No-Limp Poker

Lose Weight In Six Easy Steps

2007-10-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

I have a new use for poker. Basically, it goes like this:

1) Log onto Pokerstars or Bodog

2) Open favorite cash game table

3) Get a bunch of money in the pot with donkey drawing thin

4) Get sucked out

5) Get really pissed off

6) Immediately start working out

Last Shorter Bet Anyone?

2007-10-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 2283459

"I had implied odds"

2007-08-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

I'm playing a lot more NLHE ring now and frankly, I don't know why I didn't focus on this game a couple years ago. You can punish the fish faster in this game than any other.

At my last live 1/2 ring game, there were at least 4 super fish that thought that they were good. Check out this play by one of them who I'll call NY:

UTG raises to $10 and NY re-raises to $40 in MP with about $400 behind. Then, a very tight player makes it $80 in LP with $120 behind. All fold and MP calls. The flop is rags and MP check-folds.

NY is sitting directly to my right and begins to explain his thinking to me quietly. "See, I had 99 there and I called the $40 knowing that if I hit a set I'd take his whole stack, so I had implied odds."

I just nodded my head up and down. You certainly don't want to educate players at the table. He had implied odds alright, but they sucked. He's calling $40 to potentially win $120 so he's only getting 3 to 1. I think a good rule of thumb is that you need at least 10 to 1 implied odds. Of course, don't re-raise with 99 like that, just call and try to flop a set.

Live Poker is a Savior!

2007-07-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

The cure for my bad run was live poker, in particular the 1/2 NLHE game with a $50-$300 buy-in at Ameristar. I won a couple of $100+ pots with top two pair and a set of 6's and did a nice job of avoiding marginal situations in smallish pots. For example:

I limp AsTs UTG and 7 players see a AxJs2s flop. I check with the intention of check-raising, but MP bets the pot and then the tightest player at the table raises what I know has to be a set of 2's so I let it go.

There are 5 limpers and I check my option in BB with ATo. The flop comes Ts8s4x and I probably should have bet out but I check-folded to some heavy action.

I lost a total of $4 on those two hands.

Then, I raise red tens to $10 UTG and get 2 callers directly to the left of me. The flop is 988r and I bet $30. UTG+1 calls and UTG+2 folds. Alarm bells go off in my head and I check the 5h on the turn. He bets $40 into the $90 pot and I read him for either 99 or AA, and I suspect he is putting me on JJ-KK. I stack up all my chips and he is not worried in the slightest, confirming my read. I say, "There is nothing that I can beat" and muck. He shows AA and says, "Nice fold."

It wasn't the best session ever, but at least it was a winner.

Can't Win

2007-06-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

Lack of poker posts recently = running very bad. I hate to whine or rant, but goddamit, I'm sick of losing! Losing is not fun! It doesn't matter how good I play or what game, I will lose to the biggest donkeys. For example, I just busted out of the PLO8 tourney with A456 on a 23J board after getting it all-in on the flop 3-ways with 50% equity. The turn and river were TJ and I got nada. So I go play some LHE, it folds to me OTB and I raise with TT. Only the BB calls and we see a K9x flop. He check/called my bet. The turn was a T and he check/raised; I re-raised with the 3rd nuts and he capped. The river didn't pair the board and I called his bet and got shown QJ of course. I swear, it's a fucking repeat of this shit every night.

Okay, that's the end of my rant. You will see no posts here again until I'm running better. If you must see more of me, check out my investment blog where I've been profiling one of the best stock opportunities that I've ever seen.

Poker Blows

2007-04-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever screamed so loud that you ruptured a blood vessel? That's basically what happens every time I play poker. It's insane how often I get sucked out on, run into coolers and miss monster draws. It happens so often that I just expect it...that's how bad poker blows. I'm at a point where I would rather bluff with garbage and get people to fold versus value betting good hands because I know that they won't hold up. Have you ever felt like this?

My therapy has been to play a bunch of short-handed, low-limit Holdem against passive opponents. I basically raise and re-raise any reasonable hand preflop while in position and continue the aggression post flop regardless of the board. So far, it has been fun and refreshing being a lag-tard versus my natural tendency to be somewhat tight and nitty. There is just something about raising every hand that gives you a sense of power and helps the tilt go away. If you are struggling with your game, I highly recommend pounding away on the low-limit short-handed games for a while.

Unacceptable Hand

2007-03-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

I hate it when people play poorly and beat me. My opponent actually has about 54% equity on this flop with his wheel draw and flush draw but he doesn't re-raise me like he should have (you want to see all 5 cards with that hand!). Instead, he waits until I have 59% equity on the turn to make a bad all-in call.

PokerStars Game #9041129322: Omaha Hi/Lo No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) -
2007/03/22 - 23:19:13 (ET)
Table 'Tithonus V' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: Pio_the_King ($84.65 in chips)
Seat 2: Spiderman419 ($37.70 in chips)
Seat 3: Dustydawg ($34.85 in chips)
Seat 4: No_Limpin1 ($61.75 in chips)
Seat 5: Hillcrestkid ($59.85 in chips)
Seat 7: MrCooler1 ($66.20 in chips)
Seat 9: sachem99 ($72.70 in chips)
sachem99: posts small blind $0.25
Pio_the_King: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to No_Limpin1 [Td 2c Ad Ah]
Spiderman419: calls $0.50
Dustydawg: folds
No_Limpin1: raises $2 to $2.50
Hillcrestkid: folds
MrCooler1: folds
sachem99: calls $2.25
Pio_the_King: folds
Spiderman419: calls $2
*** FLOP *** [9c As 5c]
sachem99: bets $1.50
Spiderman419: folds
MrCooler1 is sitting out
No_Limpin1: raises $9 to $10.50
sachem99: calls $9
*** TURN *** [9c As 5c] [Ts]
sachem99: checks
No_Limpin1: bets $48.75 and is all-in
sachem99: calls $48.75
*** RIVER *** [9c As 5c Ts] [2s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
sachem99: shows [4d 3c 7h Ac] (HI: a straight, Ace to Five; LO:
5,4,3,2,A)
No_Limpin1: mucks hand
sachem99 collected $61.75 from pot
sachem99 collected $61.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $126.50 | Rake $3
Board [9c As 5c Ts 2s]
Seat 1: Pio_the_King (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Spiderman419 folded on the Flop
Seat 3: Dustydawg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: No_Limpin1 mucked [Td 2c Ad Ah]
Seat 5: Hillcrestkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: MrCooler1 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: sachem99 (small blind) showed [4d 3c 7h Ac] and won ($123.50)
with HI: a straight, Ace to Five; LO: 5,4,3,2,A

Acceptable Hand

2007-03-21T20:32:00.001-07:00

I have been cursed with having the nut boat versus quads four or five times in my life and tonight the poker goods finally paid me back a little!

PokerStars Game #9024473426: Omaha Hi/Lo No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) -
2007/03/21 - 23:01:48 (ET)
Table 'Jimarnold' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: guy4565 ($77.15 in chips)
Seat 3: zender007 ($29.30 in chips)
Seat 4: egghead71 ($49 in chips)
Seat 5: Idunno_Vince ($49.95 in chips)
Seat 6: Justin63701 ($54.95 in chips)
Seat 7: No_Limpin1 ($70.90 in chips)
Seat 8: MrCooler1 ($49.75 in chips)
Seat 9: Little Buck ($30 in chips)
guy4565: posts small blind $0.25
zender007: posts big blind $0.50
Idunno_Vince: posts small & big blinds $0.75
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to No_Limpin1 [2h 9d Ad 9h]
egghead71: folds
Idunno_Vince: checks
Justin63701: calls $0.50
No_Limpin1: calls $0.50
MrCooler1: folds
Little Buck: folds
guy4565: calls $0.25
zender007: checks
*** FLOP *** [7h 9c 9s]
guy4565: checks
zender007: checks
Idunno_Vince: checks
Justin63701: checks
No_Limpin1: bets $0.50
guy4565: calls $0.50
zender007: folds
Idunno_Vince: folds
Justin63701: calls $0.50
*** TURN *** [7h 9c 9s] [Kd]
guy4565: checks
Justin63701: checks
No_Limpin1: bets $1.50
guy4565: raises $3.50 to $5
Justin63701: folds
No_Limpin1: calls $3.50
*** RIVER *** [7h 9c 9s Kd] [4c]
guy4565: bets $10.50
No_Limpin1: raises $24.50 to $35
guy4565: raises $24.50 to $59.50
No_Limpin1: raises $5.40 to $64.90 and is all-in
guy4565: calls $5.40
*** SHOW DOWN ***
No_Limpin1: shows [2h 9d Ad 9h] (HI: four of a kind, Nines)
guy4565: shows [6h Tc Kc Kh] (HI: a full house, Kings full of Nines)
No_Limpin1 collected $141.05 from pot
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $144.05 | Rake $3
Board [7h 9c 9s Kd 4c]
Seat 1: guy4565 (small blind) showed [6h Tc Kc Kh] and lost with HI: a
full house, Kings full of Nines
Seat 3: zender007 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: egghead71 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Idunno_Vince folded on the Flop
Seat 6: Justin63701 folded on the Turn
Seat 7: No_Limpin1 showed [2h 9d Ad 9h] and won ($141.05) with HI: four
of a kind, Nines
Seat 8: MrCooler1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Little Buck (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

What Do Neteller, the DOJ, Bill Frist and Bottom Set With No Draws in O8 Have In Common?

2007-02-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

If you said, "They all suck ass!!!" you'd be correct!

I have nothing new to add about Neteller that hasn't been discussed elsewhere. I'm just glad that I got my money the hell out of there. For those of you that have funds stuck, I wish you the best in getting your money out. It's a fucked up day when the DOJ and our great country that is suppose to be the "land of the free" starts enforcing prohibition on something millions of Americans enjoy, and against legal, public companies no less. Bill Frist is a mother fucker for attaching the internet gaming prohibition to the ports bill behind closed doors, plain and simple. Fuck you Bill! You cost investors billions of dollars and took away our rights!

Here is a hand where a lot of players get into trouble. You flop bottom set with no draws on a flush/low draw board against several players and are out of position. There is no need to even get involved in this crummy situation, just check dump it! Sets are golden in Holdem, not Omaha.

