Wednesday

Again today I played 3 $20 S&G tournaments on PokerStars.

In the first one, I was the first player out... I raised KK, got two callers. Flop came 5 6 9. I bet the pot, got one caller. Turn was an Ace, I checked, he bet the pot. I couldn't put him on an Ace, unless he had something like A5, A6, or A9 - and I decided itfthat was the case I was ok with being eliminated early. So I re-raised all-in and he called with A5.

Things went better in the other two tournaments... I won them both.

So today I'm up $114.00 - slowly and steadily climbing up without risking too much.

Monday & Tuesday

Monday evening

I played in the weekly $40 tourney at the local bar. I was eliminated two spots from the money when my QT of hearts didn't improve all-in against AK.

I went to the $1/2$ NL cash table, and bought in for $200 since most players had bigger stacks (they had been playing the cash game for at least 2 1/2 hours). I managed to win a couple of medium pots (including one with AA - wow what a surprise). My stack went up to about $300, then back down to $200.

I kept calling $10 raises with any suited, or connecting cards since there was always at least four players in the pot. The hopes of flopping something big, and the knowledge that I can play pretty well after the flop made this an OK strategy. I'd never play like this anywhere else, but these players are so loose that it's justified.

I won big with J2 of hearts. There was a raise to $12, two callers ahead of me (I'm on the button). I call, and both blinds call. So there's already $72 in the pot.

Flop came Jd 2c 3c... Everyone checks to me, and I bet $30. I get two callers. Turn is another J. They both check, I bet $30 again, they both call. Turn wasn't a very good card to see, another 3. I thought I'd have to chop this pot. The small blind bets out $50, the other guy thinks about it, but folds. I raise with my last $104, making it $54 more, and the donk calls. He shows a pair of Eights. I was relieved to see the river hadn't counterfeited me out of a big pot.

So I made a profit of $325 at the cash table, so $285 for the evening.

Tuesday afternoon

My online poker strategy is basically to play sit and go tournaments, and hope to build some kind of a bankroll without putting in any money. I play S&G on PokerStars. My trusty poker tracker software showed me that I made the money in 4 of 6 $20 single table S&G. It's not big money, but it can accumulate.

So I played three more of these today, one after the other. I finished 1st, 2nd and 4th. Top three places pay, so the last one was a bit disappointing. I had Q9, flop came 9TJ - so I had bottom pair and an open ended straight draw. I played it a bit too strong, and found myself almost all-in against a player who had JJ for top set. I didn't hit the straight, and was left with $850. Next hand I got dealt AJ, went all-in, and was called and beat by AQ.

But my record is still good, now having made the money in this type of tournament in 6 of 9, for a total profit of $180.00.

Here's the breakdown of my sit and go record so far this year.

$22 Single Table - 9 events, 6 money finishes, + $180
$55 Single Table - 3 events, 1 money finish, + $60
$22 Two Table - 1 event, 1 money finish, + $50
$33 Single Table - 3 events, 1 money finish, + $36
$22 180 players - 2 events, 1 money finish, + $17
$33 Three Table - 2 events, No money finishes, - $66
$14 Satellite to Sunday Millions - 1 event, No money finish, - $14

Total
23 events, 10 money finishes - up $263.00

I'll try to keep it going, resisting the urge to move up in levels until I've reached at least $1000.

PokerStars 180 player Sit and Go

On Sunday, I entered a 180 player, $22 sit and go. First place for these tournaments is $1080. Top 18 players get some money back, although unless you finish in the top three, the amounts are low. But it's still nice to play in these once in a while. Last week, I finished 27th in the same type of tourney, this week I finished 9th. I'll list the important hands below, and you'll notice that I completely overplayed my hand when I got busted out of the tournament.

I only made $61 for besting 171 players... but the lesson I learned is worth much more. TRUST YOUR GUT!

So we start with $1500 in chips... and here are the key hands that led me to the final table.

This isn't a big hand, but it was a good read on my part when he overbet the possible flush. I just didn't think he had it. Unfortunately, the river came another heart, and I didn't have the guts to bet my two pair.


