There has been a lot of talk about sunglasses over the last week or two since a lot of the people playing High Stakes Poker brought up the topic. I will be the first one to tell you that I think sun glasses are good for the game and if banned, just might push poker back in the dead age of the 1980�s.
The first and main reason sunglasses are good for poker is because it gives new players confidence to hop into games they normally wouldn't play. Being stared down by Phil Ivey is tough even with glasses. If they told me I couldn't wear glasses, I simply wouldn't play with him. If you check out most major tournaments, most of the weaker players will be wearing sun glasses. If you ban sun glasses, I bet half of those poker players simply would not play because it would make the game unenjoyable. If you take half of the weak players out of major tournaments, especially in the hurting American poker tournaments, you would be left with a bunch of pros paying the rake.
In addition to boosting confidence, sunglasses help players reduce their tells. Some players like to think poker is a game about staring down people, getting a read on them, then going with it. Some people think poker is about math and using logic to figure out what is going on. The math guys tend to prefer sunglasses because they don't rely on tells, as they don't find them as useful as common sense. The feel guys want to cry about sunglasses because they know it cuts down on their edge. I like to think of myself as a mix of both players. Having common sense though, I choose to wear sunglasses in every major tournament I play.
If you give me a weapon that will cut my opponents edge in half, I will use it. It really is as simple as that. Most online players that have moved to live poker wear sunglasses because they realize not wearing the glasses can only be -EV. I like making +EV decisions, so I wear them. Not giving off tells to the guys that have no clue how math applies to poker makes me happy. Simply because the feel players realize their edge is diminishing is not a reason to give them what they want. Maybe they will be forced to become better players.
Sunglasses also help you observe a player without them knowing it. When you are playing poker, you should rarely be looking at the person who is thinking about making a big call on the river, which is where most people look. You actually need to be looking at the guy that made the big bet. One sure sign of a good player is they will be looking at the bettor. If you are a weaker player, or even a good one, you don't want to let the bettor know you are trying to pick up tells. You don�t want them to know you are constantly gathering info about their tells. If you are forced to start right at them though, they will realize this, and then do things to throw you off.
A lot of players, especially older players, complain about sunglasses hurting their eyes because they are so dark. Thankfully in the world we live in today, sunglasses don�t have to be dark. You can pick up a great pair of basically 100% see through glasses from www.BlueSharkOptics.com. They are pretty inexpensive and work very well.
Another major gripe I have with banning glasses is where do you draw the line? Next year are you going to be banning iPods? Maybe the next year, you won't be able to order drinks at the table because they get spilt from time to time. Maybe you will be forced to wear a suit and a tie to make the game feel more formal and reputable. Taking away the players� right to do something is rarely a good thing as the powers that make the rules rarely know when to stop.
The idea of cheating with sunglasses has also been brought up. Honestly, if someone is dumb enough to use invisible ink to mark cards that can only be seen while wearing sunglasses in a casino, there the penalty is jail time, they have pretty big issues. If you think someone is cheating with their glasses, ask them to try them on and see if you see marks on the cards. As far as I know, I have only been cheated in a poker game once, and that was in a private home game. Cheating simply does not go on in high stake poker games because the penalty for getting caught is much too high.
The last thought about sunglasses is that they are bad for tv. I think this simply isn�t true. Weak players play in televised events because they have a chance to do well. If weak players stop making final tables because they have huge eye tells, that will diminish the concept that anyone can win a major tournament. If you want the general public to watch and play poker tournaments, you have to let the general public make the final table.
That�s all the things I can come up with off the top of my head. If you guys have comments or suggestions, feel free to let me know.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Won the 100k rebuy
The last few days have flown by. I arrived back in Vegas late Tuesday night and decided to play the $1000 Texas Holdem rebuy tournament at Bellagio the next day. I don�t remember much about the tournament except every time I made the nuts I won a lot of chips and every time I had something like middle pair I bluff caught for a lot of chips. I guess I will mention some hands that I thought were fun.
I raised 22 under the gun to 6000 at 1200/2400-300. Alex Gomes, who plays well and constantly tries to outplay me called on the button. The big blind, a tight old guy, made it 8000 more. Alex had around 150k behind and I had around 200k behind. The tight guy had us covered. I called but kinda feared a weird squeeze by Alex. He just called though and it came KJ2dd. The tight guy checked. I decided to go ahead and bet 20000 for numerous reasons. Alex went all in fairly quick. I called and lost a big pot to his 73dd. Up until then, I was cruising nicely but that quickly put a stop to that.
There was another hand a little while later against my good friend Justin Young, who also constantly tries to outplay me. I raised T8o from 2nd position. He reraised to around 1/4th of his stack in 3rd position. They folded around to me and I decided to push on him even though this was the first time he 3bet me today. He thought for a while and folded. He claimed to have 77�I don�t think I believe that.
The final table was fairly stacked, with Justin Young, Alex Gomes, Rene Angelil, Shawn Cunix, Joe Beavers, and a few others. I really don�t remember much of what happened except that if flew by. I think it took around 3 hours for me to get heads up with Rene. He had around 1.4 million and I had 600k. I stole loads of pots to get to around 1.2 million to his 800k then lost a decent pot with AK to put us back even. Near the end, he raised and I reraised 85dd. I had reraised maybe 5 times over the 4 hour heads up match and he folded all but the last 2 times, once when I had AK and lost. I think he made it 50k, I made it 150k, he made it 250k. I cried and called. It came KJxdd, giving me a flush draw. I had around 700k left and the pot was 500k.
This isn�t the best spot because if I check, I fear that he will just push on me, putting me in a rough spot. He could bet like 200k and fold to a push though. I could open push and hopefully fold out small pairs and also just never fold my hand. It is usually and to fold a flush draw. Anyways, I decided to push and he called with AK and I hit.
He had around 200k left after that, which was 10bbs The next hand, I had Q2 in the sb and pushed and he snap called with J8 and I won. Interestingly enough, that flush draw was the only time I got it in for my stack during the entire tournament I think. I ended up winning $67,000, which is a nice little payday.
There is a $5,000 poker tournament today and the $25,000 main event on Sunday. These are both usually super tough fields but ill still be there.
I have been playing a little on Victory Poker when time permits. I think I had something like $2000 in my account about a week ago and am sitting at $3800 at the moment, so that�s good. Hopefully I can keep running well and putting in lots of hours.
I raised 22 under the gun to 6000 at 1200/2400-300. Alex Gomes, who plays well and constantly tries to outplay me called on the button. The big blind, a tight old guy, made it 8000 more. Alex had around 150k behind and I had around 200k behind. The tight guy had us covered. I called but kinda feared a weird squeeze by Alex. He just called though and it came KJ2dd. The tight guy checked. I decided to go ahead and bet 20000 for numerous reasons. Alex went all in fairly quick. I called and lost a big pot to his 73dd. Up until then, I was cruising nicely but that quickly put a stop to that.
There was another hand a little while later against my good friend Justin Young, who also constantly tries to outplay me. I raised T8o from 2nd position. He reraised to around 1/4th of his stack in 3rd position. They folded around to me and I decided to push on him even though this was the first time he 3bet me today. He thought for a while and folded. He claimed to have 77�I don�t think I believe that.
The final table was fairly stacked, with Justin Young, Alex Gomes, Rene Angelil, Shawn Cunix, Joe Beavers, and a few others. I really don�t remember much of what happened except that if flew by. I think it took around 3 hours for me to get heads up with Rene. He had around 1.4 million and I had 600k. I stole loads of pots to get to around 1.2 million to his 800k then lost a decent pot with AK to put us back even. Near the end, he raised and I reraised 85dd. I had reraised maybe 5 times over the 4 hour heads up match and he folded all but the last 2 times, once when I had AK and lost. I think he made it 50k, I made it 150k, he made it 250k. I cried and called. It came KJxdd, giving me a flush draw. I had around 700k left and the pot was 500k.
