Get rich or die tryin': My small stakes NLHE poker dynasty

Honolulu Blue · 11-29-2005, 08:55 AM

BACKSTORY: I've been playing online poker for a few months, dabbling in limit & no-limit tournaments and cash games (you can read more about it here). Somehow I ended up with $30.58 in my Party Poker account, which is too small to cash in. Since I have some lessons to learn about NLHE cash play, I'm going to risk it all and go for a big score. Will I get rich? Or will I die trying? The result is to be determined.

NUTS & BOLTS: For purposes of this dynasty, I'll cover the NLHE games I play at Party Poker (just "Party" from here on). Since my balance is so small, I'll start with the game I'm most comfortable with - the $25 min/max buy-in NL game. This features a small blind of a dime and a big blind of a quarter - real big stakes, eh? But those pots can spiral way up there, especially with the way some people play in those games.

My goal is to get my balance up to $305, whereupon I'll cash out and promptly do something foolish with it.

DISCLAIMER #1: I'll assume my readers have some basic knowledge of poker in general and Texas Hold'em in particular. So I won't do a lot of explaining of what beats what and things like that. But feel free to ask any questions. I'll try to get to them as quickly as I can.

DISCLAIMER #2: I'm sure I'm going to make some snide comments about the players, like "idiot", "moron", "donkey", and worse. I might be talking about someone you know, or worse, one of you. Please don't take any of it personally. I'm sure in ordinary life they're fine, intelligent individuals. And they might even be good poker players having a bad day.

Honolulu Blue · 11-29-2005, 09:03 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $30.58
End - $40.03 (+9.45)
Time - :15

A very nice start for me. After folding 6 hands in a row (you'll see this is very typical for me), I got JJ in the big blind. Two limpers and I limped too (please don't tell my poker heroes I did this!). The big blind checked and off we go to the flop - T64 with two hearts. Even though neither of my jacks were hearts, I figured to be best. Would anyone pay to chase me? I bet a buck and everyone folded. Fireworks! Congratulations! Yay!

On the very next hand I got queens in the small blind. Lots of good players whine about queens, but I've found them to be very profitable. Anyway, this time around, the button limped, and I raised it to a buck. BB and button called. Flop was QJ3 with two diamonds. Another darned fine flop, methinks. Let's see how much we can milk out of these suckas... My lead and I checked. BB also checked, button bet a quarter. "Be for real," I said, and raised it to $3. BB gave up the ghost, but the button called. Hmmm, wonder what he has. The turn was a 3, giving me a full house, and no more to fear from a possible flush. Let's see if I can get him to go all-in here... I bet $6, which was more than he had. He called and flipped up A4 of diamonds. The river was a meaningless 7, and the pot was mine.

After a few more eventless hands, I log off, ahead and slightly more confident. This is better than Enzyte.

NEXT: More fun in the kiddie pool.

Honolulu Blue · 11-29-2005, 01:27 PM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table)
Start - $40.03
End - $64.78 (+24.75)
Time - :40

After a few indifferent hands at my first session, I got the rockets in 2nd position. Yum! It was folded to me, so I raised it to the standard buck. Alas, it was folded all the way back to me, so I won a whole 35 cents. That doesn't even buy a handful of penny candy anymore! Poker, I guess. Then came a few more hands I didn't play, and I made my way toward another table.

This table had a lot more fireworks. After four hands of inactivity, I got pocket fours. There were two limpers in front, and I did the same. The button raised to $3 and everyone folded. Two hands later I got dealt pocket 10s. I was UTG with two extra newcomers posting a big blind. Gutless wonder that I am, I limped again. One other caller and it's five to the flop - 853 wth two clubs. Not the perfect flop, but safe enough to bet and see where I'm at. BB checked. I bet a buck. One caller and one folder and then there was a raise to $3. Pocket pair, trips, or a flush draw? The odds weren't terrible, but I erred on the side of caution and folded. There was one caller to the end, and it ended up being a pair of 8s against trip 5s. Good laydown? Well, considering there was a 10 on the river... still, I prefer to be the chaser rather than the chased.

The next hand put me in the big blind with total junk (7s, 8c if you must know). Four callers (including the SB) and no raisers gave me a free look at the flop. 422 rainbow - nothing there for me. Everyone checked and so I got another free card. 'Twas a 6. Still nothing very much. Everyone checked again. The river was a 5. Hmmm, let me check those cards again - yep, got a straight. Lucky SOB. One check, then I bet a buck. Three folds and one crying call. As expected, my straight pulverized his nothing special.

After giving the fold button a workout, I picked up pocket 10s again. One fold, one call, and one minimum raise in front. I cold call. Two more calls and it's four to the flop. That flop was QT9 - excellent news for me, if it weren't for the fact that I was up against three spades. Still, no one is guaranteed a flush or straight, so I had to be aggressive with this. One check, one bet of 50 cents, one fold, and it's to me. I raised it to $4 - make it real expensive for those guys to draw out on me. The other guy in the hand shoved what was left of his chips - about $6 extra. The guy who checked now folded, but the other gentleman called. Now it's back to me. This smelled like trouble - there could easily be a made straight AND flush against me (QQ too, but I didn't worry about that so much). Still, the pot was so big that I was getting close to the correct odds even if I knew that I was beat. So I gritted my teeth and called. The turn was a 6h. The other guy shoved in all his chips - about $6. Easy call, even though I still thought I was in trouble. Flip 'em up boys - guy #1 had the ace of spades and a five; guy #2 had the king of spades and a 6. Nice for me, but if one of those 8 spades came out, I was still sunk. The river was an ace and I grabbed a $41.60 pot - one of my biggest NL pots ever. I left after the next hand.

Honolulu Blue · 11-30-2005, 01:52 PM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table)
Start - $64.78
End - $66.18 (+1.40)
Time - :50

The first hand of the first session put me in the big blind with AK. Two limpers to me, so I raised it to a buck. Both limpers called. Flop was AT5 with two diamonds - good for me, and looked safe enough. I led out for $2. The next guy pushed for all his chips - about $17 more. At this level, he could do that with any number of hands, some of which I could beat. With no reads, an insane bet in front, and just top pair, I say THWI and fold.

After giving the fold button a workout, I got AK again. Two limpers to me on the button, where I also limp. Four to the flop of QT6 rainbow - not much for me here. Check, minimum bet ($.25), fold, to me. I called. Then there was a raise to $1, and my hand wasn't good enough to stand for that, so I got out. A few more folds and I changed tables, where I hoped to have better luck.

Four or five folds at the new table, then I got a hand I could work with - pocket 9s. One limper in front, and I added myself to that list. One limp behind, and a minimum raise from from the SB. Everyone called. Flop was A66 with two hearts. Not the worst flop in the world, but the ace and hearts give me pause (I had the 9h). Minimum bet and a fold to me. I didn't think the bettor had much, so I called. There was one other caller. 9 on the turn gave me a full house. Only AA or 66 would beat me now, and I didn't think either of them had it. But what did they have? Will they call if I put a real bet out there? It was checked to me, so I threw out $3. No calls and I took the pot.

A few more folds, then AK again in the big blind. Two limpers to me and I say go ahead. A42 on the flop, which was just fine with me, even though the two spades gave me a little pause (I held Ks). I bet out a buck and got one caller. The turn was an 8 - safe enough. I bet $3 and got a caller. The river was the 8s, giving me aces up, but putting a possible flush out there. I still figured to be good, so I bet $6. He thought a bit and folded. Yay me. Then came a few more folds and I scraped by with a small profit.

NEXT: Knowin' when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

Honolulu Blue · 12-01-2005, 06:02 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $66.18
End - $61.48 (-4.70)
Time - :30

The fireworks, such as they were, started with my very first hand out of the BB. I had Q3 - as worthless as it looks, but with two limpers, I got a free look. The flop was AAQ. Not bad, all things considered, but it's fairly likely someone has an ace. I checked and everyone else did too. Maybe there's no ace out there? The flop was another Q. Still alert for the possibility of an ace, but with a full house, I'm kinda obligated to bet. So I led out for a buck. Both called. Hmmm. The river was a 4, which couldn't have helped anyone. It looks like I had the best hand. I bet $3. Guy raised it to $6. Uh oh... The other player in the hand thought for awhile and folded. I probably should've done the same, but I'm a sucker for 4:1 pot odds. They'll put it on my tombstone -> Got Big Odds And Lost. With tears down my cheeks, I make the call and dude shows me an ace. Well, that's $7 down the drain...

Things did get better, though. On the button I got 9h8h. One limper in front. I called. The blinds also called. The flop came out 953 with two hearts. I wasn't expecting much, but with top pair (mediocre though it is) and a flush draw, it had lots of possibilities. Everyone checked to me and I led out for the usual buck. No takers. Not a big pot, but a win's a win.

On the next hand I got more hearts - A4. Two callers in front. I play along, as do the button and the blinds. The flop was JT8 with two clubs and no hearts. Nothing here for me. Check, check, $.50 bet, call. I'm Audi 5000. A flush on the river ended up beating trips made on the turn.

A few hands later I got JJ in the big blind. Three limpers and I, the out-of-position one, say go ahead. J97 on the flop made me smile. I was cognizant of the two spades, but sometimes you've gotta say what the hey. SB checked and I bet a buck. Again, no takers. What, am I radioactive or something?

Four hands after that I got AQ. One off the button, so my position was good. Cards are good. Let's see what happens. Just one caller to me. I raised to a buck. No takers.

About a round goes by until I get a halfway decent hand in the BB - A3 of hearts. There were two callers and I got a free look. AcKh9c was the flop - top pair, sucky kicker, backdoor flush draw. Could've bet here, I s'pose, but that's not my style. Like my bank account at the beginning of the month - check, check, check. 6h on the turn - more help, but I still hold just a so-so pair. Check check check. The river was 8h - finally a hand I can bet with confidence! No need to scare anyone, so I bet just a buck. No takers. I checked out a few things - yes, this was still Party; yes, this was one of the zillion $25 tables. It wasn't playing like it, I tell you. Where are the calling stations?!?!

A dozen or so hands later I received pocket 9s. One caller in front. I raise to a buck, and you can probably guess the rest...

Grinding out dimes and the occasional quarter isn't my favorite way to play, but it beats losing, I guess.

NEXT: Grinding out more dimes and quarters. What a party!

Honolulu Blue · 12-02-2005, 01:56 AM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table)
Start - $61.48
End - $66.28 (+4.80)
Time - 1:20

After a few false starts where I sacrificed some blinds, I finally found a table I liked. My first active hand found me in the BB with T5 of hearts. Not much of a hand, but with five limpers and no raise, it would be nice to see a free and potentially lucrative flop. Which came out QT5 rainbow. Two pair, even bottom two as in this case, is pretty strong against this board. Let's see if I can get some customers... SB checked and I led out for a buck. Only one caller. The turn was a 6 - probably harmless. I bet $3. He thought for a while, then folded.

The next hand put me in the SB with JT of spades. Fun little hand, and playable for the right price. There was one limper. I threw in my 15 cents and called. BB checked. The flop was T84 with two hearts - a vulnerable top pair. I decided to just check and see what came up. BB bet a buck and was called. I figured I was likely beat and I don't like to chase. I chucked 'em in the muck. The winner had pocket aces and the turn gave him trips. BB had 10s and 4s. Sometimes a little caution pays.

Then came an interval where I got familiar with the fold button. After that, I found myself on the button with pocket 10s. Cool. One limper, and I raise to a buck. The blinds give up but the limper calls. The flop was 998 with two hearts. Mildly dangerous flop, but I do have an overpair, so I'm not cooked yet. He bet a buck and I called. Six of hearts on the turn. The flush just came in, but I wasn't sure he had it. He bet another buck and again I called. I thought about raising, but there were too many possible hands that could beat me. I think he would've bet more if he had the flush, though. The deuce on the river didn't help me, and probably didn't help him either. He checked. Now I was pretty sure he didn't have the flush, though of course a tricky player could try a checkraise here. With any pocket pair higher than 10s, any 9, pocket 8s, 6s or deuces beating me, I wasn't at all sure I had the best hand. So I checked. He had A8 for an inferior 2 pair. Ship it here, please. Thank you.

A few more eventless hands and I took a break for a few hours.

In the second session, I brought in for a big blind as the button passed. 53 offsuit isn't much of a hand, but there were only callers (and checks by myself and the BB). I had position on everyone still in the pot. Five players saw the flop of T33. Bingo! Or is it fool's gold? A 5's not much of a kicker, so if anyone else has a 3, then I'm probably beat. Otherwise I figure to be in good shape. It's checked around to me, and I threw in a buck. Everyone folded. Not much of a pot, but I took it anyway.

Then I got AcJc in the small blind. One limper, then a minimum raise. I called, as did two others. The flop was Q75 with one club. Not much there, but it was checked around, so let's see the free card. It was a 6. I checked, and one guy led out for his remaining chips - all $2.02 worth. Two callers, not including me, of course.

A few more hands later I got 77. One limper in front. I followed. Folded to the blinds who both stayed in. The flop was KJ7 - should've been profitable if there were no hidden monsters. Please somebody have a little something... SB checked, BB bet the minimum, then a fold. Plenty of good options here - I could smooth call and take my chances on the turn. I could raise a moderate amount to get rid of the riffraff who might outdraw me. Or I could shove it all in and hope nobody has kings or jacks. I raised to a dollar. The SB gave up, but the BB called. The turn was another jack. I got a full house, but if he's got a jack, then I'm dead to one out. He led out for a buck. Probably not the bet of someone who has a jack. Again, I thought about raising, but I figured I'd get him on the river. So I just smooth called. The river was a harmless 6. He checked. I didn't expect that. I wasn't sure what he had, but I figured to be best. So I made a straight value bet of $4 and hoping for a call. Didn't happen. Alas, that table started to break up and I had to move on.

The next table only gave me one hand worth anything - pocket jacks in the BB. Five limpers to me. I really, really should grow some nads and raise here. But since they were still on order, I merely checked my option. The flop was K33 with two spades. I didn't have any. The bettor to my right led out for 25 cents. Easy enough to call that. But the bettor on my left raised to $3. Everyone folded to me. My hand didn't look that good so I said goodbye. And after a few more hands, I said goodbye to this table too.

Honolulu Blue · 12-02-2005, 11:02 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $66.28
End - $93.98 (+27.70)
Time - 1:00

I passed some hands around before getting pocket 9s in the cutoff. There was one limper in front. I followed. A minimum raise from the small blind, and everyone called (including the BB). Four to the flop - J62, all diamonds. I had the 9 of diamonds. Interesting flop. A pair plus a flush draw... lots of outs, but hardly a guaranteed winner. SB led out for a buck. Two folds in front. I thought about gambling here, but with no reads, I wanted to wait for a better spot.

Then came a long stretch where I got nothing special and had to give up the blinds. Then I got aces. Two limpers in front. I raised to a buck. One of the limpers called. The flop was KJJ. Fairly good flop (there aren't too many bad flops with AA), though any jack or KK is now beating me badly. On the other hand, AK or QQ figures to pay me off nicely. He checked and I dutifully bet $2. No call. Darn.

The only other hand of note at this table came when I got pocket 8s in the SB. Limp, fold, raise to $.75, call, fold, fold. I suspect that as I gain more experience, this is a call that I could make with some confidence. But out of position with two players who like their hands... I didn't like my odds all that well. I folded. BTW, the raiser had pocket 10s, which held up to win.

And now comes the Degree(tm) All-In Moment. The table I had moved to had been playing somewhat fast & loose, no big deal. There was a raise in front and an immediate call. I got bullets, again. No need to get cute here; I raised to $2. Got mini-raised to $3.50, then the original raiser pushed the rest of his stack in - $12.50 or so. This was shaping up to be a big pot where I figured to be a large favorite. I raised to be sure I got all of the other guy's chips, not that there was much left. He decided to call.

I should note here that Party does the all-ins a little different than you'd expect. They deal the cards, then they ship the chips to the winner. To add a little drama, let's do it that way... Flop was J83. Turn was a 7. The river was another 8. Did anyone have an 8? 33? 77? I was most fearful of JJ. Nope, none of those - my aces held up for about a $45 pot. The original raiser had KK - bad luck for him. And the other guy had... A2? Suited though. God bless Party and its wildly optimistic players.

NEXT: Much more of the same, I hope.

KevinNU7 · 12-02-2005, 11:13 AM

Current 93.98
Start 30.58
Earned 63.40
Total Minutes 275

Cash Per Minute 0.23
Cash Per Hour 13.83

Honolulu Blue · 12-02-2005, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinNU7

Cash Per Minute 0.23
Cash Per Hour 13.83

Thanks for compiling this for me.

I suppose I should make a disclaimer here that I cannot and do not expect to sustain this rate of return at this level. This is for several reasons:

1) I'm not that good,
2) Even if I were, I've gotten good cards,
3) I've also gotten good flops, and
4) I've won more than my fair share of showdowns.

More action in due time. But in the meantime, thanks for reading.

Honolulu Blue · 12-03-2005, 06:52 AM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table)
Start - $93.98
End - $100.80 (+6.82)
Time - :35

Another decent start with AJ in the big blind. One limper and I say go ahead. TT8 was the flop. A total whiff for yours truly. We both check. The turn was a Q, which gave me an inside straight draw. Still not worth very much. I checked and he bet the pot ($.60). Not worth it, I said, and gave up.

Two hands later I got a real hand on the button - AK. There were two limpers in front. I raised to a buck. One of the limpers called. The flop was AQ6 rainbow, which was just fine with me. Hoped he didn't have AQ, though. After his check, I bet out $2. He folded.

Several hands later I got aces - again, folks - under the gun. I raised my now standard buck. Only one customer followed me to the flop - JT6, all diamonds. The bad news is that this is one of the more dangerous flops for AA - two high cards, three of one suit, and a possible straight draw. The good news is I had the ace of diamonds, so I had redraws against big hands. Bad a flop as it was, I had to find out where I stood. I fired out for $2. She reraised me to $4. Pot odds mandated a call here. They're going to put it on my tombstone, remember. The turn was a non-diamond 9. The straight came in for KQ, one of her possible holdings. I checked, and she bet $5. The pot was near $15 at this point, so that's not too big of a bet. I called, more curious than anything. A ten on the river helped give me two pair, but it might have helped her more. Or maybe it didn't matter? I checked, hoping she wouldn't bet too much so I could call (or hoping she'd bet everything so I COULDN'T call). She checked too and for the first time I thought I had her. Sure enough, I did. She only had AK. Jesus would've called this one earlier from his perch in the fridge. Anyway, $19.35 came my way.

Two hands later, I again got that hand that's bedeviled hold'em players for decades - AK. I was in the small blind. Two limpers in front and I decided to get cute and just call. BB checked and off we go to the flop. 773 rainbow offered nothing for me. Everyone checked. Ten on the turn didn't help. I thought about firing out here, as an info/semi-bluff bet, but held off. Everyone checked again. The king on the river finally offered something for me. Kings up figured to be good, so I led out for a buck. One fold, then I got raised to $5. Sum 'glitch! What could she possibly have? I put her on an equal or lesser king. Wrong. I unwisely called and she showed me her pocket 3s. Very nice slowplay. My head was spinning after that, so I did some other things for a few hours.

At the second session, a few hands after I sat down, I got AK yet again. There were three folds to me, so this seemed like a good place for a raise to a buck. The button called, as did the BB. QT4 on the flop - inside straight draw, but nothing else. Everyone checked. The turn was a 5. Still nothing. Check check check. 8 on the river didn't help, but nobody showed strength. Is someone playing possum? Should I try to make a play here? The BB checked. I decided a bet was too likely to backfire here, so I checked also. The other guy checked. Flip 'em up... BB had AK also. The other guy had Bill & Ted's favorite hand - 69 dude! A split pot wasn't too bad.

The other hand of note was pocket queens on the button. Call UTG, then the very next guy raised to $1. Everyone folded to me. I would've been a little worried if my opponents were old-school players who knew the meaning of the word "tight". These guys aren't anything like that, so I figured my queens were good. But not quite good enough for a reraise. I opted to call and see a flop. The BB joined us for the flop of A53 with two spades. The spades were a little worrisome, but the ace much more so. But I have position, so I figure if someone's got the ace, they'll let me know. It's checked to me. I look down under... they're starting to grow a little, so I bet out $2. I was quite happy to get no callers here.

I stuck around for a few more hands, but nothing came, so I skedaddled with my profits. Now that I'm up over $100, I might try two-tabling at times.

NEXT: Two tables? At one time?? Am I nuts???

Honolulu Blue · 12-04-2005, 04:14 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $100.80
End - $114.95 (+14.15)
Time - :40

You know, sometimes stupidity is rewarded, and sometimes it's punished. I'll give you an example of both.

At my first table, I was in third position with TT. Two players folded to me and by now you know how much I raised to. The button called. The flop was Q43 rainbow - not the worst flop, all things considered. If he didn't have a Q, then I figured to be good. And I bet like I was good, $2. He called. Call it warning sign #1. The turn was a jack. Two overcards now - warning sign #2. I fired out a bet of $3, roughly half the pot. He called. That was #3. The river was another 3. I've got two pair, but is it best or what? The pot was too big to give up without a fight, so I put a Lincoln and a Washington out there. And not the coins either. He raised the rest of his chips, about $5.50 worth. That was warning sign #4. However, the pot odds were tremendous (over 4.5 to 1), so I had to finish the job. I'm serious about putting it on my tombstone, by the way. He had AJ and beat me with a better two pair. Argh. I think I (over)played that one to the level of my opponents, which isn't good. But I kept playing, though I switched tables after awhile.

The next table started out slowly enough, with me getting junk, trash, and ca-ca. Finally I got 66 UTG. The experts are split on what to do with this. I don't think there's a whole lot of difference in EV in folding, raising, or calling. I wanted action, I don't like 6s THAT much, and the table had been playing pretty passive so far, so I threw in my quarter (the special Michigan edition, of course). There were a total of 7(!) callers to the flop - QJT rainbow. Obvously I'm getting off at the next stop. SB led out for 75 cents. BB folded and I did the same. There were some fireworks on the turn (a deuce) as one player went all-in for $42 and got called. He had AK for a flopped Broadway straight, beating a lesser straight. I think I was inspired by this display...

