A good couple days

Since the big 2nd place finish on Thursday, I was basically brake-even Friday-Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday, however, I found my stride, pulling in a couple big days on the cash-game tables.

I started playing some heads up cash games on FT poker. Those are fun and profitable. There are several players who multi-table those. If you want practice against pretty decent players - they are not bad to play against. If you want profits - they are not ideal. Thankfully there are plenty of people who will play HU who have some glaring mistakes. The whole idea of how to play heads up is not really that hard. Figure out what your opponent does wrong (raise too much, fold too much, get involved in big pots with weak hands), and exploit that.

I am still dabbling with PL Omaha and still playing NL holdem 6-max tables. I vary my buyins there, sometimes going short stacked, but sometimes I just buy-in for the full amount. I mainly will buy in for the full amount when I see weak opponents (when I saw 2 players get all in pre-flop for 100 big blinds each with 99 and AJs, I instantly bought in for the full amount).

Life is crazy, but going to Vegas soon for a conference where I am presenting two papers. There will be a bit of poker time there as well, which should be fun.

Took 2nd in a $30 rebuy on Thursday

Well, I have not played many tourneys recently, but Thursday night I decided to play the nightly $150 at stars. I crashed and burned on stars. However, at the same time, I played the $30 rebuy at Ultimate Bet. I ended up finishing 2nd for a $2400 payday.

After one buyin and one addon, I was pretty shortstacked post-break. After a bad run at NL cash games on the other tables I was playing, I was tired of the tourney and was just hoping the misery would end soon so I could go relax. That was not to be. I stole blinds, then got into a situation where I was all in and dominating PF, then all in and won a coin-flip PF, and was above the average. After getting all in with AA vs. KK and AQ, I was among the chip leaders with 30 left.

I stayed in good chip shape most of the time, and cruised into the final table. There were many interesting hands, there, however, and I even needed some luck. Here are a few hands:

With 11 or 12 players left.

Some history – F4Zi reraised me twice in a row earlier, and I commented how he must have good hands here. Once he even paused when I raised AQ and I made a comment like “you were even considering a reraise there too, weren’t you, lol”. Then this hand came up.

Hand #39516139-307 at Thu9pmA-001 (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 09/Feb/07 01:13:09

unbay2K4 is at seat 0 with 25710.
royo1 is at seat 2 with 129705.
Harold Wang is at seat 3 with 106620.
momadance is at seat 4 with 176965.
F4Zi is at seat 8 with 104210.
The button is at seat 0.

unbay2K4 posts ante (500).
royo1 posts ante (500).
Harold Wang posts ante (500).
momadance posts ante (500).
F4Zi posts ante (500).
Harold Wang posts the small blind of 2500.
momadance posts the big blind of 5000.

unbay2K4: -- --
royo1: -- --
Harold Wang: -- --
momadance: Th As
F4Zi: -- --

Pre-flop:

F4Zi raises to 15000. unbay2K4 folds. royo1 folds.
Harold Wang folds. momadance calls.

Flop (board: 3c 4d 2d):

momadance checks. F4Zi bets 24000. momadance raises
to 107000. F4Zi folds. momadance is returned 83000
(uncalled).



Hand #39516139-307 Summary:

No rake is taken for this hand.
momadance wins 83000.


I liked this play, as he probably has 2 high cards, and will struggle to call even with AK so close to the final table. He could have also had a hand like 77-99. He swore a bit after he folded (not at me, I think, just in general). Even if called, I have a straight for outs (unless he was raising really loose with a 6 in his hand) and might even have the Ace and ten for outs. Thankfully he folded, and this hand propelled me into the final table with a nice stack.



WITH 4 PLAYERS LEFT

Hand #39516138-100 at Thu9pmA-Final (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 09/Feb/07 02:05:11

Pwnasaurus is at seat 1 with 164435.
momadance is at seat 4 with 282970.
royo1 is at seat 5 with 349350.
MadonWilly is at seat 7 with 149745.
The button is at seat 5.

Pwnasaurus posts ante (1000).
momadance posts ante (1000).
royo1 posts ante (1000).
MadonWilly posts ante (1000).
Pwnasaurus posts the small blind of 5000.
momadance posts the big blind of 10000.

Pwnasaurus: -- --
momadance: 7h Th
royo1: -- --
MadonWilly: -- --

Pre-flop:

royo1 folds. MadonWilly folds. Pwnasaurus raises to
25000. momadance calls.

