December monthly report and 2011 annual review

I made $122 in December, playing on just ten days or so (and sometimes only a few hands), to take my bankroll to $1026. In 2011 I made $2439. A few hundred of that was from Full Tilt; I still hope I can get it (and my profits from late 2010 as well as my initial deposit) back. I never scaled the heights I reached in 2010, but I never got a big MTT payout and I had one of them job things to contend with for most of the year. For most of June and July I didn't play at all. Here is a chart showing my month-by-month profit in 2011:

Compare that to 2010. I honestly don't know how much I'll play in 2012. I'd like to say three hours on a Saturday morning and that'll be it, but I find the lure of a 24/7 gaming site, which includes games that I can beat, a little too much to resist, even when the opportunity cost of playing can be high. I'll admit that online poker is a means of relaxation for me. If I plonk $50 down on a poker table the worst that can happen is that I lose $50. In many areas of life that's far from true.

Milestones

I reached three milestones yesterday. My bankroll hit four figures, my all-time profit reached five figures (if you include the Full Tilt money I may or may not get back) and my profit on Poker Stars for 2011 broke through the $2000 barrier. With my recent plunge the shark-infested waters of real estate and everything that involves, I've played my last hand of 2011(I'll do a proper annual report just before year-end).

I made $158 yesterday. Most of that was at 50c/$1 badugi where I won at the rate of one big blind per hand (big blind, not big bet!) in my last 155 hands, showing down 18 winners out of 23, as my personal settings were switched to God mode. In a fairly recent post I bemoaned my bad luck at those stakes - I should complain more often! I capped off a good day with a win in a 30-man limit badugi tournament. We were three-handed for some time until I got heads-up with a guy who I'd coded purple, meaning aggro-spewy. I'd seen him before in the $2/$4 cash games earlier in the year. He routinely three-bet pre-flop and drew two, which is throwing money away because I'm never drawing any more than two when I open. Maybe he had a big bankroll and was just there to gamble. He was a tricky customer though and I had to three-bet my entire draw-one range so as not to turn over my hand. I tried to snow-catch on a few occasions but surprisingly never caught him. I started heads-up play with a 2½-to-one lead, he got back to even, but I pulled away again. I got a good run of cards and on a different day he might have won. His username ended in 1980, clearly a good year for badugi. I think we would both be inside the top third of online poker players by age (however I'd guess badugi has a slightly higher average age - and more females - than say NLHE, but I might be wrong).

Here are two highlights from yesterday's badugi hands:

Hand 1
A pat hand this strong comes up once every 1600 hands; it's a real bonus when you get it paid off in a five-way pot.

