The 5k krillroll on swcpoker was last night. I started by winning a few small pots to get myself above average in chips. Then this happened:

25/50 no antes

three limpers, button raises to 225 with ~1.2k behind, small blind folds, I shove ~2k with A5s, folds to the button who deliberates. He folded.

----

A few hands later:

25/50 no antes

I raise 3x with J7o in the cutoff, only the big blind calls with ~2 pots behind. I cover.

QQTr

checks through

7o

checks through

Qo

checks to me, I shove, he deliberates and folds.

----

Then I took out a shortstack and I was sitting on over 4k in chips, which was ~40 big blinds after the stakes increased. I cover the table. Then this happened:

I raise 3x with KQo in middle position, co shoves 12 big blinds, folds to me and I call. He shows A9o.

flop Axx

I missed the turn and was drawing dead. Shrug.

----

A few hands later I was in the big blind with ~28 big blinds behind.

folds to the small blind, he shoves ~12 big blinds, I call ATo. He shows K7o.

flop: 987r

I missed the turn and river and lost. Shrug.

----

Now I was down to ~16 big blinds and the stakes were sure to go up any moment.

middle position shoves ~5 big blinds, I shove ATo on the button, small blind deliberates and calls, covering both, big blind folds. We all show. Small blind has AKo and mp has 88.

Axx

I needed to hit a ten desperately, but I missed and was eliminated.

It was fun though and I like my play.

I won a pot limit big O8 freeroll yesterday for 1.8 chips on swcpoker and took those chips to the cash tables. There were no micro limit holdem games nor no limit holdem games going, so I sat with a gamestarter at 2c/4c big O8. It only took about ten minutes for me to lose though as I wasn't making any big hands despite having five cards to work with.

It's a fun game though and I enjoy playing it. Perhaps I play too loosely preflop. It's likely that I overplay A2xxx and AAxxx, which works fine in tourneys due to the short stacked nature of play. At the cash tables with >20 big blinds, not so much.

I won a no limit holdem freeroll the other day, which paid 1.6 chips. I quickly lost it playing big O8, which I've decided to stop playing.

Then yesterday morning I finished seventh in a no limit holdem freeroll, which gave me barely enough to sit in a 10c no limit holdem heads up sitngo. I won two in a row which gave me a total of 41c. Then I took that to the cash tables. It took about an hour to multiply my stack by the power of ten. Then I took a break and went out for coffee with a girl. When I came back, there was a limit holdem gamestarter sitting at 2c/4c. I took all of his chips.

Then I mixed it up and played a bit of the 9game and 12game. Lost a bit though so I took a break.

Then I played some 1 chip no limit holdem sitngoes and broke even.

Then I said **** it and went to the highest variance game I could find, which happened to be the 5 big blind max buy in table at 10c/20c no limit holdem. Within a few hands, I had tripled my stack, but then the cards started hitting my opponents in the face and I was broke in a matter of ten minutes. It's a fun format, but probably not the best idea on a limited bankroll.

I cashed in a few freerolls on swcpoker over the past week, but have been unable to hit hands at the cash tables. I started yesterday with .07 chips in my account. Then I played the horse freeroll which I absolutely dominated. By the time we were down to six players, I had almost 90% of the chips in play. Needless to say that I took it down without issue.

That left me with 1.67 chips to play with last night. A few double ups later and I had 7 chips. Then I lost a decent sized pot and finished the night with 2.68 chips in my account.

This morning, I played a bit of .01/.02 no limit holdem and basically broke even. Then I decided to shortstack .05/.10 no limit holdem and doubled up with AJo vs 55 when I hit an Ace and it held up. Then this happened:

very weak player limps utg 6 max, I raise to .40 with T8s cutoff, big blind calls, utg calls.

T52 with a spade draw.

big blind checks, utg bets 1/2 pot, I call, big blind calls.

8o

big blind checks, utg shoves ~3/4 pot, I call all in, big blind covers all and calls.

