Another kid Another dream tl;dr
06-07-2010
, 04:41 PM
06-08-2010
, 12:13 PM
06-08-2010
, 05:02 PM
Short Stackers
Short Stackers are the pest of the poker world. The ants at a picnic. Ridiculed and criticized for their cowardly buy-ins, they add an element to poker that can really handcuff a great player's game. However, on a monday afternoon at the Bellagio, these shortstackers infest the 5/10 game. No point in complaining though; Without them the game wouldn't even get running.
So there I was yesterday at around noon, sitting at a table half filled with poker players and half filled with shortstackers. Taking it easy for my first hour or so at the table, I passed the time by catching up on my reading of Stephan Cannell's "The Pallbearers". I had to take a break from the Shane Scully murder mystery, however, when I looked down at JJ in MP. I raised the tight, boring table up to 40 and was met with only one call on the BTN. The BTN was an older gentleman who I'd recognized form the day before. Not because I was in a hand with him, but because of a scene he'd caused at a 2/5 table. Apparently he'd been pestering a dealer for slow play, when a years worth of frustration from the disrespect and lack of common courtesy from this particular player drove the dealer past his boiling point. The shouting match that ensued could be heard from across the room. Without any other info, I'm compelled to side with the dealer, as I don't think he would risk his job by causing a scene unless the behavior from the player was common.
With that incident fresh in my mind, I had a little extra motivation to win this one for the little man. The flop came 663 and I CBet $65. The old man pushed the action to $160 with just $300 behind. With only one logical move available, I shoved all in. He called and the board finished off 8 2. I flipped over my Jacks, but they were 2nd best as my opponent had rolled up Aces. ShortStackers 1 Matt 0.
Later on I got involved with my 2nd shortstack when I limped UTG with K
J. Four others joined and we saw a flop of J
T5
. The SB led out for 40 and I raised to 120 to protect my hand from all the other players. Back to the SB and he shoves in for 200 more on top of my bet. I call and he's got T5. Greaaattttt. The turn brings me life with a Q
, but it proved to be only a tease as the river 3 shipped the pot, and doubled up another short stacked player.
Down 800 I called a raise with A8 to 30 on the BTN. The SB joined and the flop brought the 467. Checked to me and I fired a $60 bullet. The SB thought and made it 190 all day with only $400 behind. Thinking that all 3 options were pretty bad, I chose the one that atleast allowed me to win the pot, shove. My opponent called and the board finished off 8 10. He looked distraught, but to the Kid's surprise his 67 was still good. Final score: Short Stackers 3 Matt -1500.
Of course all three of the players I donated to left the table within an hour of taking my money. I mean what would they possibly do if they had to play a hand that involved thinking on all 3 streets?? I fought back hard, but the game had dried up and no one at the table was going to help me get unstuck. I racked up down 1300 and made for the exits. After a trip to Ceasers and an inexplicable $700 loss trying to force the action playing PLO, my tab for the day reached a grand total of 2k.
Liitle did I know that my closing line yesterday would ring so true just 24 hours later. Sure I wrote it, but with my confidence so high, no way did I actually believe I would lose back basically everything I won the day before. Two days ago I was buying meals for friends, while yesterday I was cutting costs by eating cereal for dinner. Sure it sucks, but it's the life I've chose. Today is a new day and a new opportunity to get some sort of win streak started.
Matt
Short Stackers are the pest of the poker world. The ants at a picnic. Ridiculed and criticized for their cowardly buy-ins, they add an element to poker that can really handcuff a great player's game. However, on a monday afternoon at the Bellagio, these shortstackers infest the 5/10 game. No point in complaining though; Without them the game wouldn't even get running.