Some hands later I got American Airlines under the gun. Standard raise, then I got raised back to $2.75. As a test, I raised an outrageous sum - to $20 - just to see if he would be silly enough to call. He was - actually he reraised for all his chips ($4 more) and had me covered by a dime. This is like Christmas, my birthday, the Publishers' Clearinghouse grand prize and the Powerball jackpot all in one. All I had to do was get those 4-to-1 odds working for me. He had JJ and it was off to the races. 854 on the flop and he still needs a jack. The turn was a 6, making a seven very unlucky. But no, the river was another ace. The $46 pot put me a few dollars ahead, despite my mistakes.

Call me lucky because I got aces again four hands later. Two callers in front, and I raised to a buck. They both called, but no others. We go to the flop - AK7. Awesome! Let's see how much I can extract from these guys... one check, then a bet of $2. I had the nuts and I decided not to fool around with them (there were two hearts on board and I didn't have one). I raised to $6. The other player reraised all his chips, another $4.60. I called, of course. The 3 of hearts on the turn gave my heart flutter wildly (Remember that Party doesn't reveal the cards until the hand is over). The six on the river couldn't have been of any use, so I was either beaten on the turn or not beaten at all. My fellow player had AK and I won another big pot. I felt a little sorry for him; I probably would've gone broke too if the hands had been reversed.

Time for a little break.

NEXT: A little break, but I'll be back!

Honolulu Blue · 12-04-2005, 02:02 PM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table)
Start - $114.95
End - $116.00 (+1.15)
Time - :25

The first session ended prematurely because (a) I couldn't find many good games, and (b) in the one good game I found, three players dropped out in quick succession, and I don't do well shorthanded.

Anyway, I got a free look with 96 of spades in the BB. Two others had limped in. J44 was the flop, only one spade. Not much there for me, so I folded to a $2 bet. The pot ended up being split between two players with jacks up.

Several hands later I got pocket 5s in the BB. Everyone folded and I picked up the blinds. That doesn't happen much at this level, and it's a bad sign for a quality table.

The next hand saw me in the SB with QT offsuit. I normally have higher standards than this, but it was folded to me (again). Could've raised, but I decided to just call. The BB played along. A92 with two diamonds on the flop. Nothing there. Check check. The three on the turn didn't help me. Check check. I finally got some relief with a 10 on the river. The pair of tens should've been good if he's not holding a raggedy ace or something. I doubt he had it. I made a value bet of a quarter (the pot was only 50 cents) and he folded. Whoopity whoop whoop. I left after getting nothing on the button.

I popped in for a quickie session later on. The conditions were a little better, but still not generally favorable. I didn't get many hands here. I let 2 1/2 rounds of blinds go before I picked up 9s. There was one limper in front. I threw in my quarter. One guy raised to 50 cens, the minimum raise. The blinds and both of us limpers called. Five to the flop of 542, two clubs. I had a club. There were some hidden monsters, but it was very bettable and it seemed likely I had the best hand. Everyone checked to me. I bet $2. I was most worried about two players - the raiser (no read, but a raise usually indicates strength; let's hope it's of the high card variety) and the SB (seemed mildly dangerous because he had a clue and used the bluff as a weapon). It was my lucky day, because they both folded, as did the other two players. The pot was relatively small, but a win's a win. I left soon after.

I hope things loosen up for my next sessions.

NEXT: The search for the elusive calling station.

Honolulu Blue · 12-05-2005, 03:04 AM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table)
Start - $116.00
End - $114.90 (-1.10)
Time - 1:10

I post the blind after sitting down and walk in with 88. Very nice start. There were two limpers, then a raise to $1.25. I thought about calling, but figured 8s were a little light to be doing something like that. He did get a caller, and the original raiser won the pot after a $4 bet on the turn.

My "real" big blind came some hands later. I got K4 offsuit, and I'm always interested in a free look. Two callers and I said go ahead. KJ5 on the flop brought good news, though with a sucky kicker. Do I lead out or not? I decide, not. Everyone checked. The turn was an 8. We all checked again. The river was a ten. Motley board; probably no one has anything very much. My very weak top pair might even be good here. But I wasn't certain enough that I wanted to bet here. Fortunately, everyone checked and I showed my king. The others had ace high.

Some time later I got 88 UTG. I raised to a buck and got no followers. Uncontested pots are all right with me, especially with a medium pair.

A few hands after that I recieved J9 of spades in the cutoff. There were two callers and I also took a flyer. The BB raised to $.75. A fold and a call in front of me... I didn't like my hand that well, so I let it go. This pot got way up there as three diamonds showed up on the flop and a fourth on the river. The winner had a pair of kings with Kd. The unfortunate loser had the five of diamonds, along with another five. I said goodbye a few hands later.

At the next table, I again posted a BB upon arrival. This time I wasn't so lucky - 64 offsuit isn't a hand worth going to war with. But three players smooth called and the SB completed, with the BB checking. So it's off to the flop - A43 with two diamonds. Middle pair with a nothing kicker isn't worth a whole lot. Everyone checked. A lucky 4 of spades on the turn gave me trips. Not half bad. The SB led out for $.50. Two callers, then it was to me. Does anyone have the other 4? Or the wheel? Those were the only hands I was afraid of. 33 and AA probably would've played things differently. Easy call at the price. One fold and we take four to the river - a non-diamond K. I was PROBABLY good, but if I wasn't it could get expensive & ugly. Check, bet $2, call. I liked my cards and odds, so I called. Another fold. The other players had A5 and A8, and I got a $8.80 pot. That's the downside of slowplaying - you can easily keep people in the pot that can break you with that free card.

After reacquainting myself with my best friend, the fold button, I got A5 offsuit in the BB. Four folds and a raise to $.50. More folds and the SB called. Pot odds mandated a call here. But the QJ3 flop was not kind, especially with those three hearts on board (I didn't have any). We checked and the original raiser bet $2. We both gave up.

Some hands later I got pocket 6s. There were five folds. My position was too good to fold this, so it was a matter of raising or calling. I figured my chances of seeing a cheap flop were good, so I limped. The button raised to $1. Everyone folded to me. I've found it best not to make marginal calls out of position. So I didn't here. She took it down uncontested.

Nothing else of note, so I went on to other things.

I came back a couple of hours later, and couldn't get anything started. The first hand was typical - QJ of diamonds in the BB. One minimum raise and a caller. I say what the hey and put another quarter in. Might get lucky; you never know. A94 on the flop was NOT lucky, since there were no diamonds in it. I checked, there was a bet of $1.25 and a raise to $2.50. Obviously, I couldn't stand that kind of pressure and got out. The original bettor folded to the raise and the other guy kindly showed us his A4.

Three hands later I got pocket jacks. One caller in front. I raised to a buck and he called. A54 on the flop, all spades. I didn't have a spade, which was troubling. I also didn't have an ace, which was more trouble. It was checked to me and I led out for $2. It was called. That wasn't a good sign. The turn was the 9 of spades, and I was convinced I was beaten one way or another. Check check. The river was another ace. Check check. He showed pocket deuces - alas, one of them was a spade. Yuck.

The next hand I got 44. One caller in front and I followed suit. Two more callers, then the big blind raised to $2. Nobody wanted any part of this, so he got the money without a fight.

More junk I had to dump before getting Ac6c on the button. There were four callers to me, and I did the same. The BB checked and it was the six of us to the flop. AQ9, two diamonds, no clubs. Top pair with a nothing kicker. It might be best. Then again, it might be an expensive second best hand. Two checks, a bet of $.75 and a call. I figured it was too likely someone had an ace with a better kicker. I folded.

I changed tables to try to change my luck. It didn't really work. But I did eventually get AK. UTG made the minimum raise. I called. T83 gave me very little. He led out for a buck. Too many hands could beat me, I thought, and laid it down.

A few hands later I got 55 in the small blind. Everyone folded to me. This was a golden opportunity to try to make a steal with a halfway decent hand. But I chickened out and called. The BB checked. A93 was a typical flop I see with a small pair - I'm either ahead or way behind. BB bet a quarter and I folded.

The next hand in the SB (again) I got pocket 8s. Four folds, then a raise to $.50, and a call. Two more folds to silly me, who called. The BB called also. The flop was T52 with two spades. I checked, the BB checked, then there was a $2 bet and a call. I had a feeling I was beaten somewhere along the line, so I folded. The BB did the same. This hand was interesting because the original bettor had KT, which ended up being two pair when the board paired. He didn't win the hand. The other guy did with pocket 3s. It was simple, really - 3 on the turn, 3 on the river. That ended up being a $46 pot. Not mine.

Even though I ended up down, I didn't do anything stupid. I wanted to keep that record intact so I left after a few hands of nothing.

NEXT: Goals to keep and miles to go before I sleep.

Honolulu Blue · 12-05-2005, 11:14 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $114.90
End - $113.85 (-1.05)
Time - :40

Two words: card dead. Completely and utterly card dead. One funny thing that happened is that I got A6, A4, A6, A6, and A6 in five consecutive hands. Given the conditions I was playing under, none of them were playable. Those were, alas, the best cards I got at that table.

I moved to another table, where things didn't improve a whole lot. I started on the BB with KJ of clubs - a monster by today's standards. There were two limpers and an all-in for his last nickel (he'd lost a huge confrontation on the hand before when he hit the wrong button). I was starting to forget what it felt like to see a flop I was actually involved in. 943 was the flop, all black - SPADES. Ah well, I know what to do now. SB bet a buck and I did the expected.

And that, dear readers, was it.

NEXT: Better cards and better results, I hope.

Honolulu Blue · 12-06-2005, 02:18 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $113.85
End - $115.80 (+1.95)
Time - :40

I found a table I liked and stuck around for longer than usual. Lots of nice loose/passive types who are nice enough not to raise much, but call raises relatively often. I couldn't make a lot off it because I didn't get much cardage, again. As you'll see.

After a few hands of lying in wait, I caught A9 of clubs in the cutoff. Three limpers in front, and I followed suit. One limper behind and the BB checked. 662 with only one club wasn't the flop I was looking for. But everyone checked and I was happy to get a free card. Which was a king, not a club. Three checks and a $2 bet led me to believe I was beaten, somehow, and folded.

Some hands later I found myself in the BB with 82 offsuit. Not much of a hand, but with five limpers and no raise, it would be imprudent not to take the free flop. 932 gave me the tiniest piece of it, but I can't imagine it being good against this field. Everyone checked. Another 9 on the turn; no real help. Everyone checked again. The six on the river, and finally we get some action. One guy led out for a buck and there was one caller (not me). They both had 6s, but the caller had the higher kicker.

Big blind again, and I got JJ. There were four limpers to me and I decided to raise to a buck. It didn't do much to thin the field, as all but one called. The flop was Q86 rainbow. Decent flop, but the overcard is somewhat scary. But I felt I had to bet anyway - $3. Everyone took their time but folded. No queens, I guess.

On the next hand in the SB I received 65 offsuit. With five limpers to me, I make a very loose call. The BB checked. I'm hoping for something big, but get QJ3. Nothing there, and I checked & folded to a bet.

Honolulu Blue · 12-06-2005, 02:31 PM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table)
Start - $115.80
End - $134.55 (+18.75)
Time - :45

Good news: I finally found some cards. Better news: I made 'em pay. I started with A3 off in the SB. There were four callers. I decided to be a good boy and follow suit. Fortunately the BB let us all in for cheap. AK2 was the flop. You'd think that would be good for me, with top pair and all. But let's look a little closer... if anyone has an ace, they were now beating me badly, and I had at most three outs. An expert can probably extract the most out of these situations, but I'm no expert. Anyway, I checked, there was a bet ($1) and a call. It's always tough to lay down top pair, but I felt I was beaten. I laid it down. BTW, the lead bettor had A3 also and won the pot which we would have split had I stuck around.

Then I got pocket kings. Following two limpers and a fold, I raised to a buck. The blinds and both limpers called. Good - I have position on all of them. Q37 with two spades looked safe enough. Someone with a Q or an inferior pocket pair figured to pay me off nicely. Then again, I don't have near the nuts and I was vulnerable to any number of hands - implausible or not. Anyway, everyone checked to me and it was too good a situation not to bet. I didn't disappoint them and threw out $4. No callers and I raked in a pretty decent pot.

The button went round and round with me folding. And then I got JJ. With two limpers in front, there's no folding this one. It's just a matter of raising or calling. I decided to call. No raises and eventually there were six to the flop of AT5 with two spades. I had a spade. A fine flop if no one had an ace. Two checks, then one guy led out for a quarter. That didn't feel like an "I have an ace" bet, so I called. The turn was the 8 of spades. Mixed blessing - I now have a flush draw, but I could hit it and easily lose. He bet $.75 - a very interesting amount. The pot now held $2.75, so I was getting a bit less than 4-1 odds. If I thought I could win for sure with a jack OR a spade AND he didn't have a spade, then I had 11 outs and could call. I didn't think I had that many clean outs, so I got out and let him have the pot.

A few hands later I got AQ. UTG folded and I raised a buck. Let's see who wants to play with me...The gentleman immediately to me left called, but no one else did. Heads up as we get to the flop - A98 with two spades, which I had none. I trust you can see the dangers here. Still, I had too good a hand not to bet, so I bet $2. I got popped to $4. He either has a better hand or is drawing. I thought it was more likely he was drawing, and the pot odds were big, so I called. The three of clubs on the turn was unlikely to have helped him. I checked and he bet out $4. I still thought my aces were good and called. King of clubs on the river. Unless he had KK, that didn't change anything. I checked. He bet $6. I called. He showed QJ for a busted straight draw. My aces were good and the cyber dealer sent the $28.85 pot my way. I left the table after the next hand.

After doing some business online, I decided to press my luck again. The first table gave me nothing but bad cards and people raising right and left. Not a comfortable feeling, so I went to another table I liked better. Another interval of junk, then AQ of spades. There was one limper in front. I decided to do the same. One followed, then the SB raised the minimum. The BB folded, but everyone else called for such a small price. The flop was KQ7 with two clubs and no spades. The SB and one other player checked to me. Nobody showed much strength so far, so I led out for $2. The SB called, leaving us heads up for the turn. Red deuce on the turn. SB checked. I actually had a read on this guy - he'd shown some bluffs and he knuckled under to pressure. With both indicators, that strongly hinted at a bet. So I bet $4. If he wanted to draw, he had to pay for the privilege. He didn't, and I picked up about $6 for my trouble. One more go round and I called it a morning.

Honolulu Blue · 12-07-2005, 06:40 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $134.55
End - $134.55 (zero)
Time - :25

Did I actually play this time around? I guess I did. After lots & lots of folding, I got AT on the button. Just one caller in front. I followed suit. The SB called and the BB checked. 662 rainbow flop probably didn't help anyone very much. Everyone checked. Three on the turn. More checks. Another three on the river. The SB led out for $.25. Two folders and back to me. This bet felt more like an attempt to buy the pot than a value bet for at least three reasons - (1) the bet was tiny, even in relation to the pot, (2) nobody had shown any strength, and (3) most people aren't that patient with big hands. Ace high is the best hand you can have with a two pair board other than a higher pocket pair, one of the danger cards, or 22. I called. He showed JT and my ace took the pot. I left a few hands later after gettting nothing special.

Honolulu Blue · 12-08-2005, 02:10 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $134.55
End - $134.65 (+.10)
Time - :35

No morning session, in case you were wondering.

The afternoon, what can I say? I couldn't get much started. After a few hands of nothingness, I got AQ. There were two calls immediately in front. I decided to follow along. The blinds called and it was the five of us off to the flop - 553 with two hearts. I had the ace of hearts, so a little something there. But just a little. SB led out of 75 cents. There was one caller. Without psychic powers, there's no way I could play this hand any further. BTW, the pot really got up there as trip 5s lost to the wheel. Over $16, not mine. Sigh.

Then I got KT in the big blind. Everyone folded to the cutoff, who called. The button folded, the SB completed and I said go ahead. Three to the flop - T74 with two spades - I was holding the Ks. I should probably have been happier about this flop than I was - top pair, decent kicker figured to be good against this bunch. But to play this would have been to live in fear of overcards. The SB led out for $.45. My shipment of nads is still forthcoming, so I folded. Cutoff called. Queen on the turn, blank on the river, and the cutoff won with his pair of queens. The other guy had 98 for a busted straight draw. A missed opportunity there, it looks like. I'm still learning.

After a long period of inactivity, I received the gift of QQ in the cutoff. There was just one caller in front. I raised to a buck. That got everyone out but the limper, who called. 552 on the flop, two spades (I didn't have any). Reasonably safe flop. I fired $2 and he folded. That win about got me back to even, but I didn't like how the table was playing. I was eventually called for another table of more promise and for a few hands I played both. Nothing else happened at this table, so I'll take you to the other one.

The table was looser, but I couldn't get any cards until I received 55 in the SB. One call, a minimum raise, and another call. I called, the BB folded, and the original limper called. Off to the flop... 763 with two diamonds (none for me). Not a great flop, but one I would like to stick around for, cheaply. I checked and the bet was $2 - not cheap; indeed, about the size of the pot. Nobody called.

Some hands later I got AQ of spades. There were four folds to me. I raised to $1. Only the SB called. Heads up to the flop - QT6. Just what the doctor ordered. My fellow poker player checked. I bet $2. He folded. That was about it for the day.

Honolulu Blue · 12-08-2005, 03:45 PM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table)
Start - $134.55
End - $156.45 (+21.90)
Time - :30

I was dealt A6 as the extra BB. There were four callers to the flop - K83. I folded to the minimum bet.

A few hands later I got K3 of diamonds as the extra BB. Just the blinds and one limper were interested in this hand. The flop came out KQ4 - top pair, but no kicker. Two clubs also. SB checked. I led out for $1 and was called. The SB folded. Heads up and we got the card I didn't want to see - the ace of clubs. There were so many things not to like now... I checked, he bet $2, and I gave up.

The next hand I got 87, not suited, in the SB. There was just one limper, so I optimistically threw in my 15 cents. The BB checked. The flop was 965 rainbow. You could say that flop hit my hand nicely

. I thought about slowplaying, but didn't for three reasons - (a) my straight was the nuts, but may not have been on the turn, (b) I figured to get called by any number of hands - someone with a pair or even the usually dreaded trips, and (c) I wanted to get as much money in as possible while I still had the best hand. Anyway, I fired out for a dollar and both called. The turn was a 10 - giving me another card to the straight, but it added some possible higher straight draws. But I still had the nuts, so I bet $3. The BB folded. But good news - the other guy raised to $6. By now I SHOULD have been able to figure out his hand and I SHOULD have pushed here, but I smooth called. The river was a king of clubs, putting three of them out there. I didn't have the nuts anymore, but if he didn't have two clubs, then I'd win. I'm not sure what I was thinking here; I wasn't afraid of the flush as much as a higher straight. But he had to have specifically QJ. Did he have it? I checked (probably shouldn't have done that) and the other guy fired out $15 which was most - but not all - of my chips. I didn't think it was real likely I was beaten, so I should have raised all-in for the other $1.25. Instead I just called. He flipped up T9 for two pair - nice hand, but it couldn't beat my straight. 'twas a $43.50 pot. After the turn, I played pretty badly, so I took a little time to (a) calm down, and (b) commit to slowing down.

After taking several hundred deep breaths, I jumped into the fray again. The fun started with AQ in the big blind. There were five limpers and I played along. K66 wasn't the flop I was looking for and I folded to the minimum bet. Everyone else did too.

I was provided AT in the next hand out of the SB. One limper this time. I completed and the BB checked. J73 on the flop, two spades (I didn't have any). Check check check. 9 on the turn. Checked around again. Deuce on the river. Somebody's got to have something by now, don't they? At least a pair? Not me. I checked and my buddies checked. Ace high was best and I took the pot.

Two hands later I got pocket kings. There was one raise to $1. I reraised to $4, not realizing that he had less than that left. Oh well, it did get rid of everyone else and get us heads up (he called). He had QQ and the final board of AJ633 gave me the winning two pair.

Two hands after that I got AQ again. There were two limpers in front. I thought about raising, but just limped. One more limper and the BB checked. 732 on the flop with two clubs. Whiff. I folded to a $1 bet.

A few hands after that adventure, I received 99 UTG. Coward at heart that I am, I limped in. Three others and the BB did the same. A flop of A52 gave me pause. Players at this level love to play those Ax hands. Do any of them have it this time? Likely. After four checks, one fellow led out for $1. He got one caller (not me, of course). They went to the river - both had aces, but the original bettor had a Q to go along with it.

And a few hands after that I got A7 of diamonds on the button. Two limpers in front. I followed, and the BB checked. Come on; diamonds are this guy's best friend! Nope. K92 on the flop, two spades, no diamonds. After two checks there was a bet of 50 cents. Too rich for me.

After four hands of getting nothing higher than a ten, I packed it in and counted my winnings.

Honolulu Blue · 12-10-2005, 10:04 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1/2 tables)
Start - $156.45
End - $157.35 (+.90)
Time - :35

I tried two-tabling for the first time in this dynasty. It didn't help very much. I didn't get the cards, and I couldn't get much started.

Table #1: After a ton of folds, I finally got KT in the big blind. Four limpers and myself saw the flop - AA4. Obviously nothing for me there. It was checked all around. Q on the turn. That brought up some interesting possibilities, if I could get a cheap card. Two checks, then a bet of $1, and a raise to $2. Obviously it's not going to be cheap. I packed it in.

Three hands later I got pocket jacks. There were two callers in front. I did the same. The blinds also called. KJ4 on the flop. Very cool; I only hope someone has a hand also so I can get paid. Everyone checked to me. I bet a buck. Only one caller. 5 on the turn - harmless. He checked and I bet $2. He called. The 8 on the river didn't help unless he had some weird hand. He checked again. I bet $4. He folded. Not bad, but not great either. Nothing I could have done differently, though.

The next hand I got KQ of spades. One limper in front. I followed. The BB checked. The flop was J54 with no spades. Not what I was looking for. I folded to a $1 bet.

Table #2: Nothing playable. The best hand I got was A8, and with an early position raise in front, it's suicide to call or reraise.

Table #3: After a few hands of inactivity, I recieved 64 of spades on the button. One limper in front. I called. The BB checked. QJ5 on the flop, with one spade. If I was going to win this, I would have to come through the back door. Everyone checked. Non-spade 8 on the turn, giving me a double belly buster. A bet of a quarter and a call. My decision. I had the odds to make the call, but didn't want to. I folded. The river ended up being a 9, which wouldn't have helped me.

