2014: I Ain’t Trying to Survive, I’m Trying to Live it to The (No) Limit
04-19-2014
, 12:33 AM
Oh yeah? Watch me:
Duke is a confirmed nit hit and runner!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using 2+2 Forums
Duke is a confirmed nit hit and runner!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using 2+2 Forums
04-19-2014
, 12:08 PM
April 18 - "You hustle, but me I hustle harder."
So I get down to the room and put my name on the 1/2 list and there are 17 names ahead of me. Damn. Could be a long wait. But there's an incompetent floor working and when she sees me standing around she seats me immediately without checking the list. I'd like to think it's cause I'm a reg, but I've seen her work before and her head is in the clouds - she never knows what's going on.
Whatever, I'll take it. I immediately discover that my table is full of limpers and the tight players are on my left, so this could work well.
Early on, I pick up A
J
in the HJ and the player on my right makes it $6. He's doing this pretty wide so I make it $20. He calls with $180 behind.
Flop ($40): QQ
T
He checks, I bet $30. He tanks and calls. I sense he's weak and put him on like AT, KT, JT, T9, 99-77.
Turn ($100): 7x
He checks. I decide to fire again because I feel that he's weak. I bet $65. He tanks again and calls. Hmm, ok. He now has like $85 left, so I probably can't get him off his 10 on the river.
River ($230): K
He checks. That works too, though. I decide that I don't think he'd check a flush or a boat to me, so I push out a stack. He tanks and calls. I show him broadway and he mucks.
I discussed the hand with Duke and we agree I should have checked the turn. I like the text I sent after that though:
He seemed annoyed after I won for some reason.
After running bad for so long it actually felt good to inflict some pain on someone else, and I rarely enjoy sucking out because it usually means I misplayed a hand.
A few hands later a new player raises to $7 in the HJ. If I remember him correctly he's a decent tight player, probably break even give or take. I call in the CO with AJo. The button and SB call.
Flop ($25): 267r
It checks around.
Turn ($25): 3dd
The PFR bets $12. Now, he pretty much can't have a hand. My recollection is that he wouldn't raise preflop with a hand that connects with this, so the vast majority of the time he has like AK, AQ, etc. However, I have two players behind with wide ranges. I decide to flat call with devious plans for the river.
River ($49): Tx
This is actually a really good card for me because now I can have even more hands that got there. 89, 45, 67, or a set. He bets $17, which confuses me a bit. I thought this would go check-bet-fold. However, I still don't think he can stand a raise. Maybe he has like 88, 99, JJ. Maybe he's just bluffing again. I raise $55 to $72. He thinks for about 10 seconds and folds.
Later he tells me he had JJ, but I don't really believe him. I told him I had 45.
Against the same villain from the first hand, I pick up QQ in the CO and raise to $12 after he limps. Nobody else calls.
Flop ($25): K83r
He checks, I check.
Turn ($25): 5
He bets $15. I call.
River ($52): K
He bets $40. I internally wonder, "Why so much?" It never felt like he had the K, the river card helps me, and I just don't think I'm beat here. I call, he tables 8To and my hand is good. I don't know what he's doing at any point in that hand except the flop and turn. Limp-call 8To preflop - bad. Flop middle pair and check, ok whatever. Bet the turn, OK. But that river is begging for a check, or maybe a blocking bet. Instead he takes $40, lights it on fire, and tosses it out there. Thanks, dude.
That runs me up over $630.
I ended up cashing out $602 after 3 hours and 46 minutes, not bad.
I think a big key to turning things around was and will continue to be studying the game more. It puts me in a great mindset and fills me with confidence.
I'm about to read a little then go crush again.
So I get down to the room and put my name on the 1/2 list and there are 17 names ahead of me. Damn. Could be a long wait. But there's an incompetent floor working and when she sees me standing around she seats me immediately without checking the list. I'd like to think it's cause I'm a reg, but I've seen her work before and her head is in the clouds - she never knows what's going on.
Whatever, I'll take it. I immediately discover that my table is full of limpers and the tight players are on my left, so this could work well.
Early on, I pick up A
J in the HJ and the player on my right makes it $6. He's doing this pretty wide so I make it $20. He calls with $180 behind.Flop ($40): Q
QTHe checks, I bet $30. He tanks and calls. I sense he's weak and put him on like AT, KT, JT, T9, 99-77.
Turn ($100): 7x
He checks. I decide to fire again because I feel that he's weak. I bet $65. He tanks again and calls. Hmm, ok. He now has like $85 left, so I probably can't get him off his 10 on the river.
River ($230): K
He checks. That works too, though. I decide that I don't think he'd check a flush or a boat to me, so I push out a stack. He tanks and calls. I show him broadway and he mucks.
I discussed the hand with Duke and we agree I should have checked the turn. I like the text I sent after that though:
He seemed annoyed after I won for some reason.
After running bad for so long it actually felt good to inflict some pain on someone else, and I rarely enjoy sucking out because it usually means I misplayed a hand.
A few hands later a new player raises to $7 in the HJ. If I remember him correctly he's a decent tight player, probably break even give or take. I call in the CO with AJo. The button and SB call.
Flop ($25): 267r
It checks around.
Turn ($25): 3dd
The PFR bets $12. Now, he pretty much can't have a hand. My recollection is that he wouldn't raise preflop with a hand that connects with this, so the vast majority of the time he has like AK, AQ, etc. However, I have two players behind with wide ranges. I decide to flat call with devious plans for the river.
River ($49): Tx
This is actually a really good card for me because now I can have even more hands that got there. 89, 45, 67, or a set. He bets $17, which confuses me a bit. I thought this would go check-bet-fold. However, I still don't think he can stand a raise. Maybe he has like 88, 99, JJ. Maybe he's just bluffing again. I raise $55 to $72. He thinks for about 10 seconds and folds.
Later he tells me he had JJ, but I don't really believe him. I told him I had 45.
Against the same villain from the first hand, I pick up QQ in the CO and raise to $12 after he limps. Nobody else calls.
Flop ($25): K83r
He checks, I check.
Turn ($25): 5
He bets $15. I call.
River ($52): K
He bets $40. I internally wonder, "Why so much?" It never felt like he had the K, the river card helps me, and I just don't think I'm beat here. I call, he tables 8To and my hand is good. I don't know what he's doing at any point in that hand except the flop and turn. Limp-call 8To preflop - bad. Flop middle pair and check, ok whatever. Bet the turn, OK. But that river is begging for a check, or maybe a blocking bet. Instead he takes $40, lights it on fire, and tosses it out there. Thanks, dude.
That runs me up over $630.
I ended up cashing out $602 after 3 hours and 46 minutes, not bad.
I think a big key to turning things around was and will continue to be studying the game more. It puts me in a great mindset and fills me with confidence.
I'm about to read a little then go crush again.
04-19-2014
, 12:33 PM
Quote:
April 18 - "You hustle, but me I hustle harder."
So I get down to the room and put my name on the 1/2 list and there are 17 names ahead of me. Damn. Could be a long wait. But there's an incompetent floor working and when she sees me standing around she seats me immediately without checking the list. I'd like to think it's cause I'm a reg, but I've seen her work before and her head is in the clouds - she never knows what's going on.
Whatever, I'll take it. I immediately discover that my table is full of limpers and the tight players are on my left, so this could work well.
Early on, I pick up AJ in the HJ and the player on my right makes it $6. He's doing this pretty wide so I make it $20. He calls with $180 behind.
Flop ($40): QQT
He checks, I bet $30. He tanks and calls. I sense he's weak and put him on like AT, KT, JT, T9, 99-77.
Turn ($100): 7x
He checks. I decide to fire again because I feel that he's weak. I bet $65. He tanks again and calls. Hmm, ok. He now has like $85 left, so I probably can't get him off his 10 on the river.
River ($230): K
He checks. That works too, though. I decide that I don't think he'd check a flush or a boat to me, so I push out a stack. He tanks and calls. I show him broadway and he mucks.
I discussed the hand with Duke and we agree I should have checked the turn. I like the text I sent after that though:
He seemed annoyed after I won for some reason.
After running bad for so long it actually felt good to inflict some pain on someone else, and I rarely enjoy sucking out because it usually means I misplayed a hand.
A few hands later a new player raises to $7 in the HJ. If I remember him correctly he's a decent tight player, probably break even give or take. I call in the CO with AJo. The button and SB call.
Flop ($25): 267r
It checks around.
Turn ($25): 3dd
The PFR bets $12. Now, he pretty much can't have a hand. My recollection is that he wouldn't raise preflop with a hand that connects with this, so the vast majority of the time he has like AK, AQ, etc. However, I have two players behind with wide ranges. I decide to flat call with devious plans for the river.
River ($49): Tx
This is actually a really good card for me because now I can have even more hands that got there. 89, 45, 67, or a set. He bets $17, which confuses me a bit. I thought this would go check-bet-fold. However, I still don't think he can stand a raise. Maybe he has like 88, 99, JJ. Maybe he's just bluffing again. I raise $55 to $72. He thinks for about 10 seconds and folds.