So there I was yesterday at around noon, sitting at a table half filled with poker players and half filled with shortstackers. Taking it easy for my first hour or so at the table, I passed the time by catching up on my reading of Stephan Cannell's "The Pallbearers". I had to take a break from the Shane Scully murder mystery, however, when I looked down at JJ in MP. I raised the tight, boring table up to 40 and was met with only one call on the BTN. The BTN was an older gentleman who I'd recognized form the day before. Not because I was in a hand with him, but because of a scene he'd caused at a 2/5 table. Apparently he'd been pestering a dealer for slow play, when a years worth of frustration from the disrespect and lack of common courtesy from this particular player drove the dealer past his boiling point. The shouting match that ensued could be heard from across the room. Without any other info, I'm compelled to side with the dealer, as I don't think he would risk his job by causing a scene unless the behavior from the player was common.
With that incident fresh in my mind, I had a little extra motivation to win this one for the little man. The flop came 663 and I CBet $65. The old man pushed the action to $160 with just $300 behind. With only one logical move available, I shoved all in. He called and the board finished off 8 2. I flipped over my Jacks, but they were 2nd best as my opponent had rolled up Aces. ShortStackers 1 Matt 0.
Later on I got involved with my 2nd shortstack when I limped UTG with K
J. Four others joined and we saw a flop of JT5. The SB led out for 40 and I raised to 120 to protect my hand from all the other players. Back to the SB and he shoves in for 200 more on top of my bet. I call and he's got T5. Greaaattttt. The turn brings me life with a Q, but it proved to be only a tease as the river 3 shipped the pot, and doubled up another short stacked player.Down 800 I called a raise with A
8 to 30 on the BTN. The SB joined and the flop brought the 467. Checked to me and I fired a $60 bullet. The SB thought and made it 190 all day with only $400 behind. Thinking that all 3 options were pretty bad, I chose the one that atleast allowed me to win the pot, shove. My opponent called and the board finished off 8 10. He looked distraught, but to the Kid's surprise his 67 was still good. Final score: Short Stackers 3 Matt -1500. Of course all three of the players I donated to left the table within an hour of taking my money. I mean what would they possibly do if they had to play a hand that involved thinking on all 3 streets?? I fought back hard, but the game had dried up and no one at the table was going to help me get unstuck. I racked up down 1300 and made for the exits. After a trip to Ceasers and an inexplicable $700 loss trying to force the action playing PLO, my tab for the day reached a grand total of 2k.
Liitle did I know that my closing line yesterday would ring so true just 24 hours later. Sure I wrote it, but with my confidence so high, no way did I actually believe I would lose back basically everything I won the day before. Two days ago I was buying meals for friends, while yesterday I was cutting costs by eating cereal for dinner. Sure it sucks, but it's the life I've chose. Today is a new day and a new opportunity to get some sort of win streak started.
Matt
06-10-2010
, 12:29 AM
06-10-2010
, 07:48 PM
06-12-2010
, 03:37 PM
Scammers and Heaters?
Browsing twoplustwo last night after watching Shutter Island, I came across a thread equally as spooky as the Leo Dicaprio thriller. The topic was a scammer alert for a poster named Senjitsu. Senjitsu, whose real name is Jason Covener was caught renting out rooms in his WSOP house while he was in the process of getting evicted from that very property. So far 7 victims paid Covener $1500 to reserve a room. But there almost was 8...
While looking for a place to stay this summer Covener sent me a message on 2p2 telling me he kept up with my thread and offering me a spot in his Vegas mansion. The house was beautiful and $1500 seemed like a reasonable price for 6 weeks in Vegas. After sending me links to deals he'd done in the marketplace and posters who could vouch for him, I was convinced I could safely send 3k to this friendly stranger. Luckily, while I was in the process of setting up a paypal account to complete the transaction, my sister talked some sense into me. She broke it down in logical terms and told me that this is simply not how real estate works in the real world. So after recontacting Senjitsu and offering 500 up front and the rest when we arrived, he politely declined and wished me good luck.
The point of the story is that you can never be too careful when dealing with large amounts of money. In the virtual world of 2p2 where PT graphs and post counts earn credibility and respect, it can become easy to forget that behind the well-constructed avatar and clever screen name is a person that you do not actually know. I got caught up in this fantasy world and was ready to send a complete stranger almost 5% of my poker roll, when a simple google search would've pulled up numerous warning signs into this shady characters past. Thankfully someone living beyond the walls of twoplustwo was able to talk some sense into me before I made a huge mistake. Apparently Covener was arrested, so hopefully the people he scammed are returned their money along with this valuable lesson.