And that was it.

Honolulu Blue · 12-10-2005, 06:26 PM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1/2 tables)
Start - $157.35
End - $147.10 (-10.25)
Time - 2:15

I played a lot of tables. The good news is I generally got better cards. I'll get to the bad news. Lets see if I can sift out what happened:

Table #1: After a long stretch of nothing but folds, I got pocket 3s in the big blind. There were a total of five limpers. I was happy to see a cheap flop. QT7 was that flop - worth about what I paid for it. After a couple of checks, a minimum bet, and a raise to $1, I checked out, sure I was beaten. BTW, a flush beat 2 pair on the river.

The very next hand I received KJ in the small blind. Two limpers. I followed suit. The BB checked. On the flop was QJ2. Middle pair, good kicker isn't bad here, but I decided to be a wuss and check. There was a quarter bet and a call. For some unexplainable reason I didn't like it and folded.

One hand later I got AJ on the button. There were two callers, plus myself, plus the blinds. The cyber dealer flipped over JT9 with two diamonds (I had the Ad). There were some dangers here, but top pair, top kicker figured to be good - for now. Everyone checked to me, making it even more likely that it was good. I bet a buck and took it down.

"Hi Mr. Fold Button". "Howdy there, Mr. Blue. I missed you there for awhile." OK, a few hands later I got 99. Four folds to me (rare at this level). I raised to a buck. Only the BB wanted to play with me. AQ3 wasn't nearly the flop I was looking for. If he has either the A or Q, I was in a lot of trouble. Ignoring the warning bells, I fire off a bet of $2. He folded. Yahoo.

Table #2: Got Q2 in my first BB. Not much of a hand, I know, but I was hoping to get in for cheap. Everyone folded to the button, who made the minimum raise. The SB called, and I made a loose call. T94 on the flop. At least it wasn't going to cost me any more money. I folded to a small bet.

Two hands later I received 87 with my button. There were two limpers in front, and I made another loose call. The blinds also called. AK8 on the flop. Bottom pair isn't worth much, especially with no kicker. I folded to a $1 bet.

Loose call number 3 came with me holding A2 of clubs. There were three calls in front. I followed suit. The BB raised to $.75. All but one limper called. I made a very loose call here. The flop came out KT4, one club. Not the worst flop in the world, but with a $2 bet and two calls in front of me, I couldn't call.

Some hands later, I was dealt J9 in the BB. Four limpers enabled me to see a cheap flop, which was AAK. No real help, and I folded to pressure.

Table #3: Got AT in the cutoff after posting a blind. Three to the flop, and it's off to the races. T83 on the flop gave me top pair - nice hand. There were two checks to me and I bet a buck, figuring they didn't have anything much. They didn't and folded. Hoorah.

Much later, I got 94 in the BB. You can probably guess what happened - limpers (five in this case) allowed me to see the flop for "free". It came out Q64. Not exactly a total whiff, but not a solid hit either. I folded to the minimum bet.

In the next hand, I received Q7 of diamonds in the SB. Three limpers to me. I completed and the BB checked. KT4 with no diamonds offered little hope for this hand. But everyone checked, so I got to see a free turn card - a 5. No real help. But everyone checked again. The river was another four. Nothing here, and I wasn't even sure I could beat a bluff, so I folded to the guy who finally bet.

-------------------------------
Several hours later, I tried my luck at the tables again. I probably should have checked my horoscope first.

Table #4: JT of clubs in the BB. Two limpers and I saw the flop - 764, one club. Everyone checked. Deuce on the turn, not a club. One bet and everyone folded.

A few hands later I got pocket queens. After some folds, I raised to $1 and got four callers. Nice... let's hope the flop is nice too. AK7 is NOT a nice flop for queens. I was cursing under my breath and saying, "How could the poker gods be so cruel?!" One bet of a quarter. Easy call. Everyone else felt the same way. Another seven on the turn didn't help a lot. Everyone checked. Ace on the river. No bets. The other hands were 88, 44, and JT. So I took the pot. Nice.

Two hands later I received KK. One fold and I raised to $1. The blinds and one other person called. The flop was QJT with two clubs (I held the Kc). I held an overpair, but I never like to see three consecutive high cards. The SB bet a quarter. I wanted to try to blast the weak draws out, so I raised to $3. Two players folded but the SB called. How much trouble am I in? 2 of spades on the turn didn't help me, and probably didn't help her. She checked. Maybe she didn't have much after all. I bet $6. She went all-in for an additional $2.75. This is an auto-call unless I knew she had AK. She didn't; she had AQ. The out situation was a little odd because we were both rooting for cards we didn't have (except the Q in her case). The A would give her 2 pair, but me a straight. And the K would give me trips, but her a straight. So guess what came on the river? The king. One of her four outs. Do everything right and get punished for it. That was a $26 pot. Oh well, I think I was due for a little bad luck.

Table #5: After some waiting, I got A9 on the button. Everyone folded to me (very unusual at this level). I raised to $1, trying to steal the blinds. It worked. The next hand I got AJ. It was folded to me again. I raised to a buck again. Again everyone folded. More free money.

Later I got AA in the SB. There was a raise to $1. It was folded to me. There's no folding this one. I popped it to $4. He thought and folded. Darn.

The next hand I got JJ. After a raise to $.75 and a reraise to $3, I decided my jacks weren't good enough and I didn't belong here. I folded. Eventually the smaller stack went all-in and was called. AK vs. KK. Ace on the flop was all he needed. No jacks, so I would have been third best.

After some folding for the fun of it, I got AK of clubs on the button. The limper presented no problem, but the guy who went all-in for his $30 stack did. I really wanted to play my AK, but if he held any pair, I was a dog. No thanks. He took the pot.

Honolulu Blue · 12-11-2005, 01:39 AM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1/2 tables)
Start - $147.10
End - $151.20 (+4.10)
Time - 1:00

Table #1: I didn't stay very long. In the one hand of note, I got pocket 9s on the button. Two limpers, and I followed along. The blinds do the same. KT5 wasn't the best flop in the world. Three checks and a $1 bet. I didn't like my chances and folded.

Table #2: QQ in the big blind. Early position minimum raise and a call. I wasn't too afraid and raised it up to $2. The original raiser called. AJ4 on the flop - reasonably good, if he didn't have an ace. The only way to find out for sure is to bet, so I did - $3. He folded. I guess he didn't.

A few hands later I got pocket 5s. There were three folds to me. I thought about raising here, but this was one of those tables that had been playing passively, so I decided to smooth call. The button played along, but the small blind raised to $2. Uh oh. We both bailed out.

Table #3: Almost off the bat I received A4 of clubs in the small blind. With one limper in front and a speculative hand, I decided to try to see a cheap flop. I called the 15 cents. The BB said go ahead. 653 on the flop - a double-ended straight draw for me. We all checked. Ten on the turn. More checks. Seven on the river - bingo. I bet a buck. One fold and one call. He must have thought I was trying to buy the pot, because he called with king high. I was hoping he would think that.

Table #4: KQ in the big blind. Three limpers, and I didn't have the heart to raise 'em out of the pot. Four to the flop of 984 with two spades. None for me. It was checked around. Good news on the turn - it was a queen. The bad news is it was a third spade. The SB checked. I was pretty sure I had the best hand, but I didn't want to give out any free cards. I bet $1. Only one caller. A non-spade 6 came on the river and I thought I was safe. I fired for another $2. He gave up.

Honolulu Blue · 12-11-2005, 11:16 AM

$25 NLHE (3 sessions, 1/2 tables)
Start - $151.20
End - $157.55 (+6.35)
Time - 1:45

The first two tables had little for me, so I didn't stick around long. The third time was the charm, sort of. After some false starts, I got JJ in the cutoff. Four folds, then two calls. I raised to $1. That got the blinds out, but one of the limpers reraised all his chips - another $11. With no reads, I couldn't pull the trigger. I let him have it.

Two hands later I got pocket queens. There was a raise to $1. I called. Everyone else got out of our way, so it was heads up to the flop - AT6. Danger Will Robinson. It was checked to me. I received some nads at the second hand store, so I recklessly bet $2. He called. Trouble? The turn was a 3 - no help for me, and probably none for him. He checked again. I was beginning to think my queens were good, so I bet another $4. No call.

I took a bit of a break, then tried two tables at once:

Table #1: After several hands of nothing, I received AJ in the small blind. There were four limpers, plus myself, and the BB checked. The flop of 982 provided little for me. Three checks and a bet of $2 to me. I couldn't call here. And no one did.

After some more folding, I got AK under the gun. I raised to $1. The button called. K85 on the flop - looked good from here. I bet $2 and he folded.

On the next hand, I got a free look with 82 when four people limped to me. QT9 gave me a gutshot to the bottom end of a possible straight. I checked and there was a bet of a quarter and a raise to $1 back to me. Not enough outs to call this one.

Table #2: I started off with A4 in the BB. There were three limpers and I checked. AQT on the flop gave me top pair, but with high cards out there, there could easily be straight draws against me - or worse. Everyone checked, though, giving me a free turn card. It was a 9, making the straight even more likely. I checked. There was a bet and call of $1 to me. No thanks. The river was a 10, and both other players in the pot split it with KJ, meaning they had flopped straights.

Following a few hands of junk, I found myself with AK. Following two folds, I raised to $1. No one wanted to play with me. That's all right; a few hundred thousand more blind steals and I'll be rich.

Two hands later I got AK again UTG. This time I limped in. Somewhere along the line there was a mini-raise. We ended up with six to the flop and a significant pot. An ace or king would've been nice... K22. Bingo! Could do without the pair, though. There were two checks to me. It's too likely I was good to fold now, so I fired out for $2. Just one caller, which made me feel good. The five on the turn probably didn't help. I bet $5 more. He folded.

Fold fold fold again and again. I finally got A7 of spades in the cutoff. Halfway playable, at the right price. One caller in front. I followed suit, as did the button and blinds. The flop was Q32 with no spades. I folded to a $1 bet. Everyone else did also.

After another short break, I played another table. I started with A3 in the BB. By now you know how I love free looks at the flop, and I got it here, along with four limpers. JT6 wasn't what I was looking for, though. I folded after a bet.

In the next hand I got AQ. There were three limpers. I decided to just throw in my 15 cents. The BB checked. The flop was 553. Nothing for me. I folded again to a bet.

A few hands later I received pocket jacks. Nice hand, tricky hand. There were two limpers to me. I thought my best play was to limp along and show strength later. So that's what I did. There were two limpers behind me and the BB checked. Six to the flop of 772. If anyone had the 7, 22, or a higher pocket pair, I was sunk. But otherwise I was in pretty good shape. It was checked to me and I bet $1. One caller. The 8 on the turn probably didn't change things much. I fired out for $3. He folded. He said he had a deuce. Darn; I wanted him to call.

NEXT: Two of the best hands I ever played! My education in Reads 101.

Honolulu Blue · 12-12-2005, 02:30 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $157.55
End - $179.55 (+24.00)
Time - :20

After a period of folds, I got the cowboys UTG. Great cards, bad position. Not much I could do with it other than raise to my standard buck. I got four(!!) callers - either this is going to be a juicy pot or big trouble. It looked like the latter when I saw JT9 on the flop. Better yet, there were two diamonds, of which I didn't have any. I had to find out where I was at, so I led out for $3. This was immediately raised to $10. Two folds and then a call. Your call, Blue. The pot odds were appetizing (about $26 in the pot, and $7 to call), but as Lord Ivey once said, "Sometimes you just know you're beat and you have to lay it down". I thought I was and I did. The fireworks continued on the turn (a harmless 3) as one guy went all-in for $26.50 and was called. The river was an 8. One guy showed JT for two pair. Not good enough - the other guy had KQ for the nut straight. That was a $78 pot, $4 of it mine, but it could have been much worse.

It could have been better, though. The next hand I got AK in the big blind. There were two limpers and I didn't have the heart to get them out of my pot, yet. J75 on the flop with two spades provided an excellent opportunity for a semi-bluff. I bet a buck and got no takers.

Under the gun again and what do I see but my old friend AK. I raised to a buck and got two customers. A86 looked like a fine flop to me. I bet $3. One call and then a raise to $6. Lots of aces out there, huh? Or could it be a pocket pair that hit? Pot odds, you know. I had to call. Queen on the turn. Now AQ was beating me badly. I checked. One guy went all-in for his last 10 bucks. The guy who raised, whom I was most worried about, folded. I breathed a sigh of relief because I thought I had this guy. I thought he had an inferior ace, and if he had AQ, A8, or A6, I was going to lose another chunk of my stack. Didn't think so, and I called. He had AJ and three outs. Four on the river and I raked in a $40 pot.

After paying the blinds I got AQ of hearts on the button. There were two limpers in front. I called, as did the blinds. The flop was A53 - another fine flop, thank you RNG. Everyone checked. I bet a buck and got one caller. The 3 on the turn paired the board and gave me a little pause. Still, nothing told my my aces weren't good, so I led out for $2. He called again. Flush draw? (there were two clubs on board) The 7 not-of-clubs completed the community cards. Value bet time - I chose $5. He folded.

My last hand was pocket 4s. One caller to me. I called also. The BB checked. On the flop was AQ7; not what I was hoping to see. But everyone checked. 9 on the turn. It was checked around again. 8 on the river. One check, then a bet of a quarter. The pot wasn't large enough to fool around with, so I folded. The other guy also folded and he took the pot.

NEXT: Halfway home. Can I continue my run?

Honolulu Blue · 12-12-2005, 03:05 PM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1/2 tables)
Start - $179.55
End - $184.95 (+5.40)
Time - :45

I switched from table to table trying to get lucky. I finally got what I was looking for at the third table I tried - the rockets. Only one limper to me. I raised to a buck. The limper and the BB called. Q83 on the flop seemed harmless enough, even though there were two diamonds out (I had the Ad). The BB bet into me for $1. Hmmm... I wondered what she could have? The other guy and I both called. King on the turn might have helped someone, not me. She bet a buck again, and again he called. I wasn't sure what they had, but I probably had the best hand here. I raised to $4 to snuff out the draws. The BB folded, but the other guy called. The river was another king. Could be trouble. This is where things got weird - I didn't remember pushing a button here. Apparently my fellow player checked and I bet the pot. He folded. Whatever. Probably would have bet a bit less, but the result probably would've been much the same.

Honolulu Blue · 12-13-2005, 03:38 AM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table)
Start - $184.95
End - $184.00 (-.95)
Time - :30

In 15 words or less: AA. Folded to me. Raised a buck. Folded after me. Blind steal. Yipee.

That kinda day. Hopefully I'll do better tomorrow.

Honolulu Blue · 12-13-2005, 01:32 PM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1/2 tables)
Start - $184.00
End - $180.30 (-3.70)
Time - :45

Table #1: No hands of note.

Table #2: I started out with Q6 as the cutoff with me posting a big blind. There was one limper. I checked, as did the real BB. Three to the flop - 975. Motley flop, but nothing for me. Everyone checked. Three on the turn. Still nothing. Check, check, check. Jack on the river. There were now three spades on board. Two checks to me. I felt it was pointless to try a bluff bet, because only a hand better than my queen high would call. So I checked. One other guy had Q6. But the winner had QJ.

And now for today's Degree(R) All-In Moment. I received pocket kings. After three folds to me, I raised to the standard buck. There was one caller, then the BB raised to $3. I know that among good players, a reraise after a raise and a call out of the BB indicates real power. But how good was he, really? No real reads on him. Anyway, KK is only vulnerable to one hand. Did he have it? The pot odds were favorable, so I called and intended to proceed with caution from there. The other guy called also. Interesting.

So, there were three players and $9 in the pot already. Please be a nice flop... T65 seemed harmless enough. Alas, all three were spades. I did have the king of spades, though. So I had a good hand with possible redraws to a near unbeatable one. The big blind threw all of his chips in the pot - $10.80 worth. I thought about this. What could he have, and how bad a shape would I be in?

AA with the As - The nightmare scenario. I'd have two outs.
AA without the As - Still behind, but with 11 outs. Not bad.
AK with the As - I would be ahead, but he'd have 11 outs against me. Almost even.
AK without the As - This would be a total bluff, but I've seen worse. He'd still have 3 outs.
Ax with the As - Same as the AK, 11 outs.
KK - Not real likely, but I would have 9 chances twice to hit my flush and win. Otherwise we'd split.
QQ or JJ - Bad for him. He'd have 2 outs.
TT - Big trouble for me. I'd have 8 or 9 outs, but if the board paired, he'd win.
Two spades - Not good. I would be down to 7 outs.

The other possible hands were unlikely enough that I dismissed them. Generally they would have been favorable for me, except the obvious ones.

The pot odds were a shade under 2-1. If we were heads up, I probably would have gritted my teeth and called. But there was another guy who had been smooth calling all along. If the BB didn't have aces, HE might. He might also have other hands I didn't consider. As the man in the middle, I decided discretion was the better part of valor and folded. The other guy called. Flip 'em up, boys.

Big blind - KK
Other guy - 55

The set of 5s held up to take the pot.

Obviously, based on how things turned out, I did the right thing. But did I really? A push preflop might have been the best play. And I might have still had enough EV to call, even in the middle.

It took awhile to get another hand of note. It was AK. Two limpers in front. I raised to $2. No callers.

The next hand didn't take as long. Three hands later I was dealt TT. Three folds to me. I raised to a buck. No callers this time either.

The table seemed to be tightening up. Tight tables and tight players are harder to win from. Basically, you have to grind out the blinds and hope that your really big hand beats one of the rare confrontations with a slightly lesser hand. I vamoosed with most of my stack intact.

Table #3: A2 in the big blind. Four limpers and my check. J88 on the flop. Nothing special. Everyone checked. Deuce on the turn - getting a little interesting now. I played cautious and checked, as did everyone else. 5 on the river. More checks. My modest two pair took the pot.

A few hands later I got KT of spades on the button. With four limpers in front, I did the same. Both blinds followed. 943 on the flop with no spades - not what I was looking for. I folded to a $1 bet.

Honolulu Blue · 12-14-2005, 06:31 AM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1/2 tables)
Start - $180.30
End - $176.45 (-3.85)
Time - :30

Table #1: Received AK. Four folds in front of me. I raised to a buck. Everyone folded behind me. Oh boy.

The next hand I got QQ. Three folds to me. I raised to a buck again. This time I got a caller - only one. Mixed emotions there. K52 on the flop - pretty good; not likely he has more than one pair. Hope it's not kings. I led out for $2. He folded.

Table #2: QJ on the button. With two limpers in front, I decided to do the same. The blinds also called. The flop was KQ7. It would be good for me if I was heads up, but with three other active players, I was probably beaten somewhere down the line. Minimum bet, fold, call, raise to $5. To me. This is the nice thing about having position; you often save money when you don't have the best of it. I folded.

After what seemed like an eternity, I got 53 on the big blind. There were three limpers. I checked, of course. The 753 on the flop made me smile. Bottom two pair is usually good. I decided to play cute and check. No one bet. 8 on the turn. It was getting a little risky out there; besides, I wanted my pot, so I bet out $1 and waited for action. Everyone folded but the last guy, who smooth called. King on the river. There were now three diamonds out, not that I was very worried about a flush or anything. I bet $2. He called. He showed JdTd for the winning flush. Doggone it. Gotta play those two pair hands faster.

A few hands later I got pocket 6s. There were two limpers to me. I followed. The big blind played along. The flop was 832 - not half bad. I thought about making a bet here, figuring my 6s were good. But it wasn't my turn yet. The first check was fine, the bet of $2 was not. One guy folded, then all eyes were on me. This pot could end up getting big and costly, and I may not have the best end of it. I folded, and the bettor ended up with the pot.

The next hand I got those tricky jacks. Five folds to me - bad sign. I raised to a buck. No callers. What good is it having good cards if no one wants to play with you?

Table #3: 54 in the big blind. You can probably guess what happened - four limpers and I checked. I got a small piece of the A85 flop. Not enough to feel very confident. Check, $1 bet, raise to $3, fold. No thanks. This one ended up being a huge pot with pocket 8s raking it in.

Honolulu Blue · 12-14-2005, 02:15 PM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $176.45
End - $185.50 (+9.05)
Time - :05

Can you stand another Degree(R) All-In Moment? I thought you could.

I received AJ of clubs in the cutoff. One limper in front. I followed suit. The button and both blinds did the same. The flop was AJT - a nice hit. The only sour note was those two hearts. There were three checks to me. I bet a buck, figuring my two pair were good. The button raised to $3. That got rid of everyone else and it was back to me. The only hands that could beat me at this point were the obvious pairs and KQ. There were a lot of draws out there, though. I called. The turn was the 7h. Uh oh - a couple of those draws just came in. Did he have one of them? I checked. He bet $2. I had the distinct feeling I was beaten, but pot odds mandated a call. I am going to put it on my tombstone. The river was Norm Chad's favorite card, the ace of spades. Wonderful. I now had aces full, the nuts (unless he had the highly unlikely 9h8h), and those flushes and straights are going to pay me off big time. Alas, he only had $4.40 left, so I did all I could do - lead out for all of it. He called. He had the flush, which was second best. Another $19 pot, coming my way.

NEXT: Two steps forward, one step back

Honolulu Blue · 12-15-2005, 01:36 PM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table)
Start - $185.50
End - $186.15 (+.65)
Time - :20

Just one notable hand - AJ offusit. There were four folds to me. I decided to take an aggressive move and raise to a buck. The small blind called. The flop was A96 - dangerous with multiple players in the pot because of the possibility of someone having a better ace, 2 pair or a set. But heads up it's too likely I have the best hand. SB checked. I bet $2. He thought for a bit and folded.

NEXT: If I'm reading the crystal ball correctly, I'll be two-tabling for about half an hour, getting very few hands and making a very small profit.

Honolulu Blue · 12-15-2005, 01:37 PM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 2 tables)
Start - $186.15
End - $186.25 (+.10)
Time - :30

Table #1: After getting pretty close to nothing, I got KJ of clubs in the cutoff. The table had been recently getting tight. Everyone folded to me. I raised to a buck, hoping that I wouldn't have to play this not-so-hot hand. Everyone folded. Heh heh heh, suckas.

Then another long interval without cards. Pocket 8s looked like a monster. There was a limper in front. I restrained myself and followed along. Three people limped behind. The flop was 943 rainbow - not terribly threatening. Unless someone had A9 or the appropriate pocket pairs, I figured to be in front. After two checks to me, I bet a buck. They folded like a house of cards.

