So March didn't finish up as well as I'd hoped it would. A few days ago I was looking at easily making my hours goal and possibly posting a second 5 figure month in a row. After coming down with a nasty head cold, taking a day off, and getting slobberknocked in my last two sessions, the numbers were a lot more "in range". Here goes:
Hours played above 15/30: 160.25
Dollars won: ~$6900
I failed to get my hours in, and I failed to take enough days off. For this month, I'm going to try again:
24 days of poker
7 hours per day
Today was just miserable. I managed to get stuck over 3 racks in my first 90 minutes at Garden City, and eventually was down 2300 before a little bit of luck towards the end let me leave down only 3 figures for the day. Early in the session a guy I've never seen before flopped 3 double digit outters against me in a row. Like so:
I raise QQ and he cold calls with Q9dd. The flop is KJ4 with two diamonds. He donks the flop and I raise and he 3-bets and I just know he has a diamond draw but I only call. The turn is a Ten, so he gets there, and I just call him down (note that I'm open ended there, too). Then a few hands later I have AK and and he calls again with T8dd. This time he flops the best hand with a monster redraw on the 8-high board with two diamonds. Someone else flops a better 8, though, so I only spend $40 figuring this one out. Shortly after that I raise black 9s and he again calls with two diamonds, this time 5-high. He flops an open-ended straight flush draw (and of course the board is all below my 9s) and again makes the straight so I have to pay him off. Then I got asshole carded like so:
I raise AQ with the ace of diamonds and get 3-bet by a young pro-ish taggy guy. He's good enough to 3-bet with some pretty low pairs. A 3rd guy comes along, and I almost actually cap preflop but decide against it. Big fail on my part, there....The flop comes King high with two diamonds and I call one time getting like 11:1 or something preposterous like that. The turn pairs the King and he bets again and again we both call, the other guy because he has two cards, me because I now have 4-diamonds. The river is the 9 of diamonds, which would be great if he didn't have pocket nines. $80 later, my hand hits the muck.
So in closing, I can't really complain about the month and am looking forward to a fresh start for April.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
He's On Fire!!!!
Everybody remember NBA Jam, where if you made two shots in a row you were "heating up" and once you made three you were "On Fire"? Well I'm officially En Fuego right now. I took Thursday "off" to take care of some stuff around my apartment and get my oil changed (my car was a last minute relief pitcher on our trip to LA last weekend, so bonus 1000 miles). So I drove up to San Bruno, dropped my car off at Melody Toyota, gave them the coupon they emailed me, and diligently walked over to Artichoke Joe's. After 30 minutes of 6/12 I was up about $300, and 60 minutes of 15/30 netted me another rack of $5 chips, for an off day profit of just under $800. Nice hand indeed.
Yesterday I played at Bay 101 at one of the most epic 20/40 tables I have ever seen. There were 3 solid players and 6 awful ones. I played this hand, which ends by me 3-betting the flop, getting capped, turning two pair, leading out and getting called down in multiple spots all the way to river and dragging a nearly 2 rack pot. In another hand in which the same villain open raised and another 6 players called two bets cold, I called with T7o in the big blind and watched the flop come down:
986r
That's right, I have the nuts. Some action went in on the flop, and by the turn I still had the nuts and bet again. The river brough an Ace, keeping my nuts intact, and the crazy asian lag (mentioned in the two plus two post) went 5 bets with me with Aces up. I probably go 4+ bets on a big street every 6 weeks or so. Yesterday, I did it 3 times in 45 minutes. Another crazy asian guy went 6 bets with me on the river when he made Aces full of Eights (against my nut Aces full of Kings), and I managed to get 4 bets in on the turn with 33 on a KK3-8 board (after also getting in 4 bets on the flop). Fortunately the river was neither an Ace, King, nor Eight and my full house held up. All in all, it was a good day. At one point I was up over 4 racks, but finished the day up only 2.5 thanks to virtual parade of 2 outters that rained down on my over the last 60 minutes.
