Just a few take-aways from tonight's session, which I will not discuss openly here, as each of my homeys wants to win as badly as I do. I'll try to incorporate my observations into the next session, as I'm sure they will as well. Simply put, there just isn't any room for mistakes in an aggressively structured SnG..
One key hand from game #1: At bubble, UTG raises 3xBB. Based on prior hand and his speech during his raise, I place him on a middle pair. In UTG+1 I pick up AQo. Thinking it's a race, I use ICM to fold (don't want to spew my equity to the players sitting out), but proponents of "play for the win" would argue for a shove. He shows A9o and wins the hand - the AQo would have held for a commanding CL. I finish ITM 3/8.
.
One key hand from game #2: Down to 5, EP shoves. My range for EP is a probable Ax, as high as 44+ and as low as KTo. Having EP covered, I RRAI with ATo. LP has me covered by merely t300 and goes into tank. He eventually calls both all-ins with a monster J9s. He's crushed by EP's KTo, and I don't understand why he didn't read my RRAI for strength. IMO he should not have made his stand with such strength ahead of him. He hit the flush on the river to bust the two of us.I don't quite recover mentally from that beat and in game #3 I play poorly. One steal attemp blows up as I encounter KK, and I eventually shove A2 into JJ and bust.
.
Game #1 1) S.H. 2) M.B. 3) R.W.
Game #2 1&2) S.L. & S.H. 3) B.D.
Game #3 1) M.B. 2) A.R. 3) W.E.
.
Looking forward to building on my recent success online, and very much looking forward to the Showboat tourney later this month.
November 19 2007
I arrived tired and late, but ready to play. I.B. arrived tired but on time, after an excruciating all-nighter at Atlantic City. We were mystified about the last-minute absence of squasher, our scheduled host. He has been crushing both small and large online MTTs - maybe we're just chump change to him anymore.The Conshocken Classic has been moved to February 16. None of my homeys agreed to be interviewed as part of the pre-tournament hoopla, obviously protecting their preparation and strategy ideas before the big event. J.S. did mention in passing that he is eating oat bran and doing Kegel exercises to prepare, both of which forecast a loose-aggressive style IMO.
The key hand for me in game #1 was picking up wired 44 in LP. Short-stacked S.H. raised 2xBB UTG and was called by visiting N.L. immediately to my right. I sensed weakness and felt for sure I could get better than a combined 8:1 return if I hit my set. I put one of them on Ax. I get my dream flop 2hAd4d. S.H. shoves his ATo, N.L. calls, and I reraise all in with my set. N.L. calls and shows KdTd. I'm 75% to win but the turn 9d completes his flush, and I fail to fill up on the river and bust out. The Bad Beat Award, originally created in my honor, goes home with me once again.Sitting out in these home games is dreadful. I never really recovered from that beat although I managed to sqeak out a 3rd place in game #3. Just one key hand worth mentioning in game #3: with I.B. super short stacked all in for 275, there are two limpers ahead of me. I pick up wired 88 and act on the weakness by shoving. Limpers fold and I take a nice pot which lasts to ITM. Here my end-game falls apart once again and I bust.
Results
Game#1 1)F.B. 2)N.L. 3)M.B.
Game#2 1)S.H. 2)J.S. 3)I.B.
Game#3 1/2)M.B & J.S 3)R.W.
October 29 2007
Home game tonight! Homeys beware - I am coming ready to play! We have I.B. returning from his vacation in France. T.R. continues to crush this game. My nemesis S.L. will surely be coming with his usual bag of tricks. I'm sure "Action S.H." wants to get back on track. J.S and M.B have been killing ring games and always play tough in tournament play. W.E. treated me to lunch even though he's between jobs - I think he's planning on busting me out. The Packers are playing MNF, so I won't be dreading being sent to the losers' lounge. Seems like a chance to take on greater risk since busting out is no problem!
.
Standard disclaimer: my memory is fast failing me, so it's up to the homeys to correct me in the comment section.
.
The first game got off with some fireworks. A young rising star left an action-packed online game to join us for some tournament play. Although we usually do not play with more than 8, he seemed like easy money, so we let him in. His hyper aggressive style was apparent from the start, as he pushed all-in nearly every hand. However our host very astutely observed that he was using non-sanctioned chips. The tournament chips in use for this night were red and black, but his were green. He was asked to leave, but would not go willingly - the host had to physically carry him from the room under much protest. We do not know what ultimately happened to him. Some suspect he returned to his online game, while others feel he grabbed some milk and cookies with his au pair and was put to bed. I have often said that our game is the best on the Main Line, and very difficult to get into.
.
Game #1
The first orbit saw an amazing four (4) diamond flushes. On one such hand, I.B. opens from MP at 3.5BB. I raise with TdJd and it folds to him and calls. Flop comes three diamonds. Based on the betting, I put him on Adx, so I felt I was good on the flop but vulnerable to a higher flush. The turn comes another diamond, and I throw caution to the wind and shove. He shows AdQd to bust me out. The guy drives 3+ hours to play this game, so I don't know what I was thinking. Shoving the turn was just foolish given my estimate of his hand. Granted I wanted to watch the Packer game, but I still had an hour to go. But what about those four diamond flushes in the very first orbit? Could both decks be rigged? I hope not - they were my cards! A fifth diamond flush fell shortly thereafter. Very strange. As they say, that's poker..
