Treading water

I finished the weekend slightly ahead but really it felt I was treading water. The cash games at Full Tilt weren’t up to much: badugi ran at 25c/50c and $2/$4 but nothing in between, single draw seemed to be restricted to penny stakes, while ace-to-five hardly ran at all. However I did play two tournaments on Full Tilt. The first was a $3.30 turbo single draw. I don’t like playing turbo anything, but blind levels tend to increase more gradually than on Stars and payout scales are usually more sensible, so on a whim I decided to play. Eight of the 68 starters got paid. I was one of them, just making the flashy final table before busting out in sixth for a payout of eleven bucks.

The other tournament was a freeroll open to Aussies and Kiwis who deposited in November. Handy sums of money were available – ninety out of 300 got paid, the minimum payout being $20. Early on I got AKo, an early-position player raised, I reraised, one of the blinds cold-called while the original raiser folded. The flop came A-10-something, all unsuited. I bet and got check-raised all-in (he had me covered). I put him on a set of tens, top two pair (would he cold-call my three-bet with A-10?), an identical hand to mine, or a complete bluff. I got away.

The next hand of note: I raised pre-flop with AQo and got a lone call from a big stack. Another ace-high rainbow flop with two low cards, I bet, he called me. The turn was a blank but put a flush draw out there. I shoved, he called with no pair but he had the nut flush draw. He missed the nine-outer and I survived.

The bubble had just burst when I got pocket nines in early position and raised to a quarter of my stack. I was talking to my mum on the phone, so decision-making was harder than normal. I got one caller, we saw a flop and guess what, it came ace-high and rainbow with two low cards and unfortunately no nine. I decided to shove, he called me and flipped over AQ. I missed my two-outer to be out in 81st place for a useful twenty bucks. The play in that tournament was tight and seemed to be of a high standard. Somehow it made me more of a fan of no-limit hold ‘em tournaments.

Here are a few hands from the last week or so:

Hand 1
I very rarely comment on my opponents’ play in chat, but I did after this hand. ? How does Lukey not raise at all after the second or third draw? I asked her (I think it is a she) if she could see my cards. After the second draw I don’t necessarily have a badugi at all. I could understand just calling as a slow play with the intention of capping the river, but when she just called my river bet and we split the pot I was blown away. Her (utterly crazy if you ask me) play saved us both money in the end. I feel like posting this hand on Twoplustwo, but I won’t because I don’t want to raise my profile.

PokerStars Game #53732430038: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2010/12/04 16:23:49 ET
Table 'Pierretta IX' 8-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: milyang ($20 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($39.50 in chips)
Seat 5: lukey1958 ($30 in chips)
Seat 6: adrian432 ($44 in chips)
Seat 7: gmd68 ($76 in chips)
Seat 8: MILKDOG2007 ($24.25 in chips)
eeeooplad will be allowed to play after the button
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.50
lukey1958: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 3d 4h 7h]
adrian432: folds
gmd68: calls $1
MILKDOG2007: folds
milyang: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
lukey1958: calls $1
gmd68: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [7h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 3d 4h] [8d]
lukey1958: discards 1 card
gmd68: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: bets $1
lukey1958: calls $1
gmd68: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [8d]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 3d 4h] [2s]
lukey1958: discards 1 card
gmd68: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets $2
lukey1958: calls $2
gmd68: folds
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [5c 3d 4h 2s]
lukey1958: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $2
lukey1958: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [5c 3d 4h 2s] (Badugi: 5,4,3,2)
lukey1958: shows [5s 3c 2h 4d] (Badugi: 5,4,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $8.25 from pot
lukey1958 collected $8 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $17 Rake $0.75
Seat 2: milyang (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [5c 3d 4h 2s] and won ($8.25) with a Badugi: 5,4,3,2
Seat 5: lukey1958 (big blind) showed [5s 3c 2h 4d] and won ($8) with a Badugi: 5,4,3,2
Seat 6: adrian432 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 7: gmd68 folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 8: MILKDOG2007 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Hand 2
Whether this snow attempt is at all sensible I don’t know. I’ve got a four flush with no high cards but unfortunately no babies either. When I get reraised, and the reraise gets called, I decide to just dump it. Then I (we?) get accused of collusion! The winning hand by the way was 32A, so it’s likely my snow would have been picked off anyway, even if I had continued.

