Confessions of a Bad Player
12-13-2013
, 08:11 PM
Funny you should say that...
Played an afternoon session at Graton, and the result is that I am a long way from being "prime-time Player.
Final tally at 1/3 and 2/5 was -$900 or so. First couple of hours were good and I did make some good plays, but met with some bad beats and cold deck, along with several missed draws - but those are to be expected, and I never tilt from bad beats. It is when I fail to think things through that cause me to go south.
I torched off $200 on a full on bluff bet/3-bet when I thought some kid was playing back at me on a small flop. I value-owned myself a few times - which is fine, except the amounts were too big and value was too thin. Of course there is a ton of folding that wears on a weaker mind. The evening ended when at 1/3 I raise to $18 utg in a straddled pot with AQ, got three callers and saw QQ9dd flop. I bet $45 and the SB, playing his 2nd hand called leaving roughly $65 behind. Turn was a safe-looking os7 and SB checked I put him all-in and he snapped called with Q9o. Poker is not dead when folks are calling $17 more at 1/3 in the SB with Q9o.
The main occurrence that has me down and questioning my potential to improve my abilities went like this:
A few hours in playing 2/5 and I'm up over $200. TTJ, an aforementioned good player, makes it $25 utg. Gets to a young player in the SB who calls. I look down at KK and bump it to $100. TTJ folds and kid calls. I have $700 more and he has me covered.
Flop($225): A
1010
Yuck. However, he checks. I'm really only concerned about the ace. I don't think why, I just am. But with my older guy image and my 3-bet, I decide a $100bet is in order. He calls.
Turn($425): 8
He checks again. Is he reeling me in? But with what? In the back of my mind I'm thinking what 10 could he really have here? I'm still thinking he's check/calling an ace. Anyway, Maybe he's worried, so I bet $175. Now, I know these aren't huge bets compared to pot size, but in live games pushing out stacks of chips looks menacing...He makes it $475....
I have some small history with this guy. About a month ago I raised PF with 96s and paired the 9. I bet $30 into $45 and he raised to $90. It was a dry board and I definitely felt he was FOS. I re-raised and he folded and I showed my hand, and he comments, "You think you bluffed me?" Now, does he remember this? I'm guessing not, but maybe.
So here is where I screw the pooch. While his play in the hand was odd and I was not worried about the 10, my thought process was weak. I firmly had it in my mind that with the fact that I 3-bet PF and bet twice with an ace out there that I'm looking quite strong, and it would be a big spazz to bluff a middle-age guy in this spot. I'm pretty sure that he is a pro, or working his way to it. I muck without showing and he shows pocket 6's.
I am quite dejected by this because I thought I have been preparing for these situations by teaching myself to slow down and hand read. I've gotten better, but it appears I am still unprepared to fully dissect these situations. This one is second nature to you good, thinking players out there, but allow me to put together the pieces of this puzzle:
(1) Calling a 3-bet PF with any hand that includes a 10? Pocket 10's would be sick, so would A10s, but there would only be 2 combos of A10 possible.
(2) What hand with an ace? Since I have two kings that pretty much rules out AK. AQs seems possible, which is 3 combos. Seems that anything below AQ OOP is too loose.
(3) Set mines then floats with pocket 8's and gets there? Very sick.
(4) Any chance he just calls OR and my 3-bet and my flop bet with pocket aces? No way.
(5) Pot size. $900 and I have $425 remaining. If I had seen the obvious facts right in front of me, then I am well priced in to shove here.
So his possible range that beats me is an unlikely AQ. Also working against me is that I consider him a decent player, and it seems like massive spew to out right bluff this pot which caused me to decide too quick. Now I know that he is a "dick-swinger".
I listened to an Abe Limon podcast today. In reference to tilt he talked about how, before every session, he does a run-through in his mind about all the things that could occur: Winning big, losing big, bad beats, tough decisions, etc. Therefore he is always mentally prepared. This particular happenstance is uncommon I know, but not rare. I need to prepare myself for spots where session-changing analysis is needed. I messed up this one and things steam-rolled from there. How different would the afternoon been if I was up $900 and confident, instead of down $200, steaming and chasing?
Played an afternoon session at Graton, and the result is that I am a long way from being "prime-time Player.
Final tally at 1/3 and 2/5 was -$900 or so. First couple of hours were good and I did make some good plays, but met with some bad beats and cold deck, along with several missed draws - but those are to be expected, and I never tilt from bad beats. It is when I fail to think things through that cause me to go south.
