Two-trick pony

Badugi and single draw are the only two games I seem to have a reasonable handle on - I'm in danger of becoming a two-trick pony. Last weekend I tried to expand my horizons by playing a little ten-game on Full Tilt. Ten-game (which I think should be called the Poker Decathlon) consists of limit hold 'em, limit Omaha hi-lo, razz, stud, stud hi-lo, badugi, no-limit 2-7 single draw, limit 2-7 triple draw, no-limit hold 'em and pot-limit Omaha high. Thankfully I only bought in for four bucks because I lost the lot. In PLO I quickly discovered I had no idea what I was doing. In razz I thought I had a pretty good idea, but kept bricking. I've got an ace door and there's only the bring-in to act and he's got a king? Raise. He calls. Well if he wants to throw his money away that's OK. I catch another ace and he's now showing K5. We're probably even now; whatever I'm staying in. Fifth street - I get another ace, he's got K52 showing, and I have to fold. I can understand why people say razz is so frustrating.

I've also had a go at Rush PLO8 on Full Tilt, for play money only. I've got to say that Rush is a brilliant idea. It even makes play money more meaningful by giving everyone an incentive to fold. Now if they just had Rush badugi...

Hand 1
A horrible session; this hand didn't help. I committed the number one poker sin - hanging on grimly to a good hand even though you know it's beaten. What happened here was something I'd never encountered before in maybe 50,000 hands of badugi: two players both hitting huge hands having each drawn two. I don't have a problem with calling the four bets on the flop, just to see that they are indeed both pat - I can't discount them from going crazy with T93A and 32A. I really should have got away when I faced two bets cold on the turn, and then when it was two more bets back to me, I had absolutely no excuse. I was perhaps lucky to face only one bet on the river. They turned over exactly the sort of hands I expected to see. My initial thoughts after this hand were, "hey, it doesn't matter, this situation only comes up once in a blue moon" and while that's partly true, new situations crop up all the time and being able to think on your feet is part of what makes a good poker player.

PokerStars Game #53859336474: Badugi Limit ($0.50/$1.00 USD) - 2010/12/06 23:51:52 ET Table 'Nongoma' 8-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: R+B+2 ($6.35 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($22.50 in chips)
Seat 4: ManOfMetals ($31.80 in chips)
Seat 5: froman77 ($14 in chips)
Seat 6: Tapazot ($18.50 in chips)
Seat 7: MaHepu ($36.55 in chips)
Seat 8: jndo0629 ($14.10 in chips)
MaHepu: posts small blind $0.25
jndo0629: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 8c 5h 6d]
R+B+2: calls $0.50
plutoman20: raises $0.50 to $1
ManOfMetals: calls $1
froman77: folds
Tapazot: folds
MaHepu: folds
jndo0629: calls $0.50
R+B+2: calls $0.50
*** FIRST DRAW ***
jndo0629: discards 2 cards
R+B+2: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [4s 8c 5h 6d]
ManOfMetals: discards 2 cards
jndo0629: checks
R+B+2: checks
plutoman20: bets $0.50
ManOfMetals: raises $0.50 to $1
jndo0629: raises $0.50 to $1.50
R+B+2: calls $1.50
plutoman20: calls $1
ManOfMetals: raises $0.50 to $2
Betting is capped
jndo0629: calls $0.50
R+B+2: calls $0.50
plutoman20: calls $0.50
*** SECOND DRAW ***
jndo0629: stands pat
R+B+2: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [4s 8c 5h 6d]
ManOfMetals: stands pat
jndo0629: checks
R+B+2: checks
plutoman20: checks
ManOfMetals: bets $1
jndo0629: raises $1 to $2
R+B+2: folds
plutoman20: calls $2
ManOfMetals: raises $1 to $3
jndo0629: raises $1 to $4
Betting is capped
plutoman20 said, "wow"
plutoman20: calls $2
ManOfMetals: calls $1
*** THIRD DRAW ***
jndo0629: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [4s 8c 5h 6d]
ManOfMetals: stands pat
jndo0629: bets $1
plutoman20: calls $1
ManOfMetals: calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jndo0629: shows [5s 3h Ac 4d] (Badugi: 5,4,3,A)
plutoman20: mucks hand
ManOfMetals: mucks hand
jndo0629 collected $26.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $27.25 Rake $0.50
Seat 1: R+B+2 folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 2: plutoman20 mucked [4s 8c 5h 6d]
Seat 4: ManOfMetals mucked [5d 6c 2h As]
Seat 5: froman77 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Tapazot (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 7: MaHepu (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 8: jndo0629 (big blind) showed [5s 3h Ac 4d] and won ($26.75) with a Badugi: 5,4,3,A