Table #2: Nothing but blanks as my blinds got passed around among the other players.

Honolulu Blue · 12-16-2005, 02:51 AM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1/2 tables)
Start - $186.25
End - $203.05 (+16.80)
Time - 1:15

I made a conscious effort to stick around rather than doing my usual hit & run act. That meant I played a lot more hands than usual. I'll try to keep things simple for all four of you:

Table #1: Nothing of note.

Table #2: I received A5 of clubs in the big blind. The table was a little short-handed (only 7 active), so I wasn't terribly surprised when it was folded around to me.

The next hand I got 98 in the small blind. Everyone folded to me. I took the cowards' way out and completed. The BB checked. The flop of K97 gave me a piece, but I still wasn't feeling too great. I checked, the BB bet a quarter, and I folded. No need to get involved in small pots as a small favorite when a big pot is right around the corner. But not at this table - I left two hands later.

Table #3: After several hands of waiting, I got JT of hearts. It was folded to me and I just limped in. Don't try this on your higher limit tables, kiddies. There was one other limper before the button raised to 75 cents. I didn't want that, but I called anyway, hoping for hearts on the flop. The other limper folded. I didn't want that either. Hearts please... 866 on the flop with no hearts. Nothing much there for me. I folded to a $1 bet.

And now for today's Degree(R) All-In Moment. Q9 in the small blind. There were four limpers my way. I said what the hey and threw in my 15 cents. The big blind checked his option. JT4 rainbow on the flop - all of a sudden I had an open-ended straight draw. To bet or not to bet? I like free cards, so I checked. Everyone did the same. The turn was an 8, giving me the nut straight. I bet a buck. After two folds, the fireworks started. There was a raise to $2, another fold, then a reraise to $4. I figured someone had something they liked and would probably go with me if I pushed. So I said those words that have ruined thousands of no-limit players worldwide - "All in". The first raiser got out of the way, but the second raiser had me covered and called. The river was a 4. He had 97 for a lower straight. Sorry. The pot ended up being almost $48.

A few hands later I got A8 of spades in the big blind. There were three limpers to me and I just checked. J94 with no spades didn't offer me much on the flop. After checking, I folded to a $2 bet.

Then I got JJ. There was one limper and a raise to $1.10. The raiser had a very short stack, and I wanted to get heads up with him, so I raised enough ($4) to put him all-in. Everyone folded back to him and he called. He said, "Show me those aces!" as he pulled out pocket kings. He must have been disappointed.

The motley board didn't help either of us and the kings held up. Oh well, nothing ventured...

Table #4: I was dealt JT offsuit in the big blind. There were three limpers and I didn't have the heart to raise them out of my pot. The flop was J55 with two hearts, of which I didn't have any. A good flop, but I could easily be beaten. The SB checked. I led out for $1 to see where I was. One call, then a raise to $2. The SB folded. I felt somehow I was beaten, but pot odds mandated a call. So I did. The other guy called too. The 3 on the turn probably didn't help anyone. Check, check, $4 bet. I don't think he'd bet on just a draw, and certainly not that much (it was about 2/3s of the pot). My belly turned yellow and I folded.

Some hands later I got AQ. With two limpers in front, I did the same. The blinds did likewise and it was five to the flop of A72 rainbow. A fine flop if no one has AK, 77, or 22. Everyone checked to me, so I had to figure my aces were good. I bet a buck and everyone folded.

After the usual folding interval, I received A9 of diamonds in the cutoff. One limper in front. I followed, as did the blinds. The flop was A96 - bingo! Let's see how much I can extract... Two checks and a bet of 50 cents. I figured this was my opportunity for a big score and raised it to $2. He folded. Yargh.

Table #5: Pocket 8s. I followed one limper. Then came another. The button raised to $1. The BB called, as did all us limpers. AQ4 on the flop offered little hope my hand was best. After some checks, the bet of $1 and subsequent raise to $3 convinced my I was beaten. I folded.

Then I recived AK in the small blind. There were three limpers in front. I followed suit. The BB checked. The flop was 876. Far too dangerous to continue after a $1 bet and call.

johnnyshaka · 12-16-2005, 11:58 AM

HB...I found this thread a couple of days ago and have enjoyed your updates...so much so, that I've decided to get out of the SNG games and do the same thing you are doing...minus the updates. I'm playing the same "real big stakes" tables you are except that I'm at PokerStars...can't have two sharks like us working the same games...LOL!!!

Anyways...started last night and my bankroll was at $90 before I started and was at $110 when went to bed. This morning, during some slow time at the office, I played about 25 hands and ended up $45...WOW!!! Highlights included flopping the nut straight while the other guy hit a set and he bet all the way to the river...and the other big hand was me hitting a set on the flop and then the board paired aces and the other guy was unlucky enough to have one of the remaining aces. So, my bankroll is up to $155 after playing about 100 hands...no complaints here.

Looking forward to your next update...

Honolulu Blue · 12-16-2005, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Looking forward to your next update...

I'm glad you're enjoying this, and congratulations on your success. Poker's an easy game if you get the cards, not so easy if you don't.

Anyway, I played a little this morning, so let me tell you and the three other readers how that went:

$25 NLHE (1 session, 2 tables)
Start - $203.05
End - $213.65 (+10.60)
Time - :20

Table #1: I received JT of diamonds in the cutoff after posting a blind. There was one limper to me. I checked. The button called, as did the small blind. The BB checked. The flop was 973 with one diamond. Gutshot straight draw with a backdoor flush draw. Not bad, but not a hand to get too excited about. Everyone checked. 10c on the turn. I now have top pair, but with an iffy kicker. The SB led for a buck and everyone folded.

A few hands later I got 55. There were three folds to me, and I decided to just limp in to see if I could get away with it. Sorry - the guy to my left raised to a buck. The BB called. I could have, but decided not to. The flop was A43. I would've had a wheel draw. Then came the oddest thing - the BB just folded without any bet. The raiser showed us his pocket 6s. Good non call, me.

Since I don't know what's going to happen later today, I won't call this the Degree(R) All-In Moment. But I got pocket kings in the BB. There were two limpers, and one brave fellow went all-in for all his chips - $13 worth. Everyone got out of the way to me. I smooth called. The limpers headed for the hills. Flip 'em up - he had AQ. I showed those 'boys. 70-30 me. The flop gave him a queen, but the turn and river were blanks. The kings held up again.

I was feeling kinda good after that, so I limped with my modest 98 two hands later on the button. There had been two callers before me. The blinds followed along. QQ7 on the flop. Not much for me. Everyone checked. The 6 on the turn helped things slightly. Not enough to face a $3 bet and call, though. BTW, both these guys had queens, but the winner had a jack kicker.

Table #2: After lots of folding, I got JJ in the BB. There was one caller and a minimum raise in front of me. I called, as did the limper. K83 was the flop. There were two hearts, and I did have one. I thought it was too hazardous to lead out out of position, so I checked. Sure enough, the raiser bet a buck. I wasn't convinced I was beaten, but why make a small pot into a big one trying to find out? I folded.

Honolulu Blue · 12-17-2005, 03:03 AM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1/2 tables)
Start - $213.65
End - $204.04 (-9.61)
Time - :45

Lots of action, little winning. Let's see if I can sort it all out:

Table #1, session 1: Dealt QJ on the button. Two limpers in front. I did the same. The blinds followed along. Flop was J98 rainbow - pretty good, all things considered. Everyone checked to me. I bet a buck. There were two folds, then one of my opponents raised to $2. Warning lights flashed in front of my eyes. But (a) pot odds, (b) my pair, (c) my straight possbilities, and (d) the chance he's betting with a worse hand propelled me to call. There was a 5 on the turn - no help to me. We both checked. The 9 on the river gave me two pair, but was it a winner? There were now three spades out there, not that I thought he had a flush. He bet $3. I felt my hand was best, so I called. Nope - he had pocket aces. Tricky player here; I've noted that for future reference.

Then I received pocket 8s on the button. There were four limpers to me. I limped too. The BB checked. The flop was 662 with two diamonds. The pocket pair figured to be good; bettable anyway. Everyone checked to me. I bet $1. There was one caller. Non-diamond 3 on the turn. He checked. I bet $3 in case he was drawing. He called. 9 of diamonds on the river. I didn't like that card very much. He bet a buck into me. This was a very bad sign - I'd been leading since the flop, and he'd been calling. And now he led into me. First thought: "He made his flush". Second thought: 10-1 pot odds. I figured I was beaten somehow, so there was no use in raising (it wouldn't knock him out of the pot if he had anything). But I had to call, in case he was overplaying pocket 7s or something. He had KQ of diamonds for the flush.

After dropping over $10 in short order at this table, I sought some slower company.

Table #2, session 1: Got AK. Three folds to me. I raised to $1. No callers. Blind steal - big whoop.

Two hands later I got AK again. One fold to me. I raised to a buck again. Only the blinds called. The flop was Q93. Both blinds checked to me. I made a semi-bluff of $2. They folded.

And then I received pocket kings. There were two limpers in front of me. Good. I raised to a buck. Only one of the limpers called. T73 on the flop. Two clubs (and I had one), but I wasn't too concerned about the flush draw. My fellow player checked, I bet $2, and he gave up.

Table #1, session 2: QJ on the button. Ordinarily it's not much of a hand, but everyone folded to me. I raised to a dollar to try to steal the blinds. The SB consented to have his pocket picked, but the BB raised all-in, another 64 cents. I wasn't convinced I was beaten, so I called. He sheepishly flipped up his 98 of diamonds. No diamonds please. K72 on the flop, just one diamond. Non-diamond K on the turn, and he's down to six outs and one card. Ace on the river and I scooped in the pot with my modest cards.

Table #2, session 2: Received AQ. There was one fold to me. I raised to a buck. There were two callers, and neither were the blinds. Not good. The flop was 765 with two clubs. Really not good. Too dangerous to bluff at this one, so I checked and folded to a $1 bet.

Honolulu Blue · 12-17-2005, 05:06 PM

$25 NLHE (1 session, 1/2 tables)
Start - $204.04
End - $200.04 (-4.00)
Time - :50

Table #1: No hands of note.

Table #2: After a short interval of folding, I got 66. One limper in front. I followed, and the BB played nice. The flop came out 322 rainbow - pretty nice, all things considered. Both players checked to me. Let's see if I have the best hand here. I bet a buck. They folded. I guess I had my answer.

A few hands later I received AK. There were four folds to me. I raised to a buck. The gentleman immediately to my left called, but no one else did. The flop was A84, which suited me just fine. I led out for $2 and he didn't call.

Table #3: No hands of note.

Table #4: Lots of folding, then AK. One limper in front. I followed along. One call, then a raise to 50 cents. There were three callers total. We saw a flop - Q83 rainbow. No immediate help, and it probably helped someone more than me. I folded to pressure.

Table #5: Here I got AQ. One fold, then a minimum raise. I smooth called. Then a raise to 75 cents. Am I playing at Uncle Ted's kitchen table or what? The blind called, as did us other two. K96 on the flop made me wish I had AK instead of its inferior sister. Everyone checked, so I happily took a free card. The ten provided hopes of the nut straight. But after a bet of $2, I was pretty sure I didn't have enough outs to call. This pot ended up getting massive after the guy with K6 ended up getting all-in - and losing to pocket 6s. Ah, the wonders of slowplay...

Table #6: No hands of note.

NEXT: More fun from the world of low-limit no-limit online poker - including today's Degree(R) All-In Moment!

Honolulu Blue · 12-18-2005, 02:06 AM

$25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1/2 tables)
Start - $200.04
End - $207.04 (+7.00)
Time - 1:05

Table #1, session 1: I received K5 in the cutoff while posting a big blind. You probably know the story by now - Two limpers to me, I checked, as did the real BB. With one other limper it was five to the flop of 532. Hey, top pair! I was suspicious about its potency against such a large field, though. Everyone checked. Ten on the turn. More checks. The three on the river paired the board. Could my two pair still be good here? Everyone checked to me. I was still suspicious, so I also checked. The last guy checked and most of us flipped 'em up. The first guy had 96 for nothing special. The next two had A8. The last guy mucked (he had QJ - thank you online hand histories!) and my little two pair was good.

Some hands later I got 44. With two limpers in front, I felt it safe to do the same. Everyone folded to the small blind, who completed. The BB said go ahead. The flop was QJ3. Nothing for me there. Everyone checked, so I got another chance to hit my set. The turn was another queen. With a bet of $.75 in front of me, I couldn't call.

Table #2, session 1: AT in the small blind. There were three limpers in front. I called. The BB checked. The flop was T77. Hey hey, top two pair. But with flops like these, someone often has a 7, so I didn't feel too confident. I led out for a buck and was called by one player. That made me feel a little better. Five on the turn. I bet $3. He called. I thought I knew what he had - a ten with a lesser kicker. With a seven or a higher pocket pair, he probably would have raised somewhere in this sequence. Anyway, I felt pretty good going to the river - a four. Unless he had a 7 or some oddball collection of cards for a straight, I had the best hand. So I bet $6, which was enough to put him all-in. He fell for it. He had T9 and I scooped up the pot of $17.40

Table #3, session 1: And now for our Degree(R) All-In Moment. I was given A2 as the first hand in the cutoff as I posted a big blind. Four limpers in front. I checked. The button called. The big blind also checked. So, lots of people to the flop of AQ2, two clubs, did not have any. There were two checks, a bet of $1, two folds, and the action was to me. Two pair is generally a good hand in NLHE, but it can be easily outdrawn or duplicated, so I wasn't going to mess around with it. I raised to $4 and dared anyone to go with me. Only the original bettor called. The turn was a non-club 4. If he was hiding a 53 over there I was sunk, but what kind of idjit would stick around with THAT hand against a raise? I was more afraid of something like A4 or 44. But more likely than not I was still good - especially when he checked to me. I fired out for $5, which was slightly more than he had, so he would have to go all-in to see the last card. He did and flipped up A5 of spades. I was well ahead, but he had outs - a 3 would give him the wheel and give him the pot. A 5 would give him a higher 2 pair and also win it for him. A queen or 4 would yield a split pot. The river was the dreaded 4 and we split the pot. I planted a big wet one on my sister's lips.

Session 2: Two different tables, no cards. The best hand I saw at either table was A5. An expert player could probably force action with bad cards and win some money that way. You can tell I'm no expert, and thus I didn't try to do that. So I watched my blinds go to everyone else, and the other chips get traded around from mediocre player to mediocre player.

Honolulu Blue · 12-18-2005, 06:10 PM

$25 and $50 NLHE (3 sessions, 1/2 tables)
Start - $207.04
End - $321.69 (+114.65)
Time - 2:15

I had a lot of time to kill this morning and afternoon, and less time in the coming days and weeks, so I decided to play a bunch of online poker. I'd say it worked out generally well, though there were some scary moments. Let's go to the highlight reel:

Table #1, session 1: Nothing of note.

Table #2, session 1: Ditto.

Table #3, session 1: 43 in the big blind. Only the BB was interested in the pot, so it was heads up going to the flop - 954. Bottom pair - is it enough? Check check. Eight on the turn. Check check. Ten on the river. Checked to me. I refused to believe my hand was good, so I checked also. He had 32 - heh. Gimme those 60 cents!

Two hands later I got a real hand - pocket queens. One fold to me. I raised to a buck. Nobody wanted any part of me. I can't think of much that 35 cents buys anymore - does it still buy one of those 5-packs of chewing gum? I guess so. But that's about it. Newspapers are 50 cents, candy bars are more... but enough about the woes of inflation. You're reading this to hear about some poker play, right? Let's get back to that.

Table #4, session 1: Nothing of note. Good thing I was 2-tabling most of this time. I can fold twice as many hands in the same amount of time!

Table #5, session 1: One of my donkiriffic specials. I received QT in the big blind. Four limpers enabled me to get a free look. The flop was Q43 - top pair, marginal kicker. Should've been good against this bunch. I bet a buck with one caller. Fine with me. 5 on the turn. I bet $2, figuring I was still good. She called. Some warning bells off in the distance went unheard. Jack on the river. I still thought my queens were good, so I turned up the heat a little more and bet $4. She thought, went into her time back, then raised all-in, for a total of $21. I didn't have that much left, so that would put me all-in. I thought this one through - how many hands would she bet like this that I could beat? Answer: a bluff. I didn't think it was that likely she was bluffing, so I conceded the pot. Sometimes those big blind specials can get you into trouble.

The next hand I got pocket kings - revenge time! Two limpers in front. I raised to $2 and dared someone to come with me. No one did and I won a $1 pot. At least a buck will buy you some things.

Table #6, session 1: This was a $50 table - the blinds were 25 cents and 50 cents. I stuck around long enough to get three trash hands and post one big blind.

Table #7, session 1: After lots and lots of folding here, I was given KQ in the small blind. Two limpers in front. I completed, and the BB played nice. Q75 on the flop - couldn't ask for much better. Didn't care for the two hearts, though, since I didn't have any. I led out for a dollar and was called twice. The turn was the 7 of hearts. There were worse cards, but not many. I checked. The other two also checked. The 2s on the river was very unlikely to have helped anyone. I once again felt my 2 pair was good, so I led out for $2. Both calling stations folded, finally.

Three hands later I got AA. There was one caller to me. I raised to a buck. The limper got out of the way, but the big blind decided to call. The flop came out T54 - safe enough. Two spades, but I had one of those. The BB checked, I fired out for $2, and he folded. Like clockwork.

Table #1, session 2: Got JT on the button. One limper came in front. I followed. The BB checked. The flop was J96. It was checked to me and I fired out for a buck with top pair. They folded.

Table #2, session 2: This was another $50 table. After some folding, I got JT on the button. One limper to me. I followed along. The blinds did also. Four to the flop of JT4. B-i-n-g-o was his name-o! It was checked to me. No need to get cute. I bet $2. Everyone folded. Was it my breath?

Table #1, session 3: Very little happened until I got those pocket queens. With one limper in front, I raised to my standard buck. The BB and limper called. The flop was AT9 - trouble. The BB checked, but the limper bet $3, about the size of the pot. Double trouble. I folded, but the BB went all-in for his last $4. He called, of course, and flipped up his pocket 10s. Good laydown, me. The other guy had T9. An ace on the turn gave him a full house. The 7 on the river didn't help.

Table #2, session 3: Lots of folding here too. I was getting a little frustrated. Then I got AK on the button. One limper in front, then a raise to $1.50. I impuslively called, planning to use the power of position. The BB and limper also called. Four to the flop of AT4, two diamonds. Good flop if no one has AA or TT. It was checked to me, and I bet $4. The original raiser headed for the hills, but the limper called. Interesting. The turn was the 7 of diamonds - trouble, but for some reason I didn't think he had the flush draw. I wanted him out of my pot, so I bet $11. He called. This could be trouble, but I was more or less pot committed. 9 of spades on the river. I didn't think it helped him. I went all-in for my last $7.15. It was an easy call for him. Were my aces good? Why yes. He was overplaying an unimproved pair of jacks. One was a diamond, though.

That was the hand that put me over the top, along with a little secret I didn't tell you about. I was also playing for a bonus. You can read details about it here. To make a long story short, I got a bonus of $100 for playing 700 raked hands, which I did. I'm feeling a little burnt out on poker and writing, so I decided to count it.

Since I accomplished my goal, this dynasty is over. Thanks for reading. I'll wrap things up in a day or two.

johnnyshaka · 12-19-2005, 12:29 PM

Well done, HB, well done. Sorry to hear that you won't be continuing this dynasty...but, like you said, you've reached your goal...guess it's time to move on.

I cashed out $50 on the weekend to buy BBCF...nothing like cashing out and using the winnings for something before losing it!!!!

Anyways...played a few of hands this morning at the office...and I mean a few, like 6...and managed to double up in that time!!! WOW!!! First couple hands were folded until I hit KK on the button. A guy in early position (who raised the two previous hands) raised to $1.25 and everybody folded to me and I re-raised to $2.50 just to see if this guy really had a hand or not...the blinds both folded. He calls. Flop comes out Q74 rainbow...he checks and I figure I might as well find out if he's got something like AQ or KQ and I bet $2 and he re-raises to $4. Hmmm...pocket queens?? He's got me thinking now...but, since I've been at the table he's been raising like crazy...so, I figure he's got top pair at the most and call. Turn is 6 and now there are 2 spades on the board...he checks again. I'm sure I've got him beat and want to make sure I get him off of a possible flush draw and bet $8...about a half pot bet...he calls this with a flush draw, he's crazy. He doesn't call...he pushes all-in...re-raise of about $10. Wow...is he for real?? Boy, does he have QQ or even AA?? Nah...this guy has been a maniac since I've been here...he's got top pair, that's it...I call...I've got him covered, but barely. River comes and it's a Q...OH CRAP!!!! At PS, they don't turn over the cards on all-in calls until the end...so, I was really nervous because that would've made his Qx good...but, turns out he had JJ and I double up. Phewf.

After that Degree(R) all-in moment...I figured it would be best to shut 'er down and walk away with my extra dough!!!

Honolulu Blue · 12-19-2005, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Well done, HB, well done. Sorry to hear that you won't be continuing this dynasty...but, like you said, you've reached your goal...guess it's time to move on.

Thank you for the kind words, Johnny. Yeah, it was time to quit. I was starting to dislike the poker grind, and I had other things that needed to be done, so I'm moving on.

Quote:

I cashed out $50 on the weekend to buy BBCF...nothing like cashing out and using the winnings for something before losing it!!!!

I did much the same... actually, I bought BB a few days ago, before I cashed, but was fairly certain I was going to hit my goal. The rest of it I haven't figured out how to spend yet, but I'm thinking about getting PokerTracker. I'd have to spend some time (a) figuring out how to use it, and (b) figuring out how to interpret the data I get from it.

Nice job cashing out your winnings. I occasionally forget to do that and get into trouble because of it.

