Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Daylight Binge: Week 2, Day 2
Theme of the day may be, "Go ahead, play every hand and call me with anything. You'll hit."
Opponent who has been playing most hands in the $12.5K guarantee and loves the min bet raises UTG with ATs (powerhouse hand), catches one of his suit and nothing else on the flop. Calls a 2/3 pot bet and goes runner-runner floosh. Standard. Yeah, I let him draw for free knowing that he would be calling and hitting, so I would be saving some money. That's the kind of attitude that means winning poker, baby!
Update #1: News Flash! I actually slow-played a hand and won some chips! MP player in the $12.5K min raises pf, the CO calls and I call on the button with QTs. Flop comes T88 and I bet 2/3 of the pot when it's checked to me. Both opponents call. Turn is another T and I check after they check to me. River is a Q (BONUS!), one check, then a min bet (LOL) from the CO, I raise and the both call. MP had horribly misplayed KK and the CO had J8, for a worser boat. Funny stuff.
Then, in the space of three hands I double through the calling-station villain from the first hand in this post, when I flop TPTK and a flush draw with AQs and he shockingly can't lay down KQo. Next hand I bet in EP with TT, get the two villains from the update hand to play along and win another nice pot. AA next takes the blinds. Finally another big pot slides my way after I get 99 and action from the player on my right, who pays of a flop bet and folds to pressure on the turn. That has me back in black with a top 50 stack.
Recap
Another day in the books with only a single cash. Even the MPS SNGs had it in for me today. I bounced from the $12.5K in 206th, and a $10 6 Max MTT in 45th of 184. AKs was no match for 79s in the last one, although to be fair I outfoxed myself by making a smallish raise preflop to get some action, then shoving the raggy flop that happened to pair the seven. The cash came in a $3 KO MTT that started with 690 and paid 63. I hit the money in 30th, then bounced as high as third, took a hit when I called off half my stack when one of the blinds reshoved with AKo vs. my AQs and finally went out in 21st when a short-stacked desperation push with ATs ran face first into another AKo.
I think I'm done with this thing for schedule reasons and due to burn out, but we'll see.
Opponent who has been playing most hands in the $12.5K guarantee and loves the min bet raises UTG with ATs (powerhouse hand), catches one of his suit and nothing else on the flop. Calls a 2/3 pot bet and goes runner-runner floosh. Standard. Yeah, I let him draw for free knowing that he would be calling and hitting, so I would be saving some money. That's the kind of attitude that means winning poker, baby!
Update #1: News Flash! I actually slow-played a hand and won some chips! MP player in the $12.5K min raises pf, the CO calls and I call on the button with QTs. Flop comes T88 and I bet 2/3 of the pot when it's checked to me. Both opponents call. Turn is another T and I check after they check to me. River is a Q (BONUS!), one check, then a min bet (LOL) from the CO, I raise and the both call. MP had horribly misplayed KK and the CO had J8, for a worser boat. Funny stuff.
Then, in the space of three hands I double through the calling-station villain from the first hand in this post, when I flop TPTK and a flush draw with AQs and he shockingly can't lay down KQo. Next hand I bet in EP with TT, get the two villains from the update hand to play along and win another nice pot. AA next takes the blinds. Finally another big pot slides my way after I get 99 and action from the player on my right, who pays of a flop bet and folds to pressure on the turn. That has me back in black with a top 50 stack.
Recap
Another day in the books with only a single cash. Even the MPS SNGs had it in for me today. I bounced from the $12.5K in 206th, and a $10 6 Max MTT in 45th of 184. AKs was no match for 79s in the last one, although to be fair I outfoxed myself by making a smallish raise preflop to get some action, then shoving the raggy flop that happened to pair the seven. The cash came in a $3 KO MTT that started with 690 and paid 63. I hit the money in 30th, then bounced as high as third, took a hit when I called off half my stack when one of the blinds reshoved with AKo vs. my AQs and finally went out in 21st when a short-stacked desperation push with ATs ran face first into another AKo.
I think I'm done with this thing for schedule reasons and due to burn out, but we'll see.
I Hate Being Right
"If the score is lower, on the other hand, and the margin is relatively close, then I like the Cats to come out on top. I put the combined line at 52 points or less for that to occur, meaning if the score is 28-24, or something like that, I think it's the Cats who will take home the win."Total points after overtime: 53. Cats lose. If they convert the fucking extra point, they may win by one without going into overtime. Or they could avoid punting to Jeremy Maclin, which would make sense given that they were willing to let Mizzou start at the 40 yard line to avoid kicking off to him, but what do I know.
Monday, December 29, 2008
The Daylight Binge, Week 2
Since last week didn't cost me my entire bankroll (although the Friday After Dark extension took a bite, despite the huge bounty for busting Karina Jett in HORSE), I guess I'm running again this week.
The $12.5K Guarantee ended relatively early after I fell victim to the nut flush, then rebounded with a few double ups before getting my AK squashed by 77. That continues at least one them from last week, which is being unable to win with or to beat AK (sooted or not). If this week is to be more successful, that will have to turn around.
A $5 Razz MTT is going better, as I've been in the top three for quite a while and am currently third of 13 remaining with five places paying. This is thanks to a ridiculous run of cards earlier and to the fact that most people suck at Razz. Too bad these things only attract a handful of runners and don't get bigger prize pools.
Update #1: The Razz MTT continues apace, as I am in fourth of seven remaining at the final table. I've also doubled up in a $3 KO MTT and am comfortable for the time being.
The $6.5K 1r+1a MTT ended when the distressing trend noted earlier continued, as seen below:
Update #2: Managed to squeak ITM with a fifth in the Razz MTT and to exit with TPTK vs. top set in the $3 KO. The bastard with the set slow rolled me after I pushed over his open raise on the flop too.
The only thing I'm running right now is the $14K Guarantee. I may get involved in a couple of other baby tournaments, but that's the last "big" one I'll run today.
