Category Archives: poker

I decided to play in the Mookie tournament today, as I had not played any cards yet. I got all signed up for it with a few minutes before it was to start, then started hitting some websites to read up on other people’s take on the WWDN Invitational. Because honestly, reading what other people say about it is damn near as fun as actually playing in it.

Unfortunately, I came across the following take on the action at S.t.B.’s website. To quote just one little bit of it:

I fought may way back up until I got knocked out with the trips against the boat. MP decided to limp with Q Q instead of raising. They deserved to lose that hand instead of knocking me out.

Now, I was the “MP” in that situation, and reading this really irritated me. The whole idea behind poker is deception, right? You are supposed to make your opponent believe that you have something other than what you actually do. If that wasn’t the point of poker then we would just play every hand face up. Also, I have been at the table with this guy before on numerous occasions, and had he paid any attention whatsoever to my play, he would know that I NEVER RAISE PRE-FLOP. I can think of probably three hands out of 4 of these tournaments where I actually have raised pre-flop, and it generally always ends badly.

On the particular hand in question, two guys in front of me had already called it, if both of the blinds are in it as well there are five people playing at it. I have the second smallest stack at the table, and even if I was the type to raise pre-flop, I wouldn’t have done it in that situation. I want someone to hit something on the flop and bet into it, I need to take as many chips as I can, provided I have the winning hand. Instead of that happening though, he pushed and knocked everyone else out of the hand. What did he want me to do? Fold?

What really, really, really irritated me though was that what he said to me was “nice hand” (well an abbreviation for it), but what he wrote about it was “They deserved to lose that hand instead of knocking me out.” Maddening.

Yes, I am taking that entirely too personally.

So then the Mookie tournament started, and I was still stewing about that. I played like absolute shit -even worse than I evidently had the other day. I was looking through my hand history at one point and noticed that I had actually folded a king high flush, it was at that point that I knew my head wasn’t in it. I told the people at my table that my head wasn’t in it, then pushed on the next hand, which didn’t quite take me out since the only caller was the short stack, so I had to push on the hand after it as well.

So, note to self: Don’t check out others people’s blogs when you are about to start a tournament.

I played in the WWDN invitational again tonight. This is the highest stake game that I generally play in, and it is just a ten dollar buy in. I did okay I suppose. Unfortunately, I was playing a bit scared at the beginning, and most of that was because Hoyazo was at my table, and I knew that any play I made was likely to end up on his blog. Yes, fear of being embarrassed, that is definitely the way to play poker!

I finished the thing in 21st place out of 72, which would bring my average finish to somewhere in the low 20s I think. I still think that is pretty good when you consider just who the competition is at that event. They are mostly all poker bloggers, and not just bloggers that happen to play poker like me; they are mostly poker players who happen to blog. Of course I don’t think ten bucks is nearly as much money to them as it is to me, so they also might not be bringing their A game, but who knows.

Speaking of Hoy, I am watching him in the bracelet race on Full Tilt, where he is currently 6th out of 19 remaining. Top three win WSOP prize packs. Best of luck to him!

Fresh off of my amazing streak last night, I entered a couple of MTTs this morning. One was a 45 person, $1 buy in, the other was an 18 person $1.50 buy in. I didn’t play particularly well in either one of them, but I was able to cash in both. The 18 person one I finished in fourth, which was just enough to cover the buy in, and possibly buy a soda if I could get one for about .45 cents. I did a bit better in the 45 person one.

Here I must note that I am generally much better in single table sit and go’s than I am in MTTs. There is just something about getting moved from table to table that seems to keep me from getting into any real rhythm. Today was no different, but the distraction of having the 18 player tourney going for the first half of the 45 player one kept me from really paying any attention to who was at the table anyway.

At about the same time as I busted out of the smaller tourney, the larger one went on break. It seems almost sad really, that I am risking a buck for the chance to win as much as $14 and it takes well over an hour. Hell, it seems even worse that I actually only cashed $4, and that was after just under two hours of play, but I do have to learn how to play in an MTT before I dive into one with bigger stakes.

