Tropicana $1-2 NL Holdem ($200 cap)
1 hour
+ $185
Paris $1-2 NL Holdem ($300 cap)
2 hours
+ $140
Ballys $1-2 NL Holdem ($300 cap)
1 hour
+ $30
Good people of the Interweb, I am back.
Thanks to my brother for giving me a break from posting while he was in town. While he was here I had my first losing session in over a month. That was inevitable and wasn't for much money. But damn, I hate losing. I was so mad I threw my cards into dealer Aaron's midsection. It wasn't on purpose but I knew then that I was getting too frustrated to play anywhere close to my best.
I also played a $2-4 limit session without looking at my holecards, except when I got raised on the turn or river. I won for the session. I should be taking advantage of more bluffing situations than I am. I mean, I did stop-and-go "bluff call" stuff just so I could represent hands on the turn and river, and it worked, so I really need to work this in more to my no-limit game where those tactics work better.
Today I wanted to reach $4K for the month. I did that and now I'm taking the next couple days off.
Here are the basic numbers for the month:
Total profit: $4,030
Total hours: 109
Hourly rate: $37
I can do better but this is a good earn rate for $1-2 NL live games. So many freakin expenses this month that I didn't build my bankroll as much as I wanted as I work towards making $2-5 NL my regular game.
Oh, yeah. One more thing. John H from North Carolina is an Incredible Luckbox.
Monday, January 29, 2007
'Lil Bro's Guest Blog #3
Highwaytime's Results:
Excalibur $2-4 Limit Holdem (Playing Blind)
1 hour
+ $55
-----------------------
'Lil Bro's Results:
Excalibur $2-4 Limit Holdem
1 hour
- $21
I was as card dead as I've been all trip (best hands were 88, K9h, A3h, ATo, and A7o), but I managed to stay disciplined and minimize losses. I lost about $12 more than I should have in one pot (basically the inverse of the Aladdin hand - double paired board and I had bottom full house) but other than that I played well. My best hand was calling down the aggressive player with a low pair - it's satisfying to make a solid read.
Highwaytime was playing blind - not looking at his cards except occasionally on later streets when he was convinced that an opponent was not going away regardless of the action. Fortunately for him he never showed down with total crap - the worst was king high, and he won a pot with ace high. He also had a surprise two pair one time. But the best moments were getting people to lay down hands. It was interesting to watch him, knowing that every bet was a move - it got to the point where, when he was in a hand, I could usually guess when he was going to bluff people off. For a $2-4 game it was fairly tight, which helped him. At one point, a guy mucked two pair face up.
-'lil bro
Excalibur $2-4 Limit Holdem (Playing Blind)
1 hour
+ $55
-----------------------
'Lil Bro's Results:
Excalibur $2-4 Limit Holdem
1 hour
- $21
I was as card dead as I've been all trip (best hands were 88, K9h, A3h, ATo, and A7o), but I managed to stay disciplined and minimize losses. I lost about $12 more than I should have in one pot (basically the inverse of the Aladdin hand - double paired board and I had bottom full house) but other than that I played well. My best hand was calling down the aggressive player with a low pair - it's satisfying to make a solid read.
Highwaytime was playing blind - not looking at his cards except occasionally on later streets when he was convinced that an opponent was not going away regardless of the action. Fortunately for him he never showed down with total crap - the worst was king high, and he won a pot with ace high. He also had a surprise two pair one time. But the best moments were getting people to lay down hands. It was interesting to watch him, knowing that every bet was a move - it got to the point where, when he was in a hand, I could usually guess when he was going to bluff people off. For a $2-4 game it was fairly tight, which helped him. At one point, a guy mucked two pair face up.
-'lil bro
Saturday, January 27, 2007
'Lil Bro's Guest Blog #2
Highwaytime's Results:
(Saturday) Green Valley Ranch $1-2 NL Holdem
6 hours
+ $410
(Friday) Aladdin $1-2 NL Holdem
9 hours
- $275
-------------------------
'lil bro's Results:
(Fri Afternoon) Aladdin $3-6 limit Holdem
2 hours
+$10
(Fri Evening) Aladdin $3-6 limit Holdem
2 hours
+$3
Obviously, mostly treading water here. The first table was a pretty good table, I wasn't involved in any big pots. The second table was a wild table, with several agressive players as well as some extremely loose ones. I was very card-dead at this table, which was unfortunate because it made it hard to take advantage of the loose play. My KK didn't hold up, but I won an $80 pot with third nuts against fifth nuts (J9d on a 99733 board against someone with a 3).
-'lil bro
(Saturday) Green Valley Ranch $1-2 NL Holdem
6 hours
+ $410
(Friday) Aladdin $1-2 NL Holdem
9 hours
- $275
-------------------------
'lil bro's Results:
(Fri Afternoon) Aladdin $3-6 limit Holdem
2 hours
+$10
(Fri Evening) Aladdin $3-6 limit Holdem
2 hours
+$3
Obviously, mostly treading water here. The first table was a pretty good table, I wasn't involved in any big pots. The second table was a wild table, with several agressive players as well as some extremely loose ones. I was very card-dead at this table, which was unfortunate because it made it hard to take advantage of the loose play. My KK didn't hold up, but I won an $80 pot with third nuts against fifth nuts (J9d on a 99733 board against someone with a 3).
-'lil bro
Friday, January 26, 2007
'Lil Bro's Guest Blog #1
Highwaytime's Results:
Aladdin $1-2 NL Holdem
2 hours
+ $100
-------------------------
'lil bro's results:
Aladdin $3-6 Limit Holdem
2 Hours
+ $110
I actually busted (lost $80) early on - lost an $80 pot when 10's rivered a set against my kings, and lost about $50 on flush-over-flush. But I re-bought and immediately went on a rush (flopped trip 4's with 42s in the big blind, top-top with A9s, top pair with KJs), capped off by a $101 jackpot for quad 7's.
As usual for a low-limit game, there were several really bad players moving through the game. The one who was there the entire time, sitting two seats to my right, provided the greatest moment of comedy of the night. After calling down bet after bet in hand after hand, he spent a good half-minute staring at his hand on the river, before declaring "all-in" and pushing for about $50. Asian Dealer John calmly remarked, "Sir, this is a limit table."
