Making Lemonade

liquid's YTD: $3032.24

A couple of people on my mental buddy list were sitting at a $100 table on PokerRoom, so I joined in. Sure enough, I get involved with Buddy #1 on the first hand.

Omaha Hi $1-$1 PL (real money)

Seat 1: Buddy (Button, $103.75)
Seat 5: Hero (B2, $100) [4s 6d Jc 2c]

ANTES/BLINDS
B1 posts $1, Hero posts $1.

PRE-FLOP
UTG calls $1, UTG+1 folds, MP calls $1, CO folds, Buddy calls $1, B1 checks, Hero checks.

FLOP [Td Jd 6c]
B1 checks, Hero bets $3, UTG calls $3, MP calls $3, Buddy calls $3, B1 folds.

TURN [3h]
Hero bets $12, UTG folds, MP folds, Buddy calls $12.

RIVER [2d]

My first thought is to throw out $20, but based on past observations Buddy is on some ropey draw or another -- hopefully not the flush draw. A busted straight draw is possible, in which case I can count on a bluff.

Hero checks, Buddy bets $12.

I wasn't expecting a bet that low. This actually has me worried.

Hero calls $12.

SHOWDOWN
Buddy shows [9h Qd Kh 6s]
Hero shows [4s 6d Jc 2c]
Hero wins $63.

Whew.

I heart winning with garbage.

No Content

liquid's YTD: $2796.19

The PLO cash games on PokerRoom were not good earlier this evening, so I wandered over to the tournaments and found a near-full PLO SNG. I sit in, yada yada yada, four left, big stack is antsy to bust everyone or bust out when this hand occurs:

Seat 2: Hero (SB, $3,000) [Kd Ah 2h 9d]
Seat 3: GottaGo (BB, $6,215)
Seat 5: Shorty (CO, $690)
Seat 10: Bystander (Button, $5,095)

ANTES/BLINDS
Hero posts blind ($100), GottaGo posts blind ($200).

PRE-FLOP
Shorty bets $690 and is all-in.

This means a big pair.

Bystander folds, Hero bets $2,170.

I like AKxxds well enough to take a shot at a short-stack. Even better are my prospects in a side pot vs. GottaGo, who will likely push if he looks down to find four cards in front of him.

GottaGo bets $3,650, Hero calls $730 and is all-in.

Hero shows [Kd Ah 2h 9d]
GottaGo shows [Kc 7d 3c 3d]
Shorty shows [Qs Js Qh 6d]

FLOP [5c As 9h]

Awesome, two pair. I am 70% to win.

TURN [2s]

Shorty gets a flush draw. I am still 70% to scoop, and even if the flush comes, I will rake a good side pot. If GottaGo somehow gets 3h on the river, I'm gone, but at least I'll get third place money. There is only one card left in the deck that bubbles me out in fourth.

RIVER [3s]

</badbeatstory>

Never ending story

Napalm's YTD: $14,590

SNG on Hollywood today.

5 handed. I go all in with 8 4 off into a board of 4 5 5. Foe calls for almost all of his chips with J 6 offsuit.

Turn is a 7.

River is a Jack.

Guess he loved his backdoor straight possibilities, or maybe he thought.....

JACK HIGH, YOU CALL ME WITH JACK HIGH??

You wanna bad beat story?

Napalm's YTD: $14,500

Online Poker has it out for me.

NLHE tournament on stars, we are about 5 away from the bubble. There are 190 people left and I am about 30th in chips.

I raise under the gun with AJ. Button goes all in for another $2500 with A 10 off, so i call. Flop is A 8 9. Turn is a 10. River is a blank, i lose, 3 outter.

Then....

Three hands later, cut off min raises, i call with KQ sooted. Flop is 2 K Q. CO goes all in with AA, I call. Turn is a blank, river is a 2. I lose, 4 outter.

Then....

5 hands later, we are now on the bubble. I have Jd Jc on the button. CO+1 rasies 3x BB. I reraise all in, he calls and turns over black 99. Flop is A 8 4 two diamonds. Turn is a 5 of diamonds, leaving my foe with 1 out, the 9 of hearts.

9 of hearts on the river, I lose and miss the money on the bubble. I should have easily been the chip leader, but now I am out. I so badly outplayed everyone at the table but I am the one sitting here typing this pathetic blog.

What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I play this god forsaken game? Its pointless.

Happy Anniversary

liquid's YTD: $2698.18

One year ago today, I played real-money online poker for the first time, taking second in a $5+$1 NL Hold'em Sit & Go on PokerRoom. It was downhill from there for a while. I started with a $100 deposit, played a bunch of low-stakes NL HE tourneys and tables, and nearly flushed my puny bankroll away within about six weeks. Yes, I suck at Texas Hold'em.

Then in November, I discovered Omaha. I managed to grind out some winnings at the $0.25-$0.50 limit Omaha tables on PokerRoom, getting $150 into the black by the end of the year.

In February 2005 I started dabbling at the pot-limit Omaha tables. For a few weeks, if I lost a big pot or did something stupid, I'd punish myself by going back to the limit tables until I'd recouped my losses. Cruel but very effective.

By March I was at the PLO tables to stay, and it's been an interesting ride since then. Lowlights include a two and a half month stretch of going nowhere. More recently things are looking up.

So after a rocky start, my $100 deposit has grown to $2954.24 at the one year mark. I can live with that.

