Monday, June 15, 2009

setting up the table

Strolled into LC last night and decided to play tight and limp in a lot of pots with big hands. 
The reason is because I had a table of a super aggressor and two gamblers looking for a chance to stick it in. So I really had to have a good hand if I wanted to be in any pots with them.

Having the super aggressor really changed the game, which was a curse and blessing for me. I couldn't limp in with too many hands that I like, but the good end of it was I always knew what people had by reading the way they play their hands. Since, they will usually only call those raises with a decent hand. 

He doubled me up each time with my Kings and aces. But, I lost some back to him when it went two pair over two pair.

I decided to follow some advice I read in a book about chatting the table up and giving a bad player props for being lucky and saying good hand and stuff. It was pretty cool, it allowed me to relax and the table had a good vibe where there playing too serious and took the bad beats lightly. The advice was "a laughing happy table is more willingly to give up cash than a table full of serious players".

Example: there was a guy who loved playing 10 8 no matter what the raise was. He won some huge pots with that hand and I would say how cool it was that hand always won him pots. Well, he went into a pot with me holding that hand and lost big. Yet, he took it lightly since I gave him so much props for it earlier.

I swear I must have spend a hour setting up this table, where I could manipulate the pot and catch free cards since I was "such a nice guy". I got paid off big on my aces, kings and jacks.

The nice guy act worked so well that when I was holding pocket jacks on a board of A K Q J 2. A guy before me goes all-in and I was thinking to lay my hand down, thinking he had a straight. I asked him if he had a "10" and he said he had "two pair" then I told him I could beat 2 pair and he said I should call. So I did and won with my set. I felt so bad afterwards, that I gave him back half his all-in bet.

Soon, I knew I was tired when I put in a 25 dollar bet into a board of K 2 4 9 8. Thinking I had the King, but I looked down and saw QJ of hearts. Damn it! So I decided to leave after that and because it was 4am. 

Friday, June 12, 2009

Satellite Tourney

I didn't have much experience playing in satellite tourneys at lucky chances, but really wanted to play this one since the prize was entry into a 100k first prize tourney that was 1k buy-in. The satellite buy-in was $140 and it was 10-handed.

Once when I sat down, I notice there wasn't a lot of chips on the table. Then when I received my chips, I counted that there was only 25 chips and they said there was no chip value. The blinds would start at 1/2. Right away, I was thinking "aw man, this is basically an all-in game" then it reminded me how I started off in poker playing this way in home games when we played with 50 chips each. Ah, the memories. So, I was hoping that experience would really help me out in playing this game. I was little blind for the first hand.

First hand, under the gun raises to 6 chips. Folded all the way around to button who calls 6. I call 6 with J3 of hearts and big blind folds. Flop comes out J 6 3. I push all in with my two pair and everyone folds. Gain 20 chips.

Since this was a very low stack tourney, meaning you can pretty much count on a "all-in" on every hand, people were choosing their spots and pushing in with A high or any pocket pair.

I doubled again when someone under the gun pushes and gets folded to me in the little blind and I'm holding A 9 suited. Usually, I'll fold, but since this is a winner take all, I opt to gamble against his pocket 5's. I hit two pair and send him home.

Down to the last 5 players and the blinds were extremely high at 8/16. So there was a lot of blind stealing involved and all in preflops until the last 4 players. I was left with the shortest stack, which was about two big blinds left. Had to gamble with any two cards and actually hit. Soon, I had come back to chip leader with 120 chips and down to 3 players.

Stacks were me at 120, the two others at 90 and 30. On the first hand of us at 3 players, I have KQ in the button. Blinds at 16/32 I decided to push all in to try to steal the blinds. Little blind calls me with A 6 suited and flops the Ace. Major hit! I'm down to 30 chips and big blind.

I bust out in 3rd place and get my prize money back. Urg! so close....that one major mistake cost me.

6 - handed Sit & Go tourneys

I've been playing on Full Tilt lately on the low buy in 6-handed tourney's and I've been doing very well in them. I think I've played in at least 10 of them and placed in 1st or 2nd in 8 of them.

I was mostly practicing a tight small ball strategy. I usually like getting in a lot of flops when the blinds are low, but instead opt to wait out other player mistakes, such as limping in with big hands and if they raise, I'll go over the top and they will push all in.

Other times are I'll check my hand all the way thru with a mediocre hand, but thinking its the best hand and calling all the bets. I've caught several bluffs attempted at me. Its a great feeling to see someone flip over AK high to my pair of 3's. lol.