The Fish

Me not Good @ Poker

2008-02-08T06:03:00.001-08:00

I've realized that it's probably more profitable for me to make money in my other talents and back the people that play better poker then I. Now my problem lies with finding good poker players that have no money...lol

P.S Go WP...Make that paper!

Jose

Blogger Tournament

2007-10-09T08:43:00.001-07:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 7836698

Decisions

2006-03-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

My first post of 2006, ok I’ll admit it I’m scared. I really enjoy writing about my experience with poker and how it’s growing as time passes. Although recently I’ve been in a terrible slump not able to build any type of roll. I’ve basically restricted myself from investing any serious money in online poker. Why? Well it really comes down to one thing; I don’t have much flow to gamble with right now. Not that I consider poker gambling……. I do still play though live games that is. These games are with some friends, and usually 2-3 unknowns. I have to say though I certain that I’ve pretty much broke even or shown a small profit in my live tournament/SnG play. My good friend rikkidee, has now proven to me that poker can be a profitable endeavor. It’s also safe so say that he’s dominated the multi SnG play, showing numerous accounts of reasonable profits. I’m not surprised at all though by the consistent winning. Its variance and rikki has enough roll to counter it. He also has great discipline and good bank roll management. Me on the other hand very little bank roll management and I can’t with strong confidence put any serious amount of my hard earned money into online poker. But I watch rikki and other big names play all the time on stars. I can’t possibly grind it out for years and years to make modest money. I want big money, and I want it now (this is not an attitude of a sound poker player). From what I can piece together is the actual gamble in the game. I have watched many big tourneys and it seems that to win you need some obscene amount of luck. From what I’ve learned in college, and university you can’t improve luck. The risks that players take are scary and would be very hard for a young amateur like myself to make.
Example:
6th hand of a 6 person SNG
Blinds 25/50
3 players
Dealer, SB, BB
Flop: 9d,Jh,Qc
SB checks
BB checks
Button checks
Turn: 8s
SB bets 500 for a massive over bet
BB calls
Button re raises all-in
SB says does trips beat a straight….lol (he basically knows he’s beat here with a straight, but he has outs and calls)
BB also calls the all-in (three way all-in)
Button and BB have a 10 for a straight
SB turns over 88
River 9h
SB wins with a boat and triples up.

That is a serious fucking call with one player behind you. But again it just reaffirms the fact that you need to take big gambles with lots of chips in the pot. The SB went on to dominate that SnG which is not surprising tripling up on the 6th hand. There are some things that you can control that I think will improve your play. It may sound dumb or completing ludicrous but I’m going to state it anyway. Karma, but not karma in the sense of doing nice things for people, or donating to charity, I mean clarity of mind. You need to make some decisions with your gut, some with math, and others with observations. The only way to decipher which to use in each situation is a clear mind. If you have played any type of poker you know what I mean. You can put people on hands, make good laydowns, and get all your chips in with good odds. I would have to say any serious pro would have this ability honed very well. Right now for me it’s trying to develop it. When faced with a decision in poker, first thing that hits you in your gut. This one is easy to follow because it’s pure impulse. Next for me is my observations, how has this player played against me before, in other hands, in similar positions. Then its math, do I have the correct odds to get involved. Then it’s a three way battle in my brain to see who will make the choice. Refining this decision making process will in my mind make poker that much more elevated for the fishes out there. This is an extremely difficult task and developing it will be an adventure.

Gone Fishin

2005 review and 2006 goals

2006-01-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

I started playing online poker seriously in the summer of 2005. Quickly realizing that “Is it possible that I’m not as good as I think I am?” I decided to take a trip to Poker capital of North America Vegas. I played low limits (1/2) and made some nice profit everyday. Which really changed my view of the difficulty of poker, and that I am as good as I thought. As for the online game nothing really monumentous happened in 2005. I made some good runs in large tournaments but never was able to finish the game. Usually making one bad move that cost me ¾ of my chips and then being forced all-in on the next few hands. I would have to say that my biggest accomplishment would be growing a bankroll of 23.00USD to just over 800.00USD. This was a great confidence booster for me and made me feel like this poker thing could actually cover some of my money woohs (booze, entertainment, women, big screen TV’s). Some things that I would like to change in 2006 are as follows:

Posting less poker hands
More constructive writing about poker theory and strategies
In-depth hand analysis

Some major lessons that I learned in 2005 were I have little to no bankroll management. I can’t seem to play low limits when I have a massive bankroll. I can only say that this is from inexperience with poker and my hopes are to focus on improving my discipline. I will loose, I will get sucked out, and 75% of people that I play against are terrible fish.
I am starting to see the edges and advantages that present themselves at the tables. I’m finding my balls and I’m able to make some pretty outrageous bluffs. This gives me hope and confidence in that when it comes down to the crunch I have what I takes. Even though right now I have no funds, I’m reading like a champ and trying to improve my live game.

Two hands of 2005 that I will never forget (Vegas trip).

Hand One (MGM GRAND):

3 players hero holds 34o

Hero on button limps for 2$ small blind completes and BB checks

Flop comes 3K3 rainbow

SB bets 25$ BB re raises 50$ Hero Re-raises 100$

BB gets all his chips in SB calls for another 125$ hero calls for another 50$

SB holds 310o

BB holds KK

Hero loses many chips and is very shocked.

I had a friend at the table that was trying to tell me to muck my hand because the BB showed the table his hand saying how can I loose. I was on mad high thinking I was going to take down a massive pot.

Hand Two (MGM GRAND):

Unknown player comes to the table plays one hand leaves for 45 mins. Returns sits down limps in, Hero on Button calls with Q10o. Flop comes Q high unknown players thinks for 3 mins then goes all-in. I call, unknown flips AA turn rag river A just to make sure. I lost about 175$ on that pot. The very next hand I say to the dealer gimmie AA, and he gives it to me. But of course I get no action.

It's funny how I will probabley never forget these hands. You always remember you looses but you usually never remember you big wins. Unless it's a tournament.

Jo S^Y

Proof that people don't understand simple Math

2005-12-22T05:12:00.000-08:00

Hand #1

Player 1 - I knew this player was loose. I had a note on him and his play definitely demonstrated it. He over valued his cards and does my favorite move the 7xbb raise pre flop. I’m in the BB with AJ and decided it’s time to trap him and get this fish 'N' chips. Little do I know that lady luck has a way of FUCING me…hehehe

Seat 5: GoDaDistance (2740 in chips) (terrible fish)
Seat 6: XTwoFishyX (4725 in chips)
Seat 7: 350ZR (6035 in chips)
GoDaDistance: posts small blind 75
TwoFishy: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to XTwoFishyX [Ah Jc]
350ZR: folds
GoDaDistance: calls 75
TwoFishy: checks
*** FLOP *** [Ac 7h 4d]
GoDaDistance: bets 150

(ok, simple probe bet here. Re-raise I have a fuckin strong hand cocksucker so fold.)

TwoFishy: raises 300 to 450
GoDaDistance: raises 2140 to 2590 and is all-in

(ok, you want to play lets play)

TwoFishy: calls 2140
*** TURN *** [Ac 7h 4d] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [Ac 7h 4d Js] [Tc]

(OHHHH the humanity, runner runner...hehhehe gotta love it)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
GoDaDistance: shows [Qd Kd] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
TwoFishy: shows [Ah Jc] (two pair, Aces and Jacks)

Goes all in after a re-raise with an A on the flop. The only hand that I can put him on is A7, or A4 which is quite possible, but he was super loose and I was going to pay to see what he had. I was right absolutely noTHing.

Hand#2

Monster-C: raises 80 to 100
duchendorf: calls 100
marklar85: folds
zzjet: folds
TIMLCP: folds
quanbo2000: calls 100
TwoFishy: folds
WIZBANG300: folds
pilotperk: folds
*** FLOP *** [Kd 8c Jh]
Monster-C: bets 300
duchendorf: raises 380 to 680
quanbo2000: folds
Monster-C: raises 720 to 1400 and is all-in
duchendorf: calls 480 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [Kd 8c Jh] [Ad]
*** RIVER *** [Kd 8c Jh Ad] [Jc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Monster-C: shows [Kh Ac] (two pair, Aces and Kings)
duchendorf: shows [Js As] (a full house, Jacks full of Aces)

Some how this guy manages to pick up the pieces and build up a stack from 260. When it's all for nothing because lady luck has cursed him down.

Hand #3

Monster-C: raises 890 to 940 and is all-in
duchendorf: folds
marklar85: folds
zzjet: folds
TIMLCP: folds
quanbo2000: folds
TwoFishy: folds
WIZBANG300: calls 890
quanbo2000 said, "yup"
*** FLOP *** [2d Td 4s]
duchendorf said, "vs not give
****"XTwoFishyX said, "there it is"
*** TURN *** [2d Td 4s] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [2d Td 4s 5d] [3c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
WIZBANG300: shows [Ac Tc] (a straight, Ace to Five)
Monster-C: shows [Kh Kc] (a pair of Kings)

Now that's painful. Twice in one tournament.

Quote:

duchendorf said, "yes and you chose to play here becuase???"
TwoFishy said, "that's goin on my blog"
Monster-C [observer] said, "pokerstars owes me money"
XTwoFishyX said, "hahahhahah"
Monster-C [observer] said, "being beat that bad twice hurts.."
Monster-C [observer] said, "but in the same tourny!!!"
Monster-C [observer] said, "now that stings"
XTwoFishyX said, "indeed"

(some poor woman actually married this degenerate (duchendorf).)

duchendorf said, "dinner on the table and a pissy wife"
TIMLCP: bets 100
duchendorf said, "makes you varry your play"

Hand#4

Ok, here's a perfect example of the 7-10BB raise pre flop. The only thing here is the guy doing the raising has the weapons of mass destruction...

