Went to the Chu this past Saturday (10/27) and played my usual $60 NL table - seat 2 (of course). Bought in for $60 and never was in the red - got lots of crappy cards but stayed tight and am proud of myself for that.
I found a hole in my game the previous week and wanted to see if my play would be improved. So what was the wondrous secret that I discovered? My hand selection requirements were too damn loose when I would first sit down at the table. I was playing too many "gray-area" hands (e.g., A5, Q9 offsuit) when I started play because - well, I guess I just wanted to play. Of course, after I would get my ass handed to me, I naturally tightened up and played better cards. So how did I discover this?
I had gone to the little place on the Avenue (in Ventura) on the Saturday before (20th) and played at the 4/8 table (yes, I swore I'd not be playing that game ever again, but I had a moment of weakness...). Anyway, lost my first $100 buy-in and decided to buy-in again but play tighter. Guess what? My play was better (duh!). Ended up ~$100 for the day because I made a conscious decision not to play marginal hands like K9 and A7 from middle position, or from late position / SB when the pot had been raised. I tightened my selection criteria down to the point where I was pretty much either folding or raising - very, very rarely calling. And it seemed to have worked - at least at Limit, I would play a bit different at NL.
So this is a key reason why I've always been a losing player at the start of my sessions and a winner as time went on. Why did it take me so long to find this problem? Well, I don't think that I was being fully honest with myself in my review of my hand-selection. I would tell myself that, 'yeah, I'm a tight player' and wouldn't really look deeper at my play.
So anyway, some hands that stand out from the last 2 weeks are:
1) Ventura, 4/8 limit - from under-the-gun (seat 3) I raise with AdQd and get 4 callers, including the blinds. Flop is Kd, 6d, 3c and I bet when it's checked to me - the player behind me calls and the button raises, the blinds fold and we both call. Turn is the Jd giving me the nut flush but not a 'home-free' feeling - I figure the button has a set and the guy behind me (seat 6) may have a set or a smaller flush. I check, seat 6 checks, and the button bets - now I raise to build the pot while I'm on top. Both players call. River is the 5s and I bet again, seat 6 calls, and the button says, 'show me your flush' as he calls. I show the flush - button did have a set but not until the turn (JJ), and seat 6 had a set of kings. Anyway, nice pot to me.
2) Ventura, 8/16 Kill, limit - from early position I look down at two red kings and raise it, and am called in 4 spots including seat 1 (UTG) who is very loose and is playing any 2 cards. Flop is 5d, 6d, 7d giving me an iffy flush draw and making my kings essentially worthless. Seat 1 bets and everyone calls. Turn is 3d giving me a flush but even more problems - seat 1 bets and we all call (baaah). River is the Ad giving me AK-high flush and I'm just praying that seat 1 doesn't have that damn 4d. He bets, I call and everyone else bails out. I show the K and he shows the 4 for the straight flush. He had 7c4d and called $8 from UTG. I just say, 'nice hand' and cock my eyebrow at the guys across the table in a 'WTF?' kind of way...
3) Chu, 60NL - from early position (seat 2) I pick up AQo and decide to raise to $7, and get 3 callers. Flop is a lovely AQJ rainbow and I notice that seat 4 seems to like it too, so I check - and he bets out $20, which causes the others to fold. Now I know he likes his hand, so I raise him all-in (~$35 more). I figured that he'd insta-call, but he goes into the tank and finally chucks it in. Oh well.
4) Chu, 60NL - from the SB it's been a limp-fest after a live-straddle so there's ~$25 in the pot already - and I've got JJ. Now, I absolutely hate JJ, so I decide to push and try to take it here - I raise to $20. I get 3 callers (crap - that's not what I wanted) - goddam JJ. Flop is a tremendous Tc, 6d, 2d - and I ponder a second before moving all-in for ~$85 more. Again, seat 4 goes into the tank and starts talking, 'I've got a small pair, I bet you've just got AK...' If this guy knew me, he'd know I don't push with nothing. He talks for a good minute going back and forth and I just sit there trying to mentally slow my heart-rate and breathing while staring at nothing but the pot in the center of the table. He finally folds as do the others behind him, and I take down a nice one. Man, I love JJ !
