Mind Games

Everyone is familiar with betting as a bluff, and betting for value, in this hand we check for value

In other news...

And all this after the stream ended...

<sigh>
VS

Once everyone joins in the fun, I decided not to push my luck.

Have a great week!
VS

In today's episode, I triple-barrel pot-sized bets with a pair of 9s and just 17 outs

All the best,
VS

Definition: 22 consecutive hands w/o a single playable one
The breakdown:
 Pocket pairs: 0
 Hands whose top card < 10: 12
     72o: 3
     Other 7-high: 2
     top card < 7: 6

All other hands were unplayable due to prior action.
Finally, with less than 1 BB I played Q♦:9♥: and totally missed the board.

<sigh>
VS

Not for me, however
Winning Poker Network (Yatahay) - 1,000/2,000 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 35,400 (0.00/0.00/-/3 (V/P/3/H)
UTG+1: 15,775 (66.67/66.67/-/3 (V/P/3/H)
MP: 37,475 (18.75/0.00/0.00/16 (V/P/3/H)
MP+1: 19,850 (28.43/18.00/21.62/103 (V/P/3/H)
CO: 83,100 (30.00/10.00/20.00/11 (V/P/3/H)
BTN: 45,800 (0.00/0.00/0.00/3 (V/P/3/H)
Hero (SB): 113,800
BB: 19,275 (15.56/17.07/21.43/45 (V/P/3/H)

8 players post ante of 200, Hero posts SB 1,000, BB posts BB 2,000

Pre Flop: (pot: 4,600) Hero has A♦:A♠:

UTG calls 2,000, UTG+1 raises to 6,300, fold, fold, CO raises to 10,600, fold, Hero raises to 113,600 and is all-in, fold, fold, UTG+1 calls 9,275 and is all-in, CO calls 72,300 and is all-in

Flop: (186,975, 3 players) 4♦:3♣:7♥:

Turn: (186,975, 3 players) 9♥:

River: (186,975, 3 players) K♠:

UTG+1 shows K♣:K♦: (Three of a Kind, Kings)

Main Pot [52,325]: (Pre 20%, Flop 10%, Turn 5%)

CO shows A♣:A♥: (One Pair, Aces)

Main Pot [52,325]: (Pre 40%, Flop 45%, Turn 48%)
Side Pot#1 [134,650]: (Pre 50%, Flop 50%, Turn 50%)

Hero shows A♦:A♠: (One Pair, Aces)

Main Pot [52,325]: (Pre 40%, Flop 45%, Turn 48%)
Side Pot#1 [134,650]: (Pre 50%, Flop 50%, Turn 50%)

UTG+1 wins 52,325
CO wins 67,325
Hero wins 67,325

Elements of Faith
As a poker player, you must have faith -- primarily faith that if you play your well-selected hands properly, then in the long run you will win.

I was playing Omahahaha tonight, and kept missing flops, or running good hands into better ones.

Running below EV is comforting, but my bank won't let me deposit my EV -- I know, I've asked.

And this is the hand that made up for all losses on all tables up to that point:

Cheers,
VS

As a poker player, you must have faith -- primarily faith that if you play your well-selected hands properly, then in the long run you will win.

Soooo true! I´m working on that.

Equity disappears like a fart in the wind

C$0.10 PL Hi/Lo - Omaha Hi/Lo - 10 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: C9.62 (46.64/1.30/1.31/3,470 (V/P/3/H)
Hero (SB): C15.06
BB: C19.09 (67.81/2.74/2.50/292 (V/P/3/H)
UTG: C5.18 (73.21/15.47/5.73/433 (V/P/3/H)
UTG+1: C3.70 (16.11/0.00/0.00/453 (V/P/3/H)
UTG+2: C1.87 (61.31/0.13/0.22/2,410 (V/P/3/H)
MP: C8.58 (24.73/0.53/1.65/376 (V/P/3/H)
MP+1: C9.30 (78.88/10.56/0.00/162 (V/P/3/H)
MP+2: C9.90 (67.34/2.18/1.85/1,795 (V/P/3/H)
CO: C11.71 (40.74/5.12/3.13/216 (V/P/3/H)

Hero posts SB C0.05, BB posts BB C0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: C0.15) Hero has A♠:3♥:A♥:2♠:

fold, fold, UTG+2 calls C0.10, fold, MP+1 calls C0.10, MP+2 calls C0.10, CO calls C0.10, fold, Hero raises to C0.70, fold, fold, MP+1 calls C0.60, MP+2 calls C0.60, CO calls C0.60

Flop: (C3.00, 4 players) Q♦:K♦:9♦:
Hero checks, MP+1 checks, MP+2 bets C2.25, fold, fold, fold

MP+2 wins C2.85
Rake paid C0.15

Save time with our mobile app!

