New Obsession

I bought the game Rock Band for our New Year's Eve party. I bought Guitar Hero 3 back in November, and have been completely obsessed with it. I found myself playing that game for hours and hours. I'm still working my way up to expert status, but I'm progressing. I can play most of the hard songs and get 4 or 5 stars. So I still have a ways to go. I loved the game so much, that I went out and bought Guitar Hero 2 a couple of weeks later.

When I heard about Rock Band, and the fact that 4 people can play, I knew that I had to get it for our party. A lot of my friends love Guitar Hero, and I thought it would be a good party game. That was an understatement. We started playing at 9 and didn't stop until about 3 in the morning. If you are a fan of the Guitar Hero series, you will love Rock Band. There are a couple of key differences. The bundle includes the guitar, and game; but also includes a drum kit and microphone. I bought the game for the song list, but mostly for the drum kit. I have always wanted to beat the hell out of a drum kit. Now I get my chance.

The drums are difficult to play. It takes a while before you gain the coordination necessary for the bass pedal. I'm getting better, but still am having a lot of difficulties at the hard level. There are a couple of songs that are a blast to play on the drums. These include; Enter Sandman, Foreplay/Long Time, Flirting with Disaster, Cherub Rock, In Bloom, and Wanted Dead or Alive. The other great thing about Rock Band, is that they add new tracks all the time. Whereas, Guitar Hero adds a new track once in a blue moon. The guitar for Rock Band is different as well. It is just like the one in Guitar Hero. However, they added another set of frets close to the body. During the solo sections, you only have to tap the frets, you don't have to strum. For difficult sections with a lot of runs, they can be very helpful.

So that's pretty much been my new obsession, outside of poker of course. :)

Ugh

I played in the 28,000 guarantee tonight. It was a good tournament at the beginning. However, I still cannot believe how bad some of the players on Full Tilt play. The number of times I saw a marginal push by a weak player was too numerous to count. There were some good plays and some good players. But it was so ridiculous how many times it would go raise, all-in for 5 times the pot. Then get called and the players would show down hands like J10 suited against K9 or A7.

My tournament went well for the first half. I was doing well before the first break. I was playing tight, aggressive, patient poker. I saw a lot of the other players pushing with crap cards, so I waited to either trap them or put them in a tough spot. The first significant hand was when I had QQ on the button. Nobody entered before me, so I raised 3 times the blind. The big blind called, and the flop came AK6 with two diamonds. They bet 180. I saw they were pretty loose and put in a raise to find out if they had anything or not. If I just call in this spot, I don't really get any information. So I raised to 600. They called. SO I figured she had either a weak ace, weak king, or a flush draw. A 10 came on the turn, and they checked to me. At this point, I knew she was weak, and fired 1100. She called. I only had 865 left. So I was pretty much pot committed at this point. If she fired at the river, I would pretty much have to call. An 8 hit the river, and she checked. I went all-in, and she folded. I don't know what she had, but it was such a horrible play. Even if she had a weak ace or king, there was way too much in that pot to fold on the river. She left herself short stacked, and went out shortly.

Later, I had 99 in late position. I raised 3 times the blind and the chip leader re-raised from the small blind. I called and the flop came Q108 with two spades. He went all in on the flop. Easy decsion to fold. Even if he had a hand like KQ or QJ, I was in trouble. I had plenty of chips left and had plenty of time to try and manuever. A few hands later, I got AK in middle position. The under the gun player raised to 480. He was playing pretty solid up to this point, so I thought he might have a hand like JJ, QQ, or AK, maybe AQ. I decided to find out if he had a big pair or not by re-raising. I re-raised to 1200. He just called. At this point, I knew he didn't have a pair. The flop came 235, at which time, he went all-in. The only hand I was worried about were small pairs, like 6's-10's. But I knew that he wouldn't have called a re-raise with them under the gun. After going into the tank, I decided that I had to call. He had A6. My AK held up and I took him off the table.

