Rivers!

So I lost $300 on Tuesday then another $250 Weds. and another $200 Thurs.

How you ask?

Weds. my KK ran into TT that rivered a straight, amongst other losing hands.

Thurs. I called a raise after limping w/66 and flopped trips. Got a boat on the turn and the raiser who had JJ got his third J on the river and took it all.

SO I am down a whopping $750 mostly due to monster hands getting raped on the river. I will admit I did overplay several times during the week and have been making some very amaterish plays, eg. checking with strong hands. DOnt look to check raise people, just lead out and bet.

There is no way (ok there is a small chance) that I will post a profit this week. I am hoping to get close to breaking even by Sunday. The good thing is I have been very calm about these 3 beats. If a 4th one comes I may flip out...

Down $300

Well I just lost a bundle tonight in about 90 mins.

First lost $200 when I had AA with an AJ3 on the flop turn was a 7 and we got all our money in at this point reraising each other. River was a 3. Opponent had pocket 3's and rivered me with quads :-( The ironic part is (and I have never pondered this before) that I hadnt had a bad beat like someone getting their quads when I had a better set than them yet. The power of the mind!

Then a bit later I overplayed my AK on an AJ4 flop to lose the rest. Opponent had J4 and a J also hit on the turn.

I quit straight away as I would definitely lose more if I continued to play.

An inauspicious start to the week - it puts me down $250 for the week.

S.O.B!!!

Thank you MORON

Last nights play was uneventful but I decided to post just because of the last hand I won which allowed me to be up $50 for the night. I had been playing for 2 hrs and had nothing interesting happen to me, I was yo-yoing around my buyin and by the time this hand came up I was $30 down and for the last 30mins just looking for one good pot before I quit for the night.

I get ATo in MP all folded to me and I rase to $6 (dont normally with that hand, guess I was bored) and only the SB called me. Flop came T67 2 spades and SB lead out with a $9 bet (btw: SB had about $80 at start of hand) and I decided if I had to I was going to make a stand on this hand and raised him $21 more. SB raised me back $30 more and I raised him all-in. Turn was a J and river was an A, giving me, AATTJ. Final card put 3 clubs on the board. Can anyone guess what he had??.........I doubt you could. SB had QJo!! The stupid moron after going all-in against me with nothing almost sucked out with his 4th street J, but justice prevailed and I 2 paired on the river. Simply amazes me. I like his lead out bet on the flop as there was a very good chance it missed me but seriously moron, when I raise you back huge and you dont have the chipstack to intimidate me, it would be wise to fold. I do thank you though and so ended Monday night.

Rakeback

I was informed I may have not got my rakeback totals worked out right so I checked with the site. He informed me my MGR is $363 which means I earnt $90.75 in rake back.

Now I feel I played a lot this past week so I dont think I will be that high every week but lets assume it is my avg for example purposes.

So if I played that much every week it would mean I would earn rake back of $390/month.

Now that is no small chunk of change!

BR Week 15

I finally had the week that I knew I was due. To cut to the chase I made a profit of $1285 this week to have an overall balance of $5885. I have been getting frustrated at myself and poker for taking some beats recently and not really performing at the $1/$2 level so this past week was very much welcome and put me back on track.

The past week was also my first week at Eurobet (to earn rakeback) and I bought pokertracker to coincide with it. Pokertracker told me for the week I played 3459 hands and paid in rake $237. If I take this as an avg. week that means I pay in rake $1000/month and will earn back $250/month in rake back. Not as much as I was envisaging but still nothing to be sneezed at.

Looking at pokertrackers stats it is easy to see where I make my money --> hitting trips and Kings and Aces. Most other hands are break even hands eg. AJ.

So how did I make so much money this week? Well I only made one huge error which cost me $200 and I am still amazed at how terribly I played it. I had KK and lost to QQ but believe me when I say I played it terribly. I should have lost at most $100 on that hand but instead lost $200. If I played it as I feel I should've I would've lost $50. But the point is I only played one hand terribly this week. The other reason I won over $1k is because most of my hands held up this week and whenever I got sucked out on the pot wasnt that big.

When I get to $6k I am considering 4 tabling, the only problem is Eurobet has a wait for every new table you sign on. Thus by the time I get on my 4th table it will be about 1hr since I started my first table. This is troublesome as my sessions are 3hrs max., usually more like 2hrs.

The one good thing I like about Eurobet is that tables never break up. Because there is always a line the table is always full. This can also be problematic as if the table is tough its a pain in the butt to leave it and have to wait in line again.

Anyway, week 15 was good to me and I hope it smiles on me again in week 16...

Hot and Cold cards

On weds. night I got a TON of high PP's. AAx4, KKx3, QQx3, JJx4 and I only made significant money of KK once. Most of the rest were simply blind steals or when I lost with QQ and JJ. With my Aces I tried raising 3xbb, 4xbb and 5xbb and all times only got the blinds. And of course when I make those raises with something like AQ I get 2 callers. Weds. night didnt start well when an opponent chased an OESD and hit on the river. I had priced him out of the draw with my 2 pair but he chased anyway, such is life. I ended the night up $100 so all is well.

Thurs. night was the total opposite. I was card dead for the most part for practically 3 hours. I actually started the night well when my 88 tripped on the flop and I got a SS's entire roll. After that , nothing! I folded, folded, bet and folded, folded, bet and folded for the rest of the night. The only high pp's I saw for most of that was QQ and JJ which I both lost with. In the thir hr I saw AA twice and made $18 combined from them. SO I was about $100 down when I got KK in MP. I raised to $6 and a LP called me as did the SB. Flop came A4K, sweet! SB checks, I bet $8, LP raises to $24, SB calls and I raised$40 more (it may have been better if I just called...). LP folded and SB went all-in (he had me covered) and obviously I called. Last two cards helped neither of us and SB showed 44 to have the losing set. Was about a $414 pot for me and time for me to quit for the night. So for 3 hrs play my winnings basically came from one hand and I ended the night up $125.

Friday night I have friends coming over so I may only get an hr or so plays in before they arrive. Its Sat. & Sun. that will ultimately decide how my week shapes up as I get twice the play in as I do in any weeknight. I really want to have a $1k+ week and am so overdue for it. It WILL happen this week.

Some days just dont work

I cleared my $50 bonus last night at Eurobet - I needed to play 250 hands to do it - and this is a good thing because it was my only profit for the night. Poker is very frustrating when you have nights where anytime you get decent cards the flop misses you entirely, or you flop continuation bet is called when all you have is overcards, or when you have high PP (say QQ) and someone has KK. Well that was my night. The first hour I literally blinded away, bet and missed flops and a couple of continuation bets called to be down $100. Then I got QQ and raised and was reraised slightly more, which had me thinking "oh great". All 5 cards were below Queen and all I did was call him all the way to see if he had them and he did, KK - cost me $100 to verify. At my lowest I was down about $230. Then I my PF cards started getting better and the flops started hitting me and I really had some monsters but I could not for the life of me get someone to pay me off big. Luckily I got enough of these strong hands to make back every penny I was down and thus my $50 cleared bonus was my only profit of the night. The only thing I may have done wrong was when I actually started getting hands pushing too hards with my bets and having people fold to me. I believe its because I really wanted an all-in pot but my opponents never had the hands to play that and it would've been wiser to bet smaller just to get some extra cash. Oh well...I am jusy very happy that I managed to get back to even. I didnt play poorly to lose the $200 so it was just one of those nights. Perhaps this means my next session will be hot....

BR week 14

This is a day late due to a busy Monday and MEGA frustration with my final 24hrs of poker play. I didnt play much last week but by Sat. morning I was $300 up. Saturday morning through early afternoon was a blister and I won about $800 dollars. Only ran into about 3 suckouts and the majority of my hands held up and more importantly held up in the big pots. Then from Saturday afternoon up till Sunday 10am I lost $700!! That is by far the most money I have lost in a 24hr period and had me absolute fuming and pissed me off for the rest of the day. I am still not sure how I lost so much but basically ran into a lot of suckouts and bad luck. Overplayed a few hands and lost $200 my KK against an AA (that I wasnt mad about). Anyway, I was still up for the week but it turned my great week into a "meh" week. My BR after week 14 is $4600, a profit of $360 for the week.

