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[Butter]

The next night, I end up in a $4 late night "Beginner" hold 'em tournament, and I was the chip leader in this tournament as well, pulling off one triple barrel bluff late on, but ultimately finishing 4th in a field of 71 to win $24.14 and bump myself up over $125.

Then I hit a run of bad luck at cash tables and tournaments to drop back below $90.

Actually, I was making a ton of stupid calls at a step up from my normal Omaha tables, .05/.10 pot limit.  I lost like $7-8 in a couple of evenings work, then missed cashing in a couple of $5 tourneys to get it back below $100, then back below $90.

Sept. 23
Start: $88.10

In my most recent tournament, it was an $11 buy-in, deep stack style tourney with $4,000 prize pool guaranteed.  Everyone started with 10,000 chips and the levels go up every 10 minutes, making it a very slow going tournament.  This is my style.

I was not doing so well early getting down to under 5k in chips around the first break.

I was able to hit a couple of hands a bit later, and work my way up to 20k as the tourney hit the second hour break.

I got up to close to 50k in chips and in the top 10 in the tournament shortly thereafter, as the registration closed and we finalize at 483 entries.

I pull JT on the button and call a small raise with the blinds at 400/800.  Flop comes 89T... 2 spades.  So I have top pair, middling kicker.  This is a super draw heavy board, so I call a 6000 chip bet into a 17k chip pot.

Turn is a K of spades.  I call a 10k chip bet again, and river is an Ace.  I don't make my draw, and my middle pair on the board is likely no good.  Looking back, I wish I had pushed on the flop, I might've gotten some people off their hand.  I have to fold to a river bet of nearly all of my stack.

That drops me to 22k with the blinds starting to hurt.

I am able to hang around in the tournament, as I am now something like 75th in chips with 95 left and only 54 spots to pay.

I get moved tables, and then I start picking up hands.  I double up off the same guy to my right twice with AQ vs. A9 and KK vs. 99.  That gets me back off of just praying to make the bubble.

A few rounds later, with 55 players left I push in a 3x size raise with blinds at 2500/5000 UTG with a pair of 5's.  It folds around to the big blind, who is the guy that I've doubled up off of twice.  He takes 2 minutes of time, then folds not wanting to lose 1 off the money bubble.  He shows AT suited.  That would've been a flip, but I don't blame him for not wanting to flip on the bubble.

After the money is made, he raises me from the button, I push my last 60k in with 99... he thinks and calls with A8o.  He doesn't get his Ace, and I get up over 100k in chips and he exits shortly after the money bubble.

The table at this point goes berserk, seeming all-ins and knockouts every hand... and we get from 54 down to 24 rather quickly, and I make the 5th hour of the tournament in 22nd of 24 players left with 71k chips.

Blinds are 5k/10k with 1k ante after the break, and I have to pick a hand and go with it, as I only have enough chips for about 3 more orbits.

I pick up A6 in the BB... but 2 players behind me go all in.  I decide that this is it.  They both show a pocket pair, 88 and 99.  Board comes 235...A...J.  I triple up to over 160k and get off of life support.

A couple of hands later, I get AK on the button.  I go all in against the big stack.  He's got 66... flop includes a K, and I double to over 300k in chips, 3rd in the tournament.

Better yet, I make another money level, making the final 2 tables.

Some guy beats AQ and AA with 99 when a 9 hits the board, and we're down to 16.  Next money level is at the final table.

QQ beats AT and we're down to 15.

I hold K9o in the BB, I call a min-raise and win with a flop bet when the board comes 952 rainbow.

AQ beats A3 in a blind battle when an Ace hits the board, and we're down to 14.

Blinds are up to 6k/12k with 1200 ante.  I am hanging out around 300k chips.  I have tightened it way down, as everyone seems to be finding every hand good enough to shove at this point.

Someone from the other table is out, and we're down to 13 players.

Short stack on my table goes all-in, big stack calls him with J6 vs. 99... Jack hits the board and we're down to 12, I am in 7th chip position with 285k.

Meanwhile, I am getting no cards of note, and am folding pretty much every hand.

Small stack goes all-in, gets called by 2 players.  99 beats JQ, and we're down to 11 players as blinds go up to 8k/16k with 1600 ante.

I am at a 5 person table where the other players besides me are all the top 4 players.  The other 6 person table has a lot of people in the 100k range, but no one is taking any chances there.  They're trying to wait us out so they can all make the final table.

Meanwhile, our table is playing at a good pace.  So I take it upon myself to start playing everything very slowly.  I use all 30 seconds on every decision.

I get ground down with no cards to under 3 big blinds as it gets up to 12.5k/25k with 2500 antes.

On other table, someone gets caught trying to steal with rags, and they lose.  We're down to 10 players.  But I'm not going to make it to the final table without winning another hand.

The tournament starts going hand by hand as it goes from 10 to 9, meaning each table has to wait for the other to finish a hand.

I double up with an Ace, but still have less than 5 BB.

On the other table, a small stack shoves with J9, and is called with J2.  A 2 hits the board, and I make the final table!

First hand at the final table, I get QJh on the button.  I push vs. a raise.  It is re-raised behind me, and I figure I am screwed.  I am right, as they both show KK and JJ.  Board comes QJ289 with 4 diamonds, so KK with K of diamonds wins and I am out in 9th.

Biggest cash to date as I finish 9th out of 483, good for $73.89.  First place is just over $1,000, but I had no shot at that sadly without doubling up like 6 times.

My roll breaks the $150 barrier for the first time, as with the buy-in, it had dipped to $77.

