Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Going live

Last night I experienced live poker for the first time. Like most new things that involve, er, real people, this was seriously scary for me. It was a weekly $10 buy-in tournament at the Cambridge Hotel pub. One bloke looked like he was running the show; I asked him if he was the poker guy. "What does it look like?" OK, be like that. He took my ten bucks and gave me a card which they stamp each time you buy a drink; each stamp was exchangeable for 500 chips. I just had two beers - hopefully they would relax me.

You could sit down at any table in front of any 6000-chip stack. Everybody seemed scary to some degree; I tried to pick the least scary table. The tournament started; cards and chips were flying around and it was all a bit intimidating. I quickly let the rest of the table know that I'd never played live before. I knew about burn cards but had no idea about cutting the cards before each deal or that funny yellow plastic card which stops people from seeing the bottom card in the deck. And as for that fancy shuffling, forget it. I made every mistake imaginable - forgetting to post the blinds, not knowing when it was my turn to act, dealing cards too high up (so people's eyeballs are a centimetre from the table when the cards are dealt?), trying to deal more than two cards to each player (perhaps wishing it was badugi), forgetting to burn, and plenty more besides. The chips were effectively foreign currency to me (what's black again?) and sometimes I put in the wrong amount. I had to concentrate so hard on the mechanics of the game that I was glad to be dealt mostly crap in the early stages.

I won my first pot when I flopped a flush draw with AQs and semibluffed the turn. Then just before the first break I got sucked in with KTs, calling off a fair portion of my stack before folding to a smallish river bet in a sizeable pot. He showed his rivered full house; I hadn't even got a pair. I was short and soon after the break I got all in with QJo, half-hoping I could just go home. My shove was called and I was heading home until a jack came on the river. Being unaware of poker etiquette I apologised profusely for my suckout.

I managed to accumulate chips after that. On one hand I got a free look in the big blind with (I think) Kd 6d. We went four-handed (at least) to the flop which came out all diamonds, including the ace, giving me the nut flush. I just checked, as did everyone else. The turn was basically a blank. Again I checked, this time there was a bet and a call, and I went all in. They folded but it was still a useful pot. People seemed to drop like flies and by the second break I found myself at the final table.

I still got pulled up for one or two things. The blinds were 800 and 1600 when I pushed out four 1000s followed by four 100s and announced "four-four". But no, I had to take back my 100s and only raise to 4000. It seems I tried to make a "string bet" (when a player uses more than one forward motion to put chips in for a raise without verbally declaring the raise first) but I wasn't to know. With maybe six players left and the blinds at 3000 and 6000, I had only 20,000 or so. I was in the big blind with Th 9d and nobody raised. The flop came 9-4-3, all hearts. I just checked, the (pretty good, I thought) woman opposite me went all in and had me covered. I had no real choice but to call with my pair and flush draw. She flipped over 4-3 for two small pair, the turn was a nine and I survived once more. I guessed I was slight underdog, maybe 55-45, but Twodimes actually makes me a 51-49 favourite. There can't be many times in hold 'em that the worst hand on the flop is actually the favourite. Soon afterwards she got short and shoved J2o; I happened to have KK and she was out.

They didn't have a payout structure; everything depended on deals. With five left we agreed that everyone would get $10 back from the $350 pool; with three left we decided to split the remainder $175-$75-$50. I thought I was likely to finish second because I had a good stack but heads-up isn't my forte, so I didn't like that split much but hey. When we got heads-up I had the chip lead. A few people stuck around to watch and one woman (who was particularly cowgirl-like) wanted to know my online handle. She was also desperate to know whether I had a jack on a particular hand in which I went all in. We swapped the chip lead three times, he survived with KK against my A8 on an eight-high flop, then I hung on with my pocket eights against two overcards but the end came for me with he rivered a nine to beat my K2s. The nerve-wracking tournament (the nerves had nothing to do with winning or losing) lasted a little over four hours.

