"...when it comes to hold 'em and stud, I already know everything there is to know..."
-- Mason Malmuth, renowned author/publisher & veteran professional know-it-all, 2+2, 2002
"...I know everything there is to know about luck..."
-- Sgt Rock, obscure poker philosopher & novice amateur know-it-all, rec.gambling.poker, 2001
We used to fly 866 miles, or drive 1150 miles, and pay big bucks for nice hotel rooms, to play 20/40 at the Mirage, then 30/60 at Bellagio. Now we drive 2.1 miles from our home to Diamond Lil's, both in Renton, WA, and play what today are probably the only daily 20/40 games this side of Vegas, LA, or the SF Bay.
Nowadays there's poker pretty much EVERYWHERE, but so much of it is No Limit, or Spread Limit, or tournaments, and we just have no clue about any of that stuff. And of course there's Low Limit all over too, but I've explained before, in detail, why I can't afford to play games like 4/8.
So am I lucky to have the 20/40 game I want to play so ridiculously close to home? Yes. EXTREMELY LUCKY.
The day, lo those many years ago, that I first met Mrs. Rock, a chance encounter, is another, even better, example of getting EXTREMELY LUCKY. And we got hitched way too quickly, barely knew ourselves at that age, much less each other, and had different nationality, race, culture, language, different every damn thing. So the initial probability for our marriage to survive? Low.
But it all turned out way better than I ever deserved. It's like I put up a live straddle, was dealt pocket aces, and even hit the flop. More extreme luck.
Those are examples of Getting Lucky when a single major life event or circumstance has profound effects, maybe for years and years. Bad luck can come that way, and be that profound too. Like if Soccer Mom is driving through an intersection, and gets T-boned by a cement truck that ran the red light at 50 MPH. Ouch. REALLY bad luck.
In a gambling venue like the WSOP Main Event, getting lucky can be a one-time life-changing event too. I mean, let's face it, some of the World Champions who won that bracelet over the years had lots of talent, and earned it, but more than a couple are just bozos who got real lucky that week. And took home millions.
In the daily grind of playing limit Hold Em, luck does not have any such long term effect. The examples above are all single random events with far-reaching impacts, but the daily game is a series of many independent random events, and no one of them should effect more than a single pot.
I've posted before about how "running good" or "running bad" are such bogus concepts, and how fascinating is is that the average player seems to be so clueless when it comes to luck and randomness.
We know that a pocket pair will flop a set around one time out of eight. Yesterday I was dealt pocket nines three times, and pocket Queens twice. Played them all, and each one of those pairs hit a set on the flop, and won the pot. Most of them filled up. Lucky, huh?
We also know that Pocket Aces and Pocket Kings will each come to us once in every 221 deals, on average. This summer I played 30/60 at Bellagio during WSOP, and for the first five days played maybe 12 hours/day x 34 deals/hour x 5 days = 2,040 deals (conservative estimate) and never saw either of those big pairs in the hole even once. Bad luck.
So was there some special significance to those streaks, something I should have done in the midst of them, some adjustment maybe, to maximize my win or minimize my loss? No. Nothing. "In the course of random events, streaks happen." Those particular streaks were a little deep, so were slightly remarkable, but certainly not *amazing.*
What is *amazing,* at least to me, is all the guys who believe that they can be ON a streak, and if they flop a set five times in a row, or don't see those biggest pairs five days straight, like me, that HISTORY influences the likelyhood of (probability for) those events on the next deal. You would think I should have gotten over this by now. I realize that I should have gotten over this, and just come to expect it, by now. But no, I still just can't for the life of me understand why the amazingly simple concept of RANDOMNESS is so difficult for so many players to grasp or to accept.
But just because I can't understand it doesn't mean that I don't love it. I do. I deeply love that so many players in these games embrace superstitious beliefs, find imaginary "trends" in random events, and even think they can benefit by exchanging one bucket of random numbers for another (different!) bucket of random numbers. Change the deck!
In the second example above, in addition to not seeing Aces or Kings, I was just plain "card dead" those entire five days. Didn't get beat up too badly when I did get a playable hand, but got one so rarely, that it was a struggle just to win enough now and then to cover the blinds that kept coming around. And that's basically what happened; I went pretty much nowhere for nearly a week.
And ya know what? Being card dead is actually a good thing. Huh? WTF is he taking about?
Well, look at it this way. When you go hours and hours being dealt agonizingly few playable hands, remember that the same thing happens to everyone else just as much as it happens to you. So it's a Performance Delta Opportunity. Delta as in Difference.
Inevitably, your opponents will experience those same streaks of crappy starting hards that you do. If you can maintain discipline and resolve anyway, where they get impatient, maybe tilt a little, and make poor preflop decisions, play hands they shouldn't, if only out of boredom or frustration, then that is your Delta. It's your chance to play (Perform) differently (better) than they do.
OK, so maybe I don't exactly rejoice when dealt 7-2 offsuit nine deals in a row. But I do smile inwardly, and remind myself to patiently wait for the run of real good cards that's going to come sooner or later. And remind myself also that my opponents may, in this situation, be less patient, and how that's a Delta that can potentially help me beat them over time.
If you think I'm wacky to call being card dead a good thing, try this on for size: I also like to "suffer" bad beats. The badder the better. Lay it on me!
Say somebody chases a shitty draw against me, like a 2 or a 4 outer, getting bad pot odds, but they get lucky and suck out anyway. Should I get upset? What, like I wish they would play better and not do that next time? If I were RESULTS Oriented, then yes, that would be an unhappy Result. But being PERFORMANCE Oriented means not only trying to optimize your own Performance, but also, well, *liking* it when the other guy's Performance is bad, no matter the Result.
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The Book
If beats and bad luck don't annoy me, there's still a few things that do. One is writing usenet or blog poker posts, but then having to censor myself. More than once I've written something, then looked at it and realized, hey, have I said too much here? Do I really want to share this with my opponents? Some of the guys I play with read my blog.
So I try to just be entertaining, tell some jokes, maybe get philosophical or thought-provoking some, but nothing too deep.
OK, fine. But what about those strategy gems that beg for discussion? Can't. Frustrating.
So I started putting all those things into an unpublished draft document, and now it has grown to become kind of an outline or skeleton for what could maybe be a book. Lots of rough and unpolished, but real, content. Do's and Don'ts, Tips and Tricks, Q&A, Concepts, Strategies and Secrets, all trying to be real and serious "Beat the Game" information. Some if it may even have a little value. I'm not sure.
Trouble is, I wouldn't want The Book published until after I'm dead, or at least DONE playing.
I mean, imagine this: You write the bare-your-soul tell-all poker book, hold nothing back, explain everything you know, or think you know. Then one day you sit into a game, and there's some guy you never saw before, with a big stack, and upon seeing you he points, and smiles, and says "Hey, I know you! I read your book!"
Sheesh. Guess I'd have to get up and leave.
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A Golden Oldie, eight years old. Worth repeating?
Character and Psychology for Everyone
Everyone's true character shows itself sooner or later in the poker game. Good, bad or ugly, every opponent will eventually show you what they're really like, deep down inside. You may not like what you see. If you're there to win money, then you're there to take advantage of the other guy's character flaws, his tendency towards denial, his emotional instability (tilt), and sometimes, his simple stupidity. This is why Abdul advises us to "Surround yourself with idiots."
Everyone knows that poker is a combination of math and psychology. Most think that the "psychology" part pertains to your opponents— reading them, deceiving them, psyching them out, and defending yourself when they try to do those things to you. Yes, that stuff is important. But even more important is understanding that the player who can do the most psychological damage to you, your game, and your bankroll, is the one you see when you go to the restroom and look in the mirror.
-- Sgt Rock on usenet:rec.gambling.poker, May 2001
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Pucker Factor
Do you know that slang expression? Basically, it tries to quantify how severely the anal sphincter involuntarily constricts, when one is under extreme stress.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pucker+factor
I heard it a lot in the Army, but not so much any more. Back then we used to say that the ultimate PF maximizer was: Landing a jet fighter, on an aircraft carrier, at night. I guess being shot at was way up there, too.
Mrs. Rock didn't know the expression, never heard it, but came up with a pretty decent ESL equivalent of her own, without hardly even trying.
