OO home games at pokerstars

[theohall]

Almost didn't make it. Friend called at 6 with an "I need to talk NOW" situation. Made it back just in time.

Of course, this now means I am not completely sober, which probably would have been the case anyway given Hockey Day in America and 9 hours straight of hockey. Only missed the last 3. Who won?

[Baroquen]

Well that was fun. Thanks again for setting it up.

[MHS]

Still playing! Three gambling addicts playing game #3.

[tjg_marantz]

I made my donations all night

[MHS]

I made my donations all night

I was happy with 2/3. I'm sure I'll be donating my share next time!

[theohall]

Dang. Missed the 3rd one. Was messing around on hockey forums.

[JC Anejo]

Guess I should have paid attention to I was drafting a fantasy team and never thought to look back. Would have played again

[MHS]

Anyone playing tonight?

[JC Anejo]

I should be home by then so I should be able to play

[Papa Smurph]

Anybody up for a "play money" game tonight? I cannot create games (or I don't know how), but if there is interest, maybe someone who can will set one up.

[JC Anejo]

Don't know the schedule for the night yet but if I am around I would play.

[Isgrimnur]

Well, I'm officially out of money on PokerStars at the moment.

Playing .02/.05, I get in the BB. It gets to me at 0.10, I raise to 0.25, get one caller.

Flop comes

I go all in (whopping 0.94 left), he calls.

Cards turn, he has

Turn comes , river comes

He hits runner runner to beat me on a 16% odds after the flop.

Why do I play this game?

[tjg_marantz]

Because

[The Meal]

Well, I'm officially out of money on PokerStars at the moment.

Playing .02/.05, I get in the BB. It gets to me at 0.10, I raise to 0.25, get one caller.

Flop comes

I go all in (whopping 0.94 left), he calls.

Cards turn, he has

Turn comes , river comes

He hits runner runner to beat me on a 16% odds after the flop.

Why do I play this game?

I'd have played it the same way. As you astutely note, you were not 100% to win on the flop. 1/6th of the time you were going to lose.

It brings up a good point about "commitment decisions". On the flop, you looked at a 50/52/55/57¢ pot and your own 94¢ stack and told yourself "I'm committed to playing for my whole stack." You then decided the best way to play for your whole stack was to "jam" or bet all-in. Those two decisions led you to having that 16% chance to lose your whole stack.

A different way to play would have been to make the same commitment decision but to let it play out over multiple streets. Dismissing the possibility that he had better hand (anything with a 4), you could have tried to "price out the draws" (a 4-out straight draw, a 3-out A-x where x was higher than a 4, a 1.5-out {equivalent} backdoor flush draw). Betting half the pot would have given your opponent a bad price (one that would have been beneficial to you were the situation run 100 times), and allowed you to revisit your commitment decision based on the cards that came up.

As it turned out, you saw two scary cards come up on the turn and river, and could've potentially saved some of your 94¢ by the end of the hand.

But I'll reiterate, I'd have played it the same way. A common mistake of low-stakes players is calling too much. And if you figure to be "way ahead" then getting them to put their chips in bad is a good strategy to do well in the small stakes game. Unfortunately/Fortunately there's an aspect of luck to the game. (Unfortunate in this situation because you lost, but fortunate because less-skilled players have a difficult time ascertaining their chances of beating players who are more-skilled, providing "fish" in the poker oceans.)

[tjg_marantz]

Sometimes, being down only 7$ is a remarkable accomplishment. I was not playing overly tight pre-flop, that's just how good the cards were all night.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 179 hands and saw flop:
- 2 out of 22 times while in big blind (9%)
- 0 out of 21 times while in small blind (0%)
- 14 out of 136 times in other positions (10%)
- a total of 16 out of 179 (8%)
Pots won at showdown - 1 of 2 (50%)
Pots won without showdown - 20

[tjg_marantz]

Well I rescued that evening of play.

End stats:

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 244 hands and saw flop:
- 2 out of 30 times while in big blind (6%)
- 3 out of 29 times while in small blind (10%)
- 24 out of 185 times in other positions (12%)
- a total of 29 out of 244 (11%)
Pots won at showdown - 1 of 3 (33%)
Pots won without showdown - 36

I had worked my way back up to 45$ which I would have been happy with but I was giving it one last round of cards before logging out. Last two big hands I played:

