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All posts for the month January, 2006

cash game update

I am making good progress on Phase 2, almost to 20%. 25c/50c is very similar game to 10c/20c in the quality of play. But I suppose that is to be expected with a default $5 buy-in.

One SnG over the weekend. I won, but I am very happy with my heads up play where I was able to apply pressure as needed and get away when I was behind. It worked very well. There was one maroon at the table who busted out early and went on a cussing fit. It was actually a bit entertaining- but after a minute or two it was just plain annoying. I’m not sure if it still works this way- but you can not block a single players chat on PokerStars. Well, you can “block” them, but you get a “***” everytime they chat to the room. I would rather just not hear them at all.

No live poker recently.

I put $20 on the money line for Seattle. Bodog has them as 4 1/2 pt dogs so the money line is paying really well. It’s only money right? Of course the only sports book based bet I personally lost this season was a Seattle game. Hmmmm…

I played in my second live game of 06 and did much better. I think I did one of my best games in a long time. The only mistake I made was trying to bluff our biggest calling station. It basically crippled my chip stack. I was 2nd short stack with 14K (2K/4K) blinds and went in with AKo against a 10K range. He called reluctantly with A5o and hit a 5 on the turn. Damn. Oh well.

After that (it was basically a live SnG so it ended fairly quickly) I headed home to see if I could keep some steam going from my live game. It worked out well. I played on a 3 tables total and cleared near $6 to cross into the next level. On to 25c/50c I go.

It was nice to be hitting sets, flushes, and top two rather than just missing everything. I’m done for the night but will pick up level 2 over the weekend. Exciting.

So in a few of my last posts I commented on how few losing sessions I had. Well, that pretty much ended this weekend. Of the last 5 tables I have sat at I have only had one winning session (it was a pretty good one so my loses are limited). I am not down huge, a week’s worth of winnings. Normal variance – but that doesn’t make it better.

I have learned, or re-learned a few things. The big one is that at these micro-limits you can not bully a table at all. Example: UTG with QQ on a full table. I raised to 20c. A few callers including the SB. The flop is 6-2-K rainbow. SB checks, I bet. One other caller but the SB calls. 2 on the turn. Check-Bet-3rd player folds-Raise. Crap. I knew it. He has a deuce and I am a sucker. A smart player would lay it down figuring I am dead to a Q but apparently I am not that smart. I call. River is a blank, SB leads out, I call. A-2 offsuit. Maybe I am too tight, but I lay down A-2 off in the SB against a raise- especially an early position raise. Even if I do call, I don’t call a bet against the raiser if I hit bottom pair. Now the bad post-turn play is all mine. The check-raise is textbook and I should have saved myself 40c and folded. And my read was solid. So all was not lost. This is the kind of situation in NL that a 4x bet would drive the SB out of the hand and certainly a pot sized bet post flop would.

I did have one really good table last night that I nearly doubled my buy-in which reduced the losses dramatically. I didn’t really change my game too much, it just worked out better. Bless me variance. As of right now I am down to just over 82% of my first level goal. I hope to get there this weekend. I might also try and work off my bonus for Poker Tracker via VegasPokerPro.com. They have a pretty good selection of cardrooms including Full Tilt.

BTW: plumbing sucks. I came home Monday to find my tub faucet would not turn off. It was an expensive learning experience but apparently solder got into the valve and jammed it open.

busy week…

Not as much poker this week as I would like. I am up to almost 78% of my stage one goal (note the table on the right side of this page). I did add a losing session, so my record sits at: 18-5 for winning sessions.

I played in a SnG last night and was chip leader until the blinds hit 50/100. Someone doubled up and took over the lead and my AKo lost to his A9o when he spiked a 9 on the turn (we both paired up our A on the flop). I ended up 8th. It was a lot of effort for a 8th place finish. Oh well.

Went to the UT-Texas Tech basketball game on Tuesday. Pretty fun event. We mossied down to half court, 22 rows back. No one came to question us and UT just plain kicked ass. I tried to find a picture but couldn’t, but the UT pom/dance squad is just H-O-T-T. We wandered by the tower after the game and it was still lit from the Rose Bowl victory and got some pictures.

Vegas Here I Come! Watch Out! I will be in Vegas from March 2 to March 7. UT baseball is playing UNLV. My buddy Jason and I are going. We will make at least two of the 3 set. Our sticks will be tagging along to play a bit of golf on Friday. And poker. Yes. There will be poker. And probably drinking. Yeah, I will probably have a few drinks.

So the Pats lost. Badly. Grrrr. Oh well, they didn’t really have the team they had last year and they at least got to the playoffs. After going 3-3 to start that was in doubt. Indy lost yesterday on a WIDE RIGHT kick by the most accurate kicker in NFL history… guess it was not meant to be.

So we have Denver-Pitt and Seattle-Carolina. Hmmm… unless you are from any of those areas, who cares? Oh well. I’ll watch anyway.

I played 4 SnGs this weekend. First one I won in 51 hands. It just blew through. The 2nd one was just insane. All-ins after all-ins. I never really got anywhere and could not figure out the table and ended up 7th. *shrug* One on Saturday, finished 2nd. One on Sunday, finished 2nd but I should have won. I had the guy down to two bets (blinds were 300/600) but he doubled up twice and took me out after a long heads up battle. He played very well, but I am pissed at myself for not sealing the deal.

