PP $1/2 - The Massacre continues...

[sucka]

If it can get much worse than this - I'd hate to see it.

Was playing a little at lunch today and actually grinded back a little of what I lost last night. Then, as I expected another fantastic run of cards comes and I continue to make 2nd best hands like they are going out of style.

Here's a couple examples:

I'm in MP with QhQs and raise an early limper. Get several callers to see a flop of:


*** FLOP *** : [ Ts 2c 9s ]

I bet 2 callers.

*** TURN *** : [ Ts 2c 9s ] [ 7h ]

I bet - same 2 callers.

*** RIVER *** : [ Ts 2c 9s 7h ] [ 7c ]

I bet - next player raises, 3rd player drops and I call.

Player shows me A7o for runner runner trips. Nice.

Hand 2:

I'm in the cutoff with 9d9s all fold to me and I raise. Button calls, small blind folds and BB re-raises. We all call to see a flop of:

*** FLOP *** : [ 8s Qd Kc ]

Great. BB bets I decide to peel one more off and call and the SB folds.

*** TURN *** : [ 8s Qd Kc ] [ 9h ]

Is it my lucky day? Hardly.

BB bets, I raise he calls.

*** RIVER *** : [ 8s Qd Kc 9h ] [ 4d ]

he checks to me - I bet and he calls.

He shows a set of Kings and I show my set of 9's. Sweet!!

Hand 3:

Now this one is just one of those weird ones where 3 of us had great starting hands and just got tied to the flop. I've seen this more in the last several hours playing online than I've seen in over a year of playing in card rooms.

Anyway, check this one out...


I'm in the cutoff again with QdQc. Couple limpers to me and I bump it up. several callers behind me to the BB who re-raises. We call call. 5 to see a flop of:

*** FLOP *** : [ 9d 8c 9s ]

All check to me. I bet - all 4 call.

*** TURN *** : [ 9d 8c 9s ] [ Kd ]

All check to player to my right who now bets out. 2 of us call the others drop. 3 to see the river:

*** RIVER *** : [ 9d 8c 9s Kd ] [ 2s ]

Well, that didn't help anyone...

checked to the player to my right who bets. Both of us call.

BB shows AA to take the pot. Player to my right shows AsKh for turned top pair and my Queens are no good.

Once I dump this buy-in - and it's looking like that could happen anytime now - I'm pretty sure my days of playing online are over.

I played a little over 300 hands and lost nearly 40BB's. I know, I know...standard deviation, variance, bad run of cards, blah, blah, blah....

I hate to be paranoid about what goes on online - but there's some weird wacky crap that goes on. I don't mind blowing the $75 bucks to get some action - I'm certainly not trying to make a living or anything - but despite last nights debacle I continued to play my best poker despite getting even better cards than last nights session (didn't think that was possible - at point I got pocket pairs 6 hands in a row) I still was a giant loser when it was all said and done.

I'll mount up and ride again (at least until the few bucks I have left on there run out), but I'm pretty sure this is the end of my playing online days...

[Homer]

In hand 2, you have an easy fold on the flop.

-- Homer

[Zag]

Homer means the turn, of course, and I totally agree. I like the bet on the flop, your QQ is probably good (even though it turns out that it wasn't). When someone suddenly came alive when the K hit, what did you think he had? He might have slowplayed a 9, or he might have just hit his overcard K. Either way, you are a big dog and you need to lay down the QQ here.

[cferejohn]

First hand: Ouch. You don't mention where the 2 callers are relative to you. With an overpair, I might try to checkraise here (depends on if I think the last-to-bet is prone to try and buy the pot/a free card with overcards).

Second hand: I can't see how you can possibly call the flop bet here. The BB had 3 bet, so top pair was looking pretty damn likely, and KK and QQ were both at least possible. You're drawing to 2 outs and you can't even be sure that they are good (as they in fact were not). Once you got the 9, you're pretty much getting sucked all the way down, not much you can do there.