 1. I have the "HonkMobile" parking app on my phone. I opened the app, and tried to log in but my password had expired, so I went through the hoops to reset it.
The circle of faint hope revolved for a while, then asked me to log in again.
I did.
Now I have to enter the car's license number, and location, choose how long I want to park for and pay.
Done.
Oh wait, this credit card is too old, please update your credit card information. (circle of faint hope resolves a while)
I enter credit card info, and pay.
Total time: 18 minutes.
Had I just stuck my card in the machine I would have been done in two minutes

 2. I used a burger joints mobile app to order two burgers ahead of time. Slick. It even popped up a map showing where I was, where to go, how long it would take to get there, and when the order would be prepared.
I get to the burger joint at the appointed time, only to receive blank looks.
NP -- I'll cancel the mobile order and place a manual one. Press the "cancel order" button. Nothing happens.
Place manual order, wait a bit long and head home with my order.
Click the help button in the mobile app, and send a strongly worded email to the address provided expressing my annoyance and frustration in firm but polite tones.
Email bounces "no such user"
Check the welcome email: Ah -- it is "order@aw.ca" not "orders" as specified in the mobile app help screen.
Fire off another SWE and vent my frustrations in my blog.
Total time since placing original order 1hr 14 min.

Oh yeah, and the order still shows as pending...

<sigh>
VS

Haha ! In the future we're gonna experiment so many new ways to waste our time
Maybe there is something to say in latin about it

Desperate, I call an all-in w/ 66, hoping villain #1 has AKo or similar...

When a third player enters the ring, I just hope they both have AK, so they cannibalize each other's outs.

At this point, I'm 12/13 with 9 paid.

Winning Poker Network (Yatahay) - 3,500/7,000 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 40,600 (16.67/7.14/0.00/30 (V/P/3/H)
UTG+1: 89,165 (21.50/17.14/8.11/109 (V/P/3/H)
Hero (MP): 39,515
MP+1: 66,650 (25.00/19.05/11.11/24 (V/P/3/H)
CO: 32,300 (21.57/15.12/13.79/102 (V/P/3/H)
BTN: 34,800 (21.62/23.53/18.18/37 (V/P/3/H)
SB: 50,624 (30.77/20.00/0.00/13 (V/P/3/H)
BB: 57,450 (12.00/0.00/0.00/50 (V/P/3/H)

8 players post ante of 700, SB posts SB 3,500, BB posts BB 7,000

Pre Flop: (pot: 16,100) Hero has 6♣:6♦:

fold, UTG+1 raises to 88,465 and is all-in, Hero calls 38,815 and is all-in, fold, fold, fold, SB calls 46,424 and is all-in, fold

Flop: (151,263, 3 players) 8♥:8♠:6♥:

Turn: (151,263, 3 players) 5♠:

River: (151,263, 3 players) J♥:

UTG+1 shows A♥:J♠: (Two Pair, Jacks and Eights)

Main Pot [129,045]: (Pre 21%, Flop 1%, Turn 0%)
Side Pot#1 [22,218]: (Pre 26%, Flop 22%, Turn 12%)

Hero shows 6♣:6♦: (Full House, Sixes full of Eights)

Main Pot [129,045]: (Pre 46%, Flop 97%, Turn 100%)

SB shows Q♦:A♠: (One Pair, Eights)

Main Pot [129,045]: (Pre 33%, Flop 1%, Turn 0%)
Side Pot#1 [22,218]: (Pre 73%, Flop 78%, Turn 88%)

UTG+1 wins 22,218
Hero wins 129,045

Of course, flopping the boat helped too ♠_biggrin:

The Win/Loss amount ignores rake, but I'll take what I can get...

It has its ups and downs...

I had a terrible downswing this week -- dropped 10 stacks at PLO 10 before recovering slightly.

Then this morning, I entered a $5 PLO tourney...
And came first.

I didn't just win it -- I was the chipleader pretty much the entire way except for the first half hour.

