I played a lot earlier, and came out 1 BI behind. I was pretty uneasy about that because nothing went my way and it was frustrating. So I came back for an hour session, then made 3 BIs without realizing I did so well. I knew I was probably up 1 bi, but 3 was a surprise.
I have to say that check/raise is my new friend. People who think I play straightforward are getting check/raised very often by me. It also reveals the strength of their hand if they call very often. This is very good being OOP. Also, some hands definitely should be raised but if you don't it's not a big deal because it lets you pot control. Besides c/r represents a huge hand that very few hands can withstand the heat.
Another thing I've been doing is a lot of high variance plays. I'll reraise all in on a decent sized pot with a decent draw. Most people can't make those calls unless they have a very good hand. Only donks will call with TP. If they fold good amount of times, I'm in an immediate profit. If they do call, I have outs which is fine. I kind of like this style, but it's very high variance but I find that I get folds very often and sometimes I will be doing this with a made hand. So it adds an element of deception to my game.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Played a lot today
I feel kind of uneasy today because I played a long session, probably 6+hours today. I won a lot of big pots but I also lost a lot of big pots. There are a few mistakes I could have avoided, but overall I played solid. I encountered some really aggressive players that pushed me around I felt. Some are more obvious than others, it's very difficult when you aren't hitting hands and you don't really have much of an option than to just "fold".
I made 2 huge calls that made me 2 stacks but ya know, I don't like having to depend on these huge calls to break even. I mean I called down 2 bluffs with second pair and TPNK. They were both extremely marginal, but I still made those calls. I mean I won a bunch of medium sized pots, and got really unlucky with some big PPs and other drawy hands. I just have to wonder if I made folds on those hands, how much I would be down right now. I can say wholeheartedly that all my big hands did not make me much throughout the whole session. This is just extremely frustrating.
Anyhow, I've been noticing that I rely less on set mining much these days. It's not like I'm purposely not relying on them, but I don't freaken hit them! The only thing making me standard amounts are the big PPs and AK type hands. Also, my positional play helped a lot today.
Another thought is this whole legistration crap. I tend not to think about it, but it's probably making the games much more difficult. I'm not afraid of the challenge, but I know things are a lot tougher than it used to be. Probably in 50nl, things aren't that bad but it'll only get worse as I move up and have to deal with regulars that has been playing for years before me. I will embrace this challenge, and still be successful!
I made 2 huge calls that made me 2 stacks but ya know, I don't like having to depend on these huge calls to break even. I mean I called down 2 bluffs with second pair and TPNK. They were both extremely marginal, but I still made those calls. I mean I won a bunch of medium sized pots, and got really unlucky with some big PPs and other drawy hands. I just have to wonder if I made folds on those hands, how much I would be down right now. I can say wholeheartedly that all my big hands did not make me much throughout the whole session. This is just extremely frustrating.
Anyhow, I've been noticing that I rely less on set mining much these days. It's not like I'm purposely not relying on them, but I don't freaken hit them! The only thing making me standard amounts are the big PPs and AK type hands. Also, my positional play helped a lot today.
Another thought is this whole legistration crap. I tend not to think about it, but it's probably making the games much more difficult. I'm not afraid of the challenge, but I know things are a lot tougher than it used to be. Probably in 50nl, things aren't that bad but it'll only get worse as I move up and have to deal with regulars that has been playing for years before me. I will embrace this challenge, and still be successful!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Biggest Pot ever
I won the biggest pot of my poker career tonight. It was only 150dollars pot but hey, that's a record. Too bad the tables were full of people with those stacks, so I lost 30 of it very quickly to some maniac probably pushing me around. Overall, I did well for the session. But this pot summed up my winnings for the night. I'm happy to draw a new "line" for my BR. I love that feeling, but there will be many more "lines" to come.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
LAG paying off?
It's been a while since I've seen my LAG style paying me off. But I noticed today that all my tables were very nit tight. Even the fish were extremely tight. Maybe it's because I loosened up some of my table selections. Anyways, so I decided to loosen up and play more positional LAG. I saw in a couple tables that my play was really getting attention, even though I was far from being out of line. (18/15/3) I just raised more marginal hands in position and fire second barrel frequently. Some fish just decided to play back at me at the wrong times.. PROFIT!