This isn�t the best spot because if I check, I fear that he will just push on me, putting me in a rough spot. He could bet like 200k and fold to a push though. I could open push and hopefully fold out small pairs and also just never fold my hand. It is usually and to fold a flush draw. Anyways, I decided to push and he called with AK and I hit.
He had around 200k left after that, which was 10bbs The next hand, I had Q2 in the sb and pushed and he snap called with J8 and I won. Interestingly enough, that flush draw was the only time I got it in for my stack during the entire tournament I think. I ended up winning $67,000, which is a nice little payday.
There is a $5,000 poker tournament today and the $25,000 main event on Sunday. These are both usually super tough fields but ill still be there.
I have been playing a little on Victory Poker when time permits. I think I had something like $2000 in my account about a week ago and am sitting at $3800 at the moment, so that�s good. Hopefully I can keep running well and putting in lots of hours.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Life is Fun
The last week has been quite hectic despite not really doing much of anything. I have been staying with Amie in NYC a lot lately and was there when the NAPT at Mohegan Sun rolled around. It turns out there isn�t really an easy way to get there from NYC besides to take the bus, which costs a whopping $20 but takes 5 hours. I decided to gamble and do that. I mostly hibernated and watched poker videos. On both the ride there and back, some little gangster kid would blare rap music out of their cheap cell phone.
It was quite annoying. All in all though, it wasn�t that bad.
The NAPT went pretty well on day one, with me ending the day with a little more than average. Day two didn�t go quite so well. I had some lag kid on my right that 3bet me every time I raised. I eventually picked up QJ and raised, fully expecting him to 3bet. That is what happened, so I shipped it in and he basically snap called with A8s. I got there and doubled.
A few hours later, the same thing happened again, but this time I had 98s. Looking back, I should have raised then just called the 3bet or maaaaybe limped. I hate limping though. Anyways, I raised, he reraised and I shipped. This time he called off with A3o and knocked me out. I am pretty sad with that. I should have just nitted it up and waited for AT or some monster like that to get in with. Lesson learned.
I am spending one more weekend with Amie in NYC before heading back to Vegas for the WPT main event at Bellagio. I have played this event twice in the past and both times got sucked out on right before the money, so hopefully I can change that
trend. After that, there is a $5000 at Caesars which is always decent.
I have been playing a lot on VictoryPoker.com lately. I have decided to sort of challenge myself to start at the low stake games and grind up my bankroll. I currently have $2700 in there, so I am going to stick to $.50/$1 and $1/2 until I get around $8000 in there, I think. It is fun to sometimes go back to the basics and just grind online. I have been getting a little fried from all the swings at high stakes PLO so I think this will be a nice way to spend the months before the WSOP where the big swings happen.
As for FloatTheTurn.com, I think I have nailed down all the details to get a new coach that has around $4 million in winnings., mostly online, so that will be great if that holds up. I am also strongly considering doing a tv show that will be posted on the site during the WSOP. It will basically be myself and my poker friends talking about life and poker, but mostly life. It should be fun. These are all in the works, so hopefully everything falls into place.
As for JonathanLittleSecrets.com, I am going to be starting a new private coaching program in the near future. If you want one of the spots to be coached by me, check it out.
That�s pretty much it. My life is the nuts right now. I wouldn�t change much of anything. Hopefully I can win my 3rd WPT title next week. That would really make it the nuts.
It was quite annoying. All in all though, it wasn�t that bad.
The NAPT went pretty well on day one, with me ending the day with a little more than average. Day two didn�t go quite so well. I had some lag kid on my right that 3bet me every time I raised. I eventually picked up QJ and raised, fully expecting him to 3bet. That is what happened, so I shipped it in and he basically snap called with A8s. I got there and doubled.