Finish: $150.99
+62.89 for tournaments

[Butter]

Looking back over the past few weeks, here are my actual results in tournaments since the beginning of the month.

$3 PLO MTT w/rebuys - Invested $6.30, did not cash
$2 NLHE MTT Super Knockout - $2.20 buy-in, cashed for $8.37
$2 NLHE MTT - $2.20 buy-in, did not cash
$2 NLHE MTT Super Knockout - $2.20 buy-in, cashed for $5.27
$1 NLHE MTT - $1.10 buy-in, cashed for $3.27
$5 PLO MTT - $5.50 buy-in, did not cash
$3 PLO Triple-Up SNG - $3.30 buy-in, did not cash
$3 NLHE SNG - $3.30 buy-in, did not cash
$2 NLHE MTT - $2.20 buy-in, cashed for $43.23
$10 NLHE MTT Deep Stack - $11 buy-in, did not cash
$4 NLHE MTT "Beginner" - $4.40 buy-in, cashed for $24.14
$2 NLHE MTT $500 Guaranteed - $2.20 buy-in, did not cash
$2 NLHE MTT $1k GTD - $2.20 buy-in, did not cash
$2 PLO MTT - $2.20 buy-in, did not cash
$7 NLHE MTT $1k GTD - $7.70 buy-in, did not cash
$2 NLHE MTT Super Knockout - $2.20 buy-in, cashed for $1
$10 NLHE MTT Deep Stack - $11 buy-in, cashed for $73.89
$10 PLO MTT - $11 buy-in, did not cash
$1 NLHE MTT - $1.1 buy-in, did not cash

That's a cash in 7 out of 19 tournaments, with top-10 finishes in 3 of them.  If we eliminate SNG's, that cuts it to 7/17.  If we eliminate the misses in all 4 of the PLO MTT's I played, that means I cashed in 7 of 13 No Limit Hold 'Em multi-table tournaments.  Though the single dollar in the Super Knockout is a bit of a cheat, but even excluding that my cash rate for September in NLHE MTT's is about 50%.

Including all tournaments, my win amount for the month in tournaments is $78.97 ($159.17 in winnings minus the $80.20 in buy-ins).  For just NLHE, it is $107.57 ($51.60 in buy-ins).

Granted, I have taken the "bankroll rules" and thrown them out the window a bit, as you can see with playing some $7 and $10 MTT's.  But this is a pretty good return, about 100% profit on tournaments in total, and nearly 200% on just NLHE alone.

Looking online at some expectations, 15% ROI is considered a good win rate, and 30% is considered elite.  So I don't have a big enough sample size, and that is telling me I can expect some downswings if I continue playing a lot of MTT's.  Not surprising that 200% would not be considered sustainable, but I did enjoy them while they lasted.  Also makes me think that I wasn't playing as bad as I thought when I went through a streak of like 12 MTTs without a cash.

But for now, I think I am settling into playing NLHE MTTs and PLO table games.  This seems to do well for me when I am not playing stupid at Omaha.

I really feel like I am playing well at the MTTs right now, and I am avoiding getting beat by worse hands.  So yes, I am running good.  At some point, I will run bad.  Variance can be somewhat demoralizing if you let it.  I will try hard not to let it, and we'll see what happens.

Sept. 27th
Start: $150.99

After football and before bed, The Mrs. decided she wanted to stay up and see the eclipse some.  I said sure, but I'm not going to be out there the whole time.  We can go out and check occasionally.  And in the meantime, I'll play some poker.

So I fired up 2 Omaha tables, $2 buy-in each, .02/.05 limits, the usual.

On Table 1 which is 9 players, on the 3rd hand I get dealt 93TJ on the button.  I call a raise to .15, and there are 5 players to the flop, which is 82T.  I have an open ender and call a small .09 bet.  4 players to the turn, which is another T.  Checked around, and river is a 7.  I have a straight and trips, and decide to call the .29 bet of the original raiser hoping for not a full house, but not expecting one with no turn bet.  I am right, and win $1.20.

I win another small hand with AKQ6 double-suited with strong betting, and leave the table after 15 hands up $1.39.

On Table 2, that was pretty wacky.  A 6-hander where the player to my right was raising nearly every pot.  I've found at these tables that you need to call a couple of raises to keep them honest and then really punish them with your good hands.  Sometimes the board cooperates and sometimes it doesn't.

Hand 7, I get AK52 double-suited.  I call a pre-flop re-raise to $1, which is frankly somewhat reckless with this hand.  3 callers to the flop which is AK6, 2 clubs which is not my suit.  But I have 2 pair.  Re-raiser pre-flop goes all-in, and I call.  He shows QJ98 with 2 clubs, so he's really betting the flush draw and a straight.  Board ends with 5K, and I make a full house and add $3+ to my stack.

I call another raise with AK23 double-suited, but end up folding on the turn when the board pairs and I'm holding nothing but a one-sided straight draw.

I call another raise with AJJQ, but fold when the board shows 3 diamonds and no high cards.

I re-raise the maniac with AA23, and take it down when the flop shows 44A and he folds to my flop bet.

Last big hand, which is still only like the 20th hand I've played, I get AKJ6 and call a .20 raise from the BB.  3 callers to the flop of JQ5, 2 clubs.  I actually bet on this hand after the maniac checks, I bet .40, maniac calls.  Turn is a 3rd club, an 8.  He checks to me, and I check for the river expecting a check-raise.  River is a T of spades, completing my broadway draw, but I'm not clamoring to bet big with the flush draw out there.  He bets .80 and I make the crying call.  Turns out he made a straight with the 8, as he was holding AT9T.  I win another $1.59.

