Keeping at it

Since mid-September online poker hasn't been a lot of fun. I could run much better. With seven days of November left I'm essentially even for the month (down a little on Stars and up slightly on the new incarnation of Full Tilt). I tried ace-to-five triple draw on Full Tilt last night. It looked profitable, with people going crazy with rough sevens, but I couldn't hit goddamn thing. Variance seems even higher in that game than in 2-7 (if that's possible): I'm playing a few more hands, which will push variance up, but my opponents are playing a lot more, creating big pots and sending variance through the roof.

Last weekend I played an interesting three-handed session of 25c/50c on Full Tilt. I made $30 in just 90 hands, winning 11 of 13 showdowns. One of my opponents was terrible and was dealt a pat hand about 20% of the time, and you can imagine what some of those hands looked like. Often when I raised him he'd try to reraise me off my made seven or eight. Obviously I drew well in that session; sometimes I couldn't beat a pat ten or jack over three draws if my life depended on it.

Never have I been happier to bust out of a tournament than on Saturday night. After 3½ hours, at about 1:30am, I was out of the MicroMillions badugi in 467th place out of 2488. I only won one pot in the super-deep first hour, and I thought if I could lose my internet connection in the second hour I'd probably make the final table. In the third hour I went on a good run to reach 20,000 (four times my starting stack) after earlier surviving an all-in, but it was all downhill from there and frankly my eventual demise was a relief. In a couple of hours I'll have a go at the triple draw MicroMillions.

Update:
I'm out of the triple draw tournament in the middle of the field. Just like in the badugi, we started with 5000 chips. I never got above 7000. A few times I felt I was just one decent pot away from making some headway, but that pot never ended up on my lap. It's never too disappointing to get knocked out of a micro tournament though.

Hand 1

Here's the only really notable hand from the MicroMillions. Konstant earlier drew one all the way and made a three-card king. He clearly didn't know what he was doing; I thought he might not even know the rules. Maybe my cap on the flop was overkill but I was sure I had heaps of equity three-way.

PokerStars Hand #89368528520: Tournament #2012110017, $3.00+$0.30 USD Badugi Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2012/11/17 4:32:58 ET

Table '2012110017 38' 8-max Seat #6 is the button

Seat 1: luzer888 (4780 in chips)

Seat 2: piep peep? (5150 in chips)

Seat 3: Konstant973 (3570 in chips)

Seat 4: Ducha0565 (4120 in chips)

Seat 5: Beibe Poker (5455 in chips)

Seat 6: plutoman20 (4850 in chips)

Seat 7: Misha Myxin (6640 in chips)

Seat 8: knightas (5185 in chips)

Misha Myxin: posts small blind 25

knightas: posts big blind 50

*** DEALING HANDS ***

Dealt to plutoman20 [3h 2d Ac Td]

luzer888: calls 50

piep peep?: raises 50 to 100

Konstant973: calls 100

Ducha0565: folds

Beibe Poker: folds

plutoman20: raises 50 to 150

Misha Myxin: folds

knightas: folds

luzer888: calls 100

piep peep?: folds

Konstant973: calls 50

*** FIRST DRAW ***

luzer888: discards 2 cards

Konstant973: discards 2 cards

plutoman20: discards 1 card [Td]

Dealt to plutoman20 [3h 2d Ac] [Qd]

luzer888: checks

Konstant973: bets 50

plutoman20: raises 50 to 100

luzer888: calls 100

Konstant973: raises 50 to 150

plutoman20: raises 50 to 200

Betting is capped

luzer888: calls 100

Konstant973: calls 50

*** SECOND DRAW ***

luzer888: discards 2 cards

Konstant973: stands pat

plutoman20: discards 1 card [Qd]

Dealt to plutoman20 [3h 2d Ac] [3c]

luzer888: checks

Konstant973: bets 100

plutoman20: calls 100

luzer888: calls 100

*** THIRD DRAW ***

luzer888: discards 1 card

Konstant973: stands pat

plutoman20: discards 1 card [3c]

