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.