Today was more of the same. I went to Garden City and the following sequence took place:
4 limpers to me on the button and I raise AT of clubs. Everyone calls. The flop is something like 875 with two clubs, and I managed to get it capped 5 ways. The turn is a Ten, giving me top pair, which is pretty far from good at this point, and the guy with 96 (for the flopped straight) check/raises the table. 10 big bets go in from 5 players. The river is a beautiful Jack of Clubs, and 3 players call me. As I'm attempting to get the avalanche of chips I've just acquired under control, I peek down to find a nice pair of ones in the hole. I raise and get some callers (fewer than usual...perhaps only 3), then flop top set. Someone bets, someone calls, I raise, and they both call. The turn is no help to either of them (although a straight is now possible) and they both call again. The river pairs the 9 on board, giving me aces full, and the flop donker donks again. The poor sap caught in between calls, and I of course raise with my second nut (only quad nines can beat me and he ain't got that...trip nines sure, but not quads), and get called. I still have probably $500 in chips strewn in front of me, which the dealer now more than doubles. I finish the day up a healthy 3 racks, confident again in my opinion that I am some varietal of awesome (either awesomely good, or, more likley, just awesomely lucky).
I have 3 days left in the month and need about 18 hour to reach the goal I set for myself 4 weeks ago. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but I've got a bit of a cold and have been cutting my sessions short because of it.
Yesterday I played at Bay 101 at one of the most epic 20/40 tables I have ever seen. There were 3 solid players and 6 awful ones. I played this hand, which ends by me 3-betting the flop, getting capped, turning two pair, leading out and getting called down in multiple spots all the way to river and dragging a nearly 2 rack pot. In another hand in which the same villain open raised and another 6 players called two bets cold, I called with T7o in the big blind and watched the flop come down:
986r
That's right, I have the nuts. Some action went in on the flop, and by the turn I still had the nuts and bet again. The river brough an Ace, keeping my nuts intact, and the crazy asian lag (mentioned in the two plus two post) went 5 bets with me with Aces up. I probably go 4+ bets on a big street every 6 weeks or so. Yesterday, I did it 3 times in 45 minutes. Another crazy asian guy went 6 bets with me on the river when he made Aces full of Eights (against my nut Aces full of Kings), and I managed to get 4 bets in on the turn with 33 on a KK3-8 board (after also getting in 4 bets on the flop). Fortunately the river was neither an Ace, King, nor Eight and my full house held up. All in all, it was a good day. At one point I was up over 4 racks, but finished the day up only 2.5 thanks to virtual parade of 2 outters that rained down on my over the last 60 minutes.
Today was more of the same. I went to Garden City and the following sequence took place:
4 limpers to me on the button and I raise AT of clubs. Everyone calls. The flop is something like 875 with two clubs, and I managed to get it capped 5 ways. The turn is a Ten, giving me top pair, which is pretty far from good at this point, and the guy with 96 (for the flopped straight) check/raises the table. 10 big bets go in from 5 players. The river is a beautiful Jack of Clubs, and 3 players call me. As I'm attempting to get the avalanche of chips I've just acquired under control, I peek down to find a nice pair of ones in the hole. I raise and get some callers (fewer than usual...perhaps only 3), then flop top set. Someone bets, someone calls, I raise, and they both call. The turn is no help to either of them (although a straight is now possible) and they both call again. The river pairs the 9 on board, giving me aces full, and the flop donker donks again. The poor sap caught in between calls, and I of course raise with my second nut (only quad nines can beat me and he ain't got that...trip nines sure, but not quads), and get called. I still have probably $500 in chips strewn in front of me, which the dealer now more than doubles. I finish the day up a healthy 3 racks, confident again in my opinion that I am some varietal of awesome (either awesomely good, or, more likley, just awesomely lucky).
I have 3 days left in the month and need about 18 hour to reach the goal I set for myself 4 weeks ago. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but I've got a bit of a cold and have been cutting my sessions short because of it.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Random Stuff
I haven't been in the mood to write lately. Last night I tried to type something out, then realized that anything I said was going to be not interesting and promptly gave up. The last few days just haven't been much fun.....
I spent the weekend in LA visiting Danielle's family and, specifically, attending her great-grandmother's 95th birthday party. The woman still has two volunteer positions (and siblings) and drives on the freeway. Pretty incredible, if you ask me. Because of her Danielle is convinced she needs $4,000,000 before she can retire. It's tough when you enter things into the calculator like "I want to retire at age 65" and "I plan to live to be 115."