After correcting his bet with some more help from ADJ, he revealed his nuts (broadway straight) and scooped the pot. He spent the next ten minutes defending himself from ridicule from his (reasonably competent) friend, eventually defending himself by saying, "I just thought people were making small bets because they didn't have much."
When I told highwaytime about this, we began a discussion of the various things you can do at a table to make people think you are a total newbie. Higwaytime decided the NL equivalent would be pulling out your wallet and saying "I raise you $1,000 more."
-'lil bro
Aladdin $1-2 NL Holdem
2 hours
+ $100
-------------------------
'lil bro's results:
Aladdin $3-6 Limit Holdem
2 Hours
+ $110
I actually busted (lost $80) early on - lost an $80 pot when 10's rivered a set against my kings, and lost about $50 on flush-over-flush. But I re-bought and immediately went on a rush (flopped trip 4's with 42s in the big blind, top-top with A9s, top pair with KJs), capped off by a $101 jackpot for quad 7's.
As usual for a low-limit game, there were several really bad players moving through the game. The one who was there the entire time, sitting two seats to my right, provided the greatest moment of comedy of the night. After calling down bet after bet in hand after hand, he spent a good half-minute staring at his hand on the river, before declaring "all-in" and pushing for about $50. Asian Dealer John calmly remarked, "Sir, this is a limit table."
After correcting his bet with some more help from ADJ, he revealed his nuts (broadway straight) and scooped the pot. He spent the next ten minutes defending himself from ridicule from his (reasonably competent) friend, eventually defending himself by saying, "I just thought people were making small bets because they didn't have much."
When I told highwaytime about this, we began a discussion of the various things you can do at a table to make people think you are a total newbie. Higwaytime decided the NL equivalent would be pulling out your wallet and saying "I raise you $1,000 more."
-'lil bro
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Finally a Suckout
Ballys $1-2 NL Holdem, $300 cap
4 hours
+ $155
So you've been getting beat up for most of the session. Now you're in a big multiway pot that you raised preflop and you get it all in on a Qd Th 7d board with your AdKd. Heads-up for $650. That's not really such a bad spot to be in, but you still don't want to be looking at pocket queens. If you could pick one card to come out, it would be the card Lancey Howard has in the hole in the final 5-card Stud scene of The Cincinnati Kid.
4 hours
+ $155
So you've been getting beat up for most of the session. Now you're in a big multiway pot that you raised preflop and you get it all in on a Qd Th 7d board with your AdKd. Heads-up for $650. That's not really such a bad spot to be in, but you still don't want to be looking at pocket queens. If you could pick one card to come out, it would be the card Lancey Howard has in the hole in the final 5-card Stud scene of The Cincinnati Kid.
Out of Line? I Don't Think So
Aladdin $1-2 NL Holdem
8 hours
+ $100
I'm not thrilled with the session I played today, not only because I feel like I should have won more, but also because a raise I made at the end of the session apparently antagonized another local player, a regular who plays for a living.
I limped in early position with As4s. A player moved all-in for $15. Steve called, the pro called, and two other players called. Then it got back to me. I didn't think the all-in player had a very strong hand. If I could get the hand heads-up by raising I would have a +EV situation even if I was beat because of all the dead money in the pot. This is not a play I usually make but it's important to vary your play and take advantage of a tight image when you can. I will limp with AA and KK maybe a third of the time I get them in early position. So anyway, when the action got back to me I raised to $100. Steve thought for a long time, looked liked he wanted to crush the table with his bare hands, and mucked (he later said he had pocket tens and was sure I was making a move--but I have to say it seems like he's sure about a lot of things after the fact). Everybody else folded, too. The all-in player had A5 offsuit and we split the pot.
The pro had mucked pocket nines and would have made quads with a $190 jackpot. He picked up his remaining chips and left the game. Patrick went over to talk to him, and when he got back to the table reported back that the pro was pissed off at me.
I think it's mostly temporary frustration of his mucking a jackpot hand as well as his running bad lately. But it seems like with some locals--and I can't say for sure if this is where he's coming from--they expect you to uphold a Local Players Truce, so that you only go to war with the out-of-towners. If they are invested in the pot you are not supposed to make big bets without a monster hand. I don't believe in this. I understand that if I am playing unpredictably it makes life harder for people, but there's nothing I can do about that if I want to play strong poker. Because I want to play actual Poker, not Peddle-the-Nuts Against the Tourists.
8 hours
+ $100
I'm not thrilled with the session I played today, not only because I feel like I should have won more, but also because a raise I made at the end of the session apparently antagonized another local player, a regular who plays for a living.
I limped in early position with As4s. A player moved all-in for $15. Steve called, the pro called, and two other players called. Then it got back to me. I didn't think the all-in player had a very strong hand. If I could get the hand heads-up by raising I would have a +EV situation even if I was beat because of all the dead money in the pot. This is not a play I usually make but it's important to vary your play and take advantage of a tight image when you can. I will limp with AA and KK maybe a third of the time I get them in early position. So anyway, when the action got back to me I raised to $100. Steve thought for a long time, looked liked he wanted to crush the table with his bare hands, and mucked (he later said he had pocket tens and was sure I was making a move--but I have to say it seems like he's sure about a lot of things after the fact). Everybody else folded, too. The all-in player had A5 offsuit and we split the pot.
The pro had mucked pocket nines and would have made quads with a $190 jackpot. He picked up his remaining chips and left the game. Patrick went over to talk to him, and when he got back to the table reported back that the pro was pissed off at me.
I think it's mostly temporary frustration of his mucking a jackpot hand as well as his running bad lately. But it seems like with some locals--and I can't say for sure if this is where he's coming from--they expect you to uphold a Local Players Truce, so that you only go to war with the out-of-towners. If they are invested in the pot you are not supposed to make big bets without a monster hand. I don't believe in this. I understand that if I am playing unpredictably it makes life harder for people, but there's nothing I can do about that if I want to play strong poker. Because I want to play actual Poker, not Peddle-the-Nuts Against the Tourists.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Getting Unstuck
Aladdin $1-2 NL Holdem
6 hours
+ $40
So when I lost my initial buy-in on the very first hand and soon lost another massive pot when I got all-in preflop with AA and lost to QQ, I figured it was probably not going to be a big day for me. So when I got back above even, I was out of my chair so fast you'd have thought it had caught fire.
