Earlier this week I had been thinking it would be good to do a post about my history playing poker. After the big win last night in the poker blogger tournament, there isn’t a better time for it, so here it is…
Tag: Online Poker
Play Your Own Game
Yesterday I was browsing around the 2+2 forums, reading all kinds of advice. From a few threads that I read, it looked like I wasn’t playing enough hands from early position. I’ve been following the preflop recommendations from SSH for playing on a tight table (3-5 people to the flop on average) and things have been going really well. But what the 2+2 people were saying is that you should be playing hands like
Running Better
The cards were running even better than last night and I think the fish like to play on Saturday mornings. After 81 hands, 44 more BB added to the bankroll. This shit is too easy! This hand was my favorite…
Party Poker 0.5/1 Hold’em (10 handed)
Preflop: Hero is MP3 with
Ad Qd UTG calls, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 calls, Hero raises, CO folds, Button 3-bets, SB calls, BB folds, UTG calls, MP2 calls, Hero caps, Button calls, SB calls, UTG calls, MP2 calls.
Flop: (21 SB)
2h 4c 9s (5 players)SB checks, UTG checks, MP2 bets, Hero calls, Button calls, SB calls, UTG calls.
Turn: (13 BB)
As (5 players)SB checks, UTG checks, MP2 bets, Hero raises, Button calls, SB calls, UTG calls, MP2 calls.
River: (23 BB)
Th (5 players)SB checks, UTG checks, MP2 bets, Hero calls, Button calls, SB calls, UTG calls.
Final Pot: 28 BB, between Button, SB, UTG, MP2 and Hero. > Pot won by Hero (28 BB).
Results:
SB has
Jc Jd (one pair, jacks).UTG has
9d Kc (one pair, nines).MP2 has
Ks 9c (one pair, nines).Hero has
Ad Qd (one pair, aces).Button has
Ac 3c (one pair, aces).Outcome: Hero wins 28 BB.
I probably should have been more aggressive, but I went into call mode because I figured that someone had to have a better hand than one pair. MP2 was raising all the time with garbage so I didn’t put him on anything better than a little pair, but I figured for sure someone else was slowplaying two pair or trips. Three hands later came this hand…
Party Poker 0.5/1 Hold’em (10 handed)
Preflop: Hero is UTG+2 with
Kd Ad UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, Hero raises, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, CO calls, Button calls, SB folds, BB folds, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls.
Flop: (11.50 SB)
6s Jd Td (5 players)UTG checks, UTG+1 bets, Hero raises, CO folds, Button calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls.
Turn: (9.75 BB)
6d (4 players)UTG checks, UTG+1 bets, Hero raises, Button calls, UTG folds, UTG+1 calls.
River: (15.75 BB)
Qh (3 players)UTG+1 bets, Hero raises, Button folds, UTG+1 calls.
Final Pot: 19.75 BB
Main Pot: 19.75 BB, between UTG+1 and Hero. > Pot won by Hero (19.75 BB).
Results:
UTG+1 has
9s Tc (two pair, tens and sixes).Hero has
Kd Ad (flush, ace high).Outcome: Hero wins 19.75 BB.
Fish will be fish! Gotta love Party Poker!
Running Good
The cards are running good. I played 165 hands of .50/1 today on Party Poker and walked away over 70 BB in the positive. The fish were all trying to swim up the river, but not many could “flop” over the dam. It was quite a rush. Now I’m just bracing for the other side of variance to hit.
I even played two tables at once for the first time on Party. It didn’t seem to hurt my concentration at all. If anything, it kept me focused because there was more going on. In a matter of about two and a half weeks I’ve managed to double my starting bankroll of $300 if I include the bonuses I’ve gotten on the deposits. More and more confidence in my game is a good thing, as long as I don’t get too confident I guess.
Growing Up
My game is steadily improving each time I play. I’ve started reading Small Stakes Hold ’em: Winning Big With Expert Play for the 2nd time in the last few weeks and I’m catching a lot of stuff I missed the first time around. The $20-some odd I paid for the book was worth every cent.
I haven’t really tilted like I used to in the past few days. When I get beat by someone hitting their two out draw on the river I think completely different from how I used to. Before SSH, I’d think, “Jesus Christ, another fucking miracle card for these assholes!” Now I think, “Keep playing just like that fish. I’ll beat you way more often when you have those cards than you’ll beat me. Push the chips over here next time.” Once you come to the reality that you need players to actually hit these “miracle” draws once in awhile, it makes all the difference. If they never hit them, they wouldn’t keep playing them and paying you off. It’s as simple as that.
I still have leaks/weaknesses in my game. A lot of them. But in a short period of time, with the help of SSH, I’m a lot better player than I was 2 or 3 weeks ago. The single biggest improvement in my game has been increasing my aggressiveness during all betting rounds. It’s winning a lot more pots than the old passive player I was. My post flop play can still get pretty bad at times. I tend to give away bets when it’s pretty clear I’m beat.
Want to improve your game? Buy SSH, buy Poker Tracker, and start playing low limit cash games on Party Poker. If you are serious about your game, you shouldn’t have any problems winning on their tables with all of the fish swimming around. Start small and think big.
Monsters
I witnessed this hand in a FreeRoll tournament on Empire Poker.
Blinds (200/400) – 8 players
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises 800, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, CO folds, Button calls 800, SB raises 1000, BB folds, UTG+1 raises 800, Button calls 800, SB calls 400
Flop
5s Kc 8c SB checks, UTG+1 is All-In, Button is All-In, SB is All-In
Turn
Th River
Qs SB shows
As Ad a pair of aces. UTG+1 showsAc Kd a pair of kings. Button showsKs Kh three of a kind, kings.SB wins 5302 chips with a pair of aces. Button wins 9976 chips with three of a kind, kings.
I don’t think I could have folded any of those hands after the flop either.
Giving It Away Post Flop
After playing the past two days on Ultimate Bet, which is much tighter than Party Poker, I’ve come to realize that my post-flop play is pretty bad. I’m giving away far too many bets on the flop, turn, and river. Back to studying SSH!
Doyle's Work
Looks like the only way you’ll be able to get Super System 2 is by playing at Doyle’s Room. Seems stupid to me. How does Brunson expect to make any money from the book like this?
Quads and High Pocket Pairs
Last night I played way too much poker. I sat down at Ultimate Bet because I want to use up the bonuses I have over there. Once I get all of my bonuses, I’ll withdraw the money and put it into Party Poker when they have their next deposit bonus. Have I mentioned that UB’s bonus system sucks?! Playing .50/1 at UB, I get back about $1/hour in bonus. Playing $1/2, it jumps to $3/hour because the pace of play is faster. At Party Poker, I only had to play about an hour or so to get a full $20 bonus!
Tilt-A-Whirl
Last night I realized something. Usually when I have a bad session, it’s related to going on tilt for a bit. I know I shouldn’t do it and I always try to prevent it, but sometimes I just don’t see it coming until after I’ve lost everything I sat down at the table with. Afterwards it’s easy to look back and say, “Nick, you dumbass! Don’t let it get to you when someone hits their hand on the river.”
Nick Momrik 