I am so going to win it. And I ain't kidding this time. When I qualify for the final table of this event on Monday, it will mean I leave Vegas never having spent a full day not playing WSOP. Think about it.
Btw. getting in a cash game at the Bellagio Friday night takes roughly 2 weeks. I had to quit on them bastards.
Result edits:
Hi, guest blogger benny here. At the first break Kristian was up to almost twice his starting stack. What happened next? The guest blogger went to sleep, night fell on mainland Europe... But stay tuned for more updates, morning has rerisen.
---
Haha, nice one Benny. It's me again now. I got a nice run for my money, worked my stack up to 5 times starting stack, but busted around place 500, with prize money for final 300 or just about. Three thousand something total entrants. No bracelets for me this year. I am too exhausted right now to post in detail, that will have to wait till tomorrow Vegas time. Tomorrow I am not playing in the WSOP, and that will actually be a nice change.
---
OK, sorry for not updating as promised, I met up with a friend here, and didn't have time to post. Here is my detailed report of the event.
I probably made my biggest mistake of the entire WSOP in just the second orbit of the tournament. I had decided that I was going to mercilessly attack the table hard from the beginning to abuse all the amateur players nursing their precious $1500 stacks. The table fit this strategy better than I could have hoped, this was the worst live table I have played at ever, and it is not close. During the first orbit I picked up 4 smallish pots, and also played a couple of other hands, so by the time 3rd orbit was starting, my image was extremely LAG. A young guy to my left had made just one raise, but I had a vague read that he was a good aggressive player like me from his general demeanor. I am in SB, folded to button who steals, I call with 99. I would have raised normally, but felt like underrepresenting my hand due to my image. Now young guy 3-bets, button calls. I consider shoving briefly, but due to the weakness of my read on young guy elect to just call again. Flop comes 853 rainbow, I check, young guy shoves, button folds. His shove is about pot sized, and I have him slightly covered. I think for a long time, and finally fold.
The reason I think this is such a big mistake is my image. I deliberately played to achieve a LAG image, I exploit my image underrepresenting a good hand, but fail to pull the trigger when it is required that I put faith in my strategy. I folded because my read on young guy was so weak, and he moved in so confidently. Had he been a passive casual player, it would certainly have been a good fold. Time proved him to be an Internet pro like myself, and had I known that I would have called instantly.
As it turned out, he was the only decent player at the table, so I was pretty unlucky to have him at my left. It became quite clear that the two of us was going to battle for table control. It turned out to be me, as I sucked out on him all in preflop with 76s against his queens, and he busted later against some other guy. This allowed me to pick my spots comfortably, and I almost tripled up during the 3 hours I was at the table. Let me just clarify that tripling up is not an expected result even at such a table, I was also a bit lucky, but people were playing horribly passively and giving me free cards when I was behind, so I didn't need to be extremely lucky. I felt comfortable that any raise postflop was a big hand, and information that solid is very valuable.
The next table I played had a few good players, but still a couple of passive old timers. The guy to my right literally TOLD ME, that he would only play for his stack when he was pretty sure he was ahead. I don't think he even realized that there was a difference between pushing and calling an all-in, I believe in his mind an all-in was sort of a mutual agreement.
Anyway, this is getting long. To make it short, I had an interesting run. After tripling up to 9k, I went up another stack, then down to 6k, up to 14k, all the way down to 3k and back up to 14k again. Lots of interesting hands. I finally got moved to a new table, and spent an hour folding, so I was down to about 12BBs. I then raise ATs from UTG+1 due to my tight image, get two callers, flop comes A93, I check/raise aggressive button table chip leader who has AQ, bye bye. I busted after 10 hours of poker, with a slightly different view of what a WSOP event can be like. I must admit, I want more. Unfortunately that will have to wait till next year.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
WSOP Event 47
Aside from my unfortunate results yesterday, it has been an awesome experience being part of the WSOP so far. I am still kid enough to get a kick out of seeing all the famous TV players, of whom there are an unbelievable amount. It seems like they are here every single one of them, merely walking among us mere mortals like they were not some kind of super humans. Phil Gordon is really tall. Joe Hachem is not tall at all.
Las Vegas is an all out assault on all senses, and playing poker in the big convention hall of the Rio is a challenge. Today my focus is on maintaining full concentration despite numerous distractions. Distractions does not only include noise from the hundreds of players in the tournament, it includes appearances from famous faces on the rail and regular announcements and crowd noise from the TV final tables in a semi secluded corner of the hall. Of course, distributing cash game players to their tables which are also in the hall must be done by loud speakers, so everyone can hear that Jimmy J. has an available seat at table 164. Being cold decked for an hour in such an environment makes it really tough to maintain focus.
Now, I will hit the breakfast buffet, and then take the shuttle bus from Harrah's to the Rio. So far, the shuttle is the only thing in Vegas that is free. I fully expect to win event 47.
Results edit:
Once again I busted 3½ hours in. Players were considerably worse than yesterday, but the cards were the same.
