We started season II of our poker club last night. We had a solid turn out. We ended up having 31 players, and if I am not mistaken every player but 3 or 4 joined our league. For those who don’t know- a buddy and I started up a poker league, and it has been growing like crazy. We have a board, by-laws, a member only web site, member dues...the whole 9. We even have some math wizzes that came up with a point scoring system that is top notch. We actually had to cap the membership this year because we had so much interest.
I will say that I love our league. We have some solid players. I do, however, hate our blind structure. It is way too fast and we don’t start with that many chips. BUT- there really isn’t a way around it. This structure was chosen by the board for two reasons: 1- Time. This league is hosted at members’ homes. We don’t want to overstay our welcome and keep our host up until 3 or 4 in the morning, plus we all have regular jobs that we have to report to the next morning. 2- We are trying to use the same blind structure as the lower buy-in WSOP events. At the end of the season we will be sending several players (based on point earned during the season) to a WSOP circuit event. We figured why not go ahead and get used to using that structure now…it sure couldn’t hurt. The real problem is that we just can’t use the 60 minute levels like the WSOP, there just isn’t enough time in the night. So we had to cut them down to any where from 30-20 minute levels (they get a little shorter as the levels go on). It is sick!!
On to the play: 31 players (3 tables- yep…we had one with 11). I had an awesome table draw. I was salivating. I am not saying that I think all the players were crappy. I am just saying I’d take my chances against just about everyone at my table. The only thing I was going to have to look out for was donkeys over-valuing the strength of their hands. I was feeling good.
First hand I look down at 6c6d, and bump it up. Of course I get two freaking callers, and the board comes out 7 J K. I know I am no good. There was a bet and a call…I fold. Oh well. I really didn’t catch many decent cards for a while after that . I didn’t really miss-play any either, but before I knew it I had about 1300 in chips and the blinds were up to 50/100. I knew I had to start gambling if I was going to have a shot. So I pushed with a couple hands that I normally would push with, and had to take some races that I normally wouldn’t take. I just waited for the best spot I thought I could get and took it.
There was one early hand that I thought was pretty funny. There was a new guy to the league…I had played with him before. I have zero respect for his play. He is the type of player that will call a big raise and a big re-raise with something like Q J. He will hit some miracle flop (QQJ) and then try to say he knew this and he knew that- just a real donkey. We will call this guy player D.
It’s pre-flop. I’m on the button. The blinds are 25/25. It folds around to D. He throws in a 100 chip but does not announce raise. Someone asked him what the bet was and he said it was 100. Since I don’t like the guy (and since I can be a jerk sometimes) I say no it’s not. He never announced raise. That is only a call. So the guy behind D calls, and it’s on me. I look down at a 6s2s. A nasty hand, but I just wanted to see if I could get at D. I call, and both of the blinds check. The flop:
2c 6d Js
Geeze, am I a poker genius or what? I am hoping that D has a jack. It checks over to him, and he bets out 100. It folds to me. Now this is where I could have slowed down and just called. He probably would have fired again on the turn, but I couldn’t take it. I raised to 300. I was hoping he would let his pride get in the way and re-raise me…thinking that I didn't hit a thing. It didn’t go that way though. He did a little acting job, and mucked his cards. I shot over a little comment like…you should have said raise and you would have taken it pre-flop. He just sat there…looking like the tool he is.
Back to the tourney- The blind structure pretty much forced play on just about every hand. Stealing blinds became increasingly important, and hand selection was key. Players were dropping out left and right. Soon the 31 was down to 26. Then 20. Then 18…
Pretty soon I find myself at the final table…nursing a short stack. I got one lucky hand in the small blind. One of the bigger stacks raised early to a little less than I had left. It folds around to me. I look down at two beautiful black aces. I casually grab my stack and slide it out. The big blind sat and though for a few minutes. I was praying that he would call…but he didn’t. It gets back to the original raiser and he says “man, you got me.” He calls the remaining 1,000 or whatever it was. I just looked at him and said yeah…I do as I flip over the rockets. It actually wasn’t a bad play by him. He was the chip leader at the time, hadn’t played a pot in a while, and the table was playing tight.
