Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tourney Stats
Here are the stats for the tourney this past weekend. As you can see, a little on the high side.
You finished in 5th place.
************************************************************
Hold'em: 67 hands played and saw flop:
- 3 times out of 10 while in small blind (30%)
- 7 times out of 11 while in big blind (63%)
- 9 times out of 46 in other positions (19%)
- a total of 19 times out of 67 (28%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 out of 12 (66%)
Pots won without showdown - 4
************************************************************
Omaha Hi/Lo: 36 hands played and saw flop:
- 5 times out of 6 while in small blind (83%)
- 5 times out of 6 while in big blind (83%)
- 10 times out of 24 in other positions (41%)
- a total of 20 times out of 36 (55%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 out of 7 (85%)
Pots won without showdown - 3
************************************************************
7 Card Stud: 47 hands played:
- saw fourth street 22 times (46%)
- saw fifth street 14 times (29%)
- saw sixth street 8 times (17%)
- reached showdown 6 times (12%)
Pots won at showdown - 1 out of 6 (16%)
Pots won without showdown - 14
************************************************************
7 Card Stud Hi/Lo: 45 hands played:
- saw fourth street 26 times (57%)
- saw fifth street 19 times (42%)
- saw sixth street 15 times (33%)
- reached showdown 12 times (26%)
Pots won at showdown - 10 out of 12 (83%)
Pots won without showdown - 7
************************************************************
Razz: 47 hands played:
- saw fourth street 17 times (36%)
- saw fifth street 12 times (25%)
- saw sixth street 9 times (19%)
- reached showdown 6 times (12%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 out of 6 (50%)
Pots won without showdown - 9
You finished in 5th place.
************************************************************
Hold'em: 67 hands played and saw flop:
- 3 times out of 10 while in small blind (30%)
- 7 times out of 11 while in big blind (63%)
- 9 times out of 46 in other positions (19%)
- a total of 19 times out of 67 (28%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 out of 12 (66%)
Pots won without showdown - 4
************************************************************
Omaha Hi/Lo: 36 hands played and saw flop:
- 5 times out of 6 while in small blind (83%)
- 5 times out of 6 while in big blind (83%)
- 10 times out of 24 in other positions (41%)
- a total of 20 times out of 36 (55%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 out of 7 (85%)
Pots won without showdown - 3
************************************************************
7 Card Stud: 47 hands played:
- saw fourth street 22 times (46%)
- saw fifth street 14 times (29%)
- saw sixth street 8 times (17%)
- reached showdown 6 times (12%)
Pots won at showdown - 1 out of 6 (16%)
Pots won without showdown - 14
************************************************************
7 Card Stud Hi/Lo: 45 hands played:
- saw fourth street 26 times (57%)
- saw fifth street 19 times (42%)
- saw sixth street 15 times (33%)
- reached showdown 12 times (26%)
Pots won at showdown - 10 out of 12 (83%)
Pots won without showdown - 7
************************************************************
Razz: 47 hands played:
- saw fourth street 17 times (36%)
- saw fifth street 12 times (25%)
- saw sixth street 9 times (19%)
- reached showdown 6 times (12%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 out of 6 (50%)
Pots won without showdown - 9
Sunday, May 27, 2007
The Greatest Bingo Player of All Time and the 3rd all in
This past Friday was one of my two monthly live games. Two NLHE tournaments with a periodic cash game for those waiting for the 1st or 2nd tournament to end. The one thing that makes this game special is the appearance of the Greatest Bingo Player of All Time, we will call him Bingo or B for short. Anyway, B believes himself to be God's gift to poker as well as bingo.
B was crippled early on when he was the third all in (for the first time that night but not the last). I still don't understand the thinking here. B is on the button, there is an early position caller, mid position raiser (3xBB) followed by a mid/late position reraiser(approx. 8xBB) Now it's B's turn so he calls (?????) First I don't understand the call when its been raised and reraised in front of you. All the money is getting in so why not push and if you can't push then fold. B didn't have anything invested in this pot and still had the original raiser to worry about.
Anyway, its gets folded around to the orginal raiser who, you guessed it, moved all in. The rereaiser calls the all in and now we are back to B, who calls the all in as well?!?!?!?!?
At this point, the rest of us are calling out the various possible combos from the short list of pairs, AKo, AKs (maybe AQs). It seemed obvious to us that B, at least, had to have a pair and a big one at that. Most even thought we would see three pairs.
Everybody was a little dumbfounded with B turned over the QJo. How he thought this was the type of hand to get 80% of your chips in the middle with is beyond me but it wasn't the last time he would do that. At the final table we are down to 7 (paying 4 places). B is the small blind, I am in the cut off. Up to this point, I had only played 3 hands voluntarily and showed each one AKo, AQs, and I pushed all in with AKo 3 hands earlier. Now blinds are 30-60 and I have 440, button has 240 and B has 170 in the 30 SB (BB had around 100 after posting the BB but was bad enough to regularly fold even against one player if he didn't have cards). It gets folded to me and I find 99 so I go all in (I have the other three covered and don't even mind a caller at this point). The button thinks and talks for awhile before callin my all in. B calls and the big blind folds. The button has AK and B has K 10 offsuit. ??????? How on earth B thought that was a good call is beyond me. Of course he claimed to "know" I had a medium pair and he was getting pot odds to call.
Up until that point I had not pushed with anything but AK and AQs. Of course he made his prediction after he sees my cards and the hand is over plus what did he think the button had? garbage? QJ and K 10 offsuit are horrible hands to call especially since this is a tournament. Pot odds don't really matter unless you have over 30 times the big blind and the call doesn't cost you that much in a tournament where a premium is placed on survival. B even knows this because he often would tell me I made a bad call since I could have folded to "fight another day." These types of hands are almost never ahead in these types of situations and, as was the case here, easily dominated by the other hands.
