in on the turn, and a DrSessions has a huge chip advantage now, 3990 chips.

Did you think about reraising here? You might have been able to thin the field a bit and make it too pricey for DrSessions to try to flop his set(not to mention the T3 guy). Also, you might have gotten off with a cheap flop if the players remaining had checked to you(the reraiser). Were you worried that because the tourney had just started that everyone would have just called or were you trying to hide your strength?

Radii

07-20-2004, 12:35 PM

As you have alluded to in your writing, I think your biggest problem right now in the tourney play is lack of aggression. While I am not getting a sense of the playing styles of your tables, it seems that it might suit you to play more suited connectors and one-gappers out of position. Your tourney style is so tight it seems almost self-defeating at times.

You're definitely right. I have started reading the 2+2 multi-table tourney forums and should be learning a lot there.

A lot of times I know I have to make a move, have to steal, have to make some loose calls to try to hit a big hand. And a lot of times I see the right cards or the right time to do it and I still don't pull the trigger with the raise.

Glad you're enjoying the read, hopefully down the line there will be some major successes to report on, I just have to dig in and find the right style for me to succeed in these things.

Radii

07-20-2004, 12:39 PM

Radii

07-20-2004, 12:47 PM

Did you think about reraising here? You might have been able to thin the field a bit and make it too pricey for DrSessions to try to flop his set(not to mention the T3 guy). Also, you might have gotten off with a cheap flop if the players remaining had checked to you(the reraiser). Were you worried that because the tourney had just started that everyone would have just called or were you trying to hide your strength?

Ok, here's another question for the masses. 1 limp, a raise to 40, a call to me, blinds still to act. First level of the tourney. I have AQs on the button. 130 in the pot at that point.

I have very little read on anyone at this point. DrSessions seems to play a fair number of hands cheaply and he's taken a lead at the table early on.

If I'm going to re-raise, what do I raise to? Is 150 a strong enough raise?

Lets say I raise to 150 now, and two people call me.

The flop comes KT3, one of my suit. The pot is now ~550 in chips. And again lets say its checked around to me. First round of a tourney, do you bet this even though you haven't hit? Or do you look at the fact that its still early and that there's two high cards on the board and check, hoping to hit your 4-outer straight, an ace, or get out?

Radii

07-20-2004, 12:50 PM

And to go on a flurry of dynasty posts when i'm nowhere near the poker table... it looks like I've gotten AA/KK/JJ signifigantly less than 'average' in my first 5000 hands, but the rest of the cards are coming at a pretty steady rate. I'll just have to get AA 30 times int he next 5000 hands to make up for it ;)

My biggest hold over those 5000 hands was my AK play. The one hand I push too hard with I think, as its a very very small winner so far. Over the next 5K hands I intend to be a little more selective about when I jam with AK (real small post-flop fields/non scary boards etc) and will see if I can make a bit more with it.

Subby

07-20-2004, 01:06 PM

The flop comes KT3, one of my suit. The pot is now ~550 in chips. And again lets say its checked around to me. First round of a tourney, do you bet this even though you haven't hit? Or do you look at the fact that its still early and that there's two high cards on the board and check, hoping to hit your 4-outer straight, an ace, or get out? I think with two folks checking to you (assuming neither was the pre-flop raiser) that a big bet here - maybe 250 - and you are likely going to buy the pot right there. Most of the time folks don't want that kind of action early in a tourney (of which you are an example ;))...

dixieflatline

07-20-2004, 01:22 PM

I have 5,214 hands in pokertracker at 2/4.
Here's my distribution on Sklansky's group 1/2 hands:
AA - 18
KK - 14
QQ - 27
JJ - 15
AKs - 19

TT - 25
AQs - 14
AJs - 22
KQs - 19
AKo - 49 (and barely winning, $25.50 or .13 BB/hand... a hole of mine for sure, I have been overplaying AK when it misses I know).

So by my math you should be getting a group 1 hand every 2.1% of the time or once in 46 hands. That means you should have gotten 110 group 1 hands but you only got 93. That difference of 17 seems a lot(15% low) but I'd have to do some messy stats to see just how bad that is. You should get a group 2 hand every 2.2% or 118 times and you got them 129 times. That's mostly due to excess of AJs. So maybe the lower group 1 numbers don't look that far off after all.

Radii

07-20-2004, 02:56 PM

So by my math you should be getting a group 1 hand every 2.1% of the time or once in 46 hands. That means you should have gotten 110 group 1 hands but you only got 93. That difference of 17 seems a lot(15% low) but I'd have to do some messy stats to see just how bad that is. You should get a group 2 hand every 2.2% or 118 times and you got them 129 times. That's mostly due to excess of AJs. So maybe the lower group 1 numbers don't look that far off after all.

That was what I came up with too. AA and KK win so dramatically much more BB/hand that I think it's noticible, but probalby not worth the amount of time I've put into figuring it out :) I am going to set up a filter in poker tracker for this stuff, I like that idea I read on 2+2 about using that as a quick first glance about how the cards are running.

Radii

07-20-2004, 02:59 PM

I think with two folks checking to you (assuming neither was the pre-flop raiser) that a big bet here - maybe 250 - and you are likely going to buy the pot right there. Most of the time folks don't want that kind of action early in a tourney (of which you are an example ;))...

Ok. One flat calls. The turn doesn't help you any. Check/fold now? Seems like now you've invested a lot in this hand for the first round, if you get out of it now you still have 1000 chips or soto work with... or do you keep pushing under any circumstances considering you really don't know the player and what type of hands he plays yet?

RPI-Fan

07-20-2004, 03:08 PM

My biggest hold over those 5000 hands was my AK play. The one hand I push too hard with I think, as its a very very small winner so far. Over the next 5K hands I intend to be a little more selective about when I jam with AK (real small post-flop fields/non scary boards etc) and will see if I can make a bit more with it.

Now, I'm not very good/wise about this stuff at all, but with AK, the goal (and I have no idea if this is right) in ring games is to win almost every time the flop hits you.

It's value isn't in missed flops, but rather in hit ones? As such, your analysis seems reasonable.

RPI-Fan

07-20-2004, 03:10 PM

Just wanted to remark how much I enjoy reading this dynasty...

I love the shape it's taking of summarizing the ring games and going into detail on multi-tables - your tales of those are just so... gripping.

Keep up the great work!
~rpi-fan

dixieflatline

07-20-2004, 03:29 PM

Ok. One flat calls. The turn doesn't help you any. Check/fold now? Seems like now you've invested a lot in this hand for the first round, if you get out of it now you still have 1000 chips or so to work with... or do you keep pushing under any circumstances considering you really don't know the player and what type of hands he plays yet?

You have position so unless he bets into you I think you have to keep betting. You raised preflop, bet on the flop, and he has checked the flop and the turn to you. If the turn is a rag he probably wasn't helped and it's very unlikely you will be check-raised. I would guess that he is on a draw or maybe holding middle pair good kicker or top pair bad kicker and a bet might get him to(finally) release the hand. If he bets into you on the turn and it's a reasonable sized bet then lay it down. You have a four outs for sure and an Ace might be good as well.

I like that idea I read on 2+2 about using that as a quick first glance about how the cards are running.
I think that is a great idea. Group 1 or 2 hands should come by every 4.3% or once every 22 hands so you could just use something simple like that as a quick glance.

Radii

07-20-2004, 03:33 PM

Now, I'm not very good/wise about this stuff at all, but with AK, the goal (and I have no idea if this is right) in ring games is to win almost every time the flop hits you.

It's value isn't in missed flops, but rather in hit ones? As such, your analysis seems reasonable.

It depends on the situation, as always. At the 5/10 shorts I would push rather hard with AK. It's a good hand and at a short table it will hold up enough unimproved that it can be pushed through the turn with consistancy.

At a 2/4 full game this just isn't true. It's worth a raise in any situation, but I push with it too often, too far when it misses. I have to remember that at 2/4 I have to show down the best hand more often than not to win the hand. If I get 2 or less opponents I'll bet with it on the flop, and possibly the turn if I think there is any chance my opponent will fold. With more opponents than that I need to let it go quicker if I miss. With KQs and AJs I've got this down, but AKo looks much better than it is to me I think.

of those group 1/2 hands, AKo is miles below my other hands. I am even doing well with TT, compared to AKo.

Perhaps I will use the magic of pokertracker and start posting a few AKo hands in retrospect to see how I do with it.

Thanks for the comments, I appreciate it :)

Radii

07-20-2004, 05:43 PM

Worst 2/4 session ever:

330 hands, down $300.

QJs, lost $30 - filled a straight on the turn, other guy had bottom pair flop/2 pair turn/boat river

AKo, lost $48 ($20 on a pair of aces, lost to a rivered straight, $20 on kings that lost to a rivered flush)

AKs, lost $10 (gave it up ont eh turn)

AA, lost $20 (pocket tens hit set)

AJo, lost $18 (flopped ace+four flush, lost to 2 pair)

Q3o, BB, flopped two pair, lost to straight, lost $20

JJ, lost $14, J23 flop, 4 turn, 5 river. Lost to a naked ace.

of course the blinds eat up a lot over 320 hands

The kicker about the session? I flopped quads TWICE. pocket 4s ad pocket 3s. Neither got any action despite extreme slowplaying.

(tells self, it's all one long session, all one long session, all one long session, all one long session).

SirFozzie

07-20-2004, 05:52 PM

Radii: Take 48 hours away from the poker table, stat.

You are on mega tilt.

Radii

07-20-2004, 09:44 PM

Radii: Take 48 hours away from the poker table, stat.

You are on mega tilt.

Agreed. Honestly, I meant to quit at $200, to have that as a stoploss, I won a hand right as I hit that $200 loss limit and went back under it and convinced myself it was about to turn around.

We had our dance classes(see the weight loss dynasty) right after poker so I got far away from it and got my head totally wrapped around other things.

The last two nights of limit poker the bad beats have been hitting me rather hard(I have lost the last 4 AA hands in a row, for example, when they're coming), but tonight there were just no wins to offset it and clearly I bled away more than necessary, where, on Monday night, I actually recovered *really* nicely and never went on tilt and played a very solid game and ended up profitable.

This is a very good example of why I'm not moving up to 3/6 even though i have the bankroll for it. I can still win a very solid amount here when I'm playing well, and I can learn the lessons I need to about multi-tabling limit games(hell I played 5,000 hands at .5/1 just to get the hang of it, even though I had a bankroll of $1800 at the time) for a lot cheaper than it would be at 3/6.

To sum up. Very sound advice, thanks ;)

robbgmaier

07-20-2004, 10:01 PM

i didn't read some of the intervening posts, but....

there are 6 ways you can find a pocket pair, and 4 ways you can find a suited connector. So if you know the odds on the pair......

Radii

07-21-2004, 10:32 PM

I have played a bunch today and am not tilting at all, I'm actually up a touch(about $30). I don't want to go dump money into a multi-table now but I want a break, so I sign up for a quick $10+$1 NL SNG(single table).

Everone starts with 800 chips.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

Q3o, UTG+1, folds - guy out on hand 1, woo!
75o, UTG, folds
K5s, BB, folds to a 50 chip raise
85s, SB, I limp and we have a 3 way pot. The flop misses me badly and I fold.
T2o, button, folds
63o, cutoff, folds
94o, cutoff-1, folds
crap, UTG+2, folds
K8o, UTG+1, folds

Level 2 - 15/30 blinds

Level 1 was exciting, no? Everyone is playing pretty tight.

69o, UTG, folds
K8o, BB, free flop 4-way. Flop comes KT4, two hearts. I bet 90 into the 120 pot and I take it down. Up to 845.
55, SB. 5 limpers to me, I limp, we have a nice 7 way flop. It comes very well coordinated w/ lots of high cards, I fold at first chance.
93o, button, folds
Q2s, cutoff, folds
52o, cutoff-1, folds
Q7o, MP, folds
AJo, UTG+2, I open-raise to 85 (because I hate this laptop's mouse). I win the blinds. Geeze.
T7o, UTG+1, folds - now there's some actionwhoa, 4 people all in on the flop. JT/AJ/AA on a jack high flop. A jack on the turn kills the aces and hoose67 had the AJ for the win.
86s, UTG, folds

Level 3 - 25/50 blinds

84o, BB, free flop, I flop an inside straight draw but the bet gets way too big on the flop for me to draw for it.

8 remain, TomVeil is crippled(95), JuebOne has 430. Only two guys have made any serious progress.

K6o, SB, folds - TomVeil is out, JuebOne is up to 525, busting him
73o, button, folds
75o, cutoff, folds
A2o, UTG+2, folds
J3o, UTG+1, folds - Vegas311 busts out juebone and we're down to 6.
Q4o, UTG, folds

Key Hand
KJo, BB - folded to the SB, sgak raises to 100 chips. I call. He bets a small 50 on the ace high flop. I smell weakness and raise to 200. He goes all in over me and I have to fold. Good play by sgak.
86o, sb, folds
J2o, button, folds

Level 4 - 50/100 blinds

85o, cutoff, folds

6 left so I am all in real damn soon with 475 chips.

77, UTG+1. Like now. I am all in, I win the blinds and have 625 chips.
96o, UTG, folds
93o, BB, I get a free flop when SB limps to me. I catch 2nd pair, a 9 on the flop and I go all in and win it.
KQs, SB - I raise to 200 pre-flop and go heads up vs the BB. I catch a king on the flop and go all in and win it there(525 into a 400 flop).
A8o, button - I limp here, a mistake I am sure after a limper before me. we are 4-way and i get out of there on the flop when a bigger stack pushes.
34s, cutoff, folds
T8s, UTG+1, folds
93o, UTG, folds

A9s, BB - free flop 3 way. I flop a flush draw and bet the pot, I win it there.

Level 5 - 100/200 blinds

95o, SB, folds

I have 925 in chips. No one is in very good shape, chipleader has 1800.

hawaplop busts up sgak28(he still had 35 chpis), hawaplop has 2740 now.

AA vs 88 on the next hand teras up the chip leader.

QJo, BB - down to 5 now as sgak busts out. I fold to an all-in, leaving me w/ 725.

TT, SB - shot stack all in. I go over him all in. I win the hand and am up to 1295.

4 remain, two of us are around 1200/1300. hawaplop has 3000+, vegas311 2130.

I fold through my blinds and have 995.

Q3o, button, folds - the big stack/2nd stack go all in and the big stack is down to 1700.

A2o, UTG, all-in wins blinds
AQo, BB, raise pre-flop, short stack all in, I just call. We check to the river when hawaflop goes all in on me. I fold, 44 vs 77, jeff doesn't bust out.

blinds are up to 150/300

I double up on k6s, back up to about 700. I fold through my blinds with 4 high both times

I go all in on ATs. Called by 94. a 9 hits the flop by I hit my flush! I'm up to 1130.

More crap in my BB and I fold it to a big raise.

blinds up to 200/400

All in on ATs from the SB, I double up again and have 1460 now.

A8s, BB - folded to me.
KJo, SB - I steal the BB
K4o, button - I fold this one

I make the money as the short stack busts out

I raise with Q4s on the button, I'm called by vegas. FLop comes Ax2, two diamonds. Opponent goes all in. I have more than the odds to chase my flush, and I call(a fold leaves me very short stacked). He has A2 for two pair, and I hit a queen but that's it, no flush.

I make a profit of a mighty $9. Those small SNG's go FAST. The end got a little hectic w/ oliegirl and I chatting for a minute before she went to bed, so I lost quite a bit in the writeup quality in those last few rounds.

Radii

07-21-2004, 10:53 PM

The total ass-beating I took yesterday kills these results, but here they are, gotta post when I'm not happy about the posts as well:

6440 hands at 2/4
Won $90.06
won 0.23 BB/hr/table
BB/100 hands: 0.35
Overall win rate: $3.02/hr

Very annoying. And despite keeping my head above water it has been annoying in the past 4 or 5 days having noticibly more losing sessions than winners.

As I have started reading 2+2 more often, I have pumped up my agression a bit, and I have to wonder if that is just increasing my variance and the $300 winning sessions are right around the corner, or if I am being too agressive or am pushing in the wrong spots.

I found a hand I was frustrated with tonight, in a $40 pot with an inside straight draw on the turn(total rainbow board) I folded to a bet. I was getting 10:1 on that. 42:4 or 10.5:1 to hit, I really should have called that bet, since it was a draw to the nuts. Of course, I only noticed it because it did, indeed hit.

I think where my extra agression may be hurting me is with overcards when I've raised pre-flop. Anyway, I am still ahead here, so I have a hard time saying I need to do anything drastic, but I may play a few one-table sessions and write them up if i hit 7500-8000 hands without any sort of a breakout here, and see what kind of holes people point out.

Radii

07-23-2004, 11:23 PM

7000 hand update

The last 700ish hands since that $300 loss have been good to me.

7136 hands at 2/4
Won $233.06
won 0.53 BB/hr/table
BB/100 hands: 0.82
Overall win rate: $7.01/hr

I'm playing in a cheap $5 rebuy satellite to the big Sunday tourney right now, and am also playing a $15 double-shootout with two guarenteed seats to one of the WCOOP events a little later tonight, so expect two tourney updates tonight.

Radii

07-24-2004, 01:30 AM

I join the midnight $5+$0 (+rebuys) satellite to the $300 Sunday tournament on pokerstars.

This gives me a cheap way to get a little more tourney experience, and some practice on not being such a pussy in NL tourneys ;)

Level 1 - 10/20 blinds

96o, UTG+1, folds

385 have entered. A full 108 have rebought already. I have not rebought.

75s, UTG, folds
QJo, BB, folds to a raise to 80 - 3 go all in on the K66(two spades) flop. Ax spades, KQ, and A6. A6 holds up, the othre two rebuy and 4126(that's his name) has 6340 chips.
54o, SB, 7 way flop, I'll play that for half a bet. I'll fold on the flop too.
Q8o, button, folds

4126 seems willing to gamble even with 4x the starting chips. Called off about 500 on god knows what(no straight/no flush possible board) to see aces/deuce kicker beat him down.. 500 on 2nd pair?

83o, cutoff, folds
T3o, cutoff-1, folds
xx, MP, folds
86o, MP, folds

Level 2 - 15/30 blids

Hands take awhile with all of the rebuy action going on.

87s, UTG+1, I limp, then call the min raise. Flop comes A73, 1 heart. I call the min bet of 30 there. Turn is another ace, and this isn't going to do, I fold to a bet, two aces end up all in, one has an 8 kicker the other a 2. FFBBDD has rebought many times.

33, UTG, another limping hand. 8 of us see the flop, I fold when it doesn't have a 3 and someone bets.

Key Hand

AA, BB - now, it shouldn't be too hard to get all in here in this rebuy period right? That's certainly the goal. And of course, only 4 limpers before me. I raise out of the BB to 150, only one guy calls. I bet 150 on the flop(underbetting the pot by quite a bit), and he calls. It was king high rainbow. The turn I bet out about 500 chips into the 680 flop, and he folds. So much for easily getting all in. I do pull down a 690 pot and am up to 1715 in chips.

crap, SB/button, folded
K8s, cutoff, folded to 330 raise
AJo, cutoff-1, limp/fold to a 330 raise
94o, MP, folds

4126 now seems to be taking great advantage of others looseness here, he's stil taking quite a few risks but he's up over 10K now and is 4th in the tourney.

A7s, MP, limp, 6 way action for the min raise as 4126 raises out of his BB. Flop misses totally, two diamonds, J62, I fold to a bet.
T6o, UTG+1, folds
T4o, UTG, folds

level 3 - blinds 25/50

93o, BB, folds to the first bet

30 minutes til the rebuy period ends now, and the blinds will start to eat at those who have been rebuying multiple times trying to hit monsters, lets see if our total drops a lot here.

60 have given up so far, 329 out of 385 remain.

Key Hand
QJo, SB - 6 way flop for the min bet. Flop comes J98, and I will bet the pot there, 300 chips. Two call, one has rebought 3 times already and seems willing to call with very little. Turn is a 3. Now I have to decide if I am willing to rebuy or not. I decide I am, and I go all in (~1200 in a ~1200 pot). I don't have to worry about it though, both fold to me and I am up to 2425 now.

A4o, button, folds (with that kicker, I'll chase if I'm suited only) - of course, a 4 on the flop and another on the turn and two all in with top pair tells me... well, don't be results oriented right? :)

96o, cutoff, folds

The number of rebuys have now surpassed the number of entries. 385 entered, 398 rebuys.

Quindel, the better top pair in my A4 hand, just went all in with two pair on the flop(A9x, two hearts), called by AK and A3, each with runner runner flush draws only. He busted both and is up to 13,000+. Both rebuy.

T3o, MP, folds - AA/A5/77 all in pre-flop, 6850 pot. Ace hits the flop, the A5 almost htis a straight but no.

FFBBDD finally gives up. HE rebought at least 5 times. Now he's out.

KQo, UTG+1, I limp, and call a min raise to 100 chps total. 4 way action. I make a very loose call of 300 chips with an inside straight draw+ backdoor flush draw. I miss it and decide to get out of the hand. HAH. KJ and K2 went to the river. K2 had a pair of deuces so I didn't fold the best hand. But of course the limp was pretty weak.

64o, UTG, folds
J5o, BB, folds to pre-flop raise - the same guy that raised K2 just raised Q3.

Key Hand
JJ, SB - I limp, and we see a flop 6 handed. The maniac bets 250 on the flop, K85. He bet huge on nothing before, do I call? Two others call, and I am looking more and more like I'm willing to rebuy here. I call. Another low card on the turn, and I call a 150 bet. On the river its checked around, and I'm amazed to see my weak tight bullshit has netted me a 1600 pot. Two of the three in the pot were playing like maniacs, so I don't think it was terrible of me to be in the hand, but it was terrible of me to be a calling station in the hand. Raise or fold, baby.

Level 4 - blinds 50/100

I now have 3375 chips, the blinds are 50/100 and the low stacks will pobably go rebuy crazy this round. I've doubled my stack without any rebuys. This level I plan to play rediculously tight, but will take a shot to score big off a rebuy-happy short stack if I get a great hand.

A8o, cutoff, folds

Key Hand
JTs, cutoff-1. See that speech above? Ignore it. I limp here in a 7-way pot. I call the min bet when I flop 2nd pair with 1 diamond on board. QJ5 flop. On the turn I hit the king of diamonds. 3rd pair but straight flush draw... Pot is already 1700. web.geek bets 200, callers abound. Jesus this is insane. Please hit. 6 of us call. Ace/9/diamond. River is a 9. AT does beat me but I'm paying that off if its there. web.geek bets 400. I re-raise him all in(only 435 more). He calls and shows AJ. My straight nets me a 4370 pot, WOW.

There were about 6 people calling that 100 flop bet and 200 turn bet. No raises.

I am now 64th out of 284, without any rebuys :P

K2o, MP, folds
T2o, UTG+1, folds
65o, UTG, folds
T2o, BB, folds

4 minutes until the break, and the end of the rebuy period. 520 rebuys so far.

Q8o, SB, folds
Q6o, button, folds (flop Q66, turn 6, TEEHEE)

WhiteHawk01 has rebought 3 times in the last 5 minutes.

Lady LG has somehow amassed 42,000 in chips. That's 14,000 more than 2nd and double 3rd.

Level 5 - blinds 75/100 - 1 hr break - add-on period/end of rebuys

I decide to add-on. I am 1000 chips above the avg stack, I think I'm in a position where the add-on will signifigantly help me against the rebuy monkeys who have 3000 chips right now(there are 4 at my table between 2000-3000 in chips).

rebuys get us up to 10 seats into the $500 tourney. We get very close to 11 seats but I think we're going to come up short. Nope, it comes through at the end, 11 seats available!

Ok, 264 of the original 385 remain after the hour. 385 entries, 576 rebuys, 206 add-ons, all for $5 each.

I am 73rd out of 264 at the hour break, I have 8360 in chips. That's good for 4rd at my table. Quindel, chipleader at the table, has 14,360.

52o, MP, folds
75o, MP, folds
K2o, UTG+2, folds

STRIKER and whitehawk_01, two fo the worst rebuy monkeys at my table, are playing most every hand. Looks like I need to stay beginning-of-tourney-ultra-tight for 1 last level to let some of the crap weed itself out.

T5o, UTG+1, folds
74o, UTG, folds
32s, BB, button limps, SB limps and come on A45 diamonds flop! KKJ, two diamonds. I decide to bet the pot, and I win it right there.

74o, SB, folds - spinster(the button last hand) and STRIKER seem to play lots of hands against each toher. Lots of 150 min betting. striker calls down KJ5 flop, K turn, T river, calling spinster's all in on the rive.r Striker has? A5o. spinster has KT for the doubleup.
A2o, button, folds - this is a 5 way pot - viking18 underbets the pot the entire way, including the river, with overcards(KJs) on a ten high board. He had no draw, just overcards. 4126 calls him down. With middle pair on the flop. A6o.

crap, cutoff, folds - 5 way action, 450 bet on the flop, followed by a 300 bet on the turn. all 5 are in til the river, another 300 bet on the river by our fearless chpleader quindel is called down(NOT RAISED). When running queens give 4126 trip queens/ace kicker. quindel had top pair on the flop with an 8.

J8o, cutoff-1, folds 4 way action this time.
K6o, MP, folds

My double-shootout is starting. 81 people, 9 single table SNG's. The 9 winners are the 'final table' ... at that table, 3-7 get their money back, 1st and 2nd get a $530 entry into the WCOOP. I of course can't write both up. I'll move to the shootout for awhile should I win the first tourney and actually have a shot.

Q6o, MP, folds
83o, UTG+1, folds

Level 6 - 100/200 blinds

I have 8585 chips, having increased my stack by about 300 chips in the last 15 minutes. I sit 85th out of the 230 remaining and still 4th at my table.

76o, UTG, folds
J5o, BB, folds to min raise from quindel (he has AKo)

TT, a trouble hand of mine(and most I assume) - Quindel raises to 800. spinster48 calls. With 1 to act still and one caller already I decide I'm playing for a set there and fold. an ace hits and quindel bets 3000 chips, spindel folds. Does anyone do anythign different here?

K2o, button, folds
86o, cutoff, folds
A8o, cutoff-1, folds to a raise to 600.
K4o, Mp, folds
72o, MP, folds

shootout note - 3 are out in 10 minutes at my table. I won a very small pot with JTs. My 1560 chips(from starting chips of 1500) is 2nd in chips, guy to my left just knocked out 2 in one shot and has 7000 almost.

