I initially thought that I played this hand in the last weekly CT tournament very poorly. The result was certainly bad. Hand history and running commentary:
PokerStars Tournament Level VI (100/200) - 2007/01/25
Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: (1645 in chips)
Seat 2: (4125 in chips)
Seat 3: (1405 in chips)
Seat 5: Darvcus (4520 in chips) -- I’m big stack, an important consideration.
Seat 6: (1605 in chips)
Seat 7: Villain (3990 in chips) -- Villain makes loose calls, another important point.
Seat 8: (3775 in chips)
Seat 9: (2770 in chips)
SB posts small blind 100
Villain: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Darvcus [Tc 8c]
folds, folds, folds, folds, folds
Darvcus: raises 400 to 600 -- Yes, a steal raise. Also, I really like T8s. Its one of my favorite hands. I don’t know why.
SB folds
Villain: raises 400 to 1000
Darvcus: calls 400 -- Villain could have a wide range of hands here. I think he would raise more with a premium hand. Call here is standard, but unnecessarily expensive given stack sizes.
*** FLOP *** [Kh Th Ks]
Villain: bets 600
Darvcus: calls 600 -- My instant reaction was that he has an underpair. I thought there was very little chance that he would play a K like this. After a bit of thinking, I settle on something like 80% underpair, 15% ten, 5% king. I don’t think this player would be a flush draw or straight draw here.
*** TURN *** [Kh Th Ks] [5d]
Villain: checks
Darvcus: checks --- His check tells me that he’s scared that I may have a king or a ten. So, my initial thought of an underpair is strengthened. If I check, it might signal that I’m on a draw (QJ, AQ, J9, something like that) or that I am setting a trap with a big hand.
*** RIVER *** [Kh Th Ks 5d] [6c]
Villain: bets 800
Darvcus: calls 800 -- Value bet with a lucky with 55 or 66 for a boat? Naah. He thinks that my draw didn’t get there? Yeah, that’s probably it. Decent chance my ten is good, which make this a super easy call given his range of hands and that I’m getting a great price -- 800 for 4000+.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Villain: shows [Ah Ts] (two pair, Kings and Tens)
Villain collected 4900 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4900 Rake 0
Board [Kh Th Ks 5d 6c]
Seat 5: Darvcus (button) mucked [Tc 8c]
Seat 7: Villain (big blind) showed [Ah Ts] and won (4900) with two pair, Kings and Tens
Well, crap. I’m crippled, and this hand was ultimately my demise because cold-card, pushbot poker followed to the end. This is why small-stack tournaments are so frustrating, and thinking in terms of cash games is damaging. There’s zero room for error in shallow tournaments. In a cash game, this would have been a fairly standard hand (including my button play here) -- I might have started with maybe 140 BBs as the big stack at the table and lost about 13BBs. No big deal. But since this is a shallow tournament, I start with about 23 BBs, lose 13BBs, and I’m suddenly in Pushbot mode. Give me deep-stack play!
Other ways to my play in this hand:
1. Re-raise PF and put him to the test. He probably would have called. No comment.
2. Raise the flop. He probably would have called. No comment.
3. Push on the river. I actually think he’s more likely to lay down to this play because of the concern that I’ve been slow-playing a king. But he probably would have called.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
My Turn
I've suffered many a bad beat, so its time for me to deliver one. For some reason, I don't feel too bad about it. I'd play this the same way about 100% of the time. This looks similar to a certain High Stakes Poker hand, just for several hundred thousand less.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Rocky Cash Games
I busted out of the CT tournament in the middle of the pack, as usual. Too much PF poker -- need deeper stacks. Plus, I made one very poor play, which is a killer given stack sizes.
Close tournament table, open cash game tables. In this hand tonight, my aces hold up. Whaddyaknow. After I raised UTG, I'm just hoping everyone doesn't fold, given the rockiness of the game. When BB calls the small stack push and then calls my reraise, he's gotta have a hand. The flop is almost perfect, except for the two spades. I'm 95% sure I'm way ahead, because BB would have made it 3 bets PF with KK or QQ. If he has AQ, I'm going to get some more. If he has AK, I'm going to get it all. If he has KQ, oh well.
