A lot of players are torn about what to do when they know an opponent is frequently betting the flop without a hand. Is it better to float, or to bluff-raise? I’ve written a strategy article on the subject, but … Read more…
This wasn’t anything that I planned from the get-go. It was just that on each street, I kept feeling like he could be weak enough for an underbet to show a profit. I almost shoved the turn, and then I … Read more…
About 3 hours into today’s $300 6-max, I got moved to a table with two Pocket Fives superstars. One was to my immediate right, and one two seats to my left. We tangled in a few interesting spots, and while … Read more…
Finished a very frustrating 12/500 in this, capping off a long and shitty day of poker. I was in very good shape approaching the bubble, then got scooped in two sizable pots to get busted down to average as we … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com MP3 ($126.70) CO ($508.10) Button ($470.80) SB ($443.50) Hero (BB) ($823) UTG ($469.40) UTG+1 ($793.10) MP1 ($400) MP2 ($376.90) Preflop: Hero is BB with 9, 10 1 … Read more…
FWIW I shouldn’t have 3-bet this guy pre-flop because he rarely calls but often 4-bets and KQs isn’t quite so good that I’m happy about 3-bet-calling it (although I did after remembering who this guy was). Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, … Read more…
28 players remaining in the FTP Friday Night Fight, 27 places pay. As soon as I saw this flop, I told myself that if the pre-flop raiser made a continuation bet I’d have to either check-call or check-fold. I just … Read more…
Following hot on the heels of last week’s “What’s Your Play?”, here’s another hand where there’s a full house on the board and I beat it. This time I did go for the overbet just because in this case my … Read more…
This hand generated some really interesting comments and discussion both at Thinking Poker and at Cardplayer. Thanks to everyone who participated. Some of you have seen the results already, but for those who haven’t, here’s what happened: Full Tilt No-Limit … Read more…
Second hand of the Stars $300. I figured I was going to take it easily on the turn because there just aren’t strong hands in BB’s range. I figure randoms raise 2-pair on the flop like 80% of the time … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (CO) ($2068) Button ($1200) SB ($1140) BB ($2034) UTG ($1082) MP ($872) Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, Q 2 folds, Hero bets $30, Button calls $30, … Read more…
You guys put me in my place earlier this week, so let’s see what you think of this one. All of the Villains, but especially the big blind, are among the tighter and more straight-forward regulars who play in this … Read more…
Thanks to all the commenters who have contributed to some very good discussion this week. Let’s keep it going! Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Button ($518.20) SB ($490.30) BB ($276.80) Hero … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB ($1703) BB ($743.05) UTG ($600) MP ($201.05) Hero (Button) ($609) Preflop: Hero is Button with 7, 7 UTG bets $18, 1 fold, Hero calls $18, 1 fold, … Read more…
An overbet seemed like a good idea at the time… PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com UTG ($471.10) MP ($497.25) CO ($380.70) Hero (Button) ($445.15) SB ($1167.20) BB ($400) Preflop: Hero is Button … Read more…
I tried to play some small stakes games while taking Amtrak from Boston to New York yesterday. There were too many tunnels for the aircard to be reliable, but I played this hand before giving up on it. I was … Read more…
I’ve bragged about some creative bluffs recently, so here’s one where I got owned: Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB ($434) BB ($160) UTG ($400) UTG+1 ($641.60) Hero (MP1) ($1081.40) MP2 … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com MP2 ($872.90) MP3 ($1010.20) CO ($389.50) Button ($628.80) SB ($444.90) Hero (BB) ($1552.50) UTG ($442.60) UTG+1 ($401.20) MP1 ($1206.60) Preflop: Hero is BB with 2, 2 2 … Read more…
Different opponent from yesterday’s hand, but similar situation where a guy is simultaneously pissing me off and making it very obvious that he doesn’t have the nuts. I contemplated floating, but this is a really good hand to just ship … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com UTG ($424.85) UTG+1 ($167) MP1 ($435) Hero (MP2) ($1165.50) MP3 ($638.40) CO ($753) Button ($744.75) SB ($606.60) BB ($433) Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 5, 5 3 … Read more…
Amidst all the excitement of the WCOOP Main Event yesterday, I also final tabled the $250 monthly tournament on Cake Poker. I wish I could say there were interesting hands, but honestly the structure is so bad that pretty much … Read more…
It was a good table draw but a bad tournament for me. The only player I recognized from the start was Jason Strasser, who is of course very very good but was thankfully seated two to my right. Everyone else … Read more…
