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.

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?

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.

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.

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 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 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 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.

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.

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

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.

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 #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.

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

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.

5-Bet Bluffing: AQo vs KJs

Weeks ago, I got a comment that I promised to answer in greater depth. Well, I've finally gotten around to it. Here was the question:

I read with interest the blog in which you say that you use AQ as a four / five bet semi bluff.

With what hands are you getting called with?

I ask, because in analyzing how to play against Harringbots, I discovered that there are some unusual hands that do well against standard Harrington hand ranges. For example, KJs is almost as good against AQ+/77+ as AQo. The benefit of playing KJs is that opponents will automatically add KQ and AJ to your range which will presumably make the AA/KK hands even more profitable. Of course, KJs does not occur as often as AQo but playing AQo 2/3 of the time and KJs 100% of the time would give you the same semi-bluff frequency.

I think this is an interesting idea, particularly because of the deception it creates. As the commenter points out, people may assume that if you showed up with KJs you will also be shoving hands like AJ and KQ. I was frankly a little surprised when I ran the numbers and saw that the equity difference between AQo and KJs vs a range of TT+ and AK (in answer to the first question, it depends on the spot, but in general my 4-bets aren't getting called by 77-99) was less than 1%.

That difference gets a little bigger as you strengthen Villain's range. It's about a 1.5% difference for a range of JJ+ and AK.

I like this suggestion and don't have a lot to add to why it could be good. I will add a few caveats though:

1. 1-1.5% is not as trivial as it sounds. Given that you are only looking at 25-30% equity in the first place, that means AQo is actually 3-5% stronger than KJs in such spots.

2. You won't usually be 4- or 5-betting without first 2- or 3-betting. I'm somewhat more likely to make that first raise or re-raise with AQo than with KJs.

3. 76s actually performs about 4% better than KJs against tight calling ranges. Again, though, you're less likely to be making the initial re-raises with it.

4. The suited is what's making the biggest difference here. If you compare AQs to KJs against a few ranges, you see differences of 4-5%, which means it's 12-20% better. For me at least, I think the takeaway lesson is that it's fairly important to be suited when 4- or 5- (or 6-, I suppose) bet shoving light.

Thanks for the comment, and sorry for the delay in addressing it!

Dealing With an Aggressive 3-Better

Both of these hands are against a real 3-betting fiend. He's ridiculously loose and aggressive pre-flop, especially when he has position. Even though I think he's taken it to the point of exploitability, it's still a tough and high-variance playstyle to combat. There are a lot of adjustments you need to make against a player like this, but one is just to call down with more medium-strength hands than you ordinarily would. Basically you are going to make money off of his bluffs, so you need to set him up to bluff and then be prepared to catch bluffs with weaker hands than your ordinarily would. Two examples:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($1000)
Hero (MP2) ($1000)
MP3 ($1316)
CO ($1035)
Button ($1000)
SB ($1069)
BB ($440)
UTG+1 ($160)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 9, 9
2 folds, Hero raises to $35, 1 fold, CO raises to $95, 3 folds, Hero calls $60

Flop: ($205) K, 10, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $135, Hero calls $135

Turn: ($475) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $365, Hero raises to $770 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1205 | Rake: $3


I didn't necessarily expect a fold here, but I did think my 9's would have enough equity against his range, which probably includes a TON of semi-bluffs, to get it in.


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1018.50)
BB ($1088.50)
UTG ($440)
UTG+1 ($104.50)
MP1 ($953.75)
Hero (MP2) ($1177)
CO ($1417)
Button ($760)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, J
3 folds, Hero raises to $35, 2 folds, SB raises to $115, 1 fold, Hero raises to $250, SB raises to $1018.50 (All-In), Hero calls $768.50

Flop: ($2047) 7, 3, 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($2047) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($2047) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2047 | Rake: $3

He had Jacks here, so I lost. I'm less confident about this one, as it was my first 4-bet of the night, but I think that could also increase his bluff frequency because he knows I know he's been running me over. With a suited AJ, I'd definitely just call pre-flop. Even here, it might have been better to flat and then jam a lot of flops or something just to induce an additional bluff. But this is the kind of thing you need to do against overly aggressive opponents.

Aces Suck

As of today, I am in the red for the year. Obviously not a big deal just two weeks in, but it's annoying. It has a lot to do with my pocket Aces never winning the damn pot. In fact, I am in the red for the year with specifically that hand as well:

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

UTG ($16395.35)
MP ($5000)
CO ($11776)
Button ($5609)
Hero (SB) ($6300)
BB ($3437)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
3 folds, Button raises to $150, Hero raises to $555, 1 fold, Button raises to $1400, Hero raises to $6300 (All-In), Button calls $4209 (All-In)

Flop: ($11268) Q, 4, 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($11268) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($11268) 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $11268 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: Button won $11265


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

Button ($12792)
SB ($5000)
BB ($5000)
Hero (UTG) ($6736)
MP ($12400)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero raises to $175, MP calls $175, 1 fold, SB raises to $700, 1 fold, Hero calls $525, MP calls $525

Flop: ($2150) 2, 8, J (3 players)
SB bets $1350, Hero calls $1350, 1 fold

Turn: ($4850) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $2950 (All-In), Hero calls $2950

River: ($10750) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $10750 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had 10, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).

Outcome: SB won $10747


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

MP ($2292)
CO ($2000)
Button ($2000)
SB ($828.85)
BB ($2773)
Hero (UTG) ($1904)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero raises to $60, MP raises to $200, 4 folds, Hero raises to $555, MP calls $355

Flop: ($1140) J, Q, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $500, Hero raises to $1349 (All-In), MP calls $849

Turn: ($3838) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3838) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3838 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
MP had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
Outcome: MP won $3835


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

Button ($925)
SB ($13384)
BB ($15243)
UTG ($5000)
Hero (MP) ($5797)
CO ($9200)

Preflop: Hero is MP with A, A
1 fold, Hero raises to $175, 2 folds, SB calls $150, 1 fold

Flop: ($400) 8, 10, J (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $288, SB calls $288

Turn: ($976) 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $678, SB calls $678

River: ($2332) 9 (2 players)
SB bets $1488, Hero folds

Total pot: $2332 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB didn't show
Outcome: SB won $2329


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (5 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) ($4000)
UTG ($2101)
MP ($2000)
Button ($2612)
SB ($6337)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, A
3 folds, SB raises to $60, Hero raises to $180, SB calls $120

Flop: ($360) 3, Q, 10 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $270, SB raises to $700, Hero raises to $3820 (All-In), SB calls $3120

Turn: ($8000) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($8000) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $8000 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had Q, Q (four of a kind, Queens).
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and Queens).

Check-Folding AA for 100BB in a 3-Bet Pot

At least I wish I did...