I torched off $200 on a full on bluff bet/3-bet when I thought some kid was playing back at me on a small flop. I value-owned myself a few times - which is fine, except the amounts were too big and value was too thin. Of course there is a ton of folding that wears on a weaker mind. The evening ended when at 1/3 I raise to $18 utg in a straddled pot with AQ, got three callers and saw QQ9dd flop. I bet $45 and the SB, playing his 2nd hand called leaving roughly $65 behind. Turn was a safe-looking os7 and SB checked I put him all-in and he snapped called with Q9o. Poker is not dead when folks are calling $17 more at 1/3 in the SB with Q9o.
The main occurrence that has me down and questioning my potential to improve my abilities went like this:
A few hours in playing 2/5 and I'm up over $200. TTJ, an aforementioned good player, makes it $25 utg. Gets to a young player in the SB who calls. I look down at KK and bump it to $100. TTJ folds and kid calls. I have $700 more and he has me covered.
Flop($225): A
1010Yuck. However, he checks. I'm really only concerned about the ace. I don't think why, I just am. But with my older guy image and my 3-bet, I decide a $100bet is in order. He calls.
Turn($425): 8
He checks again. Is he reeling me in? But with what? In the back of my mind I'm thinking what 10 could he really have here? I'm still thinking he's check/calling an ace. Anyway, Maybe he's worried, so I bet $175. Now, I know these aren't huge bets compared to pot size, but in live games pushing out stacks of chips looks menacing...He makes it $475....
I have some small history with this guy. About a month ago I raised PF with 96s and paired the 9. I bet $30 into $45 and he raised to $90. It was a dry board and I definitely felt he was FOS. I re-raised and he folded and I showed my hand, and he comments, "You think you bluffed me?" Now, does he remember this? I'm guessing not, but maybe.
So here is where I screw the pooch. While his play in the hand was odd and I was not worried about the 10, my thought process was weak. I firmly had it in my mind that with the fact that I 3-bet PF and bet twice with an ace out there that I'm looking quite strong, and it would be a big spazz to bluff a middle-age guy in this spot. I'm pretty sure that he is a pro, or working his way to it. I muck without showing and he shows pocket 6's.
I am quite dejected by this because I thought I have been preparing for these situations by teaching myself to slow down and hand read. I've gotten better, but it appears I am still unprepared to fully dissect these situations. This one is second nature to you good, thinking players out there, but allow me to put together the pieces of this puzzle:
(1) Calling a 3-bet PF with any hand that includes a 10? Pocket 10's would be sick, so would A10s, but there would only be 2 combos of A10 possible.
(2) What hand with an ace? Since I have two kings that pretty much rules out AK. AQs seems possible, which is 3 combos. Seems that anything below AQ OOP is too loose.
(3) Set mines then floats with pocket 8's and gets there? Very sick.
(4) Any chance he just calls OR and my 3-bet and my flop bet with pocket aces? No way.
(5) Pot size. $900 and I have $425 remaining. If I had seen the obvious facts right in front of me, then I am well priced in to shove here.
So his possible range that beats me is an unlikely AQ. Also working against me is that I consider him a decent player, and it seems like massive spew to out right bluff this pot which caused me to decide too quick. Now I know that he is a "dick-swinger".
I listened to an Abe Limon podcast today. In reference to tilt he talked about how, before every session, he does a run-through in his mind about all the things that could occur: Winning big, losing big, bad beats, tough decisions, etc. Therefore he is always mentally prepared. This particular happenstance is uncommon I know, but not rare. I need to prepare myself for spots where session-changing analysis is needed. I messed up this one and things steam-rolled from there. How different would the afternoon been if I was up $900 and confident, instead of down $200, steaming and chasing?
12-23-2013
, 11:53 PM
Decent week for me at +$704.
Main goal is to focus on hand reading and bet patterns. Still a big work in progress, but a little better as I practice on raised pots in which others are involved. - which is most of them...
Win rate would be higher if not for pre flop mistakes. After many folds K6ss in the SB in a multi way straddled pot looks interesting. I flop a flush draw and C/C a pot size bet and miss the turn. Might be nitty, playing these hands OOP can't be profitable long term.
A different happenstance with which I am less ambivalent:
I raise a limper, Adam, to $25 with two jacks and Adam is only caller.
Flop($50): A72
Adam leads for $20. Now I know Adam's game which is on the looser side. He knows I am on the tighter side. If he had a bigger ace he would have open raised PF. I put him on a flush draw here, but if for some reason he bet an ace here a raise by me looks quite strong. I make it $60 and he calls.
Turn($170) 10
He checks, and I'm confident in my read, so $100 should be a good price for his draw. Adam still calls.
River is a brick and we both check. He turns over the one hand I failed to consider: A4
Anyone else get the strong impression that my mistakes are on the post flop side?
