Back to Back $100 Days

And all $100 came in the last 10 minutes of playing.

My target identified himself by an incredibly terrible play. A shorty shoved $9 into a $3 pot on a 4c7s5s flop. Based on read, I knew my JJ was good against the shorty. Fish then called behind me. I check the 2c turn. Fish INSTANTLY shoves remaining $17. I debate here as I don't have a read on Fish yet. I have major pot odds and decide that I'm committed and if I'm coolered, I'm coolered.

Fish shows T5. Of DIAMONDS. No FD, 2nd pair.

Unfortunately original raiser spiked an Ace on the river to win with his all powerful A4. I still finished ahead in the hand $5 because of Fish.

Fish reloads to $50. Woohoo!

Fish loses some of it.

Then this wonderful hand:

----------------------------------------------
$0.1/$0.25 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG	BEDINGER1	($38.04)
CO	EVITO07	($86.90)
BTN	WULFE	($43.96)
SB	BUSHISATIT	($29.95)
BB	Hero	($32.56)

Pre-flop: ($0.35, 5 players) Hero is BB

BEDINGER1 calls $0.25, 2 folds, BUSHISATIT calls $0.15, Hero raises to $1, BEDINGER1 raises to $3.25, BUSHISATIT folds, Hero calls $2.25

Flop: ($6.75, 2 players)
Hero checks, BEDINGER1 bets $6.75, Hero goes all-in $29.31, BEDINGER1 calls $22.56

Turn: ($65.37, 2 players)

River: ($65.37, 2 players)

Final Pot: $65.37
Hero shows:
BEDINGER1 shows:

Hero wins $62.37 ( won +$29.81 )
BUSHISATIT lost -$0.25
BEDINGER1 lost -$32.56

----------------------------------------

He reloads to $50. Woohoo!

And then this happens to him:

-----------------------------------------

$0.1/$0.25 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:

UTG	BUSHISATIT	($29.70)
UTG+1	Hero	($63.06)
CO	BEDINGER1	($50.00)
BTN	AIKIBETJITSU	($55.92)
SB	EVITO07	($82.90)
BB	WULFE	($42.96)

Pre-flop: ($0.35, 6 players) Hero is UTG+1

BUSHISATIT calls $0.25, Hero calls $0.25, BEDINGER1 calls $0.25, 1 fold, EVITO07 raises to $1.50, 1 fold, BUSHISATIT folds, Hero calls $1.25, BEDINGER1 calls $1.25

Flop: ($5, 3 players)
EVITO07 bets $2.50, Hero calls $2.50, BEDINGER1 calls $2.50

Turn: ($12.50, 3 players)
EVITO07 checks, Hero checks, BEDINGER1 bets $12.50, EVITO07 folds, Hero calls $12.50

River: ($37.50, 2 players)
Hero checks, BEDINGER1 goes all-in $33.50, Hero calls $33.50

Final Pot: $104.50
Hero shows:
BEDINGER1 shows:

Hero wins $101.50 ( won +$51.50 )
EVITO07 lost -$4
BUSHISATIT lost -$0.25
BEDINGER1 lost -$50

------------------------------------------

BOOOM! Back-to-back $100 days. Nex target is only $300 away. Wow.

UPDATE: Just checked my buddy list, the fish moved up to 100NL....I'm too much of a pussy to chase him up there...for now.

PBP Update: Goal #1A Reached

My first $100 day.

Profit for today (excluding rakeback) is at $103.89.

Why such a massive heater? Combination of solid play, good reads, and awesome table selection and then avoiding the massive suckouts for once.

Once my rake hits my account, I'll be over the $600 mark. 4 tables of 25NL here I come. By the way, I will drop back to 3 tables of 25NL if I go under $575, back to 2 tables if I drop under $550, etc.

My readings so far:

10NL - 17219 hands, 15.63 bb/100
VPIP 18.9, PFR 13.0%, WTSD% 25.4, W$SD% 53.1

25NL - 329 hands, 67.73 bb/100, 21.9/17.6/4

More later on crushing 10NL.

PBP Update: Goal #1 Reached

Goal #1:

Reach $500 Bankroll by January 31st.

Crushed. Surpassed it in 9 days since writing my PBP (Poker Business Plan). Ran at a rate 0f 15.24 bb/100 over 16k hands. Big key was taking the advice of Ryverrat and leave a table once I double up. Lock-in my profits and I play better with 100BBs than 200BBs at this point in my game.

Implementation plan for 25NL:

4 tables max. 3 will be at 10NL. 1 table at 25NL. One 10NL table will be dropped for every additional $25 into the bankroll as follows:

Bankroll $550 - 2 tables of 25NL, 2 tables of 10NL
Bankroll $575 - 3 tables of 25NL, 1 table of 10NL
Bankroll $600 - 4 tables of 25NL, 1 10NL table
Bankroll $625 - All 25NL

Next goal is $1k bankroll and 50NL.

PBP Check-In: Graph since I started PBP

My PBP (Poker Business Plan) is cruising right along:



Rate of 15.33 bb/100. Also turned in "Credits" on AP (AP verbage for FPPs) for $25 cash. Add in another $25 from rakeback being credited to the account and I'm about $30 from hitting my first breakpoint. Gotta keep my head on straight as there is such a thin line separating good solid poker and bankroll crushing spewtardiness.

$100 to go....

Hit $400 on the AP account. Means $100 to go. I have over $30 sitting in rakeback, so technically only $70 to go.

Nice. Very nice. Gotta keep it going.

BTW - the wife reference below. Finally showed her this ol' blog. She understands my passion for wanting to become good at this and even has acknowledged that if I can put up consistent results of $3k months for 6 straight months, we may even look at me doing it full-time. now that would be exciting.

Have a LONG LONG ways to go though.

See ya at the felt,

DubsPoke
AP BR: $400
Winrate: 15.46 bb/100

A Good Day.

Up a little over 8 buy-ins total for the day, 7 on AP and 1 on Cake. Good stuff especially considering I had a mini-slump on Christmas Eve and started off the same today. I simply cut back on tables to 4 total and started crushing again.

11544 hands, 15.29 bb/100. $109 until first goal of $500.

I have 2 new goals added to my PBP of my first $100 day and my first $500 day.

And I love my wife!

Trying out Cake Poker...

RakeUpdate.com does offer 33% rakeback from CakePoker so I thought I'd check it out and bonus whore a little bit.

Software is nice. You can resize the table but the numbers stay nice and large. Great feature.

Downside: Doesn't work with any poker tracker software or huds. I'm still trying to formulate how I feel on this. More on this later.

Continuing to crush....

hands Played: 6844
Winrate: 18.66 bb/100
Winnings: $127.68
Left to $500 goal: $139.79

I've found that I play optimally on 6 tables for about 1.5 hours. Then my play starts to suffer a bit (at least mentally). Will use this knowledge and start taking some breaks around that time instead of playing the full 2 hours. I'm getting in between 400-450 hands per hour it seems while only 5 tabling (5 table when I watch/listen to CR videos).

Anyways, just thought I'd throw in a quick update. Here's an interesting hand by the way:

Stage #1167304957: Holdem No Limit $0.10 - 2008-12-23 17:33:02 (ET)
Table: ICELAND HWY (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 5 - T0KAREV ($13.81 in chips)
Seat 1 - JOSEMADRE ($10.51 in chips)
Seat 2 - DUBSPOKE ($24.60 in chips)
Seat 3 - TEXICITYS ($20 in chips)
Seat 4 - VIKES999 ($4.26 in chips) <---somewhat of a thinking player but playing too many hands too far; I've got a good handle on this table and its dynamics
JOSEMADRE - Posts small blind $0.05
DUBSPOKE - Posts big blind $0.10
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to DUBSPOKE [Jh Kh]
TEXICITYS - Folds
VIKES999 - Calls $0.10
T0KAREV - Folds
JOSEMADRE - Calls $0.05
DUBSPOKE - Raises $0.30 to $0.40
VIKES999 - Calls $0.30
JOSEMADRE - Folds
*** FLOP *** [Qd Ks 10d]
DUBSPOKE - Bets $0.50
VIKES999 - Calls $0.50
*** TURN *** [Qd Ks 10d] [Qc] <---interesting turn
DUBSPOKE - Checks
VIKES999 - Bets $0.90 <-----timed down FOREVER before making bet
DUBSPOKE - Calls $0.90 <-----think he is trying to bluff a Queen quite frankly
*** RIVER *** [Qd Ks 10d Qc] [2h]
DUBSPOKE - Checks
VIKES999 - All-In $2.46 <-----I don't believe him. 100% confident in my read that he doesn't have a Q. Put him on a missed flush draw.
DUBSPOKE - Calls $2.46
*** SHOW DOWN ***
VIKES999 - Shows [9c 9s] (Two Pair, queens and nines) <----I'm wrong and right, didn't have a Q but wasn't a missed Flush Draw.
DUBSPOKE - Shows [Jh Kh] (Two Pair, kings and queens)
DUBSPOKE Collects $8.19 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($8.62) | Rake ($0.43)
Board [Qd Ks 10d Qc 2h]
Seat 1: JOSEMADRE (small blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: DUBSPOKE (big blind) won Total ($8.19) HI:($8.19) with Two Pair, kings and queens [Jh Kh - B:Ks,P:Kh,B:Qd,B:Qc,P:Jh]
Seat 3: TEXICITYS Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: VIKES999 HI:lost with Two Pair, queens and nines [9c 9s - B:Qd,B:Qc,P:9s,P:9c,B:Ks]
Seat 5: T0KAREV (dealer) Folded on the POCKET CARDS

I'm making these type of plays more often with greater accuracy as to when to fold and when to call. Poker is a lot more fun when you are relaxed and confident.

Dropping Hr Target From PBP

PBP = Poker Business Plan

Anyways, dropping the hour requirement from my PBP. Reason = Hours logged don't matter. It's all about the number of hands and BB/100.

I've also increased the number of tables played at once during a serious session up to 6. I've found that I can handle that number of tables EASILY at 10NL without much, if any, effect on my winrate.

I'm still cruising by the way.

