What a Weekend

[Festus22]

Still recovering from a nasty cold so I played a ton this past weekend. And talk about gyrations. Here's where I stood each time I took a break:

+146 BB - Late Friday afternoon into Friday evening. Totally run over by the deck. You name it, I hit it and got paid off every time. Around 4.5 hours total playing time.

-72 BB - Saturday morning. Horrible cards, rivered time after time, everyone folded when I had a hand. Would you believe I had A-A twice in the BB and everyone folded ahead of me! Awful, awful time.

+84 BB - Late Saturday afternoon into evening. I thought I played my best poker in awhile during this session. Good reads, some timely laydowns, value betting appropriately. I just seemed to be in the zone. Probably too much medication.

-70 BB - Sunday afternoon. Amazingly, just about this whole amount was from 2 hands. 2+2er Nemesis rivered a 2-outer with K-Q. Board was K-Q-4-10-K, no 3-flush. I had flopped a set of queens and we had a ton of players in the hand. I think it was around a 30 BB pot. The other was A-A. Capped preflop 5 ways. Flop was A-10-10. Capped flop with 4 opponents. Turn brings the 3-flush. Capped 3 ways. River is of course a 10. I stopped at 3 bets, 3 ways. A 40 BB pot. I'm shown 10-2o. Pretty crappy cards otherwise.

+16 BB - A short Sunday evening session with a "back to basics" theme.

So the final tally was +104 BB over 3800 hands. The Empire bonus also helped (15% up to $100 using code SUMMER15).

I also ran into a bunch of tight tables. I table hopped as much as I can remember trying to find some action. Must be all the 2+2ers I saw playing. There was lu hawk who must have me on his buddy list (he was everywhere), B-Dids, Dieter01, sublime, even jasonholdem. And a bunch of guys said hi that I didn't recognize. Not to be weird but I think I'll be changing my screen name this week.

That was more holdem than I've played probably in the past 2 weeks combined. I think I had forgotten just how big the swings can be and I'm sure if the games were more aggressive, my downswings would have been over 100 easy.

Anyway, just some random thoughts. See you all at the tables (I guess literally!).

[Rico Suave]

Hey Festus:

[ QUOTE ]
+146 BB - Late Friday afternoon into Friday evening

[/ QUOTE ]

Warning! Warning!...Whining to follow!......

Although I am new, I have played probably somewhere between 80K-90k hands over the past 9 months, and I have NEVER had a session like that. +80 bb is my best. I have seen others post these big session wins, so I know it must happen with some frequency. I suck and I am jealous.

Of course:

[ QUOTE ]
-72 BB - Saturday morning

[/ QUOTE ]

I have done that before. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

--Rico

[lu_hawk]

[ QUOTE ]
There was lu hawk who must have me on his buddy list (he was everywhere)

[/ QUOTE ]

You're right I put the fish on my buddy list and follow them around. /images/graemlins/grin.gif Actually, I was sure you were following me for the same reason.

[ZootMurph]

I don't have my numbers, but I was getting chased down by weak players all weekend long. If I ended up NEAR even, I would be amazed. I know I probably had my lowest VP$IP ever at around 17% or so.

To make things worse, I qualified for the 200+15 NL Saturday night at Party, and lost with AA to 59o. I raised T1500 with blinds 250/500 in early position (I had T10200 at the time), and folded to BB who went all in (T7500) on a bluff, as I was playing tight and he thought he could steal my chips. I called with AA and he shows 59. Flop is 55J, and I don't catch any luck. Would have hit the money easy, but ended about 20 places short.

Basically the way my whole weekend went.

[Festus22]

I know you were doing quite well on the one table we played together. You were Lord AJ - I think you dragged 3 nice pots with that hand. Played them all pretty good as I recall.

I think the other person I saw as much as you was Trubont. I swear he must play 24 hours a day. Maybe he's a bot!

[B Dids]

Are you Festus 22 or 44 or Party/Empire? If you're 44, I saw you a couple times... but I think you were either sitting out or never posted at the table.

Saturday mornings always suck for me. I've simply stopped playing. I've got a feeling that the texture of Party makes for lots of Good Friday Night/Bad Saturday Morning swings.

[ZootMurph]

Yeah, I see Trubont all the time now also. That's funny.

