Butter's Adventures of a Poker Novice

[Butter]

What a roller-coaster day this has turned out to be. Andrea placed 1st again in a SNG last night. I crapped out early in another $11 tourney, then lost $2 at a ring game to make it $171 or so to start the day.

Then I started out off poorly at cash tables. Ended up taking about a $7 loss, and then decided to enter 2 SNG's at the same time. So, after paying the fees, we're sitting at $151.

But I do VERY well in the SNG's.

A couple highlight hands:

Big Blind is t100 (8 handed)
MP1 (t1700)
MP2 (t2052)
CO (t2380)
Hero (t3280)
SB (t4311)
BB (t366)
UTG (t4121)
UTG+1 (t1790)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 4, 4.
UTG calls t100, 2 folds, MP2 calls t100, CO calls t100, Hero calls t100, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (t600) 8, T, 4 (6 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets t100, MP2 calls t100, CO folds, Hero calls t100, SB calls t100, BB folds.

Turn: (t1000) 4 (4 players)
SB checks, UTG bets t100, MP2 raises to t500, Hero calls t500, SB calls t500, UTG folds.

River: (t2600) Q (3 players)
SB checks, MP2 bets t500, Hero raises to t1000, SB calls t1000, MP2 folds.

Final Pot: t5100

Results in white below:
SB has 8s Qh (two pair, queens and eights).
Hero has 4d 4c (four of a kind, fours).
Outcome: Hero wins t5100.

This hand vaulted me into the lead, where I stayed until heads up. After about a 15 minute heads up battle, here's the final hand:

Big Blind is t800 (2 handed)
BB (t7504)
Hero (t12496)

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, A.

I push all-in pre-flop and get called.

Flop: (t800) 7, 4, 8 (2 players)

Turn: (t800) A (2 players)

River: (t800) 2 (2 players)

Results in white below:
BB has 4s Kd (one pair, fours).
Hero has Jd Ah (one pair, aces).
Outcome: Hero wins.

==============

The other tourney was more about chip accumulation.

Big Blind is t200 (7 handed)
UTG (t5620)
Hero (t3085)
MP2 (t1225)
CO (t3280)
Button (t3320)
SB (t1165)
BB (t2305)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with T, T.
UTG calls t200, Hero calls t200, 2 folds, Button calls t200, 1 fold, BB checks.

Flop: (t900) Q, 9, J (4 players)
BB checks, UTG bets t400, Hero calls t400, Button calls t400, BB folds.

Turn: (t2100) 8 (3 players)
UTG bets t400, Hero calls t400, Button calls t400.

River: (t3300) 6 (3 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets t1200, Button folds, UTG folds.

Final Pot: t4500

Results in white below:
Hero has Td Tc (straight, queen high).
Outcome: Hero wins t4500.

I hung around the top 3 the rest of the way, and limped into 2nd place.

=================

So, now I'm at $191 and feeling like I'm "the stuff".

Then I sit at 2 cash tables, and soon discover that I am not, in fact, "the stuff".

Party Poker 0.50/1 Hold'em (10 handed)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with T, A.
1 fold, Hero raises, UTG+2 3-bets, 1 fold, MP2 calls, 5 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (10.50 SB) K, 8, A (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG+2 bets, MP2 calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (6.75 BB) 6 (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG+2 bets, MP2 calls, Hero calls.

River: (9.75 BB) A (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG+2 bets, MP2 calls, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 12.75 BB

Results in white below:
Hero has Td Ac (three of a kind, aces).
UTG+2 has Kd Kh (full house, kings full of aces).
MP2 has Qc Ks (two pair, aces and kings).
Outcome: UTG+2 wins 12.75 BB.

===============
(9 handed)
Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, Q.
UTG calls, UTG+1 raises, 1 fold, Hero calls, 4 folds, BB calls, UTG calls.

Flop: (8.50 SB) 5, 9, 3 (4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 bets, Hero calls, BB folds, UTG calls.

Turn: (5.75 BB) A (3 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 bets, Hero raises, UTG folds, UTG+1 3-bets, Hero calls.

River: (11.75 BB) J (2 players)
UTG+1 bets, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 13.75 BB

Results in white below:
UTG+1 has Ks Ac (one pair, aces).
Hero has Ad Qc (one pair, aces).
Outcome: UTG+1 wins 13.75 BB.

===================

Party Poker 0.50/1 Hold'em (6 handed)

Preflop: Hero is CO with T, 7. MP posts a blind of $0.50. Hero posts a blind of $0.50. UTG posts a blind of $0.50.
UTG (poster) checks, MP (poster) checks, Hero (poster) checks, Button calls, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (6 SB) 2, K, 8 (6 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP bets, Hero calls, Button folds, SB folds, BB folds, UTG calls.

Turn: (4.50 BB) J (3 players)
UTG checks, MP bets, Hero calls, UTG folds.

River: (6.50 BB) Q (2 players)
MP bets, Hero raises, MP calls.

Final Pot: 10.50 BB

Results in white below:
MP has Jc 9c (flush, king high).
Hero has Tc 7c (flush, king high).
Outcome: MP wins 10.50 BB.

So yeah, I dumped $25.

I'm sitting on $166+, and am getting ready to play a bit more this afternoon.

[Butter]

Hey, this sit 'n go stuff isn't that hard.

Or at least, that's what Party Poker is leading both me and my wife to believe.

Last night, I'm watching the end of a show while she fires a $6 single table SNG up. She does her standard fold most everything, but double up when she gets AA or some-such other monster hand. It gets down to 6, and there is one guy raising nearly every hand... but he's only raising the minimum. Andrea gets K5 suited in the BB and makes the call. Flop comes K-6-K. She checks, he bets, she calls. Turn is a blank, and she checks. He bets more. She goes all-in. He calls... with A8 suited, a total nothing hand. She doubles up, and says "ty" in the chat, a rare taunt. He responds with "kissssssss", and promptly goes out in the next hand with some garbage.

She makes the last 5 and keeps building her stack. Then, she goes on a nice run. She knocks out 4th place when the flop comes 8 high, and she's holding A8o. The other players calls her all-in with K8o, and she wins. A couple of hands later, she has J4o in a blind, and wins another major pot when the flop is J-4-7 or something like that, and the other player is holding J2o. Still later, she takes a dominating chip lead when she's holding 96o in the blind, and the flop is 9-6-7. Other player pushes all-in with 95o, and she wins again.

She ends up winning the tourney, and netting another $19. She is on a roll. Her tight early, aggressive late strategy certainly seems to be paying off.

After witnessing that demolition, I decide to fire up a $6 SNG of my own.

I have a bit of a different strategy than Andrea. It is a bit more dangerous, but I think it's also a bit easier to win with it.... but it also is a bit easier to lose large amounts of chips.

2 hands kept appearing for me here... 77 and KJo. I think I won with the 7's one time, and that was on a bet after I had raised the pot, when the flop was A-Q-x. Two other times, I was played with and beaten, and 1 other time I folded to heavy pre-flop action, and would've flopped trips.

I got QQ in MP once during level 2 (30/60 blinds). I raised to 220, and got a caller from the SB. Flop was A-7-7. He checked, I bet 375 and got called. Turn was a wondrous Q. I explained to Andrea after the hand that since I had position, I would've checked the turn after I appeared beaten, since the SB didn't appear to want to play his hand aggressively. I bet the same amount on the turn and river, and knocked the SB to about 300 chips.

Later on, I tried raising with the KJ once, but the player behind me seemed determined to play with me every time I tried to raise. And each time I made a continuation bet on the flop, he would call me. I think we split about 4 hands that went like that, and soon enough we're down to 4 players, and I'm one of them with about 5k in chips.

I fold a bunch of junk, but in doing so watch 2 other players depart the tournament, and soon I'm heads up with about 6k to the other players 12k. He is a decent heads up player, but way too conventional. He is checking / betting / calling way too predictably, and I hope it's just a matter of time until I can get a hand to double up with. It comes with JTo. He min. raises to 1200 (300/600 blinds), I call. Flop is 8-9-3, I decide to push all-in. He calls fairly quickly, and shows A9o. I'm in good shape with 2 overcards and a decent draw. Sure enough, the river is a Jack, and I double up.

We're now about even, and I slowly take the chip lead with a couple of raises. He appears to be tiring of my aggressive play, so I decide to take my foot off the gas and try to trap him. 2 hands later, here comes AQo. I just call, but he raises before the flop... I move all-in, he calls. It's a race, as he shows 99. Board comes 2-T-2-J-K, and I make my straight to win the tourney.

Nice evening, as we start with $167, and move up to over $205 after netting $38 from the 2 hours of action.