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

MP ($2292)
CO ($2000)
Button ($2000)
SB ($828.85)
BB ($2773)
Hero (UTG) ($1904)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero raises to $60, MP raises to $200, 4 folds, Hero raises to $555, MP calls $355

Flop: ($1140) J, Q, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $500, Hero raises to $1349 (All-In), MP calls $849

Turn: ($3838) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3838) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3838 | Rake: $3


Obviously it's not too often that I'm check-folding AA for a single pot-sized bet on the flop. In this case, though, I think I can put Villain on a very narrow range of hands. To be generous, I'd say he almost always has JJ+ or AK, and given that he didn't 5-bet, I'm inclined to weight that towards JJ-QQ. In any event, he also puts me on a similarly narrow range, meaning that if has AK he probably isn't going to bluff and if he has KK he can't bet because what can he expect action from? I thought about all of that but then said, "Fuck it, it's one pot-sized bet" and was promptly shown QQ.

2008 Year in Review

Having already posted an analysis of last year's resolutions (One, Two, and Three), I'll turn now to some year-end miscellany:

Largest Pot Won

Though I played as high as 50/100 last year, my biggest win was in a recent 10/20 heads up game. It's both the largest pot I've won in absolute dollars and also (I think) the largest in BB's, nearly 1200 of them.

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $16,884.50
BB: $11,606

Pre-Flop: 6 T dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $588, BB raises to $1,225, Hero calls $637

Flop: ($2,450) 6 J 6 (2 Players)
BB bets $1,425, Hero raises to $3,659, BB raises to $10,381 and is All-In, Hero calls $6,722

Turn: ($23,212) T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($23,212) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $23,212 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed 6 T (a full house, Sixes full of Tens) and WON $23,211.50 (+$11,605.50 NET)
BB showed A A (two pair, Aces and Sixes) and LOST (-$11,606 NET)


A little epilogue here: I saw this guy sitting alone at a 50/100 table recently and took a seat. He played one hand and quit.

Largest Pot Lost

I wish I could say it was a bad beat or cold deck, but mostly it was just bad play:

Full Tilt Poker, $25/$50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $10,050
SB: $24,967.75

Pre-Flop: 4 A dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $124, Hero raises to $411, SB calls $287

Flop: ($822) Q 8 Q (2 Players)
Hero bets $589, SB raises to $1,670, Hero calls $1,081

Turn: ($4,162) 2 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $2,575, Hero raises to $7,969 and is All-In, SB calls $5,394

River: ($20,100) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $20,100 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed 4 A (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-$10,050 NET)
SB showed K Q (three of a kind, Queens) and WON $20,099.50 (+$10,049.50 NET)


Worst Bad Beat

As it happens, those are both from December. But I had to go all the way back to March and my days in the UB 25/50 heads up game to find the most annoying bad beat, defined as some combination of long odds and big pot:

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 0: GASSITT ($4297.50) -
Seat 1: Foucault ($4500) - -

PRE-FLOP:

Foucault posts small blind $25
GASSITT posts BIG blind $50
Dealt To: Foucault


RAISE Foucault ($150)
CALL GASSITT ($150)


FLOP:

Pot: $350


CHECK GASSITT
BET Foucault ($200)
CALL Foucault ($200)


TURN:

Pot: $750


BET GASSITT ($525)
RAISE Foucault ($1650)
RAISE GASSITT ($3947.50)
CALL Foucault ($3947.50)


RIVER:

Pot: $10295




SHOWDOWN:
GASSITT:

MUCK Foucault

GASSITT collected $8594.5 from main pot with full house, fives full of jacks

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $8595 Rake: $.50

Final Board:


Seat 0: 5s Js 5h 5d Jd: full house, fives full of jacks. - Net Gain/Loss: ($3772)



Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Largest Tournament Score



Yearly Profits Graph

Thanks to you all for following along this year, and best of luck at the tables (or wherever you ply your trade) in 2009.

Happy New Year!

Folding Kings

This is from my laptop, so sorry for the lack of converted HH. It was from a 5/10 deep game, people's stack sizes are in parentheses after their names:

UTG ($2000) raises to $40, UTG+1 ($2000) re-raises to $120, CO folds, I ($2000) call the $120 cold, SB folds, BB ($1200) 4-bets cold to $300, UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, action is back to me. I have to call $180 into a $700 pot with $900 or so left in the effective stacks. I contemplated folding right here cuz it's hard to put BB on anything but AA. But I hate making tight folds like this and set odds were close anyway so I called. Flop came Q75 he shoved and I folded. Doubt he shoves AK and QQ just got there.

Npnpnpnpnpasd

Absolutely murdered this guy at 10/20 heads up this afternoon. He was decent but overly loose and aggressive and did not adapt well to playing super-deep. As you'll see, we had a very aggressive pre-flop dynamic going on, but it occurred almost exclusively on my button. The deeper we got, the more I kept pots small when I was out of position, since he was so willing to play big ones when I had the button. I won't give a lot of commentary on each hand but you can get a general sense of how the game went.

He started off with a 150BB lead but it didnt' last:

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $4,000
SB: $7,053.50

Pre-Flop: T 7 dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $60, Hero raises to $222, SB calls $162

Flop: ($444) 2 K 3 (2 Players)
Hero bets $333, SB calls $333

Turn: ($1,110) 2 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB checks

River: ($1,110) 4 (2 Players)
Hero bets $895, SB raises to $1,790, Hero raises to $3,445 and is All-In, SB calls $1,655

Results: $8,000 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed T 7 (a flush, King high) and WON $7,999.50 (+$3,999.50 NET)
SB mucked 5 6 (a straight, Six high) and LOST (-$4,000 NET)


Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $9,832.50
BB: $4,030

Pre-Flop: A A dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $555, BB raises to $4,030 and is All-In, Hero calls $3,475

Flop: ($8,060) 9 T T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: ($8,060) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($8,060) 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $8,060 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed A A (two pair, Aces and Tens) and WON $8,059.50 (+$4,029.50 NET)
BB showed A K (two pair, Tens and Nines) and LOST (-$4,030 NET)


Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $16,180
BB: $4,337.50

Pre-Flop: Q A dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $555, BB raises to $1,125, Hero calls $570

Flop: ($2,250) A 9 A (2 Players)
BB bets $1,750, Hero raises to $3,500, BB calls $1,462.50 and is All-In

Turn: ($8,675) 8 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($8,675) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $8,675 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed Q A (a full house, Aces full of Nines) and WON $8,674.50 (+$4,337 NET)
BB showed K 4 (two pair, Aces and Nines) and LOST (-$4,337.50 NET)


Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $18,454.50
BB: $6,05

Pre-Flop: K Q dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $588, BB calls $368

Flop: ($1,176) Q 9 8 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($1,176) 6 (2 Players)
BB bets $900, Hero calls $900

River: ($2,976) 7 (2 Players)
BB bets $2,750, Hero calls $2,750

Results: $8,476 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked K Q (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-$4,238 NET)
BB showed 5 4 (a straight, Nine high) and WON $8,475.50 (+$4,237.50 NET)


On the one hand that's a scary river but for precisely that reason I felt obliged to call. I was playing my hand to induce a bluff so I can't very well fold to a very aggressive opponent when the perfect bluff card hits.