Whatever you do, don't be the third all in unless (1) you are short stacked and will get wiped out by the blinds this round, (2) have enough chips such that you will still have over 20 BBs if you lose or (3) have a hand like high pair of AKos or AQs. Don't call off a lot of your chips to an all in or two all ins with to big cards because you "think" you have two overs or two live cards. It is a poor move that will cost you in the long run.
B was crippled early on when he was the third all in (for the first time that night but not the last). I still don't understand the thinking here. B is on the button, there is an early position caller, mid position raiser (3xBB) followed by a mid/late position reraiser(approx. 8xBB) Now it's B's turn so he calls (?????) First I don't understand the call when its been raised and reraised in front of you. All the money is getting in so why not push and if you can't push then fold. B didn't have anything invested in this pot and still had the original raiser to worry about.
Anyway, its gets folded around to the orginal raiser who, you guessed it, moved all in. The rereaiser calls the all in and now we are back to B, who calls the all in as well?!?!?!?!?
At this point, the rest of us are calling out the various possible combos from the short list of pairs, AKo, AKs (maybe AQs). It seemed obvious to us that B, at least, had to have a pair and a big one at that. Most even thought we would see three pairs.
Everybody was a little dumbfounded with B turned over the QJo. How he thought this was the type of hand to get 80% of your chips in the middle with is beyond me but it wasn't the last time he would do that. At the final table we are down to 7 (paying 4 places). B is the small blind, I am in the cut off. Up to this point, I had only played 3 hands voluntarily and showed each one AKo, AQs, and I pushed all in with AKo 3 hands earlier. Now blinds are 30-60 and I have 440, button has 240 and B has 170 in the 30 SB (BB had around 100 after posting the BB but was bad enough to regularly fold even against one player if he didn't have cards). It gets folded to me and I find 99 so I go all in (I have the other three covered and don't even mind a caller at this point). The button thinks and talks for awhile before callin my all in. B calls and the big blind folds. The button has AK and B has K 10 offsuit. ??????? How on earth B thought that was a good call is beyond me. Of course he claimed to "know" I had a medium pair and he was getting pot odds to call.
Up until that point I had not pushed with anything but AK and AQs. Of course he made his prediction after he sees my cards and the hand is over plus what did he think the button had? garbage? QJ and K 10 offsuit are horrible hands to call especially since this is a tournament. Pot odds don't really matter unless you have over 30 times the big blind and the call doesn't cost you that much in a tournament where a premium is placed on survival. B even knows this because he often would tell me I made a bad call since I could have folded to "fight another day." These types of hands are almost never ahead in these types of situations and, as was the case here, easily dominated by the other hands.
Whatever you do, don't be the third all in unless (1) you are short stacked and will get wiped out by the blinds this round, (2) have enough chips such that you will still have over 20 BBs if you lose or (3) have a hand like high pair of AKos or AQs. Don't call off a lot of your chips to an all in or two all ins with to big cards because you "think" you have two overs or two live cards. It is a poor move that will cost you in the long run.
BadBeat and the two outer
HORSE seems to be my bread and butter. About 8 months ago I went 8 for 8 cashing in HORSE SNGs. Although I screwed up big time last night/this morning in the HORSE MTT, I still started the final table with the uber chip lead and held it all the way till 5 left and then I doubled the second big stack. Oh well, life goes on.
BadBeat made an appearance tonight to get some of the holiday Sunday easy money, but the monkeys were hitting the two outers like crazy in the SNGs. Took two 2nds in the first two SNGs, then busted out in the third on Stars.
I hate that PStars doesn’t offer rake back. But for the 10 Billionth hand promotion/bonus, I almost would be done with that site. Unfortunately, they have the most players for US friendly rooms and mega variety for the tournaments (MTT and SNGs).
One hand that almost sent BadBeat to the mental hospital is below. The question is why call the all-in as the 3rd all-in in this situation?
PokerStars Game #10141724371: Tournament #51407968, $3.00+$0.40 Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2007/05/28 - 01:22:27 (ET)
Table '51407968 1' 10-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: tsbjmb (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: pachanga74 (1490 in chips)
Seat 3: austinyea (1585 in chips)
Seat 4: Luck Donkey (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: ~Sandman~ (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: janetirvin (1585 in chips)
Seat 7: badbeat (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: Dog_N_Hat (1340 in chips)
Seat 9: TheOneChuma1 (1500 in chips)
Seat 10: kingkamayo (1500 in chips)
austinyea: posts small blind 10
Luck Donkey: posts big blind 20
~Sandman~: raises 20 to 40
janetirvin: calls 40
badbeat: calls 40
Dog_N_Hat: calls 40
kingkamayo: calls 40
tsbjmb: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [Ad 7c 4c]
~Sandman~: bets 80
janetirvin: calls 80
badbeat: calls 80
tsbjmb: calls 80
*** TURN *** [Ad 7c 4c] [7d]
~Sandman~: bets 200
janetirvin: calls 200
badbeat: raises 1180 to 1380 and is all-in
~Sandman~: calls 1180 and is all-in
janetirvin: calls 1180
[ ed. Note: WTF was she thinking with this call????? Does she honestly think that a flush would be good in this spot????????? Even if she manages to hit it for maybe only half the pot!?!?!?!!?!?!??!]
*** RIVER *** [Ad 7c 4c 7d] [Kh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
~Sandman~: shows [3s Jc Ac 2c] (HI: two pair, Aces and Sevens; LO: 7,4,3,2,A)
janetirvin: shows [8c 3d Ks Kd] (HI: a full house, Kings full of Sevens; LO: 8,7,4,3,A)
badbeat: shows [2h 7h 4d 3h] (HI: a full house, Sevens full of Fours; LO: 7,4,3,2,A)
janetirvin collected 2365 from pot
~Sandman~ collected 1183 from pot
badbeat1177 collected 1182 from pot
From now on, I am going to keep a confirmed fish list on the bottom of this webpage for geniuses/ATMs like janetirvin with their screen name and site so everyone can find them and break them. Thus, I, Q man and BadBeat don’t have to deal with them anymore. Yea, yea it might be counter productive but I need them to stop playing so I don’t go crazy and kill someone.
BadBeat made an appearance tonight to get some of the holiday Sunday easy money, but the monkeys were hitting the two outers like crazy in the SNGs. Took two 2nds in the first two SNGs, then busted out in the third on Stars.
I hate that PStars doesn’t offer rake back. But for the 10 Billionth hand promotion/bonus, I almost would be done with that site. Unfortunately, they have the most players for US friendly rooms and mega variety for the tournaments (MTT and SNGs).
One hand that almost sent BadBeat to the mental hospital is below. The question is why call the all-in as the 3rd all-in in this situation?
PokerStars Game #10141724371: Tournament #51407968, $3.00+$0.40 Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2007/05/28 - 01:22:27 (ET)
Table '51407968 1' 10-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: tsbjmb (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: pachanga74 (1490 in chips)
Seat 3: austinyea (1585 in chips)
Seat 4: Luck Donkey (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: ~Sandman~ (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: janetirvin (1585 in chips)
Seat 7: badbeat (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: Dog_N_Hat (1340 in chips)
Seat 9: TheOneChuma1 (1500 in chips)
Seat 10: kingkamayo (1500 in chips)
austinyea: posts small blind 10
Luck Donkey: posts big blind 20
~Sandman~: raises 20 to 40
janetirvin: calls 40
badbeat: calls 40
Dog_N_Hat: calls 40
kingkamayo: calls 40
tsbjmb: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [Ad 7c 4c]
~Sandman~: bets 80
janetirvin: calls 80
badbeat: calls 80
tsbjmb: calls 80
*** TURN *** [Ad 7c 4c] [7d]
~Sandman~: bets 200
janetirvin: calls 200
badbeat: raises 1180 to 1380 and is all-in
~Sandman~: calls 1180 and is all-in
janetirvin: calls 1180
[ ed. Note: WTF was she thinking with this call????? Does she honestly think that a flush would be good in this spot????????? Even if she manages to hit it for maybe only half the pot!?!?!?!!?!?!??!]
*** RIVER *** [Ad 7c 4c 7d] [Kh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
~Sandman~: shows [3s Jc Ac 2c] (HI: two pair, Aces and Sevens; LO: 7,4,3,2,A)
janetirvin: shows [8c 3d Ks Kd] (HI: a full house, Kings full of Sevens; LO: 8,7,4,3,A)
badbeat: shows [2h 7h 4d 3h] (HI: a full house, Sevens full of Fours; LO: 7,4,3,2,A)
janetirvin collected 2365 from pot
~Sandman~ collected 1183 from pot
badbeat1177 collected 1182 from pot
From now on, I am going to keep a confirmed fish list on the bottom of this webpage for geniuses/ATMs like janetirvin with their screen name and site so everyone can find them and break them. Thus, I, Q man and BadBeat don’t have to deal with them anymore. Yea, yea it might be counter productive but I need them to stop playing so I don’t go crazy and kill someone.
I suck
Sometimes I amaze myself with my stupidity. I even try to fool myself into thinking that I was going for the win so I took a risk but that is still crap.
About 3:45 am I got bored and a little pissed about missing cashes in so many SNGs on stars plus being down money on the site. For some reason, I decided to use a HORSE MTT to recoup my losses (don't ask how that made sense with the large variance in MTTs). I signed up for a $10 +1 horse with 180 people but only paying the top 18. I thought I played well but was also hitting my draws and having most hands hold up against chasers. Anyway, I hit the final table as the uber chipleader. I give a lot back to the field but make it to 5 left still in the chip lead. I have 47K, then it goes 45K, 32K, 30K and 12K. For some reason I get into a pissing contest with the second in chips during a stud round.
I started with K6 6 so my pair isn't even buried. If you don't know stud well, mid and low pairs blow. They look good for a starting hand but really need to improve a lot to win. In the stud the average winning hand is trips 9s (or close to this). In general, I don't like to be the caller and I don't like continuing in a draw game like stud unless each street improves you (or if you are betting at least doesnt improve your opponent(s) when you start with a big pair that has show down value) and you can beat what the other guys are showing on the board.
Back to the meltdown. Small bets are 2.5K and big bets are 5K. After some early raises and reraises, its me against the 2nd in chips. I never improved on my pair but did manage to call all his bets (with a few raises on my part) and double the bastard. This left me with only 2K and change. 4 or 5 hands later, I was done.
As the Q man says, I could have coasted to a top 3 finish where the real money is to be made. Q man said top 2 but I believe I would have had to play some before we got 3 handed to stay with a decent stack. If you get too low, they just wait you out.
On the bright side, I did manage to recoup the loses and then some.
About 3:45 am I got bored and a little pissed about missing cashes in so many SNGs on stars plus being down money on the site. For some reason, I decided to use a HORSE MTT to recoup my losses (don't ask how that made sense with the large variance in MTTs). I signed up for a $10 +1 horse with 180 people but only paying the top 18. I thought I played well but was also hitting my draws and having most hands hold up against chasers. Anyway, I hit the final table as the uber chipleader. I give a lot back to the field but make it to 5 left still in the chip lead. I have 47K, then it goes 45K, 32K, 30K and 12K. For some reason I get into a pissing contest with the second in chips during a stud round.
