Experimenting

I've been experimenting with a few ideas the last couple of days. I've run into so many calling stations, loose/passive, loose/aggressive, and tight/aggressive players over the past couple of weeks that I have been thinking about some new things to try. So I've been trying to do a couple of different things. First, it's been hard to get players off of hands. Three betting with AQ, AJ, small pairs, nothing has really worked. I've been getting called by weaker hands, then they either push in on the flop or check-raise the pot. It's been pretty funny and frustrating at the same time. At the new level, I thought players would respect re-raises and signs of strength. But they don't, and I refuse to sit and wait for the nuts before putting any money in the pot. So I have been trying a few things, with some marginal success so far.
First, against calling stations you can never bluff. Bluffs will very rarely work. To give you an example, I had AJ in late position. A player minimum raised in middle position, I knew he had a marginal hand like A10, KQ, KJ, or a small pair. A player called in between and I wanted to isolate with position. He raised to 100 with blinds at 25/50, and I re-raised to 350. The first player folded, the second player called. The flop came 8-8-6 with two diamonds. He checked and I fired a continuation bet of 500 with 2300 behind. He called. The turn brought another 6. He checked, so I checked behind. A jack hit the river and he checked again. Do I fire a value bet? In this spot, there really aren't very many hands I can beat. If I bet and he check-raises I have to let the hand go. There's 1875 in the pot, so I checked behind with jacks and eights. He shows K5 suited, didn't even have a flush draw. This example illustrates how you just cannot bluff a bad player or a calling station. Try to tag those players and know that you must have a hand against them. Don't try to push them out of a pot, because they will call with third pair or even king high.
Second, against loose/passive players the same pretty much holds true for calling stations. Against LAP's you can bluff them a little more, but you want to have position against them. I'll fire two bullets at them, but with wet boards or if I can put them on a decent hand I'll tend to shut down. Against a LAP I've been semi-bluffing with big draws and have been making information bets against them. I'll fire my standard bet or raise with top pair, second pair, primary draw, or monster draw and see what they do. Against loose/passive players, I have been trying to play position against them. I saw one player in particular limp in early with AK, AQ suited, jacks, and tens. The only time he would raise was when he had AA or KK. So I knew that if he bet the flop out of position, he probably had hit the flop pretty hard. If he checked, I would make a bet to try and take the pot down right there. The key to playing in position is to not try to run multiple players out of the pot without a hand. I mean, you cannot bluff more than two other players out of the pot. You want to have a decent hand in position. It's just stupid to try to bluff through more than two other players. The likelihood that one of the other players hit the flop is pretty high. Plus, I think a lot of players overvalue bluffing in poker. Yes bluffing is a part of the game, and getting caught can be very valuable later on when you have changed gears. But I have seen so many players try to bluff every hand they play. They play marginal hands and try to push players out of pots with no pair, no draw. So monitor your bluffs and know who can and cannot be bluffed. Calling stations cannot be bluffed, LAP's can be bluffed from time to time.
Next, against tight/passive players I have been trying to play position and have been trying to trap them with big hands. Tight/passive players are not willing to put any money in the pot unless they have a hand. It can be tough to get money out of them, it's like trying to get water from a rock. They will usually check-fold without a hand, and check-call with a hand. So I take a lot of stabs at pots against them to see if 1) they have a hand, and 2) take the pot down right away. Too many times I see players check behind a tight/passive player thinking that they are being trapped. Yeah, they might be setting a trap. But you have to remember that you will hit the flop about 1 out of 3 times with unpaired cards. So if they check, you should fire out and see if they have anything. You shouldn't try to bluff them all the time. You want to have some kind of hand, but your bet will accomplish a couple of things. If they call, you can gauge how strong their hand is by what draws and pairs are possible. You can eliminate some possible starting hands they might have, and you can go from there. Second, if they check-fold a lot, you can win quite a few blinds so that later on when you do have a good hand with a draw, you can take a shot at eliminating them with the money you stole from them.
Lastly, against tight/aggressives I have been trying to play small pots against them. TAG's are solid players that can be quite tricky. Sometimes they will have a hand, sometimes they are willing to bluff. They change gears and if you have position on them, you can really get a good line on them. The key to playing them is to know their range in each position. I'll give you another example. I'm in middle position and a TAG makes a standard raise, I have AK suited. The table had been playing pretty tight and raises have been getting some respect. Early on, 4 or 5 players would call a raise to see a flop. However, the blinds had gone up and now they were at 50/100 so raises were getting a lot more respect. Usually only 1 or 2 people would call the raise to see the flop. I knew I would have position on him. The two of us saw a flop and it came 5-6-9 with two clubs, I had AK clubs. The range I had him on was 10's+, AJ+, and KJ+. There was 850 in the pot and he bet out 600. He was quite aggressive and most of the time when he had a hand he would just hit the bet pot button. I looked him up and he was playing 8 tourneys at once. On this flop with his bet I figured he had a pair, maybe an overpair. If I call his bet I'll have 1400 behind, but if I miss my draw I am almost pot committed. I know that I have 15 outs, which makes me a 54% favorite at this point in the hand. So I push in and he snap called me. He had 10's. A blank hit the turn, and a king hit the river. Again, if I had simply called on the flop, I don't know if I would have called the turn. The turn brought a 2, so it didn't really help my hand, and I'm sure he would have fired a big bet into the pot. Sometimes you have to go with your read and take a shot at getting a TAG to fold or take a slight edge and try to get there. If I didn't hit a big draw like nut flush draw and two overs, I would have ditched the hand and still had about 2000 left.
I know a lot of what I'm saying is pretty standard. Some of the new things I have been trying is floating flops against tight players that fire bets on dry boards to take them away on the turn and pushing edges on loose passive players. Again, probably pretty standard. But I'm just starting my experiment. Right now I'm data mining players and watching how they play hands out of position and in position to see how their bets and raises give away the strength of their hands. Online you don't have physical tells, but a bigger indicator is betting patterns. There was one player in particular that would bet the pot most of the time. Then I got in a hand with him and suddenly he was minimum betting to the river. I called down with second pair just to see what he had. I wanted to find out why his bets were suddenly so small. Sure enough, he had second pair with a weak kicker. I continued to watch his patterns and it was like a huge neon sign giving away his hand. He would bet the pot with a strong hand, like top pair/good kicker, set, straight (any), flush (any), or two pair. He would bet minimum with second pair, draws, and bluffs. So I took note of it, and whenever he would minimum bet I would float him to the turn, then push on him.
I'm going to keep working on different things and try to come up with some new thoughts and ideas over the next couple of days. Let me know of some thoughts you might have.

