I Sat With The Best

First hand:

Dealer: Hand #15478372186
Dealer: Leatherass9 wins the pot ($2)
Dealer: Hand #15478375423
Dealer: Leatherass9 has 5 seconds left to act
Dealer: Hand #15478375423 has been canceled
Hero: seriously?

Back on the Grind

I've been playing more poker since July started and it's going well. I've made four trips to the nearby casino to play 2/5 and 5/10 limit (mostly 5/10) over the past 3 weeks and I've crushed the fish there for close to $1200, which is pretty solid.

Online has been going just as well. I played 50nl hu at the start of the month and got bored with it pretty quickly. I was playing my B game because it's pretty depressing to play 50nl after being at 400nl a few months ago but that's poker.

Anyway, I gave $11+1 turbo sng's a shot to see what they're like. I played 72 of them, six to eight at a time and finished -$2.70 over that tiny sample. I think I ran pretty poorly once it got short-handed because I have way too many 3rd place finishes compared to firsts and seconds. That led me to decide that turbo sng's are bullshit and that 50nl is a waste of time.

So back I went to 100nl hu. Over my last two sessions I am up 12 buy-ins thanks to playing my A game and some rungood. Here are a couple hands:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) ($466.70) -- already crushing the guy
SB ($100)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8, 7

SB bets $4, Hero raises to $12, SB calls $8

Flop: ($24) 4, K, 8 (2 players)

Hero checks, SB checks

Turn: ($24) 8 (2 players)

Hero bets $28, SB calls $28

River: ($80) 2 (2 players)

Hero bets $80, SB calls $60 (All-In)

Total pot: $200 | Rake: $0.50

Results:

SB had J, K (two pair, Kings and eights).
Hero had 8, 7 (three of a kind, eights).

Outcome: Hero won $199.50

The small overbet on the turn is what gets the money. In a vacuum this won't really work but if you overbet every now and then to make your opponent suspicious it can really get you paid in spots where it's hard to get paid otherwise.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($177.20)
Hero (SB) ($195.30)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, 3

Hero bets $3, BB raises to $9, Hero calls $6 -- call because we're deep and I think he has a tight 3betting range

Flop: ($18) J, 2, J (2 players)

BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($18) 10 (2 players)

BB checks, Hero checks

River: ($18) 10 (2 players)

BB bets $9, Hero calls $9

Total pot: $36 | Rake: $0.50

Results:

Hero had Q, 3 (two pair, Jacks and tens).
BB had 5, 3 (two pair, Jacks and tens).

Outcome: Hero won $35.50

I took some time to think about this on the river and I called for two reasons. I definitely don't think he has an ace that he's value-betting here; he's just not good enough to do that. And similarly, if he has a king he's just going to check it and hope to show it down. My Q high beats everything else so it's a call.

Here's to hoping schools stays quiet until exams start up in August so I can keep on grinding.

Still Alive

Haven't been playing much lately because school has been kicking my ass. My br has shrunken significantly due to a 7k downswing I had through April and most of May. I also cashed out 5k to pay tuition for the term. So what was once a 18k br is now at 4k.

Regardless, I'm still feeling good about my game. If anything, not playing every day means that I'm enjoying the game on the nights I do play. Case in point: I killed a 3 hour 50nl hu session during which I made just under 9 buy-ins.

Here's a hand from a quick session I just played:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($99.20)
Hero (Button) ($67.75)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5, 5

Hero bets $1.50, SB raises to $5, Hero calls $3.50

Flop: ($10) 2, 9, 2 (2 players)

SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($10) 7 (2 players)

SB bets $6.50, Hero calls $6.50

River: ($23) 8 (2 players)

SB bets $18.50, Hero calls $18.50

Total pot: $60 | Rake: $0.50


Results:

Hero had 5, 5 (two pair, fives and twos).
SB had 10, K (one pair, twos).

Outcome: Hero won $59.50


I'm not sure I like this call. In the end I called because this guy had a very tight 3b range preflop. As a result, by the time we get to the river the only hands he has that are beating me are overpairs. But why would he check the flop with an overpair?

He might have been good enough to check the flop, looking to get value on the turn and river, but for the most part he seemed very straightforward with all of his lines so this one just seemed very out of place.

like that style though i cannopt lie

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($67.70)
Button ($48.35)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 5, 10

Button bets $1, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($2) 8, Q, 4 (2 players)

Hero checks, Button bets $2, Hero raises to $6.50, Button calls $4.50

Turn: ($15) 10 (2 players)

Hero bets $11.50, Button calls $11.50

River: ($38) 4 (2 players)

Hero checks, Button bets $29.35 (All-In), Hero calls $29.35

Total pot: $96.70 | Rake: $0.50

Results:

Button had J, A (one pair, fours).
Hero had 5, 10 (two pair, tens and fours).

Outcome: Hero won $96.20


Dealer: Hero wins the pot ($96.20) with two pair,
Tens and Fours
Jabodl: no way you call that
Hero: i did
Jabodl: but why
Hero: you didnt have anything
Jabodl: you didnt know that
Hero: i just clicked call
Jabodl: guess that make it easy
Hero: ya
Jabodl: dont realize it is real more like a arcade game
Dealer: Hand #12323645323
Hero: basically
System: The Midnight Madness! ($10+$1 NL Hold'em) will be starting in 8 minutes.
Jabodl: like that style though i cannopt lie

gl getting action

Dealer: Hand #12264194251
Dealer: Mattraq1 has 15 seconds left to act
Dealer: Mattraq1 has requested TIME
Dealer: Hero wins the pot ($6)
Dealer: Hand #12264203539
Dealer: Hand #12264203539 has been canceled
Mattraq1: get off my table
Mattraq1: gl getting action
Mattraq1: 3betting first hand
Mattraq1: LOL