We drove round trip to Vegas for WSOP this year, June 12 thru July 12. I do most of the driving, but she switches in for an hour or so now and then.
Thing is, she's a little acrophobic, and gets freaked out driving on a highway with a steep drop over the edge, like along a canyon rim. So I do those roads, but this time, on the way home, I inadvertently let her drive, and took a nap, forgetting that were approaching Yakima, WA, where there is just such a road.
After a while I wake up, and look over to see her with a two hands white-knuckle grip on the wheel, staring straight ahead, not daring to look to the side, and maybe even perspiring a little. Uh oh. I look to the side, and yeah, we're on the edge of the mountain, sheer drop, and I just know she's not liking it at all.
"You OK?" I ask.
She's concentrating too intently to answer right away, but after a long pause she manages to say:
"My rectum is tingling."
And that, friends, is Pucker Factor.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Power Play
(20/40 Limit Hold 'Em @ Diamond Lil's)
I wish I could say the hero of this hand was me, but it wasn't. I mucked preflop, and was just an observer. The hero was kid named Caine, or Cain, or Kane; I'm not sure. But, hey, let's just call him The Man. He earned it.
And the other guy I'll call Coffee, as that's close to what they call him, and I'm not sure quite what his name really is, or how it's spelled. An older gent, though not quite so old and decrepit as me, and I'd guess he comes originally from someplace East of Italy, and West of India. Kind of a Groucho Marx look, wire rim glasses, thinning hair combed straight back. Nice dresser. Big talker, even though he never seems to say anything meaningful. He did say he's an engineer and works for some Chinese company in Texas. Or something.
Coffee is a wildman. Plays 80% of his starting hands, marathon sessions, cold calls 2, 3 or 4 bets with anything, gives up his blinds, well, never, and makes some of the wackiest bets, raises, and even FOLDS, that you ever saw. He's one of those few opponents where I have to pass on that concept of "trying to get inside the other guy's head," because, well, this guy is out there where the busses don't even run.
He's also kind of a PITA (Pain in the Ass), because the dealer always has to tell him when it's his turn to act. If he's talking to a waitress, or masseuse, or on the phone, or buying chips, or stacking a pot, or babbling on to nobody in particular about why he did what he did on the last hand, or scratching his ass.... WHATEVER, the action stops dead when it reaches him, and he needs to be prompted to act. Often more than once. And he always seems to be doing one of those things at those moments, and tends more to keep doing it, wants to finish, before finally acting on his hand. Somebody probably woulda killed this guy by now, if he weren't such a Producer.
He likes to get the $1/minute massage, for 30, 40, 50 minutes, then again an hour or two later. The other day, seated beside me, he inexplicably offered to treat me to a massage! WTF?
"Me?" I asked him. "In public? With my clothes on? Not happening," I said. "But thanks anyway." The masseuse laughed.
Anyway, in this Power Play hand, the Play of the Day, maybe Play of the Month, The Man bets the river, on a board with all small cards, and Coffee raises him. The Man doesn't hesitate at all, and re-raises.
How often do you make a River Bluff Raise? You know, raise on the river with nothing, hoping to make the bettor fold a better hand. Now that's REAL poker. Against a tough opponent who is capable of making the laydown, a River Bluff Raise should be a powerful play. Right?
But in the games I play, my opponents generally are anything but tough, and most times they don't give it up when they should. If they flop top pair and get raised on the turn, you almost always have to show them a hand on the river to take the pot. They just don't lay down. In fact, some of the worst chip-burning mistakes I've made in these games, repeatedly, was trying to run over guys who aren't going anywhere; aren't gonna lay down. So maybe the RBR should be part of my toolkit, but it really isn't. I keep looking for an opportunity, but every time I think I may have one, then consider it, the chance my opponent will actually fold seems too close to zero.
Coffee, however, won't hesitate to bet the river, or even raise it, with nothing. Gets caught all the time, too, but that doesn't slow him down much.
So like I say, he raised the river here, but got re-raised right away.
Coffee shows his Ace Ten -- Ace high, no pair, and mucks it. Caught bluffing again.
Thing is, Coffee was bluffing with the best hand, but he didn't even know it! The Man shows 76, a worse no pair, a busted straight draw, and takes the pot. How often do you River Bluff RE-RAISE??
Wait, let's put that question differently: how often (in a LIMIT game) do you see ANYONE raise the river, get re-raised, and fold? Almost never happens, right? The river raiser is almost always gonna call a reraise, unless he was bluffing in the first place, and for The Man to read that, and successfully RE-BLUFF, seemed quite remarkable to me.
He didn't seem to think so. The other players loudly expressed their surprise when he even showed the re-bluff, but he just said...
"C'mon, who didn't know he [Coffee] was bluffing? You all knew, didn't you?"
It was just awesome, and won my instant and complete admiration and respect.
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The Man put a little hurt on Mrs. Rock in a different game a couple days later. Open raised UTG with pocket deuces, and flopped a set against her unimproved pocket Kings. Ouch.
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Fun With Statistics
Do you keep any kind of poker log, and record your sessions? Some players do, and some don't. I do now, but there were times, not long ago, that I didn't, just because it was too painful.
If you do keep records, what do you track? Just Date and Win/Loss? That's nice, but how about hours played? And how about drop paid (number of raked pots won), and how much came off your stack for tokes, food, drink, massage, whatever.
Actually, that last category should be subdivided into two columns: costs that you DO, or DO NOT, consider to be "part of the game." Either way, count all chips that leave your stacks, because that's more that you would have cashed out. In other words, that, plus the drop, is the difference between your Gross and Net result.
Sound like too much trouble? Waste of time, tracking all that stuff? Maybe, but when I recorded all those things on Excel spreadsheets, and crunched some numbers, a very interesting statistic fell out. So interesting, in fact, that it helped me understand what I needed to do to improve my game, and cash out more chips. Do I have your attention yet?
Again, what I record in columns across a spreadsheet, and with one row for each day/session, is Date, plus:
A. Buy In Amount
B. Cash Out Amount
C. Number of raked pots won
D. Money off my stack- Game Related
E. Money off my stack- Non Game
F. Hours played (start & stop times)
Then, from the TOTALS on each of those columns, some Excel formulas tell me:
1. Cost of playing (D + (C x 5)) [drop in my game is $5. YMMV.]
2. Net Win/Loss (B + E - A)
3. Gross Win/Loss (B + D + E + (C x 5) - A)
4. Pots won per hour (F / C)
Are you getting bored yet? OK, enough detail; let's cut straight to the payoff. The surprise that came out of all this was when we compared my stats to Mrs. Rock's, and saw a similar trend repeat itself, over several sample time periods. We saw that her hourly rate was better than mine, often way better, even though I was consistently winning more pots per hour than her. OK, now stop, please, and read that last sentence again, unless you already picked up on the significance.
Now let's sidetrack a minute, and talk about my friend, G.A. Joe. He used to be G.I. Joe, but the Army kicked him out, and then he joined Gamblers Anonymous.
Joe is the worst player ever. He NEVER folds. He goes to the river with EVERY starting hand. Any time Joe could catch runner-runner for a straight or flush, or spike a set of deuces on the river, or even call a bluff and win a showdown with seven high, he does win that pot. He never misses an opportunity to get lucky, and wins every pot he possibly could win.
So Joe makes two-pair, sets, straights, flushes, whatever, more often than anyone else, and wins more pots than anyone else. And Joe loses his money faster than anyone else, too. He will go broke chasing down everything in sight. The thing that defines Joe as such a horrible player is that he plays so many hands that he shouldn't, takes the worst of it so often, and puts chips into the pot with a Negative Expectation so much.
This concept is easy to grasp, once you think about it. But even then, even after they "get it," MOST players continue to think, and act (perform) like they DON'T get it.
And that's what I was doing, just a tiny little bit, but enough to make a difference. I wasn't chasing everything, completely out of control, like Joe. But I was— believe it or don't, up to you— WINNING TOO MANY POTS! Just a few too many, because I was playing maybe more than just a few too many hands. And while some of those "extra" hands came through and won, too many of them didn't. Net result: minus.
