-15 buy-in downswing / recovery

So one day (last Friday) I decided to play poker and poker Gods decided to deprive me of whatever little poker intelligence that I had. Results: Worst session evah! 511 hands 21/17/4 -$555.2 -54.32 PTBB

It all started with this mild bad beat:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377529 AQ Reraised pot top pair

Next in line
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377528 KQ Opponent was an avid 3-bettor preflop that's the only reason I called and then I flopped those stupid 2 pairs

From there on I lost my ability to play sanely. Such as this:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377527 ATd FAIL

And this
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377525 JJ Not as bad as the previous hand but I snap-shoved this preflop

And this
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377526 AK Probably standard

Finally I decided to quit after this hand
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377530 65d I got extra outs on turn, but it became HOTW material for my opponent.

Saturday. Longest session evah, as I tried to atone for my tilty Friday session. 4282 hands 20/13/2.8 -$74.45 -0.87 PTBB. Hands are listed chronologically

It started of extremely well:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377532 KK Opponent must be thinking: "Does he have top pair? Maybe he does have trips. Now no way he has quads."
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377533 KK Flopped Ace turned out to be innocuous

And then this hand happens
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377534 42d HOTW. For my opponent. I didn't like him very much, and I thought playing 200BB deep would slow him down, but instead he pwned me good

The wheels fell apart quickly
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377535 QQ ABC opponent, stacked
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377536 T9s What the hell was that turn bet? "When in doubt shove" didn't work here
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377537 53d Looked like a combo draw
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377538 ATh No reads at the time. Opponent turned out to be squeaky tight
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377539 85c One of many failed bluffs on this night. No one would fold top pair for me

At this point I bottomed out at -9 buy-ins. Finally some positives happened -- I caught some hands and ran into some donkeys
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377541 KK
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377542 AJ Brutal turn sexy river brutal opponent

And then I decided that I have to bluff off another stack
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377543 AQh Reraised pot, had a few outs, but at the end it was smash head against wall time

Luckily that was last debacle of the night. Things were all rosy from here on. I managed to earn $400 stacks on 2 tables and $200+ stacks on 3 others just when I was about the quit:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377544 JJ I thought the extra large reraise meant he wanted a fold.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377545 QQ Tough situation for otherwise decent opponent
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377546 KK Letting opponent hang himself
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377547 AKh Nice hand nice pot
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377548 65s Botton pair+FD didn't get there, which was a good thing.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377549 44 No one would fold top pair for me on this night. Good thing here.

And finally a productive session tonight (Monday): 1687 hands, 19/12/3.4, $732.10, 21.70 PTBB/100. And I was 8-tabling, too. 4 more than what I usually play.

Even though results were good I played quite scared tonight. At one table there were 2 really aggro players trying to run over me with preflop reraises EVERY SINGLE TIME. And then there was nutshot2 making plays at me at 2 of my tables. What did I do to you? Why do you have to target me?

Stacking events. These are all good:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377512 KK vs 2 players, one of which was a donk
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377513 JJ Standard cooler

And at this table SSDEX and Cookeman were taking turns trying to run over me. At one point I was playing so tentative that I folded KJs UTG and folded AT on the button. In any event I got the last laugh against SSDEX. Twice:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377510 QQ "Perhaps he's got AK instead"
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377511 KK "Perhaps he's really got AK this time"

Finally, some adventures against the MTT master:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377516 44 Standard, he couldn't outdraw me
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377514 AK I was saying byebye to my 1.5 buy-ins when I saw my hand fail to improve on the river.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/377515 99 I had a decent bluff-catcher

Most memorable hands from 2007

10 hands from NL100 full ring

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/291498 QTh River didn't change anything. But it looked so sick.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307741 33 I put him on a flush draw. I was dead wrong. But I won.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306431 77 LOL in 5-way pot
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305863 64h Excellent extraction against skeptical opponent
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305322 T9d Chaser got what he deserved
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/319419 T8h Reraising a trapper preflop, good turn
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/309403 72 Big blind special against idiot
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290724 QQ Tight opponent decided to play trash at the wrong time.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/291498 JJ Reraised pot LOL
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/288064 44 Well planned delayed bluff

