High On Poker

I’m still hovering around $100 on Full Tilt. Its better than losing, but I wouldn’t mind some upward progress. I placed 2nd in a $10 NLHE SNG. Overall, I played solid. Tight hand selection, broken up by some random action to keep them all guessing.

Hand #1
I was dealt 55, utg+1. Utg folded. I call 30. Two players in Late Position call. SB folds. BB calls. 4 Players in the Hand.

The flop is 4c 5h 9s, giving me three of a kind. SB checks. I bet 120, a pot sized bet. One of the players in late position (MonkeyTrap) raises to 240. All other players fold. I raised it to 510. Monkey called.

The turn is Jc. I bet 450. MonkeyTrap calls.

The river is Kd. There is no fear of a flush and a very slight chance of a straight. I bet 480, all in. Monkey calls, and pays me off. He had 9T. Sucker. I win the pot (3,045) with three of a kind, Fives, and take the lead.

Hand #2
I am the SB with 2c 9c. MrStealth in middle position calls 60. Ritalin, on the button calls 60. I call and BB checks.

The flop is 9d 2s Qc. Its the small blind special. For half the price you get a chance to flop a premium hand. I bet a small 180. BB folds, MrStealth raises all in for 1,355. Ritalin folds. Opportunity knocks and I kick the door in. I call and show my two pair. He has Qs Kd. Neither the turn, nor river help him and I take out another player. Love that small blind special. I triumphantly announce: Didnt expect the 29!

The Last Hand
I’ve been suffering from suckout syndrome. Its happening a shit load, but I feel good about it, since it means that I am putting my money in with the best of it. During the tourney, for instance, I checked my stats when it was down to 4 players. I had won 100% of the showdowns I had played until that point. Not too shabby.

For the final hand, I held KK, and was 2nd to act. The slight chip leader raised to double the blinds, 400. I doubled that to 800. He raised to 4200. I had no choice but to go all in. He held AJ suited clubs. The flop was three clubs. The turn and river were two Js. I lost, but I had no choice in the matter. At least I can’t hold myself accountable.

Thanks for reading people. Good luck to all of you, and hopefully good luck to me as well.

Last night, I was playing some more Full Tilt working off the bonus. I placed 3rd in a two table $5 SNG after my internet connection went out. I was definitely short-stacked, but I’d like to think that I still could’ve made a comeback. Those are the pitfalls of wireless Internet though.

I had a horrible suckout which cost me a $30 pot during a .25/.50 NL game. I looked down to pocket 10s. I raised to $2. Some guy after me pushed all in for $13.50 or so. I thought for a second. A Vegas flashback reminded me of the time I folded 10s to a guy who re-raised my $7 bet to $54 preflop. He had 8s. I would’ve hit four of a kind.

I then thought about something I read in Grubby’s old posts (pokergrub.com). I love reading Grubby’s old posts. Anyway, he was saying how when someone pushes all in too early, they usually are bluffing. Otherwise, they would limp and try to extract more money from you. Sound reasoning to me.

I called. My pocket 10s went agains Ace Ten. DOMINATED…until two aces come up and I’m drawing dead. What a load of crap. That’s poker, but it sure ain’t pretty.

On the positive side, at least I keep getting sucked out, rather than fooled into giving up my chips to a better player. Its a weak consolation prize, but hopefully its one that will pay off long term. I’m beginning to get good at taking disappointment at the table. Eventually, when the suckouts die down, I will be unstoppable. Or so I hope. Until then, happy poker.

Here are two back-to-back hands in the $5 two table NL Holdem SNG I took 3rd in. I found this to be an interesting couple of hands. Remember they were literally back to back.

Hand #1- The Hammer

I look (figuratively) down to see the hammer, 2 7 offsuit. So, of course, I limp in. Cause thats how I do. There are four other players in the hand.

The flop came down: 842 with two hearts. Someone made a timid raise of 120. I called with bottom pair. One other person called as well.