Limit is the Devil

Napalm's YTD: $14,780

Played 4 hours of 4/8 limit hold 'em with a full kill at Caesars Indiana last night and lost a whopping total of $1.

I was actually up about $160 at one point and donked most of it off on one hand.

QJ sooted clubs in the BB, 7 people in the hand, I raise, 7 people call.

Flop is 9 10 2 one diamond no clubs. Nice flop for me. check check check check check check, I bet, call call call call call call call. Guess everyone has a str8 draw.

Turn is an 8 of diamonds, I hit the nuts. check check, bet, call call call call, I raise. fold fold, call, fold fold fold call. I guess everyone missed their straight. (wha?)

Pot is pretty big at this point. the guy to my left says to me "If I hit a diamond, I am going to beat you. I tell him, "No way, I have the nuts so you should just fold and a club is coming on the river"

The river is a diamond, of course he says "Bam, this pot is mine, you should just fold". He bets, other dude calls, and I save myself $8 bucks.

Donkey chaser turns over a super strong 7 3 of diamonds and the other guy just mucks his hand. So think about that. He calls my preflop raise cold with a 7 3. Then, with a flop of 10 9 4 and one diamond, calls my flop bet. Guess he liked his backdoor ass end str8 draw and 7 high backdoor flush draw. Then he calls two bets cold with his 7 high draw. Unreal.

Now the thing I want to know is, what the hell did the other guy have?

Blame Game

liquid's YTD: $2547.69

I was the big donator at the tables yesterday. Short stacks in particular were lining up to double through me. By the time I finally gave up, I had posted my biggest single-day loss: $170. To entertain Napalm, here is a sampling of what I endured. Have fun considering each hand from foe's perspective.

I bet the nut straight on the flop. Short stack goes all-in on non-nut flush draw and hits on river. (This one is routine. Just a small omen of what lay ahead.)

I call a PFR in LP with 3456ss. 778 flop checks around. Turn is 5; checks around to me. I bet 1/2 pot and get a caller from EP. Turn is a worst-case-scenario 7 and my straight is worthless; EP bets and I fold.

Flop is 334. I bet out with 358A and am called by short stack LP. Turn is Qh for a two-flush; I put short stack all-in. River is third heart; short stack wins with 5667 with two hearts.

Flop is 234 with two hearts. I bet out with nut flush draw and am called in LP. Turn is an offsuit 5 and I bet again; LP re-raises pot (gutshot? wouldn't he raise the flop with a made hand and a redraw?) and I fold.

I am in BB with 9943. Flop of KKJ checks around. Turn is 9 and I bet out with underfull. Called in LP by short stack who is nearly all-in. River is Q; short stack wins with QQxx.

All the money is in PF. I have AA95ss. Foe #1 has AAK3ss. Foe #2 has... QJT2r. Board comes J5TT6.

Flop is J44 with two clubs. I bet pot with AK54 and am called in one position. Turn is 9; check-check. I bet an 8c river and am called by a flush draw with no 4s.

I call a PFR with AKQ5. Raiser bets weakly at a Q82 rainbow flop; I call (bad play, raise or fold here). Turn brings another 2; I bet half-pot and raiser calls. River is 9, check-check. Raiser's 9TJK wins with rivered straight.

Flop is 96Q with two clubs. I bet out with nut flush draw and am called in two places. Turn makes my flush; I bet 3/4 pot and get one caller. River pairs the board and I fold to bet.

The cumulative effect of hands like these was frustrating, but I donked off a good chunk of my losses myself in two early, ugly hands. Pitiful hand #1:

I raise PF with QdQcJhTh on the button and am called in two places. Flop of 6s8hKh checks to me; I bet pot and am called in one position. Turn is 7 and foe bets 1/2 pot. I call like a donkey thinking I have flush outs and three remaining nines (assuming foe has the fourth). River is 5h; foe goes all-in and I stick with my turn decision and call. Foe has a nightmarish Ah9c8d2h for the turned nut straight with nut flush redraw.

Much, much worse is pitiful hand #2, where I take the worst possible line on EVERY SINGLE STREET:

I am UTG+2 with AcAhJc8s. UTG+1 raises 3BB. I call, as do two others. Flop is AsJh9s. Raiser bets pot. I call like an idiot. (This hurts just thinking about it.) The others fold. Turn is 5s. Raiser checks. I check like an idiot. River is Ks. Raiser checks. I bet pot like an idiot. Raiser calls with Qh8dTdTs for a well-earned rivered straight.

Obviously, I can only blame so much on variance.

Tina, you fat lard, come get some DINNER!... Tina, eat. Food. Eat the FOOD!

Napalm's YTD: $14,250

$100 buy in NLHE on Hollywoodpoker.com

I have $206 and Foe has $287.

Foe makes it $3 from the SB, and 3 other people call.

Flop is J 8 6 of clubs.

Pot is now $12. Foe bets $12, everyone folds to me, i raise to $24, foe calls. The pot is now $48.

Turn is the 10 of diamonds.

Foe checks, I bet another $24, foe calls making the pot $96.

River is the 10 of clubs.

Foe wakes up and bets $25 into a $96 pot.

I raise to $60 and foe calls making the pot $216.

At that point foe had about $176 in his stack and I had $119.

Question of the week:

What did I have, what did Foe have, and why am I a bonehead?