The long road to zero

It's a case of two steps forward, two steps back at the moment. I should be thankful that it isn't one and three. If and when my profit for the year hits zero I'll be cracking open the champagne. I've had promising runs in a couple of single draw tournaments but neither amounted to much. On Friday with 13 left and seven paying, I was dealt a 9-5 but collided with a pat 87432. This morning on Full Tilt I ran pretty well, making the second nuts twice and taking down a lot of sizeable pots with nines (which are worth more in tournaments where the play is looser). Unfortunately my luck ran out at the final table and I finished up fifth for a small payout. Here are eight recent hands of note:

Hand 1
My play was bad here. I should either have called the smallish reraise and drawn to the smooth nine, or just folded. Calling and patting paints a big "bluff me" target on my back. I guess I could make this play with a big hand, and it would be something I'd do so infrequently that I might not need to balance it much.

PokerStars Game #55429645450: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/01/05 19:21:38 ET
Table 'Hohensteina V' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: BLOCKHEAD2 ($16.75 in chips)
Seat 2: tornnado ($16.75 in chips)
Seat 3: ygunstah ($11.70 in chips)
Seat 4: andrej tuzla ($19.60 in chips)
Seat 6: Andysson ($44.85 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($30.85 in chips)
andrej tuzla: posts small blind $0.25
Andysson: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Td 3c 5s 2h 9h]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
BLOCKHEAD2: folds
tornnado: folds
ygunstah: folds
andrej tuzla: raises $2 to $3.50
Andysson: folds
plutoman20: calls $2
andrej tuzla: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [Td 3c 5s 2h 9h]
Manta-High joins the table at seat #5
andrej tuzla: bets $5.50
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($5.50) returned to andrej tuzla
andrej tuzla collected $7.15 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.50 Rake $0.35
Seat 1: BLOCKHEAD2 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: tornnado folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: ygunstah (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: andrej tuzla (small blind) collected ($7.15)
Seat 6: Andysson (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: plutoman20 folded on the Flop

Hand 2
This is a new play of mine. Hopefully better queens, jacks and even the odd rough ten will fold.

PokerStars Game #55430796788: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/01/05 19:45:13 ET
Table 'Hohensteina V' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: 42llopi ($31.35 in chips)
Seat 2: ANMACLAU ($20.90 in chips)
Seat 3: ygunstah ($9.45 in chips)
Seat 4: ratso69 ($16.90 in chips)
Seat 5: Manta-High ($20 in chips)
Seat 6: Andysson ($45.70 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($25.15 in chips)
ANMACLAU: posts small blind $0.25
ygunstah: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3s 4s Ts Qd 6c]
ratso69: folds
Manta-High: folds
Andysson: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
42llopi: calls $1.50
ANMACLAU: folds
ygunstah: folds
plutoman20: stands pat on [3s 4s Ts Qd 6c]
42llopi: discards 1 card
ratso69 leaves the table
plutoman20: bets $3.50
02gunner93 joins the table at seat #4
42llopi: folds
Uncalled bet ($3.50) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 collected $3.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $3.75 Rake $0.15
Seat 1: 42llopi (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: ANMACLAU (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: ygunstah (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: ratso69 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Manta-High folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Andysson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: plutoman20 collected ($3.60)

Hand 3
How did more money not go in on this hand? This sort of thing makes me far more circumspect with my pat nines and tens than I used to be.

PokerStars Game #55497136787: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/01/07 0:51:01 ET
Table 'Eridanus III' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($42.75 in chips)
Seat 3: PATSYPOKER19 ($33.40 in chips)
Seat 4: eva2011 ($10.80 in chips)
Seat 5: Elales ($29.40 in chips)
Seat 6: 'tacheman ($48.80 in chips)
Seat 7: Aces4Ginny ($12.50 in chips)
Elales: posts small blind $0.25
'tacheman: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9h 2h Qd 5s Kd]
Aces4Ginny: calls $0.50
plutoman20: folds
PATSYPOKER19: raises $1 to $1.50
eva2011: folds
'tacheman said, "nice"
Elales: raises $5 to $6.50
'tacheman: folds
Aces4Ginny: folds
PATSYPOKER19: calls $5
Elales: stands pat
PATSYPOKER19: stands pat
Elales: checks
PATSYPOKER19: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***Elales: shows [7c 4c 6d 8s 2d] (Lo: 8,7,6,4,2)
PATSYPOKER19: shows [3d 8c 5d 7d 2s] (Lo: 8,7,5,3,2)
PATSYPOKER19 collected $13.30 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $14 Rake $0.70
Seat 1: plutoman20 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: PATSYPOKER19 showed [3d 8c 5d 7d 2s] and won ($13.30) with Lo: 8,7,5,3,2
Seat 4: eva2011 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Elales (small blind) showed [7c 4c 6d 8s 2d] and lost with Lo: 8,7,6,4,2
Seat 6: 'tacheman (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: Aces4Ginny folded before Flop

Hand 4
Chuckila's post-draw play makes no sense to me at all.

PokerStars Game #55526462638: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/01/07 15:04:34 ET
Table 'Hakone V' 7-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: jerrym9 ($28.55 in chips)
Seat 2: shottapatron ($15.80 in chips)
Seat 3: AleshNo1 ($38.95 in chips)
Seat 4: 42llopi ($14.25 in chips)
Seat 5: Chuckila ($81.45 in chips)
Seat 6: pedorretas31 ($15.15 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($32.75 in chips)
AleshNo1: posts small blind $0.25
42llopi: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9s 2c 4c 6d 4s]
Chuckila: raises $1 to $1.50
pedorretas31: folds
plutoman20: calls $1.50
jerrym9: folds
shottapatron: folds
AleshNo1: folds
42llopi: folds
Chuckila: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [4s]
Dealt to plutoman20 [9s 2c 4c 6d] [7s]
Chuckila: checks
plutoman20: bets $2.50
Chuckila: calls $2.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [9s 2c 4c 6d 7s] (Lo: 9,7,6,4,2)
Chuckila: shows [3c 8h 4h 6s 7h] (Lo: 8,7,6,4,3)
Chuckila collected $8.35 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8.75 Rake $0.40
Seat 1: jerrym9 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: shottapatron (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: AleshNo1 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: 42llopi (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: Chuckila showed [3c 8h 4h 6s 7h] and won ($8.35) with Lo: 8,7,6,4,3
Seat 6: pedorretas31 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: plutoman20 showed [9s 2c 4c 6d 7s] and lost with Lo: 9,7,6,4,2

Hand 5
I'm not sure if Dazanack's slow-play is the best idea in the long run, but it worked here OK. I thought for a while before breaking - make my hand T7542 and there would have been no hesitation - but maybe I should have just folded getting a little less than two to one; I had just six outs.

PokerStars Game #55553129425: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/01/08 0:43:49 ET
Table 'Virtus IX' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: jerrym9 ($26.25 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($31.65 in chips)
Seat 4: jniquetamere ($10.90 in chips)
Seat 5: domenickdomo ($36.70 in chips)
Seat 6: WineOClock ($23.20 in chips)
Seat 7: Dazanack ($17.20 in chips)
jniquetamere: posts small blind $0.25
domenickdomo: posts big blind $0.50
'tacheman: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5h Td 2s 6h 4d]
WineOClock: raises $1.50 to $2
Dazanack: calls $2
jerrym9: folds
plutoman20: raises $6 to $8
jniquetamere: folds
domenickdomo: folds
WineOClock: folds
Dazanack: raises $9.20 to $17.20 and is all-in
plutoman20: calls $9.20
Dazanack: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Td]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5h 2s 6h 4d] [5d]
plutoman20 said, "nh"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Dazanack: shows [7s 5c 4h 3c 8s] (Lo: 8,7,5,4,3)
plutoman20: shows [5h 5d 2s 6h 4d] (Lo: a pair of Fives)
Dazanack collected $35.30 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $37.15 Rake $1.85
Seat 1: jerrym9 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: plutoman20 (button) showed [5h 5d 2s 6h 4d] and lost with Lo: a pair of Fives
Seat 4: jniquetamere (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: domenickdomo (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: WineOClock folded before Flop
Seat 7: Dazanack showed [7s 5c 4h 3c 8s] and won ($35.30) with Lo: 8,7,5,4,3

Hand 6
Some weird play from Ma22ye81 here. Unfortunately I couldn't benefit from it.

PokerStars Game #55415294919: Badugi Limit ($2/$4 USD) - 2011/01/05 15:09:30 ET
Table 'Ortrud III' 8-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: TYKZ ($88 in chips)
Seat 2: mütze1976 ($57 in chips)
Seat 3: BendMeDover ($42 in chips)
Seat 4: ma22ye81 ($44 in chips)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($100 in chips)
Seat 7: redskinfox ($216 in chips)
Seat 8: kamaki66 ($60 in chips)
ma22ye81: posts small blind $1
plutoman20: posts big blind $2
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 4c 2h Qs]
redskinfox: calls $2
kamaki66: raises $2 to $4
TYKZ: folds
mütze1976: calls $4
BendMeDover: folds
ma22ye81: calls $3
plutoman20: calls $2
redskinfox: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
ma22ye81: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [4c Qs]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 2h] [8c 7d]
redskinfox: discards 1 card
kamaki66: discards 1 card
mütze1976: discards 1 card
ma22ye81: checks
plutoman20: bets $2
redskinfox: calls $2
kamaki66: calls $2
mütze1976: calls $2
ma22ye81: raises $2 to $4
plutoman20: calls $2
redskinfox: calls $2
kamaki66: calls $2
mütze1976: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
ma22ye81: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [4s 2h 8c 7d]
redskinfox: discards 1 card
kamaki66: discards 1 card
mütze1976: discards 1 card
ma22ye81: bets $4
plutoman20: calls $4
redskinfox: calls $4
kamaki66: calls $4
mütze1976: calls $4
*** THIRD DRAW ***
ma22ye81: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [4s 2h 8c 7d]
redskinfox: discards 1 card
kamaki66: discards 1 card
mütze1976: stands pat
ma22ye81: checks
plutoman20: checks
redskinfox: checks
kamaki66: checks
mütze1976: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ma22ye81: shows [Jd 4h Ts Ac] (Badugi: J,T,4,A)
plutoman20: shows [4s 8c 2h 7d] (Badugi: 8,7,4,2)
redskinfox: mucks hand
kamaki66: mucks hand
mütze1976: shows [8s 5c 6h 3d] (Badugi: 8,6,5,3)
mütze1976 collected $58 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $60 Rake $2
Seat 1: TYKZ folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 2: mütze1976 showed [8s 5c 6h 3d] and won ($58) with a Badugi: 8,6,5,3
Seat 3: BendMeDover (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: ma22ye81 (small blind) showed [Jd 4h Ts Ac] and lost with a Badugi: J,T,4,A
Seat 5: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [4s 8c 2h 7d] and lost with a Badugi: 8,7,4,2
Seat 7: redskinfox mucked [3h 3c 2c 4d]
Seat 8: kamaki66 mucked [6s Js 5h 7c]

Hand 7
The weirdness of Ma22ye81's play half an hour earlier meant I didn't trust him here.