Since my return Sunday night, however, poker has been one giant KITN after another. Sunday night I played about 3 hours at Bay 101 and lost 700. Monday I went to the Oaks to attempt to play 30/60, found myself in an awesome game for about 2 hours, during which I lost a rack of $10 chips, then eventually ended up 7 handed in the worst mid stakes lineup I've ever seen (with Mitch L and bdaddy from TwoPlusTwo, one other guy Mitch didn't seem to think was retarded, and a regular who cashed deep in the shooting star last week). The game promptly broke, as 4 of us are sitting there looking at each other like "Um, yeah, so...."
I did manage to get bluffed off the best hand by a tilt-monkey in 15/30. To wit....
I limp 97ss in EP. The last three hands have been 5, 7, and 5 handed for 2, 1, and 1 bets respectively.
Some how I end up heads up against the lowjack. He's white, disheveled, maybe 40 years old....
972
Not bad. I check to raise. He checks to check.
Q, putting up two spades (you'll note I also have 2 apades)
I bet to 3-bet. He raises to raise. I 3-bet to own his soul. He calls.
Q
Christage. I check and fold, as my hand has been reduced to a pair of 9s, no kicker. I don't even beat T9, not to mention all the Queens this guy has, or AA, KK, JJ, or TT. He tables 55. I cry.
Then yesterday at Bay 101 I played horribly, got bluffed off the winner like 15 times, got stuck 3 racks, and then somehow went on a heater in the last 45 minutes to leave up 200. God Damn miracle if you ask me. Today was more ball busting, with me breaking even for 7.5 hours, then promtply losing 2 racks in 90 minutes to go home a big loser. When you run bad, you start to play bad, and when I play bad, I get frustrated. When I get frustrated, I get angry, and when I'm angry, I end up questioning every betting decision I make, even the super simple ones. I go on this weird form of tilt where I look for reasons to fold the best hand, which is just stupid. Yesterday I think I actually quelled my insano-monkey tilt, even after the following hand:
Pete open raises in late position. I 3-bet red jacks. RU the floorman calls from the big blind and Pete caps. I know Pete caps light here, both for deception and value, as he has RU crushed. The flop is:
Ts 7c 5c
RU checks, Pete bets, I raise, RU calls, Pete calls.
Tc
You'll note this is the worst card in the deck. RU donk bets, Pete calls, and I fold like an idiot. The hand goes to showdown, with one more bet on the river, and Pete shows Ac Qd for...Ace-High. And the win. I was beside myself after this one, but managed to pull it together and start playing "good" again. I think it was a pretty important day in my poker career, as I managed to untilt, something that in the past has been really hard for me to do.
I also probably have some new readers, as I've been listed on two blog rolls in the last week. First, I'm on the Slice of MIT blogroll. I bet I don't stand out too much at all there....and second, Tommy Angelo has linked me from his blog (I managed to have lunch with the man last week, and have to say, he's one cool dude). So to anyone reading for the first time, nice to meet you.
Finally, I have a shout out to make. My friend Gregor, whom I met at MIT, works for Terrafugia. To make a long story, they built a flying car (more specifically, a street legal airplane) that just completed it's first test flight this month. Anybody with an engineering bone in their body has to take a look at this thing; It's awesome :)
I spent the weekend in LA visiting Danielle's family and, specifically, attending her great-grandmother's 95th birthday party. The woman still has two volunteer positions (and siblings) and drives on the freeway. Pretty incredible, if you ask me. Because of her Danielle is convinced she needs $4,000,000 before she can retire. It's tough when you enter things into the calculator like "I want to retire at age 65" and "I plan to live to be 115."
Since my return Sunday night, however, poker has been one giant KITN after another. Sunday night I played about 3 hours at Bay 101 and lost 700. Monday I went to the Oaks to attempt to play 30/60, found myself in an awesome game for about 2 hours, during which I lost a rack of $10 chips, then eventually ended up 7 handed in the worst mid stakes lineup I've ever seen (with Mitch L and bdaddy from TwoPlusTwo, one other guy Mitch didn't seem to think was retarded, and a regular who cashed deep in the shooting star last week). The game promptly broke, as 4 of us are sitting there looking at each other like "Um, yeah, so...."
I did manage to get bluffed off the best hand by a tilt-monkey in 15/30. To wit....
I limp 97ss in EP. The last three hands have been 5, 7, and 5 handed for 2, 1, and 1 bets respectively.
