Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A Silver Lining

Well, the good news is that Full Tilt says that my money is safe, and I can withdraw it anytime I want to. The question is whether or not I want to. If I take it out and U.S. players are allowed back to the real money tables, will it be a hassle to get the money back in? I think, since I've never been really hurting to have my hands on that money, that I will leave the money in my account just in case something happens.

Speaking of my bankroll... after getting my funds back from my most recent BAP, my BR is now big enough to jump up to the $3 MTTs (if I were allowed to play them, of course). BAP investments are easily the most profitable portion of my poker game - check out my spreadsheet. It's absurd! I'll have to check if I can send money transfers. If I can, perhaps investing in BAPs will keep my BR growing even during this hiatus.

I am grateful for one thing: I had enough time to grind my NL cash stats back into the green before the whole thing went down.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

King of the Home Game (almost)

I went down to Long Island to visit my family this past weekend, and I got some time to hang out with my buddies as well. Just like we always do, we got together for a card game. I was very excited, especially since I'd won the last two that I'd played in with them and they wanted to up the buy-in from $5 to $10. The seven of us made up a $70 pot, $50/$20 split to the top two. Nice chunk of change.

Naturally, I start out card dead for almost the first two trips around the table. I don't think I got a card higher than a nice during the first orbit. I didn't even play a hand until after the blinds went up after the first 20 minutes! I was itching to play, though, because my friends were playing limp-happy. I seriously could not believe that I used to be intimidated when playing with these guys. I used to get nervous raising QQ preflop and actually playing a hand, and now I can't catch cards fast enough!

I can always count on my friends to make a wrong assumption about my playing style. After folding a crap hand from the SB after three of my friends had limped, my friend Tom says, "I know you, you're not going to play a hand unless you've got something really premium!" Lo and behold, the very next hand I'm on the button and it folds around to me. I'm know I'm raising before I even see my cards, but I at least have to put on a show. So I check my cards and I see 7h4d. I raise to 3xBB, both blinds fold, and I win the pot uncontested. Tom then says, "See? They believe you when you raise because you only do it with your big cards."

"Hey, I gotta try to get some sort of value with my big hands, right?" I answer.

They have me pegged.

Later on, I completed from the SB with 9d5d, hit a straight on the river, and got a decent payoff because (of course) nobody expects me to be playing baby cards.

My friends are so easily manipulated.

We play with hyper-accelerating blinds; for some reason, they prefer to double the blinds every level instead of taking steps in between. So 50/100 turns into 100/200, then 200/400, then the big jump to 400/800.... pretty soon the blinds are 1k/3k and effective stacks are miniscule. I'm okay with this, because I have a pretty good shove/fold game, but my friend still want to "see a flop." Although it's easy to take their money when I catch cards, it's not so easy to push them out of a hand with a shove if I don't. So I still gotta play carefully.

I end up getting heads up with my friend Andrew, who had been getting lucky very frequently lately - he doubled up twice through Tom when he was chip leader, first catching runner-runner for a straight flush and second going all in K8>KT with an 8 on the flop. He's got me covered, but not by much. I've probably got about 13BB's left. I get Ad8c as the dealer/SB, so I raise it to 2.3BBs (I probably should have just shoved outright, but we can discuss that in the comments). Andrew calls, and the flop comes out 8d7h4h. I think for a moment - top pair is strong heads up, but it's a weak top pair. Andrew is aggressive, but not often trappy - I think he pushes me all in pre with 99+. The flop is drawy, so I don't want him chasing. I put the rest of my stack in, and Andrew confidently calls.

"Crap," I say to myself, "he's got a freakin' overpair." But no... Andrew flips over 9d6d and proclaims, "I've got a straight and a flush draw!" Not quite a flush draw (maybe backdoor, but I doubt that's what he meant). So now he's looking for his OESD, calling for a 5 or a 10...

(The thing I find hilarious about this is that he nearly misreads his hand, and then he still completely misses the fact that a nine also gets him the lead)

...a ten drops on the turn, and I'm drawing dead.

I pocket my twenty dollars, give Andrew a "good game" handshake, and catch a ride home with Tom (who can't stop whining about his two bad beats).