I get the sense that the cash games are tightening up on all sites. Or at least there's less donks from the current reload constraints. I dunno, maybe this is just my limited experience from occasionaly play. My SNG results remain steady, but the cash games seem tougher. I'm playing my same game, but the results are flat. If it weren't for the occasional hand like above, my cash game results would be very flat. Standard play, win the occasional big pot, pack it in and move to the next table. The running back plan.
The Bodog Challenge Update
Starting Bodog Bankroll on Jan. 14, 2007: $31
Bankroll at Last Blog Post: $117
Gain/Loss: $94
Current Bodog Bankroll: $211
Total SNGs played: 25 (lots of HU SNGs)
Cash Game Table-Hours: 2.5
Sports Bets: 1 (2-team parlay -- Bears -3 and Patriots +3)
I’m starting to dislike the Bodog SNG structures. The early levels are OK, but after the 50-100 level, the blinds double at each stage and therefore escalate way too fast. I’m in pushbot mode whether I’m a big or smaller stack, based on the size of the smaller stacks at the table. In one game, I was pushing with decent hands as a big stack into stacks of 6-9 BBs. Someone asked, “Speak, do you have a monkey pushing buttons for you?’’ Apparently my play set everyone on tilt, as they started calling my AQ and TT with hands like T8 and J9 out of frustration.
Close tournament table, open cash game tables. In this hand tonight, my aces hold up. Whaddyaknow. After I raised UTG, I'm just hoping everyone doesn't fold, given the rockiness of the game. When BB calls the small stack push and then calls my reraise, he's gotta have a hand. The flop is almost perfect, except for the two spades. I'm 95% sure I'm way ahead, because BB would have made it 3 bets PF with KK or QQ. If he has AQ, I'm going to get some more. If he has AK, I'm going to get it all. If he has KQ, oh well.
I get the sense that the cash games are tightening up on all sites. Or at least there's less donks from the current reload constraints. I dunno, maybe this is just my limited experience from occasionaly play. My SNG results remain steady, but the cash games seem tougher. I'm playing my same game, but the results are flat. If it weren't for the occasional hand like above, my cash game results would be very flat. Standard play, win the occasional big pot, pack it in and move to the next table. The running back plan.
The Bodog Challenge Update
Starting Bodog Bankroll on Jan. 14, 2007: $31
Bankroll at Last Blog Post: $117
Gain/Loss: $94
Current Bodog Bankroll: $211
Total SNGs played: 25 (lots of HU SNGs)
Cash Game Table-Hours: 2.5
Sports Bets: 1 (2-team parlay -- Bears -3 and Patriots +3)
I’m starting to dislike the Bodog SNG structures. The early levels are OK, but after the 50-100 level, the blinds double at each stage and therefore escalate way too fast. I’m in pushbot mode whether I’m a big or smaller stack, based on the size of the smaller stacks at the table. In one game, I was pushing with decent hands as a big stack into stacks of 6-9 BBs. Someone asked, “Speak, do you have a monkey pushing buttons for you?’’ Apparently my play set everyone on tilt, as they started calling my AQ and TT with hands like T8 and J9 out of frustration.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Try this trick
I can't believe this actually worked.
Home game in my basement, about 3 weeks before Christmas. Everyone is in great spirits, which made everything fun even when people were losing. All 8 players are still in the tournament. I have a monster stack thanks to solid play and a few lucky breaks here and there.
I raise UTG. Friend to my immediate left calls, as does button. Flop is Kh-7h-3s. I bet about half the pot. Player on my left calls, button folds.
Turn is (Kh-7h-3s)-9h. Other player in the hand has a shortish stack. To draw attention to the play that I'm about to try, I say, "Is it legal to show my cards now?" I know the answer. Everyone kind of says, "Um, yeah, I guess."