Dealt to plutoman20 [3h 2d Ac] [Ad]

luzer888: checks

Konstant973: bets 100

plutoman20: calls 100

luzer888: folds

*** SHOW DOWN ***

Konstant973: shows [3s 9c 2h 5d] (Badugi: 9,5,3,2)

plutoman20: mucks hand

Konstant973 collected 1725 from pot

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot 1725 | Rake 0

Seat 1: luzer888 folded after the 3rd Draw

Seat 2: piep peep? folded before the Draw

Seat 3: Konstant973 showed [3s 9c 2h 5d] and won (1725) with a Badugi: 9,5,3,2

Seat 4: Ducha0565 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Seat 5: Beibe Poker folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Seat 6: plutoman20 (button) mucked [3h 2d Ac Ad]

Seat 7: Misha Myxin (small blind) folded before the Draw

Seat 8: knightas (big blind) folded before the Draw

Hand 2

Good break I guess.

PokerStars Hand #88910843879:  Badugi Limit ($0.50/$1.00 USD) - 2012/11/08 2:22:04 ET

Table 'Apus IV' 8-max Seat #5 is the button

Seat 1: civas ($13.62 in chips)

Seat 2: plutoman20 ($26.24 in chips)

Seat 3: Sauser ($21.01 in chips)

Seat 4: wlddndld ($5.64 in chips)

Seat 5: hilo30 ($8.04 in chips)

Seat 6: 123Sera321 ($30.44 in chips)

123Sera321: posts small blind $0.25

civas: posts big blind $0.50

*** DEALING HANDS ***

Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 4s Js Ah]

plutoman20: raises $0.50 to $1

Sauser: folds

wlddndld: calls $1

hilo30: folds

123Sera321: calls $0.75

civas: raises $0.50 to $1.50

plutoman20: raises $0.50 to $2

Betting is capped

wlddndld: calls $1

123Sera321: calls $1

civas: calls $0.50

*** FIRST DRAW ***

123Sera321: discards 1 card

civas: stands pat

plutoman20: discards 1 card [Js]

Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 4s Ah] [Td]

wlddndld: discards 1 card

123Sera321: bets $0.50

civas: raises $0.50 to $1

plutoman20: calls $1

wlddndld: calls $1

123Sera321: calls $0.50

*** SECOND DRAW ***

123Sera321: stands pat

civas: stands pat

plutoman20: discards 1 card [Td]

Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 4s Ah] [Ac]

wlddndld: discards 1 card

123Sera321: checks

civas: checks

plutoman20: checks

wlddndld: checks

*** THIRD DRAW ***

123Sera321: stands pat

civas: stands pat

plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ac]

Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 4s Ah] [8d]

wlddndld has timed out

wlddndld: stands pat

123Sera321: checks

civas: checks

plutoman20: bets $1

wlddndld has timed out

wlddndld: folds

123Sera321: calls $1

civas: folds

*** SHOW DOWN ***

plutoman20: shows [3c 4s 8d Ah] (Badugi: 8,4,3,A)

123Sera321: mucks hand

plutoman20 collected $13.60 from pot

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot $14 | Rake $0.40

Seat 1: civas (big blind) folded after the 3rd Draw

Seat 2: plutoman20 showed [3c 4s 8d Ah] and won ($13.60) with a Badugi: 8,4,3,A

Seat 3: Sauser folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Seat 4: wlddndld folded after the 3rd Draw

Seat 5: hilo30 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Seat 6: 123Sera321 (small blind) mucked [6s 4c 2h 9d]

Hand 3

I shouldn't let my stack get this short.

PokerStars Hand #89013050991:  Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2012/11/10 5:02:08 ET

Table 'Cremona IV' 7-max Seat #6 is the button

Seat 2: I am MAKLAUD ($19.66 in chips)

Seat 3: Brudgur ($16.08 in chips)

Seat 4: plutoman20 ($14.72 in chips)

Seat 6: NegrVasya ($13.35 in chips)

Seat 7: Ic3-T ($57.09 in chips)

Ic3-T: posts small blind $0.25

I am MAKLAUD: posts big blind $0.50

*** DEALING HANDS ***

Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 2d 8d 7s 3c]