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $16,308
BB: $8,195.50

Pre-Flop: A J dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $588, BB calls $368

Flop: ($1,176) Q 7 A (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $777, BB calls $777

Turn: ($2,730) J (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1,643, BB raises to $6,830.50 and is All-In, Hero calls $5,187.50

River: ($16,391) 2 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $16,391 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed A J (two pair, Aces and Jacks) and WON $16,390.50 (+$8,195 NET)
BB showed 9 8 (Ace Queen high) and LOST (-$8,195.50 NET)


This one is just fucked up:

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $16,884.50
BB: $11,606

Pre-Flop: 6 T dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $588, BB raises to $1,225, Hero calls $637

Flop: ($2,450) 6 J 6 (2 Players)
BB bets $1,425, Hero raises to $3,659, BB raises to $10,381 and is All-In, Hero calls $6,722

Turn: ($23,212) T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($23,212) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $23,212 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed 6 T (a full house, Sixes full of Tens) and WON $23,211.50 (+$11,605.50 NET)
BB showed A A (two pair, Aces and Sixes) and LOST (-$11,606 NET)


Felt kinda bad for him but come on we are 600BB deep don't min-5-bet your Aces.

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $28,557
BB: $3,931.50

Pre-Flop: 7 7 dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero calls $160

Flop: ($440) 2 6 T (2 Players)
BB bets $310, Hero calls $310

Turn: ($1,060) 9 (2 Players)
BB bets $780, Hero calls $780

River: ($2,620) 8 (2 Players)
BB bets $2,621.50 and is All-In, Hero calls $2,621.50

Results: $7,863 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed 7 7 (a straight, Ten high) and WON $7,862.50 (+$3,931 NET)
BB showed 9 T (two pair, Tens and Nines) and LOST (-$3,931.50 NET)


Villain: np i win 23k in 5 bet pots np with 6T npnpnpnpnpnppasd
Villain: f'
Villain: asgkjaf'lsdf
Villain is sitting out
Villain: sd
Villain: h


The Boston Debate League had an even bigger day than I did, though, receiving a $35,000 check from the Boston Foundation. They are hands down the most prominent philanthropic foundation in the Boston area, so a grant from them is huge not only for the amount of money involved but because of the visibility and credibility that it will lend us with other members of the philanthropic community.

Now... to celebrate!

Effing Nits

I play FTP's 200 BB deep stack games almost exclusively. That's in part because I prefer deeper stacked play but also because the higher stakes regular games are infested with people who buy in for the minimum of 20 BB (the minimum on the deep tables is 50BB). There are some who do it professionally and somehow still manage not to come all that close to a good short stacking strategy but then there are these absolutely atrocious guys who buy in short and play like the loose passive idiots that they are. I constantly make mistakes them against them because I assume that they can't possibly be as nitty as they are when it comes to showing any aggression.

This isn't really an example of me making a mistake but it does go to what I'm talking about.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $138
MP1: $1,447.75
Hero (MP2): $1,000
CO: $1,523
BTN: $612.30
SB: $1,000
BB: $276
UTG: $1,067

Pre-Flop: Q Q dealt to Hero (MP2)
3 folds, Hero raises to $30, CO calls $30, BTN calls $30, SB calls $25, BB raises to $276 and is All-In, Hero raises to $1,000 and is All-In, 3 folds

Flop: ($642) 6 A J (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: ($642) 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($642) K (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $642 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed Q Q (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-$276 NET)
BB showed A A (three of a kind, Aces) and WON $639 (+$363 NET)


Obviously when I'm holding Q's and get three calls, I'm not thrilled. I was sitting there thinking how perfect it would be for the BB to shove so I could shove over the top and have a huge edge against his hand. From his perspective, he should be shoving really wide because the pot is already like half his stack and he'll probably get heads up with just one other player.

But then I thought about how much these short stacks suck and they never in shove in spots where they should and how this guy probably isn't going to do what he should to create a profitable spot for both of us. Then he does shove and I'm briefly excited to see that maybe he doesn't suck as bad as I thought but then he turns out to have the nuts anyway. @#$%ing nits!

Poker Vortices

I spent the better part of last week in Sedona, Arizona, which is a beautiful part of the American Southwest featuring tremendous red rock structures. Unfortunately, someone decided that these red rock formations have somehow created spiritual vortexes (and yes that is the correct pluralization, not vortices, I checked):

"In Sedona vortexes are created, not by wind or water, but from spiraling spiritual energy. The vortexes of Sedona are named because they are believed to be spiritual locations where the energy is right to facilitate prayer, mediation and healing. Vortex sites are believed to be locations having energy flow that exists on multiple dimensions. The energy of the vortexes interacts with a person’s inner self."

Consequently, Sedona is a hotbed of new age spiritualism, home to dozens of fortune tellers, spirit healers, mystical book stores, and all-around crazy people. I'm mad that I lost the exact language, but the visitor's guide provided by the National Parks Service specifically prohibits the rearranging of sticks and stones to create "medicine wheels" in the park and asks guests to "pray, chant, sign, drum, or meditate quietly" so as not to disturb others.

I spent about an hour playing poker and watching the sun rise from the porch of our hotel room while waiting for my girlfriend to wake up one day, though, and I must admit that maybe there is something to those vortexes after all (ugh apparently I don't FTP set to save hand histories on my laptop- sorry for botching the hell out of this post).

I was playing 10/20 heads up with a relatively weak regular. She was ridiculously over-aggressive, and I didn't respond to it quite as well as I should have. Still, I four-bet bluffed her twice pre-flop and flopped huge both times.

The first time, I had 54o, put $440 in pre-flop, and flopped the nuts on a 236 board. Since I knew my opponent could have a wide range pre-flop and it was my first time four-betting, I checked it back. The turn brought a J, she potted, and I shoved. She tanked and called with 95o for a gutshot which did not get there.

The second time, I 4-bet with Q7 and flopped Q77 for the second nuts. This time we were 4K deep, so I bet like 1/3 pot on the flop. In retrospect I probably should have just checked but I feared it would look too strong given how I played last time and the fact that my opponent knew I knew she could have almost anything.

The best one was when I called one of her 3-bets with T9o (again, 4K stacks) and flopped Q83. She bet, and I called. The turn brought another Q, and she bet smallish. I was pretty sure she didn't have a Queen, so decided to execute one of my new favorite moves where I make a raise I know my opponent will call and set myself up to bluff shove a future street when I am almost sure she will fold. I raised like 2.5x, enough to leave slightly less than a pot-sized bet in the effective stacks. Sure enough, she called and check-folded to a shove on a river 8. Sadly, she also quit after that.

4 High is Good

Sorry at the airport on laptop so no easy access to HH but playing 10/20 HU guy opens for 60 on the button, I make it 211 with AKo, he makes it 533, I shove for a little over 2K, he CALLS with 42s. Naturally I am drawing dead when the flop comes 653.

The guy's definitely on the LAG side but not awful or a maniac, so I think it was probably a mis-click or an image play.

Really regretting the $7.95 I forked over for internet access....

Fun With Underbetting

This guy was min-raising every time he opened the pot, so I started min-check-raising him on the flop. Naturally that frustrated him, so more min-raising ensued.

