A difficult decision or not?

Here's a situation I'm struggling with:

I'm dealt pocket Aces in LP and raise to be called by one villain in MP.
Flop shows a rainbow K, 6, 3 and the villain bets 2/3 of the pot into me.

What could he have?

• pocket kings? unlikely because he limped and just called a raise
• two pair? unlikely, I don't see him calling a raise with a K6 or 63 out of position.
• pocket 66 or pocket 33? these are possible hands that fit his pattern.
• a draw? he might have an open ended straight draw or a gutshot draw, but would he bet that?
• a bluff? possible, but that would be a very daring play

So, I'm basically thinking he probably has a set or there is a small chance he is bluffing.

I played this hand like a total donk (cause I was tilting) by calling his bets on all streets. I should have laid it down when he bet again on the turn.

Still, I'm wondering what the right play is here.

Folding on the flop was the correct play of course, but wouldn't this be extremely weak? If I start folding top pairs on the flop everytime I get bet into, I feel like like a sitting duck: just bet me and I'll fold.

Looking back on that hand, calling doesn't feel right either. Most likely, I'll be facing another bet on the turn and be in the same spot again, only for more money.

I'm now thinking I should have reraised him on the flop. If he 3bets or even goes all-in, I have an easier laydown, cause I doubt he would take a bluff this far. It would be lost money, but now I did loose even more on later streets. The alternative would be to just call and give up on the turn if the villain bets again.

I definately would like some feedback on this, so feel free to post your thoughts.

The problem hands

Last night I digged into my holdem manager stats to find out if my lack of results at the 4NL tables is a matter of running bad or playing bad.

Two things were noticable: results per position and my top loosing hands.

Results per position:

• early: a little down
• middle: a little down
• cutoff: a little up
• button: big winner
• small blind: huge looser
• big blind: big winner

So, the first thing to work on is my play from the small blind: I'm playing way too many hands (VPIP of over 40%). So, the next sessions I'll tighten up there and see how that works.

Top loosing hands:

My biggest loosing hands are the so called problem hands: KQo, KJo, QJo, KQs. I'm also loosing big with hands like ATo, KTo etc. It seems I tend to play these hands very often and from almost any position. So, I plan on laying them down a lot more often in EP and MP, especially when facing a raise and just try limping with these hands. I guess I should also play these hands a lot more careful when flopping just a pair.

Overall, my top hands are high pocket pairs, most middle and bottom pairs, suited connectors and a few other hands like ofsuit connectors and suited one-gappers that got lucky.

So two things to focus on the next sessions: tighten up from the small blind and play the 'problem hands' less and more conservative. Hopefully this will help to turn things around.

Sometimes poker is like riding a rollercoaster

After my last session, where I lost almost 4 buyins (I play $0.02-$0.04 with a $5 buyin), I really hoped to do better this time. The start was looking good as played some tight but aggressive poker and I got up something like $3. Then it hit me again: loosing three big pots in a short time, two of which I got in with the best hand and the other one being up against a flopped set with my flopped two pair. And there it was: down another $13.

The only difference with the big loosing session before was that I felt I was playing at least ok and the cards were just against me. So I kept playing (after taking a 10 min. break to calm down) and slowly I got some back. About an hour later I felted a guy so I got up to -$4.

I was looking to call it a day when I'm dealt pocket kings in later position and I smooth call a raise in EP from a fairly tight player. Now the flop shows a queen and two lows and the initial raiser bets about 2/3 of the pot. A bit much for a c-bet so I figured he might have QQ, AQ or maybe JJ or TT. At that point I was a bit worried he might have QQ and if he did, I would be way behind. The turn is a blank and he bets again, again about 2/3 of the pot. So now I'm pretty confident he has either QQ or AQ. I make a questionable call, but the pot is getting pretty big now and I'm kinda committed. For once, the cards like me and the river brings a much needed king. The rest of the money goes in and I pick up the pot having sucked out 'cause the other guy did have pocket queens.

That brought me to a $1 up and I decide to take another break. That luckbox hand did make a big difference (down $9 or up $1) but after all these suckouts against me the last two sessions, I guess I was due.

After a short break I fired up Titan Poker to play one table of 6-max 10NL. Only played for about half an hour but managed to win a few pots and earn little over $3 so that was nice.

I'm still a bit down because of my previous session, which threw me back big time, but I'm not giving up on poker just yet.

Sayonara!

Worst session ever

Yup,

yesterday evening was definately my session ever. I won a lot of small pots but managed to loose every single big one. I played like a complete donkey, that much is for sure. The decks were after me too: whenever I flopped a set, nobody had anything, but when I got a big starting hand like AA of JJ, sure enough, some guy flopped a set.

To make things worse I tilted. I kept telling myself I wasn't but I was.

