$5+$0.40 Double-up SNGs: Record: 1-2, Loss: $6.20
Stupid cunting fucking things. Like I said the other day, I was a total luck box in the second one and made it to the money going away. In the other two, I was so fucking unlucky, I wanted to punch something. And so it goes...between this and soccer, NOTHING is going well right now.
Here's the particulars (I only played 10% of hands in all three, so this won't be long):
1st one:
- I folded everything until Hand 7, where I had A-K. I raised to $210, got one caller, and bluffed them out after a 9-7-4 flop.
- I didn't play another one until Hand 32 (folded 8-8 to a raise, A-10 suited, and A-10 unsuited twice). I was down to $1250 with 100/200 blinds, so I went all-in with A-J suited. No one called, so I picked up the blinds.
- On Hand 40 (100/200/25, down to $1150), I was all-in again with J-J, and again met no resistance.
- Hand 49 (200/400/25, on the bubble with $700) was where I went out. I had A-10, a big stack called with 7-4. Q-9-8 on the flop, so far so good...the turn was a 7 and no help came on the river. Fuck's fucking sake.
2nd one:
This one was the slowest fucking one ever for some reason...like 1 hand every 3 minutes for the first level or two. It did speed up though, and laugh along with me as I get ALL MY FUCKING LUCK AT ONCE.
- Hand 9: J-9 suited in the BB, and the flop came 9-9-7. It was only the 15/30 level, and despite my slow-play, I couldn't extract much money out of it.
- In Hand 19 (50/100), I got Q-Q in the BB. Someone raised up to $200, another guy went all-in for $645, and I went all-in to isolate him. The other guy folded, so I was heads-up against a guy with Q-2. The ladies held up, and I take down a nice one.
- Picked up the blinds in Hand 22 with A-J, but then folded it in Hand 31 because at that point, I was cruising. Hand 32, I got A-Q and no one wanted to play.
- Hand 35 was just fucking rad, but why did this have to come when I didn't need it? I saw Q-3 in the BB, and someone went all-in for $20 more. I call it of course, and the other guy shows K-10. Too bad the flop came Q-3-3, and another Queen came off on the river, huh?
- I was a total luck box on Hand 42. Again in the BB, I had J-5. The SB called, and I checked. The flop came J-8-5, and the other guy went all-in! If he had a set, I still had $1,800 left at 100/200/25, so it was an easy call. Turns out he had 10-5, and that was that. I was now at $5,050!!!
- Just for shits and giggles, I did the same A-K bluff a few hands later similar to the one in the first SNG. I sat out for the next 10-12 hands until the bubble boy busted.
3rd one:
This one wasn't nearly as shitty as the first one...just had the second-best hand at the worst times.
- Hand 1, I folded Q-J and the flop came Q-J-4. I knew where this one was heading right there. The next hand I folded K-10, and the flop was 10-high. *sigh*
- Hand 9 (15/30) was one where I could have won way more chips, but I overplayed the best hand badly. I had A-Q, and raised to $120. Two guys called and saw a flop of A-10-6 rainbow. Everyone checked, and the turn was a 2. One guy bet $195, and I went all-in. The other two guys peaced out...the bettor there showed A-3. I should have let him donk off more chips on the river and maybe raise him there.
- Hand 20 (50/100), I got K-Q and since I had been so rocky, I raised to $400. I was stoked to see everyone fold, but then the blinds BOTH went all-in. Well, cunting fucking hell. Turns out it was A-Q vs. 8-8, and an Ace came off. Picked the wrong time to steal there.
- On Hand 29 ($1,220 left, 75/150), got J-J and went all-in. No one called.
- After Hand 37 (100/200), things were looking pretty good. I had Q-7 in the BB, and someone went all-in for another $290 or so. I call, and he had Q-9. The turn gave me a 7, and it held up. Awful. At that point, I had $2,187 and was 3rd out of 7th.
- Hand 38, I flopped a set, went all-in, and no one called. That was just fucking stupid...I should have checked it and then perhaps check-raised them all-in.
- I lost some chips on Hand 44 ($2,587 left,100/200), but I think I had to make the call. I was in the BB with K-10 and someone went all-in for $365 more. I called, and they showed A-J. The turn, of course, was an Ace.
- Conversely, I was too tight on Hand 50 ($1,747 left, 100/200/25). I got K-Q and folded it...at that point, it's probably good enough to go all-in with since I was just barely in 5th place out of 7.
- I went out on Hand 57 (200/400/25) - was blinded down to $1,272. Someone raised to $800, and I figured I had to push here. At that point, I'd take a race against The Usual Suspects. Well, turns out the prick had 10-10. Dammit, dammit, son of a fucking bitch.
So yeah, that's that. Whee.
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Showing posts with label bad beats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bad beats. Show all posts
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
What is it about the 5th SNG?
5 $5+$0.40 Double-Up SNGs - 3 wins, 1 8th place, 1 7th place - Profit: $3.00
UGH. UGH UGH FUCKING UGH. I started out with three cashes in a row, and then the bottom really fell out in the last two. Once again, I didn't get a whole ton of very good hands...though the ironic thing is that when I did, that's usually where I ended up losing. Admittedly, the horror show that was the 5th SNG was partially deserved karma-wise with the Poker Stars level of river suckouts I amassed in the first three. I also had quite the undeserved win early in the 5th, but come on Poker Gods, how much penance do I have to fucking do here?
Klopzi commented on the earlier posts on this subject advocating a super-tight game plan. I don't know if I can bring myself to follow it to the hilt (AA or KK only until you're at < 10 BB, then push with pocket pairs or high aces), but I did slow down quite a bit...especially in the first one. Speaking of which:
1st one:
This one took fooooooorever - 64 hands, in fact. As it turns out, I played in just eight of them. I think I'm starting to adjust my game to the proper way to handle these tournaments (so far, overall, I'm 7-4 for +$10.60), but I can't help but wonder about what happens once I get my bankroll back to where I can play actual NLHE. Am I going to remember what to do? Klopzi is right - this shit may be cards, but it ain't poker.
On hand 7, my raise with J-J went uncalled...that basically just about paid for a bad play on hand 15 (25/50), where I had 9h-7h and limped with two others. The flop was 8h-5h-4s. One guy bet the pot, and I called. I was only getting 2:1 on my money, and had 12 outs (9 hearts, 3 non-heart sixes) or 2.83:1. If he was drawing to a higher flush (a possibility since he limped in), it was only 3. Terrible. The turn was another 8, and after he checked, I checked too. The river was the 3s, and he fired out $450. To me, in retrospect, it looks like once there was no flush out there, his 6-6 or 7-7 or whatever was probably good. I folded, naturally.
By hand 22 (50/100), I was down to $1140. I got 6d-3d in the BB, and was happy to check my option with two limpers. The flop came 9c-8d-7d. One guy bet $100 into a $300 pot, which seemed like a steal attempt to me. With my various draws, I called it (and I'd defend this as a better call than hand 15 since I don't think they had much of that flop). The turn was a beautiful 9d, and I checked along with the other guy. I know I was giving a free card to someone with one higher diamond, but I was hoping my river move would work if it looked like I didn't have a flush. Also, if they made a large bet at it, I could at least have the possibility of dodging a larger flush. The river is a Ks. I was praying that the guy had Ad-K(not-d), and went all-in. He mucked, unfortunately.
Three hands later, I had Q-J and stupidly limped with it (raise or fold, you moron). The flop was 5-4-4 rainbow, and my $300 steal attempt was looked up by one. The turn was a 5d, and I checked it (I interpreted his flop call as him either having a pocket pair or a 4). The river was a 6c, and I went away to his $562 bet (I never ever trust it when someone hits the 1/2 pot button...they should just put "Value Bet" on it). I was down some now, and maybe this is tight, but on hand 29 I folded 4-4 when no one had yet opened ($940 left, 75/150). A middle position person raised, so it was a coin flip at best, I'm sure.
I got a walk in hand 31 with 4-3 (LOL), and another one in hand 40 with Q-3. That kept me afloat, and I re-raised a $600 bet all-in on hand 41 ($940 left, 100/200) with Ks-10d. I was up against 4-4, and rivered a diamond flush to stay alive. It was undeserved but well-appreciated! That got me up to $2480, so I could relax a little. The only downer was that it was still 9-handed heading to the first ante level. That is, I could relax a little if I weren't a total idiot. With K-J (I learned my lesson with this fucking hand) I raised up to $800. Someone else went all-in for $968 on top, and at least I recovered enough brain cells to get out of the way. It ended up 9-9 vs. Q-10, and a queen came on the flop.