[Butter]

We finally jump over the $200 goal, and I have a HORRENDOUS day at the cash tables, and drop us back under $200. Back under $180, in fact. I think we're at $177 now.

However, there is a new development. I now have $38 at Poker Stars. This is the money I won a while back at Poker Champs. Poker Champs closed their doors to US players about a month or two ago, and I transferred my money into my Neteller account. I was going to put it right into our Party Poker account, but they have a $50 minimum. Poker Stars' minimum is $25, so I was able to deposit the whole amount there.

Plus, Poker Stars has smaller buy-in sit 'n go's, and lower limit tables, which will suit my bankroll just fine to start. So, for the time being, I'll be playing mostly at Poker Stars. I won $1.30 in 15 minutes at a .25/.50 table, so that was nice.

[bselig]

My experience is the opposite sadly, outside of one first and one second, I've been getting butchered at the $1+.20 sngs on pokerstars. Still did ok enough at the tables that I'm up to $112 though.

[Butter]

Poker Stars
Start: $34.40

Decide to enter a $3 + .40 turbo NL SNG. In these turbo Poker Stars tourneys, you get 1500 chips… blinds start at 10/20, but go up every 5 minutes.

First hand, I get QJ in the BB. It’s raised to 40, then to 100. I make the call as does one other player. 3 players, flop is 8-J-2, rainbow. I check, other caller checks, re-raiser goes all-in. I’m figuring an overpair, but I decide to make the call anyway in case it’s AK. It’s not, it’s AA. Turn is a 9… river is a 10, giving me the big suck-out and doubling on hand 1 to over 3100 chips.

I make another call with QJs later, and end up making another straight to knock out a small stack, and climb over 3700 chips. I move up to around 4000, and the table starts getting desperate when the blinds hit 75/150, as 2 players go all-in… and 1 is knocked out. Down to 6, and I’m still the chip leader.

I mostly stay out of the way, and eventually we get down to 3. The chips shift around a bit, and I end up with AQ on the button. I just call, but the SB min. raises (blinds are 200/400). I move all-in with my 4500 chips or so, and he calls me. He has AKo, and I’m out as the flop is all low cards. I net $2.60 on that deal.

I also enter a $2 + .20 MTT around the same time. It’s relatively uneventful, I sit around 3k in chips after the 1st break, and needing to start building up to make the money.

I get AKs in MP (blinds are 75/150)… UTG raises to 300, I re-raise to 1500… button goes all-in for 1400-ish. UTG goes all-in, I call my last 1500, and here we go. UTG has AQs, button has 77. Flop is 8-Q-7 with none of my suit, and that’s about as big a disaster as I could get. I’m out in 225th, about 100 places shy of the money.

Finish: $34.80

[Butter]

Start: $34.80
I sit at two 25/50 cent limit tables with $5 each to try and build up some money here.

First hand at table 1, I get A6h in the CO. I am already in for .25, so I call a raise. Sadly, the BB re-raises, now I’m in for 75 cents on this hand, since we still have 4 players. Lucky for me, flop is 8-3-2, all hearts. It’s checked around the 1st time, as I am in position and try to get some action here. Next card is a T, orig. raiser bets, player behind me calls, I raise. Orig. re-raiser folds, raiser folds, player behind me calls. River is a 5, no heart… he checks, I bet, he calls… I win $6. He had T9o or something like that.

Other table, I get JTs in MP, and limp in. Flop is J-Q-J. SB bets out, I am the only caller. Turn is a K, now I’m worried about a full house. He bets again, I call. River is A, he bets again, I call. He shows J2, so I take it down with a straight.

15 minutes, and between the 2 tables, I’m up $6 even. I always did well at the 25/50 cent tables at Poker Champs as well, but they were always empty.

I get blinded down a bit, then win a large pot, as I river 2 pair with my A4h… I had hit a 4 and 2 hearts on the flop, and stayed in to the river… poor guy had KK.

I pick up the blinds with AA a bit later, but get no action after my early raise.

Not a bad little session here.

Finish: $45.20
+10.40 for session

[Butter]

Start: $45.20

Sit at two 25/50 cent tables again, with $5 each.

Pick up KTc in the BB… me and one other player go to the flop, which is J-A-J, one club. I check, he checks, turn is 4c… now I’ve picked up a flush draw to go with my gutshot, I call a .50 bet. River is 7c… I check, he bets, I raise, he calls and mucks AK. I pick up a smallish pot with some luck there.

I call in MP with 56d… flop is A-9-3, one diamond. BB checks, UTG+2 checks… I bet and take down $1.10. Bluffs DO work if done in the right spots.

One of these tables is super-tight… I pull down the blinds just by raising with 55, 66, KQ, and KT. I also win a nice pot with KQ when a Q hits the board and I out-kick QJ.

I also get massacred at one table when my A7s falls to A4… a 7 and 4 were on the flop, but a 4 hit the river to lose me about $1.50.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say that playing these limits is BOR-ing, but I can’t just leap into a 50c/$1 table, and drop $30 in a session like I have done at Party Poker. In fact, if anything, playing at these limits is making me play more patiently, which is how I should be playing in the first place.

Finish: $50.20
+5.00 for session

[Butter]

Start: $50.20

I enter a Poker Stars standard 9-seat $5+.50 NLHE sit ‘n go. That takes me down to $44.70 right off the bat. Payouts in the 9 seater are $22.50, $13.50, $9 for 1st/2nd/3rd.

The table seems fairly tight… the first hand I play is 89s in the SB. It’s raised to 60 on the first blind level, but there are 3 callers, so I make it 4 getting odds to speculate here. Flop is 9-8-8. Hello, vicar! I check… it’s checked to the button, who bets 60. I call, as do 3 others. Turn is a 7… I am hoping someone makes a straight or a flush or something here. I check, it’s bet to 100, I call as does the button. River is another 9, which is not great for me, giving any other 9 a boat as well. I check, everyone else checks, and I take the early chip lead.

The table loosens up as we get some big hands facing each other… QQ v. TT, AJ v. KQ and the like. Problem with all these clashes are, it’s always the small stack who ends up doubling, so no one goes out. Finally, one guy goes out while pushing after taking a beat, trying to steal with K2, and losing to ATs.

Blinds at 25/50, I raise to 200 in the CO with AQd. Button has only 300, so he goes all-in. I call, he shows 22… flop brings 2 more Aces, and I knock out player #2.

2 more players go out a hand later, as flop is Kd-7d-9c… one player pushes with 2 pair, 79o… another pushes with a flush draw 89d, and yet another is all-in with KTo. Turn is a T, and river is a brick, giving KT the hand and knocking out the other 2.

So, we’re down to 5, and I’m 3rd in chips with the blinds still at 25/50. Blinds move up to 50/100, and I’m staying around 2200 chips. I move up to 2900, as in the SB I call with Q5, the flop is KQK… I min. bet to the river and get called down with Ace-high. Blinds go up to 75/150, and I’m still 3rd.

The small stack goes all-in with KK and gets called by KJ… KJ ends up losing, shockingly, and we’re still at 5.

I steal the blinds with K5h, and move into 2nd place. I lose with middle pair a bit later, and drop back to 3rd.

I make a dangerous move a bit later… I get 99 in the SB, and raise to 450. BB re-raises to 750, I call. Flop is K-T-2… I go all-in, figuring him for Ax. I am right, he folds, I move up to 3000 chips and 2nd place again. Blinds move up to 100/200 just after this hand. Next SB, I raise to 500 with K8o. BB calls, flop is K-8-T, I decide to slowplay and check. BB checks… turn is a 3, I min. bet 200, and get called. River is another 8, I bet 600… BB thinks on it, but folds, and I’m a strong 2nd place now.

The player to my left keeps trying to play with me, but loses. Here’s another hand we contest, as I raise to 700 with ATh. He calls, everyone else folds. Flop is Q-8-2, 2 diamonds. I make a continuation bet of 600, and he thinks on it but folds… putting him into 4th place. I have basically stolen all of his money to move into a strong 2nd, and contending for 1st. I move into 1st, as chip leader raises with 89d, then odds force him to call a small stack all-in who has JJ, which holds up for the win. He moves back into the lead by knocking out a small stack, and we’re down to 4 players. Antes kick in shortly thereafter, and we’re up to 100/200 + 25 ante as the top 3 are all within 1000 chips of each other, trying to wait out the guy with 1600 chips.

