A wild, deep game gets even wilder

With live racing still going on at Northville Downs, the cash games seem to be a little wilder, with the occasional horse player trying their hand at poker, and generally a busier than normal poker room that creates more of an action-y vibe.  I got in to the room around 730pm with plans to play for the rest of the night. 

The primary players driving action was Abe on my immediate left, a very loose action player, who plays way too many hands and I consider generally to be bad, though he can at least put you to tough decisions.    He was playing reasonably deep stacked the whole game ($300-600).

Eric, who I have played with before, could be pretty good, but on this particular night he was drinking and playing way too LAGGY.  In general he plays too many hands.  He knows me by name, and generally gives me a pretty wide berth.  He was on his 4th buy-in before he started winning, and built his stack up to around $900 when the night was coming to a close. 

Later on Shaun got into the game, which drove the action to an entirely different level.

I would estimate 1/2 of the pots were straddled, and a lot of the raises even in unstraddled pots were unusually large.  That created a table atmosphere where I could raise larger with my premium hands as I was still likely to get value.  

The session started out rapid fire, as I picked up 4 pocket pairs in my first 5 hands. 

Hand #1:  My first hand of the night, I picked up 88 in the BB, in a pot that got limped all the way around.  My options were make a big raise to try to thin the field, or check.  Since quite a few of the players looked sticky from past experience, I elected to check.  The flop came 3 overs and I check folded.  It felt weak, but I didn't particularly like the raising option first hand of the night.

Hand #2:  Another limped pot, of which there weren't many the rest of the night, I complete with 33 in the SB.  Flop comes 6h3h2h.  I lead 6 into an $8 pot, and get called by button, who I have never played with before.  Turn is Ts, I bet $15, and he calls again.  River is Kc, I make a weak bet to $21, and he raises to $42.  His line felt so much like a recent 2/5 hand I played at the Bellagio where a guy slow played nut flush into my bets that I was blinded by that and ignored the immediate great odds the pot was offering and folded.  He showed T6 for a turned two pair, that I'm sure he felt was best.

Hand #3:  Very next hand, my stack at about $155 as I haven't even had a chance to top off, I get KK.  Loose bad player raises to 15 in EP, one caller, and I make it 55 on the BTN.  Bad player calls and we are HU, and caller goes all-in for less, with me having about 100 behind.  Flop is Q9x, he checks, I bet 51, he shoves and I call.  Board runs out and my hand is good. 

Hand #4:  After folding in the CO, I pick up JJ in the HJ.  After limps I raise to 21 and get 2 callers.  I flop an overpair and they check-fold to my bet. 

Hand #5:   In a straddled pot there are several limpers, and I make it 35 in the CO with KK.  Abe calls on the BTN, along with Eric and one other player.  Flop is Ac9c8s, checks to me, I check, and Abe immediately declares all-in for $280 (into a pot of $140).  Both fold to me and I'm pretty sure I'm going to fold.  I think there's a reasonable chance he has an ace, as well as a reasonable chance he is on JT.  He tells me unsolicited "Whatever you want to do, run it once, run it twice...."  I debate a little further, thinking more and more that he is drawing, but decide there are better spots to get it in, and fold.  He shows JT. 

Hand #6:  Eric is stuck about 2 buy-ins now, and raises to 15 (playing about 130 or so).  He has literally been raising at least 25% of the time, so suffice it to say he doesn't have to be very strong here.  After one caller, I 3 bet AcTc to 55.  Eric goes all-in after a few seconds, folds to me and I call and hold up vs A9. 

Hand #7:  A newer player who I could characterize on the tighter side opened UTG to 12, and after 2 callers I called on the BTN with T9s.  Flop is 4 ways, and comes Q86, giving me a double gutter.  He led $21, which didn't strike me as particularly strong, and got a call from one player.  The original raiser had about $200 going into the hand.  I debated my options, and didn't feel like his lead felt very strong, so I decided to raise, with the plan of probably calling if he shoved, and shoving most turns if called.  The raiser thought for a bit and then called, and the other player folded.  Turn was a total blank deuce.  He checked and I confidently slid out a large stack of reds.  He thought for about 15 seconds and then folded, showing a Q when he did.  Eric wanted me to "show the bluff", and I quickly considered it but decided not to pour salt in the wound of the guy who folded. 

Things calmed down for a while, as I tightened up and the cards weren't particulary attractive for a while.  Was considering racking up and leaving a $400-500 winner, but with so much money in play I decided to hang around.   Then things got interesting, a player named Shaun wanted to flip Eric for his stack.   Apparently as back story Shaun had been on a massive heater, and had just taken 8K from a PLO game at a bowling alley. 

