Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. Here's a quick synopsis of what I did.
Monday-worked 8:30am to 7pm.
-played in a 360 player $5 +.50. Finished in 48 (12 out of the cash). I was in 5th place when I donked out in just 3 hands. I really need to work on my late middle play.
Tuesday-took the day off of work so I could install french doors in my current residence. 8am-3pm. "Wait" you say? "That is way too long for that type of project". Yes, you are correct. I had existing trim in an opening and figured the doors would fit after removing said trim. The opening was 1/4" too small. Imagine what happens when you use a circular saw in your home, cutting through drywall and a 2x4, being careful to avoid cutting the hardwood floors. Needless to say, I made a mess. But I was successful! French doors are in. Now to prime, paint and put up new trim. But that can be done another day.
Played in 4 tournaments (2 MTT and 2 SNG's). Finished in the money in 3 of the 4. . . 8 person HORSE $5 buy in, finished 2nd; 9 player $5 NLHE, finished 1st; 60 player $11.70 NLHE, finished 38th; and finally 1287 $3.30 NLHE, finished 186 (which paid $5). . . . I feel pretty confident in my final table play, just need some work on my middle tournament play.
Wednesday- Went out on the boat (we live on a lake) at 9am. Watched a ski show and swam. Relaxed in the afternoon. Back out in the evening to swim and watch the fireworks from the water. A truly great experience on the 4th of July!
Thursday-back to work. Ooops. Overslept. Forgot to reset alarm from being off Tuesday and Wednesday and the kids slept 1 hour and 15 minutes later than normal. Usually the 1 and/or 2 year old will wake me up prior to 7:30am, so making it to work on time is a given for me.
Thursday night had a crazy dream, but not as crazy as lj's, where I smoked a cigarette for the first time in almost 3 years (I quit after 18 years of 1 - 2 packs a day, on August 8th, 2004). The cigarette was really, really good. But, just a dream. Still satisfying.
Friday -work a full day. Now looking at finishing a few things with the french doors and attempt to get in some tournament play tonight. Have a T-ball game at 8am Saturday and meet with the pastor at 10am to go over the babies baptism on Sunday, so need to get to sleep by 3am. Monday, I will reload for Fulltilt and see if I can play some Blogger tournaments.
Until then, stay patient...
Friday, July 6, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Home game last night
Fifteen players. $100 buy in. 1500 tournament chips. We paid $700 to first place and paid top 4 finishers. 2 tables (8 and 7). I sat at the 7 player table. At my table we had C -super loose, will call/bet with anything; J- Tight aggressive (TAG), good player; Q -2nd time playing ever and announced it at the start; M-TAG player, considered best player of the 15; BE - TAG, very good player; BH -Loose Aggressive (LAG), good player; and me.
My table is super Loose, very aggressive pre-flop and post. On 10/20 blinds, bettor usually makes it 125 to see the flop. And a lot of times got several callers. About three hands in, Q called down to the river with second pair and lost about 1/3 of his chips, but this would turn out to be a very profitable hand for how it set him up. He announced again: "this is only my second time playing", like he was hustling. Sure enough, two hands later he was betting the same amounts, when M put him all in. He insta called and showed a flush, beating the "top pair only" that M had.
A few hands later, Q raises pre-flop and M calls. Flop comes K84rainbow. Q raises, M reraises and Q calls. Turn is a K. Q goes all in. . . M thinks for awhile and mucks face up pocket A's. Q laughs and refuses to tell what he had.
I was card dead. Saw one pocket pair (KK) and won it pre-flop with 3x BB raise. Also flopped a boat from the big blind with 104off, and it checked around. I bet on the turn and took a small pot with no action behind me.
Q was winning a lot of pots now because he was betting aggressively after the flop and people were believing he had the cards. M was also winning a lot of pots at showdown, because he was getting the cards. He had trip 7's twice in a row. The first hand flopped two 7's and the second he had pocket 7's with a seven coming on the flop. C was giving a lot of money away. With M now the chip leader he was reraising any bet, especially after the flop. I tried to steal a couple of pots but he used his chip stack effectively. A lot of times Q played him heads up and it was funny to watch as Q would lose with 2nd pair or Ahigh, but M would play Q to the river with any pair and lost a lot of hands to Q.