Overall I really am not changing my style, but I feel in certain table environments I should adjust more. My LAGish play is not bad, I can handle it because I know how to profit being a nit TAG. I think this is a new dimension to my game, I hope I can keep profiting.
Overall I really am not changing my style, but I feel in certain table environments I should adjust more. My LAGish play is not bad, I can handle it because I know how to profit being a nit TAG. I think this is a new dimension to my game, I hope I can keep profiting.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Positional Play and Second Barrelling
Today, I tried doing more positional plays and second barrelling. It was a huge success but it was over a short session. I'm surprised a lot more people are willing to fold in 50nl than I expected. This is very profitable if it works more often. Especially in PS, people are so tight and most just won't pay you off in SD unless they have a huge hand.
I come to the realization that most of the time, you really won't hit hands all that hard. You just gotta take advantage of some weak plays and bluff when it's cheap to do so. Also I've been focusing more on hand reading and firing when I think a certain hand can't stand second or third barrels OOP. They only need to be successful 40% of the time to be profitable, yes variance will go up if I make the plays on the wrong players but honestly these calling stations just don't come all that often anymore.
I hope I can break out of my downswing, I ended up accumulating half a BI for the day.
I come to the realization that most of the time, you really won't hit hands all that hard. You just gotta take advantage of some weak plays and bluff when it's cheap to do so. Also I've been focusing more on hand reading and firing when I think a certain hand can't stand second or third barrels OOP. They only need to be successful 40% of the time to be profitable, yes variance will go up if I make the plays on the wrong players but honestly these calling stations just don't come all that often anymore.
I hope I can break out of my downswing, I ended up accumulating half a BI for the day.
I was just about to wonder..
I was just about to wonder for the past week or so, I hadn't seen many KK vs AA, at least when I'm KK. Well tonight I saw it 2 times! I think that's a record high for me, I'm sure other others could beat that. Considering that and my AA vs set, I guess being down 2 BIs isn't so bad.
People were so tight tonight and I really took advantage of some noob's mistakes only a few times. It was pretty horrible night as far as hands goes. I'm not sure if I'm too happy with my play apart from those coolers. I mean minus those hands, I didn't really make too much this session.
Now after I looked back on this session, I did make 2 big mistakes. One was definitely playing my AA way too aggressive when there wasn't any hand that would probably call my raise. The other was calling down small bets against a short stacks and lost about half a BI with only middle pair.
I guess I'm always looking forward to get my BR to new heights and as I reach that point, and slowly fall, I get a little discouraged. This was mentioned in my older posts when I talked about this "line" I'm always trying to beat. I hope I can beat this line this time and not fall down to 25nl like last time.
People were so tight tonight and I really took advantage of some noob's mistakes only a few times. It was pretty horrible night as far as hands goes. I'm not sure if I'm too happy with my play apart from those coolers. I mean minus those hands, I didn't really make too much this session.
Now after I looked back on this session, I did make 2 big mistakes. One was definitely playing my AA way too aggressive when there wasn't any hand that would probably call my raise. The other was calling down small bets against a short stacks and lost about half a BI with only middle pair.
I guess I'm always looking forward to get my BR to new heights and as I reach that point, and slowly fall, I get a little discouraged. This was mentioned in my older posts when I talked about this "line" I'm always trying to beat. I hope I can beat this line this time and not fall down to 25nl like last time.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Made 2 donkish play, still came out 2BIs ahead
I got a lot of loose actions today. I made some players that I probably shouldn't have. One was pretty marginal but I probably should have just folded. I guess that's poker, it's all about learning from your mistakes. Somehow I still managed to stay ahead. 10bb/100 is good for me! Now, I need to study hardcore for my math test tomorrow, I honestly don't know the stuff at all!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Action with big hand = PROFIT!
I don't think I hit that many big hands in particular, but every time I hit one, someone had a pretty legit hand I beat. I ended up up 4BI in a 60 minute session. This is pretty awesome, I would keep going but I have a paper due tomorrow and I figure I should better stop early(2hr commitment).
Lately, I feel I'm less result oriented and just make plays that are best. It's hard to do this, but I don't even watch the showdown when I make an all in play. As long as I thought it was the best play in a long run, it's fine. I think I'm getting more confident about my play.
