KK and AK sooted no good

i played about 7hrs of 200 NL at Commerce today and worked my stack up to as high as $450. then went on to lose big pots to some players who had less than $150 behind. one hand i pick up KK and raise it from the button to $25. one limper calls, a guy with $150 goes all in, i push and get him isolated. he flips Qd-Jd and catches a runner/runner flush.

i bleed chips trying to hit some flops then later i pick up AhKh and raise it up from the cutoff to $20 and get two callers. flop comes Qh-9h-x. one player checks, 2nd player pushes in $50 which is almost half his stack. i reraise to isolate and his pushes the rest in. he had 8-9o. so, he bet out almost half his stack with middle pair. i'm a 60% favorite to win. but, brick the turn and river. so, i finished the day down $85.

i was really happy with how i played the entire session. i made some good plays in LP and also got called all-in when i turned a boat against a guy who had trip Aces. his turn card gave him trips and completed my boat. i pushed on the turn cuz i knew he wouldn't be able to fold them. anyway, that's how i got my stack up to $450. but, then i gave it back to a coupla shorties. in both of those cases, i was a favorite. so, the results aren't great. but, i'm happy with my play. tomorrow i'll be online all day and friday, i'm heading to vegas for superbowl weekend to stack some donks. there's no better place to be for poker this weekend.

GL at the tables

going to Commerce Casino Wednesday...





just cuz i can

A day late....

i can't login to Mansion and i've been unregistered from today's 100k. apparently, they jumped on the bandwagon and won't serve U.S. customers. gg me

ok, so with the last $20 i had left in my Mansion account....

i played a $20 freezeout satellite to the 100k and won my seat into tomorrow's tournament (Tue @ 10am PST). this might be my last shot at it.

not a bad weekend at the tables

i took my usual stoopid beats in the Ocean's 11 tournaments on Sat and Sun. all-in preflop with A-To vs. 8-9o, he catches a boat. Sunday, my AJs gets out flopped by ATo (A-T-x flop).

the cash games were a different story. i played for about 6 hrs saturday and finished the day up $450. sunday i only played a few hrs. but, finished up $100. so, i turned a nice profit overall this weekend in live play.

friday night i played a $13 double-shootout into PokerStar's Sunday Million. their end of the month tourney is a $530 buy-in. i took down the double-shootout and sold the seat for $503 through pokernews.

my attitude toward satellites has changed. i don't play many cuz i'm trying to turn a profit. waking up every morning hoping to finish on the plus side is a bit of a strain. i even noticed my play had become a bit passive in the cash games.

i think i turned a corner this weekend.

btw, i finished 7th in the WPBT NLHE event. AA no good against KK all in preflop at the final table for a T$50k pot.

GL at the tables

a break even day is just ok

so, today went a little better. but, i wasn't able to win enuf to cover the tournament buy-in in the cash games for event #1.

shortly after sitting down, i pick up Ah-Ad raise it up to $20 and get two callers. flop comes King high with all diamonds. i bet out $40 and get reraised to $100. the other player in the hand just calls, i push and they both call (WTF??). turn pairs the board and another King hits the river. giving the guy who reraised me on the flop a full-house. he had AsKs (no diamonds). the other player said he flopped a flush. not sure i believe that or not. i reload and spent the rest of the day grinding back to finish almost even. i got over 8hrs of live play in.

there were some serious donk plays at my table. some guy donked his stack with AK betting the whole way against another guy who had pocket 8's on a Q-high board. no idea how either of them could get all their chips in there. later the AK guy donks another buy-in after betting his ass off on every street with pocket 9's on a K high board. i really didn't catch a hand i could dubble thru him with. we all took a deep sigh when he left. the room was filling fast with players donking out of the tournament shortly after it started. i really didn't want to leave. but, when 8pm rolled around, i called it a night.

Ryan stopped by my table before the tournament and during the dinner break. he seemed to be holding his own at the break. but, i just read that he busted with AK vs. KQ (standard). apparently, he's playing tomorrow's Limit tournament. so check his blog for regular updates.

i'm really enjoying live cash games. i probably won't be back out to Commerce until next week tho. i'll be at Ocean's 11 for their Sat and Sun morning tournaments. tomorrow i'll be online.

