RandomPokerandOtherStuff

Link to Diane Pucin and LATimes

2009-04-23T20:44:00.001-07:00

http://sixersbucks2001playoffsofficials.blogspot.com/

Read the LATimes for an unbiased view, instead of the idiotic ramblings of a drunk ex-bartender.

Sixers crushed the bucks game 7, bucks were whining about the 2001 officials the whole series after only 48 minutes. Karl's performance was pathetic, note that Larry Brown got a technical from the officials in deciding game 7, not Karl. The Sixers were the better team that year, beating LA on the road in game 1, and Horry needed to hit 2 3s in the final minute to beat Sixers, and the Sixers were within 3 of the Lakers in Game 2 with Shaq fouled out but missed 10 of 16 FTs or they'd have been heading back to Philly up 2-0 on the Lakers.

The Bucks really weren't very good. Crying about the officials is the worst excuse ever.
nba.com
latimes.com
philadelphiasixers.com

bucks sixers 2001 playoffs officials

2009-04-23T20:40:00.001-07:00

http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jun/01/sports/sp-5185

LATimes has the best take.

go there

2008-02-15T07:53:00.001-08:00

http://trystero.myminicity.com/

Headed to AC next month

2007-10-08T17:11:00.001-07:00

2nd weekend of November, Thu-Sunday, going to play a lot of NL, have a very close friend, new to NL who's going to play, so I'll sit some NL300 in addition to usual NL500.

howdy

2007-06-11T22:41:00.001-07:00

time check

Poker EV is very cool

2007-05-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

and proves I've been running ice cold, particularly when I was at party.

Since last year, I should have made +0.9bb/100, instead I am down -2.8bb/100 using the sklansky bucks estimator program, which runs pre and post-flop simulations to show how much you 'should have' won or lost, using All-in bets or Calls. Some guys are up and I'm way down of course.

Still here

2007-05-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

Still getting bad beat online like a rented stepsister.

Adding an image for fun

2006-08-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

This is what the setup of a pro poker player looks like:

Borgata NL500

2006-08-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Craps break. Down $275. Should have stuck with my 'winning' table, why I tried a new one is beyond me.

New table after dinner. I buy in for $475.

Okay, a lot of these hands involve same 2 people, Aggressive Solid Young Guy, who I've played with at least 4 times, and Non-Rocky Old Guy. ASYG and NROG for short.Hand 1 - ASYG is up to 1300 in chips, minraises dark UTG2 and says, "If anyone raises my blind raise, I'm all in." Puts chip protector on cards, never looks at his hand.NROG raises to 40 from his 500 stack. I call with JJ on the button.
ASYG shoves all-in. NROG and he start trash-talking each other, you're not gonna bully me, I told you not to raise me, I have a real hand here, blah blah. NROG calls.
I quickly fold. ASYG has yet to look at his hand.NROG flips over AQh.Flop comes J65o. Dammit! I could have tripled up. Turn is a 9. River is an Ace. ASYG takes his card protector off, flips over...pocket Aces! The crowd literally exploded. 3 of us watched him the whole hand, he never, ever looked at his cards. I would have lost to a one-outer for a really soul-destroying beat.

NROG reloads.

Hand 2 - I get red Aces on button. First hand better than 99 in many hours. ASYG raises to 25, NROG calls, I raise to 75, ASYG re-raises to 150, NROG folds, I shove, ASYG thinks, eyes my stack [I started hand with 320 or so] says, 'If you had a full stack I would fold' and calls, flips over red Kings.Flop comes Ac8c5c. Turn is 3c and I'm sweating, but River blanks. Double up.

Hand 3 - I get K4c in blinds. 5 limpers including NROG, I check.Flop comes Jc7c4h. Nice for me. I lead out for $20, called by MP and NROG. Turn is a 2s, I check, MP checks, NROG bets 40, I call 40, MP raises to 90, NROG goes all-in.Now what do I do?
At this point, NROG had been playing very solid [AQs v random hand is a good wager, imho] so I folded here. MP called.River is a total blank. NROG turns over T9c for missed flush. MP mucks! My pair of 4s were good! Sheesh. NROG doubles up.

That set up the following hand shortly thereafter:
Hand 4 -I have KQs in BB. MP raises to 15, NROG calls from Cutoff, I call.Flop comes KhQhXs. I check, wanting to CR aggressive MP or NROG.Check, checked around. No dice!
Turn comes Td. I check, MP bets 40, NROG raises to 80. I raise to 200*, figuring if they both shove I can probably fold if I read one of them as strong. I have about 330 behind this. MP folds, NROG goes all-in, has me slightly covered*. I'm getting 2.5-1 to call. Do you call here?
I put NROG on one of the following hands: AA, AK, KQ, QJ, JT, TT, AJ, AQ. I feel there is <1% chance he has KK or QQ here, also I have 2 of them, obviously. I called.

By the end of the night, I still had not made a single set [save the AA v KK hand where it wasn't needed, and the JJJ would have lost to AAA] flush or straight.

Of course NROG has AJ for the win.

* It was late, I was tired and I don't know if our dealer counted my 120 raise when she counted the NROG's all-in. I'm not sure if he had me covered by 30, or if I had him covered by 90. But the dealer raked all the chips in the pot so I couldn't be sure among the blacks, greens, and reds if she had counted properly.

Borgata pre-dinner

2006-08-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

New room is nice, there are 2 diff check-in areas depending on your game [NL and high-limit seem to be at the rear, keep going...] about 85 tables, now upstairs instead of in the horrific freezing cold down area with only 3 urinals for 65 tables, bathroom size is much better now.Some dealers and floor people obviously newbies, but only open 3 weeks so I assume they will get in gear or be canned. I didn't have any problems {I think*} but I did see one dealer miscount a all-in call which was corrected quickly by the players, as she didn't drag in the one guys chips for the call before counting the raise. [is there a term for that? there needs to be.]

Must move table I only won 1 pot in about 2 hours, QQ where I raised, bet flop, was called once, overbet turn because I didn't want him staying with me and I figured he'd raise all-in if I was beat and I could save a few chips, he folded. Pushed the draw out I guess.