I finally last night joined a different poker site where I will now earn rake back. For those who dont know of this...when you play a hand the site takes 5% of the pot up to a mximum of $3. By joining certain programs you can get 25% of your rake back in a payment program usually paying once per month. At the levels I play at this will equate to about $200-$400 a month. It basically depends how much I play that month. To make about $400 in rake I would be looking to play about 15ooo hands. So I joined the program and deposited $1000 into Eurobet (Party skin) and played there for the first time last night. Eurobet compares poorly to Pokerstars but I will put up for it to get 25% of my rake back. I am going to see if I can find the same program for Party Poker. Anyway, it sucks because they didnt have very many tables available for the level I play at and the waiting lines varied from 7 to 19 deep. So each time I made myself onto a table I had to go through the same waiting line again to get on another. I also dont like the graphics and find it difficult to read the pot amount on the table as the writing is small. They also have a "Bet pot" button which makes it easier for the chumps to actually make a more correct bet. Hand histories are sent to a folder in my personal PC and I havent checked how fast I can check a played hand yet.

Now to actual gameplay...On my first table maybe 15 mins in I got A7diamonds on the button with a couple of limpers before and I called, 5 of us played. Flop came 457, 2 diamonds. So I had TPTK and the nut flush draw - very playable hand. Pot was $10 and it was checked to me and I want play on this hand so I bet the modest amount of $6 and got one caller. The turn was the Ace of clubs so I now had top 2 pair. Was checked to me again, pot is $22 and I bet $16 and the guy reraised me $49 more. This made me step back and think...I didnt put him on a straight so he probably has either an Ace with a strong kicker or trips...I decided to call as I still have a chance to make a boat or a flush. River is a Ten of spades. Guy pushes in for his remaining $123 and I go into the think tank...this is when I realize Eurobet does not give you the one minute to think that PS does. As much as I was dreading him having trips I decided my hand was worth the call. Fireworks go off on the screen meaning I won the hand and my opponent showed 45clubs for a worse and overplayed 2 pair. Lucky for me and I'll take it!

The other memorable hand on the night was on another table and I was dealt TT on the button. It was folded to me and I made it $6 to go and the BB called. Flop came AJT, nice for me yet I also know KQ is a common hand to play... It was checked to me and I bet $10 and was then raised $15 more. I am willing to call reasonable bets as he may have two pair and even if he has the straight I can still boat. Turn was a K, arrrggghh. So any Queen now makes a straight. He bet $30 into a $62 pot so I was definitely going to call. River was a 9 and he checked to me...okay if I bet I have run into situations where I have been reraised all-in but usually a check means he doesnt have the Q which means my hand is most likely the strongest. So I decide I will bet a reasonable amount to make some more money if I am the best but small enough that I can fold if he pushes. It will also look like a Queen hand bet so he is less likely to push with a bluff. So I bet $30 and he called and showed AJ for two pair.

I finally got on a third table close to an hr after starting and then thought, "ya know what, I am just over $300 up for the night why dont I just quit here and keep it". So thats what I did. I played for an hr and made $318 - very nice! I have decided that is going to be my new strategy during the week. If I get well up, no matter how long I have been playing I will quit for the night and gauruntee keeping that profit - I figure $200 is a good amount to make me quit for the night. Otherwise I will just grind it out and end with whatever happens. Weekends are a different story and I guess I'll just see what happens.

So a great start to the week and a nice pick-me-up from a disappointing end to week 14. Isnt it funny how your mood can get tied to how well you do at the tables...

Ending on a high note

Last night was pretty boring as far as hand excitement. I was up about $70 early through winning multiple tiny pots, but a win is a win. In the second hour is when the slide backwards happened and before long my $70 was gone and then I lost a chunk on two hands against the same opponent who had the same hand against me both times. First hand I had JJ and was first bettor in MP and raised to $8 with one caller. Flop was K8K and I lead out $10 as it is unlikely he has a K, he called. Turn is an 8, well its unlikely he has either so worth another bullet, I fire out $20 and he calls. Turn is a Q and I check and he bets $20 and for some strange reason I decided to call. Looking at the history today I can only guess I thought he might have an Ace...I have no idea why I called that bet. Anyway he had called my $8 bet w/ KTo. Just a few hands later I am dealt QQ...

PokerStars Game #1515015553: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/12 - 23:18:36 (ET)Table 'Eurydike III' Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: bailey8 ($134.95 in chips)
Seat 2: clbmkr31 ($127.20 in chips)
Seat 3: bluey1000 ($197 in chips)
Seat 4: country3 ($88.45 in chips)
Seat 5: MAJALOOK ($179.30 in chips)
Seat 6: BuzzSaw27 ($55 in chips)
Seat 7: eyejay05 ($200 in chips)
Seat 8: KarlSpakler ($313.35 in chips)
Seat 9: Shyzster ($51 in chips)
country3: posts small blind $1
MAJALOOK: posts big blind $2
eyejay05: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Qc Qd]
BuzzSaw27: folds
eyejay05: checks
KarlSpakler: folds
Shyzster: folds
bailey8: folds
clbmkr31: folds
bluey1000: raises $6 to $8
country3: calls $7
MAJALOOK: folds
eyejay05: calls $6
*** FLOP *** [Kd 9d Jh]
country3: checks
eyejay05: bets $4
bluey1000: raises $16 to $20
country3: folds
eyejay05: calls $16
*** TURN *** [Kd 9d Jh] [5c]
eyejay05: checks
bluey1000: checks
*** RIVER *** [Kd 9d Jh 5c] [4h]
eyejay05: checks
bluey1000: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
eyejay05: shows [Tc Kh] (a pair of Kings)
bluey1000: mucks hand
eyejay05 collected $63 from pot

With his small flop bet I had to test him out and raised it large which he called. I learnt my lesson from my JJ loss though and checked it to the river. These people who call an $8 bet with KTo are destined to lose a lot of money. When their K hits again they will run into AA or AK. In fact they will lose to me when I raise w/ KQ and any time I play KJ.

Anyway, those losses helped to put me down about $80 for the night...great! Luckily a 20mins later this hand happened...

PokerStars Game #1515117076: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/12 - 23:35:02 (ET)Table 'Mars II' Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: dycoda ($123.20 in chips)
Seat 2: Cappi ($90.60 in chips)
Seat 3: wild410 ($136.10 in chips)
Seat 4: ElmerFudd ($140.75 in chips)
Seat 5: Requitas ($228.80 in chips)
Seat 6: [ZHE]BugsDad ($137.75 in chips)
Seat 7: bluey1000 ($212.05 in chips)
Seat 8: wakelaxer ($115 in chips)
Seat 9: newfoundglry ($126.55 in chips)
Cappi: posts small blind $1
wild410: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Ah Kh]
ElmerFudd: folds
Requitas: folds
[ZHE]BugsDad: calls $2
bluey1000: raises $6 to $8
wakelaxer: folds
newfoundglry: folds
dycoda: folds
Cappi: calls $7
wild410: folds
[ZHE]BugsDad: calls $6
*** FLOP *** [Qd Jd 7h]
Cappi: checks
[ZHE]BugsDad: checks
bluey1000: bets $6
Cappi: calls $6
[ZHE]BugsDad: raises $6 to $12
bluey1000: calls $6
Cappi: calls $6
*** TURN *** [Qd Jd 7h] [Tc]
Cappi: checks
[ZHE]BugsDad: checks
bluey1000: bets $12
Cappi: calls $12
[ZHE]BugsDad: calls $12
*** RIVER *** [Qd Jd 7h Tc] [9c]
Cappi: checks
[ZHE]BugsDad: checks
bluey1000: bets $20
Cappi: raises $38.60 to $58.60 and is all-in
[ZHE]BugsDad: calls $58.60
bluey1000: raises $121.45 to $180.05 and is all-in
[ZHE]BugsDad: calls $47.15 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [Ah Kh] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
[ZHE]BugsDad: shows [Ad 8d] (a straight, Eight to Queen)
bluey1000 collected $94.30 from side pot
Cappi: shows [Td Ks] (a straight, Nine to King)
bluey1000 collected $270.80 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $368.10 Main pot $270.80. Side pot $94.30. Rake $3
Board [Qd Jd 7h Tc 9c]

Well looky, looky...one of my opponents called my $8 bet w/ KTo. Like I said, these people are destined to lose their money - straight over straight over straight, I love it! My tiny flop bet of $6 was made for several reasons...in case anyone reraised me huge, a small bet can often take the pot if everyone misses, and it allows me to keep control and chase my ten at a cheap cost. I hit my 3 outer on the turn...aaahhh, its nice to have luck fall my way sometimes. In hindsight I guess I played the hand like I didnt have AK and thats why the check reraise on the river and if thats the case, great! What about Bugsdad. Ok what was he thinking calling Cappi's reraise on the river, did he not think he had at least a King? Ok fine so he calls, but when I then reraise him all-in which is a significant amount of money does he not think I may have the King or did he feel pot committed? Either way these people make my sorry ass profitable.

So this pot put me back up for the night and I decided enough is enough and once again quit for the night to keep my profit. Funnily the very next hand I got AA and won the blinds, oh well I am still done. Thus my night made a tidy $135 profit. I wont be playing tonight as I am going out and also going out Thursday. Will have to wait till Friday...