PokerStars Game #9081641788: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2007/03/25 - 12:26:59 (ET)
Table '46160231 3' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: mateuscadarn (1350 in chips)
Seat 2: blueskyman (1640 in chips)
Seat 3: yorpapa (1550 in chips)
Seat 4: Makkie (2350 in chips)
Seat 5: Quickstrike3 (1370 in chips)
Seat 6: cljlane49 (1250 in chips)
Seat 7: RockHD (1690 in chips)
Seat 8: icall4fun (1540 in chips)
Seat 9: Big E thaman (2160 in chips)
cljlane49: posts small blind 10
RockHD: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:Kd :Jd]
icall4fun: folds
Big E thaman: calls 20
mateuscadarn: folds
blueskyman: folds
yorpapa: folds
Makkie: folds
Quickstrike3: folds
cljlane49: calls 10
RockHD: checks
*** FLOP *** [:8d :Jh :Qh]
yorpapa is sitting out
cljlane49: checks
RockHD: bets 40
Big E thaman: folds
cljlane49: calls 40
*** TURN *** [:8d :Jh :Qh] [:Kh]
cljlane49: bets 200
RockHD: calls 200
*** RIVER *** [:8d :Jh :Qh :Kh] [:6h]
cljlane49: checks
RockHD: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
cljlane49: shows [:7h :Td] (a flush, King high)
RockHD: mucks hand
cljlane49 collected 540 from pot

I never really calculated pot odds before, but since reading Harrington's books, I let the pot odds guide me when I'm not sure if I should call or fold. In this hand, I didn't have anything but a gut shot straight draw and an overcard, but the small amounts the other two players were betting gave me the odds to call - and I finally hit top pair on the river for a nice little pot.

PokerStars Game #9081912274: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2007/03/25 - 12:46:33 (ET)
Table '46160231 3' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: mateuscadarn (945 in chips)
Seat 3: Twizz76 (1845 in chips)
Seat 4: Makkie (1960 in chips)
Seat 5: Quickstrike3 (2955 in chips)
Seat 6: cljlane49 (1670 in chips)
Seat 7: RockHD (1735 in chips)
Seat 8: icall4fun (1590 in chips)
Seat 9: Big E thaman (1915 in chips)
Big E thaman: posts small blind 25
mateuscadarn: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:Ks :Ts]
Twizz76: folds
Makkie: calls 50
Quickstrike3: folds
cljlane49: folds
RockHD: calls 50
icall4fun: folds
FUSILI_JERRY is connected
Big E thaman: calls 25
mateuscadarn: checks
*** FLOP *** [:5h :9d :Qc]
Big E thaman: bets 50
mateuscadarn: folds
Makkie: calls 50
RockHD: calls 50
*** TURN *** [:5h :9d :Qc] [:2c]
Big E thaman: bets 50
Makkie: calls 50
RockHD: calls 50
*** RIVER *** [:5h :9d :Qc :2c] [:Kh]
Big E thaman: bets 50
Makkie: calls 50
RockHD: calls 50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Big E thaman: shows [Qd 6d] (a pair of Queens)
Makkie: shows [Qs Jd] (a pair of Queens - King+Jack kicker)
RockHD: shows [Ks Ts] (a pair of Kings)
RockHD collected 650 from pot

On this next hand, my Aces actually hold up when all-in preflop. I had to dodge a flush draw on the river, so I was sweating again.


PokerStars Game #9082031347: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2007/03/25 - 12:54:44 (ET)
Table '46160231 3' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: mateuscadarn (2615 in chips)
Seat 2: FUSILI_JERRY (1565 in chips)
Seat 3: Twizz76 (1770 in chips)
Seat 4: Makkie (2060 in chips)
Seat 5: Quickstrike3 (2880 in chips)
Seat 6: cljlane49 (1025 in chips)
Seat 7: RockHD (2135 in chips)
Seat 8: icall4fun (1515 in chips)
Seat 9: Big E thaman (1440 in chips)
mateuscadarn: posts small blind 25
FUSILI_JERRY: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:As :Ac]
Twizz76: folds
Makkie: raises 150 to 200
Quickstrike3: calls 200
cljlane49: folds
RockHD: raises 700 to 900
icall4fun: folds
Big E thaman: folds
mateuscadarn: folds
FUSILI_JERRY: folds
Makkie: raises 1160 to 2060 and is all-in
Quickstrike3: folds
RockHD: calls 1160
*** FLOP *** [:7c :Ad :3d]
*** TURN *** [:7c :Ad :3d] [:Td]
*** RIVER *** [:7c :Ad :3d :Td] [:8s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Makkie: shows [:9s :9d] (a pair of Nines)
RockHD: shows [:As :Ac] (three of a kind, Aces)
RockHD collected 4395 from pot