Later he tells me he had JJ, but I don't really believe him. I told him I had 45.
Against the same villain from the first hand, I pick up QQ in the CO and raise to $12 after he limps. Nobody else calls.
Flop ($25): K83r
He checks, I check.
Turn ($25): 5
He bets $15. I call.
River ($52): K
He bets $40. I internally wonder, "Why so much?" It never felt like he had the K, the river card helps me, and I just don't think I'm beat here. I call, he tables 8To and my hand is good. I don't know what he's doing at any point in that hand except the flop and turn. Limp-call 8To preflop - bad. Flop middle pair and check, ok whatever. Bet the turn, OK. But that river is begging for a check, or maybe a blocking bet. Instead he takes $40, lights it on fire, and tosses it out there. Thanks, dude.
That runs me up over $630.
I ended up cashing out $602 after 3 hours and 46 minutes, not bad.
I think a big key to turning things around was and will continue to be studying the game more. It puts me in a great mindset and fills me with confidence.
I'm about to read a little then go crush again.
So I get down to the room and put my name on the 1/2 list and there are 17 names ahead of me. Damn. Could be a long wait. But there's an incompetent floor working and when she sees me standing around she seats me immediately without checking the list. I'd like to think it's cause I'm a reg, but I've seen her work before and her head is in the clouds - she never knows what's going on.
Whatever, I'll take it. I immediately discover that my table is full of limpers and the tight players are on my left, so this could work well.
Early on, I pick up A
J in the HJ and the player on my right makes it $6. He's doing this pretty wide so I make it $20. He calls with $180 behind.Flop ($40): Q
QTHe checks, I bet $30. He tanks and calls. I sense he's weak and put him on like AT, KT, JT, T9, 99-77.
Turn ($100): 7x
He checks. I decide to fire again because I feel that he's weak. I bet $65. He tanks again and calls. Hmm, ok. He now has like $85 left, so I probably can't get him off his 10 on the river.
River ($230): K
He checks. That works too, though. I decide that I don't think he'd check a flush or a boat to me, so I push out a stack. He tanks and calls. I show him broadway and he mucks.
I discussed the hand with Duke and we agree I should have checked the turn. I like the text I sent after that though:
He seemed annoyed after I won for some reason.
After running bad for so long it actually felt good to inflict some pain on someone else, and I rarely enjoy sucking out because it usually means I misplayed a hand.
A few hands later a new player raises to $7 in the HJ. If I remember him correctly he's a decent tight player, probably break even give or take. I call in the CO with AJo. The button and SB call.
Flop ($25): 267r
It checks around.
Turn ($25): 3dd
The PFR bets $12. Now, he pretty much can't have a hand. My recollection is that he wouldn't raise preflop with a hand that connects with this, so the vast majority of the time he has like AK, AQ, etc. However, I have two players behind with wide ranges. I decide to flat call with devious plans for the river.
River ($49): Tx
This is actually a really good card for me because now I can have even more hands that got there. 89, 45, 67, or a set. He bets $17, which confuses me a bit. I thought this would go check-bet-fold. However, I still don't think he can stand a raise. Maybe he has like 88, 99, JJ. Maybe he's just bluffing again. I raise $55 to $72. He thinks for about 10 seconds and folds.
Later he tells me he had JJ, but I don't really believe him. I told him I had 45.
Against the same villain from the first hand, I pick up QQ in the CO and raise to $12 after he limps. Nobody else calls.
Flop ($25): K83r
He checks, I check.
Turn ($25): 5
He bets $15. I call.
River ($52): K
He bets $40. I internally wonder, "Why so much?" It never felt like he had the K, the river card helps me, and I just don't think I'm beat here. I call, he tables 8To and my hand is good. I don't know what he's doing at any point in that hand except the flop and turn. Limp-call 8To preflop - bad. Flop middle pair and check, ok whatever. Bet the turn, OK. But that river is begging for a check, or maybe a blocking bet. Instead he takes $40, lights it on fire, and tosses it out there. Thanks, dude.
That runs me up over $630.
I ended up cashing out $602 after 3 hours and 46 minutes, not bad.
I think a big key to turning things around was and will continue to be studying the game more. It puts me in a great mindset and fills me with confidence.
I'm about to read a little then go crush again.
LOVE IT buddy, how long did you take a break from playing? Are you reading poker related material or just general literature?
04-19-2014
, 01:16 PM
04-19-2014
, 01:27 PM
04-19-2014
, 03:25 PM
04-19-2014
, 04:27 PM
04-20-2014
, 02:47 AM
April 19
"You let them other playas get the name, skip the fame.
10 thou or a hundred G's, keep your sh** the same.
[On the low?] Yeah, the only way to blow.
You let your sh** bubble quietly, [and then you blow?]
Hey keep your cool.
The only way to peep a fool is let him show his hand.
Then you play your cards, [then he through dealin, I understand.]"
- Jay-Z and [Memphis Bleak]
I played tonight with one of the stranger players I've ever sat with before. This girl was like semi-good, kind of aware of what was going on and super aggro. But she was just completely spewing like crazy way too often. It was like she had two poker lessons. Lesson one: here are the basics. Lesson two: never just call, be raising.
She was making weird min-raises in some spots, overbets in others. Other than that, the table was pretty poor, but I had seat changed into the God seat on her and decided to give it some time. I was stuck about $100 and won back about $90 of it when she got up and left. I stood up to scout for a table change and a seat had just opened up at the table I wanted to get at. I asked the dealer if it was open, waved at the floor and got my table change.
The target is a drunk man who I've seen play before. He's not a complete moron, but he is super loose and super aggressive and can't find the fold button. He tells us he's the best player in the world and that he makes $200,000 a year playing poker for a living. He's running his mouth incessantly, and he's got like $1500 in his stack and splashing around constantly.
He straddles and I pick up QQ in late position with one EP limper. I raise to $20. The whale calls and everyone else folds. Effective remaining stacks are $320.
Flop ($42): Q99r
That'll work. He checks and I debate and check. He's bad, but he's not just lighting money on fire so he's only calling a flop bet with a Q, JT or a pocket pair and his range is way wider than that. I think my best value here is to check and let him try to bluff me, which he's prone to do.
Turn ($42): 8
He bets $81. I call.
River ($204): Kx
He checks. I have about $240 left. I consider shoving, but I'm not sure what even he can call with unless he has JT or spiked a K with some random bluff. If he had the nine he would have bet the river or he'll raise me anyway.
I bet $140, he snap calls with JT and MHIG. I obviously should have shoved, because his line looks a lot like a bluff, JT or a hand that may not pay off anything, and thus I should play to maximize value vs. JT.
He proceeds to whine on and on about how lucky I was. Someone had just told him he was lucky 3-4 hands back and his response was, "Really, no skill? All luck? I get no credit?"
Him: "Wow. Just flop a full house. Lucky. You were very lucky to beat me. Then the straight on the turn. You were very lucky sir."
Me: "What, no skill at all?"
Him: "No, you were lucky. You know how hard it is to flop a full house and then have someone turn a straight. You're very lucky to get me."
Me: "Yep, it was all luck."
He proceeds to go on massive tilt and lose probably another $700-900, but unfortunately he ships this to a handful of others at the table. He basically is trying to run massive bluffs on almost every pot.
When he gets down to $300 he gets steamed and says our table is no good and table changes. I seat change to his seat, because the player on his right was opening to $7, calling his 3bets and folding a lot, and though he already had like $1500 when he got there, I surmise that a chunk of it came from that.
Those dynamics never really present themselves, but just as I'm considering another table change, the following hand develops. The villain is a young Asian kid who seems decent and tends to be a little on the loose and aggressive side. He seems to know what he's doing.
The button limps and the SB raises to $6. I'm in the BB with AQ. I bet to $20 for a few reasons. First, I think I crush his range because it's such a weird raise. Second, my hand plays way better than the value portion of his range. He may have a lot of like 22-99, then random broadways and suited connectors that I am well ahead of and 22-99 will be hard to play OOP in a 3bet pot. Finally, I don't want to play three way and be stuck in the middle with a hand that becomes difficult to play.
The limper folds and the villain 4bets to $60 and leaves $260 behind. What the hell? I consider 5betting, because this just doesn't make sense and I'm probably good. If he sucked, he could easily have AA-QQ here. Bad players make those small raises all the time with monster hands in weird spots like out of position with a limper, and then they'll come back strong. However, I don't think he's a fish. Thus, I believe his $6 raise was with a hand that wanted to build a pot - a drawing hand or a pocket pair.
Ultimately, though, I decide that I can play the pot in position with a huge advantage and likely the best hand, so I elect to call.
Flop ($117): QJx8
He thinks for like 10-15 seconds and checks. I think for a bit but this is basically a spot where, if you call a 4bet with AQ, you're getting stacks in here. I don't want to bet too weak either because there are a lot of draws. I bet $100. He thinks for maybe 20 seconds and moves all-in. His hands are shaking, but I have this weird feeling that it's a bluff shake and not a nuts shake. Like, he wasn't doing it when he put the $60 in so I don't think it's AA or KK, I guess JJ is possible, but if so, nice hand sir.