Steve was sitting at the next table and when he made quads he used my line of, "Call this if you don't like money." Duly respectful of the origins of this technique, he kicked up a dollar to me for using the line successfully. Sometimes I am so proud of my students that I am like a papa seeing his children finally make good. And when I think of this particular technique, it puts me in mind of what Mr. Miyagi says in the Karate Kid when Daniel asks him about the Crane Technique: "When do right, no can defense!"
6 hours
+ $40
So when I lost my initial buy-in on the very first hand and soon lost another massive pot when I got all-in preflop with AA and lost to QQ, I figured it was probably not going to be a big day for me. So when I got back above even, I was out of my chair so fast you'd have thought it had caught fire.
Steve was sitting at the next table and when he made quads he used my line of, "Call this if you don't like money." Duly respectful of the origins of this technique, he kicked up a dollar to me for using the line successfully. Sometimes I am so proud of my students that I am like a papa seeing his children finally make good. And when I think of this particular technique, it puts me in mind of what Mr. Miyagi says in the Karate Kid when Daniel asks him about the Crane Technique: "When do right, no can defense!"
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Call This if You Don't Like Money
Aladdin $1-2 NL Holdem
4 hours
+ $340
I put an opponent all-in with quads and used my line of, "Call this if you don't like money!" The key is to say it loudly, with complete arrogance, and to say it against the right type of opponent. Two-for-two now using this line with quads.
On my second vodka-and-grapefruit I called off $50 thinking I had a flush. But I made it back on another vodka-and-grapefruit move, raising to $20 from the BB in a straddled pot with 4-7 off, getting three callers, then bluffing it down with a $60 bet on an AK3 board. After I showed the bluff Patrick advised me to leave before I shipped off all my chips and I took that advice.
4 hours
+ $340
I put an opponent all-in with quads and used my line of, "Call this if you don't like money!" The key is to say it loudly, with complete arrogance, and to say it against the right type of opponent. Two-for-two now using this line with quads.
On my second vodka-and-grapefruit I called off $50 thinking I had a flush. But I made it back on another vodka-and-grapefruit move, raising to $20 from the BB in a straddled pot with 4-7 off, getting three callers, then bluffing it down with a $60 bet on an AK3 board. After I showed the bluff Patrick advised me to leave before I shipped off all my chips and I took that advice.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Eagle Scouts of America
Not gonna play today. Just feeling tired and down and I don't play well when I'm like this.
I'll share with you guys my pet peeve when it comes to poker.
No, it's not when someone bluffs a dry sidepot in a tournament.
No, it's not when some supertight old man sits down for a half hour, doesn't play a hand, then asks for a setup.
I encountered my favorite opponent of all time at the Luxor in a $1-2 no limit game almost two years ago. This was a $50 buy-in game. That was the most you could start with, but this man was in the game for over $600 in the couple hours since I sat down. He was a happy-go-lucky mustached midwesterner, mid-forties, in town for some agricultural convention. He never raised a hand. He just waited for you to make a hand, then called down any bets to the river if he had a draw as good as a gutshot or a hand as good as Queen-high. When he lost his chips he pulled out an overstuffed bank envelope full of hundred dollar bills and gave one to a dealer standing to the side of the table. You see, the Luxor had an ad-hoc chip runner designated for this guy, like a personal valet.
He didn't really care if he won or lost. But while he was in Vegas he wanted to be the big gambler, flashing his hundreds and getting attention. And he wanted respect, if not for the way he played, at least for his willingness to gamble.
Then this young local player sits down with his iPod and his track jacket. He watches what is going on and catches my eye hoping I will share his contempt for this guy's play and we can enjoy a shared moment of quiet superiority. This is the young Eagle Scout of Poker. You have met him before, or one of his Brothers, or you'll meet him soon if you play enough cards. His play is technically good. He reports what the odds were after hands are over, tries to enforce the rules, and lets everyone know he is a Poker Player. He doesn't see the big picture.
What happens in this game is the Midwesterner exposes one of his cards before the hand is over--actually I'm not even sure, it may have been some other infraction--he does something against the rules but only because he doesn't know any better. When the dealer fails to yell loudly enough, Eagle Scout demands the floorman come and discipline the gamblin sumbitch.
Eagle Scout doesn't see the big picture. Eagle Scout just disrespected the guy, made him feel not-so-special, like he is not really a big important gambler after all but a lousy kid who needs to report to the principal's office. In short Eagle Scout does the one thing that will get the Midwesterner to leave the game. And that's what the guy does, picking up his remaining chips in a huff.
I've seen this scene play out several times since. Every time there's a rambling gambling player--usually a loose-aggressive guy as opposed to the guy at the Luxor who was more loose-passive--and there's also an Eagle Scout at the same table, you have a delicate situation that can turn ugly fast. If a conflict arises, and it probably will, resolve to come to the defense of the Gambler as long as he's not ridiculously out of line.
I'll share with you guys my pet peeve when it comes to poker.
No, it's not when someone bluffs a dry sidepot in a tournament.
No, it's not when some supertight old man sits down for a half hour, doesn't play a hand, then asks for a setup.
I encountered my favorite opponent of all time at the Luxor in a $1-2 no limit game almost two years ago. This was a $50 buy-in game. That was the most you could start with, but this man was in the game for over $600 in the couple hours since I sat down. He was a happy-go-lucky mustached midwesterner, mid-forties, in town for some agricultural convention. He never raised a hand. He just waited for you to make a hand, then called down any bets to the river if he had a draw as good as a gutshot or a hand as good as Queen-high. When he lost his chips he pulled out an overstuffed bank envelope full of hundred dollar bills and gave one to a dealer standing to the side of the table. You see, the Luxor had an ad-hoc chip runner designated for this guy, like a personal valet.