Later, with the blinds at 120/240 with a 25 ante, I was dealt AK of spades. I was in early position and came in for my standard raise. The chip leader called, again. He loved to call raises, and to him position didn't matter. The flop came K96 with two clubs. He checked, I bet 1400, he called. The turn brought a 7, he checked again, so I bet 3500, he folded. I was cruising along, sitting well above average and was continuing to build my stack. I had about 14,000 and sitting in the big blind. Everyone folded to the button, who pushed all in for about 3000. It was about 10 times the blind. I had JJ, so it was an easy call. I flopped a full house, and he was gone. At this point I'm getting close to 20,000 and the leaders of the tournament. I was getting stoked and was playing well. Then the wheels fell off.

The very next round, I'm in the big blind again. Everyone folds, and the small blind shoves. I have QQ, another easy call. He has AJ, flops an ace and I get no help. So I lost about 5000 on the hand. A couple of hands later I get moved to a super loose table, and I proceed to go card dead. Raise, re-raise, I have 63. I literally couldn't play a single hand for the next 5 orbits. J2, K7, 23, 59, it was incredibly gross. I was just waiting patiently. Right after the bubble bursts, I tighten up. I know there is going to be a mass exodus and players are going to push all in with short stacks. During the time I went card dead, I dwindled down to 3 big blinds. I was getting frustrated and pissed. If I had any decent ace, king or queen, I would have pushed sooner. But with weak kickers, nothing suited and connected or even a face card, my hands were tied. Middle position raised 2.5 times the blind, I have JJ, so it's an easy push. I only have 3 times the blind. The button calls, and the middle player makes the small call. The flop came Q85, they both checked. A J came on the turn. The button bet 8000 and the middle player folded. He flipped over KJ. He was drawing dead and I tripled up.

From there I bought a few rounds of blinds and was cruising along again. I only had about 10 times the blind, so I wasn't comfortable, but surviving. I pick up KJ in the big blind. The chip leader raised for, i'm not shitting you, the tenth hand in a row. I know he doesn't have a big hand, but at the same time, I'm not going to play two card chicken with him. I would rather try to outplay him on the flop, than push all in and get called by a marginal hand. SO I decided to go with the old stop and go. He raised 3 times the blind. I just called. The flop came 10-9-10. I push all in for about the size of the pot, and he snap called me with 33. I was kind of surprised that he called so fast. But you have to get chips if you're going to win. I had 13 outs on the flop. SO I was about 45% to win, not bad. An 8 came on the turn. That was probably the best possible card for my hand, other than a K, Q, J, or 9. I now had 20 outs. I could hit a 3-K's, 3-J's, 3-9's, 3-8's, 4-Q's, or 4-7's. You guessed it, big fat brick on the river. I was gone. I went out 151st of 1260. Not bad, but I just wish I could have got my hands on some chips, or just win that one time. Oh well, hopefully I'll have a better run next time.

5 In A Row

I won our home game, for the fifth time in a row. That is a new record, not only for myself, but for our game. Pretty good start to the year. Three tournaments, three wins in 2008. So, over the past 7 tournaments, I've won 5 and cashed in 6.

The tournament went well tonight. I continued to play aggressive, small ball poker. I have found that this is by far the best strategy you can use. Make smaller raises and play position whenever possible. Trust your reads and always stay observant on what your opponents are doing. When you think that your opponents' have caught on to how your playing, switch gears and throw them a curve ball. That's basic poker strategy. That's what has worked for me, and that is exactly how I will continue to play.

There were some pretty key hands that came up tonight. There were several hands, in which I had a big pair, and put in a standard raise. Got called in a couple of spots, and didn't really get much from them. Later, while the rebuy period was still active, I had pocket 2's in the small blind. A tight player limped in middle position. I knew he probably had two big cards and I was ahead. But I wasn't going to get crazy, so I limped as well. I know that if I spike a set, I can get paid off in a big way. The big blind checks and the flop comes Q-10-2, with two hearts. I watch the player to my left, and I know that they are aggressive and like to make a lot of bets. I check, and sure enough she fires out 2000. The tight player just calls, so I figure he probably has a hand like KJ, maybe the nut flush draw. So I check-raise to 8500. Both call. The turn brings a 4 of HEARTS, at which point I go all-in. I did this for a couple of reasons. I represented a big hand, and checking on the turn is an obvious sign of weakness. If I get called by someone who turned a flush, I have outs to a better hand. I can still hit the case 2, or three of each card on the board. 10 outs is not a bad position. Long story short, the tight player turned over KJ of HEARTS and folded. I couldn't believe he folded that hand. If I was in his position, I don't think I could have folded.

