sevens

I’ve figured it out.  Here it is.

 

run bad + play bad + FPS at 10NL = go broke

 

To remedy the situation, I’m taking the next day or two completely off poker.  No books, no playing, no watching WSOP or HSP.  I’m on mad life tilt from all of the above.  I’m playing scared, and giving people too much credit, and then not going on my reads.  I raise with 55 from the button and get reraised by a tight player who never raises.  I raise from MP with AA and everyone folds.  I make a TINY 3-bet to a tight raiser holding AA or KK and he insta-folds.  May sucks.  I grind for 3 or 4 hours, build a hint of a profit, and then blow it all on one butchered hand.  It’s so frustrating not beating 10NL.  TEN. N. L.  For crying out loud these should be the EASIEST games to beat.  So frustrating when other people PLAYING STRAIGHTFORWARD AS HELL are beating higher stakes games.  WTF.  Time to take a step away for a couple days before I lose any more.

First night of being back at 10NL, I’m 8-tabling just fine.  I also found out that you have to email Full Tilt Support if you want to be able to sit at more than that.  Strange.  Well, I played really solid for about 1100 hands, made a couple mistakes (paying off a flush on the river when I had a set, for example), but just like last night, I feel better than I ever have about my game.  I’m playing well, and I’m confident I’ll be back to 25NL in no time, and crushing it even more than I was before.  

 

The hand of the night was a pretty big pot, when I held 66.  I was in the BB, and a guy in LP made a minraise, and I called.  The flop was 6TT, giving me a FH.  We both check (grrr, I wanted him to bet).  The turn is another 6, giving me quads.  I can’t wait any longer so I bet and he calls.  Funny thing, I actually was really putting him on a T at that point too.  The river is an ace AND it completes a backdoor diamond flush.  I bet slightly less than the pot and he minraises me.  Now I’m SURE he has a T and is minraising for value (lol).  I shove (it was a pretty ridiculous overshove, but no one is ever folding trips at 10NL), and he insta calls with AT for a FH.  LOL SHIP IT!

 

Oh yeah…..I had the overpair vs set luck turn in my direction tonight too.  TWICE against a medium stack I got all in preflop with QQ vs AA.  Both times I rivered a Q.  I guess people only 3-bet with a tiny range at 10NL. 

First hand of 25NL tonight, and cooler’d.  CO limps, I make a standard raise on the button with KQ of hearts.  CO calls.  Flop is 256 with two clubs, he check calls.  Turn is a Q, giving me top pair.  I bet, and he check raises all in for $5 more, I call, and he has AQ of clubs.  Bankroll = $400, so as per my word, I will drop back to 10NL and grind out until I have 20BI for 25NL again. 

Even though I’m running really badly right now and may have to move back down to 10NL, I’ve never felt better about my game.  The second shot I took at 25NL was just a few short months ago, and I’ll admit, I ran pretty darned good and was very close to being rolled for a shot at 50NL.  I think this downswing needed to happen, or else something even worse could have happened, like I go on mad crazy tilt and lose EVERYTHING.  I’ve really learned quite a bit in the last couple days.  It’s amazing what can happen when you play more hands/tables, and because you won’t be able to make as good of borderline postflop decisions, your preflop game improves DRASTICALLY, and thus so does your postflop game because easy postflop decision making STARTS with making solid preflop decisions.  

 

I’ve learned how important position really is.  Sure, using Poker Tracker stats makes it easier to have a read on where your opponent is at.  Even if you make every correct decision (fold when you’re behind, raise when you’re ahead), being out of position will cost you MORE when you’re behind, and you’ll win LESS when ahead, because you’ll c-bet your AK, get raised or called by someone with an overpair or in-between pair (88 on a 9-4-2 rainbow board for example) and now you’re out a c-bet.  Or you “value bet” with AA and they fold because they have nothing.  IN POSITION with the same exact hands allows you to make more money when ahead and lose less when behind.  

 

I’ve learned the importance of table selection and finding the fish.  So important.  Find the people who are making costly mistakes, and then take advantage of it.  One that comes to mind tonight, I had identified this player as someone who felts with top pair.  He limped from MP, and I had a suited A9 on the CO. I raised, he called, and the flop was A high.  A-6-x I think.  I don’t remember if he bet or check called or not, but on the turn he bet the pot.  Ordinarily, top pair medium kicker is not a hand I go to the felt with, but I was pretty certain my hand was best.  We got it in on the turn, and as it turns out, he had 2nd pair and the turn gave him an OESD.  So I took all his $.  Oh….and don’t be afraid to change tables, as often as necessary.  It does you no good to play a TAG game when 8 other people are playing the same game.  

 

I’ve tightened up my late position range.  Something I remember reading by a former micro-grinder really stuck out tonight.  ”Late position is actually later than you think.”  You know how it sucks when you raise from one off the CO with JT because you will “likely have position”, but find yourself being called by the button or CO more times than you’d like?  It sucks!  Now you have a mediocre hand OOP.  I play pretty nit-tight from all positions, only raising good hands, and from CO AND BTN ONLY am I playing more of a LAG game.  Think about why I said position is important.  

