The One You've Been Waiting For

No, not the name of the first David Archuleta single. I'm referring to those big cash game hands that you shape your image around. The ones that you spend so much time patiently waiting for. It's the hand that's supposed to make up for those countless conservative folds. These are the hands that justify long stretches of stack stagnation. Because all of those small pot folds that drop your stack down 10 or 20 BBs can be instantly recuperated by one big 100BB double-up.

And then there's the flip side, and that's where I ended up yesterday. In my first session since going broke and reloading, I actually felt like my play was strong, and I managed to find a few tables with some weak, exploitable players.

I bounced up early with a little luck and a little slowplay by my opponent.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.25/$0.50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

Hero (MP): $50
CO: $50
BTN: $19.45
SB: $20.65
BB: $94.85
UTG: $42.25
Pre-Flop: K T dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $1.75, 2 folds, SB calls $1.50, BB folds

Flop: ($4) Q Q A (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2.50, SB calls $2.50
And I'm done. Prepared to check-fold.

Turn: ($9) J (2 Players) <-- Oh wait, Broadway! Nevermind. SB checks, Hero bets $5, SB raises to $16.40 and is All-In, Hero calls $11.40

River: ($41.80) 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $41.80 Pot ($2.05 Rake)
Hero showed K T (a straight, Ace high) and WON $39.75 (+$19.10 NET)
SB showed Q K (three of a kind, Queens) and LOST (-$20.65 NET)

I do love being done slow, real slow. But I gave it back on this one...

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
CO: $9.05
BTN: $20.25
SB: $25
BB: $33.95
UTG: $23.15
Hero (MP): $31.35

Pre-Flop: T T dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $0.85, CO folds, BTN calls $0.85, 2 folds

Flop: ($2.05) 8 6 3 (2 Players)
Hero bets $1.50, BTN raises to $3, Hero raises to $30.50 and is All-In, BTN calls $16.40 and is All-In

Turn: ($40.85) Q (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($40.85) K (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $40.85 Pot ($2 Rake)
BTN showed 3 3 (three of a kind, Threes) and WON $38.85 (+$18.60 NET)
Hero showed T T (a pair of Tens) and LOST (-$20.25 NET)

I thought about this one, but ultimately I think I'm fine with my play. I've seen enough in my session so far to make me believe that this could be an OESD or FD. And I've seen enough weak players make this kind of call with a naked 8. And my opponent's relative short-stack makes it all the more inevitable that we get it all in here.

So anyways, that brings us to the hand that spawned the title to this post...

Full Tilt Poker, $0.25/$0.50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
SB: $56.15
BB: $66.70
UTG: $50
Hero (MP): $58.95
CO: $21.25
BTN: $59.55

Pre-Flop: K K dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds,
Hero raises to $1.75,
2 folds,
SB raises to $7,
BB folds,
Hero raises to $58.95 and is All-In,
Now I've started making this move in lieu of a 4-bet, because it elicits a surprising number of calls from JJ, QQ, and AK. And if I'm up against AA, we're getting it all in anyway.

SB calls $49.15 and is All-In
My opponent tanked, but finally made exactly the kind of call I was hoping for - with AK. So I'm right where I want to be, in a great position for a big bump. Calling all-in with AK here is a major leak, which I know from experience. That all in push means AA or KK probably 50% of the time, where AK is a big dog. The rest of the time, AK is only 50-50, unless you're up against someone you know is capable of pushing with AQ or something weaker. And if you know any such people, please refer them to me.

And then heartbreak hits...

