Playing online for a living week 7

[davidross]

Random Musings. I am so much better suited to online poker than live. My strengths are analyzing data (information) and making good decisions. When I go to a casino, I get overloaded with extraneous stuff. I have a hard time check-raising the guy beside me who’s been telling me about his sick kids and obviously needs the money he’s losing. I also have tells. My hands shake like a leaf when I get big cards. I have never looked at someone and been able to tell what he has. Online we’re all in the same boat so I don’t feel I’m giving up anything to my opponents.

Musing #2. I seem to get down right away in almost every session. I need to review my play when I first start. I don’t know if I’m subconsciously trying to take control of the table and overplaying borderline hands, but it seems like I’m always in a hole. Maybe it pays off as advertising later, but I’d rather just play solid right from the start.

Week 7 started poorly. I’ll blame it on my golf game. I finally hit the ball pretty well Sunday morning. I made 2 birdies in 9 holes (one was a chip in), but only 1 par. The rest were bogeys and I shot 39 for my first sub-40 score of the year (par is 35 if you’re counting). Still can’t putt, but I hit some good irons today. I think I used up all my good fortune. I lost $660 putting me in a big hole right off the bat (I know I shouldn’t worry about the results by 7 day chunks but I do…so there.) Just like last week it seems like I was being checkraised on the turn every hand I played. I dropped around $350 at 5/10, then I got into 2 8/16 games and lost a little more than $300 there. There have been some very good 8/16 games lately. Same players as 5/10 for the most part and flop %’s much higher than the 5/10 game. Rake is a little less as a percentage than 5/10 and I like the blind structure better since I play too many hands from the blinds anyway.

Monday

My youngest daughter turned 8 today. I can’t believe it. Their birthdays make me feel older than my own do. She was born right in this house in my bed. I’ll never forget that night. The kids went to bed and when they woke up they had a sister. That must have been so cool for them. I was running around all day making preparations so I only got an hour of play in this afternoon and broke even. Monday night was game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If you’re not Canadian you might not understand, but this is like the Superbowl. There won’t be many TV’s not turned on to the game tonight. As has become my custom I found myself down $150 before I knew what hit me. I got into a good 8/16 game and won $240 before the table broke. I broke two tables tonight (I like to think I was winning so much they all ran away). I quite like shorthanded play so I usually stay until no one else wants to play. But I stayed too long I guess and after being up around $300 around 1:30 I ended up very close to even around 3:30. Same story as most of the last week. Big pairs getting cracked, or winning the blinds. AK hitting, then losing to rivered straights. I feel a huge day coming. Hope it’s soon.

Some hands.

Did I miss a bet here? Maybe 2. I have A9o in the SB. One EP limper. He’s an ok player who isn’t afraid to make a move. I call and we see the flop 3 handed. Flop is AK8 two hearts. I have a few options here, and I’m pretty sure I’m best. I like to check-raise from the blinds a lot and this seems like a perfect time to do it. The EP guy will almost certainly bet, and I’m not really concerned about getting drawn out on because the flush draw is seeing the turn anyway. So I checked and it gets checked around. Turn brings a 5, no heart and now I bet. BB folds and EP raises. Now he thinks I’m making a move at this pot. So the raise doesn’t have to mean a big hand from him, but of course it could. So there is some doubt in my mind. I hate re-raising here though because if he folds, I’ve lost a potential BB. And I don’t want to be facing another raise from a player I know likes to make moves. I can’t fold this hand against this player. So I just call. River is my 9, no heart. And I bet out. He calls and I’m good. He had K9. In this hand a check-raise sure would have worked. But if he hadn’t rivered 2 pair would he check behind me on the river? Hard to say.

