They are still out there

The MATH was disaster, man I really suck at 6 handed games. I just couldn't fight the aggro monkey at my table, finally got pissed enough to make a re raise push with XX and I will be damned if the guy who had re-raised me 5 times before didn't wake up with KK.

So I decided to play so $1/$2 and did I find a honey of table, this table was full of fish. This is was a crazy hand. This guy was pretty new to the table but showed a propensity to bluff in position and was aggro. He made a standard raise to $7, I re-raised to $23, and he the min raised to $55. Now I couldn't see him playing AA/KK that way, I figured if he had the goods he would have re-popped to about $70. His bet seemed weak so I ranged him from 10/10 to AK or complete air so I pushed for $170 more and he insta-called with

but the were sooted!!!

One Hand

In every poker tournament there is usually "one hand" that defines your fate, good or bad. The good hand can be getting someone to commit themselves to TPTK when you flopped a set, or when you totally misread your opponent but go runner, runner for the suckout. If it is the bad hand it doesn't have to be the bustout hand and it doesn't have to necessarily be a bad beat, just a hand that eventually lead to your demise.

Yesterday in the FTP 100 WSOP ME, I got off to a good start. I flopped a set within the first 5 hands and played it to perfection with a hyper aggressive player who bet enough to pot commit himself but somehow managed to laydown an allin check raise by me on the turn with the pot laying him 4:1.

I also flopped a boat but couldn't get the same hypo to bite, and got several mid to big pairs. The first hour was pretty good and I was in the top 25% of chip leaders.

Sometime during the second hour my table broke and I was moved to a different table with one of the chipleaders. The average chipstack was may 4.5K this person had almost 30K and was on my left three people away. This guy was limp/calling every hand, calling any bets on the flop and betting enough to put the person all in on the turn. So needless to say I was not getting to see many flops but was still in top 50% of chips. It was about 15 minutes till the 2nd break when the "one hand" that defined my tournament played out. I was in the SB with a 4h6h and $6K in chips, the Monster Stack decided that he would not play in MP and 4 people limped I called and we saw a flop five handed. The flop was 4s8d6d, now I have bottom 2 and I am first to act. With all the possible draws there is no need to get cute, I over bet the pot $1200 into $1000 pot and get smooth called in 2 places. The turn was the ugliest card I could have ever seen.

I am not going to go broke with 2 pair when both a flush draw and straight draw just completed. I have no choice but to check fold and watch 1/3 of my chips get shipped. I didn't tilt necessarily, but I just somehow felt that this was an omen. The next hand I pick up an AJ on the button, I make a 3x raise not realizing "Monster Stack" had limped UTG, he calls and we see XXX flop rainbow and Monster checks, what do you do? Now I have $4.5K which is avg, there is $4K in the pot, If I check I am dead even if an ace comes because I he could have anything, so I decided that I was going to throw out a Cbet bluff that looked like I wanted a call and would pot commit me of 2.5K. I felt like I had to gain information and this was the only way I could. Monster stack goes into the tank and lets his timer run down and then even uses his time extension for a little more theatrics before re raising me just enough to set me in. Now his performance convinced me I was drawing dead to either a set or AA and I laid my hand down getting 4:1, maybe it was a bad lay down but I still had a couple chips. I busted out shortly later when my KQ ran into AK on K high board.

I don't know how I feel about my performance, I am disappointed but not defeated. See ya at the MATH tonight.

Would you do it again the same way if you could do it over?

This is the question I ask it to myself when I bust out of a MTT. If I am more inclined to answer yes then I feel I have succeeded. Did I get my money in with the best hand, did I give myself the best chance to win the tourney? Ect.. If the answer is no time to re-evaluate and find the leaks. Why did I push when he had no fold equity, why did I not pick up the warning signs from his betting patterns, ect..?

After last night's MATH I pondered this question over and over, but before we get to my conclusion lets set up the problem. We had 36 runners and my table was you typical Blonkament Table with LAGs to super LAGs. During the first 13 hands I picked up KK early but no action so my stack was just were I started 3K.

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Yesterday I skipped lunch and decided to read a little more of the Full Tilt Tournament Guide, after all it is one of my goals this week. I read the interesting chapter that Quiet Lion wrote about online MTTs and one of the key points he drove home was that in the early stages of MTTs are all about implied odds. In other words the first few levels (specifically the first 3 levels in a deepstack)you can make some questionable calls if you feel that implied odds justify them. Hmmm very interesting stuff.

After Lunch I perused Hoy's archive of the Anatomy of the slowplay 1-3, Hoy states his goal when he slowplays a monster is to get every chip period, and he went into great lengths to explains the various methods how he gets his opponent to commit all their chips to a play where he is the favorite. Hmmm very interesting stuff.
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Hand number 14 started off very interesting, I am in the BB with KdJd and UTG makes it 70 to go, now believe it or not more time than not I will let this hand go, especially in a HU situation with the original UTG raiser. Most time if I am going to play KJ suited I would like a multiway pot. But I read something early today about implied odds... hmmmm....... I think I might just call and see a flop.

