Observations on draws in Limit Holdem

   I was at the Sands Bethlehem today playing 3-6 LHE. This is my third visit and I've netted a small profit across 3 sessions. I've been trying to use pot odds to made decisions about when to chase flushes, straights, and full houses which means I have been counting the number of bets pre-flop and using the following odds to determine when to chase:

Flush: 4:1

Straight: 5:1
Full house or gut shot straight: 11:1 (4 outs)

   Since the game is low stakes, the pot size pre-flop is usually 3 to 6 bets (big blinds) if no one raises which is about half of the hands. In these cases there is typically enough money in the pot to chase a flush and straight but not an inside straight. If someone raises pre-flop, most of the limpers who acted before him will call, hence pots are often much larger in the range of 6 to 10 bets. If anyone bets the flop the pot will almost always be large enough to chase a gut shot. My conclusion is that raising pre-flop provides better pot odds for chasing more hands and the chance of getting sucked out on.

   This lead me to think about how to use this to my advantage. If I am in the BB and there are three limpers and the SB calls, then the pot is only 5 bets pre-flop (assuming I check). If I look down at a hand like 7c8d (off suited connectors) then I really need to hit the flop hard in order to continue after the flop. If there are one or two over cards on the flop then my had is probably worthless. But say I flop a gut shot like 5s9hKd. If there was 11 bets in the pot I could probably draw to my straight profitably.

   Here's my thought, if I raised pre-flop in the BB I would certainly get 4 callers and the pot now becomes 10 bets. If I check my gutshot on the flop and someone bets I immediately get pot odds to draw to my gut shot straight. At the same time anyone with any part of the flop gets odds to call. Someone who hits bottom pair on that 59K flop has 5 outs (2 more 5's for a set, and 3 other cards to make two pair) and can also call.

Back in the Saddle again

Well, I made it back to Blackhawk today and I left with a decent profit. I feel good because I think I didn't make any bad mistakes. There is only one hand I regret folding and statistically I still think folding was the right thing to do. I received the mighty 4-2 a few times during my 4 hours of play, but the situation always forced me to fold (I couldn't even limp). That is until I was BB, got dealt 4-2 off suit and was the pot was limped by 3 or 4 other players. I checked my option and and the flop came down 35T rainbow. A $10 bet from a player in early position and one caller made the pot almost $30 when it folded back to me. I was getting 3 to 1 on a call, but only had 8 outs, that's like 17% just to see the turn and I doubted I would get a free look at the river if I didn't make my straight on the turn. I folded and the turn was a 6 which made my straight. There were probably implied odds, but I'm too tight a player to deal with the greater variance when playing implied odds.

I also had pocket AA one hand, popped it to $10 preflop and got two callers. The flop came A26 with two hearts. It went check – check to me and I be the pot, about $30. I took down the pot and did not feel like I lost any value. I now kinda feel that big pairs should be played in a way such as not to loose a big pot. The saying “Win a small pot or loose a big one” rings true.

I made my profit for the day with J9 crubs in the hole. A limp pot again and we saw JKQ with the K and Q of clubs. I check-call a $10 bet and see a river 7 of clubs. I check – raise all in (about $40 more) from a $30 bet and get called. An Ace on the river did not change my hand and I raked in $190 pot. The other player said he had the Ace of clubs. I play another orbit and then quit for the day.

Some thoughts on what went different this week. I took some time off since my big loss a few weeks ago. I did not take advantage of the free drinks. In other words I did not get loaded on coffee like I sometimes do. I was very patient, and fairly tight. I laid down most of my draws. I did not play too long. I choose to quit while I was ahead instead of quitting when I busted. I'm still way down overall, but I got some confidence back.

Next week is the HPT. I'm going to splurge for a $120 buy in to a satellite to a qualifier to the main event. Yes, that is three tourneys if I make it that far.

Smal blind considerations..

   Low stakes tourney Tuesday. I finished fifth out of 30+ players. No money. Pocket aces helped get me there when I flopped a set and turned a boat. The 8 on the turn made my boat and made trips for my opponent. Payday. But it wasn't enough. I misplayed two hands (at least). Pocket queens I raised pre-flop to $10k (blinds are 2K – 4k, 6 handed) and I get one caller, the big blind. Flop comes 10 high and I shove for my last $11k. I wanted a call and I talked him out of it. He tells me later he had pocket sevens. I should have kept my mouth shut.

