A couple of weeks ago my friend Dr. Phil commented that he thought I was a "great player". This took me by surprise because I think Dr. Phil is a damn good player and that I am only competent and trying to catch up.
Shortly thereafter, I ran into Matt, the guy who told me months ago that I play so bad and get so lucky. He told me the exact same thing again on the night I last saw him after I beat him in a hand. (He only seems to get irked with me when this happens.)
As for me, I think I will stick to what I know and think. I know that I try to learn something every time I play. I think I am competent. I know that I get lucky now & again. I know that I play bad sometimes, but definitely not very often & usually when on "tilt". I think I can get better every day.
So, am I wrong about Dr. Phil? Is Matt right about me? Who decides who is great and who is terrible? I think ALL players are, at various times, great players, donkeys and/or extremely lucky.
So, my identity crisis continues. Am I a great player or a lucky idiot or a little of both? Hmmm.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
One Mistake Is All It Takes
I played in the deep stack at the Island last Tuesday. At the beginning I couldn't lose. I was playing a lot of low suited connectors because they were hitting & hitting big. My first hand (not raised by anyone) was a 2-3 spades in the cut-off seat. The flop had 4 spades and a 2. A bet was made and I raised & got several callers. On the turn I added a gut-shot straight draw. They all checked to me & I bet again. I got 2 callers. The river brought a spade. Two players called my river bet and I won a nice pot early. I couldn't believe no one had a bigger flush.
This continued for the first 2 hours. I even made what I think was simply a "feel" call holding A-K. One player had been getting beat up pretty bad by me and some of the other players. You could just look at him and tell he wasn't happy. I raised on the button with A-K and he re-raised before the flop. I just called & then I called him all the way to the river because I just knew he was trying to buy it and didn't have anything. Is this woman's intuition or what? He just shook his head when I called and mucked his cards. The player to my right asked me how I could call with A-K and I indicated that I simply didn't know. It was just a "feeling". Good grief.
So then I got stupid or maybe cocky. I honestly don't know. We were down to 3 tables (from 5) and there was a guy (Tim) who raised every other hand and we didn't see a lot of what he was raising with. I've played with him in live games & I know he plays loose-aggressive, but I guess he plays tighter in tournaments because he got me good. This was another of those "feel" situations. I just "knew" he was raising light. I was sick of it because it was really starting to annoy me and therein lies my problem. I get annoyed too easily.
He raised again and I just lost it. I went all-in with A-5 suited and I HAD NO REASON TO DO SO except that I was annoyed and didn't believe him. He insta-called with A-K and knocked me out. This was my ONLY mistake all night and it was the one that did me in. OMG how can I be so stupid? I had plenty of chips. I need to just shake off my annoyance and get over it. This is a problem I really need to work on. I could have easily folded and moved on to the next hand.
This continued for the first 2 hours. I even made what I think was simply a "feel" call holding A-K. One player had been getting beat up pretty bad by me and some of the other players. You could just look at him and tell he wasn't happy. I raised on the button with A-K and he re-raised before the flop. I just called & then I called him all the way to the river because I just knew he was trying to buy it and didn't have anything. Is this woman's intuition or what? He just shook his head when I called and mucked his cards. The player to my right asked me how I could call with A-K and I indicated that I simply didn't know. It was just a "feeling". Good grief.
So then I got stupid or maybe cocky. I honestly don't know. We were down to 3 tables (from 5) and there was a guy (Tim) who raised every other hand and we didn't see a lot of what he was raising with. I've played with him in live games & I know he plays loose-aggressive, but I guess he plays tighter in tournaments because he got me good. This was another of those "feel" situations. I just "knew" he was raising light. I was sick of it because it was really starting to annoy me and therein lies my problem. I get annoyed too easily.