K9o, UTG, folds

New guy, powerdave, has joined the table to my right. 12,000 in chips and in a big pot against quindel on the first hand. quindel calls all in from powr dave and dave now has 29,000. His A6 hit two pair and crushed quindel's KK.

Key Hand
KJo, BB - 3 way free flop for me. Flop comes KT3, two hearts. powerdave(actually it's pawner dave as I read more closely) bets 200, I raise to 800, and only he calls. The turn brings the flush. I bet the pot, 2000 chips, ready to fold if he comes back at me, but he folds, and I take it down. Only a small gain really but a very helpful one.

crap, SB, folds
T5s, button folds
K3o, cutoff, folds

AKo, cutoff - 1, with one limper I raise to 800. pawnerdave is that limper. A king hits the flop(KT4 rainbow), I bet the pot(1800) and he folds.

Level 7 - blinds 100/200 - ante 25

shootout update - down to 1435 as the blinds go up to 15/30. 6 of us left still.

I have bult my stack up over 10K, 10,460 to be exact. The antes mean there's 525 in the pot before anyone acts.

I am 68th out of the 193 remaining. I am 3rd at our table. pawnerdave has 24K, 4126 has 18K.

84s, MP, folds
Q4o, MP, folds
95o, UTG+1, folds
97o, UTG, folds - 3 in for an 1800 raise. 6200 pot pre-flop. zeroexp, the raiser, has AA, he busts out whitehawk, and he's 3rd at the table w/ 15K now.

A5o, BB - pawner dave raises the min pre-flop. I call as does spinster. The flop comes AJ8, two spades and he immediately bets 1800. I fold with my weak kicker. Good bet by him if he bluffs me out. Does anyone else put 20% of their stack in here?

crap, SB, folds

A4s, button - folded to me, I open-raise to 600. A short stack, STRIKER4969, calls me. He goes all in for 1600 on the flop, 789 all hearts(I'm spades), and I fold. I've dropped about 1K in chips here real fast.

crap, cutoff, folds

I note that a 600 raise isn't 3x the blinds with the antes involved. Wonder what my standard open-raise should be?

94o, cutoff-1, folds
A2o, MP, folds
T4o, UTG+2, folds

new guy bigsherman has caught 3 huge hands real fast, full house, flush on the flop, and pocket aces to go from 6K to 22K in 3 hands. Nice run.

shootout update - down to 5, and I'm down to 1100 in chips after pushing a bit with A9s(decent hand 6 handed) but coming up empty.

crap, UTG,

Level 8 - blinds 200/400 - ante 25

KQo, BB, I make a bad move calling a raise here, and have to fold on a bad flop.
Q5o, SB, folds

I now have about 20x the big blind, not low enough to all in/fold by any stretch, but enough to start all-in'ing on any flops that I like that I'm in on a raise for.

shootout update: I catch two pair on the river with A5. Too bad the card that gave me two pair gave my opponent a straight. I am out.

I am down to 7835 here as the blinds pass me. I am about 90th out of 150 remaining.

72o, button, folds

Weirdest thing ever
K7s, cutoff, folds to a raise - raise to 800, call, all-in for 2700, call, alli n for 12900, call. WHOA. 3 all in here. 36s, KJ, 99. 63s!?!?!? That's the 12,900 stack. What'd he know that we didn't? 3 clubs flop. AMAZING. And the other big stack at the table calling off over half his stack with KJ? Insane. quindel(now at 30K) says he was ready for bed and trying to give his chips away.

crap, folded a couple of times.

iamlucky all in for 5120. zekgb calls 1900 all in. quindel all in... quindel has JJ this time. zek has KK, iamlucky has A4. an ace hits and all 13,387 is his.

73o, UTG+1, folds
J7o, UTG, folds

a guy going all in and losing lets me skip my BB.

85s, SB, I limp for 200 to see a 3-way flop. IamLucky says I don't thoughand raises to 3200. 4126 calls, and I have to fold. iamlucky all in on the flop for 22K, and he wins the pot.

I am down to 7260. Needing to make a move stage.

J2o, button, folds, and the worst part of my tournaments generally. People have gotten so loose here that I just don't know how to play it right.

Q2o, cutoff, folds
the mighty 63s, folded(how could I?)(it missed)

Key Hand
KTo, MP, 4126 calls, I raise it to 1200. jamtech calls and 4126 calls behind him. I miss totally, 4425 in the pot, am I in or do I give this up? I have to finish in the top 11, I'm not leaving myself with 4500 chips here. I push all in. jamtech thinks long and hard, requests time, and calls. I'm screwed. 4126.... he won't call too will he? No. HAHA. same hand. KTs. But, jametch has the flush draw. Luckily, it doesn't hit. I am back up to 8100 with that bullshit.

Too loose? OK but too loose if it wasn't a winner take all gotta make a final table tourney?

K8o, MP, folds
T2s, UTG+1, folds

Level 9 - blinds 300/600 - antes 50 - 2 hour break

Now with 8K in chips, I am getting pretty low. I am 90th out of 126 remaining at the 2nd break, basically the same # of chips I had left at the first break.

Q8o, UTG, folds

With 1350 in the pot from blinds and ante's, I am getting very close to a push/fold situation here. In fact after the blinds pass me I'm there. Push/fold.

82o, BB, I get a free flop which comes AKQ and I have to fold at the first opportunity.
Q8s, SB, 4126 limps, plibby goes all-in for 3200 chips, and I have to fold. 4126 folds too, giving plibby the 2550 pot.

7023 chips for me. push/fold.

76o, folds
K4o, folds
52o, MP, folds

KJo, UTG+2, all in. Blinds stolen, up to 8123.
J4o, UTG+1, folds
T5s, UTG, folds

Q7s, BB, 4126 is all in for his last 1500 or so in chips. I decide I have the odds to call that here with the dead money + he's desparate + I'm already in for 600. No luck, he has AJo and I don't hit anything.

crap, SB, folds - 4126 gets AQ this time, doubles up again, right back to 8300. Nuts.

J7s, button, folds

I have 6200 after the loss + blinds

62o, cutoff, folds - 4126 busts out, JJ vs I'll Be Back's QQ (throw in Quindel's KTs, he still wants to sleep) - I'll Be Back just won a 43,900 pot there.

crap, cutoff-1, folds
JTo, MP, folds (should I push here? Hmm, a little low I think for now).
T2o, UTG+1, folds
T5o, UTG, folds

A5o, BB - 5287 left after my BB, I think I have to go here. Quindel raises to 1800, I push. He shows me A4s. no flush for him, he needs a 4 on turn/river. it doesn't come.;.. oh wait. The board just paired. kickers don't come into play(and there was a deuce on the board, so they could ahve)

A5s, SB - I push again. I open-raise here though... this time i'm called by JJ. Ugh. I flop an ace, but, he flops a jack. That's the end of my day. I am out 94th.

Comments are always welcom, I opened it up a bit here but I might have done it at the wrong times against the wrong players.

Radii

07-24-2004, 02:11 PM

Updating my bankroll since I haven't in awhile now. I've been treading water, floating between $2400 and $2600. Right now I'm almost even.

PokerStars: $502
InterCasino: $101
Neteller: $382
PartyPoker: $1514

TOTAL: $2499.

That's after quite a large win in ring games today, I was down below $2400 a little bit earlier today(Still playing and still winning, but that's the current snapshot).

Radii

07-24-2004, 11:11 PM

Dealt to radii [ 6s 5s ]
Grendel_II folds.
teleblue folds.
tcprince calls [$2].
Frankdadank folds.
ElHombre folds.
biffster82 calls [$2].
JGlass02 folds.
radii calls [$1].
Angigallo checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4s, Jc, 2s ]
radii checks.
Angigallo checks.
tcprince bets [$2].
biffster82 calls [$2].
radii calls [$2].
Angigallo calls [$2].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ac ]
radii checks.
Angigallo checks.
tcprince bets [$4].
biffster82 calls [$4].
radii calls [$4].
Angigallo folds.
** Dealing River ** [ 3s ] :D:D:D
radii bets [$4].
tcprince calls [$4].
biffster82 calls [$4].
radii shows [ 6s, 5s ] a straight flush, six high.
tcprince doesn't show [ Jd, Js ] three of a kind, jacks.
biffster82 shows [ Ah, Qc ] a pair of aces.
radii wins $38 from the main pot with a straight flush,

Thought about check-raising the river, but alas.

Again, god bless partypoker weekend play. Seriously, the night play is drastically worse than the afternoon play(or the when I play for an hour when I get home at 5pm), and the weekend play makes the evening weeknight PP players look like poker gods. Not b/c of this hand, just how much I've won in general during the weekends lately.

Radii

07-24-2004, 11:49 PM

8000 hand update

I am very, very pleased with my turnaround in ring game play, things are looking solid here.

8029 hands at 2/4
Won $518.06
won 1.06 BB/hr/table
BB/100 hands: 1.61
Overall win rate: $14.14/hr

I would not be unhappy to just sustain this rate at 2/4 for some time, though I think 2 BB/100 hands is reasonable. I am nowhere near thinking about 3/6 yet. I don't have a set timetable, but I suspect that at maybe 20,000 hands I'll go from 4 2/4 tables to 3 2/4 tables and 1 3/6 tables, and do that for a few thousand hands, and slowly work my way up to full 3/6 action.

Tomorrow may well be my last night playing poker for a week or more, Tuesday nigth we have dance classes, and Thursday we are getting up very very very early to drive to chicago for abotu 5 days.

I would love to have a solid day tomorrow and to be able to cash out just a couple hundred in "profit" (over my $2500 baseline) for the month. I'm at about $2590 right now. Given how often I strayed into dead money tournament land I think that would be quite the feat.

Radii

07-25-2004, 02:54 PM

A slow, uneventful marathon session. Down as much as $70, up as much as $80, finished up about $20.

9000 hand update

I am very, very pleased with my turnaround in ring game play, things are looking solid here.

9008 hands at 2/4
Won $532.44
won 0.95 BB/hr/table
BB/100 hands: 1.48
Overall win rate: $12.98/hr

Not bad at all.

dixieflatline

07-26-2004, 02:46 PM

Radii

07-26-2004, 03:15 PM

Radii,
Just wondering why you aren't playing more $30+3 tourney's when you get sick of limit? Seems like you were getting a much better ROI on that than these other larger tourneys. Have fun on your trip.

They disappeared from partypoker for awhile and that's when I started trying out some of the cheaper MTT's. Since then I think its the allure of going for the big score. It would seem to reason though that improving at the 3-table tourneys would be a start to improving at some of the different stages of big MTTs as well, so that seems like a pretty good idea to me :)

Radii

07-26-2004, 11:09 PM

I enter a $30+$3 3-table tourney, and get seated at table 2. I open up in the cutoff.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

JTs, cutoff, folds to 50 raise
53s, cutoff-1, folds
Q3o, MP, folds
53o, MP folds
AKo, MP, raise to 50, a short stack of 15 calls all-in, and a limper before me calls. I bet 70 into the pot on the flop(TTx) and the other caller folds. The short stack has 54o, and a 5 hits the turn, so I basically win a net of 20 chips.
44, UTG+1, limp/fold to a raise

Key Hand #1
AA, UTG - I open-raise to 50 chips, and one caller(same guy from before, musicmachine). Flop 983, two hearts. I bet 75 chips and musicmachine calls. Turn completes the flush, I bet half the pot, 150 chips, and he folds. I take down 410 and am up to 1125 after my BB.

97o, BB, folds to a raise
42o, SB, folds to raise
Q2o, button, folds

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

T2o, cutoff, folds

28 players remain, I have 1115 in chips.

A7o, cutoff-1, folds
T8o, cutoff-1 (after the guy 2 to my left gets knocked out), folds
KTo, cutoff-2, folds
J6o, UTG+2, folds - the guy w/ 15 chips left after about 4 hands, FINALLY goes out
85o, UTG+1, folds

AJs, UTG, I open-raise to 60, and musicmachine calls. FLop comes KQ6, I bet half the pot, and he folds on me. He plays too many hands, and is down to 345 chips. I wanted to bet big enough to get him out, but small enough I could fold to an all-in, I didnt want to throw in 300 more there. Worked!

Q9s, BB - I get a free flop, and it's a beauty, A63 all clubs(my suit). I am going to take my chances against the king here. I check and then call a 50 chip bet from UPS_Grundle. The turn sets free any feras I had, it's the king. I check, he checks. River a blank and he folds to my bet.

Q5s, SB - I limp and we're 3 handed. Another great flop, Q54, two clubs though, I bet the pot(60 chips) w/ my 2 pair and take it down.

44, another limp/fold to a raise (very few raises so far, only when I have 44)
A4o, cutoff-1, folds

Wish I coulda gotten more on the flush but I have increased my stack.

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

I have 1315 in chips, about average and 5th of the 8 left at my table.

23 people remain in the tourney.

J4s, UTG, folds
KJo, BB, the SB goes all in for 185. If it was heads up I might think about calling, but there's other limpers involved. A7 for SB, AK for wiener_dogs, good fold.
32s, SB, folds

A3s, button, 3 limpers before me, so I go ahead and limp too. So do both the blinds. Flop comes KQ4, two of my suit. I'll call a 75 bet on the flop. Ding! I make my flush on the turn. I again just call a 100 bet. The board doesn't pair on the river, so I've got the nuts. opponent checks to me, and I bet 225 into the 530 pot, hopefully a small enough amount to be called. He doesn't call me though and I'm getting some great hands but haven't been able to get great action yet.

I am up to 1595 and pleased w/ my stack so far.

crap, cutoff, folds - UPS grande and pokerputte, the two short stacks, end up all in on the river, 2nd pair vs top pair. UPS is almost out.

TT, UTG+1, UPS all in for 37 chips. huckdog calls. I raise to 100 chips - folded back to huckdog(a bigger stack than me by a bit). Flop comes ace high w/ 2 diamonds. We check it around. Turn makes the flush. huckdog bets the min, 30 chips. And I call that one. The river is a king and we check it, I beat huckdog but lose to UPS's two pair.

I am up to 1651 chips after that moderate win.

97o, UTG, folds
Q6o, BB, folds to 100 raise
Q6s, SB, folds to all-in 115 raise from UPS(who wins and stays alive)

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

I am up to 1606 in chips, still slowly rising.

K5o, button, folds

21 remain, down to two tables on our next exit.

K6o, cutoff, folds
T7o, cutoff-1, folds
AJo, UTG+1, folds to UTG raise - raise with it but be wary of calling raises with it -
85o, UTG, folds
96o, BB, UPS hanging around, he raises all in for abougt 375 and wins the blinds
33, SB, folded to me, I raise and win pokerputte's BB

crap, folded on button/cutoff
J6o, cutoff-1, folds

UPS steals again to go up to 523 in chips.

QTo, UTG+1, folds

And UPS finally goes out, all in with 36o, called by QT.

crap, BB, raised out of it

32s, sb, folds

18 remain, a few went out real fast there, and we're down to 2 tables.

I'm an avg stack, but still 6th at my table out of 9.

63s, cutoff-1, folds
32o, cutoff-2, folds

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

20 minutes til the break, very often we fall to 1 table by then, lets see what happens here. 18 left, my 1581 stack is just slightly under average.

crap, UTG, folds - two big stacks, huckdog and spook18 build up a 3300 pot... spook18 had nothing, huckdog bet hard w/ bottom pair(on the turn, he had nothing on the flop either)... weird, a HUGE pot between two big stacks for that?

T7o, BB, free 5-way flop but i can't play it

17 remain, one gone on table 1

note to self, huckdog will bet hard w/ pretty much anything.

Key Hand
AKs, SB - three limp, I raise to 500, with that many limpers a 3x raise is inviting people to play. spook18 goes all in for 695 more. I call, hoping he's got an ace. He does. AQo. Queen on the flop and I am utterly fucked.

286 chips left.

Key Hand

A2o, I'm all in open-raising on the button. august0000 calls out of BB with QJ, I hold up.

Key Hand

QQ, cutoff, short stack allin for 300, I am also all in for 622. short stack has A6, QQ holds up.

I am up to 1020 in two hands after losing that AK v AQ hand.

Key Hand
KTs, MP, one limper, I raise to 300, and limper+1 more calls. hit my king on the flop, but there's an ace and I am put alli n with a big bet.

720 chips remain.

76s, UTG, folds

J3o, BB, folds to raise

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

16 remain, I am very short stacked in relation to blinds.

74o, SB, folds

I am left with 545 chips.

Q7o, button, I seriously consider going all in when folded to me... but I fold, I'll get something better in the next 6 hands.

J4s, cutoff, folds

Key Hand

QQ, cutoff-1, I raise all in behind a 500 raise from spook, my chance to get even? Of course not. He has KK.

I am out 16th.

All I have to say about that is, Fuck AQ.

Radii

07-26-2004, 11:57 PM

I join another 3-table tourney before bed, lets hope my hands hold up when I dominate others this time :)

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

A9o, UTG+2, folds

I am at table 3

crap, UTG+1 and UTG, folded

J9o, BB, free flop 4-way, two aces and i'm out of there fast.
22, SB, certainly worth 5 chips... but not 140, folded.
98o, button, folds

99, cutoff, I open-raise to 50 chips(with other limpers I'd just call here but...) - of course, all 3 behind me call. The flop comes T74 rainbow, and checked to me, I'll throw half the pot out there, 100 chips. It works, and I take it down. I rise to 1125 with that one.

54o, cutoff-1, folds
72o, cutoff-2, folds
94s, MP, folds

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

only 1 gone. I have 1125 chips.

QTo, UTG+2, folds
J4o, UTG+1, folds
A7o, UTG, folds - I'll skip my BB with a guy going out two to my right i believe.
K9o, SB, fold to a 100 chip raise - AT/KJ end up all in, KJ wins and 2 from my table are gone quickly.
K9o, button, folds
J9o, cutoff, folds
A6o, cutoff-1, folds
62o, UTG+2, folds

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

AKo, UTG+1, I open-raise to 90 and steal the blinds.

AFter that I have 1160 in chips. 26 people remain. I am 3rd at my table but aside from the two 2000+ stacks we're all about the same.

Q4o, UTG, folds
82o, BB, free flop which does contain a 2 but not enough for me to play for more than the pot(100 bet on the flop)
64o, SB, folds to raise

89s, button, I limp and then call the min-raise out of the blind for a 5-way flop. It misses though so I'm out.

Key Hand
TT, cutoff, one limps, I raise to 90 chips. two call. Flop comes AJ3. The big stack checks, I bet 150, the most i'm willing to put into this hand w/o the miracle ten, but its' enough, i take it down.

J2o, cutoff-1, folds
KJo, MP, folds
43o, UTG+1, folds
32o, UTG, folds
93o, BB, folds to raise

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

I have 1250 in chips, suprisingly still average as there are 24 people left.

K8o, sb, folds
T7s,, button, folds
64o, cutoff, folds
K4o, cutoff-1, folds
89o, MP, folds
Q4o, UTG+1, folds
JTo, UTG, folds
crap, BB, folds to first bet
Q9o, SB, folds
T9o, button, folds

some attrition finally, including "mrpoopyhead" going out 22nd from another table

75o, cutoff, folds
A6o, cutoff-1, folds to raise
43o, UTG+1, folds
43o, UTG, folds
K6o, BB, big stack raises 250, SB all in... JJ vs AKs... and we're down to 20 on that one.

I move to table #2, a full table, as we drop to 20 and as the blinds go up.

73o, cutoff, folds
J3o, cutoff-1, folds

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

Q5o, MP, folds

18 remain, and I have 1100 in chips, 500 below average and next to last at my table. The cards were just total shit that last round.

AQo, UTG+2, finally a solid hand, Ax is going all in like crazy here the past few hands. I raise to 3x the blind, big stack calls me(sharpy33). Flop comes AJ9. sharpy bets 100, I re-raise all in. Sharpy calls and has AK. GOD. amazing.

The hand before mine A8 vs A8 all in on the flop. The hand before that AJ, AT and QJ all in pre-flop.

The hand before that JJ vs 66 all in.

I get AQ, hit an ace and run into fucking AK?

I'm out 18th. There's something just not funny about going out in one tourney with AK vs AQ(not OUT but that is what killed me), and in the very next one with AQ vs AK.

That's it for poker tonight, with tomorrow's plans weirded out I may play some tomorrow before the tirp, not sure yet. Tonight was very, very, very annoying. I got my chips in with very good hands, played pretyt solid agressive poker I believe, and just ran into walls. Shit happens though.

dixieflatline

07-27-2004, 09:55 AM

Just wondering why you aren't playing more $30+3 tourney's when you get sick of limit? Seems like you were getting a much better ROI on that than these other larger tourneys. Have fun on your trip.

I retract my suggestion. Seriously, that AK v AQ really hurt what looked to be a very nice run.

TT, cutoff, one limps, I raise to 90 chips. two call. Flop comes AJ3. The big stack checks, I bet 150, the most i'm willing to put into this hand w/o the miracle ten, but its' enough, i take it down.

It looked like you had some success taking a stab at the pot on the flop a couple of times. That could be helpful once the maniac players are weeded out at the beginning.

Radii

07-27-2004, 11:28 AM

I retract my suggestion. Seriously, that AK v AQ really hurt what looked to be a very nice run.

Hah, no biggie. In the first tourney, the deck ran over me but i couldn't get enough action to make a big gain(perhaps I should have just played my flushes fast and hoped to get some action on them?). Then the AK hand hit and I was pretty screwed.

In the 2nd tourney, it had quickly turned into an all-in fest and against hands this guy I was up against had been calling all-ins with i figured to be no worse than 50/50. I was very suprised to see AK, but that's poker.

It looked like you had some success taking a stab at the pot on the flop a couple of times. That could be helpful once the maniac players are weeded out at the beginning.

Was reading some 2+2 stuff talking about making half-pot sized bets in a lot of situations. Seems to be working so far, and when someone fires back I haven't crippled myself.

Radii

07-27-2004, 05:27 PM

Another $30+$3

going to limit it up tonight but right after work when the good players are still playing in the ring games I'm just going to risk my $33

I get sent to table #1, so I will not be moving most likely unless there is some serious attrition at an individual table.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

J8s, UTG, folds - KK/TT all in on hand one pre-flop. Whee.
62o, BB, folds to min raise
J9o, SB, folds
Q8o, button, folds

Key Hand

AA, cutoff - folded to me, I open-raise to 45. both blinds call me. SB leads out for 60 on a Q73 board. flush draw. BB calls. I re-raise to 275, about the size of the pot. He calls. pot is about 700 at that point. I go all in on the turn, I can't let a flush draw see that last card for anything less than all his chips. He tells me he has QJ and ponders and lays it down. I am up to 1400 on the win.

crap, cutoff-1, folds
33, MP, folds (no one had limped yet, i'm not gonna raise and not gonna get odds to play for a set)
Q2o, MP, folds
86o, UTG+1, folds
Q6o, UTG, folds
T9o, BB, folds to raise
Q9o, SB, folds to raise

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

72o, button, folds

I have 1375 chips after level 1.
T2s, cutoff, folds
A6o, cutoff-1, folds
87s, MP, folds
83o, UTG+2, folds
52s, UTG+1, folds
75o, UTG, folds
K6s, BB, folds to raise+lots of calls

Key Hand
97s, SB - I limp for 10 chips. Flop top pair with a 9 (954 flop, rainbow) - I bet 75 chips and the BB calls me. Turn is a 7. I've got top two but i'm against a BB that got a free flop. i bet 125 chips, half the pot. He re-raises me to 700. I'm going all in if I play here. 97, two pair, with 9754 on the board and... i fold. He had me outchipped, and I feel like I'll have a better shot later, I could easily be drawing to 4 outs there.

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

I'm at 1135 chips now, 27 still remain, tough tourney.

A4o, cutoff-1, folds
98o, MP, folds
crap, MP, folds - AA/99 all in. Ace and 9 on the turn. zschneider is up to 2400, sawneybean is out
83o, UTG+1, folds
54s, UTG, folds

AQo, BB, I call the min raise from tejasbabe, bet the flop (which had a backdoor flush draw for me and that's it) but fold to a large re-raise.

TT, button - coreryan raises to 90 pre-flop, I re-raise to 225. He calls, and folds to my flop bet on 3 undercard board.

crap, cutoff&cutoff-1, folds

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

K4o, UTG+1, folds

7 left at my table. 21 remain total, almost down to 2 tables.

I have 1195 chips after 1 big loss and 1 big win last level.

96o, UTG, folds
Q5o, BB, fold to a raise

Dwon to 2 tables now - 20 remain exactly - 34 minutes in

K9o, SB, folds to raise

Key Hand
KJs, button, with two limps before me I go ahead and limp as well, the blinds come along too. Flop comes J95, two clubs - there's a bet of 100, and a raise to 200... that puts a fair amount in the pot, 550 chips. If I play, I have to go all in here. And I do, everyone folds, and I take it down.

crap, cutoff & cutoff-1, folds

Key Hand
A6s, MP, I open raise to 150. a short'ish stack calls me on the button. Flop comes T84, two spades. I have 1400 left, he has about 800. I bet 150, and he calls. The turn is a 6. Now I've got 3rd pair and flush draw, best kicker. I push all in, too agressive? with fold equity+flush draw+ maybe having the best hand anyway and in the lead the whole time(of the betting, that is) I figure it's an ok push. He calls and shows me the other two sixes in the deck, for trip 6s. The river makes up for yesterday's beats, it brings the flush without the boat. I pull down the pot.

crwp through the BB, fodled

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

I have 2330 in chips. 15 people remain. I'm right in the middle. 4th out of 7 at my table, 3 of us are real close tho

44, SB, folds - two all ins, 65s vs AA. The 4 on the flop makes me cry, until I see the running aces on the turn and river(I couldn't call the 800 anyway but damn). quad aces for tomkivlehan.
84o, button, folds
85o, cutoff, folds
A3o, MP, folds

ATs, UTG+1, I open-raise to 300 and win the blinds

T5o, UTG, folds
QTo, BB, fold to 550 all in bet
73o, SB, folds
T2o, button, folds
Q4s, cutoff, folds
Q6s, UTG+1, folds - down to 5 at my table
94o, BB, folds to 400 raise
T9o, SB, folds
crap, button, folded to raise
62o, cutoff, folds

66, UTG, I open-raise to 300, called by tomkivelan - We check the flop, AT5. Turn is another 5, I bet 350 and he folds.

