I know, I know… I haven’t been posting enough lately. I’m not happy about it either,  but I have good reasons. Honest!

Most of June/July was been spent moving house, my girlfriend Kate and I decided to take the plunge recently and move in together. We bought a nice little place just outside the city and have been busy painting, carpeting, electrifying and furnishing the place ever since. It’s time consuming work but I do enjoy a bit of DIY.

Then at the start of July myself, Kate and her family headed off to Falls Creek for a full week of fun in the snow. I’d never been skiing before and at the start of the week I was struggling to even stand up but by the end I attempted (and conquered) my first black run! I’d forgotten how much fun it can be to learn a new skill and I’ll definitely be back next season, it’s a great way to spend some time away.  When you’re up at the top of the mountain it’s like you’re in another world (this is best illustrated by the fact a bowl of hot chips at the top of the main chair lift costs an offensive AUD$12.50) and it’s great to just disconnect from the rest of the world and relax.

That’s not to say I didn’t play a little poker, on the Monday night we were up there the Australian Poker League was running one of their tournaments at one of the local pubs called The Frying Pan Inn. To be honest going in I was more interested in having a few beers than playing a pub freeroll tournament but as the pints flowed I started chatting and joking with the other players at my table and had a great time and after I made the first break I decided to actually try and go deep in the thing.

And go deep I did, managing 6th overall in what was pretty much a crapshoot of a final table given the fast structure of these things. Great fun though.

Highlight:

Requesting “one more beer” at the start of the final table only to be challenged by Kate to “double up and then you can have one”. I proceed to get dealt pocket 10’s the first hand and do just that. Mine’s a Coopers Sparkling Ale thanks!

Lowlight:

Going out in 6th with the blinds at 10,000/20,000 and a stack of around 80,000 I open and push wth ATo trying to get heads up with the blinds who were desperately short. The big stack on the button (who, how can I put it nicely? Let’s say he’s been getting quite lucky) calls with 64o and I’m out when he spikes his 6 on the river.

As always though, I thanked the tourney organisers and shook my opponents hand before heading out into the snow for the walk home. Was a fun night, and an even better week. Kinda sucks to be back home!

EDIT: This post got big, apologies for the long hand histories but I think this is an interesting series of hands against some pretty crazy opponents. If reading hand histories doesn’t do it for you than you might want to skip this one.

Playing micro stakes full ring limit hold’em on PokerStars as part of my bankroll rebuilding process.

Preflop this table is typical loose/passive with many players seeing flops and not many raising preflop. Post flop there has been some strange and unpredictable play with some unusual holdings being shown down three or four ways.

I’m multi-tabling and have been playing fairly tight until I’m dealt the following five hands in succession:

Hand #1:

:Qd:

In middle position at this stage (3 off the button) it’s raised in early position, I re-raise and the small blind who is playing 100% (I’m not joking) of his hands and seeing 66% of showdowns with what some would describe as manical aggression on all streets calls. Flop comes:

:5s:

Small blind bets, early position calls and I raise. Small blind calls and early position folds. Turn comes:

Small blind bets again and I just call this time. Against most players the 8 of any suit is a crappy card for me and it may well be here but given that he’d play this same line with as little as a pair I believe I can call. Raising is also an option but I tend to get myself in trouble doing that against these maniacal players, too often taking a stand in the wrong spots. Nothing wrong with folding either but I can’t bring myself to give this guy credit for a real hand.

River is:

He bets again, I call. He shows:

:5h:

Nothing too exciting, gives us some information on the small blind player who we’ll call “Looney23″ for the rest of this post.

Hand #2:

I’m dealt:

:Ah:

Now four off the button, an early position player calls. I raise for the second hand in a row which is unheard of at this table. Looney23 calls and the big blind calls. The flop comes:

:Td:

I don’t love it but I don’t hate it. BB checks, early position checks, I bet, Looney23 folds(!) and the big blind check-raises. Early position folds and I have a decision to make.

Do I just fold? Is a check-raise from this player enough to put him on the flush. I’m not sure. If he has four to a flush I’m about a 60% favourite, if he has the flush I’m drawing nearly dead but on this table I wouldn’t rule out just a pair of kings. I decide to put him to the test and I three bet. He calls and when the turn comes:

He does something interesting and checks. To me this screams two things either “scared of full house” or “didn’t make my flush”. I bet intending to check the river if he calls. He calls, river is:

He checks, I check and I win the pot over his:

:3c:

Good result, not sure about how I played it though.