GL at the tables this weekend

Donkeypunched

i played six (6) $40 single table sng's, one (1) $120 single table sng satellites and came away with nada.

the structures are rediculous forcing players to push in with any two after the first couple of levels. in the $40 sng, you play for T$300 in tournament tokens and $30 cash, winner take all. there were two way chops made in some cases. you start with T500 in chips and 25/25 blinds at 15 min levels. this doesn't sound so bad at first glance. but, it is. you come out with a standard raise or call a raise and forced to fold, you're suddenly short-stacked and have to push to a standard raise. it wasn't uncommon to see one or two players go out on the first hand. then, you've got some guy with a "monster" stack compared to everyone elses. in the $120 sng, first pays T$1000 in tournament tokens and $80 cash. these were normally chopped 2 ways.

i finished 3rd in the first three $40 sng's i attempted. all three were on rediculous beats. the pinnacle was when my AA got cracked by the only player who could bust me. the third guy was a shorty. what was the hand that busted me?

2-4 off suit

no joke. i trap this guy with my monster on a flop of Q-2-9 rainbow. he pushes his entire stack into me from the BB after flopping bottom pair. i insta-call and flip my Aces. a raggedy ass four hits the turn and i'm done. he took the other player out on the very next hand. that hand started my downward spiral.

i witnessed more rediculous donkery today than you could possibly imagine. today was the first time i've ever left a casino with a knot in my stomach. to see our game butchered to that extent was just sickening.

so, i spent almost $400 in satellites and don't have a seat locked up for tomorrow's event. i spent all day making good decisions and playing smart. but, it just didn't matter.

i'm not giving in to those sick bastards just yet. i've got a different plan of attack tomorrow. i'm heading straight to the cash games, leaving the donkified satellite structure to the sorry sac luckboxes they're tailored for. if i win enough for my tournament buy-in, i'm playing. if not, i'm coming on home to spend the evening with Elf and our little donkey.

i'm off to Commerce today to satellite into thursday's LA Poker Classic Event #1 and play some cash games. the cash games at Ocean's 11 are much tougher. i've always done well at Commerce and i enjoy live poker much more than online. not looking forward to the traffic tho.

playing the Mansion 100k today @ 1pm EST

i just won my seat a few minutes ago thru their $20 turbo (4 min levels). custom tailored for push monkeys like me.

i almost bubbled. but, picked up AKsooted just in time. they don't accept deposits from US customers anymore. so, i can only satellite in now. wish me luck.

EDIT: well that didn't work out. just after the first break, i've got T1700 in chips after i get through one orbit and pick up TT. sum guy in the BB wakes up with JJ. gg me

Live Action

i played a TON of live poker this weekend (Fri, Sat & Sun) at Ocean's 11. i donated in their Sat and Sun morning tournaments. ran KK into AA all-in preflop to get knocked out of Saturday's tournament in the first 15 min. then i went on to play cash games and finished the day ahead $200 playing 300 NL (2/3 blinds). i won a $700 pot with 4-6 off suit.

i limped from the button after a bunch of limpers with 4-6o. i like to do this a lot in late position hoping to hit a big flop or to attempt a steal on a scary board or a ragged flop. the flop comes:

4-6-10 rainbow

everyone checks to me, i bet out $40 and two guys call. the turn brings a 9. they both check so i check. i'm a little worried about someone sitting on 9-10. remember, this is a limped pot. the river brings a 6 and all hell breaks loose. a guy in the SB bets out $100 and the other player moves all his chips in. i'm not about to fold a full house. unless someones got pocket tens or pocket nines, i'm good. there was no raise before the flop so i'm pretty sure i'm gold. before i go all in, i say "well, i caught two pair on the river" and contemplate for some time before i push all in. hoping the SB will think his hand is good and call. he thinks for a looooong time and finally folds. i flip over my boat and the other guy mucks after seeing my full house. i think he had Ace-Ten.

in sunday morning's tournament, i get into a bad spot early and lose about half my chips with Ace-Ten vs. Ace-9 sooted. An Ace hit the flop and a nine came on the turn. i raised preflop and bet the flop. he called both times. then, pushed on the turn. so, i had to fold. i make it to the first break after taking down a couple of pots. one with a push preflop with JJ after a bunch of limpers. the other pot i took down from the button after i whiffed the flop with Qd-Td.

