Prefrop madness, leveling, and stacking off light!

I had a such nice warm welcome back to the world of blogging yesterday I figured it wouldn't hurt to throw another post up there with a much more interesting hand. Let's get right into the action.

B is a complete monkey and I go ahead and make a 3b him from the SB. With K6 high (SOOOOOTED!) I'm obviously trying to get him to fold a bunch, or get the pot HU where he's doing something retarded like set mine IP. Unfortunately, much to my chagrin - I am COLD 4b in the BB by an aggro regular. 3b FAILLLLLLLL!

Before I go further, I want to note that I really like the sizing by the BB here, it is small enough that is not risking that much when he has to fold to a 5b and big enough where I simply can not call oop with a marginal hand. I am put at a decision for my stack right there for a relatively cheap price.

The first thought two thoughts that entered my mind were "FML" and "Fold," ROR! However before doing that I did analyze the situation a bit more. The facts were pretty clear - B is a donk and rarely has a hand here and I know this, thus I 3b him. If the BB has even the slightest clue (which I suspect he does) - his response SHOULD be to cold 4b with many a hand as a bruff. Easy SORUTION!

SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT!!!

Before anyone who reads this jumps on the bandwagon of 5b shoving K6s a cold 4b, let me get into a few criteria I weighted before doing so.

a) BB is a relatively aggro regular and had a HIGH 4b% percentage

b) I was SOOTED - a nice 3% boost to my equity when called

c) Having a K was probably the biggest factor in reshipping here. This makes it less likely he has hands that he would go with pre that would completely screw me. KK and AK.

Full Tilt Poker $400.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/901069

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $1275.10

CO: $407.20

BTN: $780.60

Hero (SB): $400.00

BB: $439.70

UTG: $536.10

UTG+1: $776.80

UTG+2: $521.70

MP1: $1291.20

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is SB with Kd 6d

6 folds, BTN raises to $14, Hero raises to $44, BB raises to $104, 1 fold, Hero raises to $400, BB calls $296

Flop: ($814.00) 3h 2h 7s

Turn: ($814.00) 5h

River: ($814.00) Js

Final Pot: $814.00

Hero shows Kd 6d

BB shows Jh As

BB wins $811.00

(Rake: $3.00)

While I got stacked and definitely give the BB ALOT of credit for calling off with A high here, I'm still fine with my play. BB tanked down FOREVER before calling it off. Anytime you have your stack in the middle with K high and you get a tank from a guy who put a 1/4 of his chips in the middle - CLEARLY he was bluffing. I can tell you with certainty his original plan was not to cold 4b SNAP get it in vs a 5b. Also I think AJ is at near absolute high end of his 4b bluffing range (that he somehow turned into value, ROR). I think he's going to fold AT and lower, all Kx hands, and any other crap he was bruffing with.

I had 39% equity and and lost, oh well - RELOAD!

Remember folks - red cards are the anti-nuts. Always bet on brack!!!

Rush Poker + JJ FAILLLLL

Well as I'm sure you know by now...I've been on a massive blog hiatus the past few months. I'm sure you ALL missed me. And by all, I mean nobody, ROR!

I've pretty much officially transitioned over to RUSH poker - its ridiculously addicting and while you can't game select and pick and choose seats, the ease at which you can fire up/close games is amazing. The games are by no means easy, but after a few good months at 1/2, I felt confident enough to return to my old stomping grounds at 2/4 when they opened up RUSH at that limit earlier this month.

The caliber of players sitting at these games is a true testament of how popular RUSH has become. You've got guys who are regulars 5/10+ coming down to swim in the RUSH waters! Below is a hand vs David "Raptor" Benefield. I got stacked...but I just think it's hilarious that this guy has played as high as 500/1000, RORRR! And apparently he's a winner there, according to PTR, he's up 333k in 679 hands, ROR!