Q5s, BB, I call the min raise from zschneider - flop a flush draw and I bet into it 250 chips. flop is 776, hopefully an ugly flop for him. My play works and he folds to me.

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

Those wins I just picked up push me up to 2655 chips. 11 still remain.

crap, Sb, folds
AJo, button, I steal the blinds
Q9o, cutoff, folds
72s, UTG, folds
K4o, BB, folds to raise
J8o, SB, folds

down to 10 as I fold my crappy button hand.

I have 2655 as we drop to 1 table, with 75/150 blinds for 7 more minutes.

T3o, cutoff, folds

I am 5th out of the final 10 in chips. Short stack has 760, then 1545/1500. The 3 biggest stacks surround me, 5725/4330 to my left, 4790 to my right.

crap, cutoff-1, folds - Mean_Foot(790) all in, crazzychet calls(he has 4000 left) and joeystew also calls. AK/AQ/99... AK/AQ end up splitting when the board puts up trips and an ace. Down to 9. I remain 5th in the mix.

crap, MP, folds - WOW, the two biggest stacks go all in against each other... full house vs flush. Down to 8, the #2 stack is gone. tejasbabe to my left has 12582 chips now. I am 4th out of 8 remaining.

TT, UTG - I open raise to 450 - zschneider re-raises to 1900. he's played very well all tourney. I say in chat "no way I'm beter than 50/50 here" and fold. He shows aces.

K8s, BB - free flop 4 way - flop misses me terribly and I don't fight it. Q-high flop, AQ ends up taking down a big one

J3s, SB, folds

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - 1 hr break

The UTG loss and the blinds passing me knock me down to 1980 in chips w/ 200 BB coming up. I like the setup though, one giant stack, two big stacks and 5 of us fighting it out for the other money spots. I feel I play well in this situation. Not as well as if I'd won that TT hand or won the blinds or whatever, but still.

Chipcount/table order(starting to my left):

TejasBabe - 12,657
zschneider - 5680
Hollywood14 - 4405
joeystew1 - 1843
tahoeDog24 - 1185
ZekeT11 - 930
easyfold - 1320
radii - 1980 - I remain 4th, but not feeling great about that itself.

tejasbabe and zschneider were at my table the whole time. TejasBabe played a lot of hands, played agressively but knew when to get out of the way. zschneider was pretty tight/very agressive, had the best hand most every time he played. He's the one that layed down top pair vs my AA very early on.

K3o, button, folds - joeystew setals the blinds to go up to 2143

77, cutoff - easyfold goes all in befoer me... I'll raise w/ 77 but od I call an all-in with it? 50/50 at best right? Not good enough for a call. I fold

K6o, cutoff-1, folds
83o, MP, folds
74o, UTG+1, folds

Key Hand
AQs, UTG, I open-raise to 700. Big stack calls me. I flop a four flush and that's good enough for me. I'm all in. I get called by pocket Jacks, and I am out 8th

Bad move on a draw? Or with AQs vs JJ late at the final table am I just doomed there? If I check, he goes all in and I think I have to call w/ overcards and flush draw.

Radii

07-27-2004, 05:36 PM

It took another 10 minutes before they got into the money, the blinds were 150/300 when it happened, it turned into a crapshoot between the small stacks.

Also, looking at the odds, I was still 50/50 on that flop w/ the flush darw and overcards... in that chip position, wanting to get in a position to win and not just hope to limp into 5th, I'd make that move again.

I'm happy with my play in all 3 of these, it'll come. playing one more tonight.

dixieflatline

07-27-2004, 05:49 PM

Also, looking at the odds, I was still 50/50 on that flop w/ the flush darw and overcards... in that chip position, wanting to get in a position to win and not just hope to limp into 5th, I'd make that move again.

Yeah you were the favorite there and I think you had good reason to count the ace and maybe the queen as good as well so that combined with the chance that he is going to fold if you push make good sense. Good laydowns with the TT and 77 BTW.

Radii

07-27-2004, 06:31 PM

Ok, one last try, probably my last poker before the trip. A top 2 finish puts me above $2500 on the month, anything less and I'm down a bit I believe.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

K6o, cutoff-1, folds
T9o, cutoff-2, folds

one guy is having lots of lag problems. Lets home he goes out early. 4 minutes in we're on our 2nd hand.

A4o, MP, folds
92o, UTG+2, folds
Q4s, UTG+1, folds
K5o, UTG, folds
A5o, BB, 4-way action, I fold on a bad flop

Key Hand
KK, SB - one limp, then a min-raise to 30. I re-raise to 100 chips. the limiper calls, the raiser folds. Q46 flop. I bet 300 chips into the 245 pot. Opponent goes all in. Here's hoping he has AQ and not a set. Even better. He has 65. The turn? a 5. Oh man. That is so painful. The board doesn't pair for me, I don't hit a king. I'm over 3:1 to win on that flop.

I'm down to 185 chips after that.

94o, button, folds
crap, cutoff/cutoff-1, folds

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

A4s, MP, folds

now after that beat I need the disclipline to try to wait for a hand to dobule up on and not to go all in on A4 on a full table.

52o, MP, folds
A9o, UTG+2, folds
42o, UTG+1, folds
Q6s, UTG, folds

Key Hand
AJs, BB - the same guy that broke me with 65 raises to 60. I re-raise all in and we are heads up for all my chips pre-flop. He shows? 97o. The flop? 955. No help to me and I am out 30th.

Holy shit.

Radii

07-28-2004, 01:06 AM

End of July Update

I'm away from poker until next Monday night, so this is it for the month.

In July I got in a large number of 2/4 hands, and feel I can be solidly profitable multi-tabling limit poker at a level that, while not world-beating, noticibly helps me out financially. If I had the straight out disclipline to play 10 hours a week, nothing but 4 2/4 tables, the potential is there to pull in $500/mo extra money on an average month.

I also got bit hard by the multi-table tourney bug, and that is not something that is profitable for me right now. I would like to have/develop the disclipline to only play things that are either a) profitable now (single table sit n' gos really is it outside the ring games) or b) are a very minimal hit to my bankroll with the potential fora large payout($11 rebuy satellites into the big Sunday pokerstars tourneys). I need to buckle down and not give away as much in these things as I did this month.

Another change is coming in August. Kiddo starts school again. That changes everyone's schedules. Last school year I got up at ~6:45 w/ oliegirl and kiddo and played poker until about 8:45 when time to leave for work. I intend to do that again this year. I hope I find that the limit games are suitably juicy at that time oft he morning. That is something that will start up in the 2nd week of August.

Current Bankroll UPdate

InterCasino: $101
PokerStars: $364
Neteller: $382
PartyPoker: $1478

NET: $2325

Cashed Out: $100

It leaves me a little low this month, since I ended up waffling so much and not ending up ahead of my $2500 baseline, but I transferred some money to RPI-Fan through pokerstars and he paypal'd me the cash. I'm not going to bother putting that back into the poker account, it's going towards a bill.

August's goal is very, very clear. Give back a bare minimum of my profits in multi-table tourneys. I wanna play them, and I think it's +EV in the logn run to play them and get better at them, but it makes no sense whatsoever to make $50 at ring games and then lose $30 in a MTT. I have OOTP :P If the ring games get tiring I need ot just log off if I'm not way ahead and can really, really afford to take a shot at a small MTT.

I think a fair goal is hoping to have $3000 by the end of August, and to be playing 1 3/6 table amongst my 4 tables that I play. But poker happens in runs, and if I'm not on a good enough run to get to $3000, Im' not going to worry, as long as I'm playing well, and not giving money back.

Subby

07-28-2004, 09:00 AM

Radii - what is your overall record/stats in tourney play now (including single table)? Seems like you have just had a few bad beats lately, but overall have been playing strongly...

Radii

07-28-2004, 09:54 AM

Here's the 3-table results, I hadn't played any in awhile so I had to go back and find my last update on them.

Updated Stats

Entered: 20
Entry Fees paid: $660
1st: 1
2nd: 0
3rd: 1
4th: 2
5th: 2

ITM%: 30%
Money Won: $900
ROI: 36%

That's after not making the money any in my last 4 tourneys.

I've also picked up the occasional $10 SnG, but i usually play a couple of those at a time and don't write them up. but I do load them all into pokertracker.

$10+$1 SNG:

28 entered

2 first
5 second
7 third

Entry Fees paid: $308
In the Money: 50%
Money Won: $390

ROI: 27%

The single table SNG's were driving me crazy yesterday. I had a stretch of 5 straight 2nd place finishes. In every single one of them I had the chip lead at some point during heads up play. KK losing to QJ when we were 50/50 in chips was the highlight of that. From my reading on the 2+2 board I see people talking about having a lot of 1sts and a lot of 3rds and the fewest seconds... basically, once inthe money, going for the win, and never just trying to survive til 2nd. I put myself ina great position to do just that but didn't get the wins.

Anyway, the single and 3-table SNG's I'm comfortable with for sure, and you're right, it does seem like in the past few 3-tables I've played well and gotten my money in as big favorites and taken a bad hit.

The multi-table tourneys are where I haven't kept good enough records, and have been losing a lot. I made the money in only 1 MTT during July, and I probably entered 10-15 of them, some of them as high as $50(but only 1 or 2 or those), many of them in the $5-$20 range. That is clearly a very, very, very negative return. That's where I have to control my leaks in the coming months. That is why I'm trying to set a specific goal in the MTT field. Play cheap satellites into the big Sunday pokerstars tourney. I'm outlaying as little money as possible, and the payoff should I have a good showing is huge.

I'll continue to update my stats on any tournament I play in from here on out, not keeping track of the MTT's obviously let me leak out more than I would were I recording exactly how much money I was putting into them.

Subby

07-28-2004, 12:46 PM

Radii

07-28-2004, 01:01 PM

Aside from the bigger prize money, it just seems that there is too much of a random element to the multitable tourneys. You have a nice earn rate with the 3 tables and single table tourneys - unless you are just bored out of your mind, it seems like they are the most profitable.

who knows, really. Clearly, I go all over the map in terms of the games I play, but I really feel at this point I'll always come back to the multi-tabling limit games. I think a part of me badly wants to be able to enter a $200 entry fee tournament, or to win an entry, and have a shot at placing well in the money and taking home thousands. The lure of the big score, etc. I am consciously willing to sacrafice a little EV in the short run to see if I can improve to the point that I am a threat in these types of tournaments.

I also wanted to thank you, because as a result of your dynasty I have tightened up a bit and stopped playing Axo so much during my single table play. Those hands are rarely profitable during the large part of the tourney and have really been eating me up. I also tried the "betting half the pot" strategy and came away with some success last night.

And thanks to you and the other readers for keeping me accountable for my play and helping me improve my tournament game ;)

Ax was one of the first things I fixed in terms of my limit play, i've viewed A9o and below with serious disdain ever since. They just get me in too much trouble. I don't like them even in the middle/late stages or a tourney but I'm learning to suck it up and get my money in anyway b/c it's very likely the best hand.

the half the pot strategy is something I'll toy with more. On Party 800 chips in a SnG or 1000 chips in a 3-table or MTT just doesn't go very far. Raise to 60 pre-flop, bet the pot on the flop and if more than 1 person has called and you don't have the best hand you're in serious trouble.

There are defintely people who see the less than the pot bet as a weak bet and play back with nothing, but I think most people will still fold to your agression if they haven't hit something they like.

I read about that on 2+2, I read the limit holdem section, then i read either the SNG or MTT sections, I read someone talking about how much more precious chips are in a tournament, saying that he felt in most cases you don't have to bet the entire pot,b/c the other person values his chips a lot more as well.

If I do have a legit hand, and there's a draw on the board, I'll bet bigger, I don't want anyone feeling like they've got the odds to try to draw out on me, but in most normal situations where I'm the agressor, I think I'll keep trying the half-pot bet and see how it works for me for awhile.

Radii

08-03-2004, 01:33 AM

Too tired to play when I got home tonight, but, I have a $100 bonus at partypoker waiting for me, and a $90 bonus at intercasino Poker for August waiting for me, so I should get into the black early in the month with those two. I have tomorrow off work, and have a couple of things to take care of but am looking forward to a couple solid 4-tabling sessions on partypoker to get back into the swing of things.

Radii

08-03-2004, 05:12 PM

After getting my ass beat for about 400 hands earlier in the day(played well, good hands just got crushed repeatedly), I took a break and am going to now play a 3-table tourney to get back into the action, I'll finish up my bonus in ring game play later tonight most likely.

I notice that they've added $50 2 table tourneys and $5 3-table tourneys on top of the $30 3-tables that I've been playing for awhile... for now I'm sticking with the $30 3-tables though.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

I open up at table #2.

J8s, cutoff, folds after just 1 limp and a raise(not enough people coming along for those implied odds)
53o, cutoff-1, folds - someone bluffs all in with AQs(ace high) on the river and is called by J2o(top pair on a scary scary board with the jack)... interesting hand. BunBoy1 called with the jack and has 2100 chips to my direct left.

crap, MP, folds. bunboy loses a ton when he flops 3 3's with J3o, ends up all in with ldmouth who has JJ... a jack comes on the river and ldmouth hit is single out.

crap, MP, folds - bunboy wins a big hand with K4(king high) against EZisBACK's J7(jack high)... I dunno what is happening here but I'm playing tight and letting these fish amass chips. Should be able to take them the first time i have a hand.

72s, UTG+1, folds

75o, UTG, folds

with 3 people berating each other's play, incision said "finally I can talk again, after having been muted by partypoker for 5 days" or something to that effect. can't wait to hear what he has to say, assuming he got banned from chat for something for a time.

42s, BB, fold on the flop

QTs, SB, limp into a 5 way pot. Flop comes Q94, two diamonds. I lead out for 75 chips, the pot size, and 2 of hte arguing fish are in the hand with me. I get 3 callers. The turn is another 9, and I bet 150 chips. I am called by tjworth. The river is a blank, and I decide to check, and call a small bet but fold to a large one. tjworth checks and has T5s, he rivered bottom pair on me... WTF? he didn't have the flush draw.

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

5 are out, I have 1420 in chips.

KTo, folded to all in(300 raise)

AQo, cutoff, incision limps and I raise to 60(3x the blind). bunboy, ldmouth, and incision call. Flop comes Q87, two clubs. I have the ace of clubs. ldmouth bets out 50(he seems a decent player, but I would be surpised if I don't hve him beat). incision calls, 360 in the pot. I raise to 400. That's enough to take the pot. Bunboy has been playing like shit and I hoped I could get him all in there. (he called that all in raise last hand with 82o).

I am up to 1720 with that hand.

when questioned on his 82o play he says "dont no what was going on kinda out of it. Sorry"

interesting.

KQo, with limpers before me I just limp, not wanting to push this hard, I'll flop something big or fold. HMMM. bunboy raises to 85. everyone folds to me, I can call for 65 chips and kill the betting. If he has a good hand I could be in trouble though if I hit. I call. The flop misses me totally and I have no interest in this hand anymore. 865, two diamonds. Bunboy shows A6 diamonds.

QQ, UTG+1, I open-raise to 80 chips. the 3 right behind me call. AJ8 flop. I bet 200 into the 350 pot, the last chips I'm putting into this hand unless I catch a queen. The turn is a 9, and we check it around. The river is a 2nd ace. TJworth bets 600 chips, and I yield to him. ldmouth re-raises all in... A4 vs A7, they chop.

down to 1355 on those two hands.

Q4s, UTG, folds

Key Hand
Q3o, BB, free flop 6 handed. flop comes Q83 rainbow. A very good hand for me but a dangerous one too. I bet 75, 2 call, incision goes all in for 355 more. do I call or re-raise myself? I call. the other two fold. Incision shows QT, I have a lead but he's got outs. He hits, but not the way I expect... running j/9 for a straight...

Level 3, 15/30 blinds

crap, SB, folds

I have 890 after I fold my SB. 22 remain.

incision says "sorry" for putting the bad beat on me with that straight, and people ask why he's sorry, he won! interesting table really. Not that I'd say sorry necessarily, or care if he didn't say anything, I'm not the chatty type at the table, but the way people comment is weird here.

T7o, button, folds

AJo, cutoff, EZisBACK raises to 125, and while he's done some questionable things before he's played very well to get back up to 1000+ chips, I don't want to call a raise from him with AJ, I fold this one. EZ wins w/ a big flop bet

K2o, cutoff-1, folds
54o, UTG+1, folds

7 people at my table now, dropping to 2 tables any minute now.

T2o, UTG, folds

down to 2 tables. 19 remain.

64o, BB, folds
87o, SB, folds
Q5o, button, folds
K2s, cutoff, folds

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

A8s, cutoff-1, folds

19 remain, 10 at my table. I'm one of the short stacks, one guy has 560, 5 including me have in the 800 range, and a couple are over 2000.

T4o, MP, folds

EZisBack raises bunboy all in, K9o vs 66... EZ either sucks or let bunboy tilt him to death. EZ is gone either way.

17 remain, 8 at my table now after EZ goeso ut and one gets moved.

A2o, UTG, folds
83o, BB, fold to a 400 chip raise.
Q6o, SB, folds

770 after those blinds

Tough decision
A very tight player in acorn9187 raises to 200 pre-flop. I haven't seen him play many hands, and when he does, he plays them hard. I have AJs on the button. What to do? I figure I can't cold-call this and I didn't want to re-raise a tight player all in here... so I folded. turns out(as someone else called and went all in on the flop) that he also had AJs, other guy had 88. a jack hit and acorn knocks him out. Thoughts on this hand? Acorn got moved from table 3 here when we dropped to 20 so I haven't seen him too often, but he's been selectively agressive from what I can tell.

crap, cutoff, folds
98s, cutoff-1, folds
K3o, MP, folds
54o, UTG+1, folds
Q3o, UTG, folds

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

Q5o, BB, fold to800 pre-flop raise
93o, SB, folds

Now I'm in trouble. 620 chips left after the fold. 15 remain still, 8 at my table. I am getting to all in/fold pre-flop time now, knowing that 1 double up won't even get me to the final table.

97o, button, folds
64s, cutoff, folds

Key hand
A6s, cutoff-1 - kevdoggy raises to 200. blinds coming in 3 hands, this is an all in situation for me I believe... if I fold I get too short stacked to do anything when the blindshit. He has AT, but I hit a 6, and I survive.

Key Hand
AKo, MP - I raise to 300 pre-flop. acorn calls me. Flop comes 886. He checks, and I go all in. 1000 into a 700 pot. He waits, waits, waits, types in "overcards?", I say nothing. Waits, waits, time running down. "you're on overcards" ... "but I can't risk 1K" and folds. I don't show, I say "small pair?" he says "of course" and I say "good fold :)" and that was that. :D

couple of crap hands folded, BB/SB

Key Hand
AJs, MP - kevdoggy all in for 230 pre-flop. I call as does murdock24. Flop is very pretty. Jxx, two fo my suit. I go all in, murdock folds. kev shows A4s and doesn't his his miracle running 4s... I win the pot.

another BB folded, flying by now.

K8s, folded to all in raise. AQ vs AQ, I woulda won on a king but alas.

A3s, button, I open-raise to 300 and steal the blinds

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

J4o, BB, folds

A9o, SB, I raise to 300, bunboy comes over the top all in and I give it up. BLEH.

50/100 was very good to me. 12 remain starting this level, 6 at each table, and I have 1860 chips after the blinds pass me.

1860 is below average but enough to live on for now.

85o, UTG, folds
86o, BB, folded to me, hooray
64o, SB, folds

few hands folded as we finally fall to 10 people, one guy going all in 4 straight hands before getting busted finally.

FINAL TABLE

I skip my SB and will start in the cutoff as 10 remain.

avg stack is 3000, my 1710 is good for next to last at the table. Blinds go up to 100/200 very soon and I think these are mainly solid players, I'm going to need a lot of luck to cash here.

A5o, cutoff, folds
K7o, cutoff-1, folds

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - hour break

table starting to my left:

sundreammer - 5322
capper84 - 2757
acorn9187 - 4173
bigjake10 - 2564
bhoward19 - 2530
GLG1954 - 2508
bunboy1 - 2252
joshisgood - 4622
princeisiah - 1562
radii - 1710

Key hand

first hand back:

Let me look back a few posts. How long ago was it that I lost AK vs AQ to a straight to go out of a 3 table? I raise to 500 with AK. re-raised all in by acorn. I say "coin flip? GL" and call. He shows AQ. board comes 789TJ. I play the board, his queen gives him a higher straight. Motherfucker. Again.

I go out 10th instead of doubling up + some to a very playable 3800ish chips. Fucking amazing. Just fucking amazing.

Entered: 21
Entry Fees paid: $693
1st: 1
2nd: 0
3rd: 1
4th: 2
5th: 2

ITM%: 28.5%
Money Won: $900
ROI: 29.8%

cannot believe I went out that way again.

big losing day so far today, but a $100 bonus on party and an upcoming bonus on intercasino will help out soon.

Subby

08-04-2004, 10:30 AM

Tough decision
A very tight player in acorn9187 raises to 200 pre-flop. I haven't seen him play many hands, and when he does, he plays them hard. I have AJs on the button. What to do? I figure I can't cold-call this and I didn't want to re-raise a tight player all in here... so I folded. turns out(as someone else called and went all in on the flop) that he also had AJs, other guy had 88. a jack hit and acorn knocks him out. Thoughts on this hand? Acorn got moved from table 3 here when we dropped to 20 so I haven't seen him too often, but he's been selectively agressive from what I can tell.
I think you made the right play here. If I read TPFAP correctly, Sklansky thinks that AJ is a great hand to raise with, but a bad hand to call a raise with...what was his stack in comparison to yours? Were you ahead of him at that point? I guess if he was short-stacked it might be worth putting him all in, but I am guessing he wasn't.

I don't see the point on risking a sizeable percentage of your stack on calling a big pre-flop raise with AJ. Especially at that point in the tourney.

Tough beat on the final table...those will eventually swing your way, though.

Radii

08-04-2004, 12:43 PM

I think you made the right play here. If I read TPFAP correctly, Sklansky thinks that AJ is a great hand to raise with, but a bad hand to call a raise with...what was his stack in comparison to yours? Were you ahead of him at that point? I guess if he was short-stacked it might be worth putting him all in, but I am guessing he wasn't.

I don't see the point on risking a sizeable percentage of your stack on calling a big pre-flop raise with AJ. Especially at that point in the tourney.

Tough beat on the final table...those will eventually swing your way, though.

IIRC, I had about 750 in chips, the blinds were 25/50, the other guy had me severely outstacked.

I felt at the time it was a pretty easy fold, but after the fact I wondered since the blinds were 25/50 and going up to 50/100 shortly and I was down to about 750... wondering if that was my best shot.

I wasn't too annoyed about going out of the tourney yesterday, after the intial cussing at how it happened. But it was on top of a pretty big losing session at 2/4 (down about $170, was getting a lot of hands that you either win a lot with or lose a lot with, and I was losing... trips losing multiple times, etc).

I closed the night last night messing around with 7 card stud on intercasino, and won about $15 in addition to getting pretty close to the $90 bonus I can pick up there. In the next couple of days I will finish the intercasino bonus and the partypoker bonus, which, if I can win just a little on top of that, should put me back over $2500.

Radii

08-04-2004, 10:38 PM

Done with the InterCasino bonus for the month. I deposited $200 Tuesday, I just cashed out $397.

My first day back on partypoker was so bad that I think I am still down in the early stages of the month despite that. But it's probably close enough that the $100 bonus I need to finish at party will push me ahead. Of course, it's only August 4th, but its always nice to be ahead :) (neteller is slow right now so I can't get an exact count)

Subby

08-05-2004, 08:17 AM

How does the InterCasino bonus work? Is that the place that pays you to play a certain number of raked hands each month?

Malificent

08-05-2004, 09:31 AM

Intercasino now provides a 100% match up to $90, which you have to play 5 x raked hands in order to unlock it (so 450 for the $90).

Radii

08-05-2004, 10:00 AM

What malificient said. I don't really like the site very much, but $90/month in a fairly easy bonus to work off is just too easy and too good to pass up no matter what. It's certainly a better site than Pacific and some of the other crappy ones I've earned bonuses on.

Radii

08-05-2004, 10:12 AM

My first day back on partypoker was so bad that I think I am still down in the early stages of the month despite that. But it's probably close enough that the $100 bonus I need to finish at party will push me ahead.

This statement was exactly correct. Still down a little bit on the month but the $100 bonus at party combined with not losing money at the tables will push me back ahead :P Not a very good start to the month, but nothing at all that can't be overcome. Oliegirl is going to a concert tonight and I'm on babysitting duty for kiddo and one of his friends, but once I corral them and get them into bed I should be able to work off most of what I have left of the party bonus at the 2/4 tables, time to get in the black, and stay there for the month :0

I also have a $120 bonus at pokerstars looming. Still debating whether to go after that hard at the ring games, or just eventually get it w/ the tournament fees I pay here and there(I have had a bad history with pokerstars ring games, but I am a much better player now than I used to be).

Radii

08-05-2004, 09:04 PM

I join a $5+$0.50 NL Multi-table tourney, obviously not to strike it rich, but just to get some practice cheaply, I don't really feel like a lot of limit right now. There's a $11 rebuy tourney w/ $20K guarenteed later, I'll either play that or play some limit assuming I don't last a looong time in this one.

1500 chips per person, 15 minute levels. 1500+ entrants, info after late registration closes

Level 1 - 10/20 blinds

A8o, MP, fold
75o, MP, folds

1515 people have entered. 135 places pay. 100-135 pay $7.57. First pays $1742.

J9s, MP, I limp hoping to get in cheap, and fold to a raise pre-flop to 200.
62o, UTG+1, folds
92o, UTG, folds
J3o, BB, folds to raise pre-flop - debwad all in w/ A7 when an ace hit. called by AK. 7 on the river.

Key Hand
AKo, SB - one limp, a min raise, one caller to that - and I re-raise to 160. two call. Flop misses totally. Txx. I lead out betting 300 into the 520 pot, the last money I'll put in. both my opponents fold.

I have 1820 chips after that, a nice win for level 1.

K7o, button, folds
J6o, cutoff, folds
T4s, cutoff-1, folds
32o, MP, folds
K8o, MP, folds
84s, UTG+1, folds
98o, UTG, folds

Level 2 - 15/30 blinds

I have 1820 after the first level. 1335 of the original 1515 remain, and its dropping every second.

