It appears I haven't posted in this blog since last year's main event. Well, this year I decided to go again. It was also kind of a last-minute thing. I flew to Vegas early on the morning of day 1D, the last of the day 1's. I was hoping there would still be seats. That turned out not to be a problem, and moreover there was no line when I was registered, presumably because poker players are all fast asleep at 8:00 AM which was when I got to the Rio.
The long and the short of it was that I made it into the money (barely) and cashed for $19,300 and change. I also got to play with two poker celebrities, Jennifer Harman on day 2, and none other than the poker brat himself, Phil Hellmuth, on day 3. So it was a pretty cool experience overall.
I'm reasonably happy with my level of play overall. It's my conviction that your performance in any one tournament is largely determined by luck, not skill (even a tournament as deep-stacked as the main event). That said, I would say my luck was moderately good, but not tremendously good, so I'm pleased to have finished in the top 10% despite that.
I was all-in five times. The first time I was a 90+% favorite, the second time I was a 70+% favorite, the third time I was a 45/55 dog, the fifth time I was a 32/68 dog. (The fourth time, I had two opponents; I had the same hand as one, and I never saw the other opponent's hand. So I'm not sure how to score that one.) In a nutshell, I won when I was a solid favorite plus one coin flip, and lost when I was a solid underdog. A bit lucky, but no real suckouts or anything like that.
I also wasn't really involved in any hands where one player had a great hand and another player had an almost-as-good-but-second-best hand. That's where a lot of the profit arises from in poker, and it's largely a matter of luck. I did have one hand where I had a set and my opponent had a monster draw. So that was fortunate (especially since the draw didn't come through).
My biggest pots were:
With 20K, I open-raise the button with KhTc to 1000 (big blind was probably 400). Small and big blinds call. Small blind is Brian Kim, who I believe to be a high-stakes online player. Flop comes 764hhh. Checked to me, I bet 2000. Brian calls, big blind folds. Turn is Td. Checked to me, I bet 4000, Brian puts me all-in, I call pretty quickly. He has 9h9d and is drawing pretty dead. River is not an 8 and my hand holds up.
Don't remember all the details of the next hand, but I had around 40K and open-raised from the small blind with AKo. Aggressive big blind 3-bet, I 4-bet, he 5-bet me all-in. I called pretty quickly and was dominating his AJo. My hand held up so I doubled up to around 80K.
I have around 70K. Tight online player open-raised from the cutoff to about 5K or so. I 4-bet all-in with AKo. He calls with 55 (which surprised me) and I won the race, doubling me up to 140K.
After the bubble burst, I have 50K or so. Loose aggressive player open-raises in early position (to 10K or so), two players behind call and I have KJo on the button. Seems like a great spot to squeeze so I go all-in. I'm not sure if it's technically a squeeze, as even if called I expect my hand to compare favorably to my opponents' hands. Initial raiser calls and one of the two callers behind him as well. The flop is QTx, the second player bets the first player out of the hand, turns out he has KJ too and we chop. Even though I only chop, there's enough dead money in the pot that I practically double up. Around 80K after this hand.
Shortly after that, it's folded to me in the cutoff and I look down at T9o. I have around 80K still and my M is only about 5. (Blinds were probably 2000/4000 and antes probably 1000.) My image should be pretty tight as I basically folded my way into the money. I go all-in and get called by button who has AQo and big blind who has KQo. I have two live cards (about the best I can hope for in that spot) but cannot manage to suck out.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Friday, July 9, 2010
WSOP Main Event!
On a whim, I decided to fly to Vegas and play in the Main Event this year. Kind of crazy, because I don't generally gamble anywhere close to that level, and, moreover, I don't really do tournaments. But I can afford it, so why not? It's something every poker player should experience at least once in their lives, at least if it's within their means.
Sadly, I busted on day 2, but it was still a great experience. Here are some of the significant hands:
Raised KK preflop, got a caller in the blinds. Bet 8-high flop when checked to and was called. Turn was a rag and my opponent check-called another bet. River was a 4 and my opponent led out for 2K or something which was a small fraction of the pot. I called and it turned out his 84o had rivered two pair. Ugh.
Raised AQo preflop and was called by a good young online player sitting to my immediate left. Flop was all undercards with two hearts. I bet out and was called. Turn was the ace of hearts. I check-called. River was the queen of hearts. I checked and faced another bet. I thought for a long time and called and was shown 97 of hearts.
I knew I only had a bluff-catcher, but I convinced myself that this was a situation in which he might well be bluffing. In particular, because he was a young skilled online player. Later my opponent said he thought it was a good call, claiming that he turns a lot of top-pair hands into bluffs on this river. I'm not so sure, though. Certainly against most opponents this is always a flush. For most opponents, any good non-flush hand checks behind 100%. And most people wouldn't have many bluffs in their range after calling the flop and betting the turn.
