Biggest day since May

Yesterday was my most profitable single day since the SCOOP badugi. I made $195, not including the $20 bonus I received from Full Tilt. Single draw and badugi were both kind to me. I had two remarkable sessions of $1-$2 badugi back-to-back. On Poker Stars I made $52 in just 22 hands, then moved to Full Tilt where I won $71 in 43 hands. Today I'm down fractionally after a dismal badugi session, dropping $45 in 62 hands (of which I won three). Badugi on Full Tilt continues to be extremely volatile; the average pot size in a $1-$2 game is often around $15, and at one point yesterday it hit $20. With the play being so loose, the values of starting hands change somewhat. Good two-card draws go up in value, while dealt pats (even very good ones like eights and nines) go down. Three-card sixes or better are still very good starting hands, but it now matters less whether you have 32A or 643; with so many people in the pot, a good three-card will rarely win unimproved. Rough three-cards like 754 become real trouble hands: there's an increased likelihood of making the second-best hand.

Here are eight hands from the weekend so far:

Hand 1
Last weekend I folded the very same hand against someone who check-raised the turn. He was snowing. I didn't want to make the same mistake twice. I'm not sure what Romuloft was doing in this pot in the first place. Perhaps the snow was premeditated, but the chances are someone will make a genuine badugi along the way, sending his snowing plans out the window.

PokerStars Game #52978959138: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2010/11/20 3:49:48 ET
Table 'Svea II' 8-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($48.50 in chips)
Seat 2: Capsi199 ($9 in chips)
Seat 3: gregorianW ($17 in chips)
Seat 4: romuloft231 ($64 in chips)
Seat 5: geniy71 ($16 in chips)
Seat 6: ticalc2008 ($13.25 in chips)
Seat 7: xfritzxsinba ($57 in chips)
Seat 8: DaveBowman ($55.75 in chips)
Capsi199: posts small blind $0.50
gregorianW: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2c 4c 2s Ah]
romuloft231: calls $1
geniy71: folds
ticalc2008: raises $1 to $2
xfritzxsinba: folds
DaveBowman: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $3
Capsi199: folds
gregorianW: folds
romuloft231: calls $2
ticalc2008: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
romuloft231: discards 1 card
ticalc2008: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [2c]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4c 2s Ah] [Js]
romuloft231: checks
ticalc2008: checks
plutoman20: bets $1
romuloft231: calls $1
ticalc2008: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
romuloft231: discards 1 card
ticalc2008: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Js]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4c 2s Ah] [Ad]
romuloft231: checks
ticalc2008: checks
plutoman20: bets $2
romuloft231: raises $2 to $4
ticalc2008: folds
plutoman20: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
romuloft231: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ad]
Dealt to plutoman20 [4c 2s Ah] [5h]
romuloft231: bets $2
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
romuloft231: shows [3h Tc 6h 7d] (3-card: T,7,3)
plutoman20: shows [5h 4c 2s Ah] (3-card: 4,2,A)
plutoman20 collected $24.50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $25.50 Rake $1
Seat 1: plutoman20 (button) showed [5h 4c 2s Ah] and won ($24.50) with a 3-card: 4,2,A
Seat 2: Capsi199 (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 3: gregorianW (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 4: romuloft231 showed [3h Tc 6h 7d] and lost with a 3-card: T,7,3
Seat 5: geniy71 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: ticalc2008 folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 7: xfritzxsinba folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: DaveBowman folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Hand 2
I'm dealt a monster badugi here, but there's a lot of action and I think I might well be beaten. I end up looking a bit silly when I table my hand! Romuloft, by the way, went from $64 to zero in under twenty minutes at this table. He was a bit unlucky bit did overplay a lot of rough hands.

PokerStars Game #52979189755: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2010/11/20 4:03:05 ET
Table 'Svea II' 8-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($77 in chips)
Seat 2: Capsi199 ($9.50 in chips)
Seat 3: gregorianW ($15 in chips)
Seat 4: romuloft231 ($43.50 in chips)
Seat 5: ezm_6131 ($1.50 in chips)
Seat 6: ticalc2008 ($25 in chips)
Seat 8: DaveBowman ($76 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.50
Capsi199: posts big blind $1
dummy69: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6s Ah 3c 5d]
gregorianW: folds
romuloft231: raises $1 to $2
ezm_6131: folds
ticalc2008: folds
DaveBowman: calls $2
plutoman20: raises $1 to $3
Capsi199: calls $2
romuloft231: raises $1 to $4
Betting is capped
DaveBowman: calls $2
plutoman20: calls $1
Capsi199: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [6s Ah 3c 5d]
Capsi199: discards 1 card
romuloft231: discards 1 card
DaveBowman: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets $1
Capsi199: calls $1
romuloft231: raises $1 to $2
DaveBowman: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $3
Capsi199: raises $1 to $4
Betting is capped
romuloft231: calls $2
plutoman20: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [6s Ah 3c 5d]
Capsi199: discards 1 card
romuloft231: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $2
Capsi199: calls $1.50 and is all-in
romuloft231: raises $2 to $4
plutoman20: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [6s Ah 3c 5d]
Capsi199: discards 1 card
romuloft231: stands pat
plutoman20: checks
romuloft231: bets $2
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
romuloft231: shows [Ts 7d 4h 2c] (Badugi: T,7,4,2)
plutoman20: shows [6s Ah 3c 5d] (Badugi: 6,5,3,A)
plutoman20 collected $9 from side pot
Capsi199: shows [Ad 3h 8d 5s] (3-card: 5,3,A)
plutoman20 collected $31.50 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $41.50 Main pot $31.50. Side pot $9. Rake $1
Seat 1: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [6s Ah 3c 5d] and won ($40.50) with a Badugi: 6,5,3,A
Seat 2: Capsi199 (big blind) showed [Ad 3h 8d 5s] and lost with a 3-card: 5,3,A
Seat 3: gregorianW folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: romuloft231 showed [Ts 7d 4h 2c] and lost with a Badugi: T,7,4,2
Seat 5: ezm_6131 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: ticalc2008 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: DaveBowman (button) folded after the 1st Draw

Hand 3
What's going on here?! As we flip over our cards, I still think my ten badugi has a chance.

Full Tilt Poker Game #25706064164: Table Vulgamore - $1/$2 - Limit Badugi - 02:08:45 ET - 2010/11/20
Seat 1: SEXorPOKER ($65.50)
Seat 3: LordPye ($36.05)
Seat 5: gnd0221186 ($17)
Seat 6: larealtime ($36.25)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($50)
Seat 8: Nuts888A ($27)
LordPye posts the small blind of $0.50
gnd0221186 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6d 5h Tc 4s]
larealtime calls $1
plutoman20 raises to $2
Nuts888A calls $2
SEXorPOKER folds
LordPye folds
gnd0221186 folds
larealtime calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $7.50)
larealtime discards 2 cards
plutoman20 stands pat on [6d 5h Tc 4s]
Nuts888A discards 2 cards
larealtime is dealt 2 cards
Nuts888A is dealt 2 cards
larealtime checks
plutoman20 bets $1
Nuts888A calls $1
larealtime calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $10.50)
larealtime discards 1 card
plutoman20 stands pat on [6d 5h Tc 4s]
Nuts888A discards 2 cards
larealtime is dealt 1 card
Nuts888A is dealt 2 cards
larealtime checks
plutoman20 bets $2
Nuts888A calls $2
larealtime calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $16.50)
larealtime stands pat
plutoman20 stands pat on [6d 5h Tc 4s]
Nuts888A discards 1 card
Nuts888A is dealt 1 card
larealtime checks
plutoman20 checks
Nuts888A checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20 shows [Tc 6d 5h 4s] a Badugi: T, 6, 5, 4
Nuts888A mucks
larealtime shows [4h 3s 2c Ad] a Badugi: 4, 3, 2, A
larealtime wins the pot ($15.75) with a Badugi: 4, 3, 2, A
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $16.50 Rake $0.75
Seat 1: SEXorPOKER (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: LordPye (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 5: gnd0221186 (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 6: larealtime showed [4h 3s 2c Ad] and won ($15.75) with a Badugi: 4, 3, 2, A
Seat 7: plutoman20 showed [Tc 6d 5h 4s] and lost with a Badugi: T, 6, 5, 4
Seat 8: Nuts888A mucked [6c 5d Ah Qh] - a 3-Card: 6, 5, A

Hand 4
I guess you'd call this a four-card royal flush. However, if you were playing for high, you'd have to rank quads above a straight flush: it's over three times less likely. Martin calls with something that doesn't beat a lot of bluffs - did he know that his opponent was ignorant of the rules?

Full Tilt Poker Game #25707896509: Table Wells West - $1/$2 - Limit Badugi - 04:38:28 ET - 2010/11/20
Seat 1: w a martin ($59.55)
Seat 3: 910Special ($33.25)
Seat 4: oLLeK ($31)
Seat 5: Holundder ($50)
Seat 6: plutoman20 ($65.75)
Seat 7: Kornblume666 ($18.50)
Seat 8: kylethomps ($74.60)
kylethomps posts the small blind of $0.50
w a martin posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Qc Qd 7h 8h]
910Special calls $1
oLLeK has 15 seconds left to act
oLLeK folds
Holundder folds
plutoman20 folds
Kornblume666 folds
kylethomps calls $0.50
w a martin checks
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $3)
kylethomps discards 1 card
w a martin discards 1 card
910Special discards 2 cards
kylethomps is dealt 1 card
w a martin is dealt 1 card
910Special is dealt 2 cards
kylethomps bets $1
w a martin raises to $2
910Special folds
kylethomps raises to $3
w a martin calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $9)
kylethomps stands pat
w a martin stands pat
kylethomps bets $2
w a martin calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $13)
kylethomps stands pat
w a martin has 15 seconds left to act
w a martin discards 1 card
w a martin is dealt 1 card
kylethomps bets $2
w a martin has 15 seconds left to act
w a martin calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
kylethomps shows [As Js Ks Qs] a 1-Card: A
w a martin shows [9h 4s 2d 8d] a 3-Card: 9, 4, 2
w a martin wins the pot ($16.25) with a 3-Card: 9, 4, 2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $17 Rake $0.75
Seat 1: w a martin (big blind) showed [9h 4s 2d 8d] and won ($16.25) with a 3-Card: 9, 4, 2
Seat 3: 910Special folded after the 1st Draw
Seat 4: oLLeK folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Holundder folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: plutoman20 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Kornblume666 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: kylethomps (small blind) showed [As Js Ks Qs] and lost with a 1-Card: A

Hand 5
Firstly Tapirboy is a very good triple draw and badugi player, so perhaps I'd do well to avoid him. Secondly I've had more than my fair share of this kind of hand on Full Tilt. FlipAAA shouldn't be in this pot at all; if someone raises pre-draw in front of you, calling with a two-card draw is throwing money away (unless you know the raiser is very aggressive) - you just won't hit your hand often enough. But he does hit it here. Against a one-card draw I'd just call the raise with a rough pat eight, but against a two-card draw it seems too weak.

