O-Poker

I just watched ThePokerFilm and thought it was pretty good. I'm sure most people that read my blog have already heard about the documentary about a group of college kids that have won a ridiculous amount of money playing online (and live) poker and the $10k drinking bet.

I'm glad that online poker wasn't around when I was in college. I don't think that I had the right mentality for it back then. I can't even imagine what it would have been like to have such a sick amount of $$ to throw around with little to no expenses. I remember betting $100 on a football game in college worrying where I would get the money if I lost. (I used to bet $10-$20 a game in college.)

In college, there was nothing like driving an extra 2 miles because the beer was $0.50 cheaper/six pack and calculating exactly how much change I would have to scrape together for the sales tax. Something these guys definitely don't have to worry about.

Go check it out.

ThePokerFilm.com - click on videos

***Warning - Rant Post**** :)

Wow - crazy, crazy weekend. I think that I jinxed myself by posting my October graph (at end of month and each week.) Maybe I should stop posting graphs when I'm doing well. It seems to trip a bad beat/cooler switch. ;)

I try to steer clear of going on and on about bad beats and coolers, but this weekend has been ridiculous. It is the kind of stuff that Fuel55 usually posts.

I just had set under set twice in less than 5 minutes on two different tables for close to three buy-ins total. (set of Queens under set of Aces and set of 10s under set of Qs).

Friday night was even more brutal with suckouts left and right - including KK losing to QQ with a Q on the river.

All in all, I lost 8 buy-ins so far this weekend.

Some Hands (followed by the PokerEV all-in Graph from Friday night)

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1661948 - QQQ vs AAA

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1661949 - 101010 vs QQQ

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1661747 - Only against a shorty, but this is how my luck was running

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1661713 - Don't usually make this call, but this guy was a little fishy. He hits his flush.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1661501 - AA vs. 66 - standard

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1658225 - KK vs QQ - all-in on the flop. Queen on the river.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1658219 - Make a loose call 0f a 3 bet with 7c8c. I hit my straight on the turn after he checks the flop. The river fills him up.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1656348 - SB vs. BB - AKs against JJ - no help.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1656345 - 666 vs. 999.

Edit: http://www.pokerhand.org/?1665405 - Adding this one from tonight.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1665684

There were many more. You get the idea.

I guess this is where I should say something like....

The sun will come out tomorrow. The sun will come out tomorrow. Tomorrow there'll be sun.

Anyway, I still have a hefty bankroll for 2/4. If this keeps up I may take some time off from cash games and try my luck at tourneys some.

EDIT: After a night of sleep and a review of the hands, it's all good. I really think that I only spewed less than 1 buy-in which isn't bad in light of all the beats and suckouts.

If I look at this weekend with October then I am still up $10k, so life is good.

I'll be back at it and will stop the rant posts. :)

The reason that I posted this hand was because I felt like I played it horribly.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I think I agree with WillWonka. "Folding > Pushing/Re-rasiing > Calling."

I managed to do the worst possible thing on the turn - flat calling against an aggressive player knowing that I am going to face a big river bet no matter what card comes out.

I am probably folding this hand in a normal situation. I just flat called because I had position on the river, we had both been playing back at each other, in his eyes I could have any ATC because I am on the button, and I felt like a big part of his range included a ton of draws (flush, straight, pair and flush draw, etc.). I wanted to see what he would do on the river.

The worst possible river card came and he insta-potted it. I definitely had to fold to the river bet even if he was bluffing because the Ace hits so many hands in his range. The nut flush draw is now an overpair, AJ, Ac9c, Ac2c, etc, etc, etc.

I don't know what he had but am confident that I was beat. I guess folding the turn was probably the best option.