J8o, BB, free 3-way flop, I don't play at it when i miss.
96s, SB, wanted to see a flop for 1/2 a bet, but there's a raise to 120. Fold.

77, button - I limp and we're 5 way. The flop is interesting. 689, all hearts. I have a heart. A made flush may be slowplaying me, and I'm not 100% sure of the right play here when it gets checked to me. I decide to bet the pot, I bet 150 chips. I win the pot right there.

42o, cutoff, folds
52o, cutoff-1, folds

87s, MP, I limp after a couple before me also limp, and we get 6 way action. I flop an inside straight draw only, and I fold to a 60 chip bet(with 180 in the pot).

K9o, UTG+2, folds

Key Hand
JTs, UTG+1, another limp on my part, and another cheap flop. Flop comes Q58, two clubs. This time I call the 60 chip bet on the flop. I miss my draw, and I make a pretty dumb mistake. I decide to call a 120 chip bet on the turn. I fold when I miss my draws on the river, and regret the turn call. My opponent was too short stacked to make that gamble worth if, and chips in a tourney are precious. I know this. I just don't play like it sometimes.

T2s, BB, fold to a raise pre-flop.
J9s, SB, I limp and then fold to a 300 chip raise from the BB

I am down to 1595 in chips after the key hand above and the blinds.

A3o, button, folds
J6o, cutoff, folds

87s, MP, limp into 5-way action. These hands are good to play for cheap early on right? flop comes 256, one of my suit. straight draw/backdoor flush. There's a min bet I'm happy to call, then a 250 chip raise I'm happy to fold to.

K5s, MP, folds
76o, UTG+2, folds

Level 3- 25/50 blinds

The misplayed JTs and a few limps that go nowhere drop me to 1565 as the blinds increase going into level 3.

I am 640th out of 1082 going into the level, no problems but I need to improve some by the break.

K5s, UTG+1, folds
74o, UTG, folds
87o, BB, folds to a PF raise

Key Hand
AJs, SB - a guy that just took a bad beat raises all in for $315 more of my chips. Do I call this? I do. Guess he wasn't tilting. He shows AA and wins. I wouldn't have even considered it had he not just lost a big hand on a pertty bad beat.

I fall to 1175 chips after that loss

JTo, button, folds
95o, cutoff, folds
53s, cutoff-1, folds ricky_jsmes goes all in again(with a lot more chips this time) and shows A9o(against AKs). Oh well.
K2s, MP, folds
T2s, UTG+1, folds
64s, UTG, folds
93o, BB, free flop, comes A94. 4 others in the hand. I don't think I can play for this out of position with 2nd pair/ass kicker. I check/fold to a large bet.
74o, SB, folds
Q9o, button, folds
Q7o, cutoff, folds

Key Hand
TT, cutoff-1 - there's a min raise by debwad(to 100), I re-raise to 300 chips. Debwad in the early levels was playing all kinds of crap, so I don't know what to put her on here. debwad is the only caller to my raise. Flop comes 234, two hearts. debwad bets the minimum, and I go all-in for my remaining 800 chips. debwad calls quickly. AQo, with one heart. a 5/queen/ace/running hearts beat me. Turn is a 6, river a ten. I hit trips and double up!

xx, MP, folds
xx, MP, folds

QQ, UTG+1, I open-raise to 200 chips. I steal the blinds.

J5o, UTG+1, folds

Level 4 - 50/100 blinds

I have 2350 in chips when the level goes up, 404 out of the 860 remaining.

A6o, BB - free flop heads up w/ the button. Flop comes 789, 250 in the pot, butotn has 250 left. I bet enough to put the button all in. he folds.

crap, SB, folds

88, button, 3 limp before me... do I raise/call/fold this? with 3 limpers I decide I'm going to play this for a set and I just call. Flop comes T75, and I get 10:1 odds on a 100 chip bet, I make another call. The turn is an ace and I fold to a large bet. 57 and A7 all in against each other there.

Key Hand
AJs, cutoff - I open-raise to 300 chips. The button is my only caller. Flop comes 3 low cards, 2 diamonds(my suit). He has me outstacked by just a bit. What do you do? I bet the pot, well, 700 into the 750 pot. He folds. Too much? Good move on a crappy board when I took the lead pre-flop?

Key Hand
AKs, MP - I open-raise again to 300 chips. I steal the blinds.

K6o, MP, folds

I am moved to table 145(from table 8, they don't systematically break down tables like on partypoker).

85o, BB, fopld to 3x raise.

4 4000+ stacks at this table. Not much weakness here.

Jto, SB, folds
T6o, button, folds

ATs, cutoff - A big stack UTG makes a 3x blind raise. The table seems overly agresive but this is just my 4th hand... I decide to fold to him. He ends up winning on the turn w/ a nice bet.
K7o, cutoff-1, folds
J5o, cutoff-2, folds
J2o, UTG+1, folds

about 5 minutes til the break, which is good b/c I have two very anxious children in the apartment waiting for me to set up the tent they are sleeping in tonight.

82s, UTG, folds
T6o, BB, free flop heads up, which comes AK8, I am more than happy to fold that.

Key Hand
88, SB, I limp when two big stacks limp bfore me. THe flop comes 456, and I bet the pot(400 chips) and win it there. Should I raise pre-flop?

Key Hand
76s, button. Folded to me and I open-raise to 300. The BB calls(doh). Flop comes T42, we both check. The turn is a quene. BB checks to me, and I bet 500 chips, a pretty big bluff here, hoping it comes off and glamgrl(BB) folds. He thinks for quite some time, and finally does. A nice win for me at the break.

Level 5 - 75/150 blinds - 1 hr break

668 remain at the break. Avg stack is 3401, and I have 3250. I am 364 out of the 668 that remain. I am 5th out of 9 at my table.

I have to sit for an orbit to get the munchkins into bed. I miss a BB/SB while I'm sitting and come back with 3025 chips on the button.

44, button, fold to large PF raise.
T9o, cutoff, folds

Under 600 remain. I am 322nd out of 592.

QJo, cutoff-1, folds

Key Hand
AKo, MP - I open-raise to 450. a short stack re-raises all in, 675 more for me. I gotta call that. He turns over ATo. J53 flop. 2 turn. (no 4 plz). Oh bullshit. Come on. COME ON. 4 on the river. I guess it's better than a 10. We split the BB.

I have 3100 chips still. You have to get lucky to place well in MTT's right? That is decidedly not getting lucky. Ugh.

crap, MP, folds
96o, UTG+1, folds
T7o, UTG, folds
J8o, BB, folds to raise
T5o, SB, folds - a 3K stack raises the min, a 2K stack is all in... call, and AT vs AK again. AK sucks, remembeR? Ten on the flop.

Level 6 - 100/200 blinds

I have 2875 chips now after 1h 15m of play. I am 325 out of the 536 remaining, and 1500 under the average stack. I had one great chance to increase my stack last level. I need to find chances to increase it this level too.

82o, button, folds
J6o, cutoff, folds
94o, cutoff-1, folds

Key hand
A3s, MP - it's not great position, but I go ahead and raise with this one(too early to raise out of position w/ ace/bad suited?) - I certainly don't intend to show down that I'm willing to raise out of position with A3s. That idea goes out the window when a short stack calls me. He has 86o(very short stack in the SB). I flop an ace and win the pot, up to 3320 in chips before the blinds hit.

crap, UTG+1 and UTG, folded

K9o, BB - folded to a large raise pre-flop

a guy w/ a Teddy KGB icon sits next to a guy w/ matt damon's icon. The rounders quoting begins. Big time, dear god. :)

T5o, SB, folds

KQo, button - I fold to a pre-flop raise.. I have the guy outstacked but not by enough, if I call there (even tho the raise was just 3x) I feel like I'm committing 1800 of my 3000 chips.

Key Hands
AKo in the cutoff. Two big stacks limp. 900 in the pot now. I raise to 1000. I win the pot.
99, cutoff-1, I open-raise to 600 chips. I win the blinds.

Those two are nice, gaining me 1000 chips. Up to 4020. 250th out of 441.

crap, folded
JTo, UTG+2, folds
Q9o, UTG+1, folds

aannnnd, fittingly, teddyKGB knocks out matt damon. A7 vs KQs pre-flop, neither improve.

Key hand
QTo, BB - free 4-way flop. Hrrm. KJT flop. bottom pair/straight draw. I bet the pot, 800 chips. The big stack at the table, teddyKGB comes back at me all in. I think for a long time, 3000 chips is still enough to do damage. I fold. Bad play? Too agressive on that flop? don't bet the draw if I'm not willing to go all in on it? I'm unsure here.

crap, SB, folds

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - 25 antes

2895 chips remaining. After the loss on the last hand I am now 302nd out of 399 remaining.

95s, button, folds

Key Hand
A6o, cutoff - I open-raise to 600, hoping to steal. glamgrl goes all in over me. I have to fold. glamgrl shows me QQ.

crap, cutoff-1, folds

After those two laydowns I now have 2245 in chips left. Bleh. Now I'm low enough that any pot I enter pot commits me.

J7o, MP, folds
Q9s, UTG+2, folds
Q4o, UTG+1, folds
Q8o, UTG, folds
65s, BB, folds to a raise pre-flop
84o, SB, folds

1795 after the blinds+antes lately.

T2s, button, folds
97o, cutoff, folds
54o, cutoff-1, folds
A3o, MP, folds - anyone go all in here? 1695 left, blinds 4 hands aawy and will be 200/400.

Key Hand
A5o, UTG+2 - all in. 1670 left. I'm likely to only get called by better hands here, but I'm out of time to make anything meaningful happen. If I let the blinds hit, I have 1000 chips left. ANyone not go all in here?

Anyway, I get called by AK. A fleeting high as a 5 hits on the flop, crushed by a king on the river. I am out 317th. Thoughts on any and all key hands are much appreciated. I feel there were 3-4 hands I played dead wrong, would like other thoughts from those that take the time to read the whole thing.

Radii

08-06-2004, 01:11 AM

longest post ever incoming.

Radii

08-06-2004, 01:12 AM

I fall to the lure of the MTT, wanting another reasonably cheap tourney to enter tonight, I want to play better here than I did in the last one.

This is a $10+$1 rebuy NL tourney. $20,000 guarenteed. That's 2000 entries+rebuys+addons. Getting upwards of 700 players I suspect we will have more than $20K by the time we're done rebuying anyway.

Yeah, 20K will be no problem here. 1000ish with late registration still going on, and lots re-buy right away.

Level 1 - 10/20 blinds

Remember, we have an hour til the end of the rebuy period.

Key Hand
KTo, SB - I limp and we are 3-handed. Flop comes KQ4. I bet the pot and get raised to 120 chips. I call. Turn is a 9. I call a 120 bet. River another 9. So many people go crazy here in a rebuy tourney. I may well get called by a large # of hands I can beat. I represent the 9 and go all in. I'm called by pocket 4s, that's a full house for him. I rebuy. Whee.

KQo, button - I limp/fold to a terrible flop and a big bet.
97o, cutoff, folds
KQo, cutoff-2, I limp again and we see a flop 8 handed. Yup, 8. Flop misses, I'm gone.
K3o, MP, folds

1036 entries. 533 rebuys already.

A6o, UTG+1, folds
87o, UTG, folds

Key Hand
TT, BB - I figure I have a chance to win big here... if I catch a ten. but nope, no 8 handed pot this time. I bet a little(80 chips) into a 246 all diamonds board, but fold when there's a large re-raise behind me. And one of the guys was just hunting the big payday... A6o. The other? flopped the flush. Glad I got out.

J6o, SB, folds
75o, button, folds
92o, cutoff, folds

Level 2 - 15/30 blinds

K2o, MP, folds

I sit with 1350 chips. 877th out of 989 remaining. 732 rebuys have occured. I would really like to make a big hand or two before the rebuy monkeys can't rebuy anymore.

Key Hand
J8s, MP - I'll limp with this 5-way and try to hit big. Flop comes KT9, two of my suit. Not bad at all. We check the flop around. Turn makes my straight, and puts two of a different suit out there. I bet the pot, 150, and all four fold. OH COME ON. First I hit top pair and am up against 1 of the 2 at the table that isn't a rebuy monkey? And now I hit a straight and have a flush draw and can't get any action from 5 players? Arrrr.

A9o, UTG+1, limp then fold to a 1500 all in.
K7o, UTG, folds
K9o, BB, folds to 300 raise PF
T2o, SB, folds
crap, button/cutoff, folded
Q4o, cutoff-1, folds
K9o, UTG+2, folds

Key Hand
JTs, UTG+2 - i call the min raise from UTG. we somehow get heads up on the flop(where are my 5 way pots?) flop comes T87, all diamonds, not my suit obviousyl. i bet the pot and win it. Back to 1500 even before the blinds come around.

Q8o, UTG, folds
53o, BB, folds to raise

Level 3 - blinds 25/50

1470 before the SB hits here, not very good out of the 850ish left, but this is a weird rebuy tourney, I have 30 minutes and can easily make something big happen yet.

K5s, SB, folds to big raise PF.

Key Hand
75s, button - 4 limpers before me, I limp too. Hmmm. I flop 2 pair. 765 flop, two diamonds. Someone immediately goes all in in front of me. He has me covered, but there's many ways I might have him beat. Gotta call. And, I suppose sometimes, you have the same hand. split pot.

54s, cutoff - another big limpy pot. I limp too. This one I'm not going any further in. 3 queens flop.

Key Hand
KTs, cutoff-1 - 3rd limpy hand in a row. well, just 5-way action this time. And this looks familier... KJ6 flop. Top pair, eh kicker. I bet 200 when its checked to me. one calls me. turn is a 9, I bet 350 chips into the 700 pot. River makes the flush, first to act checks, and I check behind him. He had me destroyed on the turn. QTs, and even worse on the river. QT of the flush suit.

Key Hand
QQ, MP - a few limp, and I raise to 300ish in chips. 3 call me. Flop comes 632, two spades. I go all in on the flop. Two call me. I'm playing for 3060 in chips. Turn is another two. More all-ins. I see ace-deuce. Oh man... that's what I wanted to happen on that all in on the flop, and he catches trips? Other guy has T3 for middle pair. river? QUEEN. RARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrraslj;feioa;f hahah. All bad beat stories on hold for awhile. A2 guy, who has rebought at least 4 times, says "nice catch" I respond "you too on the turn there"

I triple up + some to 3060 in chips.

crap, UTG+1, folded
J3o, UTG,folds

A8o, BB - two all ins before me, and I want to call but I of course can't. 99 vs K2. An ace hits the flop and I sigh, knowing I still couldn't call. A king on the turn and a 2 on the river, well, that's the A2 guy from eralier. He loves his 2s.

J8s, SB, folds

BTW, we are well over the $20K guarenteed now. 1036 entries + 1267 rebuys and counting very fast still. $23,000 in the prize pool now.

72s, button, folds

QJo, cutoff, I limp but fold to a re-raise from the SB (who eventually shows QJ unimproved to win the pot)

64s, I'll call that 5 handed(make it 4, BB sitting out folded). I flop a flush draw, and its checked to me. Both of these guys are morethan willing to rebuy so I'm not doing anything against them on a draw if I don't have to. We check it all the way to the river and my flush never comes.

Level 4 - 50/100 blinds

I have 2885 chips at the start of this level. The last rebuy level, with a 2K addon after this. I really don't want to rebuy again, but I don't want to go into the break with a lot less than average chips either. I think I have to be selective this round, but willing to take a risk too, b/c people will be going nuts to try to build their stacks before the break. The average stack will likely be 4500 or more by the break, and most will use their add-on.

After one hand, I get moved and no longer have any idea who the rebuy monkeys vs the guys playing "normal" now are...

J9s, UTG+2, folds
Q7s, UTG+1, folds
Q9o, UTG, folds

K8s, BB, UTG raises to 300. I'll call if lots before me just call, but there's a 2000 raise before me. So I'll fold. AQs vs 99. 99 doubles up.

Key Hand
66, SB - one limps, I raise to 500. I am called by a stack smaller than me. I don't really like the flop much but I am not going to back away from this one when it won't bust me(giving me additional chances to make a move and pick up some more chips). So I put him all in for 1000 more. He folds, pushimg me back up to 3400.

Key Hand
A9s, button - we see a flop 3 handed for the min bet(shoulda raised pre-flop in rebuy mode here?) - flop comes 975, all spades, I of course have no spade. checked to me, I bet the pot, and both players call. The turn is a blank, and I go all-in again here. Both players fold and my two risky moves have paid off in a very nice way.

I have 4435 chips now, just 250 chips or so under the average.

crap, cutoff, folds
83o, cutoff-1, folds
T6o, MP, folds

1 minute until the break/next level. the T6o hand is probably it, and if not it'll take a monster to get me to risk big on the final hand before the break. a 12,000 pot builds here and 3s full of 6s on a 66322 board beats pocket 7s.

Q4o, MP, folds

Level 5 - 75/150 blinds - hr break

With an average stack and a 2000 add-on I feel like I pretty much have to add-on here, and I do, now having put $30 into this tournament. There were over 1700 rebuys between 1036 entries. Off to hang up clothes and see what the avg stack is when I get back.

65o, UTG, folds

I have 6435 chips. Avg is 6800ish. I am 349 out of 802.

K2o, BB, heads up free flop, but i miss the flop, he has me covered, and I'm just not interested.
J3o, SB, folds
73s, button, folds
J3o, cutoff, folds
Q7o, cutoff-1, folds

Key Hand
AA, MP - I open-raise to 450. I am called by WIZ69, a bigger stack than me. KT9 flop. I bet the pot, 1100 on the flop. Decent chance it hit him and I don't want him picking up another card, that's a reasonably scary flop. He does indeed fold and I'm up to 6885 in chips.

crap, UTG+2, folds

A9s, UTG+1, UTG limps and I hope to create a limping chain-reaction. Doesn't work. All-in for 1500 from someone behind me and I can't call 1500 more. fold that pre-flop? raise it? Anyone call the all in? Would leave me w/ 5200 if I lost.

A5o, UTG, folds
87o, BB, fold to a raise
95o, SB, folds

by the way, 1036 entries, 1755 rebuys, 667 add-ons. All for $10 each.

1st = $8645.

Top 99 pay. 82nd-99th pay $51.

Q7o, cutoff, folds
J6s, cutoff-1, folds
97o, MP, folds
K3o, MP, folds
53o, UTG+1, folds

99, UTG, raise 3x to 450 chips, steal the blinds

Level 6 - 100/200 blinds

I have 6735 chips starting the level, but my BB is coming up.

74o, BB, free flop/fold to first opportunity
A4s, SB - folds to a 1500 raise

I am 372nd out of the 688 that remain. Avg stack is 8000. This is where I need the most work in these tourneys now. Finding positions to exploit advantages and making tough decisions in the middle stages after a signifigant portion of the field is gone.

crap, button, folds

Key Hands
A8s, cutoff, 1 limper, I raise to 600 chips. flop comes Q76, I bet 800 into the 1500 pot and win it right there.
A5s, cutoff-1, I open-raise again to 600. The same guy calls as last hand. Flop comes AQJ, I bet the pot(1300) and win it there.

I move tables. There are a lot of stacks in the 7000-9000 range here. One guy three to my left has 14,000 chips. One guy has 3500. The rest are 7K-9K.

J4o, UTG, folds

J8s, BB, folds to raise to 600.
83o, SB, folds

Two guys at this table are talking up all of the times they've made deals at final table, beating their chests quite a bit. WorkingHard and 20nCrAzY.

A4o, button, folds to raise
96o, cutoff, folds
72o, cutoff-1, folds
K9o, MP, folds
J5o, UTG+2, folds

Key Hand
33, UTG+1 - I open-raise to 600. A good enough sized stack calls on the button. I try to bet half the pot on the flop, and he goes all-in on me. I fold and am left with 6300 in chips. I don't like 33. Too early to try this?
crap, UTG, folds

K5s, BB, folds to 600 bet.

Antes starting soon.

T3o, SB, folds

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - 25 antes

I have 6060 in chips, avg is 9452, I am 382nd out of 584.

With all the rebuys I am still in fine shape, 30x the BB in chips.

crap, button, folds

Key Hand
AKo, cutoff - one limp, I raise to 800 and get called. Flop comes QTT, and we both check. Turn is a queen. If he has a small pocket pair he won't call anything, if he has better he'll come over me like crazy... I check. River a 4, we check and he shows me pocket 8s. Shoudl I be more agressive there?

I am back up to 7335 chips with the win.

crap, cutoff-1, folds

62o, MP, folds

AJo, UTG+2, I open-raise to 700 chips and win the blinds/antes.

74o, UTG+1, folds
94s, UTG, folds
J9o, BB, fre flop heads up w/ SB - I flop a straight draw, T8s flop. Call a min bet for 200. Turn is another 8 and we check. River is another ten. I fold to a bet, now I just have a jack kicker to my 2 pair. Considered a bet on the turn butdidn't.

crap, SB, folds

Key Hand
AJo, button - two limp before me. I raise it up to 1000 chips. Both limpers call quickly. Flop comes AKx. DarthVader folds out of turn. other guy bets 400, making the pot 3900 chips. I immediately put him all in, he has about 4000 chips remaining. He calls, and I fear AK/AQ like you wouldn't believe, but, it's AT! I hold up and nothing pairs the baord to force the split, I win a large pot and am up to 14,100 in chips!

crap, cutoff/cutoff-1, folded.

I am up to 128th out of the 520 remaining, and am the chipleader at the table by a very small amount. 4 of us between 10K-14K, one at 8K and the other 4 4K and below.

Q8o, UTG+1, folds
Q5o, UTG, folds

this guy to my left, 20nCrAzY plays in this 20K guarenteed $10 rebuy tournament a lot(do they do one every night?) and is showing off his knowledge repeatedly "usually only pays 81, ya'll are lucky for 99 tonight boys" etc etc.

62o, BB, folds to 3x raise
J8o, SB, folds
K4o, button, folds

KJo, cutoff, I open-raise to 600 and win the blinds

Level 8 - 200/400 blinds - 25 ante

T4o, cutoff-1, folds
A4o, MP, folds
A5o, MP, folds
T2o, MP, folds

break after this level. I'm currently 135th out of 490 remaining. I'm 2nd in chips at the table, 4 of us stil between 10.5K and 14.5K. I have 13,860 at this second.

K2o, UTG, folds

Decision
A8s, BB - big stack raises to 1200. Here is a situation where I don't know how to play at this level of a tourney. I decide that I don't want to get involved with a stack as big as mine, and I fold it. If it was a 5K or less stack I think I'd call. Thoughts? do I need to open up and play there?

Q9o, SB, folds to 2000 raise
T8o, button, folds

A3o, cutoff, I open-raise to 1200 and am very pleased to steal the blinds

A4o, cutoff-1, folds

ATo, MP, I call an all-in by a very short stack (1014) - two others call as well. Flop comes 357. we check around. Turn is a 6, and I fold to another all-in, this one for 1751.

J9s, UTG+1, folds

a monster stack is moved to my right. 26,912. Nono. Make that 34,000 as his JT beats A3 all in.

J4o, UTG, folds

My 12,821 is about 100 chps away from the average stack size at present time.

92s, BB, folds to raise pre-flop

Oof. another big stack across the table. marcus7az has 40,000 chips. These two are 5th and 16th in chips in the entire tourney(411 left still).

crap, SB, folds
T8o, button, folds

wntsumgetsum is the 33,000 stack. He plays his big stack very well from what I've seen early on, he'll push you around with it big time.

J7o, cutoff, folds

99, MP, one limper and I raise to 1600 chips. I win the pot right there. $1200 is nice to pick up like that.

crap, MP, folds - wntsumgetsum pushes all in again on a scary board against a guy w/ 5K chips. he has a flush draw, called by AK. down to 29K for wntsumgetsum. 20nCrAzY gets back up to 14K.

Level 9 - 300/600 blinds - 50 antes

Average stack is 14,155. I have $13,296. I am 173rd out of 390 remaining. I am 5th out of 9 at my table, with the two giant stacks, two guys w/ 14.8 and 15.2K. The others are all between 6500 and 9900.

Two hours in, I've never lasted this long in a big rebuy tourney before(haven't played too many of them really). I need to improve a ton still to make the money. Average stack in the money w/ 99 left will be 55K in chips.

K6o, UTG+2, folds
98o, UTG+1, folds
K3s, UTG, folds
64o, BB, the big stack limps to me and we see a free flop. QQ2. I fold on the flop.

KQs, SB - I open-raise to 1800 after its folded to me. I win the blinds.

76o, button, folds

Key Hand
KQo, cutoff - two stacks larger than me limp, and I limp as well. we're 4-way. Flop comes KJ8. wntsumgetsum bets 600 on the flop. I raise to 3600, and am called. The turn is a queen. wntsumgetsum bets out 600 again, and I go all in for 9000 over him. My heart is racing :P He thinsk, thinks, thinks, and calls. He has KT. 9/ace and he wins. The river is a 3, and I double up + some to 28,650 in chips!!!

I'm now a dominant 2nd in chips at the table. marcus7az has 38,400. I have 28,500. TheSmitty 18,500. wntsumgetsum 14,500.

I now sit 39th out of 335.

Ok, enough excitement. Now I've got to play well with one of the larger stacks. Again something I have little experience with.

crap folded a few hands.

J6o, BB - fold to 2400 raise. wntsumgetsum goes all in over the shorter stack. A8 vs K9(wntsum is a little agressive there eh?) king hits and he wins.

Table Change
Blah. Just when I'm getting used to the table... I'm moved. Ok, raptor19 3 to my left has 56K. randwick 2 to my left has 25K. davetex across from me has 22K. Kidkwik directly to my left has 32K. Yikes.

A3o, cutoff, folds
J6o, cutoff-1, folds

blinds going up in the next 3-5 hands depending on how many of these are steals

K6o, MP, folds
K5o, UTG+2, folds
A3o, UTG+1, folds

I am assuming with so many big stacks I need to increase my steal requirements just a bit here? We are seeing flops on most hands here, despite a lot of pre-flop raises.

Level 10 - 400/800 blinds - 50 antes

This puts 1650 into the pot before any action. The standard 3x raise becomes 2400, 10% of my stack.

I have 27542 before the blinds hit. 56th out of 293 left.