He raised again and I just lost it. I went all-in with A-5 suited and I HAD NO REASON TO DO SO except that I was annoyed and didn't believe him. He insta-called with A-K and knocked me out. This was my ONLY mistake all night and it was the one that did me in. OMG how can I be so stupid? I had plenty of chips. I need to just shake off my annoyance and get over it. This is a problem I really need to work on. I could have easily folded and moved on to the next hand.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Why Can't I Win This Tournament?
I'm not complaining . . . maybe a little. I took second place (for the second time) in Steve Stark's home game gone wild last Sunday. I have been the donkey once and I've taken 3rd or 4th once (can't remember which), but I can't seem to win. I really want my name on that damn wall!
As always, it was a fun tournament. I had a crazy little hand where Paul came in to deal and we were just talking about how he had given me some big pots recently with his favorite hand (J-9) and at the same time I looked down at my cards and had J-9. Go figure.
The blinds were 50-100. There were no raises and I was in the cut-off. Yippee. I raised to 400 just because I thought it was a good omen that we'd just been talking about the hand. Isn't that silly? Nonetheless, I got one caller and the flop gave me a gut shot straight draw needing an 8. The other player checked and I bet about half his stack (700). He called. Oops.
The turn was an 8. I couldn't believe it. He went all-in. Yippee again! I was so pleased to turn over my J-9 and Paul just smiled. The other player naturally wasn't too happy, but I've noticed that nobody ever seems to get too upset with anything in this tournament. It truly is just for fun and that's definitely what it is. Also, for 2nd place I got a nifty little pocket poker odds calculator with games on it to boot. Gotta love those prizes!
As always, it was a fun tournament. I had a crazy little hand where Paul came in to deal and we were just talking about how he had given me some big pots recently with his favorite hand (J-9) and at the same time I looked down at my cards and had J-9. Go figure.
The blinds were 50-100. There were no raises and I was in the cut-off. Yippee. I raised to 400 just because I thought it was a good omen that we'd just been talking about the hand. Isn't that silly? Nonetheless, I got one caller and the flop gave me a gut shot straight draw needing an 8. The other player checked and I bet about half his stack (700). He called. Oops.
The turn was an 8. I couldn't believe it. He went all-in. Yippee again! I was so pleased to turn over my J-9 and Paul just smiled. The other player naturally wasn't too happy, but I've noticed that nobody ever seems to get too upset with anything in this tournament. It truly is just for fun and that's definitely what it is. Also, for 2nd place I got a nifty little pocket poker odds calculator with games on it to boot. Gotta love those prizes!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Chopping at Jokers
The 12:30 tournament on Saturdays at Jokers is one of my favorites, as it is a deep stack with 20 minute rounds. One actually gets to play a bit of poker.
I couldn't lose during the first round except for one notable hand when I played 8-4 suited on the button against a raise (hello Dr. Phil) simply because I was on fire. I think anyone who was on the heater I was on at that point would have done the same thing. I flopped 2 pair and slow played it to my detriment as Dr. Phil got 2 bigger pair on the river. However, I didn't end up losing a lot on that hand, so it worked out OK.
In the end, I chopped 3 ways with Phil and Kim (a dealer at the Crazy Moose). We were trading chips back & forth for a little while & finally decided on the chop. It's always fun to make a profit.
The main thing I liked about this specific tournament was that (despite the 8-4 fiasco) I think I made pretty good decisions throughout. When a person consistently tries to make good decisions on each and every hand, I think the outcome is always better. I must work much harder on this so that my results improve.
I couldn't lose during the first round except for one notable hand when I played 8-4 suited on the button against a raise (hello Dr. Phil) simply because I was on fire. I think anyone who was on the heater I was on at that point would have done the same thing. I flopped 2 pair and slow played it to my detriment as Dr. Phil got 2 bigger pair on the river. However, I didn't end up losing a lot on that hand, so it worked out OK.
In the end, I chopped 3 ways with Phil and Kim (a dealer at the Crazy Moose). We were trading chips back & forth for a little while & finally decided on the chop. It's always fun to make a profit.