I flip the Ah face up and announce that I'm all in.
Oohs and aahs at this odd move. Other player in the hand looks like he has a tough decision, so I know that he has a K. Another player at the table says exactly what I'm hoping for: "Why would he do that unless he's bluffing?"
Victim ponders, with assistance from the others at the table. The consensus is that I'm clearly bluffing. "OK, I call."
I flip over the 6h for the nut flush. Victim groans and rebuys. More oohs and aahs.
Fun stuff.
Home game in my basement, about 3 weeks before Christmas. Everyone is in great spirits, which made everything fun even when people were losing. All 8 players are still in the tournament. I have a monster stack thanks to solid play and a few lucky breaks here and there.
I raise UTG. Friend to my immediate left calls, as does button. Flop is Kh-7h-3s. I bet about half the pot. Player on my left calls, button folds.
Turn is (Kh-7h-3s)-9h. Other player in the hand has a shortish stack. To draw attention to the play that I'm about to try, I say, "Is it legal to show my cards now?" I know the answer. Everyone kind of says, "Um, yeah, I guess."
I flip the Ah face up and announce that I'm all in.
Oohs and aahs at this odd move. Other player in the hand looks like he has a tough decision, so I know that he has a K. Another player at the table says exactly what I'm hoping for: "Why would he do that unless he's bluffing?"
Victim ponders, with assistance from the others at the table. The consensus is that I'm clearly bluffing. "OK, I call."
I flip over the 6h for the nut flush. Victim groans and rebuys. More oohs and aahs.
Fun stuff.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Rethinking Hold ‘em – Tournament vs. Cash Games
Occasionally someone on CT asks about the main difference between NL hold ‘em tournaments and cash games. Frequently the question is “why do I excel in SNGs and tournaments but suck at cash games?”
Pondering this question, a new approach to thinking about the game just occurred to me.
In hold ‘em, your hand strength is traditionally defined by your two starting hole cards. When someone is defined as a LAG, they play a lot of their two starting cards and see a lot of flops. When someone says “I have a really good hand,” they are talking about their two hole cards.
But, hold ‘em is a seven card game, not two. What if I define my “starting hand” as the first five cards? Three of the five are common cards, but they are still part of my hand. What if I decide to play a lot of starting hands, with the idea that my starting hand is my first five cards, and not just my first two cards?
My focus shifts to the flop. If I define my starting hand as the first five cards, then the notion of loose or tight does not even begin until I make my decision after I see the first three board cards. Seeing the flop is routine, and I make my first decision after I see my first five cards. I’m playing 5-card hold ‘em rather than 2-card hold ‘em.
What is the cost of this approach? Typically, no more than 3BBs or 4BBs. In a standard cash game in late position, I can usually see the flop for one standard raise.
What hands qualify to see my 5-card starting hand? Just about any playable 2-card starting hand -- all pairs, suited connectors, big cards and suited aces. I’ll tighten these requirements in early position, but proceed to the flop in late or middle position for a standard pre-flop raise. The pre-flop raise is merely the cost to see my 5-card starting hand.
Now, back to tournaments vs. cash games -- I think this 5-card mind-set explains the difference between cash games and tournaments (SNGs included). In a tournament, your stack size often precludes you from seeing lots of flops. Its just too expensive relative to the blinds. This is especially true in on-line short-stack tournaments like the weekly CT tournament. If I have 3500 at the 50/100 level in the weekly CT tournament, I’m in decent shape. But, the cost to see just three flops with a 3500 stack would be over 25% of my stack. That’s just too expensive relative to my stack size. So, in a typical on-line tournament, almost all of the critical decisions are made based on the first two cards alone.
In comparison, in a typical cash game, after about an hour of successful play I might have 130BBs, so seeing as many as five flops for a standard raise is just around 10% of my stack. Therein lies the major difference between cash games and tournaments. Now, once I’ve seen my 5-card starting hand, I’m going to evaluate the strength of my hand. This is where the most critical decisions are made in cash games. But, if I’m seeing more flops and spending more money up front, I have to be even more cautious to not over-play my 5-card starting hand. I think this is the difference between successful and unsuccessful NLHE players.