Next table was down then nicely up, I get 97s in the blinds in a multi-way limped pot [this table had TONS of limpers, most I've seen in AC, many pots were 6-way to the flop or more] -Flop comes 7h7d6d. Nice. I check, MP bets 15, LP calls, I call. Turn is Ten of spades. I check, MP bets 50, LP calls, I call - std? River is 9d. Jackpot. Flush 'got there,' and 8 makes straight.Pot is about $225 now. MP leads $125. LP calls?!How to maximize profits here?
I think about making it 250 but decide on raising to $300, so they have to call 175 more getting 4.4-1. I am sure I will get at least one caller with that board.Shockingly, and for the only time at that table, 2 guys folded a big pot on the end. I don't show, obviously. I can only surmise there was a bluff and a low flush, or the straight and a bad flush out there. But I won't complain, that was a nice pot.

Leave table for dinner about an hour later, best hand so far was QQ, had 2 AK hands I had to fold on flop to heavy action. Other than that nothing above 77, no sets, no flushes or straights.

Been playing with a buddy and this guy in a "Hershey's" hoodie for a while, I thought he was solid, my friend thought he was bad when we compared notes prior to this hand.Hershey is in LP, has been raising my blinds *very* consistently throughout the day, I have had nothing to play back with, bluffed once and he raised flop so I let it go.
Hershey raises to 15 pf, Button calls, I call in BB with 97h.[4.2-1? Why not. But not with a worse hand here.]Flop comes Ah9c7d. Nice. I check.Hershey bets 15, Button calls, I raise to 35.

Hershey calls, B folds.Turn is a total blank. I check.Hershey bets 35, I check-raise him again to 100. He thinks, thinks, calls. River is an Ace. I check, he checks and shows AKo for the winner. I was totally amazed he thought his hand was good on the Turn. It's not like the 'double check raise after the flop' is a common move at this level with a bluff. I went to dinner shortly after that hand.

Net +$338 so far.

Deep NL Borgata 500 Hand

2006-07-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

Second session, first orbit, BB and UTG are Asian players with a lot of checks.Hero gets dealt AKo in MP. 2 limps to him, he raises to $25. Folded around, BB calls, UTG calls.
Flop comes A44. check, check, Hero bets $50, UTG raises to $100, folded, Hero calls. Thoughts?Turn is a 9o.
UTG insta-shoves, has Hero covered by 800.What would you do. You have no read other than what I've described. I called.

UTG Villain shows J4 sooooted for the winner. No 2-outer for me. Rebuy!
After rebuying, I was down another 200 to my last 180 [I was too lazy to get more cash and 380 was fine for this table, so down about 600 on the day. [won $100 at other table previously]

Haven't seen a hand in hours. See KJs on button, EP raises 15, Asian MP calls, I call. Yeah, I know. Flop comes AKJ 2-suited. Well, I'm certain no one has QT. EP bets 30, MP folds, I call intending to raise turn if no Q or T shows. Also hoping for FH, obviously. Turn is a brick, EP bets, I raise all-in, he insta-calls my last 130.With A9!
I like pokah, pokah's nice! So I double up. [No, he doesn't call this if I have 400 behind, he was bad, but not an idiot.]

He likely thought I was steaming after the J4s hand and then subsequent losses. 2 hands later I am in MP with my $370 or so. Get red AA. First pocket pair above 99 all day in several hours and 3 tables of playing. And the must-move table was 5-7 players for a long time. My brain is seized by a sudden attack of FPS, so I limp.
Stupid, stupid, I thought CO/Button would *surely* raise, but no. 5 players to flop.Flop comes AQ7 2-suited. I play g00t.
Checked to me, I check earlier Asian MP in Button, he bets $20, I call [why rush with a crippled deck?] BB calls, others fold. Turn is a brick. BB checks, I check, reading Villain as aggressive + decent hand, he bets $60, BB folds, I do my best DeNiro, staring at the board for 5 seconds, looking back at him, staring at board and then BB, finally call.

River is a T, no flush, I think for 10 seconds [new tell-neutralizing technique I use on the river] and shove. Villain debates for about 5 seconds, evaluating whether or not I am bluffing on a busted draw and figuring I can't have KJ again.
He calls, I flip, he mucks, MHIG. I like pokah. Down $60 on Thursday session total. Then we hit the craps table for some real gambling.

Short Trip to AC last month

2006-07-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

Lost about 250 in my first 3 hands where I actually had cards - QQ, KK, etc and got bad beat, twice by super-drunk guy on my left, once he cold-called a pf raise and flop raise with 64o, and rivered a straight on me.Argh.

Go upstairs, play craps at 7pm, win $615, come back down at 7:20. Drunk guy was carried out by multiple security guards in my absence.

Finally have good hands hold up, stack the best player at the table with a perfectly hidden straight, win $312, drive home.

My only conclusion is that craps is the greatest game ever.

Casino Barcelona

2006-07-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Barca's come a long way since Y2K. Big, good changes. Cleaner, friendlier, more expensive, better bars/food, [which were good already] and now Casinos!Well, one, anyway. But on the beach!So, Casino Barcelona it is. Free entry due to deal with my hotel. Laborious process of waiting in line and filling out forms to go in. Yes. That's okay, I had already hit the bars for a few hours.[They also now have slot parlors, which are nice and cool during the day if you play, I don't. But dark and cool and serve drinks. Try the orxada.]Sadly, no craps. Shoot.6 Poker tables. I wonder if Carlos ever plays here. I just missed the EPT event or some such there by a few weeks. It's late on a Tue nite [they are open until 5 am] so there are only 3 tables going. PLO 5/10, PLO 10/20, Limit HE 20/40. There is no list for lower limit or NL currently. Crap.I certainly don't have the roll for 20/40 HE. And I refuse to play Limit on vacation. I'd rather watch paint dry. Of course, I don't play Omaha. Maybe a 5-8 times, total. And I don't have the roll for 10/20 PLO, or 5/10 for that matter.These guys playing at 2 am on a Tuesday look like pros. Plus I've been drinking. Time to go play roulette, I guess...So, obviously I sat down at the PLO 5/10 table. I bought in for so much less than people had it was obvious I was a tourist or a very, very sharp cardshark. My English probably tipped them off as to which.Played a few hands, folded a few pots to flop or turn raises. Eventually got dealt A2hAxs. That looks like a good hand. Bet, I raise, called.Flop comes Ac3h4h. Rapidly thinking back to my Ciaffone Omaha book, is this a good hand, is this a good hand. I think it's a good hand. Did I mention I had been drinking?Needless to say, with several nut draws I am not folding and all my money goes into the pot [not much] so I win. Yay.Climb out of my seat 2 G&Ts and a few hands later. Down 70 Euros, a solid victory for me. If only I had been properly rolled....