The main thing I liked about this specific tournament was that (despite the 8-4 fiasco) I think I made pretty good decisions throughout. When a person consistently tries to make good decisions on each and every hand, I think the outcome is always better. I must work much harder on this so that my results improve.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Seven Way Split - Kinda Silly
I played in the deep stack (20,000) at the Island Casino for the first time in months. If you make the final table you usually play until at least 11:30 p.m. and since I still work it's kind of a pain, but I figure I can do it once in awhile. They have also stopped the 25 minute dinner break, so that shortens things up a bit.
I did make the final table which was a miracle. In the first 20 minutes of the tournament I made 2 bad mistakes and lost more than half my chips. But I struggled valiantly and continued on. When we got down to 7 players with the blinds at 4,000-8,000, and sitting on a very short stack of just over 5 big blinds, I laughingly suggested a 7-way split. To my total amazement, 4 others wanted to do it. Two players (both fairly large chip stacks) declined so we played on. After about 2 more hands, they both agreed to chop as well.
I really didn't think the 7-way split ($336 total for each player) would occur, but I certainly wasn't going to argue when I was the short stack. They were only paying 3 spots at that point and cash in hand is better than nothing when my odds of cashing were extreme. After deducting $26 tip and $65 buy-in cost it was a $245 profit, which is more than I get in a lot of tournaments in which I take first or second. It was just under $50/hour too, which isn't bad at all.
What do you think? Would you make a split like this at 11:25 p.m. on a Tuesday night with 5 big blinds? I think you would.
I did make the final table which was a miracle. In the first 20 minutes of the tournament I made 2 bad mistakes and lost more than half my chips. But I struggled valiantly and continued on. When we got down to 7 players with the blinds at 4,000-8,000, and sitting on a very short stack of just over 5 big blinds, I laughingly suggested a 7-way split. To my total amazement, 4 others wanted to do it. Two players (both fairly large chip stacks) declined so we played on. After about 2 more hands, they both agreed to chop as well.
I really didn't think the 7-way split ($336 total for each player) would occur, but I certainly wasn't going to argue when I was the short stack. They were only paying 3 spots at that point and cash in hand is better than nothing when my odds of cashing were extreme. After deducting $26 tip and $65 buy-in cost it was a $245 profit, which is more than I get in a lot of tournaments in which I take first or second. It was just under $50/hour too, which isn't bad at all.
What do you think? Would you make a split like this at 11:25 p.m. on a Tuesday night with 5 big blinds? I think you would.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
In the Zone
Do you ever feel like it's not really you who's playing poker? Yesterday felt like that to me.
First, I should preface this by saying that on Tuesday I played the 15,000 chip tournament (15-minute rounds) at Jokers and busted out right before the first round was over. I had not played one single hand (and had folded both small & big blind to raises) when I picked up the dreaded A-A. With blinds at 25-50, Bill somebody-or-other raised to a ridiculous 325. Two people in front of me called and I had A-A on the button. I re-raised to 1,025. Bill insta-called and one of the other players called too. You would think one of these bozos would have noticed that I hadn't played a hand yet.
The flop was 10-5-4 with 2 hearts. Bill bet 3,000. The other player folded and I raised to 6,000. Bill went all-in immediately. Oh dear. We had the exact same chip stack. My first thought was that he had flopped a set with 10-10, but I've played with him before and I really thought he would have re-raised me before the flop with 10-10. That's just the way he is (very aggressive). So I discounted 10-10. I called like the idiot I am for all my chips and he had flopped a set of fives. FIVES for God's sake. Here is another example of me thinking I would never call a re-raise with 5-5 but not assuming that someone else would. Great googly moogly.
Anyway, I made up for it yesterday. I could do no wrong. The flops all came my way. I played any two cards for a bit because I was just hitting everything. It was crazy. My pocket aces held up twice. (Bill wasn't playing which is probably a good thing.) I hit two pair about 6 times. I hit the river several times to win when I was behind. I felt like I was on automatic. And I won the tournament. This is good because I haven't cashed in over a month, which is really unusual for me. I have been making final tables left and right, but not cashing. I needed it, even though there were only 14 players and I only netted $150. I just don't care. It feels really good.