Game #2
I don't remember much about game #2. In what seemed to be a departure from his usual trappy style, W.E. came out firing, apparently off some fresh advice from WSOP hopeful and Capitol Hill player Jim Craig. He seemed to be playing with more confidence, possibly due to his new iPhone. The guys used to admire my Samsung Blackjack, but tonight all hands were on the iPhone. I was actually pretty impressed, but since I am the benefactor of other W.E. hand-me-downs (PCI TV tuner, sling-box on loan, golf bag, laptop case) I would not be surprised if one day the iPhone is mine as well :).
As far as I can remember, I think I played solidly to get to the bubble. Down to 4, I'm short-stacked with I.B. even shorter. He shoves and I toss another t100 chip to call. I get lucky as my 23o beats his A2o. I finish 3rd. W.E takes the win and S.L. takes second. Both played well the entire night.
.
Game #3
A key hand came when I.B. raised from MP and I reraised all in with JJ in LP. I.B. goes into the tank and subjects me to his ominous stare down. I've personally seen casino sharks quake at this stare. He deliberates and calls with A3s. JJ holds up and I am chip leader. T.R. picks up AA in the BB twice but gets no action. I maintain the lead down to 2. First hand heads up M.B. gets an exposed K but insists on playing it. I have AT and call his BB, suspecting KK but hoping to see a flop. He shoves, I fold. Next hand he shoves with A9s but I pick up AQs which holds up for the win. Although the win will barely fill a tank of gas, it was nice to scoop up a few Andrew Jacksons while they are still in circulation, since J.S. tells us they will soon be replaced with Hillary Clintons..
Exclusive post-game #3 interview with R.W. (part 1)
.
.
Exclusive post-game #3 interview with R.W. (part 2)
.
.
Here's the summary for the night:
.
Game#1 1)S.L. 2)W.E. 3)I.B.
Game#2 1)W.E. 2)S.L. 3)R.W.
Game#3 1)R.W. 2)M.B. 3)T.R.
.
We usually chop when down to 2 in the interest of getting everyone back in a game, but tonight we played a few hands down to the winner, which we have not done in a very long time.
.
I returned home to watch Brett Favre beat the Broncs in overtime while playing with my one-year-old, who was waiting up for me to hear about my exploits. A great night out - thanks for letting me come guys!
.
The big talking point of the night was Lake Peigneur
.
Conshohocken Classic Poker Tournament
It seems that W.E. will start up his semi-annual MTT again. A very well run 32-40 person tournament. Hopefully he'll have the kinks worked out of the new Tournament Director software then. M.B. has graciously offered to host, so we eagerly await the details on this. I am a vastly different player than I was when I made the final table in 2006, so I'm curious to see how I'll do. Action S.H. actually won the inaugural event in 2004, so he's the one to beat.
October 15 2007
Our home game is soon approaching! It has been a long time since we last did battle. I'm really looking forward to it. My homeys are all quality people and very experienced players. Whether it's online or casinos, tournament or cash games, they are all successful players. It's a veritable poker school each month. Anyone can win any game on any night. It's the best SnG poker on the Main Line, IMHO.
I'll be posting some highlights from our SnGs here...
...and here they are. Short but meaningful...
Results: I bubbled games 1 & 2, chopped first in game 3.
Game Comments:
Game 1: A winning player must minimize his mistakes, particularly during the end game. One of the keys to bubble play is knowing your opponents' ranges. I failed, and it came back to bite me. I folded hands in which I had the short stack dominated, and this player eventually came back to defeat me on the bubble.
.
Game 2: Luck is just as much a part of the end game as skill. I widened my pushing range to be more aggressive in order to avoid another bubble finish. I ran into AK from each of my three opponents in the same orbit! My second-best hands were no match, and again I bubbled.
.
Game 3: A new player who has a very wide range bet an early hand aggressively and pushed me off of ATo and shows A3o. Later, I call his all-in with KK and run right into his AA. But the turn brings me a K for the win. In other action, I took down a nice pot early when my AhTh flushes on the turn. In another crucial hand, I pick up TT from the big blind but UTG raises 3xBB for almost his entire stack. He's committed, but why did he not shove? His range is wide, yet the bet seems suspicious. I ponder coming over the top, but decide to call. Flop comes Txx. I check, opponent shoves, I call and beat his A9o. Down to 4 I pick up AA in the big blind, which holds up. A few hands later I chop for first and go home. I think I made good decisions this game, but getting cards at the right time sure helps too.
General comments:
1. I.B. was on vacation in Europe. We look forward to him joining us again in November.
2. It occurred to me that the other guys consider me a complainer! I complain about bad beats, getting unlucky, and who knows what else. I'm a downer, I suppose because I'm not as successful as I'd like to be. I have known this about myself, but have been too lazy to do anything about it. I intend to address this, because if I can't be a better card player, I should at least strive to be a better person! Nothing like your peers thinking you're a belly-acher!
3. It's hard to justify putting a lot of time towards improving your game when there are a lot of other worth-while things in life that require time. This balance requires maturity and wisdom. I carve out some time for online play only after family and personal needs have been met. Some bloggers I follow are taking some time off to take a break and prioritize things. I respect that. Maybe I should do the same. I miss my late night soaks in my hot tub. What makes the home game so appealing is that, even though I just broke even for the night (a financial waste of time), I got to spend time with friends, something that men, husbands, and dads find hard to do.
My next home game is scheduled for October 29.
No comments:
Post a Comment