It doesn’t happen. It’s like pulling teeth to get anybody to bet at the pot. I do my share of stealing, but I am stolen from a fair bit as well. Eventually, blinds are at 200/400 + 25 ante… one guy has about 7500, and the rest of us have about 2000. I get JTc on the button and call, BB checks. Flop is 4-5-6, 2 clubs. BB checks, I check to get the free card. Turn is 6 of clubs… BB bets 1200, I raise my remaining 1585 all-in, he calls. He has 67. I am a big favorite, just have to dodge a 4, 5, 6, or 7, so 10 cards… river is a 7, and I’m out on the bubble. Damnit, I had this in the bag, too.

I decide to sit at 2 cash games for a bit after that disappointment to try and get some money back. I make a shiny quarter before being interrupted by lunch. (at $44.95 at this point)

After lunch, I sit at the cash tables again. First hand I get at one table is 6d-7d. I check my forced blind in middle position, 5 players in, flop is 8d-4d-9c. Pretty strong draw I have here, I resist the urge to raise the flop, and call a 25c bet as do 2 others. Turn is 5s, and I’ve made one of my draws. I raise the bettor, and we’re heads-up. River is Ad, completing my flush, SB checks, I bet, he calls (with T9), and I take it down, netting $3 on the hand.

Another hand, I’m in for 50c on 9d-Td in early position… flop is 9-2-2, but 3 players stay in to my bet… turn is a 3. I bet, it’s raised, I call. I check-call to the river, where raiser shows 33 for a turned boat. I lose $2+ on that hand.

I raise AKo from early position later, get 2 callers, and 1 of them calls me all the way to the river with A3 when AK hit the flop. Thanks buddy!

KT in the SB later, Flop is 7-T-T… I bet out, and get 2 callers. Turn is a 4th T, and I bet again, and get one caller who’s all-in… he actually rivers a straight (he called with 68 for God’s sakes), but I take down another $2+ pot.

At this point, I am at $11.20 at one table, and $1.10 at the other. Henceforth, I shall refer to the table I’m up on as Good, and the table I’m down on as Bad.

I win a MONSTER pot on the good table, calling a raise and re-raise with AQ, and AQ both hit the flop. I am afraid of sets and straights and flushes after all the raising on this hand, but my AQ holds up to AK, and I win an $8+ pot.

At the bad table, I finally get a hand to hold up, as my raised AJ flops a straight, and I take a smallish pot.

Now, I’m up to $17.65 on Good, and $5.30 on Bad (after buying back into the Bad table with 2 more bucks).

Here’s a perfect example of the dichotomy between these 2 tables. I get dealt KJ simultaneously at both tables. On the Good table, I’m in the SB. On the bad table, I’m in late position. On the Good table, it’s raised, and I call, as does one other. At the bad table, it’s unraised, and 4 go to the flop. On the Good table, the flop is J-J-3, 2 hearts. On the Bad table, the flop is Q-Q-5. At the Good table, I check, and the 2 behind me bet and call. At the bad table, I fold to heavy betting. At the Good table, the turn is a K, and I get to raise the 2 bettors… and take down another big pot.

At the Bad table, I hold 66, and flop a set… and lose to a turned flush. I knew I had lost, but you can’t fold a set. Period.

So, at the bad table, I go broke, after having invested $7. At the Good table, I finish at $23.35… so for the cash games here, I finish up $11.35.

So, naturally, I decide to try my hand at another SNG.

Actually, this time it’s 2 Turbo SNG’s due to time. I try a $1.50+.25 18 player SNG, and a $3+.40 10 person Turbo SNG. That leaves me at $51.15 on the day, so I’ll have that plus any winnings here.

I finish 7th in the 18 player tourney, as I pushed all-in against 2 others pre-flop with KQ… I was the first to move in, but they called and had KJ and 99. Flop was K-J-2, and that essentially knocked me out.

In the $3 + .40 turbo, I pretty much fold my way to 6-handed. Then, I win 3 straight pots by raising and taking the blinds/antes (100/200 + 25), with AQ, KQ, and 22.

I knock out another player in 5th place, as he is forced all-in in the BB when I’m holding AA. Sadly, no one else wants along for the ride, even though I just called the BB.

One specific player has turned very aggressive after we get to 4-handed, and I double up off him out of the BB, as he raises, I re-raise with JJ, and he moves on me with 66. Flop does bring 2 overcards to my Jacks, but I am lucky enough to double through and move into 2nd.

I take a couple more hands by raising, but maniac raises himself into 1st again, dropping me to 2nd. I know I just need to wait for my hand, and I get it with QQ in the SB. He is to my right, which is an advantage, as he goes all-in on me on the button. I call, and he shows T5c… meanwhile, the BB also moves in with A3o, and when the flop is King high, I take down the pot and knock us down to 3, while holding the commanding chip lead.

Maniac raises on my BB again, he in the SB… I have J8h, so I decide to speculate and call 2500 more to try and get rid of him, hoping he’s on garbage. He is, and shows 58o. Flop comes with a Jack, and we’re down to 2. I have a 12500 to 2500 chip lead.

I fold the first heads up hand out of the SB. In the BB, I get to check with J8o. Flop is J-2-2. I check, other player bets 800 (blinds are 200/400). I move all-in, he calls, and shows he was slowplaying KK. Sadly for him, his slowplay backfires, as I river a 2nd Jack, giving me the $15 win.

Finish: $66.15
+15.95 on day, +11.60 on cash tables, +4.35 in tourneys (1 1st place, 1 4th place (top 3 paid), 1 7th place (top 4 of 18 paid))

[Butter]

After 4 SNG's over 2 days at Party Poker, we've gone from $177... to $178. Andrea has made a 2nd and a 3rd. I made a 4th and a 5th which equals nothing.

Here is how last night's SNG finished up for me.

With 5 players left, everyone had similar chip stacks, which is odd. Plus, the blinds were at 300/600, also odd for 5 to be left at this high a level. I draw 44 on the BB, and check. 2 others were also in this pot. Flop is 7-8-4. I check my set, hoping to trap, because the guy behind me has been betting everything. He bets 600, player behind him calls. It comes back to me, and the pot before the flop was 2100... it is now 3300 with the bets. I raise all-in for my remaining 3350 or so, which I figure is a good move given the pot size.

I want a call, but then again I almost don't, considering that someone COULD have 56 on this flop (but hopefully don't). The maniac behind me folds, the player behind him calls. He shows KK, and I've successfully trapped the trapper. Then, I get re-trapped when the turn is a K, and I'm out in 5th.

[Butter]

Start: $66.15

Again, I sit at 2 low limit tables with $5 each.

First hand at the good table, I draw 46d… flop is 9-3-5, all diamonds. I raise to try and get people off their single diamond, but 2 call me. Turn is a Tc, I bet and get called. River is 2d, giving me a straight flush. I bet, and they both fold… must not have had diamonds after all. Still, I net over $4.50 on that hand.

On the bad table, I pretty much run out of chips fairly quickly, calling middle and top pairs all the way, only to see I was pretty much beat the whole time. Not good there. I load up another bad table and sit with $5 more.

Even the good table goes south, as I pick up AQs, flop an Ace and 2 spades, but lose to a rivered 2 pair to KTo.

I decide to cut my losses after losing $5.45… dropping me to $60.70.

I enter a large 829-entrant MTT, costing me $2+.20, and a 9 seat regular SNG, costing me $5+.50, dropping me to $53 even.

Top 162 pay in the MTT, so hopefully I can at least make something there.

In the SNG, I essentially fold my way to 4th… and once there, I can’t do anything. The times I tried in the early rounds to steal, or steal after the flop, it didn’t work. And once heads up, I didn’t see any card higher than a Jack until I had 280 chips left, and was in the blind of 50/100. I push with A8h, and win… I double to 560. Next hand, I pick up AQo, and get called by AJo… naturally, the flop holds a Jack, and I’m out in 4th, just off the money.

In the MTT, I see nothing of interest for the first half hour… I pick up KQc in the SB, and basically get to check to the river, when I make a flush, and I bet 400 into a 200 pot, and get a call much to my surprise. So, 1 lucky shot there, and I move up to 1975.

Blinds at 50/100, I call in early position with QJo. 6 players in, flop is A-K-7. It’s checked to the CO, who goes all-in. Button also goes all-in. Don’t know why, but I get an urge to go all-in myself on an unlikely draw, but I fold. Turn is a ten. Dammit.

By the break, I am blinded down to 950, and the blinds just hit 75/150, so it’s time to try a push or two with anything decent. K3s on the button looks good. The chip leader at the table calls me… he shows J7d… a K hits the flop, and I’m at 2125. Next hand, I get QQ and try my luck again with 525 already in the pot. Everyone folds, and I’m up to 2650, slightly more than 10 times an orbit, so I can relax… for now.

I lose a pot with top pair when somebody rivers a straight, and drop back to 1500. I push on the button with A6c, the BB has AA, and I’m out in 280th.

Back to the cash tables with $10.

