Guy Accidentally Busts Me

We're about 3.5 hours into a 1K multi-table satellite for the WSOP main event. Blinds are 300/600/75. Short stack moves all in for 3600. Button doesn't realize there's someone all in ahead of him and says "call", planning to call just the blinds. I have 99 in the BB and a little under 10K in chips. I shoved, Button called with JQ. Short stack has 66 and Button ends up busting us both with a hand he didn't even mean to play.

I wonder if my better play isn't to call and shove any flop. I kind of doubt that Button was open limping any pocket pairs, so there's not much danger of chasing out the hands against which I have the best equity. He was pretty LAGgy though, so I wouldn't be surprised if he would play something like 87s or some other hand I've got in bad shape the same way. It might not matter too much in the grand scheme of things, but it probably would have won me this pot.

Ten-Twenty-Five Live

I played about two hours of 10-25 NL at the Rio yesterday. The table wasn't full of spewmonkeys but I wasn't anticipating a lot of tough decisions. Mostly it was just a boring game. I say that, but I did actually bluff my entire $5K stack on my first hand.

Let me tell you another story first though. There was this wealthy Texan at the table who, when I first sat down, was on the phone placing sports bets. That's always a good sign. I later changed seats and ended up with him on my immediate left, meaning I was privy to the next two phone calls he made.

The first was to a woman named "Becky" whom he seemed to select somewhat arbitrarily from his address book. He hadn't seen her in a few months but turns out she was available for dinner on a few hours' notice.

His next call was a voicemail that I'll attempt to transcribe to the best of my memory: "Hey Jimmy, this is Dicky. Happy 20th birthday. That's a bit one. I'm sorry I won't be able to make it for your party tonight, I'm going to be tied up. I've got a little present for you, though- it's $50- you're mother will have that for you. You're growing into a fine young man. Hope you have fun."

Anyway, that big bluff I was talking about: I opened to $75 with AKs in late middle position and got 3-bet to $300 by a familiar-looking player on the button. I couldn't place where I'd seen him before, but he was young and serious-looking, which isn't a good sign. I assumed he was an internet pro whose face I'd randomly seen in a picture or something, but now that I think about it, I may actually have played with him at Foxwoods. It makes a huge difference which he is, but at the time, I was thinking internet, so anyway...

He 3-bets to $300, and I decided to make it $800 and fold to a 4-bet (he had me covered). He thinks for a while and calls. The flop comes down rags with two of my suit. I bet $1200, planning to unhappily call a shove. My hope was that he would just call and then I could shove the turn. That's exactly what happened. He tanked for a while but folded what was probably TT-QQ. I doubt anyone else at the table would make that fold, but then I wouldn't have 4-bet anyone else either.

So I made $2000 on my first hand, but I later misplayed a hand pretty badly and cost myself most of that profit. A new player had just joined the table, an older black man who seemed to be a regular in the Tunica games. He bought in deep enough to cover my nearly $7K stack.

I got AKs UTG+1 and raised to $75. Only the new guy called out of his BB. The flop came 862 and gave me my flush draw. He checked, I bet $125, and he raised to $400. I called. The turn was an off-suit 3, he checked, I bet $525, and he raised to $2000. I folded.

My turn bet is just atrocious. With less showdown value, it might be OK, like if I had a ten-high flush draw or something. But even then, I'm primarily relying on bluffing him off of bluffs, which assumes he's capable of check-raise bluffing the flop against an unknown early position raiser. With AK, I beat his bluffs anyway, so there's little value in betting and risking getting blown off a strong draw.

I ended up nearly dead even on the session and didn't play any other interesting pots.

WSOP $5K 6-Max

It was down to the wire whether I was going to play this, but I managed to cash my check about 10 minutes before the start of the tournament. I ran down to the registration and found a line out the door. It was moving quickly, though, and I managed to register and get to the table at 12:04. The tournament was actually late getting started, so I hadn't missed anything. In fact, I was the first one there. Apparently we were in an overflow room they'd just opened up.

The next player to arrive was a guy I instantly recognized as Shaun Deeb. Two European guys, at least one of whom seemed to be an aggro Scandi, gave us the four we needed to start.

While we were still 4-handed, blinds 50/100, Scandi opens for 250 UTG and Shaun makes it 700 on the button. I find AK in the SB and 4-bet to 2400 planning to puke if Shaun shoves. They both folded quickly, but still, you know it's a tough table when you're cold 4-betting in your second orbit.

Things got a bit better when an older guy joined and started limping into pots. Early on, he open limped his button vs my BB, Shaun folded, and I checked with A4o. The flop came A34, I checked, he bet 150, and I raised 550. He called. The turn brought a 2, not ideal, but it's not real likely he has a 5. I bet 800, and he folded.

Next orbit, limpy old guy limps in for 100, Shaun calls 100, I make it 550 with T9o on the CO. Old guy calls, Shaun folds. The flop comes KQJ. Guy checks, I bet 1000, he raises to 3000. Against a better player, I'd probably just shove now, but live fish don't work like that. They don't think as much as they should about their stack size relative to the pot, but they do get scared by all in bets. So I raise to 7400, he shoves, I call, he has AT. I don't draw out to the chop, so I'm busted within half an hour. Fun.

Hilarious 1K Single Table Satellite

Most of the money I brought to Vegas came in the form of a cashier's check, which apparently needs to be verified by the bank before I can cash it, so I'm pretty much broke until tomorrow. What else to do than play a 1K Single Table Satellite for the WSOP, then? Those are always a hoot.

The table looks perfect: one wannabe hotshot guy about my age, one middle-aged Israeli, 7 middle-aged white guys. A few of them are talking about having played 10-20 tournaments in the series, but they all suck. The two slightly less terrible guys are on my immediate left, but whatever.

I don't play a hand for the first hour, they are all splashing around a little bit but no one's playing big pots. Blinds 100/200, I have a little less than the 4K starting stack. Action folds to me in SB with hotshot in the big. I open limp, he raises to 825, I shove, he moans and groans and tells me how tight I've been, eventually folding an Ace face up like it's the greatest play ever. I casually show him a deuce, and the table goes wild.

Next orbit folds to me in the small, I open to 1200 with TT, hotshot shoves A9, my hand holds up and he's crippled.

Next orbit it's 150/300 he shoves for 1100 UTG action folds to dude in SB who calls. I shove in 8K with KJ on my BB, SB folds and says he had 76s. I get there vs. 55 to eliminate hotshot in 10th.

Button makes a small raise, I shove JJ in SB, Isreali goes on and on about he has the best hand but he's gonna be conservative and folds 66 face up. I show my JJ cuz now I want some fold equity on my shoves.

We play for a while, nothing much happens, eventually Israeli is getting sort. At 300/600, he shoves from early position for 3600. Action folds to me in the BB and I actually have a bit of a decision with AT. He seems to "get it" a little more than the others and recently lost a pot so I call. He has A6 but hits his 6 on the turn. Board is TT76 so I've got 8 outs on river but can't get there. I pass him his chips with no whining/fanfare.

This pot constitutes about 20% of the chips in play, but I'm still the chipleader even after losing it. I make a small CO raise with 99, SB shoves, naturally I call, but he has AQ and wins the flip.

Now I'm short, and a few hands later I shove 43s for 5x or so. Israeli goes on and on about he's gonna play to win and shoves over the top with KJo in the CO. He's ahead unimproved through the turn, then I bang a 3 on the river and he gets pissed, even though I'm in way better shape than he was with A6 and it's a smaller pot. I don't say a word, and eventually a few of his buddies come over and he recounts the story for them about the guy who goes all in with 4-high. I just shake my head.

Some other crap happened, I won some pots with pre-flop raises/shoves (and pots were tremendous at this point), I lost another flip to the Israeli, my AKs loses to 55, and then blinds are 600/1200. Israeli opens to 3000, guy to his left shoves 6400 total, Israel thinks for a while, which is funny in its own right, and finally folds!

There was also a hand, not involving Isreali, where the Button shoves for like 4BB, the SB reshoves 6BB, and the BB folds AQ face-up.

Action folds to me on Button, I shove 7BB or so with K9, Israeli wakes up with JJ in SB and holds up. Now I've got 1800 total, so there's no such thing as fold equity. I fold 73 and 72, and then I post the BB for 2/3 of my stack. CO shoves, I call blind, he flips K7, I have 74. Lovely. His hand holds, and I go out in 6th.

WSOPWSOP

Though I haven't played as many WSOP satellites this year as I did in years past, restricting myself only to those with $500+ buy-ins, I managed by yesterday to spend enough on satellites that I could have just bought in direct and paid myself the bonus money that comes with the FTP and Stars packages. Naturally, I hadn't yet won a seat.

Today, though, I played three satellites and won two of them! One was on Stars and one was, for the first time in my career, on FTP. The Stars sponsorship package sucks this year, and I haven't looked into FTP's but I doubt it's much better, so I'll probably go without and hope to negotiate something if I go deep.

I'm too tired to think through all the hands I played, but here's one moderately neat one against the most active player at the table:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $615+$35 Tournament, 700/1400 Blinds 175 Ante (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t28911)
UTG (t42460)
UTG+1 (t47562)
MP1 (t40961)
Hero (MP2) (t41997)
CO (t37399)
Button (t32798)
SB (t55403)

Hero's M: 12.00

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with Q, 7
3 folds, Hero bets t2888, 3 folds, BB calls t1488

Flop: (t7876) 2, J, 9 (2 players)
BB bets t3800, Hero raises to t8888, 1 fold

Total pot: t15476

Yeah, I'm representing a really narrow range, but what's he gonna do about it? Three-bet jam on me with air on the bubble of a satellite? I don't think he ever leads out here with a strong hand. For one thing, he's jamming anything that makes top pair good kicker or better pre-flop except for J9 (doubt he calls J2 or 92). If he has a draw or any pair, particularly at this stage of the tournament, he'd definitely prefer to be the one shoving in (ie by check-shoving) than the one calling by leading out to induce a shove from me.

I Am Adorable

I didn't have any kind of read that dude was gonna spaz out like this, but it's the kind of thing that happens when you make strange bets:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (5 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($885)
SB ($2165)
Hero (BB) ($2458)
UTG ($2519)
MP ($835)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, K
2 folds, Button bets $30, 1 fold, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $81

Flop: ($227) 5, 5, K (2 players)
Hero bets $166, Button calls $166

Turn: ($559) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $111, Button raises to $608 (All-In), Hero calls $497

River: ($1775) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1775 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 9, J (two pair, nines and fives).
Hero had A, K (two pair, Kings and fives).
Outcome: Hero won $1772

A Critical Bet Sizing Tell

Let me say up front that I do this whole "check and figure it out" thing entirely too often against good players, and I have to stop. That said, in this case something about his turn bet led me to conclude that I ought to call the river.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($2000.30)
Hero (UTG) ($2000)
MP ($1543.50)
CO ($1734.80)
Button ($2358.50)
SB ($2077.70)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 5, A
Hero bets $33, 2 folds, Button raises to $106, 2 folds, Hero raises to $266, Button calls $160

Flop: ($556) 6, A, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($556) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $290, Hero calls $290

River: ($1136) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $1801 (All-In), Hero calls $1442.50 (All-In)

Total pot: $4021 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 8, 9 (high card, Ace).
Hero had 5, A (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: Hero won $4018


Let me kick this one to you, dear readers. Can you figure out what it is about the sizing of his turn bet that led me to call his overbet shove on the river?

Nice River

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($9000.50)
UTG ($16025)
MP ($5309)
Hero (CO) ($10269)
Button ($10000)
SB ($10391)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, J
2 folds, Hero bets $175, 1 fold, SB calls $150, 1 fold

Flop: ($400) J, 8, 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($400) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $269, SB raises to $1025, Hero calls $756

River: ($2450) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1669, 1 fold

Total pot: $2450 | Rake: $3


A big part of my reason for checking the flop is that I so rarely check back a flush draw, and this is one of the best flush draws to check (ie also having top pair to go along with it, so that the fold equity of a semi-bluff isn't worth much to you). This means that when the flush comes in on the turn, my opponent is going to think I can't have it.

So, OK, I get the raise I wanted, which is probably a bluff but could be two pair or a set that's comfortable bloating the pot since I'll rarely have the flush. When I call, I don't know how often he'll continue bluffing. Rivers that pair the board are definitely going to be scary for him, though, as are diamonds, since my likely holding for calling is either set/two pair or a pair with a diamond.

Given that there are so many rivers that discourage bluffing, plus the fact that he may not continue bluffing anyway, plus the fact that his river bluff wouldn't be that big, I might be better off 3-betting the turn. I imagine he'll bluff less often, but when he does, it will have to be a far bigger amount than a river bluff would be. Plus, if he's check-raising for value, I can win a much bigger pot from him.

Final Tabled the Stars $300

Maybe I haven't forgotten how to play tournaments altogether? I went into yesterdays' session resolved not to LAG off too many stacks in my tournaments, and while I didn't entirely keep that pledge, I did play a pretty disciplined game in the Stars $300. To wit:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $300+$20 Tournament, 1250/2500 Blinds 250 Ante (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP (t127213)
Hero (CO) (t79552)
Button (t84040)
SB (t67653)
BB (t142860)
UTG (t76565)

Hero's M: 15.15

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, Q
UTG bets t5575, 1 fold, Hero raises to t12222, 2 folds, BB raises to t32500, 2 folds

Total pot: t32769


UTG was by far the most active player at the table, and I'd been 3-betting him quite a bit on the final table bubble. Here I was going to fist-pump-snap-call if he shoved, but the cold 4-bet from the much tighter BB sent me packing without much thought.

Immediately after that hand, I was moved to the other table, where I made this slightly more questionable fold:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $300+$20 Tournament, 1250/2500 Blinds 250 Ante (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG (t226479)
MP (t160520)
Button (t42353)
SB (t213820)
Hero (BB) (t61025)

Hero's M: 12.21

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9, A
1 fold, MP calls t2500, 1 fold, SB calls t1250, Hero checks

Flop: (t8750) 9, 7, 8 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP bets t7500, 1 fold, Hero folds

Total pot: t8750


This might be a bit too tight, but my thinking was that this guy's limp was a little suspicious to begin with (remember, I am brand new to the table, so no read), and I don't think he's potting it with just anything. In particular, I'm not sure how many worse pairs/weak draws are in his pre-flop limping range, and I don't think he's betting with air. Even if I am ahead of his betting range, I don't think I'm ahead of his range for calling a check-shove, and the hand will be tough to play if I just check-call. Maybe I should have led out?

Anyway, I went on to make the final table only to be eliminated in 9th when my 77 lost to AKs all in preflop.

Pot Odds!

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($1000)
SB ($1195.75)
Hero (BB) ($2396)
UTG ($1232)
MP ($1679)
CO ($1052)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9, 10
2 folds, CO bets $30, Button calls $30, SB calls $25, Hero raises to $150, CO raises to $300, 2 folds, Hero calls $150

Flop: ($660) 8, J, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: ($660) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: ($660) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $111, 1 fold

Total pot: $660 | Rake: $3


I hope he wasn't planning on folding to a pre-flop shove. Even putting him on a very strong range, I don't want to fold getting 3.5:1. The flop is a tough decision. I surely fold to a shove, but I can't very well open shove myself. I'm probably just calling if I get the right odds and folding otherwise.

Shoving the turn is probably best. For some reason, I had a feeling he was trapping. I guess it was just that I thought he was really strong pre-flop.

On the river, I just wanted to have some fun. Obviously I don't need him to fold often at all for this to show a profit, plus it just puts a smile on your face when it works.

Even Good Players Suck at Satellites

There were 61 players remaining in a Poker Stars $650 satellite, and 51 seats to be won. We were already at the point where we'd be getting our buyins back. I was in like 49th or so place with 25K chips at 1250/2500 and had a nice spot for stealing. On my right were a far too tight short stack and a guy with a huge stack who was just folding virtually everything. On my left were two stacks about equal to my own, and the guy two to my left was someone I knew to be a successful tournament player. Action folds to me on the button, I shove J9s, "decent" tourney player calls me with AT and wins the flip.

He had me covered, but barely, so it was very near to being a flip for his life. Even if he puts me on any two, which isn't correct but not an unreasonable assumption, he's only a 68-32 favorite. As a good player at this stage of the tournament, he's probably got at least a 70% chance of winning a seat if he folds this hand, and of course busting me doesn't guarantee him a seat anyway.

