Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Roller Coaster
That's the only term to describe my Friday night. Long story short: I was in for 5 buy-ins before I cashed out for 6 and a half. Crazy night.
I was up and down so much the night seems like a blur. Consequently, it's a bit hard to learn from your mistakes if you're not sure where you made them, but let me give it a go. Yes, I believe Imade may mistakes given the swings I had. No game where you're in for 5 buy-ins and swing back to up on the night can possibly represent optimal play.
1. I called too much. Often I made the right read to call, but I needed to raise in some more spots, and fold in quite a few as well. There's just a few guys in this game I love to play pots in position with, and it bleeds over into other players I should be re-popping or folding against.
2. I tilted for a period. At one point I got it in way good in a couple of spot against the loosest player at the table, and he ran me down with maginal calls both times. I knew he was going to give me action, I just couldn't believe he caught up both times. As a result, there was at least one 45-minute period where I was playing angry. That's silly and needs to stop. I am getting better at absorbing beats, but this is one of the worst leaks in my game right now -- I need to keep striving.
3. I probably played a little too sociably. In a couple of spots, I "pulled up" because I was playing someone I knew and liked. While I don't mean I softplayed them, I probably raised more with the winner, because I had won enough of their money and didn't mind if they folded. I understand why I did this, but I'm not sure it's a very good idea (the people I like tend to be the better players).
At the end of the day, I played longer than I was accustomed. One of the usual producers hit the game big and cashed out early. That took a lot of money off the table, and I was not able to make a comeback because the worse players were extremely short. Finally, one of the best producers of them all came by late and I got involved in a huge hand with him.
To set things up, I had made about 2/3 of my money back, and flopped top two pair on a two-diamond board (PLO). Based on my read and past experience, I was convinced that I had the best hand, and the producer knows me to be a good player, so I thought I would represent my hand as stronger than it was. I bet pot, he raised, and I re-potted. He called. The third diamond came on the turn, gave me a better two pair, and I pushed representing the nut flush (knowing this plyer could not call without the Ace of diamonds in his had for the nut flush, but also know he would have called my flop raise with an inferior two pair, a crappy flush draw, and a straight draw). Unfortunately, he did have the nut flush draw (with nothing else with it, so my initial read was confirmed) and had hit it, so obviously he called. I rivered another King to win a massive pot. It was a misread on my part that paid off -- I took a shot and made a play, and got extremely lucky. The producer was pretty steamed, but I felt like I was striking a blow for all of us who had been sucked out on by this guy over the last couple of years......
Anyway, I cashed out about an hour later and headed home. While all the adrenaline was fun, I need to work on my game not being so swingy.
Is that a broken record I hear in the background? ;)
I was up and down so much the night seems like a blur. Consequently, it's a bit hard to learn from your mistakes if you're not sure where you made them, but let me give it a go. Yes, I believe Imade may mistakes given the swings I had. No game where you're in for 5 buy-ins and swing back to up on the night can possibly represent optimal play.
1. I called too much. Often I made the right read to call, but I needed to raise in some more spots, and fold in quite a few as well. There's just a few guys in this game I love to play pots in position with, and it bleeds over into other players I should be re-popping or folding against.
2. I tilted for a period. At one point I got it in way good in a couple of spot against the loosest player at the table, and he ran me down with maginal calls both times. I knew he was going to give me action, I just couldn't believe he caught up both times. As a result, there was at least one 45-minute period where I was playing angry. That's silly and needs to stop. I am getting better at absorbing beats, but this is one of the worst leaks in my game right now -- I need to keep striving.
3. I probably played a little too sociably. In a couple of spots, I "pulled up" because I was playing someone I knew and liked. While I don't mean I softplayed them, I probably raised more with the winner, because I had won enough of their money and didn't mind if they folded. I understand why I did this, but I'm not sure it's a very good idea (the people I like tend to be the better players).
At the end of the day, I played longer than I was accustomed. One of the usual producers hit the game big and cashed out early. That took a lot of money off the table, and I was not able to make a comeback because the worse players were extremely short. Finally, one of the best producers of them all came by late and I got involved in a huge hand with him.
To set things up, I had made about 2/3 of my money back, and flopped top two pair on a two-diamond board (PLO). Based on my read and past experience, I was convinced that I had the best hand, and the producer knows me to be a good player, so I thought I would represent my hand as stronger than it was. I bet pot, he raised, and I re-potted. He called. The third diamond came on the turn, gave me a better two pair, and I pushed representing the nut flush (knowing this plyer could not call without the Ace of diamonds in his had for the nut flush, but also know he would have called my flop raise with an inferior two pair, a crappy flush draw, and a straight draw). Unfortunately, he did have the nut flush draw (with nothing else with it, so my initial read was confirmed) and had hit it, so obviously he called. I rivered another King to win a massive pot. It was a misread on my part that paid off -- I took a shot and made a play, and got extremely lucky. The producer was pretty steamed, but I felt like I was striking a blow for all of us who had been sucked out on by this guy over the last couple of years......