This was a real surprise, hard to accept, because anyone you ask would probably say I'm the tightest player in the game. So which hands was I playing that I shouldn't?
My last couple posts talked some about that cutoff raise against a weak limper with, for example, a ragged Ace, and trying to get heads up, or maybe have just a couple callers. Doing that indiscriminately, against a field where more likely several will play, was one mistake, and was the first place I tightened up. I was already starting to understand why I should be making that play way less often. After a while, and a lot of thought and discussion, we identified a couple other places where I needed to tighten up. And also a couple where I had to LOOSEN up, too, but that's a whole 'nother post.
It's been a couple months now, and some small changes seem so far to be improving my rate. Too brief a sample period to be sure, but I'd like to think that my game improved just a little. Maybe enough to soon challenge Mrs. Rock's first place spot on our leader board. So what to do now? Find ways to improve it more, of course!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Alien Hand
Does this ever happen to you? Even while your hand is putting chips in the pot, your brain is yelling "Hey! What are you doing? Are you nuts??"
I call it the Alien Hand. It's almost like it has a mind, and a will, and a plan of its own. I just hope he knows what he's doing!
It happened again Friday night, when a guy open-limps early, and I raise right behind him, with Ace Ten offsuit. The good old hope this ain't a chip burner isolation play. And my brain didn't really yell, just kinda smart-ass commented, something like "Hey, didn't you do a blog post about this just the other day? Something about Breaking Bad Habits? What's wrong, you got a short memory??"
Again, I didn't think enough about who the blinds were, and in this case Big Blind was not likely to give it up; he's more like a guy who likes to call, then sometimes check-raise you on any flop, whether it hits him or not. He's also the only guy I know whose name is both an acronym AND a palindrome. Think M*A*S*H
So he calls, and the limper calls, and the flop comes rags: 378. The Big Blind does indeed check-raise, and the limper folds. So I raise his ass right back, with nothing, and he calls.
I might have bet the turn, too, except it came a six, making me a gutshot draw. So if he checkraises me again there would be 18 small bets in the pot, and I'd be getting 9-to-1 odds to chase an 11-to-1 draw. Not good. Of course I may have more outs than that, but still, I'd just hate to get raised and have to lay down, even when I'm thinking he's putting the move on me, or call to draw when getting shitty odds. So when he checked the turn, I checked too. If I were a better player, maybe I could make more sophisticated decisions than this, and might play differently, and cash out more chips. Maybe if I bet here and got checkraised, and thought he had nothing, or even if he had something, I should reraise anyway. Maybe. Guess I don't quite play at that level.
So anyway, the river is a Jack, and he bets out. Now I'm getting 6-to-1 odds that he has nothing, and that my Ace high is good. One time out of seven? This guy? HELL YES, I tell myself, and call. Funny thing was, he turns over Ace Nine, and so it turns out my Ace Ten IS good. Once again an opponent has made a river bet that, in retrospect, makes no sense at all. Well, at least not to me. That's really confusing, because this guy is the best player in the room― if you don't believe me, just ask him― and so of course I'm trying to study him, and learn from him, and pick up on some of those advanced strategies. But, sadly, I still haven't learned how make value-betting Ace high into a winning play. Maybe someday. Or maybe not. :-)
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The Dog
Saturday night 20/40 at Diamond Lils. Main game, after midnight, I'm the sole ethnic minority at this table, and these guys are gambooling, for sure. No blind stealing or chopping going on, and rarely less than five players seeing the flop. Sometimes a raise or two, but just as often not.
So I limp in on the button, after several others, with K9. The Dog. Flop comes 984, but by the time the action reaches me, it's already three bets !
In many games in this situation, against most players, I'd probably want to just let it go, and figure somebody must already have a real hand. But not against these guys. With only the tiniest voice in my head whining that it might be a little over aggressive, I cap it at four bets. I think there's a good enough chance that I have the best hand. Everyone calls.
Turn is a 3, and now a backdoor flush draw on board, and I'm also worried someone out there is slowplaying a set, or maybe top two. Checked to me, I bet, and they ALL call. Yikes! Where am I at in this hand?<
A 7 on the river, checked to me again, and I can't think of any reason to bet now. I check, and two guys, both the flop aggressors, turn over Ten Jack for the nut straight, and split the pot.
If I my poker philosophy was Results Oriented, then I should be unhappy about this outcome. But since I am devoutly Performance Oriented, I was just fine with it. Did you ever see my essay about that, and the secret philosophical poker equation?
Result = Performance ± Luck
That essay is here: Part I & Part II.
Sure, they sucked out on me [luck] , but I made them pay the max [performance] , and then when they got there [result], and both of them tried for the check-raise [performance-them], but I didn't take the bait [performance-me]. So even though the result was unfavorable, I'm happy with performance, and that's all that really matters.
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If I Ran the Room<
Isn't it funny how many players try to tell the houseman or the dealer how to run the room or deal the game? And some players really like to do that, don't they?. Sometimes they give ORDERS to the dealer, and TELL him what to do. Not me. No way. It's their house, I'm a guest, and it's not my place to do more than maybe make a polite comment, or at most a suggestion now and then.
But here, on my own blog, I can sound off a little, right? Hope you don't mind.
1. No more small chips! 20/40 is a RED CHIP GAME. When a player goes all-in, isn't it silly to make him, or even let him, put in those last two dollars? If he has five $1 chips, then fine, that equals a Redbird, so put it in. But odd amounts? Forget it, and stop wasting time making all that small change for the side-pot.
And when it's a split pot, stop wasting time breaking the odd $5 chip down into $1 chips. It's a RED CHIP GAME, so just give the odd red chip to the entitled player, and be done with it.
2. No more curiosity viewing! Every room as a rule saying something like "Any player at the table is entitled to see a called hand." So when two guys jam it to squeeze you out, then after you fold they just check it down, and on the river one guy shows one card and the other guy starts to throw away, you can tell the dealer "Both Hands, Please!"
This is a good rule, useful for detecting or discouraging collusion, and in that "squeeze play" situation, it makes sense. In fact, when two guys do that to me, and it does happen now and then, I do ask to see both hands.
But more often the player asking to see a hand on the end has no reason to suspect any hanky-panky, and is simply being curious. Now that's just wrong. But it's difficult, if not impossible, to base a rule on what a player is thinking, or what their motivation is, for asking to see a hand.
So if I ran the room, when a player asks to see a hand, the floorman is called, and the requestor has to explain why they're asking. If they can make any kind of case beyond "I'm just curious," then fine. Otherwise, forget it. After this happened a few times, players would come to understand the difference between game-protection and curiosity, and would stop asking just because they're curious. Wouldn't that be a good thing?
If you asked the cardroom to consider making those changes, they'd probably tell you they can't, because of State Gambling Commission rules. I think they'd just say that, and that the Commission people don't know enough, or pay attention enough, to make rules like that. Not long ago the house rule changed to let a player "Buy the Button." Did that change get approved by the Commission? Are you kidding me? Do you really think anyone there has even half a clue what "Buy the Button" means, or that they specify rules and regulations to that level of detail? Maybe so, but I kind of doubt it.
The other day I was in a hand, 3 way action, I'm in the middle, and the button bets the turn. The guy ahead of me calls, and at that point I didn't like my chances, and folded. Then the river comes, and the first guy just throws away. Well, in that case I immediately asked the dealer "Both hands, Please." I didn't so much want to see that hand that folded with no bet to me, as the guy who took the pot without even having to bet or show, when he should have had to do one of those two things.
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Nightmares
It was a week ago, but this hand is still keeping me awake nights. I've described times that my opponents made mistakes, and maybe blew off a few chips, betting or calling when they shouldn't. Bad enough. But this time it was me that screwed up, and it cost me the whole damn (large) pot.
I'm in seat 8, as usual, and right after me in 9 is this 20-something kid who will call raises and/or chase to the end with just about anything. Fine. But he is also Mr. Maximum Slow Play. If he flops or makes 2 pair or better, he will always wait until the turn, or more often the river, before doing any raising. One time he smooth-called my preflop raise with pocket Kings, and waited for the turn to raise. Every other time he raised the turn or river and showed, he had at least two pair. Always.