   Now, the hand of interest. Last hand for me. Blinds are 4k-8k, 5 handed. I've counted my chips and I have $24k. I fold my BB to an all-in and now I'm SB with $4k in the pot and $16 behind and I'm short stack at the table. It folds to me and I'd only have $12k behind if I call, $16 if I fold and I look at J7 off suit in the SB. I decide to shove expecting a fold from the BB but the BB wakes up with KJ off suit and insta-calls. He was a pretty tight player so I think he would have folded any marginal hand. I retrospect I think a pre-flop limp and then a shove on the flop would have worked better. Shoving pre-flop lets him think he has 5 cards to come and make his hand. That makes for a pretty wide calling range pre-flop. If I waited and shoved on the flop I could win it right there (assuming he missed the flop 1 in 3 times) and with only 2 cards to come his calling range was pretty small. If he did hit the flop I was beat in any case (shoving pre-flop or on the flop). I guess what I am trying to say is he is more likely to fold after the flop than before the flop.

Low Stakes success

   Another low stakes tourney last night. I didn't raise every hand I was in, but I did raise many of them. It seems position is important in pre-flop raises. In early position only raise to narrow the field and be prepared to call a re-raise from late position. That means big hands and deep stacks.
   In late position its much easier to raise a limp pot. Most of the players will call any reasonable raise which puts me in excellent position after the flop with a good size pot to win. Often times one of the limp/callers pre-flop will lead out (out of position) which can be very profitable if I think my hand is still good. It can also be profitable to draw to a hand if there is at least one other caller after the flop. Position is so good.
   To make a long story short I made some good hands early and built up a good stack. They broke our table and I got moved to one of the final two tables. Then I got lucky. Blinds were 400-800 and I was in early position with AQo and raised $2600 pre-flop. Two callers. Great flop, AQT and I lead out for $2000, followed by two all-ins! Of course I call and find out I'm against KJ (straight) and KT (gut shot). The turn is a blank and KJ starts celebrating...until the Q hits the river! I finished third, not enough to make the money, but I earned some respect, for myself.

Record tilt

  --- The Micros Redux ---
Well I guess I'm still on tilt from busting on Saturday at the cash game. This was a low stakes tournament. I decided I would change my game. No limping, If I was in a hand I was raising pre-flop. I played three hands.
    Blinds started at 25-50, KJ suited in late position I raise to $150 and get 3 limpers to call pre-flop. Flop is 667 and one of the blinds leads out with a bet. I fold. I fold a hand or two then I get AT off suit and again pop it to $150 and get two callers. I wiff the flop but still c-bet and get popped from a player after me. Muck. I fold 5 or 6 hand and pick up AK clubs. I'm a bit steamy and pop it to $300 and still get two callers. The flop is QT6 rainbow with one club. Not too bad so I open for another $300 and get popped to $1000 by a LAG who I remember from an earlier tourney that kept showing his bluffs. I wasn't folding to this guy. With only about $5k behind I was ready to call a large turn bet with a shove. I blank the river and check to the LAG who shoves. I call and he flips over pocket Queens to make a set. The river... another queen for quads. I almost thought It was a Jack and I sucked out.
    I was busto in before the first level passed. Reminds me of Chase Berger from the Micros At the Aussie Millions; “Shuffle up and deal... and we have out first causality”.