The turn was a 2, giving me three of a kind. It’s checked to me and I raise 480. There was one caller.

The river is 9 hearts (making 3 hearts on the board). The guy before me checks. I check. He has Q6 of hearts for a flush. I show my hammer and type HAMMER! in the chat box. While I lost the hand, I set a table image. Now, they all thought I was the crazy guy.

Hand #2- Bullets
This is the very next hand and I am utg (under the gun, i.e., to the left of the big blind). I look down to see AA. I raise to 480 preflop. The BB called.

The flop is 448. I bet 480 again. He raises all in. I call quickly and happily. The fool had 55. With no 5 on the turn or river, I take down the pot. BOOYA!

Hand #3- Taking it Slow
One last hand that I was very proud of. I was on a string of luck and decided to play it out. With Q9o on button, I limped in. 120/240 blinds. I was the chip leader and hitting everything.

The flop was 997. Someone in mid position a weak 240. I call. SB and BB fold. Just Bettor and me now.

The turn is a 4. Bettor bets 500. I call.

The river is a 4 . Bettor checks. I bet all in, which is about T4000 more than he has. It was my way of looking like I was overplaying the hand. T5000 chips looks like more than his T1000, so by betting it all, I was hoping that he would think I was acting strong to steal the pot. He called. I dont know what hell he had, other than a hurting.

I’ve been able to log a decent amount of time into Full Tilt today. After all of my play on their site, I’m up $6. I can’t seem to have any significant wins. Plus, I change my game so often (I hate full tables) that even when I am doing well, eventually I run into the wrong room. Tonight the ‘wrong room’ was a no limit holdem room. I thought that no limit action might help me with a significant win. Instead, I left down $6 or so bucks. Its not a lot, but it was still a loss.

Now, for this ‘You Decide’ I’m going to switch things up a bit. Here’s the deal. I know that I could’ve played this hand better. But the other guy, I don’t know. At first, I liked his play, but now I’m not so sure. Here is the hand.

Six-handed .25/.50 NL. I’m on the button with QJo. The players before me fold (maybe one limper). I called on the button. The small blind calls. Big Blind checks.

Flop: QK7. BB raises to $1. If anyone was between him and I, they fold. I call with middle pair. SB folds.

Turn: 8. Rainbow board. BB checks. I consider a raise, but ultimately check.

River: Blank (i.e., unimportant). BB raises to $4. I call. He shows K6, for top pair. I have QJ, for middle pair.

So, at first I thought, nice check on the turn. He gets some info on me and knows that he is good with top pair with a poor kicker. On the next card, he can raise into me knowing I probably don’t have top pair with a better kicker.

On the other hand, I may’ve bluffed him out when he showed weakness. Worse still, if I raised, would he have timidly called with top pair. If so, he may as well raise. I don’t know, but there is definitely a tough decision there. Overall, he won the hand, but could he have won more.

Post it up! I’ll catch you all later. I have to get back to my bonus-whoring on Ole’ Tilty.

Man, Full Tilt really makes you work for those bonuses. Granted I play low stakes, but after probably 6 hrs of play or so, I think I earned .86 of the bonus. Its very different from Empire, where I received my full $25 bonus in a little over a day. Now I’m working my ass off for $10 out of $100 possible.

Regardless, I’ve committed myself to only playing on Full Tilt. I’ve removed all of my money from Golden Palace and Empire so that I could limit the amount of money in poker limbo. The result was an immediate $165 increase to my winnings, which still leaves me shy of the $400 mark I was hoping to reach by April 30th. Oh well. I wouldn’t have taken out the money if it would’ve cost me a transaction fee. But since it doesn’t, I might as well bank it. I could use some new shirts and ties anyway. And Kim never has difficulty spending money.

As for Full Tilt, I’m still not a huge fan of their site. As I’ve said before, there are too few players. They have a plethora of games, but no one playing them. Its more than a little annoying. If a Razz game starts in the woods but there is no one to play it, does it make a rake?