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

SB: $1,107
Hero (BB): $7,603

Pre-Flop: 8 K dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $20, Hero calls $10

Flop: ($40) 6 9 6 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $27, Hero raises to $54, SB raises to $175, Hero raises to $296, SB folds

Results: $390 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked 8 K and WON $389.50 (+$194.50 NET)


These aren't quite min bets, but the objective was similar. In this case, I thought these small bets would frustrate the guy and get him to call down with a smaller pair. Even though it's pretty obvious what I have, he would just feel like a tool folding 99 to these little bets, and it would be exploitable.

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

SB: $2,102
Hero (BB): $2,000
UTG: $2,285.50
CO: $2,283
BTN: $3,721.50

Pre-Flop: Q Q dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG calls $10, CO raises to $45, 2 folds, Hero raises to $150, UTG folds, CO calls $105

Flop: ($315) 3 5 K (2 Players)
Hero bets $175, CO calls $175

Turn: ($665) K (2 Players)
Hero bets $375, CO calls $375

River: ($1,415) 6 (2 Players)
Hero bets $800, CO calls $800

Results: $3,015 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed Q Q (two pair, Kings and Queens) and WON $3,012 (+$1,512 NET)
CO mucked 9 9 (two pair, Kings and Nines) and LOST (-$1,500 NET)


This guy had been 3-betting me a ton. I like bluff-raising the flop with these stacks because it's very hard for him to play back. If he calls, there are a ton of scare cards on the turn, and if he 3-bet bluffs, he has to fear that I'm going to shove on him with a lot of draws. There just isn't much he can do.

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: $744.30
BTN: $1,223.20
SB: $1,405.60
BB: $741.20
UTG: $1,153.10
Hero (MP): $1,611.40

Pre-Flop: A Q dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $21, 2 folds, SB raises to $72, BB folds, Hero calls $51

Flop: ($150) 7 T 4 (2 Players)
SB bets $100, Hero raises to $244, SB calls $144

Turn: ($638) 9 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $245, SB folds

Results: $638 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked A Q and WON $635 (+$319 NET)


There was about $1000 left in the effective stacks on the turn. Here, the underbet was designed to look like I was trying to induce a check-raise.

Building a Pot to Bluff

Generally when we think of manipulating pot size, we think of playing pot control when we have a hand that we want to showdown cheaply or trying to inflate the pot when we have a monster. But there are times when you might want to build the pot in anticipation of a bluff on a later street.

For example, let's say you raise 76 on the button and the BB calls. The flop comes AKx, and you decide that unless he check-raises the flop, it would be a good time to double barrel him. He'll fold a lot of better hands on the flop and even more on the turn. What's the correct bet size for the flop?

Strange as it may seem, even though you are bluffing, you want to minimize your fold equity on the flop. This is because you know you are going to fire a second barrel on the turn. Thus, any time your opponent calls the flop with a hand that will check-fold the turn, even if that hand is better than yours (which it pretty much always will be), then you gain. You should choose the bet size that will get the most money out of your opponent's range for check-calling the flop and check-folding the turn.

Here's another example from a hand I played at a 3/6 deep table today:

I opened to $21 with 5s 4s on the button, and the SB raised to $66. We were $1200 deep, and he'd been 3-betting me a lot, so I called with intention of messing with him on a lot of flops.

The flop was Js 9s 9c, which was pretty good for my purposes. It was tough for my opponent to hit, and even if he did call me, I had outs. With $138 in the pot, stacks were a little awkward for me to shove over a flop bet, but that was my play. Then my opponent made a small bet of just $78. It was now out of the question for me to shove, the risk/reward just wasn't right, but I wanted to get the money in on the flop, with me making the last bet, of course.

So I decided to min-raise to $156. If my opponent did choose to call with a pair, there was a decent chance that I could take the pot away later or hit my flush. But if he had nothing, which I figured he would most of the time, then I thought he would either fold or 3-bet bluff me. Sure enough, he clicked it back to $234. Now, the pot was plenty juicy, and I moved all in with my flush draw. He folded, and I took down a nicer pot than I would have gotten if I'd just tried to maximize my fold equity on my first bluff raise.

Strange Play in a Four-Bet Pot

Here's a pretty interesting spot where I made what might be called a pre-emptive blocking bet:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $2,184
BB: $2,000
UTG: $1,000
MP: $1,000
CO: $2,413
Hero (BTN): $4,150

Pre-Flop: K K dealt to Hero (BTN)
2 folds, CO raises to $35, Hero raises to $120, 2 folds, CO raises to $320, Hero calls $200

Flop: ($655) A T 6 (2 Players)
CO checks, Hero bets $333, CO folds

Results: $655 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked K K and WON $652 (+$332 NET)


First off, let me cover the pre-flop. CO was a decent regular, definitely capable of 4-betting light. However, we didn't have a sufficiently aggressive history that I could expect to get action if I 5-bet him. Calling is very clearly best, then, to maintain some deception about my range.

When he checks the flop as the pre-flop aggressor, I'm putting him on one of three things, from least to most likely:

1) A slowplayed monster- With AA, this is definitely a good time to check; however, that's a small part of his range, checking with TT is a lot less good (because I could well have top pair), and it's not a guarantee he would do it;

2) Air that is giving up- I'd expect him to fire once when an Ace flops if he has nothing, but then again people do tend to play pretty straight-forwardly in 4-bet pots;

3) An underpair playing for pot control- With QQ or JJ, he's definitely checking this flop to show down cheaply and induce bluffs.

4) Top pair playing for pot control/value- With something like AJ, he has a very strong hand that still probably does not want to play for stacks. By checking the flop, he can try to keep the pot smaller, induce bluffs, and get value on a later street from hands that might fold to a flop bet.


This may seem like a bad bet, then. After all, I'm only expecting a narrow category of worse hands to call, and overall I'm expecting to be behind his calling range. I do think I should have bet a little less, but in all likelihood, I'm going to have to pay off at least one bet to hands that are beating me anyway. Unless he does something crazy like overbet shove, I'm going to call at least one street. I think that betting now is the best way to get value from the occasional underpair, as a bet on a later street is going to look stronger than a flop stab.

Plus, this lets me control the size of the bet that I pay off to his Ax and deter the occasional double barrel bluff that I can't pay off. If he check-calls the flop, I'll be very comfortable folding if he leads out on the turn, or if he leads out on the river after the turn checks through. However, if I check now, I'd probably call the turn and fold the river. That means I'd pay off a turn bet of like $450-$500, often to Ax, and then fold to a river bet, which might occasionally be a bluff.

In looking over this now, I think I could accomplish all of this with a slightly smaller bet, probably in the $250-$300 range. But nevertheless, I think it's an interesting spot where position and narrowly defined ranges in a 4-bet pot greatly influence my play.

When in Doubt, Pull the Trigger

Here's a fun hand against a smart and very aggressive player who was playing pretty strangely tonight:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $1,643
BB: $1,399
UTG: $2,084.75
Hero (MP): $2,363
CO: $2,040
BTN: $1,000

Pre-Flop: 7 A dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG raises to $20, Hero raises to $75, CO folds, BTN calls $75, SB folds, BB calls $65, UTG raises to $255, Hero raises to $2,363 and is All-In, 3 folds

Results: $665 Pot
Hero mucked 7 A and WON $665 (+$410 NET)


He was minraising a ton pre-flop and making a lot of small flop bets. I'd been playing back at him quite a bit, and he'd been playing back at my play backs, etc. So there's a lot of interesting stuff going on here:

1. His UTG range is way wider than your average UTG raising range.

2. This means I can profitably 3-bet a wider range for value and make more bluff 3-bets.

3. But, I've been 3-betting him a lot and I know he knows that and he knows I know he knows so there is the whole leveling thing going on.

