Diary of an online poker player #4

[GrinningBuddha]

Day 26

Neteller managed to hook up with my bank and I’ve been able to verify my account with them. Praise be! I can now move my money around with reckless abandon. If only I had more to toss about. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

I haven’t had a chance yet to sit down for an extended session, but I have started to play at two tables, which effectively double my play time. My last session was 3 hours and Lady Luck deemed it fit to reward me with $7.50 for the evening.

I was quite disturbed looking at my statistics provided by PartyPoker for that session. After about 80 hands I found my flop percentage was 35%! That just couldn’t be right. I wondered if my percentage was skewed upwards by blinds and the stats weren’t adjusting properly for that, but I assume that everyone else here uses the same stats as well. I’m not a loose player by any means, so I have to attribute this to just an odd session. I did get a lot of playable cards given the game texture, and hit just enough of them to show a profit. I can certainly think of a lot of other sessions where all I seemed to get was K2o and J3o, so I’ll call this one an anomaly. By the end of the night, I was sitting at 33%. I’ll keep an eye on this in the future.

This hand is titled: You CAN bluff at .50/1.00!

We’re briefly 6 handed, and 3 limp to me with A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] in the BB. I check to see a flop of:

T [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 2 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

I figure this would be a good chance to try my short-handed semibluffing skills. I bet out after the SB checks. Everyone calls. Undaunted, we see the turn of:

8 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

Backed with the almighty power of the one card open-ended straight, I bet again. I’m called by the uber-fishy SB. He’s a Mr. Any-Two, and will stick around to the river, but is capable of folding if he doesn’t make a good hand there.

River: 5 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

I take a look at the board and try to imagine how that might help him. Failing to come up with anything, I follow through on my grand scheme. SB folds, and I scoop the pot with Ace high.

Thoughts? Clearly, this is not my normal play, but I figured it had a good shot of working in this particular situation, and I had overcards to back it up with if need be.

Bet ‘em if ya got ‘em?

My only bullets of the night. I raise in EMP after one limper. 2 MP cold call, button calls, blinds come along and limper calls. Gotta love this kinda action.

Flop comes Q [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 3 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 6 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. I like it, even though I don’t have a spade.

Checked to me, I bet and am raised by the player to my left. Folded to limper to my right who cold-calls, I decide to call. My typical play here is to bump it again, but I felt confident that I could rely on a turn bet from the raiser. I wasn’t concerned too much about the caller.

Turn is the 9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. Limper checks, I check and raiser bets. Limper folds and I now bump it. Raiser calls. At this point, I figure him for a Q of some sort, or perhaps a strong draw. At this limit, players who pump draws this much are far and few between.

River is the 3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. I now beat Q6. Zippy. This player is strong enough that he won’t make that kind of preflop call. I bet, and am called down by A c Q c.

Am I trying to be too fancy here, or is this a good play to have to avoid from being too straightforward? If I had raised the flop, I would have gotten one extra BB, but lost one BB on the turn, so I didn’t make any more money this way. My reasoning was solely for the meta-game. Thoughts?

Total profit after 9 hours of two-table play: $25 That equates to about 1.4 BB/hour/table. So far so good; I look forward to my first rush of great hands. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[lunchmeat]

Good post Buddha. I do have a couple of suggestions about your play. First off, don't be quick to dismiss your flop % as an anomaly. If you think the average number of players per hand is 8 or more, you are almost certainly playing too many hands. Of course, it is possible that luck was the only factor in bumping up your %, but it probably wasn't the only factor. Think of the times you got hands like 44, 76s, or A5s. Did you always have correct odds to play these types of hands?

I like how you played AA. By calling the flop and check raising the turn you destroy the implied odds of drawing hands and punish hands like a pair of queens for an extra bet. Good job.

Lastly, I'd recommend playing just one table. I know some here will disagree with me on this, but IMO being able to fully concentrate on one table makes it much easier to develop your skills.

Good luck and I hope you catch that rush... I hope I catch one too for that matter.

[MrDannimal]

I think my lack of focus at times is one of my leaks, to continue on the single table thread.

I tend to play and then also browse the forums or other website while I'm at it. I know I should be just watching the table, esp. at this point in my poker life, and trying to learn hands and read players. Sometimes I just get bored, but I need to remind myself to focus.

[Bartleby]

Buddha -- One suggestion-- get Poker tracker. It is $25 well spent. It has a category that shows flop % and also flop per centage not in the blinds. Also "see the flop per centage" at each seat. Plus lots of other stats.

