I just started a new blog. You know, because this blog couldn’t handle the influx of readers. It’s is located at http://daddy-nopoker.blogspot.com/. As the title states, it’s going to contain non poker content.
I played in the Mookie last week. It was the first Mookie of BBT2. Apparently, Full Tilt forgot to turn on the random card generator. I was dealt QQ about 5 times within 25 hands, and I got paid on 4 out of 5 of them. I also got dealt KK.
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I raised and one of the blinds just called.
Flop came A-6-x. Figures. The Blind bets out, but it’s a small amount. I’m thinking a weak ace, maybe a lower pair. I call.
Turn is an X. Blind checks. This is where I made a mistake. This check is a big sign that he’s weak. He probably has a weak ace. I should be able to push him off of this hand. I check.
The river is another blank. All lower cards. The Blind then puts out another small bet. This is another chance to take the pot away with a raise. Again I fail to trust my instincts and I just call. I expect him to flip over Ax. Instead I’m VERY lucky and get to split a pot when he shows KK.
I really need to work on my end game. I spent a large part of the first two hours on the top 10, but fell apart in 24th place (18 spots paid).
The big hand that finished me off was another example of not trusting my instincts. I’m in middle position. Kashei (Karol, from I Had Outs). She is one of the few bloggers I’ve actually played live poker with. I’ve also read the blog daily (or when they feel like posting). So I have an idea of how she plays.
Kashei raises from early position. I have her covered… barely. I look down at 88. My first reaction is muck. But apparently FTP finally turned on the RNG and I’m finally getting normal cards. I haven’t had any decent hands in a while. I have about 10x the BB (plus there are antes). I can’t just call off half my stack and fold, so I need fold now or push. I start to think. Well she COULD have AK/AQ/AJ. Maybe even a lower pair. I convince myself, it’s a race, and I’ll take it. I push. The Button has a little bit less than I do, and calls. Uh-oh. Kashei calls time and goes into the tank. Finally she folds. I flip my 88, and Button flips his TT. Flop is J high. Kashei is livid, saying she threw away JJ.
I’m crippled and push my remaining chips (80 more than the BB of 800 or something). I couldn’t convince the BB to fold his 99 for 80 more into a 3000 pot. I GUESS he had pot odds to call. Donkey.
Now my play was bad. I knew Kashei would NOT raise ½ her stack from early position with AJ or AQ; maybe AK and any pair higher than mine.
I have to say though, in that position, with half her stack in the pot, she had to call with the Jacks. Only 3 hands have you beat. With two short stacks pushing/calling, they could have each other’s outs. Her fold didn’t help much as she was the next to bust out.
It was nice to see her and Dawn in the Blogger events. I hope to be able to play with them some more. But first I need to build a bankroll.
*Insert Witty Closing Phrase Here*
“This time, let go your conscious self and act on instinct.”
I GOT 3 HOURS OF SLEEP...
For BEJEWELED????
Well as I'm not playing much poker right now. Some video game info. Last night I hung around MTG to finally give the guy the cards he bought. While doing that, I was playing some Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. Which is a glorified Bejeweled. At least if I had bought Halo 3, I could KINDA of understand it. Next thing I know, I look at the clock and it's 3am! And I have to get up for work in 3 hours! CRAZY!!! FOR BEJEWELED??? What is WRONG with me?
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Pokerstars Blogger Event
I missed it, but then I didn't really expect to make it. My daughter had her birthday party at the in-laws on Sunday. Even if I HAD managed to register, the normal 2 hour drive from the in-laws turned into 5 hours, as the highway was closed due to a bad accident.
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MTG to Poker
Many moons ago I was into Magic: The Gathering. Not like David Williams, into it, but I enjoyed playing it. Then the online version was developed and I started playing that. Truth be told, I was never very good. But it was fun. And I wasn’t playing poker at the time. And in all honesty, for me, there was no transition between MTG and Poker. A few years back, when I discovered online poker, I wasn’t playing MTG much and decided to sell my cards. Sold ‘em on EBay, and used the cash to fund my Party Poker account. That money was quickly gone.
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Well a few months ago, I tried to get back into Magic. I enjoyed it, but only to a limited degree. Plus, the software takes up a ton of hard drive space. So I’ve decided to sell again. I recently sold any rare cards in my collection to Slappy, and he transferred me some cash on FTP. Unlike this weekend, when my good play was slapped down like a wet fish, MY donkey plays were rewarded with suckouts to win. In the cash games I played, I managed to get my money in, multiple times way behind.