Battle at Kruger

Such an amazing video. More than 30 million people have seen the video, but the dynamic between the different animals in nature is unbelievable. The way the buffalo take on the pride of lions to protect their young. To the battle between the crocodiles and lions over their prey. The best part of the video is how the herd of buffalo take on the pride of lions with a fearlessness and drive them away from their downed calf. Such an amazing video.

Daniel Negreanu Interview

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. You have to understand that the video is setup. The guys at siktilt approached Daniel about doing it. If you read Daniel's blog, he talks about how the interview and the blow up were all a big joke.

Have to get one

I build my own poker tables. I've been looking to add an automatic shuffler to my tables, ones like the Deckmate by Shufflemaster. However, those cost $16,000. They are the same automatic shufflers you see in casinos. These look pretty cool, and for $500 a hell of a deal.

Simply Hilarious

Just a quick update to a funny situation. It's been one of those nights where no matter what you do, you are destined to lose. I had A9 4 handed on the button and raised 3 times. BB calls and the flop comes J-1o-7 with two hearts. I have the ace of hearts and bet about 2/3 the pot. BB calls. Ace of clubs on the turn. He bets min, I push in for a bet of almost the pot, he calls. I have A9, he has A4. Most of the time, it's going to be a chopped pot. If a king, queen, jack, ten, or seven hit it's a chop. His only win is obviously one of 3-4's. River....4.
Which brings us to the funny situation. To me it's pretty standard. We are 4 handed, and it's been a pretty aggressive game. I'm on the button with AA. Over the last couple of orbits, I had been pretty active. I had a few hands, played position on a few, raised and limped, I was mixing it up pretty well. I had limped the button a few times throughout the game, most of the time they would see a suited connector or a hand that has value in position. Again, we are 4 handed, so I know that if I raise I can win the blinds, but I want someone to stack off. What's the best way for them to do that? Well, if I give up a little EV before the flop, I can possibly get someone to overvalue top pair in a limped pot, or better yet, someone could push with a weak ace or marginal hand. So, I limp on the button for 200. I have about 3300 and sitting second. The small blind raises to 800, he has about 1700 left. I thought about the pro's and con's of re-raising. If I re-raise I can get him to probably stack off when I have the best hand, especially if he has a pair or a big ace. If I re-raise him in now, he may fold, I'm trying to get him to stack off. He still has some fold equity, especially because He would have about 9 times the blind with the short stack in the BB next hand. So I decided to just call. Again, I'm not worried about a lot of hands. If the flop comes all big with one suit or some kind of really wet board, I'm prepared to ditch the hand and pick a better spot. But that's part of playing poker after the flop. Yes I have AA, but I'm trying to get my opponent to make a huge mistake against me.
So the flop comes 9-6-4 with two hearts. For the range of hands I have him on, this is a very dry board. There is 1800 in the pot and he has 1860 left. He shoves in on the flop. I snap called him. The range I had him on was 10's+, AJ+, QJ+, he had been very loose and aggressive up to this point. So I knew he had the capability of pushing for over the pot with just two big cards on a 9 high flop. The cards flip over, he has QQ. SWEET!!!! He has no back door draws, like a straight or flush draw. I'm a 9:1 favorite to take him out, secure a money spot and take over the chip lead. My play had worked out, I got a second best hand to stack off, I got the money in as a huge favorite, what more could I ask for? So the turn brings a blank, then a queen hits the river. This is where the humor of the situation comes in.
I've taken beats, I've given beats, they are a part of the game. Remember, poker is about putting yourself in the best possible situation to win. I was 95% to win on the turn. Right after the queen peels off and I lose. The chip leader in the BB types, "That's what you deserve. You played that hand horrible, you're a donkey." LOL. So let me get this straight. I get a player to overvalue a second best hand, put his money in the pot as a substantial dog, disguise the true strength of my hand, then take a beat on the river and I played the hand horribly? That's just hilarious. So let me make sure I have this perfectly clear. If I had raised on the button with AA, like he is advocating, what would I win? I might have got the player to stack off. However, we were 4 handed, on the bubble. Most players tighten up on the bubble, especially with short stack that's in the blinds next. So if I raised the blinds, the SB probably just calls, the flop comes down, he might have bet, but I would have pushed on the flop. Would he have called? Don't know. If I was in his situation it would be a tough call, but not impossible. Think about it for a second. Tight, aggressive player raises on the button. I've shown down a lot of strong hands after the flop. I haven't really shown down too many one pair hands. Most of the time I have gotten my opponents to fold so I haven't had to show some weaker hands. So he just calls my raise. If he bets half the pot on the flop, technically he is pot committed to call the push, but he could still fold. What could I have to push him in on a 9-6-4 flop? To me, it's almost like telegraphing your hand. I would have to have 99, 66, 44, KK, or AA. But I digress. Funny how a lot of players cannot wrap their head around playing hands in different ways. I refuse to play scared aces and I will give up some pre-flop EV to get a player to stack off on me.

Getting There

The last few days have been encouraging and frustrating, at the same time. First, I'm still running into LAG's who overvalue top pair or any kind of draw and don't even consider their pot odds. Suckouts have occured, which is pretty standard, and some hands have held up. I had AA in the big blind with the blinds at 15/30. The UTG raised to 90 and it folded to the small blind, who called. I re-raised to 300, and the UTG called. The flop came 9-6-4 with two clubs. There was 690 in the pot, so I bet out 450 with the flush draw. The UTG insta-shoved on me. I called and he showed K9 of hearts. Top pair, good kicker, but no other draw. He hit a king on the turn, but the board paired, and he was gone. Like I always say, why would you risk your tournament when the blinds are small with top pair weak kicker? But those are the calls I want.
So I played in a few tournaments and won a couple, placed third in a couple and went card dead in a few. So I was trying to play the best I could and play off my image. But the tables were playing so loose and hyper aggressive. It was just shocking how fast the tables were playing. I thought the players at the next level would put more thought into their hands, pot odds and the such, but that is not the case. They push with very marginal hands and draws, and love to bluff. So I just have to pick my spots and adjust to the table. If the table is playing loose aggressive, I need to tighten up a little. If the table is playing squeaky tight, I need to loosen up some. So I'll just have to keep changing gears.
I'm encouraged because I am getting close to setting another milestone mark for my sit and go progress. Once I can really adjust to the new level, I am planning on playing more multi-table tournaments. Here is a brief strategy I am thinking about using.
I am planning on playing my normal sit and go's. When I get past my next milestone, I am going to put the profit aside to use for satelite tournaments and multi-table tournaments. My thinking is that if I can cash regularly in the sit and go's then I can take a shot with some of the profit at the other tournaments. I'm also working on a new pre-flop and post flop strategy against LAG's and overly tight players that only play big hands. So I'll be working on that today and try it out later tonight. Hopefully all goes well.
On another note, I'm reading Read'em and Reap by Joe Navarro, Your Worst Poker Enemy by Alan Schoonmaker, and then I'm going to start reading Championship Omaha by T.J. Cloutier. In the next couple of days, I'm going to start taking notes and going to start writing a comprehensive poker book. One that covers all games, including Omaha (Hi/Lo and Hi), Stud, Razz, Hold'em, pretty much everything poker related. So back to the grind. See you at the tables.