Since this is the "Mind Games" blog, I thought I'd mention something I noticed a few days ago.
I was streaming the $3.30 NL 2-7 Single Draw PKO on Monday, and after winning a big pot, I said, "Wouldn't it be funny if I actually cashed?"

I then recognized that I did not expect to cash!
How can you enter a tournament and not expect to cash?

Weird.

All the best,
VS

Well, maybe having no expectations whatsoever is best for the mental.
Or maybe you just suck at MTT and thus aren't used to cash

It's a thin line indeed. You could also have said that you just don't feel entitled to cash everytime. It's the opposite to a gambler who says themself 'but this one is the one I will score for a live changing amount of money!'

Yeah, I've been mulling this over since last Monday.
I quite often say of a result, "Well that is better than I expected, but not as good as I had hoped".

Let's imagine that expectation and hope are on a spectrum.
 On the low end we play with the mindset "Well there's a chance, but it would take a miracle" An example of this would be me plunking down $215 to play the Sunday Million on Stars.
 On the high end, we have "I can do this -- I've done it before, and if I play sensibly I'll do well"
 A bit past the high end, we have "Pfft, this is so easy I can do it blindfolded" I can't think of any examples of this, because I think that overconfidence can harm your ability to think straight -- it is a form of tilt.

So somewhere on that spectrum is the ideal head space.

May you all get your heads into that space!
VS

I looked at the board, and for some strange reason, the thought went through my head that he need something on the board besides the A -- as you would in Omaha.

888 Poker - $0.05 NL (6 max) FAST - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): $9.57
SB: $10.89
BB: $2.12
UTG: $3.15
MP: $1.70
CO: $3.66

SB posts SB $0.02, BB posts BB $0.05

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.07) Hero has 7♣:9♦:

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.15, SB calls $0.13, fold

Flop: ($0.35, 2 players) 9♣:A♦:5♠:
SB checks, Hero bets $0.17, SB calls $0.17

Turn: ($0.69, 2 players) A♠:
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($0.69, 2 players) 9♥:
SB bets $0.35, Hero raises to $9.25 and is all-in, SB calls $8.90

Hero shows 7♣:9♦: (Full House, Nines full of Aces)
(Pre 36%, Flop 20%, Turn 0%)
SB shows A♥:T♦: (Full House, Aces full of Nines)
(Pre 64%, Flop 80%, Turn 100%)
SB wins $18.07
Rake paid $1.12

This is the second glaring error I've made on stream recently. I wish I had something other than stupidity I could blame it on, but plain and simple, I mis-played the hand.

As you can see from the graph, I actually can play -- the other stack-size drops are things like flopped sets getting outdrawn by straights and flushes -- or in one case a higher set. I don't worry about those.

On a better note, I did rather well at FL $1/$2 2-7 Triple draw, and NL 50 5-Card draw, so the day wasn't a complete disaster...

Cheers,
VS

I guess that's the danger when playing too many different variants too ^^

Originally posted by MyFloXyBabY
Well, maybe having no expectations whatsoever is best for the mental.
Or maybe you just suck at MTT and thus aren't used to cash

Exactly! Even though I´m an ambitious person, the best way to succeed has always been having no expectations.

79o hand: very well played until the river: wouldn´t have raised river, just call. You have a strong hand here, two aces are indeed blocked but your hand is not strong enough to play for stacks, especially in CG. Your raise on the river makes no sense, because no better hand will fold and no worse hand will probably call. So: As played, just call the river bet. ♠_thumbsup:

Originally posted by Primrose6789
79o hand: very well played until the river: wouldn´t have raised river, just call. You have a strong hand here, two aces are indeed blocked but your hand is not strong enough to play for stacks, especially in CG. Your raise on the river makes no sense, because no better hand will fold and no worse hand will probably call. So: As played, just call the river bet. ♠_thumbsup:

Hi Prim,
Yes -- that is it exactly. The root of the problem is that I looked at the board thinking he need to have another board card besides an A -- which is a carryover from Omaha. So complete and total misread and misplay and ...

On the plus side hear is at least one player who thinks I'm a total buffoon.

@MyFloXyBabY -- although playing several different variants at once can be confusing at first, it does force you to pay more attention and be more analytical (well except in this case ♠_cry: ). The true test is when you play 2-7 triple draw and 5-Card Draw simultaneously on different tables -- and I have done that. The worst part of that is when you get dealt 75432 on your 5-Card Draw table, and quad kings on the 2-7 -- and I've had both of those happen (though not at the same time)

All the best,
VS