A commenter on yesterday’s re-squeeze hand remarked that even at high stakes he felt like Villain would pretty much always have AK when he overcalled the first pre-flop raise and then shoved over a re-raise and a call. Having just played this hand, I couldn’t resist posting it:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($400)
BB ($400)
UTG ($385.80)
MP ($484.40)
CO ($515.90)
Hero (Button) ($421.90)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, 10
2 folds, CO bets $12, Hero calls $12, SB raises to $52, 1 fold, CO calls $40, Hero raises to $421.90 (All-In), 2 folds

Total pot: $160 | Rake: $0

Results:
Hero didn’t show K, 10.
Outcome: Hero won $160

Granted I wasn’t an overcaller, which means I can rep a monster more credibly, but then the pot’s also a lot smaller, meaning my risk: reward ratio is greater and I shouldn’t be light as often.

Villain, a decent reg, ridiculed my call here, but I think he was just tilted. I need less than 40% equity, and while he can maybe have QQ here, I’d say he has KK+ and AK pretty much never (note that he’s the second caller of the initial raise).

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

SB ($2000)
Hero (BB) ($2000)
UTG ($1890)
MP ($1370)
CO ($2000)
Button ($2107)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, Q
UTG bets $60, MP calls $60, CO calls $60, 2 folds, Hero raises to $300, 1 fold, MP calls $240, CO raises to $2000 (All-In), Hero calls $1700 (All-In), 1 fold

Flop: ($4370) Q, 6, 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($4370) 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($4370) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $4370 | Rake: $3  Read the complete post...

Just as a quick follow-up to yesterday’s review of GoGo Wireless on AirTran, I thought I’d let everyone know that the free wireless internet at Boston’s Logan Airport is also quite suitable for poker playing:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $80.00 BB (5 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($5680)
UTG ($20005)
Hero (MP) ($8120)
Button ($11344.55)
SB ($16116)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Q, Q
1 fold, Hero bets $240, 1 fold, SB raises to $880, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1888, SB raises to $16116 (All-In), Hero calls $6232 (All-In)

Flop: ($16320) A, J, 3 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($16320) 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($16320) 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $16320 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had 10, 10 (one pair, tens).
Hero had Q, Q (one pair, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $16317

I’ll tell you up front that I hate flying AirTran. The flights are late, the seats are cramped, and the snacks suck. However, they offer wicked cheap flights even at the last minute, so I find myself flying with them from time to time. Since hearing that they now have wireless internet on all their flights, I’ve been curious to try it out. Yesterday, I got the chance.

It was just a short hop from Baltimore to Boston, but I gladly dropped $5 to get access to the WiFi for the duration of the flight. If it was actually reliable enough to play poker, it would be well worth the investment and could make future flights a lot more palatable (and profitable).  Read the complete post...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) ($400)
UTG ($400)
MP ($300)
Button ($414)
SB ($425)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, A
2 folds, Button bets $12, 1 fold, Hero calls $8

Flop: ($26) 6, J, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $20, Hero calls $20

Turn: ($66) K (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($66) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $44, Button raises to $116, Hero raises to $368 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $298 | Rake: $2

Results:
Hero didn’t show 10, A (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $296

I called the flop thinking A-high would be good often enough, but by the river I felt like there was more value in turning my hand into a bluff by leading out.  Read the complete post...

My range for 3-betting an UTG raiser from UTG+1 isn’t going to be all that wide, and by the river, AK is probably closer to the bottom of it than the top:

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

CO ($4925)
Button ($6246)
SB ($3023)
BB ($7794)
UTG ($5000)
Hero (MP) ($5000)

Preflop: Hero is MP with K, A
UTG bets $150, Hero raises to $450, 4 folds, UTG calls $300

Flop: ($975) J, 2, A (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $650, UTG calls $650

Turn: ($2275) J (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

River: ($2275) Q (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $2275 | Rake: $3

Results:
UTG had 10, A (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
Hero had K, A (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $2272  Read the complete post...

With another month behind us, it’s time to review my progress towards my Yearly Resolutions.

Goal 1: Average 15 Hours/Week Playing My “Regular” Games

I’ve found that 15 hours/week enables me to earn a pretty healthy income, far more than I could make at any real job I could get, without impeding too much on my lifestyle.

I consider my regular games to be anywhere from 2/4 NL to 50/100 NL as well as big tournaments like the Sunday Majors, the FTOPS, and the WCOOP; time spent playing any of these will count towards my goal.

Ahead of pace by nearly a week!

Goal 2: Earn $X in NLHE Cash Games

It’s very tough to predict or control what I will earn playing tournaments. With cash games, though, it’s mostly a question of game selection and putting in hours. It’s not something I’m going to announce publicly, but I am going to set a target, and I am going to put in extra hours towards the end of year if I’m on pace to come up short.  Read the complete post...

My latest poker strategy article, now appearing in the March 2010 issue of Two Plus Two Magazine, explores the many nuances of continuation betting against tough opponents. Here’s an excerpt from Continuation Betting for Advanced Players:

Poker is also a math game and the best way to resolve those “But what if he knows that I know that he knows that I know…” paradoxes is to look for some mathematical grounding for your strategy. In this case, if you can make an educated guess about your opponent’s pre-flop calling range, and if you can honestly identify your own pre-flop range, then you can determine which of you a particular flop is more likely to help.

Please let me know what you think of it!