As the tournament went on, I continued to buy blinds and steal pots from time to time. My chip stack was up and down, and I never really saw any big hands. I raised from the button with 64 suited to steal the blinds, and flopped a straight. The big blind bet out, I raised, and they folded. I kept trying to build my stack while doing two things. One, stay under the radar and keep my table image intact. That way players don't think I'm playing too loose, and start to call me down or make moves at me. I see a lot of players willing to fire and fire at pot after pot. You want players to respect your bets and your raises. When they respect your play, it makes it easier to steal blinds. When your image gets destroyed, you have to tighten up and wait to rebuild your image. Second, play small ball and keep the decisions as easy as possible. Poker can be agonizing when you have to make tough decision, after tough decision. However, when it's a clear cut decision as to whether you should; call, raise, or fold, poker can be very easy.

That being said, the end of the tournament went pretty quickly. We lost a player when they pushed (as a short stack) with AJ and got called by KK from the small blind. That took us to four handed. Later, I was on the button and raised with 67 suited, to try and steal the blinds. I had a pretty tight image, but not NIT tight. I got called by both blinds, and the flop came 10-8-5 rainbow. Pretty good flop for my hand. The small blind checked, and the big blind bet 8500. I knew the big blind had a 10, however, there were a couple of things in my favor. One, I showed strength before the flop, and a call would not go along with that story. If I just call, he'll put me on two big cards or a big ace. If I don't hit my draw, I've pissed away 8500 from my somewhat short stack. Second, I have an open end straight draw. Against what I think he has, I'm a 2:1 dog. I have 8 outs at the straight and if I pair a 6 or 7 on the turn, I'll have even more outs. However, I figure that a re-raise should win me the pot right here. So I push all-in for another 22,500. The small blind comes back over the top and goes all-in. I wasn't going to get upset or groan, I just looked at her and said, "Well, I guess it's time to get there." She turned over pocket Kings. Sure enough, a 4 hit the river and made me one of the big stacks. I feel that she played the hand badly for a couple of reasons. First, by taking Kings up against two opponents, there are a lot of flops in which you can be outdrawn. Second, she tried to slowplay the hand, and was up against bet and raise. Yes, she has pocket kings, but she only has a PAIR OF KINGS. She could have very easily been up against two pair, or a set. You also have to remember that I was the pre-flop raiser. If I have Aces, she is in bad shape. When it goes, bet and raise, there aren't many hands that she could be up against that she is beating or is not marginally ahead of. Of course, up against my hand she was a favorite. But it comes down to the action in front of her. She was eliminated on the next hand and we were now 3 handed.

I took Jesse out when I had K4 in the small blind. I limped he checked it down. The flop was blank, and it went check, check. A 4 hit the turn, and I made a small bet, and got called. Another 4 hit the river and I led out again. I bet 2000 on the turn, and 4000 on the river. He raised me to 12,000. I went all-in and he called. He had 64, and I had K4. Heads up was pretty short, and I'm thankful to say that I won. Let's see if we can make it 6 in a row.

Running Good

Texas Hold'em is a very easy game when you are running well. It can be the most frustrating game in the world when you are running bad. The times when your big pairs don't hold up, and you can never seem to hit your draws; even when you have 21 outs. Those days can make you feel horrible and make you want to quit the game all together. However, when you are running well, you feel like you just can't miss. That's what I have been going through the last 25 games. I've made some dumb plays that have cost me tournaments, but I feel that for the situation, it was the right play to make. There were several tournaments in which I just could not buy a hand, or win a hand. But it seemed like the very next tournament, I just couldn't miss a hand.

