WWJD -What Would Jamyhawk Do?

Just wait a minute. Before you all insta-post what donkey move you think I would do, let's rethink the title up there. How about: What would YOU do?

Here's the situation: I bought in to a $22 No Limit tournament on Pokerstars. 73 total entrants. We are in the first level and I am dealt QQ. As Oh Captain recently said: "In the early stages of bar poker, I hate to go crazy to early with hands like QQ." This wasn't bar poker, but the theory still applies. QQ is a premium hand but nobody likes to go home in the first level because you couldn't get away from a premium hand.

UTG+1 limps and I raise 3x the original bet to make it $120. I know this won't scare off many hands early in the tournament but I'm certainly not limping behind here either. The button calls, the small blind calls, and the original limper calls.

Four handed, we see a flop of 8s7d9d. The original limper bets about 60% of the pot. So what does he have with a limp/call/cbet?

Here's the first tricky point. Do you auto fold here? I don't see how you can. That is just too nitty.

Do you call and see where this goes? That provides you with zero information. He fires a bet on the turn, regardless of the card. So what do you know? Nothing. Really, a call here and you are hoping for a Queen on the turn. Nothing else makes you comfortable.

So to find out what he has, let's raise it up. We can't min raise with 2 to act behind us. But a shove is not necessary either. Here is where some "Math Poker" people might disagree with me. I wanted to still have some chips left just in case. But I felt my hand was strong enough to raise here. But you might say "You are pot committed if he shoves. The odds are such that you HAVE to call." But in a freeze out tournament, I think you are never pot committed. Yes, there are times when you should call regardless of your cards. But first round, I think you can build back since I will have 30 BB's left, even if it is only for another 5 minutes. So I raise to $750 or 2 1/2 times his raise.

So what am I raising against? AA, KK, AK, JJ? Or maybe 77, 88, 99? If we figure the cards that would limp call then we can look at Pokerstove for a range of about 21% or this:

This tells me I have 58% equity which almost says "let's shove this hand and move on".

But then I start thinking, what am I really ahead of here? What am I really hoping he has? JJ or 1010? I don't think he has KK or AA. Why not re-raise me pre-flop with those. But there are a lot of hands that dominate me. So if I plug into pokerstove the range of cards I expect him to call my shove with (including the overcard or paired draws), then I only have 23.9% equity.

Now that I've probably completely confused the situation: What would you do?
Fold?
Call?
Raise?
Shove?

Live Play

In an effort to sharpen my skills, I've been playing live once a week. I leave for Vegas next Friday, so wanted to get some live sessions in against people I don't know. It may sound basic for some of you, but my live play really needed some help.

Anyway, last night was my 3rd session in as many weeks. I played a 20 min blinds $100 buy in. I felt I was playing really well. I got paid off on my big hands (I made sets, straights and flushes) and I folded some big hands at the right time (I folded KQ to AK on a KQA board). I ended up finishing 4th.

Here's my question for you. What do you do in this situation?

UTG (7,000)
Button (82,000)
SB Me (45,000)
BB (51,000)

5 spots get paid. 4th gets $281 and 3rd gets $500. 2nd and 1st are irrelevant here.

Blinds are 3500/7000 no antes. UTG is all in next hand by default. I pick up QQ. UTG folds and the button folds.

So what do you do? Do you shove? Do you fold for 3rd place? Do you min raise and fold to a shove?

?
?
?
?
?
?
?

I raised to $21,000 hoping to draw in the BB. I figure, if he wakes up with AA, AK or KK, so be it. Any other pocket pair and I will be the chip leader with 2nd place guaranteed (1st place guaranteed in my mind as the chip leader was NOT a strong player at all). I've seen him all in a couple of times with any Ace and I'm willing to race if he is on Ace rag. Best case I am the new chip leader, but I'm also happy adding $7,000 to my stack by just buying the blinds.

BB shoves over me and I insta call. He shows A10off suit and spikes his Ace on the river.....

So what would you have done?

Shorty was all in and out on the next hand. . .

Live poker is so RIGGGGED!

So rigged. I played in my monthly WSOP wannabe tournament last night. I was card dead for the first hour, but managed to stay right at my starting stack amount. There were several "good" players at my starting table, but what tilted me was the calling station. She was calling every pre-flop raise and then most post flop bets. Worse than that, she was getting slapped on the ass by the deck. It was banging her hard!

I'll save the miserable details of the 5 straights and 1 flush she hit. The first big hand I lost to her I had AQ and bet preflop and every street. She called every bet and then bet out on the river. I had to call to see, and she flipped over 84off for a rivered straight.