PokerStars Game #55417253539: Badugi Limit ($2/$4 USD) - 2011/01/05 15:40:31 ET
Table 'Phyleus II' 8-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: zorro222_zor ($69 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($123 in chips)
Seat 4: ma22ye81 ($176 in chips)
Seat 5: imi888 ($54 in chips)
Seat 6: timoken ($33 in chips)
Seat 7: seado ($53 in chips)
ma22ye81: posts small blind $1
imi888: posts big blind $2
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5h 3s Td 7c]
timoken: folds
jokerheidi joins the table at seat #8
seado: folds
zorro222_zor: folds
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
ma22ye81: calls $3
imi888: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
ma22ye81: discards 2 cards
imi888: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: stands pat on [5h 3s Td 7c]
ma22ye81: checks
imi888: checks
plutoman20: bet
s $2ma22ye81: raises $2 to $4
imi888: folds
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
ma22ye81: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [5h 3s Td 7c]
ma22ye81: bets $4
plutoman20: calls $4
*** THIRD DRAW ***
ma22ye81: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [5h 3s Td 7c]
ma22ye81: bets $4
plutoman20: calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ma22ye81: shows [2c 7h 3d As] (Badugi: 7,3,2,A)
plutoman20: mucks hand
ma22ye81 collected $35 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $36 Rake $1
Seat 1: zorro222_zor folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 2: plutoman20 (button) mucked [5h 3s Td 7c]
Seat 4: ma22ye81 (small blind) showed [2c 7h 3d As] and won ($35) with a Badugi: 7,3,2,A
Seat 5: imi888 (big blind) folded after the 1st Draw
Seat 6: timoken folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 7: seado folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Hand 8
Gerrr puts in too much action here. Maybe I didn't put in enough - pat sixes are rare after all. His three-bet on the flop is fine - I'd probably do the same with his hand - but when I cap he's got to think he's probably toast. Raising the turn was throwing money away. Who knows - perhaps people are just that much more aggressive at $2/$4.

PokerStars Game #55533072277: Badugi Limit ($2/$4 USD) - 2011/01/07 16:55:01 ET
Table 'Brabantia VII' 8-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Ptr10 ($30 in chips)
Seat 2: Gerrr ($98 in chips)
Seat 3: eeeooplad ($54 in chips)
Seat 4: pauly3 ($62 in chips)
Seat 6: marcbozz ($65 in chips)
Seat 7: syncbic ($64 in chips)
Seat 8: plutoman20 ($112 in chips)
marcbozz: posts small blind $1
syncbic: posts big blind $2
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5s 6h 5c 3s]
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
Ptr10: folds
Gerrr: raises $2 to $6
eeeooplad: folds
pauly3: folds
marcbozz: folds
syncbic: folds
plutoman20: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [5s]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6h 5c 3s] [Ad]
Gerrr: stands pat
plutoman20: checks
Gerrr: bets $2
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
Gerrr: raises $2 to $6
plutoman20: raises $2 to $8
Betting is capped
Gerrr: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [6h 5c 3s Ad]
Gerrr: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $4
Gerrr: raises $4 to $8
plutoman20: calls $4
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [6h 5c 3s Ad]
Gerrr: stands pat
plutoman20: checks
Gerrr: bets $4
plutoman20: calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Gerrr: shows [7s 2c 6d 5h] (Badugi: 7,6,5,2)
plutoman20: shows [Ad 6h 5c 3s] (Badugi: 6,5,3,A)
plutoman20 collected $53 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $55 Rake $2
Seat 1: Ptr10 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Gerrr showed [7s 2c 6d 5h] and lost with a Badugi: 7,6,5,2
Seat 3: eeeooplad folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: pauly3 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: marcbozz (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 7: syncbic (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 8: plutoman20 showed [Ad 6h 5c 3s] and won ($53) with a Badugi: 6,5,3,A

Don't think I'll go pro just yet...

I haven't made the best of starts to 2011; so far I'm down almost eighty bucks. Most of those losses have come in badugi ($55 in 138 hands). Maybe I'll have to get a real job this year after all. Here are five hands from the last five days:

Hand 1
Not a lot I can do about this one. It got me thinking what would be the worst pat hand I'd commit with 70-odd big blinds deep? What about 150 BB? This game might simply be too opponent-dependent to come up with even a vague rule of thumb.

PokerStars Game #55156994688: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/31 18:46:00 ET
Table 'Zelia III' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: hebo55555 ($67.90 in chips)
Seat 2: bar_men_83 ($46.25 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($37.35 in chips)
Seat 5: PokeYer ($41.60 in chips)
Seat 6: STUDENT 63% ($60.90 in chips)
Seat 7: lynxjune ($61.85 in chips)
bar_men_83: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3s 6s 8c 4s 5s]
tehopo1 leaves the table
PokeYer: calls $0.50
STUDENT 63%: folds
lynxjune: folds
hebo55555: folds
bar_men_83: raises $1 to $1.50
plutoman20: raises $2.50 to $4
PokeYer: folds
bar_men_83: raises $4 to $8
plutoman20: raises $29.35 to $37.35 and is all-in
bar_men_83: calls $29.35
bar_men_83: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [3s 6s 8c 4s 5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bar_men_83: shows [8d 5c 2s 4d 3h] (Lo: 8,5,4,3,2)
plutoman20: mucks hand
bar_men_83 collected $72.20 from pot
plutoman20 said, "nh"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $75.20 Rake $3
Seat 1: hebo55555 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: bar_men_83 (small blind) showed [8d 5c 2s 4d 3h] and won ($72.20) with Lo: 8,5,4,3,2
Seat 3: plutoman20 (big blind) mucked [3s 6s 8c 4s 5s]
Seat 5: PokeYer folded before Flop
Seat 6: STUDENT 63% folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: lynxjune folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 2
Bloody Bar_men again, but this time (annoyingly) he's on my left. I've been in this spot a few times before against him, so I should have known better than to play a pat 10-8 this way out of position.

PokerStars Game #55159156270: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/31 20:03:09 ET
Table 'Schlutia' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: cockaroach13 ($26.95 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($27.60 in chips)
Seat 3: bar_men_83 ($54.70 in chips)
Seat 4: wayne 456 ($33.60 in chips)
Seat 5: GazBarker ($20.60 in chips)
Seat 6: Jordan4496 ($5.50 in chips)
Seat 7: hebo55555 ($75.20 in chips)
cockaroach13: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Ts 8c 6s 2s 4c]
bar_men_83: raises $1 to $1.50
wayne 456: folds
GazBarker: folds
Jordan4496: folds
hebo55555: folds
cockaroach13: folds
plutoman20: raises $3.50 to $5
bar_men_83: calls $3.50
cockaroach13 leaves the table
plutoman20: stands pat on [Ts 8c 6s 2s 4c]
bar_men_83: discards 1 card
plutoman20: checks
bar_men_83: bets $49.70 and is all-in
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($49.70) returned to bar_men_83
bar_men_83 collected $9.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $10.25 Rake $0.50
Seat 1: cockaroach13 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: plutoman20 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: bar_men_83 collected ($9.75)
Seat 4: wayne 456 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: GazBarker folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Jordan4496 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: hebo55555 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 3
Yuck. After he patted I decided to draw to the smooth eight. The $5 bet was simply a value bet with my 9-8 (I might have been better off checking, but I had the nut 9-8 after all). When he shoved I figured he was slow-playing a monster; it's a line I see often enough. If I'd hit a seven to make number ten I'd have called his all-in, expecting to lose a lot of the time.

PokerStars Game #55384290194: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/01/04 22:15:14 ET
Table 'Hirons VIII' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Doerka ($22.50 in chips)
Seat 2: gusty1988 ($10 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($35.60 in chips)
Seat 4: Donkery ($35.45 in chips)
Seat 5: Leon Hakal ($19.10 in chips)
Seat 6: JuggliNick ($33.15 in chips)
Seat 7: BeavsLady ($22.70 in chips)
gusty1988: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c Th 2s 4c 8s]
Donkery: folds
Leon Hakal: folds
Doerka said, "do you know each other"
JuggliNick: folds
BeavsLady: folds
Doerka: raises $1 to $1.50
gusty1988 is disconnected
gusty1988 has timed out while disconnected
gusty1988: folds
plutoman20: raises $2.50 to $4
Doerka: calls $2.50
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Th]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 2s 4c 8s] [9h]
Doerka: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $5
Doerka: raises $13.50 to $18.50 and is all-in
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($13.50) returned to Doerka
Doerka collected $17.40 from pot
Doerka: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $18.25 Rake $0.85
Seat 1: Doerka (button) collected ($17.40)
Seat 2: gusty1988 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: plutoman20 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: Donkery folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Leon Hakal folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: JuggliNick folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: BeavsLady folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 4
A rare bright spot so far this year. I benefited from what I thought was a silly reraise from Doerka. Maybe I should have called with my 98432 nine minutes earlier after all.