At this point, he says "2 outer on the river, gotta love Bovada".  I respond with "idiots raising every hand, gotta love Bovada".

That sets him off, he says "learn poker".  I respond with "I did, that's why I just won $5 off you in 30 minutes, moron.  Have a great night."  And I sign off.  Leave that table up $5.31.  I don't usually respond to table talk, but my macho side got the best of me in this case.

Finish: $157.69
+6.70 in ring games

[Butter]

Oct. 1
Start: $157.69

Fired up a $3 Omaha Triple-Up SNG... never got anything going there.  Won a couple of small pots but not the couple of big ones that knocked me out far from the money in 6th.

Then I sat at some cash tables for a bit.  PL Omaha Hi/Lo... a 6 person and 9 person table.

At the 9 person table, I ended up all-in for my $2 eventually with QTTK on a board that had an Ace and a Jack on it.  This was not a good move, as I made a big pile of nothing and lost.

At the 6 person table, when I sat with my $2, there was a guy with over $25 at the table. 

Hand 2, I get Q524 UTG... I speculate here, as if an Ace comes this is a strong Low hand, especially 6-handed.  Big stack raises on the button to .26.  3 players to the flop, which is A9Q, 2 clubs.  I have Q5 of clubs.  This is not a great flop for a low, but it is for the 2nd nut flush.

Check to the big stack who bets $.76.  Player to my right calls, I re-raise all-in, my last $1.69.  Both players call, putting player to my right all-in as well.

Turn/River are Kc, 2d.  Completing my now nut flush.

Player to my right shows AQ5J, so he flopped 2 pair... but with the strong betting around, he probably should've folded.

Big stack shows JT78, so he was really speculating.  Bumps me up to over $5.

Next hand, I win another .70 with AQQJ.

Next, I win another .50 with AQ75 on a board with 2 Aces.

5th hand at the table on the button, I get AKQT, with 3 diamonds.  3 players to the flop, which is J79, 2 diamonds.  I have an open ender here, and a nut flush draw.  I bet the pot, .25.  SB raises to .97.  I call.  Turn is 8h, making my straight.  I bet $1.09 and get called.  River is Ac, pretty much a blank as far as this board goes.  I bet $1.56 and get called.  SB had 7892, so he had the dreaded 3-pair.

I am up to nearly $10 with that win.

A bit later, I'm back down to $9.  I get TKJ6 unsuited in the BB.  Big stack raises to .21, and we get 4 callers to the flop.

KK5.  I check, and UTG bets out for .84.  I just call and there are only 2 players left.

Turn is the full-house making 6d.  I bet the pot, $2.52.  I get called.  River is Qc.  I am slightly afraid of KQ here, but 6 handed I am less afraid of it.  I push all-in hoping this guy is married to his hand.  He is not.  I take it down, pushing up to $12.58.

Nothing else of note happens at this table, and I leave it holding $11.66, profit of $9.66 at this table.

Sadly, 2 other 6-max tables I open up I go broke at.  At one, I hold A2T5, with T5 of clubs.  I bet strong with a flop of 6J8, 2 clubs.  I lose my $2 when the low doesn't make, and the flush does but the caller has a Queen-high one.

At another table, I re-raise pre-flop with AA96, double suited.  End up all-in, and lose to KJT8 when the board comes Q54TK, 2 pair.

At another able, I end up leaving with just $1.12 of my original $2.  So all of those eat into my $9.66 in profit from the crazy table.

I decide to take another stab at Zone Poker for some reason, because the football game I'm watching isn't quite over yet, but I'm tired of going broke at Omaha.

Zone Poker if you recall, is a 6-handed NLHE cash game where once you fold a hand, it immediately places you at another table with other players to play another hand.  It's like Turbo on steroids.

Blinds are .02/.05, and you can literally play several hands a minute.

Minimum to start at these stakes is $2.50.  I'm in. 

3rd hand, I get KQs in the SB.  I call a small bet when the flop is A2T with 2 spades.  I net .70 when I bet a spade on the river and it goes uncalled.

9th hand, I get AJ in the BB.  I call a 10 cent raise.  Flop is J3Q... checked around.  Turn is Ah.  I bet .25, 2 callers.  River is Ks.  I fear a Ten, but I win the showdown for another 80 cents.

Starting with Hand 12, I win like 6 of 9 hands by just raising pre-flop.  One hand I get called, but bet holding JTc when the flop is 966 and take down .30.

So, I'm up to over $4.50 when this last hand takes place... I am feeling my oats with being the bully.  I raise UTG with QTh... 3 callers to the flop of T33.  I've got top pair here.  I bet out .68.  I get 2 callers, and at this point I should've put the brakes on.

But I don't, as the turn is a Q.  I now have 2 pair and decide to bet again, another .71.  2 players call... and at this point I do too for another .96.  BB goes all-in on the river blank of a 5.  I call like a moron, and see him turn over TT for a flopped full house.  Mistake here was not putting on the brakes when there were 2 callers on that board.  Other player who also was all in had K3, so he beat me too.

Well, shit.  Now I'm down for the evening after having won nearly $10 at a single cash table.

Stupidly, I decide to go back to Zone Poker but at HIGHER STAKES.  .05/.10 blinds, minimum $5 at the table.

3rd hand, I get KK UTG.  I raise to .35 and get 2 callers.  Flop is K53, 2 diamonds.  I slow-play.  UTG+1 bets out for .10, 2 callers.  Turn is a 9h.  I bet .75.  One caller to the river with is 5s, making me a full house.  I bet $1.02, which goes uncalled.  Up $1.25 already.