Thinking about this river play cheers me up a little though:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($4931.50)
Button ($8070)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, Q
Button bets $60, Hero raises to $222, Button calls $162

Flop: ($444) Q, J, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $240, Hero calls $240

Turn: ($924) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($924) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $420, Hero raises to $1444, Button calls $1024

Total pot: $3812 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had 10, J (two pair, Jacks and fours).
Hero had A, Q (two pair, Queens and fours).
Outcome: Hero won $3811.50

This is a pretty optimistic value bet on his part on the river, though I actually don't mind calling the check-raise. There's actually an outside chance he was betting to induce a check-raise, which I would like far better than value betting (funny how the same play can be good or bad depending on the reasoning), but I doubt that's a play in his arsenal.

Anyway, for me, leading out on the river looks really strong. Not like "set or better" strong, but definitely like a value bet. I think checking is the only option for me, and between his turn check and his small bet sizing, I'm comfortable saying my hand is good 90% of the time here.

Pretty Sure He Ought to Call Me Here

It's very unlikely he has a straight- I think he bets virtually every 8 on the turn, and doesn't 3-bet that many hands with 8's in them in the first place- but realistically I don't know how often I check an 8 on the turn either. Though it might be a sexy way to play something like 98 that can also catch bluffs. Cool that he folded though:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($7066)
Button ($5000)
Hero (SB) ($5000)
BB ($24469.50)
UTG ($3975)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, Q
3 folds, Hero bets $177, BB raises to $450, Hero calls $273

Flop: ($900) 9, 6, 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $400, Hero raises to $1111, BB calls $711

Turn: ($3122) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks

River: ($3122) 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $3439 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $3122 | Rake: $2

Results:
Hero didn't show A, Q (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $3120

I Do Win the Big Ones Sometimes

I know I've whined about some big pots I've lost of late, so I figured I should reassure you all that I win some big ones too. It's actually been a pretty good month. Here's the biggest one of late:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($10916)
SB ($11889)
Hero (BB) ($11684)
UTG ($20794)
MP ($14585)
CO ($10344)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, 10
3 folds, Button bets $150, 1 fold, Hero raises to $550, Button calls $400

Flop: ($1185) A, Q, 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $799, Button calls $799

Turn: ($2783) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $1800, Hero calls $1800

River: ($6383) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $7757 (All-In), Hero calls $7757

Total pot: $21897 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 8, J (one pair, Queens).
Hero had 10, 10 (full house, tens over Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $21894

To be honest, I actually took my time before calling, so much so that a few railbirds accused me of slowrolling. Most of the big pots I've lost this month have been cold decks where I have the smaller set/flush/quads, so I guess I'm just a little gunshy. Not only is a bluff possible, but this Villain is very capable of big, thin value bets. I wouldn't be shocked to see him show up with as little as AK, and he probably does this for value with any Q. The fact that he can do that makes a bluff like this one more effective.

I believe this is the second largest pot I've won, trailing behind this one which was actually from a 10/20 game.

FTOPS $500 Main Event

Standard tournament garbage. Congratulations, though, to my long-time reader and former student Diego, who made the final table! Diego, why oh why did you back out of our staking deal?!!?

Obviously I'm planning a check-raise here, but given his bet sizing, I actually think I might be better off just calling:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG+1 (t5040)
MP1 (t8905)
MP2 (t7335)
CO (t6325)
Button (t6880)
SB (t7750)
Hero (BB) (t10280)
UTG (t2575)

Hero's M: 137.07

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, 8
4 folds, CO bets t150, 1 fold, SB calls t125, Hero calls t100

Flop: (t450) 6, 8, Q (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, CO bets t200, 1 fold, Hero calls t200

Turn: (t850) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: (t850) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets t700, Hero raises to t1980, CO raises to t3910, Hero calls t1930

Total pot: t8670

Results:
Hero had J, 8 (flush, Queen high).
CO had A, 4 (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: CO won t8670


That one was far less annoying than this:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($7653.50)
MP ($1972)
CO ($9506)
Button ($4900)
SB ($5025)
Hero (BB) ($5075)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, K
3 folds, Button bets $150, 1 fold, Hero calls $100

Flop: ($325) 5, Q, 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($325) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $222, Button calls $222

River: ($769) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $555, Button raises to $1655, Hero raises to $4703 (All-In), Button calls $2873 (All-In)

Total pot: $9825 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had A, 9 (flush, Ace high).
Hero had 10, K (flush, King high).
Outcome: Button won $9822

Villain is usually a short-stacker, though he occasionally buys in full. He's definitely borderline scared money when he does, but I still can't see how this isn't a shove on the river (even though I had a sick feeling when he raised and had to force my fingers not to be weak-tight). The only thing is that he may be weighted towards the nuts because of the flop check, which he's far more likely to do with Ace-high than with a random suited connector. But given what he had here, it seems plausible he would play 98s or 65s the same way. I don't know though, come to think of it, he probably still has more combinations of Axs pre-flop then lower flushes. Ugh, maybe this isn't a good shove either.

FTOPS NLHE Two-Day

I was not playing very well on Saturday, and it showed through in my results. I think I'm pretty good at letting bad beats and unlucky cards roll off my back, but I have a lot more trouble getting over a session where I played badly. Obviously a few mistakes can cost me quite a good deal of money, and it can be tilting to think how much could have been saved if I'd only...

Anyway, there were three key losses in these tournaments (I played the mini-FTOPS $250 as well). Here's how I busted from the $2500. I don't know for sure, and it's not particularly relevant, but I've heard that MP2 was Dmitri Nobles. I don't think this is awful, but it's not good either:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 25/50 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP2: 4,918
CO: 6,392
BTN: 2,862
SB: 6,260
Hero (BB): 4,310
UTG: 11,155
UTG+1: 2,120
UTG+2: 10,217
MP1: 11,918

Pre-Flop: (75) K A dealt to Hero (BB)
4 folds, MP2 raises to 150, CO calls 150, 2 folds, Hero raises to 750, MP2 folds, CO calls 600

Flop: (1,675) Q 2 T (2 Players)
Hero bets 660, CO calls 660

Turn: (2,995) 9 (2 Players)
Hero bets 2,900 and is All-In, CO calls 2,900

River: (8,795) 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 8,795 Pot
CO showed Q Q (three of a kind, Queens) and WON 8,795 (+4,485 NET)
Hero showed K A (Ace King high) and LOST (-4,310 NET)


This one, which cost me a big stack in the $250, may look the worst, but actually I think I would play it the same again:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 40/80 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG+2: 8,807
MP1: 6,110
MP2: 3,765
CO: 3,755
Hero (BTN): 10,244
SB: 3,640
BB: 6,201
UTG: 5,675
UTG+1: 13,823

Pre-Flop: (120) A Q dealt to Hero (BTN)
3 folds, MP1 raises to 240, 2 folds, Hero calls 240, SB folds, BB calls 160

Flop: (760) 7 A K (3 Players)
BB checks, MP1 bets 400, Hero calls 400, BB folds

Turn: (1,560) 7 (2 Players)
MP1 checks, Hero checks

River: (1,560) J (2 Players)
MP1 bets 640, Hero raises to 9,604 and is All-In, MP1 calls 4,830 and is All-In

Results: 12,500 Pot
MP1 showed 8 9 (a flush, King high) and WON 12,500 (+6,390 NET)
Hero showed A Q (two pair, Aces and Sevens) and LOST (-6,110 NET)


It's very unlikely my hand is good on the river, but there's good reason to think Villain is on something like AJ/KJ. The river shove is a bit of an overbet, but that may be what it takes to get a bad player off of two pair. They perceive a huge difference, perhaps not wrongly, between a lot of their chips and all of their chips. It sucks that he had a flush, but there's really very little reason to think he can call a shove here.

This one, on the other hand, is shamefully bad:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 50/100 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG+1: 8,687
MP1: 12,300
MP2: 3,795
CO: 2,115
Hero (BTN): 3,705
SB: 11,181
BB: 11,110
UTG: 9,127

Pre-Flop: (150) T T dealt to Hero (BTN)
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to 300, 3 folds, Hero calls 300, 2 folds

Flop: (750) 8 3 7 (2 Players)
UTG+1 bets 400, Hero calls 400

Turn: (1,550) 7 (2 Players)
UTG+1 bets 1,000, Hero raises to 3,005 and is All-In, UTG+1 calls 2,005

River: (7,560) A (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 7,560 Pot
UTG+1 showed Q Q (two pair, Queens and Sevens) and WON 7,560 (+3,855 NET)
Hero showed T T (two pair, Tens and Sevens) and LOST (-3,705 NET)


I've seen Villain overvalue hands before, but that's no justification for this.

1K WSOP Satellite

Played the 1K WSOP satellite on Stars tonight. There were 21 runners, meaning 2 seats and a lot of cash paid out. I came into the final table in second place, and had the lead by the time we got down to 5. I was running roughshod over everyone, and with four left I had as many chips as the other three combined. I definitely felt I was the strongest of the remaining players, but there were two other guys (none of whom I recognized) who seemed to get satellite strategy pretty well and one guy who was awful. One of the good players busted the other, so we got down to 3-handed with me and the other good player in a substantial lead.

At some point the fish doubled through him, which wasn't ideal (I'd prefer the fish to bust and lock up my seat) but certainly an improvement. I took a shot at busting the now-short good player, but it didn't end well:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1000+$50 Tournament, 400/800 Blinds 100 Ante (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) (t36843)
SB (t39582)
BB (t16575)

Hero's M: 24.56

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 10
Hero bets t1600, SB calls t1200, BB raises to t16475 (All-In), Hero raises to t31350, 1 fold

Flop: (t34850) 9, K, J (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t34850) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t34850) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t34850

Results:
Hero had 10, 10 (one pair, tens).
BB had J, K (two pair, Kings and Jacks).
Outcome: BB won t3485


I'm not 100% sure about this call. My range for raising the button here is like top 85%, and the fish is calling way wider than he should. I doubt he ever has a hand that calls a shove. If I am BB I am shoving any two here, and while he may not be quite that wide, he'd certainly shown a willingness to take advantage of good resteal spots before.

Then again, it sucks to gamble with the chiplead when three seats pay. But fishy as SB was, he was smart enough not to play a lot of big pots. It wasn't as though I was going to sit back and watch the two of them automatically butt heads. I wouldn't have called for all my chips, but since the worst case scenario is just that I have to hack it out, I went for it.

I did indeed manage to steal and then eventually double my way back into the chiplead, thanks to some godawful play from fishy:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1000+$50 Tournament, 400/800 Blinds 100 Ante (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) (t26068)
Button (t33182)
SB (t33750)

Hero's M: 17.38

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, A
Button bets t1600, 1 fold, Hero calls t800

Flop: (t3900) 10, 10, 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t1600, Hero raises to t3200, Button calls t1600

Turn: (t10300) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets t5555, Button calls t5555

River: (t21410) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets t11111, Button raises to t22222, Hero calls t4502 (All-In)

Total pot: t52636

Results:
Button had 7, 5 (full house, fives over tens).
Hero had 10, A (full house, tens over fives).
Outcome: Hero won t52636

Obviously I played this in a pretty non-standard way. Basically he had zero hand-reading skill and didn't like to fold. So I didn't worry about what I was representing but just tried to lay him the price that I felt would make me the most overall. On the river, I was still putting him on something less than a monster and figured he would be far more inclined to call less than all in than to call all in. Shockingly, he did the work for me with a low full house. I was also assuming that he'd be crippled whether I got the maximum or not, but that proved not to be true:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1000+$50 Tournament, 400/800 Blinds 100 Ante (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) (t53636)
SB (t6214)
BB (t33150)

Hero's M: 35.76

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, A
Hero bets t1600, SB raises to t6114 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls t4514

Flop: (t13328) J, Q, K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t13328) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t13328) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t13328

Results:
Hero had Q, A (one pair, Queens).
SB had K, 10 (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: SB won t13328

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1000+$50 Tournament, 400/800 Blinds 100 Ante (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) (t48022)
BB (t13228)
Button (t31750)

Hero's M: 32.01

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, J
Button bets t2200, Hero calls t1800, BB calls t1400

Flop: (t6900) A, 4, 2 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, Button bets t3200, Hero calls t3200, BB calls t3200

Turn: (t16500) 8 (3 players)
Hero bets t2222, BB calls t2222, 1 fold

River: (t20944) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets t40300 (All-In), BB calls t5506 (All-In)

Total pot: t31956

Results:
Hero had A, J (two pair, Aces and eights).
BB had 10, 9 (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: BB won t31956

On the turn I'm hoping to get it in with the fishy short stack and get the big stack out from behind me. On the river, I'm pretty sure he hit the flush, but at this point I don't think check-folding is an option, so value betting is best. Sucks, but what are you gonna do?


Finally, I had to take yet another coin flip against the good player:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1000+$50 Tournament, 600/1200 Blinds 150 Ante (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) (t25662)
BB (t30274)
Button (t37064)

Hero's M: 11.41

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, 9
Button bets t3000, Hero raises to t25512 (All-In), 1 fold, Button calls t22512

Flop: (t52674) 10, 10, K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t52674) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t52674) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t52674

Results:
Button had K, A (two pair, Kings and tens).
Hero had 9, 9 (two pair, tens and nines).
Outcome: Button won t52674


Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I snatched a bubble from the jaws of victory. :-(

Gross Spot Vs. Peter Eastgate

Yesterday, PeteEastgate was sitting at something like 8 25/50 tables on Stars. After confirming that this was the actual 2009 WSOP Champion and not some clever shark impersonating a tourney donk, I hopped on a few of the tables to try my luck. It was indeed trying:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($5122)
BB ($7944)
UTG ($5223)
MP ($15570)
CO ($5000)
Hero (Button) ($5824)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 4, 4
1 fold, MP bets $150, 1 fold, Hero calls $150, 2 folds

Flop: ($375) 2, 9, 4 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($375) 9 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $222, MP raises to $850, Hero calls $628

River: ($2075) 4 (2 players)
MP bets $14570 (All-In), Hero calls $4824 (All-In)

Total pot: $11723 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero mucked 4, 4 (four of a kind, fours).
MP had 9, 9 (four of a kind, nines).
Outcome: MP won $11720


I've made four or five royal flushes in my lifetime, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've been on either end of quads vs. quads. The worst part is that it's actually pretty tough to put him on anything but better quads given the way he played it. Not that I'm about to lose sleep over paying off with quads, but still.

It was even more frustrating coming on the heels of this, which was not against Eastgate:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($13257)
MP ($15487)
CO ($5000)
Button ($8292)
Hero (SB) ($5000)
BB ($6147)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, 10
UTG bets $150, MP calls $150, 1 fold, Button calls $150, Hero raises to $750, 1 fold, UTG calls $600, MP calls $600, Button calls $600

Flop: ($3050) 10, Q, 6 (4 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP bets $1725, 1 fold, Hero raises to $4250 (All-In), 1 fold, MP calls $2525

Turn: ($11550) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($11550) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $11550 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 10, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
MP had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
Outcome: MP won $11547

Well, this was not exactly not against Eastgate. He was the initial raiser, but not the guy who cold decked me. I'm actually a little surprised that the QQ didn't re-squeeze pre-flop. I'm pretty sure I would have stacked off anyway, and his hand's going to be a bitch to play in a multiway pot post-flop. Unless he flops set over set, of course.

Anyway, from what I could tell Eastgate was pretty solid. While I'm not yet convinced that he's 25/50 material, he had respectable stacks on nearly every table he was on, and he certainly wasn't enough of a mark to justify my continuing to sit frustrated against other very good players.

FTOPS Event 13: $300 NLHE 6-Max Quad Shootout

I lasted no more than 15 minutes in this tournament and got 3-bet no fewer than four times. The final time, I raised 44 in the SB, shoved over a 3-bet from the BB, and lost the flip to AQ.

Poker Savvy's Dani "Ansky" Stern final tabled this one, but he finished a somewhat disappointing sixth. Still, nice finish!

Exhausting Heads Up Match

I was about halfway through last night's session, and a lot of the 6-max games I was in were kinda bad. I was at the end of a few long waiting lists, but mostly there just weren't many good games going at the time.

I'd been sitting alone, waiting for action as usual, at a few heads up tables. Really wanting to play some heads up, I got aggressive and tried to sit with a few people who were definitely going to sit out against me. They sat out. I sat with a few randoms. They mostly sat out, a few played long enough to look me up on OPR or whatever before sitting out, one played just his button and sat out (total douche move), and one played for a few minutes until I tried to sit at a second of his tables. Then he sat out on both.

I even tried sitting with a few regs who are probably better than I am, figuring I might as well challenge myself, but to my surprise even they sat out. Finally, a guy I recognized from higher stakes sat across from me at 10/20 deep. It had been over a year since we played heads up, but I've seen him as high as 50/100, and I am pretty confident he's solidly better than I am. After warning him that I not play for long, I sat in and we played one table of 10/20 and one of 5/10.