PokerStars Game #53544566957: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2010/11/30 23:25:52 ET
Table 'Waterman' 8-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($58.25 in chips)
Seat 3: grubette ($40.25 in chips)
Seat 4: Landau1120 ($44.50 in chips)
Seat 5: anudim ($26.75 in chips)
Seat 6: albond69 ($42 in chips)
Seat 7: rossboss35 ($22.75 in chips)
albond69: posts small blind $0.50
rossboss35: posts big blind $1
SOoN_GoKu: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5d 8d 7d 9d]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
grubette: folds
Landau1120: raises $1 to $3
anudim: calls $3
albond69: folds
rossboss35: folds
cdgolfer is connected
plutoman20: folds
*** FIRST DRAW ***
Landau1120: discards 1 card
anudim: discards 1 card
Landau1120: bets $1
anudim: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Landau1120: discards 1 card
anudim: discards 1 card
Landau1120: checks
anudim: bets $2
rossboss35 said, "colusion going on"
Landau1120: calls $2

Hand 3
A nice big pot here, but I think Chiefs’ play is really bad. I’d imagine the set of hands calling this bet are very close to the set of hands that beat him. As it was, this call wasn’t an easy one. I think I might have folded 87643.

PokerStars Game #53652195755: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/03 4:33:16 ET
Table 'Amata III' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: DaquintaQB ($29.10 in chips)
Seat 2: Donkery ($82.35 in chips)
Seat 3: chiefs1010 ($37.80 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($66.35 in chips)
Seat 5: NEMUNAS ($30.25 in chips)
Seat 6: Corrigal R ($14.65 in chips)
Seat 7: poofitwasgon ($29.95 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
NEMUNAS: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c 5s 2d 3c Kc]
Corrigal R: calls $0.50
poofitwasgon: calls $0.50
DaquintaQB: calls $0.50
Donkery: calls $0.50
chiefs1010: raises $1.50 to $2
plutoman20: calls $1.75
NEMUNAS: folds
Corrigal R: folds
poofitwasgon: folds
DaquintaQB: calls $1.50
Donkery: folds
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Kc]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c 5s 2d 3c] [8c]
DaquintaQB: discards 2 cards
chiefs1010: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $5
DaquintaQB: folds
chiefs1010: raises $30.80 to $35.80 and is all-in
plutoman20: calls $30.80
*** SHOW DOWN ***
chiefs1010: shows [2c 8s 5d 7d 6d] (Lo: 8,7,6,5,2)
plutoman20: shows [6c 5s 2d 3c 8c] (Lo: 8,6,5,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $76.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $79.60 Rake $3
Seat 1: DaquintaQB folded on the Flop
Seat 2: Donkery folded before Flop
Seat 3: chiefs1010 (button) showed [2c 8s 5d 7d 6d] and lost with Lo: 8,7,6,5,2
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [6c 5s 2d 3c 8c] and won ($76.60) with Lo: 8,6,5,3,2
Seat 5: NEMUNAS (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Corrigal R folded before Flop
Seat 7: poofitwasgon folded before Flop

Hand 4
Surely my 9-8 can’t be good here 25% of the time, even with Donkery in the hand. I actually don’t mind the fold, getting three to one, in spite of the result.

PokerStars Game #53649898877: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/03 2:26:52 ET
Table 'Amata III' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: SARIIA ($12.65 in chips)
Seat 2: Donkery ($48.55 in chips)
Seat 3: chiefs1010 ($52.05 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($59.05 in chips)
Seat 5: _the_panic_ ($38.60 in chips)
Seat 6: zysiu25 ($6.65 in chips)
Seat 7: lGotRivered ($54.15 in chips)
SARIIA: posts small blind $0.25
Donkery: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 7c 8c 3c Kh]
chiefs1010: folds
lGotRivered said, "1/2 is waitin"
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
_the_panic_: folds
zysiu25: folds
lGotRivered: raises $3 to $4.50
SARIIA: folds
Donkery: calls $4
plutoman20: calls $3
Donkery: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Kh]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 7c 8c 3c] [9s]
lGotRivered: discards 1 card
Donkery: checks
plutoman20: checks
lGotRivered: bets $11
Donkery: calls $11
plutoman20: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lGotRivered: shows [2h Ah 7h 9d 4d] (Lo: A,9,7,4,2)
Donkery: shows [6s 2d 3d Th 7d] (Lo: T,7,6,3,2)
Donkery collected $34 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $35.75 Rake $1.75
Seat 1: SARIIA (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Donkery (big blind) showed [6s 2d 3d Th 7d] and won ($34) with Lo: T,7,6,3,2
Seat 3: chiefs1010 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 folded on the Flop
Seat 5: _the_panic_ folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: zysiu25 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: lGotRivered (button) showed [2h Ah 7h 9d 4d] and lost with Lo: A,9,7,4,2

Hand 5
I’d built up a very healthy stack in this session, only to lose 40% of it on this hand. Normally I bet out here but sometimes I go for the check-raise to mix up my play. I did think about just calling the reraise and in hindsight it might have been the right play. Popaionut is a solid regular player who probably expects me to have at least an eight unless I’m bluffing, so his reraising range might be number seven or better, meaning my number five is behind most of his range. Against a worse player this would be an easy all-in.