Quick Update

Just a quick note to update my progress. I've played in 66 sit and go's this week. I've cashed in about 44% of them. 29 out of 66 to be precise. Here is the breakdown of how I've finished in them.
1st place - 11 times
2nd place - 6 times
3rd place - 12 times
Bubble boy - 11 times
So I need to work on my short handed play. If I could have turned those 4th place finishes into at least 3rd place finishes my ROI would be much higher. I would have cashed in 40 of 66 tourneys for a 60.6% in the money percentage. So I need to stay aggressive, but pick my spots better and hopefully not get outdrawn when it is necessary. Over the past 14 tournaments, I've cashed in 7 of them, but only have 1 second place finish and the rest are thirds. UGH!!!
Over the past two days, I have played in 21 tournaments and have been getting kicked in the balls by the deck. I lost a few tournaments to some pretty nasty hands. The first of which was when I had about 10 BB's and shoved on the button 4 handed. I had AK of diamonds. The BB thought about it for a while, then called off most of his money, leaving himself 140 with the blinds at 60/120 with Q10 of spades. He flopped a 10 a rivered a flush. Was it a bad play on his part? Well, there was 1420 in the pot. I raised another 1120, so it was costing him 1120 to win 1420. Mathematically it was a bad call. He was about a 65:35 dog. So, he really wasn't getting the right pot odds to call. Where the play is bad, is that he was putting his tournament life on the line for Q10 suited. If he was the one to raise and I had to call, it would be a different story. But I think it is a horrible play to call off your tournament with a weak hand like Q10 suited, even if we are 4 handed.
I lost another tournament when I had KK in early position. The blinds were 30/60, and I raised to 180. I hadn't raised a single hand up to this point. The table was playing very loose and aggressive and I was getting garbage. A short stack shoved for 690 total. The small blind then moved in for 1010 total. I called and was up against 910 suited from the short stack and AK off from the small blind. So I was a pretty good favorite. A 10 hit the flop, and an ace hit the river. Out of another one.
All day long, I kept getting my money in good, but it just wasn't holding up. Then I hit some pretty cold decks. I've played over 1800 hands and had AA 3 times and KK 5 times. AA held up all 3 times, but KK only held up 2 times. I had AK suited and off about 22 times, and only won with it about 40% of the time. Same with AQ, AJ, KQ, pretty much any decent playable hand in position. So I just have to keep pushing through it and wait for the deck to warm up. It's frustrating when you see other players getting premium hands and hitting flops and all you get dealt is complete garbage. Especially when your raises are getting no respect, or your timing is off.
P.S. I just got done playing a tournament and was playing extremely well. I had one big hand, but played everything else really well. I'm writing this to make note of a couple of things. First, Don't go broke with one pair....I keep forgetting that rule from time to time. The hand came down like this. Three handed, I'm second in chips. Chip leader limps in, I raise 2.7X's. He calls. I have AJ off. Flop comes J-6-2. He checks, I bet and he min raises me. He had been doing that from time to time all game long. So I pushed back and re-raised. I put about 1/3 of my chips in at this point. He pushed in and I made a dumb call to be up against a set of 2's. UGH!!! I should have won that tourney. Secondly, don't try to bluff calling stations. I ran into so many of them in this last tourney, especially loose aggressives and calling stations. I had AJ suited in the cutoff and had only shown down KK to this point. I was playing pretty tight and aggressive, and the table knew it. I come in for 240 with the blinds at 40/80 and nobody in the pot yet. The BB calls and the flop comes 9-8-4 rainbow. He bets out 240, and I raise him to 800. He calls. The turn brings a blank and he checks. I only have about 860 left and there's already over 2000 in the pot. I go all in and he snap calls me with Q8 off. Second pair and no draw. I hit an ace on the river and he rants about how I'm a donkey and it was such a stupid play. Blah blah blah. The stupid play was playing a trash hand out of position and calling off with second pair on the turn with no secondary draw. But I digress.
The key to remember is to stick to your rules and don't break them.

Hee Haw

Tonight we played our weekly home game. I played like a total donkey. Way too passive and I ran into a couple of calling stations. Everything was going well in the beginning, but the wheels fell off and I just was not feeling the poker vibe.
The first major mistake I made was raising with 85 suited out of position. One of my mantras is to always play in position. I went against the first rule. Then I proceeded to three barrel bluff a 10 high flop, with no draw, and ace on the turn, and a brick on the river into a calling station who smooth called the pre-flop raise and the bets to the river with kings. UGH!!!
So I slowly build my stack back to about the starting stack, with the blinds still small. However, I then proceed to play QQ like a total idiot. I raised preflop 2.7X's the blind, not a bad play. The flop came K-10-8, and I checked, bad play. I should have made at least a standard continuation bet, but I didn't. A blank came on the turn, so I fired a bet out, and got called. A 10 hit the river, so I fired again, then got raised. Of course I called off the raise to find my opponent with A10, again don't slowplay against weak or bad players. Make them pay to draw or punish them for holding weak hands.
The next bad play I made was when I had J7 in the small blind. It was a limped pot and the flop came K-Q-J rainbow. It checked to the turn, where I hit a 7. It checked again. The river brought another J, sweet, I have a boat. I bet about 2/3 the pot and got minimum raised. If I was thinking straight, I would have re-raised and pushed on my opponent. However, I just called, another bad play. He showed A10 for the nut straight, but I could have maximized a lot more on this hand. Especially because I know my opponent would have overvalued his hand and probably pushed in on me.
I was short and was limping way too much and playing way too many hands out of position. Future thought, DON'T DO THAT!!! If you are short, go with your read and push when you think you are ahead. That was the other big mistake I made tonight. I didn't trust my reads and really wasn't trying to read the players as much as I should have. I need to pay a lot more attention next time. Remember to take your time, trust your reads and use small ball and information bets to get whatever info you need. Don't let the other players dictate the hand and if you think you're beat, FOLD!!!
Finally, I was short and pushed with K8 suited, got a really loose call without the odds from the big blind with J4. I doubled up. However, the very next hand, I pushed again instead of re-evaluating my situation and position. I pushed with 77 and got snap called by 88. We were 5 handed and it just illustrates that it was not my night. I could have played better, but I just need to get over it and move on to the next tourney. So for future thought, watch the table, play position better, and play aggressively. That has been my formula for success. Don't get overly complicated and try plays that won't work against weak, tight players. So back to the studies and the grind.