I started with K6 6 so my pair isn't even buried. If you don't know stud well, mid and low pairs blow. They look good for a starting hand but really need to improve a lot to win. In the stud the average winning hand is trips 9s (or close to this). In general, I don't like to be the caller and I don't like continuing in a draw game like stud unless each street improves you (or if you are betting at least doesnt improve your opponent(s) when you start with a big pair that has show down value) and you can beat what the other guys are showing on the board.
Back to the meltdown. Small bets are 2.5K and big bets are 5K. After some early raises and reraises, its me against the 2nd in chips. I never improved on my pair but did manage to call all his bets (with a few raises on my part) and double the bastard. This left me with only 2K and change. 4 or 5 hands later, I was done.
As the Q man says, I could have coasted to a top 3 finish where the real money is to be made. Q man said top 2 but I believe I would have had to play some before we got 3 handed to stay with a decent stack. If you get too low, they just wait you out.
On the bright side, I did manage to recoup the loses and then some.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
What a night and the Q man
Wow, had a night like no other. Plus, the Q man gave permission to tear him apart on this blog so that should lead to some interesting stories. However, Q man is still reluctant to hit the track for some bets on the ponies.
What is up with the big up tick you ask. I don't know other than having the midas touch at the right time. Move up to 2/4 O8 for 3 mintues (according to the Q man who was on skype) and won $28. Then up $21 at some random 1/2 table (full tilt). From there to glory i guess. More later on the sng front. Not good by the way so expect a Stars negative soon, unless i pull it out tonight.
God Bless America!!!!!!!!
What is up with the big up tick you ask. I don't know other than having the midas touch at the right time. Move up to 2/4 O8 for 3 mintues (according to the Q man who was on skype) and won $28. Then up $21 at some random 1/2 table (full tilt). From there to glory i guess. More later on the sng front. Not good by the way so expect a Stars negative soon, unless i pull it out tonight.
God Bless America!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
ugh & new goal/mission in life
Took it on the chin in some fulltilt SNGs last night, but also realized/promised myself something important:
I refuse to allow money to become the measure of my life's worth
I refuse to allow money to become the measure of my life's worth
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Ring game vs SNG vs MTT
I don’t like playing MTTs as much as cash games and single table SNGs because of the feedback time.
In cash games, you get the instant feedback of victory or defeat for each pot you contest (showdown more or less). Thus, I like the fact that each pot I play (not just to see the flop but post flop) is like a mini-game so to speak. It’s me against one or more opponents vying for victory. Within a matter of minutes, the winner and loser(s) are decided. In addition, you get the immediate increase in money (or more often, sadly, a decrease in money). Also, I can stop or switch games/tables at any time without any real penalty (other than missing the free cards while waiting for the blinds to cycle around). The only problems I have with cash games come from my lack of patience: to wait for the big blind when I first sit down (pathetic I know), good hands, favorable position, and favorable flops.
I also like the SNGs because it feels like a more substantial win (as opposed to one pot or session where you just wait for the nuts to cream some other player) and doesn’t take as long. However, my lack of patience hurts me because I end up playing whatever fills up the quickest from razz, 5-draw, to NLO8. I also know I only have the patience for about 30-50 minutes before I want a winner to be declared. This is kind of silly because I usually just jump right in another one or have multiple SNGs/tables going at once. I also like the fact that my losses from bad plays/decisions are capped at the buy in and can’t spiral out of control unless I get pissed and keep upping the buy in till I lose a couple $100 SNGs in a row.
Obviously by now you can guess that my problem with MTTs is the amount of time before a “winner” is declared coupled with the fact that you seem to make more per hour if you hit the cash games. What? I mean that I usually lose but when I do win in the short term, my hourly rate is better at cash games or SNGs versus MTTs. I just hate spending 2-3 hours to bust out with no money or just double my buy in. The only really way I can play MTTs anymore is to have them in the background with at least a ring game or a couple SNGs to keep me occupied (watching TV doesn’t work for me).
In cash games, you get the instant feedback of victory or defeat for each pot you contest (showdown more or less). Thus, I like the fact that each pot I play (not just to see the flop but post flop) is like a mini-game so to speak. It’s me against one or more opponents vying for victory. Within a matter of minutes, the winner and loser(s) are decided. In addition, you get the immediate increase in money (or more often, sadly, a decrease in money). Also, I can stop or switch games/tables at any time without any real penalty (other than missing the free cards while waiting for the blinds to cycle around). The only problems I have with cash games come from my lack of patience: to wait for the big blind when I first sit down (pathetic I know), good hands, favorable position, and favorable flops.
I also like the SNGs because it feels like a more substantial win (as opposed to one pot or session where you just wait for the nuts to cream some other player) and doesn’t take as long. However, my lack of patience hurts me because I end up playing whatever fills up the quickest from razz, 5-draw, to NLO8. I also know I only have the patience for about 30-50 minutes before I want a winner to be declared. This is kind of silly because I usually just jump right in another one or have multiple SNGs/tables going at once. I also like the fact that my losses from bad plays/decisions are capped at the buy in and can’t spiral out of control unless I get pissed and keep upping the buy in till I lose a couple $100 SNGs in a row.
Obviously by now you can guess that my problem with MTTs is the amount of time before a “winner” is declared coupled with the fact that you seem to make more per hour if you hit the cash games. What? I mean that I usually lose but when I do win in the short term, my hourly rate is better at cash games or SNGs versus MTTs. I just hate spending 2-3 hours to bust out with no money or just double my buy in. The only really way I can play MTTs anymore is to have them in the background with at least a ring game or a couple SNGs to keep me occupied (watching TV doesn’t work for me).