Believe it or not there weren’t too many interesting hands from yesterday’s WCOOP. I was always at really aggressive tables, so generally the best strategy for me was to hunker down and play good cards. Here was one sort of … Read more…
After 14.5 hours, I managed to take 3rd out of 1066 runners in the $500 1 Rebuy 1 Add-on. It was a very very tough tournament from start to finish. I at least felt like I had a much more … Read more…
Chris Moneymaker was on my immediate left for most of the $500 rebuy today. To my surprise, he mostly played pretty well. He was probably a little too loose-aggressive pre-flop, but that’s far from the worst leak to have and … Read more…
UTG and I have been together for a few orbits now. This is the third time he’s raised from this position, and he once showed down A8s (for the nut flush vs. my second nut flush, which amazingly didn’t cost … Read more…
Despite nearly 2000 runners, there was actually $44,000 of overlay in this one. Perhaps fewer people used their rebuy than Stars expected? I made a bit of a run, finishing 90th. I liked the structure on this one a lot. … Read more…
I thought it was me. Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (MP2) ($1886.10) MP3 ($505.70) CO ($1569.40) Button ($400) SB ($145.90) BB ($188) UTG ($1787.10) UTG+1 ($400) MP1 ($562.60) Preflop: Hero … Read more…
Players were matched with our Round 5 opponents last night, so I had the chance to google my adversary. He looked to be a Pocket Fives guy who used to play some big MTT’s like the daily 100r and such … Read more…
We played four rounds today. The first one started at 13:00 and I finished a little before 20:00, though many tables were still playing for some time thereafter. My first opponent was by far the toughest. He’s a regular with … Read more…
I’ve posted a few hands recently where I floated AK and ended up bluffing the river to get an opponent off of a pocket pair. Here’s another: Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from … Read more…
I wasn’t going to play the first $200 because it started so early in the day (10AM here on the West coast), and I knew today was already going to be a long day. But I happened to notice that … Read more…
(Sorry had trouble finding a converter for PLO8) I mean I’m no expert but jeebus, guy cold calls a 3-bet out of position with AKT8 and then stacks off with top-pair, a gutshot, and a backdoor flush draw: PokerStars Game … Read more…
I finished around 163 out of 2300-some runners (it was an odd number, so I guess they did byes for Round 1) in the $200 heads up WCOOP, meaning I went out in my fifth match. My first opponent was … Read more…
Today was the $300 Antes Up WCOOP event, which I think is just a fantastic tournament structure. For those who don’t know, the blinds stay at 5/5 for the entire tournament, but the antes increase with each level. So like … Read more…
From yesterday’s $300 6-max shootout WCOOP: I’m curious how you all would handle this river. The table generally had been pretty aggressive pre-flop, and believe it or not I’d been pretty well behaved. Villain was the most aggressive 3-better, with … Read more…
Although we started with 325 BB’s, I managed to blow off my stack in just about an hour. PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 1050 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (9 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Button (t7525) Hero (SB) (t7834) BB (t7303) … Read more…
I expect Villain’s flop raise to be his only barrel if he is bluffing. That is, he’s usually going to check down his air and bet only if the river improves his hand to one that beats mine. PokerStars No-Limit … Read more…
The second installment of my trip report from the main event of the 2010 World Series of Poker, covering Days 3 and 4, has just been published in the September issue of 2+2 Magazine. Here’s an excerpt: I came into … Read more…
Last week’s double float cost me about half my chips on the first hand of the $700 NAPT-Los Angeles satellite and was not so popular with the commenters. Here’s a similar bluff somewhat deeper in the same tournament this week. … Read more…
3 spots pay PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 109 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 50 Ante (4 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (UTG) (t8288) Button (t219) SB (t4401) BB (t17092) Hero’s M: 10.36 Preflop: Hero is UTG with 8, 8 Hero calls … Read more…
I really had no idea what to put UTG+1 on here, but I didn’t think he’d play anything better than 99 this way on the flop. Obviously the K is rather unlikely to hit him, and while his turn bet … Read more…
Honestly I can probably even fold the flop. Granted I have one of the best bluff-catching hands, but it’s just so unlikely Villain is bluffing here. Calling the flop to see what he does on the turn reduces the chance … Read more…
This first hand is an interesting juxtaposition to the failed bluff that I posted yesterday. On the one hand, this player was more of a known quantity than was yesterday’s Villain. On the other hand, my range is way wider … Read more…
