Rant over...

I was going to post some hands in my last blog entry but got sidetracked in a rant about Poker Stars' payout structures. In single draw cash games I'm essentially break-even over my last 4000 hands, badugi isn't much better while triple draw is marginally worse.

Hand 1
I should never have let my stack get this low. I did add a few dollars just after this hand. I'd been getting mainly junk so far; sometimes you just have to make a move.

Full Tilt Poker Game #27138298594: Table Farnsworth (6 max, ante) - $0.25/$0.50 Ante $0.10 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 21:25:11 ET - 2011/01/09
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($13.65)
Seat 2: A White Horse ($31.65)
Seat 3: Nodressing ($40.40)
Seat 4: Husserl2nd ($31.80)
Seat 5: Rafal ($52.75)
Seat 6: Pickled Toad ($50.85)
Rafal antes $0.10
Pickled Toad antes $0.10
Husserl2nd antes $0.10
Nodressing antes $0.10
plutoman20 antes $0.10
A White Horse antes $0.10
Pickled Toad posts the small blind of $0.25
plutoman20 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 6s 6c 3c 4h]
A White Horse folds
Nodressing raises to $1
Husserl2nd folds
Rafal folds
Pickled Toad folds
plutoman20 raises to $3.50
Nodressing calls $2.50
*** DRAW *** (Pot: $7.85)
plutoman20 stands pat on [5c 6s 6c 3c 4h]
Nodressing discards 1 card
Nodressing is dealt 1 card
plutoman20 bets $5
Nodressing folds
Uncalled bet of $5 returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 mucks
plutoman20 wins the pot ($7.50)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.85 Rake $0.35
Seat 1: plutoman20 (big blind) collected ($7.50), mucked
Seat 2: A White Horse folded before the Draw
Seat 3: Nodressing folded after the Draw
Seat 4: Husserl2nd folded before the Draw
Seat 5: Rafal (button) folded before the Draw
Seat 6: Pickled Toad (small blind) folded before the Draw

Hand 2
Against someone else I would have folded to the three-bet, but I figured against a loose player like Jaysull my implied odds were there if I could make my eight.

Full Tilt Poker Game #27140263526: Table Farnsworth (6 max, ante) - $0.25/$0.50 Ante $0.10 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 22:49:33 ET - 2011/01/09
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($35.85)
Seat 2: btwen ($40)
Seat 3: Nodressing ($36.15)
Seat 4: LOLZOMGHOLYWTF ($19.05)
Seat 5: TERCIOUSNATOR ($32.50)
Seat 6: jaysull ($44.55)
jaysull antes $0.10
TERCIOUSNATOR antes $0.10
btwen antes $0.10
plutoman20 antes $0.10
LOLZOMGHOLYWTF antes $0.10
Nodressing antes $0.10
TERCIOUSNATOR posts the small blind of $0.25
jaysull posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Qh 7h 4s 6c 8d]
plutoman20 raises to $1.75
btwen folds
Nodressing folds
LOLZOMGHOLYWTF folds
TERCIOUSNATOR folds
TERCIOUSNATOR adds $0.35
jaysull raises to $5
plutoman20 calls $3.25
*** DRAW *** (Pot: $10.85)
jaysull stands pat
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Qh]
Dealt to plutoman20 [7h 4s 6c 8d] [2c]
jaysull bets $3
plutoman20 raises to $9
jaysull calls $6
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20 shows [8d 7h 6c 4s 2c] 8,7,6,4,2
jaysull mucks
plutoman20 wins the pot ($27.45) with 8,7,6,4,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $28.85 Rake $1.40
Seat 1: plutoman20 showed [8d 7h 6c 4s 2c] and won ($27.45) with 8,7,6,4,2
Seat 2: btwen folded before the Draw
Seat 3: Nodressing folded before the Draw
Seat 4: LOLZOMGHOLYWTF (button) folded before the Draw
Seat 5: TERCIOUSNATOR (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 6: jaysull (big blind) mucked [Ts 8c 7d 6d 4h] - T,8,7,6,4

Hand 3
This one was from Wednesday's early bird tournament and is straight out of the WTF files. I was decidedly unlucky to run my number seven into a better pat hand, but how on earth did I remain in the tournament after this? How did Rugged not shove? I only survived a few more hands: Rugged got dealt an 8-7 and I missed my smooth eight draw.