He didn't really care if he won or lost. But while he was in Vegas he wanted to be the big gambler, flashing his hundreds and getting attention. And he wanted respect, if not for the way he played, at least for his willingness to gamble.
Then this young local player sits down with his iPod and his track jacket. He watches what is going on and catches my eye hoping I will share his contempt for this guy's play and we can enjoy a shared moment of quiet superiority. This is the young Eagle Scout of Poker. You have met him before, or one of his Brothers, or you'll meet him soon if you play enough cards. His play is technically good. He reports what the odds were after hands are over, tries to enforce the rules, and lets everyone know he is a Poker Player. He doesn't see the big picture.
What happens in this game is the Midwesterner exposes one of his cards before the hand is over--actually I'm not even sure, it may have been some other infraction--he does something against the rules but only because he doesn't know any better. When the dealer fails to yell loudly enough, Eagle Scout demands the floorman come and discipline the gamblin sumbitch.
Eagle Scout doesn't see the big picture. Eagle Scout just disrespected the guy, made him feel not-so-special, like he is not really a big important gambler after all but a lousy kid who needs to report to the principal's office. In short Eagle Scout does the one thing that will get the Midwesterner to leave the game. And that's what the guy does, picking up his remaining chips in a huff.
I've seen this scene play out several times since. Every time there's a rambling gambling player--usually a loose-aggressive guy as opposed to the guy at the Luxor who was more loose-passive--and there's also an Eagle Scout at the same table, you have a delicate situation that can turn ugly fast. If a conflict arises, and it probably will, resolve to come to the defense of the Gambler as long as he's not ridiculously out of line.
More PLO
Aladdin $1-2 Pot Limit Omaha
3 hours
+ $65
Aladdin $1-2 NL Holdem
2 hours
+ $225
Wow, right now it's just sick how much better I am at NLH than I am at PLO. The numbers above don't do it justice.
3 hours
+ $65
Aladdin $1-2 NL Holdem
2 hours
+ $225
Wow, right now it's just sick how much better I am at NLH than I am at PLO. The numbers above don't do it justice.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
The Nasty PLO
Aladdin $1-2 Pot Limit Omaha, no cap
3 hours
+ $50
Aladdin $1-2 NL
4 hours
+ $80
When I got to Aladdin the NL game was full and packed with regulars. Eric was back in town, Patrick was in the game, Dealer John was sitting, and the Educated Donkey had a stack in front of him, too.
I started a Pot Limit Omaha game. Steve joined up and it began 5-handed. Within an hour, though, it was down to three-handed between me, the "Gambling Duke," and an aggressive guy who regularly plays $10-20 PLO in Michigan.
I felt off my game. One good thing about playing on the internet is you can easily practice different games, but I haven't been online and haven't played PLO in a while. Against most players in live PLO, it's pretty easy to read hands and figure out what everybody has, but it was hard to do against Michigan and the Gambling Duke cause they both bet a lot of draws, bluffs, and made hands. This game was hardcore. They were going to war like every hand and I was sniping at them from the corners. It was turning into a bloodbath and after three hours Steve quit the game out of frustration and I found myself a $50 winner.
After that I played NL for another four hours. Really card dead but got some chips by calling a $100 river bet with 57 on a 345TQ board. I just couldn't think of a good reason not to go with my read that the guy had a busted straight draw.
3 hours
+ $50
Aladdin $1-2 NL
4 hours
+ $80
When I got to Aladdin the NL game was full and packed with regulars. Eric was back in town, Patrick was in the game, Dealer John was sitting, and the Educated Donkey had a stack in front of him, too.
I started a Pot Limit Omaha game. Steve joined up and it began 5-handed. Within an hour, though, it was down to three-handed between me, the "Gambling Duke," and an aggressive guy who regularly plays $10-20 PLO in Michigan.
I felt off my game. One good thing about playing on the internet is you can easily practice different games, but I haven't been online and haven't played PLO in a while. Against most players in live PLO, it's pretty easy to read hands and figure out what everybody has, but it was hard to do against Michigan and the Gambling Duke cause they both bet a lot of draws, bluffs, and made hands. This game was hardcore. They were going to war like every hand and I was sniping at them from the corners. It was turning into a bloodbath and after three hours Steve quit the game out of frustration and I found myself a $50 winner.
After that I played NL for another four hours. Really card dead but got some chips by calling a $100 river bet with 57 on a 345TQ board. I just couldn't think of a good reason not to go with my read that the guy had a busted straight draw.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Playing Blind
Aladdin $1-2 NL
5 hrs
+ $240
I couldn't see the boardcards tonight. Aladdin is in the process of becoming Planet Hollywood, and with all the remodeling and construction there's dust in the air and it has been killing my contacts. I took them out, and when the flop came I was standing up and leaning over the middle of the table. I had the whole table laughing cause nobody believed my vision was really that bad.
Later this month I plan to sit in the $1-3 spread limit game at Excalibur and play it blind. I'm going to pretend to look at my holecards but really I'm just going to play the players, see what I can get away with, and exercise my game.
5 hrs
+ $240
I couldn't see the boardcards tonight. Aladdin is in the process of becoming Planet Hollywood, and with all the remodeling and construction there's dust in the air and it has been killing my contacts. I took them out, and when the flop came I was standing up and leaning over the middle of the table. I had the whole table laughing cause nobody believed my vision was really that bad.
Later this month I plan to sit in the $1-3 spread limit game at Excalibur and play it blind. I'm going to pretend to look at my holecards but really I'm just going to play the players, see what I can get away with, and exercise my game.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
The Online Internet
We all know about Bill Fillmaff's claims of being the biggest all-time winner on the "online internet." Well, if you don't know you better axe somebody.
I'm not playing online, partly cause of the new online gambling laws and partly cause I have a different strategy.
Games online have been getting tougher. Someone else thinks so, too. I've won consistently online but I have a disadvantage in that I can't play more than four tables at once. Well, I can but I get overloaded and start fucking up, accidentally folding boats and other egregious shit like that. To maximize their edges, online pros are getting rakeback and they're multitabling and they're playing for hours on end to get site bonuses.