July monthly report

I made $236 in a slightly frustrating July, although I had a reasonably strong finish to the month. My bankroll is now $2471. That's my online record of course. Last night I went outside my comfort zone...

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Doing the badugi beat

As I play more online poker, I discover more weird and wonderful ways to run bad. The most common way at the moment is to see players showing up with huge hands for the position they happen to be in. For instance in badugi, people who open on the button, defend their blinds or even post a big blind keep showing down fives and sixes. Talking of running bad, I suffered what I think is my worst bad ugi beat ever yesterday. I also won probably my biggest pot ever.


Yesterday was a bit of a break-out day as my bankroll hit a new high, albeit by only a few dollars. Here are a few hands from all three draw games I play regularly:


Hand 1
Where do I start? My spreadsheet deals with this situation and tells me I've got 99% equity going into the last draw. I'll try to work it out from first principles. Of course he doesn't know I've got a six, but assuming he's drawing to [2d As], there are six two-card combinations that yield a winning hand: 43, 53, 54, 63, 64 and 65. For each of those there are two possibilities, e.g. [4c 3h] and [4h 3c]. But I've got 4c and 5h in my hand, so 63 is the only one of those six that actually has both possibilities of suits. So there are seven winning combinations. Out of how many in total? Well there are 44 cards he hasn't seen yet, so 44 × 43 ÷ 2 = 946 combinations altogether. So he's got a 7/946 = 0.074% chance of winning, or one in 135 if you prefer. The river was an obvious three-bet for me: if he's taking two on the last draw he might not have much idea about hand strength or could be raising junk or who knows.


PokerStars Hand #83951229912:  Badugi Limit ($2/$4 USD) - 2012/07/28
Table 'Tyndareus V' 8-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($83 in chips)
Seat 2: shrek7771 ($39.35 in chips)
Seat 3: Tatyana56 ($34.86 in chips)
Seat 4: spy4321 ($70.20 in chips)
Seat 5: huli2 ($53.48 in chips)
Seat 6: DJMayPoker ($87.13 in chips)
Seat 8: silna_rakia ($97.17 in chips)
spy4321: posts small blind $1
huli2: posts big blind $2
jeyun: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5h Ad 4c 9c]
DJMayPoker: folds
silna_rakia: calls $2
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
shrek7771: raises $2 to $6
Tatyana56: calls $6
spy4321: folds
huli2: folds
silna_rakia: calls $4
plutoman20: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
silna_rakia: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 1 card [9c]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5h Ad 4c] [6s]
shrek7771: stands pat
Tatyana56: discards 2 cards
silna_rakia: checks
plutoman20: checks
shrek7771: bets $2
Tatyana56: calls $2
silna_rakia: calls $2
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
shrek7771: calls $2
Tatyana56: calls $2
silna_rakia: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
silna_rakia: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [5h Ad 4c 6s]
shrek7771: stands pat
Tatyana56: discards 2 cards
silna_rakia: checks
plutoman20: bets $4
shrek7771: folds
Tatyana56: calls $4
silna_rakia: calls $4
*** THIRD DRAW ***
silna_rakia: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [5h Ad 4c 6s]
Tatyana56: discards 2 cards
silna_rakia: checks
plutoman20: bets $4
Tatyana56: raises $4 to $8
silna_rakia: folds
plutoman20: raises $4 to $12
Tatyana56: raises $4 to $16
Betting is capped
plutoman20: calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Tatyana56: shows [2d 5c As 4h] (Badugi: 5,4,2,A)
plutoman20: mucks hand
Tatyana56 collected $85.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $87 | Rake $1.25
Seat 1: plutoman20 mucked [5h Ad 4c 6s]
Seat 2: shrek7771 folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 3: Tatyana56 (button) showed [2d 5c As 4h] and won ($85.75) with a Badugi: 5,4,2,A
Seat 4: spy4321 (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 5: huli2 (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 6: DJMayPoker folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: silna_rakia folded after the 3rd Draw


Hand 2
This was ten hands or so after the one above. If I'm raising UTG at a full table, I've probably got quite a good hand. But that didn't deter two players (including the villain in the hand above, obviously) from calling and drawing two. Then the real fun starts when I make number four. To be honest I half-expected to lose here.