I call.
Turn: 4
River: A
He says "Two pair." and shows A8o. I show my AQ and stack the spoils of a $635 pot.
Later I play a weird pot with KK. I raise to $12 in EP and get four calls. I probably should have raised to $15. There were two limpers, and normally I'd do $15 there but the table had been getting tight and $15+ raises were not getting any calls.
Anyway, five to the flop.
Flop ($60): T
88
EP leads for $35. This is such a tough spot. Flatting sucks, raising seems risky and folding seems super weak. He's got like $220ish behind and I cover. I decide that he's unlikely to limp-call 8x up front and that pocket pairs and AT are a bigger part of his range. I raise to $100. The player on my left tanks for a while, maybe 30-40 seconds, looks pained and ships it in for $228.
It folds around to the button who super snap calls for his last $71. It was the live equivalent of the first pump snap call. The EP player folds. I guess $71 guy figured he only had $36 of action left, so he didn't need to be deceptive at all, but I pretty much know he has an 8.
Of course, I'm not facing action from him, I'm facing it from the guy on my left. He's a halfway decent tight player, but the only times I've seen him look pained are when he's had a big draw and faced a big bet. I've seen him play big hands and strong hands and he never had that look on his face with them. I decide he has a good draw and I am ahead. I call.
Turn: 3
River: 8x
The button tables 84o to take the main and I take the side pot with KK. I basically lost $83 to the 84o (sick call preflop, by the way), and won $155 from the other guy for a net profit of like $70-75.
I run my stack up over 1K and then back down to the $950 range. The table at one point goes to complete crap, but I'm having an enjoyable conversation with two guys on my right so I wait it out for about 15-20 minutes. It doesn't improve, so I get up and take a walk and find a table that looks better. Doesn't look great, but I'll take anything over what I've got. I hate to lose the deep stack, but oh well. I table change again.
I color $600 black and zip it in my pocket, because you can only come in for $300 as a table change. I stick another like $45 in reds/whites in my other pocket and put $300 in play. I lose about 80, put the 45 back in play, and proceed to run it up just over $300 in the course of about 10 hands. I'm in the 10 seat and I know the 6 and 7 are decent, the 8 is empty and the 9 hasn't played more than a hand and looks decent too. The 2 seat is the potential fish and the 1 and 3 are subpar. The 4 seat leaves so I seat change.
I run up to about $450 without too much interesting happened. A guy UTG+1 limped, he was limping too wide so I raised to $12 UTG+2 with AJo. The flop was A high, and he check-called 3 streets and I stacked him for about $120-130.
I tread water for a while and the following hand happens. With several limpers, I raise to $16 on the button with A2.
The BB calls and two limpers do as well.
Flop ($65): 353
The BB leads out for $30 and it folds to me. She's an Asian woman in her 40s, give or take, and she's pretty tight. However, I know that when she flops a monster on a draw heavy board, she bets the pot or overbets it to protect her hand because she's terrified of draws. Thus, she doesn't have the 3. She could have 5's full, but it's tough to flop a boat and I think she'd check the nuts because that's not vulnerable to a draw. Thus, I think she has like 44-TT, and I think I can steal it with a raise. I raise to $105.
She tanks and tanks, she counts out like $45, then asks if it's a raise to $100. Dealer says $105 and I say $75 more. She continues tanking, then says, "I have overpair."
I don't react, but I know this means she's folding. She tanks more and repeats it. I nod as if to say, I heard you the first time. She then shows 99 and tables it. I don't react. "I fold," she says.
I nod approvingly as I muck. As much as I wanted to show it, she's actually a decent player, and it's way more +EV to not show and keep being able to outplay her in those spots than to give her any free information.
It's easy to be flashy and show your bluffs and let everyone see how good you are, but if you really want to be a player, playa, you've got to keep that confidence internal and avoid giving away information. Against a fish it might be worth showing it for future action, but against a competent player you're just giving away free information that helps them and hurts you.
You should always be trying to get others to give away free information without giving it away yourself. How did I know that the villain overbets or bets the pot with monsters when there's a draw out? She did it twice, got no calls, and showed her hand, and I paid attention. That free information allowed me to steal $100 from her.
Hence the song lyrics at the top of the post.
Later, I have A7 in the big blind. It's a limped pot, seven ways.
Flop ($13): K3T
I bet $10, two calls. The button raises to $22. He's got about $250 behind and I cover. I consider a re-raise, because I'm generally more than willing to get it in with the nut flush draw and an over, but I decide I'm being laid too sweet of a price and either of the callers could have a smaller flush draw I don't want to blast out. I call. Surprisingly, both of the others fold.
Turn ($73): 6
I contemplate my options. I think he's going to be scared of the heart and check behind, so I bet $55. He snap calls. Like, he said call before I had it over the line.
River ($183): 5
He's got about $220 left. I could bet like $120, but I think he's going to call an all-in a reasonably high percentage of the time after calling so fast on the turn. I decide to try to get the spew snap call and I shove. He snap folds K3 faceup. Bleh.
I should have bet more on the turn to set up slightly smaller than pot sized shove on the river. Like $70 on the turn puts $213 in the pot and leaves him $205ish.
He folded so fast, I don't think he was calling any bet, so I kind of think he had decided on the turn to call one street no matter what I bet and then fold the river. That would make the turn snap call mesh up with another read I had on him earlier when I raised him on the flop with top pair weak kicker on a drawy board and felt that he didn't want a raise.
At any rate, I cashed out a total between the two tables of $1254 and I was in for $400, so +$854. I played about 12.5 hours.
"You let them other playas get the name, skip the fame.
10 thou or a hundred G's, keep your sh** the same.
[On the low?] Yeah, the only way to blow.
You let your sh** bubble quietly, [and then you blow?]
Hey keep your cool.
The only way to peep a fool is let him show his hand.
Then you play your cards, [then he through dealin, I understand.]"
- Jay-Z and [Memphis Bleak]
I played tonight with one of the stranger players I've ever sat with before. This girl was like semi-good, kind of aware of what was going on and super aggro. But she was just completely spewing like crazy way too often. It was like she had two poker lessons. Lesson one: here are the basics. Lesson two: never just call, be raising.
She was making weird min-raises in some spots, overbets in others. Other than that, the table was pretty poor, but I had seat changed into the God seat on her and decided to give it some time. I was stuck about $100 and won back about $90 of it when she got up and left. I stood up to scout for a table change and a seat had just opened up at the table I wanted to get at. I asked the dealer if it was open, waved at the floor and got my table change.
The target is a drunk man who I've seen play before. He's not a complete moron, but he is super loose and super aggressive and can't find the fold button. He tells us he's the best player in the world and that he makes $200,000 a year playing poker for a living. He's running his mouth incessantly, and he's got like $1500 in his stack and splashing around constantly.
He straddles and I pick up QQ in late position with one EP limper. I raise to $20. The whale calls and everyone else folds. Effective remaining stacks are $320.
Flop ($42): Q99r
That'll work. He checks and I debate and check. He's bad, but he's not just lighting money on fire so he's only calling a flop bet with a Q, JT or a pocket pair and his range is way wider than that. I think my best value here is to check and let him try to bluff me, which he's prone to do.
Turn ($42): 8
He bets $81. I call.
River ($204): Kx
He checks. I have about $240 left. I consider shoving, but I'm not sure what even he can call with unless he has JT or spiked a K with some random bluff. If he had the nine he would have bet the river or he'll raise me anyway.
I bet $140, he snap calls with JT and MHIG. I obviously should have shoved, because his line looks a lot like a bluff, JT or a hand that may not pay off anything, and thus I should play to maximize value vs. JT.
He proceeds to whine on and on about how lucky I was. Someone had just told him he was lucky 3-4 hands back and his response was, "Really, no skill? All luck? I get no credit?"
Him: "Wow. Just flop a full house. Lucky. You were very lucky to beat me. Then the straight on the turn. You were very lucky sir."
Me: "What, no skill at all?"
Him: "No, you were lucky. You know how hard it is to flop a full house and then have someone turn a straight. You're very lucky to get me."
Me: "Yep, it was all luck."
He proceeds to go on massive tilt and lose probably another $700-900, but unfortunately he ships this to a handful of others at the table. He basically is trying to run massive bluffs on almost every pot.
When he gets down to $300 he gets steamed and says our table is no good and table changes. I seat change to his seat, because the player on his right was opening to $7, calling his 3bets and folding a lot, and though he already had like $1500 when he got there, I surmise that a chunk of it came from that.
Those dynamics never really present themselves, but just as I'm considering another table change, the following hand develops. The villain is a young Asian kid who seems decent and tends to be a little on the loose and aggressive side. He seems to know what he's doing.