I had observed this same opponent raise his big blind after the button open-limped. Later the button open-limped and I elected to complete J9s from the small blind, fully expecting him to raise his big blind with any two cards. And he did in fact raise, getting called by the button and by me. The flop was Qxx, no help to me, and I checked. He bet and the button folded. I figured this is just a c-bet, he can still have any two cards, so I check-raised. He stared me down and called. I don't remember what the turn was, but I check folded. I was worried that he saw right through me. But later he told me that he flopped bottom two pair, and, in fact, he is folding a ton of hands in that spot. So my read was dead-on, at least with respect to preflop. I was just unlucky that he flopped a monster.
Later I called a raise with 77 in the small blind and saw a four-way flop. Flop came 76x. I checked, hoping to check-raise, but the flop was checked through. The river was a 5 and I led out and was called in two places. The river was a 5 and I overbet the pot. My opponent on my left (same guy from the two hands above) called and said "I really should raise", showing 65 for the lower full house. Nice just-call, sir. He claimed he even thought about folding the turn, and he has a point. What can I have there that he beats, even with two pair? With hands like A7, 87, 88, 99, TT I lead out the flop typically. With JJ-AA I reraise preflop. And I would almost never bluff the turn into three opponents.
An early position player raised, a fish in middle position (the 84o guy) called and I called in the blinds with AQo. The flop came Q6x with one club. I check, early position player bets, the fish calls and I elect to just call. The turn is a low club. I check again, the early position player bets smallish, the fish raises to 7K or so - a pretty healthy-sized raise leaving himself just 1-2K behind. I call. Early position player hems and haws and eventually folds what he later says is KQ. Fish dumps his remaining 1-2K into the pot even before the river is dealt. The river is another club (the ace I think), but I don't really have an alternative to calling. I get shown a set of 6s.
I make it to day 2 with a stack of 24.5K (down from a starting stack of 30K). Early on day 2, I raise in early position with AKo and am called by a player who seems to be aggressive. The flop is eight-high, I check and he bets. I elect to check-raise and he calls. The turn is another rag and I lead out for another 7K or so. He calls again. The river is another low card that completes a backdoor flush draw. I don't have enough chips left, though, to get him to consider folding so I check and fold when he bets. He later tells me he had AA.
This was the biggest pot I lost so naturally I spent some time reconsidering whether I played it well. I don't think it's a terrible line; I was mostly just very unlucky to run into a huge hand. Since he just called preflop, the chance of him showing up with KK-AA (or even QQ) is not that high. I was more worried about a set. If he calls me with a fairly broad range preflop, and he bets when checked to a fair amount of the time (debatable), then he likely folds a lot of hands - basically everything except sets and 99-JJ. (Also, of course, QQ-AA, but as already stated I generally don't expect him to have those.) When I bet the turn, he probably ought to fold 99-JJ, although it's hard to be sure. Maybe he can call with JJ.
So, I don't know, it seems like both the flop and the turn bets should be folding out enough hands to be profitable. Although he actually had AA, I still think my assumption that he is unlikely to have AA (based on the preflop action) is valid.
Later I faced an early-position raise from a player with relatively normal tightness. I elected to reraise with JJ. When the action got back to him he raised again (basically putting me all-in) and I elected to fold. I assume his range for the 4-bet is AA-QQ and AK with AK not always 4-betting. That must leave me with no more than 30% equity and maybe a lot less (depends a lot on what he does with AK). Anyhow, he told me afterwards he had KK. I wonder if instead I should just call. I probably still have to call a bet on the flop even if an ace or king comes. But I can fold to a second bet on the turn. If the flop and turn are all lower than a J, though, it's going to be tough to lay it down to the second bet. Maybe I can do it though. Most importantly, if the flop is all low, maybe he check-folds with AK. If that's all true, maybe calling is superior. On the other hand, that may lead to other people behind me cold-calling which maybe I don't want. Also, I let AJ and AQ see a flop and get a chance to catch an ace, whereas they might fold to the reraise preflop.
Pretty soon I was down to push-or-fold territory. I pushed once with K9o in late position. I pushed with a medium or weak ace UTG and the big blind surprisingly folded AJo indicating he was pretty sure he was not ahead. I did nothing to disabuse him of this notion. I did hear some muttering from other parts of the table saying this should have been a snap-call. Later I pushed with KK over a limp from another short stack. Of course, I showed after the fold. I'm not sure I fooled anyone into thinking I was only pushing premium pocket pairs though. Later the other short stack (same guy from KK hand) open-raised his button. I figured maybe this could be any two cards, so I elected to push over this raise with J9. (His raised was probably to something in the range of 1.2K-1.5K and my all-in would have been to 10-12K.) He called pretty quickly with AJ (as he should of course) and I didn't suck out. Amusingly I barely covered him and was left with 50 chips. I was all-in on my small blind next hand with a chance to 9x my stack (Nontupling my stack? There should be a word for this.). Sadly, that did not occur.