My best starting hand of the day, and what turned out to be my best call of the day, came just after the break. I had aces in the small blind and bet 3x the BB. I got three callers on it, which was better than I could have hoped. Better, that is, until the flop came up with a pair of Queens and a 2. Under the gun pushes all in, and is quickly called by the other two still in the hand. Seems pretty clear that at least one of them has a Queen, that or a pair of 2’s, and either way I was fucked. I had about half of my chips in the pot at that point, but it was just so clear that my aces were no good that I had to lay it down. Once everyone was sufficiently all in, we got to see their cards. One guy did have the pocket 2’s, and he was the last one to call. The other two hands were A-Q and K-Q, both of which went down to the full house of 2’s and Queens. Now, had it been me that made the play with the pocket 2’s, the turn would have been a king and the river an Ace, just to make doubly sure that I lost to everyone, but what are you gonna do.

The next hand, I got an A-4 of diamonds on the button. Again I raised, but only to half of my now meager stack. Got two callers. The flop was K-Q-6, all diamonds. I pushed all in and both of them called. They both had me more than covered at this point.. The turn and river were garbage cards, and the other guys just checked to the showdown. I only got to see one of their hands, the other guy mucked. The winner of the side pot had a K-Q, but no matter, I tripled up.

It took an hour and a half to get to the final table, and only the top seven were paid. Three of us had over 10,000 in chips, while three had under 3,000. I took advantage of being one of the big stacks by stealing damn near every pot for the first couple of orbits. I had just taken the chip lead when someone finally called my raise and caught me with a 4-7 offsuit, which was just about the same hand no one had called me on in the last ten minutes. I had to fold to his all in call, so at that point I lost a lot of credibility. I wasn’t able to steal much of anything after that because every time I tried someone would call. And when they did call, I never got any help on the flop and generally had to lay them down on the flop or turn.

I did get to bust out the guy in 9th place when I was in the big blind with an A-8 suited. We were at the flop, which had come up 8 high. There was a possibility of a straight, but only if you were in with a 4-7 offsuit. This guy was on the button, so I assumed that wasn’t what he was holding. But he was also the short stack, and I had TPTK. Unless he was holding a pair, which I think he pushes in before the flop from the button, especially when he is short stacked, I should win the hand. I call and get to see his A-7 offsuit, so I have to sweat just a bit as I wait for the turn and river to be anything but a 4 or a pair of sevens. My hand did hold out.

Nothing much happened until it was down to five left. Four were hovering around 14,000 chips, while I was right around 10,000. The blinds were 600/1200, so it was just folding and more folding. Then we came to a hand where I was in the big blind with a 7-8 of clubs and everyone was in the pot. Over 6,000 in the pot by the time it gets around to me, I decided to double it up to see how many of them really wanted to be in the hand. Only one called, but that pot was now at almost 10,000. I got one club on the flop, and a gutshot straight draw needing a 9. I decided to make my stand, which probably wasn’t the best decision. Hell, who am I trying to kid, it definitely wasn’t the best decision. I pushed and he called with a 10-J, pairing his ten. My only hope was the gutshot straight or a runner runner flush. Neither of which happened, so IGH in 5th.

Still, I think I am getting a lot better at the MTT format. I haven’t actually won one yet, but I sure am getting to the money a lot (for those who actually consider a buck to be “money” that is). If there was more money on the line, I would like to think that I would have just called my way into that last hand, then folded when I didn’t hit a pair on the flop. Of course I can’t actually be sure of that until I am in that position, but the fact that I knew that it was the wrong move to make even while I did it makes me think that I probably could have resisted. The difference between 4th and 5th in my position was only a dollar. Had I been in a ten dollar game, that difference would have been ten dollars. I took a huge gamble for a dollar for the slight chance to double up and take a crack at winning the whole thing. In a ten dollar game, I think I would have listened to my gut…I hope.

There is nothing more frustrating that sitting around watching all your chips dwindle away, especially when you have a fairly strong hand, but you just don’t get hit on the flop, turn, or river. That was the kind of luck I was having all day today. One hand in particular, I had a suited slick and found myself all in against a Q-J offsuit. Sure, I am not a huge favorite to win this one, but he does have only six outs, barring a straight draw, but that would split the pot anyway -well, unless it was 8-Q, but that didn’t happen. What did happen though, was a Q-2-J flop that effectively ended it for me. Then, just to kick me in the nuts, the river was another Jack. Another hand, I did get hit, and made an Ace high flush on the turn, again holding a suited slick, but lost when the river hit a 6 giving the other guy a full house. Yes, he went all in with a 2-6 offsuit after I had raised it 5x pre-flop. It’s no wonder good players hate playing with us donkeys: you simply can’t be prepared for someone to pull that hand out of there ass. What are the odds of them making the full house? Some days it seems like about 1 in 3.