Update #3: A $10 HORSE MTT seems to fit the bill, even though I'm down early. In the $14K, I'm bleeding away my blinds with nothing doing hand wise. I did lay down AKo early after I reraised an MP bettor from the button and he/she pushed. I was happy to be moved from that table after I started to get into it with one player. Some donk won a hand with a K high flush after getting it in as a 4-1 dog against a flopped set and AA, then said he'd rather that than get QQ vs. KK. I noted that it's almost the same and was told, no. Whatever.
Update #4: Apparently AA < KK, but JJ > KK. At least that's the message I'm getting, as my AA went down to KK with a rivered K in the final LHE round before the break in the HORSE MTT, left me crippled. While only moments later, my JJ all-in pre-flop vs. KK flopped a set to double up.
First O8 hand back from the break in the HORSE event and I scoop with a flopped nut flush to double up and get back in the hunt.
Recap
Not counting two tokens won in turbo MPS SNGs at the end of the day, which set me up to get in to a couple of MTTs for cheap tomorrow, the $5 Razz cash for $14.80 ended up being my only winnings of the day. Otherwise, I endured card dead stretches and was coolered, suckered, bad beat, set up and slow-rolled out the wazoo. I also donked up a few hands for good measure. Typical of the way the day went was a Stud 8 hand from the $10 HORSE MTT, where I took Aces up against an obvious low draw that managed to fill in a straight on sixth street. Bleh.
The $12.5K Guarantee ended relatively early after I fell victim to the nut flush, then rebounded with a few double ups before getting my AK squashed by 77. That continues at least one them from last week, which is being unable to win with or to beat AK (sooted or not). If this week is to be more successful, that will have to turn around.
A $5 Razz MTT is going better, as I've been in the top three for quite a while and am currently third of 13 remaining with five places paying. This is thanks to a ridiculous run of cards earlier and to the fact that most people suck at Razz. Too bad these things only attract a handful of runners and don't get bigger prize pools.
Update #1: The Razz MTT continues apace, as I am in fourth of seven remaining at the final table. I've also doubled up in a $3 KO MTT and am comfortable for the time being.
The $6.5K 1r+1a MTT ended when the distressing trend noted earlier continued, as seen below:
Update #2: Managed to squeak ITM with a fifth in the Razz MTT and to exit with TPTK vs. top set in the $3 KO. The bastard with the set slow rolled me after I pushed over his open raise on the flop too.
The only thing I'm running right now is the $14K Guarantee. I may get involved in a couple of other baby tournaments, but that's the last "big" one I'll run today.
Update #3: A $10 HORSE MTT seems to fit the bill, even though I'm down early. In the $14K, I'm bleeding away my blinds with nothing doing hand wise. I did lay down AKo early after I reraised an MP bettor from the button and he/she pushed. I was happy to be moved from that table after I started to get into it with one player. Some donk won a hand with a K high flush after getting it in as a 4-1 dog against a flopped set and AA, then said he'd rather that than get QQ vs. KK. I noted that it's almost the same and was told, no. Whatever.
Update #4: Apparently AA < KK, but JJ > KK. At least that's the message I'm getting, as my AA went down to KK with a rivered K in the final LHE round before the break in the HORSE MTT, left me crippled. While only moments later, my JJ all-in pre-flop vs. KK flopped a set to double up.
First O8 hand back from the break in the HORSE event and I scoop with a flopped nut flush to double up and get back in the hunt.
Recap
Not counting two tokens won in turbo MPS SNGs at the end of the day, which set me up to get in to a couple of MTTs for cheap tomorrow, the $5 Razz cash for $14.80 ended up being my only winnings of the day. Otherwise, I endured card dead stretches and was coolered, suckered, bad beat, set up and slow-rolled out the wazoo. I also donked up a few hands for good measure. Typical of the way the day went was a Stud 8 hand from the $10 HORSE MTT, where I took Aces up against an obvious low draw that managed to fill in a straight on sixth street. Bleh.
Go Wild Cats: Alamo Bowl Preview
So, the mighty Northwestern Wildcats make their sixth bowl game appearance since 1996 when they take on the Mizzou Tigers in the Alamo Bowl tonight. The Cats will try not to go 0-6 in that stretch and book their first bowl victory since they upended Cal in the 1949 Rose Bowl.
Anyone affiliated with a school that has a real football program may not be impressed by this last decade plus, but for those of us who attended NU in the dark days of the late '70s and early '80s things are different. My Freshman year was 1979—the tail end of Rick Venturi's glorious 1-31-1 tenure—and the Cats won the first game I attended by defeating Wyoming. They would not win again until I was a Senior, when they defeated Northern Illinois to break the 34 game losing streak. Under Dennis Greene they would win two more games that year, breaking both their road losing streaks and their Big Ten losing streaks and getting Michigan State Coach Frank "Muddy" Waters fired in the process.
In betwee, there were spectacular defeats, including highlights such as a 70-6 homecoming loss to Iowa. The only entertaining aspect of that game was that the Iowa cheerleaders were nearly killed by their own post-score pushup routine, when the Hawkeye's scored 21 points with less than 30 seconds running off of the game clock. How? Iowa scored to take a 14-0 lead early in the game. That's seven points. On the ensuing kickoff, both NU kick returners simply ran upfield to block, leaving the ball to bounce into the end zone and be covered by the Hawkeyes for another seven. Iowa kicked off again after that score, but this time the NU kick returner fumbled the ball and the Hawkeyes recovered the ball inside the five. A few short plays later, they put up another TD and we fishished a brief stretch that epitomized the futility that was Northwesten football until 1996.
So, fast forward to today, and we find the loveable Cats preparing to go toe-to-toe with the Missouri Tigers. Living in St. Louis, we're getting a lot of coverage of this match up. When last I checked, the betting line on this one featured the widest spread of any bowl game scheduled; and Northwestern is not favored.