Retirement

   Well, I lost it. All of it. I headed up to GG this morning with the hope of making back some of my losses. That didn't happen. I lost two buy-ins, everything I brought. Time to reconsider my options. I won't go into specific hands except the first and last one. The last one not because it's a bad beat, but because it demonstrates something I learned today. I started out losing a big hand, but I think I played okay. I get pocket AA, raised to $10 and got two callers. Flop comes with 2 hearts and I lead out again for $30. One caller. Turn is another heart. The caller is first to act and bets into me. I fold, he flips over Q8 hearts. Good laydown, I'm thinking clearly and I made him pay for his flush draw. The next couple of hours were up and down then everything started to go south. I tightened up. Limped with big hands, called with long shot draws. I call it desperation. I kept looking at my stack dwindling and seeing everyone else winning with junk. I had to make something happen. I should have quit when I started feeling that way.
   In restrospect my mistakes were obvious. I failed to raise my big hands enough to get the junk hands out. I also called too much trying to win a big pot. I also got desperate and gambled too much.
   Last hand of the night. Pocket AA again in early position. I small raise, $6 knowing it was too little to push many hands out. I wanted to build a pot, win big. Flop is J95 two diamonds. I bet $16. He calls and the turn is a blank. I fire again, another $15 and he calls again. I knew on the flop I was pot committed as I only had about $40 behind. The river is another 9 and I shove in my last $26. He calls and flips over J9 for a full boat. I should have walked away hours ago when I started getting desperate.
  I told my wife I was busto. I now think I know where I stand at live NLHE, I suck. I guess I'll retire from live poker for a while. My losses for the last few weeks are just too much. I'll still play recreationally, maybe more tournaments too. But my plans on supplementing my income from poker are gone.

ATC Poker

Here's the problem with low-stakes poker; people will play Any Two Cards! Low buy-in 3 table tournament. We are down to the final table, 3 players. Big stack to my right has been sucking out on everyone all night long including me. Any position, regardless of pre-flop raises. I flop 2 pair, he rivers a straight with 68o. I have top pair top kicker, he rivers two pair. I give up raising. We wind up choping the prize 3 ways even though he has maybe 50% more chips than me and the other guy. Hopefully I'll have better luck tomorrow at GG.

Marathon poker

   I hate losing. I could have quit after the first hand and left a winner, up $47. I sat down and bought the button for $3, something I never do but for some reason I did on Saturday. I looked down at AJo and started to think; be careful, don't get involved with a big pot. It limped around to me and I limped too; let's see a flop. The flop is AJX. BAM! Top two pair. It checks around to me and I fire $15, no slow play here. One caller. Turn is another blank and it checks to me again. I have no idea how this guy plays so I check back. The river of dreams, I fill up with another Jack. Checks to me and I fire another $25 which gets quickly called. I never knew what he had but I'm guessing an Ace.

   I thought I played okay the rest of the day except when I got into a hand with the player in seat 9. On two occasions I thought I had the best hand and wound up calling a $25 river bet and losing. One hand I played 67suited and flopped two pair. By the river he made a straight and I lost. Same think with pocket Kings. I flopped a set and lost to a flush. I guess I wasn't betting hard enough. I do know he was a regular up at GG and I guess I learned to think twice before calling a large river bet from a quiet regular.

   A few funny hands. I had KK in late position and raised preflop to $10. Two callers, one in the 6 seat and one in the 10 seat. I am in the 1 seat. Flop is all under cards and seat 6 is first to act and raises to $8. Seat 10 calls and I pop it to $25. Seat 6 folds and I assumed seat $10 folded so I table my cards face up. Players near me remind me that seat 10 didn't act yet. I throw my hand over my cards and the 3 seat says seat 10 didn't see my cards so I pull them back and face down again. I sheepishly look at the dealer and she says nothing. Seat 10 calls and on the turn I fire $100 just to end the hand. I rake the pot and count my blessings. My cards never touched any of the muck cards to I guess they were live.

   Another funny hand I was not directly involved in. Two players, one betting, one calling. By the river there was a nice pot, maybe $50 to $60. Showdown the bettor has Q9 for top pair on the flop (a nine) and the caller has pocket 66. I was watching the hand play out and when the big river bet came I was convinced the bettor had a 6 for the straight. The board was 579x8 so when the dealer shipped the pot to Q9 I was shocked. Another player spoke up after the dealer shipped the pot and I agreed but the dealer denied that there was a straight on board and the player with pocket sixes said nothing. The dealer was simply not paying attention the whole time she was there and this time she missed the straight.

   A big slow dealer sits down and has an attitude. A young lady and a man get into a big hand and the lady has to break a $100 to call a $60 bet. The dealer pulls out 20 red $5 chips, puts $60 in the pot and places the other $40 in front of the lady. The river is a $40 bet to the lady and she calls with the stack of $40. She loses the hand on a suck out and the dealer pushes the pot to the man but leaves the $40 stack of reds in front of the lady. The lady is clearly upset about losing the hand and when the next hand starts she sees the chips and asks the dealer if they are hers. He mistakenly says yes and she proceeds to collect them when another player speaks up (not the winner form the last hand) and says that was her $40 river call. The dealer realizes his mistake and tells the lady she must push the stack to the winner of the last hand. Now she's really upset (not angry, just unhappy).