One thing I really want to work on is hand reading ability and making really tough folds. I think I already make a lot of tough folds that are really really marginal but most of the time, I don't go with it because my hand's strength is too tempting to make a call. I hope I get better and better with making the right calls, those are really the most profitable plays.
Lately, I feel I'm less result oriented and just make plays that are best. It's hard to do this, but I don't even watch the showdown when I make an all in play. As long as I thought it was the best play in a long run, it's fine. I think I'm getting more confident about my play.
One thing I really want to work on is hand reading ability and making really tough folds. I think I already make a lot of tough folds that are really really marginal but most of the time, I don't go with it because my hand's strength is too tempting to make a call. I hope I get better and better with making the right calls, those are really the most profitable plays.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
2 hour session at least every day
I'm trying to keep up with time management, so I'm just going to try to put 2 hours in everyday. I think it's good so I can also concentrate on my school work away from poker. Today's two hours, I only went up like 1/5 of a BI. This is kind of disappointing, but it's a winning session nevertheless.
The thing I'm really dealing with is the aggression in 50NL. Sometimes you just don't know when you are ahead or not, which makes it hard to play. And if someone runs an awesome bluff on you, a fold can be costly. I don't know how to combat it perfectly just yet. Like today, my biggest win was catching one huge bluff on me when I had AA. He had air, and he pushed on the river. I mean the board didn't reveal anything to me since he really had nothing from flop to river. I only called based on what he might think I have and I had a decent hand.
Second note is that my positional stats are improving. My biggest losses are still from the blinds, but for most part, I minimized them. This is a good sign if my positional plays outweights the losses OOP.
The thing I'm really dealing with is the aggression in 50NL. Sometimes you just don't know when you are ahead or not, which makes it hard to play. And if someone runs an awesome bluff on you, a fold can be costly. I don't know how to combat it perfectly just yet. Like today, my biggest win was catching one huge bluff on me when I had AA. He had air, and he pushed on the river. I mean the board didn't reveal anything to me since he really had nothing from flop to river. I only called based on what he might think I have and I had a decent hand.
Second note is that my positional stats are improving. My biggest losses are still from the blinds, but for most part, I minimized them. This is a good sign if my positional plays outweights the losses OOP.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Bluffing is no thanks!
Didn't I learn this like months ago? Oh well, while I ran hot early, I lost all of those winnings mostly due to 1 huge bluff that cost me 1.5 BI. It wasn't a bad bluff but it was a bad bluff to the wrong hand where I put a villian on the wrong hand since he played AA deceptively PF.
Oh well... I'm always mixed on bluffing, sometimes they work like wonders other times they fire back at you like you are pointing a loaded gun at yourself.
Oh well... I'm always mixed on bluffing, sometimes they work like wonders other times they fire back at you like you are pointing a loaded gun at yourself.
Hot Hot Hot!
For some reason, part of me just really wanted to progress faster. I feel like I learned a lot within the last couple days and I want to keep pushing on. I guess part of me really want poker to pay off as quickly as possible. Anyways, I went back up to 50nl with a decently safe BR.
The key part of the story is that within this session, I was hitting my hands so hard and so much. It was just ridicious, I've never ran so hot. Of course, that's why I went up 3 BIs so fast. This is extremely easy when you are hitting AA vs KK PF and flopping the nuts over and over.
I know this won't last but I'm happy that the downswing I had in 50nl is "repaying" me. Of course my goal is not just some petty 3 BIs. I hope I can keep it up, keep playing solid I think I should beat 50nl.
The key part of the story is that within this session, I was hitting my hands so hard and so much. It was just ridicious, I've never ran so hot. Of course, that's why I went up 3 BIs so fast. This is extremely easy when you are hitting AA vs KK PF and flopping the nuts over and over.
I know this won't last but I'm happy that the downswing I had in 50nl is "repaying" me. Of course my goal is not just some petty 3 BIs. I hope I can keep it up, keep playing solid I think I should beat 50nl.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Winning again
Not much to report but I'm winning again. I knew it would happen, not huge wins but it's extremely easy to win when people are folding cbets to you all day long.
Winning session finally!
Only up 1 BI within 1 hour, that's not too bad. I made a variance play that cost me a BI but it was a 50/50 coinflip and it would have been a mistake if I folded. So, I think I played it fine.
