Suited poket pairs - Take 2. MTT Edition

Today was the first day of SCOOP, and I managed to satellite into events 3 (Progressive Knockout) and 4 (Mini Sunday Million). Took several shots at event 2 (8-max, Mini Sunday Kickoff) as well, but couldn't quite get there

In the PKO got close to the money, but got busted in a sad way

For the Mini Sunday Million, the satellite finished over an hour after the tournament started, and I couldn't get things going, eventually losing a 60-40 for all the marbles

I did manage to score two bounties in the PKO for $14 and change, which covered the cost of the satellites and put me slightly up for the day

Also played the only Powerfest event within my bankroll ($1.10 buy-in), and managed 38th place finish for $16.50. So not a bad day overall

Won't be able to play on Monday, but already making plans for Tuesday

Disppointing session today. Busted all SCOOP satellites, had to satisfy myself with regular tournaments. Busted all bar one of them as well, only cashing the Powefest PKO for a tiny profit. Over $5 in the red on the day

Feeling like variance has been catching up with me. My bbs won line has been above the ev line pretty much since I started playing MTTs, but they're visibly closer to each other after today. Not only that, but I've been walking into villains' big hands - overpairs into set most often. The last tournament of the day, the Second Chance on party, summarised well how the day went - I won a big pot (when opponent walked into my set with their overpair, yeah), was 3rd in chips out of 180 players, then walked with AK into AA, literally next hand flopped a set and lost to a better set, and lo and behold, from 3rd to 150th in chips over the span of 2 hands

The one time I did get my overpair in good, this happened

The only thing I'm happy about is that I didn't get frustrated and tilted after these hands. I remember when I was playing cash, losing a big pot and not getting a chance to win the money back quickly could lead to ideas like "oh, look, K♦:5♦: UTG, what a nice hand, let's open it". This hasn't been happening in tournaments so far - maybe because in tournaments there's something to do even when you have to keep folding - watch your own stack as well stacks around the table, adjust to table dynamics, recite relevant pushing and calling ranges, look for spots to get the money in even without a hand, etc. Whatever the reason, being calm and collected in these spots does make me happy

I do, however, get embarrassed when I suckout on someone after getting money in bad (like AJ vs QQ). Does this count as tilt?

Tomorrow is going to be a day of regular tournaments again - SCOOP only has highroller Holdem tournaments, and don't think my knowledge of Omaha and 2-7 Triple Draw (more or less limited to approximately knowing the rules) is sufficient to invest money into trying to qualify for the events featuring these games

Here's to hoping for a better day

A better session today. Cashed the Big $1.10, the Powerfest PKO once again, and a $1 180-man SNG. $0.34 down on the day, but not a big deal

In the Big $1.10, I'm particularly happy with this hand. It's rare than I can overbet shove the river for value and get paid off. Although I did not expect the villain to have what they had. A true hero call, that was

Unfortunately this was the last big pot I won in this tournament - couldn't find a hand, blinded down, eventually got dealt 88, pushed and ran into TT

Nothing too notable happened in the Powerfest. Also played the Main event and the Second chance on party, but couldn't catch a break in those. In the Second chance, I once again chipped up to one of the big stacks, then lost most of it in this hand, and never recovered

As for the 180 man, I finished on the final table bubble - but honestly, I was one of the shortest stacks throughout the tournament after losing a flip early on, and making this far made me happy by itself. For once, I was the beneficiary of suckouts

I said yesterday that I was feeling embarrassed for hands in which I got the money in badly. In fact, it's usually the result of me overplaying my hand - if I push incorrectly, get called, and suck out, that's embarrassing. Here, with my stack and the first playable hand in forever, there was nothing to do but get the money in. Villain's own fault for limping with KK anyway

From here, it was an exercise in patience - and I'm very happy with how patient I was. 180-man SNGs have a very slow structure with 15 minutes levels, so it's important to wait for good spots and not be tempted by pretty hands. QJs in UTG+2 is not a push with 12bb, however attractive it looks

In fact, I think maybe even the final hand I pushed was the consequence of impatience. 5-handed and the shortest stack by far, I felt much more pressure to get the money in, and J8o felt good enough - but I'm unsure. Gotta download Holdem Resources and look it up

