May monthly report

I made $231 in May, pretty good considering I only played on seven days. My profit for the year is $1353. Lifetime I'm up $8943.

With the US dollar dropping like a stone, and American players being locked out of online play, I think it might be time for Poker Stars to ditch the greenback as its currency of choice in favour of something slightly more stable. The Russian ruble, the Canadian loonie and the Indonesian rupiah would all be suitable choices, the Rupiah because it trades at 9000 to the US dollar. Last year I stayed in Bali; my hotel bill came to over four million.

There won't be many more updates I'm afraid. With my new job and plans to start a business (giving me effectively two jobs) I can't afford to be badugi-ing for much longer. It's a shame because it's a been an interesting ride, but as they say, as one door closes another one, er, slams you in the face? I hope not.

Big-bet badugi bonanza

Last night I won my second Poker Stars tournament in a row. It was a $2.20 pot-limit badugi with 49 runners - back in the day I played those all the time. If anything the play in the early stages was even worse than I remember. With such a low buy-in I could have a bit of fun patting junk and seeing what might happen. I ran pretty well but was pleased with how I played. It was the first tournament I'd played on Stars since 9th April when I took down a 22-man limit badugi at the same micro buy-in - that time I seemed to get an embarrassingly good run of cards.

I also had a good night at the $1/$2 badugi and 25c/50c single draw cash games. Overall I made $100 for the night, which might go some way to restoring the value of my bankroll in my local currency. The NZ dollar has soared to 82 cents against the US.

Here are three hands from last night's big-bet badugiment:

Hand 1
A tiny pot, but notable because I can't remember ever snowing in a two-to-pat situation before. My short-term memory is shocking but I knew I'd seen a lot of spades even if I couldn't remember which ones. My mistake here was going for a check-raise on the turn instead of just betting out.

PokerStars Game #62610445004: Tournament #396965571, $2.00+$0.20 USD Badugi Pot Limit - Level III (30/60) - 2011/05/27 5:54:14 ET
Table '396965571 2' 8-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: cindyana (1610 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 (3520 in chips)
Seat 5: andrey738 (1555 in chips)
Seat 6: black813813 (5300 in chips)
Seat 7: BK1976 (2780 in chips)
Seat 8: bibisss21 (2305 in chips)
cindyana: posts small blind 30
plutoman20: posts big blind 60
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [As Ks Th 3s]
BK1976: calls 60
cindyana: calls 30
plutoman20: checks
Everybody else folds
*** FIRST DRAW ***
cindyana: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 3 cards [Ks Th 3s]
Dealt to plutoman20 [As] [4s 7d 7s]
BK1976: discards 1 card
cindyana: checks
plutoman20: checks
BK1976: checks
*** SECOND DRAW ***
cindyana: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: discards 2 cards [4s 7s]
Dealt to plutoman20 [As 7d] [Js Qs]
BK1976: discards 1 card
cindyana: checks
plutoman20: checks
BK1976: checks
*** THIRD DRAW ***
cindyana: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: stands pat on [As 7d Js Qs]
BK1976: discards 1 card
cindyana: checks
plutoman20: bets 140
BK1976: folds
cindyana: folds
Uncalled bet (140) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 collected 180 from pot

Hand 2
I thought I was toast here. I found Nachti's two min-raises awkward, although in hindsight he was probably just clicking buttons. I nearly broke off the ten on the flop but there was a (not insignificant) chance I was drawing dead. Had my hand been T542 I'd have broken I think.

PokerStars Game #62611517418: Tournament #396965571, $2.00+$0.20 USD Badugi Pot Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2011/05/27 6:46:10 ET
Table '396965571 5' 8-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: kepaxaneeeng (4390 in chips)
Seat 2: Aigil (2757 in chips)
Seat 3: bibisss21 (3105 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (7763 in chips)
Seat 5: cindyana (1885 in chips)
Seat 6: ramzes1975 (8033 in chips)
Seat 7: nachti52 (6030 in chips)
Seat 8: Pit theSnake (3619 in chips)
ramzes1975: posts small blind 100
nachti52: posts big blind 200
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2s 7h Td 6c]
Pit theSnake: folds
kepaxaneeeng: folds
Aigil: folds
bibisss21: folds
plutoman20: raises 440 to 640
cindyana: folds
ramzes1975: folds
nachti52: raises 440 to 1080
plutoman20: raises 1840 to 2920
nachti52: raises 1840 to 4760
plutoman20: calls 1840
*** FIRST DRAW ***
nachti52: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [2s 7h Td 6c]
nachti52: bets 1270 and is all-in
plutoman20: calls 1270
*** SECOND DRAW ***
nachti52: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [2s 7h Td 6c]
*** THIRD DRAW ***
nachti52: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [2s 7h Td 6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
nachti52: shows [Jd 6h 3s 7c] (Badugi: J,7,6,3)
plutoman20: shows [2s 7h Td 6c] (Badugi: T,7,6,2)
plutoman20 collected 12160 from pot
nachti52 finished the tournament in 16th place
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 12160 Rake 0
Seat 1: kepaxaneeeng folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Aigil folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: bibisss21 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 showed [2s 7h Td 6c] and won (12160) with a Badugi: T,7,6,2
Seat 5: cindyana (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: ramzes1975 (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 7: nachti52 (big blind) showed [Jd 6h 3s 7c] and lost with a Badugi: J,7,6,3
Seat 8: Pit theSnake folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Hand 3
I'll admit I was trying to be the big bully here, but hey, it's not often I'm in this stack-size situation.