A few hands later, I picked up QQ UTG+1. Blinds were 100/200 so I raised to 700 (that left me about 900 in chips). She was in the SB and was my only caller. The flop came Q106 rainbow. She checked and I did as well. Next card was a J. She bet into me and I re-raised all in. She quickly called and said "I hope you don't have a Queen". She flipped over 108 off for the pair of 10's. The dealer flipped over the river 9 and started pushing the chips to me. I pointed out the straight as I threw up all over the table.... BLECHHHHHHHHHHHH.

OK. So I didn't throw up, but I wanted to. She was out of the tournament a few rounds later, as she couldn't suck out every time.

So I ask: Is it more frustrating to get outplayed or to get sucked out on?

I say getting sucked out on. If someone outplays me, shame on me. I will learn from that though. If I outplay someone and then get sucked out on, I learn NOTHING! So frustrating.

And the worst news of all of this, is that I drop to 2nd place overall in the standings. I can make it back up. I just hate to lose... As I'm sure you do too.

Stay patient....

I'm officially old today

My wife surprised the shit out of me



I had a surprise party at the casino including a room so I could stay up playing poker all night. Every year it takes me longer to recuperate from "all-nighters". I had no idea she planned it. It was the best birthday party I have ever had!

I ended up down $60 playing $1/$3 NL. The big swing hand of the night was when I raised pre-flop with QQ, got one caller and the flop came 5K5. I bet a little over half the pot as first to act and the villian shoved all in. I just could not see calling without a King in my hand. He stated "I have a black 5 in my hand. I'll show you no matter what you decide to do". I did fold and he showed Q9 off suit for the complete bluff. That would have doubled me up from what I started with ($360). Oh well.

Hope the tables are treating you well. I'll probably be back online playing later this week.
Stay patient...

Some hands from a live game

Last night was round 2 of our 13 tournaments to win a buyin to the WSOP ME. 27 players, once a month, half the money is paid out at the tournament, the other half is paid out as prize packages at the end of the year.

Some notable hands last night for me:

-2nd hand of the tournament, I am on the BB with QQ. 5 limpers to me and I make it 5xbb to stay in. I get 1 caller from the SB: Chasing Charlie. Flop comes Jack high with 2 spades and no straight draws. He leads out for 3/4 of the pot, I min raise him which basically commits me to the pot with the small amount I leave behind (I have no intention of folding; I'm trying to draw him into the pot). I am barely a favorite if he has the A or K of spades soooooted, but well ahead if he has any pair. I think AA or KK reraises me preflop -although in these tournaments, everyone tries to be sneaky and slow play. He tanks forever -keep in mind it is 2nd hand only and finally comes over me all in. I call and he shows KJ no flush draw. He doesn't improve and I double on the 2nd hand.

-A few of hands later, I raise from the Cutoff with KJ soooooted and the SB calls. Flop comes AKJ with no flush draw. SB raises, I reraise him all in, and he insta calls with A8 off suit. My two pair holds up and I am now the chip leader of the tournament.

-I ride this chipstack for quite a while. This is a hard tournament to run over the table because there are very few people that can lay down a hand. So you better be able to beat 2nd pair and make sure your opponent doesn't hit a draw to win a hand. I actually have several hands hold up with top pair to beat draws and this helps me make the final table. I am in the middle of the pack chipwise.

-The final table took what seemed forever for the first player to go out. Every time someone would go all in, they would end up doubling up. My stack went up and down, but eventually I managed to catch a couple of thieves trying to steal blinds and took them out with Ace high hands.

-Down to the final 2, and the chip leader has me 3-1. I begin maximum aggression and go all in almost every hand. She folds to every all in until I have almost a 2-1 chip lead. I go all in with 1010 and she wakes up with QQ. Queens hold and I have to work to chip up again.

-I decide to slow things down a bit and see if I can outplay her post-flop and it works. I see a few pots and bet aggressively after the flop and get the chip lead again. Then on a KQ3 flop, I go all in and she calls with Q9. I show Q6 and drop down again. I managed to get a chip lead again and we both limp in to see a J56 flop. I'm holding 107 and check as she does behind. Turn is a 7 and I move all in. She instacalls with 89: the straight. This pretty much crippled me to 10,000 in chips with 2500/5000 blinds.

-Very next hand, I go all in for 10,000 with A8off, and she calls with 96 off. 9 on the flop and I go home 2nd place. I was disappointed but overall, happy that I did finish 2nd.

-I saw QQ once, JJ once, and 1010 once. I had AK once, AQ twice and several AJ. I won big hands with 33 twice, KJ sooted, QQ, AJ, A5sooted and K2 sooted. I never had AA or KK.

After finishing 2nd and then 3rd last tournament, I am in 1st place in the standings. Only 11 more tournaments to go. Yikes! Gotta stay patient...