10 hands from NL100 6-max
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342179 66 Excellent bluff countering his turn pot-control/river value-bet line
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344094 85d Timely preflop deception got me a stack from a solid ABC opponent
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/309011 77 Very sick set-up, I needed a suckout and got it
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346284 KQh Cool pot with quads
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346580 75h Can't fold on sexy turn
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/348505 AKh LOLOL
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/345331 AKd Good flop
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342180 65s Didn't think villain was thrilled
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/347768 TT I managed to get my opponent's 150BB stack in this unraised pot
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342191 AQd Lletting my opponent hang himself

Played like a retard, Jan 28 2008

Played 2 session on Monday. Didn't have my A-game on either session. Lucky to be up overall.

Afternoon ~800 hands stats missing +$200+
Evening 973 hands 21/14/2.8 -$175

Afternoon. I was doing all kinds of retarded stuff like this:

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372589 T9s Thought I could push this nit off his overpair

And this
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372591 72 nuff said

And this
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372592 QQ

I was up a bunch only because I stacked this standard TAG Ace Merrill 3 times. Even though I pwned him on this day I still won't want to play with him again:

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372603 AQ When he snap-called me PF I thought I was in trouble, but I flopped good.

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372605 33 Didn't make me feel glorious, but I am never embarrassed to show down the winning hand

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372608 AA He was extremely fed up with me after I pushed him off with a 4-bet AI PF another hand, not long after the 33 miracle, but here I flopped good already with the goods.

Evening. Had a few run-ins w/ fellow LPer JBalkenede

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372260 AQd Easy fold PF until megafish got involved. Flop was good enough for me to hang myself.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372261 AK Full-o-sheit line, only slightly better than a coin-flip vs 7-high
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372263 AK Probably standard

Two other hands:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372259 98s Totally butcher this. I checked turn in order to represent a smaller PP testing the waters on the flop, and hope that he would fire again with a big PP
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/372262 AA bvb Standard against semibad player

Facebook poker disaster / Pokerstars success

A week ago I was bragging about my success in facebook poker, how I got myself 100 million chips and sold them for real money.

Well, times have changed. I have sold off maybe 60 million chips for like $3k. The remaining chips......I lost everything. Well, almost. I still have 1 million left. Yup. 1 million.

The "high stakes" games were set up so that most players only buy in with 10 big blinds so basically for me it was a preflop all-in fest w/ a range of like A5+, any PP and KQ.

When I first emerged from the scene people were unable to cope with my style and called my PFAIs w/ trailing hands like A-rag and small broadways. However as people started to know me better they adjust, they trap, and they bank their winnings (hit and run and rebuy for the minimum).

Those, coupled by tilty plays, bad luck and me playing underrolled, lead to me falling off the chart in a hurry.I've enjoyed the moments of glory and fame. Now it's back to business. I can't foresee myself spending any more significant time at facebook poker.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday at pokerstars was productive, as I recorded 2 winning sessions in 6max NL100. There were many circumstances where I could play tidier, especially preflop. Nevertheless, I can live with ~$800 in winnings.

Session stats

PM 1332 hands 22/14/2.4 $284.30 10.67 PTBB/100
Eve 2012 hands 20/11/2.9 $678.85 16.87 PTBB/100

Afternoon hands:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371412 AKc Opponent limped-4bet preflop, but I flopped the King, so I was in.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371413 65c Can I just shrug this off?......
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371414 AA I thought my preflop 4-bet was big enough
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371415 JJ Good flop but I lost my discipline when I needed it
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371416 TT I probably had more suckouts for than against on this day
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371417 AQc Feeble play turned out to be correct
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371418 86c Check flop behind?
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371419 A8s The stars aligned during this hand
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371420 75s Semi-hero call

Evening hands:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371591 42h Why bother why bother why bother
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371592 55 He sent me on tilt just by playing solid
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371596 44 Blind vs aggro button, he thought briefly and called. Wish I didn't need help =/
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371597 44 Another blind vs button confrontation. My initial reraise was way too big, and I was lucky to successfully make my aggro opponent fold after he stuck in almost half his stack.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371598 97s stone-cold bluff
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371599 A7d Correct read allowed me to get it in with a weak pair.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371600 64d Okay to call the small preflop reraise?
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371606 T9s SHIIIIIIIIIIIP
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371607 AA The entire table was trying to destroy this megadonk
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371608 AK I think he put me on AA and tried to represent a King himself
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371610 AT Nice pot
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/371611 AK So I trapped the guy who was really aggro......or did I?