PokerStars Game #62613307876: Tournament #396965571, $2.00+$0.20 USD Badugi Pot Limit - Level XII (400/800) - 2011/05/27 8:02:24 ET
Table '396965571 5' 8-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 2: a1951 (13194 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (47703 in chips)
Seat 5: Dr.Gerry (10332 in chips)
Seat 7: maddylow (2271 in chips)
a1951: posts small blind 400
plutoman20: posts big blind 800
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [8h 9s 5d 6d]
Dr.Gerry: calls 800
maddylow: folds
a1951: calls 400
plutoman20: raises 1600 to 2400
Dr.Gerry: calls 1600
a1951: folds
*** FIRST DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [6d]
Dealt to plutoman20 [8h 9s 5d] [2h]
Dr.Gerry: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets 3400
Dr.Gerry: calls 3400
*** SECOND DRAW ***
plutoman20: stands pat on [8h 9s 5d 2h]
Dr.Gerry: discards 1 card
plutoman20: bets 5000
Dr.Gerry: calls 4532 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (468) returned to plutoman20
*** THIRD DRAW ***
plutoman20: discards 1 card [8h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [9s 5d 2h] [Th]
Dr.Gerry: stands pat
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [Th 9s 5d 2h] (3-card: 9,5,2)
Dr.Gerry: shows [Ad 6h 3c 4s] (Badugi: 6,4,3,A)
plutoman20 said, "nh"
Dr.Gerry collected 21464 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 21464 Rake 0
Seat 2: a1951 (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 4: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [Th 9s 5d 2h] and lost with a 3-card: 9,5,2
Seat 5: Dr.Gerry showed [Ad 6h 3c 4s] and won (21464) with a Badugi: 6,4,3,A
Seat 7: maddylow (button) folded before the Draw (didn't bet)

Gone burger!

I've been on a five-week badugi exclusion diet but I fell off the wagon just in time to play the MiniFTOPS $22 buy-in on Full Tilt which had a convenient start time of 9am (presumably they've moved the tourneys forward to an un-American time slot). Black Friday meant there were only 400-odd players instead of the hordes who entered last time; the standard of play on my table was surprisingly good. I couldn't make any headway, my 4000 starting stack never reached 6000, and after bricking the best draw twice in quick succession I was out. I only lasted an hour and a half.

My early exit is no bad thing. The sun is trying to break through the clouds and I've got a bunch of stuff to get from the market.

April monthly report and a wheel to start the new month

April was an understandably low-volume month. New city, new job, Black Friday and virtually no internet coverage made online poker a near-impossible task. I was up a couple of hundred at one stage, then nosedived into the red before taking a small profit for the month of $49.

For all you lowballers in America who now only get nuts in your breakfast cereal, take a look at this trailer I spotted at a market in Wellington today. It’s got an extra wheel!

Apokerlypse

You probably can't read the "update" above, but I can assure you it's not good. The FBI have seized the PokerStars.com site (and Full Tilt too) and by the time I logged on to Stars the company had rerouted it to another address. US players are locked out. Can they cash out? Can I cash out (even though I'm outside the US)? I've just moved from Auckland to Wellington and right now I don't even have an address. And if everyone tries to cash out, Poker Stars' funds might have shrunk to the point that when I try to, the money won't be there. It's probably just as well I'm starting a new job on Monday.

March monthly report

I made $446 in March, a pretty good result considering how little I actually played. At my lowest point I was down (from memory) $166. This is the first month that I've done better on Full Tilt (+$231) than on Stars (+$215). For the year to date I'm up $1072.

It's doubtful I'll play much in April. Mid-month I'll be shifting 400 miles south to Wellington. New city, new job, basically a new life ... poker will have to take a back seat for a while. In my next post (which won't be far away) I'll attempt to get a handle on what makes people play online poker in the first place, but for now I'll post some hands from a game I've yet to mention in this blog: Omaha-8.

Two years ago I only had very basic knowledge of poker. The only two games I had any vague clue about were Texas hold 'em and five-card draw. I had some idea of what stud was but didn't know about bring-ins or any of that stuff. As for Omaha-8, well I'd heard of it but had no idea how it was played - I always thought the 8 had something to do with having eight cards. When I first tried the game for play money, it took a few hundred hands before I could even read my hand. "Yes! There's a second spade to go with the three in my hand, and I've even got a something-something low!" Now I can read my hand, and even have some idea of its strength, but really I'm still a novice at the game. I sometimes browse the Omaha-8 section on Twoplustwo - a bloke who goes by the name Buzz, and must be at least seventy, moderates that forum. I enjoy reading his posts which at times get quite philosophical. Last weekend I tried my hand at a $4.40 no-limit Omaha-8 tournament. I finished in the top quarter but still some way short of the money. Here are three hands from the tourney:

Hand 1
If I wasn't in the big blind I wouldn't have gone near this hand, but I got a free look at a flop which I thought was a decent one for me (and perhaps more importantly, unhelpful for my opponents) so I fired out a bet. I followed up with another bet on the turn when I turned the nut straight (but, with a third spade out there, far from the nuts). When the board paired on the river, it seemed there were too many ways to lose - I was now only really beating a bluff - so I gave up.