Last night, I had some computer problems. While I was working on it, Kim fell asleep. So, even though we had a poker moratorium for one day…I broke it. The way I see it, the purpose of taking the break was to enjoy Kim’s company. Once she’s asleep, there is no point to the moratorium.

So, last night I won about $10. Its nothing spectacular, but its better than losing. I was playing .25/.50 limit holdem, .25/.50 stud, a $5 limit tournament (in which I placed 7/10) and a couple of other random tables. I didn’t mean to play a limit tournament, but after the tournament started, what could I do. What the hell is the point of a limit tournament anyway?! I mean, I guess some people like that sort of thing, but to me the point of a tournament is to play in a controlled environment where you knock out other players. With limit, its a friggin’ hour before two people are knocked out. Its just too damn long. So, excuse me limit tourney players, but it isn’t for me.

I don’t have much in the way of exciting hands. I did try to pick up one hand in the tourney with the hammer. I raised pre-flop, planning a bluff anyway, as I was on the button. I hit my 7, the middle pair (8 was the high card), and raised. I got a call. The next card was an A. I raised again and was called. The final card was a 2. I raised and was called. The other guy had A8. He was playing extremely passively. But I guess I deserve it for playing the hammer.

Good luck to everyone out there. Thanks for reading. I now have to get back to the day-in-day-out of lawyering. If you are on Full Tilt, I’m the gnome with the name HighOnPoker. See you there!

Like a poker hangover, I woke up today tired, groggy and with a general malaise. Losing in poker sucks, plain and simple. When it’s a significant loss, like last night’s $90 debacle, the malaise can stick around for a while. Fortunately, tonight there is a poker ban in my household, suggested by fiance Kim. I’ve been playing so much, it seems like we don’t have time together…even though we live together. In the end, this is good for me. One day off will give me perspective. Already, I am beginning to see the errs of my way last night. They are mostly two-fold.

ONE: Getting away from good hands that are definite losers. On two occassions I called big bets with a great hand when, in my heart of hearts, I knew I lost. In the first instance, it was Robbie Hole, Randy, and me in one hand. I had AQ. The flop was rags, all low. There was a small raise preflop ($2) from Rob. Rob raised on the flop for another $2. I had him on a small pair. Randy called, I called hoping to hit my overcards. The next card was an A. I believe that Rob bet $5. Randy, who is very loose, called. I called as well, with a sinking suspicion I was going against an AK or some other hand. The river was a blank. It dawned on me then. One of these guys probably has A and a low card that paired the board. My AQ had lost to a two-pair. Rob raised $10. Randy folded. I thought for a while. I was pretty sure I was beat, but I only had $7 in front of me, so if I folded I was in trouble anyway. Knowing Rob is loose, I called…and lost to A5, a two-pair. I knew it. But I could not fold my AQ. Stupid me. I have said in the past that this is a major flaw in my game. I must work extra hard to end it.

TWO: Walking away from bad games. As I said in my last post, my table image was crap. Even if I had the nuts, I was going to lose. So everyone was calling me down. My style is generally agressive in live games. I try to make it so no one can call me down. It doesn’t work with a crappy table image. I kept buying back in, and each time I was in a losing state of mind. I should have stopped after $60 or even less. But home games are not very often and its hard for me to walk away. To make matters worse, once you’ve lost a couple of buy-ins, your $20 rebuy is a pittance compared to the other stacks at the table. That means they can call you down EVEN MORE. So you have to be extremely patient. When the clock is ticking, patience is not my strong point.

On a final note, Gamblor, the god of gambling, was really messing with me yesterday. In one hand I folded pocket 3s after calling one raise and being re-raised. The flop had a 3. I was upset until someone showed their trips 7s. At least I got away from that one. Aside from that, it seemed that I hit every flop I folded to hard. I mean, at least two straight flops, and several other sweet hands that would have won if I played marginal or even crappy cards. Gamblor, your rebuke is harsh. But I will pray to you (tomorrow) anyway.

