OK, so I have been running pretty bad the last few weeks. I can look back on some hands that I would have played different, but for the most part the cards have just been running cold. Set over set, flush lose to a higher flush, boat lost to quads, etc.
After a particularly brutal session last Friday, I call up Matt G to announce that I'm quitting poker for at least the next month. The only issue is that my hours qualified me for the $10k guarantee O11 freeroll the next morning. I decided to play despite my self-imposed ban. There are 148 entrants (very low for their freerolls which avg closer to 300) so I like my odds already. I know tournament journals are generally pretty boring, so I'll stick to the highlights.
Second hand of the tournament in middle position (blinds 25-50), I open with raise to 150 w/KcQs. Everyone folds except SB who calls. Flop Qc8c6c. Small blind leads out for 250, I pop it to 1000. He looks at his cards again and announces he's Allin. A normal tournament I probably let it go, but this one you have to build your stack quick (4000 starting chips, 12 minute levels). I decide to roll the dice w/the 2nd nut draw and top pair, thinking he may have the Ac, possibly a set or an up and down str8 draw. Outside chance he's a total donk and has something like QJ, which wouldn't be unheardof at this casino.
I call, he shows Tc5c....well, I didn't put him on that. Regardless, I have outs. Turn is.......Jc!
After that, I coasted picking up a few small pots and making a couple nice bluffs. We got down to 3 tables, my chipstack about avg when I open from the button w/a raise w/AsJs. BB is short stacked and pushes over the top. No choice but to call there. He shows QJ, and flops 2 Qs! Now I'm really in trouble. I'm now low man at my table and probably the tournament. Next hand I get QQ. This is great b/c I want my allin to look like a tilt bet. I have about $8k in chips, blinds are 750/1500. UTG is also short stacked and pushes. Cutoff is big stack and calls, I repush for a little bit more....then BB repushes his stack and is called by the big stack! Well, I'm either going to quadruple up or I'm gone. Players show their hands. First guy shows KJo, big stack shows KJ std, BB shows KJo! Another player at the table announces he folded a K. QQ holds up of course and I'm back in business!
The tournament winds down to 15 players, with the top 14 getting paid. Someone asks the TD if we can chop now for about 600. TD explains that it is the casino rule on freerolls that you cannot chop until we hit the $. I'm in big trouble at this point. I had subsequently lost 2/3 of my stack when my AKs lost to JJ. I'm now 2nd to last in the tournament and that button is fast approaching. I have roughly $10k, and blinds are 2k/4k....not even 2 orbitz left! I'm UTG and look down at AA! I push and get 4 callers! I had to dodge a lot of cards, but somehow the AA held up! Right after that, someone from the other table bounces, putting me in the money! The chop is over 600, and even though i'm in 7-8 place, I'd just assume take it and head over to the cash table. Old black dude at my table is now the low stack and is pleading with the big stack from the other table to chop, but he refuses. Next had Old Blackie pushes UTG, I call on the button w/AJ. He shows his AK, and I flop a J! Old blackie is gone with a $140 prize. He is salty no doubt. 2 hands later, I take down a huge pot, knock someone else out and am now the tournament chip leader with 12 left! At this point the chatter gets louder for chopping. Big stack at the other table announces that if you give him a couple hundred extra, he'll chop. I announce I want the same thing, and everyone agrees. $970 to me!
I made a couple hundred more at the cash table over the next few hours, so it was a good day for me.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Diary of an average poker player
I've tracked my poker wins/losses since the beginning of July, and Oceans 11 tracks my hours, so I have a pretty good guage at this point as to how I'm playing.
After 128 hrs of play, I'm up $796. Basically $6/hr...pretty crappy. I know I'm not a total donk like some of the players I see, but I'm nowhere close to where I think I'm capable of playing. The last 2 sessions are a microcosm of my play and I think are a good illustration of what a slightly above break-even player looks like.
Two sessions ago, I played for roughly 2.5 hrs and cashed up $306. This was in large part due to one hand:
9d8d in hijack seat. 2 callers, I call, SB (very loose player) raises to 12, BB calls, and I call with position.
Flop comes 5s6s7h! SB is short stacked and decides to go ahead and push his last $45. BB wants to isolate and repushes allin for $150ish! Talk about X-Mas. I obviously call. Turn and River are bricks, no spades (only thing I'm worried about). SB says, "I got a str8", BB says "me 2"....I'm thinking I'm chopping with at least 1 of them. Nope...both had 3-4 suited!