Hands logged = 5739
WinRate = 17.97 bb/100

Plan Check-In: Day 3

Hours Played: 11.3 (TARGET 6hrs, +5.3)
Hands Played: 3296 or 291.7 per hour. (TARGET hands [6x400 = 2400], +896)
Total Winnings: $64.24 (TARGET 6hrs * $4 per hour = $24, +$40.24)
Win Rate: 19.49 bb/100 (TARGET 10bb/100 = +9.49 bb/100)
Bankroll: $283.60 (Target $200 + (3days * $8 per day) = $224, + $59.60)

The only stat out of whack is the hands per hour & total hours played. I had a 3 hour session of 1 tabling because I was doing some work while playing. That session was a whopping win of $2.59 (AQ < 82 was a 116bbs loss that I suffered in that session otherwise would have been very nice.)

So I'm cruising right along. FYI - Rakeback will be added to my bankroll in $25 increments and as earned. That will help speed up the process for me as well.

I have an Excel spreadsheet I'm using to track my progress as well.

Now for my biggest wins and losses:

A cooler turned massive suckout:



My bets may be too small, but I think Villian is calling me down no matter what because that is what fish do:

My Poker Business Plan: A Crucial Exercise

Relevant to the previous post, I've decided to write a plan for how I am going to achieve my goals in poker. Today I am re-dedicating myself to mastering this game and moving up the limits so that some day I can start cashing out from my account instead of just constantly trying to build my account.

I have a series of goals now for 2009.

1) To have a $1k month
2) To have a $1k week.
3) To have a $1k day.
4) To have a $1k pot (win).

Now how am I going to get there. This is difficult part. Let's do some math.

I'm currently playing 10NL. I have a long-term winrate at this limit of approx 10bb/100. 10BB = $1 for every 100 hands.

I'm starting with a $200 base roll. (I have more but am allowing the excess for emergency funding in case of bad downswings as well as some fun money for tourney's, SNGs, HU, etc to mix it up when needed). In order to START 25NL I am going to require a minimum of 20 buy-ins.

$25 x 20 Buy-ins = $500 bankroll

So if I can maintain a pace of 10BB/100 at 10NL (which I feel is somewhat easily achievable) then how many hands do I need to put in?

Goal BR ($500) - Current BR ($200) = $300 profit.

100 hands = $1 so 100 x $300 = 30,000 hands

How long does it take to play 30k hands?

Avg table on AP is between 80-120+ hands per hour so on average lets use 100 hands per hour. I will be 4 tabling on average. 100 x 4 = 400 hands per hour.

30,000/400 = 75 hrs. I can play approx 2 hours per day (probably more but for this exercise we will say 2).

75/2 = 37.5 days.

That's a bit more than I expected to be honest. I believe I can play a bit more and will increase the number of tables as I fix some leaks/gain confidence. I believe I can do it in 30 days.

By January 31st, I want to have surpassed a $500 bankroll.

--------------------------

Now let's look at what it takes to hit 50NL. Going to adjust Buy-in requirement to 20 BIs to start taking shots.

My starting BR for 25NL is $500. Requirement for 50NL x 20 BI = $1000

BB/100 winrate of 6. 6 x .25 = $1.50 per 100 hands.

400 hands per hour (4 tables @ 100 hands per hour per table) * $1.50 = $6 per hour.

$500 profit needed. $500/6 = 83.3 hours / 2 hours per day = 42 days.

So I should be able to start taking shots around March 15th.

I think this is achievable.

------------------------------------

100NL means a bankroll of $2000. A winrate of 4bb/100 at 100NL is $4 per 100 hands.

4 tables at 100 hands per hour * $4 = $16 per hour. $1000 profit needed / 16 per hour = 62.5 hours of play / 2 hrs per day = 31.25 days. So technically should start taking shots around April 15th.

Also - goal #1 would be accomplished if I'm able to achieve this.

I will probably take some cash outs before then so I will say June 1st is my goal to be playing 100NL.

I do think that is achievable.

---------------------------

Doing that exercise really helped put things in perspective for me. From a mental standpoint, having a poker business plan will allow me to have more of a concrete way to judge how far along I am to reaching my goals. More on this in my next post....

I'd like to hear your comments on this plan. Realistic? Unrealistic? Pros/Cons? Tweaks to be made? Did I get the math right?

Good luck at the felt,

DubsPoke

(FYI - Coincidentally, I just had one of my better 4tabling 10NL sessions in a while, I will explain why next post as well.)

An Excellent Perspective

One blog I've been following for a while has been "Random Thoughts From A Seattle Poker Pro." An entertaining journey by an author that creates pictures with his words.

Anyways, this post I found especially interesting in regards to the discussion on donks, as well as some of the reasons we play poker.

I enjoy the game. I enjoy the challenge.

But really, I know that what really intrigues me about the game is the potential that it brings. I want to be like those that I read about. I want to be like sprstoner (without the hookers) where one tourney win is a year's salary (or in my mind mortgage payments and financial security). The guys that make their living answering only to themselves and their significant others. I want to be that guy.

LOL - gotta love this.

End of 1st break.



No way this holds up.

Update #1 - 9:29pm: Dwindled Down and then this hand:

PokerStars Game #23019904945: Tournament #124189660, Freeroll Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit - Level IX (75/150) - 2008/12/17 23:27:38 ET
Table '124189660 5' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: Mista_Bl@ck (1590 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: chirak1982 (8368 in chips)
Seat 3: NewinNov (4485 in chips)
Seat 4: Käberlinski (1620 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 5: mclarich (5962 in chips)
Seat 6: rottyowner65 (7680 in chips)
Seat 7: Pinkypollo (2704 in chips)
Seat 8: DubsPoke (11225 in chips)
Seat 9: asphnxma (4101 in chips)
Käberlinski: posts small blind 75
mclarich: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [5c 2s 7c 4s]
rottyowner65: folds
Pinkypollo: folds
DubsPoke: raises 300 to 450
asphnxma: folds
Mista_Bl@ck: folds
chirak1982: calls 450
NewinNov: folds
Käberlinski: folds
mclarich: folds
*** FLOP *** [8h Ac 7h]
DubsPoke: bets 450
chirak1982: calls 450
*** TURN *** [8h Ac 7h] [Kd]
DubsPoke: bets 1050
chirak1982: calls 1050
*** RIVER *** [8h Ac 7h Kd] [5d]
DubsPoke: bets 4125
chirak1982: calls 4125
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [5c 2s 7c 4s] (HI: two pair, Sevens and Fives; LO: 7,5,4,2,A)
chirak1982: mucks hand
DubsPoke collected 6188 from pot
DubsPoke collected 6187 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 12375 | Rake 0
Board [8h Ac 7h Kd 5d]
Seat 1: Mista_Bl@ck folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: chirak1982 mucked [Jc 3c 4d 8d]
Seat 3: NewinNov (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Käberlinski (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: mclarich (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: rottyowner65 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Pinkypollo folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: DubsPoke showed [5c 2s 7c 4s] and won (12375) with HI: two pair, Sevens and Fives; LO: 7,5,4,2,A
Seat 9: asphnxma folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I'm such a lucksack.



I'm still in the opinion that this never holds and I will bubble at best.

Update 9:49pm:

Yep, headed to the bubble. Playing WAYYYYYYYYY too many hands at this point with not much clue on what I am doing. Mclarich cut me in half twice with AAxx hands and my draws missed badly.

Against a respected blogger in PLO8....

Figured I was right but don't know how to explain. Can you help?

PokerStars Game #23018713335: Tournament #124189660, Freeroll Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit - Level IV (25/50) - 2008/12/17 22:35:11 ET
Table '124189660 5' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: Carrieto (2160 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: parmupill (2310 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 3: NewinNov (4145 in chips) <-----I recognize the name from Mookies and whatnot
Seat 4: Käberlinski (2315 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 5: ManuelLima (5410 in chips)
Seat 6: rottyowner65 (3130 in chips)
Seat 7: Pinkypollo (3015 in chips)
Seat 8: DubsPoke (3195 in chips)
Seat 9: asphnxma (1790 in chips)
Käberlinski: posts small blind 25
ManuelLima: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [3h Ts Ah Qc]
rottyowner65: folds
Pinkypollo: folds
DubsPoke: raises 100 to 150
asphnxma: folds
Carrieto: folds
parmupill: folds
NewinNov: calls 150
Käberlinski: folds
ManuelLima: folds
*** FLOP *** [3d 5s 5h]
DubsPoke: checks
NewinNov: bets 150
DubsPoke: calls 150
*** TURN *** [3d 5s 5h] [Qs]
DubsPoke: checks
Carrieto has returned
Carrieto is sitting out
NewinNov: bets 300
DubsPoke: calls 300
*** RIVER *** [3d 5s 5h Qs] [9d]
DubsPoke: checks
NewinNov: bets 650
DubsPoke: calls 650
*** SHOW DOWN ***
NewinNov: shows [Ad Td 2s Kh] (HI: a pair of Fives)
DubsPoke: shows [3h Ts Ah Qc] (HI: two pair, Queens and Fives)
DubsPoke collected 2575 from pot
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2575 | Rake 0
Board [3d 5s 5h Qs 9d]
Seat 1: Carrieto folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: parmupill folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: NewinNov (button) showed [Ad Td 2s Kh] and lost with HI: a pair of Fives
Seat 4: Käberlinski (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: ManuelLima (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: rottyowner65 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Pinkypollo folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: DubsPoke showed [3h Ts Ah Qc] and won (2575) with HI: two pair, Queens and Fives
Seat 9: asphnxma folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I put NewinNov on the nut low draw. If he has the nut-low draw, then NewinNov most likely wouldn't have a 5 right? Which means there is a chance my pair of Qs is actually good. I really slowed down and then made the call.

Probably just got really lucky. But thought it was an interesting hand, especially since I don't have much of a clue when it comes to PLO8.