I lose .70 when some guy rivers trips to my middle-pair.

7th hand, I get Q9s on the button.  I call a raise to 30 cents in position.  Flop is A79, 2 diamonds.  I get a piece here.  I call a .57 bet, hoping to take it away later.  Turn is another 9, and now I'm in the driver's seat.  I let UTG continue to lead here, he bets 1.50.  I just call.

River is 2h.  He bets enough to put me all in, and I'm glad to oblige.  He shows AKo, and I take down the $10.88 pot.

A few more hands, and I get out while the getting is good and I can be up for the night.

Finish: $160.12
-3.30 in tournaments, +2.78 in Omaha ring games, +2.95 in NLHE Zone Poker

Really feel like I am playing better at NLHE now.  I'm not just waiting for the board to hit me to get money in.  I am taking small pots with raises in position, sometimes with nothing.  I just need to be better at recognizing when I am beaten and minimize my losses, at all levels.  I now need to get better at post-flop play, including figuring out when to bluff and when not to.

[lutz]

I just need to be better at recognizing when I am beaten and minimize my losses

This is really key. Probably want to read about ranges and start looking into HUDs.

[Butter]

So, I will have an update soon... suffice it to say that I haven't done great lately, I'm back down below $100.

However, something interesting happened this week that I thought I'd share.

C-Fan was out of town all week, so I was playing poker at night a bit more than usual.  Tuesday night, I had a "ticket" entry as a new player to play in a freeroll tournament that offered as 1st place an entry into a $100k guaranteed tournament on Sunday.  Then for 2nd through 10th, you got an entry to a satellite whose prize is to gain entry to that same tournament.

I played this tourney on Tuesday, and played very well.  In a field of 44, I made the final table, then finally got to the final 2.  Since the starting stacks were 1,500 chips, that meant there were 66,000 chips in play.  Going to heads-up, I was down 55k to 11k.  Then soon was down 61k to 5k. 

Then I made a comeback, and flipped it around.  I took the lead and was up like 38k to 28k.  That's when this hand happened: 

I got AQo with blinds at 500/1000 and a 100 ante.  I just completed out of the SB, and the flop went QK5 rainbow.  I bet out 1000 and got called.  Turn was an Ace of diamonds giving me 2 pair and 2 diamonds on the board.  I bet 3k and he called.  River was a 3rd diamond.  I bet 5k, and he re-raised all-in.  With 3 diamonds on the board and this player playing me pretty passively up to this point, I folded assuming the flush but went back down in chips 39k to 27k.  I used up all my time on that decision, which is about 2 minutes.  And you can't see the opponents' hole cards unless they show which he didn't.

However, 2 days later, you can see everyone's hole cards on the web site's history screen.  So just now I went back to investigate and see that yes indeed he made a flush... he was holding Q2d.  So his call on the flop with a pair and turn with a pair and flush draw were more than reasonable.

Sadly, I was not able to make it out of the hole a second time, and ended up losing.  I was pretty pissed that I lost a chance at a direct entry to the major tournament and had to go through one of these tourneys yet again.



So, the next night I signed up for the satellite.  This one costs $16 and promises one entry for every 10 players, as the straight buy-in to this big tournament is worth $162.  There were 19 entries, which meant there would be one entry to the tournament, and a cash prize of $144 for second place.

I played decent in this one, making the final table pretty easily and then getting to the final 4.  I made the final 3 when a guy tried to steal with 23s, and I called from the BB with JTo.  Board was all blanks, so I won with Jack high, making the final 3.

To start the final 3, chip stacks were me with 8300, P1 with 15k, P2 with 3700.

I moved to the chip lead when I had A9o on the button, and raised to 1200 with blinds of 200/400.  Flop was A62 all diamonds.  Chip leader bet 1200, I called.  Turn was a 7h, he bet 1200 again and I called.  He failed to triple-barrel it, and we checked the river... he showed K3h and was trying to represent a flush.  I got up to 12k with 27k total in play.

I lost the lead when I tried to make a play 3-handed with KTo out of the SB on a Q73 flop.  BB had called a pre-flop raise of mine, and that board seemed pretty empty.  He didn't buy my betting and showed a Q down to win and drop me back to 7k chips. 

Finally, as the SB, Player 1 raised 1800 with blinds at 300/600... BB went all-in and SB called.  We had SB with J6s, and BB with 4's.    Turn brought a Jack, and I make the final 2 with 5700 chips vs. 21.3k.

I had thoughts as I made the Final 2 that maybe I should just throw this tournament and collect my $144.  It would be by far my biggest payday in a tourney on this site.  But once we started playing heads-up, I decided that no, I would try to win because if I get an entry and were to somehow place

I double up on the second hand of heads-up, when I call an all-in holding 68 on a flop of 6K2.  He showed 36, and I dominate that matchup and win up to 10k.

We played for probably a half hour heads-up.  58 hands total.  It went back and forth a bit.  I took the lead in there when I rivered a straight with J8 vs. A7.  I then put pressure on all the way to the end.  On the final hand, I had KJh and he finally just went all-in with T2c.  He rivered a straight, but I rivered a flush to win the whole thing.

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

So, now I have an entry ticket into a $250,000 prize pool tournament that is only being played twice... this Sunday and next at 4 PM.  Seeing as I'm out of town next weekend, I have to play this thing on Sunday.  The prize pool has been bumped from it's normal $100k to $250k for some reason.

If I did manage to place, the least I would win would be $150 since that is the cash buy-in... and usually the lowest cash prize is somewhere around the buy-in.  The tournament notes that this tourney has a "modified payout structure" that will pay 15% of the entrants.  So that means if we have 1000 people in, I would have to get up to 150th at least.

I have no idea what to expect.  I also know that if I were to somehow WIN this thing, it would probably be worth in the neighborhood of $50,000.  Very unlikely sure, but not impossible.  I could just get hit in the face with cards.  I could also get AA on hand 1 and lose to 2 pair or some kind of flush.  I will have to combat any kind of fear of not cashing though and just play like I normally would and hope for my hands to hold up.  When I have been losing lately, I have mostly been getting my money in good and it just hasn't worked out.  It's poker... Even the very best hand at the start of a hand heads-up is like an 8-1 favorite which means you will lose.  The key will be building some kind of stack to where if I am put to the test I can survive it.  If not, I won't make it long.

I haven't really played at these kind of stakes before, so no idea what to expect on that front.

Expect some kind of report on Monday.  I fully expect it to be anti-climactic, like "I was out in 403rd when I had to push 33 with a small stack against somebody who could afford to call with JTo, and I lost".  But we'll see.  You never know.

[Butter]

I was not close to doing anything in the Sunday tournament.  Finished something like 700th out of 1700+.  With a starting stack of 5000, I don't think I ever even got above 6000.

[Butter]

Mid-November, 2015

After being humbled while trying to step up in pay levels a bit too quickly, I have been back to playing where I should be.  No more than $4.40 buy-ins.

I have ditched playing everything except for Sit 'N Go's and Multi-Table tournaments.  The Multi-Tablers have not been going so great.  The rush I hit around the beginning of October has died off.  After cashing in 8/18 tournaments, I have hit a lull.  In the last 31 multi-table tournaments I have played in, I have cashed 5 times.  That cash rate of like 15% is pretty terrible.  I have an ROI of like -80%, buying in for $124 and winning only just over $28.

I did cash in one last night, in a tournament where I was getting short-stacked and just decided I was going all-in with AJ regardless of what happened.  The Small Blind re-raised me all-in, and he showed AK.  Then he mocked me as a horrible player for shoving my entire stack against a re-raise with AJ.  This of course was after 2 Jacks hit the board.

I called a big bluff from a guy later on with AQ v. A3 when the board hit neither of us.  A bit later in the tournament, I was in the middle of the standings when I called 400 with 33.  6 players went to the flop on a board of J32.  I raised when small bets came to me.  UTG player went all-in, and another player to my right also went all-in.  UTG showed AA, and player to my right showed 22.  I out-flopped them both and tripled to the chip lead.

With 10 players left (as 27 paid, so I was safely in the money), a stack about half of mine pushed all in pre-flop against my raise with QQ.  He showed AQ, and I felt great until he hit his Ace on the river.  Probably justice after my AJ v. AK suck-out.  I proceeded to finish 9th out of 102 and doubled my buy-in to about $9.

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

Here are some hands I have been getting beat with to either knock me out or ALL BUT knock me out of recent tournaments.  First hand listed is mine:

KK v. AK with Ace of clubs, 4 clubs hit the board all-in pre-flop
J4 in blind, I check-raised on a board of J64... he raises me all-in which I call... and he shows J6.
KJ v. 22 on board of K72.
QQ v. KTs, KTs makes flush on turn
TT v. 66, 6 hits river
AA v. KJh, board of Q23, opponent turned heart flush
46 in blind v. ??, board went A44, I went all-in, he runner-runner's a flush
TT loses to KK and 99 on short-stack
99 loses to AK short-stack
TT loses to AQ short-stack
33 loses to KJ short-stack

Some bad beats, some races lost, some draws hit against me.  Nothing especially cruel.  Although yesterday I do remember losing out on a Triple-Up SNG pay thanks to losing AQ v. A8 when an 8 hit the river.

Which leads me to the only way I've consistently been winning... that is through Triple-Up Sit 'N Go's.  In doing some analysis, that is the only version of poker that I have won consistently at. 

Right now, I have 102.30 invested in 31 Triple Up entries.  And I've come away from those with $144, or 16 top-3 places, a better than 50% win rate.

Also, in the 13 Pot Limit Omaha Triple Ups, I have placed in 6.  Slightly worse than 50%, but still enough to make over $10 off the $42.90 in entry fees.

Considering that you have to place at about a 37% rate (or OVER 1/3 of the time) just to break even thanks to the 30 cent buy-in fee on top of the $3, I have been doing well, placing in exactly 22 of 44 of these Triple-Ups.  Considering that each table pays 33% of players, placing at over 36% on a regular basis is not an easy ask but should be attainable for anyone playing well.  I guess I have been playing well.

That's really what I've been playing for the past few weeks, aside from the occasional multi-table tournament.

We'll see how it goes.  I got below $70 for a bit, and am back approaching $90 with this strategy, sitting at $89.98 today.

[Butter]

Which leads me to the only way I've consistently been winning... that is through Triple-Up Sit 'N Go's.  In doing some analysis, that is the only version of poker that I have won consistently at. 

Right now, I have 102.30 invested in 31 Triple Up entries.  And I've come away from those with $144, or 16 top-3 places, a better than 50% win rate.

Also, in the 13 Pot Limit Omaha Triple Ups, I have placed in 6.  Slightly worse than 50%, but still enough to make over $10 off the $42.90 in entry fees.

Considering that you have to place at about a 37% rate (or OVER 1/3 of the time) just to break even thanks to the 30 cent buy-in fee on top of the $3, I have been doing well, placing in exactly 22 of 44 of these Triple-Ups.  Considering that each table pays 33% of players, placing at over 36% on a regular basis is not an easy ask but should be attainable for anyone playing well.  I guess I have been playing well.

