Poker Blogs - Texas Holdem Poker

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

Back in the saddle at a live game

Posted 10:24 pm in Categories: Poker

As I gently ease myself back in to playing poker, much like slowing lowering myself in to a scalding hot tub; I decided to head out to my favorite 1/2 NL Texas-1/2 PL Omaha (dealer’s choice between those two) game last night.

For the most part I was happy with my performance. It started out with a relatively small $80 buy-in around 9:00pm. The place is now doing a high hand pot I learned. If a pot exceeds $10, $1 of it goes in to a pot. The pot is paid every hour to the person who during the last 60 minutes had the highest hand with a full house or better. I’ve seen this at casinos so it didn’t bother me. But it brought out more Omaha games than Texas. This was especially true as the minutes ticked down and the hour deadline approached.

After about four hours I my stack was sitting at about $220 or a $140 net. Not bad since I hadn’t been to a live game in a long time. I didn’t notice as much ADD as I experienced playing on-line the other day. However, at a live game you have a lot less distractions. I still wasn’t focused but I wasn’t making a lot of errors.

Two hands early on that I crushed on were to the ATM. He’s the guy who makes a lot of money and just plays “for fun”. He routinely buys-in for $500-$800 in $100 increments and rarely if every walks away with any net profit. The problem is, he is my kryptonite. He always hits his river against me. I lost $600 in one hand on him three years ago when he fished for a inside straight draw in Texas. This is a 1/2 game… I have pictures…

At any rate, my kryptonite hit two hands against my as he normally does. The first was a runner-runner flush draw. The second was a runner-runner straight draw. It stings when I lose like that only for a hot second. Mainly because I know I will win my money back from him a few hands later. He always calls and plays most hands pre-flop. So I know it will be returned to me.

Besides those two hands, I had a Texas hand with another regular where he had AKs pre and I had A7s pre in the BB. It folds around and I called the additional $3 putting me heads up with him. Flop was something like A87. I try to set a trap and check. He bets $15. I call. River is J. I bet $15 trying to rep two pair and thinking he has AK or AQ. He flat calls.

Having played against him I know how he bets. It would later turn out I was right… BUT… the river comes and pairs the 8 on the board. Dejected and still rusty I lead out with $15 again… a weak bet but he flat calls which threw me for a loop. He turns over his cards and I didn’t have to look at what he had because he starts to apologize. A87J8. I have Aces and Eights with a J. He now has Aces and Eights with a King…

My really, really, really big super stupid, hey I’m still rusty, move though cost me about $160. I have AKs and the other guy, actually a friend of mine I have played with for about five years has 66. Flop comes AK6. I bet $10, he raises to $30, I raise to $60 he goes all-in. To be honest I was thinking I he had AK or AQ. For lack of not playing poker for a loooong time broke one of my cardinal rules. Take your time. Had I taken my time even my geriatric brain would have eventually kicked over the sign of the beast as his hand. I should have seen that. I know this guy. I should have seen that coming a mile a way. It was soooo obvious he had trips. Some trips. Any trips. But not simply two pair or a lonely pair. Ughhh I hated myself for a good hour after that hand.

But what it did caused me to focus. I was down to about $28 in chips and came back in the next two hours to cash out with $146, net $66. What made me especially proud about the come back was the table at the time was down to 7 then 5 players after an hour. Ah well, life goes on.

I wouldn’t rate my foray back in to live games as a whopping success. But I held my own. I made mistakes. I rolled with it. I still walked away up so it was a good night. Not a great night. But a good night.

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Sunday, June 24th, 2007

I give up. I'm done for a week to lick my wounds.

Posted 9:45 pm in Categories: Poker

Maybe my internal barometer that has been so right for so long has finally gone screwy. I don't know how else to put it as I'm just not seeing things. But on top of it, I can’t win a 80/20 or greater to save my life.