On a second final note, I may play in an underground poker room this or an upcoming weekend on Long Island. My little brother’s friend works there and he told me about a $30 ($20 rebuy) tournament at 2:30pm on Sat and Sun. Sounds good to me. I think $10 goes to the house, which is high, but I guess underground rooms have a lot of overhead. Rumor has it, 1st place takes about $3000. Would be nice.

Happy poker everyone. May your protecting raises be folded to, and your value raises called.

Robbie Hole’s game was less than successful. In total, I bought in four times and lost a total of $80. It was an odd night because, overall, I don’t think that I played poorly. Rather, my luck was horrible.

In my first bust out, I was on the button with 89 of hearts. We were six-handed. Dre, to my left, raised it to $2 total. I called. Maybe one other person called. The flop was 7h9x4x. I hit top pair. Dre raised $2. I called. The turn was 8x. I hit two pair. Dre checked. I raised $5. Dre called. The river was a 6x. With two pair, and confidence that my man did not have a straight, I raised all in after Dre checked. Dre called. My 89 was running against his pocket pair of 8s. With three of a kind to my two pair, I lost the hand. I don’t see how I could have laid it down. Dre later told me he wanted to check it down with me. He was afraid I had the straight. But my all in was not expensive enough to make him back down. Damn!

In a later bust out, I held AQ in the big blind. I raised to $1.50. With three players in, the flop was Q27, with two diamonds. I checked, and another player bet out $2. I reraised to $5, in an attempt to push out flush draws. One player folded. Randy, the original raiser, called. The turn was an A. I bet $5 again. Randy called. The river was a K. I went all in for about $7. Randy called with pocket KKs. Again, my two pair was beat by a three of a kind. Only this time, I was ahead, and my competition hit their 2 outer.

This was how the night went. I realized after my second bad beat that I couldn’t win. My table image sucked. Even if I had cards I couldn’t win. So all of my bets were called down. Plus, when buying in with $20 against players with $100+, its hard to get any respect when betting.

I have a lot of topics I’ll save for another post. I’m sure things will turn around, so I’m not concerned. Even so, what a kick in the balls.

Hole is where the heart is. Of course, “Hole” is Robbie Hole, fellow poker degenerate and all around fun guy. And “heart” is poker. In other words, Robbie Hole is hosting a game tonight! Very exciting.

I’ve only played at Hole’s place on two occassions. The first was a long time ago. It was a six-handed tournament, consisting of Hole, me, Rouss, Aps, Randy (Hole’s cousin) and Marc (Aps’ friend who I consider the best player in the bunch). Marc ended up winning each tourney that night. Uncanny! I have the best time playing when I sit next to Marc. He and I will predict other players’ hands when we are both folded. He’s had some great reads. Truely inspiring.

The second time at Hole’s was for Hole’s recent birthday. Check out earlier posts in which I discuss my last minute $40 win on a hand I had no right to be in.

Tonight, I look forward to another loose, fun game. I should be able to walk away a winner, but I don’t expect to see that much money in play, since I only figure there will be 5-6 players, and no high rollers.

Here’s a thought: When you most often play poker against friends and acquaintences, how do you deal with constantly winning?

This is not exactly my problem, but still, there is a line between friendly games and games played for profit. There should be a balance. In the end, the truth is, you have to play to win, even if you are up against your grandma and you are playing for her heart transplant money (note: Grandmas, I love you both. Thank god you don’t need a heart transplant.). But the other aspect is that even if you play to win, eventually the game will dry up, because no one wants to be a steady loser.

Last thing: In my poker-whoring mode, I signed up for Full Tilt. I used FirePay to deposit money because, apparently my debit cards have a moral objection to online gambling (note to self: I really should post my online gambling paper). They charged me about $5! I hate paying for depositing money. At least the bonus is 100%, awarded in 10% increments. I deposited $100 (more than usual), but I feel that it is worth it if I can earn the bonuses.

