What's up guys, Doug Polk's not here! I wonder who's still here though?!!

My only 2+2 thread so far has been this gem from 2013. If you can relate with going full tilt (at Full Tilt!) to an extent of challenging someone to a 20k hands heads-up match in broken English, you are... probably not reading this. I just checked, my villain from that thread has not been seen at 2+2 for years. Same for my other most memorable villain from that era (VJazx @ FT) who won our few weeks long HU4ROLLZ battle at NL200.

I haven't been playing seriously since. And even during the most serious years my graphs usually looked like this:



As you can see, I never relied on poker for my income, so I allowed myself to be quite reckless with all the mad money I was making in Full Tilt MTTs!



The 2000 tournaments marks the point when I read Harrington on Hold'em, in case you were wondering. Great book! Make sure to check Doyle Brunson's Super System too!

Fast forward to 2022, I am living in Toronto on a planet Ontario, in a galaxy far away from the poker world outside. I've heard that we are still allowed to play against the world @ GG, but I am really enjoying the PokerStars ON grind right now. Feels like a home game. People are even using the chat at last!



A fine place to be. I also take occasional trips to Casino Niagara whenever I miss the drunk live poker and grimy 1/3 chips.

Most of my interests lie way outside poker. Currently I am paying my rent with portrait photography and looking for the next best thing to fully invest myself into. While in this limbo, I am playing poker with/for some pocket money.

The current graph, of course:



What to expect here:

No poker goals or poker science, but I'm always open to conversations about life goals, cool card protectors and the most heartbreaking love stories, even if it's a dealer in your local casino that you've never got enough courage to talk to apart from that awkward joke 2 years ago.

Feel free to share your hands and experiences at PokerStars ON! I'm sure every NL100 reg there knows me at this point and I'll be happy to formally meet you here as well! I wouldn't mind if this blog becomes a community thread.

Why are you here? I don't think I've seen a happy poker streamer or a happy poker player in a while (I'd say since Black Friday of 2011), so what's the catch these days?

While it's quiet, must be a perfect time for a sake review!

Just got two random bottles:



Here is my honest review: the one on the right is much better.

Whenever you are in doubt about these, get the blue one.

A couple of recent hands:

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $1/$2 - 5 players

P.Green6 (UTG): $218.95 (109 bb)
jazzman337 (CO): $200.00 (100 bb)
tc-wiz (BU): $128.51 (64 bb)
abetteridea (SB): $288.76 (144 bb)
am_0120 (BB): $225.75 (113 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($3) Hero (abetteridea) is SB with T♠ Q♠
3 players fold, abetteridea (SB) raises to $6, am_0120 (BB) calls $4

Flop: ($12) 9♥ 6♣ 6♦ (2 players)
abetteridea (SB) checks, am_0120 (BB) checks

Turn: ($12) K♠ (2 players)
abetteridea (SB) bets $6.50, am_0120 (BB) calls $6.50

River: ($25) 4♦ (2 players)
abetteridea (SB) checks, am_0120 (BB) bets $15.87, abetteridea (SB) calls $15.87

Total pot: $56.74 (Rake: $2.84)

Showdown:
am_0120 (BB) shows 7♠ 8♠ (a pair of Sixes)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 35%, Flop: 47%, Turn: 33%, River: 0%)

abetteridea (SB) shows T♠ Q♠ (a pair of Sixes - higher kicker)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 65%, Flop: 53%, Turn: 67%, River: 100%)

abetteridea (SB) wins $53.90

- * - * _ * - * - * _ * - * - * _ * - * -

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $0.50/$1.00 - 5 players

JoMon2010 (UTG): $33.09 (33 bb)
suasuho (CO): $144.66 (145 bb)
abetteridea (BU): $114.42 (114 bb)
slick_big1 (SB): $197.74 (198 bb)
JuanAlmighty (BB): $257.42 (257 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($1.50) Hero (abetteridea) is BTN with K♠ J♠
1 fold, suasuho (CO) raises to $2, abetteridea (BU) 3-bets to $7.50, 2 players fold, suasuho (CO) calls $5.50

Flop: ($16.50) 4♣ 5♣ 9♥ (2 players)
suasuho (CO) bets $15.68, abetteridea (BU) calls $15.68

Turn: ($47.86) 4♥ (2 players)
suasuho (CO) bets $45.47, abetteridea (BU) calls $45.47

River: ($138.80) 8♦ (2 players)
suasuho (CO) bets $76.01 (all-in), abetteridea (BU) calls $45.77 (all-in)

Total pot: $230.34 (Rake: $3.10)

Showdown:
suasuho (CO) shows A♣ 2♣ (a pair of Fours - higher kicker)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 56%, Flop: 88%, Turn: 91%, River: 100%)

abetteridea (BU) shows K♠ J♠ (a pair of Fours)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 44%, Flop: 12%, Turn: 9%, River: 0%)

suasuho (CO) wins $227.24

This section of 2+2 profile details must be really confusing for someone born in 2000s:



I still remember my ICQ number though. It was only 6 digits!

lol what is going on in that KJs hand.