Some how I end up heads up against the lowjack. He's white, disheveled, maybe 40 years old....
972
Not bad. I check to raise. He checks to check.
Q, putting up two spades (you'll note I also have 2 apades)
I bet to 3-bet. He raises to raise. I 3-bet to own his soul. He calls.
Q
Christage. I check and fold, as my hand has been reduced to a pair of 9s, no kicker. I don't even beat T9, not to mention all the Queens this guy has, or AA, KK, JJ, or TT. He tables 55. I cry.
Then yesterday at Bay 101 I played horribly, got bluffed off the winner like 15 times, got stuck 3 racks, and then somehow went on a heater in the last 45 minutes to leave up 200. God Damn miracle if you ask me. Today was more ball busting, with me breaking even for 7.5 hours, then promtply losing 2 racks in 90 minutes to go home a big loser. When you run bad, you start to play bad, and when I play bad, I get frustrated. When I get frustrated, I get angry, and when I'm angry, I end up questioning every betting decision I make, even the super simple ones. I go on this weird form of tilt where I look for reasons to fold the best hand, which is just stupid. Yesterday I think I actually quelled my insano-monkey tilt, even after the following hand:
Pete open raises in late position. I 3-bet red jacks. RU the floorman calls from the big blind and Pete caps. I know Pete caps light here, both for deception and value, as he has RU crushed. The flop is:
Ts 7c 5c
RU checks, Pete bets, I raise, RU calls, Pete calls.
Tc
You'll note this is the worst card in the deck. RU donk bets, Pete calls, and I fold like an idiot. The hand goes to showdown, with one more bet on the river, and Pete shows Ac Qd for...Ace-High. And the win. I was beside myself after this one, but managed to pull it together and start playing "good" again. I think it was a pretty important day in my poker career, as I managed to untilt, something that in the past has been really hard for me to do.
I also probably have some new readers, as I've been listed on two blog rolls in the last week. First, I'm on the Slice of MIT blogroll. I bet I don't stand out too much at all there....and second, Tommy Angelo has linked me from his blog (I managed to have lunch with the man last week, and have to say, he's one cool dude). So to anyone reading for the first time, nice to meet you.
Finally, I have a shout out to make. My friend Gregor, whom I met at MIT, works for Terrafugia. To make a long story, they built a flying car (more specifically, a street legal airplane) that just completed it's first test flight this month. Anybody with an engineering bone in their body has to take a look at this thing; It's awesome :)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Thank You For the Action, Sir
Whenever you take a bad beat, where your opponent drew out on you with incorrect (or impossibly incorrect) odds, it's best to say to yourself (or even sometimes out loud) "Thank you for the action, sir". Today, I had such a hand.
I'm playing 30/60 at The Oaks and see a flop from the big blind with KQo. 4 players had limped, and the small blind had completed. This is kind of close to a raise actually, but that's not really the point. The point is that the flop came down:
Q32 rainbow
In terms of flopping 1 pair, that's about as good as they come. The small blind checks and I bet, expecting to get maybe one call or something like that, but hoping to get raised by a worse queen. Instead, 3 of my 5 opponents push the call button. Instantly my "set radar" starts to go off. I mean, there are only 2 queens left in the deck. What on earth are these people drawing at? Something like two cards 4-6 makes sense, but otherwise....what on Earth do they have? Usually I'd get raised by top pair....I'm a bit confused, but short on time, as the dealer is burning and turning:
Q32-7 of the fourth suit
The small blind checks and I have no recourse but to bet. One guy does fold, but another opponent calls, and the small blind calls again. Now I'm totally confused. This makes no sense.