No strategy v Nit strategy

2006-02-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

See if you can guess which is which, one is a month's play of one type of strategy:

And here is the other one above:

The Nit Strat results are obvious.

Wow, that was a 500BB heater I had at the beginning of 2005. Didn't last though, a disastrous fall followed. I did better than I recall, however, and that does not include my tourney profits. Small in pure dollars as they may be, relative to cash games, but a better ROI.

New Tight Strategy

2005-12-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's the theory. You play online 3-4 tables.You sit at the NL500 [or 200 just adjust] and purposefully buy-in for $140. Yep.
You only play AA, KK, QQ, and AK. You shove every hand with these PF. Play no other hands.

[BB limps to you, we'll ignore for now.]Often, the pot will be $40-$60 already due to raisers/callers; on average.You shove. Say there were 2 limpers and a raiser, pot = 2+5+5+5+40. That's $57, but let's round to $60 for ease of math.

You shove for $140, a raise of 100, assume other players are normally stacked.Pot is now $200, he's getting 2-1 to call with presumably a good hand. In addition, other 'slowplayers' may come along for the ride - people who limped with JJ-99, or the blinds, etc.

Obviously with the above 4 hands, you will dominate most players who will call getting 2-1. Good times. For instance, *I* would call with AK at this point, and be dominated twice, tied once, race once. [Because I wouldn't know that's all you played.]
If you win, leave the table, start again elsewhere. If you lose, stay and rebuy. [Or leave, either way.]If all folded to you, sweet! You won $60 and now have $200. Repeat 1-2 more tries, if all fold, leave with your $150 or whatever, if called, see above. [n.b. I also gotta believe if you did this and showed down a huge pair each time, you could seriously steal the same people when you ran into them later, but that's not the reason for doing this. Side benefit.}

Given that you can do this online, and at several sites, this seems like a Dominating Strategy. {Particularly if you get one of those hands early, or more}. I think one could win $30/hr or more, if disciplined. Bankroll shouldn't be much of an issue, not going to be taking $1k-2k beats on one hand, or even one day [highly unlikely.]

Are you going to lose with AK to JJ and QQ to KK occasionally? Of course. But those losses will be de minimus in the long-run.

Thoughts?

Metagame AAA hand

2005-12-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

I had decided this was to be my last orbit, and I would limp in UTG on final hand, regardless of what hand I got, and then attempt to outplay over-aggressive villian in Cutoff. I had been about 12/2 at this table, Then this hand comes up, and it's all MetaGame from there on out.

$400 NL Texas Hold'em - Tuesday, November 29texastech03 posts small blind [$2].mscotto posts big blind [$4].** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to RonMxicoDonk [ Ah As ]RonMxicoDonk calls [$4]. Whoa. I didn't expect this. I limp here fully expecting either Nguyen - very Taz, or Rocket to raise. I have about 8k hands on Rocket, he's 30/12/2.6 and usually raises the limpers from CO/Button. Neither of them have ever seen me limp AA.
folded toJasNguyen81 calls [$4].Rocketmagic7 calls [$4]. Damnit. Well, that's what I get for FPS.mscotto checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Ac, 9c, 5d ]Okay, this is an unexpected development, and my first set of the night. Given the number of players, I know Rocket will bet big if checked to, and nguyen is super-agg as well, will bet any pair/ace here. I have even more hands on him, 10k or so. Normally, I would always bet something here, representing a flush draw or TP and hope for multiple callers or a raise behind, but given they all limped I switch it up.mscotto checks.RonMxicoDonk checks.JasNguyen81 checks. Darn.
Rocketmagic7 bets [$30]. Jackpot!! Note he bets 30 into 18 pot representing TPTK or two pair or similar, trying to push draws out.mscotto folds. Try to put Rocket on a hand here and on the turn.RonMxicoDonk calls [$30].
Now, I seriously thought about raising here, but Rocket knows me as a very passive player post-flop, I could easily have a hand like TT here in his mind [and I almost always would].JasNguyen81 folds.

** Dealing Turn ** [ 2h ]RonMxicoDonk checks. I really wanted to bet out here, but was confident that Rocket would again bet any draw or any pair. You'll enjoy his hand at showdown. Ah, metagame, how I love thee!Rocketmagic7 bets [$55]. Wow, I'm getting good at inducing these.
RonMxicoDonk is all-In.Rocketmagic7 calls [$36.20]. Spew.
** Dealing River ** [ 2c ]Rocketmagic7 shows [ 7s, 5c ] two pairs, fives and twos.
RonMxicoDonk shows [ Ah, As ] a full house, Aces full of twos.RonMxicoDonk wins $257.40 from the main pot with a full house, Aces full of twos.
Rocket reloaded after the hand. I almost stayed. ;)

Proud of this hand

2005-12-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

***** Hand History for Game 3104269591 *****$400 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, November 27, 13:29:28 EDT 2005Rocketmagic7 posts small blind [$2].SevenLine posts big blind [$4].**

Dealing down cards **Dealt to RonMxicoDonk [ Js Jh ]Siggen73 folds.acesup777 folds.akfromqueens calls [$4]...RonMxicoDonk raises [$8].
pgfmr82 folds.Rocketmagic7 folds.SevenLine calls [$4].akfromqueens calls [$4].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7d, Jc, Jd ]SevenLine checks.akfromqueens checks.RonMxicoDonk checks.Wow, like wow. I check to let someone hit their flush. I start thinking very, very hard about how to play the turn and river here against these two. I pray someone has something.**

Dealing Turn ** [ Ks ]SevenLine checks.akfromqueens checks.RonMxicoDonk bets [$4]. [Okay, I feel like I have to bet weak here to get any action. I'm actually afraid this will scare them off, but want to play this like a 'donk.'SevenLine folds.akfromqueens calls [$4].