Full Tilt Poker Game #25726363749: Table Wells West - $1/$2 - Limit Badugi - 19:37:52 ET - 2010/11/20
Seat 1: flipAAA ($20.75)
Seat 2: IN_DA_WIND ($21.25)
Seat 3: Tapirboy ($67)
Seat 4: dakray ($62.30)
Seat 5: ajbutterfish ($38.25)
Seat 6: plutoman20 ($23.50)
Seat 7: joehunts ($12)
Seat 8: Me100 ($61.50)
Me100: nh
IN_DA_WIND posts the small blind of $0.50
Tapirboy posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [7s Ac 5d 8h]
dakray folds
ajbutterfish folds
plutoman20 raises to $2
joehunts folds
Me100 folds
dakray: thx
flipAAA calls $2
IN_DA_WIND folds
Tapirboy calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $6.50)
Tapirboy discards 1 card
plutoman20 stands pat on [7s Ac 5d 8h]
flipAAA discards 2 cards
Tapirboy is dealt 1 card
flipAAA is dealt 2 cards
Tapirboy checks
plutoman20 bets $1
flipAAA raises to $2
Tapirboy folds
plutoman20 raises to $3
flipAAA calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $12.50)
plutoman20 stands pat on [7s Ac 5d 8h]
flipAAA stands pat
plutoman20 bets $2
flipAAA calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $16.50)
plutoman20 stands pat on [7s Ac 5d 8h]
flipAAA stands pat
plutoman20 bets $2
flipAAA calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20 shows [8h 7s 5d Ac] a Badugi: 8, 7, 5, A
flipAAA shows [8d 4c 3h 2s] a Badugi: 8, 4, 3, 2
flipAAA wins the pot ($19.50) with a Badugi: 8, 4, 3, 2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $20.50 Rake $1
Seat 1: flipAAA (button) showed [8d 4c 3h 2s] and won ($19.50) with a Badugi: 8, 4, 3, 2
Seat 2: IN_DA_WIND (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 3: Tapirboy (big blind) folded after the 1st Draw
Seat 4: dakray folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: ajbutterfish folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: plutoman20 showed [8h 7s 5d Ac] and lost with a Badugi: 8, 7, 5, A
Seat 7: joehunts folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Me100 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Hand 6
I don't like my bet on the flop. When Dakray bets into me on the turn, he hasn't necessarily got a badugi at all (I don't think), so I raise. Then he bets straight into me on the river and I figure I'm beaten. There's a hell of a lot of what they call donking in these games; it takes some getting used to.

Full Tilt Poker Game #25725809307: Table Wells West - $1/$2 - Limit Badugi - 19:14:32 ET - 2010/11/20
Seat 1: Dan_Chipman ($71), is sitting out
Seat 2: DamienRennie ($49)
Seat 3: Tapirboy ($65)
Seat 4: dakray ($30.55)
Seat 5: ajbutterfish ($50)
Seat 6: plutoman20 ($44.25)
Seat 7: joehunts ($26.50)
Tapirboy posts the small blind of $0.50
dakray posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [7d As 5c Js]
plutoman20 raises to $2
joehunts folds
DamienRennie folds
Tapirboy folds
dakray calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $4.50)
dakray discards 1 card
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Js]
dakray is dealt 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [7d As 5c] [3c]
dakray checks
plutoman20 bets $1
dakray calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $6.50)
dakray discards 1 card
plutoman20 discards 1 card [5c]
dakray is dealt 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [7d As 3c] [9h]
dakray bets $2
plutoman20 raises to $4
dakray calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $14.50)
dakray stands pat
plutoman20 stands pat on [7d As 3c 9h]
dakray bets $2
plutoman20: lol
plutoman20 calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
dakray shows [8h 6d 3s 2c] a Badugi: 8, 6, 3, 2
plutoman20 mucks
dakray wins the pot ($17.75) with a Badugi: 8, 6, 3, 2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $18.50 Rake $0.75
Seat 1: Dan_Chipman is sitting out
Seat 2: DamienRennie (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Tapirboy (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 4: dakray (big blind) showed [8h 6d 3s 2c] and won ($17.75) with a Badugi: 8, 6, 3, 2
Seat 5: ajbutterfish is sitting out
Seat 6: plutoman20 mucked [9h 7d 3c As] - a Badugi: 9, 7, 3, A
Seat 7: joehunts folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Hand 7
When Ilovetolie pats in front of me, I don't know what to do. I think it's a close one. I decide to break because my draw is so good, and get lucky. It turns out I had the best hand before the draw.

PokerStars Game #52974592178: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/11/20 0:15:32 ET
Table 'Interamnia' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($30 in chips)
Seat 2: vivaldi111 ($34.80 in chips)
Seat 3: PATSYPOKER19 ($17.50 in chips)
Seat 5: be_fuddle32 ($9.45 in chips)
Seat 6: mrjimmie65 ($16.10 in chips)
Seat 7: ilovetolie ($14.80 in chips)
be_fuddle32: posts small blind $0.25
mrjimmie65: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c 2h 3d 7h Ts]
ilovetolie: raises $1.50 to $2
plutoman20: raises $4 to $6
vivaldi111: folds
PATSYPOKER19: folds
be_fuddle32: calls $5.75
mrjimmie65: folds
ilovetolie: calls $4
be_fuddle32: discards 1 card
ilovetolie: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ts]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c 2h 3d 7h] [8h]
be_fuddle32: checks
ilovetolie: checks
plutoman20: bets $10
be_fuddle32: folds
ilovetolie: calls $8.80 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($1.20) returned to plutoman20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [6c 2h 3d 7h 8h] (Lo: 8,7,6,3,2)
ilovetolie: shows [4s Th 7c 9c 6s] (Lo: T,9,7,6,4)
plutoman20 collected $34.35 from pot
ilovetolie leaves the table
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $36.10 Rake $1.75
Seat 1: plutoman20 showed [6c 2h 3d 7h 8h] and won ($34.35) with Lo: 8,7,6,3,2
Seat 2: vivaldi111 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: PATSYPOKER19 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: be_fuddle32 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: mrjimmie65 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: ilovetolie showed [4s Th 7c 9c 6s] and lost with Lo: T,9,7,6,4

Hand 8
This is why you should never limp strong draws, in this game or in badugi. The problem I faced here was that Tinchaso limped all his draws, whether they were one-card draws to monsters or crappy two-card ones. But by overlimping, I let in two-card draws behind me. I make a crying call here, expecting to be beaten. It's just as well I didn't hit my 8-7 because I probably would have raised.

PokerStars Game #53006191056: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/11/20 15:55:02 ET
Table 'Pomona VIII' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: tinchaso ($12.30 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($22.10 in chips)
Seat 3: tiburon451 ($38.70 in chips)
Seat 4: tenmilebill ($18.30 in chips)
Seat 5: bar_men_83 ($44.20 in chips)
Seat 6: Ic3-T ($50 in chips)
Seat 7: bigkkahuna ($28.60 in chips)
bar_men_83: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20 said, "nh"
Ic3-T: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5d Qs 7d 3h 8s]
tinchaso said, "ty"
bigkkahuna: folds
tinchaso: calls $0.50
plutoman20: calls $0.50
tiburon451: folds
tenmilebill: calls $0.50
bar_men_83: folds
Ic3-T: checks
Ic3-T: discards 2 cards
tinchaso: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Qs]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5d 7d 3h 8s] [9d]
tenmilebill: discards 1 card
Ic3-T: bets $2.50
tinchaso: folds
plutoman20: calls $2.50
tenmilebill: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Ic3-T: shows [2c 7c 8h 4d 3d] (Lo: 8,7,4,3,2)
plutoman20: mucks hand
Ic3-T collected $6.90 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.25 Rake $0.35
Seat 1: tinchaso folded on the Flop
Seat 2: plutoman20 mucked [5d 9d 7d 3h 8s]
Seat 3: tiburon451 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: tenmilebill (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: bar_men_83 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Ic3-T (big blind) showed [2c 7c 8h 4d 3d] and won ($6.90) with Lo: 8,7,4,3,2
Seat 7: bigkkahuna folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Three KCL hands

Three hands from last weekend's 25c/50c KCL games on Full Tilt.

Hand 1
I don't really see the point of bluffing with a medium-strength hand like a 9-7. Maybe he didn't think he was bluffing; he didn't strike me as being a particularly good player.

Full Tilt Poker Game #25504228475: Table Farnsworth (6 max, ante) - $0.25/$0.50 Ante $0.10 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 21:15:08 ET - 2010/11/12
Seat 1: wapitihunter ($35)
Seat 2: edooo123456 ($26.80)
Seat 3: ACompleteMuppet ($100.75)
Seat 4: jjkrueger ($41.85)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($29.55)
Seat 6: 1dsmII ($20)
jjkrueger antes $0.10
ACompleteMuppet antes $0.10
edooo123456 antes $0.10
plutoman20 antes $0.10
5 seconds left to act
jjkrueger posts the small blind of $0.25
plutoman20 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2c 4c 8d 5d As]
edooo123456 raises to $3.50
ACompleteMuppet folds
jjkrueger calls $3.25
plutoman20 calls $3
*** DRAW *** (Pot: $10.90)
jjkrueger discards 1 card
plutoman20 discards 1 card [As]
edooo123456 has 15 seconds left to act
edooo123456 discards 1 card
jjkrueger is dealt 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [2c 4c 8d 5d] [3h]
edooo123456 is dealt 1 card
jjkrueger checks
plutoman20 bets $6.50
edooo123456 folds
jjkrueger raises to $38.25, and is all in
plutoman20 calls $19.45, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $12.30 returned to jjkrueger
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jjkrueger shows [9d 7s 6s 4s 3c] 9,7,6,4,3
plutoman20 shows [8d 5d 4c 3h 2c] 8,5,4,3,2
plutoman20 wins the pot ($60.80) with 8,5,4,3,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $62.80 Rake $2
Seat 1: wapitihunter is sitting out
Seat 2: edooo123456 folded after the Draw
Seat 3: ACompleteMuppet (button) folded before the Draw
Seat 4: jjkrueger (small blind) showed [9d 7s 6s 4s 3c] and lost with 9,7,6,4,3
Seat 5: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [8d 5d 4c 3h 2c] and won ($60.80) with 8,5,4,3,2
Seat 6: 1dsmII is sitting out

Hand 2
This was a strange one. I don't know why Mr2jt patted a queen with such a smooth draw available. Maybe he thought that patting would make me break a better hand (in that case he thought right) but isn't the aim of the game, if possible, to take your opponent's stack?