PokerStars Game #8269245849: Omaha Hi/Lo Limit ($2/$4) - 2007/02/03 - 22:46:09 (ET)
Table 'Caubeta' 10-max Seat #10 is the button
Seat 1: Mr. Smu ($46 in chips)
Seat 2: No_Limpin1 ($87 in chips)
Seat 3: geeklet ($92 in chips)
Seat 4: FAB66 ($169 in chips)
Seat 5: OoMukashi ($93 in chips)
Seat 6: DiamondJack ($36 in chips)
Seat 7: levin_money ($50 in chips)
Seat 8: Jesusfreak ($136.50 in chips)
Seat 9: nut-kracker ($81.50 in chips)
Seat 10: bay boy ($79 in chips)
Mr. Smu: posts small blind $1
No_Limpin1: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to No_Limpin1 [3c 9h Js 3h]
geeklet: folds
FAB66: calls $2
OoMukashi: folds
DiamondJack: folds
levin_money: folds
Jesusfreak: calls $2
nut-kracker: calls $2
bay boy: folds
Mr. Smu: folds
No_Limpin1: checks
*** FLOP *** [Qc 4s 3s]
No_Limpin1: checks
FAB66: bets $2
Jesusfreak: calls $2
nut-kracker: raises $2 to $4
No_Limpin1: folds
FAB66: raises $2 to $6
Jesusfreak: folds
nut-kracker: calls $2
*** TURN *** [Qc 4s 3s] [Kc]
FAB66: bets $4
nut-kracker: calls $4
*** RIVER *** [Qc 4s 3s Kc] [6d]
FAB66: bets $4
nut-kracker: calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FAB66: shows [5h 4d 4h 5d] (HI: three of a kind, Fours)
nut-kracker: shows [2s Ac Qh Jc] (HI: a pair of Queens; LO: 6,4,3,2,A)
FAB66 collected $19 from pot
nut-kracker collected $19 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $39 | Rake $1
Board [Qc 4s 3s Kc 6d]
Seat 1: Mr. Smu (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: No_Limpin1 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: geeklet folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: FAB66 showed [5h 4d 4h 5d] and won ($19) with HI: three of a kind, Fours
Seat 5: OoMukashi folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: DiamondJack folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: levin_money folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Jesusfreak folded on the Flop
Seat 9: nut-kracker showed [2s Ac Qh Jc] and won ($19) with HI: a pair of Queens; LO: 6,4,3,2,A
Seat 10: bay boy (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Bodog Hand Histories

2007-01-17T19:25:00.000-08:00

I've been playing a little PLO8 on Bodog and I just can't get over how horrible it is to not only search for hand histories, but simply read them. Their software is awful. Take a look at this and see if you can figure out what happened.

Hand Number 545523679
Start Date 2007-01-17 21:57:36.0
End Date 2007-01-17 21:59:11.0
Pot Size $138.92
Rake $2.00
Game Type Omaha H/L
Play Mode Real
Table Name Port Hedland
Structure PL
Table Stakes Min Bet Max Bet Ante Blinds
$0.50 $0.25 $0.50

Community Cards J 2 8 K 3

Player Information
Screen
Name Seat
Position Cards
Dealt Start/End
Amount Total
Bet Win/Loss
Amount
NeverLimp 1 A 4 8 8 $72.26/$139.09 $56.70 $66.83
bust me 2 $78.35/$77.85 $0.50 $-0.50
westside108 3 $25.42/$25.42 $0.00 $0.00
Flxxx 4 $9.25/$8.25 $1.00 $-1.00
Mermaid425 5 $48.05/$40.55 $7.50 $-7.50
bohmar 6 7 A 6 3 $56.70/$0.00 $56.70 $-56.70
pdb1066 7 $15.50/$14.50 $1.00 $-1.00
VaTech06 8 3 4 6 A $17.52/$15.40 $17.52 $-2.12
gordonfan33 9 $110.75/$110.75 $0.00 $0.00

Hand Actions
Player Action Action Data Timestamp
gordonfan33 Set dealer/Bring in spot 9 21:57:36
NeverLimp Ante/Small blind $ 0.25 21:57:36
bust me Big blind/Bring in $ 0.50 21:57:36
NeverLimp Card dealt to a spot A 4 8 8 21:57:36
bust me Card dealt to a spot 21:57:36
westside108 Card dealt to a spot 21:57:36
Flxxx Card dealt to a spot 21:57:36
Mermaid425 Card dealt to a spot 21:57:36
bohmar Card dealt to a spot 7 A 6 3 21:57:36
pdb1066 Card dealt to a spot 21:57:36
VaTech06 Card dealt to a spot 3 4 6 A 21:57:36
gordonfan33 Card dealt to a spot 21:57:36
westside108 Fold $ 0.00 21:57:41
Flxxx Call $ 0.50 21:57:45
Mermaid425 Call $ 0.50 21:57:46
bohmar Call $ 0.50 21:57:46
pdb1066 Call $ 0.50 21:57:50
VaTech06 Raise $ 1.00 21:57:50
gordonfan33 Fold $ 0.00 21:57:54
NeverLimp Call $ 0.75 21:58:06
bust me Fold $ 0.50 21:58:06
Flxxx Call $ 0.50 21:58:09
Mermaid425 Call $ 0.50 21:58:14
bohmar Call $ 0.50 21:58:16
pdb1066 Call $ 0.50 21:58:18
Betting round completed Last active pot = $6.50 21:58:18
Card dealt to table J 2 8 21:58:18
NeverLimp Bet $ 6.50 21:58:28
Flxxx Fold $ 0.00 21:58:31
Mermaid425 Call $ 6.50 21:58:35
bohmar Call $ 6.50 21:58:41
pdb1066 Fold $ 0.00 21:58:50
VaTech06 All-in $ 16.52 21:58:52
NeverLimp Raise $ 62.56 21:58:59
Mermaid425 Fold $ 6.50 21:59:02
bohmar All-in $ 49.20 21:59:05
NeverLimp Return uncalled portion of bet $ 13.36 21:59:05
Betting round completed Last active pot = $0.00
Side pot 8 = $62.56
Side pot 6 = $78.36 21:59:07
Card dealt to table K 21:59:07
Betting round completed Last active pot = $0.00
Side pot 8 = $62.56
Side pot 6 = $78.36 21:59:09
Card dealt to table 3 21:59:09
Rake amount $ 2.00 21:59:11
Betting round completed Last active pot = $-0.01
Side pot 8 = $61.68
Side pot 6 = $77.25 21:59:11
NeverLimp Showdown Show card: 99
8 4 3 2 A 21:59:11
NeverLimp Showdown Show card: Three of a Kind
8 8 8 K J 21:59:11
bohmar Showdown Show card: 99
8 6 3 2 A 21:59:11
bohmar Showdown Show card: Pair
3 3 A K J 21:59:11
VaTech06 Showdown Show card: 99
8 4 3 2 A 21:59:11
VaTech06 Showdown Show card: Pair
3 3 A K J 21:59:11
NeverLimp Hand result $ 123.53 21:59:11
VaTech06 Hand result $ 15.40 21:59:11

If you know of a way to easily clean up Bodog hand histories, I'm all ears.

Call Me The Bricklayer

2006-12-29T22:02:00.000-08:00

My hand here is actually a 61% favorite over top set on the flop and still 52% on the turn but I brick hard. My call on the end is kind of silly but I hate folding for one more bet in a huge pot. This is the type of hand that has been ruining my short sessions lately.

PokerStars Game #7672777823: Omaha Hi/Lo Limit ($3/$6) - 2006/12/30 - 00:32:29 (ET)
Table 'Joensuu II' 10-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: alwaysburied ($120 in chips)
Seat 2: Jesusfreak ($218.50 in chips)
Seat 3: cokecat ($360 in chips)
Seat 4: No_Limpin1 ($169 in chips)
Seat 5: grapsfan ($73 in chips)
Seat 6: Roofer100 ($67 in chips)
Seat 7: mysu ($164 in chips)
Seat 8: LAngelito ($51.50 in chips)
Seat 9: PWC333 ($23 in chips)
Seat 10: NAGEL ($124 in chips)
cokecat: posts small blind $1
No_Limpin1: posts big blind $3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to No_Limpin1 [Ad Ks 3s 5d]
grapsfan: folds
Roofer100: calls $3
mysu: calls $3
LAngelito: folds
PWC333: folds
NAGEL: folds
alwaysburied: folds
Jesusfreak: folds
cokecat: calls $2
No_Limpin1: raises $3 to $6
Roofer100: calls $3
mysu: calls $3
cokecat: folds
*** FLOP *** [Kh 4h 2s]
No_Limpin1: bets $3
Roofer100: calls $3
mysu: raises $3 to $6
No_Limpin1: raises $3 to $9
Roofer100: calls $6
mysu: calls $3
*** TURN *** [Kh 4h 2s] [Ts]
No_Limpin1: bets $6
Roofer100: calls $6
mysu: raises $6 to $12
No_Limpin1: calls $6
Roofer100: calls $6
*** RIVER *** [Kh 4h 2s Ts] [2h]
No_Limpin1: checks
Roofer100: checks
mysu: bets $6
No_Limpin1: calls $6
Roofer100: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
mysu: shows [Kd Jc Kc 9d] (HI: a full house, Kings full of Deuces)
No_Limpin1: mucks hand
mysu collected $93 from pot
No low hand qualified
mysu is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $96 | Rake $3
Board [Kh 4h 2s Ts 2h]
Seat 1: alwaysburied folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Jesusfreak (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: cokecat (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: No_Limpin1 (big blind) mucked [Ad Ks 3s 5d]
Seat 5: grapsfan folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Roofer100 folded on the River
Seat 7: mysu showed [Kd Jc Kc 9d] and won ($93) with HI: a full house, Kings full of Deuces
Seat 8: LAngelito folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: PWC333 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 10: NAGEL folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Another Final Table

2006-12-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

I made the final table of the $6K Guaranteed PLO rebuy on UB last night. If my records are correct, I've played this tourney 8 times with 4 final table appearances, not bad.

It's kind of funny, I had just lost a big pot with the nut flush vs a straight flush right before the first break and almost didn't rebuy/add-on despite the nice overlay. That mistake would have cost me over $200 since I ended up taking 8th.

One of my key hands was on the bubble, 20 paid with 21 left. Blinds were 750/1500 and I had about 38K. It folds to me in SB with AKKT and I pot raise. BB thinks a bit and calls with slightly less than me. The flop comes A22, I pot, he insta-raises all-in with A335 and I call. The turn was a 2 and the river was a 4. Since you HAVE TO PLAY EXACTLY 2 CARDS FROM YOUR HAND AND 3 FROM THE BOARD, I have 2's full of K's and my opponent has 2's full of 3's. That put me up to about 74K, good for 4th at the time.

Sadly, I was pretty card dead the rest of the way and ended up going out with KKxx against the chip leader who called my preflop raise with KQJ6 and hit two pair (J6) on the turn. If I win that pot I'm 3rd in chips with a good shot to win. How many times have you heard THAT before?!

Fickle Poker

2006-12-15T13:36:00.000-08:00

I haven’t had much time for poker lately but I did get the chance to play 3 donkaments on Wednesday night. I sat down and decided to play whatever donkaments were starting next on Stars and Tilt. They were NLHE and HORSE.

In the first NLHE tourney I got a good stack of chips all-in preflop with KK and was called by two donks with AQo and A6s - ace on the flop of course. In the second, it was nearing the bubble and I pushed with AK. The big stack called with 33 and I flopped a K, but my opponent hit running spades for crappy flush. In the HORSE, I played great, winning some big pots in LO8 (A46Jds made nut flush and 2nd nut low) and Razz (65 vs 75). But then I lost a big pot in Stud Hi/Lo with a pair of 5’s and a 6 low to a rivered wheel. Shortly after that I raised a limper with AJo and the flop came AKJ. My opponent led out, I raised and he 3-bet. I only had a couple more bets left and of course he had QT.