PokerStars Game #55384592259: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/01/04 22:24:06 ET
Table 'Hirons VIII' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: Doerka ($32.35 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($28.70 in chips)
Seat 4: Donkery ($26.10 in chips)
Seat 5: Leon Hakal ($22.85 in chips)
Seat 6: JuggliNick ($36.70 in chips)
Seat 7: BeavsLady ($19.70 in chips)
Doerka: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [8h 2c 4s 3c 8s]
Donkery: folds
Leon Hakal: folds
JuggliNick: folds
BeavsLady: folds
Doerka: raises $1 to $1.50
plutoman20: calls $1
Doerka: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [8s]
Dealt to plutoman20 [8h 2c 4s 3c] [5s]
Doerka: bets $2
plutoman20: raises $4 to $6
Doerka: raises $22.50 to $28.50
plutoman20: calls $21.20 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($1.30) returned to Doerka
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Doerka: shows [2s 4c 6c 7s 8c] (Lo: 8,7,6,4,2)
plutoman20: shows [8h 2c 4s 3c 5s] (Lo: 8,5,4,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $54.55 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $57.40 Rake $2.85
Seat 1: Doerka (small blind) showed [2s 4c 6c 7s 8c] and lost with Lo: 8,7,6,4,2
Seat 3: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [8h 2c 4s 3c 5s] and won ($54.55) with Lo: 8,5,4,3,2
Seat 4: Donkery folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Leon Hakal folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: JuggliNick folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: BeavsLady (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 5
Four decision points in this badugi hand (those who think badugi is all luck and requires no thought are badly mistaken in my view):

1. Should I be breaking this from the get-go? Make it Q54A and I wouldn't hesitate to break; J32A and I'd probably break too. I think the heads-up-ness of the hand makes my pat with J54A correct here.

2. What do I do when The Nimsta check-raises me on the turn? Fold, call and pat, or call and break? Normally if you have to break you should fold instead, but pat badugis as breakable as this one are quite rare. I figure the pot is just big enough to make it worth calling and breaking.

3. Great. I hit a 7-5, and estimate I'm a 55% favourite against his range so I raise, which I now think was a mistake. The problem is that if he's got a real monster he'll three-bet me and unless I can somehow find a fold to his three-bet, my raise has just cost me $4 compared with the $2 it would bring me if he calls with a worse hand. And my 55% figure is probably optimistic anyway.

4. OK, so he does three-bet me. I don't think I've ever folded in this situation (I've seen too many people go crazy with rough sevens and even eights), but I should have at least considered it here. At higher levels of the game, raise-folding on the river is likely to be a worthwhile play on occasions.

Full Tilt Poker Game #26986855178: Table Ticonderoga - $1/$2 - Limit Badugi - 22:25:03 ET - 2011/01/04
Seat 1: topopoto ($15.25)
Seat 2: Krack_ur_nutz ($64.60)
Seat 3: btwen ($84), is sitting out
Seat 4: votoihong ($11)
Seat 5: The Nimsta ($90.75)
Seat 8: plutoman20 ($42.25)
topopoto posts the small blind of $0.50
Krack_ur_nutz posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Jc 5d As 4h]
votoihong folds
The Nimsta raises to $2
plutoman20 raises to $3
topopoto folds
Krack_ur_nutz folds
The Nimsta calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $7.50)
The Nimsta discards 1 card
plutoman20 stands pat on [Jc 5d As 4h]
The Nimsta is dealt 1 card
The Nimsta checks
plutoman20 bets $1
The Nimsta calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $9.50)
The Nimsta discards 1 card
plutoman20 stands pat on [Jc 5d As 4h]
The Nimsta is dealt 1 card
The Nimsta checks
plutoman20 bets $2
The Nimsta raises to $4
plutoman20 calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $17.50)
The Nimsta stands pat
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Jc]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5d As 4h] [7c]
The Nimsta bets $2
plutoman20 raises to $4
The Nimsta raises to $6
plutoman20 calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
The Nimsta shows [4d 3c 2s Ah] a Badugi: 4, 3, 2, A
plutoman20 mucks
The Nimsta wins the pot ($28.50) with a Badugi: 4, 3, 2, A
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $29.50 Rake $1
Seat 1: topopoto (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: Krack_ur_nutz (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 3: btwen is sitting out
Seat 4: votoihong folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: The Nimsta showed [4d 3c 2s Ah] and won ($28.50) with a Badugi: 4, 3, 2, A
Seat 8: plutoman20 (button) mucked [7c 5d 4h As] - a Badugi: 7, 5, 4, A

December monthly report and 2010 annual review

December was another good month for me - I made $589, not bad considering I only played on 21 days. This took my overall profit to $7590. Virtually all of this profit - $7570 - came in 2010.

It was an interesting year for sure, far exceeding my expectations. Hell, I made more money from poker than from anything else. The SCOOP result in May was a massive stroke of good fortune and accounted for nearly two-thirds of my profit for the year. Here's a chart showing my month-by-month results. I hope my eleven straight winning months mean that May (off the map with a profit of $4801 for the month) wasn't a complete fluke:

Towards the end of the year I carved out a niche for myself, which was nice, but if I'm going to take the next step in 2011 there are two things I'll have to do:

1. Play bigger draw games. This will increase variance and probably create a few nasty red bars in the graph, but hopefully some nice tall blue ones too.

2. Learn new games. Badugi and single draw ain't gonna cut it. PLO8 is the most likely candidate right now.

Secret single draw

To my surprise I've managed to sneak in a few hundred hands in the last three days. A sluggish internet connection, as well as the scary prospect of Mum and Dad finding out, have presented some extra challenges. To simplify matters I've stuck firmly to the 25c/50c single draw games on Poker Stars. We're going away soon, so I've very likely played my last hand of 2010.

Hand 1
This hand was from a couple of weeks back. An absence of reads on Klasu makes this a bad call, but really I should have folded to the pre-draw four-bet even though it was a small one. A 987 out of position is a real trouble hand.

Full Tilt Poker Game #26370126582: Table Meadowlands (6 max, ante) - $0.10/$0.20 Ante $0.05 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 14:48:57 ET - 2010/12/13
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($19.20)
Seat 2: DelokPOK ($7)
Seat 3: crebonator69 ($5.38)
Seat 4: Klasu ($23.56)
Seat 5: rwc3793 ($35.70)
Seat 6: pokerciuccio ($22.56)
DelokPOK antes $0.05
Klasu antes $0.05
rwc3793 antes $0.05
pokerciuccio antes $0.05
plutoman20 antes $0.05
crebonator69 antes $0.05
pokerciuccio: oldest games around this one, far back
pokerciuccio posts the small blind of $0.10
plutoman20 posts the big blind of $0.20
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [4c 9c 7d 8d 2c]
Klasu: with 0,5/1 blinds
DelokPOK folds
DelokPOK adds $0.05
crebonator69 folds
Klasu raises to $1
rwc3793 folds
pokerciuccio: this game was around durng the civil war
pokerciuccio has 15 seconds left to act
pokerciuccio folds
Klasu: okay
plutoman20 raises to $3.50
Klasu has 15 seconds left to act
Klasu raises to $8
plutoman20 has 15 seconds left to act
plutoman20 calls $4.50
*** DRAW *** (Pot: $16.40)
plutoman20 stands pat on [4c 9c 7d 8d 2c]
Klasu has 15 seconds left to act
Klasu discards 1 card
Klasu is dealt 1 card
plutoman20 checks
Klasu bets $15.51, and is all in
plutoman20 calls $11.15, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $4.36 returned to Klasu
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Klasu shows [7h 5c 4d 3s 2s] 7,5,4,3,2
plutoman20 mucks
Klasu wins the pot ($36.77) with 7,5,4,3,2
plutoman20: wow
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $38.70 Rake $1.93
Seat 1: plutoman20 (big blind) mucked [9c 8d 7d 4c 2c] - 9,8,7,4,2
Seat 2: DelokPOK folded before the Draw
Seat 3: crebonator69 folded before the Draw
Seat 4: Klasu showed [7h 5c 4d 3s 2s] and won ($36.77) with 7,5,4,3,2
Seat 5: rwc3793 (button) folded before the Draw
Seat 6: pokerciuccio (small blind) folded before the Draw

Hand 2
No I didn't play poker on Christmas Day. This was one of the breakable 10-7s I was dealt on Boxing Day. I'm never quite sure what I should do with this hand out of position. I go for the three-bet-and-break line here. Unfortunately I broke the best hand.

PokerStars Game #54831196784: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/25 17:05:56 ET
Table 'Kitalpha VI' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 2: Angyalfold ($49.70 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($32.75 in chips)
Seat 4: 02gunner93 ($12.60 in chips)
Seat 5: dominikavery ($34.75 in chips)
Seat 7: waicko ($33.55 in chips)
2T!lt4Fold was removed from the table for failing to post
Angyalfold: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6d 4h Th 7c 2d]
02gunner93: folds
dominikavery: raises $1 to $1.50
waicko: folds
Angyalfold: folds
plutoman20: raises $2.50 to $4
dominikavery: calls $2.50
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Th]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6d 4h 7c 2d] [Jd]
dominikavery: stands pat
plutoman20: checks
dominikavery: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [6d 4h Jd 7c 2d] (Lo: J,7,6,4,2)
dominikavery: shows [8d 4d 7h 2s Ts] (Lo: T,8,7,4,2)
dominikavery collected $7.85 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8.25 Rake $0.40
Seat 2: Angyalfold (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [6d 4h Jd 7c 2d] and lost with Lo: J,7,6,4,2
Seat 4: 02gunner93 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: dominikavery showed [8d 4d 7h 2s Ts] and won ($7.85) with Lo: T,8,7,4,2
Seat 7: waicko (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 3
This one goes multi-way so I think breaking and calling, hoping to take down a big pot, is the way to go.