 

And lastly what I’ve learned is that playing online poker is similar to playing a sport.  You don’t expect to jump onto a basketball court and immediately be playing as best as you can.  You do stretches, jog around to get your heart rate going, take 10 minutes or so of practice shots to WARM UP.  I’ve realized my game playing poker is no different.  I really don’t get into “the zone” until around like 700 hands +.  That’s where I feel I’m at my best, making the best decisions, and making solid reads.  It’s probably different for everyone, but I suspect that if you aren’t warmed up and playing at your highest level until 500 hands, and you frequently only play 300 hand sessions, think about how you’re shortchanging yourself.  Yes, you might be profiting because you’re making less mistakes than your opponents, but could you be making more if you were really playing your A game?  Until I’m warmed up and feel like I’m ready to go, I play pretty rock tight.  Think about it; do you want to open raise with your pocket 5s from MP if your reads aren’t sharp yet?  Robot poker != optimal poker.  

 

Ramblings ftw.  

They suck.  I’m 6-tabling 25NL currently, and I’m playing well, but running through some bad spots.  Set over set like 3 or 4 times tonight.  I played roughly 1700 hands, so it’s expected to come up eventually.  But 3 times in one night?  Rough.  One time was to an overpair who turned a higher set.  I’m playing well, and getting to see a lot of situations.  I’ve tightened up my late position raising range (you can get away with doing this at 25NL, and as long as you find the right tables to play against, you’ll still get action).  I’ve put my stop loss at $400, and if my bankroll goes below that, I’m disciplined enough to drop back down to 10NL until it gets over $500 again.  I’m currently at about $460.  This is something I KNOW I can do, and if I just keep at it and play solid poker, I will come out on top.  

 

By the way, no more loose raising in LP for me.  At least, not against certain opponents.  When you raise with Ax suited on the BTN and get called by the blinds, you’re behind most of the time to a pocket pair or a better ace.  That’s fine as long as they’re willing to check fold, but don’t do this against absolute stations, and guys that will check call all the way to the river with A5 and top pair no kicker.   I’m limiting my BTN and CO raising range to SUITED connectors, all pairs, and SUITED paint cards.  Goodbye, QJo.  Adios, 9To.  See ya, A8 of hearts.   Have a nice day, ATo. 

 

Oh yeah.  I folded my first AK to an OPEN raise.  This guy with a pfr% of like 3 raised in MP (might have been LP I don’t remember), and stacks were fairly deep.  I didn’t like any of my playing options, so I folded.  Calling is gross; 3-betting could be fun, but he was pretty nitty, and I don’t like 3-betting a QQ+ range at stakes where players never fold overpairs. 

 

As evidenced by this hand.  A fairly tight player opens from MP, one caller, and I call on BTN with 78 of hearts, thinking I can stack him if I get the right flop.  Effective stacks are like 100BB.  The flop is 9h Th 5d.  He bets the pot and I shove all in with my open end straight flush draw.  He thinks for a minute and calls with AA.  I wasn’t sure, but I looked it up, and my hand was actually a favorite vs his aces, so I don’t feel too bad about getting it all in there.  I missed everything, but you better believe I noted him “won’t fold overpairs EVER”.   Next time I flop a set against that guy, I’m playing it the same way.

I made an executive decision tonight to drop down in limits so that I can try and figure out what the heck is going wrong, or if I’m just running through a cold streak.  I started with a bankroll of $630 three nights ago, lost about $100 that night, brought it back up to $620 the next night, and then lost another 5 or so buyins, to end with $510 last night.  I don’t know if it’s playing bad or running bad, but I think probably a combination of both.  I made some pretty horrible payoffs, I know that.  

 

So I decided I was playing hands in marginal spots, and that I should tighten up.  I also have a tendency to want to focus on the results of the hand.  I’ve been wanting to add more tables as well, so I dropped down to 10NL tonight and played 8 tables.  I didn’t want to be risking as much while I was examining my game for holes.  I played pretty rock solid tight for 1100 hands, winning at 6.5PTBB for the session, a profit of roughly 150BBs.  I feel pretty good about the session, and realized that I am capable of playing 8 tables.  I’ve probably been trying to raise against limpers in marginal spots (ahem…..QJo, I’m talking to you!), and overplaying one pair hands.  I made a couple mistakes, but I feel good about tonight.  

After a long stretch of like NO cards (the whole last week), I played about 500 hands tonight, and got PP after PP…it was awesome!  I seriously got aces about 5 times tonight (2 of them were back to back on the same table), kings 2 or 3 times, queens at least twice, and jacks a couple times.  Hand of the night was JJ.  I don’t have the raw history but it went something like this.

$.10/$.25 blinds

I’m in the SB with JJ.  UTG min-raises, MP1 flat calls, one other caller and then folds to the button who flat calls.  I raise to $3.50.  UTG shoves for like a total of $10.  MP1 reraises 90% of his remaining stack (he raised to like $20 and only had less than $3 left), and it folds back to me.  As I’m contemplating a fold, I think “this really looks like he’s got a lower pair, and puts me on AK or a steal, and wants to drive me out.  I’m all in!”  and I shove my stack in, and he of course calls.  