Hand #3:

:Jc:

Unbelievable, three premium pairs in a row. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. Earlier position this time UTG+2. Folded to me, I raise Looney23 calls, same player from the last hand who we’ll call “CrazyMan” raises and I cap it hoping in vein to get rid of Looney23. They both call we go to the flop three handed:

:7c:

Good flop for me. CrazyMan bets, I raise, Looney23 re-raises, CrazyMan calls and I’m confused. Against normal players I’d be worried about sets, there’s also a chance CrazyMan has a bigger pair. I call.

The turn is the:

CrazyMan checks I bet, Looney23 calls (flush draw?) and then CrazyMan check-raises.

What the?

Logically I should be thinking about hands like straights, two pair, sets but instead this just feels wrong. I can’t explain why but I don’t put either of them on a hand at this point. My gut and my mind can’t come to agreement so I call. For the record I hate this call.

The river is:

CrazyMan bets out and now I have to believe one of them has a straight or a flush. I fold fully expecting Looney23 to raise. He surprises me and calls, showdown.

CrazyMan:

:Ts:

(king high)

Looney23:

:3s:

(rivered two pair)

My gut was right but my head didn’t let me punish them enough. I should have 3 bet the turn but really I had no chance of getting rid of Looney23, it is clear from his play that he considers top pair no kicker a monster hand.

This hand set the precedent for the big hand #5.

Hand #4:

I’m dealt:

:3c:

In early position.

I fold.

Hand #5 – The “big” hand:

UTG now I’m dealt:

:Kd:

I raise, Looney23 calls, CrazyMan re-raises, small blind calls (nearly all-in) I cap without much thought and everyone calls.

Flop comes:

:4s:

SB checks, I bet, Looney23 calls, CrazyMan raises, SB calls all-in, I re-raise, Looney23 calls, CrazyMan caps it and we both call. Phew.

Given the previous hands I don’t give either of them credit for a bigger hand than mine. Turn comes:

I bet, Looney23 calls, CrazyMan raises, I re-raise wanting to get heads up with CrazyMan but Looney23 calls, CrazyMan caps and we both call again.

The action on this street has me worried, no idea what they have but I decide in advance to just check/call the river. This pot is big enough, I only let the turn get capped because of the players I’m against but even against players this crazy surely KK can’t be good here too often.

River is the:

I check, Looney23 wakes up and bets now (damn straight, I think to myself) CrazyMan just calls this time (very odd) and I make a crying call into a pot that’s given me somewhere close to 30 to 1 in odds.

The all-in player shows:

:9h:

(nothing)

Looney23:

:2s:

(runner, runner straight)

CrazyMan:

:3c:

(pair of fours)

Ugh.

So tell me, in this last hand, given the previous play of these opponents do you lose big with these kings or did I get out of line here and build too big a pot?

In hindsight I think there were a couple of points in the 5 hands where I may have made the wrong decision but when you’re being hit over the head with premium pocket pairs pre-flop and then facing the kind of play I saw from CrazyMan and Looney23 it’s hard not to get caught up in the moment. Remember these hands happened in succession, the whole train wreck took no more than 5 or 6 minutes from start to finish. I also had 3 other tables open and playing. That’s a lot going on.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to log off now and get over this tilt ;) Thanks for reading!

As I reported earlier I’m currently playing in the lower limit ring games and tournies after I cashed out my bankroll for a holiday over new years. Unfortunately this drop down in limits hasn’t been going so well and I consistently find myself struggling to get motivated at levels I feel I’ve already “conquered” in the past. A typical session for me is something along the lines of:

1. Start patiently win a small pot or two.
2. Go card dead, fold patiently.
3. Hit a big hand, raise preflop and overplay it stupidly.
4. Curse my opponent for playing so “badly”. “How could he call with A7o after I haven’t raised a hand in the past two orbits?” – That kind of thing.
5. Finish the session down 10 to 20 big bets.
6. Repeat.

Not the attitude I know and I’m annoyed with myself for playing like this but for some reason or another it’s a routine I seem to have fallen into.

It’s hurting my already lower than usual bankroll which isn’t helping my low limit tilting.

