My excellent adventure at $1/$2 was short-lived. I dropped 4 big pots in quick succession and will drop back down to $0.5/$1.
One big pot was set over set. Can't really do anything about that.
The second big pot was a button vs. blind situation. I raised from the button with AJ and got reraised from the big blind. The big blind was a multitabler, so I figured this was likely a standard resteal. I didn't connect with the king high flop, but I floated the c-bet and then bet the turn 1/2 pot when checked to. Unfortunately villain called the turn bet and then stuck the rest of her stack in on the river. I still had no pair and had to fold. Not sure whether this was bad play or not, although undoubtedly high variance. I had seen villain play more straightforward/tight in an earlier button vs. blind situation, so maybe I should have given her more credit.
The third pot was against a maniac playing close to 100% VPIP. I reraised preflop to $15 with QQ out of the small blind and got three callers. I check called a tiny bet from the maniac on the king high flop. I check called a pot-sized all-in turn bet from the maniac. He had K6 or something like that. Hate my play here; my hand is pretty much face up. Although with maniacs you never know what they have. I guess I should just fold to the turn bet.
The fourth pot I had 99, raised preflop, and got two callers. Flop was 4d 5s 6s, I bet when checked to and got checkraised by the villain out of the blind. I thought he could have a draw and called the checkraise, his bet on the T turn, and his all-in for not much more on the J river. So stupid. He had JJ which makes sense, although I might have slowed down a bit on the turn if I were him. This seems to be another instance of a recurring problem for me which I have talked about before. I get attached to the theory that a villain could be semibluffing because the board is drawy, and I justify calling down the whole way because of it.
In general, not giving people credit for hands is the common theme in the last three of these four hands.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Update to the Update
Well, after the last post I was thinking maybe I would try to get to $1,200 before moving up to $1/$2, and lo and behold, when I checked the cashier just now I was at $1,209.36. Naturally rather than jeopardize my chances of moving up, I quit all tables immediately.
I'll start at $1/$2 tomorrow, but I'll probably begin with only one or two tables to lower the variance.
I'll start at $1/$2 tomorrow, but I'll probably begin with only one or two tables to lower the variance.
Update
I'm at $1,064.51 so in theory I am qualified to move up to $1/$2. But I think I will stay at $0.5/$1 a little while longer. It might be nice to have more than 500 BB's for the next level. Also my net profit at $0.5/$1 is a bit less than $500 because I still played some $0.25/$0.5 after my bankroll reached $500.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Playing Live
Played in a home game last night. After playing a bunch of online recently, it was interesting to contrast the live game. People were soooooo loose compared to what I am used to. Admittedly this was seven handed and not full ring, but still. These are good players too. But they're there to have fun, so they like to mix it up. Truth be told, I suspect they also justify their loose play with the usual excuses - need to add deception to their play; can make it up with their superior post-flop skills, etc.
I felt like such a nit sitting there folding hand after hand, while everyone else was playing tons of hands, winning and losing giant pots, etc. But on top of being tighter than everyone else at the table, I was also pretty card dead. Online it's not such a challenge playing tight, because the amount of time you have to wait for a playable hand is not very long, especially if you multitable. Playing live, you might go an hour and not play a single hand.
You'd think that people might respect my raises, since it's very plain to everyone how tight I am. That's not the case though. Each time I raised, I would get multiple callers, including hands like T7o and Q3s. I'm not complaining. I'm just mentioning this to point out that there is no point to me loosening up my hand ranges preflop.
Postflop, I do try to mix it up a bit with bluffs where it makes sense. But I don't go crazy with robotic c-bets and so forth, because in addition to being loose, they are smart, aggressive and good hand readers. Like most players, though, what I've noticed is that although they might be loose and aggressive when the pot is small, they tighten up and play pretty straightforward when the pots are big. Not always, but on the whole.
After several hours, I was down $400 or so (it's a $1/$2 game) despite not playing that many hands. I was feeling pretty miserable and wondering why I play this game. But then I made a swift comeback in the last hour or two and ended up turning a profit of $400. I sucked out in two big pots, though, so I can't really say that I "earned" my profit.
I felt like such a nit sitting there folding hand after hand, while everyone else was playing tons of hands, winning and losing giant pots, etc. But on top of being tighter than everyone else at the table, I was also pretty card dead. Online it's not such a challenge playing tight, because the amount of time you have to wait for a playable hand is not very long, especially if you multitable. Playing live, you might go an hour and not play a single hand.
You'd think that people might respect my raises, since it's very plain to everyone how tight I am. That's not the case though. Each time I raised, I would get multiple callers, including hands like T7o and Q3s. I'm not complaining. I'm just mentioning this to point out that there is no point to me loosening up my hand ranges preflop.
Postflop, I do try to mix it up a bit with bluffs where it makes sense. But I don't go crazy with robotic c-bets and so forth, because in addition to being loose, they are smart, aggressive and good hand readers. Like most players, though, what I've noticed is that although they might be loose and aggressive when the pot is small, they tighten up and play pretty straightforward when the pots are big. Not always, but on the whole.
After several hours, I was down $400 or so (it's a $1/$2 game) despite not playing that many hands. I was feeling pretty miserable and wondering why I play this game. But then I made a swift comeback in the last hour or two and ended up turning a profit of $400. I sucked out in two big pots, though, so I can't really say that I "earned" my profit.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Either An Idiot Or A Genius
To provide fair balance to my shameless brag post from a few days ago, here is an attempted hero call that does not turn out well:
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
[UTG posted $1]
Pre-flop: ($2.5, 6 players) Hero is BB
UTG checks, 4 folds, Hero checks
Flop:
($2.5, 2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $3, Hero calls $3
Turn:
($8.5, 2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $9, Hero calls $9
River:
($26.5, 2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $19, Hero calls $19
Final Pot: $64.50
Hero shows:
UTG shows:
UTG wins $61.5 ( won +$29.5 )
Hero lost -$32.00
From his betting, it seemed he either had a monster or nothing. A mere pair of 10s will slow down at some point. Also the large bet sizes on the flop and turn suggest monster or nothing. Since various busted draws were possible and he hadn't raised preflop (therefore overpairs and set of 10s unlikely), I elected to call all the way down. KT, in hindsight, makes a certain degree of sense. The only thing I find a little surprising is the size of the turn bet. A set of 2s or 7s would have made sense too.
I come off looking pretty stupid in this hand, but I'm not really sure how bad it is.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
| UTG | ($40.00) | ||
| UTG+1 | ($57.00) | ||
| CO | ($51.90) | ||
| BTN | ($28.65) | ||
| SB | ($215.95) | ||
| Hero | ($100.00) |
[UTG posted $1]
Pre-flop: ($2.5, 6 players) Hero is BB
UTG checks, 4 folds, Hero checks
Flop:
($2.5, 2 players)Hero checks, UTG bets $3, Hero calls $3
Turn:
($8.5, 2 players)Hero checks, UTG bets $9, Hero calls $9
River:
($26.5, 2 players)Hero checks, UTG bets $19, Hero calls $19
Final Pot: $64.50
Hero shows:
UTG shows:
UTG wins $61.5 ( won +$29.5 )
Hero lost -$32.00
From his betting, it seemed he either had a monster or nothing. A mere pair of 10s will slow down at some point. Also the large bet sizes on the flop and turn suggest monster or nothing. Since various busted draws were possible and he hadn't raised preflop (therefore overpairs and set of 10s unlikely), I elected to call all the way down. KT, in hindsight, makes a certain degree of sense. The only thing I find a little surprising is the size of the turn bet. A set of 2s or 7s would have made sense too.
I come off looking pretty stupid in this hand, but I'm not really sure how bad it is.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Folding Aces
To provide context, here's a hand I played against villain only a few moments before the hand below:
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
8 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
Pre-flop: ($1.5, 8 players) Hero is BTN
2 folds, MP1 raises to $4, 2 folds, Hero calls $4, 2 folds
Flop:
($9.5, 2 players)
MP1 bets $6, Hero calls $6
Turn:
($21.5, 2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $12, MP1 calls $12
River: ($45.5, 2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero checks
Final Pot: $45.50
Hero shows:
MP1 shows:
MP1 wins $43.3 ( won +$21.3 )
Hero lost -$22.00
Notice how conservative he is with an overpair. (Fooled me certainly.) I also have villain at 12.8/7.6. This all makes the following laydown easier:
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
Pre-flop: ($1.5, 9 players) Hero is UTG+1
1 fold, Hero raises to $4, 5 folds, SB calls $3.5, 1 fold
Flop:
($9, 2 players)
SB bets $8.5, Hero calls $8.5
Turn:
($26, 2 players)
SB bets $18, Hero folds
Final Pot: $26
SB wins $42.75 ( won +$12.25 )
Hero lost -$12.50
I was immediately suspicious when he led out the flop, especially with a nearly pot size bet. I can't lay it down then, but when he's still firing away on the turn, it's time to let go. I think.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
8 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
| UTG | ($126.75) | ||
| UTG+1 | ($119.00) | ||
| MP1 | ($101.85) | ||
| MP2 | ($100.00) | ||
| CO | ($74.65) | ||
| Hero | ($106.70) | ||
| SB | ($13.00) | ||
| BB | ($97.05) |
Pre-flop: ($1.5, 8 players) Hero is BTN
2 folds, MP1 raises to $4, 2 folds, Hero calls $4, 2 folds
Flop:
($9.5, 2 players)MP1 bets $6, Hero calls $6
Turn:
($21.5, 2 players)MP1 checks, Hero bets $12, MP1 calls $12
River:
($45.5, 2 players)MP1 checks, Hero checks
Final Pot: $45.50
Hero shows:
MP1 shows:
MP1 wins $43.3 ( won +$21.3 )
Hero lost -$22.00
Notice how conservative he is with an overpair. (Fooled me certainly.) I also have villain at 12.8/7.6. This all makes the following laydown easier:
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
| UTG | ($31.95) | ||
| Hero | ($103.55) | ||
| MP1 | ($37.60) | ||
| MP2 | ($64.65) | ||
| MP3 | ($100.00) | ||
| CO | ($102.35) | ||
| BTN | ($17.00) | ||
| SB | ($113.20) | ||
| BB | ($100.00) |
Pre-flop: ($1.5, 9 players) Hero is UTG+1
1 fold, Hero raises to $4, 5 folds, SB calls $3.5, 1 fold
Flop:
($9, 2 players)SB bets $8.5, Hero calls $8.5
Turn:
($26, 2 players)SB bets $18, Hero folds
Final Pot: $26
SB wins $42.75 ( won +$12.25 )
Hero lost -$12.50
I was immediately suspicious when he led out the flop, especially with a nearly pot size bet. I can't lay it down then, but when he's still firing away on the turn, it's time to let go. I think.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Shameless Brag Post
I'm pretty proud of this call with king high. My logic was that he would bet an ace on the turn, and any pair less than an ace he would either check behind or bet smaller. I was a little worried he could be bluffing with the best hand, but there were a lot of draws possible (I figured this guy would call the flop with gutshots - he was loose) so I went for it.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
8 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
Pre-flop: ($1.5, 8 players) Hero is SB
6 folds, Hero calls $0.5, BB checks
Flop: 
($2, 2 players)
Hero bets $1.4, BB calls $1.4
Turn:
($4.8, 2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks
River: ($4.8, 2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $5, Hero calls $5
Final Pot: $14.80
BB shows:
Hero shows:
Hero wins $14.1 ( won +$6.7 )
BB lost -$7.40
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
8 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
| UTG | ($100.00) | ||
| UTG+1 | ($130.65) | ||
| MP1 | ($98.50) | ||
| MP2 | ($134.45) | ||
| CO | ($102.85) | ||
| BTN | ($98.50) | ||
| Hero | ($120.35) | ||
| BB | ($76.20) |
Pre-flop: ($1.5, 8 players) Hero is SB
6 folds, Hero calls $0.5, BB checks
Flop:
($2, 2 players)Hero bets $1.4, BB calls $1.4
Turn:
($4.8, 2 players)Hero checks, BB checks
River:
($4.8, 2 players)Hero checks, BB bets $5, Hero calls $5
Final Pot: $14.80
BB shows:
Hero shows:
Hero wins $14.1 ( won +$6.7 )
BB lost -$7.40
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