I’ve never felt better about my game so hopefully I’ll make some decent scores soon.

AAxx Loathes Me!

2006-12-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

I've had AAxx over 200 times in PLO and PL/NL/L08 and it has been a net looser for me, even after this recent hand. Frustrating for sure, given that my preflop equity is usually around 60% when I get it heads up.

What tends to happen in PLO is you either win a smallish pot or lose a pretty big one (if you don't respect raises) because you get out-flopped by 2 pair or better. Unimproved AAxx is not a hand you want to risk a big stack with postflop, especially on a coordinated board.

In PLO8, the same thing tends to happen unless you have flush and low draws to go with the hand. Even if you hit a set your hand is often still very vulnerable to flush, straight and low draws, especially in multi-way pots. Here is one example of this in a limit game:

PokerStars Game #7054479213: Omaha Hi/Lo Limit ($2/$4) - 2006/11/16 - 21:54:16 (ET)
Table 'Delvaux' 10-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: asspony ($51.50 in chips)
Seat 2: THE PISTOL ($143.50 in chips)
Seat 3: bohunk46 ($61 in chips)
Seat 4: WAYNEP ($67.50 in chips)
Seat 5: Greek34 ($60 in chips)
Seat 6: WhiteDwarf ($65 in chips)
Seat 7: DoYouChop ($66.50 in chips)
Seat 8: onepercent ($53 in chips)
Seat 9: tafossi007 ($99 in chips)
Seat 10: No_Limpin1 ($70 in chips)
tafossi007: posts small blind $1
No_Limpin1: posts big blind $2
DoYouChop: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to No_Limpin1 [Ad Ah 6s 3d]
asspony: folds
THE PISTOL: calls $2
bohunk46: calls $2
WAYNEP: folds
Greek34: folds
WhiteDwarf: folds
DoYouChop: checks
onepercent: folds
tafossi007: calls $1
No_Limpin1: raises $2 to $4
THE PISTOL: raises $2 to $6
bohunk46: folds
DoYouChop: calls $4
tafossi007: calls $4
No_Limpin1: raises $2 to $8
Betting is capped
THE PISTOL: calls $2
DoYouChop: calls $2
tafossi007: calls $2
*** FLOP *** [8s Ks Ac]
tafossi007: checks
No_Limpin1: bets $2
THE PISTOL: raises $2 to $4
DoYouChop: calls $4
tafossi007: calls $4
No_Limpin1: calls $2
*** TURN *** [8s Ks Ac] [Tc]
tafossi007: checks
No_Limpin1: bets $4
THE PISTOL: calls $4
DoYouChop: raises $4 to $8
tafossi007: calls $8
No_Limpin1: calls $4
THE PISTOL: raises $4 to $12
DoYouChop: raises $4 to $16
Betting is capped
tafossi007: calls $8
No_Limpin1: calls $8
THE PISTOL: calls $4
*** RIVER *** [8s Ks Ac Tc] [5s]
tafossi007: checks
No_Limpin1: checks
THE PISTOL: bets $4
DoYouChop: raises $4 to $8
tafossi007: calls $8
No_Limpin1 said, "fuc me"
No_Limpin1: folds
THE PISTOL: raises $4 to $12
DoYouChop: raises $4 to $16
Betting is capped
tafossi007: calls $8
THE PISTOL: calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DoYouChop: shows [8c 2h 8d 3h] (HI: three of a kind, Eights; LO: 8,5,3,2,A)
tafossi007: shows [9s 7s Kd Jd] (HI: a flush, King high)
THE PISTOL: shows [6d As 2c 3s] (HI: a flush, Ace high; LO: 8,5,3,2,A)
THE PISTOL collected $79.50 from pot
THE PISTOL collected $40 from pot
DoYouChop collected $39.50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $162 | Rake $3
Board [8s Ks Ac Tc 5s]
Seat 1: asspony folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: THE PISTOL showed [6d As 2c 3s] and won ($119.50) with HI: a flush, Ace high; LO: 8,5,3,2,A
Seat 3: bohunk46 folded before Flop
Seat 4: WAYNEP folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Greek34 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: WhiteDwarf folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: DoYouChop showed [8c 2h 8d 3h] and won ($39.50) with HI: three of a kind, Eights; LO: 8,5,3,2,A
Seat 8: onepercent (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: tafossi007 (small blind) showed [9s 7s Kd Jd] and lost with HI: a flush, King high
Seat 10: No_Limpin1 (big blind) folded on the River

I should have gone ahead and capped the flop on the above hand, but when I'm running bad I tend to fear the suckout and lose some of my aggression as a result. Not good, although my pussiness actually saved me some money on the hand.

In general, I'm still jamming the hell out of AAxx in PLO and PL/NLO8, but it's good to mix it up from time to time. I'll limp re-raise with it in EP sometimes to keep my opponents off balance and guessing. Here is a good example of when to do it IMO. If everbody folds I pick up a nice pot, otherwise, I have an equity advantage which is just fine too.

Hopefully I'll start running better with AAxx over the next 10,000 hands.

Stars VPP's

2006-11-30T14:54:00.000-08:00

If you play at Stars and have aspirations of becomming a Supernova next year, I suggest emailing support to see if they will carry over your current VPP's to 2007. I know of one person who was successful in his request. The email went something like this:

"My name is ***** ***** and I play under the screen name *******. I'm considering moving all of my play to Stars to obtain Supernova status, but I don't want to wait until Jan 1 to start collecting the VPP's. I play about 15K hands per month and would be an excellent customer. Will you please consider rolling over my VPP's earned in November and December to 2007. Thank you for your consideration."

Tony G Destroys Ralph Perry

2006-11-18T15:13:00.000-08:00

This happened a few months ago but I'm just seeing it for the first time today. It's by far the harshest berrating I've ever heard at a table.

This is how good I run

2006-11-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

Wops,inc accidentally calls my preflop jam.

PokerStars Game #6961332660: Omaha Hi/Lo No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2006/11/09 - 22:31:20 (ET)
Table 'Menelaus II' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: AAA_flop_777 ($69.40 in chips)
Seat 3: cardSlinga44 ($84.25 in chips)
Seat 4: Dustydawg ($27 in chips)
Seat 5: rattus63 ($3.70 in chips)
Seat 6: No_Limpin1 ($54 in chips)
Seat 7: wops,inc ($97.65 in chips)
Seat 8: 8 PEOPLES ($49.50 in chips)
Seat 9: Placidus ($56.85 in chips)
8 PEOPLES: posts small blind $0.25
Placidus: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to No_Limpin1 [Kd Ad 3h Ah]
AAA_flop_777: folds
Galigirl leaves the table
cardSlinga44: calls $0.50
Dustydawg: folds
rattus63: folds
No_Limpin1: raises $53.50 to $54 and is all-in
sdsong81 joins the table at seat #2
wops,inc: calls $54
8 PEOPLES: folds
Placidus: folds
cardSlinga44: folds
*** FLOP *** [Ts 7d 9c]
*** TURN *** [Ts 7d 9c] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 7d 9c 3d] [7s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
No_Limpin1: shows [Kd Ad 3h Ah] (HI: two pair, Aces and Sevens)
wops,inc: shows [8d Ks 8h Js] (HI: a straight, Seven to Jack)
wops,inc collected $106.25 from pot
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $109.25 | Rake $3
Board [Ts 7d 9c 3d 7s]
Seat 1: AAA_flop_777 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: cardSlinga44 folded before Flop
Seat 4: Dustydawg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: rattus63 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: No_Limpin1 showed [Kd Ad 3h Ah] and lost with HI: two pair, Aces and Sevens
Seat 7: wops,inc (button) showed [8d Ks 8h Js] and won ($106.25) with HI: a straight, Seven to Jack
Seat 8: 8 PEOPLES (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Placidus (big blind) folded before Flop

EDIT: This guy actually transferred me $5 because he felt bad. I must say, that's a first!

Fortunately, my tourney game HAS actually been running well. I've made 3 final tables in my last 4 attempts, however, nothing higher than 6th.

Just Say No To Tilt

2006-10-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

I'm running bad and need to calm down my inner monkey!

Picking Up Dead Money

2006-09-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Unless you are a luckbox or cardrack like Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, you'll rarely win a tourney without picking up lots of uncontested pots. The key is spotting the right opportunity and using selective aggession to make the correct play. To my knowledge, I've never seen an article that summarizes all of the different opportunities where you can pick up dead money, so I think I have some original content here based on my playing experience and study of the game.

Picking Up Dead Money:

1) The Continuation Bet. If you raise preflop and it checks to you on the flop, continue to take the lead by betting. This is best used in position against weak opponents on uncoordinated boards like Q72 rainbow. If the board is scary, like 987 with two suited cards, you may elect to do a delayed continuation bet (assuming you missed of course) by checking the flop and then betting the turn if your opponent doesn't show any strength.

2) The "First In" Bluff. This is simply being the first player to bet in a multi-way pot. If you are the first to bet when everybody has missed the flop, you are likely to take it down right there. Like the above, it's best to try this on uncoordinated flops so that nobody can/will call with a draw. Also, make certain that one of your opponents is not a calling station or you will bleed chips. Gus Hansen makes this move a lot.

3) The "No Interest" Bluff. A postflop bet made in a multi-way pot, it typically comes on the turn after the flop is checked around. Example: you are in SB with two cards and nobody bets the J63 flop. The turn is another 3 and you lead out with a bet. Your opponents probably don't have much here and they may think that you hit trips or were looking to check raise a jack on the flop.

4) The Standard Steal. If the preflop action folds to you in late position or SB, raise. If you are in BB and it folds to SB who limps, raise. This is best done with a tight image and a decent stack size against weak opponents with smallish and medium stacks. Big stacks rarely fold to a steal (especially in position) so save your chips.

5) The Re-steal. A slightly more advanced move where you come over the top of a suspected steal attempt with a big raise. Again, it's best to do this with a tight image and a stack size larger than your opponent's to put maximum pressure on him/her.

6) The Stop & Go. This is basically a post-flop re-steal when out of position by calling a suspected preflop steal attempt and then jamming the flop. Example: the button makes a suspected steal, SB folds, you call in BB and then jam the flop forcing your opponent to have a good hand. Once again, it's important to have a tight image and a decent stack of chips when attempting this move.

7) The Squeeze Play. An advanced move that basically goes like this: a player makes a small preflop raise, one or more players call and then you make a gigantic raise. The first raiser has to respect your re-raise and once you get past the initial raiser, the others are likely to fold their medium strength hands. This play obviously won't work if the initial raiser has AA or KK, but most of the time he/she won't have the rockets or cowboys, especially if they are loose preflop. Make sure you have a healthy stack before making this move and raise at least the pot if not all-in.