This fucked on fifth street by fulltiltpoker.com needs to stop. Seriously what the hell... I had just had a flush riverd on me with A4h while I sat with KK and 2:1 chip lead. Bet 4x the BB and got called. Trips on the flop with K hit and went all-in as it was heads up. The guy called. Rivered the flush… grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Fifth street again on the following hand... WTF. I was LB. Posting the BB leaves me with 540 which at this point is pretty much one BB. It was heads up with everyone else folding. Figured I'd take my shot and hope for a coinflip. 60/40 on the flop. 90/10 on the flop... LOSER on the river… I give up...

Full Tilt Poker Game #2761464081: $110 + $9 Sit & Go (Turbo) (21053827), Table 1 - 200/400 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:10:55 ET - 2007/06/24
Seat 1: TwistedDonkey (3,000)
Seat 4: ahdo1121 (2,570)
Seat 5: Lynx__11 (2,375)
Seat 6: backin200 (1,525)
Seat 8: DeeRock (3,290)
Seat 9: Krugar (740)
Krugar posts the small blind of 200
TwistedDonkey posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #8
* HOLE CARDS *
Dealt to Krugar Jack of Hearts Seven of Diamonds
ahdo1121 folds
Lynx__11 folds
backin200 folds
DeeRock folds
Krugar raises to 740, and is all in
TwistedDonkey calls 340
Krugar shows
TwistedDonkey shows Four of Spades Three of Spades
* FLOP * Jack of Clubs Four of Diamonds Seven of Hearts
* TURN * Six of Clubs
* RIVER * Four of Hearts
Krugar shows two pair, Jacks and Sevens
TwistedDonkey shows three of a kind, Fours
TwistedDonkey wins the pot (1,480) with three of a kind, Fours
Krugar stands up
* SUMMARY *
Total pot 1,480 | Rake 0
Board: Jack of Clubs Four of Diamonds Seven of Hearts Six of Clubs
Seat 1: TwistedDonkey (big blind) showed Four of Spades Three of Spades and won (1,480) with three of a kind, Fours
Seat 4: ahdo1121 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: Lynx__11 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: backin200 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: DeeRock (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: Krugar (small blind) showed Jack of Hearts Seven of Diamonds and lost with two pair, Jacks and Sevens

80/20 pre-flop... then the dagger

Full Tilt Poker Game #2757047710: $22 + $2 Sit & Go (Turbo) (21021158), Table 1 - 100/200 - No Limit Hold'em - 14:07:20 ET - 2007/06/24
Seat 2: Anon-US (5,140)
Seat 5: Krugar (1,760)
Seat 6: PSUKID AA (795)
Seat 7: ViciousChick (1,365)
Seat 8: Michel_BL (4,440)
Michel_BL posts the small blind of 100
Anon-US posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #7
* HOLE CARDS *
Dealt to Krugar Queen of Clubs Queen of Hearts
Krugar has 15 seconds left to act
Krugar raises to 700
PSUKID AA folds
ViciousChick folds
Michel_BL folds
Anon-US raises to 1,200
Krugar raises to 1,760, and is all in
Anon-US calls 560
Krugar shows
Anon-US shows Ten of Diamonds Ten of Spades
* FLOP * Seven of Clubs King of Hearts Ten of Hearts
* TURN * Eight of Diamonds
* RIVER * King of Diamonds
Krugar shows two pair, Kings and Queens
Anon-US shows a full house, Tens full of Kings
Anon-US wins the pot (3,620) with a full house, Tens full of Kings
Krugar stands up
* SUMMARY *
Total pot 3,620 | Rake 0
Board: Seven of Clubs King of Hearts Ten of Hearts Eight of Diamonds King of Diamonds
Seat 2: Anon-US (big blind) showed Ten of Diamonds Ten of Spades and won (3,620) with a full house, Tens full of Kings
Seat 5: Krugar showed Queen of Clubs Queen of Hearts and lost with two pair, Kings and Queens
Seat 6: PSUKID AA didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: ViciousChick (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: Michel_BL (small blind) folded before the Flop

My chip stack was... well it doesn't get lower. Still hurts when your opponent only has a 15% chance to win and hits it.

