Schneids
06-09-2004, 04:56 AM
Day 26 (June 7) -- 06.08.04, 10:48
Aaah, it feels so good to be up at 8:45 in the morning and totally ready to get the day going soon-after. Yesterday (Day 26...note I'm writing this after waking up for Day 27), for some reason, I felt under-the-weather for much of the day. I tried playing a little in the late afternoon before dinner, but felt like such crap that I couldn't continue, so I quit after 15 minutes up $57. Or maybe I was feeling bad because I spent excessive amounts of money on miniscule quantities of ice cream at Coldstone in the afternoon for myself and a friend. Don't get me wrong, that stuff is hella good... but mega-costly for how little you get for your money.
Also, during the afternoon I went to Target and bought another five DVDs. Honestly, I am really tight with my money. I think DVD purchases are going to be just about the only "fun" stuff I'll purchase this year (other than other entertainment spending on stuff such as bowling), unless you count finally getting a car and cell phone as 'fun' purchases too. The cell phone I don't even want that much, since I envision having it turned off in my pocket quite a bit, since if say I'm out with friends doing something, I'm the type of person that doesn't want to get bothered with outside calls. Plus with everyone else having cell phones too it's less important for me to have one since we're all easily reachable through each other, anyway. Call me old-fashioned in that regard. I'm also really conservative with my money and always want to see a lot of dollars sitting in the bank. I plan on putting a lot of poker money away in an IRA before the end of the year. I know that's really boring, but whenever the day comes that I retire from a working life I know I'll be grateful for what I do know.
I didn't get another start on poker until around 11:30 at night, after I got back from a bonfire in which my friends and I finally came to a consensus on when we'll make our third annual trip to Madeline Island -- a gorgeous island off of Bayfield, Wisconsin, in Lake Superior. By 1:30am, my head was aching intensely and I decided to quit playing for the night, so I could get a good night's rest and start today off fresh. In the 2 hour night cap, I ended up $2639.50. It is true: it's easier for me to quit playing when I'm not feeling well and the session is going well. But in my defense, I have quit early a couple times the past week even when the session wasn't going well, if I haven't felt like continuing playing.
I was dealt roughly 750 hands, and managed to win 45% of the time I saw the flop (of which I saw 27% of flops). Talk about hot! It was finally a night where I could raise face cards preflop and hit a pair on the flop. Those nights have been few and far between lately, so last night finally brought a return to some poker fun for me.
In one hand, I went crazy with the action. I think my line is reasonable, though I don’t know if it's the best one: UTG is a poster with a dead SB as well, UTG+1/CO (five-handed at the moment) is a poster, button limps, I complete in my SB with Ac5c, and BB checks. Flop Kc7c6h; I bet, BB folds, UTG and UTG+1 calls, button raises, I 3-bet, all call. Turn 8s; I bet, UTG+1 calls, CO raises, button three-bets, I call, UTG+1 folds, CO calls. River 6c; I bet, both call and my flush beats CO’s 98 and button’s 54 on a final board of K7686.
Another hand shows what I think to be a reasonable standard for the amount of action one should be willing to give when heads-up in a blinds battle. SB raised (the button from last hand), and I called in my BB with Jd9d. Flop of Td5d9s; bet, I raise, SB three-bets, I cap, SB calls. Turn 7s; check, I bet, SB calls. River 2h; check, I bet, SB calls with 7c6h.
Here's a hand with a couple opponents that illustrates what kind of action is appropriate in this particular game. I know a couple of months ago I wouldn't have three-bet the flop and continued to lead-out. UTG, UTG+1, and CO all limp, and I check in my BB with Ks8h. Flop 8c5s2c; I bet, UTG folds, UTG+1 raises, CO cold calls, I 3-bet, both call. Turn 7h; I bet, both call. River 2d; I bet, UTG+1 calls and CO folds, and I win against UTG+1's Ad5d.
A final set of two hands illustrate a point I think I need to improve at: There are many spots where a raise on the river is +EV, but only so when I can safely fold to a 3-bet. In the first one, I 3-bet an UTG+1 raise with AhKs. Flop of QsTh7h; check, I bet, UTG+1 raised, I called. Turn Jc; bet, I raise, call. River Qd; bet, I raise, call and beat KhQh.
