I'm currently re-doing my whole computer setup...I had this pirated copy of XP that would sometimes blurt out odd error messages in Cyrillic, and it was starting to blue screen me every day, so I said enough. I wiped that partition of the Macbook, went out to Best Buy and installed Windows 7 on the other half of the hard drive. HOWEVER, I was experiencing some snafus in the install, so when Mookie time came around at 10pm, I had to play on my little netbook, without PT3 or anything. Just as well.....2nd place!
Usual cast of characters, and I think I doubled up very early with KK which put me into the 6-7K range, where I remained for most of the tournament. I don't have PT3 to help me out with eventful hands here, but basically it came down to me and Numbono in an epic heads-up match for first. I was outchipped 37K to 9K to start, and got it up to 17 against him with a full house on the turn, but about 20 hands later I took a shot on a flopped flush draw that didn't come. Still $40 ain't bad.
Still, happy with my result. Solid, disciplined poker that I should be doing more of. I almost hate to say it, but a certain training site I dropped some cash on is actually helping my game. We'll see how that factors in long-term. On to Poker Thursdays!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The rakeback question
So, I can't get rakeback from Full Tilt.
I've been a member for years, unless you sign up through a rakeback site, you can't get it, blah blah blah. So my question is, should I even be playing these cash games at FT? Sure, I can play tournaments and what not, no significant rakeback advantage there....but should I move my cash interests elsewhere?
I've got rakeback at Doyle's, though I rarely if ever play there...plus PT3 can't do my hands there, yet. Two places I have never in my life signed up for are Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker. I'm seriously thinking about grinding my cash bankroll in one of those places soon.
Besides, as far as promotions go...Full Tilt kind of blows. the Iron Man thing is a bit of a joke...Stars blows them out of the water in that department with their Points...so perhaps I should just move cash to Stars and grind my cash there. I reckon the competition would be significantly weaker. What do you all think?
I've been a member for years, unless you sign up through a rakeback site, you can't get it, blah blah blah. So my question is, should I even be playing these cash games at FT? Sure, I can play tournaments and what not, no significant rakeback advantage there....but should I move my cash interests elsewhere?
I've got rakeback at Doyle's, though I rarely if ever play there...plus PT3 can't do my hands there, yet. Two places I have never in my life signed up for are Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker. I'm seriously thinking about grinding my cash bankroll in one of those places soon.
Besides, as far as promotions go...Full Tilt kind of blows. the Iron Man thing is a bit of a joke...Stars blows them out of the water in that department with their Points...so perhaps I should just move cash to Stars and grind my cash there. I reckon the competition would be significantly weaker. What do you all think?
Monday, February 8, 2010
1st in FT 45SnG! We made up. Plus a strat ?.
It's true, after a huge downswing with these suckers, I broke up with the 45 Super Turbos. We weren't communicating...I needed my space. But just like a comfortable shoe, my cold lonely nights alone, bubbling PLO tournaments, I needed your warm embrace again.
Not to mention, the bankroll was, well, suffering($123) and I needed a boost. Soooo. First try, a 3-way chop for $36 bucks, then tonight, a two-way chop for $53!! Oh, yeah, then busts in a couple of tournaments, and I've settled back around $190. Down $10 after a little over two weeks of monitoring...baby steps.
A little strategy question for my readers. How do you folks play Arag suited in middle position? what if you get popped by the hijack or the button when you limp? Is calling a -EV play? What about in a tournament? Sure, I know relative stack size is an important issue here but I've been reading up on this and people have a lot of varying opinions.
Not to mention, the bankroll was, well, suffering($123) and I needed a boost. Soooo. First try, a 3-way chop for $36 bucks, then tonight, a two-way chop for $53!! Oh, yeah, then busts in a couple of tournaments, and I've settled back around $190. Down $10 after a little over two weeks of monitoring...baby steps.