At the limit I'm currently playing I could make more money online, playing four tables at a time and getting rakeback. But I plan to move up to $2-5 NL as my regular game within a few months. The casino games at $2-5 NL are tougher than the $1-2 NL but nothing close to what you'd find online at $2-5 NL or even at an online $1-2 NL. At $2-5 NL I expect I'll do at least as well live as I would online. And at $5-10 NL I think I'll do better live than I would online. So the idea is, when I move up in limits in a few months I'll be a liveplay monster on point with my best game.
Will be in Vail, Colorado this weekend skiing into trees and snowdrifts. When I come back I plan to hit the tables hard and finish the month strong. Has been a solid if unspectacular month so far.
I'm not playing online, partly cause of the new online gambling laws and partly cause I have a different strategy.
Games online have been getting tougher. Someone else thinks so, too. I've won consistently online but I have a disadvantage in that I can't play more than four tables at once. Well, I can but I get overloaded and start fucking up, accidentally folding boats and other egregious shit like that. To maximize their edges, online pros are getting rakeback and they're multitabling and they're playing for hours on end to get site bonuses.
At the limit I'm currently playing I could make more money online, playing four tables at a time and getting rakeback. But I plan to move up to $2-5 NL as my regular game within a few months. The casino games at $2-5 NL are tougher than the $1-2 NL but nothing close to what you'd find online at $2-5 NL or even at an online $1-2 NL. At $2-5 NL I expect I'll do at least as well live as I would online. And at $5-10 NL I think I'll do better live than I would online. So the idea is, when I move up in limits in a few months I'll be a liveplay monster on point with my best game.
Will be in Vail, Colorado this weekend skiing into trees and snowdrifts. When I come back I plan to hit the tables hard and finish the month strong. Has been a solid if unspectacular month so far.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Great Donkeys Never Die
Ballys $1-2 NL, $300 cap
5 hours
+ $170
I showed up at the Aladdin poker room and the game was a wasteland of rocks and semipros. I said hi to Todd, a guy I met during last year's WSOP when he was in town to play the main event. I asked him if he wanted to go to another poker room, and we walked next door to Ballys along with the incredible Fighting Chicken.
Todd and I sat at one table and the Fighting Chicken at another. Within minutes we heard mysterious rumblings from the other table, strange goings-on. Something was amiss, out of place. A grown man's face was red, twisted into a mask of rage. The incomparable Fighting Chicken had cracked this man's AA with 2-3 ("But it was suited!").
The Fighting Chicken lives by the credo, "Nits come and go with the wind, but Great Donkeys never die."
This was one of those days I wished I had brought my ipod. I was sitting next to a guy who just would not shut up. One hand I was all-in with KK vs. 99 preflop and my opponent made a flush with his nine of hearts and the guy instantly starts how, "Yeah, that happened to me yesterday! One card flush, can you believe it! Yeah, man, what can you do? But you're lucky. I think my pot was for even more than yours..." Guys like this, if they played poker in the old days, road gambling in Texas, would be shot dead inside a month. Now, I didn't say that would be a good thing. I didn't actually say that.
I got drawn out on a lot, and in some big pots, too. But I made a pretty sick call with JJ on a Q7784 board. The guy bet $120 on the river and I called and jacks were good. It was just the player and the situation that made me call.
5 hours
+ $170
I showed up at the Aladdin poker room and the game was a wasteland of rocks and semipros. I said hi to Todd, a guy I met during last year's WSOP when he was in town to play the main event. I asked him if he wanted to go to another poker room, and we walked next door to Ballys along with the incredible Fighting Chicken.
Todd and I sat at one table and the Fighting Chicken at another. Within minutes we heard mysterious rumblings from the other table, strange goings-on. Something was amiss, out of place. A grown man's face was red, twisted into a mask of rage. The incomparable Fighting Chicken had cracked this man's AA with 2-3 ("But it was suited!").
The Fighting Chicken lives by the credo, "Nits come and go with the wind, but Great Donkeys never die."
This was one of those days I wished I had brought my ipod. I was sitting next to a guy who just would not shut up. One hand I was all-in with KK vs. 99 preflop and my opponent made a flush with his nine of hearts and the guy instantly starts how, "Yeah, that happened to me yesterday! One card flush, can you believe it! Yeah, man, what can you do? But you're lucky. I think my pot was for even more than yours..." Guys like this, if they played poker in the old days, road gambling in Texas, would be shot dead inside a month. Now, I didn't say that would be a good thing. I didn't actually say that.
I got drawn out on a lot, and in some big pots, too. But I made a pretty sick call with JJ on a Q7784 board. The guy bet $120 on the river and I called and jacks were good. It was just the player and the situation that made me call.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Statement of Purpose/Winning Streaks
Two sessions to report:
Sunday
Aladdin $1-2 NL
6 hours
+ $300
Saturday
Aladdin $1-2 NL
7 hours
+ $100
NC John catches his flight today so for now the sidebet race is suspended and he leads by four. What a Luckbox. (From Saturday's session, AAAJ4 board, $30 in the pot, guy leads out for $10 with a jack and John raises $200 more with the case ace and gets called. $200 more!!!)
Instead of writing about the weekend sessions I'm going to explain the purpose of this blog, insofar as there is one and I'm aware of it.
Until recently I had credit card debts eating away at my bankroll. Like it was $30K at one point. These debts are now cleared, and at the end of last year I decided that I would give myself a year to do something better with poker than just support myself. If I had been more committed I would have done that by now anyway, despite the debt. I saw that sandviper23, a friend of mine who plays for a living, started a poker blog, and I decided it was a good way to get myself thinking about poker the way I need to be thinking about poker to succeed. Plus I like to write. Sometimes I express myself better in writing than any other way.
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I know having a big winning streak doesn't make you a great player. There are some very aggressive players with big swings who may never have long winning streaks but who will still have better overall EV than a player who books small wins like a machine.
But huge winning streaks are still cool and I have had a couple of them.