A few hands later I more than double up again. A short stack had pushed (about to be hit with the blinds) and got one caller. I look down at AsKs, and move all in. The caller ends up calling my all in, and he had me covered. He flips over JcJd. I hit an ace, and that's all she wrote. After that I went on a little run. I'm not saying that I went into every hand, but out of the next 10 pots I did enter I took down 9 of them. The biggest of the 9 I won on a monster bluff. I was feeling great. I felt like I could not be beat. I was Mr. Invincible...at least for another hand or two. Then just when I was building a big chip stack...I let my inner idiot out. I really blew it.
It was only one hand, but it was a string of mistakes in the hand that killed me. 1st- I brought weak cards to battle with the only player who had me covered at the table. 2nd- I got greedy. I should have let the hand go pre-flop. 3rd- I didn't even look for a read. I looked at the board. 4th- I went in with second pair and a weak kicker. I wont tell you guys the cards. I don't want to ruin any credibility I may have earned as a poker player. Let's just say I was an idiot. I really blew it. I should have taken the entire tournament, but in the end I'm out in 4th...all because I thought I was invincible.
The night wasn't a total loss...my last hand excluded. I was able to come away from the night with some pretty big positives- 4th out of 31 isn't too bad, the prize money covered my league fees and my tourney buy in, and I earned some valuable points for the season. I just wish I could have that last hand to do over again. Next time...I will do a better job at controlling my inner idiot.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Tuesday Night Victory
Went to my Tuesday night game last night. We had a decent little turn out- 18 or 19. I drew a pretty good table. It was a nice mixture of players, some weak some not so weak. I went through my checklist on each player, settled in, put my i-pod on, and went to town.
I started off a little slow. Lost a few hundred chips on the first couple hands, but then was able to build them back pretty quick. Right about the time I built some back up…I went a little card dead for a couple rounds. No big deal though. I just waited it out, and played my position…when I had it.
I did make one pretty loose call. It ended up that it worked out good for me, but I got my money in when I was behind. I limped with a 9d 10c (I know this hand is weak, but it's one of my favorites and I had chips to play with). Everyone folds, and the big blind checks. Oh, by the way…the big blind is the guy who cracked my pocket kings a few weeks ago with Q 8 off suit- go look at a few posts ago- he thought I was making a move!! Anyway…I had a 9d 10c. Here is the flop:
6d 6c 10d
The small blind bets out about ½ the pot, and I call. The turn:
7d
As soon as the card hit the board the BB announces he’s all in. Now, he was a short stack….he only had a little more than 3,000 at the beginning of the hand, and his all in push was only for about 2,000. I was sitting around 13,000. I had to call 2,000 for a shot to win a little less than 5,000. I didn’t think he had the 6. I figured him for a hand similar to mine. I called. He turns over 5c6h. Ouch. I sure misread that one. But, of course I have outs: two remaining tens to make me a winning full house, any 8 to make me a straight, or any diamond (but the 5) gives me the flush. The river:
4d
I win with my flush.
There is one hand I have to bring up. The guy I beat sent out an e-mail to our group telling everyone I was a donkey. I’ll let you decide:
I am the chip leader. In the cut off with 2 conservative players between the big blind and myself. I look down at Ad6d. I raise it up to about 3 or 4 times the big blind. My intent was to just take it right there, but if I got a caller I wasn’t totally outmatched. As expected the button folds and the SB folds, but the BB calls. As he is throwing his chips in the pot he tells me that he checks dark. The flop:
2s 4c 6s
I bet out a little less than half the pot. The BB calls, and then checks dark again. The turn:
7d
I know he is weak. He only had a few thousand left in his stack. I decide to put the pressure on. I announce that I am all in. He thinks for about 5 seconds…maybe, and calls. I wasn’t expecting that. I turn my hand over. He sits there, cards still face down, and tells me my hand is good for now. The river:
8c
The BB stands up, throws his cards across the table, and starts berating my play. He claims to have had A Q. If that is what he had he played it very poorly, but remember...I'm the donkey.