Here is another post flop mistake, but how the hand was derailed caused the problem:
I raise $15 in ep with 99. Two callers and we see this flop:
109
2
I lead out for $20 and an action player who I kinda know makes it $55. Fold to me and I want to reel him in so I make it $135 to go and he quickly calls.
Turn($325) 7
I'm first to act and I'm spinning chips in my hand on top of the table while considering my sizing. Next thing I know the dealer is putting out the river which is another 7. I say to the dealer, "Just wondering what I did that seemed like I was checking?" My opponent claims that he did not check either. The dealer is embarrassed with his mistake for which he has no explanation. He just burned and turned on his own. So this is where I get confused. I believe that despite the error the hand continues, so in a flustered state I put out $120 for what I think is a river bet. Now the dealer informs me that he has to call the floor. She hears what transpired and says take the river card back and tells us to continue our action. frazzled and confused, I believe that the 7 is still going to be the river card because she is holding it. I'm filling up on the river, so why bet him off his hand, is my unclear thought. I check and he checks. Now the floor puts the 7 back into the deck and tells the dealer to scramble the deck and put out a new river which is the Q
I'm lost but I still toss out $85. He says "I'll have to pay you off" and calls with A10.
Main goal is to focus on hand reading and bet patterns. Still a big work in progress, but a little better as I practice on raised pots in which others are involved. - which is most of them...
Win rate would be higher if not for pre flop mistakes. After many folds K6ss in the SB in a multi way straddled pot looks interesting. I flop a flush draw and C/C a pot size bet and miss the turn. Might be nitty, playing these hands OOP can't be profitable long term.
A different happenstance with which I am less ambivalent:
I raise a limper, Adam, to $25 with two jacks and Adam is only caller.
Flop($50): A
72Adam leads for $20. Now I know Adam's game which is on the looser side. He knows I am on the tighter side. If he had a bigger ace he would have open raised PF. I put him on a flush draw here, but if for some reason he bet an ace here a raise by me looks quite strong. I make it $60 and he calls.
Turn($170) 10
He checks, and I'm confident in my read, so $100 should be a good price for his draw. Adam still calls.
River is a brick and we both check. He turns over the one hand I failed to consider: A
4Anyone else get the strong impression that my mistakes are on the post flop side?
Here is another post flop mistake, but how the hand was derailed caused the problem:
I raise $15 in ep with 99. Two callers and we see this flop:
10
92I lead out for $20 and an action player who I kinda know makes it $55. Fold to me and I want to reel him in so I make it $135 to go and he quickly calls.
Turn($325) 7
I'm first to act and I'm spinning chips in my hand on top of the table while considering my sizing. Next thing I know the dealer is putting out the river which is another 7. I say to the dealer, "Just wondering what I did that seemed like I was checking?" My opponent claims that he did not check either. The dealer is embarrassed with his mistake for which he has no explanation. He just burned and turned on his own. So this is where I get confused. I believe that despite the error the hand continues, so in a flustered state I put out $120 for what I think is a river bet. Now the dealer informs me that he has to call the floor. She hears what transpired and says take the river card back and tells us to continue our action. frazzled and confused, I believe that the 7 is still going to be the river card because she is holding it. I'm filling up on the river, so why bet him off his hand, is my unclear thought. I check and he checks. Now the floor puts the 7 back into the deck and tells the dealer to scramble the deck and put out a new river which is the Q
I'm lost but I still toss out $85. He says "I'll have to pay you off" and calls with A10.
12-29-2013
, 03:48 PM
12-30-2013
, 04:54 PM
A Quick Trip to The Horseshoe Casino in Cleveland
Traveled with the team to work games in Cleveland and Orlando. Our hotel was connected to the Tower Mall which provides quick access to the casino.
Interesting casino, which has four separate floors. The poker room is on the uppermost floor. The room was full on this Saturday night, but I was able to get in a game right away.
The 2/5 game is a $300-$2000 buy in and I sat in with $600. It was apparent fairly soon that this table was mostly unremarkable. One action guy to my left, but the rest were TAG's with a couple of loose-passives mixed in. I planned on opening up a little wider, but cards did not comply for the most part. But after a slow start I won a $280 pot when I opened with A8ss, flopped TP and got a couple of streets from a weaker ace who CC twice on an A729A board. Looking back this is probably an overplay with a weak kicker. The turn bet is wishful thinking, and I ended up checking back the river because at that point I am only beating 4 lower kickers. Oh well, fish need to get lucky for the games to stay good right?
My other big hand was when I made it $25 over a limper and got two callers, the action guy and the opp from previous hand.