PokerStars Hand #83951434067:  Badugi Limit ($2/$4 USD) - 2012/07/28
Table 'Tyndareus V' 8-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($46 in chips)
Seat 2: shrek7771 ($42.36 in chips)
Seat 3: Tatyana56 ($84.23 in chips)
Seat 4: spy4321 ($67.97 in chips)
Seat 5: huli2 ($77.04 in chips)
Seat 7: jeyun ($13 in chips)
Seat 8: silna_rakia ($74.39 in chips)
jeyun: posts small blind $1
silna_rakia: posts big blind $2
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Ah Qh 4s 3d]
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
shrek7771: folds
Tatyana56: calls $4
spy4321: calls $4
huli2: folds
jeyun: folds
silna_rakia: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
silna_rakia: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Qh]
Dealt to plutoman20 [Ah 4s 3d] [Ad]
Tatyana56: discards 2 cards
spy4321: discards 2 cards
silna_rakia: checks
plutoman20: bets $2
Tatyana56: calls $2
spy4321: raises $2 to $4
silna_rakia: folds
plutoman20: calls $2
Tatyana56: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ad]
Dealt to plutoman20 [Ah 4s 3d] [5c]
Tatyana56: discards 1 card
spy4321: discards 1 card
plutoman20: checks
Tatyana56: bets $4
spy4321: raises $4 to $8
plutoman20: raises $4 to $12
Tatyana56: raises $4 to $16
Betting is capped
spy4321: calls $8
plutoman20: calls $4
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [Ah 4s 3d 5c]
Tatyana56: stands pat
spy4321: stands pat
plutoman20: checks
Tatyana56: bets $4
spy4321: raises $4 to $8
plutoman20: raises $4 to $12
Tatyana56: raises $4 to $16
Betting is capped
spy4321: calls $8
plutoman20: calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Tatyana56: shows [3s 6h Ac 5d] (Badugi: 6,5,3,A)
spy4321: shows [4c As 3h 6d] (Badugi: 6,4,3,A)
plutoman20: shows [Ah 5c 4s 3d] (Badugi: 5,4,3,A)
plutoman20 collected $123.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $125 | Rake $1.25
Seat 1: plutoman20 showed [Ah 5c 4s 3d] and won ($123.75) with a Badugi: 5,4,3,A
Seat 2: shrek7771 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Tatyana56 showed [3s 6h Ac 5d] and lost with a Badugi: 6,5,3,A
Seat 4: spy4321 showed [4c As 3h 6d] and lost with a Badugi: 6,4,3,A
Seat 5: huli2 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 7: jeyun (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 8: silna_rakia (big blind) folded after the 1st Draw


Hand 3
I nearly folded here, then saw my notes on him - the word "bluff" featured prominently - and made the call.


PokerStars Hand #83978797680:  Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2012/07/28
Table 'Aguilar IV' 8-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: Krug26 ($48.47 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($50 in chips)
Seat 5: barabas444 ($27.16 in chips)
Seat 7: djs909090 ($26.33 in chips)
Krug26: posts small blind $0.50
plutoman20: posts big blind $1
oOobovveroOo: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3d Js Jd 5s]
barabas444: raises $1 to $2
djs909090: folds
Krug26: folds
plutoman20: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [Js Jd]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3d 5s] [Qs 7c]
barabas444: discards 1 card
plutoman20: checks
barabas444: bets $1
plutoman20: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Qs]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3d 5s 7c] [Tc]
barabas444: discards 1 card
plutoman20: checks
barabas444: checks
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Tc]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3d 5s 7c] [Jh]
barabas444: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets $2
barabas444: raises $2 to $4
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
barabas444: shows [Ac 3s 6h 2h] (3-card: 3,2,A)
plutoman20: shows [3d Jh 7c 5s] (Badugi: J,7,5,3)
plutoman20 collected $14.06 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $14.50 | Rake $0.44
Seat 1: Krug26 (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [3d Jh 7c 5s] and won ($14.06) with a Badugi: J,7,5,3
Seat 5: barabas444 showed [Ac 3s 6h 2h] and lost with a 3-card: 3,2,A
Seat 7: djs909090 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)






Hand 4
This 1:2 spot comes up every now and then; I'm never quite sure whether to call a raise.