Flop: ($112.80) 8 A 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: ($112.80) 6 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: ($112.80) 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $112.80 Pot ($3 Rake)
SB showed A K (a pair of Aces) and WON $109.80 (+$53.65 NET)
Hero showed K K (a pair of Kings) and LOST (-$56.15 NET)

And now we have another problem, because I'm extremely close to going on major tilt after this. But fortunately, I got to end my session with the type of hand that revives my faith in my ability to be a profitable poker player.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.25/$0.50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
MP: $49.25
CO: $50
BTN: $50
Hero (SB): $65.20
BB: $50
UTG: $109.75

Pre-Flop: A A dealt to Hero (SB)
2 folds, CO raises to $1.75, BTN folds, Hero raises to $5.75, BB folds, CO calls $4

Flop: ($12) K Q 7 (2 Players)
Hero bets $8, CO calls $8

Turn: ($28) 6 (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks
This check is from a newly (belatedly) added play in my playbook - "It's only one pair, let's not play for a huge pot with it"

River: ($28) 6 (2 Players)
Hero bets $15, CO calls $15
But now I feel safe making a value bet.

Results: $58 Pot ($2.90 Rake)
CO mucked 4 K (two pair, Kings and Sixes) and LOST (-$28.75 NET)
Hero showed A A (two pair, Aces and Sixes) and WON $55.10 (+$26.35 NET)

Of course, I have to hope that this type of player has a thousand equally stupid clones. But it's still something to hope for.

I ended up down $16, but very close to up $100. Now I'm backing to waiting for that big hand again.

Musical Interlude

My Top 10 Albums of the 1st Half of 2008

...because there is clearly a shortage of top-10 lists in the world today

1. Jamie Lidell - Jim
2. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
3. The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
4. Grand Archives - Grand Archives
5. Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
6. Phantom Planet - Raise The Dead
7. Sun Kil Moon - April
8. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
9. Magnetic Fields - Distortion
10. Why? - Alopecia

Somewhere back when I started this thing, I had some foolishly grand vision of interspersing esoteric music babble with equally cryptic poker lipwork. As if there could possibly be an audience for both - it's a lonely world for some of us. But hell, if I'm not going to have time to get my feverish click-betting on anytime soon, I'm gonna have to fill this space with something.

On the poker side, I finally got my Full Tilt account reloaded, but not sure if I'll get any sessions in soon. I could have a baby girl in my hands any day now, and I expect a transition period, as I learn to burp baby with left arm while donk-leading-to-induce-raise-then-overshoving with my right hand.

I'm Back and I'm Broke

So I'm finally recovered from one of the most agonizing weeks of physical pain in my life. Imagine having an intense lower back pain that won't go away, no matter what position you are in or how you massage it. I initially thought it was a back spasm until 3 hours had passed without a hint of relief. Thank God for painkillers, as I think I would literally have lost my mind had I gone on the way I was feeling there. In a nutshell, that's what a trapped kidney stone feels like.

Anyways, I finally get a chance to jump on and play some cash poker, and after about an hour I take a big hit on the following hand (sorry no HH... writing from the office) - 6-handed, .25-.50, I'm on the button with JJ, it folds to me, I make a standard pot-size raise to $1.75, the SB calls, and the BB raises up to $8. In this spot, given the possibility that my opponent put me on a standard steal and is making a pretty standard squeeze, I think a call is pretty much always in order. Having position makes it all the more correct. So I call and the SB calls as well (curious), so we see the flop 3-handed with $24 in the middle. The flop comes 2-3-4 rainbow. The SB checks, and the BB checks. So I feel pretty good here. Because how can the BB check with a bigger PP than JJ with that type of flop, with that much money in the pot? So I bet $22, leaving about $25 behind. And the SB instacalls! The BB takes his time bank and then moves all-in. Now I don't really like my spot at all, but there's $90 in the middle and I am calling for $25 more. That's almost automatic. So I call, and so does the SB. The cards turn up 1010 for the SB and QQ for the BB, I miss my 2 outs, and I'm down a buy-in. Well played by the BB, but risky checking that flop.