Notable hands:
We are close to starting stacks of t4000, blinds 25/50. I raise from MP with AQ, get called from BB. I flop top two pair, and bet t300, he calls, so pot is t1000. Turn is a J, he checks, and I check behind. My reasoning is that I won't get calls from many worse hands, and that another bet pretty much ties my whole stack to the pot. I could put in a small bet maybe, or just bet big and commit myself, but I check behind with the intention of charging a big bet on the river or maybe inducing a bluff. River is a king completing a flush. He check/calls my half pot bet, and shows AT for the runner runner straight, taking 25% of my stack.
I get my stack back to 4k, find A3s in early position, and make an uncharacteristic limp. CO+1 raises to t200, button calls, and I call. Flop is J22 giving me a flush draw. Checked around. Turn is an ace, I bet 400, 1 fold, button raises to 1100. The board takes care of my kicker trouble to some degree, so I call, given that I can't put him on a hand that beats me, except AQ. By that logic, maybe I should have 3-bet. River is a brick, we check, he shows AT and we chop. It turns out I was free rolling the turn.
My stack is around 4000 still, 100/200 blinds. 3 limpers, and I check from the BB with ATo. Flop is A25 with a flush draw. I bet 500 into the 800 pot, and get one caller, a loose and bad player. Turn is a 6, we both check. River is another 6, flush draw uncompleted. I check and he overbets 2200 into the 1800 pot. This is a critical decision, if I call and lose I am officially a short stack. I simply can't put him on a hand that makes sense. He checked behind on the turn, pretty much ruling out two pair or better, and he called the flop, so how can he have a 6 without a hand worth betting the turn? I conclude that he must be trying to bluff me off a weak ace with a missed draw. I call after thinking for a long time, and he shows 64s. He called the flop for the gut shot I suppose.
I am now a short stack, and I am all in 3 or 4 times without callers. One annoying guy comments on it, as if there was any other way to sensibly play a less than 10BB stack. The whole table is aware that I move all in frequently, when I find AQo UTG. I now have 2200 still with 100/200 blinds, 25 antes, and I attempt to show unusual strength by just betting 600. Annoying guy comments how I must have a monster. The 64s guy from last hand laughs and agrees but still calls, saying he is donating to my monster hand. Annoying guy folds saying he would have called if I didn't have such a monster. How annoying. BB comes along. Flop is T74 rainbow, BB checks, I push, and stupid 64s guy calls with A4s!!! Apparently, he wasn't kidding around when he said he was making a donation on preflop. Sadly, he made a great bottom pair hand which held up.
I don't think I have been getting much in the way of cards in Vegas so far. I am not saying I have played perfectly, but when your good hands don't hold up when they meet resistance, poker becomes really hard. One more shot tomorrow, and after that, it will be all sight seeing and cash games.
Las Vegas is an all out assault on all senses, and playing poker in the big convention hall of the Rio is a challenge. Today my focus is on maintaining full concentration despite numerous distractions. Distractions does not only include noise from the hundreds of players in the tournament, it includes appearances from famous faces on the rail and regular announcements and crowd noise from the TV final tables in a semi secluded corner of the hall. Of course, distributing cash game players to their tables which are also in the hall must be done by loud speakers, so everyone can hear that Jimmy J. has an available seat at table 164. Being cold decked for an hour in such an environment makes it really tough to maintain focus.
Now, I will hit the breakfast buffet, and then take the shuttle bus from Harrah's to the Rio. So far, the shuttle is the only thing in Vegas that is free. I fully expect to win event 47.
Results edit:
Once again I busted 3½ hours in. Players were considerably worse than yesterday, but the cards were the same.
Notable hands:
We are close to starting stacks of t4000, blinds 25/50. I raise from MP with AQ, get called from BB. I flop top two pair, and bet t300, he calls, so pot is t1000. Turn is a J, he checks, and I check behind. My reasoning is that I won't get calls from many worse hands, and that another bet pretty much ties my whole stack to the pot. I could put in a small bet maybe, or just bet big and commit myself, but I check behind with the intention of charging a big bet on the river or maybe inducing a bluff. River is a king completing a flush. He check/calls my half pot bet, and shows AT for the runner runner straight, taking 25% of my stack.
I get my stack back to 4k, find A3s in early position, and make an uncharacteristic limp. CO+1 raises to t200, button calls, and I call. Flop is J22 giving me a flush draw. Checked around. Turn is an ace, I bet 400, 1 fold, button raises to 1100. The board takes care of my kicker trouble to some degree, so I call, given that I can't put him on a hand that beats me, except AQ. By that logic, maybe I should have 3-bet. River is a brick, we check, he shows AT and we chop. It turns out I was free rolling the turn.
My stack is around 4000 still, 100/200 blinds. 3 limpers, and I check from the BB with ATo. Flop is A25 with a flush draw. I bet 500 into the 800 pot, and get one caller, a loose and bad player. Turn is a 6, we both check. River is another 6, flush draw uncompleted. I check and he overbets 2200 into the 1800 pot. This is a critical decision, if I call and lose I am officially a short stack. I simply can't put him on a hand that makes sense. He checked behind on the turn, pretty much ruling out two pair or better, and he called the flop, so how can he have a 6 without a hand worth betting the turn? I conclude that he must be trying to bluff me off a weak ace with a missed draw. I call after thinking for a long time, and he shows 64s. He called the flop for the gut shot I suppose.