Not really sure what to do at this stage, maybe it’s time to go back to basics, back to what brought me success at these levels a year or two ago… Problem is that I’m just not sure if I remember how!

1. Get money in ahead.
2. Lose.
3. Repeat.

That’s basically how I’ve either been crippled or bombed out of my last 5 or so SNG’s. Some examples:

:Kc: vs :Qs: – All in preflop, he turns a straight and I’m crippled.

:2d: vs :4c: – Flopped set and end up all-in vs a gut shot straight draw that gets there.

:9s: vs :Jd: – Flopped trips, opponent turns the straight.

and the old :Ac: hand that I told you about before.

Don’t worry, despite the past couple of posts I’m not going to start turning this blog into a “bad beat” whinge fest. I don’t even really like the term bad beat for most of these examples. It’s just getting frustrating when I’m trying to build my bankroll back up and I get my money in ahead only to be repeatedly screwed by lady luck.

I know it will turn around.

Hopefully the formula from here on out can be:

1. Get money in ahead.
2. Win.

At least sometimes?

It’s the old $4+$0.40 180 player no-limit hold’em SNG over on PokerStars. I have an above average stack of around 20K, blinds are 300/600 with a 50 chip ante.

It’s the bubble.

Now like most of these tournaments there’s no real money on offer until the final table and even then not until around 5th place. Places 10-18 pay only $8.64 which is hardly worth the time you invest into one of these. Given that information, when you’re dealt:

:Ac:

In the big blind and the small blind player who’s just recently joined the table and has you covered with about 33K in chips raises it up to 3000 after one limper what do you do?

I went through the options:

1. Fold. This seems weak but will almost guarantee me at least some money. My thinking though is this isn’t the kind of play that’s going to get me into that top 5 at the final table.
2. Call. Nah, I don’t want to put myself into any tricky situations post flop this hand.
3. Raise. Sounds logical, how much? Well, I want to get rid of that other caller (though the action so far has probably taken care of that). I’m thinking up to about 9000. That only leaves me with 11K behind though in what would be a 18K pot plus ante’s. I’m probably going to be all-in this hand if I do this. So…
4. All-In? Sounds good, I can take down an already decent sized pot right here and if he calls he’s way behind.

So I push and am very surprised when he calls and then very happy when he shows:

:Ks:

then very mad when the flop is:

:2s:

I don’t improve and I go out in 19th.

So, tell me. Do you bubble here too? Even if I don’t push pre-flop I don’t see myself getting away from that pot with that hand on that flop. I don’t even think I’m supposed to be able to… Am I?

Thought I was dead didn’t you?

Well, surprise! I’m not dead, I just haven’t been playing much poker. In fact from about my last post in August ‘07 until the 1st of Jan ‘08 I played approximately 500 hands (give or take) which earlier in the year would have been equivalent to a small session after work. Effectively I’d stopped playing all together.

So why haven’t I been playing? Was it the UIEGA? No, that wouldn’t make sense, I’m not American and apart from drying up a few of the online fish ponds it hasn’t affected me. Perhaps I was scared off by the recent cheating scandals or the fear of being overrun by bots? While these are certainly issues worth keeping in mind, nothing I’ve seen so far has made me want cash out and leave the world of online poker. If anything the strong backlash on these issues throughout the poker blog community has reassured me that the people trying to cheat us out of out hard earned will be tracked down and exposed.

It might surprise you that the real reason I haven’t been playing is actually a happy one, I’ve met someone and she’s pretty special! My focus simply shifted from spending my free time swapping chips on the online felt to spending as much of my spare time as possible with her and I’ve been having a ball. In fact I even cashed out the majority of my online bankroll to fund a trip with her to Perth at the start of this year. It was awesome and also the first time I’d really used my poker winnings to do something meaningful. Good, good times.

New year though and I’ve been feeling the itch to get back to the tables, been playing a bit on the 6Max limit hold’em tables at reduced limits due to my smaller bankroll with the aim of building things up again just like I did before. I’m a little rusty however and down slightly for the month to date. Some of this is due to some very poor play on my part which I might share with you in another post, I feel I’m on top of my mistakes though so it should all come back to me soon. I’ve also been playing some low limit SNG’s where I’m enjoying more success.