63o, BB, the glorious free flop. not even close. A82. I fold the first time someone lets me.

QJo, SB - A raise to 2400 from UTG. A re-raise to 5000(all-in)... I can't call of course. TT vs QQ. QQ was the short stack, doubls up to 11K.

J5s, button, folds
T3o, cutoff, folds

70th out of 276. Avg Stack 20K.

Q6o, cutoff-1, folds - 3-way pot, 50K stack goes all in on the A52 flop after about 12K had already been put in, amkes a big move up there.

K8s, MP, I haven't touched my chips in quite awhile. I try to open-raise here to 2400. I hope people are noticing by now. BB thinks for quite some time and folds. wonder what made him think for a good 40 seconds?

I steal the blinds, signifigant at this level.

42s, MP, folds - 3 short stacks all in, AT/K3s/JT. AT wins a 23K pot and knocks two out at once.

71st out of 253 now.

That lets me skip my BB, whee.

97o, SB, folds
74o, button, folds

a small 5K stack and a not small 48K stack replace the two guys that were recently all in.

A3o, cutoff - folds to a raise before me.

Key Hand
22, cutoff-1 - 2 limp before me and I try to limp too. I get a 5-way flop, and it's pretty friendly, 345... we check it around. Now... a 6 hits the turn. I check. The river is a 3, pairing the board. marcoray bets 2400. Underbetting the pot a lot. How do I do this? If I make a signifigant raise he can cripple me if he has a 7. I decide to just call, and I win a 9K pot with my low straight. With 4 limpers and me, does anyone play this harder?

61st out of 233 now, avg stack 24000, I have 33000.

couple of crap hands folded.

Level 11 - 600/1200 blinds - 75 antes

Moving up fast now.

T2o, UTG, folds
T7o, BB - I fold to a raise PF
A4o, SB, I fold to a 3000 raise PF.
T2o, button, folds
J6o, cutoff, folds
Q2o, cutoff-1, folds

70 out of 220 remaining, avg up to 25K

87o, MP, folds
K8o, MP, folds
K4o, UTG+1, folds
A5o, UTG, folds

too passive on that? UTG that seems a bit much to push with.

82s, BB - folds to raise - UTG raise to 2400, UTG+1 calls. short stack calls. Giant stack calls. TT9 flop 4-way(17K pot) - chcekced to short stack, he bets all in for 7K more. big stack folds. PF raiser calls. AJ vs 77. short stack has AJ, nothing on the flop. Catches a jack on the river. 29K. grats pretty much quadrupling up.

J3o, SB, folds

28,367 after blinds - 83rd out of 203. avg is 28K

A8o, button - cruz18 limps, I raise to 3600 on the button. folded to limper, he calls. Flop is a beauty. AT8. I bet 8K on the flop and win the pot there.

34K now.

K8s, 6K stack all in before me. I fold.
K2o, folds
KTo, MP - folds

AJs, UTG+1 - I open-raise to 4000. I steal the blinds/antes

Level 12 - 1000/2000 blinds - 100 ante

blinds flying up now, and I've heard this as a complaint about pokerstars tourney, lots of play early/blinds flying up late. 1500/3000 atfter this.

I have 36,367 in chips. Avg stack is 29.5K. I am 58th out of 187. I expect a ton to go out this level, and with BB at 2000 I'm certainly not safe myself.

84o, BB, folds - AJ/KK all in, AJ knocks out KK.

Table Change

I skip my SB, heh.

lazarus_gs across the table has 56K. texasvanman two to my right has 67K. I'm 3rd after them. 4 other stacks in the high 20s/low 30s though, we're very close.

95o, cutoff, folds
J7s, cutoff-1, folds
42o, MP, folds
K8o, UTG+2, folds

69 out of 169 left. 3 hour break + 1500/3000 blinds soon. AK vs AQ all in. AQ hits a flush.

J5o, UTG+1, folds
A5s, UTG - another hand I don't know about. UTG, table has gotten very agressive. I don't like this enough UTG, despite how fast the money disappears now. good thing too. raise to 6000/45K all in behind me. 23K stack thinks down to 30 seconds on time bank, folds. 71K stack thinks for a good 15-20 seconds, folds. 50K all in pot. AQ vs 99. AQ hits, 99 busts. lazarus_gs has 67K now.

a 43K stack is moved into the empty spot.

QJo, BB - fold to 20K all in.

Decision
99 in the small blind - The big stack at the table(75K) raises to 11K... I am a coin flip at best, right? I let this one go and wonder if tht's too weak.

87o, button, folds
T3o, cutoff, folds
J8o, MP, folds

this should take us up to the break.

Level 13 - 1500/3000 blinds - 150 antes

Well, I had one hand I could have played, but decided I wasn't ready to risk it all against a giant stack that would almost certainly call my all-in. As a result, I blinded away 6K in the level.

At the break, I have 30,167 in chips. The average stack skyrocketed to 38336. I sit in 85th place out of 144. I have 10x the big blind. Any pot I play after the break will basically pot commit me. I am in no position(nor do I have any desire) right now to try to limp into the money. I would like to make a move that gives me a chance to get deeper into the money if I make it. I probably won't seriously worry about cashing until there's 110 left. At least that's what I'm telling myself. We'll see what happens.

Here we go.

42o, MP, folds
97o, UTG+2, folds

Key Hand
A6s, UTG+1, I open-raise to 9000. I'm re-raised all in by a 17K stack. All in over that by a 20K stack. Called by the monster stack. Yeah. I'll fold. AJs vs TT vs 77. 77 hits a four-flush to win. (that's the monster stack).

Table Change

I drop to 20K with that loss.

I move to a table of a few stacks my size and a few bigger stacks... I no nothing about any of these, I just know I need to make some big gains pretty badly.

105th out of 128 remaining.

Q7o, MP, folds
54o, UTG+1, folds

5800 in the pot before the action starts. Most definitely all in/fold time :(

Q5o, UTG

Key Hand
JJ, BB - SOMEONE TRY TO STEAL PLEASE(with TT please)

BOOOOOOO, I win the blinds, folded around.

Key Hand
AQs, SB - folded to me, I open-raise to 9000. Why not go all in? I really don't know, I probably should, huh? Either way, i win the blinds.

26K. 88th out of 122.

K8o, button, folds to a raise.
84o, cutoff, folds
Q7o, cutoff-1, folds
Q7o, MP, folds
KTo, MP, folds (all-in this? baaaad news if anything has something worth calling) 66 vs 77 vs 44 all in. a 6 hits the flop. short stack busted.

J8o, UTG+1, folds

2 minutes til the blinds skyrocket again.

64o, UTG, folds

Q2s, BB - freeflop? ooo, 3 way free flop. COME ON FLUSH. Oh well. I fold to a 963 flop.
94o, SB, folds

Level 14 - 2000/4000 blinds - 200 antes

i have 21K in chips. 98th out of 117. Two great hands w/ no action kept me alive last time. I need good hands w/ some action this time(or a lot of luck).

87s, cutoff, folds

MAXPOWER29 goes from 40K to bust with JJ, then TT on consecutive hands. Losing to KQ and AK, two coin flip losses. Oof.

J9o, cutoff-1, folds

And now there's 113 left. I am 94th out of 113. I can maybe fold into the money but I'll be crippled. I still have to go if I get a hand to play.

T4o, MP, folds
J3o, UTG+1, folds
T4o, UTG, folds two limp, one goes all in for 12K. This has the potential to get interesting. oh well. One folds. Oof. AA for short stack, KK for big one. No king and short stack is 35K stack now(still short heh).

come on, AA in the BB for me plz.

72s, BB, folds big stack raises 8000, AA from last hand all in for 35K. big calls. QQ vs AQ. no A for the big stack, he's hurt now.

K4s, SB - rare 5-way pot here, I limp with this. I wish I woulda hit too. Oh well. J96 flop. free turn, jack. now i fold to a bet.

very very crippled. 11.5K left. I am 103rd out of 108 :(

Key Hand
K6s on the button. It's folded to me. Neither of the blinds are massive stacks. I decide to push all in here. I'm the 5th smallest stack in the tourney right now. I'm called by the big blind. He only had to call about 7500 more, he only had 35K though, that was reasonably signifigant. He has Q9s, same suit as me. Flop comes 99x. I am dead. 108th.

top 99 pay, I go out 108th.

Ok, congrats to anyone who read all that. That is a shitload. 3+ hours of writing.

I stay long enough to see how long it took to make the money. With 101 left I would have been in my big blind. on my SB they would have gone hand to hand. Assuming I had just folded my way around, that's 7600. I would have been down to $4000 in chips.

Now, my thinking at this second, sitting here watching 9 hands go by as we get into the money, is that I made a terrible, terrible raise all-in. Sure it was folded to the button, but 11K wasn't enough to garner any respect for my raise. I got called by a guy who only had 3x more than me, and even though I was a favorite, it wasn't even 60/40.

I want to say I made the best play that gave me the best chance to make it further up into the money. But at the moment I just feel a little sick that I played for 3 hours 45 minutes and came away with nothing, 8 out of the money.

And they finally make the money. had I literally folded my way in, i'd be the single shortest stack in the tourney. Of course, who knows, I might have gotten a better hand to push with.

Well, that's a wrap. Again, comments are appreciated, not only on the last hand but anything along the way. I think I made signifigantly fewer mistakes in this tournament than I did in the first one.

RGunner

08-06-2004, 08:50 AM

Yea, they have those 11+Rebuy 20k Guaranteed tourneys every night... Most of the time if I am free I join up in them...The first hour is the least skillful hour of any tournament ever, all you do is try to build your stack as high as possible before the break, most I have had is 15K, then you are set for after the break where you actually have to play. Best I've gotten is 13th in one of these, you have to have a lot of luck to do real well in these though, nice job, tough going out so close to the money though.

Radii

08-06-2004, 09:27 AM

Thanks for the comments RGunner. How do you play the first hour? Do you ever rebuy if you bust? Or do you just hope for a great hand against some people rebuying multiple times to double you up?

What do you think about that first hand I played, going all in on top pair on the very first hand... it made sense to me at the time and I was prepared to rebuy, but I wonder what those that play rebuy tourneys like this more often would do.

RGunner

08-06-2004, 10:20 AM

I rebuy most of the time, but only rebuy alot if you are confident that you can make it to the money area and make up the money you put into the tournament...
The last 5 of these I have done I have spent at least 50+ on, I've made it to the money and made that much up every time so I am confident in myself.. As for the first hand play I think you played it well, I would have done the same in your situation, just got unlucky with the fours.
I've seen people spend over 200 bucks on this tourney and not even place in the money, that must be hard but I guess if you got the bankroll to do it without it hurting you, then more power to you..As for more the most I've spent on one of these was 70 bucks, and it was the one I ended up getting 13th in and winning almost 300 bucks so it was a good profit.

dixieflatline

08-06-2004, 12:02 PM

Nice writeup. Sorry you didn't end in the money but you played well getting up to the end. I haven't ever played a rebuy tourney so that some of this with a grain of salt.

A9s, UTG+1, UTG limps and I hope to create a limping chain-reaction. Doesn't work. All-in for 1500 from someone behind me and I can't call 1500 more. fold that pre-flop? raise it? Anyone call the all in? Would leave me w/ 5200 if I lost.

I don't think that you could call the all in here. There was a lot of limping going on and you had a hand that would have played well multiway so I think limping/folding made sense.

33, UTG+1 - I open-raise to 600. A good enough sized stack calls on the button. I try to bet half the pot on the flop, and he goes all-in on me. I fold and am left with 6300 in chips. I don't like 33. Too early to try this?

I don't like playing really low pairs from early position. If you are though you should raise and once you were heads up I think it was the right play to take a stab at the pot.

AKo, cutoff - one limp, I raise to 800 and get called. Flop comes QTT, and we both check. Turn is a queen. If he has a small pocket pair he won't call anything, if he has better he'll come over me like crazy... I check. River a 4, we check and he shows me pocket 8s. Shoudl I be more agressive there?

With your good kicker I think betting on the turn makes sense. He could have a straight draw or if he does hit his pocket pair on the river you could lose a lot of chips. It's doubtful that he would play back at you with the board the way it was.

22, cutoff-1 - 2 limp before me and I try to limp too. I get a 5-way flop, and it's pretty friendly, 345... we check it around. Now... a 6 hits the turn. I check. The river is a 3, pairing the board. marcoray bets 2400. Underbetting the pot a lot. How do I do this? If I make a signifigant raise he can cripple me if he has a 7. I decide to just call, and I win a 9K pot with my low straight. With 4 limpers and me, does anyone play this harder?

With him under betting the pot I might have just called as well. Certainly could have been trying to trap you into raising there. I am a bit curious why you didn't bet on the flop or turn. Lot's of players and you might have been able to thin the field.

Now, my thinking at this second, sitting here watching 9 hands go by as we get into the money, is that I made a terrible, terrible raise all-in. Sure it was folded to the button, but 11K wasn't enough to garner any respect for my raise. I got called by a guy who only had 3x more than me, and even though I was a favorite, it wasn't even 60/40.

The best you probably could have hoped for was to win the blinds with that all in. While the blinds were high a steal there probably wouldn't have helped your chances of getting to the second level of the money. I think you were right to not go into a shell and just try to fold to the money but you probably needed a better hand to hope for a double up and then make some noise. If that hand doesn't appear then take the low level money. Getting in the money is a nice feeling but $51 from the $30 you put in for several hours of work isn't what you should be shooting for. Trying for the big money at the final table makes a lot of sense when you find yourself in that same position next time. You played really well getting to that point though and soon you could become a factor in these MMT.

Radii

08-06-2004, 05:55 PM

I am running terrible terrible terrible in ring games right now. Down about $300 in about 850 hands.

AA 1 time, lost $16
AKs 0 times
AKo 8 times, lost $38 (won twice)

AQo 7 times, lost $67 (running up against AK once, and losing two pair to a flush).

KK 3 times, lost $34 (won blinds/lost big twice)
QQ 3 times, lost all 3, lost $40

And so on. So basically I'm signifigantly down to begin the month. Winning at intercasino helped, and the $100 party bonus will help. Hopefully the weekend action will be as good as usual and I can clean up there.

250 more raked hands til I finish off the bonus.

I've noticed a pattern of me losing when I play between 4:30-7pm in the ring games, and winning mainly on nights and weekends. I have seen discussions on this elsewhere and wonder if there is really something to the signifigant difference in the level of play between 6pm and 10pm on a week night? Or maybe a combo of bad cards and not playing my best is causing it and I shouldn't look for excuses :)

Hopefully I can start playing my way out of this after dinner tonight.

Alf

08-06-2004, 06:11 PM

Other players drink at nights and week-ends whereas they don't between 4.30 & 7. At least, that's an explanation.

hoopsguy

08-06-2004, 10:53 PM

Don't know if i have chimed in on this thread before, but I have really enjoyed reading your "dynasty". It has helped me take a look at some of my play and be a little more patient in tournament play.

On a related note, I qualified on AP tonight for a WSOP qualifier (9+1 to get into $100 entry tourney) later this month. I'm a little worried because it falls on the same day as my fantasy football tournament ... might need to recruit a pinch-hitter for poker or drafting ... decisions, decisions.

Radii

08-07-2004, 01:09 AM

The Good: I played really well tonight, finished up my partypoker bonus and was ahead a solid $150+ the $100 bonus cash.

The Bad: I'm too tired to keep playing, because holy shit the tables are juicy at 2am on a friday night. The number of times I got called down by bottom pair was amazing.

The Ugly: Ugly, but a big positive. I'm back to even on the month. $2325 in poker accounts. That's where I started on Aug 1(see the end of July update).

Hopefully I can find enough time tomorrow to play a fair amount and the tables will be just as juicy.

Thanks for the comments everyone :) I'll respond to some of dixie's individual hand comments when I'm more awake, I really appreciate the thoughts there.

Radii

08-08-2004, 11:06 PM

Just a quick money update here(sorry RPI-Fan!). In 3000 2/4 hands this month, I am down $284. KK is one of my 5 biggest losers so far. Things have just not gone well. I had a stretch today where I got the best flurry of cards I've ever seen... something like 2 AA, 4 KK, 2 AKs, 5-7 AKo's all in about 30 minutes. After I'd gotten all those amazing starting hands, I was up $7 more than I was when the run started. That's the kind of start I've had to the month so far.

Bonuses have helped pull me along, and I'm modestly ahead in a few rounds of $10 SnG's that I've played.

Bankroll update:

Pokerstars: $253
Neteller: $661
PartyPoker: $1358

TOTAL: $2272

So I have quite a ways to go if I want to show a profit this month and cash out a bit to help with debt, which is the overriding reason for doing this in such a concentrated fashion in the first place.

SNG Update:

$10/$1:

Played: 38
Fees: $418
ITM: 47.37%
1st: 3
2nd: 6
3rd: 9

Amount Won: $510
Net Won: $92

ROI: 22%

Bleh. It's a small sample as well, and not indicative of weak/passive play at all. A lot of those 3rd will turn into 1sts. I am convinced of this. I played 8 tourneys today, 1 1st, 1 2nd, 1 3rd. A very very minimal profit(something like $12).

This has been a very very rough week in the poker world for me, lets watch it turn around.

Tomorrow is the start of 1st grade for kiddo. This means I'll be waking up at 6:45 am with OlieGirl and kiddo. I will probably have 1 - 1 1/2 hours of poker time in the mornings if I want it before I head into the office.

Radii

08-09-2004, 07:55 AM

I got in about 350 hands this morning, and the play was no better and certainly no tighter than the evening play, which is a good thing to see. avg seeing the flop was over 40% on 3 of the tables, again, very good to see.

cthomer5000

08-09-2004, 08:09 AM

Radii, how many tables do you play at once?

Radii

08-09-2004, 08:43 AM

Radii, how many tables do you play at once?

3 or 4 depending on how alert I am. When I first started I found that after 200 hands or so I'd be physically drained from trying to keep up with all of it, now, if I have a few hours to kill(which I rarely do), I have found that I can stay on my game for a solid 600-800 hands easily. When I sit down though I usually play 200-400 hands over 4 tables.

For true insanity, check out:

http://www.zeejustin.com/images/9tblmm.jpg

I've now finished ahead the last three times I sat down, though two of the three I was not very far ahead at all (this morning I played only about 8% of my hands, my cards just stunk, so I was quite happy to be ahead at all). Perhaps the new week will signal a nice run of winning for me.

cthomer5000

08-09-2004, 08:54 AM

I find 3 is a very comfortable # for me. I was a bit surprised when I found that playing more tables at once helped me stick to playing only premium hands. It makes some sense though, there's not nearly the temptation to play junk when so many cards are coming your way.

Radii

08-09-2004, 09:04 AM

I agree that I most definitely play better playing multiple tables than I would just playing 1, unless I am playing a tough game or something that requires my full attention for a long period of time(I like writing up big tournaments instead of playing other games along w/ them, for example). Subjectively, I feel my play with 3 and 4 tables is the same, objectively, I haven't really tried to measure that in any way.

Vegas Vic

08-09-2004, 10:02 AM

Radii,

I've been following along, and it looks like your hard work is paying off.

What are your Pokertracker stats for the 2/4 ring games on the following variables?

VP$IP

Aggression factor:
Preflop
Flop
Turn
River
Total

Radii

08-09-2004, 10:31 AM

Radii,
VP$IP

Aggression factor:
Preflop
Flop
Turn
River
Total

I'll get 100% exact numbers tonight, but these have been pretty steady.

VP$P remains pretty steady around 14%

Agression factors are something like:

Pre-Flop: 0.5
flop/turn: 1.75
River: 1.5 or so

Pre-flop I complete a fair amount from the SB and play my suited connectors a lot and end up pretty passive(but I assume this is ok in a game where there are enough limpers pre-flop to allow these hands to be played?).

Flop/turn I have gotten pretty good with raise or fold *except* with drawing hands. A known hole for me is Carson's raising of the flush draw with proper odds. I rarely do it, and I need to.

River another hole of mine is that I miss bets when the board gets too scary. Something I've been actively working on and improving.

Do you have specific numbers that would indicate solid play or clearly suboptimal play with these stats? And how far off am I? :)

There are things I've heard you mention pre-flop in various poker posts that I've just never done, such as raising with any pocket pair from late position if there are enough limpers. I've never done this. Is this the same as raising the flush draw when you have the odds? If you have direct odds to flop the set, raise w/ it?

Any other general tips that most players at my level need to be thinking about are appreciated(I know that's a tough question since I don't post any specific 2/4 hands).

I have notes on people with what I call "hyperagressive" agression factors. 11% or more PFR %, and 3.0 or more agression numbers on all streets. I believe my numbers tend to be a lot lower than that b/c of calling on strong draws, and there are times when I'll push a hand and get pushed back at hard enough that I'll go into check/call mode.

Anyway, specific thoughts/advice/requests are always welcome if any numbers point to possible holes in my thinking.

cthomer5000

08-09-2004, 10:36 AM

I think the optimal VP$P # is in the ~18%, no?

Sounds like you may be playing a tad tight.

Vegas Vic

08-09-2004, 11:17 AM

Radii,

Those numbers look pretty good to me. As for raising pocket pairs after limpers, I didn't want you to get the wrong idea. If there are two to four limpers ahead of me, I'll usually limp in with baby and medium pairs. If there are five or more limpers, I'll usually raise (not always). I'm more inclined to raise them out of the big blind with a bunch of limpers, because it's only one more bet, and if you flop a set you're going to take down a huge pot (plus your hand will be disguised).

The small blind structure in 2/4 lets you play a few more hands than you would at 3/6. Many players at 3/6 complete the small blind when they shouldn't. Since it's a 1/3 blind structure, you should only play hands that you would play on the button.

Malificent

08-09-2004, 11:57 AM

Vegas Vic

08-09-2004, 12:09 PM

I'd like to echo that sentiment about raising pocket pairs with limpers. I've noticed a lot more profitability when I raise with pocket pairs from the button or blinds, assuming a lot of limpers.

I also, like Radii, tend to miss out on raising the flush draw - I tend to get very passive with flush draws - a real weakness in my game.

Raising with the flush draw is sometimes a good idea, but there are several considerations. You generally want to raise after there have been at least three callers. With three or more callers, you have much more pot equity than the other players, and you should raise and reraise your flush draw. This is especially powerful if you are on the button, as the other players will usually check to you on the turn. However, if there is a bet directly to your right with several players yet to act, then you should usually just call.

Radii

08-09-2004, 12:40 PM

Raising with the flush draw is sometimes a good idea, but there are several considerations. You generally want to raise after there have been at least three callers. With three or more callers, you have much more pot equity than the other players, and you should raise and reraise your flush draw. This is especially powerful if you are on the button, as the other players will usually check to you on the turn. However, if there is a bet directly to your right with several players yet to act, then you should usually just call.

Yeah, the idea I definitely have down. I want to make sure there are enough callers to my raise that I continute to have the odds. I don't want to force a lot of people to cold-call two bets when all I have is a draw, etc. I want them in to keep my odds correct.

Thanks for the additional info on the pocket pairs. I had not ever thought to raise them from the BB, I like that.

I dunno what to say about cthomer's VP$P comment. It is most definitely possible that I play a little too tight, and that there's a small subset of hands I could add in.

I really intend to start the jump to 3/6 any day now, likely whenever I start running really good for a little while. The last thing I want to do when my cards have been running cold and I'm losing money is jump limits, but if I start making money again this week, I will probably start making 1 of my tables a 3/6 table later in the week/this weekend.

All this discussion is great, glad to see the comments guys :)

Radii

08-09-2004, 12:42 PM

In other news, barns and noble didn't have ed miller's small stakes hold'em book in yet, but I went and ordered it. It'll be shipped directly to my home address late this week/early next week. Because I just don't have enough poker books :D (well, that and, everything I've read about this one has turned it into a must have for me).

cthomer5000

08-09-2004, 03:51 PM

I've gotten way more agressive with small pairs pre-flop recently. Anytime I think there's a fair chance I can get heads up by re-raising, I do so. If you get a flop that completely misses someone holding high cards, it's pretty easy to run them out of there assuming the turn is a blank.

So basically i'm far more likely to re-raise than I am to be the first raiser with small pairs.

Chappy

08-09-2004, 05:54 PM

Radii, how many tables do you play at once?

Just one more reason for me to invest in a better monitor. This 17 incher is just a pain to try multiple tables........

cthomer5000

08-09-2004, 06:36 PM

Just one more reason for me to invest in a better monitor. This 17 incher is just a pain to try multiple tables........
Yeah... I have a fair amount of overlap, but if you choose your chairs right, you can at least see your hole cards on all tables at all times. I'm definitely looking into a new monitor quite soon.

Chappy

08-09-2004, 06:55 PM

Yeah... I have a fair amount of overlap, but if you choose your chairs right, you can at least see your hole cards on all tables at all times. I'm definitely looking into a new monitor quite soon.

On that note, what size monitor do you use for 4 tables Radii?

Radii

08-09-2004, 08:02 PM

On that note, what size monitor do you use for 4 tables Radii?

17 inch monitor. There is overlap but I, like cthomer, find tables where I can sit in places where there's no overlap.

Radii

08-09-2004, 08:07 PM

Anyone play on Absolute Poker? How hard is this 35% bonus to earn?

Radii

08-09-2004, 09:11 PM

I join a $30 NL 3 table tourney, not up to multi-tabling limit tonight.

When I first load up partypoker, it tells me it has detected a pokerbot running, and kicks me off. I can't find anything unusual running, so I log right back on, and all seems well now. That is very very odd, I have never seen that happen before.

8 minutes in, not a single person has busted out. As I type that, AA goes all in vs T7 with a T75 flop. running 6s bust out the T7 guy. Nono, actually, it knocks him down to 30 chips, and he quadruples up on his next hand, so he's still alive.

Ok, lets start at level 2.

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

A9o, BB, folds to 75 raise.

I have 940 in chips. All 30 remain. I have 930 in chpis after 1 limp/fold and a few blinds.

crap, SB, folds
65o, button, folds

1 is out(not at our table, 30 chips->370, he's still alive).

84o, cutoff, folds

Key Hand
ATs, cutoff-1, I limp into a 4 way pot. Flop comes A67 rainbow. I bet the pot(90 chips). I'm re-raised all in by TWO short stacks. It'll cost me over half my chips to call. Against two people. I fold, and I see A4 and K7. DOH. The turn comes a 4, and in a results oriented fashion, it was a good fold.

