Always Learning

With every day that passes, I realize more how little I know. Which means there is always an opportunity to learn.

I found a few poker blogs 2 months ago and quite frankly: they sucked. Some guy writing about how he got sucked out on again; how he got his Aces cracked; or about some hiking trip he took (under a poker blog disguise). Then I found MiamiDon . What a great blog. Something to inspire me. I need to start a blog. And thanks to MiamiDon, I started my blog. Then I started to read more blogs and realized there are many, many, many good poker blogs. Of course, there are still several piss-poor ones, but there are a lot of GREAT ONES.

So once again, I have a lot to learn. I am so glad that not many people are reading this today. But hopefully, this blog can evolve into something that other poker players will read to help improve their game; or at least read to laugh at some hand I got sucked out on. Until then, I will be one of the piss-poor ones.

And by the way, it SUCKS to have no dishwasher. How many conveniences do we have in our lives now? Spending an hour washing dishes during my prime poker time is no fun. It's kind of hard to work the mousepad on my laptop with soapsud hands. My dishwasher motor went out and has now rearranged my priorities to : #1 Buy a new dishwasher. #2 Everything else.

Stay patient . . .

Jamyhawk

Same Subject

While we are talking about KK. Would you fold this hand? I am playing in a tournament of 9 players, down to 6 now. I am dealt KK on the button. 1st to act raises 3xBB (300). I call and BB calls. Now thinking back, I feel this was a bad play on my part. I tend to get caught up in trying to set traps. I don't play aggressive enough with big hands. So looking back I think I should have raised from the button. Not that my opponent would fold here, but I would represent somthing bigger to my opponent. And really, isn't it more important what your opponent THINKS you have rather than what you DO have.

Back to the hand. 3 players in for 3xBB. Flop comes 5h2c4c. Check - Check to me and I bet 2xBB. Again, I am trying to trap with what I think is best hand. I don't expect A3 out there because of the pre-flop raise and I think AA, KK or QQ bets after the flop before me. There could be a set, which is always dangerous but always hard for me to sniff out. I get one caller.

Heads up. Turn comes Qs. Check to me and I bet 200. I am hoping to keep this person in with small pair or hope they have KQ or Qx but not two pair. I get the instant check raise to put me all in. . . I have half the chip stack as my opponent and they have been playing the tournament so far in a Loose pre flop, Aggressive post flop style (LAG). So there is not a lot of credibility in his big bet. But still, my tournament is over if I call and lose. I just don't feel that they have me beat, so I call. He flips over AQo/s. Perfect hand for me and I am going to double up.

Except for the fact that the 3h comes on the river and his wheel rolls over my crowns and ends my tournament.
I guess that more aggressive pre-flop and post flop betting would have won me the hand before the turn came. Do you agree?

Stay Patient....

Jamyhawk

For Openers

OK, so I can't write a blog every day (or every week) about how to fold KK. But it is a great start. There is a recent commercial for Fulltilt Poker that shows Jennifer Harman laying down KK when her opponent shifts his jaw while looking at an A that came on the flop. Now that is a little more "make believe" than I think would really happen there, but it proves this point: It is hard to fold KK. . . Kings, Cowboys, King Kong, Elvis Presley, Ace Magnets, .... whatever you call it, players love to go all in with KK. Did I say players? Some people might say donkeys. In either case, I recently decided that I will be a solid poker player once I learn how to fold KK.

So here is how it happened: I am 2nd to act in a 9 player tournament with 5 players left. The blinds were 50/100. 1st to act calls the BigBlind, I raise to 3x BigBlind and button calls, both blinds fold, and 1st calls. Flop comes 3c4dJs. 1st checks, I bet 600 (60% of pot), button calls and 1st to act folds. Turn comes Qh. Now I don't know the button well enough to put him on much but I am figuring 10's, 9's, 8's by the fact that he only called on the flop bet. Or he could be on a monster trying to trap. A monster would be JJ or QQ here. I fire 1,000 at the pot (maybe 40%) and he immediately goes all in. He has me covered by about $10, so we are basically even. I'm into the pot for about $2,000 and I have $3,000 in front of me.

Now I start thinking about AA, JJ or QQ. And it is possible that a set is out there. I used to just fire all in with KK, but have since learned to slow down. Especially with all the possible combinations out there that can beat me. . . But what if this guy is a donkey with AQ. That is definitely a donkey move to fire all in with TopPairTopKicker (TPTK).

I lay it down. Wow! I think to myself that I must now be a solid player. I have learned how to fold KK. I believe this was the first time. . . I went on to finish 2nd in the tournament and who finished first? Yes. My opponent from that hand. Nevermind... I am not a solid player... He played me... I bet he had A2o/s.

I need to find a new question to make me a solid player. Maybe when I can fold Jacks over 7's when the board is 7h7s9cJc4c (a hand I lost with). Then I will be a solid player.

What do you think?

Stay Patient...

Jamyhawk