Eric didn't want to do it, so Shaun bought in for $200, after asking to buy more and getting rebuffed.  FIrst hand he goes all-in immediately and loses to a player with QQ.  Very next hand after rebuying he does the same thing and beats the same players AA with 93.  Then the very next hand he beats a different players AA with 98.  All of these were all-in pre.  Suddenly he has about $600 in front and is still raising to $100 pre every hand.  He said his goal was to ruin our game, or take Eric's stack. 

Hand #8:  I limp AdJd in EP after a limper, and Shaun raises to $40 from the BB.  Limper folds and I call.  He says "Alright, we're gonna play some poker."  I respond with a question "Are we??"   Flop is AQT, he checks, and I check behind.  Turn is a 5, he checks again, I bet $50 and he folds.

Hand #9:      Shaun had gambled his stack away again, and was back down to $200.   This hand brought up an interesting ethical spot, that I am curious how others would handle.  Straddled pot by Eric (not sure why anyone would straddle or raise now with Shaun driving action on literally 100% of hands).  Tommy calls (young player I have played with and beaten up on several times, very fun to have in the game though, and he originally set the unofficial straddle record when he did it for $160 sometime last year), and then I limp the straddle with AA.  A few seconds before that, he asks if we mind if he buys in for another $200.  Nobody objects and I say ok (following my limp).  Then he raises to 100 before the chips are delivered to him.   I ask him "Is that playing this hand?", and he says "Yes.".  Tommy calls (leaving himself 80 or so more behind.  Then I shove, and both players call.  Tommy had JTs, and I have no idea what Shaun had.  The board paired with 9's, but nothing else of significance, and my hand was good for a pot of nearly $1K. 

I don't feel like I did anything wrong here by allowing it, as he had originally asked before the hand started, but still felt a bit conflicted by it.  I know all he wanted to do was gamble, and he had no ill will about the hand in any way. 
After that hand, the charity had sold out, so I played a few more hands and left a 4 figure winner for the session.  Good times, and a nice little boost before the MSPT which I am planning on playing in at Firekeepers. 
 

A great session, for more than one reason

I arrived at Northville Downs for what was likely to be a 3-4 hour session before meeting the wife and her family for dinner nearby.  I got there right at noon, and had to wait for about 20 minutes for the first game to start.  We started with 5 players, a then the 6th player arrived shortly thereafter.  That group composed the people involved in all of my spots/hands of the session.
I feel it was the best that I played in a while.  Maybe it was because my decisions weren't the most difficult, but you will see in one of the hands below I avoided getting stacked in a spot where I probably should.

The key players were as follows:

AYK:  Aggro young kid, you know the type, plays there a decent amount, thinks he's the best in the room.  The reality is that he could be decent, but because he thinks he's so good, he plays WAY too many hands.

Al:  Pseudonym for this guy, he's basically a major fish who I love having in my game.  He can really frustrate players with the hands that he makes, and the lines that he takes.  But I've noticed in playing with him that he has a critical flaw, that is amazingly transparent to me yet somehow nobody else.  He tends to overbet, or bet very large with a nut type hand, and tends to make small bets, and even extreme underbets when he doesn't have a strong hand.

Setting the tone:

The very first hand, AYK is on the button and straddles to 5, the blinds fold, and I raise 22 UTG/HJ to 20, as expected the button calls and we are HU to the flop.  The flop comes with 3 unconnecting overcards, I believe it was Q high, and I cbet 30 and he folds. 
I felt that it was important early on to establish an aggressive image, and not allow the AYK to take control of the table. 

First big spot

Playing about 225 deep, I open QQ after a few limpers to 15.  Al re-raises on the button to 50.  He bought in for 100, and just won a fairly big hand to get his stack above mine.  This guy is super loose, and very aggressive with pre-flop raises, but not particularly aggressive with 3 bets, especially larger 3 bets.  I considered all of my options.  Certainly shoving QQ couldn't be that bad against a fish like this.  I also considered folding, as the size of his 3 bet gave me some pause.  In the end I thought I could call, and gauge his post flop action to determine if I had run into AA or KK.  I called, and the flop came KK5.  I check, and he strongly bet 100.  I thought for a bit and stared at him and he told me:  "I don't have a king."  As an aside, at that point a player to my left asked what the rule was on talking during the hand, knowing full well that the rule there is no talking allowed.  I appreciated that the dealer said something to the effect of "There's some things I don't hear.", as I don't particularly like the rule, especially when I am getting information volunteered to me.  The dealer basically told him, probably wrongly per the rules of the cardroom, to basically mind his own business when he wasn't involved in the hand. 

I asked him if he would show and he said "Sure, why not?", and I mucked face up, he proceeded to show me AA, and I immediately felt even more strongly than I already had about the hand. 

Ace Magnets

A bit later I raise KK after a few limpers to 15, and get 3 callers, all OOP to me.  Flop comes As9s4s.  Checked to me, I'm pretty sure I had the Ks, and I bet 25, first limper shoves for 39 total, rest fold.  I make sure I have the Ks and call.  He has AJ no spades.  Board blanks out and I lose.  At this point I feel pretty good about the fact that I've lost with QQ and KK, and am still only down about $25, despite not winning any showdowns. 