I have 800 in chips after that hand.

crap, MP, folds
52o, MP, folds

Level 3, 15/30 blinds

T7o, UTG, folds

8 left at my table. 26 left overall. I have 800 in chips.

64o, BB, folds to PF raise
97o, SB, folds
K5o, button, folds

77, cutoff, fold to a large raise after trying to limp into a decent sized field(mistake)
75o, cutoff-1, folds
93o, MP, folds
86s, UTG, folds (lost another at my table, down to 7 here)
92o, BB, folds at first opportunity

K4s, SB - limp/fold (getting weak here maybe? but in a 4 way pot this seems to make sense from the SB).
K2s, butotn, folds
Qto, cutoff, folds to 150 raise
J9o, MP, folds
J5s, UTG+1, folds

a hand, any hand?

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

20 remain, we merge to 2 tables. I have only 665 in chips. Trying to limp into a few hands and having absolutely nothing so far minus my one AT hand, makes it so that I'm the shortest stack in the tourney w/ 20 left.

72o, MP, folds
42o, UTG+1, folds
62s, UTG, folds
KJo, BB, everyone folds to me. Another round.
84s, SB, folds
K7o, button, folds
42o, cutoff, folds

i'm not even getting hands I could try to see a flop in limit with.

K9o, cutoff-1, folds to big raise
T6o, MP, folds
32o, UTG+1, folds

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

Jesus. This is boring :)

I still have 665 chips. The good thing is that I'm no longer the shortest stack in the tourney.

Q2o, UTG, folds

17 remain. All in on any good hand at this point.

T3s, BB - a free flop 4 way, with beautiful potential. But, I don't hit. I have to fold.
T3s, SB - asdflj;ljk

Q8o, button, prepared to all in if folded to me. Nope, no chance.
K9o, cutoff, folds to big raise.
86o, cutoff-1, folds
87o, UTG+2, folds
65o, UTG+1, folds
J2o, UTG, folds

[B]Level 6 - 75/150 blinds[/B?]

97s, BB - with 365 more chips left, that's probably enough to call an all-in with. Hm, a raise to 500, and a call. triple up or go home? I dunno what the "right" decision is here, but I'm calling it. Lets get a big flop. one of my suit. AT2. dude goes all in, AKs, same suit as mine and I'm out.

So, BB, 1/3 of your chips in the pot, a suited 1-gapper. Do you fold to a raise there? Do you prefer to be heads up and hope you're 60/40 against Ax or something? Or do you like being 3-way hoping to triple up to a decent stack?

I am out 15th in the most uneventful tournament I've ever played in.

Radii

08-09-2004, 11:14 PM

I join the nightly rebuy tourney on pokerstars.

Hoping to get a big score or three during the rebuy preiod, and willing to rebuy a time or two if need be, I loosen up just a touch.

Level 1 - 10/20 blinds

Q6s, BB - I call a 60 chip raise after 4 others call, but I don't hit my miracle flop and fold.

Key Hand
64s, SB - 7 people limp... flop comes 966. I check and call a large bet(500ish) from darrell_4. one other is in as well. The turn is a jack, and brings a second club to the board. I push all in. I'm called by only darrell_4. He turns over 76 to have me beat, but I have tons of outs to a split, and outs to a win as well.

Holdem Hi: 44 enumerated boards containing 6s Jc 9c 6h
cards win %win lose %lose tie %tie EV
7d 6d 3 6.82 11 25.00 30 68.18 0.409
6c 4c 11 25.00 3 6.82 30 68.18 0.591

Interesting. A club hits, I double up! 3480 in chips.

crap, button, folds

Key Hand
AKs, cutoff - there's an all in from short stack, then a stakc my size calls. I raise to 300 chips. I'm called by JThomas. Flop comes Txx, one of my suit. There's an all in and I fold.

Key Hand
A8s, cutoff-2 - I limip into a big pot. flop a flush draw, Kxx, two diamonds. Turn is an ace, I bet the pot, and win, up to 3800.

Key Hand
AKs, the cards are flowing on pokerstars! I raise to 100, and get 4 callers. Flop is a beauty. J32, all diamonds. I flop the nuts. I take my chances on the slowplay, and call a decent sized bet from Brecht to my left(a short stack). Turn pairs the board, a 3. Three of us go all in, I am by far the big stack though. Brecht turns over JJ for the boat. VIPDirect has Q7s for a lower flush. I win the side pot and still have 3120 in chips. Too bad, I could have been looking at a monster 9K stack if I'd won that.

crap, folded through button
J8o, button, folds

95o, cutoff, folds

Level 2 - 15/30 blinds

I have 3110 in chips. I am 286th out of 986 remaining. 1048 originally registered. Of course it's a very volatile world until the rebuy period ends and I want more chips.

A7s, MP, limp/fold to an all in for 580.
62o, UTG+2, folds
crap, UTG+1, folds
75o, UTG, folds
A4o, BB, folds to large raise
J5o, SB, folds
QJo, button, limp/fold to large bet with my inside straight draw.
Q3o, cutoff, folds

A4s, cutoff-1, limp into a 5-way pot. KQ4 rainbow flop. I call a small bet from IADAWG(100 chips into the 200+ pot). The turn is my ace. He bets 280, and I raise him up to 600. He folds. I take down a decent pot and am up to 3485 in chips.

couple of folds

88, UTG, limp/call a 90 chip raise into a 4-way pot. Flop is all undercards but 3 hearts. I don't like it enough. We check it around though. The turn is a 9, and I fold to a large bet.

94o, BB, free flop, it's again all hearts, including a 4. But I can't play that when there's a bet really. Not enough of that.

65s, SB - Here's one I want to play for a reasonable amount. I call a 100 chip raise into 3-way action. Flop comes A52, one of my suit. 400 bet into a 390 pot. Looking to discourage the flush draw it appears. I give this one up too, though I seriously considered playing it. I had to put my opponent on an ace though and that leaves me with 5 outs + runner runner flush.

AQo, button - 3 limp then I raise to 210 chips. There's a re-raise behind which is called by 2 to me... I'll call the re-raise but I need to hit this. Don't want a 4-way all in with AQ here I don't think. The flop misses me and I'm forced to fold to an all in bet.

Level 3 - 25/50 blinds

Down to 2700 in chips after those three hands.

Key Hand
A7o - I limp into a 4-way pot. Flop comes 3 spades. I have the ace of spades. ammbo goes all in. He has me covered. He is going all in a ton. A *ton*. And he's been getting people to fold. I think about it for awhile and decide to take the big risk here, I really don't have any faith that he has the flush right now. If he just has a pair I have a fair chance against him. Whooboy was I wrong. He has the flush, cutting my outs to 7. Blank on the turn, a spade on the river!! I have it, and I double up to 5600 in chips.

I limp A5s and fold when the wrong suit flops.

I fold Q9o in my big blind to a big raise.

JTs, SB - I complete for a 5-way flop. Flop comes T43, two herats(not my suit). I overbet the pot a little to hurt flush odds, and win it there. I bet 400 into a 250 pot.

55, button - Here I fold to a 300 chip raise. Good sized raise there and no one else was in the pot (see i'm not totally insane).

A3o, cutoff, folds
J4o, cutoff-1, folds

55, have to fold again. IADAWG has lost two all in's in a row(both on draws vs made hands). He goes all in again, rebuying for 3rd straight hand? AK for him, KK for frenchy who called him. Ace hits the board, IADAWG isstill alive w/o another $10 gone.

54o, UTG+2, folds

few hands folded

J9o, BB, fold on the flop. 4 of a kind beats a full house.

Level 4 - 50/100 blinds

868 remain. I have 5600 in chips right now. 216 out of 867 that remain.

T7o, SB, folds

This has the chance to be a $30K tournament.

crap, button, folds

T6s, cutoff, folds

65s, cutoff-1, I limp/fold
53s, cutoff-2, folds
Q9o, MP, folds

ppl with 4000+ chips going all in left and right, I have to be careful w/ drawing hands.

T9o, UTG+1, folds
QTo, UTG, folds
97o, BB (come on free 568 rainbow flop!) - 3300 all-in raise... i'll fold. AK vs AK all in. 678 flop! ohwell :)
94o, SB, folds

5 minutes til the break/add-on period. I will claerly be adding on. Even with 5300 in chips I am still only 270th out of 831 left.

43o, button, folds
T8s, cutoff, folds (was folded to me, no implied odds on that).

KJs, cutoff-1, limp into a 4-way pot. A43 flop. We check around. King on the turn. I play it straight and bet the pot. I'm called by two. River makes the flush, but no one has it. ammbo and I both have KJ and we win IADAWG's money. Back to 5725.

crap, MP, folds

clinton on, thank god for incoming break.

K8s, UTG+1, I limp and call a 200 raise. I miss the flop and fold.

Level 5 - 75/150 blinds - 1 hr break - add-on period

I have 5425 in chips. 306th/802 remaining.

I add-on to 7425 chips.

Most everyone adds on. I do jump up to 285th out of 802.

Here's the prize pool:
1048 entries, 1890 rebuys, 661 add-ons

$35,990. Top 99 pay. $53.98 for 99th-81st. 9K for the winner. Going to be closer to 9K than $54 tonight, right?!

T9o, BB, folds to PF raise.

ammbo raises early(he's big stack). jopo and VIP call. flop checked. jopo bets wuss bet on turn. ammbo says "JJ" and folds. KK9 board, 7 turn made a flush.

52s, SB, folds

ammbo/JThomas limp. 4 hearts hit the board as its checked around. jack high flush takes it in the BB. Very passive after the flop, even w/ big stacks.

Q5s, button - folded to BB

52o, cutoff ghosttrain limps, IADAWG limps(he's very short), jopo checks in BB. ghost bets min bet on the flop, wins pot.

Q7o, cutoff-1, folds - JThomas limps. free flop heads up. 150 bet is called by VIP on flop, another 150 bet on turn wins it for JThomas.

65o, MP, folds - ghost limps UTG. heads up w/ BB - ghost wins with a flop bet.

Everyone got crazy tight so far(or the good cards aren't being dealt)

crap, MP, folds - cutoff jopo open-raises 3x. frenchy(la chat noir) re-raises 1500. Called. jopo has 2500 left, 3100 in pot. 864, two diamonds flop. jopo bets half stack after checked to. frenchy puts him all in, jopo needs to call 1500 into 11K pot. frenchy AA, jopo KQ, 1 diamond, needs runner runner. frenchy wins, jopo out 773rd.

I'm posting more detail trying to get better reads on players here.

65o, UTG+1, folds - SB(ghosttrain) limps, JTHomas checks. ghost bets 150 on KQ3 flop, JTHomas calls. ghost check-raises on the turn(a 2), stil talking min bets. river is checked, ghost had flush draw, JTHomas top pair/bad kicker. ghost limped A7s from SB after folded to him pre-flop.

T5o, UTG, folds - rd2121 joins in the empty seat, $8300 chips.

K3o, BB, VIP limps, JTHomas limps, IADAWG completes, I check. A68 flop, missed me. JThomas bets pot on the button, wins it. He's built up to 9K from 7K so far.

72o, SB, folds - VIP limps, JTHomas limps, IADAWG limps, free flop for Bercht. 666 flop. checked around. 8 turn. IADAWG bets 450. Wins pot. Shows A8o.

94o, button, folds - brecht limps from SB, heads up vs big stack. folds to 300 bet on flop. I hate that limp from anyone.

33, cutoff - VIP limps UTG - frenchy min raise, I fold my 3s. VIP calls. 877 flop. VIP check/calls a 1000 bet. checked turn, a 3rd 7 on theriver, VIP all in, frenchy folds.

Q6o, cutoff-1, folds frenchy and rd2121(SB) limp, 3-way flop. A99 flop. Frenchy bets 500, wins pot.

K9o, MP, folds - ghosttrain raises min UTG. called by frenchy out of BB. min bet into 600 pot by ghosttrain, frenchy check-raises to 600. called. KT7 spades flop btw. 7 turn, frenchy 1K bet, ghost calls. Checked river. AK for frenchy, no 7 for ghost... 4K pot for frenchy. ghost under 3K

97s, MP, folds - brecht (4K stack) open raises to 3x, called by ghost. 450 bet on flop for brecht, raised to 900, then all in on the turn. JT6 flop, 9 turn. KK for brecht, ghost is gone w/ 2nd pair... T7.

42o, UTG, folds - VIP open-raises 3x. Called by IADAWG in BB. 300 bet by VIP on flop wins it.

86o, BB - fold to BB steal raise. (he shows KK, JThomas)

Level 6 - 100/200 blinds

T8o, SB, folds

I am 368th out of 707. Blinded down that round, terrible terrible cards.

QuangT has joined w/ 5K in chips.

I have 6700, about avg for this table, ammbo and frenchy have 10K+, JThomas 9K

T5o, button, folds, frenchy limps(he seems to be playing a lot of pots atm) - free flop heads up for ammbo, 2 big stacks. AA9, two diamonds flop. checked flop. T turn. frenchy bets 800, wins pot.

87o, cutoff, folds - i'm not playing any hands but have no reason to loosen up that much yet I don't think. VIP limps UTG, ammbo completes SB. rd2121 bets 200 on flop of QJ4, two hearts. called by VIP. 3 turn, another 200 bet(into a 1K pot). he wins it. Weak shit there.

T4o, cutoff-1, folds - rd2121 limps from SB, free flop w/ VIP. checked flop, checked turn, checked river. A6 from rd2121 wins unimproved.

T9o, MP, folds - who has all the face cards? JThomas raises min raise to 400. called by SB vIP. AK3 flop. VIP makes 3 min bets, called on all 3. A6 for him wins. What's up with the weakness here? Should I try to attack the table even w/o hands??

J9o, UTG+2, folds - Brecht raises 3x blinds, his standard. wins blinds.

64s, UTG+1, folds - folded around

J2o, UTG, folds - ammbo rases 3x blind. He's been noticibly tight for big stack. rd2121, and VIP both call. QT5, two spades flop. ammbo check, rd bet 1200, VIP all in for 6500. rd thinks a lot, he has to call 5300 into 9K pot. rd2121 folds. 4500 pot for VIP

72o, BB - great BB hand. not unlike my other hands. All of them really. ammbo limps, rd raises 4x to 800. ammbo calls. ammbo checks flop, folds to 1200 bet from rd2121.

Key Hand
AQs, SB - JThomas limps, I raise to 800, 4x BB. I miss the flop, T63 rainbow. I make a pot sized bet into it(1800 chips, enough of my stack to hurt bad), but JThomas folds. Back to 7500.

A4o, button - rd2121 limps, frenchy min raises, I fold. ammbo and rd call. T53 flop checked around. 600 bet on turn from frenchy, flush is out. frenchy wins pot.

95o, cutoff, folds - IADAWG limps w/ JTo from mid position. Other info useless.

KQo, cutoff-1, I fold when IADAWG open-raises to 1K before me. rd2121 re-raises enough to put IADAWG all in. AK vs JJ. king hits the turn, and IADAWG doubles up to 7850(he was short stack at the table). rd down to 4095.

T8s, MP, half-tempted to limp, but tourney chips are precious. I resists. quangT limps UTG, IADAWG does too, frenchy free flop. AJ5 flop, two diamonds. 400 bet from quang, IADAWG calls. frenchy check-raise to 1500. Pot size now 3000. quang calls, IADAWG folds. 4100 pot now, 3100 left for quang. frenchy bets 200 on the turn... trap bet? jack hit the turn. I wanna say frenchy has AJ here. 1K bet on the river (a king). quan 2900 left, he folds, and we'll never know what frenchy has. I think he hit big and tried to trap on the turn.

T6s, MP, folds - rd2121 limps, heads up w/ quang. AQ2 flop checked. bet/fold on the turn, rd2121 wins.

This open limping shit is baffling to me.

Key Hand
TT, UTG+1 - I open-raise to 3x the blind, 600. Dangerous hand here. JThomas calls me. Flop comes 963, two diamonds. I have no diamond. I bet 1400 into the 1300 pot. I win the pot right there. Pleased w/ that for sure.

98o, UTG, folds

I have 8225 chips before the blinds hit. going up a level soon, antes coming in.

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - 25 ante

Key Hand
QQ in the Big blind. IADAWG open raises from SB to 800. I re-raise him to 2K. He calls time to think. I immediately decide he doesn't have AA/KK and am ready to call an all-in. But he folds. Pretty good pickup.

K9o, SB - I limp after QuangT has limped. Free flop. A93. we check it around. I fear an ace-limp, thoguh I know I shouldn't. Turn is a queen, and I bet out, and win the pot. First post-rebuy mistake? Have I made a noticible one yet? I should have bet out on the flop.

up to 9800.

74s, button, folds

Key Hand
AQo, cutoff - VIP open-raises UTG to 400. IADAWG calls him. What's my move here? I call. (mistake #2?). The flop comes T32. checked to me, I bet 1400. IADAWG thinks for a very long time, and he calls. The turn is a 4. We both check. River a 3rd spade, a king. I call a 400 chip bet from IADAWG(pot is way too big to fold to that). And i find out that his flop call was baffling. A5s. Turned an inside straight+flush darw. rivered a flush.

Is the consensus that I should have re-raised there?

crap, MP, folds
T2o, MP, folds
97o, UTG+1, folds - ammbo raises to 600, rd4121, frenchy and JThomas all call. AA3 flop, two spades. ammbo bets 2200 on the flop. He takes it there. He's tight, I wouldn't call his raises without a solid hand.

K6s, UTG, folds
J9o, BB - VIP limps. JThomas limps. IADAWG limps. I check. I flop inside straight/backdoor flush draws. I don't get to go anywhere w/ them though, 800 bet from IADAWG pushes us out and he wins it.

82o, SB, folds - ammbo UTG limp, rd2121 limp behind him. I'm actually getting 9:1 on my complete, but I don't do it there. K43 flop, checked around. T turn, ammbo bets out 600. rd2121 is only caller. 1K river bet wins for ammbo. rd2121 missed flush I believe.

T7o, button, folds

Down to 7100 in chips now. I am 346 out of 502. A few small wins and one big loss leave me basically even over the last 45 minutes of play.

A2o, cutoff - quang all-in for 1800. he steals blinds.
42s, cutoff-1, folds quang wins another pot, this time UTG+1 limp, then a flop bet.

T2o, MP, folds - JThomas raises min to 400. frenchy calls in BB. 679 flop. JThomas bets 800, frenchy check-raisese to 1600. He does that a ton. gets free turn when a queen hits. free river too. A7o for frenchy, middle pair on flop. It worked, free turn/river, wins pot.

86o, UTG+2, folds ammbo raises min, VIP raises behind to 1K. AJT flop, VIP wins w/ a bet. He's up over 10K now.

Q8s, UTG+1, folds

Level 8 - 200/400 blinds 25 ante

I have 6950 as the level starts. 349th out of 487. Again I end up in the lower half, not desparate but really badly needing to make a move.

K9o, UTG, folds
93o, BB, JThomas raises all in. I fold

Key Hand
KJo, SB - folded to me, I raise to 3x trying to steal. Brecht puts me all in for 3440 more. I'll be VERY short but not out if I lose. I hope he's on AX and I call. Ohhh dammit. He's on Ax alright. AJ. I'm dominated. I don't hit and I'm fucked. He was a short stack, I figure he would come over me with a wide range of hands. That was just a real bad one.

Now I am desparate. 1800 chips left.

Key Hand
QJs, cutoff - QuangT(almost as short as me) all in. I call. HAHAHA. Dominated again. JJ for QuangT. I bust out. Fuck.

Was the KJ call too early? I don't think so, a stack with barely more than 10x the BB, thinking I'm stealing in the Small blind? I think I have to figure I'm very possibly a 60/40 dog, or a coin flip, just ran into a bad hand. But I appreciate thoughts on that one.

Bee

08-10-2004, 12:44 PM

I just wanted to thank you for the great dynasty. Since you've been posting, I've been playing less poker and getting some of my poker fix vicariously from your thread. So thanks for saving me some money!

:D

RGunner

08-10-2004, 12:58 PM

Radii, tough break in the rebuy tourney, I also played in it, probably one of the best tourneys I have played, but went out like 70 something...at one point i was at about 20k chips, just got into the money got AA and doubled up to 50+k, then a few hands later in the second level of money, got JJ, guy raised before me, so I thought I could take it and he would fold if I went all in, turns out he had AK and flopped an Ace to put me out, woulda been in great shape had i won that hand...only put in 40 bucks though, minimal profit but im up almost 400 bucks in ring games the past 3 nights so its ok..

Radii

08-10-2004, 02:53 PM

Tahnks for the comments Bee, and congrats on cashing last night RGunner :) I wont' get to play tonight at all. Most likely if I play any multi-tables the rest of the week, I will try to get into one of the $11 satellites into the $200 Sunday tourney. I am loving the $11 rebuy tournament, but at 10:15 on a "school night" they run too long. Even with no cards you still play til midnight, no good when I have to get up at 6:30. But there is the potential to play them on weekends so I won't be totally forsaking them. Just a new schedule w/ school back in now :)

Malificent

08-10-2004, 03:07 PM

ammbo is a 2+2 poster, if I remember correctly, which suggests tight and aggressive.

Radii

08-10-2004, 03:57 PM

ammbo is a 2+2 poster, if I remember correctly, which suggests tight and aggressive.

He was definitely one of the best at my table. during the rebuy period he was extremely agressive trying to build his stack, and wasn't showing down a lot of hands, so when I went all in with my A+flush draw I had a totally different read on him than I do now.

After the rebuy period ended, I basically threw away my reads on most everyone(and everyone got so tight immediately after the rebuy period that seemed the correct thing to do), and ammbo immediately became the person I feared most at the table.

I need to start making more notes on players, what hands they raise with, etc, at different stages in tournaments. As I get better at being agressive and being able to take selective risks to build my stack, I have to start improving at getting quick reads on the table, to see who I can steal blinds from and who I can't, whose raises are to be respected and whose aren't, things like that. I do this at some level already, of course, but I learned just by writing down more detail on each hand, that I can be much more thorough and get a much better read on my opponents.

Radii

08-12-2004, 10:37 AM

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=916101&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=14&fpart=1#916101

I posted that, obviously.

I entered the 500 FPP 10pm satellite into the Sunday tourney last night. With 225 entries, and only 9 making it to the Sunday tourney, I figured to take chances early, and I expected to bust out early. b/c of that, I didn't write up the tourney, and I kept playing my ring games. I probably played my best tournament poker ever. I did get two lucky double-ups in the first hour, and I was ahead of the average for quite awhile.

I had about 4 coin-flips, and won them all. I had an all-in over a short stack where I held QQ, he held 66. 6 on the flop, but my queen hits the turn. Another all in vs a very short stack, my AT beats his AJ.

Everything was going my way, and with about 30 left, I was about 15th in chips. I couldn't get ahead though. AA got folded to. I made just enough steals to stay alive, and was the short stack with 10 left.

That's where the 2+2 post comes in.

===================================================
Table 1 has 5 people of ~equal stack size. About 35K each with 1000/2000 blinds + antes(50 at that point I think?). None of them are taking any risks at all. All 5 know that they are in.

Table 2 has 5 people as well. Chipleader has about 60K. to his left is a guy with 30K. I have 13K. To my left is a 15K stack, followed by a 17K stack.

As the short stack here, with two other small stacks just ahead of me, should i be trying to push ahead of those two in chips somehow, or should I be going into a shell, waiting for AA-QQ and waiting for one of the other two short stacks to make a stand?

There hadn't been a flop in a number of hands, steals left and right. Blinds are 1000/2000 w/ antes, and we are less than a minute from 1500/3000 w/ antes(75 antes now I think). I get KTs on the button. folded to me, the other two short stacks behind me. Do you push or fold? How clear cut is the decision?
===================================================

Curious about what those here think of this as well.

In other news, I won 25 BB in my ring play last night, 2nd day in a row of very solid winnings at 2/4. I'm still down in pokertracker, but thanks to bonus money I'm ahead on the month. Bankroll back up over $2350 and I am hopefully well on my way to profitability again. I've been very happy with my play the last couple of days.

dixieflatline

08-12-2004, 12:09 PM

Congrats on the tourney Radii. I am assuming that since you didn't post the final result that you pushed and lost. KTs on the button is a pretty solid hand especially considering the situation. I would think that the blinds would be very scared of calling with a marginal had here. Maybe a 6K raise? You are kind of pot committed but maybe that looks like you want to be called and might be more scary than an all in before the flop? If you can pick up a couple of blinds and get higher in chips than one of the other short stacks you are in great shape with position. It is much harder for them to steal blinds from players with stacks that can afford an all in loss.

SirFozzie

08-12-2004, 12:13 PM

Radii

08-12-2004, 12:29 PM

I would have folded it, myself (wow.. that's a first).. since you were on the button.. you have plenty of time to get a hand before the blinds come back.. if it was ATs.. then I would have gone with it.. but you don't even have a nut flush draw here..

It was 5-handed(10 left total, 2 5-man tables), so the blinds are coming hard and fast. I can fold for ~15 hands before I blind all the way out though. If I fold, I have 13K, in two hands I post a 3K BB, after that a 1.5K SB. Not saying your answer is necessarily wrong, but just making sure you have the right situation in mind, that this isn't a full table where I have 7 hands before I have to pay a blind again.

Maybe a 6K raise? You are kind of pot committed but maybe that looks like you want to be called and might be more scary than an all in before the flop?

I've seen that response too on the fool.com's poker board, and I am starting to like it more and more(but I'm not sure it's what I would do if I was in this situation again).

I'll post what did happen in a bit, but I think sometimes people's advice is skewed by the results so I will see if thre are other responses first.

Radii

08-13-2004, 12:02 AM

I join a $30 3-table NL tourney on partypoker. Nothing going on at Stars that I'm interested in.

I sit at Table 3, meaning I'll be moving.

Level 1- 10/15 blinds

95o, button, folds - AQ knocks out AA, straight.
43o, cutoff, folds
K8o, cutoff-1, folds

ATs, cutoff-2, I limp, shoulda raised, only a 3-way pot, i fold to a bet on the flop.
J5s, MP, folds
87o, UTG+1, folds
T8o, UTG, folds
Q3o, BB, free flop 5 way, fold.

Key Hand
AA, SB - 2 limp before me, I raise to 60 chips. 3 call(BB/2 limpers). Flop comes T75, two spades. Scary enough to me that I'll bet it hard, no big time money extraction here... I bet the pot, 240 chips. Everyone folds it.