Quite frankly, I prefer them going in as a big underdog. Things just seem to work out better for them in those circumstances. And despite Lee Corso predicting a Cats victory, I'm still optimistic.
Realistically, however, this game could go one three different directions and only one of these favors the Cats. If there is a wide margin of victory, the Cats will not come out on the winning end. So, a Mizzou blow out is one of the possibilities. If the score total is very high, I don't like the Cats chances either. Even if the Cats jump out to a big lead early, I'll be nervous. So Mizzou wins a shoot out. If the score is lower, on the other hand, and the margin is relatively close, then I like the Cats to come out on top. I put the combined line at 52 points or less for that to occur, meaning if the score is 28-24, or something like that, I think it's the Cats who will take home the win.
Mizzou's offense has shown that it can put up a lot of points, but their big scores mostly came really weak opponents. And their defensive ranking is worse than NU's, but NU didn't have to play a tougher Big 12 schedule. Oklahoma ran up 62 points on Mizzou and Texas posted a big number too. NU's results are much more moderate. They gave up and scored fewer points overall. Against their one common opponent, Illinois, NU won a relatively low scoring affair and Mizzou won a shootout; scoring 50+ and giving up 42.
That leaves the fate of the game in the hands of the Northwestern defense, for all practical purposes. If they can keep Mizzou from running up the score, the Cats have a chance. If they can't, it's over. We'll see how things play out starting in about 9.5 hours.
Either way, it looks to be an entertaining evening. I'll be getting together with some college buds and chowing down on some Mexican food. I'm bringing Guacamole made with fresh serrano and jalapeno peppers, so, "Ole!"
Anyone affiliated with a school that has a real football program may not be impressed by this last decade plus, but for those of us who attended NU in the dark days of the late '70s and early '80s things are different. My Freshman year was 1979—the tail end of Rick Venturi's glorious 1-31-1 tenure—and the Cats won the first game I attended by defeating Wyoming. They would not win again until I was a Senior, when they defeated Northern Illinois to break the 34 game losing streak. Under Dennis Greene they would win two more games that year, breaking both their road losing streaks and their Big Ten losing streaks and getting Michigan State Coach Frank "Muddy" Waters fired in the process.
In betwee, there were spectacular defeats, including highlights such as a 70-6 homecoming loss to Iowa. The only entertaining aspect of that game was that the Iowa cheerleaders were nearly killed by their own post-score pushup routine, when the Hawkeye's scored 21 points with less than 30 seconds running off of the game clock. How? Iowa scored to take a 14-0 lead early in the game. That's seven points. On the ensuing kickoff, both NU kick returners simply ran upfield to block, leaving the ball to bounce into the end zone and be covered by the Hawkeyes for another seven. Iowa kicked off again after that score, but this time the NU kick returner fumbled the ball and the Hawkeyes recovered the ball inside the five. A few short plays later, they put up another TD and we fishished a brief stretch that epitomized the futility that was Northwesten football until 1996.
So, fast forward to today, and we find the loveable Cats preparing to go toe-to-toe with the Missouri Tigers. Living in St. Louis, we're getting a lot of coverage of this match up. When last I checked, the betting line on this one featured the widest spread of any bowl game scheduled; and Northwestern is not favored.
Quite frankly, I prefer them going in as a big underdog. Things just seem to work out better for them in those circumstances. And despite Lee Corso predicting a Cats victory, I'm still optimistic.
Realistically, however, this game could go one three different directions and only one of these favors the Cats. If there is a wide margin of victory, the Cats will not come out on the winning end. So, a Mizzou blow out is one of the possibilities. If the score total is very high, I don't like the Cats chances either. Even if the Cats jump out to a big lead early, I'll be nervous. So Mizzou wins a shoot out. If the score is lower, on the other hand, and the margin is relatively close, then I like the Cats to come out on top. I put the combined line at 52 points or less for that to occur, meaning if the score is 28-24, or something like that, I think it's the Cats who will take home the win.
Mizzou's offense has shown that it can put up a lot of points, but their big scores mostly came really weak opponents. And their defensive ranking is worse than NU's, but NU didn't have to play a tougher Big 12 schedule. Oklahoma ran up 62 points on Mizzou and Texas posted a big number too. NU's results are much more moderate. They gave up and scored fewer points overall. Against their one common opponent, Illinois, NU won a relatively low scoring affair and Mizzou won a shootout; scoring 50+ and giving up 42.
That leaves the fate of the game in the hands of the Northwestern defense, for all practical purposes. If they can keep Mizzou from running up the score, the Cats have a chance. If they can't, it's over. We'll see how things play out starting in about 9.5 hours.
Either way, it looks to be an entertaining evening. I'll be getting together with some college buds and chowing down on some Mexican food. I'm bringing Guacamole made with fresh serrano and jalapeno peppers, so, "Ole!"
Friday, December 26, 2008
Seriously, When Should You Just Give Up?
This villain called pre flop, on the flop and got all in on the turn:
Omaha Ha Ha Hands
So, I played that PL Omaha Hi MTT on Wednesday, made the final table, took the chip lead, then faded away and finished fourth. I'm not a good Omaha player, but I seem to have a better grasp of the game than most of the people that I was playing with; mostly in the form of not playing too many hands. There are two hands about which I have questions and would appreciate some input from those with more knowledge of the game than I (Bayne?).
Hand #1--We're shorthanded and playing down to the final two tables and the money bubble. Eighteen players are left and I'm in 16th place. There's very little preflop raising going on and plenty of limping. UTG, I get As9sAdx. Is this a hand I want to play fast from the start, or do I want to try to ensure that I get some other players in the pot with me? Should I just pot it and be happy to take the blinds? Do I make a smaller raise to build the pot and hope to get at least one caller? Or do I limp/call or limp/rereaise? I don't think I played this hand correctly, but I'll wait for some other thoughts before I reveal how I played it out.