Nothing really too strange there, but it was frustrating and got me just tilted enough to decide that I felt like I playing a bigger game to try to hit a big payday. Now if you've been reading here, you've seen that I play at consistently small stakes (at which I am decently profitable overall), that I don't really encounter very wild swings, and that I almost never play beyond my roll. But a moment of weakness came over me, and I decided to sit down at a $100 buy-in, $0.50-$1, full ring PLO game (I know, completely insane, right?). Within an hour I had blown through the remainder of my Full Tilt account balance. I went broke for the first time since starting this blog, the first time this year I believe.

Now technically, I didn't go broke. For one, my true bankroll (i.e., the true amount of money that I am willing to lose playing poker) is always a bit bigger than what I have in my FTP account at any given time. Secondly, I had just xferred $100 over to friend Dave before going on my bender. But still, as of this moment, my account is empty and I am in the position of needing to deposit a bunch of bills to get my game started again.

On the positive side, I can take a swipe at PLO and partially absolve my NLHE game. And then, I need to start over.

But, I have a baby due in the two weeks. Man, what a bunch of spinning wheels and going nowhere. Well, at least in terms of online bankroll. The next time I post I'll be back to square one. Talk to you then.

Wise and Advised

I have been advised. It has taken me a few extra days to get these hand results up, as I have been fighting a kidney stone. Man oh man, I have been dying. Like literally, curled up, moaning with each breath and each heartbeat, and the pain throbs through my back and I plead for mercy. And it ain't over yet, but I have enough relief (that you Vicodin) to post the results here at last.

Thanks for the input. Comments are addressed and results displayed.

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Hand 1:
Villain is 28/16/2.0 over just 49 hands.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
MP: $35.55
CO: $43
BTN: $49.25
SB: $48.80
BB: $40.30
Hero (UTG): $88.90

Pre-Flop: 7 9 dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $0.85, MP folds, CO calls $0.85, 3 folds

Flop: ($2.05) 9 5 9 (2 Players)
Hero bets $1.50, CO calls $1.50

Turn: ($5.05) 8 (2 Players)
Hero bets $3,
CO raises to $11.75,
Hero calls $8.75
1a) Different action here?
I called here thinking that there was a good chance I was ahead, that my villain was drawing, and that if I pushed I might shake him off of a drawing hand or a bluff. But Craig and Rodney advised the push. It's not a bad move, but what worse hand would be calling?

River: ($28.55) 3 (2 Players)
Hero checks,
CO bets $28.90 and is All-In,
1b) Hero?
So my plan was to call, hope that no diamond hits and then check-call. But then I started doing some scared thinking. My villain's line does like quite a bit like the line of someone with a 9, likely stronger than mine. But hands like this are the entire reason you play a loose game PF and raise with a wide range. So you have to call here...

Hero calls $28.90

Results: $86.35 Pot ($3 Rake)
CO showed A 6 (a pair of Nines) and LOST (-$43 NET)
Hero showed 7 9 (three of a kind, Nines) and WON $83.35 (+$40.35 NET)

A really bold bluff, the kind I don't really make. And it's a good thing I stuck with the plan. What's more, there's no way I pull down the rest of my opponent's stack without smooth calling on the turn.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hand 2:
Villain is 31/23/4.8 over 77 hands.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
BTN: $24.95
SB: $21.50
Hero (BB): $25.25
UTG: $18.80
CO: $19.05

Pre-Flop: J J dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG raises to $1, 3 folds, Hero raises to $3.10, UTG calls $2.10

Flop: ($6.30) 7 8 8 (2 Players)
Hero bets $4.50,
UTG raises to $15.70 and is All-In,
Hero?

The villain has some loose aggressive numbers, but I ended up putting him on a stop-and-go here. There's no flush draw, so what else does he push with? I think it has to be AA-QQ, or possibly 77, 8-9, A8s. The only hands I'm ahead of are 99 and 1010. So I gave it up. Too weak? I guess so, since the almost unanimous advice was to call here.