The element of the game I would like to improve at the moment is my 3-betting range. Hand2Note says my 3-bet stat is only around 7%, and I feel I'm missing spots where a 3-bet would be profitable. The reason I'm not doing it often enough is that I had a long-held belief that bluffing in $1 tournaments cannot be successful. But it can be. Just look for spots, there are villains against which 3-bets would work just fine. If I can bring this stat up to around 10-12%, I will be happy

No poker tomorrow as I have some errands to run, but am planning a session on Friday, and will be trying to satellite into SCOOP 21

Had some time this morning to play around with Holdem Resources calculator. Was happy to see my instincts were correct. J8o was a push - and it was close

Villain's call with KQ was of course correct as well - in fact they should call with any K. This is their calling range per HRC

I also decided to run that 65s hand through HRC, and apparently it isn't an open push

Limper makes things more interesting, but looking at his stats now (VPIP 18, PFR 16), he looks like someone who only limps when trapping. So perhaps I should've let that one go, despite stack dropping under 4bb and antes eating 5% of it every hand

Ended up coming home earlier than I thought yesterday, in time to fire up the Second Chance on Party, also jumped into a 180-man on Stars, because 1-tabling is boring and makes me do stupid things. Ended up cashing both, albeit with 2 entries into the Second Chance (appropriate I guess), so the night ended about $1 in the green

Today I managed to win that SCOOP 21 seat I hoped to get. Unfortunately Hand2Note trial ran out, and it didn't save the hands from the tournament above the limits available for free (apart from the one hand I marked during play). I'll see if I can fish some interesting hands out of hand histories. It was an interesting experience, playing against people who think about your range, not just the hand they're holding, and won't fold to a cbet if they think you missed the flop

Ultimately though, it ended in a disappointment. Thought I could get something going after winning a 3-way all-in with AJ against KK and 77, which saw me jump up to 60k, 2.5 times the starting stack. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards I lost a third of it with KK against A9, then this hand saw me drop back below the starting stack, and then I called an all-in with AK and lost a flip to 88. This left me with less than an ante, and while I managed to win 2 consequtive all-ins after that and get back up to 6 big blinds, the 3rd one (Q4o in BB against button open, who had AK) sent me to the rail

I didn't plan to play poker this weekend - there's a major Magic: the Gathering tournament in Birmingham, and I very much intended to go. Unfortunately, a large job I have to finish this weekend means I have to stay home. So I will be spending the weekend with attention divided between InDesign and poker clients. Probably more InDesign on Saturday, when there's no particularly attractive SCOOP events. But I will be trying to qualify for the big Sunday tournaments, and it's likely going to be a big huge session then. Fingers crossed - really would like to cash at least one event this SCOOP.....

Played the Big $0.55 and $1.10, as well as a couple of 180man SNGs and a few SCOOP satellites. InDesign got in the way a few times, but it wasn't big enough to block me from playing some poker Only managed to cash the $0.55 Big, had a fairly deep run and was a top10 stack with 300 remaining. However, a few unfortunate hands saw my stack dwindle, eventually I iso-shoved 99 and ran into AA. Still had 5bb after that, and found AJ a couple of hands later, but villain holding AQ ended my run. Finished in 100th place for $2.27

Also qualified for the $5.50 SCOOP tomorrow. Fingers crossed for a deep run there....

Reminded why poker is such a brutal game. Great start in the SCOOP, largely courtesy of this hand

Shortly thereafter, called an aggressive player's shove with AK, ran into KK, and spiked an A on the flop for another double up

I really need to check what happened after that. I was fairly card dead, sure, but I didn't drop from 100k to 30k chips just by blinding out. Did I open too many hands? Did I bet too much? Did I fold too easily? I feel this tournament's hand history will be great material to help me improve

Eventually, with 3150ish players left in the tournament, about 250 eliminations off the money, I got dealt 99 with 8bb left, and felt I had to go with it

No idea what ICM says about a 99 shove in this spot (I expect it's correct), nor whether a call with QJs is correct (pot odds could make it justifyable). Regardless, I lost the flip, and was out without cashing