Then this hand came: C raises 4xBB to 130 from middle position (a normal raise at this table), M calls behind him, I consider calling from the BB with 8s6s, but decided to fold leaving them heads up. Flop comes Js2s5c. C bets 200, M calls. Turn is 7s (aaarrrgggh. I would have flushed). C bets 200 again, M calls. River is 10d. C bets 200 and M re-raises to 500. C has about 800 in front of him, so he stops to think. And he thinks and thinks and finally shoves all his chips in. M has him covered and insta calls and flips over As10s for Ace high flush (glad I folded my flush). C mucked but later said he was playing QQ. So Q and M were the chip leaders at our table at the first break. C was first player out.
A key hand for me was when I was in the big blind with Ad3d. 5 limpers were ahead of me, so I checked my BB of 30. The flop comes 245rainbow with no diamonds. I'm first to act and check. Everyone checks behind me. I am short stacked now, with 600 in chips and thought I could check raise or slow play it. Turn is a 3h. Now I have no flush draw, and any A is tied with me. By not betting on the flop, I have no idea where I am at. Everyone limped into the pot so a 6 is definitely possible in someone's hand. I lead out for 50. Everyone folds around to M (chip leader now) who instantly raises me to 300. I have been watching M catch hands all night and bully people around. He could do it though, because he was winning the showdowns. I wait a good 3+ minutes and finally fold. He shows A6 for higher straight. Any other player and I probably would have put them on the straight tied with me, but I just had a feeling he had me. It was such an overbet. He said he put me on the 5 high straight and figured any bet and I'd call.
Then with blinds at 50/100 I get 3c4c on the button. Q, who is UTG calls the BB, M calls while saying "this is a trouble hand for me", BH calls, I call, SB folds and J in the BB checks. Flop comes Kc7c3h. Everyone checks around to me. I have 450 in front of me, so I am short stacked. This is a super loose table still, so either no one has a pair or someone is slow playing. I think I could be in the lead with 3's, but worst case I have all the clubs and two 3's for outs if I am behind. I shove quickly (which is about a pot sized bet) to represent a hand, and everyone folds, except for M. He has me covered 5x and quickly calls. I'm hoping "trouble hand" means 22, 44, 55. He flips over KcQd. The K's hold up and I finish the tournament in 12th place.
Dissapointing finish, but I don't feel I played bad.
M finished first, BE finsihed 2nd and my brother finished 3rd. N from the other table finished 4th. Congrats to the money winners. Q ended up finishing 6th. Congrats to Q on a good finish for 2nd time playing.
I set up a cash table after I went out and played 5 hours of Omaha, Omahi Hi/low, 7 card stud, Holdem, and 7 card no peek, all with .25/.50 blinds. I cashed out one dollar ($1) down. Not bad entertainment.
My table is super Loose, very aggressive pre-flop and post. On 10/20 blinds, bettor usually makes it 125 to see the flop. And a lot of times got several callers. About three hands in, Q called down to the river with second pair and lost about 1/3 of his chips, but this would turn out to be a very profitable hand for how it set him up. He announced again: "this is only my second time playing", like he was hustling. Sure enough, two hands later he was betting the same amounts, when M put him all in. He insta called and showed a flush, beating the "top pair only" that M had.
A few hands later, Q raises pre-flop and M calls. Flop comes K84rainbow. Q raises, M reraises and Q calls. Turn is a K. Q goes all in. . . M thinks for awhile and mucks face up pocket A's. Q laughs and refuses to tell what he had.
I was card dead. Saw one pocket pair (KK) and won it pre-flop with 3x BB raise. Also flopped a boat from the big blind with 104off, and it checked around. I bet on the turn and took a small pot with no action behind me.
Q was winning a lot of pots now because he was betting aggressively after the flop and people were believing he had the cards. M was also winning a lot of pots at showdown, because he was getting the cards. He had trip 7's twice in a row. The first hand flopped two 7's and the second he had pocket 7's with a seven coming on the flop. C was giving a lot of money away. With M now the chip leader he was reraising any bet, especially after the flop. I tried to steal a couple of pots but he used his chip stack effectively. A lot of times Q played him heads up and it was funny to watch as Q would lose with 2nd pair or Ahigh, but M would play Q to the river with any pair and lost a lot of hands to Q.
Then this hand came: C raises 4xBB to 130 from middle position (a normal raise at this table), M calls behind him, I consider calling from the BB with 8s6s, but decided to fold leaving them heads up. Flop comes Js2s5c. C bets 200, M calls. Turn is 7s (aaarrrgggh. I would have flushed). C bets 200 again, M calls. River is 10d. C bets 200 and M re-raises to 500. C has about 800 in front of him, so he stops to think. And he thinks and thinks and finally shoves all his chips in. M has him covered and insta calls and flips over As10s for Ace high flush (glad I folded my flush). C mucked but later said he was playing QQ. So Q and M were the chip leaders at our table at the first break. C was first player out.