I didn't forget

On December 30 2007 01:12 I wrote:
......Just when I thought I was God's gift to poker I played one of the worst sessions ever on Friday. Detailed stats are missing coz I was playing at my work PC and left the office in disgust after my last debacle without emailing those history files to myself. But I promise I'll eventually post those hands, so that you can either 1) laugh at me or 2) offer me advices if you're kind enough, and I can revisit those hands and try to learn from the mistakes.......

Here they are:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368149 QQ Unnecessary crying call
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368148 KJh Trapped
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368147 AK Successfully bluffing off my stack
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368146 99 I really don't know about this one
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368145 65h Bvb Nightmare on a good-looking flop
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368144 K9s Coolered
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368143 63h Why even bother preflop

Diamonds in the rough:

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368152 KK Did my flop min-c/r make me look like I was FOS?
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368151 99 Unsuccessful trapper
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368152 K9h Good flop against a fish

Hands from the past 2 days

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368134 77 Against a really aggro opponent
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368136 76c I think this is the 1st time EVER that I pull an overbet bluff
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368137 88 Set, bad turn against enthusiastic donk, couldn't fold, not thrilled
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368132 J9s Correct read on my part. His c/r was on the big side, I decided he was on a draw, so I time-called flop and snap-called turn. Unfortunately I wasn't rewarded.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368131 TT Didn't know where things went wrong, comments appreciated
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368128 AA I haven't done squat at the table and this monkey still decided to make a move.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368126 88 Bvb vs aggro opponent
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/368089 83 LOL I was sick and tired of Marshall reraising me every single time, so I decided to make a move. And then things took a really weird twist......

Move up plan on hold

......because I just destroyed another session of casino blackjack.

None of those $100 and only 2 of the $50s were in my wallet yesterday afternoon.

I'm a Doctor!

I passed my thesis defense on Friday. It was surprisingly easy. Best day of my life.

For those interested in my work, please refer to this wikipedia entry. Some random people wrote an article regarding my research field and cited my publication as an example (Reference 3)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CH_activation

So how did I celebrate?
Answer: By moving up multiple levels in stakes

I lost like $700 playing 2/4 and 3/6 (full ring) on Friday. But it was still the best day in my life. Recovered like 400 tonight playing 2/4

I swear these high stake tables are anything but rock gardens. Every session I recognize at least 1 fish per table.Somehow I didn't feel too motivated, either. I couldn't take full advantage on either day.

I also played some casino blackjack earlier today. Bought in for $100, mostly $10 per hand, counting cards attentively, adjusting bet-sizes and deviating from basic strategy when necessary. I was up $1300 at one point. Eventually lost a bunch at craps, left with $850. Can't complain too much.

Boom!

To all who think I am a bankroll nit. Yes I am. I've tried move up before and can't help but feel like I'm playing with scared money.

***************

Just when I thought I was God's gift to poker I played one of the worst sessions ever on Friday. Detailed stats are missing coz I was playing at my work PC and left the office in disgust after my last debacle without emailing those history files to myself. But I promise I'll eventually post those hands, so that you can either 1) laugh at me or 2) offer me advices if you're kind enough, and I can revisit those hands and try to learn from the mistakes.

I did more than recover those monies today, played all right -- just slightly better than opponents.

Fri pm 3700+ hands ??/?? -$600+
Sat pm 825 hands 16/10 $420.85 +25.51 PTBB/100
Sat eve 843 hands 18/10 $417.95 +24.79 PTBB/100

My 100NL 6-max PT Stats now looks like this: 18k hands, +$4072, +11.2 PTBB/100. Don't know how much the Friday disasters will affect those glorious numbers.