PokerStars Game #59486957792: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/03/20 0:29:38 ET
Table 'Kajam V' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: BY-TOR12 ($51 in chips)
Seat 2: mitolinho ($32.20 in chips)
Seat 3: cakeb ($132.05 in chips)
Seat 4: digitalblack ($48.70 in chips)
Seat 5: maf_aurora ($51.95 in chips)
Seat 6: jwo316 ($52.05 in chips)
Seat 7: marantz2008 ($44.95 in chips)
Seat 8: EggMayo ($61.40 in chips)
Seat 9: doctorry ($29.10 in chips)
marantz2008: posts small blind $0.25
EggMayo: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to marantz2008 [Kd 9d]
doctorry: folds
BY-TOR12: folds
mitolinho: folds
cakeb: folds
digitalblack: raises $0.50 to $1
maf_aurora: folds
jwo316: folds
marantz2008: calls $0.75
EggMayo: folds
*** FLOP *** [4c Ks Js]
marantz2008: bets $2.50
digitalblack: calls $2.50

Expected him to fold here actually.

*** TURN *** [4c Ks Js] [5h]
marantz2008: bets $7
digitalblack: calls $7

Nothing terribly helpful for him so I make a big enough bet that if he's drawing spades, he's not getting good value. But apparently not enough of a bet or he's Ahab.

*** RIVER *** [4c Ks Js 5h] [6h]

I don't put that 6 as a helpful card for him and I go with him missing his flush.

marantz2008: bets $15
digitalblack: folds
Uncalled bet ($15) returned to marantz2008
marantz2008 collected $20.45 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $21.50 | Rake $1.05
Board [4c Ks Js 5h 6h]
Seat 1: BY-TOR12 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: mitolinho folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: cakeb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: digitalblack folded on the River
Seat 5: maf_aurora folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: jwo316 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: marantz2008 (small blind) collected ($20.45)
Seat 8: EggMayo (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: doctorry folded before Flop (didn't bet)


Last hand I played. Same oppponent so I'm guessing he's got something to prove, maybe I can get a few extra coins out of him.

PokerStars Game #59487103163: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/03/20 0:35:10 ET
Table 'Kajam V' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: BY-TOR12 ($50.25 in chips)
Seat 2: mitolinho ($34.75 in chips)
Seat 3: cakeb ($130.55 in chips)
Seat 4: digitalblack ($35.20 in chips)
Seat 5: maf_aurora ($56.40 in chips)
Seat 6: jwo316 ($52.05 in chips)
Seat 7: marantz2008 ($50.40 in chips)
Seat 8: EggMayo ($65.80 in chips)
Seat 9: doctorry ($25.85 in chips)
digitalblack: posts small blind $0.25
maf_aurora: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to marantz2008 [Qc Qs]
jwo316: folds
marantz2008: raises $1 to $1.50
EggMayo: folds
doctorry: folds
BY-TOR12: folds
mitolinho: folds
cakeb: folds
digitalblack: calls $1.25
maf_aurora: folds
*** FLOP *** [4s Jc 4c]

With the hand we'd just played, if he has another 4, I am guessing he slow plays it to get more out of me. Him betting out told me he didn't have it. I'm putting him on another suite draw or a 10J-JQ

digitalblack: bets $1
marantz2008: raises $3 to $4

At this point, I just want him to fold and go to bed. But if he doesn't, I believe I have him beat.

digitalblack: calls $3
*** TURN *** [4s Jc 4c] [6s]
digitalblack: checks
marantz2008: bets $10
digitalblack: calls $10

The 6s is no help and it's another under card. Yet he follows me.

*** RIVER *** [4s Jc 4c 6s] [4h]
digitalblack: checks
marantz2008: checks

His check tells me he missed his clubs and never had JJ. The reason for my check is that I was tired. Plain and simple. He would have folded a raise but I was as close as I could be to sure that I had it won so a call was made and bed came.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
digitalblack: shows [5c Kc] (three of a kind, Fours)
marantz2008: shows [Qc Qs] (a full house, Fours full of Queens)
marantz2008 collected $30 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $31.50 | Rake $1.50
Board [4s Jc 4c 6s 4h]
Seat 1: BY-TOR12 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: mitolinho folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: cakeb (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: digitalblack (small blind) showed [5c Kc] and lost with three of a kind, Fours
Seat 5: maf_aurora (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: jwo316 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: marantz2008 showed [Qc Qs] and won ($30) with a full house, Fours full of Queens
Seat 8: EggMayo folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: doctorry folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Ended the night at 65$ (started at 50$, table max on .25/.50). After being down to 18$ and all in, to come back to 65$, I have to be happy with that.

Yesterday I deposited 50$ (bday money). Three session results.

Turned 50 into 100 on session one.
Turned 50 of that into 100 for a total of 150$.
Took 50 of that and turned it into 65$ for a total of 165$.