A key hand for me was when I was in the big blind with Ad3d. 5 limpers were ahead of me, so I checked my BB of 30. The flop comes 245rainbow with no diamonds. I'm first to act and check. Everyone checks behind me. I am short stacked now, with 600 in chips and thought I could check raise or slow play it. Turn is a 3h. Now I have no flush draw, and any A is tied with me. By not betting on the flop, I have no idea where I am at. Everyone limped into the pot so a 6 is definitely possible in someone's hand. I lead out for 50. Everyone folds around to M (chip leader now) who instantly raises me to 300. I have been watching M catch hands all night and bully people around. He could do it though, because he was winning the showdowns. I wait a good 3+ minutes and finally fold. He shows A6 for higher straight. Any other player and I probably would have put them on the straight tied with me, but I just had a feeling he had me. It was such an overbet. He said he put me on the 5 high straight and figured any bet and I'd call.
Then with blinds at 50/100 I get 3c4c on the button. Q, who is UTG calls the BB, M calls while saying "this is a trouble hand for me", BH calls, I call, SB folds and J in the BB checks. Flop comes Kc7c3h. Everyone checks around to me. I have 450 in front of me, so I am short stacked. This is a super loose table still, so either no one has a pair or someone is slow playing. I think I could be in the lead with 3's, but worst case I have all the clubs and two 3's for outs if I am behind. I shove quickly (which is about a pot sized bet) to represent a hand, and everyone folds, except for M. He has me covered 5x and quickly calls. I'm hoping "trouble hand" means 22, 44, 55. He flips over KcQd. The K's hold up and I finish the tournament in 12th place.
Dissapointing finish, but I don't feel I played bad.
M finished first, BE finsihed 2nd and my brother finished 3rd. N from the other table finished 4th. Congrats to the money winners. Q ended up finishing 6th. Congrats to Q on a good finish for 2nd time playing.
I set up a cash table after I went out and played 5 hours of Omaha, Omahi Hi/low, 7 card stud, Holdem, and 7 card no peek, all with .25/.50 blinds. I cashed out one dollar ($1) down. Not bad entertainment.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Home Tourney Tonight
Home game tonight with $100 buy in. We usually get 25-30 players a month in our $15 buy ins but decided to set up a bigger game. We are going to have about 17-19 players.
The only hard thing about the home game is managing while playing (and if you didn't know: I have 5 kids). Actually, one of them helps me get ready. He is 21. We also have a 1 year old and a 2 year old that require constant attention. With the smaller buy ins, I don't mind if I go out early. Tonight will be a little different.
Anyone in Saint Louis, let me know if you want on the regular invite list. Otherwise, Wish me luck!
The only hard thing about the home game is managing while playing (and if you didn't know: I have 5 kids). Actually, one of them helps me get ready. He is 21. We also have a 1 year old and a 2 year old that require constant attention. With the smaller buy ins, I don't mind if I go out early. Tonight will be a little different.
Anyone in Saint Louis, let me know if you want on the regular invite list. Otherwise, Wish me luck!
Friday, June 29, 2007
And then there was this part 2
6 player SNG's can jump start your confidence:
Tournament started - 2007/06/29 - 01:57:45 (ET)
Dear jamyhawk,
You finished the tournament in 1st place.
A $46.80 award has been credited to your Real Money account.
So maybe I don't need to reload. I have taken $10 and rolled it into $60 in two tournament wins.
I have been playing on the same $200 since January 2007. Again, I am small time right now, but I have not reloaded since then and am trying to not reload if possible.
Tournament started - 2007/06/29 - 01:57:45 (ET)
Dear jamyhawk,
You finished the tournament in 1st place.
A $46.80 award has been credited to your Real Money account.
So maybe I don't need to reload. I have taken $10 and rolled it into $60 in two tournament wins.
I have been playing on the same $200 since January 2007. Again, I am small time right now, but I have not reloaded since then and am trying to not reload if possible.
And then there was this
This really is not the dream hand because you figure not to have any betting value. But look at the bet my opponent makes:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t50 (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comflopturnriver.com/ (Format: Plain Text)
MP (t3130)
Jamyhawk (t1405)
Button (t2140)
SB (t3045)
BB (t1285)
UTG (t2495)
Preflop: Jamyhawk is CO with Js, 6s.