8) The Secret Move. This bluff is so good that I've only been called on it about 10% of the time. I'm shocked that this move is not written about in any textbooks (that I know of anyway) and I rarely see it utilized by even the best, most experienced players. And you think I'm going to tell you what it is? BAHAHAHAHA!

A New Adventure Into No-Limit Omaha 8/b

2006-09-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

I’ve found a new princess, no-limit Omaha 8/b at PokerStars. Dave has been blogging about the sweetness of these games for a long time, but I didn’t feel comfortable with my knowledge of O8 until just recently. I used to get a little confused with the whole counterfeiting issue but have a firm grasp on that concept now. It’s certainly one of the more complex poker games which means the skilled players have a larger advantage (EV) over an average field. Also, I like the lower variance of the game compared with PLO where there is rarely a split pot (this is a philosophical change of mine given recent ass beatings). In short, it’s easier for a fish to get lucky and scoop you in PLO versus PLO8 or NLO8. At least that’s my impression at the moment. I’ve lost my stack countless times with AAxx in PLO but it’s hard to get stacked with AA2x in NLO8.

Like all games, starting hand selection is extremely important. If you’re new to the game, take a look at this starting hand guide. Play hands that have the opportunity to scoop (win high AND low). Suited aces, pairs and low connecting features are very valuable when packaged together correctly. A hand like A234 is garbage in PLO (rarely makes the nuts) but strong in O8. AA23 double-suited is the best starting hand in O8.

Post flop, think about high first. If you don’t have a good high hand or draw, it’s usually correct to muck to a bet even if you have the nut low since you’ll only get 50% of the pot at best. The one time you might keep your hand in this spot is if you’re playing a large multi-way pot in LO8, but even then there may be another nut low out and you’ll only get 25% of the pot. I witnessed this mistake many times over the weekend at the $100 tables. Example: on a board of A67 rainbow, a good aggressive player bet the pot and a poor player called. The turn was a T and put 2 diamonds on the board; the good player moved all-in and his opponent quickly called with 23KJ (nut low but just a gutshot straight draw and no flush draw for high). His 4 outs to the gutshot didn’t get there and he lost 75% of his stack to 7723. Don’t play low without a strong high, especially for a large stack!

Poker and NFL Musings

2006-09-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

The dirty whore continues to treat me poorly!

When you have a pair of aces, nut flush draw and open-ended straight draw in PLO, you don’t expect to lose all your tourney chips to second-nut flush draw and a gutshot, but alas I found a way in the Stars re-buy.

Paradise Poker entered me in a $10K freeroll on Saturday with 350 donkeys, and of those only about half showed up. One of the funniest things I witness in online poker is when a player doesn’t realize that his opponent is sitting out, limps in, then checks it down and loses! HA! HA! HA! That is the ultimate in wimpy play! How ignorant can you be?! I stole time and time again, but the most annoying thing continued happening. Every time I won a pot, the software would crash and I’d have to log back in! Yes, every goddamn time! I nearly quite except I wanted to make a couple thousand and since Paradise has the worst players on the planet, I liked my chances even though I’ve been running ice cold for a couple months. Unfortunately, I jammed on the button with A5o and the BB called with QTo and hit a runner-runner straight near the bubble. Fuck you dirty whore!

At least my NFL picks are paying. I took the Eagles (-5) last week against the pathetic Texans, and the Chiefs (+10.5) and unders (38) this week. Chiefs/Broncos games are almost always close and I knew Herm would give LJ the rock 25+ times and try to keep the score low. In addition, the Chiefs defense is vastly improved beyond consensus and Plummer is inconsistent and over-rated. Plus, right now Plummer’s head is in a fog because he’s worried about Cutler stealing his job.

A QB to watch out for in your fantasy keeper league is Oakland’s 6’6” 230 lb Andrew Walter. The guy replaced Brooks and looked very cool despite facing a tough Ravens defense and it being his first real NFL action. He threw some picks, but he looked 100 times better than Brooks ever has. This QB of the future should be the QB of the present.

Clutching The Junk

2006-09-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

Was it just me or were the football games very boring today? I even lost interest in my Chiefs after Trent Green got crushed in the head as he was sliding to the ground. When Roaf retired, I figured we would lose Green, I just didn't think it would be THIS soon!

Bored with the games, I fired up the dirty whore and she got back to doing what she does best - busting my balls. Check out this big 3/6 LHE hand where it's gets capped 5 ways preflop. I flop a set of kings (84% equity) and this moron to my left who called a raise with 97s (and then had to put in 2 more small bets) hits a gutshot on the turn. I don't hit my redraw on the river and once again I lose to a donk. Very, very frustrating! I haven't scooped a big pot in weeks.

So, once again pissed-off at ring games, I fire up some SnG's. I get KK early and get it all-in preflop against AK and TT! The flop is nice but a T on the turn busts my balls.

I don't play that many hands early in tourney's and in ring games - I'm pretty much a nutpeddler unless I have a strong draw, but that doesn't stop mother variance from kicking the shit out of me. The long-term in poker is hundreds of thousands of hands if not millions. I'm not sure I'll ever get there the way it's going.

Hypocrisy Exposed

2006-09-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

ESPN's 'Outside The Lines' had an excellent segment on Internet Gambling this morning. It's certainly worth checking out and if I can find a video link, I'll post it here. There was a sports handicapper on the program that did a great job of exposing the hypocrisy of H.R. 4411, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that just passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a 317-93 margin.

In response to the legislation passing, PocketFives.com and the Poker Players Alliance will be co-sponsoring the Phone March on Washington to Tuesday, September 12, 2006 from 9:00am ET until 5:30pm ET. Everyone is encouraged to call 800-289-1136, which will connect you to your Senators' offices. Tell them that you oppose any legislation that would prohibit online poker, that prohibition doesn't work, and that it should be regulated and taxed.

Lady Luck Loves My Opponents

2006-09-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I returned the call of the dirty whore last night and as feared she had her radar set squarely on my package. I played ring games for about 4 hours and never won a showdown, not one.

I started playing 3/6 LHE at Stars and found myself completely card dead for 30 minutes. Then, I picked up red nines on the button and raised a limper. BB called, the limper called and the flop came KhQhTh. The SB led out and the limper called. I thought, "Great, even if I hit the straight flush I'll lose!" So after an hour of hitting nothing I moved to the PLO $100 tables. Within a couple orbits I flopped the nut straight with an open-ended straight flush draw on a 7d8c9d board! Two people bet into me and I raised the pot. To my surprise, the villan to my left also jammed the pot and BB called! I was up against 9TJx with no re-draw and 99xx. The river paired of course and I got stacked.

I re-loaded since the table was juicy and soon hit a set of aces on an A96 rainbow board! We got all-in on the flop and he rivered a straight with 78Tx. Then, I go card dead for what seems like an eternity before I finally picked up a hand, double-suited kings. I flopped a set but a calling station called a pot bet on the flop with nothing but a gutshot and hit it on the turn. Did the Q really have to come on the turn there?! Guess so. The dirty whore has a lot of making up to do.

My Love/Hate Relationship With Poker

2006-09-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

She’s a dirty whore, but I just keep going back for more. I think I’m having fun during the act, but after I’m finished I think, "why the fuck did I do that?!" Actually, that’s not completely true. I haven’t seen her in quite a few days and her temptation is starting to fade. The problem is she’s just not treating me right and her kicks to my junk are really starting to bite! How can I possibly keep letting her play with my head morning, noon, and night!

So, lately I’ve been ignoring the calls from the dirty whore and instead hanging out with my good buddies Mr. Fantasy Football and Sir Mansion Sports Bet Freeroll. Mr. Fantasy, unlike the dirty whore, has treated me like a king for the last two years and Mansion was nice enough to line my pockets with several Franklins on Thursday night via Steelers victory. Unfortunately, Mansion rarely comes around and Mr. Fantasy is only a temporary distraction from my degenerate, money-making needs. As a result, I’ll likely return the calls of the dirty whore, maybe even as soon as tonight. If I do, hopefully we can start to mend our rocky relationship and I won’t wake up in the morning with a sore, sore package. Wish me luck.

SnG Heater

2006-08-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

Bored with ring games and pressed for time, I've gone back to single table (and some double) SnG's. My plan is simple: 1) be patient and solid early, 2) jam when the blinds get outrageous and 3) play for 1st place.

I could care less about ITM stats. I focus solely on ROI because that's what ultimately matters, just like in the investment world.

As in all tourneys, bubble play is very important. The goal is to be aggressive and accumulate chips from weakish opponents, not merely survive (in most situations anyway). I'll also make some huge calls if I have a decent hand and feel like my opponent is on air. Example:

Down to 4 and it folds to the chip leader in SB who jams, just like last orbit (I folded rags that time). I'm 2nd in chips and have KQo in BB. Now, I hate going broke with this over-rated hand but here it's a must call. His range is huge and nobody is really short-stacked and on the verge of busting out. Regardless, doubling up at this stage would give me a significant advantage and a good shot at 1st. It didn't work out this time, but calling is the correct thing to do in that spot.

Two NLHE Cash Game Hands

2006-07-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

I played at the new Agrosy poker room last night and it has become my favorite in town. The staff is super friendly and it has private bathrooms! No running across the casino floor like at Harrah's.

Hand #1:
About 5 hours into my session I look down at black kings and raise to $20 (2/5 blinds) from UTG. The player two to my left raises to $60 and everybody else folds. I have $430 in my stack and villan has me covered. I immediately put him on AA or QQ with a slim chance of AKs or JJ. He is a good, tight, quit player and I'm sure his perception of me is the same, so for him to re-raise my UTG raise shows massive strength. This is also the first pre-flop re-raise that I've seen him make in 5 hours. So, what to do? I consider jamming, but he will likely call with AA only. I seriously consider folding. Yes, seriously. I'm out of position and he looks calm and confident. Yuck! However, I decide to call and see what the flop brings.

FLOP: Th-9h-3c, I check and villan bets $50 into the $127 pot. This seems a little smallish for AA (I would have bet $80 to $100 with AA there) so I call.

TURN: 4c, check-check

RIVER: 8s, I throw out a $40 blocker and he calls with Ah-As. I table my cowboys and everyone is astounded that I didn't lose more. I was actually upset that I called preflop given my read.

Hand #2
It's important to note that if I would have gone busto on the above, I would have gone home for the night and not played this hand just one orbit later.

I open with red 9's for $20 and get two callers, one of which is the donator directly to my left who has been very lucky thus far. FLOP: Qc-9c-6h, SB checks and I bet $40. The donator reaches for a bunch of chips and says, "Seventy-five more." SB mucks and I move all-in for about $270, puting him on something like KQ or AQ. He quickly calls and shows.......black kings. TURN: Js, which gives him some more outs, but the river is a blank and I double up! Now it's time to go home.

Congrats to Rizen!

2006-07-01T04:55:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Rizen, aka Eric Lynch for his 3rd place finish in WSOP event #3, Pot Limit Holdem, and a $100K payday. This follows up his 1st place finish in the Stars Million Guaranteed a month ago along with several other wins and cashes in smaller tourneys. He's a force and I'm sure you'll be seeing and hearing much more of him. I hope to see him at Performify's awesome home game so I can congratulate him in person.