Anyway, I cashed out about an hour later and headed home. While all the adrenaline was fun, I need to work on my game not being so swingy.
Is that a broken record I hear in the background? ;)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Just a Couple of Hours
I played poker for a couple of hours Saturday night.
Here's the set-up: my family was in town two weeks ago, and I suffered the usual burnout that provides. I love my family, but as an introvert I need time to myself sometimes to recharge the batteries. With the whole weekend taken up with family events, that did not happen.
So, I sheepishly begged to go play poker Friday night, and my wife graciously agreed. She even proposed a new deal (described in )her blog) -- I can play on the weekend if I watch the kids for her to go do something she likes). She had no reason or need to do this, she's just that much of a rock star!
I look forward to playing my usual Friday game, and hoping to avenge the loss I took the last time I was there. However, as the week marched on, we got something in the Pittsburgh area we've avoided for a couple of years -- large scale flooding.
Some of you may recall the bad floods we got in 2004 in the areas known as Millvale and Sharpsburg. A lot of people lost homes and possessions, and it even made national headlines (especially when Teresa Heinz Kerry came down from her mansion not to give money, but to say "I'm not in a position to do anything much other than to find out...I want to find out"). Fortunately the flood wasn't as bad this time, but as my main game is in Sharpsburg they cancelled it because of issues with the roads and the air conditioning.
So, I went to my "backup game" -- it's in fact closer to my house, but no Omaha. It runs out of a closed restaurant at the bottom of the hill I live on. They spread a number of games. I started at the smaller game, and quickly got stuck a bit where I turned two pair and called two half-pot bets from a guy who slow-played his better two pair on the flop. Then they called the bigger game.
The reason I am willing to play a slightly bigger game at this place is because they don't spread Omaha, and therefore the pots actually stay much more manageable. Also, it's less likely that people will get much deeper stacks than I will have because of the lower amounts of "gambooling" that will go on without the pot limit and Omaha elements.
In any case, I topped off my stack and got to work. I did not play particularly long, and I also played pretty cautiously. The result was a steady grinding. I evaporated my loss at the smaller game and made a decent profit on the night (about half my buyin).
There weren't too many notable hands. I picked off what I thought to be a fairly obvious bluff on the river with Jacks on a King-high board. I flopped an Ace with AK against a short stack with Jacks who pushed preflop. I called a small river raise with two pair against a gentleman who hit runner runner second nut flush and checked it to me (huh?)
Nice night, ended early, and I made enough that Kris gets a pedicure. Fun.
Here's the set-up: my family was in town two weeks ago, and I suffered the usual burnout that provides. I love my family, but as an introvert I need time to myself sometimes to recharge the batteries. With the whole weekend taken up with family events, that did not happen.
So, I sheepishly begged to go play poker Friday night, and my wife graciously agreed. She even proposed a new deal (described in )her blog) -- I can play on the weekend if I watch the kids for her to go do something she likes). She had no reason or need to do this, she's just that much of a rock star!
I look forward to playing my usual Friday game, and hoping to avenge the loss I took the last time I was there. However, as the week marched on, we got something in the Pittsburgh area we've avoided for a couple of years -- large scale flooding.
Some of you may recall the bad floods we got in 2004 in the areas known as Millvale and Sharpsburg. A lot of people lost homes and possessions, and it even made national headlines (especially when Teresa Heinz Kerry came down from her mansion not to give money, but to say "I'm not in a position to do anything much other than to find out...I want to find out"). Fortunately the flood wasn't as bad this time, but as my main game is in Sharpsburg they cancelled it because of issues with the roads and the air conditioning.
So, I went to my "backup game" -- it's in fact closer to my house, but no Omaha. It runs out of a closed restaurant at the bottom of the hill I live on. They spread a number of games. I started at the smaller game, and quickly got stuck a bit where I turned two pair and called two half-pot bets from a guy who slow-played his better two pair on the flop. Then they called the bigger game.
The reason I am willing to play a slightly bigger game at this place is because they don't spread Omaha, and therefore the pots actually stay much more manageable. Also, it's less likely that people will get much deeper stacks than I will have because of the lower amounts of "gambooling" that will go on without the pot limit and Omaha elements.
In any case, I topped off my stack and got to work. I did not play particularly long, and I also played pretty cautiously. The result was a steady grinding. I evaporated my loss at the smaller game and made a decent profit on the night (about half my buyin).
There weren't too many notable hands. I picked off what I thought to be a fairly obvious bluff on the river with Jacks on a King-high board. I flopped an Ace with AK against a short stack with Jacks who pushed preflop. I called a small river raise with two pair against a gentleman who hit runner runner second nut flush and checked it to me (huh?)
Nice night, ended early, and I made enough that Kris gets a pedicure. Fun.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Getting It in Good and Bad
The goal, of course, is to get your money in good. Regardess of you ability to read and calculate, however, sometimes you get your money in good and still lose, get your money in with a great draw with odds but still miss, or get your money in bad. That's just the way poker is.
Nevertheless, it is ubelievably frustrating to have all of the bad happen collectively in one night, like two weeks ago.