Flop($75) J64
Check to me. I bet $45 and both call. Action guy has me covered and other guy is short stacked.
Turn($210) 5
Short stack goes AI for $126. Ok- not a flopped set as he definitely would have CR'd. Maybe turned two-pair. Tough also for me if he LC PF with 87 then got there on turn. I'm not folding, but I want to hopefully keep other guy in as he has many Jacks here. I just call, but action guy folds somewhat reluctantly.
River:A
Opponent show 74 and I take a $460 pot.
Rest of my time there was uneventful. Early work next day and effects of long flight made for a short session up $300.
Traveled with the team to work games in Cleveland and Orlando. Our hotel was connected to the Tower Mall which provides quick access to the casino.
Interesting casino, which has four separate floors. The poker room is on the uppermost floor. The room was full on this Saturday night, but I was able to get in a game right away.
The 2/5 game is a $300-$2000 buy in and I sat in with $600. It was apparent fairly soon that this table was mostly unremarkable. One action guy to my left, but the rest were TAG's with a couple of loose-passives mixed in. I planned on opening up a little wider, but cards did not comply for the most part. But after a slow start I won a $280 pot when I opened with A8ss, flopped TP and got a couple of streets from a weaker ace who CC twice on an A729A board. Looking back this is probably an overplay with a weak kicker. The turn bet is wishful thinking, and I ended up checking back the river because at that point I am only beating 4 lower kickers. Oh well, fish need to get lucky for the games to stay good right?
My other big hand was when I made it $25 over a limper and got two callers, the action guy and the opp from previous hand.
Flop($75) J
64Check to me. I bet $45 and both call. Action guy has me covered and other guy is short stacked.
Turn($210) 5
Short stack goes AI for $126. Ok- not a flopped set as he definitely would have CR'd. Maybe turned two-pair. Tough also for me if he LC PF with 87 then got there on turn. I'm not folding, but I want to hopefully keep other guy in as he has many Jacks here. I just call, but action guy folds somewhat reluctantly.
River:A
Opponent show 7
4 and I take a $460 pot.Rest of my time there was uneventful. Early work next day and effects of long flight made for a short session up $300.
12-30-2013
, 05:29 PM
Quote:
So many threads created by good players charting their attainment of profit goals and moving up the poker scale.
Many blogs and "TR's" where successful players regal us with tales of their poker lifestyle.
I appreciate them all, but I have not come across any stories from the majority of poker hopefuls: The mediocre/losing player. For cathartic and maybe entertaining reasons I want to fill that void by opening up my own journey because I sometimes find it amazing the things that happen when I play and the mistakes I make.
I am in my mid-forties and I am a father of two teenage boys. I live in Northern California and I am fortunate to have an enjoyable career in sports broadcast production for which I am overpaid an amount that allow me to live a comfortable middle class lifestyle. Early investing and a successful ex-wife to help take care of the kids allows for me to have a decent bankroll(for now) without affecting living expenses, so it is my fascination for the game that compels me.
I play live at a smaller card room that offers a 100-1000 2/5nl game. I started playing live in 2010. Back then I played sparingly, and last couple of years I increased my play, but because of career and kids I only find time to play 20-30 hrs/month. In 2012 I turned a $20/hr profit over 250 hours. I definitely played better but I was probably a lucky NIT. This year I've tried to vary my style. Stepping farther out on a limb has caused me to fall flat on my face. Results to date are -$35/hr over 170 hours. Yes there has been bad beats, but most are bad decisions by me at the worst times.
Such bad play -the kind where I know better but in the heat of the moment my mind speeds faster that I can control - is the running theme here. The latest, and best example happened just the other day. Unless variance locks on me for an extended period of time, these are the types of land mines I place in front of myself on which I invariably step. Might be that I provide some entertainment with these stories. So hopefully here is the hook for this blog:
Down $180 near the end of my session. Tighter young guy opens for $45 OTB. He mostly limps so this overbet is perplexing. I look down at AA. I have the feeling that if I make it $120 he's folding everything but Kings, which this bet doesn't imply. Calling is suspicious, but that's my decision. An old NIT with $270 in his stack overcalls, which is fine with me. The flop comes out small and I check. SB bets $50. Button folds. I go all-in with $180 and old guy snap calls. Board runs out and villain instantly turns over 99. Before I turn my hand the dealer adjusts the the board as if that is the winning hand. I have blurry vision problems, so I wear glasses when I play. Vision still isn't 100% clear but good enough to see the board. With his 9's exposed so seemingly confident I look at the board and see what looks to me like a 9 that hit the flop. I muck my cards. Two idiotic mistakes here. One, This was during an "Aces Cracked" hour where losing aces get $100 back, which I knew, but because I was bothered that I was out drawn like this and distracted by the loss, I forgot. My biggest screw up here was that the high card on the board was an 8, which though the opponent/dealer actions put the thought of a 9 in my mind. Because my mind is weak I mentally tricked my vision. I folded the winner and lost a $600 pot.