When I decided to play another game several hours later, I went with a low buy in, 18 player game. I sure didn’t want to put much money out with the luck I had been having. Of course, when the prize for winning is only ten bucks, then, then I start to get the cards, and in a big way. Hell, it seems like I couldn’t miss. I started taking some pictures just after what would turn out to be my last shit hand of the tournament. Then I kept on taking them, ’cause it was just silly the cards that I was getting. I offer it up here for your relative enjoyment:

With the suited A-8 in middle position, I limped into this one. I had been having horrible luck all night at this point.

When it turned into an Ace high flush on the river, I bet all in, since the big stack in the bottom middle had raised it when the king came on the turn:

Alas, Mr. Big stack didn’t want to tangle, so it was just me and the short stack that got to show off our cards, and the beginning of what would be a series of awesome hands for me:

I came across a pair of jacks on the button, and was trying to slow play it, hoping to take out at least two of the shorter stacks. Then the one on the top right here went all in. I was the only one to call it, but I only got a pre-flop screenshot of this one (I had two tournaments running at the same time so some of the screenshots I took were of the wrong damn game). She went out on this hand, and it took me to second in chips:

Got an A-4 suited in the big blind, which turned into a bit of a raise-fest. I had to call this one just because of the size of the pot. I would probably have called it anyway though, I always like to see a flop if I have an A-anything that are suited.

PokerStars gave me a gift on this one. I bet half the pot, but even that was too rich for Mr. Bingo:

Look at the size of that pot. It sure is nice when more than one person calls the all in from the short stack. All I had to do now was wait this out and hope that he didn’t catch two running hearts.

Which he didn’t. At that point I took the chip lead:

We’re down to six people when I get the A-J offsuit in late position:

The bet is too high for all but one guy by the time I get my ace on the turn:

So what should come on the river? Well a jack. Giving me top two pair.

I was pretty sure I had this hand won, but when he bet 500 into it, I didn’t want to risk an all in call only to see that he had pocket threes or a 4-5 offsuit. Of course he didn’t have it, he had a broken flush, and a hell of a low one at that:

I am in the small blind here, going in on a hand that I would probably have laid down if I didn’t have such a huge stack at this point. The flop gives me a gutshot draw, but the bet to see the turn is pretty small:

And, it checked around to the river, which was good ’cause if anyone had bet into it at this point I would have probably laid them down.

This time, I bet 500 hoping to keep them both in it, or possibly get a re-raise if someone had two pair, but only one called.

Suited Q-J when we are down to four players, of course I am going in with that hand. Of course I don’t want to bet into it, I am hoping to eliminate one or both of the short stacks if the flop hits me.

The flop leaves me on a flush draw when the short stack pushes. I called him figuring I would make my flush with the luck that I had been having this game:

Turns out he was betting on the flush too. Unfortunately for him, he was doing it in the same suit as I was but with lower cards. The turn gave both of us the flush, and thus me the win. Except that he now had a gutshot straight-flush draw at the river, which he thankfully didn’t make (probably would have in the games I was playing this morning though).

We swapped a few hands back and forth in the heads up. He was having a bit better luck than I was though. Here I am shortstacked after I had lost with top two pair to his three of a kind. Sadly this would be my last win of the heads up.

We got all in on the very next hand, but it didn’t happen until the river. He had been checking since the flop when there were a bunch of small cards on the board, I paired an Ace on the turn and a Queen on the river. I thought I was gonna double-up, but he flipped over yet another three of a kind, 4’s this time.

As much as I know that you are supposed to be pissed when you finish second, I was actually pretty happy with it. I finally made a return on my buy in, and that was far better than I had been doing earlier in the day. I just wish there was some way to know when the cards are going to start falling your way so that I could do this in a game with a higher buy in. I guess that is what everyone is searching for though. The ones whose cards start to hit at exactly the right time can end up making a lot of money.

The thing is that you I can’t really approach this game with the hopes of making money or it seems to cloud your my judgment. If it takes playing the low buy in tables for the next year to get to where I can win with some consistency, thus giving me the confidence to make good judgments when I am playing for larger stakes, that is what I am going to have to do; It is far better to be winning small sums of money than losing large sums (and to me the $10 buy in to the WWDN Invitational counts as a “large sum”).

I was on the phone with a friend tonight, and he asked me how long I had been playing poker -Hold ‘Em specifically. And I had to think about it for a bit before I answered. I have had an account on PokerStars for a couple of months, and when I first started it I did play in a few micro-low-limit games, but that was about it. I played at the play money tables, found out that I wasn’t very good at it and just sort of gave it up. I only really started playing a couple of weeks ago.