Well the flop slapped me right in the face Kc8dJd, top pair decent kicker, 9 outs to the second nut flush and backdoor straight. This a monster, but how can I get all of his chips ....... hmmm... I think I read something earlier today about slowplaying a monster ...... I think I will check and see how much he likes his hand. So cefredmd fires out a little over 1/2 pot, standard Cbet and then re-raise him 2.5 his bet just to keep him interested, when ...................... wham he shoves all in. So should I be happy or mad, happy that I got what I wanted which is an opportunity to stack him or mad that I am probably behind to either AA, KK or AK. My action was made as soon as I saw the flop but lets look at the odds of the 3 hands before we get to the results, for simplicity we will assume that my opponent doesn't have a diamond.

Against AA, I am favorite 51%

Against AK I am 47.27%
And against KK I am 30.91%
So all in all I am not that bad shape and pots odds compel me to call my last $2K for a $6K even if against a set. So we get in and I am somewhat please to see that I am against AhAd but I am disappointed to see he has the Ad

Here a the odds now that I know I am against the AhAd - 45.96%

And here is the board offering no help!


And the Gigli goes to:

Now to answer the question would I do again? Yes, because of few circumstances. It is BBT tourney and I wanted and needed to win the tourney not just slide into the points in order to have a shot at Bayne_s on the leaderboard. I need to book a win or decent showing because of the motivational factor I need going into the WSOP. I actually felt really good about this decision because I made the plan and stuck with it even thought it didn't have the desired outcome.

Weekend Update for 6-9-07/Goals for the Week

Played a little this weekend with no good results. Here are the lowlights.

In $15K Silver Iron Man Freeroll I lost to TPTK, we he open shoved 7x the pot on Jd8c6d flop with 2 diamonds, I had Ad8d and called with what I thought was 14 outs twice but realized I only had 11 outs. Hindsight bad call by me but I stuck with my read and went with it.

Won a MTT satellite into the $50 Super for the $400K. I really like this tourney since it offers a 1 in 4 shot into the $400K. Well no excuses, I blew it. I finished about 100 short of the payday when I probably could have folded my way into. I didn't play for the prize and I should know better then to try to play big stack poker in these push monkey type tourneys. So no $400K for me.

As for my Goals for Last week let recap

• Apologize to Waffles for the Riverchasers Tirade -- CHECK
• Make the Points in Both BBT Tournaments this Week -- CHECK
• Final Table on the BBT Tourney -- CLOSE BUT NOT REALLY SEE MATH RECAP
• Win a BBT Tourney -- HAHA
• Finish Reading FullTilt Tournament Guide -- DIDN'T GET TO READ MUCH THIS WEEK SO 1/2 WAY THERE
• Walk with the Family in the Evenings -- SOME BUT NOT ENOUGH

I give myself about a C on the goals report card. I will try to finish up the uncompleted goals and add a few more.

• Make the Points in all three BBT Tournaments this Week
• Final Table a BBT Tourney
• Win a BBT Tourney
• Finish Reading FullTilt Tournament Guide
• Walk with the Family in the Evening
• Win 2nd Seat on FullTilt in the 100 WSOP ME Giveaway on Sunday

In the words of Curley -- "If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seeds"

See ya tonight at the MATH

I suck, therefore I blog! MATH Recap!

My state of the poker address in one paragraph. I am good player with definite dumb azz donkey tendencies. I make some good laydowns and some horrendous calls. I make great bluffs and leave money on the table when I have made hands. At times I feel invincible at times and sometimes I am afriad to play in $5 sng.

That is the range of my emotions right now. I am having a hard time controlling my inner donkey

MATH Recap: I double up withing the first 23 hands of the tournament at the end of the first break I was sitting pretty:

Shortly after the break I was moved to a new table and hit my high water mark of 11,790. But it was there the wheels came off the proverbial buss. At my new table I didn't adjust my play, I hadn't earned the respect of this table and I tried to run over them with my big stack. Now mind you I wasn't raising aimlessly but I was trying to dictate the flow, however several smaller stacks decided that anytime I raised they were willing to gamble. I would raise 2.5 to 3x and get pushed in on for 7-10 times my raise. Frustrating to say the least.

I lost 4K in back to back hands and neither of us played them wrong. First hand I am dealt AK in MP blinds 100/200 I make 600 and cutoff goes all in for about 900 more with QQ and wins his race. Next hand I have Ac10c decide to limp after an EP limper. Flop is 10 high with 2 hearts. Checked to me and with about 1K in the pot I lead out to protect my TPTK one of the blinds pushes for an additional 800 with Kh10h and filled his flush on the river.

