I was 1st after the first break. I've had three good hands this hour. Two were destroyed on the flop. I bluffed two other pots. I'm hoping my luck changes after the next break.
There was a nice little run. 25th place going into the third break. 259 or so players left out of 8000.
After the fourth break now. 67 people left. I'm in 24th place. 2 all-ins in a row. In both I was way behind after the flop, but wound up chopping both pots. I really want to go to bed.
Another all-in, another choppd pot. We're down to 43 players on 5 tables.
Just knocked out two players with a straight on the river. Down to 39.
Called a guy's bluff to knock another out. 38 left. In 13th place.
36 players. 4 tables.
27 players. 3 tables. 12th place.
24 left. Soooo tired.
Just had my first AAs of the night and they were broken by a flush on the river. I'm tired and have a cold. Going nuts on the next opportunity.
I'm out. 21st place out of 8000. Not bad.
Edited By Leisher on 1190182297
Poker
Congrats. That makes you $.44 richer.
I was knocked out early in both of my freerolls. I hit the play money tables and finished 90k up. Then I watched you for quite awhile, while watching TV.
You play a nice, conservative game. Good. Have you read Harrington on Hold'em Volume I? I think it'll fine tune your game a bit, and compliment your style of play (which is pretty much how I play when I decide to put my nose to the grind stone).
I was knocked out early in both of my freerolls. I hit the play money tables and finished 90k up. Then I watched you for quite awhile, while watching TV.
You play a nice, conservative game. Good. Have you read Harrington on Hold'em Volume I? I think it'll fine tune your game a bit, and compliment your style of play (which is pretty much how I play when I decide to put my nose to the grind stone).
I'm taking tonight off. I might try to make a run again Thursday or Friday.
I haven't read Harrington's book. I've read a few books, but this was years ago. I read Phil's and a book called "Poker Nation" which is actually my favorite. I also have a book on "tells". Truthfully though, the books didn't help much with the exception of teaching me that sometimes you win by folding.
I enjoy the conservative style of play. Aggressive works in bursts, but will always kill you over the long run. Several people learned that last night. My favorite play is to let the aggressive guys attack me while I'm holding the monster.
There were a few hands last night where I hit the flop and would let the aggressive player bet at me. After I called their bet, they'd always check on the turn figuring I had a hand and showing me they were bluffing at the pot. Thus, I'd check as well. Chalk it up to aggressive tendencies or just sheer stupidity, but several times last night, after such a scenario, several morons bet huge on the river thinking me weak only to find themselves crushed.
I like to condition a table that I bet with hands, so when I make a bet later they'll be thinking I have it rather than I'm bluffing. That worked out pretty well for me last night as I took more pots without a showdown than I did with showdowns.
My weakness is that I don't push my chips around enough. I need to get people off hands when I'm holding second pair or a flush/straight draw. Easy to say, but tough to do on the web. Internet players play really loose.
That's something that's always made me chuckle about people when they criticize Helmuth. Yes, he's a jackass, but when he says "these kids don't understand the game", he's actually more accurate than people want to believe. Texas Hold 'Em isn't about "All-In", which seems to be the primary strategy for today's player. You know how they say that "You should play the player and not the cards"? That doesn't apply in our "All-In" world. "All-In" eliminates all strategy and makes it all about the luck of the draw.
That's one thing that was nice about last night. As I progressed further into the tournament, it became obvious that the idiots were gone. There were only serious poker players still around and they didn't use the "all-in" every other hand.
I haven't read Harrington's book. I've read a few books, but this was years ago. I read Phil's and a book called "Poker Nation" which is actually my favorite. I also have a book on "tells". Truthfully though, the books didn't help much with the exception of teaching me that sometimes you win by folding.
I enjoy the conservative style of play. Aggressive works in bursts, but will always kill you over the long run. Several people learned that last night. My favorite play is to let the aggressive guys attack me while I'm holding the monster.