The first I will call the Party Sit N Go Streak. This was when I first started playing for a living, just before I moved out to Vegas. I had a bad day playing limit holdem and decided to try the Partypoker 10-player No Limit Sit N Go's. That was a very good idea. I have never really played limit holdem since. This was late 2004, the Golden Age of Party Poker SNG's. I played four tables at once, $30-entry 10-player SNG's. Every time a table started, there would be a three-way preflop all-in on the first hand between QJ, 55, and A6 suited. I remember one time I started four SNG's at the same time and won all four. Nowadays the SNG's are a lot tougher. You have half the players sitting there with their charts printed out from 2+2 telling them if A8 offsuit is worth a push on the cutoff 4-handed with the blinds at 50-100. Anyway, back in the day I won every day for over a month-and-a-half, about 40 straight sessions.
The other winning streak I will call the Korean Girl Winning Streak (KGWS). This was early 2006 and I was seeing this Korean chick, and from the time I met her until the time I broke up with her I never lost. That was 36 straight sessions of live action poker in Las Vegas casinos. Looking back on the KGWS I had no really good reason to break up with her and I guess it proves I'm not superstitious but that maybe I should be.
Sunday
Aladdin $1-2 NL
6 hours
+ $300
Saturday
Aladdin $1-2 NL
7 hours
+ $100
NC John catches his flight today so for now the sidebet race is suspended and he leads by four. What a Luckbox. (From Saturday's session, AAAJ4 board, $30 in the pot, guy leads out for $10 with a jack and John raises $200 more with the case ace and gets called. $200 more!!!)
Instead of writing about the weekend sessions I'm going to explain the purpose of this blog, insofar as there is one and I'm aware of it.
Until recently I had credit card debts eating away at my bankroll. Like it was $30K at one point. These debts are now cleared, and at the end of last year I decided that I would give myself a year to do something better with poker than just support myself. If I had been more committed I would have done that by now anyway, despite the debt. I saw that sandviper23, a friend of mine who plays for a living, started a poker blog, and I decided it was a good way to get myself thinking about poker the way I need to be thinking about poker to succeed. Plus I like to write. Sometimes I express myself better in writing than any other way.
-------------
I know having a big winning streak doesn't make you a great player. There are some very aggressive players with big swings who may never have long winning streaks but who will still have better overall EV than a player who books small wins like a machine.
But huge winning streaks are still cool and I have had a couple of them.
The first I will call the Party Sit N Go Streak. This was when I first started playing for a living, just before I moved out to Vegas. I had a bad day playing limit holdem and decided to try the Partypoker 10-player No Limit Sit N Go's. That was a very good idea. I have never really played limit holdem since. This was late 2004, the Golden Age of Party Poker SNG's. I played four tables at once, $30-entry 10-player SNG's. Every time a table started, there would be a three-way preflop all-in on the first hand between QJ, 55, and A6 suited. I remember one time I started four SNG's at the same time and won all four. Nowadays the SNG's are a lot tougher. You have half the players sitting there with their charts printed out from 2+2 telling them if A8 offsuit is worth a push on the cutoff 4-handed with the blinds at 50-100. Anyway, back in the day I won every day for over a month-and-a-half, about 40 straight sessions.
The other winning streak I will call the Korean Girl Winning Streak (KGWS). This was early 2006 and I was seeing this Korean chick, and from the time I met her until the time I broke up with her I never lost. That was 36 straight sessions of live action poker in Las Vegas casinos. Looking back on the KGWS I had no really good reason to break up with her and I guess it proves I'm not superstitious but that maybe I should be.
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Set Over Set with the Educated Donkey
Aladdin $1-2 NL
12 hrs
+ $340
I was stuck for most of this session. Other than stealing with an overpair vs. what I knew was a bigger overpair, I hardly won any big pots. I was in the game for $500.
Then after 10 hours I hit a big hand. Unfortunately it was against my friend Steve AKA DJ Alpyne AKA El Diablo AKA The Chosen One AKA The Educated Donkey.
There was a raise to $17 from a guy to my left, then there were several calls, and I called in the blind with 44. The flop came K43. This was my first set of the day. I checked, the preflop raiser checked, Steve and another player checked, and the maniac on the button bet $20. I called, the preflop raiser called, and then El Diablo checkraised (he kinda likes to do that) to $75. The maniac folded, and I called to get action from the preflop raiser who was between me and The Chosen One. But the preflop raiser folded and the hand was heads-up.
I was sure I had the best hand. The only player at the table who would smooth-call a raise with KK was John and he was not in the hand. Steve and I generally check it down in small pots when we are heads-up, just cause we are not there to take each other's money, but in a big pot like this it would raise eyebrows from other players who might erroneously get the impression that there was collusion going on. When the turn came down I instantly pushed, trying to send the message that I knew I had the best hand and he should fold. But he insta-called $130 more with a set of threes.
So I busted him on that hand and he was highly pissed off. I think he told me that was the dumbest thing I ever did and I would be sorry. But still I am glad to say he fought his way back to a winning session, his third winning session of the day.
After that hand everything seemed to come easier. I played until the table broke and cashed out $840. Narrowed the sidebet race with John to four.
12 hrs
+ $340
I was stuck for most of this session. Other than stealing with an overpair vs. what I knew was a bigger overpair, I hardly won any big pots. I was in the game for $500.
Then after 10 hours I hit a big hand. Unfortunately it was against my friend Steve AKA DJ Alpyne AKA El Diablo AKA The Chosen One AKA The Educated Donkey.
There was a raise to $17 from a guy to my left, then there were several calls, and I called in the blind with 44. The flop came K43. This was my first set of the day. I checked, the preflop raiser checked, Steve and another player checked, and the maniac on the button bet $20. I called, the preflop raiser called, and then El Diablo checkraised (he kinda likes to do that) to $75. The maniac folded, and I called to get action from the preflop raiser who was between me and The Chosen One. But the preflop raiser folded and the hand was heads-up.
I was sure I had the best hand. The only player at the table who would smooth-call a raise with KK was John and he was not in the hand. Steve and I generally check it down in small pots when we are heads-up, just cause we are not there to take each other's money, but in a big pot like this it would raise eyebrows from other players who might erroneously get the impression that there was collusion going on. When the turn came down I instantly pushed, trying to send the message that I knew I had the best hand and he should fold. But he insta-called $130 more with a set of threes.