Hand 2
I got away with my snow here but to be honest I could have played this better. I should have bet after the first draw and I don't know why I didn't. Perhaps it was because I recognised he was a bad player who was likely to bet anything. When he draws two a second time I decide to snow, but I half-expected him to call on the end with an incomplete hand. I made it obvious that I didn't like my three-card very much, so I couldn't have made a great badugi, therefore my river bet might have looked a bit suspicious (however I'd still definitely value-bet an eight badugi there). My guess is that he had a bad three-card, similar to my own.

Full Tilt Poker Game #26215601775: Table Wells West - $1/$2 - Limit Badugi - 01:01:52 ET - 2010/12/08
Seat 1: Raine1000 ($20)
Seat 4: NoMoDRAMA1 ($111.75)
Seat 5: flyinghamster ($20)
Seat 6: spike420211 ($40)
Seat 7: Ted Stroehmann ($33.25)
Seat 8: plutoman20 ($67.25)
Ted Stroehmann posts the small blind of $0.50
plutoman20 posts the big blind of $1
5 seconds left to act
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5s 8d 2h 4h]
NoMoDRAMA1 raises to $2
spike420211 folds
Ted Stroehmann has 15 seconds left to act
NoMoDRAMA1 has been disconnected
Ted Stroehmann folds
plutoman20 calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $4.50)
plutoman20 discards 1 card [4h]
NoMoDRAMA1 has reconnected
NoMoDRAMA1 discards 2 cards
Dealt to plutoman20 [5s 8d 2h] [Ah]
NoMoDRAMA1 is dealt 2 cards
plutoman20 checks
mikiavelli sits down
NoMoDRAMA1 bets $1
plutoman20 calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $6.50)
mikiavelli adds $40
plutoman20 discards 1 card [2h]
NoMoDRAMA1 discards 2 cards
Dealt to plutoman20 [5s 8d Ah] [As]
NoMoDRAMA1 is dealt 2 cards
plutoman20 bets $2
NoMoDRAMA1 calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $10.50)
plutoman20 stands pat on [5s 8d Ah As]
NoMoDRAMA1 discards 1 card
NoMoDRAMA1 is dealt 1 card
plutoman20 bets $2
NoMoDRAMA1 has 15 seconds left to act
NoMoDRAMA1 folds
Uncalled bet of $2 returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 mucks
plutoman20 wins the pot ($10)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $10.50 Rake $0.50
Seat 1: Raine1000 is sitting out
Seat 4: NoMoDRAMA1 folded after the 3rd Draw
Seat 5: flyinghamster is sitting out
Seat 6: spike420211 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Ted Stroehmann (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 8: plutoman20 (big blind) collected ($10), mucked


Hand 3
Here I make number five but wimp out on the fourth bet on the river. It was a close decision. He donks into me on the river, telling me he's got a very good hand (bad play from him I think - I've shown strength with my turn check-raise so I'll almost certainly be value-betting on the end, and his hand was good enough to attempt a check-raise of his own). I raise him, telling him I don't care that you've got a great hand because mine's better. Then he reraises me. There's a lot of variation in how much action people put in with their big hands, but I expect to see a top-tenner here. In other words I'm slap-bang in the middle of his range so I see no point in raising. When he tabled his (overplayed) hand I made a note on him.