AP/UB Has Micro-Limit HU

Background on this guy. I doubled through him when my OPES+FD hit on river and he called my shove with a pair of Aces. He then sat out and told me to get off his table. I didn't. After a bit, he sat back in. And shoved. For 10 straight hands. Then started playing normal again with a shortstack. Beat him on a small pot and he started shoving again. Picked up a hand thought would be a coinflip at worst. 99 vs KJo. I fill a straight on the river. Hilarity ensues (FYI, I'm trying to goad him back into playing. Tried being nice first. Then played up against his obvious pride. Unfortunately didn't work:

SHARK0011: lol
DUBSPOKE wins ($7.17) with (Straight, ten to ace).
SHARK0011: kj
SHARK0011: haha
DUBSPOKE: lol
SHARK0011: u play for the site
DUBSPOKE: you ever play HU before?
SHARK0011: its hilarious
DUBSPOKE: pretty standard there
SHARK0011: kj
DUBSPOKE: especially based on your huge push range you've displayed ov
SHARK0011: ur a favorite over no hand?
DUBSPOKE: over the last 30 hands or so
SHARK0011: ur not a favorite over anything
SHARK0011: ur trying to draw out
SHARK0011: thats all
SHARK0011: i dont rely on lukc
SHARK0011: luck
SHARK0011: donk ass
DUBSPOKE: you chicken?
DUBSPOKE: or just broke?
SHARK0011: neither
SHARK0011: i dont play against donkeys that dont rely on any skill
DUBSPOKE: uhm....so that's why you won't play me?
DUBSPOKE: becuase you think i'm a luckbox with no skill?
SHARK0011: nope
SHARK0011: everytime u suckedout
DUBSPOKE: you do realize how reta.rded that sounds right?
DUBSPOKE: i suck
DUBSPOKE: so you won't play me
SHARK0011: i know
DUBSPOKE: so you only play good players?
DUBSPOKE: of which you have no edge against?
DUBSPOKE: LOL
DUBSPOKE: now that sounds like a winning plan
SHARK0011: that dont make retarded moves
SHARK0011: or calls
SHARK0011: correct
SHARK0011: they have a clue and dont rely on luck
DUBSPOKE: uhm...you haven't played much HU have you?
DUBSPOKE: chicken$hit loser
SHARK0011: check my stats
SHARK0011: i make 1k a week at this game
DUBSPOKE: playing 10NL?
SHARK0011: from players like you
DUBSPOKE: at 10NL?
SHARK0011: yea
SHARK0011: very easily

33 $2 HU SNGs Completed

Won 70% of them for a $23.40 profit.

Can easily play 3-4 at a time. Never really felt outplayed either. I think I'll play 50 at the $2 level and then move up to $5 if everything goes well.

HU SNGs....

This article makes a lot of sense.

Why in the world don't I play more of these? It's much easier to double your money in these than it is in cash games.

I'm now 6 for 6 in $2 HU SNG's on PS.

12:26pm EDIT: 7 for 7
12:28pm EDIT: 8 for 8
12:59pm EDIT: 8 for 9
1:04pm EDIT: 9/10
1:36pm EDIT: 9/11
1:50pm EDIT: 10/12
2:04PM EDIT: 11/13
2:18pm EDIT: 11/14

Total Win: $44
Total Cost: $30.80
Total Profit: $13.20

So in a 2 hour session of 3 tabling 10NL, I made $2.31. I made $13.20 at $2 HU SNGs at the same time.

I wonder how feasible it is to multi-table these HU SNGs effectively. Will have to explore this a bit more.

Love it when a plan comes together...

In the post below I mention how I am postponing my quest at 50NL to rebuild a bit of Barnkroll...

However, I failed to mention that I will chase the fish that I know up there. This hand illustrates exactly why:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?3576993

My notes state that he will raise with the goods and check-call and then shove river bluff.

Boom. I exited the table when blinds came back to me.

Cardrunners Video: Interview with Balbomb

For the CR members out there, make sure to check out the video "Zaitsev - Behind the
Grind: The Balbomb Story, Part 1 of 2."

It's essentially an interview with a successful 200NL player named Balbomb combined with powerpoint slides. What I found inspirational about it is the unique thought process he utilizes and how he seeks to take advantage of the current "standard" plays and exploit them. Very interesting stuff that I encourage all to review.

He also mentions that his "secret" to moving up so quickly occurred when he realized that players at 50NL and below (and in some part 100NL), typically have what they are representing. So if that guy with an AF of 1.2 is check-raise shoving over your cbet on a 856 flop that you raised PRE with KK, your KK is probably not good unless you have a read that says so otherwise. He'll show up with 79, two pair, set, etc more often than he'll show up with A8o.

Now if I could just get beyond my "entitlement" (after all, KK is supposed to win all the time, right?) and fold my KK, I might actually move up sometime this year (ehhh...or next year!).

Anyways, I've taken some rough beats on my 50NL quest on AP, got knocked to 4 buy-ins or so. Dropped back to 10NL to build up again for a bit. It was a good experience giving 50NL a whirl. I now know that I can play that level with ease, now it's just a matter of getting a sufficient bankroll to play it consistently.

Later all,

DubsPoke

Marginal Spot with 66

This hand happened right after my railer, Ryvverat, signed off for the night so I need some input.

I was going to fold until LarryMontana called. Deemed that he had enough behind that I was getting proper odds. I deemed that without actually doing any math. Was I right?

Stage #1146832934: Holdem No Limit $0.50 - 2008-12-09 18:36:28 (ET)
Table: FREEMAN AVE (Real Money) Seat #2 is the dealer
Seat 2 - WHYWORK08 ($84.70 in chips)
Seat 3 - IAM_MC ($8.25 in chips) <---24/10/7 > 75 hands
Seat 4 - LARRYMONTANA ($64.41 in chips) <----59/11/3 > 35 hands
Seat 5 - 1CHUTER ($55.89 in chips)
Seat 6 - DUBSPOKE ($50 in chips)
Seat 1 - ULTRAH ($57.33 in chips)
IAM_MC - Posts small blind $0.25
LARRYMONTANA - Posts big blind $0.50
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to DUBSPOKE [6h 6s]
1CHUTER - Calls $0.50
DUBSPOKE - Calls $0.50 <----multi-way pots are good for set mining right?
ULTRAH - Calls $0.50
WHYWORK08 - Calls $0.50
IAM_MC - Calls $0.25
LARRYMONTANA - Raises $1.50 to $2 <----any ace
1CHUTER - Folds
DUBSPOKE - Calls $1.50 <-----he's deep, probably gonna see some others come along too
ULTRAH - Calls $1.50 <----42/18, yep, figured he'd come along for the ride.
WHYWORK08 - Folds
IAM_MC - All-In(Raise) $7.75 to $8.25 <-----curveball, limp 3bet shove almost always means big hand. EXCEPT he is a shorty...gonna be tough decision.
LARRYMONTANA - Calls $6.25 <------now I got odds right...lemme do the math...awww screw it, only $6.25 more.
DUBSPOKE - Calls $6.25 <------if a 6 don't hit, I'm out.
ULTRAH - Folds
*** FLOP *** [Kd 6c 9c] <----BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM
LARRYMONTANA - Bets $13.87 <----------bet size puts pot at $41.62
DUBSPOKE - All-In(Raise) $41.75 to $41.75 <-----perfect size for me to shove, if he has bigger set than so be it.
LARRYMONTANA - Calls $27.88
*** TURN *** [Kd 6c 9c] [8d]
*** RIVER *** [Kd 6c 9c 8d] [Jc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
IAM_MC - Shows [As Jd] (One pair, jacks)
LARRYMONTANA - Shows [Kh Ad] (One pair, kings)
DUBSPOKE - Shows [6h 6s] (Three of a kind, sixes)
DUBSPOKE Collects $81.25 from side pot-1
DUBSPOKE Collects $26.50 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($111.25:$27.75,$83.50) | Rake ($3:$0.75,$2.25) | Jackpot Rake ($0.50:$0.50,$0)
Board [Kd 6c 9c 8d Jc]
Seat 1: ULTRAH Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: WHYWORK08 (dealer) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: IAM_MC (small blind) HI:lost with One pair, jacks [As Jd - P:Jd,B:Jc,P:As,B:Kd,B:9c]
Seat 4: LARRYMONTANA (big blind) HI:lost with One pair, kings [Kh Ad - P:Kh,B:Kd,P:Ad,B:Jc,B:9c]
Seat 5: 1CHUTER Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 6: DUBSPOKE won Total ($107.75) All-In HI:($107.75) with Three of a kind, sixes [6h 6s - P:6s,P:6h,B:6c,B:Kd,B:Jc]

Playing marginal hands.....

I'm definately struggling in this area. I have two options:

1- Don't play marginal hands preflop. Marginal hands are 77 and under, non-suited broadways, suited connectors.

2- Learn to play them correctly preflop and postflop.

I'm currently playing quite terrible and running poorly as well. A bad combination.

I played a 900 hand session. Never dealt AA. Loser with AK, loser with KK (dealt 4 times, won blinds 3x and lost vs AK AIPF), and loser with AQ (dealt 6 times). Dealt QQ 3 times and actually won all 3 including a $20 pot. Apparently the bietches be good.

So my premies aren't holding up for the most part either. It's funny seeing soooo many leaks come out though. Now I just gotta figure out how to stop them.

Anyways, back to marginal hands. I've been raising from MP - LP with them. Make a standard cbet, get called and then either A) make a bad bluff/2nd barrel or B) get CRd and either call if I have a draw (bad) or fold (now a medium sized pot instead of a small one).

My game is a mess so I might return to Pokerstars 5NL for a while just to practice playing a ton of hands in position/out of position, in marginal spots.

Two BIG Leaks

1) Calling down shorties with marginal hands when I'm the preflop raiser. Losses are not full stacks but they certainly add up to that.

2) Missed draws are killing me as well. In this example, Villain is 56/5/5. In my opinion, the only street I played correctly was my PFR. There is no way I should have lost 31.5BBs on this hand. How would you have played? Example:

Stage #1146353590: Holdem No Limit $0.50 - 2008-12-09 10:55:23 (ET)
Table: CAPE CORAL (Real Money) Seat #6 is the dealer
Seat 6 - DUBSPOKE ($48.44 in chips)
Seat 1 - OKLABANDI111 ($29.15 in chips)
Seat 2 - DUCKNDODGE ($27.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - OZMANZ69 ($99.60 in chips)
Seat 4 - GAMBLINGTOM ($38.95 in chips)
Seat 5 - WOLFY500 ($22.81 in chips)
OKLABANDI111 - Posts small blind $0.25
DUCKNDODGE - Posts big blind $0.50
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to DUBSPOKE [9s Js]
OZMANZ69 - Folds
GAMBLINGTOM - Folds
WOLFY500 - Folds
DUBSPOKE - Raises $1.75 to $1.75
OKLABANDI111 - Calls $1.50
DUCKNDODGE - Folds
*** FLOP *** [10s Ah 8c]
OKLABANDI111 - Checks
DUBSPOKE - Bets $3
OKLABANDI111 - Raises $6 to $6
DUBSPOKE - Calls $3
*** TURN *** [10s Ah 8c] [6d]
OKLABANDI111 - Bets $8
DUBSPOKE - Calls $8
*** RIVER *** [10s Ah 8c 6d] [Kd]
OKLABANDI111 - All-In $13.40
DUBSPOKE - Folds
OKLABANDI111 - returned ($13.40) : not called
*** SHOW DOWN ***
OKLABANDI111 - Does not show
OKLABANDI111 Collects $29.90 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($32) | Rake ($1.60) | Jackpot Rake ($0.50)
Board [10s Ah 8c 6d Kd]
Seat 1: OKLABANDI111 (small blind) collected Total ($29.90) All-In HI:($29.90) [Does not show]
Seat 2: DUCKNDODGE (big blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: OZMANZ69 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: GAMBLINGTOM Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 5: WOLFY500 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 6: DUBSPOKE (dealer) Folded on the RIVER

Essentially my sessions the past few days have been slightly losing. I'll play well for a while, then lose a big hand in a marginal way or suffer a beat (KK loses to random BB hand like a BB shorty's 86o, see leak 1 (66J flop, he CRs me. I should fold, yet I don't. I repop, he shoves and I lose half a 25+ BBs).