** Dealing River ** [ Qh ]Damn, no flush.akfromqueens bets [$25].Okay, how to milk this for all it is worth? All-in? Min-raise? Raise pot? I think I can induce a bluff with a raise slightly more than minimum. AKfromQ is a 0.85 post-flop agg player. So I run my time almost all the way down and...RonMxicoDonk raises [$60].
akfromqueens raises [$250]. [Thank you, gods of poker]
RonMxicoDonk is all-In.
akfromqueens shows [ 4d, 5d ] a pair of jacks.
RonMxicoDonk shows [ Js, Jh ] four of a kind, jacks.

Labor Day short session at Trop - Big Laydown or MUBS?

2005-09-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

Played only a few hours of NL$500 on Sat. Lost 110, eh, no biggie.Started with 4 outta 5 hands I had to play, and I don't like starting that way. Won a big pot and lost a bigger one for a small loss in the first orbit, I got 99, TT, 88, AKs, so the opposite of last time I played.

Made top set of 9s on turn for a big pot. Later I dragged about $350 with KK v TonySoprano overplaying his JJ on a 963Q board. He called me all the way down after I raised him pf.

So there's a very nice Indian man on my left, I'll call him Anand for short. He seems skilled, not trappy at all, bets his good hands hard, is happy to chat with me as I take the empty seat next to him. We are commenting on the table, I know 4[!] of the players there, so I fill him in and he fills me in on the rest. [I didn't mind giving advice on 3 of them who are obvious very tight TAGs.]

We end up in several pots together, splitting one with AQo for a chop, he wins a few big ones, I win several mid-sized ones from him. Very nice guy, from his comments is used to playing in bigger games - mentions $3k and $5k buy-ins, etc, seems like he has a nice bank.

Here is the hand:I get A6h in the small blind. AFter 4 limpers, I complete, Anand checks in the BB. Flop comes 754o.
I bet small as table was mostly passive except for TSoprano, Anand calls and mentions to me so only I can hear, "I got no hand but an extremely good draw!"Hmmm, okay. Duly noted.
I have the OESD obviously.Folded around to TSoprano in LP, he calls. Just the 3 of us.

Turn is a Q. Check, Anand checks, TS bets like $30 into a $75 pot, I call figuring Anand will drop and I can stack TS if I hit, Anand calls again. $165 pot.
River is the 8. Excellent. I check, intending to CR Soprano's LP bet. Anand checks, Soprano bets $75, I raise to $150, and Anand goes all-in for his last $700, so $550 more to me!
Soprano folds instantly. I immediately put him on a set of some sort. Okay, I got 2nd nuts. What do you do here?

It's hard to believe Anand has 96 here, but that is totally consistent with how he played the hand, he got a free flop and his comments on the flop to me when he called. I'm thinking real hard. I am chopping this pot at best. In fact, if Anand just had the 6, I think he would just call here, to be friendly.

Observing him, he looks very happy and comfortable in his seat, as if inviting the call. No stone face either, more...serene, hopeful almost. He shoved his chips in quickly as well, as if he couldnt' wait to get them in there. What do I do here?

I take some more time and observe him outta my left eye. He's very relaxed. He's almost smiling at the consternation he's caused at the table. I cannot get away from the feeling he has 96 and was calling along in an attempt to triple up to $2k or so.

But I can't believe I'm considering folding to a possible 96 in the BB. What would you do?I Folded. As Scotty Nguyen say, 'Big, big laydown.' Anand didnt' show but I am 95% convinced he had 96 there in the blind. Soprano revealed his set of 7s after I folded.

Maybe I was wrong, but I am learning to trust my intuition more at these live games with skilled players. Online, I autocall without a read. Live, with no read, I autocall. What do you think of the hand and my decision?

Live at the Trop, no, I don't have a King, sir.

2005-09-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

It was an interesting session yesterday. It was the tightest table I have been at, that's not saying much I know. At one point there were 5 refugees from the super-tough NL1000 game there. That table was like 7 rockcs and 3 good TAGs.

The NL 500 table had me 5-6 really good players, and 1-2 tourists, max the whole time. We were down to 7-handed at one point the game was so slow. NL1k players would leave, go up, then immediately come back to our game. A few nut peddlers also.

First orbit, I get AA utg,decide to limp because past history has shown a raise will be coming at theswe tables. Nope.
3 players. T83o flop. I bet one caller. Turn is a 6. I bet again, guy takes forever to fold. He was on a draw, he later told me, but thought i had nothing. i had played with him before.

Saw 2-3 other players who are there every w/e in additon to him. Win about $60.

Early on, get KK in EP again, decide to limp and fold if an ace hits after the disaster last time, and reraise big if someone raises late. Plus, many hands are getting raised on button after many limers. Nope, 3 limpers. Yuck.

Flop comes Kc8c4d. Nice. I decide to bet out. I have a good playing LAG on my direct left, he'll raise if on a draw. I bet $15 into $22 pot, he raises to 30 I just call. Willing to let him peel one off, don't want to scare him yet. And if he has a set, great!
Turn comes Ts. Very nice. I bet out 3/4 pot. I started hand with 425 he has about 400. He raises me back. I push all-in. He calls without much thought.
River is the last King! Quad kings. He asks if I have a King.
I say, No, I don't have a king.I flip my hand - 'I have Four Kings.'
Tables oooohs appreciatively. I'm up to like $900.

He seemed like a decent LAG player too, did not show his hand. Two pair is the verdict. Obviously he thought I was bluffing him for some reason. A few players had been at table since 4am or earlier. Always nice to play those guys when they are tired.

After that got cold-decked again for about 5 hours. No top pairs, no draws the whole time until later. grab a bowl of soup and fold alot. In fact the first 4 seats don't win a pot in forever. For about 6 hours I fail to win another pot, or get better than Ajo / 66.