I folded Q-10 on hand 44, two went all-in on a flop with a 7 in it. It ended up being K-7 vs. J-7, but a 10 came on the turn. I wouldn't have called the all-in bets, but man, that's just a cock-tease. On hand 48, I got Kd-Qd and called a short stack's all-in bet (1530 vs. 825, 200/400/25). He showed Q-10. I flopped a flush draw, and it got there cruelly (for the other guy) when the 10d came off. I was back up to $2705 after that, and resolved to not get too cute with shit like K-J unless I had to.
We were on the bubble after that, and I didn't play a hand for 9-10 hands. I got Q-J, and since I was blinded down to $1655 (300/600/50), I went-all in. Everyone folded, and I more than doubled-up just through the blinds and antes. Yes kids, this structure is bonkers. Oddly enough, I got Q-J the very next hand, but now I was in a much safer position. So, I just mucked the fucking thing. Annoyingly, a few hands later, the short stack doubled up when his 10-2 flopped trips against 5-4. However, the other short stack was snipered away by your dashing protagonist - I called his all-in (just $194) with 7-7, and it held up against 10-3. So, one for one at this point, though I didn't deserve it.
2nd One:
This one was a little different from the first in that there was not nearly as much pre-flop raising. I couldn't even play my blinds in the first one (hence 8-64 hands), but this one was more my speed at 10-46. That said, it only took three hands to make me start to give more thought to Klopzi's point. I had 3s-2s in the SB, and since it was just $10 more I decided to see it with five others. The flop came As-Js-6c, and I was more than happy to see it check around. The turn was a 7s, and I checked it for some reason (thinking back, I don't know what was going through my mind). The next-to-last person to act bet $140, a little more than the pot. I didn't take long to fold...it seemed like a higher flush to me. Maybe I'm giving the dude too much credit, but a paired Ace or Jack didn't seem plausible with two spades out there. A steal with one spade might have been the case, and honestly I should have bet out to see where I was at. But, what happens with a baby flush or the sucker end of the straight when someone else is showing strength? Sure, it's probably just a pair or less likely two pair or a set, but what if it's a flush-over-flush or straight-over-straight? It could very well cripple you with a fucking 3 in your hand or whatever. Not good. I'll have to reconsider Klopzi's point...
My 9-9 got re-raised out on hand 5, and the blinds/one or two limps had me down to $1155 on hand 17 (50/100). I got A-10 in UTG+1, and raised to $300. One person called, another went all-in for over $3000. With just $895 left and an Ace in my hand, I felt I had to call. Well, of course, the person had A-K. Shit. The board came J-J-9-8-7, so I donked out on him on the river. At this point, I was thinking of putting a hundred or so (of money I just don't have right now) into Poker Stars. Heh. I got A-10 again on hand 20, and limped this time with four others. The flop came A-8-7, and I bet $400. One guy called. The turn was another 8, and my $800 bet was called. Now, I was worried...what the fuck is he calling me down with? Did he just spike trips? The river was a King, and in my confusion, I checked. Thankfully, he did too...so I was privy to the unusual setting of A-10 chopping with A-4. Should have raised him out pre-flop.
On hand 25 (75/150), it may be risky, but I called a $525 bet from a big stack with A-Q. The flop came A-9-9, and if he had me beat, so be it. I went all-in, and he peaced out in nanoseconds. I wonder if it was K-K or Q-Q that I was up against? Anyway, in hands 30 and 34, I folded K-Q and K-Q suited (I have gotten that, K-J and 7-7 a crapload of times in the last two sessions, but I've gone over 650 hands without A-A). No need to mess around with it as the in 2nd chip position with 8 people left. In fact, I sat on my big stack, and didn't play another hand until I made the money when the bubble boy went busto on hand 46. Two for two, and I was feeling good...
3rd One:
This was almost a doppelganger of the second one, as I played 11-45 hands and rivered a bunch of stuff. :)
On hand 6, I got Ad-10d, and limped along with 5 others. The flop came Kd-Jd-7s, so I had a gutshot to go with the nut flush draw. I bet $50, one customer stayed. The turn was a 5s, and I checked. The other guy's $100 shell felt like a steal, so I called (in retrospect, maybe a re-raise would have been better since I had have 12 outs to win it...maybe more if a paired Ace would be good). The river was the 5d, but sadly my $400 river bet didn't get paid off. Still, $400 in the stack early isn't a bad thing! What is a bad thing though is my flop re-raise on hand 7 with 7-7 on a Q-Q-2 board was called, and I had to fold on the turn. Dammit! He must have had a queen or a pocket pair to call that...chastened, I folded A-10 in the BB on the next hand.
On hand 11, my A-Q and another A-Q both called an all-in bet for $115. The guy had 3-3, and we chopped him up with a Broadway straight. Of course the other prick had to have the same hand, though. *sigh* Hand 17 (50/100), on the other hand, was just me donking off chips. With J-3 in the BB, I got a free play against just the SB (note that in a cash game, this is an insta-raise with any two cards from me 9 times out of 10). The flop was Q-6-3 with two spades, and my $100 steal attempt was called. I checked it down the rest of the way (5 and 8), and he showed 7-7 to win. I'm undecided here - would another shell on the turn convince him I had a Queen, or would he stubbornly call until the the end of time?
Hand 26 (75/150) worked out better - I re-raised a $300 bet all-in for $1330, and took down $675 without a fight. Two hands later, I was all-in again after limping in with Qd-Jd and saw a Q-10-8 flop. Again, no takers, and $600 more came my way. I seriously tightened up after that, and folded just about everything (including Q-10 on Hand 37 to a $700 raise). I was down to $1280 on Hand 40 (100/200/25, 7 players left). I pushed all-in with 10-10, and took down the blinds and antes. The next hand gave me Q-9 in the BB, just the SB came along. The flop came Q-9-7, and my $575 bet took it down. I was back up to $2080 and looking in decent shape. Three hands later, some guy's Q-Q held up against some other prick's A-K, and I was in the money for the third straight time. At this point, I was thinking about nothing other than 5-for-5.
As Marsellus Wallace would say: "That's pride, fucking with you...FUCK PRIDE." Well, the Poker Gods would fuck me pretty good in the next two of these...
4th One:
This one lasted just 18 hands for me...my shortest outing of the evening.
I got one small win early with 7-7 (yes, AGAIN). Other than that, I tried to keep it tight - even folding K-J to just a 2X BB raise on Hand 12 (good thing, too: K-K beat A-9 in an all-in showdown). I got it again on Hand 17 though (50/100), and my 3X BB raise was called. The flop was all rags, and I uncharacteristically didn't make a continuation bet, and perhaps my fold was a little weak to a $350 bet. Then again, I was probably beat anyway.
Down to $1085, I get K-J fucking AGAIN on the next hand. I go all-in, and some fucking bitchfuck has A-K. Of course he does. Both of us whiff, but his kicker of course plays. I'm still 3-1 though, and confident heading into the last one of the evening. Yeah, and I bet most horror-movie teens are confident of surviving the day too when the movie starts. *Sigh*
5th One - Horror Show Special:
I lasted a little longer in this one...24 hands to be exact. I was the beneficiary of one ridiculous suck-out, but then paid for it over and over again. Note how many times rockets appear in this one, never for me. Like I said, 650 hands and counting. Suck my left one until the right one gets jealous, Sportsbook.
- Hand 2, I get 10-10 and raise it 3X BB. I get one caller, and see a flop of Q-8-5 with two clubs. The caller bets $105, and I peace out.
- Hand 6, I get A-10 and raise to $120. Two people call, and the flop is A-J-3. One guy bets $60, he gets called, and I raise to $180. The first guy goes all-in. Why, dummy? You could have extracted a lot more by getting one of us to bet at the turn...he shows A-J.
- Hand 7, I'm down to $1080, and get Q-Q. Well shit, an almost-premium hand! It's only been about TWO WHOLE SESSIONS since I've seen one of those! I go all-in, and get called by A-A. I repress the urge to punch something. That urge is lessened when a Queen hits on the flop, and holds up. What a sick beat for the other guy, though.
- Hand 9, I get K-K. I raise to $120, and a guy goes all-in for $1505. I still have $700 left with 15/30 blinds if I lose, so I call even though A-A is a possibility. Did I say "possibility?" OF FUCKING COURSE, HE HAD FUCKING A-A. FUCK YOU, SPORTSBOOK! Two motherfucking hands in a cunting row...ARGH! Needless to say, the rockets hold up. In fact, another Ace came on the river. Sure it did, why fucking wouldn't it? On the next hand, I wasn't in it, but some dude ended up getting trip Aces, then quads on the river. Is this taunting really necessary?