There were TV cameras filming our table on a few different occasions. Probably because David Oppenheim, a well-known player, was in seat one until he busted. Apparently he is one of the biggest cash-game players around (at least according to his Wikipedia page), but he didn't impress me that much. He seems very fond of the overbet and it seems to always be a bluff and never a real hand. In fairness, I didn't play with him very long and one really shouldn't generalize from a small sample.
In general, though, I have to say that the reputation of the main event for attracting all sorts of very weak amateur players who just want to "take a shot" is grossly exaggerated. At the two tables I spent a fair amount of time at, there were only two players I thought were fish. Everyone else was at least competent.
Sadly, I busted on day 2, but it was still a great experience. Here are some of the significant hands:
Raised KK preflop, got a caller in the blinds. Bet 8-high flop when checked to and was called. Turn was a rag and my opponent check-called another bet. River was a 4 and my opponent led out for 2K or something which was a small fraction of the pot. I called and it turned out his 84o had rivered two pair. Ugh.
Raised AQo preflop and was called by a good young online player sitting to my immediate left. Flop was all undercards with two hearts. I bet out and was called. Turn was the ace of hearts. I check-called. River was the queen of hearts. I checked and faced another bet. I thought for a long time and called and was shown 97 of hearts.
I knew I only had a bluff-catcher, but I convinced myself that this was a situation in which he might well be bluffing. In particular, because he was a young skilled online player. Later my opponent said he thought it was a good call, claiming that he turns a lot of top-pair hands into bluffs on this river. I'm not so sure, though. Certainly against most opponents this is always a flush. For most opponents, any good non-flush hand checks behind 100%. And most people wouldn't have many bluffs in their range after calling the flop and betting the turn.
I had observed this same opponent raise his big blind after the button open-limped. Later the button open-limped and I elected to complete J9s from the small blind, fully expecting him to raise his big blind with any two cards. And he did in fact raise, getting called by the button and by me. The flop was Qxx, no help to me, and I checked. He bet and the button folded. I figured this is just a c-bet, he can still have any two cards, so I check-raised. He stared me down and called. I don't remember what the turn was, but I check folded. I was worried that he saw right through me. But later he told me that he flopped bottom two pair, and, in fact, he is folding a ton of hands in that spot. So my read was dead-on, at least with respect to preflop. I was just unlucky that he flopped a monster.
Later I called a raise with 77 in the small blind and saw a four-way flop. Flop came 76x. I checked, hoping to check-raise, but the flop was checked through. The river was a 5 and I led out and was called in two places. The river was a 5 and I overbet the pot. My opponent on my left (same guy from the two hands above) called and said "I really should raise", showing 65 for the lower full house. Nice just-call, sir. He claimed he even thought about folding the turn, and he has a point. What can I have there that he beats, even with two pair? With hands like A7, 87, 88, 99, TT I lead out the flop typically. With JJ-AA I reraise preflop. And I would almost never bluff the turn into three opponents.
An early position player raised, a fish in middle position (the 84o guy) called and I called in the blinds with AQo. The flop came Q6x with one club. I check, early position player bets, the fish calls and I elect to just call. The turn is a low club. I check again, the early position player bets smallish, the fish raises to 7K or so - a pretty healthy-sized raise leaving himself just 1-2K behind. I call. Early position player hems and haws and eventually folds what he later says is KQ. Fish dumps his remaining 1-2K into the pot even before the river is dealt. The river is another club (the ace I think), but I don't really have an alternative to calling. I get shown a set of 6s.
I make it to day 2 with a stack of 24.5K (down from a starting stack of 30K). Early on day 2, I raise in early position with AKo and am called by a player who seems to be aggressive. The flop is eight-high, I check and he bets. I elect to check-raise and he calls. The turn is another rag and I lead out for another 7K or so. He calls again. The river is another low card that completes a backdoor flush draw. I don't have enough chips left, though, to get him to consider folding so I check and fold when he bets. He later tells me he had AA.
This was the biggest pot I lost so naturally I spent some time reconsidering whether I played it well. I don't think it's a terrible line; I was mostly just very unlucky to run into a huge hand. Since he just called preflop, the chance of him showing up with KK-AA (or even QQ) is not that high. I was more worried about a set. If he calls me with a fairly broad range preflop, and he bets when checked to a fair amount of the time (debatable), then he likely folds a lot of hands - basically everything except sets and 99-JJ. (Also, of course, QQ-AA, but as already stated I generally don't expect him to have those.) When I bet the turn, he probably ought to fold 99-JJ, although it's hard to be sure. Maybe he can call with JJ.
So, I don't know, it seems like both the flop and the turn bets should be folding out enough hands to be profitable. Although he actually had AA, I still think my assumption that he is unlikely to have AA (based on the preflop action) is valid.