A Solid Read

2006-06-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

I recently played the following 2-5 NLHE hand at Ameristar:

Two limpers to me OTB and I’ve been very quiet in a tight game so I decide to splash around a little bit with Kh-Js. I know that this hand sucks but I have position and typically play well post-flop.

Five of us see a flop of Kd-9s-3d. It checks to the 10 seat (I’m in the 1 seat) and I lean around the front of the dealer to look at him. He just sits there for awhile so I ask, “Did he check?” The dealer responds, “He checked.” I toss out a $20 bet into a $25 pot and immediately the 5 seat looks at me and says, “I thought you checked?” The dealer says, “No, he asked if he (pointing to the 10 seat) checked.” The blinds fold and the 5 seat, who is the loosest player at the table, is the only caller.

The turn brings the 7c and he checks to me. I bet $40 into the $65 pot and he raises $40 to $80. At this point I’m sick because playing a big pot with top pair decent kicker is never my game plan in a NLHE cash game. I go into the tank and tell the table, “Sorry guys, this is going to take a minute or so.” I run through his possible hands and rule out strong K’s because he would have bet those hands on a flush draw board. I also rule out 9’s because he would have raised preflop, and 7’s were looking pretty unlikely as well. So I decide that it is either a set of 3’s or a flush draw. Now I look up at him and he is STARRING ME DOWN. That’s a weak tell. Then, I thought about his “I thought you checked” comment on the flop. That’s weak too – he wanted a free card. So putting the pieces of the puzzle together I decide to make him pay for his draw and move all-in for another $140 or so. He took a deep sigh, made the dealer count the money and then called. The river was the 4s and he said one of the most beautiful things, “I missed.”

Fun with a maniac!

2006-06-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

I ran across a particularly insane maniac on the PLO tables last night and had an absolute blast. Just when I thought the tables at Paradise and Full Tilt were the best, here comes Party Poker back with a vengeance!

Said maniac had a 96% VPIP and bet or raised virtually every hand on every street! It was amazing and he was actually winning by getting super lucky! He increased his buy-in by 10-fold in the short while after I sat down at the table. I was licking my chops of course.

My first involvement with him was with AQQx on a Q23 flop. We get all-in and he had 2378 for the all-mighty bottom 2-pair, no draw hand, lol. Next came a hand were I had a big straight draw wrap and raised huge on the flop. He called me with nothing but bottom pair and overs! Yes, just bottom pair and no draws! Astounding play to say the least! Finally, I played a tricky hand with AA89ss and limped UTG. The maniac was two seats to my left and I knew he would raise, whereas if I raised before him, he would have just called. Sure enough, he raised the pot and several players called behind! I then put in the huge pot limp re-raise and isolated the maniac holding QQxx and took about half his stack after I flopped a set and he paid me off unimproved! He was gone a short while later after some more brilliant plays.

Little Poker

2006-06-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

Life has been getting in the way of poker lately, namely the flu and more wifey surgery, but I do have a few things to say.

First of all, the PLO players over at Paradise Poker are the worst I've ever seen. Those guys love to get get stacked with bottom 2 pair on a straight flush board. I mean, they are truely awful.

Second, the PLO players over at Full Tilt Poker are nearly as bad as those at Paradise. Take this hand:

EP raises and 6 players cold call, including me OTB with JT78. The flop is an awesome Qx9c6x rainbow. EP leads out for $5 and 3 players call, then I bet the pot and 5 of us get all-in. Turn: 7c. River: 4c. I was up against AAxx, KKTx, TJxx and QTJx. Fortunately, one of the players with 2 clubs folded to my flop raise and I was able to take down this monster pot with my huge double open-ended straight draw! AAxx had the chance to make a big preflop raise out of the BB and didn't do it.

Finally, I'm going to pimp the rake-free poker room at World Sports Exchange again. The traffic is picking up a little which is good for the ring games, and if you are a small stakes tournament player, the $1000 guaranteed tourney is a great value with soft play. It typically has about 85-90 players so there is an overlay. I've played it twice and final-tabled it both times.

Blogger Poker Tour WSOP Freeroll

2006-05-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Last week I came across the Blogger Poker Tour hosted by Poker.com and played in the WSOP freeroll qualifier on Saturday. The top 4 finishers each week move on to the final event (I placed 4th) where the winner receives a main event WSOP seat (and several other places pay nice prizes like monitors and iPods). There a three great things about these events. 1. They are free! 2. The prizes are good. 3. The fields are small! There were only about 40 runners in Saturday's freeroll and the final event is capped at 50 players! Yes, just 50 players! How refreshing not to have to beat 569,900 monkeys in one of these things! All you have to do to join the tour is sign up and post a banner on your blog.

The Idiocy and Hypocrisy Of Online Gambling Prohibition Legislation

2006-05-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

Prohibition doesn't work for anything! Not drugs, sex, alcohol or gambling. It never has and it never will, period. Prohibition simply takes a booming market and forces it underground, thus making it more dangerous and expensive for all participants. Meanwhile, the government misses out on billions of dollars of tax revenue. There is no disputing this fact, which is why I find the Goodlatte and Kyl bills floating through Congress so idiotic.

Beyond the idiocy are mountains of hypocrisy. State lotteries (where you get the worst odds imaginable), bingo parlors, raffles, riverboat gaming, online bets on horse racing - those types of gambling are okay. Wait a minute, online bets on horse racing are exempt from the bills??? How could that be, we are talking about ONLINE gambling prohibition here! What gives? Ah, that’s right, The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is one of Virginia’s Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s biggest supporters. Idiots and hypocrites that pander, that’s what we have in Congress!

Fortunately, massive enforcements issues (especially on the part of banks and ISP’s) will ultimately keep this bill from passing the Senate.

PokerStars Blogger Tournament

2006-05-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

I'm all-in.

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 7330476

The code above will look like the following:

Online PokerI have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 9091590

Double frequent player points at PokerStars

2006-05-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

Right now is a great time to play at PokerStars because you'll receive double FPP's, which means you can work off those bonus dollars twice as fast as normal. Just remember to at least play 3/6 LHE or 0.50/1 NLHE or PLO b/c you don't earn FPP's unless the rake is at least $1. The promo is running between May 12th and May 21st. I have about 4 stacked bonuses of $120 at Stars so I'll be playing there all weekend.

Fun at Harrah's poker room

2006-05-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

I met my brother and dad at Harrah's for the Prime Rib and Shrimp buffet, which was delightful, especially at half-price. After eating a mountain of shrimp, it was time to go to the ATM machine known as the poker room.

Here are some hands I witnessed/played:

2/5 NLHE. EP raises to $15, MP calls, everybody else folds. FLOP: Ah7h8c, EP bets $30 and MP calls. TURN: 2h, check-check, RIVER: Th, EP bets $50, MP raises to $120, EP goes all-in and MP calls off the rest of his $150 stack with Qh5h vs AcKh. My favorite part of that hand is MP’s check on the turn to give his opponent infinite odds to draw and beat him. Sklansky’s head just blew up!

3/6 LHE. Two limpers and I raise OTB with TT, SB folds, BB and limpers call. FLOP: Tc5s6c, it checks to me, I bet and all 3 call. TURN: 8c, BB and EP check, MP bets, I call, BB calls, EP raises and MP re-raises! I fold in disgust (Boo me, I had odds to call), BB calls and shows me and the player directly to his right Kc9c, EP caps and they both call. RIVER: 9s, BB checks, EP bets, MP raises, BB calls, EP re-raises, MP caps, BB calls and EP calls. EP delightfully tables Ac5c and MP shows Jc7s. That’s right, just a straight. He misread his hand for a flush which, even if he would have had, is still a major donkey play.

3/6 LHE. LP raises to $6 and is all-in (LOL), I re-raise to $9 with AA, SB folds and BB calls. FLOP: TJJ, BB checks, I bet and he calls. TURN: 8, he checks, I bet and he calls. RIVER: K, he checks, I bet and he reluctantly calls with QJ??? I show my AA and he says, “I was worried, there were a lot of ways I could have been beat there.” HUH?! Nice hand sir.

Despite some misfortune, I still had a profitable night.

Life running bad, poker running good

2006-05-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Due to some fairly serious family health issues, I haven’t been able to play much poker lately. Fortunately, I’ve made the most of what few opportunities I’ve had. I cashed in a Stars multi and 4 consecutive SnG’s (3,2,2,1) and also tore up the PLO and NLHE cash games. During my last trip to Harrah’s, I played 2/5 NLHE and doubled my buy-in within a couple hours. My big hand was basically a no-brainer, dream situation. UTG nearly raises to $20 but then decides to limp, one more limper and then I raise to $25 OTB. It folds to UTG and he makes it $75, limper folds, I act weak for a little bit and then stack my two black chips between my two tall red stacks and push them in. He insta-calls and proudly rolls over KK before grimacing at my AA. Why can’t it always work like that?!

SharkScope

2006-04-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

Check out SharkScope if you have the desire to know your opponents SnG results on PokerStars or Cryptologic sites. It's also interesting to look up your friends results. You get 5 free searches a day or can pay for more.

Poker TV Shows

2006-04-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

Just a quick heads up that my friend Etaipo has the online torrents available on his site for all the poker TV shows including High Stakes Poker, the best of them all. If you haven't seen it, it's worthy, especially the last few episodes when Phil Hellmuth plays like a weak fish and loses his ass.

The Missouri World Cup Team

2006-04-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

After defeating North Dakota and Illinois, Josh, Elliott and myself have moved on to the next round. Our matches are at 8:30 CST Friday night. Wish us luck!

The Most Incredible Flop Ever

2006-04-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

I nearly played this hand. Do you think that I could have gotten away from it, lol.

World Poker Exchange

2006-04-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

You should check out the poker room at World Sports Exchange. The company is using the poker room as a loss leader to help drive people to the sports book. In other words, you automatically get 100% rakeback. Yes, that's right! The software is actually pretty good, cashouts are fast, most of the tourneys have overlays, and best of all the players are horrible. I played in a tourney this morning with a 20% overlay and got 2 players all-in early with 88 and 55 against my KK. There was a 5 on the river, but that is beside the point. The players are bad! There are some bots on the site but they are bad too. Now go check it out and thank me later.

PLO Thoughts

2006-03-31T14:35:00.000-08:00

The flop is by far the most important street in PLO, but to flop big, you generally need a solid starting hand where all 4 cards work together and contain many features. Think of these features - sets, straights and flushes – where you can hit a big hand with a strong re-draw, preferably to the nuts. Here are examples of solid starters:

9s-Th-Jh-Js, this hand is capable of hitting a set of J’s, nut straights at both ends and also 2 different flushes in spades and hearts. So on a flop of something like Jc-Qs-6s, you have middle set with straight and flush re-draws, so you should not be shy about getting as many chips in the pot as possible.