Opponents bad play helps me. You have to wonder what they’re thinking. Known bad player open raises utg. His raising standards are non existent. This honestly could be 54 offsuit. I 3 bet with AKo. This is perfect for me. I could live a comfortable retirement if I could play hands like this all day against him. Now suspected bad player caps it. I will tell you he had Qh Th because it’s easier to follow that way. It would seem to me that a hand like that would much rather play 4 or 5 handed 3 bet, than 2 or 3 handed 4 bet. I don’t understand these guys that make these plays. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he thought I was making a move on the bad player trying to isolate him. Everyone else folds and the BP calls 2 more (I love this guy). I call. Flop is Kd Td 7s. KBP checks and I check. SBP bets as I was almost positive he would and KBP calls. I raise and they both call. Turn is 5h. I bet, SBP calls and KBP folds. River is the 3d and I bet and get called. I guess the pot was big enough for him to make the crying call, but what could he put me on that he beat? 99?

How hard to push a monster? Table is breaking and we’re 4 handed. Button raises and I’m in the BB with 9d 7d. I call. Flop Ad 9c 9s. Sweet. I check he bets and I just call. Oh I hope he has an A. Turn is the 7c. Now I hope he has a 9!! I check, he bets and I raise. He 3 bets. Oh really Sweet. Do I cap here? I think a cap here leads to just a call on the river. Maybe even a fold. So I just called. River was 6s. I check, he bet, I raised, he 3 bet and I capped. He had T9. I don’t know if I got the max. I don’t think pushing harder early in the hand would have worked, but would he have capped the river if I capped the turn? Hard to say.

What a read. I open raise in the cut off with Ad 8h. Button cold calls and the BB calls too. Yuck. Flop 9c 3d 3s. BB bets. I have no notes on the BB but in a couple of hours he has shown himself to be a fancy play guy. If he had any part of this flop he would go for the check raise. Maybe I just got lucky, but that was my read on him. I probably should have raised right here. I find though with habitual bluffers I’m more comfortable calling them down, especially when I have position. I can get a bet on every street, and I’d hate to face a 3 bet because he would bluff that too. Button folded. Now I’m much more comfortable. Turn is the 7d and he bets, I call. River is the Td, he bets and I call again. To be honest the only thing I was afraid of was a bigger Ace. He didn’t have a 3, I would wager a lot on that. Any other pair would have checked somewhere along the line wanting a showdown but fearing a big pair from the pre-flop raiser and not wanting to get check-raised. His bet on the river actually made me even more sure of that. He turned over J5o. I got a lot of comments on that call.

Tuesday

I have never been so frustrated. I dropped another $350 this afternoon. I am not card dead either. I’m playing as many hands as ever. I’m just making 2nd best hand after 2nd best hand. It’s getting perverse as I call the turn raises just to see how I lost this time. The reason part of my brain tells me it will pass, but right now it sure doesn’t seem like it.

Evening

The misery continues. Played 700 hands and won only 7%. They always seemed to be the blinds. Dropped another 550 making it a $900 loss for the day. The very first hand was a good indicator of how the night would go. I flopped a straight holding 98 in the BB with a flop of T76. I bet out and got called in two places. Turn was an A and I bet and got called by 1. River a K and I bet and got raised. He had QJ. I don’t think I’m playing as well as I could, but I’m losing at a rate of about $80 and hour. It can’t all be me. Thank god for the 8/16 games, at least I’m winning there. I was up $100 on that table. I don’t know if it’s better to take time off or keep playing. Maybe go down in limits, but my brain tells me to just keep on playing.

Wednesday

More of the same. Another $300 loss in 2 hours. I have depleted almost all of the $2500 cushion I have built up over the last 7 weeks. It is the most helpless feeling. I flopped broadway on my first orbit with KT and a flop of AQJ. 2 callers and the K turned and the T rivered. It just keeps on like that. I’ve been invited to play a beautiful golf course tomorrow so I will skip the afternoon session. Maybe the break is what I need.

