ok so I didn't realize how long 2+2 was down, so I kept session updates as I would normally do in a notepad file. I figured might as well post them, so incoming monster post with 10+ updates or so:
Day 1 (post-hacker): -$453, 4 hours.
Played at Ameristar (hi Andrew). Guy limps UTG, couple other limpers I make it $15 from button with 99, both blinds call. UTG shoves for $100 total. I find a lot of rec players are doing this with hands they simply don't want to fold rather than trapping with AA/KK, e.g., a small pocket pair that can't setmine anymore, as he would have raised any of his value hands instead of limping. I reshove, everyone else folds, he wins with 88.
Few hands later, there's a pretty interesting hand:
~$300 deep, old nitty villain makes it $13 from MP, I flat on button with 9
9
. Another old guy flats from the blinds with $60 left.
Flop J
9
3
Check, villain bets $15, I make it $45, old guy in blinds shoves, villain reshoves ~$300 total to me. I obviously call, villain tables A
A
.
Turn A
River 5
OK well that actually isn't very interesting at all yet. What IS interesting though is some other dude at the table commented that if villain had called my flop raise, all the money was going in the on turn anyway. I just nodded, but was thinking: what does actually happen if the turn is an A?
With another guy all-in already and very little side pot, I think this villain has 0% bluffs in his range here. On a drawy board like that, I think villain leads with top set since I can have flush draws and straight draws easily in my range. If he is leading though, what can I possibly beat with 99? He's not going to lead KK or QQ, he's not going to have any Ax after he flats the flop bet except maybe AKcc (and I don't even think he would lead with that!). The only other possibility is AJ, but I'm like 95% sure he doesn't raise that preflop. Therefore I can narrow his hand down to pretty much 7 possible combos: 3 sets of aces, 3 sets of jacks, and possibly AKcc. I have never once folded a set on a board without a straight or flush possibility, but I think I would have folded here on the turn if he called my flop raise and led turn.
Day 2: $403, 4 hours.
I saw a guy I've played with a couple times leaving for lunch and I asked if he wanted company. Turns out he was a VIP member at the Lumiere so I had a nice free lunch. Cool.
I was really, really upset with how I played one hand (and this is why I decided to leave). Guy opens to $8 pre, I flat in position with 2
2
. There's 5 people to the flop.
Flop T
4
2
Original raiser bets $30, I just smooth call. Everyone else folds.
Turn T
He bets $30 again, I make it $125. He folds K
K
because he thinks I have trip T's, should have raised the flop...
I was definitely influenced by a hand earlier where I raised KK from BB (button straddled), got 5 callers and flopped top set, and it was checked down to the river where some guy in late position tried to steal it with an overbet shove. Some other guy relentlessly complimented me for my patience for checking 3 times (and I think it was the right play, due to straddle it was SPR<2 on the flop). However the situation in this other hand is obviously really different. Sighhhh. I think I cost myself several hundred there.
Day 3: $121, 4 hours.
Hmm I didn't write anything for today... threadsaver then.
Day 4: $70, 2 hours.
Played half 1/3 and half 2/5. 2/5 is ****. I think I was the best player at the table but people playing solid is just so trash in terms of profitability. I basically felt like I was grinding NL100 online making 2bb/100. The only time I witnessed a stackoff (I wasn't in the hand) was TT vs JJ vs open ended straight flush draw on 4TJdd.
Day 5: $327, 4 hours.
Interestingly enough, most of my profit today was redline rather than my usual blueline. I've been light 3 betting, and find that most LLSNL players (in STL anyway) give you credit for a premium pair when you 3 bet, but they call preflop anyway and fold if they don't hit 2 pair or better. I can't say I understand the mentality at all... I've seen the situation where someone flats my 3-bet preflop then folds JJ faceup to my cbet on 953r WAY TOO MANY TIMES. I used to think 3-betting light sucked because you have no preflop fold equity, but people check/fold the flop so often...
Another play I've been using a lot is a postflop raise squeeze. I find it's pretty frequent for someone to open to $15, get 4 callers, cbet a rediculously small amount like $20 on a drawy board and get a couple callers. Pretty much no one can have a strong hand since they would want to protect. I'll make it $100 to go into a pot of $120, which makes it $80 for them to call to win $220 but most people are thinking "wow 5x raise, that is huge!" Even if someone happens to have TPTK they will usually fold against an unknown (me), so I've been having huge success with this.
Day 6: $75 in 6 hours.
This was my longest session for a few days now, one noteworthy thing was I lost about 6 pots in a row against a really fishy lady who flatted all my preflop raises then played passive fit-fold. I shut down after 1 cbet, and she showed me a set or 2pair every time, it was unreal. I did a good job on not tilting and not letting her nonstop string of sets affect how I played against her.
Day 7: $93 in 6 hours.