FullTiltPoker Game #4010177777: Table Alta (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:13:49 ET - 2007/10/30
Seat 2: Zsolti ($507.10)
Seat 3: easyway777 ($542.10)
Seat 4: emsheat6 ($0), is sitting out
Seat 5: cmitch ($1,028.90)
Seat 6: bangoo ($876.35)
bangoo posts the small blind of $2
Zsolti posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to cmitch [Qd Qh]
easyway777 folds
cmitch raises to $14
jpriceless sits down
bangoo calls $12
Zsolti folds
*** FLOP *** [Jc 3c 9s]
jpriceless adds $160
bangoo checks
cmitch bets $24
bangoo calls $24
*** TURN *** [Jc 3c 9s] [4h]
bangoo checks
jpriceless stands up
cmitch bets $56
emsheat6 adds $150
bangoo raises to $184
emsheat6 has returned
cmitch calls $128
*** RIVER *** [Jc 3c 9s 4h] [Ad]
mmmm9999111 sits down
bangoo bets $388
mmmm9999111 adds $400
cmitch has 15 seconds left to act
cmitch has requested TIME
cmitch folds
Uncalled bet of $388 returned to bangoo
bangoo mucks
bangoo wins the pot ($446)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $448 | Rake $2
Board: [Jc 3c 9s 4h Ad]
Seat 2: Zsolti (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: easyway777 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: emsheat6 is sitting out
Seat 5: cmitch (button) folded on the River
Seat 6: bangoo (small blind) collected ($446), mucked

October Results & Monitor Question

I really grinded the cash games this month. I don't think that I have ever played more than 25k hands in a month and I usually average between 15k-20k hands/month. I managed to get in just over 50k hands this month thanks to being a little slow at work (not working any late nights) and six tabling some towards the end of the month. There were some huge swings due to a some suckouts, coolers, and the occasional spew.

I only played four tourneys (Blogger big game, 1 FTOPS sat, and 2 PCA sub-sats) this month and don't really miss them. They are fun, but I have been in cash game mode and haven't had the desire to play a bunch of mtts.

I am going to try to grind the cash games again in November and maybe buy a bigger monitor. Playing six tables on a 17" laptop screen while sitting in the recliner, watching TV, and talking to my wife is probably not the best thing for my win rate. I am sure that I will get in a lot less hands, but hopefully they will be a lot more productive.

Any recommendations on a monitor? I am thinking about the Samsung 24" widescreen. The 30" widescreen is probably too big for my needs. Anyone have a Samsung 24" or 30" WS monitor? Thoughts?

Tough Turn Decision

I posted this on the cardrunners message boards and got some decent feedback. I would be interested in a few more opinions.

Villain (20 VP$IP/13 PFR%/2 TAF) had been calling a lot of my button raises from the SB. I had raised his BB from the button earlier on another table with KK and he flat called preflop with AA. The flop came King high and we got all the money in. He seems to be a little frustrated with my button raises but usually likes to c/r the flop with a big hand (sometimes with air) instead of 3 betting preflop.

FullTiltPoker Game #4010177777: Table Alta (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:13:49 ET - 2007/10/30
Seat 2: Zsolti ($507.10)
Seat 3: easyway777 ($542.10)
Seat 4: emsheat6 ($0), is sitting out
Seat 5: cmitch ($1,028.90)
Seat 6: bangoo ($876.35)
bangoo posts the small blind of $2
Zsolti posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to cmitch [Qd Qh]
easyway777 folds
cmitch raises to $14
bangoo calls $12
Zsolti folds
*** FLOP *** [Jc 3c 9s]
bangoo checks
cmitch bets $24
bangoo calls $24
*** TURN *** [Jc 3c 9s] [4h]
bangoo checks
cmitch bets $56
bangoo raises to $184
cmitch ????

Maybe six tabling isn't for me. I played a ton of hands this week - more hands than I have played some months. I didn't play any tourneys and played six tables most of the time.

My graph for the week looks ridiculous - thanks to some suckouts, coolers, lost coinflips, running KK into AA a few times, etc, etc, waaah, waaaah, waaaaaah. I think that I had Fuel type luck for most of the week.

The good news is that I managed to be profitable for the week. The bad news is that I played a ton of hands and had an eleven buy-in downswing in the middle there. I wish that I would have quit for the week at 8k hands. :)

I checked through my hands and there was only a little bit of spewing on my part. One example is getting all in preflop once with 99 vs. KK in button vs. blind battle. My button raises were getting 4 bet a lot and he happened to have a hand this time.

I am probably going to play less hands this week and will probably switch back to 4 tabling most of the time. Six tabling takes a high level of concentration that I sometimes lack.