Full Tilt Poker Game #25539031955: Table Farnsworth (6 max, ante) - $0.25/$0.50 Ante $0.10 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 03:43:28 ET - 2010/11/14
Seat 1: Mr2jt ($65.05)
Seat 4: hatchi_ak ($38.60)
Seat 5: Sheepishlion ($29.25)
Seat 6: plutoman20 ($31.95)
Mr2jt antes $0.10
Sheepishlion antes $0.10
hatchi_ak antes $0.10
plutoman20 antes $0.10
Sheepishlion posts the small blind of $0.25
plutoman20 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Js 3h 8h 5c 9c]
Mr2jt raises to $1.50
hatchi_ak folds
Sheepishlion folds
plutoman20 calls $1
*** DRAW *** (Pot: $3.65)
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Js]
Mr2jt stands pat
Dealt to plutoman20 [3h 8h 5c 9c] [Ad]
plutoman20 checks
Mr2jt checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Mr2jt shows [Qd 8c 4d 3d 2d] Q,8,4,3,2
plutoman20 mucks
Mr2jt wins the pot ($3.50) with Q,8,4,3,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $3.65 Rake $0.15
Seat 1: Mr2jt showed [Qd 8c 4d 3d 2d] and won ($3.50) with Q,8,4,3,2
Seat 4: hatchi_ak (button) folded before the Draw
Seat 5: Sheepishlion (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 6: plutoman20 (big blind) mucked [Ad 9c 8h 5c 3h] - A,9,8,5,3

Hand 3
In an earlier post I mentioned something about post-draw bet sizing. I said that anything less than 60% of the pot leaves you open to potential bluff raises. Well here Mr2jt makes a half-pot bet to induce a bluff-raise from someone drawing two, and it works a treat. How would you balance this play? For every pat seven you get umpteen rough nines and tens. It's something I'll have to think about.

Full Tilt Poker Game #25538989824: Table Farnsworth (6 max, ante) - $0.25/$0.50 Ante $0.10 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 03:39:57 ET - 2010/11/14
Seat 1: Mr2jt ($39.35)
Seat 4: hatchi_ak ($31.70)
Seat 5: Sheepishlion ($30.70)
Seat 6: plutoman20 ($31.30)
Mr2jt antes $0.10
Sheepishlion antes $0.10
hatchi_ak antes $0.10
plutoman20 antes $0.10
plutoman20 posts the small blind of $0.25
Mr2jt posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2c 9h Qh Qd 9c]
hatchi_ak folds
Sheepishlion raises to $2.15
plutoman20 folds
Mr2jt raises to $5.50
Sheepishlion calls $3.35
*** DRAW *** (Pot: $11.65)
Mr2jt stands pat
Sheepishlion discards 2 cards
Sheepishlion is dealt 2 cards
Mr2jt bets $6
Sheepishlion has 15 seconds left to act
Sheepishlion raises to $25.10, and is all in
Mr2jt calls $19.10
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Sheepishlion shows [Ad 8d 5h 4h 3d] A,8,5,4,3
Mr2jt shows [7h 6h 5d 3h 2d] 7,6,5,3,2
Mr2jt wins the pot ($59.85) with 7,6,5,3,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $61.85 Rake $2
Seat 1: Mr2jt (big blind) showed [7h 6h 5d 3h 2d] and won ($59.85) with 7,6,5,3,2
Seat 4: hatchi_ak folded before the Draw
Seat 5: Sheepishlion (button) showed [Ad 8d 5h 4h 3d] and lost with A,8,5,4,3
Seat 6: plutoman20 (small blind) folded before the Draw

Up-and-down weekend

Yesterday I made $150 on the virtual poker tables. My best session was a $70 profit (in 146 hands) in a 25c/50c single draw game on Full Tilt. The other main highlight was a second-place finish in the $11 single draw tournament on Poker Stars. Unfortunately there were only eleven runners so my payout was just $33. When we got heads-up I was behind by about 2½ to one. Almost immediately I got a draw to the nuts and my opponent, who had an eight draw, put me all in. He made a queen while I hit a jack to give me a slight chip lead. Very soon after we were both dealt pat nines and we stacked off again. My 9-8 lost to his 9-6. A few hands later it was all over: he was lucky enough to be dealt the stone-cold nuts, leaving me drawing very dead. I've finished second in five of the last eight tournaments I've entered (since the SCOOP in May, I've only played seven tournaments). It seems if there are thousands of entrants I'll come second; if there are just a handful I'll still come second. Following that to its logical conclusion, I should avoid heads-up tournaments like the plague.

Today I had a horrendous badugi session. In just 75 hands of $1/$2 on Full Tilt I dropped $52. Eight of the nine hands I showed down were losers. Obviously I was running very cold there, but overall I'm struggling in that game, even though a lot of the play I see looks pretty poor. Perhaps it's just variance. What really adds to the swings is that a lot of the time the pot gets so bloated by the turn that you get the odds to draw a third time. In tighter games you can just fold and save the $2.

Here are some hands:

Hand 1
What does a shove to 100 big blinds mean? I had no reads. And what about NYRambler's call (and subsequent pat)?

Full Tilt Poker Game #25480093341: Table Meadowlands (6 max, ante) - $0.10/$0.20 Ante $0.05 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 23:55:44 ET - 2010/11/11
Seat 1: Sual1 ($20.19)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($20.39)
Seat 3: _the_panic_ ($17.08)
Seat 4: jjkrueger ($8.84)
Seat 5: NYRambler ($25.14)
Seat 6: bhredraider ($25.56)
_the_panic_ antes $0.05
bhredraider antes $0.05
jjkrueger antes $0.05
Sual1 antes $0.05
plutoman20 antes $0.05
NYRambler antes $0.05
plutoman20 posts the small blind of $0.10
_the_panic_ posts the big blind of $0.20
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9c 5s 2s 4d 8d]
jjkrueger folds
NYRambler raises to $0.60
bhredraider calls $0.60
Sual1 has 15 seconds left to act
Sual1 raises to $20.14, and is all in
plutoman20 has 15 seconds left to act
plutoman20 folds
_the_panic_ has 15 seconds left to act
_the_panic_ has requested TIME
_the_panic_ folds
NYRambler calls $19.54
bhredraider folds
*** DRAW *** (Pot: $41.48)
NYRambler stands pat
Sual1 has 15 seconds left to act
Sual1 stands pat
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Sual1 shows [Ts 8s 6c 4s 3s] T,8,6,4,3
NYRambler mucks
Sual1 wins the pot ($39.41) with T,8,6,4,3
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $41.48 Rake $2.07
Seat 1: Sual1 (button) showed [Ts 8s 6c 4s 3s] and won ($39.41) with T,8,6,4,3
Seat 2: plutoman20 (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 3: _the_panic_ (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 4: jjkrueger folded before the Draw
Seat 5: NYRambler mucked [Jc 7d 5c 3d 2h] - J,7,5,3,2
Seat 6: bhredraider folded before the Draw

Hand 2
This seemed like quite a big three-bet. Was it a big hand or a "please fold" kind of hand?

Full Tilt Poker Game #25481485690: Table Meadowlands (6 max, ante) - $0.10/$0.20 Ante $0.05 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 01:24:48 ET - 2010/11/12
Seat 1: Sual1 ($37.64)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($13.55)
Seat 3: motor2home ($12.44)
Seat 4: spike420211 ($25.76)
Seat 5: Theo Sagan ($9.68)
Seat 6: ACompleteMuppet ($22.26)
Theo Sagan antes $0.05
spike420211 antes $0.05
Sual1 antes $0.05
ACompleteMuppet is sitting out
motor2home antes $0.05
plutoman20 antes $0.05
Theo Sagan posts the small blind of $0.10
Sual1 posts the big blind of $0.20
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s Qs 6d 4d 5s]
ACompleteMuppet stands up
plutoman20 raises to $0.80
motor2home calls $0.80
spike420211 folds
Theo Sagan raises to $3.65
Sual1 folds
plutoman20 calls $2.85
motor2home folds
*** DRAW *** (Pot: $8.55)
Theo Sagan stands pat
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Qs]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 6d 4d 5s] [9c]
Theo Sagan bets $5.98, and is all in
plutoman20 calls $5.98
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Theo Sagan shows [8h 7s 6s 5c 3c] 8,7,6,5,3
plutoman20 mucks
Theo Sagan wins the pot ($19.49) with 8,7,6,5,3
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $20.51 Rake $1.02
Seat 1: Sual1 (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: plutoman20 mucked [9c 6d 5s 4d 2s] - 9,6,5,4,2
Seat 3: motor2home folded before the Draw
Seat 4: spike420211 (button) folded before the Draw
Seat 5: Theo Sagan (small blind) showed [8h 7s 6s 5c 3c] and won ($19.49) with 8,7,6,5,3
Seat 6: ACompleteMuppet is sitting out

Hand 3
Normally a four-bet in position with a 10-6 is a good play I think, but the problem here is that due to my shortish stack, the only four-bet size that makes any sense is a shove. I would have been better to have just called his three-bet and drawn. When he calls my all-in and pats I don't fancy my chances. With my gutshot draw, I honestly don't know whether patting or breaking is best here.