Here's another hand that I played incredibly passively after making the correct move PRE. Agree/Disagree and how do you play? Was it correct to give up or should I have jammed river when draws missed?

Stage #1146363238: Holdem No Limit $0.50 - 2008-12-09 11:08:20 (ET)
Table: CAPE CORAL (Real Money) Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 4 - JOEBASIC ($101.70 in chips)
Seat 5 - JED39670 ($99.50 in chips)
Seat 6 - DUBSPOKE ($38.69 in chips)
Seat 1 - BTTHYWRSUITED ($17 in chips)
Seat 2 - ROYALBLUFFZ ($62.95 in chips)
Seat 3 - OZMANZ69 ($91.55 in chips)
JED39670 - Posts small blind $0.25
DUBSPOKE - Posts big blind $0.50
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to DUBSPOKE [Jd Ah]
BTTHYWRSUITED - Folds
ROYALBLUFFZ - Folds
OZMANZ69 - Folds
JOEBASIC - Raises $1.75 to $1.75
JED39670 - Folds
DUBSPOKE - Raises $5 to $5.50
JOEBASIC - Calls $3.75
*** FLOP *** [9c 5h Qc]
DUBSPOKE - Checks
JOEBASIC - Checks
*** TURN *** [9c 5h Qc] [3d]
DUBSPOKE - Bets $6.75
JOEBASIC - Calls $6.75
*** RIVER *** [9c 5h Qc 3d] [7s]
DUBSPOKE - Checks
JOEBASIC - Checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DUBSPOKE - Shows [Jd Ah] (ace high)
JOEBASIC - Shows [4c 4s] (One pair, fours)
JOEBASIC Collects $23.05 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($24.75) | Rake ($1.20) | Jackpot Rake ($0.50)
Board [9c 5h Qc 3d 7s]
Seat 1: BTTHYWRSUITED Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: ROYALBLUFFZ Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: OZMANZ69 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: JOEBASIC (dealer) won Total ($23.05) HI:($23.05) with One pair, fours [4c 4s - P:4s,P:4c,B:Qc,B:9c,B:7s]
Seat 5: JED39670 (small blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 6: DUBSPOKE (big blind) HI:lost with ace high [Jd Ah - P:Ah,B:Qc,P:Jd,B:9c,B:7s]

PS Blogger Freeroll

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

The WBCOOP is an online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers.

Registration code: 886370

Badbeat Jackpot

So AP has a badbeat jackpot. It hit on a 50NL table while I was two-tabling today.

Not my table, that would have been nice.

But since it was at a 50NL table, that's a free $266 into my BR. nice.

Changed my mind....

Decided to take my meager bankroll at AP and play 50NL until I either go busto or roll it up large.

We'll see what happens. I've had a couple swingy sessions but am sitting around break-even with another buy-in sitting in my rakeback account already. Good stuff.

Waiting for rake to update....

Then will probably be pulling my cash off of AP. I was uncomfortable playing there for the obvious reasons but their software being complete garbage has finally annoyed me for the last time. It's clunky and dated. And finally, no time function just pisses me off to no end.

I enjoy pokerstars. The software is great and also worry free. I can mass mutli-table FR if I want (which I did tonight for 1.5 hours to the tune of 6 buy-ins at 10NL).

The only thing missing is micro-limit HU. I did enjoy doing that at AP which was quite profitable.

Anyways, I'm headed back to PS as soon as I get my rake deposit and I'll go from there.

Mixed it up and played a couple 45 man $5 on Stars...

Donked out of first one when I ran my last 800 chips with blinds at 50/100 with A7 from button into BB's QQ.

Second try went a bit better:

on cruise control

approaching 3x my initial deposit already. man the players are terrible on the site i'm playing on for now.

....sigh...curse is back

88.6% Equity




and

68.2% Equity




2 full buy-ins gone in 20 minutes without ever getting my money in behind on all-ins. Nice.

UPDATE: I immediately closed my tables after the 2nd beat and took a 15 minute break. Came back and ended the session up 1.5 buy-ins. The players at AP really are quite terrible.

Up 6 BI on AP

The players there are ABSOLUTELY 100% POSITIVELY TERRIBLE!

The Avg VPIP per TABLE is over 50% at 10NL. Since I've adjusted, I've been cruising. There are very few good regs and those are easy to spot. Just avoid them, sit back, wait for the good hands and take the donks to the bank.

If you have an old (inactive for 6+ months) and want rakeback, sign up through my rakeback provider, rakeupdate.com. They can get you rakeback on an inactive account through AP. It's worth it.

DubsPoke

WTF?

http://www.tightpoker.com/news/become-a-professional-poker-player-poker-odds.shtml

His great strategy is to take a flop with ATC. wtf?

Back in control...

Switched away from Pokerstars for now. Someday when I have a big enough bankroll, perhaps I'll move back. But for now, I need a site with Rakeback and other assorted bonus programs.

My rakeback provider was recently able to get old accounts moved under them and given rakeback. I took $100 out of Pokerstars and am now playing on Absolute Poker. Yeah, I know about their scandal.

BUT I also play poker to win money. Rakeback is crucial for small stakes players who log a ton of hands. I'm one of those players. This will help me build my bankroll quickly while also help reduce the volatility of my bottom line.

I didn't start off well at Absolute Poker either. The players are absolutely terrible and I didn't adjust correctly at first. I thought terrible = loose passive. Well, terrible can also mean loose passive STATION. Cbetting stations and playing TopPair hands too aggressively can equal quick losses.

I've since cut back on my aggression. I'm c-betting and firing double-barrels much more effectively. I have to give props to Ed Miller for an excellent article on second barreling. Some great insight on board texture and how that affects firing 2nd barrels at donkeys. It's stuff I knew but have not been implementing at all recently.

I'm back on an upswing. Let's keep it up.

DubsPoke

LOL - I'm cursed!

By the runner runner flush against my sets!!!

AP:

Time to Find Some Leaks

Will be keeping a journal beside my as I play and notating various spots where leaks may be occurring.

Like stacking off with TPTK.

EDIT:

Let's start off with the 3rd hand of the morning, wonderful AA. What do you do different? Runner runner flushes are becoming a theme....

PokerStars Game #22173976834: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/19 8:37:33 ET
Table 'Eurydike' 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: DidYouSeeWHy ($25 in chips)
Seat 2: c17h22no4 ($39.40 in chips)
Seat 3: pakkeper ($14.65 in chips)
Seat 4: Silly Doc ($35.65 in chips)
Seat 5: TurfToeJoe ($36.85 in chips)
Seat 6: DubsPoke ($25 in chips)
TurfToeJoe: posts small blind $0.10
DubsPoke: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Ad As]
DidYouSeeWHy: folds
c17h22no4: folds
pakkeper: calls $0.25
Silly Doc: folds
TurfToeJoe: folds
DubsPoke: raises $0.75 to $1
pakkeper: calls $0.75
*** FLOP *** [4s 3h Qd]
DubsPoke: checks
pakkeper: bets $1
DubsPoke: raises $1.50 to $2.50
pakkeper: calls $1.50
*** TURN *** [4s 3h Qd] [Td]
DubsPoke: bets $5
pakkeper: calls $5
*** RIVER *** [4s 3h Qd Td] [4d]
DubsPoke: bets $6.50
pakkeper: calls $6.15 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($0.35) returned to DubsPoke
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [Ad As] (two pair, Aces and Fours)
pakkeper: shows [5d 3d] (a flush, Queen high)
pakkeper collected $28 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $29.40 | Rake $1.40
Board [4s 3h Qd Td 4d]
Seat 1: DidYouSeeWHy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: c17h22no4 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: pakkeper showed [5d 3d] and won ($28) with a flush, Queen high
Seat 4: Silly Doc (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: TurfToeJoe (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: DubsPoke (big blind) showed [Ad As] and lost with two pair, Aces and Fours

----------------------------

Another beauty, did I lose the min? Villian is a 43/13/5 player.

PokerStars Game #22174328707: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/19 9:01:30 ET
Table 'Eurydike' 6-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: DidYouSeeWHy ($26.60 in chips)
Seat 2: c17h22no4 ($45.20 in chips)
Seat 3: Metchf3 ($20.05 in chips)
Seat 4: Silly Doc ($32.50 in chips)
Seat 5: LESEB33 ($23.15 in chips)
Seat 6: DubsPoke ($25.90 in chips)
Metchf3: posts small blind $0.10
Silly Doc: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [9s 9c]
LESEB33: folds
DubsPoke: raises $0.75 to $1
DidYouSeeWHy: folds
c17h22no4: folds
Metchf3: folds
Silly Doc: calls $0.75
*** FLOP *** [4c 2s 6c]
Silly Doc: bets $0.75
DubsPoke: raises $1.75 to $2.50
Silly Doc: calls $1.75
*** TURN *** [4c 2s 6c] [As]
Silly Doc: checks
DubsPoke: checks
*** RIVER *** [4c 2s 6c As] [Qh]
Silly Doc: checks
DubsPoke: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Silly Doc: shows [Ad 5s] (a pair of Aces)
DubsPoke: mucks hand
Silly Doc collected $6.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.10 | Rake $0.35
Board [4c 2s 6c As Qh]
Seat 1: DidYouSeeWHy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: c17h22no4 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Metchf3 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: Silly Doc (big blind) showed [Ad 5s] and won ($6.75) with a pair of Aces
Seat 5: LESEB33 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: DubsPoke mucked [9s 9c]

I'm not $hitting you, 2nd hand of my night....

Previous history with d11dozer is that he was a complete and utter moron.