Brudgur: folds

plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50

NegrVasya: raises $3.50 to $5

Ic3-T: calls $4.75

I am MAKLAUD: folds

plutoman20: raises $9.72 to $14.72 and is all-in

NegrVasya: calls $8.35 and is all-in

Ic3-T: calls $9.72

Ic3-T: discards 1 card

plutoman20: stands pat on [4s 2d 8d 7s 3c]

NegrVasya: stands pat

*** SHOW DOWN ***

Ic3-T: shows [4c 2c 8c 7d 5d] (Lo: 8,7,5,4,2)

plutoman20: shows [4s 2d 8d 7s 3c] (Lo: 8,7,4,3,2)

plutoman20 collected $2.61 from side pot

NegrVasya: shows [3s 9d 6h 8h 2h] (Lo: 9,8,6,3,2)

plutoman20 collected $38.73 from main pot

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot $43.29 Main pot $38.73. Side pot $2.61. | Rake $1.95

Seat 2: I am MAKLAUD (big blind) folded before Flop

Seat 3: Brudgur folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Seat 4: plutoman20 showed [4s 2d 8d 7s 3c] and won ($41.34) with Lo: 8,7,4,3,2

Seat 6: NegrVasya (button) showed [3s 9d 6h 8h 2h] and lost with Lo: 9,8,6,3,2

Seat 7: Ic3-T (small blind) showed [4c 2c 8c 7d 5d] and lost with Lo: 8,7,5,4,2

Hand 4

Not much I can do about this. It was tempting to shove and I'm obviously glad I didn't.

PokerStars Hand #89407552572:  Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2012/11/17 19:34:08 ET

Table 'Alterf II' 7-max Seat #5 is the button

Seat 1: bigjoker62 ($64.88 in chips)

Seat 3: vancbc10 ($14.99 in chips)

Seat 4: Kape567 ($36.17 in chips)

Seat 5: Vueronii ($51.69 in chips)

Seat 6: gabialx ($40.22 in chips)

Seat 7: plutoman20 ($34.25 in chips)

gabialx: posts small blind $0.25

plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50

*** DEALING HANDS ***

Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 6c 4h Qs 2h]

bigjoker62: folds

vancbc10: raises $2.50 to $3

Kape567: calls $3

Vueronii: folds

gabialx: folds

plutoman20: calls $2.50

plutoman20: discards 1 card [Qs]

Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 6c 4h 2h] [8h]

vancbc10: discards 1 card

Kape567: discards 1 card

plutoman20: checks

vancbc10: bets $5

Kape567: raises $6.50 to $11.50

plutoman20: calls $11.50

vancbc10: folds

*** SHOW DOWN ***

Kape567: shows [3s 6h 7s 4d 2d] (Lo: 7,6,4,3,2)

plutoman20: mucks hand

Kape567 collected $35.57 from pot

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot $37.25 | Rake $1.68

Seat 1: bigjoker62 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Seat 3: vancbc10 folded on the Flop

Seat 4: Kape567 showed [3s 6h 7s 4d 2d] and won ($35.57) with Lo: 7,6,4,3,2

Seat 5: Vueronii (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Seat 6: gabialx (small blind) folded before Flop

Seat 7: plutoman20 (big blind) mucked [3c 6c 4h 8h 2h]

Hand 5

Please explain!

PokerStars Hand #89411735690:  Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2012/11/17 21:50:50 ET

Table 'Lucidor II' 7-max Seat #3 is the button

Seat 1: barnaboy72 ($16.87 in chips)

Seat 2: plutoman20 ($37.48 in chips)

Seat 3: Vueronii ($97.46 in chips)

Seat 4: for_fun_also ($58.88 in chips)

Seat 5: Ic3-T ($102.24 in chips)

for_fun_also: posts small blind $0.25

Ic3-T: posts big blind $0.50

cssprotects: sits out

*** DEALING HANDS ***

Dealt to plutoman20 [Jc 4s 2d 7s 8c]

barnaboy72: folds

cssprotects said, "**** you lucky boy"

plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50

Vueronii: calls $1.50

for_fun_also: folds

Ic3-T: folds

plutoman20: discards 1 card [Jc]

Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 2d 7s 8c] [3c]