The four biggest losing hands of the week

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640813 - I should have raised the flop more but I felt like getting a little tricky against this particular player. I check raised the turn hoping he had a hand like AsAx or KsKx. Unfortunately, he had the nut flush. I needed the board to pair and it didn't .

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640823 - A spot where I might have been able to get away from KK.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640827 - Another KK vs. AA. I'm not getting away from this hand against this guy. We had been 3 betting and 4 betting each other quite a bit. I guess I could have shoved preflop, but the result would have been the same.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640830 - I posted this hand a few days ago.


The four biggest winning hands for the week

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640842 - Perfect turn for my hand and to get him to come along.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640845 - I raised with suited connectors preflop and then got priced in against two big hands. The flop couldn't have been much better and the turn was the perfect card. I'm not going to worry about being up against AA.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640850 - Slow playing is bad. I was surprised he shoved the river on me. I was really expecting to see at least a full house - hopefully one that I beat. He is a good player and said that he was playing so many tables that he completely misses the fact that the board paired. Lucky me.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640857 - This guy had trouble folding hands. I felt like I could get the most value by slow playing the 2nd nuts on the turn. We had been in a lot of blind vs. blind and button vs. SB confrontations and I felt like he was getting frustrated with me. I also had made a river bluff at this table a few hands earlier that was picked off. I guess paid off because of my table image combined with our history.

A couple of fun (maybe interesting) hands

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640864 - Villain was 33/24 and flat calling flop raises/shoving the turn. I saw him do this with a mediocre hand earlier and catch. I am getting the money in all day long against this guy. I loved it when he flipped his hand up.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640879 - This guy was calling me down light a lot. I really felt like he would think that I didn't have an Ace if I bet big and might re-raise me. He was also playing Ax hands and would probably get all his money in if he had the other Ace. A good example of a horrible image paying off.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640890 - My hand looks so much like a squeeze. Flop the 2nd nuts and get paid off.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640898 - I'll take this spot all day long. Unfortunately, I wou

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1640904 - I posted this one earlier in the week with the chat of the guy trying to berate me.

I try to stay clear of posting bad beats but this was brutal

Full Tilt Poker Game #3999061403: Table Treviso (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:27:59 ET - 2007/10/28
Seat 1: locks18 ($980.60)
Seat 2: monkeyface37 ($410)
Seat 3: Zimmer4141 ($459.90)
Seat 4: 1timedealer ($557)
Seat 5: Gollum63 ($611)
Seat 6: cmitch ($406)
Gollum63 posts the small blind of $2
cmitch posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to cmitch [As Ad]
locks18 folds
monkeyface37 folds
Zimmer4141 folds
1timedealer raises to $14
Gollum63 raises to $46
cmitch calls $42
1timedealer has 15 seconds left to act
1timedealer raises to $184
Gollum63 has 15 seconds left to act
Gollum63 calls $138
cmitch raises to $406, and is all in
1timedealer: so gross
1timedealer has 15 seconds left to act
1timedealer raises to $557, and is all in
Gollum63 has 15 seconds left to act
Gollum63 calls $373
1timedealer shows [Kd Kh]
Gollum63 shows [Js Jh]
cmitch shows [As Ad]
*** FLOP *** [Qs 3d Jd]
1timedealer: run better man
*** TURN *** [Qs 3d Jd] [Ks]
*** RIVER *** [Qs 3d Jd Ks] [5h]
1timedealer shows three of a kind, Kings
Gollum63 shows three of a kind, Jacks
1timedealer wins the side pot ($302) with three of a kind, Kings
cmitch shows a pair of Aces
1timedealer wins the main pot ($1,215) with three of a kind, Kings
1timedealer: oh oopd
cmitch adds $400
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $1,520 Main pot $1,218. Side pot $302. | Rake $3
Board: [Qs 3d Jd Ks 5h]
Seat 1: locks18 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: monkeyface37 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: Zimmer4141 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: 1timedealer (button) showed [Kd Kh] and won ($1,517) with three of a kind, Kings
Seat 5: Gollum63 (small blind) showed [Js Jh] and lost with three of a kind, Jacks
Seat 6: cmitch (big blind) showed [As Ad] and lost with a pair of Aces