In the second one, it was my first time ever playing with MP. So far at the table, I’d estimate his PFR to be around 25%. That said, I had 3-bet his raises about 3 other times and every time he capped... then, every time I'd miss the flop and either fold to his pressure, or, there was someone else around to give him action as well. However, despite all this, I had rarely seen his cards so for all I knew he was just getting hot cards. So, I question my whole line on this hand, and am often unsure about how to play a hand such as this against a player as described -- who might be loose-aggressive, but might not: UTG limps, MP raises, I 3-bet in CO with AcJh, 3 folds, UTG calls, MP caps, all call. Flop ThTd2d; UTG checks, MP bets, I call, UTG calls. Turn Qc; UTG checks, MP bets, I call, UTG folds. River Kh; MP bets, I raise, MP 3-bets, I call and lose to MP-s QQ. As I already said, I think the only way I should raise on the river is if I can safely fold to a 3-bet. Since I could not, I think calling the river is better, though I know there will be others who think raise and call the 3-bet is the only way to play this hand at this limit.
Anyway, it's time to stop typing and start playing some more.
P.S. I made a cash out hours before this 130+BB winning session. I hear there's a cash out curse at Party?
Total for Day 26: $2696.5
Goal to date after 26 days: $20,648.74/$60,000
Day 27 (June 8) -- 06.09.04, 03:23
Here I thought I was onto something. The past two days were +1838 and +2696.50, and it felt like things were rolling again. Maybe I shouldn't have ended my last journal by mentioning the cash out curse? This afternoon was a session filled with three outers hitting two pairs on the river, and runner runner jobs, and higher pocket pairs losing to lower pocket pairs that made sets. I played for a couple hours in the afternoon, and managed to lose $2371. It was awful, despite still winning 38% of the time I saw a flop. Essentially, any moderately large pot I was involved in, I would lose.
I really only have one hand to even bother talking about, because it at least involves an interesting line I chose to take. In it, I raised AdTc UTG in a four-handed game. The button cold called, and both blinds folded. The flop brought 7s2h3s; I bet, call. Turn 5h; I check, bet, I call. River 9d; I check, bet, I call. Why this line? I was 100% certain this guy would bet any hand when checked to, and I was also 100% certain he would raise any bet I made on the turn, regardless of what his hand was. So, I wanted a showdown, and not being confident enough in my ace high to go to war with it, while still thinking it'll win more than its share against him, I opted to go the weak check/call route. Anyway, the plan was solid. The result, however, was numbing since the button had Kc9c and rivered the 9's for a victory. As James was able to point out to me many times this afternoon, I may not have won the hands, but I was earning Sklansky bucks... Mrah!
In other news, I went bowling tonight for the first time in a couple of months. I rank this sport right up there with basketball, baseball, and volleyball as my favorites to play. We played three games, and my top score was a less than stellar 132. The highlight for me was picking up a 67T split spare! I didn't pick up nearly as many spares as I'd like to and I had too many shots that did not even have a chance of being a strike. But it was a fun time, with some people I don't hang out with as often as I used to in the past.
Additionally, Gonores and I have plans in place to go golfing on Thursday then hit up Canterbury! I can't wait! He's coming in from Wisconsin with a roommate whose parents live in Rochester, and so those two are going to make a trip up to the cities for golf and poker. I also have a friend coming along for golf and poker, so it'll be a foursome outing and I'm sure our golfing afternoon will take extra long... This means tomorrow I may have to make a trip out to the driving range since I have yet to swing a club all Summer. I'm debating whether I should allow the numbers from this upcoming Canterbury trip to be scored in my totals, since I figure we'll be there many hours and I may not have any time to play online that night... I'll make a conclusion and let my decision be known tomorrow.
Finally, I played some more poker for three hours tonight, and was up the entirety of the session, ranging from around 200 to 850 as my high point. Near the end I ran into three baby pocket pairs that flopped sets on my over pairs and dropped down to a session of up $383.50. Meh. At least on the day I'm down less than 2G’s... -$1988.50 it is with 6 hours.