I am now a short stack, and I am all in 3 or 4 times without callers. One annoying guy comments on it, as if there was any other way to sensibly play a less than 10BB stack. The whole table is aware that I move all in frequently, when I find AQo UTG. I now have 2200 still with 100/200 blinds, 25 antes, and I attempt to show unusual strength by just betting 600. Annoying guy comments how I must have a monster. The 64s guy from last hand laughs and agrees but still calls, saying he is donating to my monster hand. Annoying guy folds saying he would have called if I didn't have such a monster. How annoying. BB comes along. Flop is T74 rainbow, BB checks, I push, and stupid 64s guy calls with A4s!!! Apparently, he wasn't kidding around when he said he was making a donation on preflop. Sadly, he made a great bottom pair hand which held up.
I don't think I have been getting much in the way of cards in Vegas so far. I am not saying I have played perfectly, but when your good hands don't hold up when they meet resistance, poker becomes really hard. One more shot tomorrow, and after that, it will be all sight seeing and cash games.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
WSOP Event 45
Woke up really early, and got up at 7. Jet lag could become a problem towards the end of the day, but I am counting on adrenaline to keep me sharp. Anyway, it's not like I have never played late night poker before.
The structure of the event looks ok, but it is not going to be deep stacked for long. The first hour starting stacks are 200BBs, next hour 100BB, and then 50BB. In the fourth hour antes kick in.
I don't really have a specific strategy other than to play my usual aggressive style, and then adapt to conditions as quickly as possible. It will be interesting to see how different the game is from what I am used to during the first few hours. I don't have any goals either, other than not doing anything stupid.
If I bust quickly, I will head for some cash games to get into some kind of poker rythm before tomorrows event. Everyone says the cash games here are really soft. I likely won't update results until this evening. Later.
Results edit:
To make a long story short, I busted about three and a half hours in. Starting stacks were 10k, and I hovered between 5k and 10k the whole tournament.
The table was really tough, with no weak players among the starting 6. High stakes pro Eli Elezra showed up half an hour late, then spend most of his time on the rail or talking in a cell phone, while still managing to play a lot of hands. He busted early, probably not bothering to commit himself to the tournament without a large stack. Ram Vaswani (probably misspelled) took his place and played really well, and he was among the chip leaders last time I checked.
Not much interesting action to report from my point of view, I played only small or medium small pots, only a couple going so far as to see the turn. Pretty boring actually. I did get a few decent hands, but never got resistance when I wanted it, unfortunately. I busted as I tried to steal from the small blind with 56s (BB 200, I bet 600), and big blind tried to resteal (to 2000). I sensed some weakness, and decided I had decent fold equity and shoved for a total of 6600. Apparently I overestimated my fold equity and my image, and he called with ATo after thinking for a while. I picked up a pair on the flop, but turn was an ace, bye bye. I am obviously not happy with the way I busted, I obviously could have had a sharper read on what he thought of my image, and also deciding to steal from SB with 56s with only 33BBs is questionable. On the other hand, something did need to happen for me to get back in the tournament, so I don't think it was a disaster play by any means. BB was a friendly swede named Jonatan Stål, and I spoke with him at length afterwards. Sadly, it looks like he busted on day 1 also.
I then played the 5/10NL cash game for an hour. I got stacked with kings beaten by aces, and decided I had had enough poker for today. Finished up by watching some of the final table of the 50k horse tournament.
The structure of the event looks ok, but it is not going to be deep stacked for long. The first hour starting stacks are 200BBs, next hour 100BB, and then 50BB. In the fourth hour antes kick in.
I don't really have a specific strategy other than to play my usual aggressive style, and then adapt to conditions as quickly as possible. It will be interesting to see how different the game is from what I am used to during the first few hours. I don't have any goals either, other than not doing anything stupid.
If I bust quickly, I will head for some cash games to get into some kind of poker rythm before tomorrows event. Everyone says the cash games here are really soft. I likely won't update results until this evening. Later.
Results edit:
To make a long story short, I busted about three and a half hours in. Starting stacks were 10k, and I hovered between 5k and 10k the whole tournament.
The table was really tough, with no weak players among the starting 6. High stakes pro Eli Elezra showed up half an hour late, then spend most of his time on the rail or talking in a cell phone, while still managing to play a lot of hands. He busted early, probably not bothering to commit himself to the tournament without a large stack. Ram Vaswani (probably misspelled) took his place and played really well, and he was among the chip leaders last time I checked.
Not much interesting action to report from my point of view, I played only small or medium small pots, only a couple going so far as to see the turn. Pretty boring actually. I did get a few decent hands, but never got resistance when I wanted it, unfortunately. I busted as I tried to steal from the small blind with 56s (BB 200, I bet 600), and big blind tried to resteal (to 2000). I sensed some weakness, and decided I had decent fold equity and shoved for a total of 6600. Apparently I overestimated my fold equity and my image, and he called with ATo after thinking for a while. I picked up a pair on the flop, but turn was an ace, bye bye. I am obviously not happy with the way I busted, I obviously could have had a sharper read on what he thought of my image, and also deciding to steal from SB with 56s with only 33BBs is questionable. On the other hand, something did need to happen for me to get back in the tournament, so I don't think it was a disaster play by any means. BB was a friendly swede named Jonatan Stål, and I spoke with him at length afterwards. Sadly, it looks like he busted on day 1 also.