You wouldn’t understand BB.

Welcome OP, I suspect we will play some hands soon.

When was ICQ a thing still… like 1998?

I keep asking that myself.


Yes, around the time Windows 98 hit the market!

a more serious answer would be that
poker is such a boring game for so many people

they are not even there
playing an infinite game
at the infinite number of tables
trying to create the longest run possible
for their strategy to pay off

if only they could figure out a way
to play a billion hands a day
they'd probably only play aces

of course, you are not going to lose at NL100
if your preflop is rock solid for every position

no matter how strange
and unexpected
their river leads are
they have no chance against your AQ+, KQs+, 99+

unless they hit and run, of course
and that's the crucial bit

time!

the less time we have
the more we live in the moment

the more tables we play
the less we live in the moment
too busy creating an illusion
of an infinitely long run

i don't want to bore everyone to death at my tables
it's a good strategy, of course
it always works
slowly

i don't have time for that
(nobody does, but that's another topic)

i usually play 2 tables
so i can't afford to have an 'optimal' strategy
i don't even use a HUD anymore

i try to be present in every hand
creating conversations with chips
getting to know each other you know

poker is infinite
we are just visiting

Well, I don’t know, at my last job there was an employee who in 2015 was indignant at why everyone abandoned ICQ and use all sorts of obscure smartphones, Viber, WhatsApp, and other garbage

PokerStars Discord server is the last reminder of how good PokerStars Support used to be.

Pretty uneventful conversation with Munez_Starr overall, but an interesting observation on the current strategy trends and Stefan winning with his exploitative style (around 54:15):



Munez says that he'd rather go back 5-6 years to the time when everyone was often deviating from 'fixed' strategies and the game wasn't as boring as it is now.

Later on they talk about how swingy Stefan's style used to be and I'm wondering if it's not Stefan's game evolving so much, but the current game trends being more suitable for someone playing exploitatively. If everyone around you is playing a locked in strategy, isn't that what you want as an exploitative player?

Also strange to hear Munez trying to analyze Stefan's game 5 times. What's the use of analyzing patterns of a player who approaches every opponent differently?

An interesting 320bb deep spot:


PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $0.50/$1.00 - 6 players

Doc Beemer (UTG): $100.00 (100 bb)
MasterMelt (MP): $469.30 (469 bb)
ayenj (CO): $100.09 (100 bb)
n3kt (BU): $193.86 (194 bb)
1Bellend (SB): $320.88 (321 bb)
abetteridea (BB): $600.78 (601 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($1.50) Hero (abetteridea) is BB with Q♦ Q♥
4 players fold, 1Bellend (SB) raises to $4, abetteridea (BB) 3-bets to $12, 1Bellend (SB) 4-bets to $44


I don't have the best hand at this depth to be facing a 4 bet.

The spot is quite rare, so we are definitely at an exploitative and polarized territory here. Based on what I've known about my villain, I opted for a call!


abetteridea (BB) calls $32

Flop: ($88) 6♣ 3♣ T♣ (2 players)
1Bellend (SB) checks


Such a bizarre flop. I'm not even sure I like his missed cbet.


abetteridea (BB) bets $31.41


Was is the best bet size? It opens the door to wider check-raises, and I don't have a great hand to deal with them comfortably.


1Bellend (SB) calls $31.41


No check-raise. No fold either. What is happening?


Turn: ($150.82) 8♦ (2 players)
1Bellend (SB) checks, abetteridea (BB) checks


I really don't know anymore.


River: ($150.82) 9♦ (2 players)
1Bellend (SB) bets $84.20


Thoughts?

Check flop imo.
River is probably just close either way.
I’d probably just call even tho I think this spot isn’t bluffed a ton OTR. Hard to know how hard people adjust this deep when it’s not many hands. Most get super tight with 4b OOP even HU (bvb) at 300bb+ from what I’ve experienced.

He’s mostly just repping reduced combos of 87s/76s and a few OP combos for a weird sizing OTR and I bet ppl do this similar kind of weird sizing enough with AK to just sigh call.

I think checking opens the door to 2 healthy barrels on any turn and river. Maybe I'm overestimating NL100 regs though.


That's true, but if he is polarized, then it's something like [AK+,QQ+] for the value part of the range at this depth and [87s, 76s... and similar hands that hit this board] for the bluffing part of it. Calling with QQ vs a range like that seems way too optimistic. We are basically hoping to see one hand (AK, and also pray it's not AcKc).

So I guess river is a clear fold here (although I didn't lol). Flop and turn are much less clear.

The price you’re getting to call isn’t so polarized though so it gets pretty close if you give him some A5s/random broadways/random spaz.
Could probably just call the QcQx and it’s fine.

This is usually the conclusion I come to anytime I think about a hand longer than 5 minutes. If I think I’m good vs pool and I know I’m not that good, then surely not many are very good.

A5, KQ etc are fine blockers here, but I think they'd rather call my 3 bet than 4 bet this deep.