A few hours later, the same thing happened again, but this time I had 98s. Looking back, I should have raised then just called the 3bet or maaaaybe limped. I hate limping though. Anyways, I raised, he reraised and I shipped. This time he called off with A3o and knocked me out. I am pretty sad with that. I should have just nitted it up and waited for AT or some monster like that to get in with. Lesson learned.
I am spending one more weekend with Amie in NYC before heading back to Vegas for the WPT main event at Bellagio. I have played this event twice in the past and both times got sucked out on right before the money, so hopefully I can change that
trend. After that, there is a $5000 at Caesars which is always decent.
I have been playing a lot on VictoryPoker.com lately. I have decided to sort of challenge myself to start at the low stake games and grind up my bankroll. I currently have $2700 in there, so I am going to stick to $.50/$1 and $1/2 until I get around $8000 in there, I think. It is fun to sometimes go back to the basics and just grind online. I have been getting a little fried from all the swings at high stakes PLO so I think this will be a nice way to spend the months before the WSOP where the big swings happen.
As for FloatTheTurn.com, I think I have nailed down all the details to get a new coach that has around $4 million in winnings., mostly online, so that will be great if that holds up. I am also strongly considering doing a tv show that will be posted on the site during the WSOP. It will basically be myself and my poker friends talking about life and poker, but mostly life. It should be fun. These are all in the works, so hopefully everything falls into place.
As for JonathanLittleSecrets.com, I am going to be starting a new private coaching program in the near future. If you want one of the spots to be coached by me, check it out.
That�s pretty much it. My life is the nuts right now. I wouldn�t change much of anything. Hopefully I can win my 3rd WPT title next week. That would really make it the nuts.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Victory Poker
First off, I am pleased to announce that I am now part of team Victory Poker. I love everything they are doing with the site and look forward to working with them in nnumerous ways. I have been playing cash games on Victory Poker for the last few days and things have been going well. I have played a few tournaments as well on the site and those have went poorly. Bad beat. Anyways, check it out and keep an eye open for loads of great new features soon to come.
I am currently staying in NYC, which has been lots of fun. I had the pleasuer of meeting Amie's parents a few nights ago (hi Orit!) which was a lot of fun. Amie and I walked across the brooklyn bridge to a great pizza place. It has been cold here for the last few days but I imagine the weather will get nicer eventually.
I am leaving for Mohegan Sun in a week or so. I skipped the first NAPT to play the WPT celeb invitational. I plan on playing the main event as well as the sat to get into the 25k, although I may just skip that. After that, I will be back in Vegas for a while for the $25000 WPT main event. This is the first year I didnt win my seat into it, so thats no fun. Theres always next year.
I have decided to offer private coaching. You can check it out at www.JonathanLittleSecrets.com. Simply put, you will get access to over 40 hours of past one on one coaching I did with my first batch of students plus your own private coaching sessions. If you are looking to seriously improve your game, you should check it out.
Life has been nice lately. I really have no complaints or worries in the world. Hopefully all this life greatness can translate over to poker in the near future.
I am currently staying in NYC, which has been lots of fun. I had the pleasuer of meeting Amie's parents a few nights ago (hi Orit!) which was a lot of fun. Amie and I walked across the brooklyn bridge to a great pizza place. It has been cold here for the last few days but I imagine the weather will get nicer eventually.
I am leaving for Mohegan Sun in a week or so. I skipped the first NAPT to play the WPT celeb invitational. I plan on playing the main event as well as the sat to get into the 25k, although I may just skip that. After that, I will be back in Vegas for a while for the $25000 WPT main event. This is the first year I didnt win my seat into it, so thats no fun. Theres always next year.
I have decided to offer private coaching. You can check it out at www.JonathanLittleSecrets.com. Simply put, you will get access to over 40 hours of past one on one coaching I did with my first batch of students plus your own private coaching sessions. If you are looking to seriously improve your game, you should check it out.