Call and fold

was the name of my game last night. Any reasonable hand just kept missing the flop or any draw I chased for the right price missed. Believe it or not this does suck quite a lot of money from you and I was down close to a $100 without having ventured too far into any hand. Hate starting a session off like that. Of course the other things that sucked are then getting big hands and everyone folds to you. Also had 99 in the SB and 996 hit the board, 2 hearts. It was such a great flop I didnt know how to play it right. I checked as did everyone else. I believe the turn was the Queen of hearts so I checked again and had one small bet. I either called or doubled it (not sure). River was another Queen, crud. I lead out with a $10 bet and he folded saying he had 23h's. In hindsight I think I should have lead the flop with a 3/4 pot bet. 1/2 pot bet on turn and if just called, push on the river. As I did play it, on the river I think I should've overbet say $50 in the hopes he had a Queen. Good situation to remember for the future.

The night did pickup somewhat and I managed to claw my way back and twho hands helped me gain a profit for the night...

1st hand I had KK and raised $6 UTG and had 2 callers who was button I believe. Anyway flop was J high and I lead out with a half pot bet $8, one fold and a reraise of about (memory fails me) $14-$20 more. I thought about it and reraised him min. He called. Turn was non-scary but put 2 diamonds out there and I decided not to mess around and payoff any hidden monster and pushed, he folded. He asked me what kicker I had and I said K, he said he had a 9 and didnt think I had the Jack. I let him assume I did and said my reraise was a test of his hand. This conversation I believe set me up for the next hand we butted heads on...

PokerStars Game #1509854591: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/11 - 23:55:58 (ET)Table 'Arneb III' Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Manger ($116.15 in chips)
Seat 3: apnu34 ($244.05 in chips)
Seat 4: bluey1000 ($215.35 in chips)
Seat 5: BPA234 ($451 in chips)
Seat 6: thejusman1 ($200 in chips)
Seat 9: MOBstar ($117.05 in chips)
thejusman1: posts small blind $1
Fox 002: is sitting out
Fox 002 leaves the table
MOBstar: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Ad Ac]
Manger: raises $2 to $4
apnu34: folds
bluey1000: raises $4 to $8
BPA234: folds
thejusman1: folds
MOBstar: folds
Manger: raises $14 to $22
bluey1000: calls $14
*** FLOP *** [As 4s 7s]
Manger: checks
bluey1000: bets $20
Manger: calls $20
*** TURN *** [As 4s 7s] [9h]
Manger: checks
bluey1000: bets $100
Manger: calls $74.15 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [As 4s 7s 9h] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Manger: shows [Js Jh] (two pair, Jacks and Sevens)
bluey1000: shows [Ad Ac] (a full house, Aces full of Sevens)
bluey1000 collected $232.30 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $235.30 Rake $3

Remember how I hate flushes...get my trips on flop but also get 3 spades. The good news is I wasnt scared as he reraised me meaning he either had a high PP or AKs. Seeing as the Ace of spades was out there if he had AKs it wasnt going to hit this. Now he very easily could have a spade in his hand, namely KsKx so I decided to bet hard. When he called my $20 flop bet and the turn was still a safe card I decided not to mess around and make him pay everything to catch a river. Like I said I think he called my bet a lot of it because of our previous convo and also because he felt perhaps a 4th spade would make him good or even a 3rd jack. He would be right only about the spade but AMEN it didnt hit!

This put me $100 up for the night and I had already played for a while so decided to end it all right then and there on a positive note.

Most frustrating week ever!!

The title says it all. But first let me do my BR update...13 weeks over now and my BR is at $4240 which is approx. a loss of $400 for the week. Three days this week I lost $450. I count 5 times I lost $900 of my own money where my pp's tripped on flop but lost. Two times I count where my flush was made and lost about $300 of my own. Flushes were the demise of my week. If I had trips I lost to them and if I had the flush I lost to a boat. Funnily enough, a few other times I had trips there was 3 cards to a suit on the board but no one had a flush but what this causes is to severely limit the profit I can make on the hand. I fucking hate flushes!! Other situations that didnt help my cause, I get AA and zero action (many times). Or I get AA and get severely compromised on flop and my bet is reraised huge - have to fold. See example below...

PokerStars Game #1501231748: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/10 - 13:04:17 (ET)Table 'Cygnus' Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: bluey1000 ($200 in chips)
Seat 2: Spectatr ($150 in chips)
Seat 3: DJSnorzBlow ($214.80 in chips)
Seat 4: Fox 002 ($346.80 in chips)
Seat 5: barelyhetero ($291.65 in chips)
Seat 6: granbu ($97.55 in chips)
Seat 7: 5y78h4g ($210.15 in chips)
Seat 8: kwalsh22 ($132.60 in chips)
Seat 9: bouh ($490.65 in chips)
DJSnorzBlow: posts small blind $1
Fox 002: posts big blind $2
bluey1000: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Ac Ah]
barelyhetero: calls $2
granbu: folds
5y78h4g: calls $2
kwalsh22: folds
bouh: calls $2
bluey1000: raises $6 to $8
Spectatr: folds
DJSnorzBlow: folds
Fox 002: folds
barelyhetero: calls $6
5y78h4g: calls $6
bouh: calls $6
*** FLOP *** [2c 4c 5d]
barelyhetero: checks
5y78h4g: checks
bouh: checks
bluey1000: bets $16
barelyhetero: calls $16
5y78h4g: raises $44 to $60

A lot of people wouldnt be able to fold their aces in this situation but from my read I was most likely beaten. There is a small chance he may be on a draw or have say TT, JJ but I am willing to lose $24 to that. I saw him either with A3 proctecting it from any flush drawers, trips protecting from any flush or straight drawers, even a 45s. It also looked like a scared raise but I just didnt feel like gambling my entire stack on it. Was I wrong? If I was I only lose $24...

Here is one of my flush killers from Friday night 2am where from observation the play has been terrible filled with lots of bluffs and heavy betting on marginal hands...

PokerStars Game #1494938451: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/09 - 05:15:20 (ET)Table 'Hungaria' Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: bluey1000 ($299.65 in chips)
Seat 2: rezanyc ($194 in chips)
Seat 3: Lotsa Leaks ($200 in chips)
Seat 4: TheCookie ($335.65 in chips)
Seat 5: orlov ($360.50 in chips)
Seat 6: oomphalos ($73 in chips)
Seat 7: goose58 ($98.90 in chips)
Seat 8: mrose120 ($137.30 in chips)
Seat 9: noR¡ver ($126.90 in chips)
bluey1000: posts small blind $1
rezanyc: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Td Th]
Lotsa Leaks: raises $4 to $6
TheCookie: folds
orlov: folds
oomphalos: folds
goose58: folds
mrose120: calls $6
noR¡ver: folds
bluey1000: calls $5
rezanyc: folds
*** FLOP *** [Ts 4h Jh]
bluey1000: checks
Lotsa Leaks: bets $14
mrose120: calls $14
bluey1000: raises $26 to $40
Lotsa Leaks: folds
mrose120: calls $26
*** TURN *** [Ts 4h Jh] [7d]
bluey1000: bets $50
mrose120: calls $50
*** RIVER *** [Ts 4h Jh 7d] [Qh]
bluey1000: bets $76
mrose120: calls $41.30 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [Td Th] (three of a kind, Tens)
mrose120: shows [Kh 2h] (a flush, King high)

This guy should've folded PF but like many beginners any suited hand looks playable. I check reraise big to stop any chasers. My only mistake on this hand might be not pushing in on the turn, but seriously if he will call a $50 bet isnt he just as likely to call all-in? but I agree I should've pushed anyway. Even with the flush board on the river I wasnt going to fold blindly so I paid to see. This loss put me slightly below $4k and I quit for the night right then and there. These trips losing to flushes is how I lost a majority of my money last week and had me so infuriated by the weekend to have it happen to me over and over again...aaarrggghhh.

It doesnt look like I have any other of my bad beats saved which isnt surprising because I was too busy throwing stuff around my room and fighting with my bed. If I can just avoid a lot of these outcomes I know I can make a lot of money at this level even counting the times I am actually outplayed.

It is so surprising to me how willing people are willing to call you down to the river with middle pair. I would never even consider doing that unless I had some kind of draw to back it up.

Anyway, I feel there is no reason I cannot win huge in any week and I will do my best to avoid the flush losses or at least limit what I will call to see it. May the streets fall in my favor this week!