Hand #2--Final table with six players left. I'm the chip leader with 125,000 chips. The second biggest stack is two to my left and has 75,000 chips, and I have the rest of the table covered. The number two stack has been limping and seeing a lot of flops, then playing aggressively after the flop. He's taken down many pots without going to a showdown, but when he has been called and forced to show he's done so with marginal (at best) hands and lost, so his stack has been experiencing wild swings. On the button, I get KK33 double suited and raise the pot. The second stack, in the BB, repots it. Given the strength of my hand and the history of that player, is this a hand I should be willing to go to the mat with? Can I call and see how it plays out? Should I repop and get it all in now? Is there any way I can folde there?
Thanks in advance from any thoughts on these two hands.
Best and Worst Hands
The best hand of the week so far was the one that set me on my way to the final table in the $6.5K 1r+1a MTT. I'm in the BB with ATs and a player in MP raises. This guy had been conducting his own clinic and making a serious effort to show his superiority with some kind of comment after every hand he played. "Your aggro stats got you paid," he said to one player after paying off his opponents AA, for example. I called, and saw a flop with two of my suit. I checked, he bet, and I made a marginal call getting like 2.5-1. The turn was the third club, completing my nut flush and he bet bigger. I just called, then checked again when a fourth club came on the river. He bet again, I reraised all-in for like twice his bet and he called.
The worst hand of the week was my bustout hand in the goofy $1 donkament. I had Ax sooted and limped with a bunch of others. The flop came QQJ with two hearts and I called a smallish bet. The turn was another J and I called another bet. The third heart came on the turn and I got into a raising war with the table chip leader. Of course, they had either a Q or a J and my nut flush was crushered. Truth is I didn't even notice the two pairs on the board until I shoved my last chips into the middle, as I was more focused on the late stages of the Omaha MTT which was running at the same time. The worst part of it is that I went out in 62nd as a result of that hand with 54 paying, costing myself a likely $3+ payout.
I'll resume this stupid little event next week if I can.
Hand #1--We're shorthanded and playing down to the final two tables and the money bubble. Eighteen players are left and I'm in 16th place. There's very little preflop raising going on and plenty of limping. UTG, I get As9sAdx. Is this a hand I want to play fast from the start, or do I want to try to ensure that I get some other players in the pot with me? Should I just pot it and be happy to take the blinds? Do I make a smaller raise to build the pot and hope to get at least one caller? Or do I limp/call or limp/rereaise? I don't think I played this hand correctly, but I'll wait for some other thoughts before I reveal how I played it out.
Hand #2--Final table with six players left. I'm the chip leader with 125,000 chips. The second biggest stack is two to my left and has 75,000 chips, and I have the rest of the table covered. The number two stack has been limping and seeing a lot of flops, then playing aggressively after the flop. He's taken down many pots without going to a showdown, but when he has been called and forced to show he's done so with marginal (at best) hands and lost, so his stack has been experiencing wild swings. On the button, I get KK33 double suited and raise the pot. The second stack, in the BB, repots it. Given the strength of my hand and the history of that player, is this a hand I should be willing to go to the mat with? Can I call and see how it plays out? Should I repop and get it all in now? Is there any way I can folde there?
Thanks in advance from any thoughts on these two hands.
Best and Worst Hands
The best hand of the week so far was the one that set me on my way to the final table in the $6.5K 1r+1a MTT. I'm in the BB with ATs and a player in MP raises. This guy had been conducting his own clinic and making a serious effort to show his superiority with some kind of comment after every hand he played. "Your aggro stats got you paid," he said to one player after paying off his opponents AA, for example. I called, and saw a flop with two of my suit. I checked, he bet, and I made a marginal call getting like 2.5-1. The turn was the third club, completing my nut flush and he bet bigger. I just called, then checked again when a fourth club came on the river. He bet again, I reraised all-in for like twice his bet and he called.
The worst hand of the week was my bustout hand in the goofy $1 donkament. I had Ax sooted and limped with a bunch of others. The flop came QQJ with two hearts and I called a smallish bet. The turn was another J and I called another bet. The third heart came on the turn and I got into a raising war with the table chip leader. Of course, they had either a Q or a J and my nut flush was crushered. Truth is I didn't even notice the two pairs on the board until I shoved my last chips into the middle, as I was more focused on the late stages of the Omaha MTT which was running at the same time. The worst part of it is that I went out in 62nd as a result of that hand with 54 paying, costing myself a likely $3+ payout.
I'll resume this stupid little event next week if I can.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Brief Metal Diversion
I'm listening to Death's The Sound of Perseverance right now and am reminded that Chuck Schuldiner may have been God. The whole dying thing not withstanding (although that doesn't appear to be a problem for Christianity).
La luz del día borrachera: Part tres
Borrachera technically means drunkenness and I'm not actually drinking, but it's as close as a Spanish illiterate such as myself can come to a translation for binge. If you can offer up a better word, please comment and I'll owe you a Coke, or something.
Things get rolling again today with the $14.5K KO Guarantee starting in just a moment. I'll also be hitting up that $6.5K 1r+1a MTT in 30 minutes or so as that has been good to me this week. Not as good as it was to JD Schellnutt, who took it down for a nice score yesterday.
Update #1: Well, it certainly didn't take long for AK to bite my ass again; this time in the $14.5K where I ran it into QQ early on and got no help. AA isn't doing me any favors either, as I am now short stacked in the $6.5K thanks to 54 sooted calling a pf raise and flopping two pair. Again, no pair on the board and no A means I'm hurtin for certain. Maybe some non hold 'em events are in order?
Update #2: The $6.5K ended badly as KK was no match for A4, which was played by the 54s villain above. I have taken my own suggestion, however, and am now quietly playing in a $10 Omaha Hi MTT and a $10 HORSE MTT. Just so you know, quad As usually are good even in Omaha Hi.
Update #3: Second break in the Omaha Hi tournament and I have a bubbleicious stack; as in 16th out of 21 remaining with 12 paying. I was in 12th before the last hand, but donked off a few chips thanks to an awkward stack size for the hand as it played out. I couldn't get all of my chips in on the flop with the second nut flush draw even after my opponent bet, so I just called. When the turn bricked and he bet I had to fold. Meh. The HORSE tournament ended without anything really interesting happening. Eventually I had to pick a hand and go with it. Split sevens in Stud Hi was as good as anything, but I bricked out the rest of the streets and ran headlong into Aces up. I am running a ridiculous $1 MTT, which started with 481 players and is down to 164 well before the first break. I had planned to be very silly, but my heart just isn't in it and I'm playing it straight.
Update #4: Actually am playing the final table of the Omaha Hi MTT and am in 6th at the moment. Managed to score some nice pots with a couple of KKxx double-suited hands and that set me up to make this run. I'm still in the $1 donkament too, but it's so silly. The big stacks are huge and even with 10BB I have a stack less than 1/4 the average.
Update #5: Here's me as the final table chip leader in the Omaha Hi MTT, a spiot I would soon relinquish getting my beloved KK33 double suited in vs AAxx with one suited A.
Recap
And just like that, gone in 4th place for a $118.75 cash. My KKxx couldn't fade the might Qh9hxx, which turned two pair and sent me packing. Annoyingly, that puts me down 25 cents for the day, but I guess I'm still a bit ahead for the binge as a whole. Friday likely won't be the return day, but I do expect to continue this little experiment next week. In all this week I ran 12 daylight MTTs, cashed in three and final tabled two of those. Not too bad, although I'm certainly not getting rich out of the deal.
Things get rolling again today with the $14.5K KO Guarantee starting in just a moment. I'll also be hitting up that $6.5K 1r+1a MTT in 30 minutes or so as that has been good to me this week. Not as good as it was to JD Schellnutt, who took it down for a nice score yesterday.
Update #1: Well, it certainly didn't take long for AK to bite my ass again; this time in the $14.5K where I ran it into QQ early on and got no help. AA isn't doing me any favors either, as I am now short stacked in the $6.5K thanks to 54 sooted calling a pf raise and flopping two pair. Again, no pair on the board and no A means I'm hurtin for certain. Maybe some non hold 'em events are in order?
Update #2: The $6.5K ended badly as KK was no match for A4, which was played by the 54s villain above. I have taken my own suggestion, however, and am now quietly playing in a $10 Omaha Hi MTT and a $10 HORSE MTT. Just so you know, quad As usually are good even in Omaha Hi.
Update #3: Second break in the Omaha Hi tournament and I have a bubbleicious stack; as in 16th out of 21 remaining with 12 paying. I was in 12th before the last hand, but donked off a few chips thanks to an awkward stack size for the hand as it played out. I couldn't get all of my chips in on the flop with the second nut flush draw even after my opponent bet, so I just called. When the turn bricked and he bet I had to fold. Meh. The HORSE tournament ended without anything really interesting happening. Eventually I had to pick a hand and go with it. Split sevens in Stud Hi was as good as anything, but I bricked out the rest of the streets and ran headlong into Aces up. I am running a ridiculous $1 MTT, which started with 481 players and is down to 164 well before the first break. I had planned to be very silly, but my heart just isn't in it and I'm playing it straight.
Update #4: Actually am playing the final table of the Omaha Hi MTT and am in 6th at the moment. Managed to score some nice pots with a couple of KKxx double-suited hands and that set me up to make this run. I'm still in the $1 donkament too, but it's so silly. The big stacks are huge and even with 10BB I have a stack less than 1/4 the average.
Update #5: Here's me as the final table chip leader in the Omaha Hi MTT, a spiot I would soon relinquish getting my beloved KK33 double suited in vs AAxx with one suited A.
Recap
And just like that, gone in 4th place for a $118.75 cash. My KKxx couldn't fade the might Qh9hxx, which turned two pair and sent me packing. Annoyingly, that puts me down 25 cents for the day, but I guess I'm still a bit ahead for the binge as a whole. Friday likely won't be the return day, but I do expect to continue this little experiment next week. In all this week I ran 12 daylight MTTs, cashed in three and final tabled two of those. Not too bad, although I'm certainly not getting rich out of the deal.
La Lumière du Jour l'Hyperphagie, Part Deux
Sounds pretty high falutin', huh? But it's just more donkery for your humble narrator. Yesterday's tokens are being used in the $12.5K guarantee and in a Tier 2 token SNG. I'm running a turbo MPS SNG too. Nothing crazy in the first orbit or so, which would be out of character for a known chip spewer.
Stay tuned for my periodic updates and be prepared to get a chuckle out of my misguided hand analyses and foolish plays.
Update #1: I'm out early in the turbo MPS after I take a hit against a shorty, then shove my remaining stack with QQ over a MP raise. KQo actually calls in a display of ultimate poker mastery and of course hits a K on the flop. Yay me. Guess this is FTP's way of setting me up for the day. In the $12.5K I chipped up, then saw AKs be unable to shake A3s despite a pf raise and a check raise on a ragged, low card flop. To his credit, he had hit bottom pair with the three. Treading water in the Tier 2. Think I'm looking up a $5 KO MTT to fill the space on my screen.
Update #2: Well, that was fun. The Tier 2 saw me card dead the entire time and left pushing JTo from the button when the BB woke up with AKs. C'est la vie. The Russian ultradonk from the AK vs A3 hand in the $12.5K continued his ultradonkitude scoring big victories with hands like 95o and taking a few of my chips when he played A4 vs. my AT and the board was Axx4x. My exit came when I shoved over a couple of limpers and a small raise with AJo on the button, only to find that the UTG limper was slow-playing QQ (real smart, but whatever). Ultradonk called with his mighty 44 and I couldn't four flush to beat the flopped set of Qs. The KO MTT was the sickest of all, as I raised with AA pre flop and got a call from K7o who was happy to stack off with his top pair, third kicker on the 756 rainbow flop. K on the river, of course, so GG me. I'm steaming now, so that means it's time to fire up a few more tournaments, right?
Not much exciting available and I really shouldn't play the $14.5K KO as I can't legitamately support a $75 buy in on my roll. (Not that that's ever stopped me before.) So I'll get a in a few baby MTTs and save up for another run at the $6.5K rebuy at 10:30 a.m.
Update #3: The first baby tourney winds up being a $10 6-Max affair and I get all donked up early when I open raise on the button w/ 22 (that's OK, I think) and flat call BB reraise. Flop is A high and all spades and I push over the BB’s lead bet. I’m thinking a lot of hands fold there, but I guess not KK with the Ks, right? I'd shove if the flop had hit me too. Crippled, I make a comeback when Q9 hits a Q on the flop against two players, neither of whom has a spade when the board four flushes. AJ a few hands later runs into AQs, however, and IGH in 152 of 166. That leaves me with just a turbo MPS running until that $6.5K 1r+1a MTT starts.
Update #4: Things have settled down a bit. I took an early thumping in the $6.5K rebuy, but clawed my way back to a near average stack by the first break. I jumped into a $3 KO MTT and doubled up almost immediately with AJ vs. 98 on an A97 flop. Then I doubled up a few more times and collected three bounties by the first break, which had me in 32nd place with 266 remaining and 45 paying. One bounty came from a player who was at my table in the $6.5K. After watching them play there, I knew my middle pair probably was ahead of whatever they were shoving with and I was happy to see the A rag and no aces on the board. I collected another bounty right after the break, bumping me up to 22nd of 248. It’s almost more fun to report when I do stupid shit, but I’m happier overall when I’m doing better at the table.
Update #5: I was still in both of the tourneys from the previous post at the second break in each, but busted out of the $3 KO MTT shortly after play restarted. My stack had slipped below average and the blinds/antes were eating me up, so I had to make a move pretty soon. There were several really big stacks at the table and everyone was really active, so it was tough sledding at this point; especially when the hands I’m seeing are mostly of the T5o, 74s, J2o variety. Finally I got a few chips back with a flop bet when 44 missed, but apparently everyone else missed by more. I picked up 77 in the next hand and got two callers, then bet the 963 flop and was reraised all in. I made the call and found one of the big stacks holding 33. No seven in the offing and that was that with me gone in 88th.
In the $6.5K guarantee, however, I’ve jumped up to an above average stack thanks to catching AA when the BB tried a reraise shove with AQo. That has me at 27 of 107 with 45 paying. Blogger JD Schellnutt is among the leaders in this one.
Update #5: Dragged a monster pot in the $6.5K when I called out of the BB with ATc after an arrogant Estonian made a little raise in MP. The flop came two clubs and I made a speculative call with close to the right odds and hit my flush on the turn. I checked, he bet, ditto on the river, and I’m a top 3 stack. Then I called a UTG shove for 1/3 my stack. He was holding AQo, me AKs. Of course the J on the river gave him a straight and then my cards turned ice cold (unless someone out there considers J4o UTG and its ilk to be hot). Still, I was holding on to a top 20 stack, even though my M was down to 10.
Nothing doing with the bubble approaching, however, and having the two biggest stacks in the whole tournament at my table (there are six running, mind you) makes things even tougher. A UTG shove with JJ (getting desperate to stay competitive) nets a call from AQs and, miraculously, holds up. Then I snag the blinds and antes with an open raise on the button with AJs. This leads to entering the money phase in 14th place and to 16th out of 36 at the third break. JD Schellnutt entered the fourth hour in 8th. YAY. I finished 28th in this damng thing yesterday and would like to do better today. Doubling up with AJ vs. 88 means I took matters into my own hands and there are only 27 runners left.
Update #5: Me at the final two tables of the $6.5K with JD Schellnutt:
Update #6: Down to 10 players and going hand for hand. I'm sitting in 5th and JD Schellnutt is in 4th. It's white knuckle time for sure. My stack has been up and down a few times and I've kept my head above water recently through pure aggression with any decent hand, position or situation I can find.
Oh, and domination is way overrated. That's my PSA for this break.
Recap
And that's all she wrote, folks. Gone in 8th after hitting the FT in fifth. Went through a couple of orbits of 92, T3, J5, etc. then repopped an MP raiser all in with my AKo. He had TT, the flop had an A and the river a T, of course. So I finish with a $213.75 cash and stay ahead for the day and ahead for the inaugural Daylight Binge. Festivities continue tomorrow, then take a break on Thursday before resuming for a special end-of-week Friday edition.
Congrats to JD Schellnutt who's hanging on in third place with seven remaining after a big hot streak, followed by a quick cooling down.
Stay tuned for my periodic updates and be prepared to get a chuckle out of my misguided hand analyses and foolish plays.
Update #1: I'm out early in the turbo MPS after I take a hit against a shorty, then shove my remaining stack with QQ over a MP raise. KQo actually calls in a display of ultimate poker mastery and of course hits a K on the flop. Yay me. Guess this is FTP's way of setting me up for the day. In the $12.5K I chipped up, then saw AKs be unable to shake A3s despite a pf raise and a check raise on a ragged, low card flop. To his credit, he had hit bottom pair with the three. Treading water in the Tier 2. Think I'm looking up a $5 KO MTT to fill the space on my screen.
Update #2: Well, that was fun. The Tier 2 saw me card dead the entire time and left pushing JTo from the button when the BB woke up with AKs. C'est la vie. The Russian ultradonk from the AK vs A3 hand in the $12.5K continued his ultradonkitude scoring big victories with hands like 95o and taking a few of my chips when he played A4 vs. my AT and the board was Axx4x. My exit came when I shoved over a couple of limpers and a small raise with AJo on the button, only to find that the UTG limper was slow-playing QQ (real smart, but whatever). Ultradonk called with his mighty 44 and I couldn't four flush to beat the flopped set of Qs. The KO MTT was the sickest of all, as I raised with AA pre flop and got a call from K7o who was happy to stack off with his top pair, third kicker on the 756 rainbow flop. K on the river, of course, so GG me. I'm steaming now, so that means it's time to fire up a few more tournaments, right?
Not much exciting available and I really shouldn't play the $14.5K KO as I can't legitamately support a $75 buy in on my roll. (Not that that's ever stopped me before.) So I'll get a in a few baby MTTs and save up for another run at the $6.5K rebuy at 10:30 a.m.
Update #3: The first baby tourney winds up being a $10 6-Max affair and I get all donked up early when I open raise on the button w/ 22 (that's OK, I think) and flat call BB reraise. Flop is A high and all spades and I push over the BB’s lead bet. I’m thinking a lot of hands fold there, but I guess not KK with the Ks, right? I'd shove if the flop had hit me too. Crippled, I make a comeback when Q9 hits a Q on the flop against two players, neither of whom has a spade when the board four flushes. AJ a few hands later runs into AQs, however, and IGH in 152 of 166. That leaves me with just a turbo MPS running until that $6.5K 1r+1a MTT starts.
Update #4: Things have settled down a bit. I took an early thumping in the $6.5K rebuy, but clawed my way back to a near average stack by the first break. I jumped into a $3 KO MTT and doubled up almost immediately with AJ vs. 98 on an A97 flop. Then I doubled up a few more times and collected three bounties by the first break, which had me in 32nd place with 266 remaining and 45 paying. One bounty came from a player who was at my table in the $6.5K. After watching them play there, I knew my middle pair probably was ahead of whatever they were shoving with and I was happy to see the A rag and no aces on the board. I collected another bounty right after the break, bumping me up to 22nd of 248. It’s almost more fun to report when I do stupid shit, but I’m happier overall when I’m doing better at the table.
Update #5: I was still in both of the tourneys from the previous post at the second break in each, but busted out of the $3 KO MTT shortly after play restarted. My stack had slipped below average and the blinds/antes were eating me up, so I had to make a move pretty soon. There were several really big stacks at the table and everyone was really active, so it was tough sledding at this point; especially when the hands I’m seeing are mostly of the T5o, 74s, J2o variety. Finally I got a few chips back with a flop bet when 44 missed, but apparently everyone else missed by more. I picked up 77 in the next hand and got two callers, then bet the 963 flop and was reraised all in. I made the call and found one of the big stacks holding 33. No seven in the offing and that was that with me gone in 88th.
In the $6.5K guarantee, however, I’ve jumped up to an above average stack thanks to catching AA when the BB tried a reraise shove with AQo. That has me at 27 of 107 with 45 paying. Blogger JD Schellnutt is among the leaders in this one.
Update #5: Dragged a monster pot in the $6.5K when I called out of the BB with ATc after an arrogant Estonian made a little raise in MP. The flop came two clubs and I made a speculative call with close to the right odds and hit my flush on the turn. I checked, he bet, ditto on the river, and I’m a top 3 stack. Then I called a UTG shove for 1/3 my stack. He was holding AQo, me AKs. Of course the J on the river gave him a straight and then my cards turned ice cold (unless someone out there considers J4o UTG and its ilk to be hot). Still, I was holding on to a top 20 stack, even though my M was down to 10.
Nothing doing with the bubble approaching, however, and having the two biggest stacks in the whole tournament at my table (there are six running, mind you) makes things even tougher. A UTG shove with JJ (getting desperate to stay competitive) nets a call from AQs and, miraculously, holds up. Then I snag the blinds and antes with an open raise on the button with AJs. This leads to entering the money phase in 14th place and to 16th out of 36 at the third break. JD Schellnutt entered the fourth hour in 8th. YAY. I finished 28th in this damng thing yesterday and would like to do better today. Doubling up with AJ vs. 88 means I took matters into my own hands and there are only 27 runners left.
Update #5: Me at the final two tables of the $6.5K with JD Schellnutt:
Update #6: Down to 10 players and going hand for hand. I'm sitting in 5th and JD Schellnutt is in 4th. It's white knuckle time for sure. My stack has been up and down a few times and I've kept my head above water recently through pure aggression with any decent hand, position or situation I can find.
Oh, and domination is way overrated. That's my PSA for this break.
Recap
And that's all she wrote, folks. Gone in 8th after hitting the FT in fifth. Went through a couple of orbits of 92, T3, J5, etc. then repopped an MP raiser all in with my AKo. He had TT, the flop had an A and the river a T, of course. So I finish with a $213.75 cash and stay ahead for the day and ahead for the inaugural Daylight Binge. Festivities continue tomorrow, then take a break on Thursday before resuming for a special end-of-week Friday edition.
Congrats to JD Schellnutt who's hanging on in third place with seven remaining after a big hot streak, followed by a quick cooling down.
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Jestocost Holiday Daylight MTT Binge Kicks Off
With the Holidays at hand and plenty of free time during the day, I plan to play a number of daylight MTTs over the next two weeks. We'll see if sober play has any benefits with regard to my performance of if I'm just as big of a donk without a half gallon or more of IPA's in my gut. Things are starting with a couple of Token SNGs in an effort to stockpile a few of those to help fund my play, but the 600 FTP table has that off to a poor start with an 8th place departure when AQ couldn't trump 88.
More updates to come, as I am certain that you will be hanging on my every word. The $6,500 1r+1a guarantee looks like it might be an attractive option.
Things are working out OK in the initial stages of the daylight binge. Two MPS SNGs and two tokens. Out early in a $3 KO donkament when I ran QQ into KK. ITM and with a top 10 stack at the third break in the $6.5K rebuy, with an A-list blogger at my table. See below for conclusive visual evidence. Now if there were only something I could do about that monster stack two to my left…
And out in 28th when I made shortstacked shove with ATo and ran into the BBs AQs. The ten on turn was just cruel as it completed a Broadway straight for the villain.
Recap of Day One
OK, so it wasn't quite the orgy of MTT depravity that the title may have suggested or that I actually anticipated, but it was a decent start to the holiday experiment. One key success from the day was scoring the two tokens, as those will help fuel day two tomorrow; probably in the form of buy ins to a couple of the a.m. NLHE guarantees.
As noted in my response to Mondogarage's kind comment, I finished up to the tune of about $40 for the day. This clearly cements an iconic status for me among the most balla of all the ballas. Holla.
Not much more to report about the one deep run I had. You'll note that my cruel bust out hand was the result of a shortstacked desparation push and wasn't the most notable hand. My big downswing came at the hands of a nicely played AA from the BB that I should have smelled out. I made a preflop move with Q9s from the SB after it was folded to me and got a flat call from the BB. I flopped TP and a back door flush draw and led out for $7K (about 60 percent of the pot), only to be min raised. That should have had me running for the hills, but instead I pushed and saw the bad news. The even worse news was the offsuit A on the turn that also killed my floosh draw.
One other amusing sequence had me getting shit from the SB after I attempted a steal from the button with A4o and then made a (very) loose call of his reraise shove with A9s. I had him covered by 2x and had reasonable odds, but it was still a smelly call. Hilariously, the board came A high with a pair and a K, so we chopped the pot and he started in. I immediately acknowledged the horribality of the call, but that wasn't enough and I just ignored him after that. The funniest thing was his later shove with J5o over another button raise from me. This time I actually had a hand and sent him to the rail. The most amusing thing was that after all the crap he gave me for the A5 call, it never occurred to him not to shove a horrible hand like J5 into someone who had shown that he would make a loose call from time to time. I thanked him for his lessons.
Stop by tomorrow for more donkish hijinks and deluded reporting from yours truly.
More updates to come, as I am certain that you will be hanging on my every word. The $6,500 1r+1a guarantee looks like it might be an attractive option.
Things are working out OK in the initial stages of the daylight binge. Two MPS SNGs and two tokens. Out early in a $3 KO donkament when I ran QQ into KK. ITM and with a top 10 stack at the third break in the $6.5K rebuy, with an A-list blogger at my table. See below for conclusive visual evidence. Now if there were only something I could do about that monster stack two to my left…
And out in 28th when I made shortstacked shove with ATo and ran into the BBs AQs. The ten on turn was just cruel as it completed a Broadway straight for the villain.
Recap of Day One
OK, so it wasn't quite the orgy of MTT depravity that the title may have suggested or that I actually anticipated, but it was a decent start to the holiday experiment. One key success from the day was scoring the two tokens, as those will help fuel day two tomorrow; probably in the form of buy ins to a couple of the a.m. NLHE guarantees.
As noted in my response to Mondogarage's kind comment, I finished up to the tune of about $40 for the day. This clearly cements an iconic status for me among the most balla of all the ballas. Holla.
Not much more to report about the one deep run I had. You'll note that my cruel bust out hand was the result of a shortstacked desparation push and wasn't the most notable hand. My big downswing came at the hands of a nicely played AA from the BB that I should have smelled out. I made a preflop move with Q9s from the SB after it was folded to me and got a flat call from the BB. I flopped TP and a back door flush draw and led out for $7K (about 60 percent of the pot), only to be min raised. That should have had me running for the hills, but instead I pushed and saw the bad news. The even worse news was the offsuit A on the turn that also killed my floosh draw.
One other amusing sequence had me getting shit from the SB after I attempted a steal from the button with A4o and then made a (very) loose call of his reraise shove with A9s. I had him covered by 2x and had reasonable odds, but it was still a smelly call. Hilariously, the board came A high with a pair and a K, so we chopped the pot and he started in. I immediately acknowledged the horribality of the call, but that wasn't enough and I just ignored him after that. The funniest thing was his later shove with J5o over another button raise from me. This time I actually had a hand and sent him to the rail. The most amusing thing was that after all the crap he gave me for the A5 call, it never occurred to him not to shove a horrible hand like J5 into someone who had shown that he would make a loose call from time to time. I thanked him for his lessons.
Stop by tomorrow for more donkish hijinks and deluded reporting from yours truly.
Friday, December 05, 2008
I Hesitate to Post This
But I really have been playing better lately. Final tabled the $9K rebuy on FTP last night and then this tonight:
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Matrix SNGs are Silly
I know, I come back after three weeks and this is all I have. Actually, it's not, but it's all I have to go with on short notice and I'm feeling an urge to post.
So, back to the topic at hand, why are FTP's Matrix SNGs silly? I have no cogent analysis, just anecdotal evidence, but I think it makes my point quite clearly.
Just before my recent Thanksgiving trip to Walt's World in central FL, I sat down and fired up a $10+1 Matrix SNG. After busting out early on one of the four tables, I was forced to abandon the rest sitting in 6th to 8th place at each table. Hours later I was able to revist FTP and, lo and behold, I had placed third in not one, but two of the abandoned tables. As a result, I managed to scrape $7.60 out of what I assumed would be a total loss after investing something like 15 minutes in the effort.
So, comment as you see fit. Or not. And think about what Yahtzee! can teach us about poker.
Class dismissed.
DC awaits. As does maybe the Mookie.
Nunc dimittis.
So, back to the topic at hand, why are FTP's Matrix SNGs silly? I have no cogent analysis, just anecdotal evidence, but I think it makes my point quite clearly.
Just before my recent Thanksgiving trip to Walt's World in central FL, I sat down and fired up a $10+1 Matrix SNG. After busting out early on one of the four tables, I was forced to abandon the rest sitting in 6th to 8th place at each table. Hours later I was able to revist FTP and, lo and behold, I had placed third in not one, but two of the abandoned tables. As a result, I managed to scrape $7.60 out of what I assumed would be a total loss after investing something like 15 minutes in the effort.
So, comment as you see fit. Or not. And think about what Yahtzee! can teach us about poker.
Class dismissed.
DC awaits. As does maybe the Mookie.
Nunc dimittis.
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