A little strategy question for my readers. How do you folks play Arag suited in middle position? what if you get popped by the hijack or the button when you limp? Is calling a -EV play? What about in a tournament? Sure, I know relative stack size is an important issue here but I've been reading up on this and people have a lot of varying opinions.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Forgot to add...
I forgot to add another interesting hand that occurred with Taal(sp?) not long after he cracked my Queens with AK. The hand isn't as interesting as the post script.
So, I am yet again dealt QQ. I yo 11, and get two callers, including Taal. Flop comes X-K-J. Taal bets out some small amount, I call. Queen comes on the turn. He checks, I check behind. River is a blank, I throw out 25, and he raises me 50 more. I tank, thinking he must have A-10, but I had just gotten my Queens crushed earlier...he can't crush a set twice. Now, he is in the 9 seat, on the other side of the dealer...I am fiddling with my chips, and as I am saying, "Well, either you've got me beat, or..." he flips over A10! I was truly about to call, as Taal says"I heard chips and I thought he bet!" Your thought saved me 50 bucks!
So, I am yet again dealt QQ. I yo 11, and get two callers, including Taal. Flop comes X-K-J. Taal bets out some small amount, I call. Queen comes on the turn. He checks, I check behind. River is a blank, I throw out 25, and he raises me 50 more. I tank, thinking he must have A-10, but I had just gotten my Queens crushed earlier...he can't crush a set twice. Now, he is in the 9 seat, on the other side of the dealer...I am fiddling with my chips, and as I am saying, "Well, either you've got me beat, or..." he flips over A10! I was truly about to call, as Taal says"I heard chips and I thought he bet!" Your thought saved me 50 bucks!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Running good on Thursday!
Off into the chilly streets of Manhattan for yet another installment of Poker Thursdays!
I had contemplated a $65 tourney going on at Stephanie's, a place I've been to a couple times, but instead elected to go to my normal spot, currently ScottyCards on 36th. Some of the usual crew was already in full swing 7-handed when I took my seat. Looking at the stacks, I elected to just buy in for $200. I was in the 1 seat, which is new for me there...typically I am one of the first to arrive and usually place myself in 5 or 6. As it turns out, I may be sitting there more often!
For the first half hour things were mostly uneventful...a couple of ho-hum chip up hands occurred and I think I might have been somewhere around $225 when I am dealt KK UTG +1. Knowing the table like I do, a typical raise to 7 usually always gets a lot of calls, so I push it to 11. 4 callers! The flop comes K-X-J, with a heart draw, nothing to a straight. In the hand are some people that I know will fold out with any bet, but Sean is in the hand, and he is usually game for some action, so I fake C-Bet the same amount, 12. Everyone folds but Sean, who calls. The turn is another jack, and I've got the boat! I check, Sean raises to something like 20, and I call. The river fills out a flush draw, and I check, almost sure that Sean will bet it out, which he does...25, I raise him 50 more. He stews about it, calling out all the hands that can beat him, and he calls my 50, flipping over a Jack. When I turn over KK, it was as if no one saw it coming...lots of 'nice hand' and what not, but also some discussion as to whether slow-playing my set might have put me in a lot of trouble. Has anyone ever heard of extracting value? I felt like I knew my opponent's range, and played accordingly. This exchange hopped me up to somewhere around the $500 range. I caught a set somewhere else along the way, and bluffed a couple of ace boards, and I was inching close to $600 when this hand came up.
Taal(sp) is a guy I've played with at Scotty's a few times. Kind of a LAG, but totally passive on the turn and river. I've bet into him with lots of marginal hands only to see him fold a lot. I think he knows it too, as he's always wanting to mix it up with me, raise when I'm in the BB, etc. I welcome this kind of action, because eventually, I'll get him, and I've stacked him off at least twice in recent memory. So, his initial $150 is gone, and here he has already reloaded once, maybe twice. With $81 left, he shoves all-in ahead of me. I lookdown to see QQ. Now, I'm somewhere around $580 and this isn't much of a dent for me, so I call. He shows AK, so we have a race. Flop, nothing, turn nothing, river - an ace. He is obviously pleased with his play, and out of the corner of my eye in the following hand I can see him looking over at me, seeing how I am reacting - which of course, I am not. I just shrug it off as the ace hits the board, and when he doesnt get the reaction he wants, he eventually stops looking. Two hands later, I cap off a successful evening...