Again, I'm pretty sure he would have the edge long term. However, off the bat I think I knew more about how he was going to play than he did about me. He was extraordinarily aggressive, and I did some things to induce action that I don't think he was expecting. It takes a lot of concentration to deal with extreme aggression from a smart player, and after about 45 minutes, I was exhausted. I quit him and my other games, but I was up three buy-ins and felt I'd definitely gotten the better of him over that short match.

The thing about uber-aggressive opponents is that, at least when they're smart, you have to play very differently than you ordinarily would. You aren't going to induce bluffs just by checking and calling- you have to widen the range that you are going to check-raise, 3-bet, etc. for value and then be prepared to call down. A few examples:


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($6980)
Button ($4060)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, J
Button bets $60, Hero raises to $222, Button calls $162

Flop: ($444) 10, 3, 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $333, Button raises to $827, Hero raises to $1321, Button calls $494

Turn: ($3086) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $5437 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $3086 | Rake: $0.50


In this one, the "standard" play would probably be to make a big, pot committing 4-bet. Against this guy, though, my overs and nut flush draw is a big enough monster that I'm actually trying to induce a shove from him. I actually think it was a mistake for me to shove the turn (for like $2400 in reality- I had him well covered) rather than check-call. There's a chance he's trying to showdown something like 77, though he's probably calling turn with that anyway, but most likely is that he's either floating or has a monster. Obviously the money goes in no matter what if he has a monster, so I ought to have induced another bluff from his floats, especially when I turn the gutshot.

In this next one, I check-call flop with an underpair to the board, then lead into him on the turn to induce a bluff raise. Otherwise, I don't think he barrels this card; my hand looks too much like a bluff-catcher:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($8795.50)
Button ($4057.50)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 6, 6
Button bets $60, Hero calls $40

Flop: ($120) 9, 8, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $100, Hero calls $100

Turn: ($320) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $188, Button raises to $650, Hero calls $462

River: ($1620) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Total pot: $1620 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had Q, J (two pair, eights and twos).
Hero had 6, 6 (two pair, eights and sixes).
Outcome: Hero won $1619.50


Here I check-raise the flop for value with Ace-high, then check-call to induce from his floats. Guys like this do not give up easily on dry boards:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($3620.50)
Button ($2378)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, A
Button bets $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) 6, 6, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $40, Hero raises to $120, Button calls $80

Turn: ($300) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $150, Hero calls $150

River: ($600) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Total pot: $600 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had Q, 8 (three of a kind, sixes).
Hero had 10, A (three of a kind, sixes).
Outcome: Hero won $599.50


I was actually planning on checking this down on the river or turning it into a bluff and shoving if he bet again, but he didn't give me the chance:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($9195.50)
SB ($4428.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, J
Hero bets $60, SB raises to $220, Hero calls $160

Flop: ($440) 8, 5, 3 (2 players)
SB bets $288, Hero calls $288

Turn: ($1016) 9 (2 players)
SB bets $711, Hero calls $711

River: ($2438) K (2 players)
SB bets $3209.50 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: $2438 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
SB didn't show
Outcome: SB won $2437.50


I think it's very likely he's overbetting for value, because the way he's been playing he expects to get looked up light but probably not for me to raise much on the river if he makes a normal-sized bet. If this is how he's playing his monsters, then it makes my plan to shove over a smaller bet even better.

This was the closest decision I had over the course of the match:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($4747)
SB ($4020)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, 9
Hero bets $60, SB raises to $220, Hero raises to $522, SB calls $302

Flop: ($1044) 6, A, 2 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($1044) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $744, Hero calls $744

River: ($2532) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $2754 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: $2532 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
SB didn't show
Outcome: SB won $2531.50


A lot could be going on here. The thing is that when I check back the flop, it really looks like I'm planning on calling down. I could also have KK or QQ, though, so there's a chance he's trying to bluff me off those or maybe even value bet against with a worse Ace. I think as long as I also check back and then call down stuff like AK and AA, and of course if he bluffs club rivers, then this is an OK fold.

Time to Go Shopping for Skirts

...because I am a little girl:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($7241)
CO ($5985)
Button ($925)
Hero (SB) ($15829)
BB ($12367)
UTG ($6770)
UTG+1 ($5322)
MP1 ($8295.50)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8, 8
3 folds, MP2 bets $100, 2 folds, Hero raises to $400, BB calls $350, MP2 calls $300

Flop: ($1200) 6, 5, 4 (3 players)
Hero bets $789, BB raises to $2000, 1 fold, Hero folds

Total pot: $2778 | Rake: $3

Results:
BB didn't show
Outcome: BB won $2775


I'm not sure what's best here (obviously), but I can't believe I'm supposed to fold this. MP2 is pretty aggro, so it's not impossible that the BB blatted a big pair hoping to induce a squeeze, but i kinda doubt he's showing up here with anything that really kills me, which I guess would just be a made straight. My equity against a set is nearly the same as it is against an overpair, something like 20-25%. I wonder if he's ever raise-folding a slightly better pair, like 99 or TT?

There are a ton of "worse" hands I'd rather shove than 88, but still, I think this is ridiculously weak. I'm pretty sure my fold was not unrelated to a fear of losing $12K, and thankfully I did leave the table not too long after. The game was good, but it wasn't that good.

Go Back to 25/50, Ansky

Dani Stern, my fellow Poker Savvy Plus pro perhaps better known as Ansky, is one of the players whose game I respect the most. I love watching his videos, and I hate playing at his tables. Thus, I am more than a little upset that he's been "slumming it" in the 5/10 and 10/20 games of late.

Then again, playing against a great player can be a fun challenge that forces you to step up your own game. At least that's how it started out:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($2305.50)
Button ($5576)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8, 8
Button bets $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) J, 9, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($60) K (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($60) 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $40, Hero raises to $120, 1 fold

Total pot: $140 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show 8, 8 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $139.50


In general, I've found that people don't bluff nearly as often as they should when there is four or five to a straight on the board. The thing is that even when you are called, you usually chop the pot, so it's a very low-risk bluff. Still, I get shown a (better) straight way too often when I do look people up.

Ansky, of course, is an exception. I think that he will, appropriately, bet 100% of his range when I check it to him here. Further, I think he probably will not give me credit for being able to check-raise bluff in this kind of random spot.

This next hand is the one I'm most proud of. Ansky is the SB. The key to this hand is that I've seen Ansky cold call three-bets from out of the blinds with medium pocket pairs, so his range here is wider than you might think:


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($2000)
Button ($637)
SB ($2005)
BB ($2391)
Hero (UTG) ($2590)
MP ($2000)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J, A
Hero bets $20, MP raises to $70, 2 folds, SB calls $65, 1 fold, Hero raises to $290, MP calls $220, SB calls $220

Flop: ($880) K, 10, 8 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $444, 1 fold, SB calls $444

Turn: ($1768) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($1768) 2 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1856 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1768 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero didn't show J, A (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $1765


To the extent that there's a golden opportunity for a 4-bet squeeze play, this is pretty close to it. Both Villains have wide-ish ranges, and the cold call will probably scare the original 3-better. Plus, with stacks as deep as they are, I still have room to get creative post-flop.

The other neat thing about this hand is the turn check. I was planning on shoving a lot of turns, but this was a pretty awful one. Obviously it's much harder to represent the K when another one comes.

It's very unlikely, though, that Ansky checks the top of his range to me on the river. It looks like I'm either giving up on a bluff or trying to check down a modest hand, so if he's got a big hand, I expect him to shove the river.

Having excluded the top of his range, I have to wonder how many of his "cheap showdown" hands call a river shove. Given my above assumptions, my shove is going to look pretty strong. He may think that if I needed to bluff, I would have done it on the turn, and that if I have showdown value, I would often opt just to check it down. Thus, I'm counting on my hand looking like a monster to him.

Of course, just as I am feeling pretty proud of myself, he goes and does this:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1776)
BB ($2766)
UTG ($1253)
MP ($2262.25)
Hero (CO) ($2463)
Button ($6596)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K, 9
2 folds, Hero bets $35, Button calls $35, 2 folds

Flop: ($85) J, 2, 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $66, Button calls $66

Turn: ($217) K (2 players)
Hero bets $144, Button calls $144

River: ($505) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $388, Button raises to $6351 (All-In), Hero calls $1830 (All-In)

Total pot: $4941 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 9, A (flush, Ace high).
Hero had K, 9 (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Button won $4938


Obviously he backed into an unlikely monster here, making it a great spot for an overbet shove on the river. I generally don't beat myself up over paying off the very top of a guy's range, but here it's hard for me to imagine him showing up without the goods. If he wants to bluff, there's really no reason for him to overbet the pot. A pot-sized or smaller raise would entail less risk and potentially represent a wider range, since it could more plausibly represent thin value from something like a set. But gah, who knows. This is why it sucks having good players on your left...

SCOOP Main Event

I played all three tournaments: the $10K, the $1K, and the $100. Each was what I expected it to be. The $100 was monkeylicious. The 1K was soft enough for the buyin, certainly weaker play than would be found at a 5/10 cash table or a weekly 1K tournament. The 10K was fairly tough, maybe even a bit tougher than I'd expected. At least at my table, the closet thing to a soft spot was P5's donkamenteur BelowAbove.

Actually, at my first table, Ahhh Snap was making life hell from my immediate left. Thankfully, that one broke quickly. I still never got anything going, and eventually lost two coin flips plus chopped JJ to Below's AJ to bust.

I got off to a solid start in the 1K, and there were a few interesting hands. This first one was against wpr101, who I see a lot at the Stars MSNL full ring tables:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1000+$50 Tournament, 40/80 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG (t11530)
Hero (MP1) (t10850)
MP2 (t12305)
CO (t4930)
Button (t7215)
SB (t11790)
BB (t21380)

Hero's M: 90.42

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with A, J
1 fold, Hero bets t200, 1 fold, CO calls t200, 3 folds

Flop: (t520) 10, 8, 9 (2 players)
Hero bets t350, CO raises to t1040, Hero raises to t10650 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: t2600

Results:
Hero didn't show A, J (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won t2600


This was probably my favorite one, against this total spaz on my left who was calling every raise I made pre-flop and then monkeying around post-flop. Actually wait lemme show you why he pissed me off first:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1000+$50 Tournament, 75/150 Blinds 20 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 (t12200)
Hero (CO) (t11676)
Button (t3845)
SB (t9220)
BB (t5106)
UTG (t11047)
UTG+1 (t17329)
MP1 (t13090)
MP2 (t22901)

Hero's M: 28.83

Preflop: Hero is CO with 9, A
5 folds, Hero bets t411, Button calls t411, 2 folds

Flop: (t1227) 4, A, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: (t1227) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets t795, Button calls t795

River: (t2817) J (2 players)
Hero bets t10450 (All-In), Button calls t2619 (All-In)

Total pot: t8055

Results:
Button had J, 8 (two pair, Jacks and eights).
Hero had 9, A (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: Button won t8055


Note that he's calling off more than 10% of his stack pre-flop. It's not like shoving the river here is superawesome, but given stack sizes and this guy's general spazziness, I do think it was best. So here was my revenge:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1000+$50 Tournament, 75/150 Blinds 20 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 (t11795)
Hero (CO) (t7485)
Button (t13288)
SB (t3124)
BB (t5505)
UTG (t13686)
UTG+1 (t21760)
MP1 (t10240)
MP2 (t19531)

Hero's M: 18.48

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, 3
5 folds, Hero bets t411, Button calls t411, 2 folds

Flop: (t1227) 4, 9, 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t450, Hero calls t450

Turn: (t2127) K (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t995, Hero raises to t3604, 1 fold

Total pot: t4117

Results:
Hero didn't show A, 3 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won t4117


I didn't hold on to those chips for long though:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1000+$50 Tournament, 75/150 Blinds 20 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 (t12445)
Hero (CO) (t11706)
Button (t9001)
SB (t20490)
BB (t5100)
UTG (t13031)
UTG+1 (t24034)
MP1 (t13180)
MP2 (t18127)

Hero's M: 28.90

Preflop: Hero is CO with 7, A
3 folds, MP2 bets t399, 1 fold, Hero calls t399, 2 folds, BB calls t249

Flop: (t1452) 9, J, K (3 players)
BB checks, MP2 bets t900, Hero calls t900, BB calls t900

Turn: (t4152) 6 (3 players)
BB checks, MP2 checks, Hero bets t1888, 1 fold, MP2 raises to t3776, Hero calls t1888

River: (t11704) 3 (2 players)
MP2 bets t13032 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: t11704

Results:
MP2 didn't show
Outcome: MP2 won t11704

BB was wpr101 again, I don't know who MP2 was. It's pretty obvious he has something betting into two of us on this flop, and being in position, I thought calling would be more profitable than trying to raise him off it. When wpr just calls, given his stack size, it seems very likely he has just a draw. I can't see how he wouldn't shove a made hand he wanted to go with or a strong draw.

I also didn't expect that MP2 would check a super strong hand (like KJ or better) on the turn with two of us still in the pot and a lot of draws on board. So, I went for the bluff, which admittedly probably is relying on him making something of a big fold. I really didn't expect a check-raise, but at least he gave me odds to chase. River- what can I do?

It's quite rare for me to open limp in a tournament, but I've been adding that into my full ring cash game, and this seemed like a good spot for it. Depending on who raised, I was probably going to re-raise, but this guy had been really loose passive, so I decided just to call. I was pretty shocked/pissed about what he showed down:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1000+$50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds 25 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t12875)
Hero (UTG) (t6536)
UTG+1 (t8476)
MP1 (t20320)
MP2 (t12603)
MP3 (t13747)
CO (t27939)
Button (t12785)
SB (t24461)

Hero's M: 12.45

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 9, 9
Hero calls t200, 3 folds, MP3 bets t600, 4 folds, Hero calls t400

Flop: (t1725) 5, J, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 bets t1000, Hero calls t1000

Turn: (t3725) 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks

River: (t3725) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 bets t1800, Hero calls t1800

Total pot: t7325

Results:
Hero mucked 9, 9 (flush, Queen high).
MP3 had J, 7 (flush, Queen high).
Outcome: MP3 won t7325


The same guy busted me a few hands later when I once again got 99, open shoved, and lost a flip to his AQs.

The $100 was full of terrible play, and I ran up a huge stack just playing big hands. People were strangely aggressive, doing stuff like 4-bet shoving QTo over my button re-raise (I had AK). I shouldn't talk, though, as I kind of monkeyed off my own stack after busting from the big tournies, randomly shoving JTo from the SB over a CO open from a guy who'd just called a big shove the hand before with 55. This time he had AA.

Stupid SCOOP. I am so ready to be done with tournaments for a while. Too bad FTOPS is in less than a month. I may not play that as aggressively as I have in the past.

SCOOP Event 14: 6-Max NLHE ($5000)

I had some fierce competition in this one, but I guess that's to be expected in a 5K. There was dpeters17, Timex, psyduck, and Poker Savvy's very own Christian "charder30" Harder, but the player who ended up giving me the most trouble was a Pocket Fivers guy named Wretchy. I don't think this was because Wretchy was the best of these players- quite the opposite- but he did make hands at the right times against me (or pull off some very well-timed bluffs, in which case there's egg on my face, but I'm pretty sure he had it).

The first big pot he won off of me, he flopped top pair top kicker and I flopped the nut flush draw in a multi-way pot. Unfortunately, that meant he had my Ace dominated, so I was drawing to fewer outs than I expected, and I didn't get there. None of the rest were that clean. I think this line is actually OK on my part and may have saved me some money:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $5000+$200 Tournament, 40/80 Blinds (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t7804)
SB (t6930)
BB (t15071)
UTG (t4438)
Hero (MP) (t7982)
CO (t9352)

Hero's M: 66.52

Preflop: Hero is MP with 10, 10
1 fold, Hero bets t160, 1 fold, Button calls t160, SB raises to t777, 1 fold, Hero calls t617, 1 fold

Flop: (t1794) 3, 6, 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t555, SB raises to t1888, Hero calls t1333

Turn: (t5570) 5 (2 players)
SB bets t1999, Hero folds

Total pot: t5570


As long as I'm making this same flop bet-call with stuff like AA and trips, which I absolutely am, then I think this is a pretty effective way of playing TT. It has the potential to induce calls from worse and sometimes even spazzy bluffs (though hopefully not here!). It sucks, but I seriously doubt Wretchy is sophisticated enough to have a bluff here.