Later I faced an early-position raise from a player with relatively normal tightness. I elected to reraise with JJ. When the action got back to him he raised again (basically putting me all-in) and I elected to fold. I assume his range for the 4-bet is AA-QQ and AK with AK not always 4-betting. That must leave me with no more than 30% equity and maybe a lot less (depends a lot on what he does with AK). Anyhow, he told me afterwards he had KK. I wonder if instead I should just call. I probably still have to call a bet on the flop even if an ace or king comes. But I can fold to a second bet on the turn. If the flop and turn are all lower than a J, though, it's going to be tough to lay it down to the second bet. Maybe I can do it though. Most importantly, if the flop is all low, maybe he check-folds with AK. If that's all true, maybe calling is superior. On the other hand, that may lead to other people behind me cold-calling which maybe I don't want. Also, I let AJ and AQ see a flop and get a chance to catch an ace, whereas they might fold to the reraise preflop.
Pretty soon I was down to push-or-fold territory. I pushed once with K9o in late position. I pushed with a medium or weak ace UTG and the big blind surprisingly folded AJo indicating he was pretty sure he was not ahead. I did nothing to disabuse him of this notion. I did hear some muttering from other parts of the table saying this should have been a snap-call. Later I pushed with KK over a limp from another short stack. Of course, I showed after the fold. I'm not sure I fooled anyone into thinking I was only pushing premium pocket pairs though. Later the other short stack (same guy from KK hand) open-raised his button. I figured maybe this could be any two cards, so I elected to push over this raise with J9. (His raised was probably to something in the range of 1.2K-1.5K and my all-in would have been to 10-12K.) He called pretty quickly with AJ (as he should of course) and I didn't suck out. Amusingly I barely covered him and was left with 50 chips. I was all-in on my small blind next hand with a chance to 9x my stack (Nontupling my stack? There should be a word for this.). Sadly, that did not occur.
There were TV cameras filming our table on a few different occasions. Probably because David Oppenheim, a well-known player, was in seat one until he busted. Apparently he is one of the biggest cash-game players around (at least according to his Wikipedia page), but he didn't impress me that much. He seems very fond of the overbet and it seems to always be a bluff and never a real hand. In fairness, I didn't play with him very long and one really shouldn't generalize from a small sample.
In general, though, I have to say that the reputation of the main event for attracting all sorts of very weak amateur players who just want to "take a shot" is grossly exaggerated. At the two tables I spent a fair amount of time at, there were only two players I thought were fish. Everyone else was at least competent.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Annoying
Just a bad beat post and a whine. I think my opponent misplayed every street, with the exception of the river which he most likely would have misplayed had he not already been all-in.
$0.50/$1 No Limit Holdem • 9 Players
Generated by weaktight.com.
| Hero | $167.25 | |
| UTG+1 | $104.50 | |
| MP1 | $146.45 | |
| MP2 | $122.80 | |
| MP3 | $110.80 | |
| CO | $40 | |
| BTN | $80 | |
| SB | $110.50 | |
| BB | $122.10 | |
- Pre-Flop ($1.50, 9 players)Hero is UTG
Hero raises to $3, 3 folds, MP3 calls $3, 2 folds, SB calls $2.50, BB calls $2
- Flop ($12, 4 players)
-
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $9, 1 fold, SB folds, BB calls $9
- Turn ($30, 2 players)
BB bets $17, Hero raises to $50, BB raises to $83, Hero raises to $116, BB goes all-in $27.10
- River ($256.10, 2 players, 1 all-in)
- Final Pot: $256.10
- Hero shows three of a kind, Aces
- BB shows a flush, King high
- BB wins $247.20 (net +$125.10)
- Hero collects $5.90 (net -$122.10)
- MP3 lost $3
- SB lost $3
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Reversal of Fortune
Playing online again and my luck is on a nice upswing. Had AA over KK twice and once over AK. For stacks each time, and they held. Also had a nice suckout on this hand. With QJs I reraise a button open-raise preflop out of the blinds. The flop is T9x and I lead out and get called. The turn is another T and I check-raise all-in. My opponent let his clock run all the way down and called me with J9. Gutsy call by him, and correct obviously given what I had. Unfortunately for him, the river was a Q.
Check-raising the turn seemed like the best way to get a fold from a hand like JJ. I thought if I led the turn and was called I wouldn't have enough left on the river to push him off the hand. But I don't know if I ever play a strong hand this way, and maybe he figured that out.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Venetian 2/5
Got back from a three day trip to Vegas recently. Spent most of the trip playing 2/5 no-limit at the Venetian. Ended up down $700 or so. Think I played fine, but just had too many good second-best hands. Main hands I remember are: 1) doubled some guy up with my top two pair against his straight; 2) lost a sizable pot with top two pair against a set; 3) got bluffed off a low boat on a double-paired board; 4) got raised off top-pair-top-kicker by a old nitty guy who said it was a good fold; 5) won with set-over-set; 6) got reraised preflop while holding AJo, AQo and AKo. Folded all of them and got shown AA, AA and AKs; 7) raised preflop w/ TT, led out 66x flop, got raised all-in by short stack ($120 more or so?), called and got shown 76.