Another one with Al

Al opens the pot first or second to act to 15, SB calls, and I elect to just call in the BB with JJ.  Flop comes king high, we check to him, and he bets 15, SB folds and I call.  Turn is a blank, I check, he again bets 15 (bet sizing!!!) and I call.  River is a K, I check, he checks and shows TT.  Maybe I should have gotten more $ on this hand, but it helped further reinforce my bet size read. 

I get rolling

UTG (young kid short stack) opens to 15, Al calls, and I call with 99 in the BB.  This may not be the best call, but I am not purely setmining.  There are plenty of boards and actions where I am willing to continue.  Fortunately I don't have to worry about that as the flop is Q95.  I check, UTG shoves for 60, Al quickly calls.  I then shove for about 170.  Al folds JT face up.  I turn my cards over and he says he is probably drawing dead.  I never saw his cards as I rake a nice pot. 

Bluff inducement

This hand I got creative as the hand played out.  For background, I saw Al raise a smallish river bet to 50ish on a stone bluff, and get called.  For this hand, I raised A6o to 12 in MP (which I hated immediately after doing it, knowing that Al was likely to call me in position).  We ended up HU to the flop.  Flop was QJ8.  I checked and he quickly checked.  I'm 100% certain he would bet here with anything that remotely connected to this board.  Basically any pair, any gutshot, etc....  Turn was another Q, making board QJ8Q.  I checked, he bet 15, and I thought about it and called, thinking I was good.  River was an A, now I lead out 15, in hopes of inducing a raise.  He doesn't disappoint, and raises to 51.  I call knowing that if he does have an ace, that we are chopping the pot since there is no way he AK here.  He mucks without showing, and I do the same after being pushed the pot. 

Biggest hand

I open UTG to 12 with AA.  I get called by Al, and another player, and then AYK 3 bets to 50 with another 200 behind.  I 4 bet to 125, 2 players fold, and the AYK thinks for a while and calls.  I am putting him pretty strongly on QQ or JJ here, with a very outside shot at AK.  Flop comes Ax9d8d.  AYK checks, and I think for a while, and decide to give him some rope here, with only a 1/2 PSB left.  Based on the action, a free card can't hurt me, and may give him a chance to push me off of the KK that I am trying to rep.  The turn is the Ad, giving me quads.  He checks his cards, presumably to see if he has a diamond, and then shoves.  Obviously I call and he shows JJ.  Immediately after this, which means he is down about 2-3 buy-ins, he switches tables, presumably to find greener pastures. 


The rest: 

Other than that, I played pretty solidly, continuing to pick up occasional pots with Cbets.  During that same time Al was on fire, picking up pots with a full range of hands.  The most egregious, though it was a small pot, was when he called a flop bet on a board of Td8x4d, with 7d3x, and went runner runner to make a winning flush.  He also called a flop bet with a gutterball, and then ran runner runner 2 pair to scoop another pot.  About 3.5 hours into the session, I got the call to leave, and Al was racking up as well, along with another player, essentially killing the game.

The best part of it all was that I was able to make over 2 buy-ins, while at the same time Al was able to run his 100 into over 1K, thus ensuring that money makes it back into the poker community. 

2012 Poker Year in Review

As we near the end of 2012, I thought it was a good time to take stock of my poker play, look for trends, and develop some goals for next year.  As an aside, almost all of the calculations in here are automated, with very little setup required.  If anyone would like a template of my record keeping spreadsheet, I will be happy to provide, just drop your e-mail in the comments.

2012 began much like 2011 with a downswing.  This one was a quick 1K downswing while out in Vegas for a work convention.   I played 3 sessions of 2/5, losing about 1100.  Most of that trip report can be read about here and here.   I undid the damage in February, and got things into the black for good for the year in April.  May and June were my best months of the year, and after a loss in July, my play significantly dipped due to Marissa being born, as I have 9 sessions totaling 42 hours since.  Here are the graphs of my profit vs hours, and profit vs date.

      

Also, below you can see the graph of hours played by month.

I've found when I analyze my play, it helps to parse my results by a lot of different categories.

Different limits:

The first thing to look at is my results at different limits.  For the year I played mostly 1/2, and a smattering of 1/3 and 2/5.  Below are the results.

1/2:  $25/hr  (down from $30/hr in 2011 in a similar # of hours)

1/3:  Not even worth looking at as I only have 17 hours in 2 years

2/5:  -$212/hr (in 11 hours of play - down from $32/hr in 2011 in 20 hours)

Obviously the 2/5 results are horrible, though the sample size is laughably small.  Looking back at the results, in session #1 I ran QQ into KK in a big pot at the Venetian in a marginal spot, where I believe I probably could have folded to the 3 bet.  It could be considered a minor cooler.  My 2nd and 3rd session was also at the Venetian where I dropped close to a buy-in, and my only real notes say that I played weak tight.  