Riddler88: raises 180 to 200
LES_PAUL_MAN: calls 180
*** FLOP *** [4s Qs 9c]
Riddler88: bets 400
LES_PAUL_MAN: raises 400 to 800
Riddler88: raises 510 to 1310 and is all-in
LES_PAUL_MAN: calls 510
*** TURN *** [4s Qs 9c] [Ks]
*** RIVER *** [4s Qs 9c Ks] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Riddler88: shows [Ah Ad] (a pair of Aces)

(OHHHH the humanity)

LES_PAUL_MAN: shows [Qd 4d] (two pair, Queens and Fours)

Where do these fish learn how to play!

Hand#5

LES_PAUL_MAN: raises 310 to 340 and is all
-inxxGBxx: folds
XTwoFishyX: calls 340
Dirty Donny: folds
MadMarine: folds
*** FLOP *** [2s 3c Qd]
*** TURN *** [2s 3c Qd] [Td]
*** RIVER *** [2s 3c Qd Td] [2c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
LES_PAUL_MAN: shows [Ac 2d] (three of a kind, Deuces)
XTwoFishyX: shows [8h 8c] (two pair, Eights and Deuces)

I don't mind loosing to these fish, but all I ask is it not to be on the river! Notice it's the same loose fuck that called a 10xbb raise pre flop with Q4.

I actually won this tournament playing heads up against Dirty Donny, whom was a very loose passive player. Not my most favorite type of player to face heads up but I would rather that then a tricky one. I was very patient with him and employed a good strategy towards this type of player. I played super weak to start, folding a lot pre flop and folding to his raises (blinds were still low so we weren’t in danger of getting blinded out 100/200 with stacks at 8000 and 5000 respectively). Slowly I started to gain momentum, when I decided it’s time to get tricky. I call a raise from the button with K3 spades, thinking at least I have position post flop. I flop the 2nd nut flush and slow play it to the river. I even value bet the river 2g’s and he still called with A high (terrible fish). I then proceeded to make a great bluff that even impressed myself.

Seat 1: Dirty Donny (6240 in chips)
Seat 8: TwoFishy (7260 in chips)
Dirty Donny: posts small blind 200
TwoFishy: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Qs Jc]
Dirty Donny: raises 400 to 800
TwoFishy: calls 400

(QJ, pretty good hand here, and remember this dude was very loose. I figured to hit the flop and bet out right away and take the pot down ASAP. The flop comes very scary, straight draw, and flush draw and potential straight flush draw.)

*** FLOP *** [9d 8c 7c]
TwoFishy: checks
Dirty Donny: bets 800
TwoFishy: calls 800

(Ok, the cards don’t matter anymore. If that turn card is a club I’m going All-In.)

*** TURN *** [9d 8c 7c] [6c]

(BOO yacka, Ok lets see if he respects the check-raise all-in. BTW my favorite move hehehe)

TwoFishy: checks
Dirty Donny: bets 1200
TwoFishy: raises 4435 to 5635 and is all-in
Dirty Donny: folds

(I am the fucking Champ, J high flush draw common haha)

After that hand I start to bear down on him putting him all in pre flop and after the flop. He starts to get frisky and is pulling the all-in trigger a bit too often. I keep telling myself that I’m a better then this guy just be patient and you can trap him. I have the lead on him 5.5-1 and I gamble with Q9 vs. K5, I end up rivering him with a straight.

HAHA GG

lets raise 15% of my stack to win 1% of chips....hmmmmm

2005-12-22T05:08:00.000-08:00

Why raise 7-10 the big blind pre flop?

Advantages

You have a super loose player at your table
You have a massive stack and trying to bully
People think you are loose and you have a monster hand
You have a monster stack and want to suckout

These are all things that would give you a reason to raise 7-10BB pre flop. Otherwise raises like this pre flop are only going to get called by monster hands and in that case you are usually dominated. I don't understand the reasoning behind this play, but I'm seeing it more and more as I play. I can honestly say that since I have started to play sit n go's at the 30$ level the skill level has dropped to that of the 10$ level. I Just started playing at these limits not less then 3 weeks ago. Which makes me think that people are still jumping on the poker ban wagon. That leads to more inexperienced players that don’t understand that calling an all-in on a gut shot draw is not a good call.

I guess I shouldn’t be upset about these moves because I know that it will be much more profitable for me when I catch a hand. I just wish I could enter the minds of some of these players and see what type of logic they are forming with a raise like this. What really errs me is that players will do this in the first three levels of blinds. Like I’m going to raise pre flop 180 with the blinds 10/20, ok I’m going to risk 12% of my chips to win 30. That is totally absurd, the only conclusion I can come up with is that I’m playing a 12 year old or this person likes the different colours of chips on the screen when he/she bets. I don’t mean to rant here; from my point of view raises like this are meaningless unless presented with the situations stated above.

- Ciao Jose Lap

Suckouts, and Biggest Tournament Yet...

2005-12-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

Playing a 30+3 Sit N go. The most insane play I have seen so far at this level. Take a look.

1st hand of the Tournament

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [8d 4h]
ashuizinga: folds
TwoFishy: folds
bigpuffdaddy: folds
aikiman: folds
thefighting1: raises 1380 to 1400
djjdog1: folds
IBcards: folds
FcRiAvNiKc: raises 100 to 1500 and is all-in
BILLERtime: folds
thefighting1: calls 100 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [3c Ad Qd]
*** TURN *** [3c Ad Qd] [Qh]
*** RIVER *** [3c Ad Qd Qh] [Kh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FcRiAvNiKc: shows [Td Js] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
thefighting1: shows [As 6h] (two pair, Aces and Queens)

4th hand of the tournament

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [7c 7h]
aikiman: folds
djjdog1: folds
IBcards: raises 100 to 120
FcRiAvNiKc: calls 120
BILLERtime: folds
ashuizinga: folds
TwoFishy: folds
bigpuffdaddy: calls 100
*** FLOP *** [7d 3h 3s]

(What a flop eh…shizzle)

bigpuffdaddy: checks
IBcards: checks
FcRiAvNiKc: checks
*** TURN *** [7d 3h 3s] [Kc]
bigpuffdaddy: checks
IBcards: checks
FcRiAvNiKc: bets 400
bigpuffdaddy: calls 400
IBcards: raises 500 to 900
FcRiAvNiKc: raises 2050 to 2950 and is all-in
bigpuffdaddy: folds
IBcards: calls 480 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [7d 3h 3s Kc] [2d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
IBcards: shows [Ac Ks] (two pair, Kings and Threes)
FcRiAvNiKc: shows [3d 6h] (three of a kind, Threes)

5th hand of the tournament

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Td 7h]
djjdog1: calls 20
FcRiAvNiKc: raises 220 to 240
BILLERtime: folds
ashuizinga: calls 240
TwoFishy: folds
bigpuffdaddy: folds
aikiman: folds
djjdog1: folds
*** FLOP *** [As 3h 8s]
FcRiAvNiKc: checks
ashuizinga: checks
*** TURN *** [As 3h 8s] [9c]
FcRiAvNiKc: bets 180
ashuizinga: calls 180
*** RIVER *** [As 3h 8s 9c] [6d]
FcRiAvNiKc: bets 500
ashuizinga: raises 620 to 1120 and is all-in
FcRiAvNiKc: calls 620
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ashuizinga: shows [6c Ac] (two pair, Aces and Sixes)
FcRiAvNiKc: shows [3c 3s] (three of a kind, Threes)

After watching this madness I decided to join a 5+.50 rebuy tournament just for fun. When the tournament starts I realize that there is 1229 fucking people in the tournament and this is just stupid to even play in it. So I buy in once and get my stack up to 10,000 in chips starting with my first runner runner.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Ac 8c]
rev93coach: calls 20
joequarry: folds
l33twingman: folds
Zec123: folds
harrythecat: raises 180 to 200
TwoFishy: calls 200
pokerall: calls 200
muckingbird: folds
DALTEXTOM: folds
rev93coach: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jh 2h 3c]
harrythecat: bets 200
TwoFishy: raises 2560 to 2760 and is all-in
pokerall: folds
harrythecat: calls 2560
*** TURN *** [Jh 2h 3c] [5c]
*** RIVER *** [Jh 2h 3c 5c] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***harrythecat:
shows [Ks Kd] (a pair of Kings)
TwoFishy: shows [Ac 8c] (a flush, Ace high)
muckingbird said, "ha"
TwoFishy collected 6170 from pot
TwoFishy said, "ouch"

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Qh 8h]
muckingbird: raises 60 to 80
DALTEXTOM: folds
rev93coach: calls 80
joequarry: calls 80
l33twingman: folds
Zec123: folds
harrythecat: folds
TwoFishy: calls 70
pokerall: calls 60
*** FLOP *** [5c 9c 7h]
TwoFishy: checks
pokerall: checks
muckingbird: checks
rev93coach: checks
joequarry: checks
*** TURN *** [5c 9c 7h] [5h]
TwoFishy: bets 240
pokerall: folds
muckingbird: folds
rev93coach: folds
joequarry: raises 240 to 480
TwoFishy: calls 240
*** RIVER *** [5c 9c 7h 5h] [2h]
TwoFishy: bets 5570 and is all-in
joequarry: calls 1480 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [Qh 8h] (a flush, Queen high)
joequarry: shows [5s Td] (three of a kind, Fives)

Backdoor flush # 2…hehehe Oh how fun this tournament was.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Js 7c]
Zec123: calls 50
harrythecat: calls 50
TwoFishy: calls 50
Pokerall: folds
dostrove: calls 50
DALTEXTOM: calls 50
rev93coach: folds
joequarry: calls 25
l33twingman: checks
*** FLOP *** [6c 4c 7s]
joequarry: checks
l33twingman: checks
Zec123: bets 1570 and is all-in
harrythecat: folds
TwoFishy: calls 1570
dostrove: folds
DALTEXTOM: calls 1570
joequarry: folds
l33twingman: folds
*** TURN *** [6c 4c 7s] [2h]
TwoFishy: bets 370
DALTEXTOM: calls 370 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [6c 4c 7s 2h] [Kd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [Js 7c] (a pair of Sevens)
DALTEXTOM: shows [Qc 9c] (high card King)
TwoFishy collected 740 from side
potZec123: shows [6d 5d] (a pair of Sixes)

After amassing 10,000 in chips I had decided that I was going to see every flop since I had 4-1 lead in chips. I was going to be the loosest fish out there and my name and pic perfectly demonstrated it. I figured that this image was great because I know people would start to get pissed and pay me off. If I loose some fine I have a decent amount of chips to gamble with, and I’m playing this for fun right.