Evening. RELIEF!!! Finally things went well. I won just over $300 on the 8/16 table and $500 on a 5/10 table to have a $500 day. Still down over $1,000 for the week. Tonight when I was raised on the end it was always a bluff…or I held the nuts. Is there any better feeling than being bet into when you hold the nuts? The 8/16 game again was terrific. I don’t know why but the games are looser than the 5/10 game. The 5/10 game featured 1 player who was wild loose and making some crazy raises. Amazingly he made his $300 last for 5 hours before he threw it all away. The flop % for the table stayed between 30-35% while he was there, and went down to 20% after he busted out. Granny Mae made an appearance at that table too. First time I’d played with her, she’s usually a tournament specialist.

It’s interesting how much more I feel like writing after a win. After a losing session I just want to think about anything else. When you’re losing it seems you lose some of the weapons in your arsenal. Everybody calls your raises, and your image is poor. It makes me wonder if I shouldn’t be changing tables more often during a losing streak to try and keep a better table image.

A good read. One MP limper to me on the button. I call with Tc 8c, and both blinds call too.

Flop Kd Kh Ts.

Checked to me and I bet. SB raises and the other 2 fold. I love to make this play from the SB too, so now the question is does he have it? My gut says he plays a K slower so at best he’s got a T. I 3 bet. This is one of those plays I would never have made during the losing streak. Confidence can be very important in poker. He just called the 3 bet. Turn is another Ten, and he check folded. More than likely he had QJ. That’s an extra small bet I wouldn’t have got the day before though.

Semi-bluffing the wrong guy.

This opponent was the Suspected Bad player from Monday night. I limp in EP with Qc Tc. SBP raises in MP and the BB calls. I call too.

Flop 5c Ac 5h

I have the 4 flush. We both check to the SBP who bets, BB folds and I just call.

Turn [5c Ac 5h] 7h

I check, he bets and I raise. My thinking was that his raising standards are not very high. This has to make him worry about a 5, and if he doesn’t have an A he can’t call here. Plus I have the flush draw. He calls, and I put him on an A.

River [5c Ac 5h 7h] Ts

I bet to keep the bluff going and he calls. I was good???? And surprised. He had 99. In hindsight I don’t think he is a good enough player to make this play against. I was trying to play it like I had a 5, but against this gut the raise on the flop might have been better.

Thursday

Days like this I don’t miss working at all. I made the short drive to Niagara Falls this morning and played a fantastic golf tournament. We had a 12:30 shotgun start. They had a gift package for all of us that included a dozen golf balls and a fantastic carry bag. The weather didn’t cooperate and it rained most of the day, but we had a lot of fun. I had a hot and cold round and shot 89. 3 triple bogeys hurt a lot. I didn’t stay for dinner but rushed back for my daughters soccer game (2 more goals, that’s 12 in 5 games) and then a night of poker. I may have died and gone to heaven.

Again the 8/16 game was the highlight for me. I lost $100 at 5/10 but won almost $1,100 at 8/16. I am now down only $70 for the week which is pretty remarkable because 48 hours ago I was down almost $2,000. In one of David or Mason’s essay’s I remember reading that even winning players can expect a 200 BB downturn periodically. I hope that was it for me for a while.

Interesting hands

I have Ah 9d in the SB. 1 EP limper and an MP caller. I complete and the BB checks.

Flop 9c 3s 2d.

OK, I’m almost certainly ahead here, but my experience is that a bet here is unlikely to thin the field and other than the BB they probably have overcards that I would rather not see the turn. So I check hoping for a bet from the MP. Unfortunately the BB bets out. EP calls and the MP raises. My read is that the BB has paired the board, the EP is on overcards and MP might have a pocket pair but it’s unlikely to be higher than 9’s, he would have raised. So I go ahead with my plan and check-raise. BB folds but the other 2 call.

Turn [9c 3s 2d] 4h

I think I’m still ahead. I bet out, and they both call again. Yuck. I’m now sure I’m still ahead but there aren’t too many cards I want to see here.

River [9c 3s 2d 4h] Th.

I bet again. EP folds and MP calls. He has AKo.

I really don’t like his limp with AK, and the chase is crazy. IF the A had fallen on the turn or river he was going to lose 2 more BB’s. Something to think about when you stay in a hand with overcards.