I believe this is why so many of the most very successful big-time tournament players focus first on the blind structure of any tournament. The blind structure throughout the whole tournament (not just the first few levels) is absolutely critical for them to have enough chips to pay to see lots of their 5-card starting hands. For tight players, this is not so important because they are making most of their decisions based on their first 2 cards. But for players like Negreanu, Goehring and other famous loose players, a shallow blind structure is the most critical element of the tournament.
This is nothing revolutionary – play deep-stack poker and see lots of flops. But, if my focus becomes routinely seeing flops and making the first major decision after I see 5 cards, I’ve adjusted for cash games. If I play the 2-card version of hold ‘em, its usually too tight for cash games.
The Bodog Challenge Update
Starting Bodog Bankroll: $31
Gain/Loss: $85
Current Bodog Bankroll: $117
SNGs played: 9
Cash Game Table-Hours: 1
Pondering this question, a new approach to thinking about the game just occurred to me.
In hold ‘em, your hand strength is traditionally defined by your two starting hole cards. When someone is defined as a LAG, they play a lot of their two starting cards and see a lot of flops. When someone says “I have a really good hand,” they are talking about their two hole cards.
But, hold ‘em is a seven card game, not two. What if I define my “starting hand” as the first five cards? Three of the five are common cards, but they are still part of my hand. What if I decide to play a lot of starting hands, with the idea that my starting hand is my first five cards, and not just my first two cards?
My focus shifts to the flop. If I define my starting hand as the first five cards, then the notion of loose or tight does not even begin until I make my decision after I see the first three board cards. Seeing the flop is routine, and I make my first decision after I see my first five cards. I’m playing 5-card hold ‘em rather than 2-card hold ‘em.
What is the cost of this approach? Typically, no more than 3BBs or 4BBs. In a standard cash game in late position, I can usually see the flop for one standard raise.
What hands qualify to see my 5-card starting hand? Just about any playable 2-card starting hand -- all pairs, suited connectors, big cards and suited aces. I’ll tighten these requirements in early position, but proceed to the flop in late or middle position for a standard pre-flop raise. The pre-flop raise is merely the cost to see my 5-card starting hand.
Now, back to tournaments vs. cash games -- I think this 5-card mind-set explains the difference between cash games and tournaments (SNGs included). In a tournament, your stack size often precludes you from seeing lots of flops. Its just too expensive relative to the blinds. This is especially true in on-line short-stack tournaments like the weekly CT tournament. If I have 3500 at the 50/100 level in the weekly CT tournament, I’m in decent shape. But, the cost to see just three flops with a 3500 stack would be over 25% of my stack. That’s just too expensive relative to my stack size. So, in a typical on-line tournament, almost all of the critical decisions are made based on the first two cards alone.
In comparison, in a typical cash game, after about an hour of successful play I might have 130BBs, so seeing as many as five flops for a standard raise is just around 10% of my stack. Therein lies the major difference between cash games and tournaments. Now, once I’ve seen my 5-card starting hand, I’m going to evaluate the strength of my hand. This is where the most critical decisions are made in cash games. But, if I’m seeing more flops and spending more money up front, I have to be even more cautious to not over-play my 5-card starting hand. I think this is the difference between successful and unsuccessful NLHE players.
I believe this is why so many of the most very successful big-time tournament players focus first on the blind structure of any tournament. The blind structure throughout the whole tournament (not just the first few levels) is absolutely critical for them to have enough chips to pay to see lots of their 5-card starting hands. For tight players, this is not so important because they are making most of their decisions based on their first 2 cards. But for players like Negreanu, Goehring and other famous loose players, a shallow blind structure is the most critical element of the tournament.
This is nothing revolutionary – play deep-stack poker and see lots of flops. But, if my focus becomes routinely seeing flops and making the first major decision after I see 5 cards, I’ve adjusted for cash games. If I play the 2-card version of hold ‘em, its usually too tight for cash games.