- Hand 19, with Q-Q, I go all-in and get no customers. My urge to kill is rising.
- On Hand 24, I go all-in with A-J. A dude calls with A-9, and a fucking 9 comes right in the door. No help was forthcoming, and I was out in 7th. All I can say is that if a Sportsbook representative was within 100 feet of me at that moment, I'd be in jail right now for assault, battery and any other kind of grievous bodily harm that you can imagine.
I guess going 3-2 again isn't bad, and 7-4 overall is OK under the conditions. If I keep up a 7-4 ratio, my bankroll will soon be back over triple digits, and if I can get it to $200 or so, I can quit playing this nonsense and go to .5/.10 NLHE. I think I'm getting pretty decent at these SNGs, but man oh man am I starting to hate them. Playing them for me right now is a necessity because I'm doing well at them to a greater extent than my cash game play had been.
UGH. UGH UGH FUCKING UGH. I started out with three cashes in a row, and then the bottom really fell out in the last two. Once again, I didn't get a whole ton of very good hands...though the ironic thing is that when I did, that's usually where I ended up losing. Admittedly, the horror show that was the 5th SNG was partially deserved karma-wise with the Poker Stars level of river suckouts I amassed in the first three. I also had quite the undeserved win early in the 5th, but come on Poker Gods, how much penance do I have to fucking do here?
Klopzi commented on the earlier posts on this subject advocating a super-tight game plan. I don't know if I can bring myself to follow it to the hilt (AA or KK only until you're at < 10 BB, then push with pocket pairs or high aces), but I did slow down quite a bit...especially in the first one. Speaking of which:
1st one:
This one took fooooooorever - 64 hands, in fact. As it turns out, I played in just eight of them. I think I'm starting to adjust my game to the proper way to handle these tournaments (so far, overall, I'm 7-4 for +$10.60), but I can't help but wonder about what happens once I get my bankroll back to where I can play actual NLHE. Am I going to remember what to do? Klopzi is right - this shit may be cards, but it ain't poker.
On hand 7, my raise with J-J went uncalled...that basically just about paid for a bad play on hand 15 (25/50), where I had 9h-7h and limped with two others. The flop was 8h-5h-4s. One guy bet the pot, and I called. I was only getting 2:1 on my money, and had 12 outs (9 hearts, 3 non-heart sixes) or 2.83:1. If he was drawing to a higher flush (a possibility since he limped in), it was only 3. Terrible. The turn was another 8, and after he checked, I checked too. The river was the 3s, and he fired out $450. To me, in retrospect, it looks like once there was no flush out there, his 6-6 or 7-7 or whatever was probably good. I folded, naturally.
By hand 22 (50/100), I was down to $1140. I got 6d-3d in the BB, and was happy to check my option with two limpers. The flop came 9c-8d-7d. One guy bet $100 into a $300 pot, which seemed like a steal attempt to me. With my various draws, I called it (and I'd defend this as a better call than hand 15 since I don't think they had much of that flop). The turn was a beautiful 9d, and I checked along with the other guy. I know I was giving a free card to someone with one higher diamond, but I was hoping my river move would work if it looked like I didn't have a flush. Also, if they made a large bet at it, I could at least have the possibility of dodging a larger flush. The river is a Ks. I was praying that the guy had Ad-K(not-d), and went all-in. He mucked, unfortunately.
Three hands later, I had Q-J and stupidly limped with it (raise or fold, you moron). The flop was 5-4-4 rainbow, and my $300 steal attempt was looked up by one. The turn was a 5d, and I checked it (I interpreted his flop call as him either having a pocket pair or a 4). The river was a 6c, and I went away to his $562 bet (I never ever trust it when someone hits the 1/2 pot button...they should just put "Value Bet" on it). I was down some now, and maybe this is tight, but on hand 29 I folded 4-4 when no one had yet opened ($940 left, 75/150). A middle position person raised, so it was a coin flip at best, I'm sure.
I got a walk in hand 31 with 4-3 (LOL), and another one in hand 40 with Q-3. That kept me afloat, and I re-raised a $600 bet all-in on hand 41 ($940 left, 100/200) with Ks-10d. I was up against 4-4, and rivered a diamond flush to stay alive. It was undeserved but well-appreciated! That got me up to $2480, so I could relax a little. The only downer was that it was still 9-handed heading to the first ante level. That is, I could relax a little if I weren't a total idiot. With K-J (I learned my lesson with this fucking hand) I raised up to $800. Someone else went all-in for $968 on top, and at least I recovered enough brain cells to get out of the way. It ended up 9-9 vs. Q-10, and a queen came on the flop.
I folded Q-10 on hand 44, two went all-in on a flop with a 7 in it. It ended up being K-7 vs. J-7, but a 10 came on the turn. I wouldn't have called the all-in bets, but man, that's just a cock-tease. On hand 48, I got Kd-Qd and called a short stack's all-in bet (1530 vs. 825, 200/400/25). He showed Q-10. I flopped a flush draw, and it got there cruelly (for the other guy) when the 10d came off. I was back up to $2705 after that, and resolved to not get too cute with shit like K-J unless I had to.
We were on the bubble after that, and I didn't play a hand for 9-10 hands. I got Q-J, and since I was blinded down to $1655 (300/600/50), I went-all in. Everyone folded, and I more than doubled-up just through the blinds and antes. Yes kids, this structure is bonkers. Oddly enough, I got Q-J the very next hand, but now I was in a much safer position. So, I just mucked the fucking thing. Annoyingly, a few hands later, the short stack doubled up when his 10-2 flopped trips against 5-4. However, the other short stack was snipered away by your dashing protagonist - I called his all-in (just $194) with 7-7, and it held up against 10-3. So, one for one at this point, though I didn't deserve it.
2nd One:
This one was a little different from the first in that there was not nearly as much pre-flop raising. I couldn't even play my blinds in the first one (hence 8-64 hands), but this one was more my speed at 10-46. That said, it only took three hands to make me start to give more thought to Klopzi's point. I had 3s-2s in the SB, and since it was just $10 more I decided to see it with five others. The flop came As-Js-6c, and I was more than happy to see it check around. The turn was a 7s, and I checked it for some reason (thinking back, I don't know what was going through my mind). The next-to-last person to act bet $140, a little more than the pot. I didn't take long to fold...it seemed like a higher flush to me. Maybe I'm giving the dude too much credit, but a paired Ace or Jack didn't seem plausible with two spades out there. A steal with one spade might have been the case, and honestly I should have bet out to see where I was at. But, what happens with a baby flush or the sucker end of the straight when someone else is showing strength? Sure, it's probably just a pair or less likely two pair or a set, but what if it's a flush-over-flush or straight-over-straight? It could very well cripple you with a fucking 3 in your hand or whatever. Not good. I'll have to reconsider Klopzi's point...
My 9-9 got re-raised out on hand 5, and the blinds/one or two limps had me down to $1155 on hand 17 (50/100). I got A-10 in UTG+1, and raised to $300. One person called, another went all-in for over $3000. With just $895 left and an Ace in my hand, I felt I had to call. Well, of course, the person had A-K. Shit. The board came J-J-9-8-7, so I donked out on him on the river. At this point, I was thinking of putting a hundred or so (of money I just don't have right now) into Poker Stars. Heh. I got A-10 again on hand 20, and limped this time with four others. The flop came A-8-7, and I bet $400. One guy called. The turn was another 8, and my $800 bet was called. Now, I was worried...what the fuck is he calling me down with? Did he just spike trips? The river was a King, and in my confusion, I checked. Thankfully, he did too...so I was privy to the unusual setting of A-10 chopping with A-4. Should have raised him out pre-flop.
On hand 25 (75/150), it may be risky, but I called a $525 bet from a big stack with A-Q. The flop came A-9-9, and if he had me beat, so be it. I went all-in, and he peaced out in nanoseconds. I wonder if it was K-K or Q-Q that I was up against? Anyway, in hands 30 and 34, I folded K-Q and K-Q suited (I have gotten that, K-J and 7-7 a crapload of times in the last two sessions, but I've gone over 650 hands without A-A). No need to mess around with it as the in 2nd chip position with 8 people left. In fact, I sat on my big stack, and didn't play another hand until I made the money when the bubble boy went busto on hand 46. Two for two, and I was feeling good...