The more I play this game the more familiar you get with the betting patterns. Each bet or raise is like a message to your opponent. I read this hand perfectly, and still failed to act properly. Gaining confidence in these reads is extremely important if I want to be a better player.

I have KhKs in the BB. UTG limps, EP calls and MP raises. Everyone folds to me and I 3 bet. UTG calls 2 and so does the EP. MP now caps it. My first thought is I can’t have KK vs AA again. 3 times it happened during my “dark” 72 hours. Everyone calls.

Flop Qs 9s 5h

I decide to check, hoping to raise the 4 bettor and see where we stand. I’m a little concerned about him having QQ. Surprisingly UTG bets. His bet says (I’ve got at least top pair). EP folds and MP just calls (I can’t beat a pair of Q’s but I do have a draw that could). I now raise (I can beat your pair of Q’s). UTG raises again (I know you have a big pair and I’m still ahead of you). MP calls 2 cold (my draw will still be good enough , I’m thinking JJ here). And I just call (I can’t beat 2 pair or a set).

Turn [Qs 9s 5h] 7h

I check, he bets, MP calls and I call. Has he got a set or 2 pair is the big question. If a T or J falls, or maybe a spade I’ll be concerned about the MP, but I’m focusing on the UTG mostly.

River [Qs 9s 5h 7h] 7d

I strongly suspect I just drew out on Q9. I don’t think I need to bet here, he will bet. I check, he bets, MP calls(what does he have?) and I typed “bad river for you?” to him. And I didn’t pull the trigger. He answered “maybe” at the same time I just called. He did have Q9 as I thought and the MP had Td 9d, and I was good. I’m still annoyed that I read it so well and didn’t act on it.

Friday

Afternoon. I slept late and only played 2 hours, but posted another $200 win. I find it intriguing how one hand can set up another. Had a guy on my left that I didn’t have any notes on. I raised with AT in MP and he cold called. Flop was AQx and I bet and he called. Turn was another blank and I bet and he called. River was my T and I bet and he raised. He had KJ. SO he calls cold with KJo, that tells me something. Taking one off on the flop with a gutshot is not bad but the pot was pretty small, but calling the turn bet is pretty bad. So I make a note and file it away. He made a lot of weak cold calls that I was able to win bigger pots than I would normally have. I just made sure to bet the turn on unimproved big Aces to get that last bet from him.

Evening

There are two kinds of cold streaks, and I experienced them both tonight. I won only 1 hand in the first hundred I played tonight and I was down a little over $200. I don’t mind these cold streaks, because I know I will win my share of hands eventually, and sure enough in the next hundred I won a lot and was up around $300. Then I had the bad kind of streak. The one where you do hit your share of hands, but they are all tiny pots, and all the big ones you get involved in go the other way. Plus I stopped winning pots. By the end of the night I was down $750 making it a $550 loss for the day, and leaving me down over $600 for the week. That’s 3 big losses in 6 days. I guess it was bound to happen, I just hope it’s the exception.

A very good read. You get used to the betting patterns of a player or game and any change to that rhythm tells you something. 5/10 table 2 limpers to me and I limp on the button with Kc Th. SB raises. BB folds and 3 of us call the raise.

Flop Qc Jh 5d.

It gets checked around to me and I have my open ender and I checked. As I read the hand history I stopped to wonder why I checked. Then I remembered. This particular guy in the SB would never check this flop no matter what. I would bet my kids he had QQ or JJ. I decided to take one off and see if I could make the straight without being raised by him.

Turn [Qc Jh 5d] Ks

Sure enough SB bets out. It gets raised and re-raised before getting back to me and I folded. I think this is an easy fold, but I thought long and hard. SB just called as did the first raiser. River was an A so I would have chopped it. AT took it down and SB had QQ sure enough.

Fancy play on turn, does it cost me a bet.

8/16 game and I limp utg with Qs Js. There are 2 posters before the button who check, the button calls and the SB completes. 6 to the flop.

Flop Ac 5s 3s

Checked to me and I bet. Only the button and SB call me.