The first real game I played in was actually a WWDN Tourney, a game that I played in more because I enjoyed reading Wil’s blog and thought it would be cool to play a game of cards with him than because I really thought I had a realistic shot at getting anywhere near the final table. And boy was I ever right. I didn’t go out first, but I am pretty sure I was in the top five (well, bottom five I guess, from that perspective). Yes, I got my ass handed to me. Which is an entirely false statement, the truth is that I handed my ass to myself (that didn’t come out right).

I know myself well enough to know that I am not going to take anybody’s word for anything; you tell me the sky is blue and I am damn sure gonna go check it out for myself. I don’t know what it is about me that makes me do that, but I know that I do. That translated into poker, just as it does pretty much everything else I try, in a bad way. You see, I have to go in there and try what everyone else already knows won’t work before I believe that it won’t work, which is probably a bad thing.

The only Hold ‘Em I had ever even really seen was the WSOP on the travel channel, and then only at the final table with two or three players. Which, of course, means that they guys are going to play with and call with far less than premium hands. That was something that I sure didn’t know at the time. Unfortunately, that mentality was what came into my poker game because that had been my only influence. So when the first tournament I ever really played in just happened to be with about the toughest on-line field you are likely to ever see, I beat myself, and everyone there, including me, knew it.

Nothing pisses me off more than knowing that I want to do something that I am really bad at, so I had to find a way to start getting better. But, I refused to buy or read any strategy book, or pot-odds/hand-odds type material. I wanted to start learning it myself. You see, if I take the lumps along the way, so I surmised, I would learn the lessons a lot better, and I would be far less likely to make a mistake twice, where it would be entirely possible to momentarily forget the same mathematic calculation twice. Which is all just a long, roundabout way of saying that I wouldn’t believe that I really should fold a Q-2 of hearts when three people ahead of me have already gone all-in until I have actually tried it and seen the results (which are always bad, if you are taking notes).

I began playing the low-limit tables at pokerstars and sucking handily. I played every card that had any possible flush or straight possibility. And if it was a possible straight flush, I played it hard. Note that I am not talking about like the AQ of diamonds here, I am talking about the 2-6 of hearts. Just three more hearts and I have a flush! Possibly a straight flush! Which, of course, never happened. And the few times where I actually did make the flush, I would invariably lose the pot to someone with a higher suited card. I lost, and I lost a lot.

My biggest problem (after I began to understand which hands to play) was that I was in “survive until everyone else goes out” mode. I would just sit there staring at the screen hoping beyond hope that everyone else would bust out and leave me in the money. Which also didn’t seem to work out so well, go figure. At that point I was laying down hands that were actually good so that I didn’t have to risk any portion of my meager stack. I am talking about pairs of faces that I would lay down in the face of any bet. I was scared shitless playing like, well, someone who wanted to just watch their stack get blinded away because he lacks the balls to call with the winning hand. That is not a good way to play.

After losing over and over to such horrible tactics, I changed my tactics. Good call, that. I am now into the level where I am actually thinking a few levels into each hand (with various random donkishness inserted). I am now able to think about what I am holding , come up with a fairly decent idea of what my opponent is holding (based on bets), and, most importantly, have a pretty good idea of what he thinks I am holding. Knowing what I am holding is a gimme, but the other two are taking me a lot of practice to improve at. And what is more, it seems that it is far easier to figure out the third point than the second.

The second point is the only one you have no control over; you simply can’t will him to have a different hand -trust me, I have tried. You can control what he thinks you have though, all it takes is good betting. Unfortunately, the good betting still comes and goes for me. I can sometimes do it, but sometimes, particularly if I have a decent lead or defecit, my mind just sort of shuts down. Then I look at my hand histories the next day and wonder why in the fuck I didn’t bet all in when I made my trips, and instead let it go down to the river where he made his flush. I am getting better at it though, all it takes is practice.

I did pretty much luck my way into the final table at the WWDN tourney yesterday (just on the one had really, the rest were just standard suckouts), but I also played another tourney yesterday. It was just a low-limit buy-in ($5) with a field of 45, but I played my way through it better than most of the other donkeys and finished in fourth. That was a tournament that I know I would not have made it past the first table on just a couple of weeks ago. So that made it two tournaments that I played yesterday, and two that I finished in the money. Baby steps people.