So anyway…on to the final table. I played pretty solid. I put pressure on when I thought my opponents were weak, and let hands go when I thought my opponents were strong. When we got to 4 handed I tried to steal the blinds from the button and got called by the big blind, which was OK he was a pretty short stack. He was ahead, but I out flopped him. Then we were down to three. I took another player out, and now we’re heads up.
Head’s up lasted about 20 or 30 minutes. I started out with the chip lead, kept the lead, and eventually won the tourney. It was a pretty good night of poker...for a donkey!
I started off a little slow. Lost a few hundred chips on the first couple hands, but then was able to build them back pretty quick. Right about the time I built some back up…I went a little card dead for a couple rounds. No big deal though. I just waited it out, and played my position…when I had it.
I did make one pretty loose call. It ended up that it worked out good for me, but I got my money in when I was behind. I limped with a 9d 10c (I know this hand is weak, but it's one of my favorites and I had chips to play with). Everyone folds, and the big blind checks. Oh, by the way…the big blind is the guy who cracked my pocket kings a few weeks ago with Q 8 off suit- go look at a few posts ago- he thought I was making a move!! Anyway…I had a 9d 10c. Here is the flop:
6d 6c 10d
The small blind bets out about ½ the pot, and I call. The turn:
7d
As soon as the card hit the board the BB announces he’s all in. Now, he was a short stack….he only had a little more than 3,000 at the beginning of the hand, and his all in push was only for about 2,000. I was sitting around 13,000. I had to call 2,000 for a shot to win a little less than 5,000. I didn’t think he had the 6. I figured him for a hand similar to mine. I called. He turns over 5c6h. Ouch. I sure misread that one. But, of course I have outs: two remaining tens to make me a winning full house, any 8 to make me a straight, or any diamond (but the 5) gives me the flush. The river:
4d
I win with my flush.
There is one hand I have to bring up. The guy I beat sent out an e-mail to our group telling everyone I was a donkey. I’ll let you decide:
I am the chip leader. In the cut off with 2 conservative players between the big blind and myself. I look down at Ad6d. I raise it up to about 3 or 4 times the big blind. My intent was to just take it right there, but if I got a caller I wasn’t totally outmatched. As expected the button folds and the SB folds, but the BB calls. As he is throwing his chips in the pot he tells me that he checks dark. The flop:
2s 4c 6s
I bet out a little less than half the pot. The BB calls, and then checks dark again. The turn:
7d
I know he is weak. He only had a few thousand left in his stack. I decide to put the pressure on. I announce that I am all in. He thinks for about 5 seconds…maybe, and calls. I wasn’t expecting that. I turn my hand over. He sits there, cards still face down, and tells me my hand is good for now. The river:
8c
The BB stands up, throws his cards across the table, and starts berating my play. He claims to have had A Q. If that is what he had he played it very poorly, but remember...I'm the donkey.
So anyway…on to the final table. I played pretty solid. I put pressure on when I thought my opponents were weak, and let hands go when I thought my opponents were strong. When we got to 4 handed I tried to steal the blinds from the button and got called by the big blind, which was OK he was a pretty short stack. He was ahead, but I out flopped him. Then we were down to three. I took another player out, and now we’re heads up.
Head’s up lasted about 20 or 30 minutes. I started out with the chip lead, kept the lead, and eventually won the tourney. It was a pretty good night of poker...for a donkey!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Everyone should play it...
H.O.R.S.E.- What a game!
One of the regular crew held a HORSE tourney Saturday night. It was pretty cool. We only had 16 players. The game started at 8:00 pm, and at 3:30 am we were finally down to 2. Me and another guy.
