Thursday, October 30, 2008

October summary

Well after the massive struggle that was the middle of October, this month hasn't ended too badly. I've made about $850 which is mainly from rakeback and bonuses which isn't too bad.

Hopefully my Bodog bankroll will also increase a little further so I can get back on to the $4/8 tables there as well. Its almost enough at $800, and I might even take a shot or two next month if I can see some fishy tables running.

It looks like my cashing out in the previous month was a couple weeks premature, as the $A decided to collapse even further in very quick time. At least its now increased my earning rate if I do cash out any more, but i'd like to build my online roll a bit further first.

Last month's goals for October:

  • Play my 5 hours on William Hill for the $50 bonus (no longer available ... argh)
  • Clear as much of my Bodog bonus as possible (and take a shot at $4/8) (cleared a big chunk of my reload which still gets paid out, but didn't take a shot. next month if all goes well)
  • Have a sniff around on Pacific under my new deal there (got a deal there)
  • Try to get the handgrabbing software and have it running correctly on Bodog and Pacific (bodog software running a treat. Have not got pacific yet)
  • Pray for another Cake reload (dammit. reload cake reload)
  • Maybe find a new site to play on and score some new bonuses (signed up to interpoker through rtr. bonus to be cleared in Nov)
  • Would be nice to actually win from play :) (yep)

The gain of $850 for the month was made up of:

Bonuses/VIP: $380

  • Bodog: $230
  • Interpoker: $150

Rakeback: $150

  • Fulltilt: $70
  • Interpoker: $80

Poker bankroll Interest: $50

Poker winnings / (losses): $270

For November the goals in order of priority are:

  • Clear as much of my Bodog reload bonus as possible (take a shot at $4/8)
  • Complete my interpoker bonus (and hopefully play in the freeroll)
  • Pray for another Cake reload ... cmon!!
  • Maybe sign up on Eurolinx through RTR ... although that may be a later month
  • Withdraw some $ from a poker room to my neteller account to take up any new bonuses

I'm not expecting to play as much in November as I have a week off on holiday, and am out and about most weekends. Still, I will make sure I complete the Interpoker bonus which is another 550 or so MPPs.

Current bankroll: $13,900

Great table, relatively poor position

Found a fanstastic, although high variance table last night with the average VPIP up around the 60% mark. It looked something like:

maniac 70/45/4/36
superfish 95/3/.3/40
maniac 65/55/5/45
Lag/Tag 25/18/2/35
Me
tp 16/2/2/25

Obviously my seat was not ideal being to the right of the tag, however, since the table was so juicy, I just couldn't give it up. The tight passive on my left was kinda handy though, as he was folding almost every hand.

Each hand preflop would go Maniac 1 raises, Superfish calls, Maniac 2 generally raises, Lag/Tag either 3 bets or caps or folds, I either 3 bet or cap or fold, and tight passive folds.

Ended up being a pretty high variance session although I made about 20BBs mainly through playing premium hands that hit the flop hard. Lost a couple big pots such as when Maniac 1 opened and I 3 bet with AKo. Flop of AK5r, turn 3, river 8 and he flips over 42o .... go figure. Had a similar hand occur later as well, but may have been on another table.

The other benefit of that table would have been that every hand would have been raked significantly, so I will be getting a decent chunk of rakeback.

Funnily enough in the second half of my session I found another table with possibly the maniac of all maniacs. He was often 5 or 6 betting with 3rd pair, and I pulled in another 20BBs there in very quick time, basically calling down with any pair and even raising multiple times with only top pair. I will have to dig out some of the hands to post, as they were ridiculous. I've never seen anyone put in so many bets with such poor hands before.

Current bankroll: $13,750

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The importance of a large backup room

Whilst clearing away these bonuses and various deals on smaller poker rooms, I've noticed that its important to have a larger site as a back up to play on when traffic is poor. Its even more relevant to me, as being on Aussie time, my evenings are generally when most sites have their lowest number of players. In some cases there is not even a single table running at my game/stakes.

So, which is my site of choice? Fulltilt. I know Fulltilt gets knocked a fair bit on sites like 2p2 as a site where non Americans should avoid as other sites are softer. I find however, that although there are many tight players on Full Tilt, you are also able to table select a lot more, as more tables are actually running. That actually allows you to target the fish.

The other thing I like about Fulltilt is the relatively smaller rake structure for the games I play. I pay significantly less rake there than on say ipoker or cryptologic. So even though the rakeback is a bit lower at 27%, since i'm paying less rake in total, it basically evens out, or actually puts Fulltilt in front at some levels. (Although at 27% rakeback its still well in front of Pokerstars which is why I don't play there).

So when my tables have dried up on Bodog and Ipoker, Fulltilt is where you'll find me playing. My sign up of choice that i'd still recommend is raketherake (link on right) for the standard 27% rakeback as well as various races and freerolls.

I did put in an hour of play last night, and suffered a number of terrible beats on the $1/2 tables on Fulltilt, which was more than offset by a 20BB profit on a single $2/4 table where the fish were biting nicely and I was just reeling them in. Bodog also paid off a few BBs from the one table that was running.

Current Bankroll: $13,650

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Bodog bonuses

Only played a small session, but managed to have one table where the card gods decided to smile on me and ended about $50 up in half an hour. The other tables still managed to deliver a number painful beats, but I can live with that if i'm destroying another table.

It was actually one of those tables which are just about perfect. Two very loose passive fish on my right, and a very tight player on my left who folded to almost all of my preflop raises.

It would be nice to have a few bigger wins, so hopefully that will happen in one of my next few sessions.

I did get my Bodog reload bonus of $230 the other day which was handy. That takes me to about $230 in total for the month on that site alone which makes up for me running fairly cool. The interesting thing about their bonus is that you seem to be able to withdraw as well without it actually impacting the bonus. I will withdraw the $200 i deposited yesterday in about a week, as i'd rather just be playing that site on pure profits. A few more decent sessions on there and i'll be able to start stabbing at $4/8 again.

Interpoker i'm now over 900 points so have less than 100 points to hit my goal for this month, so I may have to stop playing there for a few days if I hit that tonight.

Current bankroll: $13,600

Monday, October 27, 2008

Craptacular running

Both Bodog and Interpoker are still killin me! Interpoker i'm heading down towards requiring to reload range again, although I have about $80 in rakeback to receive shortly so hopefully will be okay there.