So, I’m back (I think I’ve said that before) and even though I don’t really like new years resolutions as they generally don’t last past March I do have a few:

1. Ride my bike to work and back daily and get fit – OK, not poker related but it’s important to me and I’m proud to say I’ve ridden every work day this year and am feeling great.
2. Try to time my poker sessions to when they are most profitable. That is when I’m awake, in the right mood, have the time to spare and if possible during the peak online poker hours (Unfortunately these are approx 9am ’til 4pm local time – GMT +9.5 – which is when I’m at work but if I can get a few hands in these hours on the weekends it would be good).
3. Related to #2, build my bankroll back up to where it was mid ‘07 and start cashing out more reguarly (even if it’s just for a carton of beer I’d like to feel like my poker is actually achieving something more than just ticking over numbers on the screen – it makes the money real and should help my discipline).
   
4. Blog. This site was originally meant for me to write down some of the thoughts flowing through my mind about my play, strategies, etc. I find when I write stuff down it can help make it clearer, I want to get back to that this year.
5. This one may be tough but I’d like to start up an online poker league for Australian (and those in timezones nearby or who like to stay up late) bloggers where we can get together and player a regular game similar to those that are run over in the U.S. I need to do some more research into this though and if anyone has any ideas or suggestions please let me know.

Phew, some hard ones and some easy ones, it’s a good thing I enjoy a challenge. I’m looking forward to letting you all know how I do.

Have you seen the new HellKat sit and go tournaments over at Party Poker? They are just like regular SNG’s only they have a maximum time which the game can last (5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes at this stage though the filters in the client hint that there may be longer games to come), at the end of which the prize pool is divided up amongst the top 3 chip stacks. As an added twist some of the games have a random finishing time (within 10% of the scheduled finishing time) that make it more difficult to predict how many hands you have remaining.

My initial thought on these games is “what a crap shoot” with most of the tournaments I’ve been watching quickly turning into all-in fests. However, it does seem there could be some interesting strategies to be tried. Especially in the later stages of the game. I’ve only played in one so I’ll reserve judgment on the idea as a whole until I’ve researched things a bit more, in the meantime consider this final hand from the HellKat tournament I just played in:

Let me set the scene, there are five players remaining:

SB has 670
BB has 5,160
I’m UTG with 3,720
UTG+1 has 7,730
and the button has 2,720

Blinds are 150/300 but that is almost completely irrelevant as the HellKat timer is at 14:45 and this is a fixed time tournament capped at 15 minutes. This is our last hand.

The cards are dealt and I find:

:Kd:

What do you do here?

With my timer already beeping and all eyes on me I quickly consider the current state of the game, my options, my opponents likely moves and how this all affects me and my money chances. I do all this in the few scarce seconds you get to think in these things and then I fold. As the play moves around the table I double check the numbers in my head, I think I got this right…

1. I’m third. The only way this can change is if the current first or second place player doubles up fourth place in this hand.
2. First place will not play this hand as fourth place is going all-in regardless and if first loses he’s back to second.
3. Second place will not call the all-in as a loss will put him out of the money.
4. Since fourth has to push to have any chance of making the money and since I’m around 60/40 give or take against most random hands here it’s a big gamble to try and grab second place.

I’m convinced in this specific situation that folding is correct (and should have been done blind, though AK made it that much more interesting) however, if fourth and fifth place have more than 1860 in chips (half my stack) each here I have to play and in that case we would have been all-in preflop and I would have had a race on my hands for a chance at second place or nothing! That’s what these tournaments can come down to and while it’s interesting to try and run these scenarios in your head while under pressure at the table as the final minute ticks by on a clock it remains to be seen whether or not this type of game suits my style.

As far as a way to kill a quick 15 minutes goes though I can think of worse things to do.

Oh, by the way… the board after fourth and fifth place played the dead rubber of a final hand:

:9d: :9c:

I’d have rivered the win and taken second. C’est la vie!

A week after I took second in my first NPL appearance tonight I again made the final table. Unfortunately due to a pretty cold run of cards I was only there for one hand, all-in on my big blind, where my K7o got beaten by an ace. But still… final table! Gotta count for something?