PokerStars Game #72272915979: Badugi Limit ($0.50/$1.00 USD) - 2011/12/16 15:18:35 ET
Table 'China VIII' 8-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: shoorikch ($16.70 in chips)
Seat 2: Dmetr ($13.65 in chips)
Seat 3: Tryanerror ($24.50 in chips)
Seat 4: Oleg Azmagul ($16.70 in chips)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($24 in chips)
Seat 7: solano1987 ($15.20 in chips)
Seat 8: XBlackDog81 ($35.25 in chips)
Hoyster87 will be allowed to play after the button
solano1987: posts small blind $0.25
XBlackDog81: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2c Ah 6d 4s]
shoorikch: calls $0.50
Dmetr: calls $0.50
Tryanerror: folds
Oleg Azmagul: calls $0.50
plutoman20: raises $0.50 to $1
solano1987: raises $0.50 to $1.50
XBlackDog81: folds
shoorikch: calls $1
Dmetr: calls $1
Oleg Azmagul: calls $1
plutoman20: raises $0.50 to $2
Betting is capped
solano1987: calls $0.50
shoorikch: calls $0.50
Dmetr: calls $0.50
Oleg Azmagul: calls $0.50
*** FIRST DRAW ***
solano1987: discards 1 card
shoorikch: discards 1 card
Dmetr: discards 2 cards
Oleg Azmagul: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: stands pat on [2c Ah 6d 4s]
solano1987: checks
shoorikch: bets $0.50
Dmetr: calls $0.50
Oleg Azmagul: calls $0.50
plutoman20: raises $0.50 to $1
solano1987: raises $0.50 to $1.50
shoorikch: calls $1
Dmetr: folds
Oleg Azmagul: calls $1
plutoman20: raises $0.50 to $2
Betting is capped
solano1987: calls $0.50
shoorikch: calls $0.50
Oleg Azmagul: calls $0.50
*** SECOND DRAW ***
solano1987: discards 1 card
shoorikch: discards 1 card
Oleg Azmagul: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: stands pat on [2c Ah 6d 4s]
solano1987: checks
shoorikch: checks
Oleg Azmagul: checks
plutoman20: bets $1
solano1987: calls $1
shoorikch: calls $1
Oleg Azmagul: calls $1
*** THIRD DRAW ***
solano1987: discards 1 card
shoorikch: discards 1 card
Oleg Azmagul: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: stands pat on [2c Ah 6d 4s]
solano1987: checks
shoorikch: checks
Oleg Azmagul: checks
plutoman20: bets $1
solano1987: folds
shoorikch: raises $1 to $2
Oleg Azmagul: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $3
shoorikch: calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [2c Ah 6d 4s] (Badugi: 6,4,2,A)
shoorikch: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $28.50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $29 Rake $0.50
Seat 1: shoorikch mucked [6s 3h 7d Ac]
Seat 2: Dmetr folded after the 1st Draw
Seat 3: Tryanerror folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Oleg Azmagul folded after the 3rd Draw
Seat 5: plutoman20 (button) showed [2c Ah 6d 4s] and won ($28.50) with a Badugi: 6,4,2,A
Seat 7: solano1987 (small blind) folded after the 3rd Draw
Seat 8: XBlackDog81 (big blind) folded before the Draw

Hand 2
Earlier in the day I ran number four into number three. I was a little hesitant to three-bet the river and when he capped I feared the worst. Putting in eight big bets with a rough seven is a massive overplay on his part.

PokerStars Game #72295046631: Badugi Limit ($0.50/$1.00 USD) - 2011/12/17 0:17:46 ET
Table 'Tana VII' 8-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($22.20 in chips)
Seat 2: ozziandy ($19 in chips)
Seat 3: brumegmau ($6.85 in chips)
Seat 4: cj.com ($1 in chips)
Seat 6: ddcl ($8.25 in chips)
Seat 7: Miroslav AA ($4.05 in chips)
Seat 8: tweekout ($24.45 in chips)
cj.com: posts small blind $0.25
ddcl: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 5d Jc As]
Miroslav AA: folds
tweekout: folds
plutoman20: raises $0.50 to $1
ozziandy: calls $1
brumegmau: folds
cj.com: calls $0.75 and is all-in
ddcl: calls $0.50
*** FIRST DRAW ***
cj.com: discards 1 card
ddcl: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Jc]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 5d As] [5h]
ozziandy: discards 1 card
ddcl: bets $0.50
plutoman20: calls $0.50
ozziandy: raises $0.50 to $1
ddcl: calls $0.50
plutoman20: calls $0.50
*** SECOND DRAW ***
cj.com: discards 1 card
ddcl: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [5h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 5d As] [4h]
ozziandy: stands pat
ddcl: checks
plutoman20: checks
ozziandy: bets $1
ddcl: calls $1
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
ozziandy: raises $1 to $3
ddcl: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $4
Betting is capped
ozziandy: calls $1
*** THIRD DRAW ***
cj.com: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [3c 5d As 4h]
ozziandy: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $1
ozziandy: raises $1 to $2
plutoman20: raises $1 to $3
ozziandy: raises $1 to $4
Betting is capped
plutoman20 said, "oh no"
plutoman20: calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ozziandy: shows [7s 6c 2d 3h] (Badugi: 7,6,3,2)
plutoman20: shows [3c 5d 4h As] (Badugi: 5,4,3,A)
plutoman20 collected $19.70 from side pot
cj.com: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $3.80 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $24 Main pot $3.80. Side pot $19.70. Rake $0.50
Seat 1: plutoman20 showed [3c 5d 4h As] and won ($23.50) with a Badugi: 5,4,3,A
Seat 2: ozziandy showed [7s 6c 2d 3h] and lost with a Badugi: 7,6,3,2
Seat 3: brumegmau (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: cj.com (small blind) mucked [4d 6s Kh Ac]
Seat 6: ddcl (big blind) folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 7: Miroslav AA folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: tweekout folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