So at the end of hour 2 I am mid pack with about 29 or so to go. Shortly after we combined to 3 tables and I didn't adjust for the new big stacks at my table. We were safely in the BBT points when for some reason my inner donkey just took over. Here is how my busto hand played out. (Warning the following hand description contains Graphic Stupidity, please be advised)

I am in the BB 500/250/50 with Ac9c and WilWonka is UTG and raises to 1500 leaving about 4.6K behind, folded to HOP who smooth calls from the CO. Flop comes this

Decent flop for me and I feel like I am ahead but not for certain so for some reason I check.(mistake number one why I didn't lead out a 1/2 pot to gain information only my inner donkey knows for certain) WilWonka checks and HOP leads out a pot sized bet, which I somehow interpret as a mid level pair thanks to the Waffles/HOP war that took place a few weeks ago. (Dam you waffles even in your absence you somehow eff with my game) I push, WilWonka folds and HOP insta calls with AQ

The needless Q on the turn and GG all out in 21st. I was very disappointed with my showing last night. I am starting to doubt my sanity since I am doing the same things over and over again expecting different results. I am still 2nd on the BBT Leaderboard and 3rd in overall money won but I am nowhere near the level I was playing a few weeks back. Gotta get the leaks plugged fast I fly out for ME in 32 days.

Goals for the Week 6-4-07

• Apologize to Waffles for the Riverchasers Tirade
• Make the Points in Both BBT Tournaments this Week
• Final Table on the BBT Tourney
• Win a BBT Tourney
• Finish Reading FullTilt Tournament Guide
• Walk with the Family in the Evenings

So there are my Goals for the week. Lets get one of them accomplished right now. I owe Waffles an apology for my tirade during the Riverchasers Horse Event on Sunday. I told him: FU, I called him a classless douche bag, and I may have called him phucktard, dum azz bastard. I hope I didn't forget any. Anyways I do owe him an apology, I understand his taunting and off the cuff remarks are what make Waffles, Waffles. He is like a car wreck or picture of a decapitated body , you don't want to look but you cant help yourself. Waffles I am sorry.

The others are pretty self explanatory. I hope to catch Bayne_S on the BBT Leaderboard but I must say he is making it mighty tough. Very impressive sir.

See ya at the MATH tonight.

MATH Recap!!

I played decent poker in the MATH but just couldn't get anything going, my raises were re-raised and re-raises were pushed. Just a ho hum type of tourney. No real big hands to speak of, I busted out when my AQ in the BB lost a race to the SB's pocket 10s. With a M of less than 8 there was no way I wasn't going to go all the way with that hand. Oh well that is POKAH!

The only bright spot is I managed to gain a little ground on IGGY and BAYNE in the BBT since I was able to outlast them both.

MATH Recap 5-22-07

MATH recap not much to say except I am a HEE HAW! I didnt get many hands the first hour, chipped up nicely during the second hour with some speculative hands that hit the flop hard and allowed me to climb into the top ten with 3 tables left. Then for some reason I decided I needed to play K9 sooted in the BB to TripJax raise on the button. We both started the hand with about $7500. I knew he wasn't strong on all rag flop so I fired the pot (about $750) and he called, the turn was a Q and fired the 3/4 pot($1800) and he waited and waited and called again. Now I figured the Q had helped him and I most likely put on AQ-KQ but if another rag hit the River I was going to fire the third bullet. The river was a J and I knew a jam would be easier for him to call than a 1/2 pot bet that screamed set value bet. So I fired about $2900 into $5600 pot leaving him fold equity him but showing him that I was committed and begging for a Jam from him as I have now pot committed myself. We he made a good call and i was down to about $2700 in chips and lasted a few more orbits.

Looking back on the play I don't really regret it, I wasn't catching many cards and I believe that I played this hand the best I could other than not playing it at all. TripJax made some really tough calls and was rewarded for his reads. I succeeded because I gave myself the best chance to win the pot with cards and situation I was in. Next time it maybe a set that I play the exact same way.

I was able to gain one spot (2nd) on the BBT Leaderboard since Bayne nor Iggy were able to garner any points. (This fact also lead to my decision to play a little looser and go for the win) Next stop of the BBT is the M00K on Wednesday at FullTilt (Bonus Code OSU)

Final note if any of you drive a vehicle like mine you can appreciate this picture.

2nd Math = 3 way chop!!!!

First of all I will apologize that this post is a little short and to the point. I am traveling this week on business in Nebraska and the Hotel Internet is not the best.

My second MATH I had a little better luck and played some of my best poker. In fact this weekend I had one my best weekends in a long time. I won an entry into the FullTilt Tuesday ME, won a couple of the Tier 3 $75 token cash SNGs for $310 a piece.

Now back to the MATH. All I can say is Don is machine. How in the hell am I every going to pass him on the BBT? I played some great poker this tourney, earned some pots, got people to commit when I knew I had them beat. Made some laydowns that I am still 2nd guessing and made one call against Gary for 3/4 of stack with AK soooted when he made a re-raise steal attempt with AQ. In the end it came down to CMitch, MiamiaDon, and myself. We were all tired and had played 255 hands. We agreed on equal chop of the money ($312 I think) and decided to settle the placement by random luck. All IN on the last hand and may the luckiest man win. Here is what the hands looked preflop with the odds. As you can see I had the worst going in, with CMithc having the best odds.

Here is the way the board looked as Don outflopped us and scooped the massive pot which ensure his 2nd win in the BBT sereies.






See you at the Mookie on Wednesday.