4. BTN is kind of a LAGtard and is probaby calling more hands than he should here but also is probably not cold calling with KK or AA.

5. BB is getting a decent price and also probably not playing KK or AA like this.

6. There's a lot of money in the pot now, and UTG can be pretty sure that two of his three opponents are going to fold to a 4-bet. I'm the only x-factor, but given the price he's getting and the fact that there is at least some reason to think I am going to go away, it's a great spot for him to squeeze.

7. Naturally he is playing JJ+ and AK like this for value. Nothing I can do about that. But recognizing (7), and that there's a lot of money in the pot and that I have 30% equity against his calling range, I'm sticking it in.

I also tend towards a maxim of "when in doubt, pull the trigger". Not only does this encourage you to experiment and grow as a player, but it also gives you a good image. When my opponents are contemplating a 4-bet, they have to fear not only that I will actually have a hand but also that I will re-bluff them. Even if a play turns out to be -EV in a vaccuum, it can make future hands easier to play by forcing opponents to play more straight-forwardly against you. And that's worth a lot.

WCOOP Event 20: $1050 NLHE

Terrible starting tables have been the theme of my WCOOP thus far. Today was no exception, with no fewer than three successful 5/10+ NL players, soon to be joined by a fourth (in addition to yours truly, so I guess it sucked that much more for the other guys at the table). However, I was lucky to make some big hands and cold deck a few people, including with AA vs KK, so I left the table in great shape.

My second table was much softer. I raised a few pots in a row from late position and people just started playing back at me maniacally. It's kind of funny to watch tournament players try to deal with aggressive raising by doing stuff like 3-betting light. The thing is, this dynamic has been a part of mid- and high-stakes NL games for nearly a year now, and those of us who play them regularly are quite familiar with not only how to 3-bet light but how to combat those who do.

For a lot of tournament players, though, especially casual ones, it's more of a revelation. They get that I'm raising a ton of pots and that they should be 3-betting in position, but they're choosing bad raise sizes and bad hands to do it with and bad spots, etc.

Anyway, I picked up chips at this table from people awkwardly trying to play back at me. My third table quickly pegged me as aggressive again, and one guy in particular on my left made clear that he was going to play back at me. Again, people weren't doing a great job of it, but now they were getting lucky.

Things started off well. I raised QQ in early position, and someone in middle position made a really tiny re-raise. Even with a hand as strong as QQ, I had a terrible feeling about this. But I also knew I'd been a little aggressive, so I didnt' want to fold. I elected to call, putting like 8.5K in the pot and leaving around 14K in the effective stacks. I didn't quite have set odds, but I wanted to see what my opponent did on certain flops.

The flop came 994, which was perfect for my purposes. I checked, and he overbet shoved all in. I didn't think he'd do that with AA or KK, so I called, he showed me AK, and I dodged the bullets. That hand rocketed me up among the tournament chipleaders. Nearly four hours into the event, I had over 100 BB's. That was owing in no small part to the amazing structure.

Then I raised A8s in late position and a pretty weak player called in the SB. That would be a strong play from a better player, but against this guy, I was ready to stack off on a 854 flop. He checked and very quickly called my bet. That quick call is rarely a monster, so I was feeling pretty good about my hand. The turn was a deuce. He checked, and with less than twice the pot left in the effective stacks, my only option was to bet-call. So I bet, he shoved, I called, and he showed me A3s that drilled the gutshot on the turn. That took out about 1/3 of my stack.

I rebuilt a bit but mostly was quiet for a while after that. Then I raised 22 from MP and the aforementioned player who was trying to play back at me called. He was actually pretty good, so when the flop came KJ6, I didn't think it would hit his calling range too well. I bet, and he called. Oh well. I checked, and he checked it back. Then an A came on the river, and I just had to bet at it. He called me with AQ.

I was frustrated to see another guy calling with a gutshot and getting there, but truthfully the flop call wasn't that bad. I do think he should be betting the turn though if he is going to float the flop.

Anyway, that took about half of my remaining chips. Finally I picked up AK UTG. The SB re-raised, I shoved, and he called me with exactly what I was hoping he had: AQ. I was hoping, that is, until I saw the Q on the flop. That was the end of Ol' Foucault.

I can't really complain though, because I made a really sweet run at the cash games while I was playing the tournament. I finished with over 700 BB's on both a 5/10 and 3/6 table and up on a few other tables as well. So it was a good day, though the tournament was a bit frustrating.

FTOPS Main Event: $500 NLHE

I was really rolling in this for a few hours. There was a giant over-aggressive donkey at my starting table, and I was lucky enough to get more than a few hands against him early on to get up a nice stack.

Then I lost a good sized pot by raising up a bunch of limpers with AQ on my Button. Only the last limper called, and the pot was like twice her stack at that point. She shoved in on a QhJhTc flop and showed me KhQh, which got there.

Other than that I was running pretty well on all ins, won from the wrong end of a few 40/60's against short stacks, and my AK held against Phwap's AJ (pretty bad shove by him but also pretty standard for him) to pick up a nice pot.

We'd cut the field by about 85%, and I was rocking a well-above average stack. I'd been raising a lot from late position, and the table knew that. I'd shown down stuff like K2. But only one guy had been 3-betting me a lot. So I made a play at him:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 500/1,000 Blinds, 125 Ante, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG+2: 9,674
MP1: 19,105
MP2: 21,027
Hero (CO): 40,285
BTN: 45,691
SB: 35,075
BB: 56,239
UTG: 34,537
UTG+1: 20,960

Pre-Flop: (2,625) 7 A dealt to Hero (CO)
5 folds, Hero raises to 2,666, BTN folds, SB raises to 7,985, BB folds, Hero raises to 40,160 and is All-In, SB calls 26,965 and is All-In

Flop: (72,025) 3 2 8 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: (72,025) K (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: (72,025) T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 72,025 Pot
Hero showed 7 A (Ace King high) and LOST (-35,075 NET)
SB showed Q A (Ace King high) and WON 72,025 (+36,950 NET)


Not sure what to make of this. He tanked for a long time, which suggests a few things: he wasn't 3-betting a polarized range, ie only hands that would snap-call or snap-fold; and he probably would have folded a lot of those hands. That suggests it was a good shove, but then again, I feel like I've been saying that as consolation a lot lately.

FTOPS Event 22: $2500 NLHE Two-Day Event

It's so rare to find a tournament with a structure as good as this one. Level increases were gradual and staggered every thirty minutes, and stacks started deep. There were a couple of good tournament players at my table, most notably SCTrojans and mattyv (AKA Plattsburgh). They both probably play better 25 BB poker than I do. But in a deep-stacked, high buy-in tournament, they are welcome at my table. There was no one particularly good at the start and a few downright awful players.