89s, button - I limp into a 5-way pot, and fold when i hit bottom pair but it's a bad flop for me, AJ9, two diamonds(not my suit).
AJo, cutoff - I fold to a big raise pre-flop
32o, cutoff-1, folds

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

5 gone, 25 remain.

AQo, MP - I open-raise to 70 chips. I steal the blinds.

I have 1165 chips. I'm in 4th in chips at the table.

JTs, I limp and then call a 40 chip raise to get into a 4-way pot. I fold when the flop misses and there's a bet.
A4o, MP, folds
32o, UTG, folds

96o, BB, folds to raise - 100 raise followed by a 720 all-in. all-in wins it.
76o, SB - folds to raise
A2o, button, folds
A3s, cutoff, folds to raise
K6o, cutoff-1, folds
Q7s, MP, folds
crap, MP, folds
T6o, UTG, folds

Level 3- 15/30 blinds
Q2o, BB, free 4-way flop. misses, folds.

23 remain, only a couple out last levle. I have 1045 chips after the blinds pass.

53o, SB, folds
72s, button, folds

21 left, almost down to 2 tables.

Q3o, cutoff, folds

Moved to a new table, into MP on table 2.

K5o, MP, folds

Kangback has a big stack, two to my left. two guys have 1800-1900, one has 1500... that's it for big stacks, so despite the average being well over 1000 chips by now, my 1030 isn't so terrible here.

Q5o, UTG+1, folds
KTs, UTG, folds

Levle 4 - 25/50 blinds

Still 20 left. Avg stack 1500. I have 980 after BB.

93o, BB, free 5-way flop, which not suprisingly missesme and I fold.
A5o, SB - folds to a 3x raise+a call behind.

Key Hand
A8o, button - a shorter than me stack limps, and folded arond to me after that. I make a play at the pot, and raise to 200 chpis. I am called by the big stack out of the BB, as well as the smaller stack. Flop comes 552. I don't have a great hand and the giant stack at the table is in the pot with me, I decide not to make a move here. Turjn is a 3 and i fold to a large bet from big stack.

J8o, cutoff, folds - KK knocks out JJ.
J7o, cutoff-1, folds
54s, MP, folds
T4o, UTG+2, folds
A7o, UTG - not desparate enough to try to steal from UTG yet.

92s, BB - This is tough. 3-way flop. I flop bottom pair and the flush draw. J32, two hearts flop. lead out the pot (150 chips) and win it there.

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

KJs, SB - a short stack raises 300. He has 300 more after that. A raise from me would carry no weight, he's pot committed. WIthout any fold equity, I don't think that's worth pushing him on.

T7o, button, folds

I have 805 in chips. Enough left at the table that I'm not desparate, but I'm basically pot committed any hand I play.

A4o, cutoff, folds
T6s, cutoff-1, folds
83s, cutoff-1 (after someone gets moved), folds
T4s, UTG+2, folds
73o, UTG+1, folds
JTo, UTG, folds

K2o, BB, 800 all in, and a call. I fold. 99 busts out to AK.

Key Hand
T7s, SB - I limp into a 4-way pot. I flop a flush draw, KQ9 with two spades. I go all in, and get one caller. I'm called by A3 of a different suit. I'm behind but not by very much I don't think. I hit the flush on the turn and I win the pot, doubling up + some to 1510 chips.

crap, button, folds

Key Hand
A9o, cutoff - 6 handed in the c utoff I think this is worth a raise here. I open to 300 chips. A smaller stack calls but he goes all in on the 700 flop, and I have to fold. Good play by him.

K7o, UTG+1, folds

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

K4o, UTG, folds

Q8o, BB - SB limps to me. I check. Flop comes Qxx, two diamonds. SB has me covered by a lot. SB bets 150, I raise to 600, pot committing me but not all in yet. SB calls. Turn is the 8 of diamonds. I go all in. I am called by 78o, and I win the big pot.

few crap hands, folded.

I have 2345 in chips now, 5 minutes left in this leevel.

11 left, almost final table time. Ahh, there we go, down to 10 as I type that. 4 minutes til 100/200.

83s, UTG, folds

we're already down to 8 here.

Key Hand
AQs, BB - a big stack UTG limps, then the big stack in the SB raises to 450. I am not sure what the best action is here. A re-raise is half my stack, and if your'e going to re-raise half, just go all in. Ok, I go all in. both fold and I am happy to pick up 600 chips.

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - 1 hr break

Starting to my left:

btyphoidmary - 5245 chips
mojomug - 1775
mikehburke - 900
spheremonk - 3895
jtryzbiak - 2690
Kangback - 5230
GentlemanJack - 7320
radii - 2945

The top 3 in chips are way ahead of the rest of us. 4th is almost 1K over me. I'm 5th and 6th is just behind me.

Remember, top 5 get paid. 8 left, so only 3 more need to go out. Lets play a bit better on the bubble this tourney, shall we? :)

K8o, SB, folds
72o, button, folds - blinds passing through the two short stacks over the next 3 hands.

mojomug is AFK. folded BB to a limp. Sux for him.

Q8o, cutoff, folds - big stack steals blinds from two shorts.

A5o, cutoff-1, folds
42o, MP, folds
63o, MP, folds
K3s, UTG, folds

Key Hand
A4s, BB - 600 stack goes all-in. 400 for me to call, no one else in the pot, so I clal it. He shows ATo. Flop is great, 234, I'm up. Turn is a 5, not so great, we're tied. River is the 4th spade, he has the ten of spades. I lose the hand. I'm down to 2145 chips. Still 5th w/ jtryzbiak draining a fe w off too.

crap, button, folds - mojomug wins a nice sized pot, up to 2275.

Key Hand
TT, cutoff - a giant stack raises to 700. Raise or fold? likely a coin flip, possibly I'm dominated, possibly i'm ahead against Axs or something like that... I push all-in. Kangback calls, and he has AK. Flop 789, turn and river are both lower than that. I double up to 4590!!!

crap, MP, folds

kangback's QQ knocks out short stack's 77.

crap, UTG+1 - spheremonk's AQ knocks out KJ from Mikehburke.

6 remain, I'm 3rd in chips. mojomug has 2175, btyphoidmary has 3445.

crap, UTG, folds

KQo, BB - I call the min raise from KangBack. I'm protecting my chips vs the big stack though. T62, I give it up on that flop when he bets.

Level 8 - 150/300 blinds

Q8s, SB, limp after 1 limper, folds to a flop bet when i miss bad.

I have 3890 in chips.

two short stacks going at it in the blinds. big pot building on the flop, mojomug goes all in w/ JT, top two pair. btyphoidmary got too attached to AQo, and didn't bet nearly big enough on that flop. mojomug has 4200. btyphoid mary is on the button now w/ 970 chpis.

btyphoidmary goes all in on a flush draw vs top pair and loses!

In the Money

5 left. I am the short stack but I have 10x the BB so I'm not in terible shape.

gentlemanjak has 8300, kangback 8100, spheremonk 5300, mojomug 4200, radii 3590

i fold my blinds to raises.

A9o, button - open-raise to 900, win blinds.
T6o, cutoff, folds
85s, UTG, folds
T2s, BB, folds to raise
32o, SB, folds
Q2s, button, folds
Q5o, MP, folds

Key HAnd
KJs, UTG - I raise to 900 chpis. spheremonk calls me. Flop is the most beautiful thing ever. QT9. I check the flop. Free turn is a 2. Brings out a backdoor flush draw. I bet small, 550 chips, and get re-raised to 1250. I call, assured he'll call anything on the river. The river is the single worst card I could see, a king. I go all in, he calls. He shows JJ and did I slowplay it too much? Maybe so.

Level 9 - 200/400 blinds

few hands folded.

92o, BB, folds to raise.

Key Hand
A5s, SB - button(gentlemanjak, big stack) raises pre-flop. I think awhile, and re-raise all in. I figure the chance he's on a pure steal and may fold + that he's on Kx makes this a good chance for me to re-steal/push on him. HE thinks a long time as well, and I guess figures it's worth 1500 more for him to try to knock me out. He calls with J3o. flop is 9TQ, I hate that... but, I hit an ace and I hold up, whew.

Took awhile to write that up.. crap folded around to my BB.

A7s, BB - jak limps to me, I check. Flop is Axx, checked, I bet the pot and I win it.

I am in great shape now, 2nd in chips, but everyone still has at least 3500, so it's a long way from even 5th being decided.

jak goes down to 2100 chpis pushing into the big stack, big stack came over him and he folded.

A3o, MP, folds to 2000 raise.
crap, UTG< folds
62o, BB, folds to anything
75o, SB - kangback raises, folds again.

3 stacks right around 3K now. kangback running over the table with 15K.

98o, MP, folds
Q4, UTG, folds
96o, BB, folds
J4o, SB, folds
T5o, folds

Level x - 300/600 blinds

Key HAnd
QQ, MP - I raise to 1500, and the monster sttack calls me out of the BB. Flop comes Kxx, two spades. He bets big into me, and I decide to fold. That takes a big chunk out of my stack but if he has a king I'm in huge huge trouble.

I have to fold crap through my blinds.

4 of us around 2900, big stack 17K. This is nuts.

A6o, BB - raised all in, I'm going to wait. Bad move perhaps, I think I can move up a ton more still though

Jak all in vs another short stack, J8 vs KJ, but an 8 saves him.

Woo, FINALLY. Up to 4th. 66 vs AA all in, Kang has the AA. 22K vs 2K vs 2K vs 2K... nutso. crapshoot for 2nd.

Afgter a round through the blinds w/o a face card, mojo and I have 1K. Jak 1900. mojo doulbes up to 2800, me and jak next.

K6o, BB - jak folds to me, yay.

T2o, SB - gotta give that up. jak goes all in w/ A6, mojo calls with 68. 68 flop!

Down to 3.

I go all in on QTs and double up off of Kang. Mojo has me by a fair amount but I can still snag 2nd here.

TT about 3 hands later. All in, mojo calls. kang might call too! HE does. playing for 5K. 733 flop, two spades. Kang bets hard, I dunno why. They should have checked me down, he had nothing. I double up.

Very next hand, JJ. I go all in when kang checks to me. I win the pot. I have 5400, mojo 2900.

Level x 400/800 blinds

I call a bet w/ AK but fold on the flop, trying to outlast mojo again.

mojo all in for 1250. I have 74s. 400 more for me to call. I do and he wins it.

Next hand I go all in w/ A3 and steal mojo's blinds. We're even again.

mojo Q3 doubles up off kang's 9T.

JJ in my big blind, WOOT. I doulbe up off kang's A3 back to 2600.

mojo al in on Q9. kang has A3. queen and a 9 hit. stayin alive.

I have to fold 95 on my BB. 1400 to mojo's 5000.

All in for 1060 AT. Called by Kang's A4. 4 hits but then 4 diamonds come. I flush and stay alive.

KJs... i run into mojo's A7, and he hits two pair. we both have hearts so I am out there.

That was kinda craazy at the end. I cannot complain about a 3rd place finish though.

I pay $33 to enter, and win $180, a solid profit, and a great feeling as its my first place in one of these in some time.

Radii

08-13-2004, 12:14 AM

That win + solid play recently in ring games has gotten me back up on the month. I believe I started August w/ $2250, and lost a fair amount during the first week of the month. I am now back up to $2450.

Radii

08-13-2004, 09:00 AM

I am assuming that since you didn't post the final result that you pushed and lost.

Ran into AK, flopped a flush draw but came up empty.

I posted this b/c at the time it seemed like an obvious steal attempt, but when I mentioned that on another board, I got one comment indicating that it was a "terrible, impatient play". So I asked for additional opinions there and posted on 2+2 as well(and got a whopping 1 response). I certainly wasn't trying to prove the "terrible play" response wrong, but I was now unsure of what the right way to play in this situation was... short stack, on the bubble, all I have to do is survive to the next place.

With 15 hands left after reading all comments from all places I think if I ended up in that situation again i'd fold and hope one of the other two stacks busted before me. All I need is 1 chip left when we get down to 9.

Radii

08-13-2004, 09:11 AM

I haven't played too many 3-table's lately. Here's my updated 3-table stats.

Entered: 23
Entry Fees paid: $759
1st: 1
2nd: 0
3rd: 2
4th: 2
5th: 2

ITM%: 30.4%
Money Won: $1080
ROI: 42.2%

One decent finish w/ this small a sample increases the ROI from under 30% to back over 40%.

RGunner

08-13-2004, 01:43 PM

Good job on the tourney Radii, i am really enjoying this its a great read... Played in my first big tourney on Party Poker late last night, a 100+9 one, ended up finishing second out of 100 to bring home 1700 bucks, was amazing..

At one point with about 15 left, top 13 get paid, wasnt the short stack but wasnt in the middle either.. I'm dealt AQs, guy before me (the huge stack with twice as much as anybody else, had gotten extremely lucky about 8 times on the river) bets out about 2000 chips, I push all in, he calls, I catch and Ace to beat his JJ, he goes crazy for the rest of his tournament, which is only about 15 more minutes as he busts out like 12th. Did I play this wrong? I thought I played it well.

Another time, I was once again the lower stack at about 9k, high stack was about 20k. I am dealt 99, i raise pre flop, three callers, flop comes I hit my set, guy bets I go all in over the top, he calls, he has a straight, river comes and hits a full house for me and i beat him. Different story on this ending, this guy was amazingly cool about it, and ended up finishing 4th although going down to about 2000 chips on that.

Overall a great tourney, first time I put money into Partypoker last night, deposited 200, now i have a bankroll of 1800-1900, nice.

Radii

08-13-2004, 02:17 PM

At one point with about 15 left, top 13 get paid, wasnt the short stack but wasnt in the middle either.. I'm dealt AQs, guy before me (the huge stack with twice as much as anybody else, had gotten extremely lucky about 8 times on the river) bets out about 2000 chips, I push all in, he calls, I catch and Ace to beat his JJ, he goes crazy for the rest of his tournament, which is only about 15 more minutes as he busts out like 12th. Did I play this wrong? I thought I played it well.

My first thought is that if you're playing for 1st and would rather bust out now trying to win than make the money playing a little tighter, then it's probably ok. If the big stack has been trying to steal a lot(which he probably should on the bubble w/ a giant stack) then you can put him on a very wide range of hands and a push will probably make him fold most of the time because he won't have anything nearly as strong as JJ. Unless he's overly tight w/ his big stack, it seems ok to me given the above parameters.

But hey, I have only placed in one of the multitle of big MTT's I've played in.

Congrats on your finish, that's awesome :)

RGunner

08-13-2004, 02:19 PM

Well Radii, he was the big stack, so he constantly bullied with anything, and called all in bets and sucked out 3/4 of the time, so I figured I had to, and I was goin for first I had to make a move.

Radii

08-13-2004, 06:04 PM

I join a 3-table NL tourney on party, shooting to get a good result like last night.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

I start on table 1, so these guys I will see til they bust out for the most part.

96o, UTG+1, folds T4s all in on inside straight draw + flush draw vs QQ. inside draw hits, fowlick doubles up.
K9o, UTG, folds AK vs AT all in... AT down to 95 chips.
98s, BB - free 3-way flop, folds to a miss though
63o, SB, I complete for 5 chips and fold on the flop
43s, button - limp into a 6 way pot, but have to fold on the flop
QTo, cutoff, folds
A3o, cutoff-1, folds
J2o, MP, folds
72o, MP, folds
63o, UTG+1, fold

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds

an uneventful level for me, 955 chips left.

T6o, UTG, folds
J4s, BB, folds to raise
Q3s, SB - complete for 10 chips into a 5 way pot, but again I have to fold when I don't catch anything.
K4o, button, folds
97s, cutoff, folds
65o, cutoff-1, folds

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds

J8o, UTG+2, folds
93o, UTG+1, folds
crap, UTG, folds

915 chips after another uneventful level.

28 still remain in the tourney.

53o, BB - free flop 4-way, and this looks good enough to stab at, 663. I bet the pot(120) and take it down, getting me back up to 1005 in chips.

K5o, SB - another limp into 5 way action, another flop that doesn't even give me a little bite, and I fold.
75o, button, folds
86o, cutoff, folds
T2o, cutoff-1, folds
K4o, MP, folds

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

Didn't get through many hands that level... 25 hands in 30 minutes though is about right.

63o, UTG+2, folds

We now have 5 people gone from the tourney. My stack is 975 chips. Make that 6 gone, flush draw all in vs straight draw on the flop, the high card(straight draw) takes it.

94o, UTG+1, folds
65o, UTG, folds
62o, BB, folds
A2s, SB - an ace? I haven't seen one of those in awhile. Too bad taht's a duece following it. I go ahead and limp anyway after two before me limp. the BB raises to 200 and I'm gone. BB raiser had A5o, and hit a flush w/ his ace.
K7o, button, folds

22 remain, 2 tables soonish. I'd like a playable hand please.

K3o, cutoff, folds - down to 20 as AQ beats QT on an AQT flop.

87o, UTG+2, folds
T8o, UTG+1, folds

we haven't merged yet for some reason. Maybe a long hand going on at another table.

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

Last time I played in a tourney this uneventful for me, I busted 15th. This time I'd prefer to think a great run of cards is right around the corner. At 50/100 I defnitely have to loosen up though.

We are 8 handed as two went out in the last two hands here.

QJs, BB - There's a limp and a raise to 450, I think about it but this isn't the hand I want to bust out on. I fold.
54o, SB - folds

This leaves me with 725 in chips. Blech.

75o, button, folds
A6o, cutoff, again I fold to a big pre-flop raise.
72o, cutoff-1, folds
J4s, MP, folds
T7s, MP, folds
J2s, UTG+1, folds

I'll wait through the blinds for a good situation, after that I'm too short, I have to go on good cards. This stinks.

J8s, UTG, folds

84o, BB - one limper, waldomushman who has been limping quite a bit, the SB thinks forever, and limps. Free flop. It's enough for me with this number of chips. 872 with three hearts. I have top pair but no heart. I bet the pot on the flop, waldo calls. I go all in on the turn(no heart). Waldo calls. Waldo has 55. The 6 on the turn gave him a ton of outs.. not as many as I thought though

Holdem Hi: 44 enumerated boards containing 6s 8h 7h 2h
cards win %win lose %lose tie %tie EV
5d 5h 14 31.82 30 68.18 0 0.00 0.318
4s 8c 30 68.18 14 31.82 0 0.00 0.682

I hold up, and I win the pot. 5s give me a straight to counterfit two of his.

I fold crap through MP here.

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

I have 1500 in chips, 10x the BB, enough to hang around and wait for another good opportunity basically.

54o, UTG+1, folds

We've finally started to see some attrition, we're down to 15. I'd like to see the final table at the break, but we'll see.

14 left as 22 hits trips to beat AK.

64o, UTG, folds

13 left as something happens on the other table.

63o, BB, folds to raise.
Q4o, SB - folds to raise
J9o, button, folds
K8o, cutoff, folds
A2o, UTG+1, folds

We're now 6 handed at this table.

Key Hand
AJo, UTG - I raise to 450 chips. 2 very big stacks are behind me, and one of them puts me all in. With 825 left and the blinds hitting next hand, I have to call(unless the other big stack stays in too... ok, he folded). I have to hope he's on a small pair and we're 50/50. Eep. He has AQ. Flop, KTx. Turn, QUEEN, STRAIGHT. River, ten. I win the hand and double up+a little.

Decision
AJo, SB - same hand. Button goes all in for 1000 chips. I think about it awhile, he could have anything... I decide to fold. BB calls the all in, he has AK, 1000 has 55. a 5 hits and JennyChu gets some help.

ok, that takes su to the break as I fold some crap.

Final Table

On the last hand before the 1 hour break, three guys end up all in, top pair vs 2nd pair vs 3rd pair on the flop. Top pair was the biggest stack, and two people bust out!

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - hour break

I am 6th in chips and very alive, beating the hand that dominated me has put me in decent enough(not great by far, but decent) shape to try to make the money and win this thing.

Around the table:

mastercuz - 4976 chips
vldn7 - 3757 chips
mazzy188 - 1599 chips
dubbeemin - 5198 chips
metternich - 3215 chips
sharkinz - 7750 chips
jennychu - 955 chips
radii - 2550 chips

Key Hand
ATs - First hand after the break. jennychu goes all in for 955 chips. I decide to call. Jenny has KJ to my AT. A jack on the board and I am fucked! Coulda played tight to try to make the money off others mistakes, but I still have 1595 chips left and I woulda likely needed some help to make the money anyway, I'm ok with this decision.

Q6o, UTG+2, folds
J5o, UTG+1, folds
62o, UTG, folds
63s, BB - big stack limps on the button, I check. QT9 flop and I fold.
KTo, SB - short stack goes all in for 1400 or so, I fold
J7o, button, folds

1295 in chips after that round of blinds.

K4o, cutoff, folds
73o, cutoff-1, folds
64s, MP, folds
J7o, UTG+1, folds
73o, UTG, folds

T6o in my big blind. sharkinz(big stack) just limps again... jennychu completes and I check. I flop an inside striaght draw but jenny bets and i'm not going all in on that 3-way. shark raises jenny and wins the pot.

T4s, SB - folds
T8s, button, folds

Level 8 - 150/300 blinds

I'm real short.

Key Hand
I raise all in w/ 995 chips with AKo. vldn7 comes over for 4K chips. He has AQ. Domination works this time! AK holds up and I'm still in this thing with 2290 chips.

folded one crap hand.

Key Hand
JJ UTG+2 - I open-raise to 1200. re-raised all in by bigger stack in BB. He has 99!!! I double up again!!!!

crap, UTG+1, folds - one of the short stacks goes out!
crap, UTG, folds

76o BB - folds to raise
75o, SB, folds

button, folds

Q2s, cutoff, folds

oliegirl and kiddo just got home hence the lack of specific hands.

jennychu doulbes up to 1600 w/ KT over dubbeemin's A9. dang.

J4o, UTG+2, folds
K6s, UTG+1, folds - jennychu all in 1670. called by big stack's AK. jenny has 77, hits a set, wins, up to 3200.
J4s, UTG, folds

That stretch hurt, instead of two very very short stacks going all the way out there's only one real short stack and two stacks barely below mine.

A2o, BB, folds to 1100 raise.

Level 9 - 200/400 blinds

QTo, folds to raise

metternich has 1275, jennychu 3040, dubbeemin 3288, I have 3780. mastercuz 4700, vldn7 5300, sharkinz 8000. Two more to go out before the money.

75o, button, folds - mastercuz's 4K stack takes on shark's 7K stack. Mastercuz wins a big pot and is up to 6K.

T8o, cutoff, folds
K9o, MP, folds to sharkinz's 1200 raise. metternich calls all in. AJ vs K4. metternich hits 3 kings :(

Q8s, UTG+1, folds

two 2700 stacks/3050 stack/me at 3780... - biiig confrontation between mastercuz and sharkinz. shark loses to trip kings from mastercuz. shark down under 3K.

92o, BB - folds to 2700 all-in.
Q9o, SB - folds to raise
94o, button, folds

2550/2905/ME 3180/3240/3288 are stack sizes... two big stacks only now. STill 7 of us.

54o, cutoff, folds

the two big stacks are directly to my left. Makes blind stealing hard.

T5o, MP, folds

A8s, UTG+1 - I open-raise to 1200 and steal the blinds.
96o, UTG, folds
84o, BB - dubbeemin all in agin. CALLED BY SHARKINZ. KT vs JJ. sharkinz's JJ holds up. Unfortunate, he woulda been busted. 1183 from dubbee now though is all that he has left.

dubbeemin busts out on my SB, big stack calls out of blind and wins.

88, button, I open-raise to 1200. I'm called by mastercuz. An ace and a king hit the board and I am the short stack when I have to fold it.

on the bubble... my play here has been less than stellar lately.

I am short with 1980, mttermich has 2150, jennychu 3240. sharkinz 4410. vld and mastercuz are big. Blinds hitting me soon though and they'll be bigger.

92o, UTG

Level 10 - 300/600 blinds

K8o, BB - I fold to an all in.
T8o, SB - folds

Key HAnd
AJo, button - I call an all in by sharkinz. I fear domination badly, but I have 1000 chips with 300/600 blinds...

It's a coin flip, he has 99, and a 9 hits the flop. Fuck.

Playing to win instead of playing ot make the money, and the two hands I tried to play on the bubble went very poorly for me. Now, with yet another bubble finish, am I doing something fundamently wrong here or is my play ok?

Radii

08-13-2004, 10:16 PM

I enter the 20K $11 rebuy tourney on pokerstars.

Today I rebuy immediately to try to give me an advantage if I hit a big hand early.

Level 1 - 10/20 blinds

86o, MP, folds
87s, UTG+1, I limp into a 6-way pot. Bottom pair on a 3-club board isn't enough for me, i fold
84o, UTG, folds
Q4o, BB, folds to 500 raise PF

Registration closes with 925 entries, a pretty large field.

62s, SB, i complete into a 4 way pot and fold on the flop
Q7o, button, folds
crap, cutoff, folds
A6o, cutoff-1, folds to 80 raise

Key Hand
AKo in MP. Jibboo raises small, I re-raise him to 200 chips. A smaller stack w/ about 1400 chpis goes all in, as does Jibboo, I figure to be a coin flip to both, and maybe i'll have one dominated given rebuy play. Well, I've never seen this. AA vs KK vs AK. I rebuy.

crap, UTG+1, folds
93o, UTG, folds

Q2o, BB, I flop a straight draw in a 6 way pot. 9TJ flop. We all check around. The turn gives me top pair :P Queen makes it QJT9, QT9 are all clubs. I fold to a bet.
Q2o, SB, folds
73o, button, folds
A4o, cutoff, folds
J5s, cutoff-1, folds

AQo, I raise to 100, and I win the blinds. Whee.

Level 2 - 15/30 blinds

Still have exactly 3000.

J5o, UTG+1, folds
J2o, UTG, folds

Key Hand
K8o, BB - free flop 5 handed. Flop is good, AK8, two pair. I bet smallish, 70 chips into the 120 pot. I get heads up with JMFISH(with a great hulk logo), he's got about 700 chips left. Turn is a queen, I bet the pot and he calls. River is a jack, and I put him all in, if he's got a 10, oh well... he doesn't, shows A2 and I take the pot. Up to 4125 in chips for now, a decent gain.