So today, while watching the The Mookie Mrs. Butterworth Open, I decided to go play a game with a field of 45 at the dollar table. Jesus titty-fucking christ. I can’t possibly have ever been that bad, can I? I folded an AQ early on when a pair of sevens hit the board and two guys went all-in. Did they both have the other sevens? Nope, they went on to split the pot with 6-9 offsuit hole cards. A split pot with 6-9 offsuit, dear God I hope I never made that push or call, but I probably did. Anyway, out of the 45 I ended up finishing fourth when I pushed all in from the button with queens, and got called by the big blind with kings. I only came in fourth, but oh how I played so much smarter than most of the other people at the table.

With luck my game will continue to get better as time goes on, but for now I am just thinking Wow, what a difference a couple of weeks can make.

Through an amazing combination of fishery and donkishness, I managed to finish sixth in the WWDN invitational. That is a pretty big deal to me, since some of the best poker bloggers in the game compete in that event. If I get an inkling, I may add to this post at a later time. With mad props to Mungo (linkage to come) for doubling me up when I was down to 475 chips and had a lowly 48 offsuit. But he also should have known better than to go in against a powerhouse hand like that; the only thing that can take it down is the hammer.

I managed to nearly double up very early on when I got queens, but even with what should have been a dominating hand I was scared to go in, and when the board came up with a jack, and the other guy raised, I really thought I was in trouble. When the river came up a 9, giving the board a pair of 9s and a Jack, I had visions of going out really early to either three nines or a boat, but thankfully he had an AJ, so I did get the win. But my god how horribly I played that hand. There is no way I should have let myself get into the position where I felt that I might actually be behind when the cards on the table were all undercards, and with the size bet he had to call to see the flop. But, it turns out that my fears would be realized just a few hands later.

In the small blind with an A5 offsuit, I can see the flop for 50 in chips, so I take it. The flop is A-10-5 rainbow, giving me top and bottom pair. I bet the pot (200 at that point) and get raised, uh oh. I am putting the other guy on a TPTK though, I think he pushes all in on that flop if he has hit middle pair; there isn’t a huge pot, but he can’t possibly want me to see another card if he really has two pair. I raise him all in. He shows AJ, which is good in exactly one way: my read was more or less right on (I had him at AK, AJ isn’t too far off). The river comes up a 7, which leaves me in the lead, but he has way too many outs. Since I have an underpair if the board pairs up the seven or the ten, or if he hits a Jack, I lose. The river pairs up the seven, giving him two pairs with a jack kicker to my 5 kicker. *sigh* I am sitting here thinking about it and wondering if I would play that hand the same if I got it again, and I think I would. I don’t want to go all in on the first bet after the flop, cause I need to see if he has middle pair, especially since an A-10 is likely a hand that someone is willing to pay 50 to see the flop with. So, I donked away 1,000 chips on that hand, but I was still in fairly good position.

Then came my Holy Fuck, what in Christ’s name was I thinking there play of the game, or at least a strong contender. When dealt a 9-10 offsuit in early position, I limped in. I hadn’t been in an hand in quite a while, and that was the closest thing I had seen to a hand since my early A-5 smackdown. Of course there ended up being six guys in the pot, so I should have known that one of them could have a better hand than a 9-10 offsuit. So when the flops comes up 6-3-Q and is checked to me in early position what do I do? I bet half the pot, that’s what I do. Because nothing screams “I don’t have shit here, but I really want your blinds, so please just go ahead and fold now” like an early half pot bet. Apparently at least one guy was on to me. So when the turn paired up the sixes, thus destroying any outside chance of getting a runner runner runner straight, and at the same time giving me what had to be the losing hand, I simply folded. Well, I wish I would have folded, but instead some jackass bet 500 (yes that was me), which was quickly called. Then when the river hit an Ace, my donking off of chips was nearly complete, but at least I had the good sense to lay the hand down, albeit about 800 chips too late. In retrospect, I wonder what the hell I was trying to bluff there. In order for a bluff to work you have to be able to make your opponent believe that you have something better than him. Was I really betting the 500 on the second 6 thinking that I was going to fool him into thinking that I had made my previous bet on middle pair and hit trips on the river? If I was (and honestly I don’t know what I was thinking), that was a totally stupid move. Of course you know what they say about hindsight.

