Monday, October 30, 2006

A Poorly played hand?

A poorly played hand or was it? Played in a ram-em jam-em $5-10LHE game, with a full kill, at Foxwoods over the weekend.
I played this hand oddly and would up winning a huge pot. First thing is I had the image of a super-tight, super
agressive player. People were avoiding playing hands with me being I was playing well/crazy at the same time. I had A-
7s in mp postion. As the first one in I brought it in for a raise.(A bad play but my image helped me here.) Button
called me as well as the bid blind. Flop came 8-5-3 with 1 diamond. I didn't have much, back door flush draw, back door
diamond draw, and one over card. Bid blind bet out. This was a suspect bet, he didn't raise pre-flop and I would think
he would check-raise me if he hit the flop hard. I called and the button raised. The bid blind just called. I was
about to fold but the pot was big and only going to get bigger. I called and took the turn card. It was the King of
diamonds. The bid blind checked as well as I. The button bet, bid blind called, and so did I with my flush draw. Here
is were the hand got weird. The river brought the jack of diamonds, bingo I had the nuts! The bid blind bets out? What
did he have I was thinking as I decided how to make the most money out of this situation. I decided to raise and take
the chance of losing the button behind me. He looked upset and just called the 2 bets. The bid blind insta-called and I
turned over my flush. The whole table was in an uproar over how (Badly) they thought I played the hand. They let me
know it, especially the button. The other 2 players hands were three 5s and three 3s. They both flopped sets! I felt
the bid blind misplayed this hand really badly. First he leads out on the flop. Then when he gets raised by the button
he just smooth calls. If he re-raises I am done with the hand. He waits until my hand is made on the river to start
betting his set. The button precedes to go on tilt for the next 30 mins. Goes through $300 and leaves the table in
disgust. My play may have looked bad but I thought my play out and had a reason for my actions. I did get lucky but
sometimes you need to to win a big pot. Good Luck at the tables. Tony

Foxwoods tournament.

Went to Foxwoods this weekend to play in the $600 modified shootout tournament on saturday. I liked the structure of
the tournament. They had 2 qualifing rounds, one at 10am and one at 1pm. Top 3 finishes at each table would advance to
the finals at 7pm. I felt I played well but I bubbled in forth. I had such a good solid table image that I never went
to showdown with a hand the whole tournament until the last hand. I was short stacked with $2200 left and the blinds at
$200-400 with a $50 ante. In the small blind I picked up K-7 of hearts. If folded to me my plan was to push all in.
Being I had a really tight solid image I felt there was little chance the bid blind would call unless he picked up a big
hand. It was folded around to me and I pushed. The bid blind spent like 3 minutes before finally calling me. I was
just hoping for 2 live cards. Nope he called me with A-7o. I didn't improve and was out on the bubble. The rest of
the table was happy to advance to the next round. His call was fine being I was so short stacked, it was worth the
gamble to knock me out. I felt my play was fine also being I needed some chips to survive. Oh well I will get them
next tournament. Later on I will write about so interesting hands from $5-10 with a full kill. Good Luck at the
tables. Tony

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Limit HE Tournament.

I have come to the conclusion that you really need to play for the first 3 spots in low limit online tournaments. Last night I played in the $5.50 LHE Tournament on Fulltilt. I built up a lot of chips early and then starting playing real tight to get into the money. What a stupid strategy this turned out to be. Once we were down to 18 and in the money I was very short-stacked. I managed to build up some chips and ended finishing up in 12/113. In other words I played for 3 hours to win $8.26! For a total profit of $2.76 for 3 hours work! Oh well I could have just bubbled, like I usually do. At least is didn't cost me anything. I was entertained for 3 hours. Really need to play more aggressively in these MTT. Good Luck at the tables. Tony

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Pulling the Trigger.

Here is another hand from $10-20 LHE at the Borgata. I need to value bet hands on the river more often. In this hand I
was 80% sure I had the best hand yet in position acting last I just checked the river. Don't know what I was affraid of,
probably the dreaded check-raise on the river. I had K-10o on the button. It was folded to me, which was a rare
occurence at this table. I raised and only the big blind called. I have played with him before, over-agressive. He
always overvalues top pair any kicker. Flop comes K-9-9. He bets and I raise. He of course re-raises which causes me
to put the brakes on. Turn comes with a 7. He bets I call. River brings an offsuit duece. Perfect card for me. He
checks which should have told me I was good. For some reason, maybe the 3 bet on the flop, I get scared and just turn my
cards over. He has K-7o and I drag down the pot. I missed the big bet on the river. Over time I miss many if these.
It adds up and is costing me a lot of my profit. I need to learn to pull the trigger in these situations. Looking
forward to playing this guy again soon. We are lucky everytime we go down to the Borgata to play on weekends the same
fish always seam to turn up at the table. Getting a good feel for how certain people play is a huge advantage in the
long run. Good Luck at the tables. Tony

Monday, October 23, 2006

An Interesting $10-20 hand at Borgata.