Total for Day 27: -$1988.50
Goal to date after 27 days: $18,963.74/$60,000
Aaah, it feels so good to be up at 8:45 in the morning and totally ready to get the day going soon-after. Yesterday (Day 26...note I'm writing this after waking up for Day 27), for some reason, I felt under-the-weather for much of the day. I tried playing a little in the late afternoon before dinner, but felt like such crap that I couldn't continue, so I quit after 15 minutes up $57. Or maybe I was feeling bad because I spent excessive amounts of money on miniscule quantities of ice cream at Coldstone in the afternoon for myself and a friend. Don't get me wrong, that stuff is hella good... but mega-costly for how little you get for your money.
Also, during the afternoon I went to Target and bought another five DVDs. Honestly, I am really tight with my money. I think DVD purchases are going to be just about the only "fun" stuff I'll purchase this year (other than other entertainment spending on stuff such as bowling), unless you count finally getting a car and cell phone as 'fun' purchases too. The cell phone I don't even want that much, since I envision having it turned off in my pocket quite a bit, since if say I'm out with friends doing something, I'm the type of person that doesn't want to get bothered with outside calls. Plus with everyone else having cell phones too it's less important for me to have one since we're all easily reachable through each other, anyway. Call me old-fashioned in that regard. I'm also really conservative with my money and always want to see a lot of dollars sitting in the bank. I plan on putting a lot of poker money away in an IRA before the end of the year. I know that's really boring, but whenever the day comes that I retire from a working life I know I'll be grateful for what I do know.
I didn't get another start on poker until around 11:30 at night, after I got back from a bonfire in which my friends and I finally came to a consensus on when we'll make our third annual trip to Madeline Island -- a gorgeous island off of Bayfield, Wisconsin, in Lake Superior. By 1:30am, my head was aching intensely and I decided to quit playing for the night, so I could get a good night's rest and start today off fresh. In the 2 hour night cap, I ended up $2639.50. It is true: it's easier for me to quit playing when I'm not feeling well and the session is going well. But in my defense, I have quit early a couple times the past week even when the session wasn't going well, if I haven't felt like continuing playing.
I was dealt roughly 750 hands, and managed to win 45% of the time I saw the flop (of which I saw 27% of flops). Talk about hot! It was finally a night where I could raise face cards preflop and hit a pair on the flop. Those nights have been few and far between lately, so last night finally brought a return to some poker fun for me.
In one hand, I went crazy with the action. I think my line is reasonable, though I don’t know if it's the best one: UTG is a poster with a dead SB as well, UTG+1/CO (five-handed at the moment) is a poster, button limps, I complete in my SB with Ac5c, and BB checks. Flop Kc7c6h; I bet, BB folds, UTG and UTG+1 calls, button raises, I 3-bet, all call. Turn 8s; I bet, UTG+1 calls, CO raises, button three-bets, I call, UTG+1 folds, CO calls. River 6c; I bet, both call and my flush beats CO’s 98 and button’s 54 on a final board of K7686.
Another hand shows what I think to be a reasonable standard for the amount of action one should be willing to give when heads-up in a blinds battle. SB raised (the button from last hand), and I called in my BB with Jd9d. Flop of Td5d9s; bet, I raise, SB three-bets, I cap, SB calls. Turn 7s; check, I bet, SB calls. River 2h; check, I bet, SB calls with 7c6h.
Here's a hand with a couple opponents that illustrates what kind of action is appropriate in this particular game. I know a couple of months ago I wouldn't have three-bet the flop and continued to lead-out. UTG, UTG+1, and CO all limp, and I check in my BB with Ks8h. Flop 8c5s2c; I bet, UTG folds, UTG+1 raises, CO cold calls, I 3-bet, both call. Turn 7h; I bet, both call. River 2d; I bet, UTG+1 calls and CO folds, and I win against UTG+1's Ad5d.
A final set of two hands illustrate a point I think I need to improve at: There are many spots where a raise on the river is +EV, but only so when I can safely fold to a 3-bet. In the first one, I 3-bet an UTG+1 raise with AhKs. Flop of QsTh7h; check, I bet, UTG+1 raised, I called. Turn Jc; bet, I raise, call. River Qd; bet, I raise, call and beat KhQh.