Then there was this smaller one where he took me off a hand. For some reason I had a feeling he was gonna 4-bet, but I sucked it up and 3-bet anyway:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $5000+$200 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds 10 Ante (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP (t6360)
CO (t8621)
Button (t14288)
SB (t16510)
Hero (BB) (t9682)
UTG (t9064)

Hero's M: 46.10

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, A
2 folds, CO bets t233, 2 folds, Hero raises to t699, CO raises to t1888, 1 fold

Total pot: t1508


For better or for worse, I probably would have shoved AQs here. I dunno, I just don't see tourney regs 4-betting without the goods very often, particularly when the 4-bet is less than all in. Then again, BelowAbove was cheering for this dude in chat, so who knows. Maybe I just don't play enough of the bigger buy-in weekly tournies to know what the regs are up to these days.

My bustout hand was another in my neverending series of "Goddammit this is not a cash game!" hands. This is maaaaybe an OK line against someone who is gonna float and bluff turns, but that's just not who I'm likely to be up against here. Even the 3-bet is pretty questionable, I think:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $5000+$200 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds 10 Ante (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP (t8670)
CO (t18710)
Button (t14753)
SB (t10410)
Hero (BB) (t8608)
UTG (t3374)

Hero's M: 40.99

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, 10
1 fold, MP bets t275, 3 folds, Hero raises to t888, MP calls t613

Flop: (t1886) 2, 7, K (2 players)
Hero bets t910, MP calls t910

Turn: (t3706) K (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets t2222, Hero raises to t6800 (All-In), MP calls t4578

River: (t17306) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t17306

Results:
Hero had 10, 10 (two pair, Kings and tens).
MP had K, A (three of a kind, Kings).
Outcome: MP won t17306


With a spade, it's a completely different story and an easy shove, I think.

SCOOP Event 12: Stud/8

Once upon a time I considered myself a pretty decent Stud/8 player, but I've probably played fewer than 1000 hands in the last 6 months. Consequently, $1500 was a little more than I wanted to put behind my skillz. I did play the $150, though, and had a good time doing it. I can't say I recall a lot of interesting hands, but here's one where I play second-man-low:

PokerStars Game #26838991298: Tournament #200904122, $200+$15 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Limit - Level IV (80/160) - 2009/04/07 17:54:53 ET
Table '200904122 30' 8-max
Seat 1: xmrstyle (5557 in chips)
Seat 2: GoodOleBoy (5051 in chips)
Seat 3: foucault82 (3681 in chips)
Seat 4: mrpokejoke (5594 in chips)
Seat 5: JohnnyBax (6949 in chips)
Seat 6: Corrino (3464 in chips)
Seat 7: FODMAND (4741 in chips)
Seat 8: badbeat987 (4963 in chips)

*** 3rd STREET ***
Dealt to xmrstyle [7s]
Dealt to GoodOleBoy [2s]
Dealt to foucault82 [Ks Jd Kh]
Dealt to mrpokejoke [Jc]
Dealt to JohnnyBax [6d]
Dealt to Corrino [6c]
Dealt to FODMAND [7h]
Dealt to badbeat987 [Kc]

GoodOleBoy: bets 80
foucault82: raises 80 to 160
mrpokejoke: folds
JohnnyBax: folds
Corrino: folds
FODMAND: raises 80 to 240
badbeat987: folds
xmrstyle: folds
GoodOleBoy: calls 160
foucault82: calls 80

*** 4th STREET ***
Dealt to GoodOleBoy [2s] [Ac]
Dealt to foucault82 [Ks Jd Kh] [Td]
Dealt to FODMAND [7h] [4c]
GoodOleBoy: bets 80
foucault82: calls 80
FODMAND: calls 80

*** 5th STREET ***
Dealt to GoodOleBoy [2s Ac] [As]
Dealt to foucault82 [Ks Jd Kh Td] [Tc]
Dealt to FODMAND [7h 4c] [5h]
GoodOleBoy: bets 160
foucault82: calls 160
FODMAND: calls 160

*** 6th STREET ***
Dealt to GoodOleBoy [2s Ac As] [3c]
Dealt to foucault82 [Ks Jd Kh Td Tc] [9d]
Dealt to FODMAND [7h 4c 5h] [7c]
GoodOleBoy: bets 160
foucault82: calls 160
FODMAND: raises 160 to 320
GoodOleBoy: calls 160
foucault82: calls 160

*** RIVER ***
Dealt to foucault82 [Ks Jd Kh Td Tc 9d] [Th]
GoodOleBoy: bets 160
foucault82: calls 160
FODMAND: raises 160 to 320
GoodOleBoy: calls 160
foucault82: raises 160 to 480
FODMAND: calls 160
GoodOleBoy: calls 160

*** SHOW DOWN ***
foucault82: shows [Ks Jd Kh Td Tc 9d Th] (HI: a full house, Tens full of Kings)
FODMAND: shows [Ah 7d 7h 4c 5h 7c 6h] (HI: three of a kind, Sevens; LO: 7,6,5,4,A)
GoodOleBoy: mucks hand
foucault82 collected 1984 from pot
FODMAND collected 1984 from pot

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3968 | Rake 0
Seat 1: xmrstyle folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 2: GoodOleBoy mucked [3d 5s 2s Ac As 3c 3h]
Seat 3: foucault82 showed [Ks Jd Kh Td Tc 9d Th] and won (1984) with HI: a full house, Tens full of Kings
Seat 4: mrpokejoke folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 5: JohnnyBax folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Corrino folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 7: FODMAND showed [Ah 7d 7h 4c 5h 7c 6h] and won (1984) with HI: three of a kind, Sevens; LO: 7,6,5,4,A
Seat 8: badbeat987 folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)


I'll say up front that my calls on earlier streets are a little questionable, and obviously I luckboxed the river. But, when Fod 3-bets on 3rd, I'm putting him on either baby suited connectors, buried Aces, or rolled up 7's, with the former being by far the most likely. Good could have some high hands but almost always has a low, including probably some weaker hands than one probably ought to be raising in first position.

Of course I'm not thrilled to see him catch an A on 4th, but I can't freak out yet. Then he pairs the A, but he still probably has just one pair and a low, while I've now made two pair. Proceeding with caution.

Meanwhile, it's pretty unlikely Fod had buried Aces, so probably he's on a low with one pair as well. Raising when he pairs his door card is pretty alarming, but by now the pot is big, I've got two pair, and besides did he really 3-bet into a K with just a pair of 7's?

The river is neat because my value almost certainly needs to come from Fod. I've got now low, so putting in an extra bet against Good isn't worth anything. I don't want to raise Fod off of a worse high, and it looks like he might put the raise in for me, allowing me to win (half of) two more bets off of him.

In retrospect, Fod's raise on 3rd isn't that bad. With the A in his hand, his shot at beating me for high is much improved. If a raise can chase Good out of the pot (a dubious proposition against most amateurs), he greatly increases his odds of taking the low as well.

My bust-out hand is a little neat also:

PokerStars Game #26843304587: Tournament #200904122, $200+$15 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Limit - Level X (400/800) - 2009/04/07 20:02:19 ET
Table '200904122 14' 8-max
Seat 1: foucault82 (2202 in chips)
Seat 2: tilou4fun (19017 in chips)
Seat 4: get crunk (21744 in chips)
Seat 5: Iteopepe88 (3407 in chips)
Seat 6: Don_Insano (10591 in chips)
Seat 7: Mungy (9593 in chips)
Seat 8: Crisper (6932 in chips)

*** 3rd STREET ***
Dealt to foucault82 [6h 5d 2c]
Dealt to tilou4fun [Jd]
Dealt to get crunk [8c]
Dealt to Iteopepe88 [Qc]
Dealt to Don_Insano [9h]
Dealt to Mungy [Qh]
Dealt to Crisper [3s]
foucault82: brings in for 120
tilou4fun: raises 280 to 400
get crunk: folds
Iteopepe88: folds
Don_Insano: folds
Mungy: folds
Crisper: folds
foucault82: calls 280

*** 4th STREET ***
Dealt to foucault82 [6h 5d 2c] [5h]
Dealt to tilou4fun [Jd] [4h]
tilou4fun: checks
foucault82: checks

*** 5th STREET ***
Dealt to foucault82 [6h 5d 2c 5h] [9s]
Dealt to tilou4fun [Jd 4h] [Kh]
tilou4fun: bets 800
somebody is connected
foucault82: calls 800

*** 6th STREET ***
Dealt to foucault82 [6h 5d 2c 5h 9s] [Kd]
Dealt to tilou4fun [Jd 4h Kh] [Ac]
tilou4fun: bets 800
foucault82: raises 122 to 922 and is all-in
tilou4fun: calls 122

*** RIVER ***
Dealt to foucault82 [6h 5d 2c 5h 9s Kd] [7c]

*** SHOW DOWN ***
foucault82: shows [6h 5d 2c 5h 9s Kd 7c] (HI: a pair of Fives)
tilou4fun: shows [7d Qd Jd 4h Kh Ac Qs] (HI: a pair of Queens)
tilou4fun collected 4804 from pot
No low hand qualified

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4804 | Rake 0
Seat 1: foucault82 showed [6h 5d 2c 5h 9s Kd 7c] and lost with HI: a pair of Fives
Seat 2: tilou4fun showed [7d Qd Jd 4h Kh Ac Qs] and won (4804) with HI: a pair of Queens
Seat 4: get crunk folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Iteopepe88 folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Don_Insano folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Mungy folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Crisper folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)


If I hadn't been the bring-in, I probably would have just gotten it in on 3rd. As it is, though, I think he has J's almost always, and I can check-fold a brick on 4th. With the 5, I'm looking to check-get-it-in, but he surprises me by checking it back.

There are a ton of "good enough" cards for me on 5th (anything 8 or lower or higher than his J), but a 9 wasn't one of them. When he bet, I got to thinking about his check on 4th- maybe he didn't have J's after all? He didn't, but I still couldn't escape with so much as half.

SCOOP Event 10: NLHE Heads Up

Edit: Fixed title. This is SCOOP, not FTOPS. Was tired and tilted last night when posting this.

I was really looking forward to this event, as I've been working on my heads up game of late. I played both the $1500 and the $150 and had reasonable tough first round opponents in both. On the $150, I just a lot of small- and medium-pots to "mild cooler" spots where I had like the slightly worse hand or bluffed into the top of the guy's range and what not. I ultimately lost the match, don't even remember how.

Match 1

The $1500 was a really hard-fought match. I got off to an early lead, then lost a few big pots, the biggest with top pair vs a set and flopped top pair vs rivered higher pair. Villain was grinding me down pre-flop, raising, c-betting, and 3-betting well. Eventually I 4-bet shoved AJ on him pre-flop. He had AK, but I sucked out, and we were back to even.

We battled back and forth for a while, and eventually I made a big call to get into the lead. First, I'll give you a prior hand that made me suspicious:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1500+$75 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) (t4600)
SB (t5400)

Hero's M: 61.33

Preflop: Hero is Button with 6, K
Hero bets t150, SB calls t100

Flop: (t300) 5, 8, J (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t175, SB calls t175

Turn: (t650) 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (t650) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t425, SB raises to t1450, Hero folds

Total pot: t1500

Results:
SB didn't show
Outcome: SB won t1500


In this spot, my hand is almost always either a bluff or a thin value bet, so it's a good spot for a check-raise bluff. There are two problems with that: 1) It's also a good spot to check-raise for value; and 2) many players just don't check-raise bluff rivers very often, particularly not in tournaments where play tends toward the conservative. I folded, but I made a mental note, and eventually I made this call:


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1500+$75 Tournament, 30/60 Blinds (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) (t3770)
SB (t6230)

Hero's M: 41.89

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 9
Hero bets t155, SB calls t95

Flop: (t310) 6, 6, 8 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t177, SB calls t177

Turn: (t664) 10 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (t664) Q (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t388, SB raises to t1425, Hero calls t1037

Total pot: t3514

Results:
Hero had 10, 9 (two pair, tens and sixes).
SB had 5, 5 (two pair, sixes and fives).
Outcome: Hero won t3514


He fought back up to about even, then we got it in with TT vs. AK. My TT held, and that was the match!

Match 2

This opponent was easier than my first but still somewhat competent. It helped that he seemed to be catching a lot of cards. He did make one or two questionable calls against me, but then he made up for it by slowplaying what I'm pretty sure was a flush and getting me to go for three streets of value with top pair only to get check-raised on the river. This one also ended in a coin flip in my favor.

Match 3

This guy was one of the worst heads up players I've ever seen. I have no idea how he won his first two matches, nor what he was doing in this tournament at all for that matter. He was just ridiculously tight and passive, letting me steal oodles of pots with min-bets and min-raises and never playing back at me. He did bluff occasionally, but always in obvious spots and never for more than one barrel. He used his position so poorly that I was calling a lot of raises out of position, which is obviously a bad plan in most any heads up match. There was never any doubt in mind that I would win this one, and after grinding him down to just 20% of his starting stack, I won a coin flip to eliminate him.

Match 4

I was lucky enough to draw another very weak opponent. He tried to make some moves, but tended to do so in a very predictable way, making it easy to catch him. Prior to this hand, for instance, he'd re-raise me pre-flop several times. Since he didn't play back at me pre-flop, I was pretty sure he'd be itching to do so on such a dry flop:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1500+$75 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) (t6423)
SB (t3577)

Hero's M: 85.64

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9, 5
Hero bets t100, SB calls t50

Flop: (t200) 4, 2, 2 (2 players)

SB checks, Hero bets t123, SB raises to t350, Hero calls t227

Turn: (t900) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t333, 1 fold

Total pot: t900

Results:
Hero didn't show 9, 5 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won t900


Unfortunately, before I could turn this guy's aggression against him, he managed to cooler me twice, once with a set vs. my two pair to get himself back in the match, then with bottom two vs. my top pair and gut shot. In the latter case, I actually had nearly 50% equity, but I suppose I was due to lose a coin flip.

SCOOP Event 8: NLHE Two-Day

I was going to play the HORSE event, but the buyins just didn't line up right for me. The 10K was out of the question, even the 1K was a touch high, and the $100 was too small for me to add two hours onto what was already a potentially long session (the day's second event was scheduled to run for 12 hours before stopping for the night).

I played the $300 and the $3000 two-days, but they ended up being one-day tournaments for me. The $3000 got nearly 1000 players, and my table was about what I was expecting: a lot of solid players, no one phenomenally good, and a soft spot or two. Unfortunately, the soft spot became a problem for me. Here, my attempt to isolate him got me into to trouble:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $3000+$150 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO (t10875)
Button (t11839)
Hero (SB) (t8611)
BB (t10850)
UTG (t9775)
UTG+1 (t9900)
MP1 (t8075)
MP2 (t10075)

Hero's M: 114.81

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, 9
3 folds, MP2 calls t50, 2 folds, Hero bets t250, BB calls t200, MP2 calls t200

Flop: (t750) 6, K, 5 (3 players)
Hero bets t567, BB calls t567, MP2 calls t567

Turn: (t2451) 5 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets t1450, 1 fold, Hero calls t1450

River: (t5351) A (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets t8583 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: t5351

Results:
BB didn't show
Outcome: BB won t5351


The BB was possibly my most skilled opponent- unfortunate to have him on my left. The turn is a good spot for him to bluff with a draw, but the problem with calling is that it sets him up to shove the river. I guess I could call that, too, but I dunno. I guess folding turn is probably correct. You could argue for checking flop as well, but I was still looking at as an isolation play, hoping to get BB out, and if fishy calls, I'm comfortable playing out of position against him. Too bad it backfired.

The same fish took me out a bit later:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $3000+$150 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds 10 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO (t10245)
Button (t11004)
Hero (SB) (t3982)
BB (t11770)
UTG (t8571)
UTG+1 (t10015)
MP1 (t4040)
MP2 (t8516)
MP3 (t21223)

Hero's M: 16.59

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, K
2 folds, MP1 bets t300, 1 fold, MP3 calls t300, 2 folds, Hero raises to t1111, 2 folds, MP3 calls t811

Flop: (t2712) 5, 4, 3 (2 players)
Hero bets t2861 (All-In), MP3 calls t2861

Turn: (t8434) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t8434) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t8434

Results:
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and fours).
MP3 had A, 7 (straight, seven high).
Outcome: MP3 won t8434


I lasted a while longer in the $300, but eventually bluffed off my stack:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $300+$20 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 50 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 (t26848)
MP3 (t24581)
CO (t3799)
Hero (Button) (t16360)
SB (t17599)
BB (t8725)
UTG (t24137)
UTG+1 (t4450)
MP1 (t16052)

Hero's M: 15.58

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, K
4 folds, MP3 bets t1000, 1 fold, Hero raises to t2666, 2 folds, MP3 calls t1666

Flop: (t6382) 5, 2, 9 (2 players)
MP3 checks, Hero bets t2444, MP3 calls t2444

Turn: (t11270) 10 (2 players)
MP3 checks, Hero bets t11200 (All-In), MP3 calls t11200

River: (t33670) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t33670

Results:
Hero had J, K (high card, King).
MP3 had 10, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
Outcome: MP3 won t33670


Villain raised a fair bit from late position. This was the first time I'd 3-bet him, but I was fairly confident that even if he flatted a 3-bet with a big pair pre-flop, he wouldn't continue to slowplay the flop, especially not when I bet so small. I do think he'll fold some better (ie Ax) hands and also sometimes peel kinda light, making the turn shove more profitable. I wasn't going to shove just any turn, but I wanted to give myself the option. When I picked up the gutshot, it felt like a good spot.