I then played the 5/10NL cash game for an hour. I got stacked with kings beaten by aces, and decided I had had enough poker for today. Finished up by watching some of the final table of the 50k horse tournament.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Actuary arrived in Vegas
Thesis defence yesterday went well, so I am now officially an actuary!
The trip to Sin City went well, so I am now officially in Las Vegas!
Total travel time: 22 hours from leaving home until entering my room at Harrah's Hotel. I must admit I am a bit beat. Already it has been made painfully clear that I can barely move in my room without it somehow costing me money. If I even touch the mini bar, it will assume I took something and charge me. To log on the Internet, I have to pay for a full 24 hours. Water from the mini bar costs $3. I am almost afraid to turn on the TV. Do you think they charge extra for using the bathroom?
Random observations from Atlanta airport: Everyone spoke like racists do in movies. Every single baggage handler was an overweight black person (observation size about 25). I did not spot a single Mike Vick jersey.
One customs officer in Atlanta told me in standard 'southern', that in the old days you could sit down and play some solid cards, but nowadays poker was all luck with all the new players and all. That means I have a chance! Tomorrow, I hit the WSOP like a hurricane.
The trip to Sin City went well, so I am now officially in Las Vegas!
Total travel time: 22 hours from leaving home until entering my room at Harrah's Hotel. I must admit I am a bit beat. Already it has been made painfully clear that I can barely move in my room without it somehow costing me money. If I even touch the mini bar, it will assume I took something and charge me. To log on the Internet, I have to pay for a full 24 hours. Water from the mini bar costs $3. I am almost afraid to turn on the TV. Do you think they charge extra for using the bathroom?
Random observations from Atlanta airport: Everyone spoke like racists do in movies. Every single baggage handler was an overweight black person (observation size about 25). I did not spot a single Mike Vick jersey.
One customs officer in Atlanta told me in standard 'southern', that in the old days you could sit down and play some solid cards, but nowadays poker was all luck with all the new players and all. That means I have a chance! Tomorrow, I hit the WSOP like a hurricane.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Here we go
I am safely home from Greece, just as a massive heatwave descends on southern Europe. This afternoon I am defending my thesis, for which I am reasonably well prepared, so I am not too worried about that.
And then, tomorrow I am off to Vegas, to play in up to three WSOP events. The main target is WSOP Event 45, beginning Thursday, which is a six-handed $5000 event. If I bust on day one, which is obviously always the most likely outcome, I will be playing event 47 Friday, and on the same condition, event 49 on Saturday. These are $2000 and $1500 events, both full ring. Results will be posted here as soon as they are available.
It's a busy and exciting time, and a time where I could sure use a hand from sweet lady luck. Cross your fingers for me! The good part is that I don't think any off these events can go terribly wrong, I can afford to lose what I am investing in the WSOP, and I can't see the thesis defense go terribly wrong either. Anyway, win or lose, I should have some good stories to tell by the end of the week. At the very least, I understand there is a good chance I will get to piss next to a famous poker pro, as that seems to be a popular activity among WSOP bloggers. We will see.
And then, tomorrow I am off to Vegas, to play in up to three WSOP events. The main target is WSOP Event 45, beginning Thursday, which is a six-handed $5000 event. If I bust on day one, which is obviously always the most likely outcome, I will be playing event 47 Friday, and on the same condition, event 49 on Saturday. These are $2000 and $1500 events, both full ring. Results will be posted here as soon as they are available.
It's a busy and exciting time, and a time where I could sure use a hand from sweet lady luck. Cross your fingers for me! The good part is that I don't think any off these events can go terribly wrong, I can afford to lose what I am investing in the WSOP, and I can't see the thesis defense go terribly wrong either. Anyway, win or lose, I should have some good stories to tell by the end of the week. At the very least, I understand there is a good chance I will get to piss next to a famous poker pro, as that seems to be a popular activity among WSOP bloggers. We will see.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Brief greeting from Greece.
Now reporting from the Greek island of Simi, close to Rhodes. The island is poor on internet access, rich on mountains, hot sun, blue skies and blue water. I hope you are enjoying your summer as much as I am.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Summer time
It's a rainy day in Copenhagen, but I will still use it to share a few summer plans. It is going to remain a busy summer, so blog entries will probably not be as frequent as one could wish, unless my guest blogger (hello?) steps up to the plate.
On Sunday I am going to Greece for a week of relaxation, sun and ouzo. Two days after I come home, I am defending my thesis and (finally) finishing up 22 years of going to school. To just say it like that, it sounds pretty crazy. Day after that, I am off to Vegas where I am practically a lock to win my first bracelet. I should be able to update regularly from Vegas, and share my experience with you. I will be back from that July 4th, only to take the significant other to Canada for 2½ weeks on July 14th.
As you can understand, there will not be much online poker played by me until August, but I should have a pretty good time in spite of that, or maybe even because of it.
I did take an opportunity to break a couple of my own rules for taking shots, at some 1000NL and 2000NL yesterday, and that went pretty well. I was actually up $4700, but ended up blowing $3k of those before finishing up. I am still up about 45PTBB/100 at 1000NL or higher :). Apparently I just rule at taking shots.
This was a pretty strange hand against what I thought was a good winning regular. Now I am not so sure. My image before this hand is probably very LAG.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $20 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($3964)
BB ($2013)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Qc, Qs.