Two key examples; I’m at a 6-handed cash game (.05/.10 nl). I have three tight players on my left and two loose players on my right. I know… horrible seating position. I don’t know why I didn’t move across the table when one seat opened up and would have put me in the perfect position. Anyway, I was down to my last $4.00. I had been playing bad, so I wasn’t even going to play, but said, “What the hell.” I threw in the last of my cash. I fold a couple of hands.
Then, in the BB, I get AcJc. You know… the nuts! Tighties fold. The button raises it to .35. SB raises to .70. I push All-in, figuring the button for a steal and the SB for a re-steal. The button calls. Uh-oh. The small blind calls… rut-roh. They still have some cash. Flop comes x-K-T (rainbow). I know I’m dead at this point. That had to hit one of them. They both check. The Turn brings a Q. My first thought is, I’m dead. Then it dawns on me. Huzzah! Broadway, the nuts. The Button and SB get the rest of their cash in here. Button has JJ and now has the straight draw. SB has TT for a set. No ace hits and the board does pair on the river and I almost triple my buy-in (stinkin’ $2.00 rake).
A couple of rounds later, I still have around ten bucks. After I fold UTG, I figure I’ll just log off. At the last minute I decide to play one more round and pay the BB. I get dealt QQ. Sweet. Tightie McTightie to my right, raises it up. We have about the same amount. I raise from the big blind. I re-pops it to about $3. I push. He insta-calls with… AA. “DOH! All that bad play, down the tubes in another bad play.” Naturally, I’m rewarded with a flop of QJJ. No ace hits and I have about $20. I don’t disappear right away, in deference to my opponent. But after about two rounds and no hands, I log off.
The next night I play a little better. I stick mostly with SnGs and can’t seem to win a danm thing. Probably playing too many (had around 4 going at once… I’m no Hevad Khan). I’ve pretty much depleted my bankroll. All I have left is… again $4.00 and I’m still in a $6.50 turbo SNG. I throw the last of the cash into a short handed table and procede to lose that to a bad beat. Oh well time to wait until I have something else to sell or cash to give Slappy to reload me.
What’s this? I’m still in the SNG with 4 people to go? Well, there’s still some hope (yes I more or less forgot I was in there. I won a big hand or two early, but had been folding almost anything that came my way. I didn’t realize we were this close to the money). I get dealt a few hands and build up my stack a little. Bubble bursts. We’re all pretty close in chips, but the blinds are getting high. I don’t remember too many hands, but suddenly I’m heads up with a small chip deficit. I turn that around quickly and manage to take that down to reload my balance with $27, Woo hoo!
Edit: Last night (Wednesday) I blew about $15 of that in SnGs without a cash. Hurrumph!
A Satellite to the Sunday's 750k.
As I stated in my last one, I earned entry in to the 2500ftp satellite into the 750K Guarantee on Sunday. There were about 1500 punters and the top 108 players win entry in this $200+ buy in tournament.
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I played decent poker, got extremely lucky hitting a BUNCH of sets. On one hand I was UNLUCKY to hit a set. Early on, I limp then call a small raise, from one of the blinds, with pocket 3s. Flop comes A high with just one diamond. We both check. The turn gives me the 3 of diamonds. Nice little set, and I’m probably best. The blind bets about 200 (I think blinds are 40/80). I think about raising, but just call. The river is a 3rd diamond. The Blind bets 400 (it was less than half the pot). I’m trying to decide between calling or raising. I’m thinking he could have been on a flush draw since he checked the flop, and got the draw on the turn. He bet a small amount to try to see a cheap river. The guy has me cover and a call would leave me with about 1200 in chips. Blinds are still low enough that I’m far from in trouble. I finally decide to just call. Figuring I may miss winning more on the hand if a high ace., but I won’t be broke if I make a mis-step. He didn’t have a flush, but he did have an ace… two of them actually. So I managed to lose the minimum on a set over set situation.
I would then go ahead and build up my stack. I got to about 5k when I made a mis-step in the SB. It folded to me and I limp with JT (blinds are about 50/100, might be one level higher). BB pushes all in with about 1200. I for no idea why, call. He shows AK, and I don’t improve.
I managed to build up my stack and get it to 6500 (about average stack) and there are about 300 players left (again 108 get the seat). I’m dealt AA in UTG+1. UTG limps, I raise to 1200 (blinds 200/400, ante 25). Folds around to the button and he pushes all in for about 6200. Folds to me and I call. He shows JJ. He rivers the J, and I’m crippled. (I actually win the next hand with TT and get to about 1400, but go out shortly).
The surprising thing I felt was the lack of tilting. I wasn’t angry, I didn’t curse the poker gods, I just felt, “hey, I got my money in an 80% favorite, it happens.” So maybe I’m growing as a poker player.
Or not…