Afternoon hands, sorted by entertainment value:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/347776 88 Villain thought he caught his 2-outer
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/347766 93d BB special every street played perfectly
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/347768 TT I thought opponent was a good TAG. Until this.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/347761 AQh Villain made the same move w/ JTs and 97 before, so I thought my call was automatic.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/347762 55 Can't see another way to play this
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/347764 99 Poorly played; I can't see myself calling that extra 56 if I was villain
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/347770 KK Standard

Evening hands are more entertaining:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/348027 A8h Pwned. Opponent was rather loose preflop, and it's not unlikely he has a 5 (or even a 2) here. I can't see an unimproved PP lead this strong after I bet two streets.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/348026 AK I just want to throw up
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/348024 A7 Against a scared or trappy opponent?
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/348025 74 Trying to get opponent to fold what could be an overpair to the flop
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/348017 QQ Why not CRAI on flop T_T
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/348018 QQ Fuck it
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/348016 QQ ......
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/348021 A8d This opponent has made this move a few times (w/ 50+ BBs) so I looked him up with an excellent draw.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/348019 53s I called PF because SB was really bad

Bankroll approaching 20k

Two 6max sessions
Afternoon 1178 hands 18/12 +$387.05 +16.43 PTBB/100
Night 1910 hands 19/13 -$10.10 -0.26 PTBB/100
Overall 'roll 196xx

Afternoon session. Started out like crap and then took off. Hands:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346278 AQs missed flop reraised pot, "WTF I don't care" call
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346281 A9h Even though villain only had $35ish behind would check-call turn be the superior line?
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346277 A5d Trying to represent AK myself. I thought villain would fold his strong underpairs on the turn for sure. But then he might not have called flop with those hands at first place.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346283 66 Got a stack back soon after the A5d disaster. Don't think villain would have stacked off without seeing that hand.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346284 KQh Everything worked out so beautifully
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346282 87h I had no idea what SB had. But I was sure SB was steaming trying to get to button who sucked out on him earlier. And that I've the nuts if I can beat AA in a raised pot.

Evening. A bit of everything. Played well at times, but good results were negated by some boneheaded plays which happened too frequently tonight. Hands are highly entertaining:

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346578 87 Meh time to defend blinds; at least I improved from a trailing to a racing situation
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346580 75h Raised AI on sexy turn, can't fold. Wow.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346572 AK Villain was sick of all the preflop raising
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346582 JT Not my proudest moment -- 1st level thinking being my downfall. The moment I saw the flop against this loose player I decided I will try to go all-in no matter what.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346583 KK Hideous flop call by donkey
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346584 AQ gg me
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346587 AJ Sick value bet
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346586 A2d Kind of like the A5d hand in the afternoon -- trying to represent what my opponent actually had. But here I had a few real outs.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346585 55 Totally butchered this
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346588 AK Cluuuuuuuuuuuuuuub
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/346590 AA Against a limp-reraiser

6-max was much harder a few months ago

After 2 sessions of uninspiring full ring play, especially on Tuesday when I loss countless small-medium pots getting trapped by nits, I got back to 6 max today. I had a monstrous day.

Results
Mon 12/24 late night FR 372 hands 15/8 +$160.15 +21.53 PTBB/100
Tue 12/25 late night FR 1785 hands 19/10 -$236.95 -6.64 PTBB/100
Wed 12/26 pm 6-max 861 hands 18/13 +$766.35 +44.50 PTBB/100

FR Hands
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344252 KK Stacking superfish #1
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/345365 QQ Suboptimal flop, stacking superfish #2

6-max hands. Excellent opponent selection on this day.

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/345317 85 Flopped deceptive draw in BB vs fish. Didn't get there, and I decided to give up even though I've shown some strength on earlier streets. He called flop with Q8o. WTF
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/345318 J5 Flop TP turned top-2. Value-towning another loose villain who called with 54 (worse 2-pairs).
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/345323 A4h Probably not a very good semibluff despite my tight image at the table. I probably would've bet any big pair on the flop myself. Non-donk villain thought for a while and called w/ QQ, but I rivered the flush (Th) for his stack.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/345325 KQ Playing TP2K for stacks (villain called w/ KJ). Not sure whether my turn check was good.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/345352 AK Committing myself on flop w/ TPTK against donk
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/345330 AQ Same villain as in the 85 hand. He called down w/ K9o. WTF?
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/345327 TT Set against trapper dodging his million outs.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/345331 AKd Good flop. In retrospect I had no idea how to respond if he 3-bet preflop.