I caught a few other decent pots, but nothing earth shaking. Long story short, I caught good cards and finished a winner.
Fast forward to my next session. -$300
I won't go through every agonizing beat, but I basically last due to 3 hands, each of which I think a better player would have avoided.
Hand #1
Middle position with 7d8d, UTG raises to 6. 2 call before me, I call and so does SB.
Flop 7h8s2h
SB leads out for 8 (pretty solid player), 1 caller, I make it 25. SB thinks about it for a minute and goes allin for 104 more. I run through every scenario in my head and the only scenarios I can see are an overpair like TT, a flush or str8 draw (or both), or a set of 2s. (he's not likely to have 77 or 88 since I have one of each) I'm thinking, if he has 22, why not smooth call the 25, pray the turn is a brick (if he puts me on a draw) and bleed me for some more chips? Or, is this a semibluff? I made the determination that he most likely has 22, and not trusting my own instincts, I make the call hoping I'm wrong, but figuring even if I'm right I still have 4 outs. He felts 22.
Rebuy #2
I have KQ 3rd to act. UTG makes it 6, 1 caller, I call, folds around to SB who makes it 12. What the hell does that raise mean? I saw this move once before from him and saw he had aT std. Everyone calls.
Flop KQA rainbow. SB throws out continuation bet of 20, folds to me, I make it 50. He thinks, then puts me allin for my last 50 or so. I've gotta call there given the $ in the pot, but I don't feel good about it. I know he doesn't have a set or else he would have bet more. TJ is a possibility, but not likely for this guy. I'm thinking (hoping) more likely an AT or AJ, possibly AQ or AK. 50/50! Well, at least I can guess hands right when I'm behind. Turn and river are bricks and he felts AQ.
Rebuy #3
I lose a pretty sizable chunk in one of my first hands w/JJ, raised to 15 preflop, button calls. Board has a q and A, and I cont bet for 25, they raise, I fold. Less than 1 orbit later, I'm in hijack w/8dKd. Raise to 6, 2 callers, I call, BB calls.
Flop 884 rainbow.
BB bets 10, 1 caller, I smooth call. Turn is a 5, BB bets 10 again, other guy folds, I raise to 35. BB calls. At this point I'm putting him on an 8, I just hope I have him outkicked. River is a Q, he bets $40, I only have $55 left, and I shove it in. He instacalls and felts 8-5. Well, at least I was ahead on the flop on this one.
After 128 hrs of play, I'm up $796. Basically $6/hr...pretty crappy. I know I'm not a total donk like some of the players I see, but I'm nowhere close to where I think I'm capable of playing. The last 2 sessions are a microcosm of my play and I think are a good illustration of what a slightly above break-even player looks like.
Two sessions ago, I played for roughly 2.5 hrs and cashed up $306. This was in large part due to one hand:
9d8d in hijack seat. 2 callers, I call, SB (very loose player) raises to 12, BB calls, and I call with position.
Flop comes 5s6s7h! SB is short stacked and decides to go ahead and push his last $45. BB wants to isolate and repushes allin for $150ish! Talk about X-Mas. I obviously call. Turn and River are bricks, no spades (only thing I'm worried about). SB says, "I got a str8", BB says "me 2"....I'm thinking I'm chopping with at least 1 of them. Nope...both had 3-4 suited!
I caught a few other decent pots, but nothing earth shaking. Long story short, I caught good cards and finished a winner.
Fast forward to my next session. -$300
I won't go through every agonizing beat, but I basically last due to 3 hands, each of which I think a better player would have avoided.
Hand #1
Middle position with 7d8d, UTG raises to 6. 2 call before me, I call and so does SB.
Flop 7h8s2h
SB leads out for 8 (pretty solid player), 1 caller, I make it 25. SB thinks about it for a minute and goes allin for 104 more. I run through every scenario in my head and the only scenarios I can see are an overpair like TT, a flush or str8 draw (or both), or a set of 2s. (he's not likely to have 77 or 88 since I have one of each) I'm thinking, if he has 22, why not smooth call the 25, pray the turn is a brick (if he puts me on a draw) and bleed me for some more chips? Or, is this a semibluff? I made the determination that he most likely has 22, and not trusting my own instincts, I make the call hoping I'm wrong, but figuring even if I'm right I still have 4 outs. He felts 22.