Full Tilt Poker Game #26241634025: Table Wells West - $1/$2 - Limit Badugi - 23:33:51 ET - 2010/12/08
Seat 1: DYpesK7 ($118.75)
Seat 2: MookleStein ($21.50)
Seat 3: bamaholdem ($46.60)
Seat 4: jacemandt ($20.25)
Seat 5: InstaRage ($20)
Seat 6: flyinghamster ($0.50), is sitting out
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($62.75)
Seat 8: liloulix ($105)
jacemandt posts the small blind of $0.50
InstaRage posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 3h 4d 3d]
liloulix: mbn
plutoman20 raises to $2
flyinghamster adds $20
flyinghamster has returned
liloulix calls $2
plutoman20: yes nh
DYpesK7 calls $2
flyinghamster: how much do i have to poop
MookleStein calls $2
bamaholdem folds
jacemandt folds
InstaRage calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $10.50)
InstaRage discards 2 cards
plutoman20 discards 1 card [3d]
liloulix: lolz
liloulix discards 2 cards
DYpesK7 discards 1 card
MookleStein discards 1 card
InstaRage is dealt 2 cards
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 3h 4d] [Qs]
liloulix is dealt 2 cards
DYpesK7 is dealt 1 card
MookleStein is dealt 1 card
InstaRage checks
plutoman20 bets $1
liloulix calls $1
DYpesK7 raises to $2
MookleStein calls $2
InstaRage calls $2
plutoman20 calls $1
liloulix calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $20.50)
InstaRage discards 1 card
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Qs]
liloulix discards 2 cards
DYpesK7 stands pat
flyinghamster: how do you draw into the nuts on the river
MookleStein stands pat
InstaRage is dealt 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 3h 4d] [5c]
liloulix is dealt 2 cards
InstaRage checks
plutoman20 checks
flyinghamster: you should work for the jetsons in a blimp
liloulix: just limp call and draw 3 on 1st draw
liloulix has 15 seconds left to act
liloulix checks
DYpesK7 bets $2
MookleStein calls $2
InstaRage calls $2
plutoman20 raises to $4
liloulix folds
liloulix: always does the trick
DYpesK7 folds
MookleStein calls $2
InstaRage calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $34.50)
InstaRage discards 1 card
plutoman20 stands pat on [2s 3h 4d 5c]
MookleStein has 15 seconds left to act
MookleStein stands pat
InstaRage is dealt 1 card
InstaRage bets $2
plutoman20 raises to $4
MookleStein calls $4
InstaRage raises to $6
flyinghamster: it gets ur vpip up
plutoman20 has 15 seconds left to act
plutoman20 calls $2
MookleStein calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
InstaRage shows [6d 5s 4h Ac] a Badugi: 6, 5, 4, A
plutoman20 shows [5c 4d 3h 2s] a Badugi: 5, 4, 3, 2

Hand 4
My plan here is to draw two if my opponent draws two, and to snow if he draws one. Thinking about it now, that doesn't make a lot of sense - if he draws two my snow is more likely to work. I would have been better off not to even think of snowing here - the blocking value of my trip deuces isn't that great, and by drawing I've got a good chance of making 32A, 42A or 52A, any of which could win at showdown.

Full Tilt Poker Game #26243733559: Table Wells West - $1/$2 - Limit Badugi - 01:45:34 ET - 2010/12/09
Seat 1: nofear9709 ($156.50)
Seat 2: KCFHI ($57.50), is sitting out
Seat 3: ajbutterfish ($112.50), is sitting out
Seat 4: okani ($25.25)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($83.25)
Seat 6: Abufznuf ($18.75)
Seat 8: liloulix ($44.25)
liloulix posts the small blind of $0.50
nofear9709 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2h 2s As 2c]
okani folds
plutoman20 raises to $2
Abufznuf folds
liloulix folds
nofear9709 calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $4.50)
nofear9709 discards 1 card
plutoman20 stands pat on [2h 2s As 2c]
nofear9709 is dealt 1 card
nofear9709 checks
plutoman20 bets $1
nofear9709 calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $6.50)
nofear9709 discards 1 card
plutoman20 stands pat on [2h 2s As 2c]
nofear9709 is dealt 1 card
nofear9709 checks
plutoman20 bets $2
nofear9709 calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $10.50)
nofear9709 stands pat
plutoman20 discards 2 cards [2h 2s]
Dealt to plutoman20 [As 2c] [5c 6d]
nofear9709 bets $2
plutoman20 folds
Uncalled bet of $2 returned to nofear9709
nofear9709 mucks
nofear9709 wins the pot ($10)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $10.50 Rake $0.50
Seat 1: nofear9709 (big blind) collected ($10), mucked
Seat 2: KCFHI is sitting out
Seat 3: ajbutterfish is sitting out
Seat 4: okani folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: plutoman20 folded after the 3rd Draw
Seat 6: Abufznuf (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: liloulix (small blind) folded before the Draw