Obviously, three sessions don't mean too too much BUT I have noticed that the play at .25/.50 tables is a lot more predictable than at the .01/.02 or .02/.05 and even .05/.10. A lot less people seeing the flop, people not playing like morons trying to turn a magical flop into gold etc. I am enjoying it much more. It's still not huge money obviously but much more enjoyable.

[tjg_marantz]

Someone help me out.

What did the other guy have?

Table limit is 50$ so "usually" those above 50$ have some common sense and aren;t complete tools. I am at a loss as to what this guy had.

PokerStars Game #59516055773: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2011/03/20 15:01:58 ET
Table 'Erda XII' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: thomcio ($52.90 in chips)
Seat 2: opie308 ($8 in chips)
Seat 3: marantz2008 ($64.30 in chips)
Seat 4: Gregy86 ($53.40 in chips)
Seat 5: BooyaKash ($82.45 in chips)
Seat 7: lessharm ($74.70 in chips)
Seat 8: cinco sete ($39 in chips)
Seat 9: AGRE$$0R ($50.95 in chips)
marantz2008: posts small blind $0.25
Gregy86: posts big blind $0.50
JimmyBerto: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to marantz2008 [9s Ts]
BooyaKash: folds
lessharm: raises $1 to $1.50
cinco sete: folds
AGRE$$0R: folds
thomcio: folds
opie308: folds
marantz2008: calls $1.25
Gregy86: folds
*** FLOP *** [5d 9d Jc]
marantz2008: bets $3
lessharm: calls $3
*** TURN *** [5d 9d Jc] [9h]
marantz2008: bets $9
lessharm: calls $9
*** RIVER *** [5d 9d Jc 9h] [6c]
marantz2008: bets $20
lessharm: calls $20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
marantz2008: shows [9s Ts] (three of a kind, Nines)
lessharm: mucks hand
marantz2008 collected $64.50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $67.50 | Rake $3
Board [5d 9d Jc 9h 6c]
Seat 1: thomcio folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: opie308 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: marantz2008 (small blind) showed [9s Ts] and won ($64.50) with three of a kind, Nines
Seat 4: Gregy86 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: BooyaKash folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: lessharm mucked [Kh Ks]
Seat 8: cinco sete folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: AGRE$$0R folded before Flop (didn't bet)

He does not call a diamond draw on my last bet. AJ or something like that? Could it be anything else?

[The Meal]

is my very educated guess.

Spoiler:

(Third line up from the bottom of your quoted part.)

[tjg_marantz]

is my very educated guess.

Spoiler:

(Third line up from the bottom of your quoted part.)

There aren't enough



No really, I know what I'm doing.

[Semaj]

Here is my march so far on pokerstars.

[MHS]

We need to get back into our home games!

I may have mentioned it already, but if I have then you're due an update: I am currently trying to replicate the 10k poker challenge by Chris Ferguson. Details of his challenge. TL;dr version: He started with nothing and through satellites and freerolls won money, then worked his way up to 10k from nothing in 18 months. Rules were that he could play anything at any time that was a dollar or less, but that he couldn't buy in for more than 3% of his bankroll, or if he went below 3% (during a cash game) he had to leave. It's a pretty good lesson in bankroll management for anyone who might consider trying to make a living playing poker.

I started with $0 on December 1, 2010 (actually, $10 in reserve and also some points already earned for satellites, which I felt was fair since I'm not Chris Ferguson) and am currently at $106.23. Have been as high as $140 and as low as $32 since my initial money win from a satellite that netted me $35 and really got me rolling. I anticipate it will take me longer than 18 months to get to 10k.

If anyone else decides to give this a whirl, let me know how it goes!

[Isgrimnur]

I'm in. Starting in the Game of Your Life Freeroll starting in ... 6 minutes.

[MHS]

I'm in. Starting in the Game of Your Life Freeroll starting in ... 6 minutes.

Good luck!

[Isgrimnur]

15,000 players to start. We're at the break. There are 3469 players left with an average stack of 6,486. I sit at 5,205. (start was 1,500). Three at my table are sitting out (Bad form, Peter!) Top 108 get entry into a tourney on Sunday, so there's no money to be gained for me here.

[Isgrimnur]

Second break. In between, we were split to new tables. I currently stand at 9,710, shortest at the table.