Needless to say I headed to the Bellagio the next day aware that my "running bad" could've been a whole lot worse. Feeling like I was already up 1500 for the day I sat down at a pretty nitty 5/10 NL game. To maximize my profit at this particular table, I opened up my 3Betting range. After an hour I hadn't played a hand past the flop, yet my aggressiveness helped me grow my stack from 1k to 1500.
One early hand that helped me establish an aggressive image saw me 3bet an opponent to 120 with TT in the sb. After an AJ4 flop, I checked to him. He was visibly confused and unconfident as he fired 150 on the flop. I check raised to 400 thinking my line looked pretty strong. He shook his head and tossed his KK face up into the muck. I showed me TT hoping it would help me get paid in later spots.
Then in my next big hand I picked up 35. The table limped to me and I joined the party on the BTN. The flop came Q24 and the SB, an older aggressive Italian man led for 50. MP called, as did I. The turn brought brought me the nuts with a 6 and the Italian led again for 110. This time MP shoved in for 350 and I did my best attempt at posturing to not make my overcall look like the nuts. The SB bought it and called. After checking to me on an A river, I stacked up 360 and put it in the pot, to which he reluctantly made the call.
Up to 2500 I continued to beat on the Italian to my left, who was a very friendly fellow, but generally too loose and aggressive in the wrong spots. With AK I raised a mp open of 50 to 150 on the BTN. My italian friend cold called in the sb and the original raiser followed suit. The flop came KK4 and we checked it through. A Q on the turn and the sb lead into the pot for 180. I called and an 8 hit the river. He checked and I bet 325, which he called in stride. My AK was obviously good.
Just when I thought he was being serious by telling me he "wouldn't be playing pots with the kid" in his heavy Italian accent, we got involved again. I limped in mp with QJ and flopped the nuts on a 9TK board. I bet 50 and Italy bumped it up to 120. I made it 270 all day knowing he wouldn't fold. The turn was a 6 and I led for 320. He called and we saw the K hit the river. Here is where I made a mistake that would cost me in more ways then one, I checked, with my opponent only having 400 back. He checked back KJ and I was shipped the pot, but dissapointed in missing the $400 in value.
Only a few hands later and we entered the final battle of our lopsided rivalry. I called a mp raise to 50 with KQ on the BTN and so did Italy in the sb. The flop came Q97 and I bet 120 when the action got to me. My italian friend called and the turn brought the 5. He then checked in a way which made me believe he didn't have a flush and I was put in a tough spot. With only 340 in effective stacks and the Q for protection, I decided to shove all in, not wanting to miss value like I previously had against this opponent. He gave me the "I guess it's time to go home speech", so I knew I was toast even before he flipped over 68. I couldn't catch up on the river and lost my first pot of consequence in my last pot of the day.
Still, I filled 4 racks with orange and left the B up 3k. It's great to finally get results, but now the key is producing a few winning days in a row. I'm excited to play each and every day recently. As bad as my game felt at the beginning of the trip, that's how great it feels now. My hand reading and bet sizing has been impressive and I feel like I'm finally learning how to win big pots at the 5/10.
Matt
Browsing twoplustwo last night after watching Shutter Island, I came across a thread equally as spooky as the Leo Dicaprio thriller. The topic was a scammer alert for a poster named Senjitsu. Senjitsu, whose real name is Jason Covener was caught renting out rooms in his WSOP house while he was in the process of getting evicted from that very property. So far 7 victims paid Covener $1500 to reserve a room. But there almost was 8...
While looking for a place to stay this summer Covener sent me a message on 2p2 telling me he kept up with my thread and offering me a spot in his Vegas mansion. The house was beautiful and $1500 seemed like a reasonable price for 6 weeks in Vegas. After sending me links to deals he'd done in the marketplace and posters who could vouch for him, I was convinced I could safely send 3k to this friendly stranger. Luckily, while I was in the process of setting up a paypal account to complete the transaction, my sister talked some sense into me. She broke it down in logical terms and told me that this is simply not how real estate works in the real world. So after recontacting Senjitsu and offering 500 up front and the rest when we arrived, he politely declined and wished me good luck.