Pretty boring tournament overall, didn’t get too fancy with many hands and was card dead for a long time with a short-medium stack stuck in between a couple of monster stacks so didn’t have much room to move (hence hitting the final table with one big blind!). Still, was a fun night and I did manage to play a couple of interesting hands, for example:

UTG+1 I’m dealt:

:As:

UTG folds and I raise 3xBB to 300. I have around 4000 in chips and everyone else is around a average on 2000-2500. Everyone folds to the button who calls as does the big blind. The flop comes:

:Jc:

The big blind checks, I bet 1000 which is pretty much pot. The button folds and the big blind pushes all-in for another 1500 chips.

Damn.

The pot is 3000, it’s 1500 to call and I know nothing about this player though earlier this evening I’ve seen some crazy play and I think that may have influenced my eventual decision. I can fold aces here, if I think about it there are very few hands I can beat. Somehow I convinced myself that for 1500 more the chances that he was playing a queen were good enough and I called. Of course he turned over:

:7h:

I didn’t improve and was back to 1500 in chips. I repeat, I can fold aces here. I should have thought longer about my situation and then mucked those aces face up, it would have given me a whole lot of bluffing equity I could have used when those cards went dead. Ah well, next time maybe?

The next hand was a strange one… blinds were 300/600 and I was in the big blind with around 2500 in chips after posting. UTG calls, it’s folded to the small blind who completes and I check:

:5s:

The flop comes something like:

:3c:

Everyone checks.

The turn is:

Everyone checks.

The river comes:

And it’s checked to UTG who bets 2500. The small blind folds and I take a look at the UTG player. We’ve been sitting next to each other for a while, actually we started at the same table and were moved to this table at the same time. He seems nervous. I couldn’t tell you exactly what it was, in the end it was just gut feel… he was weak or bluffing. I called with my 7d and he turned over:

:4d:

For the smaller flush and I took down the pot.  That one felt good and was probably the reason I made the final table at all… I think I’ll be back next week and try to go deep again. It may be a free roll but it’s fun!

… It was a freeroll.

Still reading? Good! I live in Adelaide, Australia and legal live games are nearly impossible outside of the casino and the home game scene and I doubt I’m being invited to the right home game as the best I’ve found so far is a 50c/$1 game that grandma usually cleans up in.

ANYWAY.

Tonight I played in the “National Poker League” (NPL – www.npl.com.au) at my local pub, the Bridgeway hotel in Pooraka. The NPL is one of at least three poker leagues that are running free rolls in pubs around Australia. I haven’t really done my research but as far as I can tell this is a recent phenomena in my home state of South Australia and for the past month or so the NPL has been running games at pubs across my local map. Tonight was a Wednesday and as my luck would have it my local (the afore mentioned Bridgeway Hotel on Bridge Rd in Pooraka – No sponsorship though if they read this I do love free beer) was running the next NPL game starting at 7:30pm. Having nothing else on I decide to do the old pop-in and see what the go was.

Registration was easy, rock up from an hour before the game and sign up (alternatively you can sign up on-line before your first event and save the hassle of filling out a form). It’s free and for your name and contact details you receive an NPL membership card (plastic – good quality – to be used for registration at other NPL events) and two “drink cards” each of which you can get stamped whenever you buy a drink or meal at the bar. Four stamps before the first tournament break and you earn yourself an extra $500 in chips. If you want my advice, come in early and grab a meal… that will net you at least 3 or 4 stamps and the next card can be filled up with a couple of pints. Most others will have the extra $1000 so it’s worth grabbing from the first hand if you want to have the average chip stack.

So enough of the free plug… if anyone is still reading this blog you’re probably wondering how I did? The answer is surprisingly well, I entered expecting a quick game with a steep structure and I was right… $1500 in starting chips before the drink card add-ons and blinds starting at $25/$50 and pretty much doubling every 15 minutes. It’s a fast structure but it’s free. Not what I’d call ideal but for the price you can’t complain.

First hand of the night after seats have been “assigned” on a first come first served basis and the button decided on a high card deal UTG I’m dealt:

:Qd:

First hand, first to act and not knowing what to expect I consider my options. I decide it’s the perfect chance to see what I’m up against and I make the standard play by raising it up 3XBB to $75 and get a couple of callers. The flop comes:

:Ac: (or something to that effect)

TPTK And I bet pot. A player (Mick) who I’ve made friends with earlier over a pint at the bar calls and we’re heads up after the only other opposition folds.