Later on, I was playing a 180-man SNG; with 2 tables left, I had a comfortable 25bb stack, 5th or 6th in the tournament, and felt good about making the final table. Then I opened AQ from CO, called a 13bb shove from BB, and lost a flip to 55. Literally next hand I was dealt 88, pushed the remaining 11bb, and ran into KK. Out with an insignificant cash

Finally, I was playing the Second Chance tournament on Party. Can't complain too much about it, as I made the final table as a chip leader. But still... I do have a reason to complain. In small blind, I pushed ATo into the big blind, who had 9bb left. He woke up with 77. Lost the flip, boom, suddenly I'm 3rd in chips, and the new chip leader is putting ICM pressure on me

Eventually I did finish 4th in the Second Chance, so that's the positive. Not a huge cash - Party tournaments are not as large as Stars ones, so 4th place was only worth $19.20. But still... that's one thing I'm not going to complain about!

Looked through SCOOP hands. They seem mostly reasonable, I took note of some mistakes, but don't think there was anything too egregious

This is one big hand I lost. The other was this one

I was at the same table as the villain from the start of the tournament, and they were playing quite loose (see stats). However, they opened from UTG, and their fold to 3-bet stat was very low. Playing 99 oop sucks, but what sucks even more is playing 99 oop in a big pot against a guy who doesn't fold to 3-bets and likely has a fairly strong range when opening UTG. I really should've just called, check/folded on this flop, and saved a whole bunch of chips

That's 50k chips lost in these two hands - blinds and antes did the rest

Another SCOOP ($22 8-max), another early exit. Literally first hand of the tournament, I got dealt AA....

When he raised on the turn, I was fairly certain he had 2 pair. KJ is very much in his range and seems very likely given the way the hand played. Nevertheless, I don't mind the call on the turn - I'm drawing to paired board, and there's small chance AA is still good. However, I hate hate hate the call on the river. There's no way I beat whatever he bets 60% of the pot with

Generally finding that I have difficulty letting go of AA. This is strange, as I laid down lower pairs, KK and QQ, when I knew they couldn't be ahead. Probably it's just easier to accept they can't be ahead, especially if there's an overcard on the board. With AA and no possibility of overcard, it's just so easy to get into a trap of hoping AA is still good....

Here's another AA hand I played today which I couldn't let go when I really should have

On the other hand, I'm regularly too shy to shove hands I should shove. Think I'm scared of looking silly or something...

I think I got scared of the fact that one villain bet and the other called 3-way. They had to have something, right? But even if they do have something, I have so many outs on the flop, the only hands I'm in terrible shape against are 44 and 66. On the turn I had no fold equity, and of course one of the villains connected with it. If I shoved on the flop, I very likely would've won the hand. But I got scared of not having showdown value right there, of the shove possibly being ICM suicide given that this was the final table, and so on, and so forth

Beyond that, there was some tough luck as well. Busted the Party Main Event on the stone bubble when I got dealt TT on the button, openshoved the last 5bb, and got called by AJ in BB. I feel AJ call is optimistic in this spot, I wouldn't shove AT- on the stone bubble, so it's never ahead - flip is the best outcome for them. But don't think I could fold TT in this spot - and it's out of my hands after that

The only deep run today is Party Second Chance, where I'm currently still alive with 18 left. Was running like a god in that tournament though - to compensate for earlier bad luck I guess? Here's a sample

It is known that Deuces Never Loses, but how did I manage to dodge everything in this hand....

Had this delightful hand last night

Calling a 75bb 4-bet shove with T8s? Thanks for your cooperation, mate

A losing session last night despite this - cashed the Party Main event (for once!) but busted everything else

Speaking of Party Main event, I'm starting to think that the TT push on the stone bubble the other day was a mistake. I'm too used to Stars payout structure, where the mincash is only slightly above the buy-in. The mincash in the Main event is three times the buy-in (possibly because Party can never meet the guarantee, at least at the lowest buy-in levels where I play). With the payjump from 0 to mincash being this big, I don't think it would be a mistake to only push KK+ on the stone bubble

The cruelty of poker. On the bubble of a 180-man, when I was comfortably a top10 stack, this hand happened

I ran it through Holden Resources Calculator, and as I expected, it was correct for me to apply ICM pressure and push wide