9s

big blind has 66, utg has T9o.

It's ok though it was a fun morning.

I played a bunch of different games yesterday on swcpoker including no limit holdem, pot limit big O8, and limit holdem at stakes ranging from .01/.02 no limit holdem to .50/1 limit holdem. I also placed second in a 4max tourney, which is a very fun format for me. Got all in with 22 vs AJo with my last 12 big blinds, which my opponent covered. He hit trip Aces on the flop though and I was eliminated.

I know I said I wasn't going to play pot limit big O8 anymore, but being a recreational player lends me the freedom to play whatever the **** I want. It went well this time, mostly because there was a player that was 3 betting near 100% preflop. I tightened up my preflop raising range and got it in with some good hands preflop, which I was pretty psyched about. This propelled me up near 10 chips to play with, which was enough to get me into the 4max tourney. After placing second in the tourney, I sat at .50/1 limit holdem.

I didn't win a single hand at .50/1 limit holdem though and I was back under 1 chip within a matter of five or six hands. Here are some hands:

.50/1 limit holdem heads up at a full ring table

he raises on the button, I 3 bet AKo, he calls.

QJ9r

I bet, he raises, I call.

2o

I check call.

Ko

I check call.

He shows 92o for the scoop.

----

He raises on the button, I call 98o.

235 with a flushdraw

I check, he checks.

8o

I bet, he raises, I 3 bet, he calls.

I forget the river, but I remember betting and he called. I show and he shows J8o for the scoop. Perhaps I was a bit too aggressive with the turn 3 bet. I think maybe either bet calling or check raising the turn would have both been better options.

----

5k krillroll is tonight at 4pm eastern time. Will report back.

I crashed and burned in the 5k krillroll last night, but I did get .70 chips in rakeback. I took it to the 2c/4c limit holdem table and got action in a matter of minutes. Then another player joined and we played 3 handed for a while. I got it up over 2 chips and then they quit on me.

Then I sat at 10c/20c with just over 10 big bets but didn't get any action. I noticed that 2c/4c was being gamestarted, so I sat. Within about 20 minutes, the game was full. It was a good game texture and I was winning, but as you probably figured out already, I get bored with full ring poker. I quit the limit holdem and went to check out my options.

There was a gamestarter sitting at 10c/20c 12 game, and it was on hand 1/6 of limit holdem. I sat and quickly won a few hands. I forget the exact rotation of games, but we played some no limit holdem, limit omaha 8, pot limit O8, 2-7 triple draw, and a few other games. I'm pretty sure that I did ok until we got to 2-7, which crippled me to just over .5 chips. I ended the night there and went to bed.

Currently sitting 1c/2c no limit holdem with a shortstack.

My shortstack couldn't take the heat. Currently busto on swcpoker. I'm starting to think that my previous successes were a flash in the pan, but I'm gonna keep at it. Statistically speaking, if I play enough then sooner or later I'm gonna hit a hot streak again. This is different from thinking that I'm due to win. Next time is always a fair deal no matter how much you win or lose leading up to that next time, but on a long enough timeline with a high number of hands played, you're bound to run hot sometimes. That's all I'm hoping for at the moment. Perhaps I've used up my rungood, but thinking like that will only hurt my chances. I think that if I look back on my previous successes as being due to part skill and part chance, then I'm being realistic, optimistic, confident, and humble all at the same time.

----

I played a couple 65 big blind heads up no limit holdem games yesterday with a friend. We played for $3 a game.

The first game involved a lot of back and forth with the chips, but I took it down when this happened:

We were just about even in chips, but I covered by a small margin.

He raises 3x on the button, I call T4.

358

I check, he bets 5bb, I check raise to 20bb, he calls.

Q

I bet 1/2 pot, he calls.

I forget the river, but it was a relative blank that didn't pair the board. I probably would've shoved any river though. I shove the river, he calls Qx. I win.

----

Next game, same format:

I won the deal by cutting the prettiest card in the deck.