I played pretty good most of the night. I really didn’t make any donk-plays that stand out in my head. I played pretty solid in all the games. My best 2 were 1st- Omaha 8/ob & 2nd- 7 card stud (regular). I had a solid showing in Hold ‘em, but it wasn’t where I snagged the most chips. Here are a couple hands of note:
Omaha 8/ob:
I hold Ac5c5d4d- This was s pretty good pot. It was 3 way action with betting all the way through. The flop:
4c Kh 5h
Well, I am no longer going for the low. But I feel that I have the high at this point. I don’t want to see a heart, and with me holding a 4 that only leaves 2 more in the deck to hit for a boat (and of course the lone 5 that is in there somewhere) The turn:
Kd
Good for me. I am pretty sure I have the high rapped up. So I am jamming money into the pot. One of the shorter stacks gets all his money in on the turn. Here comes the river:
7s
I get a little side pot going with the 3rd guy in the hand. I bet, he raises, I re-raise, and he calls.
The idiot I had the side pot with had a king, but was also drawing to a low. The funny thing was the other guy (the one who got his chips in on the turn) had the same low. So I took my half for the high and they had to chop the low pot.
One more hand in O8/ob:
I hold QcQd5c3d- flop:
4c As 8d
Sweet only a 2 3 has me beat on the low. The turn:
8 s
The river:
8c
I end up scooping the pot with 8’s full of queens for the high and 8-5-4-3-A for the low. That was a nice pot.
I really had a good time playing the tourney, and will definitely be trying my hand at the next one he runs. One thing I noticed- I was trying to pick up reads more that night then ever. More even then when I play no limit hold ‘em. I guess I get so comfortable with NLHE I sometimes don’t use my reads the way I should, but Saturday I was looking for them like mad. I actually picked up some that I should be able to exploit the next time I face these guys in NLHE.
Oh, by the way, if you were wondering who won…we ended up chopping. I had to be up fairly early the next morning.
One of the regular crew held a HORSE tourney Saturday night. It was pretty cool. We only had 16 players. The game started at 8:00 pm, and at 3:30 am we were finally down to 2. Me and another guy.
I played pretty good most of the night. I really didn’t make any donk-plays that stand out in my head. I played pretty solid in all the games. My best 2 were 1st- Omaha 8/ob & 2nd- 7 card stud (regular). I had a solid showing in Hold ‘em, but it wasn’t where I snagged the most chips. Here are a couple hands of note:
Omaha 8/ob:
I hold Ac5c5d4d- This was s pretty good pot. It was 3 way action with betting all the way through. The flop:
4c Kh 5h
Well, I am no longer going for the low. But I feel that I have the high at this point. I don’t want to see a heart, and with me holding a 4 that only leaves 2 more in the deck to hit for a boat (and of course the lone 5 that is in there somewhere) The turn:
Kd
Good for me. I am pretty sure I have the high rapped up. So I am jamming money into the pot. One of the shorter stacks gets all his money in on the turn. Here comes the river:
7s
I get a little side pot going with the 3rd guy in the hand. I bet, he raises, I re-raise, and he calls.
The idiot I had the side pot with had a king, but was also drawing to a low. The funny thing was the other guy (the one who got his chips in on the turn) had the same low. So I took my half for the high and they had to chop the low pot.
One more hand in O8/ob:
I hold QcQd5c3d- flop:
4c As 8d
Sweet only a 2 3 has me beat on the low. The turn:
8 s
The river:
8c
I end up scooping the pot with 8’s full of queens for the high and 8-5-4-3-A for the low. That was a nice pot.
I really had a good time playing the tourney, and will definitely be trying my hand at the next one he runs. One thing I noticed- I was trying to pick up reads more that night then ever. More even then when I play no limit hold ‘em. I guess I get so comfortable with NLHE I sometimes don’t use my reads the way I should, but Saturday I was looking for them like mad. I actually picked up some that I should be able to exploit the next time I face these guys in NLHE.
Oh, by the way, if you were wondering who won…we ended up chopping. I had to be up fairly early the next morning.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Attitude is Everything
Played in my usual game again last night. It was…ok. My table draw was juicy! I had 3 players who call way too much and never think you have anything, 2 raisers, a couple lower level players (they play A, B, C poker…and very easy to ready) and a couple tight players. I knew right off the bat what kind of hand I would want to look to play against each opponent. It was all good…until play started.