Rebuy #2
I have KQ 3rd to act. UTG makes it 6, 1 caller, I call, folds around to SB who makes it 12. What the hell does that raise mean? I saw this move once before from him and saw he had aT std. Everyone calls.
Flop KQA rainbow. SB throws out continuation bet of 20, folds to me, I make it 50. He thinks, then puts me allin for my last 50 or so. I've gotta call there given the $ in the pot, but I don't feel good about it. I know he doesn't have a set or else he would have bet more. TJ is a possibility, but not likely for this guy. I'm thinking (hoping) more likely an AT or AJ, possibly AQ or AK. 50/50! Well, at least I can guess hands right when I'm behind. Turn and river are bricks and he felts AQ.
Rebuy #3
I lose a pretty sizable chunk in one of my first hands w/JJ, raised to 15 preflop, button calls. Board has a q and A, and I cont bet for 25, they raise, I fold. Less than 1 orbit later, I'm in hijack w/8dKd. Raise to 6, 2 callers, I call, BB calls.
Flop 884 rainbow.
BB bets 10, 1 caller, I smooth call. Turn is a 5, BB bets 10 again, other guy folds, I raise to 35. BB calls. At this point I'm putting him on an 8, I just hope I have him outkicked. River is a Q, he bets $40, I only have $55 left, and I shove it in. He instacalls and felts 8-5. Well, at least I was ahead on the flop on this one.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Knowing when somebody is on a draw
So this is another scenario that has cost me chips my last few sessions. I'd like to know how better players can sniff this out:
In the cutoff with AJos, middle position raised to $8, 3 callers including myself. Flop comes TsJs5c. Everyone checks to me and I bet $22. UTG (a semiloose player) calls, everyone else folds.
...ok, so the fact that he check/called $22 here leads me to believe he has a fairly narrow range of hands. His best case he flopped a set and he's hoping he can bleed me for chips by getting me to bet. Worst case he has something like a T or mid pp and he wants to see what I do on the turn to see if he could steal on river. I have position, so he may not put me on a J. However, I believe the likely scenario is that he has either spades or an up-and-down str8 draw. If the turn misses, I'm gonna turn up the heat.
So Turn card is 6c. He thinks about it for awhile and checks. Generally when somebody thinks about it and then checks, in my experience this is a ploy to get you to think they have something when they really don't, but they think it will slow you down thinking that they might be setting a trap. I immediately bet $60. He snap calls....SHIT!
River comes 2d. Great card for me. He thinks about it for awhile and checks. I only have $50 or so left in front of me. I decide to check behind him, even though I'm 90% sure I'm ahead. He shakes his head and says "just a crappy 2p", and shows his 5cTc.
I replayed this hand in my head 5x and cannot think of how to play it different/better. Although I did consider he possibly flopped a set of 5s, with the str8 and flush draws on the board, I'm quite certain this player either would have bet the turn, or more likely check/raised the turn when a brick hit the board.
In the cutoff with AJos, middle position raised to $8, 3 callers including myself. Flop comes TsJs5c. Everyone checks to me and I bet $22. UTG (a semiloose player) calls, everyone else folds.
...ok, so the fact that he check/called $22 here leads me to believe he has a fairly narrow range of hands. His best case he flopped a set and he's hoping he can bleed me for chips by getting me to bet. Worst case he has something like a T or mid pp and he wants to see what I do on the turn to see if he could steal on river. I have position, so he may not put me on a J. However, I believe the likely scenario is that he has either spades or an up-and-down str8 draw. If the turn misses, I'm gonna turn up the heat.
So Turn card is 6c. He thinks about it for awhile and checks. Generally when somebody thinks about it and then checks, in my experience this is a ploy to get you to think they have something when they really don't, but they think it will slow you down thinking that they might be setting a trap. I immediately bet $60. He snap calls....SHIT!
River comes 2d. Great card for me. He thinks about it for awhile and checks. I only have $50 or so left in front of me. I decide to check behind him, even though I'm 90% sure I'm ahead. He shakes his head and says "just a crappy 2p", and shows his 5cTc.
I replayed this hand in my head 5x and cannot think of how to play it different/better. Although I did consider he possibly flopped a set of 5s, with the str8 and flush draws on the board, I'm quite certain this player either would have bet the turn, or more likely check/raised the turn when a brick hit the board.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Scenario #2: bleeding chips
So this is another constant frustration at O11, mostly due to the $100 max buyin.