So it seems a habit: I play a couple of solid and winning sessions and then blow it of in one big loosing session. It's probably a blessing I'm going on a vacation soon so I won't be able to play poker for a month.

I'm just so frustrated at this point. If I can't win a this level, what realistic expectation can there be I could win at even higher levels in the future?

Tonight I will play again though but if I keep making these horrible mistakes, I guess I should think about quitting.

DAMN!

Cashing out my original deposits

Thanks to my winnings at the 2NL tables and a total of just over $200 in bonusses, I did earn enough to cash out my original deposits of $390 and still have a bankroll that is big enough to keep playing at the 4NL tables.

Even though I realize cashing out this early will delay moving up to the 10NL tables, it's just a nice feeling playing poker for free and trying to continue building my bankroll without putting any money of my own into it.

So my bankroll has fallen back from $616 to $227 but none of it is my own money :)

Results for June 2008

Another month has passed so it's time to recap...

My goals for June were:

• Clear the bonus at Partypoker: good, I picked up the $25 bonus
• Play at least 5000 hands at 4NL: ok, I played 4,700 hands at 4NL and 230 hands at 10NL
• Win $30: bad, I earned a whopping $3.58

After my bad start at the 4NL tables in May, I was eager to do better this month and the first half of the month DID go very well as I was up $21. In the next 5 sessions I lost $21 so I was back to zero. At that point I decided to cut back on the multi-tabling and just played on two tables, which would allow me to make better decisions and actually pay attention to how my opponents are playing. So, my meagre profit for this month is a result of my last two sessions.

Up until now, I have played a total of almost 9,000 hands at 4NL and lost $1 to show for it.

I have been looking back on several specific hands and most big losses were just bad plays. It also seems I'm playing some starting hands such as AJo, KQo, KJo and QJo far too often and far too optimistic.

Statwise, I'm hovering at about VPIP: 24%, PFR: 6%, PFA: 1.4

So, these are heading in the right direction, but I feel I still need to show more aggression and less limping.

No goals for July because I'll be enjoying a much anticipated vacation to France in a couple of days.

I downloaded all episodes of High Stakes to my ipod and will pack my Harrington on Cash games volumes so I can study some more while in France.

Enjoy the game!

Results for May

(June 6, 2008)

Another month has passed, so it's time to look back...

Goals for May

• play at least 2500 hands on 2NL Success, I played almost 2700 hands on 2NL
• win at least $20 Succes, picked up $27
• get to a BR of $160 Succes, bankroll at $177
• avoid getting careless: stay on target!! Success, well, at least at the 2NL
• get and read another book (preferably Harrington on cash games) Success, got me a copy of Harrington on Cash 1&2, which I'm currently reading.

Because I reached my goals pretty fast, I moved up to the 4NL during the month, starting at Partypoker so I could pick up a bonus from Party and pokersourceonline.

After about 2500 hands I was down $27 so I was disappointed. I couldn't believe 4NL was that much tougher than 2NL (though there definately is a step up), so I decided to tighten up a bit.
The next 2500 hands I've picked up $40, so I made some good adjustments or I was just in a downswing to begin with. Overall, I've played 5500 hands at 5BB/100.

I already have cleared the $125 pokersourceonline bonus (waiting to receive the money) and I still need 40 partypoints to clear another $25.
After that I'm headed to Titan to clear my deposit bonus there.
So, all things considered I've had a good month, earning $40 and improving my game step by step.

My goals for June

• Clear the bonus at Partypoker
• Play at least 5000 hands at 4NL
• Win $30
  

'till next time

My first royal flush

(May 30, 2008)

Yup, yesterday I picked up my first ever Royal Flush!!!

I get Ac Tc dealt and the flop adds the Kc and Jc, so obviously I'm staying in the hand to see a Qc appear on the turn. I only made about $0,40 with it but was exciting anyway.
Hopefully my next one will pay off a bit better :)

Tata

Moving to a higher stake

(May 28, 2008)

Early this month I finally exceeded the $60 profit target on 2NL, so I decided to move to 5NL on Party Poker and picking up a free bankroll bonus at pokersourceonline.

First few sessions were a disaster as I quickly lost 5 buy-ins. I wasn't sure why that happened though the opposition seemed a little better. So, I looked at all my big loosing hands and quickly found a couple of holes (more like craters) in my game. More aggression, less limping, less hands overall and caution when countered in a hand seemed like the way to go. Even though I got a bit lucky, my last two session were a lot better and I'm gradually heading towards a positive overall result.

I must add that the use of HoldemManager is a great help, as it really shows how opponents play and I'm able to respond to that (better).

So far, I've also picked up almost 100 party points, so 25 more to clear the $125 bonus from pokersourceonline and 100 more to clear the $25 bonus from party poker.