Then I get two good hands, k4s in the BB where I see a flush draw for free. EP bets I raise, all others fold he calls. Turn completes the flush. He bets big, I raise him with second nuts, he goes all-in for $300 total and I'm more than priced in.
Only if he had Axs in blinds am I a loser in this had. So I call and he flips A5s for the nuts. Oh well. Bad to raise turn with 2nd nut flush vs BB? Fold to his all-in?

Shortly thereafter I get my first high pp in hours. QQ in BB. Many limpers, Button makes it $30, I make it $90, folded to TAG on button, he goes all-in for $520 total.
Wow. I don't think I can call this. I can't even see him in the 10 seat.Any chance he doesn't have AA or KK? I fold. I know he had 'em, he played solid for like 8 hours. If he had QQ or AKs, more power to him. I know he had AA though. He also tough beat a guys KKK over QQQ flop. Ouch.

Interesting hand, 2 players have deep stacks qsjd4s3s board. seat 3 bet 50 on flop and got called. he checks and seat 7 bets $150. seat 3 thinks for a while and calls. River is 3h. Seat 3 bets 140, seat 7 raises him all-in. Seat 3 calls with q-hi full boat. Anyone misplay that? Seat 7 had nut flush of course.

Finally I get a hand or two I like and that are interesting.I limp with t9c in LP.Flop comes Ac5c2d. EP has won two pots on monster rivers, including a rivered full house. He bets $25 gets one caller so I make it $75. ep calls mp folds. EP is asking if I have a set. wtf?
Turn is the Jc. EP checks to me I make it 150. He thinks forever, asks me if i have a set and calls. weird!
River is Kh and now I'm a little nervous. He checks I check. My flush takes it down, he doesn't show but i think ak for sure.Who bets that river after being called for 150 on turn? Did i have mubs?

I win an okay hand with kt 2 pair on blinds and decide 7.5 hrs is enough time with 4-5 NL 1000 and higher players. Way too much like work. Anyway +460 not bad after 2 tough losses took me down a ways with 2nd best hands. virtually no tourists.

Except my first live sighting of internet boy. keeps buying in for $100 and losing it, no clue how to actually play. we felt bad for him. he raise and shove with like ak no pair after flop and got called almost every time. Way too much WSOP tourney watching.One hand I had kjs in blinds, he raised i called. $25 or so in pot with limpers. flop comes j82o. I bet 25 he makes it 50. I call, turn is another blank I bet 25 he raise his last 50 I call and he shows qj! We kept telling him not to play at our table and go to 2-4 limit but he wouldn't listen...

any comments welcome and appreciated.

Hit the Trop NL500 again on Saturday, good session

2005-08-02T06:29:00.000-07:00

Was cloudy at the beach on Sat morning, so drove down to the Trop for some NL yesterday. 3 hands that were semi-interesting, one I'd love to hear thoughts on.

Hand 1, 8 limpers in pot, I limp with 92h. Yeah, probably a bad move.Flop comes t92o. Nice flop. EP bets 15 MP calls, I raise to 35. EP who is a tight rock quickly flods, MP reraises me all-in for his last $133.What do you do here?I thought, called the Asian kid, he flips QJo for the pure semibluff raise with outs.Turn J river J. Ouch.

A hand that got misplayed by both players, imho.Mp limps in, 3 limpers, button raises to 30, button is fairly decent, MP reraises to 60 with KhKd. button just calls with AQo.Flop comes A53o. MP checks, button bets $60. MP thinks, calls. Turn is the Ten of hearts.MP bets all-in, has button covered, button has about $252 left. Good or bad bet?
Button goes into tank for about 5 minutes, asks for another minute, thinks for another 3 minutes, plays with his chips and stars down the MP. Just staring and playing with chips, finally talks himself into calling. River is harmless and he rakes large pot. Who played that worse?

Final big hand. Tight EP raiser again raises to 20, 7, count em, 7 callers. Including me of course, on the button with AhTc.Flop comes QhJh4h. EP raiser bets $130 into $127 pot. MP calls. I re-raise all-in for last $380 or so with nut flush and straight draw, figure I'm about 50% equity. [good, bad, ugly?]
I have EP outchipped and MP as well.EP has like $300 left and calls as he is basically priced in. MP folds his set of 4s face up. EP flips QJd for top two pair.Turn is a 7c.River is the Ks. The lovely, lovely Ks.I sucked out, but I think EP did not play this well, leading into like 7 people with a flush on the board.
Anyway, I won two more hands where I got called down with top set by one of the players who beat me above, and a set of 5s on another hand for nice wins. Finished up about $850 in less than 4 hours. Helps after the horrendous cards I've been getting there this year.

criticism and glad-handing is welcome.

Al Can't Hang

2005-07-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

I've seen Al at least twice at the Borgata in the past year, but both times I got so wrapped up in my NL game I forgot to say hello. His blog is hilarious.

AC trip recap

2005-07-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

Drove down 630am Fri, left 2pm Sat:

Session 1 at Borg:First hand, lose 300 buyin when AQ spikes his Q on river aftet calling my 2pair allin raise on turn.rebuy.hour later, lose 200 when straight draw hits higer than my made strait and flush draw, he had 6 outs. Ugh. Again, all-in on turn.buy 100 more.Lose 250 more to same guy with AK vs AQ when he hits 3-outer on river again, again after getting him allin on turn.Cash out down 110 at 2 pm.

Drive to Trop, 10 minutes after they got an ax murderer from NY out front. Weird.buyin to NL300 game. first hand, get all my money in with top 2 pair against slowplayed bottom set. I suckout! Ha-haa, kiddo.

Get pocket AAand play perfectly vs local rock on my right. Q-hi board and I think he had KK. Bad players at this tabe who think they are god's gift.Cashout up $554.run into my two buddies just walking in to casino. Go back to new nl 300 table.