Hero folds

Results: $15.30 Pot ($0.75 Rake)
UTG mucked and WON $14.55 (+$6.95 NET)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hand 3:
Villain is 30/9/1.5 over 50 hands.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
UTG: $33.45
CO: $47.80
BTN: $24.25
SB: $42.70
Hero (BB): $114

Pre-Flop: A K dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG calls $0.25, CO folds, BTN calls $0.25, SB calls $0.15,
Hero raises to $1.25, UTG calls $1, BTN calls $1, SB calls $1

Flop: ($5) T 8 A (4 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $3.50, UTG calls $3.50, BTN calls $3.50, SB folds

Turn: ($15.50) 9 (3 Players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, BTN checks
3a) Different action here?
I checked here to keep the pot from growing and making a decision even harder on the river. I can see a set here trying to trap, or a straight from someone with QJ (double-gutter on the flop). This is part of a change I am making to keep pots small when I don't have monster hands. That goes double when there are two other players in the pot.

River: ($15.50) 9 (3 Players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $14.75, BTN folds,
3b) Hero?

Well, my plan was to check call on the end, and then my opponent makes a big PSB. We've gone through it before here. That PSB tends to be a strong hand more often than a weak one. Most people said call here, but I don't lose much folding here.

Hero calls $14.75

Results: $45 Pot ($2.25 Rake)
UTG showed Q 9 (three of a kind, Nines) and WON $42.75 (+$23.25 NET)
Hero mucked A K (two pair, Aces and Nines) and LOST (-$19.50 NET)

Regardless of the poor call on the flop by my opponent, I should have made a better read on the intent of that PSB on the end. Most players with just a single pair on the end there are either betting for value or hoping to go to showdown. Unless I have a read that my opponent is overly aggressive and bluffs a lot, I'm rarely going to see worse than 2-pair on the end here.

AKo continues to be one of my least profitable top hands. I may have to do an analysis at some point here. I'm sure I'm not the only one to struggle with what should be a profitable hand.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone who posted.

Give a Brother Some Advice

3 hands from last weekend. How would you play them differently, and how do you act at the critical juncture?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hand 1:
Villain is 28/16/2.0 over just 49 hands.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
MP: $35.55
CO: $43
BTN: $49.25
SB: $48.80
BB: $40.30
Hero (UTG): $88.90

Pre-Flop: 7 9 dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $0.85, MP folds, CO calls $0.85, 3 folds

Flop: ($2.05) 9 5 9 (2 Players)
Hero bets $1.50, CO calls $1.50

Turn: ($5.05) 8 (2 Players)
Hero bets $3,
CO raises to $11.75,
Hero calls $8.75
1a) Different action here?

River: ($28.55) 3 (2 Players)
Hero checks,
CO bets $28.90 and is All-In,
1b) Hero?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hand 2:
Villain is 31/23/4.8 over 77 hands.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
BTN: $24.95
SB: $21.50
Hero (BB): $25.25
UTG: $18.80
CO: $19.05

Pre-Flop: J J dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG raises to $1, 3 folds, Hero raises to $3.10, UTG calls $2.10

Flop: ($6.30) 7 8 8 (2 Players)
Hero bets $4.50,
UTG raises to $15.70 and is All-In,
Hero?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hand 3:
Villain is 30/9/1.5 over 50 hands.

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
UTG: $33.45
CO: $47.80
BTN: $24.25
SB: $42.70
Hero (BB): $114

Pre-Flop: A K dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG calls $0.25, CO folds, BTN calls $0.25, SB calls $0.15,
Hero raises to $1.25, UTG calls $1, BTN calls $1, SB calls $1

Flop: ($5) T 8 A (4 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $3.50, UTG calls $3.50, BTN calls $3.50, SB folds

Turn: ($15.50) 9 (3 Players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, BTN checks
3a) Different action here?

River: ($15.50) 9 (3 Players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $14.75, BTN folds,
3b) Hero?