So I busted him on that hand and he was highly pissed off. I think he told me that was the dumbest thing I ever did and I would be sorry. But still I am glad to say he fought his way back to a winning session, his third winning session of the day.
After that hand everything seemed to come easier. I played until the table broke and cashed out $840. Narrowed the sidebet race with John to four.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Why Dealers are Donkeys
Aladdin $1-2 NL
3 hrs
+ $160
If you play a lot of live poker in casinos, you've probably played with a poker dealer who was playing on break or during off hours. And at some point maybe you wondered, Why do dealers play so bad?
Layne Flack and Scott Fischman were poker dealers once. Fischman thinks being a dealer helped him because all the hands he saw made him identify betting patterns that he now registers unconsciously. But for most dealers it just doesn't happen that way. I think part of the reason why is the half-hour turns in the box. Judging a poker game by a half hour is like judging a marathon by who is ahead after one mile. You get in a game for a half hour, you get a fragmented picture of a poker game, a distorted picture. You see a few big hands, maybe push three hands in a row to an action player but don't see him lose it an hour later. It is hard to see in a half hour the strategy the good players in the game are using. Of all the dealers I know, there is only one I consider a really good player.
Tonight at the Aladdin I was in a game with a guy who just started dealing at another casino. I will change his name cause I like him and everyone is entitled to an occasional big mistake. So I'll call him Trevor. Now I've played a lot with him and every time I would say he was solid. But now that he's started dealing his game may have fallen into the crapper.
There is a preflop raise from a straightforward player with AA, and Trevor calls with 99 and John calls behind him with 43. The flop comes 844, two diamonds. The preflop raiser bets $10, Trevor calls, and John raises to $40. The preflop raiser calls. Now Trevor, putting the preflop raiser on two unpaired high cards (he later explained), decides to push all-in for $200. Trevor has also played quite a bit with John, and in this spot, if you are observant and know how John plays, you know that John has to have a hand. He is not making a semibluff or pure move against a guy he thinks will call him with an overpair. Now John at this point also believes Trevor to be a smart, solid player. You see the dilemma this puts him in. He knows that Trevor should know John has a big hand, and that the preflop raiser most likely has a big overpair, yet Trevor is going over the top of both of them. John decides his 3 kicker sucks and that he could be drawing for a chop or almost dead against 88. He folds and is annoyed to see Trevor's play cost him a big pot which goes to the dude with AA as Trevor's nines fail to improve.
Hahaha, John doesn't bust anyone on that hand and I narrow the sidebet race to six.
3 hrs
+ $160
If you play a lot of live poker in casinos, you've probably played with a poker dealer who was playing on break or during off hours. And at some point maybe you wondered, Why do dealers play so bad?
Layne Flack and Scott Fischman were poker dealers once. Fischman thinks being a dealer helped him because all the hands he saw made him identify betting patterns that he now registers unconsciously. But for most dealers it just doesn't happen that way. I think part of the reason why is the half-hour turns in the box. Judging a poker game by a half hour is like judging a marathon by who is ahead after one mile. You get in a game for a half hour, you get a fragmented picture of a poker game, a distorted picture. You see a few big hands, maybe push three hands in a row to an action player but don't see him lose it an hour later. It is hard to see in a half hour the strategy the good players in the game are using. Of all the dealers I know, there is only one I consider a really good player.
Tonight at the Aladdin I was in a game with a guy who just started dealing at another casino. I will change his name cause I like him and everyone is entitled to an occasional big mistake. So I'll call him Trevor. Now I've played a lot with him and every time I would say he was solid. But now that he's started dealing his game may have fallen into the crapper.
There is a preflop raise from a straightforward player with AA, and Trevor calls with 99 and John calls behind him with 43. The flop comes 844, two diamonds. The preflop raiser bets $10, Trevor calls, and John raises to $40. The preflop raiser calls. Now Trevor, putting the preflop raiser on two unpaired high cards (he later explained), decides to push all-in for $200. Trevor has also played quite a bit with John, and in this spot, if you are observant and know how John plays, you know that John has to have a hand. He is not making a semibluff or pure move against a guy he thinks will call him with an overpair. Now John at this point also believes Trevor to be a smart, solid player. You see the dilemma this puts him in. He knows that Trevor should know John has a big hand, and that the preflop raiser most likely has a big overpair, yet Trevor is going over the top of both of them. John decides his 3 kicker sucks and that he could be drawing for a chop or almost dead against 88. He folds and is annoyed to see Trevor's play cost him a big pot which goes to the dude with AA as Trevor's nines fail to improve.
Hahaha, John doesn't bust anyone on that hand and I narrow the sidebet race to six.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
A Good Game
This may look familiar:
Aladdin $1-2 NL
4 hours
+ $400
Another day, another $100/hr $1-2 nl session. See, that's how I roll.
Actually this was one of those nights it just came easy. Within 15 minutes of sitting down the following hand came up. There were three limpers to the cutoff seat, who raised to $20. I looked down in the small blind to AhAs. I reraised to $55. The early position limper cold-called $53 more, the next limper called (!), and the original raiser called. There was over $220 in the pot preflop. I had $130 back at this point and I was gonna push the flop unless it came something ridiculous like QdJdTd. I liked the Th8c2h flop. The original raiser called with pocket queens. After that I coasted and cashed out $600.
I narrowed the sidebet race with John by one.
Academy Award nominations are coming up, and it got me thinking that there may be other characters to think about other than Boss Hogg when making poker decisions. The "What Would Boss Hogg Do?" T-shirts are already in production (contact me for purchasing info), but what characters from this year's films would make the best poker players? I ask for your input here. My own nomination is for Alfred Borden, the Christian Bale character from "The Prestige."
Aladdin $1-2 NL
4 hours
+ $400
Another day, another $100/hr $1-2 nl session. See, that's how I roll.
Actually this was one of those nights it just came easy. Within 15 minutes of sitting down the following hand came up. There were three limpers to the cutoff seat, who raised to $20. I looked down in the small blind to AhAs. I reraised to $55. The early position limper cold-called $53 more, the next limper called (!), and the original raiser called. There was over $220 in the pot preflop. I had $130 back at this point and I was gonna push the flop unless it came something ridiculous like QdJdTd. I liked the Th8c2h flop. The original raiser called with pocket queens. After that I coasted and cashed out $600.