It's the same 'ol story, same 'ol song and dance, my friend

Played in the MATH last night. This was my first blogger tournament since 2007. Wow! 2 1/2 months I took off. I take that back. I think I did play in one bodonkament of Smokkee's.

Anyway. I played very well, I thought. I did suck out at least once and I won my coin flips -which is critical to going deep in any of these blogger tournaments. I was reading when the table was tight and when it was loose and playing back at it accordingly. I even laid down AQ with a Q high flop that turned a J to a big raise from GCOX. Maybe I gave him too much credit, but he said he had trip Jacks (as I assumed he did). Some well timed aggression along with some luck and I managed to grab the chip lead with around 24 players left (of the original 70something). I had been playing aggressive and won a couple of coin flips when the next hand came and kicked the wind out of me.

Tripjax was sitting to my immediate right and had come to my table the chip leader. I don't remember exactly how, but he had lost about 3/4 of his stack (a good chunk to me). I was sitting around 20K in chips and he was around 12K. I had just won a coin flip and had been buying blinds aggressively. He raised my blind and I came over the top of him with QQ. Now, I didn't shove but I bet enough to make him uncomfortable to call with a bluff. Conversely, I bet little enough to look like I just might be on a re-steal. I wanted his call. He came over me all in.

Now I'm thinking for a second here. Did I just walk into AA or KK? I don't think so. Trip is the kind of player that does not like to be pushed around. Especially by someone trying to bully the table and someone who stung him for a nice sized pot earlier. I put him on A10, AJ, maybe even KQ. And I know if I call him here, it is another coin flip as surely he has an overcard to my Queens. I feel he is making a stand and I must push him down. And if I do, I take a very nice chip lead in the tournament.

I call his all in and he tables A8. Nice. Pretty much what I thought. Except he doesn't have the straight draws I thought might have been there. "Dodge an Ace. Dodge an Ace." And the flop comes: Axx. Sprinkle an 8 and another Ace on the river just for good measure and my Queens are rolled over and spanked by the full house. That was the turning point for me as I couldn't quite gain ground afterwards.

Here's where the same 'ol story comes in. I am sitting around 8th with 14 left and an M of about 13. So I am not super short stacked but starting to feel pressure. We are 4 from the bubble, again, the hardest part of my game to play in. An aggressive player raises my BB and I attempt a resteal semi bluff with Ace high. Busted! He calls and I go home 14th. My point here is that the 2 cards I had were irrelevant, the position I was in was. Getting close to the bubble, I tried to steal assuming everyone was going to be super tight.

I just said yesterday that I need to slow down near the bubble and get to the money. My aggressive style will take me to the top 20% of the field, but it is so hard to slow down when I get near the bubble. Of course, if I win that flip against Trip, it would be hard for me to imagine I don't final table this tournament.

Oh well. It was fun getting back into the blogger games. I plan to start playing Mondays and Wednesdays for the remainder of the BBT3. Hope to see you there.

Stay patient (especially near the bubble)...

MATH Final table #2

I just wanted to start off with this hand because I got a lot of grief over it. Tell me what you would have done....

Full Tilt Poker Game #4463335511: Mondays at the Hoy (32953837), Table 2 - 120/240 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:43:55 ET - 2007/12/10
Seat 1: Loretta8 (2,827) <--short stack at the table...
Seat 2: DaBag (5,700)
Seat 3: jmathewson_III (10,645)
Seat 4: twoblackaces (6,413)
Seat 5: jamyhawk (19,260) <--chip leader at the table. . .
Seat 6: lucko21 (17,369)
Loretta8 antes 25
DaBag antes 25
jmathewson_III antes 25
twoblackaces antes 25
jamyhawk antes 25
lucko21 antes 25
twoblackaces posts the small blind of 120
jamyhawk posts the big blind of 240 <--I am in the BB
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamyhawk [5s Ks] <--not a good hand, but not bad for BB.
lucko21 folds
Loretta8 raises to 654 <--short stack trying to steal?
DaBag folds
jmathewson_III folds
twoblackaces folds
jamyhawk raises to 1,200 <--raise for a re-steal...