I'm dealt 5d7d . Scotty bets out 6 and gets several callers, including me. The flop comes 468 rainbow. Doink! Scotty, acting first, pushes out 30, with something like 80 behind. Scotty must have an overpair, I am thinking...but he's got a shallow stack. So I only raise him for 20 more, thinking that'll be enough to bring him along, but he shoves his whole stack in! I gladly call, and Scotty shows 10s, and is a little dumbstruck at the 57 I show him. The board pairs, but another 10 does not fall, and I am back up to around $600 again.
Shortly after, I announce a 1am departure at midnight, and 3 others echo the same. I limp a lot of pots, win some, lose some, and cash out at $570, for a $370 profit for the night, which I think is somewhere around my 2nd best showing at Scotty's/Matt's/Wall Street.
All in all, a satisfying evening of poker! Yay me.
I had contemplated a $65 tourney going on at Stephanie's, a place I've been to a couple times, but instead elected to go to my normal spot, currently ScottyCards on 36th. Some of the usual crew was already in full swing 7-handed when I took my seat. Looking at the stacks, I elected to just buy in for $200. I was in the 1 seat, which is new for me there...typically I am one of the first to arrive and usually place myself in 5 or 6. As it turns out, I may be sitting there more often!
For the first half hour things were mostly uneventful...a couple of ho-hum chip up hands occurred and I think I might have been somewhere around $225 when I am dealt KK UTG +1. Knowing the table like I do, a typical raise to 7 usually always gets a lot of calls, so I push it to 11. 4 callers! The flop comes K-X-J, with a heart draw, nothing to a straight. In the hand are some people that I know will fold out with any bet, but Sean is in the hand, and he is usually game for some action, so I fake C-Bet the same amount, 12. Everyone folds but Sean, who calls. The turn is another jack, and I've got the boat! I check, Sean raises to something like 20, and I call. The river fills out a flush draw, and I check, almost sure that Sean will bet it out, which he does...25, I raise him 50 more. He stews about it, calling out all the hands that can beat him, and he calls my 50, flipping over a Jack. When I turn over KK, it was as if no one saw it coming...lots of 'nice hand' and what not, but also some discussion as to whether slow-playing my set might have put me in a lot of trouble. Has anyone ever heard of extracting value? I felt like I knew my opponent's range, and played accordingly. This exchange hopped me up to somewhere around the $500 range. I caught a set somewhere else along the way, and bluffed a couple of ace boards, and I was inching close to $600 when this hand came up.
Taal(sp) is a guy I've played with at Scotty's a few times. Kind of a LAG, but totally passive on the turn and river. I've bet into him with lots of marginal hands only to see him fold a lot. I think he knows it too, as he's always wanting to mix it up with me, raise when I'm in the BB, etc. I welcome this kind of action, because eventually, I'll get him, and I've stacked him off at least twice in recent memory. So, his initial $150 is gone, and here he has already reloaded once, maybe twice. With $81 left, he shoves all-in ahead of me. I lookdown to see QQ. Now, I'm somewhere around $580 and this isn't much of a dent for me, so I call. He shows AK, so we have a race. Flop, nothing, turn nothing, river - an ace. He is obviously pleased with his play, and out of the corner of my eye in the following hand I can see him looking over at me, seeing how I am reacting - which of course, I am not. I just shrug it off as the ace hits the board, and when he doesnt get the reaction he wants, he eventually stops looking. Two hands later, I cap off a successful evening...
I'm dealt 5d7d . Scotty bets out 6 and gets several callers, including me. The flop comes 468 rainbow. Doink! Scotty, acting first, pushes out 30, with something like 80 behind. Scotty must have an overpair, I am thinking...but he's got a shallow stack. So I only raise him for 20 more, thinking that'll be enough to bring him along, but he shoves his whole stack in! I gladly call, and Scotty shows 10s, and is a little dumbstruck at the 57 I show him. The board pairs, but another 10 does not fall, and I am back up to around $600 again.
