I've been slacking!

Sorry I haven't been posting at all, it's been more than a week since my last post. For the month, though, I think I did a decent job commenting on other blogs, even when I didn't update mine. I should be able to dedicate some time this week, but I've thought that before. In lieu of specific hands, here are some general thoughts.

If anyone would be up for some semi-regular sweat sessions on either FT or Stars, leave a comment or send me a PM on Cardrunners. Michaeyk and I are trying to set up a weekly time, but he's out of commission for a bit. It might also be cool to have a group sweat. I'm only really able to participate after 8:00 Pacific, unfortunately. I should be good entertainment, as I'm trying to open my game up a little, and I feel a bit foolish in some of the hands.

I've got 10k hands in July, and it won't go much higher. It was a swingy month, and if it ends today, I will have eked out a 2 PTBB/100 month.

I had one streak of a few hundred hands where every big all in went the opposite way it should, which was unfortunate since I got my money in good in most of them, although my KK sucked out on AA once. The most annoying was when my BB special (Q3 on a Q33 flop) lost to AJ -- who bet/called the flop!! -- when turn and river were running jacks. He actually pushed the turn. LOL, I guess the games will always be good as long as that happens.

Most of my losses were poor play on my part, though, as I try to make some game changes. I'm recognizing my bad plays quickly, though, and still winning in spite of making some game changes, so that feels good. Kind of like in golf where you're making a swing change and it's uncomfortable at first, but you're still able to hold your own on the course.

It will be interesting to see how/if this blog experiment changes in August. I've enjoyed it so far, although I spend even less time on the forums than I normally do, and I need to correct that.

Some hands for Noel

Haven't been playing much unfortunately, but here are a few hands where I am pushing back more than usual. I play low, and try to play ABC most of the time -- not sure how well I succeed there -- but am also trying to pick some new spots to show aggression early. My stats should indicate to anyone looking that I'm somewhere between solid and nitty, IMO.

Hand 1: Villain is 16/12, and aggressive postflop. He's been pushing some folks around (but not me -- the 2 people between us had just left).

$0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 4 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $25.00
BB: $11.70
UTG: $25.00
Hero (BTN): $33.55

Preflop: Hero is dealt Th Jh (4 Players)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $0.95, SB raises to $3.25, BB folds, Hero raises to $10.00

Hand 2: Villain is 27/21/2.8, and has floated me 3 or 4 times straight when he's had position, and he'd taken pots from me when I missed and didn't second barrel. He'd also squeezed a couple times.

$0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 6 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $38.60
BB: $16.75
UTG: $30.30
MP: $23.15
CO: $8.40
Hero (BTN): $24.90

Preflop: Hero is dealt 6s 8s (6 Players)
UTG folds, MP calls $0.25, CO folds, Hero calls $0.25, SB raises to $1.25, 2 folds, Hero calls $1.00

Flop: ($3) 5c Td 4h (2 Players)
SB bets $2.50, Hero raises to $10.50

Hand 3: Villain is 35/0/2.5 over 80 hands, but I don't think I had a ton of hands on him when this went down.

$0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 4 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $15.45
BB: $11.25
Hero (UTG): $31.65
BTN: $35.15

Preflop: Hero is dealt Jh Qh (4 Players)
BB calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1.15, BTN calls $1.15, 2 folds

Flop: ($2.80) 6s 6d Kh (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $1.25, Hero raises to $5.00

Some Overpair Hands

I'm back from wedding fun and cleared off some important to-do items at work. Haven't played that much, but here are some overpair hands that happened somewhat recently. I really feel like I overplay overpairs, although in looking back through my biggest losers, I actually got money in good (either pushing or betting/raising), only to get coolered. Here are 3 hands where I'm either not sure or pretty much hate my play (you tell me which :) ).

Hand 1: Not many hands on villain....less than 40, but he was 38/20 over them.

$0.25/$0.50 Blinds - 5 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $50.95
Hero (BB): $56.45
UTG: $37.15
CO: $22.25
BTN: $32.90

Preflop: Hero is dealt Kc Kh (5 Players)
UTG raises to $1.00, CO calls $1.00, 2 folds, Hero raises to $5.00, UTG calls $4.00, CO folds

Flop: ($11.25) 6h 7d Qh (2 Players)
Hero bets $10.50, UTG calls $10.50

Turn: ($32.25) 3s (2 Players)
Hero bets $22.00, UTG calls all-in for $21.65
Uncalled bet of $0.35 returned to Hero

Note he didn't start with a full stack here, so I figured he'd call for 2/3 pot on the turn with any queen, and perhaps the NFD as well as possibly (but unlikely) JJ and TT. OK? Spew?

Hand 2: BTN is super LP preflop, although he's a little more aggro postflop (80/1/1.1 over 150 hands), and shows down a lot. He's run well, which might account for more aggression postflop than you'd expect for someone that LP preflop, and also why he shows down a lot. Of course sample size isn't that big either.

$0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 6 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $34.35
Hero (BB): $25.85
UTG: $24.65
MP: $21.75
CO: $9.55
BTN: $35.50

Preflop: Hero is dealt Qc Qh (6 Players)
UTG folds, MP calls $0.25, CO calls $0.25, BTN calls $0.25, SB folds, Hero raises to $1.50, MP calls $1.25, CO folds, BTN calls $1.25

Flop: ($4.85) 7c 6d 6c (3 Players)
Hero bets $4.85, MP folds, BTN....

What I want here is a plan depending on BTN's action. What is the plan if BTN calls and the turn blanks? What if BTN raises my c-bet? Finally, what if he just shoves?

Hand 3: SB is 20/8/2.5 over ~80 hands. I have a note on him that he got it in with TP in a marginal situation. Over ~60 hands, UTG is 74/14/2.2!

$0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 6 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $33.70
BB: $24.80
UTG: $21.15
MP: $46.25
Hero (CO): $37.80
BTN: $25.00

Preflop: Hero is dealt Ad As (6 Players)
UTG calls $0.25, MP calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1.50, BTN folds, SB calls $1.40, BB folds, UTG calls $1.25, MP calls $1.25

Flop: ($6.25) 5s Jd 5c (4 Players)
SB checks, UTG bets $2.00, MP folds, Hero calls $2.00, SB calls $2.00

Turn: ($12.25) Qs (3 Players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $9.20, SB raises to $24.00, UTG folds, Hero raises all-in to $34.30, SB calls all-in for $6.20

I would normally raise the flop, but I wasn't too worried about SB getting ahead of me...I figured he would fold, and I was looking for a way to get more out of UTG. My plan was to raise his expected turn bet. I'm OK with betting the turn when it was checked to me, but I really don't like my push looking back on it, and I think I should get away from the hand. SB overcalled after a donk and the original raiser (me called), so he had to have a piece, and now SB takes a really strong line. Had SB and UTG been reversed, I would have liked my line OK. All that said, I was surprised at what SB had, but of course it doesn't change how good my decision is.

2 hands: Set and TP

Wow, I have been slammed. I played poker mostly vicariously this week, watching michaeyk tear it up in a sweat session. For myself, I've only played a couple hundred hands this week, and if I don't play tonight, that's probably it....leaving town tomorrow for a wedding....fun stuff, but no poker. OK, with that sob story out of the way, here are today's hands:

Hand 1: Villain is 35/25/3.5 over about 100 hands; I don't recall any other reads on him.

No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 4 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $24.75
BB: $14.85
UTG: $35.70
Hero (BTN): $25.00

Preflop: Hero is dealt 9c 9s (4 Players)
UTG raises to $0.85, Hero calls $0.85, 2 folds

Flop: ($2.05) 9d Jh 3c (2 Players)
UTG bets $1.75, Hero calls $1.75

Turn: ($5.55) 4c (2 Players)
UTG bets $4.25, Hero calls $4.25

River: ($14.05) Ts (2 Players)
UTG checks, Hero bets all-in for $18.15, UTG folds
Uncalled bet of $18.15 returned to Hero

Pot Size: $14.05 ($0.70 Rake)

I've got several questions here....first against a guy this LAG, do you isolate preflop, or is it OK to just cold call and play for your set? I feel pretty good about the cold-call, just checking.

Second, my plan is to use his aggression to build the pot. I would have raised the flop or turn if there were an ace or king maybe, figuring he wouldn't let go with TP, but I usually wait for the river if the board isn't too threatening. Should I normally be raising an earlier street?

Third, if that's my plan, should I still be overbetting the pot on the river when he checks, or go for more of a value bet size?

Hand 2: Villain is semi-loose, and is also on another one of my tables, although I don't have a lot of hands on him. I think he was like 33/6/3 over 50-ish hands when this hand happened.

No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 6 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $19.40
BB: $34.25
UTG: $28.30
Hero (MP): $25.00
CO: $16.85
BTN: $37.45

Preflop: Hero is dealt Ks Jc (6 Players)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $0.95, 3 folds, BB calls $0.70

Flop: ($2) 3h Kd 8s (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.60, BB calls $1.60

Turn: ($5.20) 9d (2 Players)
BB bets $3.00, Hero calls $3.00

River: ($11.20) 3d (2 Players)
BB bets $8.00, Hero folds
Uncalled bet of $8.00 returned to BB

Pot Size: $11.20 ($0.55 Rake)

On the turn, I was planning to check behind and call a bet on the river, but his donk bet on the turn spooked me. The flop was dry and the turn didn't bring any obvious help. I have a feeling calling is the worst option, but to me a fold felt too weak to just that bet, and a raise doesn't net me anything if I'm ahead, and obviously costs me if I'm behind. So, I called, hoping that he would let the river check through. With that in mind, it kind of makes sense to be calling the river, since I'm under-representing my hand and he's aggressive postflop, but his bet seemed like he wasn't looking for a fold.

So, what do you think, did I get pushed off the best hand? Should I have pitched it on the turn?

Quick Non-Post

I am slammed, both at work and with family stuff (nothing new), so not much play or time to post. I'll try to get a couple more hands up, and I'll make the rounds through the other blogs to comment on, as I can....comments first new content post second...hopefully by tomorrow.

I do have one sweat session set up for tomorrow night with Michaeyk, and really trying to get a second one with Liquigas, where my availability has been the issue, not his. I'm really looking forward to that, and seeing how it goes. Is there a sweating FAQ anywhere (not just software, but how far can you take the sweat session in terms of advice while in the hand, and the like)?

For instance, I could see where in the sweat session, you would say, "I'm thinking about raising, what do you think?" It would definitely violate the one player to a hand rule. I guess the player could talk/type their thoughts as they act, but then the non-player(s) would have to wait until the hand was over to comment?

Good enough implied odds to call down?

Villain here was on 2 of my tables, 3-betting (not me) a few times on the other one, and I think that he might be a 2+2'er, if not also a CR member. He was a bad guy to have position on me, and I was going to leave, except he beat me to it, but not before this happened.

I hadn't seen him show down anything, and he was 19/15/4.5 over 97 hands. So, here's my problem....I know he's 3-betting pretty liberally, and I have a hand w/good implied odds and position, but am not sure how to parlay that against a solid aggressive player. I guess it's a good thing I don't have to worry about it that often, but here I'm pretty sure I did the wrong thing getting involved, since I didn't have a confident plan, and I let him pretty much control the hand.

Let's say that you decide you are going to get involved....what do you guys do and why?

$0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 6 Players - (http://www.legopoker.com/hh)

SB: $46.50
BB: $9.60
UTG: $7.15
MP: $8.55
CO: $25.60
Hero (BTN): $46.50

Preflop: Hero is dealt 9s 8s (6 Players)
3 folds, Hero raises to $0.95, SB raises to $3.00, BB folds, Hero calls $2.05

Flop: ($6.25) Ks 2s Tc (2 Players)
SB bets $4.00, Hero calls $4.00

Turn: ($14.25) Qh (2 Players)
SB bets $8.00, Hero calls $8.00

River: ($30.25) Ad (2 Players)
SB bets all-in for $31.50, Hero folds

Slumping -- but this is (hopefully) not a whine post

Well, July hasn't started any better than June finished :(. I think I'm now at 11 sessions in a row in the red. I'm pretty sure my biggest problem is not folding marginal hands. I don't so much call them down as I spew a 2nd (or even 3rd) barrel before admitting I'm beat. Well that, and my good hands are not holding up.

My confidence is actually still pretty high, even as my frustration grows, but maybe it shouldn't be. Below is a semi-recent snapshot of 25 and 50 NL. That's a brutal downswing (IMO) and a fairly long breakeven stretch. I don't spew *that* much, and I'm hesitant to just explain the rest of it as variance.



I don't play that much to begin with compared to the rest of the of the guys on the forums -- this is actually over a couple months and change -- but I may drop my play volume down even more and start combing through my hands, watching vids, and posting to your blogs and on the forums. My primary goal is to get better at the game, and perhaps that will be better than trying to play through the slump.

If anyone would like to sweat me on a table or two, that would be cool, but my availability is pretty sporadic -- my wife believes poker should be a much lower priority for me than it is, and we have a lot of family stuff geared up for the summer. If anyone would like to get together for a group sweat, whether it be me or someone else, I'd also like that.

Alternatively or in addition to sweating, if anyone would be up to swap a session or two for offline review, I've found that to be a great learning tool -- for both the person reviewing as well as the person getting reviewed. It's pretty easy to do, but can take quite a bit if you are giving and digesting decent commentary.

I hope this post didn't come off too whiny, as other than the competitive frustration of wanting to win, my mindset is pretty decent. I think I've got a handle on the biggest change to make, and even on the coolers, I'm happy to see that I'm playing well enough to get the chips in ahead, even if I don't stay there.

2 routine hands?

I don't think the following hands are particularly exciting, but they are interesting to me. I think I need to get a little passive sometimes to actually extract the most, but I still tend to pull the bet/raise trigger when playing. So, can you make a case to take a more passive line?

Also, I note that the tendency is for folks to format their hands using pokerhand rather than an inline converter. What do you guys think is easier for reviewing a fair number of posts....pokerhand or a nice inline converter? I'll try pokerhand this time around.

Hand 1
I think that you could make a case for not c-betting here. If ahead, I'm not too worried about many turn cards...even if he hits his flush on the turn, I've got a redraw. Also, he may take a stab on the turn when behind, and I'll be able to play a small pot in position with this hand. On the other hand, if I'm behind, I may have a hard time catching up. I think I'm OK with the fold. I'm really more interested to see if anyone routinely checks this flop behind.

Hand 2
Gotta love the BB specials :). My question is on the river whether here would be a good time to think about checking, either to induce a bluff or a mistaken value bet from a villain holding TP.

June Recap

Before the poker content....June was a good month for golf....index dropped under 6 for the first time in a while, thanks to a good round yesterday. It actually could have been a great round, but I had 2 bad breaks on 17. I was 2 over coming into that hole, and blocked my drive out to the right. I only missed the fairway by about 10 yards, but unfortunately the landing zone is the narrowest distance between fairway and out of bounds, with a cart path splitting the difference. My ball hit the cart path :(. We didn't think it was out, but we never could find it, so I had to take the penalty.

On my provisional, I hit the edge of the greenside bunker. It could have just as easily stayed out as gone in, but the ball didn't bounce the right way. I hit a terrible shot from there, and when all was said and done, ended up with an 8 on the par 4. The 18th is the hardest hole on this course. I played it OK, but still ended up with a bogey. So, 5 over on the last 2 holes after a really solid round up until then :(.

Poker wasn't so kind. I may write some more on that later, but the bottom line is that although I know I've still got some learning to do, there were a lot of hands I reviewed that I had my money in good, actually moreso than some stretches where I ran well but didn't play as well. I don't play the volume of hands that a lot of guys do -- June was just under 15k, so a few misplaced coolers and poor play really makes a difference. And I'm also starting to approach the comfort level in NL that I had in LHE, in fact, I would probably feel a bit lost in a moderately tough LHE game now.

For the month, I was:
VPIP = 21
PFR = 15
Aggression = 4.43
WtSD = 21
Won at SD = 48

I think what I need to focus on is to perhaps tone down my aggression a bit. It looks like I'm overprotecting my hands plus getting into some fit-or-fold situations because I'm really not getting to showdown that often, so you'd expect when I do get there, I'd be winning a lot more showdowns. I need to watch that, and perhaps ease up on the gas a bit postflop. A few hands to come in a bit.