Life has been nice lately. I really have no complaints or worries in the world. Hopefully all this life greatness can translate over to poker in the near future.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Finally An Off Week
I am finally home for a week. Yay! Before this week, I have been at my home for a whopping 2 days this year. I met a wonderful woman in the Bahamas and have been staying with her in her in NYC during most of my time when there are no tournaments. She is coming to visit me this week in Vegas. I have lots of fun stuff planned for us.
The Bay101 WPT didnt go as planned. On day 3 (out of 4) I showed up and instantly doubled up with AK vs QQ. From there, I ran into Phil Hellmuth's nuts 3 times. The first time was the hand after I doubled. I raised QT from the sb and he called. It came J93. I bet and he called. The turn was the K. I bet and he instantly raised me. I pushed and we chopped it.
A few hands later when I was in the big blind, he limped from the cut off, the button limped, and I checked A8o. It came A98hh. I checked, fully expecting Hellmuth to bet as he had done the limp bet a few times so far. They both checked. The turn was a 3. I bet 4/5 pot and Hellmuth instanty potted it. I decided to just call, as he could have a monster. The river was 4h. I checked and he bet 1/2 pot and I lost to his K5hh. Also in this flurry of hands, I raised KJ from the cutoff and the button, a good young online guy, called. It came Kxx. I bet and he called. The turn was a blank and I check called. The river was a Q and I check called again and lost to his KQ.
My bustout hand was a little odd. I raised AJ from the button and Hellmuth called in the big blind. It came KTx. We both checked. The turn was a K and he bet 1/2 pot and I called. The turn was the beautiful Q. He bet around pot, which was half my stack. For some reason, I was actually considering just calling here then I realized that was dumb and pushed. He had KQ for the nuts again and I was out. All in all, I am pretty happy it took three semi set up hands to bust me. I cant be too sad with that. Taking 21st place is always tough.
As for online poker, it has been super swingy. I have been playing a decent amount of plo, usually short stacking 25/50 - 100/200. At the start of the year, I used basically all my online money to buy into the PCA, leaving me with $1000 online, which is the least I have ever had. Since then, it has been all over the place. I am currently sitting with $26000 online, which is decent, I guess.
I cashed out $8000 last night, which was clearly a mistake. After that, The $46000 I had online magically became $26000 when I lost every hand I touched for 4 hours. I was playing mostly 100/200 nl and plo. In the no limit match, I had the guy all in about 6 times and I lost every one of them, which is never fun. It feels a bit dumb saying this, but I see I am clearly running bad at the moment.
Because of that, losing 20k last night doesnt really bother me. I had another -24k day about a month ago, mostly at 100/200 plo. I lost every hand I played there too. All things considered though, I should be happy. Actually, I am happy.
My next stop on the tournament circuit is the WPT event in Indiana. Actually, I dont know where it is. All I know is I fly into Cincinatti and tell them I want to go to Hollywood casino. After that, I am going to NYC for a while then to Mohegan Sun for the NAPT event.
Apparently there was supposed to be a $10,000 "high roller" event there but they have instead changed it to one of those invitational only tournaments, which I think is fairly bad for the game. That being said, I think the NAPT in general is super good for poker as long as Stars doesnt get in trouble with the law, which I have heard could be a big issue. Apparently online sites arent aloud to buy people into events in America. We will see I guess.
All in all, life is good. I am going to spend my next week here chilling. I am going to try to stay away from online poker for a week. I am not much a fan of playing after really bad days. Yay for an off week!
The Bay101 WPT didnt go as planned. On day 3 (out of 4) I showed up and instantly doubled up with AK vs QQ. From there, I ran into Phil Hellmuth's nuts 3 times. The first time was the hand after I doubled. I raised QT from the sb and he called. It came J93. I bet and he called. The turn was the K. I bet and he instantly raised me. I pushed and we chopped it.