Harrington on cash is arriving soon, so I've got some reading material for the holidays!

In order to quickly pick up those party points I sat down at the 25NL tables with a short stack, planning to fold everything except premium pairs. That was definately a rollercoaster: in the first hand I get pocket queens so I puch all-in and pick up the blinds. Next hand, I pick up pocket kings and push again excpecting to get called of course (I would too). Two guys call and only after two hands I'm at $14 :)

A couple of days later I sit down again and loose $10 in 8 hands :)

Because it looks like I'll be able to clear the bonus playing the 5NL, I won't doing that again, but it sure was exciting.

May the cards be with you!

Results for April

(April 29, 2008)

Since I won't be playing poker the next few days, it's time to look back on the goals for this month:

Statistics

• play 2.500 hands four- or sixtabling at 2NL Success, I played 3758 hands 4- and 5-tabling
• win $20 for a ptBB/100 of 20 Succes, made $ 23.88 with 32 BB/100
• get to a bankroll of $150 Fail, I'm currently at $ 142 due to a tilt session on 2NL and a short adventure with the other guy cathing his 2-outer on the river, which cost me $ 8.
  

Quality

• stick to a tight aggressive style playing the right odds Success, played some very good sessions with extremely good results but I managed to blow it on one mega-tilt session.
• play smaller/unprotected pots more aggressive from position Succes, I'm picking pots like these, but sometimes it's going the wrong. I'm not sure this is +EV at this level.
• try to put opponents on hands by the river Success, not really there yet, but I'm regularly putting opponents on the right hands or range of hands.
  

Overall not a bad month but my one tilt-session really bummed me. I still don't know what happened. I quickly lost some and then started making a few BAD calls in big pots. I went down over $13 in just 144 hands and then I made another mistake though I swore I'd never do that but I went to the 10NL to try and recover my losses.

The plan was to play really tight and wait for that one hand. At first the plan worked and I got up 25 BB but then I got unlucky: it got folded to me and I limped from EP and got raised by the guy OTB (I had AQo)

The flop comes AQ5 rainbow and I check to the raiser (just the two of us in the pot). He bets 2/3 and I call because I'm thinking he has AK, AQ, AJ or middle to high PP and I'm only behind against AA and QQ.

The turn is a blank and I check again, planning to check-raise. Villain bets 1/2 pot and I shove it which he calls. He turns over A5. I'm cheering already when the river comes.... a 5 and he hits his two-outer. I immediately shut down my computer...

So, even though my results aren't that bad at all, I've decided to stick to 2NL one month longer because I really want to get my BR up to $160 before I move to 4NL.

Goals for May

• play at least 2500 hands on 2NL
• win at least $20
• get to a BR of $160
• avoid getting careless: stay on target!!
• get and read another book (preferably Harrington on cash games)
  

Reward: move to 4NL on Titan Poker and play SNG/MTT with anything that exceeds a BR of $160.

April going well

(April 22, 2008)

So far I'm having a good month, having played almost 2200 hands and won $ 22.60 which makes a 48 BB/100. Most of the time I've been 4-tabling and since I lost some when I was 6-tabling yesterday, I'm going to stick to 4 tables.

I'm also checking out some of the training websites such as cardrunners and deucescracked to study a bit more and improve my game. At this time I'm mostly just playing my hands, keeping the pot small when I might be behind and betting out when I feel I have the best hand.

I definately want to try to put opponents on a hand (at least by the river) because I'm pretty sure opponents will be a bit better at the next level.

Hopefully I'll reach my goals for this month by the end of this week so I have time to play some short-handed tables and SNG's to work on my overall game quality and experience.

Right now I have no plans to do MTT's because I feel the potential reward versus the time invested is not +EV at the stakes I'm able to play.

I'll post some more and add a few specific hands next time.

Have fun at the tables!

Results for March / Goals for April

(April 3, 2008)

Lots of stuff going on these last couple of weeks, some bad, some good!

The 'bad' stuff: our three kids and myself got sick this last week, so we're all caughing and sniffing and running a little fever. Nothing spectacular but no fun at all so let's move on to the good stuff fast:

• bought an Ipod classic (with a Texas Hold'em game!) so now I can watch a lot of interesting poker podcasts like high stakes, fulltilt learn it from the pros etc. (and listing to my favorite music too of course)
• had four winning poker evenings in a row! I definately feel I am on the right track now
• trying to quit smoking (I felt like there's no better time to try when you're sick) and so I haven't smoked a cigarette in SIX days!!

Ok, time to look back on March and see how I did.