5) Chu, 60NL - in the BB and it's been raised to $10 from early position (loose player on a rush) and I look at QQ. It's folded to me and I pop it to $30 - which he insta-calls. Flop is As, 6s, 4d - and I'm out of position, crap. I meekly check (what I wimp I am) and, surprisingly, so does he. Turn is Tc and I bet out another $30 - and he folds. Yay
6) Chu, 60NL - from UTG I see KK and raise it to $7, and get called by 4 players (maybe I need to increase my standard raise to $10 or so...). Anyway, flop is a QJ7 rainbow and I bet $12 at it. It gets folded to seat 8 who raises to $24, and everyone else bails. Now I hate min-raises, they scare me - but I go ahead and call and seriously wonder if he's got QJ or a set. Turn is a 8 and I have to worry about T9 now too. I check and he bets out $20, but something tells me that he's not that strong. I look at my chips and see that I've got ~$75left and I consider raising him. But I don't want to push in here (even though I should have), and I don't want to raise more than half of my stack - which is what would happen if I min-raise him back. I basically felt I didn't have enough chips to raise without raising all-in - and I was fairly certain he'd fold if I did that. So I called, figuring to extract more on the river. River was Jd and now I'm wondering why I didn't just try to push him out. Again, I'm out of position and I have to check - but he checks too and shows AQ, and my kings win.
Lessons learned?
a) Quit playing so many hands out of position - almost every single hand listed here was from early position - and that just makes my life harder. I need to pay more attention to my position - if it's early position, push harder and try to minimize post-flop activity (where I'm at a disadvantage).
b) Pay closer attention to how hard I push when I feel I have the edge - I pushed properly with the nut-flush when I (rightly) suspected the guy was on the draw, and I pushed properly with the JJ after that great flop. But I played the QQ too soft. I also didn't play the AQ (2 pair) and the KK as well as I should have (pushed too hard, and not hard enough, respectively).
c) Keep up the good work on the hand-selection - dump those 'gray-area' hands, especially out of position.
Net - Ventura $100 / Chu $130
Poker drawer is at $1200
Taking the whole wad to Vegas next week - we'll see what comes from that...
Monday, October 29, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Sept. 15, 2007 - Chumash
Played for nearly 7 hours – which was good (but my butt was sore). Looking back over my last few sessions, especially this one, it seems that my first 45-60 minutes are my losing-est times (I probably make more donkey moves during this time or don’t play slippery enough [i.e., make idiot-calls] – but it’s something I need to work on), and then after that I settle down and play OK. I was in seat 7 the whole day, and these were some hands I remember…
1) I’d lost most of my initial $60 buy-in and rebought for $50 more when I was dealt 45 offsuit on the button. A few people limped and I called, since the blinds behind me were fairly tight and rarely raised from that spot. Flop was an interesting 6, 7, T rainbow giving me a problematic open-ender (an 8 puts four parts of a bigger straight on board), but I called seat 2’s $4 bet (which was his ubiquitous standard continuation bet). Turn was a Q and he check-calls my $6 bluff-bet; and the river was that problematic 8 - giving me the bottom-end of the smaller straight. He checked it and I bet out $4, as I was doubtful that he played this hand with a 9. He did some mental exercises and called, I announced “idiot straight”. He looked at me like I just stabbed his puppy – and mucked his hand. Ship it to the donkey (hee-haw).
2) The first big pot (for this table) that I won came while I was in MP and picked up TT – which I raised to $7. I was called in 2 places by seat 3 and seat 6. Flop was a lovely 5c, 9h, Ts – and noticed that seat 6 seems pretty happy about this. Seat 3 checks and 6 bets $10, now I go into my crummy acting mode and pretend like I’ve got a real dilemma – and raise it another $10. Seat 3 bails and seat 6 pushes all-in, which I gleefully call. He mumbles, “crap” and flips over JhTh, and I show the set. Running 7’s give me a minor turn-scare, until my boat comes in.