What is it about first hands with me? On the good table, I pick up A3o, and the flop is A-3-4. I win $2.40 on this hand. On the bad table, I pick up A8o, and lose $1.50 when the flop is A-2-2 and the BB shows Q2 after I call him to the river.

I rake in about $5 net on AKo a bit later, as I just call a raise with it out of the BB… flop is K-7-2, I call a SB bet, and the raiser calls as well. Turn is an A, I check to the raiser knowing that hit them. He bets, SB calls, I raise, button calls, SB folds. River as a T, I’m hoping they had AT or something like that. I bet out, they call and show AQo.

I leave the cash tables again, having won $5.30, moving me back to $58.30.

I enter a $4+.40 180 person SNG, which pays the top 18, or last 2 tables. I also enter a $5.+.50 9 person SNG… this drops me down to $48.40.

I come up card dead in both, and finish 6th in the SNG, and 106th in the multi-table SNG. Great showing there.

My confidence is not shaken, I wouldn’t say, but it is frustrating to come up with nothing better than KQ during about 2 hours of tournament play during the course of the day. Must mean I’m due to come up big sometime soon. Of course it doesn’t REALLY mean that, but that’s how it feels.

Last action of the day, I sit back at some cash tables, hoping to work my roll back up a bit. I call it a roll, but it’s more like a couple of bills in a wallet.

It works fairly well, as I strike lucky at both tables and run my bank back over $62.

Finish: $62.30
-17.60 in tourneys, +13.75 at cash tables

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

I want a call, but then again I almost don't, considering that someone COULD have 56 on this flop (but hopefully don't). The maniac behind me folds, the player behind him calls. He shows KK, and I've successfully trapped the trapper. Then, I get re-trapped when the turn is a K, and I'm out in 5th.

That happens to me a lot, and if I understand Pumpy correctly, the pot-odds didctate that you're gonna get called here pretty much every time.

I'm not sure how the hand would have played out differently if you had led out going all-in. Would the KK make the call straight away? Who knows.

I think - and someone please correct me if I am wrong - that if you're holding a set and are willing to go all-in on a pot you can get outdrawn on, then better to go all-in sooner rather than later. The pot was big enough to make a nice addition w/o having to put yourself at risk by ttrying so squeeze a little more out.

This coming from the donk who busted out of 12 straight tournaments yesterday

[primelord]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

After 4 SNG's over 2 days at Party Poker, we've gone from $177... to $178. Andrea has made a 2nd and a 3rd. I made a 4th and a 5th which equals nothing.

Here is how last night's SNG finished up for me.

With 5 players left, everyone had similar chip stacks, which is odd. Plus, the blinds were at 300/600, also odd for 5 to be left at this high a level. I draw 44 on the BB, and check. 2 others were also in this pot. Flop is 7-8-4. I check my set, hoping to trap, because the guy behind me has been betting everything. He bets 600, player behind him calls. It comes back to me, and the pot before the flop was 2100... it is now 3300 with the bets. I raise all-in for my remaining 3350 or so, which I figure is a good move given the pot size.

I want a call, but then again I almost don't, considering that someone COULD have 56 on this flop (but hopefully don't). The maniac behind me folds, the player behind him calls. He shows KK, and I've successfully trapped the trapper. Then, I get re-trapped when the turn is a K, and I'm out in 5th.

Once sit and gos get to the 300/600 level and you 5 guys left they are not a post flop game. Your mistake in this hand was not just shoving all-in preflop. With two limpers there is already 2100 in the pot. You figure to have the best hand so you need to just shove now. Everyone is scared of going out right before the money and you will only get called by premium hands. I realize someone had KK this time, but generally with just two limpers you will take the pot down preflop and will have almost doubled up in the process.

[Butter]

Start: $62.30

I enter 2 Turbo tourneys, a HORSE one and a NLHE one, both for $3.40, knocking me down to $55.50.

I crap out in the SNG, as under 1000 chips, I push with a re-raise against a 200 chip raise with 25/50 blinds… I have 99, caller shows AQ… an Ace hits 4th street, and I’m out in 8th.

In HORSE, I hit 2 good Omaha hands, making a boat on one, and checking down 2 pair after some heavy flop betting on a couple players who must’ve missed their Low hand.

In the first hand of 7 card stud (blinds at 60/120), I draw 3 7’s, 2 of them down. I bet and raise that mother all the way to the river, bringing one guy along for the ride and winning a $600 pot.

In 7 card stud hi/lo (80/160 blinds), I miss my flush, but the river brings a 3rd king, so I split another pot putting me in the chip lead with over 3,000. In the 2nd hand, I actually end up with 3 pair… Kings, Queens, and 7’s, the Kings and Queens are good enough for another Hi to push me up to 3350.

Back to 100/200 limit hold ‘em… one player is all-in on the first hand, and another is close to it. We lose one, and 3 others are on life support, under 700 chips. I lose 500 chips on one hand with KJ in the blind, to KQ in the CO. We drop another player on the next hold ‘em hand, but now it’s going to be tough, as the top 4 all have about 3000 chips, while the bottom 2 are nearly out.

We switch back to Omaha now, and I have a brain freeze, throwing away a super possible low hand, holding 6-5-4. Blinds are 75/150 now, and we drop another player, down to 5. I pick up the High nuts, as the board shows Q-2-5-6-7, with 3 different suits, and I’m holding 8-9. I split with the Lo, and move into 2nd.

Back to razz, 200/400 limits. I win the first pot on a bluff bet, showing 87 but holding AK face down. I pick up the 4th hand of razz, betting a strong hand and getting a fold, so I’m hanging in around 3rd. Then I get screwed a bit later, holding 8-9-A-2, I draw 2 Queens and another 9 to lose a hand. I drop to last with another bad hand, as I push my 8-5-4 pretty hard against a player showing K-J, but by the river, I’ve got 2 pair, and he’s got an 8 low.

300/600 stud now, and I am getting shit here. I push holding 3 diamonds, including an Ace before the flop, and am called by pocket Queens. Best I get is a pair of 9’s, and I bubble out in 4th.

I try 2 more turbo HORSE tourneys, for $3.40 (8-seat) and $1.75 (16 seat), dropping me to $50.35.

For the novices (including me), HORSE is a game where you play an orbit each of Hold ‘Em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, 7 card stud, and 7 card stud Hi/Lo Eights or Better.

In the 8-seater, I drop 150 chips or so on 44 when the board comes 2-3-6-6-T, but end up losing to a rivered flush from the SB. I pick up some chips in Omaha Hi/Lo, nailing 2 straights for Highs. In razz, I pick up 6-5-4-3-2 on my first 5 cards, but obviously don’t make much. I get screwed on stud, when I get a third Ace on the final card, but my opponent picked up a 3rd King to go with his 2 nine’s, and make him a full house. One player goes out, and I hang on for 4th place when we get to 100/200 hold ‘em. I raise with AQ UTG, and lose about half my stack when I hit nothing. I crap out in Omaha, as I bet/raise a flopped set of 6’s but lose on the river to a straight. I lose in 6th.

In the 16-seater, I don’t pick up much early, but I move up a bit by winning 2 razz hands by betting with a good hand showing against some pairs and high cards. I drop a bit by staying in with 4 to the flush but not hitting in stud. I get on a roll in Stud Hi/Lo, picking up a split in 2 pots, and scooping another with a 6-5-3-2-A flush. I drop a couple hands in hold ‘em, when I get outdrawn holding KK and TT. I’m still 2nd out of 14, but not as strong as I was. I climb back to 2nd of 12 when I make a straight in Omaha Hi/Lo, and no Low hand qualifies… then I win the next hand of 200/400 Razz with 7-6-5-4-2. I drop a few chips when I end up making AA55 in Razz… that one started so well, too. We reach the final table as I knock out another player in Stud Hi/Lo with 2 pair, and I’m 2nd of 7 on the final table. Top 4 pay, so I’m feeling optimistic, as long as I don’t do something stupid. We’re getting set to go to 500/1000 Limit Hold ‘Em, and we’re down to 6.

We lose another on the first Hold ‘Em hand, and I’m now in 3rd. I luck out with some sweet Omaha Hi/Lo hands later, holding JQJT, and 424A, and end up scooping both pots and knocking out 2 small stacks, and we’re down to 3. Then, I flop a straight in Omaha, and luckily my opponent never improves on his 2 pair, and I scoop another and take a small chip lead to heads-up.

I start out getting unlucky in 500/1000 Razz, and drop to under 2500 chips. But I make a huge comeback thanks to some raises that pan out, and my opponent drawing up cards like K, Q, and J. Soon enough, we’re back to even, and I end up winning it on a 7 card stud hand where I hold QQ in the hole, and then end up with another pair up… I’m called down all the way to the felt with a single pair of Aces, and take $9.60 for first.