What I've been doing well is my positional play. I enjoy playing in position very often, this is becoming super profitable. I've been really concentrating on playing more marginal hands in position and calling more 3bets in the blinds with marginal hands with intention to outplay the player OOP.
Though one thing I noticed this session was that I was hitting hands very frequently, though I didn't get much action on most of them, I did hit hands a lot. I remember the times I rarely hit ANY hands, that's just extremely frustrating. Maybe it's because I was on extremely passive tables and not hitting hands are actually not a problem.
What I've been doing well is my positional play. I enjoy playing in position very often, this is becoming super profitable. I've been really concentrating on playing more marginal hands in position and calling more 3bets in the blinds with marginal hands with intention to outplay the player OOP.
Though one thing I noticed this session was that I was hitting hands very frequently, though I didn't get much action on most of them, I did hit hands a lot. I remember the times I rarely hit ANY hands, that's just extremely frustrating. Maybe it's because I was on extremely passive tables and not hitting hands are actually not a problem.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Downswing resumes!
Well I'm not too upset about it, I made some marginal plays and calls. This is why I'm down this session. Good news is that my fpp bonus is cleared so I'm still surviving. I'm not sure if I'm readjusting to 25nl or what, but I've been making a lot of hero calls. On one hand, I can argue that I am just going with my read. On the other, I'm making too many loose calls. Whichever the case, I'm not going busto any time soon.
I've been stressing positional play a lot. I notice most of my big losses came from sb/bb. I mean some are totally suckouts and for some, position really would have mattered a lot. So my goal now is to lower down my losses OOP and increase my winrate in position. I will bluff sometimes when I think it will work.
I'm not losing my confidence or anything now, I feel pretty comfortable with the game. I'm making decisions, some good, some bad, but I just have to go with it that I will make good decisions. Hopefully the most mistakes I make now, the better player I will become. And I have no doubt I can beat 25nl, I like this feeling. This is a confidence I developed and I just have to trust that time will make me a much stronger player.
I've been stressing positional play a lot. I notice most of my big losses came from sb/bb. I mean some are totally suckouts and for some, position really would have mattered a lot. So my goal now is to lower down my losses OOP and increase my winrate in position. I will bluff sometimes when I think it will work.
I'm not losing my confidence or anything now, I feel pretty comfortable with the game. I'm making decisions, some good, some bad, but I just have to go with it that I will make good decisions. Hopefully the most mistakes I make now, the better player I will become. And I have no doubt I can beat 25nl, I like this feeling. This is a confidence I developed and I just have to trust that time will make me a much stronger player.
Friday, February 9, 2007
25NL stab, ironically
I did a 2 hours 25nl session playing very positional lag, I guess it's more tag than lag since my VPIP was under 20 for most part. There's good news and bad news. The bad news is I still went down 1.5BI playing 25nl, the good news is that I know I'm beating the limits. I made some donk mistakes, I admit it. But overall I feel it's extremely easy to profit from players in 25nl. Even regulars in 25nl feels like a fish to me if I play correctly.
I think the biggest factor to this is that 25 dollars BI seems so small once you are playing in 50nl. You just make plays that you think will work and you do it. I'm not saying I'm bluffing a lot, but I do make quite a bit of positional raises and it works well. I'm going to build my BR to at least 30, maybe even 40 BIs in 50nl before I move back up. Even though I wasn't afraid to lose money in 50nl, I am pretty sure I don't feel completely comfortable throwing in my stack. With the aggression in 50nl being much higher than 25nl, I know the variance is going to be bigger. I need to build my BR big enough that I don't even feel losing a BI will hurt me at all. This is why I feel very confident in 25nl. Other than the tables I donked off a couple BIs(probably 5 BIs down total minus the few hands I got coolered/sucked out), I was in the green on other tables. Even though I didn't know until I look at my PT, I felt that I was doing decent.
