Live Casino Time Again!

Another deep run in the local casino last night, and this time I've worked out why.  Half the players consider A9 a great hand to call an allin shove...

The first two levels, the only chance to play real poker was a bit grim, being card dead for most of it.  I mean.. really card dead, every king I looked at, had a 4 to go with it, every ace, had a 5 or 7 to go with it. 
Pocket pairs? oh yes, one pair of ducks (22), which hit the muck after an early raise at the speed of light.

Interesting hand with pocket 3's, I limp in from the CO, hoping to set mine (get in cheap, hope to hit a set... profit).  Flop comes down 7 8 J, scary for 3's, but it checks around, K on the turn, checked around, I now suspect 3's are the best hand.  But in case of slow play I check,  8 on the turn pairing the board, checks around to the UTG+3 who leads out a cheap 175 bet, I more or less insta call with two 3's, and he tells me straight!, I table my cards (face down), and he shows 9 5.... not a straight.... dealer flips mine over and I take the pot.  So confused.

Luckily I had position on a weak tight player, so when it folded around to the small blind who limped (50/100 blinds), I didn't even look at my cards properly and raised another 200.  He called and the flop comes down K Q K, he checks, and I decide to check behind him, 8 on the turn, check from the SB, raised 300, and the small blind goes away.
Checked my big blind shortly after with 95o, flop comes 2 5 7, checked around 4 players, 9 on the turn, so I lead out 300, everybody folds

I pick up a real hand in AQo, and raise it up (I'm please to say I rarely limped... didn't make me popular with this limp happy table).  Everyone folds.. I can live with that, AQo is not my favourite hand post flop unless it hits

Break comes and goes, and I have average chips, which I'm happy with, you don't win the tournament in the first two levels, but now the levels are 20 minutes each, and the blinds are now 100/200 with a stack of 5300.  My M is 17-18, medium stack, enough to play a little, but I can't afford to lose a serious pot.

I work my way up to 6300, then lose it trying to steal the blinds with A6o when the BB with 8k goes all in.. down to 4300 chips, and blinds are 200/400 now... I'm in trouble!
I'm all in with KJ a while later and get called by the BB with AQo... goddammit.  Board is blank but a K on the river.. whooppeeeeeeee I'm back in action.. ish.

As I'm up to just under 10k, I have a loose aggressive player to my left, which is really stifling my action, and once again he opens for 1600, I've limped with K9s 4x the BB and all the limpers fold, and I suddenly decide... this dude was in the button, big raise... he is either on a steal, as he has been, or he has a hand.. and I could well have live cards.  I put him to the test and go all-in.  He has 10 10, BUGGER!!
I river a K again... which is harsh, but hey, who cares, I still like my play as it represented half of his stack, and he quite likely would have folded A rag under J.

I'm up to 20k, and .. well, I'll be honest, I tried to bully the table... its unbullyable.. (is that a word), I raise for 1600 with A 10o.  Now this is 9 handed, so A 10 is rarely "da nuts", but its folded around so I go for the steal.  BB goes all in for 12k.  I fold, and when asked I do tell them I had A10o, and the table is in shock I would fold.  But hey, after getting up to a very healthy stack, why join the short stacks again for a coinflip?
That raise could be a lot of things, mostly middle pairs I suspect, but I can't see it being anything I dominate with A 10, A9?? against a raise from someone who has been pretty tight and has you covered? I doubt it, thats suicidal.
I see no reason to gamble, so I fold.  He shows 88, which is fine, I'm not ready to gamble when I don't need to.
The table finally breaks up and I hit a new table with a dodgy stack of 14 with 500/1000 blinds.  I lose a couple of pots and I'm down to 7800, which is disaster zone and I finally wake up with AA!
I have to chip up now, so I raise to 4000, and the table laughs at me,
"He only raised 4k? How much has he got left? 3000 or so? omgz lolz!" etc
My best poker face is on... I now know I have played this PERFECTLY.  I get 1 caller and a shove for 10k from the short stack.. bit more than I wanted, but hey, I need a big score.  I reluctantly drop my last 3800k in, and somehow the other player finds a fold.
I disagree with this, and not just because I have AA, he has invested 4k into the pot, and my 3800 makes the pot around 22k, so he is calling 6k to win 22k, so he needs at least 27% or so to win to be in the pot.  My guess is that he had 66 or 77, and realise he was up against at least one over pair, which makes it a good laydown, but I believe he's getting the right price, even with KJ, KQ, A10 and lower (of course he's not since I have AA).  My opponent has AQ and the flop doesn't help him (queen on the river).
It was nice to see the table reverse gear and bang the table to indicate a nice hand, I think most of them realise what I did, and they fell for it like suckers.
Hard to play AA wrong, and I think AQ was insta-calling a shove anyway, cold deck for him, but the middle pair(perhaps) dude probably wouldn't have called  a shove.

Two orbits later, and I stare down at KK again in early position, I raise to 4k, and the AQ guy calls with his last 2300 chips (fair enough).. but everyone else folds.  He tables A9o... and hits the A on the flop.  Annoying, but if he had more chips, it would  have been more painful.
The break comes and I'm UTG+1 a few orbits later with Q4o.  Everyone is already shuffling to run off for cigarettes and toilet.. so I feel this is a great opportunity to steal the considerable blinds of 2100, so I raise 4000, and goddammit, the guy whose AQ I bashed goes all in for 6600(he managed to steal some blinds too!).  Pot odds demand my call, 2600 to win 10600, I actually have to call if I knew he had 44, he doesn't, he has 55, and they hold up, and I'm down to 14k again.. GOD DAMMIT!! Was it a stupid move? yes... kinda.. but I like the imagination to try and take the pot when everyone is ready to leave for the break, and most of the time I'm going to have at least 36%.  As it happens my raise and the shove moves someone off A6o who says he was going to call... whatever dude.. thats just dumb to call a raise with a raggy crappy ace against an early position raise who has just folded all and only shown AA and KK!! Idiotic comes to mind.

I'm down to 14k after the break and the blinds are now 1k/2k, and when my BB comes around I have AJo, as it folds around to the button, who makes it 5k to go... the big stack in the SB calls, and my chips go in, hoping to squeeze play the two out, but I'd take a call as I probably have the best hand,  the button folds, the SB decides he's priced in with 67s.  I kinda get it, he has 60k chips and its 9k more to win 24k with two probably live cards.  I would like to think I can make this call too.
Flop comes 6 5 7 and I'm drawing next to dead, 4 on the turn with outs to a split pot, but my A on the river is all she wrote against the two pair.
I went out with the superior hand, and I did the right thing, my exit is graceful... but its hard not to mourn the fact I'd have been on 33k after that hand and the opportunity to make a big run in the tournament.

A few beers, an episode of lost, and I go home happy.

Getting Ready to "Move House"

Finally decided to opt for PartyPoker as my UB replacement. 

Once I get my cash isa set up for my poker bankroll, I'll be withdrawing all but $20 or so from UB.  Going to leave a little in there to play in the very soft $1,Guaranteed $500 tournaments when I have time to play them.. and withdraw winnings.  Don't mind too much if I lose them.

Now looking at the best offers available to me in terms of rakeback and bonuses on PartyPoker, and with the kids away for a few days, I've got a chance to play one or two live tournaments at the local bricks and mortar casino which have done well for me so far (3 decent cashes from 7 played).

It would be nice to chalk up a nice casino win to bolster the Poker Bank Account so I have ready funds available to play when I like instead of spending it and feeling sad I can't afford to play mid-month between pay days.

I've really been focusing on my errors the last 2 trips to the casino, and hopefully I can plug the leaks, but also I've been beating myself up over a few hands which, once studied aren't that bad, and in a turbo format (i.e. one night tournament) format, you've got to get the money in when you're good, it just sucks that twice in a row someone has flopped a straight against my flopped two pair.  I have outs....