I played again at 2/5 at Motor City where I ran something awful, losing 2 buy-ins.  That session is chronicled here.  The 1st hand of significance involved me getting it in with top two pair on a JT5 board, only to run into a set of 5's.  The 2nd had of significance involved me getting it in with AK v a short stacks AQ, and a frustrated player's larger stack of JT, and I managed to lose both the main pot and the side pot.  

I didn't play 2/5 again until the Michigan Poker Monster March Madness party, where I started out hot, but ended up dropping a little over $100, mostly due to losing a big pot where I got all-in on the flop against an open ended straight draw where I held top set and lost on the river.  

After that session, I just never really got a chance to play 2/5 again, only going downtown twice since March, and both times sitting at 1/2.  

While the overall results are horrible, I think that these results were mostly just the bad side of variance.  Could I have played better in a few spots?  Maybe, but I think there was no way I was going to come close to breaking even with the luck that I had there. 

Conclusions?  Obviously I can kill 1/2, and I believe I can beat 2/5 pretty badly as well, but I haven't given myself enough of a shot to do it.

Different rooms: 

My play has been primarily spent at Northville Downs, with the rest of the hours being in a smattering of other rooms.

Northville Downs (48.6% of my play): $31/hr (up from $28/hr in 2011, in a similar # of hours)

Docs (20.4% of my play):  $34/hr (down from $58/hr in 2011, in a similar # of hours)

Motor City (7.5% of my play):  -$85/hr (down from $92/hr in 2011, the aforementioned 2/5 results badly skew this one)

The rest of the rooms each represent less than 5% of my play for the year, and I got time in 12 different rooms this year (last year I played in 13 different rooms).  

Obviously I need to play more at Docs as I am just killing the players there.  The problem is that the player base is smaller, and you tend to have to wait longer than I would like when I go there.  The plus side of the room is the beer selection, free food that they routinely put out, attractive servers, and of course a high win rate. 

Session length:  

This one tends to be mis-leading, as the longer sessions are usually when I have fallen behind and am trying to make a comeback, hence the lower win rate, but since my data can be parsed that way, here it is.  But I am happy to say that these results for this year are much more consistent and flat, which leads me to believe I chased a lot less this year.  This is regardless of limit, game, etc...

Less than 2 hours (24.6% of sessions):  $26/hr

2-4 hrs (37.7%):  $11/hr

4-6 hours (24.6%):  $13/hr

6-8 hours (8.2%):  $28/hr

8+ hours (6.6%):  $11/hr

Day of the week:

I have been charting this for a while, and the results for 2012 aren't really meaningful as the sample size is too small.  My lifetime records though indicate my most profitable days of the week as Thursday, then Sunday, then Monday, then Wednesday.  It's interesting to note that on Friday and Saturday, which one would think would be a players best days due to the increased recreational element, that I am barely better than break even.  I don't really have any conclusions from this, but find it interesting. 

2013 Goals: 

I believe I created one of these in draft form a year or two ago, but never sent it out.  Here's a few loose goals.  None of them are going to be associated with a win rate.  I believe I am a winning player, and if I put in the hours and play my game, while being smart and disciplined, the win rate will take care of itself.

Half of the goals will be evaluated subjectively, but unfortunately that is the nature of the beast when dealing with some of the goals that I put together.

Goal #1:  Play 200 hours in 2013.:  I need to average 17 hours per month, which is hopefully doable, as the baby gets older.  The winter should allow me to get a head start as I don't have any responsibilities such as softball or coaching Abby's teams taking up my time, and I also don't have golf competing for my free time for the first few months of the year.

Goal #2:  Play 40 hours of 2/5 or higher in 2013.  This should be a doable, as long as I am smart about bankroll, don't run awful, and make sure to visit rooms that have this limit available.  

Goal #3:  Continue to find profitable spots to 3 bet.  I wrote an article on it in 2+2 magazine, which was generally well received.  Players tend to hate it, and don't properly combat it, and just generally allow themselves to be walked all over.

Goal #4:  Continue to find ways to exploit my position.  This is kind of related to #3, in that I want to generally 3 bet in position.  But I believe my goal should be to make the player or 2 directly to my right very uncomfortable.  If I am not doing that, I am not doing my job well enough.

Goal #5:   Once I get a big stack, aggressively target other big stacks.  This is one where I feel I could definitely improve.  I try to be keenly aware of all stack sizes at the table, and am especially aware of my potential exposure every time I play a hand.  What I need to do though is to exploit players who are also aware of their exposure, especially ones who are fearful of playing deep. 