I think the biggest factor to this is that 25 dollars BI seems so small once you are playing in 50nl. You just make plays that you think will work and you do it. I'm not saying I'm bluffing a lot, but I do make quite a bit of positional raises and it works well. I'm going to build my BR to at least 30, maybe even 40 BIs in 50nl before I move back up. Even though I wasn't afraid to lose money in 50nl, I am pretty sure I don't feel completely comfortable throwing in my stack. With the aggression in 50nl being much higher than 25nl, I know the variance is going to be bigger. I need to build my BR big enough that I don't even feel losing a BI will hurt me at all. This is why I feel very confident in 25nl. Other than the tables I donked off a couple BIs(probably 5 BIs down total minus the few hands I got coolered/sucked out), I was in the green on other tables. Even though I didn't know until I look at my PT, I felt that I was doing decent.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Ouch
My way of whining is to whine in this blog where probably nobody is reading. It gets me out of the frustration. Anyways, summary is overall pretty bad session and then at the end of the session, I had 2 huge pots almost at the same time where I flopped a set. One was an obvious suck out by villian, the other was just sick deep stack where I rivered a boat while the guy with the 2 pairs hit a bigger boat. Of course I knew well that if he had that hand, really "so be it" and it was so.. I wasn't tilted but it's frustrating as hell, I know I needed to stop. And I guess I'm going to be moving down limits because this session really hurt my BR.
Apart from what had happened, what is most frustrating is that even though I felt I played pretty solid, I really wasn't winning the session. Ya, I did make some fancy plays here and there. I don't feel they would contribute to my losing. Perhaps I'm making too many loose calls on the river and they are incorrect too often. I just don't know. All I know is that during the whole session, I feel like I'm leaking money slowly. Even winning a stack or two doesn't help that much, eventually I'll lose those earnings if I stay on the table long enough. This sounds way too familiar but I know I'm a much better player than I was then. Argh.. need to reevaluate my game hardcore. Hopefully going down limits will help me regain my confidence and break this stupid downswing.
Apart from what had happened, what is most frustrating is that even though I felt I played pretty solid, I really wasn't winning the session. Ya, I did make some fancy plays here and there. I don't feel they would contribute to my losing. Perhaps I'm making too many loose calls on the river and they are incorrect too often. I just don't know. All I know is that during the whole session, I feel like I'm leaking money slowly. Even winning a stack or two doesn't help that much, eventually I'll lose those earnings if I stay on the table long enough. This sounds way too familiar but I know I'm a much better player than I was then. Argh.. need to reevaluate my game hardcore. Hopefully going down limits will help me regain my confidence and break this stupid downswing.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Losing Confidence
It's really easy to lose confidence when you are on a downswing. I need to get a ton more hands in before I know exactly what it means to be winning. Yea, I know I'm capable of winning but honestly every mistake you make is very costly. If I was to really rank myself I feel like I'm just a break even player, though I have some results to show that I am winning. It's just my perception definitely points to that I'm breaking even, if not slightly losing.
I'm always learning new things, I don't underestimate the fact that it'll probably take me a whole year before I become a consistent winning player. No one advice can alter this reality. It just takes a ton of hands to make very good decisions. And even when you learn something new, it's not necessarily +winrate until you completely master its application.
I think what is scary is that I feel like I'm standing on a thin wire, and any mistake will cause me to fall. This is just a feeling, it has nothing to do with bankroll or anything in reality. I know I'm playing pretty well, but it's hard when people are not paying me off as much as I seem to be paying off someone else. Obviously many players out there are just plain horrible but I feel like I'm making more mistakes than them. Umm.. That's a pretty scary thought.
One thing I noticed this session is that most of the value I got today was from deception and inducing bluffs(calling them down). I don't know if this is the road I need to take to be successful, because playing ABC just doesn't seem to work lately. Maybe I should be reading more deeply into the boards to know where a good bluff inducing opportunity is.
I'm always learning new things, I don't underestimate the fact that it'll probably take me a whole year before I become a consistent winning player. No one advice can alter this reality. It just takes a ton of hands to make very good decisions. And even when you learn something new, it's not necessarily +winrate until you completely master its application.
I think what is scary is that I feel like I'm standing on a thin wire, and any mistake will cause me to fall. This is just a feeling, it has nothing to do with bankroll or anything in reality. I know I'm playing pretty well, but it's hard when people are not paying me off as much as I seem to be paying off someone else. Obviously many players out there are just plain horrible but I feel like I'm making more mistakes than them. Umm.. That's a pretty scary thought.
One thing I noticed this session is that most of the value I got today was from deception and inducing bluffs(calling them down). I don't know if this is the road I need to take to be successful, because playing ABC just doesn't seem to work lately. Maybe I should be reading more deeply into the boards to know where a good bluff inducing opportunity is.