I then lost $1400, and then $900 on two bad bluff attempts...

I lost another $850 when I called a low stack's all in with AK, he had 10-10, and I didn't improve.

I was back to my starting stack, and blinds were now 75/150.

I sucked out on this one... although I would still have had some chips if I would have lost.


PokerStars Game #9082445284: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2007/03/25 - 13:22:55 (ET)
Table '46160231 3' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: transl8r (7350 in chips)
Seat 2: aznvazn (1260 in chips)
Seat 3: phillyJbizee (2035 in chips)
Seat 4: SmokeDaTree (10150 in chips)
Seat 5: Quickstrike3 (3180 in chips)
Seat 6: cljlane49 (4285 in chips)
Seat 7: RockHD (1615 in chips)
Seat 8: Kiddy55 (8346 in chips)
Seat 9: Big E thaman (615 in chips)
phillyJbizee: posts small blind 75
SmokeDaTree: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:Kh :Jh]
Quickstrike3: folds
cljlane49: folds
RockHD: raises 450 to 600
Kiddy55: folds
Big E thaman: raises 15 to 615 and is all-in
transl8r: folds
aznvazn: folds
phillyJbizee: folds
SmokeDaTree: folds
RockHD: calls 15
*** FLOP *** [:9h :Kc :Qc]
*** TURN *** [:9h :Kc :Qc] [:7s]
*** RIVER *** [:9h :Kc :Qc :7s] [:Jc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RockHD: shows [:Kh :Jh] (two pair, Kings and Jacks)
Big E thaman: shows [:Ad :Ks] (a pair of Kings)
RockHD collected 1455 from pot

On this hand, I called an all-in from a small stack with a mediocre hand in the big blind. But this player had just lost a huge pot, and I figured he had two overcards at best, and I was about 40% to win the hand. I was getting ready to call, but then the dealer called. I figured he couldn't have much at all since he didn't re-raise, so I went through with the call. I flopped a straight... I might have been able to get some chips from the dealer, but since there were two clubs on board, I decided not to gamble.


PokerStars Game #9082543353: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2007/03/25 - 13:29:34 (ET)
Table '46160231 10' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: -Free Card- (3595 in chips)
Seat 2: kinjutsu (3390 in chips)
Seat 3: camman73 (1935 in chips)
Seat 4: shivanrico (5170 in chips)
Seat 5: RockHD (2605 in chips)
Seat 6: Drifter10thM (590 in chips)
Seat 7: cdutler (940 in chips)
Seat 8: CoachS111 (2975 in chips)
Seat 9: yeti64 (3465 in chips)
shivanrico: posts small blind 75
RockHD: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:8s :6s]
Drifter10thM: raises 440 to 590 and is all-in
cdutler: folds
CoachS111: folds
yeti64: folds
-Free Card-: folds
kinjutsu: folds
camman73: calls 590
shivanrico: folds
RockHD: calls 440
*** FLOP *** [:5c :4c :7d]
RockHD: bets 900
camman73: folds
*** TURN *** [:5c :4c :7d] [:Jd]
*** RIVER *** [:5c :4c :7d :Jd] [:2h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RockHD: shows [:8s :6s] (a straight, Four to Eight)
Drifter10thM: shows [:Ks :2s] (a pair of Deuces)
RockHD collected 1845 from pot

With the blinds up to 100/200, I only had $2445 in chips. I made a couple of moves to pick up the blinds to keep me afloat.

I won a nice pot with a pair of twos. I didn't re-raise all-in because I figured if someone calls I'm at best a 50/50. But when my two opponents both checked the flop, I tossed in a bet and took down the pot.

PokerStars Game #9082950467: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2007/03/25 - 13:57:13 (ET)
Table '46160231 10' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: De Lune (6457 in chips)
Seat 3: Kiddy55 (10556 in chips)
Seat 4: shivanrico (9075 in chips)
Seat 5: RockHD (2445 in chips)
Seat 6: dp8295 (7815 in chips)
Seat 7: cdutler (3060 in chips)
Seat 8: Turn4Tori (8165 in chips)
Seat 9: da ItchY 84 (3706 in chips)
De Lune: posts the ante 25
Kiddy55: posts the ante 25
shivanrico: posts the ante 25
RockHD: posts the ante 25
dp8295: posts the ante 25
cdutler: posts the ante 25
Turn4Tori: posts the ante 25
da ItchY 84: posts the ante 25
cdutler: posts small blind 100
Turn4Tori: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:2s :2h]
da ItchY 84: folds
De Lune: folds
Kiddy55: calls 200
shivanrico: folds
RockHD: calls 200
dp8295: folds
cdutler: folds
Turn4Tori: checks
*** FLOP *** [:Jd :5c :6c]
Turn4Tori: checks
Kiddy55: checks
RockHD: bets 700
Turn4Tori: folds
Kiddy55: folds
RockHD collected 900 from pot
RockHD: doesn't show hand

Still low stacked at $2645 with the blinds at 200/400, I made a play at this pot in a battle of the blinds.

PokerStars Game #9083130363: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2007/03/25 - 14:07:47 (ET)
Table '46160231 13' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: biorg (7429 in chips)
Seat 2: BongBob (1690 in chips)
Seat 3: APKurt (2862 in chips)
Seat 4: 33inthehole (2206 in chips)
Seat 5: RockHD (2645 in chips)
Seat 6: Hamarkam (4812 in chips)
Seat 7: phreakadelik (10663 in chips)
Seat 8: Skuggfaks (7137 in chips)
Seat 9: kalamitsis (6020 in chips)
biorg: posts the ante 25
BongBob: posts the ante 25
APKurt: posts the ante 25
33inthehole: posts the ante 25
RockHD: posts the ante 25
Hamarkam: posts the ante 25
phreakadelik: posts the ante 25
Skuggfaks: posts the ante 25
kalamitsis: posts the ante 25
33inthehole: posts small blind 200
RockHD: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:7d :Js]
Hamarkam: folds
phreakadelik: folds
Skuggfaks: folds
kalamitsis: folds
biorg: folds
BongBob: folds
APKurt: folds
33inthehole: calls 200
RockHD: checks
*** FLOP *** [:Ad :Ts :6h]
33inthehole: checks
RockHD: checks
*** TURN *** [:Ad :Ts :6h] [:8s]
33inthehole: bets 400
RockHD: calls 400
*** RIVER *** [:Ad :Ts :6h :8s] [:Ac]
33inthehole: checks
RockHD: bets 1820 and is all-in
33inthehole: folds
RockHD collected 1825 from pot
RockHD: doesn't show hand

I made another successful bluff at this pot. Again, I didn't re-raise all-in preflop, hoping to catch or make a play on the flop instead. I didn't think the flop hit him, and since I had more chips than he did, I felt my play had a big chance of making him fold a superior hand.

PokerStars Game #9083296616: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2007/03/25 - 14:17:22 (ET)
Table '46160231 13' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: biorg (7354 in chips)
Seat 3: APKurt (5449 in chips)
Seat 5: RockHD (5020 in chips)
Seat 6: Hamarkam (4187 in chips)
Seat 7: phreakadelik (11066 in chips)
Seat 8: Skuggfaks (5887 in chips)
Seat 9: kalamitsis (5170 in chips)
biorg: posts the ante 25
APKurt: posts the ante 25
RockHD: posts the ante 25
Hamarkam: posts the ante 25
phreakadelik: posts the ante 25
Skuggfaks: posts the ante 25
kalamitsis: posts the ante 25
phreakadelik: posts small blind 200
Skuggfaks: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:Qd :Ac]
kalamitsis: raises 800 to 1200
biorg: folds
APKurt: folds
RockHD: calls 1200
Hamarkam: folds
phreakadelik: folds
Skuggfaks: folds
*** FLOP *** [:6s :Tc :2h]
kalamitsis: bets 1600
RockHD: raises 2195 to 3795 and is all-in
kalamitsis: folds
RockHD collected 6375 from pot
RockHD: doesn't show hand

A nice read here... figured the flop didn't help my opponent, and I was right.