PokerStars Game #54840670038: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/25 20:52:37 ET
Table 'Iphigenia VIII' 7-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: pier666 ($24.55 in chips)
Seat 2: Peoty ($13.35 in chips)
Seat 3: cockaroach13 ($26.05 in chips)
Seat 4: 5Shawzie ($8.75 in chips)
Seat 5: clubflush10 ($17.95 in chips)
Seat 6: SweetSylvia ($57.55 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($30.05 in chips)
SweetSylvia: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [7c Ts 2c 3c 4h]
pier666: folds
Peoty: folds
cockaroach13: folds
5Shawzie: raises $1.50 to $2
clubflush10: folds
SweetSylvia: calls $1.75
plutoman20: calls $1.50
SweetSylvia: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ts]
Dealt to plutoman20 [7c 2c 3c 4h] [Kh]
5Shawzie: discards 3 cards
SweetSylvia: bets $2
plutoman20: folds
5Shawzie: folds
Uncalled bet ($2) returned to SweetSylvia
SweetSylvia collected $5.70 from pot
SweetSylvia: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $6 Rake $0.30
Seat 1: pier666 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Peoty folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: cockaroach13 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: 5Shawzie folded on the Flop
Seat 5: clubflush10 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: SweetSylvia (small blind) collected ($5.70)
Seat 7: plutoman20 (big blind) folded on the Flop

Hand 4
This time I pat my 10-7, and although it didn't work out for me, it seemed to be the right play against an opponent who didn't bet his 96543. Maybe he was going for a check-raise, but I don't think it's strong enough for that.

PokerStars Game #54877757223: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/26 15:29:29 ET
Table 'Zerlina III' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: AsterQ ($20.60 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($30 in chips)
Seat 4: onixbet ($10.25 in chips)
Seat 6: Azullejos ($27.45 in chips)
Seat 7: version_05 ($20 in chips)
AsterQ: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Tc 2c 7h 5c 3s]
onixbet: folds
Azullejos: raises $0.75 to $1.25
version_05: folds
AsterQ: folds
plutoman20: raises $2.50 to $3.75
Azullejos: calls $2.50
plutoman20: stands pat on [Tc 2c 7h 5c 3s]
Azullejos: discards 1 card
plutoman20: checks
Azullejos: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [Tc 2c 7h 5c 3s] (Lo: T,7,5,3,2)
Azullejos: shows [5d 4s 3c 9s 6h] (Lo: 9,6,5,4,3)
Azullejos collected $7.40 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.75 Rake $0.35
Seat 1: AsterQ (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [Tc 2c 7h 5c 3s] and lost with Lo: T,7,5,3,2
Seat 4: onixbet folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Azullejos showed [5d 4s 3c 9s 6h] and won ($7.40) with Lo: 9,6,5,4,3
Seat 7: version_05 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 5
An advantage of three-betting big draws is that opponents often suspect you of bluffing when you bet out after the draw.

PokerStars Game #54885965305: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/26 17:45:33 ET
Table 'Zerlina III' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($34.75 in chips)
Seat 2: STUDENT 63% ($8.80 in chips)
Seat 4: bar_men_83 ($58.40 in chips)
Seat 5: Alphaville C ($12.05 in chips)
Seat 6: Azullejos ($47.85 in chips)
STUDENT 63%: posts small blind $0.25
bar_men_83: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5h 5d 2d 7c 4c]
Alphaville C: calls $0.50
Azullejos: raises $0.75 to $1.25
plutoman20: raises $2.75 to $4
STUDENT 63%: folds
bar_men_83: folds
Alphaville C: folds
Azullejos: calls $2.75
Azullejos: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [5h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5d 2d 7c 4c] [6s]
Azullejos: checks
plutoman20: bets $6
Azullejos: calls $6
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [6s 5d 2d 7c 4c] (Lo: 7,6,5,4,2)
Azullejos: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $20.25 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $21.25 Rake $1
Seat 1: plutoman20 (button) showed [6s 5d 2d 7c 4c] and won ($20.25) with Lo: 7,6,5,4,2
Seat 2: STUDENT 63% (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: bar_men_83 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: Alphaville C folded before Flop
Seat 6: Azullejos mucked [Ac 4d 2c 3d 7h]

Hand 6
This is easily the most improbable draw I've ever hit in this game (how often do I draw four anyway?) so I overbet the pot, but Cockaroach should never have given me the chance to hit it.

PokerStars Game #54904720141: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/27 2:50:23 ET
Table 'Sibylla III' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: PokerGoddJr ($60.50 in chips)
Seat 2: CanadianPort ($17.10 in chips)
Seat 3: Angyalfold ($59.45 in chips)
Seat 4: Elales ($13.50 in chips)
Seat 5: BOOTS1918 ($29.10 in chips)
Seat 6: plutoman20 ($24.20 in chips)
Seat 7: cockaroach13 ($13.95 in chips)
BOOTS1918: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Th Jh Qs Kd 2d]
cockaroach13: calls $0.50
PokerGoddJr: folds
CanadianPort: folds
Angyalfold: folds
Elales: folds
BOOTS1918: calls $0.25
plutoman20: checks
BOOTS1918: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 4 cards [Th Jh Qs Kd]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2d] [3d 7h 4c 6h]
cockaroach13: stands pat
BOOTS1918: checks
plutoman20: bets $3
cockaroach13: calls $3
BOOTS1918: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [3d 7h 4c 6h 2d] (Lo: 7,6,4,3,2)
cockaroach13: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $7.15 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.50 Rake $0.35
Seat 1: PokerGoddJr folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: CanadianPort folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Angyalfold folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Elales (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: BOOTS1918 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [3d 7h 4c 6h 2d] and won ($7.15) with Lo: 7,6,4,3,2
Seat 7: cockaroach13 mucked [5h 7d 2c 8c 9d]

Hand 7
This was pure kamikaze stuff from last night. Whether I put my last few dollars in the middle or just call the big shove makes no practical difference, but it does change the message I send out. Maybe just calling would have been better (my opponents might have put me on a draw and stood pat on a marginal hand instead of breaking it); thankfully it didn't matter here.

PokerStars Game #54963530603: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/28 5:29:08 ET
Table 'Cornelia II' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: bat270 ($17.15 in chips)
Seat 2: boongoo ($11.25 in chips)
Seat 4: donmaradonna ($17.55 in chips)
Seat 5: Revoc Rednu ($66.10 in chips)
Seat 6: Shinestar101 ($27.50 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($35.80 in chips)
Revoc Rednu: posts small blind $0.25
Shinestar101: posts big blind $0.50
boongoo: posts small & big blinds $0.75
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 3s 8c 7c 4h]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
bat270: calls $1.50
boongoo: folds
donmaradonna: folds
Revoc Rednu: folds
Shinestar101: raises $26 to $27.50 and is all-in
plutoman20: raises $8.30 to $35.80 and is all-in
bat270: calls $15.65 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($8.30) returned to plutoman20
Shinestar101: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [2s 3s 8c 7c 4h]
bat270: discards 1 card
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Shinestar101: shows [3c 8d 6s 9s 9d] (Lo: a pair of Nines)
plutoman20: shows [2s 3s 8c 7c 4h] (Lo: 8,7,4,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $20.30 from side pot
bat270: shows [8h 7d Th 3h 5c] (Lo: T,8,7,5,3)
plutoman20 collected $49.85 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $73.15 Main pot $49.85. Side pot $20.30. Rake $3
Seat 1: bat270 showed [8h 7d Th 3h 5c] and lost with Lo: T,8,7,5,3
Seat 2: boongoo folded before Flop
Seat 4: donmaradonna (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Revoc Rednu (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Shinestar101 (big blind) showed [3c 8d 6s 9s 9d] and lost with Lo: a pair of Nines
Seat 7: plutoman20 showed [2s 3s 8c 7c 4h] and won ($70.15) with Lo: 8,7,4,3,2

Getting lucky

Poker Stars' random number generator treated me well this morning. I played two tournaments simultaneously and cashed in both, but I spent a good part of my four hours gasping for air, clinging desperately to life. In the $5.50 single draw I was on the same table as Mr Shove, who might have been one of Roger Hargreaves' creations. I had good draws but kept folding to his all-ins. One time I was dealt a 10-6, Mr Shove made his usual play, and I folded once more, instantly regretting it (my fold was a kneejerk reaction based on cash game experience). I busted shortly before the rebuy period ended so I fired a second bullet. I got moved to another table and this time faced Mr Shove's big brother, Mr Push, who went all in about every third or fourth hand. I was low on chips when I got a seven draw in early position, there were a number of limpers, then Mr Push made his favourite play. With all the limpers it seemed a call. This time Mr Push had a pat nine but I made number three to survive. All my chips went in the middle on several occasions, and each time I somehow held on. I thought I played pretty well at the final table, pulling off the odd well-timed bluff. We were three-handed for a while until my luck finally deserted me when my pat 9-7 was outdrawn - had I won that hand I'd have been heads-up with a handy chip lead, but instead I finished in third place a few hands later. I could hardly complain with a payout of $72.50.

I made a good start to the weekly FPP no limit hold 'em tournament when I flopped the nut flush and check-raised all in against someone who couldn't get away from pocket aces. I wonder whether I could have done. I made what was probably a bad series of calls with a straight draw to lose half my stack, and was then crippled when my opponent rivered a straight. Shortly after, I got 88 and pushed, ran into JJ, but hit an eight on the river (I actually had six outs - I also had a gutshot straight draw). I acquired a reasonable stack and clung on for some time before busting in 210th place for $30.

Will I play any more poker this year? I don't know. Yesterday I was getting a bit fed up with it even though I was making money. It's perfect weather for it (it's been sheeting down with rain for days) but I've got plenty to do before I go down south on Wednesday. I'm also going to see Gorillaz on Tuesday night. Mum and Dad now have wireless broadband, and I'm sure I could sneak in the odd session on my laptop if I wanted to, but I think I'd rather be reading books and spending more time outside. I might play enough hands to get another $20 bonus on Full Tilt (that won't be many) and I'll call it a day - or a year.

Someone had this to say about Friday's $55 single draw tournament: "MiniFTOPS #25 was the most tilting experience ever playing poker. My time would have been better spent lighting 55 dollar bills on fire, one at a time." I don't tilt easily but I can see where he's coming from. 8643...8. Great. Next hand: 7632...6. Oh well. 8432...King. And so it went on. Here are a few recent hands:

Hand 1
This was probably the biggest hand of the tournament for me. It was the last hand before the first (and for me the only) break. Can I call getting two to one? I figured he could easily make this play with a worse hand, but a third of the time?