Three sessions

Curiously I ran @ 20/13 for all of them. Moneywise not much happened

Sat eve 1179 hands +$62.4 +2.64 PTBB/100
Sun eve 865 hands -$89.2 -5.15 PTBB/100
Mon eve 806 hands +$249.4 +15.47 PTBB/100

Sat hands
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344089 KK Couldn't avoid the inevitable
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342962 TT Loose semibad player made a move on me
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344094 85d I had to request time on the river against this ABC opponent

Sun hands
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344083 AJd Board got better each street, but I had to hesitate before shoving over his river raise (he called w/ A3o)
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344084 A8 Obviously opponent is reckless
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344085 AJd Probably should've shoved flop myself

Mon hands
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344093 88 After getting rag-dolled at this table a few times I exploded against this shortie =(
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344078 77 Pokerstars didn't like me play this too fast
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344072 JJ Flop flat worked out beautifully
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344074 55 Standard set vs overpair
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344077 T8s Somewhat baffled by his raise, but since "when in doubt push" I did just that. Opponent timed and called with 64dd, turn 9 river 9 gg.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344080 Big bluff #1. Stack size / flop bet size perfect for this.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/344076 Big Bluff #2. Against a good in-line reg. There's no way he'd call flop with AK while it's entirely possible that I have AK here. Opponent instant-folded, so while result was awesome a 200BB push was probably excessive. Didn't know whether he would call with a set (TT/QQ).

Successful revisit of 6-max

So I realize that I'm not that good. No problem; I can still run good, which is what happened the past 3 sessions, allowing me to win at 6-max.

Gaudy stats:
Thurs pm 818 hands, 21/13, +$310, 18.93 PTBB/100
Thurs late night 950 hands, 15/9, +$438, 23.05 PTBB/100
Fri pm 2577 hands, 20/13, +$473, 9.18 PTBB/100

Keys to success
-tidy up my preflop play
-find fishes
-avoid marginal situations
-get poker God's help from time to time

Sexy hands:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342177 AQ sick value bet (got called by AT, pot $200+)

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342179 66 I think this was well executed. After he called my flop check-raise I put him on a good overpair like QQ. I assumed he checked turn for pot control, which meant he would flat-call any reasonable river bet, so I tried for the scarier check-raise bluff. Villain thought for a while and then folded, probably putting me on a set, which was not inconsistent with my line.

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342181 88 Poker God saved me here. Opponent called all-in w/ AQd (flush) but river was a King giving me a full house. Probably inevitable coz I don't want to lose value vs AA with a diamond, AdKx, AQ w/ one diamond or even QQ w/ a diamond.

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342188 QQ One of many moderate suckouts that I encountered.

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342191 AQd Didn't like turn board-pair, but regardless I got this overzealous villain to hang himself.

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342235 AA I was befuddled by his lead, which was actually not that strong ($20 into $45 pot). In any event turn was a T, he shoved I called, he had AQ, split-pot. Feels like I was robbed.

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/342180 65s I followed up turn because I thought it's much more likely he called flop with an overpair and now feared the Ace.

2 Sessions + Random Pics

I ran into a lot of trap-happy opponents who like to cold-call preflop raises with big Aces and big pairs. As a result I modified my preflop strategy -- I raised way many more suited connectors/suited crap and way fewer big offsuit cards AQ/AJ/KQ.

I ended up overdoing things -- playing way too many hands -- notice high "Voluntarily put $ into pot" (VP$IP), finding people paying back at my preflop raises, putting myself on tilt, ended up losing a stack with a reckless bluff. Fortunately I was able to stop the bleeding there. I calmed down, tightened up, played some solid poker and got back into the green with a huge cooler against a regular that I respect.

Saturday night I played much tighter than I usually do. The money trend followed a similar course as previous night.

Friday Hands
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/309004 84c A nice little pot and a LOL
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307737 KQ grrr
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307738 K4c Scary action, but it turned out to be truly a BB special
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307740 33 Destroying a nit
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307739 53d Trying to make a play on the same nit. Instead I shipped it all back and then some.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307741 33 LOL best hand of the night. I think we put each other on a flush draw.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307744 99 $. On the other hand, from villain's point of view is bottom set foldable given the action? I guess not against a fishie like me......