Running with Morons!!!

It's just shockingly funny and sickening how many bad players I have run into over the past two days. I've played in 6 sit-n-go's today. It's just amazing how bad I'm running right now. Let me get it straight, I'm not playing bad, I'm just running bad.
Here's the quick breakdown of the tourneys:
Tourney #1: 6 max tourney. I played a few hands early really well, and I grabbed the chip lead early. One hand in particular was AA. Middle position raised, and I just called, as did the big blind. The flop came jack high and the big blind bet out minimum, middle raised 4x's, and I thought one of the two had a big enough piece to go all the way. I raised to 450, but the BB just called, middle folded. BB pushed on the turn with another rag. I called, he showed K5 suited for no pair no draw????? So we get to three handed and it pretty much becomes a shove fest. I shove with K10 suited and get called by the BB with AK....UGH!!!
The first tourney was pretty standard. The blinds get high and you're forced to gamble. I just happened to run into a big hand at the wrong time. This is when it just started getting sick.
Tourney #2: I'm the short stack with 4 players left. I have 88 on the button and push for about 8 big blinds. The small blind reshoves, he has a little more than I do. He shows 33 against my 88. Sweet...I'm a big favorite. The flop comes K-2-4 rainbow. The turn brings an ace, and of course a 5 hits the river. Out of number 2.
Tourney #3: Again, we are 4 handed. This time I'm sitting about average with the other big stacks. The short stack keeps getting lucky to stay alive. I pushed on him with A10, he called off with QJ and got lucky. Later, I called his all in with A10 again as did another player who had Q9. The short stack won again with KJ. Finally, I have A8 and the short stack. I push and the BB calls with Q10. I flop an ace, but he gets a 10 on the turn and a 10 on the river.
Tourney #4: I'm on the button and we're 5 handed. I raise 3.5X's and the small blind calls. I have AQ off. The flop comes K-Q-J. He bets out the pot on the flop, and I raise all in. He calls of most of his chips, leaving himself 650 with the blinds at 50/100 on an insta call with 10's. The turn brings a 4 and of course an ace hits the river.
Tourney #5: We're 4 handed, and the table has been playing completely insanse. Raise, re-raise with very marginal hands. I only have about 6 big blinds. I'm in the BB with QJ suited. Loose player raises and another player calls. I shove for about twice the raise. Both call. The flop comes J-6-4 with two spades. The king of spades hits the turn and the 10 of hearts hits the river. One guy had A10 off and the winner had J10 of diamonds. The funny thing is that the guy with J10 was only about 14% on the flop to win. Whereas the guy with A10 off was about 32% to win. On the turn, the guy with J10 was only about 6% to win, and of course he got there.
Tourney #6: This is the worst one of the day. I haven't played a single hand yet. It's early in the tourney and everyone has been playing really loose and very poorly, so I'm just waiting for a good situaiton. I'm in early position with JJ. The blinds are 30/60 and I raise to 180. The small blind calls and the flop comes 10-9-6. He checks and I bet 300 into 420. He check raises all in. I call, he shows K6 of spades. For a check raise like this, I would have at least expected to see a flush draw or straight draw, something other than third pair with a king. The turn brings the 8 of clubs, giving me a flush draw and straight draw to go with my overpair. Of course, the king of hearts hits the river.
It is getting really frustrating playing with such bad players. They act instantly on their hands and don't think about anything other than trying to either bluff you off your hand, or think that if they bet you'll fold. I've seen so many marginal hands played for raises it almost makes me think this is how you're supposed to play. But I know better. Look up the stats of these players and you will see that they are losing players in the long run. They might get lucky and win every once in a while. But most of them are losing, and a lot I might add.
It's just mentally draining to play well, get your money in good and know that you are going to lose. I can't explain it. Everytime we got the money in, I knew I was either a huge favorite or had the best of it. But as soon as the cards were turned over, I knew I was going to lose. That little voice in the back of my head kept saying, you're going to get sucked out on, be prepared.
So, I just have to keep getting it in good, that's all you can do.

Another Up and Down Day

I don't understand how some of the players at the new level play, and haven't gone broke yet. Here's a quick breakdown of how I lost the first tourneys.
Tourney #1: BB is all in, he lost a big hand. I have QQ in early position and raise to 300 with 1650 behind. The player to my left re-raises to 900. Now I could have decided to fold, but I know that he doesn't have AA or KK, most likely J's, 10's or AK. I shove and he calls off about 2/3 of his stack. Sure enough, he has AK and flops an ace. Most people would say, it's a race and you lost. But think about the hand for a second. There's a player all in already. I'm telling you I have a hand, and he decides to call off most of his stack with AK. If he doesn't hit, he's crippled with the blinds at 50/100. I think it was a horrible play on his part.
Tourney #2: Pretty standard. I'm in the BB with AK and only have about 10 big blinds. Early position raise, I shove and he calls with QQ. I flop an ace, but he also flopped a queen.
Tourney #3: I'm in late position with KJ off. I haven't really been raising all that much, so I thought my raise would get some respect. I raised to 275 with the blinds at 50/100. The small blind called, and the flop came K-8-6 rainbow. He bets out 200, which I then raise to 775. He goes all in and it's a no brainer. I call and he shows K2???? He rivered a 2....UGH!
Tourney #4: I'm in late again. UTG limps, he's been doing that with a lot of weak hands. I have A9 off and 895 chips with the blinds at 60/120. I shove, he calls with 55 and I lose the race.
Tourney #5: We're 6 handed, and I'm UTG with AK off. The blinds are 30/60 and I have 1310 in chips. I raise to 180. The button calls and the flop comes K-7-4. I check to the button, he had been very aggressive. He bets 360 into 450. I just call. The turn brings the 7 of clubs, now two clubs on board. I check again, pretty much pot committed. He bet the pot, and I call off my stack to find out he had AA. What a cold deck.
Tourney #6: I lost a big hand, where I had the nut flush draw and he had a straight draw and got there. So I was short stacked. I pushed in the small blind, into the big blind with 77. He had AK, lost the race and was out.
Tourney #7: The worst one of all. I was in the BB with AK of hearts. The button limps, and I raise to 175 with the blinds at 25/50. He calls and the flop came K-6-3 with two hearts. YAHTZEE. Top pair, top kicker and the nut flush draw. I bet 250, he calls. The turn brings the queen of hearts...FLUSH. I bet out 550, he raises all in. I call, he shows KQ. I bet you can guess the river....lol. Queen on the river. I'm out of another one.
It gets frustrating to get your money in as a huge favorite or just in a race situation and lose. I try to take them well, and don't really let them bother me. The only reason why I recount these situations, is to try and find a way I could have played the hand better. I feel that I played each hand both the way I should have, and in the best possible way. I know that beats and suckouts are going to happen. I play aggressively and I also change gears a lot. So I know that some players just don't understand that I'm not always bluffing.
It's good to get picked off bluffing from time to time. This will usually make your opponent come after you later on. They will think that you're bluffing again. You have to balance your bluffs and know which players can and cannot be bluffed. I ran into a lot of weak, passive and calling stations. Here's a great example of what I'm talking about.
I had been somewhat active at the table. I raised in position pretty frequently and just got picked off bluffing second pair on the turn. He called the flop and turn with top pair with a weak kicker. So I knew that I had to change gears and tighten up a little. A few hands later, I pick up KK and raise the exact same amount I did in the previous hand. I usually raise the same amount no matter what I have. The only time I vary my raise is by position. I tend to raise 2.5X's in early, 2.7-2.8X's in middle, and 3X's in late. I'll explain why in a later post. So I raise to 400 again with the blinds at 80/160. The big blind calls and the flop comes A-K-7 rainbow. The BB checked and I knew that I had to gamble and give him a card that he could bluff. He was a very aggressive player, so I wanted to hang him, plus I knew he just saw me show a bluff. The turn brings a 6 of spades, now 2 spades on board. He bet the pot. Right now, there's only one hand that beats me, AA. No way he has that. So I just call, again, I'm not worried about getting drawn out on, if it happens it happens. But I want to get maximum value for my hand. The river brings a 2. He shoves all in. He has me covered, and the trap has been triggered. I call and he shows 10-7 off. I'm all for aggression, but this play is just stupidly aggressive. I raised UTG and just called when he bet the turn. It's just amazing that these players can't shut down. They are willing to two and three barrel with second or third pair, or a complete bluff. It's just hilarious.
So I'm down about $60 right now, but hopefully the cards will start breaking my way. I just have to stay aggressive and picking my spots. I'm sure everything will work out in the end.