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $402.70

UTG: $466.80

UTG+1: $560.60

UTG+2: $866.20

MP1: $400.00

David Benefield: $414.00

CO: $584.00

BTN: $534.70

SB: $403.00

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is BB with Jd Jh

4 folds, David Benefield raises to $10, 3 folds, Hero raises to $34, David Benefield raises to $88, Hero requests TIME, Hero raises to $402.70 all in, David Benefield calls $314.70

Flop: ($807.40) 8d Kh As

Turn: ($807.40) 3h

River: ($807.40) Qs

Final Pot: $807.40

Hero shows Jd Jh (a pair of Jacks)

David Benefield shows Ah Ks (two pair, Aces and Kings)

David Benefield wins $804.40

(Rake: $3.00)

JJ FAILLL!!!

-Brackchips

THIN! (Part 18)

Haven't had a THIN post in quite sometime and felt that this hand simply could not be overlooked for a THIN nomination. Been grinding out NLHE quite a bit with decent success, one thing I have noticed along with Bruechips is that NOBODY FOLDS anymore. NOBODY. From one pair to friggin 8th pair...it has become quite difficult to pry people off any of any semblance of a hand. It's friggin nuts. I guess it is just part of the educational evolution part of NLHE as the players get progressively better and the fish pool dwindles. The players that will succeed need to continuously find new ways to exploit their opponents. 3betting/cbetting by even bad players is becoming pretty standard - alot of your edge will come in later streets where players are uncomfortable/unsure as to the best play.

Enter THIN...lol. Provided you can VB your hands better than you opponents - you will be ahead of the game. Being able to VB later streets as your villain's range becomes more polarized will maximize your WR.

Full Tilt Poker $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/636256

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $202.85

UTG+1: $263.25

MP: $200.00

CO: $202.50

Hero (BTN): $490.20

SB: $100.95

BB: $55.55

Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is BTN with Ks Jc

2 folds, MP raises to $7, 1 fold, Hero calls $7, 2 folds

(this call is not completely standard - i think a mix of calling, folding and 3b'ing are reasonable. One thing to note is that we are 7 handed. The reason I chose calling here is I felt I might get played back if I 3b here since I had been pretty aggro pre IP, I felt I could outplay him on most flops.)

Flop: ($17.00) 2h Kh 3s (2 players)

MP bets $11, Hero calls $11

(Boom goes the dynamite? Good flop but not necessarily I feel super comfortable raise getting it in with. Raise folding would be retarted for obvious reasons. I call the standard cbet - with the intention to take him into town (value town that is!) if I sense weakness on later street.)

Turn: ($39.00) 7c (2 players)

MP checks, Hero bets $26, MP calls $26

(Pretty much the nut card for me that does not improve my hand...when he x's I'm quite confident that I am best here, I am betting for value but it would be REALLY gross if I got XR here, honestly idk what I would have done. Maybe shit my pants and reshoved, but that is probably influenced by the fact that I know the outcome of the hand.)

River: ($91.00) 9s (2 players)

MP checks, Hero requests TIME, Hero bets $446.20 all in, MP requests TIME, MP calls $156 all in

(After he xc's the turn I can be pretty confident that he does not have a one pair+ hand that beats me. I really think that AK, KQ would have tried to sqz out some more value on the turn when the brick rolls off. It is obvious he is trying to get to SD without putting any more money in the pot. When I am trying to figure out what is the best to bet, I realized that I could very easily make my hand look like a bluff with an overbet shove...and given that NOBODY folds these days I figured it was the best play. I felt that KQ was the ONLY hand that I would be value cutting myself on - but against worse one pair K hands and hands like TT-QQ, I could pwn him hard.)

Final Pot: $403.00

MP mucks Td Kc

(GREAT SUCCESS!!!)

Hero shows Ks Jc (a pair of Kings)

Hero wins $400.00

(Rake: $3.00)

-BRACKCHIPS

A Case of the Mondays (Part 12)

Tarrantino's take on TopGun...undoubtedly one of the best youtube clips across the entire interweb. Tremendous stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyN8VN4BSzM

-BRACKCHIPS

PLO - Misc

Hey folks, thought I'd throw in a PLO hand and mix things up a bit. I have spent several months trying to learn the ropes of the game and despite my poor results, I really have enjoyed the challenge of a new game. The state of NLHE games is pretty rough right now, the game is by no means "solved" - but there are fewer and fewer fishy games. That being said, IMHO there is definitely some money to be made at the PLO tables - provided you can handle the insane variance, ROR!