PokerStars Hand #83980078605:  Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2012/07/28 18:15:50 ET
Table 'Aguilar IV' 8-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($68.46 in chips)
Seat 4: PoldiPoesel ($33.90 in chips)
Seat 6: evasion80 ($43.50 in chips)
Seat 7: djs909090 ($69.03 in chips)
Seat 8: huli2 ($23.20 in chips)
djs909090: posts small blind $0.50
huli2: posts big blind $1
serega pt: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [7c 4h 2d 5c]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
PoldiPoesel: calls $2
evasion80: folds
djs909090: folds
huli2: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
huli2: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 1 card [7c]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4h 2d 5c] [4d]
PoldiPoesel: discards 2 cards
huli2: checks
plutoman20: bets $1
PoldiPoesel: calls $1
huli2: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
huli2: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 1 card [4d]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4h 2d 5c] [9h]
PoldiPoesel: discards 2 cards
evasion80 leaves the table
huli2: checks
plutoman20: bets $2
PoldiPoesel: calls $2
huli2: folds
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [9h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4h 2d 5c] [3h]
PoldiPoesel: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: bets $2
PoldiPoesel: raises $2 to $4
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
PoldiPoesel: shows [Ah 3d 3s 2s] (3-card: 3,2,A)
plutoman20: mucks hand
PoldiPoesel collected $20.70 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $21.50 | Rake $0.80
Seat 2: plutoman20 mucked [3h 4h 2d 5c]
Seat 4: PoldiPoesel showed [Ah 3d 3s 2s] and won ($20.70) with a 3-card: 3,2,A
Seat 6: evasion80 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 7: djs909090 (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 8: huli2 (big blind) folded after the 2nd Draw


Hand 5
I chose just to call here even though I figure I've got the best hand a lot of the time. I don't particularly want him to break, and if he reraises me I'm in a bit of an awkward spot.


PokerStars Hand #83983454298:  Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2012/07/28
Table 'Aguilar IV' 8-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($21.94 in chips)
Seat 3: guitarlord66 ($28.50 in chips)
Seat 4: dirkORdie ($21.46 in chips)
Seat 6: bettor77 ($67.62 in chips)
Seat 7: djs909090 ($94.92 in chips)
Seat 8: huli2 ($62.18 in chips)
huli2: posts small blind $0.50
plutoman20: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2h 3d 7s 5h]
guitarlord66: folds
dirkORdie: folds
bettor77: folds
djs909090: folds
huli2: raises $1 to $2
plutoman20: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
huli2: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [5h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2h 3d 7s] [5d]
huli2: bets $1
plutoman20: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
huli2: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [5d]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2h 3d 7s] [Tc]
huli2: bets $2
plutoman20: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
huli2: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [2h 3d 7s Tc]
huli2: checks
plutoman20: bets $2
huli2: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [2h 3d 7s Tc] (Badugi: T,7,3,2)
huli2: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $13.44 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $14 | Rake $0.56
Seat 2: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [2h 3d 7s Tc] and won ($13.44) with a Badugi: T,7,3,2
Seat 3: guitarlord66 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: dirkORdie folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: bettor77 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 7: djs909090 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: huli2 (small blind) mucked [Jc As 8h 4d]

Hand 6
This is an easy defence against Hapsmon(k)ey. I think drawing one on the second draw might have been the way to go after seeing all those deuces (so he didn't start with a deuce!). Surprisingly (considering I can't see him folding a lot) I got away with this.