Monday, May 21, 2007
May 27th PStars Charity Tournament
One week from today on Sunday May 27th, PokerStars will be hosting a charity tournament to raise money for the humanitarian disaster in the Darfur region of the Sudan. If you cannot play, fnd out how you can donate money or help raise awareness.
PokerStars is running the Ocean's Thirteen Darfur Charity Tournament next Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm ET.PokerStars is teaming up with the cast of Ocean's Thirteen to help stop the suffering in the war-torn region of Darfur in the Sudan. If you have not been paying attention, over 400,000 people have already been killed. They launched Not On Our Watch. Their mission is to..."focus global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities. Drawing on the powerful voice of citizen artists, activists, and cultural leaders, our mission is to generate lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for the vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced."PokerStars is donating $1 million and you can help out by playing in two diffeent charity events. You have a shot to win a ticket to the Ocean's Thirteen premiere in Los Angeles. See below for specific details.
Overview of the Ocean's Thirteen Darfur Charity Tournament:These tournaments are special re-buy tournaments - the entire prize pool will be matched by PokerStars and donated to the Darfur relief efforts. At the conclusion of the event the prize pool, which will be temporarily awarded to the 1st place finisher, will be removed from the 1st place finisher's account. The amount will then be matched by PokerStars and sent forward to the Darfur charity. Thank you for participating — go re-buy crazy! — it's for a good cause. Good luck!
Date: May 27th 2007, 15:30 ETBuy-in: $10 plus rebuys.Prizes: Top 4 receive tickets to June 5th premiere in Los Angeles plus 2 nights hotel and $2k for travel/spending. Top 18 receive autographed copy of "Oceans 13" DVD. Total prize pool will go to charity. PokerStars will match the donation. The tournament is open to all players.
PokerStars is running the Ocean's Thirteen Darfur Charity Tournament next Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm ET.PokerStars is teaming up with the cast of Ocean's Thirteen to help stop the suffering in the war-torn region of Darfur in the Sudan. If you have not been paying attention, over 400,000 people have already been killed. They launched Not On Our Watch. Their mission is to..."focus global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities. Drawing on the powerful voice of citizen artists, activists, and cultural leaders, our mission is to generate lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for the vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced."PokerStars is donating $1 million and you can help out by playing in two diffeent charity events. You have a shot to win a ticket to the Ocean's Thirteen premiere in Los Angeles. See below for specific details.
Overview of the Ocean's Thirteen Darfur Charity Tournament:These tournaments are special re-buy tournaments - the entire prize pool will be matched by PokerStars and donated to the Darfur relief efforts. At the conclusion of the event the prize pool, which will be temporarily awarded to the 1st place finisher, will be removed from the 1st place finisher's account. The amount will then be matched by PokerStars and sent forward to the Darfur charity. Thank you for participating — go re-buy crazy! — it's for a good cause. Good luck!
Date: May 27th 2007, 15:30 ETBuy-in: $10 plus rebuys.Prizes: Top 4 receive tickets to June 5th premiere in Los Angeles plus 2 nights hotel and $2k for travel/spending. Top 18 receive autographed copy of "Oceans 13" DVD. Total prize pool will go to charity. PokerStars will match the donation. The tournament is open to all players.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Table selection
Didn't play last night, just watched another session of Aussie Millions and poker after dark. However, I am pretty excited about logging another leg of the micro-limit adventures tonight. Friday nights and Saturday nights are the easiest in my opinion because all the loose recreational players like myself hit the tables. By 11 pm or later, most of us are smashed tired and playing piss poor poker!
One thing I have been considering is buying the pokertracker software. I already have poker-spy thanks to a deposit bonus extra from Absolute. But I don't find it all that useful anymore. Back to pokertracker - Every other posts seems to refer to this software as the greatest or some of the software's data/functionality to support their point. I don't really like the idea of laying out over $100 (getting it for both the hold em and omaha=$100 and $25 (I think) for the pokerace HUD add on) considering that is my typical bankroll deposit for a site. The reason I keep coming back to it is that table selection is a key to having a more enjoyable and profitable poker session.
It is no fun to play a table of tight nits that fold 90% of the hands and they only action you get is from the rock with a monster hand. I like to play a lot of hands but not when I keep getting creamed by the nuts or I only win the blinds - nobody likes to lose. Thus, you want loose tables that you get lots of action (more exciting) and can win at more often (also more exciting).
Here is a good post/blog entry for the law school drop out (no longer an active blog, but much more useful and exciting archived posts) that should help define a "good" table.
So first step is building up a robust PT database full of statistics on your opponents. Even when I'm busy with schoolwork and other responsibilities that don't let me play poker, I make sure that my computer is actively datamining hands from many different sites so that when I finally do get around to playing, my database is as complete as I can make it. So what to do once you've got your PT database chalk full of statistics? Maybe I can best illustrate by giving an example of my typical table selection process. I login to the poker software, and open up as many tables as I can -- let's say I'm feeling like playing some full-ring limit games: I'll open up as many 20/40 and 30/60 tables as I can find. I've got PAHUD configured to show me the table's average VPIP and PFR statistics...(as many exotic stats as PT can tell you about your opponents, I really think that VPIP and PFR account for 98% of what the typical player needs to know to get a good read on the players at his table.) If the table's average VPIP is under 26, I'll close the table without a second thought. If it's over 30, I'll nearly always take a seat or get on the waiting list; that's a pretty damn good table. If it's between 26 and 29, I'll take a closer look at the individual players at the table. Think about the following things: just how many fish are seated? Is the higher-than-normal table VPIP a result of a bunch of rocks and one gigantic fish with a 90VPIP, or rather is it 5 or 6 slightly-loose players with VPIPs of 28 to 35? More importantly, where are the open seats at the table? I typically require at least 3 fish at any table in order to consider it play-worthy, but I'll accept just two (or even one) if I can sit to the immediate left of a super-LAG. How big are the chip stacks of the fish? If they're down pretty low, that may be an indication that they won't be around anymore by the time your name comes up off the waiting list. Are the fish at the table passive or extremely aggressive? A 45/7 fish is a completely different animal than a 50/33. If the 50/33 is one of only 1 or 2 fish at the table, I'll typically only sit if I can get a seat to his left, whereas it's easier to exploit a the weaknesses of a 45/7 regardless of position. Those VPIP numbers will obviously differ at a short-handed table...at a 5 or 6-handed table, I typically look for average table VPIPs of above 38, although as before I'll accept a 35-37 if I can get good position on a LAG.