So...comes this hand where he's on the button, several people limp in ahead of us, and I raise King Queen Diamonds from the cutoff. Max, both blinds, and all the limpers call.
Flop comes Jack, Ten, four, rainbow. Open ender, two overcards, in a volume pot. I like it. Checked to me, I bet, Tom-Tom checkraises from the blind, and I 3 bet. We lose a couple, but it's still four way.
This guy in the blind, Tom-Tom, is even older than me, and is always there in fresh, clean blue or green one-piece shop-suit coveralls. He is another who will play just about anything, and is often quite unpredictable. For example, he called my 3 bets on the flop, didn't reraise, but now he bets out when a five hits the turn. What does that mean? He likes the five, made him two pair? Hard to say. Like I said, unpredictable.
So at this point I'm not raising any more, just calling with my open ender, good odds, but then Max raises behind me. Shit. Tom-Tom calls. I call.
The river does not make my straight, but is a King, giving me top pair. We let Max bet, and Tom-Tom calls. What do I do? Overcall?<
Remember we said said how Max never raised the turn or river with less than 2 pair? And what did Tom-Tom bet out with, then call that raise with, on the turn? 37 bets in the pot, but I decide, too quickly, that one of these guys must have me beat. I fold.
Tom-Tom calls, though, and Max turns over Ace Jack. Tom shows Queen Jack. So they both flopped top pair, and I sucked out on the river, but didn't even know it. I been watching Max all day, thought I had his number, but I sure didn't have it this time, and it sure did cost me. So, just how dumb, how terrible, was my laydown? Pretty damn bad, I'm afraid. I mean, to give it up in that spot you have to be really, really, sure you are beat.
Then another mistake: I told Mrs. Rock about this disaster, and now she keeps looking at me with what appears to be pity, while sadly shaking her head. And I'm also telling it to you, my readers, even though you may laugh at me over it. Why? Because I want to remember this hand, painful as it may be, so next time I'm faced with this situation, where I think I really know the guy, maybe I can think more carefully, and make a better decision. The decision I made this time really sucked.
=============<
I call it the Alien Hand. It's almost like it has a mind, and a will, and a plan of its own. I just hope he knows what he's doing!
It happened again Friday night, when a guy open-limps early, and I raise right behind him, with Ace Ten offsuit. The good old hope this ain't a chip burner isolation play. And my brain didn't really yell, just kinda smart-ass commented, something like "Hey, didn't you do a blog post about this just the other day? Something about Breaking Bad Habits? What's wrong, you got a short memory??"
Again, I didn't think enough about who the blinds were, and in this case Big Blind was not likely to give it up; he's more like a guy who likes to call, then sometimes check-raise you on any flop, whether it hits him or not. He's also the only guy I know whose name is both an acronym AND a palindrome. Think M*A*S*H
So he calls, and the limper calls, and the flop comes rags: 378. The Big Blind does indeed check-raise, and the limper folds. So I raise his ass right back, with nothing, and he calls.
I might have bet the turn, too, except it came a six, making me a gutshot draw. So if he checkraises me again there would be 18 small bets in the pot, and I'd be getting 9-to-1 odds to chase an 11-to-1 draw. Not good. Of course I may have more outs than that, but still, I'd just hate to get raised and have to lay down, even when I'm thinking he's putting the move on me, or call to draw when getting shitty odds. So when he checked the turn, I checked too. If I were a better player, maybe I could make more sophisticated decisions than this, and might play differently, and cash out more chips. Maybe if I bet here and got checkraised, and thought he had nothing, or even if he had something, I should reraise anyway. Maybe. Guess I don't quite play at that level.
So anyway, the river is a Jack, and he bets out. Now I'm getting 6-to-1 odds that he has nothing, and that my Ace high is good. One time out of seven? This guy? HELL YES, I tell myself, and call. Funny thing was, he turns over Ace Nine, and so it turns out my Ace Ten IS good. Once again an opponent has made a river bet that, in retrospect, makes no sense at all. Well, at least not to me. That's really confusing, because this guy is the best player in the room― if you don't believe me, just ask him― and so of course I'm trying to study him, and learn from him, and pick up on some of those advanced strategies. But, sadly, I still haven't learned how make value-betting Ace high into a winning play. Maybe someday. Or maybe not. :-)
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
The Dog
Saturday night 20/40 at Diamond Lils. Main game, after midnight, I'm the sole ethnic minority at this table, and these guys are gambooling, for sure. No blind stealing or chopping going on, and rarely less than five players seeing the flop. Sometimes a raise or two, but just as often not.
So I limp in on the button, after several others, with K9. The Dog. Flop comes 984, but by the time the action reaches me, it's already three bets !
In many games in this situation, against most players, I'd probably want to just let it go, and figure somebody must already have a real hand. But not against these guys. With only the tiniest voice in my head whining that it might be a little over aggressive, I cap it at four bets. I think there's a good enough chance that I have the best hand. Everyone calls.
Turn is a 3, and now a backdoor flush draw on board, and I'm also worried someone out there is slowplaying a set, or maybe top two. Checked to me, I bet, and they ALL call. Yikes! Where am I at in this hand?<
A 7 on the river, checked to me again, and I can't think of any reason to bet now. I check, and two guys, both the flop aggressors, turn over Ten Jack for the nut straight, and split the pot.
If I my poker philosophy was Results Oriented, then I should be unhappy about this outcome. But since I am devoutly Performance Oriented, I was just fine with it. Did you ever see my essay about that, and the secret philosophical poker equation?
Result = Performance ± Luck
That essay is here: Part I & Part II.
Sure, they sucked out on me [luck] , but I made them pay the max [performance] , and then when they got there [result], and both of them tried for the check-raise [performance-them], but I didn't take the bait [performance-me]. So even though the result was unfavorable, I'm happy with performance, and that's all that really matters.
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
If I Ran the Room<
Isn't it funny how many players try to tell the houseman or the dealer how to run the room or deal the game? And some players really like to do that, don't they?. Sometimes they give ORDERS to the dealer, and TELL him what to do. Not me. No way. It's their house, I'm a guest, and it's not my place to do more than maybe make a polite comment, or at most a suggestion now and then.
But here, on my own blog, I can sound off a little, right? Hope you don't mind.
1. No more small chips! 20/40 is a RED CHIP GAME. When a player goes all-in, isn't it silly to make him, or even let him, put in those last two dollars? If he has five $1 chips, then fine, that equals a Redbird, so put it in. But odd amounts? Forget it, and stop wasting time making all that small change for the side-pot.
And when it's a split pot, stop wasting time breaking the odd $5 chip down into $1 chips. It's a RED CHIP GAME, so just give the odd red chip to the entitled player, and be done with it.
2. No more curiosity viewing! Every room as a rule saying something like "Any player at the table is entitled to see a called hand." So when two guys jam it to squeeze you out, then after you fold they just check it down, and on the river one guy shows one card and the other guy starts to throw away, you can tell the dealer "Both Hands, Please!"
This is a good rule, useful for detecting or discouraging collusion, and in that "squeeze play" situation, it makes sense. In fact, when two guys do that to me, and it does happen now and then, I do ask to see both hands.
But more often the player asking to see a hand on the end has no reason to suspect any hanky-panky, and is simply being curious. Now that's just wrong. But it's difficult, if not impossible, to base a rule on what a player is thinking, or what their motivation is, for asking to see a hand.
So if I ran the room, when a player asks to see a hand, the floorman is called, and the requestor has to explain why they're asking. If they can make any kind of case beyond "I'm just curious," then fine. Otherwise, forget it. After this happened a few times, players would come to understand the difference between game-protection and curiosity, and would stop asking just because they're curious. Wouldn't that be a good thing?
If you asked the cardroom to consider making those changes, they'd probably tell you they can't, because of State Gambling Commission rules. I think they'd just say that, and that the Commission people don't know enough, or pay attention enough, to make rules like that. Not long ago the house rule changed to let a player "Buy the Button." Did that change get approved by the Commission? Are you kidding me? Do you really think anyone there has even half a clue what "Buy the Button" means, or that they specify rules and regulations to that level of detail? Maybe so, but I kind of doubt it.