PokerStars Game #59858993061: Tournament #376203535, $4.00+$0.40 USD Omaha Hi/Lo No Limit - Level IV (25/50) - 2011/03/26 20:15:29 ET Table '376203535 28' 9-max Seat #5 is the button Seat 1: 1mackdaddy (6579 in chips) Seat 2: cridivan8 (792 in chips) Seat 3: kwok1983 (8986 in chips) Seat 4: rolrobher73 (2895 in chips) Seat 5: pigwrench (7785 in chips) Seat 6: SugarTFox (3420 in chips) Seat 7: plutoman20 (4538 in chips) Seat 8: paytonw34 (3000 in chips) Seat 9: silvia132 (2610 in chips) SugarTFox: posts small blind 25 plutoman20: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS *** Dealt to plutoman20 [8h 9h Jh As] paytonw34: calls 50 silvia132: calls 50 1mackdaddy: calls 50 cridivan8: folds kwok1983: folds rolrobher73: folds pigwrench: folds SugarTFox: calls 25 plutoman20: checks
*** FLOP *** [9s Ts Ah] SugarTFox: checks plutoman20: bets 150 paytonw34: calls 150 silvia132: folds 1mackdaddy: calls 150 SugarTFox: folds
*** TURN *** [9s Ts Ah] [7s] plutoman20: bets 380 paytonw34: calls 380 1mackdaddy: calls 380
*** RIVER *** [9s Ts Ah 7s] [7h] plutoman20: checks paytonw34: checks 1mackdaddy: bets 1100 plutoman20: folds paytonw34: folds Uncalled bet (1100) returned to 1mackdaddy 1mackdaddy collected 1840 from pot
*** SUMMARY *** Total pot 1840 Rake 0 Board [9s Ts Ah 7s 7h] Seat 1: 1mackdaddy collected (1840) Seat 2: cridivan8 folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 3: kwok1983 folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 4: rolrobher73 folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 5: pigwrench (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 6: SugarTFox (small blind) folded on the Flop Seat 7: plutoman20 (big blind) folded on the River Seat 8: paytonw34 folded on the River Seat 9: silvia132 folded on the Flop

Hand 2
Although folding to the shove kept me in the tournament on this occasion, I still think I should have called.

PokerStars Game #59860076833: Tournament #376203535, $4.00+$0.40 USD Omaha Hi/Lo No Limit - Level VI (40/80) - 2011/03/26 20:38:16 ET Table '376203535 28' 9-max Seat #3 is the button Seat 1: gotgame1538 (9427 in chips) Seat 2: Tekim007 (2625 in chips) Seat 3: kwok1983 (13515 in chips) Seat 4: rolrobher73 (2848 in chips) Seat 5: pigwrench (7095 in chips) Seat 6: SugarTFox (6725 in chips) Seat 7: plutoman20 (4218 in chips) Seat 8: tower999 (3000 in chips) Seat 9: silvia132 (4569 in chips) rolrobher73: posts small blind 40 pigwrench: posts big blind 80
*** HOLE CARDS *** Dealt to plutoman20 [2s Jd Ac Qc] SugarTFox: folds plutoman20: calls 80 tower999: folds silvia132: calls 80 gotgame1538: calls 80 Tekim007: calls 80 kwok1983: raises 13435 to 13515 and is all-in rolrobher73: folds pigwrench: folds plutoman20: folds silvia132: folds gotgame1538: folds Tekim007: calls 2545 and is all-in Uncalled bet (10890) returned to kwok1983
*** FLOP *** [7s 2h 3d]
*** TURN *** [7s 2h 3d] [Td]
*** RIVER *** [7s 2h 3d Td] [7h]
*** SHOW DOWN *** Tekim007: shows [Th 4s 2d 3h] (HI: two pair, Tens and Sevens) kwok1983: shows [Ad As 4d 6h] (HI: two pair, Aces and Sevens; LO: 7,4,3,2,A) kwok1983 collected 2805 from pot kwok1983 collected 2805 from pot
Tekim007 finished the tournament in 380th place
*** SUMMARY *** Total pot 5610 Rake 0 Board [7s 2h 3d Td 7h] Seat 1: gotgame1538 folded before Flop Seat 2: Tekim007 showed [Th 4s 2d 3h] and lost with HI: two pair, Tens and Sevens Seat 3: kwok1983 (button) showed [Ad As 4d 6h] and won (5610) with HI: two pair, Aces and Sevens; LO: 7,4,3,2,A Seat 4: rolrobher73 (small blind) folded before Flop Seat 5: pigwrench (big blind) folded before Flop Seat 6: SugarTFox folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 7: plutoman20 folded before Flop Seat 8: tower999 folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 9: silvia132 folded before Flop

Hand 3
I think it was the sheer amount of folding over the previous 45 minutes or so that encouraged this call. This hand plays better heads-up I think. OneHopless was pretty unlucky to be eliminated here.