Full Tilt Poker Game #25483684436: Table Meadowlands (6 max, ante) - $0.10/$0.20 Ante $0.05 - No Limit 2-7 Single Draw - 04:29:53 ET - 2010/11/12
Seat 1: yitsok ($21.32)
Seat 3: Saxonic ($18.76)
Seat 4: Jok13 ($9.45)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($12.10)
Seat 6: chybaty ($29.15)
Saxonic antes $0.05
Jok13 antes $0.05
yitsok antes $0.05
chybaty antes $0.05
plutoman20 antes $0.05
yitsok posts the small blind of $0.10
Saxonic posts the big blind of $0.20
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 6d 3c Th 5s]
Jok13 folds
plutoman20 raises to $0.80
chybaty folds
yitsok raises to $2.85
Saxonic folds
plutoman20 has 15 seconds left to act
plutoman20 raises to $12.05, and is all in
yitsok calls $9.20
*** DRAW *** (Pot: $24.55)
yitsok stands pat
plutoman20 stands pat on [2s 6d 3c Th 5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20 shows [Th 6d 5s 3c 2s] T,6,5,3,2
yitsok shows [9s 7c 5c 3d 2d] 9,7,5,3,2
yitsok wins the pot ($23.33) with 9,7,5,3,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $24.55 Rake $1.22
Seat 1: yitsok (small blind) showed [9s 7c 5c 3d 2d] and won ($23.33) with 9,7,5,3,2
Seat 3: Saxonic (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 4: Jok13 folded before the Draw
Seat 5: plutoman20 showed [Th 6d 5s 3c 2s] and lost with T,6,5,3,2
Seat 6: chybaty (button) folded before the Draw

Hand 4
I thought this was an interesting one. I hit a nine on the second draw and Idaho raised. I break my nine only for Idaho to draw himself. If he could see that I had a very breakable hand, this was great play from him (he goes from being a definite underdog to almost 50:50). Given that he can't see my hand I'm not so sure. Also, should I be breaking here?

Full Tilt Poker Game #25427593624: Table War Paint (6 max) - $0.25/$0.50 - Limit 2-7 Triple Draw - 03:51:55 ET - 2010/11/10
Seat 1: XJustVarianceX ($21.50)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($8.20)
Seat 3: Lono_Kaz ($11.30)
Seat 4: lDAHO ($7.05)
Seat 5: Crazy Chewie ($38.20), is sitting out
Seat 6: XpLoSiVe14 ($14)
XpLoSiVe14 posts the small blind of $0.10
XJustVarianceX posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 5c 7h 2d Qc]
plutoman20 raises to $0.50
Crazy Chewie has returned
Lono_Kaz folds
lDAHO calls $0.50
XpLoSiVe14 folds
XJustVarianceX has 15 seconds left to act
XJustVarianceX calls $0.25
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $1.60)
XJustVarianceX discards 1 card
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Qc]
lDAHO discards 2 cards
XJustVarianceX is dealt 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 5c 7h 2d] [Tc]
lDAHO is dealt 2 cards
XJustVarianceX checks
plutoman20 bets $0.25
lDAHO calls $0.25
XJustVarianceX calls $0.25
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $2.35)
XJustVarianceX discards 2 cards
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Tc]
lDAHO discards 1 card
XJustVarianceX is dealt 2 cards
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 5c 7h 2d] [9d]
lDAHO is dealt 1 card
XJustVarianceX checks
plutoman20 bets $0.50
lDAHO raises to $1
XJustVarianceX has 15 seconds left to act
XJustVarianceX folds
plutoman20 calls $0.50
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $4.35)
plutoman20 discards 1 card [9d]
lDAHO discards 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [3c 5c 7h 2d] [4h]
lDAHO is dealt 1 card
plutoman20 bets $0.50
lDAHO has 15 seconds left to act
lDAHO calls $0.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20 shows [7h 5c 4h 3c 2d] 7,5,4,3,2
lDAHO mucks
plutoman20 wins the pot ($5.10) with 7,5,4,3,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.35 Rake $0.25
Seat 1: XJustVarianceX (big blind) folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 2: plutoman20 showed [7h 5c 4h 3c 2d] and won ($5.10) with 7,5,4,3,2
Seat 3: Lono_Kaz folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: lDAHO mucked [Ac 6d 4c 3d 2c] - A,6,4,3,2
Seat 5: Crazy Chewie (button) is sitting out
Seat 6: XpLoSiVe14 (small blind) folded before the Draw

Hand 5
HanndyMannny seems to think he can pick almost my exact hand. Surely in a heads-up game I should have a much wider range, especially when my opponent is drawing three for a second time.

Full Tilt Poker Game #25479682259: Table Bridlewood (6 max) - $0.25/$0.50 - Limit 2-7 Triple Draw - 23:33:07 ET - 2010/11/11
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($13.20)
Seat 5: HanndyMannny ($24.35)
Seat 6: sleip-gamble ($15.40), is sitting out
plutoman20 posts the small blind of $0.10
HanndyMannny posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5d Th 6d Tc 3s]
sleip-gamble stands up
plutoman20 raises to $0.50
HanndyMannny calls $0.25
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $1)
HanndyMannny discards 3 cards
plutoman20 discards 2 cards [Th Tc]
HanndyMannny is dealt 3 cards
Dealt to plutoman20 [5d 6d 3s] [9d Td]
HanndyMannny checks
plutoman20 bets $0.25
HanndyMannny calls $0.25
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $1.50)
HanndyMannny discards 3 cards
plutoman20 stands pat on [5d 6d 3s 9d Td]
HanndyMannny is dealt 3 cards
HanndyMannny checks
plutoman20 bets $0.50
HanndyMannny has 15 seconds left to act
HanndyMannny: 34578 ot 34568? or a 9?
HanndyMannny calls $0.50
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $2.50)
HanndyMannny discards 1 card
plutoman20 stands pat on [5d 6d 3s 9d Td]
HanndyMannny is dealt 1 card
HanndyMannny checks
plutoman20 checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20 shows [Td 9d 6d 5d 3s] T,9,6,5,3
HanndyMannny mucks
plutoman20 wins the pot ($2.40) with T,9,6,5,3
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $2.50 Rake $0.10
Seat 3: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [Td 9d 6d 5d 3s] and won ($2.40) with T,9,6,5,3
Seat 5: HanndyMannny (big blind) mucked [Ad 5s 4s 3c 2h] - A,5,4,3,2
Seat 6: sleip-gamble is sitting out

Hand 6
Wow. I guess I should have called, right? This is where reads come in handy, and I don't have any. It's interesting that Who_9_Dey must have thought something was up, but alas his bluff-catcher wasn't good enough to catch this particular bluff. I'm grateful for his call however - it gives me information I otherwise wouldn't have had. By the way, this hand didn't come from today's disaster session.

Full Tilt Poker Game #25523219663: Table Wells West - $1/$2 - Limit Badugi - 15:05:45 ET - 2010/11/13
Seat 1: WHO_9_DEY ($39)
Seat 2: Me100 ($45.75)
Seat 4: ajbutterfish ($60.75)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($50)
Seat 6: Junedog79 ($8.50)
Seat 8: rufie101 ($42.75)
ajbutterfish posts the small blind of $0.50
plutoman20 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Td 4h 3c Jh]
Junedog79 folds
rufie101 folds
WHO_9_DEY calls $1
Me100 folds
ajbutterfish raises to $2
plutoman20 calls $1
WHO_9_DEY calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $6)
ajbutterfish discards 1 card
plutoman20 discards 2 cards [Td Jh]
WHO_9_DEY discards 2 cards
ajbutterfish is dealt 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [4h 3c] [8c Ad]
WHO_9_DEY is dealt 2 cards
ajbutterfish bets $1
plutoman20 raises to $2
WHO_9_DEY calls $2
ajbutterfish calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $12)
ajbutterfish discards 1 card
plutoman20 discards 1 card [8c]
WHO_9_DEY discards 1 card
ajbutterfish is dealt 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [4h 3c Ad] [Jc]
WHO_9_DEY is dealt 1 card
ajbutterfish checks
plutoman20 bets $2
WHO_9_DEY calls $2
ajbutterfish raises to $4
plutoman20 calls $2
WHO_9_DEY calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $24)
ajbutterfish stands pat
plutoman20 discards 1 card [Jc]
WHO_9_DEY discards 1 card
Dealt to plutoman20 [4h 3c Ad] [2c]
WHO_9_DEY is dealt 1 card
ajbutterfish bets $2
plutoman20 folds
WHO_9_DEY calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ajbutterfish shows [5c 4d 3s Qs] a 3-Card: 5, 4, 3
WHO_9_DEY mucks
ajbutterfish wins the pot ($27) with a 3-Card: 5, 4, 3
*** SUMMARY ***Total pot $28 Rake $1
Seat 1: WHO_9_DEY mucked [6s 5d Ah 8d] - a 3-Card: 6, 5, A
Seat 2: Me100 (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: ajbutterfish (small blind) showed [5c 4d 3s Qs] and won ($27) with a 3-Card: 5, 4, 3
Seat 5: plutoman20 (big blind) folded after the 3rd Draw
Seat 6: Junedog79 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 8: rufie101 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Sixty-nine, dude!

Monday night was a good one for me. I made $84, mostly in two short sessions of 25c/50c single draw on Poker Stars. Here are three of Monday's hands:

Hand 1
Donkery was living up to his name. The more I saw him play, the more I wished I'd called the four-bet with the advantage of position.

PokerStars Game #52356126865: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/11/08 0:47:55 ET
Table 'Aguilar' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: papasipeye ($57.05 in chips)
Seat 2: Speedy_PT ($49.50 in chips)
Seat 3: got2Bnow ($11.20 in chips)
Seat 4: Donkery ($18.65 in chips)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($28.15 in chips)
Seat 7: jkyb ($52.75 in chips)
Speedy_PT: posts small blind $0.25
got2Bnow: posts big blind $0.50
wk20a: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Th 8c 2s 6h 3s]
Donkery: raises $1.50 to $2
plutoman20: raises $4 to $6
jkyb: folds
papasipeye: folds
Speedy_PT: folds
got2Bnow: folds
Donkery: raises $12.65 to $18.65 and is all-in
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($12.65) returned to Donkery
Donkery collected $12.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $12.75 Rake $0
Seat 1: papasipeye (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Speedy_PT (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: got2Bnow (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: Donkery collected ($12.75)
Seat 5: plutoman20 folded before Flop
Seat 7: jkyb folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 2
This was the big one. It had shades of that $100 pot I played a few weeks ago. Pre-draw, wk20a could have had anything up to a ten, but when he bet on the end, I expected to have the second-best hand. What would I have done if I'd hit a nine (which, as it turns out, would have been enough)? I really don't know.