Hand 5
This hand is from a micro game on Full Tilt. My draw is bad but still too good (I think) to flat-out fold, so with a limper already in, I decide to tag along (I never open-limp). The trouble is that any observant opponent would know that I can't have a great hand here (otherwise I'd have raised pre-draw), so I'm at risk of being bluffed off my hand. I really don't know what the best course of action is. Maybe I should always check post-draw in limped pots when I've drawn one. Or maybe I should occasionally overlimp monster draws. It's something to think about.

Full Tilt Poker Game #26164109953: Table Blue Lakes (6 max, ante) - $0.05/$0.10 Ante $0.02 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 02:59:56 ET - 2010/12/06
Seat 1: bmw_mseries ($9.01)
Seat 2: Huevofrito ($13.37)
Seat 3: hawklan ($8.88)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($8.01)
Seat 5: Ms Lash 69 ($2.72)
Seat 6: Ronnie Dobbs ($8.65)
Ronnie Dobbs antes $0.02
hawklan antes $0.02
Ms Lash 69 antes $0.02
plutoman20 antes $0.02
Huevofrito antes $0.02
bmw_mseries antes $0.02
Ronnie Dobbs posts the small blind of $0.05
bmw_mseries posts the big blind of $0.10
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [8c Ah 9d 7h 5h]
Huevofrito has 15 seconds left to act
Huevofrito calls $0.10
hawklan folds
plutoman20 calls $0.10
Ms Lash 69 folds
Ronnie Dobbs folds
bmw_mseries checks
*** DRAW *** (Pot: $0.47)
bmw_mseries discards 2 cards
Huevofrito stands pat
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Ah]
bmw_mseries is dealt 2 cards
Dealt to plutoman20 [8c 9d 7h 5h] [4c]
bmw_mseries checks
Huevofrito checks
plutoman20 bets $0.30
bmw_mseries raises to $2.10
Huevofrito folds
plutoman20 folds
Uncalled bet of $1.80 returned to bmw_mseries
bmw_mseries mucks
bmw_mseries wins the pot ($1)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $1.07 Rake $0.07
Seat 1: bmw_mseries (big blind) collected ($1), mucked
Seat 2: Huevofrito folded after the Draw
Seat 3: hawklan folded before the Draw
Seat 4: plutoman20 folded after the Draw
Seat 5: Ms Lash 69 (button) folded before the Draw
Seat 6: Ronnie Dobbs (small blind) folded before the Draw

Hand 6
I thought this was an interesting one. We're four-handed, so the value of any particular hand is higher than it would be at a full table. My pat 96543 is getting into the realms of hands that leave your opponents drawing dead much of the time. The big question is, do I raise after the draw? In a bigger game, with more aggressive play, the answer would be a definite yes. Here I think it's close. Make the six a two and it's a raise for sure; make the six a seven and I'd just be calling. This particular hand, to me, seems right on the line. Some players bet bigger with better hands; against those players I should be raising. I've got no notes on Wk20a's bet sizing.

PokerStars Game #53811191037: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/06 3:44:42 ET
Table 'Meliboea IV' 7-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Elales ($13.50 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($35.20 in chips)
Seat 5: Jehronimo86 ($10.50 in chips)
Seat 7: wk20a ($19.45 in chips)
wk20a: posts small blind $0.25
Elales: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3d 5h 6d 4c 9h]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
Jehronimo86: folds
wk20a: calls $1.25
Elales: folds
wk20a: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [3d 5h 6d 4c 9h]
wk20a: bets $2
plutoman20: raises $3 to $5
wk20a: calls $3
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [3d 5h 6d 4c 9h] (Lo: 9,6,5,4,3)
wk20a: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $12.85 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $13.50 Rake $0.65
Seat 1: Elales (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: plutoman20 showed [3d 5h 6d 4c 9h] and won ($12.85) with Lo: 9,6,5,4,3
Seat 5: Jehronimo86 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: wk20a (small blind) mucked [4s 9s 2d 7d 6s]