2 folds,
Jamyhawk raises to t150 (I hope to steal the blinds)
1 fold
SB calls t125
1 fold.
Flop: Jd, Jh, Jc (holy sh**. dream flop if I had already gone all in)
SB bets t2895 (All-In) (What? Did I miss something? Doublecheck. Nope. AA won't take it from me. I call.)
Jamyhawk calls t1255
Turn: 7d
River: 8h
Final Pot: t4500
Then about 45 minutes later:
Dear jamyhawk,
You finished the tournament in 1st place.
9 player SNG: 1st place. OK, so I am not the worst player in the world. I did have 1 suckout that helped. I was the chip leader and had my opponent covered but a loss on this hand would have crippled me.
I am under the gun with 1010 and raise 3x BB. The CO re-raises me to 7x BB total. I call.
Flop comes Qh9sJh.
Now I am first to act and figure I have a ton of outs if I am behind. My opponent has been Loose all night and at best description is LAG. I want to push on him but know I could be behind. Best case, I put him on QJ, but more likely KQ. I figure I have a 4o% chance of winning if I am behind (2 10's, 4K's or 48's). So I push all in (now a bet that is equal to the pot), hoping he has small pocket pair or drawing cards...... and ...
He instacalls and flips over KK. Oooooohhhhh. My favorite. He should have folded. Although I was initally nervous, I quickly realized that my blog is all about the Cowboys going down, so I watched the Js turn and 8c river and said a "Hollah" when I went into 2nd place in the tournament with my rivered straight.
Staying patient.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t50 (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comflopturnriver.com/ (Format: Plain Text)
MP (t3130)
Jamyhawk (t1405)
Button (t2140)
SB (t3045)
BB (t1285)
UTG (t2495)
Preflop: Jamyhawk is CO with Js, 6s.
2 folds,
Jamyhawk raises to t150 (I hope to steal the blinds)
1 fold
SB calls t125
1 fold.
Flop: Jd, Jh, Jc (holy sh**. dream flop if I had already gone all in)
SB bets t2895 (All-In) (What? Did I miss something? Doublecheck. Nope. AA won't take it from me. I call.)
Jamyhawk calls t1255
Turn: 7d
River: 8h
Final Pot: t4500
Then about 45 minutes later:
Dear jamyhawk,
You finished the tournament in 1st place.
9 player SNG: 1st place. OK, so I am not the worst player in the world. I did have 1 suckout that helped. I was the chip leader and had my opponent covered but a loss on this hand would have crippled me.
I am under the gun with 1010 and raise 3x BB. The CO re-raises me to 7x BB total. I call.
Flop comes Qh9sJh.
Now I am first to act and figure I have a ton of outs if I am behind. My opponent has been Loose all night and at best description is LAG. I want to push on him but know I could be behind. Best case, I put him on QJ, but more likely KQ. I figure I have a 4o% chance of winning if I am behind (2 10's, 4K's or 48's). So I push all in (now a bet that is equal to the pot), hoping he has small pocket pair or drawing cards...... and ...
He instacalls and flips over KK. Oooooohhhhh. My favorite. He should have folded. Although I was initally nervous, I quickly realized that my blog is all about the Cowboys going down, so I watched the Js turn and 8c river and said a "Hollah" when I went into 2nd place in the tournament with my rivered straight.
Staying patient.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Keep it in perspective
Time to reload my bankroll. At times, I realize how terrible a poker player I am. Sometimes, I am delusional and feel I am really building upon my poker skills. I have learned so much over the last year. I have learned about betting position, reading betting patterns, the importance of steals and re-steals, pot-odds, EV, and more.
But then I play in a 27 player SNG that pays top 5 and finish 7th, and my frustration builds, then I go on tilt. I play a couple of bigger tournaments, go all in with KK (nooooooooooo) only to get called by AA. Go on bigger tilt. Finish 7th in a 49 player tournament that pays top 5. Lose more. Wash, Rinse, repeat.
Oh well. I am small time. I am still learning. My bankroll is only a couple hundred bucks at a time. Patience is the key, right? Be patient. Avoid tilting. I really think playing online will help my game long term because I have no tells to rely on. I really have to study the fundamentals of the game to be successful online. But at the same time, it can be very frustrating. When the bully at my table catches a set of 8's after he called my all in with 5h8h and I am playing AA and we both had about the same starting chip stacks (1 full buy in), I want to throw my laptop out the window.