Quote:

Anyways...played a few of hands this morning at the office...and I mean a few, like 6...and managed to double up in that time!!! WOW!!! First couple hands were folded until I hit KK on the button. A guy in early position (who raised the two previous hands) raised to $1.25 and everybody folded to me and I re-raised to $2.50 just to see if this guy really had a hand or not...the blinds both folded. He calls. Flop comes out Q74 rainbow...he checks and I figure I might as well find out if he's got something like AQ or KQ and I bet $2 and he re-raises to $4. Hmmm...pocket queens?? He's got me thinking now...but, since I've been at the table he's been raising like crazy...so, I figure he's got top pair at the most and call. Turn is 6 and now there are 2 spades on the board...he checks again. I'm sure I've got him beat and want to make sure I get him off of a possible flush draw and bet $8...about a half pot bet...he calls this with a flush draw, he's crazy. He doesn't call...he pushes all-in...re-raise of about $10. Wow...is he for real?? Boy, does he have QQ or even AA?? Nah...this guy has been a maniac since I've been here...he's got top pair, that's it...I call...I've got him covered, but barely. River comes and it's a Q...OH CRAP!!!! At PS, they don't turn over the cards on all-in calls until the end...so, I was really nervous because that would've made his Qx good...but, turns out he had JJ and I double up. Phewf.

After that Degree(R) all-in moment...I figured it would be best to shut 'er down and walk away with my extra dough!!!

Good call all the way around. I would've questioned his manhood by raising to around $5 preflop and pushed at the first reasonable opportunity, but you got the job done. This was on Stars? With players like that, I'll have to take a more serious look at the NL games there.

Rather than starting a new post, let's cover the epliogue here:

Start - $30.58
Finish - $321.69
Profit - $290.11

Time played (hours) - 26:55
Days played - 21
Average time per day - 1:17

Profit per hour - $10.78
Profit per hour (without bonus) - $7.06
Profit per day - $13.81

Ten random lessons learned:

1. The players at this level were about as bad as I expected, in about the ways I expected. They called too much with bad starting hands and second best (or worse) ending hands, they bluffed too much at the wrong times, and their bets made no sense. I love them.

2. My basic style - play VERY tight, get the goods, bet the goods - worked very well. My PPH was about twice what I expected, given the tables I played.
3. I'm proud of my reading and bluff detection skills. They got better the more I played.
4. Afternoons are the toughest times to play. Payoffs on big hands are generally slimmer and the players are generally better. College students, I suspect. It's hard to wait until after 6 or the weekends to play, but that's probably what I should do.
5. Early, early mornings (3-6 AM) can be very good, but the tables break up fast.
6. My top secret table selection criteria worked quite well at keeping me out of trouble.
7. I still don't feel any great love for poker, though I like no limit more than limit.
8. The good news is I stopped feeling nervous about playing NL $25, though I still felt a few flutters at NL $50.
9. Speaking of NL $50, in my limited looks at that level, the players are a little better, a little more opportunistic, and a little more aggressive. I think I can beat them too, but doing so will have to wait awhile.
10. In order to make a decent living at this level, I'd have to 4-table them for 8 hours a day, and get a decent rakeback program. That doesn't sound like the life for me.

Thank you once again for reading my poker ramblings. Merry Christmas, etc. to all of you and your families.

Huckleberry · 12-27-2005, 02:39 PM

I just play for fun from time to time, but thought I'd post this hand here instead of starting a new thread somewhere:

Quote:

***** Hand History for Game 3267103601 *****
1/2 Texas Hold'em Game Table (Limit) - Mon Dec 26 23:43:02 EST 2005
Table Table 64727 (Real Money) -- Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: JOHN_D007 ( $50)
Seat 2: IGotstaGo ( $16.75)
Seat 3: Huck_L_Berry ( $67.25)
Seat 4: MrPRoe ( $39.60)
Seat 6: tesla3605 ( $67)
Seat 7: a1terosity ( $38.87)
Seat 8: ToniMartini ( $42.62)
Seat 9: BlackHH ( $53)
Seat 10: Kermit_21 ( $20.25)
a1terosity posts small blind (0.50)
ToniMartini posts big blind (1)
JOHN_D007 posts big blind (1)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Huck_L_Berry [ 2s, As ]
BlackHH folds.
Kermit_21 folds.
JOHN_D007 checks.
IGotstaGo folds.
Huck_L_Berry calls (1)
MrPRoe calls (1)
a1terosity calls (0.50)
ToniMartini checks.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 8h, 2c, 6d ]
a1terosity checks.
ToniMartini bets (1)
JOHN_D007 raises (2) to 2
Huck_L_Berry folds.
MrPRoe folds.
a1terosity folds.
ToniMartini calls (1)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 2d ]
ToniMartini checks.
JOHN_D007 bets (2)
ToniMartini calls (2)
** Dealing River ** : [ 2h ]
ToniMartini checks.
JOHN_D007 checks.
** Summary **
Main Pot: $12.25 | Rake: $0.75
Board: [ 8h 2c 6d 2d 2h ]
JOHN_D007 balance $57.25, bet $5, collected $12.25, net +$7.25 [ Td Tc ] [ a full house, Twos full of tens -- Td,Tc,2c,2d,2h ]
IGotstaGo balance $16.75, didn't bet (folded)
Huck_L_Berry balance $66.25, lost $1 (folded)
MrPRoe balance $38.60, lost $1 (folded)
sinevise balance $50, sits out
tesla3605 balance $67, sits out
a1terosity balance $37.87, lost $1 (folded)
ToniMartini balance $37.62, lost $5 [ 8s 9h ] [ a full house, Twos full of eights -- 8s,8h,2c,2d,2h ]
BlackHH balance $53, didn't bet (folded)
Kermit_21 balance $20.25, didn't bet (folded)

A minor irritant when your folded small pair would have been 4 of a kind after the river.

Oh well, I realize I probably shouldn't have been in that hand to begin with, and that's why I play for fun.

Subby · 01-03-2006, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honolulu Blue

10. In order to make a decent living at this level, I'd have to 4-table them for 8 hours a day, and get a decent rakeback program. That doesn't sound like the life for me.

Thank you once again for reading my poker ramblings. Merry Christmas, etc. to all of you and your families.

Good read.

I realize you aren't going to try and do this for a living or anything, but properly rolled, you could easily eight-table 100NL with your strategy...and then probably move up as your roll allowed. I am horrible at NL (poker in general, really) and find 100NL really easy...

Anyway, nice work.

Honolulu Blue · 01-04-2006, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris

Good read.

I realize you aren't going to try and do this for a living or anything, but properly rolled, you could easily eight-table 100NL with your strategy...and then probably move up as your roll allowed. I am horrible at NL (poker in general, really) and find 100NL really easy...

Anyway, nice work.

Thank you for your kind words. I did my best - both on the felt and in the word processor.

In order to go beyond 4 tables, I'd need a new monitor. And it would still be a grind. Good to know the 100 NL games are just as bad (or maybe you're just a lot better than you think you are).

Huckleberry: I fold what turns out to be the winning hand all the time. There's nothing you can do but ignore it. BTW, A2 suited isn't a bad hand to call with, in limit, in late position, with one limper in front. You got out at the right time.

12-02-2005, 11:13 AM	#8
KevinNU7 College Starter Join Date: May 2003 Location: Beantown	Current 93.98 Start 30.58 Earned 63.40 Total Minutes 275 Cash Per Minute 0.23 Cash Per Hour 13.83 __________________ Boston Bashers - III.14 - (8347)

12-03-2005, 06:52 AM	#10
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 2, evening $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table) Start - $93.98 End - $100.80 (+6.82) Time - :35 Another decent start with AJ in the big blind. One limper and I say go ahead. TT8 was the flop. A total whiff for yours truly. We both check. The turn was a Q, which gave me an inside straight draw. Still not worth very much. I checked and he bet the pot ($.60). Not worth it, I said, and gave up. Two hands later I got a real hand on the button - AK. There were two limpers in front. I raised to a buck. One of the limpers called. The flop was AQ6 rainbow, which was just fine with me. Hoped he didn't have AQ, though. After his check, I bet out $2. He folded. Several hands later I got aces - again, folks - under the gun. I raised my now standard buck. Only one customer followed me to the flop - JT6, all diamonds. The bad news is that this is one of the more dangerous flops for AA - two high cards, three of one suit, and a possible straight draw. The good news is I had the ace of diamonds, so I had redraws against big hands. Bad a flop as it was, I had to find out where I stood. I fired out for $2. She reraised me to $4. Pot odds mandated a call here. They're going to put it on my tombstone, remember. The turn was a non-diamond 9. The straight came in for KQ, one of her possible holdings. I checked, and she bet $5. The pot was near $15 at this point, so that's not too big of a bet. I called, more curious than anything. A ten on the river helped give me two pair, but it might have helped her more. Or maybe it didn't matter? I checked, hoping she wouldn't bet too much so I could call (or hoping she'd bet everything so I COULDN'T call). She checked too and for the first time I thought I had her. Sure enough, I did. She only had AK. Jesus would've called this one earlier from his perch in the fridge. Anyway, $19.35 came my way. Two hands later, I again got that hand that's bedeviled hold'em players for decades - AK. I was in the small blind. Two limpers in front and I decided to get cute and just call. BB checked and off we go to the flop. 773 rainbow offered nothing for me. Everyone checked. Ten on the turn didn't help. I thought about firing out here, as an info/semi-bluff bet, but held off. Everyone checked again. The king on the river finally offered something for me. Kings up figured to be good, so I led out for a buck. One fold, then I got raised to $5. Sum 'glitch! What could she possibly have? I put her on an equal or lesser king. Wrong. I unwisely called and she showed me her pocket 3s. Very nice slowplay. My head was spinning after that, so I did some other things for a few hours. At the second session, a few hands after I sat down, I got AK yet again. There were three folds to me, so this seemed like a good place for a raise to a buck. The button called, as did the BB. QT4 on the flop - inside straight draw, but nothing else. Everyone checked. The turn was a 5. Still nothing. Check check check. 8 on the river didn't help, but nobody showed strength. Is someone playing possum? Should I try to make a play here? The BB checked. I decided a bet was too likely to backfire here, so I checked also. The other guy checked. Flip 'em up... BB had AK also. The other guy had Bill & Ted's favorite hand - 69 dude! A split pot wasn't too bad. The other hand of note was pocket queens on the button. Call UTG, then the very next guy raised to $1. Everyone folded to me. I would've been a little worried if my opponents were old-school players who knew the meaning of the word "tight". These guys aren't anything like that, so I figured my queens were good. But not quite good enough for a reraise. I opted to call and see a flop. The BB joined us for the flop of A53 with two spades. The spades were a little worrisome, but the ace much more so. But I have position, so I figure if someone's got the ace, they'll let me know. It's checked to me. I look down under... they're starting to grow a little, so I bet out $2. I was quite happy to get no callers here. I stuck around for a few more hands, but nothing came, so I skedaddled with my profits. Now that I'm up over $100, I might try two-tabling at times. NEXT: Two tables? At one time?? Am I nuts???

12-04-2005, 04:14 AM	#11
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 3, afternoon $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $100.80 End - $114.95 (+14.15) Time - :40 You know, sometimes stupidity is rewarded, and sometimes it's punished. I'll give you an example of both. At my first table, I was in third position with TT. Two players folded to me and by now you know how much I raised to. The button called. The flop was Q43 rainbow - not the worst flop, all things considered. If he didn't have a Q, then I figured to be good. And I bet like I was good, $2. He called. Call it warning sign #1. The turn was a jack. Two overcards now - warning sign #2. I fired out a bet of $3, roughly half the pot. He called. That was #3. The river was another 3. I've got two pair, but is it best or what? The pot was too big to give up without a fight, so I put a Lincoln and a Washington out there. And not the coins either. He raised the rest of his chips, about $5.50 worth. That was warning sign #4. However, the pot odds were tremendous (over 4.5 to 1), so I had to finish the job. I'm serious about putting it on my tombstone, by the way. He had AJ and beat me with a better two pair. Argh. I think I (over)played that one to the level of my opponents, which isn't good. But I kept playing, though I switched tables after awhile. The next table started out slowly enough, with me getting junk, trash, and ca-ca. Finally I got 66 UTG. The experts are split on what to do with this. I don't think there's a whole lot of difference in EV in folding, raising, or calling. I wanted action, I don't like 6s THAT much, and the table had been playing pretty passive so far, so I threw in my quarter (the special Michigan edition, of course). There were a total of 7(!) callers to the flop - QJT rainbow. Obvously I'm getting off at the next stop. SB led out for 75 cents. BB folded and I did the same. There were some fireworks on the turn (a deuce) as one player went all-in for $42 and got called. He had AK for a flopped Broadway straight, beating a lesser straight. I think I was inspired by this display... Some hands later I got American Airlines under the gun. Standard raise, then I got raised back to $2.75. As a test, I raised an outrageous sum - to $20 - just to see if he would be silly enough to call. He was - actually he reraised for all his chips ($4 more) and had me covered by a dime. This is like Christmas, my birthday, the Publishers' Clearinghouse grand prize and the Powerball jackpot all in one. All I had to do was get those 4-to-1 odds working for me. He had JJ and it was off to the races. 854 on the flop and he still needs a jack. The turn was a 6, making a seven very unlucky. But no, the river was another ace. The $46 pot put me a few dollars ahead, despite my mistakes. Call me lucky because I got aces again four hands later. Two callers in front, and I raised to a buck. They both called, but no others. We go to the flop - AK7. Awesome! Let's see how much I can extract from these guys... one check, then a bet of $2. I had the nuts and I decided not to fool around with them (there were two hearts on board and I didn't have one). I raised to $6. The other player reraised all his chips, another $4.60. I called, of course. The 3 of hearts on the turn gave my heart flutter wildly (Remember that Party doesn't reveal the cards until the hand is over). The six on the river couldn't have been of any use, so I was either beaten on the turn or not beaten at all. My fellow player had AK and I won another big pot. I felt a little sorry for him; I probably would've gone broke too if the hands had been reversed. Time for a little break. NEXT: A little break, but I'll be back! Last edited by Honolulu Blue : 12-04-2005 at 07:47 AM.

12-04-2005, 02:02 PM	#12
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 4, morning $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table) Start - $114.95 End - $116.00 (+1.15) Time - :25 The first session ended prematurely because (a) I couldn't find many good games, and (b) in the one good game I found, three players dropped out in quick succession, and I don't do well shorthanded. Anyway, I got a free look with 96 of spades in the BB. Two others had limped in. J44 was the flop, only one spade. Not much there for me, so I folded to a $2 bet. The pot ended up being split between two players with jacks up. Several hands later I got pocket 5s in the BB. Everyone folded and I picked up the blinds. That doesn't happen much at this level, and it's a bad sign for a quality table. The next hand saw me in the SB with QT offsuit. I normally have higher standards than this, but it was folded to me (again). Could've raised, but I decided to just call. The BB played along. A92 with two diamonds on the flop. Nothing there. Check check. The three on the turn didn't help me. Check check. I finally got some relief with a 10 on the river. The pair of tens should've been good if he's not holding a raggedy ace or something. I doubt he had it. I made a value bet of a quarter (the pot was only 50 cents) and he folded. Whoopity whoop whoop. I left after getting nothing on the button. I popped in for a quickie session later on. The conditions were a little better, but still not generally favorable. I didn't get many hands here. I let 2 1/2 rounds of blinds go before I picked up 9s. There was one limper in front. I threw in my quarter. One guy raised to 50 cens, the minimum raise. The blinds and both of us limpers called. Five to the flop of 542, two clubs. I had a club. There were some hidden monsters, but it was very bettable and it seemed likely I had the best hand. Everyone checked to me. I bet $2. I was most worried about two players - the raiser (no read, but a raise usually indicates strength; let's hope it's of the high card variety) and the SB (seemed mildly dangerous because he had a clue and used the bluff as a weapon). It was my lucky day, because they both folded, as did the other two players. The pot was relatively small, but a win's a win. I left soon after. I hope things loosen up for my next sessions. NEXT: The search for the elusive calling station.

12-05-2005, 03:04 AM	#13
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 4, afternoon & evening $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table) Start - $116.00 End - $114.90 (-1.10) Time - 1:10 I post the blind after sitting down and walk in with 88. Very nice start. There were two limpers, then a raise to $1.25. I thought about calling, but figured 8s were a little light to be doing something like that. He did get a caller, and the original raiser won the pot after a $4 bet on the turn. My "real" big blind came some hands later. I got K4 offsuit, and I'm always interested in a free look. Two callers and I said go ahead. KJ5 on the flop brought good news, though with a sucky kicker. Do I lead out or not? I decide, not. Everyone checked. The turn was an 8. We all checked again. The river was a ten. Motley board; probably no one has anything very much. My very weak top pair might even be good here. But I wasn't certain enough that I wanted to bet here. Fortunately, everyone checked and I showed my king. The others had ace high. Some time later I got 88 UTG. I raised to a buck and got no followers. Uncontested pots are all right with me, especially with a medium pair. A few hands after that I recieved J9 of spades in the cutoff. There were two callers and I also took a flyer. The BB raised to $.75. A fold and a call in front of me... I didn't like my hand that well, so I let it go. This pot got way up there as three diamonds showed up on the flop and a fourth on the river. The winner had a pair of kings with Kd. The unfortunate loser had the five of diamonds, along with another five. I said goodbye a few hands later. At the next table, I again posted a BB upon arrival. This time I wasn't so lucky - 64 offsuit isn't a hand worth going to war with. But three players smooth called and the SB completed, with the BB checking. So it's off to the flop - A43 with two diamonds. Middle pair with a nothing kicker isn't worth a whole lot. Everyone checked. A lucky 4 of spades on the turn gave me trips. Not half bad. The SB led out for $.50. Two callers, then it was to me. Does anyone have the other 4? Or the wheel? Those were the only hands I was afraid of. 33 and AA probably would've played things differently. Easy call at the price. One fold and we take four to the river - a non-diamond K. I was PROBABLY good, but if I wasn't it could get expensive & ugly. Check, bet $2, call. I liked my cards and odds, so I called. Another fold. The other players had A5 and A8, and I got a $8.80 pot. That's the downside of slowplaying - you can easily keep people in the pot that can break you with that free card. After reacquainting myself with my best friend, the fold button, I got A5 offsuit in the BB. Four folds and a raise to $.50. More folds and the SB called. Pot odds mandated a call here. But the QJ3 flop was not kind, especially with those three hearts on board (I didn't have any). We checked and the original raiser bet $2. We both gave up. Some hands later I got pocket 6s. There were five folds. My position was too good to fold this, so it was a matter of raising or calling. I figured my chances of seeing a cheap flop were good, so I limped. The button raised to $1. Everyone folded to me. I've found it best not to make marginal calls out of position. So I didn't here. She took it down uncontested. Nothing else of note, so I went on to other things. I came back a couple of hours later, and couldn't get anything started. The first hand was typical - QJ of diamonds in the BB. One minimum raise and a caller. I say what the hey and put another quarter in. Might get lucky; you never know. A94 on the flop was NOT lucky, since there were no diamonds in it. I checked, there was a bet of $1.25 and a raise to $2.50. Obviously, I couldn't stand that kind of pressure and got out. The original bettor folded to the raise and the other guy kindly showed us his A4. Three hands later I got pocket jacks. One caller in front. I raised to a buck and he called. A54 on the flop, all spades. I didn't have a spade, which was troubling. I also didn't have an ace, which was more trouble. It was checked to me and I led out for $2. It was called. That wasn't a good sign. The turn was the 9 of spades, and I was convinced I was beaten one way or another. Check check. The river was another ace. Check check. He showed pocket deuces - alas, one of them was a spade. Yuck. The next hand I got 44. One caller in front and I followed suit. Two more callers, then the big blind raised to $2. Nobody wanted any part of this, so he got the money without a fight. More junk I had to dump before getting Ac6c on the button. There were four callers to me, and I did the same. The BB checked and it was the six of us to the flop. AQ9, two diamonds, no clubs. Top pair with a nothing kicker. It might be best. Then again, it might be an expensive second best hand. Two checks, a bet of $.75 and a call. I figured it was too likely someone had an ace with a better kicker. I folded. I changed tables to try to change my luck. It didn't really work. But I did eventually get AK. UTG made the minimum raise. I called. T83 gave me very little. He led out for a buck. Too many hands could beat me, I thought, and laid it down. A few hands later I got 55 in the small blind. Everyone folded to me. This was a golden opportunity to try to make a steal with a halfway decent hand. But I chickened out and called. The BB checked. A93 was a typical flop I see with a small pair - I'm either ahead or way behind. BB bet a quarter and I folded. The next hand in the SB (again) I got pocket 8s. Four folds, then a raise to $.50, and a call. Two more folds to silly me, who called. The BB called also. The flop was T52 with two spades. I checked, the BB checked, then there was a $2 bet and a call. I had a feeling I was beaten somewhere along the line, so I folded. The BB did the same. This hand was interesting because the original bettor had KT, which ended up being two pair when the board paired. He didn't win the hand. The other guy did with pocket 3s. It was simple, really - 3 on the turn, 3 on the river. That ended up being a $46 pot. Not mine. Even though I ended up down, I didn't do anything stupid. I wanted to keep that record intact so I left after a few hands of nothing. NEXT: Goals to keep and miles to go before I sleep.

11-29-2005, 09:03 AM	#2
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	November 28, evening $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $30.58 End - $40.03 (+9.45) Time - :15 A very nice start for me. After folding 6 hands in a row (you'll see this is very typical for me), I got JJ in the big blind. Two limpers and I limped too (please don't tell my poker heroes I did this!). The big blind checked and off we go to the flop - T64 with two hearts. Even though neither of my jacks were hearts, I figured to be best. Would anyone pay to chase me? I bet a buck and everyone folded. Fireworks! Congratulations! Yay! On the very next hand I got queens in the small blind. Lots of good players whine about queens, but I've found them to be very profitable. Anyway, this time around, the button limped, and I raised it to a buck. BB and button called. Flop was QJ3 with two diamonds. Another darned fine flop, methinks. Let's see how much we can milk out of these suckas... My lead and I checked. BB also checked, button bet a quarter. "Be for real," I said, and raised it to $3. BB gave up the ghost, but the button called. Hmmm, wonder what he has. The turn was a 3, giving me a full house, and no more to fear from a possible flush. Let's see if I can get him to go all-in here... I bet $6, which was more than he had. He called and flipped up A4 of diamonds. The river was a meaningless 7, and the pot was mine. After a few more eventless hands, I log off, ahead and slightly more confident. This is better than Enzyte. NEXT: More fun in the kiddie pool.