4 folds, Hero raises to $80, BB raises to $222, Hero calls $142.
Flop: ($444) Th, 5c, Js (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $300, Hero raises to $900, BB calls $600.
Turn: ($2244) 8c (2 players)
Hero bets $900, BB calls $891 (All-In).
River: ($4035) 2h (2 players, 1 all-in)
Final Pot: $4035
Hero has Qc Qs (one pair, queens).
BB has Tc 7h (one pair, tens).
Outcome: Hero wins $4035.
In my opinion, a half decent player has no business calling off 600 on that flop, unless he thinks I am totally crazy. I don't really think he had enough evidence to think that, unless maybe he reads the blog, and thinks I am tilting just from all of the not playing poker? Well, not this time.
For the sake of balance, I guess I have to show you how I donked off $1k too.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $20 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($4974)
BB ($1978.54)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 9d, As.
2 folds, Hero raises to $70, 1 fold, BB calls $50.
Flop: ($150) Jh, 3s, 7s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $100, BB calls $100.
Turn: ($350) Kh (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $270, BB calls $270.
River: ($890) 7h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $500, BB calls $500.
Final Pot: $1890
BB has 5s Ks (two pair, kings and sevens).
Hero has 9d As (one pair, sevens).
Outcome: BB wins $1890.
It looks pretty stupid and probably is. I knew villain as a weak player from 400NL, and he was calling my first two barrels really quick, like he was on a draw (which he was, obviously) or a medium strength hand like a pair of jacks or 88. My river bet was designed for him to throw those away. Of course he had a draw that happened to contain a King, which sucked for me. The question is if my river bet will work more often than a 500/1390th of the time. I guess we will never know.
On Sunday I am going to Greece for a week of relaxation, sun and ouzo. Two days after I come home, I am defending my thesis and (finally) finishing up 22 years of going to school. To just say it like that, it sounds pretty crazy. Day after that, I am off to Vegas where I am practically a lock to win my first bracelet. I should be able to update regularly from Vegas, and share my experience with you. I will be back from that July 4th, only to take the significant other to Canada for 2½ weeks on July 14th.
As you can understand, there will not be much online poker played by me until August, but I should have a pretty good time in spite of that, or maybe even because of it.
I did take an opportunity to break a couple of my own rules for taking shots, at some 1000NL and 2000NL yesterday, and that went pretty well. I was actually up $4700, but ended up blowing $3k of those before finishing up. I am still up about 45PTBB/100 at 1000NL or higher :). Apparently I just rule at taking shots.
This was a pretty strange hand against what I thought was a good winning regular. Now I am not so sure. My image before this hand is probably very LAG.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $20 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($3964)
BB ($2013)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Qc, Qs.
4 folds, Hero raises to $80, BB raises to $222, Hero calls $142.
Flop: ($444) Th, 5c, Js (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $300, Hero raises to $900, BB calls $600.
Turn: ($2244) 8c (2 players)
Hero bets $900, BB calls $891 (All-In).
River: ($4035) 2h (2 players, 1 all-in)
Final Pot: $4035
Hero has Qc Qs (one pair, queens).
BB has Tc 7h (one pair, tens).
Outcome: Hero wins $4035.
In my opinion, a half decent player has no business calling off 600 on that flop, unless he thinks I am totally crazy. I don't really think he had enough evidence to think that, unless maybe he reads the blog, and thinks I am tilting just from all of the not playing poker? Well, not this time.
For the sake of balance, I guess I have to show you how I donked off $1k too.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $20 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($4974)
BB ($1978.54)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 9d, As.
2 folds, Hero raises to $70, 1 fold, BB calls $50.
Flop: ($150) Jh, 3s, 7s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $100, BB calls $100.
Turn: ($350) Kh (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $270, BB calls $270.
River: ($890) 7h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $500, BB calls $500.
Final Pot: $1890
BB has 5s Ks (two pair, kings and sevens).
Hero has 9d As (one pair, sevens).
Outcome: BB wins $1890.
It looks pretty stupid and probably is. I knew villain as a weak player from 400NL, and he was calling my first two barrels really quick, like he was on a draw (which he was, obviously) or a medium strength hand like a pair of jacks or 88. My river bet was designed for him to throw those away. Of course he had a draw that happened to contain a King, which sucked for me. The question is if my river bet will work more often than a 500/1390th of the time. I guess we will never know.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Context of a bad beat. Why poker sucks.
I wasn't in a very creative state of mind after losing those $6k the other day. But I won't have you do without insight into what turned out to be a great example of what makes poker such a mentally demanding game. This will just be a report about a losing session, so feel free to spend your time doing something more fun. Stare into a wall for example.
First, I'll give you some background. I had played about 4 sessions after my long break, and I hadn't done very well. I was up a little, so nothing horrible, but I wasn't thrilled about my results up until Thursday. I was up early in the morning for a change, and played a couple of hours. Lost $3000 in that session, and I had some impossible hands like flush beat by a better flush, nut flush beat by a full house, aces cracked, expensive stuff like that. I wasn't totally down about it, but obviously not ecstatic.