Q32-7-A
Ouch. The small blind checks. He's an old man without a tricky bone in his body, so I'm thinking I'm safe by him. The ace is a terrible card, but I realize that if I check and the guy behind me bets, I'm gonna have to call anyway (he's laggy and bluffy and all sorts of crazy). So I bet, probably incorrectly. The laggy bluffy guy calls, saying "I should raise you" and then the small blind....calls. Now at this point I know I'm beat and practically fast-fold my hand, but the small blind tables his cards before I have the chance:
A7s
I fold. Bluffy guy tables:
A7s
All I can muster is "Thank you for the action, sirs"
I'm playing 30/60 at The Oaks and see a flop from the big blind with KQo. 4 players had limped, and the small blind had completed. This is kind of close to a raise actually, but that's not really the point. The point is that the flop came down:
Q32 rainbow
In terms of flopping 1 pair, that's about as good as they come. The small blind checks and I bet, expecting to get maybe one call or something like that, but hoping to get raised by a worse queen. Instead, 3 of my 5 opponents push the call button. Instantly my "set radar" starts to go off. I mean, there are only 2 queens left in the deck. What on earth are these people drawing at? Something like two cards 4-6 makes sense, but otherwise....what on Earth do they have? Usually I'd get raised by top pair....I'm a bit confused, but short on time, as the dealer is burning and turning:
Q32-7 of the fourth suit
The small blind checks and I have no recourse but to bet. One guy does fold, but another opponent calls, and the small blind calls again. Now I'm totally confused. This makes no sense.
Q32-7-A
Ouch. The small blind checks. He's an old man without a tricky bone in his body, so I'm thinking I'm safe by him. The ace is a terrible card, but I realize that if I check and the guy behind me bets, I'm gonna have to call anyway (he's laggy and bluffy and all sorts of crazy). So I bet, probably incorrectly. The laggy bluffy guy calls, saying "I should raise you" and then the small blind....calls. Now at this point I know I'm beat and practically fast-fold my hand, but the small blind tables his cards before I have the chance:
A7s
I fold. Bluffy guy tables:
A7s
All I can muster is "Thank you for the action, sirs"
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Omaha Buttons
So is everyone familiar with "Overs Buttons"? For those who aren't, the idea is as follows. Suppose the biggest limit hold 'em game your casino offers is 20/40. They just can't spread anything higher, as they don't have enough interest. They do, however, have some people that want to play higher than that. Just not enough for a full game. What to do what to do? Offer "Overs Buttons". Everyone at the table has the option of having such a button. If any betting round, other than preflop, starts with only players with buttons, the stakes increase (by either 50 or 100 percent). In the case of Garden City, if no 40/80 game is going, overs are allowed in the 20/40 game, and when they "kick in" the game goes to 30/60. I won't go into the strategy of play with overs buttons here. The point of this post is to propose a new home game with....
Omaha Buttons
The idea is a simple extension (bastardization?) of Overs Buttons. If any street, other than preflop, starts with only players who have Omaha Buttons, everyone is dealt two more cards and the game changes to Omaha High (perhaps you could even try Omaha Hi-Lo, but I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader).
"But wait" said the astute reader. "This is such a great idea, everyone will want an Omaha Button. Then you'll just be playing this weird game where everyone gets 2 more cards after the flop. That's lame!"
Never fear, dear reader. In your 8-handed home game, simply make only 4 buttons available. Draw for them at the start, then obey the following rule. Any time a hand is shown down, if the loser has an Omaha Button and the winner does not, the winner has the option of taking the loser's Omaha Button. This also ensures that at some point in the evening a river fold will be made with the following commentary:
"Well, I think this is pretty close, but I didn't want to give up my Omaha Button, so I'll let you have it."
Pete points out that you could have any number of buttons introduced into the game. 6th Street Buttons, for example, would be a fantastic idea. Next time you spread a home game, give it a try. I bet you won't be disapointed :)
Omaha Buttons
The idea is a simple extension (bastardization?) of Overs Buttons. If any street, other than preflop, starts with only players who have Omaha Buttons, everyone is dealt two more cards and the game changes to Omaha High (perhaps you could even try Omaha Hi-Lo, but I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader).
"But wait" said the astute reader. "This is such a great idea, everyone will want an Omaha Button. Then you'll just be playing this weird game where everyone gets 2 more cards after the flop. That's lame!"
Never fear, dear reader. In your 8-handed home game, simply make only 4 buttons available. Draw for them at the start, then obey the following rule. Any time a hand is shown down, if the loser has an Omaha Button and the winner does not, the winner has the option of taking the loser's Omaha Button. This also ensures that at some point in the evening a river fold will be made with the following commentary:
"Well, I think this is pretty close, but I didn't want to give up my Omaha Button, so I'll let you have it."
Pete points out that you could have any number of buttons introduced into the game. 6th Street Buttons, for example, would be a fantastic idea. Next time you spread a home game, give it a try. I bet you won't be disapointed :)
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