After loosing 4g’s to a straight Vs. top two pair I decided that this tournament was crazy and if I was going to win I’d have to over come way to many suckouts. The time to complete this thing was also a daunting task were talking upwards of 5-6 hours here. So I did the only thing a loose fish can do…ALL-IN baby!

One word these are consecutive hands…hahaha

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [8sJh]
rev93coach: folds
joequarry: calls 150
kingbeans5: folds
themexican24: calls 150
harrythecat: folds
TwoFishy: raises 6103 to 6253 and is all-in
OnlyDaNuts: folds
dostrove: folds
DALTEXTOM: folds
joequarry: folds
themexican24: folds
TwoFishy collected 675 from pot
TwoFishy: doesn't show hand

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [4h 2c]
joequarry: folds
kingbeans5: folds
themexican24: raises 150 to 300
harrythecat: folds
TwoFishy: raises 6478 to 6778 and is all-in
OnlyDaNuts: folds
dostrove: folds
DALTEXTOM: folds
rev93coach: folds
themexican24: folds
TwoFishy collected 825 from pot
TwoFishy: doesn't show hand

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Jh 8d]
themexican24: raises 150 to 300
harrythecat: folds
TwoFishy: raises 7003 to 7303 and is all-in
OnlyDaNuts: folds
dostrove: folds
DALTEXTOM: folds
rev93coach: folds
joequarry: folds
kingbeans5: folds
themexican24: folds
TwoFishy collected 825 from pot
TwoFishy: doesn't show hand

How many hands do they think I can get. I better not show bluffs or this little trick won't work...

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishX [5s 5h]
harrythecat: folds
TwoFishy: raises 7678 to 7828 and is all-in
OnlyDaNuts: folds
dostrove: folds
DALTEXTOM: folds
rev93coach: folds
joequarry: folds
kingbeans5: folds
themexican24: folds
TwoFishy collected 375 from pot
TwoFishy: doesn't show hand

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [2s 4s]
TwoFishy: raises 7903 to 8053 and is all-in
OnlyDaNuts: folds
dostrove: folds
DALTEXTOM: folds
rev93coach: folds
joequarry: folds
kingbeans5: raises 47 to 8100 and is all-in
themexican24: folds
harrythecat: folds
*** FLOP *** [3c 8c 2c]
TwoFishy said, "there is is"
*** TURN *** [3c 8c 2c] [Td]

(ahhh busted or not………………)

*** RIVER *** [3c 8c 2c Td] [2d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [2s 4s] (three of a kind, Deuces)
kingbeans5: shows [Kh Kc] (two pair, Kings and Deuces)
TwoFishy said, "ahhhhhhhhh shiz"
kingbeans5 said, "gosh"

After this DIRTY suckout….probably the most dirty I’ve seen since that 48o call on my previous post. I thought ok, now I have a 16,000 in chips and people think I’m loose as hell, let’s tighten up and try and get paid off.

Well I just couldn’t help my self after loosing 4000 in chips I started with the ALL-INS again.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Kc Td]
pfnm: folds
themexican24: folds
harrythecat: folds
TwoFishy: raises 11046 to 11246 and is all-in
OnlyDaNuts: folds
dostrove: folds
DALTEXTOM: calls 9324 and is all-in
rev93coach: folds
joequarry: folds
*** FLOP *** [9c Ah 2s]
*** TURN *** [9c Ah 2s] [Tc]*
** RIVER *** [9c Ah 2s Tc] [Ts]

(I think the feeling of rivering someone is very comparable to hitting the nuts off the flop. Ahhh it’s nice to be a fish sometimes)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [Kc Td] (three of a kind, Tens)
DALTEXTOM: shows [9s As] (two pair, Aces and Tens)
TwoFishy said, "river stars"
TwoFishy collected 18948 from pot

I then had one more suckout….it was pretty bad.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Qd 7s]
paalis: folds
brylaw1: folds
themexican24 is connected
awc0303: calls 800
Kim1b15: folds
pplmover: folds
TwoFishy: raises 2400 to 3200
ignored: folds
Liquide: folds
awc0303: raises 5330 to 8530 and is all-in
TwoFishy: calls 5330
*** FLOP *** [5h 7d 9c]
*** TURN *** [5h 7d 9c] [4h]
*** RIVER *** [5h 7d 9c 4h] [Th]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
awc0303: shows [Ad Qs] (high card Ace)
TwoFishy: shows [Qd 7s] (a pair of Sevens)
ignored said, "ul"
TwoFishy collected 18660 from pot
ignored said, "gg"
Wpalango [observer] said, "lucky"

After this hand I managed to amass about 50,000 in chips and got moved to a new table where I was picking up blinds here and there. I was able to make some good bluffs for considerable amounts of chips that kept me over 10xBB. I finally went out after about 3.5 hours when I pushed all-in 1 behind the dealer with K7o for 54,000. Looking at the move now I could see that I was kind of a bad move. The blinds were at 2000/4000 with 200 ante, and I just wanted a steal. The SB calls me for HALF his stack with QJ, like there’s just under 100 people left and this guy risks half his stack on QJ. I guess I shouldn’t be angry though I had my luck in the tourney. That’s the problem with these low buy-in tourneys you get some pretty fishy players…including me hahaha. All in all I made 40.00 bones, and I had a real fun time playing. I realize that in these types of tournaments with over 1000 participants you need to push and get lucky, playing almost any two cards. Once you get a huge stack you have to bully, bully, bully. Threaten people with there tournament life. I found my self chasing cards to the river just for implied odds and was catching. Once you reach the final 100 or so people the tournament changes to stealing blinds and re-steals. Although it’s all about the entertainment value…my EV

FISH

New Game Plan

2005-12-20T04:47:00.000-08:00

I’ve reassessed some things about poker. Why do I play poker? I’d say 50% of the reason is to make some extra money. 25% would be entertainment I would rather play some poker then sit in front of the life sucker box (television). The last 25% would have to be the challenge of the game. I really find it a pretty cerebral game and I need to improve my critical thinking skills. So with all this considered how can I make this poker thing more profitable. In all the poker blogs and poker books that I've read the main focus is hourly rate. How much money are you going to pull in per hour? I can tell you now my hourly rate is not that bad some times. But other times it’s fucking terrible. For example when I play a 20+2 180 sit n go, they will last on average of 3 hours or more if I were to make the final table, if I don’t make final table I double my money so that’s 18/3 = 6$ per hour. I’m not going to make any car payments with that kind of hourly rate.

Another consideration is ring games. I’ve played at limits from .01/. 02 to .50/1.00 and I have had mediocre success. The suckouts are almost every other hand and I can’t deal with it. There are too many inexperienced players at these levels and getting reads on them in just pointless. So I need to make money where I can play my best. I consider myself to be a better then average tournament player. Almost all the books that I’ve read are on tournament strategy so it only makes sense that’s where I will improve.

Last night I tried for the first time playing 6 sit n go’s at once. My buddy Rikkidee does this quite often with fairly good success rate. I’m starting at the lowest limits so that I can get the hang of it. Let me tell you it’s extremely fast paced. I find I need to block out everything that I’m doing and I can’t have one distraction while playing. This lasts for about ¾ to 1 hour. At that point I am usually down to 4 or less tables. The pace is dramatically decreased and I can focus a little more on each game.

Advantages:

· Increase hourly rate (most important)
· Don’t play many mediocre hands that get me in trouble (low pocket pairs, suited connectors, Ax)
· Increase my decision making skills (I’m making a decision about every 3-6 seconds)
· I usually make it down to 4-5 players just due to the fact I don’t play anything but strong hands (this will change though once I get to high limits)

Disadvantages:

· I don’t get any reads one players (not really a disadvantage because I’m playing such a short game and no one really pays attention to image @ this level)
· I don’t get to be tricky (some times fun but also dangerous)
· If I’m not totally focused I can lose a fair chunk of change
· My fucking monitor’s are too small and some times I click the wrong button due to the fact I have 6 tables on a 15” monitor (now that’s costly when you call a 6xbb raise pre flop with 36)
· I can only play poker (which is not a bad thing really)

So there you have it, this is my new challenge multi tabling tournament games. I’m going to give this a good effort because I think it can really work for me.

Math

Level 1

1st = 22.50
2nd = 13.50
3rd = 9.00

Cost = 6 tables @ 5. + .50 = 33.00 (one 1st and one 2nd to break even) = 36.00 + 3.00

I know that I’m not going to make any kind of money at these stakes but this is how I’m going to learn. If I can break even I will be happy for my first 2-3 hundred sit n go’s.

Level 2

1st = 45.00
2nd = 27.00
3rd = 18.00

Cost = 6 tables @ 10+1 = 66.00 (one 1st and one 2nd to break even) = 72.00 + 6.00

This level may be a little more profitable but still the players at this level are pretty shitty. I have to finish in the money 4 out of 6 which is pretty difficult playing this pace.