One thing I have been considering is buying the pokertracker software. I already have poker-spy thanks to a deposit bonus extra from Absolute. But I don't find it all that useful anymore. Back to pokertracker - Every other posts seems to refer to this software as the greatest or some of the software's data/functionality to support their point. I don't really like the idea of laying out over $100 (getting it for both the hold em and omaha=$100 and $25 (I think) for the pokerace HUD add on) considering that is my typical bankroll deposit for a site. The reason I keep coming back to it is that table selection is a key to having a more enjoyable and profitable poker session.
It is no fun to play a table of tight nits that fold 90% of the hands and they only action you get is from the rock with a monster hand. I like to play a lot of hands but not when I keep getting creamed by the nuts or I only win the blinds - nobody likes to lose. Thus, you want loose tables that you get lots of action (more exciting) and can win at more often (also more exciting).
Here is a good post/blog entry for the law school drop out (no longer an active blog, but much more useful and exciting archived posts) that should help define a "good" table.
So first step is building up a robust PT database full of statistics on your opponents. Even when I'm busy with schoolwork and other responsibilities that don't let me play poker, I make sure that my computer is actively datamining hands from many different sites so that when I finally do get around to playing, my database is as complete as I can make it. So what to do once you've got your PT database chalk full of statistics? Maybe I can best illustrate by giving an example of my typical table selection process. I login to the poker software, and open up as many tables as I can -- let's say I'm feeling like playing some full-ring limit games: I'll open up as many 20/40 and 30/60 tables as I can find. I've got PAHUD configured to show me the table's average VPIP and PFR statistics...(as many exotic stats as PT can tell you about your opponents, I really think that VPIP and PFR account for 98% of what the typical player needs to know to get a good read on the players at his table.) If the table's average VPIP is under 26, I'll close the table without a second thought. If it's over 30, I'll nearly always take a seat or get on the waiting list; that's a pretty damn good table. If it's between 26 and 29, I'll take a closer look at the individual players at the table. Think about the following things: just how many fish are seated? Is the higher-than-normal table VPIP a result of a bunch of rocks and one gigantic fish with a 90VPIP, or rather is it 5 or 6 slightly-loose players with VPIPs of 28 to 35? More importantly, where are the open seats at the table? I typically require at least 3 fish at any table in order to consider it play-worthy, but I'll accept just two (or even one) if I can sit to the immediate left of a super-LAG. How big are the chip stacks of the fish? If they're down pretty low, that may be an indication that they won't be around anymore by the time your name comes up off the waiting list. Are the fish at the table passive or extremely aggressive? A 45/7 fish is a completely different animal than a 50/33. If the 50/33 is one of only 1 or 2 fish at the table, I'll typically only sit if I can get a seat to his left, whereas it's easier to exploit a the weaknesses of a 45/7 regardless of position. Those VPIP numbers will obviously differ at a short-handed table...at a 5 or 6-handed table, I typically look for average table VPIPs of above 38, although as before I'll accept a 35-37 if I can get good position on a LAG.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Micro-limits?
Alright, the first and most popular question I seem to be getting is a two parter followed by a "who cares about that?"
The question is why are you wasting your time writing about micro limits and what exactly are micro-limits. First, I don't consider this a waste of time. It helps me feel like I am giving something back after getting so much free advice and enjoyment from reading other sites/blogs (Tao of poker and Life of Riley especially). Writing about it helps me clarify my own thoughts about how I play, why I play, and should I do something else instead. Writing about it also helps me record exactly how much this distraction is costing me and why (I don't win, but I believe the reason being (1) I play too many hands, (2) I drink when I play, (3) I am not as good as I think, and (4) the competition is different/better than the home games I win at).
I define micro-limits as less than $3/$6 limit ring games, $100 buy in NL games, $20+ SNGs, $10+ MTTs. Now, I have and will continue to take occasional shots at higher limits when feeling good or coming off a big win, but I don't stay at those higher limits for more than one 4-hour session. How high depends on the current bankroll and how much I have had to drink. I have played the $100+9 SNGs and $3/$6 NLHE tables, but not often.
I tend to stay at the lower limits because I love to play, know I play bad and lose, and don't want this 'hobby' to cost so much money I stop playing. Trust me when I tell you that I take the $1.10 SNG just as serious as I do the $20 SNG. Why? I am not jaded yet like some and, for me, its not about the money, its about winning or as is the case more often than not - losing.
No action to report because I spent the night watching Russo blab her head off on Poker after Dark (couple of tivo'ed shows) and those crazy crabbers on Deadliest Catch.
The question is why are you wasting your time writing about micro limits and what exactly are micro-limits. First, I don't consider this a waste of time. It helps me feel like I am giving something back after getting so much free advice and enjoyment from reading other sites/blogs (Tao of poker and Life of Riley especially). Writing about it helps me clarify my own thoughts about how I play, why I play, and should I do something else instead. Writing about it also helps me record exactly how much this distraction is costing me and why (I don't win, but I believe the reason being (1) I play too many hands, (2) I drink when I play, (3) I am not as good as I think, and (4) the competition is different/better than the home games I win at).