This is the chat that followed me losing with 99 vs. 77 on a 107972 board. (see hand at bottom of post)

I really don't understand what people are thinking sometimes. I'm guessing that he didn't get enough attention as a child.

raisemepuke: oops
raisemepuke: I had 7-7-7-7-lol
cmitch: I had 99 - cooler
cmitch: methinks
Mjlivingston: that is a cooler man
raisemepuke: +Need some KY hero<>???
cmitch: but u can berate me if u like puke
raisemepuke: Na- I'll just take your $$$ boy
cmitch: no prob
raisemepuke: Wish we both had a had a few grand on the table- You would have needed an enima-lol
raisemepuke: Thx for the EASY $$$ boys!!!-lol
raisemepuke stands up


FullTiltPoker Game #3947505549: Table Trails End (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:53:27 ET - 2007/10/23
Seat 2: cmitch ($858.60)
Seat 3: Mjlivingston ($396.30)
Seat 4: thelilbearbeeny ($442)
Seat 5: raisemepuke ($415.10)
Seat 6: DevilYouDont ($1,464.80)
cmitch posts the small blind of $2
Mjlivingston posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to cmitch [9c 9h]
thelilbearbeeny folds
IntoTheBlack adds $80
raisemepuke raises to $8
DevilYouDont folds
cmitch calls $6
Mjlivingston calls $4
*** FLOP *** [Th 7d 9s]
cmitch checks
Mjlivingston checks
raisemepuke bets $20
cmitch calls $20
Mjlivingston folds
*** TURN *** [Th 7d 9s] [7h]
cmitch checks
raisemepuke bets $20
cmitch raises to $68
raisemepuke calls $48
*** RIVER *** [Th 7d 9s 7h] [2c]
cmitch bets $152
raisemepuke has 15 seconds left to act
raisemepuke raises to $319.10, and is all in
cmitch calls $167.10
*** SHOW DOWN ***
raisemepuke shows [7c 7s] four of a kind, Sevens
cmitch mucks
raisemepuke wins the pot ($835.20) with four of a kind, Sevens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $838.20 | Rake $3
Board: [Th 7d 9s 7h 2c]
Seat 2: cmitch (small blind) mucked [9c 9h] - a full house, Nines full of Sevens
Seat 3: Mjlivingston (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: thelilbearbeeny didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: raisemepuke showed [7c 7s] and won ($835.20) with four of a kind, Sevens
Seat 6: DevilYouDont (button) didn't bet (folded)

I was getting into some blind battles with this particular player. I overshove check raised my set on the turn because there were multiple flush draws on the board and he might call the shove with two pair or a flush draw. This was definitely not a standard play.

I was surprised to see the straight and immediately starting thinking, "Pair the board!!! Pair the board!!" The board paired - Weeeeeeeeeeee. Oh wait!! Why is the pot going to him? Ooops, the only "pair the board" card that I didn't want.

Table Plumas (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em
Seat 1: harrydebeng ($410)
Seat 2: FishRoller ($518.50)
Seat 3: cmitch ($482.40)
Seat 4: LeNewbian ($545.50)
Seat 5: Dayblazer ($400)
Seat 6: Epic Monolith ($638.60)
cmitch posts the small blind of $2
LeNewbian posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to cmitch [5c 5d] - Fuel says it's gold. I guess I'll slow play it then.
Epic Monolith has 15 seconds left to act
Epic Monolith folds
harrydebeng folds
FishRoller raises to $14
cmitch calls $12 - Fuel would probably say raise here, but again I opt for the slowplay. ;)

LeNewbian calls $10

*** FLOP *** [7s 6h Kh]
cmitch checks
LeNewbian checks
FishRoller checks

*** TURN *** [7s 6h Kh] [5s]

cmitch checks - This table can't resist checking on two streets.
LeNewbian has 15 seconds left to act
LeNewbian bets $42 - Bingo
FishRoller folds
cmitch raises to $468.40, and is all in - Trying to represent a flush or big draw - hoping two pair or a draw calls me.