3rd One:
This was almost a doppelganger of the second one, as I played 11-45 hands and rivered a bunch of stuff. :)
On hand 6, I got Ad-10d, and limped along with 5 others. The flop came Kd-Jd-7s, so I had a gutshot to go with the nut flush draw. I bet $50, one customer stayed. The turn was a 5s, and I checked. The other guy's $100 shell felt like a steal, so I called (in retrospect, maybe a re-raise would have been better since I had have 12 outs to win it...maybe more if a paired Ace would be good). The river was the 5d, but sadly my $400 river bet didn't get paid off. Still, $400 in the stack early isn't a bad thing! What is a bad thing though is my flop re-raise on hand 7 with 7-7 on a Q-Q-2 board was called, and I had to fold on the turn. Dammit! He must have had a queen or a pocket pair to call that...chastened, I folded A-10 in the BB on the next hand.
On hand 11, my A-Q and another A-Q both called an all-in bet for $115. The guy had 3-3, and we chopped him up with a Broadway straight. Of course the other prick had to have the same hand, though. *sigh* Hand 17 (50/100), on the other hand, was just me donking off chips. With J-3 in the BB, I got a free play against just the SB (note that in a cash game, this is an insta-raise with any two cards from me 9 times out of 10). The flop was Q-6-3 with two spades, and my $100 steal attempt was called. I checked it down the rest of the way (5 and 8), and he showed 7-7 to win. I'm undecided here - would another shell on the turn convince him I had a Queen, or would he stubbornly call until the the end of time?
Hand 26 (75/150) worked out better - I re-raised a $300 bet all-in for $1330, and took down $675 without a fight. Two hands later, I was all-in again after limping in with Qd-Jd and saw a Q-10-8 flop. Again, no takers, and $600 more came my way. I seriously tightened up after that, and folded just about everything (including Q-10 on Hand 37 to a $700 raise). I was down to $1280 on Hand 40 (100/200/25, 7 players left). I pushed all-in with 10-10, and took down the blinds and antes. The next hand gave me Q-9 in the BB, just the SB came along. The flop came Q-9-7, and my $575 bet took it down. I was back up to $2080 and looking in decent shape. Three hands later, some guy's Q-Q held up against some other prick's A-K, and I was in the money for the third straight time. At this point, I was thinking about nothing other than 5-for-5.
As Marsellus Wallace would say: "That's pride, fucking with you...FUCK PRIDE." Well, the Poker Gods would fuck me pretty good in the next two of these...
4th One:
This one lasted just 18 hands for me...my shortest outing of the evening.
I got one small win early with 7-7 (yes, AGAIN). Other than that, I tried to keep it tight - even folding K-J to just a 2X BB raise on Hand 12 (good thing, too: K-K beat A-9 in an all-in showdown). I got it again on Hand 17 though (50/100), and my 3X BB raise was called. The flop was all rags, and I uncharacteristically didn't make a continuation bet, and perhaps my fold was a little weak to a $350 bet. Then again, I was probably beat anyway.
Down to $1085, I get K-J fucking AGAIN on the next hand. I go all-in, and some fucking bitchfuck has A-K. Of course he does. Both of us whiff, but his kicker of course plays. I'm still 3-1 though, and confident heading into the last one of the evening. Yeah, and I bet most horror-movie teens are confident of surviving the day too when the movie starts. *Sigh*
5th One - Horror Show Special:
I lasted a little longer in this one...24 hands to be exact. I was the beneficiary of one ridiculous suck-out, but then paid for it over and over again. Note how many times rockets appear in this one, never for me. Like I said, 650 hands and counting. Suck my left one until the right one gets jealous, Sportsbook.
- Hand 2, I get 10-10 and raise it 3X BB. I get one caller, and see a flop of Q-8-5 with two clubs. The caller bets $105, and I peace out.
- Hand 6, I get A-10 and raise to $120. Two people call, and the flop is A-J-3. One guy bets $60, he gets called, and I raise to $180. The first guy goes all-in. Why, dummy? You could have extracted a lot more by getting one of us to bet at the turn...he shows A-J.
- Hand 7, I'm down to $1080, and get Q-Q. Well shit, an almost-premium hand! It's only been about TWO WHOLE SESSIONS since I've seen one of those! I go all-in, and get called by A-A. I repress the urge to punch something. That urge is lessened when a Queen hits on the flop, and holds up. What a sick beat for the other guy, though.
- Hand 9, I get K-K. I raise to $120, and a guy goes all-in for $1505. I still have $700 left with 15/30 blinds if I lose, so I call even though A-A is a possibility. Did I say "possibility?" OF FUCKING COURSE, HE HAD FUCKING A-A. FUCK YOU, SPORTSBOOK! Two motherfucking hands in a cunting row...ARGH! Needless to say, the rockets hold up. In fact, another Ace came on the river. Sure it did, why fucking wouldn't it? On the next hand, I wasn't in it, but some dude ended up getting trip Aces, then quads on the river. Is this taunting really necessary?
- Hand 19, with Q-Q, I go all-in and get no customers. My urge to kill is rising.
- On Hand 24, I go all-in with A-J. A dude calls with A-9, and a fucking 9 comes right in the door. No help was forthcoming, and I was out in 7th. All I can say is that if a Sportsbook representative was within 100 feet of me at that moment, I'd be in jail right now for assault, battery and any other kind of grievous bodily harm that you can imagine.
I guess going 3-2 again isn't bad, and 7-4 overall is OK under the conditions. If I keep up a 7-4 ratio, my bankroll will soon be back over triple digits, and if I can get it to $200 or so, I can quit playing this nonsense and go to .5/.10 NLHE. I think I'm getting pretty decent at these SNGs, but man oh man am I starting to hate them. Playing them for me right now is a necessity because I'm doing well at them to a greater extent than my cash game play had been.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Hand Deconstruction
So, as promised, I collected some of the worst hands from my Excel project to deconstruct in front of an audience of...well...the 2 or 3 people who read this. Without further ado, I think I'll start with THAT FUCKING STARTING HAND...
(Keep in mind that for the interest of space, I've deleted any non-necessary action such as non-principals folding.)
Seat 2: taho*** (9.97 in chips)
Seat 10: Swift29 (10.55 in chips) - 2 past the big blind
Dealt to Swift29 [ Ac Jh ]
Swift29: raises to $0.40
taho***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 7d 5c 6c ]
Swift29: bets $0.80
taho***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 8d ]
Swift29: checks
taho***: checks
&&& RIVER &&& [ Qh ]
Swift29: checks
taho***: bets $1.28
Swift29: folds
taho***: returns uncalled bet $1.28
*** SHOW DOWN ***
taho***: mucks
taho*** wins $2.45
I like to think that this was an intelligent check-fold, but with it being .5/.10 online, I just don't know. I figure a 4X BB pre-flop raise will at least get rid of the 8-5 type starting hands, but who knows? Part of my frustration with online play is that who the fuck knows what these idiots will call with? Anyway, as you can see, this was an awful flop for my hand. However, I am rarely afraid to make continuation bets, as it does pick me up my share of small pots. In this case, though, I don't know it was the right play...especially not for the pot-sized bet that I put out there. With three to a straight and two to a flush out there just on the flop, it's a minefield for my A-J offsuit. About the best I could hope for would be to see a free turn or pay minimally for the privilege and that another club comes out. At least in that case, I could hope to see a cheap/free river and catch the nut flush.
Worst of all, I could probably have gotten the same information for .30 or .40 that I did for .80. Even most super-donks would fold if they completely whiffed on that flop, but those same donks would likely call pretty much anything with even as low as third pair...a holding which, in this case, would have won the pot anyway. The turn was of course even worse for my cause, and at that point I was committed to the check-fold game plan. One thing I've noticed when these fuckers have a monster is that they don't bet out all that often...they check-call all the way down. While it's hilariously bad play, it does in a weird way obfuscate their hands a bit because they do the same thing whether they have third pair, a gutshot straight draw or even if they've flopped a full house.
That said, the river action makes me believe the guy had the monster - it's been my experience that someone hitting the "1/2 pot" button or even the "pot-size" button is usually a tell that they have something they like. It SCREAMS out "value bet" to me, and I'm always careful when they do it. I think he was praying that I had a Queen and that I'd call another 1.28 to see his straight. Well fuck you, buddy...you probably called my raise with 9-3 offsuit and got lucky. Bully for you.