So, I’m up to $59.95.

To close out the day, I enter single table turbo NLHE and HORSE tourneys to the tune of $6.80 total, dropping me to $53.15. HORSE is only 8 seats, while the NLHE is 10.

In the NLHE tourney, I play pretty well, but when we get to 4 handed, I’m in 3rd. Blinds are 300/600, and I get AJo. It’s raised to 1200, and I push all-in. Raiser calls, and shows KJo. I feel bad about this for some reason, and when the turn comes with a King, I realize why. Bubble out in 4th. I just can’t cash in these NLHE sit ‘n go’s lately, not even when I’m getting in the pot good.

In the HORSE tourney, I finish 3rd and pick up $4.80. Eh. I had 2 pair in a stud hand and lost to a final card trips.

Finish: $57.95
-4.35 on day, -6.80 in 2 NLHE tourneys (1 9th place, 1 4th place (both in 10-seat tourneys)), +2.45 in HORSE (1 1st place (in 16-seater), 1 3rd place, 1 4th place, 1 6th place (all in 8-seater))

[Butter]

So, I had another weird poker weekend. It was all over the place. At one point, I was around $40 at Poker Stars, then almost up to $80.

Andrea's Party Poker account keeps hovering around the $175-190 mark, as we do just well enough in SNG's to break even.

And Party Poker finally gave my personal Party Poker account a $30 incentive to return to the tables, in exchange for playing 300 raked hands. I decided to go for it, and after 2 sessions, I was exactly even. Then, yesterday, I made $30 to double up to just over $60.

So, here's where we are right now:

Andrea's PP account: $179.35 (+109.35 in just over 1 month)
My Poker Stars account: $68.10 (+38.10 after 2 weeks)
My PP account: $60.87 (+30.87 after 2 days)

[Butter]

Lost all my own Party Poker money... we continue to stay about even in SNG's with Andrea's Party Poker account... but I won a good bit the last 2 days playing a cash game of HORSE at Poker Stars.

So, here's where we are right now:

Andrea's PP account: $182.35
My Poker Stars account: $109.45 +$38 in cash game HORSE, +$3 in tourneys over last 2 days
My PP account: GONE!

[Butter]

Played an absolute TON of HORSE today, and guess where I finished up?

Start: $109.45
Finish: $109.20
-.25 for day

[Butter]

Finished up over $15 at HORSE this weekend.

Poker Stars balance: $125.70

Andrea is having trouble in the SNG's, and I haven't been any help. Our Party Poker balance has dipped under $140. In fact, I may catch it today if I have a good day.

Our Party Poker balance: $138.50

[Toddzilla]

Are you playing on the $1/$2 HORSE tables? How are they? There seems to always be a wait to get on - are they worth the wait?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Are you playing on the $1/$2 HORSE tables? How are they? There seems to always be a wait to get on - are they worth the wait?

I enjoy them a lot, but the swings are way more pronounced than on a standard limit hold 'em table. Play tight, you'll do well. Very well.

I'm on a downswing right now, my roll is not big enough to support really playing at these tables. So if it keeps up, I'll be in trouble.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

I enjoy them a lot, but the swings are way more pronounced than on a standard limit hold 'em table. Play tight, you'll do well. Very well.

I'm on a downswing right now, my roll is not big enough to support really playing at these tables. So if it keeps up, I'll be in trouble.

I know. I'm kind of squeamish about hitting the $1/$2 level, but if it is the lowest level they got, then there should be fish in the pool, right?

I dipped my toes in a little today and saw that on almost every turn, someone forgets the game is different and they bet big on the wrong hands. A set of kings is cool, unless it's hand #1 of Razz - haw haw.

I think I saw you on a table today - do you go by Butter(xx) by any chance?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

I think I saw you on a table today - do you go by Butter(xx) by any chance?

Butter75, yes.

[Toddzilla]

Well that sucked. I donked off most of my stack after you left and then took of with just over $15 left.

I seem to have a run of good play about 10-15 minutes in where I'm up about $10. That is when I need to stop playing.

[Butter]

I know what you mean... I feel your pain.

I have a new self-imposed rule... I start at the HORSE tables with $20. If I hit $50, I have to leave. I had $57 at the table we were both at, then left with $6.05.

On the other hand, the other table I was at simultaneously... I hit $57, and left. I started the day with $46.20. And even with the $14 loss at the table we were on, I am now around $95.

[Fighter of Foo]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Andrea's Party Poker account keeps hovering around the $175-190 mark, as we do just well enough in SNG's to break even.

You're paying 20% rake for the $5 SNGs. Move up to 10+1 and you will make money.

[Toddzilla]

I don't mean to threadjack your dynasty, but a quick HORSE observation on PS. It has been *brutal* this week for me. I'm down about $100 playing tight as possible. It seems that my stack takes small steps downwards - blinds and antes - then I'll win a hand and take a large step up. Problem is, the steps backwards are getting larger and the big wins aren't so big. I was 2-tabling this morning with $40 each and had to stop when each one stack was under $20 and I busted out on the other. I think I'm just not cut out for this.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Fighter of Foo

You're paying 20% rake for the $5 SNGs. Move up to 10+1 and you will make money.

Yeah, but if we bust out 4 or 5 straight, our account will be under $100.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

I don't mean to threadjack your dynasty, but a quick HORSE observation on PS. It has been *brutal* this week for me. I'm down about $100 playing tight as possible. It seems that my stack takes small steps downwards - blinds and antes - then I'll win a hand and take a large step up. Problem is, the steps backwards are getting larger and the big wins aren't so big. I was 2-tabling this morning with $40 each and had to stop when each one stack was under $20 and I busted out on the other. I think I'm just not cut out for this.

I had a similar problem. I had a downswing that was so harsh, I got under $40... my original deposit was $38, so this was a problem. I started playing those $3 HORSE tourneys, and a bit of straight up 25/50 cent Omaha Hi/Lo, and got back over $50. Then I took $10 to a HORSE table, prepared to lose it and start over again... but I made a modest return of $10 on it and sit at over $60 right now. Probably try some straight Omaha and HORSE tourneys this afternoon.

[Fighter of Foo]

If that's the case, move someplace where you can play $5+.50. I don't know how many SNGs you've played, but add 50 cents for every one and see what your bankroll would look like. Relatively speaking, you're getting crushed by the rake and not the play of your opponents.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Fighter of Foo

Relatively speaking, you're getting crushed by the rake and not the play of your opponents.

I agree with you. Just have to convince my wife of that.

[Butter]

The slow rebuild at Poker Stars continues, as I win $15 at an Omaha Hi/Lo .50/$1 table this afternoon. I'm back to over $75.

[primelord]

Originally Posted by Fighter of Foo

If that's the case, move someplace where you can play $5+.50. I don't know how many SNGs you've played, but add 50 cents for every one and see what your bankroll would look like. Relatively speaking, you're getting crushed by the rake and not the play of your opponents.

If the level of play is equal, then yes he could just add .50 x the number of tournaments he has played. However if he plays at another site with a lower rake, but a higher level of competition then he could actually see far worse results.

I am willing to concede that the difference in skill levels between the party 5+1 and the Stars 5+.50 is fairly insignificant. I just wanted to point out that there are situations where it is +ev to play at site even if it has a higher rake.

[primelord]

I crap out in the SNG, as under 1000 chips, I push with a re-raise against a 200 chip raise with 25/50 blinds… I have 99, caller shows AQ… an Ace hits 4th street, and I’m out in 8th.

I suspect it is hands like these that are causing you to striggle in these SnGs. There is no reason to go broke with 1,000 chips at the 25/50 level with 99. Even if your opponent plays wild and raises a lot of hands you are better off waiting for a better opportunity. At 25/50 you still have a good bit of play left in those 1,000 chips. Just muck the 99 to the 200 chip raise.

Edit: I did just notice you said under 1,000 chips and not that you had a 1,000 chips. I guess it depends a bit on how far under 1,000 you were, but since you said under 1,000 and not something like around 700 I am assuming you were just under 1,000 and it is still better to throw your cards away pre.

[Butter]

I've cut back on the HORSE, playing it only when Omaha Hi/Lo is unavailable.

That being said, I won $27 in 10 minutes at HORSE today, and have made about $7 as it stands right now in about 90 minutes of .50/$1 Omaha.

So, after dropping to $64 thanks to my unsuccessful entry into the Colossal Squid tourney #49, I am now back over $100 at present.... hopefully to stay there for the rest of the day. But I don't know... those HORSE tables are calling my name.