   Which brings up my question, how involved should a player not in the hand get in enforcing proper play? Should I have spoken up more in defense of the player with the straight even though he didn't speak up himself? Should the player not in the pot be telling the dealer where chips belong? Certainly we should all strive for fair and correct play, but to what extent?

   Finally, this old man who's a regular plays a lot of hands in mid and late position. If it checks around to him on the flop he'll bet about ½ pot or less and usually rakes a small pot. If he gets called he'll check or fold the turn and river, depending on the strength of his hand. My problem is when it checks to the river and he is first to act he will not show his hand unless forced to do so. It became clear he was stealing pots, so people were calling him light and then he would muck rather than show. After several cases of this happening I waited a few hands then asked the dealer (in a not-too-quiet voice) what the rule is on flipping cards at showdown. I already knew it was the first to act was the first to show, but I wanted the dealer so say it so I wouldn't have to make him show when he's bluffing. Is that mean?

   I lost $20 in 11 hours. That's about $2 per hour. Cheap entertainment, but I'll never make a living at it like this.

Cracked and Tilted

*** WARNING: This blog contains a bad beat story ****

Pros don't tilt. I do. I got to Golden Gates again this weekend ready to book another win and prove to myself that I can play 1-2 NLHE profitably. I failed. About 9 hands after I sat down I received pocket kings in the CO. A young lady UTG pops it to $5 followed by 2 limpers. I don't want to see a flop 6 ways so I pop it big - $25. Button calls and UTG re-raises all in for $59 more. I call and the button calls. The flop comes Ace high with two hearts. I throw my last $18 in the pot and the button folds. I was hoping for a side pot; a little insurance, but no, not today thank you kindly. I turn over my Kings and the lady UTG just re-checks her hole cards. Turn's a heart and river's a heart. My black kings loose to pocket fives, one of them a heart. She left the table a few hands later. The guy to my left (button) says I played it right. Why did she re-raise? How much should I have bet pre-flop? I went on tilt. Pissed away another $50 and called it quits. This game sucks. Maybe I'll cool off by next weekend.
I've been thinking of some aliases to use at the table when someone asks my name. Here's the best yet:
“Chase Rungood” (based on The Micros character)

Rule 4 - Don't drink and play

--- The caffeine high ---
I had an other session at Black Hawk on Saturday. My previous two sessions were so good by my standards that I was excited about getting up there and having another big session. Plus I ran into some traffic on the way there last week so I thought I'd get on the road early and miss some traffic. I didn't have time to finish my coffee so I took it along for the 1.5 hour trip from Fort Collins to Black Hawk. I was almost there when I realized I never finished my coffee and I hate to let things go to waste so I gulped it down in the last few minutes before my arrival at the Golden Gates casino. That is when I broke rule 4 of poker, don't drink and play. This means both alcohol and caffeine. I'll drink beer and play poker only when I'm in it for the fun, not to make money. Coffee is a different story, it makes me aggressive, even reckless. So after downing a full cup of cold, black coffee I headed to the poker room ready to book another monster winning session.
I got seated almost immediately. There wasn't much chat at this table. All male and at least two frequent regulars. I love it when a new dealer sits down says hello to a player using his first name. Even the waitresses knew these guys. I knew to steer clear of these guys but the others were mostly unknowns at this point. The dealer started hitting me with cards. AJo in the CO, KQ s in the BB, 88, AK o. Hands that I wanted to see a flop with. But they all came with a preflop raise from one of the other players. $10, $7, $12 preflop and then I would miss the flop and a c-bet from the raiser would send my hand sailing into the muck.
Before I knew it my $100 was down to $40. That's when I realized what had happened. The coffee was making me play too many hands and call with too many draws. I stood up and walked away. I grabbed a sandwich from the Full House cafe and returned to the table. Rebuy. The next few orbits I'm folding everything preflop. ATo UTG didn't look so good anymore. Discipline. I win a two $7 pots then see K3o in the BB and a limp pot. The flop hits me hard, K3X and I lead out for $7. I bet the turn and the hit a boat on the river. My river bet gets paid off and my stack starts moving in the right direction. I get lucky in another pot with QTs when I flop top pair and lead out. One player behind calls and by the river I hit Broadway which saved my butt against his two pair KJ.
Sorry for being a bit terse this week but morale this week was not about the hands but about the player. I let the coffee drive my play. I find it isn't such a big factor if I've been at the table for a few hours and order a drink, but when I first sit down I need to be focused and tight until I know how the table is playing.
I finished the day up a little. I quit shortly after I got ahead which leads me to another question. How ofter should a low stakes live cash game player book winning sessions and what is a reasonable dollars/hour return rate. I was reviewing a blog from the Poker Grump and it seems he books about an 80% win rate and maybe $50-$100/hour. This seems fantastic. I'm booking about 50% and $5/hr, but I have much less data than the Grump.

