Posts Tagged ‘tournament poker strategy’

h1

Bad Poker Streak

February 23, 2010

Roughly a month after raving about how favorable the structure in the Bremerton Lanes daily tournament was to my playing style, I find myself in an unbelievable funk. First of all, I’ve cashed in the tournament 1 time in 11 tries. Ridiculous. At this point, a first place finish would barely have me in the green YTD. Secondly, I don’t think it’s ever taken me this many attempts to win any live tournament I’ve ever regularly played in. It’s starting to ware on me.

Yesterday was a disaster. I lost roughly 60% of my chips on the 3rd hand of the tournament and never really recovered. With the blinds at 25-50, I completed the small blind with 85d. The flop came T86, with one diamond and since it was only 4-way action, I decided to throw out a feeler bet of 125. I got called in two spots and decided I was done with the hand unless I improved on the turn. Fortunately the turn was a beautiful 8 and I lead out again for 250. The button raised me to 500, which is suspicious, but small enough that I’m not going to toss away a full house draw. River ended up blanking, I checked and the button bet 1200. Pretty easy fold… but for some reason I decided to call and he showed me a flopped straight with 97. As much complaining as I’ve done about my lack of success, it has been partly my fault and this call is a testament to that. In this situation the only hand I can expect to beat is a bluff. It’s very unlikely that my opponent would bet something for value that doesn’t have my three 8s, 5 kicker beat. My opponent here is generally over-aggressive and has a slightly crazy image in my mind, so that probably got him a call I wouldn’t have even considered against most other people.

After that hand, my stack dwelled in the range of 1000-1200 for several rounds. I finally lucked out a bit when I picked up AA and got someone to double me up on an 8-high flop with TT. After that, I lost an all-in with AQ vs AA and was right back to a micro-stack. After shoving 2-3 times without even looking at my cards or getting called, keeping myself afloat for a few orbits, I got looked up by KQ in a blind vs blind situation and my J9 didn’t spike.

Today started off well enough. I had about 7000 in chips by the 75-150 round and was playing very well. Then the downhill spiral started.

With the blinds at 75-150 still, three people limped in front of me and I looked down at QQ on the button. I raised it to 850 and was surprised when a tight female player called me from the small blind. The big blind and all the limpers folded and the flop came A65. The pot size is 2150 and I have about 6K… She checks to me… what do you do in this spot? When she called preflop, I narrowed her range down to about 5 hands: AK, AQ, AA, JJ, and TT. Since three of the hands I put her on have me beat, is betting a wise move? I think not. So I checked and she fired out 1000 on the turn and I folded. My current impression of this woman is that she plays pretty solid… but I haven’t exactly decided if she’s a nit or not. I did see her limp UTG with the blinds @ 50-100 and get it AI for $2K+ with 7s6s on a 65s3s flop… so she obviously has a little creativity and gamble in her game. The big question for me was… is she the kind of player to risk $1000 on the turn with Jacks or Tens assuming I didn’t care much for the Ace? If I thought the answer to that question was yes, I would have called the turn and put her to the test again on the river… but honestly I don’t know. As it was, I thought AK made up about 70% of her range, AQ about 10%, JJ/TT about 15% and AA about 5%. I’m ruling QQ out as a possibility since I have it myself (also making AQ less likely) and I don’t know many players that would smooth-call with KK preflop in that spot. Since I’m beat by what I estimate to be 85% of her range here, I think checking the flop and folding the turn is best…. but soooooooooooooo annoying!

The hand after that, I raised over a weak limper to 400 with Qc9c and saw a KQ9, two diamond flop HU. Perfect. He checks to me and I bet 750. He calls. Turn card is a Jack, basically killing my hand and my action. The river is an 8d and he shoves for like 1600 and I fold. At that point, there simply isn’t a single hand I can imagine him calling that flop with that doesn’t have me beat now. Regardless, I’m steaming and I walk away from the table for a good 7 minutes to calm down.

I think I had a few unsuccessful steal after that cause I was in the 2000-2500 chip range by the time the blinds were 200-400. I picked up a couple rounds of blinds to stay afloat and got a disgusting walk on my big blind when I was holding QQ. Finally, I got it in with 77 and got called in two spots which pretty much sealed my fate unless I spiked a set. The board came K high and they both checked all the way down and I had a brief glimmer of hope when the second caller flipped over AJ high, but then my other opponent showed QQ and I was showed the door for an early exit yet again.

My showing in this tournament over the past few months has been putrid… with one cash in eleven tries, I’m running at an ugly 11% In The Money rate, which is even worse than my MTT cash % in MUCH larger fields, let alone 3-4 tables. Something’s gotta give… and soon… cause my patience is waring thin.