Frustration
I ended a second session today being very frustrated. At the end of the session, all my cbets and 3bets had no respect. I mean I was pushing it a little bit, but cards never came for me to take advantage of my loose image. Nothing was going well, people were 3betting me light and I know it. I just don't have the cards to push back. The timing of their bluffs were perfect, not sure if they can read me like a book or what. Being down 4.5 BIs, I think I'm done for the night.
People were just way too aggressive. I mean we hear it all the time, they are aggressive the times when you are weak and when you got a hand, they wimp out without a scratch. ARgh, sooo frustrating. I really need to push people back, if I back out from a fight consistently they will just keep abusing me. Damn, I wish cards fell for me at least a couple times.
People were just way too aggressive. I mean we hear it all the time, they are aggressive the times when you are weak and when you got a hand, they wimp out without a scratch. ARgh, sooo frustrating. I really need to push people back, if I back out from a fight consistently they will just keep abusing me. Damn, I wish cards fell for me at least a couple times.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Downswing cont.
I actually did a longer session today. Two hands that I played for big pots, I didn't like how I played them. One, I totally donked off a stack. The other, I stupidly made a slow play on a drawy board. Anyways, they are good lessons, especially the second one. The first one, I had no read, no nothing and made a play with TPGK. I got lucky once when someone flopped a straight on a 3 flush board. I called an all in on the flop w/ AA and the nuts flush draw, and I hit it on the river.
Well I guess it's not so bad that I only came out only half a BI behind since I started. Only problem is that what I'm seeing is, minus the stack vs stacks, I'm only breaking even for a 3hr session. Kind of discouraging.
I've been trying to up my PFR, this is tougher than expected. I really need to work on what range I'm going to 3bet with. I think it's tougher because I'm playing on very loose tables and 3bets are being called almost all the time. There are always new things to work on with my game. I am seeing a few times I did not maximize my value with my hands, I need to work on that.
Hopefully this downswing doesn't last too long.
Well I guess it's not so bad that I only came out only half a BI behind since I started. Only problem is that what I'm seeing is, minus the stack vs stacks, I'm only breaking even for a 3hr session. Kind of discouraging.
I've been trying to up my PFR, this is tougher than expected. I really need to work on what range I'm going to 3bet with. I think it's tougher because I'm playing on very loose tables and 3bets are being called almost all the time. There are always new things to work on with my game. I am seeing a few times I did not maximize my value with my hands, I need to work on that.
Hopefully this downswing doesn't last too long.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Uh oh
Did another hour session, now I'm down 1/5 of a BI. I'm not sure if there is much I could do differently. Small pots really add up. Even though I stacked some short stacks and won some medium sized pots, I still came out behind. I made a good call against a bluff, at the time I just thought it was the right call.
I didn't think villian was a great player, though I don't think he's been going out of line much either.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comFlopTurnRiver.com (Format: Plain Text)
MP ($82.35)
CO ($76)
Button ($63.55)
Hero ($51)
BB ($78.40)
UTG ($49.55)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Jh, Kd.
3 folds, Button calls $0.50, Hero raises to $2.5, 1 fold, Button calls $2.
He limped on the button, I put him on a pretty weak hand. I made a marginal raise here.
Flop: ($5.50) 3s, As, 9c (2 players)
Hero bets $3.5, Button calls $3.50.
Standard cbet.
Turn: ($12.50) Jc (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $5, Hero calls $5.
I'm not sure what to put him on. Maybe Ace little or flush draw makes sense. I felt he was using position against me.
River: ($22.50) 7s (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $11, Hero calls $11.
This is where the decision comes in. The flush completed. If he had an ace, he could value bet given I didn't bet out. But my line could have easily been a flush draw. He bets out, I'm thinking what hand he had that he limped on the button PF. I just don't see him making this bet with ace little, and he certainly doesn't have AQ+. So he must only have a flush. Then I remember him betting out small on the turn. If he wanted a fold with a flush draw, he should bet a lot stronger. He failed to do that, and he could have easily just check behind to get a free card. What didn't make sense was the turn transiting to the river. Why would you bet so weak on the turn when you got air(flush draw) on the turn and then claim you have the flush on the river? Not to mention the bet on the river seems awfully weak. Also, what hand he could have limped that he would play like this? Maybe SC, low pocket pair, definitely not AXs, maybe KXs. A lot didn't make sense, so I made a call.