Goin' Fishing

--- How NOT to play Aces ---
    I finally got back to Black Hawk this weekend and although I didn't play long, I saw a few interesting hands. Like most casinos, the cash tables have auto-shufflers and the tournament tables don't. Shortly after I sat down it was time for a dealer change. As the departing dealer got up from the table his foot caught the electrical plug for the auto-shuffler and pulled it out of the socket.  Not only did he pull it out of the socket, but he ripped one of the prongs off of the plug in the process. I like the auto-shuffers not only because they're fast, but because they count the cards after every hand. This would become a factor in a later hand.
I had bought in a little short, only $100 to start. That's not too unusual for the 1-2 tables in Black Hawk but I like it because I can call all-in bets pretty easily. A few hands after the shuffler broke I was dealt JJ in middle position. I was in the 7 seat and limped. The 9 seat limped and both the blinds played. There was one other limper before me for a total of 5 players in a limp pot. I had thought about raising, but I felt tight and figured I would have to fold to any re-raise. So we all saw a flop of K-J-?. Bingo! I had flopped a set. The action went check-check-check and I fired $7 into a $10 pot and seat 9 popped it to $20. Everyone else folded. Back to me and anyone who looked close enough could see my heart popping out of my chest it was going so fast. I re-raised all-in for another $69. Seat 9 only thought for a second and called. Some people can't get away from an over pair.

Here's my translation of the flop bets...
ME:     I think I have the best hand, I bet 70% of the pot I'm right.
Seat 9: I have a better hand than you, I bet 110% of the pot.
ME:     No, you're wrong, I really do have the best hand. Here's $69 into a pot of  $37 to prove it.
Seat 9: I hope you only have top pair. I call.
I guess he didn't hear me properly.

Seat 9 bricked out the turn and the river and his Aces got cracked by JJ. He ignored my 3 bet and lost. I am happy with the outcome of course, but what action would have got him to fold?

     Anyway, several hands later we started to have some dealer problems. I'm watching the first round of cards go out to seats 9 and 10 and the dealer only throws one card to seat 9 and skips seat 10. He doesn't stop until the SB has two cards and looks at them. Seat 10 notifies the dealer of the error and we have a misdeal.  The dealer is puzzled because he thought he dealt everyone a card. He collects the cards, reshuffles and the next 2 hands proceed properly. In the third hand seat 5 and 10 see a flop and a lot of betting ensues. As seat 10 places a big re-raise someone notices a third card in front of seat 5, partially under the cushion. The floor is called and the dealer assures the floor that player 5's cards were protected. The floor instructs the dealer to muck the third card and continue play. I did not get involved, but I think the third card should have been placed back into the deck and shuffled once. It is still a live card and should have a chance to come out. The dealer should also have switched decks after the misdeal three hands earlier or at least have counted the cards to make sure the deck is right. The auto-shuffler would have caught the missing card.

Finally, this hand is about the finer points of betting rules. The button's on seat 2. Seat 5 limps UTG and it folds to seat 9 who pops it to $10 total. It folds back to the button who shoves AI for $18 total. Seat 5 calls and seat 9 raises to $110 total. The dealer tells seat 5 its now $110 total and seat 5 protests saying that the $18 did not constitute a legal raise so seat 9 shouldn't be allowed to re-raise. Initially it sounds right, if it wasn't a minimum raise than it can't be re-raised. But it was a minimum raise. Seat 9 initially raised to $10, that's an $8 raise. The min raise is now $8 more, $18 total. We are so used to thinking the minimum raise needs to be twice the last bet, but it only need to be twice the incremental amount. BTW, it turns out seat 9 had AA, seat 5 had AK and wanted to see a flop for cheap. We never knew what seat 2 had.