I made a few sizable bluffs. Six way limped pot, button raises. I think it's a steal so I reraise from the blind with QT. He calls. Flop comes KJx and I check, planning to checkraise all-in. He checks behind. Turn is a Q. I lead out for $200 (about pot size) and he folds.
I am on the button with KT or something and limp in. Flop gives me an open-ended straight draw. Cutoff leads out, I call, big blind calls. Same action on turn. River is a blank and cutoff leads out again, but only about $80 or so into a $200 pot. He clearly seems weak and the blind seems to have been drawing, so I raise $200. Blind folds quickly, and cutoff folds top pair king kicker.
I raise in early position with 55 and get called in middle position. I lead out the AKx flop and get called. The turn is another K. I lead out again and he thinks a long time and calls. The river is a blank and I lead out again and he again calls after a lot of thought showing K8. I put him on something like AJ/AQ after the preflop, flop and turn action, in which case I would expect the river bluff to succeed. Kind of surprised to see what he actually held. Don't think it's +EV to call my early position raises with K8, unless I suck postflop more than I think I do.
General observations: people weren't terrible. They weren't going broke with overpairs, for example. In fact, I think I need to add to my repertoire the occasional large bluff to push someone off an overpair. Only occasionally, though. Although they don't overvalue their one-pair hands postflop, people play a lot of crap preflop, and will even call raises with their crap. People were playing their big hands fast; not a lot of slowplaying. Big bets ($200 or more, say) were generally real hands (i.e., more than one pair), not bluffs, although not always. I could probably make even tighter folds in those spots than I already do. I need to pay more attention to my opponent's perception of my hand strength though. A big raise when I have shown strength is virtually never a bluff. A big bet when I have been check-calling may be, however. I also think I need to cut down on c-betting into multiple opponents. Or maybe I just need to c-bet smaller - if I'm c-betting half pot, I can still show a profit even if the bet fails most of the time.
I made a few sizable bluffs. Six way limped pot, button raises. I think it's a steal so I reraise from the blind with QT. He calls. Flop comes KJx and I check, planning to checkraise all-in. He checks behind. Turn is a Q. I lead out for $200 (about pot size) and he folds.
I am on the button with KT or something and limp in. Flop gives me an open-ended straight draw. Cutoff leads out, I call, big blind calls. Same action on turn. River is a blank and cutoff leads out again, but only about $80 or so into a $200 pot. He clearly seems weak and the blind seems to have been drawing, so I raise $200. Blind folds quickly, and cutoff folds top pair king kicker.
I raise in early position with 55 and get called in middle position. I lead out the AKx flop and get called. The turn is another K. I lead out again and he thinks a long time and calls. The river is a blank and I lead out again and he again calls after a lot of thought showing K8. I put him on something like AJ/AQ after the preflop, flop and turn action, in which case I would expect the river bluff to succeed. Kind of surprised to see what he actually held. Don't think it's +EV to call my early position raises with K8, unless I suck postflop more than I think I do.
General observations: people weren't terrible. They weren't going broke with overpairs, for example. In fact, I think I need to add to my repertoire the occasional large bluff to push someone off an overpair. Only occasionally, though. Although they don't overvalue their one-pair hands postflop, people play a lot of crap preflop, and will even call raises with their crap. People were playing their big hands fast; not a lot of slowplaying. Big bets ($200 or more, say) were generally real hands (i.e., more than one pair), not bluffs, although not always. I could probably make even tighter folds in those spots than I already do. I need to pay more attention to my opponent's perception of my hand strength though. A big raise when I have shown strength is virtually never a bluff. A big bet when I have been check-calling may be, however. I also think I need to cut down on c-betting into multiple opponents. Or maybe I just need to c-bet smaller - if I'm c-betting half pot, I can still show a profit even if the bet fails most of the time.
Friday, December 26, 2008
We Return To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming
Played tonight after not having played for several weeks. Whenever I have a bad downswing, I tend to lose my interest in playing.
This isn't going to help:
$1/$2 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
Pre-flop: ($3, 9 players) Hero is MP3
4 folds, Hero raises to $8, 3 folds, Itz_ calls $6
Flop:
($17, 2 players)
Itz_ checks, Hero bets $12, Itz_ raises to $31, Hero calls $19
Turn:
($79, 2 players)
Itz_ bets $65, Hero calls $65
River:
($209, 2 players)
Itz_ goes all-in $121.15, Hero calls $121.15
Final Pot: $451.30
Hero shows:
Itz_ shows:
Itz_ wins $448.30 ( won +$223.15 )
Hero lost -$225.15
Oh well, just another bad beat story. Not much I can do here.