Final Pot: $44.50
Results below:
Hero has Jh Kd (one pair, jacks).
Button has Qs Th (high card, ace).
Outcome: Hero wins $44.50.
Good ending for me. If I didn't make this call, I would have been down a lot more the session. I guess I make good decisions sometimes.. at least.. :)
I didn't think villian was a great player, though I don't think he's been going out of line much either.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comFlopTurnRiver.com (Format: Plain Text)
MP ($82.35)
CO ($76)
Button ($63.55)
Hero ($51)
BB ($78.40)
UTG ($49.55)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Jh, Kd.
3 folds, Button calls $0.50, Hero raises to $2.5, 1 fold, Button calls $2.
He limped on the button, I put him on a pretty weak hand. I made a marginal raise here.
Flop: ($5.50) 3s, As, 9c (2 players)
Hero bets $3.5, Button calls $3.50.
Standard cbet.
Turn: ($12.50) Jc (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $5, Hero calls $5.
I'm not sure what to put him on. Maybe Ace little or flush draw makes sense. I felt he was using position against me.
River: ($22.50) 7s (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $11, Hero calls $11.
This is where the decision comes in. The flush completed. If he had an ace, he could value bet given I didn't bet out. But my line could have easily been a flush draw. He bets out, I'm thinking what hand he had that he limped on the button PF. I just don't see him making this bet with ace little, and he certainly doesn't have AQ+. So he must only have a flush. Then I remember him betting out small on the turn. If he wanted a fold with a flush draw, he should bet a lot stronger. He failed to do that, and he could have easily just check behind to get a free card. What didn't make sense was the turn transiting to the river. Why would you bet so weak on the turn when you got air(flush draw) on the turn and then claim you have the flush on the river? Not to mention the bet on the river seems awfully weak. Also, what hand he could have limped that he would play like this? Maybe SC, low pocket pair, definitely not AXs, maybe KXs. A lot didn't make sense, so I made a call.
Final Pot: $44.50
Results below:
Hero has Jh Kd (one pair, jacks).
Button has Qs Th (high card, ace).
Outcome: Hero wins $44.50.
Good ending for me. If I didn't make this call, I would have been down a lot more the session. I guess I make good decisions sometimes.. at least.. :)
Break even
I played for an hour. I did well on one or two tables, but the other tables I just got no where. I had some calling stations and overaggressive donks on them. When you don't got a hand, you almost can have no answer for them. The surprising thing was that I thought I was up because I only lost small pots and won a couple big ones. But I ended up down 70cents! That's just weird. That tells me that I honestly really have no clue where I stand with the session if I don't check.
One thing to note in this session is that I did play a little more aggressive. Of course it really didn't work against donks and they end up pushing me off my hand. I didn't lose any big pots but small pots got me and lack of hands hurt. This is part of the game. I can't complain since I am not down much for the session.
One thing to note in this session is that I did play a little more aggressive. Of course it really didn't work against donks and they end up pushing me off my hand. I didn't lose any big pots but small pots got me and lack of hands hurt. This is part of the game. I can't complain since I am not down much for the session.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Going up and up
I didn't play many hands but I've been doing well in the new limits. My theory is that every time I win anything, it's a good session. I won about 1.5BI in an hour session with 6 tables. I think this is pretty good. My bb/100 for 50nl is respectable. I have yet to get sucked out on stack vs stack yet, I know it's bound to happen, then again, I haven't been stack vs stack very much. I guess I'll just enjoy my run while I still got it.
Another note, I played a 20k 100 FPP VIP mtt tournament. I got to the money for once! Not much but that's a free 10 dollars for 100 FPP. That's a huge accomplishment, but honestly I got lucky. I hope I can do better next time, I'm getting a better feel for tournies, but I know I'm far from being an expert. A lot of concepts used in ActionJeff's videos, I don't quite understand. Then again I don't really focus into tournament play.