PokerStars Game #52356177524: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/11/08 0:50:23 ET
Table 'Aguilar' 7-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: papasipeye ($57.05 in chips)
Seat 2: Speedy_PT ($48.50 in chips)
Seat 3: got2Bnow ($8.70 in chips)
Seat 4: Donkery ($26.10 in chips)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($23.50 in chips)
Seat 6: wk20a ($19.25 in chips)
Seat 7: jkyb ($53.85 in chips)
jkyb: posts small blind $0.25
papasipeye: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5s Ac 4h 2s 8c]
Speedy_PT: raises $1 to $1.50
got2Bnow: calls $1.50
Donkery: raises $2 to $3.50
plutoman20: calls $3.50
wk20a: raises $8.50 to $12
jkyb: folds
papasipeye: folds
papasipeye said, "nice hand"
jkyb said, "thsi a big one"
Speedy_PT: calls $10.50
got2Bnow: folds
Donkery: calls $8.50
jkyb said, "wow"
plutoman20 said, "guess i've got the odds"
plutoman20: calls $8.50
Speedy_PT: discards 1 card
Donkery: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ac]
Dealt to plutoman20 [5s 4h 2s 8c] [7d]
wk20a: stands pat
Speedy_PT: checks
Donkery: checks
plutoman20: checks
wk20a: bets $7.25 and is all-in
Speedy_PT: calls $7.25
Donkery: folds
plutoman20 said, "87 dammit"
plutoman20: calls $7.25
*** SHOW DOWN ***
wk20a: shows [6c 9h 8d 2d 3h] (Lo: 9,8,6,3,2)
Speedy_PT: mucks hand
plutoman20: shows [5s 7d 4h 2s 8c] (Lo: 8,7,5,4,2)
plutoman20 collected $69 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $72 Rake $3
Seat 1: papasipeye (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Speedy_PT mucked [6d 4c 7c Ts 2c]
Seat 3: got2Bnow folded before Flop
Seat 4: Donkery folded on the Flop
Seat 5: plutoman20 showed [5s 7d 4h 2s 8c] and won ($69) with Lo: 8,7,5,4,2
Seat 6: wk20a (button) showed [6c 9h 8d 2d 3h] and lost with Lo: 9,8,6,3,2
Seat 7: jkyb (small blind) folded before Flop

Hand 3
This was the very first hand of the second session. I'd had my eye on this table for a little while and Donkery was seemingly betting and raising willy-nilly. Here he might have remembered the earlier hand where I folded to his four-bet and thought I'd do the same again, but this time I estimated his range at anything from the nuts to a royal flush. I'm ahead of the majority of that, so I decide to gamble. He had a nine draw, and thankfully missed it.

PokerStars Game #52357702451: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/11/08 2:19:35 ET
Table 'Aguilar' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: papasipeye ($65.95 in chips)
Seat 2: elchino_007 ($64.40 in chips)
Seat 3: BOOTS1918 ($75.90 in chips)
Seat 4: Donkery ($37.65 in chips)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($30 in chips)
Seat 6: kdogg224 ($8.10 in chips)
Seat 7: cielorazzo12 ($81.85 in chips)
Donkery: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5d 2d 9s 6c Td]
kdogg224: folds
cielorazzo12: calls $0.50
papasipeye: folds
elchino_007: folds
BOOTS1918: folds
Donkery said, "change your name deck"
Donkery: raises $5 to $5.50
plutoman20: raises $8.50 to $14
cielorazzo12: folds
BOOTS1918 said, "what"
Donkery: raises $23.65 to $37.65 and is all-in
plutoman20: calls $16 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($7.65) returned to Donkery
Donkery: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [5d 2d 9s 6c Td]
elchino_007 said, "LOL"
BOOTS1918 said, "lol"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Donkery: shows [7s 3s Ac 2c 9d] (Lo: A,9,7,3,2)
plutoman20: shows [5d 2d 9s 6c Td] (Lo: T,9,6,5,2)
BOOTS1918 said, " idiot"
plutoman20 collected $57.50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $60.50 Rake $3
Seat 1: papasipeye folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: elchino_007 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BOOTS1918 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Donkery (small blind) showed [7s 3s Ac 2c 9d] and lost with Lo: A,9,7,3,2
Seat 5: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [5d 2d 9s 6c Td] and won ($57.50) with Lo: T,9,6,5,2
Seat 6: kdogg224 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: cielorazzo12 folded before Flop

The Full Tilt single draw games run at smaller stakes, right down to the 2c/5c blind level. They also feature antes of half the small blind (or slightly less in some cases). I think this is a good thing as it promotes action; there is sometimes a distinct lack of that in the 25c/50c games on Stars (although not on Monday night!).
Lower stakes mean you can experiment a bit (particularly with bluffs) without risking too much. Of course the small stakes also mean you're more likely to get called.
In a 10c/20c game on Full Tilt on Monday night, we were heads-up to the draw, he drew two and I drew one, pairing my six. I bluffed my pair, he then check-raised me, I folded, then he showed me two tens!
In a 5c/10c game last night I four-bet pre-draw out of position with a very pretty looking "skip straight flush", J9753, all hearts. My opponent had been three-betting liberally, and the last time I'd four-bet I'd had a pat 8-7. He folded. If he'd reraised again I'd have let my hand go; had he called I'd have patted and bombed the pot after the draw.

Draw on Full Tilt

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

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

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

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

October monthly report

I finished the month up $242. My current bankroll is $892; my overall profit stands at $6392, $42 shy of my all-time high.

I might lay off the single draw cash games for a bit: I'm still not sure of some aspects of my play. For instance, there's quite a bit of limping in the 25c/50c games and I'm not sure how to combat it. Plenty of players open-limp pat tens and jacks as well as draws, and sometimes I find myself raising when I'm 50-50 or even 40-60. Occasionally they balance these plays by limping monsters. A hand from last night (if memory serves): there's a limper in early position and I raise with an eight draw. We're heads-up. He stands pat, I draw a queen. He checks, I bluff bet, he calls and shows me 96432.

I'm fairly confident I'd be profitable long-term in the single draw tournaments however. Last weekend I had a go at the $11 buy-in. I was dealt a Q98 on both my first two hands. Each time I open-raised with the intention of drawing; the same player called me out of the blinds both times, and both times he drew three, so I patted my queens and took down two small pots when they held up. They might have been the last pots I won. Down to half my starting stack, I raised to four big blinds UTG with a nut nine draw. I got a bunch of callers including one from the big blind who only just had me covered. I got the card I wanted to give me 95432. The big blind (who had drawn two) went all in, I called and made an early exit when I was shown an 8-7.

Badugi has been kind to me of late. It's only a matter of time before variance turns around and bites me in the bum of course. Here's a hand from last night. Zofo was making a rather a lot of badugis on the second draw. Something seemed fishy. In his defence, if you're going to snow, 654 is one of the best hands to do it with, and all credit to him for getting away with it for so long.

PokerStars Game #51891832277: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2010/10/30 5:43:15 ET
Table 'Britta' 8-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: zofo002 ($45.75 in chips)
Seat 2: x414141x ($46 in chips)
Seat 3: gregorianW ($54.75 in chips)
Seat 4: Lucky013 ($10 in chips)
Seat 6: plutoman20 ($64 in chips)
Seat 8: Frol850 ($33.25 in chips)
Lucky013: posts small blind $0.50
plutoman20: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2d 2h 6d 3s]
Frol850: folds
zofo002: raises $1 to $2
x414141x: folds
gregorianW: folds
Lucky013: calls $1.50
plutoman20: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
Lucky013: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 1 card [2d]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2h 6d 3s] [3c]
zofo002: discards 1 card
Lucky013: checks
plutoman20: checks
zofo002: bets $1
Lucky013: calls $1
plutoman20: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Lucky013: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 1 card [3c]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2h 6d 3s] [Ah]
zofo002: discards 1 card
Lucky013: checks
plutoman20: checks
zofo002: bets $2
Lucky013: calls $2
plutoman20: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
Lucky013: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [2h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6d 3s Ah] [7h]
zofo002: stands pat
Lucky013: checks
plutoman20: checks
zofo002: bets $2
Lucky013: folds
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
zofo002: shows [Tc 4s 5c 6h] (3-card: 6,5,4)
plutoman20: shows [Ah 7h 6d 3s] (3-card: 6,3,A)
plutoman20 collected $18.25 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $19 Rake $0.75
Seat 1: zofo002 showed [Tc 4s 5c 6h] and lost with a 3-card: 6,5,4
Seat 2: x414141x folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: gregorianW (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Lucky013 (small blind) folded after the 3rd Draw
Seat 6: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [Ah 7h 6d 3s] and won ($18.25) with a 3-card: 6,3,A
Seat 8: Frol850 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

I pulled off a decent snow of my own today when I got 863A, all hearts, on the button. At the lower levels there are often too many limpers to make this kind of snow worthwhile (it's just too likely that someone will hit a badugi). This time there was one limper but eight-high flushes don't come around all that often (the odds of being dealt four suited cards with nothing above an eight are close to 1000:1) so I patted it all the way. The last of my two opponents folded on the river.

Hot as Alaska

Having won just ten of my last 39 showdowns in single draw (and 37.5% of showdowns seen in the last week), now might be a good time to post hands from my latest hot-as-Alaska spell. Tomorrow is Halloween and I'll give a brief monthly update then.

Hand 1
In 150 hands prior to this one, I hadn’t made better than a 9-8. I found it amusing to see players checking in position after the draw with better hands than I’d made in the previous hour and a half. So when I get this aces-like pat hand I’m salivating, and hoping it doesn’t just fold all the way round. I also slow-play this monster by just calling his three-bet; if he's got a breakable 9-7 I don't want him dropping the nine. But when you're running cold...
I was thankful that he didn't have a bigger stack.