PokerStars Game #55696778772: Tournament #350348291, $5.00+$0.50 USD Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit - Level VI (80/160) - 2011/01/10 14:28:23 ET
Table '350348291 3' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: melnik1977 (2898 in chips)
Seat 2: brcrhod4 (6287 in chips)
Seat 3: smattle (4090 in chips)
Seat 5: plutoman20 (4675 in chips)
Seat 6: Rugged & Vic (8985 in chips)
Seat 7: AlexAntonov (7193 in chips)
Everyone antes 40
melnik1977: posts small blind 80
brcrhod4: posts big blind 160
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5s 6d 2c 8h 3h]
smattle: folds
plutoman20: raises 320 to 480
Rugged & Vic: calls 480
AlexAntonov: folds
melnik1977: folds
brcrhod4: calls 320
brcrhod4: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [5s 6d 2c 8h 3h]
Rugged & Vic: stands pat
brcrhod4: bets 480
plutoman20: raises 1220 to 1700
Rugged & Vic: calls 1700
brcrhod4: calls 1220
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [5s 6d 2c 8h 3h] (Lo: 8,6,5,3,2)
Rugged & Vic: shows [3c 5d 4h 8s 2s] (Lo: 8,5,4,3,2)
brcrhod4: mucks hand
Rugged & Vic collected 6860 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6860 Rake 0
Seat 1: melnik1977 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: brcrhod4 (big blind) mucked [9d 3s 4s 5c 7h]
Seat 3: smattle folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: plutoman20 showed [5s 6d 2c 8h 3h] and lost with Lo: 8,6,5,3,2
Seat 6: Rugged & Vic showed [3c 5d 4h 8s 2s] and won (6860) with Lo: 8,5,4,3,2
Seat 7: AlexAntonov (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 4
Fakemode wasn't a bad player but he was fairly new. I like to three-bet monster draws at times because I tend to get more action after the draw that way. He very nearly folded to my pre-draw reraise, and I guess if he was more experienced he might have folded to my shove.

PokerStars Game #55727787077: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/01/11 2:18:34 ET
Table 'Peiroos IV' 7-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: LaDaL_1er ($17.95 in chips)
Seat 2: Character81 ($4.95 in chips)
Seat 4: fakemode ($67 in chips)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($26 in chips)
Seat 6: CrazyLissy ($49.55 in chips)
Seat 7: sngonta ($29.30 in chips)
sngonta: posts small blind $0.25
LaDaL_1er: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3s 7h 4s 2s 2c]
Character81: folds
fakemode: raises $0.50 to $1
plutoman20: raises $2 to $3
CrazyLissy: folds
sngonta: folds
LaDaL_1er: folds
fakemode: calls $2
fakemode: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [2c]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3s 7h 4s 2s] [6c]
fakemode: bets $5.40
plutoman20: raises $17.60 to $23 and is all-in
fakemode: calls $17.60
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [3s 7h 4s 2s 6c] (Lo: 7,6,4,3,2)
fakemode: shows [5c 7d 3d 4h 8h] (Lo: 8,7,5,4,3)
plutoman20 collected $50.15 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $52.75 Rake $2.60
Seat 1: LaDaL_1er (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Character81 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: fakemode showed [5c 7d 3d 4h 8h] and lost with Lo: 8,7,5,4,3
Seat 5: plutoman20 showed [3s 7h 4s 2s 6c] and won ($50.15) with Lo: 7,6,4,3,2
Seat 6: CrazyLissy (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: sngonta (small blind) folded before Flop

Hand 5
This was an interesting one. I get number six...suited. What do I do? Facing a raise I've got three sensible options (flat-out folding is surely silly). Option one: call and draw to 8432. Option two: reraise and draw to 8432, bluffing with any club if it's checked to me after the draw, and bluff-raising with the lower clubs (5, 7 and maybe 9) if I'm facing a bet. Option three (which I picked): reraise and snow. Looking back, I think I chose the wrong option. I've got a big draw here despite its suitedness (throwing away a fifth club makes it slightly better) but by snowing I forfeit all my showdown value. This is a totally different situation from Hand 1 where my draw is bad and I'm not compromising much by patting. Either of the first two options would have been better.

