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December 18th, 2008. I am a play money donk on PokerStars with a promotional $5 bankroll. I leave it untouched for months. PokerStars threatens to re-gift the money, and so I decide to learn about cash games.
My girlfriend has impulsively brought home a dog today. She's scheduled to fly home after the weekend, and so I stay with our new pet for the holidays. She is fuzzy and a little overwhelmed in her new environment, but curious nevertheless... especially when the cat is in sight. Her name is Sadie.
My opponent is a nit. 22/17 over 140 hands.
IPoker, $0.10/$0.20 Limit Hold'em Cash, 4 Players
Preflop: Hero is BTN with T♣ T♥
CO raises, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, CO calls
Flop: (7.5 SB) 2♥ 5♥ 4♥ (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO raises, Hero 3-bets, CO calls
Turn: (6.8 BB) Q♥ (2 players)
CO checks, Hero checks
I expect to be marginally ahead of my opponents entire hand range here on the turn, BUT i am an underdog against the hand range that continues vs. my turn c-bet. Also, his range of better hands will very often raise which will be costly for me. The hands he will fold are drawing dead.
His range is below. We might add in other things, but this is not necessary. You'll see why soon.
Board: 5♥4♥2♥ Q♥
Equity Win Tie
MP2 45.62% 45.62% 0.00% { 99-66, AdJh, AhJd, AhJs, AhJc, AsJh, AcJh, AhTd, AhTs, Ah9d, Ah9s, Ah9c, Ah8d, Ah8s, Ah8c, KhQd, KhQs, KhQc, KsJh, KhTd, KhTs, KhTc }
MP3 54.38% 54.38% 0.00% { ThTc }
I'm flipping against a range that outplays me vs my turn c-bet. He folds correctly with pairs that are drawing dead, and raises correctly with the 2nd nut flush or better. When he folds all his pairs that have no flush my equity falls off considerably.
Board: 5♥4♥2♥ Q♥
Equity Win Tie
MP2 62.72% 62.72% 0.00% { 9d9h, 9h9s, 9h9c, 8d8h, 8h8s, 8h8c, 7d7h, 7h7s, 7h7c, 6d6h, 6h6s, 6h6c, AdJh, AhJd, AhJs, AhJc, AsJh, AcJh, AhTd, AhTs, Ah9d, Ah9s, Ah9c, Ah8d, Ah8s, Ah8c, KhQd, KhQs, KhQc, KsJh, KhTd, KhTs }
MP3 37.28% 37.28% 0.00% { ThTc }
By deciding to check back the turn it makes it more likely for my opponent to make a mistake and check/call with 66-99 (say another heart falls & they hope for a chop, or a blank comes & they think they're ahead).
It also makes it more difficult for my opponent to extract value with their better flush hands (they get just 1 bet instead of 3). I will also get value from their weaker flush, either when they bet or when i do.
By reducing the number of mistakes i will make and increasing the probability my opponent will make mistakes I increase my expected value for the hand.
This line will also allow me to ballance my range for a check back on the turn. It will make it more difficult for opponents to bluff me if i am also checking back hands like this one.
If we then continue and analyze river cards, any A-J♥ is good for my range. The A♥ gives me ~57% equity against his range for a river bet/call.
If he always 3-bet his better hands I would need 66% equity... but I expect he will miss value with J♥ some of the time, bet/call a 5flush with air some of the time, and will simply check/call the flop with K♥ some of the time (so we can discount a little). As a result I would raise a river bet on the A♥ for value (and grudgingly call a 3-bet hoping to see something spewy).
Grinding away... shaping up to be one of my highest volume months in a while.
I'm a little sick today though. Pizza last night, the topings? Spinach, goat cheese, and chicken. What the hell was I thinking?
Music... today I'm grinding to the Tron Legacy soundtrack. It's Bio-Digital Jazz, Man!
My Games & Stakes: FLHE, .1/.2 - .5/1.
I took a few shots at 1/2 a few months ago but for more than one reason the results were...