Full Tilt Poker Game #26462725259: MiniFTOPS Event #25 (195754169), Table 51 - 40/80 Ante 20 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 21:54:41 ET - 2010/12/16
Seat 1: ratman5 (1,605)
Seat 2: jcg2005 (9,493)
Seat 3: foo__ (6,590)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (3,527)
Seat 5: 043icf (2,562)
Seat 6: da Mom2 (5,261)
ratman5 antes 20
jcg2005 antes 20
foo__ antes 20
plutoman20 antes 20
043icf antes 20
da Mom2 antes 20
jcg2005 posts the small blind of 40
foo__ posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9d 3h 2c 8c 4c]
plutoman20 raises to 280
043icf folds
da Mom2 folds
ratman5 folds
jcg2005 calls 240
foo__ calls 200
*** DRAW *** (Pot: 960)
jcg2005 stands pat
foo__ discards 1 card
plutoman20 stands pat on [9d 3h 2c 8c 4c]
foo__ is dealt 1 card
jcg2005 checks
foo__ bets 960
plutoman20 folds
jcg2005 folds
Uncalled bet of 960 returned to foo__
foo__ mucks
foo__ wins the pot (960)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 960 Rake 0
Seat 1: ratman5 (button) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: jcg2005 (small blind) folded after the Draw
Seat 3: foo__ (big blind) collected (960), mucked
Seat 4: plutoman20 folded after the Draw
Seat 5: 043icf folded before the Draw
Seat 6: da Mom2 folded before the Draw

Hand 2
This hand created a new record for the best hand I've ever folded in single draw. I hadn't seen Mr McGee make this move before, and I think he's polarised towards huge hands (i.e. sevens) and bluffs. My hand doesn't contain a seven. I don't think this would be a bad play if he did have a seven - he knows I'll have an eight a decent amount of the time, and a lot of players don't fold eights, let alone good eights. I can't say I enjoyed this fold, which was based on feel more than anything else.

PokerStars Game #54388194113: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/17 1:47:16 ET
Table 'Icarus III' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: carome ($27.80 in chips)
Seat 2: Elales ($25.75 in chips)
Seat 3: KHOOH Member ($9.75 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($33.95 in chips)
Seat 5: mr_mcgee2 ($40 in chips)
Seat 6: CanadianPort ($44.40 in chips)
Seat 7: 'tacheman ($20.85 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
mr_mcgee2: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6s 2c Qs 3s 8d]
CanadianPort: folds
'tacheman: folds
carome: calls $0.50
Elales: folds
KHOOH Member: folds
plutoman20: raises $1.50 to $2
mr_mcgee2: calls $1.50
carome: calls $1.50
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Qs]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6s 2c 3s 8d] [5c]
mr_mcgee2: discards 1 card
carome: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets $4
mr_mcgee2: raises $34 to $38 and is all-in
carome: folds
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($34) returned to mr_mcgee2
mr_mcgee2 collected $13.35 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $14 Rake $0.65
Seat 1: carome folded on the Flop
Seat 2: Elales folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: KHOOH Member (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: mr_mcgee2 (big blind) collected ($13.35)
Seat 6: CanadianPort folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: 'tacheman folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 3
I don't think I can call and pat, I don't think I can four-bet and pat (although he might well have folded had I done so), and I don't think I can fold this either. I end up breaking the better hand, just. It's not nice being out of position in this game.

PokerStars Game #54439997555: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/18 2:26:27 ET
Table 'Victoria V' 7-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Elales ($20.45 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($21.70 in chips)
Seat 3: El chapulin9 ($29.70 in chips)
Seat 4: John V1982 ($13.55 in chips)
Seat 5: cockaroach13 ($16.20 in chips)
Seat 6: mr_mcgee2 ($32.15 in chips)
Seat 7: andrey738 ($17.60 in chips)
andrey738: posts small blind $0.25
Elales: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [7s 8s Tc 6s 2c]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
El chapulin9: folds
John V1982: folds
cockaroach13: folds
mr_mcgee2: raises $3 to $4.50
andrey738: folds
Elales: folds
plutoman20: calls $3
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Tc]
Dealt to plutoman20 [7s 8s 6s 2c] [2s]
mr_mcgee2: stands pat
plutoman20: checks
mr_mcgee2: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [7s 8s 2s 6s 2c] (Lo: a pair of Deuces)
mr_mcgee2: shows [7c 5s 8h Th 6d] (Lo: T,8,7,6,5)
mr_mcgee2 collected $9.30 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $9.75 Rake $0.45
Seat 1: Elales (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: plutoman20 showed [7s 8s 2s 6s 2c] and lost with Lo: a pair of Deuces
Seat 3: El chapulin9 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: John V1982 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: cockaroach13 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: mr_mcgee2 (button) showed [7c 5s 8h Th 6d] and won ($9.30) with Lo: T,8,7,6,5
Seat 7: andrey738 (small blind) folded before Flop

Hand 4
Elales really didn't like this. My hand isn't great but I don't want to fold in position, I can't break it, and if I'm going to pat I really have to reraise, which is what I do. Elales calls me (a four-bet and I'd have been out of the way), then he pats. Ugh. Now what? What's more likely? Him patting a worse jack or me hitting a deuce or a nine (which I figure will both be good). I decide on the latter, break my unbreakable hand, and strike gold. Elales' chat after this hand wasn't complimentary to me (and it's a good job he didn't know I drew to the 7654 or else he'd have been apoplectic). In hindsight I probably should have just folded to his initial raise. Make my hand J7652 or even J7653 and I think my play would have been fine. But his play wasn't brilliant either: by not four-betting he gave me infinite odds to hit my longshot draw (as it happened, if I'd hit a nine we would have split).

PokerStars Game #54440170421: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/18 2:35:28 ET
Table 'Victoria V' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Elales ($17.15 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($21.10 in chips)
Seat 3: El chapulin9 ($27.80 in chips)
Seat 4: John V1982 ($12.90 in chips)
Seat 5: Donkery ($19.85 in chips)
Seat 6: mr_mcgee2 ($26.05 in chips)
Seat 7: andrey738 ($26.85 in chips)
Donkery: posts small blind $0.25
mr_mcgee2: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c Jh 7s 6h 4c]
andrey738: folds
Elales: raises $1 to $1.50
plutoman20: raises $2.50 to $4
El chapulin9: folds
John V1982: folds
Donkery: folds
mr_mcgee2: folds
Elales: calls $2.50
Elales: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Jh]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 7s 6h 4c] [2s]
Elales: checks
plutoman20: bets $5.50
Elales: calls $5.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [5c 2s 7s 6h 4c] (Lo: 7,6,5,4,2)
Elales: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $18.80 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $19.75 Rake $0.95
Seat 1: Elales mucked [9h 6c 7c 5h 4h]
Seat 2: plutoman20 showed [5c 2s 7s 6h 4c] and won ($18.80) with Lo: 7,6,5,4,2
Seat 3: El chapulin9 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: John V1982 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Donkery (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: mr_mcgee2 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: andrey738 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 5
Yesterday I made $63 in two dozen hands at $2/$4 badugi. It was only the second time I'd played at that level; my first attempt was far less successful. The play on this table was particularly bad (hence why I was there). As yet, this is the biggest badugi pot I've played. It was hard to make sense of what was going on here. You've got Tima calling $5 pre-draw and taking two, Snirk donking into me and heaven knows what else. When Snirk gets out of the way I decide to put in a thin value raise. It was only half an hour after this hand, when I looked at what Ma22ye81 had, that I realised just how thin.

PokerStars Game #54413770401: Badugi Limit ($2/$4 USD) - 2010/12/17 14:59:01 ET
Table 'Lupus VIII' 8-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($127 in chips)
Seat 2: tima0061 ($39 in chips)
Seat 3: PanTangTyger ($80 in chips)
Seat 4: ma22ye81 ($52 in chips)
Seat 5: snirk ($173 in chips)
Seat 7: cuchiku ($151 in chips)
tima0061: posts small blind $1
PanTangTyger: posts big blind $2
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6d 2c 4s 8h]
ma22ye81: raises $2 to $4
snirk: calls $4
cuchiku: folds
plutoman20: raises $2 to $6
tima0061: calls $5
PanTangTyger: calls $4
ma22ye81: calls $2
snirk: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
tima0061: discards 2 cards
PanTangTyger: discards 2 cards
ma22ye81: discards 2 cards
snirk: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [6d 2c 4s 8h]
tima0061: checks
PanTangTyger: checks
ma22ye81: checks
snirk: bets $2
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
tima0061: calls $4
PanTangTyger: folds
ma22ye81: raises $2 to $6
snirk: calls $4
plutoman20: calls $2
tima0061: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
tima0061: discards 1 card
ma22ye81: stands pat
snirk: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [6d 2c 4s 8h]
tima0061: checks
ma22ye81: bets $4
snirk: folds
plutoman20: raises $4 to $8
tima0061: folds
ma22ye81: calls $4
*** THIRD DRAW ***
ma22ye81: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [6d 2c 4s 8h]
ma22ye81: checks
plutoman20: bets $4
ma22ye81: calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [6d 2c 4s 8h] (Badugi: 8,6,4,2)
ma22ye81: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $78 Rake $3
Seat 1: plutoman20 (button) showed [6d 2c 4s 8h] and won ($75) with a Badugi: 8,6,4,2
Seat 2: tima0061 (small blind) folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 3: PanTangTyger (big blind) folded after the 1st Draw
Seat 4: ma22ye81 mucked [6c 3d 4h 8s]
Seat 5: snirk folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 7: cuchiku folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Update:
Hand 6
This one from perhaps my last session of the year. Poolwiz doesn't cap pre-draw so probably doesn't like his badugi much. So I go for a bluff raise on the turn. It's important to be in position for this manoeuvre: if he calls and pats I can still draw.

