My wife and I are house sitting for the next week and I don't really want to set poker software up on someone else's computer so I might not be playing much in the next week. I will still be looking at your blogs starting up again on Monday, but this weekend is super busy for us with some friends in town.
I played 45-50 minutes this morning and thought I played well. Of course I still lost on Full Tilt when I got stacked with AA (Ad) vs. QdJd on an all diamond flop. I thought I played well other than that and one frustrated bad bluff at the end of that session. I think I played very well on Bodog and ended up half a buyin. One thing I tried to do more of this morning was play aggressively from the blinds when everyone shows weakness (button limp, for instance) and I have something reasonable. I don't want to overdo it, but making a big raise can make it less obvious when I raise AA or KK from the blinds if I do it with a wider range...also they hit the flop so little that c-bets take down some easy pots and I think doing this will increase my profits. Something to think about, as before I played so ultra ultra tight from the blinds (hate being OOP obv) but I think some well-timed aggression can help a lot.
Anyways, I'll try to keep posting on your blogs, so post some good stuff. Good luck and hopefully I'll be back posting my own stuff soon.
Pete
Friday, July 6, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Up and down...
Got a chance to play a nice hour and a half or two hour session tonight, 5-tabling with 3 25NL Bodog tables and 2 10NL Full Tilt tables. I ended up down a buyin on Bodog and down a buyin on Full Tilt. On Full Tilt I just never got hands and lost a buyin with AA vs KQ on a K high flop when he turned another K, so whatever. But on Bodog I got into some tough spots. I don't think I played terribly for the most part, but I'm frustrated with myself because I think I'm playing scared poker and not getting correct value when I'm ahead and paying people off too much when I'm behind. In a lot of the hands I've posted on this blog recently if I've erred it's by playing too weak and too cautiously, scared that somebody's going to hit a card on me or make a move on me. Like the hand in the post below where I check the turn with AK. WHY? If he check/raises me give up the hand, he's telling me he has me beat and I have no reason not to believe him. What am I scared of? I need to conquer this and I think it will bring more steady play.
I also need to work REALLY hard on making good decisions and not constantly thinking about whether I'm up or down for the session.
Hands from tonight:
1) http://www.pokerhand.org/?1238261 Opponent has been very passive, no reason to think she doesn't have a big hand here. Is this an easy fold to a represented set? Am I getting any value out of pushing here? Looking back I can't think that she plays JJ-KK like this at all, and AT seems really odd too. SEems like an easy fold but it's easy to say now of course!
2) http://www.pokerhand.org/?1238267 One of those hands where the board goes ugly on you, is betting the turn and folding to a raise okay here? Is my turn bet too weak?
Thanks again for all the comments, I will try to post on all of your blogs as well tomorrow (at work, lol). :)
Pete
I also need to work REALLY hard on making good decisions and not constantly thinking about whether I'm up or down for the session.
Hands from tonight:
1) http://www.pokerhand.org/?1238261 Opponent has been very passive, no reason to think she doesn't have a big hand here. Is this an easy fold to a represented set? Am I getting any value out of pushing here? Looking back I can't think that she plays JJ-KK like this at all, and AT seems really odd too. SEems like an easy fold but it's easy to say now of course!
2) http://www.pokerhand.org/?1238267 One of those hands where the board goes ugly on you, is betting the turn and folding to a raise okay here? Is my turn bet too weak?
Thanks again for all the comments, I will try to post on all of your blogs as well tomorrow (at work, lol). :)
Pete
Good short session
Ended up a winner on both Tilt (a few bucks) 10NL and Bodog 25NL (a buyin). I think I played really well except one hand on BOdog that was AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL and I won't let you guys see it it's so bad! :)
A few quickies for today:
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1236879 Just check/fold on this flop?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1236887 Value bet this river? Any chance of getting called by a worse hand? Obvious he's scared of the board.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1236894 Opponent is aggressive and capable of check raising...is not betting the turn terrible here? Is paying off the river with the flush card hits terrible?
Thanks!
Pete
A few quickies for today:
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1236879 Just check/fold on this flop?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1236887 Value bet this river? Any chance of getting called by a worse hand? Obvious he's scared of the board.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1236894 Opponent is aggressive and capable of check raising...is not betting the turn terrible here? Is paying off the river with the flush card hits terrible?
Thanks!
Pete
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Not much interesting today...
Happy 4th all. I played two short sessions today, won on Full Tilt this morning, then this afternoon lost a few bucks on FT but won on Bodog. Not much interesting in the way of hands, pretty standard. But here are a few just to see what you guys think:
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1235075
By the river it's hard to imagine what I can beat unless he bets a bad ace the whole way or he was bluffing the whole time. Still someone else in the hand as well but I feel I'm getting priced in. I know I played this passively and I hate that but is there any way around that here or is my line okay?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1235082
My line okay here or any chance you try a sick value bet?
Pete
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1235075
By the river it's hard to imagine what I can beat unless he bets a bad ace the whole way or he was bluffing the whole time. Still someone else in the hand as well but I feel I'm getting priced in. I know I played this passively and I hate that but is there any way around that here or is my line okay?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1235082
My line okay here or any chance you try a sick value bet?