He had the kind of hand I wanted him to have, he just happened to "suck out" on the turn. I'm inclined to say he would have folded unimproved on the turn, but then again you know tournament players and their overpairs! (Insert snarky comment about cash game LAGdonks and their crazy bluffs.)

SCOOP 5: NLHE Shootout

I even knew they were putting a cap on registration for these, but I waited until the last minute to register anyway. Both the $150 (at 1000) and the $1500 (at freaking 100) buy-in events were locked, so I played the $15 for a lark. I don't know if it was locked at 10K, but it got damn near that, with more than 9000 runners. I saw the field in the $1500 and was kind of glad I didn't play it, though it presumably would have been softer with a larger field.

The structure was great and the opposition terrible, so with a lot of patience I was able to grind my way through my first table with no real difficulty. I roll my eyes whenever Daniel Negreanu mentions "small ball", but against a weak field it really is an awesome strategy. No one was playing back at me ever, so I just stole like a demon pre- and post-flop without ever putting much at risk until I had a huge hand. The few times I did, I lost one big flip with AQ vs. 66 against a guy who limp-shoved on me from the SB (that one I think was mandatory) and when I reshoved 99 into KK (and probably I should have just folded pre-flop, even four-handed to a CO raise, given stacks, reads, etc.).

A very similar strategy worked well for me at the second table

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $15.00+$1.50 Tournament, 1250/2500 Blinds 300 Ante (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t39651)
SB (t131070)
Hero (BB) (t196924)
UTG (t41296)
MP (t91059)

Hero's M: 37.51

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, A
UTG bets t7500, MP raises to t90759 (All-In), 4 folds

Total pot: t20250


Towards the end of the second table, there were two hands where I got away from small ball and swung for the fences. They were the end of me:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $15.00+$1.50 Tournament, 1250/2500 Blinds 300 Ante (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t203211)
Hero (Button) (t193874)
SB (t102915)

Hero's M: 41.69

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, J
Hero bets t5555, SB raises to t17500, 1 fold, Hero raises to t193574 (All-In), SB calls t85115 (All-In)

Flop: (t208630) K, 2, 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t208630) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t208630) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t208630

Results:
Hero had J, J (two pair, Kings and Jacks).
SB had Q, Q (two pair, Kings and Queens).
Outcome: SB won t208630


Although it sounds absurd since I was raising 60-70% of my hands on the button, I think I should have folded this pre-flop. This was the first time this player had re-raised me all tournament, and I was picking up chips so easily that there wasn't a need to felt him here. Obviously not folding JJ pre-flop with 30BB effective stacks and an insane image isn't going to be a huge leak, but I do think folding would have been correct here. And then a few hands later, there was the one that did me in:


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $15.00+$1.50 Tournament, 1250/2500 Blinds 300 Ante (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t118106)
Hero (SB) (t94614)
BB (t287280)

Hero's M: 20.35

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
1 fold, Hero bets t7500, BB calls t5000

Flop: (t15900) 10, 8, 2 (2 players)
Hero bets t8888, BB calls t8888

Turn: (t33676) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets t22222, BB raises to t270592 (All-In), Hero calls t55704 (All-In)

River: (t189528) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t189528

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
BB had 6, 8 (two pair, eights and sixes).
Outcome: BB won t189528


I'm definitely going to lose some money here, but I think it's a too optimistic to go for his stack. I'd rather check turn and then either bet-fold river (if he checks back the turn) or check-call turn and bet-fold or check-fold river depending on the card and his turn bet size.

SCOOP Event 4: NLHE 2x Chance Turbo

I hate turbos, but they are quick, so I chose to play the $15 and the $150 but not the $1500. Sure enough, within an hour I was reduced to push/fold on both tables. I actually picked up a lot of big hands in the $150, but it didn't do me any good. I was either getting no action, getting sucked out on, or losing races. The only kinda interesting hand is this one, in which I got a little FPS'y and a lot of unlucky:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $150+$12 Tournament, 60/120 Blinds 15 Ante (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) (t6871)
UTG (t3790)
UTG+1 (t3670)
MP1 (t7084)
MP2 (t3912)
CO (t4635)
Button (t11283)
SB (t3755)

Hero's M: 22.90

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, J
2 folds, MP1 bets t300, 4 folds, Hero raises to t900, MP1 calls t600

Flop: (t1980) 7, 9, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks

Turn: (t1980) Q (2 players)
Hero bets t1111, MP1 calls t1111

River: (t4202) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets t2845, MP1 calls t2845

Total pot: t9892

Results:
Hero had J, J (one pair, Jacks).
MP1 had K, Q (one pair, Queens).
Outcome: MP1 won t9892


This is another one of those "good in a cash game but too fancy for a tournament" plays that I just can't help making. It's worth pointing out that I'd been 3-betting a lot (always with hands, but they never got shown down), and in a high stakes cash game people will steal very aggressively when you check flops like this to them. I'm just giving up so often when I check here. It's actually probably better to do this with QQ or KK than with JJ, since JJ actually has better equity against Villain's shoving range if I bet the flop.

The other thing that threw me off was that in the FTOPS, the Second Chance event gave every player a free rebuy that expired if you didn't use it during the rebuy period. I foolishly assumed Stars would work the same way and was actively trying to get my chips in during the last few minutes of the rebuy period, only to find that I was charged $15 when I did rebuy. Thankfully that was just on the smaller table, though I did end up rebuying on the $150 as well.

All in all, though, it was a good session. I made solid money on the cash games while wasting very little time or money on the tournaments.

The 5-card draw Event 3 would have been fun, but today was laundry day. :-(

SCOOP Events 1 and 2: 6-Max NLHE with Rebuys and PLO8

Thankfully the cash games I was playing on the side went well, because the tournaments did not. I played the $50 and $500 rebuys, but decided to skip the $5. I was thinking it might be fun to play despite the small stakes, but then I saw that there were more than 25,000 people registered for it! I have to think this is the largest non-freeroll tournament ever held.

On top of the fact that the two I did play had good structures, they were rebuys, meaning getting eliminated in the first hour wasn't in action. I was in for the "minimum" and even managed to double up in the $50 thanks to making trips two hands in a row against a loose player. Nevertheless, I dusted off my stack in both within two and half hours.

Worse, I feel like I was probably at least somewhat wrong to lose my stack in both cases. Here's my bustout hand from the $50:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $50+$5 Tournament, 40/80 Blinds (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO (t3213)
Button (t18316)
Hero (SB) (t11211)
BB (t5965)
UTG (t13562)
MP (t11473)

Hero's M: 93.42

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, A
3 folds, Button bets t240, Hero raises to t777, 1 fold, Button calls t537

Flop: (t1634) 6, 8, 3 (2 players)
Hero bets t1111, Button calls t1111

Turn: (t3856) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t1895, Hero raises to t9323 (All-In), Button calls t7428

River: (t22502) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t22502

Results:
Button had 7, 8 (full house, sevens over eights).
Hero had Q, A (one pair, sevens).
Outcome: Button won t22502

I doubt he's betting less than two pair when I check to him on the turn, especially for this amount. As much as it sucks, check-folding might be correct here.

And in the $500:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $500+$30 Tournament, 30/60 Blinds (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) (t7271)
UTG (t8125)
MP (t19938)
CO (t10487)
Button (t11836)
SB (t8343)

Hero's M: 80.79

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, Q
1 fold, MP bets t180, 2 folds, SB raises to t600, Hero raises to t1555, 1 fold, SB raises to t8343 (All-In), Hero calls t5716 (All-In)

Flop: (t14722) J, J, 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t14722) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t14722) 3 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t14722

Results:
SB had A, A (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
Hero had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and Jacks).
Outcome: SB won t14722


Note to self: six-max tournaments are not six-mas cash games. In my defense, this guy did seem a little loose pre-flop. He called one of my 3-bets out of position with A5s. That might justify calling his 5-bet shove, but I think flatting the 3-bet is probably best. I hate doing that against very good players because it defines your hand for them for free, but I doubt this guy was good enough to take advantage of that.

In general, though, there did seem to be a strong field in this tournament. My table at least was solid, with one player I've seen before at $25/$50.

To make matters worse, I misread the SCOOP schedule and ended up missing the PLO8 events, which my longtime readers will know I really enjoy. I thought they were tomorrow, but they were actually an event starting later in the afternoon today. Oh well, at least the cash games I was playing on the side well, netting me a handsome profit for the session despite the hefty tournament buyins.

2 for 2 in SCOOP Satellites

To top off a great weekend, I played and won my second $2000 satellite to the $10,000 WCOOP main event. The first one I played, which I replayed for Poker Savvy Plus, had only 9 runners and paid one seat plus a lot cash. This one got 52 runners, paying 10 seats plus some cash for 11th. Naturally it was a very different satellite dynamic. Here are a few of the more interesting hands:

This one occurred with 25 players left. With fewer players left, or a slightly weaker hand (JJ, even), I think it would be very close. Even here, I wasn't happy with Queens:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2000+$100 Tournament, 125/250 Blinds 30 Ante (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG (t7802)
Hero (UTG+1) (t6339)
MP1 (t5140)
MP2 (t7681)
CO (t4490)
Button (t9135)
SB (t2515)
BB (t6864)

Hero's M: 10.31

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with Q, Q
1 fold, Hero bets t666, 3 folds, Button raises to t2000, 2 folds, Hero raises to t6309 (All-In), Button calls t4309

Flop: (t13233) 3, 8, 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t13233) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t13233) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t13233

Results:
Button had K, A (one pair, tens).
Hero had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and tens).
Outcome: Hero won t13233


On this next one, I'm pretty happy with the flat call. I think TT is too strong to fold, but not strong enough to get in pre-flop. This stage of the tournament is going to force Villain to play pretty straightforwardly, and combined with my position, I think I'll be able to realize my showdown value post-flop and avoid losing too much to better hands.

I'm actually unsure about this river bet, though. I have the best hand pretty much always, but I think I get called almost never. I'm wondering if something smaller, like 5500, wouldn't be better rather than force Villain to risk his tournament life?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2000+$100 Tournament, 150/300 Blinds 40 Ante (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO (t11648)
Hero (Button) (t12058)
SB (t7025)
BB (t6051)
UTG (t6180)
MP (t7004)

Hero's M: 17.48

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 10
2 folds, CO bets t900, Hero calls t900, 2 folds

Flop: (t2490) 7, 10, K (2 players)
CO bets t1200, Hero calls t1200

Turn: (t4890) J (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets t2345, CO calls t2345

River: (t9580) 6 (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets t7573 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: t9580

Results:
Hero didn't show 10, 10 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won t9580


There were 12 left for this last one, and I was like 5th or 6th. Villain's raise size made me nervous, since it seemed larger than necessary, but he also may have been trying to make clear to the Button that he was calling a shove (though that should have been clear anyway).

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2000+$100 Tournament, 350/700 Blinds 85 Ante (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t2982)
Hero (SB) (t12949)
BB (t17050)
UTG (t9051)
MP1 (t11756)
MP2 (t13217)
CO (t19973)

Hero's M: 7.87

Preflop: Hero is SB with J, A
3 folds, CO bets t2100, 1 fold, Hero raises to t12864 (All-In), 2 folds

Total pot: t5495

Results:
Hero didn't show J, A (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won t5495


Thing is, big stacks are not that much bigger than small stacks, given the blinds, and if you don't occasionally take risks like this, you can easily end up having to take far bigger risks should you find yourself short. I've cost myself a few seats in the past by getting too tight prematurely and underestimating just how long the bubble would take.

Most Psychotic Bluff I've Ever Seen

Hmmm, 80:1 odds? I think I'll call:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($1802)
SB ($490)
BB ($1424)
UTG ($985)
MP ($1884)
CO ($1442.45)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 6, 8
1 fold, MP bets $35, 1 fold, Hero calls $35, 2 folds

Flop: ($85) 5, 7, 8 (2 players)
MP bets $45, Hero raises to $122, MP raises to $320, Hero raises to $678, MP raises to $1200, Hero raises to $1722, MP raises to $1849 (All-In), Hero calls $45 (All-In)

Turn: ($3619) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($3619) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $3619 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 6, 8 (one pair, eights).
MP had J, 2 (one pair, twos).
Outcome: Hero won $3616


I tried to make the flop 3-bet kinda sketchy to maximize fold equity versus overpairs. Guess I was a little off there....

Not only is this an awful board to expect me to show up with air, but when he 7-bet bluffs (wow, what an awesome thing to be able to say), I have to call $45 into a $3600 pot. The best part is that I thought my 6-bet was all in. I just hit the raise button, but apparently that left me with just enough room to give him the illusion of fold equity.

You don't know you how nervous I was when that deuce rolled off on the turn.

Back in Black

For the second time this year, I've dug myself out of a big old hole. Let's hope it's the last (that I need to). Here's the hand that did it:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($9411)
SB ($5550)
BB ($20776)
UTG ($5000)
Hero (MP) ($5444)

Preflop: Hero is MP with K, K
1 fold, Hero bets $150, 2 folds, BB calls $100

Flop: ($325) 5, 6, Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $222, BB raises to $950, Hero raises to $5294 (All-In), BB calls $4344

Turn: ($10913) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($10913) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $10913 | Rake: $2

Results:
BB had K, 5 (two pair, tens and fives).
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and tens).
Outcome: Hero won $10911


I actually thought for a bit on the flop about whether I wanted to ship it in or just call and look for a non-club turn. I think based on his bet-sizing he has clubs pretty much always, and most of the time he'll have other outs that will make him basically a coin flip with me (either a 5, an A, or a straight draw). That would seem to argue for a call, since I have position and this information about his hand.

Truthfully, though, I think a call gives him the advantage even though he's out of position. He knows his hand looks like a flush draw, and if I just call, he'll know that I'm looking for a non-club turn. So he has pretty much the same information that I do, but he also knows which other cards help his hand, which I do not.

Take this case, for instance. Say I just call. What if an Ace turns and he shoves? I could end up getting bluffed off the best hand. Better to suck it up, get it in, and hope I've got his kicker covered!

It was one of those nights where things were just going well. I was getting a lot of decisions right, even those I usually get wrong:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (4 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($1880)
Hero (SB) ($2047)
BB ($1005)
UTG ($5521)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
UTG bets $35, 1 fold, Hero raises to $123, 1 fold, UTG calls $88

Flop: ($256) J, J, 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $188, UTG calls $188

Turn: ($632) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $410, Hero calls $410

River: ($1452) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $4800 (All-In), Hero calls $1326 (All-In)

Total pot: $4104 | Rake: $2

Results:
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
UTG had A, K (one pair, Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $4102


Actually, I wasn't getting everything right. I made some big, questionable river bluffs in a heads up match. But, even that crazy image paid off eventually:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($2983.75)
Button ($2026.25)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
Button bets $15, Hero raises to $55, Button raises to $149, Hero raises to $444, Button raises to $852, Hero raises to $2983.75 (All-In), Button calls $1174.25 (All-In)

Flop: ($4052.50) 2, Q, 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($4052.50) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($4052.50) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $4052.50 | Rake: $0.50

Results:

Button had K, A (one pair, twos).
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and twos).
Outcome: Hero won $4052


This was really the first time we'd gone to war pre-flop, too. I mean, there are times when it might be reasonable to stack off 340 BBs to me with AK pre-flop, but this wasn't one of them.

I Still Play Poker

Sorry for the recent lack of posts, I've had a lot to catch up on since returning from vacation. But here's an interesting hand:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2002.50)
Hero (SB) ($3412.50)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, K
Button bets $30, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $81

Flop: ($222) 7, 5, 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($222) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $66, Button calls $66

River: ($354) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $275, Hero calls $275

Total pot: $904 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had Q, 10 (two pair, sevens and fives).
Hero had A, K (two pair, sevens and fives).
Outcome: Hero won $903.50


This player was really not very aggressive at all. It just goes to show you how unconventional play, like the tiny turn bet, can take people out of their comfort zones and induce mistakes they wouldn't otherwise make.