Full Tilt Poker Game #2755771265: $55 + $5 Sit & Go (Turbo) (21011470), Table 1 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 10:43:53 ET - 2007/06/24
Seat 1: ufalumni (6,310)
Seat 3: Drayle (2,290)
Seat 4: rc hoop (1,630)
Seat 6: daswings (1,220)
Seat 7: Krugar (165)
Seat 9: trashtalkerab (1,885)
rc hoop posts the small blind of 60
daswings posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #3
* HOLE CARDS *
Dealt to Krugar King of Spades King of Clubs
Krugar raises to 165, and is all in
trashtalkerab folds
ufalumni calls 165
Drayle calls 165
rc hoop folds
daswings folds
* FLOP * Queen of Clubs Queen of Spades Seven of Spades
ufalumni checks
Drayle checks
* TURN * Three of Diamonds
ufalumni checks
Drayle checks
* RIVER * Two of Spades
ufalumni checks
Drayle checks
* SHOW DOWN *
Krugar shows King of Spades King of Clubs two pair, Kings and Queens
ufalumni shows Queen of Diamonds Ten of Hearts three of a kind, Queens
Drayle mucks
ufalumni wins the pot (675) with three of a kind, Queens
Krugar stands up
* SUMMARY *
Total pot 675 | Rake 0
Board: Queen of Clubs Queen of Spades Seven of Spades Three of Diamonds Two of Spades
Seat 1: ufalumni showed and won (675) with three of a kind, Queens
Seat 3: Drayle (button) mucked Nine of Hearts Ace of Hearts - a pair of Queens
Seat 4: rc hoop (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: daswings (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: Krugar showed King of Spades King of Clubs and lost with two pair, Kings and Queens
Seat 9: trashtalkerab didn't bet (folded)

While not a bad beat per se. Still hurts to lose YET ANOTHER 80/20

Full Tilt Poker Game #2753645203: $55 + $5 Sit & Go (Turbo) (20992912), Table 1 - 250/500 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:58:44 ET - 2007/06/24
Seat 1: Gpokerman666 (1,838)
Seat 4: Krugar (1,916)
Seat 5: Lexus80 (2,652)
Seat 7: I AM A CHEATER (4,042)
Seat 8: trashtalkerab (1,918)
Seat 9: copden1 (1,134)
I AM A CHEATER posts the small blind of 250
trashtalkerab posts the big blind of 500
The button is in seat #5
* HOLE CARDS *
Dealt to Krugar Ace of Diamonds King of Spades
copden1 has 15 seconds left to act
copden1 folds
Gpokerman666 raises to 1,838, and is all in
Krugar raises to 1,916, and is all in
Lexus80 folds
I AM A CHEATER folds
trashtalkerab folds
Krugar shows
Gpokerman666 shows Five of Clubs Six of Spades
Uncalled bet of 78 returned to Krugar
* FLOP * Three of Clubs Eight of Clubs Three of Diamonds
* TURN * Two of Hearts
* RIVER * Five of Spades
Krugar shows a pair of Threes
Gpokerman666 shows two pair, Fives and Threes
Gpokerman666 wins the pot (4,426) with two pair, Fives and Threes
* SUMMARY *
Total pot 4,426 | Rake 0
Board:
Seat 1: Gpokerman666 showed Five of Clubs Six of Spades and won (4,426) with two pair, Fives and Threes
Seat 4: Krugar showed Ace of Diamonds King of Spades and lost with a pair of Threes
Seat 5: Lexus80 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: I AM A CHEATER (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: trashtalkerab (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: copden1 didn't bet (folded)

So I basically turned $50 in to over $500. Then turned $500 in to $78. That is an enormous swing for me personally. So I’m gonna take some time off. Regroup and see if I can turn that $78 into $700 and win a fucking 80/20 for once.

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Time for a break

Posted 1:10 pm in Categories: Poker

So apparently someone is trying to tell me that I am in a slump. Ok ok ok I get it. BR is at $247.34.

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