Loretta8 raises to 2,802, and is all in <--crap. did not want to see this. a call: yes. a fold: yes. re-re-raise: no. Now I have to make a decision.
jamyhawk has 15 seconds left to act
jamyhawk calls 1,602 <--I figure I have two live cards. Short stack is playing Ax right? maybe a pp under K's. Hopefully J9 sooted. My cards being sooted makes no difference to me. I play this knowing I take a small hit to my stack if I lose, hoping K high is good or hit a 6 outer against Acerag.
Loretta8 shows [Qs Qc]
jamyhawk shows [5s Ks]
*** FLOP *** [2h 8s Kd] <--All that I needed.
*** TURN *** [2h 8s Kd] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [2h 8s Kd 6c] [7s]
lucko21: :(
Loretta8 shows a pair of Queens
jamyhawk shows a pair of Kings
jamyhawk wins the pot (5,874) with a pair of Kings <--So I suckout. I maintain that every winner in these tournaments sucks out at least twice.
Loretta8 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5,874 Rake 0
Board: [2h 8s Kd 6c 7s]
Seat 1: Loretta8 showed [Qs Qc] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 2: DaBag folded before the Flop
Seat 3: jmathewson_III (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: twoblackaces (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: jamyhawk (big blind) showed [5s Ks] and won (5,874) with a pair of Kings
Seat 6: lucko21 folded before the Flop

At this point, Lucko starts ragging on me for a terrible play. Donkey move. Blah, blah, blah. Thank you Snakster for sticking up for me, but the damage is done. Lucko puts me on tilt. I should have just stopped right there and regrouped, but I am tilting hard as several observers are also critical of my play.

The very next hand (or close to it), I am dealt AJsooooooooted. I raise from UTG. Everyone folds to the SB who raises and then the BB re-raises all in. I had both players covered but decided to fold as I would have risked almost half my stack on AJ. I don't remember the first raisers cards but Twoblackaces had KK. A on the flop and I would have won, but Twoblackaces takes it with KK. I could have taken two players out. I am cursing for folding AJ, and Lucko already has me tilted. AAAAAAAAAAAArgggggghhhhhhhh.

MY BAD.

Now I am on SUPERtilt.

I watch this happen:

THE MIGHTY AJ!

Then I lose a big hand here. I should have learned right here.

So I push all in here preflop to push back on lucko's raise. He double ups on me. Did I mention I'm on SUPERTILT?

The very next hand I get the NUTZ: AJ

I went from 2nd with 7 players left to out 6th in just a few hands. No patience. No FAWKING patience. Goes against everything I always tell everyone else. Stay patient! Go ask Schaubs. AJ is a crap hand....

Great job to LJ for making it Heads up but she couldn't finish out against twoblackaces. Both are great players. Congrats to twoblackaces for getting into the TOC.

So I figured I should go tilt off some more chips before going to bed:

This hand was the final hand for me in a 9 player SNG when we both went all in preflop....

Then I play an 18 player : top 6 get paid. All in pre-flop.

Not my favorite night. I did win a $26 token. Finished down overall for the night on my bankroll. But I did get me some points for the MATH finish. How 'bout that RecessRampage?

Stay patient... And if you see me at the tables, remind me to STAY PATIENT!

Another final table in the Mookie

I final tabled the Mookie. It was my 6th final table in 16 tries but still no win. Gotta keep working to get the profile. I was doing pretty well last night when I ran AQ all in pre-flop to the mighty A10. The 10 beat me with a straight filling in on the river and I lost half my stack. No worries, though as the very next hand was QQ and my all in was called by AA. Those beeeetches have not been very nice to me lately. Better luck next time.

I felt I played a very solid game last night, without a single suckout. That's right, not one. I was ahead going in to every race. And they all held up, until the final two hands. I guess it was just my lucky night -until I went out. Oh well.

Congratulations to RecessRampage for taking it down! Only a few TOC spots left and he got one last night. Click on his name to check out how he did it.

I am meeting with a real estate agent tonight about putting my house up for sale. Hawkette set up the meeting with no regard to the Riverchasers tournament. ; ) Just kidding. She is so cool about my poker that I could tell her to deal with the agent on her own and let me play, and she would. But I will be attending that meeting, so GL to everyone tonight. If you didn't know, here are the details:
Tournament: Riverchasers Online Poker Tour
When: Every Thursday. 21:00 ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $10+1
Password: Riverchasers

Moving to Bodog

It's Monday night so tonight is the MATH (or FMATSH). Come play as we go 6max turbo. Super shove fest and I love it!

Tournament: Mondays at the Hoy

When: Every Monday. 10pm ET

Game: 6max turbo

Buyin: $24+2

Password: hammer

Now a few different things:

First, Go Check this Chica out! She cashed in FTPOS event #15. 2600+ players and she finished 24th. Very impressive.

Second, congratulations to VinNay for winning the Big Game last night and a TOC seat. Check out jeciimd, who finished 2nd. Jeci took 1st in the last Big Game and now comes back with a 2nd place finish. Another impressive run. And special kudos to my buddy TheCloserX5 who bubbled but managed to make the final table. Look out for him. He is dead set on getting into the TOC.