Here is one of the most interesting hands my wife was involved in for the day. We have debated the way she played the
hand. She is trying to improve her game and by talking through the reasons for her actions she will be able to go up to
the next level. I need to improve my game also so talking hands through is helping us both. Anyway she gets dealt j-9o
in the big blind. She gets a free look at the flop 3 handed. It comes down 9-9-3. She bets out and gets raised by the
1 seat. The 5 seat calls both bets and she re-raises when it gets back to her. With this flop could 3 nines jack kicker
be good? Remember there was no raise pre-flop. They both call. Turn brings a Queen. She checks 1 seat bets and 5
seats raises. It's $40 to my wife. She paused and thought about the next move for a long time. Later told me she was
considering folding at this point. A hard fold being the pot was so big. Only problem is what could the other 2 people
in the hand have that she could beat? Anyway she called, fearing someone having the 9-Q. The one seat 3 bet and the 5
seat capped it. At this point she knew she was beat but put the other $40 into the pot being it was so big. The river
brought the beautifal J of hearts. She checked fearing she was beat even after this miracle. The one seat checked and
the 5 seat confidently bet $20. She called and the 1 seat called also. The 1 seat had pocket 3s, flopped a full house.
The 5 seat had A-9o, flopped 9s, ace kicker. Theresa dragged down a monster pot. The 5 seat totally overplayed his
hand. Being he had a nine with an Ace kicker, what did the other 2 players have? The one seat played fine but just got
unlucky. Not too many people can fold a full house in that spot. I felt my wife played well but she feels that she
missed a raise on the river. We debated if she should have raised there. Being the final board was 9-9-3-Q-J I think
she should have raised being the only hand that could beat her was 9-Q. Pocket queens beat her but there was no pre-flop
raise so they weren't a possibility. This table was over-agressive/straight-forward and anyone with pocket queens would
raise pre-flop until the pot was capped. Overall I liked her play but she did need to get lucky to win the hand. Good
Luck at the tables. Tony

Sunday, October 22, 2006

More $10-20 LHE at the Borgata

My wife and I played another juicy $10-20 game at Borgata on Saturday. She won 25 BB in 3 hours play, I more or less broke even. Again people in this game overvalued top pair big time. Theresa made some amazing calls in this game with bottom pair. There was a lot of crazy bluffing that had no chance of successing going on at the table. Later on I will write about some interesting hands that came up at the table. Right now I am playing in a TEC tournament on UltimateBet. Good luck at the tables. Tony

Thursday, October 19, 2006

$3-6 LHE at FullTilt.

Now that there is no more PartyPoker I have started playing more at FullTilt. Last night I tried out the $3-6 LHE games there. They were great, seams the fish have swam over from Party to find a new home. The game plays a little differently at Full being the tables are 9 handed. Players seam to play a little more agressive/stupid. I love playing against players that will repeatedly try what I call the "3 barrel bluff" in limit HE. In other words they bluff the flop, turn, and the river with nothing. This play will rarely work. The other player has to have a low busted draw in order for you to win. Many players will call you down with Ace high or bottom pair. Most times you win you will have been, "bluffing with the best hand". Solid tight agressive play will win you the money at $3-6. It's not no limit where good bluffs make you money. Happy fish hunting at FullTilt. Good Luck at the tables. Tony

Monday, October 16, 2006

Clonie Gowen Presents: 'Balancing Poker and Life'


I am always trying to find the balance between family and poker, and I know a lot of you struggle with the same issue. For the serious player with a significant other, the poker lifestyle can be a real challenge. Here's a little advice for making poker work with the rest of your life. I've included five tidbits of advice for both the player and his or her partner.
Advice for the Poker Player1. Don't punish your partner over your bad play or bad luck. Let it go when you walk away from the table. If you can't release that bad energy quickly, then let your partner know that you need a little while to cool off. Snapping at your partner isn't good for anyone.
2. Don't lie about wins or losses. Remember, you're incredibly lucky if you found someone who supports your dreams. If the money in play makes your partner nervous, sit down and discuss a business plan that works for both of you. Talk honestly about the pros and cons of serious poker. Don't even consider going pro until you can cover all of your bills for at least six months in advance.
3. If you make plans with your partner, don't play that day. If you get stuck or if a sucker sits at your table, you aren't going to want to leave, and feelings are going to get hurt. Believe me.
4. If you're traveling the circuit, be courteous and answer your phone. It's hard enough on a partner when you're out of town. There's no need to make them wonder who you're with or what you're doing.
5. Remember, there's life outside of poker. If you can remember a hand you played five years ago, then it's not too much to ask to remember your partner's birthday.