[cjromero]

Nice post, Festus. My weekend at Party was equally up and down. My swings seem to be a lot greater on the weekends. I finished the weekend down about $20, as I recovered from about $100 down. Just kept going up and down all weekend.

I have noticed the same thing about Trubont. He is always on, no matter what time of day I fire Party/Empire up.

[Festus22]

I'm 22 at Party, 44 at Empire and 66 at Intertops (for now /images/graemlins/shocked.gif). I saw you at a number of tables and decided not to join - no sense sitting with a ringer. I usually look for tables averaging 10, 9 or 8 BB's and then watch a bit, especially the 8 BB tables. If it looks tight, I'll leave without playing. I know sometimes it can be misleading but when I see one folded to the button once or twice, it's time to go. Maybe it was just an anamoly but I think I saw more tight micro tables this weekend than "usual".

[lu_hawk]

Are you still playing mostly .5/1? I've come to realize that the players at 2/4 are pretty much just as bad so I only play .5/1 weekend mornings and other times when the tables aren't as loose overall.

And as for bots, people at the tables think I'm crazy when I say this but there are definitely bots at Party. SamusPrime is definitely a bot, he plays at 2/4. Trubont could be I don't know well enough. You can tell pretty easily I think. A) they are always on. B) They always take exactly the same amount of time to make a decision. C) They are very tight, and will hardly ever check or call after the flop, they will usually bet, raise, or fold. I played a hand with SamusPrime yesterday where I raised KQo UTG and he 3-bet, I just folded rather than see the flop, I probably had very few ways to win against a hand that he would 3-bet with.

What's the consensus on bots at Party?

[Festus22]

I think I got in around 200 hands or so at 2/4 this weekend and was down maybe 10 BB's. Just felt like I didn't have the mental energy to really focus on that game.

Regarding bots, there has to be some. I'm suspect on just how good they can really be but since ABC poker is usually good enough to win at micro levels, it wouldn't surprise me if there's actually quite a few out there trying. And that's an interesting point about Trubont. He never responds in chat, plays very tight and is pretty much always there. Maybe I'll try extra hard next time and see if he responds.

[lu_hawk]

FWIW, SamusPrime is one of the most profitable players at 2/4 in my PT database. If you know how they play then you won't lose to them because you know what kinds of hands they will hold. If you just assume that he has AK, AQ or a high PP then you will be alright. It's a pretty good idea, write a program that will play straightforward poker for 24 hours a day.

[JDErickson]

Boy this brings memories. When I was playing at 1/2 I always played against some of the better players. wpe, Lucavi, menelaus, Trubont, Sdewinder and others. Now that I have returned to Party I see they have followed me to 2/4 and 3/6

[Nemesis]

Sorry i contributed to your downswing in such a big way, but that was a nice pot to drag... i sure didn't realize i was drawing to 2 outs. =(

[Festus22]

I thought you played it fine. K /images/graemlins/diamond.gif Q /images/graemlins/diamond.gif on the button as I recall.

Ni han.

[JDErickson]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry i contributed to your downswing in such a big way, but that was a nice pot to drag... i sure didn't realize i was drawing to 2 outs. =(

[/ QUOTE ]

You'll have to refresh my memory on this one. I vaguely remember someone saying something about 2 outs. What limit was it?

[Moozh]

Strange that you labeled Trubont as tight. I was playing with him yesterday for an hour or so and I saw him three bet with some wacky hands, stuff like Axs and the like. Maybe he was trying to isolate, but as I was directly to his right, he was usually isolating me. Hmm, I wonder what that says about my table image...

Also, I saw you at my table for a few hands or so. I was thinking of saying hi, but figured you wouldn't appreciate it. Then you left after about one orbit. So much for my dream of playing with the great Festus.

[Dieter01]

[ QUOTE ]
Must be all the 2+2ers I saw playing. There was lu hawk who must have me on his buddy list (he was everywhere), B-Dids, Dieter01, sublime, even jasonholdem.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know my name dropping in there was probably a coincidence/mistake, but I take that as my greatest poker compliment to date, hehe! "All the 2+2ers"


On a sidenote... Trubont being a bot is something I have been thinking about to! Yesterday he sat down at a table I was playing. I said something in the direction of him always being on. No reply...