I am commencing this blog a couple of days in advance of a quick trip down to LA where I am going to get a playing lesson from a respected pro and give the Commerce 5/5 game a shot.
Many blogs and "TR's" where successful players regal us with tales of their poker lifestyle.
I appreciate them all, but I have not come across any stories from the majority of poker hopefuls: The mediocre/losing player. For cathartic and maybe entertaining reasons I want to fill that void by opening up my own journey because I sometimes find it amazing the things that happen when I play and the mistakes I make.
I am in my mid-forties and I am a father of two teenage boys. I live in Northern California and I am fortunate to have an enjoyable career in sports broadcast production for which I am overpaid an amount that allow me to live a comfortable middle class lifestyle. Early investing and a successful ex-wife to help take care of the kids allows for me to have a decent bankroll(for now) without affecting living expenses, so it is my fascination for the game that compels me.
I play live at a smaller card room that offers a 100-1000 2/5nl game. I started playing live in 2010. Back then I played sparingly, and last couple of years I increased my play, but because of career and kids I only find time to play 20-30 hrs/month. In 2012 I turned a $20/hr profit over 250 hours. I definitely played better but I was probably a lucky NIT. This year I've tried to vary my style. Stepping farther out on a limb has caused me to fall flat on my face. Results to date are -$35/hr over 170 hours. Yes there has been bad beats, but most are bad decisions by me at the worst times.
Such bad play -the kind where I know better but in the heat of the moment my mind speeds faster that I can control - is the running theme here. The latest, and best example happened just the other day. Unless variance locks on me for an extended period of time, these are the types of land mines I place in front of myself on which I invariably step. Might be that I provide some entertainment with these stories. So hopefully here is the hook for this blog:
Down $180 near the end of my session. Tighter young guy opens for $45 OTB. He mostly limps so this overbet is perplexing. I look down at AA. I have the feeling that if I make it $120 he's folding everything but Kings, which this bet doesn't imply. Calling is suspicious, but that's my decision. An old NIT with $270 in his stack overcalls, which is fine with me. The flop comes out small and I check. SB bets $50. Button folds. I go all-in with $180 and old guy snap calls. Board runs out and villain instantly turns over 99. Before I turn my hand the dealer adjusts the the board as if that is the winning hand. I have blurry vision problems, so I wear glasses when I play. Vision still isn't 100% clear but good enough to see the board. With his 9's exposed so seemingly confident I look at the board and see what looks to me like a 9 that hit the flop. I muck my cards. Two idiotic mistakes here. One, This was during an "Aces Cracked" hour where losing aces get $100 back, which I knew, but because I was bothered that I was out drawn like this and distracted by the loss, I forgot. My biggest screw up here was that the high card on the board was an 8, which though the opponent/dealer actions put the thought of a 9 in my mind. Because my mind is weak I mentally tricked my vision. I folded the winner and lost a $600 pot.
I am commencing this blog a couple of days in advance of a quick trip down to LA where I am going to get a playing lesson from a respected pro and give the Commerce 5/5 game a shot.
12-30-2013
, 05:40 PM
Quote:
After a late start and a long drive with some construction traffic and making just one, but costly wrong turn in LA traffic, I made it to The massive Commerce Casino. I was tired but managed to play a couple of hours and end +$108. 2nd hand in I get AQo in the SB. Four limpers and I make it $25 and get three callers. Flop is KQ2os and I take the aggressive route and bet $55. Young guy on button calls. Turn is a blank and I give up and check and he checks behind. River pairs the queen and I bet $100 which gets quickly called and I am immediately up $200. It was mostly downhill from there. The one standard play by me was early on when I was in the SB. In the Commerce 5/5 game the dealers take out two dollars from the SB pre flop, so there is only $3 in front of me. This tricked me at that time because I usually play a 2/5 game, so I folded a raggy 94o. In a multi limped pot two 9's come on the flop. There was some betting - maybe I was out kicked, but we'll never know.
01-06-2014
, 09:42 PM
So todays session was basically Meh. Zero premium cards; when I raised with high suited cards the flop came low rainbow, and visa-versa, etc. Two hands do stand out:
First one happened early in a 1/3 game. Not bragging, just taking a rare opportunity to point out to those out there who might employ this line to Do Not Do This!
I limp along on the button with a pair of 6's, and we see the flop 5 ways.