This Is Getting Gross!!!

I have played in 22 sit-n-go's over the past two days. I'm playing at the new level, but the ups and downs I'm experiencing right now is just getting disgusting. At the lower level, I was cashing on a regular basis. I've cashed and won quite a few at the new level, but the variance I'm experiencing right now is getting mentally taxing.
Just to give you an example. Of the 22 sit-n-go's I've played, I've won 4, took second 1 time, third 2 times, and on the bubble 6 times. That's 7 cashes out of 22. A little over 33%. I would cash in about 45% of the tourneys at the lower level. So my bankroll has been on a roller coaster ride over the past few days. If I didn't have enough to play at the upper level, I wouldn't. So as long as I have the proper bankroll, I'll continue playing at the upper level. I know I do need to make some adjustments though.
One thing I have noticed about the players at the next level, is that they are both fearless, and mostly have no clue....lol. I'll give you an example, I'll even drop his name. Pokerwarlock76 had been pushing all game long. He got lucky quite a few times to not only stay in the tourney, but to get the chip lead. I have been totally card dead for the past two days, well mostly card dead. I've had a few good hands, but nothing spectacular. So anyway, he kept pushing a raising and was playing like a typical maniac. He raised, then called a massive all in with J9 suited against AK. So I was just waiting patiently to pick him off. Just sitting in wait and hoping to finally pick up a hand I could go to war with him. I don't need aces or kings to pick off a maniac. But when all you are getting is 64 and J5, there's not much you can do. Not only that, but I had a tight aggressive, solid player on my left. So I couldn't really get out of hand.
So we get to four handed and I'm getting short on chips. He constantly pushed all in when he was in the small blind and I was in the big blind. I had about 10 big blinds, so I had a little bit of time to wait. Finally, I'm down to about 7 big blinds and he pushes in again. I called with Q8 off, which was the best hand I had seen in a long time. He showed down 96 off, so I'm a slight favorite. The flop came A-9-6....UGH!!! I catch a queen on the turn and an ace on the river. Thank god they didn't pay off a bad play. So now I'm sitting third. A couple of orbits later, he pushed again from the small blind. I had him covered by about 300. I called with A7 off, he had K8. I caught an ace, but on the turn he had a straight and flush draw. The river bricked and he was gone. When we were three handed, I pushed on the short stack with A10 suited and he called with KK. I caught an ace, but he caught a king. The river brought a jack for a running straight. Finally, I trapped the big blind with K10. I called and he checked it down. The flop came 10-7-6. He bet out, and I used my clock, then just called. I know that at this point, I'm probably a huge favorite. There are straight and flush draws, but he was playing pretty straight forward. Bets when he has a pair, checks when he bricked the flop. So I thought he had a weak 10. The turn brought another 7. He put about half his money in the pot. At this point, I know he's committed and went ahead and put him in. He had 10-3, the river bricked and I won another one.
Over the past two days, I have played 2070 hands, and have had a premium hand 2% of the time. I was dealt AA 4 times out of 2070 hands. That's just disgusting. Like I've said, I don't need premium hands all the time, but it helps when the table is playing very tight and aggressive to have a hand to go to war with from time to time. There's only so many times you can raise a blind with a less than premium hand that you won't get looked up. Not only that, but it's only fair that the poker gods deal me some good hands from time to time. When you only get marginal hands, it's like playing with your hands tied. Your actions are limited, it destroys your image, and if you are at a tight aggressive table that is playing well, when you do get a hand, nobody will call. So you have to get hands.
Normally in a sit-n-go, I'll play pretty tight at the beginning. I try to build my image and get a few chips. I'm not going to get crazy with a hand, and will usually fold only one pair. Remember, never go broke with one pair, especially early in a tourney. However, when you just don't get anything to play, there's not much you can do. Just play patiently and wait for the right opportunities to present themselves. There were so many tourneys that I was playing patiently and just waiting for the right spots. They never came and when I finally did make a move with a decent hand, guess what I always ran into. YUP...AA and KK. Sucks when the deck kills you like that.

Rock Band Update

I've been playing Rock Band off and on for the past few weeks. I love that game. I have become quite a good drummer, if I do say so myself. I'm alright at guitar, but the drums are so much fun. I just downloaded a bunch of new songs over the past couple of weeks. Here's a brief list:

1. Roam - B52's
2. Hard to Handle - Black Crowes
3. ...And Just For All - Metallica
4. Don't Look Back in Anger - Oasis
5. Wonderwall - Oasis
6. Live Forever - Oasis
7. Buddy Holly - Weezer
8. Peace of Mind - Boston
9. More Than a Feeling - Boston
10. Something About You - Boston
11. Smokin' - Boston
12. Rock and Roll Band - Boston
13. Still Alive - Glados
14. Crushcrush - Paramore
15. Why Do You Love Me? - Garbage
16. Sex Type Thing - Stone Temple Pilots
17. Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
18. Ten Speed - Coheed and Cambria
19. Limelight - Rush
20. Move Along - All American Rejects
21. Dirty Little Secret - All American Rejects
22. Brass in Pocket - The Pretenders
23. 3's and 7's - Queens of the Stone Age
24. Sick, Sick, Sick - Queens of the Stone Age
25. Jukebox Hero - Foreigner
26. My Sharona - The Knack
27. Bang a Gong - T-Rex

I have been playing on the expert level and can pretty much play most of the songs on expert. There are still a few songs that I can't play. Like Run to the Hills, Don't Fear the Reaper, and Won't Get Fooled Again. I'm getting there, I'm progressing pretty quickly. They just annouced the new songs for this coming week. They include the following.