Third, I missed the Big Game as I had a football banquet to attend. If you followed the Friday Night Lights posts I did, you will know that attending the banquet was sure to be full of drama for me. Well, it wasn't really. The coach did make a comment on the starting running back "could never get a run for over 10 yards" that made everyone go "oooooohhhhhh". So why is he starting again? . . . Cal got All Conference Honorable Mention for Kickoff/Punt returns. Funny thing was, he had 5 Kickoff returns all year and NO punt returns. He took 2 of the 5 returns for TD's. Hopefully the coach will let him run back kickoffs next year.

Fourth, Here is the response I got from FTP about getting rakeback. I sent them 4 different e-mails over 2 months and they finally responded to the last one:

So, I have opened an account at Bodog. Smokkee has been promoting them hard so I am going to give it a try. I want to get rakeback for the ring games I am playing, especially if I start moving up to higher limits (which I am thinking about doing). I loaded in Friday night VERY easily. Simple Visa Check Card transaction and they auto loaded 10% bonus in (no playing to earn the bonus).

So far, the tables have been extremely loose. Lots of pots with most or everyone limping. Some of the tables were showing 77% of the players seeing a flop. Unfortunately, I dropped a buy in when I was holding QQ and saw a raggy flop. I jam hoping for the usual call from a small pair with crap kicker, but instead run into AA. It is not unusual to see people calling to the river with draws or top pair any kicker. You have to be careful in those situations also. Play a top pair top kicker and you can get rivered very easily at these tables. I plan to write more about my play there. I don't know the software very well (as I am used to Pokerstars and FTP only) so I haven't figured out hand histories and screen shots, and I haven't reloaded Pokertracker from my dead laptop. Hope to soon.

Hope everyone starts doing good at the tables. Seems most bloggers have been writing about bad beats lately (except these hot runners: Kajagugu, jeciimd, XxMagiciaNxX, and Astin -or at least they have been hot in the blogger tourneys).

Stay patient....

Donkin in the Mook

Last night was the mookie and here is how some of the drama played out:

*Kaja did not hit a 5th final table. Click his name to see how he went out even before I did. *Astin took the lead by finishing in the points for a 6th time. He also hit his 2nd, 2nd place finish. Impressive, but must sting not getting the TOC seat when that close twice. Third time's a charm, right?

*RaisingCayne finally busted his cherry and got some points in his 9th BBT2 tourney played. Congrats Cayne. I'm sure you'll be there a lot more over the next half.

*And then there was me, jamyhawk . Could I prove that Monday's MATH win wasn't 100% luck and finish strong in a non-turbo tournament? Not tonight. I donked off some chips chasing draws, then pushed all in with QQ against a loose player. I got my wish and he called with A8o/s. Flop brings a Q, but turn and river each are needed to fill in the A high straight and I go home around 80th. Maybe I can do it tonight.




8pm CST on Fulltiltpoker.com Password: riverchasers

Tune in for the excitement. The top person on the leaderboard after tonight's game, gets a buyin to the FTOPS main event. A final table appearance by anyone in the top 5 could move that player into first (if none of the other 4 finish in the top 20 in the tournament). Astin and Kajagugu each have an impressive 4 final tables. Really think about that. 100+ players in the Mookie and Riverchaser tournaments, plus close to 90 in the MATH tournaments and they have rolled up to the end 1 out of every 3 times they play. I'd love to go on a run like that. And I would expect to see a big run from some of these strong players (hoyazo , willwonka , RaisingCayne , and RecessRampage) who have all finished in the points just one time each after 12 tournaments have been played (not each of them has played in all twelve, HOY).



Come play with us. Anyone with a password is able. And get ready for this:

I can't wait for the superstacks....
Remember to stay patient...

Weekend Donkin' it Up

First of all, don't forget to play tonight. 9pm CST at FTP.

Big Bucks, No Whammy's in the BBT2.

Here are some hands from the weekend:

Full Tilt Poker Game #4124653779: Table Fabian - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:20:13 ET - 2007/11/09
Seat 2: MomsVisa ($40.95)
Seat 3: stipey169 ($46.05)
Seat 4: ribolovac ($18.75)
Seat 5: Gentleman84 ($149.45), is sitting out
Seat 6: Chesszza ($50)
Seat 7: FilipinoPhenom ($48.75)
Seat 8: Phantasmagorias ($9.40)
Seat 9: jamyhawk ($58.45)
Chesszza posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamyhawk [Kh Ks]<--It's my hand.
Gentleman84 has returned
Numenor80 sits down
FilipinoPhenom folds
Numenor80 adds $50
Phantasmagorias folds
jamyhawk raises to $1.50<--Standard 3xbb raise. No slow playing here.