First hand, split a 600 pot when I hit a 4-outer to river a higher fullhouse. Didn't trust my read on that one, mistake.
See new alltime stereotype at the table:Crazy Asian Gambler Dude with Tourette's syndrome.This is not a joke. Rocking constantly, facial tics, no cursing, constantlyl doing chip trix with both hands. For 5 hours straight. Total LAG.

Get KK, raise 15. 4 callers including him. Flop comes KQ 5o. I check, he raises 25, I call all fold. Turn is 7o. I bet 25 he raises 75 I call. River is Ten. I bet he reraises all in, I call, he flips J9o. Thanks , sir.

Rebuy 300.Have 75s, call 10 raise pf. Flop comes 963o. Mmm, belly busters. Tourette's bets 25, I call another caller. Turn is K, he bets 30, I call, folded. river is 4. Thank you sir. He bets 50 I raise75 all-in. He is thinking and rocking for about 3 minutes, halfway thru says, can he play 75? but I don't react. He was THISCLOSE to calling, he wanted to but did not. Maybe he had set of 3s or put me on set of kings again. He laid it down which was an AMAZING read.

hour later get AJ, flop comes AA9. I bet all fold to good player on my right. Turn is 7, he goes all-in, I know he doesn't have a 7 so I ignore my intuition and call. He flips 99 and I don't suckout this time.

Down to $32 get, KK push all-in. get 2 callers. Win. Get KT, flop comes KTx, win again. Win next hand.Leave at 930 down 184. My buddy says 'aren't you glad you ran into us before taking a nap?'Remind self to set him up with 300-lb AC hooker for later.

Our other buddy got crushed too.Eat at Palm. Mmm-good. Wager on Eagles with two idiot friends from NE.Head to Boragata, cannot get on bj tables unless plaing $50 per hand. Go to craps table, take out $2000 marker. 2 cold shooters, 1 okay, I get the dice and have not been hot for two years. $25min table. Roll about 15 minutes, make $800. Lose, lose, lose, lose win, lose, lose, cashout oup 125. Woulda left up 600 but had the two buddies in tow.

Back to Trop at 1am. First two hands again, I'm all in with top set and flopped straight, bust two small stacks for up 250. Dwindle, dwindle, get reraised 3 times on flop when my good cards totally miss by the same guy. fold like chump each time. Tired. Cashout up 95. Great, great rockin' table, 2 good players and that was it. Go to bed, wake up 4 hours later for NL tourney.

My favorite poker quote

2005-07-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

"I don't need to learn any more poker theory. I already know how to play MUCH better than I do."

Wow, that sure rings a bell.

Borgata NL500

2005-07-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

Went to the Borgata for a few hours this week. NL 300 was packed so it was a choice of short wait for 6/12 or NL 500 2/5 blinds. Well, what do YOU think I chose? :)

Same table, same seat as I sat in on 10/20 last time where I got cold-decked for an hour. Not a good sign. Bot in for 380.Young table. Recognized one player from when I played NL300 on Sat am...it's Monday afternoon and he's there? That's a pro. He's a decent player, too. Not great, but aggressive when he comes in - sometimes loose, sometimes tight, will call with his good hands on the end.

First hand, AQc. Looking good [in CO]. I raise 15. All fold. Hmmm, this table plays different [tighter] than NL300. I win $7! Woo-hoo! Feel the rush, baby. Outta my way, you weak-tight, Patchd00d-imitating pink skirt wearers! Outta...MY....way!

Two hands later, JhJd. I raise $5 UTG2. 3 callers. Interesting.Flop Qh 8h 6h. I bet 15, fold, fold, Solid-Aggressive Asian Guy re-raises me $25. Crap. Call me a weakie, but I laid it down. I'm losing to any Q, him having the flush already - calling from late position with any two little hearts even, and if he has the A or K flush draw [or AhQx] I'm almost dead. I feel terrible if any card but a J hits. I'll get him next time. [This guy turned out to be the best player at the table.]

A few hands later I get JJ again. Open-raise $10 in late position. Again get 3-4 callers. [nobody on our 'side' of the table had their bets respected.] Guy next to me was Mr. Tight Jerry-Garcia looking guy, sat out a lot of hands. He was a caller. Flop comes AsTs3c. I don't have any of that color. He bet out, got a caller, so I folded. Not happy. He won without showing, but I put him on nothing less than AJs or AQo. He played more like TJ than any [of the few] NL players I've sat with. Tight and aggressive. Every flop it seemed had a ten in it.

I finally won a hand playing JTs when it came all babies and betting out aggressively flop and turn. Guy thought and folded on turn.
Next orbit look down at AcAs in EP. Well, about time. Bet $15 again, hoping for a caller, get 3 - LP, SB, BB!Flop comes Ah9s8d. Nice. I bet $20, figuring this is the perfect place to underbet the pot. LP calls, fold, fold. Turn comes Kc. Perfect. I hope LP has AKo or KQs or something.I accidentally string-bet $50 - 25 and 25. No go. I rarely ever make this mistake. So I bet $25 - I figure, eh, no problem. He's calling anyway, right?Older Guy raises me back $100!I bark out 'All-in' faster than Thome turns on a belt-high fastball. I'm in for probably about $400, maybe a touch less, like 350.Shockingly, he calls.
I can't wait to see it, hoping he doesn't have a draw like JT. He flips 99 and everyone Ooohs! when I flip the set of Aces. No quads and I take home a big pot. Several comments from around the table after that about how I played AA perfectly that time - not including the string bet as they knew I meant to be $50. He was calling anyway with his set of 9s, and he said so afterwards - I got his whole stack and he rebought.

Next hand Jerry Garcia crushes Young Pro with Tens full to beat another pocket Aces! Glad I got my hand when I did, because it would have been a tough laydown that I probably wouldn't make.Right before I left I got pocket 9s, raise $5, 4 callers, from EP. Flop came J97o. Sweet. I bet $15 again. Other Asian guy calls. Turn is a Q. I bet $40. Asian guy thinks, thinks, thinks, mucks, asks if I had a straight. I say nope, a set. He says 'That Q really hurt you then, I was definitely calling unless a Q or T came.'A lotta guys were playing KTo and QTo, even.