Proved it.

yet i still lose.....

PokerStars Game #22165288051: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/18 22:06:03 ET
Table 'Giomus III' 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Shap Shot ($2.05 in chips)
Seat 2: CoiLNovANeS ($60.30 in chips)
Seat 3: d11dozer ($11.90 in chips)
Seat 4: pingmaoxie ($8.95 in chips)
Seat 5: DubsPoke ($25.75 in chips)
Seat 6: CSPT_SunTzu ($34.25 in chips)
DubsPoke: posts small blind $0.10
CSPT_SunTzu: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Ac As]
Shap Shot: calls $0.25
CoiLNovANeS: calls $0.25
d11dozer: raises $0.75 to $1
pingmaoxie: calls $1
DubsPoke: raises $2.25 to $3.25
CSPT_SunTzu: folds
Shap Shot: folds
CoiLNovANeS: folds
d11dozer: raises $8.65 to $11.90 and is all-in
pingmaoxie: folds
DubsPoke: calls $8.65
*** FLOP *** [6c 4s 2h]
*** TURN *** [6c 4s 2h] [4h]
*** RIVER *** [6c 4s 2h 4h] [9d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [Ac As] (two pair, Aces and Fours)
d11dozer: shows [9c 9s] (a full house, Nines full of Fours)
d11dozer collected $24.30 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $25.55 | Rake $1.25
Board [6c 4s 2h 4h 9d]
Seat 1: Shap Shot folded before Flop
Seat 2: CoiLNovANeS folded before Flop
Seat 3: d11dozer showed [9c 9s] and won ($24.30) with a full house, Nines full of Fours
Seat 4: pingmaoxie (button) folded before Flop
Seat 5: DubsPoke (small blind) showed [Ac As] and lost with two pair, Aces and Fours
Seat 6: CSPT_SunTzu (big blind) folded before Flop

and it continues.....

Another losing session.

PokerStars Game #22157699582: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/11/18 17:19:20 ET
Table 'Burgi III' 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: JoachimHopp ($23.70 in chips)
Seat 2: DubsPoke ($15.95 in chips)
Seat 3: Gandalf_Zgz ($12.80 in chips)
Seat 4: deeznutz123 ($7.55 in chips)
Seat 5: PeterPoker21 ($11.45 in chips)
Seat 6: pureYYbluff ($6 in chips)
DubsPoke: posts small blind $0.05
Gandalf_Zgz: posts big blind $0.10
pureYYbluff: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [7c 7h]
deeznutz123: folds
PeterPoker21: folds
pureYYbluff: raises $0.10 to $0.20
JoachimHopp: folds
DubsPoke: calls $0.15
Gandalf_Zgz: calls $0.10
*** FLOP *** [Qd 7d 4h]
DubsPoke: bets $0.40
Gandalf_Zgz: folds
pureYYbluff: calls $0.40
*** TURN *** [Qd 7d 4h] [8h]
DubsPoke: bets $0.90
pureYYbluff: calls $0.90
*** RIVER *** [Qd 7d 4h 8h] [3h]
DubsPoke: bets $14.45 and is all-in
pureYYbluff: calls $4.50 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($9.95) returned to DubsPoke
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [7c 7h] (three of a kind, Sevens)
pureYYbluff: shows [Qh 5h] (a flush, Queen high)
pureYYbluff collected $11.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $12.20 | Rake $0.60
Board [Qd 7d 4h 8h 3h]
Seat 1: JoachimHopp (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: DubsPoke (small blind) showed [7c 7h] and lost with three of a kind, Sevens
Seat 3: Gandalf_Zgz (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: deeznutz123 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: PeterPoker21 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: pureYYbluff showed [Qh 5h] and won ($11.60) with a flush, Queen high

-----------------------

PokerStars Game #22156895390: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/11/18 16:52:10 ET
Table 'Burgi III' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: JoachimHopp ($16.35 in chips)
Seat 2: DubsPoke ($10 in chips)
Seat 3: Gandalf_Zgz ($14.55 in chips)
Seat 4: shlomi31 ($2 in chips)
Seat 6: Shakedown88 ($9.90 in chips)
JoachimHopp: posts small blind $0.05
DubsPoke: posts big blind $0.10
shlomi31: posts small & big blinds $0.15
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Qc Jd]
Gandalf_Zgz: folds
Trust2000 leaves the table
shlomi31: checks
Shakedown88: folds
JoachimHopp: calls $0.05
DubsPoke: raises $0.40 to $0.50
Heavenstouke joins the table at seat #5
shlomi31: calls $0.40
JoachimHopp: calls $0.40
*** FLOP *** [Qh 3h Tc]
JoachimHopp: checks
DubsPoke: bets $1.10
shlomi31: folds
JoachimHopp: calls $1.10
*** TURN *** [Qh 3h Tc] [Jc]
JoachimHopp: checks
DubsPoke: bets $3.10
JoachimHopp: calls $3.10
*** RIVER *** [Qh 3h Tc Jc] [Th]
JoachimHopp: bets $5.30
DubsPoke: calls $5.30 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JoachimHopp: shows [Ah 2h] (a flush, Ace high)
DubsPoke: mucks hand
JoachimHopp collected $19.55 from pot
DubsPoke said, "goddamn f'in idiot"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $20.55 | Rake $1
Board [Qh 3h Tc Jc Th]
Seat 1: JoachimHopp (small blind) showed [Ah 2h] and won ($19.55) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 2: DubsPoke (big blind) mucked [Qc Jd]
Seat 3: Gandalf_Zgz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: shlomi31 folded on the Flop
Seat 6: Shakedown88 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

-------------------------------------------

PokerStars Game #22156992552: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/11/18 16:55:31 ET
Table 'Hippokoon V' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Herteleer ($11.25 in chips)
Seat 3: Mat147 ($13.10 in chips)
Seat 4: migcho77 ($1.70 in chips)
Seat 5: DubsPoke ($10.05 in chips)
Seat 6: dondiddone ($9.85 in chips)
Herteleer: posts small blind $0.05
Mat147: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Qs Qh]
migcho77: calls $0.10
DubsPoke: raises $0.30 to $0.40
gasso1958 joins the table at seat #2
dondiddone: calls $0.40
Herteleer: folds
Mat147: folds
migcho77: calls $0.30
*** FLOP *** [9h 8c Js]
migcho77: checks
DubsPoke: bets $0.80
gasso1958 leaves the table
dondiddone: raises $0.80 to $1.60
migcho77: folds
DubsPoke: raises $1.30 to $2.90
dondiddone: raises $6.55 to $9.45 and is all-in
DubsPoke: calls $6.55
*** TURN *** [9h 8c Js] [Ac]
*** RIVER *** [9h 8c Js Ac] [3d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [Qs Qh] (a pair of Queens)
dondiddone: shows [Tc Qc] (a straight, Eight to Queen)
dondiddone collected $19.25 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $20.25 | Rake $1
Board [9h 8c Js Ac 3d]
Seat 1: Herteleer (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: Mat147 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: migcho77 folded on the Flop
Seat 5: DubsPoke showed [Qs Qh] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 6: dondiddone (button) showed [Tc Qc] and won ($19.25) with a straight, Eight to Queen

Chances of this 13/10 player having QT were minimal, especially since I held two of the queens. Guess I was wrong.

Has the doomswitch been flipped?

PokerStars Game #22147625049: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/18 10:57:13 ET
Table 'Elinor II' 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: asthenosfear ($39.85 in chips)
Seat 2: cut7iiron ($11.60 in chips)
Seat 3: kogemand ($7.95 in chips)
Seat 4: MaDDe1337 ($14.50 in chips)
Seat 5: Sick Joke. ($14.85 in chips)
Seat 6: DubsPoke ($25 in chips)
Sick Joke.: posts small blind $0.10
DubsPoke: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [5s 5h]
asthenosfear: folds
cut7iiron: calls $0.25
kogemand: calls $0.25
MaDDe1337: folds
Sick Joke.: calls $0.15
DubsPoke: checks
*** FLOP *** [5d Ac As]
Sick Joke.: checks
DubsPoke: checks
cut7iiron: checks
kogemand: bets $0.50
Sick Joke.: folds
DubsPoke: calls $0.50
cut7iiron: calls $0.50
*** TURN *** [5d Ac As] [5c]
DubsPoke: checks
cut7iiron: checks
kogemand: bets $1
DubsPoke: calls $1
cut7iiron: raises $1 to $2
kogemand: raises $5.20 to $7.20 and is all-in
DubsPoke: calls $6.20
cut7iiron: calls $5.20
*** RIVER *** [5d Ac As 5c] [6d]
DubsPoke: bets $6
cut7iiron: calls $3.65 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($2.35) returned to DubsPoke
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [5s 5h] (four of a kind, Fives)
cut7iiron: mucks hand
DubsPoke collected $7 from side pot
kogemand: mucks hand
DubsPoke collected $22.90 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $31.40 Main pot $22.90. Side pot $7. | Rake $1.50
Board [5d Ac As 5c 6d]
Seat 1: asthenosfear folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: cut7iiron mucked [Ah 3h]
Seat 3: kogemand mucked [9s Ad]
Seat 4: MaDDe1337 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Sick Joke. (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: DubsPoke (big blind) showed [5s 5h] and won ($29.90) with four of a kind, Fives

Update:

A resounding NO. Yet another session with a positive EV per HEM with a negative real result. @$^@#^ @#^ @#^ @#!^ @ #^@# ^

PokerStars Game #22152914348: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/18 14:40:49 ET
Table 'Galt III' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Luis 151 ($13.75 in chips)
Seat 2: DubsPoke ($28.40 in chips)
Seat 3: blaine1234 ($10.10 in chips)
Seat 4: versting 10 ($24.05 in chips)
Seat 5: Kekslord ($5.90 in chips)
Seat 6: ervinsm ($25.80 in chips)
Luis 151: posts small blind $0.10
DubsPoke: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Ah Qd]
blaine1234: calls $0.25
versting 10: calls $0.25
Kekslord: calls $0.25
ervinsm: folds
Luis 151: calls $0.15
DubsPoke: raises $1.75 to $2
blaine1234: folds
versting 10: folds
Kekslord: calls $1.75
Luis 151: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jd Qc 4h]
DubsPoke: bets $3.50
Kekslord: raises $0.40 to $3.90 and is all-in
DubsPoke: calls $0.40
*** TURN *** [Jd Qc 4h] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [Jd Qc 4h Ts] [6h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [Ah Qd] (a pair of Queens)
Kekslord: shows [9s Kd] (a straight, Nine to King)
Kekslord collected $11.95 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $12.55 | Rake $0.60
Board [Jd Qc 4h Ts 6h]
Seat 1: Luis 151 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: DubsPoke (big blind) showed [Ah Qd] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 3: blaine1234 folded before Flop
Seat 4: versting 10 folded before Flop
Seat 5: Kekslord showed [9s Kd] and won ($11.95) with a straight, Nine to King
Seat 6: ervinsm (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