A few hands later when I was in the big blind, he limped from the cut off, the button limped, and I checked A8o. It came A98hh. I checked, fully expecting Hellmuth to bet as he had done the limp bet a few times so far. They both checked. The turn was a 3. I bet 4/5 pot and Hellmuth instanty potted it. I decided to just call, as he could have a monster. The river was 4h. I checked and he bet 1/2 pot and I lost to his K5hh. Also in this flurry of hands, I raised KJ from the cutoff and the button, a good young online guy, called. It came Kxx. I bet and he called. The turn was a blank and I check called. The river was a Q and I check called again and lost to his KQ.
My bustout hand was a little odd. I raised AJ from the button and Hellmuth called in the big blind. It came KTx. We both checked. The turn was a K and he bet 1/2 pot and I called. The turn was the beautiful Q. He bet around pot, which was half my stack. For some reason, I was actually considering just calling here then I realized that was dumb and pushed. He had KQ for the nuts again and I was out. All in all, I am pretty happy it took three semi set up hands to bust me. I cant be too sad with that. Taking 21st place is always tough.
As for online poker, it has been super swingy. I have been playing a decent amount of plo, usually short stacking 25/50 - 100/200. At the start of the year, I used basically all my online money to buy into the PCA, leaving me with $1000 online, which is the least I have ever had. Since then, it has been all over the place. I am currently sitting with $26000 online, which is decent, I guess.
I cashed out $8000 last night, which was clearly a mistake. After that, The $46000 I had online magically became $26000 when I lost every hand I touched for 4 hours. I was playing mostly 100/200 nl and plo. In the no limit match, I had the guy all in about 6 times and I lost every one of them, which is never fun. It feels a bit dumb saying this, but I see I am clearly running bad at the moment.
Because of that, losing 20k last night doesnt really bother me. I had another -24k day about a month ago, mostly at 100/200 plo. I lost every hand I played there too. All things considered though, I should be happy. Actually, I am happy.
My next stop on the tournament circuit is the WPT event in Indiana. Actually, I dont know where it is. All I know is I fly into Cincinatti and tell them I want to go to Hollywood casino. After that, I am going to NYC for a while then to Mohegan Sun for the NAPT event.
Apparently there was supposed to be a $10,000 "high roller" event there but they have instead changed it to one of those invitational only tournaments, which I think is fairly bad for the game. That being said, I think the NAPT in general is super good for poker as long as Stars doesnt get in trouble with the law, which I have heard could be a big issue. Apparently online sites arent aloud to buy people into events in America. We will see I guess.
All in all, life is good. I am going to spend my next week here chilling. I am going to try to stay away from online poker for a week. I am not much a fan of playing after really bad days. Yay for an off week!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Rough Last Few Weeks
The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster. I was wrecking everything in Jan only to lose most of it back in Feb. I guess that happens when you play big cash games. I am in LA and have yet to make anything happen. I did have a cool hand in the Celebrity Invitational that I guess I will talk about. I raised QT from middle position into a guys big blind who has called 3 times and checkfolded every time so far. He called again and it came KJ9ss. At this point, I considered checking behind when he checked to me but then figured he had to be getting tired of me cbetting eventually. I went ahead and bet around 1/4th of his stack and he called. This tournament had a super fast structure.
I doubled through Brian Townsend earlier so I had around 2x average at this point and the other guy had about average. The turn was a 4s. He checked and I went all in for around 2/3 pot. I had the Qs so I figured I probably had either a backup if he did have a flush or a blocker, so that if he did have the nuts, I got a little more unlucky than it appeared. He snap called with A5s to put me back to the average of 15bbs. I later pushed KTdd and ran into AK to lose.
I got on the perfect sleep schedule to play the ironman tournament today. Basically, it is a tournament with no breaks. I was totally ready to win this event. I played well early and made everything I was spewing around. Somehow, at 25/50, I got 12000 chips in the middle with KK vs AK. Sadly, he rivered an A and I was out, just like that.