That was quick

I just dropped $45 in 56 hands of single draw. That would be my worst session ever in that game. It was like a car crash. OK, I ran terribly there, but I did make one or two seriously spewy plays.

Rule number one of poker: don't play when you're depressed.

The chill-out tables

Tonight I fired up the poker tables as a means of relaxation. That may sound crazy but compared to all the hoops you have to jump through to buy a house, coupled with work which for me is just one big bluff, attempting the occasional snow in badugi is an absolute breeze. My bankroll is currently $939 and has been in a holding pattern between $860 and $960 for some time now. Here are two single draw hands I'm really not proud of:

Hand 1
I really need to bet this. Even out of position (I would say especially out of position) I need to protect against bluffs, and T87 is strong enough to be called by worse hands anyway. I think it would be OK to check a jack or a really rough T9. When I check the decision to call is a tough one.

PokerStars Game #71800564183: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/12/08 3:44:57 ET
Table 'Helewalda III' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: DaveBowman ($9.25 in chips)
Seat 2: postnomer1 ($14.25 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($34.60 in chips)
Seat 5: EGORSUPER ($5.65 in chips)
Seat 6: Big Baby 38 ($17.15 in chips)
Seat 7: xxemilyxx83 ($16.75 in chips)
postnomer1: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3h Td 8s 2d 7h]
EGORSUPER: folds
Big Baby 38: raises $1 to $1.50
xxemilyxx83: folds
Irie Inity joins the table at seat #4
DaveBowman: folds
postnomer1: folds
plutoman20: raises $3 to $4.50
Big Baby 38: calls $3
plutoman20: stands pat on [3h Td 8s 2d 7h]
Big Baby 38: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: checks
Big Baby 38: bets $12.65 and is all-in
plutoman20: calls $12.65
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Big Baby 38: shows [6s 4h 3s 2c 7c] (Lo: 7,6,4,3,2)
plutoman20: shows [3h Td 8s 2d 7h] (Lo: T,8,7,3,2)
Big Baby 38 collected $32.85 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $34.55 Rake $1.70
Seat 1: DaveBowman (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: postnomer1 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [3h Td 8s 2d 7h] and lost with Lo: T,8,7,3,2
Seat 5: EGORSUPER folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Big Baby 38 showed [6s 4h 3s 2c 7c] and won ($32.85) with Lo: 7,6,4,3,2
Seat 7: xxemilyxx83 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 2
I never normally do this. Why the hell didn't I just stick to a proper-size bet? The reraise was perhaps a bit optimistic too.