The Bodog Challenge Update
Starting Bodog Bankroll: $31
Gain/Loss: $85
Current Bodog Bankroll: $117
SNGs played: 9
Cash Game Table-Hours: 1
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Surprisingly, I Can Still Play Tournaments
My cash game results have been crap lately, and I seem to only show a consistent profit in SNGs for the last few weeks. Since I struggle to make a CT Thursday night final table and haven’t played in many other tournaments, I decided to see if I can still play tournaments. So, I made the decision to play the $26 buy-in FullTilt $25,000 guarantee on Saturday night, and really focus and be ready to stay up late to make a strong finish. I also entered two other tournaments that started at the same time – a $75 FT satellite to a FTOPS tournament and a 90-seat $11 SNG.
Results:
$75 Satellite: There were only about 30 entrants, and it paid six $215 seats (and I would unregister and take the cash). Within the first 5 minutes, my AA were all in vs KK and QQ pre-flop. A king hit on the turn and I’m gone. I could have coasted to a cash finish with a triple+ stack in that one.
90-player deep-stack $11 SNG: 1st place, $250 cash. I can still play medium sized tournaments, despite my CT performance. All of the SNG and HU play really paid off here. At the final table, I was about 4th in chips at the start. I just played it like a SNG, with patience early and then aggression when we were down to 4 players. Others seemed to panic too early and dumped chips with moderate hands.
Despite the fact that this was a deep-stack tournament, I suffered a bad beat at the second level and was down to around 900 when everyone else had 3000+. I used all my hard-earned skills from the weekly CT tournaments and nursed a small stack for quite some time through early and mid-levels until I worked back up to a respectable stack size.
$25,000 guarantee, 1614 entrants: 24th place, $166 cash. At three tables, I was 5th in chips. The crippling hand was my 99 vs AK. Early player limped, I raised 4xBB, and button pushed. I was ABSOLUTELY sure button had AK based on my read of his past play. I made the conscious decision to race, knowing that if I won I would have been 2nd in chips, way in front with the chip leader, and would surely have made the final table. I lost the race, but I was actually very satisfied that I read the hand exactly right – it was like I could see everyone’s cards face up. This was actually the most satisfying hand of the tournament because I was so sure of my read, and I was right.
The Bodog Challenge
I deposited $100 in a Bodog account at the start of the football season, for some fun sports bets. I did OK with the sports bets, but played in a few NL cash games and suffered suckouts. So now I have $31 on there. How far can I run that $31? I'm starting with SNGs.
Results:
$75 Satellite: There were only about 30 entrants, and it paid six $215 seats (and I would unregister and take the cash). Within the first 5 minutes, my AA were all in vs KK and QQ pre-flop. A king hit on the turn and I’m gone. I could have coasted to a cash finish with a triple+ stack in that one.
90-player deep-stack $11 SNG: 1st place, $250 cash. I can still play medium sized tournaments, despite my CT performance. All of the SNG and HU play really paid off here. At the final table, I was about 4th in chips at the start. I just played it like a SNG, with patience early and then aggression when we were down to 4 players. Others seemed to panic too early and dumped chips with moderate hands.
Despite the fact that this was a deep-stack tournament, I suffered a bad beat at the second level and was down to around 900 when everyone else had 3000+. I used all my hard-earned skills from the weekly CT tournaments and nursed a small stack for quite some time through early and mid-levels until I worked back up to a respectable stack size.
$25,000 guarantee, 1614 entrants: 24th place, $166 cash. At three tables, I was 5th in chips. The crippling hand was my 99 vs AK. Early player limped, I raised 4xBB, and button pushed. I was ABSOLUTELY sure button had AK based on my read of his past play. I made the conscious decision to race, knowing that if I won I would have been 2nd in chips, way in front with the chip leader, and would surely have made the final table. I lost the race, but I was actually very satisfied that I read the hand exactly right – it was like I could see everyone’s cards face up. This was actually the most satisfying hand of the tournament because I was so sure of my read, and I was right.