Saturday night hands
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/308298 QQ Please kill me
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/308299 52c Well done putting $60+ into the pot while drawing dead
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/308300 JJ How come everybody traps these days?
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/308303 99 Easy fold given the action. I was just wondering whether I should continue-bet that 5-way flop at all.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/308296 33 Candidate for buddy list?
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/308297 T4s Thank you Pokerstars for punishing these stupid trapping nits

Random pics

My slick new iPod. I'm loving it.


Autumn tree



Fallen leaves


Street view


(Hot) beer to be disposed of

A lame day, kind of......

2 sessions today. Similar stats. I was hoping to dominate. Instead I won. So it didn't feel that great. Especially when a few sets got destroyed today. Tough to maintain composure when that happens. I tried really hard not to go on tilt, and it was mostly successful.

Afternoon hands are as such:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306915 66 Thank you opponent for calling flop with bottom pair.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306919 KK Opponent was very aggressive yet not out of line. Regardless I didn't have balls to make this heroic call. Who knows if it's a good thing.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306972 55 feeble flop raise = demise
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306973 A9h Call flop +check-call turn look so feeble, but on the other hand I am against a set so often that I have no fold equity. So I don't know what the best play is.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307139 KT satisfactory extraction. An enthusiastic villain certainly helped.

Evening hands
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307091 QTh SOOOOOOOOOOOO sick
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307108 99 I hope people stop despising PF limp-reraise because it works. Even when I was on the receiving end of this confrontation.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307129 55 Makes me want to cry
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/307111 A4c Kind of like the earlier A9h hand, except this opponent played horribly

A satisfying session

......where every statistical category looks rosy and healthy.



Rough start to the night. Outdrawaments one after another:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306400 KQ I was abused at this table full of fishies
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306408 A8c Pwned by another fish.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306410 AQ Same opponent in the A8c hand. Sigh~
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306401 AK Not exactly a suck out, but still disheartening to lose a moderate pot in this manner.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306413 AKs I don't know whether I should laugh or cry.

Onto something less depressing. For me.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306438 AA Destined to win
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306437 AA Another one. Ironically if I just flatted preflop opponent might worry about me having trip Queens as well.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306436 AA Close call. I like my line. Except maybe a harder turn check-raise.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306469 AQ WTF to opponent
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306423 KTd Sweet pot
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306431 77 LOLaments multiple opponents attempted suicide in this one

Missed value
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/306473 JJ I already cooler-stacked the guy earlier so I was afraid he was being tricky here looking for revenge.

I can resume blogging now that I finished my thesis

Had a really rough stretch mid-October

The newbie circle of death
A really good article from another poker site
Consider me a newbie @ 100NL full ring
I was lucky I lost so damn little during my low points, when I was open-limping 72s



Lesson learned at a cheap price

From now on
1) Play fewer tables -- I can't handle more than 6
2) Table select better -- put away my ego and target the fish
3) Play like I care about the money

Blog entries are incomplete without recent hand analyses:

Oct 29 PM
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305858 QTh not the worst stacking off but certainly not optimally played
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305861 86d ......
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305859 AJd can't possibly misplay this one
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305863 64h decent extraction
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305866 QJh turn puke
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305867 99 let's just say opponent is a donkey

Oct 29 late night. Excellent opponent selection on this day.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305308 Q8h the well-discussed weak fold
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305321 QQ Stack-a-donk part I
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305326 Q2d Stack-a-donk part II
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305323 KQc I think ppazz was totally confused by my strong donkbet
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305322 T9d Successful stack-a-donk. Even if he simply missed on river I would still scoop up a 200BB pot.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305857 QQ =( Please fold turn

Oct 30 PM
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305708 97 Based on opponent's play I wasn't scared by the turn 10 at all.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305715 KJ In retrospect it was a bad turn check. Trip Kings are not going anywhere, while I miss significant value from flush draws.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305757 AA Not exactly a fist-pump shove but Aces held
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305775 66 Satisfactory extraction
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/305782 QQ Zero marks for style

