For nights like tonight where I can do no wrong. For everyone that feels like they are getting a dry run of cards, I stress that it's only temporary. In a 90 minute session I show-downed, 4 of kind, a full boat, and a set. Doesn't sound like a big deal but I got paid off on all three! Almost back to back to back. It felt real good. Up $37 for the session.
Lots of donks at the tables tonight. I had another situation where the guy had the nut straight and did not make a value bet on the river after the turn was checked. Why? I wouldn't have called in this situation, but I would like to thank you, Mr. Donk, for being so passive.
I've learned to be very patient and not force hands against these types of players. Wait for good hands and let them pay you off.
"Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." Sun Tzu - Art of War
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Stupid People
So yeah, funny hand. This was a point I made the other day about weak players not making value bets, even when they have the nuts. I have 88 in the hole. UTG guy limps. Naturally I raise pre-flop from MP. I get 2 calls, one from BB and one from the limper. Ok fine. The flop hits 9JQ. This is the rare occasion that I don't make a continuation bet on the flop. That board fits far too many hands so I don't think I will get any value from my c-bet. So I check. The 2 players check behind. Long story short, the hand gets checked down to the end. Would you believe the UTG had the nut straight on the flop? He did not try to extract any money from me or the other player. A 10 hits the river so they only way he could be beat was by an AK making the nuts at the river. Why does this person play at all? What hand is he hoping to hit?
So the lesson as I mentioned the other day is, bad players sometimes don't even play their hands for value when they hit. Don't bet your weak hands because a bad opponent might just call you with the nuts. Leaving you scratching your head. Be thankful they help you save money I suppose.
So the lesson as I mentioned the other day is, bad players sometimes don't even play their hands for value when they hit. Don't bet your weak hands because a bad opponent might just call you with the nuts. Leaving you scratching your head. Be thankful they help you save money I suppose.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Tilt after 1 1/2 - 2 hours
I have noticed when I play I do very well my first hour and a half, usually going up big or small, but up none the less going up. I continue to play to think that I can keep increasing my funds and I start to make small mistakes because I become "greedy". Then I start going back down slowly, and it speeds up from there if I keep going. I would like to be able to play 6 hours straight at some point but I keep trying to do long sessions and it's not working. I know some people listen to music when they play but I'm told not to since I'm still learning I shouldn't have distractions. I am around 12k hands or so and I'm up about $2 all together, twice this weekend I went up $50 in the first hour and a half, then kept playing and lost it all again. I want to play long so I can get more practice and get better but it looks like at this point I'm going to set my phone for 1 hour 30 minutes, and when the alarm hits I'm done for that session then will take a hour break. Has anyone experienced this when they started out? I really want to get better but I guess breaking up the sessions with hour break between may help... What do you guys think about listening to music when you play? Should I wait another 10k hands.... Any other advice?
Monday, August 25, 2008
Playing A/K?
OK. So I've had mixed feelings on how, and when, I should be playing A/K aggresively pre-flop and post-flop. I think one situation is leading to another and I'm making mistakes based on previous hands. I find myself drifting back to my old style of playing which is simply grinding it out until I have hands...or I think I have them. This seems to be happening quite often not only with A/K but with other hands as well but A/K had a bunch of different situations today and once again i'm continuing my downward slope. I also seem to be losing a lot more with A/K o/s than A/K suited. Here are some examples of the hands I lost today with A/K all being played @ $0.25/0.50 short-handed:
Example 1. I'm in CO with A/K o/s with no action to me and I raise 3xBB to $1.50. the SB calls and everyone else is out. Flop comes 6/7/9 with 2 clubs. Check to me and I c-bet $2.50 into $3.50 pot (maybe a $0.50 too small). SB calls, turn comes 9, we both check. River hits an A and SB bet's $3 into $8.50 pot so I have to call and she flips 8/9 o/s winning with trip 9's. Maybe I should've raised more preflop?
Example 2. I'm in BB with A/K o/s with no action to Button (solid player but can also make moves) who raises 4xBB to $2. I decided to re-raise to $7.50 being out of position to take the pot right there and he re-raises to $22.50 and I decided to fold. Maybe I should've just called to see the flop?
Example 3. I'm on the button with A/K o/s and UTG (aggresive player) raises 4xBB to $2. Everyone folds to me and I re-raise to $6. Action back to UTG and he re-raises to $16.50 and I elect to just call. Flop comes down 9/7/J with two spades and UTG bets $26 into $33.75 pot and I fold. Again, maybe I should've just called PF to see the flop?
Example 4. I'm in the CO with A/K suited and since all these hands happened today I'm getting a little nervous about playing A/K. UTG (aggresive player) Raises 4xBB to $2 and I decide to just call. Everyone folds, the flop comes Q/Q/4, UTG checks to me and I also check. The turn comes a 10 and check, check. The river comes a 9 and check, check and UTG turns over A/10. Clearly at this point I'm just playing way to tight because of the way the other hands had played out. Maybe I should've re-raised PF to take it down there or at least after the flop?
I had some other hands that I misplayed with A/K in the last day but those are my main examples. Any help would be appreciated as I'm getting slightly frustrated and would like to start winning again. Overall, I've won 75% and $95 with A/K suited and won 64% with A/K o/s but lost $111. Maybe I should make a decision that I should re-raise PF everytime with A/K suited and just call with A/K regardless of previous hands? Or, only re-raise with both hands if I'm in position to see a flop? If I re-raise and get re-raised should I fold or push depending on position and player strength (if known)?
Thanks Guys.