Bay 101 Day 1 Results

Day started with something like 136 players and 20,000 chips each. I spend most of the day in good shape, never amassing a huge stack but maintaining near or above the average. Then I made a big move on Joe Sebok on the very last hand of the night:

Daniel Alaei was on my immediate right, with Joe seated to his right. The two had been openly joking about how ridiculously tight a youngish Asian player across the table from us was. That player caught the big blind on the last hand of the night. Joe made a joke about going all in blind pre-flop to steal from him.

Blinds were 400/800/100, and Sebok open raised to 2200 with 30K behind. I thought that especially on the last hand of the night with a super tight player in the BB he could have almost anything here. Alaei called, and I was pretty sure that since he knew Sebok knew he knew the guy was tight, he didn't have a huge hand and didn't want to get into a pre-flop leveling war. He was just calling to use his position and knowledge of Joe's wide range post-flop.

Neither of them knew a thing about me. It seemed like a great spot for a squeeze play, especially since there's a $5000 bounty on Joe, giving me an overlay in the worst case scenario where he has a hand. I make it 9000 with A3o, committing myself against Sebok but leaving room to fold to Alaei. Action folds to Sebok, who moves all in. Alaei folds, I call, and he shows me AKo.

The board comes out 7c 8c 9c Tc, and neither of us has a club. I have 15 outs to chop on the river and two to win, but it's an offsuit 4 and I get busted down to 17,400 on the last hand of the night. There's something like 50 left from today, and they are expecting close to 250 to play tomorrow.

The more I think about it, the more I like this play and think I was just unlucky that Sebok had a hand. I don't know a lot about him, but based on the information I had, I don't regret the squeeze.

Was a pretty fun day on the whole, got to play with Jerry Yang, Bill Gazes, Robert Williamson III, Maria Ho, David Pham, Annie Duke, Kenny Tran, and Freddie Deeb in addition to the guys I mentioned above. I'll post a more thorough report tomorrow, then I play again on Wednesday.

Thanks for following along!

Suicidal Bluff

Although this worked, I think it's really awful play on my part. I am representing a ridiculously narrow range (like QQ and maybe KK) and even those don't necessarily make sense. This guy was just frustrating me because he wasn't folding to 3-bets ever and was just generally being a pain in the ass.

I knew he would float a continuation bet on this flop, so I was hoping that a delayed c-bet would get me more credit. When he bet the flop, I didn't think he was all that strong, but calling with down with AJ unimproved didn't quite feel right either. For what it's worth, I think he usually 4-bets AK and KK pre-flop, and if he doesn't 4-bet QQ, he probably doesn't bet the flop either. When he just calls the turn, clubs are probably a non-trivial portion of his range. He tanked for a really long time before folding the river, though, so it seems like he did fold some kind of made hand.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($3963)
Button ($6018)
Hero (SB) ($4937)
BB ($2357)
UTG ($2396)
MP ($2030)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, J
3 folds, Button bets $50, Hero raises to $188, 1 fold, Button calls $138

Flop: ($396) 3, 8, K (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $260, Hero calls $260

Turn: ($916) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $720, Hero raises to $1989, Button calls $1269

River: ($4894) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $2500 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $4894 | Rake: $3

Results:

Hero didn't show A, J (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $4891

You Could Have Been Value Betting Worse I Think?

I was playing a decent but not great player heads up, and the match had been close, with first him then me having the upper hand, until I tried to bluff him off of trips:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($2045.50)
Hero (Button) ($2488.75)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, Q
Hero bets $30, SB calls $20

Flop: ($60) J, 10, 10 (2 players)
SB bets $40, Hero calls $40

Turn: ($140) 3 (2 players)
SB bets $100, Hero raises to $333, SB calls $233

River: ($806) 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2085.75 (All-In),

SB: sick... you hit the flush?

SB calls $1642.50 (All-In)

Total pot: $4091 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had 8, Q (one pair, tens).
SB had K, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
Outcome: SB won $4090.50

SB: i am not good enough to fold trips

Foucault: evidently not


Of course it's not generally a good idea to try to bluff someone off of trips, and if the river hadn't flushed I wouldn't have attempted it. It's not that I was trying to represent a flush but rather that the flush coming in makes it a very good time for me to make a huge shove if I have a full house, most likely JT or JJ. The huge shove is designed to polarize my range, so that it won't matter that he has trips (except for decreasing the combinations of boats I could have). Basically, I am either bluffing or have him beat.

Here's the very next hand, where he once again can't lay down trips:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($4090.50)
Hero (SB) ($1000)

Preflop: Hero is SB with J, K
Button bets $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) 10, Q, 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $40, Hero raises to $120, Button calls $80

SB: also you could have been value betting worse I think?

Turn: ($300) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $200, Button calls $200

River: ($700) 4 (2 players)

SB: like any T?

Hero bets $650 (All-In), Button calls $650

Total pot: $2000 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button mucked 9, J (three of a kind, nines).
Hero had J, K (straight, King high).
Outcome: Hero won $1999.50


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($3353.25)
Hero (Button) ($1717.25)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
Hero bets $30, SB raises to $120, Hero calls $90

Flop: ($240) 4, 2, 7 (2 players)
SB bets $140, Hero calls $140

Turn: ($520) 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $222, SB calls $222

River: ($964) Q (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1235.25 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $964 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show A, A.
Outcome: Hero won $963.50


This wasn't a good value shove by me, but it did show me that the table dynamic had shifted as a result of his snapping off that big bluff. Now, he was going to give me credit on my shoves.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($2656.75)
Hero (Button) ($2410.75)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, J
Hero bets $30, SB calls $20

Flop: ($60) K, 4, 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $40, SB calls $40

Turn: ($140) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $90, SB calls $90

River: ($320) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $250, SB calls $250

Total pot: $820 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had K, J (three of a kind, Kings).
SB mucked 8, 8 (two pair, Kings and eights).
Outcome: Hero won $819.50


In this hand, I show him that I can value bet thinly (on the turn, here, nothing thin about the river) in a spot where he thinks I'm going to have a polarized range (hence his calldown with 88- he assumes I either hit the A or am bluffing in a common spot).

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2261.75)
Hero (SB) ($2805.25)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, K
Button bets $30, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $81

Flop: ($222) 7, 10, 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $169, Button calls $169

Turn: ($560) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $425, Button calls $425

River: ($1410) A (2 players)
Hero bets $2100.25 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1410 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show Q, K (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $1409.50


This time, the big bluff works. Given the texture of the board, I think it's very likely that he raises flop or turn if he has two pair or better. Something like a pair and busted draw is more likely for him. And even if he does have two pair, I think it's now plausible for him to think I can shove Aces up, so his weaker two pair may not be good. Pretty much the only thing I'm worried about here is that he himself rivered Aces up. Otherwise, I expect this to work.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1889.50)
Hero (Button) ($3175.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 3, 3
Hero bets $30, SB calls $20

Flop: ($60) 2, 6, 3 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $40, SB raises to $120, Hero raises to $269, SB calls $149

Turn: ($598) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $376, SB raises to $1590.50 (All-In), Hero calls $1214.50

River: ($3779) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3779 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had 3, 3 (three of a kind, threes).
SB had K, 5 (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Hero won $3778.50


And that cleaned him out.

Recent Publications

This month I've got two publications to report. First, my latest article for 2+2 Magazine, titled Float On, is now appearing in the March issue. It's an analysis of when, whom, and how to bluff-call, including an in-depth example:

Suppose that when your opponent bets, you think there is a 30% chance that he has a hand strong enough to continue and a 70% chance that his hand is too weak to stand a raise. If you raise his bet, you will win the pot 70% of the time and lose the amount of your bluff 30% of the time. As long as you choose an appropriate raise size, that’s a very profitable proposition for you.

If your opponent will play predictably on the turn, though, and many will, then it may be even more profitable just to call his bet and see what he does on the turn. The 70% of the time that he does not have anything, he will check, and you can now wager the same amount that you would have with a raise, or maybe even a little less, but steal the pot 100% of the time. The 30% of the time that he does have a hand, he’ll bet again and you can fold, saving yourself the amount that a bluff-raise would have cost you.

I'm also featured in Kristy Arnett's new Run It Twice series on Cardplayer:

People want to be able to play a lot of hands from late position, which makes sense because that’s where you make most of your money. If you are getting three-bet a whole lot from the blinds, you have to fold some of the weaker hands that you are raising with, so some people have started making these small raises so that they can call more three-bets preflop and also lose less money if they fold when they get three-bet. It’s an adaptation some people have made to enable themselves to play more hands from late position.

Deep Run in the FTP 750K

The first few levels of this tournament were pretty uneventful, but eventually I won a coin flip to get up to an average stack. Then I floated for a few hours, through the bubble, on twenty big blinds or so.

This was maybe the most interesting hand I played, fairly standard but important example of structuring the betting so that you induce bluffs/bad value bets and get in the last bet:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 50 Ante (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG (t12150)
UTG+1 (t13040)
Hero (MP1) (t12835)
MP2 (t7320)
MP3 (t4812)
CO (t13968)
Button (t12210)
SB (t24562)
BB (t9137)

Hero's M: 12.22

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with K, J
2 folds, Hero bets t800, MP2 calls t800, 5 folds

Flop: (t2650) Q, 3, 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets t800, Hero raises to t2985, 1 fold

Total pot: t4250

Results:
Hero didn't show K, J (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won t4250


I picked up some hands, ran up a stack, and managed to get this nit off of what he claimed (and I'm inclined to believe) was AJ:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, 600/1200 Blinds 150 Ante (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t65491)
UTG (t26612)
UTG+1 (t13580)
MP1 (t14358)
Hero (MP2) (t42063)
CO (t25154)
Button (t69958)
SB (t41386)

Hero's M: 14.02

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with K, 6
3 folds, Hero bets t2400, 3 folds, BB calls t1200

Flop: (t6600) 10, J, 3 (2 players)
BB bets t4800, Hero raises to t21000, 1 fold

Total pot: t16200

Results:
Hero didn't show K, 6 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won t16200


With my big stack, I stole blinds for a while then got about 1/3 of my chips in with 99 vs 44 and lost that to get kinda short. Sitting on less than 10BB's, I got 99 in the BB and joked to my girlfriend, who was watching at the time, than I wouldn't be folding this "unless that guy goes all in then that guy goes all in, then that guy goes all in..." which of course is pretty much happened:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, 1200/2400 Blinds 300 Ante (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t44934)
SB (t69419)
Hero (BB) (t20218)
UTG (t108206)
UTG+1 (t76830)
MP1 (t95893)
MP2 (t23256)
CO (t68860)

Hero's M: 3.37

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9, 9
2 folds, MP1 bets t6000, MP2 raises to t22956 (All-In), 2 folds, SB raises to t69119 (All-In), 2 folds

Flop: (t56712) 2, 8, 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t56712) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t56712) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t56712

Results:
SB had A, J (one pair, sevens).
MP2 had K, A (one pair, sevens).
Outcome: MP2 won t56712

Sadly, SB's atrocious call chased me off of the winning hand.

Another simple but important thing I was doing when short was raising less than all in even when I had a hand that I wanted to shove pre-flop. By raising 25-33% of my stack, I was occasionally able to get people to make some awful post-flop folds:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, 1200/2400 Blinds 300 Ante (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 (t77968)
CO (t4029)
Hero (Button) (t26818)
SB (t105506)
BB (t76230)
UTG (t83293)
UTG+1 (t56640)
MP1 (t66412)
MP2 (t74410)

Hero's M: 4.26

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, A
6 folds, Hero bets t7200, SB calls t6000, 1 fold

Flop: (t19500) 4, 10, 6 (2 players)
SB bets t7200, Hero raises to t19318 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: t33900

Results:
Hero didn't show J, A (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won t33900

This outcome is so much better than getting either a call or a fold pre-flop. People are very willing to suck if you just give them the chance.

My short stack ninja'ing accumulated a good deal of chips for me, despite getting a walk with QQ in the BB, and eventually I got JJ in against A8s to double. Sadly, it wasn't too last. A few orbits later, I lost a coin flip with AQs to 99, bustin in 118th place. This marks the third time this year that I've run well into the top 1% of one of these huge field Sunday tournaments, but I still don't have anything to show for it.

Fourth time's the charm?

Elaboration

On my recent post, "Defining His Range Into Oblivion", tce left a comment that I felt warranted a new post:

This is a tantalizing post with some really interesting ideas that need more meat. Can you say more? In my experience, trying to blow someone off an Ax hand is just too disruptive to my bankroll. Many players are just too stubborn and will chk-call all three streets. I finally learned that my best counter-strategy is to simply bet the hell out of my hand when I can beat Ax. Turning 2nd pair into a bluff in the hopes of blowing someone off Ax? I dunno, I need to hear more.

It's a good question. This concept isn't just a neat way to bluff. The point is that when you have position and a good sense of your opponent's range, you have a generous edge because of your ability to make better decisions on the river. You want to have a big pot and also enough money behind for a big river bet, ideally with nothing left over in the effective stacks, to maximize that edge. Then, it's just a matter of actually making that river decision.

Against this opponent, I'm confident that in a 4-bet pot, a bluff in that spot would be very profitable. Against a looser opponent who will not fold Ax, then you will value shove more hands and bluff less.

Before I could even get around to posting that, I found myself in another heads up match against the same opponent where several exemplary hands arose. Here's one where I employ the same line for value with AA:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $2,937.50
BB: $2,044.50

Pre-Flop: A A dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB raises to $120, Hero raises to $270, BB calls $150

Flop: ($540) 3 T 9 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $222, BB calls $222

Turn: ($984) 9 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $444, BB folds

Results: $984 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked A A and WON $983.50 (+$491.50 NET)


And an example of how one might defend against such a line:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $3,578
Hero (BB): $3,958.50

Pre-Flop: J J dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $30, Hero raises to $111, SB raises to $265, Hero calls $154

Flop: ($530) 5 5 9 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $285, Hero calls $285

Turn: ($1,100) J (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $865, Hero calls $865

River: ($2,830) T (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $2,163 and is All-In, Hero calls $2,163

Results: $7,156 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
SB showed 3 5 (three of a kind, Fives) and LOST (-$3,578 NET)
Hero showed J J (a full house, Jacks full of Fives) and WON $7,155.50 (+$3,577.50 NET)


The point here isn't just that I coolered him. I put him on either a big hand (which would probably include KK and AA) or a bluff. No matter which he has, I can just check-call my boat and let him stick the money in by the river, since that's what he'll do with either type of hand. Not only do I induce bluffs, but I also make it tougher for him to bluff and value bet me with a line like this in the future.

Before you start feeling too bad for this guy, realize that this was payback for the last time he re-raised me with garbage:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $3,829
BB: $2,000

Pre-Flop: J J dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB raises to $120, Hero calls $90

Flop: ($240) 3 2 T (2 Players)
BB bets $125, Hero calls $125

Turn: ($490) 5 (2 Players)
BB bets $365, Hero raises to $3,584 and is All-In, BB calls $1,390 and is All-In

River: ($4,000) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $4,000 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed J J (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-$2,000 NET)
BB showed 6 4 (a straight, Six high) and WON $3,999.50 (+$1,999.50 NET)


Honestly, this is a bad turn shove by me. Against a lot of people, it would be fine, but this guy really wasn't aggressive enough to warrant it. JJ is good often enough, but my equity is so bad that I can't profitably shove. Mayyyyybe I could get away with calling and then folding the river unimproved, but folding is probably the best option.

Someone Needs to Learn Hand Reading

What a donkey. I'm never 3-betting worse for value here, and it's not a spot where I'm prone to bluff, either.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2030)
Hero (SB) ($4011.75)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, Q
Button raises to $60, Hero calls $40

Flop: ($120) 10, 2, J (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($120) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($120) K (2 players)
Hero bets $90, Button raises to $242, Hero raises to $666, Button calls $424

Total pot: $1452 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had 4, K (two pair, Kings and fours).
Hero had 10, Q (one pair, tens).
Outcome: Button won $1451.50


Thing is, I mis-read my hand and thought I had a straight. I honestly wasn't sure I could 3-bet it, because AQ is definitely in Villain's range, and I was afraid if I did 3-bet it would be obvious I had a straight such that I'd only get action from better. But really the only way K4 is good here is if I mis-read my hand.

Defining His Range Into Oblivion

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $2,434.50
BB: $3,954.50

Pre-Flop: T K dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB raises to $100, Hero raises to $255, BB calls $155

Flop: ($510) 3 A 2 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $199, BB calls $199

Turn: ($908) K (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $480, BB folds

Results: $908 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked T K and WON $907.50 (+$453.50 NET)


If he called the turn, I was shoving the river. Position, deep stacks, and judiciously employed small bets are a lethal combination. It's exceedingly difficult for him to show up with enough big hands to prevent me from exploiting him with river shoves.