PokerStars Game #51620358646: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/24 20:07:09 ET
Table 'Malabar V' 7-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: ljptlc ($13.15 in chips)
Seat 2: BrainyBrat ($27.90 in chips)
Seat 3: 42llopi ($12.25 in chips)
Seat 4: poker_nalch ($24.30 in chips)
Seat 5: tiburon451 ($14.70 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($31.20 in chips)
42llopi: posts small blind $0.25
poker_nalch: posts big blind $0.50
jniquetamere: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6s 8c 2d 5d 4s]
tiburon451: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
ljptlc: folds
BrainyBrat: folds
42llopi: raises $2.50 to $4
poker_nalch: folds
plutoman20: calls $2.50
42llopi: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [6s 8c 2d 5d 4s]
42llopi: bets $3
plutoman20: raises $24.20 to $27.20 and is all-in
42llopi: calls $5.25 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($18.95) returned to plutoman20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [6s 8c 2d 5d 4s] (Lo: 8,6,5,4,2)
42llopi: shows [6d 3s 8d 5h 2h] (Lo: 8,6,5,3,2)
42llopi collected $23.80 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $25 Rake $1.20
Seat 1: ljptlc folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: BrainyBrat (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: 42llopi (small blind) showed [6d 3s 8d 5h 2h] and won ($23.80) with Lo: 8,6,5,3,2
Seat 4: poker_nalch (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: tiburon451 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: plutoman20 showed [6s 8c 2d 5d 4s] and lost with Lo: 8,6,5,4,2

Hand 2
I don't want to give anybody the odds to outdraw me here, but I probably didn't need to raise this much.

PokerStars Game #51839087521: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/29 3:27:37 ET
Table 'Melusina VIII' 7-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: Angyalfold ($33.45 in chips)
Seat 3: myhalfdollar ($5 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($35.70 in chips)
Seat 5: owyahgoin ($20 in chips)
Seat 6: Greg941 ($14.45 in chips)
Seat 7: sydneydawn ($21.45 in chips)
sydneydawn: posts small blind $0.25
popaionut: is sitting out
Angyalfold: posts big blind $0.50
owyahgoin: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2c 7h 5h 4h 9d]
popaionut leaves the table
myhalfdollar: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
owyahgoin: raises $1 to $2.50
Greg941: calls $2.50
sydneydawn: calls $2.25
Angyalfold: folds
plutoman20: raises $6.50 to $9
owyahgoin: folds
Greg941: folds
sydneydawn: folds
Uncalled bet ($6.50) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 collected $10.50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $10.50 Rake $0
Seat 2: Angyalfold (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: myhalfdollar folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 collected ($10.50)
Seat 5: owyahgoin folded before Flop
Seat 6: Greg941 (button) folded before Flop
Seat 7: sydneydawn (small blind) folded before Flop

Hand 3
Chuckila calls me a nit after this hand. OK, I should have raised after the draw (I've got a top-ten hand), but to how much? The only raise size that makes much sense here is all-in, and then what's calling me? The main benefit of just calling was that I'd get to see what he has. Notably he'd just won a huge pot with a seven prior to this, so I presume his confidence was high. Also I don't think commenting on others' play during the game is a clever thing to do.

PokerStars Game #51840460968: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/29 4:44:17 ET
Table 'Eurydome II' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: fenixpkr999 ($15.70 in chips)
Seat 3: Chuckila ($73.50 in chips)
Seat 5: Ogre_AK ($23.95 in chips)
Seat 6: filma70 ($19.95 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($30.85 in chips)
fenixpkr999: posts small blind $0.25
Chuckila: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2c 3h 8c 7s As]
Ogre_AK: folds
filma70: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
fenixpkr999: folds
Chuckila: raises $3.65 to $5.15
plutoman20: calls $3.65
Chuckila: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [As]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2c 3h 8c 7s] [4c]
Chuckila: bets $7
plutoman20: calls $7
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Chuckila: shows [5s 3s Ts Qc 9c] (Lo: Q,T,9,5,3)
plutoman20: shows [2c 3h 8c 7s 4c] (Lo: 8,7,4,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $23.35 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $24.55 Rake $1.20
Seat 1: fenixpkr999 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: Chuckila (big blind) showed [5s 3s Ts Qc 9c] and lost with Lo: Q,T,9,5,3
Seat 5: Ogre_AK folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: filma70 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: plutoman20 (button) showed [2c 3h 8c 7s 4c] and won ($23.35) with Lo: 8,7,4,3,2

Hand 4
Pokrprovoker was playing very aggressively this session, happy to go all-in with draws. Normally I'd fold this without thinking. If either of them call I'm in a bit of poo here, but considering how card-dead I'd been I don't mind what I did here.

PokerStars Game #51887331992: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/30 1:58:26 ET
Table 'Warck' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: cfh2401 ($27.25 in chips)
Seat 2: 'tacheman ($15.10 in chips)
Seat 3: GoldDigga86 ($37.50 in chips)
Seat 4: pokrprovoker ($40.55 in chips)
Seat 5: Greg941 ($22.70 in chips)
Seat 6: ThaSlosh23 ($11.90 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($28.85 in chips)
Greg941: posts small blind $0.25
ThaSlosh23: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [4c Tc 9s 6c 3d]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
cfh2401: folds
'tacheman: folds
GoldDigga86: raises $2 to $3.50
pokrprovoker: calls $3.50
Greg941: folds
ThaSlosh23: folds
plutoman20: raises $7.50 to $11
GoldDigga86: folds
pokrprovoker: folds
Uncalled bet ($7.50) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 collected $11.25 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $11.25 Rake $0
Seat 1: cfh2401 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: 'tacheman folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: GoldDigga86 folded before Flop
Seat 4: pokrprovoker (button) folded before Flop
Seat 5: Greg941 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: ThaSlosh23 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: plutoman20 collected ($11.25)

Hand 5
This is perhaps the most interesting of the lot. It's a rare example of when running badly can be to your advantage: people don't believe I could actually have a good hand.

PokerStars Game #51887784301: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/30 2:21:26 ET
Table 'Warck' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: cfh2401 ($37 in chips)
Seat 2: Elales ($17.60 in chips)
Seat 3: GoldDigga86 ($36.10 in chips)
Seat 4: pokrprovoker ($40.80 in chips)
Seat 5: Greg941 ($19.85 in chips)
Seat 6: BamBam1991 ($47.70 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($20.70 in chips)
Elales: posts small blind $0.25
GoldDigga86: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2c 7s 7c 5h 6c]
pokrprovoker: raises $1.50 to $2
Greg941: folds
BamBam1991: folds
plutoman20: raises $3 to $5
cfh2401: folds
Elales: folds
GoldDigga86: folds
pokrprovoker: calls $3
pokrprovoker: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [7c]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2c 7s 5h 6c] [8h]
pokrprovoker: checks
plutoman20: bets $7
pokrprovoker said, "u bluffing?"
pokrprovoker said, "i have K high"
GoldDigga86 said, "call"
plutoman20 said, "i don't win showdowns remember"
GoldDigga86 said, "too big bet"
GoldDigga86 said, "looks like a bluff"
pokrprovoker: calls $7
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [2c 7s 8h 5h 6c] (Lo: 8,7,6,5,2)
pokrprovoker: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $23.55 from pot
GoldDigga86 said, "ur decission"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $24.75 Rake $1.20
Seat 1: cfh2401 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Elales (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: GoldDigga86 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: pokrprovoker mucked [5s 3c 4d 2h Kd]
Seat 5: Greg941 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: BamBam1991 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: plutoman20 showed [2c 7s 8h 5h 6c] and won ($23.55) with Lo: 8,7,6,5,2

And here's a bonus triple draw hand. I colour-code players - Mol 19 is coded green for go, as in go to his table, ASAP. Drawing nine cards to make the nuts - is that a record? Lijphart is excited because Mol 19 didn't suck out on him in the last hand. On the river I'm not sure about Recallpie's overcall with a 9-8, though come to think of it I'm probably calling with a queen, so it might not be that bad after all.

PokerStars Game #51683910523: Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/26 3:00:51 ET
Table 'Cohnia' 6-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($13.60 in chips)
Seat 2: Lijphart ($16.05 in chips)
Seat 3: kovac-bo ($8.05 in chips)
Seat 5: Recallpie ($16.65 in chips)
Seat 6: Mol 19 ($2.15 in chips)
Mol 19: posts small blind $0.10
Lijphart said, "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.25
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c Th 2d 7s 4s]
Lijphart: folds
kovac-bo said, "lol"
kovac-bo: folds
Recallpie: calls $0.25
Mol 19: calls $0.15
plutoman20: raises $0.25 to $0.50
Recallpie: calls $0.25
Mol 19: calls $0.25
*** FIRST DRAW ***
Mol 19: discards 4 cards
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Th]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c 2d 7s 4s] [2h]
Recallpie: discards 2 cards
Mol 19: checks
plutoman20: bets $0.25
Recallpie: calls $0.25
Mol 19: calls $0.25
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Mol 19: discards 3 cards
plutoman20: discards 1 card [2h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c 2d 7s 4s] [Ks]
Recallpie: discards 2 cards
Mol 19: checks
plutoman20: bets $0.50
Recallpie: calls $0.50
Mol 19: calls $0.50
*** THIRD DRAW ***
Mol 19: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ks]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c 2d 7s 4s] [8h]
Recallpie: discards 1 card
Mol 19: bets $0.50
plutoman20: calls $0.50
Recallpie: calls $0.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Mol 19: shows [5d 4h 7c 2s 3d] (Lo: 7,5,4,3,2)
plutoman20: mucks hand
Recallpie: mucks hand
plutoman20 said, "lol"
Mol 19 collected $5 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.25 Rake $0.25
Seat 1: plutoman20 (big blind) mucked [6c 8h 2d 7s 4s]
Seat 2: Lijphart folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: kovac-bo folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Recallpie (button) mucked [8d 9h 2c 6h 4c]
Seat 6: Mol 19 (small blind) showed [5d 4h 7c 2s 3d] and won ($5) with Lo: 7,5,4,3,2

Eight more hands

I'd like to forget some of last weekend's single draw sessions, but I had a very good time of it on Thursday and Friday, particularly Friday when I made $74 in 242 hands, including a dollar-a-hand last fifty, taking my bankroll into the low 900s. I was lucky enough to be dealt the second nuts and take down a big pot when my opponent drew one to make an 8-6 with no reasonable way of getting away from his hand. Here are a few hands from the last week and a bit:

Hand 1
Oh dear. I never thought I'd fold a 9-7 to a three-bet before the draw. I've been on this table a while, and on a few occasions Tightwkfish has just called pre-draw raises with pat tens - I hadn't seen him reraise anything. So when he raises to nine bucks, I figure he's got a monster and I'm behind most of his range, so I go with my gut instinct and fold. What I didn't take into account though was the amount of dick-waving chat between him and Zachie in the previous 15 minutes - "don't you know who I am?" - resulting in them trying to "own" each other here. I'm still trying to understand the mentality of some online poker players.