I had a good run of cards and finished up a fair amount. I don't think I'll go back this weekend even though we have Monday off. I think I'll sit on my win until next weekend.

The perfect setup

Or alternately titled.... Any two cards.

    I missed Black Hawk last week due to snow. At 9000 feet it gets slushy by day and icy at night. With no guard rails or street lamps comming down the hill at night you take you life in your hands. So I've been jonesing for a game and tonight I hit the 6:30 tourney here in Fort Collins. We had a decent turnout, 3 tables plus a few alternates. I'd been playing 2.5 hours and won one hand. My 8k starting stack was down to 6k. Blinds were up to 400-800 and I was sick of looking at 6-2o and folding my BB to anyone who raised. I knew I had to make something happen soon.

    I was in MP and peeked down at 77. I figured it was likely the best hand preflop, but I didn't expect it to win at showdown if I limped in and got maybe 1 caller plus the blinds. There was 1200 in the pot and 6000 in my stack. I shoved all in and everyone folded. There hadn't been much shoving at the table, so my action met with a few disgruntled comments especially from the blinds. I was glad to ship my second pot of the night and increase my stack by 20%.

    I'm still the short stack at the table and the very next hand I look down at JKo and in UTG+1 I shove again. More complaintes from the table, but everyone folds. My 6k stack is now 8.4k and I feel like I need to slow down before I get caught and called by a bigger hand or a situation where I'm only marginally ahead.

   Now I'm UTG and peek down at the Hilton sisters. It didn't take long to figure out how to play them, the choice was obvious. Everyone thought I was shoving just to steal the blinds. I could have been bluffing but no one called and I never showed. A third shove would probably get a call from someone who was sick of me shoving every hand. I shoved a third time. As luck would have it everyone folded around to the big blind who was first or second in chips at my table (we were down to 2 tables at this point).  He counted out a call, 7200 which was maybe 1/4 of his stack. He thought about it for a bit. I tried to talk him into a call. It was the perfect setup, it looked a lot like I was bluffing but I actually had a monster hand. I wanted a caller and only one. This was my chance to double up and hurt one of the chip leaders all in one hand.

   With 7200 chips in his hand he reached out and tossed them in the pot like he knew he was giving them away. His call was accompanied by the comment "Oh, what the hell..." and he flipped over 56s. I should do the odds, how far ahead was I really? What are the chances of him hitting a 6 on the flop and a 5 on the turn? What are the odds that the board wouldn't pair one of the other two cards on the river so I could make my own 2 pair? Why would anyone pay 7200 to win 9600?

   Well, I had fun.

Golden Gates

   This was my first trip to Golden Gates. I had seen it on the HPT but never played there. The place is small. I mean my apartment is bigger than the slots area. Just kidding, but not by much. One craps table and a maybe 4 blackjack tables. A few rows of slots finish off the gambling area. The poker room is about the same size.  Eighteen poker tables with fixed legged chairs. At least the cash tables have shufflers. The tourny tables don't. They're all kinda packed together. But its quiet. If there is no table talk you can hear the sounds of Kansas or Styx playng in the background.

   I went to GG because their tournament provides a better structure than the other casinos in Black Hawk. Starting stack is 13k in chips, 20 minute blinds starting at 25-50. I was early for the 3pm tourney and the poker room was hopping. There was maybe 10 tables going including the 12pm tourney, Lady Luck might have 4 including the tourney. Isle would have none. So this was the place for poker in Black Hawk besides Ameristar which typically had a 1.5 hour wait to be seated. I put may name on the list for 2-100 along with the 9 players already on the list. Lucky for me they started a new table just a few minutes later. I sat down with $100 and reviewed my rules for case games.