Level 3

1st = 90.00
2nd = 54.00
3rd = 36.00

Cost = 6 tables @ 20+2 = 132.00 (one 1st and one 2nd to break even) = 145.00 + 13.00

There is some room for money to be made here. The players are a little better and finishing in the money 4 out of 6 will be considerable profit for about 1.5 hours of work.
[(1, 2, 3, 3) = 84.00 profit not to shabby and this is accomplishable]

Level 4

1st = 135.00
2nd = 81.00
3rd = 54.00

Cost = 6 tables @ 30+3 = 198.00 (one 1st and one 2nd to break even) = 216.00 + 18.00

Here is where it starts to get a little difficult. But the chance for profit greatly increases. Say if I were to have 4, 3rd's I still would finish +20.00 and the odds of not winning one tournament is pretty unlikely (I may be over estimating my skill but I think I should get 1 top finish). Players at this level are not bad, but take big risks for their entire stack. Which I should be able to take full advantage of early in the game because I’m only playing premium hands.

Level 5

1st = 225.00
2nd = 135.00
3rd = 90.00

Cost = 6 tables @ 50+5 = 330.00 (one 1st and one 2nd to break even) = 360.00 + 30.00

This level is a long time coming. But you see, as I get higher in stakes, getting that 1st and 2nd will still be profitable. Although at this level the games usually last much longer and players are pretty tight. This is where I can take advantage in later stages of the game with steals, and re-steals.

1,2,3,3 = 210.00 profit that’s an insane hourly rate
1,1,2,3 = 345.00 again you can see how this can be quite profitable

This is quite difficult to accomplish but I just want to show you some numbers here.

Level 6

1st = 472.00
2nd = 283.00
3rd = 189.00

Cost = 6 tables @ 100+9 = 654.00 (one 1st and one 2nd to break even) = + 101.00

This is the final goal. But there is one other problem at levels 4,5, and 6 the tournaments don’t fill up as quickly as the lower levels. I have to combined levels once I reach them. At this level players are extremely good, and playing 6 tables at once will require extreme concentration. Hopefully one day I will able to reach Zen poker and play 6 109.00 sit n go’s at once…hehe

Now that’s a fucking ridiculous long post…

GG

Trips Turn Boat

2005-12-19T12:24:00.000-08:00

Since I'm such a fish I like to watch the sharks play in the open waters. I was watching some 10/20NL when I happened to catch this hand. It was quite entertaining, I wish I would have been able to see what B Buddy had.

Seat 1: bet2win ($8049 in chips)
Seat 2: 0504 ($2700 in chips)
Seat 3: Vick Is God ($2300 in chips)
Seat 4: Scottyboy24 ($1891.95 in chips)
Seat 5: TillerMaN ($2000 in chips)
Seat 6: silk21 ($2952.50 in chips)
Seat 7: Mariah85 ($1201 in chips)
Seat 8: B Buddy ($6662 in chips)
Seat 9: IceTea ($14736 in chips)
bet2win: posts small blind $10
0504: posts big blind $20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Buddy: raises $80 to $100
IceTea: calls $100
bet2win: calls $90
Mariah85: calls $80
*** FLOP *** [7c 8d 3h]
bet2win: checks
Mariah85: checks
B Buddy: checks
IceTea: checks
*** TURN *** [7c 8d 3h] [5c]
bet2win: checks
Mariah85: bets $320
B Buddy: raises $1480 to $1800
IceTea: folds
bet2win: raises $6149 to $7949 and is all-in
Mariah85: folds
B Buddy: calls $4762 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [7c 8d 3h 5c] [7s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bet2win: shows [8h 8s] (a full house, Eights full of Sevens)
B Buddy: mucks hand
silk21 said, "oh my"
bet2win collected $13861 from pot

NH Bet2win...
-Jo POW

FPP should be Freakin Pussy Player

2005-12-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

So I played in the 3000FPP tournament this weekend to with much dismay I finished in 125th or something. I drove home from my parents’ house that morning ready to set up shop in my living room for a good long poker stint. I had decided that I would play a 20+2 180 Sit N Go at the same time. It’s Hard for me to just focus on one tournament at a time (maybe I should try and fix that).

Right off the bat I was faced with some hard decisions. I found myself having to make pressure point decisions for considerable amounts of chips.

I was able to double up early with Aces but then doubled up the player that doubled me up when my Queens ran into his Aces. Then I had to fold QQ the very next hand because of community pot with a flop of A K 10. I was in late position with some considerable betting. Even though my hands was great pre-flop I had to believe that I was up against at least one A or K.

There was one hand that I played incorrectly and could have kept my self-alive if I made one change in my play.

Blinds 50/100

Hero (1200 chips) 8d8h LP
1 limper MP (1400 chips)
SB folds
BB checks

I limp behind the dealer who folds (maybe a mistake but I wanted to disguise my hand). The flop comes out 5s6hQc, this is a good flop for me. MP takes bout 3 seconds and checks. Ok, I have to take a stab at this pot right now and see if he will just fold. I bet 200 (that’s 2/3’s of the pot), BB folds, MP waits 3 seconds calls. Hummmm I’m thinking now maybe a draw, with that 56 on board, possibly QJ, QK, and Q10. But I think he would bet after the flop or check-raise me with those holdings. AQ, QQ, and no way I would have heard about this pre-flop. So, now I’m thinking maybe something like 56, or 67, a pair with a draw, although he’s not getting correct odds to call that flop bet. Also he could be holding pocket 5's or 6's if he is hold that then I'm drawing dead. (What I’m I missing here)

Turn is Qs, MP quickly checks. Now this is my mistake right here not betting this scary turn card. With the amount of chips in the pot right now (100+100+100+50+200+200 = 750) it’s defiantly worth trying to take it down especially because his check was very quick. Plus if he did hit trips on the flop that Q just gave me the nuts (that is if I bet it). I actually check as well. River is an innocent 2d. He checks again. Ok, either he's got the nuts and want's me to bluff at this pot or he's giving me the chance to let lay down his hand. I bet 300 make it look like a value bet, and he insta-calls. He flips over TT and I lose a big pot that would have kept me alive in this tournament. I could have just checked behind him and would have saved me 300, but if he folded then I over 2000...Another lesson.

So now I’m down to 600 chips. I’m placed at the worst table, to end my tournament life. My table consists of 5 people sitting out, 2 other stacks round my level 670, 720. One mid stack at 1050, and one super loose player with 4,200. I couldn’t pick up anything, I managed to stay alive for 20 mins then I went out on A9 Vs. AQ no improvement on the board.

I did pick one other lesson in this tournament. When my QQ lost to Aces the action pre flop whent something like this. I'm in the SB, and Villian is on the button. He raises 3xbb standard raise at the table, and also could be a position raise. I re-raise to 450, 3x his raise. Then he re-min raises me. I should have folded here, this represents a premium hand. We get all our chips in on the flop he turns over the weapons of mass destruction! (lesson: min re-raise pre flop = MASSIVE STRENGTH)

Oh, yeah the 20+2 Sit N go. I mangaed to finish 17th one place within the money. Three hours of work for a misley 24.00. Yeeeehaahhhh

Extremely redickulus suckout....(click for another Awful call)

2005-12-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

10+1 rebuy tournament
No Fold It is the chip leader and lives by his words. The tournament had been running for 3.5 hours with 15 out of 236 players left. 1st prize is 2,780.00.
Check out this call and suckout...You should have read the comments that followed this...hilarity...Holy shit just saw him call pre flop raise with 510off and hit a straight...another 85,000...this is madness. He proceed to double up like 4 people then he says "I've doubled up four people and im still in 3rd". Made like 5 more terrible all-in calls and finished 11th. What a waste of space...hehhehe

Seat 4: IronDoc (25078 in chips)
Seat 5: treysfull21 (101429 in chips)
Seat 6: No Fold It (273044 in chips)
Seat 7: RI Tony (67267 in chips)
Seat 8: beebers (112041 in chips)
Seat 9: BEMOL (171992 in chips)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
BEMOL: folds
david_a: folds
IronDoc: folds
treysfull21: raises 7000 to 11000
No Fold It: raises 21000 to 32000
RI Tony: folds
beebers: folds
treysfull21: raises 69229 to 101229 and is all-in
No Fold It: calls 69229
*** FLOP *** [5h 8d Ac]
treysfull21 said, "?"
*** TURN *** [5h 8d Ac] [4c]
*** RIVER *** [5h 8d Ac 4c] [7c]

(OUCH now that's a call!)

treysfull21 said, "omg"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
treysfull21: shows [Ah Kc] (a pair of Aces)
No Fold It: shows [4d 8s] (two pair, Eights and Fours)
IronDoc said, "omfg"
No Fold It collected 209858 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 209858 Rake 0
Board [5h 8d Ac 4c 7c]

Heads Up

2005-12-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about heads up play recently, relating directly to a heads up match I witnessed the other day between a friend of mine Rikkidee and some unknown. Rikkidee had a 7-1-chip lead and ended up losing the match. If you can’t play heads up you’re not going to win the big tournaments that’s a given. But how do you improve?

I haven’t read much about heads up play but I know that aggression here pays. How much aggression I haven’t really determined yet. Over the past few day’s I’ve been playing heads up super aggressive and loose. Rising with any hand on the button and betting the scary flop when first to act. This has proven to be pretty detrimental to my game getting more 2nd place finishes the one would like.

The problems I found with this is if the blinds are not very big compared to you stacks you will almost always lose, especially if you are playing a passive patient player. They just fold, and fold until they catch a hand play possum and trap you. This has happened to me on several of the last heads up matches. If the blinds are getting into 10% or more of your stack it’s basically a crap shut anyway and the player that hits the board will usually win.

Another pit fall that I ran into was raising on the button with hands like Ax. Sure this is a good hand heads up but if your opponent knows your style they’re hand can be easily disguised with your button raise and if an ace hits you going to lose a fair chunk of chips.

Wining with this style I think takes a lot of practice and knowledge of your opponent. I find my self-becoming more and more willing to risk as the match goes on playing in this manner. The only matches that I won playing in this manner were where my opponent got tired of me raising with everything and would call with second pair. It basically comes down to my opponent going on tilt and pushing with 2nd best. Personally heads up I wouldn’t want to put 1st place on the line hoping that my opponent will go on tilt (much to much a risk).