Example 1. I'm in CO with A/K o/s with no action to me and I raise 3xBB to $1.50. the SB calls and everyone else is out. Flop comes 6/7/9 with 2 clubs. Check to me and I c-bet $2.50 into $3.50 pot (maybe a $0.50 too small). SB calls, turn comes 9, we both check. River hits an A and SB bet's $3 into $8.50 pot so I have to call and she flips 8/9 o/s winning with trip 9's. Maybe I should've raised more preflop?
Example 2. I'm in BB with A/K o/s with no action to Button (solid player but can also make moves) who raises 4xBB to $2. I decided to re-raise to $7.50 being out of position to take the pot right there and he re-raises to $22.50 and I decided to fold. Maybe I should've just called to see the flop?
Example 3. I'm on the button with A/K o/s and UTG (aggresive player) raises 4xBB to $2. Everyone folds to me and I re-raise to $6. Action back to UTG and he re-raises to $16.50 and I elect to just call. Flop comes down 9/7/J with two spades and UTG bets $26 into $33.75 pot and I fold. Again, maybe I should've just called PF to see the flop?
Example 4. I'm in the CO with A/K suited and since all these hands happened today I'm getting a little nervous about playing A/K. UTG (aggresive player) Raises 4xBB to $2 and I decide to just call. Everyone folds, the flop comes Q/Q/4, UTG checks to me and I also check. The turn comes a 10 and check, check. The river comes a 9 and check, check and UTG turns over A/10. Clearly at this point I'm just playing way to tight because of the way the other hands had played out. Maybe I should've re-raised PF to take it down there or at least after the flop?
I had some other hands that I misplayed with A/K in the last day but those are my main examples. Any help would be appreciated as I'm getting slightly frustrated and would like to start winning again. Overall, I've won 75% and $95 with A/K suited and won 64% with A/K o/s but lost $111. Maybe I should make a decision that I should re-raise PF everytime with A/K suited and just call with A/K regardless of previous hands? Or, only re-raise with both hands if I'm in position to see a flop? If I re-raise and get re-raised should I fold or push depending on position and player strength (if known)?
Thanks Guys.
10,000 Hands - Holliday
Hey Guys,
As of yesterday I hit my first 10K hands since starting to use Poker Tracker and playing short-handed tables tight aggressive just over a week ago. I was pretty happy with my results up until yesterday when I got slaughtered. I was on track to hit $1000 with $0.25/0.50 which would've been about $450 profit for the week but the poker gods had other plans and now I'm only up about $200. Here's the link to my graphed results: http://i392.photobucket.com/albums/pp8/itsholliday/10KHandsGraph.jpg
Aside of the plethera of other information Poker Tracker keeps dibs on, I was wondering if my chart is telling any stories. The large dip in the beginning was when I tried playing $1/2 because I didn't want to deal with a bunch of bad players at lower limits and lost about $60. Then I decided to play $0.25/0.50 because even the bad players get beat by better players/cards more often than not. Plus my bankroll clearly didn't justify it yet. After that, I had a pretty good run in the direction we should all be going. After the peak just over $300 I think I got a little too aggresive/confident and made a couple bad errors in judgment followed by a couple bad beats. I redeemed myself slightly after posting "Kicked by a Donkey" and then it's been rocky ever since.
I think what happened was a series of bad beats was followed with some cautious play and now I'm not as aggresive as I first was when I had a good balance of aggression and knowing when I was beat. Has anyone else experienced this and if so what tips do you have to help get back on track? Could it be some players have caught onto my plays? I find more people calling my c-bets which almost forces me to check the turn unless I have the goods on the flop or the turn helped (this doesn't happen much). Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
As of yesterday I hit my first 10K hands since starting to use Poker Tracker and playing short-handed tables tight aggressive just over a week ago. I was pretty happy with my results up until yesterday when I got slaughtered. I was on track to hit $1000 with $0.25/0.50 which would've been about $450 profit for the week but the poker gods had other plans and now I'm only up about $200. Here's the link to my graphed results: http://i392.photobucket.com/albums/pp8/itsholliday/10KHandsGraph.jpg
Aside of the plethera of other information Poker Tracker keeps dibs on, I was wondering if my chart is telling any stories. The large dip in the beginning was when I tried playing $1/2 because I didn't want to deal with a bunch of bad players at lower limits and lost about $60. Then I decided to play $0.25/0.50 because even the bad players get beat by better players/cards more often than not. Plus my bankroll clearly didn't justify it yet. After that, I had a pretty good run in the direction we should all be going. After the peak just over $300 I think I got a little too aggresive/confident and made a couple bad errors in judgment followed by a couple bad beats. I redeemed myself slightly after posting "Kicked by a Donkey" and then it's been rocky ever since.
I think what happened was a series of bad beats was followed with some cautious play and now I'm not as aggresive as I first was when I had a good balance of aggression and knowing when I was beat. Has anyone else experienced this and if so what tips do you have to help get back on track? Could it be some players have caught onto my plays? I find more people calling my c-bets which almost forces me to check the turn unless I have the goods on the flop or the turn helped (this doesn't happen much). Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
QQ and JJ Preflop
What is the correct way to play hands like QQ and JJ preflop. I have been losing most of my big hands with these two hands. My idea is I need to get them all in before the flop hits, as the odds will decrease as the hand progresses. I am being crushed by AK even though I believe with QQ the odds are 57% in my favor it doesn't seem that way. What's your idea on QQ and JJ? I usually 3 bet it before the flop off a raise to try and take it down there, should I just be calling?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