Let's get into the action...

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 5 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/590701

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $174.60

UTG: $204.90

CO: $160.00

BTN: $386.90

Hero (SB): $346.10

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is SB with 3s 4c 6d 2h

1 fold, CO raises to $12, 1 fold, Hero calls $10, 1 fold

Flop: ($28.00) Jh 5d 2s (2 players)

Hero checks, CO bets $14, Hero raises to $52, CO calls $38

Turn: ($132.00) 4h (2 players)

Hero requests TIME, Hero bets $132, CO calls $96 all in

River: ($324.00) Th (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $324.00

CO shows 7h Ac 9h Ah (a flush, Ace high)

Hero shows 3s 4c 6d 2h (a straight, Six high)

CO wins $321.00

(Rake: $3.00)

Prefrop - I'm by no means a PLO expert, but I believe my defense here in a HU pot where I will be closing the action is pretty standard. That being said, if I were in the SB, it might be closer towards a fold especially when you are in a pot with a squeeze happy BB. While I'd obviously prefer a rundown with some higher cards and frush draw potential - this is a hand I feel you can defend as it rarely dominated and has quite a bit of deception when you do make a hand.

Frop - And BOOM goes the dynamite...I flop bottom pair, and a nice wrap. It is a pretty standard spot for a xr here because the board looks harmless - and I expect the villain to cbet most of his range on this board. Much to my surprise the villain cold calls (given the stack sizes, I figured he would fold his air or simply go with his made hands of 1 pair+). When he calls here I thought he might be running some kind of soul read and folding to a straight completing turn card.

Turn - always nice to bink the nuts. I ship it in and get snapped off by dry aces (that picked up a FD on the turn). Unfortunately by some freak accident hearts gets there and I rose the pot...can't win em all!

-BRACKCHIPS

Poker after Dark

LOLLL - be sure to check out this weeks episodes...so so lineup but it is definitely worth its weight in GOLD as far as entertainment. Catch episodes from earlier this week on pokertube.com.

Watching helmuth donk around with these guys is just epic stuff. He moans, whines, complains NON STOP with his UB cap, shorts, and WSOP bracelet...how GHEY is that?

Here's a question...if this guy played HU with an ANTE vs any competent HU player - how long would it take for him to be completely bankrupt? ROR.

PLO Brag

I played a PRO hand that I felt was rather brag worthy. In PLO, given the fact that equities run SO effing tight...the nature of the game provides "gamblers" an artificial edge given the fact that they are willing to stick their money in light. Its pretty rare to ever be a HUGE dog pre or postfrop as it is in NLHE...yer often going to be in a bunch of 60/40s...on one side of the other, and provided you can run well...you'll prolly have the illusion that you are gods given to PRO.

AnyWHO...provided you can get yourself on the CORRECT side of those 60/40s...you will be printing money, provided you don't get raped by the RNG. Now I don't craim to be an expert/winner at PLO by any means...but I'm going to review a HH below and provide some analysis on a hand which I thought was particularly interesting. Given that equities run so tight...it's pretty very difficurt to play a hand optimally.

*************************************************************

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 6 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/466160

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $715.00 BTN: $400.00 SB: $275.00 Hero (BB): $599.20 UTG: $551.40 MP: $80.00

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is BB with Qd 9h Kh Kc

1 fold, MP calls $4, CO calls $4, BTN raises to $22, 1 fold, Hero requests TIME, Hero raises to $76, 2 folds, BTN calls $54

Flop: ($162.00) 6c 7d 3d (2 players)

Hero checks, BTN bets $88, Hero requests TIME, Hero calls $88
Turn: ($338.00) Js (2 players)

Hero bets $338, BTN calls $236 all in

River: ($810.00) 7s (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $810.00