PokerStars Game #51172058265: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/16 2:52:55 ET
Table 'Cebriones V' 7-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($26.90 in chips)
Seat 2: illarion878 ($23.05 in chips)
Seat 3: Zachie Darko ($50 in chips)
Seat 4: ballisticb ($35.85 in chips)
Seat 5: John V1982 ($7.80 in chips)
Seat 6: tightwkfish ($17.20 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
illarion878: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9h 4s 7s 2h 6h]
Zachie Darko: raises $1.50 to $2
ballisticb: folds
John V1982: folds
tightwkfish: raises $7 to $9
plutoman20: folds
illarion878: folds
Zachie Darko: raises $7 to $16
tightwkfish: raises $1.20 to $17.20 and is all-in
Zachie Darko: calls $1.20
Zachie Darko: stands pat
tightwkfish: stands pat
tightwkfish said, "n1"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Zachie Darko: shows [5h 4h 8d Tc 3h] (Lo: T,8,5,4,3)
tightwkfish: shows [Td 2c 5s 7c 6d] (Lo: T,7,6,5,2)
tightwkfish collected $33.40 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $35.15 Rake $1.75
Seat 1: plutoman20 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: illarion878 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: Zachie Darko showed [5h 4h 8d Tc 3h] and lost with Lo: T,8,5,4,3
Seat 4: ballisticb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: John V1982 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: tightwkfish (button) showed [Td 2c 5s 7c 6d] and won ($33.40) with Lo: T,7,6,5,2

Hand 2
I'd been card-dead in this session. Just about every hand seemed to be 60% paint. This one was no exception. I'm not sure this is the best hand to three-bet snow with, but here I'm simply making use of my super-tight image.

PokerStars Game #51152585350: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/15 17:18:49 ET
Table 'Eudora II' 7-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: TYSKEN69 ($23.20 in chips)
Seat 2: Gator97 ($12.25 in chips)
Seat 3: kokas473 ($19.55 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($30.10 in chips)
Seat 5: LukeJ79 ($72.95 in chips)
Seat 7: jonkercuijk ($4.80 in chips)
kokas473: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Qc 2c 2d Qh Qd]
LukeJ79: folds
jonkercuijk: folds
TYSKEN69: folds
Gator97: folds
kokas473: raises $1 to $1.50
plutoman20: raises $2.50 to $4
TYSKEN69 said, "ty"
kokas473: calls $2.50
kokas473: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [Qc 2c 2d Qh Qd]
kokas473: checks
plutoman20: bets $5
TYSKEN69 said, "wrong time"
kokas473: folds
Uncalled bet ($5) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 collected $7.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8 Rake $0.40
Seat 1: TYSKEN69 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Gator97 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: kokas473 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: plutoman20 (big blind) collected ($7.60)
Seat 5: LukeJ79 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: jonkercuijk folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 3
With an excellent two-way hand in position, I think this is a good four-bet here.

PokerStars Game #51426807944: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/21 2:33:27 ET
Table 'Janus X' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: 420intuition ($16.40 in chips)
Seat 2: ballisticb ($23.75 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($36 in chips)
Seat 4: ddkoontz ($16.90 in chips)
Seat 5: jimo29 ($53.25 in chips)
Seat 6: PATSYPOKER19 ($79.55 in chips)
Seat 7: NEMUNAS ($34.40 in chips)
jimo29: posts small blind $0.25
PATSYPOKER19: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3d 2c 6d 7s Td]
NEMUNAS: folds
420intuition: folds
ballisticb: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
ddkoontz: folds
jimo29: raises $2 to $3.50
PATSYPOKER19: folds
plutoman20: raises $4.50 to $8
jimo29: folds
Uncalled bet ($4.50) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 collected $7.50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.50 Rake $0
Seat 1: 420intuition folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: ballisticb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: plutoman20 collected ($7.50)
Seat 4: ddkoontz (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: jimo29 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: PATSYPOKER19 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: NEMUNAS folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 4
In position I think my four-bet is the right play here, but when he shoves I've got no real choice but to fold. For this game, at these stakes, we're pretty deep. The scary thing for me about this hand was that for a fleeting split-second I thought about drawing to the 8-5. I'm not getting anywhere near the right odds for that, and he might even have a seven.

PokerStars Game #51427946190: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/21 3:39:22 ET
Table 'Janus X' 7-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: sngonta ($61.85 in chips)
Seat 2: ballisticb ($25.20 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 ($53.10 in chips)
Seat 4: ddkoontz ($9.75 in chips)
Seat 5: jimo29 ($78.55 in chips)
Seat 6: PATSYPOKER19 ($61.35 in chips)
ballisticb: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2h 8d 4h 3h 9d]
ddkoontz: folds
jimo29: raises $1 to $1.50
PATSYPOKER19: folds
sngonta: raises $3 to $4.50
ballisticb: folds
plutoman20: raises $6.50 to $11
jimo29: folds
sngonta: raises $50.85 to $61.85
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($50.85) returned to sngonta
sngonta collected $23.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $23.75 Rake $0
Seat 1: sngonta (button) collected ($23.75)
Seat 2: ballisticb (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: plutoman20 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: ddkoontz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: jimo29 folded before Flop
Seat 6: PATSYPOKER19 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 5
I've seen quite a few players just call raises pre-draw in position and pat behind. It's worth bluffing these players when you miss just to see what they do. Unfortunately a lot of them call with their jacks and tens.

PokerStars Game #51519389742: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/22 21:46:52 ET
Table 'Aksnes X' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($52.60 in chips)
Seat 2: Azullejos ($22.35 in chips)
Seat 3: 'tacheman ($14.15 in chips)
Seat 4: xxemilyxx83 ($15.25 in chips)
Seat 5: NEMUNAS ($48.80 in chips)
Seat 7: susankramer ($10.15 in chips)
xxemilyxx83: posts small blind $0.25
NEMUNAS: posts big blind $0.50
Apennin: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 7d 3h 2c 8s]
susankramer: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
Azullejos: calls $1.50
'tacheman: folds
'tacheman said, "nh"
xxemilyxx83: folds
NEMUNAS: folds
plutoman20: discards 1 card [2s]
Dealt to plutoman20 [7d 3h 2c 8s] [Ks]
Azullejos: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $3
Azullejos: folds
Uncalled bet ($3) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 collected $3.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $3.75 Rake $0.15
Seat 1: plutoman20 collected ($3.60)
Seat 2: Azullejos folded on the Flop
Seat 3: 'tacheman (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: xxemilyxx83 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: NEMUNAS (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: susankramer folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 6
I think if you're going to bet at all after the draw, you should make it at least 60% of the pot. I normally bet around two-thirds. If you bet too small, you risk giving away the strength of your hand and getting bluffed off it. Susan said she had KK432.

PokerStars Game #51519865520: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/22 22:02:13 ET
Table 'Aksnes X' 7-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($58.20 in chips)
Seat 2: Azullejos ($20.05 in chips)
Seat 3: 'tacheman ($19.95 in chips)
Seat 5: NEMUNAS ($56.05 in chips)
Seat 7: susankramer ($20.65 in chips)
'tacheman: posts small blind $0.25
NEMUNAS: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Ks Td 5d 8s Kc]
34DD joins the table at seat #4
susankramer: raises $1 to $1.50
plutoman20: folds
Azullejos: folds
'tacheman: folds
NEMUNAS: raises $2 to $3.50
susankramer: calls $2
NEMUNAS: stands pat
susankramer: discards 2 cards
NEMUNAS: bets $3
susankramer: raises $14.15 to $17.15 and is all-in
Azullejos said, "call"
Azullejos said, "be a man"
plutoman20 said, "you've got a 9 i guess"
Azullejos said, "bluff"
NEMUNAS: folds
Uncalled bet ($14.15) returned to susankramer
susankramer collected $12.65 from pot
susankramer: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $13.25 Rake $0.60
Seat 1: plutoman20 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Azullejos (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: 'tacheman (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: NEMUNAS (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: susankramer collected ($12.65)

Hand 7
Obviously I'm unlucky here, but surely Putterpb should simply have gone all-in.

PokerStars Game #51572026035: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/23 22:35:24 ET
Table 'Althaea II' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($30.35 in chips)
Seat 2: putterpb ($20 in chips)
Seat 3: papasipeye ($30 in chips)
Seat 4: Quiet-Inside ($20.55 in chips)
Seat 5: redwein ($21.20 in chips)
Seat 6: hit4me2 ($13 in chips)
Seat 7: ASTRO123 ($13.15 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
putterpb: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Jd Qd 2h 4h 3s]
papasipeye: folds
Quiet-Inside: folds
redwein: calls $0.50
hit4me2: folds
ASTRO123: folds
plutoman20: calls $0.25
putterpb: checks
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [Jd Qd]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2h 4h 3s] [6d 8c]
putterpb: discards 1 card
redwein: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets $1.50
putterpb: raises $2 to $3.50
redwein: folds
plutoman20: raises $4.50 to $8
putterpb: raises $4.50 to $12.50
plutoman20: calls $4.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
putterpb: shows [6s 4d 3h 7c 2d] (Lo: 7,6,4,3,2)
plutoman20: mucks hand
plutoman20 said, "nh"
putterpb collected $25.20 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $26.50 Rake $1.30
Seat 1: plutoman20 (small blind) mucked [6d 8c 2h 4h 3s]
Seat 2: putterpb (big blind) showed [6s 4d 3h 7c 2d] and won ($25.20) with Lo: 7,6,4,3,2
Seat 3: papasipeye folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Quiet-Inside folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: redwein folded on the Flop
Seat 6: hit4me2 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: ASTRO123 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 8
I'll raise the occasional two-card draw here. I'm not sure if that's clever play (it's perhaps better on the button because you'll have position after the draw). However I don't think Chopertony's play is good at all. If he'd reraised his pat nine I would have folded before the draw. Post-draw (which shouldn't have even happened), he should have just called my $2.50 bet.