Full Tilt Poker Game #26518525793: Table Ticonderoga - $1/$2 - Limit Badugi - 22:49:30 ET - 2010/12/18
Seat 1: Crabman ($53)
Seat 2: mafiawarwalter ($12)
Seat 3: poolwiz1 ($48)
Seat 4: Han_Jam_Bang ($64.50)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($72.75)
Seat 6: manager9 ($20), is sitting out
Seat 7: papo95 ($23.25)
Seat 8: mymaria1 ($13.70)
mymaria1 posts the small blind of $0.50
Crabman posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 2h Ah 3d]
mafiawarwalter folds
poolwiz1 raises to $2
Han_Jam_Bang folds
plutoman20 raises to $3
papo95 folds
mymaria1 folds
Crabman folds
poolwiz1 calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $7.50)
poolwiz1 stands pat
plutoman20 discards 1 card [2h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s Ah 3d] [Jh]
poolwiz1 bets $1
plutoman20 calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $9.50)
poolwiz1 stands pat
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Jh]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s Ah 3d] [9h]
poolwiz1 bets $2
mafiawarwalter stands up
plutoman20 raises to $4
poolwiz1 folds
Uncalled bet of $2 returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 mucks
plutoman20 wins the pot ($13)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $13.50 Rake $0.50
Seat 1: Crabman (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: mafiawarwalter folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: poolwiz1 folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 4: Han_Jam_Bang folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: plutoman20 collected ($13), mucked
Seat 6: manager9 is sitting out
Seat 7: papo95 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mymaria1 (small blind) folded before the Draw

KCL: Keep Chugging a-Long

Update one from the $55 MiniFTOPS single draw: down to 3227 (80% of my starting stack). A pretty barren first hour of play. I haven't been involved in many big pots, an exception being the last hand before the break when I was dealt 98432, action was three-way, and I ended up folding to a pot-sized bet post-draw. So far I've only showed down one winning hand.

Update two: and it's all over. Out in 359th. Played fine (in my opinion), but couldn't catch a goddamn thing. Survived my first all-in when I was down to 1000 - folded around to the small blind, he limped, I shoved my JT985, he called and drew two and my hand held up. The second time I had 1400-odd, blinds were 80-160, EP player raised to 800 (he always raised to 5 BB), I pushed all in with a J98 and the player to my left (who had 4000-odd) pushed too. I was pretty sure I was dead but drew to my 9-8 anyway; I hit a queen but it didn't matter - he had a pat 9-7. Maybe I could have waited but when you're down to eight or nine big blinds you can't mess around.

The best hand I made was 87652 early on; I had plenty of monster draws that could have doubled me up if I'd hit them, but I never did. There were so many calling stations that bluffing when I paired up was almost an impossible task.

A tournament with a buy-in of that size could have done with being a little deeper. I think 5000 chips to start would have been perfect, with 15-minute levels, maybe 20. It appears the FTOPS (and its mini counterpart) are quarterly events, so if I haven't got one of them job thingies by March, I may well be back.

Maxi mini

On Tuesday I had a third crack at trying to get into that $55 buy-in single draw. I ran pretty well and had a biggish stack when we got to the final table, with the top two gaining entry. Down to three, then of course the phone rang. It was Mum. It isn't easy having to talk about jobs and flats when you're on the bubble of a tournament. By my reckoning the three of us went a whopping 177 hands before I was the unlucky one to bust out when I missed a nine draw. It was a shame to miss out but playing short-handed was good experience for me, and I still made $20 on that tournament. Thinking I might not get another chance, yesterday I saw a $5.50 satellite with ten guaranteed seats so I signed up, expecting a pretty low overall level of play and I wasn't disappointed. However I started badly and was down to half my starting stack when I hit 85432 and 86432 on consecutive hands and shoved both times. My number five didn't get a call but my number six did, from someone who had stood pat with 87654! I pushed on from there but got very short around the two-hour point and ended up shoving with 8754 - a yucky draw. My all-in got a call. I hit a lovely three while my opponent drew a king to go with his 8642, so despite being a 60:40 underdog I survived. After one or two hiccups I made the final ten for a place in today's event, which kicks off at 3pm.

The tournament is part of the MiniFTOPS, where FTOPS stands for Full Tilt Online Poker Series. As for the mini part, well it's hardly mini for me; in fact it's the biggest buy-in I've ever played. I'm effectively in for free, not that that should influence my play at all. I remember once having a discussion with Uncle Dan (who passed away in July) about some shares he had bought. They had doubled in value so he sold half of them, meaning he didn't need to worry about his remaining stock because he was "in for free". I disagreed with his line of thinking, though really, who was I to disagree? His investment strategy had made him serious money over the years.

I imagine I'll be posting a few hands from the tournament, or maybe just one if I bust out with my pat eight on the first hand. We'll be deep-stacked (4000 chips to start) but with normal-length 12-minute levels.

For a change here's a triple draw hand from last night. I can't remember the last time I had a winning session in that game, which is why I don't play it much.

Full Tilt Poker Game #26441052356: Table King Henry (6 max) - $0.25/$0.50 - Limit 2-7 Triple Draw - 03:37:02 ET - 2010/12/16
Seat 1: Lady Gakgak ($18.50), is sitting out
Seat 2: kejer04 ($4.70)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($13.55)
Seat 4: blackrabbit11 ($8.70)
Seat 5: LemenyiT ($9.50), is sitting out
Seat 6: Grand Master001 ($21.90)
plutoman20 posts the small blind of $0.10
blackrabbit11 posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c Kh Td 8c 3s]
Grand Master001 has 15 seconds left to act
Grand Master001 folds
kejer04 folds
plutoman20 raises to $0.50
blackrabbit11 raises to $0.75
plutoman20 calls $0.25
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $1.50)
plutoman20 discards 2 cards [Kh Td]
blackrabbit11 discards 2 cards
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 8c 3s] [4d 3d]
blackrabbit11 is dealt 2 cards
plutoman20 checks
blackrabbit11 bets $0.25
plutoman20 calls $0.25
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $2)
plutoman20 discards 1 card [3d]
blackrabbit11 stands pat
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 8c 3s 4d] [2s]
plutoman20 checks
blackrabbit11 bets $0.50
plutoman20 raises to $1
LemenyiT stands up
blackrabbit11 calls $0.50
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $4)
plutoman20 stands pat on [5c 8c 3s 4d 2s]
blackrabbit11 stands pat
plutoman20 bets $0.50
blackrabbit11 calls $0.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20 shows [8c 5c 4d 3s 2s] 8,5,4,3,2
blackrabbit11 shows [7d 6h 4s 3h 2c] 7,6,4,3,2
blackrabbit11 wins the pot ($4.75) with 7,6,4,3,2
plutoman20: lol
plutoman20: that's quite a good hand
blackrabbit11: i know
plutoman20: did u think i had the nuts?
blackrabbit11: that or split
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5 Rake $0.25
Seat 1: Lady Gakgak is sitting out
Seat 2: kejer04 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [8c 5c 4d 3s 2s] and lost with 8,5,4,3,2
Seat 4: blackrabbit11 (big blind) showed [7d 6h 4s 3h 2c] and won ($4.75) with 7,6,4,3,2
Seat 5: LemenyiT is sitting outSeat 6: Grand Master001 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

More KCL commentary

I've tried a few single draw tournaments lately. On Full Tilt I've had a couple of unsuccessful goes at $7.60 satellites to this Friday's $55 tournament. The first time there were 14 runners, with one entry and cash payouts for the next two; obviously I came fourth, but man that was an intense final table! It took forever for anybody to bust out. Eventually I made a 9-7 and had to go with it but ran into an 8-7. I'd dodged a couple of bullets to still be in the tournament at that stage, so I could have no complaints there. Last night it was all over in a flash. In just the few hands I played, people were hitting longshot draws all over the place. On my final hand, I got a free look in the big blind, took four, couldn't believe my good fortune when I made a 9-7 but one of my opponents (who had drawn two) bettered that with an 8-7. I might have one more attempt; I'm beginning to wish I'd just bought in directly.

Poker Stars have recently started offering single draw tournaments with guarantees. The buy-in is $5.50 (for that you get 1500 chips which isn't many) but if you bust out within the first hour you can rebuy ($5 for 1500 chips). It has the potential to be quite profitable: (a) it's not that popular so there's often an overlay, and (b) there are some bad players who pat kings and queens, routinely draw two or three, open-raise to ten big blinds and then call a shove with a two-card draw, you name it. This morning (it started bright and early at 6:50) I got sucked in by a player who limp-reraised me pre-draw. I had 6432 and thought it was still worth calling the reraise. I hit a nine - the worst possible card as I called his all-in only to be shown 86542. I still had a handful of chips left but those soon disappeared. I was well inside the rebuy period though, so I decided to fire another bullet. I ran better this time, virtually doubling up when I made number four and my opponent went to the mat with his 8-7. I couldn't quite kick on from there but I still finished sixth for a net profit of $17. The big mistake I made in that tournament was not making better use of my time by playing something else on the side.

Here are a few recent hands:

Hand 1
I didn't really like calling here, and with reads I've folded in this spot before. He seemed just shallow enough to make this a call.

PokerStars Game #54055491918: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/10 18:09:53 ET
Table 'Sheragul IV' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: Quakerspower ($9.45 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($52.60 in chips)
Seat 3: sneakas ($15.40 in chips)
Seat 5: billymac222 ($14 in chips)
Seat 6: kowal270691 ($12.50 in chips)
Seat 7: D-EVIL NME84 ($12.15 in chips)
billymac222: posts small blind $0.25
kowal270691: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9s 2c 6s 7d 3c]
2J4U joins the table at seat #4
D-EVIL NME84: folds
Quakerspower: calls $0.50
plutoman20: raises $1.50 to $2
sneakas: folds
billymac222: raises $12 to $14 and is all-in
kowal270691: folds
Quakerspower: folds
plutoman20: calls $12
billymac222: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [9s 2c 6s 7d 3c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
billymac222: shows [9c 2d 3h 4h 8c] (Lo: 9,8,4,3,2)
plutoman20: shows [9s 2c 6s 7d 3c] (Lo: 9,7,6,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $27.55 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $29 Rake $1.45
Seat 1: Quakerspower folded before Flop
Seat 2: plutoman20 showed [9s 2c 6s 7d 3c] and won ($27.55) with Lo: 9,7,6,3,2
Seat 3: sneakas (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: billymac222 (small blind) showed [9c 2d 3h 4h 8c] and lost with Lo: 9,8,4,3,2
Seat 6: kowal270691 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: D-EVIL NME84 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 2
This one was similar to that badugi hand involving Lukey - it left me bamboozled. His smallish bet makes me think he could be trying to block, so I put in a small value raise. Then he calls me and shows me the second nuts. Please explain!