I define micro-limits as less than $3/$6 limit ring games, $100 buy in NL games, $20+ SNGs, $10+ MTTs. Now, I have and will continue to take occasional shots at higher limits when feeling good or coming off a big win, but I don't stay at those higher limits for more than one 4-hour session. How high depends on the current bankroll and how much I have had to drink. I have played the $100+9 SNGs and $3/$6 NLHE tables, but not often.
I tend to stay at the lower limits because I love to play, know I play bad and lose, and don't want this 'hobby' to cost so much money I stop playing. Trust me when I tell you that I take the $1.10 SNG just as serious as I do the $20 SNG. Why? I am not jaded yet like some and, for me, its not about the money, its about winning or as is the case more often than not - losing.
No action to report because I spent the night watching Russo blab her head off on Poker after Dark (couple of tivo'ed shows) and those crazy crabbers on Deadliest Catch.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Villain runs down hero on the river
Ok, day one is in the books so to speak. I did not actually play very much because of all the admin crap and non-poker issues. What did I do?
First, I went to rakebrain.com to set up some new accounts where I get some rake back from the blood sucking leaches (the ones that put up a site to let me play whenever I want, but won't do it for free). It was relatively easy, but I had to set up new accounts.
I didn't think the sites allowed this, but I guess they do because I didn't encounter a problem with the first two sites I set up last night. If you have ever considered getting in to the rake back game, do wait any longer. It is amazing how much rake is taken during your play each month and how much you leave on the table if you aren't getting a percentage back even at the microlimits (in the hundreds of dollars per month with 50-80 hours of play per month).
I set up two accounts, one at wingows and the other at full tilt. I did wingows because they give you $5 free without even requiring a deposit! The only problem is that there is no deposit option for Visa (using prepaid visa cards to deposit until something better/cheaper comes along) and they don't have many players. For example here is a snap shot at around 8pm EDT on a Tuesday, Wingows - approx. 2K plyrs, Full Tilt - approx. 41K plyrs, Pokerstars - approx. 89K plyrs. But, $5 is $5 which is a lot to a microvillain like me.
I also set an account up on Full Tilt because - 100% deposit bonus, decent volume of plyrs, visa deposit option, rake back offered, and I love their commercials. After wasting what little time I had setting up a rake back account, opening two accounts on wingows and full tilt, making a deposit on full tilt, I finally sat down at Full Tilt to play.
I end up at a 0.25/0.50 limit hold em table 9 handed. I choose this table because the pre-flop percentage was 70%. Since it was during the week, I only faced one of my two personal demons (desire to play [not fold] and beer) - I played too many hands early, but settled down after 15 minutes or so.
The details, bought in and played 70% of the hands and almost lost first buy in. I have this problem alot. I work all day and want to take a break and have some fun so I log on to "play." I can't stand/don't have the discipline to folded till I get a good hand or even good position, so I see a lot of flops. I know - this is the reason I lose so often and overall especially on the weekends after many beers. Given the limits I now play (use to play $3/$6 NL and $109 SNGs) in addition to my goal of recreation as opposed to profit/income, I am not too disappointed with myself or too interested in playing better.
Reloaded before completely out, won a decent 3 way pot when neither believed I flopped the ace. Then, this gem comes along: The table of heroes folds around to the villain (yours truly) who has pocket 7s on the button. I still can't believe this given 5 or 6 were seeing the flop on almost every hand while I was at the table.
Interesting side issue - when you have such a high percentage that play each hand what does it mean when a hand comes along and only the button plus blinds or just blinds play? That nobody had even marginally playable hands? If that is true, what about the blinds? Shouldn't you give them credit for having better than random hands you otherwise assume because none of the "good" cards have appeared (evidenced by the normally loose callers who have all folded what must be a lot of sub-par hands)? Back to the fun...
I raise, SB and BB call. Flop comes K A K, SB and BB check, I bet, SB check raises me and BB folds. Since I am sober I just call trying to convince myself that the SB just sensed a button preflop raise for a steal and a continuation bet he can push me off of. As you will find out later, I play too NL were people can bluff, steal and re-steal successfully. I also convinced myself that it was unlikely he had a K (two of the four hit the flop - but more on this topic later if I remember) or an ace because he didn't reraise my preflop steal raise.
The turn brings a 6 which is safe for my sevens if he hit it by chance. He bets and I call because my hindbrain is hinting that he has at least an ace although I still don't believe him. The turns brings a beautiful 7. The hero in the SB bets his apparent winner and I raise, which he calls. I show the full house and he shows the A 8. Looks like the Villain struck another blow to the heros of micro-limits.
Walked away shortly after that with a profit of 3+ BB for 40 minutes (= approx. 6BB/hr) and $5 in free wingows money plus $0.18 of full tilt bonus money.
WPT is on tonight so I don't know if I will get a chance to villanize the micro-limit tables.
First, I went to rakebrain.com to set up some new accounts where I get some rake back from the blood sucking leaches (the ones that put up a site to let me play whenever I want, but won't do it for free). It was relatively easy, but I had to set up new accounts.
I didn't think the sites allowed this, but I guess they do because I didn't encounter a problem with the first two sites I set up last night. If you have ever considered getting in to the rake back game, do wait any longer. It is amazing how much rake is taken during your play each month and how much you leave on the table if you aren't getting a percentage back even at the microlimits (in the hundreds of dollars per month with 50-80 hours of play per month).
I set up two accounts, one at wingows and the other at full tilt. I did wingows because they give you $5 free without even requiring a deposit! The only problem is that there is no deposit option for Visa (using prepaid visa cards to deposit until something better/cheaper comes along) and they don't have many players. For example here is a snap shot at around 8pm EDT on a Tuesday, Wingows - approx. 2K plyrs, Full Tilt - approx. 41K plyrs, Pokerstars - approx. 89K plyrs. But, $5 is $5 which is a lot to a microvillain like me.