PokerStars Game #59862939053: Tournament #376203535, $4.00+$0.40 USD Omaha Hi/Lo No Limit - Level XIII (200/400) - 2011/03/26 21:49:14 ET Table '376203535 32' 9-max Seat #6 is the button Seat 1: bearly788 (21945 in chips) Seat 2: sapw (3425 in chips) Seat 3: sam tsunami (12427 in chips) Seat 4: Krossman44 (8050 in chips) Seat 5: plutoman20 (4431 in chips) Seat 6: danicasi (9868 in chips) Seat 7: Jogger1 (8840 in chips) Seat 8: oneHopless (4880 in chips) Seat 9: Puntal_13 (22894 in chips) bearly788: posts the ante 50 sapw: posts the ante 50 sam tsunami: posts the ante 50 Krossman44: posts the ante 50 plutoman20: posts the ante 50 danicasi: posts the ante 50 Jogger1: posts the ante 50 oneHopless: posts the ante 50 Puntal_13: posts the ante 50 Jogger1: posts small blind 200 oneHopless: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS *** Dealt to plutoman20 [Kd Ad Ks Ts] Puntal_13: folds bearly788: folds sapw: folds sam tsunami: calls 400 Krossman44: calls 400 plutoman20: calls 400 danicasi: folds Jogger1: calls 200 oneHopless: raises 4430 to 4830 and is all-in sam tsunami: folds Krossman44: calls 4430 plutoman20: calls 3981 and is all-in Jogger1: folds
*** FLOP *** [Js 9d 7h]
*** TURN *** [Js 9d 7h] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [Js 9d 7h Jd] [6s]
*** SHOW DOWN *** oneHopless: shows [Ac Qc 2d As] (HI: two pair, Aces and Jacks) Krossman44: shows [2s 4s Jc 6c] (HI: a full house, Jacks full of Sixes) Krossman44 collected 898 from side pot plutoman20: shows [Kd Ad Ks Ts] (HI: two pair, Kings and Jacks) Krossman44 collected 14393 from main pot No low hand qualified
oneHopless finished the tournament in 146th place
plutoman20 finished the tournament in 147th place
*** SUMMARY *** Total pot 15291 Main pot 14393. Side pot 898. Rake 0 Board [Js 9d 7h Jd 6s] Seat 1: bearly788 folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 2: sapw folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 3: sam tsunami folded before Flop Seat 4: Krossman44 showed [2s 4s Jc 6c] and won (15291) with HI: a full house, Jacks full of Sixes Seat 5: plutoman20 showed [Kd Ad Ks Ts] and lost with HI: two pair, Kings and Jacks Seat 6: danicasi (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet) Seat 7: Jogger1 (small blind) folded before Flop Seat 8: oneHopless (big blind) showed [Ac Qc 2d As] and lost with HI: two pair, Aces and Jacks Seat 9: Puntal_13 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

MiniFTOPS XIX badugi - $22 buy-in

It's just started, and I've already won a hand (yay!). I'm tired and stressed from having to make one of the hardest decisions I've ever made in my life, so I probably shouldn't be playing at all. But compared to life decisions, choosing whether to raise, call or fold is a breeze. I'll give regular updates on my progress (or otherwise).

Update 1: I'm on 5255 at the first break (we started on 4000). Lost a biggish pot just before the break where I drew two to 3-2 in the BB, made 9732 badugi on the first draw, but ran into a pat 854A. The pot was a lot bigger than it should have been due to a third player (monkey) in the hand.

Update 2: Good hour there, or really just the last half-hour. Up from just below my starting stack to 9410 currently (the highest I've been). Play is frustratingly slow though. We're about to go to 340/680; levels are 15 minutes after that.

Update 3: And I'm out! I didn't win another hand. Down to 5000-odd I had no choice but to commit with a pat 10-9. I was outdrawn and that left me crippled. I finished 476th out of 1373, winning seven of the 108 hands I played. In some ways I'm glad I didn't go deep. I have to make a couple of job-related phone calls tonight which will be hard enough without the added pressure of playing for serious loot.

Dining at the champion's table

It's been a choppy start to March. Until last weekend I'd never won or lost $100 in a cash-game session before (admittedly I play short sessions, and I'd had three results in the nineties). Then I had two 3-figure sessions in a matter of hours. First I dropped $113 in 65 hands of $3/$6 badugi (although I have the bankroll for those stakes I'm perhaps just outside my comfort zone), but I bounced back by making $137 in just 48 hands of $2/$4, greatly helped by some ultra-bizarro play in this hand. People do funny stuff when they have 32A don't they? I'm happy I never took my foot off the gas:

PokerStars Game #58660162672: Badugi Limit ($2/$4 USD) - 2011/03/04 17:09:38 ET
Table 'Castafiore XII' 8-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: lucaslogan ($71.50 in chips)
Seat 2: cafarte ($85 in chips)
Seat 3: MrSleet ($31.50 in chips)
Seat 4: xpokerplaya7 ($184.50 in chips)
Seat 5: hoppa731 ($133.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Whoop'n Ass ($58.50 in chips)
Seat 7: plutoman20 ($93 in chips)
Seat 8: Grekk ($109 in chips)
Grekk: posts small blind $1
lucaslogan: posts big blind $2
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6h 2h 2c 4d]
cafarte: raises $2 to $4
MrSleet: folds
xpokerplaya7: folds
hoppa731: folds
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
plutoman20: calls $4
Grekk: raises $2 to $6
lucaslogan: folds
cafarte: calls $2
Whoop'n Ass: calls $2
plutoman20: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
Grekk: discards 2 cards
cafarte: discards 1 card
Whoop'n Ass: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [2h]
Dealt to plutoman20 [6h 2c 4d] [5s]
Grekk: bets $2
cafarte: calls $2
Whoop'n Ass: raises $2 to $4
plutoman20: raises $2 to $6
Grekk: raises $2 to $8
Betting is capped
cafarte: calls $6
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Grekk: discards 1 card
cafarte: discards 1 card
Whoop'n Ass: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [6h 2c 4d 5s]
Grekk: bets $4
cafarte: folds
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
plutoman20: raises $4 to $8
Grekk: raises $4 to $12
Whoop'n Ass: calls $8
plutoman20: raises $4 to $16
Betting is capped
Grekk: calls $4
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
*** THIRD DRAW ***
Grekk: discards 1 card
Whoop'n Ass: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [6h 2c 4d 5s]
Grekk: checks
Whoop'n Ass: checks
plutoman20: bets $4
Grekk: calls $4
Whoop'n Ass: calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [6h 5s 2c 4d] (Badugi: 6,5,4,2)
Grekk: mucks hand
Whoop'n Ass: mucks hand
plutoman20 collected $115 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $118 Rake $3
Seat 1: lucaslogan (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 2: cafarte folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 3: MrSleet folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: xpokerplaya7 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: hoppa731 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Whoop'n Ass mucked [Td 7h 3c 9s]
Seat 7: plutoman20 (button) showed [6h 5s 2c 4d] and won ($115) with a Badugi: 6,5,4,2
Seat 8: Grekk (small blind) mucked [2s Qd 3d Ah]

There's one other badugi hand of note, from a different session, which I'd prefer to forget: I folded 843A in a big pot when it turned out my two opponents were going crazy with 10-5 and 10-3. I was trying to plug what I think thought was a leak of mine - hanging on too long with eights and nines - but 843A is hardly any old eight. If I start folding that kind of hand I'm plugging one leak but creating a much bigger one.

I had a dream run at triple draw last night, a game I love to hate. There was a monkey at my table. For once I ran well enough to capitalise (in fact I ran very well) and the monkey kept reloading. Later a very tight passive player joined which made things even better for me. I stayed up late to make the most of the situation. I won $74 in 193 hands of 50c/$1, wiping out all my previous losses in the game.

I'm hardly star-struck by big-name poker players, but I admit to certain feelings of awe today when Jonathan Duhamel, winner of last year's WSOP, joined a $1/$2 badugi table. What Mr Nine Million was doing playing badugi at those stakes I had no idea, but it was indeed him. I only got involved in one hand with him, when he patted from the get-go and I triple-bricked my 642. We were heads-up by the end and I wanted to call him ("I caught a world champion's bluff!") but figured he really didn't need my $2. That must be the first time I've played a world champion at anything - it happened in a most unexpected way today.

Update:
I just had two goes at satelliting (which I don't think is a real word) into tomorrow's MiniFTOPS triple draw. The satellite fields were small (20 or 30) and only the winner gained a place, with the next three places getting small cash payouts, so to qualify you had to negotiate the short-handed stuff that I have very little clue about. I came ninth on my first attempt. The second time I ran pretty hot. We got down to three, i.e. clueless territory, but I still thought I was the best player. I had one of my opponents all in and was about to go heads-up with a chip lead, but he outdrew my number seven on the river. A little while later he rivered number four to beat my number five, and I didn't last much longer. Unsurprisingly he got the ticket.

February monthly report

For almost the second half of February I didn't play at all. I got depressed, then my laptop got sick and I had to take it in for an operation, then Christchurch got hit by that devastating earthquake. This was a nightmare for many thousands of Cantabrians but gave me a full-time temporary job, sorting out insurance claims. In short, my thoughts have been a world away from rough eights and pat nines.

I made $284 in February, taking my profit for 2011 to $626. At one stage my year-to-date profit was close to $800, but I suffered a couple of horror badugi sessions which were really just a correction after an unsustainably good run. I finally got my computer back today and played some badugi on Stars, carrying on pretty much where I left off. Here are a couple of hands:

Hand 1
This was only my fourth or fifth hand after my hiatus. Lukey and I were chatting about the earthquake when, to my surprise, I was dealt the 11,000-to-1 nuts. I was even more surprised when Lukey showed me her hand. This isn't the first time she's played a monster in this fashion against me.