Seat 5: choo*** (16.21 in chips)
Seat 10: Swift29 (9.35 in chips) Under the Gun
Dealt to Swift29 [ 3c 5c ]
Swift29: calls
taho***: calls
choo***: calls
Sens***: calls
vanl***: checks
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 3h 4c Tc ]
vanl***: checks
Swift29: checks
taho***: checks
choo***: bets $0.28
Sens***: calls
vanl***: folds
Swift29: calls
taho***: folds
# # # TURN # # # [ 9h ]
Swift29: checks
choo***: bets $0.70
Sens***: folds
Swift29: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ Ah ]
Swift29: checks
choo***: bets $1.40
Swift29: folds
choo***: returns uncalled bet $1.40
choo*** wins $2.69
OK, first of all, calling with 5-3 suited under the gun is a rookie fucking mistake and I'm embarrassed to even show you all this one. I love taking flops with those kinds of hands, but I have to get better at doing so when I at least have positional advantage...calling with it here is like bringing a dull scalpel to a rocket-launcher fight. Still, at least I lucked out and got a bunch of callers with no raises...these types of hands play well in multi-player pots, and you can usually get away from them cheaply if you whiff. The problem is, sometimes you hit just enough to keep you around. That's what happened here, and as you can see, I took a pretty good battering on this one.
Normally, this is the kind of flop you dream about with this hand - flush draw with a pair. There was 50 cents in the pot pre-flop, and the post-flop action (by the time it got to me) meant that I had to call 28 cents with a pot of 1.08. That works out to 3.9/1 for my money, so I figured I had to call there. The bettor went with a bet other than the 1/2 or pot buttons I was talking about above, so he may have been trying to steal. There seems to me in retrospect to be about an equal chance of that vs. something like 10-9, J-10, Q-10, K-10 or perhaps even 10-10. I don't think the set was all that likely because then he'd go to the check-call routine (most of these people aren't smart enough to see the danger when they have a set or two pair and there's four to a flush out there). I'll say that 10-9, J-10, Q-10 or total bluff are the two most likely options (though a bluff would beat me in a showdown cause, well, I'm sitting on five-high). In that case, there are 2 threes, 3 fives, and 9 clubs that can (in my mind) win it for me, for a total of 14 outs. In case you don't know the formula for converting outs to a ratio (with the turn and river still to go), here you go (where x = number of outs):
(46-x)/x = x:1
So, I had a 2.28:1 chance to win for 3.9:1 on my money. That's an insta-call, right? So far, so good. Even if the guy had two pair or a set, it wasn't the worst call of my poker career...I had a 4.1:1 chance to win.
The turn, to be quite frank, sucked a fucking dick. That was no help to me whatsoever, and keep in mind that in retrospect I had 10-9 as one of his likely holdings. Now, I had to call a 70-cent bet into a pot of 1.78 - that's 2.54:1 on my money. However, the number of outs I had could as easily now be 9 as it is 14. Let's look at both scenarios. The formula above would now change to (45-x)/x, as there is one less card in the deck. If he doesn't have a set or two pair, I'm now only 2.21:1 to win. If I need to catch the flush, it's even worse - it's a 4:1 shot exactly. Either way, this was the mistake of the hand - I should have cut my losses and chalked it up to yet another monster drawing hand that didn't pan out when the other guy had something he liked and would have fucking paid me off. *sigh*
Of course, the river was a total blank as far as I was concerned, and at that point there was no way I was calling any bet, let alone that big of one. While I played this OK until halfway through, I still lost 70 cents that I shouldn't have by calling on the turn.
Last one for this post:
Hand #1584012214000021: Paris 12214
Seat 1: nsho*** (5.90 in chips)
Seat 10: Swift29 (9.12 in chips) Under the Gun
Dealt to Swift29 [ Jh Qd ]
Swift29: raises to $0.50
nsho***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ Td 7h 7d ]
Swift29: bets $0.60
nsho***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 9d ]
Swift29: checks
nsho***: bets $1.18
Swift29: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ 8d ]
Swift29: checks
nsho***: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
nsho***: shows [ Kc Kd ] (Flush, King high)
Swift29: mucks
nsho*** wins $4.51 with Flush, King high
Swift29: mucks [ Jh, Qd ] (Flush)
This, on the other hand, was just fucking stupid all the way around on my part. It's funny how I spent the whole last post trying to convince you all that I'm not a total donkey, then I post this to completely circumvent that argument. Heh.
Anyway, let's count the mistakes, shall we?
1. That idiot Swift29 raised 5X the BB under the gun with a marginal hand like Q-J. Oh, dear.
2. Immediately after someone calls that high of a raise (which should at least have been a warning sign), I then bet out 60 cents on the flop. It's another case where 30 or 40 cents probably would have gotten me the same information - if he whiffed on the flop or thought I had the third 7 (which I think I was trying to represent there), he would have went away. If he had something he liked (or even four to a flush, as these people will call down to the ends of the earth with a flush or straight draw), he would have called and I'd have gotten the information that I needed to know. Still, I suppose the 60 cents is somewhat defensible as a continuation bet.
3. The turn ended up being the bait that turned this from a battering into a bloodbath. The 9d gave me an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw...enticing, right? However, this is where...you know...thinking and stuff about what the other guy has just maybe could be beneficial. The fact that he called the big bets pre-flop and post-flop meant he had to have something he really, really liked. Let's look at some of the reasonable holdings he could have had (including what he did, the K-K with a diamond) and see what my chances of winning were...and whether it was anywhere close to proper to call with a 1.18 bet into a 2.20 pot (1.86:1).
A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J (no diamond): This would actually have been the best scenario, as I'd have the most outs possible while being in no danger of facing a higher flush. Not only that, as an micro-stakes online player, he'd call down to the gates of hell with them, even with four to a different suit out there. Anyway, I'm looking at 3 non-diamond Kings, 3 non-diamond eights, and 9 diamonds to hit a hand that can beat this. If he had one King or two Kings, it'd be 1-2 less outs. The best case scenario would be, with all 15 outs, an exact 2:1 chance to win. Even then, for 1.86:1 on my money, it technically wouldn't be correct to call. If he had one King it would drop down to 2.21:1 to win, and K-K would mean it was 2.46:1. If he had A-A, you can take away the 3 non-diamond Kings as outs, as those would give him a higher straight. You can drop those winning chances even further down to 2.75:1 there. Terrible, terrible, terrible...and this is the BEST-case scenario. Sean, you are a fucking nimrod sometimes.
A-K (no diamond): A-K with no diamond would eliminate the six outs to hit a straight, as he would already have a higher one. A flush is all that will do, so with 9 outs, it's back to the 4:1 chance to hit your flush on the river. A call in that situation is just horrendous.
A-10, K-10, Q-10 (no diamonds): K-10 would be the same 2.21:1 chance as above, while A-10 and Q-10 would be the same 2:1 chance as above.
10-10: A set would definitely explain both his calls, and I'd have the same 2:1 chance as above.
A-x, K-x, including big hands like A-A, K-K, A-10, K-Q, etc (with a diamond): Any big hand with an A or K diamond or even any A-Rag/K-Rag hand with the Ace or King of diamonds means I'm drawing to just a few outs. How few? Well, you can forget hitting the flush, because my Q-high flush is useless in the face of that. There are a few sub-scenarios here, and none of them are pretty:
Ad-Q/Ad-J/Kd-Q/K-d-J: In this case, three of my outs are gone because I hit a pair with the Q or the J depending on which he had, then with the pair of 7s on the board, we'd both have two pair and his kicker would play. In this case, I'm down to the 3 of the one that he doesn't have, and 3 eights for the straight. Here, I'm a distant 6.5:1 to win.
Ad-A/Kd-K: This is the one he ended up having, with the cowboys. The flush is out the window because of his higher diamond, so I have the 3 eights for the straight and the 3 (or 2) Kings left. With A-A it's the same 6.5:1 as above, and with K-K (again, what actually happened), I'm an appalling 8:1 to win. Can you see why I'm beating myself up so badly over this one?
Finally, the worst case scenario: If he had Ad-xd or Kd-xd, I was drawing ABSOLUTELY STONE FUCKING DEAD.
Now, of course I didn't know exactly what he had, and any of the above seems just as reasonable a holding to me as the others, given that this is online micro-stakes and all. If you take the average ratio to win out of all of these, you end up with a final tally of 3.64:1 for a chance at 1.86:1 on my money.
I'm not usually this bad of a player, but this hand was brutally, brutally bad on my part.
More hands coming up soon...
(Keep in mind that for the interest of space, I've deleted any non-necessary action such as non-principals folding.)