we come back after the first break and i have T1900 with the blinds at 100/200 w/25 ante. i start off in the BB and have to fold to a preflop raiser. then, i pick up AJo in the SB and push when the button raises after everyone folds to him. he calls and flips 9d-Td. the flop brinds K-J-X. so i'm way ahead there and just need to dodge a Queen. a Q hits the river and i'm out.

i head to the cash games and win a nice pot early on with 8-9 sooted after i turn a straight and push. some donk calls my all-in with a pair and an OESD. i dodge an Ace that woulda given him a broadway straight and take down a $500 pot. from there, i just bleed chips back down to my original $300 buy-in. then i get involved in a HUGE pot.

there was a lot of LP raising when there were limpers ahead. especially from some lucksac when he was on the button. i pick up QQ UTG+1 and limp. some guy raises to $20, three guys call including lucksac on the button and i push all-in preflop. I KNOW i've got the best hand. everyone folds to lucksac who say's "this pots to big i gotta call". so i know i'm ahead. he tells another player he has pocket Jacks and another guy says he folded a Jack. i'm feelin' pretty good about my play at this point. the flop brings rags. i said, "i'll flip mine if you show yours". he agrees and sure enuf he has pocket Jacks. just then, the dealer pulls a Jack on the turn and i lose my whole stack to a one-outer.

i reload and stick around a few more hrs. but, i'm not able to recover and end the day down a buy-in plus my tournament fee.

Ocean's 11 has a promo this year where they pay out $5000 if you play 1000 hrs. $2500 for 800 hrs and so on. so, i'm trying to log as many live hrs i can there. 1000 hrs is a lot tho. last week i got in about 30 hrs of live cash game play. at that rate, it'll take over 30 wks to get in 1000 hrs. we'll see how many hrs i can get. 1000 is a lot.

even tho i've been unlucky a few times, i'm really enjoying the live games.

anotha final table finish

apparently, i'm gonna have a lotta free time for poker....

after 9 years of employment, yesterday i got my walking papers. i also got a nice severance package and an annual bonus check coming in March. so, financially, i'll be ok for some time.

i'm planning to take some time off to study, play and hopefully score some nice tournament cashes. i'm going to play a lot more live games. luckily, i've got several poker rooms within an hour's drive and vegas is only a 4.5 hr drive from us. the LA Poker Classic at Commerce Casino is right around the corner. the first event is next Thursday, January 25th.

it's all good.

another bad beat story....

the Chargers had the game in hand. ahead 21-13 with just over 6 minutes to go in the 4th quarter and the Patriots on 4th down, Marlon McCree broke in front of Troy Brown and made the Chargers' third interception of the game.

Shortly after making his interception, McCree was tackled by Brown and

– incredibly, amazingly, unforgivably – he lost the football. OMFG !!!

Reche Caldwell recovered at the Chargers 32, and five plays later the Patriots tied the score on a touchdown pass to Caldwell and a two-point conversion run by Kevin Faulk. WTF !?!!

our defense also was unable to prevent a late field goal drive by New England, the Patriots advanced to the AFC Championship Game.

the Chargers held the lead for most of the game.

then a 49-yard pass from Brady to Caldwell, the former Charger, got them within field goal range. The Patriots were content at the end to drain time and set up Stephen Gostkowski's 31-yard field goal with 1:10 remaining.

The Chargers took over at our own 25 with no timeouts remaining. We moved efficiently to New England's 36, but with just eight seconds remaining and no way to stop the clock, Schottenheimer sent out Kaeding.

Said Kaeding: “I just didn't have enough on it.”

we held the Patriots to 51 yards rushing, picked off Brady for 3 interceptions and our season is over.

the Patriots are in SD this Sunday to hand the torch off to
NFL's newest dynasty







we'll be at Qualcomm approx noon o' clock Sunday for extreme tailgating before the big game














after time expires in the fourth quarter......
















we'll be heading to the AFC Championship next Sunday

Frush over Frush

what are the odds of flopping a flush against another player's flopped flush? it's 118:1 to flop a flush. less than a 1% chance to flop one. running into another player's higher flopped flush?

WTF

this happened to me each of the last two night's in the blogger-rific 200 NL cash game.

both times, i either limped or called a standard raise preflop with a sooted connector (6d-7d and 9s-Ts), flopped a flush and lost to a higher flopped flush. i just don't think it can happen often enough to insta-fold it to aggression. obv anything can happen. but, set over set seems more likely to me.

what are the odds? anyone know?

well that blew....