In the last 25 tournaments, I have cashed in 14 of them. I won 5 times and took second 6 times. That's an overall ROI of just over 60%. Not too bad. The best thing about these tournaments, is that it really showed me some leaks in my game. I'm by no means the best player. However, I try to learn something new every time I play. Whether it's not protecting my hand against draws, or not playing position well. The biggest lesson I learned is to not overvalue a marginal hand. There were a couple of tournaments, where I was the initial raiser. Somebody would come over the top of me and I would push back with a marginal hand. I'm not saying that I'll fold to a re-raise, but there were situations where it was obvious that I didn't have the best hand and still called.

Of course during these tournaments, I ran into some really horrible players. I showed you one of them in a previous post and even showed you his data. Well, here's the king of them all. He is the front runner for my DOY (donkey of the year) award. Just to give you a sample hand. I was in the big blind with Q6 off. Early position player limps and a late position player limps, as well as the DOY in the small blind. I know that a raise would probably win it for me before the flop, but I know that I can definitely out play them on the flop. So I decide to check it down. Sure enough I hit gin. The flop comes Q-9-6 rainbow. The small blind checks, and if you've been reading my blog, you know that I am a very aggressive player. At the same time, I love to play small ball and try to get maximum value for my hands. Especially because at the lower limits, players are more apt to make big mistakes and call with very weak hands. If you bet too much, you will drive them out of the pot. If you bet too little, you are giving them the right odds to call with their draws. However, if you control the pot odds and make calling a mistake (pot odds wise) then you are getting the best of it. There's 240 in the pot, so I bet out 170. The turn brings a J of hearts. There's now 580 in the pot. He checks, and I fire 400 into the pot. Now he check-raises all-in. I go into the tank for a minute. He has me covered, but I know he's bluffing. It's still early in the tournament, and I would have chips to play if he hit a miracle inside straight. However, in a tournament, you can't just fold every time someone puts pressure on you. I thought about the risk versus reward ratio and it was just too high. If I double up with the blinds small, it would give me more leverage to out play the table. Long story short, I called and he showed down J8 off. He pushed with one card to come WITH AN INSIDE STRAIGHT DRAW. The river was a 10 and I was gone. Sometimes, that's all you can do. Get your money in with the best of it. I had him drawing to 4-10's and 2-J's. He was about 12% in the hand.

If you can find someone worse, let me know. :)

Home Game Update

2008 has been my year so far. We have played two home games so far, and I have won both of them. In the first tournament, I never saw a premium hand while we were at a full table. We started with 9 players, most of which were good players. In our regular home game, we have some pretty good players. We are by no means, world class players. However, we have had players from the area come and play with us that have told us we have one of the toughest games in town. Not to drop any names, but Chris Hinchcliffe has come and played with us, and let's just say that he has never cashed at any of our tournaments. If you don't know who Chris Hinchcliffe is, he took 3rd at the Party Poker Millions WPT event. He was at the same table with the likes of Scotty Nguyen, Erik Lindgren, Steve Zolotow, Berry Greenstein, and none other than Daniel Negreanu. He also went heads up with Daniel Negreanu at the WSOP for the Limit Hold'em bracelet that same year. So he's no slouch, he is definetely a player.

So the first tournament was pretty uneventful. As players started to get eliminated, I would exploit small edges and reads to slowly acquire chips. By the time we got to three handed, I was sitting second and in healthy shape to keep pressure on while getting away from marginal situations. Long story short, I took out Rut with a couple of good hands and some good bets and reads. It was one of the shortest tournaments we have played in a long time.

The last tournament was a different animal all together. Nothing eventful happened until the first break. Right before the break, Brenda opened the pot for 4.5 x's the big blind. She got two callers. The flop came Q-10-6. She was one of the short stacks and was out of position. She went all-in and got snap called by a loose player, which was really confounding. She turned over a set of Queens, and Dustin turned over J8. A snap call with an inside straight draw. He got lucky and caught a 9 on the turn. The board didn't pair, and she was gone. After she left, he turned to me and said, "I thought she was bluffing, she had been pushing with weaker hands in the past." I just laughed and told him that even if she was bluffing, what could he beat? Conceivably, he could have had 10 outs, but that's a best case scenario. If she had a hand like KJ he's in horrible shape. Worst yet, if she had what she did have, he's an even bigger dog. Horrible play either way you look at it. He didn't have the right odds or the right read to make the play.