Screwed over

I am still steaming from last night. I played for 2-1/2 hrs and lost $445! The cards screwed me over all night long. They either missed me entirely, gave me a hand but someone better or gave me high PP's and allowed someone to hit better. Was a bloody miserable night and I still am coming to terms with it. Pretty sure I tilted a little last night as well as if I was thinking with clarity their would've been some bets I could get away from even though I had TPTK. I give you some sample shit to enjoy...

PokerStars Game #1488399645: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/07 - 23:46:52 (ET)Table 'Oriola' Seat #9 is the button
Seat 2: bologna88 ($37.35 in chips)
Seat 4: O_Rawk ($395.80 in chips)
Seat 5: bluey1000 ($200 in chips)
Seat 6: affirmed317 ($380.70 in chips)
Seat 7: Tom_Tresh ($209.25 in chips)
Seat 8: wndl8888 ($147 in chips)
Seat 9: PWhinney ($335.65 in chips)
bologna88: posts small blind $1O
_Rawk: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Js Jd]
wndl8888 said, "ty"
bluey1000: raises $4 to $6
affirmed317: calls $6
Tom_Tresh: folds
wndl8888: folds
PWhinney: folds
bologna88: folds
O_Rawk: folds
*** FLOP *** [9h 7c Td]
bluey1000: bets $10
cowboy1168 joins the table at seat #1
affirmed317: raises $364.70 to $374.70 and is all-in
bluey1000: folds
affirmed317 collected $33.30 from pot

When someone reraises me like that I really want to call but I am not going to risk my entire stack on an overpair. That shit just pisses me off, if I had pocket Aces should I also fold??

PokerStars Game #1488418962: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/07 - 23:49:55 (ET)Table 'Gienah II' Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: bluey1000 ($227.60 in chips)
Seat 2: IceBerg Slim ($86.30 in chips)
Seat 3: Hhammer84 ($277.05 in chips)
Seat 4: Wazer ($162.60 in chips)
Seat 5: The Liar ($600.40 in chips)
Seat 6: MisterN8 ($187.60 in chips)
Seat 7: O_Rawk ($193.95 in chips)
Seat 8: Charcoal77 ($207.30 in chips)
Seat 9: HuskerJ21 ($187.65 in chips)
IceBerg Slim: posts small blind $1
Hhammer84: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Ad As]
Wazer: calls $2
The Liar: calls $2
MisterN8: calls $2
O_Rawk: folds
Charcoal77: calls $2
HuskerJ21: folds
bluey1000: raises $10 to $12
IceBerg Slim: calls $11
Hhammer84: calls $10
Wazer: calls $10
The Liar: folds
MisterN8: calls $10
Charcoal77: calls $10
*** FLOP *** [2d Tc 9c]
IceBerg Slim: checks
Hhammer84: checks
Wazer: checks
MisterN8: checks
Charcoal77: bets $50
bluey1000: calls $50
IceBerg Slim: folds
Hhammer84: folds
Wazer: folds
MisterN8: raises $125.60 to $175.60 and is all-in
Charcoal77: calls $125.60
bluey1000: folds
*** TURN *** [2d Tc 9c] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [2d Tc 9c 3s] [Td]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MisterN8: shows [9h 9d] (a full house, Nines full of Tens)
Charcoal77: mucks hand
MisterN8 collected $472.20 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $475.20 Rake $3
Board [2d Tc 9c 3s Td]
Seat 6: MisterN8 showed [9h 9d] and won ($472.20) with a full house, Nines full of Tens
Seat 8: Charcoal77 mucked [6c 2c]

So a whole bunch of limpers and they all call my 6xBB bet. Didint like that to start. I didnt like the flop and would have to see what the action was like to decide my play. I was willing to call the one persons flop bet but when an early checker reraised all-in I guessed correctly I was beat and folded. If only it had missed Mister I could've taken all of Charcoals money rather than lose $62.

PokerStars Game #1488623387: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/08 - 00:23:48 (ET)Table 'Mensa II' Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: PeNGuiNBoy17 ($210.10 in chips)
Seat 2: gaspasser ($85.60 in chips)
Seat 3: bluey1000 ($283.20 in chips)
Seat 4: Sylk1 ($144.70 in chips)
Seat 5: Bemore ($227.45 in chips)
Seat 6: cyberpeogh ($240 in chips)
Seat 7: casinogreg ($115.70 in chips)
Seat 8: alltheway141 ($217.75 in chips)
Seat 9: rivermanrob ($200.60 in chips)
cyberpeogh: posts small blind $1
casinogreg: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Ac As]
alltheway141: folds
rivermanrob: folds
PeNGuiNBoy17: folds
gaspasser: raises $6 to $8
bluey1000: calls $8
Sylk1: folds
Bemore: folds
cyberpeogh: folds
casinogreg: calls $6
*** FLOP *** [3h Ts 8d]
casinogreg: checks
gaspasser: bets $14
bluey1000: calls $14
casinogreg: raises $14 to $28
gaspasser: calls $14
bluey1000: calls $14
*** TURN *** [3h Ts 8d] [Kc]
casinogreg: bets $38
gaspasser: folds
bluey1000: raises $38 to $76
casinogreg: raises $3.70 to $79.70 and is all-in
bluey1000: calls $3.70
*** RIVER *** [3h Ts 8d Kc] [2s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
casinogreg: shows [8s 8h] (three of a kind, Eights)
bluey1000: mucks hand casinogreg collected $265.40 from pot

My second pocket AA also loses for the night and I am still debating whether I could've got away from this hand. This was at the end of the night when I was already down over $300 so there was no way I was folding but is it a hand I should've folded at some point anyway? I dont know, in a lot of ways it just looks like a hand I am destined to pay off.

A lot of other hands I lost money with TP and couldnt get away from it. Was ahead on flop to lose on turn and God knows what else, but enough to lose $445. Only one high pocket pair held up the entire night. All the rest got screwed over. It really was frustrating to play and see either every hand miss or every good hand be dominated.

This week has really sucked ass. I have played 3 times --> lost $450, won $460 & lost $445. I have 3 days left to play for the week and can honestly say if I break even I will be very happy. This shit sucks!

Nice comeback

So on Monday I lost $450 and last night I made $460. I really didnt expect to make it all back in one night and yet I did. I won it back by having a couple of chumps pay me off when I shouldnt have been, by dragging as much as I could from my opponnents and by playing super tight. I was also lucky enough to get AA 4 times. Only one of them got paid off huge, 2 I milked them for a medium pot and another had zero action.

There is no way I could've made the $460 last night without one chump who I had pegged early as a chaser/caller and here are the two hands he paid me off when obviously he shouldnt have...

PokerStars Game #1476846221: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/05 - 20:53:03 (ET)Table 'Agena III' Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: ChanSucks1 ($146.55 in chips)
Seat 2: Chief11 ($115.40 in chips)
Seat 3: stevenno ($137 in chips)
Seat 4: Diogenesiv ($184.80 in chips)
Seat 5: birddog2631 ($246.70 in chips)
Seat 6: bluey1000 ($204.50 in chips)
Seat 7: PokeHer10 ($62.80 in chips)
Seat 8: tad233 ($263.75 in chips)
Seat 9: hitter28 ($77 in chips)
ChanSucks1: posts small blind $1
Chief11: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Ad Kc]
stevenno: calls $2
Diogenesiv: calls $2
birddog2631: folds
bluey1000: raises $6 to $8
PokeHer10: folds
tad233: folds
hitter28: folds
PokeHer10 leaves the table
ChanSucks1: folds
Chief11: folds
stevenno: calls $6
Diogenesiv: folds
*** FLOP *** [4d 7h 7d]
stevenno: checks
bluey1000: bets $16
stevenno: calls $16
*** TURN *** [4d 7h 7d] [Jd]
stevenno: checks
bluey1000: checks
*** RIVER *** [4d 7h 7d Jd] [6d]
stevenno: checks
bluey1000: bets $40
stevenno: calls $40
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [Ad Kc] (a flush, Ace high)
stevenno: mucks hand
bluey1000 collected $130 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $133 Rake $3
Board [4d 7h 7d Jd 6d]
Seat 3: stevenno mucked [4s 3c]

He called my $8 PF bet I assume to get lucky? Called my $16 flop bet I assume because he put me on overcards? If he believed that he should've reraised. The turn bet missed me so I checked behind him for a free card and got my flush on the river. He checks and I bet close to pot on a 4 diamond board and he calls with his 4's - thanks steve!