That's really what I've been playing for the past few weeks, aside from the occasional multi-table tournament.

We'll see how it goes.  I got below $70 for a bit, and am back approaching $90 with this strategy, sitting at $89.98 today.

November 17th
Start: $89.98

So, shortly after this, I hit a nice run.  As of today, I have placed in 7 of 8 Triple-Ups including the last 6 in a row, which has boosted me back to near $120.

I took some short notes about a couple of them:

• While in 3rd place, lost AK to AJ, but later doubled off chip leader in blinds holding KK v. TT, rode to money
• Got down to 4, I was one of 3 with around 2k chips vs. chip leader with half the chips.  Eventually was put all-in by button holding TT in big blind.  He had A4, and I dodged an Ace to knock him out and place in money.
• Knocked first 3 people out by flopping 2 pair each time to take commanding chip lead.  Then doubled up 3 people putting pressure on very small stacks with Ace-6 through Ace-Ten, lowering me all the way down to 5th of 5 at one point.  Finally won an all-in battle with QJ v. A9 when Jack hit turn.  Rode those chips to money.
• Short-stacked late, but doubled up twice with KK to cruise into 2nd place and easily into money.

Like I said, I won't read too much into this yet but am running real good in the Triple-Ups lately.

Also finished 25th of 92 in an 18 places pay multi-tabler, losing $4.40.

Finish: $119.78

[Butter]

Dec. 2-4
Start: $114.22

Had a couple of misses in there and some cash game gains.

12/2, I played in 4 Triple-Ups and cashed in 2, which is a net $4.80 gain.

12/3, I played in 2 Triple-Ups and cashed in 1, a net $2.40 gain.

I also lost 10 cents at 2 PLO tables that I played while waiting for the Thursday Night game to end... yes, while the hail mary from Rodgers was landing in someone's arms, I was folding some garbage Omaha hand, and shortly after closed the tables in disbelief of that play.

12/4 - I played 2 Triple-Ups and cashed in neither.  In one I was 4th, losing with A5 v. AK after pushing that hand as a short stack, which is where I had been in the Final 4 for a good 20 hands.  In the other, I was out early in 9th of 9, losing with AA to 44... I put the guy all in post-flop on a board of Q56... was figuring 55, 66, KQ or AQ, but was surprised to see 44.  Sadly a 4 hit the turn and I was out.

I did also play in a $1.10 Multi-Table tournament.  By the time registration ended, there were 200 entrants, which made it a $200 prize pool.

I didn't do a whole lot in this one for a while.  I was stretching to hold on with about 50 players left, with 27 paid.  I got a couple of nice hands, and then made a couple of decent plays with suited connectors.

Even so, after we hit the money I was still struggling to do better than a minimal cash, as 19th-27th paid $2, and 10th-18th paid $3.  I did eventually make it to the final table. 

There were 300k chips in play, and I had about 15k with the blinds at 1k-2k when in the BB, still 9-handed (the final 9).  The button raised me to 6k while I was holding K4.  I figured him for a steal based on what I had witnessed a bit earlier at this same table, so I shoved all-in.  He thought for a bit, but he was already well-invested and getting odds with almost anything if he figures I am not paired, so he calls.  He shows Q3, and I survive that to win, doubling to over 30k. 

Shortly after that, the rest of the table goes a bit mental.  A lot of all-ins and calls.  I do well to get my money in good and stay out when not, and eventually get down to heads-up with this other guy, the same guy who put me at risk with Q3.

We went back and forth for a good 20 minutes.  I knew that I was going to have to probably get lucky and trap him with something and not get trapped myself.  We swapped the lead a few times.  Finally, when we were nearly even, I got 66.  I just checked in the BB and saw my dream flop of 652.  He bet and I raised some.  He called.  Turn was a Jack.  He bet again, I raised, he went all-in.  I called and he showed JT.  He was already drawing dead and I had won the tournament.  Victory was worth $44 out of the $200 pool, not a bad win for a low-stakes tournament.

Finish: $157.62

[Butter]

Dec. 5-22
Start: $157.62

Hit a bit of a bad run in the Triple-Ups.  During this stretch, I entered 16 of these Triple-Ups, and cashed in just 5.  Slightly worse than 33%, for a loss of $7.80.  Not terrible, but not the rate I was hitting at.

Here are some brief notes I took on these losses:

• Finished 7th, lost 2 hands back-to-back, holding KQ on board of 88K8K, then with 35 on board of 58945 v. K5.
• Got a run of strong hands in middle of tournament, cruised to easy 1st place finish.
• 8th, lost with JJ v. QQ on pre-flop all-in.
• 5th, lost with KQ v. AQ on Q32 flop.
• 8th, lost with AQ to J5 to a guy who was trying to get rid of his chips and leave.
• 6th, crippled by putting small stack allin with AT v. Q8, 2 pair flopped for him.
• 8th, flopped 2 pair with KJ, lost out to pre-flop raiser who was holding KK.
• 6th, lost 4 coin flips to smaller stacks after being in dominant 2nd place.
• 6th, held QJ with J of hearts, flop was KQT all hearts.  I bet, was raised, I went all-in with Royal Flush draw and lost to A8d when JK completed the board with no more hearts coming.
• 4th, lost with J9 to K5 when 3 diamonds flopped, he went all-in with K of diamonds and won on river.
• 5th, lost an all in with AJ v. J9 on flop of 789.

I placed 3rd in a standard SNG I played for some reason.

I crapped out of 2 additional MTTs, 24th of 87 in a tourney where 18 paid, lost shoving AQ vs. AK in a battle of the blinds.