1. Saints of Los Angeles - Motley Crue
2. Call Me - Blondie
3. Message in a Bottle - The Police
4. Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd

I'll have to make sure to get those songs as well. If you play Rock Band on the XBOX 360, my gamertag is jay311md. Drop me a line, let's play sometime.

Variance Kicked Me In The Nuts!!!

I moved up to the next level. I won the first one, right out the gate. Then I proceeded to get cold decked and took some pretty nasty beats to lose about 10 or so. I lost with AA versus K5 off, that one was fun. I was in early position and a loose player raised 3.5 times the blind. The player on his left called, and I re-raised the size of the pot. Both called and the flop came J-10-5. Good flop for aces, for the most part. The original raiser bet right out the size of the pot. I re-raised to put him in and he called with bottom pair. The turn brought a king and I was gone. It went that way pretty much the rest of the night. I lost with a pair of aces on the flop to a set on the river. I lost with AK versus AJ, QQ versus K8 off, and AA versus K4 off.
One thing I can't understand, is that everyone always tells you that players get better as you move up in stakes. However, I have noticed that the players at the next level are more idiotic and to me it seems like they have no clue what they are doing. The moves I saw some of the players make would make your jaw hit the floor. Raise with 85 off under the gun, not a horrible play, but then call an all in from an above average stack? The all in player had AK suited and the UTG fish caught an 8 on the turn. Again, raising with more than just premium hands is not a bad play. But you have to realize and understand that you should not be putting your tournament on the line with a weak hand like 85 off. I might be able to understand the play in a cash game, but even then you are just setting yourself up for failure.
There was one player, Hoangchau, he would push and re-raise with some very funky hands. I raised from the button twice with a strong ace the first time (AQ), and a weak ace the second time (A5 suited). Both times he came over the top of me and pushed all in. I didn't know what he was making these moves with, until I caught him in the blind. I had AA in the small blind and remembered that when I raised about 2.75 times the blind he would push in on me. So I raised the same amount and sure enough, he pushed in again. I called and he had 66. Again, why would you risk your entire tournament with the blinds small, you have an average stack and not much money invested in the pot. At best with 66 you could hope for is a coin flip. You should not put your tournament on the line with small blinds on a coin flip. But maybe that's just me. So, I'm down about $180 right now. So when I get back to the grind, hopefully I can make a comeback. I'm just gonna take a little time to let the cards settle, let myself cool down a little bit and give myself some time to get my head back in the game.

Running Well?

It's kind of funny, I have been consistently winning, but I haven't picked up any big hands in big pot situations. One of the keys to poker is to maximize your wins, and to minimize your losses. That is pretty much what I have been doing the past few days.
I've won a few, lost a few, cashed in a few, but the big part of the story is that I have added a pretty considerable amount to my bankroll. I now have about 70 buy-ins for the next level. So I think I'm going to move up in levels. That should really start the bankroll moving in the upward direction. If I get below a certain number of buy-ins, I'll obviously move back down. But I think I'm ready to take a shot at the next level.
Over the past few days, I have played over 8500 hands. Here is a brief breakdown of the premium hands I have had. AA - 18 times, KK - 19 times, QQ - 24 times, AK (suited or off) - 94 times, and JJ - 31 times. That might sound like a lot. But you should get AA or KK once every 220 hands. Accordingly, I should of had each about 39 times playing as many hands as I have. But I'm not worried about that. If anything, it's more encouraging. It means that I have been winning with other hands. I have played against some people who can only win with big hands. However, the fact that I have not had many big hands, shows that I can win when I don't have a premium hand. That, in my opinion, makes me a real poker player. Some extremely tight players might win when they are getting hit by the deck. But can they win when they only get 85 off and K6? That is the true test of a poker player.
My biggest winning hands, other than the premium hands, have been some pretty unlikely characters. 77, AQs, K10s, and A2. I have played those hands extremely well. Other hands have included 89s, A10, and KJs. So, long story short, I've played well and have continued to add to my bankroll.
UPDATE: I just got done playing a couple more sit and go's. Today I played 505 hands. I had AA once, didn't have KK, or QQ. I had a ton of very marginal hands, but not in position. The tables were playing pretty loose, and raises were not getting any kind of respect. I saw one hand in which a player raied UTG with K9 off, got re-raised from the BB by K8 and they got it all in on a flop of 9-8-4. I made a few moves and bought a few pots. But for the most part, I never really had a big hand. I cashed third in the last two tourneys and never saw a hand. So that's not bad.
SECOND UPDATE: I just played my first sit-n-go at the new level. I'm happy to say that I won. I don't know if it was help from GOD or what, but I caught some good hands and played really well. I had AA twice and KK once. All of which held up. There were quite a few hands of importance. The table was playing quite tight and passive. As I have always told you, you should play opposite of the table. So I was trying to play position and raised some hands in position. I raised AQ suited on the button and got re-raised by the small blind. I didn't have a line on him yet, so I decided it was too early to speculate, plus I still had over 1400 with the blinds small. I raised a few other hands and stole the blinds. I raised the button again with A4 suited, and the same player instantly shoved on me. So I folded another one to him. This was getting annoying, everytime I raised he would instantly re-raise me. At this point, I didn't know if he was just re-stealing or had a hand. A few orbits later, I was getting kind of low. I raised with J10 and nobody in the pot in the hijack. The same guy re-raised me. So I decided to pull a stop and go on him. I called and the flop came Q-10-9. I shoved in and he called with AJ, then questioned my raise with J10. The real question was what he was doing re-raising with AJ....lol. We ended up chopping it with a straight. I finally trapped that bastard in the small blind. I got AA in the small blind and raised him. He instantly shoved on me. I raised to 275 with the blinds at 50/100 and he shoved for 1650, I had him covered. He showed 66, he was gone. A couple of orbits later another guy raised to 360 and I re-raised to 960 with AA. He shoved for 2200 more and had QQ, another one gone. We were down to 6 handed and I had a monster chip lead. From a combination of stealing blinds and showing a loose image early, then changing gears often gave me an opportunity to get a lot of chips. I was on the button with KK and raised to 400 with the blinds at 80/160. Got called by the small blind and the flop came K-J-8 with two hearts. He check folded when I bet 650 into a pot of 960. I kept putting pressure on the other players with all kinds of hands. I knew they didn't want to confront me without a hand. So I would raise somewhat often, but not too much. If they moved on me I would make an assessment of the situation and act accordingly. We got down to 3 handed and the two short stacks went crazy on each other. Heads up I had the other guy 3:1 in chips. I pushed him with the button about 70% of the time and he folded everytime. I finally raised enough to put him in when he only had about 5 big blinds. I had A3 off, he called with KK. I turned a flush and it was all over. It felt good to have such a big chip lead and play really well. Hopefully the new level will keep going this way, but I'm sure it won't. Variance will no doubt kick my ass soon enough. :)