Turn [Ac 5s 3s] Ks

I get cute and check. Button bets and SB calls. Now I raise and both call.

River [Ac 5s 3s Ks] 5c

I bet and button calls. He had the smaller flush. So if I just bet the turn, he probably raises, but we might lose the SB then. I could 3 bet or wait for the river to raise. Don’t know if this play was good or not.

Saturday.

There were 4 8/16 games going at one point tonight. And the players play the same crap I saw at 2/4. It’s quite remarkable. I’ve had a great run at the 8/16 tables and tonight was no exception. I managed a $735 win to give me a $117 win for the week. I think that’s $2 an hour this week. Sigh. It sure beats the 2 grand I was stuck on Tuesday at lunch though. I played well tonight. The higher stakes keep my concentration at a higher level. When you see players making bad mistakes it helps your resolve not to do anything too risky. You know you’ll get paid when the time comes. I won the biggest pot I’ve ever won on this hand, only because the 3rd player in the hand seemed oblivious to the fact that he was clearly behind, making my draw unbelievably expensive. In fact I really screwed up on the river.

UTG raises and I make one of eMark’s favorite cold calls with Qh Jh. Button calls and the BB plays too.

Flop Kh Td 7s.

UTG bets, I call and the button raises. BB folds and UTG 3 bets. I call again and the button caps it. Wow.

Turn [Kd Th 7s] 3h

Now I have the flush draw too. UTG bets, I call and the button raises. UTG 3 bets, I call and the button raises. We both call again. I think it’s KK and TT, but why doesn’t TT see that it must be KK? Jeez this is getting expensive.

River [Kh Td 7s 3h] 9h. Yippee

UTG checks, I bet and button raises. UTG calls 2 and I think. There is no way he has hearts. Is there? Could he possibly have overplayed Ah Kh like this? I wimp out and just call. This is really bad. I know its KK and TT raise it up, how often does this chance come along, but I just called. Amazingly UTG did indeed have KK but the button had KT. A little overplayed I’d say. $450 pot.

Playing a draw from the button. Poker is full of little decisions that depend on your read of your opponents. In this hand I have Qs Ts on the button. 2 limpers to me and I limp. BB checks.

Flop 6s 3s 3h

Two checks to the 2nd limper who bets. Now I would much rather play a draw for 1 bet against 4 opponents than for 2 bets against 1, so do you semi bluff raise, or just call and hope for more players? To me the texture of the board decided it. I don’t believe I’m going to get callers on that board, so I raised. All 3 folded. CHING!!

So clearly my worst week yet. I hope it’s just a blip. We’ll see.

[eMarkM]

Another great report. Another great escape from a set back, Houdini.

I have only one comment this week. Get your ass to Party. As I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't been my regular fixture at Paradise. Partly because I've been focusing more on tourneys at Stars, but also I'm playing my ring games exclusively at Party. Oh man, Fish city. Probably since they've been advertising heavily during the WPT on Travel Channel. It's obscene. Not quite as much at the 5/10 level, but the games are much, much better there in general than the blind-steal-athon that Paradise can be. As a professional now, you need to be seeking out the best games you can, wherever they may be. And right now they're at Party. You certainly have the bankroll now to spread some cash between sites and you should.

And if I were you, I'd pick a different handle at Party (or whatever other sites you try) than davidross. You've given so much of your game away here, you'll be putting yourself at a disadvantage. As much as you love your adoring railbird fans [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Pirc Defense]

You write very well and it's a joy reading your posts.

Keep'em coming!!

[dux]

Another good read and I really enjoyed some of the specific hands. I am going to echo eMark's comments 'blind', in that I have no experience beyond 3/6 at Party. A million posters can't be wrong - the games are great there.

Also I have to say I admire the way you play when the chips are down. When I make a big loss for a day (big in terms of the stakes I'm playing that is) I can't bear to keep playing in case I lose more. It makes you wonder why I play this game, but I suppose when you look in the long term if you are an xBB an hour player, you should always contine if you can play your best game.