[Butter]

At PartyPoker, Andrea and I finally hit a run of good luck, and we both won a SNG last night... it only brought us back to $160, though, so that should tell you how bad we had been running.

At PokerStars, I lost $20 of the $27 I had previously won at HORSE... but imagine my surprise when I log on today and there are .50/$1 HORSE tables.

So, I sit at $89+ there, and plan to hit the HORSE and Omaha tables this afternoon.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

imagine my surprise when I log on today and there are .50/$1 HORSE tables.

w00t

There goes my productivity

[Butter]

I have a first no fold 'em HORSE beat. QQ UTG in limit hold 'em. I raise, 3 other players call. Flop is T47 rainbow. I bet, button calls, SB raises, BB calls, I re-raise to $1.50, EVERYBODY calls. Turn is a J, I bet out again, this time the button calls, the SB folds, and the BB calls. River is a 7, I bet again, button and BB call... BB shows A7o. Staying in through a pre-flop raise and a flop raise and re-raise with middle pair. That was frickin' painful to lose that $5 from my stack and watch A7 pick up $17.

[Butter]

I'm up to a personal best at PokerStars, $115.55.

Was right at $90 when I got home yesterday... I briefly played a HORSE table, but then decided to play a SNG. I clicked on a Hold 'Em tourney, but inadvertently clicked on a limit tourney. When I was seated, 2 other guys said, "oh crap, this is a limit tourney". Then one of them said "I think limit is for pussies who are afraid to gamble". So, feeling the irony, I said "well, I think limit is for people who can read and know which frickin' tourney they're entering." Well, some other guy at the table says "well said", while the other 2 guys go silent... one of them announcing "i'm just going to raise every hand until I'm out".

So I took advantage of that to move up to 2k in chips early. Eventually we got down to 4, and I was in trouble. But I started betting and raising a lot and ended up moving up to a comfortable 2nd. Then comes the weird part. "Well said" guy is down to 94 chips with blinds at 100/200. He is on the button, I'm in the CO/UTG position. I raise with JJ. BB has about 800 left, he calls 200 more. Flop comes 10 high, he checks, I bet, he calls. Turn is another brick... he bets this time. I raise, he calls. River is a Q, I bet him all-in... CLEARLY a fold, as even with the 100 blind coming for him next, he'd still have over 100 chips to fold and wait on the other guy to get knocked out. Instead, he calls, and loses to my pair... he had ATo. I tell the other guy "hey, yw". I move on to win the tourney, as I get my Q9s to turn a straight against KT's 2 pair. So that's a nice net of $17+.

Then I decided to enter a big MTT, which I hadn't done in a while. I enter the $3+.30 at 7:05. I played this tourney very loose and aggressive... and got 2 big suckouts to push me into the money. Once I was all-in with AT v. AQ, and pulled a T on the river. Then, with T9 in the SB, I moved all-in (which was about twice the pot size of 1500) on a T high flop. I got called by JT, but pulled a 9 on the turn to move to about 8k in chips. From there, I decided to play against my instincts a bit and see what happened. To my surprise, it worked well. I semi-bluffed a couple of times with flush draws, coming over the top with raises and forcing folds. I also knocked someone out for about 3000 chips with 66 against AQ that didn't improve. At one point, I had just over 20k in chips and was 26th out of over 200. But then I tightened way up and got no hands better than about A2 or K6 for a LONG time, and ended up losing in 83rd place. Still, out of 1500+ entrants, that wasn't bad. I picked up $7.07 for my troubles, a $4 profit.... putting me at $115.55 total.

[Butter]

I made about another $20 at HORSE today. So, I stand just shy of $135 with more playing scheduled tonight. Can I catch Andrea's $160 with Party Poker? That's my short term goal.

[Toddzilla]

Butter,

Have you tried the $3+$0.30 Turbo HORSE tourneys? I cashed in three out of 4 of them today (1st and 2 2nd) and they seem to be pretty loose. If you guard your chips, you should do very well.

Also, the $.50/$1 HORSE and Razz tables have just about killed off the $1/$2 versions. I like the Razz tables, since the effect of pairs and trips seem to be lost on more than a few

[Toddzilla]

Sorry to have threadjacked your dynasty, but the $3 HORSE and $3 RAZZ SnGs continute to be pretty profitable for me. Even the $0.50/$1 RAZZ tables are pretty fun.

[Toddzilla]

Sorry I killed your dynasty

[Butter]

So, I'm resurrecting this. Now that I'm older, my wife and I both have decent jobs, I have a bit more money to play with. Plus, I have been watching a lot more poker on TV lately, as it's been making a comeback with the proliferation of cable sports networks.

Got me in the mood to play. Started to look around and noticed that there are way fewer sites catering to US players now, due to the hazy legality of playing poker online from The States. PokerStars and FullTilt Poker are mostly European sites. Seems like the Feds are mostly interested in chasing down large sums of money, not small stakes home players. Ohio has no specific laws restricting game playing. That's about as much of a green light as I needed.

I dug around a bit for a site that would be friendly to US players. There are a couple. The most reliable one appears to be Bovada, formerly Bodog. I tried at a couple others for a single day to play some freerolls. I won like 0.04% of a bitcoin in one tournament, which is weird... works out to maybe 10 cents. A couple of the others, the software just seemed poor, or the site sketchy in some way.

Decided to put in $50 to Bovada and try my luck at building it up. With a 50% bonus, I start with $75 there. I'll give some periodic updates on it. Going to do some more research bankroll building, because I'd actually like to make some money instead of just donking it all away.

What's funny is, when I go back and read these hand histories, how loose I was playing. No wonder my variance was all over the place. I was playing way too loose, playing games I didn't fully understand, playing at too high of stakes. I would be at $180 one day, then down to $50 the next. It was crazy. When the Feds finally scared all the poker sites off of taking US players, I think I had wasted all the money we had anyway. My wife was probably a better player than me. She was tight-aggressive, and I was just loose-semi-passive, which is REALLY BAD. My wife was the one that had the big tournament wins that got us some money before, when we had over $500 at PartyPoker back in the day. She would win it, then I would just stack off money by trying to play too many hands in big tournaments . And SNG's. And ring games.

Funny too where I'm at in my life now to just have $50 that I can put in for fun at a poker site to see if I'm any good at it, and to be self-aware enough to know that I thought I was a half-decent player at the time, but I was definitely not. Not by a longshot. We'll see where this goes, and I'll give some updates.

Hand feedback is always welcome. I still have a ways to go, clearly.

[Butter]

In order for me to actually be able to withdraw the 50% bonus money (the $25 on top of the $50 that I physically put in), I have to play some crazy number of hands that are "raked", and / or pay a large number of tournament entry fees. As of August 3rd, when I played for about 3.5 hours, I cleared a whopping $1.07 of this bonus. Once I'm able to clear that $25, then I have the chance to earn another $25 with even more rake and tournament fees.

For novices, rake is the amount that the casino charges for you to be in a pot. At the cash game level I am playing in (which is .02/.05 no limit hold 'em, or .05/.10 limit games), the casino keeps 1 cent for every 20 cents that is bet into the pot, up to a maximum of 50 cents. So if I win a pot where $1 is bet, I will only net 95 cents.

I have to earn another 144 "points" to clear my bonus. In order to earn points, I have to play at cash tables or in SNG or multi-table tournaments. I get a sliding scale starting at .05 points for .01 of rake that I contribute to cash games or tournament fees, all the way up to 1 whole point if I contribute $1 to the rake, or pay for $1 in tournament fees.

To play in a sit 'n go tournament (a tournament where there are 9 players that play down to 3 paid places over about an hour or so), the lowest level costs $1 for the prize pool, but .10 in fees. The win breakout for a 9 person SNG is $4.50 for first, $2.70 for second, and $1.80 for third.

August 4, 2015
Start at $75

I don't have any details, but I do know this:

I played at a pot limit Omaha table, and lost $1.50 in about the time it took you to read this sentence. Man, I do enjoy Omaha but I have to tighten that up if I'm going to play any.

I entered a 5-table SNG where the top-8 places paid and the top prize was $13. I finished like 14th out of 45.

I won a single table 9-person SNG for $4.50.

Also entered a $1 SNG that was a satellite to a much larger tournament, and was out early. I should not be playing satellite tournaments.

I sat at a 9-person .02/.05 no limit hold'em (NLHE) table (referred to as 5NL based on 100-times the big blind size) with $1.50 and got up to $4.87 before leaving.

I also sat at a 9-max .05/.10 fixed limit hold 'em table with $1, and was down to .58... before the table got down to 3 players, and this one guy tried to raise every pot. And on most pots, I just so happened to be getting cards, so I got that back to $2 before leaving.