I also set an account up on Full Tilt because - 100% deposit bonus, decent volume of plyrs, visa deposit option, rake back offered, and I love their commercials. After wasting what little time I had setting up a rake back account, opening two accounts on wingows and full tilt, making a deposit on full tilt, I finally sat down at Full Tilt to play.
I end up at a 0.25/0.50 limit hold em table 9 handed. I choose this table because the pre-flop percentage was 70%. Since it was during the week, I only faced one of my two personal demons (desire to play [not fold] and beer) - I played too many hands early, but settled down after 15 minutes or so.
The details, bought in and played 70% of the hands and almost lost first buy in. I have this problem alot. I work all day and want to take a break and have some fun so I log on to "play." I can't stand/don't have the discipline to folded till I get a good hand or even good position, so I see a lot of flops. I know - this is the reason I lose so often and overall especially on the weekends after many beers. Given the limits I now play (use to play $3/$6 NL and $109 SNGs) in addition to my goal of recreation as opposed to profit/income, I am not too disappointed with myself or too interested in playing better.
Reloaded before completely out, won a decent 3 way pot when neither believed I flopped the ace. Then, this gem comes along: The table of heroes folds around to the villain (yours truly) who has pocket 7s on the button. I still can't believe this given 5 or 6 were seeing the flop on almost every hand while I was at the table.
Interesting side issue - when you have such a high percentage that play each hand what does it mean when a hand comes along and only the button plus blinds or just blinds play? That nobody had even marginally playable hands? If that is true, what about the blinds? Shouldn't you give them credit for having better than random hands you otherwise assume because none of the "good" cards have appeared (evidenced by the normally loose callers who have all folded what must be a lot of sub-par hands)? Back to the fun...
I raise, SB and BB call. Flop comes K A K, SB and BB check, I bet, SB check raises me and BB folds. Since I am sober I just call trying to convince myself that the SB just sensed a button preflop raise for a steal and a continuation bet he can push me off of. As you will find out later, I play too NL were people can bluff, steal and re-steal successfully. I also convinced myself that it was unlikely he had a K (two of the four hit the flop - but more on this topic later if I remember) or an ace because he didn't reraise my preflop steal raise.
The turn brings a 6 which is safe for my sevens if he hit it by chance. He bets and I call because my hindbrain is hinting that he has at least an ace although I still don't believe him. The turns brings a beautiful 7. The hero in the SB bets his apparent winner and I raise, which he calls. I show the full house and he shows the A 8. Looks like the Villain struck another blow to the heros of micro-limits.
Walked away shortly after that with a profit of 3+ BB for 40 minutes (= approx. 6BB/hr) and $5 in free wingows money plus $0.18 of full tilt bonus money.
WPT is on tonight so I don't know if I will get a chance to villanize the micro-limit tables.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Beginning
Not the actual beginnings of my microlimit poker adventures, but the beginnings of recorded history for my microlimit adventures.
Why am I recording my misadventures in microlimits (on and off the felt)? I decided to give something back after having lived off the tales of other bloggers with similar interests/lives. I also wanted some record of how much the microlimit distraction is costing me.
That's right, I lose money at the microlimits and I don't think it is just because of the rake. This leads me to my first dilemma/topic – how to get money on a poker site in the UIEGA era. The best way to get it on (not worried about taking it out because it doesn’t happen at the micro-limits) that I have found is using the prepaid VISA from “gift2go” The two ways to get one are (1) order from their website (www.gift2go.net) or (2) go to a Walgreens and get one at the store. Option 2 is the fastest but most expensive in terms of gift2go fees. The $100 card at the store is activated immediately but cost $5.95 in fees (this is how gift2go/IDT financial/Marshall Bank/Walgreens makes its money). If you go option 1, you can get a $250 card for $5.95 in fees, but you have to wait for it to arrive in the mail (1-2 weeks). If you look at the website, you can see the pricing (although $100 card is only $4.95 in fees through the site but $5.95 in fees at Walgreens). I know it doesn’t sound like much, but these are the MICRO-LIMIT adventures and every dollar counts!
I will go for the quick fix and hit the local Walgreens tonight for $100 to start to the recorded adventure bankroll.
Stay tuned if you are bored or an aspiring micro-limit pro …
Why am I recording my misadventures in microlimits (on and off the felt)? I decided to give something back after having lived off the tales of other bloggers with similar interests/lives. I also wanted some record of how much the microlimit distraction is costing me.
That's right, I lose money at the microlimits and I don't think it is just because of the rake. This leads me to my first dilemma/topic – how to get money on a poker site in the UIEGA era. The best way to get it on (not worried about taking it out because it doesn’t happen at the micro-limits) that I have found is using the prepaid VISA from “gift2go” The two ways to get one are (1) order from their website (www.gift2go.net) or (2) go to a Walgreens and get one at the store. Option 2 is the fastest but most expensive in terms of gift2go fees. The $100 card at the store is activated immediately but cost $5.95 in fees (this is how gift2go/IDT financial/Marshall Bank/Walgreens makes its money). If you go option 1, you can get a $250 card for $5.95 in fees, but you have to wait for it to arrive in the mail (1-2 weeks). If you look at the website, you can see the pricing (although $100 card is only $4.95 in fees through the site but $5.95 in fees at Walgreens). I know it doesn’t sound like much, but these are the MICRO-LIMIT adventures and every dollar counts!
I will go for the quick fix and hit the local Walgreens tonight for $100 to start to the recorded adventure bankroll.
Stay tuned if you are bored or an aspiring micro-limit pro …
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