What was more surprising to me was that his call with 77 was also correct. He's also a fairly big stack, flipping for the title of a bubble boy seems suboptimal. But if I'm pushing as wide as shown above, I guess 77 is sufficiently ahead of that range

His calling range per HRC:

Next hand:

Won't bore you with more ranges, but both the push and the call were once again correct

So there you go - everyone plays correctly, and a top 10 stack goes to being the bubble boy by losing 2 flips

Couple of bad days with only a single cash between yesterday and today. Hopefully it doesn't become a habit. Worst feeling was when I pushed JJ against a bunch of limpers, and the guy who was playing 92/0 stats woke up with KK

Took a break over the weekend after making a few frustration-caused mistakes early on Saturday (did I say I don't tilt? I lied)

Mistake 1: overplaying TPTK

I can't continue with a raise and a call behind!

Mistake 2: loose shove after having to fold for a few orbits

Was sure any is a push in this spot, apparently offsuited it's only down to A8

Obviously he shoudn't call the shove with 76s, but if I know he calls this loose, I should shove even tighter

As a side note, it's interesting to see how much more equity suited hands have compared to offsuit. From cash play experience, I remember that suited hands have about 3% more equity. But looks like in tournament play this 3% makes a huge difference. I did not expect to see that Q9s is a better hand to push than KTo

Anyway, hopefully the break will help me rediscover good play as well as rungood. Back to the grind tomorrow!

Thought today was going to be a better day after getting some good hands early in tournaments. Should've remembered that tournaments can only be lost early, they can't be won early

One tournament I did lose early, owing to this hand. Fairly certain it was correct to play for stacks there, posted mostly for reassurance

The Big $0.55 dream died when a guy playing 70/30 stats woke up with QQ

The big $1.10 dream ended in an even more tragic way

Not a single cash so far, and only alive in one last 180-man. 22nd out of 32 at the moment, but under 20bb - and of course you have to final table these to get a cash worth mentioning. Fingers crossed...

Originally posted by Yuris125
Not a single cash so far, and only alive in one last 180-man. 22nd out of 32 at the moment, but under 20bb - and of course you have to final table these to get a cash worth mentioning. Fingers crossed...

Two lost flips later, I busted that as well At least I did mincash ♠_thumbsup:

Finally a profitable session, as I got a 6th place finish in a 180-man. Busted in a bit of a cooler too

Also, I've been hanging out in Ryan Schoonbaert's stream over the last month, and he was running a home game series during the SCOOP, with a piece of his action on the line. Managed 2nd place on the leaderboard (actually 3rd, but Ryan himself was in 2nd, and he wasn't in the running for prizes). Got my winnings from that today - and they came up to $64. One way to get a boost to the bankroll

Tournaments are frustrating. You're building stacks, taking stabs here and there, then you get a hand like this

Big pair. Have to call. Lose the flip on the river. Rip the dreams

This week has been frustrating in general tbh

(this is big blinds, $$$ graph is even more depressing, and the last two days pushed me into loss for the month)

Thinking if I want to have a nice long session tomorrow and win it all back, or go for a walk or something. Annoyingly, weather people are forecasting rains for the whole weekend, making me lean towards more poker....

Deep(ish) run in a $1.10 tournament today, finished 31st for $5.65. Unfortunately busted everything else, so still down on the day. Pity - was looking promising in some other tournaments, especially after I doubled up on the very first hand of Bigger $1.10

Unfortunately that was the only big hand I managed to win, and after hovering around 10k chips, I shoved with JJ against AQ and 65s, and of course the guys with 65s flopped a flush (which included an A as well)

Earned some bounties in the $0.55 knockout, and was feeling good about it, then a guy who was playing 75/25 stats openlimped with I had QQ, I raised, he shoved, and of course showed up with AA. Limp/shove is such a common way to play AA for these players, I actually expected it - but didn't think I could get away from QQ

In any case, it was a better day. Was nice to win some flips, and the deep run looked promising. Hungry for more.....

Originally posted by Yuris125
then a guy who was playing 75/25 stats openlimped with I had QQ, I raised, he shoved, and of course showed up with AA.

How do these 75 VPIP guys always manage to have it? ♦

Nice blog, look forward to reading!