I narrowed the sidebet race with John by one.
Academy Award nominations are coming up, and it got me thinking that there may be other characters to think about other than Boss Hogg when making poker decisions. The "What Would Boss Hogg Do?" T-shirts are already in production (contact me for purchasing info), but what characters from this year's films would make the best poker players? I ask for your input here. My own nomination is for Alfred Borden, the Christian Bale character from "The Prestige."
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Minimize-Maximize vs. Boss Hogg
The new year brought insurance bills, unexpected car expenses, and other costs. I won't be able to play a few days later in the month cause I'm going skiing in Vail. So I'm trying to get a good start to the month now.
Aladdin $1-2 NL
4 hours
+ $400
So it's going okay except that I'm now eight down in the sidebet race to NC John. I'll probably write more about NC John and anaylze his playing style after he leaves, but for now I just want to say a couple things. NC is for North Carolina; he's a consultant for a business out in Greensboro. He's an Asian guy, 31 years old, and is looking to buy a house out here on this trip. He's the most consistent and biggest winner I've played with in $1-2 NL cash games, with the probable exception of Angel, but I never played much with Angel. John has never read a poker book. His style is very unorthodox for a winning player. We had a talk a couple days ago about how he developed his style by mimicking certain players, and also about his "minimize-maximize" concept through which he filters his decisions at the table.
Probably not as effective as the "Boss Hogg" filter written about previously in this blog, but to each his own.
Aladdin $1-2 NL
4 hours
+ $400
So it's going okay except that I'm now eight down in the sidebet race to NC John. I'll probably write more about NC John and anaylze his playing style after he leaves, but for now I just want to say a couple things. NC is for North Carolina; he's a consultant for a business out in Greensboro. He's an Asian guy, 31 years old, and is looking to buy a house out here on this trip. He's the most consistent and biggest winner I've played with in $1-2 NL cash games, with the probable exception of Angel, but I never played much with Angel. John has never read a poker book. His style is very unorthodox for a winning player. We had a talk a couple days ago about how he developed his style by mimicking certain players, and also about his "minimize-maximize" concept through which he filters his decisions at the table.
Probably not as effective as the "Boss Hogg" filter written about previously in this blog, but to each his own.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Falling Behind
Aladdin $1-2 NL
7 hrs
+$220
Regrettable Note: NC John was stuck $100 when he requested a table change, while I was winning $200, but he added three points this night for the sidebet race of busting other players. He picked up silly no-brainers like the shortstack moving in for $22 and John has AA, and the tilting straddle player raising his straddle and John limp-reraising with AK.
7 hrs
+$220
Regrettable Note: NC John was stuck $100 when he requested a table change, while I was winning $200, but he added three points this night for the sidebet race of busting other players. He picked up silly no-brainers like the shortstack moving in for $22 and John has AA, and the tilting straddle player raising his straddle and John limp-reraising with AK.
Monday, January 1, 2007
New Year's Eve $2-5 NL Session
"I have to tell you that at that point I sure don't feel like no professional poker player and if I was asked at the time to give a logical explanation of my actions I would simply say, Shut up and deal."
- Shut Up and Deal, Jesse May
New Year's Eve at the Aladdin and I am getting killed playing $1-2 nl. I don't want to use this blog to complain about bad beats, so let's just say that on a couple pots I had guys drawing dead and they still got there. Meanwhile every single dealer coming in from the $2-5 nl game is saying how crazy it is, how more than half the pots are all-ins. So I feel myself going on tilt in the $1-2 game after I make a Big Move that gets snapped off and I am super stuck now and I grab my chips and take the open seat in the 2-5 game.
There's no question it's too big for my bankroll right now but at least I am not going to let myself go on tilt at this limit. NC John is in the game and I tell him I'm just going to be playing mindless automatic poker, tight multitabling internet rakeback style.
I see what is driving the game. There are two major league calling stations and one major league maniac. NC John has to reload after losing to a one-outer against one of the calling stations, when his set of jacks loses to quad sixes. But then John wins a $1,600 pot with a set of eights. Incredibly he doesn't bust anyone and there has been no new movement on our sidebet race.
I basically play two pots past the flop. The first I have A-5 in the blind and flop top two and make a couple hundred off a big ace held by a player I've seen around in local cardrooms. He doesn't recognize me in my party shirt, sunglasses, and bright red paper new year's eve hat.
The other pot I call a $15 raise with 8-9 offsuit and flop trips and win over four hundred against pocket aces. That gets me above even for the night and I leave to take part in the festivities shortly after.
Happy New Year!
- Shut Up and Deal, Jesse May
New Year's Eve at the Aladdin and I am getting killed playing $1-2 nl. I don't want to use this blog to complain about bad beats, so let's just say that on a couple pots I had guys drawing dead and they still got there. Meanwhile every single dealer coming in from the $2-5 nl game is saying how crazy it is, how more than half the pots are all-ins. So I feel myself going on tilt in the $1-2 game after I make a Big Move that gets snapped off and I am super stuck now and I grab my chips and take the open seat in the 2-5 game.
There's no question it's too big for my bankroll right now but at least I am not going to let myself go on tilt at this limit. NC John is in the game and I tell him I'm just going to be playing mindless automatic poker, tight multitabling internet rakeback style.
I see what is driving the game. There are two major league calling stations and one major league maniac. NC John has to reload after losing to a one-outer against one of the calling stations, when his set of jacks loses to quad sixes. But then John wins a $1,600 pot with a set of eights. Incredibly he doesn't bust anyone and there has been no new movement on our sidebet race.
I basically play two pots past the flop. The first I have A-5 in the blind and flop top two and make a couple hundred off a big ace held by a player I've seen around in local cardrooms. He doesn't recognize me in my party shirt, sunglasses, and bright red paper new year's eve hat.
The other pot I call a $15 raise with 8-9 offsuit and flop trips and win over four hundred against pocket aces. That gets me above even for the night and I leave to take part in the festivities shortly after.
Happy New Year!
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