Poker Talk

donkeyherder @ 12:26am: Poker - August not so bad considering......

My 1st blog and poker bio started on May 11th if interested:  http://donkeyherder.livejournal.com/2008/05/11/ 

Well just rounding up August, it looks like the month will be a decent success after all. I realy didn't expect to make a ton of money this month. Busy with work, moving into a new home, and a little time to play, I really kept my expectations low and was hoping to just finish positive. I ended up only playing a total of 110 hours for the month which sounds like a decent amount, but I play 2-3 sngs at a time and that time is all added together. So real time it's probably in the neighborhood of 45 hours. Before the baby came I was probably playing at least twice as much.  Oh well, I am young and have plenty of time down the road to play more later especially if I decide to go full-time pro in the next year or two. Like I mentioned on my previous post, last month I cashed 86/183=47% of my SNG's. In August, I had a pretty amazing run which I'm sure had some good luck involved, and finished August cashing 60/118=51%, which is exceptionally high at a $50-100 limit level and sng payout 30-40%. Anything 40%+ would be positive, 45% is pretty good and 50%+ is an exceptional run. 

Cake recently offered "Double up SNG's" which pay 50% 5/10 players, but you only get double your buyin back minus about 7% entry fee.  I tried a few of these out and made money, but didn't include them in my cash% stats and I don't think in the long run will pan out to make enough money for me per hour to be worth it to play. I figured even if I cashed 2 outta 3 overall, which is way hi, I'd only make like 30% per game, so unless the $75+ fill well I'll probably just use them as fillers when I can't get anything else going. I did enjoy them and was an interesting change to the avg sng. It plays alot like a multi which guarantees alot of seats in the late stages where everyone is just trying to stay alive and you have a couple renegades who get careless and attack the passive table. They're fun but we'll see.

As for multis, I only played about a dozen mid sized tourneys (100-400 players) and actually finished many of them very deep including 1 more final table (6th/200 coin flipped out), and a 16th/202 where I got screwed out (I'll save you the beat stories."

I wouldv'e liked to do more cash game play and research, but my poker tracker software didn't give me all the info I was looking for and I will have to manually pull up some of my hands and break them down further to get the data I want and it can be very time consuming. Considering how well my SNG play has been I will chip away the research and ease my way into the cash games later. I have cashed in the positive my last 8 outta 10 days and I don't feel like killing my good run by changing my game focus. I think alot of newer or osing players would fair much better if they stuck to their best type of game or two. SNG's, Cash (NL, Limit, Short handed-Long), Multi's, Holdem, Omaha, Rebuys, etc. Say maybe only 9 handed holdem SNg's and occassional small multi's and just grind it out at a small limit until they show consistent profits and slowly move up and master other games later if they prove to have more potential. Typically most players just play whatever seems fun at the time and above the limit they can beat. I'm sure it's an ego thing or people who play for fun.  It can definately get boring playing the same game over and over but if you're like me you make a game of it and try to master every element and look for and plug every leak. That's also why I would recomend 1 game 75% of the time, your 2nd best game 15-20% of the time and rarely mix in a random game at lower limits to look for better opportunities. Lets face it the game is tougher these days and you need to find a niche to really on a steady winning return on in case of a bad run.

Next month will probably be more of the same. I will probably start playing a little bigger since my bankroll has increased $70-100 with a few $200's mixed in here and there if things continue well and maybe in a couple months I'll be ready to play strictly $100's+ Sng's. Things have been good, but I won't push it. I'm feeling a bit luckier than usual and don't want to get ahead of myself. If anyone out there has any questions or topics they would like covered please let me know. Donkeyherder

If you would like to check me out you can look me up on a few sites, pokerdb.com shows big tournament results. I play under "Donkeyherder"(Pokerstars),"Chipstacker2000"(FULLTILT), "donkeyherder2"(ULTIMATE BET), "d0nkeyherder"(ABSOLUTE POKER), and a few others. I've never had a losing year.  I won a seat to the 2006 WSOP main event and cashed in the top 10% of the field of over 9000 players.  I've made 81 Final tables, including 11 1st's (50-1555 players). Most of the time you'll find me grinding out Sit-n-Gos.Business opportunity inquiries can reach me at:  Donkeyherder2000@yahoo.com 
 

andrewhime @ 8:33pm: We have an LJ 8-game going on Stars. Table name is Eumelos. Come play!

EDIT: We quit. Tom Bayes up, SuperUberBob up, djhomeschool up. Viva 8-game!

markgritter @ 11:58pm: KCL at TestPokerStars
Who's up for a NL 2-7 SNG at TestPokerStars?