LeNewbian calls $426.40 - He called so fast that I knew I was behind.
cmitch shows [5c 5d]
LeNewbian shows [3s 4s] - Pair the board!! Pair the board!!

*** RIVER *** [7s 6h Kh 5s] [6s] - All right the board paired!!

cmitch shows a full house, Fives full of Sixes
LeNewbian shows a straight flush, Seven high - Wasn't thinking about the straight flush possibility.
LeNewbian wins the pot ($975.80) with a straight flush, Seven high
cmitch is sitting out

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $978.80 | Rake $3
Board: [7s 6h Kh 5s 6s]
Seat 1: harrydebeng didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: FishRoller (button) folded on the Turn
Seat 3: cmitch (small blind) showed [5c 5d] and lost with a full house, Fives full of Sixes
Seat 4: LeNewbian (big blind) showed [3s 4s] and won ($975.80) with a straight flush, Seven high
Seat 5: Dayblazer is sitting out
Seat 6: Epic Monolith didn't bet (folded)

BBTwo

I finished 5th in the first installment of BBTwo (yeah, I'm using it - I don't care Trip). I sucked out with JJ against KK early on to build a nice stack and nothing really else exciting happened until the final table. I called a short stack's shove with 77 and he had QQ. Then I shoved with KQs and was called by 88. It would have been nice to win, but I'm happy with how I played.

-------------
Cash Games

It is good to be back at my regular game. After an extended stay at 1/2nl, I made my way back to 2/4nl this week. I even got used to playing 6 tables. I started out on fire and finished up with a 3,500 hand break even stretch. I'm not going to complain about running over 9 ptbb/100 over 8k hands though.

2/4nl is 10 times more aggressive than 1/2nl. As a result, there are a lot more marginal spots and increased variance. I'm very happy with my results my first week back.

I tried out a few different things here and there and will probably tweak some aspects a little over the next few weeks. I'll keep experimenting with the things that seemed to be working and try out a few new things.

I'll post some hand histories later in the week.

I stumbled across a post on 2+2 the other day and have been meaning to post a link to it.

It is good to see a positive online poker post that doesn't involve the Absolute Poker Scandal (nat's recap, P5s podcast), the WCOOP winner getting disqualified for cheating, or the UIGEA.

I like reading stuff like this.

Short version:

Guy stakes several players.
One of them comes in 2nd in the PS Sunday Million for $138k.
The deal is 70/30 (staker/player) since it is a one tourney deal.
The 2nd place finisher actually honors his word and ships the money without any problems.

LINK TO THE THREAD - Worth reading for a change of pace from the Absolute drama.

Rupert's 2+2 BBV thread title and post says it all:

Brag: randomly staked a guy and won $96,600

Was just hanging in #hsmtt on Sunday and JayPez was putting some dudes into the $11 100k. I was like i'll one up this dude and put a loada peeps into a $55 that was about to start. One of the guys had like a pretty solid record at the $2 multis on full tilt so I asked if he wanted to play the Sunday million. We struck a 70/30 deal and it was set.

Unfortunately all my horses bust from the $55 and I was left sweating HojoMofo in the mill... Fast forward 12 hours later and he finished 2nd for $138k. HOLLA!! I gained faith in humanity when he didn't default me on the monies as it arrived in my account this morning Shoutouts to the #HSMTT dudes, especially Hojo!

gogogogogo

Great Spot against a guy that had a lot of trouble laying down hands.

The flop really, really, really sucked, but the turn was OK. :)

DQB on the river.

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: cmitch ($531.30) -
Seat 2: locks18 ($421) -
Seat 3: teXasLars ($452.90)
Seat 4: chupin ($694.95)
Seat 5: DontBluffMePLZZ ($392)
Seat 6: tkdcrew ($443) -


PRE-FLOP:

cmitch posts small blind $2
locks18 posts BIG blind $4
Dealt To: cmitch


CALL teXasLars ($4)
FOLD chupin
RAISE DontBluffMePLZZ ($22)
FOLD tkdcrew
RAISE cmitch ($68)
FOLD locks18
RAISE teXasLars ($452.90)
FOLD DontBluffMePLZZ
CALL cmitch ($384.90)


FLOP:

Pot: $931.8




TURN:

Pot: $931.8




RIVER:

Pot: $931.8




SHOWDOWN:
teXasLars:

cmitch:


cmitch collected $928.8 from main pot with four of a kind, Aces

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $931 Rake: $3

Final Board:


Seat 1: cmitch small blind showed [As Ad] and won 928.80 with four of a kind, Aces - Net Gain/Loss: ($475.9)
Seat 2: locks18 big blind folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-4)
Seat 3: teXasLars showed [Qd Qs] and lost with a full house, Queens full of Aces - Net Gain/Loss: ($-452.9)

Seat 4: chupin didnt bet folded - Net Gain/Loss: ($0)
Seat 5: DontBluffMePLZZ folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-22)
Seat 6: tkdcrew button didnt bet folded - Net Gain/Loss: ($0)


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Nothing like not checking auto-fold in the BB and then getting priced in even with 47o to call. There was $30 in the pot by the time it got to me and I would close out the betting with a $5 call. I think that I am calling any time I can close out the betting and getting 6 to 1 odds with 5 cards to come.


FullTiltPoker Game #3853673134: Table Russell (6 max) - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 14:58:20 ET - 2007/10/14
Seat 1: fmr 86 driver ($90)
Seat 2: michelle2124 ($46.55)
Seat 3: colonu ($97.60)
Seat 4: cmitch ($238)
Seat 5: christina82 ($278.70)
Seat 6: ptb109 ($225.30)
colonu posts the small blind of $1
cmitch posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to cmitch [4c 7h]
christina82 folds
ptb109 raises to $7
fmr 86 driver calls $7
michelle2124 calls $7
colonu calls $6
cmitch calls $5 - What the hell? I'm getting ridiculous odds to call here.

*** FLOP *** [6s 8c 5c] - I think this is a good flop!!!

colonu bets $90.60, and is all in - Has to be a draw.

cmitch calls $90.60 - Flat call and hope more come along.

ptb109 calls $90.60 - If he is just flat calling here then he might as well shove. All the money is obviously going in on the next card.

fmr 86 driver folds - The only smart one. :)

michelle2124 calls $39.55, and is all in - Shorty has an overpair and gutshot - of course she is calling.

*** TURN *** [6s 8c 5c] [Js]

cmitch bets $140.40, and is all in - No more playing around. I hope I can avoid the flush from coming.

ptb109 calls $127.70, and is all in

cmitch shows [4c 7h]
ptb109 shows [Qc Qd]
michelle2124 shows [9h 9d]
colonu shows [4h 4d]

Weeeee!!! Talk about way way ahead. I'm all-in in a 4 way pot with one card to come and only have to dodge 3 outs.

Uncalled bet of $12.70 returned to cmitch
*** RIVER *** [6s 8c 5c Js] [6d]
cmitch shows a straight, Eight high
ptb109 shows two pair, Queens and Sixes
cmitch wins side pot #2 ($255.40) with a straight, Eight high
colonu shows two pair, Sixes and Fours
cmitch wins side pot #1 ($153.15) with a straight, Eight high
michelle2124 shows two pair, Nines and Sixes
cmitch wins the main pot ($190.20) with a straight, Eight high

I remember Lucko saying that "is sitting out" is his favorite part of HH posts.
michelle2124 is sitting out
colonu is sitting out
ptb109 is sitting out

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $601.75 Main pot $193.20. Side pot 1 $153.15. Side pot 2 $255.40. | Rake $3
Board: [6s 8c 5c Js 6d]

Seat 1: fmr 86 driver folded on the Flop
Seat 2: michelle2124 (button) showed [9h 9d] and lost with two pair, Nines and Sixes
Seat 3: colonu (small blind) showed [4h 4d] and lost with two pair, Sixes and Fours
Seat 4: cmitch (big blind) showed [4c 7h] and won ($598.75) with a straight, Eight high
Seat 5: christina82 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: ptb109 showed [Qc Qd] and lost with two pair, Queens and Sixes

I posted a funny comment that one of my opponents made the other day after I shoved the river with a flopped flush and he paid me off. Posting the comment wasn't a big deal - I didn't think twice about. I just felt like I needed to share the chat, "U play so bad it is tough for me to put u on that."