8c-9c-Th-Jh, this hand is called a 4-card, double-suited wrap. The strength of the hand is obvious. It can make the nut straight at both ends or even a straight flush. A gin flop with this hand (besides a straight flush) is something like 5s-6h-7h where you have the nut straight and re-draws to a higher straight and a flush. In many cases, you may be free-rolling. For example, your poor opponent may have something like AK89 with no flush draw. This is a wonderful situation!

Ad-Ah-Xd-Xh, double-suited aces is the grand-daddy of all PLO hands. It’s not as powerful as AA in Holdem, but powerful none-the-less, especially with complimentary features like another pair or connector; KK or TJ for example, since it gives you another opportunity to hit a set or straight.

Ac-8c-9h-Th, this is a 3-card double-suited wrap and is capable of flopping the nut straight or flush.

Are you bored yet? I am. Maybe this will help....

Okay, I'm refreshed, now more on post-flop play:

Don’t slow-play the flop. If there’s a way your hand can lose, chances are someone has a draw to it in a big multi-way pot. Charge them to play! Checking with high sets or the nut flush can be disastrous. Free cards give your opponents infinite odds to draw and are death. When you have a big hand, bet it strong and fast! Even if you have a monster, bet half of the pot.

Don’t chase draws when there’s likely a better one out. This includes drawing to flushes/straights on a paired board and calling down with flushes/straights on a paired board at the river.

Drawing hands are more powerful in Omaha than Holdem, because it’s a game with 4 cards. Thus, a “made hand” such as an over-pair, two pair or straight, could be a big underdog to a huge draw (see my previous post where my made nut straight was a dog to a set and flush draw). Think of it like this: “He likely has hand A and I have hand B, so my chance of winning at SHOWDOWN is C. Therefore, I should bet/raise for value, semi-bluff, or draw cheaply.” Don’t think in terms of made hands or autopilot moves, but in terms of maximizing EV.

Perhaps most importantly is the power of position, especially if you’re playing a marginal hand that could pose some problems post-flop. The strength of your hand will vary from flop to turn to river, but the strength of your position will always remain the same. If you’re heads up (or 3-handed) with position and your opponent(s) check(s), you will take down the pot with a bet a good majority of the time; and if you flop a huge hand, you will often be able to raise for value! :)

Still Running Good in PLO!

2006-03-19T06:07:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it is about PLO, but the cards are falling my way the majority of the time. Take this hand for example: My nuts on the flop are a dog (37/63) yet my hand holds up! That sounds kind of funny, yet often the nuts are not really the nuts in Omaha. Think about that if you are not familiar with the game.

This is such a nice change compared to LHE. Time and time again the donkeys would hit their (insert number from 2 to 7 here) outer that I suffered a horrific 300 BB downer. In fact, I'm running so good now that I've recovered nearly all of my LHE losses in just a few thousand hands of PLO. One thing that I learned from that experience is that it takes a very, very long time to reach the "long run" in poker. It's at least 100,000 hands, maybe 200,000. If I were a full time poker pro, I would want 500 BB's or more in my warchest to combat the variance. And that's at full ring games!

Running Good in PLO

2006-03-03T05:17:00.000-08:00

The PLO games on Party are insane. No, scratch that, they are in-fucking-sane! I've seen 4 players go all-in preflop with a wide range of crapola like AK84 and JJ23. Yeah, you could say the games are good.

My nightly routine has been to play about 5 orbits, double up and then go to bed. This is part of my goal to play less and make more.

Last night, I more than doubled on my very first hand. But a strange thing happened during that hand - I actually drew out!! It has been a long time since I've gotten lucky and it feels good. I figure that I've got about $2000 to withdraw from the equity bank after the way these last couple months have gone.

The New Party Poker Store

2006-03-01T17:28:00.000-08:00

I'm actually very impressed with Party Poker's new Party Points store. There is a wide variety of new items to choose from including books, technology and sports equipment. Some of my favorite products include:

300 count chip set - 12,500 points

4 fold poker table - 15,000

Bolle sunglasses - 15,000

Pompeii Humidor - 37,500

Odyssey Putter - 37,500

IPOD Nano - 50,000

Cannon Powershot Digital Camera - 62,500

Sony 19 inch LCD Monitor - 115,000

Foosball Table - 128,000

And remember, you can get 1000 points for simply making a $500 deposit and waiting just one week ;) So, if for some strange reason you don't already have a Party account, please use sign up bonus code NEVERLIMP for a 20% bonus up to $100.

Full Tilt Poker WSOP Giveaway

2006-02-25T10:54:00.000-08:00

I noticed that Full Tilt Poker is starting to freeroll a ton on WSOP seats. They are giving away a total of 100 main event seats and $200,000 of spending cash. I don't really have the patience to play in those freerolls anymore, but if you have a limited bankroll or just want to play for shits and giggles, now is a good time to open an account there if you don't already have one. They still have the $600 sign up bonus too.

Changing Focus to NLHE and PLO

2006-02-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

I've primarily played LHE for over 2 years and I'm just sick of that game. What I hate the most is not being able to protect a made hand. Often I find myself with a high pocket pair out of position versus 4 or 5 other players and then they outflop or outdraw me. I just can't take it anymore!!! Here are a couple of recent examples:

pokerhand252209
LHE, AA in the big blind versus 4 players and I get sucked out. Fortunately, I lose the least amount possible by folding the turn when a straight card comes off and I'm bet into. If this were NHLE, I would have made a large pre-flop raise and likely thined the field to 1 or 2 players and won a nice pot versus AK. Very, very frustrating!

pokerhand252208
LHE, open with AA but donkeys come along and hit on the river. I was simply not able to make a large enough bet on the flop or turn to get them to fold. Again, very, very frustrating to the point it makes me hate LHE. These suckouts lasted for 2 months and contributed to a 300 BB downswing at the 5/10 and 3/6 limits. Yeah, its been THAT fugly!!

So, I'm entering a new chapter in my poker life. I'm going to focus on NLHE and PLO. In my previous post, I wrote about my new adventure into NLHE ring games which started with a lot of success. One thing that I'm a little unsure about is how to best play AK (preflop - when to limp or raise) in various situations and I'm certainly open to suggestions.

My first few sessions of PLO have gone well too. I seem to be making good decisions and getting the money in the pot when I have the odds to win. Here are some examples:

pokerhand251592
PLO, flop 2 pair, flush draw and backdoor straight draw. 85% equity on the flop, 82% on the turn.

pokerhand249551
PLO, flop top set and nut flush draw. 81% equity when all the money goes in on the flop.

pokerhand251621
PLO, middle set and gutshot versus a couple of short stacks. 60% equity when the money goes in on the flop.

Wish me the best!

My Biggest Pot (so far)

2006-02-20T06:04:00.000-08:00

I decided to go to Harrah's Sunday and found my way to a NLHE table after a long wait. The table was actually fairly tight with action rarely going past the flop. Somebody would raise to $20 or $25 (blinds 2/5), get 1 or 2 callers and then take it down on the flop. This is exactly what happened when I was dealt AA, KK and QQ. Hey, at least I was getting some cards.

A couple new players joined the table after about 30 minutes and I finally found some marks. Donkey#1 would play any ace and donkey#2 would play any two suited. Then it happened, my biggest pot to date. Donk#1 limps UTG, I limp MP with AKo, 3 others limp along and we see a flop of AK5 rainbow. UTG bets $15, I just call, donk#2 calls and everybody else folds. At this point, donk#1 gives away his hand by saying to donk#2, "I have an ace but you probably have me outkicked." The turn is the most beautiful Ace I've ever seen and the cash register is ringing in my head, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching!! UTG bets $15 again, I just call again and donk#2 folds. The river is a 9 for a board of AK5A9, no flush possible. UTG bets $15 again and I put on an acting job, squinting my eyes and acting a little disgusted (I WAS disgusted that he didn't bet more!!). So, I raise $50 and he immediately says, "another $50" and I can't push all my chips in the pot quick enough!! He calls and shows A2 (lol) as I wrap my arms around a $500 pot and pull it forward!

Now, this post would not be totally complete without showcasing donk#2's donkiness. He limps EP, another limps and then a shortstack goes all-in for $73. Donk#2 immediately calls with...........26s, lol. Very next hand I limp UTG with AKo and he goes all-in for $45, it folds back to me and I call. This time he has K6s and HGHN. It was a very nice session!

Interesting Limit Holdem River Decision

2006-02-13T12:48:00.000-08:00

I played a little B&M this weekend for a small profit and in the course was involved in a somewhat interesting river decision.

I raised 2 loose limpers with black K's and 4 of us saw a flop of Kd-4d-5c. I bet and got 2 callers. The turn was the 9s and I bet again and got 1 caller. The river was a scare card, the 6d for a board of Kd-4d-5c-9s-6d and now I get bet into! Despite this player being very donkish, the correct decision here is to just call. Why? Because if you raise and are ahead you gain either 0 or 1 additional bet whereas if you are behind you'll likely get re-raised and lose 2 additional bets. In the hand I just called and the donkey was bluffing with QJo. Had I raised he would have folded.

KC Home Game

2006-02-05T06:52:00.000-08:00

A big thanks to Performify for hosting a sweet home game Saturday night. Deliciously juicy beer brats and a smattering of cold beverages were served before-hand to much delight!

The NLHE game got rolling about 6:30 and there were about 30 runners buying T1000 chips for $20 with a $20 re-buy or add-on available. I drew the eight of diamonds which placed me at the red felt table in front of and beneath the gigantic projection-screen TV in the basement. I introduced myself to the table and seating went like this:

Seat 1: Chris???
Seat 2: Nick
Seat 3: Mark
Seat 4: ME
Seat 5: Liz
Seat 6: Charles
Seat 7: John
Seat 8: Brad
Seat 9: Performify

Blinds started at 10/20 and play was tight as people were feeling each other out. It wasn't until blinds were 20/40 that I voluntairily played my first pot. I raised AQo UTG to T120 and both Liz and Brad called. The flop was TTx and I had to check-fold to a decent sized bet by Brad.

As the BB rolls around to me I look down at J9o and I get to see a free flop versus 3 players. On a Jd-Tx-6d board, I bet T125 and only Chris calls. The turn was the 8d giving me an OESD in addition to TP and I bet T125 again. Chris thinks awhile and reluctantly calls. The river was an offsuit K and we check it down. He has As-Kd...ouch, down to T650. By this time, Grant had already busted out, re-bought and busted again. He got razzed a little since he's an experienced, solid upper middle-limit player, but he was a good sport and eventually stepped in to deal our table.

I never got anything going and took the add-on after the first hour to bump me up to T1600. Then, with blinds of 40/80, Chris, Nick and Mark limp. I look down to find JJ and with so much dead money in the pot I push. John says, "I really wanted to see a flop with this hand" and disgustedly mucks as does everybody else. John asks to see a rabbit flop and it came 5c-6h-7h. John nearly goes bizerk as he would have flopped the nut straight with an OESFD with 8h-9h. That's why you raise your high pocket pair preflop!