PokerStars Game #9083678232: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level X (400/800) - 2007/03/25 - 14:39:43 (ET)
Table '46160231 13' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: biorg (12267 in chips)
Seat 2: grosser_dude (4153 in chips)
Seat 3: APKurt (6724 in chips)
Seat 4: Gray Wolf10 (1960 in chips)
Seat 5: RockHD (13976 in chips)
Seat 6: Hamarkam (7924 in chips)
Seat 7: phreakadelik (6382 in chips)
Seat 8: Turn4Tori (14879 in chips)
biorg: posts the ante 50
grosser_dude: posts the ante 50
APKurt: posts the ante 50
Gray Wolf10: posts the ante 50
RockHD: posts the ante 50
Hamarkam: posts the ante 50
phreakadelik: posts the ante 50
Turn4Tori: posts the ante 50
biorg: posts small blind 400
grosser_dude: posts big blind 800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:5h :5d]
APKurt: folds
Gray Wolf10: folds
RockHD: raises 1600 to 2400
Hamarkam: folds
phreakadelik: folds
Turn4Tori: folds
biorg: folds
grosser_dude: calls 1600
*** FLOP *** [:4d :9c :9d]
grosser_dude: bets 800
RockHD: raises 1600 to 2400
grosser_dude: calls 903 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [:4d :9c :9d] [:2d]
*** RIVER *** [:4d :9c :9d :2d] [:Qs]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
grosser_dude: shows [:Kc :Js] (a pair of Nines)
RockHD: shows [:5h :5d] (two pair, Nines and Fives)
RockHD collected 9006 from pot

This is the biggest hand I was involved in prior to the final table. I don't know why, but when the first player went all-in on the flop, I put him on a pair, probably of Jacks. I calculated my pot odds, and with a possible 15 outs I had to call if I wanted to get some chips and have a chance at winning this thing. I also wasn't risking my tournament life, since I would have had over 10,000 in chips if I lost. So I risked the call, and it worked out.

PokerStars Game #9084001435: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level XI (600/1200) - 2007/03/25 - 14:59:51 (ET)
Table '46160231 13' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: biorg (8095 in chips)
Seat 3: APKurt (8894 in chips)
Seat 4: Gray Wolf10 (2760 in chips)
Seat 5: RockHD (28501 in chips)
Seat 6: Hamarkam (9184 in chips)
Seat 7: phreakadelik (7819 in chips)
Seat 8: Turn4Tori (12329 in chips)
Seat 9: shivanrico (16866 in chips)
biorg: posts the ante 75
APKurt: posts the ante 75
Gray Wolf10: posts the ante 75
RockHD: posts the ante 75
Hamarkam: posts the ante 75
phreakadelik: posts the ante 75
Turn4Tori: posts the ante 75
shivanrico: posts the ante 75
Hamarkam: posts small blind 600
phreakadelik: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:Qh :Kh]
Turn4Tori: folds
shivanrico: raises 2400 to 3600
biorg: calls 3600
APKurt: folds
Gray Wolf10: folds
RockHD: calls 3600
Hamarkam: folds
phreakadelik: folds
*** FLOP *** [:Th :Tc :2h]
shivanrico: bets 13191 and is all-in
biorg: folds
RockHD: calls 13191
*** TURN *** [:Th :Tc :2h] [:Qs]
*** RIVER *** [:Th :Tc :2h :Qs] [:5d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
shivanrico: shows [Jh Jd] (two pair, Jacks and Tens)
RockHD: shows [Qh Kh] (two pair, Queens and Tens)
RockHD collected 39582 from pot

I was now in 2nd chip position in the tournament, with over $51,000 in chips.