The goals were:
Statistics

• Fail: play about 30 hours two-tabling, so around 2.500 hands I have played for about 20 hours and even though I was four-tabling most of the time, I played about 1.500 hands, well below the goal so that's a "Failed"
• Success: make a profit from playing of $10 (about 7ptBB), which would be a first I won $ 18.76 for a BB/100 of 61 or a ptBB of 31 which is obvioulsy a very nice result.
• Fail: clear $10 of the $100 start bonus at Everest because I overestimated the number of hands I would be able to play, I didn't get any further than clearing about $5 of my start up bonus
• Success: bankroll of $110 Bankroll on 03/31 was $123.45
  

Quality

• play loose pre-flop, but tight post-flop
• do not over-estimate the power of middle and low pairs
• do not chase hands without the right odds
• do not bluff for big pots

Especially the last 4 or 5 sessions I really stuck to these 'rules' and it helped me to win several BI. I also felt I was playing too passive, only betting hands I was pretty sure were the best in the hand. Now I bet more aggressive, especially post flop where a lot of players seems to call often but bet rarely and I get to pick up quite a few more (smaller) pots this way as well.

Goals for April
Because rewards are important :), I'm moving up to the 5NL again (will have to be on another site though) if I succeed this month.

Statistics

• play 2.500 hands four- or sixtabling at 2NL
• win $20 for a ptBB/100 of 20
• get to a bankroll of $150
  

Quality

• stick to a tight aggressive style playing the right odds
• play smaller/unprotected pots more aggressive from position
• try to put opponents on hands by the river
  

I already had a good start yesterday evening. I played 237 hands winning $8.43 so even though my objectives are very ambitious (in terms of ptBB/100) I really feel I should be able to make it.

Cya next time!

First steps on Everest

(March 11, 2008)

On Monday I got started again. I installed Everest, made a deposit of $100 and I also downloaded Pokertracker 2 to try it out.

So far I'm not all that impressed with Everest: the microstakes tables always have waiting lists (sometimes up to 10 people) and the average number of hands per hour is about 35-40, which seems pretty low to me. On the other hand, I do like having a bit more time to make decisions.
Because I wanted to avoid getting bored, I started playing on 3 full ring 2NL tables. Even though I didn't play all that bad, I lost about $2 playing my first 166 hands. I'm guessing partly because I needed to get used to the new software and tables (which is quite different from PKR because other than the 'knock' for a check, there are no sounds for different moves like betting or all-in).

Yesterday evening things went a lot better: I played 211 hands and won $7.22. Just sticking to solid tight play with very few (semi-)bluffs and folding when I felt I was behind worked pretty well.
I made a big win on pocket deuces that hit full house, but other than that I'm kinda struggling playing pocket pairs. Right now, I'm folding bottom pairs that didn't hit the flop if there are overcards and that seems to work for me. Middle pairs and even top pairs are more difficult: I tend to raise too much with my top pairs, getting no action, and I play middle pairs too passively after the flop: checking or folding them and getting no pots. So, any tips on how to handle pocket pairs would be nice.

I read Everest only allows playing on the 2NL tables for the first 90 days after you initial deposit and since the next level is 10NL I do hope to build my bankroll fast enough to be ready for that. I'm not going to 10NL with $100 or even $150, so I might have to switch again if I don't hit $200 - $250 in 90 days (which doesn't sound very likely).

'till next time...

A fresh start

(March 4, 2008)

I guess it took a few bad beats to 'beat' some sense into my poker game. I started with a bankroll of $ 40 at PKR, only to see that smelt down to a measly $ 5 due to, well... donkeyness :)
Biggest problem: a lack of discipline!

First of all, when I'm ahead I get careless and stop folding the hands I should fold. Some story yesterday when I was playing at a 10-handed, $ 0.02 - $ 0.04 cash game on PKR
I loose $ 1.50 on one of my first hands, but I kept calm and set out to earn it back with a loose but carefull game. The next few hands I win a couple of times, holding strong hands or playing well from late position.
The next hand I get KK in late position. A couple of guys limp and a short-stacked player in middle position makes a small bet, which I call and the chip leader (with $20 at a $4 table) calls as well.
Out came a rainbow flop and the chip leader bets, the guy in the middle goes all-in (I think with $1) and me and the chip leader call. The turn gives a pair on the board and the chip leader bets $2.
Obviously I'm worried he might have hit a full-house or at least a set, but I'm also thinking he can't have a clue about my pocket kings so I feel the raise is a bit over the top. I call.
Next comes a deuce and the chip leader bets $2 again. So he bets three times in a row and I must admit, I didn't think he'd fire another shot. I called and my two pairs held up against the chip leader for the side pot. The guy in middle position did flop a set and took the main (but smaller) pot.

So I'm up $3.5 and I did it again: first playing pocket 8's instead of just folding them after the flop and then chasing a straight draw.
I end up with a tiny $0.29.
So I'm thinking about sticking a 'SHOULD YOU FOLD? on my screen.


I definately need a fresh start...