Then, with blinds of 50/100, Performify opens for T300 in MP and it folds around to me in BB. I check my hole cards and find KQo and decide to call (we both have a little north of T2000). FLOP: Q-9-8 and I quickly move all-in. Performify says, "Stop and go, huh, I think I have you beat." He thinks for a long time and eventually mucks what I think is TT.

Shortly thereafter, an insane hand occured between John and Brad. John raised to T400 preflop and Brad re-raised to T1400. After a little urging by Nick, John decides to go all-in and it was TT against AA. John flopped a T and turned another for good measure which got a roar from the table and seemed to loosen everybody up. From that point people started dropping like flies.

As the blinds hit 100/200 and the table got short, I raised with KQ and AT and got it up to about T4000.

Before I knew it we were down to the final table with 9 spots getting paid in a pretty flat structure. We drew for seats and I again turned over an 8 (Liz got an A) which put me 3 to the right of her and the button. When my T300 BB came around, Tyler (in a Full Tilt hat) decided to move all-in for T1900 in EP. It folded to me and I had a tough decision with AJo. I got the sense that he was not overly excited about his hand, but that it was decent. After thinking it over for about 15 or 20 seconds I called. He flipped over ATo and my hand held up! I believe Liz busted next and before long we were down to 5. I was 3rd in chips behind Bill (a LAG) and Cujofan, a strong player who placed 4th in the 2005 WPBT event in Vegas.

With blinds of 200/400, Bill opens for T1200 as he often does and I happily re-raise all-in with AKo from the SB and everybody folds.

With blinds still 200/400, the lone remaing loose passive player (didn't catch his name) at the table limps with only about T3000 behind. I decide to uncharacteristically limp OTB with Kh-Js to see if I can hit a flop. The BB checks and the flop comes Jd-9d-8d. It checks to me and I throw out 5 black T100 chips. They both call but I'm forced to fold the turn when another diamond fell and Bill bet out.

Then, for some reason the loose passive player doesn't raise his AJs and Cujofan ends up busting him with 35o from the BB.

Blinds have now hit the max of 250/500 and I have about T4500 with 4 players left. There is a raise and an all-in re-raise in front of me and I make a sick lay down with 99. The hands were A9s and 66 but I would have lost to Bill's runner-runner flush.

Down to 3 now and I'm easily the short stack. I start moving in pretty consistently with hands like KTs, A7s and 55 to take the blinds and stay afloat. Then, I pick up TT OTB and move in again for T4750. Cujofan mucks but Bill insta-calls with K7s! I'm in excellent shape to double up but the flop brings a K and I'm out. Ugh.

In heads-up play Cujofan wins a nice pot with AK and takes a large chip lead. Then, he drops the hammer and Bill calls with A6s. The mighty hammer flops a 7 and Cujofan is the champion!

Congratulations Cujofan! I had a great time and hope to play with all of you guys again soon!

Cold As Ice

2006-02-04T10:27:00.000-08:00

Here are a few examples of how cold I'm running right now.

pokerhand.org/?234718
Creelja is a huge donkey with 70 VPIP and 20 PFR. Unfortunately, sometimes donkeys pick up big hands.

pokerhand.org/?234719
I hit my card on the turn but was drawing dead.

I guess I should be happy that I didn't lose more on those two hands.

pokerhand.org/?234721
I miss the flop and couldn't even buy it on the turn against a player with Q high. What did he put me on, J high??? Jeez.

pokerhand.org/?234726
Here's a big pot that I had to split holding the nuts. For some reason the button didn't re-raise, costing us another $10 each in profit from the station in the above hand.

So yeah, it's been fugly, really, really fugly. I'm now a marginal loser at 5/10 over 8000 hands, but am very confident I can beat this level long term.

Dealing with a large down-swing

2006-01-25T06:42:00.000-08:00

I'm currently in the midst of a 100+ BB down-swing and as painfull as it is to talk about......here are many of the key hands. Feel free to comment on any bad plays you see.

pokerhand.org/?224904
I re-raise a clueless player on the river and he actually had a hand, though he played it extremely poorly. He would play Kx the same way.

pokerhand.org/?224902
Same clueless player as above. I almost re-raised the river, putting him on QJ or TJ.

pokerhand.org/?224900
Maybe this was a poor river bet, but the donkey would have paid me off with any piece of the flop.

pokerhand.org/?224899
It's hard to put an opponent on a runner, runner flush.

pokerhand.org/?224898
Maybe I should have checked behind on the river but I put him on a lower pocket pair. What a passive donkey.

pokerhand.org/?224895
A large junk kicking by a donator.

pokerhand.org/?224893
Another kick in the junk by a feeder.

pokerhand.org/?224890
Just your basic suckout by an ATM machine.

pokerhand.org/?222682
Super annoying hand. At least the donkey played it poorly and saved me a couple bets.

pokerhand.org/?216873
A 2-outer by a massive donkey.

pokerhand.org/?215859
Looks familar doesn't it. Another 2-outer by a huge donkey with 55.

pokerhand.org/?215194
A huge brick on the river! Anybody go LAG and re-raise the turn?

pokerhand.org/?215183
Brick house again. Sing it with me! I'm a brick..........houuussseeeee.

pokerhand.org/?215190
Donkey calls one off on the flop with nothing and hits running trips.

pokerhand.org/?224887
A blind defense gone very, very bad. I should have just called preflop and then check raised the flop to try and take control of the hand.

Most of this down-swing is just variance, but it's very, very annoying. I hate losing to donkeys!! To take my mind off of these beats, I've been mixing in a little Omaha, O8 and NLHE tourneys with good results. However, I still plan to spend most of my poker time moving up the LHE food chain.

B&M Action

2006-01-19T12:20:00.000-08:00

Well, I made it to Ameristar last Friday night at about 6:00 p.m. and was a little sad when the 6/12 LHE list didn't fill up, so I had to stay at 3/6 or move all the way up to 15/30. I wimped out and stayed at my nice juicy table with 7 loose limpers and 1 LAG.

My session started off rough as I badly misplayed a hand that I would have won (gave my opponent too much credit) and then had to fold QQ on the turn when an A hit and I got raised. A couple of the players even started to tease me that I was weak. This didn't bother me though. I knew it was just a matter of time before I blasted the hell out of them. Sure enough, a couple orbits later one of the aformentioned teasers got into a raising war with me on a board of T-6-2 rainbow. He slowed down on the turn but paid off my KK with T8o. Nice hand sir.

The most interesting hand of the night went like this: 3 loose limpers to me and I call OTB with 9s-Ts. Blinds come along to see a flop of Qs-8s-2h. It checks to me and I bet to build a pot and weed out a few players. To my surprise, only 2 people call. Turn: 6d, it checks to me again and I bet. (Some would argue that checking here is correct and I think it's okay, but I prefer to bet b/c it forces my opponents to call AND win at showdown. In other words, for either of them to win, they have to call AND I have to miss my good draw. It gives me an additional way to win the pot. I also got the feeling like they didn't have anything.) Only 1 of them called and the river was the 3d. He checks again and I fire one last bet hoping that he would fold an A, low pair or busted draw. To my dismay he calls and says, "Two pair," showing 23o. Ahh, you played the powerful 23o, nh sir! This player went on to drop over $500 at the table and left saying, "I can't believe it, I usually win at this game." Bahahahaha.

As for me, I finished up $275 on the night :) I really need to play more B&M.

Playing some live Texas Holdem tonight - time to review tells

2006-01-13T14:32:00.000-08:00

The wifey is giving me a free pass to go out tonight after work (thanks Babycakes!) which is really a pretty big deal considering we have 3 kids under 6 years old that require a TON of time and attention. I'm not sure why she's in such a great mood, maybe it was that BIG O that I gave her the other night ;) and no, she wasn't faking!

So in preparation of live play, I'm reviewing some tells. Here are signs of strong hands, typically:

1) Guards cards (they are valuable!)

2) Act non-threatening (please don't fold, I have a monster)

3) Genuine smile (I'm really going to stick it to you!)

4) Strange behavior (I'm going to act like an idiot so he'll want to call and see what I have - Vinny Vinh jumping jacks on WPT)

5) Look down at chips after flop (time to get my money in with the best of it!)

6) Good posture (sitting up b/c excited about hand)

7) Leaning forward (ready to attack with a good hand)

8) Quick glance at cards (my cards are really good and I don't want anybody to see them)

9) Plays a hand while stacking chips (I want to stack my chips but my hand is just too good!)

Here are weak tells:

1) Shuffle cards (I don't care if these flip over b/c they are garbage)

2) "My cards look good" (trying to act strong b/c weak)

3) Appears ready to bet (trying to act strong b/c weak)

4) Cover mouth when betting (Subconsciously saying, "I don't have much")

5) "I dare you" (trying to act strong when weak)

6) Looking back at hole cards (if you have it, you know it!)

7) Raising voice (trying to act threatening b/c weak)

8) Eye pupil dilation (full of shit)

9) Tossing for distance (again, trying to act threatening b/c weak)

In summary, when a player is acting strong they are usually weak and vice versa. This obviously is not true of all players, but I think it's true for most. The two tells that I tend to use the most are the "look down" and body posture.

Even more important are betting patterns. Do they play lots of pots or very few. Do they raise with strong hands, strong draws or weak hands. What I'll look for are the loose limpers. I've wrote about this extensively in previous posts, but they are your personal ATM machine. Loose limper to you in late position with 88, raise it up and isolate them. Anytime you think you have the best hand preflop and can isolate, raise it! Then, if you still think that you have the best hand post flop, bet, raise and re-raise liberally.

Okay, that's it for now. Have a great weekend and wish me strong hands and good odds!

Stay Aggressive!

2006-01-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

A lot of players will just call a raise or re-raise in a big multi-way pot, which can be a big mistake. If you think you have the best hand, raise and re-raise!! Stay aggressive, especially if you're up against donkeys. Here's a good example:

Pokerhand.org/?208278

All the players involved in this hand (except me) had a VPIP of at least 40. I was 99% confident that I had the best hand, plus I had the re-draw to the boat. Gotta love it!

Here is another example:

Pokerhand.org/?208287

It's really too bad that somebody didn't have AA ;) and check out my opponents river raise. Yes, he was a monkey.

Avoiding Tilt

2005-12-31T13:26:00.000-08:00

During my normal 5/10 LHE game last night, I suffered a brutal beat to a lag donkey who caught a 4-outer on the river to beat me out of a big pot. I 3-bet the donk preflop with 99 in LP and only he called. The flop was A-Q-9 and he check-called my bet. The turn brought a 4 and he check-raised, I re-raised and we capped. River Q, he bet, I raised, he re-raised and I called. He had AQ.

But then, an amazing thing happened. I didn't get upset at all - not even a little. If I had it to do all over again, I'd play the hand the exact same way. It's taken a couple of years, but I think I'm finally at that place where I truely care more about maximizing my EV than winning pots. As a result, I can avoid "suckout tilt" and remain focused on playing my A game. I invite you to do the same.