My pair of twos lost a race againt KQ for about $9000, and then my KQ lost to A5 in a battle of the blinds for another $7000. I was down to $36,000, but still in good shape.

I finally got to the final table with about $26,000 in chips, having lost a few chips when calling small stacks who were all-in when I had no choice, either being the big blind, or the pot odds were too great.

In the 3rd hand at that final table, I made a bad call. One of the players who had me covered min-raised to $4000. I have a pair of Jacks. My gut tells me he's really strong, but I figure I need to raise to see where I'm at. So I re-raise to $12,000. Comes back to him and he goes all-in. I almost insta-called. Why? I don't know. My idea in re-raising was to figure out how strong he was, and his all-in tells me he is very strong. I completely stopped thinking, hoping he had AK and I called. Of course he had the Aces.

Even a day after, I can't believe how badly I played it. The re-raise, in my opinion was ok. But he wouldn't have min-raised AK in that situation... only KK or AA were possible.

LESSON: TRUST YOUR GUT, AND YOUR READS.

Here's the hand:


PokerStars Game #9084734334: Tournament #46160231, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level XIII (1000/2000) - 2007/03/25 - 15:44:40 (ET)
Table '46160231 13' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: biorg (15400 in chips)
Seat 2: CaptSparrow1 (46223 in chips)
Seat 3: APKurt (11976 in chips)
Seat 4: johnnylofat (34987 in chips)
Seat 5: RockHD (26101 in chips)
Seat 6: Hamarkam (15393 in chips)
Seat 7: sidelineskid (43547 in chips)
Seat 8: Turn4Tori (21978 in chips)
Seat 9: GOB_Bluth2 (54395 in chips)
biorg: posts the ante 100
CaptSparrow1: posts the ante 100
APKurt: posts the ante 100
johnnylofat: posts the ante 100
RockHD: posts the ante 100
Hamarkam: posts the ante 100
sidelineskid: posts the ante 100
Turn4Tori: posts the ante 100
GOB_Bluth2: posts the ante 100
Hamarkam: posts small blind 1000
sidelineskid: posts big blind 2000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RockHD [:Jc :Js]
Turn4Tori: folds
GOB_Bluth2: folds
biorg: folds
CaptSparrow1: raises 2000 to 4000
APKurt: folds
johnnylofat: folds
RockHD: raises 8000 to 12000
Hamarkam: folds
sidelineskid: folds
CaptSparrow1: raises 34123 to 46123 and is all-in
RockHD: calls 14001 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [:4h: 9c :6c]
RockHD said, "i knew it"
RockHD said, "nh"
*** TURN *** [:4h :9c :6c] [:8c]
*** RIVER *** [:4h :9c :6c :8c] [:Kh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
CaptSparrow1: shows [:Ad :Ac] (a pair of Aces)
RockHD: shows [:Jc :Js] (a pair of Jacks)
CaptSparrow1 collected 55902 from pot


So instead of having a chance at $1080, I wound up with $61. Very disappointing.

Monday poker - Winning big pots with bad cards

I played in the weekly $40 tournament last night, and I busted out early when I made a move at the blinds and got called.

So I headed to the cash table, playing $1/$2 no limit hold 'em.
My 2nd hand at the table goes like this:

RockHD: :Ah :Ac

I raise it to $17. Melid (very loose player) calls. Two more call. It gets to Lucien, and I tell him he should raise. And as expected, he re-raises to $50. It comes back to me, and I go all-in for $98 total. Melid calls his last $51, and Lucien calls.

Melid: :Kd :Tc
Lucien: :Th :Jh

Flop: :Td :4d :7d
Turn: :9c
River: :Kh

Melid makes two pairs with his shitty hand, and takes down the main pot. I get the side pot ($60).


After losing a few bets, and waiting until I had calmed down, I bought back for another $100 (I had $35 left).

I'm dealt :Kc :Qc

I just call the $2, and so do most of the others, as we're 7 players to the flop.

Flop: :Ac :Qh :3c

Lucien leads out with $25. I have 2nd pair, the nut flush draw. I just call. Everyone else folds.