A few quick thoughts on Full Tilt. (1) The tables always seem empty. What’s the point of Razz if no one is playing. (2) The avatars are clever [you can change their emotions], but the graphics are difficult to read and cluttered. I never know when it is my time to play.

That’s it for now. They’ll be a Hole recap tomorrow (or tonight) and then on Wednesday, there is a self-imposed poker hiatus due to some not-so-subtle-but-oh-so-accurate statements by fiance Kim. Love that girl!

My home game has folded due to a poor response and last minute cancellations. Its enough to make a man consider ending all future home games. Where have all the poker degenerates gone? I think I know the answer.

For me, poker is not only fun, but, more often than not, profitable. For others, this is not necessarily the case. Some of my past regulars were losing. I don’t know how much, and I don’t know how often, but we couldn’t all win. Some of these players could handle the losses. Others, unfortunately, took it too personally and stopped playing. It’s a shame for me, but I can’t blame them. Poker is not for everyone. So, there goes some of my players.

Poker is definitely my number one hobby. During the workday, when I am bogged down in legal work, I spare a thought for poker and look forward to my future play. Others, however, don’t have that love for poker. Simply put, these people came to my home games to try it out. Some of them won. Others lost. But overall, these players did not see the need, nor the want, to come over to some guy’s apartment for beer, pizza and poker. Simply put, these guys did not catch the poker bug.

On a related note, some players did catch the bug, but it didn’t stick. These ‘fad’ players liked the game for a while, but eventually just moved on. So, the regulars stop being regulars. They became distracted by other pursuits.

Finally, there is definitely a population that has moved on to other games. Maybe it was closer to home. Perhaps it was a softer game. Possibly, they did not like one of my regulars (which I know has occurred).

In the end, I don’t blame any of these people. I do, however, find it disheartening that home games take so much effort to set up, and lately don’t seem to pan out. I need to find some local poker-focused compadres. Until then, I’ll travel to Queens whenever a game pops up (I am nudging some friends out there for a Tues game), and to the Upper East Side to Desi’s game every other week. Maybe my home game has dried up, but my poker has not. Thank god for online poker and my poker-friendly friends.

I’ll like to wrap up by admitting that my posts have lacked direction as of late. That will change shortly. I plan on paying better attention to hands that I am in, and relaying them here. I find that limit, in general, is a lot less exciting than no limit. But even so, I will keep my eye open for any exciting hands. Thanks for reading, and happy poker.

What a turnaround. I used to be a big fan of Golden Palace. Read some of my posts from one or two weeks ago and you’ll see what I mean. Now, however, after playing on Empire Poker for the weekend, I must say that I don’t see myself playing on Golden Palace for a while.

My bankroll on Empire started at $50. It is currently at $86, after I withdrew $75. Yesterday, my account reached $100 (until late-night loose action caused me to dip). So, overall, I am running roughshod over the competition at Empire. Keep in mind that I am playing .50/1 exclusively, albeit in a number of different games. My new favorite is 7-Stud Hi/Lo. Stud isn’t available of Golden Palace, so it is a new game to me. So far, so good.

I feel like the competition at Empire is weaker too. At Golden, I was up and down. At Empire, I’ve barely lost in any of my sessions. Often, I leave with twice my money, which is quite a task, given the limits.

So, thank you once more Empire, for sending me that CD in the mail. I look forward to trying some other sites in the near future, in order to earn some bonuses.

On that note, if anyone knows of a central site that lists bonuses, or any other service similar thereto, or knows of any other way for me to find out about the many bonuses out there, please let me know via email (brodybanky@aol.com), or by leaving a comment. Thanks folks. My bonus-whoring has just begun.

Finally, my home game is scheduled for tonight. Right now we only have 5 people (including me) at start time with another coming shortly after, and a few ‘maybes’ out there. Damn it people, just commit. If you can’t commit to poker, what can you commit to. Flakes! Happy Poker everyone. Wish me luck.