Seat 2: taho*** (9.97 in chips)
Seat 10: Swift29 (10.55 in chips) - 2 past the big blind
Dealt to Swift29 [ Ac Jh ]
Swift29: raises to $0.40
taho***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 7d 5c 6c ]
Swift29: bets $0.80
taho***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 8d ]
Swift29: checks
taho***: checks
&&& RIVER &&& [ Qh ]
Swift29: checks
taho***: bets $1.28
Swift29: folds
taho***: returns uncalled bet $1.28
*** SHOW DOWN ***
taho***: mucks
taho*** wins $2.45
I like to think that this was an intelligent check-fold, but with it being .5/.10 online, I just don't know. I figure a 4X BB pre-flop raise will at least get rid of the 8-5 type starting hands, but who knows? Part of my frustration with online play is that who the fuck knows what these idiots will call with? Anyway, as you can see, this was an awful flop for my hand. However, I am rarely afraid to make continuation bets, as it does pick me up my share of small pots. In this case, though, I don't know it was the right play...especially not for the pot-sized bet that I put out there. With three to a straight and two to a flush out there just on the flop, it's a minefield for my A-J offsuit. About the best I could hope for would be to see a free turn or pay minimally for the privilege and that another club comes out. At least in that case, I could hope to see a cheap/free river and catch the nut flush.
Worst of all, I could probably have gotten the same information for .30 or .40 that I did for .80. Even most super-donks would fold if they completely whiffed on that flop, but those same donks would likely call pretty much anything with even as low as third pair...a holding which, in this case, would have won the pot anyway. The turn was of course even worse for my cause, and at that point I was committed to the check-fold game plan. One thing I've noticed when these fuckers have a monster is that they don't bet out all that often...they check-call all the way down. While it's hilariously bad play, it does in a weird way obfuscate their hands a bit because they do the same thing whether they have third pair, a gutshot straight draw or even if they've flopped a full house.
That said, the river action makes me believe the guy had the monster - it's been my experience that someone hitting the "1/2 pot" button or even the "pot-size" button is usually a tell that they have something they like. It SCREAMS out "value bet" to me, and I'm always careful when they do it. I think he was praying that I had a Queen and that I'd call another 1.28 to see his straight. Well fuck you, buddy...you probably called my raise with 9-3 offsuit and got lucky. Bully for you.
Seat 5: choo*** (16.21 in chips)
Seat 10: Swift29 (9.35 in chips) Under the Gun
Dealt to Swift29 [ 3c 5c ]
Swift29: calls
taho***: calls
choo***: calls
Sens***: calls
vanl***: checks
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 3h 4c Tc ]
vanl***: checks
Swift29: checks
taho***: checks
choo***: bets $0.28
Sens***: calls
vanl***: folds
Swift29: calls
taho***: folds
# # # TURN # # # [ 9h ]
Swift29: checks
choo***: bets $0.70
Sens***: folds
Swift29: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ Ah ]
Swift29: checks
choo***: bets $1.40
Swift29: folds
choo***: returns uncalled bet $1.40
choo*** wins $2.69
OK, first of all, calling with 5-3 suited under the gun is a rookie fucking mistake and I'm embarrassed to even show you all this one. I love taking flops with those kinds of hands, but I have to get better at doing so when I at least have positional advantage...calling with it here is like bringing a dull scalpel to a rocket-launcher fight. Still, at least I lucked out and got a bunch of callers with no raises...these types of hands play well in multi-player pots, and you can usually get away from them cheaply if you whiff. The problem is, sometimes you hit just enough to keep you around. That's what happened here, and as you can see, I took a pretty good battering on this one.
Normally, this is the kind of flop you dream about with this hand - flush draw with a pair. There was 50 cents in the pot pre-flop, and the post-flop action (by the time it got to me) meant that I had to call 28 cents with a pot of 1.08. That works out to 3.9/1 for my money, so I figured I had to call there. The bettor went with a bet other than the 1/2 or pot buttons I was talking about above, so he may have been trying to steal. There seems to me in retrospect to be about an equal chance of that vs. something like 10-9, J-10, Q-10, K-10 or perhaps even 10-10. I don't think the set was all that likely because then he'd go to the check-call routine (most of these people aren't smart enough to see the danger when they have a set or two pair and there's four to a flush out there). I'll say that 10-9, J-10, Q-10 or total bluff are the two most likely options (though a bluff would beat me in a showdown cause, well, I'm sitting on five-high). In that case, there are 2 threes, 3 fives, and 9 clubs that can (in my mind) win it for me, for a total of 14 outs. In case you don't know the formula for converting outs to a ratio (with the turn and river still to go), here you go (where x = number of outs):
(46-x)/x = x:1
So, I had a 2.28:1 chance to win for 3.9:1 on my money. That's an insta-call, right? So far, so good. Even if the guy had two pair or a set, it wasn't the worst call of my poker career...I had a 4.1:1 chance to win.
The turn, to be quite frank, sucked a fucking dick. That was no help to me whatsoever, and keep in mind that in retrospect I had 10-9 as one of his likely holdings. Now, I had to call a 70-cent bet into a pot of 1.78 - that's 2.54:1 on my money. However, the number of outs I had could as easily now be 9 as it is 14. Let's look at both scenarios. The formula above would now change to (45-x)/x, as there is one less card in the deck. If he doesn't have a set or two pair, I'm now only 2.21:1 to win. If I need to catch the flush, it's even worse - it's a 4:1 shot exactly. Either way, this was the mistake of the hand - I should have cut my losses and chalked it up to yet another monster drawing hand that didn't pan out when the other guy had something he liked and would have fucking paid me off. *sigh*
Of course, the river was a total blank as far as I was concerned, and at that point there was no way I was calling any bet, let alone that big of one. While I played this OK until halfway through, I still lost 70 cents that I shouldn't have by calling on the turn.
Last one for this post:
Hand #1584012214000021: Paris 12214
Seat 1: nsho*** (5.90 in chips)
Seat 10: Swift29 (9.12 in chips) Under the Gun
Dealt to Swift29 [ Jh Qd ]
Swift29: raises to $0.50
nsho***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ Td 7h 7d ]
Swift29: bets $0.60
nsho***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 9d ]
Swift29: checks
nsho***: bets $1.18
Swift29: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ 8d ]
Swift29: checks
nsho***: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
nsho***: shows [ Kc Kd ] (Flush, King high)
Swift29: mucks
nsho*** wins $4.51 with Flush, King high
Swift29: mucks [ Jh, Qd ] (Flush)
This, on the other hand, was just fucking stupid all the way around on my part. It's funny how I spent the whole last post trying to convince you all that I'm not a total donkey, then I post this to completely circumvent that argument. Heh.
Anyway, let's count the mistakes, shall we?
1. That idiot Swift29 raised 5X the BB under the gun with a marginal hand like Q-J. Oh, dear.
2. Immediately after someone calls that high of a raise (which should at least have been a warning sign), I then bet out 60 cents on the flop. It's another case where 30 or 40 cents probably would have gotten me the same information - if he whiffed on the flop or thought I had the third 7 (which I think I was trying to represent there), he would have went away. If he had something he liked (or even four to a flush, as these people will call down to the ends of the earth with a flush or straight draw), he would have called and I'd have gotten the information that I needed to know. Still, I suppose the 60 cents is somewhat defensible as a continuation bet.
3. The turn ended up being the bait that turned this from a battering into a bloodbath. The 9d gave me an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw...enticing, right? However, this is where...you know...thinking and stuff about what the other guy has just maybe could be beneficial. The fact that he called the big bets pre-flop and post-flop meant he had to have something he really, really liked. Let's look at some of the reasonable holdings he could have had (including what he did, the K-K with a diamond) and see what my chances of winning were...and whether it was anywhere close to proper to call with a 1.18 bet into a 2.20 pot (1.86:1).
A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J (no diamond): This would actually have been the best scenario, as I'd have the most outs possible while being in no danger of facing a higher flush. Not only that, as an micro-stakes online player, he'd call down to the gates of hell with them, even with four to a different suit out there. Anyway, I'm looking at 3 non-diamond Kings, 3 non-diamond eights, and 9 diamonds to hit a hand that can beat this. If he had one King or two Kings, it'd be 1-2 less outs. The best case scenario would be, with all 15 outs, an exact 2:1 chance to win. Even then, for 1.86:1 on my money, it technically wouldn't be correct to call. If he had one King it would drop down to 2.21:1 to win, and K-K would mean it was 2.46:1. If he had A-A, you can take away the 3 non-diamond Kings as outs, as those would give him a higher straight. You can drop those winning chances even further down to 2.75:1 there. Terrible, terrible, terrible...and this is the BEST-case scenario. Sean, you are a fucking nimrod sometimes.