Trojans is famous for being a nit, so I made a kind of big fold to him early in the tournament. Turns out I was good, but I still think it was a good fold, because I imagine he plays KK and AA the same way:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 10/20 Blinds, 7 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: 4,990
BTN: 4,960
SB: 4,980
BB: 5,060
UTG: 5,000
UTG+1: 4,980
Hero (MP): 5,030

Pre-Flop: (30) Q Q dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to 60, Hero calls 60, CO folds, BTN raises to 260, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls 200, Hero calls 200

Flop: (810) 8 7 6 (3 Players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks, BTN bets 500, UTG+1 calls 500, Hero folds

Turn: (1,810) A (2 Players)
UTG+1 checks, BTN checks

River: (1,810) 2 (2 Players)
UTG+1 bets 320, BTN calls 320

Results: 2,450 Pot
BTN mucked J J (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-1,080 NET)
UTG+1 showed Q Q (a pair of Queens) and WON 2,450 (+1,370 NET)


There was another interesting spot early on where I turned middle pair, check-called for value, and then decided to turn my hand into a bluff on the river:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 10/20 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP2: 6,051
CO: 7,820
BTN: 4,970
SB: 4,890
BB: 1,641
UTG: 4,555
UTG+1: 5,444
Hero (MP1): 4,629

Pre-Flop: (30) T A dealt to Hero (MP1)
2 folds, Hero raises to 70, MP2 calls 70, 4 folds

Flop: (170) K 2 4 (2 Players)
Hero bets 134, MP2 calls 134

Turn: (438) T (2 Players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets 300, Hero calls 300

River: (1,038) Q (2 Players)
Hero bets 625, MP2 folds

Results: 1,038 Pot
Hero mucked T A and WON 1,038 (+534 NET)


My thinking here was that I could fold out better pairs and random low flushes, since it looks quite a bit like I have Ac and a pair. Then I enticed this guy to shove on me drawing to a gutshot and a running flush:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 25/50 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP1: 4,864
MP2: 7,515
CO: 6,621
BTN: 5,746
SB: 2,519
BB: 6,099
UTG: 6,412
Hero (UTG+1): 4,719

Pre-Flop: (75) A A dealt to Hero (UTG+1)
UTG folds, Hero raises to 134, 4 folds, SB calls 109, BB folds

Flop: (318) J J T (2 Players)
SB bets 212, Hero raises to 555, SB raises to 2,385 and is All-In, Hero calls 1,830

Turn: (5,088) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: (5,088) 5 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 5,088 Pot
SB showed Q A (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-2,519 NET)
Hero showed A A (two pair, Aces and Jacks) and WON 5,088 (+2,569 NET)


I actually put on a smaller pair and was trying to induce the same play, but this works, too. Probably my favorite hand of the tournament was this triple barrel:

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

UTG+2: 4,104
MP1: 12,670
MP2: 7,820
CO: 7,226
BTN: 6,465
SB: 20,698
BB: 10,625
UTG: 10,166
Hero (UTG+1): 7,758

Pre-Flop: (120) 5 5 dealt to Hero (UTG+1)
UTG folds, Hero raises to 218, 2 folds, MP2 calls 218, CO calls 218, 3 folds

Flop: (774) T A 8 (3 Players)
Hero bets 540, MP2 calls 540, CO folds

Turn: (1,854) 3 (2 Players)
Hero bets 1,250, MP2 calls 1,250

River: (4,354) K (2 Players)
Hero bets 3,250, MP2 folds

Results: 4,354 Pot
Hero mucked 5 5 and WON 4,354 (+2,346 NET)


There's actually not a lot to say about this one. It was some combination of the board texture and his timing that convinced me to pull the trigger on the river- he called the turn super-quickly, which I don't think he'd ever do with a monster given how many draws were out there. So I'm putting him on either a bare A or a pair and a flush draw. When the draws missed on the river, I figured he was folding nearly 100% of his range.

Plattsburgh was really the perfect guy for this next play. He's pretty aggressive pre-flop, and since I had position on him and stacks were deep, I'd already 3-bet him several times. I know that he's capable of 4-betting light, and I doubt he knows anything about me to think that I could 5-bet light. Plus, since he plays tournaments exclusively, he's rarely going to be playing with stack depths and opponents where light 5-betting is a consideration. So I think his 4-betting range here is going to be way too wide, since he probably doesn't expect me to move on him without Ace-King.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 80/160 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: 2,088
BB: 6,720
UTG: 21,908
UTG+1: 16,737
UTG+2: 16,462
MP1: 13,120
MP2: 7,129
CO: 15,744
Hero (BTN): 11,316

Pre-Flop: (240) Q A dealt to Hero (BTN)
5 folds, CO raises to 420, Hero raises to 1,111, 2 folds, CO raises to 3,124, Hero raises to 11,316 and is All-In, CO folds

Results: 6,488 Pot
Hero mucked Q A and WON 6,488 (+3,364 NET)


For what it's worth, it doesn't matter that I have AQs here, because I think his calling range is QQ+ and AK. The Ace is important, though, because it gives me equity against KK and more importantly because of card removal effects; with an A in my hand, he is that much less likely to hold AA or AK in the first place.

I didn't have much time to enjoy the nice stack, though, because two orbits later I had to make an excruciating fold:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 80/160 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: 2,488
BTN: 5,840
SB: 22,248
BB: 15,317
UTG: 16,222
UTG+1: 16,680
UTG+2: 5,609
MP1: 12,460
Hero (MP2): 14,360

Pre-Flop: (240) J A dealt to Hero (MP2)
2 folds, UTG+2 calls 160, MP1 folds, Hero raises to 666, 2 folds, SB calls 586, BB folds, UTG+2 calls 506

Flop: (2,158) 8 4 J (3 Players)
SB checks, UTG+2 checks, Hero bets 1,194, SB raises to 2,500, UTG+2 folds, Hero calls 1,306

Turn: (7,158) 6 (2 Players)
SB bets 3,000, Hero calls 3,000

River: (13,158) T (2 Players)
SB bets 5,000, Hero folds

Results: 13,158 Pot
SB mucked and WON 13,158 (+6,992 NET)


I very nearly folded the turn. For as little as 500 chips more, I would have. It took discipline, but between the T falling on the river to put me behind JT and the fact that the guy kept betting, I just couldn't justify a river call. With every bet, it becomes that much less likely that he's overvaluing QJ or KJ, which is all I can beat at this point. Without a read, it's a fold, though an annoying one.

I won a few more medium-sized pots, mostly by open shoving, but the blinds and later the antes were eating into me. Eventually I shoved over an early positio raise with AKs and lost a flip to 99 to bust out. That's the bad thing about well-structure tournaments: I played for seven hours and didn't even come close to winning anything.