Lost in the other MTT in 389th out of close to 1000 players, when I pushed with AA post-flop on a board of J9T, other player was holding TT.  That was probably not a smart play, considering how many potential hands beat me on that board.

Not a great run... except for one more MTT that I played last Friday.  This was another $4.40 "beginner" tournament that pays more places than a normal MTT.  Typical enrollment for these is somewhere between 50-100.  This was the same tournament I won 2 weeks prior, on 12/4.

Here are some highlights of this latest MTT cash, starting stacks of 1500:

Hand #22: QQ on button, blinds 30/60.  I raise to 231.  Get one caller, flop is 7T2 rainbow.  UTG+2 bets 284.  I raise all-in, remaining 1089 chips.  He calls and shows 9T.  Remainder of board is 45, so I move up to 2700 chips total.

Hand #27: AQd in big blind, UTG+1 raises to 180, SB raises all-in to 520.  I call, UTG+1 calls.  Flop is Q69 rainbow.  I put BB all-in for 800, he folds.  SB shows KQ, and I win again and move up to 3700 chips.  (UTG+1 was holding KJs).

Hand #32: ATs UTG+1.  I raise to 177.  Button and BB call.  Flop is 382, one spade.  Checked around, Ah comes on turn.  I decline to bet, checked around.  River is Kh, 3 hearts on board.  BB bets 240, I call, button folds.  I win, as BB was holding A9.  Move up to 4300+ chips.

Hand #35: QJo in SB.  UTG+1 min-raises, I call, BB calls.  Flop is Q44.  I bet out 249, UTG calls.  Turn is 2s.  I bet out 419, UTG+1 calls again.  River is 8h, I decide to check call the river... but UTG+1 checks.  I fail to get value, as he mucks TT, but I do move up to over 5100 chips and near first place now.

Hand #51: A9o on button, blinds at 50/100.  UTG+1 calls, I raise to 340.  BB goes all-in for 902 total.  I am left to call 562 into a pot of 1392, and do so.  He shows TT, and maybe not such a no-brainer now.  But I turn an Ace and get up to 6500+ chips.

I hang around that area for a while.

Hand #96: AQd UTG, blinds at 125/250, with 25 ante.  I raise to 751, BB calls.  Flop is T49, BB checks, I bet 980, BB calls.  Turn is Q, BB checks, I bet 1500, BB calls.  River is a 7, I decide to check behind on the river, and I win vs. BB's KQ, and move up to 9200+ chips.

Hand #99: AJo on button.  Cutoff min-raises to 500, I re-raise to 1470, CO calls.  Flop is TQA, 2 clubs.  Action checked to me, I bet 1902 and take it down.  CO mucks 22.

We are into the money at this point, as 18 pay and sometime around hand 100, the bubble bursts.

Hand #106: J2 in BB, blinds at 150/300, 30 ante.  UTG+1 and UTG+2 call.  Flop is 9KJ, 2 clubs.  No one bets.  Turn is 5h.  I take a stab holding a pair, and everyone folds.  Move to over 11500 chips.

Hand #107: I complete the SB with 69o.  Just me and BB in this hand, flop is 83T... I check, BB bets 300, and I call.  Turn is another 3, it's checked around.  River is a J, and I decide to take another stab and win it.  Move up to 12300.

Next hand I raise with K8 on the button, and it goes uncalled, so I steal the blinds.  About 10 more hands, and we are down to the final 10, one more out and we go to the final table.

Hand #120:  AJ in SB, blinds are 200/400, ante of 40.  Button calls to 400, I raise to 1424.  He calls.  Flop is Q6T, I bet 1500, Button mucks A8o.  I break the 15k chip barrier.

Hand #121: QQ on button.  UTG raises to 1500, I re-raise to 4825.  He mucks 77.
I go a while with no action, as we get down to the final 9, then players are picking each other off.  I am hanging around the 12k-15k chip area with 96,000 total chips in play.
Down to 5 players, then 4 before I finally stick my nose in the action again.

Hand #171: A8 in BB, blinds are 400/800 with 80 ante, I have 13k chips.  Button raises to 2400, I re-raise all-in figuring a steal.  He calls me with AJ, and I am dominated.  Board comes 35826, and I suck out and double to nearly 27k chips, while crippling button down to less than 2 big blinds.

Hand #180: QQ in SB.  UTG raises to 4k, button raises all-in… he is the chip leader.  I, perhaps stupidly, call.  Board comes KJ248, UTG has KT and wins the main pot, but I win the side pot vs. the chip leader who was holding A2c.  I move up to nearly 39k chips, and the chip lead.

Hand #191: A8o in BB.  Button raises for his last 9200 chips.  I call, he shows QQ and I lose down to about 28k.

Hand #192: We drop to 3 players, as I stay out of the action.

Hand #193: Blinds are now 500/1000, ante of 100.  I have 66 on the button, and raise to 3216.  BB calls.  Flop is T24, 2 clubs.  I bet 5590, BB calls.  Turn is 3 of clubs, I bet enough to put BB all-in for his final 10k.  He decides to call, and shows A9d.  No idea what he is doing there, he basically needs an Ace or a 5.  River is a 6, and my set is good enough to get us heads up.

Hand #202: I get A9 heads up in BB, in a slight chip disadvantage, 43k to 53k.  He raises to 3k, I re-raise to 9200, he calls.  Flop is T75, it is checked around.  Turn is 9d.  He bets 8k, I raise all-in.  He calls and shows K9.  I win, and now have the lead 86k to 10k.

I lose a couple of all-ins, and we’re back to even.