Reading Well

I just got done playing a sit and go, and was reading the table really well. The table played very tight and very weak. A lot of the pots were being limped and raises were getting zero respect. At a table like this, you need to be able to play well after the flop. You need to find out where you are and you don't want to get too committed to any kind of marginal hand. Players were willing to call down with second and third pair, despite not getting the right odds.
Early in the tourney, I got AK of hearts, with the blinds at 15/30. I raised to 100, and got re-raised right behind me to 170. The player behind him flat called, as did the big blind. I decided to see a flop and not get too crazy with just AK, especially with three other players in the pot. The flop came 8-7-4 with two diamonds, not great for my hand. Long story short, the player right behind me re-raised with AJ of diamonds and caught runner, runner straight. So right there I got a little line on some of my opponents. By the way, the guy who flat called on the button had 75 of hearts, and the big blind had K10 off.
So I tried to keep the pots small and was targeting the very nitty, tight players who weren't willing to commit any chips without a hand. I was sitting about average and not really getting any kind of hands. We got down to 6 handed, and I decided that since I was getting short and not seeing any kind of hand, and the table was playing so tight, that I was going to have to make a move with some kind of hand. I get 97 of hearts and only have about 9 big blinds. It folded to me, and I decided to shove in. I had a pretty tight image, and I knew that I probably wouldn't be dominated. It folded to the big blind, who called off about 2/3 of his stack with KQ of hearts. I caught a 7 on the river and doubled up. Now I'm back in the game.
I took out the 5th place guy AA vs. A7 when he was short and re-raised. A few hands later, I took out the 4th place guy when my 88 held up against his AK. This is really when my reads were at their best. Early in the tournament, I picked up a few small pots here and there with a well placed call or raise. And got away from hands when I knew I was beat. We were three handed and I had the chip lead. I had second place by almost 3:1.
The first great hand was when I was in the big blind. The small blind had been a pretty loose, aggressive player. I knew he was getting desperate, and would push with a wide range. He raised my blind to 600, I called with A10 off. I was contemplating pushing him in, but would rather play flops with these two players than race off chips. The flop comes K-Q-7 rainbow. Normally, he would be just about any flop, whether he hit or not. But he checks. I decided to check behind. The turn brought another king, and now he bet out 600. The first hand I thought he might have was a pocket pair of 8's or 9's. I wanted to find out if he had anything, so I raised to 1500. He called and the river brought a 5. He checked and I checked behind. He had J8, I won the pot.
On the very next orbit, the same player pushed all in for his last 2000. I had a little over 7600. I had K10 off, and thought about it for a second. If he had a weak ace, I was only a 3:2 dog. If he had any random hand, I was probably the favorite. I decided to call and he showed Q9 off. My king high held up and we were now heads up. I chipped away at the second place guy. I wanted to play most of my hands in position and try to get him to overcommit or outplay him on the flop.
The final hand, I raised on the button with A9 of hearts to 1000. He called and we saw a flop. The flop came Q-10-2 with two hearts. He checked and I bet out 1200 into the 2000 pot. He check-raised all in. I was forced to call with the chip lead and the odds. There was 6000 in the pot, and it was costing me 1600 to call. He had 67 of hearts. I won another one. The only reason why I'm writing this is not to brag about winning. But rather to illustrate how low stakes players will push and will overcommit before the flop and play hyper aggressively. I would make small raises and value bets, and other players would just shove in for 5 times the pot with low pairs and marginal hands like A10, AJ, and KQ. Make sure to watch the other players and try to label any players you notice overvalue marginal hands. These will be the players that will push when the table gets short with the same kinds of hands. Play flops against them and let them hang themselves.
Anyway, I'm not making much sense right now. My next blog will start a new lesson series. Keep reading, stay aggressive, play position well, and don't get down on a bad beat. See you on the tables.

Quick Update

Last night was quite the rollercoaster ride. I would cash in one, then lose three. Cash in one, then lose three. Before I knew it, I was down about $100. That's when I made the move to the next level and played a couple. I won one and took second. I was back over my previous amount. So that led me to the final couple I played. Long story short, I ended up about $60 on the night. So a nice finish to the rollercoaster ride. Back to the grind, just a little update to last night.

I Broke the Cardinal Rule

One of the first rules of bankroll management is to not play outside of your bankroll. Well, I violated that rule tonight. I was playing my standard sit and go, and had played about 10 or 12 of them. I was getting frustrated and just couldn't win. I cashed in two of them and everytime I had a favorable situation, I lost. I had AK vs. A2 and lost. AQ vs. AJ and lost. KK vs. A10 and lost. See where I'm going with this? I made two dumb moves, but in terms of the situation, it was probably the right play. Suited connector with nobody in the pot, 6 handed, and only the blinds to go through. Got called by A7, I had 89, got no help and was out of another one. That's the way my night was going. I couldn't win a race, my hands weren't holding up, and I was getting frustrated.

I took about a 10 minute break and decided that I was just playing with bad players and that I wasn't playing poorly. I looked back over the hands I won and lost, that's a great feature about Pokeroffice. I kept getting my money in good, but I was getting called by some very weird hands. They weren't getting the right odds to call and were snap calling with a ton of very strange hands. So I decided to go up a level. I played two sit and go's, at the same time, only up one level. It worked out for me. I won the first one and took second in the other one. So long story short, I won back my losses plus some. I know you shouldn't move up in levels to try and win back losses. I did not move up to win back money, I'm pretty sure my bankroll can handle the move up, or at least take a shot at the next level. I moved up to hopefully face better players.

That's something I find funny about my game. My game is geared for better players and not weak, passive, or just outright bad players. Maybe it's because the bad or inexperienced players don't understand or even think about what I might have, and they simply play their own hand. However, I think it's because bad players hate to be bluffed and for the most part can't be bluffed. They think, "I have second pair, he's probably bluffing." They don't stop to think...I raised in early position, and have shown strength on a 10 high flop. Could I possibly have an overpair? To them, NO WAY. So, I took a shot at the higher level and won. I will go back to my normal level, and do a little analysis on both my bankroll and what level it can sustain. Personally, I like to have a little added cushion to my bankroll. I play pretty aggressive and the swings can get pretty big, so I need to make sure that I have the adequate amount. So, back to the grind.