FTOPS Event 17: $300 Rebuy NLHE 6-Max

Once again I had some rough table draws, ending up with a lot of high-stakes cash players. As I previously explained, this is bad in an FTOPS tournament for a number of reasons. One of them took me to valuetown on the first hand of the tournament:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 15/30 Blinds, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: 1,500
BB: 3,000
Hero (UTG): 3,000
CO: 3,000
BTN: 3,000

Pre-Flop: (45) 9 9 dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to 90, CO folds, BTN raises to 315, 2 folds, Hero calls 225

Flop: (675) 8 T Q (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: (675) 4 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 450, Hero calls 450

River: (1,575) Q (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 1,250, Hero calls 1,250

Results: 4,075 Pot
Hero mucked 9 9 (two pair, Queens and Nines) and LOST (-2,015 NET)
BTN showed A T (two pair, Queens and Tens) and WON 4,075 (+2,060 NET)


I got him back a bit by stealing this pot from him:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 15/30 Blinds, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: 2,835
SB: 3,150
Hero (BB): 3,065
UTG: 2,845
CO: 4,605

Pre-Flop: (45) 7 5 dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG calls 30, CO raises to 135, BTN folds, SB calls 120, Hero calls 105, UTG calls 105

Flop: (540) 9 T 8 (4 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks, CO checks

Turn: (540) K (4 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks, CO bets 360, SB folds, Hero raises to 980, 2 folds

Results: 1,260 Pot
Hero mucked 7 5 and WON 1,260 (+765 NET)


He virtually never has more than one pair here, and I think he has nothing at all a fair amount of the time. Most importantly, I don't think he ever expects me to be bluffing here. Plus I do have some outs if called.

I briefly got up a decent stack, but then another 25/50 NL player got seated on my immediate right. He raised from the SB, I re-raised 88 from the BB, and called his shove. He had AK and got there.

FTOPS Event 12: $1000 NLHE 6-Max

I knew Monday night's FTOPS was a 1K NLHE, but I was pleasantly surprised when I was "seated" to find only five other players at my table. I had no idea it was a 6-max! I was less pleasantly surprised to find two other regulars in the FTP 10/20 games at my table. Dammit, I play tournaments because I want to play with fish! Not only were these guys ten times better than the average player in the tournament, but I knew they were also going to be much more aggressive when stacks were deep. That meant I would have to play high variance poker, which I'd much prefer to avoid in such a well-structured event.

Thankfully, my table broke pretty quickly and I was moved to a softer one. This time, I got to be the undisputed aggressor. For a while, I was getting no respect:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 20/40 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: 8,010
Hero (MP): 6,890
CO: 7,410
BTN: 7,380
SB: 4,930
BB: 4,130

Pre-Flop: (60) J A dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to 120, CO calls 120, BTN calls 120, SB folds, BB raises to 520, Hero raises to 1,240, 2 folds, BB raises to 4,130 and is All-In, Hero folds

Results: 2,740 Pot
BB mucked and WON 2,740 (+1,500 NET)


Eventually, that reputation got me a big payday, though:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 60/120 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: 4,820
Hero (BB): 5,841
UTG: 7,055
MP: 9,651
CO: 6,488
BTN: 4,895

Pre-Flop: (180) A 4 dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG raises to 240, MP calls 240, 3 folds, Hero calls 120

Flop: (780) 8 9 T (3 Players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP checks

Turn: (780) K (3 Players)
Hero bets 601, UTG raises to 1,920, MP folds, Hero raises to 5,601 and is All-In, UTG calls 3,681

River: (11,982) 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 11,982 Pot
Hero showed A 4 (a flush, Ace high) and WON 11,982 (+6,141 NET)
UTG showed J K (a pair of Kings) and LOST (-5,841 NET)


But it wasn't to last. I lost two medium-sized pots on bad beats to short stacks, then Valuetowned myself against a guy who I still think may have been loose enough to show up with worse Aces here:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 140/280 Blinds, 25 Ante, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: 54,174
Hero (MP): 11,705
CO: 11,010
BTN: 10,714
SB: 19,723
BB: 5,384

Pre-Flop: (570) A J dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to 780, CO calls 780, 3 folds

Flop: (2,130) T 5 A (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO bets 1,320, Hero calls 1,320

Turn: (4,770) T (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: (4,770) 9 (2 Players)
Hero bets 2,580, CO calls 2,580

Results: 9,930 Pot
Hero showed A J (two pair, Aces and Tens) and LOST (-4,705 NET)
CO showed A Q (two pair, Aces and Tens) and WON 9,930 (+5,225 NET)


Finally, I shoved A9 on the button over a raise from the chipleader in the CO, but he had AQ and it was lights out for me.

Ansky Plays Good

I just happened to notice this post on fellow Poker Savvy Plus pro Dani "Ansky" Stern's blog. He posted the details on PokerHand, but I find it annoying to click a link just to see the action, so here's my summary:

Dani's playing 10/20 heads up no limit almost 250 BB deep. He 3-bets KJo from the BB and calls a small 4-bet. The flop comes 632r, and they check it through. Turn is an Ace, Dani checks, his opponent bets $400, Dani raises to $1000, the guy moves all in $4000, and Dani calls with King-high no draw. His opponent has J7, and Dani wins the pot.

What was he thinking? Visit his blog to find out.

Great Strategy Posts

Sorry all, I know I've been a little light lately on posts and especially on strategy stuff. Truthfully I haven't played much poker since the WSOP. This is due to some combination of having a lot of non-poker stuff to catch up on and also not feeling any pressure to put in hours now that I'm way ahead of pace to hit my monetary goal for the year. But if you're looking for some great strategy reading, may I suggest Cole South's (CTS) old blog?

His new blog, hosted at Cardrunners, is still decent, but there's actually more strategy content in the old one. Of particular interest is an article he posted about 4-betting versus aggressive 3-betters. This is something that at least in the higher stakes games people have improved upon by now, but it's a great example of how to identify and exploit a particular leak that you notice in your opponents' play.

Thanks to Korako for bringing the old CTS blog to my attention.

Day 5 Recap

Thanks for all the support guys. Today was ridiculous, such a tough table for most of the day, fought tooth and nail to get up to 2 mil then got moved to softer table and picked up quick 2 mil. Alex is an amazing player, had some awful luck today and kept coming back. Even on my right he was ridiculously tough to play against. He deserved to finish higher, but for selfish reasons, not sorry to see him go. Roothlus and Gbecks on my left, also very solid of course. Raptor got moved to table at end of day, but then I was moved not long after. Gah I feel like I've been dangling by the seat of my pants for four days now.

Sorry I don't have a pic with chips stacked up, but believe me that bag was heavy as hell and weighted down with beautiful green chips worth 25K each. I look forward to ripping it open and stacking it all up tomorrow while the rest of my table drools with jealousy.

Here's a wild hand: Alex on my right is super LAG, has been opening like 30% of pots. I've 3-bet a couple of times, recently he called OOP with 87s, check-raise bluffed a K-high flop, and showed when I folded. He told me to stop 3-betting him. I did.

Few orbits later, blinds 10K/20K/3K, he opens to 55K UTG+1, I call, tight player in HJ raises to 200K, Alex calls, I shove for 1 million, tight guy tanks and folds K's face up. Alex folds and tells me he had AK. Deliberately not revealing my hand here, but what do you think of their folds?