I gotta go with Elf's team tonight!





Single Bet Details (reference #62746162)

Ohio State -7½ (-105) Risked $220.00 to win $209.52
Football - College Lines BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Mon@8:00p EST
The game will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium - Glendale, AZ

...and for you Dallas fans

Two final table finishes and a decent run in Full Tilt’s 400k

I went down to Ocean’s 11 Saturday morning to play their $65 freezeout tournament. I was looking forward to this tournament all week. I used to play it every saturday. But, for some reason or another, it’s been a while.

The tournament starts with 154 players and after 4hrs of hand for hand combat I make the final table and finish 7th with the best starting hand I saw all day..... J-J.

Sitting on 20k in chips with blinds at 4k/8k, everyone folds to me in the SB, I look down at JJ and insta-push. Player in the BB asks me if I looked at my cards yet. I say “nope”. He calls with 6-6 and says “you lied” when I flip ‘em over.

Flop brings a 6 and another 6 hits the river

DQB

So JJ is not ok and I finish 7th for $360. after another player busted, they chop it 5 ways for $1350 each.

Bah!

Sunday I played one of my favorite token tourneys on Full Tilt, the 2pm (EST) $26 double-stack. It starts with 910 players. 1st place plays 5k. After about 4hrs, I come into the final table 3rd in chips. Some players drop out. As expected, lots of stealing going on. Usually a push or big raise/reraise preflop takes it down. I pick up Ah-Th UTG push and get a caller with 8-8. I miss and die in 5th for a $1385 cash. If I win that coin flip I got a real shot at taking that down. Thanks to all who railed me. the sideline support really helps.

I played the Stars million and never really got much going. I died some time before the 2nd break.

I won a seat into Full Tilt’s 400k Guaranteed thru their $50 super satellite. This satellite is awesome. Almost a quarter of the field gets in. I won my seat into the $50 super satellite through a $7.60 single table satellite. Ya I’m a cheap ass.

The 400k starts with 2,576 players. I run my stack up to about 6k before the first break. Then lose some stoopid races to a couple of shortys which, takes me down to shorty status. Then, I go on a mad rush of cards and run my stack over 20k and hold that for quite some time. Bouncing between 20-30k. they move a big stack to my table who’s stealing like mad. I look for a hand I can resteal with. A-J comes up and big stack makes his standard steal move. I push and he insta-calls with AQo. Flop brings K-T-T. so I need a Q to double up. Instead a J hits the river and I die in 194th for $400 cash. I guess I coulda waited for a better spot.

Overall I’m happy with how I played this weekend. I cashed over $2k in live/online play.

our sick game of incomplete information...

you've heard it many times before. poker is a game of incomplete information. you bet or raise to see how you opponent reacts. every hand really does tell a story.

ABC players will telegraph their hands by betting or raising to protect their hand. trickier players won't. they'll bet or raise on draws and call or sometimes bet/raise their monsters. they will reraise your bets to see if you really got them beat. in either case the best hand will still win. but, aggression plays a huge factor. especially, when leading the betting in late position. but, this is where you can get trapped if your table image is that of an aggressive player. it's difficult for opponents to put you on a hand when you're betting and raising alot. this is still a big advantage and ABC players will fold marginal hands to your aggression. but, trickier players will just call and try to bet you off with scare cards or trap you with their monsters.

aggressive play can be a slippery slope.

every situation is different. knowing how your opponent plays or what they're capable of is one of the most critical components IMO. everyone bluffs. some players bluff more than others. in some cases, a player will play any two like AA in LP. LAG's are the toughest to play against.

sure, you can sit back and hope to catch a monster pocket pair. but, a smart LAG player is well aware of this. you might pick up a few pots camping on the sideline. but, you won't pick up a big pot from a smart LAG whose paying attention to the action. on the other hand, you WILL go busto against a LAG with your AA/KK/QQ. because, you'll have a tendency to overplay your big pocket pair against him. this is how smart LAG play can be profitable.

exploiting your table image is also a good way to pick up chips. you play tight during the first rounds of an MTT. then, open up starting hand requirements and aggression as blinds go up. it's ABC tournament play.