Another note, I played a 20k 100 FPP VIP mtt tournament. I got to the money for once! Not much but that's a free 10 dollars for 100 FPP. That's a huge accomplishment, but honestly I got lucky. I hope I can do better next time, I'm getting a better feel for tournies, but I know I'm far from being an expert. A lot of concepts used in ActionJeff's videos, I don't quite understand. Then again I don't really focus into tournament play.
3rd Impression on a Friday night
It's probably because it's a friday night. The games were extremely soft, I had 2 tables with an obvious fish each. Though I didn't stay long enough to clean them out because I was stacking other people on the table also. I have to admit I was hitting a lot of hands, and they were making a lot of mistakes.
The results came to that I ran up 3 BIs within an hour session. I felt I played very solid, cards fell as expected. I hit a couple big hands when someone had a huge hand themselves. It was almost impossible for them to escape from. I didn't get into any really tough decision except for one hand where I called a bluff. It was a marginal call, he was giving me 1:3 for my money and I thought it was fishy, so I went with it.
So far, 50NL is as fishy as 25NL and I feel I can move around more in this stake. People respect your image more than 25NL, and they make the same type of mistakes. Maybe I'm running good, but these guys are pretty soft when I snugged in some table selection. I'm starting to identify the regulars and some made moves on me, in which I showed them that they were messing with the wrong person. In some ways it's good that I don't know who are the solid players because I give them all respect and perhaps I can use the fact that they don't know me to take advantage. I think I have been profiting a little from the regulars, this probably won't last since they think I'm a fish. Anyways, I hope I keep this up.
The results came to that I ran up 3 BIs within an hour session. I felt I played very solid, cards fell as expected. I hit a couple big hands when someone had a huge hand themselves. It was almost impossible for them to escape from. I didn't get into any really tough decision except for one hand where I called a bluff. It was a marginal call, he was giving me 1:3 for my money and I thought it was fishy, so I went with it.
So far, 50NL is as fishy as 25NL and I feel I can move around more in this stake. People respect your image more than 25NL, and they make the same type of mistakes. Maybe I'm running good, but these guys are pretty soft when I snugged in some table selection. I'm starting to identify the regulars and some made moves on me, in which I showed them that they were messing with the wrong person. In some ways it's good that I don't know who are the solid players because I give them all respect and perhaps I can use the fact that they don't know me to take advantage. I think I have been profiting a little from the regulars, this probably won't last since they think I'm a fish. Anyways, I hope I keep this up.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Second Impression of 50NL
Today I took my second stab at 50NL. It's totally different than what I thought it would be. Games are actually quite soft as it was in 25NL today. Players played bad, and pays me off way too loosely. I'm getting a better feel for the level though, the numbers are still foreign and betting sizes twice as large. Overall, I separate myself from the numbers very well.
Anyways, donks paid me off stack vs stack 2 times. These I feel are generally just luck based, it could swing both ways. But I still win myself almost a BI by winning small pots over and over. These are more accurate numbers I feel, but of course winning stacks are definitely a big plus but it's not quite as consistent. It also shows how I'm doing in the new limits, I think it's a good representation that I can beat this limit.
Currently I'm still only 4 tabling, but as my bankroll increases and my confidence boosted, I will go to my usual 6. One thing to note is that there are less games in 50nl than 25nl so getting in the right games are pretty important. So far, I'm trying to spot all the sharks out there and try to stay out of their way. Currently I still haven't seen a super solid player out there that I should worry about. There are many decent players but none that intimidate me. I'm sure I'll figure it out very soon, and I'm pretty glad to get away from the regulars in 25nl since most are probably tired of me. :)
Anyways, donks paid me off stack vs stack 2 times. These I feel are generally just luck based, it could swing both ways. But I still win myself almost a BI by winning small pots over and over. These are more accurate numbers I feel, but of course winning stacks are definitely a big plus but it's not quite as consistent. It also shows how I'm doing in the new limits, I think it's a good representation that I can beat this limit.
Currently I'm still only 4 tabling, but as my bankroll increases and my confidence boosted, I will go to my usual 6. One thing to note is that there are less games in 50nl than 25nl so getting in the right games are pretty important. So far, I'm trying to spot all the sharks out there and try to stay out of their way. Currently I still haven't seen a super solid player out there that I should worry about. There are many decent players but none that intimidate me. I'm sure I'll figure it out very soon, and I'm pretty glad to get away from the regulars in 25nl since most are probably tired of me. :)
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