11-29-2005, 01:27 PM	#3
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	November 29, morning $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table) Start - $40.03 End - $64.78 (+24.75) Time - :40 After a few indifferent hands at my first session, I got the rockets in 2nd position. Yum! It was folded to me, so I raised it to the standard buck. Alas, it was folded all the way back to me, so I won a whole 35 cents. That doesn't even buy a handful of penny candy anymore! Poker, I guess. Then came a few more hands I didn't play, and I made my way toward another table. This table had a lot more fireworks. After four hands of inactivity, I got pocket fours. There were two limpers in front, and I did the same. The button raised to $3 and everyone folded. Two hands later I got dealt pocket 10s. I was UTG with two extra newcomers posting a big blind. Gutless wonder that I am, I limped again. One other caller and it's five to the flop - 853 wth two clubs. Not the perfect flop, but safe enough to bet and see where I'm at. BB checked. I bet a buck. One caller and one folder and then there was a raise to $3. Pocket pair, trips, or a flush draw? The odds weren't terrible, but I erred on the side of caution and folded. There was one caller to the end, and it ended up being a pair of 8s against trip 5s. Good laydown? Well, considering there was a 10 on the river... still, I prefer to be the chaser rather than the chased. The next hand put me in the big blind with total junk (7s, 8c if you must know). Four callers (including the SB) and no raisers gave me a free look at the flop. 422 rainbow - nothing there for me. Everyone checked and so I got another free card. 'Twas a 6. Still nothing very much. Everyone checked again. The river was a 5. Hmmm, let me check those cards again - yep, got a straight. Lucky SOB. One check, then I bet a buck. Three folds and one crying call. As expected, my straight pulverized his nothing special. After giving the fold button a workout, I picked up pocket 10s again. One fold, one call, and one minimum raise in front. I cold call. Two more calls and it's four to the flop. That flop was QT9 - excellent news for me, if it weren't for the fact that I was up against three spades. Still, no one is guaranteed a flush or straight, so I had to be aggressive with this. One check, one bet of 50 cents, one fold, and it's to me. I raised it to $4 - make it real expensive for those guys to draw out on me. The other guy in the hand shoved what was left of his chips - about $6 extra. The guy who checked now folded, but the other gentleman called. Now it's back to me. This smelled like trouble - there could easily be a made straight AND flush against me (QQ too, but I didn't worry about that so much). Still, the pot was so big that I was getting close to the correct odds even if I knew that I was beat. So I gritted my teeth and called. The turn was a 6h. The other guy shoved in all his chips - about $6. Easy call, even though I still thought I was in trouble. Flip 'em up boys - guy #1 had the ace of spades and a five; guy #2 had the king of spades and a 6. Nice for me, but if one of those 8 spades came out, I was still sunk. The river was an ace and I grabbed a $41.60 pot - one of my biggest NL pots ever. I left after the next hand.

11-30-2005, 01:52 PM	#4
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	November 30, morning $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table) Start - $64.78 End - $66.18 (+1.40) Time - :50 The first hand of the first session put me in the big blind with AK. Two limpers to me, so I raised it to a buck. Both limpers called. Flop was AT5 with two diamonds - good for me, and looked safe enough. I led out for $2. The next guy pushed for all his chips - about $17 more. At this level, he could do that with any number of hands, some of which I could beat. With no reads, an insane bet in front, and just top pair, I say THWI and fold. After giving the fold button a workout, I got AK again. Two limpers to me on the button, where I also limp. Four to the flop of QT6 rainbow - not much for me here. Check, minimum bet ($.25), fold, to me. I called. Then there was a raise to $1, and my hand wasn't good enough to stand for that, so I got out. A few more folds and I changed tables, where I hoped to have better luck. Four or five folds at the new table, then I got a hand I could work with - pocket 9s. One limper in front, and I added myself to that list. One limp behind, and a minimum raise from from the SB. Everyone called. Flop was A66 with two hearts. Not the worst flop in the world, but the ace and hearts give me pause (I had the 9h). Minimum bet and a fold to me. I didn't think the bettor had much, so I called. There was one other caller. 9 on the turn gave me a full house. Only AA or 66 would beat me now, and I didn't think either of them had it. But what did they have? Will they call if I put a real bet out there? It was checked to me, so I threw out $3. No calls and I took the pot. A few more folds, then AK again in the big blind. Two limpers to me and I say go ahead. A42 on the flop, which was just fine with me, even though the two spades gave me a little pause (I held Ks). I bet out a buck and got one caller. The turn was an 8 - safe enough. I bet $3 and got a caller. The river was the 8s, giving me aces up, but putting a possible flush out there. I still figured to be good, so I bet $6. He thought a bit and folded. Yay me. Then came a few more folds and I scraped by with a small profit. NEXT: Knowin' when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

12-01-2005, 06:02 AM	#5
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	November 30, evening $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $66.18 End - $61.48 (-4.70) Time - :30 The fireworks, such as they were, started with my very first hand out of the BB. I had Q3 - as worthless as it looks, but with two limpers, I got a free look. The flop was AAQ. Not bad, all things considered, but it's fairly likely someone has an ace. I checked and everyone else did too. Maybe there's no ace out there? The flop was another Q. Still alert for the possibility of an ace, but with a full house, I'm kinda obligated to bet. So I led out for a buck. Both called. Hmmm. The river was a 4, which couldn't have helped anyone. It looks like I had the best hand. I bet $3. Guy raised it to $6. Uh oh... The other player in the hand thought for awhile and folded. I probably should've done the same, but I'm a sucker for 4:1 pot odds. They'll put it on my tombstone -> Got Big Odds And Lost. With tears down my cheeks, I make the call and dude shows me an ace. Well, that's $7 down the drain... Things did get better, though. On the button I got 9h8h. One limper in front. I called. The blinds also called. The flop came out 953 with two hearts. I wasn't expecting much, but with top pair (mediocre though it is) and a flush draw, it had lots of possibilities. Everyone checked to me and I led out for the usual buck. No takers. Not a big pot, but a win's a win. On the next hand I got more hearts - A4. Two callers in front. I play along, as do the button and the blinds. The flop was JT8 with two clubs and no hearts. Nothing here for me. Check, check, $.50 bet, call. I'm Audi 5000. A flush on the river ended up beating trips made on the turn. A few hands later I got JJ in the big blind. Three limpers and I, the out-of-position one, say go ahead. J97 on the flop made me smile. I was cognizant of the two spades, but sometimes you've gotta say what the hey. SB checked and I bet a buck. Again, no takers. What, am I radioactive or something? Four hands after that I got AQ. One off the button, so my position was good. Cards are good. Let's see what happens. Just one caller to me. I raised to a buck. No takers. About a round goes by until I get a halfway decent hand in the BB - A3 of hearts. There were two callers and I got a free look. AcKh9c was the flop - top pair, sucky kicker, backdoor flush draw. Could've bet here, I s'pose, but that's not my style. Like my bank account at the beginning of the month - check, check, check. 6h on the turn - more help, but I still hold just a so-so pair. Check check check. The river was 8h - finally a hand I can bet with confidence! No need to scare anyone, so I bet just a buck. No takers. I checked out a few things - yes, this was still Party; yes, this was one of the zillion $25 tables. It wasn't playing like it, I tell you. Where are the calling stations?!?! A dozen or so hands later I received pocket 9s. One caller in front. I raise to a buck, and you can probably guess the rest... Grinding out dimes and the occasional quarter isn't my favorite way to play, but it beats losing, I guess. NEXT: Grinding out more dimes and quarters. What a party! Last edited by Honolulu Blue : 12-01-2005 at 06:06 AM.

12-02-2005, 01:56 AM	#6
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 1, evening $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table) Start - $61.48 End - $66.28 (+4.80) Time - 1:20 After a few false starts where I sacrificed some blinds, I finally found a table I liked. My first active hand found me in the BB with T5 of hearts. Not much of a hand, but with five limpers and no raise, it would be nice to see a free and potentially lucrative flop. Which came out QT5 rainbow. Two pair, even bottom two as in this case, is pretty strong against this board. Let's see if I can get some customers... SB checked and I led out for a buck. Only one caller. The turn was a 6 - probably harmless. I bet $3. He thought for a while, then folded. The next hand put me in the SB with JT of spades. Fun little hand, and playable for the right price. There was one limper. I threw in my 15 cents and called. BB checked. The flop was T84 with two hearts - a vulnerable top pair. I decided to just check and see what came up. BB bet a buck and was called. I figured I was likely beat and I don't like to chase. I chucked 'em in the muck. The winner had pocket aces and the turn gave him trips. BB had 10s and 4s. Sometimes a little caution pays. Then came an interval where I got familiar with the fold button. After that, I found myself on the button with pocket 10s. Cool. One limper, and I raise to a buck. The blinds give up but the limper calls. The flop was 998 with two hearts. Mildly dangerous flop, but I do have an overpair, so I'm not cooked yet. He bet a buck and I called. Six of hearts on the turn. The flush just came in, but I wasn't sure he had it. He bet another buck and again I called. I thought about raising, but there were too many possible hands that could beat me. I think he would've bet more if he had the flush, though. The deuce on the river didn't help me, and probably didn't help him either. He checked. Now I was pretty sure he didn't have the flush, though of course a tricky player could try a checkraise here. With any pocket pair higher than 10s, any 9, pocket 8s, 6s or deuces beating me, I wasn't at all sure I had the best hand. So I checked. He had A8 for an inferior 2 pair. Ship it here, please. Thank you. A few more eventless hands and I took a break for a few hours. In the second session, I brought in for a big blind as the button passed. 53 offsuit isn't much of a hand, but there were only callers (and checks by myself and the BB). I had position on everyone still in the pot. Five players saw the flop of T33. Bingo! Or is it fool's gold? A 5's not much of a kicker, so if anyone else has a 3, then I'm probably beat. Otherwise I figure to be in good shape. It's checked around to me, and I threw in a buck. Everyone folded. Not much of a pot, but I took it anyway. Then I got AcJc in the small blind. One limper, then a minimum raise. I called, as did two others. The flop was Q75 with one club. Not much there, but it was checked around, so let's see the free card. It was a 6. I checked, and one guy led out for his remaining chips - all $2.02 worth. Two callers, not including me, of course. A few more hands later I got 77. One limper in front. I followed. Folded to the blinds who both stayed in. The flop was KJ7 - should've been profitable if there were no hidden monsters. Please somebody have a little something... SB checked, BB bet the minimum, then a fold. Plenty of good options here - I could smooth call and take my chances on the turn. I could raise a moderate amount to get rid of the riffraff who might outdraw me. Or I could shove it all in and hope nobody has kings or jacks. I raised to a dollar. The SB gave up, but the BB called. The turn was another jack. I got a full house, but if he's got a jack, then I'm dead to one out. He led out for a buck. Probably not the bet of someone who has a jack. Again, I thought about raising, but I figured I'd get him on the river. So I just smooth called. The river was a harmless 6. He checked. I didn't expect that. I wasn't sure what he had, but I figured to be best. So I made a straight value bet of $4 and hoping for a call. Didn't happen. Alas, that table started to break up and I had to move on. The next table only gave me one hand worth anything - pocket jacks in the BB. Five limpers to me. I really, really should grow some nads and raise here. But since they were still on order, I merely checked my option. The flop was K33 with two spades. I didn't have any. The bettor to my right led out for 25 cents. Easy enough to call that. But the bettor on my left raised to $3. Everyone folded to me. My hand didn't look that good so I said goodbye. And after a few more hands, I said goodbye to this table too.

12-02-2005, 11:02 AM	#7
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 2, morning $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $66.28 End - $93.98 (+27.70) Time - 1:00 I passed some hands around before getting pocket 9s in the cutoff. There was one limper in front. I followed. A minimum raise from the small blind, and everyone called (including the BB). Four to the flop - J62, all diamonds. I had the 9 of diamonds. Interesting flop. A pair plus a flush draw... lots of outs, but hardly a guaranteed winner. SB led out for a buck. Two folds in front. I thought about gambling here, but with no reads, I wanted to wait for a better spot. Then came a long stretch where I got nothing special and had to give up the blinds. Then I got aces. Two limpers in front. I raised to a buck. One of the limpers called. The flop was KJJ. Fairly good flop (there aren't too many bad flops with AA), though any jack or KK is now beating me badly. On the other hand, AK or QQ figures to pay me off nicely. He checked and I dutifully bet $2. No call. Darn. The only other hand of note at this table came when I got pocket 8s in the SB. Limp, fold, raise to $.75, call, fold, fold. I suspect that as I gain more experience, this is a call that I could make with some confidence. But out of position with two players who like their hands... I didn't like my odds all that well. I folded. BTW, the raiser had pocket 10s, which held up to win. And now comes the Degree(tm) All-In Moment. The table I had moved to had been playing somewhat fast & loose, no big deal. There was a raise in front and an immediate call. I got bullets, again. No need to get cute here; I raised to $2. Got mini-raised to $3.50, then the original raiser pushed the rest of his stack in - $12.50 or so. This was shaping up to be a big pot where I figured to be a large favorite. I raised to be sure I got all of the other guy's chips, not that there was much left. He decided to call. I should note here that Party does the all-ins a little different than you'd expect. They deal the cards, then they ship the chips to the winner. To add a little drama, let's do it that way... Flop was J83. Turn was a 7. The river was another 8. Did anyone have an 8? 33? 77? I was most fearful of JJ. Nope, none of those - my aces held up for about a $45 pot. The original raiser had KK - bad luck for him. And the other guy had... A2? Suited though. God bless Party and its wildly optimistic players. NEXT: Much more of the same, I hope.

12-05-2005, 11:14 AM	#14
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 5, morning $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $114.90 End - $113.85 (-1.05) Time - :40 Two words: card dead. Completely and utterly card dead. One funny thing that happened is that I got A6, A4, A6, A6, and A6 in five consecutive hands. Given the conditions I was playing under, none of them were playable. Those were, alas, the best cards I got at that table. I moved to another table, where things didn't improve a whole lot. I started on the BB with KJ of clubs - a monster by today's standards. There were two limpers and an all-in for his last nickel (he'd lost a huge confrontation on the hand before when he hit the wrong button). I was starting to forget what it felt like to see a flop I was actually involved in. 943 was the flop, all black - SPADES. Ah well, I know what to do now. SB bet a buck and I did the expected. And that, dear readers, was it. NEXT: Better cards and better results, I hope.

12-06-2005, 02:18 AM	#15
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 5, evening $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $113.85 End - $115.80 (+1.95) Time - :40 I found a table I liked and stuck around for longer than usual. Lots of nice loose/passive types who are nice enough not to raise much, but call raises relatively often. I couldn't make a lot off it because I didn't get much cardage, again. As you'll see. After a few hands of lying in wait, I caught A9 of clubs in the cutoff. Three limpers in front, and I followed suit. One limper behind and the BB checked. 662 with only one club wasn't the flop I was looking for. But everyone checked and I was happy to get a free card. Which was a king, not a club. Three checks and a $2 bet led me to believe I was beaten, somehow, and folded. Some hands later I found myself in the BB with 82 offsuit. Not much of a hand, but with five limpers and no raise, it would be imprudent not to take the free flop. 932 gave me the tiniest piece of it, but I can't imagine it being good against this field. Everyone checked. Another 9 on the turn; no real help. Everyone checked again. The six on the river, and finally we get some action. One guy led out for a buck and there was one caller (not me). They both had 6s, but the caller had the higher kicker. Big blind again, and I got JJ. There were four limpers to me and I decided to raise to a buck. It didn't do much to thin the field, as all but one called. The flop was Q86 rainbow. Decent flop, but the overcard is somewhat scary. But I felt I had to bet anyway - $3. Everyone took their time but folded. No queens, I guess. On the next hand in the SB I received 65 offsuit. With five limpers to me, I make a very loose call. The BB checked. I'm hoping for something big, but get QJ3. Nothing there, and I checked & folded to a bet.

12-06-2005, 02:31 PM	#16
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 6, morning $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table) Start - $115.80 End - $134.55 (+18.75) Time - :45 Good news: I finally found some cards. Better news: I made 'em pay. I started with A3 off in the SB. There were four callers. I decided to be a good boy and follow suit. Fortunately the BB let us all in for cheap. AK2 was the flop. You'd think that would be good for me, with top pair and all. But let's look a little closer... if anyone has an ace, they were now beating me badly, and I had at most three outs. An expert can probably extract the most out of these situations, but I'm no expert. Anyway, I checked, there was a bet ($1) and a call. It's always tough to lay down top pair, but I felt I was beaten. I laid it down. BTW, the lead bettor had A3 also and won the pot which we would have split had I stuck around. Then I got pocket kings. Following two limpers and a fold, I raised to a buck. The blinds and both limpers called. Good - I have position on all of them. Q37 with two spades looked safe enough. Someone with a Q or an inferior pocket pair figured to pay me off nicely. Then again, I don't have near the nuts and I was vulnerable to any number of hands - implausible or not. Anyway, everyone checked to me and it was too good a situation not to bet. I didn't disappoint them and threw out $4. No callers and I raked in a pretty decent pot. The button went round and round with me folding. And then I got JJ. With two limpers in front, there's no folding this one. It's just a matter of raising or calling. I decided to call. No raises and eventually there were six to the flop of AT5 with two spades. I had a spade. A fine flop if no one had an ace. Two checks, then one guy led out for a quarter. That didn't feel like an "I have an ace" bet, so I called. The turn was the 8 of spades. Mixed blessing - I now have a flush draw, but I could hit it and easily lose. He bet $.75 - a very interesting amount. The pot now held $2.75, so I was getting a bit less than 4-1 odds. If I thought I could win for sure with a jack OR a spade AND he didn't have a spade, then I had 11 outs and could call. I didn't think I had that many clean outs, so I got out and let him have the pot. A few hands later I got AQ. UTG folded and I raised a buck. Let's see who wants to play with me...The gentleman immediately to me left called, but no one else did. Heads up as we get to the flop - A98 with two spades, which I had none. I trust you can see the dangers here. Still, I had too good a hand not to bet, so I bet $2. I got popped to $4. He either has a better hand or is drawing. I thought it was more likely he was drawing, and the pot odds were big, so I called. The three of clubs on the turn was unlikely to have helped him. I checked and he bet out $4. I still thought my aces were good and called. King of clubs on the river. Unless he had KK, that didn't change anything. I checked. He bet $6. I called. He showed QJ for a busted straight draw. My aces were good and the cyber dealer sent the $28.85 pot my way. I left the table after the next hand. After doing some business online, I decided to press my luck again. The first table gave me nothing but bad cards and people raising right and left. Not a comfortable feeling, so I went to another table I liked better. Another interval of junk, then AQ of spades. There was one limper in front. I decided to do the same. One followed, then the SB raised the minimum. The BB folded, but everyone else called for such a small price. The flop was KQ7 with two clubs and no spades. The SB and one other player checked to me. Nobody showed much strength so far, so I led out for $2. The SB called, leaving us heads up for the turn. Red deuce on the turn. SB checked. I actually had a read on this guy - he'd shown some bluffs and he knuckled under to pressure. With both indicators, that strongly hinted at a bet. So I bet $4. If he wanted to draw, he had to pay for the privilege. He didn't, and I picked up about $6 for my trouble. One more go round and I called it a morning.

12-07-2005, 06:40 AM	#17
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 6, evening $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $134.55 End - $134.55 (zero) Time - :25 Did I actually play this time around? I guess I did. After lots & lots of folding, I got AT on the button. Just one caller in front. I followed suit. The SB called and the BB checked. 662 rainbow flop probably didn't help anyone very much. Everyone checked. Three on the turn. More checks. Another three on the river. The SB led out for $.25. Two folders and back to me. This bet felt more like an attempt to buy the pot than a value bet for at least three reasons - (1) the bet was tiny, even in relation to the pot, (2) nobody had shown any strength, and (3) most people aren't that patient with big hands. Ace high is the best hand you can have with a two pair board other than a higher pocket pair, one of the danger cards, or 22. I called. He showed JT and my ace took the pot. I left a few hands later after gettting nothing special.

12-08-2005, 02:10 AM	#18
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 7, afternoon $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $134.55 End - $134.65 (+.10) Time - :35 No morning session, in case you were wondering. The afternoon, what can I say? I couldn't get much started. After a few hands of nothingness, I got AQ. There were two calls immediately in front. I decided to follow along. The blinds called and it was the five of us off to the flop - 553 with two hearts. I had the ace of hearts, so a little something there. But just a little. SB led out of 75 cents. There was one caller. Without psychic powers, there's no way I could play this hand any further. BTW, the pot really got up there as trip 5s lost to the wheel. Over $16, not mine. Sigh. Then I got KT in the big blind. Everyone folded to the cutoff, who called. The button folded, the SB completed and I said go ahead. Three to the flop - T74 with two spades - I was holding the Ks. I should probably have been happier about this flop than I was - top pair, decent kicker figured to be good against this bunch. But to play this would have been to live in fear of overcards. The SB led out for $.45. My shipment of nads is still forthcoming, so I folded. Cutoff called. Queen on the turn, blank on the river, and the cutoff won with his pair of queens. The other guy had 98 for a busted straight draw. A missed opportunity there, it looks like. I'm still learning. After a long period of inactivity, I received the gift of QQ in the cutoff. There was just one caller in front. I raised to a buck. That got everyone out but the limper, who called. 552 on the flop, two spades (I didn't have any). Reasonably safe flop. I fired $2 and he folded. That win about got me back to even, but I didn't like how the table was playing. I was eventually called for another table of more promise and for a few hands I played both. Nothing else happened at this table, so I'll take you to the other one. The table was looser, but I couldn't get any cards until I received 55 in the SB. One call, a minimum raise, and another call. I called, the BB folded, and the original limper called. Off to the flop... 763 with two diamonds (none for me). Not a great flop, but one I would like to stick around for, cheaply. I checked and the bet was $2 - not cheap; indeed, about the size of the pot. Nobody called. Some hands later I got AQ of spades. There were four folds to me. I raised to $1. Only the SB called. Heads up to the flop - QT6. Just what the doctor ordered. My fellow poker player checked. I bet $2. He folded. That was about it for the day.