PokerStars Game #54125362563: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/12 2:27:43 ET
Table 'Procyon III' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: mr_mcgee2 ($22.80 in chips)
Seat 2: ratso69 ($20 in chips)
Seat 3: benjo100 ($17.45 in chips)
Seat 4: iffyking ($34.45 in chips)
Seat 5: ida1nz ($10 in chips)
Seat 6: NEMUNAS ($23.55 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($29 in chips)
mr_mcgee2: posts small blind $0.25
ratso69: posts big blind $0.50
ida1nz: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9c 5d 6h Ad 3c]
benjo100: folds
iffyking: folds
ida1nz: checks
NEMUNAS: raises $1 to $1.50
plutoman20: calls $1.50
mr_mcgee2: folds
ratso69: calls $1
ida1nz: calls $1
ratso69: discards 2 cards
ida1nz: discards 3 cards
NEMUNAS: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ad]
Dealt to plutoman20 [9c 5d 6h 3c] [4c]
ratso69: checks
ida1nz: checks
NEMUNAS: bets $2.50
plutoman20: raises $3.50 to $6
ratso69: folds
ida1nz: folds
NEMUNAS: calls $3.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [9c 5d 6h 4c 3c] (Lo: 9,6,5,4,3)
NEMUNAS: shows [6s 2h 7d 3s 4h] (Lo: 7,6,4,3,2)
NEMUNAS collected $17.40 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $18.25 Rake $0.85
Seat 1: mr_mcgee2 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: ratso69 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: benjo100 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: iffyking folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: ida1nz folded on the Flop
Seat 6: NEMUNAS showed [6s 2h 7d 3s 4h] and won ($17.40) with Lo: 7,6,4,3,2
Seat 7: plutoman20 (button) showed [9c 5d 6h 4c 3c] and lost with Lo: 9,6,5,4,3

Hand 3
The small bet again from Nemunas rings one or two alarm bells but surely I can't just call here with number ten. Then I'm on tenterhooks as he takes 30 seconds over his decision. Once he shoves, I go with my gut which tells me to save the eleven bucks and get out of there. To date that's the best hand I've ever folded.

PokerStars Game #54126012454: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/12 3:02:38 ET
Table 'Procyon III' 7-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: poker_wizik ($13.90 in chips)
Seat 2: qhd102 ($14.25 in chips)
Seat 3: Mike_Z42 ($10.05 in chips)
Seat 4: TeeKei ($29.25 in chips)
Seat 5: ida1nz ($39.95 in chips)
Seat 6: NEMUNAS ($18.60 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($29.10 in chips)
NEMUNAS: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [4d 3s 4h 2s 8c]
poker_wizik: raises $1 to $1.50
qhd102: folds
Mike_Z42: folds
TeeKei: folds
ida1nz: folds
NEMUNAS: calls $1.25
plutoman20: calls $1
NEMUNAS: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [4d]
Dealt to plutoman20 [3s 4h 2s 8c] [7s]
poker_wizik: discards 1 card
NEMUNAS: bets $2
plutoman20: raises $4 to $6
poker_wizik: folds
NEMUNAS: waits and waits and waits and raises $11.10 to $17.10 and is all-in
plutoman20: doesn't like it one bit and folds
Uncalled bet ($11.10) returned to NEMUNAS
NEMUNAS collected $15.70 from pot
NEMUNAS: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $16.50 Rake $0.80
Seat 1: poker_wizik folded on the Flop
Seat 2: qhd102 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Mike_Z42 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: TeeKei folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: ida1nz (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: NEMUNAS (small blind) collected ($15.70)
Seat 7: plutoman20 (big blind) folded on the Flop

Hand 4
I guess I chickened out of a bet post-draw with my nut nine - any sort of bet involves putting my whole stack at risk. Would he call me with a lot worse? Perhaps, but he's a good solid player. At the time I thought this would be a perfect spot for him to attempt a check-raise (because I showed considerable strength before the draw, hence he'd expect me to bet) but we're too shallow for check-raising to be an option - if I'm betting I'm shoving.

PokerStars Game #54127252133: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/12 4:06:18 ET
Table 'Procyon III' 7-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: qhd102 ($5.40 in chips)
Seat 3: popaionut ($33.65 in chips)
Seat 4: TeeKei ($31.20 in chips)
Seat 5: ida1nz ($48.85 in chips)
Seat 6: NEMUNAS ($29 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($26.15 in chips)
popaionut: posts small blind $0.25
TeeKei: posts big blind $0.50
nettsmoney: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9s 2h 5d 3s 4c]
ida1nz: folds
NEMUNAS: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
qhd102: folds
popaionut: raises $2.50 to $4
TeeKei: folds
plutoman20: raises $7 to $11
popaionut: calls $7
popaionut: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [9s 2h 5d 3s 4c]
popaionut: checks
plutoman20: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
popaionut: shows [Jh 6s 8h 2s 4s] (Lo: J,8,6,4,2)
plutoman20: shows [9s 2h 5d 3s 4c] (Lo: 9,5,4,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $21.40 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $22.50 Rake $1.10
Seat 2: qhd102 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: popaionut (small blind) showed [Jh 6s 8h 2s 4s] and lost with Lo: J,8,6,4,2
Seat 4: TeeKei (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: ida1nz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: NEMUNAS folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: plutoman20 showed [9s 2h 5d 3s 4c] and won ($21.40) with Lo: 9,5,4,3,2

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]

Treading water

I finished the weekend slightly ahead but really it felt I was treading water. The cash games at Full Tilt weren’t up to much: badugi ran at 25c/50c and $2/$4 but nothing in between, single draw seemed to be restricted to penny stakes, while ace-to-five hardly ran at all. However I did play two tournaments on Full Tilt. The first was a $3.30 turbo single draw. I don’t like playing turbo anything, but blind levels tend to increase more gradually than on Stars and payout scales are usually more sensible, so on a whim I decided to play. Eight of the 68 starters got paid. I was one of them, just making the flashy final table before busting out in sixth for a payout of eleven bucks.

The other tournament was a freeroll open to Aussies and Kiwis who deposited in November. Handy sums of money were available – ninety out of 300 got paid, the minimum payout being $20. Early on I got AKo, an early-position player raised, I reraised, one of the blinds cold-called while the original raiser folded. The flop came A-10-something, all unsuited. I bet and got check-raised all-in (he had me covered). I put him on a set of tens, top two pair (would he cold-call my three-bet with A-10?), an identical hand to mine, or a complete bluff. I got away.

The next hand of note: I raised pre-flop with AQo and got a lone call from a big stack. Another ace-high rainbow flop with two low cards, I bet, he called me. The turn was a blank but put a flush draw out there. I shoved, he called with no pair but he had the nut flush draw. He missed the nine-outer and I survived.

The bubble had just burst when I got pocket nines in early position and raised to a quarter of my stack. I was talking to my mum on the phone, so decision-making was harder than normal. I got one caller, we saw a flop and guess what, it came ace-high and rainbow with two low cards and unfortunately no nine. I decided to shove, he called me and flipped over AQ. I missed my two-outer to be out in 81st place for a useful twenty bucks. The play in that tournament was tight and seemed to be of a high standard. Somehow it made me more of a fan of no-limit hold ‘em tournaments.

Here are a few hands from the last week or so:

Hand 1
I very rarely comment on my opponents’ play in chat, but I did after this hand. ? How does Lukey not raise at all after the second or third draw? I asked her (I think it is a she) if she could see my cards. After the second draw I don’t necessarily have a badugi at all. I could understand just calling as a slow play with the intention of capping the river, but when she just called my river bet and we split the pot I was blown away. Her (utterly crazy if you ask me) play saved us both money in the end. I feel like posting this hand on Twoplustwo, but I won’t because I don’t want to raise my profile.

PokerStars Game #53732430038: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2010/12/04 16:23:49 ET
Table 'Pierretta IX' 8-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: milyang ($20 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($39.50 in chips)
Seat 5: lukey1958 ($30 in chips)
Seat 6: adrian432 ($44 in chips)
Seat 7: gmd68 ($76 in chips)
Seat 8: MILKDOG2007 ($24.25 in chips)
eeeooplad will be allowed to play after the button
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.50
lukey1958: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 3d 4h 7h]
adrian432: folds
gmd68: calls $1
MILKDOG2007: folds
milyang: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
lukey1958: calls $1
gmd68: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [7h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 3d 4h] [8d]
lukey1958: discards 1 card
gmd68: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: bets $1
lukey1958: calls $1
gmd68: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [8d]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5c 3d 4h] [2s]
lukey1958: discards 1 card
gmd68: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets $2
lukey1958: calls $2
gmd68: folds
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [5c 3d 4h 2s]
lukey1958: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $2
lukey1958: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [5c 3d 4h 2s] (Badugi: 5,4,3,2)
lukey1958: shows [5s 3c 2h 4d] (Badugi: 5,4,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $8.25 from pot
lukey1958 collected $8 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $17 Rake $0.75
Seat 2: milyang (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [5c 3d 4h 2s] and won ($8.25) with a Badugi: 5,4,3,2
Seat 5: lukey1958 (big blind) showed [5s 3c 2h 4d] and won ($8) with a Badugi: 5,4,3,2
Seat 6: adrian432 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 7: gmd68 folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 8: MILKDOG2007 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Hand 2
Whether this snow attempt is at all sensible I don’t know. I’ve got a four flush with no high cards but unfortunately no babies either. When I get reraised, and the reraise gets called, I decide to just dump it. Then I (we?) get accused of collusion! The winning hand by the way was 32A, so it’s likely my snow would have been picked off anyway, even if I had continued.