This isn't going to help:
$1/$2 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com
Stacks:
| UTG | MrKGBoreoman | ($50.95) | |
| UTG+1 | Dr. Fells | ($200.00) | |
| MP1 | I The King I | ($200.00) | |
| MP2 | DanPoker222 | ($246.05) | |
| MP3 | Hero | ($289.55) | |
| CO | TYJohnRambo | ($120.00) | |
| BTN | capaneo | ($352.80) | |
| SB | ZepHendrix | ($262.20) | |
| BB | Itz_ | ($225.15) |
Pre-flop: ($3, 9 players) Hero is MP3
4 folds, Hero raises to $8, 3 folds, Itz_ calls $6
Flop:
($17, 2 players)Itz_ checks, Hero bets $12, Itz_ raises to $31, Hero calls $19
Turn:
($79, 2 players)Itz_ bets $65, Hero calls $65
River:
($209, 2 players)Itz_ goes all-in $121.15, Hero calls $121.15
Final Pot: $451.30
Hero shows:
Itz_ shows:
Itz_ wins $448.30 ( won +$223.15 )
Hero lost -$225.15
Oh well, just another bad beat story. Not much I can do here.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
$800 downswing
Ugh, I'm in the middle of an $800 downswing. I think I'll use this post to review some of my biggest losing hands from the last few days.
$213 loss: Got in a race w/ JJ against AK, all-in preflop, and lost. Opponent was somewhat loose-aggressive and I had reraised him a few times before. Still, when he 4-bet me to $50 his range is probably AK, AA-QQ making my push pretty dubious. I did see him get all-in with QJ earlier, but that was in a bvb situation, which this was not.
$188.85 loss: Got in a race w/ QQ against AK, all-in preflop. He hit his king.
$76.05 loss: Raised from the cut-off with Kd 8d and was called by the button. Flop was 6s 7h 5h giving me the OESD. I bet $13, was raised to $30 and pushed for $38.05 more. He had 7s 5s and I didn't get there. I guess this is OK. The thing is, with his short stack I have zero fold equity, so in some sense this is not a classic semibluff. But assuming he is sometimes drawing, I guess this push must be correct.
$72 loss: Limped from the SB with 44, three ways to the flop. Flop was 4s Ks 7d giving me the set. Bet $5 and was called by both opponents. Turn was Ah. I bet $20 (almost pot-size) and was called by one opponent. River was the 5s completing the flush, and I check-called $45. He had the nut flush, of course. Not much to be done here other than possibly folding the river, but that seems pretty weak.
$62.45 loss: Two limpers, checked 6c 5c in the BB. Flop was 3s 7c Qc giving me a flush draw and a gutshot. Led out and was called in two places. Turn as 8h turning my gutshot into an openender. Led out and got one caller. River was the 8d. He had about 70% of the pot left in his stack so I put him all-in and he called with QJ. It seems like, from a game-theoretic perspective, this must be more or the less the right way to play it. These are the sorts of hands I am supposed to be bluffing. On the other hand, I don't know how often villains actually fold this river with any made hand that they call the flop and turn with.
$50 loss: Limped preflop behind one caller w/ 9c 8c. Flop was Jh Td 5d. I called a pot-size bet. Turn was 3s and I called a 1/3 pot-size bet. River was Th. I raised a $12 bet (1/3 pot) to $36. He called with J8. Not sure I like his play - J8 is crushed by any legitimate hand I have there. On the other hand, there are a lot of busted draws. Not sure I like my play either.
$50 loss: Raised from the cut-off w/ Kd Jc, called in the BB. Flop was 8h 9d 4s and I c-bet $12 (3/4 pot) and was called. Turn was Tc giving me an OESD so I double-barrelled $30 (3/4 pot) and was called. River was 8c and he led out all-in for $42.25. His line is kind of fishy but I don't see how I can call with K high.
$50 loss: After one limper raised to $10 with QQ. Flop was Ah 6d 4s and he made a very small lead for $2. That looked pretty weak so I raised to $10 and he called. Turn was Kh. I thought he'd put me on AK so I elected to fire again for $30. He called again. River was Ac and I checked behind. He took it down with A7. Pretty loose play by him but it worked out for him this time.
$43 loss: Called a preflop raise in position w/ 66. Flop was 3d 4c 8h and I called a pot-size bet. Turn was As and he checked to me. I thought maybe the ace scared him so I bet $25. He check-raised all-in and I had to muck.
$40 loss: Raised JJ preflop, one caller behind me. Flop was 245 rainbow. Bet and was called. Turn was a 3, checked through. River was a 9. Bet and was called by AK for the straight. Think I lost the minimum here.
$38 loss: Called a button raise to $6 from the blind with Ac 9d. Flop was 3c Qc Qh and I check-called a pot-size bet of $12. Turn was Kc giving me the nut flush draw and I check-called a $20 bet. River was the 3d and it checked through. He had Tc 8c for a cautiously played flush. I definitely played this loose-passive. On the other hand, I was ahead until the turn, at which point I picked up a good draw. I guess I need him to put in another $24 on the river on average, when I hit my flush, to justify the turn call. (That's assuming he never boats up.) Not sure if that's reasonable.