PokerStars Game #1476946013: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/05 - 21:09:54 (ET)Table 'Agena III' Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: ChanSucks1 ($117.25 in chips)
Seat 2: schem11 ($207 in chips)
Seat 3: stevenno ($193.80 in chips)
Seat 4: Diogenesiv ($219.80 in chips)
Seat 5: birddog2631 ($215.75 in chips)
Seat 6: bluey1000 ($267.50 in chips)
Seat 7: AKlucky ($216.20 in chips)
Seat 8: tad233 ($288.75 in chips)
Seat 9: hitter28 ($72.15 in chips)
Diogenesiv: posts small blind $1
birddog2631: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [As Ad]
bluey1000: calls $2
AKlucky: folds
tad233: folds
hitter28: folds
ChanSucks1: folds
schem11: folds
ChanSucks1 said, "is that 3?"
stevenno: raises $6 to $8
Diogenesiv: calls $7
birddog2631: calls $6
bluey1000: raises $22 to $30
stevenno: calls $22
Diogenesiv: folds
birddog2631: folds
*** FLOP *** [6h 3s 2s]
bluey1000: bets $30
stevenno: calls $30
*** TURN *** [6h 3s 2s] [3d]
bluey1000: bets $60
stevenno: raises $70 to $130
bluey1000: raises $70 to $200
stevenno: calls $3.80 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [6h 3s 2s 3d] [6d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [As Ad] (two pair, Aces and Sixes)
stevenno: mucks hand
bluey1000 collected $400.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $403.60 Rake $3
Board [6h 3s 2s 3d 6d]
Seat 3: stevenno (button) mucked [7c 5c]

So my friend Steve did what I was hoping someone would do and raised the pot. If no one called his raise (or possibly just one caller), I would simply call to hide my hand and play off the aggressor. But with 2 callers to his raise I wanted to thin the field or take the pot. Steve called my raise, God Bless him with his 57clubs and he chased his gutshot straight all the way to the turn before reraising my $60 bet to put him all-in, HA! My friend Steve turned a good night into a great night - thankyou.

The lesson I want to pass on to people from last night is not to bet huge amounts when you have a monster but to understand what you think the maximum bet your opponent will call. See below some examples...

PokerStars Game #1478153278: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/06 - 00:20:25 (ET)Table 'Aries IV' Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: lumbs_13 ($178.15 in chips)
Seat 2: Ahhdada ($47.70 in chips)
Seat 3: deadwhak ($282.70 in chips)
Seat 4: fignewton6 ($84.80 in chips)
Seat 5: GuardDawg30 ($16.15 in chips)
Seat 6: check_kills ($215.55 in chips)
Seat 7: glaubsag23 ($76.30 in chips)
Seat 8: MaCkInYoHo ($163.65 in chips)
Seat 9: bluey1000 ($200 in chips)
Ahhdada: posts small blind $1
deadwhak: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [6s 6h]
fignewton6: folds
GuardDawg30: folds
check_kills: folds
glaubsag23: folds
MaCkInYoHo: folds
bluey1000: calls $2
lumbs_13: raises $2 to $4
Ahhdada: calls $3
deadwhak: folds
bluey1000: calls $2
*** FLOP *** [7s Ad 6d]
Ahhdada: checks
bluey1000: checks
lumbs_13: bets $8
Ahhdada: folds
bluey1000: calls $8
*** TURN *** [7s Ad 6d] [Qc]
bluey1000: checks
lumbs_13: checks
*** RIVER *** [7s Ad 6d Qc] [Kh]
bluey1000: bets $10
lumbs_13: calls $10
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [6s 6h] (three of a kind, Sixes)
lumbs_13: mucks hand
bluey1000 collected $47.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $50 Rake $2.40 Board [7s Ad 6d Qc Kh]
Seat 1: lumbs_13 (button) mucked [8s Ks]

So I flop my trips with an Ace on the board so I am hoping for some action and I simply call his flop bet (In hidnsight if I had reraised he would've folded). When he checked the turn behind me I knew he had nothing and I had to bet small on the river for any chance at more money from him. He hit his King and was willing to call for a measely $10.

PokerStars Game #1478190367: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/06 - 00:26:54 (ET)Table 'Aries IV' Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: lumbs_13 ($136.35 in chips)
Seat 2: Ahhdada ($43.70 in chips)
Seat 3: deadwhak ($299.95 in chips)
Seat 4: fignewton6 ($69.80 in chips)
Seat 5: GuardDawg30 ($20.40 in chips)
Seat 6: check_kills ($200.40 in chips)
Seat 7: glaubsag23 ($68.15 in chips)
Seat 8: MaCkInYoHo ($192 in chips)
Seat 9: bluey1000 ($225.60 in chips)
MaCkInYoHo: posts small blind $1
bluey1000: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Ks 5s]
lumbs_13: folds
Ahhdada: folds
deadwhak: folds
fignewton6: folds
GuardDawg30: calls $2
check_kills: folds
glaubsag23: calls $2
MaCkInYoHo: calls $1
bluey1000: checks
*** FLOP *** [Kc Kd 5d]
MaCkInYoHo: checks
bluey1000: checks
GuardDawg30: checks
glaubsag23: bets $6
MaCkInYoHo: folds
bluey1000: calls $6
GuardDawg30: folds
*** TURN *** [Kc Kd 5d] [4h]
bluey1000: checks
glaubsag23: checks
*** RIVER *** [Kc Kd 5d 4h] [8h]
bluey1000: bets $6
glaubsag23: calls $6
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [Ks 5s] (a full house, Kings full of Fives)
glaubsag23: mucks hand
bluey1000 collected $30.45 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $32 Rake $1.55
Board [Kc Kd 5d 4h 8h]
Seat 7: glaubsag23 (button) mucked [3c 3h]

Flop a monster here and hope someone has a piece of it and just call the $6 flop bet. He checks behind me on the turn so once again I know he has nothing and with the scary board know I have to bet tiny on the river to get any kind of call. I actually hope my timid call will look weak and get reraised, but not this time. Would've been a great pot if he hit his 3 huh.

PokerStars Game #1478327111: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/06 - 00:51:16 (ET)Table 'Eugenia II' Seat #9 is the button
Seat 2: texas tunas ($78 in chips)
Seat 3: mav_killer ($206.25 in chips)
Seat 4: bluey1000 ($213.60 in chips)
Seat 5: OC Bryan ($104.90 in chips)
Seat 6: tad233 ($214.30 in chips)
Seat 7: Maverick938 ($55 in chips)
Seat 8: jucifer ($201.95 in chips)
Seat 9: Acid Fire ($675.75 in chips)
texas tunas: posts small blind $1
mav_killer: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [As Ah]
Lomez joins the table at seat #1
bluey1000: calls $2
OC Bryan: folds
tad233: folds
Maverick938: folds
jucifer: folds
Acid Fire: folds
texas tunas: calls $1
mav_killer: checks
*** FLOP *** [9h Qh Jh]
texas tunas: bets $2
mav_killer: calls $2
bluey1000: raises $4 to $6
texas tunas: calls $4
mav_killer: folds
*** TURN *** [9h Qh Jh] [2s]
texas tunas: checks
bluey1000: bets $10
texas tunas: calls $10
*** RIVER *** [9h Qh Jh 2s] [Ad]
texas tunas: checks
bluey1000: bets $10
texas tunas: calls $10
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [As Ah] (three of a kind, Aces)
texas tunas: mucks hand
bluey1000 collected $57.10 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $60 Rake $2.90
Board [9h Qh Jh 2s Ad]
Seat 2: texas tunas (small blind) mucked [Kc Jd]

I limp under the gun looking for a reraise but no such luck but luckily only a couple play. Three hearts on the flop so I have the nut flush draw and top pair and take control of the hand early. By keeping my bets small I milk an extra $20 bucks from texas who by the river has 3rd top pair only. Seriously what did this guy think I had to call me down?

Anyway, the whole point I am attempting to make is read the situation correctly and measure what you think the mximum return you can get from a hand is, not what you wish to get.

Speaking of disaster...

it happened last night. My worst night of losses since I started the game. Such a killer blow to my ego and very grounding. I lost $450 last night in about 3 - 3.5hrs play - crazy! So what caused me to lose so much?... My stabs at missed pots were all called, my draw hands all missed. My pocket pairs hit trips 3 times and lost all 3 times (ouch). My only flush lost to a boat, my JJ ran into KK, my AK ran into A8 and lost etc, etc. Oh and to top it off I actually tilted and squandered about $150 on bad play. I pride myself on not tilting but losing so much money so quickly with good cards getting destroyed put me over the edge. I should only have lost $300 last night which would've been bad enough but I made it worse, aaaarrrggghhh.

A terrible start to the week which puts my BR back to $4200 and if it dips below $4k I will be dropping down to $.050/$1 again. I really hope that doesnt happen. Basically it will depend on my next betting session, being tonight. Next time after tonight, I can play again is Friday as I am going to a U2 concert on Weds. and going out with a friend on Thurs.

So tonight may the flopped cards fall in my favor!