There were a few hands last night where I hit the flop and would let the aggressive player bet at me. After I called their bet, they'd always check on the turn figuring I had a hand and showing me they were bluffing at the pot. Thus, I'd check as well. Chalk it up to aggressive tendencies or just sheer stupidity, but several times last night, after such a scenario, several morons bet huge on the river thinking me weak only to find themselves crushed.
I like to condition a table that I bet with hands, so when I make a bet later they'll be thinking I have it rather than I'm bluffing. That worked out pretty well for me last night as I took more pots without a showdown than I did with showdowns.
My weakness is that I don't push my chips around enough. I need to get people off hands when I'm holding second pair or a flush/straight draw. Easy to say, but tough to do on the web. Internet players play really loose.
That's something that's always made me chuckle about people when they criticize Helmuth. Yes, he's a jackass, but when he says "these kids don't understand the game", he's actually more accurate than people want to believe. Texas Hold 'Em isn't about "All-In", which seems to be the primary strategy for today's player. You know how they say that "You should play the player and not the cards"? That doesn't apply in our "All-In" world. "All-In" eliminates all strategy and makes it all about the luck of the draw.
That's one thing that was nice about last night. As I progressed further into the tournament, it became obvious that the idiots were gone. There were only serious poker players still around and they didn't use the "all-in" every other hand.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
In the PS freeroll I wont he first 6 pots straight.
I had top pair with an ace kicker on the flop of the seventh hand, and he big bet the flop (a King) so I knew he hit. I made the call just to see if I could extend the streak.
I wasn't in the mood to play so I quit and hit the play money tables.
I build up a large stack and then got my top full-house cracked for all but 10k of my chips.
I bought in for another 30k, built that up, and got all-in in a *monster* pot (lots of callers had 5k in and bailed) when I had K/K. Ends up he had A/A. Dagnabbit!
Left a 70k loser. Could have been worse.
I decided that tonight is just not my night.
I had top pair with an ace kicker on the flop of the seventh hand, and he big bet the flop (a King) so I knew he hit. I made the call just to see if I could extend the streak.
I wasn't in the mood to play so I quit and hit the play money tables.
I build up a large stack and then got my top full-house cracked for all but 10k of my chips.
I bought in for another 30k, built that up, and got all-in in a *monster* pot (lots of callers had 5k in and bailed) when I had K/K. Ends up he had A/A. Dagnabbit!
Left a 70k loser. Could have been worse.
I decided that tonight is just not my night.
It sounds to me like they understand the Internet poker game fairly well. Sure they play loose and go all-in a lot, but it's a way of saying "I'm either getting lucky tonight, or playing in one of these other free tourneys tonight or tomorrow."Leisher wrote:My weakness is that I don't push my chips around enough. I need to get people off hands when I'm holding second pair or a flush/straight draw. Easy to say, but tough to do on the web. Internet players play really loose.
That's something that's always made me chuckle about people when they criticize Helmuth. Yes, he's a jackass, but when he says "these kids don't understand the game", he's actually more accurate than people want to believe. Texas Hold 'Em isn't about "All-In", which seems to be the primary strategy for today's player. You know how they say that "You should play the player and not the cards"? That doesn't apply in our "All-In" world. "All-In" eliminates all strategy and makes it all about the luck of the draw.
That's one thing that was nice about last night. As I progressed further into the tournament, it became obvious that the idiots were gone. There were only serious poker players still around and they didn't use the "all-in" every other hand.
Sure, it's not a winning strategy for a single tournament, but with enough attempts, it's not necessarily a bad strategy for an oft-repeated game.
It's not me, it's someone else.
TheCatt wrote:Sure they play loose and go all-in a lot, but it's a way of saying "I'm either getting lucky tonight, or playing in one of these other free tourneys tonight or tomorrow."
That's pretty much what I do.
It costs nothing but time to play those things. I'm minimizing my time investment.