The Bodog Challenge
I deposited $100 in a Bodog account at the start of the football season, for some fun sports bets. I did OK with the sports bets, but played in a few NL cash games and suffered suckouts. So now I have $31 on there. How far can I run that $31? I'm starting with SNGs.
2006
Short summary of my poker in 2006:
Party Poker
I was crushing the Party NL games to the tune of something like 12BB per table-hour for an extended time, but that shut down when Party closed to US accounts. (I assume. I withdrew all my funds, but I don’t know for a fact that I can’t actually play there anymore...) I really jump-started my Party play when I did the “cash game challenges” on CT, and proceeded to run $200 to nearly $3000. For me, nothing inspires good play like a challenge and setting goals.
After Party shut down, I kept playing NL cash games on FullTilt and Stars. My results there are much less impressive than on Party. I’ve analyzed my play, and I’ve concluded that the competition is much tougher than on Party. Where did all the fish go? As much as I’d like to believe that each avatar on the screen is the same faceless little ATM machine, there are real players at the mouse and some of them are as good as me, or better. Damn it.
SNGs
I took what amounted to an extended break from SNGs while playing Party NL cash games. After the Party ended, I added SNGs back into my online poker diet. I played a mix of $33, $55 and $75 SNGs. Summary of 2006 results
In the money: about 45%
ROI: about 22%
Total SNGs: 275
Total winnings: about $2500
Yeah, 2+2 posters would jump on this – “Small sample size!” I only play at night, and this is a lot of play for me. I’m happy with the results, and I’ve played enough to be confident that this is not just a lucky stretch. And the trend is continuing in 2007.
From what I read on 2+2, this is a wonderful ROI at the middle levels. My longest stretch without a cash was 5 SNGs, and during some stretches I was cashing 8 out of 10. I usually play only 2 at a time -- anything more and I am completely unable to get a read on anyone at any table, and I rely heavily on my reads.
In December, I learned about “Sharkscope,” and discovered that I have the little “shark” icon on FT and PS. Wheeee. Sharkscope is actually somewhat useful in certain situations, especially in heads-up play. I am absolutely amazed at the SNG losses of some players. Some of them have negative ROI and their losses are into the thousands from $50 SNGs! How the hell do they keep playing?
I really like heads-up SNGs, because they don’t take much time and they really the competitive blood to a boil. I played 65 HU SNGs, and my ROI was around 10%. My specialty seems to be limit hold ‘em heads-up SNGs (yes, limit) – I really like these, and nearly everyone seems to overplay one or two key big hands each game. But 9-seat SNGs is where to really make the money.
Weekly CT Tournaments
My CT weekly tournament performance has dropped. The play there is much better overall, and the regulars are getting better. Its pretty much a crap-shoot each week, because everyone plays solid pre-flop poker and you need to get good cards to go anywhere. There are less players to pick on, and some the players that I used to bully have become better at sniffing out my bluffs. Its still good practice, and I still enjoy looking forward to Thursday night play. The side bets and team play has kept things interesting and competitive.
On-Line tournaments
On-line tournaments require significant luck and extended concentration, and I really don’t have the time to devote to large field tournaments. I’d like to tackle more mid-level buy-in medium sized on-line tournaments (300-600 entrants), but I can’t stay up until 2am or later to finish these. I wish I had time to play more of these, but SNGs are ideal for the time that I can devote. Despite this, my ROI for tournaments was over 150% for the year, due to 2 big on-line tournament scores early in the year for $2000+.
“Taking a Shot” in the Bigger Cash Games
The majority of my on-line cash game losses came from three separate sessions where I “took a shot” in higher stakes games and had very bad nights. On two occasions, I lost tons to horrible suckouts, and on one occasion I just played bad. I would consider the suckouts to be just normal variance at my regular stakes, but the impact is amplified when playing way above your bankroll. If I could erase the losses from these three nights, I would have about $3000 more in my accounts. These expeditions into the higher limits has reinforced basic bankroll management points for me:
(1) play within your bankroll,
(2) beats can happen at any time, even when you’re playing your very best poker, and
(3) if you do take a shot at higher limits, you have to live with the fact that you might erase 6 months worth of winnings in a single session.