PokerStars Game #51574926382: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/24 0:24:40 ET
Table 'Althaea II' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($25.70 in chips)
Seat 2: chopertony ($15.60 in chips)
Seat 3: papasipeye ($13.70 in chips)
Seat 4: Quiet-Inside ($30.95 in chips)
Seat 5: markpapz ($45.20 in chips)
Seat 6: PATSYPOKER19 ($51 in chips)
Seat 7: ASTRO123 ($17.90 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
chopertony: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Qd 2h 4s Kc 3s]
papasipeye: folds
Quiet-Inside: folds
markpapz: folds
PATSYPOKER19: folds
ASTRO123: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
chopertony: calls $1
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [Qd Kc]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2h 4s 3s] [7d 5c]
chopertony: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $2.50
chopertony: raises $2.50 to $5
plutoman20: raises $19.20 to $24.20 and is all-in
chopertony: calls $9.10 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($10.10) returned to plutoman20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [7d 2h 4s 5c 3s] (Lo: 7,5,4,3,2)
chopertony: shows [3c 9d 7h 8s 2c] (Lo: 9,8,7,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $29.65 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $31.20 Rake $1.55
Seat 1: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [7d 2h 4s 5c 3s] and won ($29.65) with Lo: 7,5,4,3,2
Seat 2: chopertony (big blind) showed [3c 9d 7h 8s 2c] and lost with Lo: 9,8,7,3,2
Seat 3: papasipeye folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Quiet-Inside folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: markpapz folded before Flop (didn't bet)

This is no-limit poker, folks!

No-limit single draw has at times felt like a limit game, with relatively few four-bets or big all-ins. For some reason people seem very cautious, not wanting to bet big unless they have a truly massive hand. But then yesterday morning, as a reminder that the game is indeed no-limit, this hand came up.

PokerStars Game #51148256211: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/15 15:53:17 ET
Table 'Renzia V' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Antoniomaqui ($16.45 in chips)
Seat 2: ka$teIIa ($6.75 in chips)
Seat 3: popaionut ($57.65 in chips)
Seat 4: vitalikvital ($57.45 in chips)
Seat 5: Ic3-T ($49.50 in chips)
Seat 6: sngonta ($55.55 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($30.60 in chips)
Ic3-T: posts small blind $0.25
sngonta: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6s 4d 8c 3c 5d] This is a truly massive hand. On the list of the 100 greatest hands of all time, it's right up there at number nine. It's a 282:1 shot, rarer than aces in hold 'em.
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50 My standard raise.
Antoniomaqui: folds
ka$teIIa: raises $5.25 to $6.75 and is all-in Yes!
popaionut: calls $6.75
vitalikvital: folds
Ic3-T: calls $6.50 Wow. What the hell have they got? Hopefully pat nines or tens, or draws to 8-7s. Interestingly my hand is the best possible hand without a deuce; this increases the chance that my opponents have the vital deuce they'll need to beat my hand. So what do I do here? I go all-in, right? Well actually my hand is good enough that I want to get called, don't I?
sngonta: folds
plutoman20: raises $10.25 to $17 Seventeen is the first number that comes into my head. I guess one of those two will call the extra $10.
popaionut: calls $10.25
Ic3-T: calls $10.25 OK, so they both call. Not sure I wanted that.
Ic3-T: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [6s 4d 8c 3c 5d]
ka$teIIa: discards 1 card
popaionut: discards 1 card Everyone's drawing. Bugger. I'm still a biggish favourite here though.
Ic3-T: bets $17.50 I'm probably toast now. But the pot's so damn big I've got no real choice but to put the rest of my stack in.
plutoman20: calls $13.60 and is all-in
popaionut: calls $17.50 Oh you're calling too?! The pot has now reached three figures, though I doubt I'll be getting my dirty mitts on any of it.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Ic3-T: shows [2c 6d 3d 7d 4c] (Lo: 7,6,4,3,2)
popaionut: mucks hand
Ic3-T collected $7.80 from side pot-2
plutoman20: mucks hand
Ic3-T collected $69.90 from side pot-1
ka$teIIa: mucks hand
Ic3-T collected $26.15 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $106.85 Main pot $26.15. Side pot-1 $69.90. Side pot-2 $7.80. Rake $3
Seat 1: Antoniomaqui folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: ka$teIIa mucked [4s 9c 7s 8h 5c]
Seat 3: popaionut mucked [5s 6h 4h 2h 8s]
Seat 4: vitalikvital (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Ic3-T (small blind) showed [2c 6d 3d 7d 4c] and won ($103.85) with Lo: 7,6,4,3,2
Seat 6: sngonta (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: plutoman20 mucked [6s 4d 8c 3c 5d]

So I was beaten by both players (the ultra-short stack was drawing dead). If it's any consolation Popaionut lost even more on that hand than me. I should have shoved pre-draw and taken all the initiative; my stack was going in anyway. Just because I can sometimes go hundreds of hands without making an eight doesn't make my hand invincible. The short-stack, although he/she was well out of the running, played a big part in the hand. With a full stack he might have raised to $4, the pot would have been smaller, and I might have got away from my hand after the draw.

Welcome!

It's Plutoman here and I play low-stakes online poker as a hobby. I've got another blog here, but in the last month I've been posting quite a few hands and I didn't want to bore the many thousands of people (!) who read my other blog.

This poker blog will differ from most: it'll be almost entirely hold 'em free. In early May I was lucky enough to be runner-up in a SCOOP badugi event for $4758 after buying in for $16.50. Since then I've played mainly badugi, triple draw and no-limit single draw and will be concentrating on these three games for the time being. My overall profit stands at around $6300 but I've cashed most of that out; I'm currently playing with an $800 bankroll.

I might as well kick off by posting three hands I felt I butchered in Tuesday night's (losing) session of single draw.

Hand 1
When Greg three-bets me with his short stack I've got three sensible choices here. Unfortunately I didn't choose any of them.
Option one is to shove, hope he folds, otherwise break if he pats and pat if he breaks. I'm not sure I like that - I might get him to fold a really rough nine (which would be nice) but I might also get him to break a worse hand than mine, which isn't what what I want at all.
Option two: just fold. There probably isn't much I beat here and my draw isn't wonderful.
Option three: call, then break if he pats and pat if he breaks, taking advantage of implied odds.
What I did (shove and pat regardless) wasn't particularly clever. When he calls and pats I'm not beating much. I think next time I'd pick option three.

PokerStars Game #50973626499: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/12 3:46:58 ET
Table 'Silke' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($29.55 in chips)
Seat 4: LukeJ79 ($22.95 in chips)
Seat 6: Greg941 ($8.15 in chips)
Seat 7: hermit9 ($28.25 in chips)
Greg941: posts small blind $0.25
hermit9: posts big blind $0.50
John V1982: is sitting out
John V1982 leaves the table
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 6d 3s 4h Td]
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
LukeJ79: folds
PICHUFINA joins the table at seat #1
Greg941: raises $1.50 to $3
hermit9: folds
plutoman20: raises $26.55 to $29.55 and is all-in
John V1982 joins the table at seat #3
Greg941: calls $5.15 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($21.40) returned to plutoman20
Greg941: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [2s 6d 3s 4h Td]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Greg941: shows [3h 7c 4d 5c 9h] (Lo: 9,7,5,4,3)
plutoman20: shows [2s 6d 3s 4h Td] (Lo: T,6,4,3,2)
Greg941 collected $16 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $16.80 Rake $0.80
Seat 2: plutoman20 showed [2s 6d 3s 4h Td] and lost with Lo: T,6,4,3,2
Seat 4: LukeJ79 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Greg941 (small blind) showed [3h 7c 4d 5c 9h] and won ($16) with Lo: 9,7,5,4,3
Seat 7: hermit9 (big blind) folded before Flop

Hand 2
This is horrible. The smallish reraise convinced me to continue. At the very least I should have drawn here, but I think folding would have been better really. My line screams "I don't like my hand very much", which of course is true.

PokerStars Game #50974052131: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/12 4:12:09 ET
Table 'Silke' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: PICHUFINA ($39.80 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($23.35 in chips)
Seat 3: John V1982 ($11.55 in chips)
Seat 4: LukeJ79 ($29.30 in chips)
Seat 5: susankramer ($20 in chips)
Seat 6: Greg941 ($20.15 in chips)
Seat 7: hermit9 ($32.20 in chips)
LukeJ79: posts small blind $0.25
susankramer: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [7s Th 2c 9s 3s]
Greg941: folds
hermit9: folds
PICHUFINA: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
John V1982: raises $1.50 to $3
LukeJ79: folds
susankramer: folds
plutoman20: calls $1.50
plutoman20: stands pat on [7s Th 2c 9s 3s]
John V1982: stands pat
plutoman20: checks
John V1982: bets $4
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($4) returned to John V1982
John V1982 collected $6.45 from pot
John V1982: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $6.75 Rake $0.30
Seat 1: PICHUFINA folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: plutoman20 folded on the Flop
Seat 3: John V1982 (button) collected ($6.45)
Seat 4: LukeJ79 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: susankramer (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Greg941 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: hermit9 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 3
My pre-flop play is fine here I think, but I should have just checked behind post. With my small (half-pot) bet, I'm asking to be bluffed off my hand. Did that happen here? I doubt it, but who knows?

PokerStars Game #50974089298: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/10/12 4:14:11 ET
Table 'Silke' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: PICHUFINA ($40 in chips)
Seat 2: plutoman20 ($20.35 in chips)
Seat 3: John V1982 ($15.75 in chips)
Seat 4: LukeJ79 ($29.05 in chips)
Seat 5: susankramer ($20 in chips)
Seat 6: Greg941 ($19.40 in chips)
Seat 7: hermit9 ($31.45 in chips)
PICHUFINA: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [5d 9s Th 8c 6s]
John V1982: folds
LukeJ79: folds
susankramer: folds
Greg941: raises $0.50 to $1
hermit9: folds
PICHUFINA: folds
plutoman20: raises $2 to $3
Greg941: calls $2
plutoman20: stands pat on [5d 9s Th 8c 6s]
Greg941: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets $3
Greg941: raises $3 to $6
plutoman20: folds
Uncalled bet ($3) returned to Greg941
Greg941 collected $11.70 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $12.25 Rake $0.55
Seat 1: PICHUFINA (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: plutoman20 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: John V1982 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: LukeJ79 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: susankramer folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Greg941 collected ($11.70)
Seat 7: hermit9 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)