BR after week 12

So ends week 12 and by the far my best week to date. I made a profit of $1385 for the week to build my BR up to $4645. I have only played a handful of hours at my latest attempt at the $1/$2 game but it netted me $570. I was playing it very cautiously and worried I was going to bust a buy-in at anytime. It didnt happen and I made a tasty profit instead. I will be playing it again all this week (barring a disaster) and hopefully coming to terms with the new betting amounts and cleaning up some more. I am really getting excited about my earning potential now and I expect to easily clear $15k for the year. I am hoping to earn a lot more than that amount, say $20k, but only time will tell. It would go along nicely with me wanting to buy a home sometime soon. My next big decision will be at what BR level will I move up to the next level, being $2/$4 NL. It will be somewhere between $8-10k, depending how I feel and how quickly I get there. Whatever BR level I decide to go up at I would apply the same rules I always do. If I lose just one max. buy-in at the new level I drop back until I have my predetermined BR to try again. I am always very conscious of preserving all my BR I have earnt and not throwing it away at a higher level.

So with me projecting into the future I am truly excited about reacing my goals and mentally impatient to get there. Having said that I will not be letting any impatience affect my game play and will continue to stick with my tried and true game strategy. Before I get too far ahead of myself lets see how this week pans out...

The $1/$2 trials begin

Well today I finally got over the $4k mark (again) and its been a fairly slow hike to get there, but get there we did. This afternoon I played a quick 3omin session before going out and won two hands of about $50ea. One of them I really felt for the guy who lost to me. It went something like this...
Loser was in MP and raised to $2, Hero called with AKo, the blinds may have called (irrelevant). Flop came 9xK. He bet $3 and I called. Turn was another K, he checked, I bet $3, he raised $3, I raised $3, he called. River was an A, giving me AAKKK. He checked and I bet $10, he pushed maybe $15-20 more and I called. Losers hand: KK999. The poor guy lost to runner, runner. He played the hand perfectly but was doomed. Even if he had pushed on the flop I would have called. That hand put me to $4075 and I came back tonight and played a 1hr session of two tables at the $1/$2 NL level.

Here's the hand that got me really going...

PokerStars Game #1461513235: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2005/04/02 - 23:15:15 (ET)Table 'Toutatis II' Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: Dr. Moneyman ($65 in chips)
Seat 2: bluey1000 ($293 in chips)
Seat 3: Acid Fire ($169.95 in chips)
Seat 4: Lucas12 ($124.45 in chips)
Seat 5: wptlegend ($235.05 in chips)
Seat 6: AskMyWife ($83.65 in chips)
Seat 7: redsoxgrind ($98.80 in chips)
Seat 8: ginny77 ($88.45 in chips)
Seat 9: allbetsnow ($174.50 in chips)
ginny77: posts small blind $1
allbetsnow: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Ad Ah]
Dr. Moneyman: folds
bluey1000: raises $4 to $6
Acid Fire: calls $6
Lucas12: folds
wptlegend: calls $6
AskMyWife: folds
redsoxgrind: folds
redsoxgrind leaves the table
ginny77: folds
allbetsnow: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jd 2c 2s]
bluey1000: bets $10
Acid Fire: calls $10
wptlegend: raises $40 to $50
bluey1000: calls $40
Acid Fire: folds
*** TURN *** [Jd 2c 2s] [9s]
Moshito joins the table at seat #7
bluey1000: checks
wptlegend: bets $30
bluey1000: raises $40 to $70
wptlegend: calls $40
*** RIVER *** [Jd 2c 2s 9s] [Kc]
bluey1000: checks
wptlegend: bets $109.05 and is all-in
bluey1000: calls $109.05
*** SHOW DOWN ***
wptlegend: shows [Kh Jc] (two pair, Kings and Jacks)
bluey1000: shows [Ad Ah] (two pair, Aces and Deuces)
bluey1000 collected $486.10 from pot

I actually misread the board on the river. When the King hit, I thought "damn he could've just made two pair to beat me". As soon as I hit check I realised "hey I have a better two pair AA22". At that point I really hoped he had KJ and when he pushed I rejoiced. This is now the biggest pot I have won to date but I am sure there will be bigger in my future. I was also doing well on another table until I got KK on the button. MP raised two $6 with one caller and I reraised $10 more which they both called. They both had SS, the largest being $80ish. The flop was t82 and MP bet $12, next guy reraised $12 and I pushed whcih they both called. Turn was a 6, river a Q. MP had AA to beat me and other guy had 86s to take the lions share of the pot. Obviously the guy with the 86s is a moron and will be giving that money back to someone else soon. When he reraised on the flop he was pot committed as he only had about another $12 left - freaking idiot. This hand I had no idea I was up against an AA. See below for another KK hand I had this afternoon...

PokerStars Game #1457973713: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/04/02 - 12:17:25 (ET)Table 'Marfik' Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: papooze ($24.15 in chips)
Seat 2: bluey1000 ($100 in chips)
Seat 3: jfreeman420 ($124.85 in chips)
Seat 4: bmonty21 ($157.15 in chips)
Seat 5: DavidDiggler ($38 in chips)
Seat 6: Talmain99 ($123.15 in chips)
Seat 7: ABrave808 ($36.50 in chips)
Seat 8: JackRussell ($100 in chips)
Seat 9: bayleaf ($205.80 in chips)
papooze: posts small blind $0.50
bluey1000: posts big blind $1
JackRussell: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Kd Kh]
jfreeman420: calls $1
bmonty21: calls $1
DavidDiggler: folds
Talmain99: raises $2 to $3
ABrave808: folds
JackRussell: calls $2
bayleaf: folds
papooze: calls $2.50
bluey1000: raises $10 to $13
jfreeman420: folds
bmonty21: calls $12
Talmain99: raises $49 to $62
JackRussell: folds
papooze: folds
bluey1000: folds
bmonty21: folds
Talmain99 collected $46 from pot
Talmain99: shows [As Ac] (a pair of Aces)

In this situation the most common hands that play back at you are AK and AA. I have seen both played that way and both often. So I had to decide which I wanted to believe - I chose to fold. The other guy who had called my big raise said he had AK. Always a tough fold but always a good one. The whole idea of the large raise with KK is to see if anyone reraises which typically tells me they have Aces and I am glad he did. In my opinion he should've played it like I did in the next sample hand from the day prior...

PokerStars Game #1455749919: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/04/01 - 23:18:13 (ET)Table 'Agematsu' Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: msojoe ($161.90 in chips)
Seat 2: lankyman ($90.40 in chips)
Seat 3: rAAKKe ($96.50 in chips)
Seat 4: truegrav ($108.25 in chips)
Seat 5: debbojojo ($28.30 in chips)
Seat 6: Outsidefun ($49.60 in chips)
Seat 7: TJL515 ($14 in chips)
Seat 8: bluey1000 ($108.20 in chips)
Seat 9: HerdOwns ($100 in chips)
bluey1000: posts small blind $0.50
HerdOwns: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Ks Kh
]msojoe: folds
lankyman: folds
rAAKKe: raises $4 to $5
truegrav: folds
debbojojo: folds
Outsidefun: folds
TJL515: folds
bluey1000: calls $4.50
HerdOwns: folds
*** FLOP *** [7d 9h 6c]
bluey1000: checks
rAAKKe: bets $15
bluey1000: calls $15
*** TURN *** [7d 9h 6c] [6s]
bluey1000: checks
rAAKKe: bets $76.50 and is all-in
bluey1000: calls $76.50
*** RIVER *** [7d 9h 6c 6s] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [Ks Kh]
(two pair, Kings and Sixes)
rAAKKe: mucks hand
rAAKKe leaves the table
bluey1000 collected $191 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $194 Rake $3
Board [7d 9h 6c 6s Ac]
Seat 3: rAAKKe mucked [Jd Jh]

When someone raises big and I have large pocket pairs (KK/AA) I like to call and let them bet all their money. If I reraise and advertise I have a bigger PP I may not get all their buy-in. This sneak attack has by far won me more money than if I was to reraise and give information to my opponent.

Getting back to my 1hr session at $1/$2. I was surprised how bad the play was. I was getting reraised when I bet with TP by people chasing flushes. They would also lead a nice bet on the turn when they missed. I also found out some people were chasing gutshots against a pot sized bet from me. This is of course very good news as it means their could be enough idiots at this level too to pay me off handsomely the majority of the time. Their is definitely a lot of mony to be lost and won at this level and I look forward to tryin it again tomorrow. For the 1hr session I made $375, not too shabby :-)

Wading thru crap part 2

NOTE: Read the post prior to this before this one - I had to split them up.


