bsheck

I made a new blog, it's located here. I'll be putting my poker stuff and probably the rest of my non personal stuff there, and make private posts here occasionally. LJ isn't really for blogging per se, it's more of a place for teenage girls to write shitty poetry and others to talk about how they took out the garbage last night and other thrilling life events. Later.

Just played the best game of Madden ever. I'm doing a season with the Giants. Started out 8-0, upped the settings one level, and I'm 1-3 since. So I'm playing the Panthers in week 14 @Carolina. I start out playing like crap. I win the toss, defer, and the Panthers score a TD on the second play. I go 3 & out on my first possession, and give it back. I get burned for a big play again and I'm down 14-0. I think I get 1 first down the next drive and I'm forced to punt again. First quarter ends soon after.

Second quarter I manage to pick off Delhomme and I'm setup inside the Carolina 40. However, soon after I throw it to Shockey, he fumbles it at the 15 and the Carolina player takes it all the way in for the score. Delhomme and company march down the field after I go 3 & out and score again to make it 28-0.  I get one last drive in the final two minutes of the quarter. I manage to complete a long pass to Burress, and I'm in the Red Zone. I find Shockey in the end zone on a 3rd down play and I get on the board before halftime.

On the kickoff DeAngelo Williams fumbles inside the 20 and I have like 15 chances to recover but I don't. The clock runs out after one play so the score remains 28-7 at the half. I feel if I can get an opening drive for a TD I can come back. However, I go 3 & out and punt, and I'm not liking my chances too much. Feagles gets off a good punt, and I manage to hold them to 3 & out. I get the ball back, but can't do anything again. Basically we end up trading punts the whole 3rd quarter.

Last minute or so of the 3rd I get it into Carolina territory and start to hit my receivers. I'm at about the 30 when the quarter ends. Get another first down and I get into the red zone. Get sacked though and end up having to face a 4th and 19 from the 28. I decide to just go for it at this point, FG does me no good. I hit Burress on a miracle pass in the end zone and I'm in business. He was covered by two guys but still managed to come away with it. Extra point good, down 28-14 with about 8:30 left.

I manage to hold Carolina with minimal time taken off the clock, and I get the ball back without having to burn any timeouts. I manage to move the ball down the field again, and get into Carolina territory. I can't move it any further and I'm faced with a 4th and long. Incomplete pass, Carolina takes over. They get it to the 35 facing a 3rd down. They're just about in Kasay's range to hit a FG that would make it a 3 score game and pretty much end it. They give it to DeAngelo Williams on 3rd down and he is driven back, and loses the ball. I take over at midfield and have new life. I get a few completions and with help from a pass interference call on one deep play. I get the ball first and goal at the 1 and I decide to try and punch it in. I unsuccessfully run it 3 times, trying the QB sneak, HB run, and FB run, and I get backed up to the 2 facing a 4th down. I take a lot of time off the clock in the process, but my objective here is scoring. I have all 3 timeouts left, so I'm not worried about it. 4th down I run a quick slant and hit Carter in the end zone. EP good, 28-21 with 2:35 left.

I shank the kickoff and it goes out of bounds. Carolina gets it at the 40 and on first down DeAngelo Williams runs it to midfield for 10 yards. I burn a timeout. I manage to stop them on the next two plays, burning my last two timeouts. It's 3rd and about 8, they run it again for no gain, and the clock runs down to the 2:00 warning. Panthers punt, and it goes into the endzone for a touchback. So I have just under 2 minutes to drive 80 yards and tie this thing up. First two plays are unsuccessful, and I'm actually sacked for about a 7 yard loss. On 3rd down I throw it deep to Burress, incomplete. But Carolina's called for pass interference, and I get a fresh set of downs at my own 35. From then on I hit my receivers, and get it all the way down to the Carolina 8, first and goal with the clock winding down under a minute. I throw 3 incompletions, and it all comes down to a 4th down play with :27 left. I decide to run a pass pattern where Shockey's the intended reciever. I'm just going to drop back 3 steps and throw it to him, and hope he comes away with it. I do, and he makes the catch  Whew. Extra point is good, and it's 28-28 with :24 remaining.

I kick it deep, and Williams returns it to about the 20. Carolina with 3 timeouts elects to just run it and let the clock run out. We go to overtime. I win the toss and take the football this time. I start at about the 25 and I actually run it with Barber the first play and get 8. Another run with Brandon Jacobs gets me the first down. I'm at my own 40 and I air it out. On 2nd down and 10 I find Burress near midfield. I just miss getting a first and it's 3rd and inches. I try a QB sneak unsuccessfully and I'm faced with 4th and inches.

I decide to punt. The factors were that I had no confidence that I was going to make the first down, based on my botched 3 running attempts from the 1 earlier, and that last play when I couldn't sneak it across to move the chains. Also, Feagles was punting the ball well all day, and I figured he could pin them deep. Finally, my defense was playing well the entire second half and I figued to get the ball back. So I punted, and it was fair caught at the 11. Carolina gets a first down on the second play when Delhomme hits Johnson for about a 12 yard gain, and I wasn't too happy about that. But I remained calm, and 3 plays later on 3rd and about 8 I intercept Delhomme and I'm set up at the Carolina 35. I complete a pass to Shockey that gets me to the 13 and I'm in good position to win it now. I decide to take a shot at the end zone though because kicking using a keyboard is tricky, and the camera angle is different on "pressure" kicks so that might screw me up. I almost get picked on first down, so then I try to run it. No gain, and I bring out Feely on 3rd down.

To kick you have to hit the snap button, and then hit it again to get your distance, and once more for accuracy. Hit it too soon or too late for accuracy and the kick sails wide (that's how I shanked a kickoff in the fourth quarter). It's a 30 yard kick, so I won't need much for distance, but I gotta nail the accuracy. I'm also at the right hash mark so I have to aim the cursor thing to the left so I can split the uprights. No real wind, so I'm not worried about that. So I just figure three hits of the D key and I'm off to victory. I snap it, hit it for accuracy, and hit it again, get about 75% for both. The kick goes in slo-mo, but I know it's good. It goes through the uprights, and I complete the miracle comeback. Manning ended up with 400+ passing yards and 4TDs, with 0 interceptions. I also clinched the NFC East with that win. Fun game. <lj-cut>

Well I'm just about done with online poker. Lost everything I had on Full Tilt and down to about $25 on Stars. Ran terrible the last two nights in $25NL. Already down a buy-in or so when I pick up JJ and raise it up to about $1.25. Fucking douchebag in BB calls. Flop comes K-T-x all diamonds. I have no diamonds. He moves in for my last $20 or so. This guy bluffed off his money before and I was playing  a little on the conservative-wise side, so I figured he didn't have shit. I called. He had AA no diamonds. Turn and river provided no help, and there goes another buy-in.

I decide to take my last $50 and play $100 NL with it. I get it up to $71, then back down to $48. Guy raises to $3 two off the button, I make it $12 with 76c on the button, Folded back to him, he calls. Flop comes K-T-x, no clubs. He checks, I move in for my final $36. He calls with AT, middle pair. He made a big laydown against another player but he calls my reraise with AT and calls my shove with middle fucking pair. Of course I can't hit mircale running 7s or 6s and there goes my money.

Well, I'm not too shaken up about it. I built my entire bankroll from free money offers. I never once deposited any of my own funds to play online poker. It started in August of 2005 when I received $25 to play on Empire Poker. I played $.50/$1 limit (when the games were actually good and filled with preflop dingbats)  and wound up cashing out about $100. Then I played the daily turbo freerolls for awhile and was able to cash a decent amount of the time. It wasn't much (mostly under a buck), but when I got up to $5 I was able to play no-limit and ran it up to $50 to where I was able to get a check. Also got $10 free from them a few times to entice me to come back and was able to turn that into $50  twice and cash out.

Then I went to Party and got $75 from an affiliate. Wasn't supposed to do it because I already got the free offer from Empire, but somehow got away with it. Played limit at first, and then eventually moved to NL. Was a breakeven player there until I stumbled upon the SnG steps and took a shot for $6. Made it to level 5, and won $300. I remember getting lucky to get there, one hand at either level 3 or 4 I had AA, 1 person called my raise, checkraised the flop when it came 3 babies, and the money got all-in. He of course had a set, but I spiked an A on the turn and went on to win.

That was the turning point for me. I was able to build a bankroll from there. I played winning $25NL from that point on, and was able to make a cashout for $400 to pay for some college expenses while still having money left over. I moved my BR mostly to Full Tilt last summer and that's when I really started to learn about implied odds, and playing for set value and such. Won some there, which of course would eventually be bluffed off, but I did get one final free offer from Party after I cashed out there which I turned into $127 and cashed out. 

So all in all I've received over $700 of free money. Can't complain. I'll probably take one more shot at trying to get into the Sunday Million with my final Stars $ and see if I can turn a small satellite entry fee into $133,000.

 

Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.50/$1
5 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is UTG with Q Q
Hero raises to $3.5, CO raises to $12, 3 folds, Hero raises all-in $22.95, CO calls.

Flop: 49 2 ($47.4, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $47.4)

Turn: 4 ($47.4, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $47.4)

River: 8: ($47.4, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $47.4)

Results:
Final pot: $47.4
CO showed Js Jc
Hero showed Qh Qd


Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.50/$1
6 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is UTG with K K
Hero raises to $3.5, UTG+1 raises to $12, 4 folds, Hero raises all-in $33.95, UTG+1 calls.

Flop: 2 2 8 ($69.4, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $69.4)

Turn: 4 ($69.4, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $69.4)

River: 9($69.4, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $69.4)

Results:
Final pot: $69.4
UTG+1 showed Kd Ad
Hero showed Ks Kh

01/13/2007 16:10:59	Wagered $20.00 to win $32.00 on INDIANAPOLIS	Won Straight Wager
F 1 1/13	INDIANAPOLIS AT BALTIMORE

So that's what happened when I decided to short stack NL $100 last night and bet the Colts today.

I am a romantic and I do enjoy the sentimental tunes.

Thanksgiving, meh. Ate turkey, saw some family, etc. I was happy to come home and get a few days off.

Been playing a lot of 5 card draw on Stars lately. No limit of course ($.25/$.50 blinds, 6 handed). Pretty easy game. I've only one tabled and played short sessions here and there, but the game is definitely crushable. The opponents are pretty bad. For one they cant' seem to put their opponents on a hand. One scenario that's come up a few times is someone raises to $1.50, another guy makes it $4, and the initial raiser calls. He takes 1, reraiser takes 2. Goes check-decent sized bet-call. Of course the reraiser shows trips, and the other guy has some two pair hand. If you think that's bad, people have been paying off pat hands with two pair as well. One guy even bet into a guy who stood pat and called a raise with trips. The players hardly ever bluff either, so you can give them credit for the hand they're representing.

Ran into a couple of tough hands in my session tonight though. Early on I had a 4 flush in the SB, LP player limps, I complete, BB checks. I go ahead and draw to the flush, BB and limper both take 3. I hit my flush and bet out $1.50. BB folds, and LP raises to $3.50. I figure he's overplaying either aces up or trips, so I consider reraising, but end up just calling. He shows 5s full of Qs for a full house. Really tough to get away from that seeing that I had no read on the player (as I had just joined the table) and that he drew 3. 

Another hand I'm in the BB and check AAxxx after UTG and UTG+1 limp and the other 3 players fold. I draw 3, other two draw 1. I get a pair of 6s to make aces up and I bet out $1. UTG calls, UTG+1 raises to 3. Pretty easy fold here I think, UTG+1 is representing he made his draw, so I'll go ahead and give him credit for it. I fold, but UTG calls. UTG+1 shows a four to eight straight, and UTG mucks queens and fours. A similar hand occured a couple of orbits later. I had JJxxx and check after two limpers come in and the SB completes. I draw 3 and pick up another J, and UTG+1 draws 1. SB checks, I bet $1.25 with my trips, and UTG+1 raises to $3. Everyone else folds back to me. I know this guy saw me fold to his raise the last time, but I think there's a minimal chance he could be bluff raising me. So I fold, and he shows his hand anyway, an A high flush. I think betting and folding to a raise is a good strategy in these games though. I'll get called by two pair hands and if I get raised I know I'm beat most of the time.

My best hand occured at the end of the session though. Same villain too as the previous two hands. UTG+1 limps, I limp next to act with KKxxx, button calls also, but SB raises to $1.50. BB and UTG+1 fold, and for $1 more I say what the hell and call. I have position on the guy so I know what I'll need. Button calls too. SB stands pat. Eek. I go ahead and draw 3, hoping for a miracle. I get it. Two more kings! Button takes 3 also btw. After the draw SB comes out with a $3 bet, I move the slider to the right and figure out how much of a raise he will possibly call. I go ahead and raise to $11.50. Button folds, he calls without much thought. I show my quads, he mucks. I look at the hand history to see what he had, and it was 2-3-4-5-6, the second worst possible pat hand. I think that's a pretty easy fold there, even though I took three. I had been playing solid the whole session (except one bluff where I raised in LP with a 4-flush predraw and bet after I whiffed the draw and got called by two pair).

So what else? 3 weeks left of classes + finals. Meh. That'll be all for my academic career, at least for now. I found out I have to do a paper for my American Foreign Policy class Friday. BLECH. I have like 6-7 topics I can choose from, all of which suck. It has to be 4-5 pages, and I probably won't get to it until Wednesday, so that's going to probably turn into a late night session Thursday. That'll be my last major paper though. I think I have a group project to do for one of my other classes, and some minor assignments before final exams.

Then there's the next thing, getting a jaerb. A lot of the jobs I've been recommended for are out of state, and some are internships. I'd really just rather have a full time job, even if it isn't all that great at first. I need money to support my cocaine habit, and I can't really do that with a $600/month stipend. But seriously I'd like to get a job where I have some free time to pursue bowling again. I went a few weeks ago when Jay was up and I bowled a 174. Both Jay and my father agreed that was damn good for someone who hasn't been bowling in a long time. If I got into a league, got my own custom ball and some instruction I could have a 200+ average. I bowled candlepin before and have some trophies to show for it, I suppose I could get back into that too, but that all depends on where I end up.  

Winning field goal.


Fans rush the field.

Don't you just love college football? I don't even think you have to like football at all to appreciate this. It's all about having pride in your school. Every student who was at that game is going to look back after they graduate and this is going to be one of their biggest memories. I'm hoping we have the chance to do that here at UMass in the near future.

The first one is the December 2nd basketball game against Boston College. This is our rival game now that UConn's no longer on the schedule. It's also going to take place during the semester (rather than the intersession as it did before), so the student section will be loud and proud. BC's ranked #15 in both preseason polls, and have 5 games against unranked opponents before coming to Amherst (so should go 5-0 and perhaps move a couple of spots up in the polls). It's a winnable game for UMass at home against a good, ranked team, as well as a rival, so this is definitely a rush the court game.

The second one is the 1-AA playoff semifinals. If we get that far, the game would be played on December 9th. It may or may not be in Amherst depending on who gets home field advantage, but if it were, we'd be playing for a spot in the championship game. Winning that game would certainly merit rushing onto the field, regardless of the opponent. Dunno what the student turnout would be for such a game though; you have to pay for the ticket out of your own pocket (as opposed to regular season games where you get in for free), and it might be a 12:00 kickoff too.

We'll have to see what happens with football, but I'm really looking forward to the BC game anyway.

Even as a Penn St fan I gotta admit that this was a world class strategy by the Wisconsin Badgers, and illustrates perfectly how absurd the new NCAA clock rules are. It's actually a good thing they did this now, otherwise another team probably would've figured this out and utilized it at the end of a close game when it really mattered (though that might still happen). Hopefully the NCAA makes some changes next year. I have no problem in general with starting the clock when the ball is kicked on a kickoff or when it is whistled ready for play before a down. But when you get down to the final 2 minutes before the first half or 5 minutes left in the game they need to revert back to the old rules.

After a shitty night last night where I lost a 3-way all-in preflop with QQ vs Ax vs T9 (an ace flopped of course) and a mini-tilt by myself resulting in a loss of about 1.5 buyins, I got most of it back tonight.

Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.10/$0.25
6 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: $25.50
UTG+1: $29.30
CO: $48.95
Hero: $24.65
SB: $16.20
BB: $30.55

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is Button with 7 6
UTG raises to $0.5, UTG+1 calls, CO folds, Hero raises to $1.75, SB calls, BB folds, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls.

Weaksauce girl raises UTG and with a call in between I decide to squeeze with 76o. I figured $1.75 would be enough to get someone to fold out of position with a potentially dominated hand, but I guess not. I still have a hand though, so I'm looking to hit the flop hard.

Flop: 7 7 8 ($7.25, 4 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $7.25, SB folds, UTG calls, UTG+1 folds.

BINGO BANGO BONGO. Trip 7s. It's checked to me and I pot it. UTG girl calls, and I figure she has a draw, either hearts, T9 or even 56. I suppose it's possible though that she could also have an 8, maybe something like A8, 98, etc. If she had 88, I expected to hear from her on the flop. 

Turn: 4 ($21.75, 2 players)
UTG checks, Hero is all-in $15.65, UTG calls.

Well, one of the hands I put her on just got there. Still, I'm way ahead of most of her range, so I shoved. When she called I really thought she made the straight, but she turned over QT. That's what I like about Full Tilt by the way. When there's an all-in, the cards are turned up immediately. None of this wait till the river crap, and then have the software slowroll you like on Stars. Anyway, it's a pretty bad call by her. She's drawing to 8 outs, and while she does have two overcards, I can't believe she thought they were any good. The way I played the hand it looks like I have an overpair, so at best she has 3 extra outs if I have JJ-99, but only the flush outs are good if I have AA-KK, and she's drawing dead if I have 88.

River: 8 ($53.05, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $53.05)

I dodge the heart on the river and rake in a huge pot. This is what's so great about no limit. If this was a limit hand I'd have to fold preflop. But in NL I can use the button and play around with these marginal hands, and get the occasional big payoff when I hit.

Also played in the weekly freeroll in the Grad lounge for the 3rd week. Sucked it hard this time. I got it up to 12k when I won a hand with QQ near the first place, but lost a few key hands and all of a sudden I was down to 2600. Had a hand with that kid Hakeem that was the turning point for me. We're 7-handed, I have about 8500, he covers. He raised to 1200 UTG with 200/400 blinds, I reraise to 3500 with 99 from the SB. He calls. Flop comes Q-J-4, and I check. He checks behind. Turn comes a 2 I believe (some insignificant card) and it goes check-check again. River is another blank, I check, he bets 3k, I figure it's a bluff, so I pick it off. He has AJ though and rakes the pot, meanwhile I find myself with 2600 left.

In retrospect I seemed to play that hand weaksauce, but I think my only mistake was reraising preflop. He's not folding to a reraise, so I probably should've just called. I had planned to check any flop, because I know a continuation bet isn't going to get rid of him. If he had bet I would've had a tough decision to make, but might've just put it all-in. The turn went check-check too, so now I figured he doesn't have much, and perhaps remembered that AK hand where I checked TPTK to him. So the river check was a no brainer at that point, I figured I could induce a bluff. He bet middle pair at that point, I put him on rags and paid off. I thought I outplayed him two weeks ago, but looks like he outplayed me that time.

Got eliminated a few hands later when I shoved from the button with T2d and he called me with 95o. I didn't want him to call, and when he did I just knew I was going to be sent packing. The 5 came on the turn and that was it for me. I managed to get points the last two weeks, and I was in 5th place going into this week, but that may change now. Top 20 get the entry into the Tournament of Champions on December 12th, I should make it but the higher place you get the more chips you start with, so I need to keep accumulating points.
 

So this guy iStrong was nice enough to review an NL $25 session of mine and critique my play. Go here. Looks like I have a few leaks in my game. I appear to play a little bit too conservative/wise (some may call it weak/passive). Also, I make some plays that give away my hand (though at NL $25 I shouldn't have to worry about that all too much). One suggestion of his I particularly like is raising marginal hands on the button when it's limped to me. That's because if I get called I'm still in good shape. I can possibly take the pot with a continuation bet, or hit my hand and stack someone who has top pair. So I'm going to start doing this with both suited connectors and small pairs (as well as my premium hands of course). Having the button is a HUGE advantage in no-limit, so the initial strength of my hand shouldn't be the sole factor for raising.

He also said I should raise like 6-7x the BB out of position. So if a couple of people limp to me in the BB, I should make a big raise and probably try to win the pot immediately. There's two schools of thought, that one, and the other that says raise small and avoid playing a big pot out of position. I think I agree more with the latter argument. If I make a big raise and get called in one or two places, that would really suck. Then if I make a near pot sized continuation bet and get called, I've just thrown away a lot of money. I guess it's opponent dependent though. If I'm playing against opposition who fold to much postflop, the bigger raise makes sense. If I'm playing against calling stations, I guess it makes sense to raise big with my high pairs and avoid doing so with unpaired cards such as, AK, AQ, KQ, etc. If I needed to I could vary my play about 20% of the time to avoid being read, but this is a minor concern I think in uNL and in online play in general where you're playing a bunch of different people.

I'm gonna try to record a session with my own thoughts in it and try to take iStrong's advice into consideration. Hopefully there will be an improvement. I'm a winning player now, but I'm trying to get to the level where I can start moving up in stakes and becoming a serious player.  

Got freekin destroyed over the last two days. I won one big pot to save me, but overall I lost close to a buyin. In retrospect that isn't that much, but when your bankroll is only 9 buyins, it is. Lemme see if I can find anything in some key hands.

Well, I'll start with the big pot. Here. Preflop is standard, someone pots it, a few calls, I re-pot it and I get two calls. On the flop I decide to checkraise all-in rather than leading out. The money's going in either way, but maybe I can get someone to bluff at it. Also, I like to check flops in this situation just to show I'm not to be trifled with.

Now onto the losing hand. Here's one from tonight. I raise pot with AQo, blinds call. Flop comes 3 babies with two diamonds, and the BB minbets into me. I make a raise to see if he's interested, SB folds, he calls. I put him on middle pair, maybe a weak T, or a flush draw. Turn fills the possible flush, and with the A I decide to just check behind. See if I can fill up myself on the river. I had a gutterball also which  may or may not be good. River gives me top pair, but of course I'm not too crazy about it. He comes out and bets full pot. I don't take too long to fold because he's gotta have the flush. He's been playing passive all night and I haven't seen him make a bet over 1/3 of the pot yet. So there's no way I'm paying that off.

Another hand. I raise from the CO and you can see just how much respect that raise gets. CALL, CALL, CALL. I flop trip 9s though and of course I fastplay it. I bet full pot and get called by the button. Turn is a 6 and I hit that pot button again. Just about as I'm about to bet it, I say "Wait a minute, isn't a 6 a bad card for me?" I know 87 is a possibility. He could also have trip 9s with a lower kicker, which in that case I'm way ahead (I suppose he could have T9 also, which would be sick). He makes a small bet, so I call. River is a J, he bets less than 1/2 the pot, and I'm forced to pay off. I'm of course shown 87. I couldn't fold because of the possibility of something like 98 (and of course the weak damn bets). I may post this on 2+2 and see what they think. I thought I played it okay, I managed to not lose my whole stack at least.

Almost forgot about this one. I think I misplayed it badly on the flop. Instead of putting in a healthy raise to charge draws, I minraised to feel the guy out. Got two calls, then an ace came on the turn and I was forced to check and then fold to a pot-sized bet. Looked to me like he had the nut flush draw and caught the ace on the turn. So yeah, I think I screwed that one up badly. I talk about this situation a little bit more below.

That's all I got for specific hands, but I lost a lot of small pots too. I've been playing very loosely on the button. If someone raises, doesn't matter if it's UTG or CO, I'll call with a lot of hands, such as J9s, 87o, any pocket pair, etc. I figure I have the implied odds to make a straight, flush, or hit a set, and I can use my position to steal some pots away when I don't hit. I think it's working so far. Pokertracker says I'm playing about 46% of my hands when I'm on the button, and cold call a raise 11% of the time (while my other cold call stats are 4% for cutoff and less than 1% for each of the other positions). I am making $ from the button, but for some reason I'm making more in the blinds. I've picked up a lot of small pots playing blind vs. blind, so perhaps that has something to do with it. Also, I guess I'm getting my premium hands more often in the blinds than when I'm OTB. But, I think playing loosely from the button is probably fine.

Another thing is with continuation bets. I make them in position heads up almost 100% of the time, but I tend to check out of position. I seem to get played with when people have position on me. I make my 2/3 of the pot c-bet, and I get called or minraised. And I never have it when this happens. So most of the time I tend to check virtually all of my hands OOP. NLHTAP recommends this, and I think it's a good strategy. Here's an example of it. I check/called and led the turn and took it down. The guy potted it and then folded to my turn bet. Obviously was just trying to steal the pot. Of course, there's the hand where I let the guy bluff off all his money to me with 9 high also.

I think my main leak is I don't raise enough. If someone limps in, I get reluctant to raise and just limp behind them with a lot of hands I would open with. After the flop though I call when I should raise. Say I have KK and the flop comes down 876  and someone bets into me. I should probably raise here, even with 2 red kings. If I get reraised beyond that, I can probably lay it down but I can't always be afraid of the damn straight or set. So I guess I'll continue to work on that.

Played in a freeroll donkament in the graduate lounge tonight. I figured I'd check it out, even though I figured it to be a pushfest. Ran into Vinny when I got there to sign up, and he told me it was basically WSOP structure, 10k stacks and 25/25 to start. I liked that a lot as a cashament player, definitely like deep stacks and getting to play after the flop. That's basically what I tried to do early on. Lot of limped pots early on though. Very first hand guy limps UTG, 4 more limps (I fold in between). BB minraises, and all but the SB call. Flop comes Q-7-2 or something like that and it goes 50 bet by BB, call by UTG and all else fold. Turn is a blank, and it's 100 bet now by the BB and call by UTG. River goes check-check. BB turns over AQ for top pair and UTG shows 32o for bottom pair, bottom kicker. Well played by both, really.

I played a little loose early on. Played Q8d from the button in a limped pot, but had to fold on the flop. Also called a raise OOP after I limped with 76s. Missed again and I'm down about 300. No big deal though. A little later (2nd level I believe) I get A7s and complete in the SB in a 6 way pot. Flop comes T-4-4 with two spades. I check and call a 200 bet in a 300 pot from the button. BB calls also, turn comes a spade and I flush it up. I check, BB bets 300, LP player raises to 600, and I think about it for a minute. I was just basically figuring out how much more I wanted to make it, and perhaps looked "weak" in the process. I reraise to 2500, both call. River is a non spade 2, and I just move all-in for 7300 or something BB folds but the other player calls (in fact same one as UTG in the first hand) and I show my nut flush. He shows 43o and I scoop a huge pot. He actually did think about this one though and said he thought I was weak cause I took my time making the turn raise.

Another key hand I had was 44. I raise from MP, player behind me calls (who actually was pretty good), and one other player in the blinds calls. Flop comes 7-8-J. Blind player checks, I bet 300 into ~900 (small c-bet actually was sufficient enough to take it down, they were folding to basically any bet size if they didn't have anything), and both players call. I basically tell myself that I'm done with this hand unless a 4 comes off. Well, BOOM! Turn is a 4. I now just fire out 3000 after BB checks, and the player behind me calls while the BB folds. I figured I could make this look like I'm desperately trying to buy this pot to the good player (Well if 300 isn't gonna work, let's try 3000!). River is a blank and I put him all-in for his final 3400. He folds though, he said he missed his draw. He guessed that I had pocket 4s. I didn't show.

I go to the first break with ~27k and my plan was to keep building by winning small pots and avoiding the big ones unless I had a monster. Worked out somewhat. Won a hand where I was in the BB. Two limpers, actually checked 88 with the intention of probing a dry flop. Flop is AA9, SB checks, I make a small bet, and it goes fold, fold. Good. Another hand I'm on the button and I open-limp QTo (I know, I know, but cram it). SB completes (the good player), BB checks. Flop comes 9-8-2, giving me a gutterball with two overs. SB bets 400 into 600, and I go ahead and float it (call with the intention of stealing the pot later) in position. Turn is another 2, and he checks. I go ahead and bet 1000 into 1400 cause I'm pretty sure he has an 8 or some lower pocket pair and will fold. He struggled to put me on a hand, he finally put me on a 9 and folded, showing me 87o. I folded face down. Pretty good play on my part, but I think that's a standard use of position there.

Still managed to double someone up though. Blech. I had ATo in MP, raised it up to 2400 with 300/600 blinds, and the BB called. Flop comes T-8-4 w/ two spades, and I bet 4000. He check raises me all-in for 6000 more or something and I wasn't buying that he had me beat. I put him on a lower T, or maybe a draw so I called. He had J9h and he caught a 7 on the turn. Not really the situation I wanted to get myself in, but what can I do? I had the best hand.

I got some of it back though a little later. Vinny got moved to the table and he was pretty short stacked. Had about 10k with 500/1k blinds. Folded to him in the CO he shoves, I look at AKo in the BB and call. He turns up A7o and of course the flop comes 7 high. However, I catch my 3 outer on the river when a K comes. AK fails me though a bit later. I limp with it UTG, planning to raise because there are a few short stacks who are liable to push. One does after a person behind me also limps, and I just declare all-in. Limper folds and it's my AK against his 55. A king comes immediately on the flop but it's followed by a 5 and I lose the race. Blech.

Won a huge pot after the 2nd break though when I flopped a flush. Had T9s on the button, and I just call in a limped pot. Thought about raising but I knew the two limpers would probably call so I took a flop. It was a great one, A-x-x all spades. Guy bets 3k, I make it 10k, he moves in for about 16 total, I instacall. He shows AK (with the Ks) and by some divine intervention my flush actually holds up. I win a huge pot and get back into the running.

Long story short I make it to the final table. Ended up being 7 people because 2 busted at the same time. First 3 "paid", 1st got $50 in cold hard cash, second and 3rd got gift certificates. FT didn't last long, 3 people busted fairly quickly and we were down to the bubble. I played pretty tight but I got AKs after the CL Hakeem limped. I made it 15k with 3k/6k blinds and 1k ante from the BB after he limped from the button. I knew he wasn't folding so I left about 35k behind. He actually says "I know you're a tight player, but I'm a loose player, so I call". He presumably took note of my nitty play at Brett's tournament too, as we were both at the same table. So anyway, I wasn't planning on making a continuation bet if I missed cause he was calling with anything and I was 2nd in chips at this point. Flop comes A-Q-Q with two diamonds and I just go ahead and check to him, "representing" that I'm scared of the A. He bets 25k, I just put my 35k in and he calls, with K7d for a flush draw, better hand than I had thought. Turn and river come diamondless though, and I double up to over 90k. Short stack busts and we're down to 3.

Early on 3-handed I'm in the BB again against Hakeem and he raises to 25k from the button. I look at AJo and I just move in for my final 88k and he of course calls. I knew that was going to happen, but if I can get it in against a worse hand I'm going to do so. Anyway he has 98, and the flop of course comes 8 high and I get no help from the turn or river. Standard donkament stuff. He had a huge chip lead though, so if I double through him there I'm back in business, and the difference between 2nd and 3rd was billiards and cosmic bowling vs what I ended up with, a $15 gift card to the U-Store. We also all got a free game of bowling at NoHo bowl for up to 6 people, so that's a good deal. I also got 10k points toward (I believe) a semeser-end donkament where your starting chips depend on your # of points. I'll probably end up playing in the rest of them. Works out good cause I don't have class on Wed till 1:25 and can play till 11 or 12 and even have an adult beverage if I want. I think drafts are only $1.35 and I can probably nurse one for the duration of the tournament so that's not bad.

Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.10/$0.25
5 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: $31.85
CO: $36.15
Hero: $22.50
SB: $20.90
BB: $20

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is Button with 6 6
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.65, SB raises to $1.05, BB folds, Hero calls.

Flop: 2 6 7 ($2.35, 2 players)
SB bets $1.25, Hero raises to $6.1, SB raises to $12.2, Hero raises all-in $21.45, SB calls all-in $8.9.
Uncalled bets: $0.35 returned to Hero.

Turn: 7 ($44.55, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $44.55)

River: Q ($44.55, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $44.55)

Results:
Final pot: $44.55
SB showed 9c 9h
Hero showed 6s 6c

When he made the minimum reraise preflop I put him on a really strong hand like AA or KK not wanting to blow me out of the water, so of course I was happy to call for set value (getting 3.25:1 besides). I hit and I knew the money was going in here, so I didn't screw around. I just hit the pot button when he c-bet, and he of course raised me back. I shoved and he thought about it and finally called. I was really surprised though when he showed 99.

That made up for a couple of tough beats from last night. Had QJ, one limper to me on the button, I make it $.75 to isolate, blinds fold, he calls. I'm sitting with about $25 btw, him ~$7. Flop comes K-9-4r. He checks, I bet $1 into $1.8, he calls. Turn comes my gin card, offsuit T. He now leads for $.75. I put him on KQ or KJ and I think he'd call an all-in, so I just shove for $4.60 more. He of course calls and shows K9. River is a 9 and he boats it up. Standard.

Another hand against the same damn guy (now sitting with about $12) I get AK in the SB. He raises from the CO, I reraise, and he makes a 3rd raise. Eek. I just shove all-in at that point, and he calls and shows AA, which of course holds up. If my hand wasn't suited and/or he wasn't a damn short stack I think I would've been able to get away from it, but with him having so little $ behind after the 3rd raise I just went with it and hoped he had QQ. Yuck. Of course, if I was on the button I probably would've just flat called here and saved some money.

Alright so I sit down for about an hour session just now. No class tommorow because the TAs are grading our American Foreign Policy tests (which I think I kicked ass on) so I have some free time after watching Va Tech/BC and Cardinals/Mets for some NL $25. Fun session. One hand really pissed me off though:

Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.10/$0.25
6 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: $8.75
UTG+1: $88.20
Hero: $27.85
Button: $24.10
SB: $30.95
BB: $11.75

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is CO with 7 5
UTG raises to $0.5, UTG+1 folds, Hero calls, 2 folds, BB calls.

My LAG play continues. I got distracted so I wasn't paying attention to stack sizes when I made this loose call. Ah well.

Flop: 3 8 K ($1.6, 3 players)
BB bets $1.5, UTG folds, Hero calls.

Alright so I get a flush draw. I'll just flat call the bet, closing the action.

Turn: A ($4.6, 2 players)
BB bets $0.25, Hero raises to $5.35, BB calls.

This is a blocking bet if there ever was one. I knew he was scared of the ace so I hit that pot button and put in a big raise. He calls rather quickly, ugh.

River: 8 ($15.3, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

My flush doesn't come in and since he doesn't have any damn money left my bluff is limited to a single street endevor.

Results:
Final pot: $15.3
BB showed Ks 5h
Hero showed 7d 5d

Yep, I knew he had something like that. I thought his kicker would be a lot better than a freekin 5 though. Dunno what he was thinking. I didn't have that loose an image, sure I was playing a few pots, making continuation bets, but very few raises. I wanted a chance to get him back. I wasn't obsessing over it, but if I were to receive a chance I would take it. My initial thought was to just make big bets at him with good hands and let him call with his junk, but he was also capable of taking stabs at pots also. So this hand came up:

Full Tilt Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.10/$0.25
6 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: $33.15
UTG+1: $10.90
CO: $7.20
Button: $95.10
Hero: $24.55
BB: $17.85

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is SB with K A
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, 2 folds, Hero raises to $1, BB folds, UTG+1 calls.

So here he is as UTG+1. I get AK and he limp/calls. Off to the flop.

Flop: A 8 3 ($2.25, 2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $2, Hero calls.

I'm representing that I'm scared of the ace. He bets, as I would expect him to in this spot. With my call, I'm representing that I have a pocket pair above 8s and that I'm not convinced that he has the ace.

Turn: J ($6.25, 2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $1, Hero calls.

I thought about leading this turn but if he has nothing he's going to throw the hand away. He makes a meek $1 bet this time. I could come over the top all-in here, he could call me with a J, but if he has nothing he can't call. So I go ahead and just smooth call again.

River: J ($8.25, 2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 is all-in $6.9, Hero calls.

Might as well give him one more chance at it. I'm calling here no matter what. If he outdrew me, so be it. He does in fact make the desperate shove, and I insta-call.

Results:
Final pot: $22.05
UTG+1 showed 7c 9d
Hero showed Kh As

He of course had squadoosh. He made a gutshot on the turn, but that was it. Well worth the risk to let him draw to his 4 outs. Metagame is fun.