The other day I was in a hand, 3 way action, I'm in the middle, and the button bets the turn. The guy ahead of me calls, and at that point I didn't like my chances, and folded. Then the river comes, and the first guy just throws away. Well, in that case I immediately asked the dealer "Both hands, Please." I didn't so much want to see that hand that folded with no bet to me, as the guy who took the pot without even having to bet or show, when he should have had to do one of those two things.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Nightmares
It was a week ago, but this hand is still keeping me awake nights. I've described times that my opponents made mistakes, and maybe blew off a few chips, betting or calling when they shouldn't. Bad enough. But this time it was me that screwed up, and it cost me the whole damn (large) pot.
I'm in seat 8, as usual, and right after me in 9 is this 20-something kid who will call raises and/or chase to the end with just about anything. Fine. But he is also Mr. Maximum Slow Play. If he flops or makes 2 pair or better, he will always wait until the turn, or more often the river, before doing any raising. One time he smooth-called my preflop raise with pocket Kings, and waited for the turn to raise. Every other time he raised the turn or river and showed, he had at least two pair. Always.
So...comes this hand where he's on the button, several people limp in ahead of us, and I raise King Queen Diamonds from the cutoff. Max, both blinds, and all the limpers call.
Flop comes Jack, Ten, four, rainbow. Open ender, two overcards, in a volume pot. I like it. Checked to me, I bet, Tom-Tom checkraises from the blind, and I 3 bet. We lose a couple, but it's still four way.
This guy in the blind, Tom-Tom, is even older than me, and is always there in fresh, clean blue or green one-piece shop-suit coveralls. He is another who will play just about anything, and is often quite unpredictable. For example, he called my 3 bets on the flop, didn't reraise, but now he bets out when a five hits the turn. What does that mean? He likes the five, made him two pair? Hard to say. Like I said, unpredictable.
So at this point I'm not raising any more, just calling with my open ender, good odds, but then Max raises behind me. Shit. Tom-Tom calls. I call.
The river does not make my straight, but is a King, giving me top pair. We let Max bet, and Tom-Tom calls. What do I do? Overcall?<
Remember we said said how Max never raised the turn or river with less than 2 pair? And what did Tom-Tom bet out with, then call that raise with, on the turn? 37 bets in the pot, but I decide, too quickly, that one of these guys must have me beat. I fold.
Tom-Tom calls, though, and Max turns over Ace Jack. Tom shows Queen Jack. So they both flopped top pair, and I sucked out on the river, but didn't even know it. I been watching Max all day, thought I had his number, but I sure didn't have it this time, and it sure did cost me. So, just how dumb, how terrible, was my laydown? Pretty damn bad, I'm afraid. I mean, to give it up in that spot you have to be really, really, sure you are beat.
Then another mistake: I told Mrs. Rock about this disaster, and now she keeps looking at me with what appears to be pity, while sadly shaking her head. And I'm also telling it to you, my readers, even though you may laugh at me over it. Why? Because I want to remember this hand, painful as it may be, so next time I'm faced with this situation, where I think I really know the guy, maybe I can think more carefully, and make a better decision. The decision I made this time really sucked.
=============<
Monday, January 19, 2009
Breaking Bad Habits
(20/40 limit Hold Em, Diamond Lil's, Renton, WA)
Smith limps in early, and I raise from the middle with AcTs. That's the bad habit I'm talking about, right there.
If the blinds were tiny, say just one small blind, then you should only come in with the biggest hands, right? And if the blinds were huge, for whatever reason, then you should be much looser about what you come in with. Right?
So when a loose player limps in early, and he's the kind who plays a lot of hands but raises with his big ones, I kind of see that as the blinds getting bigger.
Then, if I can isolate him, get the blinds in there as dead money, and hope I hit something, or he hits nothing, or maybe puts money in drawing, but never hits, and my Ace wins. Lots of ways to win, hopefully right on the flop. Seems like a reasonable plan, doesn't it?
Trouble is, doing this too often, against the wrong guys, can be a dumb play, and cost a lot of chips. Smith isn't the kind to flop nothing and meekly fold. Well, maybe sometimes, but sometimes he will play back at you with nothing. What I'm saying is that making this play against him may have been a poor decision. :-(
And those two guys in the blinds aren't the kind to give up easily, and I didn't think enough about that, either. I just saw that open-limp go in the pot, looked down at AT, got excited, and raised.
So this "isolation play" may be a good one at times, in the right situation, but doing it too often, indescriminantly, is probably a chip burner. This was one of those times that it probably was not a great idea, but I did it anyway, and, again, that's the bad habit I'm taking about. In this case I got lucky, and it turned out well.
Small Blind, Big Blind, and Smith all call, 8 bets in the pot, and the flop comes Q86, all Clubs. Checked to me, I bet, small blind checkraises, call, call, and I three bet. Wouldn't you? Everyone calls. Twenty small bets in the pot.
Turn is pretty much a blank, 4d, unless 5-7 is out there against me. With these guys, anything is possible. They all check to me. I have the Ace of Clubs, nut draw, but not much else. What should I do? What would you do?
There's 20 small bets in the middle, so a bet would get 10-to-1 pot odds that they all fold, and I don't even have to get there. Is there better than a ten percent chance they'd all muck? I don't think so. Probably closer to zero percent. :-)
And if I bet and get raised, then I have to call, and will wish I hadn't bet. Wouldn't you? Then if an Ace or Ten comes on the river I may have to make a crying call again. Screw that. So I tell the dealer: "Free Card!"
Ka-ching. King of Clubs. Check, check, then Smith agonizes a long time, kinda mumbling to himself, reviewing the action, analyzing the situation, then, finally, he bets. No Hollywood, I just raise right away. He's the kind of guy who can know he's beat, but has to pay off and see it anyway. So he pays, then I show, and stack the chips.
Back in the day, before Blogs, I used to post "Trip Reports" to usenet:rec.gambling.poker. In a 2002 WSOP Report, I wrote about a handful of Fun Things to Say (FTTS) in a Hold 'Em Game; things like:
-- "You're Not Gonna Check-Raise Me, Are Ya?"
-- "Sorry, I Got Excited..."
-- "All That Practice Really Paid Off"
-- "I Can't Call You..." (then raise)
-- "Six Titties!"
-- "I Didn't Know What To Put Me On"
-- "Keep Looking, Maybe You'll Find Something"
You can read those old posts here, or just that '02 TR describing those original FTTS in parts, here: Part I, Part II and Part III.
Here are some more of my favorite newer FTTS.
1. Say the pot is raised from early position preflop, and I'm behind the raiser, middle position, with something like, for example, A4 suited. Especially Spades. :-) Impulse says call, but of course I cannot. So while mucking, I might say:
"Damn, I wish I was on tilt, so I could call you with this!"
2. When betting or calling (or especially when raising) a completely rainbow turn:
"Flush Draw!"
3. I could have, maybe should have, bet the river, but didn't. I win, and now that the showdown is over, we see that I would have been called. Missed a bet. BFD. But while the dealer pushes the pot I might say:
"Is it too late to bet?" -- and then maybe --
"Just gimme twenty, and we'll call it even..."
4. These are rather cruel ones, for use only on someone you don't much like.
-- When they end a long session and declare that "I finally got even!" you can ask them:
"For Life?"
-- When he says that "I just want to win back 'my' chips..." that he lost earlier, you can politely point out how they really aren't his chips any more.
5. No bet on river, then a player ahead of you just mucks. Or maybe he bets, you call, and then he mucks rather than turn over:
"I can beat that!"
6. A scarecard hits the river, I'm last, the other guy(s) check to me, but I'm not betting either, so just shake my head and tell them...
"I wouldn't bet now with YOUR money!"
7. Ran bad, and have to rebuy. So hand over the cash, but also tell the cashier or floorman:
"That last rack I you sold me was defective. Please have 'them' credit my account."
8. You win a couple pots and are busy stacking chips, then you get another hand, there's a raise, you have garbage, and are folding.
"I'd call you if I wasn't running so bad."
=============
Doc, Can I Get a Prescription? Please?
I wasn't really paying attention, wasn't looking, and just heard part of the audio on this TV commercial. It was for a drug called Mirapex, to treat "Restless Leg Syndrome," or RLS. You know, like that guy in your game who nervously jacks his leg up and down 300 times a minute. No, wait, I guess that's not really what it is. Thing is, the voiceover ended with "...side effects may include increased gambling or sexual urges." No kidding, that's what they said! Now I don't really know what the hell RLS is, but, seriously, I WANT THOSE MEDS! Who wouldn't ??