If I get lucky and double/triple up a few times, I have a huge advantage over other players. Then I can play better and put some effort into it. It'd suck to be fighting tooth and nail for small pots for two hours before getting knocked out on the bubble. Should I lose later in the game after getting there via a lucky streak, well, I was lucky to be there anyway so it's still no big loss.
Should I get knocked out early, which I often do, there are plenty of other games to spend my time on, like 6 player tables.
I'm a big fan of 6-player tables. I've found that most people misplay them (more than they misplay full tables). They either play their full table strategy (too tight), or they go overboard and are too aggressive.
Mostly it's aggressive/weak play. That is, they love limping in, but realize they have to call my 4x BB opening bets because I'm making them with marginal hands. This takes them out of their comfort zone. So when they don't hit the flop and I raise, they fold.
Then they're unwilling to play their second pair when I raise each street.
I'm sure they're thinking, "I'm going to hit a hand and hurt that guy." But really, as soon as they show some spine I'm out of the hand with a small loss.
And sometimes I'll actually have something great. So when they fight back, and I go back over the top of them, they gleefully throw all their chips at me to finally stick it to my bluffing ass.
"Sure your K/J made two pair on the flop, but my 5/5 made a set."
Edited By Paul on 1190294771
I was playing, got a guy on tilt, and I knew he'd call any all-in I made.
I had this guy in the palm of my hand if I hit something big.
The very next hand I have K/K. I go to make a big raise and I get disconnected!
It takes a minute to reconnect and by then I only get the end of the hand. No Aces on the board. I'd have cleaned up. Instead, I lost my small blind. Dang it!
Then this morning I find someone who makes huge raises for dumb reasons. I had A/J with an Ace/rag/rag flop and she makes a huge raise in the turn. The pot is pretty big, but I fold anyway. She *had* to have A/Q or something, right?
Nope. Someone beat her with a pair of sixes. Ugh!
Frustrating.
I had this guy in the palm of my hand if I hit something big.
The very next hand I have K/K. I go to make a big raise and I get disconnected!
It takes a minute to reconnect and by then I only get the end of the hand. No Aces on the board. I'd have cleaned up. Instead, I lost my small blind. Dang it!
Then this morning I find someone who makes huge raises for dumb reasons. I had A/J with an Ace/rag/rag flop and she makes a huge raise in the turn. The pot is pretty big, but I fold anyway. She *had* to have A/Q or something, right?
Nope. Someone beat her with a pair of sixes. Ugh!
Frustrating.
It sounds to me like they understand the Internet poker game fairly well. Sure they play loose and go all-in a lot, but it's a way of saying "I'm either getting lucky tonight, or playing in one of these other free tourneys tonight or tomorrow."
Sure, it's not a winning strategy for a single tournament, but with enough attempts, it's not necessarily a bad strategy for an oft-repeated game.
Yeah, there's definitely that side of the argument, but it doesn't really hold water. I mean, don't get me wrong, I get that line of thinking, but it's not just the I either win now and don't waste hours or I don't crowd. "All-in" has become a strategy to them both online and off. It's taking everything "strategy" about the game and removing it in favor of blind dumb luck. One might as well be playing slots.
If it was something that just occurred early, it wouldn't be complained about so much.
Thing is, if it were a great strategy, the WSOP would lose almost half the field on the first hand every year.
To each their own though. I've done it, so I get it, but I don't make it my lifestyle.
I feel bad for their lovers though...
On a different note, I played in the freeroll on Pokerstars at 9 again last night and finished in 90th place when my pocket queens were beat by an ace on the flop.
I also entered a tournament on PokerTime that reinforces my suspicions about the "randomness" of online poker. It was a 5 card draw tournament. First hand. 5 people at the table. That's 25 cards out of a 52 card deck.
I was dealt 4,5,6,7 of hearts and an 8 of spades. I went all in. Another guy called.
We each took no cards. He beat me with a full house, jacks full of tens.
The probability of being initially dealt a straight is .39400%.
The probability of being initially dealt a full house is .014405%.