The button limps and the SB raises to $6. I'm in the BB with A
Q. I bet to $20 for a few reasons. First, I think I crush his range because it's such a weird raise. Second, my hand plays way better than the value portion of his range. He may have a lot of like 22-99, then random broadways and suited connectors that I am well ahead of and 22-99 will be hard to play OOP in a 3bet pot. Finally, I don't want to play three way and be stuck in the middle with a hand that becomes difficult to play. The limper folds and the villain 4bets to $60 and leaves $260 behind. What the hell? I consider 5betting, because this just doesn't make sense and I'm probably good. If he sucked, he could easily have AA-QQ here. Bad players make those small raises all the time with monster hands in weird spots like out of position with a limper, and then they'll come back strong. However, I don't think he's a fish. Thus, I believe his $6 raise was with a hand that wanted to build a pot - a drawing hand or a pocket pair.
Ultimately, though, I decide that I can play the pot in position with a huge advantage and likely the best hand, so I elect to call.
Flop ($117): Q
Jx8He thinks for like 10-15 seconds and checks. I think for a bit but this is basically a spot where, if you call a 4bet with AQ, you're getting stacks in here. I don't want to bet too weak either because there are a lot of draws. I bet $100. He thinks for maybe 20 seconds and moves all-in. His hands are shaking, but I have this weird feeling that it's a bluff shake and not a nuts shake. Like, he wasn't doing it when he put the $60 in so I don't think it's AA or KK, I guess JJ is possible, but if so, nice hand sir.
I call.
Turn: 4
River: A
He says "Two pair." and shows A8o. I show my AQ and stack the spoils of a $635 pot.
Later I play a weird pot with K
K. I raise to $12 in EP and get four calls. I probably should have raised to $15. There were two limpers, and normally I'd do $15 there but the table had been getting tight and $15+ raises were not getting any calls.Anyway, five to the flop.
Flop ($60): T
88EP leads for $35. This is such a tough spot. Flatting sucks, raising seems risky and folding seems super weak. He's got like $220ish behind and I cover. I decide that he's unlikely to limp-call 8x up front and that pocket pairs and AT are a bigger part of his range. I raise to $100. The player on my left tanks for a while, maybe 30-40 seconds, looks pained and ships it in for $228.
It folds around to the button who super snap calls for his last $71. It was the live equivalent of the first pump snap call. The EP player folds. I guess $71 guy figured he only had $36 of action left, so he didn't need to be deceptive at all, but I pretty much know he has an 8.
Of course, I'm not facing action from him, I'm facing it from the guy on my left. He's a halfway decent tight player, but the only times I've seen him look pained are when he's had a big draw and faced a big bet. I've seen him play big hands and strong hands and he never had that look on his face with them. I decide he has a good draw and I am ahead. I call.
Turn: 3
River: 8x
The button tables 84o to take the main and I take the side pot with KK. I basically lost $83 to the 84o (sick call preflop, by the way), and won $155 from the other guy for a net profit of like $70-75.
I run my stack up over 1K and then back down to the $950 range. The table at one point goes to complete crap, but I'm having an enjoyable conversation with two guys on my right so I wait it out for about 15-20 minutes. It doesn't improve, so I get up and take a walk and find a table that looks better. Doesn't look great, but I'll take anything over what I've got. I hate to lose the deep stack, but oh well. I table change again.
I color $600 black and zip it in my pocket, because you can only come in for $300 as a table change. I stick another like $45 in reds/whites in my other pocket and put $300 in play. I lose about 80, put the 45 back in play, and proceed to run it up just over $300 in the course of about 10 hands. I'm in the 10 seat and I know the 6 and 7 are decent, the 8 is empty and the 9 hasn't played more than a hand and looks decent too. The 2 seat is the potential fish and the 1 and 3 are subpar. The 4 seat leaves so I seat change.
I run up to about $450 without too much interesting happened. A guy UTG+1 limped, he was limping too wide so I raised to $12 UTG+2 with AJo. The flop was A high, and he check-called 3 streets and I stacked him for about $120-130.
I tread water for a while and the following hand happens. With several limpers, I raise to $16 on the button with A
2.The BB calls and two limpers do as well.
Flop ($65): 3
53The BB leads out for $30 and it folds to me. She's an Asian woman in her 40s, give or take, and she's pretty tight. However, I know that when she flops a monster on a draw heavy board, she bets the pot or overbets it to protect her hand because she's terrified of draws. Thus, she doesn't have the 3. She could have 5's full, but it's tough to flop a boat and I think she'd check the nuts because that's not vulnerable to a draw. Thus, I think she has like 44-TT, and I think I can steal it with a raise. I raise to $105.
She tanks and tanks, she counts out like $45, then asks if it's a raise to $100. Dealer says $105 and I say $75 more. She continues tanking, then says, "I have overpair."
I don't react, but I know this means she's folding. She tanks more and repeats it. I nod as if to say, I heard you the first time. She then shows 9
9 and tables it. I don't react. "I fold," she says.I nod approvingly as I muck. As much as I wanted to show it, she's actually a decent player, and it's way more +EV to not show and keep being able to outplay her in those spots than to give her any free information.
It's easy to be flashy and show your bluffs and let everyone see how good you are, but if you really want to be a player, playa, you've got to keep that confidence internal and avoid giving away information. Against a fish it might be worth showing it for future action, but against a competent player you're just giving away free information that helps them and hurts you.
You should always be trying to get others to give away free information without giving it away yourself. How did I know that the villain overbets or bets the pot with monsters when there's a draw out? She did it twice, got no calls, and showed her hand, and I paid attention. That free information allowed me to steal $100 from her.
Hence the song lyrics at the top of the post.
Later, I have A
7 in the big blind. It's a limped pot, seven ways.Flop ($13): K
3TI bet $10, two calls. The button raises to $22. He's got about $250 behind and I cover. I consider a re-raise, because I'm generally more than willing to get it in with the nut flush draw and an over, but I decide I'm being laid too sweet of a price and either of the callers could have a smaller flush draw I don't want to blast out. I call. Surprisingly, both of the others fold.
Turn ($73): 6
I contemplate my options. I think he's going to be scared of the heart and check behind, so I bet $55. He snap calls. Like, he said call before I had it over the line.
River ($183): 5
He's got about $220 left. I could bet like $120, but I think he's going to call an all-in a reasonably high percentage of the time after calling so fast on the turn. I decide to try to get the spew snap call and I shove. He snap folds K3 faceup. Bleh.
I should have bet more on the turn to set up slightly smaller than pot sized shove on the river. Like $70 on the turn puts $213 in the pot and leaves him $205ish.
He folded so fast, I don't think he was calling any bet, so I kind of think he had decided on the turn to call one street no matter what I bet and then fold the river. That would make the turn snap call mesh up with another read I had on him earlier when I raised him on the flop with top pair weak kicker on a drawy board and felt that he didn't want a raise.
At any rate, I cashed out a total between the two tables of $1254 and I was in for $400, so +$854. I played about 12.5 hours.
04-20-2014
, 01:04 PM
Happy Easter everyone - hope you're getting to spend some time with family and friends! I'm doing the big family dinner in a bit and watching the Flyers game now.
I want to thank everyone again who was showing me some love during the downswing with encouragement and advice. Definitely awesome to have that to kind of make you remember why you're doing this and what the goals are, and it's good to know you've got people following along. Like yeah, I could get pissed and spew, but that's not how I roll and the last thing I want to do is come back here and have to let you guys down.
There were a few things that stood out that I focused on that I didn't get around to replying to specifically, so...
This was key. I'm all about not taking the easy route through life and taking risks and working hard to create the life I want. That's going to be worth putting up with the downswings. Thanks for reminding me.
Haha nice. I'm grinding to get outta here kid.
I didn't need to get back to the fundamentals, per se, but I needed to lock them back up. I didn't go to a straight ABC game, but I made sure to tighten up in EP especially. Part of my game is playing loose in late position, but I have to always fight the urge to do that in EP. I tend to do that when I'm getting good speculative hands in EP and nothing in LP and I get frustrated and start trying to limp or raise up front with hands that are great in the HJ, CO, BTN but not good in EP.
I was also shrinking my bet sizing too much, and fixed that, which relates to fundamentals.
Studying was huge, and something I had to force myself to do. If not for the downswing, maybe I wouldn't have gotten back to it, so maybe that's the silver lining.
Great analysis in this post. I wasn't thinking analytically enough in some of those spots, which is usually my strength.
I didn't take this advice 100% but I stopped trying to make big bluffs unless I had very good reasons to do it, which helped me avoid some sick spots. I tried to focus on planning out the rest of the hand more too.
This is the most critical advice I've gotten. I need to be beat over the head with it. I finally started table changing aggressively yesterday and it felt very rewarding to sit down and start making more money from bad players after a change. It's a super weakness because I tend to be shy about asking people for things, like a table change. I need to force myself to do it, and not wanting to come back here and admit that I didn't table change from a bad game is good motivation.
I want to thank everyone again who was showing me some love during the downswing with encouragement and advice. Definitely awesome to have that to kind of make you remember why you're doing this and what the goals are, and it's good to know you've got people following along. Like yeah, I could get pissed and spew, but that's not how I roll and the last thing I want to do is come back here and have to let you guys down.
There were a few things that stood out that I focused on that I didn't get around to replying to specifically, so...