=============
Who's The Dummy?
A weak and way too loose player open-limps in early position, could have just about anything, and I raise in middle, well, *almost* late position, with 66, trying to isolate him. But Jesse calls out of the small blind.
Flop comes something like J53, two clubs, and they both check and call my bet.
Third club on the turn, and they both check again. I hold the 6c, but, gee, I hate to chase a flush with anything much smaller than a King. :-) I do bet, tho--- not so much because I have that tiny club, but because I hope they both have no club, and might even fold a Jack or a seven, or not be there to hit some overcard on the river. Limper mucks, but Jesse is still calling.
Then the river puts a fourth club on board, and he bets out. Well, shit, he must have a bigger club than me, and I need to fold, right? Well, yeah, if I'm wearing that hat that says "weak-tight." But wait a minute. What if he's betting with the hope that I AM THE ONE with no club? You know, just like I did against him a moment ago, on the turn.
I don't try to count dollars in the pot to figure odds. Instead, I count "small bets," in $20 increments, even on the turn and river. Makes pot odds mental math way easier.
In this hand, preflop, then on the flop and turn respectively, 7+3+4 small bets went into the pot. Plus 2 more he just put in makes 16, and it would cost me 2 small bets to call this showdown. So I'm getting 16-to-2, or 8-to-1 odds.
Is there better than 8:1 odds, aka "one chance in nine" that, for whatever reason, Jesse has bet with no club all? Just one chance out of nine? Put differently, better than an 11% chance? I think about this for a couple seconds, decide HELL YES, probably two or three chances out of nine! So I call.
Jesse turns over 5s4c, and my 6c wins. Funny thing was how the other players watching all this, his buddies, reacted like they thought his was a bold river bet, and my call was weak and wimpy. I still like my call, and don't like his bet at all. If he had bet a big club for value, or no club at all as a bluff, that might make sense. But with that tiny club, well, seems to me that either check-fold, or maybe check-call, are his only plays. YMMV.
=============
Feedback Appreciated
Turns out I never really configured this blog, and it was set to only allow comment postings only by registered members, or something. Sorry! I just didn't know better. Now it's set wide open, anyone can comment, and I'd love to hear from you, so please do comment. After all, why write a blog unless you can see that somebody is reading?
Smith limps in early, and I raise from the middle with AcTs. That's the bad habit I'm talking about, right there.
If the blinds were tiny, say just one small blind, then you should only come in with the biggest hands, right? And if the blinds were huge, for whatever reason, then you should be much looser about what you come in with. Right?
So when a loose player limps in early, and he's the kind who plays a lot of hands but raises with his big ones, I kind of see that as the blinds getting bigger.
Then, if I can isolate him, get the blinds in there as dead money, and hope I hit something, or he hits nothing, or maybe puts money in drawing, but never hits, and my Ace wins. Lots of ways to win, hopefully right on the flop. Seems like a reasonable plan, doesn't it?
Trouble is, doing this too often, against the wrong guys, can be a dumb play, and cost a lot of chips. Smith isn't the kind to flop nothing and meekly fold. Well, maybe sometimes, but sometimes he will play back at you with nothing. What I'm saying is that making this play against him may have been a poor decision. :-(
And those two guys in the blinds aren't the kind to give up easily, and I didn't think enough about that, either. I just saw that open-limp go in the pot, looked down at AT, got excited, and raised.
So this "isolation play" may be a good one at times, in the right situation, but doing it too often, indescriminantly, is probably a chip burner. This was one of those times that it probably was not a great idea, but I did it anyway, and, again, that's the bad habit I'm taking about. In this case I got lucky, and it turned out well.
Small Blind, Big Blind, and Smith all call, 8 bets in the pot, and the flop comes Q86, all Clubs. Checked to me, I bet, small blind checkraises, call, call, and I three bet. Wouldn't you? Everyone calls. Twenty small bets in the pot.
Turn is pretty much a blank, 4d, unless 5-7 is out there against me. With these guys, anything is possible. They all check to me. I have the Ace of Clubs, nut draw, but not much else. What should I do? What would you do?
There's 20 small bets in the middle, so a bet would get 10-to-1 pot odds that they all fold, and I don't even have to get there. Is there better than a ten percent chance they'd all muck? I don't think so. Probably closer to zero percent. :-)
And if I bet and get raised, then I have to call, and will wish I hadn't bet. Wouldn't you? Then if an Ace or Ten comes on the river I may have to make a crying call again. Screw that. So I tell the dealer: "Free Card!"
Ka-ching. King of Clubs. Check, check, then Smith agonizes a long time, kinda mumbling to himself, reviewing the action, analyzing the situation, then, finally, he bets. No Hollywood, I just raise right away. He's the kind of guy who can know he's beat, but has to pay off and see it anyway. So he pays, then I show, and stack the chips.
Afterwards Smith tells me, a couple times, that my check on the turn confused him. "I never saw you check like that!" Huh? I don't get it. Before the flop my play, perhaps foolishly, tried to run over the game a little. But once that flop came, everything I did was based on the math, not psychology, and wasn't trying to be deceptive. Seems like his thought process, trying to put me on a hand there, failed completely, but, hey, don't blame me! :-) And what the hell did he have, anyway? I dunno.
I liked telling about this hand, and maybe this story makes me look good, but only because I got lucky on the end. It's was better than three times more likely that no club would come, and then I wouldn't even be telling this.
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
More Fun Things to Say
Back in the day, before Blogs, I used to post "Trip Reports" to usenet:rec.gambling.poker. In a 2002 WSOP Report, I wrote about a handful of Fun Things to Say (FTTS) in a Hold 'Em Game; things like:
-- "You're Not Gonna Check-Raise Me, Are Ya?"
-- "Sorry, I Got Excited..."
-- "All That Practice Really Paid Off"
-- "I Can't Call You..." (then raise)
-- "Six Titties!"
-- "I Didn't Know What To Put Me On"
-- "Keep Looking, Maybe You'll Find Something"
You can read those old posts here, or just that '02 TR describing those original FTTS in parts, here: Part I, Part II and Part III.
Here are some more of my favorite newer FTTS.
1. Say the pot is raised from early position preflop, and I'm behind the raiser, middle position, with something like, for example, A4 suited. Especially Spades. :-) Impulse says call, but of course I cannot. So while mucking, I might say:
"Damn, I wish I was on tilt, so I could call you with this!"
2. When betting or calling (or especially when raising) a completely rainbow turn:
"Flush Draw!"
3. I could have, maybe should have, bet the river, but didn't. I win, and now that the showdown is over, we see that I would have been called. Missed a bet. BFD. But while the dealer pushes the pot I might say:
"Is it too late to bet?" -- and then maybe --
"Just gimme twenty, and we'll call it even..."
4. These are rather cruel ones, for use only on someone you don't much like.
-- When they end a long session and declare that "I finally got even!" you can ask them:
"For Life?"
-- When he says that "I just want to win back 'my' chips..." that he lost earlier, you can politely point out how they really aren't his chips any more.
5. No bet on river, then a player ahead of you just mucks. Or maybe he bets, you call, and then he mucks rather than turn over:
"I can beat that!"
6. A scarecard hits the river, I'm last, the other guy(s) check to me, but I'm not betting either, so just shake my head and tell them...
"I wouldn't bet now with YOUR money!"
7. Ran bad, and have to rebuy. So hand over the cash, but also tell the cashier or floorman:
"That last rack I you sold me was defective. Please have 'them' credit my account."
8. You win a couple pots and are busy stacking chips, then you get another hand, there's a raise, you have garbage, and are folding.
"I'd call you if I wasn't running so bad."
=============
Doc, Can I Get a Prescription? Please?
I wasn't really paying attention, wasn't looking, and just heard part of the audio on this TV commercial. It was for a drug called Mirapex, to treat "Restless Leg Syndrome," or RLS. You know, like that guy in your game who nervously jacks his leg up and down 300 times a minute. No, wait, I guess that's not really what it is. Thing is, the voiceover ended with "...side effects may include increased gambling or sexual urges." No kidding, that's what they said! Now I don't really know what the hell RLS is, but, seriously, I WANT THOSE MEDS! Who wouldn't ??