PokerStars Game #1450022038: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/03/31 - 22:19:14 (ET)Table 'Kallisto' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 2: alan2671 ($62.90 in chips)
Seat 3: Tweeky_99 ($81.85 in chips)
Seat 4: texwest2 ($64.80 in chips)
Seat 5: kingofhill ($128.60 in chips)
Seat 6: bluey1000 ($103.20 in chips)
Seat 7: LAShyBoy ($38.80 in chips)
Seat 8: apwine ($112.85 in chips)
Seat 9: symax ($83 in chips)
kingofhill: posts small blind $0.50
bluey1000: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Qh Jd]
LAShyBoy: calls $1
apwine: folds
symax: raises $1 to $2
alan2671: folds
Tweeky_99: folds
texwest2: folds
kingofhill: folds
bluey1000: calls $1
LAShyBoy: calls $1
*** FLOP *** [Kd Ad Ts]
bluey1000: checks
LAShyBoy: checks
symax: bets $1
bluey1000: raises $5 to $6
LAShyBoy: folds
symax: calls $5
*** TURN *** [Kd Ad Ts] [9d]
bluey1000: checks
symax: bets $7
bluey1000: calls $7
*** RIVER *** [Kd Ad Ts 9d] [Td]
bluey1000: checks
symax: bets $15
bluey1000: folds
symax collected $30.95 from pot
symax: shows [Ks Kc] (a full house, Kings full of Tens)

This was a tougher hand to play and to lose. Seeing his whole cards he wanted some action and it almost cost him. Obviously I have the nuts on flop so want to make anyone pay for a new card. The turn I hated because his $1 flop bet could signify a flush chaser, so I check. When he bet I had to ponder what he might have...QdJd not possible, so perhaps QdTd, or Td8d, or 7d9d. There was enough doubt that he didnt have a flush for me to call. River put the fourth diamond out there and made my flush the second highest. He could have the Queen so I checked. When he bet $15 I almost insta called, but I decided to think about it. My gut said he didnt have Qdx because what possible hand could he have to play the streets the way he did. Also of note was his significant and in my mind fearless $15 bet. I came to the conclusion he tried to buy the turn bet and got lucky on the river with a boat or he did have the Qd. I folded and I hope he checked out what I had.

PokerStars Game #1443092147: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/03/30 - 17:55:32 (ET)Table 'Mandeville' Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: The Nutsy ($21.55 in chips)
Seat 2: JordSawyer ($70.85 in chips)
Seat 3: tilt magic ($63.50 in chips)
Seat 4: Numie ($145.10 in chips)
Seat 5: RaSZi ($95.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Jacqo ($70.10 in chips)
Seat 7: bluey1000 ($163.45 in chips)
Seat 8: garfocus ($48.05 in chips)
Seat 9: ugadawg520 ($87.30 in chips)
Jacqo: posts small blind $0.50
bluey1000: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [9c Tc]
garfocus: folds
ugadawg520: folds
The Nutsy: folds
JordSawyer: calls $1
tilt magic: folds
Numie: folds
RaSZi: folds
Jacqo: calls $0.50
bluey1000: checks
*** FLOP *** [Js 6d 7d]
Jacqo: checks
bluey1000: checks
JordSawyer: checks
*** TURN *** [Js 6d 7d] [8c]
Jacqo: bets $3
bluey1000: raises $3 to $6
JordSawyer: raises $19 to $25
Jacqo: folds
bluey1000: raises $137.45 to $162.45 and is all-in
JordSawyer: calls $44.85 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [Js 6d 7d 8c] [Qd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [9c Tc] (a straight, Eight to Queen)
JordSawyer: shows [Td Kd] (a flush, King high)
JordSawyer collected $142.70 from pot

Okay then! So Jord tries to steal the pot from me on the turn and gets caught but decides to call his remaining $45 anyway, um ok... To recap the pot was $12 by my turn bet and it cost him another $70 to try and catch his river...bastard!

PokerStars Game #1442712877: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/03/30 - 16:38:41 (ET)Table 'Mandeville' Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: HotRod69 ($71.15 in chips)
Seat 2: banker002 ($37.55 in chips)
Seat 3: firji ($37.60 in chips)
Seat 4: Numie ($114.75 in chips)
Seat 5: RaSZi ($100.55 in chips)
Seat 6: lucasss888 ($54 in chips)
Seat 7: bluey1000 ($95 in chips)
Seat 8: jwkj ($93.45 in chips)
Seat 9: jaufish ($55.80 in chips)
banker002: posts small blind $0.50
firji: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [9s 9d]
Numie: folds
RaSZi: folds
lucasss888: raises $3 to $4
bluey1000 said, "lol"
bluey1000: calls $4
jwkj: folds jaufish: calls $4
HotRod69: folds
banker002: calls $3.50
firji: calls $3
*** FLOP *** [9c Ah 2c]
banker002: checks
firji: checks
lucasss888: bets $10
bluey1000: calls $10
jaufish: raises $10 to $20
banker002: folds
firji: folds
lucasss888: calls $10
bluey1000: calls $10
*** TURN *** [9c Ah 2c] [Kc]
lucasss888: checks
bluey1000: checks
jaufish: bets $31.80 and is all-in
lucasss888: calls $30 and is all-in
bluey1000: calls $31.80
*** RIVER *** [9c Ah 2c Kc] [4d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [9s 9d] (three of a kind, Nines)
jaufish: shows [4c 8c] (a flush, King high)
Seat 6: lucasss888 mucked [Kd Ac]

Now this hand really annoyed me, and yes before we begin he pushed with the best hand on the turn. This guy called a $4 raise and call with 8c4c??? You have to get smacked in the face on the flop to continue playing that hand. He didnt get smacked but he got a playable hand and then he raises a draw hand against a $10 bet and call??? I know a lot of you may say I should've pushed but there are 2 reasons I didnt. One I didnt put either of them on a flush draw (thus the turn call), I thought they were both on AK or one AK and one AQ. Secondly it is obvious if I had pushed this idiot was going the whole way not matter what regardless.

These kinda of days make it very hard to make any headway and of course can cost me money too. If I discount the inital $230ish I lost at $1/$2, even with the above crap I have managed to make just over $100 to be sitting at a BR of $3915. SO I just need another $75 before I can take a crack at $1/$2 again. Yippeeeeee

Wading through the crap

Well I did get up to $4k early in the week and tried out playing 2 tables of $1/$2. Nothing happened for 30mins until I got 66 and limped in with a few others. Flop came KK6 and I got all my money in against one opponent on the turn which was a 7. The pot was approx. $430 and I lost to his K6. Wow, just think of our whole cards and what had to fall to get us busy with that hand. So I quit my foray into $1/$2 right there until I can build my BR back to $4k again and take another stab at it. I think I was around $3775 BR at that point.

Today I am going to give you some examples of hands that slow down my BR building, enjoy...

PokerStars Game #1450840330: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/04/01 - 00:31:23 (ET)Table 'Antiope II' Seat #6 is the button
Seat 3: bluey1000 ($192.75 in chips)
Seat 8: Joel13 ($15.95 in chips)
Seat 9: SDCatfish ($24.85 in chips)
ryrys23: posts small blind $0.50
Joel13: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Qh Qd]
SDCatfish: folds
tkgambler35: folds
Campbell72: folds
GRILLO1 has returned
bluey1000: raises $3 to $4
dgunthert: folds
yourmom6996: folds
ryrys23: calls $3.50
Joel13: raises $3 to $7
bluey1000: raises $28 to $35
ryrys23: folds
Joel13: calls $8.95 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [9c Th 5d]
*** TURN *** [9c Th 5d] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [9c Th 5d Ts] [Kh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Joel13: shows [Ks 2s] (two pair, Kings and Tens)
bluey1000: mucks hand Joel13 collected $34.15 from pot

What can you say...well played Joel?

PokerStars Game #1450536351: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/03/31 - 23:40:25 (ET)Table 'Castor' Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: GoldNRod ($43 in chips)
Seat 2: jamesrobert ($53.25 in chips)
Seat 3: coopthescoop ($104.95 in chips)
Seat 4: moswald79 ($7.65 in chips)
Seat 6: trav7777 ($43.50 in chips)
Seat 7: jetpac90833 ($52.40 in chips)
Seat 8: spamhead ($129.80 in chips)
Seat 9: bluey1000 ($230.20 in chips)
GoldNRod: posts small blind $0.50
jamesrobert: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Jh Jc]
coopthescoop: calls $1
moswald79: raises $6.65 to $7.65 and is all-in
trav7777: calls $7.65
jetpac90833: folds
spamhead: folds
bluey1000: calls $7.65
GoldNRod: folds
jamesrobert: calls $6.65
coopthescoop: calls $6.65
*** FLOP *** [7h 6c Ts]
laxcat75 joins the table at seat #5
jamesrobert: checks
coopthescoop: checks
trav7777: checks
bluey1000: bets $10
jamesrobert: folds
coopthescoop: folds
trav7777: folds
*** TURN *** [7h 6c Ts] [9h]
*** RIVER *** [7h 6c Ts 9h] [Qc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
moswald79: shows [9c 8h] (a straight, Six to Ten)
bluey1000: mucks hand moswald79 collected $36.85 from pot

Wow...against 4 players his brilliant all-in held up. Masterful, I dont know why I even called.