 

I’m up against UTG with A5 of hearts and MP1 has 77.  I was right!  I have to sweat the flop, as it is J high with two hearts.  The turn is the K of hearts (oh no!!!) but I river another K and take a nice ~400BB pot.  

 

The downside of tonight was that I could have made a whole lot more if I wouldn’t have been an idiot and payed off big hands with one pair. 

I got Poker Tracker 3 today.  I love the new HUD!  The layout is much better than the old one; everything seems to line up much better, and it refreshes more often, so it seems.  

 

I was off my game for a day or two….mostly due to having good hands run into slightly larger hands, that leads to questioning my game….a horrible cycle.  It’s totally ineffective to play a scared TAG game.  You’re leaving out the “A” part.  But, things are going well again.  Hopefully, I will be able to take a shot at 50NL by June.  

 

One thing that I’ve always done and will continue to do is to question the accepted “standard” plays in NLHE.  That’s just how I am I guess. It’s not enough for me to do it “just because”, or to just assume that it’s the best way because that’s what the book says.  I will analyze all the options, and if I see something better, I’ll look into it.  I also learn the “why” and it becomes more internal, rather than just the “what”.  That’s how it was for me and math, back in my High School days.  I understood how it worked and why it worked.   I didn’t just memorize formulas and theorems.  I knew them inside and out, how you got them, where to use them, and why they worked.  I never had to study much, because I understood the larger picture.  

 

Maybe that’s how it is in poker.  Looking at the larger picture.  Look at your hand, your position, your opponents range(s), the board, and asking “What do I want to happen/where would I like to take this hand?”  Rather than just ducking your head down and going “SUPER AGGRO POKER!! BET BET BET BET BET”, asking yourself “What do I want to do with this hand, and what is the best and most profitable way to get there?”  You know….not letting things get too automatic.  Always asking yourself why you’re doing things, be it bet, check, raise, or fold.  

 

Random ramblings….out!

In addition to the “Guess the hand” game, where you watch a hand unfold (lol puns) - and you are not in the hand - and based on the action, you put the villains on a hand or a range at least….I am starting a new game.

 

I call it “Turn villain’s horrible line into the most optimal line you can think of”.  All you do is look for hands that you won or maybe didn’t win, but the villain played it horribly (maybe he didn’t protect his bottom set on a 2 flush board, maybe he bluff shoved the river with bottom pair on a 3 flush board or 3 connecting cards board), and then you analyze it street by street, and figure out where villain could have played it differently/optimally.  Maybe he could have c/r or lead the turn when he hit a pair + FD, maybe instead of shoving the river he could have lead with a blocking bet and folded to a raise, maybe he could have just check called on the end.  

 

Fun game!  And I think it will help improve my own play by making optimal plays become automatic. 

The following hand just happened:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6445739685: Table Paseo (deep) - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Hold’em - 23:09:49 ET - 2008/05/16

Seat 2: Bowhunter61 ($37.40)

Seat 3: FUZZYRUGGER ($41.90)

Seat 4: nickcee ($26.25)

Seat 5: SammyG77 ($28.55)

Seat 6: sevens113 ($53.90)

Seat 7: BBear373 ($30.45)

Seat 8: Caindog79 ($59.95)

Bowhunter61 posts the small blind of $0.10

FUZZYRUGGER posts the big blind of $0.25

The button is in seat #8

*** HOLE CARDS ***

Dealt to sevens113 [Qc 9c]

nickcee has 15 seconds left to act

nickcee folds

SammyG77 folds

Drais sits down

sevens113 raises to $0.85

Drais adds $25

BBear373 calls $0.85

Caindog79 has 15 seconds left to act

Caindog79 folds

Bowhunter61 calls $0.75

FUZZYRUGGER folds

*** FLOP *** [Jc 4d 9s]

AgentOtep sits down

Bowhunter61 checks

AgentOtep stands up

sevens113 checks

BBear373 checks

*** TURN *** [Jc 4d 9s] [Kc]

Bowhunter61 checks

Hopsing64 sits down

Hopsing64 stands up

sevens113 bets $1.95

BBear373 folds

BoNill sits down

Bowhunter61 folds

Uncalled bet of $1.95 returned to sevens113

sevens113 mucks

sevens113 wins the pot ($2.70)

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot $2.80 | Rake $0.10

Board: [Jc 4d 9s Kc]

Seat 2: Bowhunter61 (small blind) folded on the Turn

Seat 3: FUZZYRUGGER (big blind) folded before the Flop

Seat 4: nickcee didn’t bet (folded)

Seat 5: SammyG77 didn’t bet (folded)

Seat 6: sevens113 collected ($2.70), mucked

Seat 7: BBear373 folded on the Turn

Seat 8: Caindog79 (button) didn’t bet (folded)