Quote:
Stay strong. Whatever happens, know you are putting in your all and that is something most people can't say. Whether its poker/broadcast you are going out and trying to make them happen. Its not going to be easy, but its comes down to what type of life do you want to live? do you want to follow your passions? do you want to settle for the more safe conservative route? You have to make the choice and following this thread has been great. its amazing you can come out and make the last post.
Quote:
Get back to the fundamentals. You are playing way too many hands. Get the money off online and add it to your live roll. Play 4-5 nights a week live so you remain in the zone. Only 3 bet AQ+/JJ+ and only play AJ+/99+ in raised pots while obviously playing pot odds cards like suited connectors/1 gappers in position when you are in a spot where no one behind you is likely to raise. You can do it man stick with it and tighten up your game. It's 1/2 after all and I personally believe firing more than 1 barrel is very rarely ever correct. Play your hands face up and exploitable and people at this level will still fail to take advantage when you have nothing and give you money when you have the goods.
I was also shrinking my bet sizing too much, and fixed that, which relates to fundamentals.
Quote:
Now is when you define what kind of person you are...
Think about what you want to be, and decide if this is going to get the better of you, or if you will adjust and ride it out.
I believe the tightening up advice is very sound, and maybe take a day or two where you don't play at all, do something else for a day, and start studying the game, it will do wonders for your motivation...
Please don't stop, it is when things are hard you learn the most about yourself.
I love reading this thread, and would hate if it ended. (I am selfish i know)
GL
Think about what you want to be, and decide if this is going to get the better of you, or if you will adjust and ride it out.
I believe the tightening up advice is very sound, and maybe take a day or two where you don't play at all, do something else for a day, and start studying the game, it will do wonders for your motivation...
Please don't stop, it is when things are hard you learn the most about yourself.
I love reading this thread, and would hate if it ended. (I am selfish i know)
GL
Quote:
Chin up and buckle down man . Like it's been said already, you probably need to start playing fewer hands and get back to the basics before you start making plays again. Sure, you got unlucky in some of those hands, but you also set yourself up to be unlucky in some of them. If you know someone is floating you alot, then there's 2 ways to respond. You either a) tighten up or b) double barrel more since the flop is just a formality obviously.
Trying to make hands and checking it down when you miss isn't going to beat someone that's calling you light. If that's how you're going to play, then you should only be playing premium hands so that decisions are easier for you until you regain confidence in your game. Just my two cents. GL bro!
. Like it's been said already, you probably need to start playing fewer hands and get back to the basics before you start making plays again. Sure, you got unlucky in some of those hands, but you also set yourself up to be unlucky in some of them. If you know someone is floating you alot, then there's 2 ways to respond. You either a) tighten up or b) double barrel more since the flop is just a formality obviously. Trying to make hands and checking it down when you miss isn't going to beat someone that's calling you light. If that's how you're going to play, then you should only be playing premium hands so that decisions are easier for you until you regain confidence in your game. Just my two cents. GL bro!
Quote:
He said this perfectly.. Looking at the way you have been playing you've been setting yourself up for some sick spots. Focus on live & follow these guidelines at 1/2. Makes all of your decisions way easier & puts you back in control. Stop trying to complicate hands and keep it simple. Take people to value town & worry about balancing & playing "well" when you move up.
Quote:
From what your posts in this thread, I think that you need to table change more often. Before I play a hand, I look at all of the possible tables and formulate a ranking of the games that I wish to transfer if I don't get into that game initially. If your game is no good within an orbit or so, don't hesitate to pull the trigger on a transfer. It's unlikely that the game with no action in 9-10 hands will be better than the game with a couple fish and terrible regs. Just do it. You seem to have the other facets of the game down well, so I hope that is helpful to getting on the winning track.
04-20-2014
, 08:54 PM
04-20-2014
, 10:33 PM
04-21-2014
, 01:05 PM
04-21-2014
, 03:05 PM
04-21-2014
, 07:56 PM
04-21-2014
, 09:09 PM
04-22-2014
, 02:19 AM
04-22-2014
, 05:08 AM
April 21 - "It’s the thought of a ride that makes my eyes wide. / I’m caught up. I'm trying to make, all of my dreams materialize, so I sorta / Say my goodbyes to the straight and narrow. / I found a new route, you bout to see my life change.” - Jay-Z
NOTE - This probably looks tldr, but there were a ton of interesting hands in one of the greatest sessions I've played, so I decided to leave it all in and try to break it up with pictures.
So I head down to the poker room after doing a little reading/study and I'm feeling pretty sharp and ready to go. I get a seat in a new game, and it starts off short and is mediocre, and I'm stuck about $100. I top off with $100. I know I can't table change until we get a couple more players to keep it balanced, so I wait. I work my way up over $400 without much interesting stuff happening, to get me back to even.
I did have a great conversation the whole time that was definitely -EV, but it was so entertaining I didn't care - a guy I've played with before who's in his late 60s or early 70s who is basically a retired pro who grinds 2-3 times a week was telling me all kinds of old gambling stories about scams people used to run, tournaments he played, etc.
Later on, after that guy leaves, I pick up A6o in the CO and raise to $10. The button and SB call.
Flop ($26): AK6 rainbow
It checks to me and I bet $25. The button looks pained and calls. He has $140 left.
Turn: ($76): Tdd
I bet $60. He calls.
River ($196): To
Terrible card, obviously. I'm contemplating my options, thinking I'm probably going to shove to try to push him off a chop - but the way I set up the bet sizing, purposely, I don't have much river fold equity. As I think, he tells me he'll check if I check. I pretty quickly shove after he says that. He tanks for a long time, and seems to be leaning toward folding. I ask him what he has. He says, "What does it look like I have?"
I say, "Oh, you have the King?"
He nods. I show him the 6. He asks if I'll show the other one if he folds. I shake my head no. He tanks and folds. He says he had to be beat, and I say no. He doesn't believe me, and after a little back and forth I tell him I had K6 and he seems to buy it.
That gets me up to $556 and I chip up pretty steadily to over $900, making some small moves but really just cbetting and taking down pots and getting some good value here and there.
Somewhere along the way...
Then I pick up AQo (no club) and raise to $10 and get one call in position on me.
Flop ($20): 985
I bet $12 and he calls. He's a semi-reg, leaky player who would be a borderline winner if he weren't so exploitable. He's not playing total garbage, but he is one of those guys that manages to fold way too much AND call way too much and is not aggressive at all. He always overplays his big hands when he's scared of draws, and he always just calls with his draws, even monster draws.
Turn ($42): 9o
This isn't a great card, but it's not terrible either. I feel like he has clubs, and I know he doesn't have a flopped monster. I've seen him lay down as big as two pair after calling two streets on scary boards. Thus, I plan to empty the clip. I bet $25 and he calls.
River ($92): 4o
I'm deciding how much to bet, just wanting to bet enough to make him fold all of his missed draws and enough to make it at least possible he'll fold a pair or two pair. About 5 seconds into my thought process, he shakes his head and says, "J---s C----t." The implied part - "JC, I can never hit a draw."
I bet $50, he insta-snap-folds. That takes me over $1K.
Then UTG raises to $12 and gets one call, and I re-raise to $42 with AKo. The CO calls, with about $140 behind. UTG shoves a total of $72. It folds to me and I re-shove. Basically I'm never folding to UTG, and I know that the CO's likely range is all pairs and AK, maybe AQ. I figure I can blast him off a lot of pairs and improve my equity. He tanks, shows QQ, tanks, and calls. The board bricks out and QQ is good. UTG never shows.
That knocks me back down a bit and I battle my way back. I pick up AA and the straddle is on. I make it $20 and get four calls.
Flop ($100): JTx5
I bet $100. One villain shoves for like $110 more. A woman in late position calls off her last $90. I basically snap call. He has KQ, but she has JT. I hold vs KQ and take the side pot to basically break even.
Now, it's critical to always pay attention and look for good spots, because some decisions that would normally be no brainers you can find spots to make a move. UTG raises to $6 in my BB and gets 3 calls. He's the same guy from the AQ hand above, and I know he's never, ever, ever doing that with a big hand. He'd raise more. Meanwhile, I know nobody else has to have much to flat call a $6 raise. I haven't 3bet much, I haven't shown any bluffs, and everyone thinks I'm solid. I have J5o, and I pop it to $36. Everyone folds.
In-game those moves seem small, but that's $27 of profit - basically a good hour's worth of winnings.
Later, the button raises to $13 and I call in the SB with QJ. The BB (same villain from the last hand) calls. The button is a halfway decent player in an Aria hat. He's been a little loose and definitely has big weaknesses, but he's new, so no big reads.
Flop ($35): 98x5
I check, the BB bets $16, the button thinks a bit and calls. I decide to peel one.
Turn ($82): 4
I check, the BB bets $16 again and the button calls. My wheels start turning. My old read on the villain has held true. If he had flopped 2 pair+, he'd have taken a line like bet $35, bet pot. His most likely holdings are JT, 7T, QJ, or a club draw. He won't call a huge bet on a draw on the turn. The button, as the PFR, would have put in a raise if he had a hand he valued well by now.
I raise to $115. Both fold. The BB later tells me he had QJ. I don't know if the stack photos are perfectly synced up to the report at this point, but it was continuing to grow...