The cards were horrible. I haven’t been that card dead in a LONG time. It ticked me off. Really, I was starting to get mad at what was dealt to me. Other than stealing the blinds once or twice, I think I might have raked 2 pots in the first 4 or 5 blind rounds. Here comes a new hand…oh look, another 6 2 off suit. OK this one has to be better. I peel the first card back a Q of diamonds. Alright…I can work with this. Let’s peel the second card up…wow a 3 of clubs. Into the muck they go.
As I was sitting there steaming and it hit me- my attitude sucked! Here I was sitting at a table playing poker, but my head really wasn’t in it. Yea, so I got some bad cards. I got them over and over……and over again. BUT- it happens! I sat there for a minute and thought, why am I so out of it? I made a mental list. It was getting longer by the second.- I hadn’t played in almost 3 weeks, now I'm back and this is the type of crap I get dealt? Was the wife happy when I left the house? I lost 20% of my on-line bankroll over 3 days. My live bankroll has been suffering lately…..work….finances…the list kept going. Then I stopped.
What a wus. Stop whining.
I had been wasting time. So the cards smelling worse than the ground beef that fell out of my grocery bag and had been sitting under my car seat for 3 weeks. It happens. The question is…can I get better by being here? Yep. Sure-nough.
I had been choosing to have a negative attitude, but not any more. I was going to use this situation to work on something. Two things came to mind…1- reads (you can always work on reads)- I will definitely be playing against these players again. 2- bluffing.
My reads were on point. There were a couple of times that I was going to come into a pot (pre-flop), but before I did I took a second and scanned the table (like I should anyway). I ended up saving myself a decent amount of chips- example- three limpers in the pot. I am on the button with KsJs. I was about to come in raising. I took a second scanned the table- got a great read off the guy to my left. I muck. Player in the SB raises to 4 times the blind and gets one caller. Ended up he had pocket jacks, and the board was all unders. After that I just sat around and played the “what cards are they holding game.” Sometimes I was right and sometimes I wasn’t, but I was having a better time. Plus…I was working on becoming a better player.
I never really took down any monster pots or made some HUGE bluff, but at the end of the night I was glad I was there. I was able to see how my attitude impacts my play. If I have a positive outlook I am going to come away from the table with something, but if I have a negative attitude…well I’d be better off staying at home and trimming my nose hairs.
The cards were horrible. I haven’t been that card dead in a LONG time. It ticked me off. Really, I was starting to get mad at what was dealt to me. Other than stealing the blinds once or twice, I think I might have raked 2 pots in the first 4 or 5 blind rounds. Here comes a new hand…oh look, another 6 2 off suit. OK this one has to be better. I peel the first card back a Q of diamonds. Alright…I can work with this. Let’s peel the second card up…wow a 3 of clubs. Into the muck they go.
As I was sitting there steaming and it hit me- my attitude sucked! Here I was sitting at a table playing poker, but my head really wasn’t in it. Yea, so I got some bad cards. I got them over and over……and over again. BUT- it happens! I sat there for a minute and thought, why am I so out of it? I made a mental list. It was getting longer by the second.- I hadn’t played in almost 3 weeks, now I'm back and this is the type of crap I get dealt? Was the wife happy when I left the house? I lost 20% of my on-line bankroll over 3 days. My live bankroll has been suffering lately…..work….finances…the list kept going. Then I stopped.
What a wus. Stop whining.
I had been wasting time. So the cards smelling worse than the ground beef that fell out of my grocery bag and had been sitting under my car seat for 3 weeks. It happens. The question is…can I get better by being here? Yep. Sure-nough.
I had been choosing to have a negative attitude, but not any more. I was going to use this situation to work on something. Two things came to mind…1- reads (you can always work on reads)- I will definitely be playing against these players again. 2- bluffing.