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I lost 10BB/100 over that sample, and this represents such a huge departure from my normal results that it was easy to figure some of this was just bad luck. Granted, i have LOTS of areas to improve.
Some lifetime stats:
2.58 BB/100 over 22K at .5/1
4.57 BB/100 over 33K @ .25/.5
I play on a couple sites right now.
February, 1994.
Some thirty feet off shore, I am standing on a dark layer of ice at the bottom of a strange canyon which cuts along the shoreline. Its cold white walls are much higher than I can reach and curl inward at their peaks. Towards one end the walls become shorter where the snow and ice has collected to form a mound that holds back the water. At the other end a small cavern has formed, though I can't be sure how. I break away a hard layer of snow and climb to the surface.
This month started out brilliantly on all counts. I've focused a decent amount on improving and managed to log plenty of hands. I've already completed most of the things I planned to, so it seemed important to change my focus.
At the moment my BR is small, and I cannot consider taking shots at higher stakes. So a few days ago I started adding 1-2 tables to try and grind out a roll. Since then I've dropped around 90BB, and found it fairly difficult to play well with 4-5 tables open.
Today I decided to cut down and play just 2 tables, and focus really hard on a few specific areas (c-betting the turn UI, turn 3-betting ranges). I felt good about my play in general, and I was glad that I decided to take a day to focus on improvement... but as the negative results pile up I think its important to reward my hard work with something much more reliable than the outcome of a game of chance.
So, today I'm going to take a stroll in the park, get a hair cut, and maybe talk to a cute girl I met recently.
Curiosity swelled--last week I discovered the staking forum on PokerStrategy, a medium for players with high ambitions and shallow pockets.
I've never put much thought into accepting stakes, and even refused on more than one occasion. Just this year I was offered a hefty bankroll to take shots at bigger cash games, but refused. I wanted to beat each level before moving up.
But this is SCOOP week. I'd never played these events before, and was excited by the prospect. Large Limit Holdem tournaments are hard to come by. I couldn't buyin outright, a recent cash out left me with just enough to play at my current stakes without taking any significant chances of going broke.
I looked at satelliting in, but the investment was not worth the trouble. Approximately 1 in 4 received an entry at 1000 FPPs a shot--and you can forget about a 10% rake--now its closer to double. Even at ~30% of the cost to enter, the prospect of reducing my chances to cash by 75% and increasing my rake by 100% failed to peak my interests. A satellite was all but out of the question.
At the 11th hour my application thread popped up on the front page. I was lucky to catch it out of the corner of my eye. Someone wanted my action. Jan had read this blog, stumbled upon my application, and offered to take 50%. This seemed just about right.
15 minutes later and we're booked. Reg, snack food, energy drinks, shipit. On my way home from the grocery store I dreamed of going on a deep run, perhaps making a final table, and even hoping to hear Nick Wealthall commenting on MY play... but the moment passed quickly.
We all know that Fixed Limit final tables never make it to air... as for the rest I knew it was a long shot but still--it could happen. We were determined to play the odds.
SCOOP-32-L FL Hold'em 6-Max
Here I Come.
More than double the starting stack, nice and healthy with 50BB. good table regardless of seat draw. rungood in full effect right now.
Currently in 18th chip position.
10th in chips. just below a 50BB stack. the field has changed dramatically in the last hour.
solid 2nd hour.
very little chip accumulation in last hour. A little card dead i suppose but still healthy with around 50 blinds/25BB.
I've fallen all they way out of the top 100, but still sitting on a good sized stack.
i did however get moved to a soft table and theres plenty of chips available.
Still in it, but I'm on life support.
At about half way through the last hour I had back to back to back hands go south.