There was one other hand that comes to mind from early in the tournament. I was sitting a little above average with about 28,000. The blinds were 400/800 with 100 ante. So there was 2100 in the pot. I'm in late position and limp with 45 suited. I knew Joy was steaming, she had just lost a big pot which made her the short stack. She only had 3400 left. All of sudden, she pushes all-in from the button. Everyone folded to me. So I had to go to the math. There was 6300 in the pot and it was costing me 2600 to call. Automatic call right? WRONG. I see a lot of players say, well, I have to call I'm getting the right odds. The first thing you have to do is find out what your pot odds are. Here I was getting about 2.5:1. Next, and most importantly, you have to assign a range of hands to your opponent. I knew she was steaming a little bit, and I was pretty sure she didn't have a premium pair. So that left me with a basic range of any reasonable ace or any two big cards (like KQ, KJ, Q10, etc...) against this range, I was a 2:1 underdog. Next, I had to look at what kind of chunk it would take out of my stack. 2600 would be less than 10%. So I called. She flipped over AJ, I had 45. The only down side is that she had AJ hearts, and I had 45 of hearts. I hit a 4 on the turn and she didn't improve. I then had to hear all about how it was a horrible call and probably the worst call she has ever seen. However, like I just illustrated. I don't just make a call on a whim. I tend to mull over the data present and try to make the best possible play. It sucks losing to 5 high, but that's poker.

She rebought (we allow rebuys for the first hour), and ended up going a major heater. She had about 160,000 at one point of the tournament. She was on cruise control and should have easily dominated the tournament. I couldn't break the 40,000 barrier. When we got down to 5 handed, she still sat on most of the chips in the tournament and it seemed like we were fighting for second place. Rut went out in fifth place, and Dustin's friend went out in fourth place. Joy took Dustin out in a pretty uneventful hand, and next thing I know I'm heads up with the massive chip leader. She had me outchipped by more than 4:1. I couldn't catch a hand or a draw, and it seemed like she couldn't miss up to this point.

I was sitting on about 60,000, and she had about 240,000. It was pretty ridiculous. It was getting kind of late, so I offered he a chop of 100 each, then play out for the rest. That way, we would each guarantee a decent night, and still have something to fight over. She said NO. I knew what she was thinking. She was thinking, "I have a major chip lead and I can beat him." I could be wrong, but I have a feeling the greed got to her. :)

So I just went back to grindstone and started to play my normal aggressive game. There were a couple of key moments that came up. I slowly grinded my way back to about 100,000. She raised me AGAIN, on the button. She had been raising about 70% of the time from the button. I had 96 suited, and called. I know I can outplay her on the flop and turn. The flop came A-9-4. I don't watch the board, I watch the player. I knew she did not like the ACE. So I wanted her to think that I was slowplaying the ace. I checked it to her and she made the standard continuation bet. At which point, I check-raised her. She bet 10,000, I raised her to 28,000. She mucked and grumbled about how much she hates jacks. What really sold her on the fact that I had an ace was not only the bet, but I remembered what I did the last time I check-raised with a good hand, and did almost the same thing. She still had a monster chip lead, and I was still trying to grind her down, and not get into a race or push with marginal hands.

A couple of hours go by, and now we are almost even. The blinds were getting ridiculously high in comparison to the stack size. At this point, I know that she will not CALL without a good hand. I push all-in a couple of times, and I can just see the steam and frustration building. I know she's going to push back shortly, so I change gears and decide to lock it down. Sure enough, she pushes in, and I get lucky and catch Jacks in the big blind. She shows KJ off and the Jacks hold up. She's now down to about 20,000 with the blinds at 4000/8000 with 1000 ante. So that was pretty much the end of the night for her.

Over the last 6 home games, the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, I have cashed in 5 and have won 4. Pretty good run. Let's try and keep the streak going and see how well the rest of the year goes. Good luck at the tables.