Later in the day I logged on for another session. It was an awesome table with 65% of the players to the flop. Trubont drops by, but he doesnt post a blind. He sits for 5 hands or so waiting for the BB to come around. I say in the chat window "Hey Trubont, this table sucks... Go play somewhere else. Please....". No reply, but he does get up and leave /images/graemlins/smile.gif

OK, stupid comment. I cant say stuff like that... So when he drops down in another game later (I played quite a bit this weekend...), I appologize for my comment earlier in the day. No answer, but a lot of people who wanted to know what I had told him lol!

Anyways... Is it even possible to set up a bot? I have no programming skillz whatsoever... And if so, is it legal? I am gonna start thinking about this when I play him (although I would rather steer clear). If he plays 100% by the book he should be fairly predictable.

[cjromero]

I have come across Samus Prime a bunch of times as well. When I do, he always comes in for an odd amount, something like 217.63 for a .50/1 table.

I kind of agree with Moozh on Trubont. I played with him (or it) a couple of times over the weekend and he (it) was making some loose calls and crazy plays. He (it) cracked my AA with 95o when a 9 came on the river to give him (it) two pair.

[Festus22]

"So much for my dream of playing with the great Festus."

Dude, you gotta get out more.

[ZootMurph]

I'll have to look back at some hands with him now.

I have him in PT as 17% VP$IP. So he is pretty tight.

[Festus22]

Regarding bots, just do a search here and you'll run across a ton of stuff related to a POS product called winholdem. It's a bot that you program to play how you want. Some testamonials have been pretty negative but nevertheless, the product exists.

And if Party (or any other site) detects you're using it, you'll be barred and you money confiscated. But I have no doubt it (or something similar) is in use. I wouldn't worry about it too much though, the vast majority of players are real.

[blackaces13]

[ QUOTE ]
And that's an interesting point about Trubont. He never responds in chat,

[/ QUOTE ]

I would imagine that a lot of full-time players turn their chat off to avoid hearing the innane bad beat chatter at the low limits.

I don't think someone would pay $200 for a bot and play .5/1, although it may be the only level that a crappy bot can beat. Who knows.

EDIT: Anyone consistently playing 20 hours or more a day should have their account frozen and probably be banned. If the guy really is one 24 hours a day he should be reported.

[bakku]

I've played with SamusPrime numerous times on Party's 1/2. Although he's obviously a good player, I have him at -7.88BB/100 over 1k+ hands..*shrug*

[Bernard]

I've been wondering about Trubont too! Man, he is always there at the .5/$1 tables. I mean Always (well, this last week anyway). Always brings $100 to the table. Comes and goes very quickly. Often doesn't even play a hand. Makes some very odd plays - very tight, but what he does play isn't always that great. Perhaps we should keep a 24hr vigil on him /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bernard

[MicroBob]

i would tend to think more towards chat-off...but who knows??

someone accused me of being a bot yesterday.

i responded, "0110101110101000"


also...i had my best weekend ever.
+260BB's or so at 2/4 and 3/6.

my first $1000 weekend!!!

nothing really reflecting any so-called 'talent' on my part.
unless turning every pokcet-pair into trips and boats...and turning every suited-connector into straights or flushes counts as 'talent'.
quite a rush...i was winning about 10% of my hands, and making about 9BB/100 for much of the weekend. my numbers tailed off a little bit eventually.

had a lot of players chasing me with a variety of garbage helping boost my wins and i have added a few more fish to my buddy-list.

some of these fish must not have believed me. they would call-down and then C/R me on the river while i was holding the nuts (or near-nuts). i don't believe i've had so many players raising me while i was practically telling them i had the better hand. it may be some WPT-inspired bluffing strategy or something.

also ran across a few 2+2'ers...but most of the time i suspect they know who i am more than i know who they are. but all the guys with VPIP-18, PFR-7.5 stick out. and there seem to be more and more of them lately imo...but again, this is at 2/4 and a little bit of 3/6.

i employ Festus's general table-strategy...when it gets folded around to the blinds once or twice then there has to be a reason for me to stay...and there usually isn't by that point. but there are sometimes a couple of fish who i have at over VPIP-50 who just happened to fold on those particular hands also. a fish of that level will typically keep me from going anywhere.


festus, how exactly do you plan on 'changing' you name?? pretty sure this wasnt possible unless you intend on opening an account at another skin.

[Festus22]

Congrats on a nice weekend!