12-08-2005, 03:45 PM	#19
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 8, morning $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table) Start - $134.55 End - $156.45 (+21.90) Time - :30 I was dealt A6 as the extra BB. There were four callers to the flop - K83. I folded to the minimum bet. A few hands later I got K3 of diamonds as the extra BB. Just the blinds and one limper were interested in this hand. The flop came out KQ4 - top pair, but no kicker. Two clubs also. SB checked. I led out for $1 and was called. The SB folded. Heads up and we got the card I didn't want to see - the ace of clubs. There were so many things not to like now... I checked, he bet $2, and I gave up. The next hand I got 87, not suited, in the SB. There was just one limper, so I optimistically threw in my 15 cents. The BB checked. The flop was 965 rainbow. You could say that flop hit my hand nicely . I thought about slowplaying, but didn't for three reasons - (a) my straight was the nuts, but may not have been on the turn, (b) I figured to get called by any number of hands - someone with a pair or even the usually dreaded trips, and (c) I wanted to get as much money in as possible while I still had the best hand. Anyway, I fired out for a dollar and both called. The turn was a 10 - giving me another card to the straight, but it added some possible higher straight draws. But I still had the nuts, so I bet $3. The BB folded. But good news - the other guy raised to $6. By now I SHOULD have been able to figure out his hand and I SHOULD have pushed here, but I smooth called. The river was a king of clubs, putting three of them out there. I didn't have the nuts anymore, but if he didn't have two clubs, then I'd win. I'm not sure what I was thinking here; I wasn't afraid of the flush as much as a higher straight. But he had to have specifically QJ. Did he have it? I checked (probably shouldn't have done that) and the other guy fired out $15 which was most - but not all - of my chips. I didn't think it was real likely I was beaten, so I should have raised all-in for the other $1.25. Instead I just called. He flipped up T9 for two pair - nice hand, but it couldn't beat my straight. 'twas a $43.50 pot. After the turn, I played pretty badly, so I took a little time to (a) calm down, and (b) commit to slowing down. After taking several hundred deep breaths, I jumped into the fray again. The fun started with AQ in the big blind. There were five limpers and I played along. K66 wasn't the flop I was looking for and I folded to the minimum bet. Everyone else did too. I was provided AT in the next hand out of the SB. One limper this time. I completed and the BB checked. J73 on the flop, two spades (I didn't have any). Check check check. 9 on the turn. Checked around again. Deuce on the river. Somebody's got to have something by now, don't they? At least a pair? Not me. I checked and my buddies checked. Ace high was best and I took the pot. Two hands later I got pocket kings. There was one raise to $1. I reraised to $4, not realizing that he had less than that left. Oh well, it did get rid of everyone else and get us heads up (he called). He had QQ and the final board of AJ633 gave me the winning two pair. Two hands after that I got AQ again. There were two limpers in front. I thought about raising, but just limped. One more limper and the BB checked. 732 on the flop with two clubs. Whiff. I folded to a $1 bet. A few hands after that adventure, I received 99 UTG. Coward at heart that I am, I limped in. Three others and the BB did the same. A flop of A52 gave me pause. Players at this level love to play those Ax hands. Do any of them have it this time? Likely. After four checks, one fellow led out for $1. He got one caller (not me, of course). They went to the river - both had aces, but the original bettor had a Q to go along with it. And a few hands after that I got A7 of diamonds on the button. Two limpers in front. I followed, and the BB checked. Come on; diamonds are this guy's best friend! Nope. K92 on the flop, two spades, no diamonds. After two checks there was a bet of 50 cents. Too rich for me. After four hands of getting nothing higher than a ten, I packed it in and counted my winnings.

12-10-2005, 10:04 AM	#20
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 9, afternoon & evening $25 NLHE (1 session, 1/2 tables) Start - $156.45 End - $157.35 (+.90) Time - :35 I tried two-tabling for the first time in this dynasty. It didn't help very much. I didn't get the cards, and I couldn't get much started. Table #1: After a ton of folds, I finally got KT in the big blind. Four limpers and myself saw the flop - AA4. Obviously nothing for me there. It was checked all around. Q on the turn. That brought up some interesting possibilities, if I could get a cheap card. Two checks, then a bet of $1, and a raise to $2. Obviously it's not going to be cheap. I packed it in. Three hands later I got pocket jacks. There were two callers in front. I did the same. The blinds also called. KJ4 on the flop. Very cool; I only hope someone has a hand also so I can get paid. Everyone checked to me. I bet a buck. Only one caller. 5 on the turn - harmless. He checked and I bet $2. He called. The 8 on the river didn't help unless he had some weird hand. He checked again. I bet $4. He folded. Not bad, but not great either. Nothing I could have done differently, though. The next hand I got KQ of spades. One limper in front. I followed. The BB checked. The flop was J54 with no spades. Not what I was looking for. I folded to a $1 bet. Table #2: Nothing playable. The best hand I got was A8, and with an early position raise in front, it's suicide to call or reraise. Table #3: After a few hands of inactivity, I recieved 64 of spades on the button. One limper in front. I called. The BB checked. QJ5 on the flop, with one spade. If I was going to win this, I would have to come through the back door. Everyone checked. Non-spade 8 on the turn, giving me a double belly buster. A bet of a quarter and a call. My decision. I had the odds to make the call, but didn't want to. I folded. The river ended up being a 9, which wouldn't have helped me. And that was it.

12-10-2005, 06:26 PM	#21
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 10, morning $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1/2 tables) Start - $157.35 End - $147.10 (-10.25) Time - 2:15 I played a lot of tables. The good news is I generally got better cards. I'll get to the bad news. Lets see if I can sift out what happened: Table #1: After a long stretch of nothing but folds, I got pocket 3s in the big blind. There were a total of five limpers. I was happy to see a cheap flop. QT7 was that flop - worth about what I paid for it. After a couple of checks, a minimum bet, and a raise to $1, I checked out, sure I was beaten. BTW, a flush beat 2 pair on the river. The very next hand I received KJ in the small blind. Two limpers. I followed suit. The BB checked. On the flop was QJ2. Middle pair, good kicker isn't bad here, but I decided to be a wuss and check. There was a quarter bet and a call. For some unexplainable reason I didn't like it and folded. One hand later I got AJ on the button. There were two callers, plus myself, plus the blinds. The cyber dealer flipped over JT9 with two diamonds (I had the Ad). There were some dangers here, but top pair, top kicker figured to be good - for now. Everyone checked to me, making it even more likely that it was good. I bet a buck and took it down. "Hi Mr. Fold Button". "Howdy there, Mr. Blue. I missed you there for awhile." OK, a few hands later I got 99. Four folds to me (rare at this level). I raised to a buck. Only the BB wanted to play with me. AQ3 wasn't nearly the flop I was looking for. If he has either the A or Q, I was in a lot of trouble. Ignoring the warning bells, I fire off a bet of $2. He folded. Yahoo. Table #2: Got Q2 in my first BB. Not much of a hand, I know, but I was hoping to get in for cheap. Everyone folded to the button, who made the minimum raise. The SB called, and I made a loose call. T94 on the flop. At least it wasn't going to cost me any more money. I folded to a small bet. Two hands later I received 87 with my button. There were two limpers in front, and I made another loose call. The blinds also called. AK8 on the flop. Bottom pair isn't worth much, especially with no kicker. I folded to a $1 bet. Loose call number 3 came with me holding A2 of clubs. There were three calls in front. I followed suit. The BB raised to $.75. All but one limper called. I made a very loose call here. The flop came out KT4, one club. Not the worst flop in the world, but with a $2 bet and two calls in front of me, I couldn't call. Some hands later, I was dealt J9 in the BB. Four limpers enabled me to see a cheap flop, which was AAK. No real help, and I folded to pressure. Table #3: Got AT in the cutoff after posting a blind. Three to the flop, and it's off to the races. T83 on the flop gave me top pair - nice hand. There were two checks to me and I bet a buck, figuring they didn't have anything much. They didn't and folded. Hoorah. Much later, I got 94 in the BB. You can probably guess what happened - limpers (five in this case) allowed me to see the flop for "free". It came out Q64. Not exactly a total whiff, but not a solid hit either. I folded to the minimum bet. In the next hand, I received Q7 of diamonds in the SB. Three limpers to me. I completed and the BB checked. KT4 with no diamonds offered little hope for this hand. But everyone checked, so I got to see a free turn card - a 5. No real help. But everyone checked again. The river was another four. Nothing here, and I wasn't even sure I could beat a bluff, so I folded to the guy who finally bet. ------------------------------- Several hours later, I tried my luck at the tables again. I probably should have checked my horoscope first. Table #4: JT of clubs in the BB. Two limpers and I saw the flop - 764, one club. Everyone checked. Deuce on the turn, not a club. One bet and everyone folded. A few hands later I got pocket queens. After some folds, I raised to $1 and got four callers. Nice... let's hope the flop is nice too. AK7 is NOT a nice flop for queens. I was cursing under my breath and saying, "How could the poker gods be so cruel?!" One bet of a quarter. Easy call. Everyone else felt the same way. Another seven on the turn didn't help a lot. Everyone checked. Ace on the river. No bets. The other hands were 88, 44, and JT. So I took the pot. Nice. Two hands later I received KK. One fold and I raised to $1. The blinds and one other person called. The flop was QJT with two clubs (I held the Kc). I held an overpair, but I never like to see three consecutive high cards. The SB bet a quarter. I wanted to try to blast the weak draws out, so I raised to $3. Two players folded but the SB called. How much trouble am I in? 2 of spades on the turn didn't help me, and probably didn't help her. She checked. Maybe she didn't have much after all. I bet $6. She went all-in for an additional $2.75. This is an auto-call unless I knew she had AK. She didn't; she had AQ. The out situation was a little odd because we were both rooting for cards we didn't have (except the Q in her case). The A would give her 2 pair, but me a straight. And the K would give me trips, but her a straight. So guess what came on the river? The king. One of her four outs. Do everything right and get punished for it. That was a $26 pot. Oh well, I think I was due for a little bad luck. Table #5: After some waiting, I got A9 on the button. Everyone folded to me (very unusual at this level). I raised to $1, trying to steal the blinds. It worked. The next hand I got AJ. It was folded to me again. I raised to a buck again. Again everyone folded. More free money. Later I got AA in the SB. There was a raise to $1. It was folded to me. There's no folding this one. I popped it to $4. He thought and folded. Darn. The next hand I got JJ. After a raise to $.75 and a reraise to $3, I decided my jacks weren't good enough and I didn't belong here. I folded. Eventually the smaller stack went all-in and was called. AK vs. KK. Ace on the flop was all he needed. No jacks, so I would have been third best. After some folding for the fun of it, I got AK of clubs on the button. The limper presented no problem, but the guy who went all-in for his $30 stack did. I really wanted to play my AK, but if he held any pair, I was a dog. No thanks. He took the pot.

12-11-2005, 01:39 AM	#22
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 10, afternoon & evening $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1/2 tables) Start - $147.10 End - $151.20 (+4.10) Time - 1:00 Table #1: I didn't stay very long. In the one hand of note, I got pocket 9s on the button. Two limpers, and I followed along. The blinds do the same. KT5 wasn't the best flop in the world. Three checks and a $1 bet. I didn't like my chances and folded. Table #2: QQ in the big blind. Early position minimum raise and a call. I wasn't too afraid and raised it up to $2. The original raiser called. AJ4 on the flop - reasonably good, if he didn't have an ace. The only way to find out for sure is to bet, so I did - $3. He folded. I guess he didn't. A few hands later I got pocket 5s. There were three folds to me. I thought about raising here, but this was one of those tables that had been playing passively, so I decided to smooth call. The button played along, but the small blind raised to $2. Uh oh. We both bailed out. Table #3: Almost off the bat I received A4 of clubs in the small blind. With one limper in front and a speculative hand, I decided to try to see a cheap flop. I called the 15 cents. The BB said go ahead. 653 on the flop - a double-ended straight draw for me. We all checked. Ten on the turn. More checks. Seven on the river - bingo. I bet a buck. One fold and one call. He must have thought I was trying to buy the pot, because he called with king high. I was hoping he would think that. Table #4: KQ in the big blind. Three limpers, and I didn't have the heart to raise 'em out of the pot. Four to the flop of 984 with two spades. None for me. It was checked around. Good news on the turn - it was a queen. The bad news is it was a third spade. The SB checked. I was pretty sure I had the best hand, but I didn't want to give out any free cards. I bet $1. Only one caller. A non-spade 6 came on the river and I thought I was safe. I fired for another $2. He gave up.

12-11-2005, 11:16 AM	#23
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 11, morning $25 NLHE (3 sessions, 1/2 tables) Start - $151.20 End - $157.55 (+6.35) Time - 1:45 The first two tables had little for me, so I didn't stick around long. The third time was the charm, sort of. After some false starts, I got JJ in the cutoff. Four folds, then two calls. I raised to $1. That got the blinds out, but one of the limpers reraised all his chips - another $11. With no reads, I couldn't pull the trigger. I let him have it. Two hands later I got pocket queens. There was a raise to $1. I called. Everyone else got out of our way, so it was heads up to the flop - AT6. Danger Will Robinson. It was checked to me. I received some nads at the second hand store, so I recklessly bet $2. He called. Trouble? The turn was a 3 - no help for me, and probably none for him. He checked again. I was beginning to think my queens were good, so I bet another $4. No call. I took a bit of a break, then tried two tables at once: Table #1: After several hands of nothing, I received AJ in the small blind. There were four limpers, plus myself, and the BB checked. The flop of 982 provided little for me. Three checks and a bet of $2 to me. I couldn't call here. And no one did. After some more folding, I got AK under the gun. I raised to $1. The button called. K85 on the flop - looked good from here. I bet $2 and he folded. On the next hand, I got a free look with 82 when four people limped to me. QT9 gave me a gutshot to the bottom end of a possible straight. I checked and there was a bet of a quarter and a raise to $1 back to me. Not enough outs to call this one. Table #2: I started off with A4 in the BB. There were three limpers and I checked. AQT on the flop gave me top pair, but with high cards out there, there could easily be straight draws against me - or worse. Everyone checked, though, giving me a free turn card. It was a 9, making the straight even more likely. I checked. There was a bet and call of $1 to me. No thanks. The river was a 10, and both other players in the pot split it with KJ, meaning they had flopped straights. Following a few hands of junk, I found myself with AK. Following two folds, I raised to $1. No one wanted to play with me. That's all right; a few hundred thousand more blind steals and I'll be rich. Two hands later I got AK again UTG. This time I limped in. Somewhere along the line there was a mini-raise. We ended up with six to the flop and a significant pot. An ace or king would've been nice... K22. Bingo! Could do without the pair, though. There were two checks to me. It's too likely I was good to fold now, so I fired out for $2. Just one caller, which made me feel good. The five on the turn probably didn't help. I bet $5 more. He folded. Fold fold fold again and again. I finally got A7 of spades in the cutoff. Halfway playable, at the right price. One caller in front. I followed suit, as did the button and blinds. The flop was Q32 with no spades. I folded to a $1 bet. Everyone else did also. After another short break, I played another table. I started with A3 in the BB. By now you know how I love free looks at the flop, and I got it here, along with four limpers. JT6 wasn't what I was looking for, though. I folded after a bet. In the next hand I got AQ. There were three limpers. I decided to just throw in my 15 cents. The BB checked. The flop was 553. Nothing for me. I folded again to a bet. A few hands later I received pocket jacks. Nice hand, tricky hand. There were two limpers to me. I thought my best play was to limp along and show strength later. So that's what I did. There were two limpers behind me and the BB checked. Six to the flop of 772. If anyone had the 7, 22, or a higher pocket pair, I was sunk. But otherwise I was in pretty good shape. It was checked to me and I bet $1. One caller. The 8 on the turn probably didn't change things much. I fired out for $3. He folded. He said he had a deuce. Darn; I wanted him to call. NEXT: Two of the best hands I ever played! My education in Reads 101.

12-12-2005, 02:30 AM	#24
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 11, afternoon $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $157.55 End - $179.55 (+24.00) Time - :20 After a period of folds, I got the cowboys UTG. Great cards, bad position. Not much I could do with it other than raise to my standard buck. I got four(!!) callers - either this is going to be a juicy pot or big trouble. It looked like the latter when I saw JT9 on the flop. Better yet, there were two diamonds, of which I didn't have any. I had to find out where I was at, so I led out for $3. This was immediately raised to $10. Two folds and then a call. Your call, Blue. The pot odds were appetizing (about $26 in the pot, and $7 to call), but as Lord Ivey once said, "Sometimes you just know you're beat and you have to lay it down". I thought I was and I did. The fireworks continued on the turn (a harmless 3) as one guy went all-in for $26.50 and was called. The river was an 8. One guy showed JT for two pair. Not good enough - the other guy had KQ for the nut straight. That was a $78 pot, $4 of it mine, but it could have been much worse. It could have been better, though. The next hand I got AK in the big blind. There were two limpers and I didn't have the heart to get them out of my pot, yet. J75 on the flop with two spades provided an excellent opportunity for a semi-bluff. I bet a buck and got no takers. Under the gun again and what do I see but my old friend AK. I raised to a buck and got two customers. A86 looked like a fine flop to me. I bet $3. One call and then a raise to $6. Lots of aces out there, huh? Or could it be a pocket pair that hit? Pot odds, you know. I had to call. Queen on the turn. Now AQ was beating me badly. I checked. One guy went all-in for his last 10 bucks. The guy who raised, whom I was most worried about, folded. I breathed a sigh of relief because I thought I had this guy. I thought he had an inferior ace, and if he had AQ, A8, or A6, I was going to lose another chunk of my stack. Didn't think so, and I called. He had AJ and three outs. Four on the river and I raked in a $40 pot. After paying the blinds I got AQ of hearts on the button. There were two limpers in front. I called, as did the blinds. The flop was A53 - another fine flop, thank you RNG. Everyone checked. I bet a buck and got one caller. The 3 on the turn paired the board and gave me a little pause. Still, nothing told my my aces weren't good, so I led out for $2. He called again. Flush draw? (there were two clubs on board) The 7 not-of-clubs completed the community cards. Value bet time - I chose $5. He folded. My last hand was pocket 4s. One caller to me. I called also. The BB checked. On the flop was AQ7; not what I was hoping to see. But everyone checked. 9 on the turn. It was checked around again. 8 on the river. One check, then a bet of a quarter. The pot wasn't large enough to fool around with, so I folded. The other guy also folded and he took the pot. NEXT: Halfway home. Can I continue my run? Last edited by Honolulu Blue : 12-12-2005 at 03:54 AM.

12-12-2005, 03:05 PM	#25
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 12, morning $25 NLHE (1 session, 1/2 tables) Start - $179.55 End - $184.95 (+5.40) Time - :45 I switched from table to table trying to get lucky. I finally got what I was looking for at the third table I tried - the rockets. Only one limper to me. I raised to a buck. The limper and the BB called. Q83 on the flop seemed harmless enough, even though there were two diamonds out (I had the Ad). The BB bet into me for $1. Hmmm... I wondered what she could have? The other guy and I both called. King on the turn might have helped someone, not me. She bet a buck again, and again he called. I wasn't sure what they had, but I probably had the best hand here. I raised to $4 to snuff out the draws. The BB folded, but the other guy called. The river was another king. Could be trouble. This is where things got weird - I didn't remember pushing a button here. Apparently my fellow player checked and I bet the pot. He folded. Whatever. Probably would have bet a bit less, but the result probably would've been much the same.

12-13-2005, 03:38 AM	#26
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 12, afternoon $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1 table) Start - $184.95 End - $184.00 (-.95) Time - :30 In 15 words or less: AA. Folded to me. Raised a buck. Folded after me. Blind steal. Yipee. That kinda day. Hopefully I'll do better tomorrow.

12-13-2005, 01:32 PM	#27
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 13, morning $25 NLHE (1 session, 1/2 tables) Start - $184.00 End - $180.30 (-3.70) Time - :45 Table #1: No hands of note. Table #2: I started out with Q6 as the cutoff with me posting a big blind. There was one limper. I checked, as did the real BB. Three to the flop - 975. Motley flop, but nothing for me. Everyone checked. Three on the turn. Still nothing. Check, check, check. Jack on the river. There were now three spades on board. Two checks to me. I felt it was pointless to try a bluff bet, because only a hand better than my queen high would call. So I checked. One other guy had Q6. But the winner had QJ. And now for today's Degree(R) All-In Moment. I received pocket kings. After three folds to me, I raised to the standard buck. There was one caller, then the BB raised to $3. I know that among good players, a reraise after a raise and a call out of the BB indicates real power. But how good was he, really? No real reads on him. Anyway, KK is only vulnerable to one hand. Did he have it? The pot odds were favorable, so I called and intended to proceed with caution from there. The other guy called also. Interesting. So, there were three players and $9 in the pot already. Please be a nice flop... T65 seemed harmless enough. Alas, all three were spades. I did have the king of spades, though. So I had a good hand with possible redraws to a near unbeatable one. The big blind threw all of his chips in the pot - $10.80 worth. I thought about this. What could he have, and how bad a shape would I be in? AA with the As - The nightmare scenario. I'd have two outs. AA without the As - Still behind, but with 11 outs. Not bad. AK with the As - I would be ahead, but he'd have 11 outs against me. Almost even. AK without the As - This would be a total bluff, but I've seen worse. He'd still have 3 outs. Ax with the As - Same as the AK, 11 outs. KK - Not real likely, but I would have 9 chances twice to hit my flush and win. Otherwise we'd split. QQ or JJ - Bad for him. He'd have 2 outs. TT - Big trouble for me. I'd have 8 or 9 outs, but if the board paired, he'd win. Two spades - Not good. I would be down to 7 outs. The other possible hands were unlikely enough that I dismissed them. Generally they would have been favorable for me, except the obvious ones. The pot odds were a shade under 2-1. If we were heads up, I probably would have gritted my teeth and called. But there was another guy who had been smooth calling all along. If the BB didn't have aces, HE might. He might also have other hands I didn't consider. As the man in the middle, I decided discretion was the better part of valor and folded. The other guy called. Flip 'em up, boys. Big blind - KK Other guy - 55 The set of 5s held up to take the pot. Obviously, based on how things turned out, I did the right thing. But did I really? A push preflop might have been the best play. And I might have still had enough EV to call, even in the middle. It took awhile to get another hand of note. It was AK. Two limpers in front. I raised to $2. No callers. The next hand didn't take as long. Three hands later I was dealt TT. Three folds to me. I raised to a buck. No callers this time either. The table seemed to be tightening up. Tight tables and tight players are harder to win from. Basically, you have to grind out the blinds and hope that your really big hand beats one of the rare confrontations with a slightly lesser hand. I vamoosed with most of my stack intact. Table #3: A2 in the big blind. Four limpers and my check. J88 on the flop. Nothing special. Everyone checked. Deuce on the turn - getting a little interesting now. I played cautious and checked, as did everyone else. 5 on the river. More checks. My modest two pair took the pot. A few hands later I got KT of spades on the button. With four limpers in front, I did the same. Both blinds followed. 943 on the flop with no spades - not what I was looking for. I folded to a $1 bet.