Value bet the donkey's to death!

2005-12-23T13:08:00.000-08:00

After selecting a juicy table (and good table position) with the help of Poker Tracker and Poker Ace Hud, you're now in an excellent spot to pound the loose limpers with pre-flop raises and value bet them to death when you hit a hand. Here are a couple examples from my recent 10-handed, 5/10 game.

Donkey (60 VPIP - loose limper and calling station) directly to my right limps and I raise with 99, BB calls, donkey calls and we see a flop of T-6-4 rainbow. Checks to donkey and he bets, I raise, BB folds, donk calls. Turn: T, check-bet-call. River: 8, check-bet-call and he shows K2o. Maximum value!

Donkey (65 VPIP - loose station) two to my right open limps in MP, folds to me and I raise with QJo, yes, just QJo. Why, because I think I have the best hand and the blinds are passive. Only the donk calls and we see a flop of A-Q-7. Check-bet-call. Turn: 6, check-bet-call. River: T, check-bet-call and he shows Q9. Again, maximum value! Get the idea here?!

My 5 BB/100 win rate is probably unsustainable, but when I take my time and find the fish, get position on them and then exploit them again and again, maybe it's not?!

Pound the loose limpers

2005-12-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

Solid (tight) players are often too tight against bad (loose) players in late position. Take the following situation: a loose limper with a VPIP of 35 limps in MP and it folds to you on the button. You look down at Q9s and think, "garbage" and muck. ((((BUZZ)))) Wrong play! A player with a VPIP of 35 will have a wide range of trash, even something as weak as 24s or 67o. These are the types of players that you can feed on while you're waiting for your big hands.

Loose limper to you in LP with 55, raise it up! Two loose limpers to you with A5s, raise it up! Anytime you feel that you have the best hand, RAISE IT!! Abuse the hell out of these lemurs! Sure, your variance will go up but so will your win rate over the long-term, and that's what's most important.

Short-Handed Tips

2005-12-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

With the sudden interest in short-handed play by Colin, Mourn and others, I give you a couple of interesting articles by John Dagostino. Enjoy!

J-Dags Short-Handed LHE Tips

J-Dags Short-Handed NLHE Tips

Getting away from rockets

2005-12-12T05:39:00.000-08:00

10 Players

One MP limper and you raise the cutoff with Ad-Ac. BB and limper call.

FLOP: Qs-Jh-6s, MP checks, you bet, both call.

TURN: 9s, MP checks, you bet, BB calls, MP raises.

10 Players

You open raise in EP with Ah-Ad, LP cold-calls, BB raises, you cap and LP calls.

FLOP: Kc-8c-6c, BB checks, you bet, LP calls, BB raises.

You are spewing chips if you can't fold rockets in these two situations. Most of the time you are drawing dead or extremely thin. In the first hand, MP had Ks-Ts. In the second, BB had KK and LP had Ac-Qs.

How to parlay $10 into $300

2005-12-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

Recently, Empire Poker (where I don't play anymore) put a free $10 into my account, so I decide to try and parlay it at the No-Limit Holdem tables. My strategy at first is to simply find a hand and play fast.

First stop, $25 table:

I fold trash for two orbits and then pick up KK in EP and raise to $1. An idiot directly to my left min raises to $2 and an LP player cold-calls. I jam for my remaining $8.30 and triple up versus JJ and AQ. Sweet!

Next orbit I raise one limper in LP with Ad-Kd and he calls. FLOP: As-Jd-6s and we get all-in. He has Ah-Qs and my hand holds up!

Next stop, $50 table:

I basically fold for 3 orbits and then limp with 55 in MP behind 2 limpers. Button wakes up and raises to $3. We all call. FLOP: Jd-9d-5s. Bingo! I bet $10 and button jams for $65. Both EP players fold and I can't call quickly enough. My set holds up against Ad-As.

Next stop, $100 table:

A couple orbits in I get tricky and raise 5s-6s to $3 UTG. Only button calls. FLOP: 2s-4c-9s, I bet $6 and button raises to $18. I jam and he types, "well you must have AA or KK" and folds, which means he had QQ. I'm now up to about $120.

Very next hand I see a free flop from BB with 7c-4c. FLOP: Js-7s-4h. I bet $4 and UTG (with only $50 behind) raises to $14. MP and SB fold and I jam. He calls with KK and my hand holds up again! Up to $175.

About 5 orbits later a pretty good MP player ($125 behind) opens for $3 and I just call on the button with Ah-Kh. The BB calls as well and we see a flop of Js-Th-3h. BB checks, MP bets $9, I raise to $35, BB folds and MP calls. TURN: 4s, check-check. RIVER: 9h, MP bets $30 and I push him all-in with the nuts. He thinks forever and finally calls with Ks-Qs. Time to go holiday shopping for the wife!

Save that fancy AA limp re-raise for no-limit

2005-12-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

Talk about a tell, look at the action on this hand.

A tight/tricky Villain in UTG+1 limps and hero raises with JJ. It folds back to Villain and he re-raises; hero becomes suspicious of a big hand and calls. FLOP: 9-T-Q, Villain bets and hero just calls. TURN: 3, check-check. RIVER: 5, bet-call. Villain has AA.

Now, let's take a look and see what would have happened if Villain wouldn't have gotten so cute.

Villain in UTG+1 raises and hero re-raises. It folds back to Villain who caps, hero calls. FLOP: Villain bets, hero raises, Villain 3-bets, hero calls. TURN: Villain bets and hero calls. RIVER: Villain bets and hero calls. Villain would have collected 3 more small bets and 1 more big bet.

I realize that some very smart people like Abdul Jalib recommend limp re-raising with big hands under certain table conditions, but IMO it's never right in limit holdem. Save that play for the no-limit games with a LAG or two behind you.

Take free cards against solid opponents

2005-12-01T12:20:00.000-08:00

In analyzing some recent play, I've come to the conclusion that I'm not taking enough free cards on the turn. The situation is often something like this:

I attempt a steal from late position with something like KJo or A2s and bet a missed flop or draw, only to have my solid (non-peel and fold) opponent call. The turn gives no help or a draw and I fire another shell with the same result or a check raise. Ugh.

It's spots like this that often makes me grab for the barf bag and as my friend Tim reminded me, remember Sklansky: "Don't bet if a raise will make you throw up." That's well put and something that has slipped my mind in recent sessions. Take those free cards and keep the Pepto-Bismol in the cabinet!

Beware of the passive raiser

2005-11-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

Recently, I played the following 5/10 Limit Holdem hand:

I open raise with 99 UTG+2 and Mr. Weak/Tight directly to my left thinks awhile and cold-calls; the SB and BB call.

FLOP: 7h-5s-4d, I lead with a bet, Mr. WT insta calls, SB calls, BB folds. So far so good.

TURN: 5d, SB checks, I bet and Mr. WT insta raises, SB folds and the action is back to me - time to go into the tank. I rule out an overpair b/c 99% of LHE players would have raised the flop to protect their hand. Checking his aggression stats, they are pretty low (around 1.5) or passive on all streets. For this reason, I also rule out a flush draw such as Ad-Qd. Passive players aren't capable of semi-bluffing a draw like that. I figure that he must have a made hand such as A5s (although calling 2 bets preflop there would be horrible) or more likely 77. I let the timer run down and eventually fold even though I'm getting 8.5:1 to call. He shows...........77, the Scottro.

Some of my friends disagree with my decision to fold, but I stand by it in this situation. When a straight-forward, passive player becomes aggressive, get ready to duck.

Selecting juicy tables

2005-11-21T12:57:00.000-08:00

One thing that I failed to mention in my previous post was how to select the best tables. If you like fishy tables, follow this process:

1)Open PokerTracker
2)Select auto import hand histories from hard drive
3)Start timer (60 seconds)
4)Open 10, full ring poker tables
5)Let it data mine for 30 minutes or so
6)Open PokerAce Hud
7)Look for tables with average VP$IP of 30 or higher, PFR of 9 or lower and pot size of 7X (or more) the big blind.

Typically, tables with these stats have 2 or 3 very loose/passive players. Happy fishing!

Use those poker tools!

2005-11-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

If you are a serious Internet poker player and are not using Poker Tracker and Poker Ace Hud, you're missing out on extremely valuable information about you and your opponents' play.

Poker Tracker allows you to examine how many times you see the flop, raise, go to showdown and more. But the best feature, IMO, is that it logs the stats of every player you have ever played against! You can see how often they voluntarily pot money in the pot, raise pre-flop, check-raise, win at showdown and much more.

Poker Ace Hud is an incredible program that overlays player statistics from your database right on top of the table you are playing! This, along with a little data mining (auto-import hand histories) enables you to get instant reads on your opponents. You will know if they are loose, tight, aggressive or passive. The implications of this are significant. It could very well add 1BB/100 or more to your win rate.

Selecting a Table Position

To best take advantage of loose/passive players, try to get a seat directly to their left. When they limp-in, you can raise your strong hand and often isolate them.

On the other hand, it's usually not a good idea to sit directly to the left of a loose/aggressive player unless you like getting pounded with raises and battling back at them.

The ideal situation, IMO, is to have loose/passive players on your right (for reasons above) and tight players on your left who you can push around and steal from.

Pre-flop Play

If a player with a low pre-flop raise (PFR) percentage raises, get ready to muck AQo and worse in LHE. However, re-raising with AQo is likely +EV against a loose player with a high PFR. Of course, if you're playing deep stack NLHE, you can call with a wide range of hands becuase of your implied odds.

Post-flop Play

If you miss the flop, don't bet into players with a high VP$IP (voluntarily put $ in pot) and high WTSD% (went to showdown). These players are typically calling stations. However, if you miss the flop against a player with a low WTSD%, get ready to bet.

If a player with a low WTSD% and high W$SD% (win $ at showdown) calls your flop bet, you are often behind unless you have a big hand.

If a highly aggressive player with a low W$SD and high VP$IP bets, think about calling him down with a mediocre hand.

When you hit a big flop and the players behind have low aggression, make certain you bet.

The Bottom Line

Poker Ace Hud will give you the 'wrong' read on occasion, but overall the numbers don't lie and you'll likely increase your win rate while being more comfortable at the tables.

So what are you waiting for, if you don't have Poker Tracker or Poker Ace Hud, click on one of these links and get it!!

Background

2005-11-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

Previous to this blog, I posted poker content in my Live Journal. I'm starting this blog to make additional friends and share ideas.

I've been playing consistently for over two years now. I started playing $0.50/1.00 Limit Holdem as a hobby, with a goal of gradually moving up in limits and turning $100 into $100,000. So far, I'm up about $6,000 and now mainly play 5/10 LHE with my eye on 10/20. As a change of pace, I'll play some tourney's on Party, including the $500K. I'm also learning PLO, O8 and Triple Draw, and will play some of those games on Ultimate Bet.

My nickname, "Never-Limp" speaks for itself. I hate cold-calling and will either raise or fold virtually every time in LHE. My screen names include nolimpin, No_Limpin1 and neverlimp.