A huge, huge pot [2000+?] was split when both guys had trip Ts with Q kicker. After that is when I started playing Any Ten because 40% of the flops had 1 or 2 tens in it. I folded T3o one time because even Bad Me can't play that, flop came KT3o, a huge pot developed, and KQ won it with top pair. :)

Anyhoo, I bluffed out a guy heads-up for small, right before the BB came back to me and left. Up $500+.As the dealers at the Taj have been saying, "Those NL games at the Borgata are squishy-soft." Other than Young Pro, I'd say there were only two players at the table who were better than average - Tight Asian guy and Jerry Garcia dude. Rest of them were 20 somethings for the most part killing an afternoon. Maybe staying there, maybe a week off, maybe they work night or swing shift, who knows?

I thought I played well, the cards helped, I continue to improve my read on people live, and the only hand I wonder about is the first JJ hand with the three heart flop. MUBS? Half our flops had three of a suit if no Tens were there so lotsa guys were playing even 85s.

Daytrip to LV last year

2005-07-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

1)HE 6-12. +80 in one hour.
2)HE 6-12 Wed am. +110 in two hours.
3) NL 500 buy-in, started with only 5 of us early Mirage. [all Mirage]+945 in 4 hours.
Also folded a flush draw with gutshot SF draw to 2 all-ins, and of course hit the K-hi diamond S-flush. [set of 9s took it!]I got good cards, but I did not suckout on the river once the whole time.

I either had the goods, or made it on the turn, on folded before then. Probably a good way to play in LV.

I did tilt one local player who was running bad at 10/20, came to our table and immediately started antagonizing people, first hand he shows his live hand to my friend, who is live. My friend folds. Other players ask for a ruling. Room manager comes over and correctly declares his hand dead. Guy erupts, as if he can go showing his cards to anyone he wants whenever he wants.

A few hands later, he throws $15 out after someone raises $6 pf, and then goes ballistic when dealer correctly calls that a raise. He asks the 3 other players if they want to chop. Ha! Then he starts running down this LL HE stakes. {Yet he never left.}So I stole my personal favorite from this board. After only a few hands he was critiquing someone's play who I had played with the night before who was fairly good. I said," Oh goodie! Poker Lessons!! Are you going to teach our end of the table too?"

Everyone but him loved that one. Then he asked me if I was a junior stockbroker, which really made me laugh, after I politely told him I was from NYC when he inquired. Shortly thereafter, my friend and I went to the NL table [he lost] and I had my nice run.

When I was leaving, I stopped back at the 6/12 table to say 'bye' to the guy I had sat near the nite before, and Mr Tilt went even more tilty when he was my 3 racks of chips. He kept asking if I was the guy's stockbroker. Funniest thing I've seen in ages.

All about the table selection

2005-07-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Played with the work crowd again, 10/20 HE and some Omaha hi/8.8 guys total most of the nite. Won 27BB getting mostly an assortment of horrid hole cards that I'd fold, or would miss the flop, or flop would hit me right in the head. Only had 1 Group 1 starting hand all nite. Didn't river one person. Best pocket pair I got all nite was 77 - which took down a huge pot with a full house. 77 won about 5 monster pots total. Someone had low-quads again, second time in a row.

Then we played a quick NL freezeout tourney to close the nite, which I also won. I don't know how to play short-handed, but nobody else did either. After the 2nd place survived 2 all-ins I thought I'd lose, but I put him all-in with a flush draw and won, finally. I'd say 4 other players knew how to play at an average/slightly better level, one who's always there is so aggressive I can't tell, and two beginners, one learning fast and one-super-smart guy who is learning way too fast and has already figured you can win an extra 5-6 pots per nite by being super-aggressive when you enter a pot. I hate those smart[er] guys. :)

In Omaha, I finally had a flopped FH stand up - Aces over Kings with an AAK flop. Only won small pot, though. Not too many bettors with that.The host's friend, let's call him Jerry, was the worst 'tilt player' I have ever played with, in or out of a casino. He never got good cards. The flop never hit him. He'd lose on the river. Etc. And this guy is not working right now because he's made so much money he wanted some time off. He, and the host, were complaining because I 'folded every hand,' which as you all know, is a joke given some of the starting hands I like to play.

Amusing, I get 98o in SB, complete with 5 callers [lotta family pots] flop comes T67, I drag a huge pot from the host. He complains. It's like my first pot in an hour or so since the FH. About 45 mins later, I get A3c in the cutoff in another large unraised pot. I limp in. Flop comes 332. Jerry bets, a few callers, I call. Turn is a blank. Jerry bets, 1 caller, I call. River is a Queen, he bets, MP folds, I raise, he looks at me, says 'what the hell are you playing?' and calls. Mucks disgustedly [AQo?] when I flip A3c.

He proceeded to be On Tilt the rest of the nite. Since he hosts a NL500 local game as well, he considers himself the 'expert,' even though he's only expert at losing his whole buy-in. He bluffed a nice pot with 9-hi, I folded A-hi on the river [A6o from the button] and I guess he thought that made him the man. So he's been berating me all nite for not playing enough hands, continues when I won the A3c pot.

30 mins later, look down and see A3c again in MP. Nice for this game. Limp in, about 5 players, flop comes. 433o. Checked to me I bet - thot about slow=playing-, 2 callers. Turn is a 8s - two spades. I bet, Jerry says "Are you playing A3 again?" Other player calmly replies I could have pockets, A3 again, flush or straight draw, etc. Of course I win this hand also when a blank hits the river, and he says "Doesn't it embarrass you to play that trash?"No, I reply, dragging another good pot.

On Tilt, he continues, "You don't feel bad we always know your starting cards on the flop?"'I can't hear you Jerry, your chips are blocking my ears.'He then proceeds to tell me to stay out of "his" pots, --he's directly on my left, and when I say 'whatever' says, "Don't talk to me any more!"

People are laughing at this point, mostly at him, but trying to be semi-nice as he's the host's friend. I simply ask, 'You never play A3 suited? From any position?'"No," he replies haughtily. "I never play that crap."Suits me just fine, I think to myself. I'd play it in at least 4 spots at a full or super-loose table. "And stop talking to me!" he says.