My reads were on point. There were a couple of times that I was going to come into a pot (pre-flop), but before I did I took a second and scanned the table (like I should anyway). I ended up saving myself a decent amount of chips- example- three limpers in the pot. I am on the button with KsJs. I was about to come in raising. I took a second scanned the table- got a great read off the guy to my left. I muck. Player in the SB raises to 4 times the blind and gets one caller. Ended up he had pocket jacks, and the board was all unders. After that I just sat around and played the “what cards are they holding game.” Sometimes I was right and sometimes I wasn’t, but I was having a better time. Plus…I was working on becoming a better player.
I never really took down any monster pots or made some HUGE bluff, but at the end of the night I was glad I was there. I was able to see how my attitude impacts my play. If I have a positive outlook I am going to come away from the table with something, but if I have a negative attitude…well I’d be better off staying at home and trimming my nose hairs.
Monday, January 8, 2007
Vacation Reading
My wife and I just got back from a little vacation in Jamaica. Man, it was nice. We pretty much did nothing. We just sat on the beach, drank some drinks with umbrellas in them, and ate a bunch of food! I know…this has nothing to do with poker right? Well, I knew that we were going to be lazy all week so the day before we left I went out and picked up a new poker book- Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book.
I know that Phil Gordon is not a super high rank pro. He doesn’t have the reading ability of a Phil Hellmuth or the table image of a Phil Ivey. But, I am really starting to respect his play and his style more and more. I am not quite finished with the book right now (have about ¼ of it left), but MAN…I would highly suggest it. It’s a great book.
The best thing about it has got to be the way it is written. It’s such a simple concept- the book is just hand after hand that Phil has played in various situations. Some of you may be thinking…so what? Well, there is a little more to it than that. Phil divides the hands into 5 sections: cash games, early tournament play, middle tournament play, late tournament play, and final table play.
Before each hand there is a diagram of the table. You see where Phil is sitting. Who the big stacks are. Where the button is. There are even notes on some of the players...such as “plays too many hands” or “super tight.” Then he introduces the scenario to you- it’s day two of the tournament. I recently took a big pot off of so and so player. There was a raise to $X from seat 3. I’m on the button with X hand. What do you do? (That has got to be the best phrase in the book, but it only works if you actually stop and put yourself in the situation). Then the hand continues. Phil explains his split second thoughts and strategies very well, and leads you through the rest of the hand.
Some of the hands work out on the good end for him...while others leave him feeling sick to his stomach and looking for the nearest exit. He doesn't harp on the outcome of the hand. He simply just analyzes his decisions. It made me see that a right decision is simply a right decision- even if the outcome is not always what you want.
Everyone should check out his book.
The book he wrote before this one is called the Little Green Book. I’ll be buying that one as soon as I finish up this one!
I know that Phil Gordon is not a super high rank pro. He doesn’t have the reading ability of a Phil Hellmuth or the table image of a Phil Ivey. But, I am really starting to respect his play and his style more and more. I am not quite finished with the book right now (have about ¼ of it left), but MAN…I would highly suggest it. It’s a great book.
The best thing about it has got to be the way it is written. It’s such a simple concept- the book is just hand after hand that Phil has played in various situations. Some of you may be thinking…so what? Well, there is a little more to it than that. Phil divides the hands into 5 sections: cash games, early tournament play, middle tournament play, late tournament play, and final table play.
Before each hand there is a diagram of the table. You see where Phil is sitting. Who the big stacks are. Where the button is. There are even notes on some of the players...such as “plays too many hands” or “super tight.” Then he introduces the scenario to you- it’s day two of the tournament. I recently took a big pot off of so and so player. There was a raise to $X from seat 3. I’m on the button with X hand. What do you do? (That has got to be the best phrase in the book, but it only works if you actually stop and put yourself in the situation). Then the hand continues. Phil explains his split second thoughts and strategies very well, and leads you through the rest of the hand.
Some of the hands work out on the good end for him...while others leave him feeling sick to his stomach and looking for the nearest exit. He doesn't harp on the outcome of the hand. He simply just analyzes his decisions. It made me see that a right decision is simply a right decision- even if the outcome is not always what you want.
Everyone should check out his book.
The book he wrote before this one is called the Little Green Book. I’ll be buying that one as soon as I finish up this one!
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