PokerStars Game #58518883980: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2011/03/02 1:12:36 ET
Table 'Eugenia XII' 8-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Dick Edd ($185 in chips)
Seat 2: mastapazoo ($51.75 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($48.50 in chips)
Seat 5: Zecke1960 ($35.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Targhee ($66.25 in chips)
Seat 7: arnaldo23 ($70 in chips)
Seat 8: lukey1958 ($66.75 in chips)
Targhee: posts small blind $0.50
arnaldo23: posts big blind $1
NatalShark: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 2c 3h Ad]
lukey1958 said, "during office hours as well"
lukey1958: calls $1
Dick Edd: folds
mastapazoo: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
Zecke1960: calls $2
Targhee: calls $1.50
arnaldo23: calls $1
lukey1958: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
Targhee: discards 1 card
arnaldo23: discards 2 cards
lukey1958: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: stands pat on [4s 2c 3h Ad]
Zecke1960: discards 3 cards
Targhee: checks
arnaldo23: checks
lukey1958: checks
plutoman20: bets $1
Zecke1960: calls $1
Targhee: calls $1
arnaldo23: folds
lukey1958: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Targhee: discards 1 card
lukey1958: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [4s 2c 3h Ad]
Zecke1960: discards 2 cards
Targhee: checks
lukey1958: bets $2
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
Zecke1960: folds
Targhee: folds
lukey1958: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
lukey1958: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [4s 2c 3h Ad]
lukey1958: checks
plutoman20: bets $2
lukey1958: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [4s 2c 3h Ad] (Badugi: 4,3,2,A)
plutoman20 said, "sorry lukey"
lukey1958: shows [5d 3s 4c Ah] (Badugi: 5,4,3,A)
plutoman20 collected $25 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $26 Rake $1
Seat 1: Dick Edd folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 2: mastapazoo folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 showed [4s 2c 3h Ad] and won ($25) with a Badugi: 4,3,2,A
Seat 5: Zecke1960 (button) folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 6: Targhee (small blind) folded after the 2nd Draw
Seat 7: arnaldo23 (big blind) folded after the 1st Draw
Seat 8: lukey1958 showed [5d 3s 4c Ah] and lost with a Badugi: 5,4,3,A

Hand 2
In hindsight I think just calling the river would have been better. You never know but when he caps the turn I'm probably up against a six at least. So my number seven beats about half his hands, and when you consider the extra bet I lose when he three-bets me I think that without any reads it's a fairly clear call.

PokerStars Game #58520373621: Badugi Limit ($1/$2 USD) - 2011/03/02 2:36:06 ET
Table 'Eugenia XII' 8-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Dick Edd ($175.50 in chips)
Seat 2: GVP-URFO ($26.75 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($55.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Owschlag ($41.75 in chips)
Seat 7: nelda ($25.50 in chips)
Owschlag: posts small blind $0.50
nelda: posts big blind $1
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Ah 6c Th 2s]
Dick Edd: folds
GVP-URFO: raises $1 to $2
plutoman20: calls $2
Owschlag: folds
nelda: calls $1
*** FIRST DRAW ***
nelda: discards 2 cards
GVP-URFO: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Th]
Dealt to plutoman20 [Ah 6c 2s] [4d]
nelda: checks
GVP-URFO: bets $1
plutoman20: raises $1 to $2
nelda: folds
GVP-URFO: calls $1
*** SECOND DRAW ***
GVP-URFO: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [Ah 6c 2s 4d]
GVP-URFO: checks
plutoman20: bets $2
GVP-URFO: raises $2 to $4
plutoman20: raises $2 to $6
GVP-URFO: raises $2 to $8
Betting is capped
plutoman20: calls $2
*** THIRD DRAW ***
GVP-URFO: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [Ah 6c 2s 4d]
GVP-URFO: bets $2
plutoman20: raises $2 to $4
GVP-URFO: raises $2 to $6
plutoman20: calls $2
*** SHOW DOWN ***
GVP-URFO: shows [3d 4c 5h As] (Badugi: 5,4,3,A)
Mega joins the table at seat #8
plutoman20: mucks hand
GVP-URFO collected $37.50 from pot
plutoman20 said, "nh"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $38.50 Rake $1
Seat 1: Dick Edd folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 2: GVP-URFO showed [3d 4c 5h As] and won ($37.50) with a Badugi: 5,4,3,A
Seat 4: plutoman20 (button) mucked [Ah 6c 4d 2s]
Seat 6: Owschlag (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 7: nelda (big blind) folded after the 1st Draw

Badugi - the comedy "poker" game

If you want to learn badugi, watch this excellent video. It's hilarious in places, and best of all it explains the game and the most important concepts about as well as you can in 45 minutes (OK, if I wanted to nitpick I'd say I disagreed with some of his opening ranges, but that's a personal opinion). Please don't do what my friend did and give up as soon as it started explaining the rules, i.e. when the boring bit started. Even the so-called boring bits are funny. I should point out that one of the reasons badugi can be so profitable is precisely that people see it as a comedy game, i.e. not real poker. So watch the video (all of it), spend a couple of hours at the play money tables at Stars just to get used to the mechanics of the game (DON'T pay any attention to what your opponents are doing), then jump into a 25c/50c game on Stars or Full Tilt. Now DO watch what the other players are doing. If your bankroll is below $200ish, you might want to start at 10c/20c or 5c/10c - these levels are available on Full Tilt only. After a few hundred hands watch the video again and suddenly some of the things he says will really hit home. Keep working on your game, don't get discouraged by the adverse swings (they will happen), and profit.

And here's a short video explaning when to bluff (and when not to bluff) in no-limit single draw. Very clear and concise. Again, just one minor criticism: he said to bluff when you draw to 6543 and hit a seven. People might think drawing to 6543 is something you should do regularly, when I think you should only do it when attempting a steal. It would have been better if he'd given a gutshot as an example instead of an open-ender.