And later on against the same dumbass:

PokerStars Game #22153117888: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/18 14:48:00 ET
Table 'Galt III' 6-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: Luis 151 ($14 in chips)
Seat 2: DubsPoke ($25 in chips)
Seat 3: blaine1234 ($9.85 in chips)
Seat 4: versting 10 ($27.05 in chips)
Seat 5: Kekslord ($7.85 in chips)
Seat 6: ervinsm ($25.45 in chips)
versting 10: posts small blind $0.10
Kekslord: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Jd Js]
ervinsm: folds
Luis 151: folds
DubsPoke: raises $0.75 to $1
blaine1234: folds
versting 10: folds
Kekslord: calls $0.75
*** FLOP *** [Kd Ks 8h]
Kekslord: checks
DubsPoke: bets $1.50
Kekslord: calls $1.50
*** TURN *** [Kd Ks 8h] [6d]
Kekslord: checks
DubsPoke: checks
*** RIVER *** [Kd Ks 8h 6d] [3d]
Kekslord: checks
DubsPoke: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Kekslord: shows [Kc 3h] (a full house, Kings full of Threes)
DubsPoke: mucks hand
Kekslord collected $4.85 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.10 | Rake $0.25
Board [Kd Ks 8h 6d 3d]
Seat 1: Luis 151 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: DubsPoke mucked [Jd Js]
Seat 3: blaine1234 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: versting 10 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: Kekslord (big blind) showed [Kc 3h] and won ($4.85) with a full house, Kings full of Threes
Seat 6: ervinsm folded before Flop (didn't bet)

The OBFV: Maximizing Returns Against Fish

While I was waiting for sleep to arrive last night, I got to thinking about why I was able to fly up through 2NL and 5NL so quickly yet have some slight struggles at 10NL and 25NL.

"What is different?" was the question I was asking.

The OBFV. The Overbet For Value has disappeared a bit from my game. For those not familiar with the concept, check out Fuell55's blog, Creativity Breeds Madness and look for a few of his archives.

Essentially, when you have a lock in a hand or are a very heavy favorite.....Shove. The fish will call. You have to choose your spots and your victims carefully but, over the long term, the small value you miss by not betting smaller is more than made up for by the large return you get when they do call.

I haven't been doing ANY OBFV for the most part. As a result, I'm winning a lot of small to medium pots while not winning big ones.

That changes today. I'll let you know how it works out after my first session this morning.

Wish me luck! (Apparently I need it right now!!!)

DubsPoke

What do you do on turn?

Going to try REALLY hard to avoid become results focused, so going to try to just work on improving the only thing I have control over, my play.

PokerStars Game #22135812286: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/11/17 21:35:02 ET
Table 'Wetherill V' 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: DuckMySick88 ($11 in chips)
Seat 2: DubsPoke ($10 in chips)
Seat 3: OsmosisMo ($10 in chips)
Seat 4: speedcake ($11.75 in chips)
Seat 5: Kretz,C ($18.25 in chips) <----played every hand for first 10 hands, raise 55%
Seat 6: chiefs0022 ($41.85 in chips)
Kretz,C: posts small blind $0.05
chiefs0022: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Jh Kh]
DuckMySick88: raises $0.30 to $0.40
DubsPoke: calls $0.40
OsmosisMo: folds
speedcake: folds
Kretz,C: calls $0.35
chiefs0022: calls $0.30
*** FLOP *** [2s 2d Jd]
Kretz,C: checks
chiefs0022: checks
DuckMySick88: checks
DubsPoke: bets $1.10
Kretz,C: calls $1.10
chiefs0022: folds
DuckMySick88: folds
*** TURN *** [2s 2d Jd] [8d]
Kretz,C: checks
DubsPoke: checks
*** RIVER *** [2s 2d Jd 8d] [5d] <-----@#%@#^
Kretz,C: bets $4 <----he could have anything, all of which beats me
DubsPoke: folds
Uncalled bet ($4) returned to Kretz,C
Kretz,C collected $3.65 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $3.80 | Rake $0.15
Board [2s 2d Jd 8d 5d]
Seat 1: DuckMySick88 folded on the Flop
Seat 2: DubsPoke folded on the River
Seat 3: OsmosisMo folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: speedcake (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Kretz,C (small blind) collected ($3.65)
Seat 6: chiefs0022 (big blind) folded on the Flop

For what it's worth, Kretz stacked off 2 hands later with A8o vs AA on a total bluff. Later on, he would double through me with a river Q vs my JJ. his hand Q5o, all in on undercard board at turn.

----------------------------------------

Villian is a 67/33 player who is constantly full of shit:

PokerStars Game #22136613961: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/11/17 22:07:11 ET
Table 'Galilea' 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: ELO65 ($27.15 in chips)
Seat 2: DubsPoke ($10 in chips)
Seat 3: H@BB@KUK ($10 in chips)
Seat 4: McManus06 ($10.75 in chips)
Seat 5: faisdf ($10.15 in chips)
Seat 6: ItsHolliday ($10 in chips)
faisdf: posts small blind $0.05
ItsHolliday: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [8d 8c]
ELO65: calls $0.10
DubsPoke: raises $0.30 to $0.40
H@BB@KUK: folds
McManus06: folds
faisdf: folds
ItsHolliday: folds
ELO65: raises $0.60 to $1
DubsPoke: calls $0.60
*** FLOP *** [7d 3c 2s]
ELO65: bets $2.20
DubsPoke: raises $6.80 to $9 and is all-in
ELO65: calls $6.80
*** TURN *** [7d 3c 2s] [Jh]
*** RIVER *** [7d 3c 2s Jh] [Jc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ELO65: shows [Ac Jd] (three of a kind, Jacks)
DubsPoke: mucks hand
ELO65 collected $19.15 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $20.15 | Rake $1
Board [7d 3c 2s Jh Jc]
Seat 1: ELO65 showed [Ac Jd] and won ($19.15) with three of a kind, Jacks
Seat 2: DubsPoke mucked [8d 8c]
Seat 3: H@BB@KUK folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: McManus06 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: faisdf (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: ItsHolliday (big blind) folded before Flop


You do anything different?

I HATE negative variance...

Seriously, this is getting borderline ridiculous. F that. This is ridiculous.

1k hand session at 10NL.

Expected Value: +14.25
Real Value -23.8

Those values don't even include the wonderful times where AA < 66 and villain flops a set on flop or turn and similar bullshit setup type crap.

It's going to change soon. It has to.

I suppose the most frustrating element of this is that I am practicing active seat selection, looking for the 70/15 type of fish.

I find them, make sure they are on my right, get them in the position I want. Get them to commit their chips when behind 70/30, 80/20, hell even a few 90/10s.

AND WHAM! Ship the chips their way.

So what am I doing wrong? Are my hands too vunerable to be doing what I'm doing? I'm playing a 20.1/13.3/2.1 style over 33k hands at 10NL.

I've downloaded camtasia and will be trying to do a video so perhaps you all can see exactly what I'm going through...

...sigh...now it's happening at 10NL as well

Over 100 hands, villian is stealing 53% of time from button.

So I repop him for the 1st time. Of course:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com



MP ($10)

Button ($8)

Hero (SB) ($13.90)

BB ($10.30)

UTG ($11.70)



Preflop: Hero is SB with A, K

2 folds, Button raises to $0.40, Hero raises to $1.30, 1 fold, Button raises to $3.90, Hero raises to $13.90 (All-In), Button calls $4.10 (All-In)



Flop: ($16.10) 9, 7, J (2 players, 2 all-in)



Turn: ($16.10) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)



River: ($16.10) 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)



Total pot: $16.10 | Rake: $0.80



Results:

Button had A, J (one pair, Jacks).

Hero had A, K (high card, Ace).

Outcome: Button won $15.30

this $hit better not be leaking into my 10NL game too...

Villian is 60/3/1 player.

PokerStars Game #22129114197: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/11/17 17:25:04 ET
Table 'Tatry' 6-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: samthemad ($26.80 in chips)
Seat 2: DubsPoke ($13.45 in chips)
Seat 3: CubeVII ($9.45 in chips)
Seat 4: Onur8 ($10 in chips)
Seat 5: diperdo ($10 in chips)
Seat 6: H@BB@KUK ($17.65 in chips)
diperdo: posts small blind $0.05
H@BB@KUK: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Qh Ah]
samthemad: calls $0.10
DubsPoke: raises $0.40 to $0.50
CubeVII: folds
Onur8: folds
diperdo: folds
H@BB@KUK: folds
samthemad: calls $0.40
*** FLOP *** [9s 8h 9h]
samthemad: bets $0.60
DubsPoke: calls $0.60
*** TURN *** [9s 8h 9h] [3h]
samthemad: bets $0.60
DubsPoke: raises $1.80 to $2.40
samthemad: calls $1.80
*** RIVER *** [9s 8h 9h 3h] [Js]
samthemad: bets $2.50
DubsPoke: calls $2.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
samthemad: shows [9c Jh] (a full house, Nines full of Jacks)
DubsPoke: mucks hand
samthemad collected $11.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $12.15 | Rake $0.55
Board [9s 8h 9h 3h Js]
Seat 1: samthemad showed [9c Jh] and won ($11.60) with a full house, Nines full of Jacks
Seat 2: DubsPoke mucked [Qh Ah]
Seat 3: CubeVII folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Onur8 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: diperdo (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: H@BB@KUK (big blind) folded before Flop

Can't win

can't beat 25NL. Pathetic really.