Frickin' hilarious Tilt, one of my best. When he left he walked the other way around the table, shaking hands but refused to shake mine or even look in my direction. Heck, I wasn't even trying! Never seen a guy rich enough to quit a very hi-paying job moan about losing a few hundered like that. Sad.

Then I put the host on Tilt playing Th9s from the BB. Flop come QJTs. Gee, that fit a little bit. Host bets, I call [no A or Ks is going anywhere I figure, and my 9 isn't exactly power - good move?] one more caller. Turn is the 8c. SB bets I raise LP folds, SB calls. River a blank he checks I bet he calls, flips over KsQd. Asks me what the hell I was doing playing that flop [!!] after teasing me for folding the past hour - "Four corners," he would scoff.

I think I put 3 of the other players on Tilt last night, the third guy right off the bat when my 7s full of Jacks beat his AJ trips. I only took one bad beat last nite, Omaha, when my top set of Kings got rivered by a Jack for a gutshot straight. That's Omaha for you, real big pot too.Be interesting to see if I get invited back...they didn't mind when I dropped 150 when I played NL for the first time.

Never thought I'd do well with the starting cards I was getting, one hour I got 63o 3 times in a row, then 72o 3times, then T4o 3 times in a row. It was also fun to play a game where a raise on the turn or river actually meant something.

My Very Expensive Thoughts at NL...

2005-07-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

1) He's bluffing
2) I know what hand he's on
3) That flop missed everyone
4) My K-hi flush is best
5) Who cares if the board paired? I got AA!
6) That guy always limps, he's got nothing.
7) I can't fold this hand. No way.
8) I saw Lederer do this once.
9) Damn, am I ever stuck. The only way I can win it back quickly is at the 15/30 tables.
10) He always re-raises, so this one is meaningless.
11) I'll trick him by playing 55 like it's AA, and vice versa.
12) My pot odds are good
13) My implied pot odds are good, since he'll call a raise on the end
14) I'll just call on the button with QQ
15) I can outplay them after the flop

My favorite AA Thread from 2+2

2005-07-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=2016366&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=all&vc=1

My first Tourney - Trop $225 NL - an interesting hand

2005-07-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

We are about slightly more than halfway thru the Trop NL $225 tourney. I have a good stack of exactly 19,900 chips after starting with 5k. Many players are solid, some calling stations, some obvious deer-in-headlights. [about 65-75 players left. Maybe less started with 160 no rebuys.]

I am at Table 1 Seat 2, so all the extra players are getting moved to my table so it's constantly full of new players. Blinds are now 1k/2k, antes are probably 200.I am in BB with 4d, 3d. Might have to play this one. UTG raises to 4k. MP calls. SB folds.

Okay, for $2k I'm in. No-brainer, right? [comments, pls]Flop comes 5d, 3c, 2d.

Fireworks start going off in my head. I figure there's no way I'm not ahead in Equity at this point, if not outright.I check. [yes/no/depends on?]UTG raises 10k! MP can't fold fast enough. UTG hadn't been on my left for that long, but no way he min-raised with 22 or 55 is my edumacated guess.

I check UTG's stack and it looks bigger than mine, but I can't tell with all the pretty colors.I re-raise all in after 5 seconds thought. The table is understandably surprised. [good, bad, Ugly?] I wouldn't mind a fold here, either.UTG is directly next to me, I can feel his eyes on me, but I never look away from the flop.

After 45 seconds, he calls, which surprises me, because now I am certain he is behind. I mean dead-solid certain.He calls, flips Kd Jd. Wow, what a call. I guess he was getting odds. Do you make this call?Turn is Qs. No help there.River is a Diamond. The lovely, lovely Ace of Diamonds.

ClueBoy jumps up for a second and yells, before he realizes. Dealers says 'Straight Flush...' and the entire crowd ooohed and aaahed. It was damn funny. Then he says, you have me outchipped, and I'm all like, No way, dude.Turns out he had 19,980.

I win. HGHN.After that I hit my high of 61k in chips before getting nothing but 96o and 74o for two hours. I finally bust out with two tables and 2xBB with AKo against 42s.

Amarillo Slim's 10 rules of Poker

2005-07-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

1. Play the players more than you play the cards.
2. Choose the right opponents. If you don't see a sucker at the table, you're it.

3. Never play with money you can't afford to lose.
4. Be tight and aggressive; don't play many hands, but when you do, be prepared to move in.

5. Always be observing at a game. The minute you're there, you're working.
6. Watch the other players for “tells” before you look at your own cards.
7. Diversify your play so other players can't pick up tells on you.
8. Choose your speed based on the direction of the game. Play slow in a fast game, and play fast in a slow game.

9. Be able to quit a loser,and for goodness' sake, keep playing when you're winning.

10. Conduct yourself honorably, so you're always invited back.

The Worst Poker 'beat' I've ever seen, tip your dealer on the way out...

2005-07-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

Tight player and LAG2 are in a hand. 4 players limp in for $15. I fold my 62o.
Flop comes A 8 8. Tight player bets $30, LAG2 raises to $60, TP calls.
Turn is a blank. TP checks, LAG2 says, "I bet..." but does not get a chance to bet as the dealer immediately turns over a King on the river.
LAG2 is seated next to the dealer. LAG2 verbal intentions were audible and obvious to all.LAG2 objects to dealer not giving him a chance to bet [particularly after he raised on the flop.]
TP says dealer must bury and re-deal the river, obviously - can't have two bets - turn and river - on the river card. LAG2 gets visibly upset at the dealer.
Dealer redeals the river, another blank. TP bets all-in.Cursing loudly, LAG2 folds, and flips over his pocket Kings.

It gets worse. TP shows his A8o, for what would have been the worse full house on the river, previously. LAG2 goes on massive tilt, as dealer error costs him 3-4 hundred dollars of TP's money, and some of his own.

He left shortly thereafter, still cursing up a blue streak.Even I felt his pain.

Just starting

2005-07-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

I created this to comment on a friend's blog, well, several friends. I play poker, and if you don't know why I chose this particular name for my site, just google it.