Help with some hands (Full Ring)

[gliam]

Ok, I think I am ready to admit it, I need help. I believe I used to be one of the best NL players on Party, and I have been doing it for a living for a little more than a year, and did very well the first 12 months (over 500K ring hands), then.. it all fell apart.

Just some background:

I was playing $100 and $200 buy-ins party, $200 buy-ins on paradise and stars, plus tournaments, and I was confident in my play, albeit I was maybe a bit too tight. I got sick late last year, and spent far too much money, then had a long losing streak, well more of a break-even streak, that, combined with my bills, ate up my bankroll, I will spare you the messy details.

I told myself that there is no shame in moving down in the limits to work out my troubles, but shame and humiliation is what I felt. I played the $25 party tables for about 35K hands with a winrate of 7BB/100. Since then I am running at around 2BB for 20K. So I decided its time to swallow my pride *gulp* and seek some help. I will be posting some hands from the $25’s in one last effort to get back to where I was. I feel like I have just forgotten how to play.

*over this period I saw my VP$P drop from 19 to 14, and my PFR% drop from 5 to 2.6. can you say “tight-weak”.

I have tried to adjust my game, now running VP$P: 19, PFR: 4.5 Post flop AF: 2.3, any thoughts on this?

Button and CO: VP$P: 22, PFR 6
UTG, UTG+1 : VP$P: 11, PFR 3

As far as these hands, if you will, tell me not just what to do, but what I should be thinking:

Hand 1:

Me: $62
Villain $32.50

I get A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]8 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in SB

Villain limps in MP (VP$P 24, PFR 2.7)

2 LP limpers, I complete, BB checks.

Flop: A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] Pot $2.50

I bet $3.00, villain min-raises to $6, folded to me, I call $3

Turn A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [4 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]] pot = $14.50

I check, villain goes all in for $26









Hand 2:

Me: $32
Villain: $49 (VP$P: 32, PFR: 6)

I have A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] in CO

1 LP limper, I raise to $2.50
Villain calls $2.50 on the button

2 see the Flop: 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] K [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

Pot=$6.25 I bet $5, villain min-raises to $10




Hand 3: (this on I think I just blew up)

Me: $25.50
Villain: $28.50 (VP$P: 43, PFR: 0 (after 26 hands))
BB: $28.15 (VP$P: 43, PFR: 5 (after 26 hands))

I have K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] UTG+1


UTG Limps, I raise to $2.00

Villain calls $2.00 in MP, folded to BB, BB calls $1.50

Flop: A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] K [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Pot=$6.75

BB checks, I bet $6.00, Villain calls $6.00 in MP, BB folds

Turn A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] K [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [9 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]] Pot=$18.75, I have $17.25 left

What now?

One more, Hand 4:

Me: $53.65
Villian: $30.50

I have J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] in MP

Villain limps UTG, UTG+1 limps, I limp, button limps, SB completes, BB checks

Flop 9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Pot=$3.00

4 check to me, I bet $3.00, folded to villain who check-raises to $8.00, I call $5.00

Turn 9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [5 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]]

Pot=$19

Villain bets $10.00, I set him in for his last $12.00, he calls.







I have many more, I will post more, and results, after get some responses.

I am going to make another post with a couple of SC hands I didnt do so well on

[Allinlife]

you should post 2 hands at a time max I think to get a good response on any of them

[TheWorstPlayer]

Sorry to hear about your troubled times. Here is my take on your hands:

Hand 1.
This guy has 77. Min-raises here almost always mean strength. These monkeys don't know how to type, so they just click the raise button. When he overbets the pot on the turn, he might not have you beat, but there are better opportunities to take his money. You will crush the game with normal hands because these guys are all calling stations. This guy is actually reasonably tight and looks like he is trying to capitalise on the fact that you were willing to call a raise on the flop. Just fold and don't risk that large a portion of your stack on this high of a risk play with this holding. He also could have min-raise an OESD that just hit on the turn, by the way.

Hand 2:
You are ahead on this flop a very large percentage of the time. It is pretty unlikely that a free turn card will hurt you that much and pretty likely that villain will bet when checked to, heads up (because that is how these people think) so I would prefer a check/raise here which will get you an extra pot-sized bet quite often when otherwise villain would have just folded to your flop bet. Heads up, I think you are ahead a large percentage of the time and would expect him to have either a weaker K here or a draw quite often. I would push.

Hand 3:
KJs sucks. Especially in EP. Muck preflop. Definitely don't raise.

Hand 4:
J9s in MP is not too hot either. I would save this hand for LP if you want to play it at all. I don't think you are giving up much EV by not playing it. At least not without a bunch of limpers and you are in LP. Once you get to the flop, I think you played it alright, although I wouldn't be surprised to see a straight, he could also play like that with AJ or J7 or worse.

Good luck!

[kschellenger]

hand 1: villian probably has trips. You're either way ahead or way behind. He may have you on a flush draw or something like that and hoped his reraise on the flop would get you out. I would call and pray an ace fell.

Hand 2: A lot of $5 bets on the $25 NL PP are bluffs I've seen that most people who bet $5 and are reraised fold to the reraise or fold the turn to any sized bet. I'd push it all in here.

Hand 3: The 9 didn't hurt you (unless villian is a huge fish and called your flop bet with 99) with such a high VP$P he may be on a QT. I'd go all in though. You've probably got him beat at this point.

Hand 4: I wouldn't play J9 to begin with, but since you did, pushing the flop isn't a bad idea. Folding to his $10 bet is also a good idea.

[gliam]

thanks for the responses so far, I will post one at a time from now on.

Hand 1, he had 77, nice read wosrtplayer, I think in the past I would have folded, but I am have been in a constant state of tilt I think, I should have thougt about it more.

Hand 2, I felt I played it ok, I reraised all-in on the flop, he beat me with K8s

Hand 3, I shouldnt have been playing poker at all at this point, I was angry and frustrated, all in on the turn, he had QT

Hand 4, he had 99, once again I didnt think, but I dont know if I could have got away even if I did

Overall my play has been a bit backwards lately, aggressive at the wrong times, but I am gaining ground, one day at a time. I think the psycology of running bad has just wrecked me.

thanks again, I shall return.
-gliam

[Tilt]

There is a fine line in this game between break even play and winning play. And the line is usually crossed by altering your aggression.

Hand 1: Dont check the turn - bet. Then fold if he comes over the top beyond your odds for filling up. Calling that bet in 25NL may not even be -EV.

Hand 2: Reraise that bet, maybe all in. Or smooth call and bet large on the turn.

Hand 3: KJs UTG. Not a hand for raising preflop. Since you did I fire that bullet as you did but probably check/call small bets or fold to a big one.

Hand 4: fold to the c/r. Think about what kind of hand you c/r with. c/r bluffs are too advanced for 25NL players.

Read fimbulwinter's recent post on 25NL. Also study some Sponger hands which will help you tune up your aggression. As to what you should be thinking - worry less about making great laydowns and worry more about your table image.

[TheWorstPlayer]

At Party, with the short stacks, position is of the utmost importance and draws (and suitedness) are less important. Tighten up in EP and ditch crap like KJs and J9s except in late position after several limpers. Those hands are just too easy to make second best hands with, so even if you can justify limping them because it is cheap, it ends up being expensive when you get a piece of the flop, but not a good enough piece. Also, with the short stacks, having over the buy-in is very VERY important. Important enough to justify laying down hand 1 in its own right. The short stacks allow lucky fish to double up. Then you take their big stack to get to 4x the buy-in. Protect your big stack!