=============
Who's The Dummy?
A weak and way too loose player open-limps in early position, could have just about anything, and I raise in middle, well, *almost* late position, with 66, trying to isolate him. But Jesse calls out of the small blind.
Flop comes something like J53, two clubs, and they both check and call my bet.
Third club on the turn, and they both check again. I hold the 6c, but, gee, I hate to chase a flush with anything much smaller than a King. :-) I do bet, tho--- not so much because I have that tiny club, but because I hope they both have no club, and might even fold a Jack or a seven, or not be there to hit some overcard on the river. Limper mucks, but Jesse is still calling.
Then the river puts a fourth club on board, and he bets out. Well, shit, he must have a bigger club than me, and I need to fold, right? Well, yeah, if I'm wearing that hat that says "weak-tight." But wait a minute. What if he's betting with the hope that I AM THE ONE with no club? You know, just like I did against him a moment ago, on the turn.
I don't try to count dollars in the pot to figure odds. Instead, I count "small bets," in $20 increments, even on the turn and river. Makes pot odds mental math way easier.
In this hand, preflop, then on the flop and turn respectively, 7+3+4 small bets went into the pot. Plus 2 more he just put in makes 16, and it would cost me 2 small bets to call this showdown. So I'm getting 16-to-2, or 8-to-1 odds.
Is there better than 8:1 odds, aka "one chance in nine" that, for whatever reason, Jesse has bet with no club all? Just one chance out of nine? Put differently, better than an 11% chance? I think about this for a couple seconds, decide HELL YES, probably two or three chances out of nine! So I call.
Jesse turns over 5s4c, and my 6c wins. Funny thing was how the other players watching all this, his buddies, reacted like they thought his was a bold river bet, and my call was weak and wimpy. I still like my call, and don't like his bet at all. If he had bet a big club for value, or no club at all as a bluff, that might make sense. But with that tiny club, well, seems to me that either check-fold, or maybe check-call, are his only plays. YMMV.
=============
Feedback Appreciated
Turns out I never really configured this blog, and it was set to only allow comment postings only by registered members, or something. Sorry! I just didn't know better. Now it's set wide open, anyone can comment, and I'd love to hear from you, so please do comment. After all, why write a blog unless you can see that somebody is reading?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
New Years Resolutions
New Years Resolutions. Yeah, we're already half way thru January, but it's not too late, is it? I've finally made a few:
1. Play MORE Hold 'Em, specifically $20/40 at Diamond Lil's. Last year I played maybe 2 or 3 times a week, but this year I don't want to stay home more than 2 or 3 days a week. So far I've played nine of the eleven days this month. On track.
2. Play BETTER Hold 'Em. Specifically, focus on that one particular weak part of my game-- the one I've known about and struggled with for a long time-- get it fixed, and turn it from a weakness into a strength. Finally I am actually doing better with this the last couple weeks. If you ask in person what the hell I'm talking about here, I'll explain it to you. Maybe.
3. Finish the year with a better poker win record than Mrs. Rock. That has never, ever, happened before-- not even close-- but this *could* be the year.
4. Post more on this blog. Bring it back to life. Try to be entertaining.
=============
Misread the Board, Call with 10 High, and Win the Pot.
I don't think I'd ever seen his stranger before, but I sure hope to see him again. About my age, thinning wavy hair combed straight back, kinda looks a little like that old movie actor, Melvyn Douglas. On a bad day. Wears wire-rim glasses with thick lenses, but the prescription must not be right, because when he gets his cards he leans in with his head down right by the rim of the table, gets his face within a couple inches of the hand, and takes a good look. It's pretty funny to watch.
So anyway, I'm in seat 8 when this guy sits down in 9, and tells everyone that "I've been playing this game for a long, long time, so you guys better not try to run over me!" Then he proceeds to play more than half of his starting hands, and make bets, calls, and even a couple raises, that, well, just made no sense at all. And it doesn't seem like he's particularly trying to be deceptive; more like he has no clue what he's doing.
Then comes this hand where The Stranger and two other guys limp in, and I get a free play in the Big Blind, with Ten-Three. 4 players, the flop comes 8, Jack, Queen, two suited cards. I think a second about betting my gut-shot. What's the chance I can win right now, don't even have to get there? Fugedaboutit. The Stranger had limped in UTG, could have anything, the other two guys are likely to call, or raise, if they have even a piece of that flop. So I check, and, long story short, nobody bets the flop and nobody bets the turn, a blank.
Then a 9 on the river makes my straight, but makes that possible flush too. I check, The Stranger bets, and the other two guys fold. Small pot, but good odds this guy has nothing at all. I call. He hesitates, doesn't want to show, but finally turns over some nothing like five deuce off. Just as I'm tabling my hand to show my straight and claim the pot, I look at the board again. Holy Shit, that isn't Jack Queen out there, it's two Jacks! I don't have a straight. I don't have anything. But my Ten does have him high-carded, so I win. A couple other players who have been watching, and Vicky, the dealer, all look at me in surprise, trying to decide if I'm an idiot or a genius. I could have explained that I had misread the board, but admitting that would ruin the illusion, and take them-- rightfully-- to that "idiot" conclusion. So I don't say a word. :-)
Note to self: Look at the board more carefully. Twice. And maybe go see that optometrist who sent a postcard 2 years ago saying it's time for a checkup..
====================
Another Bad Play
Just got done saying "Play Better," but here's a mistake I've been thinking about for a week.
I open raise in late-middle position with Queen Ten suited, get a couple callers, and flop A94, with two of my suit. I bet, and get those same couple callers.
Turn is a Ten, and when the Big Blind check raises me, I raise him right back. I'm thinking that I can check behind him on the river, unless I make that flush. This plan starts unraveling right away: He caps it. Oops.
But then the River brings another ten, and he checks. Without enough thought, I bet, he calls, and I show my trip tens. Then he shows his pocket fours, making him fours full of tens, and takes the pot.
Then he tells me that he had to put me on Ace Ten, and didn't bet the river for fear I had filled up with a better boat than he did. Yes, of course. Thing is, I should have given more thought to "what does he think I have?" based on the action, and figured that out myself, after he four-bets the turn but then checks on that particular river card.
So my river bet was really flakey. Should have known better where I was in that hand, and saved those chips!
=============
Checking the Nuts on the River
Don't you hate it when you go for a check-raise, and nobody bets? I sure do. Especially on the River, when you turn it over, and everyone laughs. How humiliating! :-)
So I almost never take that chance, checking the nuts at the end, but there are exceptions, and against this guy was the one. I'll just call him The Feeler.
He came into my game a couple days ago, don't think I ever saw him before, and within a couple minutes of sitting down into seat 9, he reaches over and pinches the dealer's ass. No kidding.
She didn't much like that, told him "Don't!!" and also kind of half-seriously called out for Security. Then, a minute later, he does it again! Again she tells him "Don't do that !!" and calls out for security, sounding more serious this time, but the security guy apparently heard her the first time, because now he's standing right behind and looking right at this player. And yet he does nothing, and says nothing. Go figure.
I may be wrong, but it seemed to me like the dealer was so bothered by all this that she was almost ready to burst into tears. I just couldn't understand why the security guy was watching this behavior but doing nothing about it.
So I get my cell ready, planning to, if it happens again, call 911 and find out if doing that to a lady in this city is a criminal assault, like I *think* it is. Yes, I was ready to call the cops and make a complaint myself, even if the "victim" and the house weren't taking any action. Ya think they would have laughed at me, or would they take it seriously? I'm not sure. But although he never did stop running his mouth, The Feeler kept his hands to himself after that, so I didn't make that call, and didn't find out.
Can you tell that I don't much like this guy? Well, guess I do like him in my game, if not personally, and he was there again tonight, when I found Ace-King Hearts in the small blind. Several players, including The Feeler, limped in, and I raise. Flop comes two hearts, I bet, and get two callers. Turn comes a blank, I check, they check: free card.