PokerStars Hand #83907017282:  Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2012/07/27
Table 'Gudula III' 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: hapsmoney ($12.34 in chips)
Seat 3: Gennady8168 ($45.56 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($25.23 in chips)
Seat 5: arcmonkey ($75.13 in chips)
Seat 6: Katzza ($52.31 in chips)
Gennady8168: posts small blind $0.50
plutoman20: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6d Js Ks 9h 2d]
arcmonkey: folds
Katzza: folds
hapsmoney: raises $1 to $2
Gennady8168: folds
plutoman20: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 3 cards [Js Ks 9h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6d 2d] [2s Qh 2c]
hapsmoney: discards 4 cards
plutoman20: checks
hapsmoney: bets $1
plutoman20: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [2s 2d]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6d Qh 2c] [Jd 2h]
hapsmoney: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: bets $2
hapsmoney: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [6d Qh 2c Jd 2h]
hapsmoney: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets $2
hapsmoney: folds
Uncalled bet ($2) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 collected $10.08 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $10.50 | Rake $0.42
Seat 1: hapsmoney (button) folded after the 3rd Draw
Seat 3: Gennady8168 (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 4: plutoman20 (big blind) collected ($10.08)
Seat 5: arcmonkey folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Katzza folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Hand 7
I nearly capped the turn here against Mr Donk.

PokerStars Hand #83907664942:  Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2012/07/27 5:35:08 ET
Table 'Gudula III' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: hapsmoney ($63.38 in chips)
Seat 2: obobro ($60 in chips)
Seat 3: Gennady8168 ($30.42 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($30.27 in chips)
Seat 5: FitoPaez ($50 in chips)
Seat 6: Katzza ($26.37 in chips)
hapsmoney: posts small blind $0.50
obobro: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9c Kc 2s 5c 8c]
Gennady8168: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
FitoPaez: folds
Katzza: folds
hapsmoney: folds
obobro: raises $1 to $3
plutoman20: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
obobro: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [9c Kc]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 5c 8c] [Ac 6h]
obobro: bets $1
plutoman20: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
obobro: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ac]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 5c 8c 6h] [4s]
obobro: bets $2
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
obobro: raises $2 to $6
plutoman20: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
obobro: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [2s 5c 8c 6h 4s]
obobro: bets $2
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
obobro: shows [2d 5h 7d 4c 3s] (Lo: 7,5,4,3,2)
plutoman20: mucks hand
obobro collected $23.70 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $24.50 | Rake $0.80
Seat 1: hapsmoney (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: obobro (big blind) showed [2d 5h 7d 4c 3s] and won ($23.70) with Lo: 7,5,4,3,2
Seat 3: Gennady8168 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 mucked [4s 6h 2s 5c 8c]
Seat 5: FitoPaez folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Katzza (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)


Hand 8
When he pats in front of me I guess I have to draw two. Or else perhaps I should have just folded when he bet the turn.

PokerStars Hand #83953379016:  Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2012/07/28
Table 'Praxidike II' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: 2s3d4d5h7s ($20.78 in chips)
Seat 2: GV-Raw ($45.07 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($44.62 in chips)
Seat 4: sumerki-2012 ($128.87 in chips)
Seat 5: Gennady8168 ($3.08 in chips)
Seat 6: ogotop76 ($37.48 in chips)
2s3d4d5h7s: posts small blind $0.50
GV-Raw: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Th 3s 2d 2s 7d]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
sumerki-2012: folds
Gennady8168: folds
ogotop76: folds
2s3d4d5h7s: folds
GV-Raw: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
GV-Raw: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [Th 2s]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3s 2d 7d] [9h Js]
GV-Raw: checks
plutoman20: checks
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Gennady8168 leaves the table
GV-Raw: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [9h Js]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3s 2d 7d] [2c 3d]
GV-Raw: bets $2
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
GV-Raw: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
GV-Raw: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [3s 2d 7d 2c 3d]
GV-Raw: checks
plutoman20: bets $2
GV-Raw: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [2c 3s 2d 3d 7d] (Lo: two pair, Threes and Deuces)
GV-Raw: shows [7c 2h 4c 8c 5d] (Lo: 8,7,5,4,2)
GV-Raw collected $15.84 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $16.50 | Rake $0.66
Seat 1: 2s3d4d5h7s (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: GV-Raw (big blind) showed [7c 2h 4c 8c 5d] and won ($15.84) with Lo: 8,7,5,4,2
Seat 3: plutoman20 showed [2c 3s 2d 3d 7d] and lost with Lo: two pair, Threes and Deuces
Seat 4: sumerki-2012 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Gennady8168 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: ogotop76 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Hand 9
He was shoving about every second hand it seemed. I'd folded to some of his shoves (after raising); now it was time to take a stand. His draw was pretty crummy too.