The next thing you know I am down to 475 in chips when Wil gets moved to my table, thus putting me on the short stack, on the TV table, in the big blind. Just fucking perfect. The cards:4-8 offsuit, it would have been more fitting only if it was a 3-8 offsuit. Mungo pulled a reverse-hoy on me, and I called, hell I had to call; I already had a third of my chips in the pot and only had enough chips to post the blinds once more. Well, I sucked out HUGE on the river when I hit and 8, and his pair of threes hadn’t improved. I was back to 1024 in chips, but I wasn’t done there.

I actually got dealt a fairly decent hand the very next time: A-Q in the small blind. I got into the pot with another 75 chips and saw a queen on the flop. I bet a quarter of my stack with TPTK, fully expecting to get re-raised all-in, but figuring he would have folded if I would have simply pushed. He called me all-in with an A-J and I double up again. But could I do it five times in a row? Well, not this time.

It is worth noting that it was at precisely this point that I actually looked at the pokerstars “stats” tab for the first time since I have been using the software -how sad is that? I had won 7 of 8 at the showdown at this point, and had seen an impressive 8% of the flops, which is probably a bit too conservative no matter what your game is. Was I really just going to sit on the sidelines and wait for AA to make a bet? No, no I wasn’t. I proceeded to donk off a sizable portion of my stack when I made a foolish call that I had to lay down on the turn, but should have laid down before the flop.

Later in the tourney, on the bubble, I got aces again. Someone in front of me had already raised it to over half of my stack, so I just smooth called it, not wanting to scare anyone off, and hoping to pull down as many chips as possible. The flop was a goldfish, a flower pot, and Britney Spears, which helped no one, and he called me all in. I went on to double up yet again, and at a crucial time.

I got to the final table with a veritable Who’s Who of the tournament regulars, except for Wil, who was just as lucky to be at the final table as I was. Mungo was kind enough to double me up one last time, but it was clear that I was out geekedmatched at this table, and my ass was getting really sore (you would not believe how many excuses I could come up with in a pinch), so I decided to make the play I had to make: Drop the Hammer!

Unfortunately, Kaellin(matt?) didn’t get the memo, and thought that he could dominate the hammer. Well, it turns out he was right, he had pocket sixes, and the flop came 6hearts, 6clubs, and 6pinnacles. Not often you get quints on the flop. When the turn came up 6swatstikas, I briefly thought I could be back in it. If there were five sixes on the board it would be a split pot. Unfortunately the river was a Babe Ruth rookie card, which is just fucking worthless in that situation, so I go home.

Interesting to note that on 6-6-6 I went home in sixth place, to a six of a kind sixes, at 6:66 pm (+66minutes, +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds +66seconds). That is just too spooky to be a coincidence…

I had a lot of fun playing though, and thanks to actually finishing in the money this time, I will be able to play it again next week. I was damn near out of cash and wasn’t about to rebuy just to throw money to a lot of people that I have no business competing against anyway. And that is the kind of optimism I take into every tournament!

I am guessing that Party Poker must have the most television advertising going on right now. While the level of play at any of the major poker sites is erratic at best, especially at the low limit tables, even I feel superior to the majority of the players I run into at Party Poker. I have by far my best winning percentage over there and finish in the money probably 2/3 of the games I enter. Of course when I bow out early it is generally because someone is in on a hand they have no business calling with, much like I was doing not so long ago, come to think of it.

I was in a $6 buy-in game this morning, and had been chugging along with maybe one playable hand in the first thirty. Thankfully, it was playable enough that I busted someone out, though he was the short stack so it didn’t contribute greatly to my stack. It did give me enough chips to compete with everyone else though (truth be told, I had made a horrible call earlier in the game with a pair of queens and it took me all the way to the river -even when the flop was a pair of kings- to admit defeat and lay it down. Stupid, stupid mistake.

I was in the big blind when I got dealt a nice, high-end suited connector. There were five people at the table and everyone called the blind, which I raised hoping to eliminate a couple of K Q offsuit limpers. I only raised it 400 (I think) but that was enough to knock two guys out of it. The flop came up just beautiful for me, and I bet into it, knocking out one more player, leaving only myself and one other guy. (pity I only thought to take a screenshot after the turn).

So, just to set it up a bit, I knew this guy had a high pair, or he had made what could be the worst call in the history of poker -it was Party Poker, that is always a possibility. If his pair was Queens, the flop would have given him a three of a kind, which I am sure he would have gone all in with he should have played a bit stronger to my weak bet. He must have thought that I didn’t have the queens either though, or he would have folded. Currently, I was in an open ended straight flush draw, which necessarily implies any straight or flush draw. At any rate, the turn came up in my favor and I went all in. There was already 2,500 in the pot and I didn’t care if I knocked him out of it or he called because there was no way he was going to beat my hand -barring a nut flush draw, and I don’t think there is any way he is playing the A-K of clubs that strong. I am not basing that on anything at all, just a gut feeling.