A-K (no diamond): A-K with no diamond would eliminate the six outs to hit a straight, as he would already have a higher one. A flush is all that will do, so with 9 outs, it's back to the 4:1 chance to hit your flush on the river. A call in that situation is just horrendous.
A-10, K-10, Q-10 (no diamonds): K-10 would be the same 2.21:1 chance as above, while A-10 and Q-10 would be the same 2:1 chance as above.
10-10: A set would definitely explain both his calls, and I'd have the same 2:1 chance as above.
A-x, K-x, including big hands like A-A, K-K, A-10, K-Q, etc (with a diamond): Any big hand with an A or K diamond or even any A-Rag/K-Rag hand with the Ace or King of diamonds means I'm drawing to just a few outs. How few? Well, you can forget hitting the flush, because my Q-high flush is useless in the face of that. There are a few sub-scenarios here, and none of them are pretty:
Ad-Q/Ad-J/Kd-Q/K-d-J: In this case, three of my outs are gone because I hit a pair with the Q or the J depending on which he had, then with the pair of 7s on the board, we'd both have two pair and his kicker would play. In this case, I'm down to the 3 of the one that he doesn't have, and 3 eights for the straight. Here, I'm a distant 6.5:1 to win.
Ad-A/Kd-K: This is the one he ended up having, with the cowboys. The flush is out the window because of his higher diamond, so I have the 3 eights for the straight and the 3 (or 2) Kings left. With A-A it's the same 6.5:1 as above, and with K-K (again, what actually happened), I'm an appalling 8:1 to win. Can you see why I'm beating myself up so badly over this one?
Finally, the worst case scenario: If he had Ad-xd or Kd-xd, I was drawing ABSOLUTELY STONE FUCKING DEAD.
Now, of course I didn't know exactly what he had, and any of the above seems just as reasonable a holding to me as the others, given that this is online micro-stakes and all. If you take the average ratio to win out of all of these, you end up with a final tally of 3.64:1 for a chance at 1.86:1 on my money.
I'm not usually this bad of a player, but this hand was brutally, brutally bad on my part.
More hands coming up soon...
Frustration
I suppose this is as good of a way to begin this blog as anything, especially as it encapsulates a lot of what is going wrong with my game right now. Tonight we had our semi-regular home game which serves as the main entertainment for the evening, usually with a UFC show in the background (as was the case tonight, and it's a good thing...my main man Georges St.Pierre retaining his title was the only good thing to happen today).
Over the last week or so, I've been taking the hand histories from Sportsbook and slowly slogging my way through entering them into an Excel sheet I created (Poker Tracker doesn't work with SB, and I don't have the spare 55 bucks right now anyway). During this process, a few patterns immediately jumped out at me. First, I've done very well at the highest limit I've been playing at (.10/.20, +$40), horrendous at the one below it (.05/.10, -$41), and not so great at the smallest limit either (.02/.04, -$7.50 or so). I attribute this to some extent to the fact that continuation bets and the like actually WORK sometimes at .10/.20, whereas the other two limits are always no-fold 'em hold 'em. Two other things - my play from the blinds isn't all that great, and I lose a TON of money on marginal high hands (which I will define as anything from A-J suited on down to 10-10). When I win with them, it's always a small pot...I make a small raise and opposing hands go into the muck at the speed of fucking light. When I lose with them though, I hemorrhage money like my chip stack got ventilated by an Uzi. Nothing really changed with any of this tonight (keep in mind that the home game is .5/.10 as well).
Anyone reading this who doesn't know me would probably think I was no better than any other online micro-stakes donkey playing in the various card rooms on teh intarwebz. But, I went down to Atlantic City and profited over $200 in a couple of long sessions at the $1/$3 tables at Bally's. In these home games, I usually do very well for myself. Maybe it sounds like I'm trying to convince myself (shit, maybe I am), but I'm not a bad player...I really, really am not. It just feels like it lately, though. One thing I do need improvement on though is my focus - when I play online, I always have to fight the urge to check my e-mail or fuck around on Facebook...when I play the home games or even at AC, I'm not watching the other players and the hands I'm not in enough. While I'm not usually prone to go on tilt, when I do, it's 0-to-Berserker Rage in about 2 seconds. Tonight, I was on tilt even before the game started due to some bullshit that went down at my soccer game last night. If this weren't a game with friends, I would never have played at all...so I suppose it isn't surprising that I wasn't paying a lot of attention, wasn't playing smart and definitely wasn't basing calls or folds based on reading the other player's hand. Still, in a just world I would only have ended up a buck or two down instead of 7.
I've started taking down hands in a notebook now, so I can actually give specifics. I opened up the game by stealing a few blinds and getting out of the way when it wasn't worth trying. I'm usually aggressive in that manner, and I like to set my table image early. On the 7th or 8th hand though, I got myself a nice holding of A-10, and raised it up. One caller and one terrible flop later, I had to fold...said caller informed me he held Q-Q. Trust me, it wouldn't be the last time I had a nice hand end up second best in the course of the evening.
One orbit later, I picked up .90 with Q-10, only to lose all of that in the next hand with 4-3 (I believe I had an open-ender that whiffed). A few hands after that, my K-K ran up against A-A for a -1.90 loss, and on the VERY NEXT FUCKING HAND, my A-J with the ace paired ran up against A-K for a -2.75 loss. I can't fucking REMEMBER the last time where I actually had someone dominated and they actually paid me off for it. Two orbits later, it happened again. My K-Q suited profited a whole 10 cents, then I picked up A-J again and lost 1.15 with them (all told, I had them 7 times in 181 hands, and lost 5 of them for a -7.35 total). I mean, it's not like I'm playing super-tight and everyone knows when I have a hand - out of the 181 hands, I had some part in 114 of them! I mean, a decent amount of those involved folding my blinds to a pre-flop raise, but it's not like I was the Rock of Gibraltar! Furthermore, I have the reputation in this game as kind of a loose and wild maniac, so I just don't get why my good hands aren't getting paid off.
I did recover at that point and won a few pots. I got .35 with A-J, 70 with K-K and .35 with K-10. Still, that hardly made up for the losses before, and I soon lost another .60 with A-J again. A few orbits later, another .40 was gone with Q-6 suited when my flush draw swung and missed like, well, anyone on my favorite baseball team. F-r-u-s-t-r-a-t-i-o-n.
So it went for another two hours or so, until I finally won one good pot (1.25) with A-10 where I may have raised someone off of the best hand. I think I had the 10 paired, and someone had their Jack paired or something. A solid win with A-Q was mostly neutralized by a 30-cent loss with Q-10. I won a total of 90 cents with K-8, 2-2 and 6-5, only to lose 1.50 with K-2 suited where my opponent kept making the bets enticing enough where I had to call with my four-flush draw. It whiffed, of fucking course. I've been playing for three years now, and I think the last flush I hit that paid me anything significant may have occurred at the Outer Banks in 2005 when I first played this fucking game. Ugh.
As it got towards the end of the session (well, when I bailed anyway), I had lost ANOTHER 90 cents with A-J, but then I went on a bit of a hot streak. I picked up 1.50 in total with A-6 suited, 9-8 and 10-10, a dollar with J-8, .35 for stealing with 7-2 (everyone pays a nickel if 7-2 wins in our game) and another .30 with 7-5. I folded the SB for just the 5 cents, and at that point I was only 4.25 down...not so bad considering the horrendous luck I had been having to that point.
Then, THAT hand happened. Like I said, I usually keep a lid on my anger pretty well, but Tilty McTilterson showed up after this one.
I had...no, really, GUESS WHICH FUCKING HAND. The flop came something like J-8-x, and my opponent was first to act. He put in a .30 raise or so, which I of course called as my Jack was paired with top kicker. The turn was I believe a Queen, which I didn't think my opponent had. Still, he raised a pretty significant amount, I think 1.50 or somewhere close. If memory serves, the river was a 10. With a board of Q-J-10-8-x, I should have realized the danger at some point, although in my defense, this opponent had raised me off the best hand a few times and had shown total bluffs afterward. In retrospect, I should have trusted my instincts and went all in on the turn. Still, I figured that he didn't have A-K, and I didn't think he had a set either. Honestly, I couldn't really put him on anything, but I felt like I had the best hand the whole way. He bet less on the river than he did the turn, .75 or thereabouts. I had to call with those pot odds, and I felt I had the best hand anyway. He turns over 9-9, and a nanosecond later my sunglasses where hurled across the room. I immediately got up and left the room to clear my head, because holy SHIT, was I steaming. I mean, I was ready to explode. I wish I knew what he thought I had the whole way, you know?