I pick up AA and raise to $12 over one limper. The button calls and so does the limper.
Flop ($35): J9x6
The limper checks, I bet $25, the button calls and the limper shoves for $88 total. I tank with regard to raise sizing. The button is the same villain from above and I believe his range is like AJ-JT, hearts, 78, QT, 8T. He's rarely calling a raise with Jx unless it's AJ, which is really unlikely. Thus, I need to size my raise to charge his draw. I make it $150 over the $88, so $238 total. (Keep in mind, though we started with $35 in the pot, when I raise, the pot size is $35+25+25+88+63 = $236. So I'm raising about 2/3 pot. He folds KJ, which sucks cause if I knew he had that I'd have flatted or raised less, but I still think the range was what I put it at.
Turn: A
River: 5
I haven't tabled yet cause I wasn't the last aggressor. Opponent says two pair, I table, she mucks. The guy who folded asks me what she had and I say two pair, I guess she flopped it, and she responds, "I never said that." Maybe AJ, or 65, or J5, I don't know... But thanks for shipping it in with whatever it was.
Later, I limp 44 UTG. There's another limp and an LP raise to $20. He's got about $250 behind. I call. The other limper folds. I'm skewing the LP raise to include a lot of medium pairs, so I think I can get paid when I flop a set on a small board, and steal when overs hit.
Flop ($40): A5Tx
I consider firing on this, but I decide he could have AK, let me check and take it on the turn. He checks.
Turn ($40): A
Not the card I wanted to see, because now the A is harder to rep. However, I believe with a hand like JJ he'll peel one card, but he won't call a big river bet. I decide to size my bluff bigger because A) That's what I'd do with Ax, B) I expect him to call here and fold the river, so it's extra profit and C) It helps me set up a bigger river bluff which will work more often. I bet $30 and he calls.
River ($100): Tx
I bet $90 and he thinks for about 20 seconds, looks amused at how often people hit their Ax against his JJ, QQ or whatever, and folds. People tell me that it's amazing how good I'm running and they know I'm not bluffing. I so badly want to show, but I don't need their validation, I need their money.
Later, I pick up AK. There's an LP raise to $13 and I decide to flat in the SB. I don't have a read on him, I've made a couple 3bets recently and I don't want to play a massive pot out of position. Plus it'll be disguised. An MP player calls too.
Flop ($35): 654x
I check, MP donks out for $30 and the raiser folds. He has like $120 to $130 left and I contemplate. The pot is now going to $95, so there's really no raise that makes sense other than an overbet shove, so I do that. He thinks for a bit and calls and says, "I'm sure you're ahead right now." I'm hoping he has diamonds, but he shows 75o.
Turn: Tx
River: 4
Now I'm playing my rush a bit and a new player in middle position raises to $8. It's a young kid in a button down shirt and jeans drinking a Heineken. We want to play pots with this guy. I often see young kids drinking Heineken wearing button down shirts at Borgata on Friday, Saturday and Monday nights. I rarely see them leave with money.
There are two calls, I call in the SB with 74 and there are other calls and five of us see the flop.
Flop ($35): 95x2
It checks to him and he bets $21. Folds to me and I contemplate. He's new, so I don't know if the $8 preflop raise means strength or weakness, and I don't want to get stacks in with this draw. He started the hand with like $300, so we're reasonably deep. I'm getting almost 3-to-1 so I just call.
Turn ($77): 6x
The best non-club card I can get. I check. He bets $32. Now I have another interesting choice, because I have 15 outs. I could try to blow him out, but if he shoves, I'm not going to be thrilled getting all this money in with about 30% equity. Plus, if I flat call and hit my straight, I can rep the missed clubs with a big bluff. I'm also getting a nice price. I call.
River ($141): 6
I can't check-raise a scare card, so I fire $100. He tanks and folds. But we haven't seen the last of him.
The aforementioned guy in the Aria hat slings in a $15 raise in EP. Heineken dress shirt calls. I peak at AA in the SB. I put Aria on TT+ as soon as he raised based on how he put it in and the size. Dress shirt guy could have anything - we've discovered since the previous hand that he's, umm, got a little gamble in him.
I raise to $50. Aria hat quickly calls. Dress shirt guy agonizingly calls.
Flop ($147): Q83r
We're around $200 effective. I bet $100. Aria folds. Dress shirt thinks for a bit and shoves. I give it the old slight hesitation snap call, just so I don't look like a buffoon if he shows 88 or whatever. He has KQo, and I hold.
I continue my heater by picking up pocket pairs, AK, AQ, you name it. I've never gone on a heater like this in my life. It's to the point where I look at the first card, see an A, K or Q and feel guilty when the second card is always a J+. When it's not, I'm surprised.
Three limpers, I see the K....K. I raise to $17. Two calls - from the villain on my immediate left I've played several pots with and dress shirt guy.
Flop ($47): J77r
I bet $35. The player on my left raises to $70 with like $100 behind. Dress shirt think sand folds. I tank a bit. I haven't seen him minraise a monster, I've seen him do it with top pair. I also haven't seen him flop a monster on a dry board, though. I decide ultimately there's nothing I can do here if he called $17 with a 7 given the pot size and stack sizes. If he has the J, a lot of cards can kill my action if I flat so I slide a double stack forward. He snap calls.
Me (sighing): "Your 7 is good."
He tables it forcefully and excitedly, and I look down at A8o.
Him: "Oh sh**, I thought I had A7!"
Dealer: "He said call, right?"
I nod and he says yes. The board runs out clean, and I'm gifted almost $200.
A few hands later it folds to my cutoff and I raise to $10 with AQ Three players call.
Flop ($35): JTx9
It checks to me. I consider peeling a free one, because a lot of hands can connect with this, but I'm feeling invincible so I bet $25 with my double gutter and overs. Dress shirt raises to $70 (he was the BB). A woman in the hand tanks and calls. Now I'm in an interesting spot. I'm getting over 4-to-1 with a hand that could have as many as 14 outs, or as few as 2 clean ones. He's got a little over 100 left and she has like $250. If I hit, I'm likely getting paid so my implied odds are good. I call.
Turn ($245): 2
He shoves for $112. She tanks and says "my pair is no good," and folds. I tank. I'm getting over 3 to 1. I need just under 25% equity to call. If he has two pair or a set, I've got 16%. If he's got one pair, I've got like 23-24% so it's break even. If he flopped a straight, I either have 7 outs or 3 outs, so split the difference and call it about 11% equity. However, he could also have a naked flush draw based on what I've seen from him. In that case, I have over 65% equity. He was in the BB, so a lot of random flush draws are in play. I decide to call. He tables 78o.
River ($469): 8x
He storms off, and I stack the chips.
Shortly thereafter, the table breaks, and I need five racks to stack em up. That's $2,310. In for 400...
"Tell 'em I just want my racks. / Racks on racks on racks. Racks. / Maybachs on bachs on bachs on bachs on bachs."
I ask the floor what table has an open seat where I can bring as much of my money as possible. There's a game with a $950 stack, so I lock a seat up. I cash out $1,310 and take two racks over, hoping he's won a pot since. I put $1K on the table, and the guy on my left starts telling me he wants me to bust the other guy because nobody likes him. I just laugh and say ok. Meanwhile, the other guy immediately says that I put too much on the table. The dealer says well you said about $950 and he put just about that, a little more on. The other player says no, no, no, I want to get an exact count. They count and he gets up above $850 and the dealer says it's about $900. I take one stack off and say it's out of play I'll go get cash when I'm not in a hand.
The player says no, it's $887. I'm like, are you kidding, we can't just call it 9? And the dealer backs me and says 900 is fine. The guy looks disgusted. After a few hands, he takes a walk, and another guy at the table is commenting on how his whole demeanor changed because he's scared I'll stack him. Now he's in the 2 seat, and I'm in the 8. The 3 is open, but I feel like it'd be a total dick move to take that seat change. Then, a player sits down in the 4. He looks kind of familiar. His fourth hand he raises to $17-$20 and fires the flop, someone raises, all the money goes in. He ends up having J2 which flopped a flush draw and got there. So now he's over $600, and seems like a really bad action player. The 6 seat leaves, the 5 seat slides over, and I seat change to the 4.
Big stack guy in the 2 seat looks nauseous. He plays like 2 more hands and leaves, which is fine by me because I could tell he was pretty good.
I proceed to play a few hands with the guy on my right, using my position to extract value. He's opening really wide, so I float him once or twice and steal the pot when we end up playing 4-5 handed for a while.
The table gets close to full and I go over to another table to chat with some people from the broken game. One of them asks me if I'm "having fun with Victor over there." I smile and just say yeah - you know someone in the game? And he says yeah, Victor.
I walk back to my game not thinking much of it. I call the guy on my right's raise, flop two pair, put a big raise in on his cbet which he calls, then he check-folds the turn.
Later, he raises to $12 and I call with A4o on the button. There are two other calls. He's raising really wide, so I'm calling him wide for value to play pots in position.
Flop ($48): A93
He bets $25 and I call.