The scene is the usual one: No-limit hold'em and pot-limit omaha, capped 100BB buyin (you can buy in double if you bust). Recently I have been playing well and running well. It's been fun.
I don't think I played terribly, but upon relfection I now think my reads were a bit off. I also was willing to play too many big pots, mostly because the hyper-agressive players were on my right instead of my left (meaning I was calling their raises instead of raising myself). Thats' the temptation of Omaha, of course -- it's so draw happy that you will often have odds (or convince youself you have odds) to run after your nut hands.
In any case, every time I got it in ahead, they caught up. Every time I got in behind (or with the worst hand that was a favorite with two cards to come), I missed. And every time I got it in with the second best hand in HE or PLO, I was shown the nuts. Very ugly.
Here's hoping next time goes better!
Nevertheless, it is ubelievably frustrating to have all of the bad happen collectively in one night, like two weeks ago.
The scene is the usual one: No-limit hold'em and pot-limit omaha, capped 100BB buyin (you can buy in double if you bust). Recently I have been playing well and running well. It's been fun.
I don't think I played terribly, but upon relfection I now think my reads were a bit off. I also was willing to play too many big pots, mostly because the hyper-agressive players were on my right instead of my left (meaning I was calling their raises instead of raising myself). Thats' the temptation of Omaha, of course -- it's so draw happy that you will often have odds (or convince youself you have odds) to run after your nut hands.
In any case, every time I got it in ahead, they caught up. Every time I got in behind (or with the worst hand that was a favorite with two cards to come), I missed. And every time I got it in with the second best hand in HE or PLO, I was shown the nuts. Very ugly.
Here's hoping next time goes better!
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Quasi-wordless Wednesday II (To Borrow a Phrase)
I will try a new post in the next few days. I got crushed the last time I played cards, and it merits some discussion, but let me try to have a good session first to get the taste out ;)
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
My wife told me to post
And she's right, I have not been putting my thoughts out there for a while.
I suppose it's because the pace of my life has picked up, or at least is flowing much differently than before. While certainly Krissy is much busier at home than I am, at work and at home there's always a little something to do these days. The twins are just getting so big, and now that they're playing more they simply demand more of our attention.
Further, I have not been playing much poker. I am playing about three times a month live (which is only because I have an amazing wife who lets me sneak out of the house), but I am playing even less than that online. Online poker just does not work for me with babies in the house -- I can't focus on poker when the twins are there and may need my attention (I had concentration issues already!). Therefore, I play bad and I've lost interest. Maybe when they are sleeping more soundly and can entertain themselves a bit more I will pick it back up, but until then nothing but games with a pause feature for me.
Live poker is a different story. That's probably because I am able to get out of the house to do it, and thus distractions are at a minimum. Since early April I have only had two losing sessions (of nine), and both were only for about a buy-in. Every other session has been a win (in two cases big wins), and I have been very pleased with my ability to play better poker. Hey, in the grand scheme of things this is ultra-low stakes, but if I can't beat this game I can't beat anything bigger, either.
There are two things in my life, however, that need some work. One is my health. I'll probably always be a big guy, but I need to get focused on being a healthier big guy. I am trying to watch what I eat, and Krissy encouraged me to ride my bike more often. Hopefully this will be the start of something good.
The other thing is relationships. The poker players I play with are generally good people, but they are not friends I can turn to in need or people to share deeply with. Several of my real friends have gotten tied up in their own lives, kids, etc. lately, and I need to push through that and make sure we're connecting more frequently. I also really owe my best friend a call.
I suppose it's because the pace of my life has picked up, or at least is flowing much differently than before. While certainly Krissy is much busier at home than I am, at work and at home there's always a little something to do these days. The twins are just getting so big, and now that they're playing more they simply demand more of our attention.
Further, I have not been playing much poker. I am playing about three times a month live (which is only because I have an amazing wife who lets me sneak out of the house), but I am playing even less than that online. Online poker just does not work for me with babies in the house -- I can't focus on poker when the twins are there and may need my attention (I had concentration issues already!). Therefore, I play bad and I've lost interest. Maybe when they are sleeping more soundly and can entertain themselves a bit more I will pick it back up, but until then nothing but games with a pause feature for me.
Live poker is a different story. That's probably because I am able to get out of the house to do it, and thus distractions are at a minimum. Since early April I have only had two losing sessions (of nine), and both were only for about a buy-in. Every other session has been a win (in two cases big wins), and I have been very pleased with my ability to play better poker. Hey, in the grand scheme of things this is ultra-low stakes, but if I can't beat this game I can't beat anything bigger, either.
There are two things in my life, however, that need some work. One is my health. I'll probably always be a big guy, but I need to get focused on being a healthier big guy. I am trying to watch what I eat, and Krissy encouraged me to ride my bike more often. Hopefully this will be the start of something good.
The other thing is relationships. The poker players I play with are generally good people, but they are not friends I can turn to in need or people to share deeply with. Several of my real friends have gotten tied up in their own lives, kids, etc. lately, and I need to push through that and make sure we're connecting more frequently. I also really owe my best friend a call.
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