Vueronii: discards 1 card

plutoman20: bets $1.75

Vueronii: raises $3.25 to $5

plutoman20: raises $5 to $10

Vueronii: calls $5

*** SHOW DOWN ***

plutoman20: shows [3c 4s 2d 7s 8c] (Lo: 8,7,4,3,2)

Vueronii: mucks hand

plutoman20 collected $22.68 from pot

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot $23.75 | Rake $1.07

Seat 1: barnaboy72 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Seat 2: plutoman20 showed [3c 4s 2d 7s 8c] and won ($22.68) with Lo: 8,7,4,3,2

Seat 3: Vueronii (button) mucked [6h 7c 2c 9s 2h]

Seat 4: for_fun_also (small blind) folded before Flop

Seat 5: Ic3-T (big blind) folded before Flop

Draw on Full Tilt

Full Tilt, the world’s second-biggest online poker site, introduced draw games last Friday. This potential bonanza had been talked about for a while, but no dates were ever mentioned so I wasn’t exactly holding my breath. Then suddenly, it happened. My intention was never to deposit ever again, but the opportunity to make money from these new games seemed too good to pass up, so I transferred $600 onto the site. Now is a great time for Kiwis and Aussies to deposit (with the NZ dollar at almost 80c and the Aussie at parity against the greenback) and a horrible time to cash out.

So far it hasn’t turned to the cash cow I was hoping, although I had a busy weekend so I couldn’t play many hands. I started with $1-$2 badugi – one of my bread-and-butter games on Poker Stars – but I dumped $42.50 in that game in double-quick time. The play was far more aggressive than I’m used to on Stars – capped pots pre-draw with nobody pat were fairly standard – so it was high-variance stuff. I probably misplayed two or three hands and got a bit unlucky when my pat tens ran into better pats and people hit sevens and eights with their two-card draws.

I’ve also tried KCL (they have that at lower stakes than on Stars) and ace-to-five triple draw, a new game for me. Ace-to-five appears a less interesting game than deuce-to-seven but it has the potential to be profitable because my opponents might not know what they’re doing. There is one major snag however: I might not know what I’m doing either. Here’s my take on strategy so far:

• People tend to overvalue hands in this game. Something like 7643A isn’t as good as it looks. It’s number 14, equivalent to 87632 in 2-7 (in fact it’s even worse than that – see below). So by drawing to fives and sixes, people will pay off multiple big bets when you hit.
  
• Why is an A-5 hand worse than its 2-7 equivalent? Well, you’ll see monster hands more often in A-5 (that’s a scary fact given how often people show up with a wheel in 2-7). Take two-card draws to the nuts for instance. In both games there are ten of these, but in 2-7 some of them (namely 754, 753, 743 and 543) are unplayable unless you’re in position or can get in cheaply from the blinds; they can make the nuts but they can also make disasters. So a lot of these nut draws (and other things like 764 and 653) are folded from the start and never materialise. In contrast, it seems you can open any two-card wheel draw in A-5, from any position (I might be wrong about this). There’s also the fact that flushes count against you in 2-7, although the effect of this would seem to be small.
  
• On the subject of two-card draws, 62A (which can make nos. 2, 3, 4, 12, 13 and 16) appears to be better than 543 (which can make 1, 5, 6, 10, 11 and 21). They both seem playable in any position. Conversely, 72A (which can make 7, 8, 9, 12, 13 and 16) doesn’t look as good as 654 (4, 5, 6, 19, 20 and 21). I don’t think you should play either of those out of position.
  
• I’m still not sure what to do with one-card seven draws like 732A and 762A. I’d be more inclined to break the latter but I guess you should probably break both pre-draw if it’s multi-way. I’d be hard pushed to break a dealt pat seven.
  
• On the last draw in 2-7, a pat jack is a favourite over a one-card draw. In A-5 you need a pat ten to be a favourite. But in both games it can often be close to a coin flip, and if you’ve got a big draw beneath your top card you should probably go for the monster.
  
• In A-5 the likelihood is that someone will hit a hand before the last draw, so there are fewer opportunities to bluff on the end (or to snow) than in 2-7.