The turn is a blank and I check. I’m conflicted here however as half of me is expecting my new friend to my left to put me to the test and bet regardless of his hand but at the same time I’m considering that really he could just be a guy in the bar who usually drinks on a Wednesday but now wants to play poker. No reads, first hand, he could have anything. I’m being cautious….

He checks behind me.

This is no tricky play, at this moment I have no doubt I am ahead. Then reality sets in, I just gave the guy a free card. I have got to stop doing that (not talking specifically about this hand or this tournament… it’s been bugging me generally that I’ve recently gotten into the habit of either not putting my opponents on a hand or giving them too much credit for a trap and checking to them to give them a freebie… it’s gotta stop!) On this occasion though I was saved the the turn brought the:

I bet out about half the pot in with the intention of value and took down the first pot of the night with my AQ vs his AJ. Closer than I thought but I was happy to win the first one… I don’t care who you are this always has to put a smile on your face!

From there the first round was all about learning and what I learnt quickly was that my opponents were all generally weak passive. In the whole first round I was the only one to raise pre-flop and that was on the hand I just described! I mean players had aces in the hole twice in that first round and both failed to raise… both lost. Both whinged. Me, I just shut my mouth, ordered another beer from Rachel the cute bartender who I claimed to my table had been serving me lucky pints all night and proceeded to try and blend in with the crowd. This was a freeroll at a pub within walking distance of my house… I’m going to have fun goddamit!

The fun philosophy was certainly working when at the end of the first round I was dealt KK in what ended up being a four way pot on a board of:

:Ad:

With one player all-in, a dry side pot and two other live players I briefly considered trying to start something on the side but decided tournament wise I was already in a good position (at this point I had all of my table well covered in chips) and ended up checking it down. I won, TT vs 55 vs JT after a turn and river that didn’t help anyone I’d claimed my first scalp and the first person to be knocked out from our table.

After sharing a piss in the break with a guy called Phil who claimed that he “knew I had KK in that final hand when I reached for chips but didn’t bet after the two aces fell” I decided two things… one no more urinating next to players at my table and two, given the fact this was a freeroll and that I was now the big stack at the table no more giving off tells that even Phil could pick up.

I played one hand between the first break and the second break. I lost. I had 33 and bet pot on the river against 2 others. The board had been paired since the flop with jacks and I folded instantly after a raise from a late position player who had been passive up until that point. The size of the raise was irrelevant, no doubt in my mind he had the jack… I only wish a three had come on the river :)

After the third break I had dropped back to average stack for the tournament and a few new players had joined my table. Realistically I had one hand left before where my chips might actually be taken seriously. I was the big blind and it had been folded around to the small blind who called. I checked with:

:2d:

Doyles hand! The flop came:

:Th:

The SB bet out a little less than the pot. He was a new player at the table and for some reason I decided to be stubborn and refuse to put him on the ace. I raised all-in for $1500 more than his stack (and less than the current pot) and he called. I knew I was in trouble and he turned over:

:9c:

To leave me drawing as good as dead. He won the pot and I was left with $1500 with the blinds at $500/$1000. Needless to say the very next hand I ended up all-in against the big blind with 89s vs JTo. I won and doubled up. I doubled up once more and was average again (repeat: steep structure) and ended up playing the short stack well enough (with the assistance of some good short stack starting hands) to take down my table and head into the final table as near enough joint chip leader) over around $25000 in chips (apologies for the lack of detail in that little run but a combination of no breaks and much beer rendered my note taking ability near useless). Being the final table things changed from the previous table deals themselves structure to the tournament director dealing… I asked him how many chips were in play at the final table and he answered “about $60000, give or take”. I was chip leader! Though the blinds were $3000/$6000 and about to jump tp $5000/$10000. Can’t complain though ‘cos another guy at the final table had Around $15000 and the rest was shared amongst 7 short stacks. I liked my odds even though it was a gamble.

Things happened fast.

Very fast.

Couldn’t even tell you too many hands, short stacks were all-in on their blinds and being busted out all over the place. Before I knew it we were 3 handed.