I've now gone six tournaments in a row without cashing; that equals my all-time record. Anyone who plays tournaments on a regular basis would find that statistic laughable (and of course I could quite easily smash my record over the coming days). This morning I finished 13th in the "early bird" single draw (ten paid); I've managed to occupy all three of the places immediately outside the paying positions in just four tournaments (11th, 51st, 12th, 13th).

Here are four hands from the last five hours:

Hand 1
I expected to lose here, but I see so much weird stuff in these tournaments. I guess this isn't a bad hand to make this play with, although the 654 draw in the first place is pretty awful.

PokerStars Game #57496326472: Tournament #361185633, $5.00+$0.50 USD Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit - Level VI (80/160) - 2011/02/11 14:35:42 ET
Table '361185633 8' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: bmw-1976 (13922 in chips)
Seat 2: Gecko2k3 (2563 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 (5255 in chips)
Seat 5: PADDLENUT (6477 in chips)
Seat 6: AleshNo1 (2293 in chips)
Seat 7: AJlekc536 (4961 in chips)
bmw-1976: posts the ante 40
Gecko2k3: posts the ante 40
plutoman20: posts the ante 40
PADDLENUT: posts the ante 40
AleshNo1: posts the ante 40
AJlekc536: posts the ante 40
bmw-1976: posts small blind 80
Gecko2k3: posts big blind 160
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [4s 2h 4d 8s 9d]
plutoman20: raises 330 to 490
PADDLENUT: folds
AleshNo1: calls 490
AJlekc536: calls 490
bmw-1976: folds
Gecko2k3: folds
plutoman20: discards 1 card [4s]
Dealt to plutoman20 [2h 4d 8s 9d] [6d]
AleshNo1: discards 1 card
AJlekc536: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: checks
AleshNo1: checks
AJlekc536: bets 4431 and is all-in
plutoman20: calls 4431
AleshNo1: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AJlekc536: shows [5c 6h 5d 5h 4c] (Lo: three of a kind, Fives)
plutoman20: shows [6d 2h 4d 8s 9d] (Lo: 9,8,6,4,2)
plutoman20 collected 10812 from pot
AJlekc536 finished the tournament in 23rd place
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 10812 Rake 0
Seat 1: bmw-1976 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Gecko2k3 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: plutoman20 showed [6d 2h 4d 8s 9d] and won (10812) with Lo: 9,8,6,4,2
Seat 5: PADDLENUT folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: AleshNo1 folded on the Flop
Seat 7: AJlekc536 (button) showed [5c 6h 5d 5h 4c] and lost with Lo: three of a kind, Fives

Hand 2
I was chugging along nicely when this hand left me in a hole I couldn't dig myself out of. My call is marginal here; I think I'd have folded a 98654.

PokerStars Game #57497166354: Tournament #361185633, $5.00+$0.50 USD Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2011/02/11 14:50:06 ET
Table '361185633 8' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: bmw-1976 (15212 in chips)
Seat 3: plutoman20 (12206 in chips)
Seat 4: bar_men_83 (8250 in chips)
Seat 5: PADDLENUT (4927 in chips)
Seat 6: AleshNo1 (4126 in chips)
Seat 7: NightStarUz (7589 in chips)
bmw-1976: posts the ante 50
plutoman20: posts the ante 50
bar_men_83: posts the ante 50
PADDLENUT: posts the ante 50
AleshNo1: posts the ante 50
NightStarUz: posts the ante 50
bar_men_83: posts small blind 100
PADDLENUT: posts big blind 200
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [7h 2s 6d 5d 9d]
AleshNo1: folds
NightStarUz: raises 400 to 600
bmw-1976: folds
plutoman20: raises 1300 to 1900
bar_men_83: folds
PADDLENUT: folds
NightStarUz: raises 5639 to 7539 and is all-in
plutoman20: calls 5639
NightStarUz: stands pat
plutoman20: stands pat on [7h 2s 6d 5d 9d]
plutoman20 said, "nh"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
NightStarUz: shows [3s 6c 2h 5h 7d] (Lo: 7,6,5,3,2)
plutoman20: shows [7h 2s 6d 5d 9d] (Lo: 9,7,6,5,2)
NightStarUz collected 15678 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 15678 Rake 0
Seat 1: bmw-1976 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: plutoman20 (button) showed [7h 2s 6d 5d 9d] and lost with Lo: 9,7,6,5,2
Seat 4: bar_men_83 (small blind) folded before Flop

Hand 3
My colour-coding on Full Tilt is simple: red for danger (i.e. very good player), down through the various shades of oranges and yellows till you get to green for go (i.e. bad). I had Kingpinv marked as turquoise. Occasionally he'll fold pre but post-draw he'll hang around (usually firing off bets all over the place) regardless. You just have to be patient and jam your big hands and draws (he'll mostly do the jamming for you anyway). This was my very first hand of the session. Presumably he did break a genuine pat hand.