So I decided to play again in the evening, determined to use that ugly red number for the day as motivation. After half an hour, I was down another few hundred, and nothing really seemed to work. Still, I maintained focus, made a few good laydowns, and still played well. For the record, making good laydowns is profitable in the sense that you lose less money than you otherwise would have, so it never really gives you a sense of victory. Then came a hand where I was all in preflop with AKs against a short stack. He rivered a flush with AQs for a $400 pot. Then I lost a big pot 3-bet preflop, and I was suddenly down $4000 for the day.
I pride myself on tilting very rarely. I make bad decisions of course, but I don't really have prolonged periods of tilt. At this point in the session, I am frustrated that I am not making anything happen, but I decide to fully concentrate on playing well, and not give in to destructive feelings. Call it stubbornness, but I just refused to quit on account of a little bad luck. Then this hand comes up.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $6 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
BB ($572.55)
UTG ($1217.95)
MP ($0)
CO ($600)
Button ($830.25)
Hero ($655)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 7d, 7c.
3 folds, Hero raises to $24, BB calls $18.
Flop: ($48) 7s, 6d, 6h (3 players)
Hero bets $30, BB raises to $60, Hero calls $30.
Turn: ($168) Ac (3 players)
Hero bets $110, BB calls $110.
River: ($388) Ah (2 players)
Hero bets $200, BB calls $378.55 (All-In), Hero calls $178.55.
Final Pot: $1145.10
Hero has 7d 7c (full house, sevens full of aces).
BB has As 7h (full house, aces full of sevens).
Outcome: BB wins $1145.10.
An abrupt change from elation that I am finally going to win a big pot, to fear of the most brutal suckout, to confirmation that this day, I simply cannot win a hand. He beats odds of about 200 to 1 for the running aces.
I must admit after that hand I am shaken up pretty badly. I don't quit for another hour, and that was probably a mistake. It's not like I go on monkey tilt during that hour (actually this experience entitles me to at least an hour of tilt in my opinion), but I am certainly not playing well after that. When you sustain blows to your poker senses like that, it is just very hard to maintain a solid game. I lose another $1000 in a combination of tough situations and questionable decisions before I quit on the worst day of poker I have ever experienced.
Even though my bank roll is capable of absorbing some hits, a -$6000 day is not something I can ignore completely. Another one of those would probably force me to move down to 400NL for a while. My focus now is on going through the biggest hands of the day, hopefully regain some confidence, and then get back in the game. I have an area or two of my game that I am not at all confident about right now, and that will require some analysis. In the end, it is often experiences like this, that force you to take closer looks at certain aspects of your game, and in time become a better player.
This was a tough blow, and it will require work to get through it. Unfortunately I have to defend my thesis soon, so I simply can't put in enough hours before the WSOP to actually work on game adjustments. Tough break, but I will just have to rely on my game being relatively solid after all. I hear the WSOP is full of fish anyway.
First, I'll give you some background. I had played about 4 sessions after my long break, and I hadn't done very well. I was up a little, so nothing horrible, but I wasn't thrilled about my results up until Thursday. I was up early in the morning for a change, and played a couple of hours. Lost $3000 in that session, and I had some impossible hands like flush beat by a better flush, nut flush beat by a full house, aces cracked, expensive stuff like that. I wasn't totally down about it, but obviously not ecstatic.
So I decided to play again in the evening, determined to use that ugly red number for the day as motivation. After half an hour, I was down another few hundred, and nothing really seemed to work. Still, I maintained focus, made a few good laydowns, and still played well. For the record, making good laydowns is profitable in the sense that you lose less money than you otherwise would have, so it never really gives you a sense of victory. Then came a hand where I was all in preflop with AKs against a short stack. He rivered a flush with AQs for a $400 pot. Then I lost a big pot 3-bet preflop, and I was suddenly down $4000 for the day.
I pride myself on tilting very rarely. I make bad decisions of course, but I don't really have prolonged periods of tilt. At this point in the session, I am frustrated that I am not making anything happen, but I decide to fully concentrate on playing well, and not give in to destructive feelings. Call it stubbornness, but I just refused to quit on account of a little bad luck. Then this hand comes up.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $6 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
BB ($572.55)
UTG ($1217.95)
MP ($0)
CO ($600)
Button ($830.25)
Hero ($655)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 7d, 7c.
3 folds, Hero raises to $24, BB calls $18.
Flop: ($48) 7s, 6d, 6h (3 players)
Hero bets $30, BB raises to $60, Hero calls $30.
Turn: ($168) Ac (3 players)
Hero bets $110, BB calls $110.
River: ($388) Ah (2 players)
Hero bets $200, BB calls $378.55 (All-In), Hero calls $178.55.
Final Pot: $1145.10
Hero has 7d 7c (full house, sevens full of aces).
BB has As 7h (full house, aces full of sevens).
Outcome: BB wins $1145.10.
An abrupt change from elation that I am finally going to win a big pot, to fear of the most brutal suckout, to confirmation that this day, I simply cannot win a hand. He beats odds of about 200 to 1 for the running aces.
I must admit after that hand I am shaken up pretty badly. I don't quit for another hour, and that was probably a mistake. It's not like I go on monkey tilt during that hour (actually this experience entitles me to at least an hour of tilt in my opinion), but I am certainly not playing well after that. When you sustain blows to your poker senses like that, it is just very hard to maintain a solid game. I lose another $1000 in a combination of tough situations and questionable decisions before I quit on the worst day of poker I have ever experienced.