Flop($15) KK3r
Everybody checks.
Turn: 6
BB bets $10. Must be a slowed played king - sucks for him, but his mess.
I raise to $30 and he quickly calls.
River($75): 2
This does complete the flush, but since I raised, he probably isn't going to be too worried about it since he has trips after all. He checks and I bet $85 as I'm pretty sure he is not folding trips. He calls and I'm up $125. Thanks for slow playing.
Nothing happens after that and I move to a new 2/5 game up $85.
As mentioned nothing good happened at this table and I was down over $200 nearing the end of my session. I declared in my New Year's post that a resolution was to take time to experiment with line representation. In that light, go easy on the pre flop mistake as I was looking to execute a plan.
We are six-handed at this point and I limp in ep with 65o. Button, splashy PF, but standard ATF, limps, and BB, a good TAG, raises to $25. I call and so does button. My image is Tight with a capital T, which could work in my favor.
Flop($75): 3K2
OK, this is a good one. Go for the hidden straight, and bluff the 3rd spade.
BB bets $50. I call, and so does button, which potentially isn't great for me, but here we are.
Turn($225): 7
BB checks. I have $315 remaining. A bet here with a player behind will look strong, but I should make it look somewhat like a value bet and go with $95. Probably should be a little more, but this should look like a confident bet with my image. Button folds quickly. BB asks how much I have behind and I confidently reveal my stack. If he raises I fold; if he calls I'm jamming the river. He thinks a little longer, says, "Nice hand", and mucks.
So I'm happy I found a spot and followed through. I've heard Pre flop mistakes can be OK if you are planning on working a bluff if missed. Better heads-up than multi-way, and I'll work on bigger bets when representing the made hand.
First one happened early in a 1/3 game. Not bragging, just taking a rare opportunity to point out to those out there who might employ this line to Do Not Do This!
I limp along on the button with a pair of 6's, and we see the flop 5 ways.
Flop($15) KK3r
Everybody checks.
Turn: 6
BB bets $10. Must be a slowed played king - sucks for him, but his mess.
I raise to $30 and he quickly calls.
River($75): 2
This does complete the flush, but since I raised, he probably isn't going to be too worried about it since he has trips after all. He checks and I bet $85 as I'm pretty sure he is not folding trips. He calls and I'm up $125. Thanks for slow playing.
Nothing happens after that and I move to a new 2/5 game up $85.
As mentioned nothing good happened at this table and I was down over $200 nearing the end of my session. I declared in my New Year's post that a resolution was to take time to experiment with line representation. In that light, go easy on the pre flop mistake as I was looking to execute a plan.
We are six-handed at this point and I limp in ep with 65o. Button, splashy PF, but standard ATF, limps, and BB, a good TAG, raises to $25. I call and so does button. My image is Tight with a capital T, which could work in my favor.
Flop($75): 3
K2OK, this is a good one. Go for the hidden straight, and bluff the 3rd spade.
BB bets $50. I call, and so does button, which potentially isn't great for me, but here we are.
Turn($225): 7
BB checks. I have $315 remaining. A bet here with a player behind will look strong, but I should make it look somewhat like a value bet and go with $95. Probably should be a little more, but this should look like a confident bet with my image. Button folds quickly. BB asks how much I have behind and I confidently reveal my stack. If he raises I fold; if he calls I'm jamming the river. He thinks a little longer, says, "Nice hand", and mucks.
So I'm happy I found a spot and followed through. I've heard Pre flop mistakes can be OK if you are planning on working a bluff if missed. Better heads-up than multi-way, and I'll work on bigger bets when representing the made hand.
01-09-2014
, 03:49 PM
Quote:
We are six-handed at this point and I limp in ep with 65o. Button, splashy PF, but standard ATF, limps, and BB, a good TAG, raises to $25. I call and so does button. My image is Tight with a capital T, which could work in my favor.
Flop($75): 3K2
OK, this is a good one. Go for the hidden straight, and bluff the 3rd spade.
BB bets $50. I call, and so does button, which potentially isn't great for me, but here we are.
Turn($225): 7
BB checks. I have $315 remaining. A bet here with a player behind will look strong, but I should make it look somewhat like a value bet and go with $95. Probably should be a little more, but this should look like a confident bet with my image. Button folds quickly. BB asks how much I have behind and I confidently reveal my stack. If he raises I fold; if he calls I'm jamming the river. He thinks a little longer, says, "Nice hand", and mucks.
Flop($75): 3K2
OK, this is a good one. Go for the hidden straight, and bluff the 3rd spade.
BB bets $50. I call, and so does button, which potentially isn't great for me, but here we are.