Pete
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
JJ from the blinds...
At home so I thought I'd dig up two trouble hands from yesterday and post them here...they involve a similar spot, playing JJ from the blinds. I know I need to three bet from the blinds more often with this hand, but I fall into the trap of just smooth calling and making sure the flop brings low cards and that's pretty weak. Anyways, here are the hands:
Hand 1: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1230490
Oh man this is bad. Since I don't repop preflop I have no idea where I am postflop, so I'm playing tentatively OOP. Obv c/c the flop is pretty bad, do you guys like a lead here or a check/raise? I put his range at something like AQs, AK, 99-KK, very slightly AA possibility. He hadn't been getting out of line in his hands so I have to put him on one of those types of hands, very likely TT or QQ, even JJ. What do you think of his small river bet? Do I have to pay this off? What can I beat that bets that small? I butchered this, please help. I freeze up with a hand like JJ to an uncharacteristic large preflop raise.
Hand 2: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1230500
NOTE: My flop call of the check/raise was a misclick! Uggh. I hadn't decided what to do yet and accidentally clicked call, so that pretty much commited me I thought.
After I did that I just thought I'd get it all in and convinced myself maybe he had something I could beat...but I beat basically nothing, even the flush got there. My question is how do you respond to his turn check/raise that is so big? 3bet again preflop? How do you play a hand like this OOP against pressure on a raggy flop?
These hands make me look so awful...I am not always this bad I swear. :)
Thanks,
Pete
Hand 1: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1230490
Oh man this is bad. Since I don't repop preflop I have no idea where I am postflop, so I'm playing tentatively OOP. Obv c/c the flop is pretty bad, do you guys like a lead here or a check/raise? I put his range at something like AQs, AK, 99-KK, very slightly AA possibility. He hadn't been getting out of line in his hands so I have to put him on one of those types of hands, very likely TT or QQ, even JJ. What do you think of his small river bet? Do I have to pay this off? What can I beat that bets that small? I butchered this, please help. I freeze up with a hand like JJ to an uncharacteristic large preflop raise.
Hand 2: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1230500
NOTE: My flop call of the check/raise was a misclick! Uggh. I hadn't decided what to do yet and accidentally clicked call, so that pretty much commited me I thought.
After I did that I just thought I'd get it all in and convinced myself maybe he had something I could beat...but I beat basically nothing, even the flush got there. My question is how do you respond to his turn check/raise that is so big? 3bet again preflop? How do you play a hand like this OOP against pressure on a raggy flop?
These hands make me look so awful...I am not always this bad I swear. :)
Thanks,
Pete
July goals...
July will be a crazy month for me as I'm really busy with work and just enjoying the summer. As I have posted before, I will get to play a lot more come late August/September. I have a big move coming up in early August and I'm house sitting for a week this month so poker may be limited until then. Also with my Bodog cashout situations, my bankroll online has been depleted. I feel like I've been treading water lately but I know soon things will be back to normal and I will do well. That said, my goals for July are:
1) Try to play for at least 30 minutes every weekday morning before work. Play at night after work when time allows.
2) Get used to playing 5 tables at once without feeling overwhelmed.
3) Post regularly on other's blogs from the CR community.
4) Reflect more on my own hands through my blog, and don't be afraid to take criticism from others...it will help me improve. There are obvious leaks in my game I need to improve upon!
5) Trust my gut more and lay down hands when I think I'm beat instead of making stubborn calls that almost never are right!
6) Try not to focus on money won/lost each session, but instead how I'm playing. Keep track of money week to week, but not session by session. Focus more on decisions, not results.
7) Post 2 hands after each session on this blog for others to analyze and critique. This will help me plug some leaks and solve some trouble spots/hands/situations.
8) Get money on to Cake and start playing there ASAP! Weak competition is good!
9) Win money!
10) Don't stress out about poker, have fun in life and don't dwell on day to day results. Stay positive!
If I can do all this I will be set...it's a tall task and probably impossible, but something to work towards at least.
Pete
1) Try to play for at least 30 minutes every weekday morning before work. Play at night after work when time allows.
2) Get used to playing 5 tables at once without feeling overwhelmed.
3) Post regularly on other's blogs from the CR community.
4) Reflect more on my own hands through my blog, and don't be afraid to take criticism from others...it will help me improve. There are obvious leaks in my game I need to improve upon!
5) Trust my gut more and lay down hands when I think I'm beat instead of making stubborn calls that almost never are right!
6) Try not to focus on money won/lost each session, but instead how I'm playing. Keep track of money week to week, but not session by session. Focus more on decisions, not results.
7) Post 2 hands after each session on this blog for others to analyze and critique. This will help me plug some leaks and solve some trouble spots/hands/situations.
8) Get money on to Cake and start playing there ASAP! Weak competition is good!
9) Win money!
10) Don't stress out about poker, have fun in life and don't dwell on day to day results. Stay positive!
If I can do all this I will be set...it's a tall task and probably impossible, but something to work towards at least.