I, on the other hand, am very pleased with how I played. I somehow fought through a mess of rags, tiptoed my way through the high-blind bubble period, and cashed in 2nd all without getting a hand better than pocket tens. Aside from shoving pre, I think I played as best as I could have. And I can't wait to play against them next time!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Bad Beat

Online poker took a big hit today as the US gov't seized the big poker sites (Full Tilt, Poker Stars, Absolute) and charged them with illegal gambling indictments. Unfortunately, this happened just when I was starting to get good!

Not a big deal. I'm more upset that I can't get to the Full Tilt forums than anything. I will probably migrate to 2+2 until this all gets settled. I can also play at PartyPoker for play money, but I doubt I will be able to deposit there. Also, the issue of my $300+ dollars at Full Tilt is in limbo. Kinda sucks, but it was never officially my money anyways, so that's not a big loss.

Just kinda sucks that something I truly enjoyed is now gone because some people had do get greedy and do some shady deals.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

AA vs. KK - Win One, Lose One

I did it the right way. ;)

Full Tilt Poker $0.02/$0.05 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.handconverter.com/hands/1278075
The DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $15.16
UTG+2: $1.80
MP1: $12.49
Hero (MP2): $5.00
CO: $7.10
BTN: $4.01
SB: $2.49
BB: $3.31
UTG: $3.30

Pre Flop: ($0.07) Hero is MP2 with Ah Ac
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $0.17, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.45, 4 folds, UTG+2 raises to $1.80 all in, Hero calls $1.35

Flop: ($3.67) Kh 5s 7s (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($3.67) 5h (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($3.67) 7d (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $3.67
UTG+2 shows Ks Kc (a full house, Kings full of Sevens)
Hero shows Ah Ac (two pair, Aces and Sevens)
UTG+2 wins $3.43
(Rake: $0.24)

__________________________________________________________

Full Tilt Poker $0.02/$0.05 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.handconverter.com/hands/1278076
The DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $4.27
UTG: $5.19
Hero (UTG+1): $5.15
UTG+2: $24.99
MP1: $10.54
MP2: $5.49
CO: $4.67
BTN: $2.00
SB: $2.44

Pre Flop: ($0.07) Hero is UTG+1 with Ac As
1 fold, Hero raises to $0.17, UTG+2 raises to $0.51, 6 folds, Hero raises to $5.15 all in, UTG+2 calls $4.64

Flop: ($10.37) 9s 3d 9d (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($10.37) 2d (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($10.37) 6c (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $10.37
Hero shows Ac As (two pair, Aces and Nines)
UTG+2 shows Kd Kc (two pair, Kings and Nines)
Hero wins $9.68
(Rake: $0.69)

I tell ya... if the river was a diamond on that last one, I might have smashed my mouse!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Meh

Roller coaster type of session tonight. Spent a lot of the time getting rags, and only steal the blinds when I managed to get a nice hand. Got the chance to 3-bet AK twice - whiffed the board the first time, got 4-bet the second and hand to fold (I am going to post that one on the Full Tilt board, but I think it's a good play).

Then, I finally got AK to work for me:

Full Tilt Poker $0.02/$0.05 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.handconverter.com/hands/1277879
The DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $15.80
MP2: $3.18
CO: $3.11
BTN: $2.24
Hero (SB): $5.12
BB: $3.47
UTG: $3.85
UTG+1: $6.00
UTG+2: $3.20

Pre Flop: ($0.07) Hero is SB with Ks Ad
7 folds, Hero raises to $0.18, BB raises to $3.47 all in, Hero calls $3.29

Flop: ($6.94) 7s Js Ah (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($6.94) 2d (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($6.94) 4h (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $6.94
Hero shows Ks Ad (a pair of Aces)
BB shows Tc Th (a pair of Tens)
Hero wins $6.48
(Rake: $0.46)
__________________________________________________

I ended up just barely negative for the night, which is nice considering how it started.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Turnabout Is Fair Play

Good session tonight. I seemed like an ace magnet tonight, and caught some kings as well. I've taken to the philosophy of not trying to stack off, and instead getting value from my hands where I can. Naturally, I got some people to stack off against me with aces, but most people either folded on the flop or turn. But still, I ended up winning some decent pots for it. Working my way back to even slowly, but not too concerned about my bottom line, to be honest. Once the payment comes in for the Take 2, I'll be rolling in dough!

This hand was a fav of mine tonight. Remember when I complained about losing a hand thanks to my opponent hitting the case king against me? Well, I can do one better...