MomsVisa calls $1.50
stipey169 folds
ribolovac folds
Chesszza folds
*** FLOP *** [Qc Qs 7d]
jamyhawk bets $1 <--probe bet.
MomsVisa raises to $39.45, and is all in<--interesting bet. With a Queen, don’t you want a call? I haven’t been at this table too long, but this kid has been playing a lot of pots. I decide to wait for a better spot to try to felt him, and I fold.

jamyhawk folds
Uncalled bet of $38.45 returned to MomsVisa
MomsVisa mucks
MomsVisa wins the pot ($5.25)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.50 Rake $0.25
Board: [Qc Qs 7d]
Seat 2: MomsVisa collected ($5.25), mucked
Seat 3: stipey169 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: ribolovac (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: Gentleman84 (small blind) is sitting out
Seat 6: Chesszza (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: FilipinoPhenom didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: Phantasmagorias didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: jamyhawk folded on the Flop


A8A flop with 2 spades. I go all in with KQsooooooted spades and guy calls half his chip stack with K8off . He's 49% to my 48%. 8 holds up I go out of token frenzy about the halfway mark.

Lost a buy in when my top set lost to a boat (my J10 lost to J3).

Then there was this hand:
Full Tilt Poker Game #4125342978: Table Fabian - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:28:42 ET - 2007/11/10
Seat 1: Numenor80 ($12.80)
Seat 2: Jon 10 ($30)
Seat 3: stipey169 ($149.55)
Seat 4: ribolovac ($10.25)
Seat 5: BJ316 ($3.45)
Seat 6: do not77 ($47.70)
Seat 7: FilipinoPhenom ($60.80)
Seat 8: Fufar ($49.25)
Seat 9: jamyhawk ($49.50)
Numenor80 posts the small blind of $0.25
Jon 10 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamyhawk [Qd Qs]
stipey169 folds
ribolovac has 15 seconds left to act
ribolovac raises to $1.50
BJ316 raises to $3.45, and is all in<-- not scary because he is short stacked. Could be on ATC, more likely two face cards.

do not77 folds
FilipinoPhenom folds
Fufar folds
jamyhawk raises to $10<-- I want to isolate it down to me and the all in. If someone does call, I know they are on AA, KK, maybe AK.

Numenor80 raises to $12.80, and is all in <--Uh oh, must have the Aces or Kings.

Jon 10 folds
ribolovac folds
jamyhawk calls $2.80<--pot committed call

Numenor80 shows [Jc Ts]<--WTF?

BJ316 shows [Kd Jd]<-- another powerhouse hand. Need to dodge 3 outs.

jamyhawk shows [Qd Qs]
*** FLOP *** [Qh 8d 3d]<-- MONEY! No more diamonds, please.

*** TURN *** [Qh 8d 3d] [Ad]<--oh well, I still get the big pot.

*** RIVER *** [Qh 8d 3d Ad] [Kh]<-- Idiots reward. I was 60% favorite pre-flop with 3 players. Actually, 86% against the 10Joff. I guess you gotta get through the other 14% of the time.

Numenor80 shows a straight, Ace high
jamyhawk shows three of a kind, Queens
Numenor80 wins the side pot ($17.75) with a straight, Ace high
BJ316 shows a flush, Ace high
BJ316 wins the main pot ($11.75) with a flush, Ace high
BJ316 adds $20
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $31.05 Main pot $12.35. Side pot $18.70. Rake $1.55
Board: [Qh 8d 3d Ad Kh]
Seat 1: Numenor80 (small blind) showed [Jc Ts] and won ($17.75) with a straight, Ace high
Seat 2: Jon 10 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: stipey169 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: ribolovac folded before the Flop
Seat 5: BJ316 showed [Kd Jd] and won ($11.75) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 6: do not77 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: FilipinoPhenom didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: Fufar didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: jamyhawk (button) showed [Qd Qs] and lost with three of a kind, Queens

Full Tilt Poker Game #4125404513: Table Fabian - $0.25/$0.50 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:35:10 ET - 2007/11/10
Seat 1: Numenor80 ($18)
Seat 2: Jon 10 ($26)
Seat 3: stipey169 ($149.80)
Seat 4: ribolovac ($8)
Seat 5: BJ316 ($31.25)
Seat 6: do not77 ($48.60)
Seat 7: FilipinoPhenom ($59.80)
Seat 8: Fufar ($54.55)
Seat 9: jamyhawk ($35.20)
jamyhawk posts the small blind of $0.25
Numenor80 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamyhawk [3c Ac]
Jon 10 has 15 seconds left to act
Jon 10 calls $0.50
stipey169 folds
ribolovac folds
BJ316 calls $0.50
do not77 folds
FilipinoPhenom folds
Fufar folds
jamyhawk calls $0.25<-- good pot odds to call here.