Hand #231: I hold AJs with a deficit of 37k vs. 59k.  I just try a sneaky call.  BB raises me all-in, and I call.  He flips over AKo, and I’m going to lose.  Except I don’t, as my saving Jack comes on the river and I take another dominant chip lead.

Hand #236: I hold A8o and put him all-in for 20k.  He calls and shows A5.  Board makes it interesting, flopping 249, but no other help comes, and my 8 kicker holds up for the win.

1st place is worth $78.09.  I bust the $200 barrier for the first time.

Finish: $216.51
(+65.99 in 3 multi-table tournaments, +.70 in 1 standard SNG, -7.80 in 16 Triple-Up SNGs)

[Marlowe]

Also, I miss Marlowe and Jonathan, and Action Jim.  I heard some rumors about Jim, but he always seemed a decent guy to me at least when I was around him.

Aw, thanks buddy, and right back atcha. I miss the home games we used to play back in the day.

It's been a looong time since I dropped by here and I sort of dropped by at random (no pun intended) & saw this thread and was happy to see that you're still playing poker. I haven't played online forever, but I still play at casinos. I am living south of LA now and Commerce casino is about an hour away in light traffic, and I play there maybe every other month. And, I get to Vegas about once a year. I was just there two weeks ago and played at the Wynn & Bellagio. The first day I lost pretty badly but then the 2nd day I made it back and a little on top, only to get a speeding ticket on the drive home so my winnings went to Johnny Law. Argh.

The game has definitely changed in the last 10 years or so, and there is a lot more aggression. When I lived in Seattle the game was easier to beat, but down here in Cali it's a tougher game. I think that's because poker has been legal here for so long there are more experienced players, and not as many fish. I found Vegas to be on par overall with LA poker rooms, but with more variance because you have more of a mixture of players and at night-time you see more drinking, which can make it interesting.

My main adjustment has been to get a lot tighter in early position and looser in late position, calling raises with junky hands I formerly would've thrown into the muck, like 10-7s. I never liked playing out of position before but in today's super-aggressive games it can be deadly and I try to avoid it.

Glad to see there are still folks around here & I hope all's well with you & everyone else.

[c-lando]

Glad to see there are still folks around here & I hope all's well with you & everyone else.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[Butter]

Marlowe, good to hear from you.

I am down to like $60 or something and put that on hold as I lost interest/started putting a higher priority on sleeping at night instead of staying up to play late night poker.

I still really enjoy poker, just taking a break for now.

[Butter]

I have been watching a lot of the WSOP on ESPN the last few days.  So I got the itch to do this again.

Only one problem.  I got it up to like $216, then I lost a bunch playing beyond my means again, and not following the bankroll rules.  Also, playing blackjack.  Also, using that same money to gamble on sports.

I started back up with something like $10.57 after a couple of years away.  I started out at an Omaha table, just kind of out of boredom.  I lost $4 in the blink of an eye.  They have something new called a "Jackpot Sit 'n Go".  That is basically each player puts up a set amount of money ($2 is the smallest, and just my speed).  Before the game begins, a display comes up and tells you how much you are playing for.  It is a 3-handed turbo set-up, so only top place pays.  80% chance that you will play for 2x the buy in, or $4.  About a 19% chance that you will play for 5x the buy in, or $10.  There are some other microscopic odds to play for up to like $2k, but if that happens each player at the table gets paid.

I had like $7 left, so I signed up for one to try it.  You each start with 500 chips with 10/20 blinds, but 3 minute levels, so the prices go up quick.  Spoiler alert, I lost.

Left me with around $5. I signed up for one last Triple-Up No Limit tournament, and one last Omaha Hi-Lo turbo SNG (6-handed).

I win both of those, which gets me back to about $15.

Since then, I decided to stick only with SNG's, whether it be Triple-Ups or standard ones.  As you may or may not recall, the Triple Up tournament is one where each player puts in $3.30, and the top-3 players left out of a 9-handed table get $9 each.  So you are really just trying to make the Final 3. 

I realized something when I was screwing around with the SNGs.  People are just trying to make the money.  They are signing in, most are playing tight-passive poker, and trying just to outlast everyone else and hoping to get hands.  The average SNG lasts about an hour.  You don't really have time to just wait for hands.  In an average one, I would say I get very few premium hands.  And about half of those, people are not interested in playing with you.  I have gotten AA, KK, and AK maybe like 6-7 total times in the 20 or so tourneys I have played in.

So, I am trying IN JUST THESE SNGs to play a bit more aggressively.  I know that in a multi-table tournament, you can typically afford to be a bit more patient, because if you make the final table, you are talking a time investment of 4-5 hours.  With the SNGs, you can't sit around and play super tight.  I have taken to trying to steal probably 1-2 times per orbit.  More when the table gets down to 4-6 and people are just trying to make it to the final 3.  Playing things like 78 suited.

You also really have to pay attention to your opponents.  If you have a guy at the table who WILL NOT FOLD, you have to go a lot tighter.  So many times, I would try to force those LAGGY (loose/aggressive) players to fold, and they just won't do it.  I have also been doing a much better job of believing people when they bet me like I'm beat.  So many tight passive players play an obvious style, that you have to believe them when they bet hard.

I haven't yet ventured back to multi-tables, which I absolutely love, but if I get a bit more money I could get back into the low stakes ones. 

I feel like I have been playing so much better in the SNGs than I had before.  I was treating SNGs like MTTs, and you just can't do that.

You have to cash in about 35-40% of SNGs to make it profitable.  So far, I'm sitting around 55% after a couple of days and am up to over $33.

Thought this deserved an update.  I'll check in again soon.