I raise 3x with AQo, he 3 bets to 6bb, I 4 bet to 20bb, he calls. 40bb pot, we each have 45bb behind.

789r

Yuck. He shoves. I call. Flop and turn came down without completing the straight nor hitting overcards. He says "whaddya got?" I reply and flip my Queen, "I got a Queen." He says, "Me too." as he flips a Queen. I ask, "you got another one under there?" He says nothing. I say, "cus I got an Ace." He flashes a six and mucks.

I played some 65 big blind heads up no limit holdem with a friend yesterday.

game 1: $2.50, he made a straight on the flop and took me to value town for the win.

game 2: $7, I forget the details, but I won.

game 3: $8, I forget the details, but I lost.

----

Then his girl came home from work and we played three ways with ~75 big blinds for $2 each. Winner take all of course.

She took him out in the third or fourth hand with a flush vs his pure bluff. I was down ~3:2 in chips but I liked my chances. He commentated while we played and it was pretty hilarious. I suggested that if he was gonna commentate, that he should do it in his Irish brogue, which is impeccable to say the least. He obliged enthusiastically. Then this happened.

She limps on the button, I check with 52.

A37

I check, she checks.

8o

I bet 2.5 big blinds, she calls.

Qo

I bet 5 big blinds, she deliberates and folds. I show the bluff.

----

A few hands later:

I raise 3x on the button, she calls.

K85r

She donks 2.5 big blinds, I call.

2o

She checks, I bet 7.5 big blinds, she calls.

4o

She checks, I bet 12.5 big blinds, she calls.

I show, she mucks.

----

Now I had the lead and I really liked my chances. The commentary continued amidst the laughter and tears. Then this happened:

She raises 3x, I 3 bet to 10.5 big blinds with QQ, she calls.

J92r

I bet 12.5 big blinds, she calls.

To

I cover her last ~pot sized bet, so I shove, she calls. I show and she shows K8.

River missed us both and I scooped the six bucks while the commentator ranted and raved.

I won a pot limit big O freeroll yesterday for 1.6 chips on swcpoker. I lost it at the cash tables though. I played some 2c/4c heads up limit holdem, 2c/4c pot limit big O8, and some 5c/10c no limit holdem. I basically broke even at limit holdem, scooped a few pots at big O8, and then finally went broke at no limit holdem when I ran into a set of Jacks.

I won a pot limit courchevel freeroll last night. I wish I could say that I played well, but the truth is that I just got awesome hands. Sometimes the game is funny like that. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open for the entire second half of the tourney, so when it was over I went to bed immediately.

Then I woke up this morning and gamestarted 2c/4c no limit holdem. I got action from a familiar face and quickly turned my 1.6 chips into over 3 chips. Then I got stacked. I probably should've folded the turn and or waited to have some coffee before playing. Both would've been better options.

I played some no limit holdem heads up matches against a friend yesterday.

Game 1: 65 big blinds $1 each: I got the chiplead early and then called down three barrels with A8o unimproved to beat his J6s for the win.

Game 2: 35 big blinds double or nothing $2 each: I called down three smallish bets with a medium pair and lost to a pair of Jacks, which gave him a decent chiplead. Then he raises 6x preflop, I shove AJo, he calls 98o. He hit a 9 on the flop and it held up.

----

Then I got home and played in a no limit 5 card draw freeroll. I made it to the final table but lost with 222xx vs a pat QQQ44 or something like that. It paid .35 chips. So I sat in a 10c open faced chinese sitngo, which I won.

I took my .45 chips to the cash tables and turned it into over 2 chips. I gamestarted 10c/20c limit holdem but didn't get any action. So instead I played some 1c/2c heads up pot limit omaha. It was going well at first and I had got it up over 3 chips, but then flush over flush crippled me to under 1 chip. Then another player joined and we got all in on the turn. I had top three pair vs a gutshot and some other draw. The gutshot hit on the river and scooped.

Currently sitting on zero bits.