Both occurred in the same hand of the very first 5 card game I ever sat down to play online.
I understand that it's possible. I've just always said that monster hands and bad beats like that occur too often.
For those curious, the probability of being initially dealt a straight flush is .00153%. I really wish I could go back in time and see what would've happened if I had dumped my straight to try for the straight flush.
Paul, I'll probably miss all the freerolls this upcoming week, but I might hit a few of the later ones. I'll have to see how things go.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
Very few people who invest $10k of their own money into a WSoP event are going to play crazy like that. Freerolls are a completely different beast from tournaments where you pay an entry fee. In fact, I'd say that you could learn a lot of bad habits in freerolls. The more expensive free money sit & go's are better practice for money tournaments.Leisher wrote:Thing is, if it were a great strategy, the WSOP would lose almost half the field on the first hand every year.
I also entered a tournament on PokerTime that reinforces my suspicions about the "randomness" of online poker. It was a 5 card draw tournament.
What people are doing is using rebuy strategy. For example, Negreanu likes to play a lot of small pots normally, but if he's in a rebuy tournament he goes wild and rebuys seven or eight times.
Some people excel at the all-in strategy. There's a guy named Hoyt Corkins who's an expert all-in player. Of course, he doesn't use it as much as idiots online do.
As for the randomness of online poker. It was a tournament. They have no reason to make that non-random. An online site makes all their tournament profit when you buy in. It doesn't matter to them if the pots get big as they're not taking a rake from big pots.
Plus it's a freeroll, so they had no chance at making money. The only reason I can think of to rig fantastic hands like that is to encourage idiots to play $ games. But at the same time that discourages smarter players from playing. *And* idiots are going to lose later to smarter people anyway, so they'll get discouraged.
In short, fantastic match ups like that are bad for business except in $ table games where they collect a rake.
Dang it! I decided to play smart and loose. Other than one suck out (My K/J beating someone's A/K) I was always in with the best of it.
At one point, approximately 40 minutes in, everyone kept folding to my raises. I min-raised and won 8/10 hands uncontested.
Maybe 10 or 15 minutes after that screencap I was dealt A/A. There were raises and two re-raised before it got to me. I went all-in and was called by K/K... who flopped his third K. Doh!
That crippled me and I never got back in it. But man... if I had won that hand I would have been an unstoppable force of awesomeness.
Oh well.
Edited By Paul on 1190684462
At one point, approximately 40 minutes in, everyone kept folding to my raises. I min-raised and won 8/10 hands uncontested.
Maybe 10 or 15 minutes after that screencap I was dealt A/A. There were raises and two re-raised before it got to me. I went all-in and was called by K/K... who flopped his third K. Doh!
That crippled me and I never got back in it. But man... if I had won that hand I would have been an unstoppable force of awesomeness.
Oh well.
Edited By Paul on 1190684462
For those of you who play on Pokerstars, or want to try it, there's a pretty nice freeroll going on today.
Tournament #62542160 Play in the Bahamas w/daniel Negreanu Freeroll - Rd 1
7,500 entries, and they pay at least $1 to the top 900 players. Plus the top 200 players get an invite to round 2 which pays more money. If you make it to round 3, the top prize is $1,00 cash for travel, an $8,000 buy-in to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and 7 nights accommodations at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas.
Plus you get to have dinner with Daniel Negreanu, who's probably the most personable pro player.
I could handle that.
Registration starts at 4:30. I have an alarm set so I can login and sign up.
And no, I am not going to do my typical freeroll play. This one is worth working for.
Tournament #62542160 Play in the Bahamas w/daniel Negreanu Freeroll - Rd 1
7,500 entries, and they pay at least $1 to the top 900 players. Plus the top 200 players get an invite to round 2 which pays more money. If you make it to round 3, the top prize is $1,00 cash for travel, an $8,000 buy-in to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and 7 nights accommodations at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas.
Plus you get to have dinner with Daniel Negreanu, who's probably the most personable pro player.
I could handle that.
Registration starts at 4:30. I have an alarm set so I can login and sign up.
And no, I am not going to do my typical freeroll play. This one is worth working for.
See you in the DN Freeroll.
I hit a Royal Flush last night. Early in a tournament and only one other player in the hand. The idiot kept raising my low bets until he was all-in with a pair of jacks. The sad part is the board had straight and flush possibilities and there was a king out there.
Not sure what he was thinking.
I hit a Royal Flush last night. Early in a tournament and only one other player in the hand. The idiot kept raising my low bets until he was all-in with a pair of jacks. The sad part is the board had straight and flush possibilities and there was a king out there.
Not sure what he was thinking.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
Leisher wrote:See you in the DN Freeroll.
I finished between 2,500 and 2,5100. I don't remember exactly. I left just as they announced the break.
I gambled on the last hand and it burned me. I had just signed up for the second Negreanu tournament when I gambled with top pair and an open ended straight draw.
Then I lost to a flush.
Then instead of confirming my entry it told me that I could only play in one of those per week. Dang it!
I wouldn't have gambled if I knew that.
Congrats on the royal flush BTW. What suit?
Edited By Paul on 1191196445
I was out before you were. I just couldn't get a hand and couldn't focus either. I think coming home from Disneyworld a few hours prior and watching the Steelers play like shit just didn't put me in a good place for poker.
I never really got going and folded some hands I shouldn't have folded.
Oh well. I'll try next week.
On the plus side, my poker league starts tonight. That'll be fun.
I never really got going and folded some hands I shouldn't have folded.
Oh well. I'll try next week.
On the plus side, my poker league starts tonight. That'll be fun.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
My poker league started its new season last night. I was able to join again after taking last year off for school. As it turns out, I stepped right in and won the first night's tournament.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
On Sept. 30 I posted the Negreanu tournament.
Wanna skip the the equivalent of the Roung Three finale? Get a blog.
http://www.pokerstars.com/blog_tournament/
It looks like anybody with a blog who posts their advertising code can enter.
Wanna skip the the equivalent of the Roung Three finale? Get a blog.
http://www.pokerstars.com/blog_tournament/
It looks like anybody with a blog who posts their advertising code can enter.
Played a live game Saturday.
One guy knew I knew he was a tight player. I've helped him with his game and helped him hide his tells. He knows what when me makes a move, I get out of the way.
Well, early in out sit & go I made a King-high flush. There were two Aces on the board, and from the way the guy next to me as acting I knew he had folded an Ace.
With the Ah on the board, my Kh gave me the nut flush.
He had invested a lot, and shoved all-in. I figured he was chasing me off because he knew I gave him a lot of credit for a hand.
Ends up he made a full house, so I lost most of my chips.
I only had 200 left, and lost that pretty quickly, going all-in pre-flop with A/K suited and losing to an A/6o call when his 6 filled a straight.
And to add insult to injury, my wife decided to play, and ended up winning the thing when she hit a two outer heads up.
Plus my wife had a killer headache so I could only play the one game.
On the plus side, the next day online I was on the opposite ends of a nut flush VS full house situation. And I also made a big call on the river which more than doubled me up.
I watched the PlusEV $5 +$.50 clear though and remembered much of the stuff I had put aside when moving to the tables. I think I'll do OK in sit & go's now. The problem is that I don't have a lot of time. Tables I can quit at any time, but in tournaments I'm committed to sitting there for awhile.
I think I'll practice on Pokertime with my freeroll winnings. I don't know when I'll start through.
Edited By Paul on 1191862981
One guy knew I knew he was a tight player. I've helped him with his game and helped him hide his tells. He knows what when me makes a move, I get out of the way.
Well, early in out sit & go I made a King-high flush. There were two Aces on the board, and from the way the guy next to me as acting I knew he had folded an Ace.
With the Ah on the board, my Kh gave me the nut flush.
He had invested a lot, and shoved all-in. I figured he was chasing me off because he knew I gave him a lot of credit for a hand.
Ends up he made a full house, so I lost most of my chips.
I only had 200 left, and lost that pretty quickly, going all-in pre-flop with A/K suited and losing to an A/6o call when his 6 filled a straight.
And to add insult to injury, my wife decided to play, and ended up winning the thing when she hit a two outer heads up.
Plus my wife had a killer headache so I could only play the one game.
On the plus side, the next day online I was on the opposite ends of a nut flush VS full house situation. And I also made a big call on the river which more than doubled me up.
I watched the PlusEV $5 +$.50 clear though and remembered much of the stuff I had put aside when moving to the tables. I think I'll do OK in sit & go's now. The problem is that I don't have a lot of time. Tables I can quit at any time, but in tournaments I'm committed to sitting there for awhile.
I think I'll practice on Pokertime with my freeroll winnings. I don't know when I'll start through.
Edited By Paul on 1191862981
Pokertime changed the starting requirements for their freeroll. Now you need to have played in one raked hand before they'll let you enter.
The good news is that it looks like only 500 or so players will be playing in a $500 tournament that pays to 260th place.
The bad news is that even if I used my freeroll winnings to play a raked hand, they give extra chips to people who have played more raked hands. People who have played in 100 raked hands get 3k chips, as opposed to 1k. That is *quite* an advantage for them.
Edit: I went online and saw that Pokertime charges $.01 of rake for ever $.20 in the pot. This is worse than Pokerstars, who only charges the $.05 when the pot reaches the dollar mark. However, it makes playing a raked hand *really* easy.
I decided to pop into the cheapest table game ($.05/$.10 I think) with a few people (4 I think) and play a raked hand with the minimum $1 buy-in.
I won when I won with a raise that nobody called (I had top pair, 9's).
So I played the next hand. I got A/A and won.
So I played a third hand. I got A/Q and won (A/A/7 flop so I didn't make too much).
On the fourth hand I had A/9 "sooted" but I bailed and left the table with my $2.66.
I ended up being seconds too late to register for the freeroll. Oh well. I'll take $1.66 profit for three minutes work.
Edited By Paul on 1191889970
The good news is that it looks like only 500 or so players will be playing in a $500 tournament that pays to 260th place.
The bad news is that even if I used my freeroll winnings to play a raked hand, they give extra chips to people who have played more raked hands. People who have played in 100 raked hands get 3k chips, as opposed to 1k. That is *quite* an advantage for them.
Edit: I went online and saw that Pokertime charges $.01 of rake for ever $.20 in the pot. This is worse than Pokerstars, who only charges the $.05 when the pot reaches the dollar mark. However, it makes playing a raked hand *really* easy.
I decided to pop into the cheapest table game ($.05/$.10 I think) with a few people (4 I think) and play a raked hand with the minimum $1 buy-in.
I won when I won with a raise that nobody called (I had top pair, 9's).
So I played the next hand. I got A/A and won.
So I played a third hand. I got A/Q and won (A/A/7 flop so I didn't make too much).
On the fourth hand I had A/9 "sooted" but I bailed and left the table with my $2.66.
I ended up being seconds too late to register for the freeroll. Oh well. I'll take $1.66 profit for three minutes work.
Edited By Paul on 1191889970
Your IP address as a poker hand.
Mine is terrible. Not bad for a hi/lo game though.
Three of Diamonds
Four of Hearts
Two of Clubs
Six of Clubs
Ace of Clubs
It does other stuff with your IP as well, like a graphic representation. My IP, as GPS coordinates, is in on the west coast of southern Africa.
Edited By Paul on 1191927487
Mine is terrible. Not bad for a hi/lo game though.
Three of Diamonds
Four of Hearts
Two of Clubs
Six of Clubs
Ace of Clubs
It does other stuff with your IP as well, like a graphic representation. My IP, as GPS coordinates, is in on the west coast of southern Africa.
Edited By Paul on 1191927487