But then I sit back and laugh. It was only 1/8th of my bankroll. I can reload. I have a beautiful wife that still loves me, even though I got my Aces cracked. I have 5 kids that still love me even though my Kings couldn't hold up. And I have a FANTASTIC LIFE, even though I have a lot to learn to be good at poker.
And so I remind myself: Stay patient.
But then I play in a 27 player SNG that pays top 5 and finish 7th, and my frustration builds, then I go on tilt. I play a couple of bigger tournaments, go all in with KK (nooooooooooo) only to get called by AA. Go on bigger tilt. Finish 7th in a 49 player tournament that pays top 5. Lose more. Wash, Rinse, repeat.
Oh well. I am small time. I am still learning. My bankroll is only a couple hundred bucks at a time. Patience is the key, right? Be patient. Avoid tilting. I really think playing online will help my game long term because I have no tells to rely on. I really have to study the fundamentals of the game to be successful online. But at the same time, it can be very frustrating. When the bully at my table catches a set of 8's after he called my all in with 5h8h and I am playing AA and we both had about the same starting chip stacks (1 full buy in), I want to throw my laptop out the window.
But then I sit back and laugh. It was only 1/8th of my bankroll. I can reload. I have a beautiful wife that still loves me, even though I got my Aces cracked. I have 5 kids that still love me even though my Kings couldn't hold up. And I have a FANTASTIC LIFE, even though I have a lot to learn to be good at poker.
And so I remind myself: Stay patient.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Always check how many tables
I always check how many tables each player is playing online when I sit down to a table. I want to know if they are paying attention closely or if they are just playing premium hands on several tables at once. You should try to steal more pots when you have the multi table players behind you and fold when they are raising.
This is how I took down a multi-table player:
PokerStars Pot-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comFlopTurnRiver.com (Format: Plain Text)
Button ($25.40)
SB ($14.75)
Jamyhawk ($24.50)
UTG ($15.05)
UTG+1 ($22)
MP1 (9 table player) ($17.90)
MP2 ($25)
CO ($40.15)
Preflop: Jamyhawk is BB with Jh, Ac. MP2 posts a blind of $0.25. 2 folds, MP1 (9 table player) calls $0.25, MP2 (poster) checks, 2 folds, SB completes, Jamyhawk raises to $1, MP1 (9 table player) calls $0.75, MP2 calls $0.75, SB folds.
Flop: ($3.25) 3c, Th, Kh (3 players)Jamyhawk bets $3.1, 9 table player calls $3.10, MP2 folds.
Turn: ($9.45) Qd (2 players)Jamyhawk bets $3, 9 table player raises to $13.8, Jamyhawk calls $10.80.
River: ($37.05) 9h (2 players)
Final Pot: $37.05Main Pot: $37.05, between Jamyhawk and 9 table player. > Pot won by Jamyhawk ($37.05).
Results below: Jamyhawk has Jh Ac (straight, ace high). 9 table player has Qs Ks (two pair, kings and queens). Outcome: Jamyhawk wins $37.05.
This is how I took down a multi-table player:
PokerStars Pot-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comFlopTurnRiver.com (Format: Plain Text)
Button ($25.40)
SB ($14.75)
Jamyhawk ($24.50)
UTG ($15.05)
UTG+1 ($22)
MP1 (9 table player) ($17.90)
MP2 ($25)
CO ($40.15)
Preflop: Jamyhawk is BB with Jh, Ac. MP2 posts a blind of $0.25. 2 folds, MP1 (9 table player) calls $0.25, MP2 (poster) checks, 2 folds, SB completes, Jamyhawk raises to $1, MP1 (9 table player) calls $0.75, MP2 calls $0.75, SB folds.
Flop: ($3.25) 3c, Th, Kh (3 players)Jamyhawk bets $3.1, 9 table player calls $3.10, MP2 folds.
Turn: ($9.45) Qd (2 players)Jamyhawk bets $3, 9 table player raises to $13.8, Jamyhawk calls $10.80.
River: ($37.05) 9h (2 players)
Final Pot: $37.05Main Pot: $37.05, between Jamyhawk and 9 table player. > Pot won by Jamyhawk ($37.05).
Results below: Jamyhawk has Jh Ac (straight, ace high). 9 table player has Qs Ks (two pair, kings and queens). Outcome: Jamyhawk wins $37.05.
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