Well, I was right about everything except this player’s ability to read hands/make a remotely disciplined fold. Zeebo Theorem FTW: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 700 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (8 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Button (t3000) SB (t3000) BB … Read more…
The problem: I’ve usually got the best hand, but I don’t think a bet is getting called by worse. The solution: Bet small and call the check-raise. The catch: They always have it. 🙁 PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (5 … Read more…
I won’t be a back-to-back champion in the $2000 2-day FTOPS. I actually had quite good luck with my table draws, recognizing no one at my starting table and only two players over the course of the three and a … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Button ($3902.35) SB ($1434) BB ($911.25) Hero (UTG) ($2747) MP ($1000) CO ($1242.25) Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, J Hero bets $40, 2 folds, Button calls … Read more…
I had a solid Sunday today, no wins but made two deep runs. I took 2nd out of nearly 1000 runners in the Stars $150 6-max. The competition was surprisingly tough for a $150 tournament: I recognized three good players … Read more…
This was the second rush tournament I’ve played, and while I miss having reads and establishing dynamics at the table, I will say that rush otherwise allows for great tournament structures. You get in a ton of hands at each … Read more…
I’ve been taking a beating in heads up games recently. There were one or two cases of bad game selection, but for the most part I don’t think I’ve playing or running all that badly. I’m losing to people against … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com MP ($2234.75) CO ($350) Button ($1000) SB ($2029) BB ($3622.05) Hero (UTG) ($1183) Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, J Hero bets $40, 2 folds, Button calls … Read more…
…is anything else. Lots of aggressive history, plus the BB is sitting out, which always makes things fun. PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, 162 Tournament, 400/800 Blinds 100 Ante (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB (t13288) BB (t16067) UTG … Read more…
…and not necessarily a good one. Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (BB) ($5664) SB ($8603) Preflop: Hero is BB with 8, K SB calls $25, Hero checks Flop: ($100) K, 2, Q (2 players) … Read more…
This time I’m on the receiving end. Villain is ordinarily a pretty big nit, but he doesn’t like me much and seems to enjoy putting moves on me. I was calling any river, though obviously this one makes it a … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com BB ($1000) Hero (SB) ($1807.80) Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, 6 Hero bets $12, BB calls $8 Flop: ($25.60) 3, 5, 6 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets $19, BB … Read more…
The starting table was about what I was expecting. There were a couple of good players, one of whom quickly lost a flip to me with AK to my JJ to get busted, and then a few quite weak players. … Read more…
What a run. In the last two days I’ve 20x’ed my chips without ever seeing TT, QQ, KK, or AA. I did have AK quite a few times today, though, and I connected with a few flops when it counted. … Read more…
Today was everything that Wednesday was not, namely fun and profitable. I had a very enjoyable table and showed a handsome profit to boot. Early on I doubled up with Q’s vs. 9’s on a 4h 4s 3h 2h board. … Read more…
This is one of the most complex (some might say FPS-y) plays I’ve ever made. Just to give you the situation, the Button, with whom I’m 200 BB’s deep, is an extremely good player. In my opinion he’s one of … Read more…
I know, I know, it’s not really that exciting. I believe this is the first time I’ve correctly called with J-high on the river, though! Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB … Read more…
Villain and I had been heads up for a while, and based on how he’d been playing, I was pretty confident he had either a flush or a bluff on the turn but not a full house. My intention was … Read more…
Villain is a high-stakes MTT and SNG player who’s recently been sitting in the shallow high-stakes cash games as well. Despite his success, my opinion of him is that he makes a lot of borderline-bad calls and shoves. Probably I … Read more…
Different opponents, but similar mistakes: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com BB ($2300.05) UTG ($1358.40) MP ($1222.80) CO ($616) Hero (Button) ($2405.20) SB ($3304.20) Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 9 1 fold, MP … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com UTG ($1541.35) Hero (MP) ($3040) CO ($1616.80) Button ($615.60) SB ($1609.55) BB ($996.10) Preflop: Hero is MP with ?? 1 fold, Hero bets $24, CO calls $24, … Read more…
Granted my flop call isn’t the greatest, but I think most of his bluffing range is just giving up pretty much any turn, so I’m not too worried about getting bluffed out when I’m ahead. Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, … Read more…