PokerStars Game #55753973327: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/01/11 14:41:03 ET
Table 'Ganesa III' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($30.10 in chips)
Seat 2: Carpesiano ($45.40 in chips)
Seat 3: trubark ($13.45 in chips)
Seat 4: 158 YA ($25.60 in chips)
Seat 5: MET8 ($37.40 in chips)
Seat 6: 345q8 ($37.80 in chips)
Seat 7: Manta-High ($20 in chips)
MET8: posts small blind $0.25
345q8: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [8c 2c 6c 3c 4c]
Manta-High: raises $1 to $1.50
plutoman20: raises $2.50 to $4
Carpesiano: folds
trubark: folds
158 YA: folds
MET8: folds
345q8: folds
Manta-High: calls $2.50
Manta-High: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [8c 2c 6c 3c 4c]
Manta-High: checks
plutoman20: bets $5
Manta-High: folds
Uncalled bet ($5) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 collected $8.35 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8.75 Rake $0.40
Seat 1: plutoman20 collected ($8.35)
Seat 2: Carpesiano folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: trubark folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: 158 YA (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: MET8 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: 345q8 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: Manta-High folded on the Flop

Hand 6
Maybe I should have bet bigger here. I think he'd have called two or three bucks. His J-8 was better than I thought he had. It's amazing how many players limp in with such good hands.

PokerStars Game #55755027489: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/01/11 14:58:32 ET
Table 'Ganesa III' 7-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($35.05 in chips)
Seat 2: JuggliNick ($32.25 in chips)
Seat 3: trubark ($5.85 in chips)
Seat 4: 158 YA ($28.90 in chips)
Seat 5: Crazyeyes2 ($11.20 in chips)
Seat 6: 345q8 ($33.85 in chips)
Seat 7: Manta-High ($22.75 in chips)
Manta-High: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Kh Jc Td Th 4d]
3 folds
Crazyeyes2: calls $0.50
2 folds
plutoman20: checks
plutoman20: discards 4 cards [Kh Jc Td Th]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4d] [9s 2s 7h Ts]
Crazyeyes2: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $1
Crazyeyes2: calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [9s 2s 7h Ts 4d] (Lo: T,9,7,4,2)
Crazyeyes2: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $3.10 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $3.25 Rake $0.15
Seat 1: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [9s 2s 7h Ts 4d] and won ($3.10) with Lo: T,9,7,4,2
Seat 2: JuggliNick folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: trubark folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: 158 YA folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Crazyeyes2 mucked [8d 3h 5d 7s Jh]
Seat 6: 345q8 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Manta-High (small blind) folded before Flop

Hand 7
Down to two tables in yesterday's tournament. I make a basic error here. When Melnik shoves he's drawing maybe 30% of the time, so my rough jack has a 15% chance of beating him. I therefore need to get 6:1 to call. I'm getting nowhere near that so I should fold. It's interesting how sensitive my decision is to Melnik's stack size. If he had say 2800, not only would I be getting a better price on my call but he'd also be shoving many more draws, increasing my chance of winning. I really need to start using my time bank (which I currently hardly ever do) to help me make these decisions.

PokerStars Game #55812808046: Tournament #350348293, $5.00+$0.50 USD Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit - Level IX (200/400) - 2011/01/12 15:25:09 ET
Table '350348293 3' 7-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: melnik1977 (3735 in chips)
Seat 2: Ruskor777 (11105 in chips)
Seat 3: Angyalfold (13610 in chips)
Seat 4: sh@shk@ (7615 in chips)
Seat 5: NightStarUz (3210 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 (22910 in chips)
Everyone antes 100
Angyalfold: posts small blind 200
sh@shk@: posts big blind 400
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Td Js 9d 2d 3s]
NightStarUz: folds
plutoman20: raises 1000 to 1400
melnik1977: raises 2235 to 3635 and is all-in
3 folds
plutoman20: calls 2235
plutoman20: stands pat on [Td Js 9d 2d 3s]
melnik1977: stands pat
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [Td Js 9d 2d 3s] (Lo: J,T,9,3,2)
melnik1977: shows [2c 9h 8h 4d 6s] (Lo: 9,8,6,4,2)
melnik1977 collected 8470 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 8470 Rake 0
Seat 1: melnik1977 showed [2c 9h 8h 4d 6s] and won (8470) with Lo: 9,8,6,4,2
Seat 2: Ruskor777 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Angyalfold (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: sh@shk@ (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: NightStarUz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: plutoman20 showed [Td Js 9d 2d 3s] and lost with Lo: J,T,9,3,2

Hand 8
Melnik came back from the dead to finish second. Should I be three-betting with this hand? I think I'm the best player left so perhaps I should be looking to reduce variance, but three-handed a seven draw - even with a gutshot - is a monster. When I make a 9-7 I've got no choice but to put Melnik all in, but my luck runs out here.