3) A couple of new players sat down at seats 3 and 4, and they’re buddies – both young and Asian, so my snap-judgment was to expect them to be hyper-aggressive (turns out that they were somewhat aggressive – but not overly so – but I didn’t know that when this hand happened). I look down at Tc7c on the button and call seat 4’s raise to $5 – 4 players to the flop. Flop is Th, Jc, Ac giving me just enough of a hand to want to stay in and see where it goes. So we all call seat 4’s $8 bet. Turn is Ts and I start counting my outs (worst case and he flopped a set – I’m dead to his full-house; if he flopped a straight, I’ve got 19 outs to a flush, boat, or quads; but if he’s just got top pair (now 2 pair), I’ve got him over a barrel). Seat 4 bets $10, 5 calls, and I pop it to $40 as a semi-bluff / see-where-I-stand bet (I’d like to take it right here though). 4 calls and everyone else folds. River double-pairs the board with the Jh, and he checks – I get cold-feet and check my small boat. He shows the KhQs for a flopped straight and I scoop a nice pot.
Was that a prejudicial remark about expecting those 2 young Asian players to be hyper-aggressive? You betcha.
Was it racist? As a middle-aged white male, that's not for me to decide – but it was not intended as such. There’s a huge difference between pre-judging a poker player and racism.
Pre-judging is a vital skill at the table – at least until you gather enough information about the player and adjust to his/her play. Racism (or sexism or age-ism or any other –ism) has no place in poker, or anywhere else for that matter, but that’s another lecture. Ultimately, every player at the table is the same color: $-green-$.
Anyway, back to the hand summary.
4) A few hands after #3, I pick up AsAc in EP and pop it to $7. Seat 2 and seat 4 call (button and BB). Flop is a 9, 5, 5, and seat 4 check-calls my $8 bet with seat 2 folding. Turn is a 4 and he check-calls another $8. River is a not-very-fun 9, double-pairing the board – to which he puts out $15. Now, I don’t know what it was, but something didn’t seem right – I review the hand and it all boils down to the fact that the only hands I can’t beat are a 9, a 5, or pocket 4’s. So I call and show, and he sighs as he says, “You got it, I missed my straight” and tosses his 87o into the muck.
5) From LP I picked up KcTc and decided to call the $8 raise from seat 6 – and everyone else folded. Flop was a 9QK rainbow giving me top pair and a gut-shot – so I bet $10 at it, which 6 called. Now 6 and I had been bantering good-naturedly back and forth for the entire session, and when the Jd fell on the turn, he laughingly told me, “Don’t raise me, I’m telling you.”, and bet out $10 – I decided that I would try to push him out of the pot – and I raised it to $30. He said, “I told you not to do that” and pushed all-in for $35 more. I’m thinking – ‘man, could he really have Ace-Ten?’ And I call – guess what… He had Ace-Ten. All I could say to him was, “You were absolutely right, I shouldn’t have raised you...”
6) I’d been quiet for a while and finally picked up AdKd in LP and popped it to $7, and got 3 callers. Flop missed me coming in Qd, 8h, 3c, but it was checked around to me and I bet $8 in the hopes of taking it down – but seats 4 and 5 called. Turn was the 6d and I decided that I was going to drop the hammer. They both check and I bet out $20 on a flush-draw semi-bluff, and was glad to see that they both folded. Sometimes being tight pays off, provided your opponents are paying attention.
It just continues to amaze me that I always seem to get people calling my re-raises and bets when they should know that I’m a tight-assed player. But I guess that’s the way this $60 NL table runs – and I’m not complaining, they’re keeping my poker drawer stocked. It just seems odd to me…
Net = $121
1) I’d lost most of my initial $60 buy-in and rebought for $50 more when I was dealt 45 offsuit on the button. A few people limped and I called, since the blinds behind me were fairly tight and rarely raised from that spot. Flop was an interesting 6, 7, T rainbow giving me a problematic open-ender (an 8 puts four parts of a bigger straight on board), but I called seat 2’s $4 bet (which was his ubiquitous standard continuation bet). Turn was a Q and he check-calls my $6 bluff-bet; and the river was that problematic 8 - giving me the bottom-end of the smaller straight. He checked it and I bet out $4, as I was doubtful that he played this hand with a 9. He did some mental exercises and called, I announced “idiot straight”. He looked at me like I just stabbed his puppy – and mucked his hand. Ship it to the donkey (hee-haw).