I normally play 10/20 no limit at Bellagio when I play, as the 25/50 games are tough but the 20/40 nl games at commerce looked super soft so I took a few shots. Every time I got it in good yet somehow lost all 5 times I got all in, which is no fun. That being said, I am only down $12,000 in the game, so that is good. It could be much much worse. I have done ok at 10/20, so I will probably just stick to that for the rest of the trip.
I am looking forward to the main event here. This is always a great event with lots of weak players. I took 20th or something like that in this event a few years back, so I will be looking to improve on that. They always give away a cool trophy with a guy that looks like he riding and beating a horse. It is pretty wild. I want one. I plan on making it happen.
I doubled through Brian Townsend earlier so I had around 2x average at this point and the other guy had about average. The turn was a 4s. He checked and I went all in for around 2/3 pot. I had the Qs so I figured I probably had either a backup if he did have a flush or a blocker, so that if he did have the nuts, I got a little more unlucky than it appeared. He snap called with A5s to put me back to the average of 15bbs. I later pushed KTdd and ran into AK to lose.
I got on the perfect sleep schedule to play the ironman tournament today. Basically, it is a tournament with no breaks. I was totally ready to win this event. I played well early and made everything I was spewing around. Somehow, at 25/50, I got 12000 chips in the middle with KK vs AK. Sadly, he rivered an A and I was out, just like that.
I normally play 10/20 no limit at Bellagio when I play, as the 25/50 games are tough but the 20/40 nl games at commerce looked super soft so I took a few shots. Every time I got it in good yet somehow lost all 5 times I got all in, which is no fun. That being said, I am only down $12,000 in the game, so that is good. It could be much much worse. I have done ok at 10/20, so I will probably just stick to that for the rest of the trip.
I am looking forward to the main event here. This is always a great event with lots of weak players. I took 20th or something like that in this event a few years back, so I will be looking to improve on that. They always give away a cool trophy with a guy that looks like he riding and beating a horse. It is pretty wild. I want one. I plan on making it happen.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
no good at Borgata main event
Borgata's main event went pretty poorly for me. The day started off well, with me getting my stack from 30,000 to 33,000 with no showdowns at 25/50. About an hour into the day though, we took a limped pot where I had 88 in the small blind, 5 ways.
It came 854. I checked, most likely going for a check raise. The button made a decent sized bet and I figured he would fire the turn again, so I just called. MAybe he bet 225 or something into the 250 pot. The turn was a K. I checked, he bet around 800 and I made it 2200. He thought for a while and made it 5200.
At this point, alarm bells are going off in my head. This guy didnt look at all like the type of guy that would try to outplay me. The only problem was I was worried that he had a lower set and thought it was the nuts. I called and the river was a blank. I checked and he bet 8000 pretty quickly. He looked really calm. Again, the problem was that I thought he might think a lower set was the nuts.
I really really wanted to fold though. I then remembered I had the 2nd nuts and was in Borgata, so I called and lost to the flopped straight. A little while later, this little italian (most likely) guy raised to 325 at 50/100. I made it 1200 on the button with AA, assuming he would call with any 2. He did and it came 7s5s5c. He checked and I bet 2000 or so. He thought for a while and called.
The turn was an 8h. He checked and I bet 6000. He thought again and called. The river was the 9s. Yuck!! He instachecked and I check lost to KJss, putting me down to around 8000 chips. Toward the end of that level, I raised to 300 with 88 from middle position, 2 people called and Cornel Cimpan made it 2000 from the big blind. He had been super lagging it up and we had played a few small pots together so far.
I decided to just push cause he seemed like he was trying to outplay everyone. He thought for a while before calling with AQ. It came Axxxx with 4 spades. Luckily I had a spade and was back to 20,000. I won a few more pots at 75/150 to get up to around 25,000, which was almost back to my starting stack after a horrorific start. Cornel raised from middle position and I decided to just call with AQs in the small blind.