I am really trying to play much tighter... I had no issue folding smaller pocket pairs, whereas before I would almost never do that. I widened my range of hands to play in late position (button and cutoff positions), and tightened it way down otherwise. I folded a lot of draws where I wasn't getting the proper odds to call, whereas before I would call down just about every draw to the river, where I missed them quite often and would fold... which is something they talk about bad players doing.

I am working on being reformed, but it's hard.

Finish: $77.81
(+1.20 on tournaments, +$1.61 on ring games)

[Butter]

August 5, 2015
Start: $77.81

Took a bath here.

Started by sitting at 2 ring games, a 2NL table and a 5/10 cent limit table.

I busted out my $1.50 at the 2NL table when I played my TT against a well-disguised QQ vs. a board that was all undercards.... and bought back in with $2.00... ended up leaving that table with $2.01.
Bought in the 5/10 cent limit table with $2 and left with $3.51. Made 2 cents for the hour-plus I was at these tables.

Nee-ha.

Bought into a 5-table SNG for $1.10, finished 15th out of 45 where only 7 cash. Got really no cards in this tournament.

Bought into a MTT for $1.10 with 148 players where first place paid $37 and 18 got paid. I tripled early, but then busted out mid-tourney against a guy who sat at the table and basically said "I didn't mean to sign up for this tournament" and was going all-in about every other hand. I had AKh v. JTo and lost when a Jack hit the board. Finished 74th.

I sat with $2 at another 9-max 2NL table and busted out in short order... I was in the cutoff and was facing a raiser and 3 callers with .20. Pot was at something like .90 so I raised it to all-in with QQ. Got called with KK and lost $2 pretty quick. Overplayed QQ against a number of players showing strength there. All-in pre-flop was probably not a great play, should've gone up to .60 maybe and then if someone else goes back over the top or a scare card hits the board, I could get away. But if I remember right, neither A or K hit the board, so I was probably busting either way.

I also sat with $1.50 at another .05/.10 limit table, and raised KQs on the button. Got 3 callers. Board came QxxxA and was called all the way to the river with Ace-rag with no flush possibility. Lost like 60 cents on that one and didn't catch anything else good.

Finish: $72.36
(-2.20 on tournaments, -3.25 on ring games)

I should be fine with how I played the limit table and the multi-table tournament, because math says I will come out ahead (or have +expected value (+EV)) for these plays, but it is still annoying.

Also, I probably subscribe a bit too much to the tongue-in-cheek poker theory I was reading the other day that "nobody ever has anything".

[Butter]

August 6, 2015
Start: $72.36

I start the day in a 2NL ring game and a .05/.10 limit game right away. $2 at NL, $1.50 at limit. I end with .86 on the NL table and 2.39 on the limit table, losing about a quarter.

Then I join 2 tournaments at once, a $1 Super-turbo SNG where the blinds go up every 3 minutes, and a $1 multi-table tournament that is pretty straightforward.

I don't do well on either of these. In the SNG, fairly early I am dealt J9o in the SB. I call 50 and we go to the flop, which is 992, 2 hearts. I check to induce a bet, I get a bet, I raise the pot size, BB calls. Turn is a 3rd heart. I bet about 2/3 of the pot size which means half my stack is involved now. BB goes all-in. I guess I should've gotten away at this point, but I snap call instead and BB turns over 64 of hearts and I'm out in 8th after just 10 hands.

The MTT... I am doing ok enough, getting to about 1900 from my initial 1500. Pot that killed my chances was this:

I am dealt TT in the BB. 3 callers before me, I just check in an attempt to be sneaky... plus playing middle pair in early position tends to be tricky. Blinds are just 20/40 at this point anyway.
Flop is a good one, 6d-4d-Td... I get top set, but there is a made flush already possibly on the board. Pot is 160. SB bets 120. I raise to 360 to force the single diamonds out of the hand. Folds around to SB, who re-raises me to 800. I could've gotten out here, but I just couldn't lay down top set. I just called and hoped for a paired board or not a diamond. I could also already be beaten. Turn is a 4th diamond, SB goes all-in. I fold, giving up half my stack in the process. In reviewing the hand history today, SB did indeed have a single diamond, Jack of diamonds, so my read was correct. I could've put him to the test on the flop by 4-betting all-in, but I doubt he was folding.

I get down to about 600 chips before getting AA in the cutoff. I go all-in hoping for a call. I get 2 callers, including another all-in. 3 way all-in to the flop. I show AA, UTG shows AKo, player behind me shows QQ. Board comes Q58QJ, I lose emphatically and am out in 33rd place where 18 pay.

BTW, at this poker website, no names are displayed, so I refer to all players as "he". I apologize for my inherent sexism.

At this point, my bank is below $70. I head back to a NL and limit table simultaneously. I blow the NL wad rather quickly when my AQo raise pre-flop is not respected by TT, and I attempt to force TT off his hand with a post flop bet on a 66K board, committing all of my $1.01 on the table. I don't improve, and leave the table with nothing.

At the limit table, I make .50 but am now down below $69.

I then try my hand at some poker variant that this website produces called Zone Poker. It is a 2NL 6-max ring game... but what happens here is when you fold, you immediately are sat at another table taking another hand. It increases the action, but also fails to get you in a rhythm. What you are hoping for here is either being the bully or catching some cards. I try my hand at the bully, failing cards, and end up down almost $3 in rather short order. Welp.

Licking my wounds at $66, I should've packed up. But I mentally regroup and decide to try my hand at 2 more tournaments.

A $1 Pot-Limit Omaha (reg. Omaha, not Hi/Lo) SNG and some multi-table tournament called a $2 Super Knockout tourney. More about that one later.

First, the Omaha tournament. VERY FIRST HAND, I am 2 behind the dealer and am dealt As-Ad-Kd-4h. A pair of aces and suited AK are among the best starting hands in Omaha. I raise pot, which is 110 when it gets to me. I get 4 callers. Flop is 6h-Td-Qd, giving me a gutshot royal flush draw. UTG bets pot, 570. Next player calls, I raise pot, which is all-in. Folds around to UTG who calls, as does UTG+1.

Their hands are:
UTG: 9d-Qc-9h-8d
UTG+1: 7h-5h-6s-Ts

UTG has a double gutshot straight draw, and a gutshot straight flush draw. UTG+1 has essentially 2 pair. He has no business here.

Turn comes 4d, making my Ace high flush. River comes Jd, completing UTG's straight flush... however, also completing my royal flush. Bad beat there.

I triple on the very first hand and pretty much ride that to victory. +$4.50, and a much needed boost of confidence. Hard not to win when you're flopping royal flushes in that situation though. Although, to my credit I was holding the best hand pre-flop and pushing my edge as you are supposed to.

In the $2 Super Knockout MTT, $1 of each entry goes to the prize pool, while the other $1 goes to each player who knocks anyone out. You knock someone out, you get $1.

I am at about my starting stack well into the tournament, when there is a triple-all in at the table, AA v. JJ v. AK. AA wins, and next hand, AK goes all-in. I am in the BB and correctly identify him as tilting, as I call with A6o, and win when an A flops. I win $1.

I am up to 7,000 chips when CO goes all-in against me as the dealer. I call half my stack vs. an all-in with 88, and see JJ come up. Board comes 58K5A, and I luck up to 11k chips and another $1 knockout.

I get AA UTG, raise, get 2 callers including the dealer who has about 1 BB left. I raise post flop to isolate him, and he shows Q9o. Board does bring a Q, but that's not enough as I notch a 3rd knockout.

We start approaching the money, and everyone slows down. I decide to start raising, A LOT. I raise 6 out of 9 hands or so. I get called once, and even win that pot with a large C-bet while holding 26o. I get up near the chip lead with this tactic against a VERY tight table.

I notch my 4th knockout when I catch A2o in the BB, and face a less than 1 BB all-in against 2 other bettors. They are more than willing to check it around when the board brings an Ace, and I win the showdown.

I get KO #5 when I raise to 2000 from the CO with AJo and face an all-in re-raise from SB of over 9000 chips. That's half my stack, but I figure I'm in a race situation here. Surprised when I see J9s from the SB. Board comes 252KK, and I take the chip lead with over 32k chips.

About 3 hands later, I get QTh UTG. I raise to 2100 with blinds of 400/800. I get one caller near the button. Board comes a seemingly great Q82 rainbow. I check to induce a bet... and dealer goes all-in. I snap call and see KK. I lose 2/3 of my stack and ride it out to one more knockout and a 7th place finish in a field of 146.

The 6 knockouts give me $6, and 7th place is worth $5.84. $11.84 is better than 3rd place money.