Full Tilt Poker Game #28112868818: Table Oppenheimer (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - Limit 2-7 Triple Draw - 17:31:43 ET - 2011/02/11
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($25)
Seat 2: WHITE FANG51 ($19.30)
Seat 3: Mel Judah ($25.25)
Seat 4: deathbrown ($9)
Seat 5: kingpinv ($38.50)
Seat 6: milkthemike7 ($8)
milkthemike7 posts the small blind of $0.25
plutoman20 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [6c 5c 2s 3c 7c]
WHITE FANG51 folds
Mel Judah calls $0.50
deathbrown folds
kingpinv raises to $1
milkthemike7 calls $0.75
plutoman20 raises to $1.50
Mel Judah calls $1
kingpinv raises to $2
milkthemike7 calls $1
plutoman20 calls $0.50
Mel Judah calls $0.50
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $8)
milkthemike7 discards 3 cards
plutoman20 stands pat on [6c 5c 2s 3c 7c]
Mel Judah discards 2 cards
kingpinv stands pat
milkthemike7 is dealt 3 cards
Mel Judah is dealt 2 cards
milkthemike7 checks
plutoman20 bets $0.50
Mel Judah folds
kingpinv raises to $1
milkthemike7 folds
plutoman20 raises to $1.50
kingpinv calls $0.50
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $11)
plutoman20 stands pat on [6c 5c 2s 3c 7c]
kingpinv discards 2 cards
kingpinv is dealt 2 cards
plutoman20 bets $1
kingpinv calls $1
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $13)
plutoman20 stands pat on [6c 5c 2s 3c 7c]
kingpinv discards 2 cards
kingpinv is dealt 2 cards
plutoman20 bets $1
kingpinv raises to $2
plutoman20 raises to $3
kingpinv raises to $4
plutoman20 calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
kingpinv shows [7d 6d 4d 3s 2h] 7,6,4,3,2
plutoman20 mucks
kingpinv wins the pot ($20.50) with 7,6,4,3,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $21 Rake $0.50
Seat 1: plutoman20 (big blind) mucked [7c 6c 5c 3c 2s] - 7,6,5,3,2
Seat 2: WHITE FANG51 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Mel Judah folded after the 1st Draw
Seat 4: deathbrown folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: kingpinv (button) showed [7d 6d 4d 3s 2h] and won ($20.50) with 7,6,4,3,2
Seat 6: milkthemike7 (small blind) folded after the 1st Draw

Hand 4
Do I break here? With Kingpinv in the hand it's usually best not to fold or break anything. By the way, this was a rare bright spot in another losing session. In the 50c/$1 games on Full Tilt I'm losing at five big bets per hundred, albeit over just 1000 hands.

Full Tilt Poker Game #28113036644: Table Oppenheimer (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - Limit 2-7 Triple Draw - 17:37:32 ET - 2011/02/11
Seat 1: plutoman20 ($16.25)
Seat 2: WHITE FANG51 ($26.10)
Seat 3: CoryDog ($9.50)
Seat 4: deathbrown ($15.25)
Seat 5: kingpinv ($42)
Seat 6: milkthemike7 ($4.50)
milkthemike7 posts the small blind of $0.25
plutoman20 posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Qh 7s 5s Jc Ks]
WHITE FANG51 folds
CoryDog folds
deathbrown folds
kingpinv calls $0.50
milkthemike7 calls $0.25
plutoman20 checks
*** FIRST DRAW *** (Pot: $1.50)
milkthemike7 discards 2 cards
plutoman20 discards 3 cards [Qh Jc Ks]
kingpinv discards 4 cards
milkthemike7 is dealt 2 cards
Dealt to plutoman20 [7s 5s] [8d 2h 4c]
kingpinv is dealt 4 cards
milkthemike7 checks
plutoman20 bets $0.50
kingpinv calls $0.50
milkthemike7 calls $0.50
*** SECOND DRAW *** (Pot: $3)
milkthemike7 discards 2 cards
plutoman20 stands pat on [7s 5s 8d 2h 4c]
kingpinv discards 2 cards
milkthemike7 is dealt 2 cards
kingpinv is dealt 2 cards
milkthemike7 checks
plutoman20 bets $1
kingpinv raises to $2
milkthemike7 raises to $3
plutoman20 calls $2
kingpinv calls $1
*** THIRD DRAW *** (Pot: $12)
milkthemike7 stands pat
plutoman20 stands pat on [7s 5s 8d 2h 4c]
kingpinv discards 2 cards
kingpinv is dealt 2 cards
milkthemike7 bets $0.50, and is all in
plutoman20 calls $0.50
kingpinv calls $0.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
milkthemike7 shows [8h 7h 6s 3s 2c] 8,7,6,3,2
plutoman20 shows [8d 7s 5s 4c 2h] 8,7,5,4,2
kingpinv mucks
plutoman20 wins the pot ($13) with 8,7,5,4,2
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $13.50 Rake $0.50
Seat 1: plutoman20 (big blind) showed [8d 7s 5s 4c 2h] and won ($13) with 8,7,5,4,2
Seat 2: WHITE FANG51 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 3: CoryDog folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 4: deathbrown folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 5: kingpinv (button) mucked [9c 7d 6h 4d 3c] - 9,7,6,4,3
Seat 6: milkthemike7 (small blind) showed [8h 7h 6s 3s 2c] and lost with 8,7,6,3,2