The requirements become very different when playing heads up. I find that some times I will try and play my opponent instead of my cards. I see some bad or fishy play and I push hard, what happens next is either they fold or I lose because I can’t let go of my hand I’ve already determined that my opponent is on some draw or I have him beat.

Respecting check-raises and all-ins. This I have a real problem with, when someone pushes real hard and I have a decent hand I rationalize with myself that I have the best hand. Knowing in my gut that the strength being presented usually has me dominated.

Things to think about and explore:
· Playing tighter on the button, still raising but folding as well.
· Trapping more
· Bluffing less, and respecting strength, but not to the point of passive
· Check-raising all-in on nut straight draws and OESD (this is pretty dangerous though considering most people if they caught the flop will call with TP)
· Using some type of calculated raising method to vary up the pre flop raising. Min raising more (This is a huge aspect of the game that I’ve I had problems with. I give no respect to the min raise. Maybe that should change.)

-So Say La P

I am Two Fishy (click to view)

2005-12-14T09:06:00.000-08:00

Guppy Jose, in his natural element, the ocean. This is me chillin swimming round playing with my little guppy friends. But don't be fooled I am a dangerous fish. When I'm trapped in a conner I become an vicious carnivore!.....I'll swindle all you money and eat your children! BWAHAHAHA...MUWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA

J-C-P

Gotta love the FPP

2005-12-14T05:05:00.000-08:00

PokerStars Tournament #16213890,
No Limit Hold'emSuper SatelliteBuy-In: 300 FPP
112 playersTotal Prize Pool: 33600 FPP

Target Tournament #16213761
11 tickets to the target tournamentTournament started - 2005/12/12 - 22:00:00 (ET)

Dear TwoFishy, You finished the tournament in 1st place.
You qualified to play in Tournament #16213761 and are automatically registered for it.
See Tournament #16213761 Lobby for further details.

Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.

This was tournament I played fairly well. I basically played pretty tight and pushed hard when I had premium hands. The blind structure of this tournament is very good and allows you to actually play poker that was really nice.

I found myself about 2 hours into the tournament in 15th place not playing many hands due to the fact that blinds go up every 30 mins thinking there’s no need to push yet. The challenges I found in this tournament were as follows:

Acting in first position with good late position hands and low in chips. Hands like A10, KQ, KJ, QJ, A9, even AJ these hands are not great all-in hands but if you are short stacked they work fine. Raising in first position with these hands especially on a full table and semi short stacked is just asking to be re-raised or put all in. I found myself folding a lot of these hands, and limping with some. But when I see a short stack limp in first position little bells go off, either this person has a monster or nothing and if I have position I’m raising.
Another tendency that I found was this new fad of min betting. I do not know how to react to this type of play. All of my being wants to jump through the computer and slap my opponent but what I usually do is re-raise. This is often followed by a call, and then I’m bet into on the turn. This is a strange move and I’ve see strength and weak hands come at showdown. I’m still not really sure how to react or counter this play. If I have a hand I’m obviously calling but when bluffing it’s very difficult to decipher what hands my opponent may have.

All in all I caught some nice hands near the end of the tournament (KK,QQ). I made some risky plays for blinds but what’s a short stack to do. When I see UTG limp then another call and I see A9 with 10bb in my stack I have to push. The great thing was I think people were actually watching table image cause I was playing super tight and my only move was ALL-IN. It’s nice to get some respect.

EPT qualifier this weekend geeeeehad

note: Notice in the screen cap of my appearence in the 3000fpp tournament my name is disgusied that is why it's near the bottom...hehehe

-JoSaY

First 180 person 20+2 Sit ‘N’ Go

2005-12-13T07:38:00.000-08:00

Now that the bankroll is increasing at a nice rate I’ve started to play 180 person Sit ‘n’ Go’s (20+2 buy-in). This weekend I played in two finishing 15th in one and tilting and busting out early on the other. I didn’t find the style of play that much different from the small 1-2 table Sit ‘n’ Go’s that I usually play. Players were very aggressive and willing to bluff more frequently. I guess you need to so that you can accumulate a stack to collect chips. I played pretty tight for the first while trying to get reads on the table that I was at. The first big hand that I had I got sucked out but due to the fact that there were three of us in the post I was still able to almost double up.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Ac Kc] (HERO)
fiddler545: folds
clang5: folds
mfngoodson: calls 30
cardsfan000: folds
sdlowe21: folds
enjoysix: calls 30
Argo: calls 30
heartsbeats: raises 90 to 120
TwoFishy: calls 90
mfngoodson: folds
enjoysix: raises 305 to 425 and is all-in
Argo: calls 395
heartsbeats: calls 305
TwoFishy: calls 305
*** FLOP *** [2h Ts Tc]
heartsbeats: checks
TwoFishy: checks
Argo: checks

(Checks no Ten…)

*** TURN *** [2h Ts Tc] [Jc]
heartsbeats: checks
TwoFishy: checks
Argo: bets 300

(Put him on a AJ, KJ, QJ, you never really know what people have especially this early in the tournament. Pretty weak bet, and I’m drawing to the NUTS so I thought CALL.)

heartsbeats: folds
TwoFishy: calls 300
*** RIVER *** [2h Ts Tc Jc] [7c]
TwoFishy: bets 970 and is all-in
Argo: calls 805 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [Ac Kc] (a flush, Ace high)
Argo: shows [9h 8s] (a straight, Seven to Jack)
TwoFishy collected 2210 from sidepot
enjoysix: shows [2s 2c] (a full house, Deuces full of Tens)

(OUCH….ZINGER…pocket Duces hehehhe is all I can do)

After that hand I played pretty standard. Raising with premium hands using position to bully smaller stacks. There’s about 80 people left when I hit a monster hand and my opponent can’t let go of his over pair.

Seat 2: horneeer (9130 in chips)
Seat 7: TwoFishy (4710 in chips) (HERO)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Jh Kh]
clang5: folds
horneeer: calls 200
sdlowe21: folds
Carnagex: folds
Smeg Head: folds
johnnyjet: folds
TwoFishy: calls 100
prari: checks
*** FLOP *** [Kd Jc Ah]

(BONER, amazing flop for me…hopefully he’s got an ace)

TwoFishy: bets 600
prari: folds
horneeer: calls 600
*** TURN *** [Kd Jc Ah] [Js]

(ahhh shit, just hit the nuts. Slow play now get some chips out of this one.)

TwoFishy: checks
horneeer: checks
*** RIVER *** [Kd Jc Ah Js] [Ac]

(Value bet!)

TwoFishy: bets 1100
horneeer: calls 1100
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [Jh Kh] (a full house, Jacks full of Aces)
horneeer: shows [Qs Qh] (two pair, Aces and Queens)

(oooo holds on to that hand. Yikes!)

(my good pal boostin the confidence! Tanks Rikki)

RikkiDee [observer] said, "owned"

Cru sin along now pretty comfortable, when I run into some kings that get cracked in a serious manner. Take a look!

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Ks Kh]
TanOrpheus: folds
jchi8: folds
mfngoodson: folds
acetoaster: folds
Pylon1: raises 1600 to 2400
xtreme2004: folds
Plip-it: calls 2400
TwoFishy: raises 8300 to 10700 and is all-in
madtaz25: calls 1710 and is all-in
Pylon1: folds
Plip-it: folds
madtaz25 said, "gg"
*** FLOP *** [7c 8s 7s]
madtaz25 said, "wow"

(WOW, yeah more like &$#*@(#$)!@(#*!@ ass, fuck, bitch, whore….)

*** TURN *** [7c 8s 7s] [Qh]
*** RIVER *** [7c 8s 7s Qh] [4c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [Ks Kh] (two pair, Kings and Sevens)
madtaz25: shows [7d 7h] (four of a kind, Sevens)
TwoFishy said, "BS"

That hand kind of got me a little on tilt, but I managed to keep it together. Playing a little more risky now raising with Ax quite a bit stealing though and folding to any resistance. I need to steal blinds to maintain. Then I end my life on a mediocre hand not giving respect to a pre flop raise. Thinking QJ it’s a good flop hand, but if I’m not helped on the board I’m finished. The blinds will still relatively low and this was not needed. Ah well lesson learned.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Qd Jh]
acetoaster: folds
Pylon1: raises 800 to 1600
Plip-it: folds
TwoFishy: raises 4090 to 5690 and is all-in
TanOrpheus: folds
jchi8: folds
mfngoodson: folds
Pylon1: calls 4090
*** FLOP *** [4s 7s 7c]
*** TURN *** [4s 7s 7c] [8h]
*** RIVER *** [4s 7s 7c 8h] [6c]
madtaz25 [observer] said, "later"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Pylon1: shows [Ad Ts] (a pair of Sevens)

(That’s a pretty ballsy call though. A10 not a very strong hand and I would fold to an all-in.)

TwoFishy: shows [Qd Jh]
Pylon1 collected 12930 from pot

15th doubled my money. Great what a way to spend 3 hours...