Hand 3: Again, the pre-flop re-raise severely limits the hands that anyone could be on out there. You can pretty much eliminate QQ, but JJ, KK and (especially) AK, look like a good possibility. Of those, you only beat JJ. The fact that there was a bet AND a caller (other than you) on the turn would be a sure sign to me that someone had at least a king (although possibly a weak one), if not a slow-played set. I liked the flop-bet, but after the king fell on the turn and there was a bet (and possibly a caller, but you don't mention if it was before or after you - THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT), I think you need to lay it down.

[cferejohn]

Actually, on hand 2 (where KQ overcards fell to his pocket 99, Homer meant the flop). You were talking about hand 3 Zag (where the K fell to his QQ).

[bad beetz]

1. Can't be played much different. Against the right opponent you can fold to the river raise, but that opponent is probably 1 in 50.

2. I fold on the flop.

3. I fold on the turn.

[Zag]

Oh, right. Sorry for putting words in your mouth incorrectly. I agree with your comment to fold the 99 on the flop with two overcards. And I stick with my comment (but it applies to hand 3) to fold the QQ on the turn.

[sucka]

You are all correct about folding the turn on the hand where I'm holding QQ against a King that falls. The first thing that popped into my head was, "I'm getting almost 10-1 here on my call - and it's possible that this guy is raising here using the King as a scare card." I saw this guy 3 bet pre-flop with QJo about 5 hands prior to this so I wasn't sure what I was up against here.

I just felt like it would be a disaster to fold here, although I knew there was a good chance I was beat.

Thanks for the opinions though. Clearly, I could have played a couple of the hands better. It just shows me that I'm not near as immune as I thought I was to overplaying when I'm getting busted up.

Lessons learned...

[JTG51]

A couple of hands that I've seen in my last 10 hours of B&M play.

Hand 1: A LP player open raises. I 3 bet from the cutoff with TT. The button caps. BB calls 3 cold, raiser calls. We take the flop 4 handed.

Flop: T 5 2. Button bets, BB calls, LP calls, I check raise, button 3 bets, everyone calls.

Turn: T 5 2 J. Button bets, everyone calls again, I check raise again, now everyone calls.

River: T 5 2 J Q.

BB bets out, LP calls, I call, Button calls.

BB turns over AK for perfect, perfect winner. Button had AA, LP had KK.

Hand 2: A few players limp.

Flop: 6 8 9

Two players go to war.

Turn: 6 8 9 6

They go to war again.

The river is a brick. One flopped a set of 9's, the other a set of 6's and hit his 1 outer on the turn.

Hand 3: UTG raises, I 3 bet with QQ and he calls.

Flop: 6 4 2

He bets, I call.

Turn: 6 4 2 6

He bets, I raise, he 3 bets, I call.

River: 6 4 2 6 8

He bets, I call. He has A6o

Hand 4: I raise UTG with QQ. Cold called by LP, and called by the BB.

Flop: A 3 3

BB checks, I bet, LP calls, BB folds.

Turn: A 3 3 8

I bet, LP calls.

River: A 3 3 8 Q

I bet, LP raises, I 3 bet, he calls. He flopped a full house with A3o and I hit a 3 outer.

It all sounds pretty fishy. Maybe there's something crazy going on with the casino shuffle. Or maybe not. Maybe it's just that we don't notice the hundreds of painfully routine hands that go by, we only remember the amazing ones.

[Casey]

I quit playing online mostly because I realized I wasn't really playing my best game online. I do not think that the games are screwey. If there are any shenanigans going on its between players, although, I doubt it happens at the 1-2 limit.
Part of it was psychological; for some reason I was playing very loose online; chasing a lot where the odds were'nt theere. I think it was easier for me to click a mouse adding a bet to the pot than it is to actually put some checks in the pot. Anyway I was chasing too much.

Second, I found it more difficult to get reads on my opponents. Part of this is just the internet and part of it was that I was off doing something else on the net if I wasn't in the hand. I wasn't learning anything from watching. When in the B&M, I pay better attention.

Third, I enjoy the B&M atmosphere better.

That's why I quit. If you think that something untoward going on, even in the back of your mind, you have to quit, you will never play your best game.