When the guy actually called the all in, I was left re-evaluating my previous thinking. Maybe he really was in it on a nut flush draw. I found it far more likely that he had pocket queens and thought he was going to take down the pot. There was also the possibility that he was also holding a 10-J, but I don’t think he is going to play it that strong pre-flop. Of course there is also the possibility that he has just made a lower straight with a 5-7 or a 7-10, which he really shouldn’t be in the hand at all with, but again it is Party Poker.

I was extremely confident that the turn had given me the win. The river, however, was just kicking the guy in the nuts:

Yes, he went all in with pocket jacks despite there being a flush draw and multiple straight draws on the table. My only question is what did he think I was holding? He must not have considered that at all, it is either that or he thought I had flopped middle or low pair and was trying to bluff my way into the pot. I suppose there is also the possibility that he was going all in on the gutshot since the pot was so big. But enough about what he might have been thinking.

I am extremely pleased with this hand. Not just the outcome of it either. I am pleased that I had the confidence to raise from the big blind to knock off some of the competition, even though my hand was less than ideal. The rest of it was just the luck of the draw really. The flop could just as easily have brought up a pair of aces and a jack. Once I learn how to play that flop and still come out with the chips, my ego will increase exponentially.

If you don’t want to read about poker, please ignore this post.

I have now developed a theory about playing hold ’em at a single table sit and go: Whether you win or lose will be decided by exactly three hands. The only hard part is knowing which three hands they are. As I have been winning sit and go’s I have noticed that I really can single it out to about three hands that really made the difference between a win and a loss. I will recount the last one here. Unfortunately I didn’t take any screenshots so it will just be a lot of text.

I am in the tourney and it is already down to seven people. Chip leader has 5,000, small stack has 1950, I an just above that with 2015 -thanks mostly to not having a decent hand to play thus far.

I am on the button when I get dealt a monster Kc Kh. The first two guys fold outright, the third wants to limp in with 100, but the guy next to me raises it to 250, which will eventually knock both of the blinds out of it. I am really happy with my hand, but the guy who raised hasn’t made a raise the whole game. I don’t want to raise it only to find out that he has aces, so I just call it. The flop brings up 5s 2s 3h, which really shouldn’t help him considering the amount he went in for pre-flop, unless of course he is holding aces, in which case I am probably screwed. He bets into it with 277, which is just a bit more than a quarter of his stack. I am still worried about the ace, but I want to see if he is just trying to bluff me out of it, so I double his bet. He calls. I am actually worried now that he does have the aces, until I get the Ks on the turn. He checks it to me. If he does have the aces, he has just been beat and I want him to know it. I got in 500, I now have almost three quarters of my stack in this pot and wholly expect him to give it up, but he calls. Now I am worried that he might be in it with an A-4 suited, not something I would expect someone to raise so high pre-flop, but you do get all kinds at the sit and go table. The river came up Kd, thus giving me the nuts and I went all in. At this point I went from fearing that he had an A-4 to actively hoping that he did. Instead, his timer ran down to zero, at which point I said in chat “I got the nuts here”. Little did I know that it was going to give him a time bank extension (I though he was already on one), after which he quickly folded. Note to self; Don’t talk about the hand until the next one is dealt.

The game went on for a few more hands with everyone just basically trading blinds; the cards were horrible for everyone and the winning pocket cards weren’t even faces. Then I get another playable hand. Timmy is chipleader with just over 4,800, myself and another guy are about 1,000 behind.

I am in the big blind here when I get dealt Kc Ad, how I do love to have a good hand in that position. UTG folds, the next guy raises 625 in a heartbeat. It folds around to me and I call the 425 to get into the pot. The flop is 7d 7h Ad which gives me top pair and high kicker, time to see if this guy is going to lay down his queens; I bet 25% of my stack to see if he was going to drop his queens, or hopefully he had an ace with a lower kicker. He went all in. This guy hadn’t made an all in move in the game, although he had called a couple. This was also probably only the second pre-flop raise he had made the whole game; he was extremely confident with his hand. There is no way he is going all in with anything other than an ace, but he has to know that I also have an ace or I wouldn’t have bet big, unless he puts me on 7’s, but he has to know that I wouldn’t have called his 3x preflop with a low pair. My pointer hovered over the call button as the timer ticked down then went to time bank. He isn’t bluffing, he has the aces. I have almost half my stack in the pot, but I layed it down. He said “good fold” and showed the aces. I went from second to fifth place on the hand, but I am still alive. Good fold indeed.