Last but not least, I always miss the kids when they are away, but looking forward to spending quality time with the missus too (is there any way to write this without it sounding sordid?).




We'll catch up on Lost if nothing else!

Creating A Dedicated Account

I haven’t updated this in a while, but I have a tournament hand by hand I’d like to write about and put into perspective.

I’ve taken the decision to open a cash isa that is purely to hold poker bankroll, that way I can limit how much is on any site at any given time, as I gear up to cash out of Ultimatebet (because they are a naughty company, and I don’t trust them not to go bust and run away with my winnings).

The only downside is that I feel like I’m playing good solid poker, with some natural mistakes, but I am recognising these mistakes which is the main thing.  But I am leaking at the moment, some “tournament shoves” in a cash game type errors.

I had to quit playing last night in a 0.01/0.02 micro last night after raising to 0.08 with 10 10, with one caller from the big blind, flop comes 2 2 4 which I’m happy with so after he checks, I raise 0.15c.  Villain flat calls me. 

Alrighty I think, JJ+ or better should be reraising preflop, no reason not to think I have the best hand, and if they play a deuce and hit trips against an overpair, then in the long run I’m making money out of them calling raises with a deuce.  7 comes on the river, very happy to see that card especially after another check, and I raise 0.33c.  

Villain flat calls me again… smells a bit more like trouble, but I suspect something fruity like A 3 or the like, or if I’m lucky pocket 8’s or 6’s.  9 comes on the river. 

Villain goes all-in.  My read is that he’s missed his draw and got tilty he put so much money in the pot.  So I call.

He hit the set on the river.  My read .. was somewhat idiotic.  Looking back, I realise that the river shove is going to be the nuts or thereabout over half the time, but damn I struggle to fold an overpair to an unco-ordinated, flushless, straightless board…. I’m still not 100% it’s a bad line to call that raise since it could also be something crazy like 97s who hits 2 pair, which I beat.

I am confused, but it cost me a 2 BI’s (I had doubled up previously)…. But I should of folded. 

Hopefully I can get myself back on track and earn some pennies again before I withdraw, but I need to rectify my thinking, as I suspect part of me is chasing lost money instead of focusing on just playing my A game.

Variance Catches Me Up

What an awful weekend.

At least poker wise.  After another MTT win pushed me close to the $200 bankroll mark on UB, I was feeling a bit.. too good about things.

So, I decided to play a few $5 tournaments, and see if I can continue my run.

Bad idea.  Busted out with KK allin preflop, AA allin preflop, and full house vs better full house on the flop.  I’ve told myself that, I can’t get any better busting out with such strong holdings… but that niggle that.. this bad run could only happen once I’ve stepped up in limits.

Tilted off $4 playing PLO… I’m alright with that, I played pretty bad, but I am just trying to learn this game, and it seemed like a tough table, so table selection was my biggest mistake I think.

“All in” all, I was down a whopping $40 by Saturday night.  This makes me sad, but I dragged back $4 on Sunday night playing deep stack NLHE 0.02/0.04.  Crazy table, 70% to the flop, and sick all-in’s, combined with getting QQ twice, and a solid call with 88 vs 77 on a 2 4 6 flop.

On the other hand, I am sick of UB now.  The competition is soft, but since this company has historically been known to deny “superuser” accounts even once they were proven, and numerous other security leaks.. another one coming to light over the weekend.. I’m going to be withdrawing the majority of my mediocre bankroll and depositing elsewhere, and this time I will apply for some rakeback!

Another reason is that the only games that seem to fill up tourney wise is 1 and 2 dollar $500GTD tournaments… Its hard to find good games.

Better half now has the accounts on Pokerstars and my old Full Tilt account, so that puts the two largest sites out of my mind, I’m going to have to think about where to put my bankroll.

Time to do some research!