Even though my bank roll is capable of absorbing some hits, a -$6000 day is not something I can ignore completely. Another one of those would probably force me to move down to 400NL for a while. My focus now is on going through the biggest hands of the day, hopefully regain some confidence, and then get back in the game. I have an area or two of my game that I am not at all confident about right now, and that will require some analysis. In the end, it is often experiences like this, that force you to take closer looks at certain aspects of your game, and in time become a better player.
This was a tough blow, and it will require work to get through it. Unfortunately I have to defend my thesis soon, so I simply can't put in enough hours before the WSOP to actually work on game adjustments. Tough break, but I will just have to rely on my game being relatively solid after all. I hear the WSOP is full of fish anyway.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Monday, June 4, 2007
The difference between Party 400NL and 600NL.
A nice long session at the 400NL tables tonight was meant to avenge my brutal defeat of Saturday, and almost did, except for a 2-outer costing me two buy-ins in the very last orbit. Those two buy-ins are what I need to be break even for the month, so considering Saturday, I can't complain.
Overall I think I am completely sharp again after my long absence, as I played 7 tables and chatted a bit on the side with no obvious mistakes on the tables, and a tidy profit to show for it.
I started up after my break playing 400NL to make sure I still had the feel of it, but I think I am now ready to play 600NL. Which one I choose tomorrow will depend on the availability of donks. I don't think there is any major difference between the two levels, but there are some subtle ones that I noticed tonight. I think the regulars at 400NL play a bit more passively than the regulars at 600NL (at least of 4 weeks ago). It is probably easier to make a profit at 400NL playing pretty straight forward poker, call a bit preflop and look for the big hands on the flop. I think the 20/14/2 type regulars turning a profit at 400NL are rarer at 600NL, since they will run into slightly more aggression there. The typical regular at 600NL will be more along the lines of 22/18/3. This is just my impression based on a small sample size.
Another impression is that there are fewer battles around the blinds at 400NL, a bit less 3-betting is going on there. I think that in 4 hours of play, I had just one running battle with another regular going on for about 20 minutes, and I think I will normally have a bit more of those at 600NL. Obviously how you do in those repeated blind battles, often 3-bet preflop, will have a substantial effect on your bottom line. In my opinion, at 400NL several of those who I think are regulars, are definitely exploitable around the blinds, as they either steal too often or defend blinds too rarely.
But as always, donks are available at 400NL as well as 600NL, and tonight offered a solid front runner for my 'donkey of the month' award.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Button ($346)
SB ($530.40)
Hero ($983.40)
UTG ($804.60)
MP ($724)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 5s, 5h.
UTG calls $4, MP raises to $18, 2 folds, Hero calls $14, UTG calls $14.
Flop: ($56) 7h, 5c, Qh (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP bets $44, Hero raises to $160, UTG calls $160, MP folds.
Turn: ($420) Kc (2 players)
Hero bets $300, UTG calls $626.60 (All-In), Hero calls $326.60.
River: ($1673.20) Ah (2 players, 1 all-in)
Final Pot: $1673.20
Hero has 5s 5h (three of a kind, fives).
UTG has Qd Jd (one pair, queens).
Outcome: Hero wins $1673.20.
I was very worried that he had me beat with a bigger set by the turn, and I was certainly unhappy with a completed flush draw on the river. But his stats were pretty atrocious (80/30/3), so I could never lay down a set against a player like that, even for two or three buy-ins. As it turns out, he shoves one and a half buy-in with second pair, no draw. Unbelievable.
Overall I think I am completely sharp again after my long absence, as I played 7 tables and chatted a bit on the side with no obvious mistakes on the tables, and a tidy profit to show for it.
I started up after my break playing 400NL to make sure I still had the feel of it, but I think I am now ready to play 600NL. Which one I choose tomorrow will depend on the availability of donks. I don't think there is any major difference between the two levels, but there are some subtle ones that I noticed tonight. I think the regulars at 400NL play a bit more passively than the regulars at 600NL (at least of 4 weeks ago). It is probably easier to make a profit at 400NL playing pretty straight forward poker, call a bit preflop and look for the big hands on the flop. I think the 20/14/2 type regulars turning a profit at 400NL are rarer at 600NL, since they will run into slightly more aggression there. The typical regular at 600NL will be more along the lines of 22/18/3. This is just my impression based on a small sample size.
Another impression is that there are fewer battles around the blinds at 400NL, a bit less 3-betting is going on there. I think that in 4 hours of play, I had just one running battle with another regular going on for about 20 minutes, and I think I will normally have a bit more of those at 600NL. Obviously how you do in those repeated blind battles, often 3-bet preflop, will have a substantial effect on your bottom line. In my opinion, at 400NL several of those who I think are regulars, are definitely exploitable around the blinds, as they either steal too often or defend blinds too rarely.
But as always, donks are available at 400NL as well as 600NL, and tonight offered a solid front runner for my 'donkey of the month' award.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Button ($346)
SB ($530.40)
Hero ($983.40)
UTG ($804.60)
MP ($724)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 5s, 5h.
UTG calls $4, MP raises to $18, 2 folds, Hero calls $14, UTG calls $14.