PokerStars Game #71800811800: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/12/08 3:58:17 ET
Table 'Helewalda III' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: DaveBowman ($12.60 in chips)
Seat 2: postnomer1 ($7.70 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($18.70 in chips)
Seat 4: Irie Inity ($23.25 in chips)
Seat 5: 888ELVIRA888 ($50 in chips)
Seat 7: xxemilyxx83 ($20.15 in chips)
postnomer1: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
888ELVIRA888: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [8h 4d 7s 5s 3d]
Irie Inity: folds
888ELVIRA888: checks
xxemilyxx83: folds
DaveBowman: folds
postnomer1: calls $0.25
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
888ELVIRA888: calls $1
postnomer1: folds
plutoman20: stands pat on [8h 4d 7s 5s 3d]
888ELVIRA888: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets $1
888ELVIRA888: raises $1.50 to $2.50
plutoman20: raises $3 to $5.50
888ELVIRA888: calls $3
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [8h 4d 7s 5s 3d] (Lo: 8,7,5,4,3)
888ELVIRA888: shows [6h 2d 3s 8c 4h] (Lo: 8,6,4,3,2)
888ELVIRA888 collected $13.80 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $14.50 Rake $0.70
Seat 1: DaveBowman (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: postnomer1 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [8h 4d 7s 5s 3d] and lost with Lo: 8,7,5,4,3
Seat 4: Irie Inity folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: 888ELVIRA888 showed [6h 2d 3s 8c 4h] and won ($13.80) with Lo: 8,6,4,3,2
Seat 7: xxemilyxx83 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 3
I didn't win the pot but a good break all the same. Nine times out of ten I'd pat this.

PokerStars Game #71947106168: Badugi Limit ($0.50/$1.00 USD) - 2011/12/10 17:08:33 ET
Table 'Rana V' 8-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: CrazyCleargy ($23.95 in chips)
Seat 2: gabrielandi ($8.95 in chips)
Seat 3: TensiAngel ($10 in chips)
Seat 4: youngzzang ($23.80 in chips)
Seat 5: Komondor ($25.65 in chips)
Seat 6: Igive2u2 ($16.80 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($55.55 in chips)
Seat 8: beserk007 ($33.50 in chips)
CrazyCleargy: posts small blind $0.25
gabrielandi: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c As 4h Td]
TensiAngel: folds
youngzzang: raises $0.50 to $1
Komondor: folds
Igive2u2: calls $1
plutoman20: raises $0.50 to $1.50
beserk007: folds
CrazyCleargy: folds
gabrielandi: raises $0.50 to $2
Betting is capped
youngzzang: calls $1
Igive2u2: calls $1
plutoman20: calls $0.50
*** FIRST DRAW ***
gabrielandi: stands pat
youngzzang: stands pat
Igive2u2: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Td]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c As 4h] [Qh]
gabrielandi: bets $0.50
youngzzang: calls $0.50
Igive2u2: calls $0.50
plutoman20: calls $0.50
*** SECOND DRAW ***
gabrielandi: stands pat
youngzzang: stands pat
Igive2u2: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Qh]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c As 4h] [Kc]
gabrielandi: bets $1
youngzzang: calls $1
Igive2u2: calls $1
plutoman20: calls $1
*** THIRD DRAW ***
gabrielandi: stands pat
youngzzang: stands pat
Igive2u2: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Kc]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c As 4h] [Ah]
gabrielandi: bets $1
youngzzang: calls $1
Igive2u2: calls $1
plutoman20: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
gabrielandi: shows [Kh 5s 8d 2c] (Badugi: K,8,5,2)
youngzzang: shows [2d 7h 9s 4c] (Badugi: 9,7,4,2)
Igive2u2: mucks hand
youngzzang collected $16.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $17.25 Rake $0.50
Seat 1: CrazyCleargy (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: gabrielandi (big blind) showed [Kh 5s 8d 2c] and lost with a Badugi: K,8,5,2
Seat 3: TensiAngel folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: youngzzang showed [2d 7h 9s 4c] and won ($16.75) with a Badugi: 9,7,4,2
Seat 5: Komondor folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Igive2u2 mucked [9h 6s 7d 5c]
Seat 7: plutoman20 folded after the 3rd Draw
Seat 8: beserk007 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Hand 4
I got caught out here. Komar's check on the flop after it went 2:1:2 fooled me into thinking his draw wasn't great (I don't think he was trying to fool us but that's what happened). I bet the turn thinking he might well check his hand again; when he raised I put him on a rough seven to a nine, something probably good enough to bet the river but beaten by my smooth seven, hence the check-raise.