However, that's no excuse for the cavalier way I played the hand. There was enough danger on that board where he could have had a lot that beat me - J-J, Q-J, 10-10, 8-8, Q-10, a set of whatever the blank was, A-K, K-K, even A-A. At some point, I should have given some consideration to the fact that if he was betting at it, he had to have SOMETHING. While betting at it with 9-9 was fucking insane and he only won with the runner-runner turn and river, I don't know what I was beating other than a total bluff or some holding like J-7 or something (which he was capable of having based on how he was playing). On the flop, I should have re-raised all-in right there, or at least something significant. I could have done it on the turn too...if he had called at that point, I probably would have had a lot more right to be as mad as I was.
It's not a mistake that I probably would have made in Atlantic City, but it irks me all the same because I KNOW better. I'm a better player than this, and I probably shouldn't play when I'm in this mental state next time, even if friends are over.
Ugh. What a fucking weekend. In the next post, I'll show some hands from those histories on SB I was referring to before, and I'll try and deconstruct some more of my mistakes for you. Until then...
Over the last week or so, I've been taking the hand histories from Sportsbook and slowly slogging my way through entering them into an Excel sheet I created (Poker Tracker doesn't work with SB, and I don't have the spare 55 bucks right now anyway). During this process, a few patterns immediately jumped out at me. First, I've done very well at the highest limit I've been playing at (.10/.20, +$40), horrendous at the one below it (.05/.10, -$41), and not so great at the smallest limit either (.02/.04, -$7.50 or so). I attribute this to some extent to the fact that continuation bets and the like actually WORK sometimes at .10/.20, whereas the other two limits are always no-fold 'em hold 'em. Two other things - my play from the blinds isn't all that great, and I lose a TON of money on marginal high hands (which I will define as anything from A-J suited on down to 10-10). When I win with them, it's always a small pot...I make a small raise and opposing hands go into the muck at the speed of fucking light. When I lose with them though, I hemorrhage money like my chip stack got ventilated by an Uzi. Nothing really changed with any of this tonight (keep in mind that the home game is .5/.10 as well).
Anyone reading this who doesn't know me would probably think I was no better than any other online micro-stakes donkey playing in the various card rooms on teh intarwebz. But, I went down to Atlantic City and profited over $200 in a couple of long sessions at the $1/$3 tables at Bally's. In these home games, I usually do very well for myself. Maybe it sounds like I'm trying to convince myself (shit, maybe I am), but I'm not a bad player...I really, really am not. It just feels like it lately, though. One thing I do need improvement on though is my focus - when I play online, I always have to fight the urge to check my e-mail or fuck around on Facebook...when I play the home games or even at AC, I'm not watching the other players and the hands I'm not in enough. While I'm not usually prone to go on tilt, when I do, it's 0-to-Berserker Rage in about 2 seconds. Tonight, I was on tilt even before the game started due to some bullshit that went down at my soccer game last night. If this weren't a game with friends, I would never have played at all...so I suppose it isn't surprising that I wasn't paying a lot of attention, wasn't playing smart and definitely wasn't basing calls or folds based on reading the other player's hand. Still, in a just world I would only have ended up a buck or two down instead of 7.
I've started taking down hands in a notebook now, so I can actually give specifics. I opened up the game by stealing a few blinds and getting out of the way when it wasn't worth trying. I'm usually aggressive in that manner, and I like to set my table image early. On the 7th or 8th hand though, I got myself a nice holding of A-10, and raised it up. One caller and one terrible flop later, I had to fold...said caller informed me he held Q-Q. Trust me, it wouldn't be the last time I had a nice hand end up second best in the course of the evening.
One orbit later, I picked up .90 with Q-10, only to lose all of that in the next hand with 4-3 (I believe I had an open-ender that whiffed). A few hands after that, my K-K ran up against A-A for a -1.90 loss, and on the VERY NEXT FUCKING HAND, my A-J with the ace paired ran up against A-K for a -2.75 loss. I can't fucking REMEMBER the last time where I actually had someone dominated and they actually paid me off for it. Two orbits later, it happened again. My K-Q suited profited a whole 10 cents, then I picked up A-J again and lost 1.15 with them (all told, I had them 7 times in 181 hands, and lost 5 of them for a -7.35 total). I mean, it's not like I'm playing super-tight and everyone knows when I have a hand - out of the 181 hands, I had some part in 114 of them! I mean, a decent amount of those involved folding my blinds to a pre-flop raise, but it's not like I was the Rock of Gibraltar! Furthermore, I have the reputation in this game as kind of a loose and wild maniac, so I just don't get why my good hands aren't getting paid off.
I did recover at that point and won a few pots. I got .35 with A-J, 70 with K-K and .35 with K-10. Still, that hardly made up for the losses before, and I soon lost another .60 with A-J again. A few orbits later, another .40 was gone with Q-6 suited when my flush draw swung and missed like, well, anyone on my favorite baseball team. F-r-u-s-t-r-a-t-i-o-n.
So it went for another two hours or so, until I finally won one good pot (1.25) with A-10 where I may have raised someone off of the best hand. I think I had the 10 paired, and someone had their Jack paired or something. A solid win with A-Q was mostly neutralized by a 30-cent loss with Q-10. I won a total of 90 cents with K-8, 2-2 and 6-5, only to lose 1.50 with K-2 suited where my opponent kept making the bets enticing enough where I had to call with my four-flush draw. It whiffed, of fucking course. I've been playing for three years now, and I think the last flush I hit that paid me anything significant may have occurred at the Outer Banks in 2005 when I first played this fucking game. Ugh.
As it got towards the end of the session (well, when I bailed anyway), I had lost ANOTHER 90 cents with A-J, but then I went on a bit of a hot streak. I picked up 1.50 in total with A-6 suited, 9-8 and 10-10, a dollar with J-8, .35 for stealing with 7-2 (everyone pays a nickel if 7-2 wins in our game) and another .30 with 7-5. I folded the SB for just the 5 cents, and at that point I was only 4.25 down...not so bad considering the horrendous luck I had been having to that point.
Then, THAT hand happened. Like I said, I usually keep a lid on my anger pretty well, but Tilty McTilterson showed up after this one.
I had...no, really, GUESS WHICH FUCKING HAND. The flop came something like J-8-x, and my opponent was first to act. He put in a .30 raise or so, which I of course called as my Jack was paired with top kicker. The turn was I believe a Queen, which I didn't think my opponent had. Still, he raised a pretty significant amount, I think 1.50 or somewhere close. If memory serves, the river was a 10. With a board of Q-J-10-8-x, I should have realized the danger at some point, although in my defense, this opponent had raised me off the best hand a few times and had shown total bluffs afterward. In retrospect, I should have trusted my instincts and went all in on the turn. Still, I figured that he didn't have A-K, and I didn't think he had a set either. Honestly, I couldn't really put him on anything, but I felt like I had the best hand the whole way. He bet less on the river than he did the turn, .75 or thereabouts. I had to call with those pot odds, and I felt I had the best hand anyway. He turns over 9-9, and a nanosecond later my sunglasses where hurled across the room. I immediately got up and left the room to clear my head, because holy SHIT, was I steaming. I mean, I was ready to explode. I wish I knew what he thought I had the whole way, you know?
However, that's no excuse for the cavalier way I played the hand. There was enough danger on that board where he could have had a lot that beat me - J-J, Q-J, 10-10, 8-8, Q-10, a set of whatever the blank was, A-K, K-K, even A-A. At some point, I should have given some consideration to the fact that if he was betting at it, he had to have SOMETHING. While betting at it with 9-9 was fucking insane and he only won with the runner-runner turn and river, I don't know what I was beating other than a total bluff or some holding like J-7 or something (which he was capable of having based on how he was playing). On the flop, I should have re-raised all-in right there, or at least something significant. I could have done it on the turn too...if he had called at that point, I probably would have had a lot more right to be as mad as I was.
It's not a mistake that I probably would have made in Atlantic City, but it irks me all the same because I KNOW better. I'm a better player than this, and I probably shouldn't play when I'm in this mental state next time, even if friends are over.
Ugh. What a fucking weekend. In the next post, I'll show some hands from those histories on SB I was referring to before, and I'll try and deconstruct some more of my mistakes for you. Until then...
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