Flop (board: 2s 8h Qd):

Pwnasaurus bets 37500. momadance raises to 166500.
Pwnasaurus folds. momadance is returned 129000
(uncalled).



Hand #39516138-100 Summary:

No rake is taken for this hand.
momadance wins 129000.



I called the raise because Pwn is good and aggressive, but I think I had a decent read on what he would do. As soon as the flop hit, I knew I would push if he bet small, fold if he bet big (I had no hand), and check if he checked. The reason? The stacks were too thin for a bet from him to make sense if he hit a Queen. He should check the flop and try to trap me, or even check the flop and turn and try to trap me. The only bets that make sense are middle pair or a total bluff. I put him to the test, and I knew that he was a decent player and probably would not call unless he had a queen.




Hand #39516138-110 at Thu9pmA-Final (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 09/Feb/07 02:08:21

Pwnasaurus is at seat 1 with 141735.
momadance is at seat 4 with 296870.
royo1 is at seat 5 with 382950.
MadonWilly is at seat 7 with 124945.
The button is at seat 1.

Pwnasaurus posts ante (1200).
momadance posts ante (1200).
royo1 posts ante (1200).
MadonWilly posts ante (1200).
royo1 posts the small blind of 6000.
MadonWilly posts the big blind of 12000.

Pwnasaurus: -- --
momadance: 7s 9h
royo1: -- --
MadonWilly: -- --

Pre-flop:

Pwnasaurus folds. momadance raises to 32000. royo1
re-raises to 112800. MadonWilly folds. momadance
folds. royo1 is returned 80800 (uncalled).



Hand #39516138-110 Summary:

No rake is taken for this hand.
royo1 wins 80800.



This fold is questionable. The reason I made it is that I am certainly behind. That being said, I was getting a good price. But with folding, I still had a nice stack, and the value of the chips I would lose by calling seemed more valuable. They were valuable enough to tilt the decision to a fold at the time, although I am not sure it was the right move.
So, the bigger question is, why raise 97s in the first place? Well, with these stacks, there are not many hands I call a reraise with. Maybe AT, KQ, and 44 or better. Those hands don’t come around often, and you need blinds. So, if I will fold QJ to a reraise, then it really does not matter whether I raise first in w 97s or QJ, A5, or 27o. I fold all hands to a reraise, so the initial hand matters very little.


As evidence – here is what happened when I raised KQ.

Hand #39516138-114 at Thu9pmA-Final (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 09/Feb/07 02:10:46

Pwnasaurus is at seat 1 with 215535.
momadance is at seat 4 with 246870.
royo1 is at seat 5 with 381950.
MadonWilly is at seat 7 with 102145.
The button is at seat 1.

Pwnasaurus posts ante (1200).
momadance posts ante (1200).
royo1 posts ante (1200).
MadonWilly posts ante (1200).
royo1 posts the small blind of 6000.
MadonWilly posts the big blind of 12000.

Pwnasaurus: -- --
momadance: Qd Kh
royo1: -- --
MadonWilly: -- --

Pre-flop:

Pwnasaurus folds. momadance raises to 34000. royo1
goes all-in for 380750. MadonWilly folds. momadance
folds. royo1 is returned 346750 (uncalled).



Hand #39516138-114 Summary:

No rake is taken for this hand.
royo1 wins 84800.



4-haned, the odd thing was how little PF raises were respected, and how much reraises were respected. Here I pushed light on Pwn.

Hand #39516138-125 at Thu9pmA-Final (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 09/Feb/07 02:14:39

Pwnasaurus is at seat 1 with 226935.
momadance is at seat 4 with 214070.
royo1 is at seat 5 with 402150.
MadonWilly is at seat 7 with 103345.
The button is at seat 7.

Pwnasaurus posts ante (1200).
momadance posts ante (1200).
royo1 posts ante (1200).
MadonWilly posts ante (1200).
momadance posts the small blind of 6000.
royo1 posts the big blind of 12000.

Pwnasaurus: -- --
momadance: Tc Kd
royo1: -- --
MadonWilly: -- --

Pre-flop:

MadonWilly folds. Pwnasaurus raises to 30000.
momadance goes all-in for 212870. royo1 folds.
Pwnasaurus folds. momadance is returned 182870
(uncalled).



Hand #39516138-125 Summary:

No rake is taken for this hand.
momadance wins 76800.


The shorty busted, the Pwn and Royo got all in with Pwn having A7, royo having AK which held up. We got heads up and I was down 236K to 709K. But, I had $2400 locked up and feel like I am a really good Heads up player, so I am perfectly happy with the situation I find myself in.


I got a bit unlucky here – tough to flop 2 pair and split:

Hand #39516138-140 at Thu9pmA-Final (No Limit tournament Hold'em)
Started at 09/Feb/07 02:19:29

momadance is at seat 4 with 193670.
royo1 is at seat 5 with 752830.
The button is at seat 4.

momadance posts ante (1600).
royo1 posts ante (1600).
royo1 posts the small blind of 8000.
momadance posts the big blind of 16000.

momadance: 3c Jh
royo1: -- --

Pre-flop:

royo1 calls. momadance checks.

Flop (board: 3s Ad Js):

momadance checks. royo1 checks.

Turn (board: 3s Ad Js 2c):

momadance checks. royo1 bets 20000. momadance goes
all-in for 176070. royo1 calls.

Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:

momadance shows 3c Jh.
royo1 shows Jc 3h.


River (board: 3s Ad Js 2c 4s):

(no action in this round)


And on the next hand I bust with A5 vs. A9 when his kicker played. Overall, I am happy with my play, although in hindsight I think I perhaps should have raised a bit less PF and reraised once or twice more. This final table was so odd in how little PF raises were respected. I caught on a little by reraising a few times, but should have probably slowed down on my PF raises.

No More morning NL cash games

After playing a half hour and getting crushed, I am giving up NL cash in the morning. I think the competition (at least on Full Tilt) is too respectable, where I am only very modestly +EV during this time frame.

Looking back over the past several weeks - most of my losses come from 7:00 AM to 8:30 AM. If I really feel the need to play during this time anymore, I will jump back into SNGs.

I have been only breakeven the past week. I suspect it is bad luck (one day I had aces and kings less than 1/2 the amount I would expect, the next day I was negative with them), but part of me wonders if the neteller issues are keeping fish out, but leaving in the good players.


Whether to play deeper stacks?

When I play $1 big blind NL, I love playing with deep stacks and I play really loose-aggro PF (more emphasis on the loose). That strategy has been extremely profitable for me. When I jump to 1/2, I am more fearful of that strategy, however. I guess I am not sure it will work. I have played a bit more straightforward at 1/2 NL, but part of me thinks a LAGGIER approach might also work there too.

I may test it out a bit more at 1/2 NL and see what happens. It is certainly very fun - I just want it to also be profitable.

Several topics

Neteller

Neteller has dropped all U.S. transactions to pokersites. They also would not mail me a check. Because of this, I had to transfer my funds to an ITHer in the free world (non-U.S.) who was cool enough to then put it on stars and send it back to me. However, I had to pay $150 or so in transfer fees to neteller simply to get my money out. This is nothing but extortion from neteller - I hope those bastards end up homeless and hungry.

The big issue now for me is how to move money around. Thankfully I had a decent amount in Stars, Full Tilt, Doyle's Room, and Bodog, with lesser amounts (but still sufficient) at Ultimate Bet and Bugsysclub. These are the sites I play now, so that is good. However, I will want to deposit soon to take advantage of deposit bonuses, etc., so I need to figure out what to use.

Nice Satellite Win

I played a $5 turbo rebuy and a $20 turbo rebuy on Sunday at stars for an entry into the $530 buyin stars million. I spent $40 on the bigger one and $25 on the smaller won, and won my seat in the $5 turbo! I cashed out right away to get T$. Now I can play 3 of the night 100K on stars - the $150 buyin tourney! I am excited about that.


NL cash

Going OK on NL cash. I had a good Sunday, breakeven Monday, good Tuesday, but losing Wednesday. Overall, up decent for the week (again), however.

I am doing some higher buyins at times. I am not sure I should be, however.


Rewards and Where to Play

I made goldstar at stars this month, and hit "iron man" at full tilt. I also have rakeback at full tilt, and bonus and rakeback at Doyle's Room.

I will probably try to maintain gold at stars, but the iron man at full tilt might be tough. It takes 25 days of 200 pts. a day. January had 31 days, giving me 6 days of slack. With only 28 days of slack in Feb, and me taking a trip at the end of the month, won't get it at full tilt this time. I might try to get gold or silver, however.