PokerStars Hand #83944639260:  Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2012/07/27 22:56:24 ET
Table 'Sumiana II' 7-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 4: BadHand 65 ($77.52 in chips)
Seat 5: twisky22 ($17.02 in chips)
Seat 6: JokerTelavi ($38.29 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($34.71 in chips)
JokerTelavi: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Td 4d 9c 2c 5s]
BadHand 65: folds
twisky22: raises $1 to $1.50
JokerTelavi: calls $1.25
plutoman20: raises $4.50 to $6
BadHand 65 leaves the table
twisky22: raises $11.02 to $17.02 and is all-in
JokerTelavi: folds
plutoman20: calls $11.02
plutoman20: stands pat on [Td 4d 9c 2c 5s]
twisky22: discards 1 card
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [Td 4d 9c 2c 5s] (Lo: T,9,5,4,2)
twisky22: shows [9s Kc 5h 3c 8h] (Lo: K,9,8,5,3)
plutoman20 collected $34.04 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $35.54 | Rake $1.50
Seat 4: BadHand 65 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: twisky22 (button) showed [9s Kc 5h 3c 8h] and lost with Lo: K,9,8,5,3
Seat 6: JokerTelavi (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [Td 4d 9c 2c 5s] and won ($34.04) with Lo: T,9,5,4,2

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

At a stand-still

I got back from Auckland last night (having resisted the temptation to play live NLHE at Skycity) and logged into Stars. My bankroll has been stuck in the $2200-$2400 range, give or take a few dollars, for the best part of two months. Every time I work my way up only to be slapped back down in double-quick time. Today it was triple draw that did for me: I ran like complete arse and dropped $99 in 144 hands. One of those I'm sure I misplayed and another I might have done.


Hand 1
I was a victim of "one more bet" syndrome here. When Gennady bets the river into a pat hand I know I'm probably dead; I can't fold though. However when I have to call a second bet my chances of winning, against anyone non-crazy, become really-unlikely-squared which isn't far off zero.


PokerStars Hand #83762595557:  Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2012/07/23 21:17:06 ET
Table 'Saito VI' 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: itsmeweer ($32.74 in chips)
Seat 2: Gennady8168 ($48.47 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($19.86 in chips)
Seat 4: bobbyperu00 ($113.54 in chips)
Seat 5: Respect ($77.93 in chips)
Seat 6: Erneus ($26.01 in chips)
Gennady8168: posts small blind $0.50
plutoman20: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Td Qs 4d 2c Qd]
bobbyperu00: folds
Respect: raises $1 to $2
Erneus: folds
itsmeweer: calls $2
Gennady8168: calls $1.50
plutoman20: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
Gennady8168: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 3 cards [Td Qs Qd]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4d 2c] [Tc 5d 9h]
Respect: discards 1 card
itsmeweer: discards 2 cards
Gennady8168: checks
plutoman20: checks
Respect: bets $1
itsmeweer: calls $1
Gennady8168: calls $1
plutoman20: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Gennady8168: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [Tc 9h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4d 2c 5d] [Jh 8d]
Respect: discards 1 card
itsmeweer: discards 1 card
Gennady8168: checks
plutoman20: checks
Respect: checks
itsmeweer: bets $2
Gennady8168: calls $2
plutoman20: calls $2
Respect: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
Gennady8168: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Jh]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4d 2c 5d 8d] [7d]
Respect: discards 1 card
itsmeweer: stands pat
Gennady8168: bets $2
plutoman20: calls $2
Respect: folds
itsmeweer: raises $2 to $4
Gennady8168: calls $2
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
itsmeweer: shows [2h 7s 3d 6h 5c] (Lo: 7,6,5,3,2)
Gennady8168: mucks hand
plutoman20: mucks hand
itsmeweer collected $31.20 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $32 | Rake $0.80
Seat 1: itsmeweer (button) showed [2h 7s 3d 6h 5c] and won ($31.20) with Lo: 7,6,5,3,2
Seat 2: Gennady8168 (small blind) mucked [5s 3h 4s 2s 8h]
Seat 3: plutoman20 (big blind) mucked [7d 5d 4d 2c 8d]
Seat 4: bobbyperu00 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Respect folded after the 3rd Draw
Seat 6: Erneus folded before the Draw (didn't bet)