If both players employ game theoretically optimal strategy, the advantage will obviously go to the player in position. His EV in the game will be a function of the pot size and the number of betting rounds, meaning that it behooves him to structure the betting so that there is roughly a pot-sized bet remaining on the river. He can then maximize his edge by making better decisions than his opponent about when he wants that last bet to go into the pot.

The player out of position is fighting an uphill battle. To balance his range, he needs to slowplay big hands quite frequently, make some heroic call downs, and float the flop out of position with the intention of check-raising the turn on a bluff. Most players can't do any of those things, let alone all three.

FTOPS Main Event: $500 NLHE

About three hours into this tournament, it was looking to be short and sweet. I shoved 33 from the SB over an aggressive guy in the CO who'd been raising most of the time it was folded to him. The BB wakes up with TT and shoves over the top, and the original raiser manages to have AA. Buuuut, I spike my 3 to more than triple up and suddenly have a nice stack to ride.

Nearly three hours after that, we're on the bubble, I open the pot with a min-raise for like the 10th time in the last two orbits, the BB 3-bets, I shove all in with my AK, and he calls it off with 88. He wins the flip, and I spend 6 hours playing to bubble and walk away with nothing. Standard FTOPS stupidness. Thank goodness it's over.

Embarassingly for FTP, although this tournament with a $2.5 million guaranteed prizepool was the centerpiece of one of their major tournament series, Poker Stars actually managed to edge them out for biggest tournament of the day with its own special $2.5 million guarantee in the $200 Sunday tournament. The tournament, part of Stars' 25 billionth hand promotion, drew over 13,000 runners.

FTOPS #21: $300 Razz

As I've said many times before, my preference in Stud tournaments is not to build big pots on 3rd street. That's generally a high-variance, low-edge strategy, and it makes otherwise large mistakes on future streets much less severe. Unfortunately, people were being stupidly aggressive on 3rd, seemingly raising at every opportunity with any three low cards, so there wasn't much that could be done to avoid it. As usually happens in Razz, I wasn't catching well on later streets but was generally priced in for slim call downs because of how many bets had already gone into the pot:

Tournament - Razz (40/80), Ante 7, Bring-In 10

Foucault (Seat 1): 3,903
cardsharkk (Seat 2): 3,588
dinho_style (Seat 3): 3,912
AK_47_JAZZ (Seat 4): 4,005
Kristy Gazes (Seat 5): 4,479
OnlyPlayRagz (Seat 6): 5,628
Jawarhalo (Seat 7): 3,613
NastyBeet (Seat 8): 2,872

3rd Street - (1.40 SB)

Foucault: 3 4 A___completes___raises

cardsharkk: xx xx T___folds

dinho_style: xx xx J___folds

AK_47_JAZZ: xx xx A___raises___calls

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 9___folds

OnlyPlayRagz: xx xx 4___calls___calls

Jawarhalo: xx xx 3___folds

NastyBeet: xx xx J___brings-in___folds

4th Street - (10.65 SB)

Foucault: 3 4 A J___calls___calls___calls

AK_47_JAZZ: xx xx A 8___raises___raises

OnlyPlayRagz: xx xx 4 2___bets___raises___calls

5th Street - (11.33 BB)

Foucault: 3 4 A J T___calls

AK_47_JAZZ: xx xx A 8 2___bets

OnlyPlayRagz: xx xx 4 2 K___calls

6th Street - (14.33 BB)

Foucault: 3 4 A J T 2___checks___calls

AK_47_JAZZ: xx xx A 8 2 K___checks___calls

OnlyPlayRagz: xx xx 4 2 K 6___bets

River - (17.33 BB)

Foucault: 3 4 A J T 2 8___checks

AK_47_JAZZ: xx xx A 8 2 K xx___checks

OnlyPlayRagz: xx xx 4 2 K 6 xx___checks

Total pot: (17.33 BB - 1,386)

Results:
Total pot 1,386 | Rake 0
Note: this site shuffles the hole cards.
Foucault mucked [8c 4c Ah Jc Th 2c 3s] - 8,4,3,2,A
AK_47_JAZZ: [8h 7s As 8s 2h Kc 4d] - 8,7,4,2,A
OnlyPlayRagz showed [Qc 7h 4h 2d Kh 6d Ac] and won (1,386) with 7,6,4,2,A

This one is kind of interesting from AK's perspective, in terms of whether he should jam the pot with four to an 8 on fourth against a deuce-four and my brick. I ran some simulations using Pro Poker Tools. With the generous assumptions that I could have any two non-paired hole cards 7 or worse (since I was re-raising third) and OPR any two non-paired hole cards 8 or worse, AK has 37% equity in the pot, a small edge but enough to push. If we give OPR better than an 8, AK has 32% equity, so he isn't losing much on the jam. Improving my hand to three to a 6 actually diminishes his equity by less than 1%, so I suppose this is a thin but defensible jam on his part. It sucks that I got jammed in, but I didn't expect it when I called the first bet, and after that I think I was priced in with a very smooth draw.

Tournament - Razz (100/200), Ante 15, Bring-In 30

Foucault (Seat 1): 3,884
cardsharkk (Seat 2): 1,688
dinho_style (Seat 3): 5,297
east33pro (Seat 4): 3,266
Kristy Gazes (Seat 5): 3,794
OnlyPlayRagz (Seat 6): 10,104
Jawarhalo (Seat 7): 1,838
NastyBeet (Seat 8): 6,205

3rd Street - (1.20 SB)

Foucault: A 6 5___calls

cardsharkk: xx xx T___folds

dinho_style: xx xx J___folds

east33pro: xx xx J___brings-in___folds

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 6___completes

OnlyPlayRagz: xx xx 9___folds

Jawarhalo: xx xx 3___folds

NastyBeet: xx xx 4___folds

4th Street - (3.50 SB)

Foucault: A 6 5 8___bets

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 6 6___calls

5th Street - (2.75 BB)

Foucault: A 6 5 8 T___bets

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 6 6 A___calls

6th Street - (4.75 BB)

Foucault: A 6 5 8 T 7___bets___calls

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 6 6 A 8___raises

River - (8.75 BB)

Foucault: A 6 5 8 T 7 J___checks

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 6 6 A 8 xx___checks

Total pot: (8.75 BB - 1,750)

Results:
Total pot 1,750 | Rake 0
Note: this site shuffles the hole cards.

Foucault mucked [Jc 6h 5c 8h Td 7s Ah] - 8,7,6,5,A
Kristy Gazes showed [7d 7c 6s 6c Ac 8c 4c] and won (1,750) with 8,7,6,4,A

Kristy was the "host" of this tournament, though I'm not sure what that really entailed- she wasn't talking much in chat or fielding questions from observers or anything. She also wasn't playing particularly well, though this is a good raise on 6th and a bad bet on my part.

Tournament - Razz (150/300), Ante 25, Bring-In 50
Foucault (Seat 1): 3,714
cardsharkk (Seat 2): 946
dinho_style (Seat 3): 6,407
east33pro (Seat 4): 1,406
Kristy Gazes (Seat 5): 6,619
OnlyPlayRagz (Seat 6): 13,754
icudonk (Seat 7): 2,590
NastyBeet (Seat 8): 4,253

3rd Street - (1.33 SB)

Foucault: 2 3 5___raises___calls

cardsharkk: xx xx 9___brings-in___folds

dinho_style: xx xx 3___folds

east33pro: xx xx 7___folds

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 6___folds

OnlyPlayRagz: xx xx 8___folds

icudonk: xx xx 5___completes___raises

NastyBeet: xx xx A___raises___calls

4th Street - (13.67 SB)

Foucault: 2 3 5 T___calls

icudonk: xx xx 5 8___bets

NastyBeet: xx xx A Q___calls

5th Street - (8.33 BB)

Foucault: 2 3 5 T A___bets

icudonk: xx xx 5 8 Q___calls

NastyBeet: xx xx A Q A___folds

6th Street - (10.33 BB)

Foucault: 2 3 5 T A K___bets

icudonk: xx xx 5 8 Q T___checks___calls

River - (12.33 BB)

Foucault: 2 3 5 T A K 2___calls

icudonk: xx xx 5 8 Q T xx___bets

Total pot: (14.33 BB - 4,300)

Results:
Total pot 4,300 | Rake 0

Foucault mucked [3s 2h 5h Ts Ah Kc 2c] - T,5,3,2,A
icudonk showed [6c 3d 5d 8d Qh Tc As] and won (4,300) with 8,6,5,3,A

I really wanted to fold when he bet into me on seventh. It was so clear he'd gotten there. But by that point, I was getting better than 13:1 on a call.

Tournament - Razz (200/400), Ante 30, Bring-In 50

Foucault (Seat 1): 1,509
cardsharkk (Seat 2): 1,642
dinho_style (Seat 3): 4,471
east33pro (Seat 4): 3,131
Kristy Gazes (Seat 5): 6,074
OnlyPlayRagz (Seat 6): 13,789
icudonk (Seat 7): 5,975
NastyBeet (Seat 8): 3,098

3rd Street - (1.20 SB)

Foucault: 3 6 4___completes___raises

cardsharkk: xx xx 5___folds

dinho_style: xx xx 5___folds

east33pro: xx xx 6___raises___calls

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 5___raises___calls

OnlyPlayRagz: xx xx 9___brings-in___folds

icudonk: xx xx 4___folds

NastyBeet: xx xx 7___folds

4th Street - (13.45 SB)

Foucault: 3 6 4 T___raises___raises to 679 (all-in)

east33pro: xx xx 6 3___bets___raises___calls

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 5 Q___calls___calls___calls

5th Street - (12.82 BB)

Foucault: 3 6 4 T 2___all-in

east33pro: xx xx 6 3 T___bets

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 5 Q 9___calls

6th Street - (14.82 BB)

Foucault: 3 6 4 T 2 K___all-in

east33pro: xx xx 6 3 T 7___bets

Kristy Gazes: xx xx 5 Q 9 J___folds

River - (14.82 BB)

Foucault: 3 6 4 T 2 K J___all-in

east33pro: xx xx 6 3 T 7 xx

Total pot: (14.82 BB - 5,927)

Results:
Total pot 5,527 Main pot 4,727. Side pot 800. | Rake 0
Foucault showed [3c 6d 4d Ts 2d Ks Jd] and lost with T,6,4,3,2
east33pro showed [Ah 7c 6h 3d Tc 7s 8h] and won (5,527) with 8,7,6,3,A

Note: this site shuffles the hole cards.

FTOPS #20: $200 NLHE 6-Max

Not surprisingly, the quality of play in this was something like atrocious. Judging from the chat and general play, I was at a table full of clowns, which was cool. My favorite hand saw a guy raise pre-flop, and get two callers, and then bet 2x pot on A44 flop. The SB tanked forever and announced that he was folding AT. The better agreed that it was a tough but good fold.

Anyhow, with that in mind, I think I am fist-pump stacking off here even for like 170BBs. I mean, do we really see this guy playing TT any differently?

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, 15/30 Blinds (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t5050)
SB (t5585)
Hero (BB) (t5115)
UTG (t5430)
MP (t4775)
CO (t4045)

Hero's M: 113.67

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, K
1 fold, MP raises to t90, 3 folds, Hero raises to t300, MP calls t210

Flop: (t615) 4, 7, 7 (2 players)
Hero bets t615, MP calls t615

Turn: (t1845) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets t1200, MP raises to t3860 (All-In), Hero calls t2660

River: (t9565) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t9565

Results:
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and sevens).
MP had A, A (two pair, Aces and sevens).
Outcome: MP won t9565

FTOPS $17: $300 Rebuy 6-Max NLHE

Given the deep stacks, short-handed format, and substantial buy-in, this was probably the FTOPS event I was looking forward to the most. Sadly, the other players at my table were giant nits during the rebuy period. I got AK on the first hand and open shoved, then shoved a more times just trying to get up a kinda crazy image, but no one would play along. I even tried trash talking in the chat box, but they kept folding anyway.

Finally I got 22 in the SB and open raised 3x. The player in the BB re-raised, and I shoved because for like 40 BB's in a rebuy I really ought to be able to get 22 in pre-flop profitably in a blind battle, but of course nitbag showed up with TT. I'm pretty sure mine was the only rebuy our table had- most players didn't even double buy initially, and at least one didn't take the add-on.

After the rebuy period was over, I tightened up for half an hour or so until the blinds got appreciable and then started min-raising a lot of hands. I'm increasingly convinced that, especially in 6-max tournaments, that's the way to go. People are already not adjusting well to the short-handed format, and smaller raises is the best way to exploit their excessive tightness. When people did re-raise me, it was usually some amont like a full 3x my raise which was way larger than it needed to be. Basically no one was calling as light as he should out of the BB, and even when they did call, they sucked enough at post-flop play that it was fine anyway.

I built up a nice stack this way, though there were two guys on my right doing something kind of similar. I was making money picking spots to 3-bet them until someone behind woke up with a hand and cold 4-bet shoved.

After a few of those re-raises, this happened:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, 170/340 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP (t20502)
CO (t18250
Button (t5100)
Hero (SB) (t8221)
BB (t5270)
UTG (t9409)

Hero's M: 12.46

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
1 fold, MP raises to t750, CO calls t750, 1 fold, Hero raises to t2000, 2 folds, CO calls t1250

Flop: (t5240) 8, Q, 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: (t5240) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets t6196 (All-In), CO calls t6196

River: (t17632) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t17632

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
CO had 9, 7 (straight, nine high).
Outcome: CO won t17632

If the BB had been any good, I would have just called pre-flop and counted on him to shove over the three of us. I wasn't confident he would recognize what a good spot it was for him, though, so I had to re-raise myself.

On the flop, there was only one pot-sized bet left in my stacks. I figured that most hands that would call a flop shove would call a turn shove as well- maybe even more. Plus I give Villain the chance to bluff shove. This is exactly the kind of hand I wanted him to shove, though, and instead he drills the gutter on the turn. Bah.

FTOPS Event 12: $1000 NLHE Second Chance

This was an odd format. If you lost all 5000 of your starting chips in the first two hours, you got a free T5000 rebuy. However, if you reached the end of those two hours with chips, even if you had less than 5000, you got nothing. Essentially, it was a use-it-or-lose-it insurance policy.

I entered the tournament with the expectation that I would play mostly normally for the first hour but push hard with draws or in spots that I thought were very slightly -EV and not make any big folds. I also reminded myself not to make any big bluffs, since theoretically others should be more willing to call down as a result of the Second Chance.

As the end of the two hours approached, if I was still in the neighborhood of 5000 chips, then I'd start getting crazier, eventually just open shoving in the hopes of either doubling up or using the free rebuy that was about to disappear.

With about half an hour left to go, I had over 8000 chips when I ran into this psychopath:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 60/120 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: 6,390
Hero (BB): 8,690
UTG: 9,080
UTG+1: 14,775
MP1: 5,756
MP2: 11,176
CO: 9,055
BTN: 6,018

Pre-Flop: (180) A 2 dealt to Hero (BB)
6 folds, SB raises to 480, Hero calls 360

Flop: (960) 4 5 9 (2 Players)
SB bets 840, Hero raises to 2,222, SB raises to 5,910 and is All-In, Hero calls 3,688

Turn: (12,780) T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: (12,780) 8 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 12,780 Pot
SB showed T A (a pair of Tens) and WON 12,780 (+6,390 NET)
Hero showed A 2 (Ace Ten high) and LOST (-6,390 NET)


Maybe I should have just shoved the flop. I thought this would look stronger, but the worst case scenario occurred where he shoved a dominating Ace that almost certainly would not have called all in.

Two hands later, I found a great spot where I would have gambooooooooool shoved any two cards. Shockingly, the two Villains, both of whom were decent tournament regulars, folded.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 60/120 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: 12,780
Hero (BTN): 2,240
SB: 8,960
BB: 13,805
UTG: 5,756
UTG+1: 11,176
UTG+2: 9,055
MP1: 13,186
MP2: 10,287

Pre-Flop: (180) J A dealt to Hero (BTN)
3 folds, MP1 raises to 300, MP2 calls 300, CO folds, Hero raises to 2,240 and is All-In, 4 folds

Results: 1,080 Pot
Hero mucked J A and WON 1,080 (+780 NET)


The next time I shoved over a raise, my K2 ran into AA and I got to rebuy up to 5000, which is where I ended the "rebuy period". I never got anything going afterwards, though, and within an hour I lost a flip for the rest of my chips.