2) The first big pot (for this table) that I won came while I was in MP and picked up TT – which I raised to $7. I was called in 2 places by seat 3 and seat 6. Flop was a lovely 5c, 9h, Ts – and noticed that seat 6 seems pretty happy about this. Seat 3 checks and 6 bets $10, now I go into my crummy acting mode and pretend like I’ve got a real dilemma – and raise it another $10. Seat 3 bails and seat 6 pushes all-in, which I gleefully call. He mumbles, “crap” and flips over JhTh, and I show the set. Running 7’s give me a minor turn-scare, until my boat comes in.
3) A couple of new players sat down at seats 3 and 4, and they’re buddies – both young and Asian, so my snap-judgment was to expect them to be hyper-aggressive (turns out that they were somewhat aggressive – but not overly so – but I didn’t know that when this hand happened). I look down at Tc7c on the button and call seat 4’s raise to $5 – 4 players to the flop. Flop is Th, Jc, Ac giving me just enough of a hand to want to stay in and see where it goes. So we all call seat 4’s $8 bet. Turn is Ts and I start counting my outs (worst case and he flopped a set – I’m dead to his full-house; if he flopped a straight, I’ve got 19 outs to a flush, boat, or quads; but if he’s just got top pair (now 2 pair), I’ve got him over a barrel). Seat 4 bets $10, 5 calls, and I pop it to $40 as a semi-bluff / see-where-I-stand bet (I’d like to take it right here though). 4 calls and everyone else folds. River double-pairs the board with the Jh, and he checks – I get cold-feet and check my small boat. He shows the KhQs for a flopped straight and I scoop a nice pot.
Was that a prejudicial remark about expecting those 2 young Asian players to be hyper-aggressive? You betcha.
Was it racist? As a middle-aged white male, that's not for me to decide – but it was not intended as such. There’s a huge difference between pre-judging a poker player and racism.
Pre-judging is a vital skill at the table – at least until you gather enough information about the player and adjust to his/her play. Racism (or sexism or age-ism or any other –ism) has no place in poker, or anywhere else for that matter, but that’s another lecture. Ultimately, every player at the table is the same color: $-green-$.
Anyway, back to the hand summary.
4) A few hands after #3, I pick up AsAc in EP and pop it to $7. Seat 2 and seat 4 call (button and BB). Flop is a 9, 5, 5, and seat 4 check-calls my $8 bet with seat 2 folding. Turn is a 4 and he check-calls another $8. River is a not-very-fun 9, double-pairing the board – to which he puts out $15. Now, I don’t know what it was, but something didn’t seem right – I review the hand and it all boils down to the fact that the only hands I can’t beat are a 9, a 5, or pocket 4’s. So I call and show, and he sighs as he says, “You got it, I missed my straight” and tosses his 87o into the muck.
5) From LP I picked up KcTc and decided to call the $8 raise from seat 6 – and everyone else folded. Flop was a 9QK rainbow giving me top pair and a gut-shot – so I bet $10 at it, which 6 called. Now 6 and I had been bantering good-naturedly back and forth for the entire session, and when the Jd fell on the turn, he laughingly told me, “Don’t raise me, I’m telling you.”, and bet out $10 – I decided that I would try to push him out of the pot – and I raised it to $30. He said, “I told you not to do that” and pushed all-in for $35 more. I’m thinking – ‘man, could he really have Ace-Ten?’ And I call – guess what… He had Ace-Ten. All I could say to him was, “You were absolutely right, I shouldn’t have raised you...”
6) I’d been quiet for a while and finally picked up AdKd in LP and popped it to $7, and got 3 callers. Flop missed me coming in Qd, 8h, 3c, but it was checked around to me and I bet $8 in the hopes of taking it down – but seats 4 and 5 called. Turn was the 6d and I decided that I was going to drop the hammer. They both check and I bet out $20 on a flush-draw semi-bluff, and was glad to see that they both folded. Sometimes being tight pays off, provided your opponents are paying attention.
It just continues to amaze me that I always seem to get people calling my re-raises and bets when they should know that I’m a tight-assed player. But I guess that’s the way this $60 NL table runs – and I’m not complaining, they’re keeping my poker drawer stocked. It just seems odd to me…
Net = $121
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