Deuce of hearts on the river makes me the nuts. Normally I hate to check here, take a chance that nobody bets, but I already checked the turn, showed apparent weakness, and feel confident The Feeler will try to pick up this pot, if I let him. I check, and he does not disappoint. Didn't call my raise, just threw his cards in disgust. Felt sooooo good.
=============
Your Brain as a Noise Canceling Circuit
Ever used noise-canceling headphones? They have a tiny microphone on the outside that picks up the same environment noises that you DON'T want to listen to, apart from your music, then they generate and "play" an OPPOSITE of that noise, to cancel it. This can be very effective.
Well, if you're in a noisy cardroom talking to your honey or your homie on your cell, but can't hardly hear them for all the noise around you, there's a little trick that might help. All the noise is coming in both your ears, and also into your cellphone's microphone, and mixing with the voice that you're struggling to listen to.
The cellphone's mic is probably just a tiny hole at the bottom; if you COVER that with a fingertip, then your telephone ear doesn't get all the noise that the other ear gets, and your brain should step in and separate the two, and you *should* be able to hear better. Satisfaction guaranteed, or double your money back. Offer void where prohibited, or if your brain is defective.
Remember to uncover the mic when you want to talk. This may take some coordination and manual dexterity, but, hey, you can shuffle stacks of chips with both hands, right? So you should be able to handle this. :-)
====================
1. Play MORE Hold 'Em, specifically $20/40 at Diamond Lil's. Last year I played maybe 2 or 3 times a week, but this year I don't want to stay home more than 2 or 3 days a week. So far I've played nine of the eleven days this month. On track.
2. Play BETTER Hold 'Em. Specifically, focus on that one particular weak part of my game-- the one I've known about and struggled with for a long time-- get it fixed, and turn it from a weakness into a strength. Finally I am actually doing better with this the last couple weeks. If you ask in person what the hell I'm talking about here, I'll explain it to you. Maybe.
3. Finish the year with a better poker win record than Mrs. Rock. That has never, ever, happened before-- not even close-- but this *could* be the year.
4. Post more on this blog. Bring it back to life. Try to be entertaining.
=============
Misread the Board, Call with 10 High, and Win the Pot.
I don't think I'd ever seen his stranger before, but I sure hope to see him again. About my age, thinning wavy hair combed straight back, kinda looks a little like that old movie actor, Melvyn Douglas. On a bad day. Wears wire-rim glasses with thick lenses, but the prescription must not be right, because when he gets his cards he leans in with his head down right by the rim of the table, gets his face within a couple inches of the hand, and takes a good look. It's pretty funny to watch.
So anyway, I'm in seat 8 when this guy sits down in 9, and tells everyone that "I've been playing this game for a long, long time, so you guys better not try to run over me!" Then he proceeds to play more than half of his starting hands, and make bets, calls, and even a couple raises, that, well, just made no sense at all. And it doesn't seem like he's particularly trying to be deceptive; more like he has no clue what he's doing.
Then comes this hand where The Stranger and two other guys limp in, and I get a free play in the Big Blind, with Ten-Three. 4 players, the flop comes 8, Jack, Queen, two suited cards. I think a second about betting my gut-shot. What's the chance I can win right now, don't even have to get there? Fugedaboutit. The Stranger had limped in UTG, could have anything, the other two guys are likely to call, or raise, if they have even a piece of that flop. So I check, and, long story short, nobody bets the flop and nobody bets the turn, a blank.
Then a 9 on the river makes my straight, but makes that possible flush too. I check, The Stranger bets, and the other two guys fold. Small pot, but good odds this guy has nothing at all. I call. He hesitates, doesn't want to show, but finally turns over some nothing like five deuce off. Just as I'm tabling my hand to show my straight and claim the pot, I look at the board again. Holy Shit, that isn't Jack Queen out there, it's two Jacks! I don't have a straight. I don't have anything. But my Ten does have him high-carded, so I win. A couple other players who have been watching, and Vicky, the dealer, all look at me in surprise, trying to decide if I'm an idiot or a genius. I could have explained that I had misread the board, but admitting that would ruin the illusion, and take them-- rightfully-- to that "idiot" conclusion. So I don't say a word. :-)
Note to self: Look at the board more carefully. Twice. And maybe go see that optometrist who sent a postcard 2 years ago saying it's time for a checkup..
====================
Another Bad Play
Just got done saying "Play Better," but here's a mistake I've been thinking about for a week.
I open raise in late-middle position with Queen Ten suited, get a couple callers, and flop A94, with two of my suit. I bet, and get those same couple callers.
Turn is a Ten, and when the Big Blind check raises me, I raise him right back. I'm thinking that I can check behind him on the river, unless I make that flush. This plan starts unraveling right away: He caps it. Oops.
But then the River brings another ten, and he checks. Without enough thought, I bet, he calls, and I show my trip tens. Then he shows his pocket fours, making him fours full of tens, and takes the pot.
Then he tells me that he had to put me on Ace Ten, and didn't bet the river for fear I had filled up with a better boat than he did. Yes, of course. Thing is, I should have given more thought to "what does he think I have?" based on the action, and figured that out myself, after he four-bets the turn but then checks on that particular river card.
So my river bet was really flakey. Should have known better where I was in that hand, and saved those chips!
=============
Checking the Nuts on the River
Don't you hate it when you go for a check-raise, and nobody bets? I sure do. Especially on the River, when you turn it over, and everyone laughs. How humiliating! :-)
So I almost never take that chance, checking the nuts at the end, but there are exceptions, and against this guy was the one. I'll just call him The Feeler.
He came into my game a couple days ago, don't think I ever saw him before, and within a couple minutes of sitting down into seat 9, he reaches over and pinches the dealer's ass. No kidding.
She didn't much like that, told him "Don't!!" and also kind of half-seriously called out for Security. Then, a minute later, he does it again! Again she tells him "Don't do that !!" and calls out for security, sounding more serious this time, but the security guy apparently heard her the first time, because now he's standing right behind and looking right at this player. And yet he does nothing, and says nothing. Go figure.
I may be wrong, but it seemed to me like the dealer was so bothered by all this that she was almost ready to burst into tears. I just couldn't understand why the security guy was watching this behavior but doing nothing about it.
So I get my cell ready, planning to, if it happens again, call 911 and find out if doing that to a lady in this city is a criminal assault, like I *think* it is. Yes, I was ready to call the cops and make a complaint myself, even if the "victim" and the house weren't taking any action. Ya think they would have laughed at me, or would they take it seriously? I'm not sure. But although he never did stop running his mouth, The Feeler kept his hands to himself after that, so I didn't make that call, and didn't find out.
Can you tell that I don't much like this guy? Well, guess I do like him in my game, if not personally, and he was there again tonight, when I found Ace-King Hearts in the small blind. Several players, including The Feeler, limped in, and I raise. Flop comes two hearts, I bet, and get two callers. Turn comes a blank, I check, they check: free card.
Deuce of hearts on the river makes me the nuts. Normally I hate to check here, take a chance that nobody bets, but I already checked the turn, showed apparent weakness, and feel confident The Feeler will try to pick up this pot, if I let him. I check, and he does not disappoint. Didn't call my raise, just threw his cards in disgust. Felt sooooo good.
=============
Your Brain as a Noise Canceling Circuit
Ever used noise-canceling headphones? They have a tiny microphone on the outside that picks up the same environment noises that you DON'T want to listen to, apart from your music, then they generate and "play" an OPPOSITE of that noise, to cancel it. This can be very effective.
Well, if you're in a noisy cardroom talking to your honey or your homie on your cell, but can't hardly hear them for all the noise around you, there's a little trick that might help. All the noise is coming in both your ears, and also into your cellphone's microphone, and mixing with the voice that you're struggling to listen to.
The cellphone's mic is probably just a tiny hole at the bottom; if you COVER that with a fingertip, then your telephone ear doesn't get all the noise that the other ear gets, and your brain should step in and separate the two, and you *should* be able to hear better. Satisfaction guaranteed, or double your money back. Offer void where prohibited, or if your brain is defective.
Remember to uncover the mic when you want to talk. This may take some coordination and manual dexterity, but, hey, you can shuffle stacks of chips with both hands, right? So you should be able to handle this. :-)
====================
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