PokerStars Game #71894624381: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2011/12/09 18:24:42 ET
Table 'Ilioneus X' 8-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: dragnet944 ($104.50 in chips)
Seat 2: Catchtheflax ($16.75 in chips)
Seat 3: huli2 ($22 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($52.25 in chips)
Seat 5: wiessrut ($21.50 in chips)
Seat 6: redskinfox ($11 in chips)
Seat 8: KomaR ($39.75 in chips)
huli2: posts small blind $0.50
plutoman20: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2d Qd 5h 7d]
wiessrut: folds
redskinfox: folds
KomaR: raises $1 to $2
dragnet944: folds
Catchtheflax: calls $2
huli2: folds
plutoman20: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [Qd 7d]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2d 5h] [Jh Qs]
KomaR: discards 1 card
Catchtheflax: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: checks
KomaR: checks
Catchtheflax: checks
*** SECOND DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [Jh Qs]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2d 5h] [4s Ah]
KomaR: discards 1 card
Catchtheflax: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: bets $2
KomaR: raises $2 to $4
Joker Funch joins the table at seat #7
Catchtheflax: folds
plutoman20: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [5h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2d 4s Ah] [7c]
KomaR: stands pat
plutoman20: checks
KomaR: bets $2
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
KomaR: raises $2 to $6
plutoman20 said, "ugh"
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
KomaR: shows [3h 2s Ad 6c] (Badugi: 6,3,2,A)
plutoman20: mucks hand
plutoman20 said, "nh"
KomaR collected $25.50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $26.50 Rake $1
Seat 1: dragnet944 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Catchtheflax (button) folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 3: huli2 (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 4: plutoman20 (big blind) mucked [2d 4s 7c Ah]
Seat 5: wiessrut folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: redskinfox folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: KomaR showed [3h 2s Ad 6c] and won ($25.50) with a Badugi: 6,3,2,A

Hand 5
I've learnt not to Respect this guy's bets and raises. I wouldn't choose to snow this kind of hand off the bat.

PokerStars Game #71891612190: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2011/12/09 17:29:04 ET
Table 'Ilioneus X' 8-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: joca_batista ($36 in chips)
Seat 2: Catchtheflax ($28.50 in chips)
Seat 3: huli2 ($26 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($36 in chips)
Seat 5: vlsdlek ($11.50 in chips)
Seat 6: redskinfox ($37.50 in chips)
Seat 7: MokkaCuka ($99.25 in chips)
Seat 8: Respect ($30.25 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.50
vlsdlek: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 4s Ad Th]
redskinfox: folds
MokkaCuka: folds
MokkaCuka leaves the table
Respect: raises $1 to $2
joca_batista: folds
Catchtheflax: folds
huli2: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $3
vlsdlek: folds
Respect: raises $1 to $4
Betting is capped
plutoman20: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [5c 4s Ad Th]
Respect: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $1
Respect: raises $1 to $2
plutoman20: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [5c 4s Ad Th]
Respect: stands pat
plutoman20: checks
Respect: bets $2
plutoman20: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [5c 4s Ad Th]
MokkaCuka joins the table at seat #7
Respect: discards 1 card
plutoman20: checks
Respect: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [5c 4s Ad Th] (Badugi: T,5,4,A)
Respect: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $16.25 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $17 Rake $0.75
Seat 1: joca_batista folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Catchtheflax folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: huli2 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [5c 4s Ad Th] and won ($16.25) with a Badugi: T,5,4,A
Seat 5: vlsdlek (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 6: redskinfox folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 7: MokkaCuka folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Respect mucked [6s 8h 9h 2d]

November monthly report

I made $256 in November, including a $50 bonus at the beginning of the month, to take my end-of-month bankroll to $903. It's doubtful I'll play much in December - my parents are coming up on Saturday to spend five nights with me, and Christmas will definitely be a poker-free zone.