PokerStars Game #55816539869: Tournament #350348293, $5.00+$0.50 USD Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit - Level XIII (500/1000) - 2011/01/12 16:22:59 ET
Table '350348293 3' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: melnik1977 (19610 in chips)
Seat 3: ISTEPÔ (79060 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 (31830 in chips)
melnik1977: posts the ante 250
ISTEPÔ: posts the ante 250
plutoman20: posts the ante 250
plutoman20: posts small blind 500
melnik1977: posts big blind 1000
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [7d 4h Ad 6c 3c]
ISTEPÔ: raises 2000 to 3000
plutoman20: raises 6000 to 9000
melnik1977: calls 8000
ISTEPÔ: calls 6000
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ad]
Dealt to plutoman20 [7d 4h 6c 3c] [9c]
melnik1977: discards 1 card
ISTEPÔ: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets 11000
melnik1977: calls 10360 and is all-in
ISTEPÔ: folds
Uncalled bet (640) returned to plutoman20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [7d 4h 9c 6c 3c] (Lo: 9,7,6,4,3)
melnik1977: shows [4c 6h 3s 5h 9s] (Lo: 9,6,5,4,3)
melnik1977 collected 48470 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 48470 Rake 0
Seat 1: melnik1977 (big blind) showed [4c 6h 3s 5h 9s] and won (48470) with Lo: 9,6,5,4,3
Seat 3: ISTEPÔ (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [7d 4h 9c 6c 3c] and lost with Lo: 9,7,6,4,3

Hand 9
I'm still crap at triple draw. I've got no reads so I definitely should be breaking this hand on the turn. My draw is too good not to. Why didn't he bet the river?

Full Tilt Poker Game #27144419755: Table Bridlewood (6 max) - $0.25/$0.50 - Limit 2-7 Triple Draw - 03:34:20 ET - 2011/01/10
Seat 2: omaholic72 ($9.15)
Seat 3: k0b8 ($21.20)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($11.65)
Seat 5: Hack Cabbage ($4.50)
Seat 6: uwballer ($12)
k0b8 posts the small blind of $0.10
plutoman20 posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Jc 6s 4s 6c 2s]
Hack Cabbage raises to $0.50
uwballer raises to $0.75
omaholic72 folds
k0b8 folds
plutoman20 calls $0.50
Hack Cabbage calls $0.25
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $2.35)
plutoman20 discards 2 cards [Jc 6s]
Hack Cabbage discards 2 cards
uwballer discards 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 6c 2s] [Ah 9c]
Hack Cabbage is dealt 2 cards
uwballer is dealt 1 card
plutoman20 checks
Hack Cabbage checks
uwballer bets $0.25
plutoman20 calls $0.25
Hack Cabbage folds
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $2.85)
plutoman20 discards 2 cards [Ah 9c]
uwballer discards 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 6c 2s] [9s 7c]
uwballer is dealt 1 card
plutoman20 checks
uwballer bets $0.50
plutoman20 raises to $1
uwballer raises to $1.50
plutoman20 calls $0.50
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $5.85)
plutoman20 stands pat on [4s 6c 2s 9s 7c]
uwballer stands pat
plutoman20 checks
uwballer checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
uwballer shows [8c 5d 4h 3d 2h] 8,5,4,3,2
plutoman20 mucks
uwballer wins the pot ($5.60) with 8,5,4,3,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.85 Rake $0.25
Seat 2: omaholic72 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: k0b8 (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 4: plutoman20 (big blind) mucked [9s 7c 6c 4s 2s] - 9,7,6,4,2
Seat 5: Hack Cabbage folded after the 1st Draw
Seat 6: uwballer showed [8c 5d 4h 3d 2h] and won ($5.60) with 8,5,4,3,2