Hand 2
This time I did fold to "one more bet" because I estimated I was drawing to an average of three outs and didn't have the odds. Maybe I should have figured he'd be rougher due to his pre-draw passivity with a one-card draw, but I've certainly seen people make that play (which I'll never make) and wind up with a seven. I'm not sure if having two sixes in my hand strengthens or weakens his range.



PokerStars Hand #83761518519:  Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2012/07/23 20:39:06 ET
Table 'Saito VI' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: ogotop76 ($59.94 in chips)
Seat 2: INTI50 ($7.25 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($53.08 in chips)
Seat 4: bobbyperu00 ($48.32 in chips)
Seat 5: Respect ($119.23 in chips)
Seat 6: Erneus ($55.81 in chips)
ogotop76: posts small blind $0.50
INTI50: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9s 2d 4h Js 6h]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
bobbyperu00: folds
Respect: folds
Erneus: folds
ogotop76: calls $1.50
INTI50: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
ogotop76: discards 1 card
INTI50: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [9s Js]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2d 4h 6h] [Ac 2c]
ogotop76: checks
INTI50: bets $1
plutoman20: calls $1
ogotop76: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
ogotop76: discards 1 card
INTI50: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [Ac 2c]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2d 4h 6h] [5d 6d]
ogotop76: checks
INTI50: bets $2
plutoman20: calls $2
ogotop76: raises $2 to $4
INTI50: raises $0.25 to $4.25 and is all-in
plutoman20: folds
ogotop76: calls $0.25
*** THIRD DRAW ***
ogotop76: stands pat
INTI50: stands pat
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ogotop76: shows [8s 4s 5c 6c 3s] (Lo: 8,6,5,4,3)
INTI50: mucks hand
ogotop76 collected $18.72 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $19.50 | Rake $0.78
Seat 1: ogotop76 (small blind) showed [8s 4s 5c 6c 3s] and won ($18.72) with Lo: 8,6,5,4,3
Seat 2: INTI50 (big blind) mucked [8c 6s 3c 4d 7s]
Seat 3: plutoman20 folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 4: bobbyperu00 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Respect folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Erneus (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Hand 3
Single draw. His range should be wide here so I three-bet to juice the pot. It's a fairly easy shove for me I think - I'm sure he'll call me with plenty worse.