Turn($225): 7
BB checks. I have $315 remaining. A bet here with a player behind will look strong, but I should make it look somewhat like a value bet and go with $95. Probably should be a little more, but this should look like a confident bet with my image. Button folds quickly. BB asks how much I have behind and I confidently reveal my stack. If he raises I fold; if he calls I'm jamming the river. He thinks a little longer, says, "Nice hand", and mucks.
01-09-2014
, 08:01 PM
Quote:
just a quick question in regards this hand.. if you had the flush ( im guessing you are trying to represent a small flush) do you always bet? do you check sometimes?.. what about the flop, do you always call with the FD? or sometimes raise?... i like this hand just playing devil's advocate so you can think a little more into this type of hands and different lines can help you balance your range so you can play many different hands in many different ways and you will confuse the regs in your games
My feeling is that I always need to bet the turn as long as I'm ready to jam the river if he calls. If the turn goes check-check, then I would be worried that an opponent might be more willing to make a crying call on the river. That happened today when I LC to $15 with 8
6 4-way. Flop was 347. I checked looking to check-raise but it got checked around. Turn was an os Ace and I called a $20 with a couple of others. River was gin: 5. Checked to me and I bet $60 into $140 and got called by top pair. I feel I am balanced here because I always bet made hands because checking usually leads to missed value. In this example, as above, if my hand was 6
5 I would be raising the flop, so I guess I could be more balanced and raise off-suit as well.I feel that nearly all the players in my local pool are very scared by the flush coming in, because most put a player on specifically that range when called OTF, but sometimes it will take two bets.
01-09-2014
, 08:11 PM
Do Not Slow Play: Example #2
Had a good day today in a 4 hour session. Made $407. Along with the aforementioned straight flush, I had one other hand tha,t again, should not have happened..
Limp along with 5's.
Flop($25): AA3
Checked around
Turn: 5
BB bets $15. I make it $40. Button calls and so does BB.
River($145): 8
BB checks, and I bet $90. Button insta-calls with A9.
I know in a limped pot that sometimes I'll run into an ace-rag full house, but that will just have to be a bet-fold. Until then I'll keep scooping these pots from a bad slow-play.
Had a good day today in a 4 hour session. Made $407. Along with the aforementioned straight flush, I had one other hand tha,t again, should not have happened..
Limp along with 5's.
Flop($25): A
A3Checked around
Turn: 5
BB bets $15. I make it $40. Button calls and so does BB.
River($145): 8
BB checks, and I bet $90. Button insta-calls with A9.
I know in a limped pot that sometimes I'll run into an ace-rag full house, but that will just have to be a bet-fold. Until then I'll keep scooping these pots from a bad slow-play.
01-14-2014
, 09:02 PM
Probably. Maybe. Definitely.
When Steve I. is in the game you have two choices: Play his game, or sit back and calmly wait for a good pair and then try and hold on. He's the type who's VPIP/PFR is 90/90. His opens are usually between $35-$65, but will go higher. He will continue with any piece of the flop, but the good news is that when he pots big you know it is the nuts. He was directly to my left to start and when he moved to seat 3he had position on my half the time. Needless to say I put the screws on even tighter on my range - the only time I got him was when I limped utg in a straddled pot and he raised to $100. Folded back to me and I shoved $450 more to which he folded.
My first big hand was while Steve was away. Straddled pot with three limpers and I make it $45 with kings. A mistake at this table as I should have gone to $60. So I get four callers.
Flop($225); Q 10 2
Gets checked to me and I make it $125. Fold back to Joe S. who check-raises all-in for $325 total. Joe is in his late 60's. He is a little LAGGY(more L than AGGY)pre flop. I've played with him a lot and I have never seen him push a draw. Since I hold two kings it is hard for this to be KJ. I am 99% that this is probably the nuts. Yes I am getting 3.5 :1 and I have redraw outs, but this is a strong read so I fold.
I pulled off another big bluff near the end of the session which maybe wasn't a good plan, but I sensed some trepidation on my opponents part, and I'm sure that my tight image worked in my favor again.
With Steve in the game I finally realized that I had to name my own price PF to see a flop, so I raised to $25 with 109. Steve folds but the BB, a younger TAG with a $400+ stack, 3-bets to $85. I am getting a little impatient so this hand looks better than it is. It is a good hand to crack a big pair, and I have position, so what the heck, let's see a flop.
($170) J 7 2
He surprisingly checks. I have an ISD, so thank you, I'd love a free card.
Turn: 10
Interesting. I'm definitely sticking around. He bets a less than worrisome $60 which I call and I'm looking for the obvious 8, third 10, or a club to bluff if the situation arrives.