2007
So, where do I go from here? Goals for 2007 --
Cash games:
(1) I need to find games as good as Party used to be. Do they exist?
(2) Build the bankroll back to its previous heights. I want $3000 in each on-line account.
(3) Keep playing live cash games at the biggest levels offered locally.
(4) In Vegas, take a shot at a bigger NL game, like $10/20 blinds -- I’m ready for that challenge.
SNGs:
(1) Play more SNGs than cash games on-line. Taking all of 2006 into account, I’ve had better success at SNGs than cash games.
(2) Keep ROI above 20%.
(3) Play 300+ SNGs at the mid levels.
Tournaments:
(1) Keep playing the CT weekly, improve overall results. Primary goal is make final tables.
(2) Occasionally play the weekly Ameristar tournament.
(3) Play in the Wynn Classic $500 event in February.
(4) Play in a WSOP event, around $2000 buy-in.
(5) Play in as many Vegas daily tournaments as I can cram in when I’m there.
(6) Play MORE aggressive in tournaments. I’m starting to firmly believe the strategy of “build up a big stack with LAG play.” It saves time in the long run because I build up a stack to be the bully and last longer (and have more fun), or I bail out early and move on to more lucrative tables.
Other games and other stuff:
(1) Get better at Omaha high.
(2) Get better at 7-stud high-low. I played this occasionally, cash games and SNGs, I like it. Oddly, it doesn’t confuse me like Omaha-8 does.
(3) Find out if there’s another game out there that is like the early days of on-line NLHE, where you can make gobs of easy money.
(4) I purchased a 20” plat-panel LCD TV from the poker bankroll in 2006 (which I now watch while playing on-line – is that a good thing?). I’m aiming to pay for a Dell laptop and wireless connection from the poker bankroll in 2007, in addition to the Vegas trips.
(5) Including money withdrawn for rewards and trips, get lifetime poker winnings to $25,000+ in 2007.
Party Poker
I was crushing the Party NL games to the tune of something like 12BB per table-hour for an extended time, but that shut down when Party closed to US accounts. (I assume. I withdrew all my funds, but I don’t know for a fact that I can’t actually play there anymore...) I really jump-started my Party play when I did the “cash game challenges” on CT, and proceeded to run $200 to nearly $3000. For me, nothing inspires good play like a challenge and setting goals.
After Party shut down, I kept playing NL cash games on FullTilt and Stars. My results there are much less impressive than on Party. I’ve analyzed my play, and I’ve concluded that the competition is much tougher than on Party. Where did all the fish go? As much as I’d like to believe that each avatar on the screen is the same faceless little ATM machine, there are real players at the mouse and some of them are as good as me, or better. Damn it.
SNGs
I took what amounted to an extended break from SNGs while playing Party NL cash games. After the Party ended, I added SNGs back into my online poker diet. I played a mix of $33, $55 and $75 SNGs. Summary of 2006 results
In the money: about 45%
ROI: about 22%
Total SNGs: 275
Total winnings: about $2500
Yeah, 2+2 posters would jump on this – “Small sample size!” I only play at night, and this is a lot of play for me. I’m happy with the results, and I’ve played enough to be confident that this is not just a lucky stretch. And the trend is continuing in 2007.
From what I read on 2+2, this is a wonderful ROI at the middle levels. My longest stretch without a cash was 5 SNGs, and during some stretches I was cashing 8 out of 10. I usually play only 2 at a time -- anything more and I am completely unable to get a read on anyone at any table, and I rely heavily on my reads.
In December, I learned about “Sharkscope,” and discovered that I have the little “shark” icon on FT and PS. Wheeee. Sharkscope is actually somewhat useful in certain situations, especially in heads-up play. I am absolutely amazed at the SNG losses of some players. Some of them have negative ROI and their losses are into the thousands from $50 SNGs! How the hell do they keep playing?