Finish: $79.26
(-3.94 in ring games, +10.84 in tournaments)

[Butter]

I feel like I really need to improve on 3 areas:

1. I need to stop snap calling when I have just top pair against either strong raises or scary boards. The stakes I am playing at are not filled with great players (yes, including me), and often they can't contain their glee at a made hand. The several times I lost here, I refused to believe that anyone was beating my reasonably strong hands. In reviewing hand histories, people are rarely betting strongly into me when they don't have it.

2. I need to stop snap raising all-in when someone raises me when I bet out with a strong hand. I feel like those insta-raises really signal high strength and often times can scare people away. A couple of good examples of this are a couple of times in tournaments yesterday when I was the recipient of checking around while in a blind, and the board either gave me 2 pair or trips on my garbage hand. If someone C-bets into me (or maybe even bets some kind of pair), I am often so excited to see them bet that I can't wait to get my over the top raise in. Probably acts as a scare more often than not... see #1 in "not containing glee at a made hand". I could probably make more money/chips this way.

3. Also, playing even tighter when in early position. There were a few times when I would open raise from bad position with something like KJ suited, see a call behind me, and then not be able to play any kind of positional advantage and end up having to give it up when I didn't hit. Position is so ridiculously powerful in poker, I need to play more like it both while in position and out of it.

[Butter]

August 8-9, 2015
Start: $79.26

Somewhat uneventful weekend, as I didn't have a ton of time to play.

Saturday, lost $1.40 at 2 ring games, lost $2 at a NL table, and won 60 cents at a limit hold 'em table.

Sunday, played 2 ring games briefly... won .31 at 6-handed Pot-limit Omaha Hi-Lo, and lost 15 cents at 9-handed Pot-Limit Omaha high only.

Played a lot of tournaments Sunday, they didn't go great.

I played 2 simultaneous $1 NLHE SNG's. Finished 4th in one, and 2nd in the other where I was behind 3:1 in chips going heads-up, so that wasn't a big deal. $2.70 for second place.

Played a couple more, another $1 NLHE and a $1 PLO. Placed 3rd in the PLO getting $1.80.

In the one I finished 4th in, the final hand was 77 against QQ, so I didn't have the best of it there. Probably overplayed a mid-pair, but when the board went K54 rainbow, thought I was behind only to a large King and decided to make a stand. Didn't have a lot of fold equity, so might've been best to pick a better spot, especially considering I was on the money line.

In the evening, I let my wife play a $2 multi-table tournament. It was a "deep stack" tournament, where all players started with twice as many chips as a normal tourney. Andrea got a couple of hands, but never got paid off, and got moved off any other hands she made. About 90 minutes in, she got AQo in middle position. Once it got raised to 400 behind her, I gave her the only piece of advice I gave for the whole tournament which was "all-in or fold". Since she had about 1400 chips at the time. She re-raised all-in, and got called by JTo. And lost. Can't be too unhappy with that, she was below half her starting chips, and it was time.

I played a $2 multi-table tournament about 30 minutes later with the same rules. I was at 2450 chips with blinds at 30/60, so it was only the 3rd blind level. I raised one caller from middle position to 270 with TT. Two callers to the flop, which was Qh-Th-Ad. Checked to me, I bet pot-size, 900. Pretty much pot-committed at this point. Dealer folds, early position goes all-in. I think for a moment... even if he had KJ and flopped Broadway, I am only 2:1 behind and have outs and am calling about 1300 into a 4800 pot. I call, he shows J9h, he flopped an open ended straight flush draw. I was actually 2:1 ahead, but 8c comes on the river to end my tournament in 151st place.

To end up the night, I sat at a couple more SNGs simultaneously.

$1 NLHE, I go out in 8th when a 4-flush hits the board and I am beaten by the Queen when the King and Ace are on the board and I'm holding the Jack. Alas.

I try a different tournament... a $3 Omaha Turbo "Triple-Up" SNG. In a triple-up, if you finish 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, you triple your starting bet. Or as I explained to Andrea, 9 players put in $3, and in the end, 3 players walk away with $9. The tournament actually ends once 4th place is knocked out.

I do fine in this tournament. There are a lot of callers to every flop, so I stay out of the action unless I have something. I made that something count. It tightened way up when it got 5-handed, then I made it to 4-handed. At 4-handed, it was very tense. I was all-in twice due to my cards, and wasn't called either time. There was a clear chip leader, then 3 other guys fighting for the last 2 spots, of which I was one. Finally, blinds got to 400/800, which is high for a turbo. A guy was all-in on the BB, and me and another guy just checked it down and were able to knock him out to get into the money. I didn't have any big showdown hands in this tourney though. Anytime I was in for a lot of money, I never got to get all the way to the end.

This triple-up made my weekend pretty neutral.

Finish: $78.32
(-1.24 cash games, +.30 tournaments)

[Butter]

August 10, 2015
Start: $78.32

Sat at 2 standard NLHE SNG's last night.

First one, I got from 1500 to 2000 chips by holding J7 in the BB, being able to see the flop for free and seeing 77J come out. Several hands later, I was dealt KK in middle position. Blinds were 15-30, so this was VERY early, literally 15 minutes in. I raised to 105. Guy behind me raised to 250. Action folds around to me, I raise back to 550. Guy behind me raises all-in. I guess he was pretty much telling me he had AA. And when I called him, he did. That crippled me, and I finished 8th.

Second one, I was holding JJ in the blind. I just checked to the flop, which was all undercards BUT 3 clubs. I bet hard, got called. Next card was a Queen. I check, player ahead of me bets, I raise all-in. He calls and shows Ace-rag, with the Ace of clubs. Final card was the 4th club, and I was out of that one in 5th place.

Two all-ins, one a mistake, and one wasn't. But I probably could've avoided both.

Finish: $76.12
(-2.20 in tournaments)

[Butter]

August 11, 2015
Start: $76.12

Had a ticket to a scheduled freeroll at 8:30 yesterday, which paid out one $100 seat to a $100K guaranteed tournament, or 9 seats to a semifinal qualifier.

I made a real stupid play in this one, fighting back in the blind with Q-rag on a Qxx board, and lost out when AQo called my all-in push. Welp.

Also played a $2 deep stack tournament around this same time. You would think with deep stacks, I would've been in longer. But what REALLY happened was I lost about 1/3 of my stack on a flop of QJx when I was holding QTo in the blind. I folded to a re-raise when a second J hit the turn. Then this site has "rabbit hunting" which shows what would've hit the next street when there is folding on the flop or turn. In this case, a 3rd Jack hit the board, so I probably should've pushed there.

Instead, I pushed all-in against a clear blind steal from the button when I was holding 44. My read was correct, but he called with 35s, and I lost when a 5 hit the board. Good combo of bad playing and percentages not holding up for me.

Finish: $73.92
(-2.20 in tournaments)

[Butter]

August 13, 2015
Start: $73.92

Sat at 2 standard $1 NLHE SNG's. Busted out in 5th in both. Played very tight, but also didn't get much to play with. In 107 hands between the 2 tournaments, I saw 66, 44, 22 as pairs that I either folded pre-flop or lost with, I also got AKs once, KQs once (and won small hands with both), AQo once, and KJo once both of which I folded to strong pre-flop raises out of position. I ended up going all-in in both with about 800 chips with 75-150 blinds, I had A5o in one tournament and 22 in a blind in the other tournament. Was called with Q-rag vs. 22 and lost, and K9o vs. A5o and lost. Pretty uneventful overall.

I then sat at 2 PL Omaha 6-max cash game (.02/.05 blind) tables, one was a Hi-Lo table, and the other was a standard Omaha Hi only table. Sat for about 40 minutes.

I won a decent pot at the Hi table with AKKT double-suited, and left there only up 15 cents.

At the Hi/Lo table, I was dealt As-6s-Th-2c... a good drawing hand for Hi/Lo. Not as good as AA23 double suited, but I was in a blind here. It was pot raised to .22 pre-flop, and there were 3 players including me to the flop, which was TT4 rainbow. That's a bingo for me. Pre-flop raiser bets pot (0.71), I re-pot to 1.73 (all-in), he calls and other player folds. Board ends up TT463, so I split the Lo as raiser shows AA2Q double-suited, but take the Hi. Make over a dollar on that hand alone.

I press hard again with AAK2 double-suited, but get no callers of my PF raise from the SB. I win another 50 cents or so with AKK2 on the button when the pot stays small on a board of QTK78.

I win another .30 or so when I am dealt JTQK UTG, and I keep pot small but get folds to my strong bets when the board comes KQ9J. Was in danger to anything like AT, but had a lot of re-draws to full houses there, and anybody playing the Lo didn't make it.

Finish: $73.57
(-2.20 in tournaments, 1.65 in ring games)