The player that made that made the comment lives a couple of doors down from Virge (btw - go check out Virge's blog) and he added the following comment on my last post:

"Yea, that's embarrassing. You really do play bad though."

There was even a post on FullTiltForum.com about the comment where both Virge and DirteAA are regular posters.

I started to write a long post on creating long term +EV situations by making short term -EV plays. It started to get way too long and I may make a later post with some specific hand examples. For now, I'll just stick with the idea that some preflop calls OOP may appear -EV, but can be long term +EV if you make them against aggressive opponents that won't lay down a big hand against you.

Below is the hand where the comment was made:

FullTiltPoker Game #3833718758: Table Bardstown (6 max) - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 15:35:43 ET - 2007/10/12
Seat 1: highprices ($389.80)
Seat 3: doody40 ($93.95)
Seat 4: cmitch ($230)
Seat 5: Pummer ($413.80)
Seat 6: DirteAA ($372.60) (high flop af that drops significantly on turn/river)

cmitch posts the small blind of $1
Pummer posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to cmitch [Js 8s]
DirteAA raises to $7
highprices folds
doody40 folds
cmitch calls $6 (I can win the pot in a couple of ways. If I hit and he has a big hand, I will get paid off. If I miss and only get a piece of board, I may be able to get him to fold based on his af declining on each street and his high W$atSD. A high W$atSD combined with a high af is usually indicative of an aggressive player that will fold to a lot of turn and river bets. In looking back over the stats, he folds to a river bet 75% of the time.)

Pummer folds
*** FLOP *** [Ts 4s As] - GIN!!!
cmitch checks
DirteAA bets $12
cmitch calls $12

*** TURN *** [Ts 4s As] [Jc]
cmitch checks
DirteAA bets $34 (The bet here says that he may only be a little scared of the flush - maybe something like AxKs or a big hand like two pair or a set.)

cmitch raises to $80 (His turn bet makes me think that he has a hand. I want to build the pot, but not chase him away. He may also shove with a pair and flush draw, two pair, or a set.)

DirteAA has 15 seconds left to act
DirteAA calls $46 (He has a big hand. Please no more spades and don't pair the board.)

*** RIVER *** [Ts 4s As Jc] [3c]
cmitch bets $131, and is all in (I felt like I get the most value out of a shove. From his perspective, there are a lot of hands that I am shoving on the river. Any bet smaller than a shove looks 10 times stronger than a shove IMO. His call of the turn C/R and his past play make it very likely that I will get a call.)

DirteAA calls $131

*** SHOW DOWN ***
cmitch shows [Js 8s] a flush, Ace high
DirteAA shows [Td Th] three of a kind, Tens
cmitch wins the pot ($459) with a flush, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $462 | Rake $3
Board: [Ts 4s As Jc 3c]
Seat 1: highprices didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: doody40 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: cmitch (small blind) showed [Js 8s] and won ($459) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 5: Pummer (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: DirteAA showed [Td Th] and lost with three of a kind, Tens

OK - fire away. I don't play this hand this way in every situation, but I think that it was the right way to play it against this player at this particular moment in time.

-------------------
This week was a roller coaster thanks to some back to back to back brutal beats. (I'm trying to stay away from bad beat posts, so I'll spare everyone the details.) This week's graph clearly shows why it is a good idea to play on a deep bankroll. I didn't get in as many hands as I wanted and wound up finishing up around $600 after being in the red for a while.

This week, I continued to play 1/2nl and will continue to play 1/2nl until I have 35-40 buy-ins for 2/4nl in my online (not just available) poker accounts. I have decided that lowering variance is the best way to steadily save for our house tear down/rebuild fund. Hopefully, I can cut down on the occasional withdrawals for unexpected life expenses/trips/etc. and build the online roll quickly. I have some targets for myself and am going to push to meet my goals.

I didn't get in as many hands as I wanted this week but still managed to come out all right.

The maniacs come out on the weekends and it seems like they flock to 1/2 in droves. This weekend was a good example of weathering the suckouts and coming out on the good side. I didn't let the beats effect me and used the poor play of my opponents to get the money back and then some.