Advice for the Player's Partner
1. If your future champion walks through the door looking a little grey, don't ask, "Did you win?" Just back off and give them some space. I promise they just need to analyze what happened and, maybe, replay a few hands in their mind. The last thing they want to do is disappoint you by talking about a big loss.
2. Poker players don't change. If you don't try to understand a player's fascination with the game, your relationship is going to see some very tough times. Andy Bloch, for example, has an incredibly supportive girlfriend (soon to be wife). She's smart and ambitious. Once she started dating Andy, she realized that if the relationship was going to work, she'd have to adapt to his travel schedule. You know what she did? She started a website called PokerWire. For a time, she traveled everywhere with Andy, reported on chip counts, and interviewed players. Now, Jennifer is back in school and Andy has moved to be with her, supporting her choice.
3. Don't be quick to assume the worst. If your poker pro doesn't come home until 5AM, you can bet that they were stuck in some game or that a favorite fish walked in the door right as they were about to leave. Most poker players are honorable people. They might bluff an opponent, but they don't bluff in life. We are weird that way. So, unless they give you a reason to think they were up to no good, give them the benefit of a doubt.
4. A player can't choose the day or time that a sucker will be at the table. Sometimes, they'll need to play on Thanksgiving or Christmas - or even on your birthday. If we get a phone call that "Ramin' Jamin' John" is in town, there's nothing that's gonna stop us... except a car wreck because we were speeding to get to the game.
5. If you want to learn how to play the game, your partner may not be the best teacher. They will have less patience with you than anyone else. Get some books on poker, and start with them. It's hard to teach someone that has never played, and it's going to get frustrating for both of you. Play online at the lower limits to practice what you've learned.
I hope y'all enjoyed this one and, remember, bad beats make for lousy pillow talk.
>> Another great tips from the pros by Fulltilt poker. Good Luck at the tables. Tony

Sunday, October 15, 2006

$22 Deep Stack Limit HE on Stars.

I played in another of these frustrating limit tournaments. Lasted 6 hours came in 39 out of 297! (27 places paid) This isn't a bad beat story, just a big mistake that cost me a chance to finish in the money. I have 20,000 in chips with the blinds at 1500-3000. This is a story of playing too conservatively to try to get into the money. This is bad, can't stress enough I need to learn to play to win not back into the money! I had queens in middle position. The under the gun player raised, which he had be doing all night. He had a ton of chips and was playing ultra aggressive. I just called his raise thinking if an overcard flopped to my queens I could get out cheap. Bad idea, very bad! Everyone folds but the bid blind comes in. Flop comes Q-8-4. Bingo I have a set of queens and don't even want to fool around, I want to win this big pot. Original raiser bets out and I raise. The big blind called and the raiser pops it again. I cap it and the 3 of use see the turn. You know where this story is going. Turn brings a 5 and we cap it again. By the river I am all in when a blank falls that helps no one. The under the gun player had aces, I had 3 queens, bid blind of course caught the gut shot on the turn. I instead of having a healthy stack and being asssured to finish in the money I am knocked out! Who would of thought with that flop and my hand I would lose! Of well you know what I should have done and normally would have in Limit, 3 bet pre-flop! There is no way the big blind would have been in and I would have cracked the aces. Oh well hindsight is 20/20, must learn from my mistakes. Good Luck at the tables. Tony

Friday, October 13, 2006

No more Party

Now that the president has signed the port act we(Americans) will no longer be able to play on PartyPoker. Oh well it's not that big a loss anyway. I have never been crazy about their site. This is the perfect time to give FullTilt a try. They have the best interface and one of the best sign up bonuses out there.(100% up to $600!) By the way they have just as many fish as Party :-). Please try them out by clicking through on my link at the top of my BLOG. He I need to pay the bills also :-). Good Luck at the tables. Tony