Onward and upward! Now I can play tonight at the Lucky Bridge. They add $700 and the pay-outs are pretty darn good. Wish me luck!
First, I should preface this by saying that on Tuesday I played the 15,000 chip tournament (15-minute rounds) at Jokers and busted out right before the first round was over. I had not played one single hand (and had folded both small & big blind to raises) when I picked up the dreaded A-A. With blinds at 25-50, Bill somebody-or-other raised to a ridiculous 325. Two people in front of me called and I had A-A on the button. I re-raised to 1,025. Bill insta-called and one of the other players called too. You would think one of these bozos would have noticed that I hadn't played a hand yet.
The flop was 10-5-4 with 2 hearts. Bill bet 3,000. The other player folded and I raised to 6,000. Bill went all-in immediately. Oh dear. We had the exact same chip stack. My first thought was that he had flopped a set with 10-10, but I've played with him before and I really thought he would have re-raised me before the flop with 10-10. That's just the way he is (very aggressive). So I discounted 10-10. I called like the idiot I am for all my chips and he had flopped a set of fives. FIVES for God's sake. Here is another example of me thinking I would never call a re-raise with 5-5 but not assuming that someone else would. Great googly moogly.
Anyway, I made up for it yesterday. I could do no wrong. The flops all came my way. I played any two cards for a bit because I was just hitting everything. It was crazy. My pocket aces held up twice. (Bill wasn't playing which is probably a good thing.) I hit two pair about 6 times. I hit the river several times to win when I was behind. I felt like I was on automatic. And I won the tournament. This is good because I haven't cashed in over a month, which is really unusual for me. I have been making final tables left and right, but not cashing. I needed it, even though there were only 14 players and I only netted $150. I just don't care. It feels really good.
Onward and upward! Now I can play tonight at the Lucky Bridge. They add $700 and the pay-outs are pretty darn good. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Changing the Way I Do Things
I've decided I play too much poker. I'm only going to play deep stack tournaments from now on. By deep stack I mean starting chips of 5,000+ and blind rounds of at least 15-20 minutes. I feel that I get to play more poker this way instead of the stupid ram & jam necessary in the short stack 10-minute round tournaments. The deep stacks also pay better and they are not that much more expensive.
Thus, I will probably play only once or twice a month at the Moose ($60) and once or twice a month elsewhere (Jokers for $40 or Island for $65 probably). My goal is to get damned serious and start winning more of these so I can play bigger and bigger tournaments. I would really like to play in more of the Pendleton tournaments or up in Spokane at Northern Quest's Best of the West, but I never seem to hold onto any of my winnings very long.
So, my goal over the next several months is to basically play ONLY tournaments, ONLY deep stack tournaments and to SAVE my damned winnings, which will be the hardest part believe me because I love to blow money. Don't we all?
For starters, I'm playing in the $100 buy-in at Pendleton on Friday, November 4. That's the only one I can afford to play in unless I make lots of money in the tournament. Wish me luck!
Thus, I will probably play only once or twice a month at the Moose ($60) and once or twice a month elsewhere (Jokers for $40 or Island for $65 probably). My goal is to get damned serious and start winning more of these so I can play bigger and bigger tournaments. I would really like to play in more of the Pendleton tournaments or up in Spokane at Northern Quest's Best of the West, but I never seem to hold onto any of my winnings very long.
So, my goal over the next several months is to basically play ONLY tournaments, ONLY deep stack tournaments and to SAVE my damned winnings, which will be the hardest part believe me because I love to blow money. Don't we all?
For starters, I'm playing in the $100 buy-in at Pendleton on Friday, November 4. That's the only one I can afford to play in unless I make lots of money in the tournament. Wish me luck!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