Turn: :Tc

Lucien bets $60. I only have $105 left, so I go all-in knowing he's pot committed. He calls.

He shows: :Jc :4c. I take down the pot.


A few hands later, I'm on the button. There are 6 limpers for $2, and I decide to call since I figure the pot odds justify putting in $2 with $12 in the pot.

I have :5c :2d - I didn't say I had much!

Melid, in the small blind raises $5, everyone calls, so again I call because of the pot odds.

Flop: :Kd :5h :2c

The first player to act bets $20, the 2nd player raises to $40. Now I have a decision. Do these guys avec a higher two pair, or just top pair. I have to find out before I lose all of my money, so I raise it to $100. The small blind re-raises me all-in for $178. The other two players fold, and I call another $78.

Melid shows: :Ah :Ad

Turn: :9c
River: :Jh

My two pair holds up, and Melid gets what he deserves for only raising $5 when there are 6 limpers in the pot. Especially at this table, where everyone calls with pretty much any two cards.


I made a bad bluff a little later... lost $100. So my stack is at about $450 (up $250).


My last big hand of the night went like this:

Marc, a very agressive player, raises to $12. I have position and a playable hand if I flop something, so I call the $12. 4 others also call.

My hand: :8d :5d

Flop: :6h :4d :2h. So I have a double belly buster straight draw... I need a 3 or 7 to make my straight.

Marc comes out and bets $60 into the $60 pot. Although he is very agressive, he won't usually bet that much if he has a draw, or just high cards. I looked at my stack, and decided it was time to gamble. I figured if I didn't hit the turn, I could fold and still make a profit for the night, but if I did hit, I'd get all of his chips. 3 players fold, and Phil calls. So there's over $240 in the pot.

Turn: :8c. This card gives me 5 more outs, since I now believe that an 8 or 5 will also give me a winning hand.

Marc bets out $100... if he had gone all-in, I don't believe I could have called. But it now only costs me $100 to see a $350 pot, with what I believe to be 13 outs. So I call. Phil folds.

River: :5c

Marc bets out $200... I have $211 left, so I call. I show the two pair, and he shows pocket Jacks.


That was it for the night... I made $680 at the cash table, so a profit of $640 for the night, which brings me back to even for 2007.

I'm starting to hate this game

Forgive me, but I have to whine a little tonight.

I know every poker book says you can't worry about the results - as long as you play solid, and get your money in when you're a favorite, you will make money in the long run.

But lately it seems that I can't win anything, even when I'm a big favorite when the money goes in.

3 weeks ago, when I played at the Monday cash game, I managed to lose a $1000 pot when I got all my money in with :4d :4c on a :9c :Td :4h board. I bet $22 on the flop, a very agressive player re-raised to $100, another player called, and I went all-in for another $250. They both called.

First guy has :9h :Th for two pairs, the other has a straight draw. River comes the :9s to give the guy with 4 outs the better hand.

I managed to still make a profit that night... but it could have been so much better.

Then tonight, in the tournament, I lost :Kc :Qd vs :Qh :5s when a 5 hit the river. With two tables remaining, I decided to gamble a little to get a big stack. But , I managed to lose 77 vs A7 and Q6 all-in. A Q hit the board, followed by an A. The very next hand, with a much smaller stack, I go all-in with middle pair. I get called by not one, but two people with flush draws. Not bad I figure, I also had one of their suit, so there were only 5 hearts left. But one of them hits their overcard.

And the kicker for the night, in the cash game. A loose and very agressive player decides to raise $50 blind (we play 1/2 no limit). I get :Ac :Qd, and I move all-in after 5 people ford. My all-in is $220. He calls blind, and shows :Ah :Ts. The board comes 5 4 3 4 5 and we split $3 each. And on my final hand of the night, I'm dealt AA. I raise to $17, one player calls, another raises to $100 - I go all-in for $285. The raiser calls and shows JJ. Flop K Q 9, turn 10 to give him a straight. Another $600 pot lost.

I could go on and on with the bad beats lately...

If my luck doesn't change soon, I'll have to give up on this game.