$38 loss: Raised in early position with KQs and got one caller behind me. C-bet on the 3c 4h 9h flop and he called. Turn was the Jh (completing a possible flush) and checked through. River was a K and I check-called $18 (a bit less than 1/2 pot). He had AK. My first instinct was that I played this well and lost the minimum. On the other hand, what kind of hand checks the turn through but bets the river? After the flop call, medium-to-high pairs like 77, 88, TT, QQ are likely. The turn check is consistent with a medium strength hand that wants to get to showdown. QQ is now unlikely. With a hand like 77, 88 or TT the river bring a second overcard. Who would value bet there? Especially since my hand looks a lot like a missed AK. Also note that the only likely draw on the flop is a heart flush draw that actually got there on the turn. So he can't really be bluffing a missed draw. It's pretty counterintuitive but unless my opponent is a maniac, or at least an aggressive player who will float with any two, I think this is a fold.
$31 loss: Raised over two limpers to $12 with Ad Kc, got one caller in front of me. Flop was Ts 8c 7c, I c-bet $19 and got called. Turn was 6c, completing both likely draws and I checked behind. I folded to a lead out on the river. Boring hand. Maybe I shouldn't c-bet this flop, or at least c-bet smaller.
$30 loss: Called a raise with AsQs. Called a bet on the 6d 6h Ad flop. Bet the Jd turn when checked to and got called. Checked behind when the fourth diamond came on the river. He had Kd Kh. Not much I can do.
$29 loss: Checked my option in the big blind with 5c 9h. Four way to the 4d As 3s flop which checked through. Turn was 2s giving me the straight. I bet $5 and got called in two places. Check-called $22 on the Th river and lost to a flush. I completely didn't see that there was a flush possibility on the board. Still, I'm not sure I could play it much differently.
$28 loss: Limped with As Ts. Four way to the 2s 4s Tc flop. Ajven, a notoriously tight regular, leads out for $6. I call with the nut flush draw and so does someone behind me. On the 5c turn, Ajven leads out for $20, I call, there is a raise behind me all-in to $45.60 and Ajven reraises to $80. I figure I don't have odds to draw, especially considering that some of my outs may give someone a boat, so I fold. It turns out that on the turn, both opponents had two pair.
$28 loss: Raised with AA preflop. Got 4 (!) callers. Bet $20 on the 8h 8d 9c flop and got two callers. Turn was the 7c and I checked behind. River was the 6d, there is a bet and a raise in front of me and I make the world's easiest fold of AA. Turns out it was boat-over-boat (99 vs. 86) at the end.
It's not clear what the take-home message is. I see a couple of big flips that I lost, a number of semi-bluffs that didn't work out, some passively played draws that didn't come through and some hands where I had a good hand but just lost to a better hand. I don't think I played terribly in these hands. It's possible I can tighten up a little bit; on the other hand, when you review exclusively a set of hands that you lost big on, you're naturally going to feel that you should have played tighter. It would be interesting to review the big hands that I won over the same timeframe and compare.
$213 loss: Got in a race w/ JJ against AK, all-in preflop, and lost. Opponent was somewhat loose-aggressive and I had reraised him a few times before. Still, when he 4-bet me to $50 his range is probably AK, AA-QQ making my push pretty dubious. I did see him get all-in with QJ earlier, but that was in a bvb situation, which this was not.
$188.85 loss: Got in a race w/ QQ against AK, all-in preflop. He hit his king.
$76.05 loss: Raised from the cut-off with Kd 8d and was called by the button. Flop was 6s 7h 5h giving me the OESD. I bet $13, was raised to $30 and pushed for $38.05 more. He had 7s 5s and I didn't get there. I guess this is OK. The thing is, with his short stack I have zero fold equity, so in some sense this is not a classic semibluff. But assuming he is sometimes drawing, I guess this push must be correct.
$72 loss: Limped from the SB with 44, three ways to the flop. Flop was 4s Ks 7d giving me the set. Bet $5 and was called by both opponents. Turn was Ah. I bet $20 (almost pot-size) and was called by one opponent. River was the 5s completing the flush, and I check-called $45. He had the nut flush, of course. Not much to be done here other than possibly folding the river, but that seems pretty weak.
$62.45 loss: Two limpers, checked 6c 5c in the BB. Flop was 3s 7c Qc giving me a flush draw and a gutshot. Led out and was called in two places. Turn as 8h turning my gutshot into an openender. Led out and got one caller. River was the 8d. He had about 70% of the pot left in his stack so I put him all-in and he called with QJ. It seems like, from a game-theoretic perspective, this must be more or the less the right way to play it. These are the sorts of hands I am supposed to be bluffing. On the other hand, I don't know how often villains actually fold this river with any made hand that they call the flop and turn with.