a good demonstration of really exploiting your table image happened at the last DADI blogger tournament. Jordan and Gary swapped accounts and played the DADI. we're all well aware of Gary's uber-tightness. Jordan took full advantage of Gary's table image and took down the DADI tournament.

some people were upset at this. but, it didn't bother me one bit. any one of us can take our current table image, throw it out the window and switch up our playing style at anytime. in fact, this is what makes a good player, the ability to switch gears.

you don't want to be predictable in your play. switching gears from tight to LAG and opening up your game makes you a difficult opponent to play against. here's a simple example of this, think about how many times you've open raised UTG to take down the blinds. then, the very next hand every folds to you in the BB. it's a good way to pick up chips late in an MTT. raising in EP shows tremendous strength to the rest of the table and the next hand your last to act preflop from the BB. the funny thing is, you probably actually had a strong hand. try this with a marginal hand if you've been playing very few hands up to that point.

some key points:
pay close attention to what other players are doing at the table
don't play ABC poker
exploit your table image
don't play a big pot without a big hand unless you've got a strong read on your opponent
if you're not sure where you are in a hand, just fold and wait for a better spot

Good luck at the tables this weekend!

Playing marginal hands aggressively

No surprises here. Playing marginal hands can get tricky. Especially, late in an MTT.

I'm finding myself going out of most tournaments one of two ways lately. I play a marginal hand such as, middle pocket pairs, A-x, K-x, Q-x, J-T too aggressively and get myself knocked out or i take a bad beat.

Here's an example of how i got knocked out of the 2pm DS Tournament a couple of weeks ago. We're down to 12 players, i'm 5th in chips. i pick up 5-5 in middle position and raise it up 3x. A big stack just to my left minreraises. Normally, this sets off alarm bells for me. But, late in tournaments this is a tricky steal move big stacks will play. I call, flop comes 9-high and i insta-push (donk move). He calls with KK and i'm out 12th. i could've waited for a better spot and cruised into the final table.

I'm better off just calling the minreraise there hoping to hit my set and check fold if i miss.

I also get knocked out defending my blind or in a battle of the blinds often. Ex: i have a stack slightly below avg with some folding equity. everyone folds to the button who just limps. SB folds, i raise with K-To hoping to take it down there. Button calls and flop comes K high. I bet, he raises (huh?!?!). this play totally confused me. i thought he was trying to steal so i pushed. he calls with A-K. very tricky play on his part. i've NEVER limped on the button with AK. just another thing for me to watch out for.

i don't mention all the times i'm right when i come over the top of a steal move to take down a pot. but, i do collect a fair amount of chips restealing. there lies my dilemma.

when do i know a player is trying to steal and when can i tell if he's got a real hand?

that's the million dollar question. it comes down to knowing your opponent. the difficult thing is I don't get to play all the same opponents over and over in MTT's. i see some familiar faces (avatars). but, generally i'm at a table with mostly unknowns.

this is where the amt i'm betting becomes crucial. bet exactly the right amount to apply enough pressure to my opponent without committing myself to the pot. again, this can be very tricky. if i'm trying to protect a vulnerable hand. i have to bet more than the pot to prevent odds to draw. sometimes, this is an auto-push. if i overbet the pot, i'm going to be committed anyway. might as well push. but, is this the right tactic? it depends.

what if my opponent has no draw. but, maybe TPTK? don't i want him to stay in the hand? this is where 1/2 pot sized bets make sense. sometimes these bets, will get me the info i need. but, not if they just call. a floater will come over the top on a scary river card. again it comes down to knowing your opponent. is he capable of that type of move?

information is critical.

Next Sunday's Stars Million and Warm-up....

yesterday, i won two seats to the Stars Million thru an $11 double-shootout and $11 rebuy MTT. i'm registered for both the Sunday warm-up at 12:45pm EST and the Sunday Million at 4:30pm EST this Sunday Jan 7th. i might unregister from the warmup and play the 2nd chance instead (6:30pm EST) depending on the size of the field in the warm-up. i believe the 2nd chance has a smaller field and might have more donks and tilted players who got knocked out of the Sunday million.

tonight is the WWdN: Love_Elf 2nd chance invitational on Stars (EDIT: 10:3opm EST).
Tina took Wil Wheaton out of last week's WWdN: west coast funnies tournament and was excited to know she gets this week's tourney named after her. stop by and play if you can.

the WWdN: tourney password is: monkey