I can't lose

Snuck 2 sessions in amidst busy schoolwork. Made 1k or so:



Hands on Thursday. Winning hands are unspectacular at best:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293529 QQ me not good enough to fold set
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293530 JTd stacking a regular
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293531 K6s worth a LOL
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293532 66 when he called turn I put him on big hearts, so I didn't know how I survived river
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293533 AK opponent doesn't want to go all-in against me
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293534 QJd easy bluff

Disasters
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293542 AQ multiway TPTK = total mess
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293537 AK recklessness backfired
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293536 87c hate to admit I was outplayed
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293535 AKc I was only slightly ahead of QsQx, so I should just call and reevaluate turn. Or just fold preflop since opponent was nitty.

Friday. Hard to lose money when I don't stack off much. Hands:
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293518 66 overset against a nit regular (lol @ flop minraise)
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293519 55 an opponent who will pay me off is more important than having a big hand myself
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293522 AA biggest loss on this day
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293521 KK automatic stacking
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/293520 AA same opponent can't get away with pulling crap twice in a row

A satisfactory session, money-wise, that saw me crack 10k for a moment. Didn't stay because I was a donkey



Bluffs
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290712 99 Didn't think opponent liked those middle cards out there
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/291500 97s Representing the flush amidst other made hands vs a flopturnriver.com regular

LOL
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290724 QQ Limping for set value. Opponent was quite tight, 16/9, and therefore I was surprised he played that hand
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/291498 JJ Reraised pot against a regular, good flop.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/291499 TT Can't really play it wrong

Misplays
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/291501 AK against a familiar nitty nit. Where was the displine that I showed a few days ago?
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/291505 AA Didn't stay over 10k because of this. Too embarrassed, at first, to post this as a public hand
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/291506 QQ Even though it was a bad beat I probably misplayed it on the flop

March to 10k. Not There yet

Big wins are still here. On the flip side I stacked off too much esp. during the night session



Hands

Sunday pm

Good fold(?)
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290899 KQh I wanna call so bad, but opponent bet flop multiway and continued aggression, so I really can't see what I beat

Big bluff (an unsuccessful one)
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290060 44 better chance of a successful bluff would be 1) bet-3bet AI on flop or 2) c/r flop and AI on turn. By the time he bet so large on turn I should have told myself to pack it in.

Bad beat
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290056 33 My 87% flop equity translated into a broken heart and mild tilt

LOL Hands
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290052 K3s Soon after that 33 hand -- this is how to transfer your tilt to you opponent.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290053 32d ROFLMAO

Sunday evening

Big pots
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290236 AT good river allows me to get the most -- otherwise I would have flat-called
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290906 Q9s Yes Pokerstars make my day
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290908 QQ worked out at the end, but during the hand I was worrying about a lot of stuff
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290909 QQ outlasting the drawer

~Barf~
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290914 J9d ROFL for my opponent I guess
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290915 A9h Please somebody tell me aloud "There's no fold equity"
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290916 KQ Stacking off with one pair, although I wasn't too displeased

LOL Hands

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290913 86s raised pot pretty good flop
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/290165 84c Ship Ship

Another session during which I run at those shitty PT numbers. Shitty except PTBB/100:



I ran really hot at the beginning, but cooled off at the end. Luckily, and again, not many postflop squabbles, and not many suckouts against.

Lots of big pots tonight:

http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/289721 AA Seriously I'd fold if I do not hold my lucky charm (Ad)
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/289720 22 Dream come true flop
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/289719 AA On the good side of the confrontation
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/289717 99 Set of 8s no good. A somewhat bad suckout in my favor, but I got the rest of my stack in to compensate for bad pot odds.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/289718 J9h Set of 8s no good. Same nit who earlier raped my Kings.
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/289716 J9c Set of 8s no good
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/289715 QTc Set of 8s no good (lol theme is getting old)
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/289713 AKc I was only worried about preflop coldcaller

Cooler (or is it?)
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/289723 KK against a nit, I kind of saw it coming, but couldn't fold it at the end.

Big Bluff
http://www.liquidpoker.net/h/289722 97s Judging from the chat I think opponent got bluffed out.

I made like 3k in 100NL in the past week
Why am I playing 100NL with a 9k bankroll I don't know