The absolute worst place to finish in a SNG is one place out of the money, and everybody knows it. Once we were down to four guys at the table it went back and forth for a good twenty hands with no one really improving their position. Eventually, someone got down to the short stack once the blinds were up to 400/800. He had just under 2,000 while I had 4,000 and was going to be on the blinds for the next two hands. He went all in and I called. I had A-10 to his Q-J. That one really could have gone either way, but I came out on top. In the money now, we all started playing a bit more aggressively.

I am short-stacked with about 2,700 while second place has 4,000 and the leader is running away with over 10,000. I am on the button with a Q-10 offsuit, with the blinds up to 400/800. I am going to have to move or go home. This is far from my ideal hand, but I limp into it. At this point I am pretty committed to the pot and barring some outlandish flop I am going to live or die by this hand. The flop is a 3d 8d Jc, giving me a gutshot draw that I am not at all happy about, but it is checked around to me so I get to see the turn for free. It is the 9 that I needed, but it is the 9 of diamonds, meaning someone could already have the flush. While I am busy worrying about whether or not someone has the flush, the big blind goes all in. I am thinking to myself “Oh fuck, this guy has the flush”, but at the same time knowing that he is the big blind and that he is not in much better shape than me as far as chips. I go all in with a silent prayer. He flips over a Kd-2c, so he doesn’t have the flush yet, and thankfully the river is a garbage heart. He isn’t out of the game, but he is crippled and I would knock him out on the next hand when he went all in on a 35 offsuit.

There were obviously a lot of other hands in the game, but those are the three that really stick out in my mind as being absolutely crucial. While I actually finished second place in that tourney, it is only because we went all-in after about a half an hour in the heads-up play just to end it. My A-J lost his Q-2, which I would call a bad beat were it not for our prearranged all-in call.

Usually when I get to the showdown in hold ’em, if the other guy has triple or quadruple the stack that I do I will just give it up. It really isn’t worth the time to try to fight my way back, especially since I am already in the money. I thought I did that today, but instead of calling me all in, the guy left me with $40 in chips -to his stack of $13,460. Why? I gots no idea.

I didn’t even have enough chips to make the blind at that point, so I was all in on the next hand. And the hand after. And the hand after. I just had to take a screenshot of it, this is simply unbelievable luck:

I doubled up on five consecutive hands, then went on to win a total of eleven in a row. I took the lead away from him on the fourteenth hand, and was actually feeling a little bit bad for him.

Shortly after this, we agreed to go all in on a hand regardless of the cards. He happened to have better cards that time, so he won. But the chat that was going on while I was doubling up on every hand was simply priceless.

I will just file this under the “I doubt anyone would believe me if I didn’t have a screenshot” section.

I managed to win three poker tournaments yesterday. They were of three different monetary buy-in values, one was $1, one was $3 and one was $5. The prize awards were 10.50, 15.00, and 22.50 respectively. In these low dollar tournaments I am now able to finish in the money about half of the time, actually winning maybe 20% of those, so not like I am going to make a career out of it or anything.

Funny thing happened in one of the games though. There were 8 out of 9 players remaining when I got dealt a pair of aces. I checked to get into the pot but didn’t bet at all, I didn’t want to scare any of the other guys out of it. When the flop brought up another ace and two low cards (none of them suited) I knew that I had them beat, but I still only checked. I don’t remember the exact cards that came, but I know the first card on the board was an ace and the last one was a king, there was no possibility of a flush or a straight based on the cards. When the king came up on the river, one guy went all in and two others quickly called. I raised all-in to get as many chips as possible on the table. Again, I don’t remember exactly what all their cards were, but I busted two of them out and completely crippled the third.

As the next hand started, one of the guys said, in observer chat, “stupid donk didn’t even bet with three aces.” Although he didn’t manage the spelling or punctuation. I didn’t reply to it, but someone else at the table did, saying “yeah, you obviously played that hand way better than he did.” The observer didn’t say anything else.

So it is that I have chosen my poker icon. Now that I know that playing conservatively to try to get everyone else to throw their chips at me equates to being a donk, I shall embrace it. Fear the Donkey!