To make matters worse, I had my first losing day in 2 weeks yesterday and just ran BRUTALLY bad during my hour of play after showing a profit all day long. So goes the swings…

Posted in poker | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

1/27 – Bremerton Lanes Tournament

January 28, 2010

Okay, not that I have a big problem with recall, but in the interest of making the details of each hand very easy to remember, I brought a notepad with me yesterday so I could jot down the stack sizes and blind levels of the key hands I played… and I was extremely surprised at how poorly this was received at my table. I don’t think there was one person I played with that wasn’t bothered by this. I got several “I didn’t realize we were being tested” and “there’s a test later” and “should I read your notes before I act?” comments. Part of me wanted to explain what I was doing and that it wasn’t personal, but ultimately, I decided it was best to just smile and raise my eyebrows since anything that is throwing my opponent’s off their game is good for me. Also, I usually throw people some rope and let them know if they made a good lay down or not, but I’ve decided that no one has any business being entitled to what I’m doing… well, unless they want to read my blog every day and that’s okay with me! I was able to splash around a lot more today and I got involved in a lot of pots.

Key Hand #1 – (25/50) – I raise UTG to 150 with 8c7c – Pretty aggressive play being in horrible position… but honestly, I don’t mind playing a hand like this in that spot in No Limit, especially when I have the betting lead. Two people call. Flop comes down 732, one club. I can definitely think of worse spots. I bet out $375, one fold, and one quick raise to $1200. I strongly consider shipping it since I’m having a hard time thinking of hands that have me beat… but then I start thinking about my opponent and decide that he’s never bluffing here… and he’d probably even make this move with A7. Plus, do I really wanna ship my stack with top pair, weak kicker in the first round? Not what I had in mind when I raised the pot in the first place.

Key Hand #2 – (25/50) – 3 people limp, I call with JdTd in the small blind, BB taps. T36 flop, two hearts. Not really sure why, but I decide to check my top pair and it checks around. I bet out $275 on a 2 turn… and the same guy from last hand raises to $750. I shake my head, kind of irritated, but fold. He shows 54 for the nut straight.

Key Hand #3 – (25/50) – 2 people limp, I make it 225 to go from LP with Kd4d, obviously trying to make up for some of the ground I’ve lost. One of the limpers calls and I have position HU to a 987 flop with two diamonds. He checks, I bet $350 and he calls. Turn is a 4. He checks again, I decide he has a draw… probably a straight draw… or a weakish pair… and bet $800. I only have $1100 behind after my bet, so it’s pretty clear I’m never folding here. He mucks and I pick up my first decent pot.

Key Hand #4 – (50/100) – I call a raise to 300 on the button with AcJc. Flop comes down 877, with one club and we are HU. He bets 300 and I call… not based on the strength of my hand, but simply to see what he does on the turn and if I can take the pot away from him. The turn is a Qh, putting two to a flush on board. He bets 300 again and I decide that he’s not too excited about his hand and pop it to 875. He tanks for a bit, looks like he’s going to throw it away, and then shoves on me. I fold.

Key Hand #5 – (50/100) – two people limp, I call with 6c5c in late position, both blinds are in. Flop comes Q94 with two clubs. It checks to me and even though I have position, everyone has shown weakness, and I have a flush draw, I check since a Q9 combo on the flop is going to be in the range of a lot of hands and I think I’m usually getting called here. The turn is a 2, no club, and it checks to my right (same guy from last hand) and he bets 300. I have 1900 in all, and I consider calling, but I decide that I don’t really wanna call for 15% of my stack when I don’t think I’m going to get paid off if I hit my flush draw. Instead, I decide that with my stack size and the situation at hand, shoving it all in is best, as it strongly increases my chances of winning the pot right now. I do just that and this time the guy looks like he might call, but folds instead. Sweet! Even though I really want a fold there, getting called isn’t the worst thing in the world since I do have 10 outs.

Key Hand #6 – (75/150) – I have Qh8h in the SB and we have 3-way action to the flop. The board comes QT4 with three spades. No need to protect my hand here. Anyone with a big spade or a flush is at least going to call me, might even raise me, and I’ll have no idea where I’m at. Might as well try to take a card off and see what happens. Another 4 hits the turn and I could define my hand here, but I decide the situation hasn’t changed much, and it checks around again. Q on the river and it’s up to me with my full house. There’s 450 in the pot and I settle on 500. Since I figure no one has much, I might as well make as much as possible just in case someone wants to look me up. The BB calls and I scoop a pretty good pot for such little action.

Key Hand #7 – (100/200) – UTG limps, small blind raises to 1100 and I look down at AA in the BB. I ship my stack and SB calls with JJ. My hand holds and I’m up to 7100 in chips and an M of 19. Awesome.