Another one, late in the day, I have 3M. Fat middle-aged guy from GA with like 1.5M opens to 80K at 12/24/3, I flat with AKo, everyone else folds. Flop Q44 he bets 125K I call. Turn A he bets 300K I call. River blank he bets 500K I tank. He doesn't seem like the type to triple barrel bluff, and I can't imagine I beat anything he's value betting. I'm afraid he has AQ. I tank some more and try to talk to him.

"Aren't you afraid I have a 4? Did that cross your mind?" No response.

"I wish I knew more about you sir. All I know is you are from Georgia." No response.

Finally I call, he tables KQ. I show AK, and he mucks angrily and asks, "How do you call the flop when I fire?"

I ignore him.

"You call with nothing on the flop?" he asks again.

"Sorry sir, but you wouldn't answer any of my questions," I tell him as I stack his chips.

I'm second overall, with 79 remaining. $77,000 locked up.

Day 4

I'm listed as Andrew Brooks on Poker News, finished the day with 566,500. That's down a fair bit from my peak of 750K but a hell of a lot better than the 65K I started with. I finished level 1 still at 65K, then won a flip for my life against Brandon Adams AK >JJ. After that I won two more big pots against Brandon when he bluffed into my top pair and another with top pair against another really aggressive guy on Brandon's right. I 4-bet AA pre-flop against the same dude, maybe not the best way to play it, but got a decent pot regardless. Then I busted one guy QQ > TT, then busted Mike Mercedes (whom I later learned was MikeyMer- we dropped the ball on that one, research team) with shoving Q9 over his check-raise on a 984 flop to bust his A8. That was all during level 2.

After that I mostly just played good until the bubble, then dropped a brutal beat on some poor bastard named Mitch. We were hand for hand with 668 players left, I raised to 9K (at 1500/3000/400) UTG with 87s because this shorter stack was in the BB. He called, and we saw a Q87 flop. He lead out, I shoved, he called and flipped 77. I'm a sonofabitch and rivered an 8 to bubble him.

Last level I dropped nearly 200K, but I don't think I did anything spewy. Just raised decent hands pre-flop and either missed flops or folded to 3-bets or called 3-bets in good spots but missed flop. No regrets, and still in good shape for today.

We don't start until 1:00, but I'm going for breakfast now. Here's my table draw, looks favorable at first glance, though I haven't googled anyone yet. I'll be doing some research of my own after breakfast, but anything you want to e-mail to me would be greatly appreciated.

245 Huyen Vo Houston Texas 224000 O22 1

174 Graddus Terwiss Cha Van 0 DNR 318000 O22 2

299 Randy Benton Rolla Missouri 176000 O22 3

89 Hai Bo Chu Melbourne Australia 453500 O22 4

18 James Mills Downey California 757000 O22 6 (2_2)

467 Aleksandar Rasic Troy New York 35000 O22 7

255 Cedric Kolstad Mesa Arizona 217000 O22 8

50 Andrew Brokos 566,500 9

Thank to everyone who's been leaving comments as well. It's great to know people are cheering for me, and I'm flattered to have fans I didn't even know existed!

Ramping Up the Aggression

With deeper stacks (these hands are all from deep tables), you need to be, not necessarily more aggressive, but aggressive in more situations. With 100 BBs's, a 4-bet squeeze will almost always commit your stack, which means there's only a narrow range of hands with which you can make this play. Showdown equity is always important.

But as stacks get deeper, there is more room to maneuver. You can put in more bets in more spots and still have room to fold. That doesn't mean you can go crazy against just anyone. Reads are important, as you need to know that your opponents are capable of letting go of a hand and/or having a less-than-stellar hand in the first place.

In this first one, MP and CO were both very aggressive pre-flop. I was certain they'd fold often enough to make this profitable. The only x-factor was the Button. I wasn't sure what would be his standards for cold calling a 3-bet. But he was also deep, and I figured that coming in cold for the fourth bet would get him off of even some pretty strong holdings:

Full Tilt Poker, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BB: $458
UTG: $400
MP: $1,303.30
CO: $1,099
BTN: $827.40
Hero (SB): $915

Pre-Flop: T 8 dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG folds, MP raises to $14, CO raises to $48, BTN calls $48, Hero raises to $210, 4 folds

Results: $162 Pot
Hero mucked T 8 and WON $162 (+$114 NET)


In this second one, the SB and I had both been aggressive, and this was the second time I'd seen the BB put in a cold 4-bet. This is definitely a riskier play to make, but for that reason I think it will also have better fold equity. BB and I have some history together, but I still think this is a tough spot for him if he holds QQ.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: $1,033.75
Hero (MP): $3,620
CO: $2,026
BTN: $1,010
SB: $2,005
BB: $4,111

Pre-Flop: J 9 dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $35, 2 folds, SB raises to $125, BB raises to $350, Hero raises to $1,000, SB folds, BB calls $650

Flop: ($2,125) 3 A K (2 Players)
BB bets $700, Hero folds

Results: $2,125 Pot ($3 Rake)
BB mucked and WON $2,122 (+$1,122 NET)


While waiting for BB to act, I regretted raising quite so much. I wished I had made it 900 instead of 1000. I felt it would have put him to essentially the same decision, as I really didn't think he would ever flat call this raise. When he did, that confused me. I think he definitely would have shoved or folded AK pre-flop, and probably would have shoved in with AA and KK as well.

At the same time, this is a really bad board for him to lead out on as a bluff, and it's hard to put him on a hand that would need to bluff pre-flop. Maybe he was doing this as a probe with QQ? I don't know, it was tempting to shove in, and maybe with second pair or a gut shot or something with even a little equity against his calling range, I would have. In retrospect, floating seems like a good option, looking to bet the turn if he checks. I really don't think he could fire a second bluff if I called the flop. Meh, folding can't be that bad.

Reads didn't play as big of a role in this one, I think my hand pretty much plays itself here:

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP: $692.70
CO: $1,659
BTN: $1,142.25
Hero (SB): $1,725.25
BB: $691.60
UTG: $813

Pre-Flop: A K dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG raises to $21, MP calls $21, CO folds, BTN raises to $72, Hero raises to $225, 4 folds

Results: $192 Pot
Hero mucked A K and WON $192 (+$120 NET)


If the Button shoves in, it's a crappy spot, but with AK and 20% of the effective stacks in pre-flop against an aggressive opponent (I've seen him shove in some dumb spots before), I think I've got to call it off. The more important thing is that that won't happen that often, and there really isn't a better option than re-raising with AK. Flat calling and playing out of position isn't appealing, nor is folding.


That doesn't mean I'm incapable of 4-bet/folding AK pre-flop- it just depends on the opponent:

Full Tilt Poker, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $800
BB: $523.30
UTG: $974.30
MP: $936.40
CO: $150.50
BTN: $1,771.40

Pre-Flop: K A dealt to Hero (SB)
2 folds, CO raises to $12, BTN raises to $44, Hero raises to $155, 2 folds, BTN raises to $1,771.40 and is All-In, Hero folds

Results: $326 Pot
BTN mucked and WON $326 (+$171 NET)


My only regret here is that if I'm going to fold, I ought to raise a little less. $125 would probably do the trick.