I'll sit down at the table and run pretty card dead to start. I constantly get hands like jq, 55, 78 std, etc. I will get this hand like this in middle/late position, someone will raise to $6, get a couple callers, so naturally I call. Somebody after me raises to $20, everyone calls, so now I'm priced in and have to call. I'll whif on the flop, somebody bets, I fold.
Or, preflop I'll call the $20, than somebody reraises to $50 behind me and gets a few callers. Now I'm in a situation where I've already invested $20 with a small pocket pair or std connector, and it only costs me another $30 to see a flop with $200+ in it. The problem is, I'm likely way behind, and if (when) i miss the flop I'm folding.
I went from investing $6 w/a marginal hand to now having a $50 invested...I think to myself, "how the fuck did I get this deep in the hand?" So how to you avoid situations like this?
I'll sit down at the table and run pretty card dead to start. I constantly get hands like jq, 55, 78 std, etc. I will get this hand like this in middle/late position, someone will raise to $6, get a couple callers, so naturally I call. Somebody after me raises to $20, everyone calls, so now I'm priced in and have to call. I'll whif on the flop, somebody bets, I fold.
Or, preflop I'll call the $20, than somebody reraises to $50 behind me and gets a few callers. Now I'm in a situation where I've already invested $20 with a small pocket pair or std connector, and it only costs me another $30 to see a flop with $200+ in it. The problem is, I'm likely way behind, and if (when) i miss the flop I'm folding.
I went from investing $6 w/a marginal hand to now having a $50 invested...I think to myself, "how the fuck did I get this deep in the hand?" So how to you avoid situations like this?
Sunday, September 11, 2011
First ever blog post
OK, so I've enjoyed reading the blogs of other CPMGers and thought I would start my own. IMO, the CPMG is like Broadway...if you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere. Well, maybe that's an exageration, but I always considered the play at a pretty high level.
Just a quick breakdown of the scene here in SoCal, there are a wide variety of card rooms here that offer various levels of play. If you like playing higher limits, we have the Commerce Club in OC, or the Bike in LA, as well as various other smaller rooms. If you like a slower pace, we have various Indian casinos out in the desert. My home court is Oceans 11 in Oceanside. It is very player friendly. They offer a lot of good promotions and giveaways, great food, and a very friendly staff. The only only drawback is that they have a funny structure for their ring games. The 2/2 game has a max $100 buyin. They have a 2/3 game w/a $300 buyin, but that game plays totally different.
Anyhoo, the point of this blog is to improve my game. I know I have some holes, so I appreciate honest feedback. I'd love to throw out some scenarios to see how other people would play it or what advice you would have for me.
So let me throw out my first scenario: "The Drunk Idiot at the table"
This has happened to me at least a half dozen times over the last few months, most recently last Friday. So I'm at a table for about 6 hours playing really well. I built up my stack from $100 to close to $400, when in plops the drunk guy. I've never seen this guy before, but he is drunk as a skunk and playing CRAZY! After a few orbitz of nobody calling his crazy raises, he announces that he is no longer looking at his cards! All eyes are on him. First hand he is 3rd to act, everyone folds to him and he goes allin for a little over 100. He has NOT looked at his cards. Everyone folds. Next hand exact same scenario. Next hand he announces he's gambling and he's gonna keep doing it til someone calls. He's UTG and pushes his stack in before the dealer finishes dealing. Everyone folds to me, I have kq and consider calling, but I can see SB can't wait to call. I fold, SB calls and felts AA. The dealer throws the cards out, I don't remember the board, but it contained an 8 and a 2....and you guessed it, drunk guy reveals an 82 for the winner!
After that the drunk guy quiets down and decides to play a bit. He catches AA against QQ against another big stack. Flop has a Q, river A...so now he is up to $400ish. About 30 mins later, I guess boredom sets in and he announces that he is going back to his old strategy. He has 4 racks of chips that he uses as a card cover. For 5-6 hands he goes allin preflop without looking at his cards. I am the only player at the table that can match his chipstack.
So ? time. I am just waiting for a hand to call his allin, double up and leave the casino up 700. Is this the wrong strategy? Some guys I play with out here make it a rule not to tangle with drunk players...it never seems to end well. My philosophy is to play the odds. Wait for a hand that I would be a big favorite and roll the dice.