BTN shows 8s Kd 9d Th (a pair of Sevens) Hero shows Qd 9h Kh Kc (two pair, Kings and Sevens) Hero wins $807.00

(Rake: $3.00)

*************************************************************

Pre - virrain is SUPER tag...as in nitty unlike Tiffany's mom's vag. Rike 19/15 in PLO...I honestly can NOT believe that styre can be profitabre in PLO...given that IMO its far too tight for a 6M NLHE game. W/E. I 3b the SB for value and get fratted - the key thing to take way from this frat is that his range now does NOT included AAxx. Also, I don't think his 3b calling range will include many pairs...unless they are of the well connected double paired variety. I expect him to pitch junk like AK99 (which he may actually open fold anyway). Frop - There is one three letter phrase that comes to my mind when this comes down. FML. Times 100x. I instantly considered xf'ing given how GROSS this board is and that I have zero draws/backdoor draws...and that I'm almost NEVER going to get it in on this frop as a favorite. It also is BURRIED in his 3b calling range that is weighted towards sooted connectors. While debating the xf option...I just go ahead and check and evaluate. Sorta ghey, but I'm out of position with a naked overpair (full stax vs a competent player) and literally want to jump off a bridge. Virrain goes ahead and bets a rather ghey amount...VERY enticing for a xrai, but I opt for a variation of the patented Bruechips Fade and Go. My plan is xc, shove ANY non diamond that does not complete 89 on the turn. Granted its a HUGE chunk of the deck...but I felt that given his range, it was a better play than to bet fold, bet call, or xf. Turn -BINKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK. J of spades...an excellent card for me. Ipot donk it into him and booya, he calls it off as he should with a big timey wrap with a FD which I'm able to fade on the river. Villain was prolly thinking (HOW THE F DO I NOT BINK FTW?!?!?!) instead of realizing that he got ooooooowwwwwnnnnddddd! For all you math geeks out there - here are the equities street by street.

PREF - 69/31 FROP - 34/66 TURN - 58/43

Ship it.

-BRACKCHIPS

Brackchips 1, Bruechips 0

That's the blog tally as we start the new decade...WORD!!! (My guess is this may be the only point during the year when I will have more blog posts so I need to make a point to rub it in.)

I've been completely off the blog radar the past few months lately...just haven't felt much like blogging. Poker has been pretty brutal lately - I made the random decision at the end of October to switch over to PLO after playing in a home game...and I've caught the bug for sure. However, it has decimated my roll, ROR! I really enjoy the game much more than NLHE - it really makes you think significantly more compared to NLHE...but the variance/swings can bebrutal for sure.

The consensus from what I have heard is the variance is something like 2x NLHE. I'd be curious to figure out an actual way to measure the differences in variance. What other ways can you compare the relative variance other than your all in frequencies? My guess right now is that it is probably more than that assuming you are playing a relatively aggressive game at tables that are not completely infested with passive fish.

Contributing to my downswing has been the nonstop crap I've encountered with my computers/hem/windows. Pretty much everything in the world has gone wrong and I really haven't been playing on my main setup sans problems for well over a month. I've seriously spent at least 50+ hours tweaking/fixing/troubleshooting my machine. I've finally went ahead and upgraded both my machines to SSD hard drives, both running Win 7, and it looks like HEM is FINALLY cooperating. So I'm looking forward to getting back on my desktop with my timey monitor sans distractions. Now if I could only have FT email me all the hh's I am constantly requesting.

Bruechips was in town for about a week during the horidays and we were able to mix in a good amount of HU action of a PLO/NLHE mix. I ran like god because I had the advantage of homefield but credit must be given where it's due - brue prayed rike a beast and I'm suprised I didn't quit poker altogether when he 4b the turn in a hand of NLHE with a 3rd pair no kicker which was good vs my 4th p+SFD (spade frush draw aka the nuts). Thankfurry I rivered a SPADE ftw...SHIP IT!

BTW - for any of you with an iphone/ipod touch - I HIGHLY recomend downloading a free game called "Imobsters." You won't regret it, trust me.