I really like heads-up SNGs, because they don’t take much time and they really the competitive blood to a boil. I played 65 HU SNGs, and my ROI was around 10%. My specialty seems to be limit hold ‘em heads-up SNGs (yes, limit) – I really like these, and nearly everyone seems to overplay one or two key big hands each game. But 9-seat SNGs is where to really make the money.
Weekly CT Tournaments
My CT weekly tournament performance has dropped. The play there is much better overall, and the regulars are getting better. Its pretty much a crap-shoot each week, because everyone plays solid pre-flop poker and you need to get good cards to go anywhere. There are less players to pick on, and some the players that I used to bully have become better at sniffing out my bluffs. Its still good practice, and I still enjoy looking forward to Thursday night play. The side bets and team play has kept things interesting and competitive.
On-Line tournaments
On-line tournaments require significant luck and extended concentration, and I really don’t have the time to devote to large field tournaments. I’d like to tackle more mid-level buy-in medium sized on-line tournaments (300-600 entrants), but I can’t stay up until 2am or later to finish these. I wish I had time to play more of these, but SNGs are ideal for the time that I can devote. Despite this, my ROI for tournaments was over 150% for the year, due to 2 big on-line tournament scores early in the year for $2000+.
“Taking a Shot” in the Bigger Cash Games
The majority of my on-line cash game losses came from three separate sessions where I “took a shot” in higher stakes games and had very bad nights. On two occasions, I lost tons to horrible suckouts, and on one occasion I just played bad. I would consider the suckouts to be just normal variance at my regular stakes, but the impact is amplified when playing way above your bankroll. If I could erase the losses from these three nights, I would have about $3000 more in my accounts. These expeditions into the higher limits has reinforced basic bankroll management points for me:
(1) play within your bankroll,
(2) beats can happen at any time, even when you’re playing your very best poker, and
(3) if you do take a shot at higher limits, you have to live with the fact that you might erase 6 months worth of winnings in a single session.
2007
So, where do I go from here? Goals for 2007 --
Cash games:
(1) I need to find games as good as Party used to be. Do they exist?
(2) Build the bankroll back to its previous heights. I want $3000 in each on-line account.
(3) Keep playing live cash games at the biggest levels offered locally.
(4) In Vegas, take a shot at a bigger NL game, like $10/20 blinds -- I’m ready for that challenge.
SNGs:
(1) Play more SNGs than cash games on-line. Taking all of 2006 into account, I’ve had better success at SNGs than cash games.
(2) Keep ROI above 20%.
(3) Play 300+ SNGs at the mid levels.
Tournaments:
(1) Keep playing the CT weekly, improve overall results. Primary goal is make final tables.
(2) Occasionally play the weekly Ameristar tournament.
(3) Play in the Wynn Classic $500 event in February.
(4) Play in a WSOP event, around $2000 buy-in.
(5) Play in as many Vegas daily tournaments as I can cram in when I’m there.
(6) Play MORE aggressive in tournaments. I’m starting to firmly believe the strategy of “build up a big stack with LAG play.” It saves time in the long run because I build up a stack to be the bully and last longer (and have more fun), or I bail out early and move on to more lucrative tables.
Other games and other stuff:
(1) Get better at Omaha high.
(2) Get better at 7-stud high-low. I played this occasionally, cash games and SNGs, I like it. Oddly, it doesn’t confuse me like Omaha-8 does.
(3) Find out if there’s another game out there that is like the early days of on-line NLHE, where you can make gobs of easy money.
(4) I purchased a 20” plat-panel LCD TV from the poker bankroll in 2006 (which I now watch while playing on-line – is that a good thing?). I’m aiming to pay for a Dell laptop and wireless connection from the poker bankroll in 2007, in addition to the Vegas trips.
(5) Including money withdrawn for rewards and trips, get lifetime poker winnings to $25,000+ in 2007.
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