Let me set the picture, blinds $5000/$10000… 3 handed. I’m chip leader but there’s only $60000 in play. If we see a show down at this point we’re all-in. Blinds go back and forth and we’re as good as even. Heads up starts after a hand I wasn’t involved in… not much vs not much else… I think middle pair won. Heads up finishes a hand later when in the big blind I check Q7o after my opponent calls, the flop comes:

:Th:

I push, for what has to be about the pot. My oppenent calls with the diamond flush draw that makes it on the turn. I take second place out of over 50 entries and win a $25 voucher for the pub and a deck of cards for my troubles… Guess what though? It’s not about the prize… this was a freeroll. This was about having fun playing poker! I’ve not smiled so much after a poker game in a long time… great bunch of players, a well run tournament, within walking distance of my house… I’m there next week! I had a great time and was inspired to post to the blog for the first time in a few months.

Tonight was about what I really love about poker, the social aspect. No one cared tonight about bad beats, pot odds or the like. I shook the hand of everyone at my table that got knocked out whether I was in the pot or not and each one of them smiled and shook my hand back. Tonight was about playing for the fun of it, getting new players into the game and it was fun! In my books fun beats money any day of the week… especially Wednesdays. See you there next week!

Reading Opponents

One thing I’ve been working on recently is reading my on-line opponents. Obviously I’m not talking about shaky hands or how my opponents eat their Oreos, physical tells don’t exist on-line. I’m talking about things like how passive or aggressive my opponents are, their betting patterns and any other interesting bits of information I might get from seeing them play (e.g. do they slow play monster hands, do they bet their big draws).

Keeping track of all this inside your head can be tough, sure you’ll remember certain players and hands but there’s no way most players are going to be able to keep track of the thousands of players they face over the months or years of play. The good news is there are a range of tools at your disposal to help keep track of this information, here’s what I use:

Poker Tracker

This essential application will keep track of all your on-line ring and tournament game play. I’m not going to go into detail here (the benefits of tracking your game with apps like Poker Tracker (PT) are well documented across the ‘net) but I will say that if you’re serious about playing on-line and you’re not yet using any kind of tracking software you’re missing out on leaning a lot about your game.

GameTime+

This little utility interfaces with your PT database to provide information on your opponents while you are playing in the form of stats overlayed on the table. You can configure GameTime+ (GT+) to display any of the wide range of stats that PT tracks, here’s my configuration:

• Voluntarily Put Money In The Pot % (VP$IP)
• Pre-Flop Raise % (PFR)
• Post-Flop Aggression Factor (PFA)
• Went To Showdown % (WSD)

Along with the icon assigned by PT and the players name. There’s a great article on how these numbers should be interpreted here:

http://www.bet-the-pot.com/poker-tracker-part3-page37.html

Well worth a read if you’ve never examined these statistics in the past.

Player Notes

Player notes are a feature provided by most on-line poker rooms and are a great way to keep track of:

1. The overall rating of the player based on stats (e.g. Loose-Aggressive/Passive for someone who is loose and aggressive pre-flop but passive post-flop). This allows me to pick good seats at tables before I sit down and fire up GT+.
2. Anything I feel sets this player apart from others in that category (e.g. “May slowplay top pair heads up” or “Willing to cap flop betting on a strong draw”).

I always make sure that I’m continually updating player notes as I learn new information or something that I had inferred from an opponents previous play is contradicted by something new (in this case I may make a note that a player is smarter and less predictable than average which would alert me to watch closely how they are playing that day).

Putting It All Together

So, you’ve been tracking players with PT, can see their stats in GT+ and you have all your player notes up to date. How should all this affect your game? The unfortunate answer to this question is that (like most things in poker) “it depends”. It depends on the hand, the stats and your general feel for a situation. I like to use these tools to verify something that I’m already thinking, if I’m getting bet into post-flop by a player who is usually extremely passive post flop then I can more easily throw my marginal hands away. If in this same situation my opponent is ultra aggressive post flop (indicating a lot of bluffs or continuation bets) I might decide to re-raise and see where I’m really at.

I’ve played a couple of hands recently where the information I’ve had on my opponents has directly influenced the decisions I made making me do things that I would not usually do against random opponents.

The first hand was at low stakes 6 handed limit hold’em table, I was on the button and had been dealt:

:Qc:

A player with stats of 60% VP$IP and 33% PFR raised from middle position and it was folded to me. I re-raised, which is standard play with queens on the button so nothing interesting so far.

Then, to my surprise, the player in the big blind (a player I had flagged as Loose-Passive/Passive with stats of VP$IP 41% but only a PFR of 1.6%) capped the betting. Alarm bells started going off in my head, here was a player who practically never raises pre-flop capping the betting. I couldn’t help feeling my queens might be in trouble.