Why you always have to add in a spazz factor when ranging against non-mega-nits:
UTG limps, I make it $17 from UTG+2 with A
A
, everyone folds to UTG who calls. We're both about $400 deep.
Flop J
J
9
I cbet $20 (too little?), he checkraises to $60. I tank-folded since I figure there's a high chance I'll have to stack off here if I don't, and I figured I'm either way behind or flipping at best. He shows 7
5
Day 8: -$288 in 5 hours.
One hand I lost $300 almost immediately upon sitting down on. Villain is an unknown middle-aged white guy who has maybe $800 in front and is drinking a beer:
Button straddles for 6$, SB calls, I call in BB with 5
5
, UTG makes it $25, button, SB, and myself call. 4 handed on the flop.
Flop A
A
J
checked around.
Turn 5
SB checks, I check, UTG bets $35, button calls, SB min-checkraises to $70, I call, UTG and button fold (wtf).
River 8
SB bets, I call. He shows A
J
.
Everyone at the table says I can't fold here, but SB's min-checkraise clearly shows he's not afraid of the straight or backdoor flush draws (so probably not trip aces), also has basically no fold equity, so what hands are even in his range besides boats?
Day 9: +$193, 3 hours.
I made a really stupid fold where I opened to $20 with A
J
, some old guy who I've never seen raise shoved for $60 total and I folded thinking it had to be AA/KK/QQ/AK when I only needed ~30% equity. He showed A
8
Gotta call in these spots, easiest call ever.
Day 10: +$1869 in 7 hours.
-$248 in 5 hours at 1/3, +$2117 in 2 hours at 5/10. My first time playing 5/10, I bought in for $1152. It was a 5-handed or 6-handed table for the majority of the time I was there. Had a pro to my left, everyone else just generally solid. It was really reminiscent of online play: people raising 3x, lots of pots taken down preflop or going heads up to the flop, not what I'm used to at all, which is raising 7x and getting 4 callers. I played pretty straightforward. Early on I showed a double barrel bluff with T
9
on 5
5
7
J
3
, I raised preflop from UTG+1, UTG limper and big blind call. 3 handed on flop checked around, 1 caller from the blinds on the turn who check/folded river (this play might have been a bit spewy from me, but it's the first hand I showed any aggression on at all so I thought I'd get credit). I replicated the same bet/motion two more times shortly after with value hands but villain folded each time. Ran up about $500 when the following hand happens:
Villain (middle aged Indian guy wearing sunglasses) straddles on button to $25, both blinds call, I make it $150 from UTG with A
J
. Button calls, everyone else folds. We're ~150bb deep.
Flop J
9
4
, pot $350.
I lead for $225, villain calls.
Turn Q
, pot $800.
I check, villain bets $350, I call.
River K
, pot $1500.
Villain shoves for my last $800, I thought about this for longer than I've spent on any hand ever, then called. Villain mucks, entire table is applauding my call with third pair but damn I would have felt really, really, really dumb if he showed me a straight.
The single biggest factor in my decision was that this is a game that runs once a week in STL with basically the exact same players every time, so as an unknown, I'm sure villain views me as scared money- since I look like an internet kid, I also figured he might expect me to cbet 100%, and would therefore float often since I can't have many hands that hit that flop with a UTG raise (6-handed). The turn and river cards are obviously great cards for him to bet when checked to, and I figured he would do this with any non-showdown value hands he called the flop with. Anyway /shrug biggest pot I've won in my life. Hooray!
As for the actual poker, he's repping basically only a T, so T8, QT, JT, JT, T9. Given stack sizes, I feel like he would shove T8 and QT on the flop with these stack sizes since SPR<1.5 on the turn, and that the turn bet for $350 was just really weird for middle strength hand given those stack sizes for various reasons (he pretty much has to fold an open-ender if I shove over his turn bet, ). Furthermore I felt Qx or Kx or even two pair and maybe a set would just check behind on the river. While I didn't think he had a value hand, the real issue that made me think for so long is I couldn't think of that many hands he can actually have. Pretty much just Ax, 87, or low pocket pair.
In general, when someone takes a line that makes no sense it's usually either air, or they binked the river HARD. Although I'm ~150bb deep, due to the straddle and my preflop 15x open this hand plays more like 30bb deep postflop, and I only have to be good on the river ~1/3 of the time so I figured he had enough air there.
I was debating whether to include my shot at 5/10 in my total, but I included losses from 2/5 when I first arrived in STL so it's only fair
Day 11: 4 hours +$322.
Ameristar as usual has the worst players ever.
Day 12: 3 hours +$206.
Last day in STL! Summary of trip report will come shortly in a separate post. Thanks for reading if you've made it this far
If you skipped to the end without reading, you still get one heart for being in this thread
Last edited by Aesah; 05-12-2012 at 03:52 PM.