Key Hand #8 – (200/400) – Folds to me and I raise to 1100 with KhTh. BB says “why do you have to raise when I got a decent hand?” and finally calls. Board comes AJx. He has 2500 total. This would be my first big mistake of the tournament. He checks to me and I bet 1400. He shoves it and I call and miss my straight. Bad play by me. No need for me to bet the flop here. Any bet by me is going to commit me to the pot with his stack size and he’s never going to fold an ace here. My best option was to check behind on the flop, try to hit my gutshot for free, or re-evaluate how much he likes his hand on the turn. In reality, I think he would’ve lead into me on the turn and I could’ve folded, saving 2500… but instead, I did the stupid thing, and now my big stack is a medium stack.

Key Hand #9 – (200/400) – Button raises to 1200 with 2100 behind. I have AhTh in the BB and put him all in. He calls with A9 and I win with a full house. Back up to 8300.

Key Hand #10 – (200/400) – Some of the details of this hand might be fuzzy since I didn’t leave any notes. The guy I beat in the pot was to my right and was steaming so bad after the hand that I didn’t want to needle him too much further. I have 97 in the BB and there were a few limpers. The board comes 863 with two hearts. It checks all the way around. Turn is 4s and the guy to my right bets 1200. I have a heart and spade in my hand, we both have pretty deep stacks, and there’s tons of cards that could come on the river that could win me the pot… not just my straight outs. I call. Everyone else folds and the 5s hits, making me a straight. He bets out 1200 again and I raise him to 3300. He goes into insta-tilt. Finally folds… and doesn’t let this hand go the rest of the tournament. He’s constantly asking me about it and I never give him the slightest bit of info. Later, when he busts, he tells me “You better be here next time.” LOL!

Key Hand #11 – (300/600) – UTG raises to 1700. I have AA in LP and decide that he has enough behind that he’ll fold a weaker hand if I re-raise him here, so I just call. The blinds fold and we see a T32, two spade flop. He immediately ships for 4200 and I call. He shows KsJs, I turn a set, and he misses the river. I’m up to over 20,000 now.

Key Hand #12 – (400/800) UTG limps, I limp with KQ, SB folds, BB checks. Board comes J83 and it checks to me. No one has show strength, but the limp is kind of confusing me, the BB is a good player, and I’m in obvious steal position… so I just check. An ace hits the turn and the BB bets 1200. Limper folds and I call. Yeah, I have a gutshot here, but that’s not why I called. I figured the BB would raise preflop with a good ace, there’s a heart draw on the board, and I just feel like 90% of the time, he’s going to check the river and I can win with a bluff. 6h hits the river and he does check. I bet 2700 and he folds.

Key Hand #13 – (500-1000) I made it to the final table with the chip lead and I’m feeling pretty great about my play so far. 1 person limps, I have KJ on the button, the SB makes it 3000 to go, BB folds, limper folds and it’s up to me. The SB is a solid player, but I’m getting 4 to 1 to call and I have position on him, so I easily make the call. The board comes J high and he bets 4000. I don’t even hesitate to ship it all in and he quickly calls and shows KK. Ugh. I’d rather see Aces here… I don’t hit my two outer and my stack has been devastated down to 3500. This hand was eating at me all day yesterday and it’s unbelievably how poorly I played it. I just didn’t stop to think about what was going on. Yes, I was getting great odds preflop so I think calling there is correct. My flop play is what kills me. When he leads out for 4000, that doesn’t say a whole lot.. but the fact that he raised to a mere 3000 preflop when two people already limped tells the whole story. If his hand was vulnerable, he would’ve made it 6000-7000 to go in an effort to win the pot right there, but he clearly wanted action on his big pair. If that wasn’t enough information to fold for 4000 on the flop despite making top pair, I always had the option of just calling and seeing how much he liked his hand on the turn. When he ships it on a non-Ace turn, I think I can safely fold there and still have 15000 in chips. Needless to say, I misplayed the hand badly and it probably cost me a tournament I could have won.

Key Hand #14 – (1000-2000) I have 6000 total and 98 in the small blind… we’re close to the money bubble, so I could fold here, have 5000 left, and still have a full orbit to find a better spot…but I’m kind of tilted now and decide to just ship it even though I know I’m getting called 100% of the time by the big stack. On the other hand, I need to double up more than I need to preserve chips, so it’s probably worth the gamble… and I might even have the best hand! He shows T8 though and I’m dominated and his hand holds. GG me!

Ugh… I felt I played spectacularly the whole tournament, with the exception of two hands, but unfortunately, the last mistake cost me 80% of my chips when I was holding a big stack. Great tournament + One Huge Blunder = No Money.

Posted in poker | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments »