A few hands..

No joy for Murray the other night against the sublime Federer.At least the result ensured I was in my bed at a decent hour.I only played one $22 at Party and came second for $60.That result may be decent, but the truth is that I had a large chip lead and blew it with a couple of silly calls.

Last night was the Brit Blogger challenge game,I didn't play that well and donked out early.The last game in this series of ten games will be played on Saturday at 9pm on Full Tilt.It's only $5.50 to enter and open to all bloggers and readers.If you're at a loose end this weekend please come and join the donkfest!

To be honest I've not really felt like playing much this week.I did fire up three $16's ( 18 player) after watching a sngicons video and managed a 3rd and a 4th place for a $33 profit.I should have cashed in all three but made a donk shove with JJ over someones KK in the one I crashed out of.

Usually I am happy to go with JJ at the $16's preflop as the ranges people are willing to stack off with are so wide.In this case though there was a raise and then a reraise made by Mr KK.It was such an obvious "I have a monster" bet that I should have folded.( It was raised to 300,he reraised to 900 and I shoved)

I'm also unsure about my exit hand in the game I came 3rd in.The two others were both excellent regulars ( as opposed to random donks!).The big stack had around 13k and myself and the other villain had around 7k.The bigstack shoved and I felt I had to make the call with AJ.I lost a flip to 33.If I'd won I'd have been the bigstack and I reckon I could have gone on to take it down.The secret in these games is usually to always be the person raising,not calling but I felt his shoving range was so wide I had to call.Hmmmm.

Oh before I forget,the answer to the guess the villains hand competition I posted about the other week was J10! Ahhh the donkery!

I've finally worked out ( I'm so techy eh) how to use the notepad thing to copy/paste any of the more interesting hands I play so here are a few from last night...

PokerStars Game #20280290755: Tournament #107252454, $15+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/09/09 18:43:08 ET
Table '107252454 2' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: frizbeeboy (1420 in chips)
Seat 2: tkavv (2060 in chips)
Seat 3: oli1970s (1140 in chips)
Seat 4: dasman13 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: Benno300 (1320 in chips)
Seat 6: zagga (1480 in chips)
Seat 7: mac7156 (1620 in chips)
Seat 8: Puckbomb (1590 in chips)
Seat 9: MarkeyMark79 (1400 in chips)
zagga: posts small blind 10
mac7156: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to zagga [Kc As]
Puckbomb: calls 20
MarkeyMark79: calls 20
frizbeeboy: folds
tkavv has timed out
tkavv: folds
tkavv is sitting out
oli1970s: folds
tkavv has returned
dasman13: folds
Benno300: folds
zagga: raises 100 to 120 >> My usual 4bb + 1bb for each limper
mac7156: folds
Puckbomb: calls 100
MarkeyMark79: calls 100
*** FLOP *** [4d 4h Kd] > Perfect flop,although I don't think I'm going to get paid .What kind of hand would call a c-bet on that board? QK and 22-QQ maybe.

zagga: bets 160>> I'll try and make my c-bet look like I've missed.Something I've learned from training videos is not to always fear a flush draw if the flop comes with two of one sooot.The chances of either villain holding two diamonds is actually quite slim.

Puckbomb: raises 160 to 320>> If he has the 4 or has limped Aces then good luck to him.I aint folding here.I now have him on QK or a bluff.

MarkeyMark79: folds

zagga: raises 180 to 500>> Building the pot.

Puckbomb: calls 180
*** TURN *** [4d 4h Kd] [4s] >> Damn,if he has KQ we're now splitting it.

zagga: checks >> Look weak and hope villain takes bait...

Puckbomb: bets 970 and is all-in>>He does have a King.....

zagga: calls 860 and is all-in>> snap call

Uncalled bet (110) returned to Puckbomb

*** RIVER *** [4d 4h Kd 4s] [Jd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
zagga: shows [Kc As] (a full house, Fours full of Kings)
Puckbomb: shows [Ah 9c] (three of a kind, Fours) >> I was wrong.He's been reading the RTR forum and overplayed his monsta A9!

zagga collected 3100 from pot

Here's one I was happy to get away from...

PokerStars Game #20280370065: Tournament #107252311, $15+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/09/09 18:46:31 ET
Table '107252311 2' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: daz-malwin (555 in chips)
Seat 2: gmm1987 (1680 in chips)
Seat 4: Angell0250 (1410 in chips)
Seat 5: emilyjoe (3250 in chips)
Seat 6: 999JOE999 (1515 in chips)
Seat 7: zagga (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: KFBG (1580 in chips)
Seat 9: nalla3 (2010 in chips)
emilyjoe: posts small blind 15
999JOE999: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to zagga [Kh Ad]
zagga: raises 90 to 120 >> Standard 4bb raise especially as the table seems loose and fishy.
KFBG: calls 120
nalla3: calls 120
daz-malwin: folds
gmm1987: folds
Angell0250: folds
emilyjoe: folds
999JOE999: calls 90
*** FLOP *** [Qh 3c Jc] >> Horrible flop for me.

999JOE999: checks

zagga: checks >>> I'm not c-betting on this board with so many callers.
KFBG: checks
nalla3: checks

*** TURN *** [Qh 3c Jc] [Ah] >> Hmmm there's my Ace but I still hate the board.

999JOE999: bets 120
zagga: calls 120>>>> Something smells fishy hence no reraise.Hoping to get to a cheap showdown.
KFBG: calls 120
nalla3: folds
*** RIVER *** [Qh 3c Jc Ah] [7h]
999JOE999: bets 330 >>> The river card seems like a blank.I didn't put the villain on a flush draw.It felt like at least two pair though.
zagga: folds
KFBG: calls 330
*** SHOW DOWN ***
999JOE999: shows [Js Jh] (three of a kind, Jacks)
KFBG: mucks hand >> He had AK too!
999JOE999 collected 1515 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1515 | Rake 0
Board [Qh 3c Jc Ah 7h]
Seat 6: 999JOE999 (big blind) showed [Js Jh] and won (1515) with three of a kind, Jacks
Seat 7: zagga folded on the River
Seat 8: KFBG mucked [Ks Ac]
Seat 9: nalla3 folded on the Turn


>>Maybe my cut/pasting isn't so great.We were 7 handed at this point.

Seat 4: Angell0250 (1360 in chips)
Seat 5: emilyjoe (3085 in chips)
Seat 7: zagga (1335 in chips)
Seat 8: KFBG (1105 in chips)
Seat 9: nalla3 (1715 in chips)
zagga: posts small blind 50
KFBG: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to zagga [Th Tc]
nalla3: raises 200 to 300
daz-malwin: folds
gmm1987: calls 300
Angell0250: folds
emilyjoe: folds
zagga: raises 1035 to 1335 and is all-in >> I wasn't exactly delighted with shoving here but with a tight image and the dead money in the pot I felt it was a profitable move.
KFBG: folds
nalla3: folds >> Original raiser folded which is great.

gmm1987: calls 980 and is all-in: Hmmm.What kind of a rangeis the villain on if he flat calls a preflop raise and then calls a shove? Go on,take a guess,run it through Poker Stove and then prepare to chortle!

Uncalled bet (55) returned to zagga
*** FLOP *** [4c 8d 2c]
*** TURN *** [4c 8d 2c] [5h]
*** RIVER *** [4c 8d 2c 5h] [3c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
zagga: shows [Th Tc] (a pair of Tens)
gmm1987: shows [5s 7s] (a pair of Fives) >> Heeeeehaw!
zagga collected 2960 from pot

Tonight I'm looking after Nacho and watching the Scotland game.Back soon...

Blogger game writeup

Yesterday seemed to encapsulate the poker bloggers dilema perfectly.Dull results based posts are a yawn and getting it all out there after a night of bad beats just seems like moaning and that’s not much fun to read either.Then again my blog is my personal record of my play and results and if lady luck has deserts me on occasion then I have to post about it in one way or another.

Happily last night after watching Osasuna draw with Valencia ,I began an 18 player $15 turbo at ‘Stars to warm up for the bloggerpod freeroll and was still playing at the final table when the freeroll began.

I always have my option set to show an uncalled winning hand which is probably a waste of time as I rarely show.Still it has it’s uses and I enjoyed showing a 6 high bluff ( I was in big blind with 56) after floating in a hand until I made a decent reraise on the turn representing trip sevens.” Sick staying in to hit that other 7” was the chat jibe after the villain folded and my ego couldn’t resist showing him how wrong he was.I’m not sure I liked doing that as my tight image was partially blown and I was wary about stealing from that table afterwards.

Luckily I got a move and by the time the final table came round I had a decent lead and I managed to hang on for a nice wee win to boost the roll.Turbo sng variance really isn’t for the weak hearted.My ‘Stars roll which reached a low of $252 on Sat night is now back over the $400 mark ( for now!).

After that game I concentrated fully on the blogger freeroll and enjoyed a rollercoaster ride before going out 12th.Only a few key hands really and I began with a hammer bluff which I had to give up on the turn after I’d fired two bullets.I think I took Kat out when my big blind special of K4 flopped two fours and I didn’t get involved again until I won after a huge suckout when my 99 spiked a 9 on the river v 1010 after I’d raised preflop and gone all in post flop when it came a low rainbow.I was trying not to play in sng turbo mode but I definitely overplayed those nines.

I made a tough laydown a bit later which I’m still not sure about.I had raised ( 4 bb I think) preflop with KdKh and the big stack ( who seemed a solid player) flat called.The flop came all diamonds including the Ace and the big stack checked to me.I was tempted to take the free card and try and hit my nut flush but having raised preflop I decided to make a decent 600 stab at it to try and take it there and then and then faced an all in bet for my tourney life.

My preflop raise was probably not large enough to scare off suited connectors and hands like AK,AQ and of course he could have made a set.I decided my only clean outs were diamonds and with only a 35% chance of hitting my flush,I reluctantly folded my cowboys to await a better spot.If it was a bluff he picked his spot well!
Edit: home from work and pleased to see the player I reckoned was solid took it down.Well done Schaubs.

AQ v 95 sooted bit me when the villain made his flush before I was reduced to stealing from position to simply stay afloat.The antes had kicked in too and eventually I got caught when I pushed with A5 when it was folded to me and was called by 55 and 66.( not enough fold equity to push ‘em out).All good fun though and it was a pleasure playing at the same table as Katitude,Irongirl and the mighty wafflemeister.

Ok,back later in the week..