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Crazy Online Play

Online play has been crazy this week. It's almost like the end of Internet poker is here so let's throw away whatever
money is left in our accounts! I have been playing the $2-4 HE and the $1-2 Horse games on Pokerstars this week. I have
been crushing the games! There is no way I should be making 10BB per hour. This can't last but I sure hope it gets
extended as long as possible. In a $2-4 game the other night I had A-4 of hearts, under the gun. Normally an easy fold
but as loose as this table was I decided to call. 6 people saw the beautiful flop of K-J-8 all hearts! Bingo I think I
like this flop. I check and seat five bets, then seat six raises. I call and the 3 of us left see the turn. It's an
offsuit 2. I bet, seat five raises and seat six re-raises. I of course am happy to cap it. The river is an offsuit 10.
Again it's gets capped on the river. What do they think I have? Seat five flopped a set of eights. Seat six rivered a
staight. I took down the massive pot, around $100. This hand just shows how crazy online play has been this week. Good
Luck at the tables. Tony

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Results of Deep Stack Tournament.

I finished in 117 out of 964. How frustrating, won $5.38 for 5 hours of work! No limit tournaments require total concentration and patience. I donked off all my chips on the last hand. I had pocket sixes and limped in with 4 other players. Flop came with 3 diamonds and a six. I knew I was beat but called a 3000 bet on the flop. Then did the worst thing I could do on the turn. I checked and then called off all my chips knowing I was against a flush. At the very least I should have pushed first to gain some fold equity. If he was on a flush draw he may have folded. If he had a low flush he may have folded for my 11000 chip bet. In my defense I could have gotten lucky and filled up. I hate calling off all my chips to get myself knocked out! What a weak move. I have been sick for 2 days, sure it had an effect on my bad play. Oh well there is always next time. Good Luck at the tables. Tony

I am in the money!

It's 4:45 eastern time and I am still playing the Stars Tournament. We are in the money with 154 left. I have 9,000 chips, below average but I have a fighting chance. Come see me get deep in this tournament. Good luck at the tables. Tony

$11 Deep Stack Tournament on Stars

I am still home sick. Can't seam to break this flu. I am currently playing on Stars under Aviganola. If anyone wants to see me donk off my chips I am currently at table #73. I love these deep stack tourns. I finish like %50 of the time in the money. That's all for today. Good Luck at the tables. Tony

Friday, October 06, 2006

At home sick.

I took off work today, due to the flu. I feel lousy. Have been in bad all day. Just got up to play a little online poker and read some emails. I hope we will be able to play our beloved game. Due to the recent legislation who knows what the future will bring. I may post later on. That's it for today. Good Luck at the tables. Tony

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Razz Sit-N-Go

I played in a $35 Razz Sit n go on PokerStars last night. I took first place down for $128. I love playing Razz,
especially on the internet being most people play it so poorly. When we got down to 3 handed I took a really tough loss
when my 6-5 ran into a wheel! I was able to come back from it by stealing a few pots with the best low card showing. I
was able to get heads up with an agressive player that played the game pretty well. At this point I had a 2-1 chip
advantage. Ran into some bad luck and lost almost all my chips. It was down to 11,600T for him and 400T for me. I was
ready to give up but didn't. I doubled up twice and then got really aggressive. Within 10 minutes I won the SNG. Moral
of this story is a chip and a chair is the truth! Never give up you can always get lucky and make a comeback. Good Luck
at the tables. Tony

Monday, October 02, 2006

Yet another $10-20 game at the Borgata.

Another weekend, another juicy $10-20 game at the Borgata. The Limit games in AC seam to be getting better and better
lately. I think all the great players are playing $2-5 No Limit. We played 5 hours at 2 different tables and both
crushed the games! Making 5 big bets an hour at $10-20 is so sweet. I am convinced it's easier to make money playing
live $10-20 then it is to make it playing $2-4 online. Our table was filled with loose super-agressive players. They
overvalued top pair all the time. If they had trips they bet like it was the absolute nuts. Here is a hand I won to
illistrate this point. I am in late position and limp after 2 other limpers with K-10off. I was playing lose in late
position being this was such a weak table. Small blind called and the big checked. The flop comes j-10-6. The big
blind bets and 1 limper calls. I call with 2 tens King kicker. The turn brings another 10, bingo for me. Big blind
bets limper folds. I raise and the bid blind 3 bets me. At this point I put him on a set of sixes and just called
thinking I would pay him off on the river. Unless I hit a king or ten, then I would raise - gin! He bets the river and I
make a crying call. He has 10-7 off, my king plays and I win a nice pot. If I raised him again on the turn I think he
would have raised me back again! For some reason he was betting his 3 tens 7 kicker like it was the nuts. There were
many other hands that he played top pair just like this also. This wasn't the only bad player, there were 4 other
players doing the same thing. I will post some more hands from this game later on. Good Luck at the tables. Tony