Tag: poker

Poker Tips

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There’s an interesting dicussion over at Pokerati about a recent tip (or rather, the size of the tip) made by the recent WPT Tunica winner. Before I had this poker blog I wrote a post about dealer tipping on my personal site. It’s a very interesting topic for poker.

A Final Table

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I made the final table in the limit tournament and finished 9th in a field of 162 for a $32.40 profit. My Mrs. Slick went down to a guy who called two raises pre-flop with his pocket threes and hit a third on the flop. I played well but didn’t really get any hands until when I was down to my all-ins. I couldn’t even get a hand to steal the blinds with. I did make two moves that allowed me to get to the final table though. An aggressive player on the button raised when nobody else entered the pot. I reraised with my pocket fives and bet the flop and turn to put myself all-in. I figured he was on a steal and he end ended up foldin the turn. Another time I stood my ground against a steal with TJo and bet the flop and turn again with no help on the board. I was all-in, but the player folded and I doubled up. I started the final table as the 9th stack I think, so it was going to be an uphill battle and I needed to double through soon with the blinds so high. You can’t win them all. I’m happy with the way I played and didn’t make any bonehead moves, so that’s always a good sign.

It’s kind of nice to be able to enter these cash tournaments with Ultimate Points that you earn while playing the real money tables at UB. Great practice and you can’t beat the price! I think I’m ready for the WPBT tournament tomorrow. Watch out for the defending champ! Boy, I’ll be glad when I can stop saying that. I can already feel the pressure to make a decent showing tomorrow. I’m pretty sure last time was a fluke. The other bloggers really are much better no-limit players than I am. I just happened to get cards at the right times.

I ended up 23 BB to the good at the $2/4 table I was playing, so it’s a nice positive day for the bankroll again. I had doubled my buy-in (always for 30 BB) in the first hour, but then my flopped set of 6s got beat by a 2 outter on the turn by a bigger set in a 19 BB pot (I’m glad the player ran out of money early on the turn). From there I didn’t get any hands for quite some time. I made a few steals, but the key was keeping my composure unlike last night. I was forced to fold my chip stack all the way back down to even, but stuck to my game and came out on top in the end. Imagine that…you do better without tilting.

Tough Beats

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When I got home I fired up UB and saw a $5 turbo tournament starting at 5:00, so using my Ultimate Points, I joined for free. In the 2nd or 3rd level I get cowboys with an early position raiser, so I bump it up to 400 and only the raiser calls. The flop comes Q high and he checks, so I bet the pot. He goes all in and it’s an easy call for me. He has Mrs. Slick and of course the ace comes on the turn giving him two pair. I’m down to 135 chips. Two hands later I get KJo and with one early limper I push all-in. Only the limper calls and he has J7 of diamonds. The flop brings a 7 and I’m out. I guess this is turbo! I played for a grand total of 15 minutes losing to a 5 outter and a 3 outter. I got my chips in when I was the favorite and that’s all you can do.

I’m now playing in a $10 limit tournament which I also used Ultimate Points to enter for free. We’ll see how this goes. On a side note, I’m already up over 15 BB playing one table of $2/4 6-max.

River Bets

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Riding the F-Train has an interesting post about betting the river. Great information, but like some of the commentors, I don’t agree that this is true for the low limits. If I didn’t value be the river most of the time, I’d be missing out on a lot of bets. Checking and hoping they bet […]

WPBT Tournament Reminder

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Just a reminder that the next installment of the WPBT is being held on Wednesday, February 2nd at 9 pm (Easter) at Poker Stars. See the official blog for all of the details. As the defending champ I’m trying to come up with an appropriate bounty for the person that knocks me out. Any ideas?

Poker Blogroll

Aside Nick Momrik4 Comments

I’m looking for some poker blogs to add to my blogroll. I browse around from time to time reading some here and there, but I only seem to keep up with the ones on my list (which is the same list I used on Bloglines). I’m open to any and all suggestions. If the two […]

Tilt Steering

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Tilt is probably the part of poker that is capable of eating away at our bankrolls faster than anything else. Especially for us amateurs. I know I still struggle with it at times and it costs me dearly. Last night was one of those nights.

I found a couple of great 6-max $2/4 games at UB and saddled up for the ride. Talk about a roller coaster! There were a few times where I lost control and it proved deadly. I ended up down about 25 BB for the night and the loss was all due to a few periods of tilt. If I could have controlled my emotions, I would have easily walked away from the tables a winner on the night.

Since my switch to UB on Friday I’ve found great games each time I play. Last night was no exception. In fact, I’ve never come across games like this online. Maybe everyone likes to blow off some steam after a stressful Monday at work, but these people are nuts! I was playing two tables the entire session and at one point, both tables had a pre-flop raise percentage of over 25%. Yes, that 2-5, 25%. On one of the tables I had a player raising pre-flop 50% of the time, another at 20% and another at 16%. Remember, this is all at the same table. I’ve never seen anything close to this bad at Party. NEVER EVER!

So what do I do? I have the winning hand all the way and get beat on the river. Ok, fine, shit happens right? No…I go on tilt for a couple of hands and give away a few BB. I don’t just do this once. I do it several times over the course of the session. Each time I realize it and quickly adjust, but it’s already too late. I’ve given away precious bets. If I had just been able to eliminate the tilt factor, I would have won for the night. Sometimes you have to pay for your lessons though.

I was actually down about 75 BB at one point, was then back to a few big bets ahead, and then back down to where I finally called it quits. It’s frustrating to know that I played like shit in the best position I’ve ever been in at the poker tables. If I had not tilted and the cards went a little more my way, I would have easily pulled a few hundred from these games. I’ll get them next time.

One thing is for sure…I’ll be staying at UB and don’t see myself leaving anytime soon. Well, except to do some bonus whoring on the Party sites.

ATMs at Every Corner

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One of the greatest things about playing online poker is that there are plenty of ATMs to go around. Every once in awhile they’ll take your money, but if you keep swiping your cards they’ll give you money.

I played a few hours on UB again today and added another 50 BB to the bankroll. I’m loving the $2/4 6-max tables! The aggresive strategy that I’ve been reading about and studying is paying off big time. If I get any type of hand pre-flop, I’m raising and continuing that aggression through the hand. I’ve never took down so many pots on the flop and turn. Once I showdown some big hands, I’m getting respect (for the most part) at the tables. If I’m heads up in a hand and flop middle pair, I come out firing. The same if I pick up a good draw. With only one other person in the pot, every hand has a lot more value. Shorthanded play is exciting if you know how to play it.

I’m still making mistakes more than I’d like to, but it’s amazing how far my game has come in the last few days. At the beginning of the week I was making horrible calls and bluffs at record speed, but now I’m picking my spots and scoring big wins to go along with the steals. One of the things I still need to work on is my re-raise bluffing. I’m doing it more than I should be. I’m not doing it often, but when I do, it’s not working.

Note to self: Stop re-raise bluffing. If you’ve shown aggression pre-flop/flop and a decent player comes over the top, there is a very good chance I’m beat.

What irks me about these past couple of days is I now realize how many bets I had been giving away for two months. Why didn’t I do something sooner? There’s a lesson for you. If you’re losing for a long period of time, take a step back. Variance can be a bitch for long streaks, but there might be a good chance that your play has taken a dive off the deep end. If only I had plugged the holes in my game a month or so ago, I’d be well on the way to my original goal. At least I’m well on my way to reaching the new goal I had set two weeks ago. Who knows though…if I can keep it going like the past 3 days, I might even reach the original. Unlikely, but not impossible.