   1. Do not get involved in a big hand for the first 30 minutes

   2. Bet, don't call

   3. Curiosity killed the cat

 
   About the third hand in (maybe less) I was dealt pocket duces. It was raised to 7 preflop but I was in late position so I called along with one other player before me. It was a low flop and included a duce. I hit trips on the and lead out for $10. The pre-flop raiser was in early position and check-raised me to $30. The other caller folded and I shoved with my last $83. The raiser still thought her KK was good and insta-called. I doubled up in the third hand.
I later asked myself if she was a bad player. I reviewed the had like this:
    1. Pre flop raiser : I have a good hand.
    2. Two pre-flop callers : We want to see a flop.
    3. I lead out for $10 after the flop : I hit part of that.
    4. Pre-flop raiser pops it to $30 : I still think I have the best hand.
    5. I re-raise all-in for $90 ($70 for raiser to call) : I hit the flop hard... I have the best hand.

   Before the call there is now 3x7 + 10 + 30 + 83 =$144 in the pot.  The caller was getting about 1.7:1 on a call. All she could beat was top pair, she was losing to 2 pair or better. Two outs twice is about 10% to the river. She obviously thought her kings were good, because she wasn't getting 9:1 on a call. I know it's tough to lay down an overpair to the flop, especially a big pair but when you ask a question you should think about the answer you get.

   I made a few more good hands and cashed out $144 ahead. I used $90 of it to buy into the 3pm tourney and busted 2.5 hours later. The blinds were 400-800 and my stack was just above starting, about 15k. I was well behind the average. I was quickly approaching that 10 BB metric and knew I had to make something happen. I was dealt 33 and limped in from late position. I was happy to see a flop for cheap. The flop came J93 with 2 clubs and the lady in early position lead out for 2k. I called her luck box because she won every coin flip she was in since the start of the tourney. She wasn't passive, but she made a lot of loose calls and won them all and built a huge chip stack in the process. The two clubs on board made me think about shoving, but I thought a good raise should be effective on pushing out any flush draw. I popped it to 9k and luck box just called. The turn was a non-club blank and luck box lead out for more than I had. I called and she flipped over 8T suited (clubs, of course) for both a flush and open-ended straight draws. Fifteen outs and she hit a Q on the river to make her straight. I concluded even if I shoved all-in on the flop she would have called anyway, so I was losing no matter what. My only other option would have been to flat call the flop, turn and river and I think I would have called all the way because the flush never came ( I never saw the straight comming).

  Oh well, I was still up for the day and felt pretty good about my play. I think I'll play the 3pm tourney again next week. I hestitate because I was told it typically runs to 7pm or later. That's a long time to play and come up empty handed. I guess I need to get used to long tourneys if I want to play the Main Event some day. My goal is to cash in 1 out of 4 tourneys I play. This year so far I am 1 out of 3. I'll keep you posted....

Black Hawk Redux

I returned to Black Hawk again this past Saturday for some more punishment. I arrived at Lady Luck about 1.5 hours befor the 2pm tournament and got seated at the 2-10 live game (1-2 blinds with a $10 limit on ever street). With the exception of one or two small pot wins I was bleeding chips the whole time. I am a tight player (even at a limit table) and I guess I got no action because of it. I used my image to bluff one hand against a loose player (LP) heads up. I had AKs in middle position and made my standard $7 raise, everyone folded except LP and we saw a flop of 10 high. I made a small c-bet and got called. I missed the turn and the river, but I fired the max - $10 on both streets and while I was counting out the chips for the river bet the dealer started shoving the pot my way. I guess my mannerism mde LP think I had a big pocket pair and he folded before I could get my chippies into the pot.
Despite bluffing that one hand I was still bleeding chips as the 2 o'clock hour approached. I had announced to the players near me my intention to switch to the tournament at 2 but I wanted to get in as many hands as I could before the game started. It was almost 2pm and I stll han't paid for my tourny entry yet when I picked up J7 suited (diamonds) from late position. Along with 2 others I limped as did both the blinds. I don't normally play J7, but this would probably be my last hand before the tourney, and they were suited, and I had seen enough "any-two-suited" hands winning big pots so I jumped in. The flop came J33 and the BB bet $10. I considered he migh have a 3, but I was going to play this last hand no matter what. I called. The turn came a 7 and the BB led out again for another $10. I was still losing to a 3, but like a donk I called anyway. The river was a J, I filled up. The BB checks to me and I lead out for $10. He raises to $20, I pop it to $30 and he calls. He did have a 3, I sucked out and won the pot. The part I felt bad about is I left the table right after that hand. I felt like I hit-and-run. But I was going to the tourney and the players around me knew it.

I was bubble boy in the tourney. I should never have made it that far. Final table with seven players left, 4 with big stacks and 3 short when this hand came up. Blinds are 400-800 and UTG min raises. The table was tight up to that point. Small stacks waiting for a hand to shove with and big stacks waiting for the small one to bust. UTG+1 raises to 4000, the next big stack shoves AI, and the 4th big stack also shoves. All 3 small stacks fold. UTG and +1 call AI. The young lady to my left comments that if the big stack wins we will be at 4 players and the tourny pays 3 places. It was one of those hands you don't see too often but you know it when it happens. UTG min raised with AA trying to get some value, hoping one player might shove and he'd (UTG) be in good shape to win a bunch of chips and take a player out. UTG+1 had QQ, made a big raise to try and isolate the initial raiser. The other two big stacks had KK and 99, there was enough money in the pot to justify an AI call (I don't know if that's true for the 99 hand). Sure enough AA held up and he took out the other 3 big stacks all in one hand. Now its one player with 95% of the chips in play and the other 3 with less than 10 BB each. I was the bubble boy when I shoved AI with about 5k against a smaller stack in the BB and the chip leader in the SB. The chip leader folded and the BB called AI with 57diamonds against my AJ off suit. The BB hit a 7 and took most of my chips. I was AI and lost 2 hands later.
I thought I may have played my AJ wrong. I shoved AI hoping to pick up the blinds, but instead I put the shorter stack BB to a decision. I think she figured she couldn't give up her BB and needed to gamble to make the money so she called AI pre-flop. Had I though about it I might have just limped and then shoved on the flop. My thinking here is that it might be easier for the BB to fold after the flop if she didn't hit it hard. If she did hit hard then the result is the same as if I shove pre-flop (she calls, hits and I lose). The risk in limping of course is letting in the other players (button and SB) and seeing a flop against more than one opponent. I guess I played it right and just got unlucky...

A New Year

Well, it was the first game of the new year. I've been back in Colorado two weeks and hadn't done anything but work, clean and grocery shop. I decided I needed a break so on Saturday morning I made the 90 minute trip up to Black Hawk. I parked at the Isle beacuse that's the only casino I have a players card for. I got there about 1pm and the place was buzzing. I'd guess 75% of the slot machines had someone seated at them and maybe haf of the table games were full. I made the trek through the casino and up the escalator to the poker room. Checked in at the desk and looked into the room and found... nothing. All the tables were empty. Not a sole in the room. I don't know my way around Black Hawk yet so I made my way back the way I came In hopes of finding another casion that actually had a game going. I wound up at the Lady Luck, found the poker room and got the last seat (2 tables) at 2-10 limit.

I was looking for a 2-100 game (effectively NL) and I didn't realize this was played more like a limit game than a NL game. In a lot of cases you can't bet players off a draw with just a $10 bet into a $30+ pot. On the other hand, I found myself getting the right pot odds to make a lot of $10 calls to make my draws. Of course they never came.

The most interesting hand of the night was my last hand. I had planned on playing 3-4 hours and heading home. At this point I was playing 10+ hours and kicking myself for not quitting while I was ahead. I guess I was down to about $60 of my original $200 and picked up AJo UTG. I was playing pretty tight so I tought if I raised I'd get no action so I limped. a couple of players behind limped then the button popped it to $7. I called and I think one player behind called. The flop came 66A and I led out for $10, one fold and the button called. I figured the button for a weak A or a pocket pair. The turn was a J. Sweet. Now I'm thinking I got the best hand so I lead out again for $10 but this time the button raises me $10 more. I now think this is where I should have put him on a 6 or something stronger than my top two, but I was desperate to win a pot, so I called. I guess I was hoping he had something like AK or AQ. The river of dreams.... another Ace. Now I've got the nuts, or thought I did. I played it sneaky, check to the button, he bet, I raised all-in for my last $10. Button called.

Starting Monday (two days after this game) the Lady Luck poker room begins its bad beat promotion. I think it is any hand AAA88 or better that loses at show down gets something like $1000. The player on the button turned over 66 for flopped quads. I grabbed my coat and steamed home.

I knew I was behind most of the hand, yet I kept putting money in the pot in hope that I would suck out on the turn or river. What I didn't know was that I drawing nearly dead on the flop. I'm just not good enough to lay down big hands.