Runner runner kings FTW!
__________________________________________________________
UTG+1: $4.54
UTG+2: $1.12
MP1: $1.84
MP2: $8.94
CO: $3.75
Hero (BTN): $6.13
SB: $6.06
BB: $11.19
UTG: $14.61

Pre Flop: ($0.07) Hero is BTN with Ac Kh
6 folds, Hero raises to $0.17, SB calls $0.15, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.39) Th Jd Ah (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.28, SB calls $0.28

Turn: ($0.95) Ks (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($0.95) Kd (2 players)
SB bets $0.40, Hero raises to $1.45, SB calls $1.05

Final Pot: $3.85
Hero shows Ac Kh (a full house, Kings full of Aces)
SB mucks Qc Kc
Hero wins $3.60
(Rake: $0.25)
____________________________________________________________

Don't slowplay your monsters kids.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Feeling Snakebit

The Take 2 promo is back, so I jumped back into 5nl cash. I'm playing well, but getting my butt kicked in brutal fashion with hands like the following:

SB: $3.83
BB: $15.24
UTG: $5.00
UTG+1: $1.62
UTG+2: $1.48
Hero (MP1): $5.26
MP2: $9.90
CO: $5.00
BTN: $6.74

Pre Flop: ($0.07) Hero is MP1 with Ac Ad
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $0.10, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.42, 5 folds, UTG+1 calls $0.32

Flop: ($0.91) 5h 2s 9h (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $1.20, UTG+1 calls $1.20 all in

Turn: ($3.31) Kh (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($3.31) Ts (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $3.31
UTG+1 shows Th Td (three of a kind, Tens)
Hero shows Ac Ad (a pair of Aces)
UTG+1 wins $3.09
(Rake: $0.22)
____________________________________________________

UTG+2: $1.13
MP1: $5.18
MP2: $2.28
Hero (CO): $6.65
BTN: $1.51
SB: $6.17
BB: $2.26
UTG: $5.90
UTG+1: $19.77

Pre Flop: ($0.07) Hero is CO with 7c 7s
UTG raises to $0.15, 2 folds, MP1 calls $0.15, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.15, 3 folds

Flop: ($0.52) 7d Jc 2s (3 players)
UTG checks, MP1 bets $0.40, Hero calls $0.40, UTG folds

Turn: ($1.32) 8h (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $0.72, MP1 calls $0.72

River: ($2.76) Th (2 players)
MP1 bets $2.76, Hero calls $2.76

Final Pot: $8.28
MP1 shows 9c 9d (a straight, Jack high)
Hero mucks 7c 7s
MP1 wins $7.73
(Rake: $0.55)
___________________________________________________

UTG: $4.20
Hero (UTG+1): $5.00
UTG+2: $3.39
MP1: $14.72
MP2: $6.83
CO: $5.47
BTN: $2.55
SB: $2.37
BB: $3.08

Pre Flop: ($0.07) Hero is UTG+1 with 9s Js
1 fold, Hero calls $0.05, 2 folds, MP2 calls $0.05, 3 folds, BB checks

Flop: ($0.17) 9c Td Ts (3 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.10, BB folds, Hero calls $0.10

Turn: ($0.37) 4c (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks

River: ($0.37) 2s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.20, Hero calls $0.20

Final Pot: $0.77
Hero mucks 9s Js
MP2 shows 2d 2h (a full house, Twos full of Tens)
MP2 wins $0.72
(Rake: $0.05)
______________________________________________

CO: $5.00
BTN: $5.07
SB: $5.52
BB: $5.25
UTG: $5.02
UTG+1: $5.35
UTG+2: $5.26
MP1: $5.84
Hero (MP2): $5.70

Pre Flop: ($0.07) Hero is MP2 with Kc Ad
UTG raises to $0.15, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.15, 4 folds

Flop: ($0.37) As 4d 2h (2 players)
UTG bets $0.20, Hero calls $0.20

Turn: ($0.77) Kh (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

River: ($0.77) 8s (2 players)
UTG bets $0.40, Hero raises to $1.01, UTG raises to $4.67 all in, Hero calls $3.66

Final Pot: $10.11
UTG shows Ks Kd (three of a kind, Kings)
Hero mucks Kc Ad
UTG wins $9.44
(Rake: $0.67)
_______________________________________________

For the record, that's a two two-outers, a six-outer, and a one-outer hitting on the turn. All combined, a total of over $21 worth of pots.

This is what it's like to be me.