Good luck next week.

[Rob]

hi david. i really enjoy these posts. a couple comments:
i think changing tables if you've had a subpar first hour or two is a good idea. i find it's much harder to steal pots if you haven't been winning any.

second, to echo emarkm, and as much as i don't want you there, you really, REALLY, need to get to party. i have no idea why you would want to stay at paradise. omg there are a ton of completely horrible players. tons of loose passives and loose aggressives. it's actually pretty amusing. i'm playing this summer as my primary source of income and these folks are making it pretty easy even though i'm not as good as you are (my nut isn't as big as yours either though). you really should check it out.

rob

[markc212]

Great post.

I'm not sure I completely agree with the other replies here. Not that I think they're wrong, but you need to assess your game in light of the typical opponents on the different sites. I play at both Party and Paradise, and they're totally correct when they say the games are looser and more volatile at Party.

Here's the catch. Which situation do you prefer? A full table with 5 tight-aggressives, 2 tight-passives, and 2 loose fish, or a table with 3 tight-aggressives and 6 loose fish?

I contend that if you play pretty damn tight-aggressive, you'll probably be successful at both sites. However, the additional calling stations you'll experience at Party will also dilute the power of your raises as they won't bow out of as many hands.

I used to also play at True Poker, but the percentage of ultra-loose players at the table (probably about 80% a while ago) made chump change out of pocket pairs. No skill involved in winning, unless you have the absolute nuts on the flop. Preflop capping 20-30% of the time, 5 or 6 in the showdown, etc. Things might've changed since I last played there.

I believe that 2 or 3 fish at a table is more desirable than 5 or 6 for people with tight-aggressive games. If your game isn't exactly that, then Party should be an attractive alternative. From what I've seen of your game, I'd think that you should seriously consider Party as you play small pairs in EP. You'll get more calls behind you, making your babies slightly more correct to play. (Tipping my hat to eMark, I think it's still questionable though.)

P.S. I'm not saying that tight-aggressives can't be successful at Party. I've done fairly well there too, but the number of suck outs have been high and frustrating, especially with the in-flux of new players. But, you do need to adjust your game.

[unome]

I agree with the above poster. I think if you are more the "play by the book" player who makes the occasional tricky play (which I think you are), you may be better served by the games at Paradise instead of Stars. That said, when you're hot and hitting, more fish = more money it just largely depends on how much you like to get away away with steals and semi-bluffs and how well you deal with 7-2o, A-3o and 10-6o beating you on a somewhat regular basis IMHO.

The games at the 5/10 and 8/16 level have been insanely good as of late so I dont think you hurt anything by sticking with Paradise as your one site. The Maniacs have been quite profitable for me as of late there. ANd I know for sure that you've been doing just fine there as well... [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[lefty rosen]

Hey a bust even week (well its not really but basically one) is not too bad if you are making the fat money that, you were making for the first 6 weeks of your run also as long as your play hasn't varied it's not a problem, Now did you at any point start overplaying ace high or get so tight that you believe every position raise, then that may be a problem........

[Nottom]

I know I couldn't believe it until I tried it, I opened a Party account last week and the 3/6 games are insane at times. Took me a little while to get used to it after playing on Paradise for the past month, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Was at my first real wild table over the weekend, I don't think I had ever seen so many $100 pots in one 3/6 game. Unfortunately I couldn't hit a hand and got caught on the rollercoaster and lost my initial buy-in, but was able to grind it out and post a small win after a few players left and it settled down a little.

[eMarkM]

Why stick with just one site when there's a world of fish out there? Game selection is paramount as we all know, but especially if you're trying to make a living from it.

Believe me, I was a Paradise loyalist myself. I still think they have the best software, support, etc. I hate Party's interface. They also have had the best game selection, but Party has now surpassed them in total traffic.

I don't see how you can say you would prefer games where players are weak-tight vs loose passive. Give me the guys calling raises with 74s over the guys who'll fold AQo to your EP raise anyday.