No ring games available yet. I've been waiting around trying to get a tournament going tonight without success.

I'll try to be online around 9PM Eastern tomorrow, hopefully we can get enough degenerates together for a 300+20.

vitaislade @ 4:32pm: Another incredible donkey calls it down bad beat story
I am playing on Bodog Poker in a $500.00 Guaranteed tournament. I have been dominating the field up to this point with several awesome plays. I have over $16,000.00 in chips and the blinds are only at $75.00/$150.00. A lot of players by this point are letting themselves be blinded out, so there are only about five active players at the table. Now here's where it gets nasty.

Blinds Posted: $75/$150

It is folded around to me in middle-late position and I make a loose raise to $430 with A-5.

I get one caller.

Board comes A-3-8

I bet 700, he raises to 1400. By this point I think he has an Ace with a better kicker than mine at best.

Turn comes 4, I bet 800 more to see where he stands and he calls.

River comes 5. I go all-in with my two pair looking VERY nice against his supposed Ace.

He calls for about 7,000 more and shows up pocket deuces.

2-2 for the runner-runner straight. Tell me that this is not insane.

bobby_the_worm @ 8:33pm: Omaha terminology question
Hi, pokertalkers. I had a quick question: What's meant by a "live [X]" in Omaha 8? (That's long-I "live" like "live news," not short-I live like "live long"). I've been sweating some O8 games and sometimes at showdown someone will call their hand "I've got a straight and a live deuce" or "live ace" or whatever. But the hands go by so fast, I haven't figured out quite what that means. I know it has to do with the low hand, but that's all I've got. Thanks!

jessroz @ 8:49am: So I'm watching Saved By The Bell, and yeah, not the most realistic show, but I found this very entertaining.

It's the episode where Zach breaks Screech's mom's Elvis statue, and to earn the money to buy a new one, they play a game of poker (5 card stud I believe) against a rich nerd named Maxwell. Zach has a good hand (four queens) and wets himself over it, betting Screech's dog. He's beat by Maxwell's five kings. LOL. Max leaves with the gang's money and Screech's dog.

It just amuses me...I'm not so familiar with stud, how likely is this scenario?

ronsrants @ 3:06am: Limit question

Limit hold'em ring game

You have position on your opponent and know based on his behavior that he is holding either AA or AK.  He leads out on the Ace high flop and you call.  The turn brings your nut flush in.  He leads out again and you raise him and he calls.  The river pairs the board.  If he has AA, your nut flush loses to a boat, if he has AK, your nut flush is the stone cold nuts.  He leads out on the river...Do you raise or just call?  Why?

-R

ronsrants @ 7:27pm: Help me analyze a decision
Yes, I admit I'm too lazy to work this out on my own.  However, I add the caveat that I am also too ignorant (don't really know how) and possibly stupid (not sure I'll ever understand it).

It's NLHE.  One opponent and the river card just fell.  The pot is big in relation to the stacks.  Lets say it is $164.  The board is Kc Qc Tc Jd 6s.  You are holding AcJd.  Your opponent bet the flop hard and you called.  You checked the turn and he checked behind you.  You checked the river and he bets all in for another $70. 

You know that if he has any two clubs you are beat.  If he has any ace, you are splitting it.  If he holds any other hand, you win. 

How do you calculate the different combinations of hands that beat you, split with you, and that you beat?  What do you do with the numbers at that point to decide if you should call or not?  Does the odd betting pattern on the flop-turn-river influence your decision?  If so, how?

-R

phatmatt @ 1:08am: I Hate Bad Beats!!!!!!!!
Unfortunately I can't remember them card for card (I'm hoping one of my playing friends writes back and tells it to me). Anyway, I got beat on TWO bad beats in a home game that I play with some friends. In the first one, I remember him beating me on runner runner cards on the turn and river. On the very last hand of the night, my brother beat me on the river card. If I remember correctly, I had 8-7 in my hand and the flop came 8-8-7, so I thought I was sitting pretty. I went all in after the turn card (a crapload of money) Unfortunately, my brother caught a river card, and beat me. If someone emails me the specifics of either hand, I will edit this post. I think this is the first time I have ever had a BAD beat against me since I started playing cards, but to have two in the same night? BRUTAL!!!!