I celebrated my 36th birthday yesterday. Went to a friend's house. We made waffles and played some 65 big blind no limit holdem games for $1 each. I won the first game, but then he won three in a row.

Then I had dinner, cake and ice cream while sitting out of tourneys online. When I came back, I was shortstacked in a freeroll and doing ok in the 10c tourney. Made the money in both and went to a different friend's house. We played three games of cribbage and I finished the night at 1 win and 2 losses. All three games were pretty close and I even got a 21 point hand. It was fun.

I came home and threw around some microbits and basically broke even. Then this morning I got it up over three chips, but ran into KK.

In lurking the chat room at swcpoker, I came across a guy giving away chips. He gave me 4 chips and I played some poker with them. I played a mix of limit holdem, no limit holdem, pot limit big O8, and horse, as well as a couple tourneys. By the end of Sunday night, I had about 40 chips in my account and I slept on it.

Yesterday morning I got up and didn't have **** to do but shovel snow. In between the shoveling I played a mix of games and got my account up over 80 chips. However, I ran into some bad spots that left me back down around 45 chips. I said **** it and sat with all of it at 25c/50c no limit holdem. I won a few pots and lost a few pots, which left me with about 35 chips to play with. Then I broke one of the cardinal rules of poker: Don't go broke in a limped pot. Well I did. Shrug. Dude had a baby set vs my top and bottom pair and I had one shot at two outs, which is not a good spot to be in. I should've been aware that he had a monster because he limped in preflop and potted the flop and turn, which is the classic "I have a monster" line from limpers. My moment of ignorance cost me about 12 bucks, which isn't really that bad in the grand scheme of things. However, now I'm back at zero, which is no fun.

I do think I'm getting better at some of the new games I've been playing though. Pot limit big O8 is pretty fun even though I still really suck at it. Seems like there's a trade off in multiway pots, especially on the river, but also on the early streets when there isn't a low draw. The bettor pretty much needs a monster to bet in a multiway pot and a potential caller needs to either have the same hand or a full house draw to call, or have the nuts with a massive redraw to raise. Then on the river in a multiway pot, it seems that only very nutty hands should bet. Because of this value oriented play in multiway pots, I see no reason to pay off with second best hands. The bettor pretty much always has the goods so paying off with a second nut flush or a non nut straight is basically throwing away money. Of course, sometimes you run into an overaggressive player that will either bluff or overvalue non nutty hands, in which case you should call some more hands than you would in a vacuum. However, that seems to be the exception to the rule and not the norm in that game.

I did have one hand where I thought that I had narrowed down my opponent to exactly the hand that he had. It went something like this:

I call a raise in the big blind with A66KT double suited or something like that.

flop: 6QAr

checks through

5o

I bet 1/2 pot, preflop raiser calls, one folds leaving us heads up.

5o

I bet 1/2 pot, preflop raiser raises pot and I go into the tank.

He checked the flop so QQ, AA, 32, 42, and 43 are heavily discounted. I began to think that he had exactly a naked A5 because that's basically the only hand that can call the turn and raise that river besides the singular combo of 55. Maybe because of that I could have raised him back, but I'm a noob and I just called. Of course he shows a naked A5 and I scoop a big pot.

cheers

How does SWC have enough players to spread games that obscure?

Probably cus there are action junkies such as myself willing to sit shorthanded in games that we suck at. There are usually 150 to 250 players on at any time with Sunday night peaking around 300 players.

Played some no limit holdem last night at a friend's house.

game 1: $5 each heads up 65 big blinds to the felt

he raises 6x on the button, I 3 bet AA to 22.5x, he calls.

flop J96 with a flushdraw

I shove, he calls.

I forget the turn and river. I show, he mucks, I win.

----

game 2: his girlfriend joined in and we played three ways for $5 each winner take all no limit holdem 70 big blinds to start.

I won a few small pots, as did she, then this happened:

He raises 6x on the button, she calls, I call QJo.

AK5r

I check, he bets 5x, she folds, I call.