Shortly after, I announce a 1am departure at midnight, and 3 others echo the same. I limp a lot of pots, win some, lose some, and cash out at $570, for a $370 profit for the night, which I think is somewhere around my 2nd best showing at Scotty's/Matt's/Wall Street.
All in all, a satisfying evening of poker! Yay me.
Mookie and a +EV day
I did enjoy the Mookie last night despite placing sixth on a horrible suckout...
Full Tilt Poker Game #18165952877: The Mookie (135782084), Table 3 - 400/800 Ante 100 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:34:26 ET - 2010/02/04
Seat 1: heffmike (11,170)
Seat 2: madbrooklyn (8,070)
Seat 6: lucko21 (22,878)
Seat 7: NYRambler (10,475)
Seat 8: hoyazo (13,733)
Seat 9: edgie212 (5,674)
heffmike antes 100
madbrooklyn antes 100
lucko21 antes 100
NYRambler antes 100
hoyazo antes 100
edgie212 antes 100
edgie212 posts the small blind of 400
heffmike posts the big blind of 800
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to edgie212 [5d 5s]
madbrooklyn folds
lucko21 folds
NYRambler raises to 2,100
hoyazo folds
edgie212 raises to 5,574, and is all in
heffmike folds
NYRambler calls 3,474
edgie212 shows [5d 5s]
NYRambler shows [8d 9d]
*** FLOP *** [6c Jh 7s]
*** TURN *** [6c Jh 7s] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [6c Jh 7s 6h] [Th]
edgie212 shows two pair, Sixes and Fives
NYRambler shows a straight, Jack high
NYRambler wins the pot (12,548) with a straight, Jack high
edgie212 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 12,548 | Rake 0
Board: [6c Jh 7s 6h Th]
Seat 1: heffmike (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: madbrooklyn folded before the Flop
Seat 6: lucko21 folded before the Flop
Seat 7: NYRambler showed [8d 9d] and won (12,548) with a straight, Jack high
Seat 8: hoyazo (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: edgie212 (small blind) showed [5d 5s] and lost with two pair, Sixes and Fives
Nice river, Heffmike. at any rate, it was nice to interact with BuddyDank radio and all that. I hope they do institute a leaderboard for the Mookie, it would be a nice incentive.
I also ran fairly well on a .05/.010 table and doubled up $7 to $14(staying true to the bankroll), won a $5 SnG and placed 45th out of 652 runners in a $3 FT Donkament, netting a whopping $2 in that fiasco. I REALLY hope FT doesnt extend registration like Stars...it would make these fields even bigger. Off to Poker Thursdays....a report when I return!!
Full Tilt Poker Game #18165952877: The Mookie (135782084), Table 3 - 400/800 Ante 100 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:34:26 ET - 2010/02/04
Seat 1: heffmike (11,170)
Seat 2: madbrooklyn (8,070)
Seat 6: lucko21 (22,878)
Seat 7: NYRambler (10,475)
Seat 8: hoyazo (13,733)
Seat 9: edgie212 (5,674)
heffmike antes 100
madbrooklyn antes 100
lucko21 antes 100
NYRambler antes 100
hoyazo antes 100
edgie212 antes 100
edgie212 posts the small blind of 400
heffmike posts the big blind of 800
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to edgie212 [5d 5s]
madbrooklyn folds
lucko21 folds
NYRambler raises to 2,100
hoyazo folds
edgie212 raises to 5,574, and is all in
heffmike folds
NYRambler calls 3,474
edgie212 shows [5d 5s]
NYRambler shows [8d 9d]
*** FLOP *** [6c Jh 7s]
*** TURN *** [6c Jh 7s] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [6c Jh 7s 6h] [Th]
edgie212 shows two pair, Sixes and Fives
NYRambler shows a straight, Jack high
NYRambler wins the pot (12,548) with a straight, Jack high
edgie212 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 12,548 | Rake 0
Board: [6c Jh 7s 6h Th]
Seat 1: heffmike (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: madbrooklyn folded before the Flop
Seat 6: lucko21 folded before the Flop
Seat 7: NYRambler showed [8d 9d] and won (12,548) with a straight, Jack high
Seat 8: hoyazo (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: edgie212 (small blind) showed [5d 5s] and lost with two pair, Sixes and Fives
Nice river, Heffmike. at any rate, it was nice to interact with BuddyDank radio and all that. I hope they do institute a leaderboard for the Mookie, it would be a nice incentive.