Turn ($98): 8
He bets $100 and I tank. He's bet strong on bluffs a couple times, and I don't think he'd bet that much with a strong A. It feels like he's on a draw, but we're too deep for me to raise to charge him because I don't really want to build a $1200 pot with A4 on this board. I call.
River ($298): brick
He checks, I check. He doesn't want to show, so I say, "I have an Ace." He nods, I table, and then he shows KQ.
I was going to leave around 1, but given that I had the God seat on a deep player who was splashing around and doing a pretty poor job of it, I decided to throw that out the window and not leave til he left. Unfortunately, we didn't play any other pots because he left at about 2. As he was racking up his chips, he put his player card down and I looked at it. His last name was Ramdin, and I realized it was probably Victor Ramdin. That's not his real first name, though, which I wasn't 100% sure of at the time. So after he left, I walked over to my former tablemate who had mentioned I was playing with Victor. I asked him if that guy was Victor or a relative, and he said no that's him. I googled it and the first name on the card matched, but man, I don't know how he's won over $4,000,000 the way he was playing.
I guess he must be way better at short stack situations in tournaments than deep stack NL cash play. Plus, I don't get how he's playing 1/2 late into the night tonight when he's playing a 15K tournament tomorrow morning. At any rate, maybe he was just off his game, I don't know. That said, to sit and outplay a "name" pro who has 4M in earnings felt good, even if he's known for cash game weakness.
This is the second time in my life I've played a name pro, and both times I felt that I outplayed them.
I waited for him to cash out and leave the room so he didn't know he was the reason I was in the game, then cashed out. I was +163 in the second game, which gave me a total of +$2,073 in a little under 12.5 hours.
The live bankroll on swoll.
I'm now at like 7.3K live and 700 online that I intend to cash out all/most of. I could take a shot at 2/5 tomorrow, but we'll see. The plan all along was to do that with an 8K roll, using 2K for the shot. But, it's going to depend how rested I am since it's almost 5am because I wanted to type this up and was a bit too amped up to sleep.
I've also got renewed hope of going for the Millionaire Maker, and I've even got the $30/hr goal through 300 hours back within my sights now.
NOTE - This probably looks tldr, but there were a ton of interesting hands in one of the greatest sessions I've played, so I decided to leave it all in and try to break it up with pictures.
So I head down to the poker room after doing a little reading/study and I'm feeling pretty sharp and ready to go. I get a seat in a new game, and it starts off short and is mediocre, and I'm stuck about $100. I top off with $100. I know I can't table change until we get a couple more players to keep it balanced, so I wait. I work my way up over $400 without much interesting stuff happening, to get me back to even.
I did have a great conversation the whole time that was definitely -EV, but it was so entertaining I didn't care - a guy I've played with before who's in his late 60s or early 70s who is basically a retired pro who grinds 2-3 times a week was telling me all kinds of old gambling stories about scams people used to run, tournaments he played, etc.
Later on, after that guy leaves, I pick up A6o in the CO and raise to $10. The button and SB call.
Flop ($26): AK6 rainbow
It checks to me and I bet $25. The button looks pained and calls. He has $140 left.
Turn: ($76): Tdd
I bet $60. He calls.
River ($196): To
Terrible card, obviously. I'm contemplating my options, thinking I'm probably going to shove to try to push him off a chop - but the way I set up the bet sizing, purposely, I don't have much river fold equity. As I think, he tells me he'll check if I check. I pretty quickly shove after he says that. He tanks for a long time, and seems to be leaning toward folding. I ask him what he has. He says, "What does it look like I have?"
I say, "Oh, you have the King?"
He nods. I show him the 6. He asks if I'll show the other one if he folds. I shake my head no. He tanks and folds. He says he had to be beat, and I say no. He doesn't believe me, and after a little back and forth I tell him I had K6 and he seems to buy it.
That gets me up to $556 and I chip up pretty steadily to over $900, making some small moves but really just cbetting and taking down pots and getting some good value here and there.
Somewhere along the way...
Then I pick up AQo (no club) and raise to $10 and get one call in position on me.
Flop ($20): 9
85I bet $12 and he calls. He's a semi-reg, leaky player who would be a borderline winner if he weren't so exploitable. He's not playing total garbage, but he is one of those guys that manages to fold way too much AND call way too much and is not aggressive at all. He always overplays his big hands when he's scared of draws, and he always just calls with his draws, even monster draws.
Turn ($42): 9o
This isn't a great card, but it's not terrible either. I feel like he has clubs, and I know he doesn't have a flopped monster. I've seen him lay down as big as two pair after calling two streets on scary boards. Thus, I plan to empty the clip. I bet $25 and he calls.
River ($92): 4o
I'm deciding how much to bet, just wanting to bet enough to make him fold all of his missed draws and enough to make it at least possible he'll fold a pair or two pair. About 5 seconds into my thought process, he shakes his head and says, "J---s C----t." The implied part - "JC, I can never hit a draw."
I bet $50, he insta-snap-folds. That takes me over $1K.
Then UTG raises to $12 and gets one call, and I re-raise to $42 with AKo. The CO calls, with about $140 behind. UTG shoves a total of $72. It folds to me and I re-shove. Basically I'm never folding to UTG, and I know that the CO's likely range is all pairs and AK, maybe AQ. I figure I can blast him off a lot of pairs and improve my equity. He tanks, shows QQ, tanks, and calls. The board bricks out and QQ is good. UTG never shows.
That knocks me back down a bit and I battle my way back. I pick up AA and the straddle is on. I make it $20 and get four calls.
Flop ($100): J
Tx5I bet $100. One villain shoves for like $110 more. A woman in late position calls off her last $90. I basically snap call. He has KQ, but she has JT. I hold vs KQ and take the side pot to basically break even.
Now, it's critical to always pay attention and look for good spots, because some decisions that would normally be no brainers you can find spots to make a move. UTG raises to $6 in my BB and gets 3 calls. He's the same guy from the AQ hand above, and I know he's never, ever, ever doing that with a big hand. He'd raise more. Meanwhile, I know nobody else has to have much to flat call a $6 raise. I haven't 3bet much, I haven't shown any bluffs, and everyone thinks I'm solid. I have J5o, and I pop it to $36. Everyone folds.
In-game those moves seem small, but that's $27 of profit - basically a good hour's worth of winnings.
Later, the button raises to $13 and I call in the SB with Q
J. The BB (same villain from the last hand) calls. The button is a halfway decent player in an Aria hat. He's been a little loose and definitely has big weaknesses, but he's new, so no big reads.Flop ($35): 9
8x5I check, the BB bets $16, the button thinks a bit and calls. I decide to peel one.
Turn ($82): 4
I check, the BB bets $16 again and the button calls. My wheels start turning. My old read on the villain has held true. If he had flopped 2 pair+, he'd have taken a line like bet $35, bet pot. His most likely holdings are JT, 7T, QJ, or a club draw. He won't call a huge bet on a draw on the turn. The button, as the PFR, would have put in a raise if he had a hand he valued well by now.
I raise to $115. Both fold. The BB later tells me he had QJ. I don't know if the stack photos are perfectly synced up to the report at this point, but it was continuing to grow...
I pick up AA and raise to $12 over one limper. The button calls and so does the limper.
Flop ($35): J
9x6The limper checks, I bet $25, the button calls and the limper shoves for $88 total. I tank with regard to raise sizing. The button is the same villain from above and I believe his range is like AJ-JT, hearts, 78, QT, 8T. He's rarely calling a raise with Jx unless it's AJ, which is really unlikely. Thus, I need to size my raise to charge his draw. I make it $150 over the $88, so $238 total. (Keep in mind, though we started with $35 in the pot, when I raise, the pot size is $35+25+25+88+63 = $236. So I'm raising about 2/3 pot. He folds KJ, which sucks cause if I knew he had that I'd have flatted or raised less, but I still think the range was what I put it at.
Turn: A
River: 5
I haven't tabled yet cause I wasn't the last aggressor. Opponent says two pair, I table, she mucks. The guy who folded asks me what she had and I say two pair, I guess she flopped it, and she responds, "I never said that." Maybe AJ, or 65, or J5, I don't know... But thanks for shipping it in with whatever it was.
Later, I limp 44 UTG. There's another limp and an LP raise to $20. He's got about $250 behind. I call. The other limper folds. I'm skewing the LP raise to include a lot of medium pairs, so I think I can get paid when I flop a set on a small board, and steal when overs hit.
Flop ($40): A
5TxI consider firing on this, but I decide he could have AK, let me check and take it on the turn. He checks.
Turn ($40): A
Not the card I wanted to see, because now the A is harder to rep. However, I believe with a hand like JJ he'll peel one card, but he won't call a big river bet. I decide to size my bluff bigger because A) That's what I'd do with Ax, B) I expect him to call here and fold the river, so it's extra profit and C) It helps me set up a bigger river bluff which will work more often. I bet $30 and he calls.
River ($100): Tx
I bet $90 and he thinks for about 20 seconds, looks amused at how often people hit their Ax against his JJ, QQ or whatever, and folds. People tell me that it's amazing how good I'm running and they know I'm not bluffing. I so badly want to show, but I don't need their validation, I need their money.