Numenor80 checks
*** FLOP *** [Qc As 4c]<--top pair with nut flush draw.

jamyhawk checks<-- planned check raise.
Numenor80 checks
Jon 10 checks
BJ316 checks
*** TURN *** [Qc As 4c] [6s]<--should not have improved anyone
jamyhawk bets $2<-- take the pot down now.
Numenor80 has 15 seconds left to act
Numenor80 raises to $17.50, and is all in<-- really? J10o/s before. Could be on that again?

Jon 10 folds

BJ316 folds
jamyhawk calls $15.50<--tilt call. Ton’s of hands beat me. His loose play is now going to pay him off.

Numenor80 shows [6d 4s]<-- not one of the hands I expected, but it is MONEY for him. jamyhawk shows [3c Ac]
*** RIVER *** [Qc As 4c 6s] [Jd]
Numenor80 shows two pair, Sixes and Fours
jamyhawk shows a pair of Aces
Numenor80 wins the pot ($35.15) with two pair, Sixes and Fours <-- time for me to move to another table, or another hobby.

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $37 Rake $1.85
Board: [Qc As 4c 6s Jd]
Seat 1: Numenor80 (big blind) showed [6d 4s] and won ($35.15) with two pair, Sixes and Fours
Seat 2: Jon 10 folded on the Turn
Seat 3: stipey169 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: ribolovac didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: BJ316 folded on the Turn
Seat 6: do not77 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: FilipinoPhenom didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: Fufar (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: jamyhawk (small blind) showed [3c Ac] and lost with a pair of Aces


I can play these too:
Full Tilt Poker Game #4126276788: Table Timber Pine - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:22:07 ET - 2007/11/10
Seat 1: Bengt79 ($37.70)
Seat 2: iiznoodles ($31.90)
Seat 3: nalanda ($9.75)
Seat 4: stoney553 ($10)
Seat 5: try2bme ($0), is sitting out
Seat 6: MBF4221 ($2.10)
Seat 7: x007steep ($9.75)
Seat 8: jamyhawk ($32.15)<-- I step down a level to keep from tilting off too much money. $25 max buy in.

Seat 9: AKAKIU ($5.05)
iiznoodles posts the small blind of $0.10
try2bme stands up
nalanda has 5 seconds left to act
nalanda posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamyhawk [5c 7c]
LogCabn-Asasinz sits down
MBF4221 folds
LogCabn-Asasinz adds $10
x007steep calls $0.25
jamyhawk calls $0.25
AKAKIU folds
Bengt79 folds
iiznoodles folds
nalanda checks
*** FLOP *** [7d Kh 7s]<-- MONEY flop. How to get maximum ROI?

nalanda checks
x007steep bets $0.25
jamyhawk calls $0.25<--smooth call and hope an A hits on the turn.

nalanda folds
*** TURN *** [7d Kh 7s] [Jh]<--bad card. Offers straight and flush draws.

x007steep has 15 seconds left to act
x007steep bets $0.25
jamyhawk raises to $1<--3/4 pot bet to chase out draws. Did I bet too small here? I do want a call if he is sitting on a K. But do not want a call if he has a couple of hearts or a straight draw. x007steep calls $0.75<--drawing hand?
*** RIVER *** [7d Kh 7s Jh] [Ad]
x007steep has 15 seconds left to act
x007steep bets $1.50<-- I can’t see him going this far on Q10. I’m really hoping he is on AK, in which case I will get paid off. In any case, I am raising here.
jamyhawk raises to $7.85<-- overbet for value?

x007steep has 15 seconds left to act
x007steep folds <-- Oh well, winner winner chicken dinner. Would you have played this much differently?

Uncalled bet of $6.35 returned to jamyhawk
jamyhawk mucks
jamyhawk wins the pot ($6.05)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $6.35 Rake $0.30
Board: [7d Kh 7s Jh Ad]
Seat 1: Bengt79 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: iiznoodles (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: nalanda (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: stoney553 is sitting out
Seat 5: try2bme is sitting out
Seat 6: MBF4221 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: x007steep folded on the River
Seat 8: jamyhawk collected ($6.05), mucked
Seat 9: AKAKIU didn't bet (folded)

Full Tilt Poker Game #4126591100: Table Timber Pine - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Hold'em - 3:11:19 ET - 2007/11/10
Seat 1: Bengt79 ($69.50), is sitting out
Seat 2: iiznoodles ($22.05)
Seat 3: nalanda ($14.05)
Seat 4: Addthemup ($31.25)
Seat 5: LogCabn-Asasinz ($16.30)
Seat 6: slickwatson ($23.05)
Seat 7: nttflox ($5)
Seat 8: jamyhawk ($16.90)<-- almost an hour later after the last hand and I have donked off half my chip stack. This table has suddenly become very juicy. Lots of pre-flop raising. Showdowns with Ace high, all in bets showing that they were bluffing. I’m tired, but I know I can score a decent amount if I connect with a flop.

