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)