$50 loss: Limped preflop behind one caller w/ 9c 8c. Flop was Jh Td 5d. I called a pot-size bet. Turn was 3s and I called a 1/3 pot-size bet. River was Th. I raised a $12 bet (1/3 pot) to $36. He called with J8. Not sure I like his play - J8 is crushed by any legitimate hand I have there. On the other hand, there are a lot of busted draws. Not sure I like my play either.
$50 loss: Raised from the cut-off w/ Kd Jc, called in the BB. Flop was 8h 9d 4s and I c-bet $12 (3/4 pot) and was called. Turn was Tc giving me an OESD so I double-barrelled $30 (3/4 pot) and was called. River was 8c and he led out all-in for $42.25. His line is kind of fishy but I don't see how I can call with K high.
$50 loss: After one limper raised to $10 with QQ. Flop was Ah 6d 4s and he made a very small lead for $2. That looked pretty weak so I raised to $10 and he called. Turn was Kh. I thought he'd put me on AK so I elected to fire again for $30. He called again. River was Ac and I checked behind. He took it down with A7. Pretty loose play by him but it worked out for him this time.
$43 loss: Called a preflop raise in position w/ 66. Flop was 3d 4c 8h and I called a pot-size bet. Turn was As and he checked to me. I thought maybe the ace scared him so I bet $25. He check-raised all-in and I had to muck.
$40 loss: Raised JJ preflop, one caller behind me. Flop was 245 rainbow. Bet and was called. Turn was a 3, checked through. River was a 9. Bet and was called by AK for the straight. Think I lost the minimum here.
$38 loss: Called a button raise to $6 from the blind with Ac 9d. Flop was 3c Qc Qh and I check-called a pot-size bet of $12. Turn was Kc giving me the nut flush draw and I check-called a $20 bet. River was the 3d and it checked through. He had Tc 8c for a cautiously played flush. I definitely played this loose-passive. On the other hand, I was ahead until the turn, at which point I picked up a good draw. I guess I need him to put in another $24 on the river on average, when I hit my flush, to justify the turn call. (That's assuming he never boats up.) Not sure if that's reasonable.
$38 loss: Raised in early position with KQs and got one caller behind me. C-bet on the 3c 4h 9h flop and he called. Turn was the Jh (completing a possible flush) and checked through. River was a K and I check-called $18 (a bit less than 1/2 pot). He had AK. My first instinct was that I played this well and lost the minimum. On the other hand, what kind of hand checks the turn through but bets the river? After the flop call, medium-to-high pairs like 77, 88, TT, QQ are likely. The turn check is consistent with a medium strength hand that wants to get to showdown. QQ is now unlikely. With a hand like 77, 88 or TT the river bring a second overcard. Who would value bet there? Especially since my hand looks a lot like a missed AK. Also note that the only likely draw on the flop is a heart flush draw that actually got there on the turn. So he can't really be bluffing a missed draw. It's pretty counterintuitive but unless my opponent is a maniac, or at least an aggressive player who will float with any two, I think this is a fold.
$31 loss: Raised over two limpers to $12 with Ad Kc, got one caller in front of me. Flop was Ts 8c 7c, I c-bet $19 and got called. Turn was 6c, completing both likely draws and I checked behind. I folded to a lead out on the river. Boring hand. Maybe I shouldn't c-bet this flop, or at least c-bet smaller.
$30 loss: Called a raise with AsQs. Called a bet on the 6d 6h Ad flop. Bet the Jd turn when checked to and got called. Checked behind when the fourth diamond came on the river. He had Kd Kh. Not much I can do.
$29 loss: Checked my option in the big blind with 5c 9h. Four way to the 4d As 3s flop which checked through. Turn was 2s giving me the straight. I bet $5 and got called in two places. Check-called $22 on the Th river and lost to a flush. I completely didn't see that there was a flush possibility on the board. Still, I'm not sure I could play it much differently.
$28 loss: Limped with As Ts. Four way to the 2s 4s Tc flop. Ajven, a notoriously tight regular, leads out for $6. I call with the nut flush draw and so does someone behind me. On the 5c turn, Ajven leads out for $20, I call, there is a raise behind me all-in to $45.60 and Ajven reraises to $80. I figure I don't have odds to draw, especially considering that some of my outs may give someone a boat, so I fold. It turns out that on the turn, both opponents had two pair.
$28 loss: Raised with AA preflop. Got 4 (!) callers. Bet $20 on the 8h 8d 9c flop and got two callers. Turn was the 7c and I checked behind. River was the 6d, there is a bet and a raise in front of me and I make the world's easiest fold of AA. Turns out it was boat-over-boat (99 vs. 86) at the end.
It's not clear what the take-home message is. I see a couple of big flips that I lost, a number of semi-bluffs that didn't work out, some passively played draws that didn't come through and some hands where I had a good hand but just lost to a better hand. I don't think I played terribly in these hands. It's possible I can tighten up a little bit; on the other hand, when you review exclusively a set of hands that you lost big on, you're naturally going to feel that you should have played tighter. It would be interesting to review the big hands that I won over the same timeframe and compare.
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