Flop: ($56) 7h, 5c, Qh (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP bets $44, Hero raises to $160, UTG calls $160, MP folds.
Turn: ($420) Kc (2 players)
Hero bets $300, UTG calls $626.60 (All-In), Hero calls $326.60.
River: ($1673.20) Ah (2 players, 1 all-in)
Final Pot: $1673.20
Hero has 5s 5h (three of a kind, fives).
UTG has Qd Jd (one pair, queens).
Outcome: Hero wins $1673.20.
I was very worried that he had me beat with a bigger set by the turn, and I was certainly unhappy with a completed flush draw on the river. But his stats were pretty atrocious (80/30/3), so I could never lay down a set against a player like that, even for two or three buy-ins. As it turns out, he shoves one and a half buy-in with second pair, no draw. Unbelievable.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
I am back!
It's been a while, but I am back at the tables. I played my first hands of poker in over 3 weeks tonight, more about that below.
Several people have asked me what it was like to take such a long break from poker. I guess most of them and myself included assumed it would be similar to quitting smoking, hard drugs or other addictions. Actually, it was nothing like that. Or rather, like what I assume that is like, since I haven't tried quitting any of those.
I did have the benefit of being extremely busy with my thesis, so playing was never really an option, but surprisingly I hardly missed playing at all. I play/work in an office full of guys playing poker, and listening to their frustrations on an hourly basis, really made me appreciate just how stressful our hobby/job is. I read somewhere that we human beings derive less pleasure from a dollar earned than we experience frustration from a dollar lost. This means that people who are involved with frequent highs and lows, such as stock traders or poker players, experience more frustration than happiness, even though they may be making a profit long term. Taking a break now and then is probably not a bad idea.
All that aside, I must admit I was looking forward to going back to the tables. I was a bit anxious to see if I still felt sharp after the time off, and if nothing else, I like winning and I like money. I felt I played fine, so no problems there. I did make a few mistakes that I don't think I would normally make, but I am not too worried about that.
However, in a cruel twist of fate I ran into probably the worst run I can remember over a thousand hands. No less than $2900 lost in 1300 hands at 400NL! Welcome back, Baldy! I have lost more in a session at 600NL, but in terms of BB/100 I don't think I've ever seen worse. A nice way to jump start the month.
I will just leave you with this hand, which in my opinion is about as sick as it comes. Villain later claimed he had misread his hand, he thought he had a set.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
MP ($400)
Button ($326.20)
SB ($1228.50)
Hero ($709.40)
UTG ($511.51)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Qh, Qd.
UTG raises to $15, MP calls $15, 2 folds, Hero raises to $68, UTG calls $53, MP calls $53.
Flop: ($206) 7c, 3d, 8c (3 players)
Hero bets $150, UTG calls $443.51 (All-In), MP folds, Hero calls $293.51.
Turn: ($1093.02) Tc (2 players, 1 all-in)
River: ($1093.02) 9c (2 players, 1 all-in)
Final Pot: $1093.02
Hero has Qh Qd (one pair, queens).
UTG has 2c 2h (flush, ten high).
Outcome: UTG wins $1093.02.
Several people have asked me what it was like to take such a long break from poker. I guess most of them and myself included assumed it would be similar to quitting smoking, hard drugs or other addictions. Actually, it was nothing like that. Or rather, like what I assume that is like, since I haven't tried quitting any of those.
I did have the benefit of being extremely busy with my thesis, so playing was never really an option, but surprisingly I hardly missed playing at all. I play/work in an office full of guys playing poker, and listening to their frustrations on an hourly basis, really made me appreciate just how stressful our hobby/job is. I read somewhere that we human beings derive less pleasure from a dollar earned than we experience frustration from a dollar lost. This means that people who are involved with frequent highs and lows, such as stock traders or poker players, experience more frustration than happiness, even though they may be making a profit long term. Taking a break now and then is probably not a bad idea.
All that aside, I must admit I was looking forward to going back to the tables. I was a bit anxious to see if I still felt sharp after the time off, and if nothing else, I like winning and I like money. I felt I played fine, so no problems there. I did make a few mistakes that I don't think I would normally make, but I am not too worried about that.
However, in a cruel twist of fate I ran into probably the worst run I can remember over a thousand hands. No less than $2900 lost in 1300 hands at 400NL! Welcome back, Baldy! I have lost more in a session at 600NL, but in terms of BB/100 I don't think I've ever seen worse. A nice way to jump start the month.
I will just leave you with this hand, which in my opinion is about as sick as it comes. Villain later claimed he had misread his hand, he thought he had a set.
Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
MP ($400)
Button ($326.20)
SB ($1228.50)
Hero ($709.40)
UTG ($511.51)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Qh, Qd.
UTG raises to $15, MP calls $15, 2 folds, Hero raises to $68, UTG calls $53, MP calls $53.
Flop: ($206) 7c, 3d, 8c (3 players)
Hero bets $150, UTG calls $443.51 (All-In), MP folds, Hero calls $293.51.
Turn: ($1093.02) Tc (2 players, 1 all-in)
River: ($1093.02) 9c (2 players, 1 all-in)
Final Pot: $1093.02
Hero has Qh Qd (one pair, queens).
UTG has 2c 2h (flush, ten high).
Outcome: UTG wins $1093.02.
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