Goal #6:  I had one article published in 2012 (Low Stakes Live Light 3 Betting) which was published by 2+2 internet magazine, and that I was compensated for.  The article remains on the site for 6 months, and is no longer available there.  I'm going to start small this year and set a modest goal of 2 articles for 2013.

 

Hopefully in 12 months time I will be able to re-examine this post to see how I did about attaining my goals. 

A poker post?? Wow!

I was able to get away from the home life for my 4th short session since Marissa's birth.  It was a busy Veteran's Day Monday at Northville Downs, and to show I don't discriminate, I thought a good way to spend it would be to try to extract money from both Vets and non-Vets alike.

My table was fairly active, a lot of straddling, a lot of pre-flop raising, and even some 3 betting.  So not ideal, but a lot of the 3 betting was spewy, and there was way too much calling of 3 bets.  Therefore, still beatable, and potentially very profitable, but higher variance at the same time.  I started out winning a few smaller pots, and opened up a bit, but I folded to 3 bets on back to back hands, in both cases I had KJ, and I was back around even, and my image had started to erode.  I began playing a little too passive for a few orbits, and potentially even a bit timid, and bled through about $75-80.

Hand #1:  I topped off my stack, and UTG picked up AKo.  I raised to 10, and got called by a good sometimes overly aggressive player two to my left, who had been making my life a little difficult (Over aggro for short), and eventually was called by 5 other players as well, including both blinds, making the pot $70.  Flop was AQ7r.  Checks to me, and I bet 35, pretty sure I was going to commit unless there was a raise and a call after me.  The CO (older guy who covered) called, the button and SB also called (both with only about 50 more behind.  The turn was a 9, and now the SB shoved for 50, I reshoved for about 150, CO folded, and button called.  Somehow both players had KT, and I dodged the jack to pick up a nice pot, and I was suddenly ahead about $100. 

Hand #2:  A few hands later, 8 handed, I raised a weak limper on my right with 6c5c to $12.  I was called in 3 spots, including the limper and one of the blinds.  Flop came Kx9c7c, giving me a gutshot, flush draw, and even a gutshot straight flush draw.  Checked to me, and with still a player to act behind me, I felt I had to c-bet, so I bet $30, and got called by the short stack SB, and then the weak limper raised to $130, leaving himself about $80-90 behind.  I was clearly left with no fold equity, so despite hating it, I felt I had to fold as I think a hand like the nut flush draw is in his range of hands to make this move.  The SB went all-in, and I got to see the hands.  The SB had KQ, and the weak limper had 97 for bottom two pair.  To add a bit of insult to injury the river was the 8c for a straight flush for me.  Still the right play regardless of the result.

Hand #3:  I open 7d6d 7 handed, and am again called by over aggro guy (I realized I should be tightening my raising range early on since I was getting called often and found myself OOP to him, and believe me, I did, it just seems like I was raising all of my suited connectors), as well as called by one of the blinds.  Flop was Th6s2c, checks to me, and I decided to check to let aggro guy bet, figuring he would fire with almost 100% of his range here.  Betting is probably better here, but I figured I would let him take the initiative, as my plan was call down mode.  Turn was a 3s, I checked, he bet 40, and I elected to call, figuring him still for absolutely nothing.  River was another 6 giving me trips, I checked, and he bet 80 - leaving himself about 80 more behind.  I hemmed and hawed about raising him, but in the end just decided to call, as my read was that he was bluffing, and I didn't feel there was any value in a raise, as it would just be called by a hand that had me beat.  I was shocked when he rolled over As6s and I lost the pot.  His turn bet was what solidified the fact to me that he had nothing, as despite being over-aggro, he tended to check the turn when he had marginal showdown value.  I guess picking up the flush draw emboldened him to bet (as it would have for me as well). 

I should explain my thought process further, as I think it's where I went wrong in the hand, though in this  case it wouldn't have mattered had I bet flop and bet turn.  This guy also seemed to float an awful lot in position, and I felt that I could be put into a really tough spot every street by betting out and double barreling....though in the end that's exactly where I ended up.  If I bet the flop and he calls, his hand still isn't very well defined given his wide range.  By check calling, I was keeping his range at its widest.   

Oh well, obviously I am a little confused at the spot I put myself into....folding pre-flop may be best when dealing with an opponent like this, or changing seats at the table. 

Hand #4:  Over aggro guy has started bleeding chips to other players, and is definitely not playing sharp, borderline tilty, and he straddled on the button to 7.  Two very loose semi-aggro players call in the blinds, and it's folded to me in the CO with KQo.  I feel like this one is very close, and could make a case for all of my 3 options.  In the end I think Raising > Fold > Call, and I elected the high variance route and raised to 35.  The button called, along with only one of the blinds (all stacks are roughly equal around $200ish).  With over  $100 in the pot, and only about $170 in my stack, I decided I had no choice but to commit if I hit top pair, unless something extraordinary happened like a player raising and showing me his cards after doing so in order to get me to fold.  As far as C-betting, I wasn't sure what my plan would be, though I was thinking about cutting out a half pot bet at most boards if checked to me.  The flop was QJx, the blind checked, I bet 50, over aggro guy shoved, blind folded and I called.  It turned out I had him covered by $1.  He had KT for an open ended draw.  We ran it once (I never offered twice and it wasn't discussed), and  my hand held up for a big pot.