Against a goddamn monkey fuckin' retard:

PokerStars Game #22124364470: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/17 14:48:47 ET
Table 'Castor II' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Dejo123 ($45 in chips)
Seat 3: Ricardo000 ($29.55 in chips)
Seat 4: DubsPoke ($36 in chips)
Seat 5: Swiss777 ($25 in chips)
Seat 6: jarskis ($25.35 in chips)
Dejo123: posts small blind $0.10
Ricardo000: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Jd Ks]
DubsPoke: raises $0.75 to $1
Swiss777: folds
jarskis: calls $1
Dejo123: calls $0.90
Ricardo000: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jh 3c 5d]
Dejo123: bets $2.50
tinyvessels joins the table at seat #2
DubsPoke: raises $3.75 to $6.25
jarskis: folds
Dejo123: raises $6.75 to $13 <---------yep, he's a retard
DubsPoke: calls $6.75
*** TURN *** [Jh 3c 5d] [6s] <---------and retard's get rewarded apparently.
Dejo123: bets $10
DubsPoke: calls $10
*** RIVER *** [Jh 3c 5d 6s] [Qs]
Dejo123: bets $21 and is all-in
DubsPoke: calls $12 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($9) returned to Dejo123
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Dejo123: shows [6d 6h] (three of a kind, Sixes)
DubsPoke: mucks hand
Dejo123 collected $71.25 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $73.25 | Rake $2
Board [Jh 3c 5d 6s Qs]
Seat 1: Dejo123 (small blind) showed [6d 6h] and won ($71.25) with three of a kind, Sixes
Seat 3: Ricardo000 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: DubsPoke mucked [Jd Ks]
Seat 5: Swiss777 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: jarskis (button) folded on the Flop

And don't tell me I could have gotten away from it. This guy was a f'in moron, had proved it repeatedly. Have to be willing to call this fucktard down light. TPKK is certainly good enough against this piece of shit.

I've lost twice to runner runner after flopping top two and getting it all in. I've lost a flopped 2nd nut flush when river brought 4th flush card for a goddamn idiot who had no business being in the hand at that point. KK < QT runner runner flush style, all in on T high board off flop.

Oh and for even more fun, I have QJ on a J4222 board. Villian had 44 of course.

I'm down to just over $500 in the account. If I drop below $500, I will be forced to 10NL until I build back up to $625.

EDIT: It happened. Below $500. Same asstard as above 4bet shoved KQ into my AA. Flop: KxK. @#% @#% @#% @#%@#%@ #^@#%$ !@#%@#^

Mass Multi-Tabling 10NL FR

Experiment went well. Had anywhere from 14 - 18 tables of Full Ring 10NL going. Won a little over 5 buy-ins over 2 hours and 1730 hands. And actually, as the theme for the day apparently, ran below expectations by a couple buy-ins.

A couple beauts was flopping the nut straight to lose to a rivered full house. Guy flopped top two, can't blame him for getting it in but still sucks that I lost the 80/20.

The second awesome hand was flopping top two, getting it all in versus the royal flush draw. It came in on the turn of course. Even with top two, I was a slight dog (48/52). Par for the day for me.

The other wonderful hand was KK < 99 AIPF for a full stack. Gotta wonder what 99 was doing calling a 4 bet shove, especially since he wasn't nearly pot committed at that point.

Despite all that, still was positive for 5 buy-ins. That tells me that 10NL Full Ring is ridiculously easy to crush. It was a blast too. Tons of action but still quite a bit lower variance than 6max has been for me recently. Great way to stay focused on playing ABC poker as well which is really what I need to be focusing on for now.

I think I'm going to continue this mass multi-tabling of 10NL Full Ring for a few days to build back up to a comfortable level for 25NL. Then I'll give that wretched level another shot.

Wish me luck!

DubsPoke

Down 6 BI's

Just completed my review of losing hands during my 2 sessions for the day. Some wonderful stuff:

-30.95: TT vs AQ heads up, AIPF. He called my 4bet shove deepstacked (each had about $30 to begin the hand.) He turned a Q.

-25: QQ vs KK, all in on flop of 229.

-25: AK vs 66, all in on A62 flop. Villian was a 42/14 player who had history of being kicker ignorant.

-25: AT vs TJ, all in on TTx board. (Hand in previous post). Runner runner straight.

-25: KsTs vs 99, flop came A9K, two spades. River gave me two pair. 3 way pot. Pot committed by river.

-23.90: QQ vs KK, all in on flop of 339

-19.20: 55 vs TT, flop came J5T, turn J and we got it all in. Nice cooler.

-17.20: 44 vs K5, all in on turn, board was K43K. River 5 gave him bigger FH.

-14: AQ vs 33 on QQ3 flop. Standard cooler.

-13.50: AK vs AJ. Amazing I didn't lose more actually. Played the hand for minimal loss.

-11.30: KJ vs A5. I floated 247 flop in position, hit my top pair and put in big turn raise. He hit 3 on river and stupidly checked ahead. I checked behind and was fortunate not to lose more once again.

-10: AQ vs J9. He called my SB raise from CO. Flop came J9A and I was up against a 56/20 moron. River gave him a FH just to rub it in a little more.

-8.75: AK < 22. Flop come AJ6. He flatted my 3/4 pot cbet and turned a set.

-8: AQ < AT. Against a shorty, AIPF.

-7.9: Flopped straight vs turned flush against a shorty.

-7.30: AA < QQ, AIPF. Flopped a Q.

and then a whole bunch of hands between -3 and -5 where I was preflop raiser and had to fold at some point during hand after I missed.

I definitely didn't play great but I ran absolutely terribly. Man this sucks. All the way back to 10NL and will be there for a while. Again.

Very rough start to today...

Coolers galore.

QQ < KK not once but TWICE!
Two Pair + nut flush draw + gutter misses against bottom set.
FH < FH (set over set with board pairing)

and as I'm typing this....

This fuckin' bullshit looney ass motherfuckin' crap happens:

PokerStars Game #22003811365: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/13 11:49:20 ET
Table 'Lucidor III' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: benston ($27.70 in chips)
Seat 2: bigtimin ($25.35 in chips)
Seat 3: RunGOODplz ($26.65 in chips)
Seat 4: demuddi ($78 in chips)
Seat 5: DubsPoke ($25 in chips)
Seat 6: banger2007 ($14.80 in chips)
benston: posts small blind $0.10
bigtimin: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Tc Ah]
RunGOODplz: raises $0.75 to $1
demuddi: calls $1
DubsPoke: raises $2.50 to $3.50
banger2007: folds
benston: folds
bigtimin: folds
RunGOODplz: calls $2.50
demuddi: calls $2.50
*** FLOP *** [Ts Td Jc]
RunGOODplz: bets $6
demuddi: folds
DubsPoke: raises $7.25 to $13.25
RunGOODplz: raises $9.90 to $23.15 and is all-in
DubsPoke: calls $8.25 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($1.65) returned to RunGOODplz
*** TURN *** [Ts Td Jc] [7s]
*** RIVER *** [Ts Td Jc 7s] [8d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RunGOODplz: shows [Th 9h] (a straight, Seven to Jack)
DubsPoke: mucks hand
RunGOODplz collected $51.20 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $53.85 | Rake $2.65
Board [Ts Td Jc 7s 8d]
Seat 1: benston (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: bigtimin (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: RunGOODplz showed [Th 9h] and won ($51.20) with a straight, Seven to Jack
Seat 4: demuddi folded on the Flop
Seat 5: DubsPoke mucked [Tc Ah]
Seat 6: banger2007 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Down 3 buy-ins now and will be forced to drop to 10NL

AGAIN.

I'm so f'in pissed right now.

EDIT: FYI - I shut down the tables after that last hand. A couple hour break for now.

Decent Session + Some 2 Interesting Spots

Very very swingy. Found a HUGE fish that made it a positive day. This guy would stack off with ANYTHING. I limped a ton of pots into him and just took him to town. My stats are all goofed as a result but it was so worth it.

Anyways, here's a couple interesting hands from elsewhere in the session:

Good bluff?

Villian is 75/34/25 steal/18.2 3bet, 1.0 aggression

PokerStars Game #21974731566: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/12 10:52:37 ET
Table 'Dike' 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Cathy86 ($44.85 in chips)
Seat 2: cliffhang1 ($55.40 in chips)
Seat 3: paulussus777 ($46.70 in chips)
Seat 4: vith1 ($14.75 in chips)
Seat 5: OzO900 ($25.60 in chips)
Seat 6: DubsPoke ($43.80 in chips)
cliffhang1: posts small blind $0.10
paulussus777: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Kc Jd]
vith1: calls $0.25
OzO900: raises $1 to $1.25
DubsPoke: calls $1.25
Cathy86: folds
cliffhang1: folds
paulussus777: folds
vith1: calls $1
*** FLOP *** [Qh 2d 4h]
vith1: checks
OzO900: bets $1
DubsPoke: calls $1
vith1: folds
*** TURN *** [Qh 2d 4h] [5h]
OzO900: bets $0.75
DubsPoke: raises $4 to $4.75
OzO900: calls $4
*** RIVER *** [Qh 2d 4h 5h] [5c]
OzO900: checks
DubsPoke: bets $12
OzO900: folds
Uncalled bet ($12) returned to DubsPoke
DubsPoke collected $14.85 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $15.60 | Rake $0.75
Board [Qh 2d 4h 5h 5c]
Seat 1: Cathy86 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: cliffhang1 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: paulussus777 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: vith1 folded on the Flop
Seat 5: OzO900 folded on the River
Seat 6: DubsPoke collected ($14.85)

Not sure if it was the correct play, but it worked. Gotta love position.

----------------------

Awesome Sequence:

Note on villian:

TAG- steal from liberally

PokerStars Game #21975869148: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/12 11:50:25 ET
Table 'Wesson' 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: DubsPoke ($25 in chips)
Seat 2: Captain Rabi ($26.45 in chips)
Seat 3: psyworm ($50 in chips)
Seat 4: R_P_No1 ($51.30 in chips)
Seat 5: mazga ($25 in chips)
Seat 6: Ghana10 ($27.60 in chips)
Captain Rabi: posts small blind $0.10
psyworm: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [4s Th]
R_P_No1: folds
mazga: folds
Ghana10: folds
DubsPoke: raises $0.75 to $1
Captain Rabi: folds
psyworm: calls $0.75
*** FLOP *** [Ts 8s 7h]
psyworm: checks
DubsPoke: bets $1.50
psyworm: calls $1.50
*** TURN *** [Ts 8s 7h] [8h]
psyworm: bets $2.50
DubsPoke: calls $2.50
*** RIVER *** [Ts 8s 7h 8h] [3d]
psyworm: checks
DubsPoke: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
psyworm: shows [Ks Jd] (a pair of Eights)
DubsPoke: shows [4s Th] (two pair, Tens and Eights)
DubsPoke collected $9.65 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $10.10 | Rake $0.45
Board [Ts 8s 7h 8h 3d]
Seat 1: DubsPoke (button) showed [4s Th] and won ($9.65) with two pair, Tens and Eights
Seat 2: Captain Rabi (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: psyworm (big blind) showed [Ks Jd] and lost with a pair of Eights
Seat 4: R_P_No1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: mazga folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Ghana10 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

So now he's thinking that I'm a HUGE donkey.

