Cash game strategy: Trouble hands

Cash game strategy: Trouble hands
No one asks for advice about how to play the nuts (the best possible hand based on the board cards)--they just try to get as much money into the pot as possible. No one asks for advice about how to play a no-pair/no-draw hand--they fold without a second thought. It's everything in between the nuts and nothing that poses a problem...

The top 10 poker training sites online

The top 10 poker training sites online
Along with the Moneymaker effect, the internet has had a major influence on the poker industry, both in terms of online poker sites and online poker training. With the indictments brought by the DOJ against the major poker sites in April of this year, few US players continue to play online for real money. But the online training sites are still around and will happily teach you everything from the fundamentals of the game to advanced strategies in every aspect of play.

Another new tournament article out; cash game recap

Well, I've got Part 3 of my local tournament strategy series published. Click here to check it out.
Cash games aren't going so good. I've had 3 straight losing sessions. Nothing to talk about, really. I'm just not making many hands and my opponents have been hitting more than their fair share of draws, while the opposite has been true for me. The only nice thing about it has been that I'm doing a better job of taking it in stride. My reads have been correct except for twice. Once when an opponent took a really weird line (call flop, raise turn) in NL with AA on a draw-heavy board--I had top pair and both draws--and another time where I flopped top pair with 86s on a 832r flop, then turned top 2 when the 6c hit. Unfortunately my opponent had binked a 1-outer with 66. Thankfully that one was a LHE hand and I didn't get stacked.

M

New article out re:local tournaments; cash game recap

I published a new article on Examiner.com. Here's the link: Tulsa poker tournament strategy, Part 1. It's about my strategy for the first 2 or 3 blind levels in the tournaments I play locally.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I went on a business trip to Virginia a couple weeks ago. I had to write a 200 page software manual in 3 weeks, and I squeaked in under the deadline by about two hours. Needless to say, I was worn out after writing 60 hours a week for three weeks straight, which is a big factor for why I haven't played much poker lately. But now that I'm home and settled in, caught up on my sleep, I made it back out to the poker room.

Now, if you read my blog on a regular basis, you know I prefer LHE over NL. (Even though I make more from NL.) But NL is more like work to me whereas LHE is just plain fun. Yes, you take more beats. No, you can't protect your hand in LHE. No, you can't bluff as often in LHE. But forget all that. If you're at a LHE table where 4 or 5 players are seeing every flop, and you are a fundamentally competent player, there is no reason you can't make money playing LHE. All you have to do is make the proper adjustments. The value of big pairs goes down. The value of suited connectors goes up. So you push hard with draws, and play more cautiously with pairs. The percentages even out over time.

Example #1: Last night I was dealt JJ UTG and raised. 5 players called. The flop came 79Tr. I bet. Player A raised, 1 fold, Player B called. Player C called. 1 fold. I called. The turn was the 3d. I bet. Player A called. Player B called. 1 fold. River 6s. I checked. Player A checked. Player B bet. I folded. Player A folded. I could have made a crying call, but honestly, there's nothing I'm beating on this river. He either has the straight or two pair. If he had a pair of tens and nothing else, he would have checked.

Example #2: I was dealt JdJs UTG+1 and I raised. 6 players called. The flop came QT9hh. I bet. Everyone called. Turn Jh. I bet. Player A called. Player B called. 3 folds. Player C called. I was now confident no one had a flush, but one or more straights could be out there. The river came the 2h. I checked. Player A bet. Player B called. Player C called. I folded. Player A had 2p. Player B had the 6h for a baby flush. Player C had the 8h. I played this one perfectly. All of my bets went in as a favorite, then check-folded when I was beat.

Example #3: I was in the BB with 9hTh. 2 limpers then the CO raised. The BTN called and I 3b. The limpers called then the CO 4b. Everyone called. The flop came KJ4h. I checked. It checked around to the CO, who bet. BTN called, I raised, both limpers folded. Turn was the 9d. I bet. CO called, BTN called. River Qh. I checked. CO bet. BTN called. I raised. CO called, BTN folded. CO showed AA. This one is a variation play I like to make at tables full of call-happy players. I'm building a big pot pre-flop to give me the odds I need to call big bets on the turn with a draw. Of course, if my opponents slow down, I'm going to represent a big pair and try to take the pot away. With a big pot, it doesn't have to work very often to be profitable.

Anyway, I had a great time and took home $140 in profit over a 5-hour session.

By the way, if you have a choice, don't let your house get hit by lightning. We lost 2 tv's, the washer, the microwave, the cable modem and router, both cable boxes, the main circuit breaker and several GFI outlets. On the plus side, my gal says to me, if we have to buy new TV's, lets get the 50". God, I love her.

Good luck at the tables.
M

Week 3 of live grinding...results & wrap up

My third week of live grinding is complete.
I played 4 of 7 days, posted 1 wins and 3 losses.
I played both $1/$2 NLHE and $3/$6 LHE.
Playing LHE, I won $12.
Playing NLHE, I lost $303.
Altogether, I worked a total of 18.75 hours and lost $291.

What I did right or wrong:
I don't have anything to say either way this week about what I did well or need to work on. I game-selected well, and played well.

Why I lost this week:
This week's loss came down to coolers and losing flips. Around $50 of the loss was from bad calls or bad gambles, depending on how you want to look at it. For the most part, I won the small pots and lost the big ones. I ran KK into AA twice, QQ into KK once, and lost a 130BB pot with KQ on a board of QK229. In that last hand, I raised pre, bet pot on the flop, and my opponent c/r all in on the turn. At that point, I was pot-committed, with 2/3 of my chips already in the pot. Villain showed up with 32o for trip 2's.

My goal for next week is to log 30 hours of NLHE.
M

Week 2 of live grinding...results and wrapup

My second week of live grinding is complete.
I played 4 of 7 days, posted 2 wins, 1 break-even and 1 loss.
I played both $1/$2 NLHE and $3/$6 LHE.
Playing LHE, I lost $363.
Playing NLHE, I won $1521.
Altogether, I worked a total of 30 hours and won $1158. ($38.60/hr)

What I did right:
I chose games with the fewest regulars, whenever I could.
I was all in with the best hand every time but once in heads-up pots.
Did not play scared.
Developed reads and went with them (was wrong only once--that I know of).
Didn't encounter any maniacs this week, just value bet my made hands and picked off some bluffs.
Played a fundamentally sound game and didn't get fancy.
Successfully value-bet the river with 1-pair hands more often.

What I did wrong/need to work on:
Spent too much time playing LHE. The LHE game cost me $20/hr just to play this week. Compare that to being paid $169/hr to play NLHE, and my decision is clear: give up LHE and play NLHE exclusively.

My goal for next week is to log 30 hours of NLHE.
M

Limit Hold'em vs. No Limit Hold'em

I think Limit Hold'em is underrated these days.  It's a lot more fun than NLHE.   Click the link and I'll tell you why.

To limit or not to limit, that is the question

Just a few short years ago, the game of choice in Tulsa's cardrooms, and indeed the nation's, was Limit Hold'em (LHE). The games were loose, friendly, and lots of fun. While most of the poker world has transitioned to No Limit Hold'em (NLHE), there are still many loyal fans who love the post-flop play of LHE. As a professional poker player, I make most (and sometimes all) of my profit playing NLHE. But I am a die-hard LHE player. It may be more difficult to find a game nowadays, and while my hourly win rate is much lower versus NLHE, I have loads more fun in LHE games.

First week of live grinding complete ... recap and goals for week 2

I completed my first week of live grinding.
I played 6 of 7 days, posted 4 wins and 2 losses.
I played in 2 different casinos, and now know for certain which has the best games.
I played both $1/$2 NLHE and $3/$6 LHE.
Playing LHE, I lost $213.
Playing NLHE, I won $1293.
Altogether, I worked a total of 28.75 hours and won $1080. ($37.57/hr)

What I did right:
I chose games with the fewest regulars, whenever I could.
I was all in with the best hand 10 out of 13 times in heads-up pots.
I quit early on Friday night after being card dead for 2 hours and getting no respect for my preflop raises. Could have changed tables but wasn't in a positive frame of mind, so I quit.
Did not play scared.
Developed reads and went with them (was wrong only twice--that I know of).
Somehow managed to get seats directly to the left of maniacs on a regular basis.
Effectively exploited maniacs with a call-call-raise/shove line.

What I did wrong/need to work on:
I called too liberally with speculative hands OOP.
I failed to 3-bet preflop with hands that play best heads-up (i.e., AK, AQs, 88-JJ).
C-bet the turn too often after getting called on the flop.
Flatted too many c-bets (in raise/fold situations) and gave too many free cards.
Played too fit or fold without the initiative.
Betting too small on the turn and river.
Not bluffing in good spots for it.

I have a lot of non-poker projects that are going to get in the way of my felt hours next week, so I'm setting a goal of 20 hours for poker, and to move as many items as possible from the "work on" list to the "did right" list.
M

Still batting 1.000 -- four for four in live sessions

Went back to what I know best tonight: $3/$6 LHE at the River Spirit. Mainly just trying to get in enough hours to qualify for their WSOP freeroll in May. Finished a 4-hour session earning 7.08 BB/hr. I know this run is going to end at some point, but hopefully it won't be with a crash. Had to quit early tonight for an interview in the morning. Hope that goes well, too. Then I won't have to rely exclusively on poker for an income. Despite an average $74/hr win rate over 4 sessions, it's unrealistic to think that these results will continue without issue. I would think $40/hr would be a more realistic figure, and will use that as my yardstick for now. Would love to hear from any grinders with history at live $1/$2 NLHE tables to compare notes.
M

Threepeat live

Made it back to the River Spirit casino tonight. Started at $1/$2 NLHE, where I doubled up while waiting for a LHE seat. Played LHE for three hours and basically broke even. When the LHE table broke at midnight, went back to NLHE, where I went broke (QQ vs 88, flop 877 and we get it AIOTF), re-buy, and then doubled through three times for a nice profit. Still need to work on my game when it comes to big calls. That being said, I did fold ATs on a 3T7r flop where I led the flop for $10 and BTN raised to $40. It was a limped pot where I was in the big blind and checked my option. BTN was a newcomer and I had no read, so I just let it go. Also folded an under-full house on the river to an overbet, meh. The players here are a bit wild and can be hard to read as a result. Pretty much all of my double-ups came from TPTK hands, though, so maybe calling an all in is the right thing to do against wilder players.

For example: I'm the button with QTo. Two limpers, HJ raises to $15, CO reraises to $50, I fold, SB calls, folds back to HJ who goes all-in for $155, CO calls, SB calls. Flop 674r. CO checks, SB goes all-in, CO calls. Turn 7, Riv 2. SB shows 62hh and wins the side pot. HJ shows KK and wins the main. Who calls $155 pre-flop with 62s?

Example #2: I'm the HJ with AQhh. 4 limpers, I raise to $12. 5 callers incl both CO and SB. Flop 244hh. I bet $25, 3 callers. Turn Ad. Checks to me, I bet $60. CO calls, SB and MP fold. River 9s. I bet $75. CO calls and shows A5o.

Still feeling my way through it all as I'm more of a LHE player and don't have much history with the NLHE crowd. Mainly just happy that I'm not playing scared and showing good results so far.

Live grinding is the nuts (so far)

Off to a good start playing live. Bought in short for $100 at a $1/$2 NLHE table, while waiting for a seat in the $3/$6 LHE game. Played roughly an hour and got up with $235. Took my seat at $3/$6, played for 3 hours and left with a total of $516. Played tight, ran good, and got paid off every time. Easiest poker session of my life. If you are a full time online grinder who's never played live, I highly recommend it.
M

Final results for April

I'm going to take the rest of the month off from online grinding. I may give other sites a try, I may not. Either way, I just renewed my CardRunners sub through September.

Since that means my current stats are the final for April, I'll go ahead and post them. Only half a month and still broke all my personal bests in terms of winrates and volume (pro-rated).



I'm going to take advantage of my local card rooms for the remainder of the month, but I'll still be active on CardRunners. I'm fortunate to have other venues nearby where I can play (one table at a time, 30 hands per hour, dammit). I hope all of you survive the storm unscathed and prosper despite the current legal debacle.

To Bill Frist: this is why the UIGEA should have been debated in the first place. A failure to define "illegal gambling" is the reason why we're here. Thousands of people, families, and billions of dollars all in jeopardy for failure to define this simple term. Well done, sir. Well done.

M

Forget about the curve ball Ricky, give him the heater

LHE RUSH. After struggling all March long, I'm finally hitting hands and holding up (most of the time). LHE graphs don't have an EV line, but if they did, I'd bet my profit line would be above it; and all I can say is it's about time.

I tweaked my game a little bit to plug some leaks. I played a little tighter (26/18), played fewer suited connector hands below QJ, C-bet 85%, and folded earlier and more often in marginal spots. The biggest payoff has been how I've played against donk bettors. You really need to know what donks are betting into you with. Take notes. If you know what a player will donk with, basically you own him. You know with relative certainty what you're up against and the optimal way to play the hand.

Results? Glad you asked. 9.83 pt BB/100 over 3400 hands.


I've been playing this new style for 2 days now, and while I know this is a small sample and I am running good, I'm sticking with it until I have a reason to change it.

Mid-month update...My win rate has doubled for the month from 1.15 to 2.37 pt BB/100. I hope this continues. I would like to take some shots at 1/2 next month.

Good luck at the tables!
M

Getting love (and money) from my opponents

I have been running hot tonight in 25c/50c LHE RUSH so I put in a longer session than usual, much to my opponents' dismay. One in particular has nothing but love for me. Fairly standard, imo. But correct me if I'm wrong.


Full Tilt, $0.25/$0.50 Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players

Preflop: Hero is MP with A 7

UTG folds, Hero raises, 2 folds, SB 3-bets, BB folds, Hero calls


Flop: (7 SB) 7 3 6 (2 players)

SB bets, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, Hero calls


Turn: (6.5 BB) A (2 players)

SB bets, Hero raises, SB folds

SB : you fish again
SB : lolidiot
SB : hope you will have a deadly accident

Results: 8.5 BB pot (0.4 BB rake)

Final Board: 7 3 6 A
Hero mucked A 7 and won 8.1 BB (4.1 BB net)

SB mucked and lost (-4 BB net)

Stats that make me LOL

I posted last night about my disappointment in my performance at the tables yesterday. But today, it's just making me chuckle.

Looking at my stats, I'm still improving. For instance, My win rate for all of 2010 was around 0.3BB/100. My win rate for 1st Qtr 2011 was 0.8BB/100. And despite giving back half of my April winnings in one night, my win rate for April stands at 1.11BB/100. Definitely headed in the right direction.

Looked at my session from last night and saw this and just couldn't believe it. AA won only 78.3% of the time, and KK won only 63.6% of the time. That's really, really low. Historically those numbers have been in the 85 to 90% range. In fact, they've been cracked so often this month that I've broken even playing KK. That's pretty hard to do. In limit hold'em, you're going to take KK to showdown unless you have an A on board, or the board pairs and there's too much action, or you get coordinated boards multi-way. I've been pretty good about letting KK go in these situations. It's the rivered 2-outers and rivered gutshots that are getting paid off for 2 big bets, and I don't think it's realistic to think I can (or should) get away from KK on the river in these spots while getting what is usually 8-to-1 on a call or better. The fact is the deck just isn't breaking even, and my aces and kings are getting cracked.

It's amusing to me, really, because it means I'm doing something right. It tells me that my method of game selection is working like it should. It tells me, combined with other stats I've looked at, that I'm picking the right opponents and continually putting myself in +EV situations. They aren't working out according to expectation, that's all. In the long run, however, they will. And I'm fine with that.

M

Rough day but still in the green

Great hole cards, few good flops, lots of bad rivers. Gave my fold button plenty of exercise and fought my way back to even--three times...

Cheers!

M

It's April Fools Day but the joke's on them

I finally have a nemesis. He plays LHE 6-max rush, .25/.50 and 1/2 and he put a bunch of beats on me tonight. AQs vs A6o, board runs out ATxx6. JJ vs A4, flop AKT, I call his donk bet on flop & turn and fold river, finally convinced. QQ vs A2, flop looks good but he spikes the A on the turn and I let it go. Saved 2 bets on a cooler. KK vs AA. I raise from BTN and the BB 3bets and I flat. Flop 227. I raise his flop bet and he calls. Turn A and I check behind. River comes another 2 and I call his value bet which I expect him to make with plenty of worse hands, but this time he has the nuts. Oh, well. Starting off April at 7BB/100. Wouldn't it be nice if I end the month with this average? Oh, baby...



Cheers!

M

Ended March on a high note

Net for the month was a paltry $60 for 100 hours of play. I'm ballin, yo. When I go out to a club tomorrow night, all I have to do is say, "Hey, girl, I play poker for 60 cents an hour. Wanna jump my bones?"

Just for fun, here's the graph.


Here's to our hands holding up in April. Cheers!
M

How bad can I run in SNGs? Pretty @X$!% bad

LHE SNG
1st orbit, 1st hand I played:

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with J A
2 folds, Hero raises, 3 folds, BTN 3-bets, SB calls, BB calls, Hero calls

Flop: (12 SB) A 3 8 (4 players)
SB bets, BB folds, Hero raises, BTN calls, SB calls

Turn: (9 BB) J (3 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, BTN calls, SB calls

River: (15 BB) 4 (3 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, BTN 3-bets, SB calls, Hero calls

Results: 24 BB pot
Final Board: A 3 8 J 4
BTN showed 4 4 and won 24 BB (16.5 BB net)
SB mucked 5 A and lost (-7.5 BB net)
Hero mucked J A and lost (-7.5 BB net)

Got knocked out of this one holding AA, lost to rivered 2 pair by a guy holding 74o.

***

LHE SNG#2
Folded mostly. Raise preflop, 4 callers, miss, check/fold, mostly.
This is the one I got knocked out on:

Preflop: Hero is BB with 2 2
UTG+2 raises, MP1 calls, 2 folds, CO calls, BTN folds, SB calls, Hero calls

Flop: (10 SB) 7 2 K (5 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG+2 bets, MP1 raises, 2 folds, Hero 3-bets, UTG+2 caps, MP1 calls, Hero calls

Turn: (11 BB) 3 (3 players)
Hero bets, UTG+2 raises, MP1 folds, Hero 3-bets, UTG+2 caps, Hero calls

River: (19 BB) J (2 players)
Hero bets and is all-in, UTG+2 calls

Results: 22 BB pot
Final Board: 7 2 K 3 J
UTG+2 showed K Tand won 22 BB (13.5 BB net)
Hero mucked 2 2 and lost (-8.5 BB net)

***

Hope you're running better than I am.

M