Low limit players are just amazing. It is amazing how bad they play and how much they brag about how great they are. I can't even count the number of times the pot was raised, then re-raised, yet 4 people call. The hands they eventually show down are very marginal at best. There was one hand in particular, where I had KK under the gun and raise to 200, with the blinds at 40/80. Pretty standard raise for me. Two people call in between, and the button makes it 600. The big blind shoves in for 1600, and it comes back to me. Now I have the second best starting hand, and I'm pretty sure the button probably has AA. I get a feeling I'm beat. I'm praying they both have AK and just went crazy. I decided to fold, but then the middle position player shoves in and the button calls all of them. Three to the flop with two all in. The big blind had 10's, the middle position player had AQ, and the button had AA. With the action that preceeded the shoves, it's pretty evident that 10's and AQ were not the best hands. It's just amazing how players just cannot fold.

I just got done playing a tournament where one guy minimum raised every hand. Didn't matter what position he was in, didn't matter what his starting hand was. He sucked out a few times to get some chips and had the chip lead for a while. But eventually lost everything and went out in 6th place. I was accumulating chips pretty regularly and was playing my typical small ball style. I raised to 200 on the button with A10 and nobody coming in ahead of me. Both blinds called, one of which was the minimum raise guy, who was from Finlad by the way. The flop came Q-10-8 with two hearts. It checked to me and I bet out 375. The small blind called. The turn brought a 4 off suit. He checked again. I bet out 740, he called again. The river brought an 8. Now he bets out 160. I just called. He showed A8. He called me down out of position with third pair and no draw. Just amazing how many calling stations and weak players you run into at the low limit tables. The funniest thing about it all, is that they don't stop to think about the hand or what their opponent might have. I laid down KK because the action in front of me told me I was probably beat, and with my chip position, I could make the laydown and still have enough to outplay the table. Other players though just don't think on the same level. They think, "I got a pair, I'm good" and go into calling mode or worse yet, hyper aggressive mode.

On a final note, there was another hand that illustrates how bad low limit players are. I'm in late position and have 78 suited. Nobody comes in ahead of me, and I've been playing pretty close to the vest. So I raise to 300 with the blinds at 60/120. The big blind calls and is getting short on chips, but he still has a lot of fold equity. The flop comes down Q-8-6, rainbow. He checks, so I bet out 400. He calls, leaving him about 600 behind. The turn brings a 5, so now I have second pair, open end straight draw, and best of all a tight image. He goes all in for his last 620. I stop and think about it for a second. 97 is the nuts, does he have it? Don't think so. 910 and he's now semi-bluffing? I think he would have pushed on the flop with a hand like that. AQ, KQ, or just a weak queen? Probably, but I think he would have pushed on the flop. So now I go to the math. There was 660 before the flop in the pot, and 1460 in the pot on the flop. He now bet out 620, so there's 2080, costing me 620, so I'm getting better than 3:1. What are my odds? I figure I can hit 3 - 7's, 2 - 8's, 4 - 9's, or 4 - 4's. So I have 13 outs or about 26-28% chance. Getting the right odds and I have chips to spare. I decided to call and he shows Q2. I hit a 7 and suddenly this guy goes off and starts ranting about how it was a bad call and the standard, "You're a donkey" and "You play badly, how can you make that call." I just find it funny that he called a raise out of position with Q2 off suit. Yeah he got lucky on the flop, but he didn't even stop to think that I could have had a real hand or not. But I digress.

I'm getting so sick and tired of bad players and weak, passive players. When I go to the World Series, I'm sure I will run into a lot of these types of players. As I said before, my style is best against good players. So I need to make adjustments to my play against weak and bad players. I need to get better at spotting the bad players and adjusting my play accordingly. I think that's why I win so many times at our weekly home game. We have some good players. So that's what I'll be working on for the next few days. I'm going to be working on some new pre-flop and post-flop strategies. I'm taking a lot of notes on players, playing styles and plays that have been made. I'm thinking about putting them in a book, but more about that later.

Major Cold Streak

I have had my ups and downs with poker. But the current cold streak I am on is getting ridiculous. I have played in about 30 sit and go's over the past two days. I've played about 2100 hands. The gross point is to see how many playable or even decent hands I have seen. The hands I have seen, that I didn't win with or didn't play, I either missed the flop or had bad position. Here's a little chart of the hands I have had. Remember, I have played over 2100 hands.

It has been really frustrating, but it has also made me play more creatively. I am a man of faith, and believe that everything happens for a reason. There are times when you are playing, and it almost seems that one particular player is meant to win, while you are completely card dead and not able to find a hand. These are the times when you have to dig deep within yourself, and try to start to really play poker. Everybody can win when they are dealt strong hands or are getting hit by the deck. But can you win when you only see very marginal hands? Can you win when the best hand you get is J9 off, or A8? When you win or even cash in these situations, I feel that this truly makes you a poker player.

I cashed in one tournament, and the guy to my immediate left showed down AA three times, KK two times, QQ two times, and AK three times. He started bragging about how good he was and how easy the game was. Of course it's easy when you get premium hand after premium hand. On the other hand, I was getting very marginal hands, small suited connectors, didn't really see any pairs, or any big aces. AA, never. KK, never. QQ, never. Long story short, I ended up taking second to him. I don't want this to sound like I'm bragging. I'm simply trying to illustrate that there will be times when you go on major cold streaks and just can't seem to find anything playable or any profitable situations. During this period, I have tried many different strategies. No matter what I have done, I kept running into big hands when I was short stacked. I would push with JJ and run into AA. I would have AJ and run into AK. So for the past day or so, I have been trying out a couple of new things.

I have noticed that most of the players online are very aggressive pre-flop. They are willing to raise and re-raise with some very marginal hands. However, they are very weak players on the flop. If they flop a monster, they will fire out certain percentages or amounts. If they miss the flop, they will fire out other amounts. Stay observant and you will notice what I'm talking about. So I have been trying to play more flops with these players in position. That is the key. You want to play your hand IN POSITION. The other big thing I have noticed, is that early in the tournament players LOVE TO BLUFF. They are willing to fire out with very weak hands and draws. I have seen a lot of players move in with second or third pair or flush draws. It is so funny. These players play tournaments in reverse, in terms of the way you should play them. Early in a tournament, you should play pretty tight. Later in the tournament, you should loosen up and play more aggressively.

Anyway, it's late and I don't even know if I'm making sense anymore. Just a few thoughts.