Hand #5:  Button straddles for 5, and the table dynamic has slightly changed, a little less aggressive.  The straddler has not raised his straddle yet.  A few players limp, I elect to limp the CO with Js9s.  Button checks.  Flop is KT8sxx.  Checks to button, he bets 10, one player calls, and I call, but I hesitated, and intentionally looked kind of weak, trying to act like I had minor showdown value.  Turn 3s, checks to button again, and he bets 22 with about 180 behind, other player folds and I was really close to raising, but felt that the weakness I showed earlier in the hand would be seen through and I would get looked up light, so elected to call.  River was 6s giving me the flush.  Since players instinctively check when a flush hits, even a backdoor one, I decided to try to bet large and look bluffy, and bet 65.  He thought for about 30 seconds and called with what he said was a rivered two pair.  In any case I think leading large got me the most money on the river, as he wasn't likely to call a check-raise in my opinion.

In the end I won a bit less than a buy-in, for a very swingy but profitable 4 hour session.  A few parts of my game seem a bit rusty, but I also felt like I was seeing things for the most part very clearly.  I may not have been mixing it up as much as I could have and fighting for every pot, but at 1/2 that just isn't necessary for the most part.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

The title is appropriate. It was a bloody Sunday session for me this weekend. After grinding out decent winners early in the weekend, I had high hopes for adding to it, on Sunday which is historically my best day by far. Unfortunately, the results were not good.

A great start

A fish/donkey raises to 10 UTG (he has 100 behind - have played with him a lot recently and typically he flushes 300+ per session with awful overplays/bluffs/etc.), an older woman calls, and normally I would try to isolate the fish on the button with AQs, but decided to flat this time, to try to let him make a bigger mistake if I hit the flop. A woman in the blinds called as well. Flop is Q93. Fish bets 25, old woman folds, I flat call with the hope of letting him fire a final barrel at it. I am probably calling any card on the turn, with the lone exception maybe being a King. The blind folds as well. Turn is a 9, and he shoves the rest of his chips in. I call and hold against his KJ, so up an early 120.

They love their top pair

Tattooed guy limps, there is another limper and I make it 14 on the BTN with KsJs. Tattoo calls and rest fold. Flop Ax8s3s. Tattoo donks 15, I make it 50, and he pretty quickly calls. He has 125 or so behind. Turn is a low blank. Tattoo checks, and I check behind....I've pretty much decided he is married to his hand here and not likely to fold. River blanks out, he checks, and I give up and he shows A7o. I feel really good about this hand, as I think a turn/river shove is fruitless.

Good bluff

After a few limpers, I limp 6d4d in the CO, lady on btn limps, and we see flop 6 handed. Flop Tc8d5d. Flop flush draw (gutshot straight flush draw). Checks to me, I bet 10, the button puts 10 in the pot almost in unison, making me think she thought action was on her and she was betting 10. I get 2 other calls. Turn is a 3s, making my straight draw now open ended, along with my flush draw. Checks to me, I bet 40 - the small flop bet followed by a large turn bet has been a recipe for nice profit in the past. The button quickly calls (about 125 behind), rest fold. River Ah. I debate what I think is my standard amount of time, and then declare all-in. She almost snap calls with JhTh....for flopped top pair. She claimed to be agonizing over it, but the call was literally within 10 seconds of my bet. I do like how I played this hand, but one thing to consider when discussing the hand with Ryan, is why bother even playing it, despite my great position. I need to hit the board hard, and at the same time have somebody else make 2 pair for me to get paid.

Very next hand - Hello overplay!

I have topped off my stack to $200, and I raise Kc9c to 12 in the HJ. Older guy on button calls (210 behind), and fish from first hand calls (73 behind). Flop is KQ4r. Fish donks 15, I raise to 60, and surprisingly the button calls, and then the donk calls. My plan was to iso the fish, but the button calling 60 is a huge warning sign. For some reason though, I was strongly putting him on a draw like JT. Turn is another 4, donk shoves his last 13, and based on previous action I need to just call here. Instead I shove and he snap calls with KQ. River is an A, which means I would have won with AK or AA, two of the hands I was repping. Unfortunately I didn't have those.

In hindsight, I think just calling the flop bet was the way to go. That way, I give the donk rope, and also get to learn more about the buttons hand cheaply. Basically flushed 140 there.