[ReRaise]

Im playing the same games, and my flop percentage is in the low 30s usually. Free plays in the bigblind, and completing the smallblind put you at 25%, assuming 8 players per hand. When you add legit hands, its easy to get up into the 30s.

Hand #1... I dont like your semi bluff into 5 players. I guess its okay once in a while, if youre willing to fold to a raise on the flop. Other than that, way to spot the fish. Im no good at that yet.

Hand #2... I prefer to make the flop 3 bets. A reraise tells you that you probably dont have to worry about a spade on the turn making a flush, but you still need to improve. A call tells you that you DO have to worry about a spade, but youre probably ahead, and should bet out on the turn. I just think you can get a better read on him by making it 3.

I hope I dont sound like I know what Im talking about... cuz i dont. I just want to contribute a bit in hopes to learn more.

[GrinningBuddha]

It's definitely on my shopping list Bartleby. Once I get a few more wins under my belt, and can see myself continuing on, I'll order myself a copy.

[GrinningBuddha]

Hand #1... I dont like your semi bluff into 5 players.

Actually, only 3 were in the hand with me, and I was banking on the fact that that small pot size made it unattractive for people to hang around. I felt it was the right combination of pot size, flop texture, and player texture to make the play, but perhaps I just got lucky. This is why I presented the hand. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Hand #2... I prefer to make the flop 3 bets.

Of course you do, otherwise you'd have to change your name. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

This was a change-of-pace maneuver for me. I realize that most micro-limit players don't pay attention to plays you've made previously, but this fellow struck me as someone who knew a little about the game. I also didn't want to fall into a play-every-hand-the-same rut, which can be easy to do at this level. Next time, I'll 3-bet it, just for you. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[GrinningBuddha]

An update from tonight:

212 hands - 2 hours and 15 minutes
2 tables of .50/1.00 at Party
6% hands won (could have sworn it was more)
60% of showndown hands won
26% of flops seen
23% of hands won when flop seen

And the best number: 32.5 BB profit.

Had a nice run of cards, as 3 pocket pairs hit their sets on the flop and held up under pressure. Heartbreaker of the night was having my KK cracked by AA. It's been a while since that's happened. I'm very happy with tonight, not only for the money, but I felt that I was making some better pre-flop decisions.

A good example of this happened simultaneously at both tables. In one hand, I was dealt 76s and the other hand had ATo. Depending on the action, I may play these, but decided to pass this time. The 76s would have flopped a flush draw, and missed by the river, while the ATo would have flopped top pair, turned trips, and split with another ATo. I would have made back as much as or slightly less than I would have lost chasing the flush. I guess that's why they call them marginal hands, eh? [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[DesertEagle]

Here's another angle on the hand with the Aces...

If the player to your left had QQ, he would probably have made it 3 bets pre-flop, and he didn't, so we can rule that hand out... Agreed?

On the flop, I would have put him on AQ right away (at least I hope I would have, it's always a lot easier when you're not the one in the hand). Two spades would have probably just called, looking to invest less, yet keep the pot juicy by going for the over-calls (of which there are TONS at these levels) and 33 or 66 would have probably waited until the turn to raise.

So you bet, he raised, one cold call and now it's back to you. I like the call here. My question is, would u have checked if the spade hit on the turn? I think to check, have the player to your left bet (who we don't put on spades) and see if the 3rd player raises. Would you lay down AA here? I'd think about it... but I'm not sure...

So.... he's got AQ, and you've got AA and the flush hasn't materialized yet. Not a bad spot to be in. You've got a caller between you, who I would imagine has two spades (what else could he be calling with?).

On the turn you've got to ask yourself if the player to your left will raise again if you bet. If he will, why not go for 3 bets? If you check, and he was on spades, then he might check also. Sure, if you bet he might just call, but if he's got AQ, he might raise you again. If he does, you can make it 3 bets and make the flush draw pay dearly to see that last card (he'll surely stick with it at this level).

I think you played the hand really well, I'm just offering this as another opinion. A check raise is a major show of strength, and there's little chance he'll make it 3 bets if you do this. Given your position, you might consider betting into him again, which also makes the 3rd player call two cold AGAIN.

If you bet into him, you at least get one bet each into the pot. If you check, and he checks, then you've made a pretty big mistake, and you've given the flush draw a free card.

I guess it comes down to knowing who you're playing against....

Let me know what you think of my suggestion here...

[SirFoldsAlot]

Its $40 mow, still a great buy. Not only do you get to analyze your play, you get to analyze people you have played against. Once you get enough players in your db, table selection gets alot easier