Feel free to delete if you feel necessary.

phatmatt @ 1:50am: What is the correct way to say this
If I have a 10 in my hand and the flop comes 10 8 8 (with no other helpful cards) what is the proper way to say what I have? Should I say that I have two pair, or should I only say that I have one pair since all players who stayed in the hand all have at least one pair? I usually say that I have two pair.

andrewhime @ 9:16pm: broedom makes us do silly things
We have taken over table Edgemere on Full Tilt. 25/50c HORSE. Come play, LJers!

temalyen @ 3:40am: Did I make a mistake?
I've been debating this hand with a friend of mine for a while. He's adamant I should have stayed in this hand, I don't think I had any right to be in it after the flop. I would have won by catching a three of a kind on the River, but I was gone by that point.

Here's how it played out:

I was on PokerStars in a cheap 40 Table Turbo tournament. (I hate Turbo. I have no idea why I decided to play in it.)

I was dealer with 1590 in chips. There were a couple super aggressive people who bet on anything. The blinds are 25/50 at this point. I get dealt pocket 3's. Two people fold, everyone else calls 50. Flop comes out 10-7-2. One of the players goes all in for 345. Another raises to 1460 and is all in and a third calls. I decide I'm getting the hell out of this hand and fold.

At that point, everyone else folded as well... we're left with just those three. Turn comes out Q, River is 3. The winning hand is a pair of Jacks.

With all that raising, I didn't think pocket 3's warranted me staying in. Pocket Jacks or higher? Possibly. Not 3's, though. My one friend is insistent that I should have hung on and called. I'm still convinced I was right. What does everyone think?

For the record, I ended up being eliminated 120th or so. (Out of 360.) I totally botched it with pocket 8's on my last hand about 45 minutes later. But, for the record, I went and played a few cash games after that and, after three hands, won more than I probably would have in that tournament. People are right when they say the real money is in cash games.

ronsrants @ 8:47am: Scenario:

I play in a short-stacked short-handed NLHE ring home game each week.  I am one of six regular participants and we buyin for an amount that is considered expendable income.  Last night, after we started, a seventh guy I had never seen before showed up.  He didn't come to play, he came to hang out with one of the roommates that lives in the house.  The guy is a semi-professional football player (linebacker I'm guessing, based on his size) and the host of the game invited to buy him in.  The footballer player sits down and proceeds to run over the table with aggressive bets.  Through discussion, I learn that he has spent many years in the Navy and working as a truck driver.  He would often play games (poker and -EV gambling games) in casinos and on ships.  I spend a couple orbits observing his play and his showdowns and determine that he is a) better than average at the table, b) understands position, c) aggressive.

After these two orbits, he has managed to amass the biggest stack at the table and has about 4 buyins in front of him.  At this point, I change gears and go from playing tight-aggressive to LAG.  I call (or make) his oversized preflop raises with marginal hands when I have position.  I let him bet into me on the flop, and when I have TP with a redraw or better, I shove back into him.  I do this several hands and he has a hard time folding.  Between me and another decent player at the table, we stack him.  The timing is OK as the roommate is ready to go hangout and do whatever it was they had planned to do for the evening.

My question:  If this had been a tournament, I'm confident that my actions were correct.  But I'm still a neophyte when it comes to ring games.  Should I have waited for better opportunities, rather than shoving on marginal edges?

-R

jessroz @ 8:25am: hello!
I'm Jessica, I'm new to poker. My bf taught me hold'em a few months ago, and in doing so, created a monster. I can't get enough. I mainly play online, but I live about an hour from Atlantic City and have recently been playing IRL when I have cash to spare for the buy-in. I want to give IRL tournament play a try. I'm generally pretty stingy with money, so a lot of people I know are pretty surprised to see me "gambling," haha.

Anyway, I posted this in my journal and figured I'd x-post it here.

I was playing in a freeroll tourney last night on PokerStars, and doing pretty well. There was this douchebag who kept going all-in preflop on every hand. I wanted to take him out, or at least knock him down a peg, so I patiently waited for my opportunity. I got pocket A A and waited for him to make his bet. Sure enough, he goes all-in, and I immediately call. Everyone else folds, the cards are shown, my pocket Aces vs his 2 5. No cards at all came out to help him (I can never seem to remember entire hands), and even though he didn't go out because his stack was larger than mine, he definitely was knocked down. He went out in like, 9000th place. I went all-in later with A K offsuit and lost, because someone got lucky and caught a straight. No worries though, I finished in like, 3600th place, which out of 12000 is in the top 30th percentile, by far the best I've done in these freeroll tourneys so far.

So yeah...just thought I'd introduce myself. *waves*

ronsrants @ 1:43am: Hand advice...
I didn't get much feedback on this hand when I posted it in my journal, so I'll ask here...