I would normally reraise here against standardish players but my poker strategy against someone that constantly tries to play back, I think it is better to play it slow so they dont rereraise you. Also, I try to play small pots out of position. Anyways, it came Qh5h5d. I checked and he bet maybe 800 into the 1000 pot. I decided he thought I would be likely to try to outplay him here so I made it 2500.
He tanked for a while then made it 7500. I was pretty sure he didnt have much so I shipped it all in for another 15000 or so. He snap called with A6hh. The turn was a 4h and I didnt hit on the river. That was it for me. I have been learning a lot about myself when it comes to winning and losing lately. I honestly dont mind losing at all when I get it in good over and over. When I win and get it in bad though, I am usually not too happy with myself. I think it is important to not be result oriented.
Obviously me getting it in good or bad has a lot of variance involved as well. I just try to play my best and am usually happy with the result, win or lose. I am going back to NYC for a few days then heading to Vegas for a week before going to LA for the LAPC. I may or may not go home before going to San Jose then Indiana for their new WPT event. Life has been busy but fun lately. Hopefully it keeps up.
It came 854. I checked, most likely going for a check raise. The button made a decent sized bet and I figured he would fire the turn again, so I just called. MAybe he bet 225 or something into the 250 pot. The turn was a K. I checked, he bet around 800 and I made it 2200. He thought for a while and made it 5200.
At this point, alarm bells are going off in my head. This guy didnt look at all like the type of guy that would try to outplay me. The only problem was I was worried that he had a lower set and thought it was the nuts. I called and the river was a blank. I checked and he bet 8000 pretty quickly. He looked really calm. Again, the problem was that I thought he might think a lower set was the nuts.
I really really wanted to fold though. I then remembered I had the 2nd nuts and was in Borgata, so I called and lost to the flopped straight. A little while later, this little italian (most likely) guy raised to 325 at 50/100. I made it 1200 on the button with AA, assuming he would call with any 2. He did and it came 7s5s5c. He checked and I bet 2000 or so. He thought for a while and called.
The turn was an 8h. He checked and I bet 6000. He thought again and called. The river was the 9s. Yuck!! He instachecked and I check lost to KJss, putting me down to around 8000 chips. Toward the end of that level, I raised to 300 with 88 from middle position, 2 people called and Cornel Cimpan made it 2000 from the big blind. He had been super lagging it up and we had played a few small pots together so far.
I decided to just push cause he seemed like he was trying to outplay everyone. He thought for a while before calling with AQ. It came Axxxx with 4 spades. Luckily I had a spade and was back to 20,000. I won a few more pots at 75/150 to get up to around 25,000, which was almost back to my starting stack after a horrorific start. Cornel raised from middle position and I decided to just call with AQs in the small blind.
I would normally reraise here against standardish players but my poker strategy against someone that constantly tries to play back, I think it is better to play it slow so they dont rereraise you. Also, I try to play small pots out of position. Anyways, it came Qh5h5d. I checked and he bet maybe 800 into the 1000 pot. I decided he thought I would be likely to try to outplay him here so I made it 2500.
He tanked for a while then made it 7500. I was pretty sure he didnt have much so I shipped it all in for another 15000 or so. He snap called with A6hh. The turn was a 4h and I didnt hit on the river. That was it for me. I have been learning a lot about myself when it comes to winning and losing lately. I honestly dont mind losing at all when I get it in good over and over. When I win and get it in bad though, I am usually not too happy with myself. I think it is important to not be result oriented.
Obviously me getting it in good or bad has a lot of variance involved as well. I just try to play my best and am usually happy with the result, win or lose. I am going back to NYC for a few days then heading to Vegas for a week before going to LA for the LAPC. I may or may not go home before going to San Jose then Indiana for their new WPT event. Life has been busy but fun lately. Hopefully it keeps up.
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