The point of the story is that you can never be too careful when dealing with large amounts of money. In the virtual world of 2p2 where PT graphs and post counts earn credibility and respect, it can become easy to forget that behind the well-constructed avatar and clever screen name is a person that you do not actually know. I got caught up in this fantasy world and was ready to send a complete stranger almost 5% of my poker roll, when a simple google search would've pulled up numerous warning signs into this shady characters past. Thankfully someone living beyond the walls of twoplustwo was able to talk some sense into me before I made a huge mistake. Apparently Covener was arrested, so hopefully the people he scammed are returned their money along with this valuable lesson.
Needless to say I headed to the Bellagio the next day aware that my "running bad" could've been a whole lot worse. Feeling like I was already up 1500 for the day I sat down at a pretty nitty 5/10 NL game. To maximize my profit at this particular table, I opened up my 3Betting range. After an hour I hadn't played a hand past the flop, yet my aggressiveness helped me grow my stack from 1k to 1500.
One early hand that helped me establish an aggressive image saw me 3bet an opponent to 120 with TT in the sb. After an AJ4 flop, I checked to him. He was visibly confused and unconfident as he fired 150 on the flop. I check raised to 400 thinking my line looked pretty strong. He shook his head and tossed his KK face up into the muck. I showed me TT hoping it would help me get paid in later spots.
Then in my next big hand I picked up 3
5. The table limped to me and I joined the party on the BTN. The flop came Q24 and the SB, an older aggressive Italian man led for 50. MP called, as did I. The turn brought brought me the nuts with a 6 and the Italian led again for 110. This time MP shoved in for 350 and I did my best attempt at posturing to not make my overcall look like the nuts. The SB bought it and called. After checking to me on an A river, I stacked up 360 and put it in the pot, to which he reluctantly made the call.Up to 2500 I continued to beat on the Italian to my left, who was a very friendly fellow, but generally too loose and aggressive in the wrong spots. With A
K I raised a mp open of 50 to 150 on the BTN. My italian friend cold called in the sb and the original raiser followed suit. The flop came KK4 and we checked it through. A Q on the turn and the sb lead into the pot for 180. I called and an 8 hit the river. He checked and I bet 325, which he called in stride. My AK was obviously good.Just when I thought he was being serious by telling me he "wouldn't be playing pots with the kid" in his heavy Italian accent, we got involved again. I limped in mp with QJ and flopped the nuts on a 9TK board. I bet 50 and Italy bumped it up to 120. I made it 270 all day knowing he wouldn't fold. The turn was a 6 and I led for 320. He called and we saw the K hit the river. Here is where I made a mistake that would cost me in more ways then one, I checked, with my opponent only having 400 back. He checked back KJ and I was shipped the pot, but dissapointed in missing the $400 in value.
Only a few hands later and we entered the final battle of our lopsided rivalry. I called a mp raise to 50 with K
Q on the BTN and so did Italy in the sb. The flop came Q97 and I bet 120 when the action got to me. My italian friend called and the turn brought the 5. He then checked in a way which made me believe he didn't have a flush and I was put in a tough spot. With only 340 in effective stacks and the Q for protection, I decided to shove all in, not wanting to miss value like I previously had against this opponent. He gave me the "I guess it's time to go home speech", so I knew I was toast even before he flipped over 68. I couldn't catch up on the river and lost my first pot of consequence in my last pot of the day. Still, I filled 4 racks with orange and left the B up 3k. It's great to finally get results, but now the key is producing a few winning days in a row. I'm excited to play each and every day recently. As bad as my game felt at the beginning of the trip, that's how great it feels now. My hand reading and bet sizing has been impressive and I feel like I'm finally learning how to win big pots at the 5/10.
Matt
06-12-2010
, 03:57 PM
06-12-2010
, 06:14 PM
06-14-2010
, 03:10 AM