"festus, how exactly do you plan on 'changing' you name?? pretty sure this wasnt possible unless you intend on opening an account at another skin."

Go to Partypoker.com, click on My Account and log in. It's the 8th option down. You can change your screen name every 6 months.

[blackaces13]

Don't change your name man. 2+2ers with the same posting and playing name are a dying breed. Stay strong brother.

[MicroBob]

wow....that's awesome!! i thought i was stuck with the name.


there are a couple of fish who i have chased so much that they have caught on that i am following them. sometimes switching tables, etc.

i'm going to check it out. thanks.

[ZootMurph]

[ QUOTE ]
someone accused me of being a bot yesterday.

i responded, "0110101110101000"

[/ QUOTE ]

Brilliant!

[Dieter01]

I logged on today, and as I was waiting for a table I noticed the guy behind me on the list was Trubont. I checked the lounge, and he was on the waiting list of all the top 4 tables (sorted by average pot).

Now, going for the higher pots is nothing new. But going straight for the top 4 is weird. Like the tables in the 5th and 6th spot had the same pot average, but no people waiting (whereas the number 4 table had 5 waiting). This was the last drop for me, and I sent an email to Party reporting him as a "machine"

There are so many hints now that indicate he could be a bot. None are by themselves conclusive, but put together it sure does get suspicious.

- As soon as he logs in he joins the waiting list of the tables with the highest pot average. Never one below, always from the top down
- He always buys in for $100 at a table
- He seems to be online an exorbitant amount of time
- He plays very tight and fairly aggressive, but not perfect though
- He never responds in chat


Like I said... This could of course all be a coincidence, but at least now they are checking him out.

[Moozh]

Just to play Devil's Advocate...

- As soon as he logs in he joins the waiting list of the tables with the highest pot average. Never one below, always from the top down

This is somewhat suspicious, since people will usually start at open tables. But, I can't argue that it's a bad strategy and a human could do this just as well as a bot.


- He always buys in for $100 at a table

I always buy in for $25. Does that make me a bot?

- He seems to be online an exorbitant amount of time

So do some of the other players (callme__fish, tuvokage, getitfixed to name a few).

- He plays very tight and fairly aggressive, but not perfect though

So do I (at least I like to think so).

- He never responds in chat

People already mentioned that he could simply be turning his chat off. Or, maybe he doesn't speak english. Or, maybe he's just really quiet.

[ebranig]

callme_fish is a 2+2'er? I see him all the time!

[siccjay]

[ QUOTE ]
callme_fish is a 2+2'er? I see him all the time!

[/ QUOTE ]

i doubt it....him and GetItFixed are good buddies and while they both play winning poker for micro limits they don't play all that good....

ive just noticed some goofy calls like cold calling an EP raise with Q10o and random other -EV plays

[mackthefork]

[ QUOTE ]
someone accused me of being a bot yesterday.

i responded, "0110101110101000"


[/ QUOTE ]

lol, but should that be 1010101110101000. (43,944)

Regards ML

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]

There are so many hints now that indicate he could be a bot. None are by themselves conclusive, but put together it sure does get suspicious.

- As soon as he logs in he joins the waiting list of the tables with the highest pot average. Never one below, always from the top down
- He always buys in for $100 at a table
- He seems to be online an exorbitant amount of time
- He plays very tight and fairly aggressive, but not perfect though
- He never responds in chat



[/ QUOTE ]

Aside from playing all the time and buying 100 BBs, this could be me. I rarely respond to chat and I try to play tight-agg but end up making mistakes.

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
I have come across Samus Prime a bunch of times as well. When I do, he always comes in for an odd amount, something like 217.63 for a .50/1 table.

[/ QUOTE ]

He sounds familiar. Maybe he plays with his entire Party roll.

[SofaCoach]

[ QUOTE ]
I've played with SamusPrime numerous times on Party's 1/2. Although he's obviously a good player, I have him at -7.88BB/100 over 1k+ hands..*shrug*

[/ QUOTE ]

I've got a few hundred hands with him at 2/4 and he is -3.4BB/100. I've also seen him make some weird plays like raise UTG with QJo. But it sounds like he is a regular at .5/1, 1/2, and 2/4. How can anyone play that much?

I also see Viewtiful_Me, Belkin, and Machaon, play an inhuman number of hands at 2/4. All are uber-tight with VPIP's under 15.