Cash Game Progress: 57% of the way though the first level. The best part is that I have played 17 sessions at this level and only have 4 losing ones.

I missed the first game of the season at mookie99’s place this weekend. I chose to watch the Pat’s lose. In retrospect, maybe I should have gone.

Colds suck.

I have been fighting a headcold- or allergies- for about a week now and it sucks. On the plus side NyQuil gel caps are giving me wickedly vivid dreams.

I am just shy of 20% though my first level of the Low Limit Poker challenge. I have not done many sessions in the last 7 days but hope to do more in the next couple. One interesting hand I had last night was AA on UTG. I raised. A fairly tight player raised from mid-position. I capped. Flop was all unders, Q high, two clubs. I bet. Raised. I re-raised. He capped. Turn is a blank club giving me the backdoor flush draw. The fellow chatted “I hope you have rockets.” I did not reward him with a reply. I bet, raised, called. Total blank on the river. Repeat of the turn bet. He had KK. I think I missed two BBs on this hand by not re-raising on both turn and river. I should have at least re-raised the river. He bounced from the table but came back a few orbits later looking for his money from me. I did not give him the pleasure.

The was no WWdN challenge this week. Probably a remnant of the PCA event that just happened.

I did rather poorly all around actually.

My $5 Lotto parley (I thought it was $4, so maybe a mild win there 🙂 was a bust.

I finished 2nd in a SnG, but busted out early in two others.

I played in a live “Tournament of Champions” deal and made a pretty sick bluff early that got called with a hugely suspect hand. Details as I recall: 7-top table, money has been moving. I raised from the button with AQo. SB called along with one or two others. Flop is all unders, 4-6-10, two diamonds. Checked around to me. I made about a 1/2 pot sized bet. Only the SB called. Another blank, non-diamond. I fire again- about 1/2 sized. Ponder. Call. Non-diamond J on the river. Check. I push. I have probably 1/2 of the pot left in chips. He goes in the tank. For at least two minutes. I know he has at least a piece of it- A-10 maybe? I’m not sure. But I am sure I don’t want a call. Well. He called. Ballsey call but the right one. This is the kicker though, he had pocket 3s. Yep. An under pair. Wow. I didn’t see that coming. I’m not sure how the event went, I have not seen the results yet. But damn.

My biggest gripe of the night? I flopped a flush with an 8 high in my hand. I bet at the pot, but not enough to take it down. Another club on the turn. Crap. Meanwhile, another player at the table was out of a hand and started digging though the muck. What the hell? I had a straight flush draw so I called a small bet. Blank on the river. Dickfer is still digging though the muck. I called him out on it. What? What did I do? “Don’t dig in the fucking muck.” As I mucked my crappy flush. Tool.

Someone at the bar asked if I know a bookie. No, but I have a Bodog account. $50 on NYG -3 and $50 on CIN+3. He gave me cash. Both were busts. I had just over $10 left my buddy put a parley with the over (44) on the NYG/CAR game and CIN+3. Yeah. Missed both of those. I now have $0.55 in that account. Ooops 🙂

That is enough rant for a Monday. I’ll move on now.

Not poker related but: I won the lotto on Saturday, ok not the *whole* lotto. But I did with $102 on $1 ticket. Nice. I let $2 ride and took a crisp $100 bill.

Well I checked my numbers for the 4th. One of my 2 tickets hit for $4. Double Sweet.

That Texas/USC game was one of the most amazing events I have ever witnessed. And Leinart came across as a tool. And I picked Texas to cover. I should have bet them on the moneyline.

Tuesday Poker

So I entered Wil Wheaton’s Tuesday event last night. It starts at 6 for me and the PSU/FSU game comes on at 7, so I figured to be distracted after that.

Wil did not play, something about the Bahamas. Damn him. But we did have 45 players.

I got hot decked early having litterly no less than 3 pairs of Aces, 2 pairs of Kings, and a timely pair of Queens that I made gutsy call with a KKJ two hearts board to take someone out (he was on the nut flush draw and missed). Again, top 10 in chips- I think I made it to third before the ice age came.

My goal was to make final table. I did it last week, and figured I had a good shot by staying in the top 10. But I had nothing- even the semi-playable hands got raised in front of me. I did have one untimely play late when I re-raised from the BB with AKo and was re-raised all-in by the SB. I pondered a long time and laid it down. I still don’t know if it was a good play or not. He was playing very solid poker and I can’t think I had any advantage there. Since it was past the first break and blinds were pretty high I lost about a 1/3rd of my stack. That hurt. Another cold run of cards and I knew I had to make a move to even get to the final table (never mind the money). I ended up all in with KQ against AQ. Not so good. Interlude: How many times do hand likes these hit when the shared card comes out on the board. I know it is a statistical minority, but it seems too often 🙂 It left me with under the SB in chips.

I made the final two tables, and a timely knockout of two players on the other table put me out in 16th. Respectable against a solid field, but not where I wanted to be.

As for my limit challenge goals: just over 12% through the first level. Although, I did about 1/2 of it at 5c/10c on Bodog because I left myself logged in on PokerStars at home… oops. Plus I put money on OSU to cover (which they did) and Texas to at least keep it close (which we will find out about tonight).