PokerStars Game #53653362263: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/03 5:30:20 ET
Table 'Amata III' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 2: SARIIA ($30 in chips)
Seat 3: chiefs1010 ($45.30 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($106.50 in chips)
Seat 5: NEMUNAS ($42.25 in chips)
Seat 6: popaionut ($44.45 in chips)
Seat 7: hacker59 ($48.70 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
NEMUNAS: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [8h Jd 5s 3d 4d]
popaionut: raises $1 to $1.50
hacker59: folds
SARIIA: folds
chiefs1010: folds
hacker59 leaves the table
plutoman20: calls $1.25
NEMUNAS: folds
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Jd]
Dealt to plutoman20 [8h 5s 3d 4d] [2h]
popaionut: stands pat
Angyalfold joins the table at seat #7
plutoman20: checks
popaionut: bets $2.50
plutoman20: raises $4.50 to $7
popaionut: raises $18 to $25
plutoman20: raises $80 to $105 and is all-in
popaionut: calls $17.95 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($62.05) returned to plutoman20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [8h 2h 5s 3d 4d] (Lo: 8,5,4,3,2)
popaionut: shows [2c 7d 3s 6d 5h] (Lo: 7,6,5,3,2)
popaionut collected $86.40 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $89.40 Rake $3
Seat 2: SARIIA folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: chiefs1010 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [8h 2h 5s 3d 4d] and lost with Lo: 8,5,4,3,2
Seat 5: NEMUNAS (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: popaionut showed [2c 7d 3s 6d 5h] and won ($86.40) with Lo: 7,6,5,3,2
Seat 7: hacker59 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 6
Should I be shoving here? I don’t think I can possibly fold pre-flop – I’ve seen people make this move with rough nines, tens and all sorts, especially with short stacks like this.

PokerStars Game #53544702175: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/11/30 23:30:43 ET
Table 'Gaby II' 7-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: CASTILLO73 ($22.05 in chips)
Seat 2: papasipeye ($13.50 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($27.60 in chips)
Seat 4: chopertony ($37.25 in chips)
Seat 6: grigoriy9 ($9.25 in chips)
Seat 7: Wink_wink ($23.85 in chips)
Wink_wink: posts small blind $0.25
CASTILLO73: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5s 4h 9c 7c 2s]
papasipeye: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
chopertony: calls $1.50
grigoriy9: raises $7.75 to $9.25 and is all-in
Wink_wink: folds
CASTILLO73: folds
plutoman20: raises $18.35 to $27.60 and is all-in
chopertony: folds
Uncalled bet ($18.35) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20: stands pat on [5s 4h 9c 7c 2s]
grigoriy9: stands pat
plutoman20 said, "nh"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [5s 4h 9c 7c 2s] (Lo: 9,7,5,4,2)
grigoriy9: shows [3h 8s 5c 4d 6c] (Lo: 8,6,5,4,3)
grigoriy9 collected $19.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $20.75 Rake $1
Seat 1: CASTILLO73 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: papasipeye folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: plutoman20 showed [5s 4h 9c 7c 2s] and lost with Lo: 9,7,5,4,2
Seat 4: chopertony folded before Flop
Seat 6: grigoriy9 (button) showed [3h 8s 5c 4d 6c] and won ($19.75) with Lo: 8,6,5,4,3
Seat 7: Wink_wink (small blind) folded before Flop

Hand 7
This was a tricky hand but I think my decision was the right one. People drawing two (or three!) hit sevens and eights more often than you think (as I know from playing triple draw). This wasn’t a big raise but I’m only really beating a bluff. I put him on an 8-7.

PokerStars Game #53544062131: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/11/30 23:08:23 ET
Table 'Gaby II' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: CASTILLO73 ($14.60 in chips)
Seat 2: Foolbright ($8 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($29.50 in chips)
Seat 4: rmaph ($9.35 in chips)
Seat 5: jimo29 ($43.25 in chips)
Seat 6: grigoriy9 ($10.50 in chips)
Seat 7: Wink_wink ($27.55 in chips)
Foolbright: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
Wink_wink: posts small & big blinds $0.75
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 5c 9d 9c 7h]
rmaph: folds
jimo29: calls $0.50
grigoriy9: folds
Wink_wink: checks
CASTILLO73: raises $1.50 to $2
Foolbright: folds
plutoman20: calls $1.50
jimo29: folds
Wink_wink: calls $1.50
plutoman20: discards 1 card [9c]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 5c 9d 7h] [3c]
Wink_wink: discards 2 cards
CASTILLO73: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $4
Wink_wink: raises $6 to $10
CASTILLO73: folds
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($6) returned to Wink_wink
Wink_wink collected $14.30 from pot
Wink_wink: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $15 Rake $0.70
Seat 1: CASTILLO73 (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: Foolbright (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: plutoman20 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: rmaph folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: jimo29 folded before Flop
Seat 6: grigoriy9 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Wink_wink collected ($14.30)