To

I check, he bets 10x, I raise to 35x, he shoves, I call.

Qo

I say I got the straight, he mucks.

Now I had about a 5:3 chiplead and I liked my chances. I took a few medium sized pots over the next few hands until she was down to about 25 big blinds. She started shoving preflop and I folded a couple times. Then she shoved again and I picked up a decent hand that I can't recall. I ended up winning and scooped up the 15 bucks.

-----

game 3: heads up $5 each no limit holdem 35 big blinds.

This game lasted a while, with each of us being all in a few times. The shortstack kept on winning though and we played for about 40 minutes before I ended up taking it down with a hand that I can't recall.

Saw some old friends last night. One of us suggested that we play cards. There happened to be exactly four of us, so I suggested that we play spades, which is one of my all time favorite games. We just played for fun though so it's not really an interesting story. My partner and I were winning when midnight came around and we quit, up by about 100 points.

----

The 5k krillroll is at 4pm this afternoon. It's been a while since I cashed, but I like my chances.

I crashed and burned in the tourney. Here are a couple hands:

middle position tag opens 2x, late position tag calls, small blind calls, I consider shoving with 88 in the big blind with 12 big blinds, but the presence of the tag caller in position made me think again, so I called.

flop 632r

I check, mp shoves ~15 big blinds, late position calls, small blind folds, I couldn't really beat any reasonable hand at that point so I fold.

mp shows QQ, late position shows TT. QQ scoops.

----

Then the blinds went up and I was sitting on ~8 big blinds. MP opens to 2.5x, I'm next with JJ. I shove, folds to mp, he deliberates and calls getting ~2:1. He shows KTo and the flop comes:

AKTr

At least I wasn't drawing dead. Turn and river did not bring a Q or a J and I was eliminated ~45th out of ~115, which was ~25 spots off the money.

----

Then I got a little rakeback Sunday night, but lost it at the cash tables in a matter of a couple hours.

I haven't played any cards since.

----

In other news, I've been brainstorming ideas for a carpal tunnel post. I have about sixty posts to make before I hit the milestone. Maybe I'll just post something dumb like "6k yo" in a no content thread somewhere. Maybe I'll come up with something interesting. Maybe I'll just get drunk and ramble about nothing at all. Ideas are welcome.

----

In other other news, I love coffee and cigarettes in the morning.

I played a four handed no limit holdem tourney last night with some friends for $5 each. Winner take all. Two players were eliminated within the first few hands and I was down 3:1 in chips. We doubled the blinds when it got down to heads up play. The game ended up taking about 45 minutes. I took a few big pots late to get the chiplead and then another decent sized pot gave me about a 4:1 chiplead. Then this happened:

I raise 3x with AK, she calls.

TQ8

She bets 15 big blinds, I call.

K

She bets 5 big blinds, I call.

3

She checks, I shove, she deliberates and calls. I win and scoop the $20.

----

I'm having my sisters and their guys over for some 25c/50c limit holdem tonight. Should be fun.

The game was fun. I had two total beginners to my right and one to my left, as well as a couple tags and a loose aggressive player across from me. We played for about two and a half hours. Every hand went to showdown.

I managed to squeak into the money in the 5k krillroll tonight, which was good for 15 chips, or ~$6. I took those chips to the cash tables. There was a guy that I wouldn't consider very good sitting at 5c/10c heads up no limit holdem, so I sat with him and took all of his chips in about 20 minutes. Then he left and I got more action immediately from a player that I've never seen or heard of. He was mixing up his preflop raise sizes. The more he bet preflop, the weaker his hand was. He had me down to my last 7 chips at one point, but I climbed back to 16. Then he took a couple small pots and I had about 12 chips in my stack when this happened:

He raises to 0.35, I 3 bet A5o to 1.05, he calls.

AJ9

I check, he bets 3/4 pot, I call.

3o

I check, he bets 3/4 pot, I call.

Jo

I check, he bets 5, I call getting ~3:1. He shows J8o and scoops.