Pete
Back...
I got back yesterday, the trip was fun and now I'm ready to get back and start playing again. I got in short sessions last night and this morning. Yesterday I won a buyin on Bodog that would have been 2 BI had I not misclicked/misplayed a hand, and lost a few bucks on Tilt. This morning I lost a quarter buy in on Bodog and lost about another buyin on Full Tilt. This is 10NL I can't beat on Tilt, but 25NL on Bodog is fine (and the play much less aggressive, lol).
I know I need to just focus and play better on Tilt and maybe it's just too many tables right now and I should cut back to 4 until I get used to it. The hand I lost a buyin on this morning was pretty stupid because I never should have been in the hand in the first place. It was the final orbit before I quit and I had played almost zero hands and was down probably a dollar just from blinds and stuff. Folded to me on the cut off I raise Q6hh to .35 and get one call from the button, a guy that had repopped me from the small blind and played pretty aggressively. The flop came 975 with two hearts. This was clearly a good flop for me with the gutshot and flush draw. I bet out .65 into the pot of .85. He immediately raises to 2.4. If he has just top pair I count 15 outs twice which makes me a favorite as long as he doesn't have Q9 (3 queens, 3 non-heart 8s, 9 hearts), so I shove in and he INSTA and I mean INSTA calls with 89ss. I brick out and I'm down another buyin.
I also played a hand really poorly on Bodog this morning. After the hand I was trying to tell myself "oh you just got cold decked" but I played it awfully, knew I was beat, and didn't lay it down. I had A4o in the BB and it was limped around and I obv checked. Flop comes A84 with two diamonds. SB checks, I lead out pot thinking that anyone at this level with an ace isn't going anywhere, and a bet out actually looks weaker than a check/raise so it's not a bad way to get value and not give any free cards. Folded back to the SB who min check raises. RUH-ROH. I call.
WHY? What hands min check raise at this level? Guys with strong aces at this level, besides likely raising preflop, do not do min check raises. He does not have AK here. So on an A84 flop, my A4 hand to his check raise, unless I have a read on him, is basically the same as AK. The only hands he's doing this with that I can think of are A8, 88, and 44. AA likely raises preflop. In a VERY rare case he has a pair and a diamond draw but that's so unlikely so even though I have a niec two pair hand, against his range of hands, what can I beat? Instead, I called his c/r, called his 2/3 pot turn bet, and the same on the river. A8 beats me, nh sir. UGH I am bad.
I am busy catching up with work stuff now that I'm back but I hope to post a lot on other people's blogs and get this Cardrunners Community thing going that I started for the low limit grinders. I will try to include more details next time but I'm not at my computer so I don't have poker tracker for the hand histories. I thank all who will comment on my hands ahead of time, and look forward to trying to help you out as well.
Pete
I know I need to just focus and play better on Tilt and maybe it's just too many tables right now and I should cut back to 4 until I get used to it. The hand I lost a buyin on this morning was pretty stupid because I never should have been in the hand in the first place. It was the final orbit before I quit and I had played almost zero hands and was down probably a dollar just from blinds and stuff. Folded to me on the cut off I raise Q6hh to .35 and get one call from the button, a guy that had repopped me from the small blind and played pretty aggressively. The flop came 975 with two hearts. This was clearly a good flop for me with the gutshot and flush draw. I bet out .65 into the pot of .85. He immediately raises to 2.4. If he has just top pair I count 15 outs twice which makes me a favorite as long as he doesn't have Q9 (3 queens, 3 non-heart 8s, 9 hearts), so I shove in and he INSTA and I mean INSTA calls with 89ss. I brick out and I'm down another buyin.
I also played a hand really poorly on Bodog this morning. After the hand I was trying to tell myself "oh you just got cold decked" but I played it awfully, knew I was beat, and didn't lay it down. I had A4o in the BB and it was limped around and I obv checked. Flop comes A84 with two diamonds. SB checks, I lead out pot thinking that anyone at this level with an ace isn't going anywhere, and a bet out actually looks weaker than a check/raise so it's not a bad way to get value and not give any free cards. Folded back to the SB who min check raises. RUH-ROH. I call.
WHY? What hands min check raise at this level? Guys with strong aces at this level, besides likely raising preflop, do not do min check raises. He does not have AK here. So on an A84 flop, my A4 hand to his check raise, unless I have a read on him, is basically the same as AK. The only hands he's doing this with that I can think of are A8, 88, and 44. AA likely raises preflop. In a VERY rare case he has a pair and a diamond draw but that's so unlikely so even though I have a niec two pair hand, against his range of hands, what can I beat? Instead, I called his c/r, called his 2/3 pot turn bet, and the same on the river. A8 beats me, nh sir. UGH I am bad.
I am busy catching up with work stuff now that I'm back but I hope to post a lot on other people's blogs and get this Cardrunners Community thing going that I started for the low limit grinders. I will try to include more details next time but I'm not at my computer so I don't have poker tracker for the hand histories. I thank all who will comment on my hands ahead of time, and look forward to trying to help you out as well.
Pete
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