River($300): Q
He quickly checks. Maybe he was lining up a CR OTF, otherwise he's played this rather passively. Yes, he could have AK, but if not I certainly could. There is also this pesky third out there. You see, earlier he called off his stack on the river vs TTJ with 3rd pair thinking TTJ jammed with a busted FD and he was way wrong. I had forgot this piece of info at the time, but I bet it was in his mind as I slid a value looking $140 forward. Without much thought he disgustedly mucks pocket kings face up and storms away from the table. So it worked, but not the best board for a bluff, and again, my sizing is a tad small, but I am happy I correctly read him as worried
Alright, I am pulling off some decent bluffs, but I still suffer from the "Nits". A few smaller examples, but one really stands out.
I call an open to $15 with QQ. I had won a medium size pot earlier vs this looser player when I 3-bet to $45 with AA and won at showdown. I decided to play tricky and not risk playing face-up and just call. One other caller comes along.
Flop($45): 1072
BB leads for $20. OR makes it $50 and I fold. They check it down and Q10 beats J10. So many dumb things about this. He was a player who probably would have called a RR PF, and called the flop as well. As played, if one is going to slow play a big pair then one must call the raise with that kind of flop. I was thinking that a raise here is 2-pair+, but since I have a random looking hand, of course he is raising with TP.
Brave enough to bluff, but definitely still weak in standard situations, which is a real bummer.
When Steve I. is in the game you have two choices: Play his game, or sit back and calmly wait for a good pair and then try and hold on. He's the type who's VPIP/PFR is 90/90. His opens are usually between $35-$65, but will go higher. He will continue with any piece of the flop, but the good news is that when he pots big you know it is the nuts. He was directly to my left to start and when he moved to seat 3he had position on my half the time. Needless to say I put the screws on even tighter on my range - the only time I got him was when I limped utg in a straddled pot and he raised to $100. Folded back to me and I shoved $450 more to which he folded.
My first big hand was while Steve was away. Straddled pot with three limpers and I make it $45 with kings. A mistake at this table as I should have gone to $60. So I get four callers.
Flop($225); Q
10 2Gets checked to me and I make it $125. Fold back to Joe S. who check-raises all-in for $325 total. Joe is in his late 60's. He is a little LAGGY(more L than AGGY)pre flop. I've played with him a lot and I have never seen him push a draw. Since I hold two kings it is hard for this to be KJ. I am 99% that this is probably the nuts. Yes I am getting 3.5 :1 and I have redraw outs, but this is a strong read so I fold.
I pulled off another big bluff near the end of the session which maybe wasn't a good plan, but I sensed some trepidation on my opponents part, and I'm sure that my tight image worked in my favor again.
With Steve in the game I finally realized that I had to name my own price PF to see a flop, so I raised to $25 with 10
9. Steve folds but the BB, a younger TAG with a $400+ stack, 3-bets to $85. I am getting a little impatient so this hand looks better than it is. It is a good hand to crack a big pair, and I have position, so what the heck, let's see a flop.($170) J
7 2He surprisingly checks. I have an ISD, so thank you, I'd love a free card.
Turn: 10
Interesting. I'm definitely sticking around. He bets a less than worrisome $60 which I call and I'm looking for the obvious 8, third 10, or a club to bluff if the situation arrives.
River($300): Q
He quickly checks. Maybe he was lining up a CR OTF, otherwise he's played this rather passively. Yes, he could have AK, but if not I certainly could. There is also this pesky third
out there. You see, earlier he called off his stack on the river vs TTJ with 3rd pair thinking TTJ jammed with a busted FD and he was way wrong. I had forgot this piece of info at the time, but I bet it was in his mind as I slid a value looking $140 forward. Without much thought he disgustedly mucks pocket kings face up and storms away from the table. So it worked, but not the best board for a bluff, and again, my sizing is a tad small, but I am happy I correctly read him as worriedAlright, I am pulling off some decent bluffs, but I still suffer from the "Nits". A few smaller examples, but one really stands out.
I call an open to $15 with QQ. I had won a medium size pot earlier vs this looser player when I 3-bet to $45 with AA and won at showdown. I decided to play tricky and not risk playing face-up and just call. One other caller comes along.
Flop($45): 10
72BB leads for $20. OR makes it $50 and I fold. They check it down and Q10 beats J10. So many dumb things about this. He was a player who probably would have called a RR PF, and called the flop as well. As played, if one is going to slow play a big pair then one must call the raise with that kind of flop. I was thinking that a raise here is 2-pair+, but since I have a random looking hand, of course he is raising with TP.
Brave enough to bluff, but definitely still weak in standard situations, which is a real bummer.