----

Currently sitting on zero bits.

Beginner's luck 101:

third hand of the 7 handed 25c/50c homegame on Saturday night

two limps, mp raises, call, call, total beginner with cheat sheet in front of him with hand rankings calls small blind, I call in the big blind with two cards, limpers call.

Q92r

checks to mp, she bets, call, call, small blind calls, I call, limpers call.

8o

checks to mp, she bets, call, call, small blind calls, I call, limpers call.

3o

checks to mp, she bets, call, call, small blind calls, I fold, one limper calls, other limper folds.

mp declares and shows JJ, muck, muck, small blind hesitates, limper mucks, mp says "yeah buddy" and makes a move to scoop the pot when to everyone's surprise, small blind shows KK.

I placed second in a horse freeroll on Thursday night. Yesterday morning I took those chips to the cash tables. There was a lot of up and down, but by noon I managed to get it up to 6 chips. Then I played the 5 chip afternoon no limit holdem tourney. I won it, which paid 32 chips. It went badly after that though. I played some no limit holdem and gamestarted limit holdem, but couldn't string together any big wins. I'm currently down at .5 chips in my account, but I should have a bit of rakeback coming tomorrow night. Also, the 5k krillroll is tomorrow, which is free to play as always.

This hand propelled me to the win in the tournament yesterday afternoon:

three handed in the money

sb: 30bb
bb: 17bb
me: 22bb

I raise 2x on the button with 64, blinds both call.

K93

small blind checks, big blind bets 1/2 pot, I call, small blind calls.

Ao

blinds check, I bet 1/3 pot, small blind calls, big blind folds.

5o

small blind checks, I shove 1.2 pots, he deliberates and folds.

That gave me the chiplead and it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. I really like my turn bet sizing. Any bigger and I wouldn't have as much river fold equity. Any smaller and I wouldn't have any turn fold equity.

I finished fifth in a freeroll last night, which paid 1.2 chips. I lost it at the cash tables quickly.

----

I have a kitty named Buddy. He's very friendly as you might have guessed by his name. He's gray with white chest and paws.

----

March is shaping up to be the month of lots of freerolls. There's the 5k krillroll every Sunday, but the fun doesn't stop there. I have ~$50 in free slotplay coming my way at the local casino, as well as eleven drawings for $1k free slotplay. Then every Friday in March, there's a promotion going at the casino that I've been invited to play. It's called "Big Draw." I get six numbers between 1 and 80 and they draw every hour between 6pm and 10pm. Two numbers pays $25 free slotplay. Three numbers pays $100 free slotplay. Four numbers pays $750 free slotplay. Five numbers pays $5k free slotplay. The grand prize for hitting all six numbers is $100k. So I have 20 shots at hitting $100k, and it's free to play. I like my chances.

----

The 5k krillroll is this afternoon.

----

I'm going to get some exercise today. A friend offered to buy me a membership to a local gym if I agreed to lift with her 14 year old son regularly. I was hesitant because that's a big investment of time, but I finally accepted the offer. He's a giant standing ~6 feet tall at just 14 years old. His feet are bigger than mine, yet I have ~60 pounds on the kid. I'm going to teach him how to lift in the ways of the great Mark Rippetoe, the author of "Starting Strength," which I recommend to anyone looking to get into strength training. We're gonna squat, bench, and deadlift today. Then we take a day off for rest and recovery. Then on Tuesday, we squat, overhead press, and deadlift. After a while, all the deadlifting will become too much of a workload to include it in every workout. So at that point we will mix in some chinups and pullups on odd days. I'm not sure, but I think that the gym we are going to is anti olympic lifts. So we will not be mixing in any powercleans in the near future, which I think is a bummer. However, I am looking forward to moving some weight because, as Henry Rollins would say, "200 pounds won't lie to you to make you happy like your friends will." The iron is honest in that way.

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In other news, I may have landed my first client as a poker coach.

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I hope everyone is doing well. Feel free to stop by and say hi.