Stack: largest 184034, smallest 117, average 30529
Your current position is 597 out of 760

[Isgrimnur]

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 151 hands and saw flop:
- 9 out of 18 times while in big blind (50%)
- 5 out of 17 times while in small blind (29%)
- 26 out of 116 times in other positions (22%)
- a total of 40 out of 151 (26%)
Pots won at showdown - 7 of 11 (63%)
Pots won without showdown - 9

I went out in 288th Place. I spent a lot of time below the average chip stack and finally just got blinded out.

I feel that I played well overall for someone that hasn't played anything remotely serious in a while. I won half the hands I went to the flop for, took more showdowns than I lost, and played what I think was a solid, conservative game. I think in this case, once it got down to it, it was either not enough quality hands to play late in the game or me not recognizing some of the hands that were playable.

[Isgrimnur]

Let me try this again.

I would like some thoughts about the statistics I have posted and my performance in this tournament from those poker experts that frequent the boards.

[MHS]

Let me try this again.

I would like some thoughts about the statistics I have posted and my performance in this tournament from those poker experts that frequent the boards.

Ha. Sorry. I think 288th out of 15,000 is really impressive, especially after a break from serious playing. That's better than the top 2%, which is normally going to mean a good payoff, but I guess not in this case?

What's your username on P*? I played someone with the username Waynesomething today, thought maybe it was you. (In a $3.40 buy-in 27 person SNG. I finished 3rd after being chip leader for 80% of the tournament, for $14.40. Ahhh, late stage tournament shove-or-fold mentality, how I love thee. )

[Isgrimnur]

Nope, not me. I'm Isgrimnur###. (I'll have to look up the numbers.)

The tourney was a satellite, no cash awards for that one. I'll look for another type later this week.

*Edit: I'm Isgrimnur542.

[tjg_marantz]

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 151 hands and saw flop:
- 9 out of 18 times while in big blind (50%)
- 5 out of 17 times while in small blind (29%)
- 26 out of 116 times in other positions (22%)
- a total of 40 out of 151 (26%)
Pots won at showdown - 7 of 11 (63%)
Pots won without showdown - 9

Even for a tourney, I find these numbers incredibly high. I am guessing everyone was limping in for you to be able to see that many BB flops.

I am hovering around 13-15% during ring games. The reason for that is that there are too many players to keep tabs on and the players seem to rotate frequently, which means most everyone fails to realize I am laying in the weeds until I can strike.

The PWAS % is also indicative that you are seeing to many hands all the way to the end. Are you pot committing yourself every hand you play? Possibly since this is a tourney where you have to build a bankroll. If not, maybe you are fishing too much?

For tourney play, I guess the numbers make more sense. If you only play tourneys, that's fine but I'd be interested in seeing your numbers during ring games.

[Isgrimnur]

Yeah, I got to see a fair number of BB flops for "free".

On getting to the showdown, there were a couple that got there cheap on checks, but I'm definitely wasn't fishing. I managed to pull a few pots by betting from last position when everyone was wanting cards for free, but if it went to the showdown, I definitely had something worth playing.

The numbers in ring games will have to wait, as I currently have no money banked at P*.

[tjg_marantz]

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 244 hands and saw flop:
- 2 out of 30 times while in big blind (6%)
- 3 out of 29 times while in small blind (10%)
- 24 out of 185 times in other positions (12%)
- a total of 29 out of 244 (11%)
Pots won at showdown - 1 of 3 (33%)
Pots won without showdown - 36

This is from higher up on this page from my sessions I rescued but it's indicative of how I play in ring games on P*.

The number I try to see if pots won vs flops seen. I try to keep pots won higher than flops seen. I don't let people limp in if I've got something. I never like seeing stragglers. If you are going to beat me, you are going to do it with a "proper" hand. Doesn't always work as there are always morons out there but most of the time, I can put someone on something if they are in. I ALMOST never slow play aces either as I don't want garbage to get lucky. If someone calls me, I know they have something but that I am in the lead pre-flop. I hope they catch some of their cards but always look out for suit heavy flops etc...

Playing like that, I turned 50 into 250+ playing on .25/.50 and .50/1 tables. I managed to lose it by getting away from it and trying out different tactics that got me beat a bunch of times on the river due to not raising enough early and going in with marginal hands. They always had me beat preflop and you can only come back against the odds so many times... Oh well.

Next time I put money into P* or win something on some FPP freerolls, I think I might try and Fergie challenge!

[tjg_marantz]

Message from P* just now when I logged in.

P*.com domain released to non-US residents but more importantly for you guys, they (the gvt) have agreed to allow P* to pay out US residents with balances.

If anyone has anything in there, please cash out ASAP. I'm guessing it's the same at UB, AP, PP etc but I don't play there so not sure.