SB/button crap folded.

66, cutoff - a rare fold around, I open-raise to 120 w/ my 6s, and I take the pot.
Q4o, cutoff-1, folds.

I'm currently 175th out of 864 remaining.

T9o, MP, folds
74o, MP, folds
KTo, UTG+1, folds
A4o, UTG, folds
65o, BB, folds to PF raise
A4o, SB, folds to raise
K2o, button, folds
T2o, cutoff, folds
95o, cutoff-1, folds
Q3o, MP, folds

77, UTG+2, I limp in and we're 4 handed. Two overcards and I fold. Then I watch a 7 on the turn. And a 7 on the river. Oh well.

Level 3 - 25/50 blinds

J3o, UTG+1, folds
Q2o, UTG, folds
J3o, BB, folds to raise PF

Still 30 minutes during the rebuy period.

99, SB - one limps, and I raise to 200 chips out of the SB. BB and cutoff call me. The flop comes J82, all clubs. I think a minute and check, and the BB goes all in. We both fold.

T7s, button, folds
Q2o, cutoff, folds
94s cutoff-1, folds
T7s, MP, folds
J9o, MP, folds
T5s, UTG+2, folds

54s, UTG, I try to limp and fold to a raise behind.

Q6o, bB, folds to raise PF

Key Hand
QJs, SB - Here's a hand I want to play. I have to call a raise, but I need to move up a lot more, I call 125 here. Flop comes 653, two of my suit. Overcards and a flush draw. I call a 500 chip bet, the turn is a great card for me, it makes my flush, and it's a king, giving me the 2nd nuts. We both check the turn. the river is a ten. I lead out for 1000 chips. I want to go all in but I think he knows exactly what I have and I think he might call 1000. He does, probably b/c of what he hit... pocket 10s.

That increase pushes me up to 5595 in chips, a nice boost but I would really really like to be able to push upwards of 10K before the hour break. The table isn't going insane with the rebuys though so I have to play reasonably solid and not take a ton fo chances right now. Perhap it'll open back up a little in the last round and i'll have a chance to take advantage.

A few hands folded while I type.

Key Hand
99, UTG+2. I flop a set in a 3-way pot after open-raising to 200. Flop is 976 two herats though. It's very coordinated. i check and call a bet. This is a huge mistake, this board was way too scary to slowplay. The turn sucks, the ten of hearts. an 8 makes a straight and the heart draw just hit. I check and call a 1500 bet. Why? I'm stuck, I guess. I know I'm not playing this right but I'm hoping to re-draw to a boat. The river.... an 8. straight on the board. Both of us check, and I see K7o, no hearts at all. Dang.

A few hands folded... I have 5483 in chips.

11 minutes left. I'm in pretty good shape, 200th out of 700ish left, but I'd love to improve further still.

A4o, cutoff, folds
A4o, cutoff-1, folds
95o, MP, folds
T8o, MP, folds
52o, UTG, folds
62o, BB, folds

Key HAnd
97s, SB - I call a raise to 200 chips to see a 5-way flop. Flop gives me top pair + inside straight draw. I lead out and bet the pot. Everyone folds. A solid pickup for me in a dangerous situation.

Wow, we see a great hand. Flop is 987. 3 ppl go all in for a large number of chips, around 9500. AA vs 99 vs 56. Aces vs trips vs a made straight. An 8 on the turn and DesEsseintes wins a big big hand.

I add on and enter round two with 8283 chpis.

posting this now so I can switch from this terrible laptop to the desktop.

RPI-Fan

08-13-2004, 10:31 PM

Phew! Based on that short post, I thought it might have been an early exit. Radii - Do you mind if I kibitz your table?

Radii

08-13-2004, 10:52 PM

didn't see a reply, not at all, I'm at table 90 right now

Radii

08-13-2004, 11:23 PM

20K guarenteed hour 2

Level 5 - 75/150 blinds

The rebuy period is over. I start in 200th out of 729 remaining.

99, UTG+1, I open-raise to 450 and fold when nschiling comes over me for 1500 more.

During the break Jibboo and brett66 seem to have a rather intelligent conversation about tournament EV and rebuying. nschilling talks to ammbo from a previous tournament who's on the rail here, so I think we have a fair # of 2+2'ers at this table.

QTs, UTG, folds

Key Hand
42o, BB - I get a free flop 5-handed. Flop comes Q52. We all check around. The turn is a 4, I have bottom two pair. I bet the pot, 750 chips, and am raised 750 more by feartotears, he was UTG here. He limped UTG. What could he have? Well, I have absolutely no idea if he's a good player or not. Did he want to check-raise the flop with a set, or did he have AQ and think I'm weak? I call the 750, but on teh river he goes all in for 3300 more. I think for awhile, and if he's a decnet player I have him on AQ or a set. That's damn agressive with AQ, with my pot sized bet on the turn... I dunno, I'm trying to get better at putting people on hands, but right now I fear a set too much. I fold.

I am down my add-on basically. Down to 6100 in chips. I still have enough of a stack to play, but that sucks.

QTo, MP, folds
J6o, MP, folds
T9o, UTG+1, folds
J6o, UTG, folds
J5o, BB, folds to 600 raise.
J9o, SB, folds
Q8o, button, folds

ATo, cutoff - I open-raise to 450 from the cutoff, the big stack int he SB calls me. Flop comes JT5, checked to me, I bet the pot, 1K in chips, and he folds.

I am back up to 6483 after that.

crap, cutoff-1, folds
K4o, MP, folds
K8o, UTG+2, folds

Level 6 - 100/200 blinds

My 6483 chips has me in 346th out of the 630 remaining. Top 81 pay.

crap, UTG, folds

T9o, BB - free flop heads up w/ BB. We check it all the way down and I win the pot vs his 78. with lots of high cards that almost but don't give me a straight.

Key Decision
KQo, SB - I limp and then call a 400 chip raise from the BB, into a 4 way pot. The flop comes down QJ9. I check, intending to check-raise the PF raiser(mistake?!). The pre-flop raiser checks, but, nschilling goes all in. 4000 more for me to call, I think for a long time, but I just put him on too good a hand for that. I give it up.

Key Hand
JJ, cutoff - I open-raise to 600 chips and get one caller out of the blinds. The flop comes 773. He checks, I bet the pot, 1600 chips. Now the pot is about 5000 chips and I have 3500 or so left if I'm counting all that right. I go all in on VinnyVegas when the 6 on the turn comes. If he has A7 so be it. He doesn't he has 55. The river isn't the 5 or 4 that would kill me, I doulbe up to 12000 in chips!!

A few hands go by during the writeup of those two hands, and my blinds pass.

4 minutes til the antes start and I'm in the best shape I've been in here. 4 people have over 10K at the table, and I'm one of them. I'm still only 137th out of the well over 500 left.

T8o, cutoff-1, folds
64o, MP, folds
A5o, MP, folds
K4o, UTG, folds

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds 25 ante

T3o, BB - fold to raise

I am 148th out of 515 remaining.

95o, button, folds
T5o, cutoff, folds
42o, cutoff-1, folds
J4o, MP, folds
83o, UTG+2, folds
A5o, UTG+1, folds

KQo, UTG - against good players, even though I've been tight, I'm not sure I want to go put $1K at risk here, and, I fold. Too tight?

83o, BB, folds to raise

63s, SB, I complete after 3 limp before me. 5-way pot. Flop comes Q96, I have bottom pair, no kicker. I fold to a bet on the flop. None of my suit either.

32s, button, folds
98o, cutoff, folds
KTo, cutoff-1, folds to a raise before.
84o, MP, folds
62o, UTG+1, folds
84o, UTG, folds
J2o, BB, folds to raise to 800.

Level 8 - 200/400 blinds 25 antes

It's disgusting how shitty my cards have been this last level.

73s, cutoff, folds

I am 197th out of 427 left.

32o, MP, folds
T5o, MP, folds
75o, MP, folds

KQo, UTG+1, I raise, and I steal the blinsd! A POT!

AJs, UTG, I raise to 1200. jibboo raises 3x me and I fold. He shows AK.

Key Hand
A5s, BB - free flop with a lot in the pot(5?). Flop comes Jxx with two spades, my suit. Checked around to scott1681, he bets 1500. The pot is 3400, easy call. Turn is an ace, and we are heads up. I check, fully intending to check-raise him here. He checks too. The river is a blank, I bet 2K into the ~4K pot, and he calls. I have him beat, and The nice win picks me up to 14.6K.

I now have official FOFC support, RPI-fan is watching :)

32o, UTG+2, folds

Break in 6 minutes. I have to pee.

Q7o, UTG+1, folds
A2s, UTG, folds

I check my stats to see my stack is about average size, but with some true monsters out there, average is good for the top 1/3 of the ~400 left.

75s, BB - Free flop, it's suited, not my suit. I am out.
35o, SB, folds
98o, button, folds
83s, cutoff, folds
76o, cutoff-1, folds
54o, MP, folds
A3o, UTG+2, folds
J7o, UTG, folds

We're at the 2 hour break. I'll post this for anyone who's following. I have 13.7K in chips. 153rd out of 338 remaining.

Radii

08-13-2004, 11:43 PM

Had TT, quite happy he folded.

Radii

08-14-2004, 12:03 AM

Level 9 - 300/600 blinds - 50 antes

I have 13.7K in chips. I sit 153rd out of 337, still in a fine position to move up the chain and put in a good showing here.

J8s, BB - I fold to a 5K all-in from stonekillr.

feartotears and jibboo, who have been at this same table forever, both have built large 20+K stacks. prontopup just moved here, he has 33K.

86o, SB, folds
82s, button, folds
J2o, cutoff, folds - prontopup steals blinds from EP

K8o, cutoff-1, folds - jibboo raises 3x the blinds, scheesh(newguy) raises all-in for 4700 total. jibboo calls w/ KJ. scheesh has AQ. scheesh doubles up.

75s, MP, folds

I know we're at a stage in the tourney where Ihave to open up a bit and not get anted/blinded down. This is something I'm not the best at and am still learning about how to pick my spots.

72o, MP, folds - feartotears, DesEsseninets and prontopup limp, jibboo free flop. A44, fear bets out 2400 and wins it.

97o, UTG+1, folds - pronto steal min raise from the button. JMFish playsback all in. 87s for pronto, AK for fish. pronto flops a flush and it's over. JM was short short stack.

Key Hand
AQo, BB - free flop. I debate raising out of the blind, but I don't(should I w/ 1 early limper and the SB?). Flop comes Axx, two low clubs. I bet the pot, and I take it right there.

Q7s, SB - 3 limpers, I'll complete that... flop misses and I fold. - feartotears bets big, desesseintes all-in, icesam all in over him(new guy there). flush draw vs top two pair. two pair holds up and icesam just picked up a 25K pot. He has 33K now.

J6o, button, folds.
83s, cutoff, folds n- scheesh and stonekiller all in, both are pretty short. KT vs AJ. a queen is the only high card, AJ holds up unimproved.

84o, MP, folds - scheesch all in again, against big stack pronto. AJ vs KQ this time. pronto has the AJ, he hits a jack, no higher card than that, andscheesh is out.

63s, UTG+2, folds

I am 170th out of 280 remaining. This is where I have the most trouble, my stack isn't short, but it's starting to dwindle a little. I am not good at picking up a lot of pots to keep myself in the game like I need to.

Both guys to my left are much bigger than me too, which doesn't help me any.

Key Hand

TT, UTG+1, I have no idea if I'm making a good decision here or not. UTG raises to 2400. If I'm going to play I definitely have to go all in to give myself fold equity. I do, and TheHawk lays it down.

UTG folds

86s, BB - fold to a big raise.

Decision
99, SB - do I raise here or limp with two limpers? I limp, and fear raises to 3x the blind. With FREDO calling also, and both of them having me covered, I decide to fold. Ok? Not sure. JJTQ on the board and fear wins it with an all in.

Level 10 - 400/800 blinds - 50 antes

T2o, button, folds
87o, cutoff, folds

144 out of 250 remaining.

K5o, cutoff-1, folds
K5o, cutoff-2, folds - TheHawk all in w/ 22, loses to pronto's presto.

crap, UTG+1, folds - icesam min-raise, called by fredo1, 6400 more put in by pronto. pronto winsi t.
J4o, UTG+1(sbj99 joins, lumberg icon from office space, only 4K chips). I fold
J2o, UTG, folds

96o, BB, FREDO limps early. pronto thinks, he just limps, jibboo limps, free flop. bottom pair, sigh. A86. I let pronto take it w/ a bet.

Key Hand
J8o, SB, fredo limps, pronto limps, icesam limps... i hav the odds to play most any two here. good flop for me. T96. I bet the pot, of course hoping to take it right there. fredo calls me, and then pronto goes all in. If I hit my draw, I'm going to nearly triple up to well over 35K, depending on what fredo does. If I fold I have 9K left. There is the off chance pronto has a flush draw or a ten only and my jack is good, but that's not something I'm counting on. I decide to make my stand here. I call the all in, as does Fredo. Fredo shows AQ(just overs). pronto shows T9 for two pair. So I have to hit my draw. I don't, and I am out 215th.

Discussions on how I played any hand are welcome, including the last one. Bet the pot on the flop? Try to see a cheap turn? Just fold w/o a made hand? I'd like to say having fredo in the pot made the decision for me, knowing I triple up insteado f double up if I hit, but really, I just decided to say fuck it and go for it. So, how bad a call is that? Some of the pocket pair hands along the way I have no idea bout as well, a few of the 99 hands, espicially in the SB w/ a few limpers, and before that raising from EP and getting played back at.

Out 215th, nothin to show for it but the experience.

dixieflatline

08-14-2004, 05:02 PM

Playing to win instead of playing ot make the money, and the two hands I tried to play on the bubble went very poorly for me. Now, with yet another bubble finish, am I doing something fundamently wrong here or is my play ok?

I think you did everything you could there. It sucks to go out on the bubble but the real money is winning it and that is the way you played. Several times players got lucky to stay in so you probably should have taken away some money from this. You don't want to go in a shell with 6 people left. AJo is a good hand 6 handed. You could have been dominated but he could easily have AXs or KJ. The key is when you win the coin flips like this that you turn it into good money.

KQo, UTG - against good players, even though I've been tight, I'm not sure I want to go put $1K at risk here, and, I fold. Too tight?

I hate KQo in early position. Even if you hit top pair you have to be concerned about your kicker. Lot's of ways to lose all your money with KQo.

Key Hand
J8o, SB, fredo limps, pronto limps, icesam limps... i have the odds to play most any two here. good flop for me. T96. I bet the pot, of course hoping to take it right there. fredo calls me, and then pronto goes all in. If I hit my draw, I'm going to nearly triple up to well over 35K, depending on what fredo does. If I fold I have 9K left. There is the off chance pronto has a flush draw or a ten only and my jack is good, but that's not something I'm counting on. I decide to make my stand here. I call the all in, as does Fredo. Fredo shows AQ(just overs). pronto shows T9 for two pair. So I have to hit my draw. I don't, and I am out 215th.

I like the pot sized bet on the flop and I understand that the pot was laying you some might good odds but you still could have done damage with 9K in chips. You still would have had more tha 10x the BB so you would still have had some wiggle room. I know you weren't banking on it but if a J hit the board would have a JT9 and that is a bit dicey. Since no one had the flush draw your other 8 outs were all available you were really in good shape. Even if there was a flush draw the 6 outs might have given you enough pot odds. Of course in a tourney chips are precious but you would have been in a very good spot if you had hit. Again, it's good to see you trying for a high position and taking some risks than tightening up and just making the money. I think in the long run you will be happy with this strategy.

RPI-Fan

08-14-2004, 09:49 PM

To be brutally honest, I wasn't all that enamored with the call on the flop. As dixieflatline said, you'd have plenty of chips left with a fold there.

Radii

08-14-2004, 11:04 PM

Yeah, it was clearly a bad call, I knew this when I made it. I just said "F it, lets gamble"... something I usually don't do.

After that was over RGunner and I both entered a $30 NL MTT on Partypoker. 920 entered, I didn't write it up b/c it was late and I was playing some limit on the side. Long story short, 897 busted before I did, I never had a great stack but I played my short/average stack extremely well IMO, got some good support and some good advice from RGunner on some specific trouble situations.

100 got paid, I had to just limp into the money, had one hand I wanted to push pre-flop and had to talk myself into getting into the money and letting stuff happen from there. The insanity of partypoker took over, tons and tonf went out right away. I'd push if I had a hand, but if I didn't, I'd just wait it out and get up more levels. In the end, I made it up to 23rd place before getting to shortstacked to do anything and had to go all in on crap.

23rd was good for ~$165, something I was quite pleased with :)

Thanks a ton to RGunner for hanging around after he'd busted out(we were chatting in AIM), and for offering some advice on some tricky situations.

Radii

08-15-2004, 05:37 PM

After some major successes in ring games last night and today, I take a break and join a 3 table NL tourney on party.

Level 1 - 10/15 blinds

It took a little while to fill up, but now we're going. I start at table #1 so I don't expect to be moving.

Q7o, MP, folds
Q3s, UTG+2, folds 66 hits trips, busts out QTo that hit top pair.
65s, UTG+1, I try to limp in. I do but I fold to a bad flop.
J2o, UTG, folds
A4o, BB, folds to all in from short stack(who doulbes up w/ QQ vs ATs).

Key Hand
A8s, sB - I call the min raise from the button and we see a 4 way flop. Flop comes A84, rainbow. I decide to check-raise the button, he bets 90, and I raise to 220. The other two in the pot fold, and RockinR1 calls me. The turn is a king, and i fear AK a little but I can't be that afraid of that one hand... I bet out the pot, and win it now, I'm up to 1295 in chips.

QTo, cutoff, folds
J5o, cutoff-1, folds
Q9o, MP, folds
K6o, MP, folds

Level 2 - 10/20 blinds
Only 1 went out in level 1. I have 1295 chips, good for 2nd at my table.

75o, UTG+2, folds
A9o, UTG+1, folds
crap, UTG, folds
QJo, BB - free flop 4-way. It's A73 and I fold to a bet.
84o, SB, folds
JTs, button, I limp and fold to a bet on the flop.
T5o, cutoff, folds
Q3s, cutoff-1, folds
96o, MP, folds

KQo, MP, limp into a 5-way pot. Flop comes 763. The turn is a king, but before me comes an all-in for about 800 chips. I decide to throw that one away.

crap, UTG+1, folds

Level 3 - 15/30 blinds
crap, UTG, folds
J4o, BB, folds
96o, SB, folds
A7o, button, folds - AT/KK/AK end up all in pre-flop. AT wins with a flush.
J5o, MP, folds
.. couple crap hands folded, we're 7 handed after the 3-way all in.
64o, BB, folds
89o, SB, folds
A6o, button, folds
72o, cutoff, folds
T7o, MP, folds
K8o, UTG+1, folds

Level 4 - 25/50 blinds

QJo, UTG, folds

25 remain, I have 1135 in chips left still, but could use a big hand to push upwards here.

22, BB, I call the min raise 4-handed, getting 7:1 on that call. I miss and fold.
T6o, SB, folds
A3o, button, folds
JTo, cutoff, folds
42o, MP, folds
65o, UTG+1, folds

Key Hand
AKo, UTG, I raise to 150. Small stack goes all in for about 200 more, and the big stack calls. I push all in, and get heads up 99. An ace hits the flop and I win the hand.

I fold through the blinds when I get junk, and most of the way through the next orbit.

T9o, UTG+2, folds

Level 5 - 50/100 blinds

crap, UTG+1, folds
K6s, UTG, folds
K6o, BB, fold to a raise and re-raise.
82s, SB, folds

I have 1540 in chips as the blinds pass. 21 remain, about to drop to 2 tables.

A2o, button, folds

QJo, cutoff, I open-raise to 300 and steal the blinds.
crap, MP, folds

Down to 20 now. Actually down to 18, all 3 tables lost someone at the same time it looks like. 18 remain.

crap, UTG, folds.
Q5o, BB - free 4-way flop, which comes T65. I fold to a flop bet.
73o, SB, folds
T7s, button, folds
Q9s, cutoff, folds
87s, cutoff-1, folds
98s, cutoff-2, folds
33, MP, folds

Level 6 - 75/150 blinds

I have 1540 in chips, a little less than the average but enough to make a big move if I get a hand. 17 remain.

crap, UTG+1, folds
QJo, UTG, folds
J6o, BB, fold to steal raise by BB
Q3o, sB, folds

1315 chips after the blinds. Lower middle stack at the table.

22, button, it's folded to me and I have to try to pick up the blinds w/ this. I raise, and I do. Back up to 1540.

96o, cutoff, folds
87o, cutoff-1, folds
44, Mp, UTG raises min, enough to scare me off.
J3o, UTG+1, folds
42o, UTG, folds
84o, BB, folds - two giant stacks go at it, QQ beats KK and we have a guy w/ 5K in chips now, by far the tourney leader at this stage.

Q9o, SB, folds

Back to 1315 in chips.

Level 7 - 100/200 blinds - 1 hour break

A lot fell towards the end of hte last level. i am 9th in cihps out of the 13 remaining, and the short stack at my table.

I am pot committed on any hand i choose to play now.

A4o, button, folds
32s, cutoff, folds
75o, MP, folds
98o, UTG, folds

Key Hand
88, ready to push back at a steal raise, and there it is by the button. A 500 raise, i go all in for 815 more. he thinks for quite awhile, and calls with K8! A great showdown for me there. I win the hand, and am in pretty ok shape for now.

K8o, SB, folds.

I have 2630 in chips now.

KQs, button - thunderchigs, big stack, tourney leader, limps in UTG. I debate my play here and decide to call. I have to fold on the flop when it comes JJ6 and thunder bets big.

94o, cutoff, folds the two short stacks play out this hand. one of the folds w/ 600 chips left on the river.
A4o, MP, folds
53s, UTG, folds
62o, BB, folded to me, hooray.
82s, SB, I fold
Q6o, button, folds

one more gone at the other table and we're down to 11.

KTo, cutoff, folds - short stack and giant stack in the blinds, I don't want to attack that combo. They end up all in against each other w/ A9 vs A9.
K8o, MP, folds
Q5o, UTG, folds
32o, BB - ick. jastm steals again(the button in my BB.

Level 8 - 150/300 blinds

I fold my SB, the short stack goes all in w/ A9 vs the BB's AT. A9 comes out ahead and we still have 11 left.

J3o, button, folds

I have 2080 in chips, an ok amount still.

72o, MP, folds
62o, UTG, folds short stack all in for 570 after UTG limps for 300. BB and UTG call. They check it down and finally we are at the final table.

Final Table

Took 1 hr 19 minutes to get here.

KJo, BB, folded around to me(that was 6 handed still, ppl moved over mid-hand).

87o, SB, folds

Of the final 10, I am 6th in chips right now. 5th has 3220 in chips though, cracking that top 5 is going to be tough.

53s, button, folds A very short K2 beats AJ(and picks up lots of dead money after some fold) to get from 280 to 1300 in chips.

T9o, cutoff, folds - thunderchigs knocks out another one of the shorter stacks, we're down to 9.

Crap, cutoff-1, folds
T3o, MP, folds
93o, UTG+2, folds a short 990 stack goes all in w/ AJ, called by K6 and he doubles up to 2130. No one is severealy short anymore.

K7s, UTG+1, folds

SparksJim has 2060 in chips. I have 2080. ryanm717 has 2130. mrtjw has 2463. badbeatdaryn has 2310. We're all in danger.

75o, UTG, folds
Q8o, BB, folds

Key Hand
JJ, SB - min raise from big stack thunderchigs. badbeatdaryn all in for 180(just got his butt kicked). I go all in from the SB for 1780. thunderchigs folds. badbeatdaryn shows down 32s, and I win the pot when he doesn't flush.

A5o, button, folds to big all in PF.

I have 2860, still alive, still short.

Level 9 - 200/400 blinds

8 remain, my 2860 chips is 6th.

A6o, cutoff, folds
A8o, MP, folds to raise before me.
QJo, UTG+2, folds
A6o, UTG+1, folds

A lot of mediocre hands in a row there, maybe I should have made a move w/ one of them

320, UTG, folds

Q6o, BB - UTG limps, I check, free flop. I fold to a bet when I don't hit though.
J9o, SB, folds
J2o, button, folds
K7o, cutoff, folds
A5o, cutoff-1, folds
53o, MP, fold
95o, UTG+1, folds
A2o, UTG, folds
92o, BB, three limp and I get a free flop. Flop comes J32. I fold to a big bet.

K8o, SB. Folded to me, I raise and steal the big blind.

43s, button, folds
84s, cutoff, folds

Level 10 - 300/600 blinds

I have 2260 in chips. I've never seen a 3-table tourney go this long. Pretty much all-in PF on any bet.

74o, cutoff-1, folds
53s, MP, folds
83s, UTG+1, folds
95o, UTG, folds - short stack all-in, but everyone folds to him.

Key Hand
KJo, BB - thunderchigs raises min, I go all in over him and he calls with A8. King on the flop, King on the turn and I win!

Next hand someone goes out 8th.

7 left!

I have 4520 in chips, and am in 3rd. hueco has 7925, SparksJim has 5325, I have 4520, ryanm717 wins a hand as I type this to push up to 5400.

3 guys are sititng short w/ with under 3K in chips, I'm just ahead of them w/ my 4500.

few hnads folded during writeup.

85o, BB, folds to a big raise.
T7o, SB, folds

Back to 3600 after the blinds.

A9o, button, I open-raise and steal the blinds.
32o, cutoff, folds
86o, cutoff-1, folds
T7s, UTG+1, folds

Key Hand
AKo, UTG - I open-raise to 2000, and the giant stack raises all-in. At this point I can't see not calling though, it's just a huge crapshoot at this point in the tourney, and if I win the coin flip, I'm chipleader by a ton.

He turns over AA though, and I'm screwed. QT flops to give me outside hope, I have 4 outs, but they don't hit. I am out 7th.

I've never seen a tourney like that that took so long, that one will last over 2 hours, a single raise by anyone hurt them. I was 4th in chips when I went all-in, but would have been short stacked w/ 2500 chips if I foled, and 1200 in blinds coming starting the next hand. I think I'd take a coin flip every time there...

I made a killing in limit over the weekend, I pushed ahead of $2500 for the first time this month. I'll update that later tonight when I'm done playing for the weekend.