Very next hand - WTF!!

I again top off to $200, and limp 97o in MP after 2 limpers. No excuse for the play, but obviously steaming a little. We see a flop 7 ways, and the flop comes A97, giving me bottom two. Tattoo from the A7 hand bets 12. Folds to me and I raise to 50. Folds to Tattoo and he re-raises to 90. God it feels like he has two pair here, but hands like A9, 99, 77 and even A7 are sometimes raising from the SB, so I slightly discount those. Based on the fact that it could look like I am steaming, and his prior play with only top pair, I elect to shove, and he snaps with A9 and holds up.

This hand I am on the fence on. In an ordinary spot, I think I could simply fold this, but with my steaming/losing dynamic, I think there are a lot of players that will go to war with just an ace here. Curious to hear other thoughts on this one.

The final hand

My stack is at about 175 on my final rebuy, I have been quiet for about 30 minutes. Two limpers and I make it 14 with AA. Button (150 behind) calls, and one of the limpers calls (200 behind). Both were new players, so they don't know how I have been running/playing/steaming. Flop is Q88. When the flop came out I was watching the button and he shook his head, which I took as a huge suggestion of strength. The limper leads out for 25 now. I flat, and the button flats. Turn is a 7, limper checks, I check, and button checks (????). River is a 4. Limper bets 25, I am 100% sure I am ahead of him, but fight off the urge to raise as I am still suspicious of the button. Button now raises to 100. Limper folds, and I go into the tank. I tell him this is the most obvious 8 in the world, and he laughs saying something like "You guys were betting it for me." I mutter something about running so bad today, and then fold my aces face up. He shows me 88 for flopped quads!!! So while I feel bad about the result, I feel very good about actually making the professional play when I was steaming and laying it down to obvious defeat. I'm fairly sure I lost the absolute minimum here.

Overall a really bad session after a promising start. The cards definitely weren't co-operating. I had AA and 99 once, lost them all, and in fact I can't recall winning a single hand with a pair, though I didn't have many either. But the main problem was I got caught bluffing once, made a total overplay in the K9 hand, and then the 97 hand that I am still on the fence on.

High variance session

Sunday is historically my best winning day at Northville Downs, and with a baby girl on the way in 4 months, there may not be a lot more Sunday sessions in my future. So I decided to head over there. Immediately I ran into some interesting, tough spots....and then the session got really interesting.

Bad start: Playing 7 handed, UTG (playing about 300, loose and dumb) raises to 10, 2 people call. I re-raise QQ from the SB to 45, UTG calls without a lot of hesitation, rest fold. Flop is AJTccx. I check-fold to a bet of 40 and he shows KQ.

Gotta fold, right?: A bit later, I open with 99 to 10 UTG, and get 2 callers, both with position on me. Flop is 642hhx. I lead 20-25 and the button calls (very loose, semi-aggressive in some odd spots). Turn is a 6, I check call a bet of 40, intending to call any non-heart rivers. River is 7h. I check, he shoves for 80. I folded and he said he had 76. I tell him if that's the case than that was a bad river card for him.

Thought this may be a huge one: Open TT UTG to 12, one player calls, loose player from Hand #1 re-raises to 24, button cold calls, I call, other player calls. Flop T42sdd. Checked around. Turn 7s. I bet 40, short stack all-in for 65, loose re-raiser and button folds, I call, river 5h and I am good.

Dodging a huge bullet: All players are 325 effective. UTG (player from hand #2 who claimed he had 76) limps, UTG+3 raises to 12 (he is reasonably tight opening, certainly not anywhere near as laggy as I am), I decide to flat QQ right after him for safety, as well as to keep UTG in the hand. Rest fold and UTG calls. Flop 944r. UTG checks, original raiser bets 18, I call, now UTG check raises to 70. Original raiser 3 bets to 150 (this is KK minimum), I fold, UTG now looks pained and calls. Turn 8. UTG checks, original raiser says all-in, which UTG snap-calls. UTG shows Ad4d for flopped trips, while UTG+3 shows 99 for flopped full. I think there is a reasonable chance that if I 3 bet my QQ, at least one if not both of the players call, and I likely lose my stack on that board.

Bad flops continue: I raise 99 on the btn, and what has become the table fish calls in the BB (KQ guy from the first hand). Flop AKJ, he ckeck calls 16 on the flop, turn 7, both check, river K, he shoves for 50, I fold.

The day gets really fun: ATM Eric shows up (I didn't give him this nickname. He is all around a really nice guy that pisses a lot of people off by throwing money around in a ridiculous manner). This is my 2nd time playing with him, the first time being at the Heidelberg. That session I got all-in preflop with him for 225 with TT v 98s, and also doubled through him at 2/5 with him drawing dead. When he got to the table I realized that my normal game would have to go away, and any hand I played I would have to be prepared to go to the felt with. When you play with him, the game can be hugely profitable, but like the old hyper turbo SNG's on Pokerstars, you have to be prepared to take some miserable beats. I looked in my wallet and saw I only had $200 in reserve, on top of the $200 I had on the table at that point, so I started plotting my reload plan if necessary, as these situations don't come around often.