I came up against my nemesis fish Strasink or something like that on Interpoker. He's currently running at 70/40/4/50 with a W$SD of 65% as well over 150 hands. His main winning hands are 82s and T3s ... and every time he seems to suck out against me. I played another 30 hands against him in a half hour session, and again managed to not win a single showdown. Surely the card gods will smile on me soon and allow me to have a W$SD of 65% for a few hands even. My BB/100 has now dropped to -4BB/100. F me.

Bodog is a little more interesting where my BB/100 is now 0.5BB/100. Thing is i'm still running at a fairly cool 36% WTSD with only a 47% W$SD over 7,000 hands. So i'm basically a good 6%-8% down on my showdown wins, which equates to around 5BB/100. I'm probably reasonably lucky then to still be showing a profit over that many hands. Surely i'm going to warm up soon, or even show signs of normal showdown win rates ... i'd be happy with that. 7,000 hands is quite a lot to me to be running cool, as that's about all i'd play in an entire month. I know there are 2p2ers who have done 100,000 hands of break even, but I figure i'm probably a bit more table selective and seat selective so shouldn't run into that.

Hopefully will run hot soon, as it feels like its been a while since i've had a nice consistent run .. well not since last month :) hehe

Current bankroll: $13,550

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Too much?

Put in another fairly big session (well big for me) of about 5 hours over the weekend. Had this interesting hand come up .. how would you have played it?

Villain is a pretty nice fish, running at about 70/10/1.5/38.

UTG
$26.52
Hero
$55.75
BTN
$113.80
SB
$41.50
BB
$42.73
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 5 players) Hero is CO with QcJd

1 fold, Hero raises, BTN calls, 2 folds (yep cold call me fishy)
Flop (5.5 SB, 2 players)

4hJsQh (sweet .. only concern might be a FD but surely i'm miles in front here)

Hero bets, BTN calls (call me down fishy)
Turn (3.8 BB, 2 players)

As (hmmm not the best of cards for me. KT hit a straight, AQ or AJ are now in front of me. Can't see him holding AA based on preflop and flop. And surely he would have reraised AQ on the flop)

Hero bets, BTN calls (hmm no reraise. i must be in front still)
River (5.8 BB, 2 players)

Qs (okay now i've hit my boat, and am in front of AJ now too)

Hero bets, BTN raises, Hero 3-bets, BTN 4-bets, Hero 5-bets, BTN 6-bets, Hero 7-bets, BTN 8-bets, Hero 9-bets .... (okay by about the 6th bet i'm starting to get worried. Maybe he does have AQ or AA. Surely not though.)

What would you have done?

As far as my session overall went, I actually ended up down around $50, mainly thanks to my last 80 hands of the session where I managed to see only 20% of flops, go to showdown only 22% of those, and actually not win a single showdown. Two other muppets were just sucking out left and right.

However, on the plus side, I got paid out a chunk of my Bodog bonus of around $150, so overall I was up for the weekend. Thank god for bonuses/rakeback or it would have been a total waste of time. Might have to post my Bodog stats next time. I've now done 7,000 hands there since I bought the hand grabber, and i'm still running quite cool, even though i'm generally playing with fish. Interpoker also didn't treat me all that well over the weekend, but i'm now well over halfway to clearing the signup and ipod nano bonus. I will do 1,000mpps this month, and then leave the last 500 for next month to qualify for the next months freerolls.

Current bankroll: $13,600

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Big session

Well ... a big session or 3 for me. I've played about 5 hours in total since my last post, mainly on interpoker and a bit of bodog on the side. I've had to switch tables reasonably often to make sure that a) they are fishy enough and b) I have position on the fish.

I suspect I also accrued a decent stack of rakeback over that time, and i'm now over halfway to clearing my Interpoker bonus as well.

I haven't been running overly well, as early on one fish slaughtered me with stats of 60/10/.5/60 ... and a W$SD of about 60 as well. I had position on him, but boy did he manage to suck out left and right. I dont think he ever missed a flush. Anyways PT tells me he ended up with a BB/100 of 50 over 150 hands. I'd be pretty happy with that!

Have pushed along on the other tables though so have made a few BBs here and there. Reasonably consistently.

I also played in one of those cake gold card tourneys this morning which was kinda interesting. I was about midstacked and got sucked out on for most of my stack when JJ got done on a 7 high flop by KTs. I then pushed on AQs into AK and I sucked that one out, and then pushed my 99 into TT and sucked out a straight. I only barely made the money though and lost two hands in a row to kick me out. With about 8BBs i pushed with AKo and ran into QQ. I then pushed for my last few BBs with A9s and ran into JJ. And that was it for me.

Current Bankroll: $13,500

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Position

Only played another small session last night, but should get in a longer session tonight. Played about half an hour but due to the time, there were relatively few tables running, and even fewer that were worth playing.

I've decided now to be a bit more strict on my seating position. I have been allowing myself to play on a table if there were basically at least two fish on the table, irrespective of my position. My new approach will be to only play on those tables if the player to my right is either one of those fish, or a tight passive. There's no point in playing if there's a LAG/TAG to my right, as I will be continuously raised off of hands preflop. I suspect though, i'd still play it if there were 3 fish on the table, but will see.

I will also accept a maniac on my right, as that gives me the opportunity to reraise to isolate, as well as limp reraise from time to time. Admittedly the maniac is going to be much higher variance, so i'd prefer the fish on my right, but i'm sure it will still be positive.

As far as play goes, in my session I did manage to play on a tightish $2/4 table with a maniac on my right, who donated me a good 15BBs in the space of around 20 minutes. I had to actually get up and leave the table and sit back down to get the right position on him, but it was well worthwhile with me just letting him bet into me when I had medium strength hands which generally held up. I also had a Bodog table running at the same time, which was super fishy with a couple guys with VPIPs over 70, and I had position on two of them. Unfortunately they then managed to suck out and destroy me with my AK losing to A2, AQ losing to Q4, nut flush losing to a rivered paired board for a full house and various other nasty beats to drop about 25BBs. So all in all the bankroll ended a few BBs up.

Current bankroll: $13,400

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Variance = upswing

Interesting how quickly things can change. I was almost redepositing on Interpoker only a couple days ago, and now all of a sudden i have nearly 200BBs for 1/2 on there, and 100 for 2/4. Admittedly its a lot less than i'd like to have, but considering I was less than half that a couple days ago, it's not a bad position to be in.

Got credited with around $50 in bonus and rakeback and then also played a very brief (around 15 minute session. So all up around 50 hands, of which about 15 were at $2/4 where I made another 20BBs. No real hands of interest, just all my TPTK hands held up, and a few of those went to the river 3 ways. My only nemesis hand of the session was 3 times I was up against 22 that had hit trips on the flop, and I called down with either top pair or two pair in each instance. Kind of odd to have trips hit against me so many times in such a small space of time, but I guess it happens sometimes.

Overall up around $100 for the session, thanks to some very loose fish who liked to call down.

In other news, it appears William Hill is moving to ipoker in January, so for anyone wanting rakeback on the ipoker network, this may be a way to get it. So if interested, feel free to sign up through RTR - link on the right hand side of my blog as always. Although based on what happened at Pacific, it would be more likely to work if you sign up sooner than later.

Current bankroll: $13,400

Monday, October 20, 2008

Small session started with ....

Played maybe 15 minutes for a bit of $2/4 on interpoker, some 1/2 on bodog, and a few hands of 25c/50c on ultimate bet because they gave me $10 for free which expires next monday. I dont think i'll bother to spin it up to anything as I dont have rakeback on UB, but i'll get it to the required $20 or so that allows me to withdraw it.

My very first hand on Interpoker for the session:

$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 6 Players
UTG $82.24
UTG+1 $140.25
CO $109.25
BTN $53.00
SB $63.06
Hero $100.00
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 6 players) Hero is BB with Ts9h

UTG raises, 1 fold, CO calls, 2 folds, Hero calls (the cold caller makes this a call for me)
Flop (6.5 SB, 3 players)

Td6c9s (fairly sure i'm well in front here, although there are straight draws)

Hero checks, UTG bets, CO calls, Hero raises, UTG calls, CO 3-bets, Hero 4-bets, UTG calls, CO calls (have to check raise here, and I also decided to cap the flop although I guess Co could have trips. Have to see what he does on the river)
Turn (7.2 BB, 3 players)

Kd (hmm not the best of cards. QJ has filled up an open ender, however, I still have outs to my boat if i'm behind)

Hero bets, UTG calls, CO calls (lets see where i'm at ... no reraise makes me think i'm in front still)
River (10.2 BB, 3 players)

5h

Hero bets, UTG calls, CO calls (gotta value bet this river based on turn action)
Final Pot: 15.2 BB

UTG shows AdTh
CO shows Kh8h
Hero wins 14.5 BB ( won +10.5 BB )

So a fairly handy start to the session really. The rest of the session was pretty uneventful, and I managed to miss 5 draws for either open enders or flushes in a row. Well uneventful until my next best hand of the session:

Hand 2:

Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 6 players) Hero is UTG+1 with 5h5d

1 fold, Hero raises, CO 3-bets, BTN 4-bets, 2 folds, Hero calls, CO calls (blah .. didnt really want the 4bet .. annoying at best but i gotta call here when its back to me for implied odds)
Flop (13.5 SB, 3 players)

Ad3s5c (awesome! only behind AA now, which surely puts me in front)

Hero checks, CO bets, BTN raises, Hero 3-bets, CO folds, BTN calls (gotta check raise that flop)
Turn (10.2 BB, 2 players)

Jd (hmm not bad ... although AJ now has 2 pair, and a potential flush draw is on the board)

Hero bets, BTN raises, Hero calls (gotta bet out. Not super happy with the reraise given i've only shown strength. Still .. i think i should have 3 bet here)
River (14.2 BB, 2 players)

Ah (i'm still kickin myself for not 3 betting the turn. I wonder if his reraise was for a free showdown. He is reasonably aggro...)

Hero bets, BTN calls (I decided to bet out to not give the free showdown. Might puke a bit if he reraised but i still would have called)
Final Pot: 16.2 BB
CO shows KdQd (hehe)

Hero wins 15.5 BB ( won +9.0 BB )

Finished my session soon after when a couple of the tables broke up. Ended up around 25BBs in total which is a reasonable recovery compared with the weekend's efforts.

Oh almost forgot to mention - looks like the Littlewoods through RTR transfer to 888 worked well, and that account is now set up for rakeback on the 888 network.

Current bankroll: $13,250

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Variance = downswing

Didn't quite get in as much play as I expected over the weekend although still managed a couple hours. They turned out to be a couple hours of pain.

On Interpoker i'm running at -17bb/100 over 500 hands at $2/4. I'm still down on my W$SD, but what is really costing me is that i'm not managing to win ANY of the very large pots. There's been several 25BB+ pots where i've held the 2nd nuts on the river, or i've been in front until a nasty river card. Just one or two of those and i'm back all square.

Couple that with a brief couple sessions on the $1/2 tables where I managed to run at a negative -40BB/100 over 200 hands and its not a pretty picture. My went to showdown was an amazingly low 20%, and couple that with a W$SD of 30%, and theres no way that my end results are going to look any good.

I think that basically puts me back to square one for the month, although i've accrued some bonus cash on Bodog and done 1/3 of the 1,500mpps I require on Interpoker to clear the bonus there which will put my monthly result positive ... for now. Hopefully it turns around soon, as without bonuses i figure i've lost around 120BBs from my peak bankroll, which is a nasty little swing. I guess it also demonstrates the importance of good bonuses/rakeback.

The thing is, I haven't even been playing that badly. I don't think i've tilted at all, and my table selection has been very solid, always playing with a number of big fish, and always with position on at least one of them.

Its still short of my worst run of around -300BBs ... hopefully it doesn't go that bleak!

Current bankroll: $13,150

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Small session ... non event

Dropped a few BBs in a less than 30 minute session. Had a nice seat next to a 60/45/5/40 player, but I just didn't seem to hit anything, and when I had my JJ overpair to the board his T4s flopped a 4 and rivered a T ... Add in a few more reasonable pots on hands like that and even with a couple hands that hold up I still end up down for the session.

This weekend i'll be trying to clear some more interpoker mpps. I've only done maybe 350 so far and need 1,500 to clear my bonus by 30 November. Plenty of time, but i'd rather be ahead of schedule than behind. The next weekend I should also be able to put in a bit of time at the tables so should get myself well in front of schedule.

Hoping to start running a little better on Interpoker, as i'm still at -3bb/100 there from 1,000 hands or so. But I guess its an improvement over the -10BB/100 that I was running at after starting off super cold.

Don't have much time today so i'll leave it there. Post again after the weekend, where surely I will be 100BBs up .... heh

Current bankroll: $13,350

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Double up SNGs

I've played a few of these double your money SNGs on interpoker, mainly the 6 man ones, just as a bit of a break from the cash tables. They're actually reasonably fun, and relatively quick, as you only have to make it into the top half of the field to double your cash, and as soon as half the field is out, everyone goes all in.

So far the opponents i've seen have been a lot looser than I would have expected, although i've only played at the $5-$20 buy in level. I used to play them on Sun which is also on the Crypto network, but I think I played too many and got bored. Now its a nice change of pace again, so I figure i'll keep playing them from time to time.

My strategy in them so far has been to play tight early on, although if i can overlimp in cheap with either a pocket pair or suited connector I will give that a go too. Late game as the blinds increase I try to steal a few blinds from the mid stacks to maintain my stack, but generally don't get involved in a confrontation unless I have something relatively strong. I think patience is the key in these, as you're not necessarily aiming to win, just survive to the top half.

Also they credit 3mpps per $ in fees, and when you add in rakeback as well i'm paying virtually no rake whilst my bonus is still clearing.

I did get to play for a little over an hour last night, and had an interesting little session. There weren't many Interpoker tables running so I had to sniff around at Bodog and also opened one on Pacific. I could not believe how cold I started running. On Pacific I just couldn't hit anything, and even with a bit of a comback late in the session, I was running at a WTSD of 20%!!! ... and of those I was only winning 40%. WTF. Admittedly the suckouts were coming thick and fast. My Bodog and Interpoker tables also started terribly, but after the first 15 minutes turned around completely. On Interpoker I ended up at a 35% WTSD with a 75%W$SD, and had not quite as good, but similar results on Bodog.

Add in a couple small double up wins, and my bankroll increased by about 20BBs. WOuld have been more but Pacific was my big loser at $2/4, Interpoker was a big winner at $2/4, but Bodog was only at $1/2.

Current bankroll: $13,350

Note to self: go back through notes to self and actually post about them when they are relevant

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Interpoker bonus

Finally got round to checking how my bonus was going compared to rake on Interpoker.

Pokertracker2 tells me that i've paid approx $67 in rake. Interestingly, my RTR indicates a rake paid of $83. Not sure what the difference is - maybe PT2 is calculating contributed rake, versus RTR paying rakeback on dealt?

I've also earnt 280mpps - and need to get to 1,500mpps to clear $370 (150pounds + $120) in bonus cash. So effectively that's around $70 of the bonus cleared.

All up then my bonus appears to be clearing at around 100%, and then the cream on top is the rakeback of $27. Happy with the deal so far.

As far as play goes, I put in about half an hour last night, and started horrendously with a number of nasty suck outs in the space of 5 minutes putting me down by around 30BBs. One particularly nasty one was when I held AK on a board of AK8r. Turn 3, river 6. I got called all the way and reraised on the river by a guy showing down 66 ... wtf were they thinking. Add in a few similar beats and i'm ready to punch a hole in my monitor.

However, the remainder of the session was significantly improved, and these clowns kept calling down with trash, and my hands kept holding up. I also managed to hit a flush draw or two for the nut flush in a couple big pots which also helped. In the end I was around 15BBs up on a combination of $1/2 and $2/4 tables.

I also dabbled briefly on a full ring table which had a players per flop of 50%. Unfortunately by the 2nd orbit the 3 massive fish had busted out, so I quit as well after breaking even, but making quite a few MPPs just because they were building big pots every hand.

Current bankroll: $13,300

note to self next post - considering eurolinx through RTR to get back onto some fishy microgaming.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Running cool

All this looking at PT blind stats made me actually have a look at how I've been running lately. Well that and the fact that I haven't been increasing the bankroll much lately.

I've had the Bodog hand grabber for a bit over a three weeks now so have 3,000 hands in my database. My stats read something like 27% vpip (fractionally low), PFR 20% (about right), AF 2.05 (about right), WTSD 35% (fractionally low) and a W$SD of 45% (a good 10% lower than it should be with that WTSD and VPIP). Overall i'm running at a profit of about 0.3BB/100.

Now with a W$SD that low, i'm running quite cold, and am actually pretty lucky to still be showing a profit at the tables. Effectively being 10% means that out of every 100 hands, I'm seeing about 30 flops. Of those 30 i'm going to showdown in 10 of them, and winning 4.5 of them, where I should be winning 5.5 of them. My average showdown would be about 8BBs, so losing out 8BB/100 over 3,000 hands is roughly a 240BB variance. Kinda sux really, but hopefully it will start evening out soon and the fishes will pay me off.

Problem is i'm showing similar stats on Interpoker, except an even smaller VPIP, and am well down running at -7BB/100 but over a small sample size of maybe 700 hands. Things will hopefully return to normal soon.

I put in a bit under half an hour of play and actually won on both Bodog and Interpoker, which was handy. Most of the tables were playing out pretty much to regulation, with only one fish on one table sucking out on me on about 3 hands in a row, and then losing to everyone else. He had a WTSD of 65% and a W$SD of 20%. Problem was a lot of my showdowns seemed to be in that 20%. Made about 30BBs but only at 1/2 as I just sat on the waiting list of 2 $2/4 tables for the entire half hour.

Current bankroll: $13,250

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Playing from the blinds

Here's my thoughts on blind play as requested by Adam.

Frst thing to note, as suggested by the blindman, is that playing from the blinds is -EV. No matter how good you are you're not going to be a long term winner from the blinds. The two reasons for this are 1) you're putting in a bet before seeing your cards, and 2) you're out of position on every street.

I'm not sure which is the biggest factor, although being out of position really really sux.

Therefore my aim when playing in the blinds, is to lose the least amount possible. How do I do that? Well, from the SB, basically play super tight unless you have the opportunity to steal the BB. From the BB, play a little looser as you've already got that bet in, but still reasonably tight.

At the moment my stats show I see around 50% of flops from the BB and about 15 - 20% of flops from the SB. Obviously a number of those in the BB are freebies, but it also highlights just how tight I am in the SB.

Now, taking the BB for a second, i'll raise up limpers if I have anything above say JTs or KQo. If i'm facing a raise from early position its a different story though - i'll basically just call if I have anything better than 87s or QJo, and reraise with 99+ or QJs+ or AQo. The QJS might be a little loose for a reraise so I might have to think about that some more. If i'm facing a steal raise, i'm much more liberal with calling .. even calling down to 65o. If there are cold callers as well as the raiser, i'm more likely to also play any two suited. My overall aim is to be seeing a little more than 50% of flops. Basically the reason for this is that if you see anyone who folds more than 50% of their BBs to steals, its EV+ for them to steal every single time. That being said, I adjust my calling/raising/folding ranges depending upon how tight/loose/aggressive my opponent is.

The SB is a generall a very different story, apart from raising limpers. Basically you want to raise limpers to isolate, so I play with a similar raising range as when i'm in the BB. If a limper is super loose i'll even raise a little wider, but not much. I will however overlimp scs down to about 76s and any pocket pair, particularly if there are multiple limpers before me. When facing a raise however, in the SB i'm generally folding, and only reraising with basically QJs, KQo, 88 or better. I'd only overcall if the raiser has been followed by 2 cold callers and I have a reasonable but not dominated hand (eg scs). Basically i'm folding a lot in the SB. If its folded to me in the SB, i'm stealing with all sorts of trash. If the BB folds over 50% of their BBs i'm stealing every single time with any two cards.

What does all this mean for my stats in the blinds? Well at the moment with about a 30k hand sample the SB is showing -7bb/100 and the BB -13BB/100. I'm not actually sure what the benchmarks are, but I suspect that's about normal for 6max.

Now for the weekend's play. It started fantastically. I put in about two hours, and slowly but surely built up my bankroll, playing around 4 tables at a time, mainly at $2/4 and a little at $1/2. No real unusual hands - just the normal hitting and missing my share of draws. Cbetting and taking down regular pots. Having a couple fish dominated who would call me down with dominated hands. Solid session for about 60BBs

What followed that, however, was a horror session where two players - 85/35/2/60 completely killed me. One was kind enough to continuously suck out on me, and then donate it to the other players on the table the very next hand. The other, managed to kill the whole table and had a 65% W$SD to go with his 60% of showdowns. Effectively he won over half the hands of my session of over 100 hands against 5 opponents. I'm sure i'm due to run that hot sooner or later ..... Anyways I ended up dropping a good 80BBs, so have had a small drop in the bankroll, which will hopefully be made up by rakeback in the next day or so. I thought my October had turned around back well into the black. I was mistaken. Oh well .. next time the fish will pay!

Current Bankroll: $13,200

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Thought I was clawing back up

With a nice little rakeback boost, I figured I was on the way back.

Also first hand of a half hour session for the day i'm dealt KQs which flops KcQcQd with 3 runners. One guy raises flop and I just call, and 3rd runner also calls. Turn brings another club which villain bets out, I raise, and the turn gets capped in the end. River was a blank. Villain still gets in a raise but only calls my reraise showing a 9 high flush. Great start.

From then on it went decidedly backwards, with the usual horrific suck outs, and I actually dropped cash at the tables, although my rakeback kept me well in front for the session.

I've signed up at Interpoker with my account in pounds. The rakeback/bonus deal through RTR gives me approx 90% effective rakeback. Then you add on the cash equivalent payment of $120 for their ipod if I get 1,500 points by 30 November, and my rakeback is effectively over 100%. Nice.

I've actually found some reasonably fishy tables there too which is handy. I'm running like dog balls though with a VPIP of 21% ... ie i'm gettin no cards preflop, a WTSD of 34% ... a little low, particularly with such a low VPIP, and a W$SD of 35% ... very low .. ffs.

However, on the site i'm only $20 down so far, so with rakeback i'm probably actually up or very near to it. With such a low W$SD I should be down a long way, however, several hands i've won have been quite big. Including one hand where I had AcQh and flopped Jc4c7c, turn 2c so I have the nuts, and since the turn was heads up they allow unlimited raising, and i've ended up 6betting the turn before my opponent just called.

Anyways will see how it goes. Pulled in about 75 points out of the 1,500 that I need in a couple sessions, so I figure i'll get there relatively quickly.

Back Monday. Hopefully the weekend is a little more profitable!

Current bankroll: $13,250

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

And it got worse

Played a horror little session last night of around half an h our and managed to get crucified. Received way more than my share of premium starting hands, but they were systematically destroyed one by one. On one site I was running at a WTSD of 35% with a W$SD of 14% (I won one showdown!). On the other site I had a WTSD of 31% with a W$SD of 38%. (at least I won a few showdowns there …)

A few of the beats were just nasty beats that do happen rarely – set over set, 2 card flush over flush, others were me holding dominating hands, only for villain’s 2nd pair to hit, quite a few were horrendous chases by my opponents actually hitting, and I also made a couple bad plays.

I ended down around 50BBs for the session and didn’t actually look like getting up once. I think I managed a suckout on only one hand for the session myself, when I flopped 2nd pair and then managed to hit a runner runner flush to beat top pair. Interestingly villain gave me a free river card, so I guess its his own fault.

Anyways, it all started with this hand .. which won’t import correctly into a converter for some reason:

Hand 1:

Hold'em Limit ($4.00/$8.00)
Hero: posts the small blind $2.00
willowaces: posts the big blind $4.00
--- DEALING POCKETSHero is dealt [4d,3d]
QZQ: calls $4.00
abrafo: folds
cleovictoire: folds
Hero: calls $2.00 (okay a bit loose … but this table was super fishy with almost everyone above a 50% vpip)
willowaces: checks
--- DEALING FLOP [9s,Ad,6d] (nice - a FD)
Hero: bets $4.00 (maybe I can take it down here)
willowaces: calls $4.00
QZQ: calls $4.00
--- DEALING TURN [Kd] (sweet FD has hit)
Hero: bets $8.00
willowaces: calls $8.00
QZQ: calls $8.00 (2 callers – great!)
--- DEALING RIVER [9h] (ack .. board has paired .. although no more diamonds which is good)
Hero: bets $8.00
willowaces: folds
QZQ: raises $8.00 to $16.00 (oh oh .. a boat?)
Hero: calls $8.00
QZQ: shows [9d Qd] (ack .. ffs .. well limped from mp preflop…)
Hero: mucksHand
QZQ: wins main pot($78.00)

Hand 2: Just for you Blindman

$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 6 Players
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 6 players) Hero is CO with TdTh

UTG calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, BTN calls, 1 fold, BB calls, UTG calls
Flop (8.5 SB, 4 players)

2c4s9s (nice. should be infront here)

BB bets, 1 fold, Hero raises, BTN calls, BB calls
Turn (7.2 BB, 3 players)

5c (hmm not bad .. surely no A3?)

BB checks, Hero bets, BTN calls, BB calls
River (10.2 BB, 3 players)

8c (hmm surely no one was goin for the bd flush?)

BB checks, Hero bets, BTN raises, BB folds, Hero calls (oh oh)
Final Pot: 14.2 BB
BTN shows Jc4c (wtf?)

BTN wins 13.5 BB ( won +8.5 BB )
BB lost -3.0 BB
UTG lost -1.0 BB
Hero lost -5.0 BB

Hand 3:

$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 5 Players

Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 5 players) Hero is UTG with AdKc

Hero raises, 1 fold, BTN calls, 1 fold, BB calls
Flop (6.5 SB, 3 players)

Ks6hJs (cool ... flush draw is annoying though)

BB checks, Hero bets, BTN raises, BB folds, Hero calls (hmm wonder where he's at? trips maybe? two pair? not sure if i shoulda reraised here)
Turn (5.2 BB, 2 players)

4d

Hero bets, BTN raises, Hero calls (dunno why i donked this. odd line for me to take)
River (9.2 BB, 2 players)

Tc (hmm not the best card for the straight possibilities)

Hero checks, BTN bets, Hero calls
Final Pot: 11.2 BB
BTN shows KdJc (... blah .. got outflopped. i shoulda got away cheaper though)

BTN wins 10.7 BB ( won +5.7 BB )
BB lost -1.0 BB
Hero lost -5.0 BB

Hand 4

Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 5 players) Hero is CO with QdQs

UTG calls, Hero raises, 1 fold, SB calls, 1 fold, UTG calls
Flop (7.0 SB, 3 players)

4sJh8h

SB checks, UTG bets, Hero raises, SB folds, UTG calls
Turn (5.5 BB, 2 players)

Kh (ack not super happy with the 3rd heart .. that is also an over to me)

UTG bets, Hero calls (i dont trust him to have the goods though)
River (7.5 BB, 2 players)

Tc (hmm ... doesn't make much difference)

UTG bets, Hero calls
Final Pot: 9.5 BB
UTG shows AhQc (ffs)

UTG wins 9.0 BB ( won +5.0 BB )
Hero lost -4.0 BB
SB lost -1.0 BB

Hand 5

$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 6 Players

Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 6 players) Hero is SB with 7s7d

UTG calls, UTG+1 raises, CO calls, 1 fold, Hero calls, BB 3-bets, UTG calls (1 raiser and 2 cold callers, i'm definitely callin here with only a super loose passive BB ... who then reraised .. ack)
Flop (9.3 SB, 5 players, 1 all-in)

7hTd5s

Hero checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 bets, 1 fold, Hero calls, UTG calls (thought i'd just call here and raise the turn)
Turn (6.2 BB, 4 players, 1 all-in)

Ts (okay there's my boat)

Hero checks, UTG bets, 1 fold, Hero raises, UTG calls (time to raise it up)
River (10.2 BB, 3 players, 1 all-in)

Jh

Hero bets, UTG raises, Hero calls (hmm a reraise .. surely not TT or T + 57J?)
Final Pot: 14.2 BB
UTG shows JdTc (get f'd)

Hand 6:

Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 6 players) Hero is BTN 8s5s

1 fold, UTG+1 calls, CO calls, Hero calls, SB calls, BB checks (thought this might be worth a float potentially 5 ways with position)
Flop (5.0 SB, 5 players)

Kh5d4s (hmm middle pair .. )

SB checks, BB bets, UTG+1 calls, CO calls, Hero calls, SB calls (i think this is worth an overcall with the pot at 8sbs)
Turn (5.0 BB, 5 players)

8h (sweet. two pair might be enough)

SB checks, BB bets, UTG+1 calls, CO calls, Hero raises, SB folds, BB calls, UTG+1 calls, CO calls (lets raise to clean up a few more outs if i'm ahead)
River (13.0 BB, 4 players)

4d (well that's counterfeit my 2 pair ... i am screwed)

BB checks, UTG+1 checks, CO bets, Hero folds, BB raises, UTG+1 folds, CO calls
Final Pot: 17.0 BB
BB shows Ah4c (ummm okay .. u bet the turn 5 ways with that ... )

BB wins 16.1 BB ( won +11.1 BB )
CO lost -5.0 BB
Hero lost -3.0 BB
SB lost -1.0 BB
UTG+1 lost -3.0 BB

Hand 7: biggest pot i've ever seen at 1/2 .. and i couldnt get away ...

$1/$2 Limit Holdem • 6 Players
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 6 players) Hero is BTN with AdKs

UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, CO raises, Hero 3-bets, SB calls, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, CO 4-bets, Hero calls, SB calls, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls
Flop (22.0 SB, 6 players)

AcQc5s (hmmm okay that's decentish ... CO 4 bet could be a little nasty but he has a shorter stack than everyone else)

SB checks, BB bets, UTG raises, UTG+1 calls, CO 3-bets, Hero 4-bets, SB folds, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, CO calls
Turn (21.0 BB, 5 players)

5d (hmm board pairs. so anyone with two pair from pockets has been counterfeit unless they were AQ)

BB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, CO bets, Hero raises, BB calls, UTG 3-bets, UTG+1 calls, CO 4-bets, Hero calls, BB calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls (raised here hoping to clean up some outs ... it didnt work .. wonder if i should fold when its 2 more back to me .. although 20:1 at the end of the day ...)
River (40.0 BB, 5 players)

3c (f me .. flush draw has hit ... surely i have to fold here .. but no i dont ...)

BB bets, UTG raises, UTG+1 3-bets, CO 4-bets, Hero calls, BB calls, UTG 5-bets, UTG+1 calls, Hero calls, BB calls
Final Pot: 58.5 BB
CO shows QsQh (fair enough)

UTG shows Jc8c (ah chased his flush .. hit it .. and didnt get a thing)

UTG+1 shows 3d3s (WTF??)

CO wins 42.8 BB ( won +36.3 BB )
UTG+1 wins 14.2 BB ( won +2.2 BB )
Hero lost -12.0 BB
SB lost -2.0 BB
BB lost -12.0 BB
UTG lost -10.0 BB

Hand 8

$1/$2 Limit Holdem • 5 Players
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 5 players) Hero is UTG with KsKh

Hero raises, 2 folds, SB calls, BB 3-bets, Hero 4-bets, SB calls, BB calls
Flop (8.0 SB, 3 players)

5s9dQh

SB bets, BB calls, Hero raises, SB calls, BB calls
Turn (7.0 BB, 3 players)

7c

SB bets, BB calls, Hero calls
River (10.0 BB, 3 players)

Jc

SB bets, BB calls, Hero calls
Final Pot: 15.0 BB
SB shows 9h7s (WTF)

SB wins 14.8 BB ( won +9.8 BB )
Hero lost -4.0 BB
BB lost -4.5 BB

Surely I can actually grab all that back sooner than later.

Current bankroll: $13,250

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Could have been worse

Played a half hour session last night which resulted no movement in my bankroll.

It started really well with me 40BBs up in the space of the first 5 minutes with my TPTK or overpair holding up in several multiway pots. Not the strongest of hands, but they do hold up occasionally.

What followed was me missing every draw (or hitting a draw when i've folded preflop), and then getting rivered 3 times in the space of 4 hands when holding powerhouse hands. I think I actually dropped about 60BBs - just a few more were at the $1/2 tables than the $2/4 tables, and I also received a few more rakeback $ so didn't end up down for the session.

Its easy to see how you can very quickly drop quite a few BBs just through the natural variance in the game. I'll have to dig out some of the hands. Some were truly awful beats.

The other odd thing that I noticed with the session is that the $1/2 tables were actually tighter than the $2/4 tables. (Although the fish still took my cash ....)

On the plus side, I received an email from Littlewoods advising me they were transferring my cash balance from their old system on Crypto to Pacific, so at least I dont have to do any messing around there. Still waiting for confirmation from RTR though as to whether rakeback is to be carried over.

Current bankroll: $13,450

Note to self: next post $A or longer term strategy

Monday, October 6, 2008

Perception v reality

Its always interesting when you start up at a new site. Often if I have a bad run early at a new site, I will think less of a site, than if I start off well. In reality this could easily be variance, and I should really ensure my focus is on the hard evidence of what a site is like - ie
  1. How soft is it - are there plenty of fishy tables?
  2. Are there enough players to allow for table selection?
  3. Does the lobby show players per flop?
  4. Are there any bugs?
  5. Am I getting timed out for no reason?
  6. How much does it rake?
  7. How much do I rakeback?
  8. Are there any other benefits?
  9. Is cash out simple and quick?

I guess what made me think of this topic is that i've just started on Pacific, which has a relatively high rake. I'm struggling a bit to find the same level of fishiness on the tables as the blindman, but i'll keep giving it a go - they must be out there. Admittedly I also lost to a couple of horrendous beats for decent sized pots as well which may also bias my opinion. So at the moment the jury is still out on Pacific.

The next thing I really need to do is find another decent sign up bonus. I'm leaning towards a longer term deal on Interpoker through RTR using a pounds rather than $US account. It looks like their monthly bonuses are very generous if you use that currency, as well as the initial ipod nano bonus (or cash equivalent for me I think).

As far as play goes, I put in less than half an hour's play yesterday, and basically broke even. Started horribly early on when I raised UTG with ATo, and got one cold caller from the button. Flop 933 rainbow. I cbet, he calls. Turn is a T, which I bet out again and get raised. WTF could he have? T9? a 3s? I'm fairly sure i'm in front here, but just call. River is an 8. I check, he bets, I call, and he shows down QJ ... wtf. Slowly clawed my way back, although had another set back or two with some even nastier beats, before getting back to even. Got credited $50 in rakeback though, so I end up positive for the day.

Current bankroll: $13,450

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Tournaments

I really dont think tourneys are for me.

Played in another one over the weekend, a bit better than mid stacked towards the bubble but not on it. One guy who has been stealing constantly pushes all in from the button and I look down at AKo. I call, and he flips over 9c6c. Flop is KT2 with no clubs. Turn 7, river 8 .. and i'm basically out again.

Haven't had the best of runs on the cash tables either. I think I got in about 4 hours over the weekend, and even though every session started well, the suckouts would then come thick and fast and i'd end up down. Luckily a couple $2/4 tables on fulltilt pulled through for me just before the end of my last session of the weekend, and for a couple orbits I just couldn't seem to lose.

Anyways at one stage being over 60BBs down, the weekend actually turned out okay and I eeked out a small increase in the bankroll, even taking into account my purchase of the Bodog hand grabber. It seems to work quite well. However, the tables arent as fishy as I first thought. Although there are still plenty o fish :)

Current bankroll: $13,400

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Potentially good .. and bad news

Well looks like Littlewoods has indeed moved to the 888 network, and there does appear to be a reasonable likelihood rakeback will be carried over ... will be watching developments closely.

On the bad news side, I can't see the William Hill time played bonus anymore ... very very disappointing.

Still running well + free party cash

Only played all of 10 minutes last night, and still ended 15BBs up.

Won two key hands, firstly in a blind v blind battle with me in the BB with AA, and SB holding KK. Betting capped preflop, SB bets out the flop of A72r, I call. SB bets out blank turn, I raise, SB calls. SB checks blank river, I raise, SB calls and shows KK ... I think that's the maximum I could have gotten there.

Only other hand was when a fairly aggro LAG raised from the button preflop and I have A7s in the BB. I am the only caller. Flop is 568r and he bets out, which I then raise with the OESD and the A. He calls. Turn is an A which he bets out, so I raise, he reraises and I call. River is a Q. He checks .. weird .. so I raise, he calls and flips over 77. He was drawing to 1 out to win the hand, and 8 to chop.

Party also gave me another $15 free (but restricted) money to play with, so I took that to the blackjack table. I only bet $10 on the first hand, which was kinda silly as I won that one, so took my $10 profit out to add to my bankroll. Second hand I put on $15 and dealer scores blackjack, so that's game over. Still .. $10 for free and about 2 minutes work I can't complain about.

Weekends comin up so thats it for me for the week.

Current bankroll: $13,350

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

One hand can make the difference

Well the difference between having a winning and losing session.

When I thought about this post it was after i'd had a 1 hour session at $2/4 on fulltilt and started off badly with some horrible beats but I gradually worked my way back, including winning one 20BB pot when my pocket 3s flopped a set.

Thing is, I ended up about $50 for the session of about 200 hands. If i'd lost with that set, i'd actually have recorded a negative session. I guess that's why variance occurs and I often do have negative sessions or tables, as my edge is actually relatively small.

Having said that, I then put in a 2 hour session - jeez i'm racking up the hours this month come to think of it. And in that session I managed a fair heater, playing a fair chunk of $1/2 on bodog and again a heap on Fulltilt $2/4. I think I ended up around 60BBs without actually ever being down for the session. That being said, it was fairly swingy, as I was seated to the left of a maniac on two of the tables I had open. One was running at 90%/85% ... and the other at around 90%/60%. I did donate to them a few times, as I quickly realised that even if you had a single pair it was worth calling the river, but they also paid me off with complete air that they's raised every street on more than a couple occasions.

Also played in the freeroll again, although don't know if I will bother any more. My late tourney game sux I think. Admitedly I havent actually read either of the harrington books so it serves myself right. I made it into the top 10 and had about a 8BB stack when there were two limpers and me on the button looking at As8s. I decided to push all in hoping to steal the limpers and blinds which were a decent chunk of my stack. Unfortunately both limpers called showing 77 and KJo and the board missed everyone booting me out of the tourney. I suspect in hindsight I should have waited for a better spot ... but i'm not absolutely sure of that. Maybe I should do some reading ....

Current Bankroll: $13,300 (should also be boosted by some rakeback shortly)

Hands

Hand 1: (BB is quite loose)

$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 5 Players (annoyinly one guy sitting out)
UTG
$218.50
CO
$24.00
BTN
$100.00
Hero
$101.00
BB
$76.00
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 5 players) Hero is SB with KcJd

3 folds, Hero raises, BB 3-bets, Hero calls (i'm raisin here for sure. not happy with the 3b but not in bad shape)
Flop (6.0 SB, 2 players)

Js6s3c (sweet .. top pair .. i should be in front here)

Hero checks, BB bets, Hero raises, BB calls (time for a c/r)
Turn (5.0 BB, 2 players)

9c (not a bad card for me)

Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls (hmm a 9 helped him? I'm at least calling down with top pair, depending on river)
River (9.0 BB, 2 players)

As (hmm not a great card. FD hit. A is not nice either)

Hero checks, BB bets, Hero calls (i'm still callin this down)
Final Pot: 11.0 BB

Hand 2: (same villain as hand 1)


$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 5 Players
UTG
$239.50
CO
$16.00
BTN
$104.00
Hero
$73.00
BB
$84.00
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 5 players) Hero is SB with JsJh (awesome)

3 folds, Hero raises, BB calls
Flop (4.0 SB, 2 players)

Qh4h3s (surely he doesnt have a heart)

Hero bets, BB calls (cbet .. i should be in front)
Turn (3.0 BB, 2 players)

As (ack not again ... still .. he's in the blind so there's a chance i'm still in front. will fold to a reraise I think)

Hero bets, BB calls (hmm he called .. i guess he has a fair piece of it? an A? a Q?
River (5.0 BB, 2 players)

2s (fd has hit again ...)

Hero checks, BB bets, Hero calls (i'm still calling down here)

Hand 3: same villain


$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 5 Players
Hero
$72.00
CO
$129.00
BTN
$247.50
SB
$72.00
BB
$45.00
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 5 players) Hero is UTG with AsKc

Hero raises, CO 3-bets, 3 folds, Hero 4-bets, CO calls (cool .. heads up and 4 bet)
Flop (9.5 SB, 2 players)

Ts8d3d (hmm whiffed .. although fair chance he's whiffed too .. although i guess he could have a pocket pair)

Hero bets, CO calls (cbet)
Turn (5.8 BB, 2 players)

4h (blank)

Hero bets, CO calls (cbet .. bah he called again)
River (7.8 BB, 2 players)

Jh (hmm not the best card for me ... but will see a showdown here i think)

Hero checks, CO bets, Hero calls (would have preferred it checked through but let's have a look)

Hand 4: (TAG type villain)

$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 5 Players
UTG
$117.00
CO
$85.00
BTN
$86.00
SB
$50.00
Hero
$124.00
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 5 players) Hero is BB with 7c6c

UTG calls, 2 folds, SB raises, Hero calls, UTG calls
Flop (6.0 SB, 3 players)

5s8h3h (hmm oesd for me, but also a fd on the board for an opponent)

SB bets, Hero raises, UTG folds, SB calls (lets try to punt out any overs that whiffed)
Turn (5.0 BB, 2 players)

Th

SB checks, Hero bets, SB calls (hmm a check ... scared of the FD or waiting to c/r me? no cr ... hmmm)
River (7.0 BB, 2 players)

Jh (arr crap ... whiffed and now 4 hearts on the board)

SB checks, Hero bets (hmmm well i'm not winning unless I bet here I think. Can fold to a reraise easily ... wonder if thats the right way to think?).

Hand 5:

$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 6 Players
UTG
$85.00
UTG+1
$86.00
CO
$41.00
Hero
$138.00
SB
$111.00
BB
$54.00
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 6 players) Hero is BTN with Ks9c

3 folds, Hero raises, 1 fold, BB 3-bets, Hero calls (hmm not super happy with the 3bet .. but lets see
Flop (6.5 SB, 2 players)

2h6s6c (interesting .. there's no way that flop has hit him .. unless maybe 66? pockets will be a problem for me)

BB bets, Hero calls (hmm well his cbet means ... well .. he has 2 cards ... for one bet i think i'll call here .. any 9 or K is fairly likely to be good I think)
Turn (4.2 BB, 2 players)

9h (bingo)

BB bets, Hero raises, BB calls (lets reraise here ... see if he does have something big)
River (8.2 BB, 2 players)

Kc (hmm ... thats probably not the best card for me .. if he has a big K i'm in trouble)

BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls (hmmm he's checked. Maybe he doesn't have a king. I'll throw out a value bet i think)
Final Pot: 10.2 BB

Hand 6:

$2/$4 Limit Holdem • 5 Players
Hero
$157.00
CO
$110.00
BTN
$12.00
SB
$105.00
BB
$86.00
Pre-Flop (1.5 SB, 5 players) Hero is UTG with AhQs

Hero raises, 1 fold, BTN calls, 2 folds
Flop (5.5 SB, 2 players)

AdKh4s (nice)

Hero bets, BTN calls (bet out .. hope he has Kx)
Turn (3.8 BB, 2 players)

4d (surely he doesnt have a 4 ...)

Hero bets, BTN raises, Hero calls (bet out ... oh he's all in)
River (6.8 BB, 2 players, 1 all-in)

Kc

Final Pot: 6.8 BB