12-14-2005, 06:31 AM	#28
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 13, afternoon $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1/2 tables) Start - $180.30 End - $176.45 (-3.85) Time - :30 Table #1: Received AK. Four folds in front of me. I raised to a buck. Everyone folded behind me. Oh boy. The next hand I got QQ. Three folds to me. I raised to a buck again. This time I got a caller - only one. Mixed emotions there. K52 on the flop - pretty good; not likely he has more than one pair. Hope it's not kings. I led out for $2. He folded. Table #2: QJ on the button. With two limpers in front, I decided to do the same. The blinds also called. The flop was KQ7. It would be good for me if I was heads up, but with three other active players, I was probably beaten somewhere down the line. Minimum bet, fold, call, raise to $5. To me. This is the nice thing about having position; you often save money when you don't have the best of it. I folded. After what seemed like an eternity, I got 53 on the big blind. There were three limpers. I checked, of course. The 753 on the flop made me smile. Bottom two pair is usually good. I decided to play cute and check. No one bet. 8 on the turn. It was getting a little risky out there; besides, I wanted my pot, so I bet out $1 and waited for action. Everyone folded but the last guy, who smooth called. King on the river. There were now three diamonds out, not that I was very worried about a flush or anything. I bet $2. He called. He showed JdTd for the winning flush. Doggone it. Gotta play those two pair hands faster. A few hands later I got pocket 6s. There were two limpers to me. I followed. The big blind played along. The flop was 832 - not half bad. I thought about making a bet here, figuring my 6s were good. But it wasn't my turn yet. The first check was fine, the bet of $2 was not. One guy folded, then all eyes were on me. This pot could end up getting big and costly, and I may not have the best end of it. I folded, and the bettor ended up with the pot. The next hand I got those tricky jacks. Five folds to me - bad sign. I raised to a buck. No callers. What good is it having good cards if no one wants to play with you? Table #3: 54 in the big blind. You can probably guess what happened - four limpers and I checked. I got a small piece of the A85 flop. Not enough to feel very confident. Check, $1 bet, raise to $3, fold. No thanks. This one ended up being a huge pot with pocket 8s raking it in.

12-14-2005, 02:15 PM	#29
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 14, morning $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $176.45 End - $185.50 (+9.05) Time - :05 Can you stand another Degree(R) All-In Moment? I thought you could. I received AJ of clubs in the cutoff. One limper in front. I followed suit. The button and both blinds did the same. The flop was AJT - a nice hit. The only sour note was those two hearts. There were three checks to me. I bet a buck, figuring my two pair were good. The button raised to $3. That got rid of everyone else and it was back to me. The only hands that could beat me at this point were the obvious pairs and KQ. There were a lot of draws out there, though. I called. The turn was the 7h. Uh oh - a couple of those draws just came in. Did he have one of them? I checked. He bet $2. I had the distinct feeling I was beaten, but pot odds mandated a call. I am going to put it on my tombstone. The river was Norm Chad's favorite card, the ace of spades. Wonderful. I now had aces full, the nuts (unless he had the highly unlikely 9h8h), and those flushes and straights are going to pay me off big time. Alas, he only had $4.40 left, so I did all I could do - lead out for all of it. He called. He had the flush, which was second best. Another $19 pot, coming my way. NEXT: Two steps forward, one step back

12-15-2005, 01:36 PM	#30
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 14, evening $25 NLHE (1 session, 1 table) Start - $185.50 End - $186.15 (+.65) Time - :20 Just one notable hand - AJ offusit. There were four folds to me. I decided to take an aggressive move and raise to a buck. The small blind called. The flop was A96 - dangerous with multiple players in the pot because of the possibility of someone having a better ace, 2 pair or a set. But heads up it's too likely I have the best hand. SB checked. I bet $2. He thought for a bit and folded. NEXT: If I'm reading the crystal ball correctly, I'll be two-tabling for about half an hour, getting very few hands and making a very small profit.

12-15-2005, 01:37 PM	#31
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 15, morning $25 NLHE (1 session, 2 tables) Start - $186.15 End - $186.25 (+.10) Time - :30 Table #1: After getting pretty close to nothing, I got KJ of clubs in the cutoff. The table had been recently getting tight. Everyone folded to me. I raised to a buck, hoping that I wouldn't have to play this not-so-hot hand. Everyone folded. Heh heh heh, suckas. Then another long interval without cards. Pocket 8s looked like a monster. There was a limper in front. I restrained myself and followed along. Three people limped behind. The flop was 943 rainbow - not terribly threatening. Unless someone had A9 or the appropriate pocket pairs, I figured to be in front. After two checks to me, I bet a buck. They folded like a house of cards. Table #2: Nothing but blanks as my blinds got passed around among the other players. Last edited by Honolulu Blue : 12-16-2005 at 02:51 AM.

12-16-2005, 02:51 AM	#32
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 15, evening $25 NLHE (1 session, 1/2 tables) Start - $186.25 End - $203.05 (+16.80) Time - 1:15 I made a conscious effort to stick around rather than doing my usual hit & run act. That meant I played a lot more hands than usual. I'll try to keep things simple for all four of you: Table #1: Nothing of note. Table #2: I received A5 of clubs in the big blind. The table was a little short-handed (only 7 active), so I wasn't terribly surprised when it was folded around to me. The next hand I got 98 in the small blind. Everyone folded to me. I took the cowards' way out and completed. The BB checked. The flop of K97 gave me a piece, but I still wasn't feeling too great. I checked, the BB bet a quarter, and I folded. No need to get involved in small pots as a small favorite when a big pot is right around the corner. But not at this table - I left two hands later. Table #3: After several hands of waiting, I got JT of hearts. It was folded to me and I just limped in. Don't try this on your higher limit tables, kiddies. There was one other limper before the button raised to 75 cents. I didn't want that, but I called anyway, hoping for hearts on the flop. The other limper folded. I didn't want that either. Hearts please... 866 on the flop with no hearts. Nothing much there for me. I folded to a $1 bet. And now for today's Degree(R) All-In Moment. Q9 in the small blind. There were four limpers my way. I said what the hey and threw in my 15 cents. The big blind checked his option. JT4 rainbow on the flop - all of a sudden I had an open-ended straight draw. To bet or not to bet? I like free cards, so I checked. Everyone did the same. The turn was an 8, giving me the nut straight. I bet a buck. After two folds, the fireworks started. There was a raise to $2, another fold, then a reraise to $4. I figured someone had something they liked and would probably go with me if I pushed. So I said those words that have ruined thousands of no-limit players worldwide - "All in". The first raiser got out of the way, but the second raiser had me covered and called. The river was a 4. He had 97 for a lower straight. Sorry. The pot ended up being almost $48. A few hands later I got A8 of spades in the big blind. There were three limpers to me and I just checked. J94 with no spades didn't offer me much on the flop. After checking, I folded to a $2 bet. Then I got JJ. There was one limper and a raise to $1.10. The raiser had a very short stack, and I wanted to get heads up with him, so I raised enough ($4) to put him all-in. Everyone folded back to him and he called. He said, "Show me those aces!" as he pulled out pocket kings. He must have been disappointed. The motley board didn't help either of us and the kings held up. Oh well, nothing ventured... Table #4: I was dealt JT offsuit in the big blind. There were three limpers and I didn't have the heart to raise them out of my pot. The flop was J55 with two hearts, of which I didn't have any. A good flop, but I could easily be beaten. The SB checked. I led out for $1 to see where I was. One call, then a raise to $2. The SB folded. I felt somehow I was beaten, but pot odds mandated a call. So I did. The other guy called too. The 3 on the turn probably didn't help anyone. Check, check, $4 bet. I don't think he'd bet on just a draw, and certainly not that much (it was about 2/3s of the pot). My belly turned yellow and I folded. Some hands later I got AQ. With two limpers in front, I did the same. The blinds did likewise and it was five to the flop of A72 rainbow. A fine flop if no one has AK, 77, or 22. Everyone checked to me, so I had to figure my aces were good. I bet a buck and everyone folded. After the usual folding interval, I received A9 of diamonds in the cutoff. One limper in front. I followed, as did the blinds. The flop was A96 - bingo! Let's see how much I can extract... Two checks and a bet of 50 cents. I figured this was my opportunity for a big score and raised it to $2. He folded. Yargh. Table #5: Pocket 8s. I followed one limper. Then came another. The button raised to $1. The BB called, as did all us limpers. AQ4 on the flop offered little hope my hand was best. After some checks, the bet of $1 and subsequent raise to $3 convinced my I was beaten. I folded. Then I recived AK in the small blind. There were three limpers in front. I followed suit. The BB checked. The flop was 876. Far too dangerous to continue after a $1 bet and call.

12-16-2005, 11:58 AM	#33
johnnyshaka College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Edmonton, AB	HB...I found this thread a couple of days ago and have enjoyed your updates...so much so, that I've decided to get out of the SNG games and do the same thing you are doing...minus the updates. I'm playing the same "real big stakes" tables you are except that I'm at PokerStars...can't have two sharks like us working the same games...LOL!!! Anyways...started last night and my bankroll was at $90 before I started and was at $110 when went to bed. This morning, during some slow time at the office, I played about 25 hands and ended up $45...WOW!!! Highlights included flopping the nut straight while the other guy hit a set and he bet all the way to the river...and the other big hand was me hitting a set on the flop and then the board paired aces and the other guy was unlucky enough to have one of the remaining aces. So, my bankroll is up to $155 after playing about 100 hands...no complaints here. Looking forward to your next update... Last edited by johnnyshaka : 12-16-2005 at 12:14 PM.

12-17-2005, 03:03 AM	#35
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 16, evening $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1/2 tables) Start - $213.65 End - $204.04 (-9.61) Time - :45 Lots of action, little winning. Let's see if I can sort it all out: Table #1, session 1: Dealt QJ on the button. Two limpers in front. I did the same. The blinds followed along. Flop was J98 rainbow - pretty good, all things considered. Everyone checked to me. I bet a buck. There were two folds, then one of my opponents raised to $2. Warning lights flashed in front of my eyes. But (a) pot odds, (b) my pair, (c) my straight possbilities, and (d) the chance he's betting with a worse hand propelled me to call. There was a 5 on the turn - no help to me. We both checked. The 9 on the river gave me two pair, but was it a winner? There were now three spades out there, not that I thought he had a flush. He bet $3. I felt my hand was best, so I called. Nope - he had pocket aces. Tricky player here; I've noted that for future reference. Then I received pocket 8s on the button. There were four limpers to me. I limped too. The BB checked. The flop was 662 with two diamonds. The pocket pair figured to be good; bettable anyway. Everyone checked to me. I bet $1. There was one caller. Non-diamond 3 on the turn. He checked. I bet $3 in case he was drawing. He called. 9 of diamonds on the river. I didn't like that card very much. He bet a buck into me. This was a very bad sign - I'd been leading since the flop, and he'd been calling. And now he led into me. First thought: "He made his flush". Second thought: 10-1 pot odds. I figured I was beaten somehow, so there was no use in raising (it wouldn't knock him out of the pot if he had anything). But I had to call, in case he was overplaying pocket 7s or something. He had KQ of diamonds for the flush. After dropping over $10 in short order at this table, I sought some slower company. Table #2, session 1: Got AK. Three folds to me. I raised to $1. No callers. Blind steal - big whoop. Two hands later I got AK again. One fold to me. I raised to a buck again. Only the blinds called. The flop was Q93. Both blinds checked to me. I made a semi-bluff of $2. They folded. And then I received pocket kings. There were two limpers in front of me. Good. I raised to a buck. Only one of the limpers called. T73 on the flop. Two clubs (and I had one), but I wasn't too concerned about the flush draw. My fellow player checked, I bet $2, and he gave up. Table #1, session 2: QJ on the button. Ordinarily it's not much of a hand, but everyone folded to me. I raised to a dollar to try to steal the blinds. The SB consented to have his pocket picked, but the BB raised all-in, another 64 cents. I wasn't convinced I was beaten, so I called. He sheepishly flipped up his 98 of diamonds. No diamonds please. K72 on the flop, just one diamond. Non-diamond K on the turn, and he's down to six outs and one card. Ace on the river and I scooped in the pot with my modest cards. Table #2, session 2: Received AQ. There was one fold to me. I raised to a buck. There were two callers, and neither were the blinds. Not good. The flop was 765 with two clubs. Really not good. Too dangerous to bluff at this one, so I checked and folded to a $1 bet. Last edited by Honolulu Blue : 12-17-2005 at 05:07 PM.

12-17-2005, 05:06 PM	#36
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 17, morning $25 NLHE (1 session, 1/2 tables) Start - $204.04 End - $200.04 (-4.00) Time - :50 Table #1: No hands of note. Table #2: After a short interval of folding, I got 66. One limper in front. I followed, and the BB played nice. The flop came out 322 rainbow - pretty nice, all things considered. Both players checked to me. Let's see if I have the best hand here. I bet a buck. They folded. I guess I had my answer. A few hands later I received AK. There were four folds to me. I raised to a buck. The gentleman immediately to my left called, but no one else did. The flop was A84, which suited me just fine. I led out for $2 and he didn't call. Table #3: No hands of note. Table #4: Lots of folding, then AK. One limper in front. I followed along. One call, then a raise to 50 cents. There were three callers total. We saw a flop - Q83 rainbow. No immediate help, and it probably helped someone more than me. I folded to pressure. Table #5: Here I got AQ. One fold, then a minimum raise. I smooth called. Then a raise to 75 cents. Am I playing at Uncle Ted's kitchen table or what? The blind called, as did us other two. K96 on the flop made me wish I had AK instead of its inferior sister. Everyone checked, so I happily took a free card. The ten provided hopes of the nut straight. But after a bet of $2, I was pretty sure I didn't have enough outs to call. This pot ended up getting massive after the guy with K6 ended up getting all-in - and losing to pocket 6s. Ah, the wonders of slowplay... Table #6: No hands of note. NEXT: More fun from the world of low-limit no-limit online poker - including today's Degree(R) All-In Moment! Last edited by Honolulu Blue : 12-17-2005 at 05:08 PM.

12-18-2005, 02:06 AM	#37
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 17, afternoon & evening $25 NLHE (2 sessions, 1/2 tables) Start - $200.04 End - $207.04 (+7.00) Time - 1:05 Table #1, session 1: I received K5 in the cutoff while posting a big blind. You probably know the story by now - Two limpers to me, I checked, as did the real BB. With one other limper it was five to the flop of 532. Hey, top pair! I was suspicious about its potency against such a large field, though. Everyone checked. Ten on the turn. More checks. The three on the river paired the board. Could my two pair still be good here? Everyone checked to me. I was still suspicious, so I also checked. The last guy checked and most of us flipped 'em up. The first guy had 96 for nothing special. The next two had A8. The last guy mucked (he had QJ - thank you online hand histories!) and my little two pair was good. Some hands later I got 44. With two limpers in front, I felt it safe to do the same. Everyone folded to the small blind, who completed. The BB said go ahead. The flop was QJ3. Nothing for me there. Everyone checked, so I got another chance to hit my set. The turn was another queen. With a bet of $.75 in front of me, I couldn't call. Table #2, session 1: AT in the small blind. There were three limpers in front. I called. The BB checked. The flop was T77. Hey hey, top two pair. But with flops like these, someone often has a 7, so I didn't feel too confident. I led out for a buck and was called by one player. That made me feel a little better. Five on the turn. I bet $3. He called. I thought I knew what he had - a ten with a lesser kicker. With a seven or a higher pocket pair, he probably would have raised somewhere in this sequence. Anyway, I felt pretty good going to the river - a four. Unless he had a 7 or some oddball collection of cards for a straight, I had the best hand. So I bet $6, which was enough to put him all-in. He fell for it. He had T9 and I scooped up the pot of $17.40 Table #3, session 1: And now for our Degree(R) All-In Moment. I was given A2 as the first hand in the cutoff as I posted a big blind. Four limpers in front. I checked. The button called. The big blind also checked. So, lots of people to the flop of AQ2, two clubs, did not have any. There were two checks, a bet of $1, two folds, and the action was to me. Two pair is generally a good hand in NLHE, but it can be easily outdrawn or duplicated, so I wasn't going to mess around with it. I raised to $4 and dared anyone to go with me. Only the original bettor called. The turn was a non-club 4. If he was hiding a 53 over there I was sunk, but what kind of idjit would stick around with THAT hand against a raise? I was more afraid of something like A4 or 44. But more likely than not I was still good - especially when he checked to me. I fired out for $5, which was slightly more than he had, so he would have to go all-in to see the last card. He did and flipped up A5 of spades. I was well ahead, but he had outs - a 3 would give him the wheel and give him the pot. A 5 would give him a higher 2 pair and also win it for him. A queen or 4 would yield a split pot. The river was the dreaded 4 and we split the pot. I planted a big wet one on my sister's lips. Session 2: Two different tables, no cards. The best hand I saw at either table was A5. An expert player could probably force action with bad cards and win some money that way. You can tell I'm no expert, and thus I didn't try to do that. So I watched my blinds go to everyone else, and the other chips get traded around from mediocre player to mediocre player.

12-18-2005, 06:10 PM	#38
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	December 18, morning & afternoon $25 and $50 NLHE (3 sessions, 1/2 tables) Start - $207.04 End - $321.69 (+114.65) Time - 2:15 I had a lot of time to kill this morning and afternoon, and less time in the coming days and weeks, so I decided to play a bunch of online poker. I'd say it worked out generally well, though there were some scary moments. Let's go to the highlight reel: Table #1, session 1: Nothing of note. Table #2, session 1: Ditto. Table #3, session 1: 43 in the big blind. Only the BB was interested in the pot, so it was heads up going to the flop - 954. Bottom pair - is it enough? Check check. Eight on the turn. Check check. Ten on the river. Checked to me. I refused to believe my hand was good, so I checked also. He had 32 - heh. Gimme those 60 cents! Two hands later I got a real hand - pocket queens. One fold to me. I raised to a buck. Nobody wanted any part of me. I can't think of much that 35 cents buys anymore - does it still buy one of those 5-packs of chewing gum? I guess so. But that's about it. Newspapers are 50 cents, candy bars are more... but enough about the woes of inflation. You're reading this to hear about some poker play, right? Let's get back to that. Table #4, session 1: Nothing of note. Good thing I was 2-tabling most of this time. I can fold twice as many hands in the same amount of time! Table #5, session 1: One of my donkiriffic specials. I received QT in the big blind. Four limpers enabled me to get a free look. The flop was Q43 - top pair, marginal kicker. Should've been good against this bunch. I bet a buck with one caller. Fine with me. 5 on the turn. I bet $2, figuring I was still good. She called. Some warning bells off in the distance went unheard. Jack on the river. I still thought my queens were good, so I turned up the heat a little more and bet $4. She thought, went into her time back, then raised all-in, for a total of $21. I didn't have that much left, so that would put me all-in. I thought this one through - how many hands would she bet like this that I could beat? Answer: a bluff. I didn't think it was that likely she was bluffing, so I conceded the pot. Sometimes those big blind specials can get you into trouble. The next hand I got pocket kings - revenge time! Two limpers in front. I raised to $2 and dared someone to come with me. No one did and I won a $1 pot. At least a buck will buy you some things. Table #6, session 1: This was a $50 table - the blinds were 25 cents and 50 cents. I stuck around long enough to get three trash hands and post one big blind. Table #7, session 1: After lots and lots of folding here, I was given KQ in the small blind. Two limpers in front. I completed, and the BB played nice. Q75 on the flop - couldn't ask for much better. Didn't care for the two hearts, though, since I didn't have any. I led out for a dollar and was called twice. The turn was the 7 of hearts. There were worse cards, but not many. I checked. The other two also checked. The 2s on the river was very unlikely to have helped anyone. I once again felt my 2 pair was good, so I led out for $2. Both calling stations folded, finally. Three hands later I got AA. There was one caller to me. I raised to a buck. The limper got out of the way, but the big blind decided to call. The flop came out T54 - safe enough. Two spades, but I had one of those. The BB checked, I fired out for $2, and he folded. Like clockwork. Table #1, session 2: Got JT on the button. One limper came in front. I followed. The BB checked. The flop was J96. It was checked to me and I fired out for a buck with top pair. They folded. Table #2, session 2: This was another $50 table. After some folding, I got JT on the button. One limper to me. I followed along. The blinds did also. Four to the flop of JT4. B-i-n-g-o was his name-o! It was checked to me. No need to get cute. I bet $2. Everyone folded. Was it my breath? Table #1, session 3: Very little happened until I got those pocket queens. With one limper in front, I raised to my standard buck. The BB and limper called. The flop was AT9 - trouble. The BB checked, but the limper bet $3, about the size of the pot. Double trouble. I folded, but the BB went all-in for his last $4. He called, of course, and flipped up his pocket 10s. Good laydown, me. The other guy had T9. An ace on the turn gave him a full house. The 7 on the river didn't help. Table #2, session 3: Lots of folding here too. I was getting a little frustrated. Then I got AK on the button. One limper in front, then a raise to $1.50. I impuslively called, planning to use the power of position. The BB and limper also called. Four to the flop of AT4, two diamonds. Good flop if no one has AA or TT. It was checked to me, and I bet $4. The original raiser headed for the hills, but the limper called. Interesting. The turn was the 7 of diamonds - trouble, but for some reason I didn't think he had the flush draw. I wanted him out of my pot, so I bet $11. He called. This could be trouble, but I was more or less pot committed. 9 of spades on the river. I didn't think it helped him. I went all-in for my last $7.15. It was an easy call for him. Were my aces good? Why yes. He was overplaying an unimproved pair of jacks. One was a diamond, though. That was the hand that put me over the top, along with a little secret I didn't tell you about. I was also playing for a bonus. You can read details about it here. To make a long story short, I got a bonus of $100 for playing 700 raked hands, which I did. I'm feeling a little burnt out on poker and writing, so I decided to count it. Since I accomplished my goal, this dynasty is over. Thanks for reading. I'll wrap things up in a day or two.