My Rakeback

I went broke on FTP a few weeks ago and have been busy with school so I haven't reloaded. Well I just got my rakeback deposit... woo hoo $5.58. I contemplated a few things, $1.00 tournaments/SNG, one $5.00 one, or just cash games. Ultimately I chose the cash game option and onto a table DETERMINED to play solid poker (I was working on my paper at the same time, hoping that would keep me tight).

After about an hour, I'm at $1.20. OUCH. I was pretty annoyed with my craptastic play. I was pretty much done. I'm in the BB with K2 suited. No raises, so I just check my option (there are about 4 limpers. The flop comes K-6-9 w/ 2 diamonds (I have none). Early position bets a little less than the pot, everyone folds to me. I'm about to throw it away, but tired of my recent play, I decide that I really shouldn't be playing right now and punish myself with a donkey push. Bettor calls and shows his better kicker- KT.
The old adage applies: "God protects fools and drunks." I was not drunk.

2 on the river, and I double up.

I see this as a reprieve and that I should stop being a dumb-ass. I double up again and eventually manage to push my stack to almost 10 bucks. I drop down to under five again when I make some bad plays (I still consider myself a beginner and a couple of times overvalue the flush draw- calling pot sized raises and folding when I miss the river),but worked it back up. I made some good calls, figuring a guy for weak and calling a continuation bet and a turn bet with ace high. Guy backed down on the river and checked and I had him beat.

The final play of the night, I'm not sure if I made a good play or a bad one. I know I made some mistakes.

I have just over 10 bucks, and am the chip leader.

I'm in middle position and look down at AQ suited.
UG+1 raises to $0.20 (-I hate min raisers).
UG+2 calls
UG+3 calls
I call (-stupid play, I probably should have raised)
BB re-raises to $0.30 (-ok, another min raise).
Everyone calls around to me, (-wow big surprise no one folded for 10 cents there)
(-Now, even though the raises are min raises, a raise and a re-raise could spell trouble. If I raise, someone is likely to raise or push all-in with AK or even a middle or high pocket pair, forcing me to fold. But I'm not folding when it'll cost me .10 to win 1.45- or is it 1.55 including my .10).
So I call.

Flop comes 9-A-5 rainbow.
BB is short stacked and has about 1.50 in his stack. He pushes. (-I knew he would. My thought process is that if anyone raises his bet, I gotta let the hand go)
UG+1 folds
UG+2 just calls. (-he's got about 3 bucks left after the call)
UG+3 folds
(-Well I'm closing the action here and no one raised.)
I call. (-I'm really hoping to be able to check to the river on this (but that's not as likely in a cash game as a tournament.)

Turn: Q. (-yahoo)
UG+2 checks. (-Checking to the river is no longer gonna happen)
(-There's about $6 in the pot and he has $3 left)
I push.
UTG+2 thinks for a second then calls.
(-I'm surprised when the hands are flipped up. Not because of how they were played, but because I was right on my reads after the flop. I figured AK vs 2 pair but at this level it could have been AT vs AJ or almost any two aces. I just didn't trust my reads enough to get away from the hand... and I'm glad I didn't)
BB shows AK
UTG+2 shows A9.
(-now I was UTG+2 played it, he could have had a pocket pair that flopped a set, but I was pretty sure BB didn't have a pocket pair. I don't think he would have re-raised, either just called the .20 or put in a large re-raise to protect his hand.)

The river is no 9 or K and I scoop a big pot.


I finished the night @ about $16.00.

And I finished the paper... unfortunately I stayed up until 3:30 am playing Call of Duty 3. I'm tired.

December Homegame

It's been almost 9 months since my last home game. The last time I was able to make it, we only had 3 or 4 people, so we went to Foxwoods instead. The nice thing was that the host pushed it out one week because it was the only weekend I could play.

I've mentioned it before, but the home game is like a WPT Touranment. Blinds DOUBLE every 15 minutes. At the end it's pretty much an All-in 'fest. Buy in is usually $10.00. But you get $20.00 in chips. Blinds start @ .25/.50, and like I said, double every 15 mins (so we never have 3-6 or 5-10, it's 4-8 ,to 8-16). We start at 3pm and pretty much play until midnight, usually getting in about 6 games.

We normally have between 7-12 players with 7 of them being regulars. There are no players that are CLEARLY better than the rest, but there are some others that are "easier" than the others.

This month there were 7 players (payout being $50/$20). We had most of the regulars and one guy who's been there a couple of times. No one new. Most are decent players (for low limit players). With a few extremes:
Crazy Luckbox- I have a reputation for being aggressive and not afraid to throw my chips around, but this guy is nuts... and lucky.
Mr. The Rock- Tight player, easy to read.
Mr. Station- annoying as hell, easy to read, will call with pair or draw until the river and fold at that point, easy to tilt too.
The other three aren't as easy to read, so I haven't put much effort into it.

Because we had only 7 players, 2nd gets 2x the buy in back and winner gets the rest. The first game, I didn't do much, except I knocked out the luckbox. He's always been the bane of my existence at the homegame.

The second game, I managed to get heads up with the guy who gave me the Herpes nickname. I was severly shortstacked. But was destined to win as I hit every hand and double up a number of times. Pretty much there was nothing he could do.

The 3rd game started and I was just on a roll. Winning one of these pretty means you're freerolling for the rest of the night. At worst you end up even. It opens up your game a little bit. I basically opened up my starting hands a little (which are loose to being with). I ended up heads up with the same guy again. This time we started about even in chips. The lead went back and forth. The final hand was good one (wish I could remember what each of our hands were). I was first to act. And limped. He checked (neither of us are afraid to play after the flop). The flop hit me with, giving me a pair of 9s. I bet and he called. Turn was a 10. This gave me a open ender. I checked and surprisingly he checked. The river was a Q. giving me a straight. I think about it for a while, and take a big risk and check. He thinks for a second and pushes all-in. He was barely done saying all-in when I call and flip over my straight. It's a great feeling to set someone up.

The 4th and 5th games, I didn't do much, other than tilt Mr. Station and bust Mr. Luckbox. Mr. Station actually won one and so did Mr. Rock.

The final game I finished 2nd (AGAIN heads up with nickname giver). He set me up nicely after the flop. Flop came K-K-x. we both check. Turn is a 6 (which pairs me). He checks and I push all in. He calls and flips over the K. Unfortunately there was only 6 folks in that one so 2nd place got the buy-in back.

It was a good time and I came home up about 40 bucks, which includes all the buy-ins, chips and soda and ordering food.

Can't wait for the next one.

I Failed!

My self-quaratine from poker failed miserably. I definitely have a problem... I even donked off a bunch of my most recent deposit, but got some of that back between SitnGos and micro-limit Cash games.

But I thought I would take this time to mention some hands on FTP last night in an SnG. People are always talking about sucks outs and bad beats that they see at FullTilt, and I've seen my share, but I was playing in an 18person $5.00 +$.50, SnG. I made the final table and cashed in 4th (the first money spot). But to get there I had hands that held up. Two or three times, I had all my chips (I was short stacked a for a while) in with top pair or 2 pair, and my opponent would show either a flush draw or a straight draw. Those draws never made it, and I stayed in the tournament. And on my final hand, I had A10 vs KK, and guess what, an ACE didn't come. KKs knocked me out.

What does this mean? Well basically it means, take the time to notice when you're good hands hold up. Makes it easier to digest the times that they don't. If there wasn't chance/luck in poker, it would be called Chess.