Gamble gamble 1: Eric raises to 10 (his first buy-in of 200 was down to 75), I 3 bet to 30 with AJo on the btn, he shoves and I call, and my hand holds vs his T9o.

Gamble gamble 2: Eric raises to 15 (he is down to 125 on his second buy-in of 200), I 3 bet to 45 with JJ from the blinds, he shoves and I call. Board runs out 532A4, and he has 96o to take the pot.

Gamble gamble 3: Eric straddles for 5 from the button (he has about 125 again), blind calls, UTG calls, I raise to 25 with KK, Eric shoves, rest fold and I call (he says "Me and You again?"). He tells another player that this time he has the best hand. Board runs out A3xKx, and his 43o is no match for my set of kings.

A real flop and turn: I limped 88 in EP, Eric raised to 10 (he's playing about 200). Duke calls in the blinds (very loose laggy player, between him and Eric at the table you have a dream action table). Flop comes 996r. Checked to Eric who bets 30, Duke folds and I call. Pot is about $90. Turn is a Q. I check, and Eric starts stacking out chips, then appears to change his mind and stacks them and goes all-in for $158. My initial inclination was to call, but the way he stacked out the chips gave me some pause, as it was in a different manner than before. Even if I call and am right, if he has two overcards he still has 6 outs. I was looking away from him, and then when I looked at him, he was leaning back, with his arms crossed (which is generally uncomfortable body-language). When he saw me looking at him, he immediately leaned forward and put his elbow on the table looking at me. The deliberate show of strength shifted things toward a call for me, and I put the chips in. River was a 5, and he says "I have a 5", and rolled over K5, and I took down a big pot.

This hand is a perfect example of how the guy can run over timid players. A ton of players would call the flop bet, but then meekly fold to the shove on the turn, but against these guys you have to take stands with marginal hands and be prepared to stack off extremely light. There is no point in even calling the flop bet if you aren't perpared to let him bluff the turn. Sure, he could have a 9, or a queen in that spot, but as you can see, there are also a shit ton of hands he can have that are drawing to 6 outs, 3 outs....or less.

Straddle record: Less than a month ago, Northville began allowing straddles from any position and for any amount of money. Eric (now he is in for $1150) previously held the "un-official" straddle record at $78, but was told it was beaten the other day with a straddle of $80. So he decided to button straddle for $85, with about $150 or so behind. SB folds, and Duke very forcefully raises to 210 in the BB. Rest fold to Eric who shoves for $240ish total. They roll their cards, Eric has K8o, Duke has ATdd. Flop is 8 high with 2 diamonds, but Duke misses all of his outs and Eric scoops the pot. Now Eric is approaching $500 in stack size, and is getting very dangerous.

Dream hand....or not???: I limp in EP with 77 (I have $500), Eric raises to 15 (playing $600), Duke calls in one of the blinds (playing about $360), and I call. Flop is T74dd. I notice Eric is palming about $50 in chips, waiting to bet. Duke donks 25, I call, Eric folds. Turn is a 3x. Duke bets 45, and I raise to 135. He calls without a lot hesitation. River is 6h. He jams for $158 more. Board is now T7436, with a missed diamond draw. Initially I am trying to figure out what hand that would donk the flop would have a 5 in it. A diamond draw with a 5 could have done that, but I don't think he would want to open the door to Eric making a big raise and pushing him off of the draw. Then I notice that 98 also got there. This is really starting to give me pause.

When he shoved, I was staring directly across the table at him and we held eye contact for a while. I stayed staring at him because I wanted to see what he would do when he finally got uncomfortable. It took a while but finally he smiled and waved. I asked if he would show if I folded, and he said "I'm not sure." Eric had stepped away from the table during the hand, and when he got back he called the clock on me. The whole time me and Duke were talking a bit to each other, with the dealer continuing to admonish us that we couldn't talk about our hands (dumb rule in a heads up pot I think, especially where one player is all-in). The dealer was doing a horrible job of telling me where the clock was, and then she said, "You have 8 seconds to decide.", and I immediately blurted out "I call." He rolls over AT, and I table my winner. Most of the table is shocked that I called, and generally impressed. After thinking about the hand more, maybe the call is a little more trivial given how big the pot was relative to the bet (it was about $350 going into the river).

After that I won a few more pots of decent size. I was starting to get really hungry as I skipped lunch, started to develop a headache, and also had a fantasy baseball draft going in a few hours, so I decided to bail and cash out a winner of $674. It was a super wild, high variance roller coaster, but fortunately I was able to come out on top.