CO: t15435 25.73 BBs
BTN: t19493 32.49 BBs
SB: t25830 43.05 BBs
BB: t39360 65.60 BBs
UTG: t6720 11.20 BBs
Hero (MP): t22710 37.85 BBs
Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is MP with A 
J 
1 fold, Hero raises, CO 3-bets, 3 folds, Hero calls
Flop: (7.5 SB) T 
6 J (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets, Hero raises, CO 3-bets, Hero calls
Turn: (6.75 BB) 3 
(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets, Hero calls
River: (8.75 BB) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets, Hero calls
Final Pot: 10.75 BB
CO shows K K (two pair, Kings and Sixes)
Hero mucks A J
CO wins 10.75 BB
MP: t22335 37.23 BBs
CO: t19493 32.49 BBs
BTN: t25530 42.55 BBs
SB: t38760 64.60 BBs
BB: t6720 11.20 BBs
Hero (UTG): t16710 27.85 BBs
Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is UTG with K Q
Hero raises, 4 folds, BB calls
Flop: (4.5 SB) T J 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls
Turn: (3.25 BB) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls
River: (5.25 BB) 2 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks
Final Pot: 5.25 BB
BB shows 7 7 (two pair, Sevens and Sixes)
Hero mucks K Q
BB wins 5.25 BB
UTG: t22335 27.92 BBs
MP: t19493 24.37 BBs
CO: t25530 31.91 BBs
BTN: t38460 48.08 BBs
SB: t10020 12.53 BBs
Hero (BB): t13710 17.14 BBs
Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BB with J J
3 folds, BTN raises, SB 3-bets, Hero caps!, 1 fold, SB calls
Flop: (10 SB) 3 2 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, SB raises, Hero calls
Turn: (7 BB) 9 (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls
River: (9 BB) 8 (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls
Final Pot: 11 BB
SB shows 8 8 (three of a kind, Eights)
Hero mucks J J
SB wins 11 BB
oh, we're 9 outside the money. I plan on going out on my sword if the situation requires it.
BUSTO!!! Going out in 391st place I am the envy of no one--official bubble boy.
I tripped up on a very short stack with JJ, then shipped it a round later with AK during hand for hand. I feel 90% very happy with my play. I do think mid tournament play can use some improvements... but results aside it went great.
Poker Stars $50+$5 Limit Hold'em Tournament - t1200/t2400 Limit - 6 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter
CO: t30335 25.28 BBs
BTN: t41706 34.76 BBs
SB: t72230 60.19 BBs
BB: t16103 13.42 BBs
UTG: t52670 43.89 BBs
Hero (MP): t1760 1.47 BBs
Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is MP with J J
1 fold, Hero raises all in, 1 fold, BTN calls, 1 fold, BB calls
Flop: (4.9 SB) J 5 6 (3 players - 1 is all in)
BB checks, BTN checks
Turn: (2.45 BB) 4 (3 players - 1 is all in)
BB checks, BTN checks
River: (2.45 BB) K (3 players - 1 is all in)
BB checks, BTN checks
Final Pot: 2.45 BB
BTN mucks 8 A
BB shows 9 3 (high card King)
Hero shows J J (three of a kind, Jacks)
Hero wins 2.45 BB
Poker Stars $50+$5 Limit Hold'em Tournament - t1200/t2400 Limit - 6 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter
UTG: t33335 27.78 BBs
MP: t30946 25.79 BBs
CO: t74630 62.19 BBs
BTN: t33543 27.95 BBs
SB: t40070 33.39 BBs
Hero (BB): t2280 1.90 BBs
Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is BB with K A
3 folds, BTN raises, SB 3-bets, Hero calls all in, BTN calls
Flop: (7.9 SB) A 2 5 (3 players - 1 is all in)
SB bets, BTN raises, SB calls
Turn: (5.95 BB) 7 (3 players - 1 is all in)
SB checks, BTN bets, SB calls
River: (7.95 BB) 9 (3 players - 1 is all in)
SB checks, BTN bets, SB calls
Final Pot: 9.95 BB
BTN shows 2 2 (three of a kind, Deuces)
SB mucks A T
Hero mucks K A
BTN wins 7.1 BB
BTN wins 2.85 BB
And now for bubble related content Ad Nausium ....
Ship the Inside SCOOP guesstion prize????
Standard eyemo.
For all the donkeys that min-cashed 5 seconds later. You know who you are 