Seat 9: GonzoPP ($4.55)
GonzoPP posts the small blind of $0.10
iiznoodles posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamyhawk [Jd 9d]
nalanda folds
Addthemup folds
LogCabn-Asasinz folds
slickwatson raises to $0.50
nttflox folds
jamyhawk calls $0.50<-- I’ve broadened my range based on the table play.

GonzoPP folds
iiznoodles folds
*** FLOP *** [9s 9h 3d]<-- MONEY

slickwatson checks
jamyhawk checks<--slow play at this table will pay.
*** TURN *** [9s 9h 3d] [5c]<--hoped an A would have hit but oh well. slickwatson bets $1ß standard for this table. Can’t go 2 streets without betting. jamyhawk raises to $2ß min raise to look weak.
slickwatson calls $1<-- me likey.

*** RIVER *** [9s 9h 3d 5c] [Ad] <-- Ooooh. Great card. Hope he has an Ace.

slickwatson bets $5 <--YES!
jamyhawk has 15 seconds left to act <-- Doot, Doo, Doo. Oh that Ace really scared me. LOL. jamyhawk raises to $14.40, and is all in <-- Let’s see what I can get.

slickwatson has 15 seconds left to act
slickwatson calls $9.40 <--MONEY.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jamyhawk shows [Jd 9d] three of a kind, Nines
slickwatson mucks
jamyhawk wins the pot ($32.45) with three of a kind, Nines
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $34.15 Rake $1.70
Board: [9s 9h 3d 5c Ad]
Seat 1: Bengt79 is sitting out
Seat 2: iiznoodles (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: nalanda didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Addthemup didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: LogCabn-Asasinz didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: slickwatson mucked [8s Ac] - two pair, Aces and Nines <-- Knew I could get paid at this table. But A8off? Wow. And he raised it up. I wish I could stay at this table, but I have to get to bed. Bummer it took all night to find a table like this, and I can’t stay.

Seat 7: nttflox didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: jamyhawk (button) showed [Jd 9d] and won ($32.45) with three of a kind, Nines
Seat 9: GonzoPP (small blind) folded before the Flop

Night of the Queens

I played in the Blogger Big Game last night. It was the first of 27 tournaments over the next 8 weeks in BBT2. If you haven't heard, you can play in these tournaments and if you win one of them, you get into a FREEROLL for a shot at and $18,000 Aussie Millions prize.



It was all about the Queens for me. The first big hand was when I called a 3x BB bet with AQ sooooooted. Flop comes AQx. I have top two pair when someone bets into me. I re-raise, they re-re-raise all in and I insta-call. My opponent flips over QQ for a set and it looks like I am going home early..... until the A on the river and I suck out for a huge pot. This pot made me the chip leader at the first break and I would remain that way for almost an hour.



Then I was dealt QQ at least 5 times. No big pots came from them but I usually took the blinds and antes, so the beetches were building my chipstack. I should have known they were just lurking nearby so they could stab me in the back later.



We were down to 10 players and I think I was in 5th and the player to my right (lifesagrind) was in 4th. He had been fairly aggressive and was buying blinds on a regular basis. I look down to JJ when he puts in a 3x BB bet. I re-raise to hopefully take down the pot pre-flop, and he goes all in. . . Now let's stop right here. This is where I play the worst. I have said it before and I will say it again: I can play up until about 50% of the field is gone, and I can play after we are in the money. But, I suck in between there. I feel like I bubble or get close to the bubble and then go out a lot. Or I go out somewhere in the middle to late rounds. This hand is a prime example of why. I cannot lay down JJ here. I instacall, and here are my beetches smiling at me. QQ holds up and IGHN. Terrible play by me. I mean really, what could he have shoved with that I was dominating? 1010? 99? AK? If he has AK, I am only a 57% favorite. Not a huge advantage to put my tournament on the line with 1 place left to the final table and 3 left to the money. You tell me if you think it would be too passive to lay down those Jacks. I think I should have evaluated longer and I could have thrown the fishhooks away. Oh well.



I'm sorry to the players involved in those hands that I didn't link to. If you post a comment here, I will link you. I was so upset at going out 10th, that I immediately deleted all the screen shots and hand histories that I had been saving. What can I say? Frustration.

Congratulations to jeciimd for taking down 1st place and earning the first seat into the Tournament of Champions.

Don't forget to play tonight at 9pm on FTP: