Kohl's Poker Blog

Good $1/$2 Lately

2005-01-01T13:41:00.000-05:00

$1/$2 at the track has treated me pretty good... and by pretty good, I mean that I haven't lost money... (in fact, I'm up $4)

Bought in for $30.

It was my third hand... I started out UTG with AJo, and flopped an ace with no straight or flush potentials. I checked-raised the flop and got callers all around. Turn card came a blank, I fired and got 3 callers. River card was a blank as well, I fired, everyone else folded.

Pot Size: about $24
Stack went to about $50.

Next hand was BS though :(

AQo in mid-position.
The guy after me raises, rest of the loose table calls and so do I.
Flop came 4-8-T. UTG raises, I call with 6 outs.
(Pot was $20 at the time, odds of making my hand were 6/30 = 1/5 > bet of $1/ total pot of $20, so I had pot odds pretty sweet in my favor, although if someone had AK I only had 3 live outs.)

Turn card came Q, so I raised to $4 and it gets capped to $8 by someone with no hand. 5 handed to the river.

River card comes J, making the board 4-8-T-Q-J. It goes to $4 and I call, thinking my hand was probably best. Unfortunately, some guy turned over AK. That's one of the bitches about $1/$2... people chase hands like gutshots, although I have to give this guy credit... he had 10 outs to make a good hand, (9 counting my Ace) and he had somewhat acceptable odds. I cashed out at about even.

And that's it! Can't wait to make it back to Melbourne to resume poker nights as usual :D

Take care everyone.

Merry Christmas / Happy New Year!

2004-12-25T17:52:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone... and I hope you all have a good new year!

My First Big Tourney at the Dog Track ($40+5)

2004-12-22T02:14:00.000-05:00

Alright, my first tournament... I was pretty anxious, considering I've only played home games and play money online. It was kinda my first real test as a poker player, and I wanted to see if I could make something come of it.

Here's how the tournament was set up:

Total Players: 180
Initial Stack: 1000 chips
Small/Big Blind: 25/50
Buy-in: $45
* The tournament pays the top 9 finishers.
* Blinds raise every 15 minutes.
* Antes begin when there's about 75 players left at about 100 chips.
* 1st place pays approximately $2k.

I placed 13th out of 180 people.

I was pretty pleased with how the tournament was run, but the blind increase every 15 minutes can DESTROY YOU if you don't get cards early on, and it gets too ridiculous towards the end. Anyhow, with that being said, this is how the tourney went!

After about 30 minutes, I was at about 600 chips and finally caught a somewhat crappy, but playable hand since I was in the small blind. (K9d) I called and so did another 2 players, BB checks, so it's 4 handed action. Flop comes K-5-7. I open for 250, and everyone lays down their hand. I increase my stack to about 1500 in chips, and I sit a little while longer.

And yes, here we go again... NO CARDS and the blinds raise some more. Crap.

And then finally, a real hand when I'm getting down to the wire... 10-10.

I go all in for the rest of my stack (600) in the BB, making it about 1200 to go. TWO PEOPLE CALL, including one conservative player at my table, which consequently scared me. I think I'm beaten by JJ or a greater pocket pair, and I was pretty much ready to leave.

Both players turn over AQ. SWEET, 2 ACES AND QUEENS ARE ALREADY OUT, making me about a 65% favorite to take this pot.

No Ace or Queen came, and I quadrupled up (There were callers before my all in), setting me about 5K in chips. OWN! However, blinds were beginning to get MASSIVE (8k/16k with 300 antes) so I had to get lucky.

I got 44 in the pocket and called as a SB. Flop came 4h-7h-10h. (Anyone see a problem here? YES -- THERE'S THREE HEARTS OUT THERE) and I folded. I never hit a full house, and a fourth heart came, giving some guy holding Ah a gargantuan pot.

Later on, someone went all in, and since I was SB again, I was an only caller. He turned over 44, and I turned over my A6. I rivered a 6 and stayed alive just a little longer, bumping my stack back up to 4k after blinds and antes continually ruined me.

Next hand, I got 88, and the flop came 2-3-6. I went all in, and ALMOST got a caller, but he folded and I took a decent sized pot.

However, I got nothin' the rest of the night, and at 2500 chips left and on the BB with ante (Making me post 19k) I had to go all-in.

It ended up being 4-way action to the pot. I had QT, and my opponents had KJ, A4, and A2. If a queen came, I was golden, but missed it and was eliminated from the tournament, just FOUR SPOTS FROM PLACING IN THE MONEY. DAMMIT!! Had a won that hand, I would have definitely made final table. Oh well. :X

Overall, I was very pleased with how everything went. Any of my buddies reading this should DEFINITELY come down and give it a shot, you all have just as good a chance as I do!

I ended up playing my first tournament with my dad, (Which was really cool) James, and my sister's boyfriend, Zach. James finished somewhere around 140th, Zach made about 100th, my dad placed maybe 50th and I placed 13th. We all played pretty well... can't wait for next time :D

Oh, and by the way... Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope the Holidays go well for you all.

-K

The $150 Winter Classic

2004-12-22T02:01:00.000-05:00

Been a while... here goes!

To celebrate the end of the semester, we decided to do a rather large buy-in ($25) for our home game. Payouts were:

1st: $100
2nd: $50
3rd: $25

I was somewhat pleased with my performance, particularly heads-up, cause I wasn't really wrong on any of my reads.

Nick made a valiant effort and hit 3rd place, putting me in the final two up against Scottie for the $100.

I've noticed some habits Scottie's developed that kinda helped me out heads up. If he's weak, he'll bet more than usual, especially when a scare card comes up... when he's strong he tends to slow play.

When he looks directly into your eyes, more often than not he's feigning strength.

I noticed this was true again in a hand heads up.. he hit mid pair (He held JT and the flop was 8-T-Q) and he bet it tough.

His hands shook misterably when he entered a pot, and, given how confrontational he was, I knew this was a sign of true nervousness and weakness. I called with my A8 and lost about 1/3 of my stack. It wasn't the prettiest of hands, but it proved two things: 1) My read was dead to right, and 2) I'll get that poor bastard next time.

Or not.

Next hand, I was dealt A6 and raised preflop with a call. Flop comes 2-3-6 and I go all-in out of position with my top pair A kicker.

Scottie turns over 3-6. (Two pair)

W-T-F.

I never caught an ace and lost the hand. I guess that's just one of those times where the cards are against you. Even if I would have slow played my pair, (which would be stupid since it was just sixes) I couldn't have gotten past him, and chances are good I would have never suspected a hand like 3-6 for two pair, especially with that call before the flop. Oh well.

Congrats to Scottie on his first win, and a big one too.

Thursday's Win & Rob's Birthday Tomorrow

2004-12-03T04:55:00.000-05:00

Hey! Long time y'all.

First and foremost -- a big up to Rob, since it's his 21st BIRTHDAY TODAY! (Friday) Happy BDay man.

Tonight was the first time we did $10 in a while... We had 7 players. (Angel copped out on us, damn him) Here's how the night went.

James started out with some strong hands and took an early chip lead. I picked up AK early on and went all in after a flop of rags, and he called me with lesser rags (but a flush draw) and didn't hit a pair or flush... so doubling up was kinda nice.

Again, I was also one card away from the straight flush... random, but true :D

Anyhow, I was sittin' pretty for the majority of the night. I didn't make any stupid plays, and basically let everyone fight amongst themselves. I was pretty pleased with how I played tonight.

However, I feel damn bad for Rob. Here's what happened:

Rob held Qd5d and Nate held 10-4o.
Flop came 10d-Qs-4d.
Both players go all in.

Turn card comes Ad, making Rob's flush. He's a 91% favorite to win the hand.

OH WAIT -- THERE'S THAT PESKY 10 OF CLUBS! -- which happened to complete Nate's full house.

Sorry boss, that's a rough one.

Things got a little more complicated three-handed, but I was able to land a first place finish. Scott called me to the river with KQ, and got snagged up by my AK when both of us hit a K on the river, which left Nate and I to fight for $40.

Nate ended up giving me a challenge heads up, but I was able to win all of the hands that mattered. I went all-in with a K high and got called by Nate's open-ended straight draw, which he missed.

Tonight, I hit two flushes at the river, which helped me out a lot. For once I actually decided to pursue them and they payed off, which isn't something I do very often. I was also able to have a lot more confidence if I made my draw... considering people were betting hard early, so I knew they made their hands at the flop and weren't playing a drawing hand.

Result: +$30 for the night (includes buyin)

Pretty good night for me overall... I'm pleased. Thanks to all who played, see you again at the table! :D

Fluffy hit a Straight Flush?!

2004-11-22T07:02:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Mike "Fluffy" Brown, who hit a straight flush (7d-8d-9d-10d-Jd) in tonight's $1 hold 'em. That's only the second straight flush I've ever seen in my entire life in hold 'em. (The other one is Phil's straight flush, 3d-4d-5d-6d-7d.) What a nice hand man, congrats. (Plus you knocked out Josh, lol. That just makes it 50x better.) Looks like if I get some diamond-suited connectors, I be playin' those biznatches! :D

I ended up winning the $1 tourney (1 rebuy allowed, 4 players, so the pool was $7, since everyone else rebought except me) on a bad beat. Flop came A-9-x. Rob turned over A8 and I had 92s. The turn decided to hate on the Robinator, hitting me with a 2 and the winning two pair. Sorry man, that's a bad bust... I'm just glad it didn't happen in $5, where the money would have been a little higher.

On a side note, Rob's coming back with me for Thanksgiving to hang out and work for my dad, so hopefully the three of us (my dad included, he's hardcore on the poker now) can get in some sweet casino action over the break. I'll post the results!

Til next time!

Two Let Downs in a Row

2004-11-20T22:25:00.000-05:00

Tonight was awful for poker.

One beat in particular sucked... Josh had the wheel (A2345) and Jeff had Trip 3's. Jeff made his boat 3's full of 5's to take it. It was an unfortunate beat for Josh, at a 65% favorite... definitely not impossible to lose but unfortunate nonetheless. Sorry bout that one man.

Best hand I had all night was KJo, and that was the only hand I had with two face cards in it. Flop came A-9-4 rainbow, and I had to fold it. I literally had no other hands.

.10/.20 blinds ate me alive... and that's rather sad.

That's all I've got.

Recapping November's Poker

2004-11-20T05:29:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been a while!

Let's start with last night.

We had 10 people, including some friends of Jeff's that came over and were cool guys. My welcome extends to them if they ever wanna come back, it was a pleasure.

The beginning was rather frustrating. I'd end up with big hands out of position, unable to turn a damn thing with them... hands like AQ flopping J-3-6, or my AKo flopping 2-3-4, all in spades. Not much I can do there but fold... so much of my game last night was spent twiddling my thumbs. :X

About an hour and a half into it, I hit a big one 5 or 6-handed: KK. I pushed all in, knowing full well that blinds were gonna be doubled and I had to make a move. I had 3 or 4 callers, which was gravy... but I was definitely worried about the Ace possibility.

To the flop we go, with something like J-3-8 rainbow, probably the best possible flop I could get with KK. I went to the showdown with 2 other players, and my KK held up against JJ, allowing me to quadruple up and knock out another player in the process. We were 4 handed and I had a stack of maybe $12, so I was a decent threat, since my chip count gave me the ability to be patient.

However, I kinda got impatient. James went all-in ahead of me, and I held AJs. I felt that if I were to call, I would be making the right decision; if James was on mid-suited connectors, (which is quite the possibility, especially considering he was chip leader) or anything moderate in value for an all-in (QJ, KJ, A9, etc.) he was a dead dog if he didn't hit a draw.

I watched James place his chips in the center and determined he had a legitimate hand. However, I know James' is pretty much a "gambler", meaning that he's not afraid to put his money on drawing hands... and for James, a drawing hand is a legitimate one. I've also seen him put all of his chips in the center on 27o, so I figured my call was definitely justified, so I moved all mine in.

James turned over 99.
I turned my AJo.

Pretty much a coin flip here.
Flop came 8-10-8. An ace or a jack never hit the turn/river for me, and James took my chips.

Oh well... that one was pretty much justified. James went on to win it all on 4 runners against Nick's JJ. (Atleast I think that's what Nick held) James, someone up there loves you man... you hit draws even when you're not tryin' for 'em :) Congratulations, you've taken some tough losses lately, you deserve it.

As for the two poker nights before that, Rob and I found ourselves heads up on both occasions. I like facing Rob heads up because my reads on him are pretty solid, sometimes down to the two cards he has in his hand.

The first time, I had JTs and he held AJ. He went all-in and I had to call, especially considering JTs is one of the best drawing hands in poker. Unfortunately in this case, I was dominated 2:1.

J came on the flop, and a rag on the turn. The only way I was gonna win was if a 10 came, and well... I drew a miracle (7% odds to win the hand on the river) and made a 10 on the river. Sorry Rob, that money should have been yours; I still feel bad about that one. Pretty ridonkulous. :X

BUT THEN GUESS WHAT, I SUFFER EVEN A WORSE BEAT. (which you can read about in the article below this -- it's quite the heartbreaker indeed) :)

Oh yeah! The other game we played.
Again, I was heads up against Rob, and he pushed me all in (He was 3x my stack). I had to call with Q9s, and he flipped K-10. I lost, and that was at. Nothing else too notable that evening... so that's that.

Overall, I've been pleased with my poker play lately. I haven't been stupid with my play, and I've been tight-aggressive like a should be. I've placed in the money 70% of the time, and placed first 50% of the time. My game's finally starting to come around, and I'd like to thank everyone for helping me out however they have; every hand is a chance to learn something new.

Leave comments if you wish, take it easy everyone!

My Worst Beat Ever...

2004-11-20T04:52:00.000-05:00

I had KK 3-handed and moved all in (I was in position with two limpers ahead of me.) James, in his loose nature, calls me with J8o. I was salivating for some chips when I saw he was a huge underdog.

Preflop:
Kohl: 84.3% (KK)
James: 16.7% (J8)

Flop comes: A-2-4, rainbow.
Kohl: 97.7% (KK-A42)
James: 2.3% (J8-A42)

Turn comes: 8
Community: A-2-4-8
Kohl: 88.6% (KK-8A4)
James: 11.4% (88-AJ4)

An 8 and an 8 only can win the hand of James.

River comes: 8
Community: A-2-4-8-8
Kohl: LOSE (KK88-A)
James: WIN (888-AJ)

Wow man... worst beat of my life. YOU'RE ONE LUCKY BITCH... lol.
Note to all: If James can draw to the best hand, he will, and you lose :)

BAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Oh well, better here than in a much larger buy-in tournament.

Got any bad beats? Leave a comment. ;) Til next time!

At the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa

2004-10-24T16:02:00.000-04:00

The casino was a blast!
End Result: +$6.
Time to play: 30 mins :(
Blinds: .50/$1
Game: Limit Hold 'Em

I was playing 10 handed, and here's how it went!

1st hand: KJo.
Sweet. Not too spectacular with ten players, but definitely a playable hand. I almost never raise in pre-flop, because people never really care much about $1. I noticed everyone's stacks were much larger than mine, and determined this was a bad idea.
Flop comes: 4d 5d 6c
Result: Fold

2nd Hand: QJo.
Again, not all that powerful.
Flop: Ac 7d 4s
Result: Fold

6th Hand: QTo.
I call.
Flop: Ac 10c 4d
I would have pursued this a little longer had there not been 8 other players at the flop.
Result: Fold
End Result: Player wins with 2 pair, AA99.

7th Hand: QTo again.
WTF!
I called, and the flop came Ks Js 6c.
I called this one all the way to the end to hit my open-ended and it never came for me. (Ks Js 6C 4d 7d)
Result: Player wins with KK.

10th Hand: KcJd.
Flop: Ad Qd Jc

BLING! Many possibilities with this hand... I called it all the way to the end.
Turn: 3d

It couldn't have gotten much better than that. (I had 9 diamonds left for a flush,
plus any of the other 3 Jacks for 12 Live Outs... I don't count the Kings because they probably made someone's straight 10 to Ace) So I was crossing my fingers.

River: 7d.

I pushed a raise to $6 and got called by a pair of Aces.

I turned over my AKJ-high Flush and collected $13. w00t!

Hand 13: A5s.
I really can't figure it out, but this is one of my favorite hands. Something always seems to work out for me...

Flop: Kd Qd Jc
Wow... that had to have hit somebody. I called to the river (there was a check around and then a bet on 4th street.)

Turn: Tc
OH WUT WUT -- I hit my Ace high straight and went head to head with the gentleman to my left. It was obvious we pretty much had the same hand. (My A5 ended up going against his A2 and we split pot.)

Result: +$7

At that point, I quit playing!

Total Result: +$6

Some things I learned:
- Raising pre-flop on my strong hands would have lost me $4. When your bankroll is only $40, it probably would have been a poor play to raise, considering most bankrolls there were in the +$200 range.

- I was still able to play conservatively and end up on top. Granted, I hit some draws... but I stuck out some of my tough hands for just an extra $1/$2. I wouldn't recommend doing this all the time, but your pot odds are good with just $1 to call.

- It's amazing how many shitty hands win. Hands like 9-4 would take a pot with two-pair, etc. You have to put more faith in lower-level hands winning a pot, but fold to players who traditionally fold many hands. (These guys only play the best)

- Pay attention to bankrolls of other players. If someone's buying in with $40, like I did, they're most likely to fold a marginal hand because they don't want to lose what little cash they have. If two $200 bankrolls are still in a hand, your raise will be less effective.

- Expect a lot of flushes and straights. People don't really care about $6 to see the final 4th and 5th cards.

- I really gotta go do this again.

Take care! Please post comments :)

-K

PartyPoker Brings the Pain

2004-10-20T03:33:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I play PartyPoker Fake Money Tournies just for fun. They're a good way to relax after a decent amount of work.

How it works:
The buy-in is 10 fake money chips.
After 10 players have payed the buy-in, 800 chips are issued to each player. Blinds go up every 10 hands. (They start at 10/20, then move to 15/30, 20/40, 30/60, 50/100, etc.) It'a a fun way to play.

Anyone in the poker group should be able to get on there and win a good 50% of the time. Just avoid the all-in guys at the first hand. Cake walk after that ;)

Although I got owned tonight... I went all-in as short stack 3 handed with AJ, and chiplead called with A-10. That damn 10 showed up on the river, and I went down in 93% favorite flames. Atleast this one wasn't for real cash! :)

Can't wait to play again. Til next time all =)

6-handed on the 16th

2004-10-17T06:02:00.000-04:00

Not really a spectacular night for me. I got taken by Rob (heads up yet again) when he caught a 3rd 9 on the river to trump my JJ. Sharveen almost made a huge comeback against Rob (surviving a few consecutive all-ins) but lost at a final hand for a pot of about $20 when Rob's JQ hit a pair on the river to best Sharveen's Kx.

Rob's been on fire lately... every time I seem to have him beat, he draws his way out of a mess. But damn, tonight he made me fold a tough hand... the community was double-paired (QQ334) and I had a very decent hand. I put him on a high card at best(something like A9) but had to throw it away (Any QQ, Qx, 33, 3x, or 44 would have taken the pot) because I wasn't absolutely definite on my read. With a raise every damn card (specifically preflop), a high card just made sense. However, the odds of that high card being a Queen weren't bad at all... it just wasn't a chance I wanted to bust my bankroll on.

Rob, WhateverTF you had, you played it well...

Anyhow, that's it for me, I don't really have much to say otherwise.

See you all next time!

The Post-Mini Golf Poker Show

2004-10-16T02:56:00.000-04:00

So what the hell do we do after a rousing? (NOT AROUSING A-HOLES) game of Mini-Golf?

PLAY POKER!!

Standard buy-in / blinds.

I found a hand to go in on... but not really "a hand".

James and I went heads up to the river... James pushed his hand hard, and I had AQs (diamonds) in the hole. Life is good! I called.

2 diamonds hit the flop, (Kc 7d 4d) and I came out betting .40. James called. (He may have raised, but this I don't remember.) Either way, I called.

Turn card was a rag for me... Ks.

I checked, James bet $1 into me. At 17% odds, I wasn't feeling that comfortable, but what the hell... I wanted to gamble, despite the odds of my potential flush being raped by a full house. I called... almost stupidly, but given the kinda player James is, it wasn't a half-bad play. I also could have hit any AQ, which had he not have had a King (which we'll find out he didn't) would have made my hand a winner.

River card was a diamond. BINGO. I hit my flush.

I made it .60 to go, James reraised all in and I called. He had 4-x, hitting low pair on the flop. Even if I didn't hit my flush, the board was KK77, making my Ace a better kicker to whatever other card he had. The funny thing was, no one at the table even realized I had a flush. :D

In the words of Rob/Josh, "IT'S WHAT IT IS!!!!" :)

Kudos to James though, he played that like a sunuvabitch. That was a great hand man.

James, I think you need to go on the WPT... you'd be the next Gus Hansen... someone who's a rather aggressive player, random, and just all out fun to watch. You'd be a fan favorite, I promise. :D

Unfortunately, I had to leave early so I couldn't challenge Josh for 1st. (I went all in virtually every hand -- "reckless" isn't an adjective most people would probably use to describe my poker play.) Going all in on JTo with an 89 out there wasn't too bad of an idea (I had 14 outs) but not the typical play I would make. Josh ended up winning with an A kicker.

Twas a good tournament all. Thanks for playing!

=======================

On a side note, Mini-Golf was a blast. We definitely need to do that again sometime!

And watch your ass Rob, you never know when a golf club's gonna meander its way up there! >:D

Playing the Big One - AA

2004-10-15T16:22:00.000-04:00

I was recently browsing through articles on CardPlayer and thought some of you might be interested... it's about betting pocket aces, written by a guy by the name of Tom McEvoy. (he's written tons of stuff for CardPlayer, and many of his articles are quite good) Comments are always welcome! -- Enjoy!

=======
Most tournament poker players dream about getting dealt pocket aces and raking in huge piles of chips. How you play them after you get them can make your dreams come true — or turn them into nightmares. Jonathan, an online player, has a question about how much to bet in no-limit hold'em with aces or kings before the flop. And Steve, a satellite player, has a nightmare to share. This is Vegas, and here are their stories.

"My friend and I play a lot of low-stakes no-limit hold'em online, and we disagree about how to play big pocket pairs (especially A-A and K-K) preflop," Jonathan wrote. "Whenever I get them, I tend to bet big. My buddy tells me that I overbet and scare everyone off. His contention is that I could be making a lot more by betting less with big pairs and keeping people in the pot. However, I'm tired of getting outdrawn after the flop by players holding speculative hands. Maybe I do scare too many players off, but I'm hoping to get it heads up against someone with a smaller pair or big slick. I guess I'd rather win a small pot than take my chances on winning or losing a bundle. My buddy thinks I'm giving up too much in the long run. What's your opinion, Tom?"

I believe that Jonathan's friend is correct. Overbetting the pot with big pairs will win you a small pot, but you will be losing the chance to win a very big pot. Trying to pare the action down to just you and one other player is often correct, but you need and want some action on your big hands. To win a tournament, you need to double up along the way. Yes, I realize that by not betting big, you could get outdrawn, but that's a chance you need to take. Don't slow-play big pairs — make a standard raise — but don't overbet the pot so much that the opposition surrenders before the flop.

Now, let's listen to Steve talk about his play of pocket aces in an online limit hold'em qualifier (satellite). "I know you must get dozens of e-mails a day asking for your advice, Tom, so I'm not really expecting a response; however, I have a tournament question," he began. (He's wrong about one thing: I personally answer every e-mail question I receive!) "I was playing in a 60-player limit hold'em qualifier online, in which the top 12 finishers got buy-ins to a larger tournament. There was no difference in the payout between 12th and first place.

"With about 25 people left and the blinds at $75-$150, I was in middle position with about $2,500 in chips (we started with $1,000). I was in fourth chip position at my table when I was dealt pocket aces in the small blind. Two players called, both of whom had larger stacks than I did. I raised, wanting to force out the player in the big blind, who had the other stack larger than mine. He folded and the other two called.

"The flop came Q-9-9 with no flush draw. I led out, the first player folded, and the other one called. I didn't put him on a queen or a 9, as he was a pretty straightforward, loose player who would have raised on the flop if he had had either of those cards. I thought he had something like K-10 or even 10-8 (a straight draw). I didn't think he had a hand such as A-J or A-10, because he would have raised preflop. The turn card was a 5. I bet, and he called. The river was another 5. I bet, and he raised! Already so committed to the pot, I called, fearing that he had slow-played a 9. But guess what? He had K-5 offsuit!

"OK, I know everyone has a bad-beat story, so that's not really what this is about. My question is whether I should have even gotten involved in the pot, knowing that I'd be going against the table's chip leaders, especially that late in the tournament. I'd appreciate knowing what you think, Tom, because I recently won my first multitable online tournament, due in large part to reading your Card Player columns."

Here's how I answered Steve: "You still had half the field to go through to win a seat, so not playing the aces would have been a mistake. In fact, you played your aces correctly until the river. This is where you made an error that cost you one bet. Your goal at this point in the satellite was not to try to get full value from your hand; it was to survive to one of the 12 money spots. With a double pair on board and an opponent going all the way with you, your bet on the river had a negative expectation, meaning that you probably would not get called unless you were up against a better hand. By betting, you took the risk of getting raised, which happened, and then having to pay it off. (By the way, I think the player with the K-5 played like an idiot, but don't let him know that, because he can't get that lucky every time.)

To Jonathan and Steve and all of you, let's meet in the winner's circle one day soon — with or without pocket rockets.

=======

Hope you found this useful.

You can read more articles from Tom at
Tom McEvoy's Poker Articles - CardPlayer.com

The Value of Mid-Level Pocket Pairs

2004-10-15T06:15:00.000-04:00

This has always been kinda a burning question for me.

Let's say we're playing the usual, $5 NLHE at .20/.40 blinds. We started with 10 people and are now at 6. You're in mid-late position and position 2 raises 3x BB.

You have 88. You're sitting comfortable with a stack of about $8.

So I guess my question is... how much do you value middle pocket pairs (both in general, and in this situation)? This is a debate I've heard since the dawn of time, so I'd kinda like to get some feedback. Do you reraise with your 88, or lay them down?

What's your general value of mid-level pocket pairs? (77 to TT)

Please leave comments :)

-K

Tonight was a Tough One

2004-10-15T05:26:00.000-04:00

Welcome back!

Tonight was a little rough on me.

After some Taco Bell and a little bit of Pepto Bismol, we got to playing $5 buy-in NLHE as usual, with Rob, Josh, Nate, James, and myself in on the action. (Blinds at .10/.20 - tourney style, $20 to winner, $5 to 2nd, blinds at 2x every hour.)

It was generally a typical night for me... I took maybe one small one early, but watched as I started to drop down to maybe $3.

And then two hands came to royally bite me in the ass.

Hand 1
------

I got something later on that night (J4o) and limped in. All called.
At this point I think we were four handed to the flop, and the flop came rag-rag-Jc.

I responded to a .20 bet with a raise to .60. Rob called, all others folded. Now I'm two handed... my favorite position to be at a table.

The turn (4d) ended up hitting me hard. (TWO PAIR BABY!) I felt pretty good about this, and pushed another .60. Rob raised 2x, I called.

River card came Kh. At this point, I wasn't too greatly concerened... the flop was rainbow and there was no possibility of any draw. I nearly led in with an all-in bet, but calmed myself down some and pushed $1.50. Rob called and kinda baffled me.

He turned over KJo and took it with a better two-pair. That's a tough one.

------

Lately, going up against Rob hasn't been very profitable for me. The last 3 out of maybe 4 times, we've both made it to the final three. Once, I was short stacked with AJs three-handed and went all in. Rob called with favorite KK and took me down. 3rd place finish that night.

Another time, we were short-handed and I pushed all my chips, with 66 in the pocket. Rob had position on me though, and destroyed me with JJ. Another 3rd place finish. I ended up in the money, but it just seems like there's just no good time to push all my chips in.

I may have to re-evaluate my play and consider position a little bit more. Each time I've been taken down on all-ins, it's because someone's got position over me.

Oh yeah, the second hand!

Hand 2
------

I had .70 left with blinds at .20/.40. I was the considerable short stack, Nate having 3-4x my count and Rob up atleast 25x my stack. I hit a decent hand (A3s) and pushed all my chips. All called.

Rob managed to push Nate out of the pot when the flop came Ad Kc 5s. (Rob had 52o and hit a pair.) Suddenly, I thought I still might have a chance on this one. My A3s was an 81% favorite for the pot.

But then turn came 5d and hit Rob with trips!

DAMMIT! That took me out of the tournament for the night. :)

------

Rob ended up going on to win it, Nate finishing in 2nd place.

A big congratulations out to Nate, who placed in the money for his first time. Way to go dude! I hope more wins come your way. :D

Afterwards we just bs'd around with some dollar tournaments. I took 2 out of 3 tourneys, so I only ended up losing $2 that night. Dollar tournaments can be a great time if you just wanna play some poker. Hell, EVEN FLUFFY JOINED IN. AMAZING :)

Please post comments everyone (and start poker blogs of your own!)

Can't wait for the next game guys. Congrats to all the winners!

-K

Welcome to my Poker Blog!

2004-10-15T04:59:00.000-04:00

Hey all!

After these 3 short years of playing poker (well, hold 'em atleast) I've finally decided to create a blog dedicated to it. Here I'll be posting random stuff about poker events I play in, some good wins and tough beats, televised tournament events... basically, anything involved in poker I'll post up on here. Hope you enjoy!