The original raiser calls and I call since I’m getting great odds. We see the flop:

:4h:

Now, usually I would like this flop for queens (as much as you can like a flop with an over card on it) but with that cap on the flop I’m not so sure they’re good. What can you put a player that passive on when he caps pre-flop? AA, AK, KK and maybe QQ are what came to my mind at that point.

I was surprised however when the action was checked to me. Of course I bet, maybe all that pre-flop action was just an anomaly? Well both players call and at that point I feel so sure that the BB is beating me. The third player in the pot doesn’t concern me much, he’s usually aggressive and would have bet any made hand. He might have hearts but ace high is more likely. So we see the turn:

Totally irrelevant, except for some crazy straight and the action is checked to me again. This is where the stats and my feel changed my normal play, I’m normally betting again here but I really think I’m beat. Given the unusual pre-flop aggression from the BB I feel I might be being trapped here and elect to just check and see the river:

Another straight card but I’ve all but discounted that possibility (the maniac could play A5 but since I thought I was already beat on the turn it’s irrelevant). The BB player now bet causing the maniac to fold and leaving me getting 8.5 to 1 on a call where I really felt I was beat. The odds coupled with the fact that I decided he had to bet even if I was wrong about the hand (there’s a difference between you’re beat and knowing it) made me call and he turned over:

:Kc:

For a set of kings on the flop. I happily mucked my queens knowing I’d lost (nearly) the minimum. Sure, slowing down with queens after a lot of action and an overcard is no super poker move, but the truth is that if I was up against any other style of player I would have lost more on this hand by betting the turn and likely at least calling the inevitable raise setting myself up for more pain on the river.

The second hand was in the same type of game, against different opponents. The unique thing about this hand is that the player in the small blind had the following stats:

• VP$IP = 80%
• PFR% = 55%
• PFA > 7
• WTSD = 70%

In general a maniac.

The action is folded around to me where in the cut off I have been dealt:

:Ts::9s:

Perhaps not the best hand to play against this type of player, but I felt I wanted to see the flop. Since I didn’t really want the player on the button to hang around I felt a raise was in order, so I raised and just to be annoying the button called anyway (he had a VP$IP of 55% also so it shouldn’t have surprised me too much). Our maniac in the SB re-raised (this was not at all surprising or scary and didn’t narrow down his holdings too much – he probably has at least one high card or a pocket pair) and the big blind folded. I called and we saw the flop:

:8s:

I like this flop. I want to play this flop aggressively. The SB maniac bets – which he does on every flop – and I re-raise. The button called (unexpected, he’s hit something I’m just hoping it’s not a better flush draw). The SB re-re-raises which makes me think he’s at least got a pair (he’s crazy but not crazy enough to think he’s going to bluff out two opponents especially when I’ve been playing the hand so aggressively so far) and I decide to cap in a last ditch effort to get the button out. The button calls and we see the turn:

And once again the turn is where my play differs from normal. The 4s is a great card and usually I’d expect my opponents to slow down when it comes but in this case the SB bet, I raised, button called, SB re-raised, I capped and they both called.

I would never play the non-nut flush this way against any opponent I respected. At this point I have no doubt the SB has an ace and at the time I was thinking A8 or A3. The button on the other hand is a bit of a mystery, I was now thinking that he might have a set of 3’s or 8’s. Of course spades were possible but unless he had the king I felt he would have re-raised the turn. Maybe he’s just sticking around in because the pot is so large, either that or he’s making a very smart play by letting the SB bet for him. I decide I can’t be scared of a higher flush and my plan is only to slow down if a fourth spade drops. The river:

And the SB and I cap it again (with the button coming along for the ride). The button turned over A6o and earnt himself a player note “can’t fold a pair of aces” ;) and the maniac SB turned over AJo for a better than expected holding but still a crazy play.

So there you have it, two examples of changing play based on opponent stats and reads. The first where I played a hand very passively that I would usually play aggressively and the second where I played hyper-agressively with a non-nut hand that I would usually slow down with against similar action from any other style of player.

If you don’t already, get hold of the programs I’ve mentioned here (or their equivalents) and start tracking your opponents. You’ll be surprised at just how useful this information can really be!