PokerStars Game #1450166345: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/03/31 - 22:41:36 (ET)Table 'Antiope II' Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: TC Valdez ($77.55 in chips)
Seat 2: Sixteen12 ($42.30 in chips)
Seat 3: bluey1000 ($106.60 in chips)
Seat 4: He'll Move ($55.50 in chips)
Seat 5: D Real Zorro ($115.15 in chips)
Seat 6: 2drunk ($14 in chips)
Seat 7: firji ($115.35 in chips)
Seat 8: RubixCubeS ($44.65 in chips)
Seat 9: Autoxmike ($131.30 in chips)
2drunk: posts small blind $0.50
firji: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Jc Js]
RubixCubeS: folds
Autoxmike: calls $1
TC Valdez: folds
Sixteen12: folds
bluey1000: raises $3 to $4
He'll Move: folds
D Real Zorro: folds
2drunk: calls $3.50
firji: calls $3
Autoxmike: folds
*** FLOP *** [7h Tc 6h]
2drunk: checks
firji: checks
bluey1000: bets $6
2drunk: calls $6
firji: calls $6
*** TURN *** [7h Tc 6h] [2d]
2drunk: checks
firji: checks
bluey1000: bets $10
2drunk: calls $4 and is all-in
firji: calls $10
*** RIVER *** [7h Tc 6h 2d] [Jh]
firji: bets $20
bluey1000: folds *** SHOW DOWN ***
firji: shows [Ah 8h] (a flush, Ace high)
firji collected $11.40 from side pot
2drunk: mucks hand
firji collected $40.95 from main pot
Seat 6: 2drunk (small blind) mucked [Ad 7c]

When my third jack hit on the river I was tempted to call his $20 bet but I took my time and thought through what hands would I beat and would they play them the way they did if so. I can beat all trips and all 2 pairs but they would've reraised me on the turn for sure. He was either bluffing or had the flush, I had to fold.

PokerStars Game #1450022038: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/03/31 - 22:19:14 (ET)Table 'Kallisto' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 2: alan2671 ($62.90 in chips)
Seat 3: Tweeky_99 ($81.85 in chips)
Seat 4: texwest2 ($64.80 in chips)
Seat 5: kingofhill ($128.60 in chips)
Seat 6: bluey1000 ($103.20 in chips)
Seat 7: LAShyBoy ($38.80 in chips)
Seat 8: apwine ($112.85 in chips)
Seat 9: symax ($83 in chips)
kingofhill: posts small blind $0.50
bluey1000: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [Qh Jd]
LAShyBoy: calls $1
apwine: folds
symax: raises $1 to $2
alan2671: folds
Tweeky_99: folds
texwest2: folds
kingofhill: folds
bluey1000: calls $1
LAShyBoy: calls $1
*** FLOP *** [Kd Ad Ts]
bluey1000: checks
LAShyBoy: checks
symax: bets $1
bluey1000: raises $5 to $6
LAShyBoy: folds
symax: calls $5
*** TURN *** [Kd Ad Ts] [9d]
bluey1000: checks
symax: bets $7
bluey1000: calls $7
*** RIVER *** [Kd Ad Ts 9d] [Td]
bluey1000: checks
symax: bets $15
bluey1000: folds
symax collected $30.95 from pot
symax: shows [Ks Kc] (a full house, Kings full of Tens)

This was a tougher hand to play and to lose. Seeing his whole cards he wanted some action and it almost cost him. Obviously I have the nuts on flop so want to make anyone pay for a new card. The turn I hated because his $1 flop bet could signify a flush chaser, so I check. When he bet I had to ponder what he might have...QdJd not possible, so perhaps QdTd, or Td8d, or 7d9d. There was enough doubt that he didnt have a flush for me to call. River put the fourth diamond out there and made my flush the second highest. He could have the Queen so I checked. When he bet $15 I almost insta called, but I decided to think about it. My gut said he didnt have Qdx because what possible hand could he have to play the streets the way he did. Also of note was his significant and in my mind fearless $15 bet. I came to the conclusion he tried to buy the turn bet and got lucky on the river with a boat or he did have the Qd. I folded and I hope he checked out what I had.

PokerStars Game #1443092147: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/03/30 - 17:55:32 (ET)Table 'Mandeville' Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: The Nutsy ($21.55 in chips)
Seat 2: JordSawyer ($70.85 in chips)
Seat 3: tilt magic ($63.50 in chips)
Seat 4: Numie ($145.10 in chips)
Seat 5: RaSZi ($95.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Jacqo ($70.10 in chips)
Seat 7: bluey1000 ($163.45 in chips)
Seat 8: garfocus ($48.05 in chips)
Seat 9: ugadawg520 ($87.30 in chips)
Jacqo: posts small blind $0.50
bluey1000: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [9c Tc]
garfocus: folds
ugadawg520: folds
The Nutsy: folds
JordSawyer: calls $1
tilt magic: folds
Numie: folds
RaSZi: folds
Jacqo: calls $0.50
bluey1000: checks
*** FLOP *** [Js 6d 7d]
Jacqo: checks
bluey1000: checks
JordSawyer: checks
*** TURN *** [Js 6d 7d] [8c]
Jacqo: bets $3
bluey1000: raises $3 to $6
JordSawyer: raises $19 to $25
Jacqo: folds
bluey1000: raises $137.45 to $162.45 and is all-in
JordSawyer: calls $44.85 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [Js 6d 7d 8c] [Qd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [9c Tc] (a straight, Eight to Queen)
JordSawyer: shows [Td Kd] (a flush, King high)
JordSawyer collected $142.70 from pot

Okay then! So Jord tries to steal the pot from me on the turn and gets caught but decides to call his remaining $45 anyway, um ok... To recap the pot was $12 by my turn bet and it cost him another $70 to try and catch his river...bastard!

PokerStars Game #1442712877: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2005/03/30 - 16:38:41 (ET)Table 'Mandeville' Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: HotRod69 ($71.15 in chips)
Seat 2: banker002 ($37.55 in chips)
Seat 3: firji ($37.60 in chips)
Seat 4: Numie ($114.75 in chips)
Seat 5: RaSZi ($100.55 in chips)
Seat 6: lucasss888 ($54 in chips)
Seat 7: bluey1000 ($95 in chips)
Seat 8: jwkj ($93.45 in chips)
Seat 9: jaufish ($55.80 in chips)
banker002: posts
small blind $0.50
firji: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bluey1000 [9s 9d]
Numie: folds
RaSZi: folds
lucasss888: raises $3 to $4
bluey1000 said, "lol"
bluey1000: calls $4
jwkj: folds
jaufish: calls $4
HotRod69: folds
banker002: calls $3.50
firji: calls $3
*** FLOP *** [9c Ah 2c]
banker002: checks
firji: checks
lucasss888: bets $10
bluey1000: calls $10
jaufish: raises $10 to $20
banker002: folds
firji: folds
lucasss888: calls $10
bluey1000: calls $10
*** TURN *** [9c Ah 2c] [Kc]
lucasss888: checks
bluey1000: checks
jaufish: bets $31.80 and is all-in
lucasss888: calls $30 and is all-in
bluey1000: calls $31.80
*** RIVER *** [9c Ah 2c Kc] [4d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bluey1000: shows [9s 9d] (three of a kind, Nines)
jaufish: shows [4c 8c] (a flush, King high)
Seat 6: lucasss888 mucked [Kd Ac]

Now this hand really annoyed me, and yes before we begin he pushed with the best hand on the turn. This guy called a $4 raise and call with 8c4c??? You have to get smacked in the face on the flop to continue playing that hand. He didnt get smacked but he got a playable hand and then he raises a draw hand against a $10 bet and call??? I know a lot of you may say I should've pushed but there are 2 reasons I didnt. One I didnt put either of them on a flush draw (thus the turn call), I thought they were both on AK or one AK and one AQ. Secondly it is obvious if I had pushed this idiot was going the whole way not matter what regardless.

These kinda of days make it very hard to make any headway and of course can cost me money too. If I discount the inital $230ish I lost at $1/$2, even with the above crap I have managed to make just over $100 to be sitting at a BR of $3915. SO I just need another $75 before I can take a crack at $1/$2 again. Yippeeeeee.