Very next hand:

PokerStars Game #21975882501: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/12 11:51:05 ET
Table 'Wesson' 6-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: DubsPoke ($29.65 in chips)
Seat 2: Captain Rabi ($26.35 in chips)
Seat 3: psyworm ($45 in chips)
Seat 4: R_P_No1 ($51.30 in chips)
Seat 5: mazga ($25 in chips)
Seat 6: Ghana10 ($27.60 in chips)
psyworm: posts small blind $0.10
R_P_No1: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Ah Jc]
mazga: folds
Ghana10: folds
DubsPoke: raises $0.75 to $1
Captain Rabi: folds
psyworm: calls $0.90
R_P_No1: folds
*** FLOP *** [5s Js Th]
psyworm: checks
DubsPoke: bets $1.60
Captain Rabi leaves the table
psyworm: raises $3.90 to $5.50
DubsPoke: raises $6 to $11.50
psyworm: raises $32.50 to $44 and is all-in
DubsPoke: calls $17.15 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($15.35) returned to psyworm
*** TURN *** [5s Js Th] [4h]
*** RIVER *** [5s Js Th 4h] [8h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
psyworm: shows [Ts As] (a pair of Tens)
DubsPoke: shows [Ah Jc] (a pair of Jacks)
DubsPoke collected $56.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $59.55 | Rake $2.95
Board [5s Js Th 4h 8h]
Seat 1: DubsPoke showed [Ah Jc] and won ($56.60) with a pair of Jacks
Seat 2: Captain Rabi (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: psyworm (small blind) showed [Ts As] and lost with a pair of Tens
Seat 4: R_P_No1 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: mazga folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Ghana10 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I like my call there. I think I'm well ahead of his range, especially after the previous hand. I abused this guy's blind ALL the time. It was fun.

Back on my A game

Simple advice: If struggling, cut down on the number of tables.

Now if people would just stop hitting any draw against me, I'd be winning.

On back-to-back-to-back hands on 3 tables, I managed to lose an 80-20, a 70-30, and a 85-15 ON THE TURN! You know you are playing well when you get yourself into that position.

Went from a big day to a break-even day. Oh well...for once, as long as I know I'm playing well, I know the results will come with time.

I'm feeling good.

EDIT: Just watched a Cardrunners video by Daut. Makes a great point that he plays optimally at 6max on 4 tables, slight decrease on 6 tables, and poorly on 8 tables. Very true for me too! He only multi-tables FR. Interesting video on cascading technique. Might try this at 5NL at some point to mix things up.

My Chat Has Been Banned

Enough said:

PokerStars Game #21949513487: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/11 13:25:18 ET
Table 'Adrastea II' 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: benston ($24.20 in chips)
Seat 2: Carsiwolf ($17.40 in chips)
Seat 3: DubsPoke ($67.35 in chips)
Seat 4: Tawi1987 ($40.30 in chips)
Seat 5: notagg ($129.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Croaten01 ($23.40 in chips)
Carsiwolf: posts small blind $0.10
DubsPoke: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [9c 9h]
Tawi1987: calls $0.25
notagg: raises $1 to $1.25
Croaten01: folds
Tawi1987 said, "J10"
benston: folds
Carsiwolf: calls $1.15
DubsPoke: calls $1
Tawi1987: calls $1
*** FLOP *** [9s Ad 4c]
Carsiwolf: checks
DubsPoke: checks
Tawi1987: checks
notagg: bets $3.25
Carsiwolf: calls $3.25
DubsPoke: calls $3.25
Tawi1987: folds
*** TURN *** [9s Ad 4c] [Ts]
Tawi1987 said, "noooo"
Carsiwolf: bets $12.90 and is all-in
DubsPoke: calls $12.90
notagg: folds
*** RIVER *** [9s Ad 4c Ts] [Tc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Carsiwolf: shows [Td Ac] (a full house, Tens full of Aces)
DubsPoke: mucks hand
Carsiwolf collected $38.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $40.55 | Rake $1.95
Board [9s Ad 4c Ts Tc]
Seat 1: benston (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Carsiwolf (small blind) showed [Td Ac] and won ($38.60) with a full house, Tens full of Aces
Seat 3: DubsPoke (big blind) mucked [9c 9h]
Seat 4: Tawi1987 folded on the Flop
Seat 5: notagg folded on the Turn
Seat 6: Croaten01 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Have to post the ones that go your way too....

To say I got fortunate is an understatement. This is a table I probably shouldn't have been on as there was no easy fish (outside me perhaps!). All players are aggressive, with everyone except notagg being classing slightly LAG (22/20) type players. I was playing AK very passively/trappy here. Check it out:

PokerStars Game #21945612256: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/11 10:29:57 ET
Table 'Adrastea II' 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Pr0fiteer ($67.15 in chips)
Seat 2: Tatli Siken ($15.80 in chips)
Seat 3: DubsPoke ($25 in chips)
Seat 4: AgatheB ($35.65 in chips)
Seat 5: notagg ($25.25 in chips)
Seat 6: TRBasket ($34.20 in chips)
Tatli Siken: posts small blind $0.10
DubsPoke: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Kd Ah]
AgatheB: raises $0.75 to $1
notagg: folds
TRBasket: folds
Pr0fiteer: raises $2.25 to $3.25
Tatli Siken: folds
DubsPoke: calls $3
AgatheB: calls $2.25
*** FLOP *** [9c Kh Jc]
DubsPoke: checks
AgatheB: checks
Pr0fiteer: bets $6
DubsPoke: raises $15.75 to $21.75 and is all-in
AgatheB: folds
Pr0fiteer: calls $15.75
*** TURN *** [9c Kh Jc] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [9c Kh Jc Kc] [Ad]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [Kd Ah] (a full house, Kings full of Aces)
Pr0fiteer: mucks hand
DubsPoke collected $50.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $53.35 | Rake $2.60
Board [9c Kh Jc Kc Ad]
Seat 1: Pr0fiteer (button) mucked [Jd Jh]
Seat 2: Tatli Siken (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: DubsPoke (big blind) showed [Kd Ah] and won ($50.75) with a full house, Kings full of Aces
Seat 4: AgatheB folded on the Flop
Seat 5: notagg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: TRBasket folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Of course it gets balanced out when donkey fucktwads playing 70/30 cooler me with KK vs AA, and QQ vs bottom set

This bullshit is why I can't move up

PokerStars Game #21932072879: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/10 20:04:04 ET
Table 'Naos V' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: cut7iiron ($4.75 in chips)
Seat 2: yukon200 ($35.40 in chips)
Seat 3: DubsPoke ($25 in chips)
Seat 4: cynic_dc ($32.85 in chips)
Seat 5: Gregcou ($25 in chips)
Seat 6: cmdmac ($19.35 in chips)
cut7iiron: posts small blind $0.10
yukon200: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Jc Ac]
DubsPoke: raises $0.75 to $1
cynic_dc: folds
Gregcou: calls $1
cmdmac: calls $1
cut7iiron: folds
yukon200: folds
*** FLOP *** [7h As 5d]
DubsPoke: bets $2.90
Gregcou: calls $2.90
cmdmac: folds
*** TURN *** [7h As 5d] [Ah]
DubsPoke: bets $4.95
Gregcou: raises $4.95 to $9.90
DubsPoke: calls $4.95
*** RIVER *** [7h As 5d Ah] [8d]
DubsPoke: bets $11.20 and is all-in
Gregcou: calls $11.20 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [Jc Ac] (three of a kind, Aces)
Gregcou: shows [8s Ad] (a full house, Aces full of Eights)
Gregcou collected $48.90 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $51.35 | Rake $2.45
Board [7h As 5d Ah 8d]
Seat 1: cut7iiron (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: yukon200 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: DubsPoke showed [Jc Ac] and lost with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 4: cynic_dc folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Gregcou showed [8s Ad] and won ($48.90) with a full house, Aces full of Eights
Seat 6: cmdmac (button) folded on the Flop

Back to 10NL....

Man this shit is getting old. Nothing went right today. Big hands beat by bigger hands. Suckouts galore. Only flopped one set and that lost to runner runner flush. 5 BI downswing at 25NL has forced me to retreat back to 10NL and begin the grind back to 30 BIs for 25NL once again.

Damnt.

Bad start to 25NL

Not everyday K3 > AA

PokerStars Game #21842573752: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/11/07 18:06:04 ET
Table 'Coelestina III' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: gergoPS ($24.75 in chips)
Seat 2: marianoboni ($25 in chips)
Seat 3: DubsPoke ($25.40 in chips)
Seat 4: GigiPoker fr ($35.60 in chips)
Seat 5: AlbatrossJR ($35.95 in chips)
Seat 6: Bassbox 99 ($18.45 in chips) (70/20 dumbass)
gergoPS: posts small blind $0.10
marianoboni: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to DubsPoke [Ah As]
DubsPoke: raises $0.50 to $0.75
GigiPoker fr: folds
AlbatrossJR: folds
Bassbox 99: calls $0.75
gergoPS: folds
marianoboni: folds
*** FLOP *** [4h 3d Kh]
DubsPoke: bets $1.50
Bassbox 99: raises $2.50 to $4
DubsPoke: raises $6.25 to $10.25
Bassbox 99: raises $7.45 to $17.70 and is all-in (could easily be any ace or any flush draw)
DubsPoke: calls $7.45
*** TURN *** [4h 3d Kh] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [4h 3d Kh 3s] [Td]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DubsPoke: shows [Ah As] (two pair, Aces and Threes)
Bassbox 99: shows [Kd 3c] (a full house, Threes full of Kings)
Bassbox 99 collected $35.40 from pot
DubsPoke said, "wow"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $37.25 | Rake $1.85
Board [4h 3d Kh 3s Td]
Seat 1: gergoPS (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: marianoboni (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: DubsPoke showed [Ah As] and lost with two pair, Aces and Threes
Seat 4: GigiPoker fr folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: AlbatrossJR folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Bassbox 99 (button) showed [Kd 3c] and won ($35.40) with a full house, Threes full of Kings (....sigh....here we go again....25NL curse strikes again)