Later, I pick up A
K. There's an LP raise to $13 and I decide to flat in the SB. I don't have a read on him, I've made a couple 3bets recently and I don't want to play a massive pot out of position. Plus it'll be disguised. An MP player calls too.Flop ($35): 6
54xI check, MP donks out for $30 and the raiser folds. He has like $120 to $130 left and I contemplate. The pot is now going to $95, so there's really no raise that makes sense other than an overbet shove, so I do that. He thinks for a bit and calls and says, "I'm sure you're ahead right now." I'm hoping he has diamonds, but he shows 75o.
Turn: Tx
River: 4
Now I'm playing my rush a bit and a new player in middle position raises to $8. It's a young kid in a button down shirt and jeans drinking a Heineken. We want to play pots with this guy. I often see young kids drinking Heineken wearing button down shirts at Borgata on Friday, Saturday and Monday nights. I rarely see them leave with money.
There are two calls, I call in the SB with 7
4 and there are other calls and five of us see the flop.Flop ($35): 9
5x2It checks to him and he bets $21. Folds to me and I contemplate. He's new, so I don't know if the $8 preflop raise means strength or weakness, and I don't want to get stacks in with this draw. He started the hand with like $300, so we're reasonably deep. I'm getting almost 3-to-1 so I just call.
Turn ($77): 6x
The best non-club card I can get. I check. He bets $32. Now I have another interesting choice, because I have 15 outs. I could try to blow him out, but if he shoves, I'm not going to be thrilled getting all this money in with about 30% equity. Plus, if I flat call and hit my straight, I can rep the missed clubs with a big bluff. I'm also getting a nice price. I call.
River ($141): 6
I can't check-raise a scare card, so I fire $100. He tanks and folds. But we haven't seen the last of him.
The aforementioned guy in the Aria hat slings in a $15 raise in EP. Heineken dress shirt calls. I peak at AA in the SB. I put Aria on TT+ as soon as he raised based on how he put it in and the size. Dress shirt guy could have anything - we've discovered since the previous hand that he's, umm, got a little gamble in him.
I raise to $50. Aria hat quickly calls. Dress shirt guy agonizingly calls.
Flop ($147): Q83r
We're around $200 effective. I bet $100. Aria folds. Dress shirt thinks for a bit and shoves. I give it the old slight hesitation snap call, just so I don't look like a buffoon if he shows 88 or whatever. He has KQo, and I hold.
I continue my heater by picking up pocket pairs, AK, AQ, you name it. I've never gone on a heater like this in my life. It's to the point where I look at the first card, see an A, K or Q and feel guilty when the second card is always a J+. When it's not, I'm surprised.
Three limpers, I see the K
....K. I raise to $17. Two calls - from the villain on my immediate left I've played several pots with and dress shirt guy.Flop ($47): J77r
I bet $35. The player on my left raises to $70 with like $100 behind. Dress shirt think sand folds. I tank a bit. I haven't seen him minraise a monster, I've seen him do it with top pair. I also haven't seen him flop a monster on a dry board, though. I decide ultimately there's nothing I can do here if he called $17 with a 7 given the pot size and stack sizes. If he has the J, a lot of cards can kill my action if I flat so I slide a double stack forward. He snap calls.
Me (sighing): "Your 7 is good."
He tables it forcefully and excitedly, and I look down at A8o.
Him: "Oh sh**, I thought I had A7!"
Dealer: "He said call, right?"
I nod and he says yes. The board runs out clean, and I'm gifted almost $200.
A few hands later it folds to my cutoff and I raise to $10 with A
Q Three players call.Flop ($35): J
Tx9It checks to me. I consider peeling a free one, because a lot of hands can connect with this, but I'm feeling invincible so I bet $25 with my double gutter and overs. Dress shirt raises to $70 (he was the BB). A woman in the hand tanks and calls. Now I'm in an interesting spot. I'm getting over 4-to-1 with a hand that could have as many as 14 outs, or as few as 2 clean ones. He's got a little over 100 left and she has like $250. If I hit, I'm likely getting paid so my implied odds are good. I call.
Turn ($245): 2
He shoves for $112. She tanks and says "my pair is no good," and folds. I tank. I'm getting over 3 to 1. I need just under 25% equity to call. If he has two pair or a set, I've got 16%. If he's got one pair, I've got like 23-24% so it's break even. If he flopped a straight, I either have 7 outs or 3 outs, so split the difference and call it about 11% equity. However, he could also have a naked flush draw based on what I've seen from him. In that case, I have over 65% equity. He was in the BB, so a lot of random flush draws are in play. I decide to call. He tables 78o.
River ($469): 8x
He storms off, and I stack the chips.
Shortly thereafter, the table breaks, and I need five racks to stack em up. That's $2,310. In for 400...
"Tell 'em I just want my racks. / Racks on racks on racks. Racks. / Maybachs on bachs on bachs on bachs on bachs."
I ask the floor what table has an open seat where I can bring as much of my money as possible. There's a game with a $950 stack, so I lock a seat up. I cash out $1,310 and take two racks over, hoping he's won a pot since. I put $1K on the table, and the guy on my left starts telling me he wants me to bust the other guy because nobody likes him. I just laugh and say ok. Meanwhile, the other guy immediately says that I put too much on the table. The dealer says well you said about $950 and he put just about that, a little more on. The other player says no, no, no, I want to get an exact count. They count and he gets up above $850 and the dealer says it's about $900. I take one stack off and say it's out of play I'll go get cash when I'm not in a hand.
The player says no, it's $887. I'm like, are you kidding, we can't just call it 9? And the dealer backs me and says 900 is fine. The guy looks disgusted. After a few hands, he takes a walk, and another guy at the table is commenting on how his whole demeanor changed because he's scared I'll stack him. Now he's in the 2 seat, and I'm in the 8. The 3 is open, but I feel like it'd be a total dick move to take that seat change. Then, a player sits down in the 4. He looks kind of familiar. His fourth hand he raises to $17-$20 and fires the flop, someone raises, all the money goes in. He ends up having J
2 which flopped a flush draw and got there. So now he's over $600, and seems like a really bad action player. The 6 seat leaves, the 5 seat slides over, and I seat change to the 4. Big stack guy in the 2 seat looks nauseous. He plays like 2 more hands and leaves, which is fine by me because I could tell he was pretty good.
I proceed to play a few hands with the guy on my right, using my position to extract value. He's opening really wide, so I float him once or twice and steal the pot when we end up playing 4-5 handed for a while.
The table gets close to full and I go over to another table to chat with some people from the broken game. One of them asks me if I'm "having fun with Victor over there." I smile and just say yeah - you know someone in the game? And he says yeah, Victor.
I walk back to my game not thinking much of it. I call the guy on my right's raise, flop two pair, put a big raise in on his cbet which he calls, then he check-folds the turn.
Later, he raises to $12 and I call with A4o on the button. There are two other calls. He's raising really wide, so I'm calling him wide for value to play pots in position.
Flop ($48): A
93He bets $25 and I call.
Turn ($98): 8
He bets $100 and I tank. He's bet strong on bluffs a couple times, and I don't think he'd bet that much with a strong A. It feels like he's on a draw, but we're too deep for me to raise to charge him because I don't really want to build a $1200 pot with A4 on this board. I call.
River ($298): brick
He checks, I check. He doesn't want to show, so I say, "I have an Ace." He nods, I table, and then he shows K
Q. I was going to leave around 1, but given that I had the God seat on a deep player who was splashing around and doing a pretty poor job of it, I decided to throw that out the window and not leave til he left. Unfortunately, we didn't play any other pots because he left at about 2. As he was racking up his chips, he put his player card down and I looked at it. His last name was Ramdin, and I realized it was probably Victor Ramdin. That's not his real first name, though, which I wasn't 100% sure of at the time. So after he left, I walked over to my former tablemate who had mentioned I was playing with Victor. I asked him if that guy was Victor or a relative, and he said no that's him. I googled it and the first name on the card matched, but man, I don't know how he's won over $4,000,000 the way he was playing.
I guess he must be way better at short stack situations in tournaments than deep stack NL cash play. Plus, I don't get how he's playing 1/2 late into the night tonight when he's playing a 15K tournament tomorrow morning. At any rate, maybe he was just off his game, I don't know. That said, to sit and outplay a "name" pro who has 4M in earnings felt good, even if he's known for cash game weakness.
This is the second time in my life I've played a name pro, and both times I felt that I outplayed them.
I waited for him to cash out and leave the room so he didn't know he was the reason I was in the game, then cashed out. I was +163 in the second game, which gave me a total of +$2,073 in a little under 12.5 hours.
The live bankroll on swoll.
I'm now at like 7.3K live and 700 online that I intend to cash out all/most of. I could take a shot at 2/5 tomorrow, but we'll see. The plan all along was to do that with an 8K roll, using 2K for the shot. But, it's going to depend how rested I am since it's almost 5am because I wanted to type this up and was a bit too amped up to sleep.
I've also got renewed hope of going for the Millionaire Maker, and I've even got the $30/hr goal through 300 hours back within my sights now.