Jo5^y

Now Playing “Riverstars” Staring Jose La Pango

2005-12-13T06:57:00.000-08:00

30+3 Sit ‘N’ GOPlaying in a 30+3 Sit "n" go 18 people. After going out 9th in a tournament just minutes before I was a little apprehensive to play but you have to play through it right. My full house Jack full of kings was beat by Kings full of Aces…shitty but I got my chips in with the 2nd nuts (that’s life). I have both tables up watching every player trying to find leaks in their game. My first big pot was trips off the flop (ooo that rhymes…)

Seat 1: webe4020 (1270 in chips)(VICITIM ONE)
Seat 2: JROD4454 (1240 in chips)
Seat 3: TwoFishy (1810 in chips)(HERO)
Seat 4: Naked_Beaver (880 in chips)
Seat 5: nibs (3005 in chips)
Seat 6: Jasonh201 (775 in chips)
Seat 7: Drake1588 (1325 in chips)
Seat 8: ironmike26 (1400 in chips)
Seat 9: er0c (1795 in chips)
ironmike26: posts small blind15
er0c: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [7c 7d]
TwoFishy said, "gee?"
webe4020: calls 30
TwoFishy: calls 30

(Not really a fan of raising big with this hand out of position. Limp and hope to hit a monster, this way I can still get out fairly cheap to any strength on a scary board.)

nibs: calls 30
ironmike26: calls 15
er0c: checks
*** FLOP *** [Qc 3c 7s]
ironmike26: checks
er0c: checks
webe4020: checks
TwoFishy: bets 80

(good old weak lead. Maybe someone caught something…)

nibs: calls 80
ironmike26: foldser
0c: folds
webe4020: raises 190 to 270

(Uh ooo someone did…)

TwoFishy: raises 1510 to 1780 and is all-in
nibs: folds
webe4020: calls 970 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [Qc 3c 7s] [9s]
*** RIVER *** [Qc 3c 7s 9s] [Ah]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
webe4020: shows [3d 3s] (three of a kind, Threes)

(ahhh that’s unfortunate. Makes me feel better though about my 2nd nuts going up against THE nuts in the last tournament.)

TwoFishy: shows [7c 7d] (three of a kind, Sevens)
TwoFishy said, "gg"
TwoFishy collected 2710 from pot

After that I was up and down making plays, stealing blinds, re-stealing pre flop raises. Then the madness begins. I had my roommates’ friends over watching my play, and they were very intrigued by the game. The older one Steve played poker but had never played online for money. Once I acquired a big stack he was relentless on telling me to push with marginal hands and put people all in. I hadn’t had a big stack in a while so my chip leader skills where a little rusty. Steve helped me remember the power of the big stack. But what I’m going to show you know is very lucky and I’ve never won like this before. What can I say though I was hot and I wasn’t going to let this one go.

RIVER # 1

(Scenario: 14 people left. Just pulled off the trip 7’s VS. trip 3’s. I rivered this guy hard but it’s his own fault for not betting his hand.)

Seat 2: JROD4454 (1115 in chips)
Seat 3: TwoFishy (3955 in chips)(HERO)
Seat 4: Naked_Beaver (1200 in chips)(VICITIM TWO)
Seat 5: nibs (2445 in chips)
Seat 7: Drake1588 (1310 in chips)
Seat 8: ironmike26 (1290 in chips)
Seat 9: er0c (1225 in chips)
JROD4454: posts small blind 25
TwoFishy: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [8s 8h]
Naked_Beaver: calls50
nibs: folds
Drake1588: raises 150 to 200
ironmike26: foldser
0c: folds
JROD4454: folds
TwoFishy: calls 150
Naked_Beaver: calls 150
*** FLOP *** [Tc 5c Qs]
TwoFishy: checks
Naked_Beaver: checks

(His mistake #1 checking the best hand @ this point)

Drake1588: checks
*** TURN *** [Tc 5c Qs] [2s]
TwoFishy: bets 500

(my mistake #1 trying to represent that Q with just under pot size bet. Beaver mistake #2 for not showing strength and making me pay for the river)

Naked_Beaver: calls 500
Drake1588: folds
*** RIVER *** [Tc 5c Qs 2s] [8c]
TwoFishy: bets 500

(Rivered…hehehhehehhehehhe)

Naked_Beaver: calls 500 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [8s 8h] (three of a kind, Eights)
Naked_Beaver: shows [Kh Qd] (a pair of Queens)
TwoFishy collected 2625 from pot
TwoFishy said, "gg"

RIVER # 2

(Scenario: 9 people left. Up and down playing average right in the middle in chip. Staring to feel a bit frisky.)

Seat 2: kapkid (1445 in chips)
Seat 3: TwoFishy (3635 in chips)(HERO)
Seat 4: Jasonh201 (5570 in chips)
Seat 5: nibs (360 in chips) (VICITIM ONE)
Seat 6: big$trivia (2540 in chips)
Seat 7: Drake1588 (1525 in chips)
Seat 8: ironmike26 (4785 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 9: er0c (3250 in chips)
Jasonh201: posts small blind 75
nibs: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Qs 8d]
big$trivia: folds
Drake1588: fold
sironmike26: folds
er0c: folds
53mav53: folds
kapkid: folds
TwoFishy: raises 250 to 400

(I figure he doesn’t have a hand. Lets put him all in.)

Jasonh201: foldsnibs: calls 210 and is all-in

(ooops mistake #3 he’s got me)

*** FLOP *** [Kd 2d 5s]
*** TURN *** [Kd 2d 5s] [5c]
*** RIVER *** [Kd 2d 5s 5c] [8s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***

(RIVER #2 hehehheeh)

nibs: shows [Jd Ah] (a pair of Fives)
TwoFishy: shows [Qs 8d] (two pair, Eights and Fives)
TwoFishy collected 795 from pot
TwoFishy said, "gg"

RIVER # 3

(Scenario: 6 people left. I’m in the SB and I decide to make a move for this guys chips. Considering my image I maybe shouldn’t have done it. Although I had seen Kapkid raise with K2 and call an all in with KJ (no respect on that raise) it was begging to be taken.)

Seat 1: 53mav53 (1190 in chips)(RETARD *#*!~`@#)(*#)
Seat 2: kapkid (5090 in chips)
Seat 3: TwoFishy (4070 in chips)(HERO & VICITIM)
Seat 4: Jasonh201 (4000 in chips)
Seat 8: ironmike26 (6335 in chips)
Seat 9: er0c (6315 in chips)
er0c: posts small blind 10053
mav53: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Ad 9d]
kapkid: raises 400 to 600

(Standard blind steal raise UTG might have been a good hand but times a ticking. Thought about it for about 20 seconds then ALL-IN.)

TwoFishy: raises 3470 to 4070 and is all-in
Jasonh201: folds
ironmike26: folds
er0c: folds
53mav53: calls 990 and is all-in

(WTF what the hell does this guy have. AHHHH nothing sweet I’m ahead.)

kapkid: folds
*** FLOP *** [Td 6h 7c]
*** TURN *** [Td 6h 7c] [Tc]
*** RIVER *** [Td 6h 7c Tc] [Jd]

(NOPE RIVER #3 and it’s on me hehe)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
53mav53: shows [9c Jc] (two pair, Jacks and Tens)
TwoFishy: shows [Ad 9d] (a pair of Tens)
53mav53 collected 3080 from pot

RIVER # 4

(Scenario: 5 people left. I’m small stack faced with a raise with pocket 3’s…well I have to push let see what happens.)

Seat 2: kapkid (5185 in chips)(VICITIM THREE)
Seat 3: TwoFishy (1630 in chips)(HERO)
Seat 4: Jasonh201 (10025 in chips)
Seat 8: ironmike26 (3670 in chips)
Seat 9: er0c (6490 in chips)
TwoFishy: posts small blind 100
Jasonh201: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [3c 3s]
ironmike26: folds
er0c: folds
kapkid: raises 400 to 600
TwoFishy: raises 1005 to 1605 and is all-in

(lets gamble..hehe)

Jasonh201: folds
kapkid: calls 1005
*** FLOP *** [9h 3h 4s]

(Boner…)

*** TURN *** [9h 3h 4s] [Jh]
*** RIVER *** [9h 3h 4s Jh] [3d]

(Raging Boner)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [3c 3s] (four of a kind, Threes)
kapkid: shows [Ts Js] (two pair, Jacks and Threes)
ironmike26 said, "wow"
TwoFishy collected 3535 from pot
TwoFishy said, "still alive"

RIVER #5

(Scenario: 5 people left I’m right in the middle again. No need to really push now I just want to get in the money. I’m sucked in again buy Kapkids raises. I can’t give him credit for anything.)

Seat 2: kapkid (4005 in chips) (VICITIM FOUR)
Seat 3: TwoFishy (4910 in chips)(HERO)
Seat 4: Jasonh201 (8425 in chips)
Seat 8: ironmike26 (3870 in chips)
Seat 9: er0c (5790 in chips)
kapkid: posts small blind 200
TwoFishy: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Jd Qd]
Jasonh201: folds
ironmike26: folds
er0c: foldskapkid: raises 1200 to 1600

(I have a decent hand here. Not really sure I should have done this but I’m on a roll there’s no turning back now. Man I sound like a newb. Truthfully this was an easy fold to a player that has shown weakness. He just called my all-in with J10 and there’s no way I’m call that raise it’s all in or nothing.)

TwoFishy: raises 3285 to 4885 and is all-in
kapkid: calls 2380 and is all-in

(AHHHHH SHIT FUCKING QQ. So close to making the money. I hate fifth.)

*** FLOP *** [9s As 6c]
*** TURN *** [9s As 6c] [Kh]
*** RIVER *** [9s As 6c Kh] [Th]

(RIVERED>>>This is true luck. What a emotional Rolla coaster…heheh 1 outer)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
kapkid: shows [Qc Qs] (a pair of Queens)
TwoFishy: shows [Jd Qd] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
ironmike26 said, "LOL"T
woFishy collected 8085 from pot
TwoFishy said, "gg"

Wait it doesn’t stop…How can this streak end…it can’t!

RIVER #6

(Scenario: 4 people left. I’m chip leader now and it’s back to pushing round the table. I make a pretty ballsy move here but I had enough chips to make the call. I’m in the money and so the tension is off (somewhat…).)

Seat 3: TwoFishy (8990 in chips)(HERO)
Seat 4: Jasonh201 (8400 in chips)
Seat 8: ironmike26 (3845 in chips)(VICITIM FIVE)
Seat 9: er0c (5765 in chips)
Jasonh201: posts small blind 200
ironmike26: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Th Kd]
er0c: foldsTwoFishy: raises 800 to 1200

(Pushin my stack around. 1200 + 2620 + 100(ante) + 600 (Blinds) = 4520. So I’m about 2-1 odds and I’m definitely willing to coin flip tonight. I haven’t lost one yet.)

Jasonh201: folds
ironmike26: raises 2620 to 3820 and is all-in
TwoFishy: calls 2620

(Dang it…AQ ahh well I can sustain a blow to my stack I’m still in there with 5g’s)

*** FLOP *** [Ad Tc 3h]
*** TURN *** [Ad Tc 3h] [7s]

(Wait for it wait for it)

*** RIVER *** [Ad Tc 3h 7s] [Ts]

(BOOOM SHAKALKA….RIVERED AGAIN this is got to be some kind of record.)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
ironmike26: shows [Qs As] (two pair, Aces and Tens)
TwoFishy: shows [Th Kd] (three of a kind, Tens)
ironmike26 said, "i swear"
TwoFishy collected 7940 from pot

I’m still not done

RIVER #7

(Scenario: 3 people left. I’m chip leader now and it’s back to pushing round the table. This time I pick up an actual monster especially with 3 people. But I have a massive stack and people are super scared of me because I call with anything and hit everything. But I have to stick to the standard raise I wouldn’t want to raise suspicion.)

Seat 3: TwoFishy (13335 in chips)(HERO)
Seat 4: Jasonh201 (8150 in chips)
Seat 9: er0c (5515 in chips)
TwoFishy: posts small blind 200
Jasonh201: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Qh Qd]
er0c: foldsTwoFishy: raises 400 to 800
Jasonh201: calls 400
*** FLOP *** [Qc Tc Qs]
TwoFishy: checks
Jasonh201: checks
*** TURN *** [Qc Tc Qs] [Kd]
TwoFishy: checks
Jasonh201: checks
*** RIVER *** [Qc Tc Qs Kd] [As]
TwoFishy: bets 600
Jasonh201: folds
TwoFishy collected 1675 from pot
TwoFishy: shows [Qh Qd] (four of a kind, Queens)

No need to talk about this one it speaks for itself. It was that kind of night.

RIVER #8

(Scenario: HEADS UP. I started with about 2-1 in chips and raised with everything. Hitting the flop sometimes but betting like I did every time. This dude was terrified of me I think he folded like 8 or 9 hands in a row. He never raised just limped. I took all of his chips in blinds. Every time on the button raise….it was like clock work Until this hand comes up…)

Seat 3: TwoFishy (23480 in chips)(HERO WITH MASSIVE STACK)
Seat 9: er0c (3520 in chips)(SCARDEY CAT VICITIM SIX)
50er0c: posts small blind 300
TwoFishy: posts big blind 600
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [3c 7h]
er0c: calls 300
TwoFishy: checks
*** FLOP *** [3d 6c 8s]
TwoFishy: bets 22830 and is all-in

(Hit the flop can't let up now....All-in baby!)

er0c: calls 2870 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [3d 6c 8s] [Ah]

(OUCH NO WAY I CAN’T LOOSE…)

*** RIVER *** [3d 6c 8s Ah] [3h]

(YOUR RIGHT I CAN’T…RIVERED AGAIN FLAWLESS VICTORY)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [3c 7h] (three of a kind, Threes)
er0c: shows [Ac 9d] (two pair, Aces and Threes)
TwoFishy collected 7040 from pot

G MUTHER FUCKING G

-JOSE aka "FISHY FISH MIESTER"

Painful

2005-12-13T06:52:00.000-08:00

Playing a 30+3 Sit 'N' Go at stars, doing faily well 2nd in chips. The final three players are
average in skill. Mobstar is very agressive usually puting all his chips in for a blind steal. Which is not uncommon but pretty dangerous when you have absoulte trash. Snoopnuts pretty good player, he would usually fold to pressure bets even with TP (I think). I pulled the re-steal on him a few times and worked pretty well. I pulled a good move early in the tournament for a re-steal. I find that this best works with 3-4 players left and your up against a button raise. Usually the big stack won't risk his chips lead on a gamble (USUALLY never know with the fish our there right). Example:

Seat 1: soop2nuts (3550 in chips)
Seat 2: bhughes11 (1865 in chips)
Seat 5: MOBstar (4310 in chips) (CHIP LEADER AGGRESSIVE NEWB)
Seat 7: zuppy (1240 in chips)
Seat 9: TwoFishy (2535 in chips) (HERO)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [9s Ac]
soop2nuts: folds
bhughes11: folds
MOBstar: raises 300 to 450
zuppy: folds

(paused for about 20 secs then pushed. When he didn't insta-call I knew he'd fold. Heheh love that move...I find you need a decent size stack or this won't work either)

TwoFishy: raises 2085 to 2535 and is all-in
MOBstar: foldsMOBstar said, "show"
TwoFishy collected 975 from pot
TwoFishy: doesn't show hand

Final three and I'm out on a bluff turned into 2 pair, of course it's Mobstar.

Seat 1: soop2nuts (7505 in chips)
Seat 5: MOBstar (2150 in chips) (BEST PLAYER I'VE EVER SEEN)
Seat 9: TwoFishy (3845 in chips) (HERO)
MOBstar: posts small blind 200
TwoFishy: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Qc Qd]
MOBstar said, "knew it"
soop2nuts: folds
MOBstar: raises 1725 to 2125 and is all-in

(BOO yeah finally I have this loose agressive chump......Wait nope I'm out)

TwoFishy: calls 1725MOBstar said, "haha"
*** FLOP *** [5c 7c 8d]

(Nice hand the good old 57o all I can do is scream, and chuck my calculator across my apt and smash it into a million pieces...at least the TV remote wasn't close by...)

MOBstar said, "wow"
MOBstar said, "worry"
*** TURN *** [5c 7c 8d] [2h]
soop2nuts said, "wowsers"
*** RIVER *** [5c 7c 8d 2h] [6d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MOBstar: shows [5d 7d] (two pair, Sevens and Fives)
TwoFishy: shows [Qc Qd] (a pair of Queens)
MOBstar collected 4325 from pot
MOBstar said, "sorry"

-J05^`Y aka "Grinder"

Frequent Player Points Tournament

2005-12-13T06:50:00.000-08:00

I'm playing in a 300FPP (FPP are Frequent Player Points accuired from Poker Stars) qualifier for EPT event. When I disappointedly finished in 13th place only 4 spots away from qualifiying to the 10 000FPP EPT event. I had made some bad calls on some early hands but I had a fairly good stack at 1730. The blinds were 15/30 so very early in the tournament. There was approx. 145 people in the tournament. I was play realtively well, finding the players at my table of the usual FFP tournament style, loose and passive. Until the pocket 9's show up and I could not lay them down. Due to the fact that I had seen so many horrible showdowns only made me say "lets gamble". I feel that this hand kept me right in the tournament and felt that it gave me a shot to qualify. It feels nice to finally suckout on people...Cheers

Seat 1: estebanAA (465 in chips) (VILLAIN SIDEKICK)
Seat 2: mytuca (1015 in chips) (VILLIAN)
Seat 7: TwoFishy (1730 in chips) (HERO)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [9d 9s]
TwoFishy: calls 30
estebanAA: raises 435 to 465 and is all-in
mytuca: calls 465 el rookie:
TwoFishy: calls 435
*** FLOP *** [2s 3s Jc]
TwoFishy: bets 1265 and is all-in
mytuca: calls 550 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [2s 3s Jc] [4s]
*** RIVER *** [2s 3s Jc 4s] [9c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [9d 9s] (three of a kind, Nines)
mytuca: shows [Kd Ks] (a pair of Kings)
TwoFishy collected 1100 from side pot
estebanAA: shows [Jd As] (a pair of Jacks)
TwoFishy said, "lucky me'"TwoFishy collected 1440 from main pot

-Don Jo5^e

Me is Donk

2005-12-13T06:43:00.000-08:00

I sit down this morning playin some fun .05/.10 NL. The first hand I limp in with 23 and flop a straight and get paid off dearly for it. I then proceed to build up my chips to about $16.00, playing against a big stack loose aggrssive player. Knowing full well that soon I would get into a pot with him and get all his chips when this hand comes along.

Table 'Minkar'
Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: DiegoS ($10.25 in chips)
Seat 2: TwoFishy ($16.15 in chips) HERO
Seat 3: RaFi_777 ($9.70 in chips)
Seat 4: philhippos ($3.45 in chips)
Seat 5: grc12284 ($18.25 in chips) LOOSE NEWB (well he did get my money so good for him)
Seat 6: zoob123 ($2.35 in chips)
zoob123: posts small blind $0.05
DiegoS: posts big blind $0.10
philhippos: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [Ks Kh]
TwoFishy: raises $0.20 to $0.30
RaFi_777: folds
philhippos: calls $0.20
grc12284: calls $0.30
TwoFishy said, "all in...you better have the cooler"

(ummmmm, I have kings)

zoob123: calls $0.25
DiegoS: calls $0.20
*** FLOP *** [7c Kd 5h]

(boner, ok how do I extract the max amount of money here....Hummm check, hoping that someone has the other king. No real draws and no flush.)

zoob123: checks
DiegoS: checks
TwoFishy: checks
philhippos: checks
grc12284: checks
*** TURN *** [7c Kd 5h] [3s]
zoob123: bets $0.20

(to me this seems like a probe bet, I'll call and hope someone catches and A or Q or J on the river)

DiegoS: folds
TwoFishy: calls $0.20
philhippos: folds
grc12284: calls $0.20
*** RIVER *** [7c Kd 5h 3s] [8c]
zoob123: checks
TwoFishy: bets $0.60

(Weak bet, hoping to induce a bluff steal or 2nd pair or 2 pair)

grc12284: raises $1.70 to $2.30

(Boom, I have him ALL IN time)

zoob123: folds
TwoFishy: raises $13.35 to $15.65 and is all-in
grc12284: calls $13.35

(Hummmm, I wonder what he has....AHHHHHHH FUCK ME ASS @!#% &^*(#)@!)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [Ks Kh] (three of a kind, Kings)
grc12284: shows [6s 9h] (a straight, Five to Nine)
grc12284 collected $31.75 from pot

(69 off nice work...I guess I should have bet harder on the flop and turn...but what can ya do.)