So what happened? 3-4 hands into his new tactic, I look down at AsKs on the button. I don't even think about it and call. I knew SB and BB were going to fold (the had both already looked and were holding their cards as if they were going to muck). After my instacall, I ask if he wants to show his cards, to which he said "naw, I know ur way ahead, good luck". I felt my AK for the table to play along, not knowing what he had. Board comes with no A or K....crap! He still doesn't know what he had. He pulls out the first card from under his 4 chipracks and turns it over on the felt to reveal an 8. Sweet! No 8 on the board. He pulls out the 2nd card to reveal............another fucking 8! The whole table was standing up for the showdown and let out a roar when he showed the 2nd card. He shook my hand....I left down 100 instead of up 700. Bummer.
So this is just one scenario, but I'd like to hear people's general philosophy on playing with players like this? 2 weeks prior I had the guy who would open or raise $60 into a pot with $6 in it. Or on the button he would steal the $4 in blinds by raising to "$72" or bizarre amounts like that. Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Just a quick breakdown of the scene here in SoCal, there are a wide variety of card rooms here that offer various levels of play. If you like playing higher limits, we have the Commerce Club in OC, or the Bike in LA, as well as various other smaller rooms. If you like a slower pace, we have various Indian casinos out in the desert. My home court is Oceans 11 in Oceanside. It is very player friendly. They offer a lot of good promotions and giveaways, great food, and a very friendly staff. The only only drawback is that they have a funny structure for their ring games. The 2/2 game has a max $100 buyin. They have a 2/3 game w/a $300 buyin, but that game plays totally different.
Anyhoo, the point of this blog is to improve my game. I know I have some holes, so I appreciate honest feedback. I'd love to throw out some scenarios to see how other people would play it or what advice you would have for me.
So let me throw out my first scenario: "The Drunk Idiot at the table"
This has happened to me at least a half dozen times over the last few months, most recently last Friday. So I'm at a table for about 6 hours playing really well. I built up my stack from $100 to close to $400, when in plops the drunk guy. I've never seen this guy before, but he is drunk as a skunk and playing CRAZY! After a few orbitz of nobody calling his crazy raises, he announces that he is no longer looking at his cards! All eyes are on him. First hand he is 3rd to act, everyone folds to him and he goes allin for a little over 100. He has NOT looked at his cards. Everyone folds. Next hand exact same scenario. Next hand he announces he's gambling and he's gonna keep doing it til someone calls. He's UTG and pushes his stack in before the dealer finishes dealing. Everyone folds to me, I have kq and consider calling, but I can see SB can't wait to call. I fold, SB calls and felts AA. The dealer throws the cards out, I don't remember the board, but it contained an 8 and a 2....and you guessed it, drunk guy reveals an 82 for the winner!
After that the drunk guy quiets down and decides to play a bit. He catches AA against QQ against another big stack. Flop has a Q, river A...so now he is up to $400ish. About 30 mins later, I guess boredom sets in and he announces that he is going back to his old strategy. He has 4 racks of chips that he uses as a card cover. For 5-6 hands he goes allin preflop without looking at his cards. I am the only player at the table that can match his chipstack.
So ? time. I am just waiting for a hand to call his allin, double up and leave the casino up 700. Is this the wrong strategy? Some guys I play with out here make it a rule not to tangle with drunk players...it never seems to end well. My philosophy is to play the odds. Wait for a hand that I would be a big favorite and roll the dice.
So what happened? 3-4 hands into his new tactic, I look down at AsKs on the button. I don't even think about it and call. I knew SB and BB were going to fold (the had both already looked and were holding their cards as if they were going to muck). After my instacall, I ask if he wants to show his cards, to which he said "naw, I know ur way ahead, good luck". I felt my AK for the table to play along, not knowing what he had. Board comes with no A or K....crap! He still doesn't know what he had. He pulls out the first card from under his 4 chipracks and turns it over on the felt to reveal an 8. Sweet! No 8 on the board. He pulls out the 2nd card to reveal............another fucking 8! The whole table was standing up for the showdown and let out a roar when he showed the 2nd card. He shook my hand....I left down 100 instead of up 700. Bummer.
So this is just one scenario, but I'd like to hear people's general philosophy on playing with players like this? 2 weeks prior I had the guy who would open or raise $60 into a pot with $6 in it. Or on the button he would steal the $4 in blinds by raising to "$72" or bizarre amounts like that. Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.
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