Down to 3 handed in a weekly $.10/.20 ring game and I'm the big stack.  I have T2s in the SB.  Everyone limps.  Flop comes TJQ and it is checked around.  Turn brings a 2.  Checked to the dealer (my RHO) and he bets out $1 into the $.60 pot.  I check-raise to $3.  I've done this 2-3 times this evening against him and he folded each time.  This time he raises all-in.  I ask for a chip count and he  indicated that it was less than $10, but I didn't think that was right, so I asked for a real count.  It came out to be $17 or so.  I folded my two pair face up.  He shows me his pocket kings.  Good fold or bad fold on my part?

From my perspective it was a good fold given the range of hands that beat me.  If I knew he had pocket kings, I'm not sure if it would be a good fold.  What do you think?  Does Sklansky's theory play a part here?  Should I really be risking a major part of my stack on what is likely to be a race on the river card?  (Note, I keep forgetting to run the stats on the hand)

-R

(Edit: Sry for the friends only lock...stupid auto settings!)

ronsrants @ 8:54am: Draws help
I've read the books and played countless hours, but I'm still confused.  Perhaps I am mixing it up, so I'll just ask you...

Say you have a made hand (TPTK or two pair) and you know your opponent has a draw.  Do you bet/raise him and why?

Say you have the draw and your opponent has the made hand.  Do you bet/raise him and why?

Does this apply to NLHE or just Limit?  Why?


-R

stm4e @ 11:18pm: Razz book questions
Amazon has one listing for books on razz:

MItchell Corgett: Play Razz Poker to Win .

Anyone read it? Any suggestions? (Keeping in mind that I'm a low-limit kind of guy- my main razz play right now is the Full Tilt Freeroll..)

After that it seems to go to Sklansky (assumes too high a level of competition) and Super System (which I guess I should read one of these days)

phatmatt @ 12:45am: Been getting pretty lucky!!
The last two weeks my friends and I have gotten together, I have been getting pretty darn lucky. Last Wednesday, I came away with $181.00 Then tonight, I came away $45.00 ahead.. I play so very inconsistantly. I call/raise on hands that I have no business doing so. Somehow I end up getting VERY lucky and get the winning card on the turn or river. I sure do wish I could remember specifics about hands, but my memory is so bad.

phatmatt @ 2:25am: Bare Minimum of Players
What do you all think is the least amount of players you can have and still have a worthwhile game of NLHE?

susiev @ 9:08pm: Is it worth attending the poker seminars held by the pros from the major online sites? I just got an email saying there was one in my area but it costs $300 to go. That's an awful lot of money. They said you get a $300 prize package and someone will win an Aruba package but that probably doesn't mean much.

Anyone been to one of these? Is it any better than buying a book?

phatmatt @ 6:50pm: Pokerstars
I have had Poker Stars installed on my computer for quite some time and it worked great. A few weeks ago, I got a wireless router for my computer and now it says that I cannot connect to the Poker Stars server.. Is that true due to the new router, or did I do something wrong?

Sorry that this isn't really poker related.

jeffreygb @ 4:38pm: Poker Video Site(s)
I don't know how many people here have looked at or used strategy sites like Card Runners and PokerXFactor, but I think sites like them can be very helpful as a medium for learning intricacies of the game.  A big part of that comes from one of the things almost all these sites have in common - watching videos of successful players as they explain their thought process.

I've long thought that there was a major drawback too, however: for low stakes players (often the guys who could benefit the most from some of this), the sign-up fees of $125+ and the subsequent monthly fees of $25+ are just too high to be affordable. On that thought, I recently started an alternative site: http://www.grinderschool.com. The idea is to charge quite a bit less (under $12 per month with no sign up fee), and focus specifically on what works against lower stakes games (since plays that work against very good opponents often fail against worse players).

Anyway, I'd like to invite everyone here to check out the site, and give me whatever feedback you can!

phatmatt @ 1:46am: Played NLHE with the usual bunch. Came out about $80 ahead. I can partially remember two hands that really got me excited. In one hand, three of the cards that came on the community cards were a 10, J, and an ace. I was one on one with my brother. I was slow playing until the river,where I went all in with A LOT OF MONEY. My brother said, "the only two cards that can beat me are a Q, and K". He decided to call anyway, and I ended up showing him my Q and K for a straight. On another hand, I ended up having a full house, but I also ended up having what would be considered two different three-of-a-kinds in the same hand. That was rather fun.

ronsrants @ 7:57pm: Critique this hand, please?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1822566

-R

phatmatt @ 9:29pm: Neat Cake.
I realize that I may get in trouble for posting this, since it isn't really poker related, but I will take that chance..

My birthday is this Sunday (15th), but we had our usual get together with my brother and his family on Wednesday (12th). Here is the cake that my Mother bought.

( Birthday Cake )