I also ran fairly well on a .05/.010 table and doubled up $7 to $14(staying true to the bankroll), won a $5 SnG and placed 45th out of 652 runners in a $3 FT Donkament, netting a whopping $2 in that fiasco. I REALLY hope FT doesnt extend registration like Stars...it would make these fields even bigger. Off to Poker Thursdays....a report when I return!!
Monday, February 1, 2010
10 bucks on PokerStars multiplies....
So I wander over to PokerStars...I know I'm really wanting to qualify for the Mohegan NAPT, but the Venetian NAPT would be equally sweet, so while I am hunting over there, I dont see any good qualifiers with 10 bucks in my account, but I DO see a Mixed PLHE/PLO tourney for 2.20 that isn't completely over donked like most PokerStars tournaments are, so I sign up. I love all the tournaments and promotions on PS, but their tourneys always have like 80 million people, and my time is valuable!!
Anyway, it turns out that this mixed PLHE/PLO format fit my game completely. What you find in these tournaments is that everyone plays PLHE moderately tight, then everyone falls to shit in PLO...calling with everything, spewing chips to catch draws....and of the 187 runners, I played solid and aggressively tight and found myself in the money, although 12th as we dropped past the bubble of 18.
Now the PLO levels radically switched...raising all over the place with the big stacks. But they were raising with zilch! I took two big pots with a pair of aces by calling their raise and shoving an unmatched board. On to the final table we go...
I'm about 7th of 9 left. Two drop quickly. In PLHE I catch a set and knock out 2, and suddenly I'm chip leader! I then go into bully mode, raising any two cards in position, raising any decently coordinated Omaha hand...and things shattered for the rest of them pretty quickly. #1 out of 187, bitches! I am STILL trying to figure out this Windows on Mac screen shot thing so I can prove this stuff, but it was only a $54 dollar win anyway. A win nonetheless!!!! Over at FT I am at around $190 but I look forward to stroking my newly found $60 PS stack as well.
I'm debating a $100 tourney at Stephanie's, one of those 'middle' places I talked about the other day. I'll keep you posted.
Anyway, it turns out that this mixed PLHE/PLO format fit my game completely. What you find in these tournaments is that everyone plays PLHE moderately tight, then everyone falls to shit in PLO...calling with everything, spewing chips to catch draws....and of the 187 runners, I played solid and aggressively tight and found myself in the money, although 12th as we dropped past the bubble of 18.
Now the PLO levels radically switched...raising all over the place with the big stacks. But they were raising with zilch! I took two big pots with a pair of aces by calling their raise and shoving an unmatched board. On to the final table we go...
I'm about 7th of 9 left. Two drop quickly. In PLHE I catch a set and knock out 2, and suddenly I'm chip leader! I then go into bully mode, raising any two cards in position, raising any decently coordinated Omaha hand...and things shattered for the rest of them pretty quickly. #1 out of 187, bitches! I am STILL trying to figure out this Windows on Mac screen shot thing so I can prove this stuff, but it was only a $54 dollar win anyway. A win nonetheless!!!! Over at FT I am at around $190 but I look forward to stroking my newly found $60 PS stack as well.
I'm debating a $100 tourney at Stephanie's, one of those 'middle' places I talked about the other day. I'll keep you posted.
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