In the second one, it was my first time ever playing with MP. So far at the table, I’d estimate his PFR to be around 25%. That said, I had 3-bet his raises about 3 other times and every time he capped... then, every time I'd miss the flop and either fold to his pressure, or, there was someone else around to give him action as well. However, despite all this, I had rarely seen his cards so for all I knew he was just getting hot cards. So, I question my whole line on this hand, and am often unsure about how to play a hand such as this against a player as described -- who might be loose-aggressive, but might not: UTG limps, MP raises, I 3-bet in CO with AcJh, 3 folds, UTG calls, MP caps, all call. Flop ThTd2d; UTG checks, MP bets, I call, UTG calls. Turn Qc; UTG checks, MP bets, I call, UTG folds. River Kh; MP bets, I raise, MP 3-bets, I call and lose to MP-s QQ. As I already said, I think the only way I should raise on the river is if I can safely fold to a 3-bet. Since I could not, I think calling the river is better, though I know there will be others who think raise and call the 3-bet is the only way to play this hand at this limit.
Anyway, it's time to stop typing and start playing some more.
P.S. I made a cash out hours before this 130+BB winning session. I hear there's a cash out curse at Party?
Total for Day 26: $2696.5
Goal to date after 26 days: $20,648.74/$60,000
Day 27 (June 8) -- 06.09.04, 03:23
Here I thought I was onto something. The past two days were +1838 and +2696.50, and it felt like things were rolling again. Maybe I shouldn't have ended my last journal by mentioning the cash out curse? This afternoon was a session filled with three outers hitting two pairs on the river, and runner runner jobs, and higher pocket pairs losing to lower pocket pairs that made sets. I played for a couple hours in the afternoon, and managed to lose $2371. It was awful, despite still winning 38% of the time I saw a flop. Essentially, any moderately large pot I was involved in, I would lose.
I really only have one hand to even bother talking about, because it at least involves an interesting line I chose to take. In it, I raised AdTc UTG in a four-handed game. The button cold called, and both blinds folded. The flop brought 7s2h3s; I bet, call. Turn 5h; I check, bet, I call. River 9d; I check, bet, I call. Why this line? I was 100% certain this guy would bet any hand when checked to, and I was also 100% certain he would raise any bet I made on the turn, regardless of what his hand was. So, I wanted a showdown, and not being confident enough in my ace high to go to war with it, while still thinking it'll win more than its share against him, I opted to go the weak check/call route. Anyway, the plan was solid. The result, however, was numbing since the button had Kc9c and rivered the 9's for a victory. As James was able to point out to me many times this afternoon, I may not have won the hands, but I was earning Sklansky bucks... Mrah!
In other news, I went bowling tonight for the first time in a couple of months. I rank this sport right up there with basketball, baseball, and volleyball as my favorites to play. We played three games, and my top score was a less than stellar 132. The highlight for me was picking up a 67T split spare! I didn't pick up nearly as many spares as I'd like to and I had too many shots that did not even have a chance of being a strike. But it was a fun time, with some people I don't hang out with as often as I used to in the past.
Additionally, Gonores and I have plans in place to go golfing on Thursday then hit up Canterbury! I can't wait! He's coming in from Wisconsin with a roommate whose parents live in Rochester, and so those two are going to make a trip up to the cities for golf and poker. I also have a friend coming along for golf and poker, so it'll be a foursome outing and I'm sure our golfing afternoon will take extra long... This means tomorrow I may have to make a trip out to the driving range since I have yet to swing a club all Summer. I'm debating whether I should allow the numbers from this upcoming Canterbury trip to be scored in my totals, since I figure we'll be there many hours and I may not have any time to play online that night... I'll make a conclusion and let my decision be known tomorrow.
Finally, I played some more poker for three hours tonight, and was up the entirety of the session, ranging from around 200 to 850 as my high point. Near the end I ran into three baby pocket pairs that flopped sets on my over pairs and dropped down to a session of up $383.50. Meh. At least on the day I'm down less than 2G’s... -$1988.50 it is with 6 hours.
Total for Day 27: -$1988.50
Goal to date after 27 days: $18,963.74/$60,000