PokerStars Game #53544566957: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2010/11/30 23:25:52 ET
Table 'Waterman' 8-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($58.25 in chips)
Seat 3: grubette ($40.25 in chips)
Seat 4: Landau1120 ($44.50 in chips)
Seat 5: anudim ($26.75 in chips)
Seat 6: albond69 ($42 in chips)
Seat 7: rossboss35 ($22.75 in chips)
albond69: posts small blind $0.50
rossboss35: posts big blind $1
SOoN_GoKu: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5d 8d 7d 9d]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
grubette: folds
Landau1120: raises $1 to $3
anudim: calls $3
albond69: folds
rossboss35: folds
cdgolfer is connected
plutoman20: folds
*** FIRST DRAW ***
Landau1120: discards 1 card
anudim: discards 1 card
Landau1120: bets $1
anudim: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Landau1120: discards 1 card
anudim: discards 1 card
Landau1120: checks
anudim: bets $2
rossboss35 said, "colusion going on"
Landau1120: calls $2

Hand 3
A nice big pot here, but I think Chiefs’ play is really bad. I’d imagine the set of hands calling this bet are very close to the set of hands that beat him. As it was, this call wasn’t an easy one. I think I might have folded 87643.

PokerStars Game #53652195755: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/03 4:33:16 ET
Table 'Amata III' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: DaquintaQB ($29.10 in chips)
Seat 2: Donkery ($82.35 in chips)
Seat 3: chiefs1010 ($37.80 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($66.35 in chips)
Seat 5: NEMUNAS ($30.25 in chips)
Seat 6: Corrigal R ($14.65 in chips)
Seat 7: poofitwasgon ($29.95 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
NEMUNAS: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c 5s 2d 3c Kc]
Corrigal R: calls $0.50
poofitwasgon: calls $0.50
DaquintaQB: calls $0.50
Donkery: calls $0.50
chiefs1010: raises $1.50 to $2
plutoman20: calls $1.75
NEMUNAS: folds
Corrigal R: folds
poofitwasgon: folds
DaquintaQB: calls $1.50
Donkery: folds
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Kc]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c 5s 2d 3c] [8c]
DaquintaQB: discards 2 cards
chiefs1010: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $5
DaquintaQB: folds
chiefs1010: raises $30.80 to $35.80 and is all-in
plutoman20: calls $30.80
*** SHOW DOWN ***
chiefs1010: shows [2c 8s 5d 7d 6d] (Lo: 8,7,6,5,2)
plutoman20: shows [6c 5s 2d 3c 8c] (Lo: 8,6,5,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $76.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $79.60 Rake $3
Seat 1: DaquintaQB folded on the Flop
Seat 2: Donkery folded before Flop
Seat 3: chiefs1010 (button) showed [2c 8s 5d 7d 6d] and lost with Lo: 8,7,6,5,2
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [6c 5s 2d 3c 8c] and won ($76.60) with Lo: 8,6,5,3,2
Seat 5: NEMUNAS (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Corrigal R folded before Flop
Seat 7: poofitwasgon folded before Flop

Hand 4
Surely my 9-8 can’t be good here 25% of the time, even with Donkery in the hand. I actually don’t mind the fold, getting three to one, in spite of the result.

PokerStars Game #53649898877: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/03 2:26:52 ET
Table 'Amata III' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: SARIIA ($12.65 in chips)
Seat 2: Donkery ($48.55 in chips)
Seat 3: chiefs1010 ($52.05 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($59.05 in chips)
Seat 5: _the_panic_ ($38.60 in chips)
Seat 6: zysiu25 ($6.65 in chips)
Seat 7: lGotRivered ($54.15 in chips)
SARIIA: posts small blind $0.25
Donkery: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 7c 8c 3c Kh]
chiefs1010: folds
lGotRivered said, "1/2 is waitin"
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
_the_panic_: folds
zysiu25: folds
lGotRivered: raises $3 to $4.50
SARIIA: folds
Donkery: calls $4
plutoman20: calls $3
Donkery: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Kh]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 7c 8c 3c] [9s]
lGotRivered: discards 1 card
Donkery: checks
plutoman20: checks
lGotRivered: bets $11
Donkery: calls $11
plutoman20: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lGotRivered: shows [2h Ah 7h 9d 4d] (Lo: A,9,7,4,2)
Donkery: shows [6s 2d 3d Th 7d] (Lo: T,7,6,3,2)
Donkery collected $34 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $35.75 Rake $1.75
Seat 1: SARIIA (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Donkery (big blind) showed [6s 2d 3d Th 7d] and won ($34) with Lo: T,7,6,3,2
Seat 3: chiefs1010 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 folded on the Flop
Seat 5: _the_panic_ folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: zysiu25 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: lGotRivered (button) showed [2h Ah 7h 9d 4d] and lost with Lo: A,9,7,4,2

Hand 5
I’d built up a very healthy stack in this session, only to lose 40% of it on this hand. Normally I bet out here but sometimes I go for the check-raise to mix up my play. I did think about just calling the reraise and in hindsight it might have been the right play. Popaionut is a solid regular player who probably expects me to have at least an eight unless I’m bluffing, so his reraising range might be number seven or better, meaning my number five is behind most of his range. Against a worse player this would be an easy all-in.

PokerStars Game #53653362263: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/12/03 5:30:20 ET
Table 'Amata III' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 2: SARIIA ($30 in chips)
Seat 3: chiefs1010 ($45.30 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($106.50 in chips)
Seat 5: NEMUNAS ($42.25 in chips)
Seat 6: popaionut ($44.45 in chips)
Seat 7: hacker59 ($48.70 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
NEMUNAS: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [8h Jd 5s 3d 4d]
popaionut: raises $1 to $1.50
hacker59: folds
SARIIA: folds
chiefs1010: folds
hacker59 leaves the table
plutoman20: calls $1.25
NEMUNAS: folds
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Jd]
Dealt to plutoman20 [8h 5s 3d 4d] [2h]
popaionut: stands pat
Angyalfold joins the table at seat #7
plutoman20: checks
popaionut: bets $2.50
plutoman20: raises $4.50 to $7
popaionut: raises $18 to $25
plutoman20: raises $80 to $105 and is all-in
popaionut: calls $17.95 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($62.05) returned to plutoman20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [8h 2h 5s 3d 4d] (Lo: 8,5,4,3,2)
popaionut: shows [2c 7d 3s 6d 5h] (Lo: 7,6,5,3,2)
popaionut collected $86.40 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $89.40 Rake $3
Seat 2: SARIIA folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: chiefs1010 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [8h 2h 5s 3d 4d] and lost with Lo: 8,5,4,3,2
Seat 5: NEMUNAS (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: popaionut showed [2c 7d 3s 6d 5h] and won ($86.40) with Lo: 7,6,5,3,2
Seat 7: hacker59 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 6
Should I be shoving here? I don’t think I can possibly fold pre-flop – I’ve seen people make this move with rough nines, tens and all sorts, especially with short stacks like this.

PokerStars Game #53544702175: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/11/30 23:30:43 ET
Table 'Gaby II' 7-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: CASTILLO73 ($22.05 in chips)
Seat 2: papasipeye ($13.50 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($27.60 in chips)
Seat 4: chopertony ($37.25 in chips)
Seat 6: grigoriy9 ($9.25 in chips)
Seat 7: Wink_wink ($23.85 in chips)
Wink_wink: posts small blind $0.25
CASTILLO73: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5s 4h 9c 7c 2s]
papasipeye: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
chopertony: calls $1.50
grigoriy9: raises $7.75 to $9.25 and is all-in
Wink_wink: folds
CASTILLO73: folds
plutoman20: raises $18.35 to $27.60 and is all-in
chopertony: folds
Uncalled bet ($18.35) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20: stands pat on [5s 4h 9c 7c 2s]
grigoriy9: stands pat
plutoman20 said, "nh"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [5s 4h 9c 7c 2s] (Lo: 9,7,5,4,2)
grigoriy9: shows [3h 8s 5c 4d 6c] (Lo: 8,6,5,4,3)
grigoriy9 collected $19.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $20.75 Rake $1
Seat 1: CASTILLO73 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: papasipeye folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: plutoman20 showed [5s 4h 9c 7c 2s] and lost with Lo: 9,7,5,4,2
Seat 4: chopertony folded before Flop
Seat 6: grigoriy9 (button) showed [3h 8s 5c 4d 6c] and won ($19.75) with Lo: 8,6,5,4,3
Seat 7: Wink_wink (small blind) folded before Flop

Hand 7
This was a tricky hand but I think my decision was the right one. People drawing two (or three!) hit sevens and eights more often than you think (as I know from playing triple draw). This wasn’t a big raise but I’m only really beating a bluff. I put him on an 8-7.

PokerStars Game #53544062131: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/11/30 23:08:23 ET
Table 'Gaby II' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: CASTILLO73 ($14.60 in chips)
Seat 2: Foolbright ($8 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($29.50 in chips)
Seat 4: rmaph ($9.35 in chips)
Seat 5: jimo29 ($43.25 in chips)
Seat 6: grigoriy9 ($10.50 in chips)
Seat 7: Wink_wink ($27.55 in chips)
Foolbright: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
Wink_wink: posts small & big blinds $0.75
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 5c 9d 9c 7h]
rmaph: folds
jimo29: calls $0.50
grigoriy9: folds
Wink_wink: checks
CASTILLO73: raises $1.50 to $2
Foolbright: folds
plutoman20: calls $1.50
jimo29: folds
Wink_wink: calls $1.50
plutoman20: discards 1 card [9c]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 5c 9d 7h] [3c]
Wink_wink: discards 2 cards
CASTILLO73: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $4
Wink_wink: raises $6 to $10
CASTILLO73: folds
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($6) returned to Wink_wink
Wink_wink collected $14.30 from pot
Wink_wink: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $15 Rake $0.70
Seat 1: CASTILLO73 (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: Foolbright (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: plutoman20 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: rmaph folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: jimo29 folded before Flop
Seat 6: grigoriy9 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Wink_wink collected ($14.30)