After that horrible display it was hard to start playing again, but it's only 10.00 right. So I sit down and proceed to loose more money to Donks going all pre flop and I can't win a race. I think I should keep to the tournament play cause I can't deal with ring variance especially at micro limits.

Dealt to TwoFishy [Qh Js]
philhippos: folds
wskirk: folds
zoob123: raises $1.55 to $1.65 and is all-in
tingeling: folds
TwoFishy: calls $1.60
RaFi_777: folds
*** FLOP *** [6c 6h Qc]
*** TURN *** [6c 6h Qc] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [6c 6h Qc 3d] [Ac]

(Rivered again...Life is great!)

*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [Qh Js] (two pair, Queens and Sixes)
zoob123: shows [9h As] (two pair, Aces and Sixes)
zoob123 collected $3.25 from pot

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to XTwoFishyX [8d 8c]
felton2unc: calls $0.10
wskirk: calls $0.10
zoob123: raises $1.50 to $1.60 and is all-in
tingeling: folds
TwoFishy: calls $1.55
Kubista: folds
felton2unc: folds
wskirk: folds
*** FLOP *** [Qc 5c 3s]
*** TURN *** [Qc 5c 3s] [Th]
*** RIVER *** [Qc 5c 3s Th] [9s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [8d 8c] (a pair of Eights)
zoob123: shows [Qs Ts] (two pair, Queens and Tens)

(of course...fuckin poker!)

ME = FISH

30+3 Sit 'N' Go

2005-12-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

I love tournament play just as much as the next obsessed poker player. I have played probably around 200 SNG's since I started playing online poker about 8 months ago. I mostly play at poker stars, no reason in particular but that's where I started and it's hard to be bop around playing micro limits. I really enjoy the user interface and I've become very accustomed to the site and it's nuisances. So when I started playing SNG’s I obv played the lowest limit 5.00+. 50. I found this to be fun, usually being one of the better players at every table and finding that the suckouts are ever more prevalent. After several trials and tribulations I moved up to 10+1. I found this to be a comfortable level for me placing in the money about 50% of the time. Then 20+2 SNG’s which I found to be not much different from the 10+1, same fishes, and same calling stations. I’ve now moved to the 30+3 SNG’s and I think this is the optimum level for me. I’ve played 5 SNG’s and placed 1st 3 times, and 2nd twice. Now I know this is hardly a measure of my success at this level, but I’m telling you the skill of these players is mediocre at best.

Why, is that the players at the 30+3 level are equal or worse then those at 5.00+. 50 levels?

My reason is people playing at 5 and 10-dollar SNG’s limits are mostly average players with tight bankrolls. They are players that pay attention, read the occasional book and are looking to improve their poker. I do say most players; you still get the odd absolutely horrific players (but that’s poker). Now move up to 30+3 SNG’s to even play at this level you need at least round 250-500 in you account to consistently play at this level. Now tell me what new starting poker player has 500 to just toss in and play. I’ll tell you who, middle aged men with nice 6 figure incomes and young rich 20 something’s that think poker so a fun way to gamble. These players don’t really care about the money they are playing with and they’re play demonstrates this perfectly. They’re playing at this level because 50+5 is too much and 1st place for these tournaments is 135.00, which is not a bad investment for 33.00. I find that most of the players just want to see as many cards as possible. So they will call you pot size bet with K3, when you hold KJ on a K510 flop. Not only that but they will call two more pot size bets on the turn and river. I have almost always run into one of these hands in every tournament and I make it my mission to get all that players chips. Here are a few hands that I have run into.

Seat 1: twoFishy (2380 in chips) (HERO)
Seat 4: super_drey (4620 in chips)
Seat 6: PaMoose(2160 in chips) (VICITIM)
Seat 8: Mr_B1ing (3360 in chips)
Seat 9: CAL800 (1295 in chips)
CAL800: posts small blind 75
TwoFishy: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TwoFishy [9d 9c]
TwoFishy said, "pa moose"
PaMoose has returned
super_drey: folds
PaMoose: calls 150
Mr_B1ing: folds
CAL800: folds
TwoFishy: raises 300 to 450

(LIMP THEN CALLS BIG RAISE CLASSIC IN THESE TOURNIES. NO WANTS TO FOLD TO A RAISE…I’M PREYING FOR A 9 TO TAKE ALL HIS CHIPS)

PaMoose: calls 300
*** FLOP *** [9s 4s Qc]
TwoFishy: checks
super_drey said, "hmmmmmm"
PaMoose: bets 600

(AGAIN BETTING INTO AFTER THE FLOP. I USE TO BE SUSPICIOUS OF THIS MOVE BUT MORE OFTEN THEN NOT IT’S A BLUFF)

TwoFishy said, "thank U"

(Non believer...too bad)

TwoFishy: raises 1330 to 1930 and is all-in
PaMoose: calls 1110 and is all-in
super_drey said, "this may take a min..................."
super_drey said, "oops"
*** TURN *** [9s 4s Qc] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [9s 4s Qc 6c] [3c]
super_drey said, "gg"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TwoFishy: shows [9d 9c] (three of a kind, Nines)
PaMoose: shows [8s Ah] (high card Ace)
TwoFishy said, "gg"TwoFishy said, "newb!"

(I SHOULD ENCOURAGE THIS PLAY BUT I CAN’T HELP MYSELF HEHE)

TwoFishy collected 4395 from pot

Joey

I want to Poker Literally

2005-12-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I've recently become obsessed with poker. I'm not exactly certain why, but I can point out a few reasons. Reason one, it's the biggest fad going right now. I try not to follow trends but what can ya do. Second, there's money involved and thirdly, I can do it in my underwear. Oh how I love to do things in my underwear! But this is different for me; I really genuinely love the game. I can hear all you reading this now. "Oh NO, this guy is done, he's going to gamble away his life". I've never really been a gambler, and I've only recently been to a real casino. Finding it a bit over done and can't bother with gay slots, BJ or any other weirdo games.

Yes poker is gambling. Or how I like to put it, poker is a bunch of small risks tied together into one BIG risk or gamble. Each small risk is determined through YOU and only you. You base your decisions on the data you collect. If you collect bad data, you make bad decisions. If you collect no data, you have no chance to make good decisions. If you're playing against someone who makes you make decisions, you're more likely to make bad ones then good. Small principles to observe here...

Due to various factors the amount of data out there now on poker is 100 fold what it was 10 years ago. This is why you see all these newbs in WSOP (world series of poker) making it to the final tables. There are copious amounts of books and articles on poker. I personally have read 2 already and on my third (Killer Poker/Killer Poker Online, by John Vorhanus and Psychology of Poker, by Alan N., Ph.D. Schoonmaker). Another more common phenomenon is online poker. Online poker is a very different game from the regular poker room games. Let's draw up a picture here. Say you want to play poker and you need to go to a casino to play. You first have to free up several hours of time, dress accordingly, have something to eat (no one plays good poker on an empty stomach), gas up the car and then drive there. Now you’re at the casino but still not playing poker yet. You have to sign up for a table and wait for that perfect table. Can you see all the steps one must go through to prepare for a poker game? Not only that, but when you’re at the casino you’re surrounded by poker people, attitudes, dealers, money, chips, and cards, all of which mentally prepare you weather your willing or not.

At home you can jump into any online game at any level at the click of a button. Preparation = ZERO. So let me ask you how many online players are really mentally prepared to play poker? The stakes that you play at will also determine how focused players are. There are many other factors that make the home player at risk. Distractions like radio, msn, email, T.V, phone, kids, laundry, dishes...the list never ends. Other factors that I've come to realize about online poker is the reality of it or the lack there of. You become very disconnected from the poker atmosphere you receive at the B&M rooms (Brick and Mortar). This leads to very loose, players that chase pairs, trips, straights draws and classic cally wallies. They seem to lose touch with that little counter that reads how much money they have. Once these players start to get beat up, the disconnection becomes like a vortex, spining so fast before they know it their money vanished. The catalyst of this vortex is the speed of online poker. It's has to be at least 2-3 times faster then real poker. This means your bad decision-making is amplified with online play. You have no time to recover from a ball call, bad raise or a check. Before you know it, the next hand is staring you in the face. For these reasons I believe there is money to be made here. If you’re a disciplined, focused player that knows the pitfalls of online play, you can develop quite the bankroll. It also pays to know all the edges of online play. You may think how can there be any...you can't even see the person. Well there are many and exploiting them is a must for successful winnings. Another extremely different and useful tool is the data you can collect from online play.

1. Access to every hand you ever-played
2. % Of flops played on BB, SM, Button, out of position
3. Pots won on showdown, won without showdown
4. Chat function (to annoy, distract, and manipulate other players)
5. Ability to watch and monitor other players These are all fantastic ways to improve your play.

First things first, you must document your own play. Be honest with yourself about poker. Why do you play? Before you sit down each time this question should run through you mind. Be honest about your wins/losses. Accept the fact that you can lose. Not only accept, it but also have the ability to learn from it.

Lastly I would like to point out the 5th method of data collection. Let me repeat it "Ability to watch and monitor other players". This is the path to consistent winnings. If you want to win, you have to play against weaker players. How do you find weaker players? You go to tables, watch and make a notebook of weak, average and strong players. Once you've established a decent book, you're ready to enter the online poker room. Enter the registry and find those fish that are so willing to throw away their money. If you come across a shark GET OUT! There is no reason you should stay there with him. He/she is better than you, accept it and move on. This is very hard for some players. They can't accept defeat, for some reason they feel they must win back that money, this is the worst decision a weaker player can make. That shark will make quick work of your bankroll. There is always a better game somewhere else. That's the beauty of online...click click and you're on another table. Let me say this one more time.

There is ALWAYS a better game somewhere else! Be patient and find it.

GG -Jospi