-BRACKCHIPS

ESPN's WSOP Main Event Coverage

WOW is all I have to say. Talk about some bad TV...we got to see roughly one hand per commercial break and the hands we did see - about 95% of them were preflop all ins. I don't really watch that much poker on TV these days other than HSP...but boy this was downright terrible. Unless you are interested in seeing suckouts/badbeats/Joe Cada run like GOD - this was incredibly terrible coverage. I'm not kidding you when I say that the most entertainment I got from that 2.5 hrs was the clips they had of Humphrys, Ivey's elderly superfans. The husband was wearing a button the size of a watermelon with a picture of Ivey...HILARIOUS.

I had not watched the FT at the ME for several years...but this year I had to check it out - the one and only PHILLIP HORATIO IVEY was somehow able to navigate through the minefield of 6k+ players and make it to the final 9. I can't imagine what a boost the ESPN ratings got since he made it to the FT. We are all just playing in his lil world of poker...where he is a god amongst men.

There were literally ZERO interesting hands that played out - aside from Joe Cada's insane ability to flop sets, Darvin Moon's desire to bloat pots out of position with no pair/no draw...you really didn't get much value. The only interesting hand I took note of was the A9dd vs 77 where Ivey xc'd the flop, turn was xx, Ivey led the river after his draw bricked off.

Does anyone have any info about the hand where Darvin Moon xr bluffed a flop with KQ high and then folded to a 3b shove getting like 400-1? He went back to his wife and told her that he had QUEENS. Either a) he misread his hand...which I highly doubt because there is no way he would have folded or b) he just decided to lie to his wife on national TV. Did he not think she was going to going to see the coverage?

So while the FT ME coverage was shit...if you want to get your fix on some high stakes action - check out the action running on Full Tilt lately. Durrr has been battling a Sweedish action junkie by the name who goes by Isildur1 at MANY A TABLE of 500/1k. These guys have been putting in some MARATHON sessions and the only thing that has slowed the action has been Durrr's apparent liquidity problems - which he has been working on since he's been getting pretty tuned up by this new Nordic phenom. I think Bruechips will be posting later this week about this high stakes bloodbath - stay tuned.

Congrats to Joe Cada...I'm especially glad that he took it down for one very special reason. With him eclipsing Eastgates record last year for the youngest person ever to win the ME...now Phil Helmuth is officially something like the 172nd youngest person ever to win the ME. LOL. Yer still the greatest Phil...I'm sure you have at least 11 more bracelets coming your way. Make that a double LOL.

-BRACKCHIPS

A Case of the Mondays (Part 9)

If this doesn't start off your week right...yer pretty much hoperess. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxZkaEge0R8

A Case of the Mondays (Part 7)

This one is dedicated to all you chipotle lovers out there...

http://tinyurl.com/yznu28u

-BRACKCHIPS

Non Poker

In cerebration of the DOW rebounding to 10k...this is actually going to be a stock related post. Actually not stocks...but specifically online brokers.

I've been trading stocks online for over ten years now (FML I'm getting old) and have used MANY a brokers. Over the years I have experiemented with probably 7-8...etrade, datek, ameritrade, wit capital, schwab, firsttrade, scottrade, etc. Needless to say I've experienced a wide range of service amongst these brokers in this highly fragmented marketplace.

About a year ago I tested out Tradeking - a lesser known player but a playa nonetheless. Surprisingly I had never heard of them...but after calling and giving their website a test drive I figured try them out and transferred one of my Scottrade accounts over.

...A month later - the remainder of my accounts/securities were ALL over at Tradeking. These guys are the absolute ROCK STONE NUTS.

Unless you are someone who is mad old school and feels the need to physically spend time with a broker - IMO, you can't go wrong with the boys at TK.

1) Customer service

2) Extremely competitive pricing schedule

3) An excellent customizable web interface

I really don't even know where to start when it comes to the customer service...these guys are so far above the rim its ridiculous. However you contact them, email, chat, phone - you NEVER have to wait, and in addition to that - these people KNOW what they are talking about.

5 bux a trade people...5 bux. Ya I know some places are cheaper, and even free in some cases - but I'm GLAD to pay them for the trade. Oh and for those of you still who have not yet heard of the internet...call em up and it's STILL 5 bux. I don't think you can find anyone under 25 when you pick up the phone for a trade. Oh and none of those silly IRA/inactivity fees...no minimums either.

Big fan of their website/interface - fresh, easy to navigate, and customizable.

Oh one other HUGE thing - they offer DRIP for any security that has it available. This was a HUGE part of the reason I was seeking alternatives to Scottrade last year...HADDDD to get my DRIP on - had gone way too long without it.

TRADEKING

Give em a shot.

-BRACKCHIPS

Untitled

So I was away from the game for about two weeks at the beginning of the month...good to take a break from things, relax, and enjoy the freedom and flexibility of being a poker player :) Went on a travel tear up to NYC, LA, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Chicago, Knoxville, and back home. Surprisingly despite bringing my laptop along for the trip...I didn't feel the urge to fire up Full Tilt.

After I came back earlier this week, I was INSTA ready to fire things up and pick up where I left off. However I definitely hit a few speedbumps in my return to the tables...which has become a pretty consistent theme when I take extended breaks. The most difficult about my game/style is striking a balance between LAG/MANIAC. IMO there is a razor thin line between the two styles and when my game starts veering towards the latter - 3 words come to mind. FML. My variance goes through the roof and then my game suffers in general. There are also alot of THIN decisions that I find myself being on the wrong side of...and if I were in the grove, I'm more confident that I would make the correct decisions.

Here's to pwning donkeys and bringing your A game!

-BRACKCHIPS

A case of the Mondays (Part 3)

http://tinyurl.com/nnev6q

-BRACKCHIPS

Brack is Beautiful (Part 19), ATM FTW!

True HH, Bruechips was actually railing me at the time...no commentary/analysis necessary, this one plays itself out.

Full Tilt Poker $3/$6 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/252376

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $600.00

UTG+1: $652.00

MP: $1544.60

CO: $93.00

BTN: $1008.00

SB: $2330.15

Hero (BB): $858.00

Pre Flop: ($9.00) Hero is BB with Ts Ks

2 folds, MP raises to $24, 3 folds, Hero calls $18

Flop: ($51.00) 2s 9s Qh (2 players)

Hero checks, MP bets $24, Hero calls $24

Turn: ($99.00) 8s (2 players)

Hero checks, MP bets $99, Hero raises to $330, MP calls $231

River: ($759.00) 7s (2 players)

Hero bets $480 all in, MP calls $480

Final Pot: $1719.00

MP mucks Jh 7c

Hero shows Ts Ks (a flush, King high)

Hero wins $1716.00

(Rake: $3.00)

-BRACKCHIPS

BTW, how often is it that you frop no pair and have your virrain drawing that thin, even though he shares no cards with you? 93% equity on the frop with K-high vs. J-high ROR.

-BRUECHIPS

NEW SERIES - A case of the Mondays (Part 1)

I'm a bit bored with poker content right now so I figured I'd start up a new non poker series...

This new series is going to be dedicated to giving everyone coming back to work after the weekend a good laugh. Each week I will try and dig up a new and entertaining clip and post it here.

We'll start the series with George Brett. It's not baseball related...so you will just have to watch!

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6403VV2oyu0

-BRACKCHIPS

Blogger alternative suggestions PLEASE

Spritpot has been utirizing Brogger since the inception of our blog 18 months ago. Its been a rocky relationship with Brogger...we both agree that their software is the ABSOLUTE NUT low. Its terrible - full of bugs, restrictions, and all kinds of assorted gheyness.

If you have any suggestions for alternative blogging software solutions...please comment! Also - suggestions with regards to transferring our current blog to a new program would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
-BRACKCHIPS

Thanks for Not Stacking Me, Bro! (Part 18)

Long time no blog…Bruechips has been flat out DOMINATING the spritpot airwaves. I took almost a month off the game (the longest I have ever taken off) after a gross-ish June - the RNG just left me helpless. I played a mix of NLHE games ranging from my standard 2/4 game all the way up to a few hands of 25/50 cap and ended up getting tuned up by the RNG to the equivilant of 40 bi’s in my normal 400 game. Granted some of it was at higher stakes…but it just left a bitter taste in my mouth (that’s what she said!).

Off the whine train and onto our regularly sked’d program…poker!!!

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/226596

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $410.00

BTN: $561.00

SB: $559.50

Hero (BB): $803.00

UTG: $260.10

UTG+1: $456.00

MP: $180.00

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is BB with 7c 7s

4 folds, BTN raises to $15, 1 fold, Hero requests TIME, Hero calls $11

(this is pretty standard for me…although an argument could be made for a 3b. 77 is towards the top of my flatting range vs a CO open. It doesn’t play fantasticly postfrop oop, but I knew my villain to be somewhat passive and felt like I could wrestle the pot away in most spots. If there was another caller I’d be more inclined to sqeeze.)

Flop: ($32.00) 7d 5c Jc (2 players)

Hero bets $24, BTN calls $24

(Can you say nuts? If he has Jacks then FML…but I would never consider folding here for 100bbs. Considering my opponent is so passive and does not c-bet enough…its time to put some money in the pot, there are a multiple draws out…and I will certainly get called by ANY one pair hand.)

Turn: ($80.00) 6d (2 players)

Hero bets $64, BTN calls $64

(89 compretes here but I’m making another VB, I figure he has a one pair type hand at best…when he does not raise here I’m quite confident that my hand is best).

River: ($208.00) 8s (2 players)

Hero bets $144, BTN calls $144

(this decision actually was not at close as it looks. Granted there is a one liner straight out there…but I STILL have him on a one pair hand, and my hand does not look like particularly strong. Honestly in retrospect its tough for me to figure out what I was repping here, its quite rare when I call an open oop and donk the frop, turn, and river. I think he still calls my river bet with any one pair hand, and letting him check back QQ+, Jx, or a 2 pair hand would be pretty ghey.)

Final Pot: $496.00

BTN shows 8d 9c (a straight, Nine high)

Hero shows 7c 7s (three of a kind, Sevens)

BTN wins $493.00

(well he shows up with the second nuts, ROR! I flop the second nuts, he ends up with the second nuts and I loses a TON of value. Clearly he must have had me on 9T not to raise that river, ROR. I insta stack off on the turn without HESITATION…and its very thin regarding calling a river raise.)

-BRACKCHIPS

Frop 3b'ing

Long time no post...I've been completely beaten down this month - games are tougher, I'm running like poo, I haven't been as sharp, and confidence is down. Recipe for disasater for sure...ROR. Well the focus of this post is to look at a few hands where I 3b the flop.

Games are becoming increasingly aggro lately - everyone understands c-betting and how profitable it can be...thus people are leveraging their position with raises. Obviously one method for combatting this strategy is to 3b...a strategy that right now is used pretty infrequently. If you are going implement this into your arsenal - you need to think a little deeper.

Check out the two examples...

Full Tilt Poker, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

BTN: $257.90

SB: $258.80

Hero (BB): $607

UTG: $410

MP: $62.90

CO: $334.90

Pre-Flop: 6s Qh dealt to Hero (BB)

3 folds, BTN calls $4, SB calls $2, Hero checks

(pretty standard x through here with rags, but we have a donk alert with the button limping - stay tuned.)

Flop: ($12) Tc 2d Ks (3 Players)

SB checks, Hero bets $8, BTN raises to $36, SB folds, Hero raises to $70

(ok this is where things get interesting...I opt to lead with the intention of 3b'ing the B bc of his limp - he has a relatively high steal % so him not opening the B eliminates quite a bit of his range. The B goes ahead and raises my lead and I follow through with a min 3b which gets him to insta fold. On this board I can rep a pretty wide range, bottom set, any two pair combo, QJ, and the occasion Kx type hand. If he decides to call the 3b on the frop - I'm bombing the turn unless the QJ draw completes.)

Results: $84 Pot ($3 Rake)

Hero mucked 6s Qh and WON $81 (+$41 NET)

Unfortunately this one did not turn out so well...crashed and burned in an epic fashion.

Full Tilt Poker, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 9 Players

UTG+1: $91.70

UTG+2: $444.10

MP1: $406

MP2: $900

CO: $468

BTN: $450.40

Hero (SB): $402

BB: $400

UTG: $92.70

Pre-Flop: Td 9c dealt to Hero (SB)

7 folds, Hero raises to $12, BB calls $8

(standard open in the CO)

Flop: ($24) Ks 3c Jd (2 Players)

Hero bets $14, BB raises to $42, Hero raises to $104, BB calls $62

(this board is SOOOO dry that when my C bet gets raised by a semi competent regular who propensity to raise more than the fair share of c bets, I feel obligated to put in another bet in order to rep the absolute top of my range - AA, KJ, and sets. It is a bit thin with my gutter ball (which could potentially be no good) but I think I can blow him off Jx, 44-88. The only value raise he is making on this board is with KJ, 33, and the occasional KQ. I am certain he will 3b other value raising combos. QT is the only draw out there...could have that - my 3b is small enough that it is definitely profitable for him to call.)

Turn: ($232) 7c (2 Players)

Hero bets $112, BB calls $112

(sick turn, I open up a double gutter...I had intended to bet the turn regardless - but some added value is nice. I was very close to overbet shoving the turn...but i thought a small bet would be scarier.)

River: ($456) 2h (2 Players)

Hero checks, BB checks

(for some reason, my vagina swells to epic proportions and I can't put the rest in...let's see how things work out for T high? Somehow I convinced myself that he could not fold KQ).

Results: $456 Pot ($3 Rake)

Hero showed Td 9c (King Jack high) and LOST (-$228 NET)

BB showed Qs Th (King Queen high) and WON $453 (+$225 NET)

(Q high outkicks T high for 56 bb's...FML)

When thinking back on this - first off I need to shove that river with T high no matter what. That being said, even if I do get looked up by KQ - SO EFFING WHAT? Gotta think back to my Gbucks equity...which absolutely DESTROYS KQ.

-BRACKCHIPS

1 year ago today - DDAY.

A year ago today I just finished up an EPIC sesh where I absolutely DECIMATED my online roll.  DDAY for me.  The donations were just absolutely absurd...it’s embarrassing how badly I played and ridiculously aggro I was playing (29/23/7.5 at FULL EFFING RING!).   The downswing was a product of literally every variable in the game - playing on tilt, playing too long, CRAP game selection (I was playing in some VERY tough 5/10 games), too many tables, playing too loose, and magically disabling my effing fold button from both my head and on the FTP software, ROR.  

When the dust cleared after 7500 hands and like 15 hours - I was just absolutely BEAT down.  I'm not going to get in the exact figure but let's just say it was MANY a BI's at a limit I was not entirely comfortable with.  

Finally I was able to stop the spewage - and then the amount of money that I lost finally sunk in.  I recall going to bed thinking "wait, did I REALLY just lose that much money?"  It was definitely difficult to stomach and I talked a bit to Bruechips a bit who herped analyzed the sesh - thankfully he got me to prop him on playing tighter (which would def help reduce my variance/downswings).  

I am not exactly sure how much I actually learned from my DDAY other than two things.

A) how crappy you feel when you lose/donate money of epic proportions.
B) how in reality...money doesn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things.  Shortly after DDAY, I met a new special lady who literally made me INSTA-forget about the downswing.   MUY +EV.

Whoops, I left one thing out - C) how quickly you can recoup your losses :)

Since then I have improved significantly (although I still have occasional lapses) in keeping my daily losses to a minimum.  It is incredibly difficult to simply come to a stop loss point - especially in the heat of the moment...but it is something that I continue to work on.  Thankfully there have not been any DDAY2 days yet :)