FTOPS #10: $300 NLHE

Not a lot to say about this one. Only remotely interesting hand was this one:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 60/120 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: 5,090
BTN: 10,960
SB: 3,465
BB: 9,106
Hero (UTG): 4,070
UTG+1: 6,958
UTG+2: 7,021
MP1: 9,145
MP2: 7,050

Pre-Flop: (180) A Q dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to 320, UTG+1 calls 320, 3 folds, CO calls 320, BTN folds, SB raises to 1,890, BB folds, Hero raises to 4,070 and is All-In, 2 folds, SB calls 1,575 and is All-In

Flop: (7,690) 6 3 K (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: (7,690) 6 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: (7,690) 8 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 7,690 Pot
SB showed K A (two pair, Kings and Sixes) and WON 7,690 (+4,225 NET)
Hero showed A Q (a pair of Sixes) and LOST (-3,465 NET)


There's about 4500 in the pot, and assuming I can get it heads up with SB, it will cost me about 3100 more. I need about41% equity in the pot. Against a range of TT+ AQ+ I have only 37%. However, if we throw AJ into the mix, I'm up to 45%. Basically I felt like the chance that we was doing something spazzy/making a big squeeze warranted a gamble. It's one of those very close spots where optimally cautious tournament play might dictate folding but I'm willing to push because I'd rather go big or go home than let a $300 tournament tie up screen space for hours on end.

FTOPS Event 2: $240 PLO8 Knockout

I took an early exit from this tournament on a coin flip:

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament, 20/40 Blinds (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (MP1) (t4925)
MP2 (t5142)
CO (t5938)
Button (t4775)
SB (t8994)
BB (t5025)
UTG (t5146)
UTG+1 (t5070)

Hero's M: 82.08

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with 10, A, 9, 2
2 folds, Hero raises to t120, 3 folds, SB raises to t400, 1 fold, Hero calls t280

Flop: (t840) 9, 10, 7 (2 players)
SB bets t840, Hero raises to t3360, SB raises to t5880, Hero calls t1165 (All-In)

Turn: (t9890) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t9890) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t9890

Results:
SB had J, A, A, 7 (Hi: flush, Ace high).
Hero had 10, A, 9, 2 (Hi: two pair, Aces and tens).
Outcome: SB won t9890


I was pretty sure the guy had AA, just because that's about all you'll see most people re-raise with in a spot like this. Truthfully, he ought to have AA2, preferably with a suit, to be re-raising. AA with a poor low draw isn't that strong a hand in PLO8, especially with stacks as deep as these. That doesn't mean I put him on AA2, because I'm not about to give a random that kind of credit, but that's what he ought to have.

Again, when he pots the flop, he ought to have something other than AA, but that's not a guarantee. With my top two pair and back door low draw, I was pretty sure it'd be thin but OK to get it in. I wasn't happy to see that he had the nut flush draw, but when I ran the equity, I was actually still a coin flip:

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=6010637
pokenum  -o8 td as 9s 2c  - jc ad ac 7h  -- 9c tc 7s
Omaha Hi/Low 8-or-better: 820 enumerated boards containing 7s Tc 9c
cards          scoop  HIwin  HIlos  HItie  LOwin  LOlos  LOtie     EV
As 9s  2c  Td    349    349    463      8    160      0      0  0.493
Ac Jc  Ad  7h    361    463    349      8      0      0      0  0.507

Even if we let him keep the nut flush draw and give him the A2 that he ought to have to go along with it, my equity is still pretty good:

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=6010643
pokenum  -o8 td as 9s 2c  - jc ad ac 2h  -- 9c tc 7s
Omaha Hi/Low 8-or-better: 820 enumerated boards containing 7s Tc 9c
cards          scoop  HIwin  HIlos  HItie  LOwin  LOlos  LOtie     EV
As 9s  2c  Td    348    438    382      0      0      0    160  0.528
Ac Jc  Ad  2h    312    382    438      0      0      0    160  0.472


And even if he keeps the low draw, I'm a big favorite if he doesn't have the flush:

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=6010647
pokenum  -o8 td as 9s 2c  - jd ad ac 2h  -- 9c tc 7s
Omaha Hi/Low 8-or-better: 820 enumerated boards containing 7s Tc 9c
cards          scoop  HIwin  HIlos  HItie  LOwin  LOlos  LOtie     EV
As 9s  2c  Td    453    613    207      0      0      0    160  0.699
Ac Ad  Jd  2h    207    207    613      0      0      0    160  0.301

Heads Up With a Maniac

This guy was decent in some ways but pretty insanely loose and aggressive. I don't think he ever folded to a 3-bet pre-flop (I probably should have made my raise size bigger), and there was a lot of 4-betting going on. For the most part, I just hung back, made some thin call downs, and pushed my big hands hard. He was tough to bluff because he wouldn't fold anything and would re-bluff with ridiculous frequency. I was trying to bluff just enough to ensure that he knew I hadn't given up completely.

Faster!

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1092.25)
Hero (Button) ($2109.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, J
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $110, Hero calls $80

Flop: ($220) K, K, J (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($220) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $85, Hero calls $85

River: ($390) 5 (2 players)
SB bets $285, Hero raises to $1914.50 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $960 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show K, J
Outcome: Hero won $959.50

This was early in the match- I probably would have bet the flop based on the dynamic we later established. I guarantee he wasn't folding, whatever he had.



A Little Too Thin

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($3549.50)
SB ($3023.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9, 8
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $110, Hero calls $80

Flop: ($220) 2, Q, 8 (2 players)
SB bets $145, Hero calls $145

Turn: ($510) 9 (2 players)
SB bets $345, Hero calls $345

River: ($1200) 10 (2 players)
SB bets $455, Hero calls $455

Total pot: $2110 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had 9, 8 (two pair, nines and eights).
SB had 10, A (one pair, tens).
Outcome: Hero won $2109.50



One of His Better Value Bets

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2320.50)
Hero (SB) ($4791)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 10
Button raises to $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) Q, 2, 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $40, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $71

Turn: ($282) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($282) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $245, Hero calls $245

Total pot: $772 | Rake: $0.50
Results:
Button had 8, 8 (two pair, Queens and eights).
Hero had A, 10 (two pair, Queens and twos).
Outcome: Button won $771.50


A lot of busted draws here, though maybe he bets those on the turn? Whatever, folding too often to this guy was not a good idea.



Lucky Turn

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1794)
Hero (Button) ($3150.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 8
Hero raises to $30, SB calls $20

Flop: ($60) 2, 8, 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $44, SB raises to $118, Hero calls $74

Turn: ($296) 10 (2 players)
SB bets $235, Hero raises to $1002, SB raises to $1646 (All-In), Hero calls $644

River: ($3588) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3588 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had 10, 8 (full house, tens over eights).
SB had 7, 8 (two pair, tens and eights).
Outcome: Hero won $3587.50



Psycho Call

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2736)
Hero (SB) ($4375)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 10
Button raises to $20, Hero raises to $80, Button calls $60

Flop: ($160) 9, K, A (2 players)
Hero bets $120, Button raises to $260, Hero raises to $795, Button calls $535

Turn: ($1750) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $3500 (All-In), Button calls $1861 (All-In)

River: ($5472) 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $5472 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had 7, Q (high card, Ace).
Hero had A, 10 (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: Hero won $5471.50


I was expecting calls from worse Aces and maybe Kings. I don't know how he talked himself into this one. Maybe he decided I could be on a worse flush draw?



Tough Fold

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($2000)
Hero (Button) ($7110.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5, A
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $110, Hero raises to $222, SB calls $112

Flop: ($444) Q, J, A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($444) J (2 players)
SB bets $225, Hero calls $225

River: ($894) 10 (2 players)
SB bets $665, Hero folds

Total pot: $894 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
SB didn't show
Outcome: SB won $893.50


I'm far from certain this was correct. It's obviously a scary card, but that also makes it a good bluff card. I don't think he has a K too often on the turn, but trips and clubs are both very possible. Ultimately the turn bet sizing is what swayed me.



Bluff It Off

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($4110)
Button ($2462)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 10
Button raises to $30, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $81

Flop: ($222) 8, 10, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $145, Hero calls $145

Turn: ($512) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $345, Hero calls $345

River: ($1202) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $875, Hero calls $875

Total pot: $2952 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had K, 4 (one pair, Queens).
Hero had A, 10 (two pair, Queens and tens).
Outcome: Hero won $2951.50



Turning Second Pair Into a River Check-Raise Bluff

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($6043)
SB ($3207)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, J
Hero raises to $30, SB calls $20

Flop: ($60) A, 8, K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($60) 2 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $44, SB calls $44

River: ($148) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $111, SB raises to $345, Hero calls $234

Total pot: $838 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had K, J (one pair, Kings).
SB had 5, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $837.50

I'm pretty sure he expects me to call the river almost always but not to bet very often. So it doesn't really make sense for him to check a big hand to me.



Lucky Turn

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($5693)
Button ($2275)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, A
Button raises to $30, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $81

Flop: ($222) J, 8, K (2 players)
Hero bets $166, Button calls $166

Turn: ($554) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $345, Hero raises to $5416 (All-In), Button calls $1653 (All-In)

River: ($4550) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $4550 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had J, 9 (two pair, Jacks and nines).
Hero had Q, A (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Button won $4549.50



Not This Time

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2478)
Hero (SB) ($2468)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 9
Button raises to $30, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $81

Flop: ($222) J, 7, 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $166, Button calls $166

Turn: ($554) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $345, Hero raises to $2191 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1244 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show A, 9 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $1243.50


This one actually happened simultaneously with the above (we were playing on two tables).



Insane

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($3943)
SB ($4021)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $110, Hero raises to $222, SB calls $112

Flop: ($444) 6, K, 7 (2 players)
SB bets $325, Hero raises to $966, SB raises to $2445, Hero raises to $3721 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $5334 | Rake: $0.50


There are so many good semi-bluff hands on this board that there's no reason to ever be 3-betting the flop with air, but that seems to be what he was doing here. Best example of his over-aggressiveness.



Bluffing With the Best

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($6885)
Button ($2370)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8, 7
Button raises to $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) 7, 7, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($60) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $44, Button calls $44

River: ($148) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $111, Button raises to $445, Hero calls $334

Total pot: $1038 | Rake: $0.50

He had Ace-high on this one, which makes it that much crazier of a bluff, since he had some showdown value.



Lucky River

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($6066.50)
SB ($3180.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, 10
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $110, Hero raises to $266, SB calls $156

Flop: ($532) 7, 5, 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $222, SB raises to $655, Hero calls $433

Turn: ($1842) 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $666, SB calls $666

River: ($3174) A (2 players)
SB bets $1593.50 (All-In), Hero calls $1593.50

Total pot: $6361 | Rake: $0.50

Never mind bluffs, he's value shoving worse on this river. He called me a lucky retard and quit immediately after this hand. Later he was nice though- he sat at another of my tables as I was getting ready to quit but didn't give me a hard time about it and even returned a blind that I didn't mean to post.

Just so I don't look like a total luckbox, remember that the above were hands selected to show how aggressive he was, and hence generally hands that I won. He did win a few big pots that I didn't post here. Also, there was this, against a different opponent:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($2323.50)
SB ($1692.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, A
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $90, Hero raises to $222, SB calls $132

Flop: ($444) 3, 10, Q (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $166, SB raises to $1470.50 (All-In), Hero calls $1304.50

Turn: ($3385) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3385) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3385 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had K, A (one pair, Kings).
SB had J, 9 (straight, King high).
Outcome: SB won $3384.50

Good Reads

It's embarrassing how, after three years of playing poker very seriously, I'm still affected so dramatically by short-term results. For two weeks, I was getting brutalized, doubting my instincts, and not playing my best. Then I have one big day and I'm back to making good reads and following through on them.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($1168.50)
Button ($1144)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 8
Button raises to $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) 9, J, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $30, Hero raises to $88, Button calls $58

Turn: ($236) J (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($236) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $175, Hero calls $175

Total pot: $586 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had 8, Q (one pair, Jacks).
Hero had A, 8 (one pair, Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $585.50


This one isn't anything special, but it's a spot where I probably would have folded last week. When you're running bad, you always think they have it. But really, I think his value betting range, at least for a bet of this size, is like K9+. And the best hands in that range probably bet the turn. Throw in the fact that some draws missed and that he's probably floating pretty wide on the flop, and this is practically a standard river call.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($1514)
UTG ($1449)
UTG+1 ($1273)
MP1 ($2032)
Hero (MP2) ($1317)
MP3 ($1000)
Button ($1607.50)
SB ($1092)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with Q, K
3 folds, Hero raises to $35, MP3 raises to $75, 3 folds, Hero calls $40

Flop: ($165) A, Q, 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks

Turn: ($165) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks

River: ($165) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $123, MP3 raises to $377, Hero raises to $1242 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $919 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero didn't show Q, K (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $916

This one is tough to explain. Villain is a very unconventionally tricky LAG. The jury's still out on how good he is, but he can definitely do some confusing things.

The river raise is bizarre and feels bluffy, since I doubt he's ever checking a monster on the turn. But I also think he knows how it looks, and I do think he's very capable of raising for value with a bad two pair and maybe even a strangely played AK or something. So while I contemplated calling, I eventually decided that unless he got there on the river with 77 or 65 (and even 65 probably bluffs the flop or turn), he's not calling a shove.

Right Line, Wrong Guy

I like this line a lot in this spot, but not against the table fish:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($2000)
CO ($1850)
Button ($1329)
SB ($8366)
Hero (BB) ($2197)
UTG ($2274)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, K
3 folds, Button raises to $40, 1 fold, Hero raises to $144, Button calls $104

Flop: ($298) J, A, 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($298) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $203, Button calls $203

River: ($704) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $550, Button calls $550

Total pot: $1804 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had A, 10 (one pair, Aces).
Hero had Q, K (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Button won $1801


Most of the time that I check this flop after 3-betting pre-flop, I'm going to have something with some showdown value. And if I then bet hard at the turn and river, it will be because I was slowplaying a monster or at least pot controlling something pretty good like AK.

So, I like a similar line with a big draw, as compared to just betting the flop and then making a pot-committing turn bet. Maybe I'll get to check-raise the flop if Villain throws out a feeler bet/bluff, or make a concealed flush (since he probably wouldn't expect me to check a flush draw on the flop)- with all my outs, I certainly don't mind seeing a free turn card.

AT is exactly the kind of hand I'd expect a better player to drop on the river. But this was not a better player, and I should have known better.

Oh You Wanna Get Stubborn?

I'll get you off of it eventually...

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($4886.05)
BB ($300)
UTG ($600)
Hero (MP) ($1311.80)
CO ($1318.60)
Button ($1711.10)

Preflop: Hero is MP with 10, A
1 fold, Hero raises to $21, CO calls $21, 1 fold, SB raises to $84, 1 fold, Hero raises to $190, 1 fold, SB calls $106

Flop: ($407) 7, 3, Q (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $166, SB calls $166

Turn: ($739) 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $255, SB calls $255

River: ($1249) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $700.80 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1249 | Rake: $3


I like this because the value of my opponent's hand is so clearly capped (if he had a QQ+ or AK, he'd have shoved pre-flop, if he had a set he'd have shoved before the river) while I've shown strength at every opportunity. The river K is icing on the cake, connecting with AK, the single most plausible hand he was still beating on the turn with whatever pocket pair he had.

I imagine he realized all of this as well, because he tanked for a really long time but eventually gave it up.

I Got One Right

Since I just posted a bunch of whines, here's a brag. The SB was the table fish, the BB is a very tough and aggressive opponent. I could just 4-bet pre-flop but I think he'd find a way to own me. I decided I was just going to play my position and go with the assumption that he didn't have much:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($2753)
MP ($1837)
CO ($4028.25)
Hero (Button) ($2697)
SB ($2045.70)
BB ($2032)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, J
3 folds, Hero raises to $35, SB calls $30, BB raises to $170, Hero calls $135, 1 fold

Flop: ($375) 4, 2, Q (2 players)
BB bets $210, Hero calls $210

Turn: ($795) 2 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $333, BB calls $333

River: ($1461) 5 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1984 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1461 | Rake: $3


I like floating the flop because even if he fires a second barrel there's a lot of ways I can continue. If I turn a pair, I'll call him down, and if I turn a draw, I'll shove. The turn bet was calculated to set up a roughly pot-sized river shove (Villain had like $1300 left) and/or win the pot immediately. It doesn't give him a great price to check-raise, so I think he's mostly going to raise only when he has a legit hand. The small bet also works as a feeler to show me that he probably doesn't have a legit hand, which means it'll be tough for him to call a river shove. He tanked forever, which was pretty nerve-racking, but eventually went away.