PokerStars Hand #83764777107:  Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2012/07/23 22:44:24 ET
Table 'Arachne VII' 7-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($35 in chips)
Seat 2: BadHand 65 ($133.53 in chips)
Seat 4: dpmaf ($54.19 in chips)
Seat 5: * MDI rus * ($44.21 in chips)
Seat 6: Merin_AR ($13.48 in chips)
Seat 7: Rhyno2008 ($30.97 in chips)
Rhyno2008: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c Js 3d 2s 7d]
BadHand 65: folds
dpmaf: folds
* MDI rus *: folds
Merin_AR: raises $1 to $1.50
Rhyno2008: folds
plutoman20: raises $2.50 to $4
Merin_AR: calls $2.50
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Js]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 3d 2s 7d] [8d]
Merin_AR: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets $10
Merin_AR: calls $9.48 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($0.52) returned to plutoman20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [5c 8d 3d 2s 7d] (Lo: 8,7,5,3,2)
Merin_AR: shows [8h 3s 5s 2d 6d] (Lo: 8,6,5,3,2)
Merin_AR collected $25.99 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $27.21 | Rake $1.22
Seat 1: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [5c 8d 3d 2s 7d] and lost with Lo: 8,7,5,3,2
Seat 2: BadHand 65 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: dpmaf folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: * MDI rus * folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Merin_AR (button) showed [8h 3s 5s 2d 6d] and won ($25.99) with Lo: 8,6,5,3,2
Seat 7: Rhyno2008 (small blind) folded before Flop

Hand 4
We've seen this guy (fellow Kiwi) before. Against some players I might want to get tricky here, but I figured he'd call me pretty wide so I just shoved. I didn't expect to see a super-rough ten though. Maybe he thought I could break something once he patted in front of me.

PokerStars Hand #83768493820:  Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2012/07/24 2:30:53 ET
Table 'Arachne VII' 7-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($45.91 in chips)
Seat 2: Rhyno2008 ($23.75 in chips)
Seat 3: guillehn ($19.61 in chips)
Seat 4: Proudchief ($15.82 in chips)
Seat 5: Merin_AR ($9.94 in chips)
Seat 6: gig@byte89 ($22.26 in chips)
guillehn: posts small blind $0.25
Proudchief: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [4h 3h 8d 7d 5c]
Merin_AR: folds
gig@byte89: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
Rhyno2008: folds
guillehn: folds
Proudchief: raises $3.50 to $5
plutoman20: raises $40.91 to $45.91 and is all-in
Proudchief: calls $10.82 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($30.09) returned to plutoman20
Proudchief: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [4h 3h 8d 7d 5c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Proudchief: shows [8h 9s 5d Td 3c] (Lo: T,9,8,5,3)
plutoman20: shows [4h 3h 8d 7d 5c] (Lo: 8,7,5,4,3)
plutoman20 collected $30.45 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $31.89 | Rake $1.44
Seat 1: plutoman20 showed [4h 3h 8d 7d 5c] and won ($30.45) with Lo: 8,7,5,4,3
Seat 2: Rhyno2008 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: guillehn (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: Proudchief (big blind) showed [8h 9s 5d Td 3c] and lost with Lo: T,9,8,5,3
Seat 5: Merin_AR folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: gig@byte89 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 5
He'd shoved pre on a few occasions and I knew I'd be good here sometimes (40%?). It had been a good session for me and I didn't want to wreck it all on one hand. That's probably a bad reason to fold.

PokerStars Hand #83769033135:  Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2012/07/24 3:08:48 ET
Table 'Arachne VII' 7-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($74.21 in chips)
Seat 2: Rhyno2008 ($47.94 in chips)
Seat 3: guillehn ($18.74 in chips)
Seat 5: LPBUDDE ($12 in chips)
Seat 6: gig@byte89 ($41.03 in chips)
Seat 7: Valera1961 ($20.57 in chips)
guillehn: posts small blind $0.25
LPBUDDE: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3h 5c 2h 9s 8h]
gig@byte89: raises $1 to $1.50
Valera1961: folds
plutoman20: raises $3 to $4.50
Rhyno2008 said, "sick fold lol"
Rhyno2008: folds
guillehn: folds
LPBUDDE: folds
gig@byte89: raises $36.53 to $41.03 and is all-in
Fantas1010 joins the table at seat #4
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($36.53) returned to gig@byte89
gig@byte89 collected $9.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $9.75 | Rake $0
Seat 1: plutoman20 folded before Flop
Seat 2: Rhyno2008 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: guillehn (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: LPBUDDE (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: gig@byte89 collected ($9.75)
Seat 7: Valera1961 folded before Flop (didn't bet)